16 — What Was Grandpa Doing Back Then? (01)

The story behind this baseball is a little strange. And under normal circumstances it would actually be kind of funny, if it weren't for the context in which it appeared, years before Grandpa disappeared.

Back then, it was no secret to my family or the neighbors in our area that my grandfather was insane. He was always testing new things and thought it was only natural for mistakes to happen occasionally.

Whenever someone asked how this could affect the people around him, he'd say there was no problem that couldn't be fixed, and that as long as he was sane, he'd always have an answer and a solution for everything.

It was around that time that I started taking part in his experiments.

And also…

It was around that time that I lost my sister in that explosion.

"..."

Long story short…

After that, my grandfather moved far away. He'd show up at home every now and then just to say he was alive, and then disappear again just as quickly as he came.

As time went on, his visits grew more and more infrequent, until eventually… they stopped altogether.

Whether it was my parents, friends, or anyone else, no one knew where he went or what he was doing all those years.

I was still a kid, so most of what happened back then is a big blur in my mind, but even so…

Even after everything…

There's one thing I can say without a doubt:

No matter how much time passes, I could never hate him.

Anyway.

On his last visit, he gave me this weird baseball that he claimed was a protection charm. I had no idea how that thing was supposed to protect me, and up until now it was nothing but junk to me.

Aside from being completely uncomfortable to carry around everywhere, it felt strange that I kept holding on to something from his research, even knowing how dangerous his experiments could be… and yet, I did.

And well…

I don't even need to say how shocked I was when it actually saved my life, and how reluctant I was to abandon my charm at the research institute last night.

But setting aside all the craziness surrounding those events, the thing that surprised me the most came after that.

When I woke up and saw Kumacchi lying on my bed.

"Yo, Haru-chan. You up? You sleep a lot, don't you?"

Maybe I'm cursed to live a chaotic life until the end of my days. But no matter how strange this situation was, I won't lie. I was genuinely happy.

"K-Kumacchi? It's really you? How did you get here?"

"Response to Haru-chan: Yes, it's me. I came in through your window while you were sleeping."

"Aaah! Get over here, you bastard."

"Ugh!"

I couldn't resist hugging him.

If I wasn't careful, I might've cried before realizing it.

"Eh… sorry for the hug, that's not really my style. I just… got really happy to see you again."

Okay, now I was a little embarrassed. Good thing no one else was home. (I guess that's one advantage of living alone.)

"Kumacchi, I have a lot of questions, but the first thing I want to know is something that's been bothering me since yesterday: can't you just stop saying 'response to' before everything you say?"

"Response to Haru-chan: I can cut that out, but in that case the author will have to put in extra effort to add speaker tags. Also, I don't mind hugs. Feel free to do it whenever you want. Though I don't think it's very comfortable."

"Don't break the fourth wall like that!"

"My apologies."

He wasn't wrong about the 'not comfortable to hug' part. But even so, something still bothered me.

Even with the way Kumacchi phrased it so simply, it didn't seem plausible that he made his way back on his own. Sure, normal logic didn't apply to him, but the fact that he made it out of the institute intact, crossed half the city, and invaded my apartment in the middle of the night still needed some explaining.

So I asked.

"It wasn't difficult. I've been stored in your closet for a year, so I can recognize your scent easily."

"This time I'm the one who needs to apologize."

He didn't seem to hold a grudge, but I still felt a bit guilty.

Wait— what did he mean by recognizing my scent?

"There's no need to apologize. After all, I'm just an object, remember?"

"Object or not, you still saved my life. Don't sell yourself short."

"Protecting you is my function."

"..."

Right. I didn't think we'd get far with that topic. Kumacchi seemed to have very fixed values regarding his duties, and I wasn't about to argue with him.

I rested my hand on my chin.

Looking closely, he wasn't quite the same as last night. Maybe it was an optical illusion caused by the lighting or the situation, but now his color looked much duller.

Was that normal?

"What's wrong, Haru-chan? Does something hurt?"

"Hm? No. Why do you ask?"

"You seem worried about something."

That caught me off guard.

Just how many functions did this teddy have?

"It's nothing. I was just worried about you. Yesterday your color looked a lot more saturated than it does today"

"Color? Ah… you must be talking about my charge."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Kumacchi, but if I was supposed to know what that is, then I'll have to owe you this one."

Yeah… not the coolest thing to admit.

"It's fairly simple. I receive charge and I'm activated. When it ends, I return to hibernation. And I gradually lose the infused mana's appearance."

I know he said that to make it easy to understand, but I couldn't help feeling mildly insulted. Maybe that was a sign I should pay more attention in class.

"I see…"

With that in mind, I figured he'd go into hibernation again soon. That meant our time was short. I had no idea what the requirements were to activate him again, but if it involved something like taking an advanced Incinerator straight to the face, then he'd definitely be shelved for a while.

That is… depending on how long it took for them to show up and eliminate me.

Speaking of which—

"Kumacchi, I'm scared to ask, but I need to know… what did you do with the fire mage — I mean, the matchstick guy? You didn't… you know… do anything irreversible, right?"

My voice came out hoarse.

"I found the euphemism interesting, Haru-chan."

Don't comment on that!

"The matchstick was detained, but don't worry. He's still alive."

"Alive? Really? You seriously didn't kill him?"

"No."

God. I almost had a heart attack. Even if he was a bastard, I couldn't live knowing he died because of me.

(And it kept my record clean with the authorities.)

"Thank you. Seriously, thank you."

Actually, even though I said it so many times, it still wasn't enough to thank this little guy.

Not just him, but also… Minami-san.

Weird.

In the end, the one who saved me was Grandpa.

Who would've thought I'd live long enough to see his madness become reality?

Ah...

Where is he now?

I never really knew what he was trying to prove.

So in the end…

What was Grandpa doing back then?

That thought hit me last night.

Maybe because I was so desperate, I started thinking about all the possibilities. And even after hours of trying to sleep, I didn't reach any conclusion.

There are mysteries that stay unanswered for a lifetime, but for a single moment, I really wanted to know what happened to him.

What he'd been doing.

And how he created something like Kumacchi.

"Haru-chan?"

"..."

Tch. This damn thing really is cute.

"I'm fine. But I think we're screwed."

"What do you mean?"

"By now, Minami-san has definitely told the others everything that happened last night. So it's only a matter of time before they come find me."

"If that happens, I'll protect you."

I patted his head.

"That's a relief."

Seeing him act like that, I let myself expect the same feeling as petting a puppy. Which ended up being a huge disappointment... petting a chunk of metal felt like tickling a crocodile. Not that I've ever done that.

"Also... what happened after you defeated the matchstick guy? Do you remember anything else? Did you meet a girl with brown hair and a hothead idiot?"

"I didn't see anyone else after that. Actually, I left as soon as the matchstick was out of combat."

"Ah… right."

Obviously.

No way the info would come that easily.

Still, I was really curious about the outcome.

If they got what they wanted, there was a small chance they'd leave me alone.

At least… that's what I wanted to believe.

"Grrrr!"

While I was trying to cling to that false sense of hope, Kumacchi's eyes suddenly turned red.

"What was that?! What happened?!"

"Someone is approaching!"

"What?! Already? But it's only 10 A.M.! They came for me this fast?!"

And then—

With no time to prepare—

Came the knock on the door.