Chapter Text
“Now you’ve done it, Peasuke.”
The boy gulped nervously, throwing a quick glance at Akane standing beside him, her expression more judging than Ms. Norimaki’s after a spectacularly failed test – but then his eyes darted back to the familiar figure growing gradually smaller in the distance, and he could feel his insides tying into a knot of nerves and guilt. For a split second, he wanted to call out to his brother, like he always did when things did not seem to go his way – but this was not the right time, for Taro was not within the earshot of the group anymore, and, let’s be honest, Peasuke had no damn idea how to explain the situation to him without it sounding either too bad or too stupid. That’s true, now he’s done it. Well, not just him. He was about 50% responsible for the highly improbable yet still highly serious situation they were having at hand, not that math was ever his strong suit. Hell, the last person he needed right now was a mathematician. A bomb disposal technician would be much more helpful. Or a gastroenterologist. Or both.
It all started innocuously enough – with Senbei spending the last 12 hours building a miniature time bomb of unparalleled explosive prowess. What did he need it for? Probably some questionable shenanigans, as usual. A shiny silver ball, only slightly larger than a pea, with tiniest flashing indicators you would ever see signifying if it’s activated or not. The time it takes for the bomb to explode and bring a middle-sized house with it is about two hours. The time it takes for Arale to snatch the thing up the second Senbei leaves his lab to get some well-deserved rest and bring it to her friends for an impromptu show and tell? Less than a minute, with her speed and all. And that’s how, a few moments later, yet another peaceful morning turned into a race against time which cost almost everyone involved their dignity. Welcome to Penguin village.
“A real time bomb, huh? Looks more like a ball from a ball bearing, you sure that’s not it?” – Akane asked sarcastically while holding the miniature invention in front of her wide-open right eye.
“Arale wouldn’t lie about such things! If she says it’s a time bomb, it’s a time bomb,” – Obotchaman retorted, seemingly more concerned about the fact that Arale was being doubted than the presence of a bomb in the hands of Akane, of all people. Out of the four teenagers gathered in the Coffee Pot’s comfortingly cool shadow during a fairly hot morning, the only person who seemed to be taking the bomb situation seriously was Peasuke: while he was kind of curious about the invention shimmering in his cousin’s hand, the rationally cautious part of him wanted nothing to do with it, ever, and was nearly praying for Arale (or anyone) to take it out of Akane’s hands before anything happens.
Heavens decided to be particularly cruel to him that day, it seems: while Akane did return the small silvery ball to Arale, still unconvinced it was even functional, the very next thing the robot girl did was pushing it into Peasuke’s palm, no questions asked.
“Here, take a look, Peasuke! It’s super-cul!”
The boy began fidgeting with the tiny object, trying his best not to drop it, his fingers grazing the sleek surface and, apparently, pressing a hidden button or a switch in the process – the indicators around the bomb’s diameter suddenly came to life, flashing in red and blue, not unlike a police car’s lights would. Peasuke looked at Arale with a confused expression, still clasping the bomb in his right arm.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Hoyoyo! You activated it, Peasuke!” – the girl exclaimed, - “It’s gonna go boom now!”
These were the words Peasuke did not want to hear – his heartrate skyrocketing and head clouding with fear, he threw the tiny silver ball as far as he could, his baseball training coming in handy for once in his life. He didn’t particularly aim it anywhere (if only as far away from himself and the others as possible), so the ball flying straight through Coffee Pot’s open window was purely accidental, he could swear on it if necessary. A hit on the head by Akane which followed shortly afterwards, however, was not.
“Not now-now, dummy! Two hours, remember?! Now we’ll have to search the café all over for it, thanks a lot, Peasuke!” – Akane grumbled, sticking both of her hands into her pockets and turning in the direction of Coffee Pot’s entrance. Arale looked unfazed by the event, excited even; Obotchaman, on the other hand, appeared to be quite distraught, being the first one to race to the café’s door.
“I hope we find it before it explodes,” – the robot boy muttered to himself while attempting to grab the door handle, only to have the door open right into his face, almost hitting him. The person standing in the doorway was no other than Soramame Taro, his trademark sunglasses reflecting the morning sun and the look of alarm on Obotchaman’s face. The young man smiled his friendliest smile, looking all over the group of his younger friends. He seemed to be in a splendid mood today.
“Hey, how’s it going?” – he asked, still smiling, while making his way past the group, their tense expression not bothering him in the slightest. At first, Peasuke was quite surprised to see his brother at a cafe, he could have sworn Taro had left for work early this morning – but then he noticed that Taro was wearing his best clothes, and it clicked. He did mention going on a picnic date with Tsururin next time he had a day off, but Peasuke, frankly speaking, did not keep track of his brother’s work schedule and wasn’t particularly interested in his dating life, so he never asked any further questions.
“F-Fine, big bro! Everything’s going just fine! We were just going to have something to drink, that’s all,” – Peasuke answered for everyone, hoping for his pals to stay quiet. He briefly considered the idea of asking Taro for help in finding their lost little time bomb, but the young policeman looked way too happy and lost in his own visions of near future to truly pay any attention, and making him late for his date wasn’t in Peasuke’s plans – his big brother could be terrifying when angered properly.
As Taro was making way to his scooter, the gang ran into Coffee Pot with a single goal on their mind. The first logical step would be to ask Aoi for help – if anyone knew all the nooks and crannies a tiny ball could have fallen into, it was her. Aoi was present at the counter, indeed – however, instead of doing any of her usual activities, she seemed to be preoccupied with expecting the inside of a tiny white coffee cup.
“Hey, sis,” – Akane called out, hands still in her pockets, - “What are you doin’ there?”
“Oh,” – Aoi turned her head to the entrance and smiled a tiny smile, clearly concerned about something, - “It’s going to sound really weird, but… No, it’s probably nothing.”
“What is It?” – the teens were now on the opposite side of the counter, peering into an empty cup Aoi was holding. It was stained with coffee on the inside, but, aside from that, held nothing of interest.
“Well… I could have sworn just now that something fell into Taro’s coffee cup when he turned to speak to me. I wanted to warn him, but he finished his cup in a hurry, and it’s completely empty now,” – Aoi turned the cup upside down, as if to prove her own words, - “He must have drunk it with the coffee, whatever it was. Probably a fly or something… Nothing to worry about, right? I’m just being weird here, it’s the hot weather getting to me. I mean, for a second, that thing looked like a police light to me, all red and blue and stuff. I need a vacation,” – Aoi’s smile grew more relaxed, - “Did you guys want to order something?”
“N-No… We’re good…” – Akane uttered, her face growing more and more jittery, eyes widening in fear. Arale let out a long “hoyoyo”, while Obotchaman looked like he was about to faint. Peasuke could feel ground becoming less and less steady underneath his feet as the reality of the situation dawned upon him. He ran outside as fast as his shivering legs could allow, only to see Taro’s back disappearing on the road ahead, with the sound of his scooter’s engine growing weaker and weaker, before ceasing completely. Almost on the verge of tears, he could hear Akane’s footsteps behind him, but paid them no mind until her voice brought him back to reality.
“Now you’ve done it, Peasuke.”