"Haruka?!"

Tetsu couldn't contain his shock upon seeing that the genuine, honest-to-God magical girl was none other than his own granddaughter, Haruka. Despite all the glitters and frills, the girl before him is unmistakably his granddaughter.

And the one to recover from their shock was Haruka, who immediately straightened herself and said, "H-Haruka? Oh, no, no, no! I am Glitter Orange, the warrior of love and justice! I-I'm sure you're mistaking me for someone else, grand- I mean, m-mister!"

The shock that Tetsu had been experiencing a while ago had been replaced by something else. He gave the girl who was claiming that she wasn't Haruka an unimpressed stare. "You're Haruka."

Seeing that her grandfather wasn't fooled, Haruka sighed and dropped her grandiose pose while still holding the unconscious girl whom she rescued earlier. "A-alright, fine. Yeah, it's me, Haruka. I guess you caught me, grandpa."

"So, what you've been doing exactly?" Tetsu asked before he added, "And no, I'm not angry at you or anything."

Haruka sighed again. "W-well… to tell you the truth, I'm a magical girl."

"Yes, I can see that. Both you and Satomi loved this kind of thing back in the day." Tetsu nodded.

"A-about that, you see… I've been doing this sort of gig for a while now, fighting monsters and stuff. I came here because of the kidnapping, and I thought I might as well help out." Haruka reasoned.

Tetsu shook his head. He wasn't sure where to start, but from what he could learn about this was that his granddaughter was putting herself in harm's way. It didn't matter that she had some kind of magical power, because this would mean she was risking herself for something that she shouldn't concern herself with.

"And you know the danger, right?" Tetsu asked. If the strange creature from earlier was any indication, he had a feeling that his granddaughter wasn't dealing with ordinary threats like street thugs or petty criminals. Not that he wouldn't be worried if she was dealing with street thugs or petty criminals. "Is your father aware of this?"

"N-no, he's not, and I don't want him to know." Haruka shook her head. "And you shouldn't know too, grandpa. I-I don't want you to know about what I'm doing…" She seemed hesitant when she said that, but before she could say more, suddenly several black tendrils sprouted out of the pavement and tried to grab her. In a burst of light, Haruka jumped into the air before she tossed the girl up.

Before Tetsu could say anything about that, a blue panther-like creature jumped out of nowhere, catching the falling the girl before disappearing in a flash of light.

"Don't worry about her, grandpa! The girl's safe now!" Haruka shouted as she landed in front of her grandfather. Behind her, the creature from before emerged from the ground, reforming back into its vaguely humanoid shape. Sickly purple light came out of it head as more tentacles sprouted out of its body. It let out hissing noise as it directed it attention to the magical girl.

"What the hell's that thing?" Tetsu expressed his disbelief and bewilderment upon seeing the inhuman creature. When it lashed out its tentacles at them, Haruka grabbed her grandfather, and in a burst of light, she brought him up into the air. "Whoa!"

"That thing… is called Devourer. It preys upon people to nourish itself, and this particular Devourer seems to favor teenage girls." Haruka said as she created magical platforms in the air before she used them to walk. "I've been hunting its kind for a while now. This one is tougher than the ones I faced before."

As Haruka walked on the magical platforms in the air while holding Tetsu, the Devourer had followed them into the air, sprouting a pair of bat-like wings on its back to fly. Haruka conjured a few orbs of light out of nowhere before she launched them towards the monster. A few of them managed to hit, but the monster kept following them.

Tetsu himself was too stunned to even say anything. He was up in the air with his granddaughter, and he could tell that if he ended up falling from this height, the result wouldn't be pretty. But Haruka herself was holding onto him tightly as she continued moving in the air, fleeing from the Devourer.

In retaliation of Haruka's attacks, the Devourer launched its own attack towards her, firing sharp spines as projectiles. Haruka tried her best to block the attacks, though with her still holding onto her grandfather, she was unable to focus, and one of the quills hit her right on her shoulder.

"Aahh!!"

Haruka cried out in pain. Losing her concentration, the platforms that she used to walk in the air vanished, and both her and Tetsu ended up falling down.

"Haruka!"

The old man tried to reach for his granddaughter as they fell down. There was no doubt that the fall would kill them, but Tetsu was thinking that if he could use his body to soften the fall, Haruka might survive. Sure, she would be badly hurt, but she would be more likely to live.

When they were about to reach the ground, Tetsu braced himself. He held onto his granddaughter's body tightly, hoping that she would survive. But instead of ending up splattered on the pavement, Tetsu felt like he was landing on some kind of bouncy bed. When he opened his eyes, there was some kind of magical construct cushioning their fall. They managed to land safely.

It seemed that Haruka managed to conjure the construct at the last second. But the spine was embedded into her shoulder, and she seemed to be in pain.

"Haruka?!" Tetsu immediately checked on her wound. Because her dress was sleeveless, he was able to see black marks starting to appear on her shoulder. "W-what's this?!"

"G-grandpa, d-don't touch the spine…" Haruka gasped out. "I-it's cursed."

Tetsu wanted to protest, but even from a look he knew that he shouldn't touch the spine. But Haruka was hurting badly from the spine, with some kind of sinister black marks starting to spread to her arm.

"D-don't worry, grandpa… I'm much tougher than I look, you know?" Despite herself, Haruka smiled. She then muttered something under her breath before her affected arm was wrapped in some kind of fabric, and the black marks stopped spreading. They were still there, but at the very least they didn't spread further. "I need to defeat the Devourer, then we can talk…"

"Haruka, you're still hurt!" Tetsu protested. He eyed the spine sticking in his granddaughter's shoulder. He was tempted to pull it out, but even by looking at it, he was aware that the mere act of touching it was a bad idea.

"…If the Devourer is left alone, it'll continue hunting down more girls," Haruka reasoned, standing up. "I have to do this, grandpa. It's my duty."

Tetsu could only stare at Haruka as she turned around to face the monster again. Just a while ago, his world was turned upside down. Now he learned that a mere teenage girl had a duty to face such a monstrous creature. As if there was no one who could deal with this monster, and it was only her who could do it.

A teenage girl like her should worry about her studies, her friends at school, teenage drama and other silly things, not about having to stop a murderous monster. And after seeing what just happened earlier, there was no guarantee that Haruka could walk out of this unscathed.

Tetsu saw Haruka launching herself up in the air, conjuring a dozen of spears of light and throwing them at the Devourer. She jumped and twirled in the air, avoiding the monster's attacks. He couldn't look away from the impossible sight. Some people might be awed by the barrage of light conjured by Haruka, but Tetsu could only stare in horror, knowing that his granddaughter could be struck down, and he would be the one to see it happen in front of his eyes.

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Haruka hissed as her shoulder throbbed. She blocked the curse with her magic, though it was only a temporary measure. She still needed to get it healed later. For now, she needed to deal with the Devourer first, and she made use of her power to pin it down.

But the Devourer was very agile, even in the air. The longer she fought with it, the sleeker it became. It became less amorphous as time went on, and it started to become more solid. She needed to take it down before it could evolve into something more dangerous.

The girl from earlier should be safe now, and she was certain that she would not remember what happened to her earlier. Still, there was the fact that her grandfather saw her, and now, he was there, watching her fight the Devourer.

Her heart ached as she thought about her grandfather. She loved him dearly, but now, he already knew her secret. There was no way they could pretend that nothing had happened between them. She knew that once this was over, she would have to make sure that her grandfather would not remember this. Getting rid of his memories would be an easy thing to do.

Yet the thought of erasing her grandfather's memories was too painful for her. She knew that it was for his own good, but he didn't want to do that to him.

Part of her wanted him to remember her for who she really was, not what she was pretending to be.

Seemingly noticing her being distracted, the Devourer fired a few black spines at her, though she managed to block all of them with a magical barrier before she fired a few spears of light at it. It seemed that the two of them had entered a stalemate, yet Haruka could feel that she was running out of energy. She had been throwing dozens of spears of light at the monster, and yet she hadn't managed to put it down.

"C-come on, jerk. I can do this whole night…" Haruka tried to taunt the Devourer, but it seemed that the monster was looking elsewhere. For a moment, Haruka was confused by this, but when she checked on what the Devourer was looking at, she gasped in horror. "W-wait, no!"

Before she could get in its way, the Devourer zoomed past her, making its way towards her grandfather. It conjured sharp claws, seemingly ready to cut the old man into shreds.

In her desperation, Haruka channeled her magic into her being before she launched herself towards her grandfather, moving at the speed of light. In an instant, she appeared before him, and she stood in front of him, shielding him from the incoming Devourer with her own body.

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"Aaahhh!!!"

Haruka couldn't hold back her scream when the Devourer's claws cut into her torso. At the very least, she was able to protect her grandfather from the monster's attack.

"Haruka!!"

Blood sprayed out of her open wounds, but Haruka didn't stop moving as she held onto her grandfather. In an instant, the two of them disappeared from the spot, leaving behind the Devourer on its own.

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With the last bit of her energy, Haruka teleported both herself and her grandfather to the nearby park. The moment they appeared there, Haruka fell down to the ground, writhing in agony.

"H-Haruka?!" Tetsu gasped in horror as he saw his granddaughter with such grievous injuries. The glow emitted from her body started to flicker. "Haruka, stay with me! Haruka!"

"Ngh…" Haruka looked at her grandfather's face, and despite the pain she was currently experiencing, she forced herself to smile. "S-sorry, grandpa… I was c-careless…"

"Stop talking! We need to get you to hospital now!" Tetsu shouted as he held onto Haruka. He looked around him and saw that they were in the park. "Hang in there, we'll get you fixed in no time. I promise…" With a grunt, Tetsu held Haruka in his arms.

"G-grandpa, I…" Haruka said weakly. "I-I'm fine… no need to worry about me…"

"Stop talking nonsense! You're hurt!"

The old man rushed out of the park, looking to bring his granddaughter to the hospital.

"I don't… I don't want you to worry…" Haruka shook her head.

"We'll talk once you're stable enough." Tetsu told her. He ran as fast as he could, trying to find his way to the hospital. He grunted in annoyance when he took a wrong turn.

Not that it mattered anymore as the Devourer was already there, chasing after both Tetsu and Haruka.

"Shit!"

Tetsu cursed out loudly as he turned around and ran as fast as he could as Devourer stood in his way. Haruka whimpered in pain as Tetsu ran.

"G-grandpa, j-just leave me! I-it only targets teenage girls!" Haruka told her grandfather desperately.

"Stop saying nonsense!" Tetsu retorted back. "I'm not leaving you behind!"

The Devourer started chasing after them. Tetsu stood no chance against it as it caught up to them. It tried to catch Tetsu with its tendrils, though Haruka managed to conjure a magic barrier around them, preventing the Devourer from touching her grandfather.

"Ngh… d-damn it… if only I've got more energy…" Haruka muttered to herself.

Hearing that from Haruka, Tetsu remembered that one time when Haruka was still young. She was watching a magical girl show with her cousin, and he was there to take care of them. He ended up watching the show together with them.

"Haruka, does your magical girl power have some sort of unexpected power boost? Like in the anime you used to watch?" Tetsu asked as he kept on running while Haruka conjured more barriers to block the incoming attacks from the Devourer.

"Huh? W-what are you talking about, grandpa?" Haruka was confused and perhaps a little lightheaded by blood loss.

Tetsu didn't think much about it before, but from his understanding, most magical girl shows seem to have this thing about dramatic power-up that is triggered by something dramatic. He didn't want to assume, but if Haruka's power as a magical girl was the same like the ones from the shows, then there might be something they could rely on. "You know what I'm talking about."

"T-that's… um…" Blocking another attack from the Devourer, Haruka tried her best to think of something. "I-I don't understand it myself, b-but… I think my power has something to do with my emotional state…" She tried her best to answer her grandfather even as her strength was fading.

"That's good enough…" Tetsu nodded. What he was about to do next was a gamble. "I believe in you, Haruka. I'm proud of what you've become." He told his granddaughter.

"Ah."

Suddenly Haruka's body shone brightly, and the magical barriers managed to push the Devourer back. It seemed that her grandfather's words of encouragement had granted her with some kind of power. A dramatic power-up.

"No matter what happens to you, I'll always be there for you. You are my granddaughter, after all."

Her body emitted such bright beam of light that it reached the sky.

"You can do it, Haruka! You are strong! You are powerful! You! Are! Unstoppable!"

The pavements cracked. The lights from the lampposts fizzled out. The sheer energy coursing through Haruka's body was enough to get rid of the black spine sticking in her shoulder, and the cursed black marks disappeared. Even her wounds started to heal.

"Now kill that son of a bitch!"

Directing the newfound energy into one single point, Haruka fired a beam of light from her finger towards the Devourer. Even Tetsu could feel its potency as the beam disintegrated the monster's body, and once the beam faded, there was no trace of such monster left.

It was completely and utterly obliterated.

Now that the danger was gone, Tetsu could finally stop running. He didn't know how long he had been running, and he panted, feeling like his lungs were burning. His leg muscles were aching from the long exertion. Still, he didn't seem to care much about himself as he immediately checked on his granddaughter.

"Haruka, your wounds-!"

Haruka shook her head and smiled, pointing at her already healed chest. It seemed that being energized by her grandfather's words of encouragement seemed to have given her enough energy to heal herself.

"Grandpa, thank you…" Haruka said as she gave her grandfather a big hug. "…I know you have lots of things to ask, but…" She looked down. "I-I'm sorry for keeping this a secret from you. I… I just don't want you to worry about me."

Tetsu let out a grunt. "I'm your grandfather. It's my job to worry about you."

Haruka laughed, and seeing her big smile and hearing her laughter, Tetsu couldn't help but smile as well.

"Let's go home. I'm sure you have lots of things to talk about…" Tetsu said.

"Yeah. I guess you're right, grandpa." Haruka nodded. Walking shoulder by shoulder, both the grandfather and granddaughter made their way home.

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Both Tetsu and Haruka took their opportunity to unwind as soon as they returned home. Then they sat at the living room as Haruka finally came clean about her being a magical girl.

"So, you're saying that every district in this country has its own magical girl?" Tetsu asked.

Haruka nodded. "Yeah. Well… we actually call ourselves Cosmic Guardians. Each of us is tasked to protect the area we are assigned into from all sorts of supernatural threats, like that Devourer for example."

Tetsu nodded upon hearing his granddaughter's explanation. "I see. So, these magical girls, the Cosmic Guardians, are they some kind of organization or something?" Haruka shook her head after hearing that question from him.

"Each Guardian is independent and collaborations between Guardians are rare. Though we do work together if the threat is too much for a single Guardian to handle. As of right now, I'm in charge of Sakamoto Town." Haruka explained.

"Hrmh…" Tetsu became pensive as he thought about the matter. "What are you going to do now that I know about your secret?"

"About that…" Haruka looked down, biting her lower lip. "This whole thing is supposed to be a secret. No one should know about this, and…"

Tetsu nodded in understanding. "You're going to make me forget about the whole thing?" He asked.

"Grandpa…" Haruka looked at her grandfather sadly. "I…"

Tetsu smiled. "If you think that's good for you, go ahead. But… are you sure you're going to be fine?" If she had no one to fight alongside with as a magical girl, then she would feel lonely. Tetsu couldn't imagine the burden that his granddaughter had to carry, to be someone to protect this town from all sorts of supernatural threats on her own, with no one knowing about what actually happened here. "It doesn't have to be me. If you have someone who can listen to you about this whole thing, then I'll be fine with it."

"Grandpa, I… I don't want to make you forget…" Haruka confessed. "But I don't want to put you in danger either."

Tetsu shrugged. "Well, I don't have any intention of putting myself in danger too. I think I've had enough excitement for a lifetime tonight." He then reached out and stroked her head gently. "But if you want someone you can talk with, I'm all ears. It's unhealthy to keep it all to yourself…"

"G-grandpa, I…" Haruka stared at her grandfather as tears started to gather in her eyes. To have someone whom she could share her worries with, it felt like a great burden had been lifted off her shoulders. "…t-thank you."

Tetsu reached out to hug Haruka, and she let out a quiet sob. From the way she was clinging on him, the old man was reminded of the times when she was younger.

Haruka was the youngest among all his granddaughters and was the clingiest among them. She liked being pampered by him. That fact didn't seem to change even now.

"Are you going to tell your father about this?" Tetsu asked while still holding Haruka.

"…N-no, don't wanna." Haruka answered, showing no intention of wanting to be let go. Tetsu sighed. "Don't tell him, or I'm gonna be mad at you, grandpa."

Letting out a resigned sigh, Tetsu nodded as he stroked his granddaughter's strawberry blonde hair. "Alright, I promise I won't tell him or anyone. This will be our secret."

"Promise?" Haruka asked, making a rather childish pouting face.

"Yeah, pinky promise." Tetsu reassured.

Haruka pulled herself back and held out her pinky. Seeing this, Tetsu hooked his own pinky with hers as she began the pinky promise vow. "Pinky promise, ten thousand punches, whoever lies will be made to swallow a thousand needles!"

Tetsu repeated the vow. The gesture might seem childish, but it was clear that he was taking this promise very seriously.

"The pact is sealed." Haruka then said dramatically. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Yeah, my mouth is sealed." Tetsu nodded. Hearing the reassurance from him, Haruka smiled.

"Yay!"

Having let go of his granddaughter, Tetsu told her, "Why don't you take a rest for now? You can continue your magical girl's duty tomorrow, as long as you be careful out there."

He was still worried about her safety, but after seeing what she was capable of, Tetsu knew that he should trust her more. Of course, he might not be able to help her out dealing with all those monstrous baddies out there, but at least she could have someone to talk to. He was sure that being her confidant was the only thing he could do for her.

"Alright, g'night." And so, Haruka left to her bedroom. Tetsu let out a grunt as he looked up, still trying to get over the fact that there was a drastic change in his life now that he had learned about his granddaughter being a magical girl.

"Meow."

Tetsu heard a meow from Haruka's cat. It seemed that the cat didn't follow her back to her room.

The old man stared at the animal for a bit, and the animal stared back.

"So, you're the panther-like thing that carried the girl away earlier, right?" Tetsu suddenly asked. The cat tilted its head.

For a while, there was silent, and Tetsu almost felt silly for trying to start a conversation with a cat.

And then, the cat spoke back.

"Interesting. For someone your age, you're quite perceptive."

The cat spoke to Tetsu in a rather deep voice which somehow clashed with its cute appearance.

Tetsu shrugged. "Well, being perceptive is necessary for someone like me. I'm an electrician, you know?" Then, he added, "And being a magical girl isn't complete without a mascot character."

The cat let out a huff. "A mascot character." He shook its head, seemingly taking exception to such a fact. "That is what I, the Great Saiph, the mentor of the Celestial Guardians, have been reduced into."

"If you resent being reduced into a mascot character, you should've chosen a more suitable form. Like a dog or something." Tetsu suggested nonchalantly.

"Heh. Well, I don't mind being a cat, honestly. Still, there is something that we need to address here…" Saiph looked at Tetsu. "You have been made aware of Haruka's secret as Glitter Orange, and yet she deems it wise for you to keep your recollections of it."

"She could use someone she can confide to, though as her animal sidekick, aren't you supposed to be her confidant?" Tetsu asked Saiph. The feline creature let out another huff, perhaps taking offense of being called an animal sidekick.

"My role is her supervisor. I keep track of her performance as the Celestial Guardian while providing her with guidance." Saiph looked down. "And it is regrettable that she has no one she can talk with regarding her duty, but the matter of supernatural threats isn't something that can be talked about freely with anyone." He stretched its body as he yawned. "Also, my circumstances may prevent me from being a proper confidant, and I am aware of the effect of her having to deal with this duty on her own."

"And yet you're still okay with her having to fight monsters on her own." Tetsu said. His tone almost sounded accusatory.

"Only teenage girls can harness the powers of Celestial Guardians. It is regrettable that we have to resort to this, but there's nothing that can be done about it." Saiph said. "I know I am in no position to say this to you, but… will you continue taking care of Haruka? I do not wish for her to break down from the weight of her burden. And since you seem to be fine with keeping her secret, I want you to continue supporting her in any way you can."

"She's my granddaughter." Tetsu replied simply. "I'll do anything for her."

"Then my worries are assuaged. You have my thanks." Saiph bowed his head. And with that, the cat walked out of the living room, presumably returning to Haruka's room.

"Huh."

Tetsu stared at the door for a while. He was actually surprised that it didn't surprise him. Well, after everything that had happened, he honestly thought nothing would surprise him anymore.

"Maybe I should buy him some cat food."