The next morning, Nobita didn't show up late again. But this time, Daichi Yayahara suddenly wanted to see how he managed to arrive on time, so he activated his sensory magic to the highest level.
Sure enough, just a few minutes before class started, a figure flew across the sky, holding a bow and arrow aimed precisely at the target hidden in the school's bushes.
"So that's how it is, a guaranteed bullseye arrow?"
Daichi had a sudden urge to pull a prank, but he held himself back—after all, he needed a favor today, so better not push it.
Before long, Nobita appeared in front of the class just in time for lessons. Though everyone was surprised, they didn't make a fuss—yesterday had already set a precedent, so they were getting used to it.
By the time the final class of the day rolled around, everyone was paying close attention—except for one student who was sleeping, and another who was pretending to listen while secretly using magic to rush through their homework.
As the teacher dismissed the class, Daichi had just finished all his homework.
Then he turned his gaze to Nobita, who was packing up his things.
Daichi told Dekisugi that he had something to do today, told him to go home and do his homework quickly, and that he'd catch up with him later.
Then he went after Nobita, who was skipping happily out the school gate.
Nobita was happily planning what games to play when he got home, when a hand gently landed on his shoulder and a low voice whispered into his ear, "Nobita, I need your help. Come with me."
Before he could cry out, his mouth was covered and he was dragged toward the grove inside the school grounds. The strength in that hand made him abandon any thought of resistance.
Once inside the grove, Nobita finally turned around and saw the culprit behind his "kidnapping": Daichi Yayahara. He let out a breath of relief—it wasn't Gian, at least. Daichi could be reasoned with.
"Uh… Daichi, that's a pretty unique way of calling someone over, hahaha."
Nobita gave an awkward laugh as he looked at his classmate, whose expression rarely changed and who possessed overwhelming strength.
"If you don't mind, I can always call you like this from now on," said Daichi, expression unreadable. Nobita could only smile and say, "No, that's alright."
Daichi waved a hand to end the small talk, then said, "I'm here today to ask a favor. It's sudden, but I can only turn to you."
Nobita hesitated. He and Daichi didn't interact much, though he had helped him before… but he'd also hit him. Should he help or not? And what exactly did he need help with?
Seeing his hesitation, Daichi knew he had to up the ante. He whispered a second-tier strength incantation and gently snapped a tree branch nearby. "Are you sure you want to say no?"
A chill shot down Nobita's spine. He quickly replied, "N-no, I'm happy to help if I can!"
Satisfied, Daichi nodded and said, "Then I'll count on you. Let's head to your house first."
So the two of them went back to Nobita's home. As expected, Doraemon was there enjoying a snack—dorayaki and a cup of tea, the classic combo from memory.
"Doraemon, this is Daichi Yayahara. He's got something he'd like your help with," said Nobita, putting down his schoolbag.
Doraemon tossed the dorayaki into the air and caught it in his mouth, his eyes curving into cheerful arcs.
After swallowing, he said, "Whatever the trouble is, just say it!"
"Well, it's not really my trouble—Dekisugi wants to see the future. So I was hoping you could help us out. Since you can travel back from the future, there must be a way to return, right?"
"Oh, that's easy! No problem at all! Just go bring him over and we can leave right away!"
Daichi nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you!"
Then, wrapping an arm around Nobita's neck, he added, "Thanks for your help. Next time Gian bullies you, I'll make sure to step in!" With that, he left Nobita's room.
No sooner had he stepped out than Nobita turned to Doraemon and said, "Can I go too?"
Doraemon nodded with a smile. A trip to the future—so long as there was room on the time machine, it was fine.
Besides, with their abilities, there was no way they could cause any major problems in the future, so Doraemon wasn't worried at all.
Daichi walked slowly back home. When he got there, he saw Dekisugi working on homework. He walked up and asked, "How much do you have left?"
"Just this last book. There wasn't much homework today."
Dekisugi didn't even look up while talking, and his hand kept moving without pause—he clearly had multitasking down to a fine art.
Daichi sat beside him, put his bag on the desk, and waited.
From his experience, it wouldn't take Dekisugi more than ten minutes to finish a notebook—worth the wait.
Sure enough, in under five minutes, he was done. Then he noticed Daichi watching him so intently and got a little embarrassed.
"Um… is something up?"
"I thought you'd remember—I told you last night, we're going on a trip to the future!"
"Huh?" Dekisugi looked surprised. "I thought you were just trying to get me to sleep early. Going to the future isn't something you can just decide on a whim—it must be complicated."
Daichi stared at him expressionlessly, thinking: It really isn't easy. Didn't you notice we've never had time travelers in our world? But the rules here are different—I've got no choice.
Come to think of it, Earth has had people claiming to be from the future… who knows if they were real or just fakes chasing fame and fortune.
As he sat there looking at Dekisugi, his thoughts drifted far away.
Dekisugi, unaware, assumed Daichi was mad at him for forgetting.
"Ah, um," Dekisugi gave a sheepish laugh. "Well, since everything's ready, let's go have a look together!" He stood up, ready to leave. Daichi nodded and stood up as well.
The two of them then headed to Nobita's house. Nobita and Doraemon had been waiting.
"Thank you for this!" Dekisugi was far more polite than Daichi and bowed in thanks.
Nobita and Doraemon quickly waved their hands. "No trouble at all!"
"Alright then, let's get ready! Oh, and when we get to the future, try not to act too surprised—just be your usual selves."
As Doraemon spoke, he opened a drawer. A gentle light glowed from the time-space tunnel inside.
Daichi looked inside. The tunnel was blue, and along its walls were countless shadowy clocks, their hands frozen at a single moment.
Beneath the exit, a machine lay quietly in the river of time.
Doraemon jumped in first, landing steadily on the time machine. Nobita and Dekisugi followed. Daichi was the last to get in.
As he landed on the time machine, the markings on the sigil in his mind representing "past" and "future" lit up and began absorbing the abundant magical energy around them.
He wasn't sure if this absorption would cause problems, but there was nothing he could do—it was the power of nature, and he was still too weak to resist.
Luckily, the absorption was slow and shouldn't cause any noticeable effects—at least not in the short term.
"Everyone ready? We're heading to the 22nd century. Hold on tight—if you fall into the time tunnel, it'll be very hard to get you back. Now, launch!"
As he said that, he raised his chubby hand and pressed the red start button on the control panel.
The time machine began to accelerate, and everyone gripped the handrails tightly to avoid being flung out.
But just after launch, Daichi felt something wrong. As the machine ran, the absorption in his sigil intensified.
The entire sigil lit up, and the patterns on it began to flow like water, as if new ones were about to form.
His sea of consciousness began to tremble with intense pain.
There had never been any record of this happening to those who engraved the "past" and "future" sigils.
Maybe it was because no one before had attempted time travel at this stage.
Although the increasingly complex patterns signaled evolution, it was an unknown evolution—with unknown consequences.
Right now, the turmoil in his mind was so great that even thinking clearly became difficult.
And with everyone around, he couldn't show any signs of discomfort—questions would only bring more trouble.
"This is bad…"
(End of Chapter)