That evening, things were calm at the Yayahara household. Dekisugi didn't ask how Daichi Yayahara managed to flip Gian over his shoulder with one hand, sparing Daichi the trouble of coming up with an excuse. But over at Nobita's house… things were far from calm.
And no, the chaos didn't come from Nobita himself. The kid could probably sleep through the end of the world.
Tonight, someone who had been watching Nobita all day finally made his move—by crawling out of Nobita's desk drawer!
Nobita stirred from his dreams at the sound of someone calling his name. Bleary-eyed, he blinked at the fuzzy blue shape in front of him.
Groggily fumbling for his glasses, he slid them on—only to let out a scream and bolt toward the door.
"Tanuki! Help! A tanuki!" he yelled, banging frantically on the door.
The blue creature jumped out of the drawer, his round face turning red with indignation. "Who are you calling a tanuki?! You're the tanuki! I'm a cat!"
Just then, another voice came from behind him. "Alright, Doraemon, calm down."
A boy in yellow overalls, who looked eerily similar to Nobita, emerged from the drawer and waved. "Let me explain everything that's about to happen and why I'm here, Great-Grandfather."
...
The next morning, Daichi and Dekisugi arrived at school early as usual. The classroom was empty, as it often was at this hour. Dekisugi sometimes checked if the cleaning was done properly, but most of the time he just sat quietly, either reviewing the day's lessons or double-checking his homework.
Daichi, on the other hand, usually flipped through a book and pretended to study. Fourth-grade material just didn't interest him at all.
Before long, other students began to arrive, starting—unsurprisingly—with Shizuka. They exchanged greetings and went back to their books.
Then, in came a few more classmates.
With about ten minutes left before class, three boys entered the room.
Daichi didn't even look up. He activated his Detection spell and sensed Gian, Suneo… and Nobita?
Wait—Nobita!?
His head snapped up. Sure enough, there he was—Nobita Nobi, walking into the classroom on time.
Every jaw in the classroom dropped. Even Gian and Suneo stared at him in stunned disbelief. The entire room froze, unable to process this sudden shift in the natural order.
Nobita. Was. Not. Late.
Some students dropped their books. The collective brain of Class 4-2 had just crashed.
"Incredible…" was the only thought that remained in most students' minds, including Daichi's.
He was the first to recover, scanning Nobita carefully. His eyes locked onto a clue—Nobita was carrying his outdoor shoes in his hands while wearing indoor slippers.
That meant… he didn't pass through the shoe lockers at the entrance. A normal route wouldn't allow that.
While it could've been forgetfulness, Nobita didn't look the slightest bit flustered about it. He clearly knew he was holding his shoes.
That could only mean one thing: non-standard travel.
"So… Doraemon's here already. Just as I thought. Must've been the Anywhere Door," Daichi mused. He'd have to confirm it soon. If it was true, then he'd need to be more cautious. Doraemon's gadgets could be wildly unpredictable.
At that moment, Shizuka walked up to Nobita and smiled. "Hey, Nobita! You're early today!"
Nobita beamed, blushing. "It's all thanks to Doraemon!"
Hearing this, Daichi facepalmed. Seriously? Why am I worrying so much about a guy this dumb…
Fortunately, everyone's attention was on Nobita, or Daichi might've gotten laughed at for slapping himself in public.
Good thing Doraemon's existence didn't need to be kept secret. Otherwise, Nobita would've gotten chewed out by Doraemon on day one.
Watching Nobita strut proudly, Daichi knew—life was about to get interesting.
Soon, Gian grabbed Nobita by the collar, insisting he introduce this mysterious Doraemon after school. Nobita tried to weasel out of it, but the friendly menace in Gian's eyes convinced him otherwise. He reluctantly agreed to meet at the vacant lot after school.
Later that day, Daichi, Dekisugi, Shizuka, Suneo, and Gian all gathered to wait.
Daichi had dragged Dekisugi along. At first, Dekisugi declined, but when he heard that Doraemon was the one who got Nobita to school on time, his curiosity got the better of him.
Finally, Nobita arrived—trailing a round, blue figure behind him.
Daichi's heart skipped a beat.
There he was.
The childhood dream of so many. The blue, round body. The clean, smooth lines. The gentle bob as he walked. The mitten-like hands. He looked exactly like in the anime—only more real, and infinitely cuter.
"Hello, everyone!" Doraemon waved cheerfully as he walked up to them.
He stopped in front of the group and said, "I'm Doraemon, a cat-type robot from the 22nd century. Nice to meet you!"
"Aww, he's so cute!" Shizuka squealed, unable to resist his charm.
Everyone greeted Doraemon in turn. Daichi, of course, kept his usual expressionless face.
It was only now that he realized—being expressionless had its perks. Nobody could tell what he was thinking. Super convenient.
Once the greetings were done, Gian immediately asked, "Hey, Doraemon! You said that Anywhere Door thing can go anywhere, right? Can we try it?"
"Of course!" Doraemon replied cheerfully, reaching into his pouch… and pulling out a full-sized door.
A whole door.
From that tiny pouch.
Dekisugi's brain froze instantly. Daichi could practically see him turn to stone.
Yep. That hit hard. Turned to stone just like that… This world really has some fun rules, Daichi mused with a smirk.
Even he had to admit—seeing a full door come out of a tiny pocket was something else.
If he hadn't been mentally prepared and already detached from science, he might've reacted the same way.
The others didn't think too deeply about it. Gian and Suneo weren't exactly deep thinkers, and Doraemon had quietly activated a gadget to make his tech seem less strange over time. As long as he didn't overdo it early on, no one would question much.
Doraemon demonstrated the Anywhere Door's power, then sent each person home one by one.
When it was Daichi and Dekisugi's turn, Dekisugi was still frozen. Daichi sighed and asked to be sent to Dekisugi's house. He carried his stone-like roommate through the door.
After setting Dekisugi down, Daichi turned to Doraemon and Nobita. "You can close the door now."
"Huh?" Nobita blinked. "Aren't we supposed to take you home? Isn't it kind of bad to leave you here?"
Daichi paused. Oh, right. He hadn't mentioned to them that he lived with Dekisugi.
"I live here. With Dekisugi."
He glanced at his still-paralyzed friend and added, "You can ask him tomorrow if you want proof."
"…Alright then. See you tomorrow!" said Nobita.
Doraemon closed the Anywhere Door, and it disappeared before Daichi's eyes.
Whew… If I weren't mentally stable, I might've ended up like Dekisugi too…
He walked over and leaned in close to Dekisugi's ear. "Hey, Dekisugi!"
Dekisugi jolted out of his stupor and collapsed onto the floor, still visibly shaken.
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah… I'm fine," he stammered, standing up and grabbing his schoolbag. "Let's do our homework."
That night, Daichi resumed his usual magical training. But he noticed that Dekisugi hadn't fallen asleep yet.
He turned to see him lying awake, eyes reflecting the moonlight.
"Something on your mind?" Daichi asked.
"Yeah…" Dekisugi nodded. "Doraemon's gadgets were incredible. I can't stop wondering what the future's really like. I want to see it for myself."
Daichi replied without hesitation. "Then go see it."
"Really?" Dekisugi looked over in surprise.
"Really." Daichi gave him a firm answer. "Now sleep. We'll go tomorrow."
"…Okay."