DING! DING!! DING!!!
DING! DING!! DING!!!
It was a clear Friday noon. The school bell had just gone marking the end of Friday class. Inside sat Nobita, gazing out the window into the vast blue sky, studded with white feathery clouds. Students were all having light winter clothes on them since winter was around the corner. After their teacher announced the end of their lecture, they all stood up, bowed to him, and greeted him with a 'Thank You'. No sooner did the teacher depart from the classroom than a usual hustle inside the room followed. They began gossiping with each other, trying to make plans for the rest of the day and the weekend all the while packing up their stuff from the desk and putting them into their individual backpacks.
Meanwhile,
Similarly, Nobita put back all his notebooks from the desk into his backpack, threw down the strap on top of the chain, placed the bag on his back, straps on his shoulders, and headed straight for the door, and outside the classroom. Down the stairs......
"Hey Shizuka, have you been waiting for me all along?"
"Well, of course, I was. You were called back by the teacher. I thought you might need company after a session alone with the teacher, right?"
"Oh thank you! You are always so kind."
"You're my friend after all. Why wouldn't I be?"
Walking down the stairs, out into the open field and the entrance gate, Nobita headed towards his home: without speaking a single word to anyone all along the way. Lost in his thoughts, he looked like he needed company but also, at the same time, he didn't.
Gian and Suneo who were still packing up their stuff, watched Nobita leave like that from the classroom. Gian got out from his desk and went towards Suneo's one. Suneo was sitting on his chair, putting books inside his backpack, staring down at the field through the glass window from where Nobita was just leaving.
Placing a hand over Suneo's desk, Gian added in a concerned tone, "He's been like this since the time we've returned from the island months ago."
Suneo replied, not startled at all from Gian suddenly appearing behind him and starting a conversation, "You're right. But to be fair, we've all kinda been over the edge since that island incident and the fact that Shizuka has gone missing."
Seeing Nobita vanish from the view, Gian shrieked, "To be completely honest, I'm really worried about him. I've never really seen Nobita like this before."
Suneo nodded his head in agreement.
Gian claimed, "We've tried so many things, haven't we, Suneo? I don't think there's anything left for us to try. We've tried to instill all kinds of emotion inside him but nothing made any difference in him. Good grief!"
"We tried to scare the sh*t outta him with a ghost prank and he didn't even flinch. We wished him and took big presents for him on his birthday, but he didn't show a trace of happiness on his face. Hell, we even tried the most effective tactic against him, threatening him of beating up real bad for no reason whatsoever, yet still, he showed no reaction....." Suneo sighed.
Gian chuckled, "Yeah, that kinda sucked though, Suneo. A whimpering Nobita always gives me a different kind of pleasure."
Suneo, looking at Gian, laughed, "I have to admit you're true. That indeed is a joy on its own." Gian said, "But nowadays he has completely changed. Since Shizuka's gone, he has become so catatonic and distant from everyone else."
Looking back outside the window, Suneo continued, "Yeah I know. And that's what scares me though. He looks like a person who's lost the only thing that mattered to him. He looks so lost--as if--as if completely dead--from the inside......"
Gian let out a groan of absolute concern for his friend.
Nobita entered through the door, took off his shoes, effortlessly walking through the hallway made his way to the staircase. His Mom, sensing him return back from school, shouted from the kitchen, "Are you home, Nobita?"
An empty reply came from the stairs, "Yes Mom."
His Mom stepped out of the kitchen, looking hopefully at the stairs, from where Nobita was already gone. With a slight tinge of worry about her son, she thought, "I hope he manages to pull through. Shizuka gone missing has shattered him. He will. I know he will. He's my son."
------CREAK------
Nobita walked inside his room and slid back the door close behind him. The room was deserted. He tossed his bag to the side of his desk and walked towards the window. Gazing out at the clear sky, he muttered to himself, "Today's the day. Doraemon talked something about going out with Mii-chan today. So he's most likely to remain outdoors for a while."
He slid shut the windows and moved back to the center of the room, saying, "What does Doraemon think I am? Does he really think that I am that big of an idiot? I know him better than anyone else in this whole world," walking up to the sliding cupboard to the right of him, inside which Doraemon sleeps at night, "Lately, I've noticed that he's been a bit secretive. Clearly, he's hiding something," opening the door, "And I might have a pretty good idea about what that is."
He placed his hand under the pillow and pulled out a white pouch--Doraemon spare pocket from underneath it. Putting his right hand inside the pocket and holding it with his left hand, "He is always occupied with it nowadays. Since I haven't asked for any of his gadgets for months now so I'm guessing the nearest gadget," rummaging through the 4D space, "the first one that reaches my hand," pulling out a weird looking diary from its interiors, "must be it...."
"Huh!? What's this? A diary?" Nobita commented, looking at the small notebook in his hand. He put the spare pocket away and sat at his desk, placing the hands holding the diary on top. He slowly opened the diary, "What?! It isn't a traditional notebook. It's digital. It's like a digital diary. What's with the exterior get up?" Seeing a red button, he declared, "A red button! This must be the start button. Has to be, right? Right? Right?" He ultimately chose to press the button and shutting his eyes close, thought: Anyways, what's the worst thing that could happen to me now. I am already facing the worst nightmare of my life--losing Shizuka to a sadistic madman and not being to do anything to go and rescue her.
BEEP!!!
The screen of the digital diary popped up in front of him. He unclosed his eyes and looked at the screen. A female operator robot came up on the screen, wearing a white frock and her green hair tied up into two cute ponytails. Nobita peered at it in confusion, not knowing what to do next. The operator said, "Welcome back, Mr. Doraemon. Would you like to go back and pick up from where you left? If so, please press the arrowhead at the bottom of the screen. To switch to reading mode, please press the eye icon on the top left corner of the screen. To make a new log entry, please press the plus sign on the top right corner of the screen."
A new log entry?!
Nobita pondered for a while. Then, without giving his choice any second thoughts, pressed the arrowhead first, followed by the eye icon, thinking to himself: I'm so sorry, Doraemon. I know that I'm doing something really terrible here. You trusted me by telling me where you kept your spare pocket all the time and I'm here invading your privacy like this. He said the last words aloud, "I'm doing it because I know you really well. And right now, I feel like there's only one thing that you would consider hiding from me. And that thing is the only thing that matters to me the most at this very moment. It's not just a hunch; I'm pretty sure that what I supposed is true."
Dozens of files, articles, maps, and reports popped up on the screen as soon as the two buttons were pressed. Nobita looked closely at them; he scanned through each and every one of them in a hurry and, getting a brief idea about what its contents were, Nobita screamed in joy, "Bingo!"
He accidentally pushed the chair back in excitement, which eventually fell on the ground. Standing on his two feet, he held the diary in his outstretched hands, high up in the air, "I knew it. He was searching for Shizuka on his own, after all. He even found out where she is only just recently. That was the reason why he acted so secretive and weird around me for the past couple of days," grabbing the diary tightly on his chest with his arms, "I know Doraemon. He would never let something that matters to me so much go just like that. He will try his best to help even though Time Patrol was at it." Tearing up in the joy of finding out about Shizuka's whereabouts, he said, "I know why you did it, Doraemon. I totally understand You didn't want me to go after her. Getting myself into danger again in an attempt of trying to rescue Shizuka from this mess!"
Closing the diary shut and putting the small thing inside his pant pocket, he walked to the window and pulled open the windows again. Looking out at the sky, he thought, his tone emotional and sad: But did you really think you could stop me, Doraemon? If you'd really known me, you should've known that stopping me from getting involved in something like this was practically impossible. Shizuka is kidnapped and I wouldn't go out to save her? That's such preposterous thinking, even for your level, Doraemon.
Turning around and leaning on the window pane, staring up at the ceiling of the room, Nobita closed his eyes and with a soft smile on his face (something that has not been there for four months now) thought: I admit that going after Shizuka is borderline idiotic and extremely dangerous. But how could I not?
I LOVE HER MORE THAN ANYTHING.
I CARE ABOUT HER MORE THAN I DO MYSELF.
Chuckling, he bent down his head, directing his gaze towards the floor and thinking again:
I EVEN CONFESSED MY FEELINGS FOR HER, DAMMIT! HOW CAN I LEAVE HER AFTER THAT??
YOU TELL ME, DORAEMON. IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE???
*********
to be contd.......
(This is the official first part of season 2. I really hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I'll be back with the next chapter soon. Vote if you liked it and comment down below your opinions.)