II - FOR THE ONE YOU LOVE (Doraemon Reimagination Series)

2 - A FRIEND IN NEED

Midnight struck. Nobita threw open the window of his room: all dressed up. He was wearing a blue t-shirt, a pair of green full pants, a pair of white boots along with a light jacket thrown upon his shirt, the hood pulled up over his head, and a backpack on his back. He equipped the top of his head with the bamboo-copter that Doraemon had given him for all-purpose use.

Holding the window slide with his right hand and placing his left foot on the window sill: ready to hop out at any moment, he turned his head slowly to get a glance at the cupboard in his room; inside which Doraemon was probably fast asleep by now. Flushed, he sadly mumbled, "I'm so sorry, Doraemon. But this is the only way. Thank you for everything you've done for me so far." Putting a hand inside his jacket pocket and pulling out the same diary which contained Shizuka's whereabouts, he looked at the screen of information in front of him. "Thank you for sticking to it and finding out where Shizuka was. It means a lot to me. It really means a lot!!!" He tucked the diary back into his pocket and with one leap, hoped out of the window and into the black depths of the midnight sky.

Flying through the black night sky, with a few faraway stars in it, Nobita......

I can't believe that Shizuka's in Tokyo. We've been searching everywhere for her. Different countries, different places, even different timelines; thinking, maybe she was in the past or the future. Except for the place we already were living in. The present Tokyo?! That seemed to be the most obvious and unlikely place for Cash to hide a hostage, considering how smart he is.....

But now that I think about it. This whole thing does make sense. Home is the last place anyone would suspect. Patrol officers probably start their search missions by the most intricate hiding locations scattered all around the globe but never the place where she actually came from. And that is totally logical too, from their point of view. 

Hiding Shizuka in her own hometown in the same timeline, huh? That was quite a trick Cash managed to pull off with such delicacy. How cunningly deceptive of that bastard! But it's time to finally pull that same reliable rug he's been standing on for all these months from under his feet. We've had enough. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! This time, I'm bringing back Shizuka no matter what.

Nobita slowly landed on the deserted street below. The small blades of his copter decelerating and coming to a stop. With tapping steps, he began marching forward, taking extra care in trying not to wake anyone in the neighborhood up. The hood still pulled up, he thought: I've never been to this area of Tokyo before. Taking out the diary from his pocket again and staring at the map showing on the screen. There was a red dot advancing towards the destination. It was a small green expanse of land. He thought: Is it supposed to be a playground or something. On the map here, it looks like an open yard. 

Looking up at the street from the screen, he tucked the diary back inside his pocket and smiled, more like in confusion than out of fun or humor. Now, this is the part that doesn't make sense to me. Why on earth would Cash hide out Shizuka in a place so open and indiscreet. There's no way someone like him can be that stupid. I guess he's hiding out underground, somewhere around the corner but several feet below the ground. That makes things difficult to sort out I guess.

Arriving at the destination. he made a right-angled turn to look at the spot marked on the map. Slowly he pulled his face up to encounter the long-awaited place.....he's been longing to find this particular place for months now..... the green expanse..... like a yard or a playground..... he didn't care at all about what it was. As soon as his eyes met the sight before, his jaws dropped: his stomach making a somersault and his eyes spirally out of focus. He had nothing to say. Nothing at all. He was simply.......stunned !

"Now where do you think you're going, then?"

Nobita didn't respond; or rather didn't know how to respond (he was so much taken aback).