Part 1
In the Tsubasa family dojo, the wooden floor creaked with each thrust.
Makoto was breathing hard, shinai still raised, while his opponent fell in defeat.
"Twenty-three straight wins, Makoto-kun! You're a monster!"
"I'm not a monster," he replied, solemnly sheathing the bamboo sword.
"I'm just... a worried big brother."
The room fell silent. Then, one of the students murmured:
"Did you have another dream about someone taking your sister away? You said his name was... Touma? Her boyfriend?"
Makoto gripped his shinai so tightly it creaked.
"That wasn't a dream! It was a prophecy—delivered via selfie!"
He spun around dramatically and pulled a photo from his pocket.
It showed Akari in a pink dress, smiling as she held a teddy bear.
And right beside her... Touma, smiling too.
"Look at that face! That's the smile of a little-sister thief!"
The others weren't sure whether to laugh or run.
A blue-haired boy sitting cross-legged looked at him with a dead-serious expression.
"Have you considered seeing a psychologist? Honestly, your case might be worth publishing."
"You mean... I should go to Okinawa?" Makoto asked in a low, ominous voice.
"…That's not even remotely what I said."
Ignoring logic entirely, Makoto turned to face the dojo exit, where the sea shimmered in the distance.
"Thanks, Tanaka! I knew you were a true friend! Let's head to the airport right now!"
Tanaka let out a deep sigh.
"Fine. But at least take a shower, will you? And pack a bag."
"Wait... do I really smell that bad?"
Tanaka was already typing something on his phone with inhuman precision.
"What are you doing? Back to your dating sim again?"
Tanaka glanced at him with absolute calm.
"How exactly were you planning to get to Okinawa?"
"Hehe... I didn't think that far," Makoto admitted, flashing that classic big-brother grin—the kind you see after he's already done something reckless.
"Knew it. Same old impulsive you…"
"My love for Akari knows no bounds. Logic has no place in matters of the heart!"
Tanaka sighed again, long and deep.
"Shower up and get ready for three or four days. We're leaving for Okinawa tonight."
He turned his phone toward Makoto. Reservations were already booked.
Makoto jumped up and hugged him tight.
"Thank you! I knew you'd get it!"
He bolted into the house without another word.
"Idiot…" Tanaka murmured, smiling to himself. "Like I'd let you stew in worry over Akari."
He tapped a number on his phone.
"Yes, Master Tanaka? How may I assist you?"
"Alfred, come pick me up. We're heading out in a few hours."
"As you wish."
Tanaka ended the call and looked out toward the ocean, where the sunset painted the horizon in warm orange hues.
"Well… a little break now and then doesn't sound so bad."
Meanwhile, in the city of Tenryu, Touma Kisaragi—absentminded by nature—was wandering through the shopping district.
"Hope the next store has that pajama Akari wanted…" he muttered, glancing up at the sky.
"If you had listened to me, Touma-sama, you'd probably be back in the dorms by now instead of aimlessly wandering," Ellie scolded in her usual reproachful digital tone.
"You just don't get it, Ellie."
"Get what, exactly?"
Touma adjusted his glasses like he was about to reveal some ancient truth.
"It's not about the destination… it's about the journey."
"…Huh?"
"That's right. I could just buy it online if I wanted. But then I'd miss out on the real adventure."
"The real adventure is… wasting time walking around?"
Touma nearly tripped over the weight of that statement.
"You're wrong! What I mean is… things feel more valuable when you've worked hard to get them."
[...]
"Ellie?"
"…Apologies, Touma-sama. I still struggle to grasp human emotions sometimes. But… I suppose you have a point."
Touma stopped in front of the last store at the end of the shopping arcade.
The storefront looked more like an antique shop than a clothing store.
Behind the dusty glass window, retro robot dolls from the '80s, old game cartridges, and all sorts of out-of-fashion trinkets were stacked in disorganized harmony.
"…Are you sure about going in there, Touma-sama?" Ellie asked with suspicion. "There are no official records of this store on the net. Just one user review… on Mikupedia."
"That sounds like a stamp of quality to me," Touma replied solemnly, pushing open the door without hesitation.
The inside felt like a retro toy store crossed with a secondhand shop from another dimension.
"Welcome, young man! Welcome to Expresso Espacial!"
"If we don't have it… we'll find it! That's our motto!"
Touma eyed the man warily.
He looked like a beachside version of Professor Kirishima—floral red shirt, hair styled like a crashing wave, and a grin brighter than the store's lighting.
"Good afternoon, sir. I'm looking for this bear pajama… children's model, from 1995," he said, showing the image on his phone.
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm… I don't think it'll fit you, kid."
"It's not for me! It's for someone else! I just need to know if you have it."
"Aah! That changes everything!"
The man vanished between shelves and strands of beaded curtains, muttering to himself.
"If memory serves… that was a special collab between My Little Bear and UmiClon from '95…"
"That is correct, Touma-sama," Ellie chimed in. "The current UmiClon model is merely a replica. The one you're searching for is the original Akari used to have."
A few minutes later, the man returned triumphantly with a plastic-wrapped box.
"Here it is! Limited Edition: Pink Bear, Size Small… pristine condition."
"Only thing is… it'll be 15,000 yen."
Touma swallowed hard.
"F-Fifteen thousand!?"
The man looked at him curiously.
"Well, if you don't like the price, we can always go back to 1995 and buy it for 1,000 yen," he said, pulling the cover off a nearby vehicle.
Beneath the dusty tarp sat a Totoya Trueno (RT86).
"With this baby and 5,000 yen, I'll take you straight to it."
"…I see," Touma said, as if genuinely considering the offer.
"You didn't hesitate even for a second, Touma-sama."
"C'mon, Ellie. I know a girl who can stop time, and another who punches mechas into scrap metal. Not to mention I've got a self-aware AI living in my glasses…"
"Why wouldn't you trust a guy like this?" Ellie replied, clearly resigned.
"You're right. Please disregard my earlier skepticism, Touma-sama."
Touma turned back to the man.
"Does that car… really travel through time?"
The man burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
"You're hilarious, kid! Of course it does! Hop in, and I'll take you straight to the '80s! It's a trip down memory lane!"
"Knew it. Just a regular old car."
"Ahem…"
"For a second there, I actually thought it could take me to the past."
"And it can. The car's just for sitting in."
They stared at each other in mutual confusion.
"…Wait, so is it a time machine or not?"
"Of course not. That kind of tech doesn't exist... as far as I know."
"But my Astra Core lets me travel through time."
"And what does that have to do with the car?"
"Because I like to travel in style," the man replied with a wink. His smile sparkled with a literal flash.
. . .
Touma pulled out his wallet and placed 15,000 yen on the counter.
"Wrap it up as a gift, please, Doc."
The man simply shrugged.
"You take the fun outta life, kid," he said, carefully wrapping the pajama box.
Touma grabbed the shopping bag and headed slowly for the door.
"Come back anytime! If I don't have it... I'll find it!" the man shouted, raising a hand.
Once outside, Touma let out a sigh.
"Eccentric old man… almost had me falling for his nonsense."
"Well, we'll never know for sure, Touma-sama. Though there are no records in the NovaTech database of any Astra Core capable of such feats… it would've been interesting to investigate."
"Ellie… don't tell me you believe him. He played us for fools."
"And what's your basis for that assumption?"
"If he really had that power, he'd have gone back in time, won the lottery, or bet on horse races. He'd be filthy rich by now."
. . .
Ellie fell silent for a moment, as if calculating endless outcomes.
"Maybe… he doesn't care about money. From what little I've learned about humans, not everyone thinks the same way."
Touma remained quiet, lost in thought, as he headed back toward Seisen Academy.
Inside the store, the man had taken a seat behind the wheel of the RT86. He glanced down at an old digital wristwatch with a calendar display.
"February 1st, 1995… Funny how UmiClon capitalized on the Kobe incident to launch those teddy bear pajamas," he murmured.
"To think… even with this power, I couldn't help those people…" he added, his eyes fixed wistfully on the flickering screen.
"Anyway, it's not my business. I don't want NovaTech snooping around here. Just need to track down another to replace the one that sold."
And so, the mysterious shopkeeper sat quietly in his car, eyes still on the watch.
The blinking display read: February 1st, 1995.
As if, deep down… he was still trapped in that very day.