01x05 - Episode 5

[bunniefuu]

My first conversation with Akashi
was in February of this year.

What?

That retreating profile was one
I'd seen before.

Crossing that empty expanse of pure white,

she was the personification
of indomitable will.

What?

Hey!

You dropped this.

Thank you very much.

That's...

Mochiguma.

The fluffy squad, Mochiguman.

It was hard to forget
such an interesting name,

but even harder to forget her smile.

I told you, you've got it wrong!

Everyone's hiding somewhere, right?

Why the hell would we do that?

That's what I want to know!
I'm the one being pranked here!

Right to the end, Aijima refused
to believe the time machine was real.

He alone stayed in the present,

watching the ensuing fuss
with a cold glare.

- Thanks for the ride.
- Is everyone okay?

- I'm always fit as a fiddle.
- Yes.

That leaves just one of us.

When the time is right,
we'd better go back for Senpai.

No need for that!

Because I'm already here.

- What?
- What?

- Senpai!
- What?

How in the world did you make it back?

I didn't make it back.

- What?
- What?

Arriving at today was no easy feat.

I never even had an opportunity
to escape from the closet.

After the cola disaster came the wake
for the air conditioner,

and residents were constantly
in and out to pay their respects.

The least you could do is fake regret!

Regret is an emotion I do not possess.

When I came to,
I could hear myself and Ozu.

Stop, already!

It's a temporary truce.
We have a guest, you moron!

Idiots of a feather, flock together,
I suppose.

After that came
the time machine discovery,

the launch of the first expedition,
Tamura's reappearance,

and my own departure with Akashi.

The entire time, I hid in the closet,
unable to eat, drink, or use the toilet.

Stop this, now!

- Clever, right?
- You'll change the past!

Well done, Hanuki.

After being forced to witness the idiotic
behavior of Higuchi and the others...

I'll go too!

- Very well. The more the merrier.
- Wait, you foot!

You'll change the past!

How did you...

How long have you been in there?

Since yesterday, the whole time!

And so, I managed to return
to today on my own.

You were in the closet
the whole time, young one?

But how can that be the case?

It would mean there are two of you.

He's right.

You'll have a double existence.

That was true until just now,

but the other me left for yesterday
and never came back.

Or better put, the me who didn't
come back spent the night in the closet

and became the me I am now.

I see.

Which means everything's solved, right?

- Thank god!
- It's true!

In that case,
I apologize that it's so sudden,

- but I had better be going.
- What?

You're going home?

I'm told that everyone is worried.

"Everyone?"

Well, when I left to get
the remote just now,

I got a good scolding.

I see...

Everyone, it's been a pleasure!

- Don't ever come back, got it?
- You don't have to be so cold.

She's right!

It's all thanks to Tamura
that we got the remote back.

Yes and I almost died!

Come visit us any time you like.

No hesitation necessary.

Master! I'm very happy
to hear you say that!

If Tamura had never come
in the first place,

the universe would never
have been in danger.

But for some reason,
I couldn't find the heart to dislike him.

Okay everyone, live long and prosper!

Well, he went home.

Wait, are you saying
that really was a time machine?

You only caught on now?

Is Ms. Akashi here today?

I have something she forgot yesterday.

What could it be?

I'll go check.

So what next?

- This really calls for an after-party now.
- I agree!

We did save the universe after all.
Let's go all out!

- Yes! All right!
- It was actually Akashi and me

who saved the universe,
but I no longer had the strength to argue.

At that moment,
a question crept into my mind.

Isn't there something wrong here?

Like what?

The remote control you broke
was the one that Tamura brought.

That's right.

But doesn't that mean
it got repaired after it broke?

I suppose so.

Some electrician must have fixed it
or something.

Otherwise it wouldn't make sense.

No, it doesn't make sense at all!

What's wrong?

This can't be right!

Yesterday, you spilled
cola on the remote control.

The remote is repaired at some point.

It then gets used for the next 25 years

and Tamura, who came from 25 years later,
brings it to yesterday.

- You're right. It's a loop.
- I see. How very odd.

If this is how it is,
where did the remote come from?

It's true.
It just goes around in a circle.

Everyone! There's trouble!

There's trouble here too, Akashi.

Not as much trouble as this!

What is that?

It was inside the dog house.

The landlord thought
I'd forgotten it yesterday,

but that's not it!

It's Senpai's remote control!

What?

Don't tell me that's the one
I dropped in the swamp!

It must be.

It's bound in plastic wrap!

You're right.

Ketcha dug it up.

It was still here after 99 years?

It crossed a span of 99 years
to re-emerge today!

When we washed the mud away
and removed the plastic wrap,

it was the same old remote
we'd seen before.

After sinking into the swamp,

it spent 99 years
underground in that state

until it was retrieved by
Ketcha's obsessive digging.

You don't think it still works?

Don't be ridiculous!

It's been 99 years.

I carefully changed the batteries

and slowly pressed the power button.

- It worked!
- So that's what happened.

I redrew the diagram on the whiteboard.

After Ozu ran off
with the remote yesterday,

Akashi retrieved it,

and it reached the hands of Hanuki,

transported to today,

was bound in plastic wrap,

and returned to yesterday.

And it was then taken by Jogasaki
and dropped in a swamp 99 years ago.

It then spent 99 years submerged in mud,

and today,

it was dug up by Ketcha.

That is the remote control
here with us now

and it is used for the next 25 years.

In the spring


it is brought back by Tamura to yesterday

which was when Ozu spilled cola on it.

The remote suffers a fatal wound

that even a professional can't repair

and its lifespan
finally comes to an end here.

It was a truly incredible

125-year journey across space and time.

Even its pitiable death from a cola spill

had a strong sense of destiny.

The Remote Control
that Leapt through Time.

- What?
- Right?

Fried rice in midsummer
is the true dinner of youth!

Faced with a man with an insatiable
lust for fried rice

and a woman with an insatiable
lust for beer,

we made our way to where
those two paths often crossed

and scheduled our after-party
at a Chinese restaurant in Demachiyanagi.

DEMACHIYANAGI

What?

That's right!
I still owe you your glasses, Aijima.

I'll go get them.

While I was trapped in the closet,

I happened to spot them in a small gap.

You could say it was the only thing gained

from that cruel waste of a day.

Excuse me, I forgot something.

- You're back already?
- That's my bag! Please give it back!

Hey, that's...

Mochiguma.

My mother entrusted it to me
when I began living on my own.

"You'll feel lonely living by yourself,
so take this," she said.

Mochiguma.

The fluffy squad, Mochiguman.

You mean you're Akashi's...

I suppose that's what it means.

Why didn't you say anything?

You don't really think I could
tell her that to her face?

I have my duties
as a time traveler to uphold.

- Tamura's not even my real name.
- This can't be.

Oh, please don't tell my mom.

She doesn't know a thing yet.

You knew about all of this, didn't you?
Everything that would happen today...

I wouldn't go that far.

My mom is always too embarrassed
to tell me about her past.

You're leaving?

It's goodbye for real this time.

When I get back, there's an after-party
scheduled in Demachiyanagi

to celebrate my success
as a time traveler.

Just tell me one thing.

Your father...

The future must be grasped
with one's own hands.

You're too shabby
for a cool line like that.

I guess I've always been that way.

I wish you all the best.

Farewell!

There they are! My glasses!

- What took you so long?
- Hurry up!

- Sorry!
- The beer is waiting!

Did something happen?

No,

it's nothing.

Still, I can't believe you guys.

If you had a real time machine,
you should've found a better use!

Well, we did solve the mystery
of the Kappa Lord.

I haven't forgiven you yet, you know?

Let it go, young one.

You're a historical figure now!

It's good that we got the air conditioner
working, right Master?

Indeed. Now we can survive
the summer's remainder.

Are you planning to spend
the whole time in my room?

There's no need for that.

The cold air leaks
from your room to mine, young one.

- Seriously?
- You didn't know?

The walls at Shimogamo Yuusuiso are thin.

Thanks to you,
it's going to be another cool summer.

I'm sorry for not telling you!

It seems that Higuchi had enjoyed
his summers in comfort for years.

Looking back,

when Room 209 was vacant,

the one who preached to me the benefits
of an air-conditioned 4.5 tatami room...

was Ozu.

Young one,
I grant you entrance to our sect.

Here's to a happy future together.

- What? You selfish...
- I'm glad to hear it.

You heard him. Here's to our happy future.

- Are you capable of anything but villainy?
- Don't be like that.

This, too, was all for your sake.

It's my personal expression of love.

Who would want something that disgusting?

Senpai!

I was thinking of something
for a while now.

Even with a time machine,

I'll bet it's impossible
to change the past.

Come on.

The past didn't change because we worked
desperately to make things consistent.

But the others continued
doing as they pleased.

Even so, things still
miraculously worked out.

Naturally, I'm not saying
that our efforts were wasted.

Maybe all those things were just meant
to happen all along.

For example, it occurred to me
that time is like a single book.

We can't see all the contents at once.

We have to read them one page at a time.

But the contents themselves

are already assembled as a single volume.

That includes the distant past

and the distant future.

So everything is predetermined?

That's right.

The time machine's arrival,

the events it caused,

the remote control breaking,

and the fact that
we're standing here right now.

But then, that sounds a little too...

Even so, we know nothing of the future.

Not knowing means
that we're capable of anything.

In other words, one could think
of that as freedom.

Well, we know that Tamura
will be born, eventually.

That's true! There's no changing that.

The only issue left
was the Gozan no Okuribi bonfire.

Was the date we made, born from my
reversal of fortune, still on?

Everyone! Let's hurry to the after-party!

- Okay!
- Right!

Who is Tamura's father?

Is it someone we know?

Or is it some jerk who swoops in later?

Who cares?

Senpai.

Where shall we go to see Gozan no Okuribi?

And so, our summer came to an end.

Those days would never return,

even with the help of a time machine.

As for how things developed between
Akashi and I, I'll omit the details.

I'm sure you don't want to
waste your time on such things either.

There's nothing worse than hearing
someone brag about fulfilled romance.