Doraemon: Starting by Taking Care of Tamako Nobi

As they strolled arm-in-arm through the lively street, a fragrant scent wafted through the air.

Sweet and rich like honey.

Hiro sniffed lightly, blinking as he recognized the unmistakable aroma of roasted sweet potatoes Shizuka's favorite.

Beside him, the girl's small upturned nose twitched. She had clearly noticed it too.

Without a word, Hiro gently led her around the corner, where they found a street vendor pushing a cart filled with steaming roasted sweet potatoes.

"Two, please," Hiro said, stepping up to the cart and fishing a 500-yen coin from his wallet.

The vendor, a middle-aged man with a white headscarf, nodded and began wrapping the piping hot treats.

"Um, Hiro... maybe we should eat something else instead," Shizuka murmured shyly, tugging on his sleeve with flushed cheeks.

After all, even for a young girl, eating roasted sweet potatoes in public wasn't exactly considered ladylike.

No matter the age, whether a graceful mother or a demure girl, no one wanted their love for sweet potatoes openly exposed.

"Why? Don't you like them?" Hiro asked with a straight face.

"It's not that..."

"Then that settles it. Roasted sweet potatoes taste best when eaten hot."

"Here. One for each of us."

He took the warm parcels from the vendor and handed one to Shizuka before peeling open his own and taking a bite.

Sweet, soft, and just the right amount of sticky it was delicious straight from the fire.

"Well, I guess I won't hold back then," Shizuka said.

Watching Hiro enjoy his so openly, she couldn't help but swallow her hesitation along with her pride. Since the sweet potato was already in her hands, there was no point in being bashful anymore.

Her face lit up with a smile, and for the first time, she didn't mind eating it on the street. With Hiro beside her, it didn't feel so embarrassing after all.

Hic.

After they'd finished their sweet potatoes, Hiro felt a bit full, though the lingering sweetness in his mouth started to feel cloying. To balance it out, he bought a cup of milk tea.

And sure enough, it worked. After eating the roasted sweet potato, the milk tea didn't even taste sweet anymore.

If it didn't taste sweet, that meant zero sugar. Totally safe to drink.

They'd walked and eaten through half the street before Hiro suddenly remembered they hadn't come here just to snack all day.

He quickly took Shizuka's hand again and steered them back on track.

The small aquarium, the toy store, the boutique, the claw machines they explored everything together, and finally ended their outing at the goldfish scooping stall.

Watching a cute girl scoop goldfish was more enjoyable than actually catching any. Besides, Hiro had plans to teach her a "better" version of the game later at home.

"Whew, it's getting late. Hiro, let's head back. Actually, why don't we go to my house?"

"My mom isn't home today, so we can relax a little," Shizuka said with a mischievous smile as she tossed aside the tiny net she'd failed to catch a single fish with.

"Sounds good. Let's go."

Hiro reached out and affectionately patted her head. What she said was indeed good news it meant they could unwind a bit more.

They picked up the pace, eager to make the most of the remaining daylight.

It hadn't been a long outing, but Shizuka was clearly happy. There wasn't much more to do in the small-town shopping district anyway. Next time, he'd take her someplace bigger and better.

"Damn that Hiro! How dare he have so much fun with Shizuka? Shizuka's supposed to be my wife!"

From behind a display in a hat store, Nobita peeked out in agony, his face twisted with jealousy and despair as he pointed toward the pair in the distance.

Tears streamed down his cheeks, snot ran in thick globs, and his heart felt as if it were being eaten alive by ants.

It hurt so much he could barely breathe.

"Hey, you brat!"

"You just wiped your snot all over my hat. How am I supposed to sell it now?"

A booming voice roared from behind him. The shopkeeper stormed over, snatching the green cap from the rack.

"Look at this mess! You think anyone's going to buy it now?"

"Pay up!"

Terrified, Nobita didn't even dare breathe. Knowing he was in the wrong, he handed over all his pocket money for the month and bought the ruined hat.

"Shizukaaa..."

Clutching the hat to his chest, Nobita ran home with tears in his eyes, overwhelmed by grief, like the entire world had abandoned him.

"Doraemon... sob... X﹏X"

Dragging his feet up the stairs, he stumbled into his room and collapsed into Doraemon's arms, seeking comfort and secretly hoping to borrow a gadget for revenge.

"Huh? Doraemon, are you napping?"

As soon as he saw Doraemon snoozing, Nobita's tears dried up instantly, replaced by a sly grin.

He tiptoed over and reached into the four-dimensional pocket.

"Got it! This is perfect!"

With a gasp of excitement, he pulled out a pink gadget that looked like a pocket watch.

The Fool Bomb.

This gadget didn't cause any harm, but once it exploded, it would turn the target into a complete and utter fool making them act in bizarre, ridiculous ways.

The perfect tool for revenge.

"Heh heh heh. Hiro, you'd better watch your back. I'll make sure you never show your face in front of Shizuka again."

Nobita cackled wickedly, holding the Fool Bomb high in the air as he imagined the satisfying scene of Hiro making a fool of himself.

"Perfect."

With the bomb in hand and revenge in his heart, Nobita marched out the door.

...

...

Meanwhile, at Shizuka's house, the girl was diligently working on her homework, lying across her desk.

Work first, then fun that was an important rule to live by.

Hiro lounged on her bed, watching her delicate figure from behind as he waited patiently, breathing in her subtle, fresh scent.

"Phew, finally done!"

"Hiro, let's go downstairs and bake some cookies."

Shizuka stretched her arms and turned around in her chair to look at him.

Her pale, slender legs angled to the side, knees pressed together. Her pristine white socks touched lightly against the floor. She looked impossibly graceful.

"Ahem... there's no rush."

"Say, Shizuka... want to play goldfish scooping?"

Caught off guard, Shizuka blinked. "Goldfish? Are we going back to the shopping street?"

"No need. We can play right here. Come on, I'll show you."

Her curious eyes sparkled with interest. Hiro met her gaze and guided her to the edge of the bed.

"Eh? W-wait, are you sure about this...?"

"Of course. People have two hands for a reason."

"Well... okay then..."

Swish swish

The sound of a net scooping through water filled the room.

With Hiro's patient teaching (and clever persuasion), Shizuka gradually got the hang of the game.

But after all that homework, her hands were already tired and now she still had cookies to bake later. Who knew if she'd have the strength to knead the dough?