Welcome

“Where are we?” I groggily asked as I opened my eyes. Sitting up, I looked around and realized I had been lying on a mat.
“You’re the last one to wake up!” Nagumo exclaimed, suddenly appearing way too close to my face.
“Geez, you’re going to give me a heart attack. Back off,” I replied, shoving him away slightly. “So, everyone’s awake now, huh?”
“Yep,” my father said, leaning against a wall. “Nagumo woke up first, then Gaku, then me, and now you.”
“The only problem is that we’re locked in this room,” Nagumo added, crossing his arms.
“Wait, if we can’t get out, where’s Gaku?” I asked, looking around for him.
“He crawled into the ventilation shafts, panicking,” Nagumo answered nonchalantly.
“What? Why’s he panicking?”
“He’s worried about Layla. Without knowing how much time has passed, he’s freaking out because he can’t predict her safety.”
“Well, damn,” I muttered under my breath.
Before any of us could say more, the doors suddenly slid open, and a man walked in.
“Roshia Bunmei e youkoso, minasan!” (“Welcome everyone to the Russian civilization!) the man greeted us cheerfully.
“Is he… speaking Japanese?” my father whispered to me.
“Yeah,” I whispered back.
“Kyō wa, watashi ga minasan no gaido o tsutomemasu,” (“Today, will be your guide.”) the man continued with a smile.
“Wanna bet he’s just using a translator app?” I whispered to my father with a smirk.
“How much?” he whispered back.
“100 on the table.”
“Deal.”
“Hontō ni Nihongo o hanaseru no desu ka?” (“Can you really speak Japanese?”) I asked the man directly.
“Huh?” The man froze, clearly confused.
“Hah! I knew it! Pay up,” I said to my father, smugly crossing my arms.
“He could just be using a translation book,” my father countered.
“Wanna bet another 100?”
“Bet!”
Without missing a beat, my father turned to the man and said, “Вам нужна помощь с изучением японского языка?” (“Do you need help speaking Japanese?”)
I stared at him, shocked. “Wait, you can speak Russian?”
“I learned it during my free time,” my father replied nonchalantly.
“Да, пользоваться этой книгой всё ещё сложно,” (“Yes, using this book is still hard.”) the man admitted, holding up a Russian-to-Japanese translation book.
“Hah! I knew it! Pay up,” my father said with a victorious grin.
“I’ll pay you once we’re back home,” I grumbled. “Can you ask him if he can get someone who actually speaks English or proper Japanese?”
My father nodded and turned back to the man. “Можете позвать кого-то, кто говорит по-английски или на правильном японском?” (“Can you get someone who speaks English or proper Japanese?”)
The man hesitated for a moment, then nodded and stepped aside. “Took a while before someone said that,” a woman’s voice said from behind him.
We turned to see a confident woman stride into the room.
“My name is Maria Alexandrov. Nice to meet you,” she said in perfect English.
“Hey there,” Nagumo said in a voice dripping with charm, his tone smooth. “Are you by any chance… you know… single?”
“Haha. I am married,” Maria replied, holding up her hand to reveal a ring on her finger.
“Dammit!” Nagumo groaned, throwing a nearby table across the room in frustration.
Just then, Gaku emerged from the ventilation shaft, his face streaked with tears. He rushed over to Maria and grabbed her hand desperately.
“Do you have a phone I can borrow?!” he begged. “I really need to call Layla!”
“You could just ask me for my phone,” I said, reaching for my pocket. “Wait, where is my phone?”
“You mean this phone?” Maria teased, holding up not one, not two, but four phones from her pocket. “Wuwahahahaha!”
“Hey, give it back,” I demanded, narrowing my eyes.
“Or what?” Maria quipped, raising an eyebrow.
“Gaku’s simply going to kill you,” I said, though I wasn’t entirely sure Gaku had the strength to kill anyone. But, considering his bond with Layla, I had a feeling he might have some skills up his sleeve.
Maria rolled her eyes. “I’m not in the mood to get into a fight.” She tossed one of the phones toward me. “Here you go.”
Gaku grabbed my phone, quickly typing in Layla’s number and hitting call.
“So, are you the leader of this civilization?” I asked Maria, still curious.
“Vice-president here,” she replied, her tone dismissive. “Why are you asking?”
“The Japanese civilization got taken over by AI robots,” I said. “I want to take it back.”
“And why would we allow you?” Maria asked, her expression skeptical.
“Because I can travel back in time,” I replied, my voice steady. “The call Gaku is making right now, it’s directly connected to 1000 years ago.”
“Of course you can,” Maria said with a sarcastic laugh. “Do you have any proof?”
“Yes, I do!” I said, frustration creeping into my voice. “If you give me my backpack back.”
“Also,” I added, “the AI robots are taking over the past. I need your army to help take them down.”
“And you think you can win both wars?” Maria asked, her arms crossed.
“Me, my father, Nagumo, Gaku, and Layla,” I replied, my voice firm. “The five of us can and will make sure we win this war!”
Maria eyed me for a moment before nodding. “Fine, I’ll get you a meeting with the leader here.”
She turned on her heel, then paused, looking back at us. “For now, enjoy our secret land!”
Suddenly, the walls around us collapsed, revealing that we were standing in the middle of a massive city. Everything around us gleamed with high-tech innovation, more advanced than anything the Japanese civilization had ever known.
“Woah!” Nagumo gasped, his excitement practically oozing from his voice.
The streets were bustling with people, all moving with purpose through this futuristic world.
“Hold on!” I said, turning to speak to Maria again. But she was already gone.

***

The four of us went to a money exchange to get the local Russian currency, then headed to a hotel to rest. My father and Nagumo ventured out to explore the city while Gaku and I stayed behind. I collapsed onto the bed, my mind racing. I needed to figure out what to say to the leader, how I could convince him to help us, but the weight of the situation was overwhelming.
Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
“Hello? It’s me, Gaku. Can I come in?” His voice was quiet from the other side.
“Yes, you can,” I replied, sitting up as the door creaked open.
Gaku stepped in, closing the door behind him. He walked over and sat down on the chair across from me, his expression unreadable.
“You okay?” I asked, concerned.
“If we’ don’t get help from the people here, or we are not allowed to, will you do it secretly?” Gaku’s question took me by surprise.
“Y-Yes…” I hesitated for a moment, trying to process the weight of his words. “Why are you asking?”
Gaku’s gaze turned troubled. “It’s not going well with Layla. The two of them managed to get their hands on the military army. But the AI is almost done conquering America. The whole country has turned into a battleground. Layla and the president need backup as soon as possible.”
“I see…” My mind raced with the gravity of the situation. “We really don’t have any time to waste, huh?”
Gaku nodded, his face pale. “No, we don’t.”
“Then let’s go hire a lab and build our time machine,” I said, my voice steady with determination.
Gaku looked at me, still concerned. “Isn’t it too much of a hassle to start now?”
“Don’t worry about it. I can handle it,” I reassured him, standing up and walking to the door.
Together, we headed off to make the impossible possible.

To be continued…

[Author's Note:] 
Though I’m half Japanese, I can only speak and understand Japanese, but not write it fluently. However, I’ve done my best to ensure that everything written in Japanese here should be correct—though there might be a few mistakes here and there. As for the Russian, I used Google Translate—teehee~!