Two Times Two

“Yay!” Hota does a grand backflip onto his back paws out of joy. Upon sticking the landing he raised his front paws much like a gymnast. His whiskers twitched into a proud smile. I give a small applause. Ten out of ten. Hota is so cute!

“Now, you must be wondering about these memory worlds. You will now begin to see dark clouds above people’s heads if their romance memories are being tampered with by a Dust Bunny. Let me try to break some rules down for you:

1. I can only bring us to memory worlds that are being tampered with.

2. When we arrive, your appearance will change to suit the time period and I will automatically transform into an object that the world deems helpful to your mission.

3. If we stay for too long or if you do something that changes the past too much, it will spit us out back to your present and we cannot go back.

4. When we come back, we will be dropped into the same second we left on so don’t worry about time passing or aging when you are in there.

5. Most importantly, our goal there is to find the intruder that does not belong and defeat them!”

I tilt my head back and forth with my arms crossed trying to make sense of it all. I only have one shot at it, huh. It’s kind of a lot to wrap my head around, but I guess only memories of people’s love are being affected here. So that means, I should be looking for someone that’s trying to come between two lovebirds?

“I think I get it. But, how will I know who to defeat? Or how?”

“That’s the tricky part. We’ll have to get close to the pair in question and see who sticks out. Then, I can use my powers through you to defeat them and set the world straight again.” Hota makes a punching motion with his paws. Swish, swish.

My brain starts to feel foggy and my eyelids heavy. There are probably so many more questions I should be asking but I am just too sleepy. I try to think of anything else to say at the moment. Instead, I let out a big yawn.

“Don’t sweat the details too much for now. Get some shut eye and we can talk more tomorrow.” Hota hops off my bed to give me space.

“What about you? Do you sleep like a normal rabbit?” I say as I tuck myself into bed. I turn off my light with a remote and get myself comfortable.

“I need to recharge when I get too low of energy. That happens if I don’t have any interaction for quite some time. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Of course it would be a vague explanation like that. With that, Hota makes a leap to my nightstand and transforms back into watch form. It happened so fast I could barely register it.

I shift in bed and close my eyes. As I drift off to sleep, I notice my feelings for tomorrow are so positive. I was just dreading it earlier today, now I can’t wait.

My phone alarm rudely starts to ring without taking my feelings into account. No problem, I can just turn it off. I need to sleep more than I need to wake up; my brain convinces me this to be true. As I roll over in bed, my hand touches something warm and …soft? It’s moving and I feel it nuzzle me. My eyes pop open.

“Get up, sleepyhead! I can only assume that’s your school alarm. Or do you set alarms just for fun?”

That’s right. The memories of yesterday start to come back to me. It’s my new friend (pet?) rabbit, Hota. A so called Time Hopper. I almost thought when I woke up he would be gone like a dream. I roughly pat Hota’s head in annoyance. He seems to like it though.

“Alright, alright! No need to get sassy with me.” I say as I get out of bed on time for once. I get ready for the day with my same routine in my same uniform, making sure my room stays as neat as possible. “I can’t wear you to school since they don’t allow jewelry. Can I put you in my bag?” I ask Hota, currently itching behind his ears with his back paw. How much of a real animal is he?

“That’s fine with me. Just try not to lose me. It’ll break our contract.”

“Oh, yeah. Tell me more about this contract you keep talking about.”

“It’s simple really. I can only make contracts with those that I feel are special. Hence the glowing when you found me. It just means I can take you to the memory worlds. You can break the contract by losing me or simply wanting it to end. But you will always be able to see and hear me.”

“Not too bad as far as contracts go. Any downsides like side effects?”

“Not that I’m aware! Unless you count looking crazy a side effect.”

“There are pros and cons to everything it seems.” Hota turns into his watch form as I wrap him in a small handkerchief and place him in my bag. I hope he’ll be ok in there.

The school day passed by uneventfully. My friends hound me about how lucky I was to find such a nice watch. Was it luck though? I didn’t tell my friends that I brought the watch to school since I couldn’t think of a good reason to explain why I did. I was just hoping he would tell me more about the contract or himself at some point. I don’t know if Hota didn’t speak up at any point because he was trying to be considerate or if he just fell asleep. As I walk home I start to wonder I should check on him.

As soon as I think this I hear a muffled voice from inside my bag. “Hey! The school day is done now, right? Let’s go into town and I’ll bet we can find a few dark clouds. I want to see how this time looks, too!”

I take Hota out of my bag and put him on my wrist while I start taking us downtown. I take out my phone to let my grandparents know I’ll be eating dinner with friends today. Not really a lie I think. “How long do you think you’ve been asleep?” It did seem like he didn’t know what my phone was.

“Hm. I think maybe since the late 80s? I’ve woken up here and there for short periods though.” I’m shocked. That’s a long time ago!

“Do you even know about the internet? Or smartphones?”

Hota gives a smug chuckle. “The internet has been around quite a while, you know. There were also experimental phones though not portable. I was up on the latest technology in my time. Don’t think of me as your usual old-timer.”

Even though an old-timer is exactly what you are, I think to myself.

As we walk I hear Hota getting more excited by the scenery. I guess quiet neighborhoods like mine have looked similar for the past few decades. His excitement peaks when we go into a subway station.

“Oh! They made AC down here standard now? And the gates are automated by your wallets! So cool!”

That’s what made you change your tune? Air conditioning and IC cards? I decide to try and impress him some more. I take out my IC card from my wallet to show him. “It’s an IC card. You put money in them and can even use them to pay for things in stores and vending machines, too.”

“Oooooh!” Got him with something that would also impress a foreign tourist.

The hustle and bustle of a downtown station is noisy and cramped as usual when we get off the subway train. Hota says the subway has always been crowded but was interested in the LED video ads in the carriage. I walk up the stairs out of the station to the familiar crosswalk noises. Then I stop dead in my tracks as we pass a café window. I can see it. At a table are two elderly women sharing coffee. Above their heads are small dark clouds. They move a bit like normal clouds and drop what look like tiny grey cotton balls every so often that disappear before they hit the ground. That was quick; this must be what Hota was talking about. The image of the clouds making dust and dirt constantly along with knowing a romance is being messed with goes against everything I stand for.

“There! We have to get into that café next to them.” Hota suddenly reacts.

“But there are two. I have to get rid of two right off the bat?” I wish I had more confidence in myself right now.

“We can do one at a time but you know what they say, ‘Misery loves company’. It’s not all that unusual for women to talk about their troubles with friends, is it?”

I shuffle into the café and get a table right next to the women. My heart is beating nervously as I order something small. I don’t know if I can do this after all. It’s not like I’ve ever dived into someone’s memories and helped save their relationship before. I hear pieces of their conversation.

“And when he comes home it’s like I don’t even know him anymore.”

“Yes, I know what you mean. It’s like they’re a different person! Even though we’ve been together so long.”

“Lately I’ve been having trouble remembering why we got married in the first place.”

“I feel like I can’t remember the good times we had anymore. Did they even happen?”

Oh man. This sounds serious. My anxiety grows.

Hota chimes in to distract me. “Sounds like classic Dust Bunny tampering symptoms. Don’t be nervous, Runa! Just breathe and have self-confidence! I’ll take us into the first one now.”

No! Don’t throw me into the deep end already! But it’s too late. Before I can open my mouth, the watch glows and instantly I’m in a different place. It’s not very pleasant. It feels like I’m in a whirlwind and I can barely keep my eyes open, but I don’t feel like I’m being pushed around either. There is a torrent of clouds swirling all around me. Am I traveling into a memory world? Am I going to be alright?

A light blinds me and suddenly I hear noises like I’m outside again. I peak my eyes open and see that I’m in a different uniform in a secluded alleyway. I turn and inspect myself, making sure all of my body parts are still attached to me. I was still wearing a sailor uniform, but the blue skirt was much longer, like a sukeban outfit. The tie was long and red instead of my normal blue one and my hair was slightly longer and puffier, as well. I noticed my bag had a Helmet Rider keychain and my watch was gone. Did Hota turn into this keychain? It was green like him.

“Welcome to 1972, Runa! How nostalgic.” The keychain spoke. It was him.

“I’m in love with this uniform. I feel like a yankee.” I say as I do a small twirl.

“No time for admiring. I feel it’s almost time for you to be in school.”

“Oh no, again? I just had school today! I don’t even know where I am or what school I’m supposed to go to. Am I even registered and everything?”

“Do not fret, I can tell you where to go. This is a memory world of one person. Of course she can’t remember everyone in her school especially so long ago. Just blend in and go with the flow. No one will notice.”

I don’t know if everyone will buy it, but I have watched a lot of vintage movies. Maybe I have a chance. I take a deep breath and start to follow Hota’s directions to the school. The noise of the crowd is distantly similar to my time period. I was never very tall but I feel like people are a little shorter on average now. What hits me hardest is the marked increase in smoking everywhere on the streets. I cough instinctively. This will take some adjusting to.

The world feels so different. There is absolutely no English anywhere and the buildings are much smaller. I’m no longer blinded by ads and bright LED billboards. Many of the shop signs are now beautifully hand painted. Of course, all of the cars and clothing I see look very vintage. I hope I get an opportunity to explore more.

As I see more students wearing similar uniforms, I assume I’m getting closer to the school. I grip my school bag tighter. I’m tense. What if I say something dumb and mess up right away? Then this lady’s romance will be messed up forever! Can I really shoulder that responsibility? My pounding heart rings in my ears. I get to the foreign middle school gates and stop. Even when students bump into me I don’t move. Hota tries to encourage me but all I can do is make a face like I’m about to cry.

A warmth interrupts my thoughts. Someone put a hand on my shoulder. I look up at the boy in a gakuran complete with hat. He smiles gently to me. My head clears instantly.

“It’ll be ok. Whatever you’re going though, I know you got this. Want to walk together?”