Chapter 4: The Object Transmission Adapter

Suddenly spoken to by a beautiful girl, Nobita found himself in a complete panic.

(C-calm down. This is Dekisugi. It’s the same Dekisugi I always talk to.)

Normally, being approached by Dekisugi wouldn't faze him in the slightest; in fact, Nobita would often be the one to strike up a conversation. However, the Dekisugi standing before him was no longer the familiar classmate he knew, but rather a beautiful girl he felt he was meeting for the very first time.

Assuming Nobita's flustered state was just because she had called out to him out of the blue, Dekisugi spoke in her usual, everyday manner.

"It’s so rare to see you here at this hour, Nobi-kun. I was wondering what you were doing, and when I peeked over, I saw you reviewing your homework. I was so impressed that I just had to say hi."

Dekisugi laughed shyly, rubbing the back of her head as if to say, my bad, my bad. While there were lingering traces of her old self in her expression, her face was completely that of a girl. If Nobita hadn't known it was Dekisugi on the inside, he would have been instantly knocked out by that smile. Her hair, which swayed softly as she touched it, had a light wave to it compared to Shizuka’s tied-up style, and the gesture made Nobita's heart skip a beat.

Oblivious to Nobita's internal turmoil, Dekisugi continued.

"What’s going on today? It really is unusual for you to be here this early."

Seeing Nobita—who was perpetually late—arriving first to class would make anyone wonder, not just Dekisugi. Furthermore, if they saw him actually reviewing his homework, Nobita himself knew that most people would either act exaggeratedly shocked or tease him mercilessly. Gian or Suneo would probably say something like, "Is it going to rain spears tomorrow?" Even Shizuka would be surprised that such a rare event was occurring.

Those were all completely natural reactions for anyone who knew the everyday Nobita Nobi. But the boy in front of him—no, the girl in front of him—was simply asking out of genuine curiosity about his early arrival. While she did praise him for doing his homework and not being late, she didn't use it as an excuse to compare it to his usual sloppy behavior. For better or worse, she always treated him as an equal.

(I guess even if his appearance changes, what's on the inside stays the same.)

Talking to her again brought him a small sense of relief. Even though he was no longer a boy, the essence of his friend Dekisugi hadn't changed at all.

"I had something on my mind yesterday, so I did my homework for a change of pace. I woke up early this morning, and since I had the time, I was looking over it and realized my handwriting was super messy."

He tried to lie as little as possible and act as naturally as he could. He prided himself on managing to answer without sounding too suspicious.

"Something on your mind? If you need anything, you can always talk to me."

Oops. Nobita immediately regretted speaking so honestly, remembering that this was exactly the kind of person Dekisugi was. If someone was in trouble, Dekisugi was always the first to lend a helping hand.

While she would politely decline a request to just copy her homework—arguing that it wouldn't benefit the person asking—she was the type to proactively offer help if she believed it was truly for someone's own good. She was the kind of person who, fully understanding how inhumane and torturous a Gian Recital was, would still buy Nobita's leftover tickets just to bail him out. When someone like that hears you have "something on your mind," it’s only natural they try to coax the worry out of you.

But Nobita couldn't exactly confess, "I accidentally turned you into a girl using a Secret Gadget," so he decided to forcefully change the subject.

"Oh, it's nothing! More importantly, do you always get to school this early, Dekisugi-kun?"

Since Nobita was always running late, he had no idea who usually arrived in the classroom first. But knowing the honors student Dekisugi, it wasn't hard to imagine her being the first one there.

"Yes, I do. I come in early to do some self-study. The air in an empty classroom first thing in the morning feels so crisp and refreshing."

It was true; the empty classroom was quiet, and with the morning light streaming through the windows, it had a distinctly different atmosphere than usual. Nobita wondered if managing to wake up and get to school on time was the reason he was feeling more refreshed than usual, too.

"You're right. Unlike after school, it's bright out, and an empty classroom isn't half bad."

"Right? When everyone's getting ready to go home, it starts getting dark, and with people playing out on the field, it can actually get pretty noisy."

"You were always bad with noise, weren't you, Dekisugi-kun?"

It was one of the few weaknesses of the otherwise perfect Dekisugi: noise. Loud sounds severely dropped her concentration, making it impossible for her to focus on her studies. If construction started in her neighborhood, she couldn't stay home, and she had once even seen her test scores drop because of nuisance phone calls.

(Wait, didn't we use the Object Transmission Adapter to solve that prank call problem?)

Thinking about it, Dekisugi surprisingly got dragged into a lot of trouble. Well, mostly because of Nobita...

"I do like the library too, but other people use it. I kind of like the feeling of having this whole space to myself in the morning."

"Haha, liking school is so like you, Dekisugi-kun. I just want to go home and play as soon as possible."

"I play once my homework is done, too! I like baking treats, and at night I do astronomical observations."

She still referred to herself using the boyish pronoun boku. Nobita thought it might be slightly un-girlish, but it wasn't completely unheard of for girls to use boku, and it didn't feel too out of place in conversation. From her hobbies to her weaknesses, she was exactly the Dekisugi that Nobita knew.

(Wait a minute. Come to think of it, what's Dekisugi's first name right now?)

He had always just called her by her last name, but he suddenly wondered what her given name was. Since she was a girl now, had her name been altered to something more feminine?

"By the way, I know we always just use your last name, but what was your first name again, Dekisugi-kun?"

It wasn't a weird question. It's perfectly normal to get curious and ask for the first name of someone you usually only call by their surname. And yet, Dekisugi mumbled as if it were hard to say, pausing for a moment before finally opening her mouth.

"I guess people don't really use my first name much... It's Hidetoshi. It sounds like a boy's name, so I'm a little embarrassed by it."

"S-Sorry!"

"No, it's fine. Honestly, I think it feels more natural when people just call me by my last name."

To his surprise, her name was exactly the same as when she was a boy.

"I mean, I don't look like a boy at all, but my name is completely male. So whenever I meet someone new, it always throws them off. I really wonder why my parents gave a girl a name like this."

For Dekisugi, who had memories of living her whole life as a girl in this reality, having a name like "Hidetoshi"—which sounded undeniably masculine—was a minor complex. Especially in kindergarten and elementary school, kids would innocently question a name that clearly mismatched her gender. She had probably faced her fair share of embarrassment over it. As she spoke, her expression was a mix of shyness and a slight tinge of sadness.

"It might not sound super girly, but I think it's a great name! I'm sure your parents put a lot of thought into it for you!"

Nobita forced a bright, cheerful tone to encourage her. It was the best kind of support he could offer to her right now. Fortunately, it seemed to get through, as Dekisugi's smile quickly returned.

There was another reason Nobita had spoken up so earnestly. Nobita Nobi knew firsthand the kinds of hopes parents weave into the names they give their children; he had directly received those feelings himself.

Once, he had traveled back in the Time Machine to the day he was born and listened to his parents' conversation.

"We want him to grow up healthy, strong, and reaching for the sky."

Having heard the heartfelt wish behind his own name, he knew that other parents must have similar hopes for their children. Even though a Secret Gadget had changed Dekisugi from a boy to a girl, the love and hope for Dekisugi's future embedded in that name surely remained. Nobita wanted to believe that, and he wanted to convey to Dekisugi that her parents must have named her with those same deep feelings.

"Y-Yeah. Thank you, Nobi-kun."

Perhaps embarrassed by his words, Dekisugi thanked him, her cheeks flushed red as she spoke a little faster than usual. That gesture was so undeniably feminine that Nobita's heart skipped a beat again, and he found himself feeling bashful too.

(W-Wow, that startled me. Her mannerisms are totally like a girl's.)

Even though they had just been looking each other in the eye and talking normally a moment ago, they both momentarily averted their gaze, stealing shy glances at one another. In that space shared only by the two of them, Dekisugi spoke up as if to break the slightly awkward tension.

"Actually, I've always been a little insecure about my name, so I'm really happy you said that."

Scratching her reddened cheek with a finger, Dekisugi answered Nobita with a bright smile. There was no falsehood in that expression; it was obvious she was genuinely overjoyed.

(I mean, this whole weird situation is my fault to begin with. Having her thank me so genuinely makes me feel really conflicted.)

In stark contrast to her glowing smile, Nobita's chest tightened with crushing guilt. If Dekisugi were still a boy, he would never have had a complex about his name in the first place.

"If you ever run into any trouble, you can talk to me about anything! If I can help, I'll do whatever I can!"

If Dekisugi was facing hardships because of the Secret Gadget's effects, Nobita wanted to fix it. Regardless of the reason, Nobita could never ignore someone in trouble, but right now, he felt a deep obligation to do something to help.

"Ah, but I guess there isn't much a guy like me can actually do, huh."

As soon as he said it, he realized how true it was. More often than not, Nobita was the one begging for help. He realized immediately that there was nothing he could offer her in terms of academics or sports. What’s more, Doraemon wasn't even around right now.

There was realistically almost nothing he could do for Dekisugi. At best, he could act as a human shield by standing in front of her at the next Gian Recital.

"That's not true at all, Nobi-kun! Just the thought makes me happy... Oh, I know! If that's the case, would you let me teach you how to study?"

"Teach me how to study!?"

He had been prepared to accept almost any request, but this was a bizarre one. He had heard of people asking to be taught, but someone asking for permission to teach was a first.

"Studying on your own is important, but teaching someone else helps you realize how much you actually understand. It's a great way to review!"

"I mean, I don't mind if you really want to, but won't everyone else be coming to ask you for help? You were completely surrounded yesterday."

Nobita absolutely loathed studying voluntarily, but he had his own reasons making it hard to refuse. Aside from that, if her goal was just to teach someone, there had literally been a line of boys waiting to talk to her about studying just yesterday. Did she really need to bother with a poor student like him?

"I'm happy they rely on me, but it seems like most of them aren't actually there to study. But it feels wrong to just brush them off..."

Even the usually dense Nobita immediately picked up on what she meant. Those guys didn't want to learn math; their real goal was just to talk to a cute girl.

(Well, I guess if a girl this cute offered to teach you, you'd find any excuse to go ask her questions.)

Nobita had used studying as an excuse to contact Shizuka countless times, so he completely understood where the other boys were coming from. At the same time, he mentally noted that being too blatantly clingy would probably backfire.

"If you're okay with me, I'll keep you company while you study."

To reiterate, Nobita did not want to study. And doing it alone with Dekisugi was something he wouldn't have even considered a little while ago. But right now, Nobita felt incredibly guilty. Plus, he pragmatically figured that increasing the time they spent talking might give him a chance to find out how to help her.

"Really?! In that case, how about after school today? Can I come over to your house, Nobi-kun?"

"Yeah, sure."

He was caught off guard by how enthusiastically and eagerly she responded, but he figured getting his homework done efficiently wasn't a completely terrible outcome.

(Looks like I'm doomed to do my homework again today...)

Doing assigned homework was standard behavior for most, but for Nobita, it was a habit he had never managed to acquire. A wave of melancholy started to wash over him, but seeing Dekisugi looking so genuinely delighted in front of him, he couldn't bring himself to complain. If he stopped thinking of her as Dekisugi, he was basically inviting a beautiful girl over to his room—much like having Shizuka over.

While they were talking, the sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway, and students began trickling into the classroom one by one. Nobita and Dekisugi wrapped up their conversation and headed to their respective seats.

For once, Nobita wasn't late and had actually done his homework, a rare miracle that ended up shocking everyone in the class—with the exception of one person.

Author's Notes

“Unsold Recital Tickets”

This refers to the episode “The Terrifying Dinner Show”, included in Tentōmushi Comics Doraemon Vol. 41 and Fujiko F. Fujio Complete Works Doraemon Vol. 17.

It’s a rather dreadful story in which Gian plans to hold a dinner show.
He forces Nobita to sell the tickets, but of course, no one is willing to buy them.

However, Dekisugi is the only one who agrees to buy a ticket—and even resolves to “descend into hell” together with him.

In the end, Gian eats the food he cooked himself, collapses, and the dinner show is canceled—that’s the punchline.

In the Wasabi Mizuta anime version, the relationship between Dekisugi and Nobita is portrayed as closer, and Dekisugi even helps set up the venue.
Having resigned themselves to their fate, the three of them prepare to face the dinner show with a bravery reminiscent of the Oath of the Peach Garden.

“Bad with Noise”

There are two relevant episodes.

The first is the story of “Gariben-kun,” mentioned in the afterword of Chapter 2 of this work.
In this story, prank calls in the middle of the night exhaust him mentally, causing his test scores to drop.

The problem is solved using a Secret Gadget called the “Object Transmission Adapter.”
Simply put, it’s a device attached to a telephone that allows you to send objects to the other party—or receive them.

The second is the episode “Doraemon and Dorami”, included in Doraemon Plus Vol. 4 and Fujiko F. Fujio Complete Works Doraemon Vol. 20.
This is actually Dekisugi’s very first appearance.

In this story, Doraemon uses a Secret Gadget called the “Go-Go Dog” (a tool that forces a specified person out of the house) to drive Dekisugi away.
As a result, construction suddenly begins in front of the house, and unable to endure the noise, Dekisugi heads to the library.

This seems to be his only clear weakness.

In the Wasabi Mizuta version, there is also an original episode where a gadget called the “Weakness Maker Machine” gives him a weakness for tests.
Even so, he overcomes it through sheer determination and still scores a perfect 100.

At this point, it almost feels like he has no real weaknesses at all.
If anything, his only “weakness” is his lack of appearances in the movies—but this is likely a production decision, since if Dekisugi were present, he would solve problems too quickly.

In a sense, it’s a case of losing something because of being too capable.

“Making Sweets”

This is also mentioned in detail in the afterword of Chapter 2 regarding his cooking skills.

If someone can bake a cake from scratch, then as long as they have the recipe, they can make most sweets—and Dekisugi even practices until he’s satisfied with the result.

In fact, making sweets is a kind of science involving precise measurements, and I believe that someone who is good at mathematics can naturally make delicious desserts.

These days, ingredients and cooking tools are inexpensive and easy to obtain, so if you’re interested, it’s something enjoyable to try regardless of gender.

Still, why is it that homemade food tastes better when someone else makes it for you?

“Astronomical Observation”

There are also two relevant episodes here.

The first is “Hawaii Is Coming”, included in Doraemon Vol. 44 and Complete Works Vol. 17.
During a mid-summer break presentation where everyone shares how they’ve been spending their vacation, Dekisugi says that he stays up late every night taking photos of the moon and stars.

The second is “Challenge the Comet Hunter!”, included in Complete Works Vol. 14.
While Nobita is taking a late-night walk using the Take-copter, he spots Dekisugi on a rooftop with binoculars, gazing at the night sky in search of a comet.

It feels like stargazing becomes a trend among children from time to time.
Unfortunately, I’m not very interested in the real night sky—if anything, I prefer indoor planetariums.

Doraemon occasionally collaborates with planetariums, which could inspire children to take an interest in astronomy.
(Though personally, I’ve never attended one… I think I like planetariums more for the music than for the stars themselves.)

“The Wish Behind the Name”

This refers to the episode “The Day I Was Born”, included in Doraemon Vol. 2 and Complete Works Vol. 2.
This story was also adapted into a movie with the same title.

In it, Nobita’s parents name him while holding him as a baby, explaining the meaning behind his name (as described in the text).

The most moving part of the movie, for me, is the final scene.

To create a warm family moment, Doraemon uses the Elevate Button (a gadget that moves things up and down like an elevator) to lift the Nobi household into the air, trying to bring it up to a tree filled with family memories.

However, Doraemon stays behind on the ground so as not to disturb their family time.
At that moment, Nobita and his father pull him up and include him in the family circle.

The gentle expressions of the Nobi family—and Doraemon, on the verge of tears with happiness—make this scene especially unforgettable.