Almost 7 years have passed after the events in Sutirushiti and there have been no signs of attacks of any kind. The fall of Professor Matsuyama, alias Baron Kurai, has signaled a new beginning for the city, once again being the cradle for inventors, mechanics and scientists. For the group that had fought and defeated the steel monster, life continued more peacefully.
Mia and Hikaru continue working at Suchimu Corp, now with the red-haired mechanic taking charge of most of the factory, Hikaru stopped being an intern to be the chief scientist of the factory's research section. The President of the industry, although still in charge, was no longer as busy as before, since he had freed himself from the burden he had when the program was active, so he was able to spend more time with his children, what he wanted to do most.
Seiya and Melia were now studying at the same high school as Nobita, Shizuka and Dekisugi, the blue-haired boy would end up being the president of the factory one day, but his love for blueprint's design continued even with it, gaining popularity among his classmates for its neat and well-made designs. Melia wanted to continue creating inventions so she was grateful not to have that responsibility of being next in line for CEOs, she liked debauchery more so she could make the inventions she wanted. She was paying close attention to Dekisugi's personal project, also lending a hand, since she caught his attention.
Dekisugi's personal project was gaining strength, although it was complicated, it was already in the testing phase, space is a complicated place to master, but with the tests and the updating of versions for the Spaceship, the smart young man was getting closer every return to his dream of being able to visit Mars and make it habitable by expanding the horizons outside of Earth. He had several applications from Research Universities not only in Sutirushiti, but in other cities that saw the potential of a child who at such a young age got a patent in his first year of competition.
Suneo and Gian also attended the same high school, but no longer in the same class, so they didn't see each other much anymore, but from time to time Gian would greet them when they saw each other, even Nobita with whom even though they didn't end up forming a friendship, he no longer tried to bully him or hit him like when they were children. As for Suneo, although he was destined to manage his father's business, he was a little more distant, it seemed that he preferred to try to be popular in his new classroom, to start from 0, although every time the people mentioned the events of 7 years ago, that made him irritated, apparently he decided never to admit that (he was overcome)
Shizuka little by little became interested in making inventions related to gardening because of her passion for floral arrangements and she wanted to have her flower and arrangement store. And because of her performance on the piano, she began to be an assistant for a piano group, she also wanted to be a piano tutor. She was still aiming to improve on the violin although there was no significant improvement, but having the support of her parents and her boyfriend, she continued to strive.
And what about Nobita? A few years ago when he was in high school, Doraemon returned to the future, his mission was over so he had to return, they were sad days for the young man, but he had to accept saying goodbye to his best friend, thanking him for everything he had done for him, like he was there to advise him, take care of him, be with him in the strongest year of his life, how he helped him recover, not lose his friends and how together they saved Sutirushiti. He was down for a while, but with the help of his parents, his girlfriend, and his friends, he was able to carry on even without his best mechanic buddy.
He continued to strive in his studies, to the point that he was a shadow of what he was before the incident, even accompanying his father to Suchimu to learn from other mechanics and Mia, to continue improving since he was determined to have his own workshop after fulfilling his dream.
And speaking of dreams...
One day Shizuka arrives at the warehouse next to Suchimu Corp, she was now a young adult, she had a ponytail instead of her pigtails and her dress was a little longer, she was accompanied by Dekisugi who has hardly changed much except that he was taller and with a slightly longer chin as he was becoming an adult, they both carried containers of food. It seemed that the warehouse that had been closed a while ago was being used again.
When Shizuka opens the door and enters with Dekisugi, they both see a large flying ship with propellers, which wasn't as big as the ones used for common transportation, but it was bigger than the one they had when they did the project years ago, it looked in good condition and was ready to fly, Seiya, who was bigger and no longer had his ponytail, was working on something using a paintbrush on one of the sides of the ship, and Melia, with a more developed body but now With short shoulder-length hair, he was checking one of the engines.
The Hirano brothers notice their presence and approach, smiling. "Hello Shizuka, hello Dekisugi, we have it ready right now, we have done the tests and it's ready to cross the continent" says Seiya.
"Dekisugi. Did you bring the lunches? Awww, you're the best, you cook just like you study, excellent!" Melia gives the smart young man a hug while he scratches the back of his neck.
"It's nothing, I brought one for us and your brother. It's incredible that it's ready just for graduation time, we'll also be able to explore the cities where I got the tourist requests from, they were all very good options and it was difficult to choose only one, although it was the Sutirushiti one that tempted me the most" Dekisugi says, amazed at seeing the ship. "My project is in the testing stage, so I can leave it with Hikaru so he can give me progress reports."
Melia smiles at the young man as she takes the container from him. "I know you will stand out wherever you go."
"It's incredible that we are going to spend months outside of Sutirushiti, and it's all thanks to Nobita, on the map he has there are interesting places to see. It will be our last adventure before going to different universities, like the 5 of us applied before thanks to our father as a thank you for the mission as we agreed a few years ago, all of us are free to make this trip, and with the speed that this little friend has, we will be able to achieve it without problems and on time" The blue-haired man says while testing the ship.
Shizuka smiles and then goes along the small starboard bridge to board the ship and enter through a door to the control room, where someone was lying under the control making some adjustments with a wrench. "Hi Nobita, I brought you food. Shall we eat together?"
"Shizuka, you're here-!" The sweet voice of his girlfriend makes the silly boy hit his head as he tries to get up "Ouch, ouch!" The young man with the glasses rubs his head while he carefully leaves where he was to get up now. The young Nobita now had a little long hair with a small pompadour and had suspenders, he wasn't wearing his vest since he had it hanging on his side so as not to get it dirty like his cap, and he was wearing his half-heart necklace just like Shizuka. . He had a growth spurt but he was still the same nervous and somewhat clumsy boy but with more experience, he removes his goggles from his eyes, adjusting them on his neck while he takes off his work gloves.
"You should be more careful when you work, you concentrate too much" Shizuka laughs softly as she prepares the containers "I'm very happy with the effort you have put into this ship, it will be nice to tour the continent before entering university, thank you for sharing your dream with us "
"It's nothing, you guys helped me a lot to make this a reality, I was giving it a final check before the day of the trip. I want everything to be perfect, it took us years of work" Nobita touches the controls smiling "But it will be worth it when we take the tour"
The young man puts on his vest and then his cap, which was somewhat tight. "I think you need to modify your cap a little so that it doesn't squeeze you, you're not a child anymore." The girl smiles and her boyfriend also does so nervously, although she was right, the cap had to be made to fit even better. "Have you had your monthly checkup with Dr. Keta?" Shizuka says as they both leave the command room to sit on the starboard edge for lunch.
"I already did it, now he changed my heart checkup from once a month to once every six months, so it's even more comfortable." The couple smiles at each other, although then Nobita looks down with some sadness to where Dekisugi Seiya and Melia were talking "Although... I would have loved him to be here"
Shizuka puts her hand on him "I know you miss Doraemon, but he would be proud of what you've accomplished. Also..." The girl kisses him on the lips and smiles at him, making her boyfriend turn red. "Remember that you will never be alone because you have us, and we will be with you in this dream."
Nobita's eyes light up and then he smiles delightedly "I know, and I thank you" they were going to eat but they approach each other with their shoulders pressed together in a romantic moment
"I love you. Do you know that, Nobita?" The girl says to which he, blushing, just closes his eyes gratefully.
"I know, I love you too, thank you for supporting me, Shizuka"
Time passes, the guys graduated and a few days later, Nobita's flying ship was already parked on one of the runways that Suchimu Corp owned, everyone's suitcases were ready in the cabins and Nobita, Shizuka Dekisugi, Seiya and Melia parents were saying goodbye to their children because they were going to be months of adventure. "Do you have everything? If you have an attack, tell your friends and land in the nearest city" Tamako tells her son.
"Mom, our son is already older. He's going to be fine, and he hasn't had an attack in years and he doesn't need the medicine anymore." Nobisuke puts his hands on the young mechanic's shoulders. "Take advantage of the time you have, I'm sure your grandma will always go wherever you go."
Nobita smiles as he adjusts the cap that was looser thanks to Shizuka modifying it a little so that it fits him well. "She always is." The young man sees his girlfriend's parents and smiles at them as she approaches to take him by the hand. "I promise to take care of Shizuka on our trip"
"We know, you've always done it since you were a child, we trust you" Shizuka's father says, nodding with a smile as does his wife.
When the guys say goodbye, they all get on the ship while Mr. Hirano approaches "Dad, what's wrong? We're already saying goodbye" Seiya says confused.
"It's nothing, I just think you have a couple of cops there." The young people see the door to the command room that was what Olivier was pointing to, which is opened to show Mia and Hikaru there. They hardly changed much except that they had more adult features.
"MIA?! HIKARU?! What are you doing here? We had already said goodbye yesterday" Melia says surprised.
"And leave a bunch of young people who have just entered adulthood unsupervised on a continental trip?! Not at all, you bunch of lunatics" Mia says with her usual affectionate indifference.
"What she meant was that we also want to travel, for old times' sake, we may not be the STEAM Squadron anymore, but it wouldn't be bad to have one last trip together before each of us moves on with our lives in the adult world." Hikaru says smiling "And don't worry about your project, Dekisugi, Mr. Hirano will be in charge of its testing and will send you details of its progress"
"Oh, I'm so glad you're coming with us, the more the better," says Dekisugi.
"That's right, the truth is I missed being with the whole team like I did years ago." Nobita smiles as he puts on his goggles "So, let's get the Dora-Ship into action!"
Everyone prepares while Nobita enters the command ship, with Hikaru's instructions, he was able to lift the flying ship of his dreams away with his friends while everyone's parents said goodbye to them.
The ship began to move away from Sutirushiti, Hikaru offers to pilot to the first destination so that Nobita can go out to see the landscape, he does so and when he leaves he sees how the buildings were moving away from them as they rose, the young mechanic approaches the bow of the ship while excitedly watching the sky. "Here we go, grandma."
When he turned around a little he noticed something curious, he saw Doraemon at the top of a tall building for a moment, which made him startle as he shook his head, but when he looked at him again, there was no one there, although, that made him smile as he teared up. "Thanks for coming to see me today, buddy."
And it wasn't a hallucination due to the increase in adrenaline, since there was the mechanical cat that was there but had hidden himself as soon as Nobita saw him, next to him was Hanz smiling "Oh man, convincing me to come years later, you really care about that human. Huh?"
"I just wanted to come see his dream" Doraemon looks at the ship leaving the city while smiling satisfied, especially because on the side of the ship it said the name Dora-Ship "And he has really fulfilled it"
"Nah, you're exaggerating, dad!"
An 11-year-old boy with clothes similar to those Nobita wore when he was a child, except for the cap, was looking at an adult who was working on an engine in a large workshop which was arranged and had a lot of customers for the amount of requests that the adult had written in his notebook "Did that really happen? That you and mom went on a ship that you took on a continental trip to visit different places before you went to university?"
"Of course that happened, Nobisuke. Why would I invent something like that?"
"Because you told me that you were always a good student who got straight 100s and you only improved when the incident happened." The boy who was similar to Nobita looks at him in disbelief.
The adult only laughs as he steps away from the engine, it was Nobita, who already had his own mechanical workshop, his hair was no longer long but he did have his pompadour, now he had a jacket instead of the vest, but he kept his cap. The child sitting in front of him was his son, named Nobisuke.
(Editor's note: As I did in the first AU fanfic I made of the series, I reiterate my liking for the adult version of Nobita who uses glasses, as if it were just a growth spurt he gave, it's better than the current one that looks similar more to his dad)
The adult Nobita takes off his goggles and adjusts his glasses while smiling sadly "Ok, yeah, I admit that I wasn't the best" the mechanic man leaves a screwdriver that he was using on the same table where he was treating the engine that he was repairing. "But I assure you that that was real, as real as the prosthesis on my chest"
"I already know about the mechanical heart. But I still don't believe about the ship" Nobisuke continues looking at his father somewhat incredulous.
Nobita responds with a proud smile as he takes off his work gloves "Aaaah. Do you think so? Then follow me, there's something about my workshop that you haven't seen."
The boy follows his father towards an automatic door that Nobita activates with the power of his engine's energy, causing it to open, revealing stairs that led to an underground floor, a part that Nobisuke didn't know about, although he couldn't see anything. You have that door closed. Where does this lead?"
"You'll see" Nobita answers, feeling around on the left wall until he reaches a switch that activates yellow lights that gradually turn on. Nobisuke is instantly amazed: They were in a warehouse where the Dora-Ship was, although it was already a little rusty because it had not been used after the trip. "There you go, my first personal project. What's more..."
The mechanic points to a wooden board where there were photos of the points where he had marked on his map, they were group photos of him with his old team and Dekisugi, there was also the map that was more worn, his son is amazed.
"How come I didn't know about this?!" Nobisuke shouts.
"Because every time I try to inspire you with something like this when you say you don't know what to do as an adult, you always say that (Being a mechanic is boring and whatever was behind the door was probably tools)" Nobita says that and his son makes a embarrassed face looking at the ground, but the mechanic smiles at him as he ruffles his hair "Don't worry, I know that one day you will know what you want to be in the future, I went through the same thing as you years ago, I hope you know it in a less chaotic way unlike my case"
"Uh... Thanks dad. And... Since it's summer vacation soon. Could I pilot that ship and go around?!" Nobisuke says with a sparkle in his eyes.
"None of that, you don't know how to pilot a ship." Shizuka stood in front of them as she said that with authority, the only difference from the young adult version of her was that instead of a long skirt, she was wearing long pants. "It's good that you're interested in your father's most precious project, but you can barely use a flying motorcycle, so no."
"But mom!" Shizuka laughs softly as she sees his son instantly becoming disillusioned.
"Although, making time off from our schedules we could use the ship again to go on summer vacation, only if you get a good grade for the exams before the vacation" Shizuka says smiling while having her eyes closed.
"Uh... Alright, then I'm going to prepare for the exams! You promised me that! Okay?" Nobisuke says that with determination to which Nobita places his goggles on his face, the surprised boy looks at his father who nods smiling.
"It's a promise" Nobita looks his son runs away excitedly while holding his arms like the wings of an airplane imagining being on the ship, Shizuka approaches her husband to kiss him on the lips. "I hope he finds what he wants to do soon."
"He will do it, with that energy he has he will surely find the answer" The couple holds hands in which there were wedding rings on their fingers
"You came early, darling." Nobita says blushing.
"Today I was able to finish that arrangement in the store that was for Seiya and his wife, tomorrow they celebrate their anniversary. The other week will be the meeting with the guys, Dekisugi ended up confirming that he was going to go to the restaurant that Melia reserved. It will be nice that everyone is reunited again." Shizuka says with a loving smile and instantly looks at her husband.
"Tomorrow my agenda is full with tutoring for the piano group for Independence Day, so... Would you like to go to the theater again since we have time today? Nobisuke is going to study at home, he will be with the watchdog you created for him, so we could go see a play like old times, dear. I heard they are going to show the story of Vapu play again after so many years."
The mechanic laughs softly, smiling at his wife. "That brings back memories." Nobita blushes like Shizuka and nods as they both begin to leave the warehouse and then close the automatic door. "Of course, for old times' sake."
THE END