The Balloonatic

Safety First

Number Two possessed my sister,

and told me to look after everyone.

And he said that I couldn't tell anyone.

But you just told us.

It may have been a mistake to force you to talk.

Do you know what happens if you talk?

Well...

Ah...

It was a mistake to choose you.

No matter, since this is goodbye.

Are you Number Two?

Do you remember my warning that there

would be consequences if you talked?

That this would never end?

Ow!

My clothes!

Aoki!

Why? It's not five yet.

Clothes! Give me my clothes!

Right, hold on!

Taichi!

It's his turn?!

That means the time frame is random now, too?

Huh?

I'm hungry! I'm hungry!

Okay! I get it, so get down from there!

I'm hungry! I'm hungry!

And you have really good balance.

So this is how it feels after you've had your time reversed.

I'm starting to remember a bunch of

stuff from grade school.

It's long past five.

This is happening because Taichi told us about Number Two?

Sorry, it's my fault.

Don't apologize.

I'm the one to blame.

But now, we can't even step outside,

let alone go home.

It's gotten to the point where we can no longer hide this.

Maybe we should talk to our parents and Mr. Go.

We can't do that!

I-It's a bad idea to inconvenience our families.

Yeah.

Who knows what will happen if we tell anyone else?

We should try to hide this as long as we can.

I can manage not going home, as long as I call first.

But my mom and sister will be really mad

so I'll have to make up for it later.

Um, is it okay if I go home for a bit?

Are you worried about something?

I wanted to talk to my mom real quick.

Huh?

As Long as the Five of Us Are Together

Iori-chan, are you cold?

No, I'm okay.

Thank you very much for worrying about me.

It's already eleven, and she still hasn't turned back.

I want to take a bath.

Yes, I also want to take a bath,

but I can't, so I'll wait.

I didn't see! I didn't see anything!

Did you just turn back?

Yup, seems that way.

Sorry about waking you up.

What was I like as an 11-year-old?

You were very responsible and mature.

Mature...

So that's how I looked.

You know how your memories of the time you returned to

vaguely remain when you come back to your present age?

Yeah.

It brings back a lot of thoughts and regrets you might have had.

Times where you wish you had acted differently,

or wonder if doing something another way would have been better.

Aoki and Yui really impressed me back there.

I have a feeling I'll never get to where they are.

I felt the same way for a while.

But what you can't accomplish alone

becomes doable when you're with someone else.

With someone else...

Uh, so...

Anyway, we shouldn't be talking so much.

Let's get some sleep while we can.

So my friends suddenly said they were bringing me to their holiday home.

I'm sorry about not calling first.

Huh? She's not here right now!

Sorry, I'm busy so I'm gonna hang up!

Sorry, Mama!

This is bad.

She sounds like she's about to ask the police to search for me.

I guess we're running out of time.

And we're basically out of options.

Oh, sorry.

Hello? Mom?

Wait. What's wrong, Mom?

Mom!

Your second father?

Yeah, he had told Mom that he wanted to get back together.

Huh? What do you mean?

This is our first time hearing of this.

Well, he has problems.

He can be violent.

He'd been helping around the house this time around.

But lately...

Is it serious?

He hasn't hit anyone yet.

This guy sounds like a typical loser.

You should kick him out.

I thought we might be able to start over.

I've wondered from time to time...

If I had done a better job as a child,

the people around me might have turned out better.

After all, there were so many options that I didn't take.

And it looks like I made the wrong choices.

My mom just said that I shouldn't go home right now.

Why didn't you say something sooner?!

This is my problem.

Hello? Mom?

D-Dad?

No, wait!

Dad—

What do I do? What do I do?

I have to go!

But I can't go.

I have to go.

What do I do? What do I do?

Calm down, Nagase!

Iori!

W-Wait, where are you going?

Home.

Why?

I'm going to protect Mom.

If I do the right thing, Dad will be in a better mood.

Why do you need to protect your mom?

Because I love Mom.

Huh? Was my time reversed?

How long has it been?

Oh, it was a short one.

Ah, that's why I...

Why...

I remember now.

Huh? Why?

Sorry, I know this is a stupid thing to do.

But I have to go!

Wait, Nagase!

Iori-chan!

Iori!

I won't do anything that hurts the rest of you.

I'll handle this myself.

Wait up, you idiot!

You said that you messed up in the past!

Do you know why?!

Because you refused to ask for help and tried

to do everything yourself!

I'm...

You were worried about making another mistake without telling any of us,

yet you still insist on running off by yourself!

Do you really think that's going to work?

But...

Look around you!

What do you see?

But this is a private problem.

That's—

That's absurd!

If you're suffering, that's our problem!

Well, it might be none of our business.

That wasn't needed.

If you're worried, say something!

Don't do crazy stuff without saying anything.

Those were your words.

I always thought I needed to do this myself

since I was the one who screwed up.

But now...

Iori-chan, think simple.

Yeah, Iori.

All it takes is one sentence.

We're always here for you.

Will you help me?

Shouldn't we go by train or bus?

If we're lucky, nobody will have their time reversed.

That's being too optimistic!

Aoki!

This is exactly what I was worried about.

What do we do? Take him with us?

I'll stay behind.

Once Aoki turns back, we'll catch up.

Yui...

Go! It'll be okay.