The alarm is going off in this room!

Oh no, that's the Time Manipulation Lab! Chika, disengage the lock!

Okay! Uhh, what was the passcode again? I only just changed it recently… Oh! I remember now! It's Rina's birthday!

Whoa! You shouldn't say that with an outsider like me in your presence!

Isn't setting someone's birthday as a passcode one of the worst things you could do?

[Fade in/out.]

What?!

The room's filled with mikan oranges!

They just keep popping out of that machine over there. What is that? A machine that produces mikan oranges?

It's the time-manipulation device. Rina's and my labor of love that we poured our sweat and tears into!

So this is the time manipulation device the rumors spoke of… To stop, reverse, and speed up time… The great minds of humankind are taking on a scientific impossibility!

The fruit of those great minds is way out of control right now, though…

One moment, please! I'll do something about this right away!

First, I need to open the control panel. Oh, but I need to put in my personal authorization code before that. A, B, three, five… Ack! I messed up!

Umm, since this error code is being displayed, I need to fix this wiring, pull this lever, press this button, and… Huh? Was that not the right procedure?

A-Are you okay? Is there anything we can do to help?

We haven't really been involved in this research, so our feeble efforts to help might make things worse!

Why don't we pick up the mikan oranges for now? There's a cardboard box in the corner, so let's put them in there.

Good idea. Urk, ackkkk! It's so hard to walk with all of these mikan oranges in the way!

Why are there mikan oranges popping out of the time-manipulation device to begin with? I have no idea what this has to do with anything.

The Tennoji Lab motto is “Close to Home, Close to Heart.” So the technology and devices we create are made in forms to easily fit into people's everyday lives.

So that's why mikan oranges are popping out? I suppose I am pretty familiar with them, but it still feels completely unrelated to me!

Nooooo! I've gotten hold of the cardboard box, but it's too buried in mikan oranges to drag out!

Chikaaaaaa! How's it going with the device?

The control panel isn't responding at all!

L-Let's leave the room for now! Push all of the mikan oranges out into the hallway so we can at least get some space to move around!

No can do! I can't move any more!

It's getting hard to breathe… Oh, my mind is turning fuzzy…

Kotori! You mustn't fall asleep! Get a hold of yourself!

Isn't there… Isn't there anything we can do?!

………

…Th-The alarm's stopped ringing?

And it looks like the mikan oranges have stopped popping out as well.

Is everyone okay?

Chika! We're fine! How are things over there with the whole device being out of control?

The device wasn't doing what I wanted it to, so I pulled the plug on it!