"Oh, yeah," he assures, sidestepping to let her climb aboard first. "Actually, we have a married couple aboard, and one man and his assistant from his lab...considering how few of us there are, that's actually a pretty high percentage!"

But not a total one. Manabu, like others, came alone. And even though he's encountered familiar things -- the name Stark, the Pokemon -- there's no sign of a face he knows personally. He's part of a percentage, too.

But it's not about him right now. It's about giving some assurance to this kid.

"But either way," he adds on, climbing up the top step, "I don't think you have to worry about your little friend being lost. This sort of...of weird...plucked-from-your-home thing? I don't think it'll shake up others back at home.

"At least...that's how it was the, uh, other times I got transported to different places. Or times."