Double Planet Episode 11

Double Planet
Episode 11: Please Don't Get Cold
Satoru Aono (Furuta Jun & Kanda Yota / Radio Shonan Personality)

"If you can wait here with me until night."

The words Tamaru spoke hit me in all directions, hitting my weak spots. Could it be that he was reading my mind? I felt ashamed of myself for having no money and wanting to be home by dinnertime. Maybe I had to face Tamaru head-on. Unless I faced him properly, would he ever tell me about "Sky and Puzzles"? It was my turn to answer.

"Well, that was my intention."

I tried to act cool. I blurted out that I had intended to stay until the night from the beginning. When Tamaru heard this, he said, "I see," trying to hold back a laugh. Once again, I felt like he had read my mind.

"I'm waiting for the stars to come out in the sky tonight"

Tamaru looked up at the sky, where a faint light still remained, and said, "What is the definition of night, anyway? What time does night begin and end? And what time exactly do the stars come out? There were so many things I didn't understand. Maybe if I took out my smartphone and looked online, I'd find something that looked like the answer. But just for tonight, it felt like the answer wouldn't really matter.

Here, I wait with Tamaru for the stars to come out.
Perhaps the answer lies there.
I remained silent as I listened to the sound of the waves and looked out at the sea with Tamaru.
The sea breeze blew relentlessly, making my body cold.
I wish I had brought a jacket, knowing this would happen.
However, when I got on the Enoshima Electric Railway, I never imagined that something like this would happen.
For now, all we can do is accept this cold and the situation positively.

Suddenly, I felt a strange coldness on my forehead.
It was raindrops.
With that, it started to rain a little.
Raindrops melt into the sea surface.

"It's raining?! It's starting to rain..."

Next to me, who was panicking, Tamaru-san stood up quickly.

"Are you going home?"
"Shelter from the Rain"

Tamaru-san walked briskly across the beach back towards the road. I followed him like a pet dog.

"where are you going?"
"The next station"

Next to Kamakura High School is Shichirigahama.
Apparently there is a 7-Eleven near the station.
The rain was getting stronger than before, and we were walking quickly down the road.
When rain clouds cover the sky, even I know that there will be no stars. I'm so unlucky. I can't help but sigh.

"If you don't like it, you can go home."

Once again, Tamaru-san read my mind.

"Well, I'm not going home."

I'm not giving up either. I'm trying my best to act tough. Men are creatures that like to act tough.
I increased my walking speed more than necessary and tried to overtake Tamaru-san.
I feel dizzy at my own childishness.
What on earth am I doing? What on earth am I fighting against?
Come to think of it, it was the first time I'd ever walked side by side with a girl outside of school.
Perhaps she doesn't want others to notice her embarrassment.
Then, Tamaru-san came running past me.

"Too early!"

Tamaru-san seemed to have sparked something in her, as she was going at a fairly serious pace. She may be just as competitive as I am. I ran and tried to overtake her.

"See you later!"

Tamaru-san picked up the pace even more, and so we continued our fierce battle of passing each other (and having fun) until we arrived at our destination, the 7-Eleven.

As soon as we got under the eaves, we laughed.
I was soaked, but I could feel the heat coming off my body from all the running.
I was surprised to find that running in the rain can be so much fun.
I wondered if running alone would be fun. Or maybe it was fun because I was running with Tamaru-san. I could roughly guess what would happen when the steam rising from my body cooled down.

"If it gets cold, you might catch a cold."

Tamaru expressed his concerns.
I came up with a way to combat this.

"Then you just have to let it cool down."
"picture?"

I started doing side jumps on the spot. It was the kind of thing they do in physical fitness tests. Of course, I was joking. I thought maybe Tamaru-san would laugh. Why did I want to make him laugh? Why did I want to see him laugh? But I didn't hear any laughter from Tamaru-san. I glanced at his face and he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Sorry. Was it boring...?"
"Yes. I thought that was a great idea."

Instead of making him laugh, he was impressed for some reason.

"The idea of thinking about how to prevent things from cooling down, rather than lamenting the fact that things are cooling down, is amazing."

I'm not used to being praised, and I don't know how to react.
Tamaru-san became increasingly talkative, as if he had discovered something.

"So, I think it's something like this. It's not that the stars don't appear in the sky because of rain clouds, but rather that the stars aren't going anywhere and will always be in space. They've been there for hundreds of millions of light years and they won't disappear. That's why we wait. If we keep waiting, we'll definitely be able to see the stars. If we keep moving, it's so that our body heat doesn't cool down."

At first glance, I couldn't tell because she looked so confident. But the sky covered in rain clouds was just as unsettling. I would be happy if my foolish side-to-side jumps could ease her anxiety even a little.

I checked the contents of my wallet just to be sure. As expected, there was only coins in it. It didn't look like I could buy a shirt to change into.

"I'll go buy it."
"Huh?"

With that, Tamaru-san went inside the store. Once again, it seemed like she had read my mind. What should I do when she comes back with the shirt?

The rain continues to fall as usual.
But tonight, no matter what, I'll keep waiting until I can see the stars.
That's what I had decided.

When Tamaru returned, he was clutching two cans of corn soup.

"I'll give you one."
"Eh, is that okay?"

I took the can that was placed in front of me with my right hand.
At that moment, my numb hands began to tingle from the heat emitted by the can of corn soup.
The heat spread throughout my body, gradually warming my heart.

Some of this heat may be from Tamaru-san, who was holding it just a moment ago.

That night we saw the stars.

"to be continued"

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