Double Planet Episode 11

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

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

The single word Tamaru-san uttered struck down all my weaknesses. Could it be that he could read my mind? I felt pathetic for having no money and wanting to be home by dinnertime. Maybe I had to face Tamaru-san head-on. Would I never be able to learn about "Sky and Puzzle" unless I properly faced him? It was my turn to answer.

"Uh, that was the intention."

I was trying to act cool. I blurted out that I had intended to stay until night from the beginning. When Tamaru heard this, he said "I see" as if trying to suppress a laugh. Once again, I felt like he could 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 exactly is the definition of night? When does night begin, and when does it end? And at what time do the stars come out? There were so many things I didn't know. If I took out my smartphone and looked it up online, I might find something that seems like the right answer. But tonight, I felt like that answer wouldn't really matter."

We waited here with Tamaru-san for the stars to come out.
That's probably the only place to find the answer.
I sat in silence, listening to the sound of the waves, and watching the sea with Mr. Tamaru.
The sea breeze was blowing relentlessly, and I was getting cold.
I wish I had brought a jacket, considering this might happen.
But when I got on the Enoden train, I never imagined things would turn out like this.
Right now, all we can do is accept this cold weather and the situation with a positive attitude.

Suddenly, I felt a strange coldness on my forehead.
It was a raindrop.
Following that, it began to rain lightly.
Raindrops dissolve into the surface of the sea.

"It's raining?! It's started raining..."

While I was flustered, Ms. Tamaru stood up straight beside me.

"Are you going home?"
"Taking shelter from the rain"

Ms. Tamaru strode briskly across the beach back towards the road. I followed her like a pet dog.

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

Next to Kamakura High School is Shichirigahama.
Apparently there's a Seven-Eleven near the station.
The rain had gotten heavier than before. We were walking quickly down the road.
Even I know that if rain clouds cover the sky, there won't be any stars. What bad luck. I feel like I'm going to sigh.

"You can go home if you don't want to."

Once again, Tamaru-san has read my mind.

"Uh, I'm not going home."

I'm not giving up either. I'm desperately trying to act tough. Men are creatures that always try to act tough.
I increased my walking speed more than necessary and tried to overtake Mr. Tamaru.
I feel dizzy at my own immaturity.
What am I even doing? What am I fighting against?
Now that I think about it, this was the first time I'd ever walked alongside a girl outside of school.
Perhaps they don't want anyone to notice their embarrassment.
Then, Tamaru-san jogged past me.

"Go ahead!"

Perhaps I had ignited something in her, because Tamaru-san was running at a pretty serious pace. She might be just as competitive as I am. I ran and tried to overtake Tamaru-san.

"See you later!"

Tamaru-san increased his speed even further. And so, we continued our neck-and-neck race, overtaking and being overtaken repeatedly (and having fun), until we finally reached our destination, the 7-Eleven.

As soon as we stepped under the eaves, we started laughing.
I'm soaking wet, but I can feel my body radiating heat from running.
It was a surprising discovery that running in the rain could be so much fun.
I wondered if running alone would be fun. Or perhaps it was only fun because I was running with Tamaru-san. I could roughly guess what would happen once the steam rising from my body cooled down.

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

Ms. Tamaru voiced her concern.
I came up with one way to resist it.

"Then, just don't let it cool down."
"picture?"

I started doing side-to-side jumps right there. You know, the kind they do in physical fitness tests. Of course, I was joking. I just thought it might make Tamaru-san laugh. Why did I want to make her laugh? Why did I want to see her smiling face? But I didn't hear a single laugh from Tamaru-san. I glanced at her face and she seemed to be deep in thought.

"Sorry. Was it boring...?"
"No, I thought that was a really great idea."

Instead of making people laugh, I somehow managed to impress them.

"Instead of lamenting that it's cooling down, the idea of thinking about how to prevent it from cooling down is brilliant."

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

"In other words, I think it's also this: it's not that rain clouds are preventing stars from appearing in the sky; rather, stars don't go anywhere and are always in the universe. They haven't disappeared for hundreds of millions of light-years. So, we wait. If we keep waiting, we will definitely see the stars. Just like how keeping moving keeps your body warm."

At first glance, she seemed so composed that I couldn't tell. But the same anxiety as me, under a sky covered in rain clouds, was present. If my foolish side-to-side jumps could alleviate even a little of her anxiety, then I'm truly pleased.

I checked the contents of my wallet just in case. As expected, there was only loose change. It looks like I won't be able to buy a shirt to change into.

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

With that, Ms. Tamaru went inside the store. Perhaps she had read my mind once again. What should I do if she comes back with a shirt?

The rain continues to fall as usual.
But tonight, no matter what happens, I'm going to keep waiting until I can see the stars.
I had decided that.

When Tamaru returned, she was clutching two cans of corn soup in her hand.

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

I took the can that was offered to me with my right hand.
At that moment, my numb hands tingled from the heat emanating from the can of corn soup.
The heat spread throughout my body, and my heart gradually warmed up as well.

Part of this heat might be the heat of Mr. Tamaru, whose hand I was holding just a moment ago.

That night, we looked at the stars.

"to be continued"

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