Double Planet final episode

Double Planet
Final episode: "Until the stars disappear"
Ruka Tamaru (Furuta Jun & Kanda Yota / Radio Shonan personalities)

I thought I'd be fine. There was no way I'd get COVID. Ever since I was a child, I'd never been wrong with that kind of feeling. Looking back now, that overconfidence was my downfall. It was terrible after I got diagnosed. I caused so much trouble for my parents, my teachers, and everyone in the drama club. There was nothing I could do but cause trouble. While I was isolated in my room, time passed by at the speed of a sundial's hands, and it was all just "nothingness." Food was regularly placed in front of my room. It was my food. When I said I wanted bread, my mother, for some reason, bought me crab-shaped bread. I don't remember ever saying I liked it. Looking up at the ceiling, I had this image cross my mind many times: that this room was cut off from the world, floating in the sky and being sucked into a black hole in space.

It was so close to the online performance of "Sky and Puzzle."
I was so close to putting all the pieces together, but then I flipped the puzzle over.

"It's not Luca's fault."

Natsuki said that, but it's still my fault. I think so myself, so it must be true. I was so close to achieving my dream of having my own work performed. Every day was fun. No, it was too much fun. Creating something together with trustworthy friends is so much fun. It's dangerous. I was blinded by the fun, and I let my guard down. After exchanging messages with Natsuki on LINE, we decided to postpone the online performance scheduled for 10 days later. Preparations for the performance wouldn't progress if I wasn't there. It was an unavoidable decision.

"Theater isn't going anywhere. If anything's going to run away, it's Luca."

Natsuki's words were as passionate as ever. I was a little annoyed that she seemed to have seen through my weaknesses. To be honest, I had already given up somewhere along the way. It's easy to say postpone it. But at this stage, I have no idea when that will be. In the end, I know of many performances that are effectively canceled under the guise of postponement. In two months I'll be a third-year student, and entrance exams will begin. Is this really the time for me to be doing theater? Even if I do, will I be able to convince my parents? When I start thinking about things like that, I get weaker and weaker. This was my only chance, I had been moving everything towards this moment. But I let it slip away. The switch that I thought I had slowly pushed down over the past year was about to be pushed back with great force.

My phone rang.

It's 3 AM. I can't understand why I'm getting a call at this hour.
It's completely inconsiderate of them to contact me at a time when I'm supposedly ill.
But I was awake. I had been staring up at the ceiling the whole time.
The caller said:

"Sorry for bothering you at this hour..."

The voice belonged to Satoru Aono. I had heard from Natsuki that I had contracted COVID-19, and I didn't know how to contact him face-to-face, so I hadn't contacted him individually. He hadn't contacted me either. I would also struggle with what to say if Aono-kun contracted COVID-19. If all I could say was something generic, I might just keep quiet.

"I'm sorry things turned out this way."

I said in a listless voice, still staring at the ceiling. Then I heard some rustling noises.
No, it's not a sound. It's a voice.
I heard a woman's voice whispering on the phone.
That voice was one I knew.

"...Natsuki?"

Why are Natsuki and Aono together at 3 AM?
I don't understand it at all.

"Well, um...you see, Natsuki isn't here."

Aono is completely flustered. He's definitely there. He's right there, isn't he?
That's enough, you take over.
Just as I heard a voice, Natsuki answered the phone.

"So you found out."
"Huh? What do you mean? Are you two together?"
"Well... that's basically it. I'm in Aono's room right now."

The two of them are in Aono's room.

"Oh, but it's not just the two of us. My boyfriend is with us too."

It makes even less sense.
Apparently, the three of them were involved in a love triangle without my knowledge. That can't be true.

"From here on, you have to say it yourself."

It was Aono's turn to speak.
I gasped.
What on earth is he trying to do at this hour?

"Um... could I have just one hour of your time?"
"Huh?"
"The hour until the stars disappear"

Suddenly, when someone mentioned stars, I remembered the stars I saw on the beach that day.

Come to think of it, it was around this time.
I think it was 3 AM that day when I returned to the beach from the convenience store and looked up at the sky.

So that's why it's this time...?

Then, a voice came from the pitch darkness.
It was a completely different voice from what it sounded like just a moment ago.
Natsuki's voice had begun to read from the script for "Sky and Puzzle."
My lines and stage directions.
I read each word carefully.
I tried to say something, but then I fell silent.
I hadn't been practicing like this before.
It wasn't even a story written for reading aloud in the first place.
But Natsuki had completely made her own voice.
And it already dominates the story of "Sky and Puzzle."
Before I knew it, my ears were intently focused on not missing a single word of the story that was flowing into my ears.

A performance just for me, which began at 3 AM over the phone.
That's how it is.
I became the first customer of my own artwork.
Natsuki's voice is coming through clearly.
Natsuki's boyfriend, who is knowledgeable about live streaming, may have prepared a microphone for the reading.

It's pitch black, yet warm.
It's pitch black, yet it's deeply moving.
It's so pitch black.
No, perhaps it's precisely because it's pitch black.
Stories are amazing.

The final scene was rewritten many times.
My favorite line is coming up soon.
It's coming, it's coming.
I wonder how Natsuki will pronounce it.

"Looking up at the stars alone isn't fun. It's better with someone else."

They suppress their emotions and keep their intonation subdued, yet they genuinely care about the other person's feelings.
It was amazing.
Then, the sound of a guitar crept in, almost as if sneaking in.
It's not exactly skillful, to say the least.
But the only thing that comes across with intense force is the sheer desperation.
I can see it, even though I can't see it.
That's where you could see Satoru Aono's true potential.
A faint singing voice begins to run parallel to Natsuki's recitation.
It's clear that the two of them have been practicing a lot for this day.
There's no way something like this could be done in a day or two.
Just for me.
Tears well up.
I wonder if they're crying as spectators.
Or perhaps she's crying out of gratitude towards Natsuki and Aono-kun.
I don't know which it is. I can't sort out my emotions.
I can't stop crying.
This is the epilogue.
The story is almost over.
I know that.
Because I'm the author.
Hey, is it really ending?
Is it ending?
Please.
Don't end it.
Don't end it yet.
Please keep going like this forever.
No.
It's ending.
It's almost over.
I have to say it before it's over.
Hurry, hurry.
There's one thing I absolutely have to say.
I want to say this to both of you.
Will I make it in time?
Make it in time.

"I'm not going to quit."

The End

*You can view back issues here .