“So where are we going today?”
“There’s a movie I’ve wanted to see. You’re coming.”
”…Surprisingly normal.”
I was bracing for some outrageous demand — disappointed almost.
“Oh — were you imagining I’d drag you to a love hotel?”
“O-of course not.”
(Lie. I’d briefly considered the possibility.) She smirked, having seen through me.
“Heh — so a little bit, then.”
“Time’s wasting, let’s go.”
“Yes yes.”
I cut the conversation off before I dug deeper. She didn’t push it — she’d gotten her teasing.
We rode to the usual mall and headed for the movie theater.
“What movie are we seeing?”
“Tsubame’s Door Closing — they’ve been running CMs nonstop.”
“Yeah, that’s huge at school right now.”
“My friends say it’s great — been curious.”
It was a major social-media buzz anime film. Tsubame’s Door Closing is a road movie about a male high schooler and a female college-student heroine traveling Japan suppressing disasters.
By the same director as Your Name and Weathering with You — sky-high expectations going in. Romance elements too, so couples were going.
“Let’s get drinks and popcorn.”
“Half caramel half salt for the popcorn.”
“Yeah.”
We bought tickets from the vending machine, then drinks and popcorn at the counter, and settled into our reserved seats.
“Yeah — couples everywhere.”
“Don’t we look like a couple from the outside?”
I deflected the embarrassment.
“More like a wild older sister dragging her little brother around, I think.”
“Hey, don’t be boring.”
She pouted. I rushed to fix it before her mood tanked.
“I meant — we look so close we could pass as actual siblings. I’m not denying we could look like a couple.”
“Fine, I’ll accept that.”
Disaster averted. We watched trailers and ads, and then the lights dimmed.
The protagonist, who lives in Hakata, meets the college-student heroine and starts the journey. Early-to-mid film, they suppress disasters at Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima, Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, and Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya.
That section was upbeat — until tragedy struck the heroine at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine, and the tone darkened.
A long stretch of seriousness followed. In the climax, at Chuson-ji in Hiraizumi, the heroine was saved, and the film reached its happy ending.
“That was great.”
“Yeah — I was worried mid-film, but solid ending.”
We stood and were heading for the exit when I spotted very familiar faces.
“Oh — Sis and Yuito-kun!”
“Suzuno? And big bro?!”
“What are you doing with Kano-san?”
“Hey, you two.”
My brother and I were thrown. Suzuno was as serene as ever and Kano was completely casual.
“Big bro should be at soccer practice right now — what are you doing at a movie with Suzuno?”
“You don’t know? Faculty meeting today, all clubs canceled. Did you not listen?”
Ah — that explained the foot traffic on the commute. Homeroom must have announced it; I’d zoned out all day.
“We’re blocking the aisle — let’s get outside.”
We snapped out of our staring contest.