Chapter Text
Something was weird about this time around. Alhaitham couldn't possibly have known his plan. Besides that, his face looked relieved.
Could he also be..?
Kaveh threw on his clothes hastily and ran straight to Alhaitham’s apartment. No need to find Mehrak today, Alhaitham always scoffed at the idea of her anyways.
After nearly a minute of panicked knocking, Alhaitham blearily opened the door. Kaveh threw his arms around the younger man and sobbed harder. He knew that everything would be forgotten in the next cycle, so he didn't care.
“Why did you have to get hit again?! Why couldn't you just let me do one thing for you? You're such an illogical idiot, Alhaitham! I hate you! I hate-”
“Stop.” Alhaitham pushed Kaveh off him, studying his eyes. Tears kept falling, but they were being wiped away now. “Kaveh, what’s going on?”
He scoffed. “You won't believe me. You never do.”
“I will this time.”
Kaveh scoffed again, then used his sleeve to wipe away his remaining tears. “I’m in a time loop where you die at the end. Happy?”
“You too? How many times?”
“You’re cruel.” Kaveh sighed. At least he wasn't being blown off. “I stopped counting after seventeen.”
“I think I’m on my sixth.”
Okay, no, Alhaitham didn't lie like that. Not even when teasing. Kaveh met his eyes, lips parted. “Wait. You’ve actually been in a loop too? But the last time I told you-”
“You never told me.”
“Yes I did, it was when we were on the bridge and it collapsed. You saw the rope snap and pushed me off, but then you fell into the river.”
“No, you died on the bridge. Your eyes got all wide and you pushed me off. You were the one who fell into the river.”
“I think I’d remember something like that.”
“Clearly, you don't.”
“How are you so insufferable? Fine, I’ll let you take the elevator downstairs. Enjoy the crash.”
“Fine. Don't trip and fall down the stairs again. This was one of the weirder loops, and I’d prefer it to not be repeated.”
Kaveh pursed his lips. “You’re sure you’re serious? You aren't making fun of me?” He took a step back and glanced at his phone. 12:11. “Let's take the elevator downstairs. It crashes in seventeen minutes, so we have time to find somewhere to sort this out.”
“Library? They might have a book on what’s going on.” Alhaitham seemed to already have made up his mind, however, guiding Kaveh out of his apartment and to the elevators. They piled into the elevator together, avoiding conversation as best they could. They also both attempted to ignore the familiar feeling of being watched. Once the doors reopened, they exited together, continuously checking each other for signs of danger. Kaveh would occasionally check the time on his phone, scan his surroundings, then check again. Meanwhile, Alhaitham would keep an eye on Kaveh, making sure his friend didn't fall into a pit.
Within several minutes, they safely reached the library. Kaveh pulled out his phone again, checked the time, and said, “Check the science books out while I look through mythology books. Get a couple for now and meet me at one of the reading tables in the back.”
Alhaitham nodded and the two parted ways. It was surprising Kaveh hadn't tried to research this beforehand, frankly. Maybe he just wanted to trial and error until something stuck. All he knew for certain so far was that it always happened at 12:28, and that the time wouldn't change from 12:27 until the death happened. It was as if time didn't abide by the rules in the loop.
As he grabbed a book, he thought about Alhaitham’s response to him in this loop. If he was also going through this, why didn't he believe Kaveh before? Unless…
“I’ve cracked part of it,” Kaveh explained as he put a small stack of mythology books down near Alhaitham. “You don't remember the times you die, and I don't remember the times I die. So unless we figure this out and break out in this loop, one of us needs to tell the other one the next time around.”
“And the reason we’re in this mess?”
“Not a clue.” Kaveh pulled out a seat and sat down beside Alhaitham, elbows touching on the table. “We should get to work, I suppose. You never know when something deadly will happen.”
Both boys opened the book at the top of their respective piles and began reading, skimming for anything mentioning time loops. Every now and again Kaveh would check the time and look around anxiously before continuing to flip through the pages.
“Found something in one of your books,” Alhaitham said after Kaveh was close to giving up.
“You took one of my books? I had a system -”
“Just listen: The Kagerou Daze is a parallel world entered when two or more people die together on August 15th. Those entered are seperate from those who have entered before and will enter in the future. The world is characterized by one of the people dying at the same time they originally died each day, followed by the world resetting. After that, it goes into why it was created, but I think this is it.”
Kaveh softly closed the book he’d been sifting through. “So…we’re dead? What is this, some sort of purgatory?”
“I think so.”
“Does it say how to escape?”
“No.”
“So we’re stuck here, together. Forever.”
Kaveh exhaled shakily as tears began to well in his eyes. Unknowing of what to do, Alhaitham picked up all the books from the table and left to put them away. As a singular tear slipped from his eye, Kaveh checked the time again.
12:28.
Kaveh looked around wildly for whatever the issue could be, the danger he knew was coming. In one of the aisles, two boys were pushing each other about, far too rowdy for a library. In the aisle beside them, Alhaitham was putting back the books. In a motion fluid as water, one of the boys was pushed into a shelf. The entire thing began to fall, much to the boys’ dismay. Knowing what came next, Kaveh squeezed his eyes shut until he felt himself back in his bed.
After dozens of repeats, Kaveh had the schedule memorized fully. He’d wake up around 11:23, get to the park around 12, then text Alhaitham, who’d show up a half hour later. The cat would run off, they’d chase after it, one of them would die. Of course, that was all barring any other choices they'd make.
Kaveh patiently waited at the park for Alhaitham to show up, watching as the minutes passed by. Normally he’d be peoplewatching, but he’d long since learned that nobody had a distinct face. Originally he’d blamed his frazzled mind, but after learning that they were in a parallel world, he wasn’t surprised. He noticed Mehrak off to the side, and wanting to try to keep Alhaitham in the dark as long as he could, he scooped her up and sent a picture to his friend.
“What are you, little cat? Every single time we follow the rules to the letter, I see you. Are you trying to give us a sign?”
Mehrak mewled on his lap and began kneading his thighs, not acknowledging his question. Kaveh scratched her head gently and continued, “I thought you were some kind of good luck charm for a while. That if we had you around, maybe we could break the loop. Guess not, though.”
“Kaveh?”
He looked up from his perch on the swing at the person who called his name. Alhaitham.
“Hey, look! Her name’s Mehrak. Isn’t she the cutest?”
Alhaitham seemed unamused, but proceeded to sit on the swing beside Kaveh. Taking a closer look, however, he seemed…confused? Maybe Kaveh didn’t say exactly what he was meant to. Right, because he would have forgotten the truck and the library, so he still doesn’t know. Wait, did he have another line he was meant to say? Alhaitham was looking more confused by the second- okay, look around. What did he mention in previous loops?
“It’s so hot, even the clouds evaporated. Makes it all that much hotter, you know?” Kaveh suggested a small smile, but it seemed like he said the wrong thing, as Alhaitham continued looking painfully confused. Before he could say anything more, Mehrak hopped out of his lap and saved him the embarrassment. Alhaitham was about to follow her when Kaveh stopped him.
“She’ll be fine. How about we go on a walk?”
“Kaveh, you’re acting different,” Alhaitham accused, arms crossed.
Kaveh sighed and turned his face away. “I’m sure I am. Come with me, and I swear I’ll explain.”
Hesitantly, Alhaitham took Kaveh’s hand, and the two started towards the bridge. As they walked, Kaveh explained everything they’d learned in the previous loop, not skipping over any important details. By the time he finished speaking, his plan was almost complete. As they were crossing the bridge, he stopped Alhaitham from finishing crossing.
“This is going to seem weird, but I need you to trust me. During the time we’ve been here, have you ever felt something watching you?”
Alhaitham nodded slowly, glancing around. Kaveh took the opportunity to lean in and whisper, “I’m sure it’s watching us now too. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think it’ll like my plan. That’s why I can’t tell you what’s about to happen.”
For what was hopefully the last time, Kaveh pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time, watching the minutes roll over from 12:27 to 12:28. He slipped the small device back into his pocket and waited, keeping an eye on Alhaitham and an ear out for the rope snapping.
He knew it was time to move when he saw Alhaitham look past him with a panicked expression…well, as panicked as his face could get. As Alhaitham reached forward to push him back off the bridge, Kaveh surged forward and planted a kiss on Alhaitham’s lips. The action succeeded in stunning him, leaving them both to fall into the river. Kaveh offered Alhaitham one last smile, knowing his plan to get them both out via death had succeeded.