Work Text:
It was a really hot morning. Tsukasa opened his eyes, having been awoken by the annoying sound of the cicadas' cry, and caught a glimpse of the clock.
"12.30?"
He got up, with a little extra effort, as the sweat had left him pretty much glued to the bed, and picked up his phone, as he did every morning. He didn't usually sleep that much, but due to the high temperatures, it was difficult to get to sleep. He went to the bathroom and washed his face with cold water, also applying some of it to the back of his neck to reduce the heat. He came back with intentions of turning on his fan or grabbing an ice cream, but he realized the screen of his phone had turned on for a few seconds. After picking it up, he saw a notification on the lock screen.
"Tsukasa-kun, are you free? I'm bored. Let's do something."
It was a text from Rui. He wanted to decline because the temperature was no joke; but he couldn't say no to him. Maybe they could go somewhere with a/c. As soon as he replied to this text, he picked an outfit that would give him a chance of not melting alive and headed to his destination; the park.
Rui was sitting by the swings when the blond boy arrived.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Public transport works as badly as ever…" Tsukasa apologized.
"It's alright." Rui gestured so Tsukasa would sit in the swing next to him. "Trains and buses take longer to arrive in the summer, don't they? That's a reason why I don't like it."
Tsukasa looked at him strangely. He didn't know that Rui didn't like summer.
"Ouch!" When Tsukasa sat on the swing, his leg came into contact with the seat, no, the burning seat.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah, ouch…" Tsukasa sat and prepared his white shorts, so his skin wouldn't touch the swing again. "Oh, Rui. That's…"
Tsukasa hadn't noticed before, but Rui was holding a cat. It was a big, black cat whose fur looked as soft as velvet. He stared, and the cat looked back.
"Meow~!"
"Aww…" Tsukasa was melting, but it was the cat's fault this time.
"Fufu… What an interesting pairing. Do you want to pick it up too?"
Rui picked up the animal from his legs, but the cat didn't like the change and ran away.
"Ah, wait!"
Without thinking twice, Rui started chasing the cat. Tsukasa was following behind, but at his own pace. The cat arrived at a crosswalk and sprinted through it while the traffic light was green. But Rui didn't notice that just as the cat stepped on the other side of the road, it had turned red.
"Rui!" But it was too late.
In just a matter of seconds, a passing truck suddenly ran him over. The windows were splashed with blood, and the street was littered with the shards of glass that had been left behind. Tsukasa tried to scream, but the scent of blood, similar to rust, started mixing up with Rui's own scent. He froze on the bloody road, as his legs started going numb. His vision was clogging, and he could barely make out a desperate driver with a phone to his ear.
"It's not a joke." Someone sneered behind him.
"Who-"
But when Tsukasa turned around...
"...!" He let out a gasp.
He was looking at the ceiling, while the cicadas sang their annoying song. He got up, glued again to his bed, and quickly checked the time.
"August 14th, 12.30"
Tsukasa's heart was still racing, and he could feel his skin was pale. He tried to reconstruct what had happened up until then, but he couldn't make out a single thing. While his confusion captured his mind, his phone rang.
"Tsukasa-kun, are you free? I'm bored. Let's do something."
It was a text from Rui.
"R-rui?"
He remembered the streets, covered in red. He was never going to forget such a gruesome scene. But Rui had texted him, and the clock seemed to have rewound. Tsukasa put his hand to his chest, still feeling his heart beating out of control, and sighed in relief, knowing that it was all a dream. Despite the horrible temperature, he was looking forward to going and seeing Rui.
Rui was in the swings again, and this time Tsukasa sat down carefully in order to not burn his leg. He looked at Rui and saw him holding a black cat, whose fur looked as soft as velvet.
"It's strange." Tsukasa said while moving in the swing. "I had a dream yesterday where we walked in this same park."
"Oh?" Rui said while caressing the cat's head. "You think that much of me?"
"C-come on, it's not like that…"
"And what happened in the dream?"
Tsukasa didn't want to remember. Despite it being a dream, it felt real. Too real. He could still feel the smell piercing through his nostrils and the warm, salty tears rolling down his cheeks.
"I don't remember." Tsukasa bluntly said.
He locked his eyes on Rui, when, suddenly, the cat he was holding jumped off his legs and ran away. Rui got up, planning to run towards the cat, but Tsukasa grabbed his hand.
"No!" He yelled.
Rui stopped in his tracks.
"Tsukasa-kun?"
The tall boy turned around, and found Tsukasa with a frightened look; eyebrows raised, eyes fully opened, and jaw dropped. He could listen to Tsukasa's uneven breathing.
"H-hey is everything alright?" Rui quickly gave up on the cat and put his hand on Tsukasa's forehead. "You're too warm and breathing weirdly."
Tsukasa's heart skipped a bit after coming back to his senses and noticing Rui was pretty close.
"I'm okay… but I think we should go home for the day."
Rui nodded, still concerned about Tsukasa's health. The latter took Rui's hand and began walking rapidly through the streets; he no longer felt safe and wanted Rui to make it home no matter what. They were already far away from the park. Tsukasa could feel his heart rate slow down, and finally let go of Rui's hand, still walking one or two steps ahead.
"I thought you forgot you were holding my hand."
"Huh? No…"
"So you were holding my hand purposefully?"
Tsukasa decided not to answer to Rui's teasing. His reactions were funny, so Rui never stopped. There was a silence between the two of them, while Tsukasa noticed that the people in the street had stopped. No one was no longer walking, instead, they were all looking at the sky, open-mouthed, pointing with their index finders. Tsukasa didn't understand what was going on, when he suddenly heard someone yell.
"Careful! The pole–"
That was all Tsukasa could make out, until a metallic sound echoed right behind him. He froze, almost unable to move. A unison of screams made him find the strength to turn around, and there he found the origin of the street's panic. The metallic impact came from a metal pole that had fallen from a crane from a construction site. The screams, however, came from the boy that lied on the floor, face down, still being able to somewhat move his extremities. Emerging from his back was a pole. The world fell silent, and Tsukasa could only make out the wind chimes' melody being shaken by the wind. He tried to step forward, with the saltiness of his tears filling his mouth again, but he felt something grab his waist.
"By the way, this is not a dream." He faintly heard on his ear.
Unable to turn back or step forward, he looked at what remained of Rui.
"R-rui… ?" He was no longer moving. He felt dizzy, and his eyelids were closing, but he noticed something.
Rui was smiling.
Tsukasa opened his eyes. Checked his phone, same date, same hour. Ran to the park, grabbed Rui and had him go through a different way to his house, but Rui's shoes slipped and he fell downstairs. Tsukasa opened his eyes. Checked his phone, same date, same hour. Ran to the park, grabbed Rui, and made sure to cross with the green light. However, when walking around the streets, a flower pot fell on Rui's head. Tsukasa opened his eyes. Checked his phone, same date, same hour. Ran to the park, grabbed Rui, and remained there, keeping Rui from chasing the cat. Regardless of the effort, he dropped to the floor, having suffered a heatstroke. Tsukasa tried to call an ambulance, but nobody picked up. He lifted Rui to bring him to the hospital, but he was no longer breathing.
And there's no need to keep repeating what happened afterwards.
Tsukasa opened his eyes, full of tears. He sat down on the side of the bed, put his hands to his face, and stifled a scream in them. He had lost count of the times he had seen Rui die. Each time the smell was more intense, the heat increased, and it seemed that it was summer's voice that pierced through his ears every single time. He had already noticed that the cycle was repeating. It had repeated for too long, he couldn't even remember. Years, maybe.
"There has to… there has to be something past this summer day." Tsukasa said to himself, with his breathing and heart still altered.
This kind of story has only one possible ending; and he had the key to find out what lied after those repeating summer days. He dragged himself out of bed, and made it to the park. Tsukasa saw Rui holding the black cat. He stood up; he didn't want to sit down.
"Can I hold it?" Tsukasa asked, fully knowing what would happen if Rui tried to give him the cat.
"Of course!" Rui lifted the cat, who let out an annoyed "meow" and ran away. Rui got up from the swing, and Tsukasa chased after him. The cat made it safely, and when Rui was about to cross, he pulled his shirt and threw himself into the street.
"Sorr–"
Tsukasa couldn't finish his sentence. The truck, the truck that Tsukasa had seen so many times and could now describe in full detail, including its number plate, slammed into him. This time, the streets were filled with Tsukasa's blood. The rust smell and Tsukasa's own scent were mixed in the summer heat, making it into Rui's nostrils. Rui's body was no longer able to move, while Tsukasa's body was reflected in his eyes.
The blond boy was lying down. He couldn't barely see a thing. His eyesight was clogged by his own blood and sweat, and he felt sleepy. But he could make out a figure standing behind Rui. It was the summer, whose whispers he had been listening for years.
"Y-you… you deserve this." Tsukasa grinned as he said his last words.
The driver was panicking and trying to call an ambulance, while the rest of the world continued its course. It was quite a regular summer day for everybody, but a story had ended.
Right?
He opened his eyes and awakened August 14th.
"I failed again." Said the purple-haired boy while petting a black cat's head.