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It was just like every loop before. Hiyori Asahina had woken up in her brother-in-law’s house-- Something that would be considered normal, due to the fact that that was where the two of them had been staying…- Usually, it wouldn’t have taken her too long to get dressed and head out into the living room, where Hibiya would be waiting for her. Something that had become habit the days before this-
But, at this point, the entire scene was so eerie to her. She was so familiar with it- It was almost to the point where she couldn’t handle seeing the exact same thing again for the umpteenth time- … How many times had she repeated this day, even? She’d lost count so long ago, it didn’t really matter anymore. All that mattered, at this point, was trying to make it through the day.
She was slow getting out of bed. It wasn’t worth rushing anymore. If she rushed, then something could happen to Hibiya sooner- While she knew that, if they stuck around the house for too long, something could happen… It wasn’t unless she intended on staying there all day. So, it was worth prolonging the time as long as she could. It was within the past few loops that she had come to the realization that the best way to do that was taking her sweet time getting dressed-
And, after that? She would take her sweet time eating breakfast. It wasn’t like Hibiya would get impatient with her- He’d never done that before. Then, after she had finished eating, the two of them would head to that damned park- The beginning of the day was so repetitive and predictable at this point- It was, mostly just making sure that Hibiya didn’t chase after that dumbass cat before they left the park.
As much as Hiyori loved cats… She’d seen Hibiya die too many times chasing after it. Because she had wanted to pet it so badly- It was painful, watching him die those times because he wanted to do something for her. As… A annoying as Hibiya was at times, he was still her friend, right? … Or, at least, that’s what she wanted him to be. Not that she would ever admit that to him. … Not that she would ever, really, get the chance to admit that to him, right-?
Yeah, she could always admit it to him here, in this stupid hell where she was forced to watch him die over and over again, unable to do anything to save him most of the time… But, what would be the point? It wasn’t like he would remember when she woke up at the beginning of the day again- It wasn’t like it even mattered much anymore.
The only reason that she kept trying was the fact that she couldn’t stand watching him die so many times. She couldn’t bare the thought of his mangled body covered in blood- The scent of that blood filling her nostrils as she would breath in a gasp-
As many times as she had seen him die, she would have expected it to stop affecting her so much- But, every single time he would die… Every single time that she would see, or even imagine that fragile frame mangled beyond recognition- The scent and sight of blood covering both herself and the street- It still made it sick to her stomach. It still made her scream and cry until everything went black- Until she would wake up back in that damned bed like it was some kind of sick nightmare, tears still staining her face and nose still filled with snot from the screaming and crying-
And yet Hibiya still never seemed to notice those bags under her eyes. It was pathetic, honestly. If this had been any normal day… The boy would be all over her. He would be bothering her about those bags, about how she should go back to sleep if she didn’t get a good rest- Just the thought of what he would do at any other time made those tears start to fall again- She couldn’t handle it anymore. She was at her breaking point-
She couldn’t watch Hibiya die one more time. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. If it meant saving Hibiya… She wouldn’t mind giving her own life if it meant that Hibiya could be okay-- As obnoxious as he was, he still deserved to live over someone like her, right?
Yes, her cruelness wasn’t without reason. It’d developed over time, due to the constant droning of ‘Will you go out with me, Asahina-Chan?’ It was annoying, and definitely creepy. None of the adults within the village took the situation seriously enough-- It was so stupid. She couldn’t catch a break from her supposed admirers- She remembered all the details clearly, too. What had started out as polite ‘no thank you’s soon turned into blunt ‘no’s-- And then, from there, she developed that cold and rude demeanor that she kept around herself almost twenty-four seven-
Even around Hibiya, who had been one of her closest friends in the past. Just due to the fact that he was a boy, she couldn’t let herself completely trust him. She… definitely trusted him more than any of the others within their school- But that was only barely. That was, honestly, one of the reasons that she dragged him with her on this trip to the city. So that, hopefully, the two of them could get closer-
Of course, with the way he acted most of the time… That was the farthest thing from happening within their planned few weeks- But, surely it would be a good first step, right-?
Then again, it wasn’t like any of that even mattered anymore. Nothing could change if the same day just kept repeating itself, over and over again-- It wasn’t too long after that when Hiyori decided that it would be a good idea to stop distracting herself with her own thoughts and finish getting dressed- And, once she’d finished dressing herself, she reached over to the bedside table, finally turning her phone’s display to check the time-
11:30 AM, on the 15th of August.
***
The last time that Hiyori had glanced at her phone had been when the two of them were walking from her brother-in-law’s house to their current destination, the park. However, it was almost a sort of habit at this point… As soon as she sat on the swings at the park, her glanced over to Hibiya as he sat beside her. Once he was seated, and she was certain that that would be where he would be staying for at least a few minutes, she pulled her phone out once again to check the time. 12:20 PM.
With the rate that they were going… It would probably be a good idea to leave the park soon. If they stayed too long, Hibiya would probably chase after the cat and-- No. Not a good idea to think about that-
She’d learned pretty quickly that, even if she didn’t bother the cat, Hibiya would still go after it. The only thing that would change would be the reason he would be going after it. If she bothered the cat and brought it into her lap? It’d only jump out a few minutes after being caught, only for Hibiya to chase it in order to recapture it for her- If she didn’t bother it? He’d eventually notice it and chase it in an attempt to catch it and bring it to her, due to her love of cats--
Either way, it was a lose-lose situation. She would have preferred to avoid the park all together- But it was safer to go this way. If she could prevent his death here… She stood a bit more of a chance, since she had more of an idea of what could come after leaving the park--
Then again, thinking about it… Maybe today would be the perfect day to try dragging him back home again..? She could always just make him sit with her on the couch, and they could find something to do- Surely just keeping him alive was enough to stop this day from repeating again, right-? Or, maybe--
As crazy as her idea was, it might just work. She was quiet for a few more moments, her eyes locking with the cat’s- Those red eyes that it had sent shivers down her spine, almost as if it knew was she was going to do--
But she had to play it casual, right? Taking a deep breath, she glanced over to Hibiya, who was still sitting at the swings. What a relief- Quickly, she chose to pocket her phone before speaking up. “Hey, Hibiya?”
Obviously, that seemed to catch his attention. “Yeah?”
“I think I’ll be honest with you… I really don’t like the summertime. It’s so sticky and hot- And not to mention how sweaty you can get just from standing outside for a few minutes on some days-” Hiyori cut herself off, not wanting to start rambling. She would have to time this right, she figured- “... And it reminds me of something, too.”
“What does it remind you of?” Hibiya’s voice was just peaked with curiosity- She felt bad for what she was about to do, but it was worth a shot. And if her plan succeeded? Then… he needed to know. It wouldn’t hurt for her to tell him.
“... How we used to be friends. It reminds me of those summers when we were so much younger, when we would spend all day outside together-” There was a short pause. She wa desperately trying to formulate the right words to get her point across. “It reminds me of that- And how much I miss being your friend, Hibiya. … I don’t like being scared of the fact that you’re like the rest of them. I don’t like worrying that you’re just some hormonal kid- … I want to trust you, Hibiya. I want to be friends again.”
Hibiya was about to open his mouth to respond, but Hiyori quickly cut him off. “... But I guess that won’t be happening, huh..? In that… I hope that you can forgive me for this.” She didn’t even wait for a response before she rose from the swing that she had been sitting on. Almost as soon as she was on her feet, she could feel her heart pounding. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears-
Everything within her was telling her not to do it. But she had to. It was one of the only things that she hadn’t tried yet- And, without a moment of hesitation, she started running towards the cat. And, as to be expected… It fled, swiftly crossing the street. As she approached, the light was still green-
What she hadn’t realized was that Hibiya had followed her. And, almost as soon as she stepped out into the street, she heard him call out her name- Just as she had anticipated, the crossing light had turned red. She turned to face him, a smile on her lips as she heard the truck approaching.
And, within that last second, while he was frozen in fear… There was only one thing that she could whisper to him. “I’m sorry--”
***
While the last thing that Hiyori remembered was the sharp pain of the truck’s impact, her ‘death’ had been instant. What she hadn’t expected was to actually wake back up. Maybe, deep down, she had expected for her plan to not work. For her to wake back up in her bed at her father-in-law’s house-
But even that possibility isn’t what had ended up happening. Slowly, Hiyori felt herself float into consciousness- And, not too long after that, she slowly blinked her eyes open. Her eyes were met with a harsh light, causing her to almost instantly force them closed again. Of course, there was one thing that was still obvious to her, for the most part. She had no idea where she was- And it, most definitely, wasn’t the bed that she had been sleeping in for the past week- For the past years, even. Or, at least, that’s what that constantly looping day had felt like to her.
Years. Decades, even. Maybe even a century or more. She wasn’t sure. After all, she had stopped counting the loops a long time ago. There had been no point in doing so, with how the day just kept repeating almost endlessly-
Until now. Finally bracing herself, Hiyori’s eyes slowly blinked open. Expecting the harsh light, she had brought her arm up to shield her eyes; an action that had definitely helped her quite a bit. It took a few moments for her eyes to focus enough for her to see clearly… But, from what she could see, she was pretty sure she was alone.
Or was she? Even if she didn’t see anything, she still felt a presence. Like someone, or something was watching her. Carefully, she started to push herself up- But, she froze upon realizing one little detail that she hadn’t before. Beneath her was a pool of water- An, obviously, very deep pool of water. Just staring into it made her feel so uneasy- The fact that she could so clearly see her own reflection- As well as the fact that she was, clearly, sitting on top of the water, not floating within it. A fact that wa made clear due to the fact that her clothes were not wet in the slightest.
Carefully, she reached out a hand to touch the surface of the water- From her sideways glance, the ripples that the impact of her hand made were clearly visible on the surface- And, despite the fact that it made it so uneasy… She slowly started to sit up.
It wasn’t until she was completely in her sitting position that she realized that she was, for certain, not alone in this strange place. Floating above the surface of the water, not too far from where she was sitting, was a rather large… coil of what she could only describe as some sort of dark energy.
It moved just the slightest bit, floating up and down above the surface of the water. Almost instantly, upon noticing it, she was frozen in fear. Her eyes wide- What was this?
“Ahhh, I see that you’ve finally woken up!” It was almost like this thing had been waiting for her to stir- For her to finally sit up and notice it. Just from the way it spoke, it was obvious that it had been here for a while. Waiting for her to stir- The way that it spoke was hard to describe. It’s volume was soft, though it had a somewhat harsh tone to it. It was clear that, whenever it would make the ‘s’ sound of a word, it would hiss it, almost like a snake. Maybe that was the best way to describe that voice; it was very snakelike.
Nonetheless, after a few moments, it was clear that Hiyori didn’t plan on speaking up in response to its statement. From the way that she had stiffened, the way that she was just staring at it, it was so blatantly obvious that she was terrified of it.
Not that this wouldn’t be the first time that it had seen an expression of fear from someone. It was quite an enjoyable sight, after all- To see how petty humans would react to different situations. To see how they acted when the only thing they felt was fear- It was such a delicious sight! But it wasn’t a sight that it wanted to see right now.
“Now, now. You shouldn’t be afraid!” If it were possible to see it, the entity clearly would have been smirking at this point. “After all, I simply want to give you an offer that I’m certain that you won’t refuse.” Once again there were a few more moments of complete silence. However, it continued upon seeing the expression on Hiyori’s face change just the slightest bit. While it was obvious that she was still terrified- There was also a look of interest, as well.
She was curious of what it had to offer her. “It’s quite a simple offer, really. I bring you back to life, and I grant your wish. In return, this allows me to continue living, as the only thing that would be keeping you alive.” It paused for a few moments, watching Hiyori closely. “You would be able to keep living your little life relatively normally… Aside from a few things, which we can discuss later.” Just from the way she was looking at it, it was obvious that it had her complete, undivided attention-
“ Afterall, I’m sure that you would do anything to make sure that your little friend is alive and well, right? And, I’ll do whatever I can, that within my power, to make sure that he stays that way.” It was obvious that it had her wrapped in its coils at this point. With its offer… there was absolutely no way that she could say no.
And, just like it had expected…
“... I accept your offer.”