At the beginning, there was a boy.
(there were other boys too, but right now this boy was more important)
Hyuuga took a long stride; sports bag shouldered on his right side, and made his way out from his apartment. It was August the 15th and the clock had just nearly gone past midday. It was a cloudless summer day and the sun had shone bright enough from its place high on the sky to make him felt ill. Through the gaps between the trees, the rays then hit the pavements below, and created patterns of lights. He walked on a steady pace while taking care to stay on the shadowy parts of the street. He, who had nothing to do, was going to play basket ball with his childhood friend, Izuki on the nearby park. Izuki and he had been friends with each other since way back in the primary school and still did – it was funny how everything could change in the blink of an eye while some things still stubbornly remained the same. Aside from his irksome habit of sprouting a collection of incredibly lame puns at random (God knows how much the guy loves his stuffs), Hyuuga found Izuki's friendly smile and calm personality very relaxing. They first met each other at the mini basket ball competition during the school's annual sports festival in the fifth grade (where they proceeded to beat everyone asses before having their own handed to them by a senior team) and quickly formed a tight bond. Not long after their fateful encounter, they joined the basketball club together and had been team mates and best friends since. Along with them, there were also Kiyoshi, Mitobe, Koganei, and Tsuchida, but he was the closest to Izuki still.
At the park, he found Izuki sitting on the leftmost side of the children's swings with a black cat on his lap, waiting for his arrival. "You are late," he said while caressing the cat. It purred and snuggled even closer which resulted in its fur sticking on to every imaginable surface on his training shirt. Funny, he never knew that Izuki could have that much degree of fondness over a cat. "Sorry," Hyuuga mumbled a quick reply and sat on the swing next to Izuki. Taken by the carefree atmosphere, he put his sports bag down and prompted a small talk. "Today is really hot, isn't it?"
"Yes, but you know…it is kind of fun to make a pun in the sum-"
…before Izuki even got the chance to finish his reply (or clean himself off from the furs), the cat (who seemed to be quite comfortable on his lap) leapt, and ran straight into the street. The curious thing was, after the cat had run frantically as if sensing an immediate sign of danger, it then stopped on the middle of the traffic. Before Hyuuga even registered it on his mind, he found the swing on his right side empty, and Izuki chasing after the black cat. The rusted chains creaked loudly after its abrupt abandonment and made an odd harmony with the buzz of the cicadas. The time was 12.30 P.M.
Hyuuga later jogged after his friend and gave him a shout, "Hey, watch ou-"
Suddenly, the traffic light turned red and Izuki who was standing on the middle street…was hit by a passing truck. It ran over him and drove away, leaving Izuki lying on the street dyed by his blood.
Hyuuga screamed.
He then covered his mouth and began to sob as the great world spun on madly with the redness of Izuki's splashed blood mixed with its scent filling the humid summer air. Afterward, the dizzying heat felt unbearable, and at the back of his mind, it sneered while reminding him of the grim reality. "It is not a joke."
When he came back to his senses, Hyuuga found himself on his bed. He could hear the faint ticking sound of the moving clock hands and according to the numbers displayed on it, the date was August the 14th, 11.03 A.M. As the hours slowly melted away and the day moved on to the next, he remembered the annoying noises of the cicadas. How mysterious…he could also remember the dream he saw of the very same park yesterday. It was also an incredibly nice day just like this; he met Izuki for a game of basketball...and witnessed his death.
A limp body lying on the middle of the street, the black cat that disappeared, the asphalt dyed red by blood, and him in the midst of all the chaos. Just the thought of it made his stomach lurched, "I should just go home for today."
On their way back (after much protesting from Izuki's part), Hyuuga who was lost in his own thoughts paid no attention to the small group of people who were busy gaping and looking up to the sky around him – they have to get home fast. Unless-
Like something straight from a horror movie, the metal pole from the nearby construction site fell…and plunged through Izuki's body. A shrill shriek and the sound of the rustling trees echoed in the stillness of the moment. Just like his dream, Izuki died, and the heat standing at the back of the panicked crowd sneered again and said, "I told you so!" Through the gaps between his eyelids, moments before everything turned dark, Hyuuga saw Izuki smiled.
Afterwards, just like a broken record played on repeat, the accident and the mocking heat kept marching on. Each and every time, Hyuuga had tried to prevent Izuki's death, but all of his efforts had gone straight to the gutter. Death and rebirth. The cycle continued for what seemed like ten years or even eternity (if it did exist) – Izuki had probably noticed it too by now.
Well, this kind of cliché story only has one ending, right? Then the answer to this morbid riddle obviously lies at the first summer day when it all began!
Hyuuga pushed Izuki aside and jumped in front of the oncoming truck which slammed right into him. Leaving a shocked Izuki aside, Hyuuga lied motionlessly. The color of his splashed blood reflected off Izuki's eyes and tainted his features red. The same heat haze was now laughing, arms clutching against his body as if watching a very hilarious comedy on the weekend television. Amid the roaring laughter, he could make out a faint, "Take that!" coming from its mouth.
It was just a regular summer day for Hyuuga, but he had a feeling that something had came to an end.
Awakened at August 14th on his bed, a boy, weeping quietly said, "I failed again this time."