This fanfiction is heavily based off of JubyPhonic P's fantastic cover of "Kagerou Days"

watch?v=MU-rdG-M5Ho

Some would curse fate. Some would blame God. But I know the truth about this vicious cycle. And I know how to stop it.

Those Summer Days

The small park was almost completely empty. Not many people were brave enough to venture outside, what with the temperature steadily creeping to 100 degrees. It was a beautiful day though, in spite of the awful heat: the sky was a stunning blue, with white clouds dotting the wide expanse of color. Axel sighed from his seat on the swings, kicking the ground aimlessly as he checked the time. It was August 15th, 12:28.

"Man, I hate summer."

The statement made Axel look over at the speaker, a little bit of surprise etched on his face. The boy sat on the swing next to him, a popsicle stick hanging from the side of his mouth. His bright blonde hair reflected the harsh sunlight, making it look like he was glowing. His blue eyes were glancing sideways at him, irritation at the heat obvious on his features. He sighed heavily, flopping back on the swing.

"Man, it's too fucking hot out."

Axel smiled, flopping backwards to mimic his companion.

"You could always go home, Roxas. No one is making you stay here."

From his upside-down position, it was harder to see Roxas, but Axel could see just enough to know his companion was smiling now, too.

"My air conditioning is broken. S'not like it'll be any better inside. Besides, this is a date, isn't it? I can't leave just because it's hot out. That would suck."

Roxas hefted himself back into a sitting position. Axel followed him a moment later. He watched as Roxas spat out his chewed-up popsicle stick, glaring at it as if it was at fault for the heat.

"M'gonna buy more ice cream. You want one?"

Axel shook his head. Roxas shrugged, jumping off the swing and standing in front of the red haired boy. Axel looked at him, cocking one eyebrow in confusion.

Roxas smirked.

"What, don't I get a good-bye kiss?"

Axel scoffed and rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

"Jeez, Rox, it's not like you're gonna be gone for that long."

Roxas just kept smirking, leaning in closer to the taller boy. Axel took a second to drown in the deep blue of Roxas' eyes before lunging forward and claiming his lips in a chaste kiss. It lasted just a moment, and then Roxas was walking away, waving casually back at his boyfriend.

Axel watched as the blonde boy as he walked down to the street, irrationally sad to see him leave.

He'll be back in a minute. The ice cream stand is right across the street.

He watched as Roxas finally reached the crosswalk, and stepped into the street.

He watched as the blonde turned over his shoulder to smile at Axel, who lifted his hand to wave.

He heard a symphony of cicadas strike up at that single moment.

He felt his eyes widen in shock.

He heard the screech of tires.

He felt himself jump from the swing and run to the road.

He saw those beautiful blue eyes, and that shining blonde hair, and the warm smile still on his lips.

Everything was stained with red.

He heard a laugh behind him

"What you see is exactly what you're gonna get."

Axel whirled around. He saw a strange boy standing a few yards away, his level gaze fixed on the tragic scene. He didn't seem upset at all. In fact, he seemed pleased. When he noticed Axel staring at him, he smiled and waved.

"Night, Axel. See you in the morning."

Axel woke with a gasp.

He scrambled for his phone, his heart racing and his eyes filled with inexplicable tears.

No no no no please no…

According to his phone, it was August 14th, 12:04 P.M.

He had been dreaming.

Letting out a shaky, relieved breath, he let his head fall back against the headboard of his bed, and tried to calm his racing heartbeat. The sunlight streaming through his bedroom window seemed to mock him, silently laughing at his irrational fear. He had never been so shaken by a dream before.

"Get a hold of yourself, Axel. It was only a dream. It isn't real." He scolded himself out loud, as if that would make the statement more true.

It had been the most realistic dream he had ever had. Every detail had been vivid, tangible, and plausible. Usually his dreams had a distinct surreal feel. This dream had been all too possible, and hung over his mind in an ominous cloud. Trying to shake off the remaining feeling of fear and uneasiness, Axel reached for his phone and dialed the number he had engraved on his heart.

"Hullo?"

Axel almost sobbed in relief. He was alive. It really was just a dream.

"Uh, hey Roxas. It's Axel."

"No shit, Sherlock. Your name came up when you called."

Axel chuckled. Yep. This was definitely his Roxas.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me today? Just us two. We can get ice cream or something."

"Ah, actually, I'm busy today. I promised a friend I'd help him move into his new apartment. But I'm free tomorrow. How about then?"

Axel was only briefly disappointed. He would still be able to see Roxas. He just had to wait a little longer.

"Yeah, sure! Where do you want to meet?"

"Hm. Well, there's an ice cream stand just across the street from the park. Why don't we go there?"

A wave of uneasiness washed over Axel. The fact that Roxas chose the park was not out of the ordinary. It was his favorite place to hang out. But in the wake of such a terrifying dream, Axel wanted nothing to do with the place.

"Ax? Is something wrong?"

Shrugging off his unease, Axel forced a smile into his voice.

"Yeah, Rox, that's fine! What time do you wanna meet?"

"How about noon?"

"Yeah, noon sounds good. I'll see you then, Roxas."

"See you, Axel."

"I love you."

Axel kicked at a loose stone, his hand clenched nervously in his pockets. He was waiting for Roxas to arrive, sitting alone on the swings in the meantime. He had arrived a few minutes early, as he usually did. Everything was normal. Still, the heat was making him nervous. It was almost 100 degrees out, just as it had been in his dream the night before.

You're being ridiculous, Axel. It was just a dream.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that it had been something more.

"Hey!"

Axel looked up, breaking into a smile in spite of himself.

There was Roxas, grinning as he walked over to where Axel was sitting. He plopped down on the swing next to him, a half-eaten popsicle lodged in his mouth. He held out another, already melting treat to the redhead, who took it thankfully. It really was stupidly hot out.

"So, Roxas, how's your friend?"

Roxas scoffed.

"Hayner's a bitch, as always. He totally didn't need my help yesterday. He just needed someone to complain to about how much he loves Olette. I swear to god, if he doesn't ask her out by next week, I'm gonna do it for him. He's such a baby."

Roxas munched violently on his not-so-frozen treat, and Axel couldn't help but laugh. Roxas may put on a tough exterior, but he really cared for his friends. Although Axel had to agree with him about Hayner. The boy has been pining after the same girl for almost a decade. It was time to make a move.

They spent the next half hour just talking, soaking up the sun and the pleasure of each other's company. Eventually, there was a lull in the conversation, which Axel used to check the time.

12:28.

A cold spike of familiarity drove into his skull. The eerie feeling from before had returned.

"Man, I hate summer."

Again. Axel turned to face Roxas, trying to keep his expression neutral. The blonde had flopped onto his back, letting the swing support his weight as his blonde hair brushed the grass below.

Axel didn't follow him. He waited until Roxas was fully upright again, a look of confusion on the blonde's face.

"Ax? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Axel snapped out of this stunned reverie, meeting Roxas' eyes, which were deep with concern.

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine. Why don't we get out of here? It's too hot for me."

Roxas still looked a little confused, but he shrugged and stood up, spitting out his popsicle stick in the process.

"Okay. Let's go."

They walked away in silence, stepping around the path to take a shortcut across the park. Most people stuck to the path, because the city was currently working construction on some areas of the park, but the boys had always used this specific route, and saw no reason to change now. After a minute or two of walking, Axel finally started to relax. He had avoided his dream. Everything was different now.

"Hey, Axel, are you sure you're okay? You seem a bit – oh, shit, hang on."

Axel was a few paces ahead by the time he realized Roxas had stopped. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the blonde bent over, fumbling with the laces of his shoe. He couldn't seem to get it re-tied, for all his effort.

Axel laughed a little at the blonde's clumsy fingers.

"Here, Rox, let me he –"

A screaming screech tore through the air, and Axel looked up just in time to see a large metal beam careen from the sky, headed straight for Roxas. He felt a scream tear from his lips, but by the time he took a single step, it was already too late.

The beam had stabbed right through the blonde boy lying sprawled in the grass, a sickly puddle of red starting to seep from his body. His blonde hair was sprinkled with red, and with his face down in the ground, Axel couldn't see his eyes. But it didn't matter.

Roxas was dead.

A soft chuckle sounded behind him, and Axel turned to face the same strange boy from his dream.

"I bet you wish you were asleep: but this isn't a dream."

With a sick chuckle, the boy turned and walked away, throwing his hand up in a casual wave.

"Night, Axel. See you in the morning."

"Hey Roxas, let's go this way."

The blonde looked at him strangely, and Axel couldn't blame him. They never took the paved path out of the park. They always took a short cut. But something about Axel's expression must have seemed off to Roxas, because he nodded and started to walk beside him.

The day had started out fine. Axel had gotten to the park early. He had eaten some ice cream. They had talked for about a half hour. But then Axel was again swept with a distinct sense of déjà vu, and he grew increasingly uneasy. In an effort to avoid his dream becoming a reality, he suggested they take a different route.

Axel reached out and clenched Roxas' hand tightly in his own. Roxas glanced up at the red head, clearly worried, but Axel refused to stop walking. They had to get out of this park.

They were almost running at this point, Roxas struggling to keep up with the red head's longer stride.

"Axel…slow down!"

They pounded up the stairs that led to the park's exit, both breathing heavily. It was much too hot to be running like this.

As Axel reached the landing, he released Roxas' hand. They were safe now.

"Not so fast."

The boy from before appeared before him, leaning casually against the railing. He smirked as Roxas screamed.

Axel turned just in time to see Roxas fall backwards down the stairs, and sprawl broken on the ground.

The red that seeped from him was becoming all too familiar.

"Night, Axel. See you in the morning."

Every day, Axel woke from his dream.

Every day, he tried to avoid his premonition.

Every day, Roxas found a new way to die.

He had tried everything. He had tried suggesting a different place to meet. A different time. A different day.

It didn't matter where they were. Roxas died every day at 12:30.

It didn't matter if they planned for a different time: something always came up that forced them to meet at noon on August 15th.

It didn't matter if they brought other people along. They always found a reason to leave.

Every day, he failed to save Roxas.

And every day, Axel had to live through that strange boy's awful chuckle.

He didn't remember what it was like to truly be happy anymore.

How long had it been?

How many years had it been?

It felt like ten, but it couldn't have been that long.

The sun was streaming down in waves of heat. It was almost 100 degrees out today.

Axel reached for his phone to check the time. 12:28.

"Man, I hate summer."

Roxas was on his back, a popsicle stick dangling from his mouth.

When he sat back up, he spat out his popsicle stick in disgust.

"I'm going to buy some more ice cream. Do you want some?"

Axel shook his head robotically. It was almost time.

Roxas seems a little worried by his expression, but apparently thought nothing of it.

"Hey: don't I get a goodbye kiss?"

The kiss they shared was nothing like that first one, all those dreams ago. It was much more desperate. Much more sorrowful. Apologetic, even.

I'm so sorry, Roxas.

As Roxas turned away, and started walking down to the street, Axel took a steadying breath.

This time, it will end.

Roxas was almost to the crosswalk when Axel made his move.

He leapt from the swing and hit the ground at a full run. His feet were pounding into the ground as he raced to the street, whipping by Roxas' surprised figure. He didn't even have time to look at him. He was going too fast.

He made it to the crosswalk before Roxas did. He made it. He did it.

He heard the car horn blaring, but he didn't care. He turned back to give the strange boy who was following him a piece of his mind.

"What you see is exactly what you're gonna get."

But when he opened his eyes one last time, what he saw made him freeze.

A grinning figure was standing behind Roxas, level gaze staring straight at Axel. This different, strange boy looked exactly like Roxas, but darker. More sinister. As the truck finally collided with his body and he faded into darkness, he thought he saw that strange boy lean over to Roxas and whisper something in his ear.

Then nothing.

It was around noon on August 14th. The boy awoke with a shuddering gasp, tears filling his eyes. He sat up, trying to stop the ache where his heart used to be.

"Guess I failed again."

It had been going on like this for years now. Every day, Axel would die. And every time, Roxas would wake up, and it would start all over again.

Unseen by Roxas, a strange boy stood next to the bed. He was grinning.

And so the cycle begins again.