Whoo, back again! Higurashi Month 2019, because it has become one of my lowkey life goals to keep perpetuating this until it becomes a proper tradition for all three-and-a-half people in this graveyard of a fandom. And then keep doing it anyways, because tradition. If you wish to check out the prompt list, its on my tumblr page under the same username.

June 28th, 2019

The air shimmered about the ground in Hinamizawa, rippling and glittering like the belly of some mythic dragon. Cars passed by but rarely, perhaps once every hour or so, if that, and they drove slow, with whatever air conditioning they might have on full-throttle. No one was out moving among the fields, or trotting along the path to the school. Even the constant buzz and drone of the cicadas was lazy, muted, muffled by the incredible heat.

In the mountains it was only, slightly, better. Trees provided shade, but the sticky heat and humidity persisted all the same, as though the air was a swamp or a sauna, the heat cloying in the air and refusing to let the sweat slicking many a club member's skin evaporate.

Keiichi groaned and turned his head slightly, back (bare back, shirts were too much today) laid against the marginally-cooler boards of Mion's back porch, blinking without energy as Rika, floating faceup in the small decorative pool for what little good it did her (the water was shallow and tepid and probably not very good for her to be in), echoed his weary groan after a few beats, Hanyuu following them both with a softer but heartfelt whine as she gently floated beside her cousin.

Satoko, slumped over the edge of a wicker chair and panting, had her pink button-up shirt undone to proportions that would be absolutely indecent in a girl old enough to actually have developed a chest, her shorts rolled up so high that the roll was almost bigger than the thin strip of denim left over covering her thighs. Rena was leaned against a tree, occasionally vaguely flapping her kilted-up white skirt, too smothered by the heat for anything more energetic.

Shion, hair bundled up in a rough bun, was lying facedown on the porch a little ways away from Keiichi, further under the shade, her cheek pressed miserably against the smooth wood. Satoshi, the lucky bastard, had been kidnapped by Doctor Irie for a routine checkup at the clinic, the air-conditioned clinic, and though no one in the club would ordinarily have any compunctions about barging in and luxuriating in the blissfully cool space, there were a number of cases of heat stroke and other such concerns for the more senior citizens and, well, they were young. They could cope with a little heat.

Keiichi groaned again and turned his head the other way. Who was he kidding, they were all going to melt before the day was done, he was gonna melt right on through the cracks between the wooden boards underneath his skin.

Sticking his face in the freezer had seemed like a good idea, but his mom had whacked Keiichi over the head with her spatula and threatened him out of the house –apparently keeping the door open wasted a lot of energy, and energy bills were evidently quite fearsome enough already.

Drifting listlessly through the town, he'd met the others, and they'd all slowly congregated towards Mion's house, only to be told she was doing some hush-hush family business they weren't allowed to even know about. Too tired and hot to move, they'd all just sprawled in the backyard to wait for their leader, groaning occasionally to vent their discomfort as the summer sun baked and baked and baked, until the whole world seemed to be condensed into a single unit of oppressive heat.

"Geez, it's hot out." Mion's voice came, sounding a trifle surprised as the sliding door open, and Keiichi grunted vaguely in acknowledgement, flapping a lackluster hand as he hazily opened his eyes.

"Done with the meeting, Onee?" Shion groaned against the boards, turning her head a little to look up at her twin.

"Indeed." Mion's face was oddly chipper, and she broke out into a smile as she brought something around from her back. "And look what I got~"

Keiichi's cloudy periwinkle eyes suddenly sharpened and narrowed into pinpoint focus.

She

Had.

Popsicles.

He was not even cognizant of the individual movements, only that he was suddenly pressed up against Mion's leg like a penitent slumped against the statue of a god, clutching pathetically at the bottom of her T-shirt, and Shion was right there beside him, their pleading voices overlapping as there was a sudden and violent-sounding splash from the decorative pond, and several sets of footsteps hurrying towards them. "Alright, alright, geez!" Mion laughed, willingly surrendering the glorious, glorious sweet icy treats to the pile of her club members as they swarmed her. "There's more in the cooler if you want 'em!"

Keiichi near swooned. The noises he made, that they all made, were borderline obscene as they tore off wrappers and jammed the popsicles back into their collective throats as far as they would go, ecstatically worshipping at the altar of Frozen Fruity Bliss as cold enveloped them. (His was watermelon-flavored, and hot damn watermelon had never tasted so good.)

"So," Mion laughed as she plopped down beside him, calmly licking at the tip of her blueberry-flavored confection. "You guys were hot?"

The brunet stopped sucking on the rod of heavenly iciness. "Mion…you have no idea." he said with feeling, and she laughed, swinging her legs lightly as she watched her friends eagerly devour the cheap icy-pops she had bought them.

Next time there was a heatwave, she should do this again, and bring a camera.

AN: The temptation to do something smarmily and utterly child-safe in the whole Alpha/Omegaverse-porn style was overwhelming. I hope y'all appreciate my restraint.

9.59 AM, USA Central Time