Chapter Text
“Yoshiki, wake up! Breakfast is ready!”
Yoshiki’s head slowly rose from his pillow, a confused and tired expression permeating his face. Despite the three blankets piled on top of him, the frigid winter air seeped into his bones as his head rose from his pillow. He got out of bed and sat in front of the heater placed in the corner of his room for a moment, trying to warm himself up before heading downstairs. However, at the moment, the heater seemed to be acting as more of a decoration than actually doing anything to stave off the cold.
Then, it hit him.
Wait.
This wasn’t the room that Yoshiki remembered falling asleep in the night before. The three thick blankets that had covered him moments ago had been nothing but a single, thin blanket. And the heater hadn’t been a heater, but a fan. Yoshiki scrambled to his bedroom window. A fine layer of snow covered the ground below him.
Snow?
That couldn’t be right. It wasn’t winter. Not anywhere near it, in fact. It was early August. Yesterday, he had been desperately trying to stave off the summer heat. Yet, now, the bitter cold of what seemed to be winter seemed to ooze in from every corner of his room.
What’s going on?
“What’s taking you so long?” A familiar voice snapped him back into reality. Yoshiki turned around to see his younger sister, Kaoru, standing behind him, an annoyed look on her face. “Mom called you down for breakfast a few minutes ago.” She glanced at the window, which Yoshiki had still been sitting next to, before eagerly going to sit next to him. “Whatcha looking at?”
Yoshiki looked out the window again. “Why is it snowing? I feel like we would have seen it in the weather forecast, especially at this time of year.
Kaoru looked at him, confused. “What are you talking about? It was in the forecast. And it’s normal to have snow in January. Why wouldn’t it be?”
January?
“What? Wait, what do you mean, January? It’s August,” Yoshiki asked, even more confused than he was before.
“...Did you hit your head in your sleep or something? It’s January. It’s been January,” Kaoru said, sounding somewhat concerned. “Unless you’re pulling some sort of prank on me. If so, it’s not funny. Just hurry up and come downstairs so you can eat,” she said before walking out of the room.
Yoshiki sat on his bed, dumbfounded. How could it be January? He looked over to the calendar hanging on his wall. The last day crossed off on his calendar was January 10th.
Slowly, things began to click in his head, until he finally had a realization: Hikaru went up the mountain on January 12. Today is January 11. The last day before he died.
Had he been sent back in time? Or had the past 6 months all been part of some weird dream? No. It couldn’t be. It had all felt so…real. The night he found Hikaru’s body. All of the strange impurities he had seen. And the new “Hikaru” that he had spent so much time with. He couldn’t have made it up. Could he?
Then, Yoshiki realized something else. If he truly had been sent back in time…
I can save him. I can stop him from going up the mountain. I can have the real Hikaru back.
Yoshiki quickly slipped into a pair of clothes and headed downstairs, where Kaoru and his mother, Satoko, were waiting for him.
“There you are, Yoshiki. Took you long enough,” his mother said, gesturing to a plate of food on the table. “Here’s your food. Kaoru is going to help me out at work again today, and since your father’s out, you’ll be home alone until I get back.”
Yoshiki silently nodded, and sat down to eat his food. Kaoru and his mother talked throughout breakfast, but Yoshiki didn’t say a word to them. He wasn’t even entirely sure what they were talking about. At one point, he heard them mention something about rain melting the snow that had fallen. Eventually, everyone had finished eating, and soon after cleaning up the table, Kaoru and Satoko headed out. Yoshiki headed upstairs to grab his phone, and texted Hikaru.
Hey. Wanna hang out today? My family’s out of the house.
A few minutes passed.
Sure. Where you wanna go?
Yoshiki thought for a moment. He wanted a secluded place, away from the prying ears of others, so he could talk to Hikaru in private. He would probably sound crazy trying to convince Hikaru to not go up the mountain, and he didn’t need anyone else hearing that conversation.
Why don’t we hang out at my place? Since I’m the only one here right now.
A few more minutes.
Sure. Just need some time to get ready. See you in about an hour?
An hour. Got it.
Sure. Seeya.
Yoshiki put down his phone. He thought about what he would say to Hikaru. Just how much of the situation would he give away? The whole thing felt like some strange movie plot to him. He still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he knew that he had to take this chance while he had it.
Before he knew it, an hour had passed, and Hikaru casually strolled through Yoshiki’s front door.
“Heya!” He said, a cheerful smile filling his face. Yoshiki gave a small grin, and gestured to his bedroom.
For a while, things were normal. Like they always had been. They talked. Laughed a bit. Talked about school. Yoshiki’s room had even begun to warm up a bit. But after a while, Yoshiki knew it was time to bring it up.
“...Hikaru?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Yea?” Hikaru looked up at Yoshiki.
“I know that this is going to sound insane to you, but…don’t go to the mountain tomorrow. Please.”
Hikaru’s grin slowly faded from his face. “...How did you know about that?”
“Hikaru, I know you’re confused, but I’m begging you.” His voice was growing now. “Don’t go up the mountain. You…you won’t come back.”
Yoshiki could tell that Hikaru was getting concerned now. “W-what are you talking about, Yoshiki? You know how crazy you sound right now, right? How do you know I won’t come back? How do you even know I was going to the mountain?”
“Just believe me, Hikaru!” He was nearing a yell now. He had planned on explaining things calmly, but he couldn’t contain his emotions anymore. “If you go up the mountain, you’ll die! And then I’ll-”
“Yoshiki, stop!” Hikaru yelled, even more concerned now. Yoshiki stopped. He had rarely ever seen Hikaru like this before, if ever. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it sounds insane! I’m going up the mountain tomorrow. I-It’s my duty!... And I don’t know what you’re rambling on about, but you’re scaring me. I-I’m gonna head home now, ok? I think that you just need some rest, and some time to clear your head.
Hikaru reached for the door, but Yoshiki grabbed his shirt before he could leave. “Hikaru, please,” he begged. “Don’t go. Please don’t go. I…I need you to stay. Please.”
Hikaru slapped Yoshiki’s hand off of him. He didn’t say a word, but the unnerved look on his face told Yoshiki everything that he needed to know. He put his hand down, and watched as Hikaru briskly walked out of the house. Yoshiki stood still for a moment. Then, he went over to his window and peeked out of the side. He saw Hikaru, standing outside with his bike. He looked up at the window, but didn’t seem to notice Yoshiki. Then, with a slight grimace on his face, he hopped on his bike and rode away. Yoshiki lay on his bed, and slowly curled up into a ball. A single tear ran down his cheek. Then another. And another. Soon, he was a sobbing mess, with a downpour of tears streaming down his face as he bawled uncontrollably. And that’s where he lay for the rest of the day. The room had become nearly freezing yet again, but Yoshiki didn’t care. He didn’t even notice. Even as Satoko and Kaoru came home and called him for dinner, he didn’t budge. As rain slowly began to fall outside, erasing the light blanket of snow that had covered the street earlier, he just lay curled up, lost in his own thoughts, thinking about how he had failed to stop Hikaru. He had been given a second chance. And he had completely ruined it. And now Hikaru was going to die. Again.