A/n

This is the final piece of the story! Please, enjoy! And thanks for reading!

12:05 A.M.

How I hate this time of day. I've failed so many times. I'll try again though. As many times as it takes, I'll do it to save Hiyori!

12:07 P.M., a side road outside of town.

"It's been ages since we went cycling! It'll be fun!" I say.

"You're right. It's been an awfully long time since we went cycling. It'll be good to get some exercise," Hiyori replies.

Hiyori and I take off, speeding down the road. The heat's not nearly as bad here, on account of the trees that shade the area. It's exhilarating to be zooming down the road, the cool wind blowing against me.

This road was built for pedestrians, so cars aren't an issue here. However, I know that on this road that there's some train tracks that cross the road at a certain point. Since I memorized the train schedule, I think that the two of us should be safe from a train coming down the tracks and mowing us down. I made sure that this was the safest possible road to travel on, prior to coming. In theory, this plan has only a very small chance of failure.

A faint train whistles sounds off in the distance. There isn't supposed to be any trains on this road until about 2:15. Could one be off schedule?

I see a black blur ahead of me on the road. It's him. The person in black…

As I pass him, he smiles and says something.

"Do you think you can?"

I pass him, and when I look back, he's gone. Is he asking me if I could save Hiyori?

The sound of the train is getting louder and louder. The machinery is causing a light vibration that I can feel from here. Hiyori is far ahead of me, and I watch as her bike hits something, and she is hurled forward. She lands on the train tracks that are ahead of me. If I can hurry, I can get her out of the train's way! I pedal faster, pushing my bike to its limit. I reach the train tracks, bailing out on my bike.

Hiyori reaches her hand out to me. Her face is covered in blood. She probably needs help to get up. I walk over to her, and begin to reach for her hand. Suddenly, there's a large gust of wind as the train goes along the tracks. I'm covered in a spray of blood droplets. The sound of the train drowns out whatever screams Hiyori might have made. Not again, not again!

The person in black is suddenly next to me, looking at the tracks.

"Looks like you missed your stop."

I pass out again.

Is this series of events only happening to me? Am I doomed to repeat the same day over and over? Or is this all a cruel trick, played on me by someone? At this point, I could care less about anything. I just don't want to see Hiyori's body turn out like that!

Clocks are bloodied, one by one. First tens of them are bloodied, then hundreds, now thousands. This continues, every time Hiyori dies, another is bloodied. She keeps dying over and over and over, like a Mobius strip, endlessly showing the same animation. It might vary, but it's always the same. Every stabbing, every car crash, every fire, I was always there. Simply watching it all unfold before me. Just like a spectator at a sports game, I watch the event, but I'm unable to actually do anything.

This loop, it's been going on for decades. I know that now. Even still, I can't help but feel the same pain when I see Hiyori die before me. I want to go back to the last time Hiyori and I were in the snow together. It seems like it was so long ago…

The snow, like little fluttering Hiyoris, comes down, coating the earth in a blanket of white. The date is December 7th, last year. How cold it is, how blissfully cold it is.

I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look back to see Hiyori. She wraps her arm around my shoulder.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Hiyori says.

"It is really pretty. It hasn't snowed like this for years." I reply.

"We met on a day like this. Remember, I couldn't-"

"Afford the bus fare?" I finish.

"Yeah, that's right. And then you walked me home," She says.

"So you do remember." I say.

That's right. I could never forget how I met my best friend!" Hiyori chirps.

She gives me a hug.

"I would never forget…" She whispers into my ear.

At that moment, I knew that I was never going to let anything harm her. There, in the cold, snowy day that seems so distant, is when I knew I had to protect her.

But I can't even do that. I watched her die over and over, and it's all my fault.

In this sort of cliché story, there's only one ending. I know this now. I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago.

August 3rd, 12:22 P.M.

"Orchid!" Hiyori shouts, chasing her cat.

She runs into the street with me right behind her. Hiyori, I hope you have a nice life. Because right now-

"This ends here!" I shout, pushing Hiyori out of the way and onto the sidewalk. The truck is right there, and I have no time to react. The impact sends me flying up into the air.

In the air, I see the person in black standing behind Hiyori, looking surprised. Ha! Serves him right! I've won! I found the answer!

I hit the ground hard, with a sickening thud. I look over at Hiyori again. Hiyori is crying…

Hiyori, don't cry…

I smile. See, I'm smiling… Won't you smile too?

I see the person in black, the person who looks so much like me, watching her. He sheds a single tear, and then he disappears into the haze.

My vision blurs, and my thought begin to turn hazy.

Who's that behind Hiyori? It looks like her, but she's wearing white clothes. What… what does this mean?

I black out.

All of the clocks are smashed. One's still undamaged though. Hiyori in white appears in front of the one undamaged clock. She frowns at it, and then she punches the clock face, shattering it. I see the person in black, the person who looks so much like me, watching her. He sheds a single tear, and then he disappears.

"It's your turn again."

August 3rd, 12:05 A.M.

I wake up in my bed, Orchid on my lap. I scoop her up in my arms, cradling her.

"We failed again. We couldn't save him." I stammer.

Through my tears, I see the person in white standing in front of me. She smiles, with that same smug smile.

12:17 P.M.

I'm at the same park, with all of its fountains and greenery. Hibiya is here beside me. To think that I used to be so happy here. Now it's only become a place of misery and darkness. Every single time I sit on these swings with Hibiya, I know that no matter how hard I try his body will be ripped apart, smashed, and destroyed.

Every single time, it's because of my cat. Every single time, when Orchid jumps out of my lap, I know I could just let it run, and then Hibiya would be safe. But either Hibiya tries to save her, or I try to save her, even though I know Hibiya will push me out of the street and let himself be hit by the truck.

Even if I tried a different tactic, it was always doomed to fail. No matter my strategy, my only reward would be a spray of blood and a forced restart. Even when I sacrificed myself, it wasn't enough. He kept trying to save me, he wouldn't leave me lay. He took my place, and I took his. It was a role reversal of sorts. Now, we're right back to where we started. I gave my life for him, so that he could live a happy life. But what's the point of me giving him that life if it's only going be filled with misery of trying to save me?

The ticking of my watch reminds me how close I am to the despair that's about to occur. In just a few moments, it'll all happen again. The spray of blood, the scream, and the smug smile of the person who looks just like me, all of it will repeat itself. Orchid jumps out of my lap. Maybe, just maybe it'll go differently this time. I hope…

I follow Hibiya to the road where he's running to catch Orchid. My hope of things turning out differently is crushed as I watch Hibiya become crushed underneath the tires. The hazy feeling comes over me, and I know that my misery is about to start again. I see the person white smile at me just before I pass out.

"Déjà vu." The person in white says.

Then I black out in the blazing heat.

Epilogue

I am the person in black. I am the reflection of a person, just as the person in white is. We are mere spectators to a story that has lost its charm and originality.

In these days of endless summer, tragedy was met over and over again. I watched as the boy and girl, in their attempt to stop their suffering for the other, only handed the suffering off to the one they tried to save. A baton pass of sorts, one baton of pain for one baton of despair.

This is an endless loop of sadness. This is an overused story, completely worn out from the immense times it was told. Yet the pages of the story, covered in blood, are read over and over. It's time to put this sad story away, back on the bookshelf with all of life's stories. But like all stories, someone will come along and read it again. Only time will tell when this story will be told once more.