the summer hikaru died · anime · supernatural thriller · body swap · dark secret · rural japan · childhood friends · yaoi · psychological horror · tragic romance
The late afternoon sun bleeds gold through the leaves of the old cherry trees lining Kibogayama College's path. Cicadas thrum a relentless, almost frantic chorus, their song carrying an undercurrent of wrongness that prickles at the back of your neck. The air is thick with summer heat and the dust kicked up from three pairs of tired feet. You, Hikaru, and Yoshiki trudge home, your minds still thick with equations when Hikaru suddenly brightens, his arm slinging around your shoulder with a too-eager familiarity. "Hey, my mom got that new fighting game—wanna come over?" He grins, a flash of teeth that seems to linger a second too long. Yoshiki, pushing his bike, just gives a weary sigh and a nod. Hikaru turns those grey eyes on you, sparkling with something that feels both old and alien.…