"It's not what the mirror shows… it's what it hides."
Yoyogi Academy – Classroom 2-C
April 28, 2011 – 9:14 AM
The classroom was drowned in silence, an unnatural stillness pressing against the walls. Yukari sat stiffly beside Souta, her black uniform absorbing the dim light like ink spreading through water. She barely moved, barely blinked.
Souta leaned forward at his desk, arms folded, eyes glinting with fleeting gold.
Ruby nudged Aqua and whispered, "Hey… does she freak you out too, or is it just me?"
Aqua's gaze flickered toward Yukari, where her pen carved intricate spirals into her notebook—each orbiting a fractured mirror symbol. The air around her carried a strange hum, subtle yet undeniable.
"Not freaky," Aqua murmured. "More like… inevitable."
The teacher was absent. Nobody cared.
Then—CRACK.
A jagged fracture split the classroom window, though no hand had touched it.
Yukari finally lifted her gaze. "It's starting."
The crack spread like veins through glass, and within the reflection, Ruby saw something impossible:
Herself. Alone, bathed in the wreckage of a shattered spotlight.
Her reflection turned toward her and smiled—but the smile wasn't hers.
"It's beginning," Yukari repeated, quieter now. "The Mirror World has decided who deserves their truth."
Ai's Apartment – Living Room
April 28, 2011 – 11:45 AM
Ai sat cross-legged on the floor, her eyes fixed on the television. An old video of her younger self twirled across the screen, singing STAR☆T☆RAIN with flawless choreography, her smile too perfect to be anything but rehearsed.
Miyako stood behind her, arms crossed, weighing the silence between them.
"You okay, Ai? You've been watching this on repeat for over an hour."
Ai's fingers curled into the fabric of her pants. "Just trying to remember who I was… before I had them."
Onscreen, her younger self spun in a dazzling pirouette, radiant, untouchable.
"Do you think I was ever real?"
Miyako hesitated. "You mean… like as a person?"
Ai's voice softened, barely audible.
"Sometimes I wonder if she was just a reflection. Maybe I only started existing after they were born."
Before Miyako could answer, the TV cracked.
The screen froze—displaying Ai's own face, distorted. Older, darker, hollow.
And then—
The TV whispered.
"You weren't real. You were what they wanted. But now… now they want truth."
School Courtyard – Later that Day
2:02 PM
The school pulsed with an unnatural energy. Mirrors appeared in strange places—lining hallways, embedded in lockers, pooling in rainwater. But they didn't reflect the present.
They showed alternate timelines. Repressed regrets. Lives unlived.
One mirror revealed Aqua and Kana, years older, laughing in the golden glow of something intimate. Another showed Ruby in a hospital bed, alone.
Students whispered. Rumors spread. Phones were confiscated. Teachers scrambled for control.
Yukari pulled Souta aside.
"These aren't just visions," she said quietly. "They're aware now."
Souta exhaled.
"I figured."
"You need to destroy them—"
"No."
He placed a hand against one of the mirrors, where Ai appeared—crying, screaming at the triplets, her face twisting with something unbearable.
"These are truths we hide." His voice was steady. "Destroying them is no better than lying."
He turned to Yukari.
"We face them. Every last one."
Ruby's Room – That Night
9:40 PM
Ruby sat cross-legged on her bed, staring at the small standing mirror that hadn't been there yesterday.
In it, her reflection gazed back—but her eyes were weighted, exhausted.
"You always needed to be loved," it whispered. "But did you ever ask if you knew how to give it?"
Ruby's throat tightened.
"I do give it."
The reflection tilted its head, just slightly.
"Then why does it feel empty after every applause?"
Her fingers trembled as she reached forward. The glass crackled under her touch.
"Because I miss Mama…" Her voice shook. "I miss believing I was enough."
The reflection softened.
Then—
The mirror shattered.
Ruby sat in silence, tear-tracks cooling against her skin.
From the doorway, Happy watched. Then, quietly, he stepped inside and curled beside her, pressing warmth into her side.
Souta's Dream
Somewhere beyond sleep
Souta drifted through an infinite field of mirrors—each reflecting different versions of himself.
One smiling. One hardened. One broken. One already gone.
And then—one missing entirely.
An empty mirror.
He stepped toward it, pulse steady.
"Where's… that me?"
A voice wove through the emptiness.
"The one you never let exist."
He turned—
And saw himself.
The version that never smiled. The one who never moved past the pain. His eyes were hollow, his voice distant.
"You can't protect them all. One day, someone will break what you love." The mirror-self's voice curled around him, sharp, cutting. "And then what, god of gods?"
Souta clenched his fists. "I'll fix it."
"No."
The reflection leaned in, whisper-soft.
"You'll shatter."
It lunged—
And Souta woke up in a sweat.
Final Shot
April 28, 2011 – Midnight – Hoshino Residence Rooftop
Souta stood beneath the stars, exhaling slow.
"Break the limit of limits," he whispered.
Light unfurled from his chest, spiraling toward the sky.
"Don't destroy the Mirror. Outshine it."
A presence settled beside him. Ai.
She searched his expression. "You okay?"
He didn't answer immediately. Then—
"Mama… is it okay if I'm scared of myself?"
Ai slid her hand over his.
"It means you care about who you're becoming."
They stood together, bathed in starlight.
And far above, the sky fractured like glass.