"To forget someone who loved you... is the cruelest trick a mirror can play."
Yoyogi Academy – Classroom 2-B
May 1, 2011 – 10:12 AM
"Kana-chan, could you read the next line?"
The teacher's voice was distant, but it echoed.
Kana blinked. The words on the page blurred together, slipping from focus like ink bleeding into water.
She gripped the edge of her desk, fingers pressing hard against the wood.
And then, a thought—cold, foreign, unwanted.
"Who's Kana?"
It wasn't hers.
Her breath quickened.
Across the classroom, Ruby whispered something funny, her laugh light and familiar. Souta shot a thumbs-up from behind his notebook, carefree as always.
Kana stared at him.
"Why does he look so… unfamiliar?"
Then—the classroom window.
A sudden chill climbed her spine.
Her reflection turned to face her.
She hadn't moved.
School Rooftop – Same Day
12:49 PM
Kana sat alone, lunch untouched beside her.
The wind was gentle, but the quiet pressed against her ears.
Souta approached with his usual energy, a bright smile, bento in one hand, Happy cradled in the other.
"Kana-senpai~! Eat with me?" he beamed, cheeks puffed playfully.
She looked up. Blinked.
"…Do we know each other?"
The words cut through the air sharper than she intended.
Souta stopped mid-step. His grip on Happy tightened.
"…Wha… what?"
Kana frowned, the feeling unnerving. "I feel like I should know you… but I don't."
Souta's bento slipped from his fingers, landing with a quiet thud.
"No… no, no, no. You're my senpai. You've always been."
He stepped closer, his voice breaking.
"What's your favorite ramen flavor?" His words rushed out, desperate. "What name did you use when we played idol detective last year? Who was the first person to hug me when I messed up my lines?"
Kana's throat tightened.
"I…"
Her pulse quickened.
"…I don't remember any of that."
Hoshino Residence – That Evening
6:21 PM
Souta slammed the door open.
The sound rattled through the house. Ai, Ruby, and Aqua jumped in their seats. Happy fluttered behind him, his wings twitching.
"Kana forgot me." His voice trembled, words spilling out too fast. "She literally forgot I exist. She looked at me like I was… a stranger."
Ruby stared, her breath caught. "That's impossible. She loves you."
"It's not her fault." Souta's fingers curled into fists. "It's him. The Mirror That Walks. My reflection. It rewrote her."
Aqua's face hardened. "Is she the only one?"
"…For now."
Ai stepped forward, gripping his shoulders. "What do we do?"
"I don't know!" Souta's voice cracked. "I thought I could undo anything, but this… this isn't normal. It's anchored in her, like a scar burned into her memory."
Happy landed on the table, folding his paws. His voice was quiet.
"Then you need to go deeper."
He met Souta's eyes.
"To the soul itself."
Mirrorworld – Edge of Reflection
9:44 PM
Souta stood at the threshold of the Mirror World.
The space between realities pulsed with flickering light, broken edges shifting like whispers in the dark.
He gripped a photograph of Kana—the real Kana.
The girl who used to tease him, ruffle his hair, chase him across the school courtyard with fake threats.
The girl who knew him.
"I'm coming for you, senpai."
He stepped forward.
The world pulled him in.
Inside, reflections moved—shadows of people, echoes of memories untethered from time.
And then—he saw her.
Or rather, the version of her that wasn't real anymore.
She walked through a hallway made of shattered mirrors. Her steps were hollow.
When she turned—her eyes were empty.
"You're not real," she whispered.
Souta exhaled, his chest tightening.
"…Neither are you," he murmured. "But I love you anyway."
The copy lunged.
Souta didn't flinch.
This time, he didn't erase.
He remembered.
Kana's Bedroom – Real World
10:01 PM
Kana gasped awake.
Her breath came in uneven bursts, sweat clinging to her skin.
She turned her head slowly, heartbeat thrumming in her ears.
Her gaze landed on the framed photo beside her bed.
Her and Souta—Halloween night.
They were laughing, arms draped over each other, Souta's costume slightly crooked from all their running.
She blinked hard.
Her chest ached.
"…Souta?"
Yoyogi Academy Courtyard – The Next Day
May 2, 2011 – 11:10 AM
Kana found him beneath the tree.
He sat with his knees pulled up, staring at the sky like it had the answer to everything.
When she reached him, he looked up, surprised.
She didn't speak.
She just dropped her bag and threw her arms around him.
Held him tight enough to make up for every second lost.
"Don't ever let me forget you again, dummy."
Souta squeezed his eyes shut, burying himself in her warmth.
"I won't," he whispered. His voice wavered.
"I promise."
Happy sniffled behind a bench, subtly wiping his face.
Ruby, watching from a window above, exhaled slowly.
But in the next window over—
Aqua stiffened.
His own reflection…
Wasn't looking back at him.