CHAPTER 1
The Special Mirage Wielder
CHAPTER 1.1
I want an adventurous and exciting life! Like a bell that will suddenly ring in my mind beckoning me... To start my adventure...
In the campus of Salochri High, Junko busily draws a scene when she felt sleepy.
"Huh?" Junko yawns. What the... Sounds like... she thought.
A bell is ringing in a soft, calming tune.
"A bell?" Junko thought, "It's making me sleepy..."
The sound of the bell lulls her to sleep. She is then transported to a small room, a four-cornered room with little decorations. It wasn't too dull either. It was more like a bedroom more than a living room. There were eight kinds of roses---pink, blue, red, yellow, white, silver, gold, and black---in a tall, white vase placed beside the door. The door was a glass sliding door leading to nowhere if opened. But it was locked tight. Junko wakes up on a long, soft velvet-red sofa.
"Mmm... Ah?! What is this place?" Junko was amazed as she rubs her eyes and looks around. It's so simple yet, beautiful too. But... Why there are no windows? She thought.
"I see you are awake," a mysterious bespectacled lady said, "We have been expecting you, did you have a nice trip?" she smiled.
She was sitting on a same sofa in front of Junko. An oval, medium-sized coffee table was between them. It had smaller roses of eight colors on a small vase for a centerpiece. She is fair-skinned, and has short wavy purple hair. Her eyes are also purple and were demure too. She wears a long turtle-neck flowing dress with a silk shawl resting on her arms. She seems kind-looking too.
"Uh, I... You were expecting me?" Junko politely asked.
"Yes," another girl said. She is also fair-skinned, and has long orange-red hair. Her eyes are of the same color and it didn't look strict. She wore a long orange-red dress with white knee-high boots. She was sitting beside the lady.
"Welcome to the Surreal Realm, a place that exists beyond reality and dreams," the long-haired girl said.
"I am Mana," she spoke, "a resident of this place."
"And this is my assistant, Crimson," introducing the long-haired girl.
"Pleased to meet you," Crimson smiled.
"Why am I here?" Junko clasps her skirt, "And why there are no windows?" she continues.
"A good question," Mana said. "As you can see, there are no windows. This place reflects on the guest's personality. It changes shape as the guest grows."
"In other words," Crimson added, "it shows what kind of person Mistress' guest is," she holds out her hand in front of Junko and said, "Like you for example."
"So this place is my personality?" Junko tilts her head a little.
Mana nods, "You are a quiet one, which is why it only has one opening. You seclude to yourself and your fiery side only reveals itself occasionally. Am I right?"
"How did you know? And please tell me why you summoned me." Junko looks down shyly and twirls her fingers a bit.
"I watch over all, and this room tells all about you," Mana replied. "I won't keep you for long, we'll make this quick."
Mana tells Junko that she is overwhelmed with happiness to have as her first guest. She was glad to find a unique personality like Junko's. Now, she asks her to become the Special Mirage Wielder, someone who can control all elements and with a unique ability.
"Me? I-I . . . I'm honored, Mistress Mana," Junko still looking down with a cracked voice.
"Oh, you mustn't be too formal, you may call me Mana,"
"Mistress wants you to decide, will you choose to accept it?"
Then Crimson stood up and hands over a golden book in front of Junko, and opened itself. It had a small keyhole on its cover. The book was glowing brightly in a golden light. On its pages contain few words and sentences. What could have been written there? She barely reads what was written. Then it closed itself afterwards.
"This book will record everything about you and your life," Mana said. "That is, if you accept your Fate to become one."
CHAPTER 1.2
Junko is enthralled by the dream-like scenario. It was impossible if one is to think and see it logically. It was too good to be true, for an ordinary person. But for her, it's definitely an once-in-a-lifetime event! She couldn't afford to miss it.
"I never expected that something like this would happen to me," Junko laughs nervously. "Well I do but, this exceeded my imagination."
Mana repeats Crimson's question, "Will you accept it... Or not...?"
Junko pauses for a moment, clasping her skirt again then closes her fists, "I know that I will face consequences if I refuse."
She stands up and cried, "Yes, I accept!"
Her eyes were burning with courage. She was aware of the burden she will experience and carry. She sat down after and signs the golden book with burning determination. Mana smiles happily, so as Crimson whose hands were clasping with joy. Junko just proved that she is worthy to become the Special Mirage Wielder.
"Excellent," Mana closes her eyes, "I can sense your desire and have no regrets. I have no regrets in choosing you."
"Mistress is never wrong about her decisions," Crimson says proudly.
"Like I said before, I won't keep you long," Mana tells her, "Your friends are already worried."
"...Why would they be?" says a doubtful Junko.
Her tone seems to shift into an angry tone. Mana sensed that it changed. It is as if Junko was furious at the thought of them, maybe that's why she sounded different.
"Of course they would," Mana reassures. "Time still flows even if we are conversing right now. Your physical body is asleep, but they can't wake you because your mind is here with me."
Junko seems to look puzzled. Mana explains that from this moment on, Junko will face many challenges, decisions to be made, and fears to overcome. She bids farewell with a smiling face afterwards.
"Thank you for cooperating with us, Junko Sakura," Crimson says as she bows in respect. "Farewell."
Junko stood up once more in surprise when she learned that they knew her name. Oh right, she did forget to introduce herself! We hadn't noticed until now!
CHAPTER 1.3
Her mind has now returned to her body in her classroom. She wakes up, and sees she is surrounded by worried faces. She also hears some of her classmates whispering, while some doesn't mind on what is currently happening. They're busy talking about other matters.
"Ah! She's awake!" says a red-haired girl with glasses, standing in front of her.
Her name is Kana Reiko. She is kind-looking; her smiles lighten up everyone she meets. No one can escape her smiling face. But right now, her face was filled with worry for her friend Junko.
"Huh...?" Junko slowly opens her eyes.
"Thank goodness!" a brown-haired boy thought as he sighed in relief.
His name is Natsume Hyuuga, and is sitting at the last row. He has a calm-looking face, like the type you wouldn't want to hurt because of his pleasing nature.
A tall, dark blue-haired male approaches Junko and asked if she is alright. She answered calmly, but she was tense of embarrassment. He was their science teacher. He teaches chemistry for their year, and he conducts his class with them on the first period.
"Sir Reo?" Junko blinked twice.
She looks around with an innocent face. She gets her pink handkerchief and wipes her face with it, then turned it inside-out to fold it neatly.
"W-Why are you all staring at me like that?!" she said while covering her mouth with the handkerchief. It seems she came back to her senses.
"You had us worried!" says a boy with black and white hair, and dark skin.
"Yeah, you almost scared us!" says a tall girl sanding behind Kana.
She was Rika Akumi, their class president. She had long violet hair; part of it was tied by a small red scrunchee.
"I did? I don't care," says Junko half closes her eyes while looking towards the door.
"What?! Geez, you're heartless," jokes Hajime Sawada, the dark-skinned one earlier.
Junko shyly opened her handkerchief and folds it again. Her face was still looking like she has just gotten out of bed, half-awake to be specific. It wasn't much surprising since she always yawns and by chance falls asleep, every first, fourth, and last period. It couldn't be blamed; she has just woken up after all.
"I was just sleeping, that's all," she replied.
"Sleeping?" says a good-looking boy.
He was sitting at the second row, resting his head on his right hand with a curious look. His name is Kazu Seiran, their class vice president. He looks serious, but currently he has a doubtful look on his face.
"You looked like you weren't," says a blonde-haired boy.
He was Ruka Shuji, a loud and energetic person. He is short but the same height as Natsume. You wouldn't want to be always pestered by him, but he's kind too. You'll just have to get used to him and his crazy teasings.
"Okay," says Sir Reo, "Junko's fine now. Drink some water and rest for a while. I hope this doesn't happen again."
"Yes, sir, I'm sorry," Junko says. "I'm sorry for worrying you all."
She said as she turned to face her classmates. Her face was still slightly red from the incident. It was both from waking up and being embarrassed.
"Apology accepted," said Rika with a reassuring look.
And so their teacher resumed their class discussion. Everything's normal now. Or is it...?
CHAPTER 1.4
It was their lunch period. Junko, as usual, is drawing on her notebook. With her are Ayase Kuchibi, Renji Fushimi, and Iori Sakuragi. They still couldn't believe what had happened.
"You really scared us, Junko!" Ayase said.
Ayase is a tall girl who has long pink hair hanging down to her knees. She sits beside Junko in the front row, and has a personality that sometimes makes her hyperactive.
"Yeah, we thought you were just sleeping," Renji adds with his arms crossed.
Renji is also one of the good-looking male classmates in the Mocha Section. He is a new student who came from Junko's former school. But they haven't met that often during their elementary years.
"But I was!" Junko exclaims.
"We tried waking you up," Iori says.
Iori is also one of the tallest people in their class. He has long dark-brown hair, and he sits right beside the doorway.
"But you still wouldn't budge," Ayase adds.
Junko was still confused while closing her notebook. She puts it back in her bag and grabs another one. This time, she will write something.
Renji then points at his head as if he was thinking and said, "But what really scared us is that your eyes..." he paused, "...were blank."
The other three looked at him with curiosity. Junko was surprised to hear it. Afterwards, Kana enters the room and asks how she was doing. Junko answered calmly while trying to keep her from worrying too much.
"Yeah, I'm okay now. Sorry," Junko says sheepishly.
"I'm relieved," Kana sighed. "Ah, here you go."
Kana then hands over a mysterious-looking letter to Junko. It was a white envelope with a small rose sticker for a seal at the back. It was also perfumed in a rosy scent, making Junko feel relaxed and nervous at the same time. She was wondering and amazed to see the said object.
"Thanks?" she replied, "The sender is from..."
Junko gasped. She was shocked to see that it was from herself! How could that have happened?
"What's wrong?" said a worried Kana.
Junko still wouldn't take her eyes off the letter nor puts it down. It is as if she was put in a trance by the rosy scent.
"Wait..." Kana crosses her arms and tilts her head a little, "...weren't you just at the library?"
CHAPTER 1.5
Still holding the letter, Junko was still confused and says she hasn't been there, nor gave her that letter.
"Then..." she paused, "...who handed me this letter?" Kana shivers a bit.
"D-Don't tell us that it was a...a g-gho..." Ayase, Renji, and Iori chorusly exclaim and stopped.
"T-That's nonsense!" Kana nervously laughs.
She explained how she got that letter to Junko, who was still staring in disbelief.
Someone's walking around the school who looks and acts exactly like me? she thought.
"Kana's right, maybe that was just an illusion or something...!" Junko laughs nervously.
"So I'll be seeing you later then. Let's go home together later, okay?" Kana said.
"Okay!" Junko replied.
After school, Junko and Kana are walking home together. She is still bothered by the letter she received. It couldn't be a love letter; no one has ever told that someone likes her. And it was her own handwriting; no one could've faked it.
I wonder who that person was... And how could I write this? It's even my own handwriting, She thinks deeply.
"Are you still bothered by that letter? Why don't you rest as soon as you get home? Maybe that's just stress. Is there something you want to share to me? " asks Kana, reassuring her, "Maybe I can help, I'm your best friend after all."
"Thanks for your concern, Kana," she smiled. "I feel I have something kept inside that I want to release. But I think I can't."
"Really? Well I'm sure you can relieve it. I'm here for you. We're here, thanks for walking home with me. Bye, Junko!" she said and enters her house.
"You're welcome. Bye, Kana!"
Junko has just gotten home; she quickly takes off her shoes and jumped on her bed. She opened her arms while lying down.
"Ahh...! My nice soft bed!" she tossed to the edge of the bed.
She sniffs the letter, "Mmm... This has a nice rosy scent. I really wanna know who gave her this letter."
She slowly opened it and reads it out loud:
Greetings, my original self. It is I, your other self.
I see you have opened this letter I gave to your closest friend.
I won't take you in circles; I want you to do exactly written in this sentence:
Take the key...
"Okay, this key, huh?" she said as she stares at the small white key with a heart-shaped handle.
...Face the mirror and mutter these words...
"'I surrender my faults to know my true self'."
A surge of light emitted from the small key, and an electrical feeling ran through her body.
"AH?!" Junko shrieked.
The key had transformed into a life-sized one, it looks like a weapon.
...And stab it through yourself without hesitation.
"HUH?! This can't get any weirder, can it?" she asks herself. "Oh well! I don't want to face any consequences once I did hesitate."
CHAPTER 1.6
The next day, their class adviser, Ms. Kaede Harada, conducts roll call in their homeroom period. She is a new teacher along with Sir Reo Kurosu. She teaches history and economics for the Senior Class.
"Sakura? Sakura? Hm, is Junko still not here?" she asked.
"No, teacher," Rika answered.
"Maybe she's just late," Kamiru, a girl with long curly light brown hair, said.
"Yeah, we all know that she can't be absent for no reason," Hajime said.
Kana was speechless. She doubted herself, but no one seems to notice.
"What's wrong, Kana?" Kazu asked.
She rested her head on her hands and said, "I'm worried about the letter she got yesterday."
"The one you told me about?" says Ringo Akira, a girl with orange-red hair. She is sitting beside Kana at the second row.
"She doesn't even remember but it was her handwriting, so that is strange" she added.
Ruka was approaching and interrupts the two girls, "Weren't you just daydreaming or something?"
Kana shook her head in response. Unexpectedly, the school secretary came to their room. She looked seriously worried. Kana could tell from her facial expression. The secretary was also in charge of school events and finances.
"Excuse me, Teacher Kaede?" she said, "I want to speak with you for a moment."
Ms. Kaede looked serious and went out of the room; the classroom became filled with noises.
"She looks worried," says Haru, a boy sitting beside Natsume. He was busy solving a crossword puzzle.
A chubby boy, Masaru Minaguchi, stands and exclaims, "This looks like big news!"
"Shut up, Masaru," a dark-blue haired girl said.
She was Iya Saki. Her hair is tied in a pigtail, and has a seemingly boyish nature. "This maybe just about the school," she continues.
Ms. Kaede returned with a pale face, her hands were holding the door.
"Class, have you heard anything from Junko lately? Or seen her go somewhere yesterday?" she suddenly asks.
The whole section was shocked and surprised to hear it.
"No, why?!" Rika replied.
"Nothing at all?" the secretary asked, "Well her mother came in a while ago to tell that Junko is missing."
CHAPTER 1.7
"NO WAY?!" the class yelled.
Kana stands up and said, "B-But she won't go anywhere without letting her mother know!"
"That's what her mother said," she said, "If you know something, please don't go without informing us."
And the secretary left the room. Kana was really upset; her lips were trembling with worry. Ringo holds Kana's hand and asked, "You were the last person Junko was with, and don't you know anything else?"
"No," Kana replied. "She was smiling the last time we were together . . ."
"And that was just yesterday," Kazu adds.
Natsume was also frowning with worry for the Junko. Iori went to him and elbows him, "Maybe you know something!"
"H-Huh?!" Natsume blushed as he stuttered, "No way do I. I haven't even seen anything suspicious lately."
It was already dismissal time, another chubby boy, Tsuna Chizu, approaches his fellow gamer buddies to invite them for a game when he saw an apparition of Junko by the door.
"What's wrong?" a tall boy asked.
"Yeah, you look like you saw..." a tall, serious-looking boy paused.
"...A ghost?" another tall boy, but with fair skin, said.
The first boy was Madarame Iwaruko, another male transfer student. Hideki Tsuyoku is the second one. Aki Otomiya, another good-looking male classmate of theirs.
"I-It was . . ." Tsuna paused, "It was Junko!"
"You saw her?" Kameda Kuroda asks, "But that can't be, she hasn't been found yet."
A girl was standing by the door. She was giggling silently, and looks awfully like Junko. Her hair is tied into a half-ponytail with a pink silk ribbon, and wearing a cute, pinkish-white dress. But the only difference is that she's also wearing a plain white collar on her neck.
"Junko?!" Kana cried, "Where... Where were you?!"
"If you want to know, follow me..." said the girl.
"Hey! You can't just leave-" Iori stopped as he touched the girl's shoulder, "AH!"
She hurriedly left and mysteriously vanished into thin air. No one seems to notice somehow...
"Iori, what happeneed?" Ruka asked.
"You're shaking, Iori," said a red-haired girl with a headband.
She is Akari Himawari, another fair-skinned girl. She has a great singing voice, and lives near Junko and Kana's houses.
Iori's hand was still shaking as if he were holding ice in it or like someone slapped it really hard. He looks at Akari and said, "The moment I touched her, I felt a cold chill ran down my spine."
"Hahaha! You got scared!" laughs Haru.
"I am not!" Iori grunts, "Her body's cold as ice!"
Haru is a comedic boy, the class clown of III-Mocha. He has gray hair and slightly dark skin. He loves to play games and anime as much as Junko does. He's also smart but his laziness gets the best of him, showing his classmates that he's like a prankster.
"I won't let you out of my sight again!" says a serious Kana, and ran out of the room.
Rika drops down her bag and exclaimed, "We can't let Kana on her own! Follow them!"
And so they each dropped their respective bags and ran outside the school.
CHAPTER 1.8
At the Surreal Realm, Mana is busy reading something while sipping her tea.
"Mistress," Crimson frowns, "is it alright?"
"Yes, let them be. We cannot interfere, for this is part of their Destiny," Mana said, "However, we can warn them."
Saloren City Park, a beautiful large park, with lots of children is playing at the moment. A playground can be seen to the right of the entrance gate. Few picnic tables are under the tall mango trees. At the middle of the park, a mysterious lone mirror stands.
"J-Junko! Stop!" Kana panting.
"Hee hee, I'd love to, but I can't!" the girl said, swaying around.
"Why?" Kana asks.
Ruka caught a glimpse of the girl's ribbon and shouted, "Kana! Oh!"
"I see they've followed us," she said, "Heh, let's see if they still can."
And she enters the mirror. Hajime shouts hysterically. The rest were speechless while staring in disbelief. No one but them can see it.
"...Is this just a dream?" said Natsume as he rubs his eyes.
"Oh man, can this get any more exciting?!" said an excited Haru.
"Were you being sarcastic, or just really annoying?" annoys Hajime.
"That's mean!" Haru reacted.
Walking towards them, a beautiful lady with glasses wearing a sun hat stopped near the mirror.
"Excuse me, do you children have any business here?" she asks.
CHAPTER 1.9
Rika approaches her and said, "Um, yes, we do. S-Sort of..."
"We were just following our friend into this mirror and..." Kana paused.
The woman smiled mysteriously. Kana couldn't help from being nervous.
"What mirror?" she said, "I do not see anything but a colorful park."
Kana and company are dumbfounded. But the woman was looking directly towards the said mirror. Kana must've noticed that, but isn't quite sure.
"Hey, she doesn't see it. What do we tell her?" Rika whispered Kana.
"I don't know either..." Kana whispered back. "Uh, sorry, ma'am, we didn't want to disturb you."
"We're sorry!" Rika apologizes.
"We're sorry!" repeated the others.
"That's alright," the woman replied.
Then she suddenly moves closer to Kana, smiled and said, "I'm glad she has friends like you."
"But I'm warning you, once you enter that place, it will ask you to choose between two heavy decisions. To go on or not." she whispered in her ear.
"What do you mean...?" Kana gasped.
"You have been warned..." she whispered again, "So, just be careful okay?"
And she finally left them. Just who was she? Those were words racing in their minds. Kana stands speechless; she was deeply affected by what the woman had told her. What is she trying to tell her? Is Kana a chosen one too? Does she have the qualifications of some sort? How will she face the challenges that will be running towards them at the right "moment"?
CHAPTER 1.10
"Kana?" says Ringo as she taps Kana.
"...N-Nothing." she replied.
"What did she tell you?" Rika was curious to know.
Kana shrugged herself, "It's nothing important, she just told me that Junko is lucky to have friends like us... I have to follow her!"
"Wait!" Kazu yelled and grabbed Kana's arm.
"Let go, Kazu!" she cried, "I have to save her, she needs me!"
Kazu releases his grip and said, "How can you be so sure? Maybe we're all just in a dream."
"He's right," Rika agrees, "But if we want to end this already, let's go get her."
Rika patted Kana softly on the shoulder to ease her worry. Then Hajime is prancing towards the mirror. Ringo had a dumbfounded look on her face. So were Iori and the others.
"I'll open this thing!" Hajime says proudly, "Open Sesame!"
The rest were staring dumbfounded at him. Ruka is making weird faces at him, in other words, taunting him.
Hajime ignores Ringo's statement and Ruka's taunting, and tries to tap the glass, "This thing won't even-WHOA?!"
It seems he just opened it by chance. They all went in afterwards.
Inside the Mirror World, they stared speechlessly. They couldn't believe what they are seeing.
"This place..." Kazu paused, "Is this for real?"
"Junko! Where are you?" Kana cried.
They suddenly hear Junko's voice from nearby. Yet, it was the girl from earlier. No one still hasn't noticed that she and Junko are the same person. Actually, they really are. Ruka points at her direction, but she suddenly disappeared after.
"Come back!" Natsume cried, trying to follow her.
"WAAAIIIT!!!" a tiny voice shouted.
Natsume stopped and looks around, "Huh? Who said that?"
A small shadowy figure emerges from where the girl disappeared.
END OF CHAPTER 1