Chapter 3: Close Encounters of The Reflective Kind

I knew it! I just knew something was up with my mirror!

I stared at her, eyes wide, mouth agape, mind racing—and it came crashing down.

No doubt about it, she was in my mirror and was also just about as frozen as I was.

This is happening Keizo, you're not imagining things.

She's real.

This is real.

What are you even supposed to say in a situation like this?

“Please don’t tell me you’re a ghost! I promise to go to bed at a reasonable hour instead of grinding away at speedruns!”

I cowered.

A beat passed.

She stared at me blankly.

“I can assure you, I’m no spectre,” her voice muffled slightly. “And if I may, what is a speedrun?”

“…You’re kidding.”

I took a cautious step closer to the mirror.

“No—wait. Back up. We’re skipping past like five cutscenes here! What the hell are you doing in my house?!”

Her breath hitched. Eyes flicked down.

“I… My…”

She tripped over her words.

Then she tried again.

"Listen, I do not wish to hurt you, I promise. I'm not supposed to be—"

"Hey, it’s okay… I think I believe you," I said cautiously. "But that raises an even bigger question. What are you?"

She hesitated, then knocked on the mirror, almost rhythmically.

"I'm human. Like you. I believe." She scanned around her, nervously. "But I'm also… trapped."

"You're telling me you're stuck… like, inside my mirror?"

"Yes."

“And also human?”

“Yes…”

"Right."

"Your world looks somewhat like mine, although very strange. I've seen things in your room that are …impossible to me." Izumi says, pointing behind me.

I turned slightly, looked over my shoulder.

“You mean… that?” I pointed.

She nodded solemnly.

“You’re telling me a blowdryer is the peak of technological sorcery in your world?”

“That contraption has no wires. No aether signature. How does it breathe wind without mana?” she asked, dead serious.

I turned back toward her slowly.

“I genuinely don’t know how to answer that… Bluetooth? wireless charging?”

“What’s a Bluetooth charge? Does your world run on these charges?”

“Forget I said anything...” I rubbed at the back of my neck.

I took a good look at her.

Her pale skin.

Her clothes looked like she got isekai’d straight from a JRPG no one’s translated yet.

“You’re… definitely not from anywhere around here.”

She suddenly ducked slightly, covering her face.

“Please don’t stare at me like that…”

“Right, sorry—just trying to, uh, verify your claim. Not that I’m checking you out. Or—god, this is getting worse the more I talk.”

A lull dropped between us.

“Look,” I exhaled, rubbing the back of my neck, “given how absurd this whole thing already is, maybe we try and make it even a smidge less weird.”

“…Sure,” she said softly.

“I’m Keizo Tezuka. Eighteen. Senior at Matsuyama High. I like math, boss battles, and forgetting to water my plants.”

She tilted her head, again.

“Izumi Hanei. Seventeen. From a place called Magnaria.”

I felt that there was something she wasn’t saying—but I didn’t wanna push further.

Not yet at least.

“Well… thanks for introducing yourself, Izumi.”

She smiled faintly. “Sorry for the scare.”

“Can’t say I expected to see a girl in my mirror tonight.”

“I didn’t expect anyone quite like you either, Keizo.”

We sat there a moment.

“…If you’re stuck and I’m here,” I said slowly, “might as well talk, right? Everyone’s got a story. What’s yours?”

She stared at me…

Actually she kinda stared through me… Weird.

“Banished,” she said.

I blinked.

“Like… socially or magically?”

“Both.”

“…Damn.”

“I was an easy scapegoat. The king, the church—they all wanted a public display. To make me into an example. I was too powerful. Too strange. So, they sent me away.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “Okay, but what did you do?”

She hesitated. “I practiced spellwork. Theurgic magic. Advanced sigilcrafting. That sort of thing.”

My eyes widened. “Wait. You mean actual magic?”

“Would you like me to show you?” she offered cautiously.

“I mean, yeah sure! But also, please don’t set my house on fire.”

She chuckled once. “I’ll try not to.”

She extended her arms wide.

And then—

A spark. A brief flare. Then—

Boom.

The light collapsed in on itself like a reverse firecracker then boomed outward, and she pinged off out of frame in a second.

“Crap! Was that supposed to happen?!” I called out to her. “Are you okay?!”

She popped back into view, pouting. “I’m fine. But yes… It appears I’ve been significantly debuffed. There’s a barrier here. I can feel it.”

I exhaled. “That was… actually kind of sick.”

“I have no ailments.”

I blinked.

“I meant, like… cool? Amazing?”

“You mean fascinating?”

“Super fascinating! I mean, no… sorry that looked like it hurt. I meant the lights and the flares—”

“You sound like every kid I’ve ever shown magic to,” she giggled, then frowned again.

“But it’s all gone now. Or… caged, at least. My hands feel hot, mild spellburn most likely.”

“I don’t think you’re powerless,” I said. “Just suppressed. Whoever exiled you probably locked you down here.”

“My father warned me…” she said, quietly. “He told me to be careful with my gift. I don’t think he meant this, though.”

“What’d they think you were going to do?”

“I don’t know. Burn the kingdom down? All I ever wanted was to learn and be helpful to my village. But once people think you’re dangerous…”

She trailed off.

Then her breath caught.

“…I don’t have anyone left. I don’t know what to do now.”

The words hit hard.

I wasn’t sure why I did it, but I reached out and pressed my palm against the glass.

“Hey. You’re not alone. Not anymore.”

She blinked, eyes suddenly wet.

“That… means more than you know.”

“You’ve got me. I’m not going anywhere.”

A beat.

“Meeting you changed everything,” she whispered.

“It sure did,” I smiled. “And I barely understand half of what’s happening.”

She pressed her hand to the same spot.

Glass to glass.

The mirror shimmered faintly, just once—like it was acknowledging us.