This story was inspired by a quote I've read about the feasibility of one's reflection being on a different dimension, the mysteriousness of Another (awesome anime), and maybe Mirrors (film) – at some point.

Author's Note:

If you're looking for romance, this is not the story for you. This fic focuses solely on horror, mystery, and friendship.


Hotaru


People always flash their faces in front of mirrors. Some even spend hours fixing their make-ups, hair, suit and ties or put contact lenses, fake eyelashes, powder, and wax. Some just basically dance while they lip sync a song using a hairbrush as their microphone or walk like a runway model and do poses feeling like they're a pro. Some (especially the narcissists) waste their entire lives adoring their reflections. But with the amount of time that you spend in front of these shiny flat glass objects, have it ever crossed your mind that behind those, there might actually be a different dimension? Have you ever wondered that the person you're always looking at might actually be the real you and you're just a mere reflection of the other side of the world?

For a normal person, my curiosity exceeds that of the average. Queer thoughts usually filled my mind. If someone were to analyze my brain, they would most likely think I'm weird or crazy – not that I mind. I actually might agree with them if ever. I guess this is the consequence of being a genius. I could never look at the world the same way a typical person would. It's amazing and disturbing at the same time.

"She came from London and transferred here due to her father's job." Misaki, my new homeroom teacher, announced to the class. He then looked at me and smiled as he encouraged me to introduce myself.

I didn't know how transfer students normally present their selves here in Japan so I just went with the basics. "I'm Hotaru Imai. Sixteen."

A girl with strawberry-blonde hair immediately raised her hand and Misaki urged her to speak. "Are you really a girl?"

The class snickered while I raised a delicate brow. "Yes."

"So you're a bitch."

The class chortled again. "Alright, alright! That's enough."

"Sensei! Is she rich?" the same girl asked again.

Misaki didn't seem to expect the question and paused for awhile before answering. "I believe so."

"Then she's a stinking spoiled brat."

"You forgot to include bitch." This time, it was the girl beside her who spoke. She has short dark green hair with several distinctive curly, long strands at the front with bangs cut straight across, reaching the top of her eyebrows. Her eyes were that of the same color with her hair.

The two girls laughed as the whole class joined them. Misaki slammed both of his hands on his desk hard and the class stopped but not the two who were still clutching their stomachs, snorting. "I will not tolerate your words Ms. Koizumi."

"Hey, it's not like we're bullying her. We're just having fun talking about her." She defended but the mocking smirk on her lips tells otherwise.

"Detention at the end of the day, Ms. Koizumi. And you too, Ms. Shouda."

"What?! But we didn't even do anything wrong!" The girl with the permed hair exclaimed.

"I will decide whether you did anything wrong. Now shut your mouths if you don't want to extend your detention."

Both girls were glaring at the teacher intensely. If it was only legal to kill, I swear by the looks they're giving, Misaki might have been sprawled on the floor by now covered with his own blood. The teacher didn't seem to mind though. In fact, he was back to his usual semi-cheerful mood. It's as if he wasn't catching the killing intent the girls were giving him.

"Please sit right next to Mikan Sakura; the girl who's busy sleeping there beside the window." Misaki scowled. "I'm giving you special permission to whack her head."

As I walked towards my given seat, I could feel criticizing eyes boring holes on my back. I could even hear some murmurs, calling me horrid words. They didn't even bother to lower their voices. I pass the Koizumi girl and catch her whisper Bitch. I pretended that I didn't hear and proceeded to my seat instead.

Though I was given the approval to smack this sleepyhead, I resorted to wake her up the normal way. After all, we haven't even exchanged a single word in the first place so it would be bad manners if I ever did that.

I was about to touch her shoulder and wake her up when she suddenly slapped my hand away. The whole class gasped. Her big amber eyes were staring fiercely at my amethyst ones.

"Uh-oh, she's going to be in big trouble." I heard one said. "Poor girl."

The whole room was suddenly filled with tension. The girl was still staring directly at my eyes. She wasn't even blinking. I didn't back down though. I stared right back with the same intensity. I wasn't even scared. I didn't know how I could be in trouble just by waking up this girl.

"Now, now. Would you quit the staring contest? We still have a long lesson to discuss." Misaki blurted in annoyance.

Mikan Sakura tore her eyes away from me and stared at the window beside her instead; her elbow on her desk and her hand on her chin. The pressure that filled the air seemed to loosen now and the class was back to normal. The complaints and yawns of the students seemed far away to me. I wasn't even paying attention to the discussion, though I already have the gist of the topic.

All I could think was how intriguing my new seatmate was. Her eyes have some mystery I couldn't unfold. Normally, I could predict what people were thinking by seeing their eyes or facial expressions. It's a habit of mine actually. I usually stay in the back line and just observe people. It's fun having the idea what their thoughts are. I could easily see right through them.

This was the first time that I couldn't see and I didn't like the feeling of it.

The bell rang and the whole class exploded into loud screaming of joy. It was lunch time and my classmates excitedly filed out of the room. I started to fix my things and put them in my bag when Koizumi practically banged one hand on my desk while the other was placed on her hips. I looked up at her. She was pretty, that's a fact – with short strawberry-blonde hair that reaches her shoulders, blue eyes, and thick lips with a beauty mark under it. Her personality, on the other hand, was the complete opposite (based on the attitude she had shown me so far).

"So" she drawled. "Wanna grab some pizza with us?"

I raised a skeptical brow. That was the least I expected for her to say.

She raised both of her hands in surrender. "No harm, I promise. Just getting back at you for putting us into detention." She glowered at me.

As I thought, this girl and I will never get on good terms. I was about to say something when Sakura suddenly stood up – her chair made some awful scraping noise. I had the impression that she purposely did that to get our attention. She took her bag and strapped it on her shoulder. "Let's go, Luna."

I thought Koizumi was about to argue but decided to let it slide. She looped her arm on Sakura's and they started to walk towards the door where Shouda and a girl with dark blue hair were waiting. Before they got too far away, I heard Koizumi said something to Sakura. "I wonder how you were able to put up with that stinking bitch." Sakura just shrugged and they all went out of the room, leaving me alone.

I finished fixing my things and grabbed my bag. I walked out of the room and proceeded to the cafeteria. The place was surrounded by enormous polished glass walls. Rectangular tables filled the enormous space while circular light bulbs adorned the ceiling.

The meals were classified into three menus which consisted of assorted foods. There were also desserts and snacks. I ordered meal B – with suimono (soup), sashimi, takimono (grilled dish), and a bowl of rice.

Alice Academy wasn't exactly as prestigious as my school back in London. Actually, it's just an ordinary institute, with ordinary students and teachers. The only reason why I am stuck here was because of my father's line of work.

In my life, everything is ordinary. My family is rich – just like what Misaki had guessed. I could afford anything I wanted – whether they're clothes, shoes, books or food – without even worrying the price. But we're not that wealthy, just the average wealthy.

My looks were plain – black cropped hair and dull amethyst eyes. Because of my short hair, everyone always thought that I was a boy (obviously the reason why Koizumi questioned my gender in class a while ago). Sometimes they even thought that I'm gay. My schoolmates usually made fun of me because of it but I didn't mind them. My time was too precious to waste with immature beings like them.

I go to school and study at home to get good grades. I don't curse. I don't play video games or other computer games most teenagers (especially the boys) are addicted to. I have never tried smoking, drinking alcohol or taking illegal drugs. I never go to wild parties or shop in the mall (my father was the one who usually buy me stuffs because I didn't want to use my money. I have this crazy addiction to money.) I always follow what my father tells me. In short, I'm one of those every-parent-would've-wished-for kind of daughter.

I'm an introvert. It's not that I'm shy or not good with interacting with other people. It's just that I didn't find the need to communicate with them. People who I have talked to always thought that I was weird or a psycho. It's not my fault that my brain works different than theirs.

I was walking around the cafeteria looking for an empty table. I spotted one at the side beside the glass walls overlooking the forest. I stepped towards it but an irritating girl blocked my way.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shouda was folding her arms in front of her chest; one brow raised defiantly. "You're not thinking that you could actually sit there."

"That table is off-limits. It's our table." Koizumi butted in.

"Did you buy it?" I asked with an expressionless face.

"No." Shouda looked appalled for a second but then quickly regained her composure. She rose her chin up and continued saying, "But everyone knows it's our place."

"Oh, really? Well, I don't know it and I don't specifically care."

"You're really getting on my nerves, you know that?" Koizumi growled.

"Same here."

"Okay, cut it out guys." The blue haired girl interrupted and faced me. "That table is already occupied by us. Can you just search for another one?" It wasn't a question; it was an order. I didn't want to get into a fight on my first day so I just walked away.

I haven't even gotten that far away from them when I heard a shrilling scream. It cut through the noise of the cafeteria. The place was silent for a moment then almost all of the students there immediately ran towards the direction of the scream. Sakura unintentionally bumped my shoulder as she too ran while her three friends followed. Being the inquisitive person I was, I also went with the other students.

When I was a kid, I always watch horror movies. I especially like the gore ones. I never once cringed when the murderer kills its targets. I even have this feeling of excitement whenever the victim was about to be slaughtered. I exclusively love when blood would spill from their bodies. Don't get me wrong. I'm not crazy. I have perfect control of my mind and am completely aware of it. Maybe I'm just a sadist; but I don't and never will hurt anyone in reality or even take pleasure of murders in the real world.

This thrilling feeling that I am experiencing right now was awfully familiar. The hairs on my skin were standing not because of fear but because of this unexplainable sensation that I was perceiving.

In front of us was a hanged body of a boy – a belt was tied around his neck. Saliva was trickling down from his mouth, his eyes were white, and veins were visible from the side of his head. It was my first time seeing a live scene of a crime. I scanned the people around me. Some were crying, covering their mouths, utterly shocked and speechless, shaking their heads in disbelief, some vomited, and some couldn't even look at the body. I was the only person who was calm. Even the teachers, who have just arrived, were panicking. I also saw Koizumi and Shouda not too far away from me. If not because of the unpleasant situation, I would have laughed my ass off because of their bewildered expressions. It was priceless!

I saw Sakura standing beside them. Her eyes were fixated solely on the hanged body. I noticed that her hands were curled into fists and they were shaking so bad I would've thought she was angry if it wasn't for her placid expression. The blue haired girl tapped her shoulder and whispered something on her ear. She nodded and started to walk away together with the other three while my eyes followed them until they disappeared into the crowd.

I have this weird intuition that Sakura somehow knew who was behind this or at least the cause of it. I didn't know if it was because of my unusual interest in her or I am just imagining things. Either way, I'm going to find out sooner or later.


A SHORT COMMENTARY FROM THE AUTHOR

Sooooo… was it good? Boring? Please give me your honest opinions on the reviews. I'll update this story every week. Love ya'll :*