Reflection

"Meet me on the other side of the mirror..."

"Mommy?" Five-year old Rin asked, peering up at her mother with innocent blue eyes through her golden bangs. Soon they would either be cut or she would need hair clips to keep them out of her face. A large white bow sat on top of her head, as usual.

"Yes, Rin?" The woman gazed down lovingly at her only daughter. "What is it?"

The child pointed at the nearby kitchen window. "Who's that in the window?"

Her mother blinked, then laughed lightly. "That's just your reflection, silly."

Rin shook her head, the bow flopping back and forth with the movement. "Nuh-uh! I'm not a boy! There's a boy in the window! What's his name?"

Worried, Mrs. Kagami looked up at the window, scrutinizing it thoroughly. "I... I don't see a boy, dear..."

Her daughter scrunched her nose, following her gaze. "...But he's right there! See? He's only copying me to trick you, but he doesn't look like me all the way!"

Now Rin's mother was extremely anxious of her daughter's mental stability. The next day she scheduled an appointment for Rin.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Kagami, but from what I can tell, nothing's wrong with her," the doctor informed her.

Rin, meanwhile, grinned cheerily at the mirror, holding an orange-flavored lollipop. Suddenly, her grin dropped, and she stuck her tongue out at the mirror. This grabbed the adults' attention.

"Stop copying me, Len!" Rin whined.

"L-Len?!" Mrs. Kagami spluttered.

"Yeah...?" Rin turned to her. "I wanted to know what his name was, y'know, the boy in the mirror, so I asked him. He said his name is Len Kagamine." She giggled. "It's almost like mine!"

Her mother paled. "S-See, doctor?! This is what got me worried in the first place!"

The doctor put a hand on his chin, thinking, before his face lit up in understanding. "She's five, isn't she? Children her age have wild imaginations. 'Len Kagamine', as she pointed out, is awfully close to 'Rin Kagami'. She probably just wanted a friend like her." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry; she'll grow out of it."

Only she didn't. Though she pretended, after her – and Len's – tenth birthday, that she didn't see him anymore, she did. After school every day, she would tell him what she had done, and he would tell her about his day. Whether he was originally imagination or not, he surely wasn't now. After all, sometimes, when you believe something to be real, it becomes real. Even at age fourteen, Rin still was friends – best friends – with her 'reflection'. Len had an opposite world of hers; for instance, her other best friend, Miku, was almost exactly like Len's other best friend, Mikuo. Rin had to catch herself from laughing too loudly at Len's stories of him and Mikuo.

But one day she ran into her room, tears streaming down her face as sobs escaped her mouth. At this time she was sixteen, and had been dating a junior named Kaito – much to Len's annoyance, not that she knew that. Len, of course, was concerned for her, and asked her what was wrong. She crawled to the large mirror she kept in her room to speak with him in private.

"H-He... Th-That jerk, he..." she sniffled, trying to speak coherently.

"Who?" Len asked, though he was already guessing what had happened.

"K-Kaito... d-dumped..." Rin broke down into sobs, hiding her face in her hands. Len frowned, wishing he were able to teach the blue-haired boy a lesson.

"Shh... it's okay, Rin. People break up all the time. There are better guys out there. Tons of guys who like you more than he ever could."

She looked up at him with tearful eyes. "R-Really? You think s-so?"

He smiled. "I know so. You're an amazing girl, Rin. You'll find someone better, I promise."

She gave him a weak grin in response. "Thanks, Le-Len." Rin rubbed her eyes, then placed a hand on the mirror. Len quickly copied her, placing his hand where hers was on his side of the mirror, something they had done for years. Though... oh, how he wished he could take her in his arms and comfort her better, but alas, it was impossible. They were separated by fate... by the glass.

Len was right; she did find someone better. Unfortunately, love has a crappy way of working. Every day, Rin found herself falling deeper into his sapphire-like eyes. Her heart ached to touch him, and every time he spoke, a shiver ran up her spine. She loved everything about him, from his golden locks of hair, to his shy smile.

"Rin? You okay?"

She blinked, breaking away from her thoughts. Realizing she had been staring at Len, she blushed and looked away. "Y-Yeah. Fine."

Len raised a golden eyebrow. "You sure? That's the fifth time you've just spaced out in ten minutes."

"Mhm," she mumbled, refusing to look at him directly – for she knew she would stutter and blush more if she did. "Just thinkin', s'all."

"What about?"

Rin's blush darkened. "N-Nothing!"

He chuckled, embarrassing her further – even if the sound was music to her ears. "A boy, maybe?" Len grinned, though his eyes held a slight bit of hurt.

"M-Maybe..." she mumbled. They were silent, Len waiting for her to talk, and Rin wishing he would.

Her silent prayers were answered when he finally broke the silence. "...Y'know... we'll be going off to college soon..."

Rin sighed, hating the new subject worse than the last. "Yeah... I know."

"We won't be able to talk as much, huh?"

"Not really..."

Len angrily pounded his fist against his desk, where he kept his mirror, making his world appear to jump for Rin. "It isn't fair..." he muttered.

"I know..."

He paused, then mumbled: "I'll miss you..."

Rin's eyes began to water. "Len... I'll miss you too."

Suddenly, he pressed his hand against the glass, grinning sheepishly. She followed his example. At age five their hands had been the same size, but now Len's had grown bigger and longer than hers. And yet... it was like old times. As if the glass didn't exist between them.

"I'll always think about you," he whispered, his tone holding an emotion she didn't know.

"Me too, Len. And... even though we won't be able to talk too much... or at all... we'll still see each other, right?"

Len smiled. "I sure hope so."

"Bye, Len..."

"No, not goodbye. See you later. Because I will," he vowed. "...I promise."

Rin sniffed. "S-See you later, then."

"See you."

They hadn't talked for four years, unable to find a moment when they could at their colleges. They graduated, but weren't able to congratulate each other. Rin got a good but busy job at a cafe', while Len... well, he took up a different job.

"Hello, I'm Rin Kagami, may I take your-" Rin stopped mid-sentence, jaw dropped, eyes wide. It couldn't be...

At the booth sat a man around her age with golden hair pulled into an all-too-familiar ponytail. He looked up from his menu, and she knew just by his eyes. He smiled.

"Hello, Rin. Told you I'd see you again."