It was a beautiful summer afternoon at Luna Nova. The break had just started, so some students had left to visit their families; Others either staying a while longer, or for the entire break. The sun shone warm rays and a gentle breeze caused the tree leaves and flowers to dance back and forth; coupled with beautiful magic birdsong, it was the type of day no one could resist from spending outside.

That is, except, for one Atsuko Kagari.

Not to say she didn't feel it was a great day out, of course - she thought it was amazing - but she had her mind occupied with other things at the moment. Ever since the revival of Magic, Luna Nova had undergone some renovations and many of the older, forbidden buildings were receiving new attention from the cleaning staff. And while still technically restricted from student access during the renovations, Akko felt that mice didn't count as students.

Oh, I love knowing Transformation magic!

Scurrying as quickly as her tiny mouse legs could carry her, she darted across ceiling beams, up and down pillars and under many doors. There was never anything too interesting to see in the rooms, since most of the tools and artifacts that would normally be there had been moved to the archives years ago, but everything was more interesting when it seemed larger. Even still, she was hoping to find something worth showing her friends in this place! Even simple things like old magic symbols or another sorcerer's stone or… anything!

Taking one final look down the hall, she noticed a double doorway made of a different kind of wood from the rest, with a more secure design, only emphasized by the triple padlocks, wooden boards and metal bar blocking it shut. To any normal student, this would seem like a warning - something dangerous must be locked in that room, and the locking is to keep it in there.

Akko was no normal student, however. She saw this instead as something interesting being hidden away so people can't see it. Of course, she wasn't about to completely risk her life over this, so she decided to undo her transformation and knock on the door first. Hearing nothing moving behind the door, Akko transformed back into a mouse and squeezed into the crack in between the doors. It was still a tight fit, but she managed to make it through with enough wiggling. The room inside was very dark, with only the faint glow produced by what seemed to be shelved artifacts. Was this a storage closet? Removing her transformation spell, she held out her wand and cast a simple illumination one. Curiously, some of the items in the closet also began to glow or continue to glow brighter in response.

Now with plenty of light, the Japanese witch could clearly see the contents of the room. It was indeed a storage closet, and the contents were some of the coolest things she'd ever seen! Ornate brooms, glowing crystal skulls, custom-designed wands, jeweled goblets, it was amazing! Amanda would love to see this! Suddenly, however, something else caught her eye. At the far end of the room was a pink glow, contrasting the usual green magic of everything else in the closet. Following the light, Akko found that it was coming from a jewel embedded in the top of a mirror frame. Aside from the unique glow, the mirror seemed to be normal.

The design isn't very fancy… and it seems to just be reflecting me… but then why is it here?

It wasn't until she took a closer look at the room being reflected that she started to have suspicions. For starters, the reflection's floor was covered in (clearly discarded) artifacts, and the walls were much further… "Is that even the same room? What's with all the junk?"

"Where's all the junk?" At the same time as she spoke, she heard a voice overlap her own. Was that… my voice? My reflection said something different? Cautiously, she reached a hand out to the mirror. Her reflection still copied her every move, until she came into contact with it. For just a brief moment, no more than a second, she felt human warmth instead of glass and saw through the mirror as though it was a window rather than a reflection. Startled, yet too curious to back away, she racked her mind for a way to say something separate from her reflection.

*KNOCK KNOCK* *RUMBLE CRASH*

"Akko, are you there?" Two different sounds, two different voices, but both the same idea. Someone had come looking for her, and she almost had trouble telling which one was happening where. Standing up quickly, she hit her shoulder on a shelf, knocking a small pot onto her back, which sent her tumbling facefirst towards the mirror. In her final, albeit brief, moment of awareness, she saw her reflection had tripped and was coming head first to meet her.