Disclaimer: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle belongs to CLAMP. Does it come as a surprise to you?
Spoiler warning: My standard, that is: up to chapter 166. Or maybe in fact a little earlier… Only a little though. It doesn't matter anyways, because if you're by some chance a little before chapter 166, you're more likely to read on than browse for fanfictions, right?
Yuui opened one eye, then the other. He pushed himself up and looked around, yawning. The room, already brightened with tender beams sent by the generous sun, hadn't yet liberated itself from the drowsy quietness of night. Fai was soundly asleep in his own bed, his even breath harmonious with the overall atmosphere, and Yuui waited a moment before starting
to untangle himself from underneath the quilt. He shivered when his bare foot touched the cold floor, but still he proceeded to run on his tiptoes as silently as possible, across the bedroom and the adjoining chamber, to the door that would lead him out to the corridor. The early mornings were definitely the best time to explore the area with minimal risk of being caught, especially if he went alone.
The only problem was that the majority of doors were usually locked, which remained a considerable obstacle even after Yuui could manage to reach the handle, which was not always
an easy task either. Therefore a narrow slit, as if a welcoming invitation, in a door that must have been mistakenly left ajar, immediately attracted Yuui's attention. He pushed it slightly, broadening the opening, and snuck inside.
Turning away from the entrance, Yuui took in the room briefly, his gaze sliding over the details of furniture, wallpaper and pieces of clothing scattered everywhere together with colourful materials, threads and measures. He stepped on the soft carpet when suddenly a motion somewhere in the corner caught his eyes, prompting him to look more closely in that direction. What he saw was a huge, decorative wooden frame embracing… what exactly? The thing hanged on the wall, but appeared as a way through to another room, and there was a person
in there… Oh, no, it was the same room, Yuui realised, spotting the elegant garments and the half-open door, imitated on the smooth, reflecting surface. When he moved nearer towards the structure, so did the image of a person, growing larger and more distinguishable, and eventually, to his greatest astonishment, Yuui recognised it as Fai.
"Fai..?" he whispered in an uncertain voice, although he had already known that it .couldn't be him. Firstly, what the device showed seemed to be nothing but illusions, and after all
he was sure Fai had stayed in their room. Nevertheless, why that thing, which reproduced the entire chamber without mistake, would place his brother where in fact he stood, Yuui was incapable of inventing any answer. He frowned, thinking hard, however the process was interrupted when he noticed the fake-Fai's eyebrows bring together, mimicking his own expression. Tilting his head in amazement, he observed a surprised look appear his twin's picture's face as its head tipped too. The movement of Yuui's hand was copied likewise,
so that when he touched the flat glass plain, their palms seemed to meet.
Then the reflected door opened slowly, accompanied by a rustle from behind Yuui, and without turning he was able to recognise the plump figure of the nursemaid entering the room.
He got caught.
"Prince!" she shrieked, "What are you doing here?"
Yuui knew "prince" could sometimes mean "Yuui", but at other times it could mean "Fai" just as well, so he decided not to react until she gripped his shoulder and began to tug him towards the door. Little as he was able to, Yuui made effort to resist, pointing a finger of his free hand at the glass surface, the gesture immediately repeated by the image of Fai
on the other side.
"What is this?" Yuui inquired, "It shows Fai!"
"Of course it shows you yourself. It's a mirror! Now you will return to your chamber like a good child… now!" She growled as Yuui attempted to cut in. The mirror hadn't shown him himself, it had shown him Fai. Which part of it couldn't the nursemaid understand?
Back in the bedroom, he hurried to his twin, eager to share the recent findings.
"Fai!"
"Good morning, Yuui," came the answer deformed by a yawn.
"Fai, there's something I need to show you!"
"Is there? What?" Fai rubbed his eyes sleepily.
"You'll see when I show you."
"Ah, alright," the twin nodded, "So?"
"Come!" Yuui grabbed Fai's wrist and pulled him out of bed.
"Where do you think you are going again, you troublesome children?!" The nursemaid yelled at them; for some reason, she had always had some qualms about them leaving the room.
"To the mirror! We'll be right back!" Yuui promised on the run. The nursemaid sighed heavily and followed, giving up. They hurried through the corridors and into the chamber, still half-open, where Yuui, leading Fai without letting go of his hand, motioned towards the object in the corner, which invariably kept reflecting the room and people in it.
"Look, Fai," he demanded, "It's you!"
Fai analised the figure in the front, and then protested "But Yuui, it's not me. It's you."
"But of course it's you, prince, that's a mirror. Shall we head back now?" the nursemaid spoke impatiently.
"No, it's you," Yuui insisted, "can't you see?" He dragged his twin closer to the looking glass, in such a way that now they stood next to each other and so did the two picture-persons
in the image-room. At this sight Yuui hushed, startled, and merely stared at their reflection.
"See, Yuui," Fai said, "This is me, and that's you."
"But that means…" Yuui scanned his alleged likeness, "I look just like you. And you," he added, evaluating the picture right in front of his eyes, "You look just like me."
"We're practically identical, aren't we?" Fai's voice lowered at the discovery of this fact and he drew himself closer to his brother.
"We are," Yuui agreed, tightening the grip on his twin's hand. "Fai, do you think… do you think that's why?"
Fai didn't ask what why had meant; they were both aware of everything this word bore. Averted eyes, retreating feet, frowning faces, pointing fingers, whispers floating in the warm
air of the palace, hands kept clear of touch – all of this, and more, were included in the little, meaningful why.
"Maybe," he answered uncertainly, "I don't know. But I do know that I don't mind us being the same."
"Me neither," Yuui assured him. He noticed Fai's reflection look at him and looked back at it, whereas his own image met the eyes of his real twin. They were the same, and it was okay.
He really believed it was okay.
Author's Note: Really, how is it that I ended up describing a morning yet again? Half my stories start in the morning…
This story reminds me of when I tried to walk through a mirror XD It wasn't an inspiration from Alice, far from that. That happened in a shoe store – you know those tricky mirrors in shoe stores, from the floor up to the ceiling – and even though at the age of about four I was familiar with the phenomenon of mirrors, I failed to recognised myself and was absolutely convinced the shop had another part… Yes, that stupid little me ^-^. In the end I did realise what I saw, and that's probably why I can still remember that event ;)
Anyway, there was to say… Ah! There's supposed to be a continuation to this story, but set much later and rather, hm, upsetting. It's not going to happen soon, but if anyone wants it to happen, please let me know and I won't take infinity to write it, which I might do in case of total lack of interest.
In the meantime, nothing stops you from checking out my other stories, does it :D
I hope you enjoyed this story, now please review :) Whether you're a member or not.
Thanks to Miss Tsukiyume-Yue for beta-reading!
