Sorry that this was so late! College is rough!


"Ariko!"

Satsuki's voice was drowned out by the darkness. Ariko didn't think it was possible, but the darkness around them was so pervasive. It was like a sea of ink. It was so thick that it seemed like one would even be able to reach out and touch it. She didn't know how long they had been falling and didn't know how long it would be before they reached the ground. How would they reach the ground? Would it be a gentle drop or would it be swift and neck-breaking? Ariko flailed her limbs in panic even though she knew her efforts would be futile.

What would her parents do in this kind of situation? For one thing, they would probably keep their heads. Of course, Ariko wasn't sure if they'd been in this kind of situation. Ariko took deep breaths, remembering briefly something that her mom had told her about how deep breathing kept you grounded. She kept floating down, kind of like a leaf being blown about like the wind. Her surroundings remained as black as ever. Except, this time it was a peaceful thing. Ariko felt like she was about to fall into a deep sleep. She even yawned and closed her eyes at some point, momentarily forgetting that she was in a strange place and that she might never stop falling.

The feeling was short lived though. Finally, her feet found purchase on smooth ground. Ariko looked down. She was standing on black and white tiled floor. Ahead of her was a hallway that was lined with mirrors. It seemed to go on forever with no exits or turns. Ariko glanced up at the ceiling, expecting to find some kind of hole or trapdoor. There was nothing. There was nothing else to do except to go forward.

Her footsteps echoed loudly. Other than that, there were no signs of other people. Swallowing down the sense of creepiness she felt, she called out, hoping someone would hear.

"Hello? Satsuki?"

"I wish-" a voice said. Ariko couldn't make out the rest of what it said or where it came from. All she knew was that it was familiar.

"Chisato? Chisa-chan?"

"Why is he allowed to get away with what he did?"

"Chisa-chan, where are you? Who are you talking about?"

It was at this moment that Ariko realized that there was something strange about the mirrors. She stared into one. At first glance, they were ordinary mirrors. All she saw was an image of herself, pale and shaken, staring back at her. But, the longer she looked, the more she could see. Instead of her reflection, she saw Chisato, curled up on her bed. Ariko had been over to her house a number of times. Chisato's room was normally prim and proper, everything in its proper place. It reminded her of Satsuki's room. At least, what she could remember of it. Now, Chisato's room was in a state of total disarray, miscellaneous objects strewn throughout. Also on the floor was a family portrait. The frame was broken and glass littered the hardwood floor. To say it was shocking would be an understatement. Chisato, patient, slow to anger, looked like she had just lost it. How long was it going on? She felt a pang of guilt. Ariko wished that she had paid more attention to how Chisato felt, rather than just dumping all of her problems on her.

"Why can't you just leave him, mom? He just keeps hurting you, and you do nothing about it! I wish he would just die!"

"Chisato, I'm going to be here for you from now on," she yelled, despite knowing that the girl couldn't hear her. The image went away and Ariko was left facing her reflection once more.

Ariko sighed and pulled out her phone, wanting to cry when it didn't turn on. And then she remembered that heroes didn't cry. She steeled herself, continuing down the endless hallway. It went on and on until Ariko believed that she woudn't find a way out. Shouldn't there at least be a door, another hallway? Another turn? She sank down to the floor. Would she be stuck here forever?

She hoped Satsuki was okay, at least. She didn't know if she was ready to be friends with her again, but she also wasn't as angry as she was earlier. Maybe it was that she finally got all of her feelings out, feelings that had been locked up for years. She heard an explosion further down the hallway.

"Speak of the Devil," Ariko said.

She jogged down the hall until she finally caught sight of Satsuki's explosions and smelled a hint of nitroglycerin. Satsuki was standing in front of a door, which Ariko assumed she was trying to blast open. She stood there, unsure of what to do. Satsuki looked quite dangerous, body heaving from breathing so heavily, a wild look in her eyes. Her hands were red, what Ariko assumed was a drawback of her quirk.

"Satsuki?"

The girl turned to her.

"Hey! Help me blast this door down!"

"I-I'll try!" Ariko replied, not minding too much that Satsuki was bossing her around. She summoned as much of her quirk as possible and tried to visualize herself knocking the door down. It was difficult. She had only lifted things before. Ariko had never lifted or pushed anything quite as heavy as this door. Maybe, if she imagined a big hand punching the door, it would work. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and even physically made a fist that vaguely resembled her dad's Detroit smash. Then, she punched! She opened her eyes. The door was still standing. Did she even use that much of her quirk? Her stomach lurched, and her surroundings began to spin. Apparently, she used much more than she thought. She gathered her composure the best she could.

Satsuki scowled.

"You'd think that with all you put in, something would happen."

Ariko sighed.

"Well… um, you too."

"Whatever. We tried, I guess."

They stared at the door, at a loss.

"Did you try to just open the door?" Ariko asked.

"No," Satsuki let out a breath. "I assumed that it wouldn't be that easy. It couldn't be that easy, right?"

"I know, but it's worth a try."

The two of them cautiously approached the door, afraid that there was some kind of trap. Satsuki twisted the brass knob and the door gave way. On the other side was the park that they had been sitting in earlier. Everything looked normal, except for the fact that it looked like they were looking through a fisheye lense. Ariko reached out a hand. It went through the picture and it looked like her hand was being submerged underwater.

"I think we can escape this way!"

"If you're wrong…" Satsuki begun. "...nevermind."

Ariko slowly stepped through, Satsuki following suit. To their relief, it actually was an exit from the weird hallway. Satsuki checked her phone. It had only been around an hour after they had left their houses. There would be no angry parents tonight.

"I guess no one noticed us just appearing out of nowhere," Ariko said.

"Yeah, it's probably better if it stayed that way."

Wordlessly, they headed in the direction of their neighborhood. The strange experience had brought them closer, in a way, though Ariko wasn't sure where they stood as friends. The walk was silent until Satsuki said something.

"Don't you think it was weird that we got out of that place so easily?"

"Yeah…"

"And then we keep being lured in there."

"And we're not the only ones either." Ariko thought to herself got a moment. "That older girl was there the first time too."

"Yeah, it seemed like she was on drugs or something."

"Do you think we should tell our parents?"

"They probably already think that we're crazy. If we told then this, they'd probably lock us up in the psych ward."

Ariko's grown-up eleven-year-old mind found no fault in that reasoning.

"You're right… besides, they already have a lot to worry about."

They reached Ariko's house first.

"I'll see you around, I guess," Satsuki said.

"Definitely!" Ariko nearly shouted.

She cursed herself, wishing the exchange wasn't so awkward. What could she do though? At a loss for woods, Satsuki nodded, turned and left. Ariko went inside, deciding that now would be a good time for a nap.