Mirror Image

Chapter 36: Last Goodbye

Rin screamed and screamed, and continued to do so even when her voice had gone hoarse. Miku stood back confused and shocked by the current situation. Rin had returned. But how? Why? Up until now, it was believed that Rin was dead. Even Miku who sought out for the truth had begun to sway towards the conclusion. "Rin..." She took a step towards her and gasped. "Rin!" she yelled. She pulled her by the arm and dragged her into the nearest stall. Much to Rin's disagreement, Miku locked the door and placed a hand over her mouth, quieting her cries. She placed her finger to her lips."Shh..."

Just as the stall was locked shut, the bathroom door creaked open, a voice soon following the sound. "Hello?" It echoed. "Is anybody in here?"

Silence.

"See? I told you, it was only your imagination."

Light-hearted remarks and giggles trailed before the door creaked shut. Miku sighed in relief, releasing Rin. "That was close." She couldn't have anyone knowing of Rin's return, not yet anyway. "Let's go back to my place. My parents are out of the city, so we'll have the palace to ourselves." She stared at her up and down. "We have a lot to talk about."

Downcast and quiet, Rin muttered, "Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

Miku stared at her in disbelief. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

The way back to Miku's apartment had been a tense and awkward. Neither one of them had spoken a word after leaving school grounds. Miku would often glance at the shorter girl, observing her scarred face, wild hair, and strange clothing. There were so many things she wanted to ask, but she decided to hold off on all questions until they were back at her place.

Finally, they reached the door to Miku's apartment. Miku nervously fumbled through her pockets, pulling out her key. The key slipped through her fingers several times before she pushed the key through the keyhole, unlocking the door. "Come in..." she said wearily. Miku led her into her room. "Sit anywhere you'd like," she said watching as Rin sat on the floor, by the small coffee table that stood in the middle of the room. Rin picked at the carpet, her eyes, soulless pools of nothing.

Miku cleared her throat. "I'll get us something to drink." She turned for the door. "Is tea alright with you?"

Rin didn't respond.

"Alright then. I'll see you in a bit." A few minutes passed and Miku returned with a tray with two steaming mugs of herbal tea. She set it down by the table as she sat. She slid a mug over to Rin's side. She stared down at it, as if unsure what to do with it. "Go on, drink."

Rin picked up her mug and took a sip of the warm substance. It brought a small soothing relief to her aching throat. Never had she screamed or cried so much before. Not since the incident at Rojin village. Tea had also soothed her throat back then too. Her heart panged and she set her mug down, not wanting to drink anymore.

"Rin," Miku said, the name fresh in her memory, but foreign to her tongue. "What...happened to you?" She shook her head. "I've been confused for so long. Where did go? Why did you act the way you did? How did you return? There's so much..." she trailed off, smiling. "But, it's great that your back. Your mom is going to be so happy to hear the news. I still can't believe it myself―"

"I'm tired."

"Huh?"

"I don't feel like talking. Not...not right now."

Anger, or maybe it was annoyance flashed in her teal eyes, and for a moment, Rin felt guilty. Meeting her eyes, the look disappeared in an instant and was replaced with a look of understanding, but still held a bit of impatience. "Fine. Rest here."

She stood up, picking up the tray as she turned to leave when Rin called out to her. "Where are you going?"

She sighed. "Well, I might as well return to school. I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box you know. But I will return and I do expect to hear answers from you when I get back." She walked ahead.

"Al...alright." She inhaled a sharp breath. "Miku?"

She stopped. "Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone, um...about me."

She observed her for a moment. "Of course."

Once Miku had left, Rin stared longingly at her friend's bed. She hadn't been lying when she said she was tired. She really was exhausted. The trip back to her world had worn her out. She wanted to sleep and escape reality, even if it was for just a moment, so she crawled on top of the bed and sunk under the warm covers. Her head hit the pillow, and in almost an instant, she fell asleep.

She had a dream that morning.

Alone, Rin stood in the heart of an endless field of flowers. The sky was a clear, crystal blue, and the sun warmed her skin, hitting Rin with a wave of nostalgia. Didn't she have a dream similar to this before? Yes...she thought as a soft breeze blew through her fingers. It was at that moment Len appeared. The wind grew stronger, petals blowing in his path. A beautiful entrance.

"Len!" Rin's heart warmed at the sight of him. She ran up to him, hugging him upon contact. "You're here." She squeezed him tighter. "I thought I'd never see you again," she sobbed. She could feel him grasp her shoulders, and for a moment, Rin thought he'd return the hug, until he shoved her away. Rin's eyes widened as she fell on the ground, surprised by his actions. "L...en?"

He glared at her, his hands balled into fists. His eyes were filled with hate, but there was also hurt hidden behind the harsh emotion. "How could you?" His fists shook. "How could you abandon me?"

"What? No! Len, you don't understand, it was out of my control. There was nothing I could do―"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your excuses," he spat. "I never want to see you again!"

"L―Len..." She stood up, about to reach out for him when his pupils engulfed in darkness. It spread to the whites of his eyes, appearing so dark and soulless, Len looked inhumane. "Oh no...Len!"

He screamed bloody murder.

Rin gasped awake. She was drenched in sweat and breathed heavily into the silence of the room. Her body trembled. Ever since she crossed over to the mirrored world, Rin had been prone to nightmares, but had that really been only a dream? Len had spoken to her through her dreams once before, so Rin couldn't rule out her most favourable option of the vision being simply a dream out.

"I have to go back." she muttered.

She pulled the covers away from her body, observing the room as she stood up. It was already dark. She could hardly see a thing through the darkness, so she took small, cautious steps as she walked across the room. She searched around the small space, finding the knob of the room door, but just as she was about to open the door, she heard voices outside.

"Please don't leave me alone. I can't stand being left alone," said a male voice. Rin furrowed her brows, recognizing the voice. Kaito? No, it couldn't be. Rin didn't remember him sounding so...weak.

"I'm sorry Kaito, but tonight...I can't." Rin could hear muffled sobs. "Please...please, don't cry." Miku's determined tone wavered. "Alright, fine. You can come in, but go down to the guest room, and don't come out of there until I say so, okay?"

"Alright, but who is―"

"Shh, don't worry about that." She shook her head. "Honestly, what's the point in living on your own if you're going to get lonely so easily."

Rin could hear the shuffling of feet, There was a pause before the door soon opened. Miku sighed as she flicked the lights on. She jumped as she caught Rin's curious gaze. "Y―You're awake." She sighed as she placed a hand over her chest. "...scared me."

"Was that Kaito?"

She looked taken aback for a moment. She quickly blinked away the look, regaining her composure. "Yes."

"Why does he sound so..."

"Weak? Clingy?" she suggested. "I'm not sure myself. Kaito's...changed. It happened a few months after your disappearance. It's hard to explain, but he's different now. He experiences a wide range of emotions and expresses them intently. Angry and standoffish one moment, feeble and desperate the next. I guess you can say he's no different than the average teenaged girl," she joked, but the smile on her face quickly faded.

"I am worried about him. Really worried. It's not like I haven't suggested he get help, but no matter what mood he's in, he'll quickly snap at me and shoot the idea down." She sighed, but quickly blushed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Here I am, talking about other people's problem when we should be talking about yours." Rin opened her mouth, ready to retort against her latter statement, but was quickly pulled down to the floor. "Tell me everything."

She blinked, surprised by the quick shift in mood. "I...I don't." She swallowed. "I don't think you'll believe me, but―" she was cut off.

"Rin," Miku said sharply. "I saw you go through a mirror and disappear without a trace, and it's not only that...!" She cleared her throat. "At this point I'm willing to believe anything."

Her words eased a few of her nerves. "I...was brought to another world..." Rin told her everything, from her arrival to the mirrored world to her meeting with the mirror images Kaiko and Mikuo. She told her about her experiences and hardships, the good and bad things: her developing friendships and her witness to her first mass murder. Rin would watch her friend's expression change constantly as she continued with her story.

Rin would observe Miku closely whenever she mentioned Len. She wanted to know her thoughts about him, even though she spoke most vaguely when talking about him. To her disappointment, her face remained neutral whenever she so much as even spoke his name.

When Rin finished, there was a silence. It was heavy, making Rin feel awkward and very uncomfortable, but she was glad. She was glad there was finally someone from her own world who shared her secret, and there was no one better to hold that secret than Miku. She was relieved. She had hidden a lot from her in the past. Now, there were no more lies that needed to be told and no more secrets.

"What are you going to do now?" Miku asked quietly.

"I'm going back."

She was shocked. "You can't! You said so yourself. You don't belong in that world, right? It sounds like an awful place anyway. Why on earth would you want to go back?" she yelled. "You can't go back," she said in a calmer tone. "There are people who care about you, Rin. Do you know how many people attended your funeral? Do you know how much your mom..." Miku squeezed the space between her eyes. This was giving her a headache.

Rin's head hung low. "I'm sorry."

"What is it that's holding you back? Is it that mirror image of yours, that Len character?" She could hardly believe the relationship she shared with him. There was something about it that left her on edge. She could tell Rin would restrict herself whenever she spoke about him, but why? Could it be..."You...you love him, don't you?" Len, her friend's mirror image. She had spoken about many mirror images, including her own, but as said before, Rin seemed to restrain herself when talking about her own, even so, she had noticed the dream-like expression reflected in her eyes when speaking about him. The 'King Len' 'The Dark Lord', the mirror image held many interesting titles, none of which seemed to be good.

Was it considered natural, adoring one's mirror image in such a way? Maybe, maybe not. Rin had been with Len almost all her life, Miku understood that now. Rin should have felt something for him. If anything, it would've been unnatural if Rin didn't feel anything for him.

"I told him I would never leave his side, no matter what," She clenched her fist. "But now I fear I'll never return."

Miku observed her, wearing an unreadable expression to mask her shock. She couldn't do it after all. She couldn't force Rin to stay. She sighed. Somehow, she got the feeling that she knew she wouldn't succeed in her task. She stood up. "Well, you must be hungry. I'll bring you something to eat, but it'll be goodbye for the night since I have to attend to Kaito."

"Ah, I understand."

"I'll just be a moment." she smiled. "Oh and Rin?"

"Yes?"

"I'll have to ask that you don't leave this room, for obvious reasons."

"Right."

She walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She headed down to the kitchen, her steps slowing until she came to a stop. "You heard all that right," She turned around. "Mr. Kamui?" She looked up, facing a tall, traditionally dressed man with plum coloured hair. His arms were crossed, his face showing obvious displease. "Yes. I know, I know. I tried and failed, but our promise said nothing about me being successful."

She smiled. So many strange things had happened all in one day. First finding Rin, then meeting Kamui Gakupo, Rin's supposedly deceased father. She hadn't believed it at first, but the man spoke of things that only she and Rin would know. In addition to that, he had showed her...pictures―images through a vision. So many images that related to a lot of what Rin had said.

He had gained her trust, and when he did, he had asked a favour of her. To convince Rin to remain in her own world, and in exchange he would help Kaito. Miku wasn't sure how the man had found out about her relations or about Kaito's issues, but she made no mentions about it and agreed.

"You are a cruel little girl," he said. Miku grinned, shrugging in response. "Unfortunately, I am not a cruel man."

Miku raised a brow. "Does that mean..."

"He sighed. Yes, I will help him."

She smiled. Those were the words she wanted to hear. "Right this way..."

Rin laid in bed the next morning, staring up at the ceiling, deep in thought. Talking with Miku, Rin remembered her mother. Not that she ever forgot about her, but the idea of visiting her did come to mind. She had thought about it. To let her mother believe that her one and only daughter was dead was cruel. Rin wanted to let her know she was okay, and to say goodbye, there was no harm, so why not?

Rin slid off the bed as she stretched her stiff joints. She would go over to her mother's straight away. It was already half past ten. Miku and Kaito had already gone off to school. She wondered if they were alright. She had heard screaming, mainly Kaito's echoed through the walls of the apartment last night. Rin had considered going over to the room to see what was wrong, but stayed in place, remembering Miku's words.

She walked over to Miku's closet, pulling out a pair of jeans a long sleeved sweat shirt. She hoped Miku wouldn't mind her borrowing some of her clothes. She quickly changed and borrowed another one of Miku's jacket and scarf hanging from a coat rack before heading out. Rin made sure to wrap the scarf around half her face once she was out in the open. She didn't know how well known her face was. She didn't want to risk the chance of getting caught.

As she walked, Rin noticed she would often squirm into her unfamiliar clothing, not because they didn't belong to her, but because she wasn't used to the feel of modern clothing. It had been so long since she wore jeans instead of dresses and tunics. She would now flinch from the cold metal of her zipper instead of embracing the warm feel of her button. Rin would try to ignore the discomfort, instead, focusing on her trip back to her mother's.

Rin wondered what she would do or say when she arrived. She couldn't just causally welcome herself back, and she had a feeling her mother wouldn't be as understanding if she was to tell the truth. She needed to forge a plan before seeing her, but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't think of anything. Rin began to panic as she came closer and closer to her destination.

She was at the door. Her mind was in a jumble. Her hand, formed into a fist was only millimetres away from knocking on the wood, but it was frozen in place. What was she waiting for? All she had to do was knock.

She was having second thoughts. She began to wonder...Wouldn't it be even more cruel to appear in front of her mother then disappear forever? Rin had been planning to say goodbye. Her last goodbye. What a fool she was. She'd planned on bearing such insensitivity and she didn't even realize it.

"My mother..." Rin said as Miku set her dinner on the table. "What happened to her?"

Miku sat on the carpet, appearing thoughtful for a moment before answering. "After coming back to Japan, she requested a transfer, and because of her criticisms, her company allowed it. She works from home now. I won't lie. She's been very depressed. There are times when I think she's getting better, but I've learned that she's just learned how to bottle her feelings."

Rin blinked. "How do you know so much?"

"We've kept in touch," she answered. "She always talks about you."

Her heart panged. Looking away she said, "Is this your way of getting me to stay?"

"No," she said pushing her dinner plate across to her. "That's for you to decide." She got up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a boyfriend to attend to."

Rin never saw it before, but she had so much in her world. Before going into the mirrored world, she was so sure she was alone with nothing good in her life, but it wasn't true. It couldn't be further from the truth. She had friends, she had family. More than anything, Rin wanted to be with Len, but how could she give any of that up just to be with him? "What...what do I do now?" Decide. She had to decide between the two lives. To live in her world or to live in Len's.

She backed away from the door, wanting so desperately to run away, instead, she swallowed back her fears as she stepped away from the welcome mat, pulling out the extra key hidden under the rug. She dusted it off before quietly unlocking the door. She stepped inside where she was engulfed by the warm, welcoming scent of her home. She took small, quiet steps as she searched the empty first floor. Everything had stayed more or less the same.

"Where is she?" she muttered.

She headed up to the second floor, cursing the steps for their annoyingly creaky noise. Once she made it up, she searched one room after the other until she reached the last door of the second floor. Her mother's room. A rarely used room.

Ignoring the fast beating of her heart, she opened the door. "M...mom?"

There she was, sitting in her desk across from her bed. She was sleeping, Rin realized. Her head rested on her arm. She must have been exhausted. The bags under her eyes were as clear as day. "Mom," she said softly. "I missed you." Hesitant, she extended her arm to smooth her hair. "So much has happened. It's hard to explain, but, well,... I'm fine now." she said. "There hasn't been a day that's gone by where I haven't thought of you."

"Talking to you like this...I'm probably cheating, but know, what ever happens to me and whatever I decide to do, I still and always will love you." She kissed her forehead. "Goodbye."

Rin turned for the door, gently closing it behind her.

A tear ran down her mother's cheek.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Miku turned away from the T.V, looking a bit annoyed to have been interrupted. They'd both been in the living-room, sitting on the couch while Miku flipped through channels. Rin didn't know why, but Miku found the need to tell her about all the amazing shows she'd missed since her disappearance. "What is it?"

"Why did you want to be my friend?"

Miku cocked her head to the side. "What?"

"It's just...it makes no sense to me. I was never one to attract attention. To be honest, at first I thought you were doing it out of pity, but at this point, that just doesn't seem to be the case."

Miku giggled. "So you really don't know."

"Huh?"

"Well, lets just say the first time I saw you...you left quite an impression on me."

Miku refused to elaborate.

It happened unexpectedly. Rin was bent over the bathroom sink, washing her face with cold water to wake herself up. She had woken up earlier than usual. She had tried to get back to sleep, but her body just wouldn't allow it. As Rin wiped her puffy, gunk ridden eyes, she began to think about her plans for the day. Today was her third day over at Miku's house, and she was begging to feel like a free loader.

It wouldn't be long before Miku's parent's would return from their trip. Rin would try to find ways on going back to the mirrored world before they returned. Whenever she went to sleep, she would try to remember her dreams and look out for Len. All this had resulted in nothing and Rin couldn't help but feel hopeless. And even worse, today was...

The door opened. And Miku stepped inside dressed in her school uniform, yawning. She paused, surprised to see Rin. "Oh, you're awake. Excuse me." She left the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

When Rin finished washing her face, she searched for a towel to dry the water off her face. She searched the wall for the soft fabric, refusing to open her eyes. She hated the feel of water burning the whites of her eyes.

Miku knocked. "Rin? Mind hurrying up in there?"

"Sorry I―" She yelped. Rin had felt it. Wind. Warm wind. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck rise. Quickly, Rin wiped her wet lids on her sleeves, drying the water away from them. She blinked, eyes adjusting to the light. Green light, she realized. In a daze, Rin walked towards it. She could hear the door open, Miku had stepped inside to see what was wrong.

"Rin, are you alright―woah." She took a step back. "T―That's..."

"My call back," Rin said turning to her friend. "Miku, can you hear it? He's calling for me."

She couldn't hear a thing.

Rin bowed. "Thank you, Miku. I appreciate all that you've done for me. I honestly don't deserve your friendship."

Still unnerved, Miku managed to speak. "D―Don't say that. I'm glad you're my friend." She flinched as the jade light grew brighter, but still held her stance. "The first time I met you, I was determined to make you my friend because in a world surrounded by fakes, you were a painfully real thing. I looked up to you, and even was a little jealous of you." The wind grew stronger, Miku's long pigtails flew in the wind. "Rin! What will you now?" She had to know.

"I...I will attend a wedding." she yelled.

"What―" Her eyes widened. The hands. She could see hands. They appeared through the portal and grabbed onto Rin's shoulders. She smiled, unfazed by the contact. She was calm and appeared to be in complete control compared to the last time.

"Rin!"

"Goodbye, my friend."

She was gone.