Chapter 6
November 19, 2014
After they all got dressed and called the other girls, Yusei and Kousei waited in the bathhouse. Thankfully, Mitsumi had gotten dressed as well.
"What is it, senpai?" asked Rin. She yawned. "It's really late. It's like 10:00."
"!0:00? Hmm… the gate opened early tonight. Alright, listen up everyone. What is a mirror to you?"
"Where's Naruchi?" whispered Yusei to Saki.
"Still sleeping."
"A mirror is a reflection, am I right?" The Delcatty held out a hand and leaned against the wall. "See this mirror? It shows yourself right? But look closely, please."
Yusei looked at his reflection. He saw nothing but himself there. Then it seemed to shimmer. "Wait, did you just see that?"
"Hmm… so I wasn't imagining it then…" Keira looked closely at the mirror. Mitsumi stopped her.
"I wouldn't touch, transfer student. This mirror is a gateway; it takes you to a place of potential."
"A gateway? What does that mean?"
The Delcatty smiled. "This is Ryujin's secret. Let me show you all." Then she stepped through the mirror.
Rin and Koyuki both screamed. "Senpai!"
Keira made a choking noise, and Kousei's legs collapsed. "What the hell?"
"Calm down… it'll be okay." Saki had quickly taken control of the panic. "We're just hallucinating."
"I don't think so…" said Keira. "We just-gah!"
A head popped through the mirror. "Hmph. You guys really should come through. You wouldn't believe what's here."
"You're asking us to go into a dangerous environment?!"
"Hey, Ryujin and I survived it when we were 9. I think a bunch of high-schoolers can survive… maybe…" She disappeared again.
"What the hell is going on…" muttered Koyuki. "Senpai couldn't have known about such a thing…"
"Ryujin is a lot better liar than we realized," growled Kousei. "Screw it, I need to know some things." The Umbreon stepped through the mirror.
"Alright Koyuki… let's go." Keira and Koyuki were next.
Saki nudged Rin and Yusei forward. "I'll bring up the rear. Lord Arceus knows what is in these mirrors…"
Then the three of them went through the mirror.
It was the strangest feeling. It was like stepping through a wall of water. When they emerged, they were standing in… the bath house?
"Umm, what happened?"
"We're in the mirror." Mitsumi looked around cautiously. "Good. No doppels here."
"Doppels? What are those?" asked Rin.
"That's what Ryujin and I called them. We aren't completely sure what they are really, but…"
"This place gives me the creeps," said Rin. "Let's leave."
"Well, you see… the mirror closed up behind us once we all passed through." Mitsumi patted the mirror behind them.
"WHAT?! How will we get out?!" said Koyuki.
Mitsumi started walking out of the room. "Let's go. We'll find the exit."
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March 30, 2006
"Ngh… where am I?" The young Eevee rubbed his eyes. His chest had a dull ache in it. "Mom? Dad?" He was in small white room. He wore a hospital gown. A thin trail of blood dribbled across him onto the ground.
"They're not coming for us." He turned around. Another Eevee sat against the wall, legs crossed.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Naruchi. You are…?"
"Yusei Itoru… what are we doing here?"
The other Eevee snorted. "How am I supposed to know?" He stood up. "Did you have a heart transplant?"
"I don't know. They said I wouldn't be able to handle evolution."
The other Eevee shrugged. "I wouldn't know, but kids our age normally don't survive heart transplants. It's just a really dangerous procedure."
"Really… I was lucky then…"
"You sure were… unless they decided to incorporate that new thing my dad was working on…"
"What?"
"Never mind. I'm the only one with it." Naruchi brushed it aside as if it was nothing. "I'm supposed to be the government's new secret weapon… I've been genetically modified to have roughly the intelligence of an Alakazam," he boasted.
"Okay… so what is that thingy your dad was building?"
He smirked. "It's called the Model E. It's a special machine heart. Able to withstand pressure a normal Pokemon cannot and thus increases potential. I have one, along with a bunch of IQ boosting injections."
"Okay then. I don't know what you're talking about, but your father might have saved me."
Naruchi smiled. "My dad is the greatest!"
"Yusei? What's wrong?"
"Eh? It's nothing." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Don't worry about it."
Rin frowned. "I can tell your emotions… you just remembered something…"
"Don't worry about me. I can handle myself Rin."
She shrugged. "Alright then… you were holding your chest like it hurt."
"I'm fine." He was just recalling what had happened so many years back. "I'm fine…"
"Hang on…" Mitsumi had stopped walking. They were standing in the dining room of the dorm. "It looks like there is nothing to see here… I thought maybe we'd encounter some Doppels…"
"Wait… so we can leave now?"
Mitsumi shrugged. "I guess. The mirror has nothing to show."
Keira frowned. "This doesn't seem real. Is it just another room? There's nothing special here." She seemed a little disappointed.
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November 23, 2014
"Welcome back, senpai!"
The Vaporeon grinned when he saw all his friends. "How have you all been?"
"They've behaved themselves…" Saki smiled at her fellow head.
"It's good to see you're okay, Ryujin," said Mitsumi. She handed him a blue rose and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"That's right, you're leaving soon, right Mitsumi?"
"Mmhmm. In about two days. I'm going to be gone for about… 3 months I think."
"Oh… so you're not going to make the Christmas dance…"
"You must be Ryujin, the head of the dorm." From around the corner stepped Naruchi. "I'm Naruchi Izaya."
The Vaporeon locked eyes with him. "I wasn't notified of a new transfer student."
"You're the Kendo club captain I heard."
The Vaporeon nodded. "You're wearing an eyepiece. You're probably a programmer… or just a wannabe…"
"I'm not a wannabe! I've already traced your phone! I know all your contacts!"
"And? What does that do?"
The Jolteon clenched his fists. "Do you want to fight?"
"No. But is that a challenge?"
"Yes! I'll fry-"
The Vaporeon held out a hand. "It would be unfair to use our attacks. You have a clear advantage, and I'm still recovering from my gunshot." He pulled out his wooden sword. To everyone's surprise, he actually had a second one there. He tossed it to Naruchi. "First to land a clean hit wins."
"On the head?"
"Or the body. A clean hit will make the opponent flinch or pass out." The Vaporeon took off his shoes and stepped into the dorm. "Alright. Let's begin."
The Jolteon moved first. In the blink of an eye, he had dashed to the Vaporeon. "Eat this, Vaporeon!"
Koyuki gasped. "He's so quick!"
Ryujin didn't seem surprised. "What's the point of all that speed if you have to wind up like that?" He quickly blocked the attack with his own sword, and backed off.
The Jolteon's eyepiece started flashing. "Hmm… I see. Take this!" He quickly tried to go for a thrust, but was blocked again. "How?!"
"I can't believe you're using a computer. How can you pay attention?" The Vaporeon blocked the flurry of attacks. He grinned for a brief moment, and then ducked under one slash that the Jolteon made.
"Gotcha." He slipped behind the Jolteon and hit him on the head. The Jolteon fell to the ground.
"How?" he repeated. "You were just blocking!"
"Your motions were too big. You were far too predictable. Smaller, weaker motions are more effective really."
The Jolteon blinked, then nodded. "You… have my respect I guess, Vaporeon."
The Vaporeon sheathed his wooden sword. "It was a good match, especially for somebody who has never used a sword before."
"You lost again, Naruchi," said Yusei. "Getting dull."
He didn't have time to react before he felt a quick shock run through him. "You're a little dull, as well," he said with a grin.
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"I'm sorry, Ryujin. But we have to go-"
"No, it's okay. I understand. You're actually touring in America, right?"
The Delcatty nodded. "I'm really sorry, though. I know you really wanted to go to the dance…"
"No, it's alright." He smiled at her. "I'll just rest at the dorm ag-"
"You know," she began awkwardly, "I'd be okay if you went to the dance with somebody else. I don't want to hold you back."
The Vaporeon sighed. "I don't know who I would go with… I mean, I'm sure it'd be awkward if I went with anybody else… you're my friend, so it's fine."
"Why don't you try get to know some of the other girls, then?"
Kousei smirked. "Oh really? Gee, you should really try get to learn about Koyuki. She'd let you see her nipples if you so much as asked."
"Hey! Do you want your entire body to be frostbitten?" threatened the Glaceon, before realizing that Ryujin was looking at her shocked. "I mean, I'm not easy…" she said with embarrassment.
"So…" said Rin, trying to divert the attention of their head. "Err… Mitsumi-senpai is leaving? Two days?"
"Uh, yeah. They're… going on a tour…" Ryujin certainly seemed caught off balance after Kousei's comment.
"Senpai… what about the mirror?" Keira spoke up now, her eyes focused. "I heard you tell Mitsumi senpai about the mirror."
The Vaporeon closed his eyes. "Yes. The mirror… tonight, we all go in. It's time you learn about doppels and what they can tell us about those in our world."
"Doppels… you mean as in doppelganger?"
The Vaporeon smiled, his eyes seeming to glow. It made Yusei shiver. "You're right. Tonight, we'll go in again."
"How do you know we went into that creepy place?"
"The mirror," he began, "is a place of potential and secrets. There are many things we don't understand… but I can tell you what we thinks it is."
Mitsumi began speaking. "Mirrors are, to our understanding at least, a reflection of every Pokemon. When we were in the mirror, we met nobody, which meant nobody was troubled. We've learned that whenever somebody is troubled… how should I put it… their Doppel reveals itself."
"To our understanding, a Doppel is the embodiment of that Pokemon's fear. It is a difficult concept to grasp; without one, the other cannot exist. I'll use a simple example; if someone is muted, their wish to be expressed will show in their Doppel. The real issue of a Doppel is that they are prone to attempting to escape the mirror through killing the one on our side."
Yusei thought about it. "So our reflection kills ourself?"
"We're not sure honestly. The whole concept goes against logic, as I'm sure you all know. But our thinking is this; we may encounter the killer's reflection and find out who's out to get us. I was almost another victim." Ryujin looked at all the others. "I cannot let someone I care for get hurt."
Alrighty. They went into the mirror, and it was empty. But maybe tonight…?
As for updates, I've decided to post a new One-shot or lemon to In the Rain within the next two weeks just for the hell of it, especially since people have wanted a lemon for awhile _ This will be continued after that. Thanks!
NEasty