Chapter Seven: The Secret of the Mirror

7-1

" Tokyo Kunitachi High School " - "Playground"

Today is the intra-school baseball finals, where our 2nd-year B team is competing against the 2nd-year A team. It's said that the players from the A team have dominated Koshien before, which is one of the reasons why our school has gained so much fame.

But enough of that chatter, let the game begin!

During the match, the three of us were assigned to the ninth inning, so we hardly had any chance to play in the first eight innings. Before going up, I reminded the two brothers to take it easy, it's not easy dealing with ordinary people!

"Top of the ninth inning"

Although our class has been working hard, we are still one point behind. At this moment, the opponents have loaded bases, with only one out, which means if they hit a base hit, it's almost certain that we'll lose.

Now, our pitcher is the delicate Miyako, and I thought to myself, it's probably over.

Sure enough, "Clang!" the opponents hit a powerful strike.

Momoko shouted, "Oh no!"

The entire A team: "It must be a home run! We've won!"

The ball soared high towards right field, and then, "Snap!" the sound of it being caught by Kagami's glove firmly echoed. Except for me, Shigeru, and Powerpuff Girls, everyone was left dumbfounded.

You might wonder what's so surprising about catching a ball? But catching a ball that's nearly three stories high is still somewhat challenging for ordinary people.

Kagami glanced around the field mid-air and pondered, "The runners on second and third base have already started running, now if I throw the ball back to home plate, we'll get a double play." "Alright, since that's the case, I'll get them out!"

With that said, he gently threw the ball back to home plate. However, Kagami's so-called "gentle" throw still had the force of a professional-level speed of 150 kilometers per hour, causing the catcher to be pushed backward when catching the ball, with the glove rubbing against the ball to the point of smoking.

Kagami landed on the ground and cheered with his arms raised, "Yes! Three outs, switch sides!"

Miyako smiled at Kagami and said, "Nice double play, Kagami!"

"You're really amazing! That jump you just made must have been eight meters high!" one of the students from Class A pointed at Kagami in surprise and asked.

Kagami quickly smiled and brushed it off, "No, it was just a coincidence, a coincidence!"

(Thinking: Was my defense just now too over the top?)

"Alright, now it's our class's last chance to attack. Our first batter is Shigeru. He holds the bat and stands in the batter's box.

The opposing pitcher seems very unhappy with the result of the previous home run. 'Hmph! If you don't dodge this ball, you're done for!' he said, putting all his strength into the pitch.

The ball flew straight towards Shigeru's temple!

'Watch out!' Kaoru shouted.

But the ball hit its mark, knocking Shigeru's baseball cap off, and the ball split in two upon hitting the ground.

The pitcher, thinking he was in trouble, stammered, 'You... you idiot! Why didn't you dodge?'

Shigeru stood there nonchalantly, turned his head, and asked the umpire, 'That should count as a hit-by-pitch, right?'

Everyone was stunned.

'...Yes, that's correct!' the umpire responded after a moment.

As Shigeru ran towards first base, he thought, 'Great, I can get on base without even having to hit the ball!'

We are currently one run behind, with a man on first base.

I am the second batter. The opponent threw the second pitch forcefully, but to me, it looked like a balloon. 'Clang!' To avoid getting caught, I slightly increased the force.

But with just a bit more force, the bat broke in half, and the ball flew 200 meters to our classroom building, breaking the bulletproof glass window! Even worse, there was an expensive mirror inside.

'Hooray!' our entire class cheered, while Class A murmured among themselves, 'Are those three guys from Class B even human!?'

Winning is certainly delightful, but I suddenly thought of something important. Oh no! My pocket money will be deducted by Bellum again!

But our class won the championship, so it was worth it."

Late at night, The voice of a mirror with a crack: "Why? Why am I injured and yet ignored?"

Suddenly, some black dust that looked like ash: "Let me help you!"

As the words were spoken, the black dust entered the mirror.

A security guard, diligently patrolling with a large flashlight, passed by the cracked mirror. Suddenly, a hand unexpectedly reached out from behind and tapped his shoulder.

He thought it was a prank by another guard, but he quickly remembered that he was the only one patrolling the campus tonight!

He turned his head and finally saw the owner of the hand—it was the mirror.

In addition to his own reflection, the mirror also had a pair of ghostly white hands reaching out of thin air.

"Ahhhhh~ Help-ahhhhhh~" The scream was forced out from his throat, but it was of no use...

A flashlight remained shining on the floor in front of the mirror...

"Have you heard? The security guard mysteriously disappeared!"

"I know, he must have been frequenting shady places! Just look at him, he had that perverted look! Most likely got caught by the Yakuza!"

Today, the entire school was buzzing with the news of the security guard's disappearance, and our class was no exception.

I'm not interested in such topics, so I was about to take out my iPad when Kagami and Shigeru were discussing the topic.

"I heard the last place the security guard was seen before he disappeared was in front of the mirror that Yuzuhiko broke yesterday."

A chill ran up from my feet as I heard this: "Really?!"

Seeing my shock, the two of them were also stunned for a moment: "Yes!"

Just as I was about to think further, the bell rang for class

In the afternoon, the six of us attended two consecutive music classes focused on choir singing. The teacher allowed us to form groups freely, so I, Kagami, Shigeru, Momoko,,Miyako and Kaoru naturally grouped together.

The atmosphere in the music classroom was spacious and bright, adorned with various musical instruments and portraits of musicians on the walls.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, casting a peaceful and artistic ambiance on the black pianos and white music stands.

The teacher distributed sheet music from the podium, saying, "Take some time to familiarize yourselves with the melody and lyrics before starting rehearsal."

Miyako picked up the sheet music and smiled, saying, "This song is 'Senbonzakura' by Hatsune Miku. I've heard it before, it's really good."

Momoko excitedly grabbed a microphone, declaring, "We can definitely perform this well!"

Kaoru tuned her guitar skillfully, stating, "I'll handle the guitar accompaniment."

Miyako placed the sheet music on the stand and sat at the piano, beginning to play the melody.

"I'll take the violin," Kagami said, pulling out the instrument and placing the bow on the strings.

"I'll use the flute!" Shigeru added, bringing the flute to his lips.

I grabbed a triangle and started practicing.

During our practice, we encountered some funny moments. When Momoko reached a high note, she unexpectedly went off-key, causing everyone to burst into laughter. She blushed and said, "Haha, I overdid it just now. Let me try again!"

While accompanying on the piano, Miyako accidentally played a few wrong notes, turning bright red and quickly apologizing, "Sorry, sorry, let me practice that again!"

Despite these small mishaps, our teamwork became more synchronized, and our singing grew more melodious. We adjusted continuously, encouraged each other, and gradually found the perfect rhythm and harmony.

The teacher walked over with a smile, saying, "You all did an excellent job. Now, it's time to showcase your performance to the whole class."

We exchanged nods, filled with mutual understanding, and stood together in the center of the classroom. As the music began, the room filled with harmonious melodies. Momoko's voice was sweet and captivating, echoing through the classroom as if silencing the world, leaving only the beauty of music.

I found myself entranced by Momoko's singing and realized that attending classes with them wasn't as boring as I thought.

Amidst the thunderous applause from our classmates, we were sure that our bond had reached new heights.

7-2

After class, the six of us were returning from the music room to our classroom. We were having such a great conversation that we unintentionally walked to the end of the hallway where the eerie mirror was (most classes chose to take a detour). Momoko pointing to her slightly tangled long hair, said to me, "Um, I want Miyako to help me brush my hair. You guys go ahead."

I thought, it's just a mirror, and besides, it's daytime. Nothing should happen, right? I had never heard of seeing ghosts during the day.

So, Momoko pulled Miyako over to the mirror, while the four of us headed up the stairs, bracing ourselves for the dreaded math class.

Suddenly, "Ahhhhh~~~ Help~~~" two helpless and desperate voices reached our ears. They were Miyako and Momoko's voices!

We hurriedly ran down the stairs to the mirror. We saw a comb quietly lying on the floor. It was Momoko's peach wooden comb, the one I had given her a while ago!

Kaoru swallowed hard, "What's going on here?!"

"Could they have gone into the mirror?" Kagami said seriously.

If it were any other time, I would have punched him, but this was the only reasonable explanation. Otherwise, it was impossible for two living people to disappear in just a few seconds.

Just then, the damn bell rang again!

I said to Kaoru, "You go back to the classroom and tell the teacher that the three of us have something urgent to deal with, quickly!"

Kaoru hesitated for a moment, "Okay, but what are you guys going to do?"

"Leave it to us!" Shigeru said confidently. So, Kaoru nodded and ran back to the classroom.

The three of us pressed the buttons on our digital watches and quickly suited up.

At this moment, a pair of bloodless arms extended from the mirror! With a swoosh, the three of us were dragged into the mirror. Only then did I realize how people had disappeared!

I had always wondered what it felt like to be pulled into a mirror. It felt much like jumping into water, except you could still breathe. The school inside the mirror was identical to ours, except everything was reversed left to right.

We quickly found Blossom and Bubbles (both transformed) fighting an unknown monster. Behind them were the unconscious people who had previously disappeared.

"Ah~ you guys are here too!" They looked delighted, like drowning people grabbing onto driftwood.

Boomer asked, "Is there a monster?"

Bubbles pointed ahead, "It's him!"

In front of us stood an old man holding a mirror. I had expected some three-headed, six-armed creature, but it turned out to be an ordinary-looking old man!

"Where's Kaoru?" Blossom asked me, and I explained the situation.

Suddenly, the old man spoke, "I am the Mirror Monster! I am injured, but no one cares!"

Bubbles said helplessly, "No matter how we attack, that mirror reflects it back!"

Oh! Interesting!

I pulled out my kendama and swung it forward, "Flame Burst!"

Boomer swiftly slashed with her blade, "Thunder Blade!"

Butch spun his pinwheel , "Air Slash!" Swift fireballs, electrified blade waves, and tornadoes surged forward.

The old man raised the mirror horizontally in front of his chest, and our attacks were perfectly reflected back!

Bang! The fragile floor couldn't withstand the reflected attacks and cracked open a huge hole!

The Mirror Monster laughed, "It's useless! I can reflect all attacks back at you!"

Tsk! It looks like we'll have to resort to hand-to-hand combat!

So, I called the four of them over and whispered, "Here's the plan..."

Blossom shot her yo-yo forward, "Ice Cream Shot!"

Bubbles wielded her bubble wand, "Champagne Bubble Attack!" The yo-yo and bubbles were again reflected back by the mirror.

I shouted, "Now!" I jumped behind the Mirror Monster and landed a punch, Boomer slashed with the back of her blade, and Butch followed up with a kick. But he laughed again, "Your timing is good, I can't reflect physical attacks, but..."

We saw his wounds gradually healing, and he continued, "Unless an external mirror reflects onto this mirror, in this mirror world, I am immortal and invincible. Haha~"

Damn it, what should we do?! We racked our brains trying to figure out how to defeat the Mirror Monster.

Wait a minute, he just said unless an external mirror reflects onto this mirror...

Got it! Haha~ he was foolish enough to reveal his own weakness!

So, we came up with a new plan, "Are we all set?" "Yes!" everyone answered in unison.

Boomer, Blossom, Bubbles, and I put away our weapons and surrounded the Mirror Monster.

"What are you planning to do?!" the Mirror Monster asked.

"Beat you up!" I replied. With that, the four of us started pummeling him with punches and kicks. He continued to laugh arrogantly, "Haha~ it's useless!"

Meanwhile, Butch used his digital watch to call Buttercup, "Kaoru, find an excuse to get out of there and use a mirror to reflect the floor mirror at the end of the hallway!"

"It's not possible! I already tried, the stubborn math teacher won't let me out!" Kaoru replied helplessly.

Butch got more anxious, "Tell him your 'special friend' arrived, I bet he won't refuse to let you out!"

Blossom and Bubbles blushed immediately. Weird, why are they blushing?

After a while, Kaoru arrived at the mirror, "Ready!" The floor mirror at the end of the hallway emitted a bright light. As soon as we heard Kaoru's voice, we immediately stopped and quickly picked up all the previously unconscious missing people, swiftly flying towards the floor mirror.

The Mirror Monster noticed something was wrong, "How is this possible?!"

As if bursting out of the water, the five of us returned to the normal world.

Kaoru joyfully said, "You're back!" Before she could finish speaking, the Mirror Monster also emerged from the mirror!

The six of us immediately rushed forward. The Monster's former arrogance vanished, and he pleaded constantly, "Please, don't! Outside the mirror, I'm just an ordinary old man... I'm also a victim of circumstance!"

I smirked, cracking my knuckles, "Too bad, I'm not in the mood to respect my elders today!"

Professor Utonium restored the mirror and repaired the cracks with mercury, making it look as good as new. However, due to the paranormal incident, the school insisted on not keeping the mirror. So, it was placed in the entrance hall of the research institute. Maybe one day it will reach out with its ghastly white hands and drag you inside!

Hehehe~