Chapter Text
Kai ushers the three across the road in single-file – seeming apropos to a leery schoolteacher stopping lanes of traffic to let the students pass unbothered, despite the fact that only one was a student and the other two were about his age.
“Jeez, Kai! How long is it gonna take for us to get to this store you keep yapping about?!” Reko advances, impatient at the long walk.
“Please, understand: this place is worth the journey. Costs remain low, but the goods are high quality.” Stoically, Kai answers.
“Sounds hella shady...”
“It's not, Miss Reko.”
Once the three have crossed the street, Kai rejoins the group and quickly makes his way to the front to pioneer the movements of the group; around this street corner, pass five buildings, make another right, it was very efficient, and gave the impression that he knew the area well, and if not, the shortest route to wherever his destination was.
“S-Sou! Are you alright?” Kanna, following strictly behind Reko, chirped out at the man lagging behind. “Do you need a break?”
“No need, I'm all good...Didn't expect this walk to be so long.” He smiles sweetly at Kanna and hurries himself up to the back of the line.
Kai gestures to follow as he walks down a very narrow alleyway. “Follow, it is in here.”
“Okay, now it's really shady! You can't just expect me to follow you down a dank alley, Kai!” Reko stops just shy of the alley entrance, and her words echo forward to Kai.
She's immediately shown up by Kanna's bravery, as with her pause, the young girl slips right by her.
“It's okay, Reko! Trust in Kai!”
She pinches the bridge of her nose, considering. “...Yeah, alright. Just gives me the creeps, this place.”
Reko squeezes through into the alleyway, followed up by Sou in last place, who holds tight onto his beanie and scarf as he treks through, a little unnerved himself but not enough to show it.
On the other side is a small, concealed storefront, leading into a building. It seemed almost abandoned, the windows cracked with whatever behind them boarded up with corroded wood, and the seemingly once-red awning dilapidated, torn and festering with mould. There wasn't a sign notifying what the store was for and so for any suspecting individual who came across this weird place, the logical and probably very safe option would be to turn back and forget about this place's existence. Kai, of course, casually opens the door and walks in. Reluctantly, he is followed in.
On the inside, however, the shop looked comparatively grand – the place was dimly lit and it wasn't cleaned all too well but the selection of furniture and trinkets on display was very varied, and on inspection of the price tags, the goods sure were cheap for how quality they appeared to be. Though, there was one discrepancy.
“Kai, umm...Where's the cashier person?” Kanna tapped a finger on Kai's back, prompting him to turn around for his response.
“Ah, the owner of this place is sometimes asleep in the backrooms. Don't worry, we can still buy things here even if he is not awake, just leave the money on the counter and all will be good.”
“A-And if we don't..?”
“You can follow that line of logic.” He ominously states. Kai resumes his snooping of the shop, closely surveying objects.
Reko picks up some strange object off of one of the askew shelves. “The hell is this?”
“I don't know, Reko. It looks old though...” Sou responds.
“It's got some intricate patterns...Wow, it's like I can't look away from it.” Reko stares intensely at the object, scanning it with her eyes. Sou takes it out of her hand before she gets too encapsulated and places it back to its original spot.
“I...Think it's best not to look too long at some of these things. This place is creepy enough, so if we see something we need, let's just ask Kai. Hope nothing in here is haunted...”
“Haunted..?! Not like ghosts, right?” Reko looks genuinely worried at the possibility of ghosts.
“I'm not all too superstitious, it was a comment I threw out there. Don't take it too seriously.”
“Oh, they have a new selection of mirrors. Does anyone apart from Sou need a mirror?” He calls to the group.
“Why except me, Kai?” Sou retaliates.
“I have seen your place of residence, Sou. It is horribly unfurnished and so I'm already going to treat you to a mirror.”
“I work odd jobs, I don't live in a luxury suite doing that...”
Done with the conversation, Kai wanders off to review the mirrors. Many of them were miniature, ones you could put on a bedside table or a desk, some to be hung up on the wall or above a sink, but there was one that caught his eye, on sheer magnitude. One mirror, leant against the wall on the far side of the shop, that almost reached the ceiling. It seemed very peculiar for such a noble thing to be hidden (poorly) amongst the rest of its inferior counterparts, and while he hadn't planned on buying something that big, he was quite interested in looking closer at it. Approaching it from its side to run a finger down the faux-gold engravings, then placing a hand upon the glass to surmise its reflective quality and shine...
...On the other side of the mirror, was not Kai Satou's hand.
Swiftly, he pulls his hand back. A far cry from his usual straight-faced expression, Kai looked genuinely shocked, eyes wide in bewilderment. The sight was curious, besides being disconcerting, so it took not long for him to walk in front of the mirror this time to see the other form in full. Replicating his actions on the other side was what seemed to be another man, taller, with longer navy hair, dressed in a very bizarre getup. His hands were wrapped tightly with bandages, and his piercing yellow eyes unsettled Kai's. On top of that, the movements that the reflection made were ever so slightly delayed, as if there was a lag in the input, and for the little he looked into it, the backdrop to this sight was certainly not of the shop they all stood within. Too shaken to continue on his own, Kai turned and summoned the others.
“Everyone, may you please come here? I have found something strange, I need some accompaniment.” In verbose, Kai voices, obfuscating his nervousness behind longer words and sidestepping away from the mirror's glass so that he could not see the man. Sou quickly comes to his side.
“What is it?”
“Stand in front of this large mirror, please.”
Giving him a confused look at first, Sou obliges. He walks in front of the mirror, and, upon seeing a different figure, he recoils significantly.
“What the hell?! Who is that? That's not me!”
“Do you see that tall man too?” Kai questions.
“'Tall man'? This isn't a tall person, he's a little under my height actually. He has purple hair, a scarf but not like mine...I knew this place wasn't trustworthy, Kai, can we please leave?” Sou turns to face Kai, staring away from the mirror.
“I didn't expect something supernatural here. This is new to me too. Is there anything else about this person that's interesting?”
“You want me to look at it again? Fine, but you're calling a ghostbuster if it goes wrong.”
Sou swivels towards the mirror again.
The boy in the reflection has his face pressed up against the mirror, grinning with dark eyes.
Sou jumps – not in a metaphorical or literary sense, the shock of this person in his face and smiling has him leap slightly into the air and unsteadily careen to the ground, flailing arms almost knocking priceless artifacts over. Reko and Kanna hastily spiral to see what the hell just happened.
“H-He's up against the mirror...What the fuck...”
“Sou?!” The two call almost in unison as they rush to help him up.
“He's what? Let me see this.” Kai walks back into the line of sight of the mirror and, as Sou had said, the purple-haired boy had his cheeks pressed against the glass. His eyes followed Kai as Kai walked into view. It seems it wasn't a 'reflection' this whole time.
“...Excuse me, whomever you are: what is all this nonsense?!” Kai concernedly asks to the person in the mirror, his regular deadpan tone with a slight uneasy warble. The boy pulls his face away.
“Neeheehee! Did I scare that guy to death? D'aww, well it's not myyyy fault, it's yours for being dumb enough to think that was actually a reflection! He's your friend, right? Be more careful with him~” He cheerfully bores words into Kai, who is very unimpressed.
“I do not know under what means this is happening, but whatever this is, this is not my fault. Do not play games with us, young man. My belief was brought on by the replications from whomever that other person was.”
“Oh, Shinguuji-chan? Hey, hey!” He turns away to speak to someone. “He's talking about you! C'mon, partner in crime! Introduce yourself too!”
This 'Shinguuji-chan' walks into frame, staring harshly at the other.
“I only have upheld myself as your 'partner in crime' because I worry for my personal safety if I had refused, Ouma.”
He turns to Kai, and under his mask, a feint smirk resonates.
“My apologies for his unsavoury trick. My name is Korekiyo Shinguuji, and he is Kokichi Ouma. If as true as her ideas are, I will postulate you have two others with you – both women, I most readily make the assumption.” He gestures, strangely, arms and hands wavering in uncomfortable positions.
Kai nods. “Care to explain how you know that information, and why we can even talk? Are you even speaking through a mirror on your end?”
“Oh, certainly. I am simply estimating as to my information being correct, considering me and Kokichi are not the only ones here; rather, we are accompanied by two others, both female. As for the mirror comment, this is most certainly a mirror for us – one imbued with magical properties.”
“Magic? Well, I have seen many things in this life and magic is not one of them but, I have no other, better explanation.”
“...Who are you talking to, Kai?” Reko scratches her head, striding confidently towards the mirror. When reaching it, her eyes widen in terror watching these other, autonomous individuals chat within the mirror.
Chilled, she mutters. “...Yep. This? This is haunted. These objects? Ghosts are in 'em. This shop? I want out.”
Another figure bursts in onto the glass, eyes with fire in them.
“Hiyahhhh! Have some spine, lady! This is a deed of magic, not of ghosts! Don't be scared of such silly things with all these men-aces around or they'll overpower you!” She screeches at Reko, who flinches but stands mostly stationary in stupour.
In the backdrop, Kanna helps Sou up from the floor, and despite being a middle-schooler, Sou seems weaker than she is; that or Kanna is secretly buff as hell.
“U-Umm...Sou, what happened to make you fall over like that? What happened with the mirror..?” Kanna inquires.
“That mirror has some people in it or something, not reflections of us. I turned away for one second and whoever was on the other side was giving me a death stare when I rechecked.” Sou brushes his scarf off, giving a shy, almost embarrassed glance away.
“Kanna will check it for you, Sou!”
“...Just don't get as scared as I did, okay?”
“Okay!”
Kanna skips over to the pair of Kai and Reko to join them in front of the mirror.
“Oooh, there's the last one! Wow, it really is like a match!” Ouma calls out, in the background. “Himiko, you're up!”
Almost on command, a small, red-haired girl wearing a comically oversized hat slogs into view. Tenko gladly makes way for her.
“Don't tell me what to do...I'm only here to explain to them...” She murmurs.
“Keep telling yourself that!” Ouma simpers.
“More explanation? I thought Mr. Korekiyo had handled it.” Kai puts a finger to his chin, curious.
“Well, Korekiyo told you that this was a magic mirror, but not what sort of magic...”
She pauses, seeming to think of what to say next.
“...I'm a mage, and I wanted to figure out what one of the spells I lost my notes for did, so I used it on a mirror, and this happened...”
“And, therefore, it's more like a bizarre looking-glass than a mirror?”
“Yeah...But you all seem pretty similar in some ways to us...You're a lot like Korekiyo because you both look feminine, that beanie boy has a scarf like Ouma, and the green-haired girl is about my height...The other girl I haven't seen enough of to say yet, though...”
“What, me?” Reko asks.
“Yes, you...Do you not like men?”
“Huh, umm – I guess there's some I don't like, so to a small degree, yeah?”
Himiko giggles, index fingers pressing gleefully against each other. “Wow, my magic has worked better than expected~”
“Hey – what're you implying?!” She sneers.
Nonchalantly, Ouma pushes Himiko out of the way, who stumbles and tumbles.
“Anyway, with all this aside, could you keep this mirror? As flimsy as Himiko's 'magic' usually is, I'm not gonna turn down actual results. That and if I did smash it into itsy-bitsy pieces, I'd be getting an even bigger beating from Miss Chabashira here!” He quips, staring into his hand.
“It does seem of note. I would have to buy this though – this is not a mirror that we own.”
“Then buy it! And if we ever meet in person, I'll have Korekiyo reimburse you!”
The man groans from the left, out of sight. “I am already doing you enough favours by keeping Tenko restrained.”
“Unhand me Korekiyo, you dirty degenerate male!” The second voice quickly follows up.
Kai puts his hand to his mouth, pondering. The mirror itself was pricey and completely unnecessary in any one of the homes of the four, and it was a risk even planning to buy an object like this to put it somewhere. This whole situation was very off-putting, far more so for the other three; he thought on it, and they would be internalizing the untrustworthiness of this place, its novelty amplifying their fears. He was the only one who would be willing to take the chance.
“...I'll buy it. I will place it at my residence, and check back with you once I have.”
“Wow, thaaaanks!” Ouma cheers, childlike. “You're Kai, right? I overheard! You're my hero!~”
“You're buying that thing?” Sou asks, concerned for Kai. “Are you sure about this?”
“Of course.” The quick response cuts back. “I come here to buy many things; some, for their practicality, and importance in a home environment, but others simply because they catch my eye, and this is hard to argue against as eyecatching.”
A loud thud is heard from inside the mirror.
“Woah!” Ouma shouts out, “Guess that was the bitch that broke the Kiyo's back!”
“SAY THAT TO MY FACE!”
What ensues can only be described as a comedic conga chase scene, as Ouma takes off, with a violently infuriated Tenko taking pursuit, then Himiko tagging behind to try and calm her down.
“Wild, wild bunch...” Reko shakes her head and chuckles. “Well, we all heard your anecdote, Kai, you want me to help you carry that thing?”
“The help would be very appreciated, Miss Reko. Sou,” Kai reaches for his pockets, pulling out his quite sleek wallet, tossing it to the beanie boy, “sort out the money and put it on the counter. I cannot do so if I am carrying a mirror.”
“I'm working for you now, huh...” He flips open the wallet, sighing. “Don't understand why you can't just pay first and carry second.”
Two take either side of the mirror, Reko the top and Kai the bottom – don't get any funny ideas about the phrasing, you! – and heave it up. Both have the strength to support it, although they're a little uneasy about holding it to start.
Kanna assists Sou with sifting through the banknotes, and the duo take not long to get the notes to the exact price. His hand neatly lays down on the shop counter with the money, and removes itself.
“Are you sure just leaving the money here is fine, Kai?”
“Would you rather we be convicted of theft, Sou?”
“Not the point...”
Eventually, the mirror is wrestled out of the shop, through the door and alley. Once those hardest parts are done, it becomes an endurance test to get back to Kai's house with the mirror in one piece. On the walk back, Kai dips in and out of thought about this strange object, turning up one day in one of his frequented shopping spots. How did this mirror get into the shop? A new array of mirrors were on sale, so it may not have been in part due to the shop but, as much as he would reassure the others of the otherwise...That place was very creepy. He agreed with that sentiment too; it was a little white lie, to try and not scare his friends away from the area. So then, was it truly magic, like what that mage girl said? Or an illusion? However, it seemed too real and prolonged to be the latter sleight of hand, and magic seemed incredibly odd, yet what else did he have to believe it was caused by?
Then his mind drifted to what it all meant. There were these similarities between them, even without being pointed out, Kai had noticed them quick. It made him think of causality, of whether this absurd chance encounter was actually a strike of fate in their lives. Maybe, the four of them pairing with the four behind the mirror was bizarre quantum determinance, and from one side to the other, looking into that mirror determined the other half. For that he'd have to test with the other group, but it was a surprisingly plausible thought. Nevertheless, it was quite scary to believe that Reko, Kanna, Sou and himself may have only ever went on this shopping trip in the first place because of this other group, out of their control, out of jurisdiction, influencing them, if they truly were paired as similars. To be part of something greater than most and pull strings that will never be seen...Yeah, he knows that.
Tap tap!
“Hm?” Kai continues to peer straight, despite a tap against his side from a small hand taking him right out of thought. “I'm assuming you want to say something, Kanna?”
“Y-Yes, umm...Kai, what did we go shopping for again?”
“Ah, we were buying refurbishments for Sou's apartment, and I thought of that as the best place.”
We were buying refurbishments for Sou's apartment.
…
We were.
“...Oh.”