Late Night Training II

The Mirror Man straightened, cracking his neck. "Alright, kid. Now that you're finally taking this seriously… let's kick things up a notch."

He lifted his hand. The space around them rippled.

Hikaru barely had time to brace himself before the entire mirror world shifted. The buildings around them twisted, morphing into jagged, towering shards of glass. The sky darkened, swirling like liquid silver. And in the distance, countless reflections of Hikaru flickered to life—distorted, monstrous versions of himself, stepping out from the mirrored walls.

The Mirror Man grinned. "Survive this, and maybe—maybe—I'll start calling you a real ruler of the mirror world."

The twisted reflections all turned toward Hikaru at once.

Then, they charged.

The mirror world erupted into chaos.

Hikaru didn't wait—he launched himself forward, twisting his body midair. A massive, shimmering blade materialized in his grip, jagged and shifting like liquid glass. With a single swing, he carved through the first monstrous reflection, shattering it into a spray of crystalline shards.

But more were coming.

The ground beneath him twisted, warping into a spiraling staircase that stretched infinitely into the sky. Hikaru barely had time to adjust before his own shadow leaped from the ground, a grinning, distorted version of himself lunging at him with clawed hands.

Nope.

Hikaru reached out—and the moment he imagined it, the staircase beneath his feet snapped like a spring, launching him skyward. His body flipped through the air, and with a flick of his wrist, the shattered glass around him reformed into floating spears. He pointed—and they rained down in a deadly barrage, impaling the monstrous reflections below.

The Mirror Man whistled, standing atop a hovering chunk of broken mirror. "Now this is more like it."

Hikaru didn't let up. He clenched his fists, and the entire sky of the mirror world cracked open. From within, a giant, serpentine dragon made of reflective shards burst forth, its enormous body slithering through the air like liquid silver. It let out a deafening roar, its mirrored scales distorting everything around it.

The Mirror Man chuckled. "Oh? Bringing out the big guns now?"

But just as Hikaru was about to send the dragon straight at him—

BAM!

A massive force slammed into his gut.

He didn't even see it coming. One second, he was controlling the battlefield—the next, he was rocketing backward, crashing through countless floating structures of glass. Every impact sent ripples through the air, distorting the world like shattered reality.

He groaned, barely catching himself midair. When he looked up—

The Mirror Man was grinning wildly. But more than that—his own imagination was running wild now.

The entire mirror world was shifting again, bending to his will.

A massive throne rose from the shattered ground, carved from the same shifting mirrors. And atop it sat the Mirror Man, his arms resting lazily on the armrests as thousands of twisted reflections gathered behind him like an army.

"Not bad, kid," he mused. "But you're still holding back."

"Holding back?!" Hikaru coughed, gripping his ribs. "I just made a freaking dragon!"

The Mirror Man voice suddenly rang out from the distance.

"Not wild enough!" she yelled, arms crossed. "C'mon, brat, you're still thinking small! If you're gonna fight like this, at least go crazy!"

Hikaru scowled. "What the hell does that even mean?!"

The Mirror Man smirked. "She's right."

Hikaru's breath caught.

That was when he saw it.

The Mirror Man's throne rose higher, and from the sky, an impossible shape descended—a titanic version of himself, as tall as a skyscraper, its eyes glowing like molten silver.

The monstrous Mirror Man cracked his knuckles. The air around it shook.

Hikaru stared, dumbfounded.

"…Okay," he muttered. "Now that's wild."

But then he grinned. His heart was racing.

Alright, then. Let's see who can imagine crazier.

He closed his eyes—and let go.

Hikaru jolted upright, his heart still pounding. His room was… normal. No shattered glass, no floating islands of mirrors, no colossal versions of himself trying to crush him. Just his desk, his computer, and the soft morning light filtering through his window.

His alarm clock blared beside him, its shrill ringing pulling him further out of his daze. He reached over and smacked the snooze button, but his mind was still racing.

Was that… a dream?

No. It felt too real. The ache in his muscles, the faint sensation of adrenaline still in his veins—everything told him that he had actually been in the mirror world again. He groaned, rubbing his face.

"Man… What even was that fight?"

Knock, knock.

Before he could process anything else, his door creaked open. Lina stood there, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed.

"You're actually awake for once," she said, raising an eyebrow. "I was about to yell at you to get up."

Hikaru blinked at her, still half-dazed. "Uh… morning?"

She studied him for a second before stepping inside. "You look like you saw a ghost."

"Not a ghost," Hikaru muttered, shaking his head. "More like… myself. A really annoying version of myself."

Lina gave him a skeptical look. "You were in the mirror world again, weren't you?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah… and this time, it was crazy."

Lina sat on the edge of his bed, watching him carefully. "Crazy how?"

Hikaru opened his mouth to explain—about the fight, the mirror maid yelling at him to be more wild, the giant Mirror Man—but he hesitated. Even he wasn't sure how to put it into words.

Instead, he just exhaled and leaned back against his pillows. "Let's just say… I think I barely survived."

Lina smirked. "Sounds like you're finally getting somewhere."

Hikaru groaned. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. But if I have to go through that every time, I might just let the Mirror Man win."

Lina rolled her eyes and stood up, stretching. "Well, whatever happened, you can tell me later. Get ready. We're gonna be late for school."

Hikaru sighed again but nodded. As she turned to leave, he glanced at his mirror on the desk. Its surface was perfectly still—just a reflection of his room, nothing more.

But somehow, he knew the Mirror Man was still watching.

***

The morning air was crisp as Hikaru and Lina walked side by side toward the school, the silence between them comfortable but heavy. Hikaru was still lost in his thoughts about the mirror world, while Lina, as usual, seemed completely unfazed by everything.

Just as they rounded a corner near the school, they suddenly froze.

Across the street stood Risa, one of their classmates.

For a second, none of them moved. Risa blinked in confusion, while Hikaru and Lina both stiffened, realizing the same thing at once—they didn't want anyone knowing they lived together.

Risa, however, had already noticed them. Her eyes flicked between the two before a grin spread across her face. She raised a hand and waved.

"Hey! Hikaru! Lina!" She quickly crossed the street toward them.

Hikaru internally panicked. Crap, what do we say?

Lina, of course, remained unreadable as ever, but Hikaru could tell she wasn't thrilled about this either.

Risa stopped in front of them, tilting her head. "Wait a sec… You two are walking together? Since when?"

Hikaru forced a laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh… we just—uh—ran into each other on the way?"

Lina, to his surprise, nodded smoothly. "Yeah. Coincidence."

Risa narrowed her eyes, clearly suspicious. "Really? But I don't remember either of you living around here…"

Hikaru felt sweat forming. Think, think, think!

Before he could blurt out anything stupid, Risa gasped dramatically, eyes widening. "Wait, wait, wait—DON'T TELL ME—"

Both Hikaru and Lina tensed. Oh no, she figured it out?!

"You two are dating?!"

Silence.

Hikaru nearly choked. Lina blinked once, slowly.

"No," they both said at the same time.

Risa pouted. "Oh, come on, you don't have to hide it! You're walking to school together all secretly and stuff—"

"It's not a secret," Lina cut in, her tone deadpan.

"Yeah, we just happened to be going the same way," Hikaru added quickly.

Risa stared at them for a long moment before sighing. "Hmm… If you say so…"

She didn't look convinced.

Hikaru let out a silent breath of relief, but then—

"Well, if you guys are heading the same way, let's walk together!" Risa grinned.

Hikaru and Lina exchanged a quick look.

To Be Continue.