Taken Away

Hikaru and Lina didn't waste another second. The moment the weight of the situation sank in, they were already on their feet, bolting out of the classroom.

"Hey! Where are you guys—?" Risa started, but they were gone before she could finish.

Out in the hallway, students gave them confused glances as they sprinted past, shoving open the front doors of the school.

The security guard at the gate narrowed his eyes as they rushed toward him. "Where do you think you're going? School just started!"

Lina didn't even slow down. "We forgot something important!" she called out.

"What could be so important that—"

"Family emergency!" Hikaru added, not missing a beat.

The guard hesitated, clearly debating whether to stop them, but by the time he opened his mouth again, they were already past him, dashing into the streets.

As they ran, Hikaru pulled out Senzai, gripping the book tightly. "Senzai!" he called, flipping open the pages. "We need to find Sakura. Now."

The book ruffled its pages in irritation. "And good morning to you too—wait, what? What happened to her?"

"She's missing," Hikaru said, his voice tight. "No one knows where she went. If you really are the 'book of everything,' then find her."

Senzai's pages flipped rapidly, faster than the wind rushing past them. The glow of his ink pulsed as he processed the request. "Give me a second. Finding someone isn't like looking up a recipe—"

"We don't have a second!" Lina snapped, picking up speed.

Senzai grumbled but focused, his pages slowing as words rearranged themselves across them. The glow intensified, and then—

"I found her."

Hikaru's breath hitched. "Where?"

Senzai's voice dropped, serious and sharp.

"She's not in this city anymore. She's been taken."

Hikaru and Lina skidded to a stop, their heavy breaths cutting through the quiet morning air. The streets were still mostly empty, the world unaware that something was very, very wrong.

"What do you mean, 'taken'?" Hikaru demanded, gripping Senzai tighter. His pulse pounded in his ears, a steady drum of urgency.

Lina crossed her arms, her expression dark. "By who?"

Senzai's pages flickered, ink shifting like ripples in water before settling into legible words. "I can't pinpoint the exact person, but… it wasn't random. This was planned."

Hikaru's jaw tightened. "Planned by who?"

The book hesitated, an unnatural silence stretching between them.

"I… don't think you're going to like the answer," Senzai finally said.

Lina narrowed her eyes. "Try us."

A moment passed. Then, with a slow, deliberate shift, the ink rearranged itself once more.

"It's connected to the gods."

Hikaru felt his stomach drop.

Lina muttered a sharp curse. "You're telling me some god decided to kidnap Sakura?"

"Or someone working for them," Senzai corrected. "But yes. And if I had to guess… they didn't take her just for fun."

Hikaru's hands curled into fists. His thoughts raced, struggling to piece this together.

Sakura? Out of everyone? Why her?

"Lina, do you have a mirror?"

"Huh? Yeah, I do." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small hand mirror. "Here. Use it to take us to the Mirror World."

2/2

ChatGPT said:

Hikaru took the mirror without hesitation, gripping it firmly. His reflection stared back at him for only a moment before the glass shimmered, rippling like the surface of disturbed water.

Lina shifted beside him, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. "You sure this will work? We don't even know exactly where Sakura is."

"Senzai gave us a lead," Hikaru muttered, his eyes locked on the shifting mirror.

In an instant, the real world faded away, and they found themselves in the eerie stillness of the Mirror World—empty, silent, waiting. Hikaru exhaled slowly, closing his eyes as he reached out with his power. The rules of this world bent to his will, shifting at his command.

A moment later, the air around them changed, and suddenly, they were weightless.

Lina gasped as they began to rise. "Whoa—!"

"We're flying," Hikaru said simply, opening his eyes. His expression was sharp, focused. "Come on. Let's find Ayami-san and tell her what's going on."

Meanwhile, in the real world, Ayami was still fast asleep, curled up comfortably on her bed.

The silence in her room was broken when the mirror on her dresser shimmered and rippled. A second later, Hikaru and Lina stepped out of it, emerging from the Mirror World like ghosts passing through water.

Lina glanced around before settling her gaze on Ayami's sleeping form. "...She's still asleep."

Hikaru sighed, walking up to her bed. Without hesitation, he reached down and pinched both of her cheeks.

"Wake up, wake up," he said, pulling at them slightly.

Ayami groaned, her voice muffled by sleep. "Hmmm… hunyu... ten minutes..." She lazily swatted at his hand but made no real effort to move.

Lina crossed her arms, watching with mild amusement. "You're not gonna wake her up like that. She's basically a cat. You should just shake a bag of treats or something."

Hikaru, unfazed by Ayami's refusal to wake up, narrowed his eyes. "Alright, you asked for this."

He reached down and clamped his fingers over her nose, cutting off her air supply.

For a moment, she didn't react, still lost in whatever dream she was having. Then, her sleepy mumbling turned into a muffled whine. Her golden eyes fluttered open, hazy with confusion, before widening in sudden realization.

With a dramatic gasp, she jerked up, swatting at Hikaru's hand. "Wha—! You little—!" She coughed, catching her breath.

Lina snickered from the side. "Told you that would work."

Ayami glared at both of them, rubbing her nose. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes," Hikaru said flatly. "Sakura's been kidnapped."

Ayami blinked. Then, all traces of sleep vanished from her face. "...What?"

Ayami swung her legs over the side of the bed, fully awake now. "Start from the beginning," she said, her tone sharp.

Hikaru wasted no time. "Sakura's missing. Her mom thought she was staying with a friend, but she never showed up. Senzai tracked it—this wasn't random. Someone took her, and it's tied to the gods."

Ayami's golden eyes darkened. "Which god?"

"Senzai couldn't pinpoint that," Lina said, crossing her arms. "But whoever it was, they planned this."

Ayami ran a hand through her hair, processing. "Wait… who's Sakura again?"

Hikaru stared at her. "Seriously?"

"Hey, I just woke up." She stretched, yawning. "Refresh my memory."

"She's just a normal human," Hikaru said. "My friend. A classmate."

Ayami raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"

"Yes. Senzai confirmed it—she was kidnapped by someone working for the gods." He shoved the book toward her.

"M-Morning, Ayami…" Senzai greeted nervously.

Without warning, Ayami spat out the sip of water she had just taken—right onto the book's pages.

"Ack! W-WHY?!" Senzai sputtered, his ink smudging.

"Reflex," Ayami said unapologetically. "You caught me off guard."

Senzai let out a strangled sound. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean spit out of parchment?!"

Ayami wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, entirely unbothered. "You'll live. Now, back to the important part—Sakura. Where is she?"

Senzai grumbled something about personal space before his ink shifted, forming new text. "From what I could gather, she's being held somewhere outside the city. The location isn't clear, but I managed to pick up traces of divine energy. Strong ones."

Hikaru's grip on the book tightened. "So a god is definitely involved."

Lina exhaled through her nose. "Great. Just what we needed. Any guesses on which one?"

Senzai hesitated before responding, "Not clear…"

Ayami crossed her arms. "Wow. What a useless magic book."

To Be Continue.