reflection lie

> “When someone disappears, it doesn’t make sense. You keep thinking they’ll turn the corner any second. That maybe… they’re still here.”

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The hallway was dead silent.

Hayato stood frozen, staring at the spot where Hina had just been. The black void behind the classroom door was gone, as if it had never opened. Like it had swallowed her whole.

“She was just here,” Yuri whispered, gripping her arms. Her voice trembled. “She was right here.”

Sanemi punched the wall, hard. “This can’t be happening!”

Hayato didn’t answer. His eyes darted to the mirror on the wall across the hallway — and his blood ran cold.

For just a moment… he saw Hina in it.

She was standing inside the reflection, banging on invisible glass. Her mouth moved, but no sound came.

“Hina!” he shouted, running toward it.

But by the time he reached the mirror, it only showed his own wide, terrified eyes.

---

📘 Scene: Classroom – Trying to Understand

They rushed into the nearest classroom and shut the door behind them.

Sanemi paced like a caged animal. “What is this place? Why us? Why Hina?!”

Yuri sat on a desk, hugging her knees. “The rules. That stupid list. We followed them!”

“No,” Hayato said quietly. “We broke one. Sanemi looked into the mirror too long. That triggered something. Then the clock hit 3:33.”

Yuri looked up. “So… is she dead?”

“No,” Hayato said. “I saw her. In the mirror. She’s trapped. Alive.”

Sanemi’s voice was low, almost a growl. “Then we’re getting her back.”

---

🪞 Scene: Back to the Mirror

They returned to the music room, slowly this time. The hallway lights flickered again, like the building was breathing.

The mirror was still there. Silent. Cold.

Hayato took a step forward. “If this is a door… maybe it needs to be opened.”

Sanemi frowned. “You wanna break it?”

“No. That didn’t work last time. What if we talk to it?”

“To a mirror?” Yuri snapped.

“To Hina,” Hayato said. He stepped in front of the mirror, heart pounding. “Hina… if you can hear us, do something. Show us.”

Nothing happened.

Then, slowly, the mirror fogged up.

And four words appeared like a message written in steam:

“ONE MUST TRADE PLACES.”

Sanemi read it aloud, confused. “Trade places? You mean… one of us goes in, and she comes out?”

Hayato’s stomach turned. “It’s a test. Just like in 1998. One survives. The others are taken.”

Yuri backed away. “No way. I’m not— No.”

But then her voice dropped. “Unless... we figure out how to trick it.”

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🧩 Scene: Planning the Impossible

Back in the library, Hayato found another page in the record book. A section scribbled in blood-red ink:

> “To fool the mirror, one must lie to themselves. Truth is its fuel. Lies are its poison.”

He read it aloud.

Sanemi blinked. “So... it feeds on who we really are?”

Yuri added, “That explains rule 3: Don’t speak your real fears aloud. The mirror uses them.”

“So we lie to it,” Hayato said. “Lie to ourselves. Beat it at its own game.”

Yuri looked unconvinced. “That’s not exactly a plan.”

“No,” Hayato said, “but it’s a start.”

---

🕳️ Scene: The Mirror Again

They returned to the mirror.

Yuri stood before it, took a deep breath, and said:

“I’m not scared. I don’t miss my mom. I’m not jealous of Hina.”

The mirror shimmered — just for a second — but didn’t open.

Sanemi stepped up.

“I don’t blame myself for what happened to my brother. I’m not angry all the time.”

The mirror pulsed once — then again.

Hayato clenched his fists, his heart aching. He stepped up to the glass and whispered:

“I didn’t love her. I don’t miss her. I’m not scared to be alone.”

The mirror cracked.

A soft wind blew across the hallway. Then, slowly, the surface of the mirror began to ripple like water.

“She’s coming back…” Yuri breathed.

But instead of Hina — something else stepped out.

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👤 Scene: The Reflection

It looked like Hina.

Same uniform. Same face.

But its eyes were black — voids of swirling ink.

It smiled.

“Hayato…” it said, in a voice too sweet, too perfect.

Yuri screamed. “That’s not her!”

Sanemi charged at the figure, but it simply vanished — leaving behind only its echoing laughter.

The mirror rippled again.

And this time, the real Hina fell out of it — unconscious, but breathing.

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📝 Scene: Reunited (But Not Safe)

“Hina!” Hayato shouted, kneeling by her side.

She blinked, groggy. “Where… am I?”

“You’re safe,” he whispered, hugging her tightly. “You’re back.”

Yuri wiped her eyes. “We did it. We actually brought her back.”

But Hina looked up, suddenly terrified.

“No,” she said. “You didn’t. It’s still in here…”

The lights exploded above them.

A shadow moved in the corner of the room.

They weren’t alone.

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> We thought saving her would end it. But the mirror didn’t want to let her go for free. Now something else is watching us — wearing her face.

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✨ End of Chapter 4 — To Be Continued…

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