꧁ LIFE and DEATH ꧂

REFLECT

"Kid, have you seen Yashiro?"

Kou looked up.

"No, I haven't."

Nene was only a few minutes late, but Hanako was already worried.

"What if she got attacked by a supernatural being?" Kou asked. Hanako shook his head.

"No, I would be able to tell if an apparition were attacking students," Hanako explained. Kou nodded and went back to cleaning. Then he paused.

"What if she's being confessed to?"

When Kou turned to the ghost, he was already at the door. "Hanako?! What are you--"

"We have to find Yashiro!" Hanako took off down the hallway, Kou not far behind.

The ghost paused before quickly racing back into the bathroom.

"Hanako, what are you doing?" Kou asked. Hanako fingered the mirror above the sink.

"I may know where Yashiro is."

~~_~~

"Radish-senpai?"

Nene opened her eyes. "Hmm?" She spotted the pink-haired ghost in front of her. "Mitsuba-kun? What are you doing here?" she asked. Mitsuba laughed snarkily.

"It's my boundary, duh." Nene sat up.

"Your boundary? Huh?" Glancing around, she saw he was correct.

Nene was in the Hell of Mirrors, lying on the ground. Mitsuba stood over her. "So, what are you doing here? Crazy Knife's not around."

"I d-don't just follow Hanako-kun around!" Nene stammered. Mitsuba frowned.

"Why? Aren't you guys going out?" Mitsuba asked. Nene blushed.

"N-no!"

"Then why are you guys always flirting?" he asked, deeply confused. Nene shook her head and pulled herself to her feet.

"W-we're not flirting! A-and Hanako's not my type." Nene claimed. Mitsuba laughed.

"You say that, but--"

"And what about you and Kou-kun?" Mitsuba promptly stopped talking.

"What a-about him? We're not going out! Of course we haven't kissed! No! Stop asking me stuff!" Mitsuba waved his hands around before pausing. "Wait . . . pretend you didn't hear that."

"I'm going to tell Kou-kun--!"

Mitsuba grabbed Nene's hands and pulled her in front of the large mirror. Nene stepped back when she recognized it. "Mitsuba-kun, this--"

"I wanna see what you're afraid of! And maybe, you know, use it as collateral . . ." Mitsuba added, mumbling. Nene stared at the mirror, frozen.

The reflection started to swirl. Mitsuba hurried back.

The mirror showed Hanako, staring back at Nene. The ghost in the mirror frowned. Then he laughed.

"Um, ew. Who would ever love a radish like you?" he asked coldly. Nene took a step back. "Did you seriously think that confessing to me would mean anything?" Mirror-Hanako laughed again. Nene took another step away. "You're just a worthless, ugly daikon who will never have a boyfriend!"

Nene was about to crumple when a pair of arms caught her.

"You know I don't really believe those things."

Nene melted into the hug, not caring when a few tears escaped down her face.

"H-h-hanako-kun . . ."

"Yashiro, your worst fear is me rejecting you, isn't it?" Nene nodded into the ghost's shirt. Hanako hugged her tighter.

"Sorry, to spoil the moment, but--" Hanako shot Mitsuba a death glare as Nene stumbled away from him. She had forgotten they had an audience.

"B-but what?" Nene asked. Mitsuba gestured towards the mirror. It had started to swirl with pale smoke.

"I don't exactly know how to turn that off, so let's enjoy seeing what Crazy Knife's afraid of!"

"Wait--!"

The smoke cleared, showing . . . Tsukasa and Nene?

Mirror-Nene leaned against the Mirror-Tsukasa, smiling. Mirror-Tsukasa had one arm around her waist.

"Amane, your assistant is in love with me! Isn't that great?" Mirror-Tsukasa hugged the girl at his side, and she smiled. "Now we're gonna go out, then get married, then have ki--"

"Not too fast!" Mirror-Nene giggled. Then she frowned at Hanako. "No one needs you now. You can just disappear."

"But I . . ."

"You can't really think I would ever be in love with you?" Mirror-Nene laughed. "I was just using you to get to Tsukasa." She smiled at the ghost next to her. "Aren't you just the cutest?" Mirror-Nene leaned toward Mirror-Tsukasa. Just as their lips were about to touch, the mirror shattered.

Nene didn't see the ghost move, but suddenly Hanako was holding his knife, kneeling on the floor. He was surrounded by shards of the mirror.

"Hanako-kun?"

Hanako looked up at the girl. "You . . ."

He pulled her onto the ground, making sure she didn't touch the glass. Hanako quickly placed his hands on either side of her.

To her surprise, Nene was the first one to speak.

"I love you." She smiled at the ghost above her. "The things the mirror said aren't true. You know that." Nene reached up to touch the edge of the ghost's face. Hanako smiled.

"I love you too."

Hanako quickly leaned down, kissing his assistant.

~~_~~

Mitsuba quickly made his escape, dashing through a side mirror, and landing in the girl's bathroom. Kou stood there, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Too much Hananene." Mitsuba made a face.

"Why do you keep using that word? I don't get it."

"Hanako-plus-Nene equals Hananene! Duh." Mitsuba rolled his eyes.

"O-oh, okay. So," Kou paused. "We'd be Mitsukou?" Mitsuba blushed.

"Y-yeah, we would be."

A/N:  

Mitsuba is wrong-- there isn't such a thing as too much Hananene!

I have a problem with adding Mitsukou scenes. And it almost looks like they're breaking the fourth wall by saying 'Hananene' and 'Mitsukou', but . . . they're not, actually.

Anyway, I hope y'all liked this. 

Stay safe and healthy!

~~ Author-chan ~~