Shattered Mirror

Her Research On The New World

It had been two weeks since Rin decided to tour with the two mirror images. As Mikuo had warned, travelling was tough. Rin had once travelled with her mother to the countryside, but that was nothing compared to this. The weather in this mirrored world was unpredictable. Some days, it was Everest cold. Her clothes were thin and couldn't protect her from the frigid weather. On other days, it was Sahara hot. The high temperature was harsh enough for Rin to have a heat stroke. They would travel long miles without rest, it was hell on Rin's untrained body. She was constantly out of breath, her whole body would ache from exhaustion, and she would received constant migraines from her will to carry on, but she tried not to complain, she didn't want to slow the others down.

It wasn't all bad. She was slowly starting to get used to the harsh conditions of travel. She was even starting to develop a sort of friendship with Kaiko and Mikuo. Creating friendly bonds with other people was a rare occurrence with Rin, but somehow she managed. When they would camp out for the night, Mikuo would lend her his spare sword and they would spar the night away. It wasn't only for fun, he would teach her ways on defending herself and techniques on defeating an enemy. Apparently, the world wasn't very safe and she would never know when she'd come into conflict. On the days she'd spend with Kaiko, she would teach her about the many different types on herbs in this world. She would help her differentiate the poisonous herbs from the edible ones. She even showed herbs that would help heal certain types of sicknesses. Rin decided to write her new found knowledge in her notebook. It was as if she was back in school.

Speaking of which, Rin had missed a lot of school. It would take many sleepless nights for her to catch up to everyone. She wondered if anyone noticed her absence. Did they even know she missing? Miku knew, of course, she had been the one to witness her disappearance, but what about her mother? She shook her head. It was best not to think about it. She had no control over her situation after all.

Rin's discovery of this new world had inspired her to document her findings. When the trio would take a small rest, Rin would take the opportunity to write in one of her spare notebooks.

Research on the "New World"

1. Relationships in my world are not necessarily alike in the mirrored world.

Rin was curious of the relationship Kaiko and Mikuo shared. Were they lovers like Kaito and Miku? She had asked the question late in the evening. They were all huddled by the campfire, their only source of heat in the frigid night. "So, are you two together?" she asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant about the question.

Kaiko gave her a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"Are you two...um, lovers?"

They stared at each other for a moment, before they burst out into laughter. "Me and her? I would never lower my standards to such a level."

Kaiko rolled her eyes, ignoring his insult. "We're just childhood friends. I have a fiancé back at the Capitol. We're to wed next winter." Her eyes gleamed in admiration. "His name is Meito. He's a city doctor and he's just so absolutely wonderful," she cooed.

"I'm far superior...in looks at least," he bragged.

She hit the backside of his head. "No one was asking for your opinion," she snapped.

2. Land dominates Water in the mirrored world.

It was her third day of travel. Not only was Rin exhausted, but she was dehydrated as well. The sky was clear, and not a cloud occupying the crystal beauty could dim the sun's light, or its heat.

Her breathing was starting to grow heavy. Damn it, she thought. She couldn't feel her legs. She was begging to feel light-headed and her vision started to blur. She knew it wouldn't be long before she blacked out. Rin tried her best to fight it. She didn't want to appear weak in front of Kaiko and Mikuo who seemed to handle the heat well, but it was no good. It was as if the world began to tumble in her sights, and before she knew it, she fainted.