Mirror Me Not: the Mid-Heaven Desperates

                       Des reached out a cautious hand, her emotions spreading like wildfire across her face, bare for all to see. Panic. Need. Worry. Hesitation. Love. Hate. They danced as little sparks in her glowing amber eyes. There was a stark difference between her eyes and their mirror image, which was more confident, more mature and much more hypnotizing. The man that stood parallel to her reached out strong, long fingers and laced them with hers, only to bring the entwined hands to his lips.

Des’ cheeks coloured pleasantly and she threw herself in to the similar-looking man’s arms, her long, red-tinted locks trailing after her. The bottom of her bothersome but beautiful ruffled dress engulfed the man’s lean legs. The man laughed joyously, wrapping his arms around her arched back and nuzzling his face in to the top of her head. Des giggled, hugging her petite frame closer to the man. Anything to get closer to her beloved one.

“I love you, Nella. I love you, love you, love you—” The man repeated.

Des cut him off, simply replying, “I love you, too.”

Suddenly, Des stood alone in a secluded alley, her arms still filled with warmth and curled around emptiness, her face still lit with a bright smile. She stumbled, stunned by the abrupt loss. It took her a while to gather her bearings, and when she did, she sighed.

“Guess I better be off.”

                        Alucas dusted the snow from his hair silently, frowning at the crumpled note in his hand. He turned around, checking his surroundings once more for any changes. When he didn’t find any, he stared down at the black, little smudged words again. Arumuko huffed out an annoyed breath at the back of his mind. Guess his brother was also feeling a bit frustrated.

Do you think they’re playing a prank on us?

They had better not be.

Even they were, where’s the catch?

…I have no idea.

Sigh.

Alucas looked up once again, and continued to trudge through the white mush aimlessly. He sniffed the frosty air, and coincidentally got a light drift of cinnamon and caramel. Arumuko blinked, leaning forward expectantly.

A person?

Seems like it.

A small, raven-haired girl sat at the edge of the fountain, swinging her stocking-clad legs. She yawned, slender fingers stretching to cover her mouth daintily. Her layered locks were left to swirl around her waist, streaked with red near her heart-shaped face. She wore their new school uniform—a cream-white blouse, a tailored black vest and a pleated skirt. The arm warmers that hung loosely around her arms were imitations of a corset, laced up with satin ribbons. The thing that struck Alucas the hardest was her eyes. They were molten-amber, wide and void of emotion.

Arumuko cocked his head, vaguely intrigued by this stranger. He lightly caught hold of Alucas’ current dominance on their body and pulled, sending the elder sprawling in to the shallow water that was their mindscape. Alucas hissed, protesting at the violent treatment. Arumuko waved casually, before stepping out in to the open, gaining control over physical movements.

Arumuko walked over to the stranger-girl, a smirk lighting his face.

“Yo, shorty,” He tapped the top of her head.

A sharp glare greeted him, “Who are you?”

“Name’s Arumuko Rompere. Do you know the way to ‘triple ‘A’’?” He inquired.

She frowned, “‘Triple ‘A’’?”

“You don’t know?” Arumuko raised an eyebrow, “Awrii Arts Academy. You’re wearing its uniform.”

Her face softened, “Des said I would know, eventually.”

“Des? Is that your sister?”

She shook her head, “No. My brother.”

Arumuko frowned. Her brother. This was the first time he met a mixed-elementale.

“Does that make your body androgynous?” He bluntly questioned.

Alucas groaned at the way-too-frank tone. He forcefully switched dominance with his brother, literally throwing Arumuko back in to his mindscape the same way Arumuko had done to him.

Alucas bowed, “I’m sorry for my brother’s rudeness.” He straightened up, fixing his collar, “I’m Alucas Rompere.”

“Des Tagliare.” She greeted in turn.

Alucas cocked his head, “Isn’t Des your brother’s name?”

“My full name is Destroyer. His full name is Desired.” She clarified.

The brother inwardly staggered at the strange names. Oh, well.

Outwardly, Alucas smiled gently, “I see.”

Without a warning, Des turned rigid, to the point of stiff stone, and a crackle of energy hummed softly in the air. A sharp crack, and Des had manifested a crimson-lined spear, which she used to immediately slice a huge rip through space. A tearing sound broke through the silence, and a gaping crescent cut appeared out of nowhere. Inside the cut, there was an ethereal-looking mansion hiding beneath the fluffy clouds.

The Rompere brothers were astounded, shocked by the sudden chain of events. While everybody within the vicinity still struggled to comprehend, a neat clapping sound filled the air. The people turned around, and were greeted with the sight of a pleasant-looking young man.

His hair was pale-blond colour, falling like silk softly to his shoulders. He wore white-framed glasses, that shielded ice-blue eyes. His nose was sharp and ski-slope, and his lips were full and pink. He had high cheekbones and a strong jaw, which was accentuated when he smiled. His clothing consisted of an expensive but simple white silk shirt and black dress pants. His clapping slowly came to a stop, when he noticed he had everybody’s attention.

“All Awrii Arts Academy students, congratulations on getting in. From this day onwards, you are officially a proud student of ‘triple ‘A’’. Although the studies might not be easy, but I trust you to work hard.

“My name is Lieha Fontane, and I am the principal of ‘triple ‘A’’.”

Mr. Fontane’s smile stretched wider, kindly and handsome. He spread an arm wide extravagantly, bringing all eyes to the Victorian age building that peeked out of the rip in the sky.

“Welcome to Awrii Arts Academy.”

A/N:

This takes place in a futuristic world, where almost everybody has split personality. Following the logic of having two different personas, one persona is treated as one human being. Therefore, the two personalities sharing one body would be siblings. Their dominance over the body is generally interchangeable. Every persona also hosts one special ability, like in Destroyer’s case: weapon manifesting.

Terms:

Multi-elementale: The two personas in the body are of different gender. This does not mean, however, that the body must be androgynous or anything.

Awrii Arts Academy: It’s a prestigious arts academy. The name doesn’t really hold any meaning.

The story might be confusing as of now but I’ll try and make it easier as it moves along.

R&R?

[Rin]