Ladymercury
01-23-2007, 08:38 PM
The SGS recieve a mysterious mirror that was previously owned by Lewis Caroll, the writer of Alice in Wonderland. When Natsuki and Masumi look at the mirror, they're transported to a world that is not quite like home. [OOC, slight Natsumi]
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3356612/1/
Or you can read it here XD. Hi guys, resident lurker, but been a member for a relatively... good two weeks. Ahahaha. Enjoy the fic :D
----
AN: Hello guys! This is my first Boukenger fic, but certainly not my first fanfic. I hope you guys enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it! There will be two more parts to this story, stay tuned! And review!
As like Boukenger, I've taken many liberties with the "backstory behind the Precious". Lewis Caroll was never inspired by a mirror for his Alice series and in "The Looking Glass, and What Alice Saw There" took place in Wonderland and not a parallel unniverse.
---
“ So, why are we acting as delivery boys?” An agitated blonde male said as he shifted in his seat in the company van. There was an exasperated sigh from the front and the sound of papers slammed onto a lap. The one in blue chuckled slightly, while the one in yellow looked between the two in slight worry, and the one in black rolled his eyes, finding the outside scenery more interesting than the current debate between the blonde and the ex-Special Forces officer. The apparent leader decided that it would best to tune the two out, considering he was the one behind the wheel.
“ Because, that is what The Voice ordered us to do.” She tried to hold back her anger. Does Sakura Nishihori show emotion? No. She’s cool and collected. “ I’ve already explained this to you.”
“ But why does this involve the six of us?” A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Eiji Takaoka was obviously getting a kick at ruffling the sub-chief’s feathers. “ It’s not even a reported precious.”
“ Because it is our orders.”
“ It’s a mirror.” He emphasizes this by pointing his thumb towards the back of the van, where a fairly large sized mirror laid, covered with a cloth. “ A plain mirror. Yet he uses us to retrieve it.”
“ It’s not just any mirror,” Souta Mogami says casually while crossing his arms. “ This mirror played a key role in Lewis Caroll’s sequel to Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Saw There. So, I can understand why The Voice wanted us to pick this up from the airport.”
Eiji sighed, finally succumbing to his fellow comrades and no longer finding fun in annoying Sakura, who find her paperwork very interesting at the moment. Leaning back into the seat he closed his eyes, finding that a nap would be best rather than sitting in silence for the remainder of the trip. Masumi turned his attention to the two senior officers sitting in the front and tucked a few strands of hair, that fell into his face, behind his ear.
“ What is the SGS going to do with this mirror when we get it there?” He asked. Masumi didn’t mind going on the trip to pick up the mirror. It was a breath of relief from the almost daily Precious excursions around Japan, which usually ended up with them fighting one of their many enemies and wincing in pain a few hours later from sore muscles. He may have been one to love adventuring but there were times when breaks were needed.
“ We’re going to take it to Makino-sensei to analyze it.” Akashi said as looked at Masumi from the rear view mirror. The young member raised his eyebrow in slight confusion.
“ Why? Its just a mirror…”
“ The London branch had it in storage, but apparently there’s been reports of some of their employees disappearing whenever they were sent to maintenance the mirror.” He turned the wheel, rounding the corner with ease. “ London branch thinks it’s a Precious, but they’re not sure considering their employees return days later as if nothing happened.”
“ But didn’t we check it?” Natsuki piped in with interest. “ Natsuki remembers that it had a Precious reading of zero.”
“ Yes, but,” Sakura said, slight doubt in her voice. “ We must make sure. We’ve had Precious before that have low readings and then later have readings that are enormous.”
“ So if it happens to be a Precious, look at it as our easiest mission yet.” Souta said with amusement, patting the two youngest members on the shoulders. Eiji stirred, opening one eye, and glanced at Sakura.
“ You could have said that in the beginning.” He mumbled before drifting off into his nap. Akashi noticed his second in command gripping the paperwork in anger and sighed. Too bad he didn’t notice the satisfied smirk on Eiji’s features. Those two would never quit.
Special Task
The Looking Glass
There was a collective sigh in relief from Eiji and Souta as they placed the mirror down on the floor with an ‘umph’. They hadn’t realized how heavy the antique wasn’t until they had to carry it from the van, into the museum, and to their headquarters. Wiping some beads of sweat from his brow, Souta slowly walked up the steps and threw himself onto the white chair near his guitar, almost passing out. Eiji practically dragged himself to the couch, sitting down, and almost falling asleep.
The remaining four walked over to the yellow table in the center, sitting down on the stoles and turning their attentions to the wide flat screen in front of them. Makino arrived on cue when The Voice appeared, taking his place next to the screen and looking chipper. He glanced over to the covered mirror and to his fellow Boukengers with a smile.
“ Ah, I see it got here safely.” He said in his usual happy voice. “ I’m sure it wasn’t much trouble carrying it over?” Eiji and Souta groaned in protest, almost whining, causing the group to laugh slightly. The Voice cleared his throat, getting their attention.
“ Thank you for retrieving this for us from the London branch.” The Voice said genuinely. “ I’m sure Akashi has explained to you why we requested the mirror to be brought here.”
“ I’m surprised the Negatives haven’t sought interest in this mirror.” Akashi said with interest. The Voice’s animated figure on screen placed a ‘hand under his chin’ as if in thought.
“ Well, we haven’t confirmed it to be a precious… and since it’s just a mirror that inspired a writer, I doubt the Negatives have anything to gain from it.”
“ We can’t forget the Dark Shadow.” Sakura said seriously. “ Their main purpose is selling these Precious on the black market.” There was a collective nod from those at the table, and a few grunts of approval from the two drained rangers on their respected couches.
“ If the mirror is a precious then we’ll seal it.” Makino said. “ It’ll be our easiest mission yet.”
“ Exactly, Makino-sensei.” The Voice said. He ‘looked’ over at Makino. “ I need you to find out if this mirror is a Precious ASAP.” The old professor smirked.
“ Of course.”
The Voice cut off communication, the screen returning to its standard aerial shot of Egypt and its pyramids. Makino clapped his hands together and looked at the Boukengers with an excited expression. Akashi stood up and rested his arm on the table, awaiting any orders from Makino.
“ I just need to get this mirror into my office.” He said with amusement, glancing over at Souta and then at Eiji. The two rangers groaned before turning away, curling up in their chairs. They knew that by the end of the day they were going to feel the brunt of carrying that mirror, and the mere thought of moving it into the elevator made them ever so sick. “ I guess I take it as a no?”
“ I have to do a museum tour right now, so I can’t do it.” Masumi quickly said, getting up. He grabbed Natsuki by the arm and pulled her with him. “ Natsuki is gonna help me with the little kids.”
“ Er,” She blinked and then smiled. “ Yes, Natsuki is going to help Masumi.” Before anyone could say anything, the two disappeared into the elevator. Makino sighed and tugged at his sweater.
“ Just as long as it gets into my office by tomorrow morning, I don’t mind. I’m in no rush.” Akashi and Sakura nodded as the older man walked over to the elevator that led to his office. He stopped at the door and turned around, facing the two. He placed a finger on his chin, in thought, before snapping his finger. “ Oh, and do not uncover the mirror. There’s a reason to why it’s covered.” And with that he left, leaving two Boukengers asleep on chairs and another two in mild confusion.
Why did that mirror have to remain covered if it was reported to not cause any danger? Sakura slightly frowned, yet again she was shrouded in a cloud of mysteries and she didn’t like it one bit. She looked at her superior officer and frowned slightly. He noticed her annoyance and raised an eyebrow.
“ There’s more to this than a mysterious mirror, now is there, Chief.” She said. He smiled slightly.
“ Now what makes you think that, Sakura?” She didn’t like that tone in his voice. He was up to something.
“ You know something about this mirror that we don’t.”
“ You worry too much.” He walked to elevator. “ I’m going to check on those two. Remember, don’t touch the mirror.”
He left, leaving Sakura to her thoughts. Sighing in defeat, she walked over to Eiji and began to shake him, trying to get him up. He groaned before rolling onto his side, looking up at the second in command with a slightly annoyed expression. She didn’t pay it any mind as she handed him a pen and a clipboard.
“ You have paperwork to do.”
He took the items from here and grumbled as he sat up; preparing himself to do work that was just boring to the Takaoka Descendent.
--
“ Natsuki wonders why the mirror is still covered.” Natsuki mused as the two friends entered the headquarters.
Their tour ended up being to a group of foreign exchange students, which had been interesting for the two to say the least. To simply put it, the one-hour tour ended up being two hours due to the fact that every time they explained something it would take time for the translator to translate it to the group of teenagers. While Natsuki found it fun, Masumi found it a waste of his precious time. By the time the tour was over, the Fast Adventurer was nearly dragging his partner back to the headquarters.
“ I don’t know.” Masumi said as he sat down on one of the stools at the center table. He raked a hand through his hair, the long bangs falling back around his face and sighed. “ But don’t touch it. Its probably covered for a reason.” He said, as if he was explaining to a little girl why it isn’t safe to touch fire. “ Where is everyone?” Natsuki looked at Masumi from where she stood next to the mirror and shrugged.
“ Maybe they went out?”
“ But one is always supposed to stay here to keep watch.” Sighing, he rested his head in his hands. “ Guess they assumed we’d be the lucky ones when we got back.”
“ Natsuki still wants to know why this is covered.” She said curiously as she looked at the draped mirror. “ It must be beautiful. Doesn’t Masumi want to know?”
To say that Inou Masumi wasn’t a curious person would be as ridiculous as saying how a doctor hates to save people. It was in his character to be curious. He was an adventurer, a treasure hunter! The second, no, number one best treasure hunter in the world (he wouldn’t allow himself to believe that he was second to Satoru Akashi)! Curiosity is what fed his will to find the unknown…
… But there were times when his ‘job’ conflicted with his ‘inner adventurer’. Just like in this situation. There was a reason to why the mirror remained cover and he wasn’t going to uncover it just because Natsuki (and he) wanted to know what it looked like. What happened if the mirror blew up or weird, sealed, monsters came popping out like last time? No, he didn’t need Akashi on his case again for his recklessness.
“ No…” Masumi said slowly, not because he wanted her to understand, but because he wanted to convince himself. “ … I do not want to know…”
Natsuki skipped over to person she’s spent two years of her life with and leaned over, looking into his eyes. He quickly turned away, refusing to let the Lemurian princess read into what he really wanted. She had a penchant for that and he didn’t really take a liking to it. Made him feel vulnerable.
“ Is Masumi sure?” She asked curiously, though there was a slight pushing edge to her tone of voice that clearly screamed out ‘ Come on! Let’s do it! ‘. He closed his eyes and locked his jaw, trying to fight back Mr. Devil on his shoulder that was constantly poking him in the neck with his pitchfork. Mr. Angel tried to be reasonable with Mr. Devil, but Mr. Devil threw his pitchfork at Mr. Angel, knocking out the one in white robes and a halo. Mr. Devil then did a little happy dance and continued to poke Masumi in the neck, which caused the Fast Adventurer to give in.
“ Alright!” He yelled out, as if he finally gave in. “ One…” He turned around to face the ecstatic Strong Adventure and held up his index finger. “ … Peek.”
Nearly squealing in delight, she grabbed Masumi’s arm and pulled him towards the covered mirror. She looked up at her best friend, who was currently looking at the covered antic with slight hesitation. He couldn’t help but think negative thoughts. What if the mirror was cursed? Or what if Natsuki accidentally tips it over and breaks it? She tugged on his jacket and grinned.
“ Don’t worry, Masumi!” She said, grabbing on to the thick, white, sheet. “ Natsuki knows what Natsuki is doing!”
She tugged on the cloth and let go, the white sheet falling on to the tiled floor like a lifeless heap. There stood an elegant mirror before them. It had an extremely detailed gold trim that looked like it hadn’t been sitting in a storage room for nearly hundred-fifty odd years. The mirror itself looked completely brand-new, with no traces of smudge or age. It was, almost, as if they were staring at a completely new mirror. The two youngest adventurers stared in awe, unable to take their eyes off of the beauty of the mirror.
“ It’s so… beautiful…” Natsuki said in awe. Masumi slowly nodded.
“ This can’t be a Precious….” He nearly whispered, his mind losing all doubt. “ Its so… mesmerizing.”
Hesitantly, Natsuki brought a hand up to touch the mirror. At that very moment, Mr. Angel began to regain consciousness and warn Masumi of the impending danger. Mr. Devil decided to tackle Mr. Angel and silence the messenger of good conscience. Between his two miniature versions of himself, that represented his conscience, fighting, he had barely noticed the mirror glowing as Natsuki brought her hand up to the glass.
The moment Natsuki placed her hand on the glass, she fell into the mirror, the glass rippling like water. Masumi finally awakened from his inner dilemma, staring at the mirror in shock. He should have never listened to her! He should have stuck to his guns because he knew what was right for her! She was so naïve, how could he be so dumb!?
“ Natsuki!” He yelled out. Without really thinking, he reached forward and before he knew it, he plunged into darkness.
--
He winced in pain as he made contact with the hard, cold, surface of a tiled floor. Rolling over to his side, he winced as he cradled his right hand, trying to gain focus. Everything was like a white blur with slight specs of reds, blues, and yellows. Blinking, he tried to gain focus, ignoring the ringing in his ears and the slight headache he was going through.
“ Masumi?” He remembered that voice. It was Natsuki’s. Sitting up, he faced the direction of her voice and blinked some more, the room becoming clearer now. “ Masumi, what happened?” She sounded worried?
“ I… don’t know…” He honestly said, standing up. He looked around the room. He was, obviously, in their headquarters… But something seemed different. He couldn’t figure it out, but he had a feeling that he was not at SGS.
“ Natsuki felt like Natsuki was sucked into the mirror… but then Natsuki woke up on the floor… Then Natsuki saw Masumi on the floor.” She ran over to his side. “ Does Masumi know what happened?”
Wincing slightly from the headache, he shook his head, slowly making his way over to the center table to sit down. “ No… I don’t …. It’s like someone knocked us out….”
“ Maybe.” She said. “ Maybe we should cover the mirror.” Masumi nodded eagerly.
“ Do it. There’s something certainly strange about that mirror.” Natsuki quickly ran over to the mirror and covered it up, tugging at the cloth to make sure it was like it was before she took it off. Blinking, she heard voices coming from the corridor that lead to the elevator. Joining Masumi at his side, the two anticipated the arrival of their fellow comrades. They hoped they wouldn’t notice the mirror out of place.
But something wasn’t right. The way their voices sounded, it sounded different. As if… it was them but then again it wasn’t them. Was that Sakura talking in third person? Is Akashi talking about his last date with an OL? And did they just hear Souta say “attack”? For some reason, he felt Natsuki cling onto his arm and move closer, as if she was using him for support.
“ Hopefully they didn’t mess with the mirror.” Souta said as he stepped into the salon.
“ Ah, they wouldn’t do something like that, Chief.” Akashi said lightheartedly. “ Masumi maybe lazy and rebellious, but Natsuki is there to keep him in check.”
“ Akashi is right!” Sakura said happily.
“ Whatever.” Eiji mumbled, crossing his arms. The group froze in their tracks when they noticed the two Boukengers at the table staring at them in shock. Masumi couldn’t believe his eyes. It had to be a joke. It must be a joke!
“ Sa-sa-sakura-nee-san?!” Masumi choked out. Sakura looked at Masumi with a confused expression. Why was her hair in pigtails?!
“ Why is Masumi wearing Eiji’s jacket?” Sakura asked.
“ Why are you wearing Natsuki’s?!”
“ Um, why are you two wearing Eiji and Sakura’s jackets? I know you two like to play around and stuff but please don’t contaminate their clothes when you’re in the mood.” Akashi said, pointing at the two. Natsuki blinked in confusion when Masumi blushed.
“ Natsuki’s confused.”
“ Why are you imitating Sakura, Natsuki-nee-san?” Eiji said defensively. Natsuki blinked twice. She was certainly confused.
“ This is a bad joke.” Masumi choked out. “ Stop playing around, you guys!”
“ Playing around? When did you get that idea, Masumi?” Souta said, blinking.
“ I think Masumi is stressed out, Chief.” Akashi added.
“ This… doesn’t make any sense….”
“ What doesn’t make any sense? You’re Boukensilver,” Souta said, pointing to Masumi. “ And you’re Boukenpink and my second in command.” Souta concluded, pointing to an obviously confused Natsuki.
“ Masumi doesn’t remember, Chief?” Sakura asked in concern. Souta chuckled, placing a hand on Sakura’s head.
“ I think he’s just playing around.”
“ He’s just being the new guy.” Eiji mumbled.
At that very moment, Masumi fainted.
--
“ I don’t understand what’s going on here,” Natsuki said as she looked at the four people standing in front of her. “ But I’m Boukenpink and Masumi is Boukensilver. You’re Boukenblue,” She said pointing to Akashi. “ And you’re our Chief.” She pointed to Souta.
“ I don’t know what type of bad joke this is, but it’s not funny.” Masumi said, and pulled out a cucumber, biting into the vegetable.
“ … Did you touch the mirror by any chance?” Akashi asked with curiosity. The two Boukengers blinked and Masumi almost choked on a piece of cucumber.
“ … A… little… peek….” He managed to choke out.
“ It’s confirmed.” Akashi said, snapping. “ That mirror is a precious.”
“ How can you tell?” Souta asked in shock.
“ These two are not our Masumi and Natsuki. They’re from the parallel universe to our universe.” He pointed to the mirror. “In other words, that mirror over there links our two worlds. We needed to find out, and since the mirror’s precious level is only available when ‘in action’ we decided to use Masumi and Natsuki as our decoys. It seems The Voice was right.”
“ Chief!” Sakura yelled out. “ What makes you think that it was okay to do that?!”
“ Don’t worry. Within three days the mirror should open the ‘portal’ and we can get our Masumi and Natsuki back.”
For the first time in Natsuki Mamiya’s life, she really felt confused and alone. Grabbing on to Masumi’s hand, she wanted his comfort. This will be the longest three days of her life.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3356612/1/
Or you can read it here XD. Hi guys, resident lurker, but been a member for a relatively... good two weeks. Ahahaha. Enjoy the fic :D
----
AN: Hello guys! This is my first Boukenger fic, but certainly not my first fanfic. I hope you guys enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it! There will be two more parts to this story, stay tuned! And review!
As like Boukenger, I've taken many liberties with the "backstory behind the Precious". Lewis Caroll was never inspired by a mirror for his Alice series and in "The Looking Glass, and What Alice Saw There" took place in Wonderland and not a parallel unniverse.
---
“ So, why are we acting as delivery boys?” An agitated blonde male said as he shifted in his seat in the company van. There was an exasperated sigh from the front and the sound of papers slammed onto a lap. The one in blue chuckled slightly, while the one in yellow looked between the two in slight worry, and the one in black rolled his eyes, finding the outside scenery more interesting than the current debate between the blonde and the ex-Special Forces officer. The apparent leader decided that it would best to tune the two out, considering he was the one behind the wheel.
“ Because, that is what The Voice ordered us to do.” She tried to hold back her anger. Does Sakura Nishihori show emotion? No. She’s cool and collected. “ I’ve already explained this to you.”
“ But why does this involve the six of us?” A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Eiji Takaoka was obviously getting a kick at ruffling the sub-chief’s feathers. “ It’s not even a reported precious.”
“ Because it is our orders.”
“ It’s a mirror.” He emphasizes this by pointing his thumb towards the back of the van, where a fairly large sized mirror laid, covered with a cloth. “ A plain mirror. Yet he uses us to retrieve it.”
“ It’s not just any mirror,” Souta Mogami says casually while crossing his arms. “ This mirror played a key role in Lewis Caroll’s sequel to Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Saw There. So, I can understand why The Voice wanted us to pick this up from the airport.”
Eiji sighed, finally succumbing to his fellow comrades and no longer finding fun in annoying Sakura, who find her paperwork very interesting at the moment. Leaning back into the seat he closed his eyes, finding that a nap would be best rather than sitting in silence for the remainder of the trip. Masumi turned his attention to the two senior officers sitting in the front and tucked a few strands of hair, that fell into his face, behind his ear.
“ What is the SGS going to do with this mirror when we get it there?” He asked. Masumi didn’t mind going on the trip to pick up the mirror. It was a breath of relief from the almost daily Precious excursions around Japan, which usually ended up with them fighting one of their many enemies and wincing in pain a few hours later from sore muscles. He may have been one to love adventuring but there were times when breaks were needed.
“ We’re going to take it to Makino-sensei to analyze it.” Akashi said as looked at Masumi from the rear view mirror. The young member raised his eyebrow in slight confusion.
“ Why? Its just a mirror…”
“ The London branch had it in storage, but apparently there’s been reports of some of their employees disappearing whenever they were sent to maintenance the mirror.” He turned the wheel, rounding the corner with ease. “ London branch thinks it’s a Precious, but they’re not sure considering their employees return days later as if nothing happened.”
“ But didn’t we check it?” Natsuki piped in with interest. “ Natsuki remembers that it had a Precious reading of zero.”
“ Yes, but,” Sakura said, slight doubt in her voice. “ We must make sure. We’ve had Precious before that have low readings and then later have readings that are enormous.”
“ So if it happens to be a Precious, look at it as our easiest mission yet.” Souta said with amusement, patting the two youngest members on the shoulders. Eiji stirred, opening one eye, and glanced at Sakura.
“ You could have said that in the beginning.” He mumbled before drifting off into his nap. Akashi noticed his second in command gripping the paperwork in anger and sighed. Too bad he didn’t notice the satisfied smirk on Eiji’s features. Those two would never quit.
Special Task
The Looking Glass
There was a collective sigh in relief from Eiji and Souta as they placed the mirror down on the floor with an ‘umph’. They hadn’t realized how heavy the antique wasn’t until they had to carry it from the van, into the museum, and to their headquarters. Wiping some beads of sweat from his brow, Souta slowly walked up the steps and threw himself onto the white chair near his guitar, almost passing out. Eiji practically dragged himself to the couch, sitting down, and almost falling asleep.
The remaining four walked over to the yellow table in the center, sitting down on the stoles and turning their attentions to the wide flat screen in front of them. Makino arrived on cue when The Voice appeared, taking his place next to the screen and looking chipper. He glanced over to the covered mirror and to his fellow Boukengers with a smile.
“ Ah, I see it got here safely.” He said in his usual happy voice. “ I’m sure it wasn’t much trouble carrying it over?” Eiji and Souta groaned in protest, almost whining, causing the group to laugh slightly. The Voice cleared his throat, getting their attention.
“ Thank you for retrieving this for us from the London branch.” The Voice said genuinely. “ I’m sure Akashi has explained to you why we requested the mirror to be brought here.”
“ I’m surprised the Negatives haven’t sought interest in this mirror.” Akashi said with interest. The Voice’s animated figure on screen placed a ‘hand under his chin’ as if in thought.
“ Well, we haven’t confirmed it to be a precious… and since it’s just a mirror that inspired a writer, I doubt the Negatives have anything to gain from it.”
“ We can’t forget the Dark Shadow.” Sakura said seriously. “ Their main purpose is selling these Precious on the black market.” There was a collective nod from those at the table, and a few grunts of approval from the two drained rangers on their respected couches.
“ If the mirror is a precious then we’ll seal it.” Makino said. “ It’ll be our easiest mission yet.”
“ Exactly, Makino-sensei.” The Voice said. He ‘looked’ over at Makino. “ I need you to find out if this mirror is a Precious ASAP.” The old professor smirked.
“ Of course.”
The Voice cut off communication, the screen returning to its standard aerial shot of Egypt and its pyramids. Makino clapped his hands together and looked at the Boukengers with an excited expression. Akashi stood up and rested his arm on the table, awaiting any orders from Makino.
“ I just need to get this mirror into my office.” He said with amusement, glancing over at Souta and then at Eiji. The two rangers groaned before turning away, curling up in their chairs. They knew that by the end of the day they were going to feel the brunt of carrying that mirror, and the mere thought of moving it into the elevator made them ever so sick. “ I guess I take it as a no?”
“ I have to do a museum tour right now, so I can’t do it.” Masumi quickly said, getting up. He grabbed Natsuki by the arm and pulled her with him. “ Natsuki is gonna help me with the little kids.”
“ Er,” She blinked and then smiled. “ Yes, Natsuki is going to help Masumi.” Before anyone could say anything, the two disappeared into the elevator. Makino sighed and tugged at his sweater.
“ Just as long as it gets into my office by tomorrow morning, I don’t mind. I’m in no rush.” Akashi and Sakura nodded as the older man walked over to the elevator that led to his office. He stopped at the door and turned around, facing the two. He placed a finger on his chin, in thought, before snapping his finger. “ Oh, and do not uncover the mirror. There’s a reason to why it’s covered.” And with that he left, leaving two Boukengers asleep on chairs and another two in mild confusion.
Why did that mirror have to remain covered if it was reported to not cause any danger? Sakura slightly frowned, yet again she was shrouded in a cloud of mysteries and she didn’t like it one bit. She looked at her superior officer and frowned slightly. He noticed her annoyance and raised an eyebrow.
“ There’s more to this than a mysterious mirror, now is there, Chief.” She said. He smiled slightly.
“ Now what makes you think that, Sakura?” She didn’t like that tone in his voice. He was up to something.
“ You know something about this mirror that we don’t.”
“ You worry too much.” He walked to elevator. “ I’m going to check on those two. Remember, don’t touch the mirror.”
He left, leaving Sakura to her thoughts. Sighing in defeat, she walked over to Eiji and began to shake him, trying to get him up. He groaned before rolling onto his side, looking up at the second in command with a slightly annoyed expression. She didn’t pay it any mind as she handed him a pen and a clipboard.
“ You have paperwork to do.”
He took the items from here and grumbled as he sat up; preparing himself to do work that was just boring to the Takaoka Descendent.
--
“ Natsuki wonders why the mirror is still covered.” Natsuki mused as the two friends entered the headquarters.
Their tour ended up being to a group of foreign exchange students, which had been interesting for the two to say the least. To simply put it, the one-hour tour ended up being two hours due to the fact that every time they explained something it would take time for the translator to translate it to the group of teenagers. While Natsuki found it fun, Masumi found it a waste of his precious time. By the time the tour was over, the Fast Adventurer was nearly dragging his partner back to the headquarters.
“ I don’t know.” Masumi said as he sat down on one of the stools at the center table. He raked a hand through his hair, the long bangs falling back around his face and sighed. “ But don’t touch it. Its probably covered for a reason.” He said, as if he was explaining to a little girl why it isn’t safe to touch fire. “ Where is everyone?” Natsuki looked at Masumi from where she stood next to the mirror and shrugged.
“ Maybe they went out?”
“ But one is always supposed to stay here to keep watch.” Sighing, he rested his head in his hands. “ Guess they assumed we’d be the lucky ones when we got back.”
“ Natsuki still wants to know why this is covered.” She said curiously as she looked at the draped mirror. “ It must be beautiful. Doesn’t Masumi want to know?”
To say that Inou Masumi wasn’t a curious person would be as ridiculous as saying how a doctor hates to save people. It was in his character to be curious. He was an adventurer, a treasure hunter! The second, no, number one best treasure hunter in the world (he wouldn’t allow himself to believe that he was second to Satoru Akashi)! Curiosity is what fed his will to find the unknown…
… But there were times when his ‘job’ conflicted with his ‘inner adventurer’. Just like in this situation. There was a reason to why the mirror remained cover and he wasn’t going to uncover it just because Natsuki (and he) wanted to know what it looked like. What happened if the mirror blew up or weird, sealed, monsters came popping out like last time? No, he didn’t need Akashi on his case again for his recklessness.
“ No…” Masumi said slowly, not because he wanted her to understand, but because he wanted to convince himself. “ … I do not want to know…”
Natsuki skipped over to person she’s spent two years of her life with and leaned over, looking into his eyes. He quickly turned away, refusing to let the Lemurian princess read into what he really wanted. She had a penchant for that and he didn’t really take a liking to it. Made him feel vulnerable.
“ Is Masumi sure?” She asked curiously, though there was a slight pushing edge to her tone of voice that clearly screamed out ‘ Come on! Let’s do it! ‘. He closed his eyes and locked his jaw, trying to fight back Mr. Devil on his shoulder that was constantly poking him in the neck with his pitchfork. Mr. Angel tried to be reasonable with Mr. Devil, but Mr. Devil threw his pitchfork at Mr. Angel, knocking out the one in white robes and a halo. Mr. Devil then did a little happy dance and continued to poke Masumi in the neck, which caused the Fast Adventurer to give in.
“ Alright!” He yelled out, as if he finally gave in. “ One…” He turned around to face the ecstatic Strong Adventure and held up his index finger. “ … Peek.”
Nearly squealing in delight, she grabbed Masumi’s arm and pulled him towards the covered mirror. She looked up at her best friend, who was currently looking at the covered antic with slight hesitation. He couldn’t help but think negative thoughts. What if the mirror was cursed? Or what if Natsuki accidentally tips it over and breaks it? She tugged on his jacket and grinned.
“ Don’t worry, Masumi!” She said, grabbing on to the thick, white, sheet. “ Natsuki knows what Natsuki is doing!”
She tugged on the cloth and let go, the white sheet falling on to the tiled floor like a lifeless heap. There stood an elegant mirror before them. It had an extremely detailed gold trim that looked like it hadn’t been sitting in a storage room for nearly hundred-fifty odd years. The mirror itself looked completely brand-new, with no traces of smudge or age. It was, almost, as if they were staring at a completely new mirror. The two youngest adventurers stared in awe, unable to take their eyes off of the beauty of the mirror.
“ It’s so… beautiful…” Natsuki said in awe. Masumi slowly nodded.
“ This can’t be a Precious….” He nearly whispered, his mind losing all doubt. “ Its so… mesmerizing.”
Hesitantly, Natsuki brought a hand up to touch the mirror. At that very moment, Mr. Angel began to regain consciousness and warn Masumi of the impending danger. Mr. Devil decided to tackle Mr. Angel and silence the messenger of good conscience. Between his two miniature versions of himself, that represented his conscience, fighting, he had barely noticed the mirror glowing as Natsuki brought her hand up to the glass.
The moment Natsuki placed her hand on the glass, she fell into the mirror, the glass rippling like water. Masumi finally awakened from his inner dilemma, staring at the mirror in shock. He should have never listened to her! He should have stuck to his guns because he knew what was right for her! She was so naïve, how could he be so dumb!?
“ Natsuki!” He yelled out. Without really thinking, he reached forward and before he knew it, he plunged into darkness.
--
He winced in pain as he made contact with the hard, cold, surface of a tiled floor. Rolling over to his side, he winced as he cradled his right hand, trying to gain focus. Everything was like a white blur with slight specs of reds, blues, and yellows. Blinking, he tried to gain focus, ignoring the ringing in his ears and the slight headache he was going through.
“ Masumi?” He remembered that voice. It was Natsuki’s. Sitting up, he faced the direction of her voice and blinked some more, the room becoming clearer now. “ Masumi, what happened?” She sounded worried?
“ I… don’t know…” He honestly said, standing up. He looked around the room. He was, obviously, in their headquarters… But something seemed different. He couldn’t figure it out, but he had a feeling that he was not at SGS.
“ Natsuki felt like Natsuki was sucked into the mirror… but then Natsuki woke up on the floor… Then Natsuki saw Masumi on the floor.” She ran over to his side. “ Does Masumi know what happened?”
Wincing slightly from the headache, he shook his head, slowly making his way over to the center table to sit down. “ No… I don’t …. It’s like someone knocked us out….”
“ Maybe.” She said. “ Maybe we should cover the mirror.” Masumi nodded eagerly.
“ Do it. There’s something certainly strange about that mirror.” Natsuki quickly ran over to the mirror and covered it up, tugging at the cloth to make sure it was like it was before she took it off. Blinking, she heard voices coming from the corridor that lead to the elevator. Joining Masumi at his side, the two anticipated the arrival of their fellow comrades. They hoped they wouldn’t notice the mirror out of place.
But something wasn’t right. The way their voices sounded, it sounded different. As if… it was them but then again it wasn’t them. Was that Sakura talking in third person? Is Akashi talking about his last date with an OL? And did they just hear Souta say “attack”? For some reason, he felt Natsuki cling onto his arm and move closer, as if she was using him for support.
“ Hopefully they didn’t mess with the mirror.” Souta said as he stepped into the salon.
“ Ah, they wouldn’t do something like that, Chief.” Akashi said lightheartedly. “ Masumi maybe lazy and rebellious, but Natsuki is there to keep him in check.”
“ Akashi is right!” Sakura said happily.
“ Whatever.” Eiji mumbled, crossing his arms. The group froze in their tracks when they noticed the two Boukengers at the table staring at them in shock. Masumi couldn’t believe his eyes. It had to be a joke. It must be a joke!
“ Sa-sa-sakura-nee-san?!” Masumi choked out. Sakura looked at Masumi with a confused expression. Why was her hair in pigtails?!
“ Why is Masumi wearing Eiji’s jacket?” Sakura asked.
“ Why are you wearing Natsuki’s?!”
“ Um, why are you two wearing Eiji and Sakura’s jackets? I know you two like to play around and stuff but please don’t contaminate their clothes when you’re in the mood.” Akashi said, pointing at the two. Natsuki blinked in confusion when Masumi blushed.
“ Natsuki’s confused.”
“ Why are you imitating Sakura, Natsuki-nee-san?” Eiji said defensively. Natsuki blinked twice. She was certainly confused.
“ This is a bad joke.” Masumi choked out. “ Stop playing around, you guys!”
“ Playing around? When did you get that idea, Masumi?” Souta said, blinking.
“ I think Masumi is stressed out, Chief.” Akashi added.
“ This… doesn’t make any sense….”
“ What doesn’t make any sense? You’re Boukensilver,” Souta said, pointing to Masumi. “ And you’re Boukenpink and my second in command.” Souta concluded, pointing to an obviously confused Natsuki.
“ Masumi doesn’t remember, Chief?” Sakura asked in concern. Souta chuckled, placing a hand on Sakura’s head.
“ I think he’s just playing around.”
“ He’s just being the new guy.” Eiji mumbled.
At that very moment, Masumi fainted.
--
“ I don’t understand what’s going on here,” Natsuki said as she looked at the four people standing in front of her. “ But I’m Boukenpink and Masumi is Boukensilver. You’re Boukenblue,” She said pointing to Akashi. “ And you’re our Chief.” She pointed to Souta.
“ I don’t know what type of bad joke this is, but it’s not funny.” Masumi said, and pulled out a cucumber, biting into the vegetable.
“ … Did you touch the mirror by any chance?” Akashi asked with curiosity. The two Boukengers blinked and Masumi almost choked on a piece of cucumber.
“ … A… little… peek….” He managed to choke out.
“ It’s confirmed.” Akashi said, snapping. “ That mirror is a precious.”
“ How can you tell?” Souta asked in shock.
“ These two are not our Masumi and Natsuki. They’re from the parallel universe to our universe.” He pointed to the mirror. “In other words, that mirror over there links our two worlds. We needed to find out, and since the mirror’s precious level is only available when ‘in action’ we decided to use Masumi and Natsuki as our decoys. It seems The Voice was right.”
“ Chief!” Sakura yelled out. “ What makes you think that it was okay to do that?!”
“ Don’t worry. Within three days the mirror should open the ‘portal’ and we can get our Masumi and Natsuki back.”
For the first time in Natsuki Mamiya’s life, she really felt confused and alone. Grabbing on to Masumi’s hand, she wanted his comfort. This will be the longest three days of her life.