"Wait, let's talk for a moment. You actually came back into my space." She purred, her voice echoing strangely.
"Don't flatter yourself," I replied. "We have unfinished business, and I need strength."
Her laugh sent a chill down my spine.
"Unfinished? Oh no, Itsuki Ririku. We've barely started."
The stall doors around us creaked open by themselves. Each one revealed… me. Reflections of me. Hundreds, all staring back and breathing in sync.
Aka Manto glided her fingers across a mirror-image of my face.
"You want strength," she said. "But strength worth having must be taken."
I clenched my fists. "Then let me take it."
Her mask tilted, showing satisfaction.
"Yes. A duel of the spirit. You against me. If you win, I'll give you more abilities. If you lose…"
Her voice faded into static.
"You will drown in your own reflection."
Her finger shattered the glass.
Before the pieces hit the floor, she vanished.
Then—
SLICE.
A red line appeared on my cheek. Warm blood dripped down my chin. I acted instinctively, ducking low as her cloak whipped over me.
She materialized behind me, her mask inches from my ear.
"Too slow."
I swung a punch backward, but she vanished like mist, reappearing on a stall wall like a velvet vulture.
Every mirror showed her instead of me.
That's about a hundred versions of the same stupid mask. I didn't want to do this.
"Which one is real?"
Her voice echoed from every reflection, layered and overlapping.
My heart raced.
Not from fear.
I was anxious.
"Does it matter?" I muttered, closing my eyes.
When I opened them again—
My vision turned black and white, revealing more details. I had this ability since I was a kid, thinking it was normal at first.
Each reflection of her showed a slight delay. A twitch. An odd flicker in the light.
The real Aka Manto cast no reflection at all.
"There." I said.
I lunged—
but she came from a mirror behind me, catching my wrist and twisting it behind my back. Pain shot through my arm.
"You learn," she whispered, "but you forget—reflection is my world."
She slammed me onto the tiles, blurring my vision. Blood filled my mouth.
But this time…
I wasn't helpless.
I felt the red cloak wrapped around my shoulders. I felt the weight of the knife.
I felt the weak link between us.
Her power wasn't a gift—
it was a door.
And I kicked it open.
My hand moved before I could think.
I mirrored her first strike in this fight—exactly.
A slash that wasn't mine
but hers.
Steel struck her shoulder, slicing through fabric and creating a thin, clean wound.
Aka Manto froze.
"…You copied me."
"No," I said, standing unsteadily. "I reflected you."
That was so cool.
The bathroom mirrors all cracked at once.
Aka Manto's voice trembled—not with fear, but excitement.
She spread her arms wide as if welcoming the next blow.
"Yes… YES. Show me more. Show me the boy who linked to me. Show me the boy who defies the world!"
I started ruffling my hair.
She was really enjoying this.
She lunged again—but now I could anticipate her moves.
Every slash.
Every illusion clone.
I wasn't stronger than her.
But I was catching up.
The fight blurred into red.
Steel. Mask. Cloak.
Reflections broke down into pure light.
She kicked me into a sink.
I slammed her mask into a stall door.
Blood coated my knife and knuckles.
Her cloak frayed at the edges.
We collided again in the center.
Only one of us landed clean.
Her.
A hand around my throat.
Lifting me.
"You're impressive," she whispered. "But not enough."
My lungs burned.
Spots danced in my vision.
But I wasn't choking.
Not entirely.
I was thinking.
Because her hand—
her real hand—
was casting no reflection behind me.
Got you.
I grinned through my teeth.
"Checkmate."
I drove the red knife straight into the reflection behind us—
and the real Aka Manto shrieked.
Her image fractured.
Her form wavered.
And she dropped me.
"K… clever…" she gasped, staggering. "Very… clever…"
She collapsed to one knee, clutching her chest.
Then she laughed.
Soft.
Breathy.
Satisfied.
"You pass, Itsuki Ririku."
Light burst from her chest—ribbons of red swirling toward me like embers caught in the wind.
"The Red Veil," she said, her voice fading. "Take it."
The light sank into my body.
The domain flickered.
"But remember…"
"The next time we fight…"
Her tone lowered.
"…I will show you more."
The bathroom shattered like glass.
And I stood again in the inner realm—
one dome glowing brighter.
Aka Manto, now dim and resting in her sphere, watched me with a faint smile despite her fading presence.
The Lady in White watched too.
Expressionless.
I exhaled.
"One down," I murmured. "One to go."