Hikaru followed close behind them. The building they were heading toward loomed ahead, its windows dark and still, like empty eyes staring at them. In the real world, it was an old office complex, abandoned for years.

Lina looked up. "If I remember correctly, it's on the very top rooftop," she said.

"Mhm... then, Hikaru!" Ayami yelled, pointing at him.

"What...?" he asked.

"Go scan the surroundings using the mirror!" she added.

"Alright. Since we're in the mirror world, time is frozen in the real world. We should be able to find it," he said, taking out his mirror.

He glanced at the reflection of the real world—people stood frozen in time, unmoving mid-step. With that, Hikaru stepped inside the building to check for anyone inside, but it was empty. Seeing no one, they headed upstairs.

As they ascended the stairs, their footsteps echoed in the stillness of the abandoned building. The air was thick with dust, and the dim glow of the mirror world cast an eerie shimmer on the walls. Hikaru held up his mirror every so often, checking the reflections for anything unusual.

"Nothing so far," he murmured.

Ayami, walking beside him, flicked her golden eyes toward the distorted reflections. "Keep checking. If it's really here, it might not appear right away."

Lina moved ahead, reaching the next landing. "Almost there," she called back. "The rooftop should be just a little further."

They pushed forward, finally reaching the heavy metal door that led outside. Hikaru pressed his hand against it, feeling the cold surface beneath his fingertips. He glanced at Ayami and Lina before giving the door a firm shove.

It creaked open, revealing the rooftop bathed in the strange twilight of the mirror world. The city stretched out before them, frozen in time, buildings standing like silent watchers.

Lina stepped forward cautiously, scanning the area. "If the entrance is really here, then where—"

"Hikaru, let me go outside," Ayami interrupted. "I'll shapeshift into a cat so I can pick up the scent of whoever was here last."

"Y-yeah… Alright. Let's head into the real world from this rooftop," he said.

As Ayami stepped forward, her form shimmered, twisting and folding in on itself with fluid grace. In a blink, she was no longer human but a sleek black cat, her golden eyes gleaming in the dim rooftop light. She flicked her tail once before leaping toward Hikaru's small mirror.

Without hesitation, she dove into the reflection, her tiny feline body slipping into the glass as if it were water. The surface rippled slightly before settling, leaving no trace of her passage.

Hikaru held up the mirror and took a steady breath. Slowly, he tilted it to peek through the reflection into the real world.

As his eyes adjusted, he saw the city below was no longer frozen. The people who had been locked in time when he entered the mirror world were now moving again—walking along the streets, cars rolling forward, neon signs flickering. Time had resumed, just as expected.

On the rooftop's real-world counterpart, Ayami emerged from the mirror's surface, landing lightly on her paws. She stretched once before sniffing the air, her whiskers twitching as she tried to pick up any lingering scent of someone who had been there last.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes as he scanned the reflection carefully, watching Ayami as she moved. "See anything?" he whispered, though he knew she couldn't hear him through the mirror.

Ayami's ears perked up. Then, she darted forward, her body low to the ground, as if she had caught something.

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Hikaru tensed. "Found something…?" he muttered, keeping his eyes locked on the mirror, ready for whatever was about to happen next.

Ayami's cat form moved swiftly across the rooftop in the real world, her nose twitching as she followed the faint scent trail. After a moment, she stopped, ears flicking, then turned on her paws and dashed back toward the mirror.

Without hesitation, she leaped through the reflection—emerging back into the mirror world right where Hikaru held the small mirror.

Unfortunately for him, she didn't land gracefully. Instead, her soft paws smacked right onto his face.

"Gah—Ayami!" Hikaru stumbled back, nearly dropping the mirror as the small cat used him as a stepping stone, pushing off his forehead before landing neatly on the rooftop.

"Nice landing."

Ayami stretched, flicking her tail before looking up at them with her glowing golden eyes. "I caught the scent. Someone was here, recently." Her voice, though coming from a cat's mouth, still held its usual confident tone.

Hikaru rubbed his face, sighing. "Glad to hear it. Next time, avoid my face, please."

Ayami ignored him and padded toward the edge of the rooftop. "Come on. Follow me."

Even in her cat form, her movements were graceful and precise as she led them across the rooftop. Hikaru and Lina exchanged glances before quickly following after her.

As they followed Ayami across the rooftop, Hikaru kept glancing into his mirror, checking the real world's reflection. Time was still frozen there—cars stuck mid-motion, people caught mid-step, their expressions unmoving like mannequins in a paused scene. It was always eerie to see, but he had grown used to it.

Meanwhile, Ayami moved with certainty, her small cat nose twitching as she followed the faint scent lingering in the mirror world.

"Ugh," she suddenly muttered, flicking her tail in irritation. "I don't know who this person is, but they smell awful."

Lina raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Ayami hopped onto the ledge of an old air conditioning unit before turning her golden eyes toward them. "Well, first off, I'm picking up traces of gunpowder. So whoever it is, they were armed."

Hikaru frowned. "Makes sense. They were trying to kill Lina, after all."

"But that's not even the worst part." Ayami wrinkled her little cat nose in disgust. "The other scent I caught? Absolutely rancid. I swear, either this person hasn't showered in a week, or they're carrying something dead with them. Or maybe both. Either way, disgusting."

Lina made a face. "That's... disturbing."

Hikaru sighed. "Great. So we're dealing with some stinky gunman."

Ayami flicked an ear. "More like a rotting trash heap that happens to know how to use a gun. Honestly, if they didn't try to kill you, Lina, I'd almost feel bad for them. Almost."

Lina couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, at least they'll be easy to track."

Ayami stretched, then hopped down, her tail curling behind her. "Yeah, and judging by the strength of the scent, they weren't here too long ago. Come on, let's keep moving before the stink trail fades."

Hikaru and Lina exchanged glances before following Ayami's lead once more, the hunt continuing through the strange, frozen world of reflections.

The streets were packed with unmoving cars, people mid-step, unaware that somewhere in another layer of reality, the three of them moved freely.

Ayami, still in her cat form, led the way, her nose twitching as she followed the scent. She hopped from ledge to ledge, then finally down onto the pavement, her tail flicking as she sniffed the air.

"Ugh," she groaned. "It's getting worse. I swear, the more we follow this, the more I regret having a sense of smell."

Lina smirked. "That bad?"

"If I had a choice between fighting a horde of cursed creatures or tracking this person, I'd pick the creatures." Ayami wrinkled her tiny nose. "At least they smell like actual monsters and not some sweaty, unwashed wannabe assassin."

Hikaru snorted. "So what you're saying is, they smell like a crime scene and bad life choices?"

Ayami gave a slow blink. "Exactly."

They followed her down the street, weaving through the still-life of the real world's frozen city. Hikaru kept an eye on his mirror, watching for any sign of movement in the real world. If time started flowing again, they'd need to be careful—whoever this person was, they might still be nearby.

As they moved, Ayami's ears perked up. "The scent is getting stronger. Whoever it was, they walked through here not long before we arrived."

She hopped onto a trash can, then onto a parked car, her golden eyes narrowing. "And there's something else. It's not just gunpowder and filth anymore… I'm smelling something sharp. Like metal and oil."

Lina crossed her arms. "A weapon?"

"Maybe." Ayami flicked her tail. "But not just a normal gun. Probably… custom."

Hikaru furrowed his brow, glancing at his mirror again. "Then we better be ready. If they're still close, we might run into them sooner than we think."

Ayami turned her head toward an alleyway. "The scent leads this way. Hope you're both ready, 'cause I have a feeling we're about to meet the stink lord in person."

With that, she leapt ahead, disappearing into the shadows of the alley, leaving Hikaru and Lina to exchange glances before following close behind.

They stepped into the alley, the narrow passageway stretching between the frozen buildings like a tunnel into something unknown. The air felt heavier here, thick with the strange metallic scent Ayami had mentioned. Hikaru adjusted his grip on the mirror, glancing at the reflection to make sure time was still frozen in the real world.

To Be Continue.