As we started gathering the ingredients, Sakura couldn't help but bombard me with questions. Her voice was a mixture of curiosity and mild panic.

"Okay, but... Hikaru-san, is this even real? Like, how does this mirror world even work? Is it connected to the real world? Can we see people from here? Can they see us? Are we even safe here?" she asked in rapid succession, her hands fluttering as she gestured around the empty restaurant.

I paused, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. "Uh... to be honest, I don't really know," I admitted. "I just... can go here. It's not like there's a guidebook or anything."

She stared at me, incredulous. "You don't know? You can go here but you don't know how it works? What if we get stuck forever?"

I sighed, trying to stay calm. "We won't get stuck. I told you, we just need to find a mirror or some reflective surface, and we can go back."

"But why did we even come here in the first place? We didn't touch any mirror, right?" Sakura pressed, her eyes narrowing in thought.

That's when it hit me. I replayed the events leading up to this moment in my head—the ramen shop, Sakura looking at the menu, her glasses reflecting my face...

I snapped my fingers, causing Sakura to jump slightly. "Your glasses," I said, pointing at her.

"What about my glasses?" she asked, confused.

"When I looked at you earlier, I saw my reflection in your glasses. I think... maybe the reflection was enough to trigger it. I've always needed a reflective surface to enter the mirror world, and I guess your glasses count as one," I explained, my voice trailing off as the realization sank in.

Sakura froze, her hand instinctively reaching up to adjust her glasses. "So... you're telling me my glasses are a portal now?" she said, her tone dripping with disbelief.

"Not exactly," I replied. "It's not the glasses themselves, but any reflection can act as a gateway. Your glasses just happened to be the closest one at the time."

She stared at me for a long moment, her expression a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. "This is insane," she muttered, shaking her head. "Absolutely insane."

"Yeah," I said with a weak chuckle, "welcome to my world."

Sakura let out a resigned sigh and muttered, "Fine, fine... if we're stuck here for now, we might as well eat. But if anything weird happens, you're explaining it to the police—or whoever's in charge of magic worlds."

I chuckled nervously, not entirely sure myself who would handle such things. "Deal. Now, let's just focus on making some ramen."

We rummaged through the kitchen, grabbing noodles, broth, and various toppings. It felt strangely normal, like we were just two friends hanging out and cooking. The eerie silence of the mirror world faded into the background as the rich scent of simmering broth filled the air.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Sakura asked, glancing over at me skeptically as I stirred the pot.

"I've seen it done in anime. How hard can it be?" I joked, earning an unimpressed stare from her.

"Great, we're basing our survival dinner on anime logic," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just don't burn it."

After a few more minutes, we managed to put together two steaming bowls of ramen. They actually looked pretty decent, and Sakura even gave an approving nod. "Okay, I'll admit... it smells good."

Carrying our bowls, we headed back to the front of the restaurant and sat down at the same corner table. The warm glow of the shop's lights and the comforting aroma of the food made the strange circumstances feel oddly normal.

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As I took my first bite, the savory broth and perfectly cooked noodles were like a balm to my frazzled nerves. "Wow, this turned out better than I expected," I admitted.

Sakura slurped her noodles, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "Not bad for a guy who didn't even know where the recipe was five minutes ago," she teased.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said, smirking.

For a moment, we just ate in silence, the warmth of the ramen taking the edge off the bizarre situation we were in. But I couldn't ignore the lingering tension in Sakura's expression.

"You okay?" I asked, breaking the quiet.

She looked up from her bowl, her glasses catching the faint light. "Yeah, just... trying to wrap my head around everything. This mirror world, your magic, the fact that my glasses apparently got us here... It's a lot to take in, you know?"

I paused for a moment, taking in her words. Then I asked, softly, "Can you look at my face?"

She turned her head toward me, her brow furrowing slightly. "Why?"

I hesitated, trying to piece together the idea forming in my head. "I just want to see if looking at the reflection in your glasses might help us get back to the real world."

"G-Go on..." she said, keeping her eyes on my face but sounding a bit nervous.

I stared into her eyes, focusing on the reflection in her glasses. My own image stared back at me, faint and distorted in the curved lenses. I concentrated, trying to sense any shift, any ripple of the strange magic that had brought us here.

Still… stare, stare, stare.

Her cheeks started to flush, a soft redness spreading across her face. Finally, she broke the silence, her voice flustered. "I-I think we should just use a mirror portal instead!" she blurted, quickly looking away and fixing her gaze on her bowl of ramen.

She poked at her food and started eating, clearly trying to shake off her embarrassment. I blinked, realizing how awkward the moment had become, and sat back down, scratching the back of my neck.

"Yeah, uh... good idea," I mumbled, suddenly very interested in finishing my ramen.

After finishing our makeshift meal, we left the quiet, eerie ramen shop behind and walked together through the still streets of the mirror world. The silence pressed down on us, broken only by the soft crunch of our footsteps on the pavement. The air felt heavy, like the world itself was holding its breath.

Eventually, we arrived at Sakura's home. She paused in front of the door, her hand hovering over the handle for a moment before she turned it.

Creak!

"Oh, it's not locked," she said, her voice a little uncertain.

"Well... it's not like every house is locked when there's someone inside," I replied casually, glancing at her.

She turned to look at me slowly, her face slightly pale. "You said my home... there's people?"

Why does she look so scared?

"Yeah? Your parents? You know, in the real world," I said, raising an eyebrow.

Her shoulders relaxed as she let out a breath, shaking her head. "Oh... you scared me for a second."

I blinked, confused by her reaction. "Why would that scare you?"

She hesitated, giving me a weak smile. "Nothing, it's just... never mind." Without another word, she pushed the door open and stepped inside, leaving me standing there for a moment before I followed.

It was my first time stepping into a girl's home, and I couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. The cozy warmth of the house contrasted sharply with the eerie emptiness of the mirror world outside. I followed Sakura as she led the way upstairs, the faint creak of the wooden steps echoing in the silence.

We reached the second floor, and she gestured toward a door at the end of the hallway. "That's my room," she said, her voice casual but with a hint of embarrassment.

"Nice house," I said, glancing around.

"Thanks..." she mumbled, opening the door and motioning for me to step inside.

Her bedroom was neat, cozy, and distinctly girly. The soft pastel tones and delicate decorations felt like an extension of her personality. She pointed to an oval mirror with a movable stand in the corner of the room. "That's my mirror... so? What now?"

I walked over to the mirror, inspecting it closely. "Let me test something," I said, poking my finger at the surface. It rippled like water, confirming it was a portal. I turned back to her and extended my hand. "Hold my hand, and we'll go to the other side."

"Huh!? Why do I have to hold your hand?" she asked, taking a step back.

"That's how it works," I explained patiently. "If you try to go through on your own, it won't let you. Trust me on this."

She hesitated, clearly skeptical, but eventually sighed. "...Okay," she muttered, reaching out and placing her hand in mine. Her grip was hesitant but warm.

She stepped through to the other side of the mirror. I poked my head through, peering into her room from the other side.

"Go check the window. Is there anyone outside?" I asked.

Sakura nodded, walking over to the window. She glanced outside for a moment before turning back to me. "There are people... so I'm back?"

"Yeah, you're back, I'll go now."" I said, taking a step back, preparing to return to the mirror world.

To Be Continue.