The two girls had their fair share of hearty laughs in their imaginary land, but as of now, Miku's tense in their walk through the woods, much less had Rin been feeling the same way. Uneasy, Miku reaches over and taps Rin's shoulder.

"Rin, do you..." she winces at the thought and bites the corner of her lip, "... think we're heading the right direction?"

The blonde takes a deep breath, putting on her best "it-will-be-okay" smile, she answers, "I don't know. Wherever we're going, I promise we'll figure it out, m'kay?"

Miku silently nods. She's put her faith in Rin, trusts her to allow them to bond like glue until the bitter end, yet the silhouettes of towering trees against the orange sky begin to threaten Miku much more than she can believe Rin's promise. She trembles and attempts to move her quivering hand into her friend's. But before the blonde can even glance at their fingertips, she snatches the tealette's hand out of the blue and shimmies through the bushes, dragging Miku in with her.

They can't entirely comprehend where they are or how they managed to stray this far from home. But what both of them can understand is why. Typically spending the morning racing to finish breakfast, tying their sneakers before they burst through the door, running across the countryside fields to meet each other in their fantasy world.

Imagination had been the definition of them both. Had it not left a hole in their hearts, they would've been guaranteed to never meet. What a tragedy that would've been because nor Miku or Rin could imagine playing pirates, knights and a damsel in distress, witches and wizards, without the other to accompany them.

But now they had ventured too far into the woods from a sword fight. The fear nestled in Miku's mind is scaring her much more than any of their adventures combined. She tries to focus on calming her mind and breathing. Just a moment to relax and think she'll be back home, she'll live to play with Rin another day, that was all she ever needed to recollect herself.

She continues scurrying through the foliage, holding her friend's hand for dear life, and before she notices-

"Oof!"

-Miku accidentally bumps into Rin.

She blinks her eyes simultaneously and shakes her head to call it off. She looks at the blonde. Rin's silent and doesn't move a muscle, staring straight at something far ahead of them. Miku slowly walks to her side and faces the same direction as she.

A rundown, two-story house reveals itself in the middle of a small clearing.

Abandoned...? Miku instantly thinks.

Rin takes a step forward. The tealette feels this tug and yanks her back. She glances over her shoulder.

Miku asks uncertainly, "Rin, you're not thinking about going inside... right?" The blonde shoots her gaze back to the house and stares for a couple seconds. "Oh, no. Rin, we're not going inside there! It might be haunted, what if there's someone inside who would want to tear the flesh off our bodies-"

"Miku!" Rin flashes a puppy-eyed expression. "It's almost dark and we need some place to stay! I know it looks abandoned, I know it looks spooky, but... it's better than being vulnerable out here."

She's teary-eyed, begging for pity like she's on her knees. The tealette shuts her eyes and holds her breath.

Miku exhales. "... Just don't let go of my hand."

Rin's eyes twinkle. She smiles warmly, softly speaking, "Never."

They're flung straight onto the creaking wooden planks of the front steps. Miku lifts her head to the somber window panes on the floor above; they're curtained over from the inside, providing less to see from the outside. She cocks her head, but Rin hauls Miku up the steps that she barely has time to react.

With the door closed, Rin walks onto the welcome mat, and lightly knocks. Their entrance ever so slowly and creepy, creaks open. Cobwebs dangle from the top of the doorframe and a mob of insects flee outside from the gap in the door.

Rin pushes it open further and Miku hesitantly welcomes herself inside with her. Everything's dreary thanks to the broken ceiling lights and gloomy colored furniture. The pitch-black hallway to their right near the stairs, sofas and a TV to their left, and a kitchen ahead. The first floor's unsettling to Miku. She gulps.

Rin takes them to the stairway. She goes up the first couple of steps, then feels the tealette pull her back. She looks at Miku's terror-stricken expression. You're still scared, huh? Rin thinks.

"I'm not gonna let go, okay? I promise with my life that I won't let go. No matter how scary."

This time she whips herself around before getting the chance to see her response. She continues up the stairs and thankfully, Miku does the same.

Upstairs, unlike Rin had thought, there were no individual rooms. Solely one gigantic room as the second floor, on the brink of empty: just a wardrobe to the side next to an old, dingy bed. However, residing on the back wall is something tall, rectangular, and draped in an aged cloth.

Curiously, she saunters up to it and grips the cloth with her one free hand, closing her eyes. Slowly, yet all at once, she pulls it off and reveals what's under. For a few seconds she stays put for a breather. Just in case whatever had been hiding would eventually pounce up and leap onto her. And nothing did.

Rin gradually opens one eye, sensing no danger, she opens her other.

A mirror.

A body-length silver mirror that is incomprehensibly shining. No dust, no insects, no webs... it's clean. She's awestruck. No, not just because of its cleanliness, but because of its reflection. It's not dull- it doesn't reflect the room they're in- only a vast landscape. Majestic, to say the least. A mystical, fantasy landscape, a blue sky, a castle in the far distance, rivers, mountains, clouds. This is like one of those make-believe worlds they'd always dreamed of!

Rin notices Miku amble towards it. She was so scared of this house and everything it held, but... Rin can't help but know Miku's mesmerized. Hypnotized that she extends a hand to the glowing reflection.

"Miku," Rin interjects.

Miku directs her gaze to the blonde, who shakes her head in response. But she's still caught in the trance that she, returning her attention to the mirror, touches her fingertips to the glass. She feels her stomach flip, her chest tense up, and her muscles do as well.

Miku's pulled in through the mirror and drags Rin in with her.

. . .

Word Count: 1124

. . .

Side notes: A scene from "Beyond," a fanfic in which Rin and Miku, two countryside best friends, accidentally stray off after dark when playing with their imagination. Entering a house that contains a magical mirror, Miku drags her and Rin through it and are transported to the mystical, fantasy world known as Beyond.

A/N: Dang, these are gettin' wordy. Anyways! I love this fic. It's mostly planned, but not enough thought to finish the puzzle quite yet. This is also one of my very early fanfic ideas from when I was a lil' novice. (It was one of my first fantasy ideas as well.) And if you've ever read my ongoing fic, "Entwined," Rin and Miku meeting up was stolen from "Beyond." Yeah. Last thing, the holding hands part was a RinKu add-on I decided to include. You're welcome.