Admiration is Furthest from Understanding
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Sousuke had suffered a lot of indignities in his life -lives-, but this- this….
"Boy! Stop bothering Dudley and start earning your keep!" The foolish woman said in her shrill voice, while 'Dudley' kept poking Sousuke, likely in hopes of provoking a reaction out of him.
Sousuke hadn't got a full grasp of the overall situation just yet; as such, any plans meant to last longer than a week were doomed to failure. On the other hand…. "No," Sousuke said, throwing the duster down on the floor.
That detestable woman paused for a few moments, obviously taken aback. Sousuke allowed himself a visible sneer – a plan going awry was no reason to pause for longer than half a second, if that. That had been Sousuke's secret in his previous life: even when plans had gone wrong, everything stayed on track. Either because Sousuke had made sure to make several contingency plans or because he could adjust them on the fly while keeping the appearance of control.
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Sousuke -Harry, as people kept reminding him- was stood in front of the most ornate mirror he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot of such excesses from the nobles of Soul Society.
Despite himself, his gaze strayed to the main part, only to see-
Is that Ichigo Kurosaki?
The orange-haired Shinigami Substitute was behind Sousuke's reflection and had a hand on that Sousuke's shoulder -Sousuke, as he had been Before, except with his current colour of eyes, green, strangely- and was mouthing something. Next to Sousuke, with his reflection's arm around her waist was a woman who somewhat resembled both Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi, with her rather dark skin, cat-like eyes and dirty blond hair.
Looking closer, Sousuke realised that both were mouthing the same sentence: 'It doesn't have to be lonely at the top'.
Shuddering, Sousuke made a fist and punched the mirror. Again and again and-
"Harry!?" An elderly-sounding voice said, alarm in their tone.
Frankly, it was all but impossible to escape the old man's -Dumbledore's- grasp on his wrist. Absently, Sousuke commended the man's skills while also chiding himself for not noticing his presence. For the n-th time, Sousuke wished for access to his Reiatsu. Unfortunately, something was blocking his ability to use it, though he was still able to see all manner of spirits, not just the imprints wizards called ghosts.
"Young man- Harry," Dumbledore said, "what could have caused this violent reaction? The Mirror of Erised is a dangerous artifact, yes-"
Sousuke took a deep breath in and held it, the bleeding knuckles barely meriting a glance. Erised; Desire backwards. I show not your face, but your heart's desire. He could work with that. He said, "It's nothing, Sir. Just the fleeting reflections of something that could never be; will never be," smiling at Dumbledore.
Noticing some alarm in Dumbledore's face, Sousuke realised that his usual reassuring smile had only had the opposite effect on the man. As such, he let a decent portion of his true emotions show on his face, not bothering to ponder why Dumbledore had reacted like this just yet. He said, "Companionship; acceptance. Only a reflection of the moon on the water for me, I'm afraid. No matter how much I might crave those things, I might as well be trying to catch the moon in my teeth," paraphrasing an old saying from the Soul Society.
Dumbledore's expression turned softer. He said, "Harry, do you not have so many fans among the student body? Has Ms. Granger not attached herself to you, out of admiration?"
Sousuke adjusted his glasses, which were actually prescription spectacles this life around, unfortunately. At the same time, he said, "Admiration is the furthest thing from understanding, Professor Dumbledore. My fame only underscores this," letting the man get a momentary glimpse of the full force of Sousuke's frustration.