#bluetetsu

The old storage room was much more dusty than Aitetsu had anticipated, and he couldn’t help wondering how long it had been since anyone had gone in there. He made his way carefully through the stuffy darkness, one hand covering his mouth in a vain attempt to avoid breathing in the dust while his other hand held a lantern carefully. It was in the back of the room that he found what he was looking for—a tall, flat object covered by a tattered blanket. Aitetsu set his lantern down and pulled the blanket back carefully, coughing roughly as moths and dust scattered around the room. He picked the lantern back up and leaned forward to examine his find.

The warm light of the lantern was reflected by the full-length mirror standing before him, and Aitetsu ran one finger over its smooth surface slowly. The clean lines and bright gleam of the stainless steel frame spoke of a time that had yet to touch his shrine, and he bit his lip lightly.

The Goddess was right about it being back here, but what am I supposed to DO with it now?

—

Aitetsu carefully stood the full-length mirror up in the corner of his bedroom and removed the blanket covering it. The sunlight coming in through his window made his room much brighter than the storage room, and he was surprised to see how the mirror had changed. A thick fog now covered its surface, and he couldn’t see any reflection at all.

Aitetsu frowned and tried to wipe the fog away with his sleeve, but to no avail. After a few moments the fog started fading away on its own, revealing something that drew a small gasp from him. Instead of reflecting his sunlit bedroom and himself, the mirror now showed an image of another room—this one lit by bright artificial lighting—and another person. A boy with blue eyes stared back at Aitetsu silently, both of them equally surprised to see each other. 

The other boy remembered how to speak first. Aitetsu saw his mouth moving, clearly read his own name on his lips, but he couldn't hear anything. The other boy soon realized this, and he turned and moved away from where the mirror could see him. He soon returned with a spiral notebook and a pen and held the notebook up to Aitetsu. Written in large letters on a page of the lined paper was a single word.

Aitetsu?

“Yes… Yes, it’s me…” Aitetsu said quietly as he nodded in affirmation. The boy scribbled another message and showed it to him.

Do you remember my name?

Aitetsu nodded again, then turned to look around his room. Next to his bed was a stack of rough sheets of paper and his writing kit, and he quickly retrieved these items and wrote a message for the boy.

Blue Moon.

They were both still for a minute, and Aitetsu realized that they were both examining each other’s faces, looking for familiarity in what they saw.

It’s been almost three years.

Aitetsu looked down at his paper and nodded slowly in agreement. Three years since their world had fractured; three years that they had been living separate lives…

How are you?

—

Aitetsu wasn’t sure how much time they spent communicating this way, writing and showing their messages to each other, sometimes giving a nod or a smile in response. They both sat on the floor in front of their respective mirrors, and in that window of time, they were together. It was when his supply of paper was getting low that Aitetsu noticed how dark Blue Moon’s room was becoming.

Is everything all right? It looks like you need to replace your light bulbs.

Blue Moon frowned in confusion and looked around his room, then his face suddenly paled. He looked back at Aitetsu, his eyes widening with panic for a moment, before a strange calm spread across his face. He slowly wrote a message in his notebook and showed it to Aitetsu.

I have to leave you now.

Aitetsu stared at the paper with wide eyes as he tried to register what Blue Moon was saying.

“What? What’s going on?” Aitetsu started as he remembered that Blue Moon couldn’t hear him, and before he could write his question Blue Moon had moved out of the mirror’s sight. Aitetsu forgot once again that he was sitting in front of a mirror as he started banging on the glass with one hand, calling for Blue Moon to come back. He felt a surge of relief when the other boy returned, but it quickly retreated when he saw a hammer in Blue Moon’s hand. “Wha… what are you doing?”

Blue Moon pressed one last piece of paper up to the glass.

It was nice to see you again. If you can, please smile for me now.

Aitetsu felt his throat closing up, and when he lifted his eyes from the paper to Blue Moon’s face, he saw the tears threatening to escape from those wide eyes. With shaking hands he wrote a small message and showed it to Blue Moon, forcing a smile onto his own face even though he wanted to cry. Blue Moon nodded once, then lifted the hammer up.

Aitetsu flinched at the sound of glass shattering, then the paper slipped from his fingers to land among the glass shards as tears filled his eyes.

“No…” He lifted one hand to gently touch the empty frame, his shoulders shaking as he closed his eyes. This was being separated again, his world being torn apart again. He was alone, with no Blue Moon to talk to, just himself and a mirror. The small room filled with the sounds of his grief as a gentle breeze from the window stirred the paper lying among the broken glass.

Next time, let’s meet again.

—

The hammer fell from Blue Moon’s hand to the floor with a thud. For a few moments he just stared at the mirror, too numb to move. He finally raised one hand to wipe at his eyes, trying to steady his breathing.

After a minute, he turned from the shattered mirror and walked to the window of his bedroom. He pulled back the curtains and stared at the dark world outside. It was pitch black and bitterly cold out there, with only the lights of a few windows here and there to break through the darkness. Blue Moon glanced at the alarm clock flickering weakly on his bedside table. Two in the afternoon.

“Why is your mirror broken?”

He turned to see Black Star standing in his doorway, her usually bright eyes dull with misery.

“I… got to see Aitetsu…” he muttered. Black Star tilted her head, one pale eyebrow arching up.

“Oh?” Blue Moon nodded slowly. “So did you tell him that our world is dying?”

Blue Moon shook his head. He gave the outside another look before closing the curtains, then his legs buckled and he sat down on the floor hard.

“He noticed how dark it was getting in here, so I had to break the mirror… He doesn’t need to see this.” He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He was so tired and numb, and seeing the pain on Aitetsu’s face had drained the last of his strength. He opened one eye when he felt Black Star sit down next to him.

“I wish I could have seen Suou again… ah, well.” She rested her head on his shoulder, her slender fingers playing with the edge of his glove. “Isn’t it funny? I’m not scared at all, not even a little bit.”

“Mm.”

Black Star was quiet for a few moments, then she sighed as her eyes closed.

“I’m really tired, Blue Moon. Can I sleep in here tonight?”

He chuckled softly, as the light faded from their room.