Chapter 2: A Reflection in Blood

The man bled steadily through the open wound on his back. As he looked down at the ground, he saw his face in the forming pool of crimson blood, and he gave a wry smile. At the same time, Uni collapsed to her knees and began coughing as she felt her lungs refill with precious air. Had it been just a few more seconds without the substance, it was possible that she would have lost consciousness.

"Uni, are you alright?" Noire had deactivated her goddess transformation and was now standing beside her younger sister, her hand on her shoulder.

"Y-yeah, I'm alright." Uni's vision returned to normal and she saw the man staring at his reflection in the blood. She saw his chocolate eyes and pitch black hair and for a moment, he looked familiar…

The man hacked and wheezed and struggled to cling to life. His vision faded in and out and the man before him looked weak and frail. He fell onto his back and the flow of blood hastened until it seemed that he would flood the room with the dark red fluid.

"You…didn't hold back one bit, did you?" The man's voice was shaky with fatigue and his eyelids wavered. His jacket and part of his shirt were now completely soaked with blood, and the back of his head and neck were also being coated.

"Of course not! You were trying to kill my sister!" Noire's reply was indignant. Her voice raised on the last word to indicate her anger towards him; although this was an odd mode of expression, the message was clear to those who heard it.

"Yeah…I guess I was…" The man's voice was wistful and melancholy, as if he was looking into a brighter past by staring at his blood. He attempted to stand but his legs buckled below him and he fell again.

"Rrgh…you have good eyes, Noire. You're sharp as usual." He used the wall next to him to stabilize himself and stand, leaving a smear of his blood on the wall. He stumbled towards the goddess with a smile on his face.

"…! Do you still want to fight?" Noire took a step back and readied her weapon. Behind the man, Uni aimed her gun at his back, her finger anxiously resting on the trigger.

"I'm no fool. But…you said I looked familiar, right? I…wanted to tell you the truth." The man grimaced in pain and once again collapsed to his knees. He saw his reflection in his blood once again, and he smiled.

"Hmm. You're planning something, aren't you?" Noire readied herself for anything the man might do. No matter how injured he was, the safest assumption to make was that he was still volatile.

"Come on, you wouldn't expect that out of ol' Azzy, would you?" The man lay down on his back once more. He smiled, but not towards anyone or anything in particular.

"How do you know that name?!" At this statement, Uni seemed to grow rather angry. She eyed him very closely, waiting anxiously for his response.

"I know it…because that's…me. I'm…ASJ, the…" With those last words, he finally lost consciousness. On the ground beneath him, a thin layer of blood formed a carpet for him to lay upon, as if he were already lain to rest.

"No way…that can't be. ASJ was…" Uni's eyes widened in shock as she attempted to comprehend that last statement. She stared at ASJ's unconscious body with intensity, as if she expected him to rise again and answer her questions.

Noire walked over and stood next to her. She knew the pain her sister was going through, although she could not fully comprehend its depth. The only thing she wanted was to understand exactly what was going on. Suddenly, an idea struck her.

"Uni, let's take him down to the infirmary. Once we get him patched up, you can ask all the questions you want."

"Right. Let's go." Uni's response was fast and firm, and at this moment it was clear to Noire that a long time ago, they were closer friends than she could have ever imagined. She knew that she, ASJ, and his brother would converse together on the balcony, but that was about the extent of her understanding.

Noire and Uni rushed ASJ down to the Basilicom's infirmary as fast as possible while attempting to diminish blood loss. Since the two only had a basic understanding of medical procedures, Uni had to frantically rattle off instructions to Noire, since it was decided that she was too anxious to perform the operation herself. After what seemed like hours of dreadful silence, Noire spoke.

"Done. All of the necessary equipment has been hooked up and the bleeding is stopped. Thanks for your help, Uni." Noire knew how much her sister wanted to talk with ASJ again. It had been many years since she last saw him, and this passage of time was completely unfamiliar to a goddess, who could feel very little of the passage of time even after seven mortal generations had passed.

ASJ groaned and grumbled. He attempted to turn over in his sleep, but the pain of doing so as well as the shuffling of equipment woke him. He slowly opened his eyes and let out a deep sigh. For a moment, he said nothing, even as the two goddesses eyed him closely. He remembered everything that had transpired in the past few minutes, or were they hours? He had lost track, and it was possible that even days had passed during his unconsciousness. Regardless, the people in front of him had brought him back from the brink of death and he thought it rude to withhold the answers they wanted, so he broke the silence.

"I'll be damned…you actually did it. You actually saved my life. If I weren't in so much pain, I'd be laughing."

"Laughing?! Do you have any idea how long it's been since we talked? Why was this the first thing you did when you came back?!" Uni's indignation was audible and her frustration was tangible. It was as if she were scolding a child, only without the hidden love present in every scolding parent's voice.

"Hmm…I'd assume it's been at least thirty years. Also, do goddesses ever buy new clothes? I'm pretty sure that that's the same outfit you wore the last time I saw you." ASJ was aware of Uni's ire, but did not seem to care.

"Rrgh…how can you be so calm about this? I thought we were close, and then you decide to do this on our first meeting in thirty years!" Uni was growing increasingly impatient.

"I suppose a mortal and a goddess would have a different viewpoint, wouldn't they?" ASJ chuckled. "Immortality skews one's perception of time. To a goddess, thirty years is practically equivalent to the blink of an eye. Thirty years can pass and everything would still appear the same. But for a mortal, thirty years is enough for your life to completely change. You can lose everything you ever had or get everything you ever wanted. To us, time is always something you're racing against. Whether it's getting more time on an exam or being with someone in their final moments, there's never enough time."

"What are you trying to say? Don't tell me you're trying to justify what you did today." Uni has just about had enough. To her, it seemed as though ASJ was purposefully dodging her questions, and her patience was running thin.

"Do you still not get it? My entire life has changed. While you stood in your ivory tower working for 'the good of your nation', I was suffering. While you sat back and reveled in luxury, I had to fight to survive. While you enjoyed your immortality, I watched the people closest to me die. Now do you understand the difference between mortal and goddess?" ASJ's voice was devoid of emotion. He spoke the way a primitive computer would if it were given life.

Upon hearing this, Uni calmed down noticeably. In fact, she would feel regret if not for ASJ's callous actions just about fifteen minutes prior.

"Wow…I didn't think a life could change that drastically in that sho…span of time." She had to consciously stop herself from commenting on the length of time so as not to anger ASJ. To goddesses, thirty years was nothing, but to say so would be like throwing fuel onto the fire, given what he had just said.

"I know you didn't. That applies to all of the goddesses; it's simply impossible for an immortal to grasp the passage of time as a mortal sees it. It is nothing you should be concerned about." ASJ heaved a deep sigh, and once again there was silence. He and Uni both thought back to better days, and as he did, a warm smile spread across his face, but it faded as he spoke once more.

"Well, I appreciate the work you did on me. I'll be going now." He began unhooking cables and other various pieces of medical equipment from himself, and, despite the circumstances, he showed no signs of pain or upset. Even as he stood, the only sign of Noire's attack was the large tear in his jacket.

"What the…?! Where are you going?" Both Noire and Uni's eyes widened with shock at what they were witnessing.

"I'm going to Planeptune. I ran out of food and their restaurants are the cheapest. I'm also a criminal here, so I'm taking a moment to let things mull over before I return." ASJ fell through the ground, and he was gone.