Back at the temple, everyone was taking turns showering
off and getting changed as Belldandy discussed their plans with Peorth and Uruz
in the garden. Them, along with Urd and Skuld, were sitting in a circle where
several boulders provided natural seats and for those without, they floated.
"Since they already know of us Goddesses, I thought it'd
be nice to show them our Angels too. We could have a sort of Angel parade. What
do you think? Urd has already agreed to it." Urd nodded, grinning inanely. Skuld
looked depressed.
Uruz was obviously keen on the idea, at
least. Her head was bobbing up and down just nodding. Peorth scratched her chin
for a moment, but nodded, throwing up her hands half-heartedly as if she was
feigning disinterest.
"Sure, why not?"
Belldandy smiled and nodded. Skuld looked at Uruz,
irascibly. Everyone noticed Skuld's jealous look as she fingered the Angel egg
hanging around her neck. Uruz too, noticed. She remembered she was just a little
more than a year older.
"Why does Uruz get to have her
angel before I do, one-sama??" Skuld whined, sadly. Uruz scratched the back of
her neck, looking away apologetically. Belldandy looked at Uruz, then at Skuld.
"I just guess she developed her powers earlier, Skuld."
But Skuld still didn't look convinced. She crossed her arms crossly and sulked
mightily.
"Does that mean I'm a failure at developing my
powers quickly??" Skuld protested. She looked genuinely upset. Uruz was facing
the other direction now, back to the group. Skuld's unhappiness seemed to be
making her uncomfortable.
"Sorry..." Uruz muttered.
Belldandy looked at Uruz, then disapprovingly at Skuld. Skuld blinked. The look
turned encouraging quickly, though. Belldandy sighed in jest.
"Skuld, we all develop at different rates. It only
depends on how much you want to develop your power and prove powerful enough to
have Noble Scarlet." Skuld nodded sadly. Then Belldandy held up a finger
cheerfully. "And at your rate, you're just a year short of being able to have an
Angel!" Belldandy smiled happily. Uruz turned back to face the group, still
looking at Skuld. Skuld was paying more attention to Belldandy. Urd chuckled.
"But don't use that as an excuse to get out of training,
Skuld." Urd grinned. Skuld frowned at her.
"Who asked for
your amateur opinion, Urd?" She asked, spitingly. Urd laughed it off. She
already had an angel long before Skuld was born. Then Belldandy clapped her
hands for attention. She got it.
"Please don't argue,
sisters." She pleaded. She looked upset. "Come on, Skuld. You can show off Noble
Scarlet next time we get the chance, ok?" Belldandy looked at Skuld. Skuld used
her heels and kicked the rock she was sitting on, looking down.
"But what if I don't?" Skuld asked. She really wanted in
on this. Urd sighed and sat up.
"Skuld, Keiichi's seen
her, right? He can describe her to our friends, I'm sure. A cute Angel like that
doesn't get forgotten easily, right?" Urd asked, winking at Belldandy. Belldandy
caught it, and nodded. But she didn't need it, it was true.
"Urd's right, Skuld."
Finally,
Skuld nodded reluctantly.
"Oh, all right." She huffed.
Everyone nodded. Uruz went up to Skuld as everyone gathered and made their way
back to the temple. She patted Skuld on the shoulder. Skuld looked up to her as
they walked. Uruz winked.
"Don't worry. I only got mine
recently too." Uruz grinned. "Your Angel is worth the wait. They all are."
Skuld looked at her for a moment, fingered her egg, and
beamed.
"You're right."
* * *
Back in the living room, everyone was waiting patiently to
see what Belldandy had in store for them. Except for Keiichi, who was privy to
Belldandy's plan, everyone had their guess. Megumi nudged Keiichi in the ribs as
they waited for the Goddesses to come in.
"Hey,
Keiichan." Megumi whispered conspiratorially. She had a grin plastered to her
face.
"What is it, Megumi?" Keiichi asked, slightly
irritated by her constant guesses to the program.
"Do you
think... they're gonna parade you as a model with all their clothes?"
Keiichi drew back from her and stared at her with huge
eyes and pinprick pupils. Megumi was still sitting there, smiling cheekily.
"Well? Did I guess correctly?"
Everyone's head was turned by now, looking at the Morisato siblings. Tamiya
whooped once.
"Hey, Megumi! What'cha say that make
Morisato-kun look like that?!" He yelled across the table. Megumi giggled.
"I asked Keiichan if 'she' was going to be a fashion
model with all of the Goddesses' clothes on." Megumi grinned. Everyone clapped
in approval.
"Hey, great idea!" Ootaki nodded.
"Keiichi would be a great model!" Chihiro laughed,
agreeing. Tamiya was grinning.
"Hey, Morisato-kun! Whadda
they gonna make you wear, huh? huh?"
Keiichi, faced with
several pairs of expectant eyes, began to sweat nervously.
"Hey hey! How would I know!??" Keiichi yelled over their
suggestions, some lewd, some outrageous. Her outraged voice sounded most
un-Belldandylike. This got everyone to stop for a moment, thinking about what
Belldandy would look like if she sounded this offended. They shuddered at the
impossible thought.
"Is something the matter,
Keiichi-san?" Belldandy asked as she came in with the rest of the Goddesses in
tow. Keiichi looked at her and relaxed visibly.
"Megumi
was suggesting that I parade in front of everyone as a fashion model, in
your fashions." Keiichi whined. She expected Belldandy to look
disapproving or something.
Her face lit up and she beamed
as she clapsed her hands together.
"Why didn't I think of
that?" Belldandy said, cheerfully. Keiichi fell over with a thud. Megumi looked
over to Belldandy.
"You mean, that wasn't your plan?" She
asked, incredulously. It had seemed to feasible....
Belldandy shook her head and the group of five Megamis came in. Peorth looked
smug, as if she had something good to show off. Skuld looked slightly upset,
although hopeful. Uruz and Urd were smiling innocently, which was the scariest
looks the group present had seen on them so far.
"We're
going to show you a little something else... although we could try that fashion
show later." Belldandy said, smiling.
"Do you all believe
in.... Angels?"
* * *
"I summon you, Gorgeous Rose!"
"Come out, Holy Bell."
"And I call forth... World of
Elegance!"
"Let's go, Silver Sapphire!"
In the garden in front of the temple, the Goddesses called
their Angels amidst a fascinated group of onlookers, summoning their Angels in
many different, but equally fascinating ways. With a flutter of cloth and a
small shower of transitionary down feathers, four Angels made themselves known.
Everyone 'ooohed' and 'aaahed' at them as they proudly beamed at the group,
hugging closely to their Goddesses. Skuld looked on, slightly unhappily that she
was being left out, but she had no choice. Belldandy had warned against
swallowing that egg again until Skuld's powers were reliably stable. As the
group came closer to have a better look at the Angels, Keiichi caught Skuld's
depressed look and came up to her.
"Skuld? What's wrong?
You jealous they've all got Angels of their own?"
Skuld
bit her lower lip and nodded. Keiichi chuckled, and suddenly thought that Skuld
must have been responding more to the voice than the person. Why not play along?
"Well, I guess you'll be ready for Noble Scarlet soon
enough, Skuld." Keiichi coaxed. Skuld nodded.
"I guess
so, one-sa-" Skuld stopped herself in mid-sentence. She turned around,
remembering that Belldandy was among the group in front of her. Keiichi
was smiling at her, as if not knowing what Skuld was saying. Skuld stuck her
tongue out at her indignantly.
"Hey! That was mean,
impersonating my sis!" Skuld protested. Keiichi scratched her head.
"I didn't mean it. I just sound like her, was all."
Keiichi replied. She didn't sound the least bit apologetic, but Skuld didn't
take it to heart. It's not his fault. Skuld thought.
Then Skuld and Keiichi joined the group. Tamiya and
Ootaki were admiring World of Elegance and Gorgeous Rose respective, Chihiro was
admiring Holy Bell, but all the Goddesses were looking at Silver Sapphire.
Keiichi and Skuld were, too. Silver Sapphire looked a little indignant at being
left out of the limelight by the three mortals there. But she noticed the rest
of them, other Angels included, were looking at her all of a sudden. She rustled
her wings with the distinctive tinkling, then hid behind Uruz shyly. Uruz looked
left, right, and ahead. Everyone had turned to look at her.
"Erm, guys?" Uruz asked, tentatively. She wasn't used to
the attention she was recieving. Chihiro pointed behind Uruz.
"Are those wings... real?" She asked. Silver Sapphire
came out in a flash and nodded, irritatedly. She tinkled irritatedly too.
(Everyone wondered how tinkling could sound annoyed.) She got touchy too, when
the genuity of her hair and wings was questioned. Everything tinkled for a
second. Skuld was looking at her own face in Silver Sapphire's wings. She made a
few faces in it, then grinned and turned around.
"Hey,
her wings are like mirrors!" Skuld chirped happily. "Cool!" Silver Sapphire
smiled widely and nodded enthusiastically. Her hair shimmered blue. Belldandy
looked up at her own Angel and noticed Holy Bell looking at Silver Sapphire. The
other Goddesses did the same and noticed it too. Uruz was too caught up in the
attention given by the rest to notice.
"Ah..." Belldandy
uttered. "Holy Bell likes Silver Sapphire's wings."
Truly, Holy Bell was stroking her own wing feathers, looking wishfully at the
other Angel's wings. Belldandy stroked Holy Bell's feathers.
"They're soft and beautiful, no?" Belldandy soothed. Holy
Bell nodded. "Your feathers are as special as hers, Holy Bell." Holy Bell looked
at Belldandy and nodded.
Urd looked at World of Elegance,
but her Angel wasn't as touchy as the other twos'. After all, who could boast an
Angel with a black and white colour scheme? Apparently Urd's Angel knew that
too, but she looked at Silver Sapphire all the same.
But
Peorth, well... Peorth was always the showy one, and it came to no surprise to
those who noticed her expression that the two were bitterly jealous when it came
to Uruz and her Angel. Urd and Belldandy noticed her look, reflected in Gorgeous
Rose's face.
"Really. So what if she's got silver wings
and sapphire hair and she tinkles like a windchime? Why does she get all the
attention??" Peorth asked to no one in particular. Gorgeous Rose nodded. Uruz
turned to look at her seniors' reactions, and noticed that while Urd and
Belldandy were still ok, her most respected adopted sister was scowling. Her
smiling face drooped. Everyone looked.
"What's wrong?
Uruz?" Skuld asked. She followed the look and saw Peorth.
"Oh."
Indeed, everyone was looking now. Peorth was still
scowling when she noticed everyone looking at her. Her scowl turned into a
surprised look.
"Eh? Why's everyone suddenly looking at
me all of a sudden?"
Uruz twiddled her fingers, looking
at them with a sudden spurt of interest.
"Well...
one-sama, you don't look happy."
Peorth caught her own
feelings all of a sudden. She looked even more surprised.
"Huh? Oh! Erm....."
Urd shrugged nonchalantly while
Belldandy looked at Peorth and her Angel.
"Peorth..."
Belldandy started. "You shouldn't let envy and pride get their way."
Peorth looked angrily at Belldandy. Belldandy suddenly
wished she hadn't said that.
"Who said I was envious and
proud??" Peorth retorted, hurt. Her voice was growing louder, and she didn't
know it. She threw up her hands. "Really, I mean, must I be proud to get the
attention all the time? Do I have to envy others when my attention is stolen
away from me?"
Everyone crossed their arms and nodded
sadly. Peorth slumped over in defeat. Her Angel looked embarrassedly nervous as
she patted Peorth's shoulders, trying to calm her down. Her Angel knew as well
as anyone else there in the temple Peorth did like, nay, loved and adored to be
in the spotlight, and she got irate when people took it away from her. Peorth
sighed. She sounded defeated.
"You're right. I do get
envious and proud. Sometimes." Then she looked up. Uruz had dismissed her Angel,
as had Urd and Belldandy.
"Sorry I messed up. I guess
everyone's angry at me?"
Uruz shook her head.
"Nah nah! It's me! I... well, I shouldn't have... you
know."
"No no, it's me and my ego." Peorth said, holding
up a hand. Uruz shook her head.
"No, my-"
Belldandy looked at Urd. Urd looked at the group. They
looked back.
"Methinks we'd best leave these two alone
for a while. Belldandy?"
Belldandy smiled as Peorth and
Uruz started a sort of unusual apology match, seeing who could be more
self-effacing. Strange, considering Peorth. But knowing her, she didn't like to
lose. Even when it came to humility. What a paradox.
"I think we could
do that fashion modelling Megumi suggested. What do you all think?" Belldandy
suggested, smiling.
Everyone cheered loudly, nearly drowning out
Peorth and Uruz. Off to a side, Keiichi sighed.
* * *
A full two hours later.....
"Fine, we're both sorry." Peorth said, having reached a
compromise at last. They were out in the front yard of the temple gardens, and
it was growing dark. The two looked up at the sky, at the darkening clouds and
the golden glow of the sun setting, bathing everything in shadows and light.
"Geez... how long have we been debating?" Uruz asked.
Peorth blinked and looked around. She shrugged.
"I have
no idea. But it's getting late." Peorth replied. She looked around again.
"Say, where are the rest?" It was Uruz's turn to shrug.
"No idea."
Peorth sulked a little.
"Great, we have a little debate and they leave without
even a word."
Just then, a great roar came from one side,
and the two turned to look at the temple. There was a great flood of light
coming from the backyard, and the noise was coming from there. Peorth looked at
Uruz.
"Shall we?"
Uruz nodded.
They both flew towards the source.
When they got there, they stopped in midair in shock. It
was all Peorth could do to stop herself from dropping out of the sky laughing.
Uruz just stared on, blinking, as Urd presented a dress designed by Belldandy
with the model being...
Morisato Keiichi!?
* * *
"Ok! Everyone ready!?" Urd yelled into the microphone as
everyone sat in the back yard, facing the temple porch which was, at the moment,
an impromptu stage. Everyone clapped and cheered and yelled. Urd grinned. It was
approaching evening, but there was plenty of light to see by, most of it thanks
to the Skuld Light and Effects Co. . Today had been way too much fun, even for
Urd. She was enjoying herself so much she couldn't stop grinning. Everyone else
was too, it showed. They were all smiling and grinning from ear to ear, clapping
and cheering all the way. For a small group of people, they sure made a lot of
noise. But that added to the atmosphere. Things were a lot livelier this way.
Urd went 'backstage' and peered in. Belldandy was standing in front of a door,
hands behind her. She was smiling too, a glad smile, not one of those
over-exaggerated grins the rest outside were wearing.
"Rearin' to go, Belldandy?"
Belldandy nodded. The shadows
made Belldandy's hair look darker than usual, but contrasted by its natural
shine, Urd thought Belldandy would have made the perfect model in this light. Ah
well...
"We have liftoff!" Urd grinned. She walked
outside as Belldandy went into the room to get Keiichi. She greeted the 'crowd'
with open arms and a ready grin. Using her best showcase voice, Urd started the
ball rolling.
"And our first costume for the evening show
is : A Belldandy logo brand name product, designed and crafted by Belldandy!"
Everyone cheered.
Keiichi came out in the first dress for
the night amidst the cheers. The lights came on with a snap and shone
brilliantly on her in a white glare, enhancing every fold and emphasizing every
curve by effect of shadow, glint and glow, Urd was impressed by Belldandy's
fashion sense. She could make Keiichi look as good as Belldandy herself and not
ruin the effect. Keiichi's hair was combed close to her head on one side and
held in place by moussel, while the other side was down with a fringe in a
conservative but feminine fashion. Keiichi was wearing two pearl necklaces of
alternating lengths, with a gold chain choker and a pair of turquioise stud
earrings. Urd was impressed by what Belldandy could do with Keiichi's short
hair. She started her commentary as Keiichi posed, rather nervously.
"Our first design for the night, a beautiful evening
dress worn by the exclusive model Miss Morisato Keiichi-"
Cheers and wolfcalls, among other things. Keiichi was glad she was wearing
makeup, she was blushing to death from the attention she was getting via her
small, but devoted group. Urd was obviously enjoying her part as Fashion
Commentator.
"Wearing an elegant shoulderless white silk
dress with double folded side hems and beautiful, lace gloves, notice it
complements the sparkling silver and inlaid gemstone lace design that runs
across the chest area, and down as a thick line to the waist with intricate sea
life designs, done by Belldandy, of course. Note the expansive, yet soft and
flowing skirt that needs no lifting and adjusting to walk properly, yet manages
to sweep across the floor in a graceful and smooth manner?"
Belldandy, from the side, cued to Keiichi to turn around.
Keiichi did the best she could manage in heels. She swept around gracefully
enough, the dress flowing like water to follow. Everything was featherlike as
they settled after the turn.
"And from the back, we see
that a V-shaped incision emphasises our lovely lady's back without excessive
exposure, and the large, soft white ribbon that trails along with the dress with
ethereal beauty. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow yourselves to enjoy this award
winning design brought to you by Belldandy, a member of the Goddess Fashion
Corps.! Now, I shall leave you as our model parades for your viewing pleasure.
Enjoy."
Belldandy cued from the side to have Keiichi do a
walk up and down the 'catwalk', which doubled for Urd's platform and everything
else aside. Urd hopped off and went to meet Belldandy by the back. Belldandy was
leaning against the pillar, smiling. Urd came up to her and nudged her.
"Doing good eh, Belldandy? Where'd you come up with that
design anyway?"
Belldandy chuckled. She sighed wistfully
and looked on as Keiichi turned to face them. Belldandy could see Keiichi was a
little nervous.
"I was saving it for the wedding gown I
was designing. It's not done yet, but for now, it'll do. Keiichi looks
marvellous in it, doesn't he?" Urd put a hand over her mouth to stop her from
laughing out loud and ruining everything. Instead, she let a puff of heated air
to escape through the cracks at the side.
"Bell...Belldandy!" Urd said, half gurgling with humour. "For a 'he', Keiichi
sure looks good all right!" Urd allowed herself a silent laugh, since she
couldn't help it. Belldandy got the joke and giggled.
"You're right, Urd. But still, Keiichi is going to be all right, I'm sure of
it."
But Urd didn't catch that. Keiichi had finished her
rounds and was heading backstage. Urd had to go out and keep the small but loud
audience waiting and hyped up for the next dress, and so Belldandy kept her
little comments to herself and went backstage.
* * *
A couple of hours later, everything was over and everyone
packed up. Everyone was exhausted, but none moreso than Keiichi herself.
Modelling was a tiring and sweaty job, Keiichi realized. The lights were a lot
warmer than she was expecting, and wearing the dresses was a lot of work. Not
that they were particularly heavy (not some of them, anyway.), but wearing one
and prancing around made them stuffy. These were meant for indoor activities and
showcases, Keiichi realized with a hint of resentment at her own ignorance about
such a matter before. Right now, everyone was in the living room having tea and
dinner as they discussed the day and anything else of interest. Keiichi smirked.
Let them talk about her, then. She knew they would. She'd earned it.
Keiichi herself was in the bathroom, staring at the
ceiling in an ice cold tub of water. It was pure bliss to soak in the cold water
after that hot and sweaty event. Keiichi let out a long, drawn out breath.
Ah... this is the life. Keiichi thought. Cold
water on a hot day. And no better way to enjoy it than alone. Keiichi
grinned. Megumi had agreed to stay out of the bathroom this time. Keiichi felt a
little regret for not having invited Megumi in for a talk, but they could do
that later.
For now, Keiichi kicked back, soaked,
relaxed, and thought about the last few hours. She had noticed Peorth and Uruz's
arrival just as she had come out, and their initial responses had been
discouraging enough. But when they had warmed up to the idea, they were more
than a keen and willing audience. Keiichi sighed. Being a woman was no easy
task, and Keiichi hadn't even tried cooking and cleaning yet.
Keiichi dipped her head under the water and scrubbed her
face vigorously, paying special attention to the nooks and crannies of her face
where some trace makeup might've found its way into and refused to leave. Then,
remembering Megumi's action the other night, she scrubbed her hair too. The
effect was soothing to the scalp, in addition to washing away all that mousse.
She brought her head up.
Keiichi looked at her arm. It
was a darkish shade now, but not sunburnt at least. Keiichi had remembered the
suntan lotion this time, fortunately. But the skin that was burnt was peeling
off. Keiichi scratched her arm and watched wet flakes of dead skin stick to her
arm.
Old ways die hard, eh? Keiichi thought. Then
she decided to finish her bath quickly so she would be out in time to listen to
them talk and have dinner. She got out and toweled off, looking at herself in
the mirror.
Those eyes. Blue eyes, crystal clear. Like
Belldandy's. Keiichi frowned in the mirror, and wondered. The skin on her face
was peeling too, and in much greater force. Keiichi picked a small flake near
her hairline and pulled. It came down in one neat slice. Keiichi looked at it
wonderingly, and tossed it aside. Then she looked back in the mirror.
* * *
Belldandy had set aside Keiichi's portion for dinner as
everyone gathered around the table for a lively social gathering. They were all
excited and chatty as they sat down for a wonderful dinner by Belldandy and
prepared to discuss the day's matters, as well as the plans for the near future.
After the usual pre-meal preperations, Chihiro started the topic as everyone dug
in. Better to get the bitter medicine down first, Chihiro thought.
"So, what's Keiichi going to go up against in Nekomi Tech
when the next semester arrives, hm?" Chihiro asked as she swallowed a mouthful
of rice and eel. She knew as well as anyone about what Keiichi would find
waiting at the other end for.... him.
Dinner's pace
slowed visibly as everyone nodded sullenly. They were wondering how best to keep
Aoshima and Sayoko from spreading horrible rumours and freaking out,
respectively; Although those were interchangeable. For Uruz, who had no idea
what Keiichi's school was like, her thoughts wandered to more generic things
germane to the issue at hand.
"That's true..." Belldandy
said.
Everyone looked thoughtful and forgot about dinner.
Totally.
Tamiya thought for a moment. He was thinking
unusually hard today. He got an idea.
"Couldn't we just
tie up the chest and do something about the voice?"
Skuld
nodded.
"We could do something about the voice, and it's
possible to bind the chest. Morisato-kun put up a good show the last time."
Chihiro shook her head severely. The loopholes were
obvious from the word 'do'.
"No good. Let's say someone
invites Keiichi to the beach or the pool, or, against all odds,
someone gets Keiichi drunk? Then what? Turn them down?"
Everyone sweated at the thought of a drunk Keiichi and
all the implications... they shook that out. Images of a drunk Keiichi stripping
bare was more than they could bear to think about. The first thought was more
plausible, and it was a point in Chihiro's favour. Keiichi would be expected to
wear some beach wear... and with that body....
Ootaki clapped his fist against his palm. He had an idea too.
"Let's just say Keiichi tried to save Belldandy from a
speeding car, got knocked down there, and had to go for an operation!
Nobody'll-"
Everyone (except, of course, Belldandy)
tossed the heaviest thing they could lift at him. Ootaki was buried under a
barrage of books, bombs, hammers, plush toys and cushions. Nobody bothered to
dig him out. Chihiro sighed.
"Two down, eight to go."
Belldandy did some maths on her fingers. She looked
confused.
"But aren't we missing out Ootaki? He could
come up with other ideas." She asked. Chihiro shook her head.
"You really want those types of ideas? In fact, I should
even discount Tamiya if he hadn't made a sensible idea at first."
Tamiya looked relieved. At least Chihiro had some faith
in him there. She was scarily blunt when she wanted to be.
"Oh. I see... point taken." Belldandy said, thoughtfully.
"But still..."
Uruz raised a hand. Everyone looked. Uruz
spoke without even thinking that it might not work, confidently and brightly.
"Can't we just tell them we're Goddesses and something
happened?" Uruz suggested. All the Goddesses shook their heads, even Skuld. Urd
and Peorth shook their heads.
"Won't do." They both said.
Peorth looked at Urd. Urd looked back. Urd pointed to Peorth.
"You first." Urd said. She didn't want to fight with
Peorth over this. Peorth smiled and graciously took the honour.
"Gladly. First off, our job is to get people into Heaven
when they die, not Hell. We do that by building trust in Heaven and goodness.
Even those who are unaffiliated to any religion may be affected, so we're not
doing the Almighty a favour if we break their confidence by telling them
something went wrong. You know how it is with preconceptions about the
infallibility of us Goddesses." Everyone nodded. Strange, Peorth thought.
The mortals don't even seem to be affected by the failure of a Goddess. This
is interesting... But Peorth remembered Urd. She pointed at Urd. Urd cleared
her throat.
"Belldandy, remember Sayoko?" Belldandy
nodded. That entire issue with Sayoko was scary. She didn't believe in the
Divine, had a loose spirit feeding off that disbelief and expanding it, and she
very nearly killed herself because of it. Belldandy was worried enough that
Sayoko wouldn't believe in her completely, but that she would attempt suicide
because she didn't believe in herself, let alone us..."
"Well, chances are, some people just won't admit to there
being Gods and Goddesses in this world and as you know then, they won't believe
a word we say." Urd said. Then she muttered something nobody could hear, but was
distinctly vulgar, and continued. "You know how it is that they expect us to
take an active role in changing the world if we existed. Hmph, as if we don't
have enough to do Up Above as it is."
"True spoken." All
the Goddesses at the table said sombrely, and shook their heads.
Megumi and Tamiya looked at Chihiro, then at the
Goddesses, and back at each other. The Goddesses had a very true, and very scary
point. They didn't know what the Goddesses did up there besides Wish
Granting, which was the only thing they were told about, and they wouldn't
assume to know. Keiichi might've known more, but he wouldn't talk about it
anyway. Megumi suddenly realized that it was selfish of them... and everyone
around them... to assume that the Gods were there to help them.
Directly. As if.
Everyone sighed
and kept thinking as Ootaki finally extricated himself from the pile of
projectiles. For minutes, the air was still for lack of sound to move it, it
stifled everyone and made them uneasy. Quietness pervaded the air, became
palpable in the ears of those present as an everpresent pressure. Every once in
a while, someone would shuffle, but that made the silence worse. Peorth
scratched her head.
*scritch* *scritch* *scitch*
Megumi suddenly came up with an idea, a lightbulb over her
head.
"Maybe we could tell them that Urd was trying some
new formula, had Keiichi try it, and well... you know! Everyone knows Urd's a
chemical freak..." Then Megumi cringed suddenly, expecting to be buried like
Ootaki, courtesy mostly belonging to Urd. But when she looked up, Urd wasn't
angry. She wasn't even half annoyed. She was thinking.
Everyone looked thoughtful, their faces brightening. Belldandy looked at Urd.
"Urd? Why don't you try making that medicine now and
reverting Keiichi to normal?" Belldandy suggested, too hopefully. Urd shook her
head.
"Won't do. Metamorphosis spell would just bring us
back to square one. Which reminds me...." Urd said, suddenly remembering
something. She looked through Belldandy's hair. Something about it seemed
strange to her, even during that show. "Here, Belldandy. Lemme check your hair."
"Metamorphosis?" Chihiro asked. She knew that word. "Is
that what's happening to Keiichi?"
But nobody heard her.
Everyone was looking at Urd, looking through a surprised Belldandy's hair. Urd
looked through one part of Belldandy's scalp, then another. She began to look
distraught as she pulled her head back to let the light in.
"No.....way." Urd was muttering something. "This can't be
happening."
"What can't be happening?" Megumi asked.
"Urd?"
Urd stopped the inspection and looked at them. She
held out a loose strand of hair, which glinted in the light. Everyone looked. It
was the usual silver-honey blonde for the most part, but at its root....
"It's turning black."
"GYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
That came from the bathroom.
* * *
Belldandy slammed the door open and ran in, while Megumi
closed it behind her, following at a slower pace. She walked through the
changing area, then into the bathroom proper. Keiichi was standing there, naked,
staring into the mirror with her hands on her face. She was sobbing, Megumi
could hear the choked gasps which Keiichi couldn't hold back as she took
shuddering breaths. Belldandy was standing directly behind Keiichi, shaking
Keiichi slightly.
"Keiichi-san!" Belldandy cried. She was
frightened. Keiichi didn't scream unless something bad had happened. She knew
what bad was, because Keiichi had explained it to her once, during a dream. Only
thing was, he didn't know it.
Keiichi slowly turned and
looked at Megumi through the cracks between her fingers. Megumi caught the blue
glint of Keiichi's eyes, in contrast to Belldandy's now brown eyes. Megumi could
see the tears running from the bloodshot eyes. Keiichi took the hands off,
trembling all the way. Megumi saw them.
"KEIICHAN!"
{End of Chapter 18}
{Chapter
19 : Beginning}