The days had passed by quickly for Megumi. Time really did
fly when you were having fun, and on the wings of a concorde too. Four days
down, one day to go. Megumi had already done everything in her holiday plans :
Fish, swim, sunbathe, cycle, have fun. Her stay with the Auto-Club hadn't
been too bad, she'd been able to use their common fund for her own purposes.
Nobody would refuse Megumi, Chihiro had ordered it and Tamiya and Ootaki
seconded it. Well, Megumi did have one thing she'd neglected to do so far. Call
Keiichi.
"Well, time I found out what Keiichan has been
doing these past few days." Megumi said to nobody in particular. She found the
payphone, dropped in a coin, and dialed Keiichi's number.
*briiiing* *briiing*
*click*
"Hai, moshi moshi. Morisato desu." It was Belldandy's voice. Megumi
smiled. Belldandy always picked up the phone. Talk about what a way to start a
call.
"Hey there, Belldandy. This is Megumi. Is Keiichan
there?"
Belldandy was oddly silent. Megumi blinked. Was
the connection bad? Belldandy was always prompt.
"Ah, he's not here at the moment...." The voice on the other side
said, nervously. Megumi thought it was strange. Very strange. Belldandy was
never nervous.
"Hey, Belldandy? Is there something
wrong?" Megumi said over the phone, concerned.
"No. I
was just thinking of something."
Megumi sounded
relieved.
"Well, if Keiichan comes back, tell him I'm
coming over tomorrow, ok?"
"Of course, Megumi."
"Right, thanks then. Bye."
"Good bye."
*click*
*beep*
*beep* *beep*
"......." Megumi didn't put down the
reciever yet. She frowned.
That wasn't like Belldandy.
Not like her at all. Megumi thought to herself. She wouldn't be nervous,
at all! Maybe something just cropped up. Keiichi was probably in the middle
of something important, or disasterous, to warrant so much of Belldandy's
attention.
"Ah... well, time I took a shower and packed."
Megumi stretched and took a deep breath, savouring the salty morning air tinted
with a hundred aromas. And wrinkled her nose. Not all of it was pleasant, she
noted with disgust. Petrol fumes, coming from the garage. Probably Tamiya at
that souped up bike of his.
Well, I'll be seeing
Keiichan soon enough, Megumi thought. I'm due for a long overdue visit.
Besides... I need to get Belldandy's opinion on something....
Besides, Belldandy could take care of things. She always
had.
* * *
Keiichi put down the reciever quickly, and gasped. Damn,
that was close! It was Megumi. Keiichi knew Megumi would be coming over soon.
And Megumi has mistaken Keiichi's voice for Belldandy's. Great, how was she
going to tell Megumi she'd suddenly changed sex? Belldandy came along, curious
as ever.
"Keiichi-san? Who was that?"
Keiichi smiled at Belldandy and shook her head. She knew
he was cutting it close with her act, but it was all he had to go on with.
"No..nobody in particular!"
Belldandy had never heard herself nervous before, so this was a new experience.
She knew Keiichi had something to hide, but it was probably for good reason. She
walked a little closer, leaning over a little.
"Oh?" Was
all she asked. Keiichi nodded.
"Y...yeah. Just a wrong
number." This was beginning to feel awfully familiar. Belldandy thought so too,
and smiled.
"Keiichi-san, do you remember the time we
first met?"
Keiichi nodded.
"Just
a wrong number." They both said at the same time. They laughed, revelling in the
moment. It was rare that they had so much in common, and these were moments to
savour. Keiichi still hadn't worked up the guts to tell Belldandy anything, but
this was as good a chance as any.
"Say, Belldandy..."
Belldandy was attentive now. Keiichi swallowed.
"You
know, I've wanted to tell you this for a long time." Nothing was going to stop
them now. Belldandy looked on, curious.
"I think...."
Keiichi said, trying to make it as easy on herself as possible. She swallowed
hard, and looked at Belldandy. She was looking back at Keiichi. She smiled.
"We could...." Keiichi was turning a bright red now.
Belldandy straightened herself and walked just a little closer, leaning over to
Keiichi's side.
"We could... what, Keiichi-san?"
Belldandy whispered into Keiichi's ear.
"We could...."
Keiichi repeated, trying to find the strength to say it. This felt familiar too,
but for no particular reason.
"Get married...and have
sex." Belldandy whispered into Keiichi's ear. Her breath warm in Keiichi's ear.
Keiichi's eyes widened. Had Belldandy really said that? Keiichi grabbed
Belldandy by the shoulders and brought Belldandy in front of her.
"Belldandy?"
Belldandy looked
confused.
"Keiichi-san?"
It wasn't
Belldandy who said that then. Then, it had to be....
Keiichi looked around for Urd, shouting for her to come out. But nobody did.
Keiichi looked at Belldandy again.
But it wasn't
Belldandy in front of Keiichi anymore. It was Keiichi, male. Keiichi looked at
her double, blinking. Then at herself in the mirror.
'He'
was Belldandy.
"KIYAAAAAAAAH!"
Keiichi
jolted awake, screaming. That had been horrible. It was still horrible. It was
the most singularly, scarily real dream Keiichi ever had. The feelings had been
there, everything from the heat of Belldandy's breath to Keiichi's own
torrid emotions.
But Keiichi didn't have time to ponder.
Her scream had brought all three sisters running to her room.
"Keiichi-san! What's wrong!?" Belldandy exclaimed,
clearly expecting Keiichi to have woken up as some ugly monster and then looking
at herself in the mirror.
"Oh hoh. It was Keiichi. In
that case...." Urd said, suddenly bored. She thought Belldandy had screamed.
"It wasn't one-sama then, thank the Almighty." Skuld
heaved a sigh of relief, having thought it had been Belldandy who had screamed
because Keiichi was doing something to her.
But all three
of them were still there waiting, at the doorway. Keiichi was gasping. Terror
didn't describe Keiichi at the moment, it was like as if Keiichi had just been
skinned alive, thrown into the Dead Sea (a lake in the middle east with a salt
content high enough to float a human body) and left to soak for days, and then
told it'd been repeated over and over until Ragnarok arrived, if it ever.
In other words, it had been like being tortured by a
demon.
Belldandy quickly made her way to Keiichi's side.
She was obviously worried. Keiichi was sitting up now, gasping still, eyes wide.
Keiichi was staring at the sheets, but she saw nothing.
"Keiichi-san? Are you all right?"
Keiichi shook her head.
There was that haunted look in her eyes, that she'd seen something absolutely
forbidden to Man, mind, body and soul.
"I just had the
worst dream ever."
"Please, tell me about it?" Belldandy
asked. Whatever it was that made Keiichi this scared, was serious.
Keiichi shook her head.
"But it's
got nothing to do with any of you... just a really bad dream."
Belldandy didn't like this, but she couldn't force
Keiichi to say anything she didn't want to. Belldandy stood up, still looking at
Keiichi, hands clasped in front of her. Her lips were drawn tight.
"If you want to talk about it, I'll be in the garden,
Keiichi-san."
Keiichi nodded, and the three of them left.
Keiichi was left, sitting there, staring into space. What had brought that dream
on? It was unreal. It was so totally unreal.
*briiing*
Keiichi nearly jumped out of her skin. For real.
Belldandy picked up the phone.
"Hai, moshi moshi.
Morisato desu."
Belldandy listened to the person on the
other line. Belldandy's eyes widened for a second, and she looked to Keiichi,
who had come out into the corridor to see who was calling. Keiichi was shaking
her head furiously and waving her hands in an obvious "No, don't want to take
it" gesture. Belldandy looked torn between telling Megumi Keiichi wasn't there
and telling Megumi Keiichi was busy. She decided not to lie. At least, not in
the conventional sense.
"Ah, he's not here at the
moment...." Belldandy trailed off. Keiichi looked distraught. She had her
forehead in her right hand, pushing some hair up and some between her fingers,
and breathed heavily. She rested the elbow of that hand on the wooden support,
which was what Keiichi probably needed now, and shook her head. Belldandy looked
on, scared. What was going on that Keiichi knew she didn't? That dream? What was
it in that dream!?! Belldandy grew nervous.
"Hey,
Belldandy? Is there something wrong?" Megumi said over the phone, concerned.
Belldandy snapped back to reality and regained her composure. She hastily
answered.
"No. I was just thinking of something."
Megumi sounded relieved over the phone.
"Well, if Keiichan comes back, tell him I'm coming
over tomorrow, ok?"
"Of course, Megumi." Belldandy
was glad the conversation was winding down. She needed to talk to Keiichi,
desperately.
"Right, thanks then. Bye."
"Good bye."
Belldandy heaved a
sigh of relief as she put down the reciever. Keiichi was obviously in some sort
of terrible distress, Belldandy thought. She would talk to him, now. She walked
over to Keiichi and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Keiichi-san, something is wrong, and I want you to tell me what it is. Please."
Belldandy said, firmly, with a no-nonsense attitude. Keiichi opened her eyes,
hand still holding her forehead, and Belldandy saw tears in those reddened eyes.
"Not here." Keiichi said, trying to hold her voice
together. Belldandy heard it cracking, she knew that sound from her own voice.
Belldandy nodded.
"Let's go to my room." Belldandy said.
"We can talk there."
Keiichi just nodded.
* * *
"Urd, what are we looking for?" Skuld asked, in mini form,
as Urd led them under the temple. Urd looked back irritatedly at her.
"That's what I brought you here to find out!" She hissed.
Skuld blinked once, and shrugged.
"I knew you couldn't
live without my genius." Skuld said. Urd burst a few veins on her head with the
distinctive cross. But she had to put up with it. Keiichi was obviously in
trouble, and Urd could feel it all the way to her bones.
"The things I put up with...." Urd reiterated to herself, reminiscent of
what she had just said the previous day. They finally came up to the backyard of
the temple, where Skuld saw nothing but activity.
There
was a millipede, walking on half its legs, and carrying bits of strange material
in the other half. A grasshopper was hopping to some leaf blades with more of
the material tied to its back. There, Ganchan was unloading the stuff into a
bucket. A big one. And there was an Earth Spirit, with his impressive mane of
hair. Skuld whistled.
"You did this? I'm impressed."
Skuld said, genuinely. Urd elbowed her.
"There's no time
to joke around, Skuld!" Urd sounded urgent.
"Well, what
do you want me to do then? Build something to gather all those weird things?"
Skuld asked. Urd nodded. Well, Skuld was a lot more perceptive than she gave
herself credit for after all.
"And not only that. I want
to see if you can identify this stuff." Urd said, picking a piece off the floor.
Skuld realized that the material was quite literally everywhere, although
she wouldn't have seen it if she weren't mini. She was standing on some herself.
She picked a piece up.
And her hair stood on end. A chill
ran down her arm, froze her bones, tingled in her brain and toes. Skuld dropped
the vile thing as if it would kill her. It probably could, for all the demonic
presence in it.
"It's.... revolting!" Skuld said, and
shuddered. Urd nodded. If it hadn't been for her half-demoness heritage, Urd
would've been shivering the way Skuld was. It had had its uses, Urd had
once said. She smiled to herself sardonically. Damned right it does. But
Urd needed to know.
"What is this stuff?" She waved the
fragment in Skuld's face. Skuld retreated from it. She took out a pair of tongs
from behind her and held a piece up with it instead.
"I'll check it out, and maybe I can find out what it was part of." Skuld said.
"But how did you find it?"
Urd looked at Skuld,
incredulously. As if touching it hadn't told Skuld. But Urd decided not to scare
the kid.
"Call it a gut feeling."
* * *
Somewhere, somehow, Mara almost sneezed. She sniffled, and
was disappointed. A hot spring, and she could catch a cold? She'd been soaking
for way too long. She got out of the spring, and realized she'd been soaking for
nearly four days straight. She must've fallen asleep in the spring.
But the holidays were almost over, Mara noted with a
twinge of regret. Maybe she'd check back with the Goddesses, just to make sure
nothing really bad had happened. Mara was growing rather partial to the group of
people she kept causing trouble for, and it would be a pity to lose them now.
What an irony.
Mara sighed, and
toweled off. Getting into a kimono, Mara headed for her room. Senbee was still
inside his bottle, doing his jig. Apparently, he'd been keeping his Happy level
high. Ah well.
"Come on, we're leaving tomorrow. Go pack,
Senbee." Mara muttered. Senbee stopped for a moment, and looked at Mara.
"Senbee no need to pack, missus. Senbee
always ready to go!"
Mara was impressed. Senbee's
happy level was almost too high.
* * *
Keiichi was giving an account of the vividly real dream
she had just a few minutes ago to Belldandy, who was listening intently.
Belldandy was distraught, even more so than Keiichi. She was biting her lips,
which she had drawn inwards, while she listened. She was gripping her skirt and
grinding it in her fingers.
She was scared. This was
almost like the dreams she had had herself recently, or the dreams her sisters
most likely would have too. It was terrifying.
Keiichi
was faring no better, she was still carrying that haunted look in her eyes as
she told the story in a single breath. Keiichi wasn't looking at anything in
particular, but her eyes were wide open. She was staring at the floor, but she
didn't register anything in her mind.
Finally, Keiichi
finished retelling the haunting dream. The two of them sat there for a few
minutes, in the silence of the temple. When Keiichi had first stopped thinking
of Belldandy as a Goddess, it had seemed so natural to do so. Belldandy did
everything she could manually, she had emotions just like any woman would have,
she loved just like any other. But Belldandy knew things Keiichi could never
have access to, she had powers Keiichi had only read about in fantasies. And it
was during this time Keiichi was reminded just what it meant to be a Goddess on
Belldandy's part. Belldandy looked aboslutely terrified.
"Keiichi-san..." Belldandy started. She really didn't know what to say.
*meeeew*
Velsper was meowing for
attention outside. Belldandy and Keiichi looked at each other, and Belldandy
went to get Velsper. Hugging him closely, Belldandy came back and sat down
again. Velsper looked at Keiichi, then up at Belldandy. He mewed again.
Belldandy smiled gently at Velsper, glad that at least some things wouldn't
change. Velsper was a great companion cat.
"Yes, Velsper.
That is Keiichi."
Velsper mewed once, and licked
Belldandy's arm, then struggled a little and Belldandy let him go. He went over
to Keiichi's lap, curled up on it, and fell asleep. Belldandy stifled a giggle,
and settled for a broad smile.
"He likes you, Keiichi."
Keiichi looked down at the special little black cat with
a special little pattern on his forehead, and stroked him. Velsper purred in his
sleep. Keiichi smiled slightly.
"He does, doesn't he?"
Then the two looked at each other. The fear for the
moment had been forgotten, the gravity of the situation lost in that few minutes
between getting Velsper and having him go to sleep on Keiichi's lap.
It was almost as if Velsper had known what to do.
The two of them smiled slightly. Belldandy spoke first.
"Don't worry, Keiichi-san. We'll find a way. You just
hang on there."
Keiichi was reassured, Belldandy's words
always rang true. She just couldn't lie.
"Yeah, I guess
you're right, Belldandy."
But the fear was coming back.
Keiichi swallowed hard, and was shivering. It wasn't a conscious effort on
Keiichi's part, it was just real fear, and the proverbial cold that came with
it.
"Keiichi, you're cold." Belldandy noted. It was still
summer and Kewl-Aid kun had proven unnecessary now, since the temperature was
winding down considerably. But it was still very warm, in or outside the temple.
Keiichi shuddered once, suddenly, violently, then clutched herself. Her breath
came in ragged gasps.
"I'm scared, Belldandy. I've never
been this scared before, even when Mara first appeared in my dreams." Belldandy
put a finger to Keiichi's mouth. It was icy cold.
"No,
Keiichi-san. Admitting your fear is one thing, and for you to take this
situation as you are is the other. You're one of the bravest people I know."
Belldandy smiled, sadly. She was more fearful for Keiichi than anyone else in
this universe, herself included.
Belldandy decided to
comfort Keiichi in the only other way she could, when words were utterly,
powerless. She shuffled up besides Keiichi and hugged her, warmly.
"Don't worry, I'll be here, Keiichi-san. I'll always be
here." Belldandy whispered.
Belldandy had closed her
eyes, her head tilted at a slight angle and was resting on Keiichi's shoulder.
Her hug was firm enough for Keiichi to feel, but not strongly enough to the
point where Keiichi couldn't move. Belldandy did that sometimes. Keiichi hugged
Belldandy back and whispered.
"Thank you."
* * *
Up in the Heavens, the Almighty was watching the scene
unfold between Belldandy and the boy He'd come to think of as his future
son-in-law. Although all humans were His children, this one was special. Very
special.
Crushing the globe of energy with which He
observed the two from, the Almighty asked for a report from the other
departments working on the investigation. So far, all investigations, His ones
included, had been for naught. This demon or demoness, whoever it was, had
covered all evidence of the crime flawlessly. It was perplexing.
Suddenly, there was an incoming call, an unexpected one.
It was from the Morisato's. The Almighty had wanted to call up Belldandy to ask
for her eyewitness accounts, but hadn't had the time recently. At least this
saved Him the hassle, but it wouldn't be Belldandy making the reports now. The
Almighty pressed the 'recieve' button floating in the air. Urd's image appeared
in the view screen, looking worried.
"It is I.
What is it, Urd?"
Urd looked more than relieved to hear
His voice.
"Our Lord, I may have just found what caused
the disruption on that wish."
Now this was
interesting. The Almighty sat forwards, looking more intently at Urd. Urd lied
often, yes, but for a good cause. She wouldn't lie to Him, she wouldn't dare.
"Yes?"
Urd swallowed.
"We... we found some fragments of something at the
temple.... has traces of demon magic in it."
"Show it to
Me."
Urd held up a palm to the screen, as if she knew
where it was, and the Almighty had the screen magnify by 1000 times. On Urd's
palm (which was smooth even at this magnification, with no more lines and
creases than necessary) was a tiny piece of metal. It was too small to guess
what it had been part of once, but the Almighty could feel its emanations even
through the screen.
Well now, it turned out that a demon
had been involved after all. The Almighty smiled, pleased.
"Good work, Urd. You may just get that promotion yet. But
for now, collect what you can, and send me a sample. Report to me once every two
days. Understood?"
Urd nodded.
"Understood, my Lord. But I have just one question to ask."
"Speak."
"Could it be possible to
just cancel the contract and pretend as if nothing had ever happened?" Urd
looked hopeful. The Almighty almost laughed.
"No, Urd.
First of all, this wish appears to be have unexpectedly coded three times over
by high-security passwords, which appear to have some security defences built
into them. Too risky for us to just remove like that. No telling if Yggdrasil
will crash again, and we have almost one thousand humans out there who have a
contract to be kept. I'm sorry, Urd."
Urd nodded, her
hopes dashed against a brick wall. She was a little slumped now, obviously
disappointed.
"Understood, my Lord. The sample will be up
there in a few minutes."
And the connection was cut. The
Almighty stood up, and boomed to the room.
"This is the
Almighty. A breakthrough has been made in the investigation. A sample of the
evidence will be brought up here in a few minutes, I want all Class One
personnel working in the labs to report to Research and Development
immediately."
* * *
Urd put down the phone and pulled an elbow back, fist
clenched. She was grinning. For good reason.
"YES! I'm
gonna get promoted soon! You watch me, Skuld! Oooh ho ho ho ho!"
But first things first, after Urd had finished with her
little laugh, she took the sample material in her palm and cast a small spell on
it.
"Wrapped in light, shielded from all but the truth,
send thee now, send thee true!"
The metal piece was
immediately wrapped in a glowing orb, and started floating out of Urd's palm.
Then it shot straight into the Heavens. Urd watched it go.
"I hope this works." Urd muttered to herself.
Then her stomach growled.
"Oops,
forgot to eat. I wonder if Belldandy's cooked yet?"
* * *
Skuld was in her room, putting the finishing touches on
her nano-machine manufacturing device, she just called Nanokun one. There was no
time to adore it, Skuld ran a couple of programs through it and booted its CPU
up. The screen flashed her an all OK sign.
"Skuld's own
Nanokun one, switch on!"
The machine's function was
simple. Manufacture thousands, possibly millions, of nanomachines per minute and
program them to search for and retrieve the innumerable fragments of this
'demon's metal', as they'd come to name it. Nanokun one chugged once, and
production got underway. Skuld fed it a few metal rulers and went to her
microscope. (Nanotechnology means making machines the size of molecules or
smaller.)
The sample she had accquired was being
scrutinized by Skuld under an electron microscope. Skuld was checking its
molecular composition.
"This is incredible." Skuld
muttered to herself. She look up and away from the microscope, rubbed her eyes,
and checked it under her microscope again. Her fears were realized.
"It's decaying!" Skuld exclaimed. This thing wasn't just
metallic, it was radioactive too. Skuld growled once, at the back of her throat,
something nasty.
"I'll bet Mara's behind this."
She went to find Urd.
* * *
Urd was staring into the Tea Room again. Keiichi hadn't
worked up the guts the previous day to tell Belldandy anything, but from what
Urd could see, Keiichi probably didn't need to. Urd was smiling like a catwoman,
feline eyes, lips and all.
"Huh huuuh, isn't he
the stud." Urd thought to herself. She kept her peace though, she didn't want to
spoil the moment for them.
"Urd!" Someone called from the
corridor. It was Skuld. Urd tsched. That kid could be so annoying sometimes!
Belldandy and Keiichi suddenly looked up, and disengaged from their hug. Velsper
purred once, and slept on. They saw Urd at the doorway, and she grinned,
nervously, sweating.
"Giku! Ara... hi." Urd said,
waving a hand. Then Skuld appeared in the doorway with Urd, looking upset.
"Urd! I've got som-oof!"
Urd grabbed the unpleasantly surprised Skuld by the mouth not too gently, paused
to wave and smile one last time at the couple in the room before walking off,
dragging a muted and kicking Skuld. Belldandy and Keiichi watched in surprise
for a moment, before they looked at each other again.
"It's time for breakfast...." Belldandy noted. She got up.
"I have to go prepare breakfast."
"Yeah, sure thing, Belldandy."
Keiichi watched as
Belldandy left the room, while unconsciously stroking Velsper.
* * *
"What's the meaning of this, Urd!?" An irate Skuld asked.
Her voice was getting louder by the moment. Urd ssh'ed her.
"Didn't you see those two lovebirds hugging!?" Urd said.
Skuld blinked once. She screwed her face up indignantly,
nose wrinkling, lips sulking upwards, furrowing her eyebrows.
"What!? Them!? Hugging!?"
Urd
nodded.
"Leave them be. Anyway, what did you have to tell
me, Skuld?" Urd was keeping a terribly cool calm, and Skuld should've had reason
to be scared if she weren't so pissed.
"I found out
something about the demon metal." Skuld said, firmly.
"Go
on." Urd urged. Skuld sighed, and slumped her shoulders.
"It's a wasted effort. Even if we did ever manage to collect every single scrap
of that stuff, we wouldn't be able to divine what it originally made up." Urd
raised an eyebrow.
"Why's that?"
Skuld looked up at Urd, as if she were pleading. Skuld looked like she couldn't
swallow back her emotions, she probably couldn't.
"It's
because it's decaying, Urd!"
Urd looked at Skuld for a
second.
"Decaying? It's organic?"
"No! It's decaying like a radioactive object! Its molecular structure is
extremely unstable. At its rate of decomposition, there won't be much of it left
after next week!" Skuld was frantic, as if she were personally assuming
responsibility for the decay of the object.
Urd looked at
Skuld. She bent over, and put her hands on Skuld's shoulders.
"Can't you build some sort of stasis machine or
something? Anything to stop it."
Skuld nodded, but
shrugged. Urd stood up again, and scratched her head.
"I
could, but the decay has already been going on for four days, at least. Another
four or five, and it'll be useless to do so."
Urd cursed
under her breath whoever it was that did this. And she had a certain Mara in
mind. She swept her hand across the air in a cutting gesture, swiftly, strongly.
"Do it, Skuld. We'll need everything we can find. Double
time if needed."
Skuld nodded. She was almost about to
run off when someone called from the corridor.
"Urd!
Skuld! What are you two hiding from me and Keiichi?!"
It
was Belldandy. She was running up to the two of them. Urd and Skuld wore guilty
looks on their faces and were sweating profusely.
"Ara...
Belldandy!" Urd said, smiling nervously. And guiltily. It couldn't have looked
more false. Skuld was smiling the same way. Urd was waving her hand up and down,
as if trying to calm Belldandy. "It's nothing!"
Belldandy
stamped her foot once, and from outside the temple, a loud rustling was heard.
"I won't have any of this, sisters." Belldandy said, her
voice straining. Belldandy was becoming angry, and they knew it. "I want
answers, now." Belldandy's forehead wrinkled a little as her eyebrows began
knitting in irritation. But it didn't last. Her face softened, and she looked
worried.
"Please."
Urd and Skuld
looked at each other, and sighed.
"We know who's behind
it."
* * *
Uruz heard the announcement from the Almighty, and
silently praised whoever it was that had made the breakthrough. The day after
her meeting with Freya, her mood gotten considerably better. It was fast
becoming a blessed time for her, there was the rumour going around now that the
Almighty would reinstate Uruz, and some had added "with promotion to boot.".
That one Uruz didn't mind hearing. Oh yes.... things were going so right for her
at last.
She had even enjoyed herself debugging today.
She was happily swinging her hammer left and right, smacking bugs into whatever
oblivion they went to when they were 'debugged'. And she was singing.
Then the announcement came.
"Will
Uruz please report to the Almighty's office? Any debuggers on inactive duty,
please report to sector Diana-40-E-67. Thank you."
Uruz
dropped her hammer, on a bug (by pure luck), and flew off.
This got better by the minute.
Uruz couldn't be happier.
* * *
"Mara!?" Was all Belldandy could say when she heard her
sisters explain their findings so far.
"Afraid so." Urd
said, shaking her head. She was looking down, eyelids lowered. Terrible, Urd
thought.
Belldandy whimpered a little. She'd known Mara
would always do her job well, but this had gone a little too far. Belldandy
couldn't take much more, she just fell to her knees and knelt there. She was
clutching her hands together over her chest, taking deep, shuddering breaths.
Skuld kneeled down besides her sister.
"One-san. There's
nothing we can do. Urd has already given her report to the Almighty, and now all
we can do is wait for the results." They knew it was almost true, nothing could
be done. Belldandy hated it, this helplessness of waiting, but they all knew
that while they were the Norns of Fate, Fate hadn't had much role to play where
the Almighty was involved.
"Pull yourself together,
Belldandy." Urd said, joining Skuld. Belldandy turned to look at her. Urd smiled
encouragingly at Belldandy. Her voice was solemn, serious.
"Don't worry, things'll work out fine. I'm sure of that."
Urd said, standing up. "On my word as a Goddess Second Class, and as sure as my
name is Urd, I promise." She raised a flat palm to her side, as if swearing.
Thunder clapped once, in approval, and everything was
silent.
* * *
Uruz happily flew by the various cities and offices
leading to the Almighty's office, hoping for the best. Everyone had been more or
less cheering her on as she passed them by, once in a while shouting a word of
encouragement. Well, Uruz was quickly becoming popular up here. That wasn't bad.
When she arrived, there was a long elevator that led high
into the Heavens' skies. Reaching the top, there was only a black corridor that
blocked out the view from the outside world. Uruz felt isolated. She took a few
resounding steps towards the office.
She stopped outside
the Almighty's office, and knocked on the "door", a glassy piece of wall that
looked no different from the rest of the shell encasing the office. The sound
rang out crystalline and pure.
"Enter." Came a voice from
the other side.
Uruz walked through the wall like it were
water, and emerged in the Almighty's grand office. Simply put, she was overawed.
All around her, she could see the Heavens. They were at
its zenith, the tallest point in the universe. Floating structures, discs,
buildings, trees, everything. They were there, all perfect in the Almighty's
infinite wisdom and planning. To Uruz, the buildings swept out in a fashion not
unlike a funnel. Looking at the floor beneath her to the lowest point, Uruz saw
the garden homes, flowing like a great river out and away from the Office as its
source. Following it, there were cliffs and hills, sheared faces cutting into
the gardens from the sides. It wasn't forced cutting too, it looked more like as
if they were supposed to be cutting in at the sides. More buildings, some ovoid,
some rectangular, most of them modular, hung in the air or were embedded into
the rock, brown and orange and gold. As they went on, the hills rose, sweeping
over the Heavens. Then the cliffs and hills gave way to a mass of floating
structures in the distance, which Uruz recognized as the main "capital" of the
Heavens. The pattern of the structures looked absolutely chaotic, floating in
the air without design or intent. Then Uruz peered a little closer and looked.
It was more like the pattern was emphasizing something.
From up close, the capital was utterly huge, but Uruz realized that she'd only
seen a tiny portion of it. From the Almighty's Office, it was just a smattering
of dots in the distance. And the dots went on left and right too, representing
the different religions and their branches. Even though there were buildings and
trees blocking some of the Office's view to those directions, whatever it was
Uruz saw was impressive enough. Then she saw something rise in the distance.
It was the Sun of Earth. Uruz sucked in a mouthful of air
and kept it there.
The city in the center of the Office's
view was letting the light through in a peculiar pattern, and it was all over
the Office's walls.
Well, it turned out to a be a page
from the Bible. Uruz guessed the city shifted everyday to create a new page to
read. This one was on the Exodus, 15:26.
She didn't have
time to read it though, the Almighty put a hand on Uruz's shoulder. There was
power in that hand. And there was also softness, benevolence, and love.
Uruz looked at the Almighty, His face still covered in
the shadows of the cloths He wrapped around himself.
"I
never get tired of this view, this Kingdom." The Almighty said, wistfully. "And
the script changes everyday. I think it should be a page from the Quaran
tomorrow." There was pride, for sure. Then suddenly, He remembered what He'd
called Uruz for.
"Uruz, my child?"
"Yes, Father?"
"Do you still remember that day?"
"What day, Father?"
"When the
disruption occured."
"Of course, Father."
"Good. I need you to tell me everything that you
remember. I have a hunch..."
* * *
Keiichi helped Belldandy to wash up after a late
breakfast. Belldandy had wanted to refuse, but Keiichi reasoned that since
Belldandy had already taught Keiichi a lot of everything else the last four
days, there was no harm teaching her how Belldandy washed these dishes so clean.
Belldandy had been flattered, so she didn't refuse. Watching from the doorway,
downing a 'huge' bottled cocktail of gin and cognac, was mini-Urd. She was stone
drunk, but she didn't care. She raised the bottle as she watched the two start
splashing soapy dishwater at each other, obviously enjoying themselves, and
laughed.
"Here's to good times with bad!" Urd said, and
took another swig. She gasped after that round, the cocktail burning her throat
raw, and laughed drunkenly.
"Aaaaah haaa! That was
gooood!"
* * *
Skuld had nothing else to do, so she had gone to start her designs on the stasis field generator and composite projector. Her plan was to stabilise whatever materials her projected two million nanomachines collected in the field, and then use the projector to try fitting the pieces together. It wouldn't be complete, but it was better than nothing, Skuld reasoned. But whatever it was, she had to work fast. 'Nothing' would be what they have if Skuld couldn't get that stasis field working. But first things first, Skuld whipped out her ice cream spoon and went to get the gallon and a half tub of ice cream from the freezer. She'd need all her energy.
* * *
Keiichi spent the rest of the day gardening with
Belldandy, upon Belldandy's behest. Sometimes, Keiichi thought, it was fun to
just get out and have fun. Keiichi had always thought gardening was boring, back
breaking job. Well, the back breaking part was almost true, but it was far from
boring. The first thing Keiichi had to learn though, was to get used to the
smell of the different kinds of earth that could be found on temple grounds,
since they had to get close to the plants to do much of anything. Belldandy
enjoyed taking care of the plants as much as looking at them, Keiichi noted.
Well, of course she does. That little Keiichi was saying. They're
living, just like everything else.
So Belldandy
taught Keiichi how to tell thirsty plants from diseased ones, by looking at
their leaves. Dry or hungry plants, she said, would normally lose the colouring
in their leaves first before their leaves began to turn brown, mostly from the
edges first, indicating wilting from thirst. Diseased plants were a lot more
random in their withering, among other ailments, so it was easier to tell.
Belldandy also taught Keiichi how to dig properly so the roots wouldn't be too
heavily damaged, as well as tell what plant was what. There were the fragrant
plants in the temple, as well as pretty ones, tiny ones, ones which attracted
bees, ones which attracted animals like bats and parasitic plants, among other
things. Keiichi was amazed. She'd thought gardening only involved watering,
fertilizing, and pulling out the weeds. It was amazing that plants could be
diagnosed like animals, and just by looking. Belldandy even taught Keiichi that
weeding was a lot more than just pulling, the roots had to be taken out. There
were some specialised weeds that could grow from a living root even if
everything else was ripped out, Belldandy said. Keiichi wondered at Belldandy's
attitude to the weeds.
Keiichi got a little sunburnt from
staying out in the gardens for so long, but there was shade from the trees, so
skin damage was minimal. It was nearing evening when they finally decided to
call it a day. Wearing work gloves, both Belldandy and Keiichi were sitting
under the plum tree side by side, resting. Keiichi used the back of her arm to
wipe away all the sweat that had formed on her forehead. A brown smear came
across as well. Keiichi hadn't been terribly skilled at digging hard earth, and
had scattered dirt everywhere. A lot of it had ended up on Keiichi's face, arms
and shirt. Luckily, Belldandy had advised Keiichi to switch to a threadbare
working shirt beforehand. The shirt literally looked ready to bite the dust.
"Ah, Keiichi-san! There's dirt all over your forehead!"
Belldandy noted. She wore work gloves herself, to minimise staining. She still
had to prepare food for the family.
Keiichi looked up,
realised that she couldn't see her own head, and nodded. Belldandy leaned over
and wiped it off for Keiichi. Keiichi smiled in thanks, and felt a warm beat in
her chest.
"Thanks, Belldandy."
Of
the things they'd forgotten, Keiichi had forgone a hat. Being a Goddess,
Belldandy didn't really need a hat to prevent sunburn and she did tend to
overlook such things every so often when she got enthusiastic. The sun had burnt
Keiichi's face and neck the most. The burnt skin was pretty hot now, but Keiichi
knew it would be a lot worse later. But that didn't matter, it was only
temporary. The burning was bearable, Keiichi told herself.
Belldandy took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She
look out at the sunset, setting over Tokyo's west. The Land of the Rising Sun,
Keiichi noted, was noted for its just as spectacular sunsets.
"It's beautiful, isn't it, Keiichi-san?"
Keiichi looked. Beautiful wasn't exactly correct. The
bright orange-red sun was casting its light in one direction, throwing shadows
over somethings, reflecting off others, but embracing everything in its descent
over the populated horizon. In this way, Keiichi felt the shadows did emphasize
certain things with a special meaning. Looking at Belldandy, Keiichi noted that
Belldandy's sky blue eyes were reflecting the light as the rest of her was
shrouded in darkness. It was impressive, the effect it created. Keiichi thought
though, that saying impressive was different from feeling it. So it was true,
the way sometimes people were at a loss of words and had to use the next best
alternative.
"Yes, Belldandy." Actually, the way things
weren't turning out weren't too bad. The only impediment was that it would've
been an unnatural pairing of the same sexes to those ignorant, when those within
the temple and Up Above were the only ones who knew the truth.
The truth, Keiichi wondered. Why does it have to be so
unpleasant sometimes?
"I've always wondered." Keiichi
said, stretching her arms for a moment. The shirt adjusted accordingly.
Belldandy looked. Which reminded her, she'd have to insist Keiichi wear some
appropiate underwear when Megumi visited. What she saw was a little
embarrassing, even to her.
"Wondered about what,
Keiichi-san?"
"When people are told the truth, it
sometimes seems more ridiculous, or more painful, or more disappointing than the
lies we make to cover them. Negative, in other words. Sometimes the lies are
even more believable than the truth."
Belldandy smiled.
People tended only to look at the side of things they wanted to look at,
to believe in, such as the bad side. It was the only thing they didn't take for
granted, strangely, when there were a lot of other things they shouldn't have
taken for granted as well. Such as happiness.
"But the
truth is only what we make of it under our own power, to lie or to be true to
ourselves and others. If we want to believe in the lie, it becomes more
believable. And the hurt, just the predecessor to the sweetness that comes after
it, Keiichi-san."
Keiichi blinked once.
"And what about happiness? Why don't we ever notice it,
even when some of us have so much of it?" Keiichi knew Belldandy would
understand the meaning behind this. Belldandy laughed, tucking her knees closer
to her body and then linking hands in front of them. Keiichi had one leg stuck
out full length, and the other leg in Belldandy's curled up position. Keiichi
shifted a little. Belldandy look up at the sky through the space in the plum
tree's crown of leaves.
"Keiichi-san... the thing is, we
sometimes lack so much in joy and happiness that when it does come, we live for
the moment and never look back again. And it's because we neglect looking back
at it that we never feel the profoundness of our happiness, as we do with
sadness. It's hard to feel joy like that, I know. But we do our best, right?"
Belldandy was looking at Keiichi now, her head tilted to
her left slightly. She was watching Keiichi's response. Keiichi was looking
wistfully skywards too. Keiichi was smiling knowingly.
"I
get your point, Belldandy. And I have so many memories to look back at which,
strangely, I never felt the need to. Is it because you're always creating so
many great memories that I never need to?" Keiichi smiled, and looked at
Belldandy.
They both shared a laugh, and got up.
"Go wash up, Keiichi-san. I'll prepare dinner." Belldandy
said, wiping her somewhat stained hands on her gardening shirt. "Just let me get
changed first."
Keiichi nodded, and they headed back to
the garden. All this while, they never noticed the nanomachines that Skuld had
set out to collect the pieces. Urd had helped Skuld by casting a cloaking spell
over each and every tiny nanobot, which would shield both the emanations from
the fragments and the nanobots themselves. Belldandy was just so perceptive
sometimes, she might've noticed something.
Which probably
explained why the overtaxed mini-Urd who had been following them around was
gulping down that over-alcoholic cocktail. She just hoped Keiichi wouldn't
notice some funds missing...
Mini-Urd held up her bottle
again, and toasted to the sky.
"Here's to Belldandy and
Keiichi's booming relationship! Haa haa haa haa!"
And Urd
promptly fell asleep, too drunk to stay awake.
* * *
Up in the Heavens, Uruz was busy hanging around Peorth.
Some things wouldn't change, Peorth noted, half smiling and half sighing. It was
both great to have Uruz back to her old, happy self, and a burden, because it
meant Peorth would have to deal with a pair of undulating, adulating and adoring
eyes on her all the time. Sitting in her chair, Peorth swivelled to look at
Uruz, who was busy sorting through some files she had brought with her. She was
sitting floating in the air, half curled with the files on her lap.
"So, what did the Almighty ask of you, Uruz?" Peorth
asked. Not many Goddesses were called to the Almighty's office, Uruz had been
called twice in almost three times as many days. Uruz looked up from her files,
and at Peorth. Uruz was in her smiling mood again, therefore, Uruz grinned when
she would normally smile.
"The Almighty asked me to tell
Him everything I remembered from that day," Uruz said, as if unfazed by the
mental trauma that day had caused her. "And I did. It turned out there was demon
interference, so I wasn't to blame. He reinstated me!" Uruz was pretty hyper
when she was happy. Peorth was glad Uruz had that stack of files to balance, if
not Uruz would've been flying circles in the air. Peorth smiled once, more as
out of courtesy than genuine gratification. Peorth had always believed Uruz
would get out of it A-OK, so it wasn't a surprise to find out Uruz had been
reinstated.
"Congratulations, Uruz." Peorth said. Just
then, the computer panel on her chair beeped. She pressed a button, and a data
rod popped up from a hole in the floor. Peorth looked at it, and inserted it
into the chair's built in computer. A small projected screen flickered into
existence before her, and text scrolled across it at inhumane speeds. Peorth
read it all, her eyes never once glazing over. Uruz was pretty much lost by the
time the text had finished scrolling, a good five minutes later. Looking utterly
confused, Uruz looked at Peorth and asked.
"What was it,
one-sama?" Uruz still addressed Peorth by that title. Peorth still hadn't gotten
used to it.
"Turns out the sample Urd sent up is
unstable, and decays radioactively. But no doubt, it was demonic. So far, our
top scientists have been unable to identify its original form and for all
intents, its function. They've hazarded a guess that it has something to do with
the wish-disruption, but for all we know, it could've been demon black magic,
and this is just here to throw us off the actual trail. That's the condensed
version." Peorth said. Uruz slumped a little. She'd been so hoping to find out
what could've actually affected a Goddesses's communications uplink that
adversely. Peorth noted Uruz's expression, lips flattened and eyes looking down.
"There's a little more too. The corrupted wish isn't
irreversible, but we're going to have to spend a week or two at least, sorting
out the blasted bad sectors and debugging whatever crops up while we're doing
it, and find the codes as well. That part could take a few years." Uruz suddenly
perked up, and some of her files dropped to the floor. She groaned, and went to
retrieve them.
"Need I do anything to help?" She asked as
she stacked the fallen files up again. Peorth shook her head.
"Nope. They'll need to ask you some other things later."
"Ok."
Peorth drew a deep breath,
and let it out in a huff as she put her hands behind her head and leaned back,
resting her feet on the footrest she summoned.
"What
is it you do know, Uruz?" Peorth asked herself.
* * *
That night, Keiichi had just finished the last touches to
all the post-holiday plans for Nekomi Tech's next semester and was lying on her
futon, arms tucked under the pillow, staring at the ceiling. Thinking....
thinking.
"Ah......" Keiichi started. "I wonder if I'll
ever grow the guts to tell Belldandy just how much I really love her...?"
Keiichi thought about these past few days. It just seemed to strange.
"It's so surreal...." Keiichi muttered. "Like I was
living out a dream."
Then Keiichi suddenly remembered
that dream. She shuddered.
"Fortunately, not that
one. Thank God."
Well, Keiichi didn't know just how much
of a part the Almighty had, and would be, playing in this series of events.
"But I have to say it, sooner or later." Keiichi nodded.
"How should I go about saying it? Belldandy.... thank you for these few years of
love, and for seeing me through... nah, too formal!" Keiichi shook her head,
disgusted with that soppy idea.
"The mood just isn't
there." Keiichi moaned. "Just saying it like this, it's so... insincere!"
"What's insincere, Keiichi-san?" Belldandy's voice came
from outside, as soft footsteps padded their way across Keiichi's door. Keiichi
sprang off her futon with shock. For some reason, she'd broken out into a cold
sweat. Heart pounding, Keiichi tried to calm herself. Hearing your own heart
pounding in your head wasn't condusive to helping one think.
Get a grip on yourself, Keiichi! Keiichi thought.
Here's your big chance!
"Belldandy?" Keiichi's
voice was straining with the effort of keeping calm. It trembled slightly.
"Keiichi-san?" Belldandy said, sliding the door opening
and walking in. Keiichi motioned to Belldandy to shut the door with a sidewards
wave of her hand. She did. Belldandy walked over to Keiichi and sat down besides
her. The futon hardly made a sound, as if Belldandy were as light as a feather.
"Is everything all right, Keiichi-san?" Belldandy asked.
Keiichi didn't move.
"Well... Belldandy...." Keiichi
said. Better to answer her question first. "It's just seemed so unreal of late.
All this time we've been able to get together." Belldandy chuckled.
"What, am I such bad company?" Belldandy joked. Keiichi
took that too seriously and panicked, nearly crashing into the wall in a flurry
of movement.
"No! No, of course not! I just mean, first
the Couple's Lodge, then this. It's really hard getting used to the idea we're
finally... well, getting together." Keiichi swallowed. She hoped Belldandy got
the clue. Belldandy nodded, looking straight in front of her, distracted.
"We've always been disturbed, haven't we?" Belldandy
said. Then she turned to look at Keiichi again.
"And now
that we've got some time alone..." Keiichi said. Well, dream or not, this was
the time. "I've got something to tell you, Belldandy."
"Yes, Keiichi-san?" Belldandy seemed absolutely oblivious to Keiichi's
intentions. Keiichi swallowed again.
"But before that,
can I ask you to pinch me? Hard?" Belldandy looked confused.
"Why, Keiichi-san?"
"So I'll know
I'm not dreaming."
Belldandy nodded, set her lips
tightly, and pinched Keiichi hard in the arm. Keiichi yelped once and
jumped.
"Ah! Keiichi-san! Did I pinch too hard!?"
Belldandy said, suddenly scared.
"No... no, Belldandy.
That was just what I needed." Keiichi reassured her.
And
the truth that was, the cutting pain had sent a hard, head clearing spear into
Keiichi's head. The mental fog that had accumulated in the past few hours of
being consumed by work dissipated immediately. Keiichi was acutely more aware of
her surroundings now, from the sounds to the sights, smells and feelings.
Those feelings. Keiichi felt her heart rap against her
chest with its knuckles impatiently, and a tingly, strange feeling welled up
inside her chest.
*doki* *doki*
"Belldandy...." Keiichi said. This was NO dream. It was
real. Keiichi got off the futon, knelt in front of Belldandy, and held her hand
in her own. Keiichi made sure the feeling was there, the smooth skin of
Belldandy's hand, warm to the touch, the same tingling sensation coursing
through her hand as in her chest.
Life stopped for the
two.
"I love you. I have nothing else to say, except I
love you with all my heart, no matter what I look like now."
"I just hope I never have to look like this much longer."
Keiichi added, as an afterthought.
Keiichi knew that had
done it. She'd tried once, a long time back, but Skuld had popped in between
them. This time, she'd said it, under strange circumstances doubtless, but it
had worked. Keiichi suddenly felt lightheaded. That rushing, tingling feeling
raced up Keiichi's body and filled her head, Keiichi saw white for a second and
her vision cleared. Her heart beat faster now, and Keiichi felt her cheeks flush
red. So this was love, true and pure.
Belldandy gasped
once, and her hands slipped out of Keiichi's. She held them to her own face,
feeling, and pinched herself. She wasn't dreaming. Keiichi had confessed.
Belldandy felt something well up inside her, she took several breaths, which
only served to aggravate that feeling, and covered her face with her hands. She
cried.
"Did I say something wrong!?" Keiichi said,
suddenly flustered. Maybe Belldandy wasn't prepared for it? Maybe Keiichi'd
rushed things a little? Had she mistaken Belldandy's actions these few days as a
chance to get closer to Keiichi?
Belldandy shook her
head. She just cried. Keiichi stood up and bent over, looking down at Belldandy.
"Belldandy?"
Belldandy suddenly
looked up, and sprang off the futon, grabbing Keiichi tight and hugging her
close to herself, afraid to let go.
"Keiichi. San!" Was all Belldandy said. It was incredible,
this feeling. Belldandy always thought she'd known what it had felt like to feel
love, hot and true. She'd thought that whenever Keiichi looked at her like that,
whenever he'd held her hand, whenever he'd confided in her, whenever he did
something with her, she'd felt it, love.
But this
was the best of love, pure and true. It was The Moment of confession.
It was a lot better than being the one to say it, for
some reason. She'd never felt more wanted.
Keiichi felt like she was being crushed, but didn't
complain. This was incredible, the feeling. Keiichi had always felt that by just
looking at Belldandy, had felt that in that first real kiss, had thought that
with all the hugs and pecks she gave him, that she'd felt true love.
No, this was real love.
It
was a lot better than their first kiss.
"Ssshhh." Keiichi said, patting Belldandy's back.
"Everything's all right."
Belldandy let go of Keiichi,
rather unwillingly, which Keiichi could second. They were afraid they'd suddenly
lose each other if they did. It was an irrational fear, they knew, but it was
possible.
Fortunately, this was the time for the
improbable.
"Let's just keep it between us, ok,
Belldandy?" Keiichi winked conspiratorially at Belldandy with a finger over her
own lips. "Urd would throw a wedding if she found out. Bunny girl in the cake
and all."
Belldandy moved to wipe away her tears, but
Keiichi did it for her first. Belldandy's tears were hotter than anything
Keiichi had felt in a while, she realized.
"Come on.
Megumi's coming tomorrow." Keiichi prompted. "We've gotta get ready."
Belldandy wouldn't disagree. She nodded.
"I think it's safe we told everyone now. About me."
Keiichi wondered what it was that had stopped her from
announcing Belldandy's origins to the world. Then she remembered. The being used
part, the disbelief, the overawe, and if the news got around, well....
But who cared? Sayoko had passed Belldandy off as some
magic user, which didn't bother them. Much. Some religions still saw magic users
as demonic or evil.
Boy, didn't these people know Gods
and Goddesses had magic too?
"Come on, Belldandy. We need
some rest. Tomorrow's a big day." Keiichi said. "I can't hide forever, for
sure." Keiichi was feeling a lot braver than she'd normally feel. Must've been
that confession. Belldandy kissed Keiichi once, quickly, and turned to leave.
When she got to the door, she turned around once.
"It
would've been nice though," She said. "If someone had been watching as witness."
"Yeah..." Keiichi said, pinching herself again to be sure
this wasn't a dream. Definitely not. That pinch hurt, sunburn and all. "Ouch!
Yeah."
Belldandy left, singing. The song had never been
happier.
* * *
Up Above, in the Heavens, the Almighty was mightily
pleased. Glancing into the observation globe of power He'd created, he'd heard
and seen everything that happened in that room. He smiled.
"And I would bless this relationship, if Belldandy
weren't a Goddess already." The Almighty said.
It was
impressive, truly, to finally see a human treat one of His Daughters like a real
person, with real feelings and thoughts and emotions, with real honesty and
conviction. Some of the others the Almighty had seen had been almost impossible
to persuade that the Gods and Goddesses were for real, or had suddenly dropped
in awe and grovelled before these representatives sent to help them like a
statue of a mighty God to be worshipped. Keiichi was really different. He'd
believed Belldandy and everything she did or said from the words "Why don't you
have a girlfriend?" on, those two years ago. Few mortals held such trust, even
in their friends. Keiichi even hadn't even been greedy with the three wishes
he'd had. This person was really something.
"I find thee,
Morisato Keiichi, a most worthy mortal." The Almighty said to Himself.
And thus, it would be writ.
{End of Chapter 13}
{Chapter
14 : Revelation Revealed}