{Chapter 6 : Regrets & Reparations}
"So he stand mute, and died Christian under the law."
- Elizabeth Proctor, The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    "My name is Uruz. Goddess Second Class, Third Category, Unlimited license."
    Uruz took a careful look at Keiichi and Belldandy as she introduced herself, as she sat in a kneeling position. Her hands were clenched uncomfortably on her thighs, and her arms were drawn close to her body. She was looking up at them from a slightly lowered head.
    Keiichi wasn't that impressive, physically, Uruz thought. Looking at him, he looked rather normal. Early 20s, messy black hair, short, nothing truly distinctive about him except his height. But this was the legendary Morisato Keiichi, whose exploits were heard throughout the Heavens in all parts. Well, Uruz thought, I guess now I'll have a chance to see why he's so special. She knew she would, what with everything going on around them now.
    "What brings you here, Uruz?" Belldandy asked. Somehow, the appearance of a fifth Goddess in Keiichi's life didn't feel good to her.
    Uruz leaned forwards a little, bringing a hand up to her mouth as if wondering how to best put it. But Keiichi and Belldandy could guess what she was going to say.
    "I've gotten myself another wish." Keiichi mumbled. Uruz caught it. She nodded vigorously.
    "Yes, you did!" Uruz was beginning to look excited now, forgetting about everything else for the moment. She was going to grant his wish, and that was all that mattered. She was sure Keiichi was excited too.
    Keiichi slapped his forehead with a palm, and shook his head. Uruz blinked at his apparently upset response.
    "Seems like I've been getting nothing but wishes nowadays." He moaned. Uruz was genuinely confused. In the past, the clients she had were always elated and overjoyed to have this happen to them. Somehow, this didn't feel right for her, to have a mortal actually find having a wish cumbersome. Belldandy was obviously disturbed by Keiichi's reaction. Uruz could guess why.
    "Keiichi-san...." Belldandy started. But Keiichi looked up, and he wasn't happy.
    "Leave me be." Was all Keiichi said. Belldandy tried to touch his shoulder, to try something, but Keiichi gently - not lovingly - brushed it off.
    "Leave me be!" Keiichi was sounding impatient. Belldandy looked at Keiichi once, and saw nothing but blue and red. She looked at Uruz, who was getting the gist of what was happening.
    "Let's leave him alone for now, Uruz." Belldandy told Uruz quietly.
    "But.... he hasn't asked for his wish yet!" Was Uruz's reply.
    "Dear... I've not seen him this upset before." Truth was, Belldandy was as distraught and upset herself as was Keiichi. She felt that sense of uselessness creep back into herself. Uruz looked at Belldandy for a moment, then nodded. They left the room quietly, and put a "Do Not Disturb" sign outside his door.
    "We need to talk." Belldandy said to Uruz. She sounded upset.
    Uruz wasn't going to refuse her.

*     *     *

    Peorth was brooding. Sitting atop an aged tree, Peorth brooded silently. Unusual for a Goddess of her vitality and personality, Peorth could almost swear she could feel her simmering emotions emanate from her like a black cloud. Inside her, she could feel something was hammering away, the feeling unusual. She could guess what it was, but didn't want to admit it to herself.
    "Oh.... if only I had someone to talk to." Peorth mused to herself.
    That was when a small heartbeat in her body responded. Peorth smiled to herself. Of course, she had Gorgeous Rose, her Angel. They were inseperable, body and soul, and Peorth could not count on anyone closer than Gorgeous Rose to listen to her and comfort her and accompany her.
    "Come out, Gorgeous Rose!" Peorth commanded. A thorny rosevine appeared around her hand, and from that rosevine, Gorgeous Rose appeared. Peorth looked at her beautiful Angel, and remembered what Rose had done for her during her confrontation with Velsper.
    Even now, that wing was blackened and charred at its tip, the feathers burned. They would never be what they were again, but it wouldn't matter.
    Beauty was, as everyone knew, in the eye of the beholder. Gorgeous Rose had proven this beauty, and more was her due than all Peorth could give. However, Angels never came with strings attached. They were closer than sisters, than lovers. They shared a soul, but that wouldn't be enough to describe the beautiful relation between a God/Goddess and their Angel, especially between Peorth and Gorgeous Rose.

    When Gorgeous Rose appeared, she swept down to her Goddess's side and held her shoulders, putting her head besides Peorth's, as if she couldn't hear Peorth from any greater distance. Rose always knew everything that Peorth went through, and was doing her best to comfort Peorth. Peorth put a hand on one of Rose's hands, clutching it. Gorgeous Rose came to "sit" besides Peorth, who was sitting hunched over, her chin in her other palm. She had never read anything about these in all the romance mangas she had stashed in her room. Most of them were Skuld's, but she'd forgotten about that little technicality.
    "I guess I've been a dumb girl, hm? Gorgeous Rose? Silly Goddess falling for a mortal."
    Gorgeous Rose shook her head, and furrowed her brows together in exasperation. She looked like she was pouting too. Peorth sighed, but smiled sadly as she looked to her side.
    "You know as well as I do, I should've expected something like this a long time ago."
    Rose sighed silently. Angels were mute, but they always knew how to bring the message across. Peorth chuckled softly. She felt like her mother was nagging her for brooding over things like this when she had better things to do. If she had a mother.
    "But you're right, Rose. I guess if I can't win his heart, I can admire him from afar."
    Rose looked at Peorth disapprovingly. Peorth raised an eyebrow.
    "What is it, Gorgeous Rose? You don't approve?"
    Gorgeous Rose nodded.
    "Then what would you recommend?"
    Gorgeous Rose began to act like she was flirting with Peorth. Peorth got the idea quickly enough.
    "Oh, you're trying to tell me if I can't be his sweetheart, I can be the next best thing?"
    Gorgeous Rose nodded. Peorth didn't like being "the next best thing", but she wasn't going to waste the week just brooding. She could solve the other problems later. With a deep breath, Peorth exhaled loudly. That strange feeling was gone, leaving behind just a slight tingling. Peorth felt a lot better now, and dismissed Gorgeous Rose. She had a new agenda in mind. And she left her place at the top of the tree, with that agenda in mind.

    She just hoped she wouldn't regret it.

*     *     *

    "....so you can guess why we've been hoping for some time alone."
    Belldandy was in the guest's lobby with Uruz, and they were having a talk. It was late, and nobody else was up at this time of night, so they had all the privacy they needed. Uruz was listening intently to Belldandy's side of their story so far, and had found that gossip, even in the Heavens, were normally exaggerated. Uruz had heard all of the good things the famous couple had been through together, had heard all the glorified tales of what they did. She never heard the strings that came with those stories, like how Belldandy had very nearly died defending Keiichi when he was the Lord of Terror, of how much trouble she had brought to him by attracting Mara's attention (which, Uruz thought, was pessimistic even from Belldandy's own point of view), and about the pain they went through through thick and thin.
    Uruz was impressed. Freya had told her nothing about the way these relations worked out, and Uruz was pretty inexperienced in this field. Apparently, Belldandy and Keiichi had broken all the rules there were to break. Even Hercules didn't cause this much controversy when he was born as a result of Zeus and some mortal's affair. But that was because Zeus had treated the mortal woman as a one night stand. This was totally different, this was a relation built to last. Uruz wondered if the Almighty had a hand in this.
    Everything was quiet for an indefinite period of time. Both parties thought in silence about what they wanted to say, but it was silent for a long time, and the silence was not peaceful at all.
    Belldandy had her own demons to work out. She knew Keiichi was likely to be in a bad mood for quite a while to come, probably because of guilt, probably because of irritation at having all his perfect vacation plans shot straight to Hell. She couldn't do a thing about it, except wait, and it was unbearable. Ah... she thought. I shouldn't have been so hasty. She was feeling guilty. Maybe Peorth wouldn't have run off hurt like that. Belldandy knew Keiichi was a caring person and nice guy, almost to a fault at times. Peorth's distress was most definitely one of the reasons for his mood right now. Belldandy pondered again.

*     *     *

    Inside his room, Keiichi was brooding. Lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling, Keiichi just couldn't stay angry very long. He thought staying angry was stupid. It wouldn't solve anything.
    And solving his dilemma was his top priority now. Keiichi knew he couldn't leave Belldandy like that, he knew she'd feel hurt. He couldn't have more people feeling hurt than he could help. He'd always liked Peorth, but as a good friend. He owed her his life too, for saving him from Velsper. Peorth was a little excessive in her methods, he knew. But he blamed himself for being so weak when it came to trying to tell her gently that he would be very happy if they could just be good friends. He didn't like hurting her in even that important way. Actually, the second time he had met Peorth, she had appeared to have come to terms with their relationship. Apparently though, Peorth still held a small flame for him. He was flattered though. He didn't think he was that special, and yet he had two Goddesses who wanted him, two others living with him because they thought he was 'interesting', and was the envy of the school because he had the school Belle as his girlfriend and very likely fiancee. (A lot of members of Belldandy's fan club had broken down when the word had spread that Belldandy was most definitely Keiichi's.)
    Keiichi was just worried now. He thought to go and find Belldandy and explain things to her. Maybe they could count on this Uruz to help them find Peorth and hope she still wasn't angry.
    Hope. It had kept him and Belldandy together for a long time. He hoped it would still.

*     *     *

    Mara wasn't at all happy. Senbee was, his Happy level was as high as it was ever likely to go, but not Mara's. Her mood was fouler than the most polluted waters on Earth. For a lot of reasons.
    First of all, she had found that almost all the hot springs were within temple grounds and the only ones that weren't were already occupied. (She preferred private hot baths.) That was bad enough. Then she had been woken up from the middle of her sleep. She was dead tired, and this didn't help. Then she had to leave the Lodge on a hunch by Senbee that something bad would happen if they stayed. There went her holidays. Now, for a person who was hoping to have a simple holiday, this wouldn't have been all bad, because someone was at least willing to pay for their lodgings.
    But Mara wasn't a person, she was a demoness. A very pissed off one at that. She was going to cause trouble now, because she felt the need to, and she knew who she'd cause it for.
    But for now, she had to find another hot springs resort. She needed all her energy.

*     *     *

    It was misty. No, it was dusty, mist wasn't brown. When it had cleared, Skuld looked around. She didn't like what she saw. The place was in shambles, and those shambles looked awfully familiar.
    Skuld realized she was sitting in a pile of wooden splinters like so much junk. But there was more than junk to see, all around her, the temple grounds were shattered beyond recognition.
    So how did she recognize where she was?
    She recognized the inventions all around her, some intact, most broken and in pieces. She knew she had been in her room when it took place. She didn't know what.
    It had sounded like a crack of thunder, then a bluish white flare, and all was dark.
    Skuld was scared. She didn't know who else was in the rubble. She was glad, at least, to find Banpei still in one piece and operational. He was blackened, but that didn't bother him. Skuld sent him out to sift through the rubble and search for survivors.
    She knew Belldandy and Urd would be all right, it was Keiichi she was worried about. Banpei beeped at her. Skuld looked.

    Skuld woke up suddenly. That wasn't a good feeling. Skuld knew it, her stomach probably felt the same. It was knotting up. Skuld clutched at her Angel egg, which held Noble Scarlet, her Angel. It was fast becoming a habit when Skuld needed some reassurance that all was right with the world. Her hands were clammy, and cold. Her chest felt strangely warm though, so Skuld had to wonder if Noble Scarlet was behind that. But she shrugged it off, body extremities tended to feel cold first.

    At least Kewl-Aid kun was working. Working against the laws of thermodynamics, Kewl-Aid kun emitted a sort of non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and cheaply produced chemical mist (invented by Skuld) that absorbed miniscule amuonts of heat from anything it touched, thus producing a cooling effect. It wouldn't stick to any surface, and thus no uncomfortable condensation would take place. The mist would eventually decompose and release all accumulated heat energy again in doing so, but it wouldn't decompose until it left the temple and entered the atmosphere. People could breathe it in too, so it comfortably cooled their bodies for long periods of time outdoors. (Skuld assured Urd it wouldn't turn them into popsicles from within, since it left the body quickly.)

    But Skuld still had that bad feeling that came with her dream. Being Goddesses of Time didn't only entail system maintainence so records could be kept (The Past), events recorded and altered as needed when they occured (The Present), or all variables factored into the possibilities they would turn into (The Future), it also came with these weird dreams and powers Skuld didn't understand yet. Belldandy and Urd refused to (or couldn't) talk about them, and Skuld knew she'd discover in time. She already knew the responsibility that came with her job, but still....

    Outside, Urd was holding some drunken alcoholic's party with a bunch of drinking partners she'd recruited from Nekomi Tech. She was singing wildly and the smell of alcohol wafted into Skuld's room. Skuld wrinkled her nose, turned in her sheets so that she was chest down on the floor, and covered her head with the pillow so the noise was muffled out. Then Skuld tried to go back to sleep with visions of ice cream in her head, which helped. She was out cold in seconds.

*     *     *

    Keiichi was carefully padding his way down to the guest lobby in slippers, hoping he wouldn't disturb Belldandy and Uruz's Goddess to Goddess talk. He had thought for a while about how to explain to Belldandy about his mood (which he really didn't think was necessary, since Belldandy always understood him), and hoped he wouldn't mess up. Not with this Goddess called Uruz who was almost worshipping him as some legend in the Heavens. Imagine that, a mortal being worshipped by a Goddess. Keiichi nearly laughed himself silly at the blasphemous thought. Apparently though, their talk had finished. Keiichi couldn't hear a thing as he neared the guest lobby. What he did see was good enough. Uruz and Belldandy were looking at each other and smiling like sisters, with some sort of understanding reached between them. When they hadn't returned after what seemed like hours, Keiichi thought he'd go to them instead. They had counted on that.
    "There he is." Uruz said. Belldandy turned to look. She was her old self again, thank the Heavens.
    "Hello, Keiichi-san." Belldandy said with quiet affection. She motioned to the seat beside her. Keiichi took it. He had rehearsed his apologies earlier, and hoped it sounded sincere. He certainly was. Belldandy shifted herself to sit a little closer to Keiichi, as Uruz leaned forwards in her seat in a comfortable gesture.
    "Belldandy, Uruz, I-" Keiichi started. The two of them were looking at him all of a sudden. Uruz was smiling a pleasant smile, as if she knew something about him he himself didn't know about. Keiichi swallowed uncomfortably. He would've been more comfortable if Urd and Skuld were in front of him, giving him killer glares, rather than this stranger, looking pleasantly at him as if she were his best friend.
    He wouldn't mind it if that were true. But as it was, Keiichi didn't know half a thing about Uruz yet, except that she looked as young as Skuld and dressed like Peorth.
    "Yes, Keiichi-san?" Belldandy urged. "Don't worry, Uruz won't mind." Belldandy was wearing that same smile as Uruz. Keiichi was definitely unnerved. But as they said, the show must go on.
    "I'm sorry for that burst of anger just now." Keiichi said. There, that wasn't so bad, a little Keiichi inside of him said. You didn't regret doing that, did you? Suddenly, Keiichi thought of what Megumi would say if she saw this right now.

*     *     *

    Megumi sneezed in her sleep just as she was dreaming about "Keiichan" marrying Belldandy, then sniffled and shifted.

*     *     *

    Belldandy and Uruz had been waiting for Keiichi to come in for almost an hour after they had finished their talk. It was midnight, but the Goddesses knew Keiichi wouldn't be asleep yet. And as it was, Keiichi came in almost on cue.
    Belldandy was worried that Keiichi would still be angry, but when he had come in, he was looking more apologetic and embarassed than angry. Belldandy's heart calmed in that instant. She and Uruz had talked about their lives for quite a while, Belldandy catching up on what was going on in the Heavens while Uruz listened to stories about their exploits on Earth. The two shared an unspoken knowledge that Keiichi wasn't the sort to get angry and stay that way, he wasn't so petty. That had proven itself when Keiichi came in.
    Uruz was getting more and more intruiged by Keiichi at the moment. This person definitely had a lot more to him than met the eye. Uruz felt happy, for some reason, just by being near this couple. Uruz was suddenly grateful to Peorth for letting her take Keiichi's wish. Which brought up that matter.
    Just as Keiichi finished with his apology, Uruz suddenly stood up.
    "Ara...! That reminds me! Keiichi-san?"
    Keiichi sat up straight and looked at Uruz. She had the eagerness and energy that reminded him of Skuld, outside of her age. Then he remembered the wish. He groaned. Belldandy was quiet. Uruz knew the Keiichi had thought of it too. But Uruz had other ideas.
    "Don't worry, I won't grant your wish just yet, Keiichi-san." Uruz said, cheerily. She was grinning, with her hands behind her back. She leaned forwards a little.
    "I'll be waiting until you're ready though." She whispered. That sounded very, very inviting. Uruz stood up again and smiled cheerily, as if totally oblivious to what she had suggested in her voice.
    "Until then!" Uruz waved at Keiichi and started walking off. Keiichi was too tired to wonder where Uruz was going off to. He just wanted a good night's sleep now.

*     *     *

    Uruz was finally beginning to understand why Belldandy loved Keiichi so much. He had an attitude that was refreshing. Most men (and Gods) tended to either hide their feelings behind some facade of machoism or became overapologetic. There weren't as many men as Keiichi that were sincere enough to apologize, and not sound overbearing. Keiichi was also humble in his own way, his body language had told her that. He was also honest too. The pride Belldandy had taken in describing his actions to her told her that much. But still, Uruz wasn't into romances. Yet.
    She was walking out the main entrance when she nearly bumped into someone.
    "Oh! Sorry!" Was all Uruz could say when the form appeared from out of the darkness.
    "Uruz?" It was Peorth's voice.
    "Peorth?" Uruz looked up. It was. Uruz beamed.
    "One-sama!" She cried happily. Peorth didn't look angry or hurt anymore. But Uruz knew she had something up her obviously nonexistent sleeves.
    "Is Keiichi feeling better?" Peorth sounded concerned. That wasn't normally like her, she'd normally be bubbling over him.
    Uruz nodded. Peorth smiled.
    "I've got something in mind, Uruz." Uruz knew it would come. "We need to talk."
    Uruz wouldn't refuse her, either.

*     *     *

    After watching Uruz disappear from around the corner, Keiichi stood up and gently took Belldandy's hand into his.
    "Belldandy?" Belldandy had been watching the proceedings quietly all along, letting Keiichi handle this by himself. Now that that had been resolved, Belldandy was paying full attention to Keiichi again.
    "Yes, Keiichi-san?" Belldandy voice was full of hope and joy again. And being held by the hand by Keiichi brought back other memories.
    "Let's go to bed."
    *blink* *blink*
    Keiichi realized Belldandy was staring at him, blinking and blushing. The two stood there for a moment before Keiichi realized what he had said. He was an immediate flurry of action.
    "Ah, ano! No no no! Belldandy! I just meant I was tired and I wanted some sleep! I thought you'd like to get some too! Ah ha ha ha, haa haa, ha...." Keiichi was scratching the back of his head now and laughing nevously. Belldandy put her fingers to her mouth and started giggling too. She'd never felt so happy before, and the sight of Keiichi made her very amused.
    Ah yes... all was right with the world again.

{End of Chapter 6}
{Chapter 7 : Singularity and Companionship}