Only Human

It wasn't that Belldandy had never experienced physical pain before, but this was different. After a long, deep sleep, she felt an overbearing pressure inside of her head. Human beings experienced this upon having been asleep for too long, but for the goddess this was a new sensation that displeased her.

When she opened her eyes and realized the forces pulling her between seeking a few more moments of sleep and finally waking up for the day ahead, Belldandy knew not what was more terrifying to her: suffering real physical pain, or experiencing these new emotions that she had long been able to eliminate from her psyche.

Over what am I distraught? Belldandy thought to herself. It was no use to be this way in front of the others. The Yggdrasil technicians over the phone had assured her that her brief disconnect with heaven was temporary. She could withstand these sensations for a little while. She could withstand being human, being without her powers, in a world of humans. Yes! With a bit of confidence, she could overcome this sudden misfortune.

An emotion familiar to her - happy resolve - returned. Belldandy was determined to take on the day with her revived belief in herself. She had no choice, but she nonetheless believed herself to be ready for any challenge that faced her.

The clock from outside her bedroom chimed at the top of the hour. Belldandy dressed up, silently counting the chimes, ten times. She had overslept!

---

"Good morning, big sister!" Skuld exclaimed as the door to the room slid open.

Slightly blushing, Belldandy apologized to those already seated at the table, "I'm sorry. I must have been asleep for too long."

"Don't worry, Skuld was kind enough to make tea for us this morning," Keiichi said, half-standing up to help Belldandy before he was certain she could help herself at the table.

"Hey! Are you saying that I'm not kind on other mornings!?" Skuld retorted.

"N-no, I-I just meant--"

Urd clutched Keiichi and pulled him closer, saying, "You're not winning this argument, kiddo."

"I suppose," he said, "Have some tea, Bell."

"Thank you," Belldandy said softly, having been lent a cup with some of Skuld's tea. She drew it near to her lips, feeling the heat drift from the surface of the liquid. Inside of the goddess, though, was this sudden fear. She lacked the vocabulary to articulate the sensation, only that it had something to do with her fingers grasping the cup and growing uncomfortable with the heat of the tea being transferred to her skin, and that she supposed that she would not like her mouth to experience the same displeasure.

Regardless, though, Belldandy took a sip of tea, and flinched ever so slightly. The tea was not overbearingly hot, but had a bitter taste to it, and her reaction to to the sensation grabbed the attention of the others, still on edge given her current state.

"Belldandy?" Urd said instinctively.

"Come to think of it, this tea IS rather bitter--" Keiichi said, not being able to stop himself before realizing he had forget who had made the tea.

Skuld rose to her feet, "How dare you criticize my cooking! Just because I've never made any food before!" Naturally, she brought her hand back and pushed it forward towards Keiichi. Down went the hapless Keiichi, who now had "IDIOT" stamped on his forehead. Speechless, he let Urd do the talking as he sat back up.

"You asked for it, I guess," she said jokingly.

At that moment, Belldandy looked at Keiichi. At first, she wore a blank stare, which had slowly turned into a faint smile, then into an amused grin. Before the other three knew it, she had burst out laughing, pressing one hand against her chest and the other against her mouth, as if to contain her amusement.

Skuld caught the moment of humor, and followed along with some childlike chuckling of her own. Urd did the same, simply to add insult to Keiichi's superficial injury. He couldn't say a single word for a long time, having unwittingly been stamped with one more of Skuld's spells. After a while, the laughter still remained but had calmed down a bit. "Could somebody please take this off?" Keiichi said lightly, forcing a weak smile.

"I'm sorry," Belldandy said between catching her breath from all the amusement, "I just couldn't help myself!"

"Well, I'm glad I could entertain."

"No, I'm really sorry!" she insisted, "Skuld, please apologize to Keiichi, now!"

Skuld silently protested, but before she returned to another bout of laughter, she did as her sister told, "Keiichi...I'm...I'm...sorry, OK?"

---

"Well, I'm really not an expert," Chihiro said, sticking a flashlight inside the wall, "But it looks like there's some bare wire touching the metal plating in this wall. You gotta get someone to repair the wiring in here, especially if it's going to leak into this thing."

"Thanks, Chihiro," Keiichi replied as he continued to stack together the boxes of spare parts she had dropped off.

"Was in the neighborhood," she said, smiling, "What're you doing to your forehead?"

"Me?" he said, habitually rubbing his hand across his forehead, "Uh, I spilled something on it this morning, so--"

"Uh-huh," she said, unconvinced but unconcerned, "So, how's Belldandy doing?"

Keiichi turned his head for a moment, hearing laughter outside on the residence grounds. Belldandy was out there along with her sisters. His face expressed contentment after being reassured of normalcy, and he said, "She got hurt pretty bad, but it's nothing that she can't handle."

"I'll bet! She's a fighter, I'm sure of it," Chihiro said, walking towards the stack of machine parts that Keiichi had set up, "So I guess you two will be ready for the race next weekend?"

"Absolutely!" Keiichi exclaimed, "Can't miss out, either, with such a huge chance to win."

"Well, I'm counting on you two. The club could really use the boost in membership, so--"

"Excuse me!" said Urd as the front door slid open. Keiichi and Chihiro looked on as Urd crouched down on Skuld's bicycle. Being older and taller than the intended rider, the goddess struggled to maneuver the device, but managed all the same as her counterpart, not ten paces behind her.

"Wait for me!" Belldandy said, laughing playfully and pedaling on her own bicycle at a leisurely pace. Much to Keiichi's surprise, one chased after the other, from the front door, around the living room and back out again, with Skuld's voice from outside persuading in vain to get her bicycle back from Urd. And as the tire treads intersected the floor of the house, Keiichi could only look on in curious bewilderment.

"Well," Chihiro said, once the bicyclists returned to the outside again, "Belldandy sure seems none the worse."

"I guess," Keiichi replied, the more confounded of the two.

"Keiichi!" Belldandy said, appearing to them again without her bicycle. She walked to him, and locked her arm around Keiichi's, which certainly caught him by surprise. "Hello, Chihiro," she said in a strangely playful tone.

"You're awfully cheerful today," Keiichi's boss said, amused.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she said, now looking at Keiichi, "It's such a nice day, won't you come on outside?"

He was absolutely flushed, spots of red filling his cheeks. Never had Belldandy been such a flirt with him, and he knew not what to make of her new attitude.

"I, uh, better get going. I'll see you tomorrow, Morisato," Chihiro said, reading Belldandy's face like a book, and showing herself out.

Keiichi sought the aid of Chihiro, but was anchored by a bubbling goddess. He could only look at her and guess at her motives. He had finally stopped blushing, saying, "Yeah, it is a nice day, let's--"

"Keiichi?"

"Yes, Bell?"

"Let's go out tonight."

Keiichi recoiled, "What do you mean?"

"Let's - what do humans call it? Let's go on a date tonight."

With those words, he almost fell backwards if it weren't for Belldandy holding his arm so tightly. He stuttered, "I-I-I never th-thought I'd hear you s-s-say such a thing."

"Why?" Belldandy reacted, now letting go and gently pushing away from him, "Does that not make you happy?"

Keiichi gasped, "Yes! Oh, yes, it does! But--"

"Then let's go somewhere. Anywhere," she said, spinning around once for Keiichi. Suddenly, she stopped. Her cheery composure turned to one of slight caution, "I don't know what's happening to me, Keiichi."

The words echoed in his ears, and it was then, for the very first time, that Keiichi finally connected Belldandy's mishap to her sudden change in attitude. Of course, he wanted what Belldandy was asking of him, but he was instinctively more concerned about what brought about this onset of flirting. "Perhaps it's better that you should rest, Belldandy. I mean, I, uh--"

"I just thought," she said softly, almost on the precipice of emotional collapse, "I don't know what these feelings are. Some of them are bad, but some of them are good, I think...I just thought that I could make the best of this with you, Keiichi. I guess I was--"

Keiichi grabbed Belldandy by the arms, and picked up her head. "Perhaps a movie tonight would be a good idea, don't you think?"

She looked at him, and smiled, filled with joy. She kissed him gently on the cheek, and said before rushing off, "I'll go pick a dress for tonight!"

Keiichi grinned as he watched Belldandy run off, but his smile eventually faded, and while standing in the very same spot where he had started, he couldn't help but think that the advantages of the situation could also be coupled with some terrible drawbacks. He didn't know what they were, of course. In his heart, he knew Belldandy loved him as much as he loved her. Unconditionally. But, as Keiichi had seen in many dramas, that never got in the way of some violently emotional disputes.

---

Keiichi slid open the door to Urd's domain, releasing smoke from the various chemicals that made up her makeshift lab. The reactive cough caught Urd's attention.

"So," she said, "I was thinking it might've been more romantic if you were the one doing the asking out, but I suppose it'll do."

"Gee," Keiichi said, gritting his teeth, now finding his ego suddenly bruised, "Thanks, Urd."

"I suppose you need some magic potion from me, one that'll lead to a storybook interlude at the end of the night. What do you say?"

"I can take care of myself," he said, confident of his seldom-if-ever-used dating skills.

"Yeah, whatever," she scoffed, "What can I do you for, then?"

"Well, don't you think that Belldandy's been acting a little, uh, strange? I mean, since the accident?"

Urd finally turned around, "Now that you mention it, I guess I haven't--"

"You mean--?"

She tapped him on the head, "Of course I've noticed! All of us have noticed!"

"Well, shouldn't we do something about it?"

"Like what?" she asked, folding her arms, compelling Keiichi to shrug his shoulders in ignorance. Urd continued, "As near as I can tell, they've got it all under control upstairs. They think they can try something as early as next week, so I really wouldn't worry about it."

"You don't think it's serious?"

"Well, what would you like me to do? Keep the door to Belldandy's bedroom closed?" Urd asked rhetorically. At last, she put everything down and sat down next to Keiichi. "I know what's it like to be in love. I know what you're thinking. 'Belldandy's a delicate creature, I must protect her.'" she mocked.

"I didn't say that," he retorted.

"Well, you must be thinking something like that. So, you put her on a pedastal, keeping her away from everything else. Let me give you some advice, Keiichi. If you do try to shield her, she will absolutely not like it. I really wouldn't do it, kid."

"You think I should let her do as she pleases, even if--?"

Urd grinned, "Let me put it this way. Some birds are just so beautiful, they simply need to fly. And if I were you, I wouldn't keep my bird caged up."

Keiichi thought about it. Perhaps Urd was right. Perhaps it wouldn't be too terrible to give Belldandy what she wants.

"And anyways, I wouldn't worry about Belldandy. Like I said, they've got it covered upstairs."

He took Urd's advice to heart, no longer focusing on the effects of Belldandy's situation but on his prospects on the date. "I don't think I'll be needing any potions, Urd," he smirked.

"Oh, ho ho!" Urd said, "I'll keep Skuld busy tonight, how about that?"

---

"But, sister!" Skuld protested, "It's dangerous out there at night!"

"It will be fine," Belldandy replied, "There's nothing out there that should trouble us."

"I meant with him!" she said, pointing at Keiichi.

"Now, Skuld," she replied, looking at Urd.

Urd sprang to her feet, "Well, uh, it's time to tuck you into bed now, Skuld!"

"What're you talking about?" Skuld cried, picked off the ground and carried away from the entry hall.

Keiichi gripped the back of his neck, laughing nervously and saying, "Perhaps this may not be a good idea--"

Belldandy took him by the arm again, and said, "You're right, let's forget dinner. How about we skip straight to the movie?"

She continued to surprise him in many more ways than one. He felt he could do no better if he didn't chicken out of their date.

---

Before they knew it, Keiichi and Belldandy found themselves in a crowded movie theater. Of course, not before the countless number of heads turned towards the stunning beauty making her way across town and into the movie house.

The scenes played across the screen, light and shadow contributed to the drama, and the moviegoers around them reacted accordingly. Not like Keiichi was paying any attention to the movie at all.

What was once too confident for his own good earlier on had turned into a nervous wreck midway through the film. Perhaps Belldandy was experiencing fear as well, Keiichi reasoned. But that was no way to make the most of an ideal situation! How many times had they gone to a movie theater together? By themselves? He could count it on one hand. And yet, after a number of scenes into the movie, Keiichi had yet to make a single move.

Belldandy laughed at the joke made on the movie screen, half oblivious to Keiichi at that moment. Maybe if he just...

"Oh!" she said gently, with Keiichi's arm wrapped around her. Belldandy blushed, and her red cheeks shone in the light reflected off the movie screen. She responded in kind, holding his hand ever so gently.

Within, Keiichi was ecstatic. As different as Belldandy was on this night, her warmth was felt by him, same as always. He looked at her, and she looked back, and they smiled at each other before she placed her head on his shoulder, pleasantly turning around a rather uneventful date.

---

The motorcycle and its sidecar were parked just outside of a nearby playground, where Belldandy wanted to grasp the sensation of riding on a child's swing.

"Should this be going so high?" Belldandy said with a hint of fear in her voice, now being susceptible to gravity just like everyone else.

"Sure," Keiichi responded between the motions of pushing her to give the swing momentum, "Should I stop?"

"No! No!" she retorted, "Actually, this feels exciting!"

They both laughed and continued the activity for a while longer, until Belldandy simply needed to catch her breath. When she finally came down, Keiichi sat on the swing right next to her. He was still laughing as Belldandy gathered herself, "What's so funny?"

"I don't know," he said, "I was just thinking, you know, here I have a goddess by my side every day, and shows me things I couldn't imagine in my wildest dreams. Yet, she's still amused by simple things, like riding on a swing!"

"Oh," Belldandy replied softly, "I'm sorry..."

"No, don't be!" Keiichi said, "It was a compliment, I suppose. I guess, no matter what happens to you, It's just that you never cease to amaze me."

Those words made Belldandy's heart jump. She smiled at Keiichi, and pressed against her heart, beating faster and faster. She felt wonderful inside. Just being with Keiichi always made her happy, but ironically, being reduced to a mere human being made her all the more perceptive of her emotions. Belldandy was completely uncertain of what she should do. She squirmed in the seat of her swing, until, suddenly...

"Ah!" she cried, falling out of the seat and onto the rocks of the ground beneath her.

"Belldandy!" Keiichi said, jumping off the swing and rushing to her aid. The rocks pinched her hands on which she balanced her weight. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I-I don't think so," Belldandy said. She looked at her hands; the stones had made small but painful indentations in her hands and wrists. She clenched her hands, and they stung even more. "Pain is a strange sensation," she said, "Should it hurt this much?"

Keiichi knelt down and examined her hands, "Well, this is nothing. You probably won't feel a thing by tomorrow morning."

The goddess was distressed, "How do humans handle this physical pain? It must be unbearable at times!"

He looked at her curiously, sitting down completely onto the ground. He said, "I suppose we've been through worse. I mean, when you think about having hurt feelings, a few bumps or bruises will never compare."

She shook her head, "I don't think I understand."

"Well," Keiichi said, "If I ever get into a motorcycle accident, I know there's only one thing that would hurt more. You know what I mean, right?"

Belldandy nodded, finally understand. She leaned forward, pressing her hand against his chest. Keiichi looked down, and they both felt intense anticipation of what seemed imminent. He would never, ever - EVER - make a move more provocative than pulling Belldandy closer to him. What was required was much more intimate, and yet Keiichi refrained from acting on his courage.

To his pleasant surprise, the emotional barriers that helped shape the goddess Belldandy were, for the moment, no longer. All night long, Belldandy had felt a physical attraction that was never prominent until the accident. She could not describe what she was feeling, only that it felt wonderful and fleeting and that she never wanted the feeling to go away. It was Belldandy's instincts that drew the two closer to each other. What was it like to really kiss the one you love? she thought to herself. I would very much like to find out tonight. Just one kiss...

"No."

"What's that?"

"I said, no. I'm sorry, Keiichi," Belldandy said.

"What's wrong?" Keiichi asked.

She gripped her body. Her chest was tight and her stomach was turning knots throughout an excess of emotions that were foreign to her. "I don't know what it is," she said, "I don't know if I'm afraid or excited or if it's something else. I don't think I can handle what's happening to me when I'm like this."

Keiichi pulled away, though with a sense of understanding. "Maybe we should call it a night," he said softly.

Belldandy slowly nodded, and after one pulled the other off the ground, they made for the motorcycle to head on home. The trip home was absolutely quiet, to say the least, for both were too fearful of hurting each other's feelings. Keiichi dared not say a word because Belldandy was too confused as it was, and Belldandy would not break the silence, thinking she had already disappointed Keiichi after coming so far, just to fall so short. Only the sound of the motorcycle's engine and the friction of its tires hitting the road pierced the quiet nighttime air on the way home.

---

Belldandy opened the door to her bedroom as Keiichi stood behind her. She entered through the doorway, leaving the lights off.

"I..." she tried to say.

"It's alright," Keiichi said, refusing to show one hint of disdain.

"I just want to..." she mumbled, shaking her head.

"Get some sleep," he replied, "There's always tomorrow."

Belldandy nodded, and, after Keiichi walked off to his own room, slid the door closed. On the floor lay her bed, not having been made that morning. She collapsed down onto it and curled up into a ball. The goddess silently cried herself to sleep, but not before asking repeatedly, over and over, "What is happening to me?"

To Be Continued...