Goddess In The Mirror

The wind outside Keiichi's window ripped through the trees and blew occasional stray bits of paper along the campus' open streets. Students held tightly onto their books as they walked; those who were facing away from the wind had to constantly brush stray locks of hair out of their faces. The sky was overcast, hiding the sun and making the normally pretty view of Nekomi Tech seem oddly uninviting.

But then again, maybe it was just Keiichi.

The race--and the accompanying accident--had been a week ago, but it still hung in the back of his mind like a vaguely remembered nightmare. If he had maybe gone a little easier on the accelerator, or tried harder to keep in control of the bike, or checked the engine one more time, he might have pulled through. But instead, he had lost. And it wasn't just any loss--no, his loss was *spectacular*. It would be a loss remembered long after the name of the winner was forgotten. Keiichi Morisato had gone down in flames.

An electrical engineering textbook sat on the oak dinner table in front of him, unopened. He simply could not bring himself to concentrate. Funny--after a whole week, one would think he'd be able to start being productive again. It wasn't due to any physical injury, either; the hospital, having held him overnight for observation, had found no serious injuries. Amazingly, he had walked away from the accident with little more than a few bumps and scrapes, along with a bruised hip. His neck still hurt a bit when he turned his head too far to the right, but that was fading quickly, and the pain in his leg when he walked was barely noticeable anymore.

But then, it wasn't his physical health that was preventing him from concentrating. Keiichi Morisato, while a good sport in all respects, had always had a certain amount of trouble with letting people down, even in the face of unreasonable expectations. In truth, he was a hero in the eyes of the Auto Club members; he had given his all, and it showed. He had very nearly beaten a professional driver riding on a brand-new bike--something that had been generally considered to be far out of the Auto Club's league. None of that really mattered, though. Deep down, the men and women of the NIT Auto Club, along with his sister, Verdandi, and Mara, had been hoping for him to take first place--and he had failed them.

Keiichi frowned and bit down on his mechanical pencil. He had been doing that a lot over the past week, and the plastic was beginning to fray under the constant pressure of his incisors. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand, and then opened his textbook with a sigh. Exams were coming up in just a few days. Race or no race, now was not the time to let his grades slip.

His assignment stared up at him, a senseless jumble of letters, numbers, and symbols arranged on the page. He read the problem through once, realized nothing had sunk in, and read it again. It was no use--his mind remained blank.

Dejectedly, Keiichi shut his book and tossed his pencil onto the table. He stood, rubbed his bruised hip, and went to the refrigerator. Nothing inside looked particularly appetizing, so he shut it, then proceeded into the TV room and flopped down on the couch beside Mara, who was watching a soap opera. She glanced in his direction for a moment, but gave no other acknowledgement.

The show she was watching was an overacted daytime drama he hadn't heard of, and it proved to be just about as uninteresting as he expected. Mara seemed into it, though, so he opted not to bother her until the ads.

"Hey Mara?" he said finally, over the voice of an irritatingly cute young woman who was trying to convince him to buy a new blender.

She looked over at him expressionlessly. "What?"

"How's your day been?"

"Fine," she stated.

"I'm still a bit sore myself ... and I haven't really been able to concentrate on anything since the crash. Dunno what the deal is."

"Really."

Keiichi sighed. It was like talking to a wall. Hard to imagine, really, being so lonely while sitting right next to one's own girlfriend. He tilted his head back and sighed, staring up at the room's tiled ceiling.

"Is there something you need?" Mara demanded.

Keiichi shook his head. "I dunno," he replied woodenly. "I just thought maybe we could talk or something."

She regarded him for a moment, her eyes cold but expectant. "Well?" she asked finally.

Keiichi fidgeted. This wasn't going quite how he had hoped. "Um, after the race ... when you guys were helping me off the track ... why ..."

Mara's gaze was unyielding.

"Why were you crying?" he stammered.

Mara appeared taken aback for a second, then her expression softened almost imperceptibly before twisting into a look of fiery rage. "What the hell do you care what I was crying for?" she demanded. "In fact, I don't see where it's any of your damn business in the first place!"

Keiichi blinked. "I'm sorry. I just thought that maybe--"

"Maybe what? Maybe I was harboring some deep feeling of concern for you? Like I'd care about what happened to you after you made a fool out of me in front of all those people? Don't delude yourself, little boy!"

Keiichi stared at her, his expression vacant. He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again; instead, he just stood up, grabbed his bag, and walked out of the room, sliding the door shut behind him.

*

He had that look on his face that people sometimes get when they're too tired to cry. Megumi's gaze followed her brother as he walked by her in the hallway, his eyes fixed on the floor.

"Keiichi?"

He came to a stop once he had passed, but did not turn to face her. "Yes?"

"Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Not really, no."

"Do you want to--"

"Not right now," he interrupted, his voice quiet but with a note of finality. That being said, he continued on down the hall and out the door to the stairwell.

Something, Megumi surmised, was troubling her brother. Something had been troubling him for over a week now, and instead of pulling through it like he normally did, he seemed to be getting progressively worse. Concerned, she lifted her hand to knock on Keiichi and Mara's door. Perhaps Keiichi's live-in girlfriend could shed some light on the situation. She hesitated for a moment, considering the very real possibility that the ill-tempered Mara *was* the problem. Steeling herself and drawing in a breath, she rapped on the door and waited.

"Yes?" A tall, haughty Mara stood in the now open doorway, looking down into Megumi's eyes from several inches above.

Megumi's tone was angry but civil. "May I come in?"

Mara opened the door wordlessly and stepped aside, motioning for Megumi to enter.

Stepping into the living room and removing her shoes, Megumi glanced into the kitchen area and noticed that Keiichi had left his books and papers forgotten on the table, something that was not typical of him. She turned around curtly and frowned at Mara.

"Was there something you wanted?" Mara asked, smirking slightly.

Megumi took a deep breath and closed her eyes, running her hands through her hair.

"I know we haven't seen eye to eye on everything, Mara." Megumi started, choosing her words carefully. "We've had our differences in the past. My brother means a lot to me though..." she trailed off, unsure of how to express her thoughts. "I just saw Keiichi in the hallway and he looked pretty upset. I wanted to know if you knew something about that?"

Mara watched the play of barely contained frustration and anger run across the young girl's face. "Oh, I don't know." Mara said casually, waving dismissively. "He's been spending a lot of time in his room, or outside somewhere. I usually only see him now when we eat, and even then, he doesn't bother telling me about his day."

Megumi's fists tensed. "I know he has been feeling down lately; all of us can see it. It's just that when I saw him now in the hall, he looked like he was ready to cry! I've *never* seen him like that!"

Mara leaned back and stretched. "And this is my concern because...?"

"Because?" she shot back, "What do you think? You live with him! Because he's my brother, and I can't stand seeing him like this! He's your boyfriend, dammit! Because all he wants right now is for you to approve of him!"

Mara's eyes narrowed as she looked at Megumi. The hard stare she gave--it was too much. Megumi had to look away; she couldn't really help it. "But what if I *don't* approve of him?"

"What did you say?" It was said very softly, but Mara's ears picked it up. Megumi met the glare and began to give it back at full force.

"You heard me," said Mara. "He'll get my approval when he deserves it."

"How could you ever think to say something like that?" Megumi exclaimed in disbelief. "He's given his *all* for you, because for some reason, he thinks you're too good for him!" Megumi shot Mara a look of disgust. "You don't deserve him." she said, shaking her head. "Keiichi's never wanted to hurt anybody in his whole life. In fact, I don't think you could ever find a nicer guy anywhere--but do you realize that? No! You just keep him around so you can treat him like dirt and feel good about yourself!"

The look of shock on Mara's face was not lost to Megumi.

"Well, I've got news for you, Mara." she continued, her voice becoming suddenly quieter. "My brother is too good for *you.*"

Mara stood up slowly. "How dare you--"

"You don't deserve him, Mara!" Megumi interrupted.

Mara's face turned red. "Get out," she said, barely above a whisper.

Megumi either didn't hear it, or completely ignored it, however, because she continued on unabated. "You're mean, you're rude, you're lazy, and you take pleasure out of making people feel bad!"

"Get out of my apartment!" Mara roared, startling Megumi enough that so she forgot what she was going to say next.

Megumi stood there in silence for a few moments, attempting to hide the fact that she was trembling slightly. Trying in vain to think of a final retort, she finally gave up, realizing that nothing good was coming to her. "Fine." With that, she turned around and left the apartment without another word.

*

Verdandi Asgard.

Even my name sounds wrong.

I feel like I'm acting in some sort of improvised play--as if someone said, "you'll be playing Verdandi Asgard today. She's an exchange student from Norway, who will be going to a little school in Japan," and then left me to fill in the details.

And what's worse is that I don't think I'm doing a very good job. This Macro Economics class I'm sitting in right now, for instance--I have no idea why I would have even signed up for it. I don't remember signing up for it, and it holds no interest for me at all. And since my major is still undeclared, there's no reason for me to assume it's a required course. I'm just going through this routine, day after day, pretending I'm someone I'm not.

I just feel so *lost*. It's like there's nothing I can do except watch my life go by. Every time I try and think back to my past, I just get this big empty space. I can't talk to my parents about it, because I don't remember their phone number--and they haven't called me since I got here. If I could just hear my father's voice, I know it would clear things up--but I can't even remember what he sounds like.

I wish there was somebody I could talk to. I'd try Megumi, but I don't want her to think she's living with a roommate who's crazy or something. And Keiichi ... with what he's going through right now, the last thing he needs, is me burdening him with my problems.

Poor Keiichi. He's been so down lately. I guess maybe he doesn't realize that we all still believe in him. I should tell him so, but even if I did, I don't think he'll listen to me.

I believe in you, Keiichi. I wish I could make you see that.

*

"How much longer do we have to do this?" Skuld whined.

She and her elder sister Urd were seated upon one of Nekomi Tech's many wooden benches, looking out into a courtyard that was centered around a three-level marble fountain.

"As long as it takes, Skuld," Urd replied, adjusting her sunglasses. Urd was the very picture of class that morning, wearing heels and short, form-fitting blue suede dress. She seemed to be drawing a fair amount of attention from both sexes--admiration from the men, and jealousy from the women.

Skuld crossed her arms and let out something that resembled a 'harumph.' The two of them had had this argument before on several occasions. It typically involved Skuld complaining about living down on Earth in an old, abandoned temple, then Urd replying that they had to do it for Belldandy's sake. At that point, Skuld would usually cross her arms and say 'harumph' -- but on this particular occasion, she had simply decided to skip the formalities.

Urd checked her watch. "Ten thirty-six. He's running late today."

"There he is," said Skuld, pointing down a sidewalk leading off to the left side of the courtyard. Keiichi's backpack was slung over one shoulder as he was walking hastily toward the central campus. The expression on his face, at least at that distance, was unreadable.

Urd glanced down at her younger sister. "You brought your radio along, right?"

Skuld unclipped a small walkie-talkie from her belt. "Right here."

"Good. Bell should come by in ..." she paused to look at her wristwatch again, "... twenty-four minutes or so. Contact me once you see her, and then trail her after that."

"I know what to do," she said indignantly. "We've been doing this for a week now. I can understand these things--I'm not a little kid, you know!"

Urd nodded. "Good luck, then." Scanning the area briefly to be sure no one was looking in her direction, Urd waved her arm with a fluid gesture and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Standing, where her full-sized version had been seated before, was the goddess in her miniature form.

She waited, tapping her foot impatiently until Keiichi had passed, then took to the air behind him and latched onto his backpack, making her way inside as discretely as possible. He looked behind him at the sudden noise, but, seeing no one, he shrugged and continued on.

Skuld leaned back on the bench and fidgeted. Twenty minutes was a long time, even for someone as emphatically not a kid as she.

*

It all tasted the same.

Keiichi bit into the cafeteria-served rice ball and chewed. Nekomi Tech, like most colleges, was not renowned for its wonderful cafeteria cuisine, but today it seemed even more bland than usual. Seated at his own empty table, he was surrounded by the quiet din of conversation from all sides. None of the other people in the cafeteria were paying him any attention--it occurred to him then, that, had he never been born, it would change very little, if anything, about these peoples' lives.

"Morisato!" said a deep, energetic voice.

Keiichi winced at the sound of his name. His sempai and club-mate, Tamiya, had just entered the cafeteria, and was waving to him enthusiastically. He raised a hand in acknowledgement--more out of an ingrained reaction than any desire to be polite.

Oblivious to the pained expression on Keiichi's face, the hulking Tamiya approached him and took a seat, giving him a rough slap on the back that nearly caused him to spit out the soda he was drinking.

"So, Morisato, how's it going?"

He's being too friendly. I bet he's gonna try and sucker me into something, like he always does.

Keiichi sighed. "Fine."

"So, uh, think you're ready for exams yet?"

Keiichi took another bite from his lunch and shook his head. "Not really. Is there something you need?"

"Well, uh, I just thought maybe ya could use a little cheerin' up."

Keiichi propped his head up on his arm and poked absent-mindedly at his food. "That obvious, huh?"

"You know me, Morisato," said Tamiya, scratching his head. "I dunno too much about people, so if I see it, it's gotta be obvious."

Keiichi did not reply.

"Anyway," he continued, "me an' the guys are havin' a karaoke party tonight. It might help take yer mind offa things."

Keiichi groaned inwardly. The last thing he needed right now was to have his eardrums pummeled by the voices of twenty drunken morons trying to sing 'Hotel California.'

"Well, I don't know," he said slowly. "I mean, I'm pretty tired, and I've got some finals to study for tonight. But thanks for asking me."

Turning away from his sempai, he went back to the task of picking languidly at his food and pretending no one else was around.

"Oh, one other thing," said Tamiya.

Keiichi glanced up, irritated at his lonely little world was still being invaded.

"I know ya prolly don't wanna hear this right now, but, about the race..."

Keiichi glowered at his perceived tormentor. "Yeah, I know. I screwed up. What about it?"

"See, that's the thing. Ya keep thinkin' it's your fault. Fact is, I gotta apologize. Me an' Ootaki, I think we expected a bit too much from ya. Pushed a bit too hard, ya know?"

Keiichi looked down at the table and shook his head. "No ... you guys depended on me, and I couldn't come through. It's my fault."

"But, see, that's where yer wrong. Ya *did* come through! Ya gave it yer best shot. We all know it! An' even after you crashed and yer bike blew up, ya got up an' walked off the track. Yer a drag racing hero, just like we said ya'd be! An' anyway, outta eight teams, second's a helluva showing, 'specially since the team that came in first had a pro at the wheel."

"I guess," he replied, making no effort to even sound convinced.

"Anyways," Tamiya continued, "I gotta head off to class now. I'll catch ya later."

With that, he stood up, gave Keiichi another slap on the back--causing him to nearly choke on his food--and strode out of the cafeteria.

Once again comfortably alone, Keiichi went back to brooding and eating his lunch, only to be interrupted a few seconds later by the sound of a tray being set down across from him.

What is this? Tag-team Keiichi bothering?

"Whassup, Kei?"

And again, he looked up, this time to be confronted by the maddeningly cheerful face of his younger sister. "Not a lot," he mumbled.

Megumi opened her Pepsi and took a long sip. "You still look kinda down," she observed.

"Funny ... Tamiya said the same thing. Hey, Megumi?"

"Hm?" she said, munching on a piece of celery.

"Did I let everyone down at the race?"

Megumi swallowed and set the remainder of her celery stick down on her plate. "No! No, of course not! And besides, it was just a race, Kei. There'll be others."

"Everybody ... you, Verdandi, Mara, the club, all those people. Everybody was counting on me."

Megumi looked up at her brother speculatively. "But that's really not what the problem is, though, is it? I've seen you lose races before, and you've never taken it like this. You've always stood up, brushed yourself off, and tried again."

Keiichi absently took another bite from his lunch. "Hm."

"Oh," said Megumi, scratching the back of her neck, "I talked to Mara earlier."

"... you did?"

Megumi nodded. "Yeah. It was, um, kind of an argument, actually."

Keiichi winced. "What happened?" He wasn't really sure if he even wanted to know.

Megumi hung her head sheepishly.

"Oh man. You know how she can get sometimes, Megumi."

His sister nodded. "Yeah. And that's what we were arguing about, actually. You're too good for her, Kei. She doesn't deserve to be with a guy like you, and she doesn't treat you right!"

"Wait a sec. Did you actually say that stuff to her?"

Megumi fidgeted. "In more words, yeah. Then she kinda kicked me out of the apartment."

He looked at her in angry disbelief. "You mean you just stormed in and told her off?"

"I had to stand up for you!"

"Megumi, that's my girlfriend you're talking to!"

"Now hold on here!" she objected. "You're my brother! Girlfriend or not, she has no right to treat you the way she does! I mean, look at you--you're miserable!"

"I'm miserable because I lost the race! She has a right to feel like that, because I let her down."

"No! She pushed you, Keiichi! Too hard! If she hadn't been so--"

"Who are you to just jump into my business, anyway?" he interrupted. "What the hell are people gonna think about a guy who's gotta fall back on his little sister to defend him? I don't need you to take care of me!"

"I just wanted to help," she stammered.

"Did you even think to *ask* me first? Or were you so eager to run off and insult Mara that it didn't even occur to you that you'd be screwing up my life? Here I am, trying to patch things up with her, and who knows how far you've just set us back!"

Megumi slammed her fists down on the table, rattling both trays and causing Keiichi to start visibly. Several people at the surrounding tables were already looking in their direction, but neither of them took any notice.

"She's the one in the wrong here," Megumi said quietly. "And I'm going to stick up for you, whether you want me to or not. Why? Because you're my big brother, and despite the fact that you're being a complete ass right now, I still think you're a better person than this."

Megumi stood, picking up her tray.

"Fine," said Keiichi, as she turned to leave. "Do whatever the hell you want."

Megumi closed her eyes and breathed slowly, then walked away without looking back.

Keiichi stared at his food for some time afterwards. Stress, anger, frustration, and guilt having dulled what little was left of his appetite, he finally decided that the remaining half of his lunch simply wasn't worth eating. Dejectedly, he stood up, dumped the disposable portion of his meal into the garbage, tossed his tray onto the stack of used ones by the kitchen, and headed out the door to sulk elsewhere.

Elsewhere, in this case, happened to be the little brick courtyard just outside the cafeteria. The wind and the bubbling sound of the water fountain at the center of the enclosure provided a steady, soothing white noise that helped him drift off and take his mind off of his life. Taking a seat on a nearby bench, he watched passing students and leaves blowing by, his mind on nothing at all. This bench, along with the small park it rested in, provided him solace--an escape from a life over which he no longer exerted any kind of control.

He imagined himself as one of the stray leaves being whipped along the ground by the wind, torn from its tree before its time, being blown along whatever path the gale decided to carry it.

For a brief moment, a small ray of sun pierced through the cloud cover in the distance, catching his eye.

"Keiichi?" said a soft voice.

Startled, he looked up and saw Verdandi standing next to his seat. He had not heard her approach.

"May I sit down?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, sure."

You look depressed. He knew she was going to say it--after all, that's what everybody else had been telling him lately. Letting out a sigh, he prepared himself for the same conversation he had already sat through twice today.

It never came.

"Would you like a cookie?" she asked, producing a paper bag from her backpack. "They're chocolate almond. I made them earlier this morning ... they may still be warm, so be careful not to burn yourself."

She opened the bag and held it out for him. The sweet aroma that issued forth was almost overwhelming. "Yeah, thanks," he whispered.

For some reason he couldn't fathom, he suddenly felt as if he were going to cry. He reached into the bag and took a cookie. It was warm--wonderfully so. Bringing it to his mouth slowly, he bit into it, savoring its sweet taste.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" she asked.

He looked around at the overcast sky, feeling the force of the cool wind on his face. He glanced at her with a sad inquisitiveness--he had never known her to be sarcastic before, so he was unsure of what to make of her remark.

She smiled at him. "Sometimes, people think that just because it's cloudy means that it's not a nice day," she explained. "But if you look around, there are a lot of very pretty things to see, even if there are clouds in the sky. I mean, look at that fountain over there. Isn't it almost magical the way the wind lifts up that cloud of mist from it? And those flowers over there--they're still blooming even though the sun isn't out."

Keiichi sniffed, a tear streaming down his face, blown at an angle by the wind. He took another bite of his cookie and looked away from her, wiping his cheek off quickly with his sleeve.

Cautiously, she reached over and touched his arm. "What is it, Keiichi? Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

Keiichi hung his head and wiped his eyes again. He sat there for several seconds before he finally looked up at the fountain.

"I'm really making a mess out of my life," he said softly. "Tamiya and Megumi both tried to help out, but I didn't listen to either of them. In fact, I was mean to my little sister--I can't remember the last time I said anything so mean to her before then. I don't know what to do anymore."

Finishing his cookie, he shakily reached over and placed his hand over hers and squeezed gently, his desire to be comforted superceding his usual apprehension around the opposite sex.

"We're all still here for you, Keiichi," she said. "I'm sure your sister and Tamiya understand what you're going though. We believe in you, Keiichi," she added emphatically, squeezing his hand back.

Unable to fight the tears any longer, he shut his eyes tightly and allowed them to flow freely down his face. He choked at intervals, biting his lip so as to remain quiet and not draw an excess amount of attention from passers-by.

"Verdandi--" he said between stifled sobs, "sometimes--sometimes I wish--"

Something hit Verdandi. It was almost as if, for a brief moment when he spoke those words, she was someone else. She wanted--she *needed* with all of her being--to know what he wished.

"What, Keiichi?" she pressed. "What do you wish?"

Keiichi shook his head and looked down at his lap, finally bringing his sobs under control. With his sleeve, he again wiped the tears from his face. "It's not important," he replied, without looking up. "But thank you, Verdandi. Thanks for being here for me. You've helped me more than you could know."

*

Urd, seated on a tree branch beside Skuld, shook her head to clear the dazzling effects of Bell's full aura from her mind, and then slapped her forehead. "No! No, you fool! It *is* important! Say it! Make your wish!"

It wasn't until a few seconds later that she noticed Skuld was still sitting there beside her in a state of shock. "What was that?" Skuld whispered.

"That," Urd replied, "was a Wishflare. It's what happens to a goddess' aura when someone is about to make a wish."

"Her divine aura?" Skuld asked incredulously. "But I thought she couldn't have that until she got her powers back."

"Technically, she shouldn't," explained Urd. "What it means is that, for a second, she almost broke through."

"Why? How?"

"If you were a bit quieter, you would have heard Keiichi when he just about made a wish. That's what set it off--I'm certain of it."

"But why didn't he finish?" Skuld insisted.

Urd shook her head. "Who knows ... he's not a really confident guy, Skuld. My guess is that he didn't have the guts."

"But what if--"

"Shush! They're talking again!"

Keiichi stood up and spoke quietly, managing a half-smile for Bell, as he turned to leave. She watched him as he walked away, a look of concern becoming evident upon her face.

Urd made a fist. "Damn!"

"Urd, he's getting away! Do something!"

"Like what, Skuld? I can't just run over there and shove them together."

Skuld sniffed. "Well, we've gotta do *something*, or else they're just gonna keep up like this!"

Urd tapped her fingers on one of the bush's branches, considering. Finally, she let out a sigh and flipped her hair back with one hand. "All right. This is against my better judgment, but you may be right ... and I think I've got a plan that might work."

"What? Tell me, tell me!"

Urd rolled her eyes. "Why don't we call it a day, Skuld? I've got one more thing I need to do--in the mean time, head back to the temple, all right? I'll meet you there in a little while and explain it all to you. Besides, I'm sure Bell can take care of herself for a few hours."

*

Mara sat on the couch in a daze. Her breath was coming in shaky gasps, and her face was covered with a layer of cold sweat. The television show she had been watching was now just gibbering noise in her ear. She swallowed and rubbed her forehead, then took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to relax.

Belldandy.

Something had happened with Belldandy. It was Belldandy's aura that had just hit her--she'd know the feeling anywhere. It was one thing for a goddess to get hit by another's aura, but it was quite another for a demon. In most cases, it was a mildly uncomfortable sensation, but on this occasion, Mara felt as if she had been hit on the back of her head with a two-by-four.

Fighting for clarity against a bout of dizziness and tunnel vision, Mara brought herself to an unsteady stand and stumbled toward the telephone.

In her state of incoherence, it took her a moment to remember the number to Hell's switchboard, and then took her a few more seconds to actually punch in the correct numbers, as she was having a certain amount of difficulty convincing her fingers to go where she wanted them to. When she finally did manage to do so, she slid down the wall and sank to the floor, nursing a pounding headache and breathing shallowly as she held the ringing receiver to her ear.

"Thank you for calling Hell," said the operator in a cheerfully malicious voice. "How can I be of assistance?"

Mara struggled to catch her breath. "I need--" she started, her voice slurring. "I need to speak with Xgg ... Xgg-ph ..."

"Ma'am?"

"Zigsphen," Mara finished, falling back on the usual but incorrect pronunciation of the imp's name.

"One moment, please."

Hell and Earth are dissimilar in many ways, but there are several things that are common to both. Two such things are being placed on hold, and the ensuing elevator music. These things failed to do wonders for her headache; it was Hell after all.

"Come on," Mara mumbled impatiently. "Pick up the phone, you damnable little imp!"

"X'ggh'zphn here," said the imp's voice, after a maddeningly long time spent listening to a watered-down soft synth remix of some irritating American pop song.

Mara exhaled slowly, trying to gather her bearings. The initial shock had faded, leaving her with what felt like the worst hangover she had ever experienced. "This is Mara," she said hoarsely into the telephone. "Where the hell have you been for the past ten minutes?"

"I'm the best hacker there is, Lady Mara. If you think for a second that you're the only person with work for me to do, you're deluding yourself."

"Don't mouth off to me, imp," she replied, her voice cracking slightly.

"My lady sounds distraught."

"Cut the crap, Xig, before I come down there and rearrange your anatomy."

She could make out the sound of a dramatic sigh at the other end of the line. "Alrighty," said the imp's voice, "if you didn't call to play, then what's on your mind?"

"I need you to run a check and see if my contract with Keiichi is still in effect."

Xig went quiet for a moment, the sound of keys clicking barely audible over the background noise from the phone. "All right, got it," he said finally. "And yeah, it looks like you're still valid. Aren't you supposed to be able to feel that sort of thing, though?"

Twitching slightly, she wiped a sweaty clump of hair our of her eyes. "Supposed to, yeah--but I'd like to see *you* try it after you've just been knocked on your ass by a wishflare."

"A wishflare?"

"From Belldandy." Mara replied.

"Belldandy? Are you certain of that?"

"I grew up with her, Xig. I'd know her aura anywhere."

"All right, if you say so ... let me check something." More sounds of keys tapping. "Says here Morisato still hasn't made his wish."

"Well, he *almost* did, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here feeling like I've just been hit by a bus."

Xig considered. "So, what is it you want me to do?"

Mara massaged her temple with two fingers. "I dunno. They're getting too friendly, though--I need them separated a bit, while still keeping them close enough together that they both suffer. I can't have Keiichi getting too attached to her either, but--" she trailed off, trying to concentrate dispite her headache.

"Have you considered using one of those Invisible Fence things that give dogs electric shocks whenever they leave their owner's yard?"

"Ya know, maybe my headache is making me hallucinate, but I could have sworn I just told you to CUT THE CRAP!"

The imp's defeated sigh could be heard in the phone receiver, but Mara was too busy clutching her head in pain from the yell to notice it.

"Well," Xig offered, "why don't you gimme a little background info, and I'll see what I can come up with ... and I hope you realize I'm just doing this 'cause you got your brain fried."

"You should already *have* the background info. You hacked the files, after all. Don't tell me you even didn't bother to look."

"Why would I look?" the imp asked with exaggerated incredulity.

"Why not?" Mara retorted, a little angry.

"You asked for the files, and I sent them to you. I've got better things to do than poke through some little goddess' file. Never anything interesting in 'em--not like the ones I get from down here, at least."

"Fine," she said at length, changing the phone to the other ear. "Just as well, anyway. See, as it turns out, Keiichi is what you would call special."

"We're all special, Mara." Xig deadpanned, "Each of us is unique, in our own way."

Mara's eyes narrowed as she gripped the phone. "I'm warning you, Imp." She said in a low tone, "None of your wisecracks, got it?"

Xig grunted in the affirmative.

"Anyway," Mara began again, "Belldandy snuck down to earth when she was eleven or so, and for whatever reason, Keiichi was able to see her when he shouldn't have."

"So you're saying they met up as kids?"

"I just said that, didn't I?" She snapped.

"Not to bore you with details, but Keiichi and Belldandy managed to fall in love during their short stay together. Now, she wasn't supposed to be on Earth in the first place ... and apparently, Bell made some sort of promise to Keiichi while she was there--it wasn't anything big, really--just that she'd come back and meet him the next day, or something." Mara shifted her position on the floor to get more comfortable. "Anyway, I dunno if you're familiar with how these things work up in Heaven, but their rules are a bit stricter than ours. When a goddess makes a promise, it's considered a binding contract, and, since Belldandy was still in training, any contract she made was a breach of regulations. When she was found out, they forced her to come home." She paused in thought for a moment, remembering what the files had said. "Thing is, Keiichi doesn't know about any of this. Before she left, they made her seal up his memories of their time together." Mara began to smirk. "If only they knew."

"How delightfully ironic." Xig replied, not interested in the least.

"Nevermind that," she said hotly. "So, what if we somehow got it to where Keiichi doesn't want to be around Belldandy? Would that be possible?" She smiled and sat up straight as everything finally clicked. "That's it! Keiichi's got all those conveniently supressed memories ... How difficult would it be to 'tweak' them a little?"

"How do you mean?" Xig replied hesitently, shortly after.

"Well, Keiichi still subconsciously remembers the Belldandy from his childhood at some level, even with the memory seal. If we were to make those memories, say, unpleasant..."

The sound of keys tapping over the phone could be heard again. "Yeah, that's doable," he said finally, "but I've gotta warn you, you're flirting with disaster." "All right. I just need to tell you, though--memories are easy enough to lock, but actually altering of them is pretty unstable. It involves subliminal pointers, and a lot of other spaghetti code that just won't hold up under stress. It's like keeping your computer running after it's blue-screened." Xig eventually commented. "Sooner or later, it's gonna crash."

Mara wiped some imaginary lint off of her dress. "I'll take the risk."

"I figured you'd say that. Whaddya want me to do?"

Her headache already leaving her, Mara stood up and stretched. "You're a fairly talented denizen of hell, Xig ... Be creative. Use some artistic license. Have fun with it."

"Will do, Lady Mara. Before I go, though ... one last suggestion for you. He might warm up to you a bit if you were to lay on your wily charms."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ya know, be *nice* to him."

"Not likely."

"Wow, Mara," said Xig in feigned amazement, "since when have you had a problem with giving somebody a little false affection? Ohhhh," he continued, "I see! You're worried it might be *real* affection!"

"Xig," she said, her voice deathly quiet, "what are you suggesting?'

"Oh, nothing," he quipped. "Nothing at all!"

Xig was cackling incessantly when Mara hung up the phone.

*

Hands thrust in his pockets and expression downcast, Keiichi wandered, melancholic and introspective, back toward his apartment complex. His conversation with Verdandi had helped him put things into perspective somewhat; though his dejection remained--one can hardly hope to banish that sort of feeling on a whim--the pervading sense of hopelessness was gone.

He didn't mind the sensation of the late afternoon drizzle against his face. In fact, it was almost pleasant in a way. He took his time, watching as students bustled along hurriedly on either side of him, eager to get inside and out of the rain.

"Keiichi?"

A vaguely familiar woman's voice caught his attention as he rounded a corner beside a small grove of trees. The source of the voice, he noted with a certain amount of surprise, was the tall, beautiful, olive-skinned woman with silver hair, whom he knew to be named Urd. She was wearing a brown trench coat over a dark blue party dress, and her hair was combed over to the right, bouncing and waving playfully in the wind. He backed up half a step, recalling the unpleasantness of his two previous encounters with her, as well as her numerous bad points, as recounted by Mara.

He eyed her warily. "Urd."

She smiled at him in a way that reminded him somewhat of Verdandi. "You look as if you don't trust me."

"Well..." he started, his manners kicking in.

She laughed. It was a deep, fond laugh that lacked the qualities one would expect in a demoness. "I understand. We haven't exactly met on good terms ... and I can't imagine the things Mara may have said about me were very flattering, either."

"Aren't you supposed to be a demoness?" he asked hesitantly.

She ran a hand through her hair. "Well, there's some truth to that, but no, not really."

He looked at her inquisitively.

"I'm actually half demon--by blood at least. By career, though, I'm a goddess." Reaching into her inner coat pocket, she produced a business card, which she handed to him.

Urd, Norn of the Past, it read. Second Class, Limited License. System Administrator, Goddess Relief Office.

"Goddesses have business cards?"

"And what's so odd about that?" she asked, placing a hand on her pleasantly curved hip.

"It's just--I dunno. Business cards seem so ... mundane."

Urd grinned wryly. "System administration isn't much more exciting up in Heaven than it is down here, I'm afraid. There's just a lot more riding on it. Anyway, not to be led too far astray from the subject at hand ... I hear you've been having kind of a rough time of it, lately."

Keiichi rolled his eyes. "So now people are literally falling out of the sky to remind me I'm depressed. Ya know, if you guys would just make it into a tape recording and then force me to listen to it over and over again, you'd save yourselves a lot of effort."

"Actually," she said, raising a finger, "I'm here to help you with your problem."

"And that would be?"

She smiled knowingly; she seemed to have quite a number of different smiles, all equally expressive. "I think, deep down, we both know what the answer to that question is."

The race? His self-confidence? Exams? Money? Keiichi shook his head. "I've got a lot of problems."

She ignored his implied question. "Well, I've got a solution for you, if you're willing to hear me out."

Keiichi shrugged. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Walk with me," she said, approaching him and placing a hand on his back.

Normally, such proximity to a stunningly beautiful woman would have scared him, or at least given him pause; in this case, though, he was feeling too drained to care either way. The two of them--a short, unremarkable Japanese college student, and a beautiful European woman--were something of an odd couple as they wandered down the sidewalk into the late afternoon wind.

"I want you to think back and tell me something," she said at length, brushing back a strand of hair that had blown into her eyes. "How long has it been since you were last happy? I mean, not for a minute or two, but deeply happy--with your life, and things in general."

Keiichi looked up into the cloudy sky and thought about that. "I guess it's been a while," he answered finally.

"Have there been any changes in your life between then and now--anything that could have kept you from being happy? Any mistakes you made? Decisions made in haste that you wish you could take back?"

Keiichi's looked at Urd, his eyes narrowing. "Hey," he objected, "if you're trying to blame--"

"I'm not trying to blame anyone," she stated. "Whatever conclusion you just came to is one that you arrived at by yourself."

Keiichi stopped in his tracks and shook his head. "I really need to be getting back to my apartment now."

"Hold on a minute," said Urd, her tone softening somewhat. "You said you'd hear me out."

Keiichi gave an exasperated huff. "Make it quick, then."

"The key to happiness, as my Father is fond of saying, is to 'know thyself'. You have to think hard about what you really want, and what would make you happy, and then you have to go for it--even if it seems sometimes like there's no hope at all. Oh, and try to believe in yourself. That always makes it a bit easier."

He looked at her impatiently. "Is that all?"

She nodded.

"To be honest," he said, "I was expecting something a bit more specific."

"As strange as it sounds," Urd replied, "if I told you exactly what to do, you wouldn't be able to do it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Urd nodded sympathetically. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that either. You'll just have to trust me--or, if you can't do that, then at least trust yourself."

"Great," he said flatly. "Can I go home now?"

"I suppose so," the woman replied, a look of disappointment showing on her face. "I'll see you later." Giving him a small wave, she turned away and continued down the sidewalk back toward central campus.

With a resigned shrug, Keiichi turned the opposite direction and headed back to his apartment, irritably mulling over the woman's vague words in his mind.

*

Keiichi slipped into his apartment and shut the door quietly behind him. Mara, surprisingly enough, was seated at their living room table, looking pale and unwell. Concerned for her well-being, Keiichi quickly abandoned his plan to go straight to his room without speaking to her.

Stepping quietly up to the table, he knelt down beside her. "Everything okay?"

"I've been better," she said hoarsely.

"Are you sick or something?"

"I guess you could say that," she answered. "I'm not exactly sick in the sense that mortals can be ill, though."

Keiichi looked up at her. "Is it serious? What happened? I mean--will you be all right?"

"I'll be okay," said Mara, nodding slowly. "There's something important I need to talk to you about, though."

Her tone did little to alleviate his fears. "What is it?" he asked.

"Earlier today," she began, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I felt ... as if something was coming between us. That's why I'm feeling sick right now--our link was very nearly severed."

"Severed?" he asked nervously. "How do you mean?"

Mara took a breath. "You might not believe what I'm about to tell you, but I need you to trust me on this, all right?"

Keiichi nodded dumbly.

"I'm frightened of Verdandi. When she's around, I get this sense of something evil about her. I just get this awful feeling that she wants to hurt you--hurt *us.* I know I can't ask you to avoid her completely ... but I just want you to be careful around her, Keiichi."

"Verdandi? Mara, are you sure you're not mistaken? I mean, I don't claim to be very perceptive, but I can't imagine she'd even hurt a fly, let alone another person. She's just not like that."

"Keiichi," she said, touching his arm lightly, "I can only tell you what I feel from my intuition as a goddess--which means I can't prove this to you. I can't even prove it to myself. It's just that I've never been wrong about something like this before. So please, Keiichi ... just watch out. That's all I ask."

"All right," he replied, trying not to sound too skeptical. "I'll try to be careful around her." He paused for a moment, looking at her speculatively. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? I can get you a bowl of soup or an aspirin or something if it'll make you feel better."

"No, I'll be all right," said Mara, drawing herself up into a standing position and stretching laboriously. "I think maybe I should get some sleep."

"G'night, Mara."

"Mm."

As Keiichi watched Mara walk unsteadily toward her bedroom, couldn't help but wonder exactly what was going on. Something had happened today, setting a plethora of strange events into motion ... and somehow, he was at the center of it. Hopeless, depressed, and confused, he sat and stared at the dining room table.

Why would Mara act the way she does? Mean and uncaring one minute, and almost desperately affectionate the next. It was almost as if she were two different people--one who wanted nothing more than to keep him as far away as possible, and another who was lonely and vulnerable, afraid that he would disappear at any second. Was she acting like this because she was afraid of losing him to Verdandi?

Was she right?

Keiichi groaned and shook his head. He could sympathize with Mara to an extent; he himself was a mess of feelings, pushing away the people who cared about him most. On the other hand, he couldn't deny that he felt at least *something* for Verdandi. She had this almost magical ability to always say just the right thing. When he spoke with her, it felt like maybe all of his problems weren't quite so bad after all. She also had these beautiful eyes--eyes that could see right into his heart, and let him see right into hers.

Know thyself. Know what you want.

What was that strange woman talking about? What could knowing himself possibly have to do with solving his problems? Irritated at her likening his life to some sort of puzzle, he banished Urd and her nebulous advice from his mind.

"I need to get some sleep," he said to no one in particular. Groaning slightly as he stood up on sore legs, he meandered into his bedroom, shut the door behind him, and soon drifted off into fitful slumber.

*

I looked around the theatre, and from what I could tell, everyone seemed to be enjoying the movie so far. Megumi was sitting next to me, paying rapt attention to this kid on the screen who was looking off over to this mountain in the distance, where a purple beam of--

It's so bright, I thought to myself of the strange, purple column of light that had shot down from the sky in the distance. People around me either were used to it or missed it entirely, because no one paid any attention to it other than myself. It was strange--the air around me seemed to bend and twist in the corner of my eye, like it really wasn't happening at all.

"Keiichi?" said a soft voice. I know it. Verdandi. I turned around and saw Megumi in our parents' kitchen instead. "Yeah, sorry," I answered. "Just thinking about something really weird that happened when I was little. Haven't thought about it much until now, though." Wondering to myself what could have caused these strange memories to surface, I opened the can of soda I had been holding. Meg looked up at me questioningly. "I was, I dunno, ten or so," I continued. "I remember seeing this beam of light shoot up into the sky from a hill. And you know me, Meg--I didn't know what it was, so I had to go take a look."

I blinked again, trying to get the dust out of my eyes. I realized that it was pretty nice out here in this forest. With the comfortably warm breeze and sunlight piercing down in bright beams through the treetops, it was so different than the city life I had grown used to. I had never been here before--I knew that much--but it all seemed familiar somehow, as if I had already experienced this exact same moment long ago.

I watched in wonder at the events taking place on the screen. I really felt that I could identify with the boy, despite the fact that so little of interest had happened so far. I had to wonder where they filmed it, though, because the scenery was quite nice. My attention was pulled back when they showed the main character walk into a clearing that was emitting this faint, but very realistic looking, pink glow. At least the special effects were good.

There, standing in front of me upon an old tree stump, was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I stepped closer to her, half afraid that I would scare her away. She smiled reassuringly, letting me know that it was all right for me to approach. I took in her appearance as she walked; she had the prettiest--

"--silken brown hair is what first caught my eye. I tell you Meg, I've never seen anything like it before." I took another swig from my soda before continuing. "Strange dress though. Don't get me wrong, it looked great on her. It was the three blue diamond-shaped markings on her forehead and cheeks that I didn't know what to make of." I leaned back in my chair, putting my hands behind my head, relaxing and letting my back pop. "The eyes though--they seemed so familiar."

I wondered again exactly what possessed me to have that large coke before we came here, because I really had to go to the bathroom. Megumi must have noticed my fidgeting as I debated on whether or not I should leave the theatre for a moment and miss a few minutes of the movie, because she playfully slapped me on the knee and told me to pay attention. Evidently, something important was about to happen, and she didn't want me to miss it. The boy on the screen, nervous and innocent, seemed to be looking over the young girl. "What's your name?" he asked her, in a small voice.

"Verdandi," she replied to me. For some reason, I had expected her to say something else. "What's yours?" The girl asked. She seemed nice enough. Even though Mom had told me not to talk to strangers, I felt safe around her, like I could tell her anything about myself. "So, she said it was nice to meet me, and she shakes my hand." Megumi looked at me dubiously. "What?" I responded, rolling my eyes. "Well, you'd be hesitant too, so don't look at me like that. Anyway, she was curious because I was able to see her. She said that I shouldn't been able to, but could because I was a friend of nature."

The boy on the screen blinked in confusion at the girl's strange words. I almost missed seeing it because I was being distracted by some kid in the row behind me, intent on kicking the back of my seat. Even with that happening, I was glad to be here; this was turning out to be a pretty good movie. I was held in suspense, waiting for the scene to unfold. "What are you?" I heard the character whisper. "Are you a faerie?"

A warm smile broke out onto her face, and I was enchanted by it. Lightly grasping both of my hands, she giggled pleasantly. "No, silly!" she said to me in that same sweet voice, her smile just as pretty as before. Her hands clenched suddenly. "I'm a demon!"

I really wasn't expecting to see that twist of events; I don't think the rest of the audience was either. My heart rate started to speed up, and I sat further back into my chair. Normally a movie wouldn't have this kind of effect on me, so I couldn't quite explain why I was acting like this--it was almost as if I was *there*. A dark feeling started to well up in the pit of my stomach as the movie continued. "A demon?" the boy stuttered, obviously distressed. He tried unsuccessfully to free his hands from the girl's grasp. "What are you going to do?"

"No, it's not funny Meg!" I said in exasperation. "I was scared out of my mind! How would you feel if someone told you they were going to kidnap you and make you their slave for eternity?" I was just a little upset that my sister was taking this as a joke, and the headache that was forming behind my right eye wasn't making things any easier. "So, she's still happy and smiling, but it's scary now." I shrugged and looked at the ceiling with mock embarrassment. "I finally jerked my hands loose, and ran away as fast as I could."

Groaning in defeat, I watched as Megumi decided this was the funniest thing she had ever heard and laughed herself red in the face. "Keiichi?" said that soft voice again, the one I recognized as Verdandi's. My vision blurred as I whipped my head around to see--

The girl was following me as I ran through the forest. Instead of being the sunlit relaxing place it was before, it dawned on me suddenly just how dark and foreboding it actually was; all sorts of strange shadowy forms were weaving their way in and out of the trees as I ran by them. Looking over my shoulder again, I saw that she was still trailing in my footsteps, floating effortlessly behind me, matching my speed, pace for pace.

It was the laugh, I noticed. I don't know how, but the small girl on the screen had managed to capture an innocent giggle of joy and completely twist it into something very sinister that seemed to carry a feeling of pure, terrible evil. Time seemed to slow down and warp, as I felt a cold chill sweep over me that put a strange pressure in my head, making me go numb. "Keiichi?" I heard someone call me, but I was too busy to answer, sweating profusely and shoving myself into the theatre seat as far as I could go. I couldn't take my eyes off of the events projected onto the screen.

"I thought I just heard somebody say my name," I mentioned, turning around and looking over the kitchen. Not finding the owner of the voice, I shrugged and walked over to the refrigerator. "I really don't know how long I was running," I said, grabbing a jar of pickles. "I tried hiding behind some trees, hoping she'd lose me. As soon as I started moving again though, she'd be right back on my tail." Much to my dismay, my headache seemed to be getting worse. "I did eventually manage to get lucky and find this old temple."

She must have been hiding from me again, because I lost sight of her when I stopped to catch my breath. I ran inside the temple; it was old, empty, and run-down, years of disuse and neglect having taken their toll. I started searching around for a place that I could hide myself. Maybe if she lost me long enough, she would decide to go back to wherever she came from and leave me alone. "Found you!" I jumped at the feeling of a hand on my shoulder.

"Come to think of it," I explained slowly, rubbing my forehead to relieve the pain building behind it, "I'm not really sure *where* all the time went." I frowned as I tried to recall exactly what had taken place next. Shaking my head, I continued. "I remember it all happened over several days, but the details are kinda fuzzy." I looked over to the kitchen window, and out to the cloudless blue sky beyond. "I know I should not have gone back, because I knew what I was going to find, but I just felt ... drawn to it."

"Hi, Keiichi!" she said to me, showing that innocent smile of hers when I finally caught sight of her, just out of view from the road. She started to walk up to me, but I could see that she seemed to be oddly sad today. I felt strangely calm, given her demeanor, but I soon found that I was unable to move, my feet seemingly rooted to the ground.

"My Master says that I'm too young to make you my slave right now," I heard the girl explain sadly over the background din of the music emanating from the theatre speakers. "I'm sorry Keiichi, but I can't stay here on earth any longer." Hearing that should have brought me some relief, but I could tell from the sick feeling I was experiencing that the worst was still yet to come. "Keiichi?" said her soft voice again. My eyes widened and the breath caught in my throat when I heard it. "Now hold still, okay?"

"I'm going to erase your memory, so when I'm older and have my demoness qualifications, I can come back and make you my slave then!" I just stared at her in shock, unable to respond. "And you know what's funny?" she asked me, "You won't run away next time, because you won't even know it's me!"

The movie, and everyone else around me that I could see, seemed to be moving in slow motion. Their faces deformed or grossly distorted, the laughs from the audience and the comedic music coming from the speakers were just a perverted parody of what they once were. I was able to squeak out a quiet plea of "no," while I watched through the terror I was feeling as the girl on the screen held her hands aloft--

"--and started to walk toward me." I said, closing my eyes. "I wanted to run when she put her hand on my cheek, but ... I was completely frozen, I couldn't move." I moaned in pain as the headache started to become unbearable. I thought I could hear someone asking me if I was alright, but I couldn't make out the individual words anymore. The pressure in my head was becoming so painful, I thought I was going to die. "No!" I screamed, "Get out of my head!"

It was tearing me apart, I realized. All of my memories from the last week were fading as the facial marks on the girl in front of me started to glow brighter. I tried pleading with her to stop, but she wouldn't listen. The dizziness I was experiencing was bad enough, but try as I might, I could not make my body respond to get away.

*

He couldn't remember waking up. His eyes were open, his heart was racing, and his breathing was rapid, but he could not seem to recall how long he had been laying there, or even what he had been dreaming about before he awoke. All he felt was the kind of vague uneasiness that follows a bad dream you can't quite remember.

Focusing his attention wearily on the digital alarm clock beside him, he pulled himself to a sitting position. It was a little after seven in the morning--a full two hours before he needed to get up for class, but something told him that, despite his fatigue, he would not be able to get back to sleep. Shaking his head quickly to get the blood flowing into his brain, he stood up, grabbed a clean Kawasaki tee-shirt out of his dresser, and threw it on. He stifled a yawn as he slid his door open and entered the kitchen.

"Sleep well?"

He looked up and was surprised to find Mara awake so early and kneeling at the dinner table, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Um, yeah," he said, scratching his head sleepily. "Well, no, actually. I feel like I haven't slept at all." Keiichi paused, then walked over to the cabinet to grab a bowl and spoon for himself, finally sitting down to the opposite side of the table from Mara. "I had this horrible nightmare."

"Mm?" she replied, munching on a mouthful of cereal.

A mass of crumbs fell from the cereal box, forming a small pile in his otherwise empty bowl. Shoulders dropping in defeat, he looked at the carton. "Do we have any more of this?"

"Mm." Mara commented, taking another bite and shrugging noncommittally. "So," she began, running the back of her wrist across her mouth, "what was your nightmare about?"

"That's the thing, really," he said, walking over to the kitchen pantry and looking aimlessly through the small space, not finding another box. "I can't really remember. You know how dreams are. When you wake up, you forget 'em." Keiichi's stomach growled, so he grabbed some crackers and sat back down. Crackers weren't much, and they certainly didn't make a very good breakfast, but he was hungry all the same; they would have to do. "It must have been something though." he said, after swallowing his food. "When I woke up, I felt pretty tense, you know? Just a general feeling of unease, and I don't know why."

"You don't say." she replied, already losing interest.

Keiichi shrugged in response, slightly disappointed about being ignored again. "Anyway, I think I'll be fine." he said after a brief pause, forcing a smile. "It's just a dream, right?"

Finishing her breakfast, Mara stood and headed off to watch TV, while Keiichi shuffled off to the bathroom. The ensuing twenty-minute soak in a hot bath was pleasant, but ultimately did very little to make him feel better. He dried himself off, dressed, combed his hair, and went back into the kitchen to get his backpack.

"I'm gonna head over to the library and try to study for a bit before my first exam," he said loudly, so that Mara could hear him in the next room. He waited a moment for her to respond, then, convinced she was ignoring him completely, he started down the hallway.

His eyes catching on something small and white, he walked over to the front door and found that a small envelope had been slipped under it.

"What's this?" he said, to no one in particular.

*

A miniature Urd peeked out from behind the large potted plant that decorated the hallway. Keiichi had just stumbled out the door, and was peering owlishly at the letter she had planted. "Aphrodite, this is Cupid," she whispered into her walkie-talkie. "The package has been delivered. Repeat, the package has been delivered."

"So he's got the letter?" came Skuld's reply.

"That is correct, Aphrodite."

The radio emitted a huffing noise, as if Skuld had taken extra care to sigh into her microphone. "Do we *have* to use these stupid code names, Urd?"

"That's *Cupid*!" she hissed, "and yes, we do! This is how all covert operations work. Now, do you still have visual contact with your target?"

"Who?"

"Belldandy. Do you see Belldandy?"

"Yeah, Urd, I'm still following her."

Urd grumbled to herself as Keiichi closed the door behind him and started down the hallway, trying awkwardly to open the envelope. "Copy that, Aphrodite. Keiichi is on the move. I am in pursuit."

"Hey Urd, where are they supposed to be going again?"

"I'm not answering you anymore unless you call me Cupid."

"I'll call you something that *rhymes* with Cupid," the radio replied.

"Skuld," Urd whispered harshly, "this is no time to be arguing about how to conduct an operation. Now pay attention and don't lose Belldandy!"

"Ha! You just called me Skuld!"

Urd hit the transmit button and suddenly realized she wasn't quite certain how to reply to that. A click at the far end of the hallway brought her attention to the fact that Keiichi was already out the door. "Crap!"

"You lost him, didn't you?"

"No I didn't!" Urd lied, assuming full size and running off down the hallway.

"Yes you did, you big dummy! You were so busy yelling at me that you forgot to pay attention to Keiichi, and he got away from you!"

Urd opened the door to the stairwell and miniaturized herself again in a puff of smoke. Swooping down between the staircases, she managed to slip into the lobby on the ground floor just as the door was closing behind Keiichi.

*

Skuld, fortunately, was having an easier time keeping track of Belldandy than Urd was of Keiichi. Keiichi seemed to always be stressed and hurried, while her sister, though she retained no memory of her life as a goddess, certainly maintained her sense of ease and contentment with the world. With Belldandy, there was never a rush. It was just a matter of planning ahead a little bit, so as to be in the right place at the right time.

Stopping to sit down at a bench between classes, Belldandy produced Urd's envelope from her backpack, opened it, and withdrew the letter. It had been opened before, but it was obvious that care had been taken not to rip the envelope any more than was necessary. Bell was just that sort of person.

"Please meet me at eleven thirty in room 403 of Tanaka Hall," she read aloud. "There is something important we need to discuss."

"Who could have written this?" she whispered to herself.

Skuld, seated comfortably atop a fist-sized rock, jumped somewhat when she heard Urd's voice on her radio.

"Aphrodite, this is Cupid. What's your status?"

"Still with her," she whispered in reply. "She's looking at your letter again."

"That reminds me--you did get the lock rigged right, didn't you?"

"Yup," Skuld said proudly, "once the door closes behind them, it won't open again until we let them out from the outside. And I didn't even use any electronics!"

"Well, I certainly hope--uh-oh, looks like Keiichi is on the move. I am now in pursuit. I'll contact you and inform you of any change in status."

"Okay Urd."

The radio cleared its throat insistently.

Skuld groaned. "Copy that, Cupid. Aphrodite out."

"Much better. Cupid out."

*

Although she would have never admitted it to her little sister, Urd was aware, at least on some level, that the whole act with the walkie-talkies, codenames, and status reports was basically just a source of amusement--something to keep them occupied in the time it took for their plan to come to fruition. It actually began to grate on her as the clock crept toward eleven thirty; she slipped a few times and called Skuld by her real name as opposed to Aphrodite, and finally she just gave up entirely.

Keiichi, meanwhile, had been sitting in class for most of the morning, staring blankly at the chalkboard as the professor went about giving his lecture on the basics of alternating current. Every once in a while, he would glance back over his shoulder, almost certain that a little voice had been following him around all day. Unable to identify its source, however, he soon dismissed it as a side-effect of stress and lack of sleep.

Urd, by this time, was fairly certain that her scheme would turn out well--Keiichi had read and re-read the letter several times since he had originally picked it up, and seemed determined to show up as invited, if only out of pure morbid curiosity. When his class ended at twenty after eleven, he looked over it one last time, memorizing the building and room numbers, then slung his backpack over his shoulder and started off to meet its writer.

"Hey, Skuld," Urd whispered into her radio, hovering up near the ceiling tiles. "Class is out. Keiichi's on his way to the meeting place."

"Same here," was the reply. "Bell's got a bit farther to go, so you'll probably get there first."

"All right. Let me know if anything unexpected happens."

Keiichi was certainly not taking his time; he was hurried and nervous as he left the building and walked up campus toward Tanaka Hall. It took Urd a goodly effort to keep up with him and remain out of sight. Several times, she found herself negotiating tree branches at a fairly high velocity, and had to swoop out of the way of an oblivious pedestrian on more than one occasion. She couldn't help but smile to herself, though, as Keiichi entered Tanaka Hall and started up the staircase. He was playing right into her hands--getting him to wish for Bell would be a cinch.

*

Verdandi looked up at the building with apprehension, her hair and dress whipping back in the heavy wind. She had an uneasy feeling about meeting this mystery writer, as if some sort of sense told her that something very bad was going to happen once she got there. Shaking her head to clear the disquiet from her mind, she squared her shoulders and walked inside.

She found the building to be surprisingly devoid of people. A small group of students were standing together, talking quietly at the far end of the large hallway, and another was seated at a desk studying, but none of them even looked her direction when she entered. She turned and started up the large staircase to her right, the tapping sound of her quiet footfalls against the concrete reverberating ominously though the stairwell.

The climb seemed to take forever, and she was short of breath by the time she finally reached the fourth floor. Room 403 was just down the hall to her left, the door hanging slightly ajar, daylight pouring through from inside. Cautiously, she stepped up to the door and walked in.

It clicked shut behind her, although she herself had not pulled it closed.

"Keiichi?"

He was leaning up against the far wall of the room when Verdandi came in, looking around apprehensively. When he heard her voice, his breath caught in his throat, and an irrational sense of dread welled up inside him. He remained there, perfectly motionless, his eyes those of a cornered animal.

"Keiichi? What's wrong?" she asked, taking a step toward him.

All he could think of was getting away. Unable to back up any farther, he slid along the wall toward the back of the room, his gaze fixed on her in pure terror.

"Why--why are you looking at me like that?" she stammered. "Why won't you tell me what's the matter?"

"GET AWAY!" he screamed, stumbling over a row of desks as he bolted toward the back of the room.

Dumbfounded, Verdandi could only look at him, her expression hurt. "Keiichi ... I--"

"I said get away from me, you witch!" he yelled, his voice cracking. "You're just like all the rest! No, you're worse than that! You're sneaky and underhanded, trying to get me to like you just so you can take me away from Mara and then hurt me! Well, I'm not gonna let you! GET OUTTA HERE!"

Verdandi was scared. She had never seen *anyone* like this, let alone Keiichi. His expression was feral, as if he were ready to rush and attack her at any second. When she finally got the bearings to do so, she ran for the door, and found to her horror that it would not open.

*

"What do you mean you can't get it open?" Urd demanded. "Open it, *now*!"

"I *can't*," Skuld repeated. "I must have rigged the lock wrong, and it's stuck somehow."

The two goddesses were interrupted by a pounding noise coming from inside. "Let me out!" Belldandy screamed. "Someone let me out!"

"How? How could this have happened?" Urd asked no one in particular. "Things were going so *well* yesterday, and now this! The door, Skuld!" she shouted. "Open the door!"

"I'm trying!" she replied, fumbling with her tools amid the frantic pounding from within. "Something's stuck, and I can't get it fixed with Bell shaking it like this!"

"Someone please open the door!"

Her own heart racing, Skuld was working as fast as she could, given the conditions. It seemed like an eternity, but finally, she managed to pry the bolt open. "Got it!"

In a puff of smoke, the two goddesses took on their miniature forms and hid themselves from view as Belldandy crashed through the door. Tears streamed from her face as she ran out into the hall and down the stairs, sobbing in misery and fright.

When the clatter of her exit finally died down, Urd and Skuld crept up to the open door and peeked inside. Keiichi was still standing there against the wall, surrounded by overturned desks. His face was red, and his breathing shallow. His expression was empty, as if he was too shocked by his own actions to make sense of what had just taken place.

"What do we do now, sis?" Skuld whispered.

"I dunno, Skuld," Urd shook her head, defeated. "I just don't know."

*

Jeez, it's three in the morning. I wish I could sleep, but I can't seem to make myself.

Why? Why did I say all that stuff to Verdandi? Why did I flip out like that when I saw her? It's as if she hurt me or something, but I don't remember how. And I *know* it's ridiculous. She'd never do anything to hurt me--she's not that kind of person.

Up until today, I didn't think I was either.

Damn it, what's happening to my life? What kind of a person am I turning into?

To Be Continued - Chapter 5: Eyes Of Blue And Angel Wings