The Devil and the Rat
Chapter 1: Boredom and Ideas
Mara was bored. Really, really bored. So bored she was reduced to watching ESPN at noon, which meant she was watching people she'd never heard of play pool while barely-conscious commentators tried to make it sound interesting. It was a scorching hot day in August, and although a fan she'd found in the neighbor's trash helped a little, it wasn't nearly enough. She was lying on her stomach on the floor of her tiny studio apartment, wearing a pink tank top and a short red skirt in an effort to stay cool. She grimaced thinking about how feminine she probably looked, but her usual outfit was way too hot for this kind of weather. She sat up, picked up the remote control, and switched off the TV.
"I have to get out of here," she said to herself, yawning and standing up. She held her arms up over her head and stretched, adding fanservice from her breasts straining against the fabric of her tank top. Mara paced the floor in her apartment, which was small enough that it meant she was practically walking in circles. Looking at Mara's room showed that the stereotype that girls were always neat and tidy was a complete lie, in her case at least. She had cup ramen containers piled up in one corner, beer bottles in another, and dirty dishes up to the ceiling in the sink. She wished she could hire a maid, but sadly, being a devil didn't pay very well.
She thought hard, trying to think of something devilish to do to occupy her time. She could go cause trouble for Urd, Belldandy, and Skuld, but she could just see Urd cranking the stereo and laughing like she was a devil herself as Mara had to dance to the music. Earplugs might help--Mara wondered why she'd never thought of that before. But who would be her target? Belldandy? No, too powerful. Urd? Amusing, but not enough of a challenge. Skuld? Too young--and her inventions were scary. She wondered why she was doing this job, being a devil, anyway. It didn't pay well. It wasn't fulfilling. Evil usually lost to good, and she didn't like losing all that much.
Mara went to her window and looked outside. She had a beautiful view of the dumpsters behind her building, but beyond that was a train platform, where the world's loudest commuter train rumbled by her home all hours of the day and night. She looked out at the platform, which was empty except for a single couple, a boy and a girl, who by their uniforms seemed to be in high school. The girl was leaning on the guy as they sat on the bench, waiting for the train to come. The guy had his arm around her, and leaned over to gently kiss the top of the girl's head.
"Aaargh!" Mara yelled, looking away from the window. Everyone she looked, there were couples, all doing their best to show off in public and make single people more miserable. She couldn't even look out her own window without seeing it. She wondered if that was why she was in a bad mood, because everyone knew devils had zero chance at a real love life, since they were sworn to fight love. Mara tried to think of something else--who her target should be for her next evil plot. Then it hit her--not the goddesses, but someone close to them. Not that wimp Keiichi either, who would probably spend the next 25 years getting to second base with Belldandy. No--she would target the unseen anchor of the Morisato household. Her target would be...
"Achoo!...desuda," Gan-chan said, sneezing suddenly as he sat in front of a fan with mini-Skuld and mini-Urd.
"If you sneeze that means someone's talking about you," Skuld said.
"Who would be talking about Gan-chan?" Urd replied.
"What's that supposed to mean!" Gan-chan protested.
"I'm SO BORED! I need to make a potion or do SOMETHING..." Urd said. Then she stopped and looked at Gan-chan, with a look that he'd seen before. Gan-chan sweatdropped--it was the look that had an alarming tendency to translate into something bad happening to him.
"W...what?" Gan-chan asked.
"Gan-chan," Urd said, in a sweet voice that made his hairs stand up on end in alarm. "How would you like to become human?"
[To be continued...]
[Author's Note: Yes, this is going to be a Mara x Gan-chan fic. I bet no one in their right mind has tried this before...probably for good reason ;) C&C welcome!]
Chapter 1: Boredom and Ideas
Mara was bored. Really, really bored. So bored she was reduced to watching ESPN at noon, which meant she was watching people she'd never heard of play pool while barely-conscious commentators tried to make it sound interesting. It was a scorching hot day in August, and although a fan she'd found in the neighbor's trash helped a little, it wasn't nearly enough. She was lying on her stomach on the floor of her tiny studio apartment, wearing a pink tank top and a short red skirt in an effort to stay cool. She grimaced thinking about how feminine she probably looked, but her usual outfit was way too hot for this kind of weather. She sat up, picked up the remote control, and switched off the TV.
"I have to get out of here," she said to herself, yawning and standing up. She held her arms up over her head and stretched, adding fanservice from her breasts straining against the fabric of her tank top. Mara paced the floor in her apartment, which was small enough that it meant she was practically walking in circles. Looking at Mara's room showed that the stereotype that girls were always neat and tidy was a complete lie, in her case at least. She had cup ramen containers piled up in one corner, beer bottles in another, and dirty dishes up to the ceiling in the sink. She wished she could hire a maid, but sadly, being a devil didn't pay very well.
She thought hard, trying to think of something devilish to do to occupy her time. She could go cause trouble for Urd, Belldandy, and Skuld, but she could just see Urd cranking the stereo and laughing like she was a devil herself as Mara had to dance to the music. Earplugs might help--Mara wondered why she'd never thought of that before. But who would be her target? Belldandy? No, too powerful. Urd? Amusing, but not enough of a challenge. Skuld? Too young--and her inventions were scary. She wondered why she was doing this job, being a devil, anyway. It didn't pay well. It wasn't fulfilling. Evil usually lost to good, and she didn't like losing all that much.
Mara went to her window and looked outside. She had a beautiful view of the dumpsters behind her building, but beyond that was a train platform, where the world's loudest commuter train rumbled by her home all hours of the day and night. She looked out at the platform, which was empty except for a single couple, a boy and a girl, who by their uniforms seemed to be in high school. The girl was leaning on the guy as they sat on the bench, waiting for the train to come. The guy had his arm around her, and leaned over to gently kiss the top of the girl's head.
"Aaargh!" Mara yelled, looking away from the window. Everyone she looked, there were couples, all doing their best to show off in public and make single people more miserable. She couldn't even look out her own window without seeing it. She wondered if that was why she was in a bad mood, because everyone knew devils had zero chance at a real love life, since they were sworn to fight love. Mara tried to think of something else--who her target should be for her next evil plot. Then it hit her--not the goddesses, but someone close to them. Not that wimp Keiichi either, who would probably spend the next 25 years getting to second base with Belldandy. No--she would target the unseen anchor of the Morisato household. Her target would be...
"Achoo!...desuda," Gan-chan said, sneezing suddenly as he sat in front of a fan with mini-Skuld and mini-Urd.
"If you sneeze that means someone's talking about you," Skuld said.
"Who would be talking about Gan-chan?" Urd replied.
"What's that supposed to mean!" Gan-chan protested.
"I'm SO BORED! I need to make a potion or do SOMETHING..." Urd said. Then she stopped and looked at Gan-chan, with a look that he'd seen before. Gan-chan sweatdropped--it was the look that had an alarming tendency to translate into something bad happening to him.
"W...what?" Gan-chan asked.
"Gan-chan," Urd said, in a sweet voice that made his hairs stand up on end in alarm. "How would you like to become human?"
[To be continued...]
[Author's Note: Yes, this is going to be a Mara x Gan-chan fic. I bet no one in their right mind has tried this before...probably for good reason ;) C&C welcome!]