"Crossroads"

Disclaimer: Ah! My Goddess/Ah! Megami-Sama is copyright of Kosuke Fujishima and is published through Darkhorse Comics. If you can read Japanese, you can also find monthly updates of the Manga in the magazine "Afternoon".

"See you at the crossroads
So you won't be lonely"
- Bone Thugs –N- Harmony

Chapter 1

The air is usually moist in the mornings, with dew drops falling off of leaves and being suspended upon the blades of grass covering the fields, here in the countryside of Chiba prefecture, Japan. Sometimes during the wet season there is a mist, or a fog which covers the bay area in a grey blanket, which is a junxposition of cleansing mental study and hazy loss of viability.

The cicadas hibernate during the early spring, so in their place are spring hojiro birds, chirping in the branches of trees and along the tall gates to old and mostly decrypt temples of Shinto and Buddhist faiths.
However, in one off-path temple the birds dance about atop of gates and roofs of a temple restored by divine intervention; the blessings of a goddess and the spirits of the earth who answered a prayer to assist the temple in healing its wounds of time.

These birds are oblivious to events that will soon transpire... a blending of cultures and personas that very different paths have, for the time, crossed into a single walkway of destiny.

The birds chirped again when they saw the Rhinemaiden, the goddess of the present, the one who answered a simple wish nearly four years earlier.
Her name is Belldandy, and on this normal seeming morning she greeted the birds with a polite hello and a smile; the birds chirped back happily before flying away to another building.

"It's always so quiet in the morning, such a peaceful setting," Belldandy said calmly, with a gentle smile across her face.

She stood silently for a moment, reflecting in the rising sunlight and distant hum of the city commuters.

Belldandy set down a large bottle, containing a unique blend of Tea, a tea which she would prepare for her errant boyfriend later on that day, in a short celebration, one which Belldandy and Keiichi Morisato had agreed upon. Speaking of which, the young man groggily walked outside to the side yard. His eyes widened from the rising sun and from another beautiful sight. A smile came across his face, a knowing smile.Belldandy turned and smiled back in equal serenity.

"Good Morning, Bell-chan, what are you doing out here?" Keiichi said.

"It's indeed a very pleasant morning Keiichi-kun; I am preparing that special tea for this evening." As she said this she smiled and tilted her head ever so slightly.
Keiichi blushed slightly, and then smiled back. "Oh you're going to tease me before the day even starts?"

"Oh--oh I'm sorry Keiichi, I did not intend to--" Keiichi walked up to Belldandy and placed a finger on her lips. "It's perfectly alright; Bell-chan can call Keiichi whatever Bell-chan wants... I'm just saying... it's pretty early." Belldandy sighed and kissed Keiichi on his cheek.
"Of course, silly me..." An idea sprung forth from her mind, "Keiichi?" She asked,

"Yes Bell-chan?"

"Why don't you go relax while I prepare breakfast?" Keiichi hugged Belldandy and looked into her eyes. "Don't you want help, it is after all our--" Bell held up a finger. "Keiichi I insist; go take a relaxing bath and I'll let you know when breakfast is ready."

"Alright, if you say so... I'll see you in a little bit then."

Keiichi let go of their hug and walked back inside. Belldandy hummed to herself as she walked in a different route to the pantry to gather spices and raw ingredients for breakfast.

Meanwhile, there was a pair of eyes watching the lovelorn couple from a safe distance, safe being farther away then Banpei DX could detect. The sly demonness who was known as Mara, laughed in a rather silly fashion, but she didn't rather care either.
"So... they're having some sort of celebration this evening huh? This will be a great time to inflict awful, horrible luck on that blessed' Morisato!" "Hahaha," She laughed again to an invisible audience.

The slender figure pulled from a pocket a vial, that which held a purple liquid, a liquid which Mara, the demonness committed to ruining Keiichi Morisato's life, would be using for some sort of diabolical plot.

Mara vanished from the temple grounds and teleported herself to another part of the Chiba prefecture. "… However" she said to herself, "I need to send the bad luck higher around where the blessed' goddess temple is, so that I have a higher chance of success!" Mara then flew west towards downtown Chiba to work on her schemes. Trisha Nowata was a beautiful young woman, she was rising quickly in the corporate ladder, and at this moment she was exiting the limousine of a wealthy prospective client for her company, when suddenly she slipped. "Ahhh!" She cried out in panic. A busboy attending to the luggage hurled his-self towards the young lady, but he was too late as Trisha's high heel shoe went flying, and she fell into a puddle of muddy water on the curb of the Posh Upscale Restaurant. The black shoe flew past a few cars and struck an elderly Japanese woman in the side of her back. "Oh my God, This dress is ruined!" proclaimed Trisha as she got to her wobbly feet. The elderly Japanese woman walked calmly over towards the commotion

"Who threw this shoe at my aching back? I have to attend a chiropractor once a week already; this makes it 3 times a week now!" The old woman threw the shoe to the ground in anger as Trisha began trying to explain her actions, with wet drainage water dripping from her dress. Mara hung high above in the air, snickering and laughing. "This is great, I had not planned on the woman's shoe hitting another person, but this can only ADD to the horrible luck she will have now!" Mara laughed again as she flew off towards another unsuspecting target. "Soon, I will raise enough bad luck to strike!" She said to herself in earnest anticipation.

Meanwhile…again.

Skuld peered out from her machine shop in curiosity. "It's too quiet… I'd better check on Banpei." She murmured. Skuld hopped to her feet and walked out to the side garden where Banpei was currently sweeping away leaves.

"Banpei-kun! Where are you?" Skuld yelled, a little too loudly for the time of the morning in fact. Banpei stopped what it was doing and looked for Skuld.A motorized Robot standing around 4 feet tall approached the young goddess, giving Skuld a mischievous smile for a moment, before her visage turned to slight concern. "Banpei, have you sighted anything unusual since yesterday?"

Banpei's internal motors hummed for about two seconds before he swung his head back and forth.

"Are you sure? It's awfully calm around here… I'm going to double-up your security right now, sweep the entire temple and be on the lookout for anything unusual! Skuld Theta 12 Mark 2 Authorizations!"

Banpei accepted the coded command and began walking towards the entrance.

"That's more like it!" A sweet scent crossed her nostrils."…mmm, it smells like Onee-chan is making breakfast already!" Skuld smiled and walked back towards the kitchen with a bounce in her step.