Author's notes:
-This is my first fan fic ever! So please rate and review.. I'll try not to get hurt by negative reviews
-Paolo Barcelon is a character based on me, myself and I.
- The inspiration of this fan fic came from a series of dreams that involved myself and Lind from Ah my Goddess. . It also draws inspiration from numerous Ah my Goddess media as well.
-This chapter starts at the Fighting Wings
-Later chapters are planned to flashback to before the 1st season and tie in to the anime/manga at points and maybe also with the 2nd season and movie. But will mainly deviate from it.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Ah my Goddess etc etc
"Ah! A memory!"
Memory is a fickle thing, when one commits something to memory another becomes increasingly difficult to remember. People's memories create connections to others that only last for as long as the memory lasts. This is true even for goddesses. Lind is such a goddess, this is a story of a connection she had lost and found again. Even if a memory is forgotten or erased or sealed, it's still there, just out of reach. Even when memory is supposedly erased, if the people don't want to let go, the memory can be remembered, a connection re-established. Because two people only wanted what was best for one another, only to find that they took a round about way of finding that together was better.
Paolo Barcelon is an ordinary man, though he is from a well-off family in the Philippines and lives in relative comfort running his own business which makes him happy and pays for his living.
He is tall; standing at around 6 feet tall, slightly overweight yet carries himself well, and walks with a slight limp from a knee injury. He is good looking though his very serious look and strange hobbies often put off girls who would have been interested in him.
He attended college at Nekomi and is a good friend with Keichi, in fact, he was his sempai during Keichi's first year. However, they lost contact with each other soon after Paolo graduated and started his own business. Keichi instead ended up with his new sempais Tamiya and Otaki (something Keichi would later blame on his unlucky star). But one day, after seeing an old photograph of himself and Keichi hanging out in front of Nekomi Tech, decided to pay his old friend a visit.
Morisato Residence: Entrance
Paolo arrived at the temple where Keichi supposedly stays with his bombshell girlfriend Belldandy. (He found this out after a short visit to Nekomi Tech)
"Keichi sure has grown up since I last remember him, living with a girlfriend in this temple.. He's already surpassed me" Paolo muttered to himself, shrugging with an ironic smile on his face.
Unfortunately for Paolo, this day happened to be the day that Lind arrived at the temple to protect Belldandy and company from the escaped Angel Eater in heaven. So as Lind activated the barrier to protect the temple and its inhabitants, Paolo was sealed within the barrier automatically.
"Wha-wha-what the hell! I can't move my body! What is this green force-field thing!" Paolo screamed through gritted teeth though no sound could be heard.
Fortunately though, Paolo's slight misfortune led to someone that would forever change his life and already did in fact.
Being sealed in the barrier Paolo bore witness to the titanic battle between Lind and Hild. At first he couldn't believe his eyes but being a big fan of anime and fantasy in general eventually he accepted it as reality. Aside from that however, the figure of Lind struck a cord in Paolo's mind, something that he could not quite understand, no matter how hard he thought of it. It was then that the angel eater went berserk and Paolo saw Lind take a devastating hit that knocked her near where Paolo was sealed. Somehow after seeing Lind take the blow, something in Paolo snapped, a primal anger surged up in him, and all he could think about was; "I must help her!"
It was with this exclamation that Paolo managed to break through the barrier and dive at the last moment managing to catch Lind who was crashing through some trees.
Lind hurt, not so much in the physical sense but in her pride. She let her guard down for one second and the demon managed to knock her on her ass. Though she thought it was strange, she expected a much harder landing.
"Um.. Are you ok?"
Lind opened her eyes and stared at the human speaking to her. He had brown eyes that almost seemed to reflect like a mirror. She saw her own eyes in his eyes reflected over and over like two mirrors reflecting each other infinitely. She felt warm in the face realizing that their faces were so close, lips mere centimetres from each other.
"Uh.. Yes, I am unhurt." Stammered an embarrassed Lind managing to rise a little. She deduced that this human managed to catch her. Impressed by such a feat, let alone being able to break through her barrier. Lind favoured Paolo with a rare smirk.
"I'm fine thank you very much, it was very brave of you to do this. I'm impressed."
"Hahahaha! It's nothing but I think I may have pushed myself a bit too hard this time though…"
Lind quickly realized that though Paolo managed to help her, he was sweating much more than he should be and he was very very red in the face. A fever perhaps or an injury? But this would have wait till later she had a duty to perform. But, as if he could read her mind…
"Go, finish the job.. Lind. I'll be fine" he states
This takes her completely by surprise, how did this human know her? Examining him, she feels a nagging sensation inside of her. Something in her heart, something she's forgotten.
"Who-who are you?" stuttered Lind reaching for her head which started to ache. She could sense that her angel, Cool Mint, was trying to tell her something but since this was the first time she managed to actually call her out, she could not understand her.
"Who I am isn't important now Lind, you're a Valkyrie, now go and defeat that demon." Paolo stated to her while managing to untangle their bodies and rising in to a sitting position, wincing.
Having been reminded of her objective, Lind nods and takes off calling for her other angel Spear Mint so that she may finally finish the angel eater once and for all.
Paolo watched Lind go off and defeat the angel eater with the help of the other goddesses and their angels. However, though Paolo was mainly blushing from coming into contact with the beautiful goddess (and getting into a very provocative position with said goddess as well he thought). He wasn't entirely unhurt. Though he was above average in the strength department compared to most humans. Breaking the magic barrier took it's toll on Paolo, he soon found himself losing consciousness.
"You know… How did I know her name?" Paolo muttered as he blacked out from exhaustion.
Lind watched as the angel eater retreated into the portal to Niffleheim. Having completed that task she quickly took off to look for the human that managed to help her. Landing silently in the small grove where he managed to catch her, she is shocked to find him unconscious and with high fever.
"Oh no! This is bad!" Lind shouted panicked. Being a Valkyrie she was only trained in the very basics of first aid magic, mainly in closing weapon wounds. She did not know if she could treat this human's malady. Luckily, there were other goddesses there to help her out.
"Belldandy! Urd! Medical treatment required!"
Lind carries Paolo back to the others. Keichi and Belldandy are the first to spot them as the other three goddesses, Peorth, Skuld, and Urd are busy bickering with one another about who scared the Angel Eater away before they had their fun,
"Lind! What's wrong!" shouted Belldandy sensing her obvious distress. It wasn't like Lind after all to lose her composure.
"Wait, that's… sempai! What's he doing here!" said a surprised Keichi, having recognized his old sempai Paolo who took care of Keichi back in his first year of Nekomi Tech.
Belldandy was already examining him when their shouts managed to catch the attention of the 3 bickering goddesses. Those same 3 soon started bickering on how they would best treat the poor human. Who luckily was out cold as they subjected his inert body to their miracle cures; Urd's magic potion which just caused him to spasm into what must be yoga positions, Skuld's wake up hammer which only gave him a black eye, and Peorth's rose of awakening which only seemed to produce an allergic reaction in Paolo.
"Are you three quite finished!" screamed a very angry Lind.
The three goddesses immediately managed a "stand at attention" line which would have impressed the hardest drill sergeant.
"He's just overworked, it seems that he strained himself too much and aggravated an old knee injury, I think" Belldandy said over Paolo's inert form, a small green glow in her hands removing the extra maladies incurred by the three other goddesses.
"That makes sense.. Paolo-sempai often complained of his weak knee back at the institute.. He often had trouble going up and down stairs" said Keichi thinking of the long stairway up to the temple.
Having heard that Paolo was going to be fine, Lind sighed with relief. Though she wondered to herself who he was, and how come he seemed to know her, and most of all, why when he was underneath her when he caught her, and their faces so close did she feel so warm inside.
She stared at his sleeping face, thinking to herself, trying to remember, that nagging feeling still deep inside her. She could tell that her angels felt the same and that they somehow knew him. She would have to wait till he awoke to get her answers.
"Keichi-kun, can you tell me about Paolo-kun?" asked Lind
Belldandy stared at Lind from where she was sitting tending to Paolo's injuries. A sad smile on her lips.
"She really doesn't remember does she?" asked Urd standing close to Belldandy, a worried look on her face.
"It can't be helped, the Almighty himself erased their memories" stated Peorth matter of factly like she was thinking out loud to herself, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Eh? What? What are you two taking about?" asked a curious Skuld jumping with her hands in the air trying to get the attention of the taller goddesses.
"Lind once granted this one a wish.. However, it wasn't meant to be. And so the Almighty erased both of their memories.." explained Belldandy sadly.
But, somehow, he managed to remember her? Is it possible? Did he manage to break the spell himself? Or maybe it's a glitch in the system? Not only that, it seems that the enchantment laid on Lind's memory is cracking as well… thought Belldandy as Skuld heard the details quietly from Peorth and Urd. All of them making sure that Lind could not hear. Lind was too busy asking Keichi about Paolo, trying to find a connection that tied her to him.