Chapter 2
Urd finished scrying around the temple grounds, but there was no sign, or any lingering trace, of her middle sister's presence.
"It looks like she just walked out," Lind summarized, looking guilty and ashamed. "Kara was on watch, but we think Belldandy slipped out when her rounds took her behind the temple. She's been a little…antsy around us, so we've been giving her some space. We thought she was in her room, or…Morisato-san's."
Urd turned her thoughts inward. Elegance? I thought Holy Bell was going to warn you if Belldandy did something crazy. Crazier.
Holy Bell and Noble Scarlet fell into a deep sleep some time ago, World Of Elegance told her regretfully. Being rejected by their own hosts leaves them much weakened. As you must recall.
Oh. Urd felt a pang of guilt at the reminder. Can't you reach her? Wake her up? At least find out where she is, where Belldandy is?
No. I might force her to wake if she and her host were right here, but they are not. I regret that I can be of no help finding Belldandy.
Damn. She added hastily, I'm not disappointed with you, just frustrated at the situation. I hoped you could help. She felt compelled to go on, And, I'm still sorry for the way I treated you, for so long. Can you forgive me?
I have forgiven you. That does not mean I do not remember.
But, we're good?
We are good. Always.
Urd shook her head gloomily. "Elegance can't help. Holy Bell's out of it, because Belldandy is rejecting her. Noble Scarlet's in the same state. For Heaven's sake, keep an eye on Skuld!"
"We've reconstructed our barrier so it stops everything, instead of selectively excluding demons, and set up an additional warding spell inside it, to alert us if they approach it," the Valkyrie assured her. "Of course, that's locking the stable door after Sleipnir's been taken out for a joyride."
Urd sighed heavily. "It wasn't a joyride, and it was almost four thousand years ago. What's it going to take before you all give it a rest?"
"Another four thousand years?"
Urd glowered at the Valkyrie, who returned her gaze with a perfectly bland look, lacking any expression whatsoever.
They lie. Lind did not have her sense of humor surgically removed. It's still there, just dried and salted.
Time for a change of subject. "Have you got any leads?"
"Not…as such. We asked Morisato-san where she'd go, and he gave us a number of possibilities. Kara and Jadwel are checking them out, and the roads in between."
"Well, that's something, I guess." I thought this day couldn't possibly get any worse, and now we've gone and mislaid a Goddess! What else could go wrong?
Fate, or the Universe, wasted no time delivering her punishment. She had barely completed the thought when there came a bellow from the temple's gateway.
"MO-RI-SA-TO!"
They felt Gunnr open the barrier. A huge gorilla of a mortal, practically bursting out of his T-shirt, stumped up the path, accompanied by an even taller, skinny one with spiky blond hair and a long black coat. Urd groaned, but it was much too late to wish that Tamiya and Otaki weren't there, or that they would go away.
"Hey, Miss Urd," the giant rumbled, less deafening now. Like an earthquake, instead of thunder. "Is Morisato here? Tell 'im we needs 'im for sumpthin'."
"I'm sure he'll be right out," the Norn assured him. "No one could have missed your entrance."
"Thanks," said Otaki, grinning.
Lind turned from the outlandish pair back to Urd. "Should we let him go? We're already missing one."
"Actually, Keiichi should be all right," she said thoughtfully. "The only thing this has affected is his attitude. There aren't any…complicating factors. And, getting him out of the house might make Skuld a little less difficult. She seems to be taking her anxiety out on him."
Lind considered her words, then nodded.
"You can stick a tracer spell on him, just to be sure," Urd murmured for Lind's ears alone. The Valkyrie nodded again.
Less than a minute later Keiichi stepped out the front door. Lind did something with her fingers, muttered a few words, and a complex intertwined pattern glowed on the back of his neck for a few seconds.
"MORISATO! Da Motor Club needs ya! Answer da call, as honor demands. Our ride awaits!" Tamiya gestured out the gate, where the Motor Club's three-wheeled…vehicle was pulled just off the road. "You gets ta ride in da back!"
That would be a tight fit; most of the cargo space was taken up by the hulk of something the duo must have scrounged up somewhere. Still, it would beat being sandwiched between them in the cab. He looked a question at Urd.
"Go ahead," she said reassuringly. "I'm sure they need the help, and there's not much you can do here. We'll see you when you get back."
Tamiya was already clumping towards the gate. Otaki jerked his head in that direction, setting the spark plugs dangling from his ears to swinging. "Move it, Keiichi! Time's a-wastin'!"
He started walking. "Okay, okay." He glanced aside. "When Belldandy gets back…"
"We'll tell her where you've gone," Urd assured him.
A minute later the suspension complained, the engine wailed, the wheels spun, and the three took off for Nekomi.
Lind faced Urd. "What else—"
"Don't say it!" she snapped. "I only thought it, and…" she looked around nervously, but no new disaster sprang out at them. "Let's…get back to work. We need to get this all taken care of, before anything—" Now she cut herself off.
Lind nodded her understanding. "Let's pray she's only gone shopping, and Kara or Jadwel finds her soon."
"Let us pray," Urd murmured in agreement, turned and headed back to the house.
Belldandy walked along a Nekomi sidewalk, feeling a little confused, and lost. Her whole past seemed like a bad dream, filled with impossible things she had believed completely. Nothing about it made sense except — Keiichi. In a life suddenly gone off the rails only Keiichi, and their love, made sense. She clung desperately to her one certainty.
It troubled her, that she couldn't remember how she and Keiichi had met. She couldn't really have popped out of a mirror in his old dorm room, even though that was how they both remembered it. Why hadn't she understood what was happening when they got thrown out, or the events that led to them settling at a run-down temple compound? It was almost like she was from another world… No! That was another fantasy!
She wasn't even sure why she'd left the house. 'Shopping' was only a vague excuse, even though there were a few things they needed, especially with all the tea placed off-limits due to possible contamination. Why would somebody have drugged her tea, though? She wasn't anybody special; it just wasn't possible that she could actually be 'Belldandy, Goddess First Class, Second Category, Unlimited, Norn of the Present, Daughter of the Almighty Himself' with a Valkyrie license and the fastest racing broom in Heaven. Such things were the stuff of delusions, straitjackets, padded rooms and men in white coats.
She had briefly considered, and just as quickly dismissed, the idea that either of her sisters might have done it. Skuld looked up to her, and adored her, sometimes to the point of being annoyingly clingy. Theirs might not be the most healthy relationship, but she would never do anything to harm her Onee-chan. Urd…wasn't the most reliable person, could even be frivolous and irresponsible sometimes, but her half-sisters meant the world to her. She might squabble with Skuld, and tease both of them, but she would never hurt either of them. Keiichi? Any thought that he might ever do anything remotely bad to her, Skuld or Urd was really insane.
She was equally certain Urd wasn't lying to her. Drug or 'potion', there had been something harmful in their tea, and Urd seemed confident she could isolate it, and prepare an antidote. But why did she believe her big sister? Why weren't they calling Poison Control, and getting professional help? Why did the very idea seem so wrong?
Why did Lind show up this morning, with three other soldiers, to guard them? Lind was a friend, although their history was as muddled as the rest of her past. She was definitely in the military, probably the Air Defense Force because what she thought she remembered couldn't possibly be true, and what would a Valkyrie be doing in Japan, of all places, anyway?
"Belldandy!"
Someone was calling her name; had called it several times, she realized, but she'd been too preoccupied to notice. She turned, and instantly recognized the woman in the blue car.
"Oh, Mishima-san. I'm sorry, I guess I was a little…spaced out, there. Good afternoon."
Sayoko chuckled. "I noticed that. So, what are you doing, wandering around town in a daze? And sneakers, of all things?"
She sighed. "I'm not really sure. I just felt like I had to get out for a while. This day has gotten kind of…strange."
Leaving the house, she had been unable to find any of her shoes. She remembered having shoes, several pairs of them, but they were nowhere to be found today. She had finally decided to borrow the pair of sneakers she'd discovered near the front door. She was sure Megumi wouldn't mind.
Sayoko smiled a devious little smile. "So, you're not busy right now?"
"Not really. I have a little shopping to do, but I'm not in any hurry."
The smile got wider, and even more devious. "I've got some shopping to do, too, and maybe you could help me."
"All right, if you really think I can help," Belldandy said uncertainly.
"Oh, I'm sure you can," she replied confidently. "You might have to open your mind a little, though. Come on. I'll take you to do your shopping when we're done."
She got in, and they drove halfway across town to a large mall. Neither woman had much to say. They drove up to a VIP parking area, and Sayoko stuck a plastic card in the automated gate. It opened for her, naturally, and she found a space near the mall entrance. They got out, still quiet, and walked through the mall until they reached what Belldandy recognized as a high-end women's apparel store, one she had never been to before. Sayoko was shopping for clothes today, it would seem.
Inside, they passed through several areas without pause, until Belldandy saw, with a sinking feeling, what their destination had to be."Sayoko, this is, is…"
Sayoko laughed, only a little unkindly. "Oh, come on, I know you can say it."
"…the lingerie department." she finished uncomfortably.
"That's right. You're not backing out on me, are you?"
That put things into perspective. "No. I gave my word."
"Good. I need a few things, and, we may not always get along, but there's no denying you've got taste."
"Thank you. I think."
The heiress laughed again, not unkindly this time. "Come on, loosen up a little. Who knows, you might find something you like." She fixed her with an impish grin and added playfully, "Or, something Morisato would like."
Belldandy blushed bright red and did not answer, and Sayoko laughed again.
A sales-girl intercepted them before they got three steps in, and bowed to Sayoko. "Welcome back, Mishima-san. May I help you?"
"Yes, Yuriko. I want to look at a few things, and this is Belldandy. I'd like you to show her some of the…options that are available to her. Don't mind if she acts a little shy, it's for her own good."
Yuriko's answering smile was dauntingly enthusiastic. "It would be my pleasure, Mishima-san, Belldandy-san. If you would follow me?"
Belldandy had never imagined some of the…options she saw over the next hour and a half. Within five minutes Sayoko had hung up her dress, gotten their opinions on a little something in red lace, and told Yuriko to put it on her tab. It took another ten minutes for both of them to coax her into trying on a rather conservative bra, one Urd wouldn't have given a second glance. It did look good on her, though.
Once the ice was broken, convincing her to look at something 'a little less timid' was easier. Sayoko and Yuriko teased her with 'options' even Urd would find racy, laughing. She was surprised to find that some of the articles did appeal to her. Not that third outfit Sayoko tried out, but maybe something a little less…less?
She wound up selecting several items, then remembered that she had only brought enough money for the few groceries she'd been planning to buy. She was asking Yuriko to have them held for her to pick up later when Sayoko told her to just add them to her tab.
"No, I can't accept that," she protested.
Sayoko shook her head. "That amount of money is trivial to me. Like a few hundred yen. The same as you buying someone…a cup of tea. You wouldn't see anything wrong with buying me a cup of tea, would you?"
"No…"
"Then accept this in the same spirit. You did help me with a few things, and…I had fun." She chuckled. "Some of your reactions were priceless!" Her humor faded. "And maybe, to make up for some of our…history. I did some things, when you first came to town, and…I'm not proud of them."
"If you're really sure…" she said reluctantly, but with a longing look at the merchandise.
"I'm sure. Although, now that I think about it, there is one condition." She pointed out a couple of Belldandy's purchases. "You have to wear those for Morisato, and tell me how red his face gets. Deal?"
Belldandy couldn't hold back a giggle. After a minute, she gave in. "All right. Deal."
"Good. Now, you said you had some shopping to do?"
She nodded. "I need to get tea, ramen, vegetables, a few other things."
Sayoko picked up her shopping bag and stood up. "You can buy all that right here in the mall. Let's go."
Jadwel walked along a Nekomi sidewalk, feeling…a tad irritated. She had just learned something the hard way. There was a difference between 'looking like a local' and 'being inconspicuous' and she had not achieved the latter. Her deep red hair, with its subtle highlights, and her green eyes, were unusual colors here, and she was a Goddess, a Valkyrie, the very picture of fitness and physical near-perfection. She drew mortal eyes whether she meant to or not.
And then, there was her choice of camouflage.
She had intended the red dress to set off her hair. Well, it certainly did that. It was also tight, low-cut, and had a rather short skirt. Overall, it was quite revealing. Sleek red high-heeled shoes only added to the effect. Mortals stared at her, males especially. She had seen several of them blunder right into obstacles, and other mortals. Worst of all, she couldn't seem to find a place away from the ubiquitous creatures where she could get a minute unobserved to correct her mistake.
"I say, Miss, you look like you could use a ride."
Nekomi was a noisy place, and she hadn't heard that particular voice over all the other clamor until the second or third repetition. It came from a mortal in a spotless white suit with a flashy tie, sitting in a wheeled vehicle almost exactly the same color as her dress. It was not enclosed, like most of the other vehicles rushing about. He was looking avidly at her through metal-framed spectacles. She'd been told that some mortals needed such things to compensate for their vision deficiencies.
Seeing that he had her attention he went on, "Such lovely legs as yours shouldn't get all worn out with walking."
Jadwel recalled her Valkyrie training. She could march a hundred leagues through mountains, carrying more than her own weight, and never got worn out. Of course, right now she was pretending to be a much weaker, fragile mortal woman. What would a mortal woman do in this situation?
"You must be new in town," the mortal continued. "I would have noticed you, and I couldn't possibly have forgotten such a vision. Are you in need of a little help, finding your way around a new city?"
This situation has possibilities, she thought to herself. This mortal knows the terrain, and I can cover more ground in the vehicle than I could on foot, at least without drawing even more attention to myself.
She approached the vehicle and examined him more closely. "Who are you?"
"Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Toshiyuki Aoshima," he proclaimed proudly. "The Toshiyuki Aoshima. I'm so used to everyone knowing who I am, I neglected to introduce myself. And what might your name be, sweet lady?"
"I am Jadwel." Her pronunciation was about midway between 'Jadwel' and 'Yodvel' with a slight musical lilt most male mortals would find irresistible. As this one clearly did.
"Jadwel." He pronounced it rather carelessly. "A perfectly charming name. Could it be that you're looking for something, Jadwel-chan?"
She was reluctant to disclose her mission, but — I don't seem to be making any progress on my own, and this is only a mortal. What harm could there be?
"I'm looking for someone. Her name is Belldandy, about my height, light brown hair—"
"Belldandy!" the mortal exclaimed. "You're a friend of Belldandy's? I know her quite well. Of course I can help you find her!" He reached across and opened the door. "Get in, and let's be off!"
All of her misgivings evaporated as she sat in the vehicle and shut the door. What a stroke of luck, to randomly run across one of Belldandy's friends! I'll find her in no time!
Half an hour later, she was not nearly so confident, nor so certain that this Toshiyuki Aoshima knew Belldandy well at all. He brushed off her questions about where the Goddess might have gone, or what route she might have taken to get there. He had asked some very personal questions about Belldandy and, with a sort of gloating eagerness, if she was in some kind of trouble. She had told him they'd attended the same school, she was in town for a few days, wanted to look her up, and she wasn't at home. All of those things were even true; they'd both gone through Valkyrie training, if more than a millennium apart. Jadwel wasn't a Goddess First Class yet, but she was preparing.
One of the vehicle's mechanical controls was next to her leg, and Aoshima kept reaching just a bit too far, groping her thigh instead of gripping the lever. It was becoming quite annoying. Several times, he had 'accidentally' pushed her skirt up. And, he talked about himself. Constantly. He was apparently related to a rich family that owned something called the 'Mishima Group' and had a vastly inflated sense of his own importance. He bragged that the 'Porsche 911 Turbo Convertible' they were riding in was very expensive, as was his suit, the spectacles, and even the tie. Owning things few other people owned seemed to make him feel even more important. Oddly, he never mentioned actually doing anything important. He attended the same college as Morisato-san, and spent a lot of his family's money. As far as she could tell, those were his only accomplishments.
Toshiyuki also seemed oblivious to her growing impatience. He asked insistently and repeatedly to 'take her out' for dinner, drinks, dancing, and 'clubbing'. Jadwel regretfully concluded that the word meant something other than beating him over the head with a heavy blunt object, which was becoming a more and more appealing idea.
He turned another corner, and she recognized a building they had passed more than ten minutes ago. She was being driven around in, well, not circles, but…rectangles? Her patience reached its end. "Do you know where Belldandy is, or do you not? If not, you are of no use to me, and I will go find her myself!"
That interrupted his self-absorption, a little. He eyed her again and said craftily, "I know someplace she might be. I saw her there."
"Take me there. Now," she commanded.
The mortal grinned deviously to himself and took the next left turn. In a little more than ten minutes they pulled in before a wide, ornate four-story building with a kind of square turret thing on top bearing signs:
HOTEL MAGIC 3
Jadwel read the sign, worried. 'Hotel' meant a temporary living place, with rooms for short-term rental. Was Belldandy so determined to not return to the temple? This could pose difficulties. Nothing about her orders authorized her to drag the wayward Goddess back to safety by force. First things first. Find out if she is here.
Aoshima parked the car in a space marked RESERVED. They got out, he escorted her to the front door and opened it for her with an unpleasant little smirk. The lobby was even more ornate than the exterior, but the decor was decidedly tacky. And…suggestive. All manner of erotic apparel and devices were on display, evidently for sale, and the ones she recognized clued her to the nature of the many she didn't. The place positively reeked of mortal pheromones. Why would Belldandy be here?
Her 'escort' strode boldly up to the front desk as if he owned the place, ignoring three couples waiting in line. "Is my usual suite available?" She followed, now on the alert.
The man behind it gave the people Aoshima had barged ahead of an apologetic, long-suffering look before checking the computer. "Yes, Aoshima-san. One hour, two…?"
He gave the manager a knowing grin. "One to start. If I'm not down in an hour, extend it."
"Very well, sir." He passed a small, colorful plastic card across the counter. Aoshima took it and turned to her.
Jadwel was grimly holding her temper in check. What an arrogant, entitled, self-important little—
"I've booked us the finest suite in this establishment!" he announced proudly, with a lecherous grin. "Toshiyuki Aoshima can always afford the best!"
Apparently a mortal woman was supposed to be sufficiently impressed by now to engage in sex with this odious creature. She had never been more glad to be a Goddess. She turned a scowl upon the mortal. Anyone who knew her would be running for his life. "And you seem to believe that includes me."
"Now, don't take it that way," he said smoothly. "Let's just have a little fun, and—"
"You told me Belldandy might be here. Is she?"
"Hey, now, it takes time to find these things out. Why don't we go up to the suite, have a few drinks, get to know each other a little better, let me do some checking, and then I can tell you."
"I do not care to know you any better. I am looking for Belldandy, and you said you were going to help me find her. So, start helping."
"Help is supposed to go both ways, you know. Why don't we help each other?"
"I never offered to help you relieve your sexual frustrations," she said acidly, "and if this is how you treat women, it's no wonder you're frustrated. What woman would want you? I don't."
"You're just like her," he retorted. "Always thinking she's so much better than everybody."
"Your flattery means nothing to me, and I'm not much like Belldandy at all. She's a lot more understanding, and forgiving, and she wouldn't be nearly as pissed off as I am right now."
The manager looked on with a strange mixture of alarm and resignation. As if he wasn't the least bit surprised to have Aoshima and a beautiful woman causing an ugly scene in his lobby. More people were drifting in, drawn by their raised voices. The other couples had turned away from the desk now, and everybody was watching with interest, obviously enjoying the show.
Aoshima still believed he was in control, and tried wheedling her once more. "Come on, won't you at least have a look at the suite? It's the deluxe, and it's got everything. You'll like it." He took her arm and started escorting her to the elevator. She disengaged herself from his grasp with a quick move, deeply ingrained from her centuries of training and practice. She barely restrained herself from a follow-through that would break the miscreant's arm in at least two places.
"Back off, maggot!" she barked. Jadwel had done a few stints at boot camp, training new Valkyries, and the habits came back to her in times of stress and frustration. Like now.
He recoiled, startled. "Hey, what did I do to deserve that?" he asked indignantly.
"Hmmm, let me think. Everything? Yes, that sounds about right." She pitched her voice to a penetrating timbre she used for berating the new recruits, verbally knocking them down and grinding their faces into the mud. "You've rented that suite, and you say it's got everything, so I'm sure there's something you can use to relieve your sexual frustrations all on your own. Go enjoy yourself for, what, an hour? That should be more than enough time." She snickered nastily. "Hell, if you did manage to hoodwink some poor woman into giving you what you want, I'm sure at least fifty-nine and a half minutes of it would be wasted on you!"
"You are just like her. Think you're too good for anybody," he said petulantly. "And then, what does she do? Lets that Morisato loser hang all over her. What's she thinking?"
"She's thinking Keiichi Morisato is a far better man than you," Jadwel stated. "And she's right. He is."
"That broke loser, with the broken-down old bike? Don't make me laugh. I could buy a hundred of him, easy."
"You could not buy a hundredth of one Keiichi Morisato if you had all the money in the world. Every word you say proves it."
"I can buy—"
"Shut it!" she barked again. "You really are stupid enough to believe you can impress me, or Belldandy, or anyone just by spending money, aren't you? Any idiot can spend money! If you actually had something to do with making that money it might mean something, but you didn't and it doesn't. You're useless!"
"Morisato's useless!" he protested.
"From what I've observed, Morisato-san truly is worthy to be Belldandy's love," Jadwel said judiciously, then frowned and blasted Aoshima. "The only thing you're worthy of is my boot up your ass!" She had momentarily forgotten that she was wearing high heels. If anything, they made her threat even more menacing.
"You wouldn't dare! My father is—" Aoshima sputtered resentfully.
Once in a while they got Valkyrie candidates with similar attitudes, who believed that their backgrounds or connections entitled them to special treatment, made them too good to put up with some of the more rigorous and unpleasant aspects of Valkyrie training. Jadwel rather enjoyed disabusing them of their misapprehensions, and had become quite accomplished at it.
She stepped forward and got right in his face. The high heels raised her a couple of centimeters above him. In her most penetrating, recruit-bashing voice she cut off his blustering. "Your father is not here for you to hide behind today. It's just you, and me, and personally, I wouldn't bet on you! I don't think I've seen a more pathetic excuse for a man in the last ten years. You've got a big mouth, and nothing to back it up except money that was handed to you by somebody else. You're vain, and conceited, even though you've never accomplished anything significant in your entire miserable life. You act like a big shot, but there is nothing behind the facade. You tried to take advantage of me, you depraved little prick, as you have no doubt taken advantage of many women before, and in your ignorant arrogance you assumed that I would allow you to do so. Well, you were wrong! You believe you are important, but you mean nothing to me, and I find you thoroughly repulsive. You are unworthy of the money you spend, and the things you buy. You're just a worthless little wanker that might have one piece of information that's useful to me, but it's not worth the trouble of beating it out of you. If I had six months and a free hand I might manage to make a worthwhile human being out of you, but I wouldn't give any guarantees. Calling you a slimy little worm would be an insult to worms! And — slimy…things."
Aoshima had attempted to interrupt her several times, but she was well accustomed to protests from her prey and had rolled right over them without the slightest pause. He was plainly not accustomed to facing a woman who was intimidating, rather than intimidated. He retreated from her again and actually pouted while stammering out, "You— you can't talk to me that way! Nobody talks to Toshiyuki Aoshima that way!" He tried to sound superior, but only managed to sound like a spoiled child.
"Maybe that's the problem," she snarled, stalking another predatory step forward. "Somebody should have. Now, for the final time, where is Belldandy?!"
"You think I'd tell you, after the way you've treated me?" he whined spitefully. "And you can find your own way back to town, too!" He turned and rushed out the front door fast enough to take even her by surprise for a moment.
Jadwel turned to follow, and somebody started clapping. More joined in, and within seconds everybody in the lobby was applauding and cheering her, even the manager. She gave them all a big smile, swept an elaborate bow, and headed off after Aoshima.
She caught up with him just as he was backing his vehicle out of the parking space. Later, she admitted that she might have overdone things just a bit. She made a complex gesture with her left hand while reciting a few words in Yggdrasil's programming language, then clenched her fist.
Aoshima's vehicle emitted a deafening BANG from somewhere inside, followed by an excruciating mechanical death rattle, and thick, greasy black smoke poured out of every gap and opening, completely enveloping the mortal. Coughing and choking, he fumbled blindly for almost a minute before managing to open the door and stagger out, coated from head to foot with a heavy, grimy, smelly black residue. Only the seat of his pants was relatively unsullied. The glasses were coated too, and when he took them off they revealed just small clear spots around the eyes. He blinked blearily, coughed some more, hawked and spat out a slimy black glob. Black goo seeped from his nose. Wiping the glasses on his suit was useless; both articles were equally filthy. The smoke ascended, and got even thicker.
"WHERE IS BELLDANDY?!" Jadwel bellowed in her best parade-ground voice. Valkyrie recruits two hundred yards away would have jumped to attention.
"I don't know!" the mortal croaked desperately. "I haven't seen her. Now leave me alone…just…leave me alone."
A flickering red glow was becoming visible, and she heard crackling noises, and felt heat on her exposed skin. She took a couple of steps farther away from the vehicle. "You mean you've just been wasting my time? I endured your insufferable company for the last hour for NOTHING?!"
Aoshima didn't answer, shambling helplessly around his car, which was now thoroughly on fire. Several people had followed her out the front door, hoping for more entertainment, and others paused on the sidewalk, drawn by the commotion. A few held their cell phones up, facing the minor inferno. Jadwel took one last, disgusted look at the pathetic sight, turned and started walking. They had driven a considerable distance, and she still didn't want to draw attention with any superhuman actions, so the trip would take an inconveniently long time. She devoutly hoped that Kara was having better luck.
A dark blue car that was passing by slowed down, turned in, and stopped a short distance away. The engine shut off, the front door opened, and a glamorous dark-haired woman got out. She took in the scene, the befouled mortal, the remains of his once-swanky Porsche convertible, the sullen flames, the pillar of heavy black smoke, the irate redhead, and said in an aggrieved, bored, resigned tone, "Really, Toshiyuki?"
"Sayoko?" he said with vast relief, squinting and blinking. "You're a lifesaver. Gimme a ride—"
"NO!" she squawked frantically. "You're not getting near my car in that condition." She could tell instantly, nobody would ever get the stains, and the stench, out of her BMW's upholstery. Or that suit. "I wouldn't put you in the trunk! I'll call somebody for you, if you want, but I'm not giving you a ride."
As she was speaking, the opposite door opened and another woman got out. This one had long, light brown hair, with four unruly strands sticking up in the front, big blue eyes in a face both beautiful and kind…
"Belldandy!" the Valkyrie exclaimed in pleased surprise. Finally, something was going right! Mission accomplished!
The Goddess who couldn't believe she was a Goddess thought for a second and said, "You're Jadwel, right?" She pronounced the name perfectly.
She smiled. "That's right. You— you didn't tell anybody you were leaving, and, well, we got worried. I've been looking for you."
"Oh…" Belldandy suddenly looked guilty. "I'm sorry…"
Jadwel shook her head and said emphatically, "No, it's okay. Everything's okay. You're okay. Everything's just great." She went on grinning foolishly for a few seconds. "Oh, is it okay if I call the temple, and let them know I found you?"
"Yes, of course…"
She pulled out her Valkyrie comm unit, disguised for the mission as a Midgard cell phone, and opened a channel. "Lind, Jadwel. Bell located. Returning to base." She listened for a few seconds, said, "Clear," closed the channel and put it away.
"So, um, will you…come back to the temple?" she asked Belldandy, hesitantly.
"Yes, of course. I didn't mean to worry anyone, I just…" her attention seemed to wander for a few seconds. "…I needed to get away, for a little while. I'm all right now. Let's go home. Sayoko, will you give us a ride? Oh, this is Jadwel, a…an acquaintance, from my home country."
Sayoko sighed, and nodded slightly. "Jadwel. I apologize for my cousin, and whatever he did to you. Whatever you did to him, I'm sure he deserved it." She looked at Aoshima, with his own phone out, trying to wipe the screen clean with a notable lack of success, then back at Belldandy. "Eventually, he'll remember they have showers in the rooms here, and go use one. And the phone. And I'm sure somebody has called the fire department by now. We'll be in their way. Shall we go?"
Author's Notes
Thanks to HotelKatz for reminding me that Toshiyuki Aoshima is the Designated Butt-Monkey for all Oh My Goddess! Fan Fiction, and must always get abused at least once for being such a disgusting lech.
Yeah, I know the 'clubbing' pun only works in English, but I just couldn't resist. Well, I didn't try very hard.
And 'wanker' probably doesn't translate into Japanese.
Hotel Magic 3 is indeed the same one Belldandy blasted Aoshima out of in Oh My Goddess! Chapter 20. It's called 'MOTEL l'Amour' in some translations, but I went with the official Dark Horse one.
