Disclaimer: AMG is not mine. If the Quests and Corridors sketch sounds familiar, it's because it's from the D&D comedy sketch by Dead Alewives. For those of you who are wondering where the next update of Choix is, no I haven't given up on it. I'm just taking a break. A fic like Choix, dark as it is, can be taxing, so every so often I have to run back to my comedic roots.
Scordatura
Chapter 2
Minuet
Urd grabbed Belldandy's arm and pulled her away from the kitchen stove, not speaking a word as her younger sister protested. She didn't release her until they were safely alone in Urd's room.
"You have trouble," Urd told her. "Big trouble."
Belldandy blinked. "What do you mean? It worked, didn't it? She saw me..."
Urd took a step back and played with her hair. "Yeah, she did! She saw you acting, Belldandy! Now she thinks Keiichi's in play, and that you're trying to take him from her!"
A horrified look flashed across Belldandy's face.
"She is more determined now than she was before," Urd told her quietly. "You're going to have to move quickly."
Belldandy turned away, her gaze downward. "I... It's not that I don't love him... or that I have to act," she told her sister. "I just... I..."
"I know, Belldandy," Urd told her sympathetically. "What you and Keiichi have between you is sweet. It's the kind of innocent love that simply doesn't exist in this realm anymore. And if I thought you had a choice in the matter anymore..." She shook her head. "But you don't. You and Sif are very much alike, Belldandy, but she has a few key advantages on you; the worst one right now is that she genuinely loves Keiichi... and she's not afraid to express it. You're going to have to do the same."
Belldandy turned back to Urd, not quite understanding what her sister wanted her to do.
Urd saw the question in her eyes and answered it bluntly. "You're going to have to put out."
888
Sif's heart was plagued with doubts and questions, and as such the blonde goddess craved clarity. Stepping onto the back porch, she kicked off her shoes and stepped into the courtyard, her gaze up toward the verdant trees blowing in the wind.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and summoned Ameri to her hands. The viola and bow manifested in her grasp, and she prepared to play. Drawing the bow over the strings, a slow, but somehow uplifting melody floated into the air. As one, the trees waving in the breeze before her began to move in synch, swaying from side to side in tune with her playing.
This will be difficult for me, she conceded as her fingers moved over the strings, the tempo of her melody increasing.
Because of your friendship with Belldandy? Ameri's musical contralto replied in her head. The voice of her familiar always left Sif feeling a little jealous. If she had a voice like that, she'd sing at least as well as Belldandy.
I have no desire to hurt her feelings, Sif went on. Everything here is just so wrong. Something happened, a mix-up of epic proportions.
Perhaps, Ameri told her. Nothing happens without a reason. Perhaps there is a reason here...
Sif's fingers halted, and the trees before her began to sway with the wind once again. She could feel a presence behind her. Turning, she saw him standing there.
"Keiichi sama..."
888
"Put out what?" Belldandy asked, blinking in confusion.
Urd took a breath, wondering if her sister was really that naive or just being coy. She cleared her throat and took Belldandy by the shoulders. "Belldandy, you're going to have to cement your relationship with Keiichi... intimately..."
Belldandy blinked again.
"You're going to have to sleep with him."
The younger Norn's face brightened. "You mean like a slumber party?!"
"No," Urd bit out in annoyance. "Not like a slumb... You know what?" she asked, giving up. "Yeah. That's what I mean. A slumber party. Just you and him... in the same bed... without clothes..."
"But Neesan that sounds a lot like..." Belldandy broke off, her hand going to her mouth as she gasped in shock. "Neesan!"
Urd rubbed her temples with her fingers. "I cannot believe Keiichi falls for this 'I'm so innocent, I must be hot' routine..."
Belldandy was still too shocked to register anything her sister said. A deep blush had suffused her face and neck, making the Norn practically glow in the dark.
Urd sighed and faced her. "Yes, I mean that. You have to do something that will simultaneously cement your relationship with Keiichi and erase all doubt in the minds of any other interested parties... meaning Sif... that Keiichi is yours."
Belldandy closed her eyes as she considered her sister's words. Urd watched, wondering how this decision could be so difficult. It wasn't as if Belldandy didn't love Keiichi. It wasn't as if she didn't want exactly what Urd was counseling. It was simply a matter of mustering the courage to do it.
The Norn opened her eyes again and faced her sister.
"No," she said quietly. "I won't do it."
888
Keiichi jumped as if caught doing something he shouldn't. He had heard Sif's playing from inside and went to investigate, drawn to the sound of the goddess's melody. Now, with her blue eyes turned on him, he suddenly felt as if he were intruding.
"I'm sorry," he said stupidly. "I just... I mean that was beautiful," he told her.
Her smile at these words brightened the entire courtyard. "Thank you!" she said quickly. "I'm so glad you enjoy my playing." A wonderful possibility ran through her head and she took a step toward him. "Do you play? We could duet!"
Keiichi held his hands up as if to ward off the idea. "Nah, I don't play anything," he said. "My grandma tried to teach me to play piano when I was a kid, but I didn't have the fingers for it."
"No?" Sif asked, blinking at his response. She bounded forward and suddenly took his hand, holding Ameri with the other. Keiichi blinked as the goddess examined his fingers critically, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated.
Finally, she relinquished his hand and smiled. "It's as I thought," she said knowingly. "Your hands are capable of great love."
"Love?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Indeed," she replied. "That's all music is, Keiichi sama. It's the sound of your soul's love."
"Well... Maybe, but... well... You have to have talent too, right?" he asked. "I mean... of course you're good at it, you're a goddess, but..."
Her face fell just a bit. "Please don't make that assumption, Keiichi sama," she begged quietly. "Being a goddess doesn't make one good at everything. Like anyone else, we work hard to acquire and perfect our talents."
He cleared his throat and blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to make light of your talent..."
She smiled again. "Would you like to try?" she asked, holding Ameri out to him.
"Me?" he asked, blinking.
"Indeed," she replied.
"I don't know how," he said.
"Then I can teach you," she said, stepping forward and placing the viola in his hands. "Don't worry," she whispered as she stepped behind him. "Ameri is very gentle with first-timers."
Keiichi swallowed at the sound of Sif's words. Clearing his throat, he raised the viola to his neck, trying to find the right placement. Sif's hands found his and guided the instrument to the right spot.
"Gently," she cautioned. "Hold her gently... like you would hold me..."
He cleared his throat and turned a deeper shade of red. Sif reached over his shoulder and positioned his hand on the bow. "Now," she whispered, "Just draw back slowly..."
A high-pitched squeak rang out from the viola.
"Sorry," he said quickly.
Sif smiled behind him. "It's all right. Like any young lady taken too roughly, Ameri will voice her displeasure. But she won't punish you for it."
The boy's eyes fell on the musical instrument, and he actually blushed brighter at the comparison. "O...okay," he replied.
"Now," she whispered again. "Gently..." Her hand on his, she helped him slowly and steadily draw the bow over the strings. This time, a long, steady note emerged, drifting off as the end of the bow slowed to a stop over the instrument.
"You see?" she asked quietly into his ear. "That is half the battle."
He blinked and smiled. "That's not so hard," he said.
"Now, you move the bow, and I'll guide your hands," she said.
888
Urd sighed. "Look, Belldandy," she said with a smile. "I know it's a scary thought, but..."
"I'm not afraid, Neesan. That's not it," Belldandy told her, cutting her off. She took a breath and closed her eyes. "I'm not immune to those feelings, and I look forward to the day when Keiichi and I can express our love physically... but if I go to him now, it won't be an act of love. It will be one of desperation. And I won't do it."
The older goddess sighed again. "Belldandy, I understand where you're coming from, but..."
Belldandy suddenly held up a finger, stopping her as she cocked her head to the side. "Do you hear that?"
Urd listened closely. "Sounds like Sif playing her violin again..."
"Viola," Belldandy corrected.
"Yeah, I don't care..."
"Shhh!"
"It's just Sif playing her viola, Belldandy..."
Belldandy's eyes seemed to be searching for something only she could see. "That's not Sif's soul," she said. She turned and darted for the door. "It's Keiichi's!"
"Bell!" Urd called after her.
888
Belldandy reached the back steps and froze. Out in the courtyard, Sif was standing behind Keiichi, guiding his hand on the bow as he played. She looked away quickly, her face a mask of panic and uncertainty.
Urd caught up with her and saw what was going on. She grabbed Belldandy's wrist and pulled, forcing the younger goddess to look up at her.
"You have to do something!" Urd hissed at her. "They're bonding!"
"It's not my place," Belldandy said weakly.
"Dammit! It is your place! That's what I've been telling you!" Urd cried. She watched Belldandy bite her lip. "BELLDANDY!"
The younger Norn turned and marched toward the couple. Urd blinked. "Oh, crap... She's not going to belt her, is she?" She blinked and grinned. "Oh, how awesome would that be?!"
Belldandy walked quietly up behind them, stopping about three meters from them. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath...
And started to sing.
In front of her, Sif's eyes snapped open as the sound of Belldandy's voice flowed into the melody she and Keiichi were playing. She felt Keiichi's hand take more control of the bow as if guided by Belldandy's voice. She wanted to be angry, but was so overwhelmed by the emotion in the music that she smiled and continued guiding Keiichi.
After several minutes, the song came to an end.
Keiichi opened his eyes and let out a breath. "Wow," he said. He turned and found both goddesses standing there. "That was..." He blushed. "Thank you," he told Sif.
"It was my pleasure, Keiichi sama," she replied. "It was beautiful."
He stared at the both of them for a hard minute, as if suddenly realizing what was happening. Chucking a thumb at the garage, he cleared his throat. "I... uh... I have some work to do."
"Dinner will be in about an hour, Keiichi san," Belldandy said with a smile.
He smiled back. "Okay! Great!" he replied. Turning, he started for the garage.
"That was beautiful, Sif," Belldandy told her sincerely.
Her friend turned to her and smiled. "Your singing made it, Belldandy. It was wonderful!"
Standing near the door, Skuld frowned and turned to Urd. "I don't get it. Shouldn't they hate each other now or something?"
Urd rolled her eyes. "You're missing the bigger picture here," she said. "Those two have been friends longer than you've been alive. They don't want to throw that away over Keiichi, but they're reaching that point. Until they do, they can still fool themselves into thinking nothing will change."
"So what happens now?" Skuld asked.
"One of them gets Keiichi, and the other goes home," Urd told her.
Skuld blinked...
Then smiled.
She quickly hid it as Belldandy gave Sif a hug and turned back toward them, intent on finishing making dinner. As she entered the house, Urd clapped.
"Nicely done," she said.
Belldandy let out a breath. "Was it the right thing to do, though? They were having a nice time..."
"Belldandy, you could have marched up to Sif, grabbed her by the hair and pushed her face into the dirt, and it still would have been the right thing to do," Urd told her. "You stalled her today, but it's still a stalemate."
The younger goddess didn't reply. She stepped into the kitchen where she could concentrate on a task she knew she could accomplish.
Urd sighed. "I swear that sister of ours..." She blinked as she realized Skuld was no longer there. "Skuld?"
888
"Hi, Keiichi," Skuld called out as she entered the tiny shed the college student used as a garage.
Keiichi looked up from the Beemer's engine. "Hey, Skuld," he replied. "What's up?"
The youngest of the goddesses shrugged. "Just hanging out." She hopped up onto the Beemer's seat and let her legs dangle. "Sif's pretty nice, huh?" she asked.
Keiichi didn't look up from the motorcycle's carburetor. "Yeah," he breathed. "She's wonderful."
Skuld smiled. "When I was growing up in Heaven, I always wanted to be just like her and Oneesama. Don't get me wrong, I love Oneesama, but Sif was always so... I don't know... just awesome..."
"Uh huh," Keiichi replied.
The girl's lips turned downward. This wasn't going well.
"Her cooking is phenomenal," Skuld told him.
"Yeah, but Belldandy's is better," Keiichi said.
"Sif... um... just loves motorcycles!" Skuld gushed. "Especially..." She looked down at the Beemer. "Deutchland...um... ic... motorcycles..."
Keiichi looked up at her and arched an eyebrow. "I didn't get that impression."
"Well... she does."
"You know, Skuld, it sounds like you're trying to get me to..."
"BELLDANDY WAS BORN WITH A TAIL!" she suddenly blurted.
The world stopped spinning for a second. Skuld replayed the moment in her mind, trying to figure out where that came from. Finally, she decided there was nothing to do but run with it.
"That's right!" she said with certainty. "A tail! Sif? Tail-free!"
Keiichi just blinked at her. "Are... Are we talking about a cute kitty-cat tail or like a demonic, pig-like tail?"
Skuld blinked at him. "What?!"
"What?!" Keiichi repeated.
The two stared at each other for several moments. Finally, Skuld shook her head, deciding to get off this trainwreck of a topic.
"Look!" she said, leveling an accusing finger at him. "The bottom line is you promised Sif you would call her! And you didn't!"
"But..."
Skuld wouldn't let him go. She was finally on a roll.
"You went out with her! You ate her French toast, you pig! You were in a relationship!"
"A relationship?!" he cried.
She nodded. "And you didn't even call her! You let her sit up in Heaven, waiting by a phone that would never ring! And while she was doing that, you were down here... with my sister... Eating her French toast! You know what that makes you?!"
Keiichi opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off.
"A CHEATER-CHEATER-PUMPKIN-EATER!" she shouted.
"I am not a cheater!" he protested.
"CHEATER-CHEATER-PUMPKIN-EATER!" she repeated. "You were in a relationship! You didn't end the relationship! You started another one! That makes you a cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater!"
"I don't even like pumpkins," he muttered.
"I guess you like them on French toast, you pig!" Skuld cried.
Groaning, Keiichi stood up and started for the house.
"I don't know why you're going that way!" Skuld cried after him. "The pumpkin patch is the other way, you cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater!"
Once the backdoor shut behind him, Skuld grinned.
"Win," she hissed.
888
In the courtyard, Sif played a soft melody for the trees as she let her mind drift, lightly touching on her current predicament.
You were right! He is cute! Ameri cried out in her head. Of course, it's hard for me to be objective. After all, it's been a long time since a man tugged my strings!
I told you so, Sif told her.
He has gentle hands. I like that, Ameri gushed.
Sif smiled. Yes, he does. Her expression drooped a little. It was going quite well until Belldandy came and turned our loving duet into a musical menage a trois!
You can't blame her, Ameri told her. She's only doing what she feels she must to win that young man with the soft... soft... hands...
Focus, Ameri! I'm having a crisis! Sif begged.
Sorry!
Sif sighed. I don't know what to do. I love Belldandy! I don't want to see her hurt! What good is having the man of my dreams if I have no friend to talk about him with? And if she wins Keiichi sama's heart, how could I ever be in the same room with them again without bursting into tears?!
Hmmmmmmm... Ameri replied in thought. It's a pity those are your only choices...
What do you mean?
Well... didn't you notice how beautifully we all played together? Ameri asked. We synched perfectly. Your playing, Belldandy's singing... Keichi's soft, loving hands...
Ameri...
Sorry! I'm focused! Really I am! the viola said. It just occurs to me that... well... if all of you love one another... why can't you just all be together?
Sif's bow-hand stopped moving as her eyes popped open.
888
"Keiichi san?" Belldandy asked in concern. "Is everything all right?"
The college student looked up from his plate where he had, until that very moment, had been doing little more than pushing the noodles around with his chopsticks. His eyes met Belldandy's gaze, and he guiltily looked away.
"No, I'm okay," he said. "I'm just not that hungry tonight, that's all."
"Oh?" Belldandy asked. "Are you feeling all right?"
He nodded. To his right, Sif spoke up.
"It's wonderful, Belldandy," she said. "Your cooking has only gotten better over the years."
"Thank you, Sif," Belldandy replied with a smile. But the compliment couldn't keep her worry at bay. She turned back to Keiichi. "Would you prefer something else, Keiichi san?"
"No," he said, plastering on a smile. "It's good, really. I'm just not hungry..."
From the other side of the table, Skuld spoke up. "Maybe you'd prefer something with pumpkins?"
Keiichi sighed.
"I could make pumpkin pie!" Belldandy suggested.
"No," Keiichi said, standing up. "Thank you, but... I'm going out for a bit. I'll see you tonight."
"Oh... All right," Belldandy said, deflating a bit.
They watched Keiichi leave the kitchen, picking up his motorcycle helmet off the counter on his way out.
"Keiichi sama seems troubled," Sif noted sadly.
"Hai," Belldandy agreed, taking a bite from her own dinner.
"We should do something nice for him," Sif declared with a smile.
"You could have a threesome," Urd suggested.
Belldandy started to choke, and Sif turned bright red.
"I think you mean a 'trio,'" Sif corrected, leaning over and slapping Belldandy on the back until she could breathe again. "Like we had today."
"I know what I said," Urd said with a grin.
"Perhaps one of us should go to him," Sif suggested, looking at the door Keiichi had left through.
"Let him be," Urd counseled. "He has a lot on his mind."
888
Keiichi wanted to be alone to think and figured the Auto Club clubhouse would be perfect. At this time of night, no one would be there and he could sit at the workbench and think about his problem while he worked on one of the mini-bike frames. So he was rather surprised when he found the lights on as he arrived.
Turning the knob, he was surprised again when he found it unlocked. Pushing the door open, he stood in the doorway, shocked beyond comment at what he saw.
"Oh... my... goddess," he announced.
Tamiya, Otaki and Hasegawa sat on one side of a large, rectangular table, a large map spread across it. But it wasn't what sat on the table that stirred his amazement. It was the pair of pointed elf ears Tamiya wore and the knight's helmet on Otaki's head. Seeing his expression, Hasegawa sighed.
"Hail and well met, Morisato," Tamiya rumbled. "Hast thou come to join our righteous quest?"
"What the holy hell is going on here?!" Keiichi demanded.
"Baka!" Tamiya roared. "If you bothered to read the newsletter Otaki writes, you'd know we're here to defend the Auto Club's honor against the knaves who would sully it!"
"Are you on drugs?!" Keiichi demanded. "You know what will happen if the Dean finds drugs in this clubhouse?!"
"Peace, noble Morisato," Otaki said. "We have come to quest on beh..."
"One of you speak Japanese!" Keiichi demanded.
Hasegawa sighed. "We're playing Quests and Corridors," she said. "It's cheaper than the gas and maintenance costs of actually racing."
"What?!" Keiichi asked.
She buried her face in her hands. "Both clubs are low on funds this quarter, so we're competing at other things," she explained. "Tomorrow it's bowling..."
"Wait," Keiichi said. "Competing with who?"
"Ah, Morisato kun."
Keiichi heard the voice behind him, but didn't turn. If he turned, he'd have to acknowledge the reality.
"Oh, come on," he whispered. "No way."
Finally, he turned and gave a start. Aoshima stood before him along with three other members of the Four Wheels Club. He held a wooden rapier casually over his shoulder.
"Aoshima," Keiichi replied.
"Is he your fourth?" the Four Wheels Club president asked Tamiya.
Tamiya growled low in his throat. Just before Keiichi had walked in he had gotten a call from Takehiro saying he wasn't going to make it.
"That's right," he said.
"Huh?!"
"Have a seat, Keiichi of Nekomia!"
"No! No way! I'm no Q 'n C nerd!"
"Neither am I," Aoshima sighed. "But a challenge is a challenge!"
Tamiya pulled a chair out and casually... but with an air of threat... raised his foam-covered PVC pipe broadsword. "Now sit."
Keiichi looked up at the sky. "Nice one," he said, giving the Almighty the point.
"Enough griping," Tamiya rumbled. "You can be the Paladin."
"Ugh," Keiichi complained as he sat down. "The Paladin is the girly-class!"
888
"Heading to the bath?" Sif asked as Belldandy emerged from her room wrapped in a peach-colored towel.
Seeing Sif dressed the same way, the goddess smiled. "Hai. You?"
"The same."
"I can wait..."
"No," Sif told her. "Actually, I'd like to talk to you... privately."
Belldandy blinked. "Of course."
The two goddesses entered the bath and disrobed before immersing themselves in the steaming water. Belldandy leaned back and let the warm water soothe her.
"Here," Sif said, moving toward her. "I'll scrub your back."
"Thank you," Belldandy told her, turning her back to her friend. She felt the other goddess move the wash cloth up and down her spine. "So what did you want to discuss?" she asked.
"Our... situation," Sif told her as she scrubbed. "It's unfortunate."
Belldandy looked down at the water. "Hai," she whispered. "It is."
"I don't doubt that you love him," Sif told her sadly. "And I know you don't doubt mine for him."
Belldandy nodded, but didn't reply.
"Which would appear to mean that one of us must give him up to the other," Sif continued. She moved the wash cloth over Belldandy's shoulders. "But... upon further reflection, I believe Destiny might have something else in mind."
The Norn blinked. "Oh?"
"Indeed," Sif replied. "After all, why us?"
"What do you mean?" Belldandy asked, still unsure of where her friend was going with all of this.
"I mean, I've heard of love triangles, but never one as perfect as this," Sif told her, pausing in her scrubbing. "You love Keiichi sama. I love Keiichi sama. You and I have always been as close as sisters. A perfect triangle, a tragedy simply waiting to happen. A game the goddesses of irony have played on men and women for millenia. But... what if we refuse to play? What if, instead of playing by the rules they set down, we do something else?"
"Like what?"
Sif squeezed Belldandy's shoulders. "We can share him."
888
"Gulstaff, you have entered the door to the north," Hasegawa said, DM-ing for Aoshima's group. The lights were turned out and the table was lit by two lilac-scented Yankee Candles Otaki had brought from his dorm room. "You are now by yourself, standing in a dark room. The pungent stench of mildew emanates from the wet dungeon walls..."
"Where are the Cheetos!?" Otaki called from the other side of the clubhouse.
Hasegawa broke off her narration and sighed. "They're right next to you!" she shouted.
"I cast a spell," Aoshima said, holding a finger in the air.
"Where's the Mountain Dew?!" Otaki called out again.
"In the fridge! Duh!" the DM returned.
"I want to cast a spell," Aoshima repeated in annoyance.
"Can I have a Mountain Dew!?"
"Yes, you can have a Mountain Dew! Just go get it!" Hasegawa shouted.
Aoshima flipped through the Q and C handbook. "I can cast any of these, right? On the list?"
"Yes, any of the first level ones," Hasegawa told him.
"I'm gonna get a soda!" Otaki called from the fridge. "Anyone want one! Hey, Hasegawa, I'm not in the room right?"
"What room?!" Hasegawa screamed back.
"I want to cast 'Magic Missile,'" Aoshima announced, ignoring the byplay.
"The room where he's casting all these spells from?"
"He hasn't cast anything yet!" Hasegawa shouted back.
Sitting next to her, Keiichi rubbed his temples.
"I am, if you would listen!" Aoshima sneered. "I'm casting 'Magic Missile.'"
"Why would you cast Magic Missile?" Hasegawa asked. "There's nothing to attack here!"
"For god's sake!" Keiichi cried. "Just let him cast the goddamn Magic Missile!"
"Paladins shouldn't curse," Tamiya noted.
"Hey, I don't have to take that from a wood elf!" Keiichi snarled, pointing a finger at the senpai's chest.
"Hey!" Otaki cried out again from the fridge. "Where am I?"
"You're at the tavern!" Hasegawa shouted back.
"Cool! I get drunk!"
As one, Keiichi and Hasegawa sighed.
"Okay! Enough!" Hasegawa cried, turning to Aoshima. "Gulstaff, You still carry the beating monkey's heart of Gatsu Gibi in your hand. Suddenly, a luminous being in the shape of a woman appears before you..."
"Is she hot?"
"What?" Hasegawa asked, thrown off by the question.
"Is she hot?" Aoshima asked again.
"Um... Yeah, sure, I guess so..." the DM replied.
"Can I ask her to sleep with me?"
Hasegawa rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine! Roll a charisma check."
Aoshima rolled the dice and grinned. "Twenty! Another woman who cannot resist!" he cried.
The DM grinned. "The woman turns out to be a succubus and consumes your soul!"
"What?! That's nonsense!"
Hasegawa turned to Keiichi. "Keiichi of Nekomia, you..."
"I turn my dagger on myself and plunge it into my stomach!" Keiichi suddenly announced.
The Auto Club woman blinked. "Um... Okay... Roll initiative? I guess..."
Keiichi rolled the dice.
"TWENTY! I am dead and out of here!" He grabbed his motorcycle helmet and started for the door. "Sorry, guys! The ancient land of Lodoss is a dangerous bitch-goddess! Have a good one! Good luck!"
The door slammed behind him.
"Newb," Tamiya noted.
"Anyone else want a soda?!" Otaki asked.
888
Belldandy pulled away from Sif and looked at her in shock. "Share him?!"
Unperturbed, Sif nodded. "Indeed," she said. Seeing the completely flabbergasted look on her friend's face, she leaned back against the side of the bath and casually washed her neck. "It's the ideal solution," she said. "We each get Keiichi sama's love, and Keiichi sama enjoys the love of two goddesses. The three of us can live together here... like a family."
Belldandy blinked. "It won't work. Mortals are monogamous."
"But we're not mortals," Sif retorted with a smile. "Think about it, Belldandy. We can all be together! This is a solution that could only work with the three of us, a group already predisposed to loving one another!"
The Norn said nothing, still shocked at the very idea. Sif pressed her argument.
"Consider the benefits," she said, moving toward Belldandy and placing her hands on the Norn's shoulders. "One: We would always get to be together. Two: While demons like Marller roll the dice and take their chances trying to attack you, it would simply be suicidal to attack two first-class goddesses, ensuring Keiichi's safety from the Demon Realm forever. Three: There would always be someone there to help with the chores or to watch after the children..."
"Sif," Belldandy breathed. She closed her eyes. "No... I can't."
The other goddess squeezed her shoulders. "Belldandy! This is a way out for us both! Don't you see? We can both be happy! No one must be hurt!"
"I know," Belldandy whispered as she gazed sadly at the water. "But I still can't."
"What?!"
The Norn wouldn't... couldn't... meet her friend's gaze. "Sif... I love him. And I know this makes me a horrible person... but I don't want to share him in that way. He's sweet and kind... and there's a part of me... a selfish and self-centered part... that wants him to only be sweet and kind to me."
It was Sif's turn to look flabbergasted. She stared at Belldandy as if her friend had grown a second head.
Belldandy finally met her stunned gaze, tears in her eyes. "It's the weakness in my heart, Sif," she said. "But I can't help it. I can't share his love. I would rather take the chance that he chooses... another... than ask him to divide his feelings. At least, if he chose another... I can know he's happy..."
Sif blinked back tears. "You know what this means?" she asked. "You realize what you're doing? I offered us a compromise!"
"I know," Belldandy said sadly. "And as a goddess, I've always looked for the compromise, to find a way to make everyone happy... But when it comes to Keiichi's love... there can be no compromise."
Sif stood up and wrapped her towel around herself, tears running down her face. "And in saying so you have made us rivals," she accused. "One of us will be forced to live without the warmth of Keiichi sama's heart." She turned to her friend, her eyes alight with anger and pain. "And as the Almighty as my witness, Belldandy, that one will not be me!" She took a halting, sobbing breath. "Not this time! Not again!"
"Sif!" Belldandy cried painfully after her. "Please! You're my friend! I love you! I just..."
"You just can't bear the thought of letting someone you love love me as well," Sif finished for her sadly. She bit her lip and shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said. "I love you, Belldandy. But right now... I don't like you very much."
With that, the goddess turned on her heel and marched out of the bath, water still dripping from her body.
Belldandy sank into the water and buried her face in her hands, crying. She had just ended a friendship of thousands of years for the sake of a boy she'd only kissed twice.
The saddest part was, she couldn't say she was wrong.
