As you can see, I broke my writer's block, and I thought this would be a nice way to ring in 2010, because 2009 just sucked.
Chapter 3
As the sun rose over the mountains that protected around Nekomi City, its light were filtered through the small clouds that hovered in the Eastern sky. The shadows of night retreated under the assault of the fresh light of the day that continued to penetrate all over the area. Under the light a weary group of travelers were making their last steps to the Tariki Hongan Temple, from the garage
Leading the weary group was Belldandy and Keiichi; Keiichi was carrying most of the luggage. Behind Belldandy and Keiichi were Peorth and Urd both of whom were carrying the remaining part of the luggage; seeing how they arrived last night. Behind everyone was Njord, who was giving a sleeping Skuld a piggyback ride up the hill. They finally reached the wooden door and sliding it open was greeted by Sigel. "Welcome home!" she said with a bow and smile.
"Thank you, Sigel." Belldandy said to Sigel as she and Keiichi removed their shoes. Peorth and Urd just floated up in the air and headed down the hallway; and as Njord followed right behind them. Njord took one step up into the house and while his foot was still in mid-air, his shoes disintegrated in a mist of vapor and his foot was barefoot. Njord repeated the same thing with the other shoe and he did this in front of Keiichi who had just gotten his first shoe off. Keiichi looked at him for a moment and then a single thought went through his mind, 'Show-off!'
Njord turned and looked at Keiichi and meeting Keiichi's eyes, Njord closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.
Keiichi was in his room unloading his backpack of the dirty clothes and other things he had from the trip. Keiichi looked at his futon with envy for a few seconds and had to resist the urge the unroll it and fall asleep. The reason for his exhaustion was the fact that in order to make home in time to go to work they left the resort late last night and had to have an all-night train trip. The vacation to the resort was from a contest that Belldandy and Keiichi won after turning in their coupons at the shopping district.
Keiichi finished unloading his luggage as Belldandy called him to let him know that his breakfast was ready. Keiichi walked out of his room and down the hallway to the tea room, as the aroma of the meal Belldandy prepared for him filled his nostrils'. Keiichi walked in to find an amazing breakfast that Belldandy prepared for him; she had made eggs, bacon, toast and a tall glass of cool Orange juice. Keiichi sat down at the table and thanking her for the breakfast, he stated to eat up the breakfast.
As Keiichi ate his breakfast he looked around to find Skuld, and Urd battling over the television rights again. The battle they chose was a card game called, Mao; and Keiichi found that it was the quietest fight they ever had. Keiichi watched the battle, and after Skuld won, the tea kettle whistled through out the kitchen, and was answered by Belldandy. As Belldandy prepared the tea, the telephone started to ring and a defeated Urd answered the phone.
Belldandy brought out a tray of steaming cups of tea and set them down on the table. As she set a cup out for Keiichi, the door to the attic above Skuld opened and Njord's head appeared and with his nostrils flaring he said, "Lemon-Jade with Ginseng?"
"Yes, would you like some Njord?" Belldandy said as she and Keiichi held in a laugh.
"Yes, please." Njord said and then his head retreated back into the attic, only to have the rest of him suddenly appear a few second later. Njord jumped down from the attic and landed only a few millimeters from Skuld; which kind of spooked her. Njord slid his legs under the table and thanking Belldandy for the tea gladly took the cup. The door slid back open and Urd stood in the doorway and said, "That was Megumi, she said that Chihiro is still in Kobe, and she won't be back from the convention until tomorrow, so Chihiro said Bell, you and Njord can have another day off."
Keiichi felt suddenly drawn to his futon upon hearing these words, and he almost jumped for joy. Keiichi turned and turned and looking at Urd, with a face of joy he suddenly thought for a second, "Are you sure?"
"That's what Megumi said, what do you think I'm lying?" Urd said as she looked at Keiichi with a sense of contempt. Keiichi was going to say something, but he kept his mouth shut.
"Do you really want us to answer that?" Njord said as he looked at Urd with his eyes glowing and his head resting on a fist.
Keiichi ended up taking a short nap late in the morning, and as the afternoon rolled around decided to work on his BMW. Keiichi walked out to the garage and his shop to find that Njord was going some work on his Honda RC 51. Njord had removed some of the side panels and had the part of the braking system exposed. Njord had just finished with applying fresh brake fluid and removing an old and worn down brake pad on his bike. Keiichi stood and watched him work for a few seconds, and the Njord turned to Keiichi and said, "What you think, I put in seven mille-liters of fresh brake fluid."
"You better watch that intake; you don't want to overfill the tank." Keiichi reminded him, as he walked past him to his BMW. Keiichi watched as Njord turned back to the brake fluid check once again. Keiichi took out some tools and gloves and sat down on the ground and began to tighten his power chain.
Keiichi kept an eye on Njord as he continued to his BMW and his mind raced as he thought about the events that transpired Njord's residency. Njord was an Element, which meant he was responsible for certain aspects of the Earth that allowed it to exist. Njord was responsible for the water and the wind, because he was made of the wind and the water. Njord was also a member of the High Council of Heaven, which also meant he had contact with the Almighty on a daily basis.
Njord was sent down to Earth to keep an eye on Belldandy and the other goddess because some on broke into the Yggdrasil's memory program. The culprits stole sensitive information about each of the Norn sisters and even about Keiichi and the Almighty sent Njord to Earth to keep an eye on them. Njord arrived and after informing those of the situation also had to deal with an entity that made it self present. The entity turned out to be Loki's son's Vali and Narfi, who were sent by their father to scare Belldandy and her sisters into coming home.
But when Belldandy did not come home, Loki kidnapped Keiichi and using his daughter Hel; ripped his soul out. Loki then presented Keiichi's body to Belldandy and then tried to shame her into returning home, but he ended up almost killing Urd and Peorth for trying to stop him. Loki also almost destroyed Banpei and Sigel, and then almost killed Velsper before he finally tried to kill Belldandy. Njord stopped Loki from killing Belldandy and then Njord fought Loki and defeated him, and Loki was banished from Heaven and stripped of his powers.
Njord returned a week later with a notice from the Almighty and was ordered to bring Belldandy back to heaven for a hearing. The hearing was to decide if the Almighty was going to nullify their contract, and permanently reassign Belldandy. Njord secured a meeting for Keiichi and Belldandy with the Almighty and convinced him to allow them to remain together. Belldandy and Keiichi were reunited, but Njord was stripped of his title of 'Lord' and his seat on the High Council of Heaven. Njord was told he would not be allowed to return to heaven until the day that Keiichi and Belldandy were truly separated.
It had been almost three months since that day, and Njord was still living with them in the house. Since Njord was allowed to retain his Element, he was still bound to the maintaining and responsibility of caring for his Element. So he was gone most of the time, in fact the weekend vacation to the resort was the first time Njord was in one location for more than one day.
Njord slept in the attic above the tea room even though Belldandy and the other goddess had told them that they would prepare a room for him. Njord like sleeping up there, he had a futon that he had rolled out between rows of boxes. When Njord was not being an Element, he worked at Whirlwind with Belldandy and Keiichi. Strangely he was Chihiro's delivery boy (which was a part-time job) and would run long distance errands to other supply stores to get what Chihiro asked him. Njord enjoyed the job because it gave him a chance to ride on his Honda RC 51, which was something he also enjoyed thoroughly.
Keiichi and Njord continued to work together on their repairs until almost mid-afternoon when Megumi came over.
"Kei-chan! Njord-san what's happening?" Megumi called as she walked up the driveway.
"Megumi, what are you doing here?" Keiichi asked a little annoyed at the amount of visits from Megumi. Megumi was the one of only a few humans who knew what Belldandy and the others really were but she was the only one what believed.
"Njord asked me to try and bring his a mesh hose for his bike, quarter inch right?" Megumi said reaching into her bag and handing it Njord.
"Yep, thank a lot, Megumi." Njord said taking it from her with a smile that suited Njord. Njord had saved Megumi's life when Loki's son caused her bike to flip and crash, and had also protected her and the other Goddess from Loki's wrath. Since that time they were friends and even raced each other although out Nekomi and even to the Satellite Campus, although Keiichi had spotted them a number of times being more than friends.
"Chihiro said she'll be back tomorrow so then you and Bell need to be there." Megumi said as she sat down at the entrance to the garage.
"Did she say she needs Njord?" Keiichi asked curiously.
"She said not in the morning, but maybe in the afternoon when her package arrives, and she did say that you will need to use the truck." Megumi said as if begging them to as, which they did.
"Why?" Keiichi and Njord said together in unison as they looked up from the bike, with a slight fear in their eyes.
"She said, and I quote, 'A bike a stole her heart'." Megumi said noticing the fear written all over their faces. Seeing them shaking their heads she added, "What I don't get is where is she going to put all this stuff, she's the only person I know with more stuff than she can store."
"No, someone's already beat her to that." Njord suddenly chimed as Megumi and Keiichi looked at him as he continued, "Skuld, she got enough of her own inventions that at the rate' its going you may need to consider a rental container."
Dinner was a causal event, Njord sat around with Urd and Megumi, and all three watched a rugby event that was on from Australia. After the game Megumi rode back home and everyone was beginning to wind down from the events of the day. Peorth and Skuld ended their gruesome game of checkers that almost turned violent when Skuld kinged three of her pieces and Peorth accused Skuld of cheating. Belldandy interceded and Peorth lost and Skuld watched her futuristic show which turned out to be a space odyssey.
After the show, everyone began to clear out of the tea room as Njord rose to the attic to go to bed. He reached the narrow attic and rolled out his futon bed and pulling out his blanket began to drift into a dreamless sleep, almost. As he began to drift into his sleep, a continual nuisance plagued him; the sharp pulsing pain in his neck. Njord had this pain for quite a few months, and every potion that Urd had come up with did not to even put a dent in the pain that caused him discomforted him; but that did not slow him down.
As the night progressed the house slipped into the calm and silent atmosphere it had known and enjoyed for the past few years. The only movement that could be sensed was the flowing of the leaves around the ground and Banpei who was walking around the house. In the house all was quiet, and solitary; except for Keiichi's occasion snoring that echoed through out the house like a scream in a canyon. Even in the attic, Njord was finally able to get some sleep, even with the slight discomfort that continued to pulse through his neck.
As Njord turned over to get comfortable, the pain in his neck suddenly intensified; the small pulsing pain had erupted and Njord's eyes snapped open. Njord's hand reached and grabbed the side of his neck as he tried in a futile attempt to contain the pain, but this time the pain was different. The pain was no longer isolated in one spot, before he could he ever react, the pain shot upward into his brain.
Njord's world suddenly began to go dark, as his head suddenly began to spin slowly at first, as he sunk lower and lower into his subconscious. His equilibrium was now a mess and he began to feel nausea as his head spun faster like an out-of control merry-go-round. All Njord could do was hold on as the pain suddenly stopped, but it was not over yet.
Njord's world got darker and darker, as the feeling of weightlessness filled not only in his mind, but all over his body. The feeling was wonderful compared to what he felt just a few minutes ago; but it did not last. Just as suddenly as it came, the pain returned only this time it felt like a migraine that deviled deeper and deeper into his mind.
Njord reached out to grab something as the room once again began to spin, this time faster and faster. The mixture of pain and dizziness was so intense that Njord tried to scream out of help, but his lungs could not inhale or even exhale any air, let alone giving him a voice. He tried to call out for help anyway he could, but he felt restrained to the floor, forced to endure the pain that coursed through him, even when he could bare as much as he could, the sensations only intensified. Finally after Njord could endure no more through lost of control and fresh air in his lungs and a bound body; Njord slipped into the darkness that took him, and he remembered no more.
The first sense that Njord got back was his sense of hearing; soft, mournful voices filled his ears. From this sense came others, each slowly building on the other, but only the hearing was the strongest of all of them, and the voices burned into Njord's lobes, until he could not ignore them. After finally gaining all of his senses Njord found himself facing downward on his futon and using his renewed strength he pushed himself off his futon and on his knees.
Njord sat quietly like an obedient child as the voices continued to flow through his ears. His fingers weaved through as he sat on the attic floor looking at the wall, concentrating on the voices that continued to plead to him, 'Help us!', 'We're dying!'
There was no end to the voice, but as he concentrated on these voices another came to him.
"You hear them, don't you Njord." The voice was a soft and caring voice, different form the broken voice that Njord was hearing now.
"Yes, I hear them!" Njord said, his voice sounding distance, but concerned.
"They are dying, and no one will hear them." The voice told him sounded concerned as Njord did.
"I hear them." Njord said as his eyes glistened with tears at the sound of the voices
"What will you do for them now that you hear them?" The voice asked him with conviction.
"I will help them." Njord said as a free tear slid down his cheek
"You know who is responsible for there pain." The voice told him urging him to action.
"Yes, and I will make them suffer even as they suffer!" Njord said as his eyes narrowed as sadness left him and anger engulfed him.
"Go, and avenge all that are oppressed." The voice told him, sounding pleased with his decision.
Njord's eyes narrowed and his teeth clinched in pure hatred as his eyes closed, his body evaporated out of solid and into a gale of wind. The gale blew out of the attic and down into the tea room; with sudden twist and turns Njord swept out into the hallway and out the front door. Njord screamed across the courtyard and into the empty night sky, vanishing somewhere into the northeastern sky; witnessed only by Velsper who sat on the porch with a smile on his feline face. He closed his eyes and a demonic pulse began to sweep over the house keeping everyone asleep and erased from anyone who might have felt something.
Disclaimer: All original characters of 'Oh! My Goddess' belong to Mr. Kosuke Fujishima and are under copyright of Dark Horse Comics. Njord and Loki and other characters as related are of my own invention and not associated with Oh! My Goddess.
