Foreword: I feel bad for not fulfilling my promise of having this chapter up really fast. I made that promise so that it would give me a deadline and motivate me to write, but I'm sure you all realized that it never works :P but to make it up to you guys, I tried to make this a high-quality chapter.

Also, the last chapter was actually the end of the first arc. This is the official start of the new arc, and I am super excited for this one because it's vacation time!

Ah! Keiichi Gets a Devil!

Chapter 9

Ah! Peorth Executes a Brilliant Plan!

The weather was quite nice in front of Nekomi Temple. The sky was clear, the birds were singing, the wind was cool, and Keiichi was dying.

He wheezed like an old man, and he ran like an old man, shuffling down the street as Lind flew by him, feet flying. Except for her lustrous hair and inhuman speed, she was a regular girl, very cute and dangerously stunning, in a sporty tank top complete with athletic pants and bright pink running shoes (courtesy of Peorth). The sun reflected off her new silver bracelet, a magic limiter given to her after the appearance of Spearmint. It was the perfect scene: a gorgeous girl running with a handsome guy on a beautiful day. Except the girl was ahead of the guy. And the guy was basically walking.

"Okay, we're done," called Lind.

Keiichi bent over, placing his hands on his knees. Sweat dripped down his face onto the asphalt, and a smile crossed his face. It was his fifteenth day training with Lind, and although he was much more athletic, training was still extremely difficult, especially since Lind mixed up the workouts every day.

"You coming?"

"Yeah," he replied, wobbling up to Lind, who was standing at the foot of the stairs.

"I'm impressed," Lind was breathing hard too. She stretched to the side, grabbing her right foot. "That was six miles."

"Six miles?" He nodded, pleased with his efforts. "How many have you ran?"

Lind stretched to the other side. "About forty."

Keiichi, shook his head in slight exasperation. He wasn't an old man; she was just a goddess, so she had her advantages, one was superhuman athletic ability and the other was magic: She held out her hand, causing a tiny ball of light to appear. It floated around her, cleaning her in one sweep. It then moved to Keiichi, but he declined.

"Wait. I want to try something."

After a second of thinking, he chanted a spell…

Nothing happened.

"Did I say my spell wrong?" Keiichi scratched his head.

"Keiichi -!"

A river of crystalline water came crashing down the stairs, completely engulfing him in its torrent. It was like he had been hit by a giant stream of water from one of Skuld's new contraptions. Luckily, he did not float off the street and down the cliff. Instead, he ended up in the middle of the street, a little ways down. Sitting up in a daze, water gushing past him, he expected a school of fish to swim by.

He must have looked really out of it, because Lind laughed.

"Are you okay?" She grabbed him under the armpits and effortlessly lifted him up onto his feet.

"Yeah," he said as he wiped the embarrassment off his face.

"When did you learn that spell?" she asked.

"Skuld taught -"

A breeze passed by, causing Keiichi to shiver, so Lind blew warm air at him from her palm as they walked back to the stairs.

"Ah, thanks, that feels good."

"Skuld?"

"Yeah, she said it was a simple water gun spell." He laughed in embarrassment. They reached the foot of the stairs.

"You tried the spell though?" asked Lind.

"Yeah, I was skeptical at first, but she demonstrated the spell to prove herself, so I tried it too -" He paused. Why was it so powerful the second time?

"Must have used a limiter spell," said Lind, guessing his thoughts.

"Oh, that makes sense." He nodded. Only Skuld would come up with a prank like that. She would have been laughing with Lind.

He blinked. Laughing with Lind? She rarely smiled, let alone laughed.

"Keiichi?" Lind met his eyes, noticing that he had stopped walking.

"Oh, I was just thinking that today is the first time I've heard you laugh." He looked away shyly. "It's nice."

Lind blasted him with wind, almost knocking him over.

"Hey!

She was already walking toward the temple.

"Let's go eat," she said with a slight smile.

"Okay," he grinned.

Exercising in the morning wasn't the most ideal way to start summer vacation, but there couldn't have been a better way to start. It was nice to finally relax after a crazy month beginning with a turbulent date with a demon, followed by arduous studying sessions, and then final exams…

Much to everyone's delight, Keiichi aced the finals, finishing as third best student for cumulative test score averages in his entire undergraduate class (Belldandy was first, and Sayoko was second). He credited Belldandy's tutoring skills as the reason for his success, but Belldandy, with a blush, would reply that she had honestly only helped once in a while, insisting that it was his hard work. And it was; however, he did have a little help from a goddess, a beautiful goddess that unknowingly motivated with her kind words, helpful insights, and simple smile.

A smile that was brighter than usual because of Peorth, Urd, Eir, and Lind, who livened up the place, and helped relieve any tension that would spring up. Yes, summer was starting off quite nicely. It was even affecting Skuld, who was acting rather kindly toward Keiichi. He received it with happiness, but also unease. There was a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, and her kindness was too sweet, like the ice cream that Radiance had bought her while on a shopping spree.

But Keiichi didn't mind. It was better than being blown up. He wondered what had changed, and he guessed it had something to do with Radiance.

And so, when Keiichi and Lind entered the room, Skuld, smiling sweetly, patted the seat next to her. "Sit by me and Radiance, Keiichi."

"Uh, okay," said Keiichi, still feeling uneasy because Skuld's scary friendliness. He eyed her as he sat down next to Radiance and her.

"Hi Keiichi," greeted Radiance. She scooted uncomfortably close to him. "How was training? You must be tired." She moved behind Keiichi and started massaging him.

"Oh," Keiichi blushed, "thanks, but I'm not sore on my shoulders, so you don't have to go to the trouble to massage me."

"Good point," Radiance's eyes lit up and she grinned mischievously. "I know! Your legs must be very sore. I'll massage -"

"Dark Radiance," interrupted Belldandy. "Would you like another bowl?" she asked as she handed Keiichi a bowl of rice and a bowl of soup.

"Thanks, but I'm full," answered Radiance. She promptly turned her attention to Keiichi.

"As I was saying, I'll -"

"Be taking Keiichi for an hour!" announced Urd as she dashed in the room. She grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him from the room.

Radiance humphed in anger, and Keiichi, still holding onto the soup, tried not to spill while he was dragged down the hallway into Peorth's room…

The room was empty, except for a gigantic conference table. At the head of the table, Peorth lounged on a leather swivel chair, her bare feet on the table. She sported glasses, and a pink laptop with a rose symbol on the back that was so detailed it looked real.

"Sit down," ordered Peorth.

Keiichi took the seat to her left.

"Do you know why we've brought you here?" Peorth swung her feet off the table. Urd sat down across from Keiichi.

"Uh, is this about Radiance?" asked Keiichi. He glanced at Urd, who was twirling her hair lazily.

"Close," she answered.

"Skuld?"

"No," Peorth leaned forward. "This is about Belldandy."

The mention of Keiichi's beloved on top of the conference room, laptop, and glasses suddenly made sense. It was an interrogation.

He had been in a similar situation with Megumi that had involved hair-pulling and yelling and then evil laughing. In the end, Megumi gave him tickets to a motorcycle convention.

"Let me guess, you want me to take Belldandy on a date," said Keiichi.

Peorth held up her finger. "A romantic getaway, not a date." She turned the laptop around to show the screen.

"Nekomi Resort?" He grabbed the laptop. A romantic getaway at the beach? With Belldandy?

Images of Belldandy in a swimsuit floated by, causing Keiichi's face to redden.

"Yup, it'll be extremely romantic." Peorth adjusted her glasses. "I heard your last beach adventure was quite the success?"

Keiichi's face reddened even more. He would never forget that night on the rock. The spray of the sea. The cool breeze. The three words… and Skuld.

"I wouldn't call it a success," Urd laughed. "He technically confessed his undying love to Skuld."

"Really?" Peorth leaned forward, "so you began to confess to Belldandy, and then what?"

Keiichi rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Skuld jumped in the way," he said. She was pretty devastated that week. He was even more devastated.

"Well, either way, it was an indirect success right?"

"It was," Urd smiled. "Belldandy was bubbling with happiness, and she said she wanted to get in Keiichi's bed that very instant and whisper to him that she loves him too."

"W-what?" Keiichi's face steamed.

Urd and Peorth laughed. He was just so cute when he was flustered.

"Ok, so she didn't say those words exactly," Urd grinned, "but that was definitely what she wanted to do."

"And still wants to," added Peorth. She typed some more on her laptop.

"Here, just follow our fabulous plan." She handed the laptop to him, and he read it carefully.

It read (in a flowery font):

Step 1: Romantic ride to the resort, complete with sea breeze and happy conversation as Belldandy holds Keiichi tightly.

Step 2: Emergence into gorgeous hotel. Lady at reception takes the lovely couple to honeymoon suite 3.

Step 3: Awkward silence because Keiichi is nervous :P but Holy Bell steps in and gets cozy with him, helping relieve the nervous excitement. Belldandy goes to change, and Keiichi can't help but fantasize a little. Maybe a lot.

Step 4: Belldandy stands shyly by bathroom door, her figure complimented by her stunning swimsuit. Keiichi is speechless. He stumbles over himself in a cute way as he compliments her.

Step 5: Walk right out onto the beach. Waves, birds, and no people - thanks to a recent shark attack. Urd, in a cute bikini, throws powerful potion into the clear water, causing the sharks to swim away. It's just the two honeymooners on the beach. Alone :) They set up camp with a blanket, umbrella, and snacks.

Step 6: Keiichi applies sunscreen to his tiny yet manly body, but obviously cannot reach his back, so Belldandy begins to rub the sunscreen lovingly on the back that she was hugging so tightly just a while ago… suddenly, her desires spring forth like the blossoming of a new flower, and she hugs him tightly. They stay in this embrace, until he offers to rub sunscreen on her back ;)

Step 7: He gently begins to rub the sunscreen on her back, trying to resist the urge to kiss her smooth skin. Right after finishing, Belldandy thanks him with a blush, and sits up. The sparkling water rolls along the shore, and then rises up 10 feet in the air. The clear water rushes at the couple, and is clearly not dangerous because it is only four feet high, yet, Keiichi shields Belldandy from the impact, by hugging her close, with his back to the water. As the water recedes, and the couple finds themselves on the sand, hearts beat in unison, faces blush like roses, and their soft lips lock in -

Keiichi stopped reading. The plan continued for another step, but it was escalating into the type of fantasy scenes from the adult romance manga that Peorth loved to read.

"Wait, there was a step six and seven?" asked Urd from over Keiichi's shoulder. She leaned on him, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck, as she read the last two paragraphs.

Silence.

"Peorth, that is genius." Urd squeezes him in excitement. "Keiichi, you have to do this! It's so bold!"

"No way!"

"Don't be a wuss!"

"Hey let go of me!"

"YOU WILL KI-"

The door slid open.

"Keiichi -" Eir paused. "Urd, what are you doing?"

Urd, strangling Keiichi in a headlock, froze.

"Just talking with Keiichi." She laughed awkwardly, still squeezing him, as she patted his head with her free arm. He was beginning to turn blue.

Eir stared at them for a second. It was an interesting scene. Peorth was typing furiously, her eyes glittering, and Urd and Keiichi were in a wrestling death match.

"What did Keiichi do this time?" she asked nonchalantly.

"He was being disagreeable," Urd replied as she released her grip, leaving Keiichi breathing heavily.

More like disobedient, thought Eir.

"He doesn't like your master plan?" She took a seat next to Keiichi, who was still recovering.

"No, he's just scared to live up to the brilliance of the plan," replied Peorth, back in reality. She laughed in delight. "It's finished!" She handed the laptop to Eir, who could have sworn that there was lightning and thunder when Peorth had laughed.

"Hmm." Eir quickly scrutinized the plan. It would have been good if it had been more realistic.

"No offense, but I think this plan is too advanced for Keiichi," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Nonsense! It's perfect!"

"I'll just give him a potion."

"But either way, he can't do the plan until he asks Belldandy on this date."

"Yup that's why he's asking her right now!"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yup."

("Wait, why don't I have a say in this?" interjected Keiichi.)

All eyes turned to Keiichi. He shrank in his chair.

"She's outside doing the laundry," said Eir, ignoring his comment.

Keiichi gulped, and then he was shoved out the conference room.

It was bad enough with Urd, but with Peorth and Eir too, it was just too much. He smiled. Now he would get a vacation with Belldandy… thinking about it was enough to cause a heart attack. He sat down on the step. What was he going to do? Should he bring like a bunch of roses or just ask casually? But what if she had plans?

Keiichi sat there in turmoil for another minute, until he realized that Belldandy was singing softly in the language of the ancients. Keiichi had no idea what she was singing about, but she had such a beautiful and soothing voice. He stood up.

"Okay. I can do this!"

With the inspiration from the singing, he found himself at the side of the temple, where Belldandy was doing the laundry. Sheets, t-shirts, and jeans were billowing on the clotheslines. Like the sheets, Belldandy's ponytail billowed slightly in the breeze. She was a stunning sight. It was like being in heaven, watching her as she gracefully did the laundry.

But Keiichi was more entranced by her voice. He didn't want to talk to her because then she would stop singing, but she noticed his nervous approach.

"Oh, Keiichi," she smiled, "you finished talking with Urd?"

"Yeah." He started helping Belldandy hang up the laundry. He had no idea what to say, so he panicked. "Hey, d-do you have anything important planned for the next two weeks?"

Belldandy hung up another shirt. "No, I don't think so." She looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"Well, Urd, I mean Urd and Peorth kind of got a reservation at Nekomi Resort." He gulped as Belldandy patiently listened. "And I was wondering if you - if you're not busy of course - would like to go with me?"

Whew.

Belldandy's face lit up, "I'd love to!" She beamed. "When are we going?"

"Tomorrow," said Keiichi, relief and happiness showing in his voice.

"That's wonderful! Skuld had been saying she wanted to go to the beach." Belldandy hung up the last shirt.

Keiichi suddenly became quiet.

"Keiichi?" asked Belldandy. She picked up the laundry basket.

"Uh, it'll be just us," he said with a major blush.

Belldandy's face lit up even more. She began to speak, but Holy Bell, out of nowhere, tackled Keiichi.

"Ah! Holy Bell!" Keiichi blushed as Holy Bell leaned her head on his chest.

She beamed, looked up at his face, and said something.

"What?" Keiichi, very uncomfortable, avoiding eye contact with Holy Bell, looked to Belldandy for translation.

But Belldandy was unable to speak again, because a bush interrupted her.

"She said she wants you to kiss her!" yelled the bush.

"K-kiss?" Keiichi blushed as he released her. She looked away demurely.

Silence.

"Did that bush just talk?" asked Keiichi.

"No," replied the bush. Keiichi, Holy Bell, Belldandy looked at each other, and then laughed.

"Urd, we know it's you. Come on out."

"Haha, you found me." Urd popped out of the bushes. She had leaves and a twig in her hair, and she was folding her arms.

"So, you going to kiss or what?" she asked impatiently.

-v-

Afterword: Next chapters involve major bullying, maybe an arm wrestling contest, romance at the beach, flat out rejection, discrimination, an awesome double dash motomagic race, and Mara in a maid outfit :) I was conflicted if I wanted to make it a super long mega awesome chapter, but I decided to make it a bunch of short chapters, so expect more frequent posting.

Oh and a side note. With Urd and Peorth's absolutely fab plan, can you guys guess who wrote which steps? Let me know in the reviews. Winner who gets them all right first gets to request one thing they want to occur for future chapters, as long as it is reasonable, appropriate, and awesome.