I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

Pain.

Among humans there several stories of people who managed to come back to the land of the living after a horrific accident, but for Nekomi's most notorious playboy there was no white light, nor a sensation of being surrounded by something greater than himself. Instead, it was total darkness, confusion and so much pain that would've normally make him scream; if not for the fact that he his vocal chords weren't even working.

Nothing really did.

Then, after what must've felt like an eternity, Aoshima's other senses slowly began to restart one after the other, causing him great distraught as his brain struggled to process the conflicting and often jumbled messages that bombarded him all of a sudden. 'Wha-... Where?...'

"Ah… he's finally starting to wake up. Good, that's really good."

The unfamiliar voice added more to Aoshima's confusion, as it came from far too close to him and yet the recovering man was almost sure that it wasn't just a figment of his imagination. Instead, it was as real as the other one that soon joined in, and this time, Aoshima did manage to identify its source.

"It seems that the procedure was a greater success than we had originally hoped for. Still, we shouldn't waste any more time here, or Urd's lackeys might find out what's going on."

That one was definitely Welsper, the blonde demon who's been assigned as the Rose Witches' manager, and ever since then he's been an obstacle in Aoshima's plans for turning the former goddesses into his playthings. 'What is he doing here? Where… is here anyway?'

"Don't worry too much, we're almost done here. All we need is for our… not so mortal friend to fully wake up and then we can leave. Moving him in this kind of state is far too risky, and I'd rather not have to dig for another fresh corpse, when I can use this one."

'Who are they talking about?' wondered Aoshima as he finally began to feel his limbs, yet it took him some serious effort to even flex his fingers, let alone the rest of his arms.

"I sure hope so. This waiting game is starting to make me really nervous," admitted Welsper, before he paused and reached to peel Aoshima's eyelids open, and point a small flashlight at them.

The unexpected stimuli caused Aoshima to instinctively shake his head, trying to turn away from the source of this harsh light, and in the process become more aware of his surroundings. He was lying on the ground, most likely close to the ocean as he could hear the sound of waves in the distance, and judging by the deep blue color of the sky, it was probably either late noon, or pretty early in the morning, just as the sun was about to shine over the horizon. More so, Aoshima's lips felt incredibly dry and covered with salt, which was exactly what he could smell as well, until his attention was diverted from his surroundings and back to his body, when his burning lungs demanded his immediate attention. Feeling unable to breathe, Aoshima gathered all the energy that was still left in his broken body and flipped over, retching the water that still remained in his lungs.

It took him a few minutes to fully recover from his coughing fit, splattering water and filth, that the man didn't even wish to know where it came from, until the physically and emotionally spent Aoshima flipped on his back and nearly passed out from the exhaustion. Welsper however, immediately intervened and shook him by his shoulders, as they didn't have the time to wait for Aoshima to regain his consciousness for the second time in a row.

"Hey, don't fall asleep now! We must get out of this beach as soon as possible, and we're already late!" Yet despite Welsper's prompts, Aoshima barely managed to keep his eyes open, let alone respond, forcing the blonde demon to take the initiative and find a solution of his own. "Okay, let's get out of here first, and then find out how to keep you awake!"

Not wasting any more time, Welsper picked the unresponsive Aoshima up and promptly teleported them as far from Japan as he could, trying to put as much distance between himself and the demonic forces stationed here on the mortal realm.

All without knowing that they've been spied upon.

XXX

Teleporting back to the hotel, the possessed Earth spirit's face remained an almost unreadable mask, as the god within struggled to come up with a verdict about his firsborn's decisions as of late. While it was indeed fortunate that Urd managed to climb up the demonic hierarchy, so that she and the others were relatively shielded from the vast majority of demons, it did strike him odd that she'd order a mortal's execution just like that. Of course, one should take into account that Urd had little to no experience being a demoness, and now that she no longer had someone breathe down her neck, she started to go out of control.

'This simply won't do! If I let her go on like this, it won't take long before she becomes Hagall 2.0! Actually… now that I think of it, Urd's potential for destruction is on a far greater scale than that blondie's.'

Letting out a heavy sigh, Tyr had to admit that either way, Urd was quite protective of Belldandy. A tendency that was only strengthened now that her demonic nature was in charge and without any restrictions placed upon her, which could only become worse the longer she remained in the mortal realm.

'It's time to put her back into a semblance of control, before this becomes too much of a problem to fix later on.'

So, without any time to waste, the possessed Earth spirit left his room and headed for Urd's, hoping that this wouldn't just end up in a huge disaster.

XXX

Meanwhile, inside the room the two songstresses shared, Belldandy was in the process of pulling up the blinds, in order to properly to welcome a new day with a bright smile. And she had every reason to be happy, as the brunette had just arrived from Skuld's place after she spent the night catching up with her sisters, and as an added bonus she informed Peorth that she had absolutely no issues if she wanted to invite some company during her absence. Which… judging by her roommate's state of undress, along with the misplaced bedsheets that currently laid on the floor, it was more than evident that she had a visitor last night.

'I wonder if she's making any progress, or she just wants a casual relationship without commitments. We actually never quite talked about this, but then again, I'm not sure it's proper for me to ask her for details about her trysts.'

Hearing a groan from across the room, the middle Norn turned to look over at the rousing Peorth, who was likely reacting to the sun rays hitting her face. "Good morning, Peorth!"

"Good mornin…" slurred the barely awake demoness, as she turned around in a desperate attempt to shield herself from the sunlight and get a few extra minutes of sleep.

"Please don't tell me you stayed up all night," chided Belldandy as she approached the rebellious demoness who even put her pillow over head to block her roommate's voice, as she simply refused to get up just yet. "As much as I don't mind your nightly activities, would you please take a shower afterwards?"

"I did. It's just the sheets that still need to be changed," replied Peorth with a grunt, without even worrying about the implications of her admission. Unlike before though, Peorth got no response from her roommate, which initially made her feel relieved, thinking that the Norn was too embarrassed to make an argument. However, as the seconds passed, and she still got no reply, Peorth started to feel somewhat guilty at the way she treated the only friend she had during those last two and a half years, and turned around to see if Belldandy was still there.

Only to found out that not only the middle Norn was still present, but she had apparently taken her time to wear a maid's uniform and even put latex gloves on, before she reached and grabbed the bed sheets. "Wait, Belldandy… What are you-"

Her fellow brunette had no chance to finish her sentence though, as Belldandy pulled hard on the bed sheets, tossing Peorth onto the hard floor, since the latter barely had the time to react to this development. With that done, the middle Norn hastily folded the offending piece of fabric, and proceeded to replace it without a moment to waste, despite the glare she was receiving from Peorth. "Ah… much better now! The refreshing smell of a clean and freshly ironed bed sheet."

"Sorry to interrupt you, but you could've waited for me to properly get out of the bed, before doing that," muttered Peorth as she hovered up to her feet and then casually dusted herself, despite her own state of undress. As a matter of fact, Peorth stole a glance in Belldandy's direction, just to see her reaction, but so far the fellow demoness seemed almost unfazed by her lack of attire, which all by itself was fairly strange, if not downright uncharacteristic of her. So, after she casually summoned a nice minidress, along with a black set of lingerie, Peorth quickly changed into them, and then decided to address her overzealous friend who was meticulously inspecting the immediate area around the bed. "Goodness gracious, Belldandy! What are you checking the wallpaper for?"

"Well… I've heard that some couples prefer to… hm… do that against a… vertical surface, rather that on a horizontal one," replied Belldandy with a ghost of a blush, even though such a response should've normally been too much for her to even consider, let alone vocalize it.

"Hm, you've got some pretty... interesting ideas, Belldandy. Did anything exciting happen yesterday?" asked Peorth teasingly, as she leaned closer to the now fiercely blushing Norn and offered her a knowing wink. "Come on, don't be so shy! You know what I've done, so, give me some juicy details!"

"I… No, it's not like that, Peorth! We just spent some time together talking, and we sang some karaoke with neesan and Skuld, and Keiichi was too embarrassed to try as well, but we eventually got him to sing one song too, and…" By now, Belldandy knew that she was blabbering, yet it was hard for her not to be excited about yesterday's event. Things had gotten way smoother than she would've ever expected, as she actually managed to spend a fair amount of time with Keiichi, and though nothing really special happened -aside from that indirect kiss she managed to get from him- it was definitely a step in the right direction. "I've actually got a compliment from him!"

"Details, girl!" said Peorth, edging closer to the Norn, her curiosity now piqued as she had never seen her roommate act like a… normal girl. After all, back when they were goddesses, Belldandy used to be the almost perfect and thus unapproachable role model, while as a demoness the once cheerful woman had turned into a rather grumpy shadow of her former self. "Come on, don't leave me in the dark! What did he say?"

"He… he called me stunning," replied Belldandy with a blush, looking away from Peorth, as she was too embarrassed to share such intimate -at least by the Norn's standards- details from her encounter with Keiichi.

"Alright… that's a good start," said Peorth with a hopeful smile, before she leaned closer to Belldandy and smirked at her. "So, did you guys kissed?"

"Y-Yes, we kinda did…" shyly admitted the already blushing Norn, causing Peorth's eyes to go wide from this unexpected revelation.

"For real? Okay girl, now I must learn all the details!" demanded Peorth, wrapping an arm around Belldandy's shoulders, just in case the latter lost her nerve and attempted to bail out. "Who kissed whom first? How was it? Did he touch a bit, too? You know… back there?"

"Whoa! We didn't go that far, Peorth!" protested Belldandy, and quite vehemently too. "I've only gotten an indirect kiss from him, that's all!"

"Eh? But… that's kindergarten stuff!" The disappointment was clearly evident in Peorth's voice, as her shoulders even slumped a bit as she was expecting something far more spicy instead of this kind of innocent -if not childish- display of affection. "Seriously, you need to step up your game, and fast! Otherwise, Keiichi might think that you're a total prude or something."

"Uh… I'm not sure about that. Isn't that a bit too forward? We barely managed to spend some time together, yesterday, and going for something more could be…" Pausing as she searched for the right word, Belldandy noticed the disapproving look on Peorth's face and frowned a bit, wondering if she was doing something wrong. "Um… what is it, Peorth?"

"Look, as much as I find this incredibly sweet and all that, I don't think that such a slow paced approach could work with a human. Keiichi can't just spend whole years courting you, and our current situation only complicates matters even further. If you don't act now, then you might come to regret it later on, so, put some additional effort to cover up as much ground as possible whenever you're with Keiichi."

Offering a slow nod, Belldandy actually gave her roommate's words some thought, and as much as she'd like to disagree and insist that a slower approach was preferable, there was no way to deny that the current circumstances were far from ideal. Even with Urd's support, in the end they were still Hagall's hostages, despite the gilded cage the latter built around them, to give them the illusion of freedom. After all, if there was anything that the new Daimakaicho excelled at, was her uncanny ability to create illusions; and the luxurious lifestyle Hagall provided for them was just another of her illusions.

Before Peorth could reply though, a knock on the door brought both demonesses back into reality, and more specifically their daily routine. "I believe that must be Kaun, so please put something on while I'll head to open the door," said the middle Norn, before stopping to give her fellow demoness a look. "I know that you two are an item, but I'd rather not stick around for the fireworks."

"We're not an item! I think I've already told you that!" said Peorth in a forceful, yet playful manner, before she pointed at her mini dress; regardless of how skimpy that was. "And in case you're blind, I'm already wearing clothes!"

"Well, we'll have to wait and see then," said Belldandy with a cryptic smile, and then stared at Peorth's attire in disdain, shaking her head, much to the latter's chagrin. "Also, I'm pretty sure I can see your dress, but the same goes for your panties, too. Just pick something a bit longer, will you? This dress is borderline indecent!"

Feeling rather annoyed by what she considered as blatant criticism of her personal tastes, Peorth found it increasingly difficult to hold her tongue and avoid a totally pointless argument, especially over such a petty subject. Still, she wasn't going to let this slide just like that, as her sense of pride was even stronger now that she was a demoness, and considering how proud she was to begin with, it was all but impossible to remain quiet while someone looks down on her. "You know… even if you were right, the fact that you're paying so much attention to what I'm wearing is quite noteworthy. If I didn't know better, I'd say that you're actually jealous of poor Kaun. There's no need for that, though. Call me a shameless flirt, but I'm totally into threesomes!"

For a moment, Belldandy's cheeks turned so red, that she could've sworn that she literally glowed like a desk lamp, even though she knew that Peorth was most certainly trying to get her back for that comment. Still, she was so embarrassed that all she could do was stammer an excuse, and make a dash for the bathroom, leaving Peorth to answer the door.

'Hm… I think I went too far with that joke, so, I guess I owe her a proper apology, and a nice cup of tea later on. Still, she's so fun to tease!'

XXX

In an abandoned arcade, far from downtown Nekomi and its bustling roads, a lone demoness was about to start the second day of her mission. Opening her coffin's lid ever so slowly, to keep the rusting hinges from creaking too loudly, the naked blonde groggily rubbed her eyes as she got up to inspect her surroundings, and more importantly figure out how she got here.

Which, wasn't actually too strange of a question, given the numerous beer cans littering the otherwise dirty floor, that acted as a clear reminder of the sheer amount of booze she sent down the hatch last night. 'Ugh… I still feel sick!'

Rubbing her temples, Mara tried to ignore her splitting headache she got during yesterday's reconnaissance mission, as the sickening overdose of cheerfulness that saturated the entire area around Skuld's RV was too much for her to stomach. Even as a demoness, Belldandy's painfully obvious happiness was more than enough to make her face turn slightly green, and the middle Norn's equally obvious interest in that mortal, only added to Mara's headache. Still, it was all in vain, as she now knew what she was dealing with, and no matter how different this kind of assignment was, compared to her regular jobs, Mara had no desire to return home defeated.

'If mother wants me to help those two get together -for whatever the reason- then I'd better do that, and promptly. As disgusting it is to play matchmaker, I desperately need prove myself right now. And given Belldandy's luck, those two might actually manage to become a couple even on their own…' Smirking, Mara extended her arm and a dark vortex of power formed around her naked body, leaving behind a red, form fitting body suit made of leather. 'That's right. I'll turn that Norn's good luck into my own trump card for once.'

Without wasting time, Mara headed for the closest window of the dilapidated building and took off in the air, in search of the best method to track Belldandy down, and yet keep a fair distance from the rest of demonic forces stationed here.

'I better track her daily activities down and see how I can get close to her. I bet that's the same method that Keiichi boy and Skuld are going to use as well. So, if I try to do the same, chances are that I'll succeed, as well.'

XXX

'According to the police's spokesperson, the recent assault on mister Toshiyuki was a case of intimidation that went horribly wrong. However, it's been revealed that there was a misidentification of the primary suspects, and especially the man who was driving the perpetrator's getaway vehicle. Contrary to earlier claims, the bike with the sidecar used in the assault didn't actually belong to a local resident, as further evidence points to well known group of loan sharks, that's mostly active in Tokyo. Apparently, the unusual choice of a getaway vehicle was the primary reason behind this mess up, and according to the police, several of the eyewitnesses rushed to identify the driver as a local resident who's known to drive a similar bike. Regardless of this honest mistake, the police are adamant to carry on with the investigation, until the real perpetrators are arrested and face charges for this heinous crime. Coming up next-...'

Turning off the TV, Keiichi had to admit that this news were a bit too good to be true, and the most likely explanation was that, Urd must've something to do with this. Even though she actually mentioned that she was going to find a way to clear his name, last night, for the most part Keiichi didn't quite believe her and assumed that she was merely trying to cheer him up. As it turned out though, the half demoness was far from joking, and must've done something to restore his reputation, especially since there were more than enough people in Nekomi who knew that he owned a bike with a sidecar, given how rare such a thing was these days.

'Well… that's a relief. At least I know that they won't immediately arrest me if I return to Nekomi. And the police are likely to leave Megumi alone too, which is definitely a bonus. But… if Urd's capable of making this happen… could it be that her other gift was real too?' Reaching into his pocket, Keiichi retrieved the credit card Urd gave him just before she departed, and briefly wondered if it was indeed loaded with millions of Yen; way more than he'd ever manage to save up, even with a good job. 'I wonder… should I give it a try and see if this is actually loaded with cash? I could definitely forget about work if that's the case, but… is it an honest thing to do? To simply accept a fortune that I did nothing to earn?'

Such were Keiichi's thoughts when Skuld approached him from behind with a curious expression, as she couldn't quite see what he was so intently staring at. "Hey, what's up, Keiichi? Did you find something interesting?"

"Uh… no, nothing at all!" Pocketing the credit card, almost as if he was doing something illegal just by staring at it, Keiichi attempted to change the subject, before he had explain himself. "What about you, though? I've heard some noises from outside a while ago, so-"

"So, you've been wondering what I've been up to?" finished Skuld for him, and watching her mortal friend nod absently, the goddess of the future went on. "That would be my newest project! Mr. Boxy Car!"

"Uh… say what?" asked the incredulous mortal, as the mere name of Skuld's project was brought up.

"Here, take a look at this!" said Skuld, taking a palm sized cube out of her pocket and motioned for Keiichi to follow her. Then, as she stepped outside the RV, Skuld pressed the sole button on the cube's surface and tossed it a fair distance away.

Initially, nothing seemed to happen, which prompted Keiichi to step out of the RV, instead of hiding inside it, just in case Skuld's project blew up in bits. However, in a manner of seconds, Keiichi realized that the cube was straightening itself up, before it opened and began to unfold. And no matter how physically impossible it seemed to be, what was once a palm-sized cube, turned into a small two seater car. "What the heck? It… unfolded? How?..."

"Tada! This is Mr. Boxy Car!" proudly declared the Norn, pointing at the aforementioned vehicle. "Given how congested Japanese streets are, the solution is a small, compact and agile car. Well, all things considered at least, since it has the aerodynamics of a brick, and such small wheels that speeding on a tight corner will most likely cause it to flip. Although, it's still pretty comfortable on the inside, and not to mention that it's totally eco friendly, since it uses batteries. You see, it's hard to make a tank full of gasoline fold like that, and besides… I need the stuff for my thermobaric explosives."

"You know… have you ever tried to do normal things, like the rest of the kids your age? Like… video games for example?" asked Keiichi sheepishly, trying not to comment about Skuld's need to create explosives.

"Yes, and I'm still playing video games," said Skuld with a roll of her eyes, as she tried to ignore the part where the word 'kids' was mentioned. If there was something Skuld loathed the most, it was when others called her a kid. For all her intellect and skills as an inventor, fabricator and mechanic, Skuld was often dismissed as being too young to handle serious stuff, which bugged her to no end. And ironically enough, those who questioned her maturity were far less suited to handle such situations themselves. 'I wonder if Keiichi would've taken me more seriously if he never saw me in my normal form. If I had the time to perfect my Time Accelerator Mk IV, then I could stay as an adult for much longer, and hide my actual age from him altogether.'

Seeing Skuld go silent all of a sudden, Keiichi mentally kicked himself for being this tactless, and even downright rude. 'Here's a goddess who's doing her best to help me, and I'm acting like an idiot. It's almost as if being a smartass makes me sound cool or something. Ugh… I guess I've seen too much TV, and it's starting to give me funny ideas.' Shaking his head, Keiichi knew that he somehow had to apologize and the best place to start was by taking a closer look at Skuld's latest invention. "Actually, now that I think of it, you more or less solved the world's parking problem. Wish my Beemer could turn into a convenient package like this."

"Thanks Keiichi, but I don't think that I can use this technology on your bike. As convenient as it seems to be, you won't be able to tweak your Beemer if I rebuild it, and I know that I'd definitely wouldn't like that if I were in your shoes. I'm a mechanic too, you know." Rather than get upset about his previous response, Skuld merely shrugged it off and maintained her cool, which was apparently what adults deemed as the right thing to do; even though half the time they didn't quite follow their own advice. "At any rate, I've made this specifically for taking Belldandy on a date. I know that you favor motorbikes, but they're not made with privacy in mind, and Belldandy happens to be a celebrity. So, a bike is totally unsuited, unless you want a horde of paparazzi after you."

"W-Whoa! A...a date? W-Who said anything about a… a date?" stammered the flustered mortal, when the conversation took a most unexpected turn, and he suddenly faced something he'd rather not discuss with Skuld.

"I did, and you better deliver, pal!" snapped Skuld as her mood rapidly deteriorated. Just like her eldest sister, the brunette could apparently remain as cool as a cucumber as long as the subject only concerned her, but would go ballistic the moment she felt that she needed to protect her sisters. Something that turned out to be a new experience for Skuld, given that it was usually Belldandy and Urd who looked out for her, and not the other way around.

"Okay… and how am I supposed to do that? I mean, as her sister you should know her way better than anyone else. So, can you give me any hints on how to approach her?" Ignoring his almost instinctive need to run away from such a potentially embarrassing subject, Keiichi put a valiant effort to maintain a straight face, while Skuld stared at him for what must've felt like ages to him.

"Hm… good question. I haven't seen oneesama flirting with anyone before, so, I suppose we'll have to improvise something," said the faux adult while trying to recall anything from her shoujo manga that might come in handy. However, deeming them as far too cheesy for Keiichi to accept, let alone try, Skuld opted to go for something that should work with Urd; no matter how ill advised that might turn out to be. "Okay, how's about this: First, buy her a drink, which in Belldandy's case should be tea, even if it's a cheap one from an automated vendor. Then, you invite her to go on a walk with you, and as you do, wrap an arm around her. Are you following me so far?"

"Yes." Nodding ever so slowly, Keiichi had to admit that he wasn't really expecting Skuld to actually come up with something this… hands on. At best, the mortal hoped for a few tips about Belldandy's interests, and perhaps a few more bits he could use to start up a conversation with her, but this almost sounded like a step by step guide. And for once, Keiichi didn't mind getting some help. "Then?... What's next?"

"The next part is talking; and I mean, just that. Don't worry too much about the topic, as in the end you're not collaborating for writing a thesis, or something like that. Just keep the conversation going, even if you talk about mundane and otherwise boring stuff. The whole point is to get used talking to her, so, the moment you're going to touch an important subject, you won't start stuttering."

Giving her another nod, Keiichi was doing his best to keep mental notes of Skuld's instructions, still genuinely impressed by the young goddess' know-how, even though she seemed to act a bit more like a responsible adult as of late. There were moments when she acted more mature than her mother, and last night's gathering was more than enough proof of that. Not only did Skuld keep Ansuz and Urd from going too far with their little drinking competition, but she made sure that he got a chance to spend some time talking with Belldandy. 'Hold on a moment… Does that mean that she already tried that approach, yesterday? Hm… I never quite realized it back then, but with Urd and Ansuz not too far from us, I was nowhere as self conscious about talking to Belldandy.'

For her part, Skuld struggled not to laugh right in front of Keiichi, when the latter seemed so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even register the Norn's hand, as she waived it in front of him. "Hello!... Earth to Keiichi!"

"Wha?" Snapping out of his reverie, Keiichi blinked hard when he found Skuld's face mere inches from his. Which unsurprising enough caused him to lean away from the otherwise younger goddess, even though she was currently taller than him. "Hey, what's the big idea, Skuld?"

"That should be my line, Keiichi. You kinda spaced out on me, all of a sudden," said Skuld as she shook her head at how silly Keiichi's expression was at the moment; with him looking at her with such big eyes that reminded her of an anime character. "But enough of that. I've actually got more important things to discuss with you, before we try to tack oneesama down in the city."

"Like… what?"

"Like how to wrap an arm around her shoulders," said Skuld as if it was the most natural thing in the world, even though Keiichi turned red just from the mere notion of doing that with Belldandy, and not to mention having someone else show him how it's done.

"No way! I mean… you can't possibly expect me to hug you, do you?" Backing off from the temporarily grown up goddess, who clearly had some rather… funny ideas, Keiichi tried to excuse himself and make a dash for the door, until Skuld got hold of him.

"It's a stupid hug, you big baby! I didn't ask you to kiss me, or do anything really naughty, so there's no reason to complain! Now, stop acting like a kid and do as I say!" demanded the Norn while wrestling him to get hold of his right arm, wrap it around her. She even placed her hand over his, just to prevent him from taking it off her. "Alright, big baby! Try to walk alongside with me, and keep your body language relaxed. If you can't do that with me, then I doubt you'll manage to do this with oneesama!"

"Yes, but... it's… awkward!" managed Keiichi with considerable effort, as the taller girl dragged him along, from one end of the RV's living room to the other, and back again.

"Don't blame me for being taller than you. Besides… I don't get why the girl always has to be shorter than the guy!" snorted Skuld, offering her unwilling trainee a sideways glance. "And speaking of that… oneesama's also taller than you, so, get used to it, pal!"

"That's… not what I meant." Letting out a heavy sigh, Keiichi relented and allowed Skuld to carry on with her so-called lesson, trying to ignore the fact that he was being taught by someone who most likely used romance manga as reference. 'I'm so doomed.'

Even though all they did was walk alongside, Keiichi felt deeply embarrassed by the mere fact that Skuld actually seemed more natural than he'd ever be. And while he hated to admit it, the Norn was also correct in her assumption that he needed some lessons, even if they were merely for the sake of making him less awkward around girls. 'Well, as long as it's something this simple. The moment she tries to pull anything funny, I'm outta here!'

It was about the tenth 'lap' as Keiichi liked to put it, even though the term was technically incorrect, that their so-called training session caught someone else's attention. Watching them with a neutral expression that slowly betrayed some curiosity, Ansuz momentarily shifted her gaze to check the now empty bottle, that was all what was left from yesterday's party and shook her head. 'I might need to drink more often with Urd-chan. She sure knows her stuff, it seems. And boy… that was some good stuff…' Setting the bottle aside, Ansuz waited for the two to reach the end of the room and turn around, only to come to a stop when they saw her. "You know, even though it's been a while, I don't think that's how tango works. For beginners, you should be facing each other."

Instead of an actual answer, the duo let out a startled -and quite loud- yelp, letting go each other, and in Keiichi's case, who was the closest to the nearby wall, that also included a hard collision with the aforementioned structure. And even though Skuld had been preparing for that outcome by merely stating the facts, she seemed awfully flustered to get caught doing something like that, by her mother nonetheless.

"Why would I even try that with Keiichi? I was trying to teach him how to do the simplest of things with oneesama! The rest of that stuff's not my business!" protested Skuld, as she put a safe distance between herself and the mortal, much to her mother's amusement.

"You know, even though I'd like to agree with you, Skuld, I also need to point out that I'm probably a better teacher for him," said the elder goddess, even pointing at herself for added effect. "And considering that you'll be able to meet up with Bell, later on today, I'd say we start with the lessons, right now!"

"EH?! Now?... And…. with you?"

Frowning in a very noticeable manner, Ansuz didn't even need to narrow her eyes to make her displeasure known, although that wasn't enough for her her; far from it. "What's up with that reaction? Do I look too plain for your exquisite tastes? Or maybe you prefer younger, single goddesses for your lessons? Well?"

"No, no! You'll be just fine!" said Keiichi, raising his hands in front of him, just to appease the teal haired goddess, before it was too late.

"Then, prepare yourself! We only have an hour or two before you need to head to Nekomi, and catch up with Belldandy after her rehearsal. So, pay close attention to what I'm about to teach you!" declared Ansuz with such force behind her words, that it was too hard for Keiichi to resist snapping a salute at her.

"Yes, ma'am!"

XXX

"Let me get it straight… you came all the way to my room, just to complain about something you should've done months ago?" Narrowing her eyes dangerously at the possessed Earth Spirit, the half demoness held her ground against her father, who apparently had to criticize her decisions, even now that she wasn't under his orders anymore. As a matter of fact, she was expecting some sort of reprimand, since even Lind seemed disappointed by her performance during that whole operation. Which was already enough of a headache for her to handle, even without her father making matters worse for her, and in the process test the Norn's patience.

"I'm well aware of your ire for that mortal, but don't let your emotions cloud your better judgment, Urd. While I must admit that I, too disliked that guy, my greatest priority at the time was to find a way for you to get out of here; which is exactly what I'm doing, even right now," explained Tyr, keeping his voice cool and collected, despite his daughter's accusatory tone. After all, there was nothing to be gained by picking a fight with her, especially now that they were finally close to bring this whole incident to an end, and he needed her cooperation more than anything else.

Biting back a rather harsh retort, when she felt that she's been patronized, Urd had to admit that at the very least, her father was right on one thing: she needed to prioritize, and picking a fight with Tyr, clearly wasn't on top of her to-do list. "Truth to be told, I never sent Lind to do away with that bastard, but merely oversee the whole operation, as I don't quite trust the rest of my… allies. And it was only thanks to that idiot's behavior that she ended up killing him herself; even if by accident."

No matter his personal opinions on the subject, Tyr had to go for a somewhat diplomatic approach, since sounding purely negative in his critique for her, would only end up pissing her off. "Still, it's fortunate that she managed to reunite with Skuld, and the same goes for you, of course. Your little sister greatly missed you."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at what she felt like an attempt to change the subject by bringing up her reunion with Skuld, the elder Norn couldn't help but throw a bit of a jab back at her father. "It was a pretty sweet reunion for sure. Well… it could've been even better if we had a certain someone with us… but, I guess I shouldn't be asking for too much, right?"

"If that someone happens to be me… then I think you're forgetting that introducing me to Keiichi this early on, can be quite intimidating," said Tyr as he crossed his arms and shook his head at Urd's suggestion. "You see, in many human cultures, the meeting between the aspiring boyfriend and the girl's father carries a lot of meaning behind it, as it's a chance for the man to ask for permission to date his beloved. Now, do you think that they're close to do that?"

"Hell no!..." Letting out a heavy, sigh, the half demoness ruffled her long, platinum locks, and then snapped her fingers, causing a bottle of Sake to fly from all across the room, to her outstretched hand. Unscrewing the cap, Urd took a swing from its contents, before she paused and stared in her father's direction, holding out the bottle for him. "It's not much, but, how about a peace offering?"

Tyr studied his daughter's face for several tense seconds, giving no hints as to what his thoughts were, until he relented, and offered her a slow nod. Urd had always been pretty headstrong and passionate about everything she did, and that went twice when her sisters' well being was concerned. Not that he fully justified her actions; far from it. However, to keep reprimanding her, after she seemed to get his point, would turn out to be utterly counterproductive. After all, driving her to a corner when she was already under such pressure, would only force her to take even harsher decisions, and that was something, Tyr wished to avoid at all costs. While turning the converted goddess back their original state was a great challenge, the biggest problem with Urd was that in the end she might opt to remain a demoness; especially if she starts thinking that her father would punish her the moment she's under his jurisdiction once again.

So, to avoid driving his daughter away, Tyr decided to show some leniency, and accepted Urd's offering, summoning a cup for himself, in order for the Norn to pour him some Sake. "Thank you, Urd. By the way… have you arranged for them to meet once again?"

"Them? You mean… Bell and Keiichi? I sure did, but let me check something." For a moment, Urd set the bottle aside and reached into her top, retrieving her phone, that in reality acted as a terminal to the NIdhogg System, and checked her contacts for any updates. "Well… it seems that it's going to happen after all. In a couple of hours, Bell will be done with today's rehearsal, and right on time to meet up with Keiichi in a local cafe. From that point on, I suppose it's their business on how to proceed."

"Hm… so, you're not going to interfere?" asked the curious Daitenkaicho, finding it hard to believe that his eldest daughter suddenly decided to keep her nose out of what had the potential of becoming Belldandy's first relationship. "No offense, but, that's so unlike you, Urd."

"Yeah, yeah… whatever!..." Waving her hand dismissively to downplay the accuracy of her father's statement, Urd had to admit that she struggled hard to resist the urge to actually tail Belldandy, just to make sure that everything would go fine. However, by doing so, she might've ended up pushing too much for them to get into a relationship before they were actually ready for such a thing, and in the long run, ruin it for them. "Now, is there anything else you'd like to talk with me?"

"Well… actually there is. From what I've heard, Hagall's planning a big celebration for the third anniversary of her rise to power. So, I was wondering if you could give me a hand with something."

"Alright, tell me what you need."

XXX

Even though driving cars wasn't exactly his forte, given his preference for bikes, Keiichi had to admit that he had never driven a car like the one, Skuld built for him. For beginners, he wasn't totally sure whether he was driving the car, or he was merely relaying information to a computer, as its handling felt a bit weird at times. "Skuld… is it just me, or the car's compensating for every tiny error I make?" Granted, for the last couple of minutes, most of his errors were deliberate, just to test his theory that something was off with this car. However, phrasing it like this, Keiichi was almost certain that it wouldn't take much for Skuld to boast about her resourcefulness, if it actually turned out that she was behind that feature's design.

Which, she totally did.

"Ha! You'd think that I'd make a dumb old car? Mr. Boxy Car might not look like it, but it has the best driver assistance system even seen the roads of Japan! Or… anywhere else on Earth for that matter!" said Skuld with such pride, that she totally missed the positively dirty look Keiichi was giving her.

'Thanks a lot for making driving a chore for me.' Rather than voicing such thoughts though, and make himself sound like a total jerk, Keiichi decided to push any objections aside and focus on the far more important task at hand; namely, finding something nice for himself to offer as a gift for Belldandy. "I kinda wish that your car could also come up with suggestions for gifts…"

"That's my job, you dummy," said Skuld, followed by a snort, as the goddess fiddled with her Time Accelerator Mk III to revert to her original age, much to Keiichi's initial confusion. "Stop staring at me like this. The last thing I want is to have everyone in the shop think that we're a couple or something."

"Yes, but… I've already been confused once for a gangster, and the last thing I need now is to be mistaken for a deviant," retorted Keiichi, as he exited the car as well, and then looked around to make sure that no one was staring directly at them. Yet as he was about to turn back to Skuld, the young goddess had already taken the liberty to seize him by the back of his polo shirt, and despite her small frame, effortlessly dragged him towards their first destination: the flower shop. 'Oh… shoot!...'

Feeling her captive mortal tense up, and pretty much attempt to anchor his feel on the sidewalk, much to the young Norn's chagrin. "Stop acting like a kid! And yes, I know how ironic it sounds, so, give me a break and accept your fate! We're starting by buying flowers!"

To say that Keiichi was far from looking forward to this -given how romantically inept he was- and not to mention shy, which made such a simple thing look like the hardest of tasks. Still, Keiichi had to admit that showing up empty-handed would've looked wrong, and as such he had to toughen it up, and endure what he knew that was going to be a thoroughly embarrassing experience. 'Oh, what the heck! I should've been doing this on my own, not have Skuld dragging me like this!'

Taking in a deep breath, Keiichi decided to rise up to the occasion, and demanded for Skuld to release him. "Okay, I think that's enough. I can walk on my own, you know. Besides, this is only going to slow us down."

Peering over her shoulder, Skuld studied the mortal's face for any signs of using this as an excuse, and finding none, she eventually let go of him, allowing the man to regain his composure.

And one final check, to make sure that his clothes didn't look all funny, Keiichi offered Skuld a nod, before he took the first step in the unknown; or at least what counted as such from his perspective.

XXX

Hours after she set off to tail the two former goddesses, the blonde demoness ended up in a rather quiet, yet busy cafe, that primarily aimed for a more sophisticated clientele; and far more affluent, too. It was apparently Peorth's suggestion to take Belldandy to this fine establishment, even though the vast majority of the patrons here were men. After all, that was typically the case with maid cafes.

'What a stupid getup! People actually pay to have a bunch of girls act as if they're their maids? Seriously!...' Shaking her head in both disdain and amusement, Mara hurried to put the finishing touches to her disguise, which included a glamor spell to alter her natural hair color from blonde to almost pitch black, as well as hide her facial markings. While far from the most elaborate way to conceal her identity, this was still Mara's first attempt to follow her mother's footsteps, by acting like an intelligence officer. Even though to the average demon, Fehu appeared like a playful maid under Hild's employment, in reality she was a trained assassin and spy, with the latter role becoming far more prominent over the last couple of centuries.

A job, Mara never saw herself of taking up, until she actually watched her own reflection in the mirror and frowned. 'Am I really becoming like mom?' Briefly wondered the faux brunette, before she applied some lipstick and with one final check in the mirror, she turned around and exited the staff's changing room, heading towards what seemed to be the most popular spot on the whole cafe. With two celebrities chatting over a cup of Darjeeling tea, it didn't take long for the majority of the patrons, as well as some paparazzi who trailed them, to gather around their table in a desperate attempt to get a photo of Peorth and Belldandy's private lives.

Interestingly enough, all it took them was a mere request, and one after the other, the predominantly male crowd started to disperse, causing Mara's lips to curl up in a tiny smirk. 'Hm… control voice. Not bad for two goody-goody goddesses. Well… former goddesses, but it's not like they suddenly started to act all too differently, anyway.' Rather than walking straight at them, which would most certainly blow her cover, Mara bid her time, pretending to clean up a nearby table, all while keeping the two demonesses within her field of view.

At that exact moment, though, the sound of the cafe's door opening, distracted her enough to take a look in that direction, and for the next couple of seconds, Mara did her best not to burst into laughter.

Standing by the entrance was none other than the middle Norn's aspiring boyfriend, clad in the most expensive metallic grey colored business suit one could buy in Nekomi, along with equally classy black shoes, and even a rather unique 24 hour watch to complete his brand new look. And as if he didn't already seem so uncomfortable in that expensive suit, Keiichi was also holding a bouquet on one hand and a heart-shaped box of chocolates on the other.

'Well… would you look at that! From rags to riches as they say,' mused Mara with a content smirk on her face. 'Sure, it's over the top as Hell, but then again, it's better than coming here in his tasteless casual clothes. Perhaps he's not as much of a lost cause as I originally thought.' Happy to know that she wasn't stuck here on a fool's errand, Mara straightened herself up, and with a quick readjustment to her apron, just so that she displayed a bit more cleavage, the faux brunette approached Keiichi with a partially faked smile on her face. She was even surprised to see a few heads turn in her wake, given that she wasn't used to be the center of attention like this, despite the fact that the mortal she was interested in, didn't seem to actually notice her, keeping his eyes glued to the middle Norn instead.

As a result, Keiichi nearly jumped when Mara stopped right next to him and offered the new patron the customary 'Welcome, master' that every other waitress here was supposed to use as a greeting. And the moment he actually turned to the faux brunette, Keiichi felt the need to loosen up his neck tie, as not only did this 'maid' looked much more impressive compared to her coworkers, but she even went as far as to offer him a respectful bow, that allowed him to take a good glimpse of her cleavage.

'Whoa!... Remember why you're here, stupid!' Catching himself from getting too distracted by this maid's mannerisms, or even her apparel, Keiichi was about to excuse himself and walk around her, only to feel her pick up the bouquet, and urge him to follow her.

"This way, master! I know just the perfect place for you to find some privacy," said Mara, while pointing to the exact opposite direction from Belldandy's table, and right behind the inner stairway that led to the cafe's upper floor. As a matter of fact, the table was mostly masked by the aforementioned stairs, making it harder for the rest of the customers, and even staff to see anyone sitting here, which was partially the reason why most others didn't find it favorable; unless they wanted one thing: privacy. However, in order to give him a hint as to what she was trying to do, Mara actually decided to drop him a hint, just in case he ended up resisting too much and either ruin her carefully laid out plan, or just march over to Belldandy, and get lynched by the mob of fans surrounding her table. "After all, when trying to ask such a popular woman out, it's for the best to keep a low profile."

"Huh? How did you?..."

"Know?" finished Mara for the stunned Keiichi, offering him a coy wink and then pulled the chair back for him to take a seat. "Well, if it wasn't for the overly formal attire and gifts you brought with you, that screamed 'date material' all over them, then it would've been the fact that you kept staring at her, the moment you arrived." Pointedly glancing in Belldandy's direction, just so that Keiichi would know what she was talking about, Mara waited for him to look back at her, before she carried on. "Which… can be a pretty bad idea, if you head over there and try to flirt with her, right in front of all those other guys."

Try as he might, Keiichi couldn't see a fault in the woman's logic, as there was still a small crowd around the demoness' table, and he could easily imagine that they wouldn't appreciate any attempt of his, to get familiar with Belldandy. And given that this maid had been unexpectedly helpful so far, Keiichi risked listening to her opinion, as Skuld was still waiting for him outside the cafe, just to follow after them, once they took off for the main part of the date. Which, actually made it too difficult to ask for her opinion at the time being. "Do you know what I should do?"

"Actually, it's quite simple! I'll get her a cup of tea, and say that it's from you. Even though it's a bit cliched, I suppose that's an easy way of informing her that you're here, and not to mention, as long as you stay out of sight from the others, no one would ever find out where she went," said Mara, before she pointed over Keiichi's left shoulder. "After all, the ladies' room is in that direction, and no one's going to suspect why she headed that way. The only thing left, is to grab the opportunity, and once she's here, you two can slip out of the cafe, and leave everyone waiting."

Offering her a nod, Keiichi watched the disguised demoness as she hurried back to grab a cup of tea for both him and Belldandy, yet was blissfully unaware that the demoness didn't quite tell him the full story. As a matter of fact, the moment Mara got out of Keiichi's sight, she reached into her cleavage and under the guise of fixing her attire, the faux brunette pulled out a marron pill and making sure that the rest of the staff didn't notice, dropped it into Keiichi's empty cup. Then, after she got one more, this time meant for Belldandy, the demoness poured hot tea in both of them, causing the pill in Keiichi's cup to fizz as it rapidly dissolved into the green tea, leaving no trace of its existence, aside perhaps for a bitter aftertaste. But with this particular beverage being already bitter to begin with, all Mara needed was an extra sugar cube, just to overcompensate for that fact.

First on the list was Keiichi, as Mara found it much safer to hand him the spiked cup of tea, before moving on to offer Belldandy hers. "There you go. Now, remember to act cool and collected, and invite her to your table, okay?"

"Uh… sure thing," replied Keiichi as calmly as he could. Even though he still had some reservations whether he could successfully pull this off without making a fool of himself, Keiichi was certain that this was all due to his own insecurities. Taking a long sip from his tea to calm his nerves, the nervous mortal had to remind himself that he wasn't just like those other guys who drooled at Peorth and Belldandy, since he couldn't care any less for the latter's status and popularity; and not to mention anything about her money either. 'Huh… she really put a lot of sugar in the tea. I hope Belldandy doesn't mind it.'

As if by a huge coincidence, the Norn chose that very moment to turn in his direction, causing his heart to race in anticipation for her reaction to the offered tea. Despite this being far from the first time he was going to interact with her, and not to mention that he already knew that she liked him, Keiichi couldn't help but feel anxious when the Norn simply gave him a blank look. Sure enough though, Belldandy's face light up in recognition, as she probably didn't recognize him due to his current outfit, and without much hesitation she excused herself to Peorth, who winked at her, as the Norn got up from her chair and made an attempt to head in his direction, yet without drawing too much attention to herself.

Due to that, Belldandy didn't immediately approach him, as such a move would prove too problematic, and instead she headed for the ladies' room. Realizing the necessity of such action, Keiichi simply relaxed and mouthed a 'thank you' to the helpful maid, before he resumed drinking his tea. 'Hm… is it just me, or the room's warmer all of a sudden. Maybe I should've asked for a cold beverage, instead…' Tugging slightly at his shirt's collar, Keiichi felt as if his brain was about to boil, and for a moment considered asking Skuld's help, but given that the young Norn was still outside of the cafe, that was simply out of question. So, without any other option at the time being, Keiichi simply fanned himself with a hand, hoping that it was just his anticipation of meeting Belldandy, that was starting to affect him.

Thankfully though, the aforementioned demoness didn't take too long to emerge from the ladies' room, even though she's been biding her time for appearance's sake. Yet, instead of heading back to Peorth, Belldandy took a different path and ended up next to Keiichi's table, causing him to almost jump when he felt her hand on his shoulder.

"Hello, Keiichi!" whispered the clearly enthusiastic Norn, as she went ahead and took a seat opposite of him, making sure not to make the others take notice of her. "Sorry for keeping my voice down like this, but…"

"We have an audience, I know," finished Keiichi for her and then let out a heavy sigh. "Truth to be told, I would've preferred to meet you in a more private setting, but that's the best I could do. Oh, and before I forgot, these are for you!" Grasping the bouquet with shaking hands, Keiichi offered it to the delighted Norn, along with the heart-shaped box of chocolates and waited for her reaction.

"Why, it's so nice of you!" beamed the clearly excited Belldandy, who actually struggled to keep her voice down as she took hold of the thoughtful gifts. Of course, it wasn't the material goods themselves -no matter how lovely they were- that Belldandy truly cared for, but the feelings and symbolism behind such a gesture that touched her, instead. "I'm so happy to see you once again, Keiichi! And I must admit that I like your new look!"

The complement brought a healthy blush on Keiichi's cheeks, but for an unknown reason he didn't feel as nervous as he was before, so, rather than panic, Keiichi calmly returned her smile with one of his own. "Skuld insisted that I just had to wear something less… dorky… so, here I am, as suave as always!"

Belldandy stared at him for a short while, before she started to giggle, causing Keiichi to join in too, with a chuckle of his own. "You know, Keiichi… I would've never called you a dork, although my little sister is a totally different subject altogether. Still, it's nice to see you trying new things. And speaking of which… Should we ditch this place? I don't think that we're going to find any privacy in here."

Remembering the maid's words, as well as stealing a glance towards the tables in the distance, Keiichi had to admit that staying here was simply out of question. "I'll have to agree. How about we go to a quieter place? Somewhere far from the prying eyes of your fans."

"Says my number one fan…" commented Belldandy with a slight wink, before she got up and gestured for the mortal to follow her. And as if that wasn't enough, Belldandy reached back to grasp his hand, causing him to blush as she led him out of the cafe. "Or am I assuming too much?"

"No, not at all." Watching as Belldandy shrunk his gifts, in order to stash them into her bag, Keiichi tried to come up with a proper place to take her, yet not one that's ridiculously crowded. After all, trying to date a celebrity in plain view was going to be far more difficult than he had even imagined, especially since every little mistake on his part could end up in a huge scandal of sorts. However, before he had the chance to voice his concerns, Keiichi heard Belldandy snap her fingers, and as he turned to see what was going on, he almost froze at the sight of the fiery redhead standing next to him. She even had her hair out of that ponytail, even though those little antennae-like bangs were still present. Still, with another snap of her fingers, Belldandy had a black beret on her head, which proved more than enough to hide those unruly bangs. And to leave nothing to chance, she even reached into her bag for a pair of sunglasses, that made it rather hard for anyone to instantly recognize her, especially when her markings vanished all of a sudden.

"Oh, I'm sorry if this was too sudden, but I need a disguise or everyone within eyesight of us will immediately find out who I am," explained Belldandy with a smile, as she reassuringly squeezed Keiichi's hand. "Don't worry, though. I'm still the same person, regardless of how I look."

"I… I know," said Keiichi once he managed to remember how to talk once again, his eyes still finding it hard to adjust to the sight of Belldandy's disguise. "It's just that, you suddenly look like a totally different person. And to be honest with you, I really like your normal appearance. You're quite beautiful like that, although… I do get your point."

Smiling at the almost unexpected compliment, Belldandy waited for them to properly exit the cafe, before she fully turned to face him, and while he wondered what was amiss, she leanied in and kissed him fully on the lips.

Three sets of eyes widened in response to the spectacle, especially when Keiichi didn't quite back off, but leaned into the kiss, going as far as to reach around to support the Norn's neck as they two of them hugged each other.

Yet for a certain disguised maid, the surprise was due to a very different reason, compared to the others. 'Holy!... I didn't think that the courage booster would've been this effective! Look at him kiss her like that! Who would've thought that something I bought on the Demons' Telemarketing service would be this good! Hm... I should start buying more often from there.'

Meanwhile, not far from the kissing couple, the youngest of the Norns watched the unfolding scene with mixed feelings, as part of her was elated that things were looking up for her sister, yet… a different part of her, still couldn't ignore the need to protect her 'Big Sister' from Keiichi's grabby hands. Which, of course wasn't the case, given that the mortal had the best of intentions towards her, but, this was one of those cases where old habits died hard.

'Can't believe that I'm still acting like a brat. As much as I try to look and act like an adult, in the end, it seems that I haven't changed all that. Perhaps, I need to try harder to give them a hand, before I end up going back to my old habits. Although… how am I supposed to do that? Actually… what, Urd would've done in my place? Hm...'

XXX

Tossing a handful of popcorn into her mouth, the eldest Norn watched the progress of her sister's date on her TV, from the convenience of her own hotel suite, instead of following them throughout their entire date. Still, if Urd had to be honest with herself, this was far from the preferable method of handling this whole subject, except the fact that the half demoness' self confidence in her decisions was rather low at the time being.

No matter how tough she acted in front of her father, Urd could tell that her decision to get rid of that mortal pest -and in such a fashion too- was far from ideal, and to make matters worse, Lind remained rather quiet about it; almost too much, even by her standards. To say that she may've done a mistake would've been the understatement of the year, and while few other demons even cared about a lousy pest to the likes of Aoshima… a goddess should've remained more objective and contain her wrath, even if her ire was totally justified.

Perhaps more than anything, Urd didn't want to mess up Belldandy's chances with Keiichi in the event she made another poor decision, and attempted to help them get closer, only to end up accomplishing the exact opposite. Even so, this was far from a permanent solution, as the last thing she needed was to distance herself from her sisters, just for their own safety, so, her biggest priority right now was to sort her thoughts out and reconsider her priorities.

At that very moment though, Urd's thoughts were interrupted by an urgent knock on her door, causing her to take a sharp breath, since she had a very good idea of whom this must've been. "The door's open!" she called, turning off the TV in preparation for what she thought to be the inevitable: namely, her meeting with Lind, who had deliberately kept herself busy for as long as she could.

Quite unsurprisingly, it was indeed the blue haired demoness who walked into the room, yet frustratingly enough, Lind's stoic expression offered the Norn little insight as to her state of mind. However, once she came to a stop before the Norn, Lind's brows furrowed into a clearly noticeable scowl, leaving Urd with little doubt as to what was going on, and more importantly, who was responsible for it.

"Lind, I-"

"Spare yourself the trouble, as well as our time," came the almost abrupt reply, as the former Valkyrie was clearly in no mood for small talk. "Nothing good will come out of arguing about something we've both screwed up, as I too lost my temper, back there. Especially when my training had prepared me to deal with even worse situations like that, and yet I somehow ended up doing the exact opposite. Still, that's not an excuse to keep making mistakes, and right now, the best we can do is focus on one problem at a time."

"Okay… And what would that problem be?" asked Urd, almost fearing that the answer would be you, followed by either a verbal or worse, physical assault. However, what came next was something the Norn would've never considered even as the most remote possibility.

"We've lost track of that mortal's corpse. It seems that once he sank into the ocean, someone removed him from the scene, and I fear I have a good idea who that might be."

Scowling, the Norn also had a fairly good idea as to who Lind was referring to, and coupled by the fact that Velsper was unaccounted for, she didn't need to hear any more. "That's it! We're going after them, but this time, let's do things right, okay?"

"Right after you."

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Although I wanted to feature Keiichi and Belldandy's date on this chapter, I decided to use this to wrap things up from the previous one, and lead up to the point where they're about to head off. Fear not though, as I will most certainly dedicate most of the next chapter on the date.

Unsurprisingly, Urd isn't just about to get away with her way of using excessive force to deal with her problems, but for the time being, Lind has no reason to get into direct conflict with her. I cannot promise that this won't happen at some point, however. Still, they're going to be somewhat busy trying to find what happened to Aoshima's body, that's been snatched by Welsper and Sokkmimir, and even brought back to life. For a price.

Mara also had a role here, which I believe is outside of her norm, considering that she's still under her mother's orders to help the couple. Which she did, even though in a somewhat less cheesy way than a love goddess would've done in her place, and not just because she's a demoness herself.