AngelAlex242: Hehe, eager are we? I understand your feelings of frustration though. It's hard to even write them going any further than they normally do because it just feels out of character; that's how ingrained into their characters it had become last time I was enjoying the show/manga regularly. lol Don't worry though, I hate half-hearted endings, I won't leave you hanging. :)
[[I do not own Ah My Goddess!]]
A week had passed since. Urd had been wreaking havoc in the system force something fierce, it was only inevitable that she be detected. "Urd, if you insist on causing trouble, at least contain yourself to something not so heavily monitored- you must have known that someone would notice the goddess support system failing right and left." Said Lind from the doorway.
"Oh, Lind? Geez, they really must've been getting annoyed to send you." Said Urd with a sigh.
"No one sent me. I volunteered to track down the source and exterminate it." Said Lind.
Urd felt a cold streak run down her back. "Eliminate, huh?" She chuckled nervously.
"Yes- perhaps you should use a different console, and stay out of the goddess support system.. I might suspect it to be you if I find you here, in that particular program, a second time." Said Lind.
Urd sighed in relief. "You have one hell of a poker face, Lind." Said Urd.
"Who said I was bluffing?" Commented Lind, Urd freezing momentarily at the cold stare of the golden eyes that Lind bared.
"Alright, alright, knock off the intimidating crap- I'll leave it alone, I'm just trying to find some information out about Belldandy and why her files are in such disarray." Said Urd. "Are you going to help, or are you dead set on killing me for it?" Asked Urd.
"My job is complete. I think I'll satisfy my downtime with some independant research." Said Lind simply, as she moved over to the very console she got onto Urd for using, and began to operate it swiftly, analyzing most things quicker than most of the operators could.
"Thank you Lind." Said Urd with a smile.
"There's no need- I am merely satisfying my own curiosity." Said Lind.
"Of course, nothing wrong with that- especially if you just stumbled upon it, rather than meeting me and looking into it." Said Urd.
"Would you prefer I reconsider killing you for disrupting the system force?" Asked Lind- Urd could feel those eyes upon her again.
"Alright, alright, enough teasing- just get to it, I'm worried about them- I can't find Belldandy or Keichii on earth at all." Said Urd. "I know they are there, I can feel Keichii's power still, but tracking them is impossible, it's like Belldandy's personal access is frozen or something." Said Urd.
"Special Circumstance Contract- it's beyond your level of access." Said Lind.
"Special Circumstance? That's what I do Lind, I'm an administrator- I am the one who governs special circumstance contracts." Said Urd defiantly.
"Special Circumstance contracts involving humans, yes." Said Lind.
Urd sighed and responded. "That's right, and Keichii is a-"
"Then I'd have to guess that the contract is Belldandy's contract, not Keichii's. His shows to be revoked, invalid, following his demise." Said Lind.
"Yes, that's another thing I've been trying to clear up. Keichii is still alive, though he certainly nearly died- he didn't ever actually die, but even Belldandy remembers him being dead, so it's strange." Said Urd.
"So, someone has rewritten the file to reflect Keichii as dead, and the uploaded file is transferred to Belldandy, who interprets it as a changed memory." Said Lind, explaining it simply.
"But that's no better- Belldandy doesn't have a connection to the system force since she became human, the only one with the connection is Keichii." Said Urd.
"Yes, I see- so he's been accessing the database via Belldandy's connection- but it's frozen, so whatever information he is getting he is being fed it rather than accessing it manually." Said Lind.
"Hey wait- what did you mean by a contract with a non-human, even Belldandy is human at the moment." Said Urd.
"Not according to this- this shows her second file, the file doesn't say she isn't human, it merely says she isn't a licensed goddess within the system." Said Lind.
"That's impossible, I've seen Belldandy- she doesn't even have her marks representing her place as a goddess any longer." Said Urd.
"Then they were hidden from view, they are not gone- Belldandy is certainly still a goddess. Even if someone wanted to wish that she wasn't a goddess, it would simply be referred to the almighty for a special circumstance contract that requires a staged trial to determine whether the wish is even accepted or not." Said Lind.
"...And if Belldandy herself wished for it?" Asked Urd.
"Then the trial would be arranged to gauge it from a non-disclosed point of view, to avoid bias, and to monitor genuine desire- testing to ensure that Belldandy's wish wasn't made in haste." Said Lind, as if spoon feeding Urd the answer.
"What if the wish was made in haste? She doesn't recall it I presume, or maybe she's being made to not remember so the test is more valid..." Said Urd.
"If the trial is deemed unworthy than the wish is denied, and any effects that sprung from the wish are reversed." Said Lind.
"So it wouldn't effect Keichii's life?" Asked Urd.
"Incorrect- the value of the wish is determined by it's influence. If Belldandy is judged ingenuine in her desire, or Keichii can't support the weight of the responsibility, then the wish would be reversed and the details surrounding the reason the wish came up would be reversed as well, so that the same wish isn't brought forward a second time." Said Lind.
"Then that means.. that.." Said Urd, realizing the full extent of the gravity this special circumstance contract held.
"If failed, one could easily say that this wish was directly caused by Keichii's original wish to keep Belldandy by his side." Said Lind. "If you were so inclined to do so, you could even determine that the anomoly exists in Keichii himself, and-" Said Lind, being cut off by Urd.
"Yes, I know.. if they claimed that Keichii was the problem, they could.. erase him all together, right?" Said Urd.
"Correct. He would never have existed in this world. That's a rare occasion though, I've only known of three people to be deemed a distorting presence. However it would be necessary, as I know Keichii- even if you erased his qualification for a wish, Belldandy would always be the one to answer, and Keichii would always wish for the same thing upon meeting her." Said Lind.
"What makes you say that?" Asked Urd.
"I've gone over it in my head before, wondering what the likelihood of getting a specific goddess was on the off chance you connected to heaven at all. If you took that analysis, you'd find that you could call Heaven billions of times and be sent to a different goddess every time. However, Keichii isn't normal is he? He called Heaven and got Belldandy, a goddess suited perfectly for him all along; with the innate ability to see the best traits of everyone. Had I gone, I'd have seen a weak boy. Had you gone, a shy child. Peorth? An undeveloped man. Only Belldandy is generally so open hearted that she doesn't gather an opinion upon meeting someone, but from the person's life. The second piece of evidence that really made me doubt my analysis was the second time he called heaven.. He connected to you, because he knew the one person who would do what it took to save Belldandy above all others, was you." Said Lind.
"So you believe Keichii's heart effects Yggdrasil as well?" Asked Urd.
"Maybe- all I know is Yggdrasil guided his path, and if the almighty sees that; he will surely acknowledge that Keichii's very existance would only recreate the loop. You know how he is, he doesn't believe in a second attempt- and this one has already began..." Said Lind. "But I believe.. that even if you-"
"we?" Interjected Urd
"weren't behind them, they'd never manage to accurately get a measurement on the depth of Belldandy's choice." Said Lind.
"What makes you think that?" Asked Urd.
"Simple- think about how many times Belldandy has had the opportunity to resume her life as a goddess.. yet, each and every time, without hesitation or failure, she has always elected to remain by his side, even knowing full well the system force would always keep them apart. Most would feel, after so long, that the small life of moderate joy wasn't worth the pain of knowing that no matter how long, you could never accomplish it. Think about it, Belldandy has known all along, that their relationship could never exceed it's current state- they can't be married under their contract, they can't have children, and she is aware that both are things that Keichii is rewritten to not care about, but she will, and she will know that without those in effect, so will he. Would you enter into such a deal, knowing that you both can never be satisfied by it?" Asked Lind.
"..Yes, without a second thought I believe.. if it were someone that I truly cared for." Said Urd.
"Exactly. That's exactly my point. Belldandy truly cares for Keichii, that's why it won't make any difference how they try to gauge the wish, when their system takes into account emotions as unstable and unreliable. They'll try to see the logic and weigh the benefits with the risks, but for Belldandy, there is no risk greater than the benefit of being out from beneath the goddess restrictions, and there is no logic as to why a single life would be so much more fulfilling than an eternal one." Said Lind.
"And so that's why Belldandy can't lose.. because no matter what they determine to be of more value to test it against, Belldandy will always choose Keichii.." Said Urd.
"My concern is Keichii- testing his feelings is one thing, but I imagine they'll go one step further for the cause's test- and Keichii is too kind in nature, he'll always want to try to put others before himself. I wonder if his greatest weakness in this test won't simply be- do you want Belldandy to be mortal. He's the type who could love Belldandy forever, but choose to never see her again, if it meant she would live on somewhere else. He is human, remember? Their greatest weakness will always be that their selfishness stems from the inevitable death of them and their loved ones." Said Lind.
"..I see your point.. but how do we contact Keichii and warn him? It's like his connection is one way, I've tried asking him where he is, but it's like he never hears me." Said Urd.
"Remember, I said it earlier, Belldandy's access is frozen- Keichii is only being told information related to the test. Like the system force's design to prevent cross-species relationships, that was- albeit a bit underhanded, but one means to test him- knowing that, and knowing Belldandy knew before, would he be upset with her? Would he expect her to make it up to him? Would he try now that he knows those feelings are indeed there?" Asked Lind.
"Well if that's your concern, no need to worry there- he merely took it in stride, and comforted Belldandy who now has the seal placed on her instead." Said Urd with a sigh.
"So Belldandy's variation of the test was to be sealed instead- they've deceived her into believing she is human, so she feels that she must want the same things she knows Keichii wanted for her, but with the seal on, she could never bring herself to accept those feelings.. It was a test of her ability to cope, if she couldn't meet Keichii's expectations, then she might regret her wish, do you see?" Asked Lind.
"Of course, why didn't I see that? Too bad for the system, that I corrupted it's link to Belldandy's mind." Said Urd with a snicker.
"You mean Keichii's mind?" Asked Lind.
"Oh no, Keichii's connection is useful, but the second file of Belldandy is open- if it weren't, I might have figured out something was going on, it shows it as a normal contract between BElldandy and herself, the details of the contract were like that of Keichii's wanting to keep Keichii beside her, presumably a result of Keichii's death. However, I see now that it was reworded in the public file, to conceal the real meaning of the wish- Belldandy wants to stop being a goddess.." Said Urd, realizing the weight of her words when she was just enjoying being the star of the conversation for once.
"I take it you just put it together?" Asked Lind.
"Belldandy being human wasn't an accident created by her will to save Keichii.. she's wanted this for a long time, hasn't she? It wasn't until he died though, that her wish became a subject of interest.. isn't that so?" Said Urd.
"She wished to be human, so that even if Keichii was dead, that she could live on to mourn him and eventually die with him.." Said Lind.
"Bell.. why wouldn't she share that with me? We're sisters!" Said Urd, feeling rather upset at this point in time. It was so much different knowing Belldandy had become human to save Keichii, but even if she couldn't have saved Keichii.. she'd have left Heaven.. willingly.
"You really are quite selfish, Urd-" Said Lind.
"I know that, but it doesn't change the fact that she was abandoning us and not even going to tell us about it! What if she did become human? Without a contract to monitor, or a first class goddess present, Skuld and I would have no ability to stay on earth.. by time she'd awoken as a human, we would've been gone.. even if we went back, would she even remember us?" Asked Urd.
"No human is supposed to know of goddess' and demons. Those presented with the knowledge are those chosen to receive heaven's grace, and normally once the contract has finished- that knowledge is gone." Said Lind.
"So she abandons us and lives on with Keichii like we never existed?!" Said Urd.
"You shouldn't get too excited, Urd- we are merely guessing right now, we have no way of knowing what Belldandy's wish was, only that it was a wish made by her, and is being monitored by the almighty himself." Said Lind.
"I can't.. believe it!" Said URd, clearly beyond hearing.
"Urd, you won't find any comfort in throwing a fit- whatever Belldandy's wish was for, she has no memory of making it.. she can't tell you what she was thinking when she made it, or if she was even considering those things.." Said Lind, but Urd couldn't be reasoned with as she stormed out.
'Special Contracts, special contracts, who's out on a special contract right now?! I know there has got to be a medium, if there is a trial present! Where are they?!' Thought Urd as she looked further and further. '..Astrid... yeah, she's exactly the person to send to judge Belldandy... Got you.' Thought Urd as she went to leave, leaving the place marked despite knowing better.
Skuld saw her sister leaving, it didn't take much to figure out where she was going when she saw the locator.
#
After an uneventful day at their new job, Keichii and Belldandy walked home together as always. "Keichii, he said he wanted a 500 yen piece.." Explained Belldandy. "I know, Bell, but what he meant was he wanted to trade the five 100 yen pieces for a 500 yen piece. You weren't supposed to give him an additional 500 yen." Sighed Keichii. The first week and they were going to be shorted on their check to fix the misunderstandings..
"How in the world do you two manage to do nothing all day long? It's absolutely boring!" Said Astrid, as she appeared up ahead- A goddess fitting her name, fair complexion, a true beauty, and a goddess in all senses of the word. "Keichii, I believe the fair is in relation to her ruling methods." Said Belldandy.
"Huh? How'd you know what I was thinking?!" Said Keichii, feeling rather embarrassed and awkward for having considered the other's appearance so interestedly.
Belldandy smiled. "I felt jealous, so I was quite sure you were comparing her to me." Added Belldandy. "Did you reach a conclusion?"
Keichii felt a terrifying sense of dread from her smile. 'Is this... the power of a.. first class girlfriend, jealous category, unlimited anger? Ah, what am I doing- humans just don't work for those kinds of breakdowns.. All I know is, my life may be at risk right now..' Thought Keichii. "You won't actually believe me if I answer, so I'm going to refrain-" Said Keichii.
"I believe you should reconsider Keichii." Said Belldandy, as Keichii reacted to an intense pressure on his hand- Belldandy still smiling.
"Oh calm down, Belldandy- admiring me for beauty is like admiring the sun for radiance- it's a given. Fear not, if I were here to test such a untasteful subject, he'd have passed.. for the most part, but then again- I'm not under the seal, so maybe he would've included that in the comparison and weighed differently." Said Astrid.
Belldandy now smiled at Astrid. "I could see your point- but admiring the moon's beauty in the sky is relevant only because the sun shines onto it to show it." Said Belldandy.
"The moon is beautiful in it's own right, hardly a direct relation to the sun- in fact, one might say the moon out shines the sun, in a darkened sky." Said Astrid.
"In a darkened sky, it must be easy to shine- perhaps the woodline shade has done the same for you?" Asked Belldandy.
"Astute observation Belldandy, but we can't all rely solely on reflecting the sun's light to catch eyes." Said Astrid.
"You must have gotten your metaphors mixed up, Astrid- you are the moon; I am the sun." She corrected.
"Yeah, perhaps as in- looking too long might make you go blind..." Astrid said.
"I believe the sun has blinded many people, too entranced in it's beauty to ever look away." Said Belldandy.
"Yet Keichii craves the moonlight, else why would he even consider comparing me to you?" Asked Astrid.
'This is scary.. they are both smiling.. Belldandy is experiencing human jealousy, so she has a reason for such an argument... but what of this Astrid? I was just comparing her to Belldandy, as in- she must be a goddess too..' Thought Keichii. "Hey now, there's no need to argue- we'll just be on our way.." Said Keichii, before recieving the smiles back at him now. 'Should've kept my mouth shut...'
"You see? already the moon has eclipsed your sun- he's inviting me home with him even.." Said Astrid.
"I believe you are mistaken, we were headed home already, he's merely saying that the moon, though surely attractive, is not relevant enough compared to the sun." Said Belldandy.
"Which is it boy?!" Said Astrid, finally losing her smile as she merely glared at Keichii.
"Wha? Well, I mean.." Started Keichii, before feeling an intensity from behind him now, as if death we're hanging over him. "This is all irrelevant! You are both very attractive, alright?! I'm biased in my opinion because I'm in love with Belldandy, so of course I'm going to think she's the more beautiful goddess, that's probably why I compared with her at all- to simply judge how beautiful the moon is by comparing it to the most beautiful sight I've ever seen, the sun!" Said Keichii, seriously having trouble with maintaining the metaphors required to stay in this conversation safely.
"You see, Astrid? Like the moon, you both are merely 'fair'." Said Belldandy with a smile once again.
"Of course I see, he said it himself, he's biased. Can hardly make a good judge if you are not impartial." Said Astrid. "Enough of these games, how dare you two waste my time with this childish non-sense!?" Said Astrid, the blue haired goddess dressed in a light blue robe draped over a white dress, all trimmed in gold. The long haired goddess had a sincere look normally, though perhaps it was a facade considering her expressions and mannerisms since her appearance.
"I believe you decided to involve yourself by interrupting Keichii when he was about to say against your own beliefs. Hardly a fair judge." Said Belldandy.
"That isn't the childish non-sense that I was talking about!" Snapped Astrid, as she recomposed herself, regaining her sincere, aloof appearance. "I am here to judge your resolve- it was deemed necessary by me to make the judgment more forward, as it seemed it would take an eternity for anything interesting to happen otherwise.." Said Astrid.
"You were bickering over who's prettier with my girlfriend, and you are calling us childish?" Said Keichii.
"Girlfriend?" Asked Belldandy, feeling rather embarrassed. She only now acknowledged that he had said it earlier, far too entranced in her verbal brawl with the other.
"Oh, uh, sorry Belldandy- I didn't mean, well, I meant- oh damn it, sorry." Said Keichii, feeling like he couldn't win today it seemed.
Belldandy didn't seem to be overly worried about it though, in fact her actions spoke to the contrary, as she held his hand closer and stood nearer to him than before, seemingly almost girlishly pleased all of a sudden.
"Oh, god- look at you two, what are you children?! He said girlfriend, and look at you, giddy as a schoolgirl asked to her first dance!" Said Astrid.
Belldandy was oblivious to the other's teasing, as she stood in her own little world, looking like she might actually be repeating the word in her head to only increase her response to it.
"Well, it's just that we don't really do things normally- even when we got together, it wasn't like I asked her out. I've asked her out since, but it was for a single date type of deal, I've never had the courage to literally ask her to be my girlfriend or anything like that." SAid Keichii.
"You mean you were forbidden from being able to label your relationship, because then it becomes a matter of cross-species relations and as a result, is forbidden under the vague contract you originally made, is that not so?" Said Astrid.
"Hey, wait- how can you say all that stuff? If I even think things like that, Holy Bell seems to react painfully..." Said Keichii.
"I am the goddess Astrid, first class, first category, unlimited license. I am under no such restrictions, even regarding special circumstances. Though you are not a goddess, you are restricted under the terms of First Class, Second Category, Limited License. You would be unlimited, as Belldandy was, but due to the circumstances regarding your life in connection to your power, it was deemed necessary to limit the amount of power you can access in one sitting- in an effort to ensure that you don't stop time for more than a few hours at least, otherwise you could trigger it's effects and once it ran out, begin drawing on Holy Bell's power directly, instead of losing consciousness and running on Holy Bell only long enough to restore Belldandy's power." Said Astrid.
"Oh.. well, thank you for that then, I didn't even know I had stopped time at first; it just sort of happened, good thing you were looking out for me then." Said Keichii with a laugh.
"Wait, you stopped time? When?" Asked Belldandy, obviously worried.
"Remember when I passed out while you were holding me? I wished that it could last forever, and I guess to you it only lasted a second, but for me, it was many hours long." Said Keichii with a nervous chuckle, forgetting that Belldandy had never received that explanation.
Belldandy looked a bit worried, but pleased by his wish none the less. "If only it were so easy, but I believe we can remain that way for a while none the less.." Assured Belldandy, as she moved over to hug Keichii.
"Would you stop ignoring me, Belldandy?! You're missing the point entirely! If stopping time for a bit would satisfy your heart, it wouldn't be necessary for me to be here at all! You could've done that from the beginning!" Said Astrid, losing her cool once again.
"Oh, Astrid, are you still here?" Asked Belldandy, not realizing the other had been present ever since she heard girlfriend it seemed.
"Enough!" Said Astrid, taking another deep breath, resuming her facade once more. "I've come to test your resolve; prove to me that you both are resolved to the path you have chosen, or suffer the consequences of failure." Said Astrid.
"Prove.. what? We only want to stay together, can you prove that? Are you planning on living with us, making sure we don't accidentally want to separate or something?" Asked Keichii.
"I'm sorry, but I can not accept a house guest at this time- we decided to remain together without company for now; and I can not agree to forsake this wish, even for you Astrid."Said Belldandy.
"You mean especially for me, don't you Belldandy?" Said Astrid.
"Yes." Said Belldandy with a smile.
"Cause you are afraid Keichii's eye may be taken, and you'd fail your test?" Said Astrid.
"No, if anything, I'm afraid that you may be hurt- because Keichii would never leave me." Said Belldandy.
Astrid was prepared to argue the woman's obvious shot until she looked at Keichii. He was smiling at her. Belldandy wasn't arguing, not this time at least, she was telling the truth. Keichii knew it, not only to be Belldandy's truth, but was pleased that she thought that way, not surprised at all. "It's.. a little sickening.. to hear such a comment said sincerely..." Said Astrid. "I suppose it can't be helped though, you are his girlfriend, right?" Said Astrid, purposefully to distract Belldandy. It worked.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Said Keichii.
"How did you know?!" Said Astrid, before resuming her previous persona. "Well, I mean, I was just stating the truth; but I suppose you could say it was purposeful, in the sense that I did intend to say that word." Said Astrid.
"And if I recall, a goddess can't lie, so that's why you're reversing your words back and forth to avoid lying, right?" Said Keichii.
"Stop that!" Said Astrid.
"The test?" Asked Keichii.
"Enough about the test! Let's get back to the.. uh.. oh, almighty, give me strength.. these two are going to kill me before they kill themselves..." Said Astrid, looking as though she may be getting mentally exhausted.
"Y-Yes.. I am,.. his girlfriend.. " Said Belldandy, distracting the other two as she finally responded to the previous statement, but appeared out of it still.
"Is she always like that?" Asked Astrid.
"Gone? No. Honest? Yes. There's no one more genuine with their feelings than Belldandy. Belldandy anguished silently just having to keep a secret that she had no power over telling even.. that's just who she is, she's a true goddess." Said Keichii with a smile.
"What? The rest of us aren't?" Said Astrid.
"What is it with you? Are you just looking to fight with someone or what? I just meant, she is in my opinion, what the word goddess means to a human. A goddess as defined by Yggdrasil seems to include Lind, Skuld, Urd, and even yourself, it doesn't define goddesses as a type of person, but as a type of being, like how a dog is different than a cat. To a human, a goddess isn't a different species, but an ideal of our own species; what we want to be like, but haven't reached yet- do you see?" Said Keichii.
"...I think I do see.. why exactly Belldandy can be so embarrassed by being called your girlfriend at least.. you're kind of mushy, you know that?" Said Astrid.
"I won't take offence to that- because being honest about your feelings is a strength, not a weakness.." Said Keichii with a smile.
"Then tell me honestly- Belldandy is human now-" Started Astrid.
"Not really, she's just not a goddess right now." Said Keichii.
"..What?" Said Astrid, not expecting Keichii to understand the difference at all.
"Well, she isn't a human- she is like a human, that's true, but I can tell the difference still. I can still feel the longevity in her, her power is in me that's true, she can't be a goddess without it, right? But, she isn't human, right? You've only made adjustments so that she can live as a human temporarily, while you determine what to do with us, correct?" Said Keichii.
"How could.. you possibly.. know that?" Said Astrid.
"It's simple really, if she weren't a goddess anymore, her power wouldn't exist to keep me alive; nor would Holy Bell, who is her other self. A human doesn't have an other self, even if Holy Bell still existed, she would cease to be Belldandy's other self, because the self that Belldandy was would be gone. Since you are here talking about a test, I can only assume that it is your wish that Belldandy seem to be human.. isn't that so?" Said Keichii.
Astrid strode up quickly, whispering Girlfriend repeatedly at Belldandy just to overload her for the moment. She then leaned in towards Keichii, staring at him intently. "...You sure look stupid.. I still don't understand how you put that together.." Said Astrid. "So answer me this, if Belldandy were made human; fully, not merely adapted to human parameters and settings, would you be able to watch her die?"
"It depends. If I could save Belldandy, then I would do whatever it took to rescue her. However, as a human, you can't always be saved- we don't all have a goddess willing to give up their power to save us; and sometimes it will be too late. Maybe it's dying myself that made these thoughts come up, but when I saw myself going over the edge of the cliff- my first immediate thought was.. I wanted Belldandy to be happy, not be sad because I died, sure it'd make me happy if she missed me, but I don't want her living an immortal life in sorrow over me; I'd sooner she moved on, eventually." Said Keichii. "So the answer is simple; if I could do something about it, I would do whatever it took. If I couldn't though, then I'd do what I could do- be by her side every minute or second she had left, and I'd always keep her in my thoughts and in my heart, no matter where that future took me." Said Keichii.
"...Correct.. I guess.. I would've accepted, Yes, No, or I don't know.. but they would've been wrong. Special Circumstance is not a yes or no question, it's a question you do give thought to- you pass, now go home; I have to test Belldandy, and she won't be able to answer if you are here." Said Astrid.
"Belldandy and I have decided to stay together from now on. If she can answer when I am gone, then I have faith that she will answer just fine while I'm by her side as well." Said Keichii simply.
"Really think so? What if I say the G word again, and she withdraws?" Asked Astrid.
"Then I'll bring her back, and you can not use that word a second time." Said Keichii with a smile.
"Bring her back? How?" Asked Astrid.
Keichii laughed, before looking to Belldandy. "Bell?"
"Yes, Keichii?! Sorry, I was spacing out- did you need something?" Asked Belldandy with a smile, before noting Astrid. "Oh, Astrid, what're you doing here?" Asked Belldandy.
"Amazing.. she can hear you even through all that emotion..." Said Astrid.
"She was testing us, remember?" Said Keichii.
"Oh, right, yes- my apologies Ms Astrid, I am not acquainted with that title yet, so I suppose I kind of blow a circuit.." Said Belldandy.
"It kind of reminds me when I first told you that I loved you; when Urd gave me that speech amplifier, and Peorth trained me." Said Keichii with a smile. "At least this time you didn't faint." She added.
"It may be because of that effect, as the stimulation was very similar, it felt like all the feelings you've given me since we met all exploded inside of me, it was overwhelming, but rather enjoyable." Said Belldandy.
Astrid listened to their conversation. "So, Belldandy- would you compare this feeling to a theoretically unrestricted relationship to Keichii?" Asked Astrid.
"No, I think the two are unrelated. Love is the only comparative among the two, one is emotional, a reaction in the heart from the years of times we've doubted each other's feelings, or intentions. The other is more physical, a natural desire to close the distance between us, and share something more personal than our thoughts or our feelings, but our entire selves." Said Belldandy.
"You answered that quite well, Belldandy- the two are unrelated, impressive that you could elaborate despite having only rudementary knowledge of human relationships. Book smarts, so to speak." Said Astrid.
"Keichii has taught me a lot of what it means to be human, even before I lost my powers- only since though have I truly began to understand what the human education programs lacked." Said Belldandy.
Keichii seemed embarrassed by the praise, presumably at least.
"Alright, when you think of humans, do you use Keichii as an example, a format for which humans are judged against?" Asked Astrid.
"No- humans are vast and individualistic, not unlike us goddesses, there are some basics that apply across the board, or at least across different customs and origins, but ultimately no two humans are exactly the same. Even those born to be identical have individual qualities that only they have. Keichii is unique in his own way as well, there is no one like Keichii completely, though many of them share his best qualities, none have them all, except Keichii." Said Belldandy.
"..Correct.. Humans and Keichii are not the same thing, Keichii behaves more like a goddess than a human, but so would you if you were human.. hey wait, you said us goddesses, don't tell me you knew you weren't a human still too?!" Said Astrid, fuming slightly.
"Yes, I was very much aware. My powers are gone, as is my angel, but the system force still restricts me on many things, including what I can say, and what I can remember, and what I can feel. It's faded some on occasion, but it's always there." Said Belldandy.
"Yeah, there were some issues with it until recently, lots of bugs in the data- couple that with some hardware damage from some kind of explosive devices, it was a nightmare trying to keep even the energy regeneration programs in effect, it was rare they were all kept running over the last week." Said Astrid with a sigh. "It was so bad, I was unable to track either of you for most of the week, and the gates wouldn't stay open either; so I couldn't check your last known locations, so I had to search this mountain from head to toe." Said Astrid, looking very pitiful in that moment.
"You should've just called out- we weren't necessarily hiding from you, we just want to live in peace, for what time we do have together." Said Keichii.
"I was supposed to observe in secret, you idiot- why would I alert you to my presence?" Asked Astrid.
"Because you can't observe us in secret, if you can't find us? Besides, how long could you possibly have been watching if you spent all that time looking for us?" Said Keichii.
"I found you this morning, leaving your home before work." Said Astrid.
"You only spent one day watching us before deciding we weren't interesting enough?" Asked Keichii.
"It was a VERY boring day- the most interesting thing that happened was watching Belldandy explain to a guy that the phone number she had could not be called." Said Astrid.
"He seemed very unsure when he left, I fear perhaps not being able to explain that he couldn't call heaven made it hard to follow." Said Belldandy.
"Alright, enough of this, I'm turning into you two... Last Question, Belldandy- Keichii is dying, you know that." Said Astrid.
"Yes, Keichii's life force is artificial at best at the moment, he is alive, but only just barely- on it's own power, Keichii wouldn't last at all. If Holy Bell wasn't there, even for a split second, he'd die all over again." Said Belldandy with a frown. "Thank you again, Holy Bell, for keeping Keichii with us." Said Belldandy, turning towards Keichii as Holy Bell appeared and held Belldandy's hand with a smile. "Of course, you love Keichii just as I do, it's only natural you'd want to be by side all the longer as well, isn't it?" Noted Belldandy.
"You're.. touching.. the angel.. why aren't.. why isn't it being drawn back?" Asked Astrid.
"Oh, that- it's because Holy Bell and Belldandy both desire to stay with me, more than they desire to return to being closer to each other." Said Keichii simply.
"IT doesn't work that way, moron, it's not a choice- Holy Bell should be automatically drawn back by the gap in Belldandy's power!" Said Astrid.
"You are correct, under normal circumstances we would rejoin regardless of our will- but Keichii protects us from that. He uses my power to shield us from anything that betrays our will. For anything we do to threaten Keichii's life, or our time together rather, we must want it more than we want Keichii by our side. I thought it only applied to us, until I considered that Holy Bell reached out to me first- she was assuring me that she too felt that same desire; that she felt safe in touching me again, because she knew that the desire to return to me, did not outweight her desire to stay with me and Keichii- she is our angel as much as she is mine alone, because she felt all the feelings I have for Keichii, and has since felt all of Keichii's feelings for me. If anything, she is the angel that represents our truest selves, as we are together." Said Belldandy.
"..I feel like I'm wasting my time now, but it has to be tested.. Belldandy, Keichii is dying, whether by exhausting his power, returning that power to you, or inevitably his own body's decay. Keichii will die. When that time comes, will you barge into heaven once again to reverse the decision, would you make yet another pact with demons to spare this man's life from the debt he owes to mortality?" Asked Astrid.
"As a goddess, it is my sworn duty to protect Keichii, and watch over him- beyond that though, even without the contract, I couldn't go on like normal without Keichii, I've come to know too many things in my time on earth. Eternal life is more of a hindrance than a blessing to me now, because it's the limited time that makes love and happiness so relevant. I was happy before all the time, but knowing happiness as I do now, I know now that I was merely content with my life. Knowing what I do now, not even that is possible anymore; as I know what it is to be loved, and to love another with everything you have... There is no life without Keichii in it. Even if he were to die, I'd still hold onto every memory and moment we shared, and even if it meant going where no goddess is permitted to go; I would find him again, and be with him there if need be. Even if he was reborn, I would merely seek him out again, even if he wasn't by my side, I will always be by his- my promise is bigger than a contract with heaven, it is our wish together, and as such; can not be broken, nor is there any loopholes or exploits to abuse. We are together, whether in death or in life. So to answer your question, I would never let him die, but should he die- I would merely follow him to wherever he has to go, and remain with him wherever that may lead me in return." Said Belldandy.
"Not the same answer as Keichii, but as a goddess, it probably shouldn't be- after all, one is mortal, and the other immortal." Said Astrid.
"Is that really the last question?" Asked Keichii suspiciously.
"No, one more- Belldandy, have you ever considered becoming a human truly?" Asked Astrid.
"Yes, many times- I wondered what it must be like to live fully as a human early on, but the closer Keichii and I became, the more I realized it wasn't unlike how I lived now. The only real difference was, we'd be free, and at the same time, be limited by the amount of time that we have. That being said, I believe now more than ever before, that being human would be the best choice if I were able to choose how I was born; because knowing the fear of an infinite lifetime in which Keichii isn't there, has shown me that I am no longer a goddess in my heart, since I met Keichii, I became a human the very day I came through his mirror.. I may not be able to change what I was born as, but I can live every day like a human, cherishing every moment of a short existence, and grieving for every moment wasted." Said Belldandy.
"Keichii, have you ever wanted Belldandy to become a human? Knowing what it could mean.." Said Astrid.
"I.." Began Keichii, but for the first time, found himself unsure of the answer.