l

-17-

The remainder of Saturday continued at a more relaxed pace, though to call it 'uneventful' would be to invite demons. For all that was discussed between Keiichi and Lind, when they went inside an hour later, it was with a strange, relieved sort of peace that spoke of a weight that had at last been lifted from one's shoulders. If either Aiko or Skuld noticed it, they chose not to comment, and so instead sat back and watched as once more Jackson, eager to speak with Lind after his own discussion with Urd, assaulted the poor woman with questions. When Lind had looked to Keiichi or even Skuld for help, she found the two of them conspicuously absent, leaving her to fall victim to Jackson's attempts to relate to her.

Urd still had a dose of her hangover remedy left over for Keiichi, the others having consumed their own bit of the potion during the SEAL's long hour with Lind, and he consumed that and the breakfast Belldandy had created from the eggs and leftover steaks the previous night with gusto. After a good breakfast and a hangover-free head, the rest of the morning into the afternoon was treated with a bit more enjoyment. Lind learned a bit more about 'American' culture as the day progressed, and with it came away with a variety of observations that may or may not have been factual truths.

Keiichi broke out his video game console from the gorilla box and hooked it up for Aiko and the Norns to enjoy, and Lind watched in open curiosity as Aiko challenged first Keiichi to something she dubbed as 'Street Fighter', and then used a virtual avatar of someone called 'Vega' to destroy Keiichi's avatar of 'Ryu' without mercy. After winning three consecutive victories against him, Keiichi handed the controller off to Belldandy. Belldandy selected a woman with hair buns called 'Chun-Li', and after losing the first round was quick to catch on and knock out Aiko's character in the second and third round. Aiko handed the controller off to Skuld, who appeared uninterested in the whole affair and chose a character at random; a large, hulking avatar called Zangief. The woman then proceeded to button mash a just as random victory on Belldandy, who was caught off guard before wising up and playing more defensively, and then Skuld too was defeated.

Then Skuld handed the controller off to Urd, and it was during that time that Lind learned a bit more about the Norns, too. One was that Belldandy was competitive. The other was that Urd was competitive in videogames. "Bell, know that I care about you, but also know this: you're going down." Urd selected a character called 'Cammy', and Belldandy stuck with Chun-Li, choosing a stage and watching as the opening cinematics played out.

"That's nice," Belldandy replied. "The important thing to remember when you lose is that you had fun and it's just a game, right?"

"Wrong." Urd replied, and as the television proclaimed "Ready? Fight!" The two characters launched themselves across the screen. The avatars threw an impressive amount of punches and kicks, all of which were parried or in some cases countered by the opposing character. Small bits of health began to ebb away from the red bars on the top screen, and despite herself Lind leaned forward from where she stood behind the Ugly Beast in interest, listening with half an ear as the two sisters threw loving, polite, heartfelt verbal jabs at one another whenever a virtual blow connected with their avatars. The two characters' health decreased at an almost equal pace, and as the clock ticked down towards zero the match ended in a sudden and startling double knock out that left Keiichi and Aiko roaring.

Only Jackson appeared uninterested in the whole affair. "This is boring," he grumbled. "I'd rather be playing Madden or doing some real sparring. Watching this shit is about as interesting as watching paint dry."

"Sparring?" Lind glanced at the man in interest, her mind at once recalling the strange series of moves Urd had used on her that had left Lind with such a crippling defeat in Japan. "What kind of sparring?" Sparring could be good. Sparring could lead to the revelation of more strange, mortal arts. Sparring could lead to her learning how the fuck Urd almost choked her out. Which could lead to a counter. Which could lead to a rematch with Urd. Which could lead to her paying Urd back for almost choking her out when she was the Valkyrie and Urd was the civilian.

Maybe she was just a tad bit salty about that incident still...

Jackson smiled at her, teeth bright against his skin. The man looked delighted to talk on the subject. "Oh, just some MMA stuff I've picked up over the years is all. You know, a little Brazilian Jui Jitzu here, a bit of Krav Maga there, with some boxing and Muay Thai to tide it over." His eyes sparkled with interest. "You practice?"

Lind looked at him with a start. "Oh, ah..." Yes, yes she did 'practice', but usually it was with an ax or on other Valkyries in the air. And all of those practices were specific to Asgard. None of them originated from Midgard. "Um...none-none of the ones you mentioned."

"Like what?"

Oh. Damn. Shit. "I'm a-a practitioner of the Twenty-Seven Mantras of the Elder Futhark," she confessed. "It's, um..."

"It's from Greenland," Skuld popped up, having lost interest in the match between Belldandy and Urd after a tie was declared for the second round and the two siblings moved to the third and final round. "It's... very exclusive to Greenland. The ah, Vikings came up with it after an old tale speaking of one of their ships wrecking in China and meeting a bunch of monks."

Jackson looked at Skuld with a start. "Wait, seriously?" he asked.

"Yep!" Skuld nodded in a rush. "They got lost in a bad storm coming from the Middle East and instead wrecked off the coast of China. From what I know of it, they tried to raid a near-by temple and instead got their asses handed to them by the monks who lived there."

"Really?" Jackson squinted at her in disbelief. "You're making that shit up." He looked to Lind. "Is she making that up?" he asked. "Because it sounds like she's making that shit up."

Lind shrugged, at a loss at what to say. Some of it touched on a bit of truth; if the word 'Viking' was replaced with 'Aesir' and 'wrecking near Chinese Monks' with 'erroneous descent near a man named Bodhidhrama on Midgard.' "Close enough," she tried, and was rewarded when Jackson snorted and nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Okay. I need to see this." He shook his head, then looked at Lind. "You want to have a friendly sparring match? I promise I-"

"Yes," Lind said at once. "Yes I would. I am curious to see these additional martial arts in action." The Valkyrie looked back to the others, and so missed Jackson's fist pump or how Skuld elbowed him in the ribs. "Let me tell-"

"Don't bother," Skuld cut in. "Belldandy and Urd are playing video games together, and I think there's a universal rule somewhere that states 'Urd will not lose in video games' next to 'Belldandy shall always win a game.'" She shrugged, unconcerned. "We could go outside into the front yard, and I'm willing to bet that the game will crash before a victory is declared and everyone will come out to join us out of curiosity."

Both Lind and Jackson stared at Skuld, who looked between the two of them with a raised eyebrow. "What?" she demanded.

Lind sighed and shook her head. "Let's go outside," she suggested, before turning and making her way down the hallway and towards the front door. Jackson rushed after her, a large smile on his face. After scowling and throwing her hands up in frustration, Skuld followed as well, following the duo outside and closing the door behind her.

The Valkyrie was already moving out to the lawn, and Jackson was right behind her, trailing after her like a large shadow. Skuld propped herself up against the porch railing, in the same spot where, a few hours prior, Keiichi had leaned against while speaking to Lind. "Okay, time to start with some ground rules," Jackson said, throwing a few slow and deliberate punches in the air to warm up his muscles. "First off, no groin hits or face punches. We aren't wearing any protective gear, and I don't want anyone coming away from this missing a tooth or worse." Despite his own excitement, the man's expression was serious and solemn, one Lind sensed as much as saw and chose to take heed with careful discretion. Jackson seemed to be a man who both followed and expected others to follow rules that were laid out, and the tone with which he spoke to Lind exemplified that fact. She liked that, Lind decided. She could respect that. It spoke of a familiar discipline she could relate to, and some of her initial trepidation towards Jackson began to fade.

"Second," Jackson held up two fingers. "Tap outs are a go. An opponent taps," he tapped his arm twice in example, "the other let's go or stops what they're doing, no exceptions." Lind nodded in agreement, and Jackson held up a third finger. "Third, pull your punches. This is a friendly match-we aren't trying to kill each other or actually hurt one another, and going back to the lack of protective gear, I don't want either of us to come away from this hurt."

Lind nodded. That will go double for me, she thought, recalling how frail human mortals could be. The last thing I need is to punch this man's head off on accident. The thought alone made her stomach roll, and it was all she could do to suppress a shudder as a mental image of just such an event arose in her mind's eye. "That is acceptable," she agreed, following Jackson's example and taking the opportunity to warm up her muscles with a series of practice strikes and quick katas. Though she didn't want to admit it, her heart was racing, and it had taken Lind a good minute to recognize the signal as excitement for what was to come.

Excitement.

A silly little piece of her wanted to laugh. Excitement. It'd been ages since she'd been excited about anything, and it took a simple match with a mortal warrior to spurn her emotions in such a manner. She wanted to smile but didn't, worried that Jackson might come away with the wrong idea. But actual excitement! A thrill of energy, of welcomed, wanted anticipation over what was yet to come. It was enough to make her giddy. It was enough to make her dizzy, and she loved it!

Best not get too carried away now. Spear Mint, what she'd always attributed to the voice of reason, whispered in her ear. You'll become distracted, which may lead to an accident, especially with a mortal as your opponent.

It's okay to feel a little excitement though, right? And that was Cool Mint, a voice Lind was still adjusting to; the voice of lost emotion returned, though now, as had become habit, she deferred to Spear Mint's guidance.

Spear Mint gave no response, not that Lind expected one. Though her angels advised her, when it came to the actual decisions, Lind was still in charge. It's okay, she thought, this time biting the inside of her cheek to stop the silly smile from spreading across her lips. It's okay this time. I want to be excited. I want to feel. She'd gone without any emotion other than melancholy and anger for far too many years now, and to feel anything other than that hateful depression was a win she cherished more than any victory against demons. I want to have fun, she thought to herself, or perhaps to her angels. Let me play, if only for this one day on Midgard.

And so her angels-not just one but two, lo and behold-fell silent, and as they did a fresh voice rang out into the front yard. "How about we make a fourth and final rule to the fight?" Urd cried out, and Lind looked over her shoulder and felt her heart seize. The porch was filled with people. Skuld's sisters had moved to join her near the banister, and the two Morisato siblings had come to sit on the front steps leading to the front door, watching and smiling with large, shit-eating smiles on their faces. "We'll make it a bet, what do you say? Just to make things interesting!"

"What you got, Sheila?" Jackson shouted, and Lind could feel the color drain from her face. Oh Yggdrasil, she was going to fight in front of an audience?! One person she could handle, but all three of the Norns and a pair of mortals?!

Somebody shoot me down and bury me right here, Lind thought. Now her heart was racing for a very different reason, one that she was comfortable in saying was a rather unpleasant manner.

Then Cool Mint piped up; Didn't you want to have fun, though?

Cool Mint? Lind thought.

Yes?

Please shut up until this is over. Lind closed her eyes with a deep sigh. Spear Mint, that goes for you too. If I hear one word hinting at 'I told you so' in my head...

Yes Ma'am. Thank the stars at least one of them knew when to keep her mouth shut.

"So, we'll make a little bet. If Lind wins, you teach her some BJJ." Urd's voice projected across the yard with ease. "I ended up using the moves you boys showed me against her once and I think she's still salty about the loss." Lind immediately perked up at that. "On the other hand, if Jackson wins, Lind goes out on a date with him." And just as quickly she deflated.

"I'll take that bet!" Jackson cried with glee. "It's a win-win in my book!"

"Demons bless it." Lind swore under her breath, then, in a louder voice yelled, "I'm going to bury you in a shallow grave one of these days, Urd!"

"You'll have to beat my family to it!" Urd shouted back, then laughed as Belldandy sent her a reproachful look. "Do you agree to the circumstances, Lind?"

Lind cringed. She could almost feel the gazes of the entire household, Jackson included, resting on her, and under the spotlight Lind moaned in anguish. "I don't have much of a choice when everyone's watching now, do I?" She grumbled, before speaking in a louder voice, "Yes."

Jackson whooped in joy, and sighing with resignation Lind finished her warm-up before turning to face the man in question. Remember, don't overdue it, she reminded herself. He's a mortal, not a god. It'd be like kicking a newborn puppy. She watched as Jackson finished his own warm-up before dropping into an unfamiliar fighting stance, resting his weight on back right foot as his left came forward, bouncing on his toes as he brought his hands up to guard his face. Don't kick the puppy, she told herself.

"Whenever you're ready, Blue." Jackson's smile was wild and exhilarated, a reflection of her own inner feelings as Lind also dipped into a fighting stance, bouncing lightly as she shifted her weight from one foot to another, hands up and open and elbows tucked into her sides.

"Don't call me Blue," Lind warned, and saying nothing else launched herself at Jackson. Mortal. Spear Mint reminded her. Mortal, mortal, mortal! Jackson pivoted to one side as she came at him, and forcing her speed down Lind threw a light kick at him. He brought his leg up, blocking the blunt of the attack, but she saw his eyes widen in mixed pain and surprise and knew that even that held too much strength behind it.

The man backtracked, maintaining his form as he retreated, then whistled in approval. "Damn, Girl! You got some strength in those kicks. Don't hold back on my account!" There was a note of sarcasm in his voice, and if Spear Mint had been a more physical manifestation in her mind Lind was almost certain the angel would have smacked her. Instead a low, exaggerated moan echoed in her ears.

"Come on then. Don't you know it's rude to leave a woman waiting?" The woman ignored the voices in her head and found herself losing interest in the audience she and Jackson had gathered as well. With it, her anxiety began to depart once more in place of excitement, and when a small smirk began to tug at a corner of one lip she didn't halt its progress. It grew into a smile, yet Lind didn't notice. Didn't notice the smile, the audience, the cries and jeers for the Norns and Morisatos or even the words of encouragement and caution from the twin angels in her head.

There was only her opponent and the fight.

Jackson moved forward and took a practice jab at her. She batted it away with an open palm, and after several more cautionary swings and receptive blocks, Jackson grew more serious. All at once his jabs became fast, his fists lashing out like the end of a pair of whips towards her body. Had mortals always been able to move so fast? Ah, what a blast! Lind's smile grew larger, and her body responded on reflex, batting at fists that would have otherwise left bruises and diverting the power behind them away from her body. She let Jackson lead their dance, wanting to see what he defined as 'limits' before responding in turn with equal power, and watched the smile on his face start to fade into more careful scrutiny, concentrating on her movements as she led him backward.

Fun. Cool Mint whispered. Fun fun fun funfunfun.

Lind agreed.

Don't kick the puppy. Spear Mint reminded.

I won't. She thought. But that didn't mean she couldn't roughhouse with him still. A fist shot towards her chest in a right hook, and quick as lighting Lind first diverted the blow away from her with one hand and then grabbed his wrist with another, pulling him into her guard where she lashed out with a sharp elbow. The man threw himself out away from Lind at arm's length, narrowly avoiding the elbow's close sweep.

Jackson popped his wrist free of her grip with a swift, firm jerk towards her thumb before she could reaffirm her grasp on him, then grabbed the material of her uniform instead. No! Some piece of her screamed. She was uncertain if it was her angels or her own voice of warning. It'll be Urd all over again! Don't let him grab your clothes! She dove into his grasp, diving and twisting beneath and out of his grip, then smacked the wrist holding her with a sharp blow. The SEAL flinched and released her, and Lind retreated out of his range, watching the man with a bit more caution now.

Stay out of his guard. If he grapples you, he wins, she thought, watching as Jackson returned to his original guard. Get behind him. She began to circle him, and taking tiny steps, Jackson followed her, his body angled in such a way as to present a slimmer profile for Lind to attack. The Valkyrie began to dance around him, having the SEAL follow her first one way, then the next, picking up a small bit of speed each time she changed directions. Whenever Jackson grew bold enough to lash out at her, Lind dodged back, but did not follow through with a counter of her own.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Jackson asked her, yet Lind provided him with no answer, something she could tell unnerved him. "Is this one of those Mantra things you mentioned?" Indeed it was not. Those Mantra were designed for battles against demons, not men, and would more than likely kill him before he even realized what was happening. But she could take certain, small components from each mantra to use in a bit of harmless fun, especially while keeping herself on par with a mortal man.

She was gaining momentum now. Momentum that would have easily come to her had she been combating an opponent on her level, and she could feel it gathering in her legs. Jackson looked more and more confused, and perhaps even a little concerned, yet Lind was not blind to the open curiosity on his face as well. At the last moment she leapt back from Jackson, placing further distance between the two of them, then charged forward, putting the momentum to use and jumping once, twice, and then leaping over his head in a burst of speed.

"Holy shi-" The SEAL didn't have a chance to finish his words before Lind placed a solid foot in the center of his shoulders, sending Jackson sprawling forwards as the Valkyrie used him for a springboard. The woman tucked, spun, landed a few feet away, and the moment her feet touched the ground she launched herself at him once more, the momentum redirected in front of her as her opponent staggered, caught himself, and then turned to meet her.

She just caught his eyes widen in shock when Spear Mint's voice rose once more in her ear: Don't kick the puppy! And the punch she was about to drive into and through his face froze close to an inch before Jackson's nose.

She flicked his nose instead.

Jackson recoiled, eyes large with astonishment, and Lind allowed a small smirk to play across her face. A smirk which immediately vanished when Jackson grabbed her once more, then dropped the Valkyrie in a single, swift motion that somehow pinned her ankle between his knee and drove her back, off balance, and into the grass. She yelped in dismay, and as Jackson pinned her to the ground, he brought a single finger up and tapped her on the nose. "Boop."

Lind stared at him, her own eyes widening in surprise, before she then sighed and tapped his elbow. The SEAL released her and rolled to his feet, then offered a hand to her, which she took with some embarrassment on her part. "You win." She grumbled. The woman could feel heat crawling up her neck and into her cheeks.

"I see it as a tie." Jackson smiled broadly at her. "That was some serious badassery you pulled on me, and I don't get impressed by much." She felt her flush deepen, and the SEAL laughed. "Tell you what, I'll level with you. We'll have lunch together-here, with Jank and the others-and I'll show you how I took you down." Now that the match was over and her blood was cooling, Lind was growing increasingly aware of the amiable chatter rising from their make-shift 'audience'. Urd was screaming something about 'kiss', and Lind wanted to either punch the silver-haired woman in the face or bury herself a mile underground. "If you like what you see and you want to learn more, than you got to let me make dinner for you, and I will personally teach you everything else I know. What do you say?"

It was taking all her self-discipline not to run and hide at that moment. Urd was jarring them on, Keiichi was jarring them on, hell, even Skuld was joining in, though Belldandy at least was attempting to calm them all down-not that it was doing any good, especially with how Aiko was howling with laughter. Lind grit her teeth. "One caveat." She grumbled. "You find out what move Urd used on me and teach me how to counter it."

"Oh?" Jackson raised an eyebrow in question, and Lind sucked in a deep breath.

"I'm going to bury that woman's face in the earth for this."

XXX

Lind did indeed take Jackson up on his offer to have lunch with him and the others. Not that she wasn't going to anyways, given the fact that the Valkyrie was planning on staying through until Sunday, where she could finally, finally drag Skuld back to Asgard and be rid of this horrible company she was forced to keep, yet Jackson still treated it with all the joy of a love-struck teenager sitting with his childhood-crush. From an outside perspective, it could even be viewed as 'cute', despite the fact that Lind still looked rather uncomfortable with Jackson sitting next to her. Yet as lunch was provided-ramen, as so prepared by Belldandy-even the discomfort began to fade. Neither Jackson nor Lind had ever had anything close to authentic ramen before, and that combined with Belldandy's almost natural affinity towards cooking provided a meal that they both enjoyed immensely.

Even Aiko and Keiichi were impressed, and in Aiko's case, overjoyed, with the meal that presented itself, and were both treated to an honest, delighted smile from Belldandy when it grew more and more apparent that everyone in the household complimented the Norn on her skills. "It was nothing, really," she claimed. "I've just had some practice making ramen is all."

"Bullshit," Aiko exclaimed. "I go all over Japan with Grandpa whenever I go and visit him, and I've lost count of all the different types I've tried. Yours is, hands down, the best ramen I have ever had."

"Yeah," Keiichi agreed. "Which really isn't much coming from a girl who lives off packs of instant ramen every day, but I got to agree with her." He ignored Aiko's glare. "Yours is even better than Takano's." He froze when he said that, then looked at Aiko. "Don't you fucking dare tell her I said that." He warned. "I'll lock you up in a shipping container and fill it with spiders, if you do."

"Try it and die." Aiko narrowed her eyes at her brother, then smiled and joined him in laughter.

"Well, I know what to throw on the bed now if you decide to join me in bed tonight." Skuld grumbled aloud, and earned a startled glance from Jackson and Lind as Aiko moaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Can we please forget that happened?" she asked, her question muffled. "It was an accident, okay? I got turned around."

"What? I'm hurt," Urd teased. "You mean you didn'tenjoy snuggling up to me last night? I seem to recall otherwise."

Jackson looked between Aiko and Urd in shock. "Wait, what?"

Aiko looked up at Urd in horror. "No, please don't-"

"You mean my screams didn't give it away?" Skuld asked, one eyebrow raised in question. "I woke up on the air mattress to find those two spooning like a pair of star-crossed lovers in the twin bed."

"Skuld, shut up!" Aiko pleaded. "I told you, it was an accident! I thought it was my room! I was drunk, I-I was half-asleep! Nothing happened!"

"A likely story,"Urd murmured, then threw a wink to Aiko, who went as white as a sheet. "I seem to remember otherwise."

"You were even drunker than me!" Aiko accused, then looked at Jackson and Lind, who were both watching them with unreadable expressions. "Don't believe anything she says!" the college student cried. "They're lies! All of them!"

Jackson blinked and gave a little shudder, like a man who'd stumbled across something foul. "Okay, not gonna lie. A bit too much information," he confessed. "I didn't need to know about who you likes sleeping with, Bengal."

Aiko's face reddened. "But I didn't-she just-no!" she stammered. "I've already got someone, okay! I'm not trying to sleep with anyone!" She pointed to Urd. "And-and what about her? She's the one who's acting like she enjoyed it and everything!"

Belldandy and Skuld looked at Urd, still smiling, then at each other. They shrugged in unison before looking back at Aiko. "It's Urd." They voiced together.

"Hey!" Urd protested.

Jackson scratched the back of his head. "I guess it explains why she was never interested in any of us." He confessed.

"Hey!" Urd cried.

Keiichi sent her a look. "Don't sleep with my sister, Urd," he warned. "I'm holding you accountable just like Bravo and the others." His own two cents said, he returned to his ramen, sparing her not a second glance to indicate whether or not he was serious.

"What?!" Urd gaped at him in shock. "Wait, Aiko was the one who slept with me, not the other way around!"

Lind experimentally tried to grab her noodles with the chopsticks that had been provided as an alternative to the fork. She failed miserably. "Don't dish out what you can't take," she muttered.

Following that, Jackson did indeed hold true to his word on showing her the move he used to take Lind down. The man was even generous enough to let Lind try it on him to ensure she understood it properly, which admittedly, was the highlight of her day. "Show me more," she demanded, after attempting the move for close to an hour before feeling comfortable with it on what she judged to be her tenth successful execution of the move.

"Does this mean you'll have dinner with me sometime?" Jackson sent her a sidelong glance. "Not today or anything, but maybe later on?"

"Yes." She decided, because fuck it, if having dinner with a mortal meant she could learn more of this strange grappling art called 'Brazilian Jui Jitsu', then so be it. She'd have something new to take back to the squadron and drill into the heads of the acolytes there, and the advantages the moves presented in a dire combat situation against a demon or even a god were unprecedented. Part of her was already working out a training schedule and how she could integrate it into her squadron's physical training, and so distract was she that the Valkyrie missed the amused smile on Jackson's face.

"It's a date then!" he cried.

XXX

It was close to evening when Jackson hooked his barbeque up to his truck in order to head out for the day.

Belldandy was almost sad to see him go. Despite his large and rather intimidating looks, the man was a joy to have around. She'd had quite a bit of fun with his presence in the household, and even Lind's frosty personality had melted a bit after their small sparring match in the yard. That alone had been entertaining, especially after her rounds against Urd in street fighter had come to an immediate halt when the game crashed near the end of the final round. Something about the console overheating or one of them hitting a previously unknown bug or some other such nonsense. It was probably that Urd had thrown a bit of her magic into the console and caused it to short out because she couldn't stand the disastrous idea of losing to Belldandy.

Maybe.

Regardless, with Jackson's departure and a quick dinner, the evening dwindled into a peaceful night. Skuld managed to repair the videogame console, and Urd took the opportunity to introduce Lind to videogames, and like Keiichi had not too long ago, introduced her to the harsh world of Lothrick.

Belldandy watched the trio from the hallway sect leading into the living room, tempted to join them but deciding to hold off. With the others distracted, now would be a good opportunity to-

The goddess grimaced, feeling a shudder work through her body as her muscles tensed in an almost reflexive move. Yggdrassil's roots, she didn't even want to think of it, and she was to speak on it? The woman pulled in a soothing breath, hoping to slow the sudden, rapid pace of her heart, and still tense, she moved into the kitchen.

Aiko was at the dining room table, storing food away in Tupperware containers that she intended to take with her back to the dorms. "Aiko?"

The student looked up, then smiled at Belldandy. "Hey Carrie, what's up?"

Belldandy paused, for a moment confused on the strange term of address. "Who is-"

Aiko waved her off. "Don't worry about it. Think of it like a term of endearment, like how Kei and Team 12 like to call Urd Sheila." She popped a lid on a plastic Tupperware container with a blue lid, then moved to pop it in the fridge.

"I see..." A term of endearment? No one had ever given her a-a nickname before. Nothing that wasn't a shortening or mispronunciation of her full name. Something else I can claim as my own. She thought. Something untarnished by Aoshima and his poison. "You and Keiichi seem to share a fondness for nicknames."

Aiko beamed. "Yeah, well, when people always mispronounce your name, you find ways around it."

The Norn tilted her head to one side in curiosity. "Is that why Piper calls you 'Bengal' at times?"

The younger woman looked away, embarrassed. "Yeah," she admitted. "Tigers are my favorite animal-Bengal tigers in particular. Takano-that's our mom, by the way-she ended up befriending some staff who worked at the San Francisco Zoo." The woman's gaze grew distant at the recollection. "After I was raped, I became really withdrawn from everyone around me: I didn't want to talk to anyone, be around anyone, nothing. I just wanted to be left alone, and it made speaking with therapists and my case workers a no-go. Even calls from Kei or Meg didn't do it for me." She shrugged her shoulders at the memory. "But Takano is a resourceful woman, let me tell you. I don't know what she did, but she pulled some crazy strings for me one day. It was..." The woman stopped what she was doing, instead choosing to lean on the fridge as she crossed her arms in thought. "Gosh, A Monday, I think. I was supposed to go to school on a Monday-that's right, because I remember how much I was dragging my feet back then-and instead of going to school, we went to the zoo."

She looked at Belldandy, a small half-smile on her face. "Now, Takano had been trying damned near anything to get me out of my shell back then, and the zoo was one of the things that had shown maybe, I don't know, a spark of interest from me? I can't remember. But when we went in past the gates, we didn't go to any of the exhibits or sections of the zoo. Instead, I remember Takano meeting with some folks I remember as 'Karen' and 'Steve', and they took us into this 'staff only' section of the zoo." The smile on her face grew furtive, and her eyes danced with excitement. "I got to play with tiger kittens." She whispered. "One of the tigers there, a Bengal named 'Sundara', had had kittens a couple of weeks ago, and Takano got in good with the folks looking after them and got me in to play with them."

"And they were so cute!" She cooed. "You knew they were still babies because they still fell over from walking sometimes, but they were also really playful, and a white one fell asleep in my lap, and-" She stopped herself, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry. I get carried away with that story. It's still got to be one of the coolest things that I've ever done." She paused. "...At least, aside from meeting a bunch of literal gods, anyhow."

Belldandy smiled at the younger woman's earnest enthusiasm, feeling some of the joy the memory still brought to the woman. "And so that is why you love tigers?"

"Yep!" Aiko chirped. "Especially Bengals, because they were the ones I got to play with. Plus they're the ones that can have the white coat mutation." She shook her head in amusement. "Kei dubbed me Bengal when I told him one time I wanted to grow up and be a Bengal tiger, and the name just kind of...stuck."

Now Belldandy laughed. "But I thought you wanted to be a dog!" she cried, and Aiko laughed with her.

"Tigers don't get table scraps or belly rubs in a nice warm bed by a fireplace," Aiko reminded her, and Belldandy laughed harder. When the laughter finally faded, Aiko moved away from the fridge. "So, what's up?" she asked. "I know you were coming in here to ask me about something, but I don't think it had anything to do with tigers or wishes."

"You are correct," Belldandy said, surprised to find that in the light conversation they'd had, the initial tension leading up to speaking with Aiko had all but vanished. Banished by a white tiger...she thought, and for whatever reason the thought made her smile. "I was wondering if you would like to...talk."

Aiko paused, and Belldandy could almost see the visible change in her attitude. The silly college student began to fade, and in its wake was an older, somber woman whose hair was at odds with her expression. A woman aged and wizened by the unfortunate circumstances of her youth. "Yes," she said. "I'm always available to talk. Doesn't matter when, doesn't matter what." She leaned to one side, peering down the hallway with a slight frown. "Do you want to talk upstairs?" she asked. "In your room, where we won't be interrupted?"

Belldandy stared at her, startled. The idea of someone interrupting the two of them, or perhaps even overhearing them had not been something she'd thought of. Not with how everyone was gathered in the living room. Yet now that it was brought to her attention... the thought of being interrupted after finally working up the courage to speak with Aiko made her skin crawl. "Yes," she agreed. "Yes, I think that is a good idea. Let's head upstairs." Upstairs to her bedroom. Not a guest bedroom but her bedroom. With a lock she could use at any time and spells she could cast at will without fear of negation. Not Aoshima's room. Not a room that had no lock. Not a room that she did not feel safe in. Safe. Now there was a term she'd never attributed to on area before. My room is 'safe'.

Aiko nodded. "Let's go, then."

Together the two women departed for the second floor, and when they passed the living room only one person noticed. Belldandy waved Skuld back when the woman looked up at her in curiosity, and when her younger sister frowned, she brought a finger to her lips. For a brief moment she feared the younger Norn would follow after, uninterested as she was in the ongoing interactions with the others. She moved to rise, and Belldandy shook her head, urging her to stay with the others and sending a silent prayer that the young woman didn't draw their attention.

Finally, after a moment of internal debate, Skuld settled back down into her spot near the end of the Ugly Beast, though she still looked displeased. Belldandy mouthed a silent thank-you, and together she and Aiko ascended the staircase, followed only by Lind's increasingly frustrated snarls as once more, her avatar was struck down by a large lizard made of crystal. They proceeded into Belldandy's room un-harassed, and Belldandy shut the door behind her with a sigh. For a moment she considered locking it, then decided against it and instead went to the window, opening it and allowing the night breeze to hit her face. It felt cool against her skin, but she felt a small draft of warmth that hinted at the summer yet to come. It'll be a hot one, she thought, and frowned. There was a rancid odor to that breeze, one that played havoc on her nerves and made her want to retch.

Instead the goddess shut her eyes and grimaced, ignoring the sickly-sweet scent of... carrion. That was a carcass she was smelling, and an old one, too. Perhaps a deer carcass, or maybe even a bear. Something that had been left out and improperly stored, or perhaps forgotten by some predator that'd been chased from its kill. Like a wolf's den, she thought. That bodes ill. Belldandy didn't like wolves. They bore with them too many ill omens. She could handle corvids and serpents, bears and 'tigers', yet Belldandy drew the line with wolves. It had been a wolf that had taken her father's hand and it was a pack of wolves that threatened to devour the Sol and Mani even as now, they were chased endlessly across the sky, never allowed to rest for fear of being caught and consumed.

The bed behind her groaned, and Belldandy turned to look back at Aiko. The woman had moved to sit near the foot of the bed, and was watching her with intent eyes. She had a small brown teddy bear in one hand, dressed in a sailor's crackerjack blue uniform whose color was dull and faded with time. It's nose was beaten into an old, leather husk of what once was, and there were areas on its uniform that had been torn and carefully sewn back together with the unskilled hands of a child. She stared at it, forgetting the scents at the window, and Aiko sent her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry," she said. "It's silly, I know, but I need Keiichi with me whenever I talk about this stuff in length." She hugged the bear to her chest, and Belldandy frowned.

"But... Keiichi is downstairs." The woman's brows scrunched up in confusion, still eyeing the old stuffed bear. Hadn't Keiichi mentioned something about a bear for Aiko?

The woman on the bed shook her head. "Kei is downstairs," she said. "Keiichi's here with me." She tapped the bear's sailor hat in emphasis. "It's, um..." She scowled, looking down at the bear. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Nothing leaves this room, right?"

"Yes," Belldandy agreed, and nodding to herself Aiko continued.

"Right, so..." Again she scowled. "I'm just gonna come right out and say it. I blamed Keiichi a lot for my rape." She took a deep breath and held a hand up as Belldandy's jaw dropped in surprise. "Hear me out before you judge, then tell me if any of it sounds familiar, okay?" She stared down at her bear, playing with a frayed seam on the little bear's coat. The girl bit her lip. "So... first off, let me say this. I love Keiichi. I adore him. He's my big brother, this awesome guy who's in the military doing cool things like jumping out of planes and kicking ass. He was already a grown man before I was even ten, and I grew up idolizing him because our parents were proud of him, Megumi was proud of him, and so in my mind, he was pretty much a hero, you know? Just that cool older sibling you looked up to and wanted to be just like. That person that you listened to and followed and emulated in the hopes of turning out just as cool as him."

Aiko fell silent, her gaze long and distant as she continued to play with the seam. "He was my hero," she repeated. "And... when I needed him most, he was gone." She looked at Belldandy, and the goddess flinched at the pain that dwelt in her eyes. Even now, a woman grown and well past the events of her childhood, the wound was still a visible scar that managed to hurt. Maybe without the same severity of an open, infected sore, but when the weather was bad, perhaps, or nightmares ran prevalent, the scar still throbbed.

"I was raped," she said. "Nine years old. Didn't even know what sex was. 'Fuck' was just a word my friends would sometimes whisper and giggle at when we were certain no one was listening. Stuart... the one who-who did it, was a friend. He was always 'Uncle Stu' to me and Megumi, and he'd always bring us treats or toys whenever he dropped by our house for a visit. Sometimes he'd stop by our school when work kept Takano and Keima busy, and sometimes he'd offer us a ride home so we wouldn't have to walk the three miles separating our house from the nearest school. Sometimes... especially when Keiichi was still in high school... sometimes Kei would be with him too, and during those times Megumi would say 'yeah sure' and the two of us would climb in together. Megumi would always walk from her school over to mine to walk me home, and once... once she told me not to get in with Stuart when he was alone or with a stranger. And for the most part, I listened. But with guys like him... it only takes one time, one opportunity for them to strike, and they'll wait for it for years if that's what it takes."

Again Aiko fell silent, and feeling her heart go out to her, Belldandy moved to join her on the bed. "You ever hear of something called 'Murphy's Law', Belldandy?" She glanced over at the woman in question, who shook her head. "You might have another name for it. It's an adage, a saying we have. One that states, in laymen's terms, 'anything that can go wrong, will go wrong', and usually all at once." She looked back down at her bear. "Keima and Takano were working overtime. They wanted to earn enough money for the family trip up to see Kei graduate Basic, but the current funds we had were a little low at the time. Megumi, my older sister who was in high school at the time, was helping out as well at a part-time job, and Deb, a family friend, was in a study group back at the high school." She sighed. "I didn't have a cell phone back then-those were still considered a new thing by my folks, and they weren't about to spend money on a burner phone just for a ride home. And that was okay. I grew up with that, and the thought of calling someone for a ride or even asking a teacher for help never crossed my mind when it started to rain after school." She made a face. "Hell, I could have even waited it out at a youth center for Deb or Megumi to finish and come pick me up, but..."

"Murphy's Law?" Belldandy suggested.

Aiko nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. "Murphy's Law. So I stuck out my lip and delt with it, because that's how we were raised, and I started to walk home. And it wasn't a drizzle, Belldandy. It was a downpour. I was soaked to the bone fifteen minutes into the walk back, and I remember feeling where a blister was starting to form on my right heel from where it rubbed against the shoe with each step." She laughed, and it sounded bitter. "It's funny, the stupid things we remember, right?"

Belldandy said nothing.

"So it was around that time that I heard a honk from behind me, and here I am thinking to myself, 'oh thank god, It's Megumi or Debra or maybe even Keima, and instead who comes to pull up beside me but none other than Uncle Stu himself, all by his lonesome. 'What are you doing out in the rain?' he asked me. 'You'll catch a chill! Hop on in and I'll take you home.'" She shrugged, and it came across as resigned. "I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth," she said. "Megumi's words never even came back to me until later, and by then we were so close to home that I figured, 'one time can't hurt'. But it did. It hurt a lot."

Her voice faded into a whisper, and the girl clutched 'Teddy-Keiichi' tighter. "But... he took me home, just like he said he would, and... well... no one was home. And why would they? Everyone was busy at work. But I had a house key for these kinds of situations, even if Stuart-" She stopped and blinked, and perhaps in the light of the room Aiko's eyes appeared a bit brighter than before. "Stuart didn't, but he was a family friend. Uncle Stu, who took me home after I was chilled to the bone and wanted to make sure I was good and dry before heading out. Nothing strange about it, sounded perfectly logical to nine-year old me, so come on in Mister Dracula, what would you like for dinner?"

The woman rubbed her face, then her eyes. "Sorry, allergies," she murmured. "My eyes and nose always start to run in the spring from seasonal allergies. Don't mind me if you hear a sniff or two." She visibly swallowed before continuing. "He sent me up to my room. 'Change into something dry and I'll put some tea on the stove to help warm you up.' Okay, sure, nothing strange there. And so I went upstairs and did just like he told me to, but..." She bit her lip. "I only had a shirt on when he came in. 'I just want to check up on you,' he said." She cleared her throat. "And, well... I'll spare you the details but... yeah. That's how it happened."

She spoke in a rush, blasting through the rape itself as quickly as she could without skipping it. "But... well, it was awful, because the entire time, I kept-I kept." She stopped herself and took several long, deep breaths. "When I started to feel scared. That, that something was wrong... I told myself, 'it's okay, Keiichi will come. It's okay, Keiichi will save me'. Because Keiichi was my hero, my older brother. Keiichi was always there for me, and he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me." She shook her head, drawing her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. "But he never showed. He never showed up, and so... at some point it was no longer 'Keiichi will save me' but 'where is Keiichi', and then, later still, 'why'." She looked at Belldandy, tired and sad all at once. "I learned some hard truths that day. Truths that the little girl from back then wasn't ready to handle."

For all the words she spoke, her cheeks remained dry, the tears left unshed. "I blamed Keiichi for that, a long time ago. Because I couldn't handle it. Because I didn't want to admit that something bad happened to me, and I was the victim of opportunity for a-a predator. A wolf that chewed me up and spat me out like red riding hood without a huntsman to save her. It's all lies, I know that now, but back then... at that time..." She sighed and rubbed at her eyes again. "Damn allergies," she sniffed. "When he brought me this silly old thing, I remember thinking to myself 'this will be Keiichi from now on. And my brother is Kei, because he won't always be there for me." She stared down at the bear and sighed. "A therapist had to tell me this, but the me from way back then was trying to get rid of the association between Keiichi and the event. So Keiichi became 'Kei' and the bear became 'Keiichi', who'd always be there for me to cry on or scream at or hug or throw; something for me to love or abuse without hurting anyone else."

Belldandy stared at the woman before her, then drew her into a tentative hug. For a moment it seemed that Aiko would resist. That she would pull away on the grounds that she was fine or perhaps that she didn't need to be comforted. That she was supposed to be the strong one for Belldandy's sake, as she'd worked through her issues whereas Belldandy was only just now ready to touch on the subject. Yet she didn't, and with a sigh, leaned into the woman's embrace.

For a moment they were silent, and in the quiet of the evening Belldandy heard the gentle sounds of nightlife as nocturnal creatures went about their business. Owls, insects, the occasional croak of a raven or crow, and if she listened carefully, even the long howl of something that might have been a dog, might have been a coyote, and whispered to Belldandy of a wolf crying a lonesome tune.

"I believe I understand what you're telling me," Belldandy murmured, recalling the start of her own event with some difficulty and feeling her throat threaten to lock up as a consequence. "On the reason why..." Her voice trailed off, and she could feel a bubble in her throat, a bubble that she knew would lodge there and make her voice tremble and break, like that old and beaten car that Aiko had somehow driven from North Carolina and up into Virginia. Yet Aiko didn't rush her. Perhaps the woman knew how difficult it was to start a tale, especially one of such length and complexity as Belldandy's.

The Norn closed her eyes and sighed. You can do this. Some tiny little piece of her whispered in the depths of her mind. Aiko opened up to you without expectation. She spoke with you, a stranger she knows not, and touched on the most innermost feelings that dwelt in her heart without fear of your judgment. You. A goddess. One with power and strength insurmountable. And here you sit beside her, unable to voice a single sentence? Are you truly so weak?

Will you let Aoshima's memory control you so fully?

The thought made her stiffen, made her breath in sharply, and caused Aiko to look up at her in concern. Concern for you, not herself, that voice told her. Speak now, or forever hold your peace.

Belldandy closed her eyes. "I... I was working at what, in your language, translates to the 'Goddess Relief Office' when... 'Murphy's Law', as you so dubbed it, played it's game with me. We... I am one who grants wishes to people of worth, and... I had been waiting on your brother's call to summon me in meeting." The woman glanced at her companion, finding Aiko watching her with an unreadable expression. "He was..." She chewed on her lower lip, searching for the words with which to describe Keiichi's candidacy. Such a thing was a sensitive subject for mortals, and generally discouraged from speaking on in the Midgard, yet she felt that Aiko needed some sort of background, to be able to come from a point of familiarity and understanding where Belldandy could better communicate her experiences. "I will not go in-depth on what qualifies for a candidate, but... Keiichi was one we had been watching for many a year, and after following his life for so long, I was... eager to meet him."

The woman sighed and closed her eyes. "We commune with those deemed fit for our blessing via some form of earthly communication. A pigeon or falcon that is one of us in disguise, a telegraph diverted through the carelessness of its operator, a wrong phone number that connects us to our clients... whatever is the regular of that society's time frame. A rider on horseback? We are the rider. A spy with intelligence? We are that spy. It is our duty to adapt with the community and find a way to communicate with that person we are to meet, and during my last day at the-the GRO, I was awaiting your brother to call a wrong number."

"I cannot describe to you the amount of... anticipation I felt while awaiting that call. The GRO is a difficult position, even amongst ourselves, for as more and more time passes it grows increasingly difficult to follow a candidate through the initial screening process and into the main line. All too often an event happens that destroys the eligibility, and for many, the candidates they followed were lost through some misfortune or mishap. Because of that, we cherish the ones who manage to maintain their eligible state, and Keiichi was... well, I thought he was special even before his period of influence was pushed back."

The goddess fell silent, her gaze long and thoughtful. "Perhaps... perhaps my enthusiasm to meet Keiichi was what led to my own downfall." She smiled, and it was long and forlorn. Lost even. "I received a call. A 'wrong number', as you would say, and I had been so eager, so certain it was Keiichi that I was shocked when the data of the person on the other end was not one I recognized." She scowled. "I remember reading the name that appeared to me and the confusion that befell me. Who was this man? This..." She grit her teeth, than spat the name out like a wad of phlegm. "Toshiyuki Aoshima." She grimaced, then continued. "He was not one of mine. Was he a candidate for someone else? Someone who was absent during his period of influence and had been fed down the chain to another goddess?" She shook her head. "We have a... process that must be followed when we receive an unknown candidate. Each one is assigned a case number, yet this man... this 'Aoshima', had what surmounted to an error code."

The woman pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes tight. "I was a fool." She confessed. "A strange candidate with an error code calling upon us? When no one knew his name or had access to a case file? The warnings were there. All of them. Yet in my own anticipation over your brother's call, fearing I might miss it if I dallied any longer... I forwent the procedures we were to follow for such a circumstance and descended to meet him."

"Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly," Aiko muttered off-hand, and after a moment's pause, Belldandy inclined her head in agreement.

"Yes. Unfortunately," she said. "I... scared him upon appearing to him. Looking back on that now, I wonder if perhaps I should have... ah, what is the saying you have? Ah yes... perhaps if, at that time, I had been wise enough to place 'the fear of god' into him, my predicament would have been more fortunate for me, but as it were..."

"Do gods working in this... 'GRO' normally scare the pants off people?" Aiko asked.

"At first, yes," Belldandy nodded. "And for some of the more... hmm... aggressive would be a good word for it-for the more aggressive deities, they have no qualms of terrifying their clients." She shook her head. "But I have never enjoyed such things, and so upon my descent my immediate reaction had been to alleviate his fears." Her mind drifted back to the terror on Aoshima's face upon her first meeting, and how it had grown near mindless until she'd soothed him. Then curious. Then... hungry. "Perhaps, if I was to count, that was my second mistake. A man does not stab a tiger unless he knows it cannot hurt him, and during that time I could almost see his mind playing at the prospect of a wish for himself." She grimaced, and the breath she drew in held a shuddering tremor to it. "There are... reasons that we watch our candidates so closely. Granting a wish to the wrong person could lead to disastrous results, and that man... Aoshima, he..."

All at once Aoshima's leering face returned to her. Even now, his face was still a strong and malignant phantom in her mind, and when he spoke it was as if he was standing right in front of her. "You belong to me now. Mind. Body. Soul. Everything." The Norn broke into a cold sweat, releasing Aiko in favor of wrapping her arms around herself. Her heart began to race, and a creeping terror crawled up her spine, raising the hair on the nape of her neck as the woman buried her face in her arms. Aiko reached out to her, concerned, yet somehow sensing the student's intent Belldandy stopped her, raising a hand sharply and gesturing her back. She instead sucked in a shallow, rasping gasp, where it tore from her throat in a harsh bellow. Her fingernails dug half-moon grooves into the flesh of her arm, and Belldandy concentrated on the small jabs of pain they brought with all her might.

I belong to no man, she told the voice. I am my own person, and you are less than a ghost. She peered up past her arms, glaring into the room and out towards the window. Even Mani's wolves have more substance than you. Begone you pitiful, soulless bastard.

You're a slave. Aoshima's voice was starting to fade. Even if you don't want to admit it. A slave to me, just like those kids, and now a slave to your memories. But hey, what the fuck do I know? We're all a slave to something...

Belldandy blinked and shuddered, and the remnants of Aoshima left her from where she sat on the bed. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, and she focused on the window, going through the exercise Keiichi had taught her to help slow it down. When it had slowed enough to where Belldandy thought she could go on, she continued. "He enslaved me. 'A goddess to do with as he pleased for all eternity'. That was it. His wish."

Aiko sucked in a sharp breath, recoiling. "He-"

The goddess nodded. "It was every bit as bad as it sounded," she admitted. "And when I called for aid... to verify the wish was valid, hoping, praying that it had failed, I discovered that it had gone through. Yggdrasil, the World Tree... the very system I monitor and watch over with my sisters... an entity I thought I knew as well as my family had-had..." She trailed off, blinking. Her eyes were starting to burn, much to her surprise, and here she'd not even touched upon the atrocities her ex-husband had yet committed against her. She swallowed and tried to go on, yet found she was unable to as a wave of unwelcome grief fell over her, drowning any more attempts to continue.

She shook her head, and Aiko wrapped her arms around her in a hug. She was a small enough woman that such was a trial for her, and so the young college student leaned into her, rubbing her back in a gesture of comfort. "Let's stop there for now," Aiko decided. "I think I might have underestimated how large your story is."

Belldandy nodded wordlessly, biting the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted copper. "I will tell you." Her voice came out a thin rasp, one so heavy with strain and emotion it was unrecognizable to Belldandy's ears. "I need to."

"Wow, hang on a moment here." Aiko's voice was soft, but scolding. "You don't need to tell me anything. Not if you don't want to. If you want, we can stop all this right here and leave it at that."

Belldandy looked at her in a mixture of surprise and confusion. The look on Aiko's face was one of wary trepidation and experience, and the goddess shook her head. "You misunderstand," she said. "I... I need to speak on this subject." Her voice was growing a little stronger now, though it still wavered in her throat. "I must. If for no other sake than my own. But I cannot-will not speak of it with Keiichi. Nor my sisters." She took in several deep breaths, willing her voice to be stronger. "They-they do not understand. They cannot come from a place of empathy for me... and I fear my words would drive them to misplaced guilt."

"Right. Right, I-I understand," Aiko said. "And I'll listen!" she exclaimed. "I'll listen... just... you know, so long as you're willing to talk to a silly mortal with dyed hair that may not fully grasp the whole... 'goddess' thing. I'll listen for as long as you want, but... you need a therapist, Belldandy."

"A what?" Belldandy twisted to observe her in confusion.

Aiko frowned. "A therapist. Someone who...I guess a doctor for the psyche?" she tried. "Do you guys... have someone like that where you're from?"

"A doctor... do you mean a healer?" Belldandy asked. "A divinity of the 'third-category'? A Tic?" Aiko stared at her blankly, and Belldandy pursed her lips. "We do have-they are of the 'third-category' sect. Those deities who care for the weak and ill or those who fall to misfortune."

"Do you have a..." Aiko waved her hands about, searching for the proper words. "A... 'mind-healer', maybe?" she ventured. "Because... I'll be honest, Belldandy, you need professional help. I'm a college student with a major in computer technology and a minor in finance. I... was raped, and I can relate to you and listen, but... I can't help you. Not in the way you need." She stared at the goddess with earnest, worried eyes. "That's not to say I don't want to!" She said quickly. "I do! I really do, with all my heart, because you went through some horrible shit just like me, and it's something no one should have to deal with. But the extent of my capability to help you is limited."

"A healer..." For a moment Belldandy's gaze grew distant and thoughtful. "The thought has not occurred to me." She admitted. "I..." She pursed her lips and hummed. "I will broach the subject to Skuld and Lind before they return home."

Aiko sighed with open relief.

"But until then... will you allow me to speak with you on the subject?" Belldandy looked over to the younger woman, and Aiko nodded with fresh vigor. The goddess smiled, and with it came a sense of relief that was almost profound in its sheer strength. "Thank you, Aiko."

"Thank you." Aiko said in turn. "For trusting me. You know. With your story." She looked down, where the little Navy teddy bear still rested in her lap. "It takes a lot of willpower to open up to someone, especially if it's a topic like this," she whispered. "And you're trusting me-some crazy girl you barely know, and a human at that-with something like this." She steeled her face. "I won't let that trust go to waste, Belldandy. That's a promise. From me to you, that's a promise."

Belldandy regarded Aiko in silence, for a moment at a loss as to what to say. Mortals truly are a group of strange creatures, she thought, and despite herself her mind thought back to Aoshima and his posse, then to his work associates among the Yakuza and even the guards and servants who interacted with Belldandy herself. She thought of Keiichi and his accepting, welcome behavior, and of his team with their loud and boisterous personalities. And here was Aiko, who fit in amongst that same class, staring at her with a determined and decided expression on her face.

All at once Belldandy's face broke out into a smile, and a strange noise rose from her chest; perhaps a laugh, perhaps a sob, perhaps a mixture of both. She grabbed the girl in a tight embrace that spoke of more joy than comfort, and with a startled yelp the two of them fell back on the bed, dissolving into a fit of giggles and laughter as the sober moment was broken.

I will overcome this. Belldandy thought to herself, giggling and laughing next to a young college woman with short cropped blue hair. Not alone, no, but together. With these strange people I might see as 'friends'. With these strangers I might know as family.

My family. My friends. My life.

And deep within her breast, something forgotten began to stir.


A/N - A quick explanation on the "Third Category". We know that with the Gods, First and Second categories are the Administrative and Commercial groups and Special Duty are the military types, such as the Valkyries, I did not think it was appropriate that Gods who are healers have one of the currently known categories, hence the Third Category was hatched. Nena supplied the nickname for this group.


Comments of a Madwoman: Never underestimate what can be achieved with something as simple as a little human compassion and empathy. Be kind to those who come seeking to open up, as the internal war they rage is difficult for them to overcome and to share with another person.