-44-

Debra didn't know why she winked at Belldandy before Keiichi opened his door for her and let her inside. It wasn't as though she had any kind of ulterior motives in mind. Yes, she wanted to talk to Keiichi, but it was over who Belldandy and her sister were—what the real story behind them was—and to warn him about the Blonde Woman and The Suits whom she'd been seeing more and more of around the hotel. It wasn't as if she'd come to seduce her ex-husband, and if she was frank, Debra didn't want to. She loved Keiichi, yes, but he'd moved on, and while some piece of her hurt, the larger part of her was relieved. If he could move on, then Debra, after these hellish past two years without him, could move on as well.

But it was so hard when he was right here in front of her, where all those past memories and feelings of love and affections came racing back, threatening to overwhelm her as they had yesterday. She missed him, god damn it, and here he was, standing right in front of her like he'd never gone on that damnable deployment, like he'd never come back angry and snapping and depressed, like he'd never come home with nightmares or flashbacks or fights or-

She went to him, overwhelmed by the need to be held, to be near him, to feel his arms around her and smell his scent once more. It was foolish, she knew, running to the arms of a man she'd left behind years ago, and she'd regret it once she'd left his room. But the moment swept her away like nothing else, and as she embraced him, as her arms slid around his waist and she fell into the warmth of his chest, she allowed herself to forget the incident that had led to their original departure.

She felt his hands on her shoulders, and then his voice. "Debra..." It sounded strained, and with regret she released him, knowing she'd overstepped her boundary.

Keiichi stared at her, and saw that her actions hurt him. "Deb... I'm sorry, but... you know I'm with someone else now."

"Are you?" Debra asked, "I wonder at that..."

"What do you mean?"

Debra frowned, looking Keiichi up and down and ignoring the ache in her chest. She hadn't come here to speak about his new flame. Not like... not like this. "Belldandy," she stated. "Are you two really together?"

Keiichi stared at her in confusion. "What kind of a question is that?" he asked.

"A reasonable one," Debra replied. "Are you guys really together? Or is this some sham you're putting on for your family?"

Keiichi frowned. "Deb, of course we're together."

"Then why aren't you sleeping together?"

The question caught him off-guard, she could tell, and with one question out in the open more came with it. "If she's really your girlfriend, why aren't you sharing a room? Why am I here speaking to you and not her?"

"Deb, we're trying to take it slow."

"Then why didn't you tell me off in the airport?" Debra continued and with her melancholy came a fresh burn of anger. "You had the perfect opportunity to introduce me to that woman and her sister, to lay some kind of boundaries that I wouldn't have crossed, or even let Megumi know ahead of time that you'd be coming with your girlfriend. Something, anything, but no! You turned into a yellow-bellied dog and left that woman to attempt to introduce herself on her own. I thought she was trying to sell me something when she came up to me, do you know how embarrassing that was? For both of us?" She glowered at him, waiting for Keiichi to explain himself, yet the man said nothing in his defense, and that irritated her. For all the training he'd gone through to become a Navy SEAL, the man had a track record of making poor decisions when it came to women he was emotionally involved with. She'd been aware of it since they were both still in high school, watching him stumble over himself trying to speak to a girl and failing to pick up cues when someone was interested. It had been one of the few things that had always irked her about the man, both while growing up side-by-side with him and later while married to him. He was too agreeable. Too often, he just didn't know when to say 'no'.

"Kei, it took me ages to work up the courage to let Megumi pressure me into coming here." Debra rubbed her face, massaging her temples as the onset of a headache began to throb at the back of her skull. "Because I knew, the moment I saw you, I'd be working to try and re-insert myself into your life." She shook her head. "I've always wanted to come back to you, god damn it. You hurt me that night. Almost killed me. And like a beaten woman I still wanted to come back to you. To accept all those apologies you left on my voicemail, to come home to you, and kiss you and hold you and make love with you like we used to whenever we were recovering from a fight."

"You knew that things would have changed, Deb," Keiichi said quietly. "We filed for a divorce for a reason."

"And yet still you let me kiss you," Debra challenged. "Just now you let me hold you. What next? When I visit you again, are we going to fuck? While your professed-girlfriend is waiting outside, listening to our moans?"

Keiichi flinched. "We got caught up in the moment," he reasoned.

"And we got caught up in the moment here," Debra replied. "How many more times are we going to get 'caught up in the moment'?" When Keiichi didn't respond, she continued. "I don't like Belldandy."

"You've made that obvious."

"No." Debra's voice was firm. "I didn't. Not why."

Keiichi raised an eyebrow. "You mean other than the fact that she's going out with me?"

"If you call the past two days 'going out'," Debra muttered. "No, that's not it. I don't like her. There's just this... thing about her that... pisses me off." She shook her head. "I can't explain it. It's like... she reminds me of one of those girls in high school who were always in the background. Always fawning over the guy she likes with big doe eyes, but lacking the initiative to approach him because he's already with someone. And then she waits, and waits, and waits until the guy she likes has a fight with his girlfriend, and then inserts herself into his life and tries to wedge the two apart." Debra shook her head. "I don't know why, but that's what she reminds me of. Is that weird? Because I can't- that's all I can think about whenever I see her. And then, whenever that guy and his now-ex-girlfriend are talking to each other, she makes it a point to remind the ex that he's hers out of spite, even if she and the ex have never so much as said two words to each other. I mean-" She threw her hands up in the air. "I don't- I'm not making any sense, am I."

"No," Keiichi said bluntly. "You're not." He sighed heavily, plopping down on the large queen-sized bed that was at the center of his room. "Damn it, Deb... we can't keep doing this. Belldandy is a good person, and I know you don't like her, but quite frankly, I don't give a damn." He looked up at her. "She's a part of my life now, and... well... you're not, Deb. Not any more."

The woman winced, wounded by the words, regardless of how true they were. Yet she saw the same pain reflected on Keiichi's face, and knew the words hurt to speak aloud as much for him as they did her. The two fell silent, lost in thought, until Keiichi spoke after a full minute had passed.

"Do you know how much I didn't want to let you go?" Keiichi asked. "After you left, do you really want to know? You were gone, but everywhere I looked you were there. Your root beer that I drank whenever I wanted a beer. Your Monty Python I always watched when I was depressed. Your bars of soap that you left behind and the blankets you'd forgotten were yours that even now cover my bed. Do you know how long, how hard I've tried to forget you, but couldn't?" the man demanded. "Seven years. Seven years, Debra. I gave you seven years of my life, and you gave me seven years of yours." He shook his head, as if in distancing himself from her he could cut the bridge that still hung between them, snap the rope that still held them together, cut the red string of fate that had been so interwoven on their pinkies since childhood. "After that long, you didn't just become a part of my life- you were a part of me. And I just- And you just-" He shook his head, at a loss for words. "We tore ourselves apart after what I did... and Deb, Deb, that wound is still scarring." He bit his lip, a painful look sliding across his face of such acute despair that Debra felt her heart break. "It was so hard, Deb. I've finally found someone to ease that pain, and now you just..."

"We can't be together anymore, can we?" Debra asked.

"Deb, we haven't been together for two years."

Debra shook her head. "No, no, not like that. That's not what I mean. We can't be around each other any more," she scoffed, then raised her hand, gesturing to the bedroom. "We can't see each other any more, or be around each other, or, or any of that stuff. I mean look at us, Keiichi. Look at what the past two days has done to us. We've both been- Christ, we've both been trying so hard to move on with our lives and we just-" Her laughter was bittersweet and painful. "Kissing in your bedroom, holding each other like we're still lovers, I can't-" She covered her face with her hands and groaned. "It'll come back to this if we keep seeing each other. Neither of us will be able to- it has to end, Kei."

Keiichi was silent, watching her with a mournful, painful expression that left her wanting to run to him, to comfort him, to tell him everything was going to be fine and that they'd get through it like before.

Except they didn't get through it before.

She held back instead, and it hurt. Her throat tightened, and she looked down, unable to stand the look of his face any longer. "I love you, Keiichi," she said. "I've always loved you. Even after the fights, even after the pain, even after you almost killed me with your bare hands... I forgave it all. That was how strong my love for you was. That was how weak my heart was for you, to allow me try and run back into the arms of the man who hurt me so much. And now, after all is said and done, do you know what Keiichi? There's still a large part of me- some stupid, lovesick fool of myself- that wants to be with you. I look at you and I remember all the good things about you. Not the anger. Not the nightmares. Not the flashbacks that left me hurt and almost dead. Just you in all your glory, and god damn you I fell in love with you all over again." She shook her head. "Well not any more. Not any more, Keiichi. And if you won't end it then I will."

The woman took a deep breath, and found that it trembled. "After tomorrow... After the verdict on Stuart's parole hearing... I'm done. No more. After tomorrow, we're through. I can't- I can't have you in my life anymore. Not if..." Her lip trembled, and she bit it, refusing to break down right here in front of him, right here with him staring at her with those same puppy-dog eyes that had first won her over. She grimaced and gritted her teeth, hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. "Not if I want to move on with my life."

"So, is this it then?" Keiichi finally found his voice, and it was all she could bear to look him in the eye. He looked sad. Lost even, and damn him it left her fighting the desire to take it back, take it all back just to wipe that pitiful look off his face. She couldn't stand to see him like this, desolate and forlorn before her like a child who'd just lost his mother. "You came here just to say goodbye?"

"No," she said, and was surprised by the ferocity in her voice. "I came here because of Belldandy. Because of that woman and her strange sister that you brought with you. I'm here because I need to know who the hell they are, and why Belldandy's sister is conferring with a creepy woman who'd look right at home in the Men in Black!" Debra took a step back, running both her hands through her hair. "Keiichi, what have you gotten yourself into?" she asked. "Who are these people, really? I've been working all my connections trying to find out who these women are, and you know what? I haven't found squat on them. Nothing. Zilch, Nada." She blew the breath from her lungs. "And Urd, oh, she's good Keiichi. I don't know what her game is, but she even had me fooled until I saw her in the parking lot."

"Wait," Keiichi interrupted. "What do you mean? What did you see?" The man was on his feet, his expression open and worried, and perhaps because of that Debra was a little more scared than she should have been.

"I don't know," she admitted, and Debra warred with the idea of speaking on the visions she saw in the parking lot. He'd think her mad, she knew; what she saw had been her mind playing tricks on her, a mirage or a hallucination in California's heat. Not (they're wearing masks) serpent-birds or burning cheetahs or red-eyed women. Just two people in the parking lot, speaking together in a manner that spoke of the military or law enforcement, and that's what made her anxious, not (you can't see them but they can see you) hallucinations of things that didn't, no, couldn't exist.

She fought against her mad thoughts, allowing logic to take the wheel. "She was with someone. A woman. One of the Suits we keep seeing all over this place." She paused when Keiichi relaxed. As though he was relieved it was only a woman and not (monsters. They're monsters.) something else.

"So?" Keiichi asked. "What's the big deal?"

"Keiichi, the woman she was speaking to was at parade rest in front of her," Debra continued. "It wasn't a casual conversation. That woman was reporting to her, and that woman belongs with all these people we've been seeing at the hotel dressed in suits. Something's off about them, something's off about that woman, and something's off about Urd."

"I think you might be jumping to conclusions," Keiichi said, giving her a flat look. "I mean, have you tried, I don't know, asking her who she was talking to?" He shrugged, and Debra came to the grim realization that the man she loved, the man she'd grown up side-by-side with and who had shared his joys and sorrows with her for over two decades, was siding with Urd. Urd. A stranger who hailed from nowhere in America and who allowed her charisma to win over hearts and minds while never revealing anything about herself. Urd, who no one else in the family knew aside from Aiko, and who was labeled with the strange and horrible nickname of Jigoku no Musume, Daughter of Hell.

The man must have seen something on her face, as he continued. "Listen, Urd's a good person. She's a little rough around the edges, but there's nothing to get suspicious about. I mean, I've known her longer than I've known Belldandy, Deb, and one thing I can assure you is that she's not a bad person. I don't know anything about these guys you seem so spun up over, let alone a woman dressed in a suit." He frowned. "I mean, if it's such a concern to you, just go and ask her about it. I'm sure you just took it out of context. Hell, I fall into parade rest all the time when I'm speaking with someone new out of habit, so maybe it's something similar with this person. But to make the assumption you're making? Deb, even for you, that's a huge leap to make."

He didn't believe her. Not in the slightest, and the revelation was more painful than she cared to admit. She recognized the futility of her efforts; this was not a man who would be swayed in his beliefs, regardless of her warnings. A depressing thought. Let him love another woman. Let the two of them never speak again, but let him be safe, god damn it. He was still Keiichi, and she still cared for him, hell Debra thought she'd always care for him, and she didn't want to see him hurt by staying with these strange women.

She pulled her lips up in a smile she didn't feel and hoped that it was reassuring. "Right..." she mumbled. "Maybe... I'll try and speak with her later."

"It can't hurt," Keiichi replied. "And I'll try and speak with Belldandy too, if it helps. See if I can get her to stop jumping down your throat at every opportunity."

Debra nodded. "Thanks, I would appreciate that." She didn't give a flying fuck about Belldandy at this point. Let Belldandy try and get a rise out of her, at this point she'd relinquished any claims to Keiichi in favor of investigating her sister, and were they really sisters? These two women who created such opposing reactions in a man who feared women? More questions for later, she decided. "Anyways, it's getting late. I should get going." She feared she'd learned all she could from Keiichi at this moment, and further prodding would only raise Keiichi's defenses.

The man before her nodded, rose, and escorted her the ten feet to the room's door. "Listen, about-" He began.

"Stop, Keiichi." Debra cut him off. "Just... stop. I need to go."

She left him without a glance back, and Keiichi watched her go, following her retreating figure before heaving a heavy sigh and closing the door behind her.

And with her departure Debra Morisato—now free, truly free to be Debra Johanson once again—left several things in her retreat.

The first was a depression in Keiichi so deep that he never thought as to why Belldandy never came to speak with him after he passed word along to Aiko that he needed to speak with her. His thoughts were too pitted with the re-opened hole in his heart to even consider the thought of another woman, and the consequences of that negligence would be soon to follow.

The second was subtler, and perhaps, longer lasting. An observation had been made, and with it, a sliver of doubt, tiny and miniscule like a splinter of wood caught in the skin. Doubt of Urd, as Debra's words called to mind memories of Afghanistan, of demons and gods, where lightning sprang from hands and left no damage to the wielder and where a word and a hand wave could knock moral men out and leave them with false memories of an incident. Yet even a splinter could kill if left buried and infected, though now was too soon to tell whether or not such infection would occur.

And finally the third, which was something only Debra took note of as she entered her room. She emptied her pockets of her valuables, placing her wallet and cellphone and room key card on the small nightstand next to her bed. She looked at the items with a frown, then dug into her pockets once more, fishing for her keys.

Nothing.

"Fuck." Digging in her pockets a third time gave her no relief. Worried now, the woman went to her purse. She turned it upside down and emptied the small bag of all its contents, and while there was an assortment of loose change, some makeup, her badge, and several notepads filled with work notes, no keys were to be seen. Her worry mounted, and the woman moved to her travel bags, digging through all the pockets available and sorting through clothes both clean and dirty in an effort to find the keys. When that failed, she searched under the beds and tables and dressers and behind the drawers. Yet it was all for naught, as even when she used the black phone on her nightstand to call the front desk, there was no word of anyone turning in any keys.

The woman sucked in a deep breath, her anxiety high but not severe yet. She began retracing her steps throughout the evening and into the day, hoping, praying that she had not somehow lost the keys down on the long strip of beach she and the others had walked down.

Recollection struck her like a brick through a window.

She'd dropped her keys in front of Urd and her red-eyed friend and left them there in her retreat. "Oh fuck," she breathed, her hands digging into her hair as her anxiety cranked up to eleven and turned into outright fear. "Oh shit."

XXX

Today was the day.

Today was the day Aiko Morisato stood before a Board and pled her case for the denial of parole for Stuart Holzkopf, the man responsible for raping her as a child.

And Aiko couldn't be more terrified.

Her dreams had been filled with nightmares and memories she'd long thought buried. On several occasions, she'd been roused by Morgan's concerned voice and a hand on her shoulder shaking her awake.

Stuart was the source of her poor sleep, and her rest had been filled with violent nightmares of the sort she'd not had since childhood. It left her nervous and cranky by the time she'd given up on sleep and allowed Morgan to coax her downstairs for coffee, which tasted like shit but helped soothe her nerves. Those had been the early morning hours, where the sun had yet to peek its head over the horizon and the breakfast bar wouldn't open for another hour and a half.

With shitty hotel coffee in hand, the two wandered into the adjacent room that had been playing The Lion King yesterday afternoon. This early in the morning the large flat screen showed nothing but infomercials. They were surprised to find the room wasn't empty; two other people occupied it in the early morning, one of whom was Urd. The woman was lying spread out on a couch, her head propped up against a cushion as she stared at the other occupant of the room. The person in question was a blonde woman observing the screen of a laptop at a table a short distance in front of Urd.

Her own curiosity getting the better of her, Aiko squinted at the laptop's screen, and noted with some amusement the blonde was watching Game of Thrones. Thormund was onscreen, a piece of chicken in hand that he devoured while staring openly at the lady knight Brienne, who watched him with discomfort and perhaps some disgust. The scene brought to mind, of all absurdities, Jackson's attempts at wooing Lind, and for a brief moment Aiko was cheered with the mental imagery that accompanied it.

It didn't appear that the blonde was aware of the silver-haired woman watching her screen over her shoulder. With nowhere else to go, Aiko made her way towards the Norn on the couch, catching the attention of the blonde woman in the process. The hotel denizen glanced over at her and Morgan, and with a pensive frown shut her laptop, gathered her possessions, and departed the room.

It was only as she was leaving that Urd saw Aiko and Morgan. The goddess raised an eyebrow at their approach, but didn't move from her seat. She looked exhausted. Perhaps more so than Aiko herself. "Belldandy's sleepwalking force you out of the room again?" Aiko guessed, as she and Morgan sat down on the loveseat directly across from her.

"She punched me in the kidneys this time," Urd grumbled. "Screamed 'dodge' and boom, kidney punch. Been out here since twelve."

"Wow, wait, seriously?" Morgan asked. To prove her point, Urd lifted the hem of her blouse. Aiko and Morgan hissed in sympathy. The bruise was larger than Aiko's fist, the discoloring an ugly purple and yellow against Urd's skin. "Holy shit," Morgan whispered, "Have you gotten any ice for it?"

Urd dropped her shirt and sighed. "It's fine. Already put a tonic on it, be gone before nightfall."

"Tonic?" Morgan asked.

"Urd creates her own herbal remedies," Aiko cut in before Urd had a chance to respond. "They work really well."

"Really?" Morgan stared at Aiko with a flat expression, then looked at Urd. "So do you have something that can cure anxiety then?" she asked in a joking tone. "Because Aiko's kept me awake since we went to bed together."

"Morgan!" Aiko felt her cheeks flush. "Don't tease me right now!"

The Norn stared at them both with a humorless expression, then sighed as though annoyed with her current company. "Hang on a sec," Urd grumbled, then dug around in her pockets of her jeans for a moment before coming up with a small, corked vial. The liquid within was transparent, and looked to Aiko like water. The Norn offered it to the blue-haired woman. "Plug your nose, pop the top, and drink it all at once."

"What is it?" Aiko asked wearily, and Morgan leaned in to examine the vial in curiosity. "I'm not taking any drugs before the hearing, Urd."

"'S'naught drugs," Urd replied with a yawn. "Just drink it."

"But what is it," Morgan pressed.

"Fire water, now drink it," Urd replied, and sharing an uncertain look with Morgan, Aiko accepted the small vial.

"This better not be alcohol, Urd," Aiko grumbled, before doing as instructed and gulping down the contents of the vial. She almost choked as her throat began to burn, then fell into a violent coughing fit that left her eyes watering. Morgan pounded her back, but she looked more amused than upset.

After a long and painful couple of minutes, Aiko shot Urd a withering glare. "Th-that was vodka!" she rasped. "I felt like I was drinking pure alcohol! What was that, Everclear?"

"Do you always walk around passing out strange vials of 'fire water' to people, Urd?" Morgan asked.

"Only when the mood suits me," Urd replied, a slight smile on her face. "Go back to bed, guys. You're going to need the rest if you want to stay awake during the hearing."

"Hey," Aiko quipped. "Don't tell me how to live my bad decisions." There was a rosy tint to her cheeks.

Morgan looked at her, and then back at Urd. "...Good call," she said. "C'mon Aiko, let's go back to sleep."

"But I don' wanna..." Aiko argued. "I jus' had coffee..." She was beginning to slur her words, and when she followed Morgan to her feet the college student rocked unsteadily. Morgan slipped an arm around her waist to support her. "I got's ta go tell off Shtuu..." she mumbled, and Morgan guided her away, looking over her shoulder at Urd with uncertainty.

Urd gave her a thumbs up. "She'll be fine," the Norn called after the two women. "Be in fighting shape to go up against Stuart, trust me."

Morgan didn't respond though. Instead she turned and walked Aiko out of the room, leaving Urd alone on the couch.

"As if I would have a shot of alcohol in my pocket and give it to someone else," Urd muttered, making herself comfortable on the couch once more. "Of all the stupid-ass things to think..." With her company for the morning gone, the Norn rolled onto her unbruised side and closed her eyes. She was asleep in minutes.

XXX

The parole hearing was at two in the afternoon that day. With it came a solemn atmosphere of those who were to attend it. There was little conversation that morning, though it seemed as though Aiko at least managed to sleep in until nine, a feat that escaped Keiichi when he awoke at close to six that morning. He had little appetite, and when he saw Debra, the woman ignored him in favor of sitting with Megumi. Belldandy, in an odd twist of fate, ignored him too, and instead chose Urd's company, who in turn eyed the middle Norn with trepidation.

Sensing he'd somehow alienated the two women in his life but uncertain how, Keiichi left them both to their tables and instead sat with his parents. Breakfast tasted like sandpaper that morning, and did little for his already-hampered appetite. He sat next to Keima, listening to the man grumble and growl of Stuart and the things he'd do if the convict managed to walk. Takano, ever Keima's opposite, tempered his emotion with logic, dropping hints that Keima would then become the convict and Stuart the victim if the elder Morisato followed through with any of his promises.

"I don't care," Keima growled. "Am old man. He young still. I at least take him out so no possible repeats."

Sensing there would be no further reasoning with the man, Keiichi and Takano left him to his ramblings to finish their meals in silence.

Aiko came down a couple of hours later looking like a nervous wreck, Morgan a silent but soothing shadow at her back. For the first time Keiichi saw just how strong the relationship was between Aiko and her lover; small little touches on the shoulder or the elbow that would still the nervous tapping of feet. A simple gesture or expression that spoke of private memories that made Aiko smile. A word or pet name that drew Aiko's attention in ways his parents, Megumi, or even Keiichi himself failed to do. All signs of a healthy and happy relationship that Keiichi only noticed after his painful conversation with Debra last night. A memory of what was and would never be again.

Through much effort and no small amount of poking and prodding, Morgan managed to get Aiko to consume half a waffle and three-fourths of a cup of orange juice, which was a far stretch from Aiko's normal appetite but better than nothing given the current circumstances.

With the parole hearing still several hours away, there was little to do around the hotel. No one held any desire to leave the hotel or find something with which to distract themselves, and it left the gathered individuals meandering about. On several occasions Keiichi attempted to use this to try and speak with Belldandy, yet he was turned down on every front. She ignored him in passing, excused herself from conversations with Aiko or Urd. He was even turned down by Urd herself when he came to the room they shared with each other.

"Sorry Jank..." Urd looked uncomfortable, staring down at him like a bouncer forced to turn away her best friend. "Bell was specific. She told me she doesn't want to speak to you." She glanced over her shoulder, and then whispered, "What did you do?"

"I don't know," Keiichi whispered back. "She didn't say anything?"

The Norn shook her head.

"Could you ask her?"

"I already did," Urd confessed. "The tension between you two is thick enough to cut with a knife. She didn't tell me anything."

He sighed dejectedly and took his leave. Hopefully things would cool down a little after the hearing and he could speak with her. It certainly wasn't like her to act like this, and it only added to the stress he was already feeling. He felt like the only one who was worse off than him was Aiko. She had grown antsier as the hours passed by. Earlier he had spotted her heading into the small gym area they'd used for Aikido yesterday. On a hunch, he decided to go ask her if she knew anything. He headed back down to the exercise room. Before he got there, Aiko emerged. The woman was drenched in sweat, still panting from what he guessed was a long run on the treadmill.

"How many miles you run?" Keiichi asked her, discarding the reason he had come in favor of concern.

"Ten," she rasped, sucking down half a bottle of water before speaking again. "I thought I could wear myself out," she lamented, "It didn't work. Now I'm just exhausted and scared." She gulped down what was left of the bottle, then gasped. "What if I can't do it, Kei? What if I can't convince them?" Her voice rose to a nervous pitch. "I mean, what if they look at me and just think, 'oh, look at her, she's some blue-haired, self-entitled millennial. I bet she lied to get him in prison. I bet she asked for it. I bet she deserved it.' What if they think that Stuart should go free?" She bit her lip, for a moment looking so lost and vulnerable that Keiichi pulled her into a hug.

Aiko didn't resist, and her embrace was fierce and desperate against him. "I don't know if I can do this, Kei," she whimpered. "They're going to release him on parole. I'm certain of it. They're going to turn him loose in the streets and nothing I say will stop them, and the first thing he's gonna do is go out and find another little girl to rape."

"You don't know that." Keiichi tried to comfort her, yet he could tell already that his words weren't reaching her. "You'll do fine. You'll go up there and present your case, and you'll have your whole family to back you up." He rocked on his feet like he used to do when Aiko was still a child, feeling her sway with his motions. "He'll present his case, and you know what? He's the one fighting an uphill battle, not you. The odds are against him because they have proof of what he did to you, and that proof will be presented as evidence to keep him behind bars. It'll be fine, Aiko." He kissed her forehead. "And remember, you've got something he doesn't."

"Yeah, what's that?" Aiko asked without raising her head, her voice muffled from where it was pressed against his chest.

Keiichi smiled. "The gods are literally looking out for you."

Aiko nodded, and this time Keiichi was pleased to see his words had reached her. "You're right," she looked up at him, and Keiichi was unsurprised to see tears sliding down her cheeks. "You're right." She sniffed and tried to smile, though it fell short. "You're right," she said a third time, as though by repeating the words over and over again she could make them her reality. "I mean, he's a man. A simple man... and what's a man to a woman who walks with gods?"

XXX

"Okay, who's riding with who?" Keiichi asked. The group stood in a large circle outside in the parking lot, away from the lobby and its heavy traffic. It was one fifteen in the afternoon, following a light lunch that no one was enthused to eat at a local restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. Now, after the trek back, Keiichi was wise enough to bring up the issue of carpooling.

"Takano is with me," Keima announced. "We drive there together. Room for two more in back seats."

Those gathered were quick to decline. The back seats of the Purple Turd were closer to half-seats used to store groceries and miscellaneous items. They'd been fine while the Morisato siblings had been children, given they'd been small enough to fit in the seats, but for a pair of full-sized adults, the act would be agonizing.

"I'm riding with Morgan," Aiko said, putting an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders.

"I'll ride with Debra." Megumi said.

"Got it." Keiichi nodded and looked to the Norns. "You guys can ride with me, then."

Urd nodded, but Belldandy appeared reluctant. "Actually... I would prefer to ride with Aiko and Morgan, if they allow it." She looked at the two women in question, and though they were taken off guard by the request, both nodded in acceptance. Belldandy smiled, relieved. "Thank you."

"That... might work in our favor then," Debra ventured, and Keiichi looked at her. "I, uh, lost my keys yesterday."

Megumi looked at her with a start. "Wait, you did?" she asked. "How come you didn't say anything sooner?"

"I only found out they were missing last night," Debra replied.

"You mean these?" Urd dug into her pockets and withdrew a set of keys, then tossed them to Debra when the woman looked her way. "You dropped them in the parking lot yesterday."

The detective almost dropped her keys again at Urd's words, her face drawn and pale. She didn't want to draw Urd's attention. Not after yesterday and the creatures she'd seen. But the woman would be lying if she said an opportunity had not presented itself in that moment, and she'd be a fool not to act on it. If Keiichi wouldn't listen to her, then perhaps he'd listen to Urd instead. "You mean when you were talking to that blonde woman in a suit yesterday?" she challenged. "Who was she, a friend of yours?"

Urd shrugged, unconcerned by Debra's questions. "Just some woman," she replied. "I ended up bumping into her here at the hotel when I was at the pool. I don't even know her name."

"Then why were you in the parking lot with her?" Debra interrogated. "What were you two conversing about?"

"Game of Thrones," a silver brow raised in question. "How about you?" Her voice remained casual, friendly, playful even, and Debra was filled with dread. That was the voice of confidence, at one at ease in her environment and in control of whatever this strange situation was with Deb. "You took one look at the two of us and ran off like we were a couple of monsters. Dropped your keys in the process. What was that all about?"

For a brief and terrifying moment, Debra considered confessing on what she saw. You two were monsters! She almost claimed. A monster serpent-bird and a monster cheetah-dog, and you know it! She stopped herself at the last second, however, recognizing for herself just how insane those accusations sounded in her head. She couldn't say that. Not here, not now, not in front of Keiichi and the rest of the Morisatos. They'd think she'd lost her mind, and all Urd would have to do would be to frown and stare. The silver-haired woman wouldn't even need to say anything with how deep a hole Deb would have dug for herself.

The others were watching them in silence, observing the drama unfold between herself and the strange woman (they're wearing masks) as they considered Urd's words. Keiichi looked embarrassed. Aiko looked perplexed. Even Belldandy looked between them both with a frown, an indication that Urd had not shared their brief encounter with her sister.

"Is because she know what you are, Jigoku no Musume," Keima growled, and as one the gathering turned to stare at him. "You not fool me. You not fool Deb. You fool everyone else, but we know." He narrowed his eyes at Urd. "We know."

Urd looked at Keima, her eyes wide, but said nothing. A heavy silence befell the group.

Keiichi broke it. "God damn it Keima, leave Urd alone, would you?" The man crossed his arms over his chest, peeved. "Jeez, you haven't laid off on her since she introduced herself, you ancient donkey." Keima scowled at Keiichi, and Keiichi returned it without flinching. The SEAL was also the one to look away. "Okay, so we're good on carpooling? He looked around his audience, and received small murmured agreement with some head nods. "Then let's head out. Last thing we need to be is late for the parole hearing." Under his breath he muttered, "It might give them incentive to let him go."

The group divided and headed to their respectable vehicles, with Megumi following Debra back around the parking lot to where Debra's car still sat untouched from yesterday. Megumi said nothing during the short walk, and for that Debra was grateful. She didn't want to hear her best friend's opinion on interrogating Urd.

Megumi paused when they reached the back of Debra's car, her gaze pulled off to the far side of the building. "Deb," she said, and Debra looked at her friend. "Over there." She jutted her chin in the direction she was looking, "isn't that...?"

Debra turned to see what had stolen her friend's attention and froze. A large group of people, nine or ten of them, were gathering around a white SUV. All of them were dressed in suits with green shirts and ties. All but one was male, the lone Blonde Woman who had first berated Megumi and had been seen again by Debra conversing with Urd. The woman was easy to identify with her long, curly blonde hair, and it appeared that she was briefing those gathered around her.

"Are you serious right now?" Debra murmured, her question directed towards the woman, who was well over fifty feet away from her. "Of all the goddamned-"

"Save it Deb," Megumi cut in. "I don't know about you, but that whole scene creeps me the fuck out. I don't know who they are or what they're doing, but I know I don't want anything to do with it." She walked towards the passenger side of the vehicle. "Come on. Let's get out of here before they call a hit on us or something." It was meant to be a joke, buy Debra found no humor in it.

With a final parting glance towards the woman and her men, Debra looked away and headed for the driver's seat of her rental.

She missed how one of the Suits receiving the briefing looked back at her from behind a pair of black sunglasses.

With everyone dispersed into four vehicles, the cars formed a small little convoy towards the courthouse where Stuart's parole hearing would be conducted. The Purple Turd led the way, followed by Morgan's rental, Keiichi's rental, and finally Debra's, which had been parked farthest from the others at the back of the hotel.

She missed the white SUV that pulled out after the car behind her.

The A/C in the car was a welcome relief after standing in the sun discussing carpooling and interrogating (masks) Urd. The San Francisco radio station Debra had on was playing some classic rock, where Sammy Hagar howled the lyrics to I can't drive 55 over the speakers. Megumi was on her phone, texting her fiancé on the other side of the country. Debra didn't mind. After the incident in the parking lot, the blonde wasn't in any mood for conversation, and she feared that even if she was, any topic introduced would devolve into the approaching parole hearing.

Instead she enjoyed the peace and the music of the car, as classic music she remembered from childhood rides with her father or Keima drifted through the back of her mind. She meditated on Urd, and Belldandy, and who they were and what they were doing with Keiichi. On Keiichi himself, and his stubborn desire to protect the two women by dodging Debra's questions. On what she saw from Urd and the Blonde Woman. And she meditated on Keima's parting words; "You fool everyone else, but we know." Urd had been unnerved by that comment. "We know." Why though, unless there was some truth to the name he'd sentenced her with? They're wearing masks. Why though, if what she saw yesterday wasn't a trick of the mind?

Ahead of her Keiichi signaled into the right lane, and Debra followed, flipping up her signal and glancing first to her right and then to her rearview to ensure she was in the clear. What she saw in the rearview made her look twice, however, and delay the lane change. There was a white SUV behind her. The driver was wearing a black suit the detective was becoming increasingly familiar with, and the passenger...

The passenger was the Blonde Woman.

Shit. Debra thought to herself. Shit, this can't be right. They can't be tailing me, right? It's a coincidence, it's got to be. Unnerved, she crossed into the next lane. A moment later, the SUV followed, staying directly behind her. Are they serious? Debra wondered, and felt her unease grow to consume her. Scare tactics? A bad tail? Or is it all just coincidence?

The vehicle stayed behind her throughout the length of her travel. They headed north on Highway 101, which was quick to grow large and thick with local traffic heading away from the International Airport. Then west on Interstate 380 into the city. Debra followed Keiichi's car carefully, her grip on the steering wheel white-knuckled as she glanced back in the rearview mirror. A black truck was behind her now, but she could make out the top of the white SUV behind it. Whoever the Suits were, they weren't done with her yet.

The traffic dwindled as they left the highway for the city, and Debra dropped her speed down to fifty, then forty-five as monorails began to spring up. Large brick buildings began to emerge displaying the city's history, and a plethora of humanity dotted the sidewalks and filled the rail carts that she passed cruising at thirty miles per hour. Behind her, the truck had vanished in place of a Prius, but its small size gave away the SUV that trailed after them.

It wasn't until they were a little less than five miles away from the courthouse that the SUV changed lanes. Debra had been watching its progress with careful scrutiny, and her eyes followed the vehicle as it signaled right and came to the lane next to her. The next stop light had both vehicles sitting side-by-side, and Debra took the opportunity to look past Megumi and to the SUV.

We see you.

Those were the words that popped into Debra's mind as she gazed into the front seat of the SUV and found not only the driver, but the Blonde Woman staring back at her behind two pairs of black shades. Worse yet, eight faces peered out at her from the SUV's side windows, all wearing matching suits and sunglasses (masks) like something out of one of her father's old 'spook' movies. The message was clear: You have our attention now, and it scared Debra like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Even the night in the woods, chasing after and then being chased by Keiichi was nothing compared to the sudden, inexplicable terror that filled her as those faces observed her.

Megumi sensed her gaze, and looked up from her phone. "Deb?"

A car blared its horn behind her, and with a gasp Debra stomped on the gas, causing the rental's tires to screech as they flew through the intersection after Keiichi, almost rear ending him and Urd.

"Fuck!" Megumi yelled. "Holy shit Deb, what the hell!?"

"Sorry!" Debra cried. "Sorry! Tense! Horn scared me!"

In the neighboring lane, the SUV turned right at the intersection, and vanished into traffic.

XXX

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, if you will take your seats please."

The room was cool to the point of cold, the a/c blowing at max throughout the large courtroom where the parole hearing was to be held. Keiichi, sitting in one of the front booths with the rest of his family, took the opportunity to reacquaint himself with Stuart Holzkopf as he sat down in the witness seat. The man was tall at five foot eleven, and thin to boot. That had always been something Keiichi remembered about Stuart; tall and thin, like a large sunflower amidst a field of corn. Prison had done little to change that aspect of him; he sat tall but slumped in the witness chair, looking like a stork that had been awakened and dragged to court. The man looked underfed and exhausted sitting there, his eyes sunken and skin blotchy from a poor diet and poorer living conditions. He was clean-shaven, his blond hair freshly cut, but it did little for the deep lines in his face or the shadows around his eyes. Prison had aged him. Like a man who'd seen and done too much and whose skeletons still screamed within their closet. He was nothing like the smiling, chipper man from his childhood who'd mentored him in English and helped his mother shop for groceries.

All in all, Stuart Holzkopf had become a stranger to Keiichi, and the man he remembered was not the man who sat in the witness booth.

The panel continued its introduction, stating the various crimes Stuart was guilty of and explaining to him the necessity of why they were discussing the more intricate details of the case. Stuart listened with a lackluster expression, his gaze distant and far off, but nodding on occasion to any questions of 'do you understand?' Or 'do you agree to these terms?'. He didn't speak unless prompted to, and when he did it was a mumble; words Keiichi couldn't hear thanks in part to his tinnitus and which even the judge at times had to lean forward in order to hear.

It was in some ways baffling to Keiichi. This was the man who had raped his sister? This lowly man who looked like he'd been removed from the streets and placed in an orange prison suit? This man who looked ill and thin and barely looked able to hold the weight of his head? This was no boogie man. This was no monster. This was... pathetic. How could a man so weak and so ill be responsible for the atrocious incident that had nearly torn his family apart? That had left his sister screaming and crying in the night, terrified of her own shadow? How had this man, Stuart Holzkopf, built himself up to be the big blue meanie of Keiichi's psyche throughout his entire Naval career? That man he'd wanted to beat, had wanted to kill, and wanted to make suffer for his crimes against Aiko? This couldn't be the same man. He looked nothing like the man of Keiichi's memories, nor did he act like it. This was a shadow, a ghost, another man named Stuart who'd taken his Stuart's place. This couldn't be right.

His eyes drifted to where Aiko sat, in the front booth with the other witnesses who would speak either for or against Stuart's parole. Her back was to him, shoulders stiff and back rigid, and he could not observe her reaction to the sight of her rapist in the witness chair. A lump formed in his throat, and when next he looked at Stuart it was with anger rekindled.

Yes, this was indeed the man who'd hurt his sister, and he'd be wise not to forget that fact. Appearances, he knew, spoke little of capability, and if, even now, after all his long years in prison this man could still hold sway to his baby sister's fears, then god damn it let him rot in hell, for all he cared.

The hearing continued.

"Mister Holzkopf, do you feel guilty for the crime you committed?"

Stuart stayed silent, his eyes drooping as though fighting sleep. The Board repeated the question, and this time Stuart jerked, as if startled by it. Keiichi watched him with a smoldering gaze as the man's brown eyes surveyed first the Board and then the witnesses, before finally staring into the audience. For an instant their eyes met, and to Keiichi it was like watching a man pulled out of one reality and into another. Disoriented, the prisoner looked back to the speaker and mumbled something too soft for Keiichi to hear.

"Mr. Holzkopf, could you speak up?" the speaker asked. "Do you feel guilty for the crime you committed, yes or no?" The man sounded irritated after repeating the question a third time, and with some pleasure Keiichi suspected that this question alone might be enough to keep him behind bars.

Stuart muttered something again, but this time added a small head nod to better express his feelings. Scowling, the speaker continued his questions. "Mr. Holzkopf, do you still feel the urges that led you to conduct such an act?"

This time Stuart was quicker to respond, and when he did it was loud enough for even Keiichi to hear. "I don't feel anything anymore."

A soft murmur ran through the board, and after a quick conference the board's speaker asked, "Could you elaborate on that, Mr. Holzkopf?"

Stuart squinted at the man, his brows furrowing together and presenting a wrinkly crown of flesh that made him look ancient. He shook his head with a shoulder shrug, and with it his lawyer stood up. "Sir, you'll have to forgive my client. Prison has done little to prepare him for his trial and he confessed to me before we started that he has had issues sleeping over the past several months."

"Being tired during a parole hearing is no excuse," the speaker announced.

"Yes Sir, however sleep deprivation does affect the mind, and I request you take that into consideration."

"Are you saying Mr. Holzkopf is not in the right mindset to sit through his parole hearing?" There was an edge of warning in the Speaker's voice. Keiichi approved.

"Not at all Sir!" the lawyer replied. "I just-"

"Then he can explain in depth his feelings on the questions presented to him," the Speaker finalized. He redirected his focus to Stuart. "Mr. Holzkopf?"

The man sighed, looking world-weary. He gave the man a long-suffering look. "I just want to be left in peace," he said. "That's all I want. Is that so much to ask for? A little peace? A little quiet? Some place away from all this noise?"

There was silence from the board, some of which looked baffled by the man's explanation. Several of them shared uncertain looks with each other, and more still looked uneasy at the prisoner's words. The board's representative spoke again, "Let's continue... Mr. Holzkopf, can you tell us what preventative programs you have attended to address the issues that led to your internment?"

"Everything," Stuart groaned. "I've done everything you asked... everything you wanted... why won't you leave me in peace? What more do you want from me?" he raved. "What else do I need to do to be free from you?!"

"That's enough Mr. Holzkopf!" The speaker exclaimed, and a soft, ripple of murmur rose from the audience pews.

"Sir, I apologize on behalf of my client, Mr. Holzkopf is-"

"I will have silence, Mr. Simmons!"

A dark-haired woman from the board stood. "I believe the board has heard all it needs from Mr. Holzkopf. Let's move on with the parole hearing to witness testimonies." Another dissatisfied murmur swept through the courtroom, yet nobody rose to challenge the woman's appeal. A guard came and escorted Stuart away from the witness chair, and after a quiet discussion amongst the board members, the dark-haired woman spoke anew, "Ms. Morisato, would you please take the chair?"

In front of him, Keiichi watched Aiko suck in a deep breath. "Here we go," she muttered to herself, before rising and walking to the front of the assembly. She took a seat in the witness chair, looking young and small and vulnerable, as Keiichi imagined Aiko had looked when she'd first testified against Stuart as a young child. A little older, a different courtroom, but the same story to be told.

The dark-haired woman, taking over for her male counterpart who'd questioned Stuart, explained the board's intent in having Aiko retell the events that led to Stuart's internment. Aiko listened carefully, though the information was more for the observers in the audience and other board members than herself, and nodded with a quick "Yes Ma'am."

There was a small bit of additional discussion, and Aiko's eyes roamed the room as she waited before stopping at Keiichi. He smiled at her and hoped it looked reassuring. You got this, he thought. You did it before, you can do it again, and you've got everyone here to support you. Stuart ain't got shit on you. She frowned at him, but it was a determined frown, one of steel and resolve of the likes Keima was so renowned for. That ol' Morisato steel, filled with the resolve to fuck someone else over at their own expense.

"Ms. Morisato, if you are ready, we will begin."

"I'm ready." Her voice was steady, confident even, and for that Keiichi was filled with pride.

"I would like to begin this next part of the trial by re-familiarizing the board with the events that led to Mr. Holzkopf's incarceration. Could you please share with us the details leading up to his arrest?"

"Yes Ma'am," Aiko replied, projecting her voice in a strong and clear intonation that even those guards standing in the back could hear. "I was nine years old," the college student began. "Elementary School had released the students for the day and I was returning home. It was raining hard that day and..."

As Aiko recounted her rape, Keiichi listened with half an ear, his eyes glued to Aiko as he let his mind wander. He had no need or desire to hear the story of what had happened that day, as he'd grown long familiar with it since his days at Great Lakes. It brought back memories. Memories of the announcement during his days at basic, without a rank to his name and still viewed as the scum of the earth by the instructors who led him. With it came voices of the past, and as Aiko told the story she'd once told a wounded goddess, Keiichi allowed those voices to engulf him, sending him back years into the past as a young man barely even twenty.

XXX

Navy boot camp is all about the routine. Wake up in the morning and do PT, then head to breakfast. Classes and hands-on training dominate much of the day, learning things like ship nomenclature, first aid, how to escape a smoke-filled compartment, and even how to shoot. After dinner it's usually more PT time, or heading to the drill hall to practice marching as a formation. Free time was extremely limited.

Except on Sundays. On that day, the Recruit Division Commanders did not show until after lunch, allowing free time for the recruits to attend religious services or just hang out in the division barracks. Unfortunately, there was no sleeping in, and the RPOC and AROC were both vigilant about that as the Officer of the Deck checked on them once an hour. Still, it certainly beat sitting in a classroom trying to stay awake or getting cycled by one of the RDC's.

Nearly half of the company had gone to church that morning, as usual. That meant that it was pretty quiet in the barracks. There was an unwritten rule that those who wanted to socialize congregated around the front of the barracks, while those who wanted some quiet time to read or write letters would filter to the back. That was where Keiichi sat; on the floor leaning against his bunk. The trainees did not dare lay down in their racks, as being caught in the act or the mussed blankets would give the OOD plenty of cause to exact some sort of punishment on them all.

"Writing another letter to Debra?"

Keiichi blinked and looked up as a shadow fell upon him. His bunkmate, John, was standing over him with a shit eating grin on his face. They had been stuck together since boot camp started, not only sleeping on the same bunk (John on the upper and Keiichi on the lower), but also always marched in formation together. Keiichi, being one of the shortest in the company, was designated the 'guidon'. John, being the shortest of the six tallest recruits, was designated the 'Number One Stickman', meaning that he was always in front and always directly behind Keiichi wherever they marched. Both of them had the job of carrying flags for the company, Keiichi with the company flag with their number emblazoned on it, and John with the Athletic Achievement flag they had earned for everyone passing their first PT test.

"So what if I am?" The dark-haired man asked with a sly smile.

John snorted as he lowered himself onto the floor next to Keiichi. "As much as you write to her, you need to be going out with her."

Keiichi pondered that for a moment, then tossed it aside. They had practically grown up together, close enough that she might as well be his third sister. If he and Megumi, and later Aiko, were not at her house, she was at theirs. "Nah, we're just friends," replied Keiichi as he went back over what he had written to regain his train of thought.

"Ha, well, if that's the case, then I think I will write her a letter asking her out!" said John as he lightly punched Keiichi in the arm. This was an ongoing joke amongst a number of the circle of friends he had gathered inside the company. One of them, a heavy-set guy named Steve, had even followed through with the threat. They all had fun cajoling him when the definitive response came back.

"I think your fiancé might have something to say about that, I think," retorted Keiichi.

John shrugged. "Meh, you're probably right. Jenni is much hotter anyway."

Keiichi elbowed the bigger man in the side. "Now you're just talking crazy. Besides-"

"ATTENTION ON DECK!"

That came from the compartment watch, who was standing near the front door. Everyone sprung to their feet and stood ramrod straight. Keiichi surreptitiously glanced out of the corner of his eye down towards the front and saw their Recruit Division Commander, OS1 Brownlow, standing with two other men next to the recruit who was on watch. He was saluting, which meant that one of the pair with their RDC was an officer. OS1 was early, which was a break in the routine, and generally did not bode well either for the company, or some poor individual.

"MORISATO!"

Oh shit. Getting called out like that usually spelled certain doom for the recruit in question. All of a sudden, it seemed like every butterfly in the world had taken up residence in his gut. Keiichi swallowed, then double timed it up front. He came to attention in front of the three men, and since there was an officer present, snapped up a salute. "Seaman Recruit Morisato reporting as ordered, Petty Officer!"

OS1 Brownlow was a short man, not much taller than Keiichi himself. In spite of that, he was an intimidating man, not only because he looked like he was strong enough to fold any one of the members of his company in half, but because he had a lazy eye that always unnerved the dark-haired man. It was hard to look him in the eyes as it was hard to determine which one they should focus on. Fortunately, it was not one of those things that he made any big deal about other than to just tell them not to look. That was because 'look'en leads to lik'en, like'en leads to love'in, and love'in leads to fuck'en." So Keiichi instead focused on the door behind the three men. "In my office," growled the RDC.

The dark-haired man paused to allow the others to enter, then stiffly followed. It was obvious that his impending doom was about to come upon him, and he racked his brain trying to think what it might have been. He had led a straight life, no issues with the law of anything even remotely unseemly in spite of the neighborhood they lived in. There had been no issues after signing up. His scores were well above the cut off line that would have sent him to another company that was a week behind the one he was in now. No, there was nothing he could think of that would warrant them coming down on him like this.

He stood at attention as Brownlow stepped to the other side of his desk and sat. The second man, who Keiichi recognized as Chief Gellor, the RDC for their sister company, sat in another chair that was off to the side. The third man, a lieutenant whom Keiichi had never seen before, pulled up a chair and set it next to another that was already positioned in front of the desk. "Sit down, son," said Brownlow in a tone he had literally never heard before. It almost had a touch of either sadness or pity, and it set warning bells off in his skull. Tentatively, Keiichi did as he was instructed.

His RDC leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of him. He turned his head in such a way that both of his eyes lined up, and in them Keiichi saw something else he had never seen since arriving at Great Lakes; compassion. "Keiichi," started Brownlow, he never used any of the recruits' first names. "Your father called the base last night."

Immediately Keiichi started to sweat. It was highly unusual for Keima to call anyone. Usually Takano did that. His thoughts went immediately to his mother, who was pregnant with a brother who would be born sometime after he graduated. Did something happen? Did she lose the baby? Those questions swirled in his head when Brownlow continued. "Apparently, something happened to your sister."

"Which one?" Keiichi blurted out, half expecting to get yelled at for speaking out of turn. However, the two RDC's let it pass.

"The younger one, I think. Aiko was the name that was given."

This only caused Keiichi to sweat even more. His relationship with his youngest sister was even stronger than his and Megumi's, even though the elder of the two was much closer in age. "What happened?" His voice was desperate, pleading almost.

Brownlow sighed and put his hands down on the desk. "She was raped," he replied evenly, calmly.

It threw Keiichi off for a moment. It was hard to imagine that this was the same man who pretty much said everything at the top of his voice if he was not screaming. He recovered quickly and started rubbing his hands together as a multitude of emotions came over him. He tried to ask a question, but found that his throat had constricted to the point it was almost choking him. Anxiety, anger, and worst of all, guilt began to well up in him. "I-uh…" he stammered out before recomposing himself. "Is she ok?" he asked finally.

"Yes," replied Brownlow. "Apparently, they caught the guy, too."

That was not much of a relief to Keiichi. He abruptly stood up. "I- I need to go home to be with her."

Brownlow let out a sigh. "Sorry, that's not going to be allowed."

Keiichi whirled back around to face is RDC. "What do you mean I can't? This is a family emergency!"

"I spoke to command already," replied Brownlow. "They decided that this is not something that's on a level where we can grant you leave from your training."

"Not on the-WHAT THE FUCK?" screamed Keiichi, forgetting weeks of protocol that had been drilled into him by the man sitting in front of him. One of the habits he did not forget, something that had been amplified by the weeks of course language directed at him and from those around him, was how to cuss. "This is some god-damned fucking bullshit!"

Chief Gellor jumped out of his chair to confront Keiichi. "You better know your place, recruit!"

Before anyone could say any more, the lieutenant who had accompanied them rose and immediately defused the situation. "Chief Gellor, Petty Officer Brownlow, I will take it from here." He looked at Keiichi, whose attention he had successfully redirected to himself, and motioned to the door. Keiichi nodded and walked out, with the officer right behind him. They both took a left turn towards the central passageway, and down the stairs to the building's lobby, paying the recruit standing watch no mind as they headed outside.

It was shaping up to be a sunny, yet mild day. Not a cloud in the sky as Keiichi walked down the stairs and to the sidewalk, hanging a left and heading towards the front of the base. It was almost a mile to the front gate from the last barracks on the far south side, which was where Keiichi and his company were located, and he was determined to get there and get out. As he began walking, he took note of the lieutenant who was shadowing him, but thought nothing more about it.

That was because he hurt. Mind and body, it all hurt. He could not tell what was worse; the guilt, or the feeling of helplessness. Never once did he regret his decision to join the Navy. He didn't when his two friends who joined up at the same time were assigned to different companies. He didn't when the RDC was running the entire company through the cycle for some perceived slight that gave him an excuse to do it. And he didn't when he was made to take his gas mask off and recite his name and social security number all while being exposed to CS gas.

But this? This could be enough to break even stronger men then Keiichi Morisato. "I should have been there," he said to himself, and he meant it. He could have protected her and prevented this tragedy, he was sure of it.

"It wouldn't have made any difference," replied the lieutenant who was trailing him.

Keiichi had almost forgotten that the man was there. He stopped and whirled around, not caring who it was or what rank they were. "And just how the hell would you know anything about that or what I am going through?!"

The tirade about properly addressing a superior officer that Keiichi was expecting never came. Not that he would have cared. It would have actually helped his cause, which was to get out of this place and back home to Aiko. Instead, however, the man simply shook his head and gave Keiichi a grim look. "Because my nephew was molested while I was off sailing around the south Pacific on the Carl Vinson," came the unexpected reply.

The retort that the dark-haired Navy recruit had prepared died in his throat. The cynical part of him scoffed at the idea that they would send someone with a shared experience to talk to him. That just did not seem like the way that things operated around here. It was pretty much shut up and do as you're told, or else. He had pretty much given up on the idea that anyone cared at all after the Chief started yelling.

Yet, here was this man who professed to share a common experience with Keiichi, and he just stood there and gawked. "Who are you?" Keiichi finally asked.

The lieutenant shrugged. "Just a Navy chaplain who's been where you are right now," he said as he motioned to the steps leading up to one of the other barracks. Keiichi followed his lead and sat down. When the officer of the deck from that division stuck his head out to see what was going on, the chaplain simply waved the man off. He then sat down next to the distraught recruit. "I was really close to my nephew," started the officer without really being invited. "His dad was killed just before he was born, so I kind of took it upon myself to help out. I was just a stupid teenager at the time, but it sure helped me to grow up. He was about five when I was accepted to Annapolis."

The chaplain sighed as he seemed to struggle for a moment before regaining his composure. "While I was gone, my sister met this guy at a support group for widows and widowers. She kept telling me in her letters how great he was with Jacob, about what a great father he was becoming." He scoffed a little when he said those last words. "There was no way she ever saw it coming. She finally found out when she woke up in the middle of the night and found him gone. She figured he was in the bathroom, so she decided to go to one of the other ones in the house. Then she passed Jacob's door..." He shook his head as if to clear out any imagery that had come up from his recollection. "Needless to say, the scumbag is behind bars, which I am told is basically the same for whoever did this to your sister."

Keiichi nodded even though he knew that the chaplain had been there when OS1 Brownlow had told him.

"When they told me, it hurt. It hurt bad. I mean, that kid was my world. He would write me all the time, tell me about how school was going, how his little league was going, all that little kid stuff. When all my friends were taking leave to go to Hawaii or somewhere exotic, I was heading home to Humboldt, Nebraska to see my little buddy." The man turned and looked at Keiichi. "I can see that same kind of hurt in your eyes. I know that if I could have, I would have jumped off that aircraft carrier and swam all the way home. But they would not let me since he was basically not my kid."

He sighed and looked away. "The Navy means well, but sometimes they don't have their priorities straight," said the chaplain. "I did get permission to allow you to call home, but unfortunately, that's all."

Keiichi just shook his head. It was a start, but how was it going to be enough? "I don't know how I am going to be able to focus on the rest of my training after this," he said.

"It will be tough," the chaplain agreed. "But I think you can persevere. That reminds me of a story-"

"No, please, no stories about how any of the trials of Jesus or any of that," he said. He knew that the man was a Christian chaplain based on the cross on his collar that replaced one of his rank pins. "I get enough of that from the Baptists in my company."

The man laughed. "Well, it's a good thing then I was going to talk about Walter Johnson, who was a pitcher back in the nineteen twenties."

That got Keiichi's attention. Keima was an avid baseball fan, but not of any of the US teams. He religiously followed the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. He had even purchased a satellite system that could pick up Japanese television just so that he could watch their games.

When Keiichi did not say anything, the chaplain continued. "So, one morning, on the eve of a rather important game against the Boston Red Sox that he was supposed to pitch, Walter woke up to find that his arm was painfully sore. When he got to the stadium, he reported the issue, and the manager, Clark Griffith, told him 'Try one inning, and if your arm gives you trouble, I will take you out.' After the first inning, Johnson's arm still pained him, but he said he would try another. The same thing happened after the second inning. This continued throughout the rest of the game and by the ninth inning, he was in agony. But, he had persevered and made it through."

He paused to observe Keiichi's reaction before he continued. "Just like Walter, I can tell you from experience that this is going to get worse before it gets better. But just like Walter, just like me, you will get through this. It will be tough, but you just gotta say that you will go out for that next inning. Before long, it will be over and you will be able to see her again."

The chaplain was right, Keiichi decided. There was no use in quitting. It would be doing himself AND Aiko a disservice. It was better to finish what he had started. He only had a couple of more weeks to go. "Ok," he said finally.

"Good," said the chaplain. "Now come on, let's get to my office so you can make that phone call." He stood and extended a hand to Keiichi to help him up, which the recruit gladly accepted.

"So, what happened to him," queried Keiichi as they both started down the sidewalk again.

"To Jacob or Walter?" asked the chaplain.

"Both."

"Jacob got some therapy and is now waiting to see if he got accepted to the Naval Academy, or the Chair Force academy," replied the man with a chuckle.

Keiichi joined in at the little joke at the expense of the other branch of the US armed forces. "And Walter?"

"Oh, he only threw a no-hitter that day."

XXX

Belldandy paced in the lobby of the courthouse, outside the courtroom where Stuart's parole hearing was held. A security guard dressed in a light blue uniform observed her from a short distance away, his posture stiff and eyes trailing after her pacing. Belldandy ignored him, though she was all too aware of his gaze. Reaching one end of the hallway, the goddess pivoted on her feet and began her trek back. The hallway was thirty feet long, the carpet a dark navy blue with some kind of government department symbol that meant nothing to the goddess. Wooden chairs lined the strip of hallway outside the heavy oak doors that blocked the goddess from the courtroom inside. Several people occupied the line of chairs, one of whom was Urd, who sat with her arms crossed and her head resting back against the wall. Her eyes were closed, and Belldandy wondered how her sister could doze while Aiko had to testify before her rapist. Without them present. Without Belldandy.

"I should be in there with them," she mumbled in passing. "Family only... of all the madness. I am a goddess. Not some mortal subject to the laws of man."

Urd opened one eye, not dozing as Belldandy had first assumed. "And yet here you are," she murmured, her voice soft so as not to draw the attention of the people around them. "Stuck out here, with me and all these other 'mortals.' As the saying goes down here, 'when in Rome,' Belldandy..."

Belldandy stopped her pacing in front of her sister, impatient, irritated, and anxious. "I should be in there with them," she hissed. "With Aiko. Let her see me and take strength from my presence. Let this man see me and cower before me."

Urd raised an eyebrow, and next to her a man in a black suit and white tie looked up at Belldandy with distaste. "Wow. Where did that come from Mama Bear?"

"Aiko is one of my girls," Belldandy growled, and resumed her pacing. "That became fact as soon as she asked me to accompany her here to California. As if I would not be at her side when she needs the strength of another."

Morgan, sitting on the other side of Urd, watched Belldandy pace and leaned over to Urd. "Is she always like this?" she whispered.

"Only when she's stressed," Urd murmured. "Don't take any of it to heart. It's just the mutterings of a madwoman."

"Right..." Morgan eyed Belldandy warily, then glanced at the security guard who was observing the restless Norn as well. "I like security officers," she decided. "It's good to know I've got a sane man with a gun watching the crazy woman."

"I like the police too," Urd said, humoring the woman. "Bell, come sit down. You're scaring people."

Belldandy flipped her off.

"Love you too, Sis." Urd stretched her arms over her head with a mighty yawn. "You do realize that Aiko's got along fine without you until now, right?" Belldandy ignored her, and when she reached the other end of the hallway leading to the doors outside, she turned and made her way back up. "Remember, Aiko's a strong, independent woman who don't need no Norn. She'll be fine." Beside her, Morgan snickered, and Urd smiled.

"Urd, you aren't helping," Belldandy grumbled in passing. "I just want to ensure Aiko is-" The woman froze mid-step, and the irritation dropped from her face as her seventh sense, that special sense granted only to those born on a higher realm of existence, alerted her to an alien magical signature. It was almost as revolting as it was familiar, though where the Norn could have come across such a wretched aura was a mystery to her. It's because it's demonic, Holy Bell whispered in her ear. It's demonic, and powerful, to boot.

Where? she asked her angel, and the woman's eyes scanned the area, suddenly drawn and weary of the faces sitting in the hallway with Urd and herself. Here? Who? Which one?

Not here, Holy Bell whispered. Somewhere else. Hiding, I think. The Norn's eyes drifted to the heavy wooden doors Keiichi and Aiko sat behind. There. It's coming from inside, I think. Bad presence. Very bad. For a brief moment Belldandy imagined she saw a pair of wings, naked of feathers but bumpy with quills about to sprout, drift through her vision. Scary... Belldandy, there's something very, very wrong with that presence.

Do we know the presence? Belldandy asked, and then realized what a foolish question it was. Belldandy and Holy Bell did not consort with demons. Even Hagall, whom Belldandy had thoroughly wrecked, had an aura the Norn never bothered to commit to memory. Whoever was behind that door was a stranger. We need to track it down, Belldandy thought, and made a beeline for the doors. We need to—

A hand grabbed her by the arm before she reached the doors. "Don't do it, Bell," Urd murmured, and drew the goddess close. "Not here. Not in front of the locals."

"There's a demon nearby," Belldandy whispered. "It's in the same room as Keiichi and Aiko. We need to intervene!"

"We need to leave," Urd retorted. "There are people here. Whoever is in that room with Jank needs to follow the same rules we do on this plane. They can't lash out and draw attention to themselves with magic or strength, and I'm not hearing any screams on the other side of that door."

"Then they're using passive magic," Belldandy argued, refusing to back down. "Urd, we need to do something, we need to-" She froze as another wave of that horrid demonic presence sifted through the hallway, and this time she saw Urd stiffen as well. When it passed, Belldandy said, "Call Lind."

"What?" Urd looked at her in bafflement.

"You heard me." Only now did Belldandy move away from the door, guiding her sister into the hallway and further away from the mortals who were watching them with open curiosity. "Call Lind. She needs to know that there's a demon around here. She can do something about it."

"Bell, this isn't Purgatory," Urd reminded. "This is Midgard. Demons have just as much a right to come and go as we do. Unless they're targeting us, we can't do anything about them. Lind can't do anything about them because whoever is behind that door has to be a civilian, and Lind, as a Valkyrie, isn't allowed to attack civilians unless it's in self-defense."

"Then we need to get into that room," Belldandy urged. "Urd, our options are limited. My options are limited. Either call Lind down here or I am barging into that room myself, and to Nidhogg with the consequences." The woman beheld her sister with steely eyes. "I will not allow a demon to harm Keiichi or Aiko. Not when there's only a door separating me from them."

"Bell, calm down," Urd demanded. "We don't know anything about this guy. We could be jumping into something way over our heads and wind up sealed. Do you want that?"

"There are two of us and one of the demon," Belldandy countered. "We can take anything it throws at us. Three of us, if you would stop arguing with me and call Lind."

"And what if it's the Daimakaicho?" Urd argued. "Bell, there are plenty of demons that are much stronger than you or me—that aura is strong, and it's trying to hide itself. For all we know, that thing could be one of the Daimakaicho's inner council here to oversee the finalization of a contract. You know what would happen if that was so? You could wave 'bye-bye' to Keiichi, because your ass, and mine, are going into a fucking seal."

"We don't know that for sure," Belldandy argued.

"We don't know if it's not, though," Urd retorted.

"Then call Lind!" Belldandy's voice rose. "I don't understand, Urd. Why are you so reluctant to call Lind when there is a demon in the building?"

Urd glowered at her but offered no explanation, something that both irritated Belldandy and confused her at the same time. Why wouldn't Urd want to call Lind? The goddess was a Valkyrie. Yes, one assigned to watch Urd and police her movements, but a Valkyrie none the less. Surely the blue-haired woman would want to know about this, and even if she wasn't allowed to interfere, the knowledge would get passed up her chain to someone who could. The fact that Urd was so reluctant was... disturbing, to say the least. Especially with both Keiichi and Aiko in the same direction the demon's presence was emanating from.

"Is everything okay here, Ma'am?" The two sisters froze and looked towards the voice, finding that the security guard had coming to investigate. He watched them both with a small frown, his thumbs in his belt next to a can of pepper spray and a taser on his belt.

It was a simple enough show of force, one whose message was a simple, behave, and Urd smiled at him. "Everything's fine," she said. "We just... need to make a call." The woman grabbed Belldandy's hand and led her away and outside the building, ignoring not only the prying eyes of the security officer, but Morgan's inquiring gaze as well.

They ran into Debra outside, who appeared to be in the midst of her own phone call. The detective jumped when she saw Urd and Belldandy, yet neither Norn paid her any mind. "Make the call, Urd," Belldandy urged. "We need to make sure Lind-" She stopped herself when the demonic aura subsided. "Urd...do you...?"

"Yeah, I feel it," Urd rumbled. "It's fading."

"Could you still call Lind though?" Belldandy pleaded, facing towards the courthouse as the presence faded. "It-it could come back. Urd, please." She looked back at her sister.

Urd sighed, irritated, but pulled her phone out regardless and dialed Lind. Further off, Debra edged closer to them, still holding her own conversation but observing them carefully as Lind answered the call. "Lind?" Urd asked. "Listen, I need a huge favor from you. Can you descend to Midgard today?"

Unnoticed by the sisters, Debra paused in her talk, mouthing 'Midgard' to herself as her brows knitted together in confusion.

"You're already on Midgard?" Urd asked in surprise. "Oh! Fuck, right, sorry. Crap, I hope I'm not interrupting something between you two."

"Urd..." Belldandy pressed. Urd waved her off.

"Right, so.. .you can still locate my signature from Virginia, right?" Urd continued. "Sweet, cool. So... listen, don't freak out or feel the need to ditch Jackson or anything, but there's a demon nearby to us." Urd yanked the phone away from her ear, and for a moment Belldandy heard Lind's voice shout 'demon?!' before Urd continued. "Yeah. No no no no! Don't come rushing over! The demon is gone now, okay? But... if I feel it again, would you be able to get here fast? You would? Okay, sweet, thanks Lind. I'll give you a call or text you if Bell and I sense it again, sound good?" She paused, listening to Lind's response, before nodding. "Got it. Thanks Lind, I owe you one. Bell too." She hung up the phone and looked at her sister. "Lind says she'll stand by for another call," she said. "But judging by how our problem is gone now..." The elder goddess shrugged.

"Better safe than sorry," Belldandy murmured. "I will not be at ease until Keiichi and Aiko are out of that room and I know for a fact they are both safe and sound."

"I'm sure they're perfectly fine," Urd replied. "We'd have sensed its magic if it cast a spell and we would have heard shouts and screams it anything physical happened. Like I said, demons have to follow the same rules all other tenth dimensional entities have to follow. That's an interdimensional rule everyone has to follow, not just us."

"Still..." Belldandy murmured.

"C'mon, lets head back inside and get out of this heat," Urd suggested. "We'll ask Jank and Aiko if they noticed anything weird after the hearing is over." Throwing an arm around Belldandy's shoulders, the woman guided her sister back to the courthouse.

Leaving in her wake a perturbed detective with more questions than she had answers for.

"...Demons?"


A/N: As mentioned, Nena and I are very busy right now, so the releases will be a little more sporadic. Hoping for things to calm down after a couple of weeks or so.