Warning
I must warn you. English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story.
The Order of the Mortal Knights
by Elnauhual
Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.
Chapter V
Crystallization
— Sensei, Sensei. Good morning
Doctor Shugahara Kenji, heard a sweet and distant voice, but could not understand what she was saying.
— Sensei, Sensei. Your bath is ready.
The voice was heard nearer, was it a dream? He lived alone, so there should be no one there. He tried to open his eyes, but instead of darkness, he saw a throbbing light invading his brain.
— Ah! My head, what is this pain?
He heard his own cry as if he had shouted, his body ached, his head ached, and he felt worse than when he had been bitten by that snake in Costa Rica. What was the cause of that pain?
He felt a cold sweat around his body, and then he smelled the alcohol ... and began to remember.
Where was he? It was strange, he had already asked that question before, but the headache would not let him think.
— Sensei, wait, please do not move.
Whose voice was that? He did not recognize it. Suddenly he felt warm and delicate hands touching his head. There was a Déjà vu. That had already happened before. Then heard how the sweet voice began to chant something that sounded like a prayer, it was mesmerizing.
Gradually, his headache began to dissipate. The cold sweat was gradually replaced by a soft and warm oppression on his chest, and then began to perceive a delicate perfume, it was familiar but he could not recognize it.
He tried to open his eyes again, slowly since he feared the flash would appear again, but instead perceived the penumbra that precedes dawn. All was surrounded by soft red glow as if the first rays of the sun would like to announce his impending arrival.
— Ah! — Suddenly, he let out a long gasp of surprise and recognition. Resting on his chest in a peaceful sleep, there was a beautiful woman covered with the white platinum blanket of her hair. Then he remembered! — Urd! - So, it was no dream, for a moment the doctor was afraid to move, as if fearing the image would disappear.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on his other senses, to make sure it was not a hallucination. Here was the soft oppression, the warmth of her body and the perfume that emanated from her hair, a long hair of a pristine white, which covered her like a delicate garment. He concentrated harder. He wanted to record this memory because he was afraid that everything would disappear. Then he opened his eyes. The woman was still there. Her arms were intertwined with his body. He did not know what to do. Slowly he raised a hand and dared to gently caress that beautiful hair and then gently put his hand on that beautiful head. He gasped and shuddered as he realized it was real.
Near him, he heard a delicate and gentle laughter. Again that voice — Sensei, I am afraid you will have to get up.
The doctor took some time before deciding what to do. He did not want to get up, but his body had other needs. Slowly, as if she were a like a delicate flower he feared to harm, he began to break free from the arms of the beautiful girl. He moved her to one side, and then to his horror, realized they had shared the same futon and were lying under the same blanket.
— I hope you are not bothered, but you looked so well sleeping together that I did not want to separate you.
The doctor felt a chill ... Had they slept together?
—I... I... I am sure nothing happened.
— Sensei, do not worry; I'm sure nothing would happen that my sister did not want to happen.
The doctor did not know whether to feel relieved or worried about that statement. Gradually he rose. He saw the person who had spoken, but only could see her silhouette. She was young and wore simple, yet elegant clothing. She signaled him to go with her.
Before leaving the doctor make sure Urd was comfortable and lovingly he covered her with the blanket. He heard a gasp of pleasure from the young woman.
Finally, he left Urd´s room.
In the hall, he was able to see the woman. She was very beautiful, almost as much as Urd but at the same time was very different; instead of sensuality, she had grace and innocence. However, what most impressed him were the marks on her face. Immediately recognized then: She was the second Norn! Almost in a whisper said.
— Verthandy? — Hearing her name, she smiled. Her expression was so warm and gentle.
— Oh! It has been some time since I heard my name pronounced like that. Here in Japan I am called Belldandy.
The doctor's heart skipped a beat. He had thought nothing else could surprise him. He scratched his head in confusion, and then remembered something that bothered him. What was it? Ah. The name Belldandy. Without realizing it, he snapped his fingers as he remembered.
— I remember ... my students always mispronounce it like that. "Belldandy." I told them they could offend the gods by mispronouncing their names. The right way is Verthandy.
— Please, Sensei, - she gave a gentle laugh —I never would never be offended by something like that. Belldandy also has a beautiful sound.
That phase: "I would never be offended" echoed in the doctor's head. Well, if indeed she was a goddess, he was being very rude; after all, they have not been presented yet!
Again, he looked of his cardholder.
— Excuse my rudeness, Verthandy-san. I am being impolite. Let me introduce myself.
The doctor repeated his ritual. Rituals are always valuable especially when you do not know what else to do. With a courteous bow, he drew his card, took it with both hands and offered to her. She received it with courtesy and elegance. She examined with approval and read its contents.
—"University of Chiba". Specialist in Ethno botany, Dr. Shugahara Kenji." Sensei, It is a pleasure to meet you.
Then with a very gentle gesture, she produced a simple yet feminine case. The doctor was delighted with the courtesy and elegance of her movements. She carefully put the doctor´s card first into her case, and then pulled out a sober card. She made a gentle reverence and offered it to him with both hands and a charming smile. The doctor examined the card. It was perfect. Simple, yet elegant. The paper had a soft texture, pleasant to the touch. The typeface was also perfect. Rarely the Meishi exchange had been so pleasant. He made a gesture of approval and read:
— First class goddess, second category, unlimited, Belldandy.
By now, he already expected it. The doctor put it in his cardholder. The ritual had been so perfect; he even had forgotten his appearance. Disheveled, with his suit blood stained and rumpled, and a slight beard. In addition, just now, he realized it and felt embarrassed, but Belldandy smiled with such kindness that immediately forgot about it.
Then a young man appeared. Finally an ordinary Japanese face! The young man approached him.
—Good morning, I am Morisato Keiichi is a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Shugahara — and he gave him a very western handshake.
After the perfect ritual with Belldandy, the doctor could not think about how rude were today's youth and decided not to offer him his card. He also had to admit that at this point, it was disappointing the young man did not claim to be Wotan, Odin or else.
—Doctor, I'll bring you some towels, the bath is ready. If you leave your clothes outside, we will do our best to clean them.
A bath? The proposal sound very appealing, maybe he would reconsider about the card. Belldandy leave them alone, while the doctor entered to the bathroom.
Half an hour later, the doctor came out in a very good mood. Next to the bathroom door, he found his clothes incredibly clean. There were no traces of blood and his suit had never been so well pressed. One more note from the incredible events he had lived.
Suddenly he perceived a delicious aroma. He aspired and then was filled with memories. It was a rice butadon style. He had for a moment the image of a breakfast with his parents, the aroma had evoked a beautiful moment. Slowly walked to the kitchen, while his memories were elsewhere.
Belldandy and Keiichi were there, waiting for him.
— Oahio Sensei, I sensed this is one of your favorite dishes, I hope I am not mistaken.
The doctor smiled blissfully, she was wrong but at the same time was right.
— Verthandy sa... no, I mean, Belldandy-san. It´s not my favorite dish, but it was my father´s favorite. As a child, I did not like it much — the doctor said a little sheepishly — but really enjoyed those moments with my father. It have been many years ago the last time I tried it. My family was from the north and butadon was one of the dishes my mother was proud because it was considered it was only for rich people — The doctor was moved and made a small bow — Thanks for this.
The doctor did not wish to ask how she knew that. The moment was too perfect and he did not want to spoil it. Sometimes even he preferred to defer his curiosity. He sat down with Keiichi. Belldandy was acting so perfectly the role of a traditional Japanese woman that the doctor felt twenty years younger and full of an inner peace.
When he finished his breakfast, Belldandy informed him:
— Sensei, Keiichi can take you wherever you want. Do you want him to take you to your home or your college?
—I think I will go directly to college — He was satisfied, bathed, shaved and with clean clothes, so he felt no need to go to his apartment — please tell your sister that I will fulfill my pledge today.
—Sensei, we will gladly inform Urd. Hope to see you soon.
Keiichi scratched his head, what could have he promised to Urd? Well, eventually he would know. For the moment, he just felt necessary to warn the doctor.
— I will take you in the sidecar of my motorcycle; I hope you would not find it uncomfortable.
The doctor was surprised, and then put a wide smile.
— Ah! Not in any way. As a child, I always wanted to ride one of these motorbikes, but my parents never let me. It´s never too late to try something new.
Keiichi liked the man's honesty. He had expected to find a dry and square teacher. He showed the doctor the way to go.
An hour later, the familiar figure of Dr. Shugahara was down the halls of the university. However, if yesterday he seemed about to dance, today he seemed about to float. Today he was holding his laptop with a beatific smile and was ignoring the whispers that were unleashed on its wake. All had heard of the mysterious disappearance of the doctor, and now he was there with a smile that seemed as if he was coming out of paradise.
The doctor went to his classroom where his students saw a remarkable change. First, he began to instruct them that Belldandy could be considered an acceptable way to pronounce the name of the goddess "Verthandy", and then the classroom became full of laughter, when he finally decided to translate to them the anecdotes and gossips about Queen Geirhild. However, none of his students had the courage to ask him what had happened the previous day.
Later, the doctor went to the library, where the library attendant greeted him with a concerned look, but the doctor greeted her with unusual affability:
— Good morning Kajuira-san. Today you are wearing a beautiful dress. — The woman almost jumped in surprise. She had never imagined the doctor knew her name, much less him to notice what she wore.
—Doctor Shugahara! Where have you been? I was very worried. We found the collapsed shelves, some stained with blood but there was no trace of you. Today we thought to give notice to the police. You never answered the phone from your apartment and you left your cell phone here — she took the opportunity to give him the phone. The doctor took it almost automatically.
— I am very sorry for all the problems, it was my entire fault. I pull down the shelf by accident and it fell over me — the doctor thought it was better not to give many details, but he had to do some explaining — I should have received a good blow, because when I realized I was far away.
— A blow to the head? That is serious accident, please; I think you should go the infirmary
— Do not worry, I already had the best medical attention — He touched his head — I think even there would not be a scar
Miss Kajiura look to him astonished. She did not saw any evidence of injury, and the doctor was more impeccable than usual
— So, please. Tell everyone that I am in good condition and I want to thank you all for your concern.
— Doctor, please, I insist. If you really received a hard blow, you must be examined.
— Kajiura-san. I consider it´s unnecessary, but I promise that I will go by myself to the hospital for an examination. Now if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend. Kajiura-san, I have never told you this, but I think you are a very gentle person.
The doctor went to his cubicle, while Miss Kajiura was speechless. The doctor had never been so kind, and to receive such a compliment from him was something extraordinary. Maybe that blow on the head really had affected him.
Meanwhile the doctor went to his special cubicle and examined the place curiously. On the floor, he noticed the marks of the collapsed shelf. In addition, there were scratches on the shelves and in one book; he believed to distinguish a bloodstain. However, everything seemed so remote, as though it had happened months ago, instead of the previous day.
He turned on his laptop and found a message from Dr. Danielsen He asked if he had got drunk as agreed. The doctor laughed outright. His laughter flooded in all the way through the quiet library, but the sound was so nice that no one attempt to silence him. Then with a mischievous smile he wrote a short post, yes he had got drunk with sake, the best available, and had awakened with a beautiful woman in his arms. Then he laughed as he imagined the Dr. Danielsen face.
Now he had a lot to think. Was it really possible that the previous day he had actually met three goddesses? Then he dug into his pockets and put its contents on the table. What evidence he had? Two presentation cards and a useless circuit? He had witnessed strange things, but had no solid evidence. He scratched his head. He began to walk from one end to another of its cubicle and after a while stopped. He took a decision. He needed more evidence, but maybe more important, he wanted to see those beautiful violet eyes. Then he smiled at the thought, even if she really was 1,200 years older than he was, he had to see her again.
He sat down and searched in his laptop her image from the book. There the painting had haunted him for so many years and then closed his eyes. Then recalled Urd ´s beautiful face and shuddered. That was the image of a real woman, warm and alive. He recalled his feelings when he touched her. Yes, he had to see her again. Besides, he had two promises to keep. First, he needs to collect a few things. He turned off the computer, and went to the cybernetics and AI lab.
Meanwhile, in Morisato´s residence...
It was a curious scene. In front of a small, old fashioned TV that had seen better days, an attractive young woman was floating in the air as if in an invisible sofa. However, that invisible sofa seemed to be quite uncomfortable, because repeatedly she changed her position. She seemed to try to focus on the insipid television drama that was on-screen, as if it were something of great importance, but could she not.
Since her return to earth, Urd had been fascinated with these artificial dramas. Those artificially sweet stories of impossible loves that ultimately were possible help her to forget that there was also a real world. Urd had returned to earth with a rather cynical attitude towards humans. She did not expect anything good out of them. She had even tried to exacerbate the love between Belldandy and Keiichi, hoping that once physical love was satisfied, Belldandy would go back to heaven.
Slowly she had softened her attitude, and Keiichi has been the main responsible, somehow, he had obtained her respect. In addition, the respect to Keiichi, had been extended to some humans, yet her attitude to the rest of the world had changed little.
Therefore, those dramas were her mind drug to ignore the real world.
However, today it was not working.
She was besieged by memories. Her love for Fafnir and his death still hurt, but there were other longings awakening, the memory of those 10 years of living with humans, sharing their joys and tragedies. There was the memory of the smile of a child happy for a story, or the satisfaction of seeing a brutal man like Gundir, becoming a great leader for his people. Would it be possible to forget that?
Again she tried to immersed herself in the television dramas, to get distract of her thoughts, but it was not working. Finally, she made a hand gesture toward the small TV and it and turned off. Absentmindedly she floated toward her room, but then stopped and returned, she floated in front of the small device.
The silence on the room suddenly felt intolerable. Urd closed her eyes for a moment, but inside her mind appeared the memory of the battlefield and shuddered. She did not want to remember. Then she wondered if mankind had changed since then?
Another gesture from her and, and the TV turn on again, but this time the image was not an artificial drama but a real one. Urd felt disgust, and command the TV to change channels, there other news programs that showed the usual paraphernalia of wars, famines, rivalries, struggles for power, corruption, etc.
She was about to make another gesture to turn off the television when she felt the embrace of two arms from behind her and a voice.
— Onee-san, do not turn it off; it will not make it disappear the reality. You cannot take refuge forever in television dramas.
— Belldandy! What are you doing here, I did not perceive you? Should you be not working with Keiichi?
— I am sorry; I did not mean to scare you. But I felt my sister needed someone who would listen, and came as soon as possible.
Urd felt comfortable with her sister beside her. She was too proud to accept it, but she really felt the need to talk with someone.
— Dr. Shugahara brought me many memories, some of them very painful. Somehow, this man seems to know me better than myself.
— So, does he really love you?
Urd nodded in disgust.
— Not with me, at least not exactly. He is in love with the stupid girl I was many years ago. That naive girl who wanted to change the world and only caused death.
— Do you still blame you because Fafnir´s death? He chose that path, not you. You cannot take the blame for that. You did everything possible to save his life, you even defied heaven.
— Belldandy, how many times you have you claimed I do things without thinking. I should have measured the consequences of my actions.
— Urd, you had no choice. The path you chose was the correct one to save more lives. — Belldandy hugged her sister, and decided to change the conversation. — But there is something I want to know. How the doctor knows so much about you?
Urd told Belldandy the Doctor´s story. How he had studied for years to rebuild fragment after fragment of her life, until he reach the point where it had found her notebook. She spoke about the palimpsest and how scientists were recovering it.
— Your notebook? — asked Belldandy in awe — did he really recover your notebook? That is incredible. — Belldandy close her eyes for a moment to think about it and then speak with thoughtfulness
— I think this can be very serious.
— I don´t believe he would be able to decrypt all the content. For the most important things, I used the high-level codes of Yggdrasil, I am sure he would manage to understand only the basic meanings.
— I was not referring to the content, but something much more important. Here we have an extraordinary chain of coincidences. Your notebook was lost for centuries, and suddenly, the doctor got it the same day that you meet him? What are the chances of that event?
Urd was surprised by the question, then closed her eyes and meditated, while in her mind she run a complex simulation to calculate the probabilities of these events. Then she exclaimed in amazement.
— That cannot be coincidence. That can only be...
— Fate! — Belldandy interrupted while holding her hands in excitement, but Urd tuner her head, negating it.
— But that is impossible. That subsystem of Yggdrasil was disengaged many years ago, it was causing many complications. I myself was in charge of completing the deactivation of the program. Fate has not been working for more than two centuries.
— Then, something or someone must have reactive it.
Urd became concerned, there was something very strange about it.
— How could that be possible? I am the SYSOP! No one can reactivate a program of this kind without my permission and even so, it should be visible in the process list, I would have noticed. — Then closed her eyes, looking for other alternatives. — There is another possibility. It may had been reactivated from the command shell of a high level program, one that runs with enough privileges to turn it in a stealth mode — Urd, pondered.— I only know a category of programs able to do that. The Predictive Defense Programs. Those programs try to predict possible threats to Yggdrasil and make preparations in advance to confront without anyone knowing. However, I do not understand what interest could have such a program to make me meet the doctor?
— I think you will have to find out. I perceived the doctor is a very special human being. He has a beautiful aura, so devoid of evil thoughts and above all, he loves you.
— Belldandy, not again with that. The doctor is not my type! And I am the love goddess, not you — Belldandy smiled. Urd protest seemed too emphatic, but it was better not to push her explosive sister.
— Onee-sama — Urd jumped at the unexpected honorary title — I admire you for what you accomplished on earth and I'm sure the Doctor admiration is perfectly justified. I only ask you, do not reject him in advance.
Rejected him? For a moment Urd remembered how the shy hug of the doctor had brought her so much relief the day before. She also had to admit that they had spent an amazing afternoon, the doctor´s jokes had made her laugh so much, as she haven´t done in a long time. He had promised to return, and she really wanted to see him again. But no! It was not for love, it was only because he had found how to solve the problems on her potions... Could that be the answer?
— Belldandy, I have not told you. The doctor found how to solve the problem on my potions! Maybe that is the reason we were meant to meet each other! My potions may be needed in the future.
Urd explained about the properties of plants and how they have change.
— This confirms what I suspected; he is a very special human. A mortal man who is trying to comprehend the inner working of magic instead of just trying to use it. There are gods who do not understand it, even if they dependent on it. You must keep seeing him. In addition, you must fix your potions, maybe, that could be the reason, yet something tells me that there must be much more than that. Belldandy embraced her sister lovingly and prepared to leave.
- I must go, Keiichi expects me.
Belldandy floated to a mirror in the room. That was her way to travel; she could travel from place to place by mirrors and reflective surfaces. She was about to enter the mirror, when Urd interrupt her.
— Wait! I just realized something. I never told you what happened to me on earth, it was very painful for me to remember, but you seem to know too much. Explain it to me. As a first class goddess you cannot lie.
—Onee-san. That's something I hoped you would discover by yourself. — She return alongside Urd, she entwines her hands with Urd´s, and looked into her eyes — I'll tell you some stories. Stories that you may know. They are about a young, naïve and inexperienced goddess.
Urd tried to protest, but Belldandy shut her with her glance.
— Over a thousand years ago, a young goddess came to the earth, she went to a remote place, where there were only scattered peoples united only by their language. He bought them stories from other marvelous lands. These stories became legends, passed from village to village, and as time passed, reached a certain traveler called Leif Erickson. They inspired him to cross the ocean where he found new lands. Unfortunately, the weather defeated him and his people so he had to return, but later another traveler, a Genovese traveler, knew about Erickson trips and went to discover the new continent. That young goddess changed the world.
Urd gasped. Belldandy was saying that she was partly responsible for the discovery of America.
— Over a thousand years ago, a young goddess came to the earth. Through songs, she taught people to respect human life, and to have dreams of liberty. Rulers and kings tried to dominate them, but those ideal became stronger. Saxon law was established and hence the Magna Chart of England, which codifies the ideals, that rulers were not above the laws.
— Over a thousand years ago, a young goddess came to the earth. She taught women to heal and recognize plants. She taught them lifesaving rules, such procedures would be refined and modified, and those traditions, would be collected and then codified into medicine.
— I know other stories of this young goddess named: Urth. Onee-sama! you have no idea how much I have admired you!. You did all this almost without magic, only hard work. Living and sharing the suffering with those human beings help you to get a deep comprehension. If you only could remove that bitterness from your heart and realize what you've done. With magic, you would never manage to do so much. Your work would have faded into the hearts of men; instead, you managed to get deep into it.
Urd was stunned. She had believed all she had done in the past was useless. Then she remembered Dr. Shugahara had told her that she made great things for those people, but she did not realize it. Did really her stay on earth had left such an impact?
— Please think about it, I think the Doctor knows more stories about the young goddess he loves.
Belldandy affectionately pressed her sister´s hand and then floated back to the mirror; she barely began to cross it, when a cry of Urd stopped her halfway.
— Just a moment, you haven´t told me how you know all this.
Belldandy paused for a moment with a mischievous smile, a bit out-of-place on her gentle face:
— Oh! About that. We studied you at our history class, as part of my training at the Goddess Relief Office — and she disappeared without giving Urd time to react.
The Japanese is a language with a few swearwords. However, Urd knew many of the languages of the earth, so she did not lack words to express her feelings. Her life! Her personal life! he memories, her joys and love, and who knows what else... Transformed into a history lesson for gods.
Somewhere, those Valkyries from which she had wanted revenge would be laughing!
Nevertheless, slowly the anger gave way to laughter. Now she understood many things. Urth, a living legend among mortals, was Urd, a living history class among gods. Then decided she deserved a toast, maybe there were still some of the excellent Sake the doctor had brought. With that thought she went to her room. Meanwhile the small TV set vomited the usual paraphernalia of the news programs.
That same afternoon...
A small compact car traveled along the road toward the temple that was home to Keiichi and Belldandy. It was an old-fashioned Subaru R-2, very popular 20 years ago but still perfectly maintained. It reflected its owner personality. It was a functional car, practical, economical and showed its owner cared little for ostentation or appearance.
The car stopped at the temple entrance and Dr. Shugahara Kenji emerged from it. He took some packages out of the trunk, together with a large bouquet of purple flowers. It was obvious he felt insecure with the flowers.
The doctor examined the temple entrance with curiosity. It was perfectly maintained and restored. It must have been needed a team of expert restorers to leave it in that state. He entered while watching with awe the beautiful balance of the garden. It was obvious that the temple was no longer functioning as such, and yet he sensed something divine in the environment.
Suddenly his progress was interrupted by something completely out-of-place. It was a small robot. It had a comical air, a spherical face wearing an outdated hat that had been used by Japanese foot soldiers of the nineteenth century. Also had a prominent handle on the back. But the attitude of the robot was not comic. It seemed he did not like intruders and issued a series of unkind sounds. The doctor carefully placed his packages on the floor, the robot's attitude did not bode well, and he would not like to cause harm on the packages.
The robot, Banpei Kun RX, was Skuld´s creation. She had designed to protect the temple against demons and other intruders. The doctor was a specialist in surviving in the jungle, the son of a Kendo instructor, and foremost, a scientist... The small robot never had a real chance.
Skuld was chanting in the main room with her friend Sentaro, when she saw the doctor with his packages.
— Sensei — she approached him, and bowed reverently — what a joy to see you again. I was talking with Sentaro-kun about you. He did not want to believe me a TV personality has been here.
The child outlined a broad smile; he stood before the doctor and made an elegant and correct traditional greeting.
— Sensei, my name is Kawanishi Sentarō.
— Nice to meet you, Sentarō-kun.
The doctor smiled. He liked so much when young people retained the old customs of courtesy. Then he looked at the two young with satisfaction. Even if they were still young, it was obvious there was something more than friendship between them. It was comforting to see that "second class goddess" Skuld behaved like a perfectly normal girl. Well, almost.
— Skuld-san— Sentarō was surprised by the honorific title— I showed Dr. Kawazu your circuit and was very impressed— Upon hearing this, Skuld blushed visibly — So he asked me to deliver this to you.
The doctor took one of the packages; it was wrapped in anti-static plastic. He unwrapped it carefully. He took some integrated circuits and microchips and delivered to Skuld. Skuld observed with approval how the doctor knew to handle delicate circuits, as the doctor took her hand first, to discharge any electrostatic charge before giving her the circuits. That detail increase her respect for the Doctor
Then examined the microchips and her mouth opened in surprise.
— Dr. Kawazu explained to me, these are experimental circuits; they are equal to several hundreds of thousands of nodes in a neural network. These are not perfect, the quality control program rejected them, but he told me that you should not have problem in mapping the defective parts and use the rest.
— I... I do not know what to say. — She said in awe— these circuits are very advanced; tell him they are wonderful, they are very important to me.
— Why are important to you? — The doctor had assumed it was just a hobby.
— They are for Banpei-Kun, my android; I designed him to defend the temple against enemies. But it has a hard time distinguishing enemies from friends. With a neural network it will be easier to teach him.
— Banpei-Kun! then that is how that little android is called.
— You meet him. I apologize; I hope he did not hurt you...
Then she just opened her mouth as the smiling doctor gave her the On/off handle from the robot.
— Sensei! I was not expecting visitors today. You are not hurt!
— Do not worry, it was fun. But I'm curious. Do you have many enemies?
Skuld was about to answer when Sentarō, who had not lost detail of the conversation, gave him a nudge and a look to shut her up.
— Eh. Well, some ... Sorry Sensei, I have to leave. There is so much I want to do with these circuits.
— Please wait, Dr. Kawazu expected something in exchange. — Skuld gave a query look at the doctor. — He wants you to give him a report on whatever project you have with the circuits. He is curious about you. That reminds me.
The doctor pulled a small package and gave it to Skuld with an elegant bow. She opened it and saw with surprise a small and elegant cardholder. It was no made from leather, like the doctor´s, but from a very elegant brushed metal, such as one would have expected from a young and promising engineer.
— I hope you like. Inside you will find Dr. Kawazu´s card with his e-mail. He would like to hear from you. He was very impressed with your circuit.
The doctor gave a CD-ROM to Skuld.
— Here are some comments and suggestion to your circuit; he really took some time in studying it. Please write to Dr. Kawazu.
Skuld looked ecstatic with the cardholder. She opened and found Kawazu's card. The she bowed several times in a row, to express gratitude to the doctor and ran to her room, dragging the young Sentarō along her. He just smiled as apology, since she had not given him a chance to say goodbye.
Suddenly the doctor heard a familiar voice behind him.
— Doctor, you amazed me again. I have never seen such behavior on Skuld. She had never showed any to anyone, until she knew you.
The doctor turned to see Urd with a big smile, but seeing her, he had to struggle not to keep the mouth open. The previous day he had seen Urd with what she considered a conservative suit, but the Doctor had considered as sensual. Today Urd was using her regular clothing, which was much more revealing, with a very ample cleavage in front. Urd could not hide her satisfaction with the doctor's reaction, but to her disappointment, he recovered very quickly.
— Urd-san is a pleasure to see you again.
Urd frowned at the "Urd-san" so she decided to fight back with a studied coquetry.
— Come on doctor, how you can call me "Urd-san", after we sleep together.
Urd pronounced "sleep together" with a flirtation and sensuality such that the doctor blushed deeply, but unfortunately for Urd, his tan hid much of the effect. For a moment, Urd recalled another man whose blush was more evident.
The doctor seemed to choke, but began to recover quickly. Urd had already noted, the doctor seemed to have the gist to adapt quickly to situations.
— Urd sa... sa...I mean, Urd. Then I will ask you a favor.
— Yes? What is?
— My name is Kenji. Just Kenji — the doctor said a bit shyly, but with resolution.
To Urd, it was evident how hard was for the doctor to say those words, but even so, he was resolute about them. Then the doctor, I.e. Kenji, gave a depth breath of relief.
Then he remembered his other package, and gave the bouquet to Urd. She recognized the flowers; their perfume soon began to bring her back memories. Like the memory of that cold morning when he discovered them and recalled the naked body of Fafnir. But fortunately those memories were not as painful as the day before. She stayed there for a moment trying to get soaked in its soft aroma. Then she remembered that Kenji was there, and seeing him so eager, she could not avoid teasing him.
— Such beautiful flowers. "Kenji". Thanks you, you are very gallant — the doctor swallowed hard. Urd as a great master in the art of seduction, had placed a great burden of sensuality to pronounce his name.
— They are not flowers, well, yes they are flowers, but, I mean, they are medicinal plants, they are...
— They are Urd´s flowers, the non-mutated original flowers. — Urd looked into the doctors eyes, who realized she had been teasing him. Then he smiled after realizing he had been an easy target and she corresponded with a beautiful smile and left out her seduction game
— Thanks Kenji. You do not know what they mean to me.
This time Urd pronounce his name very differently, she said it with a warmth, the doctor felt that extended to his own body, this was the Urd he liked, so he simply told her.
— I always keep my promises. You can have all you want, along everything from the greenhouse. In exchange, I just want to ask you a favor.
— A favor? Of course, these flowers are very important to me. Whatever you want.
— Teach me how you prepare them.
— Why? You have been able to extract the main compound with a high purity.
— It took my students and me more than a week of work; something tells me I could learn a lot from you.
Urd looked in the doctor´s eye and meet that intense look that betrayed his curiosity. She liked that look
— Well then, what are we waiting, let get to work, Kenji. Come with me.
They entered "Urd´s Castle", that was the name in the entrance of her room. The doctor could not avoid feeling a thrill as he saw the futon in the corner.
Urd proceeded to prepare her laboratory. Took out the reactive and the glassware, then she hesitated and asked the doctor to turn round. Trying to be discreet she made a simple spell and her clothes turned into a simple but perfectly fit, white lab coat. She could pass as a high level scientist. She waited a moment, just to pretend it was not magic.
— Ready, you can look now.
The doctor uttered a surprised sight... she was implying that she had undressed and changed when he was not seeing her, so He turned slowly to see.
—Oh!, a lab coat.
Urd smiled — what did you expected? a black cloak with moons and stars and a conical hat?
The doctor smiled shyly.
— OK, I confess that I expected that.
— Let me tell you, this is much more practical, but maybe someday I would let you see my full sorcerer´s costume.
Both laughed at the idea.
Urd took the flowers, and aspired it´s scent one last time. She would have to sacrifice it, because this was not the compound she needed.
With skill, she began to separate the petals, choosing only those she felt had the highest concentration. She cut them in thin pieces, macerated them in a porcelain mortar, and finally added a solvent.
Then proceed to filter the extract, and to conduct a preliminary crystallization.
The doctor did not lose any detail and repeatedly stopped to ask for the fine details.
— In this step, the temperature should be accurate at 52.2 Celsius degrees. How you can figure the temperature without measuring it?
Urd stopped to think, how did she knew? She just felt that this should be correct, and then analyzed what she had done and commented.
— There is a slight color change when the crystal changes phase.
The doctor smiled with approval. He did not have taken that step when he had been in that part of the procedure.
Urd dissolved the crystal and proceeded to crystallize again the compound´s salt. Now there was only a small fraction of material she had begun, but the purity was essential. Again and again she repeated the steps of dissolve and crystallize, each time removing more impurities.
They spent more than three hours in this step.
— Wonderful! This beauty, those forms so pure and perfect I've never seen anything so awesome beautiful in my life. The proportions and shape are almost perfect.
Urd was used to hearing that kind of praise to describe her body, but the doctor was not looking at her, but to the fruits of their labor: A few slightly yellowish crystals. The doctor was looking at them with a microscope he had brought.
It was the first time that Urd heard so many compliments about her work, and spoken such honesty and earnestness. Then the doctor turned to see her. The look of those intense brown eyes make Urd felt something that never in her life had felt. For the first time in her life, Urd had blushed.
But the following words of the doctor, felt like a bucket of cold water.
— But I think you can do it better.
Urd´s blush was soon replaced by a momentary fit of anger, but it was quickly evaporated when the doctor made a statement of humility.
— I never could have achieved something similar in my lab. This purity exceeds anything I have tried to do, but after seeing you, I think there are a couple of points that can be improved. Urd uttered a few well-chosen swearwords, that made the doctor to smile and asked.
— Kenji, Why, in the name of heaven do you need it to be so pure. I have used this compound before; I do not need to be more pure.
The doctor hesitated for a moment. What he wanted to do was to try one of his more hair rising hypotheses. The idea seemed so insane that he had not dared to mention to his colleagues, until he could provide some evidence. Nevertheless, he needed to be frank with Urd.
— I believe this compound has capabilities that go beyond its chemical properties. Have you seen it´s crystalline structure? I used X-ray refraction, originally I thought it was just a face centered cubic lattice, but there is something else there. I am sure this compound extends its crystalline structure in other dimensions. Its structure seems to resonate with the structure of space-time. But it has impurities, which prevent it to penetrate very deeply. Please, I am not sure how you do it, but use those strange senses you have, try to perceive it.
Urd heard the doctor with curiously. She recalled the words of Belldandy, about the doctor trying to understand the principles of magic. Therefore, she took the container with the crystals, and started singing to concentrate.
Now she could see the lattice of the crystal. She was a being of a 10 dimension world, and soon recognized what the doctor had said. The crystal lattice is extended not only 3, but in, 10 dimensions. Anchoring it in the structure of space-time. Instead of being perfect, the lattice of the crystal was fractured here and there by impurities. Impurities that were distorting the crystal putting strain on the structure. She could almost feel the pain of the crystal being deformed.
That pain forced her out of the trance. She looked at the crystals, and with a gesture of purposefulness, she decided to release them from their pain. This time the doctor got to work with her.
Hours later, she and the doctor approached a small glass dish, which they looked in awe. There were only six crystals, the size of grain of salt. Maria Curie must have felt the same awe when after processing tons of ore; she obtained just a few milligrams of a new element, radium.
Urd was overflowed by the powerful magic emanating from the crystals, while the doctor could see a small but very special glow that came out of them, as he suspected where it came from. The effort had been worthwhile. The power of those crystals should be extraordinary.
— Kenji, you were right. The crystal structure is now perfect. And I can feel its power.
— It's amazing, is like a window anchored into other dimensions. I feel dizzy just thinking about the implications.
Without even realizing it, the doctor and Urd hugged excited. The thrill of their accomplishment, had demolished for a moment the natural barriers between people. Now it would depend on them whether they would lift them again.
Slowly they parted, the words seemed unnecessary. Outside the first rays of daylight began to appear, and the doctor began to feel the tiredness of the day.
— It´s almost sunrise, I must retire. — He gives a tired smile — I have no idea how I would be able to give my class today, but it was worth all.
— Kenji, I hope to see you soon. We could do so much.
Urd saw fatigue reflected in the doctor's eyes, and recalled that he was merely a human. She went to her potions cabinet and brought a little pill.
— Take this; it will give you energy for the day. Please, do not look at me like that, is not dangerous.
The doctor took the pill and without hesitance, he swallows it as if saying he trusted her. Suddenly he felt as fatigue and hunger disappeared.
He did not want to leave, but finally said goodbye to Urd and left. He found himself breathing the cool morning air and with it, he felt a renewed vigor. As he walked down the path of the temple, he stopped briefly, look up to the sky and felt as happy as never in his life. Finally he got into his car and left.
The car had traveled barely a few hundred meters along the road when it stopped and the engine was turned off.
Suddenly, the little car was shocked as from within came a mighty cry.
— BANZAI!
The motor started again, and the small vehicle continued his way.
End of chapter V
Notes:
- I love so much the technical details that I may have over did it a bit. I would like to know your opinion.
- Sake. It may seem strange that a single bottle of Sake the doctor had a hangover of such proportions, but most Japanese people have a very low resistance to alcohol. Usually about two glasses of wine are more than enough to knock out a lot of them.
- Stealth mode: In computing, a program or a virus uses stealth techniques to hide from users and anti-virus software. Basically, it modifies the operating system so that any attempt to detect it, forces the OS to report everything is in order.
- Subaru R-2. All the fans of "You are under arrest" will recognize this car.