Keiichi Morisato's Day Off - Part One
An Ah! My Goddess Fanfic
By Roehl Sybing (roehlsybing@aol.com)
The package had arrived, and the incessant mad laughing began shortly thereafter. The sound pierced the halls of her domain as Mara tore through the packaging like giftwrap. At long last, it was delivered! A rare, ridiculously-expensive and highly-coveted sealing mirror was once again in her grasp. Mara was ecstatic, now that her plan could begin at once. She had been going about getting rid of the pesky goddesses of the Morisato home all wrong. Perhaps it was her fancy scheming and her penchant for flair. Or perhaps those she contracted with were too gutless to follow up with their wishes, wishes that coincided with her agenda. But this was it! This time around Mara would try simplicity itself. The mirror was for Belldandy, and with her out of the picture maybe, with luck, the other two goddesses would leave in search for their sister.
Mara lifted her head to the sky and laughed once more, confident in her own supposed genius. This time it would work, she thought, this time the meddling from her rivals would end once and for all!
She looked back down to admire the beauty and power of the sealing mirror, and then gazed at her own reflection to admire...no! The mirror glowed and lit up, finding its victim in Mara. She tossed it back into the packaging before it could work its magic, and looked around just in case anyone was observing her sudden moment of foolishness. With no one around, she once again went over her plans mentally, and laughed heartily and endlessly at the sheer simplicity of it all.
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"Unnnnh...noooo..." Keiichi mumbled as he tossed about. The sound rung in his ears, persistent and annoying. And it just...would...not...stop.
Laying on his stomach, he reached out with one hand for the alarm clock, just before throwing it against the wall. Keiichi had hoped to dig his face back into the pillow, but he groaned once more, as he was too much of a weakling to break the clock. It continued to chime as it was built to do, slowly compelling an unpleasant Keiichi to get out of bed.
Today was just not meant for him, he thought. Two weeks of constant activity - studying for two important tests, building a machine from scratch, in-between practicing for the annual uphill racing competition, weathering all the persistent nagging that he received as titular leader of the motor club, on top of getting absolutely no relief from Urd and Skuld, who had once again been fighting for control of the television set - was much more than enough to break an ordinary human being. But through it all, Keiichi maintained his resolve, knocking down each job as merely obstacles in his way. After all, what would Belldandy think if he couldn't hold his weight?
Today was much, much different. No longer did Keiichi feel the need and the pressure to remain tough and proud, as there was nothing needing to be done. Scratch that, Keiichi thought; there was always something needing to be done, he just hadn't realized what it was just yet. So, after a bath and a change of clothes, an exhausted Keiichi hung his head. Someone - anyone - would be out to get him, and he had not the strength to counter it, nor the lack of self-respect that would make it feel alright for Belldandy to intervene.
"Good morning, Keiichi!" Belldandy's voice reached out to him. She was standing out in front of the temple, waiting for Keiichi to get out of bed.
"Morning," he replied weakly, "Did you make tea already?"
She shook her head, "No."
Keiichi looked up. He didn't like to depend on Belldandy, but he didn't have high hopes for the rest of the day if there wasn't anything to have for breakfast. "Are we out of tea?" he asked.
"No," she said promptly. Routine was not on the schedule for today, it seemed, but she said it all with a smile that said nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Then what--?"
Belldandy took Keiichi's hand. "Come on," she said, "Let's go."
"Wha--?" he replied, startled, "Where are we going?"
"Out. Urd insisted that you take a day off."
Oh yes, Keiichi thought as he was directed away from the temple and towards his bike, something was definitely wrong. If Urd was planning this as some means to motivate Keiichi to take some initiative with Belldandy, that would mean that Urd would have something bad in store for him, since he was almost confident that he would have no confidence to do anything presumptuous. And that's especially on a day like this.
Keiichi spoke up, "Hey, where is Urd anyways?"
"Don't worry about it," Belldandy said, strapping on his helmet and her own, "We both agreed that you worked so hard that you deserve a break."
"Yeah, right," the voice of skepticism retorted, "Look, Bell, I appreciate it, but all I wanna do today is relax--"
"And that's exactly what we're going to do, Keiichi! Come on!" she exclaimed as she stood in front of the sidecar.
Keiichi broke a smile, "There's no way I'm going to talk you out of this?"
"Urd told me to be very insistent," Belldandy said. She extended her hand, saying, "Please?"
There was absolutely no going about talking down a goddess, he thought as his smile widened and the first bits of happiness entered his demeanor. Besides, Keiichi had just about fulfilled everybody's needs for the past two weeks...everyone's, that is, except Belldandy's. He knew that he could not enjoy a day like this one, but perhaps he had just a bit more resolve in him to make her happy. He shook his head in compliance and took her hand as she lowered herself into the sidecar. He hopped on his bike and checked his watch, reading eight-thirty. With the way things were going, today would be a long day, especially if he was heading out this early on a weekend.
With everything secure, Keiichi looked one more time at Belldandy, saying, "Ready?"
Belldandy replied happily, "Always."
The word was all he needed to start the day. A start of the engine, a firm grip on the clutch and Keiichi and Belldandy were off.
As they left the temple and its view, a watchful goddess became happy with herself.
"Ah, romance," Urd said as she moved away from the window and into the hallway, "And he'd better make good on this one, too, that little weakling!"
"Make good on what?"
Urd froze. Walking right behind her was Skuld. Trouble, pure and simple.
"Make good on what?" she asked again, rubbing away the sleep from her eyes.
"Don't worry about it," Urd replied firmly, "Go...make some tea or something."
"I don't know how to make tea! Where's sis?"
"She...went out early."
Such half-truths seeded in impromptu answers were quick to arouse Skuld's suspicions. After a yawn came a textbook question, "Where is he?"
"Who, Keiichi?" Urd asked as she made her way back into her room, "Isn't he still sleeping?" A lie. Of course it was. But this time around the goddess had kept count of her indiscretions, and not having lied for a long time, Urd could afford a point or two on her license.
"Urd..." Skuld said with greater suspicion, "Where are they?"
Sure, she was onto her, but Urd would not be a good sister if she allowed her little sibling to interfere in her plans for the couple. "Look, kid, I--"
The ground shook, interrupting her train of thought. Urd and Skuld looked out the nearest window, and without much advance word - none at all, in fact - there were Tamiya and Otaki, ringing the giant bell of the temple.
"Morisato!" Tamiya cried, "Get out here and celebrate wit' us!"
Quickly, the two sisters rushed out of the house, trying to ascertain whatever nonsense the two motor club regulars had in store for Keiichi.
"Fellas," Urd said, "Isn't it a bit early in the morning?"
"Ah, Urd!" Tamiya replied, "Luvly az always! Not seein' anyone yet?"
The older goddess was half-disgusted at his apparent advance, and gritted her teeth, though confident that absolutely nothing would come of it. "There something you wanted?"
Otaki was right behind Tamiya, holding a box of sorts. "Ol' Tamiya here had this idea, see, to celebrate the win in the competition. We thought Morisato'll have some drinks with us!"
"Iz party time, boyz and girlz!" Tamiya added. He looked down at Skuld, almost half his size, and approached her.
"'Ey, kid, wan' party wit' the rest of us?" he said with a booming voice, to which Skuld shrieked while hiding behind Urd.
"Where's he, anyways?" Otaki asked.
"Keiichi?" Urd said, "He went out, and--!" She stopped in mid-sentence, sensing that Skuld was letting go of her clothing.
"So!" Skuld exclaimed, "I was right! Sis took off with Keiichi, right?"
"A date, huh?" Otaki laughed as Urd searched for a response.
"Wull," his partner said, "Wouldn't be no party wit'out Belldandy neither! C'mon, better go find 'im. I know jus' da place!"
And, knowing that no celebration would be taking place at the Morisato residence, Tamiya and Otaki marched out, with Skuld trying to chase them down.
"Wait!" Skuld said, "You know where she is?"
"Ain't none of your business, kid..." Otaki replied, expressing lack of concern. He and Tamiya got ready to leave in the truck as Skuld resented the remark.
"Don't treat me like a kid!" she exclaimed as she reached for one of her bombs. Her sentiment was drowned out by the sputtering of the engine and the noise from the tailpipe. Urd was there, fortunately, to intercept Skuld's device while the vehicle drove away in a hurry.
"Don't you have anything better to do than--" the older sister began to say as Skuld's bomb detonated in her hand.
"I have to go find them!" Skuld said, determined to interfere, leaving Urd to tend to herself as the pain froze her in place.
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In and out of the clubhouse, two, three minutes, tops. Sora needn't be on campus on the weekend, but leaving some of her belongings at the party after the competition forced her back into the clubhouse to pick them up.
She locked up behind her and focused her attention on a figure walking in the distance. Just the person she wanted to talk to!
"Sayoko!" she said, running up to her, "Sayoko!"
Sayoko stopped to let Sora approach her. "What do you want?"
"I was, um, wondering..." Sora replied, catching her breath, "Do you have a minute?"
She scoffed for a moment, but looked around. No interesting men around to grab her interest or to play around with, and the nearby record store had yet to open. "Well," she said, "I guess I can spare some time."
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"Have you ever been in love?" Sora asked once they sat down.
Sayoko was caught off guard by the question. "Of-of course!" she said half-confidently, "What makes you think I haven't?"
"Well," she went on truthfully, "You're opportunistic, always taking advantage of others, putting everybody else down...I assumed--"
Nearly falling over in her chair, Sayoko tried to retort, but found some truth in Sora's remarks. "OK, OK, I get the point!" she exclaimed, "What of it?"
"Well, um...uh, I was wondering if...you know...you had some, uh, pointers."
"Advice, you mean?" Sayoko asked, "Well, gee, I don't know what you're up to, but...you really don't want my help." She absolutely loved when people come to her for something; the attention made her feel wanted. But Sora was just so innocent, she couldn't possibly corrupt her with whatever ideas she had about love.
Sora showed some disappointment. "Yeah, she said as she began to stand up, "I guess you're right." She leaned her hand on the table, to which Sayoko held it with hers.
"Sora," she said softly, "Someone once told me that the most important thing was to believe in myself."
She sat back down, listening intently.
Sayoko went on, "It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life, you know, but...I think that if you're confident, and you believe in yourself...well, you know...you won't have any problems telling a guy how you really feel."
Sora clasped her hands together happily, "Really!?"
"Yeah!" she replied, "But, uh, don't quote me on that, alright?"
"I'll remember that, thank you, sir! I mean, ma'am! I mean--"
"Just...it's no problem, really."
"Thank you!" Sora exclaimed just before turning away.
"Wait," Sayoko said, "By any chance, you're not in love with someone I'm after, right?"
"I dunno, who haven't you combed through yet?" she replied, not thinking that Sayoko would take some more offense by the implication.
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There are perhaps few things in life that are less complicated than perception. In that case, Keiichi may very well be leading the simplest life this morning. He was in the park near the campus, leaning against a cherry tree that overlooked a small, clear blue lake where leaves from the trees rested on the water's surface. Few people were around to clutter Keiichi's point of view. The air was crisp and the weather was perfect. And most importantly, Belldandy was leaning her body on his shoulder and around his arm.
"This is a great spot, Belldandy," he said.
"Yes," she replied, "It's quite peaceful."
"Calm before the storm, I suppose."
Belldandy looked up, "What do you mean?"
"Well, let's be honest, something bad is bound to happen at a time like this. Always does. Something new to fix, another test to study for...it never ends. It's so tiring sometimes, you know."
"That's not true, Keiichi! If you believe that, then your heart will always be troubled."
"Hmm?"
"Happiness is earned by those who deserve it most. And you've done so much lately to earn it, haven't you?"
Keiichi pondered the thought, "Well, I guess I haven't looked at it that way."
"As long as you love those around you, and do right by them...your fatigue will always be met with happiness. It's true!"
Keiichi never ceased to be amazed by Belldandy. Another one of life's lessons taught by the goddess that swore herself to his side. Sure, he was tired of the endless routine that riddle his daily life for the past two weeks - even longer. But all he needed to do was change his view of life, with the help of Belldandy. A kind word, some loving advice was all he needed to take the moment by the lake for what it was. Keiichi needn't trouble with making any advances; as he gently embraced Belldandy he dared not change a thing about this simple moment in time.
"Looks like it might be a good day after all," Keiichi said.
"I think so," Belldandy replied.
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Chihiro's first instinct was that Keiichi wanted to spend the day relaxing without a care in the world, and she knew Tamiya and Otaki well enough to presume that they had different ideas. As she pulled up to the Morisato residence, she was amazed at the mere size of the place that was Keiichi's home. "Who sprung for this place?" she asked herself.
She looked around quietly before knocking gently on the door.
A woman moved the sliding door aside, "Yes?"
"Sorry," Chihiro said, "I must have the wrong place."
"Are you looking for Keiichi?"
"Yes! How did you know?"
"A guess," Urd said as she examined her guest, "You're pretty cute."
Chihiro retorted, "Hey, don't get any ideas in your head, buster."
"I'm kidding!" she replied, "'Sides, it's not in that kid's spine to do anything funny with someone like you."
"Well, I suppose...hey, what's that mean?"
Urd motioned Chihiro inside, saying, "Never mind. Anyways, he's not here. Left with Belldandy this morning."
Chihiro was relieved, "Oh, thank goodness. Some people from the motor club--"
"Yeah, they were here too," Urd said as she washed away in the sink a failed attempt at making tea, "He left before they came in, luckily."
She nodded her head, "That's great...as long as Morisato and Belldandy stay away from the campus then they shouldn't have any trouble."
"What?" Urd asked as she dropped a pair of dishes into the sink.
"Well, that's where Tamiya and Otaki are headed. I mean, that's either before or after they check all the favorite places."
"Places? What places?"
"You know, all the favorite spots that lovers go to. There's this one place I used to go to," she went on, chuckling while reminiscing, "This spot in the park near the campus with a giant--"
"...Cherry tree overlooking a lake?" Urd asked as her heart sank.
"That's the one!" Chihiro exclaimed, "What a beautiful spot! I remember this one time--wait...they didn't...?"
"Oh, yeah," Urd nodded. After all that Keiichi had done in the past two weeks or so, she didn't anticipate anyone bothering him with more problems. Incidentally, she suggested to Belldandy the most obvious spot possible for them to be found!
Urd's guest threw her hands into the air, "Well, I'd better get back onto campus, find those two characters!"
Urd questioned as Chihiro began to walk out, "Wait! Why?"
"To protect Morisato," she replied, "Because he's my biggest asset, and anyone with his head screwed on knows he's two steps from a mental breakdown."
"Don't I know it," Urd said to herself as Chihiro let herself out. Maybe just this one time Keiichi wouldn't require supervision, but his friends were most likely on his heels. No, she thought, this was far too important for her to ignore, even if it meant missing her favorite show.
"Skuld!" Urd called out, "I'm going out for a bit, don't make any trouble!"
No answer came to Urd as she reached for her broom. She asked herself, "Is that kid messing around with some contraption again?" She wanted to be absolutely sure that the house would be safe and sound; she had to check what Skuld was up to.
"Hey, didn't you hear--!?" Urd said as she opened the door. Skuld's bedroom was unoccupied. She looked around for her sister, but she was nowhere to be found. A closer examination of her bedroom confirmed Urd's worst fears. There, in the middle of the room, Urd looked at her computer, sitting underneath a monitor that had an image from one of her satellites. It was a camera's picture of Keiichi and Belldandy in the park.
Maybe Chihiro could do just as much good calling the clubhouse from a phone of some sort inside the Morisato residence. She walked back into the front yard. "Excuse me?" she called out.
Suddenly, the grass beneath her waved about by the great force of wind that breezed over the front yard. She held her arm against her face and shut her eyes out of protection. She did not see Urd fly out of the residence on her broom, and saw nothing still as she opened her eyes once the wind died down.
"What was that?" she asked.
CONTINUED IN PART TWO.
An Ah! My Goddess Fanfic
By Roehl Sybing (roehlsybing@aol.com)
The package had arrived, and the incessant mad laughing began shortly thereafter. The sound pierced the halls of her domain as Mara tore through the packaging like giftwrap. At long last, it was delivered! A rare, ridiculously-expensive and highly-coveted sealing mirror was once again in her grasp. Mara was ecstatic, now that her plan could begin at once. She had been going about getting rid of the pesky goddesses of the Morisato home all wrong. Perhaps it was her fancy scheming and her penchant for flair. Or perhaps those she contracted with were too gutless to follow up with their wishes, wishes that coincided with her agenda. But this was it! This time around Mara would try simplicity itself. The mirror was for Belldandy, and with her out of the picture maybe, with luck, the other two goddesses would leave in search for their sister.
Mara lifted her head to the sky and laughed once more, confident in her own supposed genius. This time it would work, she thought, this time the meddling from her rivals would end once and for all!
She looked back down to admire the beauty and power of the sealing mirror, and then gazed at her own reflection to admire...no! The mirror glowed and lit up, finding its victim in Mara. She tossed it back into the packaging before it could work its magic, and looked around just in case anyone was observing her sudden moment of foolishness. With no one around, she once again went over her plans mentally, and laughed heartily and endlessly at the sheer simplicity of it all.
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"Unnnnh...noooo..." Keiichi mumbled as he tossed about. The sound rung in his ears, persistent and annoying. And it just...would...not...stop.
Laying on his stomach, he reached out with one hand for the alarm clock, just before throwing it against the wall. Keiichi had hoped to dig his face back into the pillow, but he groaned once more, as he was too much of a weakling to break the clock. It continued to chime as it was built to do, slowly compelling an unpleasant Keiichi to get out of bed.
Today was just not meant for him, he thought. Two weeks of constant activity - studying for two important tests, building a machine from scratch, in-between practicing for the annual uphill racing competition, weathering all the persistent nagging that he received as titular leader of the motor club, on top of getting absolutely no relief from Urd and Skuld, who had once again been fighting for control of the television set - was much more than enough to break an ordinary human being. But through it all, Keiichi maintained his resolve, knocking down each job as merely obstacles in his way. After all, what would Belldandy think if he couldn't hold his weight?
Today was much, much different. No longer did Keiichi feel the need and the pressure to remain tough and proud, as there was nothing needing to be done. Scratch that, Keiichi thought; there was always something needing to be done, he just hadn't realized what it was just yet. So, after a bath and a change of clothes, an exhausted Keiichi hung his head. Someone - anyone - would be out to get him, and he had not the strength to counter it, nor the lack of self-respect that would make it feel alright for Belldandy to intervene.
"Good morning, Keiichi!" Belldandy's voice reached out to him. She was standing out in front of the temple, waiting for Keiichi to get out of bed.
"Morning," he replied weakly, "Did you make tea already?"
She shook her head, "No."
Keiichi looked up. He didn't like to depend on Belldandy, but he didn't have high hopes for the rest of the day if there wasn't anything to have for breakfast. "Are we out of tea?" he asked.
"No," she said promptly. Routine was not on the schedule for today, it seemed, but she said it all with a smile that said nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Then what--?"
Belldandy took Keiichi's hand. "Come on," she said, "Let's go."
"Wha--?" he replied, startled, "Where are we going?"
"Out. Urd insisted that you take a day off."
Oh yes, Keiichi thought as he was directed away from the temple and towards his bike, something was definitely wrong. If Urd was planning this as some means to motivate Keiichi to take some initiative with Belldandy, that would mean that Urd would have something bad in store for him, since he was almost confident that he would have no confidence to do anything presumptuous. And that's especially on a day like this.
Keiichi spoke up, "Hey, where is Urd anyways?"
"Don't worry about it," Belldandy said, strapping on his helmet and her own, "We both agreed that you worked so hard that you deserve a break."
"Yeah, right," the voice of skepticism retorted, "Look, Bell, I appreciate it, but all I wanna do today is relax--"
"And that's exactly what we're going to do, Keiichi! Come on!" she exclaimed as she stood in front of the sidecar.
Keiichi broke a smile, "There's no way I'm going to talk you out of this?"
"Urd told me to be very insistent," Belldandy said. She extended her hand, saying, "Please?"
There was absolutely no going about talking down a goddess, he thought as his smile widened and the first bits of happiness entered his demeanor. Besides, Keiichi had just about fulfilled everybody's needs for the past two weeks...everyone's, that is, except Belldandy's. He knew that he could not enjoy a day like this one, but perhaps he had just a bit more resolve in him to make her happy. He shook his head in compliance and took her hand as she lowered herself into the sidecar. He hopped on his bike and checked his watch, reading eight-thirty. With the way things were going, today would be a long day, especially if he was heading out this early on a weekend.
With everything secure, Keiichi looked one more time at Belldandy, saying, "Ready?"
Belldandy replied happily, "Always."
The word was all he needed to start the day. A start of the engine, a firm grip on the clutch and Keiichi and Belldandy were off.
As they left the temple and its view, a watchful goddess became happy with herself.
"Ah, romance," Urd said as she moved away from the window and into the hallway, "And he'd better make good on this one, too, that little weakling!"
"Make good on what?"
Urd froze. Walking right behind her was Skuld. Trouble, pure and simple.
"Make good on what?" she asked again, rubbing away the sleep from her eyes.
"Don't worry about it," Urd replied firmly, "Go...make some tea or something."
"I don't know how to make tea! Where's sis?"
"She...went out early."
Such half-truths seeded in impromptu answers were quick to arouse Skuld's suspicions. After a yawn came a textbook question, "Where is he?"
"Who, Keiichi?" Urd asked as she made her way back into her room, "Isn't he still sleeping?" A lie. Of course it was. But this time around the goddess had kept count of her indiscretions, and not having lied for a long time, Urd could afford a point or two on her license.
"Urd..." Skuld said with greater suspicion, "Where are they?"
Sure, she was onto her, but Urd would not be a good sister if she allowed her little sibling to interfere in her plans for the couple. "Look, kid, I--"
The ground shook, interrupting her train of thought. Urd and Skuld looked out the nearest window, and without much advance word - none at all, in fact - there were Tamiya and Otaki, ringing the giant bell of the temple.
"Morisato!" Tamiya cried, "Get out here and celebrate wit' us!"
Quickly, the two sisters rushed out of the house, trying to ascertain whatever nonsense the two motor club regulars had in store for Keiichi.
"Fellas," Urd said, "Isn't it a bit early in the morning?"
"Ah, Urd!" Tamiya replied, "Luvly az always! Not seein' anyone yet?"
The older goddess was half-disgusted at his apparent advance, and gritted her teeth, though confident that absolutely nothing would come of it. "There something you wanted?"
Otaki was right behind Tamiya, holding a box of sorts. "Ol' Tamiya here had this idea, see, to celebrate the win in the competition. We thought Morisato'll have some drinks with us!"
"Iz party time, boyz and girlz!" Tamiya added. He looked down at Skuld, almost half his size, and approached her.
"'Ey, kid, wan' party wit' the rest of us?" he said with a booming voice, to which Skuld shrieked while hiding behind Urd.
"Where's he, anyways?" Otaki asked.
"Keiichi?" Urd said, "He went out, and--!" She stopped in mid-sentence, sensing that Skuld was letting go of her clothing.
"So!" Skuld exclaimed, "I was right! Sis took off with Keiichi, right?"
"A date, huh?" Otaki laughed as Urd searched for a response.
"Wull," his partner said, "Wouldn't be no party wit'out Belldandy neither! C'mon, better go find 'im. I know jus' da place!"
And, knowing that no celebration would be taking place at the Morisato residence, Tamiya and Otaki marched out, with Skuld trying to chase them down.
"Wait!" Skuld said, "You know where she is?"
"Ain't none of your business, kid..." Otaki replied, expressing lack of concern. He and Tamiya got ready to leave in the truck as Skuld resented the remark.
"Don't treat me like a kid!" she exclaimed as she reached for one of her bombs. Her sentiment was drowned out by the sputtering of the engine and the noise from the tailpipe. Urd was there, fortunately, to intercept Skuld's device while the vehicle drove away in a hurry.
"Don't you have anything better to do than--" the older sister began to say as Skuld's bomb detonated in her hand.
"I have to go find them!" Skuld said, determined to interfere, leaving Urd to tend to herself as the pain froze her in place.
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In and out of the clubhouse, two, three minutes, tops. Sora needn't be on campus on the weekend, but leaving some of her belongings at the party after the competition forced her back into the clubhouse to pick them up.
She locked up behind her and focused her attention on a figure walking in the distance. Just the person she wanted to talk to!
"Sayoko!" she said, running up to her, "Sayoko!"
Sayoko stopped to let Sora approach her. "What do you want?"
"I was, um, wondering..." Sora replied, catching her breath, "Do you have a minute?"
She scoffed for a moment, but looked around. No interesting men around to grab her interest or to play around with, and the nearby record store had yet to open. "Well," she said, "I guess I can spare some time."
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"Have you ever been in love?" Sora asked once they sat down.
Sayoko was caught off guard by the question. "Of-of course!" she said half-confidently, "What makes you think I haven't?"
"Well," she went on truthfully, "You're opportunistic, always taking advantage of others, putting everybody else down...I assumed--"
Nearly falling over in her chair, Sayoko tried to retort, but found some truth in Sora's remarks. "OK, OK, I get the point!" she exclaimed, "What of it?"
"Well, um...uh, I was wondering if...you know...you had some, uh, pointers."
"Advice, you mean?" Sayoko asked, "Well, gee, I don't know what you're up to, but...you really don't want my help." She absolutely loved when people come to her for something; the attention made her feel wanted. But Sora was just so innocent, she couldn't possibly corrupt her with whatever ideas she had about love.
Sora showed some disappointment. "Yeah, she said as she began to stand up, "I guess you're right." She leaned her hand on the table, to which Sayoko held it with hers.
"Sora," she said softly, "Someone once told me that the most important thing was to believe in myself."
She sat back down, listening intently.
Sayoko went on, "It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life, you know, but...I think that if you're confident, and you believe in yourself...well, you know...you won't have any problems telling a guy how you really feel."
Sora clasped her hands together happily, "Really!?"
"Yeah!" she replied, "But, uh, don't quote me on that, alright?"
"I'll remember that, thank you, sir! I mean, ma'am! I mean--"
"Just...it's no problem, really."
"Thank you!" Sora exclaimed just before turning away.
"Wait," Sayoko said, "By any chance, you're not in love with someone I'm after, right?"
"I dunno, who haven't you combed through yet?" she replied, not thinking that Sayoko would take some more offense by the implication.
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There are perhaps few things in life that are less complicated than perception. In that case, Keiichi may very well be leading the simplest life this morning. He was in the park near the campus, leaning against a cherry tree that overlooked a small, clear blue lake where leaves from the trees rested on the water's surface. Few people were around to clutter Keiichi's point of view. The air was crisp and the weather was perfect. And most importantly, Belldandy was leaning her body on his shoulder and around his arm.
"This is a great spot, Belldandy," he said.
"Yes," she replied, "It's quite peaceful."
"Calm before the storm, I suppose."
Belldandy looked up, "What do you mean?"
"Well, let's be honest, something bad is bound to happen at a time like this. Always does. Something new to fix, another test to study for...it never ends. It's so tiring sometimes, you know."
"That's not true, Keiichi! If you believe that, then your heart will always be troubled."
"Hmm?"
"Happiness is earned by those who deserve it most. And you've done so much lately to earn it, haven't you?"
Keiichi pondered the thought, "Well, I guess I haven't looked at it that way."
"As long as you love those around you, and do right by them...your fatigue will always be met with happiness. It's true!"
Keiichi never ceased to be amazed by Belldandy. Another one of life's lessons taught by the goddess that swore herself to his side. Sure, he was tired of the endless routine that riddle his daily life for the past two weeks - even longer. But all he needed to do was change his view of life, with the help of Belldandy. A kind word, some loving advice was all he needed to take the moment by the lake for what it was. Keiichi needn't trouble with making any advances; as he gently embraced Belldandy he dared not change a thing about this simple moment in time.
"Looks like it might be a good day after all," Keiichi said.
"I think so," Belldandy replied.
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Chihiro's first instinct was that Keiichi wanted to spend the day relaxing without a care in the world, and she knew Tamiya and Otaki well enough to presume that they had different ideas. As she pulled up to the Morisato residence, she was amazed at the mere size of the place that was Keiichi's home. "Who sprung for this place?" she asked herself.
She looked around quietly before knocking gently on the door.
A woman moved the sliding door aside, "Yes?"
"Sorry," Chihiro said, "I must have the wrong place."
"Are you looking for Keiichi?"
"Yes! How did you know?"
"A guess," Urd said as she examined her guest, "You're pretty cute."
Chihiro retorted, "Hey, don't get any ideas in your head, buster."
"I'm kidding!" she replied, "'Sides, it's not in that kid's spine to do anything funny with someone like you."
"Well, I suppose...hey, what's that mean?"
Urd motioned Chihiro inside, saying, "Never mind. Anyways, he's not here. Left with Belldandy this morning."
Chihiro was relieved, "Oh, thank goodness. Some people from the motor club--"
"Yeah, they were here too," Urd said as she washed away in the sink a failed attempt at making tea, "He left before they came in, luckily."
She nodded her head, "That's great...as long as Morisato and Belldandy stay away from the campus then they shouldn't have any trouble."
"What?" Urd asked as she dropped a pair of dishes into the sink.
"Well, that's where Tamiya and Otaki are headed. I mean, that's either before or after they check all the favorite places."
"Places? What places?"
"You know, all the favorite spots that lovers go to. There's this one place I used to go to," she went on, chuckling while reminiscing, "This spot in the park near the campus with a giant--"
"...Cherry tree overlooking a lake?" Urd asked as her heart sank.
"That's the one!" Chihiro exclaimed, "What a beautiful spot! I remember this one time--wait...they didn't...?"
"Oh, yeah," Urd nodded. After all that Keiichi had done in the past two weeks or so, she didn't anticipate anyone bothering him with more problems. Incidentally, she suggested to Belldandy the most obvious spot possible for them to be found!
Urd's guest threw her hands into the air, "Well, I'd better get back onto campus, find those two characters!"
Urd questioned as Chihiro began to walk out, "Wait! Why?"
"To protect Morisato," she replied, "Because he's my biggest asset, and anyone with his head screwed on knows he's two steps from a mental breakdown."
"Don't I know it," Urd said to herself as Chihiro let herself out. Maybe just this one time Keiichi wouldn't require supervision, but his friends were most likely on his heels. No, she thought, this was far too important for her to ignore, even if it meant missing her favorite show.
"Skuld!" Urd called out, "I'm going out for a bit, don't make any trouble!"
No answer came to Urd as she reached for her broom. She asked herself, "Is that kid messing around with some contraption again?" She wanted to be absolutely sure that the house would be safe and sound; she had to check what Skuld was up to.
"Hey, didn't you hear--!?" Urd said as she opened the door. Skuld's bedroom was unoccupied. She looked around for her sister, but she was nowhere to be found. A closer examination of her bedroom confirmed Urd's worst fears. There, in the middle of the room, Urd looked at her computer, sitting underneath a monitor that had an image from one of her satellites. It was a camera's picture of Keiichi and Belldandy in the park.
Maybe Chihiro could do just as much good calling the clubhouse from a phone of some sort inside the Morisato residence. She walked back into the front yard. "Excuse me?" she called out.
Suddenly, the grass beneath her waved about by the great force of wind that breezed over the front yard. She held her arm against her face and shut her eyes out of protection. She did not see Urd fly out of the residence on her broom, and saw nothing still as she opened her eyes once the wind died down.
"What was that?" she asked.
CONTINUED IN PART TWO.