*Episode 10*
Keiichi won the race. It wasn't even close. Both the fuel efficiency and time segments
fell effortlessly before him. Aerogel Research was very happy, not to mention the NIT
motor club, who won all three prize money awards, totaling to around 5 million yen (not
to mention keeping the bike). Keiichi's ribs almost popped from Tamiya's bearhug. As he
was recovering, 'Koujiku' approached him.
"Want to borrow my jacket next time?"
"What?"
"Next time you race for the club. You know, the spiked one?"
"Oh," Keiichi said in sudden understanding, "Definitely."
"Okay. It ought to keep you from breaking a rib."
"Yes, that it should."
"By the way, I see you've been practicing. Your eyes are white."
"They are? Oops," he said embarrassedly, and changed them back to normal, then
continued, "Yeah, I have. It's kind of odd, though."
"What is?"
"I've been seeing things before they happen."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. When I saw the other racers, I *knew* what they were going to do in the
race."
"Hmm... I can't say I'm surprised."
"NANI?!?!"
"Keiichi, that guy," 'Koujiku' started, only to have 'my' disembodied voice interrupt.
"Just call me Mikoto. It's not my name, but it'll do for now."
"Ok, " 'Koujiku' continued, "Anyway, Mikoto said that that trick he taught you was
the basis for quite a few other things, remember?"
"Hai."
"Well, it seems that you've figured out one of those 'other things' on your own. I'd
have to say that Mikoto is probably quite pleased."
"Oh? Hmm... I know you're listening in, Mikoto. Is he right?"
Again, my disembodied voice responded, "Yes, he is, and I am quite pleased. Mind
you, you do have a long way to go, but why don't you show 'Koujiku' your eyes?"
"What?"
"That trick. Try it."
Keiichi stopped for a moment before doing just that. In addition to his irises, his
pupils turned white as well.
"Well, I see the blood vessels are still there."
"What do you mean, Koujiku?"
"In your eyes. Your pupils turned white this time as well as your irises."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I think you and Belldandy have another thing to celebrate, ne?"
"Hai!"
That evening, Tamiya and Ootaki had another of their 'little' parties (Really! If there
were any houses within a mile of the place, the police would arrest those two for
disturbing the peace or violating the noise ordinances!). This time, however, Keiichi had
managed to slip outside without anyone noticing. Frankly, that's an impressive feat. Even
I'd have difficulty doing it! (Of course, for me, 'difficulty' is a relative term...) I took the
opportunity to "blink" in.
"Hello, Keiichi."
"Konnichiwa, Mikoto-sama."
"I'll tell you what I told Belldandy. You really don't have to be so formal. In many
ways, we're equals."
"NANI?!?!?"
"Keiichi, I'm a *LOT* more powerful than you, and I know many things that you
don't. I've developed my potential to a considerable degree, but I won't claim to have
fulfilled all of it. You're still developing yours, and you don't have as much of it as I did,
but that's why I'm teaching you. Someday, your power is going to surpass that of
everyone you know, except mine. That's an almost complete list of the ways in which
I'm your superior."
"That's an awful lot of ways."
"No, not really."
"How do you figure?"
"Keiichi, those are differences of degree, not of kind. Keiichi, take Urd and Skuld as
an example. Urd is more powerful than Skuld ever will be, even when her powers fully
manifest. Not, mind you, that that'll happen any time soon, but it will sooner or later.
They are equals, though, in many ways."
"Yes, but they're sisters!"
"Keiichi, that doesn't matter one bit. I learned that the hard way?"
"What do you mean?"
"I have had three brothers and a sister, Keiichi. One is dead, and pray you never meet
the others."
"What?"
"Keiichi, my sister and one of my brothers are insane. My sister more so than my
brother, actually, but they both are."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that they're not as powerful as you, though."
"No, they're not."
"Good. I'm afraid to ask about the other brother."
"You should be. He's the one responsible for their... condition."
"NANI?!? How?"
"Keiichi, he poisoned our parents. My brother and sister were... affected by the
poison."
"What?"
"Keiichi, ask Belldandy what Ktharra oil is. That's the poison he used. He placed
almost a centiliter of it in our well. My eldest brother and I were away at the time, so we
avoided the effects, but... `when we got back, our parents were dead and our siblings...
they only managed to survive because of our powers, but our parents didn't HAVE our
powers. They died."
"I'm sorry. I had no idea..."
"Keiichi, that was a long time ago. Do you know just how old I am?"
"Actually, no."
"Keiichi, I've been alive longer that the Yggdrasil system has been online. I'll be
celebrating my ten-quadrillionth birthday in only a few millennia, as time flows here. It's
not exactly uniform around the omniverse."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"For the same reason I told you what I did of why I'm here. You have the right to
know. I could just go on as I have been, teaching you, and it would be far easier for both
of us, but..."
"I understand, I think."
"Good. Keiichi, I'm telling you what you're ready for, but please understand that
there's a lot more that I'm not. I'm genuinely sorry about that, but you're not ready for it
yet. I hope, however, that you've begun to understand some of why I'm keeping
secrets."
"Yes, I think I am. You're trying to protect me."
"Yes and no, Keiichi. I am trying to protect you, but not from what you think."
"Oh?"
"Yes."
"And I don't suppose you'll elaborate?"
"No."
"One of those things?"
"Keiichi, I know what would happen if I were to tell you. Not all of it, mind you, but
I do know some. Trust me, you're not ready for everything I could tell you."
"I understand, I think."
"Good. Now, there's another reason why I came here," I said, pulling a phone 'out of
thin air', "Kam-chan? Remember that discussion? Yes... Yes, he's ready. Level three, like
I said. Good."
"What was that abou...," Keiichi started only to be interrupted by a lightning bolt
hitting the ground between us, leaving some writing on the ground. He finally gathered
enough courage to continue, "That was Kami-sama? And you called him Kam-chan?!?"
"Yes. It was, and I did. I told you, I'm older than he is. Older than this entire
universe, actually. As for the rest, have one of the Goddesses translate that note for you.
I have to go, now. Tamiya and Ootaki will be out here any second. Not even they'd miss
*that*," I said, gesturing to the writing on the ground. "At least they won't notice the
writing. I've hidden it from all eyes but our kind's, those with divine blood's, and
Koujiku's," I said and 'blinked' out.
Keiichi won the race. It wasn't even close. Both the fuel efficiency and time segments
fell effortlessly before him. Aerogel Research was very happy, not to mention the NIT
motor club, who won all three prize money awards, totaling to around 5 million yen (not
to mention keeping the bike). Keiichi's ribs almost popped from Tamiya's bearhug. As he
was recovering, 'Koujiku' approached him.
"Want to borrow my jacket next time?"
"What?"
"Next time you race for the club. You know, the spiked one?"
"Oh," Keiichi said in sudden understanding, "Definitely."
"Okay. It ought to keep you from breaking a rib."
"Yes, that it should."
"By the way, I see you've been practicing. Your eyes are white."
"They are? Oops," he said embarrassedly, and changed them back to normal, then
continued, "Yeah, I have. It's kind of odd, though."
"What is?"
"I've been seeing things before they happen."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. When I saw the other racers, I *knew* what they were going to do in the
race."
"Hmm... I can't say I'm surprised."
"NANI?!?!"
"Keiichi, that guy," 'Koujiku' started, only to have 'my' disembodied voice interrupt.
"Just call me Mikoto. It's not my name, but it'll do for now."
"Ok, " 'Koujiku' continued, "Anyway, Mikoto said that that trick he taught you was
the basis for quite a few other things, remember?"
"Hai."
"Well, it seems that you've figured out one of those 'other things' on your own. I'd
have to say that Mikoto is probably quite pleased."
"Oh? Hmm... I know you're listening in, Mikoto. Is he right?"
Again, my disembodied voice responded, "Yes, he is, and I am quite pleased. Mind
you, you do have a long way to go, but why don't you show 'Koujiku' your eyes?"
"What?"
"That trick. Try it."
Keiichi stopped for a moment before doing just that. In addition to his irises, his
pupils turned white as well.
"Well, I see the blood vessels are still there."
"What do you mean, Koujiku?"
"In your eyes. Your pupils turned white this time as well as your irises."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I think you and Belldandy have another thing to celebrate, ne?"
"Hai!"
That evening, Tamiya and Ootaki had another of their 'little' parties (Really! If there
were any houses within a mile of the place, the police would arrest those two for
disturbing the peace or violating the noise ordinances!). This time, however, Keiichi had
managed to slip outside without anyone noticing. Frankly, that's an impressive feat. Even
I'd have difficulty doing it! (Of course, for me, 'difficulty' is a relative term...) I took the
opportunity to "blink" in.
"Hello, Keiichi."
"Konnichiwa, Mikoto-sama."
"I'll tell you what I told Belldandy. You really don't have to be so formal. In many
ways, we're equals."
"NANI?!?!?"
"Keiichi, I'm a *LOT* more powerful than you, and I know many things that you
don't. I've developed my potential to a considerable degree, but I won't claim to have
fulfilled all of it. You're still developing yours, and you don't have as much of it as I did,
but that's why I'm teaching you. Someday, your power is going to surpass that of
everyone you know, except mine. That's an almost complete list of the ways in which
I'm your superior."
"That's an awful lot of ways."
"No, not really."
"How do you figure?"
"Keiichi, those are differences of degree, not of kind. Keiichi, take Urd and Skuld as
an example. Urd is more powerful than Skuld ever will be, even when her powers fully
manifest. Not, mind you, that that'll happen any time soon, but it will sooner or later.
They are equals, though, in many ways."
"Yes, but they're sisters!"
"Keiichi, that doesn't matter one bit. I learned that the hard way?"
"What do you mean?"
"I have had three brothers and a sister, Keiichi. One is dead, and pray you never meet
the others."
"What?"
"Keiichi, my sister and one of my brothers are insane. My sister more so than my
brother, actually, but they both are."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that they're not as powerful as you, though."
"No, they're not."
"Good. I'm afraid to ask about the other brother."
"You should be. He's the one responsible for their... condition."
"NANI?!? How?"
"Keiichi, he poisoned our parents. My brother and sister were... affected by the
poison."
"What?"
"Keiichi, ask Belldandy what Ktharra oil is. That's the poison he used. He placed
almost a centiliter of it in our well. My eldest brother and I were away at the time, so we
avoided the effects, but... `when we got back, our parents were dead and our siblings...
they only managed to survive because of our powers, but our parents didn't HAVE our
powers. They died."
"I'm sorry. I had no idea..."
"Keiichi, that was a long time ago. Do you know just how old I am?"
"Actually, no."
"Keiichi, I've been alive longer that the Yggdrasil system has been online. I'll be
celebrating my ten-quadrillionth birthday in only a few millennia, as time flows here. It's
not exactly uniform around the omniverse."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"For the same reason I told you what I did of why I'm here. You have the right to
know. I could just go on as I have been, teaching you, and it would be far easier for both
of us, but..."
"I understand, I think."
"Good. Keiichi, I'm telling you what you're ready for, but please understand that
there's a lot more that I'm not. I'm genuinely sorry about that, but you're not ready for it
yet. I hope, however, that you've begun to understand some of why I'm keeping
secrets."
"Yes, I think I am. You're trying to protect me."
"Yes and no, Keiichi. I am trying to protect you, but not from what you think."
"Oh?"
"Yes."
"And I don't suppose you'll elaborate?"
"No."
"One of those things?"
"Keiichi, I know what would happen if I were to tell you. Not all of it, mind you, but
I do know some. Trust me, you're not ready for everything I could tell you."
"I understand, I think."
"Good. Now, there's another reason why I came here," I said, pulling a phone 'out of
thin air', "Kam-chan? Remember that discussion? Yes... Yes, he's ready. Level three, like
I said. Good."
"What was that abou...," Keiichi started only to be interrupted by a lightning bolt
hitting the ground between us, leaving some writing on the ground. He finally gathered
enough courage to continue, "That was Kami-sama? And you called him Kam-chan?!?"
"Yes. It was, and I did. I told you, I'm older than he is. Older than this entire
universe, actually. As for the rest, have one of the Goddesses translate that note for you.
I have to go, now. Tamiya and Ootaki will be out here any second. Not even they'd miss
*that*," I said, gesturing to the writing on the ground. "At least they won't notice the
writing. I've hidden it from all eyes but our kind's, those with divine blood's, and
Koujiku's," I said and 'blinked' out.