*Episode 13*
The following evening at "Koujiku's" was rather odd, albeit not up to the standards
of my youth. Belldandy's Skuld's, and Keiichi's arrival was pretty normal (They
knocked), but Allison managed to surprise me. Of course, that's not easy. Then again, I
really hadn't been paying as much attention to her escapades as I should have been. After
chalking up a mental note to tell her that while her getting a pilot's license was nice, she
didn't have to show off by arriving by plane, helicopter, jetpack, AND parachute. Really!
I mean, flying over the place in a plane, jumping out on a portable helicopter, collapsing
it in mid-air, using a jetpack to slow your fall, and then finishing it off by pulling the
ripcord on a parachute for the landing... It's a bit odd, even for her. Dinner was up to my
usual standard (Belldandy asked for the recipe of every other dish. I gave them to her.
Fortunately, I didn't cook any of my specialties. I can just imagine what Keiichi would
do if 'Koujiku' was to serve "roast Martian time-shifting wombat with cranberry sauce".
Would you believe that the ingredients are actually pretty easy for me to get?)
Skuld was duly impressed by Allison's rather... impressive display of the fact that
she's, well, a "hen na gaijin", Allison's mechanical talent, and, most of all, Allison's sense
of the appropriate. She brought all of us gifts. Skuld's was a pocket-sized ice-cream
maker. Allison's statement about it says almost everything: "I heard about your love of
ice-cream and cobbled this up out of some spare parts I had lying around in my back
yard. Be careful about that stirring blade, though." The stirring blade had been salvaged
from a B-14 bomber's engines. I still don't know what she was doing with a B-14 in her
back yard, and I'm not asking.
Allison's gift for me was quite obvious. She always had a talent for being
unpredictable; even I usually can't figure out what she's planning. I find it quite
refreshing, actually. As such, her gift for me was just that: managing to startle me with
her entrance. It was JUST weird enough to be surprising, but not weird enough that I'd
expect it.
Allison's gift for Belldandy and Keiichi didn't come up until after dinner, when she
asked to speak to me in private.
"Allison, are you sure they're ready for this?"
"Sensei, you always move too slowly. They're in love."
"Yes, but I'm worried about-"
"Sensei, they're ready. I know what you're worried about. I've modified it
accordingly."
"You have? How could you manage that without-"
"Simple. By-"
"Oh. Yes, that would work. I didn't think of that."
"You're still biting off more than you can chew. Really, none of us can even come
close to collocating in as many universes as you do constantly!"
"And?"
"It's distracting you! You're trying to do too much! Drop a few trillion worlds. It
won't make that big of a difference!"
"No. A few trillion universes? You know how much of a difference I can make in
each and every one of them!"
"Yes, I do. But which is worth more, a few septillion lives or you?"
"We've had this discussion before! I am not abandoning even one person in any
universe to my brother!"
"And that's very generous of you. You must realize, though, that you're spreading
yourself too thin. Even with our help, you can't possibly cover every universe!"
"No, but we can certainly try! I'll take a vacation when we catch my brother, and not
a century before!"
"Look, we've had this discussion before. They're ready, and that's that. And I'm
anchoring."
"WHAT?! They know about 'Mikoto', but to reveal what you are so soon..."
"So? I won't blow 'Koujiku's' cover if that's what you're worried about."
"He'll definitely find it suspicious!"
"So let him. I've spent long enough building my cover in this world that the
revelation that it IS a cover won't do anything. Besides, all we did was reenact my
childhood in this world."
"Yeah, with a few changes."
"Yes. How was I supposed to know that Urd would stop my attempt to get Dad's
records this time?"
"At least I helped you maintain your cover by asking Kam-chan to-"
"And I'm grateful. But the fact remains, Keiichi knowing that I'm from another
universe won't blow your cover."
"Do you promise not to reveal anything to Skuld? I don't trust her reaction. I see a
57% probability of-"
"That I can do."
"I still think it's reckless, but if you insist, I won't stop you."
The following evening at "Koujiku's" was rather odd, albeit not up to the standards
of my youth. Belldandy's Skuld's, and Keiichi's arrival was pretty normal (They
knocked), but Allison managed to surprise me. Of course, that's not easy. Then again, I
really hadn't been paying as much attention to her escapades as I should have been. After
chalking up a mental note to tell her that while her getting a pilot's license was nice, she
didn't have to show off by arriving by plane, helicopter, jetpack, AND parachute. Really!
I mean, flying over the place in a plane, jumping out on a portable helicopter, collapsing
it in mid-air, using a jetpack to slow your fall, and then finishing it off by pulling the
ripcord on a parachute for the landing... It's a bit odd, even for her. Dinner was up to my
usual standard (Belldandy asked for the recipe of every other dish. I gave them to her.
Fortunately, I didn't cook any of my specialties. I can just imagine what Keiichi would
do if 'Koujiku' was to serve "roast Martian time-shifting wombat with cranberry sauce".
Would you believe that the ingredients are actually pretty easy for me to get?)
Skuld was duly impressed by Allison's rather... impressive display of the fact that
she's, well, a "hen na gaijin", Allison's mechanical talent, and, most of all, Allison's sense
of the appropriate. She brought all of us gifts. Skuld's was a pocket-sized ice-cream
maker. Allison's statement about it says almost everything: "I heard about your love of
ice-cream and cobbled this up out of some spare parts I had lying around in my back
yard. Be careful about that stirring blade, though." The stirring blade had been salvaged
from a B-14 bomber's engines. I still don't know what she was doing with a B-14 in her
back yard, and I'm not asking.
Allison's gift for me was quite obvious. She always had a talent for being
unpredictable; even I usually can't figure out what she's planning. I find it quite
refreshing, actually. As such, her gift for me was just that: managing to startle me with
her entrance. It was JUST weird enough to be surprising, but not weird enough that I'd
expect it.
Allison's gift for Belldandy and Keiichi didn't come up until after dinner, when she
asked to speak to me in private.
"Allison, are you sure they're ready for this?"
"Sensei, you always move too slowly. They're in love."
"Yes, but I'm worried about-"
"Sensei, they're ready. I know what you're worried about. I've modified it
accordingly."
"You have? How could you manage that without-"
"Simple. By-"
"Oh. Yes, that would work. I didn't think of that."
"You're still biting off more than you can chew. Really, none of us can even come
close to collocating in as many universes as you do constantly!"
"And?"
"It's distracting you! You're trying to do too much! Drop a few trillion worlds. It
won't make that big of a difference!"
"No. A few trillion universes? You know how much of a difference I can make in
each and every one of them!"
"Yes, I do. But which is worth more, a few septillion lives or you?"
"We've had this discussion before! I am not abandoning even one person in any
universe to my brother!"
"And that's very generous of you. You must realize, though, that you're spreading
yourself too thin. Even with our help, you can't possibly cover every universe!"
"No, but we can certainly try! I'll take a vacation when we catch my brother, and not
a century before!"
"Look, we've had this discussion before. They're ready, and that's that. And I'm
anchoring."
"WHAT?! They know about 'Mikoto', but to reveal what you are so soon..."
"So? I won't blow 'Koujiku's' cover if that's what you're worried about."
"He'll definitely find it suspicious!"
"So let him. I've spent long enough building my cover in this world that the
revelation that it IS a cover won't do anything. Besides, all we did was reenact my
childhood in this world."
"Yeah, with a few changes."
"Yes. How was I supposed to know that Urd would stop my attempt to get Dad's
records this time?"
"At least I helped you maintain your cover by asking Kam-chan to-"
"And I'm grateful. But the fact remains, Keiichi knowing that I'm from another
universe won't blow your cover."
"Do you promise not to reveal anything to Skuld? I don't trust her reaction. I see a
57% probability of-"
"That I can do."
"I still think it's reckless, but if you insist, I won't stop you."