Author's Note: I really want the Rind Arc out... I need it for the Noble
Scarlet stuff . Anyway I rewrote Chapters 5 and 6, so if you've been
reading this fic for a while you might want to go back and check it. It's
a bit less perfect of a scenario and a bit more realistic. Anyway happy
reading, I'll try work on this a bit more now that testing is over.
Chapter 5 went a little touchup after the redo as well. Someone asked
about Skuld's reaction in Chapter 6, the explanation is Skuld's been lying
to Sentaro and she totally understood why Sentaro fled and now she's
overjoyed he's still here. Aye I'm sorry for not being so active writing
here, I caught a flu and had to do some stuff.
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Ah! My Goddess- Insecurity and Innocence (Chapter Seven: You did this for me?)
By Gredival
-------
Belldandy slid the door open and walked into the room. She knelt down next to Keiichi, asleep in his futon. She shook his shoulder gently, leaning over speaking softly, "Keiichi dear, you'll be late to work."
Keiichi opened his eyes groggily, blinking away the sleepiness. Belldandy's smiling face slow came into focus. He could almost feel the warmth of that smile as he looked into her beautiful face.
"Is something wrong Keiichi?" Belldandy asked.
"Oh uh nothing," Keiichi replied breaking out of his daze sitting up. "Chihiro closed the shop for Spring Break," he added, "Sorry I forgot to tell you, it was your day off."
"Oh, I'm sorry for waking you," Belldandy apologized.
"No it's all right," Keiichi replied running a hand through his messy hair putting on a sheepish smile.
"I'll have breakfast ready soon then," Belldandy said brushing a golden lock of hair away and standing up.
Her hair was in a ponytail, bright golden bangs reaching down to her chest, with four stray stands sticking up. She was wearing a red flowered apron, underneath was an orange sleeveless shirt. Her long blue skirt matched her crystal blue eyes and the color of the markings of her face. Keiichi silently admired her beauty as she walked out the door.
Keiichi glanced over at his desk where he hid the black box. He didn't want things to change; he wanted it to stay like this forever. He had everything he ever wanted or hoped for in his life with Belldandy right now. It felt like a real family with Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and whenever they were over, Sentaro and Megumi. But life didn't stand still. And while the possibilities before him scared him, he knew he had to move forward. He sighed. He looked at one of the pictures in his room - Belldandy and him at the beach.
"Why not? I'm on break and Whirlwind's closed. We can all spend a few days there," Keiichi decided, "besides it'll be a good way to clear my head". He got out of his futon and reorganized the sheets. He grabbed a few clothes and headed for the shower.
***
"You really need to be more careful!" Skuld said to Sentaro as they put their bikes down at the gate of the temple. "You almost missed that jump, I don't want you getting hurt again," Skuld said, her voice breaking off.
"I'll be fine," Sentaro assured her as they got off their bikes. "And I have my Goddess watching over me don't I?"
"That's not the point dummy!" Skuld protested.
"But you are watching over me?" Sentaro responded.
"Of course I am!" Skuld stated flatly.
"Good," the boy said leaning over brushing Skuld's long black hair away and kissing her on the cheek. She blushed as little, a reddish tint appearing on her peach colored cheeks. She looked away; her long black hair hiding her smile. However the smile soon turned into an annoyed frown as she noted Urd hanging on Sentaro.
"Hey Sentaro, been working out?" Urd purred, her voice deep and sultry. She gave the boy a wink and moved a hand over Sentaro's chest. He stared blankly at Skuld, eyes begging for help.
"Cut it out already Urd!" Skuld said.
"Fine, fine I'll stop," Urd said. But not even Urd believed that.
"Breakfast is ready!" Belldandy said coming out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron.
***
"Thank you Belldandy, that was delicious," Sentaro said finishing his bowl.
"Thanks Bell," Keiichi said accepting a glass of water from the tray Belldandy had just brought in. "Hey what do you all say we go out?"
"What?" Urd asked glancing over at Keiichi.
"Well it's spring break, Belldandy and I are free from Whirlwind, why don't we all go somewhere? I was thinking the beach," Keiichi explained.
"That sounds wonderful," Belldandy replied.
"I'm in," Urd said.
Not hearing a reply Keiichi glanced over at Skuld and Sentaro. "Hey you can come too Sentaro, if you clear it with your parents."
"I wouldn't want to impose," Sentaro responded.
"No it's no problem at all. I was going to invite Megumi, and we'd have ended up with an odd number of persons anyway, you can just share a room with Skuld," Keiichi insisted. Urd snickered at the suggestion.
Sentaro looked over at Skuld; while she was blushing at the idea of sharing a room with him, her eyes pleaded with him to say yes. That was all Sentaro needed, "Yeah sure it's spring break at the High School so I'm free."
"Great I'll go call Megumi then," Keiichi decided as he got up from the table and headed to the phone.
***
"Hmm it's so pretty," Belldandy said leaning on the balcony. The salty sea air blew across the balcony gently. Keiichi stood next to her enjoying the moment with Belldandy. He looked over at Belldandy, her face on a backdrop of the blue sea.
"It sure is," he said honestly as he had ever said anything in his life.
Across the hall Skuld and Sentaro were unpacking their things in their room. "The view's nice," Sentaro said as he looked out the window.
"Thanks for coming Sentaro, I would have been so bored without you," Skuld said walking up next to him. She nervously wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Don't worry about it," Sentaro said smiling at her. [I would have been bored at home without you anyway,] he thought to himself. "Hey I'll meet you down at the beach," he suggested, "You can come find me after you finish unpacking."
"Okay, sure," Skuld answered brushing some hair behind her ears as she turned to smile at Sentaro.
He smiled back and grabbed his room key and towel before walking out the door.
***
Sentaro sat at the table sipping his soda. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with black and white swimming trunks. [Hmm, wonder when Skuld will get here...] he thought at he looked at the beach from the little table he was sitting at next to the concessions stand.
Skuld poked her head under the umbrella, "Hey! I finally found you!"
She was wearing an aqua green top and a short black skirt with a pink sweater with its sleeves rolled up. Her hair was tied into a ponytail held together by a white ribbon.
"You look nice," Sentaro commented as Skuld lifted the top of the table umbrella with her hands and slid in next to Sentaro.
"Hmm?" she asked.
"You look really cute," Sentaro clarified nervously as he looked at the Goddess again giving her a shy smile.
"Oh, uh thanks," she replied blushing a bit. Skuld was surprised as Sentaro held out a cup to her.
"Vanilla shake," he explained. "It's your favorite flavor right?"
"Yeah, thank you Sentaro," she said taking the cup. [He remembers my favorite drink?] she thought as she sipped at the shake.
"It's still early, why don't we grab a bite to eat before going swimming?" Sentaro suggested.
[He's acting really sweet...] Skuld thought to herself smiling as she looked at Sentaro. Sentaro brought back two menus handing one over to Skuld.
They ordered their food and sat talking for a while. The amount of people of the beach increased as it neared noon. The pair watched as the activities in the water increased.
"You want to go swimming now?" Sentaro asked Skuld noticing how she was watching the beach. "I can go get us a spot on the beach while it's not that busy while you change?"
Skuld nodded her agreement, "Yeah that sounds good." She got up and ducked under the umbrella heading back to her room.
Sentaro cleaned up the table dumping the trash and putting their trays back. He walked across the sidewalk. Finding a pretty good spot he laid the towel down under the preset umbrella and took off his shirt. He sat down and put some sunscreen on as he waited. It was about 80 degrees Fahrenheit with a gentle sea breeze. Pretty warm for spring but no one was complaining about the good weather.
"Hey there," Skuld said as she sat down next to Sentaro. She had braided her hair when she changed into her swimsuit, a dark blue and black one piece.
[Wow Skuld looks great,] Sentaro thought blushing as he looked at Skuld. He averted his gaze before she saw. "Hey you might want to put some of this on," Sentaro said tossing Skuld the sunscreen bottle, "don't want to get sunburn."
Skuld nodded and caught the bottle. He popped the cap and squirted some on her hands and applied the oil to her skin. "Hey can you put some on my back?" she asked.
"Uhh, sure!" Sentaro replied as soon as he swallowed the lump in his throat. Skuld laid down on the towel and, Sentaro put some oil into his hands. He put his hands onto Skuld's bare and rubbed the oil on her skin. [Her skin's so soft...] Sentaro thought. He fought back against the risqué images coming to his head.
"So are we ready to go swimming?" Skuld asked as she sat up and looked over at Sentaro.
"Yeah, sure."
***
"Hey that's cold! Stop!" Skuld said giggling as Sentaro splashed her. She extended her hand as swept it at Sentaro. The ensuing mini-wave drenched Sentaro.
"Hey," he complained as he regained his footing as Skuld giggled, "That's cheating!" Skuld didn't notice as he crept up and tackled her. They fell down into the water together.
The broke the water's surface. Skuld brushed the seawater from her face and splashed Sentaro a little. "I'll get you back for that one day," she promised.
"Right," Sentaro answered in a disbelieving tone. He found himself being dragged underwater as Skuld jumped onto him.
The came up for air again laughing. Sentaro wiped his face, "Fine, fine, no more!"
"We still have a bit of time before we meet the others for dinner why don't we go to the aquarium here?" Sentaro suggested.
"That sounds good," the Goddess replied. They waded back to shore. Skuld didn't notice the lack of weight around her neck, the absence of the silvery chain that held Noble Scarlet's egg.
***
"Wow it's so pretty," Skuld said as they walked down the glass halls. The fish swam around the crystal blue water creating a myriad of color. The lights reflected off the water's surface, the sand, and the scales of the fish painting the aquarium in the luminous and colorful glow.
[She seems to be happy,] Sentaro thought as he watched Skuld's eyes dance around following the fish.
"Hey guys!"
Sentaro and Skuld turned around to see Megumi, Urd, Keiichi, and Belldandy walking over.
"We were about to head outside to meet you," Keiichi said. "Lucky coincidence. Should we head out to go to dinner now? It's about six."
"Alright I guess," Sentaro said. The group headed out of the aquarium, the sun was beginning to set outside.
"Oh wow, the sunset's so beautiful out here," Megumi commented as they left the aquarium.
"Yeah it is," Belldandy agreed brushing a lock of hair away looking at the red and yellow colors of the setting sun. The colors reflected off the water's shimmering surface. But as the light disappeared, the tide came in and the water's temperature sunk.
***
Skuld opened the door to their room and they stepped in.
"I'm going to take a shower," she said dropping her sweater on her bed.
"Sure," Sentaro said as he took off his sandals. She disappeared into the bathroom as Sentaro flipped the TV on.
"Oh no!" Skuld yelled out as she busted out of the bathroom. Sentaro shut off the TV.
"What happened Skuld?" Sentaro asked as she shakily came to her bed. "I'll go get Belldandy and Urd."
He ran from the room coming back with Skuld's older sisters in another minute. As Sentaro was about to follow them in, Urd turned around and shook her head. Understanding her meaning, Sentaro stepped out as Urd shut the door. After a few seconds he pressed his ear to the door.
"Skuld? What happened?" Belldandy asked as she sat down next to her younger sister.
"I, I lost my angel's egg! The chain must have come loose while I was out on the water," Skuld said sobbing, "I didn't realize it till now!"
"Don't worry Skuld, I'm sure it'll be fine," Belldandy told her.
"Yeah it's not going to be much help stumbling around in the dark at the beach for it. We'd draw too much attention raising water and using our powers if we try right now. We'll go first light tomorrow," Urd assured her.
[I didn't know that meant so much to her...] Sentaro thought in silence. Belldandy gave her sister one more hug and got up.
"Just get some rest Skuld, we'll be able to search in the morning," Belldandy said. She helped her little sister into bed. Sentaro heard them approaching the door and hastily got away from his eaves dropping position. As the two older Goddesses opened the door he was leaning in the hallway. He got back into the room, but stayed near the door listening for the slams of doors.
"So when are we going to get it?" Urd whispered. "The tide might carry it out to sea before morning."
"Don't worry Urd, I think we should just let things play out." Urd raised an eyebrow at her sister. It usually wasn't like Bell to be so passive, especially with Skuld's angel egg at stake. Belldandy gave Urd her token smile. "I think there's another person who will be doing some swimming tonight. Let's get back to our rooms for now."
[The tide might carry it out to sea by morning,] Sentaro thought. He rushed over to his suitcase and pulled out his flashlight and snorkel mask. [They may not be able to do anything right now but I have to get that egg back. Or it'll be gone forever.]
Sentaro listened again. No voices. He crept out of the room and hurried out of the hotel rushing frantically across the street to where they were earlier that day. He clicked on his flashlight and put on his mask.
[I hope to God this thing's really waterproof...] Sentaro thought as he gripped the flashlight and waded into the icy cold water. He swam out to the area they were in before, but it was much deeper now. Sentaro took a deep breath and dived down kicking his feet shining the flashlight around. The water around him stole his body's heat but he didn't notice. He searched the sand for the silvery chain and egg. His lungs began to burn; he kicked up and broke the water's surface. He gasped for air and dove back down. He moved on combing the sea bottom.
After ten minutes his legs were beginning to shiver. He kept searching the watery bottom, coming up for air as he needed to. [Dammit I got nothing,] he thought as he broke the water's surface again. Had he missed it maybe? Was it already farther off shore? Frustrated Sentaro forced himself back down. He shone his flashlight around but all the sand he had disturbed diminished its effectiveness. [Great,] he thought cynically as he waded around. A reflection caught his eye. He squinted and headed over to the object. [Could that be it?] Sentaro hoped. It was just a shiny shell. Sentaro felt his chances diminish. He then noticed a slight silvery color through the sand clouds. He dove for it, his hand reaching out. His flashlight flickered.
[Not now!] Sentaro cursed. He kept heading for it. The flashlight flickered again then died. Sentaro silently cursed his luck as he swam around in the darkness. He estimated he had swam far enough and got to the bottom and groped around blindly. His chest began to get shore, the shivering of his legs intensified. But his best chance to ever find Skuld's Angel's Egg was now. Something got caught on his fingers, but they were too numb to tell if it was the silvery chain. Sentaro said a silent prayer, grabbed it, and swam up for air.
His head broke the surface and he gasped for air. He brought his hand out of the water; the moon's silvery light illuminated the angel's egg.
He breathed a sigh of relief and swam back to shore clutching the egg's chain.
***
Skuld opened her eyes slowly, then shot out of bed. She had to go save Noble Scarlet. Then she found Sentaro's half-sitting, half collapsed form on her bed.
"Sentaro?!"
She turned the boy around. His face was pale. She put a hand on his head, his skin felt like a furnace. She then noticed his fist was clutched. Her Angel's Egg was in it.
"You did this to find my egg?" Skuld asked as she looked as Sentaro's face. She bent over and kissed him. "Thank you... It's all my fault though, my recklessness caused this. I'm so sorry Sentaro."
She extended her hand and thought hard. She focused her desire to help Sentaro, to make him better. Blue light shone from her hands as she held them over Sentaro. The color of his face returned, she could hear his breathing become easier. "Thank goodness," she said softly hugging Sentaro's sleeping form.
Chapter Ending Notes: Some might think that for some reason Sentaro and Skuld's relationship is getting more innocent and "childish" now because of this chapter. That was kind of the point. I'm trying to have it follow the same pattern we see Fujishima-san use with Keiichi and Belldandy. At first they were A LOT more physical and open (relative to lately) in the beginning than in recent arcs. My theory is that as the pair fell deeper in love they needed physical contact less and less compared to emotional support. Remember a kiss is very rare in the Belldandy/Keiichi relationship, but they both state to what great extents they love each other (i.e. "If I had to choose between saving the World and saving Keiichi... I'd choose Keiichi.") And if anyone wants to know, yes this was meant to have some strong ties to "Midsummer Night's Dream" from the OVA.
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Ah! My Goddess- Insecurity and Innocence (Chapter Seven: You did this for me?)
By Gredival
-------
Belldandy slid the door open and walked into the room. She knelt down next to Keiichi, asleep in his futon. She shook his shoulder gently, leaning over speaking softly, "Keiichi dear, you'll be late to work."
Keiichi opened his eyes groggily, blinking away the sleepiness. Belldandy's smiling face slow came into focus. He could almost feel the warmth of that smile as he looked into her beautiful face.
"Is something wrong Keiichi?" Belldandy asked.
"Oh uh nothing," Keiichi replied breaking out of his daze sitting up. "Chihiro closed the shop for Spring Break," he added, "Sorry I forgot to tell you, it was your day off."
"Oh, I'm sorry for waking you," Belldandy apologized.
"No it's all right," Keiichi replied running a hand through his messy hair putting on a sheepish smile.
"I'll have breakfast ready soon then," Belldandy said brushing a golden lock of hair away and standing up.
Her hair was in a ponytail, bright golden bangs reaching down to her chest, with four stray stands sticking up. She was wearing a red flowered apron, underneath was an orange sleeveless shirt. Her long blue skirt matched her crystal blue eyes and the color of the markings of her face. Keiichi silently admired her beauty as she walked out the door.
Keiichi glanced over at his desk where he hid the black box. He didn't want things to change; he wanted it to stay like this forever. He had everything he ever wanted or hoped for in his life with Belldandy right now. It felt like a real family with Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and whenever they were over, Sentaro and Megumi. But life didn't stand still. And while the possibilities before him scared him, he knew he had to move forward. He sighed. He looked at one of the pictures in his room - Belldandy and him at the beach.
"Why not? I'm on break and Whirlwind's closed. We can all spend a few days there," Keiichi decided, "besides it'll be a good way to clear my head". He got out of his futon and reorganized the sheets. He grabbed a few clothes and headed for the shower.
***
"You really need to be more careful!" Skuld said to Sentaro as they put their bikes down at the gate of the temple. "You almost missed that jump, I don't want you getting hurt again," Skuld said, her voice breaking off.
"I'll be fine," Sentaro assured her as they got off their bikes. "And I have my Goddess watching over me don't I?"
"That's not the point dummy!" Skuld protested.
"But you are watching over me?" Sentaro responded.
"Of course I am!" Skuld stated flatly.
"Good," the boy said leaning over brushing Skuld's long black hair away and kissing her on the cheek. She blushed as little, a reddish tint appearing on her peach colored cheeks. She looked away; her long black hair hiding her smile. However the smile soon turned into an annoyed frown as she noted Urd hanging on Sentaro.
"Hey Sentaro, been working out?" Urd purred, her voice deep and sultry. She gave the boy a wink and moved a hand over Sentaro's chest. He stared blankly at Skuld, eyes begging for help.
"Cut it out already Urd!" Skuld said.
"Fine, fine I'll stop," Urd said. But not even Urd believed that.
"Breakfast is ready!" Belldandy said coming out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron.
***
"Thank you Belldandy, that was delicious," Sentaro said finishing his bowl.
"Thanks Bell," Keiichi said accepting a glass of water from the tray Belldandy had just brought in. "Hey what do you all say we go out?"
"What?" Urd asked glancing over at Keiichi.
"Well it's spring break, Belldandy and I are free from Whirlwind, why don't we all go somewhere? I was thinking the beach," Keiichi explained.
"That sounds wonderful," Belldandy replied.
"I'm in," Urd said.
Not hearing a reply Keiichi glanced over at Skuld and Sentaro. "Hey you can come too Sentaro, if you clear it with your parents."
"I wouldn't want to impose," Sentaro responded.
"No it's no problem at all. I was going to invite Megumi, and we'd have ended up with an odd number of persons anyway, you can just share a room with Skuld," Keiichi insisted. Urd snickered at the suggestion.
Sentaro looked over at Skuld; while she was blushing at the idea of sharing a room with him, her eyes pleaded with him to say yes. That was all Sentaro needed, "Yeah sure it's spring break at the High School so I'm free."
"Great I'll go call Megumi then," Keiichi decided as he got up from the table and headed to the phone.
***
"Hmm it's so pretty," Belldandy said leaning on the balcony. The salty sea air blew across the balcony gently. Keiichi stood next to her enjoying the moment with Belldandy. He looked over at Belldandy, her face on a backdrop of the blue sea.
"It sure is," he said honestly as he had ever said anything in his life.
Across the hall Skuld and Sentaro were unpacking their things in their room. "The view's nice," Sentaro said as he looked out the window.
"Thanks for coming Sentaro, I would have been so bored without you," Skuld said walking up next to him. She nervously wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Don't worry about it," Sentaro said smiling at her. [I would have been bored at home without you anyway,] he thought to himself. "Hey I'll meet you down at the beach," he suggested, "You can come find me after you finish unpacking."
"Okay, sure," Skuld answered brushing some hair behind her ears as she turned to smile at Sentaro.
He smiled back and grabbed his room key and towel before walking out the door.
***
Sentaro sat at the table sipping his soda. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with black and white swimming trunks. [Hmm, wonder when Skuld will get here...] he thought at he looked at the beach from the little table he was sitting at next to the concessions stand.
Skuld poked her head under the umbrella, "Hey! I finally found you!"
She was wearing an aqua green top and a short black skirt with a pink sweater with its sleeves rolled up. Her hair was tied into a ponytail held together by a white ribbon.
"You look nice," Sentaro commented as Skuld lifted the top of the table umbrella with her hands and slid in next to Sentaro.
"Hmm?" she asked.
"You look really cute," Sentaro clarified nervously as he looked at the Goddess again giving her a shy smile.
"Oh, uh thanks," she replied blushing a bit. Skuld was surprised as Sentaro held out a cup to her.
"Vanilla shake," he explained. "It's your favorite flavor right?"
"Yeah, thank you Sentaro," she said taking the cup. [He remembers my favorite drink?] she thought as she sipped at the shake.
"It's still early, why don't we grab a bite to eat before going swimming?" Sentaro suggested.
[He's acting really sweet...] Skuld thought to herself smiling as she looked at Sentaro. Sentaro brought back two menus handing one over to Skuld.
They ordered their food and sat talking for a while. The amount of people of the beach increased as it neared noon. The pair watched as the activities in the water increased.
"You want to go swimming now?" Sentaro asked Skuld noticing how she was watching the beach. "I can go get us a spot on the beach while it's not that busy while you change?"
Skuld nodded her agreement, "Yeah that sounds good." She got up and ducked under the umbrella heading back to her room.
Sentaro cleaned up the table dumping the trash and putting their trays back. He walked across the sidewalk. Finding a pretty good spot he laid the towel down under the preset umbrella and took off his shirt. He sat down and put some sunscreen on as he waited. It was about 80 degrees Fahrenheit with a gentle sea breeze. Pretty warm for spring but no one was complaining about the good weather.
"Hey there," Skuld said as she sat down next to Sentaro. She had braided her hair when she changed into her swimsuit, a dark blue and black one piece.
[Wow Skuld looks great,] Sentaro thought blushing as he looked at Skuld. He averted his gaze before she saw. "Hey you might want to put some of this on," Sentaro said tossing Skuld the sunscreen bottle, "don't want to get sunburn."
Skuld nodded and caught the bottle. He popped the cap and squirted some on her hands and applied the oil to her skin. "Hey can you put some on my back?" she asked.
"Uhh, sure!" Sentaro replied as soon as he swallowed the lump in his throat. Skuld laid down on the towel and, Sentaro put some oil into his hands. He put his hands onto Skuld's bare and rubbed the oil on her skin. [Her skin's so soft...] Sentaro thought. He fought back against the risqué images coming to his head.
"So are we ready to go swimming?" Skuld asked as she sat up and looked over at Sentaro.
"Yeah, sure."
***
"Hey that's cold! Stop!" Skuld said giggling as Sentaro splashed her. She extended her hand as swept it at Sentaro. The ensuing mini-wave drenched Sentaro.
"Hey," he complained as he regained his footing as Skuld giggled, "That's cheating!" Skuld didn't notice as he crept up and tackled her. They fell down into the water together.
The broke the water's surface. Skuld brushed the seawater from her face and splashed Sentaro a little. "I'll get you back for that one day," she promised.
"Right," Sentaro answered in a disbelieving tone. He found himself being dragged underwater as Skuld jumped onto him.
The came up for air again laughing. Sentaro wiped his face, "Fine, fine, no more!"
"We still have a bit of time before we meet the others for dinner why don't we go to the aquarium here?" Sentaro suggested.
"That sounds good," the Goddess replied. They waded back to shore. Skuld didn't notice the lack of weight around her neck, the absence of the silvery chain that held Noble Scarlet's egg.
***
"Wow it's so pretty," Skuld said as they walked down the glass halls. The fish swam around the crystal blue water creating a myriad of color. The lights reflected off the water's surface, the sand, and the scales of the fish painting the aquarium in the luminous and colorful glow.
[She seems to be happy,] Sentaro thought as he watched Skuld's eyes dance around following the fish.
"Hey guys!"
Sentaro and Skuld turned around to see Megumi, Urd, Keiichi, and Belldandy walking over.
"We were about to head outside to meet you," Keiichi said. "Lucky coincidence. Should we head out to go to dinner now? It's about six."
"Alright I guess," Sentaro said. The group headed out of the aquarium, the sun was beginning to set outside.
"Oh wow, the sunset's so beautiful out here," Megumi commented as they left the aquarium.
"Yeah it is," Belldandy agreed brushing a lock of hair away looking at the red and yellow colors of the setting sun. The colors reflected off the water's shimmering surface. But as the light disappeared, the tide came in and the water's temperature sunk.
***
Skuld opened the door to their room and they stepped in.
"I'm going to take a shower," she said dropping her sweater on her bed.
"Sure," Sentaro said as he took off his sandals. She disappeared into the bathroom as Sentaro flipped the TV on.
"Oh no!" Skuld yelled out as she busted out of the bathroom. Sentaro shut off the TV.
"What happened Skuld?" Sentaro asked as she shakily came to her bed. "I'll go get Belldandy and Urd."
He ran from the room coming back with Skuld's older sisters in another minute. As Sentaro was about to follow them in, Urd turned around and shook her head. Understanding her meaning, Sentaro stepped out as Urd shut the door. After a few seconds he pressed his ear to the door.
"Skuld? What happened?" Belldandy asked as she sat down next to her younger sister.
"I, I lost my angel's egg! The chain must have come loose while I was out on the water," Skuld said sobbing, "I didn't realize it till now!"
"Don't worry Skuld, I'm sure it'll be fine," Belldandy told her.
"Yeah it's not going to be much help stumbling around in the dark at the beach for it. We'd draw too much attention raising water and using our powers if we try right now. We'll go first light tomorrow," Urd assured her.
[I didn't know that meant so much to her...] Sentaro thought in silence. Belldandy gave her sister one more hug and got up.
"Just get some rest Skuld, we'll be able to search in the morning," Belldandy said. She helped her little sister into bed. Sentaro heard them approaching the door and hastily got away from his eaves dropping position. As the two older Goddesses opened the door he was leaning in the hallway. He got back into the room, but stayed near the door listening for the slams of doors.
"So when are we going to get it?" Urd whispered. "The tide might carry it out to sea before morning."
"Don't worry Urd, I think we should just let things play out." Urd raised an eyebrow at her sister. It usually wasn't like Bell to be so passive, especially with Skuld's angel egg at stake. Belldandy gave Urd her token smile. "I think there's another person who will be doing some swimming tonight. Let's get back to our rooms for now."
[The tide might carry it out to sea by morning,] Sentaro thought. He rushed over to his suitcase and pulled out his flashlight and snorkel mask. [They may not be able to do anything right now but I have to get that egg back. Or it'll be gone forever.]
Sentaro listened again. No voices. He crept out of the room and hurried out of the hotel rushing frantically across the street to where they were earlier that day. He clicked on his flashlight and put on his mask.
[I hope to God this thing's really waterproof...] Sentaro thought as he gripped the flashlight and waded into the icy cold water. He swam out to the area they were in before, but it was much deeper now. Sentaro took a deep breath and dived down kicking his feet shining the flashlight around. The water around him stole his body's heat but he didn't notice. He searched the sand for the silvery chain and egg. His lungs began to burn; he kicked up and broke the water's surface. He gasped for air and dove back down. He moved on combing the sea bottom.
After ten minutes his legs were beginning to shiver. He kept searching the watery bottom, coming up for air as he needed to. [Dammit I got nothing,] he thought as he broke the water's surface again. Had he missed it maybe? Was it already farther off shore? Frustrated Sentaro forced himself back down. He shone his flashlight around but all the sand he had disturbed diminished its effectiveness. [Great,] he thought cynically as he waded around. A reflection caught his eye. He squinted and headed over to the object. [Could that be it?] Sentaro hoped. It was just a shiny shell. Sentaro felt his chances diminish. He then noticed a slight silvery color through the sand clouds. He dove for it, his hand reaching out. His flashlight flickered.
[Not now!] Sentaro cursed. He kept heading for it. The flashlight flickered again then died. Sentaro silently cursed his luck as he swam around in the darkness. He estimated he had swam far enough and got to the bottom and groped around blindly. His chest began to get shore, the shivering of his legs intensified. But his best chance to ever find Skuld's Angel's Egg was now. Something got caught on his fingers, but they were too numb to tell if it was the silvery chain. Sentaro said a silent prayer, grabbed it, and swam up for air.
His head broke the surface and he gasped for air. He brought his hand out of the water; the moon's silvery light illuminated the angel's egg.
He breathed a sigh of relief and swam back to shore clutching the egg's chain.
***
Skuld opened her eyes slowly, then shot out of bed. She had to go save Noble Scarlet. Then she found Sentaro's half-sitting, half collapsed form on her bed.
"Sentaro?!"
She turned the boy around. His face was pale. She put a hand on his head, his skin felt like a furnace. She then noticed his fist was clutched. Her Angel's Egg was in it.
"You did this to find my egg?" Skuld asked as she looked as Sentaro's face. She bent over and kissed him. "Thank you... It's all my fault though, my recklessness caused this. I'm so sorry Sentaro."
She extended her hand and thought hard. She focused her desire to help Sentaro, to make him better. Blue light shone from her hands as she held them over Sentaro. The color of his face returned, she could hear his breathing become easier. "Thank goodness," she said softly hugging Sentaro's sleeping form.
Chapter Ending Notes: Some might think that for some reason Sentaro and Skuld's relationship is getting more innocent and "childish" now because of this chapter. That was kind of the point. I'm trying to have it follow the same pattern we see Fujishima-san use with Keiichi and Belldandy. At first they were A LOT more physical and open (relative to lately) in the beginning than in recent arcs. My theory is that as the pair fell deeper in love they needed physical contact less and less compared to emotional support. Remember a kiss is very rare in the Belldandy/Keiichi relationship, but they both state to what great extents they love each other (i.e. "If I had to choose between saving the World and saving Keiichi... I'd choose Keiichi.") And if anyone wants to know, yes this was meant to have some strong ties to "Midsummer Night's Dream" from the OVA.
