Author's Notes: Well I'm going address some issues you might have with this chapter really quick, particularly the rules and trials of heaven that I use in this chapter. The AMG movie is never given a time frame you realize. We can assume it's quite later in the manga considering Skuld can manipulate Noble Scarlet... But at the same time in a year in the manga Keiichi will be leaving Nekomi, and Ootaki and Tamiya have graduated... So why are those three still around in the movie? And it seems like there's no Sentaro in the movie, or even the universe the movie takes in, because of the particular lines Skuld and Urd exchange at the end. There are a lot of inconsistencies so I really was puzzled on how I could involve some elements from the movie and where my story would fit in an AMG timeline and where the movie was.

So instead of doing something where I could screw up the timeline pretty badly I decided to create my own trial... I really didn't want to, but... Let's hope it works. And I think if you say something and say you'll do something forever it can be taken as a promise... If you're lost as to what Skuld said that is causing conflicts, check the last chapter =).

And this story that Skuld's reading in the beginning is an original idea for a story I had... And so are the names, so I would ask you respect the fact the idea and characters are my work. All rights are reserved.

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Ah! My Goddess- Insecurity and Innocence (Chapter Twelve: Words with Meaning)

By Gredival

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Skuld brushed her silky black hair back, while she turned the page in the book that sat in her lap. Her brown eyes moved steadily as she read, absorbed in the story. Sentaro peeked over the occupied Goddess' shoulder, pecking her on the cheek sweetly. She looked the other way a little, blushing. Sentaro's eyes scanned the page.

"Insecurity and Innocence?" Sentaro noted seeing the book's name etched on the top pf every page. "What's the story about?" Sentaro asked taking a seat next to the girl. He leaned back under the tree basking in the shade it offered from the sun. This tree still offered quite a bit of shade, although the seasonal shift was apparent in the darker colors and hues the leaves had

"It's a romance." Skuld leaned back snuggling closely to the boy. "There's this guy, Ryou, who's head over in heels in love with this other girl, Kira. But she's already dating someone else, and they're pretty happy, so Ryou doesn't want to come between them. But Ryou and Kira are good friends and his feelings are getting stronger and it's eating him up inside. But Ryou's childhood friend, Chihiro, is also friends with this Kira, and she knows all about what's going on. But she's loved Ryou deeply since childhood, and all she wants more than anything is for him to kiss her and take her away. But Ryou is oblivious to it all and he still loves Kira despite the fact he won't act on his feelings... He thinks of Chihiro as his little sister in a way. And Ryou's slowly dying because of cancer, but no one except Chihiro knows. And she knows time to running out if she wants any memories with him, but she's so scared of what might happen. She's desperately trying to find a way to tell Ryou how she feels. It's a really beautiful story," Skuld explained her eyes misting up a bit. She rested her head on Sentaro's shoulder.

"Sounds kind of corny," Sentaro admitted a few minutes later, a bit sheepish. Skuld's tone was slightly annoyed as she started to sit up. Skuld's hand reached out grabbed her green jacket and tugging her back. Skuld fell back surprised, caught in Sentaro's arm. "Never said it wasn't sweet and beautiful," he reminded her with a smile. Skuld felt her heart flutter while he closed his eyes and leaned in. She swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to calm herself as she closed her eyes, receiving the kiss, while slowly wrapping her arms around Sentaro's neck.

Sentaro quickly pushed her away though, grabbing his head; his breaths coming in labored gasps. Skuld touched his shoulder gently, "Sentaro are you all right? Sentaro?"

Sentaro slowly opened his eyes, his breathing having returned to normal. He rubbed his temples a little and turned to look at Skuld, with an apologetic look on his face. She smiled sweetly and helped the boy get up. "Let's get you back home, and Belldandy can look at you."

Sentaro nodded his agreement, kissing Skuld on the cheek.

The next sensation he felt was his body falling to the ground as Skuld's voice faded from his ears.

***

"There's a new exhaust port in the system," the silver haired Goddess reported, her hands moving around the strings of the controls in front of her, "it's coming from Earth."

"What?" Peorth mused to herself as she sat back in her chair. "Chrono can you track down the source?"

"I'll try," she replied moving the controls.

"I've found it ma'am!"

"What's the source Eres?"

"Goddess Second Class, Limited License Skuld."

***

"This is strange," Belldandy mused to herself as she lifted her delicate hand off Sentaro's forehead. "He isn't sick or anything, I can't explain why he fainted."

"Well I guess he should just rest for a few days to be safe," Keiichi suggested. Belldandy nodded.

Urd narrowed her purple eyes a bit looking at the unconscious boy on the floor. "Skuld?" she asked turning her head to look at her younger sister who was sitting by the unconscious boy's side. Skuld turned her head to regard Urd. "What exactly happened before he fainted?"

Skuld blushed a furious red as she looked down.

"Spit it out Skuld." Urd took a sip of her sake waiting for her younger sister's response.

"Well... We were sitting close together and he kissed me when he started to get a headache," Skuld explained. Urd's eyes widened a bit. "And then after I helped him up he kissed me on the cheek and fainted."

"Skuld, move away from Sentaro," Urd ordered.

"What?" Skuld asked bewildered.

"You heard me Skuld, move away," Urd repeated. Skuld got up slowly, shuffling to the other side of the room.

"Urd?" Belldandy asked, questioning the other Goddess' intentions.

"Something's not right here," Urd explained. The ring of the phone in the hallway cut the silence of the room. "Skuld would you please get that?"

As soon as Skuld left the room Urd continued. "I can't put my finger on it, but if what Skuld said was true, for some reason whenever they get close, something happens."

"That's strange," Belldandy said as she knelt down over the boy. The three heard the dull thud of the phone receiver and saw Skuld appearing at the doorway.

"...I'm being recalled..." Her voice was barely more than a whisper as she fell to her knees. Belldandy ran over catching her little sister in her arms. "Father... is recalling me to Yggdrasil. I have one day..." Her eyes looked into Belldandy's gentle face before they closed, Skuld drifting off to sleep.

"They must know what's going on up there if they've given Skuld a recall notice," Belldandy mused.

The phone rang again.

"I'll get it," Urd said as stood up stretching, the sleeves of her revealing dress falling down to reveal more of her bronze skin. She turned her head throwing her hair back as she knelt down taking her bottle of sake. She walked over to the door, and proceeded to the phone. "Morisato residence, this is Urd."

"Urd? Are you aware of what's going on?" Peorth asked.

"Peorth?!" Urd asked, spitting her drink out.

"Don't act so surprised, you know I am a system admin," Peorth's voice reminded her.

"Father just gave Skuld a recall notice."

"Did He explain why?"

"No."

"Yggdrasil is detecting a drain program coming from Skuld," Peorth informed Urd.

"What? A drain program?! But Skuld can't use those!"

"It seems an unauthorized promise was made. She told someone she would always love him, 'now and forever', however Skuld's powers weren't enough to bind them using the Ultimate Force System. Because the nature of the request was the continuation of a single emotion through the time spectrum, now whenever she is feeling intense feelings for this boy, her powers are manifesting trying to feed the emotion and keep it going."

"...And because of Skuld's inability to control her powers, its inadvertently feeding off the very person she cares most about."

"Vrai ma dame, and that's not it," Peorth explained, "the reason He needed to recall Skuld is that this program is causing a bug exhaust port to form up here."

"So they have to stay apart for Yggdrasil's sake..."

"...Yes."

***

"Because of that, you need to go back to the Heavens." She hesitated for a moment. The Goddess knew that what she was about to say would hurt Skuld terribly, but knew that she had to tell Skuld. "You will also need to erase Sentaro's memory of you. If the problem is resolved Father may allow you to come back to Earth..."

"..."

"Skuld are you all right?" Urd asked. The younger Goddess picked up her head looking at her with watery eyes. A second later she began sobbing shaking her head in denial. Urd's heart broke at the scene, and the Goddess of Love took Skuld into a comforting hug.

"I-it's not f-fair," Skuld sobbed.

"I know, I know," Urd cooed, patting Skuld on the head gently. "But what's done is done. In the time that you spend sniffling here, it can be better spent by returning home and trying to close this bug port."

Skuld nodded as she sniffled in the arms of her eldest sister. She straightened herself slowly, stifling her sobs. Urd patted Skuld on the head and smiled. Belldandy slid the door open quietly. She gave Skuld a nod, and she got up slowly walking to the door. She wrapped her arms around her sister.

"I'll miss you Belldandy."

"I'll miss you too Skuld, and don't ever lose hope," Belldandy gave her sister a kiss on the forehead, "everything will work out in the end if you believe."

Skuld nodded slowly, giving her big sister another squeeze and forced smile. She made her way to Sentaro's room. Sliding the door slowly she peered in. Sentaro was leaning against the wall reading on his bed.

"Hey Skuld, what's up?" he said with a smile putting his book down.

She forced a smile as she walked over taking a seat next to him. He tried to wrap an arm around her but, she moved out of the way. The boy turned his head to look at Skuld. She was looking away, much of her face covered by her hair and the angle of her gaze, but Sentaro could see her eyes were lined with tears. His hand brushed away her tears parting her hair so he could look at her face. "Skuld what's wrong?"

"I-it's just... I have to go home."

"To the heavens?" The girl nodded. "I- I see. When will you be back?"

"I don't know," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I'll be waiting for you," he said quietly as he wrapped his arms around in a loving embrace. "Come back soon, okay?"

She sniffled and fell into his arms. He closed his eyes and held her tightly. [This can't be good, why is she crying? Is she moving away? Skuld... Please don't leave me. I love you. Please... Don't leave me. I want to be with you always.]

Skuld tried to hold back her tears, but to no avail as the moisture from her eyes wet Sentaro's shirt. [I'm so sorry Sentaro; I've always been so reckless... And it's going to cost us so much... I'm so sorry... But I... I want to keep that promise I made to you. I don't want to fail you again... I love you!]

Sentaro winced in pain as a familiar throbbing in his head returned. Skuld immediately moved away and forced her mind off her feelings. It worked, and Sentaro could feel the intensity of the pain subsiding, but the throbbing remained. He felt himself being pushed down, and as he opened one eye he could see Skuld faintly. She stroked his face gently and pulled his covers over him.

"Get some sleep okay?" she told him smiling a little bit.

"Okay," he mumbled closing his eyes. Skuld could feel the hot tears running down her face as she slowly stood up. She would be leaving him forever because she couldn't control her mouth. And he wouldn't remember her... As the years would go by he would never think of her, his life would go on, and she would be left alone. The thoughts ripped her heart apart. She bit her lower lip and clenched her fists and eyes.

It wasn't right.

"Skuld... thank you... for always being there for me," Sentaro whispered as he lost consciousness.

[You're wrong though. You don't know how wrong you are... I'm the reason, the reason we won't be together! It's my fault! It's all my fault!] she screamed inside her head. She swallowed hard and approached the bed, extending her hand onto Sentaro's forehead.

"As things die, the ashes remain, to be swept away in the winds of time. Return to a state of purity, let the memories die and fade," she uttered. The room darkened except for the bright, luminescent shine of Skuld's hand on Sentaro's head. The light faded as the room came back into view. "Goodbye Sentaro... My precious love."

Skuld exited the room quietly. As soon as she made it through the doorway, her knees lost their strength and she collapsed on the ground, her tears dropping onto the floor. Belldandy patted her on the back, giving her sister what she needed most.

A shoulder to cry on.

***

Skuld swallowed as she slowly opened her eyes again. It had worked and Sentaro's bike was back to its scratched up, worn out glory. She ran her hand over the dented surface.

"That's it... All traces of me in his life... Are gone."

She picked herself up and took a deep breath.

"Goodbye... Sentaro."

The Goddess walked towards the river, when a hand on her back stopped her.

"Take this with you Skuld," Urd said offering her a vial. "Drink it after you get back to the Heavens."

"What? Why?" she asked taking the vial.

"It will help you forget all of this, and your pain."

"No."

"What?"

"I, I want to keep my promise. Even if I'm not here, I want to continue loving him. And... I never want to forget him," Skuld explained, "I can't take it."

Urd smiled and took Skuld into her arms. [You're becoming so mature and loving... So much like Belldandy. I have faith in you Skuld. I have faith, that a soul like yours, can beat this thing.]

***

Sentaro sat in his Calculus class slumping in his desk. He let out an exasperated sigh as the aged Japanese man, Mr. Wong, slowly wrote up the problem on the board. The chalk screeched a bit as he purposely drilled in the numbers checking back at the book every few seconds. Sentaro looked around and slowly took out a piece of paper from his book. Folding it meticulously along the lines, it soon acquired the wings of a paper airplane. He glanced to his side and winked, his classmates sniggering understanding Sentaro's intention.

In a minute fifteen paper airplanes were flying through the air and the whole class erupted in noise.

"What?! What's going on?!" Mr. Wong asked as he turned around. Sentaro's paper airplane collided with the man's head, finding a nest within his hair. Growling the teacher's hand came up taking the plane in his hand and crumpling it to a paper ball.

The whole class was laughing too hard to care when Mr. Wong announced there would be a class one hour detention. Sentaro sighed, his laughter dying down to a chuckle. He thought it was worth it.

The dismissal bell rung and he shoved his books into his bag and reclined with a slight grin as Mr. Wong grumbled sitting down in his desk. Sentaro glanced out the window lazily. Fall had come and set down in Nekomi. Although he didn't know it, it had been two months since his memory had been altered. He had settled into a routine, and he never questioned any of it. Not why he lived with Belldandy, Keiichi, and Urd. Not how he came to live with them. Whenever in the chance he did think about it, his mind just wandered off and he didn't think about it again for a couple of days. Just like magic.

Amidst the field of red and orange leaves that littered the green grass he saw a beautiful girl standing like she was waiting for someone. Her long black silky hair parted on the left, and a beautiful yellow ribbon tied her hair back. Lining her face were three markings, which Sentaro assumed were tattoos. She glanced side to side, almost nervously. She was dressed in a very elegant pink and red dress, a mature and feminine cut that didn't reveal much, but fit the girl very well. Sentaro could see the girl was biting her lower lip. he thought,

The blinds shut suddenly snapping Sentaro from his little day dream. He looked up at Mr. Wong, his eyes narrowed dangerously at the boy as he stood there, arms crossed. Sentaro could feel the sweatdrop trickle down his head.

***

Skuld sighed disappointed. Crossing her arms, she walked away from to her bike. She berated herself mentally for coming down to try do such a stupid thing as start all over. She had closed the port yes, but there was no telling what her promise would do to the boy.

And he wouldn't remember her. She'd have to start all over again.

Still it would be better than never seeing him again... She got on and pedaled away.

***

"God math class was so boring today! Mr. Wong is such a joke! I can't believe he made us stay after!" Sentaro complained putting his arms behind his head as he skipped down the steps. He cracked an eye open and looked at his classmate Ritsuko, who was absorbed in a book. "What are you reading?" he asked as they stopped near the bike rack.

"It's this new book, 'Insecurity and Innocence'," Ritsuko explained as Sentaro bent down unhooking the chain from his bike.

"What's it about?" he asked idly as he struggled with the slightly rusted lock, a bit annoyed.

"It's a romance. Ryou, the hero, is totally smitten Kira, one of his very good friends. But she's already dating someone else, and they're pretty happy, so Ryou keeps to himself. So Kira is oblivious to Ryou's love for her. However Ryou's childhood friend, Chihiro, knows that Ryou loves Kira. She's best friends with Kira and, she's loved Ryou deeply since childhood; what she wants more than anything is for him to kiss her and take her away. But Ryou still loves Kira, even though he can't tell her. He thinks of Chihiro as his little sister and the notion that she loves him never crossed his mind."

"It sounds familiar," Sentaro said after a while. "I think I've heard of a book just like this..."

"Can't be, you know I'm a romance novel junkie, and this is the first story like this!" Ritsuko proclaimed. "And here's the kicker- Ryou's slowly dying because of cancer, however he's only told Chihiro. She knows time to running out and she's desperately trying to find a way to tell Ryou how she feels." Ritsuko had a kind of dreamy look in her eyes.

"Now I'm sure I heard this story before somewhere!"

"Someone else might have told you about the book," Ritsuko suggested.

"I think I would remember," Sentaro said, doubting the explanation. He took the lock and chain off his bike and noticed an unusual scratch in the metal. "And I don't remember scratching my bike here..."

"You're bike is nothing BUT scratches," Ritsuko said dryly.

"No, I remember the scratches I get when I fall... I don't remember this one... I think... My gut tells me it's very important though," Sentaro mused.

"Then how would you forget it?" Ritsuko inquired.

Sentaro shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said. Ritsuko nodded and Sentaro was off on his way home.

***

"Skuld! What are you doing here?" Keiichi asked startled, falling backwards from the bucket of water he was filling.

"I... I need to see Sentaro!" Skuld said looking away embarrassed. She stepped out of the portal of the bucket setting down.

"Skuld... I know how you must feel," Belldandy said as she walked up to her younger sister, kneeling down before her to look in her eyes. "But you can't do this."

"I- I just miss him so much..." Belldandy nodded slowly and hugged Skuld.

"Hey guys what's up!" Sentaro asked as he got off his bike. Belldandy whirled around surprised at Sentaro's arrival. Keiichi swallowed and scratched the back of his head looking skyward, expecting some kind of trouble.

Skuld pushed past her sister to come into view. Her brown eyes watered up as she looked at the boy. He stood in a white t-shirt and black shorts, wearing a simple light blue jacket. His hair was still short, giving him a handsome boyish look that melted Skuld's heart.

"Sentaro..." she whispered stretching her hand out.

Sentaro thought. However before he could think of introducing himself, Skuld turn around and ran, leaving her falling teardrops lingering in the air behind her.

"Hey wait up! Who are you? Did I do something wrong?" he asked running to catch up with her.

"No it's nothing! Please leave me be!" Skuld cried out as she ran on.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you!"

"No it was all my fault Sentaro, please just stop! Live your life, go and be happy!"

Sentaro wondered. Suddenly he felt a tinge of pain in his head, scenes he never remembered flashing through his head.

"Ugh," the boy muttered as he fell to the ground clutching his head. A nearby window broke sending shards of the glass into the air by Belldandy and Keiichi.

"His memory, it's returned?!" Belldandy asked startled.

"What does it mean?" Keiichi questioned.

"He's broken a Goddess' spell... And recovered memories sealed away by breaking the power that has locked them away," Belldandy whispered.

"It means trouble," Urd added in as she appeared from within the temple.

"Sentaro!" Skuld called out as she turned around running to the boy.

"Sk-Skuld?" the boy asked as he saw the girl running towards him. He didn't know the meaning of that name or the memories he held in his heart of it. But the name was in his mouth and it filled his head. He got up slowly groaning. He didn't know why... But he had to go to her.

As the distance between them closed, the sky above darkened. The clouds swirled in the sky, the gates of heaven opening. A gust of wind blew the two young lovers off course, sending them to the ground.

Keiichi started towards them, when Belldandy's hand stopped him. She shook her head. "This is their affair now... We can't interfere."

The ray of light that descended from the sky illuminated Skuld and Sentaro and they disappeared within its radiance.