Note: This will most likely be the final story I will post on fanfiction.net. I don't agree with their policies and me and management are not on the same page. The rest of this story will continue to be published to ff.net but further fanfics from me will have to be read on the FFML or my website at www.infinitedeferral.com. In the meantime, Chapter Seven is here, enjoy!
Only Human
An Ah! My Goddess Fanfic
By Roehl Sybing (indef@infinitedeferral.com)
Chapter Seven: Tell Me Lies
"I already found her," said a very stern Belldandy, once her sister walked into the room. Belldandy and their new guest had already been home half an hour before Urd and Skuld materialized back on Earth, and were expecting them at the elder sister's insistence.
"Bell, I can explain--" Urd started to say, wearing a smile and a face she knew how to wear a million times before, whenever she was found out.
"Shut up."
The two of them looked at her in stunned silence, startled at her sudden response. Urd, especially, was unable to adjust, despite expecting it in that very moment.
"W-what did you say?"
Even Belldandy still could not believe the sound of her own voice. "I said...I said...Urd, how could you!?" she cried, failing to regain her composure. She stormed out of the room in a hurry, not wanting to choke up a tear in their presence.
---
Keiichi, from the second they arrived home, did exactly as he was told: sit in front of the television set and stay out of the impending storm. He was still not aware of how greatly he had underestimated the seriousness of it all. He was just happy that the motor club, after making up for lost time, was still on schedule for tests on the new model in the following morning.
"Keiichi!" Belldandy called from outside the room, with the sound of footsteps telling the rest of the tale.
He turned his head towards the doorway, and Belldandy was already in sight, rushing up to him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Belldandy apologized, as if Keiichi required one. Like a small child that had broken something valuable, she collapsed onto him seeking some sort of redemption.
Keiichi held her gently, confused about the matter, "What happened? What's the matter?"
Belldandy looked up, with a few tears in her eyes, "I didn't mean to...I was just...Keiichi, I'm so sorry!"
Her face fell again onto his shirt and she sobbed uncontrollably, never before having said such sharp words at her sister.
"It's alright," Keiichi said by default, "Whatever it is, it's going to be--"
"Please hold me, Keiichi," she pleaded, feeling his grasp on her begin to loosen, "Just hold me..."
He nodded, and supported the weight of her body against his as she searched for breath while in his arms. He looked down at Belldandy, with her eyes closed to keep the rest of the world out. She felt the warmth of Keiichi's body as her cheek pressed against his chest. As she faded away, all she knew was that she was comfortable, relaxed. He made her feel safe.
"If I could just stay like this forever," were her last words before the sounds of anxiety and distress turned to ones of gentle and quiet sleep. Belldandy had slipped into unconsciousness, resting quite comfortably on Keiichi.
---
"Yeah," said Keiichi, nodding his head a number of times during Urd's explanation of events. "So, what's her name, then?"
"W-Well," Urd stuttered, "We don't really have a name for her. She's just the Assistant."
He sat back, looking confused, "Right. The Assistant...to who?"
Urd put down her morning tea and stared blankly across the table at Keiichi. She took her hand and pointed straight up.
"Ohhhhhhh."
"She only ever pops her head out to investigate when things go badly. That's why we had to leave; she wanted to question us before making any decisions about coming down."
"And it appears I was right," said a confident voice coming from the direction of the doorway. Sliding the door shut behind her, the Assistant sat down and helped herself to some tea.
"What about?"
"It's quite clear, isn't it?" the Assistant asked after taking a sip, "You saw her last night. We all did. Goddess First Class Belldandy is obviously not capable of handling what is happening to her."
"That's not true!" Keiichi quickly retorted, "Who are you to say anything about Belldandy?"
Almost as immediately, the Assistant snapped back, "I have the authority, Keiichi. I have every right, and it is my firm recommendation that Belldandy is a mess! Wild and uncontrolled emotional expressions, taxing physical burdens, flaws in her decision making...and the absence of her powers, just to name a few! She is clearly not fit to discharge her duties. You are very lucky I don't decide right now to nullify your contract!"
"Hey, you can't do that! Urd, tell her that she can't do that!" he pleaded. But the very slight expression of confirmation found in Urd nodding her head only confirmed that the Assistant was quite capable.
"Belldandy must be up by now," the Assistant said before stepping out, "Why don't I go check up on her while Urd explains it all to you?"
A blanket of silence fell over the room for a moment once their guest had exited the room. Both waited the other to speak.
Finally, Keiichi did, "What did she mean?"
Urd looked up. "Long ago, the Assistant renounced her license, her name and her status as a goddess so that she could work directly for the Almighty. In exchange for giving up her privileges, she was given great power and authority to watch over the rest of us. She is responsible for monitoring Helpers, in search of any abuse or negligence while on the job. Only under the most extreme circumstances is she called upon, but when she is, the Assistant has complete jurisdiction in the field, short of rendering final judgment. She has to make an official recommendation to the Almighty about what to do with Belldandy, but until then, the Assistant is free to execute any temporary remedies as she sees fit. She's very...VERY good at it," she said with a trace of contempt towards the end.
"Urd, you have to help me."
"Keiichi, it's more complicated than you think. Belldandy's accident really created some shockwaves in the Heavens, you don't know what--look, NO ONE opposes the Assistant! And I'm not sure that I want to, either. The changes in Belldandy, it's just--"
Keiichi looked down at her with disbelief, "I would think that you, of all people, should be happy for Belldandy, for all that's happened!"
Unsteadily, Urd shook her head, "I may say things from time to time...but she's my sister! I don't expect anything more than what she is, and neither should you!"
"Fine, deal with it how you want, but I'll stand by Belldandy if you don't mind!"
With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving an uncharacteristically distraught Urd behind to sort out her feelings on the matter. Both were pretty much in their own minds, unconcerned at the moment with how each other felt, though it was clear that they were both narrowly focused on Belldandy's welfare.
---
"C'mon, Belldandy!" the Assistant said, banging on the door to the washroom, "Get out here this instant!"
Keiichi walked by to notice her persist with the door. From outside the washroom, he could hear Belldandy. She was moaning and muttering to herself, obviously growing frustrated.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Replied the Assistant, "Look, you try and deal with her then, alright?"
She stepped aside and let Keiichi attempt to draw Belldandy out of the room. Belldandy continued to mutter indistinctly in between staggered moans. Keiichi knocked on the door.
"I said go away!" she cried.
"Belldandy?" he said.
A pause, then a gasp before Belldandy said, "Keiichi?"
"Yeah. I made some tea, but it's getting cold, so if you want--"
"Please, I just need to be alone."
"Why? What's wrong, Belldandy? You can tell me."
"I'd rather not. Please, I'll be alright, just give me some time."
"Well," Keiichi said while looking at the Assistant, "We're all rather concerned about you out here. Perhaps if I gave a hand--"
"No! I can take care of it myself!" Belldandy refused sharply. Before Keiichi could respond in kind, what was heard afterwards was the sound of moaning from within the washroom once again, as if she were in pain.
"This is nuts!" Keiichi said to himself. Worried about what might be happening to her, he made the decision of forcing the door open.
"Ack!" sounded a startled Belldandy when Keiichi, the Assistant, and now Skuld, who was passing through, got a good look into the room.
Skuld cried as loud as she could at the sight before the three of them. "What happened, Sister?" she asked hysterically.
Keiichi stared blankly with his jaw half-dropped. The Assistant, on the other hand, was doing her best to contain her amusement, even as her lips quivered, ready to burst into laughter.
"I just can't get it to agree with me this morning!" Belldandy said, pointing at her hair with one hand and holding a brush with the other. What was normally long, flowing strands that beautifully complemented her appearance was, for the moment, a tangled mess that dispersed into all directions. "I begged you not to come in here!" she demanded before slamming the door shut again.
Outside the room, the three of them stood frozen in time, as the occupant inside resumed struggling with her hair and the task of straightening it out. Her moans, obviously from the resistance of the tangles that refused to give, continued to be heard through the door. One simply walked away, shrugging his shoulders. Another laughed, finally unable to hold it all in. A third pleaded with the other two, "That's not funny! Hey! Where are you going? Why are you laughing?"
---
He had not seen her since, but after a while, it seemed to Keiichi that Belldandy had eventually settled down, now that he heard both her and the Assistant talking to each other. For certain, there was a sense of urgency in the Assistant's voice, with Belldandy trying to alleviate her concerns. Their voices were still indistinct as he turned the corner in the hallway, but he was beginning to just barely grasp the gravity of the situation.
"Internal affairs," he thought to himself.
He tried to conceive the idea that he just might lose Belldandy to the Heavens. After all, perhaps his wish in the very beginning was the most unusual of all, and that goddesses living on Earth seemed to be a first ever since. Perhaps this was the best opportunity to have Belldandy recalled from a binding contract, and no one dared to let that chance slip away.
Or perhaps he was being paranoid. In any case, he was afraid of even the possibility that it might happen. Without a doubt, the Morisato residence was a very big place for just one person to occupy by himself.
Lest he be accused of spying, an innocuous pop of the head inside the room where the two of them argued couldn't hurt, Keiichi thought, and it wasn't like it was a confidential meeting. Not that it was likely he would be able to easily understand, either. From the corridor leading up to the room, their voices could finally be made out.
"This is not about this contract and you understand that!"
"But you're trying to have it revoked, and I won't stand for it!"
"Well, if you want to keep it in effect, you know what you have to do."
"I cannot! This is important to me as well."
"It's certainly not more important than--"
As they argued, Keiichi was certain that there was not really a golden moment to intervene. But he had not seen Belldandy all day, save for the incident earlier that morning. Besides, there wasn't any real harm in peeking in--
"WHAT are you doing?" said the Assistant the second Keiichi caught her eye, "Explain yourself!"
"W-w-w-well," Keiichi replied, taken aback and consigned to stuttering as a response to such a commanding voice, "I-I-I just...you-you see, I...th-th-there's...uhhhh..."
"Please, don't be upset, it's only Keiichi," said Belldandy, standing up for him from across the room.
"Yes, I--Belldandy!" Keiichi exclaimed, turning his head. Another novel sight sat before him.
"Do you like it?" Belldandy asked, clearly blushing.
Keiichi stood and gazed with a look of astonishment. Her light-tinted hair, once delicately long, was now cut short to just above shoulders' length. Whatever the compulsion, a new look accompanied a relatively new Belldandy.
"I thought I'd try something different," she said, her voice now dropping, "You don't like it?"
"Yes, I do!" he replied at once, "It's-it's...wow!"
"Thank you," Belldandy said, giggling, "I knew you would be happy."
"Ahem!" the Assistant said, once finding herself all of a sudden out of the conversation, "This ought to be proof enough for you, Keiichi. What other impulses does Belldandy have for us next?"
Keiichi replied innocently, "But I like it."
The Assistant nearly fell sideways in reaction. It bothered her greatly that everyone she knew was, at least, a little uncomfortable by Belldandy's overall change, but that the person most affected by it, in the end, didn't mind at all. She picked herself up, saying, "Keiichi, may I have a word with you? Belldandy, we're done for now. Please leave."
"B-But," she insisted, "This concerns me as well, I--"
"Belldandy!" snapped the Assistant. Never before was her authority challenged by a fellow colleague, and though she half-expected it, the first time was quite unsettling to her. So unsettling that Belldandy sensed it in her expression, and as a result left the room, but not without trading a warm smile with Keiichi on the way out.
Keiichi was directed to the space across the room where Belldandy had sat. As he got comfortable, the Assistant shot a look of scorn at him. He was supposedly the first person that should be displeased, and she did not understand why it was not so.
"Keiichi," she started to explain, "Perhaps if I could just wrap your mind around the repercussions that could take place if we allowed ourselves to let Belldandy refuse to undergo the reversal process. It's such a delicate time right now and you probably don't understand. Well, I'm sure you don't understand. A mere human just couldn't. Unfortunately, that's the way it--"
"Try me," replied Keiichi softly.
"What?"
"Explain it to me. Ever since I met Belldandy, the things I've seen in this place, all the wonders, I--just try me."
The Assistant paused for a moment to consider, and then nodded her head. She stood up and paced, as if to make a presentation. "Yggdrasil," she explained, "The system is responsible for a great many things, most of which pales to the upkeep of the Earth. The world cannot survive without Yggdrasil, you understand that, right?"
Keiichi nodded.
"Okay. This one incident, it severed Belldandy from the system. For a goddess, being stripped of one's powers, it's akin to a punishment. No one had ever considered otherwise. A goddess rendered powerless, it's just too terrible for some to even contemplate. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Belldandy found something good in it, huh?"
"That's her nature."
"That, it is. Ever since she became human, a lot of us in the Heavens have been monitoring her. Why shouldn't we? She's one of the finest goddesses ever to grace the system. When it became clear to us three days ago that Belldandy actually wanted to remain as she was, even when she had the opportunity to return to normal, it was a shock. It was a huge shock, Keiichi. The goddesses have been talking about it ever since. Belldandy was not only at peace with remaining human. She was happy! And then they started to wonder if humanity was preferable to what they had. Even I...I--no, not me. That's just not me."
"But what does it mean?" Keiichi asked.
The Assistant looked at him, approaching him and almost pleading with him using only the look on her face, then saying, "Keiichi, Belldandy's severance...we don't know how to duplicate it yet. But now that there's this...envy among us in the Heavens, one of us will want to try. The tension over the last few days is only beginning to grow. What if it affects how the system is run? What does that mean for this world? Keiichi, I have to ask, and you have to ask yourself. Do you really want to be responsible for this magnitude of trouble?"
Keiichi snapped, "That's unfair."
"It's completely unfair, Keiichi!" the Assistant cried, "But what Belldandy has done to all of us can't be ignored. The Almighty...you see, the Almighty grants each and every one of us a form that best suits us, that works to the best of our abilities. Some of us become human, others become gods or goddesses, even demons. It is a delicate balance, one that must never change. We must not ever change what we are!"
The words echoed in his ears and his mind tried to analyze it all. He came up with only one question, "What you just said, they're two different arguments, aren't they?"
The Assistant was caught speechless. She gritted her teeth, stood back and took a deep breath. When she once sought for understanding and sympathy, she now demanded consensus. "Keiichi, I will do everything I can to keep from resorting to any arbitrary judgment. But I need you to help me. You MUST convince Belldandy that she is making a mistake. It is crucial that you persuade her to undergo the reversal."
He considered the weight of the consequences and that what he did might have a huge effect on those consequences. Was the threat real, or was it simply all a bluff? For sure, it had to be somewhere in between, so in any case, perhaps something needed to be done. His heart, though, was telling him otherwise, that it was best not to risk being conned into changing something that wasn't bad, but in fact good. All that mattered to Keiichi is that Belldandy was happy.
"All that matters to me is that Belldandy is happy," he said.
She bit her lip. Apparently, Keiichi would not budge. But patience in her job was a requirement, and patience she needed to exercise right now. "Very well," she replied, "Why don't I give you some time to think it over, to think about what we're talking about here? I'll be here for a while, so don't expect me to take my leave. Just think it over, alright?"
With those words, the Assistant left Keiichi in the room, leaving the door open to let the stillness of the moment air itself out into the corridor. After a minute or two in which Keiichi remained firmly where he sat, Belldandy returned to check on him.
"Keiichi?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied, looking up.
"You seem unsure about something," she replied perceptively.
Keiichi laughed a little, saying, "Yes. We just finished our little talk."
"What did she say to you?" Belldandy asked, sitting down next to him, "Wait, don't tell me. No, I want you to tell me. On second thought, maybe--"
"Don't worry, Belldandy. If you don't want to know..."
"But, I want to know! Oh, it's just killing me! Yes, I want to know!"
"Okay, it's that--"
"Wait a minute," she interrupted again.
"What!" Keiichi cried, "Maybe we should--"
"Lie to me, Keiichi," Belldandy requested, "Lie to me. Tell me that everything's alright. I know it's wrong, but I think I can do with some of that right now."
Keiichi, eager to keep Belldandy's anxiety at a minimum, was happy to oblige, "Alright...the Assistant told me that it was all firmly in my hands. Whatever we want, she'll abide by it."
Belldandy smiled and nodded cheerfully and graciously. Then her face fell ever so slightly, and she leaned against him, saying, "I don't want to go back. At least not yet. You understand that, do you?"
"Of course I do!"
"Tell me, then...that you love me enough to support me no matter what."
"Well," Keiichi said, "I don't need to lie to say anything of the sort."
She closed her eyes with contentment, "That's good."
TO BE CONTINUED...
Only Human
An Ah! My Goddess Fanfic
By Roehl Sybing (indef@infinitedeferral.com)
Chapter Seven: Tell Me Lies
"I already found her," said a very stern Belldandy, once her sister walked into the room. Belldandy and their new guest had already been home half an hour before Urd and Skuld materialized back on Earth, and were expecting them at the elder sister's insistence.
"Bell, I can explain--" Urd started to say, wearing a smile and a face she knew how to wear a million times before, whenever she was found out.
"Shut up."
The two of them looked at her in stunned silence, startled at her sudden response. Urd, especially, was unable to adjust, despite expecting it in that very moment.
"W-what did you say?"
Even Belldandy still could not believe the sound of her own voice. "I said...I said...Urd, how could you!?" she cried, failing to regain her composure. She stormed out of the room in a hurry, not wanting to choke up a tear in their presence.
---
Keiichi, from the second they arrived home, did exactly as he was told: sit in front of the television set and stay out of the impending storm. He was still not aware of how greatly he had underestimated the seriousness of it all. He was just happy that the motor club, after making up for lost time, was still on schedule for tests on the new model in the following morning.
"Keiichi!" Belldandy called from outside the room, with the sound of footsteps telling the rest of the tale.
He turned his head towards the doorway, and Belldandy was already in sight, rushing up to him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Belldandy apologized, as if Keiichi required one. Like a small child that had broken something valuable, she collapsed onto him seeking some sort of redemption.
Keiichi held her gently, confused about the matter, "What happened? What's the matter?"
Belldandy looked up, with a few tears in her eyes, "I didn't mean to...I was just...Keiichi, I'm so sorry!"
Her face fell again onto his shirt and she sobbed uncontrollably, never before having said such sharp words at her sister.
"It's alright," Keiichi said by default, "Whatever it is, it's going to be--"
"Please hold me, Keiichi," she pleaded, feeling his grasp on her begin to loosen, "Just hold me..."
He nodded, and supported the weight of her body against his as she searched for breath while in his arms. He looked down at Belldandy, with her eyes closed to keep the rest of the world out. She felt the warmth of Keiichi's body as her cheek pressed against his chest. As she faded away, all she knew was that she was comfortable, relaxed. He made her feel safe.
"If I could just stay like this forever," were her last words before the sounds of anxiety and distress turned to ones of gentle and quiet sleep. Belldandy had slipped into unconsciousness, resting quite comfortably on Keiichi.
---
"Yeah," said Keiichi, nodding his head a number of times during Urd's explanation of events. "So, what's her name, then?"
"W-Well," Urd stuttered, "We don't really have a name for her. She's just the Assistant."
He sat back, looking confused, "Right. The Assistant...to who?"
Urd put down her morning tea and stared blankly across the table at Keiichi. She took her hand and pointed straight up.
"Ohhhhhhh."
"She only ever pops her head out to investigate when things go badly. That's why we had to leave; she wanted to question us before making any decisions about coming down."
"And it appears I was right," said a confident voice coming from the direction of the doorway. Sliding the door shut behind her, the Assistant sat down and helped herself to some tea.
"What about?"
"It's quite clear, isn't it?" the Assistant asked after taking a sip, "You saw her last night. We all did. Goddess First Class Belldandy is obviously not capable of handling what is happening to her."
"That's not true!" Keiichi quickly retorted, "Who are you to say anything about Belldandy?"
Almost as immediately, the Assistant snapped back, "I have the authority, Keiichi. I have every right, and it is my firm recommendation that Belldandy is a mess! Wild and uncontrolled emotional expressions, taxing physical burdens, flaws in her decision making...and the absence of her powers, just to name a few! She is clearly not fit to discharge her duties. You are very lucky I don't decide right now to nullify your contract!"
"Hey, you can't do that! Urd, tell her that she can't do that!" he pleaded. But the very slight expression of confirmation found in Urd nodding her head only confirmed that the Assistant was quite capable.
"Belldandy must be up by now," the Assistant said before stepping out, "Why don't I go check up on her while Urd explains it all to you?"
A blanket of silence fell over the room for a moment once their guest had exited the room. Both waited the other to speak.
Finally, Keiichi did, "What did she mean?"
Urd looked up. "Long ago, the Assistant renounced her license, her name and her status as a goddess so that she could work directly for the Almighty. In exchange for giving up her privileges, she was given great power and authority to watch over the rest of us. She is responsible for monitoring Helpers, in search of any abuse or negligence while on the job. Only under the most extreme circumstances is she called upon, but when she is, the Assistant has complete jurisdiction in the field, short of rendering final judgment. She has to make an official recommendation to the Almighty about what to do with Belldandy, but until then, the Assistant is free to execute any temporary remedies as she sees fit. She's very...VERY good at it," she said with a trace of contempt towards the end.
"Urd, you have to help me."
"Keiichi, it's more complicated than you think. Belldandy's accident really created some shockwaves in the Heavens, you don't know what--look, NO ONE opposes the Assistant! And I'm not sure that I want to, either. The changes in Belldandy, it's just--"
Keiichi looked down at her with disbelief, "I would think that you, of all people, should be happy for Belldandy, for all that's happened!"
Unsteadily, Urd shook her head, "I may say things from time to time...but she's my sister! I don't expect anything more than what she is, and neither should you!"
"Fine, deal with it how you want, but I'll stand by Belldandy if you don't mind!"
With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving an uncharacteristically distraught Urd behind to sort out her feelings on the matter. Both were pretty much in their own minds, unconcerned at the moment with how each other felt, though it was clear that they were both narrowly focused on Belldandy's welfare.
---
"C'mon, Belldandy!" the Assistant said, banging on the door to the washroom, "Get out here this instant!"
Keiichi walked by to notice her persist with the door. From outside the washroom, he could hear Belldandy. She was moaning and muttering to herself, obviously growing frustrated.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Replied the Assistant, "Look, you try and deal with her then, alright?"
She stepped aside and let Keiichi attempt to draw Belldandy out of the room. Belldandy continued to mutter indistinctly in between staggered moans. Keiichi knocked on the door.
"I said go away!" she cried.
"Belldandy?" he said.
A pause, then a gasp before Belldandy said, "Keiichi?"
"Yeah. I made some tea, but it's getting cold, so if you want--"
"Please, I just need to be alone."
"Why? What's wrong, Belldandy? You can tell me."
"I'd rather not. Please, I'll be alright, just give me some time."
"Well," Keiichi said while looking at the Assistant, "We're all rather concerned about you out here. Perhaps if I gave a hand--"
"No! I can take care of it myself!" Belldandy refused sharply. Before Keiichi could respond in kind, what was heard afterwards was the sound of moaning from within the washroom once again, as if she were in pain.
"This is nuts!" Keiichi said to himself. Worried about what might be happening to her, he made the decision of forcing the door open.
"Ack!" sounded a startled Belldandy when Keiichi, the Assistant, and now Skuld, who was passing through, got a good look into the room.
Skuld cried as loud as she could at the sight before the three of them. "What happened, Sister?" she asked hysterically.
Keiichi stared blankly with his jaw half-dropped. The Assistant, on the other hand, was doing her best to contain her amusement, even as her lips quivered, ready to burst into laughter.
"I just can't get it to agree with me this morning!" Belldandy said, pointing at her hair with one hand and holding a brush with the other. What was normally long, flowing strands that beautifully complemented her appearance was, for the moment, a tangled mess that dispersed into all directions. "I begged you not to come in here!" she demanded before slamming the door shut again.
Outside the room, the three of them stood frozen in time, as the occupant inside resumed struggling with her hair and the task of straightening it out. Her moans, obviously from the resistance of the tangles that refused to give, continued to be heard through the door. One simply walked away, shrugging his shoulders. Another laughed, finally unable to hold it all in. A third pleaded with the other two, "That's not funny! Hey! Where are you going? Why are you laughing?"
---
He had not seen her since, but after a while, it seemed to Keiichi that Belldandy had eventually settled down, now that he heard both her and the Assistant talking to each other. For certain, there was a sense of urgency in the Assistant's voice, with Belldandy trying to alleviate her concerns. Their voices were still indistinct as he turned the corner in the hallway, but he was beginning to just barely grasp the gravity of the situation.
"Internal affairs," he thought to himself.
He tried to conceive the idea that he just might lose Belldandy to the Heavens. After all, perhaps his wish in the very beginning was the most unusual of all, and that goddesses living on Earth seemed to be a first ever since. Perhaps this was the best opportunity to have Belldandy recalled from a binding contract, and no one dared to let that chance slip away.
Or perhaps he was being paranoid. In any case, he was afraid of even the possibility that it might happen. Without a doubt, the Morisato residence was a very big place for just one person to occupy by himself.
Lest he be accused of spying, an innocuous pop of the head inside the room where the two of them argued couldn't hurt, Keiichi thought, and it wasn't like it was a confidential meeting. Not that it was likely he would be able to easily understand, either. From the corridor leading up to the room, their voices could finally be made out.
"This is not about this contract and you understand that!"
"But you're trying to have it revoked, and I won't stand for it!"
"Well, if you want to keep it in effect, you know what you have to do."
"I cannot! This is important to me as well."
"It's certainly not more important than--"
As they argued, Keiichi was certain that there was not really a golden moment to intervene. But he had not seen Belldandy all day, save for the incident earlier that morning. Besides, there wasn't any real harm in peeking in--
"WHAT are you doing?" said the Assistant the second Keiichi caught her eye, "Explain yourself!"
"W-w-w-well," Keiichi replied, taken aback and consigned to stuttering as a response to such a commanding voice, "I-I-I just...you-you see, I...th-th-there's...uhhhh..."
"Please, don't be upset, it's only Keiichi," said Belldandy, standing up for him from across the room.
"Yes, I--Belldandy!" Keiichi exclaimed, turning his head. Another novel sight sat before him.
"Do you like it?" Belldandy asked, clearly blushing.
Keiichi stood and gazed with a look of astonishment. Her light-tinted hair, once delicately long, was now cut short to just above shoulders' length. Whatever the compulsion, a new look accompanied a relatively new Belldandy.
"I thought I'd try something different," she said, her voice now dropping, "You don't like it?"
"Yes, I do!" he replied at once, "It's-it's...wow!"
"Thank you," Belldandy said, giggling, "I knew you would be happy."
"Ahem!" the Assistant said, once finding herself all of a sudden out of the conversation, "This ought to be proof enough for you, Keiichi. What other impulses does Belldandy have for us next?"
Keiichi replied innocently, "But I like it."
The Assistant nearly fell sideways in reaction. It bothered her greatly that everyone she knew was, at least, a little uncomfortable by Belldandy's overall change, but that the person most affected by it, in the end, didn't mind at all. She picked herself up, saying, "Keiichi, may I have a word with you? Belldandy, we're done for now. Please leave."
"B-But," she insisted, "This concerns me as well, I--"
"Belldandy!" snapped the Assistant. Never before was her authority challenged by a fellow colleague, and though she half-expected it, the first time was quite unsettling to her. So unsettling that Belldandy sensed it in her expression, and as a result left the room, but not without trading a warm smile with Keiichi on the way out.
Keiichi was directed to the space across the room where Belldandy had sat. As he got comfortable, the Assistant shot a look of scorn at him. He was supposedly the first person that should be displeased, and she did not understand why it was not so.
"Keiichi," she started to explain, "Perhaps if I could just wrap your mind around the repercussions that could take place if we allowed ourselves to let Belldandy refuse to undergo the reversal process. It's such a delicate time right now and you probably don't understand. Well, I'm sure you don't understand. A mere human just couldn't. Unfortunately, that's the way it--"
"Try me," replied Keiichi softly.
"What?"
"Explain it to me. Ever since I met Belldandy, the things I've seen in this place, all the wonders, I--just try me."
The Assistant paused for a moment to consider, and then nodded her head. She stood up and paced, as if to make a presentation. "Yggdrasil," she explained, "The system is responsible for a great many things, most of which pales to the upkeep of the Earth. The world cannot survive without Yggdrasil, you understand that, right?"
Keiichi nodded.
"Okay. This one incident, it severed Belldandy from the system. For a goddess, being stripped of one's powers, it's akin to a punishment. No one had ever considered otherwise. A goddess rendered powerless, it's just too terrible for some to even contemplate. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Belldandy found something good in it, huh?"
"That's her nature."
"That, it is. Ever since she became human, a lot of us in the Heavens have been monitoring her. Why shouldn't we? She's one of the finest goddesses ever to grace the system. When it became clear to us three days ago that Belldandy actually wanted to remain as she was, even when she had the opportunity to return to normal, it was a shock. It was a huge shock, Keiichi. The goddesses have been talking about it ever since. Belldandy was not only at peace with remaining human. She was happy! And then they started to wonder if humanity was preferable to what they had. Even I...I--no, not me. That's just not me."
"But what does it mean?" Keiichi asked.
The Assistant looked at him, approaching him and almost pleading with him using only the look on her face, then saying, "Keiichi, Belldandy's severance...we don't know how to duplicate it yet. But now that there's this...envy among us in the Heavens, one of us will want to try. The tension over the last few days is only beginning to grow. What if it affects how the system is run? What does that mean for this world? Keiichi, I have to ask, and you have to ask yourself. Do you really want to be responsible for this magnitude of trouble?"
Keiichi snapped, "That's unfair."
"It's completely unfair, Keiichi!" the Assistant cried, "But what Belldandy has done to all of us can't be ignored. The Almighty...you see, the Almighty grants each and every one of us a form that best suits us, that works to the best of our abilities. Some of us become human, others become gods or goddesses, even demons. It is a delicate balance, one that must never change. We must not ever change what we are!"
The words echoed in his ears and his mind tried to analyze it all. He came up with only one question, "What you just said, they're two different arguments, aren't they?"
The Assistant was caught speechless. She gritted her teeth, stood back and took a deep breath. When she once sought for understanding and sympathy, she now demanded consensus. "Keiichi, I will do everything I can to keep from resorting to any arbitrary judgment. But I need you to help me. You MUST convince Belldandy that she is making a mistake. It is crucial that you persuade her to undergo the reversal."
He considered the weight of the consequences and that what he did might have a huge effect on those consequences. Was the threat real, or was it simply all a bluff? For sure, it had to be somewhere in between, so in any case, perhaps something needed to be done. His heart, though, was telling him otherwise, that it was best not to risk being conned into changing something that wasn't bad, but in fact good. All that mattered to Keiichi is that Belldandy was happy.
"All that matters to me is that Belldandy is happy," he said.
She bit her lip. Apparently, Keiichi would not budge. But patience in her job was a requirement, and patience she needed to exercise right now. "Very well," she replied, "Why don't I give you some time to think it over, to think about what we're talking about here? I'll be here for a while, so don't expect me to take my leave. Just think it over, alright?"
With those words, the Assistant left Keiichi in the room, leaving the door open to let the stillness of the moment air itself out into the corridor. After a minute or two in which Keiichi remained firmly where he sat, Belldandy returned to check on him.
"Keiichi?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied, looking up.
"You seem unsure about something," she replied perceptively.
Keiichi laughed a little, saying, "Yes. We just finished our little talk."
"What did she say to you?" Belldandy asked, sitting down next to him, "Wait, don't tell me. No, I want you to tell me. On second thought, maybe--"
"Don't worry, Belldandy. If you don't want to know..."
"But, I want to know! Oh, it's just killing me! Yes, I want to know!"
"Okay, it's that--"
"Wait a minute," she interrupted again.
"What!" Keiichi cried, "Maybe we should--"
"Lie to me, Keiichi," Belldandy requested, "Lie to me. Tell me that everything's alright. I know it's wrong, but I think I can do with some of that right now."
Keiichi, eager to keep Belldandy's anxiety at a minimum, was happy to oblige, "Alright...the Assistant told me that it was all firmly in my hands. Whatever we want, she'll abide by it."
Belldandy smiled and nodded cheerfully and graciously. Then her face fell ever so slightly, and she leaned against him, saying, "I don't want to go back. At least not yet. You understand that, do you?"
"Of course I do!"
"Tell me, then...that you love me enough to support me no matter what."
"Well," Keiichi said, "I don't need to lie to say anything of the sort."
She closed her eyes with contentment, "That's good."
TO BE CONTINUED...