Sands of Time
An Aa! Megamisama Fanfiction story
By: Patrick Nguyen Huu
Disclaimer: If I owned Aa! Megamisama!, I would be rich right now and sitting on the Bahamas. Unfortunately, I don't.
Chapter One: Stranger in the Night
Rain poured down the streets of the city of Nekomi in Chiba District, Japan. The local temple was hidden in the stormy night, illuminated only by the occassional bolt of lightning. No one was outside, except for a few select people; homeless and beggars, rapists and homicidal psychopaths, and heartbroken lovers. Thunder crashed as if to underline their emotional state, the jagged edges of the lightning bolts reflecting the broken minds perfectly. It was not a night were ordinary people remained outside.
Yet these types of people seemed to avoid the temple grounds, almost as if a supernatural force were at work, keeping them away, and keeping the occupants safe. It seemed, at times, that the divine had a hand in protecting the temple and the people who lived there, despite all the strange things that usually seemed to partake inside the once-ruined temple.
Tonight, however, was different. A lone figure, barely a silhouette against the lightning, flowed from shadow to shadow. It seemed to cringe at times, as if tired or in pain, but never left the protection of the darkest shadows. It didn't stop until the silhouette reached the temple's front door. Strangely, the two guard robots that patrolled the grounds took no notice of the figure.
A second-class goddess with a limited magical license shouldn't be afraid of thuderstorms – especially since it was her father producing them. Yet, somehow, Skuld felt very afraid. This was the worst storm she had ever experienced, and it had sent the youngest of the three Norns cowering behind Banpei, her guard-robot.
Jeez, Father must have had a really crappy day at work, Urd thought. At first, it had sounded funny, but she was quickly loosing her sense of humor as the thunderstorrms worsened. At every crack of thunder and every flash of lightning she alternated between staring at the roof and staring at the phone, hoping futilely that it would ring with a friendly caller.
The only two occupants of the house that didn't seem struck by fear or awe were Belldandy and Morisato Keiichi. Though with Belldandy, it wasn't in her nature to fear...nature. She simply radiated too much optimism for that, whereas Keiichi believed in her.
The knock on the front door startled Skuld so much she dropped her teacup. She was behind Banpei even before it had hit the ground. Her eyes darted from Belldandy to Urd and back. Out of reflex, her hand went to her cloak and came back out with a Skuld Bomb. As thunder cracked again, she fidgeted, nearly dropping the explosive device.
"I'll go get it." Belldandy smiled as she rose. "I'm coming with you," Urd announced, lightning surreptiously crackling around her right hand. Keiichi caught a glance from Belldandy and nodded slightly, then scooted over to the youngest of them and laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's probably nothing – just someone asking for directions or something." He knew it sounded lame, but it was the best he could think of. He was worried as well, but he was confident that the two goddesses could handle who- or whatever was at the door. He turned to tell Belldandy to be careful, but she and Urd were already gone.
They say thunder and lightning are the wrath of the gods. If they exist, and that sayind is indeed true, then this was a storm worthy of Kami-sama's personal attention. In Roman mythology, this would be Jupiter tossing his lightning bolts while his brother Poseidon stirred up the oceans and lakes. In Chinese mythology, the Dragon Kings were marshalling their forces, beating their wardrums to the beat of the thunder, firing the lightning at the enemy.
In Norse mythology, Kami-sama and Thor were putting together an orchestra of warhammers, lances, and other arms. The rain was pouring so heavily that roofs creaked in protest inder the constant onslaught of water, and fireworks of lightning began to light the sky, turning the deep night into broad daylight for a mere moment before dipping the world into darkness once more.
Deafening thunder folowed the lightning, drowning out any other sounds, seeming like the sounds of battle occuring in Heaven.
The seconds since Belldandy and Urd had left stretched into minutes. Keiichi caught himself glancing at his watch every few seconds. He tried to calm himself down. Belldandy and Urd can handle themselves. They are goddesses, for heaven's sake! It wasn't even that late at night – barely nine in the evening. Yet the storm had been going on for more than four hours now, and it hadn't lessened in violence. If possible, it had gotten worse. Keiichi tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that was rising inside him.
A bolt of lightning crashed down from above, enabling Urd and Belldandy to see the shadow of a person at the door. Urd stopped Belldandy an arm's length from the door and called out, "Who is it?" As if to punctuate her words – and the underlying threat in her tone – thunder crashed.
And, for a single moment, everything was quiet, except for the constant drumming of the rain. Then, a male voice replied from the outside. A tired, worn out voice. "Sorry, I'm a foreigner and just arrived in Japan. I'm looking for shelter from the storm," the reply came in perfect Japanese.
Belldandy immediately wanted to open the doory, but Urd held her back again. "What's your name?" she called out again. Her younger sister gripped Urd's arm. "Urd, what do you want to accomplish by this? This person is probably freezing to death outside! I mean, he can surely answer you question when he's rested – and we both are sure it's not a demon."
Urd shook her head. "I don't know...I have a bad feeling about this. Must be getting paranoid." She opened the door and stepped back to allow the stranger entrance. The man who stood in the doorway was a little taller than Urd, his lean figure covered with a dripping brown trench coat. His face was shrouded in the shadows cast by the coat's hood.
"Thank you for letting me in," the man whispered as he weakly leaned against the doorframe, water still dripping from the hem of his coat as he heaved for breath. Then he collapsed.
Belldandy rushed towards him while Urd locked the door first. "Name's Tom...Tom 'Tavin..." he managed to whisper before falling into the blissful darkness of unconsciousness. Urd stood at the door, shocked. "Is he...?" Her earlier sense of dread rose again.
"No." Belldandy looked up from where she ws crouching next to the stranger's prone form. "He's just asleep. The poor man must be really exhausted." Keiichi and Skuld picked that moment to walk into the room. While Skuld cast suspicious glances at the prone figure on the floor, Keiichi looked at the other two goddesses.
"What happened?" He asked.
"And who is he?" Skuld added.
"Now, let's get him to a proper place to rest first," Belldandy declared and cast a quick restoration spell, then she and Keiichi carried the man off to the guest room while Urd and Skuld followed. Inside the room, Urd unrolled a futon as Belldandy and Keiichi laid the stranger down. Keiichi and Skuld glanced at Urd and Belldandy. "Well?"
"We don't know. He knocked, said he was looking for shelter from the storm. We let him in, and he just collapsed," Urd recounted. Keiichi looked thoughtful. "He spoke very good Japanese, too," Belldandy added. Keiichi nodded and yawned. "I'm going to bed. Good night."
Belldandy smiled at him. "I'll be with you in a moment, dear." Skuld cast a scowling glance at him. "Don't you dare try anything, you pervert!" Urd chuckled and watched as Belldandy followed her boyfriend. "I'll turn in, too. No TV reception with this storm going on, anyway. Remind me to tell Keiichi to get cable TV."
Then, for a moment, the room was silent, with the youngest of the three goddesses alone with the sleeping stranger. Then a bolt of lightning cut across the sky, bathing everything in an eerie blue glow, and thinger crackled. "Oneesamaaaaaaa!!" Skuld took off in the direction of Keiichi's and Belldandy's bedroom.