Chapter Two: Identities

            Dawn was breaking, the soft yellow light a stark contrast to the piercing electrical blue of the lightning the night before. As violent as the night before had been, peace seemed to have settled over the district, radiating from the temple grounds. No one knew that plans of forces even beyond Heaven and Hell had been set into motion.

            Belldandy stirred from where she lay, and smiled, realizing she was snuggled up against Keiichi. She could tell from his deep, even breathing that he was still asleep. For a moment, the goddess took in the situation, bathing in the sunlight streaming in through the window, and enjoying the feeling of laying there. As quietly as she could, she disentangled herself frin gun abd git up to freshen herself up and make breakfast for the now five occupants of the house.

            As she passed by their unknown guest's room, she noticed he was already awake and meditating, although she couldn't quite recognize the style or what he was trying to accomplish, except enjoy the morning.

            Just as she wanted to leave, he opened his eyes and stood up from where he had been sitting cross-legged on the futon. "Ohayo gozaimasu," he greeted her. "Good morning."

            "Good morning. I hope you rested well?"

            The stranger nodded. "Yes. Thank you for allowing me into your house." Now that he was actually awake and that there was light, Belldandy took a moment to study him. He seemed quite youthful, in his early thirties, maybe. His lean figure, now not shrouded by the cloak anymore, matched his youthful appereance. Short brown hair seemed to stand off wildly  and almost covered one of his eyes. But there was something about his eyes that bothered her. There was something about those inquisitive, sparkling eyes that unsettled her, something that didn't quite fit. She shook it off.

            "My name is Tom Tavin. I'm a guest lecturer at the Nekomi Institue of Technology," he shifted on his feet, slightly uncomfortable. "I arrived from Europe yesterday when the storm broke loose. Someone was supposed to pick me up, but they never showed up."

            Belldandy smiled. "Oh, you're a teacher at Keiichi-san's school!"

            The stranger – Tom – arched an eyebrow. "Who is Keiichi-san?"

            "That's me." Keiichi stood in the doorway, looking sleepy, but content. "Hi, I'm Morisato Keiichi. You had us worried for quite a while, yesterday. I hope you recovered well."

            Tom nodded. "Yes, thank you very much." He glanced from one to the other, and noticed a spark going off between them. "Oh, sorry!" Belldandy's exclamation pulled him back into reality. "I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Belldandy."

            "Just Belldandy?" She could see Tom look at her curiously. "Like the modern way of spelling the Verthandi from Norse mythology?" "Yes," Belldandy turned back to Keiichi for a moment. "I'll have breakfast ready in a moment, dear."

            From where he stood, Keiichi gave Tom a wave and said, "I'll see you at breakfast, then." He yawned and left.

            Belldandy turned towards their guest and bowed slightly. "Would you join us for breakfast?" He replied with a bow, as well. "I'd be honored."

            Breakfast at the Morisato household was usually a quiet matter, with Urd suffering from one of her infamous hangovers, Skuld downing her morning ration of ice cream at an impossible pace, and Belldandy and Keiichi reluctant to break one of the few quiet moments during the day.

            This time was different. Uncharacteristically for her, Urd was lacking a hangover, and Skuld was not slurping down her ice cream faster than the eye could follow. The two were sitting at the table, chattering about their guest when he, Keiichi and Belldandy stepped into the kitchen.

            As soon as the five were seated for breakfast, Skuld and Urd were casting inquiring glances at the stranger at the table. "So, who are you, and what brings you to Japan? You don't look Japanese." Urd finally asked, drawing a chuckle from Tom.

            "No offense, but you don't look Japanese either. Anyway, I'm Tom Tavin. I'm a European guest lecturer at Nekomi Tech for a year in Engineering and Humanities; I arrived yesterday when all hell broke loose and my ride somehow...got lost." Tom smiled at her, and for a moment a spark of familiarity hit Urd.

            But it can't be...He's a mortal, and I'm positive I haven't met him before. Though she couldn't quite place the feeling, she shook her head to clear it. "Is something wrong?" Tom asked.

            "No, not at all. I just had a feeling of dejá vú," Urd chuckled. After all, she was the goddess of the Past. "I just thought we had met before."

            "Maybe we have...in a different life," he replied, still smiling, although his smile now seemed to have a sad, reminiscent quality. It shook both Urd and Belldandy to see that, even though both could swear they had never met this man before.

            Urd returned the smile. "Maybe. I'm Urd, Belldandy's older sister. It's nice to meet you." Skuld then bounced off her place. "Hi! My name is Skuld!"

            "Let me guess," Tom laughed. "You're Belldandy's younger sister."

            Skuld nearly stopped in mid-air, then realized that probably wasn't too hard to guess, and laughed as well. "Yup!"

            "Your father obviously has taken a liking to ancient Norse mythology." Skuld grinned. "Yeah, definitely." And returned to her seat.

            Keiichi leaned forward. "So, do you have a place to stay?" "I don't know." Tom shrugged. "As I said, someone from Nekomi Tech was supposed to pick me up and take me there, but they never showed up, so I don't know where I was supposed to live."

            Belldandy shot a glance at Keiichi, and he nodded. "You are welcome to stay here for a while until you find a place to stay," he offered. "Noooo!" Skuld wailed, causing Urd to chuckle. "Oh, cut it out, brat!" Turning to Tom, she smirked and fluttered her eyelashes seductively. "Just ignore her. Of course you're welcome to stay." Skuld could be heard protesting one more time, "Don't be such a pervert, Urd!"

            "Hey there," Keiichi stood in the door to the guest room. "Yes, Morisato-san?" Keiichi chuckled. "Just call me Keiichi. You are the professor, after all. I just wanted to know if you had some bags you wanted to pick up."

            "Actually, I do have a suitcase I left at the airport."

            "Then let's go get it," Keiichi headed out for his motorcycle.

            Once outside, Tom eyed the vehicle sceptically. "No offense, but how exactly do you plan to fit the two of us and a big suitcase in there?" Keiichi looked at the bike and sidecar, then back at Tom. "Oops," he said sheepishly.

            "It's all right, I'll just call a cab." Tom chuckled. "The phone is inside," Keiichi replied and headed back in.

            "Note to self – next time, pack fewer things," Tom panted as he heaved the suitcase out of the cab's trunk with Keiichi's help. Glancing at the other man, Keiichi nodded in agreement. "Usually, the only suitcase of this caliber is Urd's when we go on vacation," he grinned as he recalled several incidents involving Urd, her suitcase, and a stressed airport clerk.

            "I imagine so." Tom was still panting. "Let me guess, she packed it to the brim with clothes, and them somehow, magically, managed to cram in a few more kilos than everyone thought possible." Keiichi chuckled at how close that had come to the truth. In fact, Urd had magically enlarged her suitcase once. If he recalled it right, it had ended in a particularly embarassing dilemma for her when it opened didn't seem inclined to release any of its contents.

            Returning to the task of hauling the suitcase up the stairs of the temple, he sighed in relief when they finally managed to get it inside the door. Tom leaned against the doorframe. "I'm getting too old for this far too quickly for my liking."

            The other man grinned. "You don't look all that old to me. Actually, I think you're one of the youngest lecturers I've ever met. Wouldn't surprise me if you were about Urd's age."

            It was Tom's turn to grin. "Are you trying to set me up?" Keiichi blushed and shook his head violently. "Anyway, the semester starts two days from today, doesn't it?"

            "Yeah. You should probably check in with the heads of Engineering and Humanities, as well as the director and let them know you're there."

            Tom nodded. "Yeah, I should probably do that. And I can find out where they were planning on letting me live this year, too. Thanks again."