(This is an "Oh, My Goddess!" fan-fiction. The "OMG" characters are the
property of Kosuke Fujishima and other respective owners. Used without
permission, but with great respect.)
Jotunheim
Part Three: When sleep won't come
By Michelle Johnson
The clock read 2:39 and Keiichi was still wide-awake. He tossed and
turned for a minute, as he had done a number of times through the
night, but he could not get comfortable. He knew it wasn't a physical
discomfort but a mental one. Try as he might, his thoughts kept
swirling in his mind, pushing sleep away.
"I know exactly what my problem is," he thought. "It's nerves. I'm
worried about tomorrow. We'll begin training. This is an important
task, a responsibility placed on me.
"But, you're really just a delivery boy," he countered. That kind of
depressed him. "Yeah, it's not really that important."
He sighed and rolled onto his back. He stared up through the darkness
to the ceiling, the only sounds were his breathing and the ticking of his alarm
clock. For a while, his mind was silent.
Then he said aloud, "But why are they going through so much trouble
for us?"
His mind wrestled briefly with the question, trying to look at it from
all angles. He finally gave up on both it and getting to sleep for the
moment. He got out of bed and headed to the hall with two things sure
in his mind; he was going to get something to help him get some rest
and there was more to this mission than meets the eye.
He was surprised to see light coming from the living room door. As he
neared the partly open door, he could hear the voices of two people. He
slid the door open to find Wil and Aisha seated in conversation at the
table.
"What are you guys doing up?" he asked as he entered and made his way to the
table.
"Uh, hi, Keiichi," muttered Aisha as her host seated himself to her right.
"Nothing much really."
"Nerves?" he asked.
Both guests shook their heads before answering, "Jet-lag." The chorusing
response started all three laughing.
"How could I forget?" was Keiichi's rhetorical response. "It must be early
afternoon back in the States."
"We're guessing 11 in the morning," Wil filled in. "But jet-lag's only a part of
it. My mind is still so busy digesting all this. It's still - all so. . ." His
hands went up in silent emphasis of his wonder and frustration.
Keiichi agreed. "Yeah, there are times I can relate."
A thoughtful hum came from Aisha, chin resting in one hand. "Judging from the
current absence in our party, I'd say the only one not having problems is
Tanaka. He's kinda cute, but what is up with that guy?"
The response was a pair of groans.
"He may not have problems now," began Wil in a growl, "but if he keeps up like
he has, I'LL be a new one."
Aisha shifted uneasily. "I just wish we knew more about this guy. It's like he's
hiding something, and I don't know if it'll be important to the mission or not.
He was so cold at dinner."
"Yeah, dinner," reminisced Keiichi. It had been amazing that a full-blown
disaster had been avoided. It was as if the moment Tanaka had entered the
residence, an air of tension came with him. The meal, as per usual when it came to
Belldandy's cooking, was lovely, but he doubted anyone actually tasted it.
Keiichi remembered that Tanaka had mechanically eaten the food, and resisted any
attempts at conversation, despite Bell's best attempts - a feat in itself. Not
even Urd's flirtatious teases broke through that shell. When the meal had ended,
Tanaka's departure to the guest room was like an eye in a hurricane - things
became miraculously calm but the storm still threatened.
With a tired sigh, Keiichi spoke up, "Well, I talked with Bell a little to get
her thoughts. She sensed no ill will, but there was a definite hostility. It
wasn't focused on anything; it's just there, like a shield or something."
"That can't be good," Aisha murmured.
"What can't be good?" came a new voice, making all at the table jump. All eyes
landed on Tanaka, who was standing in the doorway with a drink in his hand. His
gaze down at them was unreadable except for an air of suspicion.
"Tanaka! What are you doing up?" Keiichi hoped he had managed to keep the
surprise out of his voice. How much had he overheard?
Tanaka shrugged the question away. "What were you talking about?"
"Nothing much," Aisha covered. "We were just sharing our thoughts about what's
been going on. Kind of overwhelming, don't you think?"
"No, not really." He clearly did not believe Aisha's half-truth completely. "So,
what have you come up with so far?"
The trio's mumbling and false starts did nothing to help their defense.
Eventually, it was Wil who cleared his throat to get their attention.
"We'd pretty much decided that at this point we just don't have enough info to
make any kind of guess of what is expected of us. Anyway, we won't learn
anything more until tomorrow. And since we all weren't able to get to sleep, the
prescription I can think of is just to talk for a while; a late-night chill
session."
"Sounds okay to me," agreed Aisha. "I think out of all us, we'd probably get the
best picture of what's going to happen from you and Keiichi. I mean, I know only
a little about Norse mythology, and squat about the real thing." She paused,
humming. Her eyes then lit up and she leaned over the table towards Wil with a
grin on her face. "I know! Wil, since you know so many myths and stories, how
about you share them?"
Taken aback and embarrassed by Aisha's enthusiasm, Wil stammered, "I-I don't
know. I s-s-sup-pose we could do that. But what would be the point? The stories
are not like the real thing."
"I think I know what she's getting at," replied Keiichi. "We'll be corrected
tomorrow once we start training, so what's some entertainment tonight? Besides,
I believe you may have said something to the effect that the stories had
parallels to the truth."
"I might have. . ." Wil mumbled, looking abashedly away.
"C'mon, Wil," Aisha urged. "It's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon.
Let's make a night of it!"
Overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, Wil blushed. "It-it doesn't seem like such a bad
idea. Sure, why no-"
Laughter interrupted him. He, Keiichi, and Aisha turned their attention back to
the doorway where Tanaka was chuckling. Keiichi was surprised at this, as he was
sure the others were too: an infuriated snort from Aisha confirmed it. Keiichi
fought to keep his voice neutral as he spoke.
"May I ask what is so amusing?"
Tanaka waved a signal to wait until he composed himself. He leaned against the
doorframe and straightened his glasses. "I'm sorry, but that has to be the most
ridiculous plan I've ever heard."
Aisha leaped to the defense of her plan, "I don't see what's silly about it.
Besides, it's only for tonight, for fun."
"And what will you do tomorrow? Follow the orders given? You trust them that
much?"
It was Keiichi who answered. "Yeah. We will, and we do." There were sound of
agreement from Wil and Aisha. Tanaka adjusted his glasses again as he thought.
He then raised his eyes to take in the table.
"Hmph. You're really as naïve as I thought you were."
"What?!" exploded Keiichi and Wil simultaneously. Keiichi began to rise to his
feet, but Aisha placed a hand on his forearm to halt him.
"Don't," she whispered, shooting an angry glare back over her shoulder at
Tanaka. "It's not worth it. He's also a member of the team, so we shouldn't -"
She cut off her statement as Wil shot to his feet around the table. He ran along
the side opposite Keiichi, so neither was able to reach him before he reached
the doorway. Tanaka was grabbed by his T-shirt and shook strongly against the
frame.
"Just what are you getting at Tanaka?" growled Wil.
Apparently unfazed by the assault, he coolly replied, "Nothing really. I'm just
stating my opinion that you haven't exactly shown much initiative. At least until
now."
"Initiative? You want initiative? I'll have you know that I've-"
"Wil! Stop it!" yelled Aisha. He looked back at where she half knelt, concern on
her face, then at the right hand he had chambered to punch. He was clearly
trying to reign his anger back in, but Tanaka still had a taunting smile on his
face.
"I'd listen to her, kiddo," came a new voice. Both Wil and Tanaka looked into
the hallway to see Urd standing nearby. She looked pretty tired and frazzled in
her lab coat, hiding a yawn behind her hand but never taking her eyes off the
two young men. "Don't make me bolt-strike you." She casually pointed a finger
like a gun at them, a brief crackle running along its length as emphasis.
Clearly not needing another warning, Wil gave Tanaka a shove against the door
before returning back to his seat. Tanaka shook out his shirt and ran his
fingers through his hair.
"I was getting tired anyway. Besides, I'm sure his droning would have put me to
sleep in minutes."
That prompted Wil to begin to rise to his feet again, but Aisha calmly but
quickly halted him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I don't think your stories are boring," she murmured.
With a slight bow to Urd and a provoking smirk back at Wil, Tanaka headed back
to his room. Urd, in turn, entered and took a seat with a sigh.
"That boy has issues."
Keiichi replied, "We'd pretty much came to the same conclusion earlier. What are
you doing up, Urd?"
Urd groaned. "It's that potion I'm making for you guys. It's taking forever, but
there's only one more distillation and it'll be done."
"A potion?" Aisha began incredulously. "What do we need with a potion?" Urd
simply shrugged, which didn't comfort Keiichi in the slightest. What could they
possibly need with one of Urd's potions? And who knew what was in it, much less
do to them! There were just too many unknowns, and now this! This was becoming
too much.
"Um, Urd," began Wil, nervously. "Something's been bothering me, and I should
have asked it before; why us?"
Keiichi stared at his guest. Was Wil having the same doubts as he was? In a
guilty sort of way, it made him feel better. At least he wasn't alone in his
feelings."
Urd answered, "Because gods and demons are forbidden, so a neu-"
"No, no, not that why," cut in Wil, shaking his head. "I mean, why US, as in
the four of us?" His arm circled to include encompass those he meant, seated and
not.
Urd rested her chin in her hand, giving him a level gaze. She eventually
straightened and stretched her arms. "I suppose I can tell you this much. In
Heaven, there are certain agencies charged with certain functions. One of them
is aiding humans, and in order to make sure we help the deserving ones, we keep
files. You were picked because Yggrsdail did a random search and your names
happened to come up."
That was it? That was all there was to their being chosen? Not some special
selection process, but something that sounded like the results of a simple roll
of a dice, something last minute.
"They really are treating this like a delivery job," thought Keiichi, stunned.
"Maybe even less than that." A mutual gloom hung over the table. Was that really
all there was to it? Was there nothing special about them that qualified them
for this? "Apparently not," he thought, feeling utterly useless.
Recognizing the gloomy mood, Urd attempted a cheerful tone. "Hey, buck up. Just
because you guys were the result of some random search, doesn't mean you don't
have some qualifications for it." She was met by a group of sighs and groans.
"Geez, tough crowd. I think I'd best get going, huh? Can't leave that potion
alone for too long, or who knows what will happen."
She left the table, but paused at the doorway to motion Keiichi to follow. Still
disappointed, but knowing better than to disobey a tired Urd, he excused himself
on the pretense of getting something to drink. Once both were in the hall, Urd
softly closed the door before facing Keiichi.
"Okay, K-boy. I know you're feeling pretty bad right now. You're probably
thinking," and she switched over to a falsetto pity-filled voice, hands clenched
to her chest, "'No one's thought this through. I have no idea what's going on.
Why poor little mortal me? What could I possibly offer?'"
"Ouch," he thought. "That's close. Embarrassingly put, but close."
"Well, don't," she continued. "I know everything's kinda crazy and seems rushed.
But trust me, a great deal of planning has gone into this, and we're doing the
best we can to insure that this goes smoothly. You'll just have to stay strong
through this. Got it?"
"Y-yeah."
"I sense a silent 'but.'"
Keiichi turned his head away and scratched his neck. "BUT, as you said, what can
I offer?"
Urd's expression softened. Hands placed on his shoulders, she answered, "I
honestly don't know. Don't say anything, let me finish. I don't know what
parameters Yggrsdail used to run the search, but I do know you were chosen, and
that alone says a lot. What you need to remember is that things are going be
uncertain, despite our best preventions; so you need to be strong. There's more
to you than meets the eye, Keiichi. Something I'm sure my sister draws on
everyday."
Overwhelmed and humbled, Keiichi said nothing but a small smile broke through.
"Good," said Urd, cheerfully giving a pat on his shoulders. "Now then. You need
to play host to two of your guests. I think Aisha's idea might be the best way
to relieve the mood. It'll give Wil a chance to show off his expertise. So why
don't you go get some refreshments, eh?"
"Y-yeah, that might work. Good night, Urd." She shrugged and gave an off-hand
wave as she made her way back to her room. She was probably right, Keiichi
thought. There was still so much running through his head, too many emotions he
knew he couldn't sort through. He went to the kitchen and flipped on the light.
He was about to head over to the fridge when he caught sight of a thermos and
cups on the counter. Beside them was a note that read:
"For anyone who is having trouble sleeping tonight. Take care, Belldandy."
A smile crept to Keiichi's lips as he put down the note. That was Belldandy for
you, always knowing exactly what was needed. Keiichi placed the items on a tray
and returned to the living room.
"So, Wil. Let's start with the basics."
property of Kosuke Fujishima and other respective owners. Used without
permission, but with great respect.)
Jotunheim
Part Three: When sleep won't come
By Michelle Johnson
The clock read 2:39 and Keiichi was still wide-awake. He tossed and
turned for a minute, as he had done a number of times through the
night, but he could not get comfortable. He knew it wasn't a physical
discomfort but a mental one. Try as he might, his thoughts kept
swirling in his mind, pushing sleep away.
"I know exactly what my problem is," he thought. "It's nerves. I'm
worried about tomorrow. We'll begin training. This is an important
task, a responsibility placed on me.
"But, you're really just a delivery boy," he countered. That kind of
depressed him. "Yeah, it's not really that important."
He sighed and rolled onto his back. He stared up through the darkness
to the ceiling, the only sounds were his breathing and the ticking of his alarm
clock. For a while, his mind was silent.
Then he said aloud, "But why are they going through so much trouble
for us?"
His mind wrestled briefly with the question, trying to look at it from
all angles. He finally gave up on both it and getting to sleep for the
moment. He got out of bed and headed to the hall with two things sure
in his mind; he was going to get something to help him get some rest
and there was more to this mission than meets the eye.
He was surprised to see light coming from the living room door. As he
neared the partly open door, he could hear the voices of two people. He
slid the door open to find Wil and Aisha seated in conversation at the
table.
"What are you guys doing up?" he asked as he entered and made his way to the
table.
"Uh, hi, Keiichi," muttered Aisha as her host seated himself to her right.
"Nothing much really."
"Nerves?" he asked.
Both guests shook their heads before answering, "Jet-lag." The chorusing
response started all three laughing.
"How could I forget?" was Keiichi's rhetorical response. "It must be early
afternoon back in the States."
"We're guessing 11 in the morning," Wil filled in. "But jet-lag's only a part of
it. My mind is still so busy digesting all this. It's still - all so. . ." His
hands went up in silent emphasis of his wonder and frustration.
Keiichi agreed. "Yeah, there are times I can relate."
A thoughtful hum came from Aisha, chin resting in one hand. "Judging from the
current absence in our party, I'd say the only one not having problems is
Tanaka. He's kinda cute, but what is up with that guy?"
The response was a pair of groans.
"He may not have problems now," began Wil in a growl, "but if he keeps up like
he has, I'LL be a new one."
Aisha shifted uneasily. "I just wish we knew more about this guy. It's like he's
hiding something, and I don't know if it'll be important to the mission or not.
He was so cold at dinner."
"Yeah, dinner," reminisced Keiichi. It had been amazing that a full-blown
disaster had been avoided. It was as if the moment Tanaka had entered the
residence, an air of tension came with him. The meal, as per usual when it came to
Belldandy's cooking, was lovely, but he doubted anyone actually tasted it.
Keiichi remembered that Tanaka had mechanically eaten the food, and resisted any
attempts at conversation, despite Bell's best attempts - a feat in itself. Not
even Urd's flirtatious teases broke through that shell. When the meal had ended,
Tanaka's departure to the guest room was like an eye in a hurricane - things
became miraculously calm but the storm still threatened.
With a tired sigh, Keiichi spoke up, "Well, I talked with Bell a little to get
her thoughts. She sensed no ill will, but there was a definite hostility. It
wasn't focused on anything; it's just there, like a shield or something."
"That can't be good," Aisha murmured.
"What can't be good?" came a new voice, making all at the table jump. All eyes
landed on Tanaka, who was standing in the doorway with a drink in his hand. His
gaze down at them was unreadable except for an air of suspicion.
"Tanaka! What are you doing up?" Keiichi hoped he had managed to keep the
surprise out of his voice. How much had he overheard?
Tanaka shrugged the question away. "What were you talking about?"
"Nothing much," Aisha covered. "We were just sharing our thoughts about what's
been going on. Kind of overwhelming, don't you think?"
"No, not really." He clearly did not believe Aisha's half-truth completely. "So,
what have you come up with so far?"
The trio's mumbling and false starts did nothing to help their defense.
Eventually, it was Wil who cleared his throat to get their attention.
"We'd pretty much decided that at this point we just don't have enough info to
make any kind of guess of what is expected of us. Anyway, we won't learn
anything more until tomorrow. And since we all weren't able to get to sleep, the
prescription I can think of is just to talk for a while; a late-night chill
session."
"Sounds okay to me," agreed Aisha. "I think out of all us, we'd probably get the
best picture of what's going to happen from you and Keiichi. I mean, I know only
a little about Norse mythology, and squat about the real thing." She paused,
humming. Her eyes then lit up and she leaned over the table towards Wil with a
grin on her face. "I know! Wil, since you know so many myths and stories, how
about you share them?"
Taken aback and embarrassed by Aisha's enthusiasm, Wil stammered, "I-I don't
know. I s-s-sup-pose we could do that. But what would be the point? The stories
are not like the real thing."
"I think I know what she's getting at," replied Keiichi. "We'll be corrected
tomorrow once we start training, so what's some entertainment tonight? Besides,
I believe you may have said something to the effect that the stories had
parallels to the truth."
"I might have. . ." Wil mumbled, looking abashedly away.
"C'mon, Wil," Aisha urged. "It's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon.
Let's make a night of it!"
Overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, Wil blushed. "It-it doesn't seem like such a bad
idea. Sure, why no-"
Laughter interrupted him. He, Keiichi, and Aisha turned their attention back to
the doorway where Tanaka was chuckling. Keiichi was surprised at this, as he was
sure the others were too: an infuriated snort from Aisha confirmed it. Keiichi
fought to keep his voice neutral as he spoke.
"May I ask what is so amusing?"
Tanaka waved a signal to wait until he composed himself. He leaned against the
doorframe and straightened his glasses. "I'm sorry, but that has to be the most
ridiculous plan I've ever heard."
Aisha leaped to the defense of her plan, "I don't see what's silly about it.
Besides, it's only for tonight, for fun."
"And what will you do tomorrow? Follow the orders given? You trust them that
much?"
It was Keiichi who answered. "Yeah. We will, and we do." There were sound of
agreement from Wil and Aisha. Tanaka adjusted his glasses again as he thought.
He then raised his eyes to take in the table.
"Hmph. You're really as naïve as I thought you were."
"What?!" exploded Keiichi and Wil simultaneously. Keiichi began to rise to his
feet, but Aisha placed a hand on his forearm to halt him.
"Don't," she whispered, shooting an angry glare back over her shoulder at
Tanaka. "It's not worth it. He's also a member of the team, so we shouldn't -"
She cut off her statement as Wil shot to his feet around the table. He ran along
the side opposite Keiichi, so neither was able to reach him before he reached
the doorway. Tanaka was grabbed by his T-shirt and shook strongly against the
frame.
"Just what are you getting at Tanaka?" growled Wil.
Apparently unfazed by the assault, he coolly replied, "Nothing really. I'm just
stating my opinion that you haven't exactly shown much initiative. At least until
now."
"Initiative? You want initiative? I'll have you know that I've-"
"Wil! Stop it!" yelled Aisha. He looked back at where she half knelt, concern on
her face, then at the right hand he had chambered to punch. He was clearly
trying to reign his anger back in, but Tanaka still had a taunting smile on his
face.
"I'd listen to her, kiddo," came a new voice. Both Wil and Tanaka looked into
the hallway to see Urd standing nearby. She looked pretty tired and frazzled in
her lab coat, hiding a yawn behind her hand but never taking her eyes off the
two young men. "Don't make me bolt-strike you." She casually pointed a finger
like a gun at them, a brief crackle running along its length as emphasis.
Clearly not needing another warning, Wil gave Tanaka a shove against the door
before returning back to his seat. Tanaka shook out his shirt and ran his
fingers through his hair.
"I was getting tired anyway. Besides, I'm sure his droning would have put me to
sleep in minutes."
That prompted Wil to begin to rise to his feet again, but Aisha calmly but
quickly halted him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I don't think your stories are boring," she murmured.
With a slight bow to Urd and a provoking smirk back at Wil, Tanaka headed back
to his room. Urd, in turn, entered and took a seat with a sigh.
"That boy has issues."
Keiichi replied, "We'd pretty much came to the same conclusion earlier. What are
you doing up, Urd?"
Urd groaned. "It's that potion I'm making for you guys. It's taking forever, but
there's only one more distillation and it'll be done."
"A potion?" Aisha began incredulously. "What do we need with a potion?" Urd
simply shrugged, which didn't comfort Keiichi in the slightest. What could they
possibly need with one of Urd's potions? And who knew what was in it, much less
do to them! There were just too many unknowns, and now this! This was becoming
too much.
"Um, Urd," began Wil, nervously. "Something's been bothering me, and I should
have asked it before; why us?"
Keiichi stared at his guest. Was Wil having the same doubts as he was? In a
guilty sort of way, it made him feel better. At least he wasn't alone in his
feelings."
Urd answered, "Because gods and demons are forbidden, so a neu-"
"No, no, not that why," cut in Wil, shaking his head. "I mean, why US, as in
the four of us?" His arm circled to include encompass those he meant, seated and
not.
Urd rested her chin in her hand, giving him a level gaze. She eventually
straightened and stretched her arms. "I suppose I can tell you this much. In
Heaven, there are certain agencies charged with certain functions. One of them
is aiding humans, and in order to make sure we help the deserving ones, we keep
files. You were picked because Yggrsdail did a random search and your names
happened to come up."
That was it? That was all there was to their being chosen? Not some special
selection process, but something that sounded like the results of a simple roll
of a dice, something last minute.
"They really are treating this like a delivery job," thought Keiichi, stunned.
"Maybe even less than that." A mutual gloom hung over the table. Was that really
all there was to it? Was there nothing special about them that qualified them
for this? "Apparently not," he thought, feeling utterly useless.
Recognizing the gloomy mood, Urd attempted a cheerful tone. "Hey, buck up. Just
because you guys were the result of some random search, doesn't mean you don't
have some qualifications for it." She was met by a group of sighs and groans.
"Geez, tough crowd. I think I'd best get going, huh? Can't leave that potion
alone for too long, or who knows what will happen."
She left the table, but paused at the doorway to motion Keiichi to follow. Still
disappointed, but knowing better than to disobey a tired Urd, he excused himself
on the pretense of getting something to drink. Once both were in the hall, Urd
softly closed the door before facing Keiichi.
"Okay, K-boy. I know you're feeling pretty bad right now. You're probably
thinking," and she switched over to a falsetto pity-filled voice, hands clenched
to her chest, "'No one's thought this through. I have no idea what's going on.
Why poor little mortal me? What could I possibly offer?'"
"Ouch," he thought. "That's close. Embarrassingly put, but close."
"Well, don't," she continued. "I know everything's kinda crazy and seems rushed.
But trust me, a great deal of planning has gone into this, and we're doing the
best we can to insure that this goes smoothly. You'll just have to stay strong
through this. Got it?"
"Y-yeah."
"I sense a silent 'but.'"
Keiichi turned his head away and scratched his neck. "BUT, as you said, what can
I offer?"
Urd's expression softened. Hands placed on his shoulders, she answered, "I
honestly don't know. Don't say anything, let me finish. I don't know what
parameters Yggrsdail used to run the search, but I do know you were chosen, and
that alone says a lot. What you need to remember is that things are going be
uncertain, despite our best preventions; so you need to be strong. There's more
to you than meets the eye, Keiichi. Something I'm sure my sister draws on
everyday."
Overwhelmed and humbled, Keiichi said nothing but a small smile broke through.
"Good," said Urd, cheerfully giving a pat on his shoulders. "Now then. You need
to play host to two of your guests. I think Aisha's idea might be the best way
to relieve the mood. It'll give Wil a chance to show off his expertise. So why
don't you go get some refreshments, eh?"
"Y-yeah, that might work. Good night, Urd." She shrugged and gave an off-hand
wave as she made her way back to her room. She was probably right, Keiichi
thought. There was still so much running through his head, too many emotions he
knew he couldn't sort through. He went to the kitchen and flipped on the light.
He was about to head over to the fridge when he caught sight of a thermos and
cups on the counter. Beside them was a note that read:
"For anyone who is having trouble sleeping tonight. Take care, Belldandy."
A smile crept to Keiichi's lips as he put down the note. That was Belldandy for
you, always knowing exactly what was needed. Keiichi placed the items on a tray
and returned to the living room.
"So, Wil. Let's start with the basics."