Chapter 2

Keima and Lime entered the university. As always, there was a group of boys waiting for one or more of the females to arrive. For the past month though, Lime hadn't had to worry about a thing. Whenever a boy tried to separate her from Keima, something strange happened to the boy. One somehow got his shoes tied together. Another was hit by a ceiling tiles that somehow came lose. The worst case was the boy who came down with a strange itching ailment that refused to go away.

The cause of it all, according to Keima, was the Ultimate Force. So long as the wish remained active and on file, the Ultimate Force would kept them together.

So it was a major surprise when one of the boys was able to get next to Lime and put his arm around her.

"So what do you say we lose this dweeb and hang out with a real man." The boy said.

"That's funny." Lime said, "I thought I was already with one."

"Oh please." Another boy had stepped up and pulled Lime to himself. "If anything she's coming with me."

Another boy grabbed her. "No with me."

"HEY!" shouted Keima, "Let her go!"

"Yeah right dweeb." One of the boys punched him in the face. "Like we'd let her…." He blinked. "What the?"

Keima was gone. So was Lime. The group of boys looked around.

"Where did they go?" asked one, "They were right here!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lime blinked.

One second she was being tossed about between the group of boys. The next, she was in an empty classroom with Keima. Keima was bent over a sink, washing blood off of his face.

"Keima?"

Keima turned and looked at her. His nose looked broken and blood still trickled out from it. Lime was by his side in a second.

"You're bleeding."

Keima waved her off. "I'm fine." He waved his hand over his face, healing it in an instant. "See."

"Oh." Lime said, "How did we get here?"

"My Mother and her sisters are Goddesses of Time," Keima explained, "In Mom's case, it's the present. I have much of the same powers as her."

"But how did we get here?"

"I briefly stopped time, and moved you here, then restarted." Keima wobbled slightly to a chair and sat down. "I used a lot of energy to do it, so I'm a bit weak." He then sighed. "And mom will probably give me an earful about it as well. I'm not supposed to stop time like that."

"Just tell her you rescued me." Lime said, "But uh, wasn't that Ultimate thingy supposed to keep them away?"

Keima nodded, "Yeah, it was." He looked up towards the ceiling. "I'll give Auntie Urd a call, or maybe Sis, see if they know what's wrong." He glanced over at the clock. "Shoot! We're late!"

He grabbed hold of Lime and hurried out of the classroom.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day.

Girl's restroom

"I'm telling, you those boys are getting worse." One girl said.

"Yeah," replied another, "If it was for the security guard, Yuki wouldn't have been able to get away."

"No kidding." replied a third. She then looked down at Lime. "You're really lucky. That Keima has to be the best of the bunch. Where did you ever find him?"

Lime smiled, "He just sort of………appeared."

"Lucky." The girl smiled and left the room.

"Better look out." Said one of the other girls. "Taki's been eyeing Keima since he arrived."

"I will."

The other girls left, leaving Lime alone. Lime stared at her reflection in the mirror.

"You really are lucky Lime." She said softly.

"Oh please."

Lime whirled around to find herself face to face with a red haired girl in her twenties. Unlike the other girls in the school, this one wore gray robes, similar to the ones Keima arrived in.

"Who are you?" asked Lime, "Transfer student?"

"Like I'd go to this second rate University." The red head said, "I am Yui Ikari, Guardian of Heaven."

Lime blinked, "You're from heaven?"

"Yes."

"Well, why are you here?"

Yui glared at Lime. "I'm here because of you."

"ME?!"

"Yes you. Because of you, Keima cannot return to the heavens." Yui crossed her arms, "Already the system has begun to fail. The Ultimate Force has gone down, and the rest of Yggdrasil may follow."

"But Keima said……"

"He only says what you want to hear!" shouted Yui, "Because of your selfish wish, the entire Universe may crash!"

"But….."

"But nothing! Because of you, your friends, family, everyone will die. It's all you're fault!"

Lime collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

"What can I do?" asked Lime softly.

"Cancel the wish." replied Yui, "Send Keima back to the heavens."

"But……"

Yui held up her finger. "No buts. Either he goes back, or you doom the universe."

Yui then crossed her arms and vanished.

* It's your choice. * came Yui's voice.

Lime remained staring at the floor, wondering why the day had turned out so badly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keima was worried.

Ever since Lime had returned from the restroom, she had been silent. She also was trying to avoid looking him in the face. The one time she did, he thought she was going to burst into tears. Had he been any other god, he would have read Lime's mind to determine what was wrong. But his mother had raised him to respect a mortal's privacy.

Arriving back at the apartment, Lime had immediately gone upstairs and into her room, closing the door behind her. Cherry and Bloodberry sat at the bar and watched her, then after hearing her door close, turned and glared at Keima.

"What did you do to Lime?" asked Cherry.

"Yeah!" added Bloodberry, cracking her knuckles.

Keima raised his hands in defense.

"I didn't do anything! Something happened out of my view!"

"Yeah right." Bloodberry started towards Keima, her fist raised.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lime lay face down on her bed.

Ever since meeting that…….Guardian, she had been trying to figure out what to do. She liked Keima. No…….she really really liked Keima. But what Yui had told her made her wonder. Did Keima like her? Was Keima's presence here really that disruptful to the universe?

And why is their grass under her face?

Lime sat up and looked around. Somehow she had ended up in a field outside of Japoness.

"Have you made your choice?"

Lime looked up to see Yui floating above her in the sky.

"I…….."

Yui's eyes narrowed.

"Come on! What is your choice?!"

Lime looked down at the ground.

"I……."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yeah right." Bloodberry started towards Keima, her fist raised.

Keima ducked, avoiding Bloodberry's fist. He stood up and was about to speak when he felt something.

Something very familiar.

He then felt pain as Bloodberry's fist connected with the side of his head.

"Ow!" Keima turned and glared at Bloodberry. "Knock it off! Something's happened to Lime!"

"We know." Cherry said, "And you did it."

"No!" Keima took off towards the stairs.

"Hey!" Cherry and Bloodberry took off after him.

Keima reached Lime's door and flung it open.

"Lime?!"

The room was empty. Cherry and Bloodberry peered over Keima's shoulder.

"Where did she go?" asked Cherry.

Keima walked into the room and knelt beside Lime's bed. He then placed his hands on the bed and concentrated.

When his eyes opened, they flashed with anger.

"Yui."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lime looked down at the ground.

"I……."

"Come on!" shouted Yui, "We don't have all night! The world could end in any minute!"

Lime looked up at Yui, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Is it……..could that really happen?"

"Yes." Yui said, "It could. Now say it!"

"Say what?"

Lime and Yui turned to see Keima standing in the field. Cherry and Bloodberry were also there, staring wide-eyed at Keima and the floating Yui.

"Keima!" shouted Lime.

Keima glared at Yui.

"What do you want her to say?"

"I want her to send you back to the heavens!" Yui shot back, "You don't belong here!"

Keima crossed his arms.

"But I do belong here, with Lime."

"She's a mortal!" shouted Yui, pointing at Lime, "You can do better!"

"With who? You?"

"YES!" shouted Yui.

Keima shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry Yui, I don't see you in that way."

Yui's face turned from one of anger to shock. Keima noticed and continued.

"Don't get me wrong. I do love you Yui, but you're like an older sister. You were there to take care of me when Mom and Sayoko weren't around." Keima walked next to Lime and put his arm around her. "So what if Lime is a mortal? So was my Father. So were your parents at one time. There's nothing wrong with them."

Yui floated down to the ground. "But that wish………..You can't return to the heavens."

"Why would I return? Lime is here." Keima smiled, "Yui, I'm not just here because of the contract. You and I both know it could not have been made unless both parties agreed to it."

"You mean…….?"

Keima nodded and pulled Lime closer to him. "Ever since that day so many years ago."

Yui stared in disbelief at Keima, then her face turned to one of sadness.

"I've been a complete bi….."

That was as far as she got before the heavens flashed and spat forth a lightning bolt which slammed into Yui, creating a large explosion. When the smoke cleared, Yui could be seen scorched and twitching in a crater. Keima and Lime went to her side, Cherry and Bloodberry remained where they were, still in shock at all they had seen.

Lime looked at Yui, "Is she……..?"

"She's just stunned." Keima said, distracted. Lime looked at him and then to what he was staring at. In the ground was a kind of plaque, the letters on it burned a bright yellow.

"What does it say?" asked Lime.

"'To Guardian Yui Ikari, For sabotaging the Ultimate Force, disabling SysOp Urd, for lying, and for interfering with a heavenly contract, you are hereby banished to the surface until further notice. So as I say so shall it be done. Kami-sama, Goddess Belldandy, Guardian Asuka Ikari.'" Keima winced, "Ouch, Grandpa, Mom, AND Asuka."

"Who's Asuka?" asked Lime.

"Yui's Mom." replied Keima.

"And she isn't never going to let me hear the end of it." Yui said weakly.

"Probably not."

Yui wrapped her arms around her legs and hugged them closely to her chest.

"What am I going to do?" she muttered, "I'm stuck here."

Keima looked up at Lime. Lime knew exactly what he wanted, and nodded.

"You can come with us." Lime said.

Yui looked up at Lime. "What?"

"WHAT?!" shouted Cherry and Bloodberry.

"Well there's only the 5 of us." Lime said, "Dad said that once he had 6 people living there at the apartment. So some of us share a room."

"Why?" Lime looked back at Yui. "Why would you do this? After what I did?"

"Because you like Keima." Lime said, "That means we have something in common." A wicked smiled appeared on Lime's face. "And I'm sure I can get lots of embarrassing stories about him from you."

"HEY!" shouted and indignant Keima.

Yui gave a weak smile, then chuckled. "Yeah, I know a few."

"YUI!!"

Lime stuck her tongue out at Keima, then helped Yui back to her feet. The two began to walk back towards Japoness.

"So has he always been a lousy cook?" asked Lime.

"You have no idea." replied Yui.

"WAIT!"

Everyone looked at Cherry and Bloodberry.

"Who ARE you people?!?!" asked Cherry.

"We'll tell you at the apartment." Lime said, "Come on. I'm hungry."

Yui paled. "Did Keima cook?"

"No Cherry did."

"Oh good. Last time Keima cooked the food kept trying to jump off the plate."

"Ewww……."

The four girls continued walking on their way, leaving Keima alone in the field. He fell to his knees and stared up at the sky.

"Why Grandpa? Why Mom?" he said quietly, "Why are you doing this to me?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night.

Lime was sitting on the balcony staring up at the stars.

"What are you thinking about?"

Lime turned to see Keima walking out onto the balcony. He then took a seat beside her. Lime turned and looked back at the sky.

"What did you mean by we met before?" asked Lime, "And the whole, you wouldn't be here if the two parties didn't agree?"

"Well," Keima began, "I was here, on Terra 2 once before, "You would have been about 5 or 6."

Lime blinked. She did remember something happening, but it was all still hazy.

"I had snuck away from my sister and come down to the surface, totally forbidden to anyone my age." Keima said with a smile, "But I wanted to see it. I had heard stories from my mom and my sister about the surface world, mostly about Earth, but a few about Terra 2."

"I think I remember…….." Lime said, memories beginning to flash in her mind, "We played tag."

Keima nodded, "And then my mom, sister, Yui, and Arael arrived to take me back."

"Yui was there?" asked Lime

Keima nodded, "She was 19 about that time."

Lime's eyes widened. "But….she's like 35 now! How could she even think that you and her……….."

"Age means nothing to a god." Keima said, "We are immortal. My mother and sister are both in their 30s……530s that is."

"Wow." Lime looked back at the sky.

"Now the answer to your second question." Keima reached over and gently held her hand. "After that day, I never stopped thinking about you. I hoped I could meet you again."

"I can't remember much from then." Lime said softly, "I can barely remember what you looked like."

"That's alright. Cherry and Bloodberry didn't remember me at all. It's because you're mortals. Gods on the other hand," Keima was quiet for a moment, "we remember all whom we have had contact with."

They sat quietly together staring at the stars.

"You don't have a problem with Yui here do you?" Keima asked softly.

"No." Lime replied, "I mean, after talking to her, I understand why she did what she did. And she apologized." Lime smiled, "The look on my sisters face when you told them you were a god was priceless."

"So was the look on your face when they asked you what number you dialed." Keima chuckled, "It's strange, your two sisters show up, then a person I see as a sister shows up. Makes me wonder who will show up next."

"It will probably be someone you know." Lime said, "It will balance everything out."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Heavens

Arael walked into the office and knelt down before the desk. Belldandy stood staring off out the windows lining her wall. Asuka stood just in front of the desk.

"Stand up Arael." Asuka said, "You know she doesn't like us to bow to her."

"But it is protocol." replied Arael.

Asuka rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Whatever. Arael I have an assignment for you."

Arael perked up. "Yes ma'am?"

"Call me Asuka first."

Arael blinked. "What is the mission Asuka?"

Asuka smiled at her victory. "I want you to go down to Terra 2 and keep an eye on Yui."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"You want me to spy on your daughter?"

"No. Not exactly." Asuka said, "Look, I know she is really sorry for what she did, and Keima may have forgiven her, but the others present may not. Since she can't come up here to be with friends and family, we would like you to go to her."

"We?"

Belldandy turned around.

"We." She said, "We're worried about her. She needs someone to confide in. She considers you a friend."

Arael smiled. "I will leave right away."

Belldandy nodded and looked back out the window. Arael turned and left the office. Asuka sat down in a chair in front of Belldandy's desk.

"That was really unexpected." Asuka said with a sigh.

Belldandy glanced at Asuka.

"Arael? I didn't think she………."

"No Yui. In her 30s, and acting like a teenager."

"You can't really blame her." Belldandy said, "I mean, she was never around anyone her age. Keima is the only close to her age that she's been around for any long periods of time."

"Sometimes……I feel like….." Asuka began to say before hands gently squeezed her shoulders.

"It's not your fault how Yui turned out." Belldandy said softly, "As it is, she is an excellent goddess."

"Guardian."

"Guardian then." Belldandy said with a smile. "Give her a bit of time. I'm sure she'll be alright."

"If you say so." Asuka was quiet a moment. "Why didn't you send Sayoko?"

"Sayoko……….still has her moments." Belldandy replied, "I didn't want to put her in that kind of situation for a long period of time. Besides, Arael and Yui have been quite close."

Asuka frowned. "There's something else you're not saying."

"You're right." Belldandy sighed, "I just keep getting the feeling that something is going to happen. Either here or down there."

"Then why send…….?"

"Because Arael is by far the strongest person in the heavens, second only to Kami-sama and you Guardians. With her there, Yui and Keima will be safe."

"I hope your right Belldandy."

"So do I."