Onegai, Megami-Sama!
Part 2-4: ". . . But I Ain't Got Wings."
Matagu leaned back from the jinriki and wiped sweat off of his forehead. This wasn't what he'd expected when he'd come along to help Yamada-sensei.
At about seven that morning, both the guys' room and the girls' room had gotten wake-up calls from the front desk. This had the predictable result of Hyosuke throwing one pillow at the phone while holding another over his head. Matagu had thought it was a mistake at first, but the hotel people had said it was written into their reservation. Apparently, Yamada-sensei had wanted to be sure that they would be awake in time to help him put his planes together before the competition. It had been a lot of trouble getting Hyosuke out of bed, but it'd been easier once they got outside and found the goddesses waiting for them in the hallway. Matagu was always glad to see Peorth first thing in the morning, but was quietly thankful that she hadn't found some way to get into his room. Belldandy had given Hyosuke something that she'd said would help with his hangover, but Matagu guessed it was just water and she'd used some kind of spell on him.
Hyosuke walked over, and collapsed onto the grassy ground next to Matagu. "Oh, man," he said. "Hard work, eh?"
"Definitely," Matagu said, pulling at his shirt to try to cool himself off. They'd been helping Yamada-sensei put together his two jinriki planes, and it had taken most of the morning for them to finish the smaller one. The competition wasn't until the afternoon, so the winds would be in the pilots' favor, but Yamada-sensei wanted to be sure that everything was ready long beforehand.
"I wish Kei was here," Matagu said, sitting down next to Hyosuke. "It'd be nice to have an extra set of hands for something like this."
Hyosuke laughed loudly, then grinned at Matagu. "Kei's probably got his hands full with something else, if you know what I mean," he said.
Matagu frowned at his friend. "Come on, that's the fifth time this morning you've said something about them," he said. "Can't you give it a rest?"
"Sure, sure," Hyosuke said, still grinning. "But y'know, I'll bet neither of them are giving each other much of a rest."
"Hyosuke--"
"Hey, boys, get off your butts!"
Matagu and Hyosuke both jumped, then looked over their shoulders at the same time. Urd was standing there, dressed in short overalls and a sleeveless shirt. She also had a red bandana holding back her hair. If she'd been anyone else, Matagu thought, he would have been half-amazed that she could still look that good while doing hard physical work. But he knew that was just how the goddesses were, some more than others.
"C'mon, we're still working here," Urd said as she walked over to them, then gave half a smile. "Besides, we better get the second plane put together before Skuld builds something else out of it."
Hyosuke blinked at her, looking confused. "She'd do that?"
"Skuld's just about as well-known around Nekomi as Bell and I," Urd said, then swept her hair back and posed. "Just not for the same reasons," she said with a smile. Matagu swallowed hard, then glanced over at Hyosuke, who was practically drooling. Fortunately, Urd dropped the pose a second later. "She's enough of a mechie to get a scholarship if she wants to, but she goes off on her own little tangents when she's building something, and it doesn't always work."
"What, does she blow stuff up?" Hyosuke asked. It looked like he was trying to get the huge grin off his face and not quite making it.
"Not that bad, but close," Urd said with a nod. "Now get over here, we're not done yet."
Matagu and Hyosuke pulled themselves to their feet, and followed Urd over to where Kaede, Herikawa, Ichigo, and Keiichi were gathered around the pile of parts that would be come Yamada-sensei's second jinriki plane. Sure enough, Skuld was a few feet away with their teacher, and it looked like she was talking really fast. As for Yamada-sensei, he looked somewhat pained.
"Hey, guys," Keiichi said as they approached, then looked to Urd. "Can you drag her away for a few minutes? I wanted to ask him some questions about how this is supposed to go together, but Skuld's been stuck to him ever since we got here."
"Yeah, sounds about right," Urd said.
"I thought you went to a tech school," Hyosuke said, looking back and forth between Keiichi and Urd. "You don't know how to do something like this?"
"Not really," Keiichi said with a chuckle. "It's some of the same stuff, but I'm not used to working with things without a motor."
"Yamada-sensei's the motor."
The four of them nearly jumped at the calm voice, then looked around to see that Ichigo had come up to join them without making a sound. If she was amused at all, she didn't show it. That, Matagu thought, was just a little creepy.
"Oh, I know what you mean," Keiichi said, putting a hand to the back of his head and grinning. "I just haven't worked with anything man-powered for a long time, so I don't remember how everything works."
"It shouldn't be--" Ichigo began.
"Ichigo!" Urd exclaimed. "Help me drag my sister away from Yamada, will you? We'll be here all day if she keeps bothering him."
Ichigo gave Urd a look that might have been called curious if it was from anyone else, but she followed Urd over to where Yamada-sensei and Skuld were standing, looking over some blueprints. The younger goddess, dressed in a tank top and cargo pants, was waving her hands around a lot. It looked like she was asking about two questions per second, and Yamada-sensei was trying to answer them without much luck.
As Matagu watched, Kaede and Herikawa walked over from the pile of parts, heading toward he and the others. Kaede looked cheerful, like she was happy to be out here, but Herikawa seemed pensive. At least she wasn't still angry, Matagu thought.
"Hey," Hyosuke said, putting an arm around Kaede's shoulders. "Any luck with this one?"
"We've hardly gotten started," Kaede said. "Skuld's been trying to get Yamada-sensei to try all these new things, but he keeps saying he knows how his jinriki are supposed to work. It's been kind of troublesome."
"That's just Skuld," Matagu said with a shrug. "I've seen some of the stuff she builds, and when it works, it's pretty impressive." Naturally, he couldn't say just what he'd seen her build, as he didn't think telling his friends about the memory-switcher thing would go over very well.
"Yeah, when it works," Keiichi said with a nervous chuckle. "I guess we should be glad that there isn't a motor in this thing." He glanced around, then looked back over his shoulder to the picnic blanket, where Belldandy and Peorth were. "Bell," he called, "we're probably going to get started on this one soon."
"Just a moment, dear," Belldandy said.
"Wow, your girl works on this stuff too?" Hyosuke asked, looking at Keiichi as though he couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, she picked it up pretty quick," Keiichi said. "The motor club likes having her around too, Ootaki says she's good for morale." He smiled, and Matagu guessed that wasn't the only reason they all liked having Belldandy around.
"I can see that," Herikawa said quietly. "She seems like she can be really encouraging when she needs to be."
"Heh! Maybe she can encourage Peorth off the blanket," Hyosuke cracked.
Matagu looked over to see Peorth stretched out in the sun like a cat, laying with her hands behind her head and her eyes closed. She looked like she didn't plan on getting up. He sighed. They were here to do work, that was part of the deal.
"I'll get her," he said, then headed over as Belldandy walked to Keiichi's side.
Matagu stood so that his shadow covered Peorth's eyes, and she opened them to look up at him. She smirked, and he couldn't help blushing.
"Let me guess, Matagu-kun," she said, "you've come to convince me to get my hands dirty?"
"Right," he said with a nod.
"Shouldn't we go back to the hotel for that, cheri?" she asked, and stuck the tip of her tongue out at him. He stammered, realizing he'd walked right into that, then frowned when she started laughing. "Oh, I'm joking, you needn't worry so much," she said, then raised her hands for him to pull her to her feet.
Matagu took hold of her hands, trying to fight down his blush. No matter how many times she did it, he thought, he still had to fight to keep his brain from locking when she got all flirty. The fact that she suddenly and deliberately pressed herself against him when he pulled her up didn't help.
"Really, Matagu-kun," she said, looking up at him from about an inch away, "you shouldn't do such things unless you mean them. I might start getting ideas." She smirked again, then turned and headed toward the others.
Matagu paused for a moment, smacked the side of his head to get his own ideas out, and followed her.
As he reached the rest of the group, Matagu glanced over to Yamada-sensei, and saw that he seemed to be talking to Ichigo while Urd glared down at Skuld. Urd was now holding the rolled-up blueprints in one hand, and Skuld looked like she was sulking. As Matagu watched, Urd looked over to where Belldandy and Keiichi were, and Skuld snatched the blueprints and ran to Belldandy. Urd yelled in surprise, but Skuld just stuck out her tongue.
"Come on, Urd!" Skuld called. "Let's get started on this thing, I want to see it fly!"
Urd grumbled, then started to storm away, only to stop when she saw Ichigo standing right in front of her. "What?"
"That's not very supportive," Ichigo said calmly.
"Really," Urd muttered, then blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Trust me, kid, the last thing Skuld needs is more support. She'd put this whole thing together herself if she could."
Matagu chuckled, though softly, as not to get Urd's attention. She really didn't look like she was in the best mood.
It took some doing, but they managed to get their plans set out, and the group split up to start putting the jinriki together. Keiichi and Hyosuke took the left wing, while Matagu and Belldandy were to work on the right wing with Peorth's help. Matagu had a feeling that Peorth's help would amount mostly to moral support, but hey, it was something. Skuld had taken over direction on the front part of the plane, and it seemed that she already had Kaede, Ichigo, and Herikawa working together pretty well. Urd . . . well, it seemed like she was more of the cheering section, but Matagu wasn't really surprised. He was glad, though, to find that Belldandy was right at home with this kind of thing.
"Oh, I've been working with Keiichi-san in the Motor Club at Nekomi for almost as long as I've known him," she said as she helped Matagu put a wing panel into place. "They're very enthusiastic about what they do, but I like being around them. They have gotten into some very strange things, though."
"Keiichi's told me a little bit about them," Matagu said, then grunted as he pulled the panel into place from below. "Hey, Peorth, could you hand me that wrench thing?"
"Oui," Peorth said, and let her fingertips trace down his palm as she handed it to him. "We really should see about visiting Nekomi sometime, Matagu-kun," she said. "Had you ever given a thought about going there?"
Matagu shrugged, though he wasn't sure if she could see him, hidden as he was halfway under the wing. Then again, she was a goddess, so it might not matter. "I'd have to see the place first, I guess," he said. "I'm still not all that sure about what I want to do." He pulled himself out from under the wing and sat up. "Still, it'd be good to visit."
"That would be wonderful!" Belldandy sounded absolutely delighted, and folded her hands together in front of herself. "I'll go talk to Keiichi about this, I'm sure we could work something out." She hurried over to the other side of the plane.
Matagu gave Peorth a strange look, then chuckled as she shook her head. "I don't know if I'm ever going to have time for that," he said with a sigh, "but it's a good thought."
"Perhaps." Peorth sat down next to him, then - to his surprise - leaned away a little. "Am I a bother to you, Matagu-kun?"
Matagu blinked, then swallowed hard. This sounded suspiciously like one of those talks that he'd heard about, the ones that happened when the girl thought there was something wrong with the relationship. He'd never thought that Peorth would ask him something like that, but he knew his answer.
"No, of course not," he said. He thought about pulling her closer, but had an odd feeling that he shouldn't. "I mean, sometimes you're a little . . . you know . . . too much?" He put a hand to the back of his head, and smiled nervously.
"I'd thought that too much of a good thing was never enough," Peorth said, giving him one of the smiles that he knew all too well. "Are you saying I've been less than a good thing for you?"
"Nothing - nothing like that," Matagu said quickly. "You know how I feel . . . you make me happy," he said, feeling a little sheepish. This was kind of hard to put into words, and it all seemed kind of silly. "Why?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Peorth said with a small laugh, "just . . . hmm. Urd, dear that she is, seems to think that I'm trying to push you a little too much. Is she just being worrisome, or. . . ." She looked worried, Matagu thought, and he started to frown. Peorth had never been anything but sure of herself, and he wasn't sure how to react. "Or dare I say it, is she right?"
Matagu sighed. Sure, he still had to worry about his brain locking up when Peorth was feeling loving, which was just about most of the time. And he still got nervous when he thought about taking things farther than they'd gone. But, he thought, that was just how he was now, not how he'd always be.
He leaned closer to her, and put an arm around her shoulders. She felt so warm . . . he steadied himself, then said, "Peorth . . . I think you're worrying too much."
"Am I?" she asked, looking over at him. It looked like she was starting to smile.
"Yeah, you are." He lowered his voice. "I wished for you to be with me, to be my girlfriend, and I wouldn't change that. I get a little nervous sometimes, but . . . I mean, we've only been together for a few weeks. You're the only girlfriend I've ever had, and I really don't want to rush things."
"Ah," Peorth said, "so you would object to sharing a room with me, you're just too kind to say it. I see."
"It's not like that," Matagu said. He couldn't tell if she was really upset or just felt like playing with him. Then again, he thought, she always seemed to feel like playing with him, but this was different and nowhere near as fun. "It's kind of like how you can only see some stars in different seasons. They have times when they're in the sky, and times when they're not." Okay, that sounded really stupid, he thought, but it was the best he could come up with.
"Not that I don't appreciate being compared to a star, Matagu-kun," Peorth said, giving him an odd look, "but I still don't quite understand."
"I guess . . . it's like you're in the sky, you're shining, but I'm not there yet. It's not my season." Great way to stretch a metaphor, he thought. If he kept this up, he'd be writing cheap romance novels in his spare time.
"Ah!" Peorth leaned closer to him, and lowered her voice. "So you're saying that your reluctance to know the passions of a goddess such as myself is due to you not being in season?"
Matagu felt his face turn bright red, and was glad that the plane partly hid he and Peorth from the others. "That's probably a good way to put it," he said. But if she kept talking about it like that, he might find himself in season really quickly, he didn't say.
"So it seems I must wait until your season comes," Peorth said, leaning back from him. He looked over at her, still blushing, and was relieved to see what looked like acceptance on her face. "I must say, Matagu-kun, that I'd thought much the same thing about you myself, but I wanted to hear it from you. But you needn't worry." She whispered in his ear, "I would never wish to make you regret your wish, so I'll say nothing more of it. All you must do is give me no doubt as to when your season to shine comes." She nipped at his earlobe, and Matagu felt rose petals tickling his face as they floated down toward his lap.
Matagu started to say something, failed, tried again twice more, then settled on just hugging her. To his regret, it only lasted for a second.
"Keiichi-san says - oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."
Matagu glanced up to see Belldandy standing there looking a little upset. So much for the goddesses always having good timing, he thought. "It's - it's okay," he said, though he didn't move. "We should probably get back to work on this."
"Oui, of course!" Peorth said. She started to stand, then bumped into the wing overhead, sending her falling back down into Matagu's lap.
"Peorth! Are you all right?" Belldandy asked. "Shido-san, are you?"
"I'm fine," Matagu said with a quick nod, then gave Peorth a look as she raised her head. "You did that on purpose," he said, then grinned at her.
Peorth winked at him. ". . . Oops?"
"And now, to celebrate the great Yamada-sensei's victory in today's games . . . cheers!"
Herikawa raised her cup as Hyosuke toasted, and downed her saké along with everyone else. Urd had provided the drink, of course. The sun was going down, and they were all gathered around a fire on the beach - just as they'd been the night before, Herikawa thought. She hoped that tonight would go better.
Herikawa glanced around at the group, wondering what they were thinking. She kept an eye most closely on Kei and Mizuho; they had come to join the group that afternoon, shortly before Yamada-sensei's jinriki competition. She couldn't help but feel glad that they hadn't been around when the rest of them had been putting the plane together, else she might have done something wrong . . . she knew that her hands would have been shaking. It was still a little hard to look at them.
"Yamada-sensei must be very talented," Belldandy said, pleasant as always. "Has he competed like this before?"
"Yeah, he has," Kei said with a nod.
"And he won that time too!" Hyosuke yelled, raising his empty cup. "Yamada-sensei can fly anywhere, all he needs is the wind and his dreams!"
"I still wonder how that plane would work with a real motor," Skuld said, looking almost contemplative. "Or at least some gyros for balancing, and in the back. . . ." She rummaged through her pants pockets, then pouted. "I knew I should have brought some paper."
"Oh, you worry too much, kid," Urd said, then held out her bottle. "Have some more, it's good for you. You too, Ichigo."
Ichigo didn't say anything, but gave Urd the same look she'd been giving her all day. Urd glared back at her, and grumbled.
"So," Belldandy asked after looking around at the entire group, "do you have to head back to school tomorrow?" After a few people nodded, she sighed. "It seems like we've hardly even been here. We should get together like this again, it's been wonderful to meet more of Kusanagi-san's and Shido-san's friends."
"It has been fun," Kaede said, her cheeks already a little red, "but we all have exams coming up soon, so we might not be able to get away like this again."
"Good enough reason to drink now," Urd said, raising her own cup.
Maybe Kaede was right, Herikawa thought. Things were going to be changing soon, changing a lot. She wasn't sure where she'd be going to college, but the more she thought about it, the more getting away seemed like a good idea. Hyosuke and Kaede would probably be leaving, and she wasn't sure what Ichigo's plans were but she wouldn't be surprised at all if the girl already had something big in mind. Matagu hadn't said anything either way, though she was sure Peorth would stay with him wherever he went, and Kei. . . .
Kei would be leaving, Herikawa thought. Once he didn't have to be at the school anymore, he and Mizuho would probably pack up and go somewhere else, someplace where they could be just husband and wife, like they'd never been teacher and student. It was probably for the best, for them.
And in the end, going away would be the best for her, Herikawa thought with a sigh. It would be a chance to have a fresh start, to leave her past behind and to begin the next chapter of her life. But before that could happen, she thought, looking over at Mizuho out of the corner of her eye, there was something she had to do.
She kind of tuned out the rest of the party, mostly on purpose. Hyosuke was half-drunk and getting louder, Urd was still trying to get Ichigo drunk without any visible success, and the various couples looked to be enjoying themselves. Herikawa sighed. It didn't feel the same as it has last night, and she was glad for that, but it still felt like there was something missing. Maybe it was that she wasn't with anyone. Maybe not. But there was still time, there was still a lot ahead of her. Whatever was missing, perhaps she would find it eventually.
"You're very quiet tonight."
Herikawa blinked, then glanced over to see that Ichigo had moved closer to her, a little bit away from the rest of the group. She looked calm as ever, though Herikawa could see concern in her eyes.
"Shouldn't you be a little . . . drunk?" Herikawa asked, though she couldn't help smiling. She wouldn't have been too surprised if Ichigo had been drinking all night and was still unaffected.
Ichigo shook her head, and subtly nodded toward a patch of sand that was a lot wetter than anywhere else. "Urd's not paying enough attention," she said quietly. "I am, though. You don't look very happy."
"I. . . ." Herikawa trailed off, then looked off toward the ocean, away from the group. "I don't know if I am," she said. "It feels like my whole life's changed in a day, and now I just want to get back home."
"Why do you say everything changed?" Ichigo asked. "It's just one thing. It affects you, but only a little. You're not the one whose secret came out."
She was only half-right, Herikawa thought. Sure, it wasn't her secret, but it affected her a lot. Talking with Belldandy last night had only made her more sure of that. "It's hard to say," Herikawa said, though she knew that was only part of the truth. It would be hard to say, she knew, but it wasn't Ichigo that she had to say it to.
In time, the sun went down, and the group of them packed up their things. Herikawa did her best to be unobtrusive, keeping back from everyone else. Fortunately, there wasn't much to carry, and something about having girlfriends made the guys want to carry all the load. Once they all started walking back to the hotel, Herikawa took a deep breath, then walked to Mizuho's side. She tapped her on the shoulder, and tried not to frown at the surprised look on the older woman's face.
"Mizuho-sensei," Herikawa said quietly, "can I talk to you?"