Chapter 2

A booming voice was heard in the distance…and the girl couldn't move. She felt like she was being carried. It felt nice; it felt warm…an agitated heartbeat. Panting, lots of panting. Voices, again. A bright pink light, then a gentle and caring face looking down at her….

She was then walking on a single path, with nothing she could recognise around it. As her eyes strained to try and gather in her surroundings, she heard a small noise behind her, as if someone was following her. Turning around, her eyes rested upon a black canine beast. She wasn't sure if it was a dog; it could have been a wolf. It had deep blue-grey eyes contrasted on dark, black fur, with strange red markings under its eyes. Its body was slender and muscular, its fur short, clean and shiny. It was longer around the beast's neck, forming a rather puffy collar of fur. Some things could let her think that this was no ordinary beast, like the single white, black-tipped feather attached to the black strands of the fur collar, the two linked earrings on the animal's right ear, and another single ring on its left ear.

The beast merely stared at her, she extended her hand to touch the animal, but it turned and walked away just as her fingers were about to make contact with the entity.

The animal turned back, looking at her again, inviting her to follow it.

She would have followed it, if her head hadn't started pounding and her lungs failing her... A gut-wrenching scream could be heard not long after…

***

The screaming woke her up abruptly, although she soon realised it was the sound of her own voice, accompanied by the frenzied barking of Nikkou. She sat up in her bed, her forehead sweaty, her sheets damp. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, calming down. Her dog still barked madly; Ayame entered the room quickly. It was 5:42 AM. Leamen didn't even look at her alarm clock…

"What's wrong with the dog?!" Ayame said, crouching over the animal and speaking to her, trying to calm her down.

Leamen cleared her throat, trying to get her normal voice back.

"It's okay mom…I must have had a nightmare…she must've started barking when I woke up screaming..." Leamen stated, as she motioned to the now calmer animal.

"Yes, about that…I think I heard a scream, but the sound was mostly drowned out by the dog's barking…"

"She started before I woke up? She might have sensed it or something…" she said. Leamen patted her bed, and Nikkou happily jumped on the mattress, all her worries forgotten as Leamen scratched her head.

"Huh girl, yeah you like that, you old lady!" said the girl cheerfully as her four legged friend gave a little yelp of approval.

"You'd better get up, Leamen, we're leaving early today…." Ayame said, smiling softly at the sight.

"I'm up, I'm up…"she said as she lay back down. "…Almost." Nikkou gave a little bark at that.

Ayame only smiled sweetly and got out of her daughter's room to go prepare breakfast. Ichiro came into Leamen's room about ten minutes after her mother had passed…"Come on sleeping beauty, get up!" he said cheerfully.

"Nyarrh…. rhmmmrr…" came the muffled reply, as Leamen took the blankets from over her head and got up.

Ichiro grinned as his daughter and her dog followed him to the kitchen. They both sat down at the table while Nikkou went in a corner of the room, having spotted her favourite toy. The old canine took it in her mouth, shook it left and right a few times, and having won the battle, laid down and chewed the gizmo's already battered form.

"You'd swear she's still six months old sometimes," Leamen thought out, and then clapped her hands together, "Thank you for the food!" she exclaimed, digging in.

"It's our last breakfast here," said Ichiro, looking around, seeming suddenly nostalgic.

"Yes…" answered Ayame thoughtfully.

"Thank God," replied Leamen between two mouthfuls.

Leamen was back to her cheerful self, and her mother noticed that her appetite was back, too. She didn't seem to be the type of girl to gain weight, as she was very active. Leamen declared she was full after her second serving. "Excellent, as always, Mom! Thank you!" she chimed, getting up with her plate, glass and chopsticks.

Leamen helped Ayame clean up the kitchen after breakfast. She washed away a few stains on the table, while her mother cleaned the remaining dishes.

The girl slowed down in her movements as a thought struck her.

"Mom? Are you sure it's okay for me to still live with you and Dad…I mean…I'm really ready to leave, being twenty and all, and I'm almost done with my studies…"

Ayame's features only brightened at her daughter's comment.

"We already talked about this, you know that we don't mind you staying as long as you're studying, sweetheart, we'll do our best to help you get started…"

The young woman smiled at her mother at that and they both finished their chores in a comfortable silence.

***

The little family each took a quick shower, one by one. Even Nikkou didn't escape it, much to her dislike. They were all soon ready to go right after packing their hairbrushes, toothbrushes, alarm clocks, clocks…

Leamen also took the time to call the few friends she had, bidding them farewell, promising to keep in touch…

The heat was already starting to push down on everyone, early in the morning, so the clothing matched the weather, as always. Ichiro wore a plain T-shirt and black shorts, while both Ayame and Leamen settled for light summer dresses, with matching shoes and hats.

"I can't wait to start at Nekomi Tech!" exhaled Leamen, as she entered the car and buckled up. She helped Nikkou in, and patted her on the head. The dog looked at her with big brown eyes, all the while panting from the heat.

Both her parents smiled, and the little family was off, following the truck that contained their belongings. Leaving the house they had always lived in…

***

Leamen got out of the car, quickly followed by Nikkou. She looked around herself, eyes and smile wide. Even though she was twenty years old, she could easily be impressed like a five-year-old child.

"This town is so lovely!" she said happily. Nikkou ran around her, having yet a lot of energy in her old bones.

Ayame crouched before Nikkou and tried to calm her down a bit.

"Yes it is! Come on, I'll show you around a bit Leamen; we'll let your dad and those workers get the stuff inside, and we'll be back in an hour to help your dad unpack, okay?" said Ayame.

"Works fine with me, mom!" she replied as she ran into the little streets of Nekomi, her mother and Nikkou barely able to follow her. Yes, Leamen would definitely appreciate life in Nekomi.

***

Belldandy softly hummed to herself as she washed the dishes they had used for breakfast. She laughed to herself as she remembered Keiichi's depressed expression when he accidentally spilled his cup of tea on the floor. Poor Keiichi kept saying he was sorry, even though she kept telling him it was alright, with Skuld complaining about how clumsy he was and Urd just not paying attention.

Belldandy had almost finished placing the dishes in the cupboard when Urd came in. "Hey Bell, want me to help you with that," she said as she raised her arms, preparing one of those devastating spells of hers…

"No no, Urd, really, I will be fine, see, I am almost done!" Belldandy replied nervously.

"Okay, if you say so, sister," said Urd as she exited the kitchen and returned to the TV screen.

***

Leamen was walking around quickly, almost skipping. Ayame failed to keep up with her.

"Honey, we'll have time visit some more later…we really should go back, " said a rather tired Ayame, pulling an excited Nikkou on the leash.

"I want to check things out a bit more, I won't take long, you won't even notice I was gone." Leamen said with a grin. Her mother was always so insecure about everything.

Ayame sighed, and smiled.

"Will you remember the way home? I really have to go back to help your father…Here, take Nikkou along with you; she's as excited as a puppy today…"

"Sure mom! Later!" she said happily, taking Nikkou's leash to take her with her, and she ran along, her hair flowing in the wind, her canine friend following her.

***

Belldandy was making onigiri in the kitchen. She was sure her sisters would like a little snack during the afternoon. She carefully made them; putting her care and love in it. She softly sang as she did so. Belldandy was almost done; only a few left to make. She sighed, smiling. The goddess listened to the quiet, subtle sounds in the temple, enjoying the calmness. Her serenity was cut short as she felt a strong, but familiar energy nearing the temple grounds. She suspended her work and headed outside.

***

Nikkou was walking ahead, freed from her leash, sniffing at everything she found along the sidewalk. She straightened up, sniffed the air, and continued walking along, her blue-haired master in tow. Turning a corner, she saw a structure that resembled a temple of some sorts. She stopped and admired it, fanning herself with her hand, as it was getting quite hot. Leamen called Nikkou, who was already at the gates, sniffing the wooden doors.

"Nikkou! Come back here, girl! It's time to get home…We don't want to get lost now do we?" she said, calling her dog back.

It was the least of Nikkou's problems, the wooden doors were far more interesting. Leamen sighed deeply, making a face, then went to Nikkou and clipped the leash on her collar. Soft sounds reached her sharp ears. She heard some laughing, apparently from two girls. She looked inside, through the ajar gates, and she saw two girls having fun. The first was more of a woman than a girl; her skin was a dark, tan color, and her long, straight hair, a pure shade of white. Her eyes were a startling shade of green. She wore rather eccentric clothing, but it looked nice on her, as she seemed fit for this type of clothes. The other girl looked to be about fifteen or so. She had long black hair, huge brown eyes, and she carried a weird mallet, or hammer of some sort, and she was dressed in rather baggy clothing, in different shades of pink and white. Leamen smiled at the young one's display energy.

But what grabbed the young observant's attention were the markings their faces bore. The eldest girl had an inverted triangle on her forehead and two small triangles at the corner of her eyes. The youngest girl had a rather swelled inverted drop of water with a white dot in the middle, and at the corner of her eyes were smaller markings resembling the one on her forehead.

Leamen saw another woman come outside of the temple. Her long straight hair was brown, and her eyes were sapphire blue. She wore a simple yellow summer dress, with a pink apron. She was either a maiden, or she was the mistress of the house. She also had markings, but, as with the other two women, they were different. Her forehead marking was in the form of a long, thin diamond, and there were two small triangles at the corner of her eyes. Leamen took a few steps back, but still continued to watch, seemingly hypnotised by those whom she didn't know but resembled her in one unique way…

The youngest of the trio seemed to spot the brown haired maiden, as she immediately ran to her.

"Big Sister! Come and play with us! I'll go get Banpei!" Skuld shouted happily, as she headed for the door behind Belldandy.

"Oh no you don't, you little brat!" replied Urd as she darted after her youngest sister.

But Belldandy had barely heard them, as she was busy watching the girl whom her sisters hadn't seemed to notice.

"Urd, Skuld, haven't you noticed we have a visitor?" Belldandy asked, a bit angry with her sisters for being rude.

"Eh?" said both Urd and Skuld as they turned towards the gate, only to see a young blue-haired girl, apparently a goddess, but this goddess looked quite frightened at the moment.

Leamen backed off slowly, afraid of what she was seeing, and of what might happen if she did anything... The brown-haired girl told her to wait, that she'd like to have a chat. The other two girls were closing in on the gate, and that's when Leamen broke into a run, dashing towards home, with Nikkou following.

***

Everybody sat in the tea-room, in the afternoon. Keiichi had just come back from work at Whirlwind, and he was settling down too, getting comfortable, his shoulders slacking as he relaxed for a change. He listened as Belldandy related the morning's events.

"You saw another goddess today? Are you sure it wasn't Peorth, or even Rind?" asked a confused Keiichi. Deep down he knew it couldn't be either Rind or Peorth; they wouldn't have hidden from their view, and they wouldn't have run away. He wondered if this "goddess" could be a new enemy to the already wide myriad of foes they had.

"I am certain it was another goddess, Keiichi-san, and it wasn't one that we know…" answered Belldandy, "You see, I didn't sense her goddess aura…it is the other part of her that I sensed…I wasn't sure at first, which is why I went outside when I felt the energy signature. I recognised it as soon as I saw the girl though. I knew that woman's mother when I was little. She wasn't of this realm, though; she was of a race called Lupi-jin. The Lupi-jin were a pacific race, fighting only to protect their loved ones and their home. One day, Bil, the god of the moon, took an interest in a Lupi-jin woman named Zukkie, who was the heir to one of the most important Lupi-jin tribes. I know Lupi-jins have a connection to the moon, as they are basically what you would call werewolves, only they have three forms. Anyway, all I know is that he got her to accompany him to the Heavens and after sometime a little goddess was born from their union. Zukkie was thrilled about having a daughter…"

Belldandy paused to take a sip of her tea, and then continued on.

"Zukkie took their child after an argument and fled through a gate. She probably died in it. If not, she wasn't strong when she got out of it. They say they've lost the baby's trace soon after Zukkie disappeared with her, too…And that's about all we know. The familiar energy I felt earlier was that of a Lupi-jin, which means she is probably Zukkie's daughter."

"You mean to tell me that the girl we saw today IS the goddess that went missing? She's the one they've been looking for? They should have found her by now!" exclaimed Urd.

"No, I'm not sure, I think her powers haven't awakened yet, or something has been done to the program in her marking… they'd need to trace her program to find her, but tracing an incomplete or damaged code would lead to nothing…" Belldandy thought for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts and piece this puzzle together.

"Now that's pretty weird! How could a goddess be powerless…I mean the only way for them to be powerless is to have their license suspended or something…But surely she must have some powers that could be traced…" said Keiichi.

"You forget something, Keiichi…she wasn't raised in the Heavens, she didn't receive a qualification, she doesn't have a license…. She wouldn't be able to use her powers even if she knew of them," replied Skuld, slightly annoyed at Keiichi's question.

Belldandy looked worried, chewing her bottom lip; she took another sip of tea.

"She will probably be back, but when will that be…we'll have to help her out…" said Belldandy, half out-loud and half to herself.

"I could send Banpei to fetch her, "said Skuld tentatively.

"Are you crazy, Skuld? You'll scare the Lupi-jin genes out of her!" replied Urd.

"But we never know… she may come back sooner than we think…" said Bell.

***

Leamen finished unpacking the last of her personal stuff, and proceeded to put it away. Nikkou happily paced around the room, and Leamen stopped her chore a little to pet her dog. The young woman was still shaken by her encounter. Those ladies, they were like her, minus the tail. They had facial markings too, and they…felt, smelled nice. She couldn't explain it, but she had felt something emanating from them, and it made her feel warm and at ease inside, but that sudden change in herself scared her. The brown-haired one seemed to know she was there, and when she actually mentioned her to the other two, Leamen got scared, and she had rushed home, afraid. Ayame had been quite surprised to see her so shaken up. What could have happened? Leamen wouldn't tell her, she wouldn't tell her dad, she wouldn't say anything, she had only ran to her room, her dog following happily behind….

Leamen sighed, and headed for the kitchen, after finishing placing her belongings. She had been in her room for a few hours now. It was around nine o'clock; it would be a late dinner but Ichiro and Ayame were proud of themselves, they had done a lot of unpacking today, so they'd be able to relax a little on Sunday. Leamen helped her mom to prepare the sushi, and she went downstairs to get her dad when the food was ready. She found her way through unpacked boxes and a few shelves that had yet to be placed.

"Dad?" she asked.

A loud thump was heard, followed with an 'ouch'.

"Oow…I'm here, what is it," he said as he got out of the future living room, rubbing his head.

"You startled me… How do you do that? The silent thing, I mean…"

"I'm sorry, Dad…dinner's ready…hurry up, now, because at this rate the food will rot before we get to eat it! Hurry, hurry!"

"I'm right behind you Leamen…" he answered with a smile as he went up the stairs with her.

Leamen talked a lot as she ate her dinner, her earlier concern seemingly forgotten. She told her dad of everything she had seen with her mom, carefully avoiding her little mishap at the temple.

"And you should see Nekomi Tech! It's huge! I only saw a glimpse of it though, but it looks so nice, I'm really looking forward to starting class there," she said, feeling extremely happy.

"Yes, I'm sure it'll be a great experience for you, meeting new people, new activities…" Ayame replied sincerely.

"Yeah, they'd better like my girl, or else…" said Ichiro teasingly, making a face and shaking his balled fist.

"Dad, you really think you would scare them?" said Leamen, resting her chin on her hand as she grinned at her dad.

"Ah well, at least I'd try!" replied her father.

Leamen excused herself, as she got up a few minutes later. She took every plate, and took them to the sink. She helped her mom clean the dishes as her dad went back downstairs, to finish his work. At around ten thirty she unpacked a few boxes with her mom and she excused herself to bed.

Leamen thought of her afternoon again, once she was lying comfortably on her unmade bed. "I'm definitely going back, I have to know who they are…" she thought as she slid her body under the sheets and slowly drifted off to sleep, her thoughts switching to the upcoming Monday at Nekomi Tech.

End of chapter 2