Time Will Tell
Chapter 3

Leamen gulped her breakfast rather quickly on Sunday morning, it consisted of a single piece of toast; she was rather nervous and it lessened her appetite. She hastily washed her plate, glass and butter knife when she was done, and set them back in the cupboard. She washed her hands, brushed her teeth and went to her room. Nikkou was right behind her, as usual. Leamen rummaged through her messy drawers, looking for something to wear. She settled on a rather large orange T-shirt with the English capital letter "E" on it and pulled and a pair of black shorts. She then headed back to the kitchen, nearly tripping over Nikkou who was happily laying across the door, and scribbled a little note to her parents, saying she'd be back for dinner. The young woman moved as silently as possible; she didn't want to awaken her parents. She checked around a few times to be sure that she didn't forget anything and headed to the lobby. Nikkou's short, clipped claws clicked on the floor behind her. Leamen fished her running shoes and skateboard out of the messy closet and sat on the only step separating the lobby from the rest of the little house. She put on her left shoe, tied it securely and reached for her right shoe, which was no longer there. The dog had also fallen silent.

She looked around quickly, only to catch Nikkou in the act.

"Nikkou!" she hissed, "Bad girl! Give me back my shoe!" Leamen reached for the shoe but Nikkou walked away with her tail wagging, the now drool filled shoe secured in her jaw.

"Ew! Nikkou! Come back here!" she hissed roughly again as she went after the old dog, trying not to stepped too loud with her left foot.

After a few minutes of playful low growling from both girl and dog, Leamen got her shoe back. She rubbed her dog's head a bit roughly. "You mischievous girl!"

A playful little yap was the answer she got. She smiled and gave her old friend a peck on the head, grabbed her skateboard and she was gone. Nikkou simply stared at the door with big brown eyes and yawned. She then lazily got up, went back to her corner of the kitchen, nudged her food bowl and laid down for a snooze.

Leamen sped down the streets, all the while being careful not to topple over and break her bones. She went over the sidewalks, performed a few simple tricks. She kicked her right leg down on the pavement to gain some speed and jumped over a spilled trashcan. The girl noticed the empty soda cans lying on the pavement in front of it. Seeing those reminded her that her little ride was starting to get her thirsty, not to mention sweaty, so she stopped at a nearby vending machine and got herself a cheap cola knock- off.

The can opened with a light sound; she brought it to her lips.

"My.not too bad, but it isn't Pepsi," she thought as she downed it rather quickly. The blue tailed girl then got back on her skateboard and headed towards the temple, the mentioned tail attracting a few surprised looks on the way.

***

"I love this kind of morning; the air is fresh, the birds chirp happily in their cozy nests and the sun shines so beautifully." Bell said with eyes closed, breathing in the morning air as they walked along the morning streets.

"Ah.yes.it is.beautiful." he answered, looking at her fondly as a faint blush colored his cheeks. He tentatively slipped his hand in hers, and his blush deepened as her hand tightened on his own, stroking the golden ring on his ring finger.

*** Her wheels made a soft noise as she cruised down the streets. Leamen was about four blocks away from the temple when a familiar scent tickled her nose. She saw the pleasant scent's source come around the street corner. It was that brown-haired maiden she had seen the day before. She looked very elegant in her long sleeved blue dress. The sweet looking woman was with a black-haired man wearing casual jeans, and a heavily worn red sweater. He was slightly shorter than the lady was, his hair was neatly cut, and emotion seemed to pour from his chocolate brown eyes. Leamen guessed it was the maiden's husband, from the way he was staring fondly at her.

Belldandy saw the girl across the street and gave her a warm smile. Leamen took the hint, she looked looked on both sides of the street before crossing. Leamen blushed a little; her body seemed to be getting a bit hot all of a sudden. She got off her skateboard and took it in her hands.

"Well, hello there, nice seeing you again. We kind of had a bad start yesterday, didn't we? " Belldandy said, smiling all the way . "Uh.yes, yes.." She paused and rubbed the back of her head in a nervous manner, "I.I'm sorry I freaked out yesterday. I just. never saw people like me. Uh, no that's not what I wanted to say." her tail wagged slowly from left to right; her gaze shifting from Belldandy to Keiichi, "Ah.. Um.this must be your husband," Leamen said, bowing.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Leamen. I've just moved here." Leamen saw the pair look astonished and the man blush furiously. She noticed the strong smell of uneasiness that emanated from him. Leamen took this to mean they weren't really married and that she'd goofed, or that they were rather shy about it.

"Er. Welcome to Nekomi, Leamen, I'm Morisato Keiichi, and this is Belldandy," Keiichi said, motioning to his goddess, whose blue eyes turned to Leamen.

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Belldandy. I'm sorry, again, for the way I acted, it wasn't proper and I apologize." Leamen said, bowing again.

"That's alright, you were scared, we understand that. But I cannot say 'pleased to meet you' though, Leamen, because I already know you. Well, I know of you.My, all of Heaven knows." Belldandy said, smiling, her voice trailing off.

"Eh?" stammered Leamen, completely puzzled.

"Why don't we return to the temple, we will introduce you to my
sisters."suggested Belldandy. "Is that alright with you Keiichi?"

"No problem Bell." he said with a smile.

"Uh. okay, I guess. but can I phone my Mom and Dad when we get to the temple? I left them a note saying I'd be back for dinner, but I forgot to tell them where I was going." Leamen asked cautiously.

She didn't really need to tell them exactly where she was at any given moment; she was 20, though since she was still living with them, they preferred to be kept informed on at least her whereabouts. Leamen didn't really enjoy it, but Ayame and Ichiro tended to be a bit overprotective of their only child.she'd have to talk to them about that sooner or later.

"Of course, let's hurry, I don't want your parents to worry." Bell said with concern, wondering who these "parents" were, and what they were like, since she had known Leamen's biological parents and doubted they were the parents the girl was referring to. She didn't see Leamen rolling her eyes, smiling as she thought of her mom and dad.

***

A short walk brought them back to the temple, as they weren't very far from it. The trio entered, taking off their shoes, Leamen leaving her skateboard outside. Urd looked up from the TV set as she heard them come into the living room.

"Hey guys! How was t-" Urd said, her sentence cutting short as she sees Leamen, "What have we here?"

Belldandy smiled, looking at Leamen, who took a step forward.

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Leamen," she said to Urd as she bowed.

"The name's Urd, Cupid of Love, nice to meet you too, Leamen," Urd replied, returning her bow.

And without warning, Urd walked to her and took her chin in her hand. Leamen looked quite taken by this and her eyes widened a little.

"Hmm. yup. definitely Zukkie and Bil." mumbled the exotically dressed goddess as she examined the woman's features, " Zukkie's eyes, Bil's mouth and nose."

Leamen blushed a dark shade of red, and wondered briefly about Zukkie and Bil, who she understood, from Urd's sayings, were her biological parents.

"Urd, would you please stop, you're embarrassing the poor girl!" Keiichi said, rather angrily. Leamen already looked nervous enough.As he said those words, a younger looking girl, with black hair and brown eyes, poked her head into the doorway.

"Who's embarrassed?" she asked as she walked in, "What's this commotion all about? Oh." She stopped short when she saw Leamen.

"Nice to meet you." said a rather red looking Leamen. She bowed to this newest sister. She didn't say so but Leamen was still shocked with Urd's rather direct approach.

"Nice to meet you too, Leamen, I'm Skuld!" said Skuld cheerfully as she extended her hand to the blue-haired girl. Leamen shook Skuld's hand with a smile.

She was starting to feel less nervous, though she felt quite hot. She would have changed clothes, had she been home. Leamen looked around a bit. The temple was old, but it was still a very good-looking place, which was also filled with loads of interesting scents.

A particular odor caught her attention. She sniffed the air a few times and looked around for the source of the scent. It was getting stronger. Was it her, or was that scent that of a..

A sharp intake of breath.

And Leamen sneezed. Twice. Three times.

Something soft rubbed against her ankle. She sneezed once more before looking down. Lowering her gaze further and further, until her eyes rested upon.

A cat.

It was completely black, except for a star shape on its forehead, its paws, and the tip of its tail. It meowed and purred as it welcomed her to the household. She sneezed again. The cat sniffed her feet a bit. Nikkou's scent, which had rubbed off on Leamen's clothes, didn't seem to upset it.

Belldandy smiled.

"I see you've met Welsper! He's a mischievous little cat." Belldandy said as she bent down and picked Welsper up, who immediately started purring. Keiichi just glared at the cat, seemingly vowing revenge. You could swear the cat was smiling.

Urd came by and handed Leamen a box of tissues, which she gratefully took. She muffled her thanks from under her hand, blew her nose and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Leamen said, embarrassed, "I'm kind of allergic to cats, although I still like them." She gave Welsper a pat on the head and sneezed again. The cat meowed again; three quick sounds, almost like laughter.

The cat nestled himself in the crook of Belldandy's arm. She scratched his head and a soft purring sound came from the little black fur ball.

"Well, now you know just about everyone in the household," said Belldandy. She sat down at the small table, motioning to Leamen to come sit down. "We really need to talk, Leamen, because I feel there are many things of which you are oblivious to."

"Okay, let me just phone my mom, she'll freak out if I don't.." Leamen said as she went to the phone.

She searched her memory for her new phone number, and couldn't remember it so she dialed the operator and asked to be connected to their new house. It rang twice.

***

"Hello?" said a rather concerned Ayame on the phone.

"Uh. Mom. It's me. I-" She was cut short by her mom's yelling. Quickly Leamen moved the receiver away from her ear.

"Where are you? You worried me sick! Leaving a note, without telling us of your whereabouts!"

Keiichi, Urd and Skuld looked at her quizzically, as she answered her mom.

"Sorry Mom. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm at that temple I visited yesterday. I'm chatting with the people here. I won't take long, I promise." She answered with a sigh.

"Well, alright, be back by five o'clock, not a second later, you hear?" said Ayame firmly.

"Ugh.thanks Mom, bye." said Leamen, wanting to end the embarrassing conversation as soon as possible.

"Bye Leamen, remember, five o'clock." Ayame replied, the strictness in her voice highly perceptible.

"Yes, yes, bye!" she said quickly, hanging up the phone.

Leamen silently walked back to the small table and sat down again, her cheeks a deep shade of red.

"Some mother you have!" said Urd.

***

Ayame hung up the phone, and went back to the kitchen, to sit beside Ichiro. He looked quite concerned.

"Strange. she's never done this before. she usually tells us where she goes." He said as he looked at the clock. Leamen had been gone for over an hour.

"I hope she'll be okay. she's been acting weird these last few days." Ayame confirmed, visibly worried.

Nikkou came in the room, panting lazily as she lay down beside them. Ichiro stared at his wife for a few seconds, before he hesitatingly stated the obvious.

"Hmmm.you know." Ichiro started, hesitating, "hmm.she's not a child anymore.No matter how much we'd like it to stay like this, we can't keep her covered like that forever." He said as he wrapped his wife in his arms. Ayame seemed quite upset.

"But what if something happens to her? What if-" her sentence stopped as a sob escaped her lips, her eyes quickly filling with tears.

"There, there.." The man said, rocking her gently, "She's big enough now, I'm sure she'll be just fine.we have to let her live her own life."

Ayame slowly nodded as she sniffed, understanding her husband's point of view.

***

Belldandy entered the living room with several cups of tea and a few cookies, which she set on the table. She then sat down and took a sip of her Darjeeling tea.

Leamen looked around at everyone, a little nervously, as if they were going to jump on her, as a lion might pounce an antelope.

"You don't have to be scared; we won't eat you, girl." It was Urd who had spoken.

"Sorry. I'm not used to this." Leamen said shyly.

"Why is that?" Keiichi asked. "Um. I didn't really have any friends back home, well, a few acquaintances.but no real friends." She sigh, then let out a short laugh, "My only real friends are my parents and my dog Nikkou.See, people tend to judge others by their looks. I guess." she said.

Skuld looked at her and smiled.

"Don't worry, we're not judging you, you're a fellow goddess!" Skuld replied, trying to cheer her up.

"A what? Goddess? What is this all about?" Leamen asked, confused.

A sudden vision hit her. She was warm all over, and looking up, she peered into a pair of caring, loving amber eyes. The image faded, to be replaced by another one.. A face of immaculate white.these new eyes were filled with ageless wisdom, and were a deep golden color. This last image faded to nothing.

Skuld looked at Leamen closely; she seemed to have spaced out for a few seconds.

"Are you okay?" Skuld asked.

The girl looked shocked and confused now, her eyes darted around the room, her breathing deepening.

"Something strange just happened.. I just saw two faces staring at me out of nowhere while I haven't moved from here and---"

Urd put her hands on her shoulders and gave her a gentle shake, to bring her back to reality.

"Whoa whoa, calm down Leamen." Urd said; this seemed to calm the young woman down a bit, "you saw something when we mentioned you were a goddess, but has anything weird appeared recently? Any other visions like the ones you just experienced, or dreams?"

"Hmm.now that you mention that.. I've had a weird dream recently, it was of some black dog or wolf.. Then the dog disappeared and couldn't breathe. That's when I woke up.Hmm.. I also feel quite hot, I mean, I know it's hot outside, but.I don't know.this is different."

"I think I can explain at least that dream and this vision you just had." said Belldandy calmly, "it is your goddess half reacting to our close presence. It's no wonder you found the temple; you were drawn to it, although it wasn't intentionnal on our side." Here she paused, took a sip of tea.

"As I understand it you were born about 20 to 21 years ago, in the realm of the gods. Your mother was a Lupi-Jin, a race of wolf people. Not werewolves mind you; they wander forests of all realms as wolves, but they can take on humanoid forms... Zukkie, your Lupi-jin mother, bonded with the God of the Moon, Bil." Bell said, smiling. "You were soon born of their union. Everything was going well, but they had an argument one night. No one really knows why they argued, but it is presumed it was about your situation. You see, a post had already been prepared for you. Your forehead marking tells a lot, you know... You would have managed the systems of time, if you had grown up with the gods. But your mother took you away; she didn't want to leave you there, as to her it meant you could never have a normal life. Zukkie was a rather strong fighter; while she ran with you in her arms, she managed to fight off two guards at once, just before she jumped in the gate that took her to Earth. The story is somewhat famous."

It took a few moments for Leamen to take it all in, she took a few deep breaths and massaged her temples. She then looked at Belldandy, puzzled.

"I don't get it. if all of that is true, why am I with Mom and Dad. I mean, I know I'm not from them, my physique proves it, so why isn't my real mom with me?" Leamen asked. "The authorities figured she hid you, in case she'd ever get caught," answered Urd.

"Hmmm. I see." Leamen said in a low tone, deep in thought. Her eyes lit up with a new question.

"Why didn't I know of all of this? I know I was pretty young, but if I'm a goddess or whatever you say I am, shouldn't I have known? I mean, I know I've always been different, but." said Leamen as she lowered her eyes.

"That's because something has tempered with your signal," replied Belldandy, "your mother probably succeeded in shutting it off, so we were never able to trace you."

A heavy silence fell on the tearoom. The only sound in the room was that of Welsper's soft purring.

Leamen spoke up after a while.

".Soooo. what, will I have to learn about this Heaven place, or something? Who will teach me all of that? My! This is crazy!" Leamen exclaimed, to no one in particular.

Belldandy smiled at the blue-haired goddess.

"I will be your mentor, then," she said, smiling radiantly.

Skuld gasped; Keiichi stopped munching on his cookie; Urd just stared at Belldandy, while Leamen looked even more confused.

"Well, I hope you're ready for this Belldandy. Being a mentor is a tough job." said Urd, putting her hand on her younger sister's shoulder, "are you sure about this?".

"Um.Mentor? You mean like a teacher of some sorts?" Leamen asked.

"Exactly," replied Belldandy, still smiling.

Urd glanced at her youngest sister, whom she expected to protest. To her surprise, the objection didn't come. She gave Skuld a little smiled, which was returned. The goddess of the Future was growing maturer, more elegant as time passed.

"I don't think we can change your mind Bell, you seem eager to do this.Just take it easy and don't exhaust yourself, okay?" It was Keiichi. Belldandy smiled at him, his concern melting her heart.

"Please, don't worry, I'll be fine," Bell answered, reassuring, "Everything will go well, don't worry," she said as she turned to Leamen. Even Welsper meowed at her, before turning around in Belldandy's lap only to lay down again.

She smiled, rubbing her eyes, trying to hide the tears that threatened to spill.

***

During the next few hours, every goddess tried to teach Leamen the basics of the Heavens, and Yggdrasil. Belldandy, Urd and Skuld each showed Leamen their angels. They all laughed as Leamen jumped back in fright, the hair on her tail puffy. After a few deep breaths and good explanations though, the angels and Leamen soon became good friends.

"You'll have an angel too, Leamen; now that I think of it, I may have an idea." said Bell, smiling.

"Alright, my, this is happening so fast." Leamen said, caressing the feathers on World of Elegance's black wing. The angel made a sound similar to purring. The newcomer stared at the clock absentmindedly, then jumped. Ten minutes to five.

"Oh my! I'm going to have to get back home now; my overprotective parents will kill me," she said, a bit embarrassed.

Leamen ran to the lobby as quickly as she could and hurriedly put on her shoes, then grabbed her skateboard.

"Thanks for everything guys, I'll be back tomorrow after scho-Uh.if it's alright I mean..."

"Of course!" chimed Skuld who looked at Keiichi and Bell. Both smiled, and Leamen smiled back in return, exiting the temple ground and hurrying back home.

***

Ayame paced in the kitchen as she glanced at the wall. Five minutes until five o'clock. Where could that girl be? She was supposed to be back by now.

The front door opened and Leamen entered, red in the face with exhaustion, but she looked quite happy.

Ayame practically ran to her and told her never to do that again. Leamen only smiled and hugged her mother tightly, then her father. Nikkou came to her master, bouncing, though her old bones protested. Leamen wrestled with her dog for a few minutes, before lying on the kitchen floor with Nikkou, victorious, licking her face all over.

"Okay! Okay girl! You win, you win!" she laughed, getting up.

She got herself a drink and helped her mom prepare dinner. She told her about her afternoon, although certain details were carefully skipped.

"I'll stop by the temple tomorrow after school, I want to say hello to my friends on the way back." She said as they set the table. The conversation switched sides as they started eating.

Around a half an hour later, the table was cleared, the dishes washed, and the leftovers stored in the fridge. Leamen smiled at her dad, already sprawled on the couch watching TV.

"Nikkou! Come here girl, we're taking a walk!"

The dog, understanding the word 'walk', got to her feet and walked to Leamen, who put the leash on her collar. She didn't know why she bothered with it though; Nikkou always stayed close.

The air was a bit cooler that night, although Leamen enjoyed it. She walked a few blocks from home, and even passed the temple. She stopped walking and looked at it for a few minutes, while Nikkou sniffed the ground. The dog also looked up after a few seconds. The old canine whimpered a little, and Leamen understood that as the signal to go back home. Nikkou wasn't getting younger, and her body was easily strained.

Back home, Leamen removed her shoes, removed the leash from Nikkou's collar and stored these items in the closet. She passes her mother and father in the living room; they were both watching a popular game show. Nikkou joined them, squeezing her old frame between Ayame and Ichiro. Smiling, Leamen went to her bedroom and grabbed an oversized T-shirt and underwear, then headed to the bathroom. Her shower was quick, but refreshing.

That done, she put on her bedclothes and brushed her teeth. Leamen shut the bathroom lights and headed for her bedroom, calling for Nikkou. Leamen made sure to check she had all the necessary paper in her bag before going to sleep. The dog then entered the room, and lay down on the bed. Leamen grinned at her, shut the lights and slid under the blankets, pushing Nikkou a little.

So much had happened during the day that she wasn't so nervous about her first day at Nekomi Institute of Technology anymore. Her mind felt clear for once, and sleep came easily.

Disclaimer: I don't own the © copyright Keiichi, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and any other OMG character. I only own the © copyright (2001) to Leamen and her parents.. Many thanks to Liz Holt for her help! No thanks to go to Senbei, since he sucks at editing. ^-^