Time Will Tell
Chapter 5

It was now thirty minutes past eleven. Both Ayame and Ichiro glanced at the clock nervously. They couldn't help but worry. They knew. They knew they worried too much. Both of them were aware of it now.

Leamen had been gone for over two hours... They both silently and nervously paced the kitchen, sometimes wandering into the living room then going back to the kitchen. Ichiro was the first one to jump on the phone when it rang, almost tripping over Nikkou, who was pacing as well. The phone didn't need to ring twice.

"Yes?" he answered quickly.

"Hello… uh… this is Morisato Keiichi. I live at the temple a few blocks away from your home. Please don't worry about your daughter; she's here. We think she must have been dizzy or something; we found her unconscious near the temple."

"Is she alright? Is she awake? Let me talk to her!" Ichiro shouted urgently into the phone.

"She hasn't awakened yet. We were planning on having her spend the night here; she seems to be sleeping pretty deeply, and we're not to sure about moving her around until she wakes up. But please don't worry, we'll take good care of her," Keiichi softly answered.

"Okay… Can you call us when she wakes up, Mr. Morisato?" Ichiro asked.

"Yes, it'll be the first thing we'll do when she comes to, don't worry!" Keiichi replied.

"Thank you, Morisato." And with that Ichiro hung up the phone. Ayame immediately walked up to him, asking what was wrong with their daughter. He calmly explained what Morisato had told him. She was naturally furious, but she was even more worried…

It was late, around one in the morning. Urd was watching TV at a very low volume. Keiichi was looking through catalogs for Whirlwind; he'd taken the day off. Skuld was in her room working on Banpei. And, of course, Belldandy was quietly seated besides the unconscious Leamen in a cozy bedroom, watching over her.

She heard soft but distant voices at first. Soon, they got louder and louder. Leamen opened her eyes slowly, but regretted the action, as the soft light made her head hurt and spin.

"Keiichi, Urd, Skuld! She woke up!" Belldandy called happily. "Are you alright, Leamen?" At this, Urd entered the room and both Keiichi and Skuld came running from their rooms.

"Are you alright, Leamen?"

It took her brain a while to understand the words that were spoken to her. She groaned a little as the words finally sunk in.

"Ungh… yeah… sort of… what happened?" she asked, as she rubbed her forehead and shifted on the futon. Her back throbbed and felt sticky.

"Well, you have learned of your origins, we've told you about that. There were things I didn't know about Lupi-jins. Or at least, of Lupi-jin hybrids…So while you were out, we requested a information file on your mother." Belldandy said. She paused for a second, and checked Leamen's back. The girl only stared back at her, confused. Then Belldandy continued speaking.

"We found why Bil got with Zukkie. He wanted to study the powers she possessed. You see, Lupi-jins have the remarkable ability to shape shift. From what little information we gathered, as we suspected, Lupi-jins can have up to three forms. A humanoid form, the form of a wolf, and the form of a wolf walking on its hind legs; a werewolf, if you prefer. When Lupid-jins are born, they are born as humanoids, and later gain the ability to access their other form as they learn to fight, in order to protect their land and their tribes. This first transformation often occurs during battle and is triggered when the Lupi-jin male or female is either upset, or sees an ally in mortal danger. You were upset…were you not, Leamen?" Belldandy said, more as a fact than a question.

"Yes…yes I was upset…and…it was hot too…My parents were being their overprotecting selves as usual…I had an argument with my dad, then I left…I got here…I looked up at the sky and saw the full moon…" she paused, wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "And then…I was trapped. Inside my own body."

Urd then stepped into the conversation.

"We think we might be a bit at fault too, though."

"What? How so?" asked a confused blue haired goddess.

"I think a number of factors are at cause here. For one, as Belldandy said, you were upset when you transformed. Secondly, the sight of the full moon might have charged up your Lupi-jin instinct. It was seeing something that was beyond it, something that was calling to it. And, there was also our proximity. Surely you were upset before, on full moon days."

Leamen thought for a while, even though it made her head spin. Urd was right. There was always a day during the month during which everything annoyed her, and she'd punch just about anything or anyone. Those were probably full moon days…

"Yeah…there are a few days during the month where I'm easily irritated…But what does that have to do with my current situation? This never happened before…"

"Exactly. This is why I'm mentioning our proximity as a factor in this equation, Leamen. The fact that you were apparently drawn to us, and that our energies seemed to have touched, during the last few days…It seemed to be the missing element. Lupi-jins will often shape shift when they are with their kin, with their tribe. You can't shape shift; but there apparently is a wolf hidden in here," Urd said, as she poked Leamen gently on the chest, "even though it can't completely take over the body and transform it. And yesterday seemed the perfect opportunity for it to take control. You were upset, close to others like you, and the full moon called the wolf inside…"

"Okay…but…what will I do if this happens again? If this entity takes control again?" the girl asked, a bit scared, though she tried to hide the fear that she knew was heavy around her. She wondered if the others saw it too…

Belldandy smiled.

"It should be alright. This is like everything else. When something happens for the first time, we are often taken by surprise, and our reaction is delayed. Since this was the first time that the Wolf was out, it took you by surprise. It should be fine though, if it happens again. You know what it's like, now, and you may even be able to tame that beast someday." Bell said gently.

Keiichi smiled. Belldandy somehow always had the word to comfort, to reassure. He suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, I told your parents I'd call them when you'd wake up! They're probably worried to death…" Keiichi quickly said, getting up to get the phone.

"No! Not yet… I…I'll call them tomorrow," Leamen answered, "things aren't going so well…"

"Okay…" Keiichi said, coming back to sit down again, next to Belldandy.

"I will… thank you for taking care of me…" she said softly. She still wondered how and why she'd stumbled upon these guys…Leamen sighed softly, and moved her shoulders around. Her back felt sticky.

Skuld noticed this.

"Let me see your back…" the youngest sister said, more as an order than a question. Leamen obeyed, turned around and lifted the back of her bloodstained shirt. Skuld made a small face, and then grinned. She helped Leamen up without a word. The blue haired goddess turned and shot the rest of the group a questioning look.

Skuld was taking Leamen to the bathroom. With a few chosen words, and a bit of magic, the tub was filled much quicker than normal, the water at a pleasant temperature.

"Go on," Skuld said, indicating to the water with an extended hand. Leamen didn't look so sure, but her back really felt horrible. She briefly wondered what had happened as she undressed. Leamen looked around still, wondering if she'd feel that watching presence again. She sniffed the air.

Leamen saw Skuld giving her a little look.

"Em…sorry…I do that out of habit," she said, smiling sheepishly.

Skuld gave her a small smile, helping her to ease in the water.

The phone rang. Belldandy was busy in the kitchen; something to eat would do their guest good.

It rang again, and Urd sighed. She got up from her spot in front of the TV and went to the phone to answer the call. Her irritated expression soon turned to a more solemn one.

It was the Lord.

"Belldandy, take the phone, the Lord wants to talk to you…" Urd said, covering the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand.

Belldandy wiped her hands on her apron, and took the phone.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Belldandy, some interesting facts have come to my attention. Those energy readings around your temple, is it not the missing goddess?" the Lord said in his deep, rich voice.
"Yes, we---well, she found us, more so than we found her."

"I am calling to ask you to do something about her, Leamen, is it? I need you to make her body that of a child's."
"Alright, may I ask why such a procedure must be used?" Belldandy asked, the Lord's not quite clear to her.

"If her powers fully awaken in her current body, it would cause her too much of a strain, since goddesses' powers usually awaken when their bodies are very young. I would also like you to find a seal for her. We need her to be functional as soon as possible. You may train her in the temple you live in. I will also take the necessary measure concerning the effects of her body change."

"I understand…" she replied, deep in thought.

"I look forward to having Leamen back with us." With that, he hung up. Belldandy hung up the phone. She turned and went to Keiichi, sitting beside him. She then explained everything to both him and Urd.

Skuld carefully washed Leamen's back, scrubbing at the dried blood. They'd been in a comfortable silence for a while.

"So," Skuld started, "what's your alternate energy source?" she asked.

"My what?" Leamen said, driven out of her daze. The water sure felt nice on her skin. There was that presence again. She looked up slightly, and decided it was nothing.

"You know… something you drink, or eat, or do when you feel very tired… I guess we forgot to mention that…" Skuld said softly. She rinsed the rag, and resumed her gentle scrubbing.

"Ah… hmm…" Leamen pondered for a while. She stretched her arms a little, along with her feet.

"Well… I really like Pepsi, but any sort of cola does the trick. I also like coffee, once in a while… but not too much, it's too bitter. I usually add tons of milk and lots of sugar to it." Leamen said, with a small grin on her face.

"It must be caffeine then!" Skuld laughed, and then sighed.

"Bend forward a little, I missed a spot…"

"You're the boss…," Leamen said, bending forward as she had been told to.

"Damn!" He cursed, as he saw her bend forwards in his basin, hiding the beautiful view he was getting. Though he did take the opportunity to take out the tissues that were crammed up his nostrils. He carelessly tossed it on top of the heap of blood soaked tissues beside his huge chair…

"Come on, sit back and relax, sit back and relax…" he whispered to himself.

Steadying himself, he kept watching her. Skuld was rubbing Leamen's back, washing the dried blood away.

He passed a hand through his blood red hair, and smiled devilishly. He reached for his box of tissues and crammed three of them up his nose. Leamen had settled herself again, her body plainly in view. He would be patient, and would wait.

She felt totally relaxed now. Skuld had finished washing her back, Leamen was now cleaning herself.

"Funny…"she said, "these past few days, I've had the weird impression of constantly being watched…or I might just be paranoid…" Leamen said aloud.

Skuld shrugged. She was now sitting next to the tub, happy to have someone to chat with.

"It's probably only because you're having energy loss," she said. Her eyes suddenly lit up, "Ooh! When we're done, I'll go make you some coffee! Yeah!" Skuld said cheerfully.

Leamen paused at this sudden outburst, a bit embarrassed.

"Oh you really don't ha—"

"I insist! Besides, you need your energy back, as your training will probably start soon. You need to be at your best!"

"Oh… I see…" Leamen said, except she didn't.

"Which kind do you prefer? I'm sorry I can't get any soda…"Skuld said, slightly disappointed. The thought struck her so suddenly she thought she'd fall on her face. She was a genius! She could actually build a machine to make the stuff! Oh sure, it had already been done by some other companies, but one could never get the quality of the bought product. Of course, being a true genius, she'd make it perfect. Some habits never died, and that was always Skuld's trademark, though she was maturing.

"Thinking of it, I can actually make some soda for you, I'll just build a machine! It'll give you a perfect product, you won't tell the difference between that and the original!" Skuld chimed triumphantly. She took a step back as Leamen stepped out of the tub.

The young woman did something quite unexpected. She bent slightly forward, and shook her entire body, like a wolf or a dog, when it's drenched to the bone. Skuld brought her hands up to protect herself from the attacking pellets of water. Skuld then pointed to the towel siting on the edge of the tub. Leamen grinned, a bit embarrassed, picking up the towel and drying the rest of the water from her body.

"I'm sorry about that Skuld, baths always seem to get to me more than showers do…I always feel too soaked for my own good," the woman said, looking around for a place to store the wet towel.

Skuld took it and put it in the basket behind her.

"We need to find you some clothes now, don't we?"

Leamen smiled at her, her tail slightly swishing the air behind her. She still couldn't' remodel her clothes, though she had learned of it from the others. Leamen couldn't wait to start her training…

Skuld then reentered the bathroom, holding some of Keiichi's. These would have to do, even though they seemed a bit small; Leamen was still 5'9" tall…

Leamen slowly put the sweater on, and then put the jogging pants on. They were supposed to cover her entire legs, but the pant legs ended over the middle portion of her calves. She then followed Skuld out of the bathroom a bit awkwardly; her tail was sticking out of the pants all wrong.

Urd was mixing a few potions in her room. She had concocted all sorts of new love potions she'd keep for later use. She raised her head from her work as she heard the bathroom door open and heard the shuffling of feet on the floor.

"Hey, feeling any better?" Urd asked.

"Yes, thank you. Keiichi's clothes are rather comfortable too!" Leamen replied with a giggle, as she showed Urd that she was wearing his sweater and pants.

Urd tried not to laugh; Keiichi was truly short…

Leamen then went to the phone, glancing Skuld's way, as if asking if she could use it. Skuld only smiled nodded, then headed to her room to make that perfect soda-making machine.

Leamen picked up the receiver and dialed her number. It rang…and rang… and rang. There was no answer.
Leamen hung up the phone, thinking they were probably sleeping, as it was getting very late. She shrugged and headed for the Tearoom. Urd followed her, still trying not to laugh at how awkward Leamen looked. She had to see this…

Belldandy sat in the Tearoom with Keiichi. She wondered if it really was a good thing to turn Leamen back into a child. They didn't know how she'd react, if she'd be the mature girl they knew, or if she'd react as a 7-year-old girl. The Lord's orders could not be disobeyed, and his reasons probably were more important than they knew.

Urd then entered with Leamen, they both sat down with them. Belldandy was quick to ask questions.

"How do you feel? Any better?" Bell asked her.

"Yes, thank you," Leamen replied, "Oh, and thank you also for the clothes you lent me, Keiichi."

"It's no big deal, we're lucky that my clothes are baggy, since you're a bit taller than I am…though it didn't seem to help for the pants," Keiichi noted, looking at the short pant legs, smiling.

"Belldandy, what did the Lord call for?" Urd asked as she looked at the back of Leamen's pants. Leamen's eyes went wide as the material ripped, and a careful hand slipped her tail through the fresh hole. She turned and thanked Urd, who sat beside her.

Belldandy looked in her cup of tea, wondering how she would bring the subject. She decided to spill it all directly.

"It is about Leamen's training. The Lord has given me permission to train her here, but he also wants us to turn her body back into that of a child's. He said that to train in her present body would cause too much of a strain," she paused, risking a glance at the godddess, "Is this okay with you, Leamen? You can always back out, we can find another way…" Belldandy said, even though she knew that there wasn't much of a choice.

Leamen pondered a little, she didn't really want to be turned into a kid, but she really wanted to start her training. She briefly wondered how her parents, and everyone she knew, would react…

"I don't mind, Belldandy, but what about my parents, and the people at the University?"

"Don't worry about that, Leamen, the Lord said he would take the necessary measures so that it wouldn't shock people," Belldandy answered reassuringly.

Keiichi yawned, and got up, excusing himself. He stretched for a brief moment. It was getting very late, and he had work at Whirlwind the next day… Belldandy kissed him goodnight as he went off to bed. A blush colored her cheeks.

Urd then got up also. Leamen thought she was leaving for bed too, but she came to Leamen instead.

"I will be the one performing the spell, Leamen. Since my element is the past, I will be the one to change your body. Please stand up." Urd said. Leamen nodded and got up. Urd brought her hands up, concentrating. Her breathing slowed, as if she was sleeping.

"Threads of the past… remember the path you once took…"

The lights seemed to dim. Belldandy looked around, making sure all the doors and windows were closed, so no one would be able to peek inside. A magic circle appeared on the floor, and Belldandy quickly moved any object that would get in the way. An eerie glow formed around the two women in the center of the room. Leamen rose a few inches off the floor as a soft blue glow surrounded her body.

"I, Urd, Goddess of the Past, order you to once again walk this road!" Small beams of blue light shot out of the magic circle, heading straight for the floating woman. The glow surrounding Leamen's body and the magic circle's beams, all sank into her completely.

Once the blue light had disappeared, her body started changing. Her chest could be seen flattening, as the sweater got larger and larger. Her head seemed to get a little smaller, and her face became slightly rounded. Her markings also seemed to take more space on her forehead and at the corner of her eyes. She looked rather freakish at the moment; her upper body was that of a kid, but the lower half of it was still that of a woman's. Her legs then started shortening, making her pants large enough for two people. Her tail also shortened and the hair shortened on it; it seemed younger.

Leamen now had a 7-year-old body.

She floated down and Urd caught her; she was afraid of falling to the floor now. Leamen smiled at Urd, her large blue eyes holding the innocence of the child she'd become.

Urd set her down carefully. Leamen walked around a few steps, the sweater's sleeves dangling. She giggled, her voice clear and slightly higher than usual. Leamen made little patterns with her feet on the floor, but she stepped on her now too long pant legs and fell forwards. She yelped, but didn't hit the floor. Her tail did its balance-keeping job. Instead, Leamen fell backwards on her butt and let her body drop to the floor, her back producing a slight thumping sound as it made contact with the floor's wooden planks.

"Are you okay?" asked Belldandy softly.

"Yeah," Leamen said cheerfully. She sat up and looked at herself for the first time.

She smiled softly, something that she'd apparently kept from her older self.

"It feels good to be like this once more. My mind isn't so clouded with worry and doubt anymore," she said looking up to Belldandy and Urd, "Thank you."

"All done!" chimed Skuld as she entered the room. Banpei followed her, carrying her newest invention.

She almost tripped over Leamen, who had unconsciously sat right in front of the door. Skuld caught herself at the last second. She looked down at the kid looking up at her.

"Leamen?" she asked, not sure if her eyes were seeing what she thought she was seeing. A genuine smile answered her question.

"What happened to you?" Skuld asked, sitting down in front of her, Banpei mimicking his creator. Leamen shot Banpei a curious glance. She had seen him before, but her curiosity overwhelmed her. Leamen got up and tapped Banpei's helmet, he beeped and she fell back, laughing.

"We forgot to tell you Skuld;" said Urd nonchalantly, "Lord's orders. We still don't know what her reactions will be to all of this, but as of now she seems to be the same, as in intelligence, except she giggles a lot more and she seems a lot more energetic…"

"Now you tell me!" Skuld said, slightly exasperated, "Whoa! Leamen, don't do that!"

Leamen was sitting on top of Banpei's head, smiling. The robot didn't seem to mind. Leamen then jumped from her sitting position and landed directly in Skuld's arms, crushing her into a tight hug. This surprised Skuld at first, the child jumping into the air, extracting shocked little screams from everyone. She returned the hug after a second of hesitation.

The child let go of her, and gave a curious glance at what Banpei held in his thick-gloved hands.

"What's that? Leamen asked, grinning, trying to see what it was. Of course, she knew it was the machine Skuld had said she'd build, but she couldn't help it.

Skuld grinned, and took the small white machine in her hands. She set it on the table, which Belldandy had put back in place, and pressed a few buttons. Leamen was kneeling in front of it, watching it, not wanting to lose a minute of what was happening. The little machine hummed for a few seconds. It then made a clear beeping noise, much like Banpei's voice. Something then came out of the rounded opening. Leamen pushed herself forward, trying to get a better view.

A cold can of soda popped out of the machine. The white can simply held Skuld's forehead marking as its logo. Skuld took it in her hands, popped it open and handed it to Leamen. The young girl took it and sniffed it. Her eyes lit up as recognition sank in. She smiled widely and thanked Skuld about a dozen times, before she brought the can to her lips and drank. The can was empty about a minute later.

The little machine hummed and beeped for about thirty more minutes before Leamen was finally satisfied. One little thing bugged her though.

"Belldandy?" she asked.

"Yes, what is it?" Belldandy replied, looking at her fondly. This brought back old memories…

"Um… in my current condition, what will I do about school?"

"Don't worry. Give me the name of one of your teachers, and I'll make sure he gives me your homework and projects."

"Oh, oh! In the French class, you can ask Ken! Remember him? Brown hair and blue eyes! He's my friend, he can give you the stuff I need!" Leamen said, excited. She missed him a bit already, she knew she probably wouldn't see much of him in the next few days.

"Okay, Nakamura Ken, was it not?" Bell said, smiling.

The alarm clock made its sickening melody ring once again at six-thirty, as it did every morning. Ichiro gave it a light tap, to shut it up. Ayame stretched, then got up. She dressed for work and headed to the kitchen to fix breakfast. Ayame came back into the room at seven o'clock.

"Ichiro, get up honey, your breakfast is getting cold," she whispered in his ear. His response was a light groan, and a few seconds later his head and body emerged out of the bed. He also got dressed for work.

"We have to call that temple," he said as he came out of the room, buttoning his shirt, "I hope she's fine, she apparently took a nasty fall from her skateboard yesterday."

"Yes, eat your breakfast, and I'll make the call," she said as he sat down at the table and as she headed for the phone, picking up the phone book as she went. Keiichi had forgotten to leave his number in his haste, the night before.

Belldandy was fixing breakfast for everyone as the phone rang. She was sure it was Leamen's parents. She went to it and picked it up.

"Hello, Morisato residence,"

"Hello? My name is Ayame, Leamen's mother. A man called us yesterday and told us our daughter fell off her skateboard, close to the temple. Is she alright?" Ayame asked on the other end of the line.

"Yes, yes she's doing great. We patched her knees up; they should heal up nicely. I'll call her so she can come and talk with you." replied Belldandy.

"Thank you, Miss." Belldandy smiled and covered the mouthpiece with her hand.

"Leamen? Come here and take the phone, it's your mother!" Leamen came running, Skuld holding her hand and Banpei right behind her. He was wearing makeup and all sorts of ribbons. Leamen had apparently let herself explore her young mind…She picked up the phone quickly, a huge smile on her face.

"Hello?"

"Good morning honey, are you okay? Did you sleep well?" Ayame asked, gentler than usual.

"I'm okay, Mommy, I fell hard, but I'm okay now!" the girl said, rather quickly. Belldandy wondered if she'd been such a fast talker, when she was truly seven years old.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that honey," Ayame replied.

"Mommy? Can I spend the day here? I'm having lots of fun with the guys here! Pretty please?" the girl asked, her eyes full of hope.

"Alright, but we want you back for the night okay? Consider yourself lucky young girl, you'd be back here right now if your knees didn't hurt so much, and besides, you seem to like it there." Ayame answered. The sweet tone of Belldandy's voice had somehow wiped away the motherly concern she felt about her child.

"Okay! Thanks Mommy! Buh-bye!"

"Bye, honey, have a nice day!" Ayame said.

Leamen hung up the phone, smiling.

"It worked! The Lord replaced their memory!" she said cheerfully.

Belldandy smiled. Now they'd have to see what the Lord had come up for Leamen's peers at the University.

"Yes, I'm glad since we won't have to explain all of this," Bell said. The goddess jumped suddenly and ran back to the kitchen. She was totally forgetting about breakfast.

She called from the kitchen.

"Leamen, can you go wake Keiichi up please?"

"Okay!" Leamen said as she bounded off to Keiichi's room.

Keiichi was taking a nice walk home with Belldandy, helping her out, she was having trouble walking, her round belly an extra weight. Their day had been perfect. First, they had breakfast in a restaurant by the ocean. They had then visited ranch and got the chance to ride beautiful horses. They were almost home when Belldandy suddenly jumped on him and pinned him down and looked deep into his eyes.

"What are you doing Bell?" he said in a muffled voice. His face had gone completely red and he just hoped she'd stop crushing him. He opened his eyes to see Leamen on all fours, on him, pinning him down. Too bad it was just a dream…

"AGH!" he cried, shocked.

"AAAAAH!" she cried back, "GOOD MORNING!"

The child got off him, and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. That's when he got a good look at her. His eyes went wide.

"What happened to you?" he said, wondering why Leamen seemed to be one eighth of her size.

"Urd turned me into a child because the Lord said so…didn't Belldandy tell you about that?" she said.

"Oh true…sorry…my head's rather foggy this morning…" he answered. He got up and Leamen left the room, letting him get dressed. She patiently waited beside his door. Keiichi came out fully dressed, and she followed him to the kitchen. Breakfast was ready; Belldandy was just finishing serving the rice. He sat at the table and looked at the food, his mouth watering. Giving Belldandy his many thanks once again, he dug in. Urd and Skuld came in, and Urd bopped Keiichi lightly on the head.

"You could've waited for us," she said playfully. She sat down with Skuld, and both started eating after thanking their sister.

The birds were chirping outside, and the sun shone brightly. Belldandy smiled.

"Does a walk in the woods sounds good to you? We could go when we're finished eating breakfast. " Belldandy said, her eyes sparkling lightly. She clearly had something on her mind.

"That sounds great Bell, I should have enough time before I go to work." he said.

"Okay! The fresh air will do us good!" Leamen said, between two mouthfuls of food. She was eating her second serving.

Leamen swallowed, then jumped on Skuld, hugging her tight. Skuld almost dropped her food, but she returned the mark of affection; it felt weird to her because she usually was the one giving the hugs, especially to her big sister Belldandy.

"Did you hear? We're going in the woods! You want to go with me? Please?" Leamen pleaded.

Urd told them she'd pass, there was this movie she really didn't want to miss, and the potions… but she didn't tell them about that.

When breakfast was over, Leamen packed her arms with all of the plates, easily carrying them back to the kitchen. Even though her body had diminished in size, her physical strength didn't change that much, and her balance remained perfect, thanks to her tail.

Keiichi then brought her to his room and made her choose the clothes she'd like to wear. Leamen chose a dark green T-shirt, a white sweater with a wrench logo on it, and red pants. Keiichi was lucky since she had chosen the pair of pants that he didn't wear anymore. Skuld came in to help her out as Keiichi left. The clothes were so large for her that Skuld had to help her to put them on, and turned up her cuffs. Skuld then took a pair of scissors and carefully made a little hole in the back of the pants, so Leamen could let her tail loose.

Skuld then brought Leamen into the Tearoom. She carefully combed the child's hair, and fastened it into a ponytail. Skuld told her to wait a few seconds and got some elastic bands. She made three braids with Leamen's ponytail. These she tied up.

"There! We're all ready to go!" Skuld said.

"Yay!" Leamen cheered as she went to the lobby to put her shoes on, shoes that Belldandy had shrunk so they'd still fit. Keiichi and Belldandy did the same.

The four of them left the temple and headed to the nearest forest.