.hackGODDESS by SmkViper Proof readers/editors: Sehet Xaui, Greybolt, Gen, Cholene, Demon Angel Tsukai

Copyright .hackGODDESS © 2003 SmkViper Oh My Goddess! © Kosuke Fujishima Japanese Language Version © Kodansha Ltd.
English Language Version © AnimEigo, Pioneer, Dark Horse Project Dot Hack © Project Hack, Bandai, TV Tokyo, Comptiq

.hackGODDESS is a fan fiction work based off the Oh My Goddess! and Project Dot Hack universes. It is not affiliated with Kosuke Fukishima, Kodansha Ltd,
or Project Hack. And resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Author's notes:
Text in are a character's thoughts.

Chapter 8: Motorcycles and Revelations

Keiichi quietly poked his head into Skuld's room where Skuld was resting and Kenaz was silently working on analyzing the virus.

"Kenaz, can I talk to you for a second?" Keiichi whispered.

Kenaz looked up from his work, and with a glance towards Skuld's sleeping form, followed Keiichi out of the room. Once they were far enough away so as not to wake Skuld, Keiichi turned around and addressed Kenaz.

"Have you ever worked on a motorcycle before Kenaz?"

"Well, I haven't worked on something like that before, no. But I have helped Skuld out with her inventions so I've done mechanical stuff. My specialty is computers though, why do you ask?"

"Well, Tamiya and Ootaki, two of my seniors from Nekomi Tech, called me up yesterday and dragged me into an exhibition race for the Nekomi Tech Motor Club on Friday, the day after tomorrow. Of course, I have to build the bike myself, and they just dropped off the parts for it a few minutes ago. Normally I would have asked Skuld if she would help me with it, but seeing as she needs her rest, well…"

"Oh, so I'm second best, huh?" Kenaz replied with a smirk.

"N-no, I didn't mean it like that," said Keiichi quickly, waving his hands in front of him.

Kenaz chuckled. "I know, I not sure how much help I can be, but sure, I'll help you."

"Thank you so much," said Keiichi with a little bow.

"So, when do we get started?"

"As soon as possible, like I said, the race is Friday afternoon, so we only have the rest of today and all of Thursday to work on the bike. I've built a bike before in less time, but I prefer to take a little more time to make sure I get it done right, and to have plenty of time to make sure it runs well."

"Sure, let's go get started," said Kenaz, quickly changing his clothes to a pair of jeans and a work shirt as he and Keiichi walked towards the front yard, where the parts were scattered around.

Kenaz took one look at the mess on the front lawn then turned towards Keiichi. "This," he said, gesturing towards the assortment of metal and plastic scattered in a heap, "is a racing bike?"

"Well, sort of. We aren't building the bike for speed necessarily. It's for climbing steep hills. In this race, the racer needs to get as far as they can up a very steep, dirt hill by driving straight up the side of the hill. The bike is designed with a long rear swing arm and knobby tires to help it grip the ground, but it still takes a lot of skill on the part of the driver. The person who gets the highest in the shortest amount of time is the winner."

"Sounds like an interesting race," replied Kenaz, looking back to the pile of parts and trying to imagine how they created the bike described.

"Here are the plans they gave me for the bike," said Keiichi, handing Kenaz a few large sheets of paper.

"Well, these look alright, but let me do some calculations just to make sure." Kenaz sat down on the ground and started putting the numbers into his handheld computer and running simulations. A few minutes later he looked up with a puzzled expression on his face.

"What the heck were your seniors thinking? These calculations look alright at first glance, but if you run them through a simulation they are completely off, and the bike would fall apart quickly."

"Well, plans and calculations were never their strong suit. That's why I always have Skuld take a look at them before I trust anything they give me. She always finds a bunch of problems with them and usually ends up just re-writing the plans from scratch."

"Heh, that sounds like her alright," replied Kenaz with a slight smile. "Give me a few minutes and I'll have some new plans for you."

"Alright, I'm going to start sorting these parts out," said Keiichi as he walked over to the hill of plastic and metal that was lying in the yard. "Geeze, you'd think they could come up with a better way to deliver these parts aside from piling them in the back of that mini-pickup they have and dumping them on my lawn," muttered Keiichi under his breath as he started sorting them out and making a few piles.

After getting the majority of the parts sorted out, Kenaz came up behind Keiichi and handed him the new plans he had drawn up. "Here you go, what do you think?"

Keiichi took a few seconds to study the plans and replied, "They look good, and with these we should be able to start construction right away. Here, hand me the frame and let's start putting this thing together."

Kenaz picked up the metal frame and set it down on the ground in front of Keiichi and they both started working on assembling the bike.

An hour or so later Belldandy came out to them with a tray of food for lunch.

"Here you go," she said as she set the food down on the porch.

"Thanks a lot Bell," said Keiichi as he walked over and sat down on the porch, giving his wife a quick kiss.

"Yes, thank you Belldandy," replied Kenaz as he quickly walked over and joined Keiichi and Belldandy on the porch.

"Here, you are both a mess," said Belldandy as she handed them both some towels to wipe their hands and faces on.

"Hey guys," said a sultry voice from behind them. "You forgot the most important part of the meal." They looked back to see Urd standing in the doorway, holding a bottle of sake in one hand.

"Only you would think of having sake for lunch, Urd. Can't you at least wait til dinner?" replied Kenaz, a slight frown on his face.

"But the day is still young, plenty of time to have fun! Here, loosen up a bit!" Urd held the bottle out to him.

Kenaz backed away slightly. "No thank you, you are quite welcome to have it all to your self." Urd laughed and walked back into the temple.

"Mommy! Daddy! Lookit!" yelled Shinobu as she came running out of the temple. "Ooh! Lunch, can I have some Mommy?"

"Of course you can, Shinobu," replied Belldandy, "but remember what I told you about running inside the house?"

"Yes mommy, I'm sorry," Shinobu said with a slight pout.

"It's okay Shinobu, what did you want to show us?" asked Keiichi.

"Oh yeah!" said Shinobu, pulling something out of her pocket. "See?"

Keiichi took the piece of paper that Shinobu held up. "What is it?" he asked, looking at the crayon drawing.

"It's mommy, and daddy, and me, and auntie Skuld and auntie Urd, and Kenaz," replied Shinobu pointing out each person in turn.

On the paper were five stick figures. The one on the far left had spiky black hair, the one next to him, holding his hand was one with long blonde hair and blue marks on her face. Holding onto her hand was a short little stick figure with black hair and a single blue mark on her face. Next to her was a girl with long black hair and blue marks as well, but holding some sort of circular object with lines coming out of it. Then there was another girl with white hair and blue marks, but holding some sort of bottle. And finally, on the far right was a guy with long brown hair and blue markings.

"Oh yeah, I see it now. Very good job Shinobu. Here Bell, take a look," said Keiichi, handing Belldandy the sheet of paper.

"Yes, very good job Shinobu," Belldandy, said with a smile at how the various people were drawn.

Shinobu beamed at the compliments and then went back to eating her sandwich.

After lunch was over Keiichi and Kenaz went back to working on the bike while Belldandy carried the tray inside.

"Daddy, can I help you?" asked Shinobu.

"Of course you can, do you want to race just like me someday?"

"Yeah! I want to race really fast!" Shinobu said, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Well then, why don't you hand me one of those bolts in that box over there?"

"Ok! This one?" she replied, giving a bolt to Keiichi.

"Yes, thank you very much," he said, ruffling her hair.

Shinobu giggled and watched Keiichi and Kenaz continue to assemble the bike while occasionally retrieving a bolt or small part for either of them when they needed it.

The afternoon passed quickly as the three of them worked hard to assemble the bike. Belldandy brought dinner outside that evening and they all ate together on the porch. Skuld was feeling better, but was still not quite up for working, so she sat on the porch after dinner and tried to come up with various ways to improve the bike's performance while Keiichi and Kenaz worked on the bike. Shinobu went inside to help Belldandy with the dishes and to watch her favorite TV show, which was some children's cartoon about racing. Keiichi and Kenaz finished assembling and mounting the engine to the frame that evening and then decided to call it a night, hoping to get plenty of rest so they could finish the bike on the following day.

The sun rose bright and early the following morning, not a cloud in the sky. Skuld was feeling much better after a day of recuperation and joined Keiichi and Kenaz outside in assembling the bike. Shinobu watched on from the porch, every once in a while asking questions about what they were doing.

"What's that do?" asked Shinobu, pointing towards a cable that Kenaz was holding.

"That's a brake cable. It helps to slow the bike down," replied Kenaz.

"Oh," Shinobu said, looking thoughtful. A few seconds later she asked, "How does it do that?"

"Well, it connects to this piece here," Kenaz pointed to the brake lever on the handle bar, "and also to this piece next to the wheel." Kenaz indicated a metal device on the bottom of the fork. "When you pull the lever, the pads squeeze the wheel, and the bike slows down."

"Oh," Shinobu was looking more puzzled.

Kenaz smiled, "did you understand that?" Shinobu just smiled at him and kicked her feet that were dangling off the edge of the porch.

"What's that do?"

Kenaz sighed slightly while Keiichi grinned at him. It's going to be a long day… thought Kenaz to himself.

Despite Shinobu's incessant questions, Skuld, Keiichi and Kenaz were able to complete the assembly of the bike shortly after lunch. Skuld, of course, insisted that she have some time with the bike to try out some new modifications she had thought up. While she was doing some calculations and tweaking the bike, Keiichi and Kenaz sat on the porch, sipping some tea that Belldandy had brought out to them.

"Shinobu? Could you please go inside and play for a bit?" said Keiichi.

"But I wanted to stay out here and help you!" Shinobu replied with a pout on her lips.

"Shinobu!" called Belldandy from inside the temple. "Can you come help me with something?" she asked as she poked her head out the door.

"Ok mommy," said Shinobu as she walked into the temple.

"Thanks Bell," Keiichi said.

Belldandy gave him a little wink and a smile as she stepped back inside and shut the door.

"So Kenaz," Keiichi said as he watched Skuld tinker with some small part of the engine after Shinobu and Belldandy had gone back inside, "I didn't get a chance to ask you this yesterday while we were working, but what do you think of Skuld?"

Kenaz seemed to choke on the tea he was currently drinking and was thrown into a coughing fit. "Wh-what do you mean?" he managed to gasp out between coughs.

Keiichi smiled. "I think you know what I mean." He glanced at Kenaz, whose face had gone slightly red, before going back to watch Skuld at work. "Belldandy mentioned how you stayed next to Skuld after she… well, after she got hurt the day before yesterday. And I think Urd mentioned something about a date tomorrow evening that you had with Skuld?"

Kenaz's face got redder at the mention of the date Friday night. "Well, um… we just… ah, are going to grab something to eat together; and maybe something else afterwards. Nothing special really."

Keiichi smiled at his words. "Kenaz, when you were up in the heavens, before you came down here, did you ever hear anything about what was going on around here on earth?"

"Well, aside from hearing that first Belldandy, then Urd, and then Skuld getting sent down here, or coming down here, not really. And there were rumors, like about the Lord of Terror, destruction of the Earth and so on. I even heard that Belldandy broke her seal without permission, and Kami-sama allowed it after the fact, considering the circumstances. I don't know how much of it is true of course..."

"Well, it sounds like most of what you've heard is true, but there is one thing that I don't think you have heard about. I don't think anyone in heaven knows about it actually, except, of course, for Kami-sama. A few years ago, Skuld liked a human named Sentaro. They were good friends, and would often go on bicycle rides together around the city. I'm pretty sure they liked each other, but I was rather caught up with Belldandy at the time." Keiichi blushed slightly at the memory. "Even though Skuld liked Sentaro, she never told him that she was a goddess. She probably meant to tell him at some point, or the topic never came up, I don't know; but the point was, he never knew."

"You're talking like he's dead or something, Keiichi."

"He is."

Kenaz's face looked shocked, then saddened. "What happened?"

"Well, Sentaro was out late one night on his bike, he must have been in quite a hurry, and it was raining out. He was crossing a street when a car hit him, he probably didn't even see it coming. He was rushed to the hospital immediately, and Skuld teleported there as soon as she heard; there were plenty of puddles for her to teleport around in since it was raining. The rest of us arrived at the hospital a few minutes later by motorcycle. When we finally got to Sentaro's room, he was lying in the bed all bandaged up and in a coma. His parents and Skuld were in the room, Skuld was sitting in a chair next to his bed, crying silently. When visiting hours were over, only family members could stay, so we had to leave. Belldandy had to put Skuld to sleep and carry her out because she didn't want to leave. The following morning, we found out that he had died just after midnight." Keiichi looked down at his hands sadly before continuing.

"Skuld was completely devastated. She would rarely come out of her room and ate little. The funeral was held the following week and we all went, of course. At the funeral, Sentaro's parents handed Skuld a small velvet box and a slip of paper. After reading whatever was on that sheet, she immediately broke down. After that it was if she didn't want to live anymore. She would just lie on her bed staring at the ceiling. We couldn't get her to eat at all. Somehow, Belldandy got her to finally get a hold of herself a few days later and she gradually recovered. She keeps whatever Sentaro's parents gave her in her room somewhere. I've never seen them, but I can guess what was going on. I think Sentaro planned to ask Skuld to marry him that night, which was why he was in such a hurry."

"But couldn't Skuld go up to heaven and see him again?"

"I suppose so; you would know better then I would, being the god and all. But she never did. Maybe it was because he never knew that she was a goddess, and she's worried what he may think of her holding that secret from him for so long. But I do know one thing. For the past two years, Skuld has almost been back to normal, but there was sadness in her eyes and sometimes I could see them mist up when she thought no one was looking. But since you came, it's like we have the old Skuld back. She's finally started to genuinely smile again, especially since the weekend we spent at the beach. I'm pretty sure she likes you Kenaz, and I don't want to see her hurting again, so as her older brother-in-law I want to know what you think of her."

Kenaz looked down at his feet. "I… I don't know for sure. I mean, I like Skuld as a friend and all, a very good friend. I always admired her work at school and being punished to stay down here on earth hasn't seemed nearly so bad now that we've been talking and working on trying to solve this mystery together. But I really don't know Keiichi."

Keiichi smiled at Kenaz, who was looking a little worried. "That's alright," Keiichi returned to watching Skuld again, who was still messing around with the bike, completely oblivious to the conversation they were having. He chuckled a bit, "I guess it is a bit early to ask the question after all. So what do you plan on doing?" Kenaz got a small smirk on his face.

"Well, I guess we'll just keep doing things together, starting with tomorrow night."

"No," corrected Keiichi with a smirk on his face, "starting today."

"Huh?" Kenaz looked puzzled.

"I think I've done enough work on the bike, why don't you and Skuld put the bike through its paces and do some tweaking for me. I've got to stay rested for the race tomorrow," said Keiichi with a wink.

"But I don't know how to drive that… thing!" insisted Kenaz.

Keiichi waved Kenaz off, "Don't worry, I'm sure Skuld will be more then happy to help you out. I'll see you two at dinner, don't disappoint me!" Keiichi then disappeared into the house.

"Hey Keiichi, could you…" Skuld said as she looked up from her work. "Oh, where did he go Kenaz?"

"He, um, said he had to rest up for the race tomorrow and we should finish tuning and testing the bike."

"Oh," replied Skuld, looking a bit puzzled. That's odd, Keiichi never had to rest before a race. He would even sometimes stay up really late the night before finishing a bike. Maybe he's feeling sick? Skuld thought to herself. "Ok, then could you come over here for a minute. I need a hand holding these two parts together while I make some adjustments."

"Alright," Kenaz replied as he headed over to the bike to give Skuld a hand.

"So you told him about Sentaro?" asked Belldandy as she looked out the window at Skuld and Kenaz working together on finishing up the bike.

"Yeah. I thought he needed to know since he and Skuld are starting to spend more time with each other," replied Keiichi. "You think it was the wrong thing to do?"

"No, I think you were right to tell him. My little sister deserves to have someone to help her forget the past and move forward. Her domain is the future after all," Belldandy said with a slight smile.

"I just really hope they work out together. Do you think he would work out for her?"

"If I didn't I wouldn't let him near her," replied Belldandy with a twinkle in her eye. "Having Kenaz down here was probably the best thing that happened to her in the past two years. Father knew what he was doing when He sent Kenaz down here."

Keiichi chuckled, "Well, He does have a reputation to maintain after all." The roar of an engine caused them both to look out the window and watch as Kenaz revved the motorcycle while Skuld monitored it with her equipment.

"Well, I have to get started on dinner," said Belldandy as she headed to the kitchen.

"But it's still the middle of the afternoon."

"I know, but I have to also make our lunch for tomorrow since we're all going to be at the race, and I want to prepare something special for tonight since I don't think those two will be around for our victory party afterwards."

Keiichi laughed, "Alright, then I'm going to head on over to Whirlwind and see if Chihiro needs any help before they close. I'll be back in time for dinner!"

"Have a safe trip, K! Shinobu! Do you want to help me make dinner and lunch for tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" yelled Shinobu as she came running down the hallway from her room. "Can I make the rice balls?"

"Of course you can, now come on and wash your hands, we have work to do," said Belldandy as she and Shinobu walked into the kitchen.

Skuld and Kenaz walked into the temple just before dinner time. Skuld had a smug look on her face while Kenaz looked rather damp.

"Belldandy? Where do you keep the towels?" asked Kenaz.

"In the closet just to the right of the bathroom. Why, what happened?" Belldandy said as she came walking out of the kitchen.

"Well, after we finished on the bike Skuld and I started playing around and I splashed some water from the pond at her. I forgot her element was water… and she had Noble Scarlet to help her. Lightning's Edge and I didn't stand a chance." Skuld giggled a little as Kenaz told Belldandy what happened.

"Lightning's Edge?" asked Belldandy. "Is that your angel?"

"Yeah, I got him a few years ago, a year or two after you guys were already on Earth."

"Do you mind if I see him?" Belldandy asked politely.

"Not at all, Lightning's Edge, come forth!" Kenaz said as he raised his right arm as if drawing something out of the air.

From Kenaz's back sprang two white wings, crackling with electricity. Then his angel burst forth in a flurry of feathers and sparks. Behind Kenaz now hovered his angel, Lightning's Edge. He had a toned upper body and his lower body disappeared into a swirl of white cloth that came out of Kenaz's back. His wings were large and white, with hints of gold in the feathers. He had short, spiky white hair, and his eyes were a deep shade of clear blue. His expression was flat and he seemed to be all business with his arms crossed over his chest. There was, however, a softness to his eyes that hinted at a gentler nature.

"He's quite handsome, Kenaz," Belldandy said as she looked at him.

Shinobu was standing next to Belldandy, her eyes wide. "He's pretty," she said, her voice quiet.

Kenaz blushed slightly, "Thank you. Um…I'm going to go get dried out now." Lightning's Edge disappeared again into Kenaz's back as Kenaz walked down the hallway in search of a means of drying himself out from the dousing he had gotten from Skuld.

"Do you think the bike is ready for the race tomorrow?" Belldandy asked Skuld.

"Yup! It's going to be the fastest bike out there!" Skuld replied enthusiastically.

"I'm home!" called Keiichi from the front door.

"Welcome back!" said Belldandy, and Skuld.

"Daddy!" called Shinobu as she ran to the front door towards Keiichi.

"Hey! How's my little girl? What have you been up to while I was gone?" asked Keiichi as he swept Shinobu off the floor and put her on his shoulder.

"I helped mommy make dinner! I made the rice balls for lunch all by myself too!" Shinobu replied with a big grin on her face.

"Well, I can't wait to try them tomorrow then!" said Keiichi with a laugh.

"Dinner is just about ready if you would all go sit down at the table," said Belldandy.

"I'll help you bring the food out Bell," Keiichi said as he followed Belldandy into the kitchen with Shinobu still sitting on his shoulder.

Dinner that evening was excellent and Belldandy had put extra effort into making it because of the big day tomorrow. After dinner, Skuld and Kenaz went outside and sat down on the porch, eating some ice cream together.

"Kenaz, can I see your angel again?" asked Skuld.

"Sure," replied Kenaz, calling out his angel again.

"You know," said Skuld as she looked at Kenaz's angel, "he looks like you, only more handsome."

"Hey!" Kenaz said, looking slightly hurt.
Skuld giggled at his expression. "I'm just kidding you." Noble Scarlet then emerged from her back. "What do you think of mine?"

"I think she's cute," said Kenaz.

Nobel Scarlet blushed slightly at Kenaz's words, then looked over at Lightning's Edge and tried to get his attention. He was doing his best to ignore Nobel Scarlet but she was rather persistent, considering they couldn't speak. She finally got fed up and blasted him with some water. Lightning's Edge came out of it dripping wet and looking a little ticked off, but with a slight smirk on his face. He then conjured up a small lightning bolt and zapped Nobel Scarlet in the middle of the back and the fight was on. The two angels started chasing each other all around the front yard, gouts of water and bolts of lightning flying back and forth between the two. It looked more like a playful tussle between friends then an actual fight.

Skuld and Kenaz watched the little spat going on between the two angels with smiles on their faces.

"Looks like they get along just fine," said Skuld. I wonder if… she thought to herself, and then laid her head on Kenaz's shoulder.

Kenaz tensed up at the sudden contact, then slowly relaxed, gingerly placing his arm across her back and his hand on her opposite shoulder. He was still slightly tense for a few moments and then his arm relaxed and he pulled Skuld a little closer as they watched their angels tussling around in the yard.

Belldandy smiled from where she was watching them in the doorway and quietly shut the door as she went back inside, not wanting to interrupt their moment together.