Down to the earth I fell
With dripping wings
Heavy things
Won't fly And the sky might catch on fire
And burn the axis of the world.

Tonight and the Rest of my Life, Nina Gordon

Chapter 1: Runaway Goddess

Kiri sped through the bellowing hallways of the palace. Her ivory white robes swished with each step, choking her already jolted movements. Wary of the smooth, icy expanse beneath her bare feet, she hastily pulled up the ridiculously long stream of gossamer as the jingling of silver hoop bracelets echoed through the empty hallways. Her shadow flickered luminously across the marble columns and high-ceiling walls.

What have I gotten myself into? Stupid, stupid, stupid Kiri!

Kiri was barely able to make a single coherent thought as the vicious mantra pounded in her mind, thumping as loudly and persistently as her heart—well, the organ she would have had, had she been human. The wisps of rosy orange that flared on long, slender, pine-scented candles crackled as Kiri made a sharp turn down the hall. In the wild maze of statues, Kiri dashed towards the only promise of sanctuary and slammed the gold-ornamented door of her room behind herself. Through labored huffs, she leaned against the door and slid down, as if her feeble weight and slight stature could hold down anything but the gossamer cloth she wore. Touching all nine rings of silver around her wrists, Kiri set her fingertips against the spelled door behind her again to remind herself that she was safe.

Mitsuki was the one who made this spell stone… Relax, Kiri. Only she knows how to break it. He can't come in without my permission.

As her fear subsided, relief gave way to her notorious temper (which the other deities had always attributed to her youth. After all, she had barely one millennium under her belt: only a child before the hundreds claimed by other gods and goddesses.) Braver now, she stormed over to the edge of her luxurious bed and grumpily tossed herself in its comforts.

How dare he try to blackmail her in such a way! Angry vibes radiated from her, and though she tried to suppress it, wisps of destructive energy escaped her control. It was enough to shatter the priceless vases and crack the magnificent statues in her room (except the statue of High Goddess Elyiose, of course). The large colorful tapestries unraveled and the walls shook violently. Breathing deeply and forcefully, it took all the control she could muster to calm her foul temper. The fierce rattling of objects came to slow halt. Kiri slapped her forehead when she caught sight of the cracks that ran down her walls, her anger forgotten.

Wahhh, Mitsuki's going to kill me… Chop me to little pieces first and throw me into a stew. With onions. UGH I HATE ONIONS.

Onions aside, she could just imagine it now: Mitsuki's demanding voice scolding, "Kiri, stop acting like such a child! Clean up this mess! Don't use that tone of voice with me!"

With a wave of her hand, the vases pieced themselves back together and the statues rearranged themselves back in their proper positions. Sighing, she gloomily hid her face like an ostrich; even if everything were fixed, Mitsuki would still know. Nothing ever escapes her attention, Kiri lamented. Kiri had always wondered why Mitsuki would get so mad at her when they both knew that a little exertion of energy was enough to fix things. She had debated the point to her stringent sister before, but the High Goddess would pay it no attention. Instead, Mitsuki threw her that annoyed, patronizing look, and explained to her as if she were a child, "Kiri, there are some things you can't fix with a simple wave of your hand. You must learn to control yourself, and if you don't, I shall suspend your powers until you do."

In the millennium she had lived with Mitsuki, Kiri had never heard of High Gods or Goddesses being able to do that. In any case, bluff or no bluff, Kiri had decided she wasn't going to chance it, and she had been doing pretty well for an impressive three whole months—until now, that is.

Kiri sat up in thought. Back to the business at hand, there had to be some way to get away. She couldn't hide in her room forever, and he would be waiting on the other side of that door. And honestly, if this was a contest of patience, it was a commonly known fact that poor, restless Kiri would lose in two seconds flat.

Maybe I can run to the Mortal Realm, she thought blasphemously. At least he can't follow without risking exposure, right?

She leaned back on her elbows and stared at the ceiling with a brooding frown. The Gates were so far, though…

Kiri bolted upright and her eyes glinted over with new-found mischief, bearing a look that other deities had learned to approach cautiously. This room had been Mitsuki's before it became Kiri's, and there were so many little secrets Mitsuki had worked into the innocent-looking room. Behind the statue of High Goddess Elyiose, Kiri had found a tunnel one day that led to the Gates.

So perfect Mitsuki had her own dirty little secrets, too, she had thought triumphantly.

Kiri had used the tunnel once before, 700 years or so back, but Mitsuki had covered for her—Kiri assumed it was to protect her secret pathway. In any case, she had warned Kiri strictly never to use it again, but for some reason, she had never backed her warning with any of her spells. That was like an invitation to completely disregard the warning, right?

Kiri grinned. The only remains of her presence were the tiny silver leaves shrouded in puffs of mist.

The servant reported back to his mistress's room. His first gaze met with familiar items. Tapestries gleamed as light bounced on the beads sewn in it. Statues stood proudly in their quixotic poses. Out-stretched arms held up violet-tinted drapes. The temple incense would have knocked his mind into a trancing daze, if he were any mere mortal. Luckily for him, he was not.

He found his mistress standing by a large water mirror. Gold scorpions with ruby eyes rimmed the mirror. He kneeled in respect until his mistress decided to acknowledge his presence.

"Speak."

"She has left for the Mortal Realm, Mistress Mitsuki."

The maroon-haired goddess only nodded. "You may be excused."

The deity frowned slightly when the servant lingered.

"Yes?" Aggravation coated her voice.

The servant steeled himself under his mistress's unrelenting stare. True, Mitsuki was beautiful, as was her right as a godly being, but there was a certain sharpness to her that deemed her unapproachable. Even other deities squirmed ever so slightly in her presence.

"Mistress, permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"You know that it is against the most sacred codes to meddle in mortal affairs. Are you not concerned for Mistress Kiri's actions?"

Mitsuki's stare hardened, and she let him fidget for a few lonely minutes. "I do not allow my affections for Kiri to cloud my judgments. You would do well to remember that."

The servant winced at the pointed comment.

After a moment of hesitation, Mitsuki continued. "She, too, is a High Goddess. She can take care of herself."

"But she is your own sister!" he cried out before he could check himself. Immediately, he knelt down with his face to the ground in fear as she narrowed her emerald eyes. "Forgive me, Mistress. It was not my place to speak."

"Leave."

He scurried out of the room, all too grateful for her generosity. Defying an immortal deserved a harsh punishment. He could still feel Mitsuki eyeing his retreating form, and he could only hope that he made it out of the room before she changed her mind.

He was safe though, for Mitsuki's thoughts were far away, her eyes now distant. As the doors closed behind her servant, the maroon-haired goddess bit her bottom lip as unease flooded over her. She had only given minimal acknowledgment concerning Kiri's most recent felon, but Mitsuki somehow felt a sense of urgency. She had expected Kiri to attempt another go at realm crossing, and yet she had withheld the knowledge she had about it. She tried to convince herself that she honestly had tried to tell Kiri, but she knew it to be false. Old memories always resurfaced, and she found she could not, would not go back.

Mitsuki felt a pang of regret—the type in which you feel you should have done something but knowing that you would not have been able to bring yourself to change anything given a second chance. The same pang of regret that lingered concerning the most beautiful man she had ever met 700 years ago in Ancient Egypt.

Five months, Kiri. That's all you have until it's too late.

Run. Run faster!

He chanted the words in his head, willing his legs to lengthen his strides, quicken his steps. Tears of fear smeared his vision. He was only a little boy: these things weren't supposed to happened to a child barely ten.

Nevertheless, he kept running, just as he was instructed, ignoring the rips in his orange scarf and the twigs caught in his unruly black spikes of hair. Blood dripped from his skinned knees and the cuts all over his body. He had tripped too many times, and the branches and bushes had whipped him mercilessly.

Short, labored breaths choked his lungs. Running blindly, he missed another large tree root protruding from the forest ground. Skidding across the dirt, yet another cut appeared on the arm he used to break his fall. This time, he made no attempt to get up and remained facedown on the ground. Weariness clutching his body, he slid into unconsciousness as the last of his energy was spent.

Big brother, where are you?

First came a blinding flash, then a shower of silver leaves in a sheen of mist. From the encompassing mist stepped forth a young woman. Her deep, sapphire eyes outshone the stars and her soft, milky skin was smoother than silk. Her light brown hair was streaked with the faintest tints of her sister's maroon-colored locks. A sweet, honey fragrance clung to her like a second skin, and her voice could only have been stolen from a siren. The gem embedded on her forehead gleamed with rays raked from the sun.

There was no doubt: she was a High Goddess. No mere mortal could have possessed such features.

So this is the Mortal Realm, Kiri thought, taking in full views of the foreign environment. Large trees surrounded her. As Kiri looked up at them, they seemed to bend down to see her, as if sharing her eager curiosity. Little light could be seen through the canopy of moss green. Butterflies fluttered away, birds squawked nosily, and mosquitoes buzzed around in the humid vicinity, much to Kiri's irritation. The moist dirt smelled of freshest earth, and Kiri could hear the faint lapping of water. She walked around, disappointment clouding her face.

There must be more to this world than a bunch of trees clumped together.

Then she remembered what one of the gods had said when she was being taught about the Mortal Realm: "There are many different landscapes to the Mortal World. Unlike the heaven we live in, which consists mainly of the palace grounds, there are forests, deserts, oceans, and such in the Mortal World."

Kiri remembered stifling in dismay during that lesson, having realized that the level of heaven she lived in was a mere residing place or conference hall for gods and goddesses.

Was this what it was? A forest? A smile brightened her face. Not quite like the desert she had stumbled upon years ago, but the thought of being outside palace grounds was enough to elicit a gleeful grin.

For the next few minutes, the thought was enough to keep Kiri entertained. She strolled through the forest happily, half walking, half gliding through the air. Then she stopped and squinted at the sky.

Black clouds! she squealed. Weather did not change by the palace, and all that white really did get on your nerves after a bit…

That's when she felt it: a little tug of pain shot through her head.

She followed the pull to where it was strongest. To her surprise, it led her straight to a young boy with wounds caked with blood. His body screamed to her silently in agony, and she could smell the salty scent of dried tears.

Running over to the unconscious boy's aid, she was horrified. Kiri had never actually seen blood before. She looked at her own wrists in contemplation, unable to bleed. Being cooped up in the palace and constantly surrounded by other immortals had left her at a lack of knowledge outside her world. She had, however, learned about the few basics from reading. Kiri felt for a pulse, something she had seen done to a mortal once. Feeling the faint beat of his heart, she picked him up gently.

"You're really beat up, aren't you, little one? Don't worry, I'll take care of you," she whispered to him softly. Tapping into her power pool, she located the nearest shelter. If anyone had happened to pass by at that unlikely moment, all they would have seen was a gust of silver.

Soft humming of a melody long forgotten

Tender caresses

A gentle glow of warm light

All the scratches and hurt draining away

Mokuba's heavy eyelids opened slowly. He could make out the blurred vision of a lady with sapphire pools and light brown tresses. Seconds later, his vision focused, and he realized that she had a silver gem on her forehead. She not only had that strange crystal on her forehead, but also wore the most abnormal clothing he had ever seen.

The off-the-shoulder ivory robes that hung around her figure reminded him of something vaguely Greek or Roman, and the only design was a unique print at the top. The design was sewn in with gold criss-crosses. Five silver hoop bracelets dangled on one wrist, four on the other. Each individual bracelet had foreign marks on them. She was barefoot, and golden anklet hung on her slender ankle. That, too, had some strange symbol encrusted upon it.

A cave. They were in a cave. His focus shifted to their surroundings. It wasn't a dreary looking place as he would imagine it to be. Perhaps it was the warm glow that ricocheted off of that unusual lady.

"You're finally awake, little one," she said in a soothing voice, breaking his train of thought. There was something strange about her voice, but he wasn't sure whether he was imagining it or not.

Mokuba stared at her, not knowing whether he should be afraid, or if he should as her name. Maybe he should tell her his own name? Or maybe he should be asking how he got here and what had happened. Or…?

"My name is Kiri. What's yours?" she asked cheerfully.

"I. . .I'm Mokuba."

Kiri's face took on a slightly more serious tone. "What were you doing out there all alone, Mokuba?"

Mokuba sat up as memories hit him like a ton of bricks thrown off a twenty-story building. "My brother and I were on vacation here. We were having fun when these men dressed in black came. They were talking with my brother, and all of sudden he yelled at me to run. I didn't really know what was going on, but he grabbed me and pushed me ahead. Somewhere along the way, big brother stopped and when I turned around I saw him fighting them off. I was scared and he kept telling me to get away, so I ran." The little boy started crying, realizing he didn't know where his brother was.

Pulling Mokuba in a reassuring hug, Kiri looked down at him with an uppity smile. "It's okay, Mokuba. I'll help you find your brother."

He hugged her back. "Thank you! For saving me and deciding to help me, I mean."

Ruffling his hair, Kiri returned the smile. "You're very welcome, little one. After all, we are friends, aren't we?"

Mokuba nodded happily. After the whole Pegasus incident, it had certainly been a while since he had met someone like Kiri. She seemed like she had never seen the slightest of evils. As the brother of a multi-millionaire CEO, Mokuba saw a lot of the dirty transactions that took place, though Seto had tried his best to shield him. There were a lot of risks involved with interacting with other people, and Mokuba had a hard time making real friends.

It was then Mokuba noticed something; his eyes widened as he pointed at the ground beneath her. "You can float!"

Kiri looked down at her feet, blinking. "Eheheheh, what do you know? I guess I really am floating. Mitsuki always said it was a bad habit," she murmured, more to herself than to Mokuba. It was hardly surprising, taking in the fact that Kiri was not one to stay put. She was always walking one moment and levitating the next.

"You're a goddess?" He realized that he hadn't even questioned how she had nursed him back to perfect health. The fact that she was a goddess also accounted for her strange clothes and accessories, he concluded. Maybe all goddesses had that certain something in their voice, too. He couldn't pinpoint the feeling.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool sometimes. You can do all sorts of things. Personally, I don't know how you mortals get around without these powers," she said listlessly. "Here, I'll show you!"

With that, Kiri disappeared in glittery dust and in a cloud of sparkle, she reappeared behind him and whispered into his ear, "Boo."

Mokuba turned around instantly, his eyes lit with fascination and a tinge of timidity. "Can you teach me how to do that?" he asked with childish wonder.

Scratching her head, Kiri tilted her face in a thinking pose. "I don't think I can teach you, but I think I might be able to transfer some of my energy to you," she said uncertainly.

She closed her eyes and placed her palm against Mokuba's forehead, and the light that came from it broke into silvery powder across Mokuba's form. The task done, Kiri opened her eyes again. With the same gleeful expression on her face, she beckoned Mokuba to try it out.

"There! I only gave you some of my energy, so hurry up and try it out before it fades away."

Snapping his eyes shut, Mokuba concentrated hard to make himself levitate from the ground. After coming three feet into the air, Mokuba peeked one eye open, afraid to lose focus and fall back to the rock-hard ground.

"Whoa, this is so cool! You're like a giant version of Tinkerbell! Are you Tinkerbell's mommy?"

Feeling a little bolder, he let out peals of excitement and floated around merrily, enjoying the privilege while it lasted. But as all good things must come to an end, the magic left him, and dropped back onto the ground in gradual descent.

"Cool! Let me do that again! Please, Kiri?"

"Why don't we find your brother first? I promise when we find him, I'll let you do that one more time before I leave, okay?"

"You're leaving?" Displeasure marred his face. "Where are you going?"

Kiri smiled sheepishly. "Uh…actually, I'm not sure. I don't really have a place to stay."

"You could stay with me and big brother," Mokuba proposed. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind…"

"Well, I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself, Mokuba. We should go find him first. Come on," Kiri said, clasping Mokuba's hand with her own.

Time passed quickly while the goddess and child talked as they walked through the forest. Mokuba told Kiri of all the wonders of the Mortal Realm, his list primarily including television, video games, computers, and Duel Monsters.

As they neared the edge of the forest, Kiri spotted a group of men in black suits. She could pick up bits of their small talk.

"—can't believe that—beat up by Kaiba!"

"I hear—good fighter—"

Kiri hushed Mokuba and strained her ears to listen. They had stopped walking now. The men were in black suits, each with a pair of dark sunglasses. Surely these weren't the same men Mokuba was talking about, were they? Kiri heard the next man's comment, as his voice boomed over the rest.

"I'm telling you, those men were just a bunch of weaklings, letting that runt get the best of them. If it had been me, I would have completely crushed him," the large, bulky man boasted.

"Why don't you untie me, and we'll see then?" sneered another voice. Only now did Kiri notice a man held captive in the center.

Mokuba tugged at Kiri's robes, too short to see from behind the goddess. "That's my brother!"

Kiri craned her neck to see, just as the man moved. A fierce pain, stronger than the first she had felt with Mokuba, shot through her entire body, starting from the gem implanted in her forehead. In a moment of carelessness, a cry broke free from her lips.

It hurt too much to concentrate on what was before her. Kiri could barely make out the blurry figures now moving in their direction, and she felt Mokuba scrunch up behind her. They were saying something with incredibly annoying smirks, but she couldn't tell what it was—all she could hear was the screeching threatening to pull her entire being apart.

Make it stop!

Frenzied and on her knees, Kiri slapped her palm on the crusty dirt and streaks of red lightning shot up from the ground, striking the men at random. Seto eyed the crazed goddess skeptically.

What the hell…?

The thought was cut off abruptly when a stray bolt struck a hair's breath away from him. Was she trying to set him on fire? Another close call flashed before him, this time skimming the surface of the rope.

With the majority of black-suited men paralyzed in mid-air, streak after streak, only a meager few were left around Seto; no one heard the muted sound of rope hitting dirt.

Placing a friendly hand on the shoulder of the bulky man shaking like a leaf before him, he smiled maliciously. "Why, hello there. Remind me, how were you going to crush me?"