All major characters (c) 1996 Kosuke Fujishima, meaning Urd, Skuld, Belldandy and K1 are not mine, just the situations they are thrown in.
A/N: This is my first shot at an AMG related fic. Although the story line follows fairly closely to the manga at the beginning, that is all that will be related to it.
Further notes that should be noted are that if you HAVE NOT read the manga past volume 19, you should NOT read this story, as it is a tangent off a major plot line in volumes 19 and 20, but involve different situations that didn't happen in the manga.
I honestly have no idea how long this fic will be, it depends on whether or not I believe it's finished.
I also took inspiration from this next part from one of Slayer6's fiction crossovers known as "Neon Genesis: Goddess – Return of the Red Haired Devil" as well as the AMG TV series from an episode based off of Hasegawa's trials.
Side note – Ghost in the Machine: Thanks for the reviews. I know it's a bit rushed and things don't make sense in some parts, but I can sort of explain some of the questions you have, As for the note, no he doesn't find it as he moves out after 3 ½ months, not the full year. Plus, it sort of falls into the sort of groove I needed it to, granted it may be pushing the envelope a bit.
As per violating the contract, it simply states that they are to be together. Plus, from what I've read up till the recent volumes, the Ultimate Force system still isn't operational (for what reason? I have no idea), so I'm rather going by what I've read. With Kami-sama never getting involved, and the UF system down, Bell would have no real warning of a contract violation.
The first 4 chapters are a sort of set up for what I have planned, although it may be a bit corny to you as well. I'm honestly not sure what I'm going to do after I finish this other side story to the series.
Also, Belldandy will be very OOC in the next few parts…and I mean very.
Happiness' End
End of Chapter 4:
To her surprise, and somewhat delight, Keiichi walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her gently.
She then heard him whisper, "I'd like to go back to what we had. It would mean the world to have you back with me again."
She looked up into his eyes and saw nothing but sincerity and love. She got up and embraced him in a giant hug. Both smiled, but Belldandy was crying tears of joy at being united with the one she loved.
The one she would never leave again.
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Chapter 5: Age Old Tradition – Spike the Tea
After about a month and a half, things were slowly turning back to what was considered normal. It had taken almost a week for Keiichi to move back into the temple with the trio of Goddesses with all the new clutter he had gained after almost a year alone and working at Wyvern for 6 months as well.
However, things were changing slowly, and for the better. It was after the little experience that Keiichi had learned that perhaps Belldandy wouldn't always be there for him if she had to return home again for any length of time. This, along with what had happened in the year she was gone, had opened him up a little more to showing affection to her. In similar contrasts, Belldandy had learned just how important a part of her life being with Keiichi was. Things seemed to heat up a little bit between the two much to Urd's delight and against Skuld's wishes.
Skuld was not alone in the contempt towards the mortal and goddess bonding. From her watch, Mara had found the entire scenario rather disgusting. She had also returned a month ago after she had heard Belldandy had still been with the mortal.
She had been observing them since, and had a few ideas, but only one stuck in her mind. She had watched the daily repetition of the small 'family' and had observed a few points in which she could take advantage. She didn't necessarily want to kill any of the beings for two reasons. One, the doublet system would take out one of their demons if she happened to kill a goddess; and two, killing a mortal without reason was strictly forbidden and punishable by reincarnation as a lower life form.
After all, Mara simply wanted the pair to be miserable and to separate. She had almost succeeded twice, but it had only made their relationship stronger. This last test, it appeared, had also done so on a grander scale. Both individuals had opened up a little more and showed their affection openly instead of hiding it.
Mara grimaced as she watched Belldandy and Keiichi kiss before he headed to his job. His job; that was the key in her little plot.
And tomorrow, she would make it known.
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"I'm home!" Keiichi called as he slowly took off his work shoes covered in oil and other fluids of machines. He'd just gotten back from work to the smell of a wonderful dinner and the sound of Urd and Skuld arguing.
'Some things never change,' he thought glumly. As soon as he stepped in, Belldandy walked out of the kitchen and gave him a kiss and embraced him.
"Welcome home, Keiichi-san," she said quietly before turning back to the kitchen to finish dinner with a smile on her face.
'And yet, some changes are well worth it,' he though, also wearing a smile.
Urd and Skuld continued bickering over who would watch TV until they were summoned for dinner by Belldandy.
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After dinner, Keiichi helped Belldandy clean up and then went to sit outside on the porch of the temple to look at the stars. He had developed the habit when he had originally lost his memory, and only reinforced it after Belldandy had disappeared. It seemed to calm him and he enjoyed the quiet dark of night, lit by the specks of stars.
He often enjoyed the smell of spring time at night when it was in season. Most days and evenings, Keiichi still had the smell of petroleum and motor oil in his nostrils from work. He didn't mind though, since it was a wonderful job. He was first introduced by Imai to the director of the establishment the year he was supposed to graduate, but ended up taking one more unit for a foreign language.
As he was thinking back about his college life and first work experiences in the industry with Chihiro, a second figure slid the door open silently and walked out. Belldandy watched Keiichi from behind, trying not to disturb him just yet. When he was reminiscing, she noted, his face seemed a bit more relaxed and had a wistful look on it. She found that face to be rather cute.
After watching Keiichi for a few minutes, Belldandy silently walked over and sat next to Keiichi. He looked a bit disturbed, but realized it was only Belldandy and smiled. This was another custom that was formed when she returned from her one year hiatus in his life. They often spent time alone on the back porch star gazing.
Skuld was told not to interrupt by Urd, but she seemed rather indignant about it, claiming Keiichi wasn't good enough for a goddess, let alone her sister. Urd had warned her about that train of thought, but Skuld kept it. Urd knew Skuld tried to separate them for her own unpleasant agenda, which was to get Belldandy's attention in full. She also knew that if Skuld had told Belldandy to make a choice between her and Keiichi, it would tear Belldandy apart, but she would eventually go with the mortal whom she loved dearly. Even though Urd believe Skuld was a brat at times, she never wanted to see her in pain, especially not after being rejected by Belldandy.
Thus, Urd had to distract Skuld in the evenings to allow the two some private time, which they were grateful for.
Keiichi put his arm gently around Belldandy's waist and pulled her closer to him while still smiling. Belldandy smiled back and laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. She enjoyed these evenings as much as Keiichi did, if not more. She had wanted a little more out of the relationship they had before the misunderstanding and her hiatus. After she had come back and Keiichi had agreed to reinstate the contract they had once shared, she had gotten what she desired from their relationship.
Belldandy was snapped out of her train of thought when she felt Keiichi running his fingers through her hair. She lifted her chin a little to look at him. She barely had time to catch a smile on his face before he stopped his hand and gently kissed her. She sighed again and moved into the kiss. Before their actions could get any deeper, the kiss was broken by Keiichi.
He looked to Belldandy, "Belldandy…I know we both want to get a little further in to what we do now…but not yet. I don't think I'm ready for that physical of a relationship yet…"
Belldandy looked at him and nodded in understanding. She had told him the same thing in the past and it seemed to have calmed him a little. Although it was a bit disappointing, she could wait. She loved him for who he was and his heart, not how well he treated her physically.
They both went back to their previous positions for a while longer before Keiichi shifted slightly and spoke.
"I have to be in early tomorrow, since it's the opening shift. I should get some sleep. Good night Belldandy," he said as he kissed her before getting up and walking to his room in the temple.
Belldandy watched him walk inside and looked back at the stars for a while longer before retiring as well.
Little did she know, a small figure sat and watched from a well shadowed area. The figure had watched the exchange of emotion and almost gagged.
Tomorrow was soon approaching, putting her plan into action.
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Around 5:30 am, Keiichi arose to the alarm next to him and quickly turned it off, as not to disturb the sleeping goddesses. Keiichi knew that Belldandy usually got up by the time he was at work on Wednesdays.
As he quickly got ready and ate a quick breakfast after heating up some leftovers from the dinner last night, he also had a cup of Darjeeling tea. He always made extra and put the remains of his exploits in a small thermos for Belldandy when she woke up. It may have been a small gesture, but he had learned she enjoyed it immensely.
He finished off his cup quickly and grabbed his shoulder bag with a change of clothes and various work related things and his helmet before heading out. He moved his trusty BMW a bit away from the temple before starting it, as to try to not startle or wake up the temple's occupants.
That was when Mara struck.
Mara quickly and quietly floated down into the temple and pulled out a small vial. She grinned evilly as she opened the thermos Keiichi had prepared for Belldandy and poured the liquid contained in the vial into the thermos. She replaced the lid and tightened it again. Before leaving, she made sure the mixture was fully integrated with the tea by swirling the thermos in a clockwise motion before setting it back down.
With a snicker and evil grin, she left in the manner she had entered. After she was outside, she reverted back to her normal form and sat in a tree while laughing.
Soon, very soon, the fireworks would begin.
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Belldandy woke up shortly after the unknown incident in the kitchen and got ready. Her morning ritual was to clean her room a little, pet Welsper and bathe.
After her morning bath, she moved into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for her sisters. She noticed the thermos on the counter and smiled, Keiichi had made her Darjeeling tea again before he had left.
She went and prepared herself a cup of tea and slowly drank it. It tasted a bit bitter that morning, perhaps Keiichi was in a bit of a hurry.
As she finished off her second cup and got to work on breakfast, things were set in motion.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Belldandy's mood began to change from bright and cheery to something else.