Happiness' End Chapter 17: Preparations, an oh my goddess! fanfic

The character Xerangref was created and copyrighted by myself. If anyone wishes to use him in the future in any fanfic, you have permission to do so as long as credit is given.

A/N: This is my first shot at an AMG related fic. Although the story line follows fairly closely to the manga at first that is all that will really be related to it. Certain plots and such may be hinted at or explained, but that is all.

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 and ideas 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, which may be soon.

Classes and essays and fun, oh my.

Happiness' End

End of Chapter 16:

Mara nodded and looked back at the elder demon. "Will you be looking in on them tonight, lord?"

Xerangref nodded, "Yes Mara, I will. Them knowing about me being here on the surface world may have given them the incentive to up 'security,' if you can call it that, around the temple."

He turned and walked into the shadows and began to fade out of sight, "Tomorrow Mara, the planning stages will take action. We will prepare as best as possible."

Mara nodded and watched the dark figure vanish from her sight before turning around. No sense in having a little fun before weeks of training and preparation right? She walked over to a still functioning game and sat down at the controls. This would be her haven for the last time in a long while.

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Chapter 17: Preparations

Xerangref had to admit that the newer updates to the temple grounds were quite intriguing. Last week he had gone to visit the temple residence and discovered that the barrier spell had been boosted slightly and there was now a warding shield outside the main entrance.

All the obstacles that the goddesses had presented him with had been easily countered with the necessary acts of intuition. The barrier spell required a small tweaking of each of the goddesses neural lapses to prevent them from feeling a tingle in their minds to signal an intruder. The warding spell only required a large energy output to cover it so that it didn't affect him or alert the goddesses. Luckily he was a Class 0 demon; otherwise around three-quarters of his power would go just to nullifying the ward if he were at the same level as Mara. The sensor line that the kid had set up required only a lower line of advanced cloaking spells, no big deal.

He easily made his way to the temple and looked in on its occupants. The strange thing was, he could almost guess that the mortal man knew he was there. Every time Xerangref came to watch them and Keiichi was either alone or outside, he would turn and stare in Xerangref's general position before shrugging and moving on.

After the of constant surveillance of five weekdays passed, Xerangref moved back into Mara's 'lair' and explained the details of what he saw and his plans to attack. He had to know the routine each person was in on a daily basis before coming up with the strike date.

The eldest and youngest of the three were the easiest. Both stayed home and usually bickered about the house televisions, or the youngest read manga novels while the eldest watched TV.

The hardest one to guess was the middle. She would go out on errands on seemingly random days and times. This, or she would be called in to help by a friend. He never knew what to expect with her, it would be hard to plan for.

The mortal was also relatively easy. From what Xerangref gathered, he worked six of the seven days and used Sunday as a day to relax and unwind. His work times usually started at 8 am and lasted until 5 or 6 pm varying on the days; with the exception of Wednesdays, when he would go to work at 6:00 am and come home at around 4 pm. Saturdays were also an exception, as he usually worked from 10:30 am to roughly 5 pm.

After giving Mara basic instructions on the cloaking spells he expected her to use, Xerangref began to further train the demoness in the art of combat. After the first day of instruction and partial sparring, he let her rest. Today, he was going to continue with the combat training, but instead of light sparring, things would go much further.

With a grin, Xerangref moved to inform his subordinate of her fate for the day.

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Keiichi came home from work with a few scratches and a large gash on his cheek. Earlier that day, while trying to adjust everything in a new series of motorcycles, something bad had happened. The few nicks and bruises that came with the job was pretty much expected; he sometimes drew a bit to much energy or power behind a tool or moved too quickly inside the motor parts and cut his hands.

However, someone had unknowingly turned on the bike to test if Keiichi had finished its adjustments while Keiichi was on a quick water break. When he returned, Keiichi saw this and immediately ran over to try to stop his co-worker, as he had left a socket wrench and a pair of grip pliers inside of a motor pocket so they would be easy to access and help continue his work immediately when he returned. But as he ran to the bike, the pair of pliers loosened from where it was resting and got caught in one of the rotations of the bike.

Keiichi ducked quickly out of the way as the tool head flew past him, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid a large gash on the left side of his face. He ran over and stopped the bike and his co-worker, then quickly went and cleaned his wound and cover it.

He knew Belldandy would either be worried or upset at his mishap. She always tried to protect him to the best of her ability. He sighed and walked up to the front door of the temple to see the new slightly glowing ward that the sisters had placed there. He knew they were paranoid about the new arrival that was apparently demonic, but he thought this was a bit much. He shook his head and opened the door to the sight of a smiling Belldandy.

As soon as she saw his face, however, her smile disappeared and a worried mien came over her face.

"Keiichi-san? What happened to you?" Belldandy asked, clearly upset and worried at the same time.

"Just a little accident at work. Partly due to my own stupid acts and partly due to my co-workers curiosity. It's nothing to worry about Belldandy, really. It'll heal in a few days."

Belldandy seized him by the arm and forced him to take a seat upon the couch. "Stay here," was her command before she walked off in the direction of the bathroom and the med kit they had there.

Keiichi shook his head again. He was glad she was worried about his well being, but he knew she would baby him for a few days while the scratch healed. While he didn't mind her constant attention, it sometimes got a bit tiresome to be constantly and continually doted upon by Belldandy.

He looked up to see Belldandy return with the med kit and was rather disturbed by what he saw following her to his current position.

Floating behind Belldandy…was Urd in a low cut pink nurses outfit with a needle in one hand and a roll of gauze and ointment in the other.

"Oh boy…" was all Keiichi could mutter before the two sisters turned on him.

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The routine continued week after week for the demoness. Mara was getting tired of the constant training and lessons her elder had imposed on her, but she had to admit she was getting better in wielding her energies and fighting in combat.

By the end of the second week after her training began, she had mastered the cloaking spell that he wished to teach her. After that, things got more difficult as he made her learn other, higher level cloaking spells that required tremendous amounts of energy.

At the end of the fourth week, she had mastered two other cloaking spells that were a higher rank than the original. In addition to mastering new spells, her energy output and total power had increased quite a bit. Although she was no where near having the energy of a Class 0 demon, she still had a substantial amount of power for a 1st Class demoness; more so than a normal 1st Class demon.

Training with Xerangref was definitely beginning to pay off. Now, at the end of the fifth week, they were planning to take small visits to the temple for another week or two before trying to put the final touches on their plans.

Mara had taken a liking to sparing with a kodachi, a short bladed sword that was known for its speed rather than power. However, with her strength as a demoness behind the blade, the lack of power from the blade was made up for with its user's strength. Xerangref usually sparred with the long bladed sword he carried on his back. Although the blade was extremely long, and heavy from what she gathered, he wielded it with great ease and finesse. It was obvious that Xerangref was a seasoned fighter.

Mara looked at her sheathed kodachi with interest. She knew that the Dark One forbade fighting with the other side unless a very good reason was given, so it made her curious as to why Xerangref was teaching her how to fight with a weapon instead of magic energies that would be less deadly. Mara had no idea if Belldandy or her sisters even had weapons to defend themselves against an armed assault. If they did have the means to defend themselves, their skills were unknown as well.

Things seemed to be getting interesting. Soon, the plan she had to punish all of the goddesses and the mortal Keiichi would be put into action not only by her, but by her and a demon with unimaginable power.

Only a few more days, if not a week or two, and things would be ready.

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Keiichi lay on his back in his futon. Belldandy was sleeping next to him quietly. He smiled and lightly shook his head as the last few hours of her mothering him came back in a flash. She was either smiling or wore a worried look as she took care of whatever he needed. She had offered to simply heal the wound, but he refused, saying that it would be a reminder to be more careful while working.

Over the past few months, ever since they had shared the same room, Keiichi could feel something stirring in him again. His lust was starting to come back. He knew that he had rarely felt this part of him after he actually got to know and love Belldandy, but with her beside him like this every night, it was getting harder and harder to suppress.

He could tell that she was intrigued by his passion that was building in each of their kisses. He had told her that he wanted to take it slow, and maybe work up to being more and more physical, but his resolve to that thought was getting weaker.

Keiichi put his hand on his forehead and squeezed lightly. He needed to stop thinking about these things, lest they get him into trouble. He already had enough problems with Urd always on his tail about getting it on with Belldandy.

Keiichi looked to his side and saw his sleeping goddess. She wore a smile and had one hand clutched to her chest while her other was draped over his chest. He smiled and looked back to the ceiling, waiting only a few more minutes before sleep finally took a firm grip on his consciousness.

A/N: 2 more chapters added, and more in the works. I'll be able to write a bit more freely after my midterms are complete. I'd write more tonight, but I want to watch 'The Mask of Zorro' on TV, so no more. I'll probably be able to write more on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Sorry this is shorter than normal, but I couldn't think of anything else to add.