At last, my turn to write a chapter. *waves* Hi, folks: mvdiva here. I
decided to write this one-aren't you lucky? This whole story sorta was my
idea, but Kate ran with it instead. Ah well. I guess she's done a decent
job of it. Too bad I plan on writing the next couple chapters soon. Don't
hold your collective breath though-classes are starting again, and then
it's back to the grindstone. Anyway, please enjoy. Leave a review if you're
so inclined. Thanks!
Chapter 6
The metal quickly warmed to his touch as he held it reverently in his palm. It sparkled in his palm, almost as if it held an otherworldly glow. Keiichi held it up against the overcast sky for inspection, noting how the blue gem was the same shade of Belldandy's eyes.
"Belldandy!" He murmured, and tucked the precious reminder carefully back into his coat pocket. Now if I could just remember why it's so important. He dropped heavily onto a bench a few steps away.
It was a revelation-one of those little light bulbs going on over a cartoon character's head-the classic "ah ha!" moment. Only, this light bulb was flickering. Pieces were missing. He closed his eyes and tried to focus. Images of Belldandy laughing, framed perfectly against the ocean, leaning against him, clutching his shirt with tears in her eyes. The shards of memory formed a thick lump in his throat, but he couldn't remember when or where they had taken place.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger in an effort to concentrate. THINK, Morisato! Driving her home the other night felt so familiar.and the ring. Why was it in his pocket? What did it all have to do with Belldandy? Why did he have memories of her if they had just met?
-----
"Don't you think that was a little much?" A low, devious chuckle. Skuld glowered as best she could at her older sister, but the look was lost on the older goddess. "I can't help it that Belldandy conveniently left the ring with me." The dark-haired girl snorted and rolled her eyes. ".Or that Keiichi doesn't realize when a beautiful woman drops a precious token in his pocket." She flipped her curly white locks and valiantly ignored the hideous gagging noise her younger sister made, choosing instead to lift a large pair of binoculars to her eyes.
The two sat in a companionable silence, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Urd hesitantly broke the silence..
"It had to be done. Keiichi, as much as Belldandy loves him, is too much of an idiot to go after her without a little help." After a moment, Skuld nodded then began to fidget, first crossing her arms and then tapping her fingers against her knees in an effort to break the watchful silence. "Ooo, look at that!" Urd breathed.
"How am I supposed to look if YOU'RE the one with the binoculars?!?" She snapped. In reply, the oversized object was shoved into her hands. She fumbled with them for a minute before Urd sighed and pointed out Keiichi, slumped desolately on a bench.
While her younger sister looked, Urd closed her eyes and lifted her face to drink in the sounds around her. They were so high up that conversation from passers-by were muted, but the distant sounds of cars and humanity still managed to crowd out the Almighty's natural symphony. Skuld began mumbling softly to herself before furiously jerking the binoculars down from her eyes. Urd calmly dropped her chin to regard the angry child.
"Keiichi still doesn't know! He just doesn't get it! Tonight's his last chance, and he's gonna screw it up! If he doesn't remember soon, we're all gonna be stuck here forev-"
Urd slapped a palm over the squealing girl's mouth and pointed. "Here's his chance." She said meditatively. The strange look of peace on her face was convincing, and Skuld stopped her tirade long enough to lean forward and squint. The precarious position almost made her topple off their precarious perch and she screeched involuntarily, scaring birds out of their nests and into the sky.
-----
Belldandy heard the frantic squawking and turned her head, unconsciously stopping to stare as a cloud of birds rose out of a large nearby tree. She frowned curiously, wondering what had caused them such a fright.
It seemed almost as if there was something moving on one particularly large branch, but she shrugged and pushed the thought away.
I should make sure no one has deliberately hurt any birds. The thought of an injured blue jay or crow brought tears to her eyes, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand, noting an unusual emptiness there. She turned it over, almost expecting to see the familiar glint of a gold band around her third finger.
Nothing. Silly girl, you don't have a ring. Nonetheless, the bare fingers felt awkward. With a small shake of her head, Belldandy smiled and wiggled the slender digits. No use pondering things like that. Back to her mission. With a determined look, she sidestepped a juggler and made her way over to Keiichi, who looked as if he were taking a nap.
-----
Urd smacked her little sister lightly in the back of the head, effectively shutting the younger girl up. "Some help you are. Now I can't even do recon without causing a disturbance." She smirked as the smaller dark-haired goddess furiously bit her lip against a particularly choice comment, deciding to remain silently furious.at least for the moment.
The older goddess chuckled mentally, squinting to make out the figure of her sister against the busy campus background.
Their middle sister stood, books clasped demurely in front of her. The boy still had his eyes closed, apparently deeply concentrating on the girl much closer to his heart than even he realized.
Her mouth moved, and the boy popped his head up before fumbling to stand. Beside her Skuld clucked disapprovingly.
The older goddess snatched the binoculars out of the younger girl's grasp. Skuld gave an outraged squeal of protest, and tried to grab them back. Both sisters squabbled briefly before settling on one eye per person, ignoring the birds irately watching the strange humans on the precarious tree branch.
With their heads each vying for a binocular lens, the meddling goddesses attempted to puzzle out the conversation.
Chapter 6
The metal quickly warmed to his touch as he held it reverently in his palm. It sparkled in his palm, almost as if it held an otherworldly glow. Keiichi held it up against the overcast sky for inspection, noting how the blue gem was the same shade of Belldandy's eyes.
"Belldandy!" He murmured, and tucked the precious reminder carefully back into his coat pocket. Now if I could just remember why it's so important. He dropped heavily onto a bench a few steps away.
It was a revelation-one of those little light bulbs going on over a cartoon character's head-the classic "ah ha!" moment. Only, this light bulb was flickering. Pieces were missing. He closed his eyes and tried to focus. Images of Belldandy laughing, framed perfectly against the ocean, leaning against him, clutching his shirt with tears in her eyes. The shards of memory formed a thick lump in his throat, but he couldn't remember when or where they had taken place.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger in an effort to concentrate. THINK, Morisato! Driving her home the other night felt so familiar.and the ring. Why was it in his pocket? What did it all have to do with Belldandy? Why did he have memories of her if they had just met?
-----
"Don't you think that was a little much?" A low, devious chuckle. Skuld glowered as best she could at her older sister, but the look was lost on the older goddess. "I can't help it that Belldandy conveniently left the ring with me." The dark-haired girl snorted and rolled her eyes. ".Or that Keiichi doesn't realize when a beautiful woman drops a precious token in his pocket." She flipped her curly white locks and valiantly ignored the hideous gagging noise her younger sister made, choosing instead to lift a large pair of binoculars to her eyes.
The two sat in a companionable silence, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Urd hesitantly broke the silence..
"It had to be done. Keiichi, as much as Belldandy loves him, is too much of an idiot to go after her without a little help." After a moment, Skuld nodded then began to fidget, first crossing her arms and then tapping her fingers against her knees in an effort to break the watchful silence. "Ooo, look at that!" Urd breathed.
"How am I supposed to look if YOU'RE the one with the binoculars?!?" She snapped. In reply, the oversized object was shoved into her hands. She fumbled with them for a minute before Urd sighed and pointed out Keiichi, slumped desolately on a bench.
While her younger sister looked, Urd closed her eyes and lifted her face to drink in the sounds around her. They were so high up that conversation from passers-by were muted, but the distant sounds of cars and humanity still managed to crowd out the Almighty's natural symphony. Skuld began mumbling softly to herself before furiously jerking the binoculars down from her eyes. Urd calmly dropped her chin to regard the angry child.
"Keiichi still doesn't know! He just doesn't get it! Tonight's his last chance, and he's gonna screw it up! If he doesn't remember soon, we're all gonna be stuck here forev-"
Urd slapped a palm over the squealing girl's mouth and pointed. "Here's his chance." She said meditatively. The strange look of peace on her face was convincing, and Skuld stopped her tirade long enough to lean forward and squint. The precarious position almost made her topple off their precarious perch and she screeched involuntarily, scaring birds out of their nests and into the sky.
-----
Belldandy heard the frantic squawking and turned her head, unconsciously stopping to stare as a cloud of birds rose out of a large nearby tree. She frowned curiously, wondering what had caused them such a fright.
It seemed almost as if there was something moving on one particularly large branch, but she shrugged and pushed the thought away.
I should make sure no one has deliberately hurt any birds. The thought of an injured blue jay or crow brought tears to her eyes, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand, noting an unusual emptiness there. She turned it over, almost expecting to see the familiar glint of a gold band around her third finger.
Nothing. Silly girl, you don't have a ring. Nonetheless, the bare fingers felt awkward. With a small shake of her head, Belldandy smiled and wiggled the slender digits. No use pondering things like that. Back to her mission. With a determined look, she sidestepped a juggler and made her way over to Keiichi, who looked as if he were taking a nap.
-----
Urd smacked her little sister lightly in the back of the head, effectively shutting the younger girl up. "Some help you are. Now I can't even do recon without causing a disturbance." She smirked as the smaller dark-haired goddess furiously bit her lip against a particularly choice comment, deciding to remain silently furious.at least for the moment.
The older goddess chuckled mentally, squinting to make out the figure of her sister against the busy campus background.
Their middle sister stood, books clasped demurely in front of her. The boy still had his eyes closed, apparently deeply concentrating on the girl much closer to his heart than even he realized.
Her mouth moved, and the boy popped his head up before fumbling to stand. Beside her Skuld clucked disapprovingly.
The older goddess snatched the binoculars out of the younger girl's grasp. Skuld gave an outraged squeal of protest, and tried to grab them back. Both sisters squabbled briefly before settling on one eye per person, ignoring the birds irately watching the strange humans on the precarious tree branch.
With their heads each vying for a binocular lens, the meddling goddesses attempted to puzzle out the conversation.