Blah, blah, blah, technicalities and crap.
Fujishima Kosuke owns AMG and its characters. I own Xerangref and Daisen, Kruss, Kyuss and Shantar (Previous statements about using them stand).
A/N: 2nd part fiction continuing off of Happiness' End. If you haven't read the first story, stop right now and go do so.
This fiction will generally be more light-hearted and comedic (and maybe more mushy) than Happiness' End.
Destiny's Beginning
End of Chapter 4:
"Alright Keiichi, that's enough for today. I suggest you go home and try to learn from your weapons of choice before we continue tomorrow. Tomorrow will be much more physically draining than today was. So be prepared."
Keiichi nodded. His armor and newly chosen weapons vanished, only to be replaced by his normal white robes.
"If you understand that, you are dismissed. Good work today, Keiichi-kun."
Keiichi smiled, "Thanks you guys. I know it must be rather boring for you."
Daisen grinned, "Oh don't worry about that. We'll figure out ways to keep ourselves entertained tomorrow."
Keiichi gulped and nodded, as he left the armory.
He knew he had to prepare himself as best he could. He had a foreboding sense of dread that things could turn out to be dangerous if he didn't.
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Chapter 5: The Aftermath
The second Keiichi walked through the door to his inter-dimensional home; he was wrapped in a warm hug by Belldandy.
When they broke apart, he couldn't help but notice she had an extremely worried look on her face. He raised an eyebrow at this and leaned away from her slightly.
"What's wrong Bell?"
She shook her head, "I'm sorry…It's just that Lind and Daisen said a few hours…So…"
Keiichi grinned, "Yea…a few hours to them probably has a different meaning when it is applied to us."
He rubbed his neck slightly and looked at her now radiant smile.
"I'm just glad you're alright."
Keiichi let out a slight laugh that sounded like a grunt, "Yea…well it wasn't so bad I guess. But I have a feeling tomorrow will be worse."
Belldandy looked at him with wide eyes, "What did they say would happen tomorrow?"
"Training. I think weapon training from what it sounded like."
Belldandy seemed to relax slightly, "I'm sure they'll just have you perform basic routines and stances."
"Not likely…But I guess it can't hurt to have a little hope."
As Keiichi slowly walked into the complex, he noticed that Urd had taken up her usual spot: in front of the TV.
He shook his head as he walked further down the hall thinking that some things would honestly never change.
He walked into the changing room just before the bathroom and began to disrobe. As he turned to grab the few things he would need during his relaxing soak, he felt something, no, two somethings press against his back.
He didn't even need to turn to see who it was for two reasons. One, he could hear Belldandy's faint humming coming from the direction of the kitchen. Two, he knew that Belldandy wasn't that well off.
He sighed and turned his head slightly, "What do you want Urd?"
Urd put on a sly front, as well as grin, "It seems you had a rather hard day. Don't you want big sister Urd to help you wash away the pain."
Keiichi gulped before attempting to calm himself down, "I think I can manage, thanks."
Urd pressed herself into Keiichi's back a bit more, "Now c'mon Kei-boy, you don't have to be so shy."
Keiichi shook his head a few times to clear it, "I should be used to your crazy behavior by now. You and Peorth have at least one thing in common…"
He could feel the pressure leave his back as he heard Urd growl slightly.
He was about to try to move away, but a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders in a rather tight grip.
That wasn't what bothered him though; the fact that he could both feel and see the electricity building in Urd's hands was what worried him. He'd been struck by enough spells and Skuld bombs to know that while they weren't exactly lethal, they still hurt.
He prepared himself for the usual sensation when the door slid open. A quiet gasp was heard, and Keiichi felt a new sensation wash over him.
The Glare.
He'd only seen in a few times, but he knew what it meant and who gave it. In those few times he experienced it, though, he was never the recipient.
Urd seemed to realize what was happening as well, because the electricity in her hands was disappearing.
Urd slowly turned to the door to see that her suspicions were correct. Belldandy was standing there, glaring at her. She began to sweat slightly and started to squirm under her sister's gaze.
"I was just leaving," she quickly said and ran past Belldandy as quickly as she could, lest something bad happen.
Keiichi turned around and gave his love an anxious grin. He stood up and covered himself with a towel before facing her again.
"So, what do I owe the honor of this visit to?"
Belldandy, who was looking slightly over her left shoulder, turned to look at the young man. Her smile disappeared when she saw all of the welts and red spots that covered his torso and upper body.
She walked up to him and started tracing a few of the spots that had the most noticeable redness. Keiichi winced and seemed to shift away from her touch.
"Relax. Please hold still."
Keiichi nodded and winced again as she traced her fingers over more of the welts he had gained from training.
After a few moments, most of the pain he had come home with was gone. He looked down his front end to see Belldandy healing the last of his welts.
He smiled at her when she looked back up to him, "Thanks. I feel better already."
Belldandy smiled back, "Anything for you. I'll have some tea ready for you when you get out."
Keiichi nodded and shifted towards the door, "Thanks for calling Urd off."
Belldandy's face seemed to darken a little, "Nee-san needs to learn to respect others privacy. I would've expected her to learn her lesson the last time she tried to peak on Daisen."
Keiichi chuckled at that thought. Peorth had caught Urd trying to spy on Daisen in the temple bathroom, and she had acted accordingly.
The fight had left a few rooms in shambles, as well as destroyed a good half of the plant life around the temple.
Belldandy had made the both of them fix everything, while she watched. She grew tired of having to fix everything her sister and friend had damaged.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as a pair of arms wrapped around his neck. He looked over his shoulder to see Belldandy resting her forehead at the base of his neck.
"Please don't take too long, my dear Keiichi. I still want us to spend our nights together."
Keiichi blushed slightly and nodded. He felt her arms withdraw from around his neck and heard the door close a few seconds later.
No matter how much time had passed, or where he was, he would always be the same: a somewhat shy and soft spoken man.
Keiichi turned for the bathroom door for the second time that evening, finally being able to open it without any interruptions or distractions.
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After some rather heavy thinking while trying to relax in the complex bathroom, Keiichi decided it would be best to heed Daisen's advice. After taking some time to relax with Belldandy and have some tea, he would try his best to get to know what his weapons were like before the next day. He had a feeling that it could either make or break his training session if he did applied himself a little more.
That train of thought led him to where he was. He was in one of the back, unused rooms of the complex with his weapons laid in front of him.
To his left side, sat the large staff. He already knew that both ends had the potential to be dangerous, as the hid spear heads within the hallowed tops of the staff. Twisting each end a specific direction would yield one or both spear heads as he pleased. He picked up the weapon and noticed something he hadn't before.
Due to the weapon having stowed weapons of its own, it was heavy on both ends, but light in the middle. That could prove to be both good and bad in combat. It was good to build momentum and power, but also acted as a fault. He would have to be able to shift the weapon as he needed in order to defend himself, but due to the momentum he could've already built it could cause potential problems.
He was breaking things down to familiar terms with his mind. He was thinking back to his Motor Club days and how he used to solve various problems when building one of the 'unique' machines that his elders usually designed.
Too much power would result in an imbalance and loss of control. Too much speed could yield a problem with control as well. If he wanted full control, he'd have to moderate between power, speed and stability.
He stood in a spread battle stance and took a few jabs with his main weapon of choice. He also noticed that it had a particular kick when performing jabbing motions, just like he'd figured. The momentum of the metal instead each end would bring the weapon forward quickly, but back rather sluggishly since momentum was building in the general area he jabbed.
He began to spin in slightly in his hands, only to notice that the centrifugal force it created was amazing. It was rather easy to build speed with the circular force it created, but the speed would be unchecked if he continually used the circular motion.
Keiichi stopped his staff and lay in on the floor again.
Next, he picked up his second weapon of choice, which seemed to surprise even him. The broadsword was rather large in many aspects of the swords he saw. The blade was thick and wide, not to mention long. The massive three-and-a-half foot blade would probably require both of his hands to wield properly, until he got used to it.
It was top heavy, that much was blatantly obvious, but the sword itself didn't feel all that heavy. He guessed it had something to do with the materials it was made out of.
He stepped forward and performed a few slashes with the sword, noticing that after a certain angle, the sword tended to drag down. He performed a horizontal slash, only to find the same principle as the staff. It had a tendency to build momentum in his slashes, which he needed to control.
He sheathed the massive sword and looked on at the next weapon he had chosen: the two-sided axe.
It was a smaller version of the battle axes he saw, but it felt…right…when he held it. It was almost like he was using one of his two-sided hammers at the shop while working on a bike. It, like the broadsword, was top heavy.
He began to test out its abilities with a few chopping, slashing and stabbing motions. All in all, it felt perfectly balanced in whatever he did. It seemed like a small extension of himself as he began to play around with it slightly.
A few moments later, he returned the axe to its holster like leather coverings. He turned and looked at the last weapon he'd chosen as a last resort. The six inch dagger was meant to be used as a last resort for a reason. It was small and very light, not necessarily the best characteristics in his mind.
It was strapped to around his ankle on his right leg for quick access if he had to try to fake an enemy out. Holding the dagger and performing a few maneuvers with it lead Keiichi to believe it was just like holding a screw driver; a light and short blade that could still be lethal if it connected with the right force behind it.
He sheathed it again and looked at his weapons once again, taking mental notes of what he'd discovered about each weapon. He nodded in confirmation at he looked at each weapon and then summoned his armor. He began to reattach each weapon in the place most suitable for the individual weapons.
After that process was complete, he released everything and soon stood, once again, in his normal white robes.
Keiichi sighed and opened the door to the room, only to have both Urd and Skuld fall at his feet. Both looked up in surprise, and then looked slightly embarrassed after they realized they'd been caught.
Keiichi raised an eyebrow as the both of them slowly began to inch their way out of the room. He sighed and shook his head as he watched their attempt at a subtle getaway.
He simply walked forward and stepped over the both of them before turning into the hallway and walking towards the kitchen. He'd told Belldandy that he would be more than happy to spend more time with her after completing his assigned task.
As he entered the kitchen, he could hear the other two residents starting another argument with each other. He wasn't sure what it was about, but he was positive it was something trivial.
He plopped down by the table with a slight thud and rested his head on its cool surface. A few moments later, a cup appeared in his field of vision. He looked up to see Belldandy smiling at him, despite the noise down the hall.
"Do those two ever leave it alone?"
Belldandy shook her head slightly, "They've always had scuffles growing up. It's just another way they demonstrate their affection for each other."
"Tough love?"
Belldandy cocked her head slightly, "I guess that's one way you could put it."
Keiichi sighed as strong vibrations suddenly coursed through the surrounding area.
"Well, at least things are back in some kind of order. Them fighting, destruction and then repairing what they broke."
Belldandy shook her head, "Not this time."
Keiichi looked at her rather surprised, "Not this time? What's different?"
Belldandy grinned, which surprised Keiichi again, and nodded to the door, "See for yourself."
Keiichi got up, opened the door and looked further down the hall. He couldn't see much through the wall of gray smoke, but he could see that nothing was damaged. He looked over his shoulders to see Belldandy standing beside him with a smile. After a few moments, a breeze seemed to pick up in the hallway and carried all the smoke out one of the back windows.
After everything had cleared, Keiichi could clearly see both Urd and Skuld lying on the floor, both looking burned and charred in a smoking heap.
After a few moments of looking at the sisters, he simply started to laugh. Belldandy covered her mouth slightly, trying to hold back her own laughter.
Belldandy motioned for Keiichi to follow her back into the kitchen, which he noticed despite his continuing laughter.
After being separated from the scene, Keiichi was able to calm himself down to listen to what Belldandy had to say.
"As you can see, there have been some modifications to the housing." Keiichi nodded, "The main addition was a spell that reflects anything that touches the surface enchanted with it."
"So…instead of the normal destruction where the spells and bombs cause the areas affected to absorb the damage…"
"It simply gets reflected back to one point."
Keiichi smirked, "Hopefully this one little addition will teach them to take the fights outside. Or just plain refrain from fighting."
"I don't believe they will ever stop having arguments, but the time will come when Skuld will become wise enough to do her fighting with words."
"What about Urd?"
"Nee-san simply does it to egg Skuld on because she knows it gets to here. Once Skuld matures enough, Urd will eventually let things calm down."
Keiichi nodded, "That makes sense. How long does it take for one of you to mature?"
Belldandy looked at him with a hint of slight confusion, "One of who?"
"One of the gods. How long does it normally take?"
"You still aren't used to seeing yourself as our equals yet, are you?"
Keiichi blinked, "What do you mean?"
"You are one of us now, silly. You don't have a reason to feel inferior to the rest of us."
Keiichi rubbed his neck, "I guess…but it's hard to break out of a normal routine and train of thought. Especially after only a few days."
Belldandy nodded, "I understand. Now for your question concerning out age…We age differently in different places."
"Huh?"
"In Heaven, it is a normal time ratio. If a standard year has passed in the Heavens, a god or goddess ages every year."
"But what about other places?" Keiichi looked slightly confused, but still continued to listen.
"Depending on where they live, it can take anywhere from two to ten years for a god or goddess to age by one year."
"What about on Earth?"
Belldandy put a finger to her cheek and looked thoughtful, "I believe the equivalent of one year our time would be close to five years on Earth."
Keiichi's eyes widened slightly, "Five years?" Belldandy nodded in confirmation. "Is that why Skuld didn't seem to change that much? Because in reality she hadn't even grown a full year yet?"
"Yes, my dear Keiichi."
Keiichi seemed to sink slightly, "Well that explains a lot of things…"
Belldandy moved over to sit behind her love and draped her arms over his shoulders, "There is nothing to worry about. We are all here now, together."
Keiichi nodded and leaned back into Belldandy. She smiled at him, simply accepting him in his semi-reclined position.
"Modern gods don't regularly age until a millennium has passed. Our ancestors began to age after a mere hundred years. Many realized that it was not very efficient to have to replace the current gods and goddesses with a younger generation every few hundred years."
"What about the council?"
Belldandy looked down, "The council has members that are far older than the normal population. I believe a few are two or three millennia old."
Keiichi grinned, "So it'll be a while before we grow old together."
"Indeed. But I wouldn't have it any other way." Belldandy leaned down slightly with a large smile on her face, "That is, if you will still have me after a thousand years have passed."
Keiichi leaned up and their lips touched in a soft kiss that lasted a few moments. After they broke the kiss, Keiichi grinned at the goddess looking down at him.
"Of course. I would be happy to have you, even after a thousand years have passed. But won't you wish to have a newer model god instead of me?"
Belldandy shook her head slightly, "Not in the least."
Both silently laughed as they saw amusement dance in each others eyes. After a few moments of silence, simply being with each other, the lingering smell of something burning was brought to their attention.
Both turned to see that the kitchen door was open slightly. Belldandy sighed and opened the door with a simple look. A stunned looking Urd and slightly irritated Skuld were on their hands and knees at the corner of the door.
Keiichi sighed as well and moved forward, and then stood. The young man, for the second time that night, stepped over Belldandy's sisters. He continued down the hall until he reached his room, which he quickly entered. Loud sound of wood on wood was soon heard, as the door came to a rather harsh stop as it closed.
Both the figures in the hallway turned to look at their third sister in the kitchen. She had a look of disapproval and hurt on her face as she looked at her sisters.
"I would've hoped that you two had gotten past invading our privacy, but I guess not."
Skuld seemed to sink back slightly, with a hurt look on her face. Urd, on the other hand, stood up and walked next to her middle sister with a slight look of annoyance.
She sat down across from Belldandy and looked directly at her.
"Consider that payback for what you didn't tell me and the brat."
Belldandy frowned at her elder sister, "I neglected to tell you about the addition because I wanted you two to figure it out on your own. I had hoped you two were past fighting, but I guess not."
"You know we always fight."
"You used to fight simply with your words, but somewhere along the line it became both words and included using powers. This way it restricts you from harming each other physically. Not everything is solved by using violence."
Urd's look of irritation turned into a frown, "You should've at least given us a hint, or at least some kind of warning."
"You would've probably ignored it, as you normally do."
Urd shrugged which was rewarded with a sigh from Belldandy.
"Please, I'm asking the both of you nicely. Try not to invade our privacy simply because it is one of your whims. That is all I ask. If it is something important, or you wish to talk, knock first."
Urd waved a hand in front of her, "Don't worry about it."
Skuld nodded from her sitting position in the hallway.
"Thank you."
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Keiichi awoke the next morning in an odd position. He was sitting with his back against the wall opposite of the door. He could see Belldandy in an odd position sleeping just in front of him. From what it looked like, she had lain down and simply watched him sleep for a while before falling asleep herself.
Keiichi moved to stretch, but something was in his way. It was then that he noticed the feeling of something against his shoulder. He looked to his left to see that the center of the staff he'd chosen was lying against his shoulder. Each of the ends were resting on the floor and against the wall behind him.
He sighed and quickly banished his instrument before standing up and stretching. He silently moved out of the room, so as not to disturb Belldandy, and made a hasty retreat to the kitchen.
He quickly threw together something to eat to settle his nerves before settling down with a nice cup of tea. He sighed as he looked at the clock hanging next to the door to see that it read almost ten in the morning.
He had to be at the arena within the next 40 minutes. He wasn't really looking forward to combat training, despite the rather easy training session they had the day before.
The young man sighed and slowly continued with his cup of tea. When he finally finished, he noticed that it was ten minutes past. He stood and put his dish in the sink before leaving the kitchen. He left a quick note on the main room table before leaving.
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Keiichi arrived at the arena a little earlier than his training was scheduled. He looked around the main foyer, but didn't see anyone. When he actually entered the massive stadium, he noticed that two figures were already dueling, while a third watched.
Keiichi could hardly see the movements of the two combatants, but he could easily spot Kyuss on the other side of the arena. The young god sat in rapt attention of what was happening around him.
After a few moments, Keiichi sat with his back against the wall. He, too, began to concentrate and follow what was going on. As soon as he found his focus, he could see Lind, wielding her large battle axe, and Daisen, in typical gear, in an all out spar match.
He wasn't sure which was winning, as neither could seem to land a blow on the other, but he noticed one thing. Lind didn't look as winded as Daisen did.
A combination kick, thrust, jab and feint on Daisen's part had no effect. Lind simply blocked all of his attacks with either the shaft of the axe, or the head itself. She quickly turned and threw a roundhouse kick at Daisen, and then complimenting it with a thrust behind her with the axe. Daisen managed to block both attacks, but the second one he seemed to have trouble with.
Lind was rather unpredictable in her movements. Keiichi noticed that she changed her approach and style with every set on attacks. Daisen was having problems keeping up with it.
After a few moments, the sparring match seemed to halt, as both deities hovered in the air. Keiichi wasn't sure what had happened, but he noticed that Lind was grinning while Daisen had his head bowed.
It was apparent that Daisen had lost, but he wasn't sure how. No solid blow had been landed by either party. Keiichi stood and began to applaud, which seemed to startle the two combatants.
"Nice show guys."
Daisen grinned, with beads of sweat dripping off his face, "You'll be pulling off routines like these within a month."
Keiichi draw went slack as he stared. He then shook his head and laughed, "Somehow I doubt that."
Kyuss then stood and began walking towards everyone. Keiichi nodded toward the shorter god as he neared the group.
"Alright, one of your instructors is here. Now we just have to wait for the other."
Keiichi looked at Daisen with mild surprise, "What do you mean 'the other?' I thought you and Lind were in charge of my training."
Daisen stretched slightly and tilt his head sideways before massaging his neck, "We are, but seeing as how your weapon of choice is a staff with spear attachments, we figured better instructors were needed."
Lind nodded, "Ones that have more skill than us with that sort of weapon have been found. It is by sheer luck that you already know one."
"So who's the other one?"
Before anything could be said, a harsh wind started to blow around the figures gathering in the stadium. After they settled and passed, another figure stood off to the left.
Daisen nodded toward the figure, "He is your second instructor."
The figure turned to look at Keiichi to reveal short blonde hair with brown undertones. His simple white robes matched the ones Keiichi wore. The one thing that stood out, though, was the weapon at his side. A spear, a hunting spear with a long handle and broad, leaf-shaped blade was resting against his shoulder.
"Keiichi, God of Eternity, I give you the best and most well versed instructor we could find."
Keiichi couldn't help but notice the grin that tugged on the corners of the blonde god standing in front of him.
"Greetings, Keiichi. I have heard much about you. I am Oberion, God of the Spear. I look forward to training one such as yourself."
Keiichi smiled nervously and nodded.
In his mind, things had just become infinity more complicated.
A/N: How's that for a cameo? Here's looking at you Nick!
Look forward to more!