Megumi No Megamibr As told by Megumibr br Chapter 3 - Demonsbr br During dinner, Skuld let it be known that she had checked my file on the Yggdrasil system and I was indeed eligible for a wish granting. This news caused a silent commotion. Belldandy told me to be very careful in what I said, since any utterance beginning with the words "I wish" was likely to be br I sent, b::/bNo problem,b::/b and then constructed a spell that would silence me if I attempted to speak those words aloud. It was safe to send those words telepathically because Heaven never anticipated granting a wish to an adept. I sent to Belldandy, b::/bWhen this all started, I wished I could eat your cooking forever. If that wish had been granted, Keiichi wouldn't be the only former mortal around.b::/bbr br Urd observed that it was okay to ask factual questions of any wish-granting goddess, but I couldn't ask them for advice since my wish had to come from my own heart. That meant I could ask Skuld for advice. What about Keiichi? Onii-sama admitted having the skill and the power to grant wishes, but he was reluctant to deal with the Ultimate Force. He was afraid that if he made some slight mistake it might imperil his guaranteed eternity with Belldandy, and he didn't want to risk br My eligibility for a wish may have been good news, but it created a whole new set of problems for me. I had only one wish coming to me, so it had to be a good one. What did I really want-and when did I want it? You might think that becoming a goddess was a no-brainer, but Keiichi was doing very well indeed without divine power. He was developing into someone whom the gods looked up to. How could I be sure the same wouldn't be true of me? I wasn't sure I wanted to rush into immortality either, for being an adept mortal gave me a unique opportunity to mess with people's minds. Yet delaying immortality had its own obvious risks, such as premature death. That would be tragic! I resolved to let the matter wait for a while so I could evaluate all my br When dinner was over and talking was aloud (pun intentional), I observed that the start of the school year was fast approaching. I had the silly notion that I wanted to finish my final year and get my degree in Computer Science, even though it would do me no good in Asgard. However, I didn't want to miss a minute of Keiichi's lessons. How was I going to manage?br br Ask and you shall receive. The next day Sensei began by teaching us his improved version of Urd's split-into-many-cute-little-replicas-of-herself trick, known as subdividing. We each split ourselves into half a dozen miniature figures. We were quite a crowd, 18 little caricatures of ourselves running around on the lawn before br Then Keiichi announced, "And now, thanks to Megumi's suggestion, I've a surprise for you."br br As we stared open mouthed, ianother /i Keiichi came out of the temple and joined us. I knew my brother wasn't a twin, and the two Keiichis were more alike than even identical twins br The two Senseis announced in unison, "We'll now cover a similar, but entirely different technique, the art of being in two places at once, known as bilocation."br br Then one of him taught each of us one-on-one for the remainder of the lesson. As Keiichi explained it, although the effect was spatial, the underlying method of bilocation involved manipulating time. It was sort of like spending an hour here and then an hour there, but both hours occurred simultaneously and neither preceded the other. We would age two hours for every hour spent duplicated, but since everyone except me was immortal that was no penalty at all. Bilocation was, in effect, a day-stretcher. I had often wanted one of those. The advantage that mattered to me was that all my replicas would be full size and complete, not partial, instances of myself. I could go to the Institute and stay home simultaneously! When we moved on to other topics, one of the Sensei vanished, and the other continued br That night as I was falling asleep in my bed I had the whimsical thought that if I could round up several lovers at once I could bilocate and do them all concurrently, becoming a one-woman orgy. My feelings of desire and frustration were never far beneath the surface, especially when I was alone in my bed. Then I realized that, by the same reasoning, Keiichi could make love to all his wives simultaneously. With that intriguing notion I drifted off. I had pleasantly erotic dreams that br For the next week our pace of instruction was greatly accelerated. Using telepathic rapport more information could be communicated rapidly and accurately, so we were mostly limited by our ability to absorb and master the material. Keiichi used bilocation to begin teaching Urd and Belldandy while continuing our lessons normally. Every afternoon the five of us gathered in two groups of three while Keiichi taught different material in each class. (Language just isn't up to the task of describing this arrangement.)br br Then at dinner one night Belldandy dropped a bombshell. "Skuld and Megumi, I've been reviewing your progress with Kei-sama. We agree that this is a good time for you both to get your First Class Goddess qualifications. If you continue to improve at your present rate, you'll both be overqualified and will have to wait while those stuffy bureaucrats figure out an entirely new category to put you into."br br This caught me by surprise. "Do you want ime /i to get a goddess license? I'm a mortal. I don't know anything about passing a goddess qualification test."br br Belldandy tried to reassure me. "The examinations focus on control and finesse, Meg-chan, not raw power. You don't have the vast mana that a goddess can wield, but your precision and skill are more than adequate for the tests. Also, your use of magic is so efficient that many gods would have difficulty matching the things you can do already."br br It made my head swim, but the impish side of my personality took delight in the prospect of messing with a bureaucrat's br The next day instead of taking lessons Skuld and I went to Asgard. Of course, it was my first time there (I had caught a glimpse of Asgard in Belldandy's wedding projection), so Skuld gave me a brief tour before we reported to the License Bureau br Skuld greeted the official in charge, a First Class Limited god who ran the office part-time (there wasn't enough business in the License Bureau to justify a full-time staff). "Hello Tomasu, long time no see. This is my good friend Morisato Megumi."br br Tomasu was tall and thin. I had the impression that if he were a mortal, he would be slightly balding and looking over his half-glasses at us. He obviously wasn't pleased. "Skuld, you know we discourage visits by mortals here. Why did you bring her?"br br I didn't like his attitude, so I answered boldly, "She didn't bring me; I came here under my own power."br br His eyebrow went up. "Indeed? Why did you come here, of all places?"br br "The same reason Skuld did," I replied, "We came to pass our First Class qualifications. Belldandy thought it would be better to do it now, before we finish our training."br br Tomasu wasn't amused. "If this is a joke, it's in very poor taste," he observed. "When you made appointments for two First Class examinations, I was expecting Urd or somebody at her level, not an immature goddess and her mortal friend."br br "Tomasu, don't mess around with ithis /i mortal or you'll regret it forever," advised Skuld br Tomasu, clearly annoyed by this, tried to mentally probe me to find out what our true intentions were. I easily blocked his probe with my shield, and responded by probing him through my br "Impossible!" Tomasu thought, "Only Kami-sama can probe through a shield like that."br br b::/bCorrection,b::/b I transmitted to him, while maintaining my shield and my probe. In panic, Tomasu dropped his probe and put up his own shield. Unperturbed, I continued to probe him and transmit to him through his shield, b::/bOnly Kami-sama, my sensei Morisato Keiichi, and his pupils Skuld and Morisato Megumi can probe through a shield like that!b::/bbr br Plainly shaken to his core, Tomasu dropped his shield as a gesture of submission. He became much more respectful and cooperative. "Very well," he said, "You shall have your examinations. I'll conduct the tests myself." Tomasu tapped a bell and two more gods appeared, dressed in flowing white br "They're our Witnesses," Skuld whispered to me. "Think of them as video recorders, or impartial observers."br br Tomasu began by taking our names and credentials, and then the actual testing began. After twenty minutes he called a brief halt and summoned four more Witnesses, two for each of br I thought nothing of this but Skuld was curious. "Tomasu, I never heard of more than one Witness per candidate before. Why do we get three each?"br br "Skuld, I want to make certain that nobody ever doubts the scores you two are getting. I'd be remiss in my duty if I didn't get Witnesses to observe history in the making."br br Now I was delighted by this remark. It was one thing for Belldandy to assure me that I was qualified, but if the reluctant Tomasu thought that I deserved extra Witnesses, then I must be doing very well indeed. I resolved to do my best, and to pass this test with flying colors. When it was over, I had actually gone off the scale only once. In the test where you have to keep many balls moving simultaneously with no two on similar trajectories, Tomasu ran out of balls and had to get more. I finished the test with 96 balls in motion. I had tried for 98 or 100, but some of them kept slipping into similar orbits. It was only later that I learned that the previous best score on this test had been 62 br Tomasu went over to a terminal and entered our scores, which were then authenticated by the Witnesses. Their duty done, the Witnesses removed their robes and br Tomasu produced Skuld's license and presented it to her. "Skuld, you've outscored any other god by 32 percent, and done so at a record young age. You should be very proud." Skuld beamed and accepted her br Then he turned toward me. "Young lady, you've outscored Skuld by 26 percent, and I'm obliged to give you your license. You said earlier that you haven't yet finished your training. You must have a very unusual sensei indeed. May I ask how long you've been studying magic?"br br "I've been doing magic for nearly ten weeks now," I replied, "and yes, my brother is a ivery /i unusual sensei."br br Tomasu was incredulous. His voice rose an octave as he asked, "Did you say ten iweeks /i?" I noticed the Witnesses' astonished br "No, I said inearly /i ten weeks," I replied smugly. I was really enjoying br Tomasu shook his head in bewilderment. "Morisato, what is your domain? I can't complete your license without your proper name and domain."br br I resisted the urge to give him the domain part of my e-mail address, because it belonged to my ISP and not to me. I offered a suggestion, which he accepted and began entering it on the br "This is highly irregular," he muttered to br "No, it's actually unique, or unprecedented," I corrected. If the test was being scored on precision, I thought I should be precise. I still have that license, if you want to see it. It's an old-style First Class Unlimited license, made out to "Morisato Megumi, Mortal of Computing."br br Two of the Witnesses thanked us before they left. One observed that she would cherish watching us pass our exams for millions of years to come. Only later did I realize how rare it is for a Witness to make any comment at br Skuld said goodbye to Tomasu and vanished. He looked startled (again). "She can teleport without using a surface?" he asked, "I thought she preferred water as her medium."br br "She used to use water," I explained, "but doing it this way is more convenient, and not difficult once you get the hang of it." Then I waved goodbye and teleported back to the br That evening I took one look at the dinner table and exclaimed, "Oh wow, Belldandy, you've outdone yourself this time!"br br She smiled happily and replied, "I thought we should celebrate. After all, my sisters haven't just gotten their First Class licenses, they've made history."br br I noticed that she had used the plural. "Sisters? Including me? Oh, Belldandy..."br br Her voice grew soft and loving. "Meg-chan, if you were my sister in fact, instead of in spirit, I couldn't feel any closer to you. In my heart you're my sister, and that's all that really matters."br br I had a warm feeling inside, and I was probably blushing. "Belldandy, I feel the same way. I've wanted to call all of you 'Onee-chan' for some time now, but I didn't have the courage."br br Urd chimed in. "The same goes for me too. Face it, guys, we've grown closer to each other than most natural families have. Isn't it wonderful?"br br When the meal was over, a contented Skuld observed, "If I will get rewarded like this, then I'm going to make history more often."br br Urd retorted in mock indignation, "Watch it kid, history is my job."br br I had the feeling that, though they didn't know it yet, Asgard was never going to be the same again. Tomasu had the same suspicion, and he was busy telling his friends what had happened. It was unheard-of for a mortal to take the test, much less to outscore all the gods. Unlike most gossip, this story had Witnesses to back it up. There was considerable ferment in Asgard that br The next morning Skuld was unusually happy. In fact, she seemed as happy as Belldandy had been on the morning after... Oh my! I sent her a thought b::/bSkuld-chan, you got what you wanted last night, didn't you?b::/bbr br b::/bYes,b::/b she replied, b::/band you were right. He was waiting for the right occasion. It was wonderful!b::/bbr br I was glad for her sake, but I felt a pang of jealousy too. Damn the incest taboo!br br I had reached at least a partial resolution to my what-to-wish-for problem. I wanted to remain a mortal through graduation day, but not much longer than that. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to be a goddess or not. My brother was doing fabulously well without divine powers. This was turning out to be a difficult choice. I resolved to keep working on it until I got it br A few days later Urd passed her First Class Unlimited qualifications with scores comparable to Skuld's, or about twice Urd's previous scores on the same test. Knowing Urd was Skuld's sister, Tomasu made an educated guess: "You've been training with Morisato Keiichi, haven't you?"br br "Yes," replied Urd, "For about two weeks."br br Tomasu was incredulous. "What manner of man is this Morisato, and how long has he been doing magic?"br br Urd considered this. "Morisato is no longer mortal, nor is he a god. He's known about the existence of magic for about four years, or ever since Belldandy came to stay with him. He's thought about magic for about three years and began trying to experiment with it over a year ago. He cast his first real spell about four months ago. Would you like to see it?" She showed them the silent-mode br The beauty and intricacy of the spell overwhelmed Tomasu and the Witnesses. After Urd had left Tomasu and the others tried to make sense of what they'd seen and heard. A former mortal had come out of nowhere and in an incredibly short time had achieved a mastery of magic exceed only by Kami-sama. The story spread like wildfire. Before he ever set foot in Asgard, Keiichi's reputation was br The next day, Keiichi made a suggestion that took us all by surprise. "I think the time has come to remove the demon wards around the temple," he br Urd was astonished. "That would be an open invitation for Mara to attack us!" she br "Exactly!" he replied with a smile. "She gets through or around the wards every few months anyway, so they aren't totally effective. She could be back soon. We're strong enough now that she's no longer a threat to us, but she just doesn't know it yet."br br We discussed his idea for a while. Urd and Belldandy had some reservations, but Skuld assured them that she could handle a demon all by herself, and reminded them that Keiichi and I were even stronger than she was. In the end, we removed the demon wards and replaced them with a network of detection and warning br Mara didn't waste any time. The alarm spells sounded early the very next morning. I rushed outside to meet her, still in my pajamas. There was Mara, hovering five meters in the air, laughing and mock-promising to destroy us all utterly-typical demon br I stepped out into the yard and waved to her. "Good morning, Mara."br br "I'll start with you first," she vowed, and threw a force bolt intended to turn me into a cactus. I didn't bother to dodge it, deflect it, or return it; instead I ate it for breakfast. I seized her energy, distilled it, stripped out the chaotic elements, and refined it to match my own persona. I used a portion of her spell to make myself a "Have you hugged your cactus today?" teeshirt, and stored the rest of it away for future br "Thanks," I told her, "That was very tasty."br br The bewildered look on Mara's face was wonderful to behold. She looked at me closely. "Morisato Megumi, the imortal /i? What did you do to my force bolt?"br br "I ate it," I replied. "Do you have any more to offer me?"br br Mara was speechless, so I continued, "Actually, I'm Morisato Megumi, First Class Unlimited Mortal now." I projected an image of my license where she could read it br Mara took a moment to examine the image, and then complained, "That makes absolutely no sense at all!"br br I rose into the air until I was level with her. "Exactly! Isn't it wonderful? A demon like you should love it," I replied br Just then Keiichi emerged from the temple, looking calm, friendly, and utterly unafraid. Mara took one look at his aura and turned br Doing a Captain Kirk imitation, Keiichi said, "Hello, Alice, welcome to Wonderland."br br Mara took another look and finally recognized him. "Keiichi, is that you? What on Earth are you doing with an aura like ithat /i? I'd thought you were Kami-sama!" It was the first time, but certainly not the last time, that someone had mistaken him for Kami-sama. Mara didn't consider attacking him even for an instant-a gnat does not bite a battleship. Neither did she flee, for she could sense that he intended her no br "Come on down and let's talk," he br "About what?" she responded br "About turning your world inside out, your life upside down, and your loving it," he br Inside the temple, Skuld was following the action with her enhanced senses, and relaying what happened to her sisters. I signaled to her that we hadn't eaten yet, and in a few minutes Belldandy came out with three bento breakfasts and quietly returned to the temple. Mara wasn't accustomed to being fed by people she had been trying to make suffer, but she warily accepted the br Urd had once predicted that Keiichi "wouldn't even kill demons, he would strip them of their evil and turn them into lawful deities." During the next 90 minutes, that's exactly what he did. For the record, he didn't use any magic at all, not even hypnosis. He italked /i to Mara, using that persuasive manner he had developed. He outlined his vision of the future, where spontaneity and fun would be encouraged, a little mischief or impishness permitted to add spice to life, stuffiness and bureaucracy discouraged, but where evil and wanton destruction would be forbidden. He described how the pleasure she might get from destructive acts was transient, but the satisfaction of doing constructive things was durable. He told her that although demons might consider gods their enemies, gods considered demons to be cousins who had temporarily lost their way. He mentioned that there was already a reformed demon in Asgard, so that Mara would have a precedent and a peer group (luxuries that Keiichi himself didn't enjoy). He even offered her some one-on-one magic tutoring. That man could charm the spots off a br By the end of their talk Mara was completely won over; she eagerly wanted to reform, and was begging to be admitted to our household. Personally, I think the training offer was the clincher. A little mental probing convinced us that she was sincere. We went inside to discuss the situation with the three br Urd was bewildered. Mara wanted to join us? Was that wise, or even safe?br br Skuld was delighted. "My sensei can do anything!" She was nearly bouncing up and br Belldandy thought it was the best possible outcome, and seemed pleased. "We'll have to find accommodations for you," she br I observed that the rooms were all occupied. "She could stay with me, if my room weren't so small," I br "Space is no problem," said Keiichi. "Meg-chan, have you seen my room recently?"br br I hadn't, so I went to take a look. The inside of Keiichi's room was bigger than the entire temple! I thought I had wandered into the Taj Mahal. The bed looked as big as an Olympic swimming pool. Was someone planning to have an orgy? Still, the room had Belldandy's taste in decoration, elegant but simple and functional. Clearly finding enough room for one more, or twenty more, people wouldn't be br b::/bKei-sama, how do you change the sheets on that thing?b::/b I sent, followed by a mental image of a washing machine as large as a br b::/bNo need to,b::/b he replied, b::/bthe sheets stay clean, neat, dry, and fresh no matter what you do, and they never get too warm or too cool either.b::/b It figures. Keiichi never does anything br b::/bI want sheets like that!b::/b I br b::/bNo problem, here's the spell,b::/b he responded, and sent me the br Given her choice of a room of her own or staying with me, Mara chose to stay with me. Belldandy sent me a shielded thought b::/bMeg-chan, are you aware that Mara prefers girls?b::/bbr br I'd been aware of her orientation, but I stopped to consider it. Finally, I replied to Belldandy, b::/bI guess I'm flexible. My brother isn't likely to touch me while I'm still mortal, and I've shared my body with Mara once before, when she possessed me. Perhaps half a loaf is better than none.b::/bbr br Belldandy neither approved nor disapproved, but accepted my response serenely. Soon my room had been tripled in size, and I had moved my belongings over to one half. Mara moved in her stuff easily enough because there wasn't much of it. I'd forgotten that she sleeps in a coffin, but I was relieved that at least she had her own bed. It promised to be interesting to have a former demon for a br That evening as we were bedding down for the night, Mara asked if I minded having her in my br "Mara, we've a lot in common," I replied, "We're both in transition, we can't return to what we used to be and we aren't yet ready for what we're becoming. We're now both unique people, goddess candidates unlike any others. I think rooming together will do a both good-as sort of a mutual support group."br br "There's still one thing I've trouble understanding."br br "Only ione /i?" I prompted. I could think of many things she ought to be confused about just br "I came here intending to discomfort you all, but you've treated me with nothing but kindness. I don't get it."br br That was easy to answer. "First of all, we had the luxury of choice. Since you were no threat to us, we had many options. Given a choice, Keiichi will always choose the path of greatest benefit and least harm. The most important reason is that we enjoy helping others; it's very rewarding. You'll find that out for yourself sooner or later. Finally, my brother and I take a certain impish delight in messing with people's minds, if it does no harm. Can you think of a better way to mystify a demon than with kindness?"br br Mara laughed. "That one I can understand completely. I can't think of a more effective way to confuse a demon. Megumi, you're my kind of people. I'm sure I'll like it here."br br We embraced briefly. "No, you're going to love it here," I br Keiichi's teaching arrangements changed the following afternoon. The elder goddesses had come close enough to our level that the two groups were combined into one. This would give Sensei practice with somewhat larger class sizes. Our pace of instruction was still quite rapid because most of it was conducted via telepathy. Mara received one on one tutoring in a separate, simultaneous session. She made good progress. At dinner and in the evening we continued the social integration of our former enemy into our household. In the beginning we were all slightly unsure of how to proceed and how far to go. None of us were ready to love her, but telepathy speeds up socialization just as much as it speeds up instruction. By the end of the day we were all comfortable with each other and beginning to feel like old br The following morning we had a visitor from Asgard. A young friend of Skuld's dropped in, ostensibly to see her, but we all knew he had really come to check out the new teacher who was causing so much commotion in Heaven. Skuld greeted Donner happily, and proudly introduced him to her husband and sensei. One look at Keiichi's aura and Donner wondered if the most exaggerated rumors he had heard didn't go nearly far enough. Donner had met Keiichi on a previous visit, but that earlier Keiichi had been a completely different br Donner bowed and said, "Morisato-sama, I'm honored to meet you. Your students have made very favorable impressions at the License Bureau. You must be an extraordinary teacher."br br "Thanks, Donner," Keiichi replied in a friendly tone, "Please call me Keiichi. I'm quite pleased with the progress my five pupils are making."br br Donner blinked. "Five pupils? The three Norns, your sister Megumi, and..."br br Keiichi led him around a corner and introduced him. "Donner, this is Mara, my newest pupil."br br "Hello, Donner, pleased to meet you," she said with a warm br It took Donner a moment to find his voice. "Excuse me Mara, but aren't you a demon?"br br Mara smiled again and replied, "Technically I suppose so, but I prefer to think of myself as a former demon, or a goddess candidate."br br Naturally, Donner was curious. "You must have an interesting history..."br br Mara tried to explain. "Two days ago I had the foolish idea that I wanted to curse them all. It soon became clear that I didn't stand a chance. Instead of being annoyed, Keiichi treated me with kindness, he even fed me breakfast, and patiently explained to me the error of my ways. I should warn you, he can be ivery /i persuasive. Two hours later I had renounced my old ways and he'd taken me on as a student. By last night I was certain I had made the right decision."br br After lunch Donner and Skuld had a few minutes alone. "Is there ianything /i he can't do?" asked Donner in hushed br Skuld looked amused. "Sure. He can't make a rock so heavy that he can't move it."br br "Be serious, Skuld."br br "Donner, if you can think of anything he can't do, don't mention it to him or he'll figure out how to do it so quickly it'll make your head spin."br br "Oh," said Donner, in a subdued br Skuld elaborated. "If you had the opportunity to deep probe him telepathically and copy all the magical techniques he knows, you wouldn't get much. I've had the chance, and I know. He finds it faster and easier to reinvent spells then to remember them. I remember more of his techniques than Sensei does, because I can't invent them so easily."br br She continued, "Do you know what I consider the most amazing thing Kei-sama does?" Donner obviously didn't. With her eyes sparkling, Skuld explained, "He loves me."br br "That's not so amazing, Skuld, I love you too," said Donner br "Consider the big picture, Donner. For years I hated him and feared he was taking Bell-chan away from me. I sabotaged his projects, ruined his love life, belittled him at every turn, and bothered him in every way I could. He never once complained. Then when I caught a glimpse of his probable destiny, I felt devastated. I realized I couldn't have been more out of line if I were spitting at Kami-sama himself! Keiichi responded by forgiving me and asking for my friendship. I couldn't believe it! I didn't feel worthy, but he was persistent and sincere. A few weeks later I was in love with him, and he with me. Donner, I know of no god or mortal with so little malice and so much love in him. You must have felt it yourself, for he fills his entire neighborhood with love."br br Donner agreed. "I noticed it right away."br br Soon, Skuld announced that she had to go to class. "Perhaps I should leave now," suggested br "Only if you want to," she responded, "I can keep you company during class."br br He looked confused. "Could you explain that?"br br Skuld pointed to her left. "See Keiichi over there with Megumi and my sisters?" He nodded. Skuld pointed to her right "See Keiichi over there with Mara?"br br Donner looked rapidly from left to right. After a long moment he asked, "Is he twins?"br br Skuld pointed left again with a wide smile on her face. "See Keiichi over there with Megumi, ime /i, and my sisters? Am I twins?"br br Donner asked in awe, "Skuld, how do you do that?"br br Skuld squeezed his hand. "Sensei taught us the fine art of being in two or more places at once. It's very handy sometimes."br br Donner thought to himself that he should have brought a Witness or two. Nobody in Asgard would believe all that he had seen and heard today. Wistfully, he said, "I sense that I don't have a chance of winning your heart, Skuld. There's no way I can ever compete with him."br br To his surprise, Skuld looked at him warmly and replied, "On the contrary, Donner, your chances have improved. Last year I wasn't really ready to love anyone, though I thought I was. Kei-sama has taught me to be more accepting and loving. I can't hold it against you that you're a mere god, for I'm only a goddess myself. Why don't you court me again when we're both a little older? Until than, I'd like to be your friend." Donner said nothing, but his joy was br During dinner Donner asked Keiichi if he was planning to take on any more br "Certainly. Eventually I expect to have many more. I intend to make teaching my career," Keiichi br Donner continued, "Will you continue to be based here then?"br br "It would be impractical to have all the gods in Asgard come to me here, and very disruptive to choose all my students from among mortals. I expect to relocate to Asgard when I'm ready. I imagine that will be about a year from now."br br Donner ate another few morsels and asked, "Why do you feel that you aren't ready now? You seem to be getting excellent results."br br Keiichi smiled warmly. "Thanks, Donner, but I'm still a novice learning my trade. I've only been doing this for about four months, after all. I have only a little experience teaching goddesses. I want to improve my skills before I set up shop in Asgard, lest I make a poor initial impression."br br Donner was unable to reply-if Keiichi was 'still a novice,' then iwhat /i was he destined to become?br br After dinner, Donner thanked Belldandy for her delicious meals, Skuld for the pleasure of her company, Keiichi for the most interesting day of his life, and then he returned to br hr br Authors Note: C & C welcome." Be gentle it's only my second time. I'd like to acknowledge the following fanfic authors, whose work has entertained and inspired me: Ed Sharpe for "No Mere Mortal," Brett Handy for "Oh My God!" Sean Gaffney for "Proposal/Wedding/Honeymoon," and Fred Herriot for "A Remarkable Destiny."br br I'd like to thank Belldandy for sharing her recipe, "If you have enough love in your heart then anything you make will be wonderful." My cooking has improved noticeably after I started using it, and it's good for things not involving food preparation