I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series
Great Desert Barrier, Muspelheim
At the far edge of the fiery realm's city, a series of gigantic metal pillars rose from the sand, forming an obstacle for the creatures of the desert. Especially the notorious Sand Dragons that often tried to get closer to the demons' homes in hopes for a quick meal. Of course, while they weren't particularly intelligent, they did know that doing that during daytime would most certainly prove to be a fatal error. The demons were not easy to deal with and the element of surprise was gone, given that the city was built over rocky terrain and not the easy to navigate sand oceans. The latter provided them with a perfect place to burrow and hide, as they waited for an easy victim to approach.
While immortal, those creatures were simply too big for their own power supply, making survival a real struggle. Without some external source of energy the terrestrial leviathans would grow weak and sluggish, making themselves giant targets. In desperation, some would dare to approach the demons' homes, despite being aware of the fact that the latter would kill them on sight.
After enough research, it was discovered that the Sand dragons were mostly physical beings that relied on their immense strength and their almost impenetrable outer scales that protected them. However, they were not truly invulnerable, as demonite alloy was even stronger and when used as a basis for a high velocity projectile, it could penetrate their natural armor and inflict horrific damage to them.
As such, every column of the barrier fence served a secondary purpose, instead of just being an obstacle. It supported a large turret that housed a powerful rail gun capable of throwing an enormous shell at four times the speed of sound to a maximum effective distance of one hundred miles. To keep the gun's length manageable, they were constructed as two stage weapons. The first one was providing the projectile's initial momentum by a chemically powered reaction, and the second being the actual rail gun's barrel. The latter kept increasing the shell's velocity until it obtained the desired kinetic energy. With more than a few dozen of the weapons around and a sophisticated network of sensors, the demons could sleep easy knowing that nothing would get too close for comfort.
This wasn't one of those nights, though. With the proximity alarm wailing, the highest ranking Eldjotunn had rushed to central command to take a look. It wasn't really necessary, as the night shift guards were authorized to fire anyway, and even the systems themselves were designed to do that if the dragons got closer than half their effective radius. Still, Hrym was in charge for the fist time in his life and if Surt heard that he was snoozing while this happened, he would be shoveling sand for decades.
'Stupid creature. Just as I was about to get some shut eye after such a long day, someone wanted a midnight snack! Well, I'll give you something to chew on...'
Opening the reinforced doors of the combat information center, the demonesses that were on night watch duty inside all jumped from their seats, offering a quick salute to Hrym.
"Sir! Oh... it's just Hrym."
"Give me a situation report. And what's with that response?" asked the half demon.
"Oh, we just thought that Surt-sama was back," said the demoness in charge. Tossing her red hair back, she motioned for the rest to relax. "We were worried that he would've caught us red handed. That's a relief..."
"Hold on, what were you all doing before?" asked Hrym, eying the demoness suspiciously.
"Nothing bad!" she started, while fiddling with her hair. "We just had a late night marathon of soap operas, that's all."
The idea of some of the demons' most vicious warriors watching those sappy shows made Hrym wonder if he was the only sane person around these parts of the Demon Realms.
"Back in your battle stations!" he barked. "Lock on the target and let's get it over with..."
"Yes, sir!"
The massive turrets turned, tracking the Sand Dragon as it approached them, totally unaware of the mortal danger it was putting itself in. Charging their hyper-conductive arrays in preparation for the attack caused a loud, buzzing noise that attracted the attention of the few creatures that wandered around the area at night. Seconds later, they all started to fire their salvos, lighting up the night sky with their muzzle flashes, while the ear shattering explosions woke a lot of the sleeping demons in the city.
"Five seconds for impact," said the red haired Eldjotunn, turning around from her console to face Hrym.
"Good work, Naudiz. Send the drone to confirm the dragon's demise," ordered the half demon.
"Yes, sir."
"Also, have the recovery crew on standby. I want the remains taken for processing as soon as possible," added Hrym.
While the carcasses of the dragons rapidly dematerialized, their scales remained behind and made a perfect source of armor tiles. Of course, it was mostly reserved for non military uses, as it was no longer up to the latest specifications and ratings, but it was ideal for civilian purposes. Additionally the material was often turned into a structural components or even the basis for elaborate artifacts used for decoration. After all, killing one of those creatures in the past was a bit of a challenge. These days, however, it was nothing more than a boring routine.
"Right in the middle of the night?" asked Naudiz, wondering what was so important about gathering its remains. "Why not tomorrow? That's what we've always done..."
"Tomorrow, Surt will be back from Niflheim and by the sound of it, we're having a full scale inspection. So no dead dragons left in the desert," said Hrym.
Naudiz nodded and relayed the orders to the demons that would've to go and reclaim the serpent's scales. In all honesty she didn't envy their job, but it was better them than her. "Is Hild-sama coming as well?"
"No. I think that Hagall-sama will be the one in charge of the inspection," answered Hrym. "At least that's what I've heard from Surt."
"Aw... She never comes for a visit anymore," complained the redhead as she leaned back into her chair. "A lot of the youngsters wanted to see her in person, given that she's from here..."
"Well... Tough luck. She's probably busy," commented Hrym, signing the incident's report.
"Hey! Don't be so mean..." complained Naudiz. "Besides, you're a god, right? Shouldn't you be a bit more sympathetic for the kids that wanted to meet their idol?"
"Now I'm god, huh? Whenever something work related comes up, I'm a demon. Funny how the world works..." muttered Hrym, as he set the paperwork down. "Any news from the drone?"
"Not yet..." answered Naudiz. "By the way, speaking of work... Do you know what Surt-sama is doing in Niflheim?"
"How should I know? He hadn't told me and I've never asked," said the half demon. "Why?"
"Oh, come on! Aren't you even curious?" insisted the demoness, wanting to get some more gossip from her superior.
"Curiosity killed the cat," countered Hrym.
"But, you're not a cat. Who was that guy that turned into one, again? Velspar?" asked Naudiz, scratching her head, trying to remember the demon's name.
"Welsper, I think. Although, it wasn't due to curiosity. That moron was looking for trouble," said Hrym, with a roll of his eyes. "Can't say I feel sorry for him. Wanted a goddess for a girlfriend... ha!"
"What about you, mister half god?" asked the red haired demoness with a smile. "Which one do you prefer, goddesses or demonesses?"
"Me? None of your business!" shouted the somewhat embarrassed Eldjotunn. "Why do you even want to know?"
"Uh... We kinda have a bet going on for the answer to that question," said Naudiz, trying to look as innocent as possible.
"What?! Don't you have anything better to do with your free time?" asked the annoyed half demon.
"Yes. Although having some variety is always a good idea," replied the demoness. "So, will we get the answer?"
"No! And..." started Hrym, before the sound from the terminal next to him, got his attention. "Ah, the drone's report... Everything looks nice, so send the recovery team."
"Yes, sir," said Naudiz, not wanting to annoy him too much. Hrym was usually an easy target for teasing, being partially a god. However, he was also a demon and if pushed too far, he could get dangerous, especially if it concerned some sensitive subject.
The very moment that the half demon was about to exit the door, he could hear the sound of that soap opera coming from behind him. Tired and annoyed, the Eldjotunn simply ignored the demonesses and left them alone, continuing on his way to his house.
He'd been in this realm for millennia and still couldn't figure out its denizens. Most of the time they were serious and acted like proper warriors, but then there were the moments where they just relaxed. A bit too much in his opinion, not that anyone cared about that.
'I just hope that Surt comes back before the inspection, or I'll be in real trouble. Those guys don't really listen to anything I say and I don't want to try to explain that to Hagall-sama.'
The truth was that despite his problems, most of the demons were just messing around with him. Despite their usual attitude, they had no actual issues with him not being a pure blooded demon. Serving them was the only real requirement they had to welcome someone in their ranks. Unlike his former comrades that nearly sealed him for becoming something that he'd never asked for.
Entering his house, the Eldjotunn went straight for his bed. Tomorrow was going to be another long and stressful day.
'A goddess or a demoness, huh? Do I even have that much of a choice, anymore? I had always expected that I could just return back... And yet here I am...'
XXX
Keiichi woke up slightly confused, considering that he was currently in a chair and not his futon, but the memories from the past few hours slowly returned. He and Belldandy had decided to take a nap after their dinner, in hopes that it could help him to better adjust with the time difference between Japan and Hawaii.
The food was fairly decent, given that it was meant for fist class passengers, although nowhere as good as Belldandy's. Of course, he wasn't that picky and often had to cope without good food due to his lack of money. Being broke was something that happened far too many times in the past few years, and his association with the notorious Motor Club was the primary reason.
Stretching a bit, he turned to see that his wife had already woken and was staring at the sun outside the window. It didn't feel as if a day had past and that was only natural, given the time zone difference, but hoped that he could adjust soon. Having to spend a whole day recovering due to jet lag didn't sound a very fun idea to him.
"Good morning, Keiichi. Did you have a pleasant nap?" asked the goddess as she smiled at the young mortal.
"Yes, Belldandy. Although, to be honest, my body is slightly confused at the moment but I'll manage," replied Keiichi, returning the smile. "How about you?"
"I'm perfectly fine," said Belldandy, as she looked outside once more.
"Are you sure? You look a bit worried..." Keiichi didn't want to think too much about it, but whenever she got like that, something bad was usually going to happen.
"I think I saw two shadows outside for a brief moment, just as I woke up. It could've been my imagination, though," the first class goddess said in an effort to reassure her husband.
"Most likely," said Keiichi nervously. "On the other side, we must be getting very close to our destination."
"Yes. Although, we aren't done yet. We still have to find a hotel after we get to the airport," said the goddess of the present. "Let's just hope that there will be enough rooms for the amount of money that we have..."
"Don't worry, Belldandy!" said her husband with a smile. "We should have enough to stay for a couple of days."
The couple was interrupted by the pilot's voice announcing their imminent landing.
XXX
Kilauea's caldera, Hawaii
Watching the fumes rising from the shield volcano's crater, Surt felt that it was a nice parallel to his own mental state at the moment. Not only did he not get his chance to have a look at Naglfar before they left Jotunheim, but Hild had dragged him all the way to the mortal realm to have... a picnic in the middle of the night.
"It's already morning, so how about I get back?" asked the irate Eldjotunn, giving an angry scowl at his companion. "What am I even needed for here to begin with?"
"I thought that it would've been nice to do something like this once in a while... You know, like old times..." answered the small avatar of Hild. "Besides, you owe me something as a compensation for saying too much back there."
"I'm sure that your fan girl will be just fine. If she can't handle something as simple as that, she can go work for those good for nothing morons in Asgard," muttered Surt, as he folded his arms over his chest.
"What's your problem with her, anyway? Hagall-chan is a really loyal servant, something really hard to find in our realms. Even you should be aware of that," said Hild with a bit of annoyance. "Or are you just jealous that she's technically your superior, even though you're way stronger than her?"
"Don't be ridiculous! I don't have a problem with her. It's just frustrating that she learned absolutely nothing, even after all those millennia that she served under you," countered Surt. "What else do you call that fiasco that she pulled a few days ago? Is that really the legacy you want to leave behind?"
"You're a bit older than her, Surt. Not everyone her age understands how things work in the world. We've all been through that phase, so don't pretend that you're so much better. Even I did stupid things in the past, but for the most part I've learned my lessons," explained the Daimakaicho. "Yes, she didn't do great on this particular occasion. However, she offered me a second term and will most certainly learn from her mistakes, given that she listens to me. Unlike some others, who do whatever they want..."
"Like me? That's news..." said Surt in a rather sarcastic tone. "If I really did that, your daughter would've been with you already. All I need is to let a certain someone explain to her just how highly those celestials think of her and all hybrids in general."
"You'll do no such thing!" shouted Hild, her eyes giving an eerie red glow. "She still won't come back and it's only going to make her feel worse!"
"How do you know? You haven't even tried that, for crying out loud!" countered the Eldjotunn. "It may work so what do you have to lose?"
"My daughter's happiness. Not that such a thing would even register in your mind," spat Hild. "As her mother, I have to consider such matters, while you only want a powerful demoness on our side."
"Is that so? I may like to keep things simple, but I'm not that nearsighted. It's really insulting to use the ridiculous propaganda that your precious celestials are spewing all over the place. As the Daimakaicho, you should think a bit better of your own people," said Surt. "Leaving your daughter with a bunch of self centered, pathological liars won't make her any happier."
"She's got a family..." trailed Hild. "And who are you to talk, anyway? You've got no kids or even any relationship to begin with."
"Her family will still be there, regardless. The only difference is that she won't have to be stuck with a second class license and a stupid job forever. As for me, it's my decision, my will and most importantly, my life. Nobody else has a saying in this, neither you nor the celestials and their stupid door. Got it?" said the Eldjotunn, but got up as soon as he said it. He knew that the whole subject would simply end up in another argument.
"You've got too much pride to see things the way they are," said Hild, not wanting to go beyond that. Last time she really gave him a piece of her mind about his opinions and they hadn't spoken to each other for centuries. "Besides where do you think you're going?"
"Back to Muspelheim! I have an inspection to deal with, tomorrow, and too little time to mess around!" said the Eldjotunn as he started to walk away.
"Not so fast! I've got a job for you," insisted the little Daimakaicho.
"What is it now?" asked the demon with a groan. He should've known that she had something in mind, but hoped that this wasn't the case.
"There's a young couple coming to these islands. I would like you to give me a hand with some... damage control," said Hild. "I have a feeling that they could cause a serious scene by accident or something like that."
"Ah, the goddess and her pet, right? Why don't we let her kill him, just like that other goddess did in the past?" asked Surt with a smile. "He'll die a happy man, at least."
"No! I've invested far too much time and effort for this to happen!" insisted the Daimakaicho's avatar. "I won't let it end like that."
"If he's going to bite the dust anyway, then what's the big deal? Better than waiting for him to croak and die on his own for sure... After all, that's what's going to happen, sooner or later," said the Eldjotunn, giving his boss a shrug. "They won't be the couple that managed to beat that Gate for too long. Just another tale of tragedy, and this time, out of the mortal's own stupidity. Nothing gained, nothing lost..."
"Well, in that case, it's better if it happens later. Besides, there's still a way out of that fate," said Hild.
"One that a certain someone hadn't put enough effort to make it happen, it seems," said the leader of Muspelheim without hiding his sarcasm. "You know, if he told that nerd that the only way to marry that goddess was to become a god, it would've worked. But no... let's give the mortal the chance to mess everything up, shall we?"
"Hey! Watch it!" warned the little Daimakaicho. "Leave him out of this!"
"What? It's the truth, isn't it? Why waste a perfect opportunity by letting him choose, when you already had him in your hand?" asked the dark haired demon. "Hypothetically speaking, if that was that motor-head and your daughter, would you have given him the option to remain a mortal?"
"Hell no!" said Hild, as she narrowed her eyes. "But that's the way that we demons think, and frankly, rather irrelevant for the time being. The future isn't set on stone, so we'll see how it goes. However, right now, I need someone that can keep Bell-chan's powers under control if she loses it and my current form may not be exactly up for the task. Especially if she happens to bypass her seals by accident."
"Well, I'd actually like to see that. It would certainly make my day for sure," muttered Surt.
"See? It's not really that bad! I thought that you would like it eventually!" beamed Hild.
"Just out of curiosity, but you're not really expecting me to write a report for this, do you?" asked the Eldjotunn, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I don't have a problem... But the contents might be... rather interesting to say the least."
"Let's just leave it off the record..." suggested the little Daimakaicho. "So, without any further delay... Let's go!"
'What have I gotten myself into?' thought Surt.
XXX
"I'm sorry, sir. We're completely booked at the moment. In two days, we'll have a few rooms available."
Keiichi's shoulders slumped as he heard the bad news from the young receptionist. It was the second one that they've tried and the situation was exactly the same. Perhaps it was a mistake to fly all the way here without making a reservation first. The real problem was that most of the affordable hotels were almost full and while there were others, much more comfortable and luxurious, he doubted that he could stay there for more than a single night.
He really wanted to blame his bad luck, but if he had to be totally honest, it was mostly his own fault. He put absolutely no effort to plan their honeymoon and while he was saved by his father-in-law in the airport, this time around he had to do something on his own.
"Don't worry, Keiichi," said his wife, in an effort to cheer him up. "This is a tourist attraction, so there must be enough options for us. We just have to keep looking."
"You're right, Belldandy. I suppose that it's not the end of the world. We've only tried two hotels so far, there must be several more to check." Keiichi scratched the back of his head nervously, but despite his otherwise cheerful expression, he did start to feel a bit stressed.
"Don't worry too much," said Belldandy, seeing through his attempt to lighten up the mood. "Even if we fail to find anything, we can always sleep at the temple. Transferring between locations is not an issue for me."
"I know... It's just that... Well, it won't feel the same that way. You know, it's almost as if we never really left Nekomi," said Keiichi in an uncertain tone. "I fear that it may defeat the whole purpose of the trip."
"Hm... If you put it like that, then I must agree with you, Keiichi. It would..." Just like before, Belldandy suddenly paused and seemed to be staring in the distance, making Keiichi a bit worried. This was the second time it happened and the young mechanic knew that she wasn't one to try and pull a prank like that.
"Belldandy? What's wrong?" asked her husband, not liking the worried look on her face.
"Demons."
"Eh? You don't mean that Mara followed us here, do you?" asked Keiichi, feeling slightly better. The blonde demoness had been rather quiet lately, and for the most part, not a real threat. Only her first attempts were somewhat dangerous, but every time, he and the goddesses had managed to come through.
"I'm afraid not. One is Hild and the other is someone that I don't recognize," said the goddess of the present.
"You can tell all that from a distance?" asked the impressed mortal.
"Sometimes, especially when they don't try to mask their presence," explained Belldandy. "This is a bit different, though. I didn't detect them until a moment ago and that's why they startled me a bit."
"You mean that they're not hiding anymore?"
"No, I still can't pick up their residual energy. I do however see them; they're across the street, Keiichi," said the goddess pointing at the duo that was staring back at them. Hild even waived back at them in her typical overenthusiastic and seemingly harmless manner. In all honesty, the goddess wasn't terribly surprised by seeing the Daimakaicho, as she often spied on them in the past and in most cases she didn't do much beyond that. She even seemed to help with their wedding and therefore becoming a problem all of a sudden was probably unlikely. Then again, when dealing with demons, assumptions could be very dangerous.
"Uh... what are we supposed to do now?" asked a nervous Keiichi. He wasn't totally comfortable that Hild was watching them like that, especially considering that she had that demon with her. He could deal with Mara, but even Belldandy didn't know him and that worried him a bit. "Should we tell the others?"
"No, I think I know who that other demon may be, but in his current attire it's kind difficult to be certain. Let's go and see what they want, instead," suggested the Norn of the present. "I have a feeling that calling the others could make things worse..."
"If you say so..." said Keiichi with a sigh, following behind her as they exited the hotel and approached the two demons.
Hild was dressed in one of her red leather dresses that didn't exactly match her apparent "age," while the other one was just wearing dark jeans and a grey t-shirt. Both were simply leaning against the wall of an adjacent building, waiting for the couple to get closer to them.
"Bell-chan! How nice to see you here! Are you on your honeymoon as mortals call it?" asked the small avatar of Hild.
"Indeed. I must admit that I wasn't expecting to meet you here, Hild," said Belldandy, as she offered a polite bow to the demoness. It was slightly against the divine protocol to do something like that, but trying to deal with that particular demoness often required a bit of a different approach.
"Oh, my... quite pleasant aren't we," said Hild, before turning to her companion. "See? I told you that she would be glad to meet us!"
The dark haired demon only rolled his eyes in response and remained quiet. He did take a good glimpse of the mortal that stood carefully next to the goddess, causing the man to tremble a bit. Noticing this, Belldandy stepped in front of her husband in a protective manner, but remained calm and collected.
"Greetings, I'm..." started the goddess before she was interrupted.
"Goddess first class, second category, unlimited license, Belldandy. I know who you are, daughter of Ansuz. Also, the boy behind you must be your... spouse, if I'm not mistaken." There was something disconcerting about his voice, reminding her of the time Hild had terrified Peorth when they'd called her to help them a few years ago.
"Yes, you are indeed correct," replied the goddess of the present, trying to maintain her polite tone. "But you have us at a disadvantage..."
"You mean about my identity? I thought that you had a Valkyrie license or at least that's what's written in your profile anyway," said Surt while raising an eyebrow. "I am the commander of the Eldjotnar, one of the major branches of Niflheim's military. Don't tell me that they don't even teach you who you're up against..."
The goddess paused for a second as she did actually recall the most recent list with the demons' command structure and finally recognized him. She momentarily hoped that Keiichi would've been correct in his assumption that Mara had followed them. This individual was far worse than most other known demons, if half of what she heard was correct and not an exaggeration. Meeting someone like that was a very bad omen, but her only hope was that Hild was also present and perhaps she wasn't going to let things go out of control.
"I see... My apologies, I seem to have a lot of things in my mind lately," said the goddess, but the little demoness stepped in and interrupted her.
"Speaking of that, you two need a room right?"
"Ah! It's not like that!" shouted the panicked and rather embarrassed Keiichi, making the others stare at him. "I-I mean, we..."
"But, Keiichi... We haven't found one yet..." said the puzzled goddess, unable to understand why her husband got so flustered.
"I think that he may have misunderstood that little bit, Bell-chan," commented Hild, while grinning from ear to ear. "His mind is probably too preoccupied right now, after all."
"Indeed, the current situation must be a bit stressful for him," agreed the Norn of the present.
"No. What she basically means, is that he's probably thinking about getting laid. After all, that's the whole point of the honeymoon for most mortals, anyway," said the Eldjotunn with a smirk. He was starting to enjoy this, as the vacant look on the goddess' face and the deeply flustered one on the mortal were truly funny.
"Must you be so crass?" asked the irate Daimakaicho. "It's going to take us forever to make them talk properly again!"
"Excuse me?! Just from that? Are they little kids or something?" asked Surt in disbelief.
Hild simply shook her head. While he was technically right, he didn't know what kind of late bloomers those two were. Even without the restriction on Keiichi's desire, she doubted that they would've gone anywhere beyond holding hands and kissing anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Belldandy had managed to recover and turned to address Hild. "I'm sorry for that. But weren't you trying to say something before you were interrupted?"
"That's right, Bell-chan! I was about to say that I may have a solution to your problem," said the demoness with a smile.
"For the right price..." said Keiichi, trying to continue Hild's sentence. Demons were known for making a profit out of almost anything and he doubted that this was an exception.
"Aw... that's so cold, Keiichi-kun! I thought that you'd like to stay in a presidential suite of a five star hotel for free," said the little version of Hild, pouting a bit. "Let's go, Surt, they don't seem to want a gift by the looks of it..."
"Wait a moment please," interrupted Belldandy. "Is that really free? Without any other requirements?"
"Yeah. Interested?" said Hild, switching back to her cheerful expression.
Before Keiichi had the chance to say anything, Belldandy stepped in. "That's such a nice gesture, Hild!"
"Sure! Just go to the following address and tell them that you're the couple that made this reservation. All the expenses are covered, so don't worry." Handing her a piece of paper, the Daimakaicho made a pause to let the goddess read the more detailed instructions written there.
"Thank you very much, Hild!" said Belldandy, before starting to drag her husband along the way. "Let's go, Keiichi! It's probably not that far from here!"
The young mechanic appeared a bit confused but followed his wife regardless.
As soon as they were out of sight, the Eldjotunn turned to his boss. "Are you sure about this? Why do we even have to help them?"
"Did you really want to wait until they found a solution by themselves?" asked Hild with a raised eyebrow.
"Not really..."
"See? That's the fastest way to get this over with! Plus, it's going to let you get back in Muspelheim in time for that inspection," said Hild.
"And what if it takes them days to do anything?" asked Surt, not completely convinced about her plan.
"We improvise, of course!"
The demon sighed. 'She just wants to mess around...'
"In the meanwhile, why don't we have some fun too?" asked the little Daimakaicho. "Given my size, I can easily pass as your daughter, so how about being a father for a day?"
"What?! Are you serious?!" asked the shocked demon.
"Sure! It's going to be a good experience for you!" said Hild with a smile.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"No," insisted the little demoness. "Now I want some cotton candy!"
'Why me?...'
XXX
"Are you sure it's really okay, Belldandy? I mean... I don't want to sound ungrateful or something like that, but... what if it's a trap?"
Standing in front of their destination, the couple stared at the five star hotel. In fact they had passed in front of it before, but didn't even dare to check the prices, knowing that they were definitely more than they could possibly afford. And that was likely for the regular suites, not the one that the leader of Niflheim had promised them.
"Um... Belldandy?"
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Snapping out of it, the goddess turned her attention to her husband who still remained a bit nervous. "I was thinking about how nice this place is. Shall we check in?"
"But it could be..." insisted the mortal, before the goddess interrupted him.
"A trap? It may be, true, but I don't sense any demonic presence in the building at the moment. Even if they're hiding, it could be better to deal with a situation like that, instead of going somewhere else. They could follow us anywhere and the more we run away, the more we're going to annoy them," said Belldandy. "Remember that we can always rely on the others to help us if anything goes wrong. Also, you should have a bit more confidence in my abilities, too, Keiichi."
"Of course, Belldandy!" said the mortal, smiling back at his wife. He still was slightly nervous, but she was probably right.
Heading for the receptionist's desk, they paused in front of the young woman who was looking at Keiichi with slight annoyance. Given his rather unimpressive attire, she just expected him to be another fool that tried to impress the beautiful woman right next to him. In most cases, those guys couldn't really afford even a single night in their fine establishment. Of course, she still had to do her job and greeted them with a fake smile.
"Welcome! How can I help you?"
"We're here for a room, miss. In fact we already have one reserved for us," said Belldandy, giving the woman the lower part of her note.
The receptionist's eyes widened in surprise, not believing what she was actually reading. Checking on her computer, she confirmed that the information written there was indeed true and not some type of prank. This couple had rented their most expensive room for several days, a fact that seemed mind boggling to her.
"Excuse me for the delay. Please use this to enter your room," said the woman, as she handed them their key to open their room's door.
"Thank you very much," said Belldandy, while Keiichi offered a polite nod as a response.
"Have a pleasant stay."
"We will!"
Since their arrival, Belldandy was the one that handled most of the conversations, given that most people here, spoke English. While Keiichi was familiar with the language, he was nowhere as fluent as his wife. Being a goddess, Belldandy was capable at speaking any mortal language and even several others that belonged to the immortals as well. In fact, it felt extremely natural to her, even though she understood that it was something that humans had to deal with on a daily basis. Since they had no connection to Yggdrasil, that translated everything for them, they relied in learning everything the hard, old fashioned way, and given their limited lifespan, most individuals managed to master only a few of them.
The young mechanic had his issues with doing that as well. It was a requirement to take two foreign language classes, in order to graduate from NIT, but he had only taken English and needed to spend another semester to pass German too. While frustrated at first, the situation had proven to be somewhat beneficial, as it gave him the opportunity to work for Chihiro and while he didn't make a ton of money there, Whirlwind was a really nice shop.
Keiichi found it funny that he remembered those things all of a sudden, but in a way, the whole situation did remind him of the past couple of years. Back then, Belldandy needed a lot of time to adjust to the human lifestyle, learning one thing at a time, having Keiichi as the person that typically had to guide her. Right now, it was her turn to do that for him, although it was more of a linguistic issue than a lack of experience.
The sound of the elevator snapped the young man out of his daydreams. They had reached the top floor and soon they would get a glimpse of the room where they would spend the next few days.
"This must be it, Belldandy," said Keiichi as soon as they arrived in front of their suite.
"Yes. Let's take a look inside," agreed Belldandy. Opening the door, they were both amazed by the luxury and the sheer size of the place.
It looked almost like an actual apartment than an average suite, and the hotel's owners really didn't hold back with the furnishings. Everything was really expensive and stylish, from the humble chairs to the chandelier, decorated with dozens of high quality crystals. Keiichi was almost sure that the thing probably costs a small fortune all by itself and couldn't even want to know about the rest. It was way to much for a guy that always was a bit tight on money, but for a couple of days, he would get to experience what probably Sayoko had taken for granted.
Belldandy on the other hand was really ecstatic, especially when she found the dining area and realized that there was even a kitchen. While the hotel will be serving them three meals a day, including the breakfast, there were enough appliances there to make anything they might want, if they felt the need for some home made cooking. Everything looked so shiny and reflective and she couldn't but feel a bit like Skuld in a hardware store.
"What do you think Keiichi? It's going to be nice to cook some meals here."
The mortal couldn't help but smile at his wife's enthusiasm. "That's great, Belldandy, but we're here for a short amount of time, so seeing things is better than staying all day inside. Besides, the hotel will be serving us our meals."
"Well... That's true, I suppose..." trailed the goddess in a slightly sad tone. He was right, they weren't here for the room, but to have some time together.
"You can always make your lovely tea, though," tried the young man, in an effort to cheer her up a bit, and by the looks of it, it had worked.
"Of course!" chirped Belldandy, moving to the next room. "Keiichi! Take a look at the bath!"
He was rather fortunate that they had a nice bath back home, but this one was on a completely different level. Not only it had a rather spacious shower, but there was a jacuzzi as well. Belldandy certainly seemed happy, since goddesses cleansed themselves on a daily basis and she was looking forward to use this room's facilities.
"Wow! That's really something! It's much better than anything I've ever used!" said Keiichi.
"Perhaps... Although, I still like the one we have back home. It may lack the luxury and comforts, but there are a lot of memories associated with it. Like Skuld's first appearance or even Urd's antics," said the goddess. "Still, I can't deny that I look forward to bathe in here."
Keiichi simply nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed as he recalled some of the things that his wife had mentioned. Urd and Peorth had surprised him a few times in the past, and despite his best intentions, he got to see a bit more of them that he would've wanted. Not because they didn't look great, but simply because it made him feel bad for Belldandy that had to deal with her jealousy. Of course, those two weren't all that inconsiderate and selfish. Peorth hadn't caused any incidents after her initial visit and Urd was rarely doing that at all. Despite her playful personality, the goddess of the past knew the difference between a joke and something that would possibly hurt her sister's feelings, so she didn't cross any lines.
"Is there anything else to check?" asked Keiichi, while scratching his head. All those thoughts made him wish to change the subject, and he hoped that this would make him forget that for the time being.
"The bedroom," replied Belldandy with a smile.
Following her, Keiichi couldn't help but feel more nervous than he was before. While he had succeeded to change the topic, it jumped into something that he wasn't sure on how to approach. They were married and in all honesty there was nothing wrong with thinking such thoughts, but even without the desire block, he still felt a bit anxious about the approaching night. They had slept together the first night after the ceremony, although, nothing actually happened. Both were physically, emotionally and in Belldandy's case, magically drained. On top of that, their house had paper-thin walls and didn't want the other goddesses to hear anything.
"It looks so soft!" said Belldandy as she sat at the edge of the mattress, trying to get a feel of it's springs' response.
Unlike the futons they used back home, this was a western style, queen size bed, and as his wife had already pointed out, it was more comfortable, too. Something that couldn't be said about himself, who was getting even more nervous than he was moments ago. At least with the blocker in place, his mind automatically rejected such thoughts, preventing him from spending too much time to consider such things.
'Maybe I'm just too tired from the flight... I shouldn't worry too much, whatever happens, it's Belldandy I'm talking about. I'm sure she won't make a big deal about it,' thought the young mechanic.
"Keiichi?"
"Yes! I-I mean, yes?"
"You look a bit red, do you have a fever?" asked the goddess as she stared at his face. "Or are you just tired? You can take a nap if you want. I'm sure this is going to be much more comfortable than sleeping on the airplane. We can have lunch later."
"No, I'm fine, Belldandy. I think we can have our lunch in a bit," said Keiichi, trying to regain his usual color.
"Actually, I insist, Keiichi. You don't have to push yourself. I know that messing up your sleeping schedule cannot be good for you," said the goddess. While normally gentle, she knew when to hold her ground, especially if she knew that she was right. Without a doubt, Keiichi wanted to make the best of their time here, but she wouldn't enjoy it if he strained himself in the process. "There's no need to push yourself that hard, just take a nap now and we can get our lunch later."
"Yes, Belldandy." Letting out a sigh, the young man went to retrieve his luggage, in order to change into something more comfortable to sleep in.
Meanwhile, the Norn of the present, decided to use her spare time to bathe herself, in hopes of getting that daily rite done before her husband woke up. Going through the living room of the suite, she noticed that the large TV had suddenly turned itself on and displaying some static, before the image was replaced with a series of runes.
The message, written in the language of gods, simply stated, "I wouldn't be standing right in front of the TV if I were you..."
Realizing what it meant, the goddess used her superior reflexes and managed to get out of the way, before a bright beam of light exploded from the screen and before her, a form started to take shape. A curvaceous, bronze-skinned female with long platinum hair and... very little in terms of clothing. Only something that appeared to be a sheer nightie with a couple of strategically placed patterns in the hopes of providing some semblance of modesty. If such word could be ever used to describe such an article of clothing.
"Neesan!"
"Oh, hi there, Belldandy! Miss me?"
AN: I would like to offer my thanks to WhoIsAtlas for proofreading this and making the needed corrections.
Additionally I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.
There are several things I'd like to note for this chapter.
Railguns apply strong magnetic fields to accelerate projectiles, as they move along two rails. Another variation of the same idea are coilguns that use coils along the barrel to achieve the same goal, even if the operate somewhat differently (they alternate between attracting and repulsing the projectile, in an effort to move it through the barrel). The one in this story is a two stage one, with the first being similar to what we now from conventional weapons, while the second uses electromagnetic fields to increase the speed of the shell. Considering the mass of the projectile, this is a bit of a simple way of giving it an initial push, and save a lot of space in doing so.
Hrym is already mentioned in the previous chapter, but this is actually the first time that he's directly shown into the story. He's actually Surt's second in command, despite his origins and currently manages Muspelheim while his superior is away. While the demons make fun of him at times, they do actually follow his commands and generally have no issues with him.
Naudiz is the name of the rune for "need" or "distress" and is a high ranking female Eldjotunn. Like other demons, she enjoys to tease her half demon superior, even though it's mostly for fun.
Keiichi and Belldandy's honeymoon won't be over in a single chapter. While the next one will feature most of their first day, they will be staying there for a couple more. Still, I won't write a day to day account of everything and continue with the story, only showing anything that might be interesting. The rest will have to deal with other subjects, like her sisters and their new part time jobs.