I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series
"All right, everyone! Welcome to the brand new, Whirlwind!"
Posing dramatically on the makeshift stage while holding the microphone, Tamiya Toraichi was ready to open today's event with his trademark gusto. Standing right next to him, was Otaki Hikozaemon, dressed in his shiny knight armor that he often wore on such occasions.
"We're starting the karaoke contest with Den-chan and me, singing Our turbocharged spirits!"
"Let's go Dai-chan!"
Despite the obvious enthusiasm that the two buffed giants displayed, the crowd was hardly moved. Since the majority of them were college boys, very few were actually interested to listen those two dudes sing. However, the mention of a contest, inevitably brought a topic that was deeply associated with it; the prize. As a matter of fact, before the two of them had the chance to put the music on their karaoke machine, that was connected to Skuld's sound system, one guy from the front row, decided to ask what most of them wanted to know.
"Hey! What are we going to win? The posters didn't mention anything!"
Exchanging a worried look, Tamiya and Otaki immediately realized what they've said. The were so used to set up prizes in order to attract some attention to the Motor Club's events, that this habit caused them to make that blunder. It was too late to do anything about it, though, as they had already gone and officially announced it in front of everyone. Taking it back now, would be a bad idea, as it was going to annoy most of the audience, who expected to win something.
Turning around, with the microphone temporarily disabled, they racked their brains to find a solution. Offering something from the shop would've been the obvious answer to this crisis. But, knowing Chihiro, that was very unlikely to happen. She wasn't the type of person that would simply throw in something like that for free.
"What are we going to do, man?" said Otaki, with a worried frown.
"This is bad... Really bad..." said Tamiya, narrowing his eyes. Despite his calmer expression, he was just as panicked as his friend.
"Yeah... If we just admit that it was a mistake, then we'll have an angry mob after us..." said Otaki.
"I know that! We can't ever run away, either!" said Tamiya, who was rubbing his chin. "There's gotta be something that won't cost anything... Oh!"
"You've got an idea, Den-chan?" asked Otaki, hoping that whatever it was, it could get them out of their current predicament.
"Yeah... I think that I've got a good one!" said Tamiya with a wide grin on his face.
"Then go for it, man... I don't like how they're looking at us..." said Otaki, glancing over his shoulder at the impatient crowd.
Turning around, Tamiya cleared his throat and reactivated the microphone, in an attempt to get their attention. One by one, the members of the audience, stopped talking to each other and decided to find out what the mysterious reward was all about.
"Sorry for the delay, everyone! I'm sure that you're all anxious to hear about our big prize!" yelled Tamiya. In fact, he was so loud, that the microphone wasn't even necessary at that point. "The lucky winner will get a kiss from a female employee!"
The crowd immediately broke into a deafening round of applause, as most of the college boys had seen a few of those girls as they walked into the shop, minutes ago. A few even recognized the platinum haired woman, as she used to hang around the campus. In most cases, she was seen together with Belldandy and the rather eccentric members of the Motor Club. Although, it's already been more than a year since the last time she's been there.
Despite the general enthusiasm, Otaki had his reservations. He knew that this plan could horribly backfire and they could not only have an angry Urd to deal with, but Chihiro would want to have a word with them.
"Hey, Den-chan?" asked the nervous blonde, tugging at Tamiya's t-shirt. "Are you sure about this, man? We didn't ask any of them..."
"Hmm..." Looking at the overexcited crowd, the muscular man started to falter. The last time that they've pulled such a stunt, everyone wanted to kiss Belldandy, despite the fact that she wasn't technically a member of the Motor Club. However, they were dealing with Urd here, and that actually scared him a bit.
After a few moments of careful though, Tamiya felt that there was no other alternative. "Here's what we're gonna do... We'll get them in a line, start the contest, and then... we're running for it!"
"Sounds like a plan, Den-can!" said Otaki, happy that they were going to be at a safe distance, before any of the girls could get their hands on them.
"Then, let's get the show on the road!" agreed Tamiya.
Inside the shop, Peorth, Lind and Laguz were already dressed in a matching set of clothes, similar to what Urd and Mara were wearing. On the other hand, Skuld was still in her overalls, considering that she got to play the role of the event's sound technician, something that didn't actually bother her a bit.
Meanwhile, the goddess of the past, and alchemist by hobby, was in charge of mixing the beer powder. While the others kept Chihiro busy with a lot of seemingly pointless questions, she got the perfect opportunity to get this done, without any interruptions. It was a fairly simple procedure, but at the same time, a rather tricky one. If the solution wasn't properly prepared, the final result could taste a bit funny, something that the crowd would certainly not appreciate.
Giving the barrel's contents a quick taste check, she was finally certain that it was good enough to fool everyone into thinking that this was the real deal. While not stellar, most would simply assume that it was just cheep beer, and not worry too much about it. However, the half goddess' smile wouldn't last for too long.
"Bad news! Those two have caused a big mess!" said Megumi, as she rushed inside the shop.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Chihiro approached the youngest Morisato, while the others followed right behind her. "I should've expected that... Leaving them alone was a terrible mistake... So, what have they done this time?"
"They said that there was a karaoke competition, and the prize is a kiss from a female employee," said Megumi.
"What?!" The surprised owner of Whirlwind couldn't believe the nerve of those guys. Tamiya and Otaki had pulled a lot of stunts in the past, but this time, they've really outdone themselves. "Oh... When I get my hands on them..."
"Hm... I think that they're actually done something similar, before..." said Urd, scratching her head. "Back when Sora asked Keiichi and Belldandy to help her recruit new members for the Motor Club."
"Yeah, that one was a disaster," said Mara, shuddering at that painful memory. Her plan to use the goddess' song as a way to hypnotize the audience into signing demonic contracts had epically backfired. She sat there for hours in a trance, listening to Belldandy's melodic voice, wishing for her torture to end. However, to add more insult to injury, Hild-sama was so unimpressed by her performance, that she made her dance for a few extra hours. It was an incident that she certainly didn't want to experience again.
"I don't care!" shouted Chihiro, taking a moment to calm herself down. "They're not gonna use such a cheap and dirty trick in my re-opening event! I'll show them!"
"Hold on a moment!" said Urd, putting a hand on Chihiro's shoulder and stopping her from going outside. "Not that I agree with their practices, but if you just go there and call the contest off, that'll ruin the whole event."
"She's right, you know," added Megumi. "It might look like a fiasco, but stopping it now could be problematic."
The mechanic rubbed her temples, feeling an incoming headache from all this nonsense. "First someone decides to pull a prank on us, with all those fake posters. Then I've got those knuckleheads make it even worse... All I wanted was a nice, simple event..."
Urd let out a tired sigh, as well. She had never expected her first day at work to be this difficult. While she enjoyed the fact that it wasn't nearly as boring as she feared, it was now starting to become a bit of a problem. "Well, at least you won't have to kiss anyone. You're the shop's owner, not an employee, and for reasons that are too obvious to mention, Skuld is also out of question. That leaves the rest of us."
In any other situation, the goddess of the future would've thrown an angry fit, considering that her sister had more or less treated her like a child. However, she simply remained silent this time, looking around to see how the others took those news.
"Not really." Everyone turned to the Valkyrie, who had been relatively quiet for the last couple of minutes. "Me, Peorth and Laguz are only here to help. We're neither employed by Chihiro, nor paid for our participation in this event. As such, you cannot consider us as possible prizes."
The rose goddess winced at her friend's choice of words. Prize wasn't exactly how she would've described it herself, but decided not to correct the warrior. Instead, she opted to agree with her, even if was only for the sake of avoiding to take part in this fiasco. "Lind's right, Urd. As a matter of fact, the only suitable candidates are you and Mara."
"You know... You're the last person that I would've expected to have a problem with this whole situation. What's wrong? Afraid that everyone's going to pick me over you?" said the half goddess, giving the wish granter an amused look, before she turned to the demoness. "In that case, then it's just the two of us. Although, if you feel so outclassed, I'll be more than happy to be the only candidate."
Both the brunette goddess and the demoness didn't seem to appreciate her words. That caused the former to immediately question the half goddess' claim, as she leaned forward with her hands placed firmly on her waist. "What did you just say?!"
"Yeah, that was pretty low! And for the record, I'm not kissing any dumb mort... Any dumb moron!" agreed Mara correcting herself at the last second, realizing that both, Chihiro and Megumi were present. The blonde demoness wasn't the most vain in the group, but she refused to be dismissed just like that. "You're the one that doesn't want to lose!"
Laguz looked over at the stoic Valkyrie with a worried expression on her face. "Shouldn't we stop them?"
"I don't see the point. Unless they settle this, they'll just start again later. I'll only interfere if things are about to get out of hand," explained Lind, with a casual shrug.
Skuld merely shook her head, as her sister was probably having too much fun. Urd had a habit of losing sight of the goal, at times, and it was starting to look that this was going to be the case here. However, the goddess of the future had to admit that her troublesome sibling had actually done a good job organizing the event so far.
Most people wouldn't consider Urd as a responsible goddess, although it was mostly a false impression given by her typical antics. Of course, judging a book by its cover had always been a bad practice and the same could be said about her sister, as well. "If you have a problem with Urd, then why don't you prove her wrong, instead of arguing about it?"
The quarreling trio immediately stopped and turned to the young goddess. It was extremely rare to see Skuld trying to defend her eldest sister, given the way that she interacted with her, most of the time To the neutral observer, her attitude towards Urd was likely taken as a sign of rejection. While she was idolizing Belldandy, a goddess often considered as a role model in Asgard, she was rather confrontational towards Urd. Anyone that knew them, however, was aware that, Skuld merely wanted a playmate and her half sister was a much better candidate for that role. Still, any open display of support towards the goddess of the past was fairly rare.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lind decided to step in and put an end to this pointless argument. "She's right. We're simply wasting our time, here. The karaoke contest had already began and we probably need to start serving the drinks. Hopefully, by the time that we've finished that, the event will be almost over. Which practically saves us the trouble to find something else to keep everyone entertained."
"That's pretty much the whole point," said Urd, trying to defuse the situation. As funny as it was to tease them, they still had a job to do. "It's probably a cheap way to run the show, but at the same time, things didn't go according to plan, in the first place. I could possibly blame someone like Aoshima or Sayoko, who had a history of messing around with us in the past, but even if I was right, that wouldn't mean anything. I, for once will go with it, even though I'm not extremely happy about this mess."
Letting out a defeated sigh, Peorth lowered her head and decided to avoid arguing any more. "In that case, I'll have to join as well. Employee or not, I said that I'm going to help and I fully intend to keep my word."
"If that's the case, I'll follow suit and participate," said Lind, with a nod.
"Me too. I don't want to be left out, while everyone else are doing their best," said Laguz, looking at Mara who was standing there with her arms crossed.
"Fine! Whatever! I'll do it, only because she's gonna tease me about this," said the blonde demoness, pointing at Urd.
"Thank you, everyone. I was really getting worried that this was going to be a total disaster," said Chihiro, who was now a lot calmer than a few moments ago. "Nothing had gone according to the original plan, but it looks like that we may get out this difficult position unscathed, after all."
"Very well. In that case, we'd better hurry and get to work. Mara will fill the plastic cups with beer, and the rest of us will serve them to the audience, except for Skuld, who's going to monitor the sound system. Just to be on the safe side and avoid any further surprises," explained Urd.
As everyone nodded in agreement, they decided that it was time to get this over with.
XXX
Asgard
Located near that the edge of the celestials' capitol was a small and rather unimpressive shop. Commerce was a bit different for immortals, compared to what most of the species in Midgard were used to. Without currency, products were directly compensated by offering the appropriate amount of resources that were required during to construct them. Of course, it was fair to charge a bit more, allowing the craftsmen to get some extra materials in order to allow further research. In other cases, it was possible to acquire an item by exchanging it with something else of equivalent value, permitting them to better distribute resources.
As inconvenient as it sounded, immortals believed that keeping their businesses simple was essential. Money was just a pointless invention that often became an obsession for anyone who possessed it. Both sides already had to share the world, so, adding another variable in this rather delicate balance was foolish at best.
Still, location remained to be a key element for any aspiring merchant, and the edge of the city was a very unlikely place for a shop. While it was considered common logic, the owner of this particular store had nothing to do with such stereotypes. Loki was a god that thought outside of the box, or so he wanted to believe, as most others considered him to be a bit crazy.
The two storey building had its first floor dedicated to the shop itself, as well as the materials warehouse, while the second floor was the workshop and primary residence of the trickster god. He had a few hidden locations for most of his... less legal experiments, but he did spend most of his time here. After all, he knew that going missing for too long would make his friends at the Fighting Wings worry and send a few of their members to check on him.
However, at the moment, the god of mischief was busy with something that was extremely... harmless. Placing the nameplate on the small wooden house that was now located at the opposite side of the counter, Loki smiled at his newest masterpiece.
"Isn't that touching, Fenrir? That's your very first home. You'll no longer have to stay hidden in an underground bunker," said the god with a great sense of pride.
"Dunno... Over there I had a real bed, a TV, a private heated pool, an indoors garden... Just to name a few... Here, I've got a freaking doghouse. Am I supposed to barrel rolls or something?" asked the canine, giving the wooden structure a pointed and rather disapproving look. "For the thousandth time, I'm a wolf! I want my own den!"
"We can't have that here, Fenrir! It clashes with my shop's aesthetics! Why don't you give it a try? I've spend so much time to make it just for you..." When it came to theatrics, the trickster god was often considered to be on par with the ruler of Niflheim, although not everyone found it to be equally funny.
"Cut it out, you're creepy when you do that." Despite that, the wolf took a few steps forward to take a better look at the pitiful place that he would've to consider his home from now on. Once close enough, he poked his head through the opening to see the inside of the doghouse, but quickly withdrew with a baffled expression. Checking the outside once again, he blinked and turned to his creator. "Hey! It's bigger on the inside!"
"Of course! Who do you think I am?" asked the troublesome god. "Did you honestly expect that I've just made a regular wooden house for you? That's downright insulting! You should've known better!"
"So, what else it can do?" asked the enthusiastic canine, wagging his tail.
"Uh... not much beyond that... But, hey! You can put everything you need inside!" said Loki, giving Fenrir a thumbs up. "I mean... I've felt tempted to make it move across space-time, but it would've been such a pain... Besides, time travel in the mortal realm is kind of restricted by the higher ups. Creates all sorts of paradoxes and bugs..."
"Yeah... It could've been pretty handful, though..." said the canine with a sad nod.
"Not to mention that you would've to live in a police box..." said Loki, scratching his chin.
"In a what?" asked the baffled wolf.
The trickster god, however, either didn't hear or simply ignored his creation's question and went on. "A doghouse is more fitting habitat for you. Especially one as lucrative as yours..."
Before he could continue any further, the door opened with a chime, startling the shop's owner. He had apparently forgotten when was the last time that someone was brave enough to enter his store in order to purchase some of his fine wares. Turning around, Loki was actually smiling and ready to greet the important customer, when he realized that this was not the case.
As a matter of fact, the identify of the visitor was even more starting, given that he rarely left his office or at least the administrative complex of the gods. Tyr wasn't one of his brothers that he frequently interacted with and the last few times had been... interesting to say the least.
"Brother! How nice to see you! I must admit that it's a big surprise, though. Please, come in!" Just like any other merchant, Loki was more than willing to sound sweet and pleasant whenever he had to deals with others. In this particular case, having his boss show up all of a sudden was also a very promising sign, as he wondered what kind of deal he could make with the ruler of Asgard.
"Cut the nonsense, Loki. I'm not here to buy anything," said Tyr with a scowl. "I simply want an explanation of your actions."
"Um... what was this time? I tend to lose track of all the things that I've gotten blamed for," said the troublemaker god, scratching his head.
"You stole a battleship! How could you even forget that!" said the leader of Asgard, pointing his brother with an accusatory finger. "If you weren't family, I would've sent the Fighting Wings after you! Now... Let's put an end to this fiasco, shall we? Give Skidbladnir back and I'll consider to let you get away with a minor license suspension."
"I don't have it," was the short, but honest reply.
"What do you mean, you don't have it?!" asked the frustrated Daitenkaicho.
"Our mother took it from me, before I could get out from Vingolf. She probably kept it." Taking a short pause, Loki reached his robes for a small bag, that contained several multicolored gelatinous candy. As he started eating one of them, he noticed his brother's surprised look, and he extended his hand towards him. "Want a jelly baby? That's what they're called, by the way. I honestly didn't come up with the name. Really! They're not bad, though..."
The vast majority of the gods felt a bit nervous when dealing with their ruler. Some were even intimidated by the very idea. And then there were gods like him, that were so random, that simply defied logic. Shaking his head to clean his thoughts, Tyr raised his voice, once more. "What does that have to do with anything? I've asked you a question!"
"And I've given you an answer, brother," said Loki with a casual shrug. "I took that ship, just in case that we might've to deal with a possible coup in the near future. I was fully intended to return it, after that matter was settled, but... mother took it, and she's currently on vacations. So, I wouldn't expect it back, before she returns."
"Is that so? Am I supposed to be thankful for your... intervention to peacefully settle this situation?" asked Tyr with a raised eyebrow.
Loki just popped another candy in his mouth, totally ignoring the hint of sarcasm in his brother's words. "No... Not really... That was never my intention. All I really wanted was to make sure that those three girls wouldn't end up as orphans. From personal experience, I can tell that it kind of sucks... Why are you looking at me like that? What do you really think that happens during a coup? We throw pies at each other? Not that I would mind that, by the way."
Tyr remained silent for a few moments, trying to come up with a response. While Loki was hard to take seriously most of the time, he would sometimes say things that threw people off. "You sound very confident about the success of such an attempt."
"I am, and that should worry you. Unlike your harebrained plan to use Freya for spying, which will most likely end up as a failure. Those Councilors are a bit craftier than you may think, and leaving the task to someone that has no prior experience with this type of operation is a really bad idea." Eating some more candy, the god of mischief closed the bag and stashed it back in his robes.
"Hold on! How do you know that?" asked the surprised Daitenkaicho. "Who told you about it?!"
"It's elementary, my dear brother. Why else would you want her services? I thought that you've found something fishy in the files and wanted someone to figure out what was going on," explained Loki. "Although, I'll have to ask... Why din't you leave it to the specialists?"
"I've considered that, but it's way too obvious," said Tyr, with a shake of his head. "The Intelligence Office may find it hard to get their hands on them."
"No, I've actually meant the demons. They're more or less spying on us, so, why not use their records to our advantage? Just call your ex and ask for a favor. I'm pretty sure that she'll listen to you," said Loki with a smile.
"Hild? Are you insane? Do you have any idea what she's going to demand as a compensation for something like that?" asked Tyr. He knew that Ratatoskr collected information about them, on a constant basis. Getting access to some of those files could be a tremendous help for him, but convincing the Daimakaicho wouldn't be easy.
"There is only one thing that, Hild wants; Urd. Just send her to her mother and that could solve everyone's problems," explained Loki.
"Are you insane? Do you even know what you're suggesting?" asked the shocked god.
"Like it or not, your daughter is a hybrid. And so far, the only way of life she knows is that of a goddess. Without the experience of being a demoness, her mind had remained polarized and fixed in a constant struggle, as both sides of her, fight against each other. You know that sending her home would probably give her the means to achieve balance in the long run," explained Loki. "From what I've heard, she almost lost it, when she tried to access her demonic powers."
"One of these days, I'll find out how you get your hands on all that confidential information," said Tyr, as he narrowed his eyes. That last development was a pretty serious one for his daughter. Urd had mostly avoided to use anything that was associated with the other part of her lineage. While not ideal, he had encouraged such approach, in fear that she could get herself in a bad situation like the one she faced in Niflheim. He even considered to talk to her about the incident, but postponed it, as he had no idea what to propose as a solution. "I can't send her back. She won't accept it. And even if she does, it will hurt her feelings."
"And ignoring such a serious problem is better? This time you can just restrict access to the details, by classifying the event as top secret. The next one, might happen in the middle of Asgard, and then what? Punish her? Suspend her license again? Isn't that all you can do, anyway?" asked Loki, leaning forward with his arms folded in front of him. "Or Asgard forbid, pull another fiasco like the one with Hrym. A lone god returned back from a suicide mission, and you've sent the Fighting Wings to seal him for something he wasn't even responsible for. Is that what you're going to do to Urd?"
Tyr blinked, but remained silent. His intention was to give his brother an earful for stealing Skidbladnir. Instead, he somehow found himself in that position, when Loki brought up the whole debacle with the other hybrid. It was a terrible decision at the time, and one that he eventually regretted, but, he could see his brother's point. In all honesty, he didn't know what to do, if Urd had to be restrained.
Getting no reply, the trickster god shook his head. "You can't always hope for the best; that's way too nearsighted. Sometimes bad things happen, and if you don't have a plan B, then you're just begging for a big disaster."
"It's too late to do anything about that," insisted Tyr. "Urd won't take it nicely. And her sisters won't like it either. Besides, she's the goddess of the past. We can't have one of the Norns sent to live as a demoness..."
"Really? We survived pretty fine without any goddesses of time, before. So, I don't think that's going to change all of a sudden. And despite any personal disagreements, it's for her own good. Not only she won't ever get herself in a situation like that again, but, she may find some peace," said Loki. "Something that will help her move on with her life. Unlike those stupid license suspensions of yours, that accomplish nothing."
"How can you even tell? You don't have any children..." objected the Daitenkaicho.
"The fact that I haven't spent several millennia stuck behind a desk, helps. And it's not like you've raised them, either, so, spare me that nonsense." Pausing to give his brother a pointed look, the god of mischief simply went on. "There are so many I told you's in our recent history, that it's not even funny. Remember about telling you that some of your precious Councilors were doing things behind your back? You called me spiteful and delusional. The consequences of treating one of our own soldiers as a plague? He serves the demons, now. The possibility of a coup? I was apparently jesting and wasting your time. Urd tapping into her demonic powers, and as a result, go berserk? That was impossible; until it actually happened, a few days ago. Should I even go on?"
"Are you, of all gods, lecturing me?" asked the shocked ruler of Asgard. "With all the things that you've done, I should've revoked your license a long time ago. As the Daitenkaicho..."
"Even if you do that, those problems won't get away, you know... Sure, I would've sounded much more pleasant if I showered you with praise, just like everyone else does. But, for once in your life, you should listen to other family members instead of ignoring them," said Loki, trying to avoid a direct confrontation. He was content with the fact that he got his brother's attention, and going any further could cause some serious problems for himself. "I'm not going to pretend that we can solve anything with a snap of our fingers. The world doesn't work like that, and in some cases it takes hard decisions, instead of following the path of least resistance. Remember that your daughter's troubles are mainly due to her insufficient education and training. No amount of punishment will fix that, and at some point, she's going to realize that being a goddess isn't worth it. Then what are you going to do?"
Tyr remained silent for a while, and then turned around, heading for the door. "I would strongly advise you to keep a low profile from now on. I'll get Skidbladnir from mother, when she returns. Meanwhile, I don't want to hear any more complaints about you."
"That's all nice, but are you going to consider anything I've said?" asked the god of mischief, before his brother could leave.
"Maybe..."
Watching the departing god, Loki let out a tired sigh. The conversation hadn't gone the way he wanted, although, it was much better than he feared. At the very least, the Fighting Wings wouldn't be paying him a visit and that's more than enough for the time being.
Poking his head out of his house, Fenrir took a careful look around. "Is he gone?"
"Yes. It's a bit surprising that you opted to hide, though... I never though that you were actually shy..." said Loki with a laugh.
"I'm not! I just wanted to avoid getting any unwanted attention," said Fenrir, while glaring at his creator. "Unlike you, who went ahead with all that nonsense! Do you have any idea how close you were to get both of us into serious trouble? Was that even necessary?"
"I believe that it was. It was for the best, although, I doubt that he's going to actually consider my words." The god of mischief watched as his brother was still visible in the far distance and briefly wondered if talking to him had been a good idea. Even if he were to take his advice seriously, there were several issues that couldn't be easily solved. Urd would certainly freak out if she was ordered to go to Niflheim for training. "Wish I could talk to her directly... But, she doesn't trust me."
"She's not the first, and certainly won't be the last one..." said the sarcastic wolf. "It's gonna take someone a lot more credible, plus a small miracle to get through her... Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You're a genius, Fenrir!" said Loki, whose face suddenly light up.
"I am?" asked the baffled canine, before he shook his head, trying to correct himself. "Of course, I am!"
"Why haven't I thought this before? Come on! We've got a new project..." said Loki, with a wide grin.
"Wait! What about decorating my home?" asked Fenrir with pleading eyes.
"Later! Besides, I need some source of inspiration," replied Loki. "Interior design is a lot more complicated than you may think."
"Aw... That sucks!"
XXX
The event was progressing a lot better than they'd originally anticipated. With the audience being occupied with the karaoke contest, all that the goddesses had to do was to serve drinks. As a matter of fact, Urd was starting to think that it was way too easy. On the other hand, she wouldn't complain, given that it had already given them enough trouble so far.
"Say, Urd..."
The goddess of the past turned to Mara, who had already filled four more plastic cups with that fake beer they were using. "Yes?"
"Why are you really doing this?" asked the curious demoness, giving her friend and occasional rival, the tray with the beverages.
"Because, Belldandy and Keiichi needed the cash for their trip?" replied the half goddess.
"That darned Morisato was always broke. But, you've never really helped him, before. At least, not like that..." countered the blonde. "How come you suddenly changed your mind?"
Urd actually blinked at that question. In all honesty she wasn't entirely sure why she got involved in all this mess. At first it sounded like an easy way to make sure that they could get on their trip as soon as possible. Knowing Keiichi's finances, it could take him several months before he could save enough money. And by that time, a honeymoon would've lost its meaning.
Still, Urd never had the patience to stick around with such a troublesome situation. Sure, she had only expected to stay behind a counter for a few days, until the newlyweds returned home. Everything had gone totally wrong, and now she was serving drinks for a crowd of giddy collage kids who were looking forward for a kiss. If that happened a few month ago, she might've just called it quits and go back to the temple.
After all, it's wasn't her fault to begin with. Not only they got sabotaged by those fake posters, but, Tamiya and Otaki went ahead and made it even worse with that contest, before they ran away. As a matter of fact, the one in charge right now was Chihiro, who replaced them, after their disappearance.
Thinking about it, one of the reasons that she stuck around was to avoid making a bad impression to Skuld. Her youngest sibling had always relied on Belldandy for anything that was important, and for once, she wanted to show her that she was trustworthy. Sure, in times of need, the goddess of the future had no problems to cooperate, or even admit that she believed in her. But, Urd wanted that to happen on a more regular basis; not every time there was a rebellion in Niflheim.
Of course, there was absolutely no way that she would ever admit that to anyone, and even if she did, they wouldn't believe her. So, after a long pause, she came up with the best lie she could currently think of. "Why not? I like parties, after all."
"Eh? Something that simple? I thought that there was more going on here," said Mara, with a tired sigh. "Wish I could say the same, though... It's pretty boring for a party. I mean.. we haven't gotten any fun, and we might have to... kiss one of those dumb guys..."
"Oh, brighten up a little bit. I never thought that a demoness like you would be such a prude," laughed Urd. "I mean it's just a kiss... What's wrong with giving someone a smooch?"
Mara narrowed her eyes, but didn't get the chance to reply, as she was interrupted by Chihiro, announcing the next person to try their luck in the karaoke competition.
"Okay! Contestant number 69, Hild!"
Both immortals turned slowly around, with wide eyes, not believing what they've actually heard. Dressed in dark jeans, the one thousandth avatar of the Daimakaicho stood right next to the owner of Whirlwind Her appearance was a bit different, though. Unlike her regular childlike form, she seemed to be in her her late teens. At least, from the mortals' perspective.
Turning to Mara, the goddess of the past demanded an explanation. "What is she doing here?!"
"How am I supposed to know? She's my boss; not the other way around!" replied the blonde demoness. The last thing that she needed was to have Urd believe that she was plotting something with Hild. As a matter of fact, she had no idea what her leader was even trying to accomplish.
"Do you seriously believe that I'm going to buy that?" Crossing her arms in front of her, the half goddess glared at Mara. She didn't mange to go on with her questioning, as the music started. Her mother had apparently picked a rock song and the startled blonde had no other option, but dance like crazy.
"Of all things available, why rock?" asked Mara, as she unsuccessfully tried to control herself.
By then, the other goddesses had also taken notice of the Daimakaicho's stunt, and approached Urd. Knowing that it probably had something to do with her, they wanted to ask the Norn's opinion, before they took any action.
"Urd!..."
"Yeah, I've seen her, Peorth..." said the tired goddess of the past. "She's up to no good, again."
"But... Is she simply messing around or she's rally trying to kiss one of us?" asked the rose goddess with a worried frown.
"Now, you're just being silly..." laughed Urd, waiving her hand dismissively.
"Oh really? She's already kissed her, after all!" said Peorth, while pointing at the deeply embarrassed Valkyrie.
"What?! When?!" asked the shocked half goddess.
"During the demons' coup..." said Peorth, struggling to get Lind off her, as the latter tried to silence her with her hand. For her credit, the wish granter and administrator, managed to hold her ground pretty nicely, although, the warrior wasn't really trying to use her actual strength.
"Quiet you! I don't want to be reminded of that!" said Lind with a fierce blush.
"Oh dear..." said Laguz. The scene that unfolded before her eyes was best described as chaos. Aside from the dancing demoness, two of them were engaged in a rather childish act and another was staring them with her an empty look. Only she and Skuld had remained relatively unaffected by the latest developments.
Meanwhile, Hild's song had come to an end. Unlike the other contestants, the audience was rather pleased with her performance, given that she had a much better voice than most of them.
Turning to the karaoke machine, Chihiro wanted to check the display. "Now, let's see... Ms Hild scored... six hundred and sixty six points?... No way!..."
There was a collective gasp, as the best that the others had managed, was a meager one hundred and twelve points. In fact, the waiting line suddenly became a lot shorter, as they realized that she was more or less the winner. Some even wondered if the machine was broken, but, considering that it had been working properly so far, it was rather unlikely.
Urd pinched the bridge of her nose, in annoyance. This was clearly not her day by any means, given that the whole fiasco had gotten even more ridiculous. The only one that seemed to be happy was Mara, who had finally stopped dancing, now that the song was over.
Walking towards them, the Daimakaicho was smiling, without a care in the world. The contest was going to be over soon and there was absolutely no possibility for anyone to steal the victory from her. "Hello, everyone! I hope that you've enjoyed my little performance!"
The goddesses stared at the leader of the demons with mixed feelings. On one hand, she wasn't the average enthusiastic man, that would've loved a free kiss. But, then again, no one was really looking forward to do the same with her. Especially a particular Valkyrie that effectively used the goddess of the roses as a shield, by stepping behind her.
"What's the meaning of this?" asked Urd, taking a few steps towards her mother. "I've heard of stupid things before, but this is simply unreal..."
"Oh, I just wanted to participate in your little event..." said Hild with a sheepish expression, enjoying the aggravated expression on her daughter's face. Teasing Urd had always been very rewarding, as it was the easiest way to interact with her. Far from an ideal solution, but, beggars couldn't be choosers, and Hild was willing to try other options as well.
"You wanted to participate, my foot! Is this some bad joke or what?" asked Urd, leaning over the demoness, who didn't seem particularly worried and held her ground. "Don't tell me that you were actually after that stupid reward! So, out with it! What do you really want?"
"Uh... a kiss?" replied Hild with a frown, tilting her head. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to get, anyway?"
"Huh? Seriously? But why?" asked the surprised goddess of the past, even though she was till a bit skeptical of her mother's explanations.
"Because, I've got a very stubborn girl, that wouldn't give her poor mother a peck on the cheek, even if it was the end of the world," said Hild, doing her best imitation of a hurt puppy. "Oh, woe me!"
Urd let out a tired sigh, refusing to play her mother's game. Sometimes she wondered where did the Daimakaicho got all those ideas from. "Do you actually believe that I'm going to kiss you in front of everyone?"
"Yes?" said Hild, with a wide smile.
"Well, it's not gonna happen!" answered the scowling goddess of the past. "There's no way I'll ever do that!"
Laughing a bit, Mara decided to get back at Urd, by using her own words against her. "Oh, come on... What's wrong with giving someone a smooch?"
Summoning a ball of lighting at her hand, the goddess stared at the blonde, with a look that was straight out of a nightmare. "You want a piece of me?"
Taking several steps away, and hiding behind Skuld for a good measure, Mara decided that dignity was less important than her well being. "No! Not really!"
"Now... now... Play nice, kids..." Dissipating the bolt with a simple slick of her wrist, Hild wanted to bring her daughter's attention back to her. "If doing that in front of the others is inconvenient, then why don't you do it right here?"
"How about I won't do it at all?" countered Urd.
"You're backing away from a promise? That not something that a goddess would willingly do..." Hild was actually grinning, knowing that she was right. Of course, there was no way that her daughter would've predicted this development, and that's why she had done it in the first place.
"Fine! I give up! You're having that stupid kiss!" said Urd, after a few moments of thinking about it. "Happy now?"
"Yes..." was the simple reply, as the demoness turned her head to the side.
Taking one step closer and a deep breath, Urd leaned forward and pressed her lips against her mother's cheek. It also took her a second to realize that she had subconsciously wrapped her arms around her, too. Not wanting to draw everyone's attention, she slowly broke off the kiss and tried to remain calm.
Normally, she would've expected her mother to simply go back at her silly theatrics, squealing with joy from her small victory. The fact that she simply remained there without making direct eye contact with her, was rather uncharacteristic and Urd wasn't certain how to feel about it. It was much easier when she could simply get angry with Hild, instead of sitting there, not knowing how to react.
The tension was broken when Chihiro called the Daimakaicho on the stage, to get her prize. It took them a moment to realize that the owner of Whirlwind, just like the rest of the audience weren't aware that, Hild had already gotten what she wanted.
"Should we go and tell her that it's no longer necessary?" asked Peorth.
"Be my guest," said Hild, going back at her enthusiastic self. "Although, everyone might be a bit disappointed with that... So..."
Getting the hint in the demoness' voice, the rose goddess started to get a bit nervous. "Y-You d-don't mean..."
Hild simply smiled widely, before she licked her lips. "That's right! Someone needs to take one for the team..."
XXX
Half an hour later, the event had finally come to an end Originally, the idea was to continue and start working right away, but after everything had taken place today, Chihiro thought that it might've been too cruel of her and therefore let them go home.
With Mara and Hild on their way to that abandoned arcade, the goddesses had also teleported back at the temple grounds. Most were incredibly that this long day had come to an end, even though it was still pretty early. At the very least they could go back at their daily routine and forget all that nonsense.
Especially Lind, who was still trying to recover from yet another terrible experience. To add more insult to injury, this time she had an audience as well. The worst was the fact that this was a lot more intense than the previous peck she got during the coup. Part of her mind wanted to seek those two mortals who came up with that idea and give them a piece of her mind, although, as a goddess, she knew that such vengeful acts weren't appropriate.
"Cheer up Lind! It's over!" said Peorth, trying to get the Valkyrie out of her catatonic state. "We'll even let you have the TV for the rest of the day!"
"I don't want it... That feeble reward is hardly enough to compensate for my lost pride..." muttered Lind.
"Well, if I could do anything to help, then don't be afraid to ask," said Peorth. After all, Lind had volunteered to kiss the Daimakaicho, given that the rest of them were not particularly inclined to do so. As such, the rose goddess felt that it was her duty to help her friend recover from that experience.
Giving the proposition some thought, the Valkyrie remembered something that she was actually interested on. "You know... If you help me learn how to use repair spells, then we're even."
"Uh, sure..." said Peorth. While she was smiling, the wish granter was fairly certain that kissing Hild, would've been far less troublesome. "We can start tomorrow."
"That's fine by me," said Lind with a nod. At least, she was now back in her old self, as the excitement of learning a new skill pushed the bad thoughts from her mind.
Arriving in front of the house, they were greeted by Frigg, who was waiting for them patiently with a smile. "Welcome back! Everything went well?"
"You could say that..." laughed Urd. "It was rather interesting."
"Oh, we can talk about it over lunch, dear," said Frigg. "I took the liberty and prepared something. And the kitchen survived it, too."
Smiling at the small joke, Urd was about to follow everyone else, when Skuld tugged at her blouse. "Hey, Urd. Are you sure okay?"
"Sure. Why?" asked the half goddess.
"No reason. I just thought that were troubled. That's all..." said Skuld, with a frown.
"Nah... You're just imagining things," said Urd. "Thanks for worrying, though."
"I-I wasn't doing anything like that!" protested Skuld.
"Well... If you say so, kiddo. I'm going to get a hot bath and try whatever, grandmother made for lunch." Urd gave her sister a pat on the head and started to walk inside.
For once, the youngest of the three sisters simply followed right behind her, without making any fuss over anything.
AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.
There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.
The majority of the chapter was dedicated to the Whirlwind event. I typically mix several things together, but in this case, I wanted to deal with that incident in a single chapter. In the following one, I'll get back at my regular habits and even have Belldandy and Keiichi back.
There are a couple of references in here, especially during the scene with Loki and Fenrir. For those that haven't figured it out, it's about Doctor Who. Although, Fenrir's house also counts as a reference to the space doubler that, Skuld made in the series.