I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series
"What about this one?"
Pointing at the shop across the street, Keiichi was hoping that it would be a much better place for their search. Belldandy had insisted to buy presents for her sisters, given that they've been very helpful to them. And while it was rather simple to pick something for Skuld, the situation was very different for Urd.
Finding any valuable and rare alchemical ingredients on the mortal realm was rather unlikely. The only alternative for a gift was some type of antique that her sister might consider as interesting. But, in a place like this, most of the shops were selling regular, everyday goods and souvenirs. To make matters even worse, humans often demanded a ridiculous amount of money for vintage items, a practice that she couldn't fully understand. Particularly the part where they selected the ones that were supposedly important from the rest that ended up as garbage. For her, everything had a special value and shouldn't be treated as unwanted.
"I hope that this place will be better than the last one," said Belldandy with a smile. As a goddess she wanted to think positively and believe that their luck would eventually improve, given that their search had yielded no results so far.
"Don't worry, Belldandy! I'm sure that we'll manage to find a nice antique here." In all honesty, Keiichi's primary concern was the price that they'd have to pay for such a gift. Hild's seemingly generous act had saved them a lot of money, since she allowed them to stay that luxurious suite for free. But, a visit to a place like that could easily leave them with absolutely nothing.
As they stepped inside the store, it almost felt as if they've taken a journey into the past. Most of the displayed items belonged to a very different era, and even the interior decoration followed that theme. Behind the counter, the elderly shopkeeper adjusted his glasses and set his book aside, getting ready to greet his customers.
"Welcome. Please come right in. Is there anything in particular that you're looking for?"
"Actually, we want to buy a gift for my sister," said Belldandy. "She likes old, mysterious and ornate items."
The old man scratched his short beard as he considered her words. "Hm... That's pretty vague, I'm afraid... Although, most of the items in my shop could fit that description. Would you like to take a look for yourselves?"
"We'd love to," said the goddess with a smile, walking towards the shelves that were stacked with all sorts of antiques.
Following right behind her, Keiichi was also examining the various wares with a curious expression. Much to his relief, everything seemed to be rather inexpensive, given the price tags that were right next to them. As a matter of fact, it was a bit too good to be true and checked the numbers twice, just to be on the safe side.
'Wow, everything's so cheap... I mean fifteen hundred yen for the teapot that, Belldandy is looking at? We might buy some things for ourselves, too.' His happiness was short lived, though, when he realized that Hawaii was using dollars and a quick peek at the tags confirmed his suspicions. The mechanic was so used to the familiar currency from back home, that he had momentarily forgotten about that little, but extremely important detail.
There was a huge difference between fifteen hundred yen and the same amount of dollars. As a matter of fact, he was now afraid to even touch anything in here, just in case he ended up breaking it by accident. "Um... Belldandy?"
Turning around from the lovely teapot that she was examining, the goddess saw the troubled look on her husband's face. "Yes, dear?"
For a moment, he was the happiest man on the planet, grinning like an idiot. It was rather surprising that a single word from her had such an impact on him. Still, he shook his head, trying to focus to the current problem. "You know... I don't really think that we can afford most of the stuff in here."
Feeling a bit disappointed, the goddess of the present nodded and moved away from the various pieces of fine china. "Maybe we should ask the owner for some assistance. It could take us quite a while to go through everything until we find something that's both suitable and affordable at the same time."
"I feet that this might be the best option," said Keiichi. He knew that the old man wouldn't be very happy to hear that they wanted a cheap item, but there wasn't any other way.
Approaching the aging shopkeeper, Belldandy put one of her most disarming expressions on her face, before she asked the important question. "Excuse me, but we don't have a particularly large budget. Is there anything at all that we could possibly afford?"
"Hm... Let me see..." Readjusting his glasses, he wondered what to do. Normally, he would've simply declined and send them away. He had his fair share of tourists that simply wanted some fancy souvenir, but didn't have the cash to buy it. There were other shops around the city where they could get that kind of stuff. However, he found it very difficult to refuse that charming and well mannered young lady. "I may have something for you. This way, please..."
Following him in the backroom, the couple could see a large number of crates and boxes that most likely contained even more antiques that were currently on display.
"Ah here it is!"
Reaching for a dusty wooden chest, the shop owner opened it, revealing its contents to the couple.
"A sword?" asked Keiichi, blinking.
"I know that this may not be the most likely of gifts, but, some of my clients put them on display as decorations in their houses," said the old merchant. "Unlike most of the others that I have, this particular one is cheap. Actually, it can become yours for only fifty dollars."
Keiichi wasn't a weapons expert, but the extremely low price made him rather skeptical. A sword like this one, should've been way more expensive, and in his mind, something was wrong. "Isn't that amount of money a bit unusual for an ancient blade like that?"
"Well... Let me show you," said the shopkeeper, taking the sword out of its scabbard. While the rest of it was in a relatively good condition, the entire blade was thoroughly rusted. "See? When I bought it myself, thirty years ago, I was expecting that this would've been rather valuable. Unfortunately, nobody else shared my sentiments, since most of my customers wanted a shiny sword. Only museums were interested, but in that case, they expected me to donate it."
"You haven't sold it yet, though," said Belldandy, looking at the old merchant with curiosity. "I suppose that you've never asked for such a low price."
"That's indeed correct... As you might've noticed, I'm not as young as I've used to be. Truth to be told, I've felt that I should try to sell this, before I have to close my shop and retire. Most would've just called it a piece of rusted junk, but I disagree."
"Because you saw some value in it, despite its appearance," said Belldandy with a warm smile. He reminded her of Keiichi in a way, as her husband had also the tendency to care about things that others would've simply thrown away and replace with newer ones.
"Maybe... Or it's just my own stubbornness... Either way, would you buy it?" asked the old man.
"Yes, we will," answered the brunette goddess, while her husband was looking at her with skepticism.
As soon as the shopkeeper started to walk towards the counter, the mechanic approached his wife. "Are you sure about this, Belldandy? I mean... Urd might not like a rusty sword as a gift..."
The goddess shook her head, trying to correct her husband. "My sister isn't that interested in flashy presents. She does appreciate the history behind objects, just as much as I do. So, don't worry about it, Keiichi."
"I really hope that you're correct about this..."
XXX
Muspelheim, desert observatory station
The images of senseless destruction made Hagall shift uncomfortably in her chair. She didn't feel too happy to be that close to someone that ordered all that mayhem, just to get a single target. Nobody knew what he was really capable of, if he ever became serious, and she had no wish to figure out for herself either. Still, the overall happiness that emanated from the demon was kind of appalling. He reminded her a little kid that just unwrapped their new toy and couldn't help but jump around from all the excitement. 'It looks like someone needs to find a real hobby...'
Holding a cup of hot java, the ruler of Muspelheim took a few sips, watching the video feed that was transmitted live from the battlefield, or what was left of it. "Well? What do you think, Hagall-sama?"
"Honestly? Was that even necessary? Your units kept firing even after that creature had been reduced to ashes..." said the blonde demoness, trying to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "That was extremely inefficient."
"I personally disagree. We're really making the best of any situations and collect as much resources from a battlefield as possible," said the commander of the Eldjotnar. "At such high temperatures, the molten sand forms some pretty looking glass crystals once it cools down. Some good parts can become nice jewelry, just like the slag we get from processing ore from the mines."
"For real? Who would ever wear something that's made from scrapped metal and scorched sand?" Had she been paying attention to the demon, she would've seen him staring at her with a smirk. It wasn't exactly common knowledge, but, a lot of the byproducts of his realm's activities found themselves in some of Niflheim's most prestigious shops as valuable products.
"At any rate, I've hoped that this little display had proved our combat readiness," said the dark haired demon, as he gave his units the all clear signal.
"I suppose so. I can see that they're more than capable to handle themselves in a fight." agreed Hagall. "Still, I have to take a look at the installations here. It is part of my job, after all."
"Of course, Hagall-sama. Shall we start right now?" asked Surt.
"Yes. I see no reason to delay that." said the blonde, as she got up from her chair. "Lead the way."
"Very well."
XXX
"You know, Belldandy... I think that we might've a problem," said Keiichi as they got into their suite. Picking a toolbox for Skuld was a much easier task, given that he had a lot of experience with such items, being a mechanic and all. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that they had forgotten something critical.
His wife turned to face him, with a curious expression on her face. "We do?"
"Yeah... I mean... We've gotten here by plane and I'm not sure that we can't pass the airport's checks with a sword in our bags," explained Keiichi.
"Oh, that's actually very easy to solve, dear. We can send it, along with Skuld's gift, via a mirror. There's no need to try and take them with us on the return trip," said Belldandy with a smile.
"Uh... Actually, I haven't thought that." Scratching the back of his head, the embarrassed mortal laughed at his own mistake. He sometimes forgot that she was indeed a goddess, even after all the things that they've gone through, so far.
"Don't worry about it, Keiichi. It was only natural for you to assume that." She couldn't help but giggle at his sheepish expression, as it was one of his charming features. The only thing that surpassed that was his smile whenever he ate her meals.
As Belldandy thought about that, she briefly considered the option of making something for dinner. Not that the hotel's food was bad or anything along those lines. It simply felt a bit less personal for her to watch Keiichi eat that, instead of her own home made dishes.
Suddenly, a flash from the TV brought her back from her thoughts. Looking at the static on the screen as she approached the device, Belldandy wondered for a moment if her sister had decided to drop by for a visit again. However, as the image cleared, she came face to face with an equally familiar, but very different person. "Father!"
The Daitenkaicho appeared to be rather tired, as he pushed a few documents to the side in order to get them out of the way. "Hello, Belldandy."
Noticing the commotion, Keiichi walked into the living room. He had briefly gone to the bedroom to place the gifts next to his bags, and the sudden noise caught his attention. "Do we have a visitor... Eh?!"
"Greetings to you, as well..." said the unenthusiastic god, looking at his son-in-law. "Now that I think about it, I suppose it's the first time that you've actually seen my face."
"Oh! F-Father! H-How nice to see you..." said Keiichi, trying to sound as natural as possible, but, failing to do so. The mortal had, however, noticed the similarities between the god and the youngest of his daughters. Not only he had the same eye and hair color, but for a brief moment, he looked at him with the same expression that, Skuld used to have whenever he got too close to her oneesama.
"I apologize for contacting you in such a manner. It was, however, the safest method available," explained Tyr. "Especially, since a certain demoness keeps showing up from time to time."
"I understand," said Belldandy with a nod. "Although... Is there something wrong? You look troubled..."
"I just had to deal with Loki... Nothing new..." said Tyr with a dismissive waive of his hand. "The real issue is you."
"Me? Why?" asked the goddess of the present.
"I've heard that Hild attempted to make a contract with you, and I thought that you might've wanted to talk about it," said the Daitenkaicho.
"That's indeed correct. Although, I must admit that I've got a few questions of my own," said Belldandy. "Is it really true that you two had been secretly married for centuries?"
The god groaned as soon as he heard his daughter's words. Apparently, Hild told her a lot more than he'd expected and as such, it was going to be a much more difficult discussion. "Yes, that's right. We've kept it a secret, though, given our positions and the general situation at that point of time. Only a few knew about that, and even then we had to be very careful."
"I see.. I won't try to check everything else that she said, but there's one thing that I want to know above anything else," said the goddess of the present. "Did you help us in our test?"
"No. I know that, Hild has a lot of personal hate towards the test. But, in all honesty, I cannot say that it's totally unnecessary. The original examination procedure was set by the Gate, before I've had the chance to interfere. The following one, was about Keiichi's personality and his potential as a god," explained Tyr. "In that case, I'm the one that had the authority to decide if he was worthy or not."
"So, you didn't alter the result..." said Belldandy with a sigh of relief.
"Look, I understand that this might sound very cruel, but, if you'd failed then that was it. Hild only thinks that the Judgement Test is a way to enforce our bigotry. While I cannot say that she's entirely wrong, at the same time, she's not correct either. There are a lot of challenges that any couple has to face, and those who come from different species have a lot more to deal with, as well. You've seen what happened when a goddess was consumed with grief. The same could be said in a case where a relationship was just a ruse to allow a demon gain access to our system."
"It happened before?" asked Keiichi, surprising the two immortals.
"Not exactly... Although, there were a few close calls, when members of either side attempted to use seduction as their weapon of choice. It's questionable whether they actually counted as relationships or not, but, the outcome wasn't a very good one in most of those cases," explained Tyr. "I understand that there are some celestials who are indeed bigots, yet we cannot simply overlook all other possibilities. It's very important to make sure that we eliminate such problems and prove that such a couple's resolve is absolutely solid and beyond any questions. That wasn't the case with me and Hild."
"Why?" asked Belldandy, even if she was slightly unsure if she should be asking that.
"We weren't selfish enough, that's why," was the short answer. "You see, Belldandy... Selfishness is most of the times considered as a negative aspect of one's personality. In situations like this, it can be quite the opposite, as it introduces other parameters in the test. We were both the rulers of our realms, not just a god and a demoness. If worse came to be, we could've ended up as enemies, whether we liked it or not. In order to successfully pass the test, we both had to be capable of putting all that behind and move forward as an inseparable couple. The fate of the world was a bit more important than out own love story, though. Besides, even if we didn't care, there would be no place for us to hide, if we had to deal with another war."
"And Urd would've been targeted by both sides..." whispered Belldandy, while lowering her eyes.
"It's a lot easier to accept someone as an enemy, instead of a friend. The latter requires a great deal of trust, while the former is absolutely free," said Tyr. "Hild knew that as well, but, didn't want to admit it. However, she was right about one thing and she must've mentioned it to you as well. A single test means nothing in any relationship. If you lose the determination you had that day, and falter as the years pass, then the outcome may become eerily similar to what happened to that other goddess and her musician."
Both the newlyweds remained quiet and stared at the ground, causing Tyr to stop and leave them some time to consider his words.
"So, we just have to keep up at trusting each other?" asked Keiichi, exchanging a look with his wife. "We can do that for sure! No matter how many years may pass."
"Until you die, of course... Then what?" countered Tyr, giving him a cold stare that was surprisingly similar to the ones that his ex sometimes used.
"Father!" protested Belldandy.
"Stay out of this. I want an actual answer, not pretty words," replied the Daitenkaicho. "Well, Keiichi?"
"I... I must admit that it's kind of hard to predict what's really going to happen at that point," admitted Keiichi with a frown. "But... Belldandy knows that I wouldn't want her to torment herself over my death. After all, people aren't just things that goddesses leave behind them. They always keep something with them and while not ideal, it should be enough to allow her to move on. Not to mention her sisters and all the others that believe in her."
"You're probably the most naively optimistic person that I've met," said Tyr with a sigh. "I can see why she likes you..."
"Father... Please refrain from calling my husband an idiot..." objected Belldandy with a pout, biting her lip. "Or I'm telling you on mother..."
"Now hold on a second! I didn't call him that! And even then, you should leave your mother out of this!" protested the ruler of the gods.
"You got owned by Bell-chan... How cute!"
"Stay out of this, Hi-..." The god paused, narrowing his eyes at that vaguely familiar voice, while the couple stared at the screen with a baffled expression.
The TV had activated its picture-in-picture feature, causing the primary display to shrink. Surrounding it were eight smaller preview windows, that under normal conditions should've presented other channels for the viewer to check. Instead, they all featured the same person from different perspectives and levels of zoom, leisurely resting on a recliner.
"H-Hild ?! W-What are you doing here?!" asked the shocked god, trying to look away from the top middle window, that was fixed in a close up view of the demoness' ample chest. "Besides, this is a secure line! How did you intercept the connection?"
"Using a simple TV as an end point in your communication was an error. Especially one that's connected to a recorder device," said Hild, pointing at the VCR that had suddenly started working. "I can get the decoded audiovisual signal that, Bell-chan and Keiichi-kun are watching and insert my own beautiful form in it," added the Daimakaicho with a playful wink, striking a pose in her current semi undressed state.
"Uh... What do you even think that you're wearing?" asked the tired god, not particularly prepared to deal with his ex wife and her usual antics.
"Oh, you mean this?" asked Hild pointing at her fancy underwear. "It was just an idea in case that they might've needed a bit more practical info. I've offered to help them, but never really got a reply. So, I've left that tape behind, just in case they decided to take my offer."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, the god had remembered how difficult it was to deal with her sometimes. It was more than obvious that the leader of the demons had other things in her mind and simply used whatever excuse she could find to justify her interruption. "Just what do you really want?"
"That's simple. Correct some of your inaccuracies," replied the demoness. "I was certain that you would've tried to justify everything that, Asgard had done in the past."
"Please, I'm not so shortsighted... I won't try to lead my daughter astray, by offering her some biased information or worse, speculations. Like telling them that I've had a hand in their success." Tyr felt very awkward with the current situation. It's been a few millennia since the last time that he spoke directly with her, and yet it seemed that this was going to end up in an argument.
"Is that so?... Then why hadn't you ever talked to any of your daughters for such matters? I'm pretty sure that they would've appreciated to hear something from you that's not business related. If you think that you're protecting anyone by keeping everything to yourself, then you're horribly wrong. We both have our share of mistakes, but if you never let your girls hear about them, they'll most likely going to repeat them." Hild was no longer using that playful tone from the beginning of their conversation. Despite her current attire, she was once more in her Daimakaicho persona, giving the god a rather distant and cold glare.
"I cannot deny that. Although, you forgot something equally important, Hild. While I've made errors, I can't honestly say what I should've done differently in the first place. Offering them some halfhearted advice, or worse a scare story isn't the best solution either," said Tyr. "If Belldandy knew everything about the Judgement Gate, do you think that she would've even tried to get involved with a mortal? And if she asked me to give her advice on the matter, what was I supposed to say? Some pretentious, stereotypical nonsense that my peers love to use? Tried that for myself and it hadn't actually worked..."
Hild frowned and looked away, remaining silent for a while. Noticing the rather gloomy atmosphere, Belldandy decided to put an end to that argument. "I must thank you both for your consideration, but, talking about what might've happened or not, won't have an affect on the current situation. Also, I was fully aware of the risks that were involved when I decided to remain by Keiichi's side. The real question is what's going to happen from this point on."
"Hah... I guess that's why you're the goddess of the present," laughed Hild, relaxing a bit. "You don't worry about the past, at least not nearly as much as we do."
"Perhaps I'm just as... naively optimistic as my husband," said Belldandy, while giving her father a pointed look. "But... I believe that worrying too much about the past can becomes a bog that prevents someone from moving on. Even if everyone else had failed, nothing will change is nobody is willing to try, regardless of the risks that may be involved."
"That's indeed true," said Tyr, smiling a bit at his daughter's words, as he leaned back into his chair. She's really grown quite a bit over the last few centuries, but it wasn't until the last few years that she would strongly voice her thoughts like that. Perhaps it was a good thing that she spent that amount of time in the mortal realm, something that, Tyr hoped would be the case with his other two girls. "Now, speaking of the future, I've gone and changed the nature of your contract from a commercial type to a personal and therefore non profit one. I don't see why the demons would care about your relationship, if it giving us no advantages, anymore."
Belldandy nodded, before she turned to Hild. "Would that be a sufficient compensation? Providing that Asgard is no longer gaining anything from us?"
"Hm... That might be good enough for me and the vast majority of my subordinates," said Hild with a thoughtful look. "Still, I must advise you to be careful. While it eliminates most of the problems, anyone that might've a personal grudge, could become a threat. And by that, I also include any celestial that could try something funny."
"Thank you for the advice, Hild,"said Belldandy with a small bow. It was against protocol to do such a thing, but at the same time, it wasn't typical for the Daimakaicho to express concern for a goddess, either.
"Whatever... Just don't come back crying to me later," said Hild, focusing on her nails for a few seconds. She had no desire to sound too nice in front of them. Even warning them was a bit much for any demoness and as such, she tried to sound as indifferent as possible.
"Hild. Can I ask you something as well?" said Tyr after some thought. "Privately," he added pointing at the couple that was watching them.
That got her attention, as the Daimakaicho wasn't expecting it. "Very well, since you've asked so nicely, I won't say no." Turning to Belldandy and Keiichi, she gave them a wink, waiving her hand. "See you later! Oh and if you want some advice, just turn the VCR on!"
The embarrassed couple was about to answer, before the TV turned itself off. Sharing a confused look, they eventually got off the couch and decided to continue with their plans, instead of worrying too much about what the two leaders wanted to discuss.
"If it's okay with you, I'd like to make something for dinner," said the goddess of the present.
"Of course! I kind of missed your cooking, Belldandy," said the mortal man with a warm smile.
"That's great, then!" said the brunette goddess, heading for the kitchen, before she paused for a moment and turned to her husband one more. "Oh, and Keiichi... About earlier... Thank you for trusting me so much."
"Aw... come on, Belldandy... You know that it's only natural. After all, you have the same faith in me, as well..." said the mechanic, as he started to turn red from his embarrassment.
"That's true. But it's still nice to hear that." The goddess offered him a smile, before she started to head back to the kitchen.
XXX
The holographic display in front of the Daitenkaicho's desk turned blank for a second, before it came back, once the new connection was established. Switching to the maximum level of encryption that was possible for the purposes of real time communication was essential for what he wanted to request.
Staring at him from the other end of the line, Hild was still on the same recliner, but thankfully she had changed in her usual dress. Even her mood her switched to a more serious one, a fact that was evident by her frown on her face. "You look tired."
"That's because I am," said the god, rubbing his temples. "The last few days had been really hectic. Not only we got that coup in your realm to deal with, but I also had Belldandy's test and everything else that followed."
"Well, you should've postponed the test. That would've given you enough time to deal with one problem at a time. And that way, Keiichi-kun might've even the opportunity to organize a proper wedding for the sake of his family," said Hild. "Let me guess... The rules."
"That's only partially correct. If any other goddess was involved, then it might've been an option. But, you know how much they'd love to blame me for preferential treatment, given that she was my daughter. Of course, nobody would even consider what she had to go through at that point of time, or the importance of her attempt to help you." Tyr let out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling for a long moment, gathering his thoughts. "It does make me wonder at times... For a species that's so concerned with being nice, we sure have a lot of jerks. And speaking of them... I need help, Hild."
The demoness tiled her head, trying to realize if she heard right, or her ears were playing tricks with her. "My help? Don't tell me that you want my demons to behave for a while or something along those lines?"
"No, I want access to your Intelligence Sector's records. Everything that concerns my Councilors and could point to some sort of illegal activity. I've finally come to the conclusion that my father might've been right after all. They can be an enemy far worse than the demons and I'll have to make up for all the lost time I've let them roam around unchecked," said Tyr with an expression that for a moment reminded Hild her former father-in-law.
Lifting one of her eyebrows, the demoness couldn't help but wonder what happened to him. He might've always been a bit strict when it came to rules and regulations, but the god she used to know wasn't going to ask the Daimakaicho for something like that. Worse, unlike his father, Tyr didn't have the same leverage over the Fighting Wings. If anything went horribly wrong, he could easily lose control of the situation. "That doesn't sound like you."
"Well, it was Loki's idea," admitted the Daitenkaicho.
"What? You asked Loki for advice? You never got along with him!" said the shocked demoness.
"It's not like we're best buddies all of a sudden, Hild," explained Tyr. "I just had a... discussion with him and I must admit that he did have a point..."
"Do you even know how expensive my services are going to be?" asked the ruler of Niflheim. "That's by no means a simple request. Come to think of it... I can't even recall any similar situation in the past."
"I thought that sending Urd to you for a while would've been sufficient," said Tyr with a hopeful expression.
"Are you mad?" said Hild enough force to make the god back slightly away from the holographic display.
"But I've thought..."
"Don't you even start! I want her to come back to me on her own! Not being ordered to do it!" said Hild with an angry snarl. "She's going to freak out when she learns that she's being used as a payment for some deal between us. And that won't do me any favors, if she ends up holding a grudge against the one she's most likely accuse for this; me."
"Hold on! It's not like that!" objected the god, while waiving his hands. "I just thought that she needed to learn about the other half of her heritage. Considering that she almost lost control of herself, spending a short period of time with you could benefit her. And the agreement is not anything official, so, nobody will have to learn about it, especially Urd."
"Hm... Let's try something different, instead. I will let you some access to our files for free. After all, the fact that some of your Councilors will end up getting into trouble is more than enough for me," said Hild. "However, you must promise that you'll try to convince her to get trained under one of my subordinates. After all, this is about her own good, not ours."
Tyr gave it some thought and couldn't see any reason to object to her proposal. There was a small detail that he didn't understand, though. "I believe that this arrangement will work. However, why leave her to one of your underlings? I've thought that you'd want to teach her how to be a demoness all by yourself."
"It's simple really. As I've already said, she won't be thrilled to take part in this, so, I want to avoid any further involvement. It wasn't my idea to begin with and getting blamed for that is a bit unfair. If it was under different conditions, then I would've loved to do that, but not like this," explained Hild. She really wanted to avoid getting blamed for all that, and knowing her daughter, it would only cause her troubles in the long run.
"That's understandable. However, I'll have to leave Urd's situation for another time. Meanwhile, we better make arrangements for the other matter at hand," said Tyr. "The sooner we start, the better."
"Fine. In that case, I'll have to contact Skrymir and see how we're going to make it happen," agreed Hild with a nod. "It's been nice to hear from you, though..."
"Likewise." The Daitenkaicho tried to think something else to add, but instead, he remained silent. As his ex wife ended the call, the god could finally relax. Things had gone relatively well, even thought it was a bit awkward to say the least. Talking to Hild had been difficult, considering their past history and bringing up their daughter's situation wasn't easy either.
'Come to think of it... How am I supposed to tell her? Last time she was told to return here, she got an ultimate Gate Destruction Mandala... But... Niflheim? This won't be fun for sure...'
XXX
Muspelheim, central market
Surt was standing impatiently while his female companion was going through the various wares that some of the town's craftsmen were really famous for; jewelry. While it was true that they've got most of the areas of interest, the supposedly short detour through the shops had evolved in a much longer event that he had predicted, and it irked him to no end.
'Be calm. Empty your thoughts. Remain patient... Grr... I... cant do it!' Glaring at the blonde's back as she continued to go through a collection of rings, he could barely hide his anger. Instinct demanded to fry the indecisive demoness' backside, while logic prevented him from making such a terrible error. Attacking one's superior was usually frowned upon, especially when trying to make a good impression to them.
As much as he hated to admit it, he could use a potential ally and aside from Hild herself, Hagall was the next best bet. So, at Naudiz's suggestion, they took her through some of the less... military oriented buildings. Something that according to the red haired demoness, would probably make his superior happy.
Unfortunately, such wasn't the case for him. 'Just pick one of them, damn it! They all look the same!'
"Oh, I think that this might be just fine!"
Letting out a sigh of relief, the ruler of Muspelheim was almost certain that the excruciatingly long delay in his schedule had finally come to an end. He was nearly ready to start smiling once more, before he noticed the direction that the blonde had taken. It was the store right next to the one they've already spent twenty minutes in. And if the trend continued, there were half a dozen more; in this street only.
'Twenty times six... and we have all four directions of the crossroad... Eight. Freaking. Hours?!' The appalled demon was about to blow the whole district up, but had to restrain himself. One of his goals was to become the greatest ruler in the entire history of Muspelheim, and such an action would've been extremely counterproductive for everyone involved.
'Why me?...' The brooding Eldjotunn was brought out of his thoughts, when the shopkeeper approached him with a cautious, yet hopeful look on his face. "Hm? What do you want?"
"Surt-sama, I must thank you for bringing Hagall-sama to my fine establishment," said the merchant.
"Yes, of course. Helping the local market had always been important. Now if you excuse me..." said Surt as he tried to leave, only to find the shop owner right in front of him again. "What is it now?"
The demon was struggling to find the best way to explain his rather obvious problem in a manner that wasn't going to agitate his ruler any further. "Um... How should I say it, Surt-sama... I still haven't received payment for the ring..."
The leader of Muspelheim blinked as he finally realized that the merchant was indeed correct. As Hagall had already gone to the next store, he was left behind to deal with this boring task; paying for the purchase. "Hrym, put the appropriate compensation for his ring on our tab."
"Sir! We can't do that! According to regulations, only military class hardware can be purchased with Muspelheim's resources," objected the half demon. "Anything beyond that, must be paid with private funds."
"What? Who said that?" asked Surt, leaning closer to his subordinate in a rather menacing manner.
"Uh... You, sir. If I remember right, that was one of your own laws," explained Hrym, backing away from the dark haired demon.
Surt remained silent for a few seconds trying to find an alternative solution, but quickly reached the conclusion that this detour was going to be a very expensive one for him. "Fine... Put it on my tab, then..."
He didn't wait long enough to hear the owner's delighted comments. Instead, he headed towards his blonde superior, who was now looking at a necklace. 'That's utterly ridiculous... Why do I have to pay for all that junk? She's not even my girlfriend to begin with! I should've never listened to Naudiz's stupid idea...'
The fuming demon stood behind Hagall and observed the rather ridiculous scene that unfolded in front of him with a distant look. It was somewhat familiar in a sense, as memories from that incident were already fading away.
XXX
Muspelheim, several millennia ago
"That's so nice..."
Surt couldn't help but shake his head, as he stared at his caretaker. Hild had nearly pressed her face against the shop's window and generally acted in a manner that would've more appropriate for someone of his age. Not that she was really that much older than him, but considering her role, she was supposed to behave in a more mature way in front of him.
Sinmara and her brother were left behind to do the housework, and for a moment, he almost envied them. At least they could relax once they were finished with their assigned task. He, on the other hand, was going to be the troublemaker's beast of burden, as she needed someone to carry her bags. It wasn't a physical necessity by any means, since Hild, like most other demonesses was adequately strong for a mere shopping trip. Instead, it was a status thing in demonic society; showing off one's power over others at every given opportunity.
"Hey! Are you going to move or what?" asked the impatient young teen, poking the demoness' hindquarters with one of the new training poleaxes that they've bought a couple of minutes ago. As the three of them were getting stronger, they tended to wear the old equipment down and forced Hild to get them replacements.
"But it looks so nice..." repeated Hild. "That necklace in the back. The one with the amethyst stones..."
"So?" countered the demon with a raised eyebrow, not getting the point of what she was trying to say.
"Oh, come on, Surt! That's the cue for you to buy me that, as a gift!" said Hild with a pout.
"Why the bloody Asgard would I ever do such a thing?" asked the baffled young demon. "Besides, that's ridiculously expensive for me. I'd have to waste my entire savings in resources to buy it."
"Surt, you're entering an important stage of your life where you've got to impress others with all sorts of gifts. Otherwise, your love life is going to be incredibly dull." Smiling at her apprentice, the demoness leaned a bit closer to him, with a hopeful look. "So, how about you start practicing a bit by buying me a gift?"
Surt shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "That's the worst excuse I've ever heard..."
"You're so mean... I even let you sleep in my room every night," said Hild with a ridiculously fake look of hurt.
"What are you talking about? That's because we don't have enough space in that house of yours!" objected Surt with a blush. "It's not like we share a bed! I have to sleep on the floor! And you keep tripping on me, every time you get upset about something that I've supposedly done wrong!"
"Really? What a coincidence..." said Hild, looking away at the distance, before she started to walk away from the shop. "Anyway! I suppose that I was wrong to ask you about that. Only people that care for others would do that, so, I was wasting my time here..."
Surt actually missed the joking tone in Hild's voice and gave the necklace a quick look and then went after his caretaker.
The next day, the dark haired demon was standing in front of the same shop. He did stop several times on his way here, trying to convince himself that he hadn't gone completely crazy, but in the end, he decided to just do it. 'It's not like a care or something stupid like that... I just... don't want to own anything to anyone... That's right!...'
Taking a deep breath, he entered the shop and almost marched up to the demoness behind the counter. "I want that thing on the window."
"My, pretty straightforward aren't we? Can you even afford that?" asked the shopkeeper with an amused smile.
"Of course, I didn't come all the way here to play games," said Surt, placing his bag on the counter. "That should be enough."
"I think so. Buying something for your mother?" asked The demoness, trying to make some small talk with her customer.
"My family's dead and I don't have a girlfriend either," replied the young demon. "It's for my caretaker."
The demoness raised an eyebrow as she put the necklace in a bag and handed it to the young teen. "Oh, is that so? You must've gotten into a really big trouble if you want to bribe yourself out of it."
"You could say that." While she was technically wrong, he had no particular desire to correct her. Instead, he turned around and headed for the exit.
"Come again!"
'Yeah, as if...' thought the teen. This was the first and probably the last time that he was spending such an amount of his fortune for such a petty reason. He wanted a nice sword, but instead, got a shiny piece of garbage. 'That was so stupid... Why did I even do that? Gratitude? No way... I-'
He was so absorbed in his own thoughts, that he never noticed the hooded figure that was running across the street, trying to get to the nearest alley. As both of them were preoccupied with their own agendas, neither did anything to avoid the inevitable collision.
"Ow!..." The surprised person that ended up on top of Surt, attempted to extract themselves from the young demon who was trying to realize what had just happened.
"Bloody moron! Can't you see where you're going?"
Despite the demon's angry words, the stranger offered no reply and focused on gathering the few packages that they've been carrying. Meanwhile, Surt was trying to figure out what was going on with the weirdo that was either too busy or simply ignoring him. The dark haired demon was suddenly alerted when he noticed that the hooded person had also taken the liberty to collect his own bag with the gift, before they tried to run away.
"Hey! That's not yours, you little!..."
Getting back on his own feet, Surt considered calling the guard to deal with the thief. However, he wasn't a kid anymore and the other person wasn't that much bigger than himself. Which meant that it was probably not a fully grown adult, and as such, he could deal with them on his own.
'Besides, there's something wrong with that dude. Smelled kind of funny to me. Almost as if... he wasn't one of us...' thought Surt as he took a sharp left in the next alley, following the hooded stranger. 'Could it be... a god?... Here?... That should be impossible... Although, he doesn't seem to know the place. This alley ends up in a dead end and flying above the ground will attract too much attention from the guard.'
By the time that the accidental thief came to the same conclusion, the young demon decided to grab the opportunity and attack before the guy knew what hit him. Summoning one of the new training poleaxes that they've got yesterday, he closed the distance between him and the stranger.
Turning around, the hooded figure noticed the incoming strike and summoned a staff to block it. Instead of bringing down the poleaxe, as one might've expected, the demon suddenly stopped and rapidly twisted his torso, bringing the other end of his weapon to the side of his opponent's midsection.
"Owie!"
Not anticipating such a move, the stranger was flung aside, hitting the nearest wall and caused the hood to come off, revealing a teal haired female with four small wings attached to her head.
"I knew it! You're a god!" said Surt, despite that obviously feminine voice of his opponent. Apparently he was so absorbed in the fight that he paid little attention to that little detail.
"What? I'm a goddess!" objected the offended girl. Training her staff for a counterattack.
"Nice try..." started the demon, before he was caught by surprise by the goddess' vicious assault and sent flying backwards. It seemed that his words had made her angry enough to retaliate in full force, getting him in a situation where he bit more than he could chew.
Surt's short flight was ended as he hit an invisible barrier of compressed air that acted as a cushion. Realizing that the young teen wasn't the one who cast that spell, she tried to find the source by looking around her.
"My... I knew that he was going to end up in trouble, when that rascal got out without saying anything. But, I was never expecting an actual goddess to show up..." Materializing right behind her, the demoness got hold of the teal haired girl's staff and pinned her against her own body. "Actually, that's the first time that I've got to meet one of your kind from up close. I'm Hild. What's you name sweetie?"
Neither her words, nor the attempt to stop her in a non aggressive manner seemed to matter for the goddess. The four wings on her head had frozen in a horizontal position, as the terrified celestial recalled all those bedtime stories about the cruel and uninhibited demons, that the parents sometimes used to scare their kids to sleep. As a result, she mistook the gesture as something very different.
"P-Pervert!"
The goddess' panicked shout, made Hild blink. "Huh? What are you talking about?..."
Not bothering to answer, the teal haired celestial reached for the top of her robes, pulling a small item out of there.
"She's got a grenade!" yelled Surt, forming a shield around him.
"What?!"
Hild's surprised shout was followed by an ear shattering explosion that blasted the entire alley up in the air.
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.
This chapter is the first case where I've got to split a flashback in two parts. As you might've guessed, that last scene will continue in the next chapter. I considered the option of having it all here, but it would've made the current chapter too long and I wanted to ave the other scenes before it as well. So, it will continue to the next one.
Speaking of flashbacks, I normally put them in italics. However, if they happen to be too long, I think that leaving them the way they are is better. Especially if they're not in the middle of a chapter. In this case, it's towards the end, making it less likely to confuse it with a scene that takes place at the present time.
Sinmara is the name of a female fire Jotunn in Norse legends. She was the consort of Surtr and the keeper of Laevateinn, the flame sword. This is the first time that she's mentioned in this story by name. She and her brother (she didn't have any in the Norse legends) were the two other kids that, Hild was looking after and there were a couple of references about them in the previous chapters.
The goddess' name in that part is currently not mentioned, but her identity is rather obvious. That's Ansuz, Belldandy and Skuld's mother, although, at that point she was just as old as Hild (late teens, by mortal standards).