Ah! The following day

by zeroIQ

Getting married is never really simple for anyone, let alone a certain mortal and his goddess. One might expect that with the hard part out of the way, the rest would be just an ordinary married life. But with those two and the ones around them, there is no such thing as ordinary...

57. Chapter 57

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

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Nearly five hours after he's been subjected to an array of all medical tests imaginable, Keiichi was finally greenlight to exit the quarantine room, as none of Asgard's healers could find anything out of the ordinary about their newest god. Granted, it wasn't exactly the first time a mortal was allowed to become a deity, but considering the nature of Keiichi's deification, as well as the one who actually performed that procedure… the result was vastly different from the expected one.

As far as anyone was concerned, the once mortal man was now no more different than any of the naturally born and raised gods; rather than an artificial one, created by a contract. That by itself raised a lot more questions to the curious healers who did their best to find just a single difference between Keiichi and the rest of the celestials, but so far failed to establish anything worth mentioning. Even his angel was now fairly normal, and no longer his miniaturized old self, as Terrestrial Spark was provided with enough energy to sustain himself in his fully grown physical shell. And despite the disbelief of how perfect that conversion happened to be, in the end the unanimous decision was for Keiichi to be released from his confinement and go to the Registry since the god now needed a… birth certificate; or at least an official recording of his registration.

That by itself was a two hour ordeal, as no one in the Registry had the foggiest ideas on how to handle such an unusual case. Artificial gods were indirectly submitted to the Registry via the contract upon which they were deified, but… there was no such thing available here, since Keiichi wasn't an artificial deity to begin with. Of course he wasn't born in the most literal of fashions either, so, for his application they had to revert to the most ancient of documents and procedures that went back to the very conception of the Registry itself, and before any standardization was even available.

Thankfully the goddess in charge did have a sense of humor, and even offered Keiichi some candy, which as he later found out was a staple offering to the most newborn celestials that she normally had to deal with.

The only thing that he didn't initially put a lot of thought into was the 'M' rune the goddess had written in his name field, after she took the liberty of checking the medical documents Keiichi brought with himself from his previous examination. He wasn't exactly sure who originally came up with it, but perhaps given the secrecy behind the whole thing when he was first put into quarantine, the 'M' part stood for his last name. On the other hand, he now knew that the same rune also meant 'Man' or even 'Human' which… sounded kind of appropriate, but nevertheless, that was now apparently his legal name; Mannaz.

Taking a deep breath as he stared at the printout of his registration papers for the umpteenth time, Keiichi debated whether he should go back and ask the goddess if there was a way to fix this… naming issue, or simply play along and make the best of this situation. In some ways, it was more convenient to use something that sounded more familiar to other Asgardians, instead of his original name, even though he doubted that he'd ever get used to such change. Perhaps a part of him even worried that with everything that took place in the last few hours, his name was the least of his concerns, as his very identity was now in question.

More specifically, Keiichi was unsure of what he was anyways. Everyone told him that he was now a god, and even his senses worked in a very different way that previously, almost as if he's been blind for most of his life and his vision suddenly returned to him; resulting in an undecipherable collection of colors that he now had to sort out. As such, it wasn't much of a surprise that Keiichi's primary concern was that aside from his name, his past self as a mortal would gradually give way to someone else, who'd slowly replace him as Mannaz or even some new Keiichi, should he reverted that silly change of name; yet not Morisato Keiichi, the mortal who wished a goddess to stay by his side forever.

'What if I end up becoming some stuck up god with a holier than thou attitude? I don't want that! And neither I want Belldandy to get stuck with such a husband.' Which unexpectedly reminded him of yet another problem. 'Actually… am I still married to her? Do I still count as Keiichi, or do we have to repeat the ceremony?'

Such were the god's thoughts as he walked down the Registry's vast corridor, not even paying attention to his surroundings, let alone where he was going. Which inevitably lead to a collision with something or rather… someone, who let out a startled cry when it became apparent that they weren't expecting him to slam onto them.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

That was a fairly familiar voice, and a pretty annoyed one at that. "Oh… sorry about that Urd. I was… distracted."

"Checking something interesting, now that you've got enhanced senses… lover boy?" Giving him a stare, the Norn of the past dusted herself, as her brother in law immediately took a couple of step back and nervously started to scratch his head, trying to come up with some apology. 'At least some things remained the same.' Letting out a sigh, the goddess looked next to her, where Skuld stood with a huge smile on her face, and for once, Urd was starting to worry about her. "What's up kiddo? Did I say anything funny?"

"No, it's just that… I'm no longer the kiddo here," said Skuld as she gave Keiichi such a pointed gaze that made him check himself, just to find out what she was hinted at. Only for Skuld to go on and provide the explanation herself. "With him being a god for only a few hours, it's Keiichi now the youngest amongst us!"

"Uh… that's only a technicality, Skuld. God or not, he's still a fully grown adult," said Urd with a roll of her eyes. Yet that did little to stop her youngest sister from thrusting a bag in the unsuspecting god's arms.

"Technicality or not, I'm still decades older than him, and that makes me his big sister!" proudly announced the brunette, tossing her hair back, as Keiichi tried to peer inside the bag. "So, there you go, kiddo! I've bought you the best soft candy and chocolate your undeveloped teeth can handle. Oh, and don't wear the bag over your head or something! It's a choking hazard!"

"You're having fun, Skuld?" quipped Keiichi as he took a soft candy out of the bag and popped it in his mouth. Only for his now heightened senses register a gloved hand reach into his bag and retrieve a handful of them. "Hey, Urd! Those are mine!"

"It's like stealing candy from a baby," laughed the half goddess, trying one of her spoils of war and then check the other thing she actually snatched from him while he wasn't looking; Keiichi's registration record. And for a moment she ignored his glare and furrowed her brows at one specific bit of information. "Mannaz? Really? Where the hell did you come up with that?"

"It was on my medical exams, and… I dunno… I probably didn't saw what the goddess at the registration desk was typing at the time and…" said, Keiichi, only to stop when he noticed Urd's questioning stare. "What?"

"I know that Gersemi's stacked, but that's still no excuse not to pay attention… mister Mannaz," said Urd, trying not to snigger at the unfamiliar sounding name. "Oh, who am I kidding… you're still the same Keiichi; height and all."

"Yeah, what's up with that, Keiichi? Trying to sound so fancy now that you're a god?" laughed Skuld, crossing her arms in the most condescending manner she could possibly muster. "You do realize that everyone else here is the same, right?"

"You guys sure know how to make me feel special…" grumbled Keiichi in mock sarcasm. "Anyway… it's not like I want to be called anything else, so I might see into that issue later."

"Not so fast pal!" said Skuld, interrupting him as gave him a wink. "While we're on the topic, you should start getting used calling me, senpai! After all, most young celestials start their careers as debuggers, and that means that you'll end up working under me!"

'This is a nightmare!' Turning to Urd, he didn't even have to say anything as his horrified expression proved more than enough to convey the message, and the moment she nodded at him, his worst fears were realized. "No way!"

"Yes way! I've even got a debugging hammer with my personal sigil on it, Keiichi! All the other debuggers will be so jealous of you!" laughed Skuld, giving her despondent brother in law a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't go too hard on you, rookie! Besides, after a decade or two you'll definitely get the hang of it!"

"A decade or two?!"

Sharing a look, the two Norns tried hard not to laugh at the poor ex-mortal's wide eyed expression of sheer horror. And to make him feel much better, they cleared their throats and chorused in almost perfect stereo.

"Welcome to Asgard, Keiichi! Next promotion… a few centuries from now!"

XXX

As the saying went, there was no rest for the wicked. And while one wouldn't normally use that particular adjective to describe the Daitenkaicho, the current situation called for it; and then some. Or perhaps the word doomed sounded more fitting for what was to become of him, once the two goddesses standing in front of his desk, snapped out of whatever trance they've fallen into and paradoxically enough… unleash hell on his person.

With Frigg already explaining the situation to his half Balder and Thor, as well as Sif, the task of telling the news to his own wife and their daughter, fell on how own shoulders. But with both of them staring at a copy of Keiichi's medical records in total silence, Tyr couldn't tell what was going on in their heads. Not that he actually responsible for Keiichi's deification, but either way being the messenger of such news wasn't without its risks.

At least once the whole incident was over, Hel unexpectedly stopped the transfer of mortal souls and Hild contacted him to request an official meeting where they could negotiate the fate of those souls and potentially a joint venture between their realms in order for Hel to remain the retainer of the dead. Of course, that was a whole different problem all by itself, but with that matter scheduled for a later date, Tyr thought that he could breathe out a sigh of relief; only for life to throw him another curveball.

'Don't just stand there! Say something!'

As if she sensed her father's distraught, or most likely by sheer coincidence, Belldandy decided to break the silence after several minutes of keeping her thoughts to herself. "He's actually pretty cute…"

"Mm… I think so too, dear!" quipped Ansuz with a slight smile. "He was pretty adorable as a human, but as a god he's even more handsome!"

"What are you even talking about? He looks exactly the same!" said Tyr, as his previous concern developed into frustration, especially once he realized that he's probably been worrying over nothing.

"But father… even his true form is almost identical to his humanoid one! That's something pretty unique amongst us!" said Belldandy as she put some effort to keep her mother from looking at the holographic printouts in question, considering her spouse's state of undress.

"Well… I might admit that this the only unique thing about his current form, but… it's still besides the point. What I really want to know are your thoughts on the subject," said Tyr, wondering whether his daughter was indeed calm, or pretending to be; as Belldandy had that nasty habit of keeping her emotions bottled up.

Pursing her lips, the Norn had to admit that she wasn't quite sure what to make of this. On one hand, it was undeniable that a part of her rejoiced that her beloved Keiichi would stay with her for much longer than he would've possibly been able as a human. Yet this was just her own selfishness, and the most important thing here was her husband's opinion on the subject. "I don't know, father. What did Keiichi say about this?"

"Don't give me that. I've asked your opinion on the matter, not Keiichi's," said Tyr with a heavy sigh. "After all, I've asked him already."

"Really? And… what did he say?"

"To quote him… It looks like I'm Peorth's son, but with more clothes. Or something close to that," said Tyr, in a matter-of-fact fashion that only made the two goddesses' stares become even more incredulous than he expected from them.

Checking the photos that came with Keiichi's records, they had to admit that his markings were indeed reminiscent of Peorth's, or at least a hollowed out version of them, as he only had the outline of the diamond shaped markings. And after a few seconds of staring at the images, it was Ansuz the first one to offer her thoughts; by bursting into laughter.

"Pff!... Who told him that markings alone mean anything in terms of our ancestry? Still… he'd look so fabulous in a bikini! Maybe we can convince her to adopt him?"

"Mother! It's not that funny! And the last thing I want is to have Peorth as my mother in law!" protested Belldandy, her expression mirroring her distraught at the mere idea of Keiichi being related to the rose goddess. Not that his actual parents weren't rather eccentric, but at least she could handle them. 'Now that I think about it, where's Peorth?' she wondered, before turning to her father, all while ignoring her mother's cackle. "Father… didn't you receive that information from Peorth? So, why isn't she here with us?"

"Actually, she only reported that Keiichi and your sisters were transported next to the Tree. She wasn't aware of what happened next, and by the time I've arrived there, Skuld had already sounded the alarm and the medics were on their way too," corrected Tyr for her. "However, to answer your other question, I believe that she headed to the Registry to meet Keiichi in person."

No matter how much she didn't want to show it, Belldandy's antennae hair twitched as a surge of static electricity went through her body. While the time she competed with Peorth for Keiichi's heart almost felt like ages ago, the Norn still didn't want everyone else to get a chance to meet Keiichi's new self, before she got a chance to do so. "Father, if it's alright with you, may I-"

That very moment, the doors came open, revealing a winded Balder, who had flown all way to Ithavoll at top speed. "Brother! It's a disaster!"

"What?! Don't tell me Hel resumed her download?!" said Tyr and immediately checked his console, just to make sure that there wasn't yet another emergency, mere hours after the previous one. But with nothing out of the ordinary reported, Tyr turned back to his younger half brother. "Am I missing something? There's nothing going on…"

"No, there is! Mother and Thor took Keiichi to have a few drinks, like a proper god."

Palming himself, Tyr knew that his family members possessed the incredible ability to occasionally forget how old they were supposed to be, and instead, act like juveniles. "Seriously… we've just recovered from an emergency and they took him for-" He didn't even get to finish his sentence when the whooshing sound of Belldandy taking off into the air announced her departure. "And… there she goes…"

"Don't worry, dear," said Ansuz once she managed to regain her composure. "I'll go and make sure that everyone behaves. In the meantime, why don't you call Hild and arrange a meeting? We've got much to discuss about."

"Indeed." Letting out a heavy sigh, Tyr rubbed the bridge of his nose, as he leaned back on his chair. This whole crisis left him emotionally drained, especially after he learned about Keiichi's… situation. Which kind of reminded him of an important detail he deliberately left out from his previous conversation, at least as long as Belldandy was present. "You know, I've also found out who's Odal's father; and this time not as a speculation, but a fact."

"Let me guess… Keiichi's current self?" suggested Ansuz, tilting her head slightly.

"Precisely."

XXX

"Oh, dear Heavens! A lemonade? Keiichi… that's definitely not what a proper, adult god should be drinking!"

Adding the adult part when she noticed the sideways glances she got from Magni and even her own protegee and goddess of the future, Peorth cleared her throat to recover from her near blunder and then resumed what she was doing before; clinging onto Keiichi's back. She, Urd and even Thor's only daughter, Thrud had gotten the poor god into a threeway wedge, with the others clinging onto his arms. Which… given how skintight their clothes were, including Thrud's Valkyrie uniform, made the mortal squirm from all this contact.

It was almost as if he was reliving the time when Peorth first arrived on Earth, only he now had three goddesses clinging onto him. Granted, Thrud was only playing along, since it was Urd and Peorth who came up with this ridiculous idea, and considering that Mara was still missing, Keiichi wondered if this was the best thing the half goddess had to do with her free time.

But that was far from the worst thing in this situation. Apart for those three -and Skuld who watched this spectacle with a disapproving look on her face- there were two other goddesses present, and despite being older than the rest, did nothing to stop this immature act. Instead, Frigg and Sif simply stood on either side of this… literal foursome, and occasionally ruffled Keiichi's hair in a rather affectionate manner.

'Well… at least Skuld didn't join in!... Thank goodness for small miracles!' Staring at the grinning bartender, who wiggled his eyebrows at him, Keiichi only wanted one thing; to get out of here. However, unlike his past self who'd run away in terror, the young god wished to do things the proper way. So, without further ado, he fixed the god on the other side of the bench a much more serious stare. "A martini, please. Shaken, not stirred."

"Aye aye, Mr Bond," came the barkeeper's cheeky reply, going as far as to joke about the dark haired god's predicament. "Better not keep your ladies waiting."

"Whatever!... At this point I'm not even willing to argue anymore," groaned Keiichi, trying to ignore the absurdity of this whole setup. "Let's get this over with!..."

"Aw… don't be so grumpy! You may be a special case, but this doesn't mean that we shouldn't celebrate your coming of age," said Urd, until she stopped and scratched her head. "I mean… this is kind of your birthday in a way… and you're sort of an adult, so… yeah?"

"Uh… Is this some sort of custom then?" asked Keiichi, already feeling slightly better to know that was a special occasion, rather than what they had in store for him from now on. "Like a rite of passage?"

"Nah… the real right of passage involves you accomplishing a feat worthy enough to inspire sagas about it," said Thor from his seat next to the two youngsters he was assigned to babysit by none other than Frigg herself.

"Now, now… that's way too old fashioned even for you, Thor; let alone our much younger friend," said Frigg with a pointed glance that caused her adopted son to return back to his pint of mead. "Besides, Keiichi did accomplish a feat worthy of a saga already, even though he was a mortal back then. Or have you already forgotten that he passed a Test no other had ever managed before and your brother's challenge on top of it?"

"Oh… yeah! Now that you mention it, you're right! Let's drink to that, then!" This time Thor's face light up in a bright smile, as he raised his pint. "Barkeeper! A round of drinks for everyone!"

XXX

Helheim

"A… god you say?"

With the immediate crisis resolved, Hild had Odal's group relocated to Hel's necropolis, if not for any other reason but to keep them as far from her as possible. While this was hardly an ideal arrangement in terms of monitoring them, as the Daimakaicho it was crucial to put some distance to deny association with their activities; especially in preparations for the upcoming negotiations.

"That's what I've been told anyway. I find it a bit hard to swallow, but it's not Tyr's style to joke about such matters. Or… at all." It was rare for Hild to find the time to have a conversation with her mother, even without all the craziness going on around her. For someone like her who had to live most of her life so far as an orphan, it was too hard to get used to the idea of having parents who were still alive and kicking. Although at the same time, there was something comforting to simply sit and have a talk with her mother over a cup of tea; even if the dreary vista of the necropolis was hardly the ideal setting for such a thing.

"Hm… I suppose that kind of verifies that Odal character's story, even if things happened in somewhat different manner than he told us. For beginners, his father was only an artificial god, while this version of Keiichi seems to be a genuine celestial," said Njorun, after taking a long sip from her tea.

"Yes, I kind of noticed that, mother. It seems that things are definitely diverging from his story, but then again… such was to be expected. I'm even starting to wonder that he might be wrong about his assumption that he's in a rebooted world, after Nidhogg's calamity more or less brought it to the brink of extinction. For all we know, this might be a totally unrelated plane of existence to his."

Offering her daughter a shrug, Njorun brought her cup to her lips and stared at her reflection for a moment, before taking a sip. "Who knows? It was Yggdrasil's intervention that brought him here, along with those Dryads. And once again, it was the Tree's actions that turned a mortal into a real god. I'm afraid that the only one who knows more on the subject is Yggdrasil itself, and… good luck trying to figure out what its motives might be. Even Ymir has no idea what the Tree's up to, and he was essentially created by it." However, as soon as she said all that, Njorun couldn't help but notice the mischievous grin on her daughter's face. "What?"

"Ymir, huh? So… did something good happen between you two?" Her smile growing even wider at the sight of her mother's barely perceptible blush. "Am I getting a sibling in the near future?"

"No, you're not! And I'm still mad at him, just… not as much as I used to!"

"Hm… not as much?" wondered Hild out loud, mostly to further tease her mother. "Sounds like… something good did happen after all!"

"Oh, hush you!" Crossing her arms, as she looked away from her daughter, Njorun let out an angry huff, although it seemed more that the elder demoness was more annoyed by the fact that her daughter saw through her act, rather than insulted by the whole idea. "You may be the Daimakaicho, but I'm still your mother! So, keep that in mind, young lady! Besides… what about your bunny?"

"My what?" Blinking as she was genuinely confused for a moment, Hild remembered what her mother was probably referring to and snorted. "Seriously!... And here I thought I was bad enough for teasing you!"

"The apple fell under the tree, dear," said Njorun with a wink that seemed eerily familiar to her daughter. "If you want to tease others so badly, then you should be prepared for the retort too. Although, speaking of that… when are you going to take the next step?"

"Whenever I feel like it!" said Hild with a shrug. "I've got more than enough things in my schedule to worry about raising kids right now. Not to mention that I've got someone else's kid to worry about."

"If you're referring to that Odal, then I think that Verthandi's more than capable of keeping him out of trouble."

"No, I'm actually talking about Hel," said Hild, before she looked around, just in case any of those avatars of Hel's were eavesdropping them. 'Then again, she probably has the whole place under surveillance.' Shaking her head, after she made a mental note to mind her words while in this particular realm, Hild leaned back into the air as she floated opposite of her mother. "I'm kind of suspicious about her involvement in this whole situation. She meets Keiichi, then scares the dickens out of him, and then sends him straight to the World Tree itself… who rebuilds him into a god. I sure don't buy that this is all a mere coincidence."

"Me neither, but then again, it might be that she was simply following the Tree's instructions. Which bears the question… why is Yggdrasil interfering with the world in such an aggressive manner?"

"I have no idea. There's no precedence to such behavior, as the Tree mainly kept to itself for as back as any of us remembers. Whether it's for the sake of preventing a calamity from happening or not, is something that remains to be seen." Truth to be told, Hild was more worried than she let on, considering that the Tree's influence was far greater than most immortals wished to admit. Not that they didn't know how powerful it was, but trying to ignore that fact and instead focus on their own importance was a much more preferable option, especially as it did wonders to boost their already over inflated egos.

Nodding, Njorun knew that either way they couldn't really do much about it, so, she decided to focus on something within their capabilities to handle; which in reality was the original reason why she wanted to talk to her daughter. "That's good and all, but… what are you going to do about Urd?"

"What about her?"

Taking a pause to consider her words, as this was likely a touchy subject, Njorun toyed with the idea of simply letting it go, but in the end decided against it. "Are you sure it's prudent to let her go? In case you haven't heard she's-"

"A goddess," finished Hild as she immediately figured out where her mother was going with this. "Yes, I've heard about that. And I'm far from surprised to be honest. I never expected her to stay as a demoness forever, not without having to leave her sisters behind. Which… was highly unlikely for Urd to choose."

"Hm… you know, with the mortal souls still a subject of discussion… why not use that opportunity to your advantage?" suggested the blue haired demoness, as she struggled to come up with a solution that would not only prove to be beneficial to her granddaughter, but her daughter as well. "It's highly unlikely that the celestials will entrust us with the management of the mortal souls, so… if some of them have to work alongside our demons here, then why not suggest a certain someone to assign Urd to this task? She should be able to go back and forth to her sisters whenever they've got some free time. After all, what's the point of spending time in Asgard when they'll be too busy with their regular jobs to do anything together as a family?"

The Daimakaicho rested her chin on her hand, considering her mother's suggestion carefully. It was definitely convenient for everyone involved, at least providing that Urd wouldn't strongly object the idea of being reassigned to such a dreary place. But as long as she wasn't forcibly separated from her sisters, then it should've been acceptable; and as a bonus, dreary or not, Helheim was a new land of infinite opportunities for Urd. Without anyone else here to look down on her for being a half goddess, as well as being able to hang around Mara for as long as she wanted, it would be the best compromise, other than becoming a demoness herself. "Actually… that's not a bad idea. I might need to discuss it with Tyr and see what he thinks of it."

"You do that. In the meantime, I might go and make sure your father isn't giving your bunny too much trouble," cheerfully announced Njorun as she got up and prepared to head back to where Ymir was overseeing the rest of the demons.

And for just a moment, Hild seemed genuinely confused, until she let out a groan and sent her now empty cup flying after her mother.

"You mind your stupid business! You hear me?"

Yet the only reply she got was a giggle.

XXX

Asgard

At least now he knew why the gods loved their alcohol. Even after a few cups of strong spirits, Keiichi felt no worse for the wear. Sure, he was rather light headed and perhaps a little bit like a hamster on a double espresso, but at the very least he didn't feel as terribly as he would've if he was still a mortal. Having his angel dance hula in his mindscape was definitely better than making offerings to the porcelain god. 'Hey, I really hope there's no poor guy actually assigned to that job. I mean… we joke about it, but I'd hate to meet anyone who's overseeing that domain.'

Shaking his head to dismiss such silly thoughts, that Keiichi definitely attributed to the potent booze he had consumed, the once mortal decided to raise his glass in toast to the cheering crowd of equally inebriated deities in the bar. Which also included the two goddesses still latched on either side of his person, considering that Thrud joined her brother and Skuld, leaving only Urd and Peorth to keep company to the newly ascended Keiichi. Or perhaps keep each other on an upright position, as their stability at the moment was becoming a bit of an issue.

But, he was still conscious and well, and so were the two administrators who refused to leave his side, even though they were a tad bolder than before. It's not that the two goddesses did something too obvious, but the way they had trapped his arms in their bosoms could be seen as mildly suggestive; if not downright sensual. Although that was far from his only problem, as he could definitely feel Peorth brush her right leg against his, and despite the fact that she was now wearing pants -skintight or not- the whole act did prove to be a bit friendlier than he was comfortable with.

Normally he'd just ask them to back off and respect his personal space, but with this being a special occasion and considering that neither of them crossed the line, he didn't want to sound too boring and lecture them. After all, this whole situation would resolved on its own, since he was just about to call it a day anyway. He had already drank enough booze to properly celebrate his coming of age, so, Keiichi was finally able to leave the bar as a proper god, rather than a lightweight. 'Okay, I just need to finish this mug and I'm free to go home. Man… I really need some of Belldandy's lovely tea! My head is killing me… although my stomach is definitely not as bad as it should've been. Heh… it looks like being a god has its perks too!'

Indeed, as a mortal he would've been already pretty drunk, but at the moment Keiichi was no worse for wear. He even felt absolutely fine, despite the fact that he was starting to see things, like… his wife standing by the bar's entrance and staring back at him with an almost unreadable expression on her face. 'Heh… whatever that last thing was… it sure is pretty good stuff.' Yet as the god prepared to take another swing from his glass, he noticed that Urd was also looking in Belldandy's direction, and even smacked Peorth on the shoulder, causing her to initially protest, until she too spotted the middle Norn and froze.

One by one, pretty much every immortal inside the bar took notice of the agitated brunette who slowly marched towards her spouse and the two sirens latched onto his person; but in the end, it was the youngest of the Norns who first made a comment about the whole situation. "Oh… fiddlesticks!"

That finally convinced the inebriated Keiichi that his previous vision was nothing less that hard reality. 'Uh oh… this bad; seriously bad!' The moment he came to that conclusion, Keiichi's senses began to awaken from their alcohol induced lull, which apparently was another perk of being a god; although it did little to help him feel any better. If nothing else, he now knew the perilous situation he was in, and even tried to come up with some sort of apology. "B-B-Belldandy…" This wasn't how he envisioned their first meeting after his deification, or any meeting as far as he was concerned. It almost felt like he was back when Peorth was all over him, but with Urd and copious amounts of alcohol thrown into the mix; just to make sure that was going to answer a few questions.

Stopping in front of the trio, Belldandy could feel everyone's stares, as most immortals present dreaded her response, yet the Norn maintained her silence. Instead she took a moment to inspect the god that was standing before her, and while she was still somewhat peeved by the whole setup, another part of her felt tremendous relief. 'Finally… your wish will truly become a reality, Keiichi. I will be able for me to stay with you forever. Although… I'm not letting you off the hook that easily, mister.' It wasn't that she didn't know what was likely taking place here that actually peeved her, but primarily that they went ahead to celebrate Keiichi's coming of age without her.

Perhaps her reputation preceded her, making others think that either she was going to outright ruin this… otherwise immature form of celebration of such an important event, or that she'd discourage Keiichi from drinking too much. Not that she fully understood the whole purpose of this sort of custom, but now that Keiichi was one of them, it was important for him to experience the lifestyle of a god. So, taking a deep breath, Belldandy moved towards the rose goddess, who immediately dived for cover behind Urd. Yet before the brunette administrator had a chance to offer an apology for her transgression, Belldandy took her place and latched onto Keiichi in the same manner Peorth did before, complete with having a leg wrapped around Keiichi's and even leaned her entire upper torso against her husband's arm. "Oh, there's no need to hide, Peorth! Why don't you join us, instead?"

For anyone knowing Belldandy, the mere notion that not only she didn't become jealous, but invited Peorth… sounded so impossible that they couldn't help but stare at her; and not to mention the fact that she even emulated the way the aforementioned goddess of the roses acted moments ago. And as a result, most of her relatives remained silent as they stared at her in shock, with Skuld even asking the bartender if he accidentally put some alcohol into her lemonade.

"Belldandy?" Going back and forth between dismissing this as a hallucination from his stress and simply enjoying the moment, given that his wife joined in… Keiichi was unsure what to do anymore. "What's gotten into you?"

"Relax dear. I won't ruin your special moment. After all, it's not like I don't know our own customs, so… congratulations Keiichi!" said Belldandy, nuzzling against her husband's neck, ignoring Urd's chuckle as she took Keiichi's drink from his hands; only to send down the hatch in a single swing, tossing the glass to bartender, who expertly caught it in mid air. "The usual in a yard glass, please."

"The… usual? You're a… regular?" asked the stunned Keiichi, finding it hard to believe that Belldandy of all goddesses was frequenting a bar. Sure, he did get that the immortals loved their booze, and he already knew that Urd had a thing for fine Sake, as well as anything that contained alcohol and wasn't totally cheap, but… he just couldn't envision Belldandy who enjoyed her lovely Darjeeling tea, to drink booze instead. At least not unless it was a special celebration, or some sort of social event, or something that somehow involved consuming alcohol. His justified confusion wasn't shared by Urd and Peorth, who merely exchanged a glance, with the latter shrugging in response to the former's quizzical look.

"You didn't know? Belldandy's the current champion of the five yard challenge," said Urd, while Peorth nodded in agreement, along with any celestial within earshot.

"How in the world I'm supposed to know all that stuff, when nobody tells me about them!" said the frustrated Keiichi. So far he had discovered that his wife was a broom racer, held a Valkyrie's license and apparently partook in ale drinking competitions. "Although… why is called a five yard challenge? Do you need to walk in a straight line for five yards afterwards?"

"No, silly! You just need to drink five of those things in whoever finishes first wins," said Urd with a giggle, pointing at the glass the bartender just handed to Belldandy, after he had to walk around the counter… due to the physical shape and size of the aforementioned glass.

It was something that Keiichi could best describe as an extremely elongated conical glass that ends up in a bulbous bottom, which was most likely a literal yard, filled with beer. The mere sight of it made Keiichi's eyes go wide in shock and even awe, considering who ordered it in the first place. "Whoa! How much is that thing?"

"Unless I'm mistaken, that's a bit shy of one and a half liters of beer," replied Belldandy who looked over at Urd for confirmation, that came in a form of a nod.

To say that Keiichi was impressed would've been an understatement, as even Peorth seemed rather taken back by the rather intimidating sight of the middle Norn's glass, that practically dwarfed anything else in the whole bar. The main difference however, was that unlike anyone else, Belldandy was essentially immune to alcohol, so even this much on a single go should've been perfectly fine for her to consume without any signs of intoxication. As a matter of fact, unless she tried a cocktail that contained cola, then no matter how much she drank, Belldandy wouldn't feel any of the unwanted side effects of alcohol.

"So… you drink something like this, often?" asked Keiichi after watching his wife take a long sip from her almost comically large glass.

"No, not really. Unlike others, I don't actually get a buzz from such type of drinks, so the taste alone isn't all that great to me," admitted Belldandy. "Personally speaking, I prefer tea, although I did come here with Neesan a few times and ended up winning a competition a while ago."

"Hold on a second!" said Skuld as she walked up to her sisters and Keiichi. "How come I don't know anything about it? I mean… sure, Keiichi never heard of it, but when did that take place, and where was I?"

"Remember when Neesan bought you those buckets of ice cream?" said Belldandy nervously as she noticed Urd's pointed glare.

"Oh…. I knew it was a trap! She was too good to be true!" Stomping her foot on the floor, Skuld ignored the amused expressions on Keiichi and Peorth's faces, while Belldandy looked away from her eldest sister who kept glaring at her. "You got me distracted with ice cream and slipped away! Unforgivable!"

"Come on kiddo! It's not like you're the only one who wants to spend time with her sister!" said Urd with a roll of her eyes. "What's so wrong about teaching Bell how to have some fun?"

"Fun? You've turned her into an alcoholic!" cried Skuld as she pointed at Belldandy who was taking another long sip from her glass.

"But, Skuld… I rarely drink outside of such social events," said Belldandy, tilting her head slightly. "And as far as I remember I never got drunk from this particular type of beverages. Even Neesan who uses alcohol as an alternative power source isn't nearly as immune to it as I am. Come to think of it… I only entered that contest to provide Neesan with some moral support-"

"And you ended up winning the first place," said Urd with a snort. "Thanks, Bell… nice support you were."

As sarcastic as her sister sounded at the moment, Belldandy could tell that she was merely joking and didn't mean anything personal by that. "Well, you did seem rather happy at the time though. I can clearly remember you singing while I carried you home, and you even kept waving the trophy around, until you caused me to lose my balance and we ended up in that ditch."

"Huh… Is that why you told Ansuz that we got ditched? I should've known that you meant it literally," said Urd with a chuckle.

Turning to the bartender, Skuld slammed her glass on the counter and gave him a stern look. "Hit me with the strongest thing you've got."

"Are you sure?" asked the god behind the counter, waiting for the nod before he poured tea on a clean glass and offered it to the stern Norn. "There you go, little lady; straight green tea. No sweeteners or anything else added to it."

"Ha! Is that all there is to it?" Picking up the glass, Skuld took a large swing from the greenish liquid and for a moment she ended up crossed eye, causing Urd to laugh at the sight and then reach to take Belldandy's glass, knowing that her younger sister was about to go and check on Skuld. "Yuck! Bitter!"

Placing her arms on the young Norn's shoulders, Belldandy leaned down to take a better look at Skuld's face, as the latter was still trying to recover from the nasty surprise she received by drinking the tea. "Are you alright, Skuld?"

"Of course I am! It's just stupid tea, Belldandy!" replied the little Norn, until she noticed how she actually addressed her sister.

"No… What I meant to say was that I don't want to think that we've been trying to avoid you. There may be things not suited for your current age and personal tastes, but that's not a permanent situation, Skuld. I have no doubt that you can properly join us once you're older, and even as you currently are, I greatly appreciate your presence here," said Belldandy, before she glanced over to her husband. "And I'm pretty sure that everyone else here thinks the same too."

Taking this as his cue, Keiichi offered his sister in law a smile, and once the others let go of him, approached the two Norns. "Bell's right, Skuld. Even during our honeymoon, she did greatly miss you; Urd, too. Heh… even I missed you two, despite how much of a-… um…"

Realizing his folly, the god stopped before he said anything that would definitely get him into trouble with his sisters in law. Still, noticing the mischievous glares they were giving them, it was pretty evident that they've already gotten the idea. At least in Skuld's case, the whole thing actually seemed to improve her mood, since the little goddess knew that it was unlikely he meant anything serious. However, before he could offer a reply -or at least try to- a hand tapped his shoulder, causing the Norns to back off, too. "Huh?"

Turning around, Keiichi saw Frigg's smiling face and tried to regain his composure in the presence of the elder goddess. After all, she was a high ranking member of the society he now belonged to, and regardless of her connection to Belldandy, Keiichi had to act carefully in her presence. Something that he had almost forgotten about, after a couple of drinks. "Ah, Frigg-sama!"

"Now, now… there's no need to get all formal with me, Keiichi-kun," said the brunette with a dismissing wave of her hand. "I just wanted to congratulate you in person. What you've accomplished is something totally unprecedented. Both in terms of passing the Test, and how well you're adjusting to your new nature."

"T-Thank you, but… it's not something I've accomplished on my own," said Keiichi while he nervously scratched his head. "I had a lot of supports from the others, and… especially from Bell."

As the middle Norn's face light up with a bright smile at the mention of her name, Frigg glanced from her back to Keiichi and cleared her throat. So far things were relatively straightforward and considering that they've gotten Keiichi relaxed enough for the big news, it was now or never. "Ah, of course. However, I must admit that despite all your accomplishments and even the fact that we went along with this… custom, I cannot truly call you a grown up god, Keiichi. Not yet, at least. I understand that it's not your fault, and more the fact that we have no other case similar to yours, but…"

"Grandmother… What are you trying to say?" asked the concerned Belldandy, as this whole setup suddenly started to look like an excuse to drop some bad news upon them.

"The obvious thing, my dear. Your husband is only physically an adult god. He lacks both the skills and education to be properly integrated into our society, so… he needs to be schooled like a much younger celestial. He's not even close to the point of having a mentor assigned to him, which means that we'll have to improvise a bit and find a way to admit him to the… well… daycare."

Aside from the two elder Norns and Peorth who were left utterly flabbergasted by the news, Keiichi was mostly confused yet equally quiet as he stared Frigg in disbelief. The only notable exception was Skuld, who just couldn't stop cackling.

"Oh ho ho! You're not even a kiddo! You're a toddler! A baby!" managed Skuld between her gasps for air.

Shaking his head at the sight of the laughing goddess, Keiichi had to admit that he should've seen that coming. After being the youngest of them all, Skuld found the opportunity to become someone else's big sister -albeit in law- and she was going to make that fact known. Still, he couldn't quite argue that Frigg was indeed correct, as he too had no idea how to properly use magic, let alone most of the customs and the rest of the Asgardian culture. "I understand," said the god, ignoring Skuld's cackling. "I'm not sure what to expect, but I'll do my best to try as hard as I can."

"That's more than I would've ever ask for, Keiichi-kun," said Frigg, offering the much younger god a polite bow. Then she turned and looked around in the crowd, as she spot someone approaching them. "However, since you're a highly irregular case, it's not fitting for your wife to accompany you to the… um… daycare. And given that you're of earthly origins, it's for the best if she plays the role of your mother. Although, trust me when I say that I'm deeply skeptical of her candidacy for the role."

"Always the supportive mother in law, I see…" muttered Ansuz under her breath, only to stop next to her most vocal criticizer; at least as far as family matters were concerned.

"I heard that, dear. I'm not deaf yet, nor I'll ever become like that. I think you're applying some mortal stereotypes on the wrong goddess," said Frigg, only to stop when Belldandy wedged herself between the two of them.

"Please don't fight!" Making sure to keep them separated, Belldandy more or less offered her glass to her mother, just to keep her occupied with something… other than her grandmother. And although she would never admit it, Belldandy was quite relieved that she didn't have to deal with such an authoritative mother in law, even though the one she actually got was pretty eccentric. Which only reminded her that at some point of time, they had to somehow inform Keiichi's relatives of his fate, or at the very least, tell Megumi about it. But that was something to worry about later on, not in the middle of their squabbling. 'And I used to think that handling Urd and Skuld was a challenge...'

"I'm not fighting with your mother! I'm just expressing my concerns over the fact that the last time she tried to help a god, she ended up having two daughters with him," said Frigg while holding up two fingers to further make her point across.

"Tyr was my best friend's husband, not my son in law!"

"Homewrecker!"

"H-Home-?..." Ansuz's mouthed the word in total shock, and then shook her head. There was only one explanation for the elder goddess' behavior, that was normally nothing like what she currently experiencing. "You're drunk! No… let me take that back! You're totally wasted!"

"No! Just… a bit tipsy..." At this point It was a bit of a struggle to avoid an outright lie, so after a few failed attempts to come up with an excuse, the elder goddess admitted defeat. "Okay, okay! I had a few glasses over the limit, but, I'm far from totally out of control!"

"So, you're somewhat out of control?" countered the teal haired goddess, missing the rather imposing shadow that loomed over her and Frigg, as they were far too engrossed in their argument to register Thor approaching them from behind, and then grab the quarreling duo in a headlock. "Hey!"

"Thor! What's the meaning of this?"

"Shush! We're going out to get some fresh air, and once we return, I want no more of that silliness," warned the stern god of thunder. "Or do I have to find Tyr and even dad, and then have you two explain who ruined the kid's night?"

The goddesses exchanged a worried look and then two pairs of feet left the floor, as the duo levitated to let Thor move them around more easily. Which he did, and quite promptly too, before they changed their mind.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Keiichi looked around, but the Norns and their cousins didn't show any signs of concerns, nor did Sif for that matter. Realizing that the whole incident was probably something akin to Urd and Skuld's fights, he shook his head and took another sip from his glass. 'Man… and here I thought that my family is weird. And now they're my relatives too. Fun times ahead.'

Chuckling to himself, he took another glimpse at the departing trio, and then suddenly realized that he had missed one important detail that was right in front of him, and yet he failed to immediately register it. Given the way those two were levitating above the floor, and couple by the fact that the god of thunder kept them in a headlock, Keiichi was essentially staring up his mother in law's skirt; or tutu… or whatever she called her stylized combat uniform. Sure, her tights prevented him to actually see anything he shouldn't, but the mere idea of what he was doing brought a blush to the slightly inebriated god.

Choosing that moment to approach him, Belldandy placed a hand on her husband's shoulder, drawing his attention to her. She was both excited and worried about the news, since it would indeed allow Keiichi to bond more with her; providing that he could look past the potentially embarrassing experience of being schooled like a… kindergartener. "So… what do you think, Keiichi?"

Still finding it a bit hard to concentrate thanks to the sheer amount of booze he had consumed, the dark haired god wasn't entirely sure at what his wife was referring to. Which… unfortunately caused him to utter the first thing that came to his mind at the moment.

"Thick."

XXX

She had lost track how much time had passed since she and her synthetic companion had infiltrated the tunnel system that was connected to the cavern they initially explored. This was proving to be a much more significant find than she'd ever expected, as this underground facility of sorts was clearly constructed to serve a purpose. Although, as to what that purpose was, Lind had no idea.

The interior of the tunnels was well built, with double walls, spaced apart to separate the inner from the outer layer that served as a reinforcement to keep the rock above them from caving in. That separation though provided a superior protection from shockwaves, as the air layer between the walls hindered the propagation of seismic energy, and it a standard design feature on most subterranean military facilities she was familiar with. And even though this particular one was rather ramshackle in comparison to the rest of them, there was no doubt in Lind's mind that whoever built it, they really wanted to store something sensitive here.

At least she was happy that she no longer needed that silly ensemble she was wearing a few hours ago. Lamia or not, there was no way to get too close to the entrance of those tunnels. They were apparently well guarded for a lowly Earth spirit to casually approach them, let along walk in as if they owned the place. Still, what she was wearing right at the moment proved to be as embarrassing, if not substantially more, but thankfully for totally different reasons.

Lind was currently buried in a container full of… bananas.

The container itself was a heavy duty one, suitable for transporting hazardous materials, which was the only reason they haven't immediately picked her presence, or even Excalibur's. Why would anyone want a shipment of bananas in such a place though… was beyond Lind's comprehension. But as long as it allowed her to infiltrate the installation, the Valkyrie had no reason to complain; too much, that is. "So many hours… and we've only made it this far."

"We cannot push it too much, or they're bound to take notice," murmured Excalibur from next to her, as he threw a banana peel over his shoulder, only to reach for another. However, before peeling it off, the synthetic decided to offer it out of common courtesy to the Valkyrie; no matter how ill advised of a gesture that was. "Would you like one, too?"

"If I wanted, I would've grabbed one. I'm almost buried in those things," grumbled Lind, despite her otherwise stoic personality. "Besides… why are you eating them, anyway? I thought that you don't need any food for sustenance."

"Neither you do, but I've seen you eat before," said Excalibur as he took a bite from the fruit, although this time without bothering to remove its fibrous skin. He only paused for a moment to make a face as he consumed the remainder of the fruit, much to Lind's surprise and utter astonishment. "You can stop staring at me, I'm not gone all glitchy; just testing if they put anything into the fruit. And so far, I found nothing out of the ordinary."

The war goddess offered a nod, and then looked around her at the container's thick, reinforced walls. It was mystifying why would anyone go at such lengths to acquire a container like this, it all they wanted to store was something as insignificant as bananas. "That makes no sense to me."

"You and me both. I've calculated all possible uses of this fruit, but… as delicious as it, it ain't no superweapon. If that's what they're trying to build here, that is," concluded Excalibur. That's when the whole container shook, as it came into contact with the hard rock floor, signaling their arrival at their destination; wherever that destination happened to be. "Can you hear them?" asked the synthetic, keeping his voice low to avoid those outside from discovering them.

"Yes. There are three… no… four in the immediate area, and a few more further away," reported Lind, keeping her voice barely above a whisper. "Get ready."

"No need telling me. I've got your back, Lind."

XXX

Having to lean in onto someone for support was a new experience for Keiichi, with him being unused to getting drunk and all. Well… technically speaking, he was merely tipsy, and still quite in control of his faculties. But regardless, the dark haired god had no delusions that tomorrow morning he'd definitely wish he never drank anywhere as much as he did today. Thankfully, that was merely a one time thing, rather than part of daily routine; his new routine, in this foreign, if not downright alien society he suddenly became part of.

"Dear, would you like a cup of tea or even coffee? I know it's a bit late for that, but… I've heard that it helps after drinking alcohol." Helping him to get on the bed, Belldandy then headed for the windows and with a light tap of her hand on their surface, the glass turned opaque.

"No, I'd rather not. I'm not even sure that I can drink anything more right now, Bell," admitted Keiichi. Everything felt so surreal, and this time, alcohol had nothing to do with it. It was still hard for his mind to realize the fact that he was no longer human, and perhaps the whole 'celebration' was a mere ruse by the others to keep him from overthinking about his situation. They meant well of course, as he had no doubt that his in laws cared for him, and given the circumstances, this dramatic change of nature wasn't likely to go without some profound questions about his place in the world.

For his entire life, Morisato Keiichi had been the dorky bike enthusiast with no social life, unless it had something to do with his aforementioned hobby. Most of the blokes he used to hang around had the same or at least similar mindsets with him, which immediately set him apart from the rest of the 'normal' people. Something that could also be said about his current predicament, since he had little to no idea about the celestial society, let alone the fact that his whole life plans had no meaning anymore. 'At least I have Belldandy. That's something… no… that's the best thing. I can live without bikes, but I can't quite do the same without her.'

Looking over at the aforementioned Norn, Keiichi smiled when he saw his lovely wife take her clothes off, in order to join him on their bed. 'Heh… I used to pass out at the mere thought of doing anything more than hold hands with Bell, and now we're even sleeping together. How times have changed…' Remembering the moments when Urd and even Peorth tried to advance his relationship with Belldandy, only to fail miserably, made him not only feel nostalgic but also quite amused by older self. He used to be far less comfortable with such topics, especially after years of considering himself as totally inept at dealing with the fair sex. Not only that, but perhaps he may had inherited some of his father's issues, yet to a far less severe level, since Keima had a pretty serious case of heterophobia. How he even managed to marry Takano was a total mystery to him, although he wasn't one to make fun of others; not while he shared some of those issues.

Thankfully though, that was a thing of the past, since Keiichi had no problems looking at his charming wife, even if she was just in her white, gleaming leather lingerie. 'Whoa, whoa! Hold on a moment! Her… what?!' Keiichi's eyes almost doubled in size, as the astonished god stared at the almost impossible sight in front of him.

'Uh… master… have you already forgotten about her trying Peorth's attire? Leather belts and all?' came a voice from within the god's psyche. 'This is nothing in comparison.'

'Whose side are you on?' muttered the dark haired god over their link.

'On this occasion? Little Keiichi's!' replied the sarcastic angel, emerging from his host's back. He was extremely eager to meet Holy Bell for the first time while in a normal size compared to her. So much so, that the once tiny angel couldn't help but call out for her. 'Holy Bell! Look, look! I've gotten bigger!'

Emerging from Belldandy's back, while the Norn folded her goddess robes, the blonde angel smiled at her soulmate who waited for her with open arms. 'Terrestrial Spark! Finally I-...' Before she could finish that sentence or even fly over at her lover that she could finally embrace, someone else beat her to the punch. Apparently the mere sight of her modified attire that she had prepared just for this special occasion, caused Keiichi to jump, or rather… launch himself up and right into his own angel's arms. Only to cause both to tumble onto the hard floor, kicking a cloud of feathers, right before Holy Bell's astonished eyes. 'Oh dear! Are you two alright?'

'Yes… It's just that someone needs to cut the cookies,' moaned Terrestrial Spark, trying to push his host off him.

"I'm not fat! Besides, I cannot lose weight now. That much, I do know!" said Keiichi, getting up on his own, allowing his angel to float off the floor too. Turning to the other angel in the room, he paused and blushed at the sight of Holy Bell's ribbons that were rearranged around her, as if she was wrapped like a present; complete with bows on both her 'bra' and 'panties' that could be easily untied with a single pull. "Uh… that's kind of nice actually. Although, what's the occasion?"

"Must you ask, love?" offered Belldandy with a giggle, as she approached the trio. "It's our first night as a celestial couple, as well as Holy Bell's first meeting with Terrestrial Spark now that he's physically compatible with her."

Another cloud of feathers kicked up following the Norn's proud declaration, causing Keiichi to look next to him, where his angel landed face first on the floor. 'Yep, he got that from me. He's my angel alright!' mused the god, before he leaned down to poke him. "Are you still there?"

'Unfortunately… I am…' groaned Terrestrial Spark. 'And I've got a suspicion that it won't get any better anytime soon, so I'm staying down here.'

"Please, don't do that! It's not nice to spend the night on the hard floor," said Belldandy with a concerned frown. "Instead of that, how about you join us on the bed? There's enough space for all four of-" The goddess winced when a loud thud came from her husband's direction, along with his angel's exclamation of 'welcome to the club' as soon as his host joined him on the floor. 'They're dropping like flies…'

'Mistress, shouldn't we get them on the bed?' suggested Holy Bell. She was already in the process of pulling Terrestrial Spark up from the floor, and then paused to take a look at her goddess, who merely nodded.

"That would be for the best, yes." Picking up Keiichi, who was totally conscious, Belldandy helped him to the bed, while Holy Bell did the same for his angel too. "Keiichi, love… I can see that you're awake, so, stop pretending that you're out cold."

"Heh… I guess I'm not good at this," said Keiichi with a chuckle. He could feel the other couple snuggling together at the other side of the bed, and no matter how much he tried to rationalize that those two were their angels, it still did nothing to preventing him from turning red, like a ripe tomato. "Belldandy… is it really okay to… um... How should I say this?..."

"Yes, you don't have to worry about them, love. They're a reflection of our inner selves, so, unless you want to hide something, then it's alright."

Nervously biting his lower lip, the god glanced in over his shoulder where his angel was fiddling with the tie on Holy Bell bra. "Already? Show some restraint, you darn guy! They'll think you… we are some sort of perverts!"

'You show restraint! I've been an itsy bitsy, miniature for my entire life!' shot Terrestrial Spark back at his host, and promptly resumed what he was doing. 'Now excuse me, but I don't want to keep the lady waiting.'

And while the angel in question giggled in response, Keiichi could only stare in a dumbfounded state of shock, eventually turning back at his blushing wife. "Uhm… Bell… it's not like-"

"Shush, dear. There's not any need for explanations, especially when deep down it's not like you object to this," said Belldandy as she gently pushed Keiichi on his back, with her landing on top of him. And for the first time, the otherwise modest Norn purposely pressed her chest against his; just to remind him that she too could be a fun goddess when it was appropriate. "Or am I mistaken?"

Keiichi made a few attempts at a reply, but in the end all he did was to offer her a slow nod, his cheeks too red for words to describe. "No, you're not. Although… may I ask you something, Bell?"

"Yes."

"I know that I've become a god and all, but… what's up with this setup?" asked Keiichi, pausing for a moment when he saw the confusion on his wife's face. "Not that I don't appreciate it! It's really… really nice, but… I mean… why go to such lengths? It's not like this is the first time we… well… you know…"

"I think you've already answered that, dear." Resting her forehead against his, Belldandy's baby blue eyes stared right at Keiichi's rich chestnut orbs. "You're indeed a god, and I'm a goddess. Must I say more?"

For a moment, the dark haired god was reminded about the whole birds and bees, only this time around it really took matters on a whole different level. It was unlikely for Belldandy to make demands or even to voice her desires in such a forceful manner, yet considering the nature of this request, it was one of those rare exceptions. 'Can't really say that I blame her. We've lived together for years already, and went through a lot more than your average couple. And not only that, but she probably never expected for this day to come so… Why not?' Wrapping his arms around her, Keiichi pulled Belldandy in a tight hug that quickly escalated into a kiss; one that he was clearly unprepared for.

In many ways it reminded him of the kiss they shared back in Niflheim, but this time he could feel a lot more of what he must've missed, thanks to his limited nature as a mortal back then. As a god though, Keiichi could almost envision the sea of flowers inside Belldandy's mindscape, gently danced under the soft breeze that blew across the illusionary fields. Petals flew in small circles as the wind send them towards the neighboring forest of birch trees whose branches swayed under the force of that strong yet warm breeze. Although it was more than just physical warmth that Keiichi could feel, but a sensation akin to happiness that flooded his senses. A sensation that radiated not by the sun that could be seen somewhere in the distance, but from the goddess that laid on top of him, bare as the day she was brought to this world.

'She's breathtaking… Is this what I've missed all this time?' wondered the god, feeling much happier that he was now in the position to fully appreciate what was previously beyond his comprehension. Running a hand across her arm, Keiichi realized that just like hours ago, he could notice things that his eyes initially failed to report. Not only she seemed much more complex than he would've expected, with her form expanding in multidimensional crystallic matrix, but the moment he noticed that, he could finally see her; in all her splendor. Shinier than the most beautiful crystal, smoother than metal and yet softer than flesh, the shape above him shifted in a different configuration that initially confused him, as he was still unfamiliar with his ten dimensional perception. Eventually though, his mind recognized it as an expression akin to worry, so, he reassuringly smiled at her. "It's alright, Bell. I'm not scared; not in the slightest. Although… if this is how you look in your true form, then why do I still look the same?"

"Uh… I'm not entirely sure. I think that the Tree gave you a form that's eerily similar to your humanoid one, so… there's not that much of a big difference between them?" suggested Belldandy. Two of her appendage like 'arms' reached for 'head' and did the closest thing Keiichi would perceive as 'tapping her chin'… or something akin to that.

"So… I'm stuck as the shorty with bushy eyebrows and a forgettable face? Forever?" replied Keiichi in the same fashion Belldandy did, once he found out how to do so.

"Yes? Although… there's something adorable about you, especially because of how you are."

"Great… thanks Be-... Ah?!" He didn't even manage to finish his sentence when conflicting sensations pulled him out of this dream like experience, and straight back in the physical world. He was still on the bed with Belldandy on top of him -albeit in her much more familiar form- yet he could feel something happening slightly above his shoulders. Even though there was nothing there to create those sensations. "What the? What's going on?"

Realizing that her husband was most likely reaction to feedback from his angel, the Norn of the present giggled at the sight of him struggling not to laugh, even though he had no idea what was the root cause of that. "Keiichi, dear… Angel wings are particularly ticklish, especially when you know how to do it properly."

"Angel wings-..." repeated Keiichi, until the idea clicked in his mind, and he found out what was going on. "Are they doing what I think they are?"

"Yes. Although it's about time we catch up to them, too. So… can you give me a hand with my bra? It's more difficult than any of the others I've worn so far. Keiichi! Don't laugh!... It's not funny!"

XXX

There were voices coming from outside the container. Angry voices, belonging to one particular councilor who demanded an explanation as to why his secret facility was filled with fruit of all types. Which meant that they weren't exactly anticipating this kind of shipment, yet it didn't explain who was responsible for it. All of his collaborators denied involvement in this fiasco, and the more time passed, the more frustrated he was becoming.

"At least we now know that this wasn't the intended cargo," said Excalibur, right inside the exoskeleton he formed for Lind. He figured that it was for the best if they joined forces, rather than handling whatever waited for them outside on their own.

"Agreed. Although they haven't explicitly mentioned what they really wanted. There are too many types of ores to use that as a hint," muttered Lind. She regularly checked at the container's door, fully expecting it to open any time now, even though Excalibur's HUD indicated that there was no one directly outside of their hideout. As a matter of fact, the others were apparently standing outside a different container, placed on their left hand side. And judging by the sounds coming from its door, they were in the process of opening it to take a look.

"Coconuts! Freaking coconuts!" screamed Thrivaldi, before grabbing one of the offending fruit and toss it onto the rest of the pile inside the container; only to earn a pained moan that stopped him from going on with his angry tirade. "Huh? What the?... Who goes there?"

"Was that?..." started Lind, as she already recognized the voice, but waited for Excalibur's confirmation, given how unlikely of a place this was to simply run into the missing demoness.

"Mara…" concluded the synthetic. "That much I can tell. Which also means… that her mysterious assistant must be nearby too. They probably got here in the same way that we did. What for… is an entirely different topic, but we can ask them later. In the meantime, let's get them out of here."

Nodding, Lind knew that having someone without proper military training in a situation like this could prove to be a serious issue, and unless she acted fast enough, this could turn into a hostage situation. And demoness or not, getting Mara out of here was much more important than letting a bunch of renegades get their hands on her. Which would probably allow them to make all sorts of demands. "Alright! Get ready!"

With a mighty kick, the container's door was flung open, causing everyone inside the storage room to turn towards her; all four of them. Aside from Thrivaldi and his goon, Regin, there was a towering robot that Lind immediately recognized as the mechanical body of the fugitive god, Celestin, and finally… Sanngrid. And while the Councilor ended up getting smacked by a coconut that was probably sent towards him by Mara, Sanngrid didn't seem to get caught off guard like that.

"Ah, Lind! That's a very nice armor you've got!" Snapping her earring, the Valkyrie restored it into its battleaxe form and assumed a defensive stance, waiting for her opponent to make the first move.

Only for Odin to beat everyone to the punch as he… quite literally punched Thrivaldi, making his entry to the scene as dynamic as possible. And to make matters worse for the stricken god, his assistant was caught in a headlock by none other than Mara.

"What a bunch of incompetents," groaned Sanngrid in disgust as she looked over her shoulder, and couldn't help but shake her head at that miserable sight. "Oh, well… I guess I'll have to deal with everyone here."

"Pretty cocky aren't we, lass?" asked Odin with a chuckle, as he summoned Gungnir in his spear form, just in case he needed his angel's assistance. "Do you really think I'm such a pushover that you can take me out on your own? And not to mention the others too."

"No, but do you honestly think that I'm the only one capable of fighting here?" replied Sanngrid, as an alarm reverberated through the whole base. "Soon this will be all over for you."

Yet as soon as she said that, the last remaining container inside the storage room exploded, sending shrapnel and pieces of… pineapple all over the place. But the really important was what was left behind, where the container once stood: a fully armed squadron of war gods. And as if that wasn't enough, the one in charge of them caused Sanngrid to back off in fear.

"T-Tyr-sama?!"

---

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

Now, there are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

So, Keiichi and Belldandy are reunited and as a celestial couple too. It was about time. Like 57 chapters time. But I did end up there, and while I didn't go into excruciating details about that little scene towards the end (for obvious reasons), you can expect something interesting from that one.

Mannaz is the rune corresponding to letter M, which not only coincides with Keiichi's last name, but also literally means 'man' or 'human'. That's most likely the best way to call the new version of Keiichi, at least as far as his Asgardian name is concerned. Because every other character who actually knows him, will continue to call him Keiichi. So, don't expect me to suddenly change his name, save a few occasions where strangers might address him.

Other than that, I suppose it's entirely possible for Belldandy to win any kind of drinking contest. Since she's not affected by alcohol (now… cola is whole different matter), she had one serious advantage over everybody else.

Keiichi will have to study hard from this point on to become more familiar with celestial society. You can also expect him to become the receiving end of far too many jokes because of it.

Also, Mara is back, even though she hardly had a role in this chapter. But she will on the next one.