I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series
"OW!..."
While mostly unharmed, save for a particularly nasty bruise across her rump, the same couldn't be said about Urd's wounded pride. At the very last moment, Hild flicked her sword so that she hit her with the flat part of the blade, and while the resulting impact shattered the weapon into tiny pieces, it proved to be more than enough to launch her unruly daughter across the temple grounds and head first through the perimeter wall.
"Aw… I broke my poor sword. Oh, well… I guess I need to go shopping after we're done with this," said the giddy Daimakaicho as she cast the now useless remains of her weapon aside. Although a bit over dramatic, the taunting tone of Hild's voice made it absolutely clear that she wasn't even trying and this entire thing was akin to a game for her; which did nothing to make the pained Norn feel any better.
"Your poor sword, my ass!" shouted Urd as she picked herself up from the ground and walked through the hole she made in the perimeter wall. Worse, even the mere mention of her behind was more than enough to remind her of the burning sensation where the blade struck her, causing her to wince in pain. "And here I was thinking that you'd take me seriously for once, but you're just playing silly games!"
"I'm afraid you don't truly understand the consequences of being taken seriously, Urd. If you really want my position, you also need to accept the consequences of your actions. This isn't a family business I'm running after all, and no one's going to respect you just because you're my daughter," said Hild as she pointed at her aspiring successor. "You need to earn that respect and the first step is by becoming a demoness, and then work your way up in our chain of command. Just because you suddenly decided that you want to become the Daimakaicho doesn't mean that the others will automatically accept you as their leader, and throwing a temper tantrum about it won't help either. Although, to be perfectly fair, you're not thinking straight right now. With your goddess part currently inaccessible, the rest of you is left in a confused and angry state. After all, the main issue here isn't whether you'll become the leader of Niflheim or not, but something a lot more personal, right? You're angry at me, not the Daimakaicho who's just trying to defend her position."
"Why? Even though you're this powerful, then why didn't you…" said Urd, before she came to a stop as her confused mind struggled to put her thoughts into the right words; and failed miserably.
Yet Hild already knew what her daughter really wanted to say and while it wasn't the best of times to have such a conversation given the current circumstances, it was also true that Urd would've never brought the subject up on her own. "Why didn't I defy the gods and tell them to shove that Gate up theirs?"
"Yes… Why did you even agree to take on such a ridiculous test?"
"Because of your father?" Giving Tyr a sideways glance, Hild grinned as the possessed cat's fur stood up, but then went on before her daughter decided to vent her frustrations on him. "Please stop looking at Tyr like that, Urd-chan. Just like me, he also has his own responsibilities and can't afford ignoring the rules whenever they're inconvenient for him. After all, that's one of the most basic distinctions between a true leader and a mere tyrant."
"She's right, Urd," said Tyr as he approached his daughter. "Anyone who ignores that simple rule and thinks that power alone is more than enough to let them do as they please… typically doesn't remain in their office for too long; or even alive for that matter."
Although she knew that they was probably right, Urd refused to accept that the two most powerful immortals had no other choice but to knowingly walk into a trap; at least not without considering some other options. Especially one particular that had been bothering her for quite a while. "The Judgement Gate is supposed to spare couples from some sort of impending tragedy, right? Yet the stupid thing is causing more tragedies in the process, so, why didn't either of you challenge its effectiveness to get rid of it?"
"Even then, most would've taken it as an excuse," said Hild with a sigh. "Look… the biggest priority back then was to establish a peace treaty, and as such, we've both pushed everyone to their limit with the idea of the Doublet System. If we kept making demands, a coup would've been imminent and to allow the bloodshed to end, some sacrifices had to be made."
"Including me?" asked Urd, but soon came to regret her words when she noticed the somewhat shocked expression on her mother's face.
"I've done many things in the past, but… that's not one of them," replied Hild while doing her best to keep her voice as calm as possible, but the same couldn't be said about her daughter who reached a critical point.
"Oh, really? You left me and never looked back!" shouted Urd as her body shook in anger, and to a certain degree she expected an equally heated retort from Hild.
Yet the Daimakaicho remained eerily silent for a long while, until she finally managed to come up with a reply. "If you really feel like that… then what are you going to do about it?"
"This!"
Gathering a ball of lightning in her palm, Urd unleashed it on Hild at full power, and this time she did aim for her head.
XXX
Keiichi was now certain that something wrong was indeed going on here. When nothing happened for several minutes, he wondered if that initial explosion was merely Urd's response to one of Dagaz's comments in the event she asked for his opinion about one of her dresses.
The latest explosion, though ruled that possibility out and as the temple zoomed by over the corner, Keiichi wasted no time to park his bike in front of the main gate and then rushed to climb the stone stairs. Yet before he got a chance to enter the temple grounds, a hand grabbed him by the back of his jacket and pulled him aside, much to his protests.
"Hey, let go of me!" said the young mechanic, as he tried to look over his shoulder and found that the one holding him was none other than the Daimakaicho's childlike avatar. "Huh? Hild? What's going on here?"
"Shh! We need to come up with a plan before you jump in there," said Hild, as a blonde demoness approached them. "Oh, by the way, this is Mara. She's an old friend of Urd's."
"Uh… nice to meet you," said the somewhat confused mortal, while the blonde eyed him suspiciously.
"Likewise." In reality, she knew a lot more about him that he would've ever expected, given that the demoness had little more to do over the last couple of days, other than spy on Urd and her three housemates. Still, she had no idea how a mortal could possibly help them resolve a situation that appeared to be under control just moments ago, only for matters to go out of hand once again. "Hild-sama… what are we supposed to do?"
"First of all, let's allow Urd-chan to blow off some steam, as she obviously needed to do that at some point of time," said the childlike avatar with a sigh. "Then we need to…"
"Wait! What's going on here?" asked the confused Keiichi who still had no idea what the problem was in the first place.
"Right!... I never told you, didn't I? Well… listen well, Keiichi-kun," said Hild as she began to offer him the necessary explanations, all while the battle in the temple grounds intensified.
XXX
A series of lightning bolts pelted the temple grounds as the now furious half demoness went on the offensive, all while her mother did her best to hold her ground. Most demonesses in Hild's place would've found the experience to be absolutely terrifying, but for the Daimakaicho it was quite the opposite.
Hild wanted her daughter to vent off those millennia old feelings she had done her best to repress, and as such, the Daimakaicho thought that before Urd could move on with her life, she needed to deal with that anger. And although the eldest of the Norns wasn't the vindictive type, it was also true that the whole situation with her mother left Urd with a bitter taste in her mouth, especially during her early childhood when the young hybrid suddenly found herself in her father's care.
The initial surprise and disbelief of being left in Asgard for good, quickly turned into worry, when she found herself in what was essentially an alien world to her, and only the distraction of having a little sister clinging from her, made Urd feel a bit better about her predicament. Yet despite Belldandy's best efforts, Urd couldn't shake the feeling that she had somehow let her mother down and as a result, Hild decided to simply get rid of her failure of a daughter. But considering how young she was, even Urd knew that no matter how high Hild's standards may had been, there was no way for her to display any kind of powers at such an early stage; meaning that the primary problem must've been her very nature as a hybrid.
Part of her wanted to become a perfect goddess just to defy mother and better blend into her new surroundings, especially as Belldandy's big sister, and yet another part wished to hold onto her demonic side as it was what made her truly unique. That struggle was partially resolved with a solution that in reality was nothing more than a compromise; Urd never turned into a full goddess, but at the same time she shunned her demonic side. To the point where the half goddess ended up sealing her angel because she clearly revealed her true nature to the whole world.
Still, Urd never really managed to hate her mother, although she hadn't exactly forgiven her either. Instead, she trapped herself in a state where she was merely acknowledging the demoness as her mother, but was reluctant to show neither affection nor disdain towards her and even used to call Hild by name, instead of a title to admit their connection.
"Well? Is that all you've got?" gloated Hild as she managed to deflect Urd's latest attack, despite the fact that it took her a lot more effort to do so, compared to how she made it appear.
"You want more?" said the grinning Norn while summoning more of her demonic powers, to the point where she was once again almost drunk by the euphoric feeling of being able to control that nearly boundless energy. "I've got more!"
Bracing for impact, Hild momentarily glanced over at the direction of her avatar who was currently busy sneaking around the temple to reach Tyr and the two gods. As much as she wanted to let Urd vent, it was quite dangerous to let her daughter go too far and accidentally cause some real damage. Regardless of her current state of mind, no one would easily overlook the destruction of a whole city, let alone a good chunk of this planet, if she failed to contain one of her daughter's more powerful attacks. That would definitely not only cause a huge mess and potentially result in Urd's license to be permanently revoked, but also it could significantly harm their relationship, since she was coaxing Urd to keep going regardless of her state of mind.
So, at this point, it was for the best if her daughter stopped, but to avoid making it look as if she had been manipulated her, Hild wanted for the others to do their part.
'Let's see what you've got Keiichi-kun…'
XXX
"What?! B-But… Hild-sama!... We're gonna die if we do that!"
Staring at her boss in shock, Mara was struggling to reason with the Daimakaicho's childlike avatar, but to no avail.
"Are you refusing to accept your responsibilities?" asked Hild while throwing a thumb in Urd's direction. "Do I really need to remind you, who caused this whole mess in the first place?"
"Uh… well…" Scratching her head nervously, Mara tried to turn to the mortal next to her, in hopes that he could actually talk some sense to her. However, not only did he make no attempts to do so, but judging by Keiichi's determined expression, the mortal appeared to agree with Hild's plan.
"I think it's worth a shot," said Keiichi, much to Mara's utter horror.
"What are you even talking about?" asked the stunned demoness. "Do you have any idea how dangerous Urd currently is? She's gonna flatten us like flies, if we try to stop her on our own!"
"Well… compared to me, Urd's far too powerful under any circumstances. And I cannot deny that I'm kind of scared of facing her, especially right now," said Keiichi with a nervous look as he glanced at the rampaging Norn, before he turned back to Mara. "But… I'm not going to just sit here and wait someone else to do the dirty job for me. Although it's likely this plan won't work, unless I give it a try, I won't be able to say that I did my best."
"You're going to have us both killed…" muttered the blond demoness, breathing out a curse as she nervously looked in Urd's direction.
"Us?"
"Do you seriously think I'll let you hog all the glory just for yourself?" said Mara with a raised eyebrow, taking a step towards Keiichi. "If a mere human is going to try and talk some sense to Urd, then I'll definitely not going to cower behind a rock or something."
"Likewise."
Blinking, both Keiichi and Mara turned to see Vali approaching them, with Dagaz close behind him. And despite the latter's somewhat worried expression, the blonde god also refused to back away, joining the others in their effort to make Urd snap out of it. "Yes, we might as well do our best too!"
"Okay… that's enough with that goody-goody stuff! Ugh… you're making my stomach hurt," said Mara with a groan, before she pointed at Urd. "Now, do you guys have an idea on how to stop her, or you'll just tag along with us?"
"That depends on your plan," said Vali with Dagaz nodding in agreement. "What do you have in mind?"
"Well…"
XXX
It was said that absolute power corrupts absolutely, yet for Urd the sensation of having an almost unlimited source of energy at her disposal was the most liberating thing in the word. No more silly restrictions that celestial law demanded, and no more nagging from her goddess side either. Just pure, raw power gushing out from the depths of her being, made her feel almost unstoppable. And unlike before where she was in an almost drunken state, the half demoness was finally getting the hang of it.
Her moves became more graceful, her reflexes more acute and her control over magic, better than ever before. For most of her life Urd was known for the rather clumsy use of her abilities, but at the time being, she was almost fighting her mother on equal terms; a feat that actually brought a smile on the Daimakaicho's face.
Despite being her opponent, Hild was more than happy to know that her daughter was indeed capable of being her equal if she had the time to develop her skills to perfection. Urd was figuratively speaking a rough diamond that required a lot of work to shine, but the fact that she did have such a great potential was more than enough for her.
"What's wrong? Not gloating anymore, are we?" Grinning as she caught her mother's jab, Urd proceeded to launch her over her head, yet it was far too early to celebrate, and the half demoness was acutely aware of it. At this rate she was burning through her energy reserves at a much faster rate than her mother and their standstill was about to come to end a lot sooner than she was initially anticipating.
Worse, the more experienced demoness was far less prone to make any mistakes, and even exploited Urd's own attacks to her benefit. As her daughter inadvertently allowed her to put some distance between them, Hild now had the perfect opportunity to let the others creep closer to Urd and try to subdue her; albeit in a non aggressive manner.
Indeed, Keiichi was slowly approaching Urd from behind, along with Vali who was his backup in case things went horribly wrong, while Mara and Dagaz were trying to flank her. They needed to cause some sort of distraction in order to let Keiichi within range and put the cursed headphones on Urd. And according to Hild that would've not only prove to be more than enough to pacify the rampaging Norn, but even cause her to fall asleep right on the spot. Sure, the dark haired mechanic was somewhat dubious how such a seemingly mundane object could even affect Urd, but the Daimakaicho's avatar assured him that it was going to work and with him being a mortal, it was much easier to get close to her without being detected; a task that Keiichi eagerly accepted in order to help the goddess he loved.
Of course, that was before he got close enough to feel the shockwaves of her lightning bolts, and on more than one occasions, he simply flinched. It was an absolutely terrifying situation for Keiichi to be in, yet despite that, he had to press on. Just tossing the headphones to Vali and tell him to do the job was simply unacceptable, even if the nervous mortal felt his legs shake as he took one wobbly step after the other. Of course, Keiichi knew that deep down, Urd would've never hurt him or anyone else for that matter, but that didn't stop his survival instincts from begging him to get out of there. It was the same feeling of dread one would experience under a life threatening situation, and while he had a fair share of those while racing a bike, it was still hard to control his breathing as he approached closer to Urd.
That's when the decoy team decided to make their presence known by throwing what appeared to be a fairly simple smoke bomb at the Norn, who couldn't help but wonder just what was going on here; especially when she saw who was standing next to Dagaz. "Mara? What are you doing here?"
"I've heard there was a party and decided to join in!" said Mara with a grin, while trying not to look in Keiichi's direction and inadvertently alert Urd of his presence.
"Really? Is that the best you can come up with?" asked the sarcastic half demoness, as she turned her full attention to her long time friend and occasional pain in the neck; for the lack of a better word. "Not to mention that you've been released, too… Who in their right mind decided to set you loose?"
"Who knows? That's not the important part, anyway…" said Mara in an effort to keep her attention focused on her, instead of causing Urd to look in Hild's direction and then spot Keiichi who was slowly approaching her; one painfully slow step at a time.
"Oh? And what is the important part, then?" asked Urd while narrowing her eyes at the blonde demoness. "You dare show up after that stunt you've pulled back then, and empty handed too! Not even a bottle of sake? The nerve!"
"Uh… hold on! Are you telling me that you're okay with just a bottle of sake?" asked the dumbfounded Mara. She had expected a much harsher retort from her friend, especially given that she was currently dealing with Urd's demonic side. Yet the seemingly… forgiving nature of her, caught Mare by surprise, although she was uncertain whether it was a pleasant one or not. After all the trouble she'd gotten into so that she gathered all those damn ingredients, the last thing Mara needed to hear was she could've gotten away with something that was readily available on a mere liquor store.
"Honestly? With you being so inept at coming up with anything that requires any amount of serious planning, I suppose that a bottle of sake is more that enough," said Urd, much to Mara's chagrin. "After all… who knows what kind of elaborate and over the top plan you could've prepared, only to botch something up and in the process create one huge mess or another. Hm… wait a second… You couldn't be the one behind… my current situation… right?"
As Urd began to figure out what was going on here, everyone except for Keiichi, glared at the blonde demoness that made a futile effort to look innocent and in the process, failed miserably. Still, the distraction proved to be more than good enough for the dark haired mortal to get right behind the unsuspecting Urd and before she had the chance to spot him, the mortal quickly put the headphones on her and hoped for the best.
"What?!"
Loud Enka assaulted the half demoness' senses, as the music that Urd was most vulnerable to, threatened to send her to the land of dreams. It wasn't a well known fact, but due to her demonic ancestry, Urd was susceptible to some of the weaknesses the infernals possessed; although the nature of those shortcomings greatly varied between individuals. Some were affected by certain physical objects, like lucky charms whereas others could be influenced by other things that even included music, and in Urd's case that was Japanese Enka.
In most cases, those who identified their weakness did their best to find ways to become immune to it, or at the very least minimize the effect, but that was often easier said than done. Once again, the results of such efforts greatly varied between individuals and while some truly managed to overcome such hurdles, others could only lessen the impact those weak spots had in their lives. Still, for someone like Urd who had little idea on how to use her demonic powers, it should've been only a matter of seconds until she could no longer remain awake; or so everyone thought.
"That's… so… cheap…" Struggling to remove the headphones that appeared to be almost glued in place, thanks to the curse that was applied to them, Urd was determined not to be taken down by such a dirty trick. Worse, the one behind this particular display of cowardice was none other than Keiichi, who in reality was the last person she would've expected to pull such an underhanded trick. "And… you are siding with them too?!"
Taking a few steps back from the angry half demoness, Keiichi briefly glanced over at Hild and noticed her rather troubled expression, which was more than enough to confirm his suspicions. Things weren't exactly going according to plan, as Urd was should've been asleep by now, yet she was not only awake but also getting more and more agitated by each passing moment.
"I've asked you something!"
"I… I'm sorry, but… I just couldn't let you run amok like that," said Keiichi with a some effort, as the Norn's glowing eyes slowly eroded his resolve. Despite his determination to help Urd the best he could, Keiichi was now facing the prospect of becoming the target of one of her lightning bolts and by the looks of it, this time she wasn't likely going to hold back.
"Really, now? You think I was just throwing a temper tantrum because of… whatever Mara apparently gave me?" asked Urd behind clenched teeth. "What about the very reason I got here to begin with? An exile for messing around a stupid server? Do you know how many celestials do a lot worse and yet… get away with it? Oh… and by the way… I also lost my memory because of it, and nobody even cared! Even that idiot I have to call a father needed more than a month to realize that there was something wrong with his own daughter! Some family!…"
"I have no idea what it really feels like to not have any recollection of who I am, but, I do know that this isn't exactly the case either," said Keiichi as he attempted to calm her down in hopes that she might listen to reason. "Your father did mention that restoring your memories too abruptly could have some unwanted side effects, and your sisters certainly adore you. Even more, you did seem to enjoy it here to a degree, despite anything else that was going on with our lives, Urd. I just… don't believe that this is how you really feel about everything, so, if you calm down…"
"I don't want to calm down! A-And don't mention my… my sisters!" shouted the Norn of the past, making the others a bit nervous as they worried that an attack was imminent. "Even… even if I calm down… nothing's going to change. We'll go back to our little routine, but… for how long? My memories are mostly back, so it's only a matter of weeks or even days before I have no further reason to be here, anyway. You may think that a goddess can do whatever she wishes, but I honestly have little control over my life, Keiichi. Not when it really matters..."
"Um… is this what the problem was all about?" asked the mechanic as he felt that they started to get somewhere with this conversation, and much to the other's surprise, reached to remove the headphones from Urd. After all, those had proven to be nothing more than an annoyance for her, and besides, he felt that it was the right thing to do so that they could actually talk without any distractions.
"You know… you're right about my family. Despite our jobs, they've been there for me when I needed them the most; especially my sisters. Well… even my father, although he really sucks at it," said Urd with a sigh, giving the possessed cat a sideways glance before she turned back to Keiichi. "Still, I suppose that no matter what the circumstances, as long as I'm a goddess it's impossible to do what I really want with my life. Too many rules and regulations and… you get the picture. So, I thought that it was a good opportunity to take my mother's job and run the show as I wanted. Nobody tells the Daimakaicho what she's supposed to do; or… that's what I like to think anyways. After all, demons have their own rules and not even their leader is spared from following them."
"But… if you know that, then why?..."
"Why did I do it?" finished Urd for the mortal. "It's hard to tell what's going on in my head at times, but, regardless of what my initial intentions may had been… I ended up acting like an idiot instead."
"I believe you're a bit too harsh on yourself, Urd-chan," said Hild, interrupting Urd and drawing her and the mortal's attention to herself. "If nothing else, it's fairly obvious that an idiot would've never thought all that, let alone admit it to anyone. If we want to be more technical, the brief isolation of one of your sides threw your mind out of synch and resulted in this incident. As it looks like, the effect of the potion is now gone, as you've forced your two sides to resync and as a result, you've regained your senses. But regardless, it was a nice opportunity for you to vent and say things that you kept to yourself for all this time."
"Yeah… as if blowing a gasket would do anything good to anyone," said Urd in a dejected tone, but before she could look the other way, she felt her mother's unarmed hand on her shoulder. Hild had already dismissed her armor and was standing next to her daughter, dressed in her regular gown.
"Like I said, you're a bit too harsh on yourself. Besides, I never really answered your question now, did I?"
"Hm… which one?" asked Urd, although in reality she had a very good idea what her mother was talking about.
"Why I sent you to Asgard," said Hild, even though she noticed the evasive look in her daughter's eyes. "And to be honest with you, all you need to do is look at yourself right now."
"Huh? Why?"
Letting out a sigh, Hild traced a finger across her daughter's battle uniform that resembled what she was wearing herself, and then much to Urd's confusion she smiled. "This. Ever since you were a little goofball, you really loved to emulate me and your current attire or even your ambition to take my position reflects that. And you know, Urd?... For the most part I loved it; having my little girl running around me, pretending to be the Daimakaicho. But… in a way, I also feared that if I kept you with me, you'd inevitably try following my footsteps as you grew up. Something that would've proven to be an impossible goal, since you've got something that I simply don't possess, Urd."
"You mean… my dual nature?" asked the Norn of the past with some hesitation.
"Yes, that's correct, Urd. No matter how similar we may look and act at times, that fundamental difference would've impeded your effort to become like me and I feared that the solution to such a problem would've eventually ruined your uniqueness," admitted Hild, much to her daughter's surprise. "You must've already experienced that as a goddess too; your desire for a pair of pure, white wings… And for you to take my place as the Daimakaicho, a pair of dark wings were needed."
"But… what if I ended up becoming a goddess as a whole? If I cast away my demonic legacy?"
"Well, to be absolutely frank with you, I kind of depended on your sisters to discourage you from such an option," said Hild with a ghost of a smile as she looked skywards for a moment. "If you remember, back when Mara attempted to separate your sides, your goddess half had some issues to unite with your demonic side, yet all it took was for them to tell you that they wanted their real sister back. After all, we can't let poor Bell-chan get all weepy now, can we?"
There was a long pause as the half goddess stared at her mother in wonder, not realizing that her emblems had changed back to the familiar blue triangles. "That's… the sneakiest… most underhanded thing I've ever heard."
"Thank you dear! You know I'm trying my best to impress you!" said Hild with a wink, enjoying her daughter's stunned expression. "Although, there is one more thing about it."
"And… that is?"
"The mere fact that you grew up having two adorable little sisters idolizing you. That was one thing I wouldn't be able to provide you; at least not in the manner I would've preferred," said Hild as she averted her gaze.
"I see." It was a fairly awkward moment for Urd, who was unsure what to think of her mother's explanation, especially after saying all those things earlier on. Still, she knew that leaving it like that was more or less what she's been doing for her entire life, and for once she was utterly sick of it. "Um… I… I'm sorry about all that. You know, what I said before. I didn't mean..."
"You probably did, Urd-chan, but I'm not innocent either," said Hild with a shake of her head. "I'm at least as stubborn as you are and in order to accomplish what I wanted for you, I kept a distance so that you wouldn't grow homesick. Of course, to someone as young as you were back then, it's easy to think that I had given up on you."
"I was upset for sure, but at the same time, I haven't completely forgotten about my early childhood. I'm not the goddess of the past for no reason, after all. So, I knew for a fact that you'd never simply toss me away just like that," said Urd with tiny smile. "Still, I was too proud of a goddess to openly admit that to anyone. I think you've already said it… we're both stubborn; maybe a bit too much for our own good."
"Even if you say that, it's still one of our good points I guess. We never give up, right, Urd-chan? Like for example… you did finally decide to pick Keiichi-kun!" said Hild with a wink as she stepped towards Keiichi who was still standing next to them, even if he remained silent to avoid ruining the moment between mother and daughter. "And speaking of that… Hello there, sweetheart! I know that we already know each other, but since I'll become your mother in law, let's get along nicely, okay?"
"Hey! What do you think you're trying to pull on me?" asked the half goddess, as her mother leaned against her aspiring boyfriend, while the latter could only mutter a few incoherent sounds, given how close the Daimakaicho's chest was to his face. "Get your paws off of him!"
"Aw… I just wanted to be nice to him, Urd-chan…" pouted the demoness in an almost melodramatic manner.
"Not while you're about to give him the marshmallow hell! Especially before I get to do that!" Pulling hard on poor Keiichi before Hild could get hold of him, Urd wrapped her arms around him from behind, but… that wasn't nearly enough to deter her troublesome mother from doing the exact same thing.
Instead, Hild pressed harder against the furiously blushing Keiichi, pinning him against her daughter's chest. "Well… in a manner of speaking we're both doing that, Urd-chan. And… judging by how happy he looks, I suppose that we're making a great team!"
"A great team?! He's my boyfriend, so hands off!" barked Urd, tugging hard on the now suffocating mechanic, as Keiichi's face was essentially trapped into her mother's cleavage."And let him breathe, dammit! He's turning blue!"
"At least he's going to die a happy man," said Dagaz in a mix of awe and deep respect. "I definitely wouldn't mind swapping places with him right now… Having two pairs of..."
"Dagaz!" said Vali, interrupting the blonde god before he got any further.
"Yeah, yeah… I know… I shouldn't say things like that…" Letting a frustrated sigh, the third class god, pointed at the lucky mortal who was still sandwiched between the two platinum haired beauties. "But, come on! Even you'd love to get smothered by such amazing twins!"
"They're a mother and daughter, not sisters," said Vali with a shake of his head, although Dagaz had other ideas.
"No, silly! That's sometimes used to refer to a woman's…" started Dagaz, until a startled cry got his and the others' attention.
Hild had almost unexpectedly released Keiichi, which of course caused the distracted Urd to keep pulling and end up falling on her backside with her boyfriend on top of her. "Oopsie!"
"Oof! Mom, what was that for? And stop grinning like an idiot! One moment you're trying to have a serious conversation and the next… you're smothering my boyfriend!" shouted Urd, pointing an accusatory finger at the grinning Hild, until she realized a tiny detail; they had an audience. And that's when the Norn also realized that she had called Keiichi her boyfriend, in front of everyone.
"So… he is your boyfriend," said Hild with a content grin as she crossed her arms. "Because when I called myself his future mother in law, you made no comments about it, Urd-chan."
"Wait! You did all that on purpose? Just to make me admit it?" asked the stunned Urd, who could hardly believe what was really going on here. "But… why?"
"Because… given your current situation, you'd both end up trying to hide it from the others, just so that nobody would end up unhappy. Which would put everything to a hold for who knows how many years until you'd finally decide to make a move and while that could work with some goddesses… you're not like that Urd-chan."
The half goddess in question made a few attempts to come up with a retort, but soon realized that her mother had a point there. She may had a reputation for being spontaneous and downright reckless at times for sure, yet that didn't mean she had no compassion for others and cared only for her own fun. Which was one of her biggest problems at the time being; figuring out what to do with her predicament, or rather… how to break the news to the others. Still, trying to have a relationship while maintaining the illusion that nothing had changed between her and Keiichi was most likely too much of a task even for a habitual liar like her. After all, most of her typical lies were fairly harmless, and even then she wasn't particularly skilled to fool others for any extended period of time.
Urd knew that they'd probably end up putting some distance between them, or at the very least try not to act like a couple in front of others and keep their dates infrequent enough to avoid suspicion. Yet it would've probably be in vain, as she's a generally impatient goddess and having to deal with such a slow relationship was something that Urd just didn't didn't have the patience to handle, no matter how much she wanted it.
At least now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag and no one overreacted to the news, Urd could finally feel at ease. Although… the particular method her mother decided to use to tackle this problem left Urd with some reservations about her sincerity and as such, she made a mental note to keep an eye out any suspicious moves while Hild was around her boyfriend. 'And… speaking of the devil… where did she go all of a sudden? She was right in front of me a moment ago. Was I really so distracted that she simply walked away?'
Looking around her, Urd soon found her mother standing over to where Dagaz and Vali were, and that's when her eyes went wide. "What are you doing?!"
"Mmph?" Seeing that her daughter was too lost in her own thoughts to notice what was going on around her, Hild decided to use this opportunity to offer her personal version of a consolation prize to the two gods who came close but ultimately failed to date Urd. And given his more outgoing nature, Hild picked Dagaz as the first of them to receive that little reward. Which… basically turned out to be the most intense kiss of the poor god's life; although at this point, one might argue whether it was even accurate to be considered as unfortunate or not.
However, the moment she pulled away from the dazzled god, a portal appeared above the temple grounds, getting everyone's attention as a group of goddesses were about to descend upon Earth; most likely in response to this late crisis. First among them was Ansuz, followed by her two daughters and then, another pair of of goddesses emerged from the Gate; one dressed in a white combat uniform that slightly resembled what Vali loved to wear, and another goddess… who barely wore anything at all.
Landing a fair distance from Urd, as they seemed to be hesitant to approach before establishing that she was stable, the goddesses patiently waited for her reaction and as soon as she simply waved at them, all five of them visibly relaxed. Or rather… four of them did, as the blue haired Valkyrie that accompanied them glanced over at Vali's direction, just to make sure her son was intact; and almost freaked out.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"
Exploiting the distraction caused by the goddesses' arrival, Hild managed to sneak closer and eventually get a hold of Vali, before she gave him a sample of what Keiichi got to experience; a taste of her version of marshmallow hell. "Hm? Oh… I'm just trying to thank the poor boy for taking care of my Urd-chan for all this time. And don't look at him flailing his arms like that, he's perfectly fine! Actually… I think he really likes it! Either that, or he's carrying some pretty big keys in his uniform."
"That's it! Get your filthy paws off my boy, you… you shameless temptress!" shouted Lind as her eyes turned golden, while aiming her trusty battleaxe at the demoness' head; who just dodged it.
"Aw... don't be so negative, Lind-chan! I really like shy boys, and your Vali is so cute, too!" said Hild as she let go of the aforementioned god, all while his mother desperately tried to split the Daimakaicho's head in twine, or at the very least give her a mighty whack. "Who knows… if things go well, I might end up calling you… mama!"
"OVER MY COLD, DEAD BODY!"
Just as one goddess got under control, another one was about to go berserk on Hild, as the furious mother tried to give Hild a piece of her mind and show her just what she thought of her jokes. Which left Ansuz no choice but to rush and put an end on this, before Lind caused more damage than the berserk Urd.
"Wait, Lind! She's just trolling you!"
Pinching the bridge of her nose at the sight of her mother's… antics, Urd had no idea where Hild got the energy to keep up with her silly games, especially after her efforts to take her down. 'I don't believe she's in the mood for fun and games after what just took place… Seriously…'
"Neesan? Are you really alright?"
Feeling Belldandy's hand on her shoulder, Urd turned to find her two sisters standing next to her, although the youngest of them tried to look as if she wasn't worried at all; and failed miserably to convince anyone. "Yes, Bell, I'm much better now."
"I'm really sorry we couldn't get here any sooner," said Belldandy with a sad frown, although her expression soon light up as she took a better look at her sister. "At least I'm happy that you're unharmed, Urd. I was so worried when I've heard that you and Hild were fighting each other! And Skuld was even more distraught than me, so we had to come here and make sure you were alright!"
"Was not!" objected the young goddess as loud as she could, turning her back after crossing her arms in defiance. "I… I just came here… because I wanted to try my latest bomb designs!"
"Uh huh… If you say so…" Grinning from ear to ear, Urd leaned down to give Skuld a kiss on top of her head. "Although, in reality you're a pretty good girl. Always worried about your sisters, even though you're the youngest amongst us."
"S-Shut up!" spat Skuld, desperately trying to hide her blush, and failing to do so, she looked around for a distraction. "B-Besides… don't you have anything better to do? Peorth's tempting your guy with her goods!"
"Wait, what?!" Turning to find the fellow administrator standing next to an embarrassed Keiichi who tried hard to keep his eyes from wandering lower to the scantily clad goddess' body, Urd was about to go berserk once more; albeit this time not due to a potion. "Hey, what do you think you're trying to pull, here?"
"Nothing! I was just trying to say hello, and introduce myself," said Peorth, although the withering glare she was receiving from Urd, was more than enough to make her take a step back.
Feeling that the situation around her was deteriorating at an alarming rate, Belldandy decided to do something before everything escalated beyond anyone's control. And while it was normally uncharacteristic of her to raise her voice, the Norn of the past knew that she had no other choice.
"That's enough!"
The magically amplified voice reverberated across the temple grounds, causing everyone to stop whatever they were doing and turn to face the otherwise gentle goddess of the present. "Please, let's not carry on like this. We all came here to help Urd, and… now that she's fine, how about we throw in a nice celebration? Everyone's invited, too!"
There was a long pause as the assorted immortals, along with Keiichi looked at each other and decided to just go with her idea; even though Lind still wanted to whack Hild's head for her impudence.
"Sure, that works for me, Bell," said Urd, offering her sister a smile, and then glanced over at a nearby tree. "Stop trying to hide, I know you're there, Mara! You're invited as well, so, come out. I'm not mad with or anything."
"Is that really okay, though?" Poking her head around the tree's trunk, the blonde demoness who made an effort to escape while everyone else was busy, offered her friend an uncertain smile. "After all, this was whole mess was my own fault, Urd."
"Tell me something, I don't know," said the half goddess with a sigh. "Still, you were probably trying to help, and it's better if we leave it at that. Now, come on, before I change my mind!"
"Thanks Urd!"
For his part, Keiichi finally started to relax, knowing that the hard part was over. The crisis was averted and everything was about to go back to normal; actually, even better than normal, now that the could not only date Urd, but also do it without having to worry about the others' reaction.
"Kei-chan! Is everything alright?"
"Huh, Megumi?" Turning towards the temple's entrance, Keiichi spot his sister running towards him, with a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong?"
"That's my line! There were explosions and all sort of sounds coming from this place, so, I rushed here to find out what was going on," said Megumi, taking a moment to catch her breath.
"Well… there was a bit of a crisis, but everything's just fine now," said Keiichi reassuringly, before he smiled at his sister. "Oh, and I've got news for you too! I've got a girlfriend!"
"You mean… Urd?" asked Megumi with a smile that turned into a grin when her brother offered her a thumbs up. "About darn time! Good for you, Kei-chan!"
"Thanks, Megumi! Actually, we're going to throw a party of sorts," said Keiichi as he pointed at the others who were heading inside the temple residence. "Why don't you join us, too?
"Lead the way, Kei-chan!"
XXX
A month later
The last couple of days had been pretty hectic for Keiichi, both due to his personal life, as well as his greatest and most risky move as an aspiring businessman: the grand opening of his very own bike shop.
Just a mere week earlier, Chihiro had finished the relocation of Whirlwind and with the reopening event being a great success, Keiichi had to work really hard in order to prepare for his own shop's grand opening. Of course, given that he and Urd had offered their assistance during Whirlwind's relocation, Chihiro along with Hasegawa and infamous duo, Tamiya and Otaki, did everything they could to help with the remodeling of the old shop. Thankfully, given how small and simple the whole structure was, it took them nearly five days to complete the job, leaving them two more in order for the much needed preparations of the opening event; which included the necessary advertising campaign.
Yet despite all the help from his mortal friends, as well as his two former housemates who decided to move into the apartment Belldandy previously occupied, just to give him and Urd some personal space, Keiichi was still pretty nervous about the whole thing. On one hand, thanks to Belldandy's involvement in the advertising campaign as well as Chihiro's connections with the local businesses, Keiichi already knew that they were going to have a pretty decent number of people attending the opening event, but at the same time, this also added a lot of stress onto his shoulders. The initial enthusiasm was slowly turning into a sense of dread, as he and Urd were figuratively speaking about to embark into unknown territory with no guarantees as to what they'd might encounter there.
Interestingly, Urd was absolutely unaffected by the entire situation, despite working as hard as Keiichi to oversee the preparations of their shop. With her boyfriend being the lead mechanic and owner of their business, it was Urd the one in charge of sales and pretty much every other aspect of the shop, at least until they hired an employee to give them a hand. But, that was going to wait for at least a few months, since the couple wanted to make sure that they made enough money to keep their business profitable, before they started to spending even more; especially after the already costly renovations to the shop.
"Keiichi, I think it's about time to start."
Turning to his girlfriend, the dark haired mortal offered her a silent nod, before he inspected the interior of the shop one last time and knowing that this was the best they could do, at least given their tight budget. So, after taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Keiichi headed for the front door and stepped outside where a small crowd was already waiting.
Everyone was there, from Chihiro and Whirlwind's new employees who also happened to be former members of the Motor Club, to Megumi, and even all the immortals he came to meet in the last few months. Lind and her son, Vali were talking to Belldandy in the distance where they kept a watchful eye at the gathered crowd, Peorth and Skuld were having a soda with Dagaz near the shop's entrance, while Hild and Ansuz were standing next to Mara's booth, who was tasked to hand over special discount coupons for those who attended the event. Of course, according to her claims the only reason she was helping them was due to losing a game of Tetris against Urd, but in reality, everyone pretty much knew that this wasn't really the case. As for Tyr who still possessed a cat's body in order to be physically present on site, he chose to keep an eye out for Mara, just in case she got any funny ideas and even handed a few coupons, which… resulted a lot of baffled mortals taking selfies with what appeared to them as an incredibly smart cat. Thankfully, he did manage to refrain from making any comments about all the attention he was getting, although he did occasionally roll his eyes at some of the bystanders' antics.
'Wow… this isn't really half bad at all. There are so many people here…' Swallowing hard as he became even more nervous than before, Keiichi knew that a good first impression was vital for the future of their shop, but at the same time he wasn't too comfortable being the center of all this attention. Aside from those his friends and a few of Whirlwind's regulars he knew, there were a few dozen strangers and the moment he stepped out of the shop, everyone's attention was drawn at him.
"Just act like yourself and everything's going to be fine, Keiichi. Trust me on that…" Placing a hand on his shoulder as she stepped next to him, Urd did her best to sound reassuring, even though she was a bit nervous herself. Most of her plans had the tendency of backfiring in an almost comical manner, yet the Norn of the past wished to support her boyfriend and for that reason, acting in a confident manner was a necessity.
"You think so?" asked the still nervous Keiichi, as he struggled to calm himself down. "I mean… a lot can go wrong, and…"
"Look… we had this conversation almost a week ago, and everything went smoothly!" said Urd with a smile, almost missing her boyfriend's fierce blush that made his face resemble a ripe tomato. "And if you could handle the ultimate rite of passage into adulthood, then opening a shop should be a walk in the park; right, Keiichi?"
Unfortunately for her, the mortal in question was far too busy restarting his brain after being reminded of the undoubtedly enjoyable yet utterly embarrassing experience of spending a night in the same house with Urd; alone. It was the same day the two gods moved out of the temple residence and after throwing a party at their new apartment, Keiichi prepared for a good night's sleep… only to find Urd lying on his futon with a few ribbons wrapped around her otherwise nude body; and the rest was history. A very… very… pleasant history; even if she had to chase the poor mortal around the whole house before he gave in and decided to give the whole 'touchy feely' thing a try.
"Um… Skuld? He's not responding at all..."
"Really? Let me get a closer look at him."
Just a glimpse of that dreadful red mallet was more than enough to make Keiichi snap out of his reverie and raise his arms in front of him, stopping the little goddess before she gave him a 'tap' with that thing. "No, I'm fine, I'm fine!"
Clearing his throat as Skuld turned and headed back to Peorth and Dagaz, the embarrassed mortal knew that it was time to start with the event. If he waited any more, people would inevitably get bored and just leave, so after he exchanged a look with Urd, Keiichi stepped forward and hoped for the best.
"Thank you all for coming here, today! I never thought that this day would ever come, but thank to the hard work of a lot of people, most of them also present here,' said Keiichi, casting a glance at all his friends mortals and not, before he wrapped an arm around Urd's shoulders, "I'm happy to announce that our shop is finally open for business! Everyone, welcome to Elegant Retros!"
There was a loud round of applause as he and Urd stepped aside to allow everyone to take a look into the shop's interior. The Norn of the past had been adamant to go for an art deco feel for their shop, finding it appropriate with the whole retro theme. Technically speaking, Keiichi had no problems with selling brand new bikes, although his primary goal was to find and restore much older ones, that others would've simply thrown away as scrap metal. Of course, he wasn't planning to sell priceless antics, given how limited that market was, but focused mostly on bikes from the early 60's all the way to late 80's, along with all the period correct parts; some of which were fairly rare to find in a pristine condition these days.
As a matter of fact, a few of his potential customers found it really hard to believe that what they initially thought as unsold bikes from some forgotten warehouse, were actually junkyard finds after a full and meticulous restoration.
And the longer he talked with them, the more Keiichi relaxed, allowing him to share his passion for old school bikes with those who seemed to appreciate some of his interests. Overall, it was very rewarding experience, and though it was a bit early to call it a success, Keiichi began to think that they were on the right track. Some would've disagreed with his decision to go for a shop that primarily targets to such a specific market, but then again, Keiichi knew that selling bikes to those who cared for them as much as he did was the only way he would feel truly happy and proud of his work. And the more passion he put in his job, the better the results were; which was a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Actually he was so happy to talk about bikes, that he almost lost track of time. Only when he glanced outside, did Keiichi notice that it was well past sunset and decided to take a much needed break. After all it was about for the next part of the event to start, and that gave Keiichi an opportunity to rest while the goddesses along with Hild and even his two eccentric senpai gathered around the karaoke machine they've connected to a sound system Skuld quickly put together outside of the shop.
"Here, I guess you need a drink after talking for a few hours."
Reaching to accept the cup of fizzy cola, Keiichi saw Vali take a seat next to him, before both of them turned to watch Belldandy's performance; the first of many as the night progressed. "Thanks… um… you know… for everything."
"You're welcome, but helping with the shop was nothing at all for us, you know. If nothing else, we worked a lot less hard than we could, while the other humans were around to avoid raising any questions," was the blue haired god's reply, only for Keiichi to shake his head.
"No, no… I meant for Urd and all," said Keiichi with some effort. "I know that it's probably far from the best moment to bring this subject up, but… I honestly don't really know if I'll be given another chance."
"Hey, chill out, Keiichi! You may be a mortal, but you're still young!" said Dagaz as he joined the others, bringing a whole bottle of cola with him. "Or is Urd wearing you do so much that you've already started to feel old?"
Spitting his drink out, while Vali simply palmed himself, Keiichi took a few moments to recover enough to give his former housemate a dirty glance. "You've got no idea…"
"Lucky bastard…" muttered Dagaz, before his sour expression turned into a confident grin. "But!... I'm so close getting a hot date of my own! I can feel it!"
"If you mean... Hild, then forget about it," said Vali with a snort, as he pointed at the demoness in question. "She may be a shameless flirt, but she's not going to date you; or any other god for that matter."
"You're just jealous that you only got a nice hug but no kiss from her!" shot the blonde god back at the otherwise unfazed Vali.
"Oh, she did kiss me, albeit a bit later during that day," said the war god cadet, drinking some cola to hide his faint blush. "Me… my mother… Peorth… even Ansuz-sama. So, welcome to the club."
"Aw… that sucks..." Lowering his head in utter defeat, Dagaz desperately tried to change the subject, if nothing else, to save face and avoid the others' amused glances. "By the way, Keiichi… what were you trying to say before I got here?"
"Huh? Oh, right!" Looking up in surprise, the mortal quickly retraced back to where he was trying to talk to them about Urd, before he realized something pretty important. The way the gods acted around him strongly reminded Keiichi that of a group of friends sharing jokes together, instead of two dejected guys who tried to woo the same goddess and got burned in the process. Yet the best part was that so far, he didn't sense any bitterness or envy directed at him, which was something one might've expected in a situation like this. "I wanted to thank you for everything you guys have done for me, especially in regards to Urd. I know that you also liked her, and yet she ended picking me, but…"
"Aren't you selling yourself a bit short? By the time we showed up, you were already living together with her, so, we should be the ones thanking you for not holding a grudge against us for getting in your way," said Vali, although Keiichi simply shook his head.
"That's not entirely correct, you know. While it's true that she was a bit too friendly towards me back then, I'm not sure what would've happened if we started dating before she regained her memories," admitted Keiichi while nervously scratching the back of his head. "Sure… I think we could've been a couple of sorts for a while, but… after remembering who and what she was, I fear that things between us would change. In a manner of speaking, giving her some time to deal with her amnesia before making any serious choices was probably for everyone's best interest."
The two gods briefly shared a look, as neither of them had actually expected that kind of response. Although to a certain degree, it didn't exactly surprise them either, given that during the few months they've spent living together under the same roof, it became apparent to them that Keiichi wasn't exactly the most typical example of a mortal. Most other humans would've reacted poorly to the idea of having two competitors interacting with their romantic interest, let alone live in the same house as her, yet Keiichi had somehow managed to handle the situation a lot better than anyone else would.
After a few moments of silence and as Peorth was the next goddess in line to sing in the makeshift stage they've set up outside the shop, Vali decided to speak up, given that Dagaz was still thinking about what to say. "Then I suppose that everything's cool, then? Friends?"
Noticing the war god cadet extend his arm towards him, Keiichi gladly reached and shook hands with him. "You bet! Oh, and you too, Dagaz!"
"Of course! You you being such a chick magnet, as long as I stick around you. I'm bound to get a girlfriend… sooner or later," said the blonde god with a wink, causing the other two to laugh at how silly that sounded. However, as soon as he noticed Urd walking towards them, Dagaz nodded in Vali's direction and the two gods silently agreed to leave them alone. Giving Keiichi a pat on the shoulder, Dagaz began to walk away and back to the gathered crowd that enjoyed Peorth's singing performance. "Well, I think it's time we go back to the others. They're probably wondering where we've been; especially this guy's mom."
"Leave my mother out of this!" shot Vali back at his fellow celestial, before he turned to their mortal friend. "Anyway… we'll catch up after the event, Keiichi. I'm sure you'll need someone to help with cleaning up this place."
"Sure thing, guys!" said Keiichi with a smile, as the two gods walked towards the stage, while Urd approached him with a curious look on her face.
"Did something good happened while I was gone?" asked the goddess of the past, before she took a seat next to him.
"Yeah… you can say that for sure," replied Keiichi, his smile never fading from his face as he stared at the half goddess next to him. "You know, Urd… you were absolutely right. Everything went smoothly, and I think that we may have gotten a few potential clients already."
"It's definitely a good start, that's for sure. But, that doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet. We still need to keep the momentum and make sure we get a few happy clients, so that they spread a good word around." said Urd with a grin. "It's kind of funny, but, I almost sound like Chihiro."
"A little bit…" said Keiichi with a chuckle, while the bronze skinned goddess began to laugh at how ironic that sounded. "Although you're far more mischievous than her."
"What can I say… it runs in the family," laughed Urd as she pointedly nodded in Hild's direction. "You know… call me crazy, but I think that I'm starting to understand my mom a bit more now. In the past, I never had the patience for anything that required this much planning and then commit myself to make sure it works in the long run; and I'm dealing with a mere shop, here. I don't even want to know what running a whole realm must be for her. Great… I'm slowly turning into her… Bloody fantastic!..."
"I don't think that it's that simple, Urd. You're still yourself, just a bit more… I dunno… mature?" said Keiichi with some hesitation, fearing that he may have accidentally insulted her. Yet with the lack of any noticeably negative response, the dark haired mortal carried on. "And I'm not the only one who's probably thinking that, either. Both your sisters, Hild and even Tyr must've noticed that by now, and they're all proud of you."
"Maybe…" said Urd offhandedly, although her lips curled up in a content smile as she crossed her arms and glanced at Keiichi. "Speaking of making others proud… you're not half bad either. For a guy that didn't know how to make a compliment without embarrassing himself in the process, you've almost made me blush!"
"What can I say? I've got a good teacher," said Keiichi, offering Urd a wink.
"A teacher, huh? Mm… that gives me a few ideas for tonight…" said Urd as her smile turned into a cat like grin, all while Keiichi's cheeks began to redden by the implications of her statement. However, before she went too far, Urd decided to stop with her teasing and changed the subject to something entirely different. "Keiichi? Can I ask you something?"
"S-Sure…" said the nervous mortal, whose mind was still contemplating just what kind of titillating ideas the half goddess might come up with for later.
"Are you happy with how things turned out?"
"Eh?" That wasn't what he had in mind, and it actually took Keiichi a few moments to realize just what Urd was trying to ask. "You mean… with us, or the shop?"
"Both, actually. I've got a bit of a reputation for messing things and bringing misfortune to people around me, so…" Pausing for a moment to take a deep breath, Urd went to ask the very thing she wanted to know for quite some time now. "Have you regretted meeting me?"
"Not at all!" said Keiichi in a heartbeat, shaking his head for added effect. "It may had been a crazy journey to get to this point, but in a way, it kind of made me feel a lot more… alive than I was before. Probably that's not the best way to express what I want to know, but… it's been a while I was so excited to do something. It's like back when I was still an NIT student and I spent time at the Motor Club, going after my dreams, and to be honest, I've almost given up all that after I graduated. And for the first time since then, I've started to dream again."
"Really? And here you were complaining that I'm keeping you up all night… I guess, you still have enough time to dream." Offering him a smile, Urd leaned in for a kiss that lasted a lot longer than she had initially planned, pulling away only after she felt that Keiichi was running out of oxygen.
"That's not what I meant, Urd!..." said Keiichi, but after staring her for a few moments, he ended up laughing and then looked up at the starlit sky above them, while the first of Skuld's fireworks exploded. The little goddess was adamant to organize something to help attract the audience's attention and a fireworks show was something that came natural to her. "You know… after I've heard that Belldandy is a wish granter and the whole idea of certain mortals getting wishes from either Heavens or Hell, I kind of wondered what I would've asked for if I was in that position."
"Oh? And… what would you go for?" asked the rather curious Urd, who never expected something like that from him. Of course, she knew what his interests were and they were already opening a shop of their own, so that was already a good candidate for a wish, but in the end, Urd had no idea what he would've asked and as such, she had to admit that she was really interested to know what Keiichi really wanted.
"Well… there are lots of things I could've asked for, but most of them are fairly trivial, to be honest with you," said Keiichi, before turning to face her directly before he went on. "In the end, the most important thing I could've wished for is… to have a goddess like you stay with me forever."
"Eh?!"
Looking at the stunned goddess with some concern evident on his face, Keiichi wondered if he had somehow made a blunder and said something he wasn't supposed to, although as far as he could tell, there was nothing particularly wrong with his so called wish. "Is there… something wrong, Urd?"
"Keiichi…. where did you hear that from?" asked the Norn of the past as soon as she managed to regain her composure.
"Huh? I came up with it?" answered the baffled mortal, who still had no idea what was wrong with what he said. "Why?"
"Because… that's the way one asks a goddess' hand in marriage," said Urd with a small grin, as she enjoyed the surprised look on Keiichi's face when he realized what he had actually said to her.
"No way!"
"Yes way!" laughed Urd, poking the tip of his nose to make him snap out of his stupor. "So… don't you want to hear my answer? Or are you taking it back, now that you know what it stands for?"
All that Keiichi could do was offer an affirmative nod, but then decided that it was better to clarify what he meant and mustering all his courage, he made a desperate effort to calm himself down. "I… I'd love to hear… your answer… Urd."
"And you will," said Urd with a wicked smile as she offered her boyfriend a wink. "But only after you get me a ring, mister."
"Wait! A-Are you… Is this a ye-…" started Keiichi, only to have Urd place a finger against his lips, silencing him.
"Not so fast! First buy me the ring, and make sure it's a nice one too! Hm… something with an amethyst stone would looks great on my ring finger." Urd could hardly contain her laughter, when Keiichi shot up from his seat and almost lost his balance, regaining it at the very last moment to spare himself from a painful reunion with the floor.
"YES!"
"Hey, stop stealing my lines and just make sure you get me a good ring, okay?" Getting up from her seat, Urd had to admit that this day had gone way better than she'd ever hoped for, and not just due to the event's success. "Oh, and don't worry if it takes you a while, Keiichi. I'm really stubborn when I need to and I'll definitely wait until you can afford it. But, let's not worry about that right now. Tonight… let's just party with everyone else!"
Nodding vigorously, Keiichi followed his girlfriend to where the others were gathered, but not before he paused to take a look behind him. It was the very place he'd first met her a couple of months ago, and right now… it was their shop. In a sense a chapter in his life was about to close, only for a new and far more exciting one to begin, and Keiichi could hardly await to see what the future had in store for them. Sure, given his experiences so far he had no delusions that things could be as exciting and even crazy at times as they already were, but regardless, Keiichi wouldn't change that for all the comforts in the world.
'I can't believe that just a few months ago, I was the unluckiest person I knew. Boy… how things have changed! Yes, I've definitely started dreaming again, but, unlike in the past, right now my dreams are becoming a reality. And I really look forward to see what's in store for me… no… for us in the future.'
AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.
I would also like to thank ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.
This is the 12th and final chapter of this particular story and I'd like to thank everyone who followed this somewhat unusual project of mine to the end. I have always wanted to write a story that focused around Urd and after a suggestion for a reverse harem, I knew it would've been the perfect opportunity to give this a go.
Of course, I didn't want this to turn into a huge project, so I tried to keep things under control and not go overboard with it, which is why I've decided to stop here, instead of going on for at least as many chapters. After all, at this point, the original premise of the story was resolved (Urd's amnesia due to a glitch in the System), and thus it was for the best to reach a conclusion before I ended up prolonging the story without any reason.
That being said, I still have one additional chapter that'll act as the epilogue for this story, where I'll deal with a few things that happened in Keiichi and Urd's life from this point on. After all, there are several things I'd also wish to address before this is truly concluded and although I don't want to keep making chapters after this point, I also don't wish to leave several questions unanswered just like that. If nothing else, the last thing I want is to send off this story with a whimper instead of a bang, so I'll do my best to make a satisfactory conclusion and wrap most of the remaining loose ends in the epilogue.
A bit of a warning though; it may take me twice or even more to write the epilogue, as it might be longer than any of the previous chapters. Also, I have only one chance to get it right, so I'll work based on the result I want, instead of a deadline. Hopefully, that'll leave a satisfactory feeling to everyone who followed this story up to this point.
Once again, I wish to personally thank everyone who followed, reviewed or just read this story and perhaps laughed a bit at the silly antics of Urd and her housemates. After all, that's why I actually write these stories to begin with.