Epilogue

October 16, 2088.

Tamiya and Ootaki were left without much in the way of job prospects after finally leaving Nekomi Tech. Though the two were very good mechanics and could fix or build anything that had wheels and an engine, their penchant for crazy money-making schemes, their brutish behavior, total lack of customer service skills, as well as leaving any garage they worked at a complete mess, made them persona non grata among the many motorcycle shops in Nekomi City.

They even begged Chihiro to take them back as part-time help at Whirlwind, but she flatly refused, remembering the last time she let them run the place while she went on vacation. Keiichi and Belldandy tried to help the two find work, but no garage in town wanted to take them on. Not even Belldandy's ability to sweet-talk anyone into doing anything she asked could help Tamiya and Ootaki find meaningful work. They bummed around town picking up part-time jobs where and when they could. Ootaki married his longtime college girlfriend, Satoko Yamano in 1997, and with her help, was able to get a job as a mechanic working in a motorcycle shop in Tokyo. However the owner of the shop, knowing of his reputation, hired only him, and not Tamiya.

This caused a rift between the two friends. Tamiya being upset that Ootaki had not attempted to stick up for him. Neither would speak to the other for ten years. Tamiya ended up finding work as a diesel mechanic on a container ship. In 2008, the two finally reached out to each other, but the friendship was never the same again. They remained cordial with each other and still went out drinking and carousing when their schedules allowed, but the crazy days of running the Auto Club into the ground were long past, and the hard realities of settling down and becoming responsible citizens were upon them. Tamiya remained single, which was ideal for his long periods of time at sea. He lived a full life doing the thing he loved, working on engines and became a leading diesel mechanic. Ootaki continued to work at numerous motorcycle shops in Tokyo. He found that getting and retaining jobs was easier when Tamiya wasn't with him. Tamiya passed away in 2042, Ootaki died a year later.

Sayoko Mishima and Toshiyuki Aoshima seemed to have it all by the time they graduated from NIT. Both of them were insanely rich, they were expected to waltz into high paying executive jobs at their father's' respective companies. Their path to fame and fortune was neatly paved for them. And for the first few years after graduation, they had it all. The Mishima Group and Aoshima Conglomerate merged in 1993 to create one of the largest hi-tech corporations in Japan. Sayoko and Aoshima rose in stature to become senior managers within two years of the merger, both pulling down billions of yen in salaries.

But the impending financial crisis that enveloped Japan at the end of the 1980's finally affected the Mishioshima Corporation. It was determined that the merger was heavily financed by bad loans made by Japanese banks only too willing to lend the company money that it could not afford to pay back. Apparently, neither company pre-merger, had as much in assets as they claimed in their balance sheets, but the banks never bothered to check them with due diligence. The financial bubble collapsed, and the Mishioshima Corporation ended up collapsing with it.

While Sayoko and Aoshima didn't have a hand in creating the mess, they became a casualty of the tendencies of Japanese corporations to not hire executives from other companies. This insured that the cousins would no longer be able to live the life they were accustomed to. While they both were still very wealthy, they also faced the reality that nightly dinners in five-star restaurants, and purchasing new Mercedes-Benzs and Ferraris every year were also things of the past. Sayoko and Aoshima slowly and fitfully embraced a more frugal lifestyle, whether they wanted to or not. They bought a small inn on the outskirts of Tokyo, hired staff and offered a traditional Japanese inn experience. They achieved moderate success, both cousins married loving spouses in 2000, and still ran the inn making a modest profit and building a loyal clientele, until they passed away in 2049.

Sora Hasegawa finally was able to get the Auto Club's ship righted in her last year at Nekomi Tech. Free from the disruptive influence of Tamiya and Ootaki, she brought in new members, stabilized the finances for the first time in the club's history, and under her direction, the club had its best year ever, on and off the track. She left Nekomi Tech at the top of her class and landed a prime job working in the engine design department of a major Japanese car company. She advanced steadily up the ranks, was making good money and even found love in the form of a DJ in one of the hottest clubs in Tokyo. It seemed like she had overcome her reputation for killing every organization she headed since her elementary school days. The bridesmaid dress that Belldandy made for Sora seemed to bring out a new boldness and assuredness that she had never had before. And she made sure she wore it often.

One day in 1999, she got into her car, and drove to work, just as she had every day since she was hired. Only, she never arrived at her job. Immediately, her group leader called the police and reported her missing. In the course of their investigation, they found Hasegawa's car by the side of the road not far from the factory where she worked, but she was nowhere to be found. There were no signs of foul play. All the doors of the car were locked. The engine had run out of gas. The police searched her home and the surrounding neighborhood as well as the area where her vehicle was found. Nothing. No suicide note, or other evidence that pointed to her disappearance. It was as if she vanished off the face of the Earth.

When Keiichi and Belldandy found out about the incident, they were devastated. They had become very fond of Hasegawa over the years, and were quick to help in the search anyway they could. Along with Urd and Skuld, Kei and Bell employed every possible way, human and divine, to find the lost woman. Despite their best magical efforts and the use of Skuld's most powerful inventions, Hasegawa remained missing, and still does to this day.

Peorth still continued to work at the Earth Assistance Agency as she maintained her status as the number one goddess in her unique brand of services. She eventually rose to the level of the head of the agency. Even though she became the boss of the EAA, she still maintained a busy schedule as a field Goddess granting wishes for humans. She made occasional visits to Tarikihongan temple to hang out with Keiichi and Belldandy. Peorth never tired of flirting with Keiichi, mostly to watch him collapse into fits of nervous blabbering. She maintained a close friendship with Lind, and there were rumors that the Rose Goddess and the Valkyrie's friendship had become more than just simple companionship, a rumor that both goddesses tried mightily to quash. Lind maintained that her duties as a Valkyrie made it impossible for her to pursue anything but the most casual of friendships, but few were buying it. Lesbian relationships were entirely legal in Heaven. A large percentage of the Goddesses in Heaven were involved in such relationships, including more than a few field Goddesses. But Peorth maintained that she was very, very straight. She took on more than her share of sexually based wishes to prove that point, although she didn't refuse to take on a sexual wish from a female client.

Lind maintained her role as the head of the Valkyries for many, many years. She mastered the battleaxes up to Class 18, but then had to quit because the strain of the level of exercise needed to control such awesome weapons was too much for even one of her exceptional fighting spirit. During a particularly nasty demon attack, Lind suffered major internal injuries putting her close to death. She was hospitalized for many months. She eventually recovered, but she was never again able to perform her duties to her personal standards or the standards she set for the Valkyries. Reluctantly, she resigned her commission as the head of Valkyries. Being deprived of her greatest passion as well as the work she felt born to do, she fell into a deep depression. She shut herself away for a long time refusing to speak to anyone or leave her home. Her condition had gotten so bad that she no longer worked out. While she was still very fit as a Goddess, she was no longer in the shape required for service as a Valkyrie. After years of isolation, she remembered how well she was treated by Keiichi and Belldandy during her leave at the temple and as a last desperate resort, she asked their permission to spend some time with them. Kei and Bell, being who they are , gladly welcomed her back to the temple where she lent a hand helping the couple run the outpost. They told her that she could stay as long as she wanted, they even extended to her a spare apartment in the building where the outpost's Goddesses lived. Through Belldandy's unique form of persuasion, they were able to get Lind back on a workout schedule, that she took to like a duck to water. She also spent many days and nights and shed more than few tears talking to Kei and Bell about her ordeal. Belldandy was even gracious enough to let Lind take Keiichi on the occasional date. With their help, she was able to climb out of the pit of her depression and get back on her feet again. After about 10 years staying with Kei and Bell, Lind returned back to Heaven. Needing something to occupy her time, she ran for and ended up being elected to the Heavenly Council as a special liaison to the Valkyries. She serves in that position to this day. She remains single and maintains a close relationship with Peorth.

Takano and Keima continued to live in Hokkaido. Keima still worked as a glass blower with his faithful wife, Takano helping him with his shop. In 1996, they traveled to Nekomi to witness the marriage of their daughter, Megumi to her long time boyfriend, Hiro Yoshida, and were also on hand to welcome their first grandchild, a little girl named Motoi. Takano and Keima playfully berated Keiichi and Belldandy for letting Megumi beat them to the punch in terms of producing a grandchild. Kei and Bell took it in stride. During a visit to the temple in 2012, Keima challenged Keiichi to yet another bike race. And for the first time ever, Keiichi was finally able to best the old man winning the race by half a bike length. Unfortunately, Keima suffered a heart attack after the race. He was rushed to the hospital, but he succumbed during treatment. Takano passed away a year later of a broken heart. The entire village in Hokkaido where the Morisato's lived came out to the funeral Keiichi, Belldandy, Megumi and Hiro received guests and took their condolences.

Ilse continues to work at the Special Cases Division at the Goddess Assistance Agency. She has shown that she has a remarkable ability to deal with the more unusual and taxing wishes that cross her desk. She rose to the rank of section chief where she commands her own team of Goddesses. She and Belldandy talk occasionally and still maintain a comfortable friendship.

Hild survived numerous attempts by her demon lieutenants to wrest the title of Daimaikaicho from her. Even Marller attempted a coup, but like most of the plans Marller dreamed up, the attempt failed most spectacularly. In a rage, Hild had Marller bound up in chains and threw her into Torvald's old dungeon at the bottom level of Niflheim. However, Hild had the entrance bricked up so her hapless assistant could never escape. She still rules with an iron fist in a velvet glove and she still occasionally forgets the glove. After Keiichi succeeded in removing the Rage spirit from Torvald using the Chains of Love spell, Hild was at her wit's end. Every plan she tried to get those pesky Norns off the Earth had failed. It turned out that all Hild really had to do was just wait. She remembered seeing the Mark on Keiichi's hand. The mark placed there by the spirit of Kei's ring, Arvid in exchange for the information needed to remove the ring from his hand so that Kei with Istvar's help could cleanse Yggdrasil's Interface Layer. That Mark, once it turned red, had given Keiichi and Belldandy 24 hours to leave the Earth, never again to return. Hild had extensive knowledge of that mark and she also knew that once they were gone, Urd and Skuld would not be far behind. The Goddesses would be gone, and she would not have to lift a finger. Due to the various attempts to usurp her throne by interlopers, she was never able to put her full concentration into attacking the outpost. But Hild's priority was to get rid of the Norns first. And as an immortal demon for whom a millennia was to her, what an hour was to a human, She figured that she could wait for a few decades or centuries until the mark changed color. So she did. Hild occasionally visited the temple to catch up with the latest demonic and heavenly gossip with Urd. Like Peorth, she constantly flirted with Keiichi, and while at best, Hild and the Goddesses were frenemies, she no longer had the desire to cause anymore bodily harm to them. She rejoiced greatly when Kei and the Goddesses finally left the Earth.

Torvald continued to help Keiichi and Belldandy run the outpost for many years. He was a capable supervisor who was very popular with the forty field Goddesses who were stationed on the Earth. Like they did with Keiichi, the Goddesses flocked around Torvald, constantly flirting and fighting over him, and begging for him to let them grant his wishes. But unlike Keiichi, who strove mightily to keep his distance in order not to upset Belldandy, Torvald welcomed the attention. So much so that he slept with every Goddess in the apartment complex multiple times. He gained the reputation of being an unrepentant playboy, and he embraced it fully, and the Goddesses didn't seem to care that he was a serial philanderer. However, he was professional enough to not allow certain Goddesses preferential treatment based on how they were in bed. He gave out assignments fairly and ran the apartment efficiently. The outpost continued to report strong gains in contracts accepted and the customer satisfaction ratings went through the roof. It took a long time, but despite Torvald's gigolo ways regarding the Goddesses, he earned back enough of Keiichi and Belldandy's trust that Bell was able to convince Kami-sama to allow Torvald limited travel to Heaven. But he soon ran afoul of Kami-sama's generosity when a number of Goddesses in Heaven complained that Torvald was making improper advances towards them and engaging in harassing behavior. An angry Kami-sama cut back his travel privileges to one visit per year. Shamed, Torvald returned back to Earth, where he cut back greatly on his sleeping around. He resolved to win back his travel privileges, and did so after 5 years of exemplary behavior. When it came time for Keiichi and Belldandy to leave Earth, they formally turned over the running of the Outpost to Torvald. To this day, he is still running the Outpost. He settled down with an Outpost Goddess named Farallar. She was the Goddess that he liked the best and she loved him also. They ended up getting married and having 4 children. Being neither human, God nor Demon, Torvald was all but immortal. He and Farallar took over living at Tarikihongan Temple.

Skuld continued to live at the temple with Keiichi and Belldandy. She continued to make Keiichi's life a hassle. Skuld was still mad at Keiichi for marrying Belldandy, although her screams of indignation became fewer and fewer over the years. She and Sentaro continued to see each other and they ended up falling deeply in love. Because of that love for him, her powers grew strong enough that eventually she was able to sit for the First Class Exam, Belldandy was her proctor and sure enough, Bell did not go easy on her. The test was arduous amd tested Skuld's skills mightily. Skuld's legendarily short patience wore thin numerous times and there were multiple times she threatened to quit. But Keiichi, of all people, was able to convince Skuld not to give up. She kept trying and trying until finally she was able to complete the three tasks and become a First Class Goddess. Although it seemed that she may have set a Heavenly record for completing the test in the longest period of time. It took six months for Skuld to pass the First Class Exam. And naturally, she boasted to Urd relentlessly about how she now outranked her older sister. Skuld and Sentaro married in 2017. And a year later, she gave birth to a lovely daughter named Yuki. Yuki was the only child that Skuld bore, hence, she would ultimately end up being Skuld's successor as the Norn of the Future. Still a talented inventor as well as an up and coming power as a Goddess, Skuld spent her time still creating inventions, crowing about their elegance and her genius. When Keiichi's mark turned red, and it was time for him to go to Heaven for good, Skuld was very concerned about what to do with Sentaro. While he was still human, he could not accompany Skuld to Heaven. Skuld sulked and appealed to Kami-sama to allow her husband to come to Heaven, but the Almighty refused to allow it. However, he explained to her that Keiichi's mark only applied to him, not the rest of the Goddesses. So while Keiichi had to comply, Bell, Urd and Skuld were exempt. The Goddesses were allowed to come and go as they pleased. However, where Belldandy went, Urd and Skuld would always follow. So Skuld and Sentaro made an arrangement that allowed for her and Yuki to come down to Earth from Heaven for 5 days a week. On weekends, she and her daughter would return to the Heavenly Realm in order to work at her job as a system administrator for Yggdrasil. Yuki grew up strong and took to her training as a Norn quickly. She had the same quick temper, inventive genius, and high pitched screech as her mother, and was also quick to give Keiichi what-for. Although Yuki was not as moody and difficult as Skuld. Skuld ended up moving into a small apartment with Sentaro across from the temple where they lived out their lives until Sentaro passed away from natural causes in 2045. Heartbroken and sad, Skuld and Yuki ended up going back to Heaven for one last time, never to return to the Earth again.

Urd...is still Urd. She never married, although her old flame, Troubador reached out to her trying to get back together again. But Urd was having none of it. She did not feel like having her heart broken again. So she kicked him to the curb. But while Urd had no husband, she had no shortage of lovers. Many a God had found indescribable pleasures in her bed. She left Earth for good at the same time as Belldandy and Keiichi. As much as she loved making her own special brand of mischief and mayhem on Earth, she felt that her time there was but a single chapter in her life, and she was ready to put that chapter to an end. She maintained her job as a system administrator of Yggdrasil, where she continued to goof off and slough off her duties to anyone dumb enough to hang around at the wrong place at the wrong time. As of yet, she still has not produced her successor as the Norn of the past. And from the look of things, Urd intends to put off that duty for as long as she can. She's having too much fun.

Chihiro ran Whirlwind with Keiichi and Belldandy as chief mechanic and shop assistant, respectively for another 10 years. When a large Japanese motorcycle company, attracted by her success, offered to buy her shop and made an offer she couldn't refuse including a position as a senior designer in their company and a whole lot of money, she jumped at the opportunity. She rose thru the ranks to become the chief of the company's design department. She enjoyed great success there until she retired after 30 years of loyal service. Tragedy struck Chihiro Fujimi in 2037 when the motorcycle she was riding lost control and crashed into a brick wall. She died on impact. The local racetrack honored her memory by renaming one of their seating areas after her.

Megumi and Hiro's relationship deepened as the years went by. Both graduated from Nekomi Tech in the same year. But instead of pursuing a technical degree, Hiro chose to follow his greater passion, cooking. He became the executive chef of the restaurant where Keiichi and Belldandy dined after their trip to the park. His reputation grew by leaps and bounds at that three-star eatery, and before long, he had opened a small chain of high-end restaurants in the surrounding Tokyo area. Megumi took her technical degree to a large technology company in Nekomi, where she excelled in software engineering. She was responsible for creating educational software for the Tokyo public schools. Her software gained immediate and tremendous acceptance. When she wasn't developing software, she was helping Hiro run his restaurants, They married in 1996 and Megumi delivered a healthy and perky little girl two years later named Motoi. Megumi eventually quit her job at the software firm to devote all of her time to working in the restaurants. Hiro and Megumi eventually grew their local chain of restaurants to a national chain with branches in all the major cities in Japan. She still comes to the temple now and then to mooch one of Belldandy's home-cooked meals. Both Megumi and Hiro passed peacefully in their sleep in 2048.

Keiichi and Belldandy, with the assistance of Torvald, continued to run the Outpost for another 100 years. Under their tutelage, the outpost was a roaring success. They had succeeded in fulfilling Kami-sama's mission of permanently turning the balance of human contracts in Heaven's favor. While Hild blustered and thundered about this development, there was little she could do. She was too busy putting down various attempts by interlopers to seize control of her empire to successfully attack the outpost. Kei and Bell also continued to work at Whirlwind for Chihiro until she sold the shop to a large motorcycle company. With the huge final paycheck that Chihiro paid them, plus the 25 percent portion of windfall Kami-sama provided for the operation of the outpost, they concentrated all their efforts towards that venture. For the first time in their life together, Keiichi and Belldandy were financially set for life. However, though they had enough money to make Sayoko and Aoshima jealous, they never splurged for luxuries. They rarely went out for dinner, Belldandy still cooked. Keiichi had his trusted BMW motorcycle renovated from top to bottom. They spruced up the temple grounds and upgraded all the TV's in the house to flat screen HD's. They continued to live modestly, and concentrated their funding on the outpost. They hosted the wedding for Skuld and Sentaro, which had a record 40 bridesmaids. They welcomed little Yuki into the world and Belldandy worked hard to help Skuld raise her successor. The couple went to Heaven many times and spent many hours on Windsong Ridge. In 2050, Belldandy announced that she was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. She named the baby, Midori. In time she delivered another son and a daughter, whom she named Keima and Takano, after Keiichi's father and mother. By virtue of being the first born daughter, Midori was to become Belldandy's successor as the Norn to the Present. Belldandy worked had to prepare Midori for her life's work. The child grew up as bright and beautiful as her mother, and with her father's fierce determination. Exactly one hundred years after Keiichi first received the Mark from Arvid, it finally turned red. With much sadness and tears and wonderful memories, Keiichi, Urd, and Belldandy formally turned over the operations of the outpost and the temple to Torvald and Farallar. They entered the Gate for one last time and were gone. Once they arrived in Heaven, Kami-sama greeted them warmly and at the same time in a public assembly before all of Heaven, announced that he was stepping down as Supreme Ruler. As he said, he placed Keiichi's name in nomination as his choice. The Council's choice was a red-haired Goddess named Karlja, and the people's choice went to a tall, plain looking God named Strom. The debate was hot and heavy, and their was much discussion as well as feathers ruffled. In the first round of the voting, Keiichi was the odd man out. The Goddess Karlja won the second round of voting over Strom by a convincing margin, creating the first Goddess to be made Kami-sama. While Keiichi was a bit dejected for having lost, he also knew that he was quite unqualified for the position. However, Kami-sama, undeterred, as his final act as Ruler put Keiichi's name forward for a seat on the Heavenly Council. He ran unopposed and easily gained the seat. Keiichi served on the council with distinction for hundreds of years. He was eventually offered the position of Leader of the Council, but knowing that he would ultimately have to merge his spirit with the Eye of Heaven, turned down the post. He could not bear to be away from Belldandy. Belldandy returned to her first love, working full-time as a field Goddess at the Goddess Assistance Agency. While her reputation and record gave her a choice of any high ranking office in Heaven including the head of the GAA, as well as any other powerful position in Heaven, she was satisfied with the role of a humble field Goddess. Albeit one with the best record in history. She also accepted a position as an instructor at Field Goddess Training. Where she helped mold the minds of young Goddesses for years to come.

Keiichi and Belldandy...a Legendary Love.

The End.