Well here's part three - enjoy, comments are always welcome
Flames will be printed out, laughed at and then burned :)
An Oh My Goddess FanFic
Oh My God ?
by
Brett Handy
Dawn was just breaking over the temple, turning the sky a
beautiful lavender colour. The few wisps of clouds were a
shimmering silver and the outlook for the day was clear.
I yawned mightily after having spent the night reading.
I set down the heavy book, finally having finished it after
reading all night. Glancing over at the remaining dozen or so
despairing of ever getting through them. It had been three
days since my arrival here at the temple, and I knew that my
time here was limited. If I didn't return home soon, my
family would be freaking out - not only that I had run out of
clean clothes.
Laying down on the strange bed (which I now recognise as
being named a 'futon'), I went over the possibilities. I must
have spent about three hours, just lying and thinking, before
Keiichi came to fetch me for breakfast. "Morning Brett-san",
he greeted me cheerfully, "Bell-chan has made a wonderful
breakfast for us all".
I nodded and got to me feet, noticing that he was much
better than yesterday. "How's the arm?", I asked him, as we
made our way to the dining room.
Keiichi grinned, "It's fixed now, Bell-chan healed it for
me last night", he said.
I glanced at the cast on his arm, "Really?", I asked.
Keiichi nodded again, "I'm only wearing the cast so that
people won't think it's strange that it healed overnight", he
explained.
I nodded, accepting his explanation. We sat down to a
delicious meal cooked by Belldandy - and I have to say her
cooking is at least as good as my mothers (who used to teach
cooking professionally). I sat back contentedly, "That was
wonderful", I exclaimed.
Everyone nodded their agreement, before the table was
cleared away. As everyone split up to pursue their particular
days activities I followed Skuld back to her room. I knocked
on the doorframe, "Excuse me Skuld?", I called, "may I talk to
you?".
I got an affirmative grunt and took it to mean yes.
Slipping up behind her I observed her for a moment before
talking, she was using her computer to log into some
complicated mainframe. I sat down beside her to watch, her
fingers danced effortlessly over the keys (oh yes, this was
exactly what I had in mind).
"Would you mind if I ask a personal question?", I
inquired.
She gave me a short nod.
"Have you done much hacking?", I asked, as
conversationally as possible.
As expected this got her attention right away, "What!",
she cried, looking up.
"Oh come on", I said, glancing at her computer, "With that
kind of system you've probably been into the Pentagon's
computers".
She snorted, "Piece of cake", she said, turning back to
her screen, "Its those big corporations that are a real
challenge".
I nodded, "Well that being the case", I said carefully,
"Would you mind doing me a little favour?".
Skuld looked up, "Such as??", she asked.
******
I grabbed a chair to steady myself as Urd and I re-
appeared in my room. I listened carefully, making sure that
everyone was out. Hearing nothing I relaxed and threw my bag
onto the bed.
"Just remember, you owe me for this", Urd said, fingering
her clothes. She was dressed in a business suit, her hair
tied back in a respectable pony-tail. "I can't understand why
I have to wear this get-up", she said, for the tenth time.
I sighed, "I told you, if anyone asks, your from the
student exchange program, here to pick me up".
She nodded, "Yeah I get it, but without any proof, how
are we supposed to convince anyone?', she asked.
I smiled, "Leave that to me", I said confidently.
Glancing around my room, I grabbed a fresh change of
clothes and headed in for a quick shower. By the time I'd
gotten back downstairs, I found that half my stuff was already
packed.
"Ahh, thanks Urd", I said, "But I can handle that". She
had packed my stuff into a bunch of large boxes. I frowned
slightly, not realising how much stuff I had accumulated over
the years. Urd shrugged and sat back down in a chair.
I went through my collection of books - realising that
there was *no* chance of bringing them all. Settling on a few
of the best, I dumped them into another box. It took me less
than half an hour to get everything ready, and it took Urd
less than a second to transport it all to my room in the
Temple.
I sighed looking at the remains of my room, it had taken
me nearly three years of work to get it just right, "Oh well",
I thought, "It's only temporary".
It was at this stage my (dare I use the phrase *little*,
she's about six foot four) sister, Jan, got back home. "Where
have you been, Brett?", she asked worriedly, "Mum and Dad have
been worried sick".
I nodded, "Sorry about that, I'll explain everything when
they get home", I replied. Jan was looking at Urd curiously,
"Who's this?", she asked.
Urd smiled, "My name's Urd, I'm with the Japanese Student
Exchange Program", she said sticking out her hand.
Jan's eyes widened, "Exchange program?", she said in a
confused tone, then she took a look at my room, noticing that
just about everything was missing.
She turned to me in shock, "*your* moving out?", she
asked in a small voice.
I nodded, "Its probably only for six months or so", I
replied, glancing at Urd suspiciously.
Urd retained her pose of 'unconcerned official', relaxing
back in her chair.
Jan was still quite shocked and grabbed me by the arm,
pulling me outside, "Excuse us", she said to Urd.
She practically towed me upstairs, into the lounge room,
"Ok, tell me what your doing", she commanded.
I shrugged, "I've been accepted into a student exchange
program", I explained (sweating slightly), "I'm moving to
Japan for a few months".
Jan raised her eyebrows dubiously, "Oh, and when did you
enrol?", she asked.
"Oh not long ago", I said, "I've got a place waiting for
me at the Nekgmi Institute of Technology".
She sighed and sat down on a couch, "You've got to be
kidding", she said again, "*You* in Japan, you don't even
speak the language".
I was struggling to maintain my composure, "Well look at
it this way", I said, attempting to lighten the mood, "At
least this means that *you* get my room".
Her interest sparked up slightly (we've been fighting
over my room since I moved into it - but I'm bigger than she
is....), "Well, I hope you know what your doing", she said.
I nodded and turned to go back down stairs, "Well, I've
got some things to do in the city", I said, "I'll be back
before dark".
"Righto", Jan said, moving towards her own room
(undoubtable working out the best way to shift her stuff
downstairs).
******
When I finally got out of the Japanese Embassy I found
Urd waiting for me in her regular clothes (that is to say she
was looking rather... Umm.. well - this is Urd, you get the
idea). "How did you get all that?", she asked curiously.
"Not important", I said, "We've only got one stop left
before we head back to my place".
Urd sighed, "*another* place, we've already visited half
the buildings in the city", she complained, "I'm getting
hungry".
I nodded, "Well I won't take too long..".
Urd trudged along after me, (I neglected to tell her that
our next destination was across town...) and her complaints
dropped off after I promised to buy her lunch. We took a
short cut through the Botanical Gardens and this seemed to
pick up her spirits a bit. "Nice variety of plants", she
commented.
I nodded, "Yeah I like coming here to relax sometimes", I
replied.
We were just passing through the centre of the city, when
Urd spotted a restaurant that caught her eye. "Well, let's
have lunch in here then", she said, grabbing my arm and
pulling me inside.
It was only after sitting down at our table that I
realised exactly what restaurant we were at. "God, please
don't let *him* be working here today", I thought to myself.
"Hello, my name is Hubert and I'll be your waiter", came
a voice from behind be. I shuddered slightly and turned
around, "Hello Hubert", I said.
I don't think he could have been more shocked if I'd
grown an extra head. He stood shock-still for a moment, then
he looked at Urd and back at me. "Uh, hello Brett", he
replied, "Who's your friend?".
I sighed, "This is Urd", I explained.
Urd reached out her hand, "I'm with the Japanese Student
Exchange Program", she said.
Hubert shook her hand slowly, "Exchange program??", he
asked.
I kicked Urd under the table to silence her response,
"Yes, I've been accepted for a transfer to Japan and I'm
moving to there for six months", I explained. After he had
recovered from the shock of *that* statement, he took our
orders and walked away to get our drinks.
Urd was rubbing her shin, "What did you kick me for??",
she demanded in a whisper.
I sighed, "You figure it out for yourself", I said,
"What's Hubert going to say now to my friends now???". Seeing
her blank expression I continued, switching my voice to a poor
imitation of Hubert, "Oh I saw Brett and this knockout-
looking Babe in the city and he's moving to Japan with
her...".
Urd nodded, "I see what you mean", she said. Then she
thought for a moment, "You think I'm a knockout?", she asked.
I blushed slightly, "Uhh, well", I said unintelligently.
It was just at that moment that Hubert returned, "Here's
your drink Brett", he said placing it in front of me. "And
one for the 'Knockout'", he said smiling at Urd (I think I
must have turned a bright crimson at that point).
"I'll bring your meals over when they're ready", he said
turning and winking at me, "Enjoy yourselves". The less said
about the rest of lunch, the better.
******
A five minute walk later we were at my final destination
in Brisbane city. Urd sighed again, looking at the large
flight of stairs in front of her, "You can wait here, if you
like", I offered, "I'm just going to say goodbye to a few
friends".
Urd shook her head, "I've come this far, so I'm curious
to see what brought us so far out of our way", she replied.
I shrugged and made my way upstairs. Walking up into the
familiar club I looked around to see who was running the place
today. Amazingly almost everyone I wanted to see was here, I
was surprised for a moment before realising that it was Friday
(that means there are several different RPGs playing at once).
Ron (the owner/manager) spotted me and waved me over,
"Shove over a bit there, Brendon", he said to one player, "the
Captain's here now".
{Author's note: Yes, I am the Captain in our Star Trek game -
and it took a lot of hard work...}
I shook my head, "Sorry Ron, I can't play Star Trek
today", I said smiling.
Ron shrugged, "Oh well, looks like these poor boys will
have to go it alone", he said turning menacingly to the
players.
I tapped him on the shoulder, "Can I have a word with
you?", I asked.
He nodded, "Ok boys, take a break", he said, following me
over to his office.
I quickly explained to him what was happening, that I
wouldn't be able to run any more gaming sessions until I got
back. He was rather disappointed, "But I was looking forward
to Robotech this afternoon", he complained.
I smiled, "Well get Tom to run the game", I suggested,
"He's been wanting to run one for a while". After saying
goodbye to Ron, I moved around the room, bidding farewell to a
good bunch of mates.
Urd had remained silent for most of this, watching me
move around the room. When I was finally ready to go I
suddenly realised that I *really* didn't want to. "Don't
worry", she said, "I'm sure it won't be for too long".
I nodded, "Well let's get back to my place then", I said.
I won't even attempt to explain what happened when I
finally got to talk to my parents. To sum it up: they
accepted it and I left. It was harder than I thought, leaving
home (something that I'd only vaguely considered), but after a
few tearful goodbyes and promises to write, I finally got
going.
******
I was sitting on the floor, unpacking my stuff, when I
heard a faint knock on the door. "Come in", I said, clearing
the entry of empty boxed.
Keiichi stuck his head in the door, "So how is
everything?", he asked.
I shrugged, "Oh, I'm fine", I said, "Just getting my gear
unpacked".
Keiichi sighed, "Well Urd seemed to think that you're a
little depressed", he said, sitting down across from me
I sighed, "Well, who wouldn't be, I've only been overseas
once before", I explained, "Now I'm living in a foreign
country, I've had to leave all my friends and family
behind..."
Keiichi nodded, "I thought so", he said, standing and
walking back to the door, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll make
lots of new friends here". He was just about to close the
door when he added something that made me feel a *bit* better,
"You've already made four", he said.
I nodded and continued to unpack, I was still a little
unsure of where I stood with the Goddesses, but I had the
feeling Keiichi would be a good friend.
******
The meal that evening was great (as usual), and during
dinner I quizzed Keiichi on what he knew about the computer
course at NIT.
Urd looked at me curiously, "I thought that was just a
cover so that your family wouldn't worry", she said.
I nodded, "It was, but I'm also not going to give up my
studies", I explained. Keiichi said that he would help me get
settled when the new semester started next week.
I got to my feet when the meal had finished and pulled
out a heavy wad of bills, handing it to Keiichi. "What's
this?", he asked, confused.
I shrugged, "Since I am *actually* enrolled in the
Student exchange program, this is what I got given to cover
expenses for this semester", I explained.
Keiichi swallowed slightly, "Uhh, what's the current
exchange rate?", he asked, looking at the Australian currency
I had handed him.
"I dunno", I replied, "But there's about 7,000 dollars
there".
Skuld whipped out a calculator, "That comes to... Half a
million yen".
I shrugged again, "It's suppose to go on accommodation
and food", I explained, "Since I going to be staying here..."
Keiichi just nodded silently, "Thank you Brett-san", he
said.
I bowed slightly, "Thank *you* for letting me stay here",
I replied, making my way back to my room.
My first week at the Temple passed quickly, Keiichi was
on a break from College, so we had plenty of time to talk and
he showed me some of the more interesting sites in the city.
I must say I found Keiichi to be a *very* interesting guy,
according to the manuals that I'd been reading every night,
only certain people got picked to receive wishes (dunno how I
managed it...) and I'd say that Keiichi is a good person.
******
"Now, by adding the correct amount of ground oyster
shell, we can increase the potency of the formula by almost
fifty percent", Urd explained, adding the selected ingredient.
I had *finally* gotten through the manuals that Urd had
given me and she decided that I would be able to learn
something by watching her produce some of her simpler potions.
She was sitting watching a boiling beaker of liquid, checking
it every now and then with a thermometer. The last few days
had been almost impossible for me to get through. I had
finished the books quickly (I *do* read rather fast) and
Urd had been trying to teach me some spell-casting.
My opinion of Urd (as a teacher) had continued to go down
in the last few days, it seemed that everything I did was
wrong. I had meticulously drawn out a pentagram in the front
courtyard (copying from one of the manuals) and when I had
finally finished Urd had insisted that I re-draw it under her
supervision. If that wasn't bad enough - she had decided that
(after I had finished) she would re-draw it herself, showing
me where I went wrong.
"So how much longer is this going to take?", I asked. We
had been sitting over this mixture for nearly an hour and the
fumes were starting to get rather annoying.
Urd frowned, "Look, do you want to learn this or not?",
she snapped, "I don't particularly like having to teach you in
the first place".
"My life had been fine until *you* showed up", I thought
say some of the insults were rather colourful), I shook my
to myself. I had found that due to my change in 'status' the
goddesses couldn't read my mind anymore (and it had been a
*very* useful ability in the last few days).
"Now having done that you must let it boil for precisely
two minutes, before adding some sulfate of ammonia", she
explained, reaching for an ingredient.
I suddenly saw something very disturbing, a small grey
sphere had formed around the potion and it was rapidly
increasing in size. It passed outwards, beyond the room's
walls. I frowned and then glanced over at Urd, who as about
to add the next ingredient.
"No!", I shouted, slapping her hand away (and knocking
the vial to the floor).
"What the hell are you doing???", she screamed at me.
I ignored her for a moment, watching as the grey sphere
seemed to dissolve around us. I breathed a sigh of relief,
"that was close", I thought.
Meanwhile Urd was continuing to rant and rave (and I must
say some of the insults were rather colourful), I shook my
head at her, "You should check your ingredients more carefully
before you add them", I said, motioning to the empty vial on
the floor (it had 'nitric acid' marked on the side).
This seemed to stop her for a moment (but only a moment),
"You were distracting me with all your comments", she
responded lamely.
Now usually I can take a *lot* of abuse before becoming
upset, but the last few days had been quite enough. I have no
recollection of exactly what insults I used (or what Urd used
in response), but I do know that it ended when Urd punched me
in the mouth, *hard*.
I staggered back slightly, not really expecting her to
hit me. From the look in her eyes, I don't think she was
expecting to hit me either. I wiped away some blood from my
lower lip and my look must have scared her because she took a
few steps backwards.
Getting control of myself once more, I turned and walked
from the room, "I think I'll talk to Belldandy about my
training from now on", I said coldly, "*you* no longer have to
trouble yourself".
Not turning around I didn't see the sorrowful look in her
face, or the half-said apology she tried to make. I didn't
even see her begin to cry silently as I closed the door behind
me.
******
Something that none of us saw that night, was a pair of
shadowy figures, watching from just outside the temple
boundary. "Well done, Marller...", said the first figure.
Maraler nodded, "It was easy, Urd is such a hot head
anyway it was a simple matter to get her that angry", she
said.
"Soon he will be without a teacher and when we meet, I
will win", it continued.
Maraler shrugged, "I'm happy to help, after all, he
ruined my plans to deal with Keiichi, but you still have to go
through with *your* end of the bargain, Nilthar", she said.
Nilthar nodded, "Soon... After I have him, I will help
you with you the three goddesses".
******
Author's notes:
This one's not exactly a fun part - I'm attempting to get
the feel of leaving home (saying goodbye to friends, etc...) and
introducing the 'bad guys'.
Hopefully, I haven't put anyone to sleep with it. Also
the introduction of Marller should be familiar to most people who
have read the Manga (for those who don't know who she is, I'll
sum it up: She's a Demon who does *not* like the three
goddesses). Nilthar is my own 'Demon' and there *is* a reason
why he wants to eliminate 'me' as a threat.
Also, everyone and thing I describe (ie: my room, family
and friends) are *real* things (hopefully my friends won't
hurt me too badly when they read this :)
In case anyone's interested the club I attend in Brisbane
is called 'DreamLink' - it's for Roleplayers/Anime Fans/Card
Game Addicts (perfect for me since I fit into every category).
It's been active for a bit more than a year - Anime Australia
uses its facilities for their monthly 'anime weekends'. It's
open to anyone - young or old - the only requirement is that
you want to have fun.
I think I can safely say that with the a *few* possible
exceptions, this will be all that I put readers through about
my *own* life. From now on, I'll be concentrating on my
'character'...
Another thing I might take a moment to explain is the
term 'mate' - its a word that *I* use a lot. I use it in
several ways, firstly its a general term to describe my
friends, secondly it's a *real* good cover if you've forgotten
someone's name :), and thirdly I use it to describe a *few*
very good friends.... - oh also the term is *not* gender
specific, I have several mates who are female.....
----Brett
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Address: darkwnd@sv.net.au WWW page: http://www.sv.net.au/~darkwnd
"Oh very good Worf, *eat* any good books lately???"
- Q after being banished from the Continuum
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