One of my very first efforts, this was, though
it took a long enough time to complete a version of
it.... I always meant to revise it, there were one
or two scenes I forgot to put in that I meant to. At
any rate, I finally dug it out after far too long and
decided to add the scenes. (It was that or do my taxes,
okay? Actually, I should be getting a nice refund this
year, so hrm....) ^_-
	Well, at the very least we can compare how I write
now to how I wrote then.... I like to think I've 
improved somewhat. Would you say it was from the Golden Age
of fanfiction? I don't know. What I do know is that my hubris
prevents me from believing that a Golden Age of fanfics existed
before I started writing and posting.... ^_^
Anyway, tell me what what you think, if you wish, or if you
prefer not to, then don't. I won't force you. Just, enjoy it,
or don't enjoy it, whichever is your pleasure.... ^_^

    Characters are created by Kosuke Fujishima, and are used without
his express permission. The song 'Ice Cream' was written by Sarah
McLachlan, and are used without her permission or knowledge.
Sue me at my peril (although I'd appreciate it if you didn't, and
it really wouldn't be worth your time from a financial standpoint).
Figure it begins sometime after OVA 5.

    And now, more Ice Cream!


Ice Cream:

Your love is better than ice cream.
Better than anything else that I've tried 
and your love is better than ice cream
everyone here knows how to fight
and it's a long way down 
it's a long way down
it's a long way down to the place where we started from.
Your love is better than chocolate
better than anything else that I've tried
and oh love is better than chocolate.
Everyone here knows how to cry
and it's a long way down
it's a long way down
it's a long way down to the place where we started from...
do do do...

        Bugs are funny things, aren't they? I don't mean the
regular type, I mean the sort that happens in computer systems. Big
systems. Systems that control reality, like the Yggdrassil system.
Let me give you an example- it involves three goddesses, and a
young college student named Keiichi.

        **
            **
                **

        Skuld was alone- a situation she found intolerable.
Belldandy was with (ugh!) Keiichi, they had gone to see some movie
together or something (a date! face it, they went on a date). Urd,
well Skuld did not want to know where she was, never mind actually
do something with her.
        Really, who else was there? No one, now that her older
sister was being taken away by that foolish mortal. Just poor
little Skuld, moping away by herself at the temple.

        "I wish," said Skuld to herself (after all, who else was 
there?), "I wish Keiichi made a different wish."

        An explosion of light and sound later, and Skuld's wish was 
granted. Funny thing about bugs, isn't it?

        "I wish I was successful." That's what I want, isn't it?
Keiichi thought.

        "Your wish... is granted." Oh Keiichi, you really don't 
remember, do you?

        A thin beam of light burned through the mark on her
forehead and soared into the heavens, not heeding the nigh
invisible tears of the goddess it came from.

        Skuld shut down the monitor; she did not need to see
anymore. Belldandy would be back soon and they would be together
again, forever, as it should be.

        **
           **
              **

    Time passes, as it often does. Belldandy stayed in heaven,
which meant Urd did not get banished to Midgard for interfering
with the Ultimate Force (although there was that little thing with
trying to get Idun to make apple cider, but that has nothing to do
with us).
    Belldandy threw herself into her work, even more so than
before, but she always had time to help her little sister, Skuld.
Belldandy took on more and more assignments, she was on the fast
track, and the Almighty noticed it.
    Skuld... was happy. Debugging was a lot easier with her sisters
to help (much as Skuld hated to admit it, but Urd helped her too, 
sometimes, not often, and not a lot of help that definitely was not 
worth it). Belldandy was in heaven and all was right with the
world. There was actually time for Skuld to do some research, like
why she got a wish in the first place. After all, goddesses granted
wishes, they didn't receive them, right?

    On earth, in Japan, Keiichi Morisato drove the Miata home from
his Motor Club meeting, so he could get changed for his date with
Sayoko. Things were definitely on the rise for Keiichi and Nekomi
Tech's Motor Club. Getting Aoshima to handle the treasury was all
it really took, and that wasn't hard with Sayoko helping. Now the
club had no monetary problems. The members were so glad that they
immediately made Keiichi president of the club, and as their star
racer he drew in more and more members.
    Strange thing is, Tamiya and Ootaki did not mind at all. Maybe
not so strange after all, when Keiichi thought about it. They
didn't have to worry about money for the club, or even running the
club. Those two got to spend their time and energy on making newer
and better vehicles, which Keiichi usually won with. A few design
teams had been sniffing around lately, and Tamiya and Ootaki had
already received a few offers, pending graduation, of course. No,
those two had nothing to complain about, they were in seventh...
...heaven.

    Who was she, Keiichi wondered. That girl with hair the colour
of wheat and the markings on her face. That girl who claimed to be
a goddess and offered him a wish, and her name, Belldandy, was oh,
ever so familiar. Keiichi quickly put those thoughts aside, he had
his Sayoko, the most popular, and arguably the most beautiful woman
at Nekomi Tech. Keiichi had his own place, a good job with a better
one guaranteed after graduating, the adulation of many with his
racing, Sayoko (and Keiichi thought she was really starting to get
serious about their relationship), not to mention being in the top
ten percentile in his class. His future was so bright he had to
wear shades. So why couldn't he get that (ever so beautiful)
Belldandy out of his head, and why did he think he made the wrong
wish?

    Keiichi stopped at his home, a nice apartment building close to 
campus. Even that was an interesting story. Sayoko decided to stop
by the dorm to see him one day, not knowing the infamous 'no women'
rule. Needless to say, Keiichi had to find a place quick. Luckily,
Keiichi's job as a test driver (after winning one of his races he
was offered the job for a car magazine) put him into contact with
people, especially people who knew people, and soon enough, phfft!
an apartment was found well within Keiichi's means.
    Keiichi quickly readied himself for the date, and called the 
florists to make sure the bouquet was ready. As he left to get the
roses (sixteen, one for each week they had been dating), Keiichi
grimaced at the Miata, wishing he had a different car for the date.
The front end reminded him of that American movie, Christine. The
almost smiling face seemed somehow psychotic, never mind how the
car actually handled. Keiichi consoled himself with the thought
that in another two weeks there would be another car to test,
hopefully something a little better.

    The date went perfectly, as usual. Sayoko's dress was as 
immaculate as ever, and she dropped a few subtle hints that she
might, perhaps, just maybe, like to take the relationship to
another level.
    The restaurant was good, with a chamber quartet beside the
dance floor. Keiichi and Sayoko took advantage of the ballroom
dance lessons they took together, and danced the evening away.
    Keiichi escorted Sayoko back to her house, and stayed to chat
with her father a bit (the man absolutely adored Keiichi, and
treated him like the son he never had). Keiichi left, making
excuses about a busy day, and studying still so that his marks
wouldn't drop. 
    Yeah, Sayoko's dad loved him, his parents loved her, and were
so proud of him he thought they might burst sometimes. He had the
respect of his peers, good grades, a most promising future with
Sayoko, and he already had a career on the rise. By anyone's
standard, Keiichi was an absolute success. So why was it then that
he felt so empty inside?

    **                                                      **

    Belldandy ended the scrying spell, letting the mirror return to 
normal. She sighed, seeing Keiichi with that woman again tore at
her heart, but she could not stop herself from watching it--
watching him.
    He wasn't happy, Belldandy knew, she could tell from the look
on his face before he went to sleep every night, and every morning
as he woke up. She could fix that, she KNEW she could make him
happy. But there were rules, and there were regulations, and
Belldandy had to follow them. Belldandy sighed.
    Still, maybe just a quick visit would be okay. A quick talk,
and nothing more. Just once, surely that couldn't hurt, could it?
Just a chance meeting in the streets, or in a hallway, or
something, surely nothing wrong with that, was there?
    A happier Belldandy smiled secretively as she made her
decision, then went to see what Skuld was doing.

    **                                                      **

    When she was off-duty, Skuld found herself looking in on
Keiichi. Just to make sure everything was okay. She did not want
him to suffer after all. A few quick looks assured her that Keiichi
was fine. If anything, his life seemed better than before Skuld's
wish. Maybe her wish did that. Everyone was happier this way. Must
be it, her wish was good.

    Skuld researched the circumstances behind her wish, quietly, 
slyly. If the Almighty found out she had been granted a wish, who
knows what trouble she would be in. Urd had never even gone that
far, Loki hadn't even attempted it. But it was an accident, she
didn't actually try to get a wish... it just happened. 

Still.  

Even so.

    Skuld searched on the job, a moment here, a moment there; when
she could, or course. While working, she had much greater access to 
Yggdrassil's resources, and had a much better excuse should she get 
caught. 
    That was interesting, a bug. Well, in and of itself, a bug
wasn't really all that interesting, but the ToG (Time of
Generation) had not happened yet. While rare, bugs of this nature
were not unique. More importantly, the ToG was roughly the same
as... oh... her wish.
    Skuld quickly cobbled together a cage, and in defiance of her
job and all the laws the Almighty had, did not destroy a bug on
sight. Instead, she captured one very particular bug, and stole
away to her room with it, avoiding all eyes and all ears.
    "I can't, I just can't," Skuld heard herself whisper, looking
at a very special bug through a thin metal-barred cage. The bug
didn't know what she was saying, and just wanted to play.
    
    **
       **
          **

    The end of another day of class for Keiichi. Again, he walked 
through crowded halls towards the parking lot, alone. Sayoko had to
stay to work on a group project with the other members of her
group. Tamiya and Ootaki were holed up, working on their latest
design. Everyone had something to do, some place to be-- except
Keiichi, that is.
    This happened more and more often, Keiichi sighed as he hopped 
into the Miata. Another night of around the town driving by himself 
then; there were deadlines to meet, and a job to be done.
    Keiichi started the car-- it turned over easily despite the
damp, cool weather. A chance glimpse in the rear-view mirror, and
he saw her. A light mauve woman's business suit and matching beret
set off her wheat-coloured hair, and accented her pale,
cream-coloured skin. 
    Belldandy.

    The wish.

    He needed... he needed to talk to her.


                            ***


    Belldandy smiled (ah! the heart breaks from the beauty of such
a sight) when she saw Keiichi wave at her, beckoning her to come
and talk.

    "So, uh..." Keiichi managed to say intelligently when she
arrived at the car.

    Belldandy was not much better, looking at the ground and
replying, "Yes, er..." underneath the faint blush spreading through
her cheeks.

    "Food?" Keiichi asked. "Are you hungry? There's a place I
haven't been to yet, but it's supposed to be good. We can talk over
dinner," he said with hope.

    Keiichi's hopes were answered. "Yes. I think that would be a
good idea," Belldandy said delicately.

    They went to a cosy little bistro on the east side of the city. 
Neither talked on the way there, listening to the faint strains of
the latest pop sensation on the radio instead. 
    The bistro was not too upscale; the atmosphere reminded one of
a home-- not your home, this one was cleaner and nicer. The
atmosphere though, that's what it was-- the same relaxed and
welcoming feel permeated the place, through the decor (tasteful and
subtle) and the staff (cheerful, but not forcefully so). The place
was somewhat appropriately called "Taste of Heaven". They took a
booth which offered them both privacy and a good view of the window
which comprised the front of the establishment.
    After ordering two house specials (fresh Pacific salmon steaks, 
slowly cooked with lemon and some very specific spices, along with
rice and steamed greens), Belldandy and Keiichi started to talk.

    Nervous, though he tried to hide it, Keiichi threw a question
into the air. "A goddess?" he asked with exaggerated calm.

    "Yes. A goddess. Class one. Unlimited license." Sip the tea 
delicately.

    "It must be... must be fascinating, I suppose." Still awkward, 
still unsure.

    "Sometimes, but most of the time, no. I'd rather hear about you 
though. Was the wish good? Are you happy?" Give me this one thing,
even if it is selfish. Please.

    Don't go there, don't let her see the emptiness you hide even
from yourself. "The wish? Oh, heh... yeah, the wish. It worked. I'm
the president of the motor club, and their top racer too. I have
the respect of my friends and the admiration of others. I have a
good job, good grades, a bright future, everything. Why shouldn't I
be happy?" Keiichi ended off defensively. Why didn't you mention
Sayoko to her, eh Keiichi? Maybe because if you did, you wouldn't
have a chance with Belldandy. But she's a goddess. So? You can't
lie to yourself, not forever.

    Belldandy, sensing the tenseness in Keiichi, sought to change
the conversation to something lighter. "Tell me about yourself,
Keiichi. Tell what it is like to be a mortal."

    And so he did. Keiichi gave her his story-- well, all that was 
written of it at least. He told her about growing up with his more 
outgoing and perky sister, Megumi. He told her about school, high 
school, and finally college. He told her of his friends and family;
his first date, and his first kiss. He told her about his dreams,
both now and when he was younger; how they changed over the years,
and how sometimes they came true. He told her many things: often
small, often inconsequential in and of themselves, but when put
together you got Keiichi. 
    There was one curious exception to what he told her; one 
particular deletion. There was a summer, long ago, where he met a
friend in the woods. They played with each other for those few
months-- virtually inseparable. He never told her about that,
mainly because he had no memory of it, though it happened.

    Belldandy listened to it all with rapt fascination. A dreamy
look was in her eyes, and a wistful smile on her lips as she lost
herself in Keiichi's words, in Keiichi's face. She laughed with him
as he told her a particularly funny story involving Ootaki,
Ootaki's girlfriend, a meeting with her parents, and the parents'
new pet, a miniature daschund.
    Her eyes misted up with unshed tears as she sorrowed with him
when he related the death of his favourite uncle when he was
eleven. Belldandy made a silent vow to give the uncle the goodbye
Keiichi never got to, when she returned to heaven.
    Her eyes flashed with pride and triumph when Keiichi told her 
about the first race that he won-- a soapbox derby when he was
five. Her nose crinkled in amusement and delight at the image of a
five year old Keiichi, heady with his first taste of victory,
vowing to make the Formula 1 circuit someday.

    "Belldandy... Belldandy, are you awake?" Belldandy was startled
to find a hand waving in front of her face.
    "Sorry for boring you. My life really isn't that interesting, I 
guess."

    "Oh no!" Belldandy protested, "That was fascinating. I mean I 
loved hearing about it, you. I must have got caught up in it, I
suppose. Your world is so different, so alive, so vibrant. I wish I
could be part of it."

    The sky was dark now, and the waiter, who had earlier on
decided that they would rather each other's company over him
interrupting them with offers of tea or dessert, was going off
shift, so he hovered nearby. Suddenly aware of the time, Keiichi
asked for the bill.
    As they left the bistro, Keiichi asked Belldandy a question she 
dared not even hope he would ask. "Can I see you again sometime?"

    Belldandy's smile brightened the night, and cleared the
overcast skies, letting the stars shine through. "Oh course."
    An offer of a drive to wherever she needed to go, and a peck on 
the cheek later, and Keiichi was gone. Belldandy put a hand to the
cheek where Keiichi kissed her, and went to look for a mirror to
return to her home. She smiled again. This would not be their last
time with each other.
    

                                ***

    Keiichi and Belldandy went out again to a different restaurant
a week later. They both ordered the house special, a pasta dish
with a rather bland sauce. The rather sub-par and over-priced meal
was ignored as the two talked of inconsequential things that laid
deep within their hearts.

    "Have we met before? When we were kids, I mean?" Keiichi asked. 
"You remind me of someone from my childhood, I think."

    "No!" Belldandy said a little too quickly. "You must be 
remembering someone else. It would be impossible for you to
remember me." A lie? Not exactly, but just as untrue as one,
nonetheless.

                                ***

    Time passes, as it is wont to do. Autumn approached, changing 
things, turning the leaves to a multi-coloured shower as they fell
off the trees and get blown by the winds. Belldandy and Keiichi
continued to see each other, and their relationship deepened and
grew.

    "Keiichi?" asked Sayoko once, at the end of a date.

    "Mhm?"

    "You seem, oh, I don't know... happier lately. Not quite as 
single-minded I suppose. Content, I think that's the word I'm
looking for: contented."

    "I guess I am," he smiled, the one that melted her heart each
time she saw it; something which happened more and more lately.
"Maybe I just realised how much I have, and how lucky I am to
have-- you." Almost screwed up there, didn't you Keiichi? Almost
said Belldandy. How much longer until you can drop this facade? The
longer it goes on, the more Sayoko will be hurt when it ends, and
she doesn't deserve that.


                                *** 

    "What do you think?" Keiichi asked, pointing to the full-length
mirror frame.

    "It's lovely, why?" Belldandy replied, wondering why Keichi had
got it.

    "I'll set it up the the spare room," he said, already starting
to slide the dark polished cherrywood frame into the guest bedroom.
"This way you'll always arrive in style."

    "Where did you find it?"

    "Funniest thing," Keiichi grinned over his shoulder. "There was
this old temple that was getting demolished-- the place was unsafe
--and they wanted to build an apartment complex there. Lots of
trees, too. I spent some summers around there, as a kid, you know?"
Keiichi grunted as he managed to get the frame into the room. "Now
I just have to get the mirror," he sighed. "Where was I? The trees.
Right. So there were a lot of trees there. Some stayed, some
didn't. A furniture-maker, very picky and he does it all by hand
himself-- more of an artist, really --pointed to the one tree and
said that he would buy it, because it spoke to him somehow. He said
he would make it happy, like it wanted to be." Keiichi paused for a
moment. "Would you like a drink, Bell?"

    Belldandy merely shook her head, entranced by the story, and
wondering if... if... no, that would be absurd.

    "I was on the Strip last week, when the artisan called to me.
Ha said, and I quote, 'Sir! Sir! You must buy this! It calls to
you; it wants to be close to you. You must buy this.'
    "I blinked, and was about to call the man crazy, but then I
looked at the frame," Keiichi slid one hand over the intricate
patterns engraved into the cherrywood, caressing it, "and I knew
that he was right."

    "And then what?"

    "I bought it. He told me the story. I got a very good price on
it, even though it ate up a fair bit. I hope you don't mind if we
stay in tonight instead of going somewhere?"

    Belldandy smiled, Ameratsu on the waves. "Just as long as I'm
with you, Keiichi dear."


                                ***


    "Skuld?"

    "Yes Belldandy," Skuld replied eagerly.

    "Could you do me a favour? I need someone to cover for me 
tomorrow. Would you be a dear and do that for me? It would mean a
lot. I'll pay you back, promise."

    "This is happening more and more big sister. We don't see each 
other as much as we used to. Why do need me to cover for you?"

    "I... have to go to the Surface World. I left something
important there." My heart.

    "Okay, but this is the absolute last time. I know I said that 
before, but this time I mean it."

    "Oh Skuld, you're such a dear. How about this? This weekend
we'll go on a picnic, just you and me. I'll make all of your
favourites, and we'll get some ice cream afterwards."

    Skuld nodded tiredly. Belldandy flashed a smile, kissed Skuld
on the forehead, and left for parts un(but not really)known.

    The secret bug in Skuld's room nibbled on a bit of code Skuld
had taken out of Yggdrassil; it was old and Skuld was recoding it
anyway, so why not take it? The bug was happy.


                                ***


    "Bell, how much longer do we have to go on like this?" Keiichi 
asked, smoothing her hair reflexively as they huddled together
under a tree, staring at the city below them. 

    "I don't know. I still can't think of a way to break this to
the Almighty easily. Until I can we have to, otherwise he might
order us apart."

    "Is seeing me getting you into trouble Bell? I couldn't bear it
if you got into trouble because of me."

    "Oh Kei," she laughed softly, "seeing you is the high point in
my day. I wouldn't give you up for anything."

    "Love you."

    "Always and forever."


                                ***


    Keiichi burst into the Motor Club meeting, panting and out of 
breath.

    "--ink that maybe we should elect someone else then, He's not 
taking..." Tamiya noticed Keiichi coming in and stopped talking.

    "Hi guys," Keiichi said in between breaths, "Sorry I'm late, I
got caught up in something, a last minute thing, and didn't realise
the time and--"

    "Try and make it on time next time, okay Morisato?" said
Ootaki. "It helps if the president of the Club opens the meetings,
y'know?"

    Aoshima was silent, although when Keiichi walked by him maybe, 
just maybe he noticed the scent of a perfume which was not
Sayoko's, and perhaps he noticed the slightly dreamy expression in
Keiichi's eyes. 


                                ***


    "Keiichi?" asked a worried Sayoko.

    "Yes Sayoko?"

    "You seem distracted. Are you okay?"

    "Hmm? Oh, no. Sorry Sayoko. Things have just been a little
hectic for me lately."

    "I'm just worried about you, that's all. We haven't seen each 
other as much as usual. My father is beginning to miss you," Sayoko 
cracked a tentative smile with her last sentence.

    Keiichi laughed half-heartedly. "I'll make it up to you.
Promise." Inspiration hit as Keiichi suddenly came alive. "The
Ritz-Carlton. Next week. You, me, dinner." Sayoko loved fancy
places like that. It would work.

    Sayoko's eyes lit up with joy: it worked.

    "Mean it Keiichi? You better not bail on me like last time,"
she ended off ominously. 

    Keiichi smiled, the gentle one which transformed his face and 
melted Sayoko's heart all over again. "Of course not." The smile 
convinced her. She believed the smile's lie. God forgive, she
believed.


                                ***


    "Belldandy," the Almighty said. Others would make it sound like
a question, but not Him. Never Him. He never questioned, He stated
fact; He knew.

    "You have been derelict in your duties lately. This is not like 
you. Belldandy, you are quickly replacing your sister Urd as my
most delinquent goddess, and after Idun and the apple cider
incident..." He trailed off, leaving Belldandy to work out the
implications of what he said for herself.


                                ***


    It wasn't supposed to be this way-- we were supposed to be
happy. Skuld sighed as she checked on the Bug in it's cage. The Bug
nibbled on some lettuce; it seemed happy enough.


                                ***


    "Keiichi, we're going to have to ask you to step down. You're
not taking the Club seriously enough," Tamiya said sombrely, while
his omnipresent friend Ootaki nodded behind him.

    "Wuh, what do you mean?" asked a shocked Keiichi.

    "You're hardly here for any of the meetings anymore, you don't 
know what's going on in the Club, and you aren't taking the races 
seriously!" Tamiya ended in a righteous thunder.

    "There's other reasons Morisato, but these are the important 
ones," Ootaki added. "No hard feelings, right?"

    "Yeah. No hard feelings." Keiichi slumped away to his next
class.

    By the end of his last class, Keiichi began to feel better. Not 
being president of the Motor Club meant less responsibility, which
meant more free time, which meant more Belldandy. A
rationalisation? Maybe, but any port in a storm will do.

    Keiichi went to his job at the magazine, only to find a note on 
his desk to see the editor when he got in.

    "Morisato, do you have your article ready yet?"

    "No sir, I was just about to type it out now."

    "Don't bother."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I mean clear out your desk." The editor wrote something on a 
piece of paper. "Go to payroll with this. They'll give you your two 
weeks of severance pay."

    "I don't understand, why sir?" asked a bewildered Keiichi.

    "Don't understand! Keiichi, this is the second month in a row
you haven't met your deadlines; and last time it was over a week
and a half late! We have a magazine to put out." 
    The editor sighed. "If you were having problems you should have 
came to me. I'm not heartless, regardless of what the office gossip
says about my operation last year. We could have worked it out;
could have made it into a bi-monthly column for you or something.
You didn't though-- we're a team here Keiichi, a family. We help
each other out when asked. That's all you had to do."

    "But wait! Can't I--."

    "No," the editor shook his head sadly. "It's too late now."

    Keiichi left the office, left the building and retreated to his 
apartment, alone. He needed her, needed Belldandy, now more than
ever. In his distraction, his need, Keiichi was briefly aware that
there was something he was forgetting, but he shrugged off the
nagging feeling. Emotionally drained, he went to sleep curled up
tightly, and hugging his pillow fiercely.

    In the Ritz-Carlton, a beautiful woman waited with increasing 
impatience-- forgotten. again.


                                ***


    Aoshima-- a friend. Just the man he needed to talk to, Keiichi 
thought, not seeing the expression on Aoshima's face.

    "Hey, Aoshima! You got some time? I need to talk to you man."

    "You definitely need to talk Morisato," Aoshima replied
snidely, anger obvious on his face. "You have some serious
explaining to do about YOUR TREATMENT OF MY COUSIN!"

    "Cousin?" Sayoko. Last night... I... we-- oh no.

    "You stood her up-- again. This was not the first time, but it
was the worst... and the last." Keiichi shook his head dumbly while
Aoshima continued.

    "Do you know what you did to her? She waited at the restaurant 
until one-thirty, when it closed. I woke up to a ringing phone
then, to come pick her up, and when I got there....
    "How could you do that to her Keiichi? How could you...? When I 
arrived, she was crying. Not loudly, not excessively; I'm not even
sure she was aware she was crying anymore. Her tears fell
continuously; a quiet, constant trickle from her eyes."

    "Aoshima.... I.... Last night was bad for me, I--"

    "I don't care Morisato! You didn't show! You didn't even call
her to make an excuse. That's not the worst thing though," Aoshimaa
hissed.
    "The worst are the rumours. Rumours of you and a girl-- not 
Sayoko. Rumours of you and a foreigner-- A FOREIGNER!
    "Don't.... Just stay away from her-- and from me too, okay 
Morisato?" and Keiichi's best friend walked out of his life.


                            ***


    Two weeks. Only fourteen days, only three hundred and
thirty-six hours without her. A mere fraction of a fraction of his
life up until now, and an even smaller amount of the rest of his
life. Paltry-- an insignificant amount of time. Forever. 
    Where is your Belldandy to play with you by the temple and
around the cherry tree? Where is the girl who you never got to give
a ring to, Keiichi? Oh, wait. I forgot. You're not supposed to know
that, are you? Forget I mentioned it. Never happened, right?
    Belldandy, Belldandy where is your goddess Belldandy, Keiichi? 
Where is she when you need her the most? Where is she when everyone
else has forsaken you?


Everyone?

    That's not entirely true now, is it? Megumi came by a week ago, 
didn't she? Well, at least she tried to. What did you tell her
then? What did you say?
    Oh yes, that. Harsh words-- painful words. Didn't mean them 
though, did you Keiichi? You just needed release. Some way to ease
the hurting, lessen the pain. She knows that, doesn't she? Surely
she knows you didn't mean it, right? Right?


                            ***


    Skuld saw enough. For two weeks she watched, for two weeks she 
observed. She might not like Keiichi, but spending the better part
of two weeks curled up in a ball, alternatively crying or
catatonic, was too much.
    Belldandy was little better. Every morning she was red-eyed and 
raw. Her calm demeanor, once filled with love, was fraying and
being filled with despair.
    She had to act; Skuld had to do something. She went to her
room, and stared at the cage. To be more precise, she stared at
what was in the cage. The Bug. 
    Not yet. Skuld was not going to admit defeat just yet. Perhaps
it was salvageable. She could make Belldandy give up Keiichi, given
enough time; Belldandy just had to be sure Keiichi was happy-- that
he was willing to let her go.
    It was time for Skuld to go to the Surface World. She grabbed
the cage-- safer by far to keep the Bug with her. Less chance of it
being caught, with it under her eye on Midgard.

    Where to though? Someplace close to Keiichi, yet secluded
enough so that no one would notice her appearance. To bad Keiichi
wasn't using any hot water right now; then she could appear there--
he should be used to sudden appearances with Belldandy.
    There was a source... hmm. It would have to do. Skuld made her
way to Midgard, appearing in a public bath carrying a travel cage
with a dusty pink cloth over it. Exiting the building quickly,
Skuld got her bearings and headed for Keiichi's apartment.


                            ***


    Wake up. There's someone knocking at the door and they're not 
going away.
    "Go away!" Keiichi cried out in a voice hoarse from disuse.

    "I have to talk to you. It's about Belldandy," the unfamiliar 
voice replied.

    Belldandy? "Come in."

    Keiichi stood up and slowly made his way to the door, joints 
popping all the way. He was greeted by the sight of a cute
dark-haired twelve-year old girl, holding a travel cage for pets in
front of her with both hands, some sort of mallet or sledgehammer
strapped to her back, and markings on her face like--

                                 "Belldandy?" Keiichi said dumbly.

    "She's my big sister."

    "Then you must be Skuld. She's told me a lot about you." They 
sttod a moment longer before Keiichi remembered himself. "Come in,
come in. It's a bit messy...," he waved his hands aimlessly,
gesturing to the mostly concealed floor.

    "I know. I've been watching you for the last two weeks. That's
why I came, really."

    "What do you mean? Did Belldandy send you?"

    "No, I came here myself, I--"

    "Why hasn't she come? Why isn't she here? Doesn't she know 
that...? Why?"

    "Let me finish, and I'll explain it all." Skuld paused, and
waited for Keiichi's acknowledgement, then continued. "Belldandy
can't come-- she's not allowed.
    "Belldandy's being watched closely. If she came down, the
Almighty would notice. That would be an act of open defiance, and I
think you could remember what happened to the last ones who defied
His will." Skuld punctuated her statement with a long look at the
ground.


                             ***


    Belldandy jerked forward, alerted to Keiichi's condition by the 
alarms set in her heart. There was another goddess, or possibly a 
demoness with him. Only three things were known: it was female, it
was powerful in ways mortals were not, and it was with Keiichi.
    Her Keiichi. Trying to take him away. Hers. Never happen.
Never, never. Even if the price be defying the Almighty. Never.


                            ***


    Belldandy appeared in the only clean spot in Keiichi's
apartment-- the large full-length mirror with the ornate
cherry-wood frame. Keiichi bought it for her.
    She heard a female voice in the next room, but couldn't make
out who, or what the voice was saying-- only that it was familiar.
Belldandy powered up a force-bolt and threw caution to the wind,
rushing into the room. There, she found--

    "Skuld?" Belldandy asked, her voice lost in her sister's
apparent betrayal. The force-bolt, instead of hitting the owner of
the voice, blasted the mirror, turning the frame to so much
splinters and dust.

    Skuld panicked. "No! Wait! It's not what you think! You're not 
supposed to be here!" Skuld wailed. "What if He finds out?"

    Keiichi's reaction was much more simple. The pain in his face 
shattered and was replaced with a smile of nearly inhuman relief as
he ran to her, saying only, "Belldandy."

    Belldandy did not know what to do. Perhaps Skuld was trying to 
help them. What was important was Keiichi was with her now, arms
around her and whispering her name ceaselessly. In her distraction,
Belldandy let the force bolt dissipate a little too quickly. No one
was harmed, just the mirror The glass shattered and the cherry-wood
frame turned to ash. 

    Keiichi suddenly broke off the hug and looked at Belldandy 
strangely. "I remember."

    "What do you remember?" Belldandy asked, though she knew
exactly what it was he was talking about.

    "It. I, you, us. When we were kids. Everything.
    "I remember how you had to--"

    "...how I had to..."

    "...how you had to erase my memory. You sealed it in that
cherry-tree by the old shrine, didn't you?"

    Belldandy merely nodded, no other reaction possible for her.
The sky outside began to turn dark and grim.

    "I was starting to get it back in little glimpses that I would 
soon forget, ever since you came back."

    "Why all of it now, then?"

    Skuld spoke up. "I might know. The last part of that tree, its
heart, must have just been destroyed."

    Belldandy looked at the dust which had once been the frame.
Keiichi's eyes followed hers and came to the same conclusion. 

    "The mirror-frame was made from the cherry-tree which held the
seal," Belldandy said. "I... it was an accident!" she protested.
Skuld trailed off, leaving the obvious unsaid.

    "What does this mean?" asked Keiichi. "What will happen now
that I've regained my memory?"

    "Oh, Belldandy. He'll find out for sure," said Skuld, her voice 
laden with ages of guilt and regret.

    "It does not matter. I do ot care. All that matters is that I
am here... now... with Keiichi."

    Dark clouds grew and spiralled together outside with unnatural 
speed. Skuld, who was closest to the window, noticed this. There
could only be one reason for it. She pointed outside.
    "You can feel it, Belldandy, can't you? He knows. He's already 
started...."

    "There's nothing we can do about it, Skuld," Belldandy said
gently as she clung to Keiichi, who did the same to her. "If this
is the price to be paid so that Keiichi and I had this time
together...."

    "Skuld shook her head violently, flinging tears around the room
in her denial. "No! You don't understand, big sister.... Sorry, I'm
so sorry.... It's my fault... it's all my fault," so saying, Skuld
uncovered the cage and revealed the bug inside.

    Belldandy said nothing, her eyes asked enough questions, while 
Keiichi did not understand enough to begin to formulate any
questions.

    "The wish, Keiichi's wish, was supposed to be different, but a 
bug, *this* bug, allowed me to change it," confessed Skuld. 

    Timidly, hesitantly, Keiichi asked, "But why? What was my wish 
supposed to be? Why did you change it?"

    Arcs of power, disguised as lightning to mortal eyes, leapt
from cloud to cloud-- forming a complex pattern to those who knew
what to look for.

    "Because you two were together," Skuld spat out, "and I... I
was alone.
    "Do you hate me, dear sister?"

    "I could never hate you, Skuld. You know that."

    The gentleness, the kindness, and the absolute sincerity in 
Belldadny's voice, which was mirrored in the expression Keiichi
wore on his face, was too much for the young goddess to bear. Skuld
nodded.

    "And that's why I have to do this." 

    Skuld took out her hammer, the Mjolnir Mk. II, from its resting 
place on her back.

    High above them, the clouds finished their roiling and
seething, having finally shifted to their final formation.

    Skuld raised her hammer high above her head, and closed her
eyes. Belldandy and Keiichi looked on, expectantly.

    The lines of power connecting the clouds stabilised, closing
the circuit. As the pattern was completed, the set of instructions
it carried was enacted.

    Skuld let the hammer hang in the air for a second or two,
before beginning its descent.

    A beam of pure power erupted from the clouds, seeking a divine 
target in the profane world.

    Skuld's hammer picked up speed and momentum as it raced towards 
the bug.

    The beam lanced through the top of Keiichi's apartment
building, going through the floors as if they did not exist for it.

    Skulds hammer reached the cage and destroyed it without
pausing.

    The beam breached Keiichi's apartment and did not stop until it 
reached its target, Belldandy. In the same scintilla of time,
Skuld's hammer found the bug, and destroyed it.


*****************************   ***********************************
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*****************************   *********************************** 


    Skuld destroyed the bug just as she noticed the beam engulf 
Belldandy. What would happen afterwards? Would they remember too?
What if she destroyed the bug after the beam? Would it still snap
everything back? Was she too late, was she--

                                            --at the temple, by
herself? Skuld blinked, before running to check... yes, her room,
Urd's room, Belldandy's room, and Keiichi's too. They were all
there, just like she remembered it.

    "We're back!" a cheerful cry from the temple entrance.
Keiichi's voice. 

    Skuld ran to the couple at full speed, and tackled Belldandy
with a hug. "Big sister! I missed you!"

    Belldandy merely nodded at Keiichi as Skuld buried her head in
Belldandy's blouse.

    "Where'd this come from?" asked Keiichi wryly. He dug in the
paper bag he carried, and pulled out a carton. "I, ah, we thought
you might like this, Skuld."

    Skuld looked at the box Keiichi had in his hands. Ice cream,
from One Hundred and Thirty-one Flavours. Her favourite flavour, in
fact. Skuld looked at Keiichi, and gave him a quizzical look which
changed into a rare smile-- rare because it was directed at him.
"Why don't we all have some?"

    The trio entered the temple, talking and laughing, living and 
loving, and most importantly, eating ice cream together, like a
family.

Bugs are funny things, aren't they?

Your love is better than ice cream.
Better than anything else that I've tried 
and your love is better than ice cream
everyone here knows how to fight
and it's a long way down 
it's a long way down
it's a long way down to the place where we started from.
Your love is better than chocolate
better than anything else that I've tried
and oh love is better than chocolate.
Everyone here knows how to cry
and it's a long way down
it's a long way down
it's a long way down to the place where we started from...
do do do...


				-An ending-



	What? What? I don't feel the need (for some strange reason)
for author's notes! What do you want me to say that needs to be 
said here? :)
    Be kind, be harsh, it doesn't matter, I can take it. I'm good 
about that. Of course, explanations would be nice too-- telling me
that fragment x sucks does nothing to me unless you tell me why it
sucks. Also makes it more likely to heed your comment.

It's been a ride, hasn't it?



Matthew Lewis is:
	Matt on IRC
	Sojiro_Seta on Kawaiimuck
	maybeso@ican.net
	a casualty of causality
____________________________________________________________

	"Khattam-Shud," he said slowly, "is the Arch-Enemy
of all Stories, even of Language itself. He is the Prince of
Silence and the Foe of Speech. And because everything ends,
because dreams end, stories end, life ends, at the finish
of everything we use his name. 'It's finished,' we tell one
another, 'it's over. Khattam-Shud: The End.'"

	-excerpted from Haroun and the Sea of Stories,
		by Salman Rushdie
____________________________________________________________