I've had quite a few requests for this, so with permission from Hitomi,
I'm reposting it for all the people who've asked for it.
I didn't write it, and I'm not taking any credit for it. This is Hitomi's
work, and it's a damn sight better than anything I've ever written. Hitomi
_always_ makes me feel like a bloody hack writer by comparison.
Two important notes. The original was in .doc format, and wasn't set to 70
characters per line. So I converted it to ASCII text and use the "WinHelper"
program mentioned earlier in a post to the FFML to reformat it to the
aforementioned 70 characters.
I forget who wrote that program, so if you're reading this, _THANK YOU!_
Guess that's about all my ramblings save for this - any C&C sent to me
about "The Youngest Goddess" will be forewarded to to Hitomi, and flames
will be cheerfully pointed out to Tybalt, so that our ever-lovin' moderator
can 'moderate' you. *evil smile*
Have fun, enjoy the fic, and please let Hitomi know what you think.
Thank you.
Edward Becerra
(and NO, I am NOT Hitomi in disguise. My beard's too thick. ^_^)
-- Listar MIME Decryption --------------
He was dying.
There was nothing for that now, especially since it was
willingly given in saving the life of another. He would die knowing
that the gaijin woman was safe. The problem lay in that his child
was going to be left alone.
A shadow crossed over him, and blinking, he saw that it was the
woman who he had pushed out of the way of the landslide he himself
had caused in venting his grief. Perhaps there was a way to prevent
a disaster after all. His child would survive. "I have a request
of you."
The woman, who had tanned skin and long platinum blond hair
looked at the man below her. A man who, not knowing who or what she
was, willingly pushed her out of the way of a rock slide. He had
been seriously injured as a result, and there wasn't much she could
do except listen and to try and fulfil his request. "Please, tell
me what you wish."
"Up the trail a bit," he said pointing, "Is a small campsite.
My child...My daughter is there...She will need someone to take care
of her...To show her life...And to keep her safe...I would ask that
you do so."
Urd was startled, "I...I don't know how to take care of a child.
Please, surely her mother is still alive, or another family member."
The man coughed, blood coming up, "No...Her mother is
alive...But would be forced to kill her due to a promise...Any
member of our family would be forced to carry this out and help her
commit Seppuku...It is better that the two of us disappear...and
that they find me dead." He coughed again. "It would be better
for everyone to believe the two of us dead than to force that upon
anyone."
Urd gasped at hearing that. Forcing a child to commit suicide?
"How can a mother be willing to kill her daughter?"
"An accident...It will force her to carry out promises that were
made before I left...Promises that would kill my daughter...It
is a matter of honour...Will you take care of my daughter?"
Looking at the man, and knowing he had little, if any time left,
she answered, "I will. I will take your daughter as my own. I give
you my Promise, and my Oath that she will live for as long as I can
make possible."
The man smiled, "Thank-you...Her name is Ran..."
At that moment he died.
Urd wept for the man that had saved her life, and was more
concerned about his daughter than himself. She would fulfil this
promise, and more. His child would survive. The girl would have the
benefit of learning from the best of Asgard, and she would ask Idun
to give the child golden apples as well, so that she could continue
to grow healthy and strong. The mark on her brow started to glow and
as she threw her head back, making a silent wish, one which she hoped
would be approved.
As the energy died down, Urd left the body to go and get the
young girl who she would raise as her own daughter. No, not as her
own daughter, as _HER_ daughter. Urd was a mother now, despite
her earlier fears, and she had a responsibility that made her face
start to shine in anticipation.
The body, which was later identified as that of Saotome Genma,
was found two days later.
The Youngest Goddess:
Chapter One:
When a child comes...
A fan fiction based on Fujishima Kosuke's Manga Series, Aa!
Megami-Sama
Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, Peorth, Marler, Ootaki-Sempai, Tamiya-Sempai,
Morisato Keiichi, and Morisato Megumi are copyright 1988, 1998
Fujisawa Kosuke
Publishing rights:
Japan: Kodansha Tokyo North America: Dark Horse Comics
Studio Proteus
Also based on Takahashi Rumiko's Manga and Anime series, Ranma 1/2
Saotome Ranma, Saotome Genma, Saotome Nodoka, Tendo Soun, Tendo
Akane, Tendo Nabiki, Tendo Kasumi, and Kuno Tatewaki are copyright
1987, 1998 by Takahashi Rumiko.
Publishing rights:
Japan: Shogakukan Inc. Tokyo Hong Kong: Jademan
(Holdings) Ltd. North America: Viz Inc.
Certain figures from the Norse Pantheon, such as Thor, Odin, Idun,
and Loki, and characterisation of the same taken from the ancient
legends of Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Greenland.
Characterisations are as of the Ballads written in the twelfth,
thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries with additional material from
the Tale of Beowulf. Characterisations of Urd, Belldandy, Skuld,
and Peorth have been taken from the Manga series, Aa! Megami Sama.
The characterisation of Ran is based upon the training legend of the
Aesir.
By Ichinohei Hitomi
In Ancient Legends dealing with the Norse Pantheon, the Gods and
Goddess were all trained from birth to be warriors, and to carry out
the roles assigned to them before the coming of Ragnarok. Chief
among the Gods was Odin, who was also called all-father in later
years. He adventured, bribed, lied to other beings, stole property
and objects, threatened those who would not bend to his will, killed
maliciously and without care or restraint, cheated death of her due,
encouraged Loki in his many services and deceptions, and experienced
everything possible in order to prevent Ragnarok, and the Destruction
Of All That Was Known. He made sure that everyone was well able to
face that final battle, and had done everything in his power to try
to insure that it would never come to pass.
That was until he met the other Pantheons of Gods and Goddesses.
All of the Pantheons felt in some way responsible for the formation
of the planet that was their charge, and towards the universe in
general. In fact, all of the Gods and Goddesses had their own
versions of what would happen. Some that would end with the
Destruction Of All, others having a Cycle Of Rebirth. Now knowing
of these possibilities, Odin came up with a way to delay, and
possibly avert, the Destruction Of All.
Working together with all of the Pantheons, he supervised
the construction of a super-computer that would be a part of the
World Tree Yggdrassill. All of the Pantheons were to share in the
responsibility for that computer, but it was agreed that it would
be placed into the hands of the Norns, towards whom even he had to
defer, and members of their family. The unique role that they had,
being the patrons of the past, present, and future, would ensure
that the Yggdrasil Computer would operate for all eternity.
At least that was the original plan.
This changed when Belldandy, also known as Vervandi and a host
of other names, had found the man that she loved. She left Asgard
for life on Midgard, incidentally pulling her sisters with her. The
only one who remained to be in charge of the computer was Urd's
daughter, known simply as Ran.
Now Ran, being a very dutiful child, had learned of fighting
and various battle techniques from the Gods and Goddesses of all of
the Pantheons that she had contact with. This, combined with her odd
ability of changing her physical sex with the application of hot or
cold water, had led Odin to grant her true Immortality and becoming
a Goddess in her own right. Unfortunately, this meant that she had
to take several classes that she didn't like, such as programming
or spell casting, but she survived them. At the end of her
probationary period she was given the title of Goddess of Protection,
assigned to those Mortals who protected others.
Unfortunately Ran had a little...problem that didn't show up too
often. When it did however, all of Asgard did everything they could
to get her over this disastrous trait. Thor especially since he was
usually the one she pestered.
This was one of those times.
Ran was bored.
When Ran was bored it was said that Loki himself could not cause
more trouble. The last time she did not have anything to do, she
used one of her aunt Skuld's machines to do a little gardening.
Unfortunately, it went out of control and that caused the destruction
of a lot of property. Ran, of course, took after her mother and
tried to handle everything by herself.
It was another problem trait in the child, and Odin himself
got frustrated with it. Although he did not have a lot of contact
with the girl, he learned to be cautious whenever she fidgeted.
Anytime Ran tried to solve problems on her own huge disasters
soon followed. The really bad part of the incidents was that she
could not really be blamed for any of the messes other than being
bored and trying something new.
It always ended up in punishments that tried to curb her
wandering rather than reducing her powers or abilities.
No one wanted to leave her vulnerable when Ragnarok occurred,
and she would be extremely vulnerable if her powers were reduced
or removed. Given Ran's past, she tended to be the most vulnerable
of all Deities in Asgard. Everyone protected her from any real harm,
and since she was never interested in anything other than fighting
techniques, no one told her that she had been born a Mortal.
She didn't even remember who her father was having always
assumed it was one of the many Gods that her mother sometimes
went out with. Ran honestly didn't care who her father was since
all of the Gods had treated her like a favourite daughter ever since
she could remember. For a girl with very simple desires, having
so many Gods looking after you was wonderful. Even Loki, a man who
was disliked (if not hated) by almost every Deity in Asgard, was nice
to her!
But a mind with simple desires tends to have a very small
attention span for dealing with anything other than those desires.
"I want to have some fun." Ran fumed as she worked on the
latest logical form file for a new subroutine to the Yggdrasil
super-frame. "Of course _no_ one allows me to go anywhere. After
all, 'She's too young to be adventuring.' As if there were any
adventures left in Asgard."
Part of the problem than Ran had was that she was alone. Her
family had already been gone for almost two years now, and after
being looked after by her mother, it was lonely. She couldn't
even find a date! All of the male Gods were several centuries
older than her, and they refused to 'harm a minor, especially
Urd's daughter.'
Besides, she was getting tired of the meals she prepared;
her own cooking was nowhere near the levels of her aunt Belldandy.
Now Ran knew where her mother was, where her entire family was
for that matter, and it was due to one young man making a wish that
should never have gotten through the system. No matter how many time
she looked over the code, or worked with her aunt Skuld on it, it
looked and felt right. Still, the wish did get through all of the
security system safeguards and had been accepted. And Ran lost her
family because of it.
She wanted her family back and wished that she could spend some
time on Midgard as well!
This was an interesting case of reversal of desires. For
Mortals, entering one of the realms of the Gods and Goddesses
would be fascinating, and probably excite them for all eternity.
For Ran, the youngest Goddess on record, they were some of the most
boring places in the Universe.
"There has to be some way to go there for a little while,"
the red haired girl mused to herself. "I don't want to break the
rules like mom and aunt Skuld, but there's got to be a way."
An idea popped into her head. An idea so good, so amazing,
and so simple Ran was surprised that she had never thought of it
before. Leaning back in her chair, she decided to take some leave
to visit her family. No one could deny her that, and besides,
the Mortal world was so fascinating. It had been years since she had
been there, and she wanted to get a look at all of the new gadgets
that they had come up with.
Of course, she would also have to take a look at all of the
fighting techniques that they had come up with as well. The islands
that her mother and aunts were on was famous for that. Turning
to one of the terminals, Ran accessed the files to find the best
school of Martial Arts. It came up with the entry faster than she
thought possible.
School Name: Tendo Ryu Type of Martial Arts: Musabetsu
Kakutou Main Teacher: Tendo Soun
Associated School: Saotome Ryu Type of Martial Arts: Bujutsu,
Classical Main Teacher: Saotome Nodoka
Address: Tendo Dojo
Nerima Ward
Tokyo
Description:
The Tendo Dojo is listed as the best Mortal school of Martial Arts
known on Midgard. The style, while unusual, is very competent
and is on par with those styles known by the Gods and Goddesses.
It is unknown at this time if the school will be continued as one of
the heirs has been declared dead.
The school was not too far away from Nekomi, and would be a fun
place to go. She would have to see about it once she got there.
Unfortunately one thing remained; filing out the paperwork.
***
Nekomi Institute of Technology.
The best school in Japan if you wanted a technical education,
with the brightest young engineers, the best looking girls, and
students that had a habit of seeming to be able to pull of mechanical
miracles. Almost everyone in the country that was interested
in mechanics, and many people outside of the country that heard of
the schools reputation, tried to keep up with the events that were
happening there. From web sites to newsletters and television,
people watched in rapt fascination as a type of live soap opera took
place. There were entire servers dedicated to various groups; such
as the NIT MCC, or Aoshima Formula, to individuals; such as the
Morisato's, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, or Sayoko. The stories and
adventures that came out of the school would have been unbelievable
except that it was all well documented.
People wanted to go there, if only for the excitement that
followed these groups and individuals.
However, the person at the centre of this 'fishbowl' lifestyle
didn't even realise that he was so fascinating. The number of
fantastic events that had happened ever since he made a wish had
quickly become almost an everyday experience. Morisato Keiichi,
who only wanted to live a quiet life with his girlfriend Belldandy,
would have either had a heart attack or laughed out loud with the
amount of attention centred on him and his friends.
Then again, living with three Goddess, having another one trying
to push a wish on him, and any number of mystical beings, including
Angels, Sprites, Demons, and Spirits showing up, he was inured to
what people thought his life was really like.
The public at large wanted to meet the most famous of NIT's
students, Morisato Keiichi, whom many considered a God of Machines.
He tended to get into the most outlandish vehicles, things that
should never have worked because of the physics involved, and win
races which everyone thought was beyond him. Then again, he was very
probably being rewarded for his absolute faith in the Deities of
Japan. After all, Keiichi lived in a fully functional temple, so he
had to lead a life of Peace and Tranquillity.
And if he had a Yen for every time someone thought that...
Keiichi would have been glad to live anywhere as long as
Belldandy was there with him. She was the woman he had lost his
heart to before he knew she existed. There was a connection
between them that went beyond what was possible, even with the
Ultimate Force doing everything it could to keep them together.
Why else would Belldandy refuse to go back to the Heavens when she
had the opportunity to do so?
Love.
It was a simple word, with a simple concept. It encompassed
so many possibilities, so many lives, and so many ideals. It was
that Love that kept Keiichi and Belldandy together.
It was also the very thing that made their lives such a roller
coaster of adventure.
So it was no surprise that Keiichi, his exams and the necessary
studying being over, turned his thoughts over to the person who was
the centre of his entire life. The one person who made his life
complete, seem full of potential, and made everything else seem less
important. *OK, the anniversary of the day we met is coming up, and
I don't want anybody messing it up. I've got to find some way to get
away from the guys, find Urd something to do, and get Skuld
interested in something. Marler will hopefully stay away for a
while, and Peorth...How the hell am I going to get rid of Peorth?*
Grabbing a new spark plug to insert into the engine he was
rebuilding, Keiichi continued to ponder what he could do. So far,
every time he had arranged a romantic setting for Belldandy and
himself, something happened. Urd tried to 'help' their relationship,
Skuld tried to break them up, Aoshima was just a pain, and Ootaki
and Tamiya were nightmares waiting to happen. Thinking about it, he
realised there was one thing that he hadn't tried lately, especially
since he lived in a temple with Goddesses. He could ask Kami-sama
for help.
Looking at what he was doing, he contemplated staying there and
finishing the engine or going and lighting some incense and praying.
The engine could wait for a while, getting some help with his
relationship was the immediate concern. After putting his equipment
away in the appropriate spots, Keiichi left the garage and went to
the materials he needed in order to pray properly. *It's not that
I wish them ill,* he mused to himself, *It's just that I want to have
some private, romantic time with the woman I love. Perhaps this time
we can get a little further that the kisses and hugs we usually
give each other.*
Arriving in front of the huge urn that he was going to toss the
bundle of incense into to start his prayers, he took out his lighter.
It was when he lit thelighter that things started to happen. Namely
a red head with long hair that had a couple of pieces lifting up from
the centre, a cute face, and an octagonal mark on her forehead.
Along her checks were two triangular marks. That, and the fact that
she came out of the flame marked her for who she was; another
Goddess. "Can I help you?"
Ran stared at the young man in front of her, not quite
understanding what he said. "<Can you say that again?>"
This cause Keiichi to frown. The young girl, she couldn't
be older than fourteen or fifteen, said something in a language
he didn't understand. In his experience, every deity or demon that
he met was able to speak Japanese. This was the first time that a
Goddess was unable to instantly understand him. "Are you here to see
someone?"
Well, the guy in front of Ran obviously couldn't understand
her. If this continued it was going to be a problem. The language
did seemed familiar, although she couldn't place it. Since this was
the place her aunt Belldandy was staying, it was probably one of
those that she had heard her practising. Sighing, she said, "Urd?"
That Keiichi understood. This girl was here to see Urd for some
reason. He gestured towards the house and led her inside, forgetting
what he was going to prayer for in the first place.
***
"You know brat," Urd said warming to her subject, "Just because
those guys at the campus are impressed with you doesn't mean you have
to monopolise them at 131's. I doubt they want to watch you gobble
up all the ice cream you can eat."
Skuld scowled at her older sister. "Hey! They like me, and _I_
don't have to use a potion. Besides, they know Mecha!"
Urd snorted, "You know, ever since those 'robot wars' the idiots
put together, you and Megumi have been hounded by those Mecha
freaks."
"And what's the matter with a fan club? You have one."
"You're bad enough by yourself. You make Mechs that have a
tendency to destroy things or cause trouble, that pest of a robot
you created, and everytime you fix something for Keiichi it ends up
destroyed or trying to kill him. Add to this mix the fact that
Keiichi's sister is a real ditz at times; it's as if nothing but
mechanics is in her head. Combine the two of you, add those freaks,
and you'll end up destroying the city." Urd stated as she slid open
the door.
Skuld's temperature rose, "Yeah, well at least we're creating
_useful_ objects. What can you create without using a spell or
mixing a potion?"
"<Mom! Aunt Skuld!>" a red headed blur said as it crashed
into them, knocking them to the floor, "<I'm so happy to see you.
What have you been doing since you last visited? Why are you still
on Midgard? When are you coming home? Is that guy at the table aunt
Belldandy's boyfriend? Did you know great-aunt Peorth is on Midgard
somewhere granting a wish? How di...>"
Urd placed her fingers on her daughters lips while smiling,
"<Slow down, little one. Try asking one question at a time before
you become as much a pest as your aunt.>"
"<HEY! I'm not the one who keeps interfering in> oneesama's
<relationship.>" Skuld shouted at Urd and then frowned, noticing
that they were no longer speaking Japanese. Looking at her niece,
she stated, "<You have not been studying, have you?">
Ran grimaced, "<You know I don't like schoolwork that much.
Besides, I didn't think I would need a language other than Aesir,
Norse, or Norwegian.>"
Skuld sighed. Ran really HATED school. If the young red head
was given a choice, the girl always went to see what all the warriors
were doing. She sometimes wondered if Thor was her nieces father;
next to Urd, Ran was closest, personality speaking, to the Thunderer.
They were both arrogant, acted before really thinking, and were
better at destruction than creation. It frustrated her in the
extreme. Her niece could be so much better than she was! "<Wait
here.>"
Keiichi looked on at the scene. Whoever the girl was, she
certainly didn't hesitate in tackling Urd and Skuld as soon as they
walked through the door. The red head was probably a close friend
of Skuld's since they looked about the same age. "So Urd, who is she
and why was she asking for you?"
Urd looked up from where she was talking with Ran. "Oh, right.
Couldn't you tell who is was by looking at her?"
Keiichi frowned and took a closer, more careful look at their
guest. "Sorry Urd. I have no idea which of the Goddesses she could
be."
The blond haired Goddess looked at her sister's boyfriend.
She was going to enjoy this. "This is my Daughter, Ran."
Ran wondered why uncle Keiichi had chosen to hit his face on the
floor like he did.
***
"Wonderful," Skuld said to herself as she started to search
through her room to find the translation earring that she had created
some time ago. "With Ran around there will be twice as much trouble
as usual."
It wasn't that Skuld didn't like her niece, it was more along
the lines that she had a tendency to get very single minded on a
number of maters. Especially her favourite topic; fighting. If
there was one thing that her niece excelled in it was destruction.
She even had the dubious reputation of being the only person who had
broken the "Unbreakable" Mjollnir, hence her own debugging hammer,
Mjollnir Mark II. It had taken a lot of research on Skuld's part to
find a substance that could stand up to the overly curious and
accident prone young girl.
Skuld dismissed the possibility that she was just as
single-minded and accident prone. The only times her devices didn't
work quite right was whenever Keiichi was involved; she was a genius
after all, probably the greatest genius in the entire universe.
Sighing, Skuld wondered how she would keep her occupied,
studying, and away from Urd. While others would protest at the last
part, the young black haired Goddess knew it had to be done for the
child's own good. No way was she going to let Urd teach her niece
any more stupid ideas!
Still, there were times when she actually admired her eldest
sister, especially given the handful that Ran was at times, but most
of the time she was not what would be called the best role model.
How many times had she taken the youngster away for a day or two in
order to teach her some important lessons, and how often had Urd
undone that learning in a few minutes of being around the child.
It was natural, but Ran admired her mother too much for Skuld's
pleasure.
Then again, the concept of anyone actually admiring Urd for more
than a few minutes at a time was a foreign concept to her.
***
Keiichi looked at the young girl that was sitting beside Urd.
"She's your daughter?"
Urd smiled, "Yeah, she's my daughter, and she's a chip off the
old block."
Keiichi sipped his tea slowly, wondering how to bring this up.
Then again, Urd and subtle were entirely opposite concepts. "How old
is Ran?"
Urd frowned, "Twenty. Why?"
At that statement, Keiichi blinked. *A twenty year old girl who
looks as though she was only fourteen...wait a second.* He looked
at Ran again. No it wasn't his imagination, she now looked as though
she was twelve, maybe thirteen at most. "Is she getting younger?"
Urd frowned, looked at her daughter and noticed what Keiichi
was talking about. "Oh that. It's not a problem, and she isn't
getting younger."
"Then why does she look younger?"
Urd chuckled a bit, "She doesn't. The spell she was using to
look older just wore off is all."
That was when Skuld came back into the room with the earring.
"<Put this on and keep it on Ran. It will allow you to understand,
speak, read, and write any Mortal language. And while you're here,
you're going back to school.>"
Ran frowned as she started to attach the earring, "<School?
Why do I have to go back to scho>ol? I got my programming licence
and my spells down."
"Because you still need a good education! I'm going to register
you with me at NIT, and then we're gonna see what you can do to
improve those marks that you got earlier." Skuld fumed.
Ran stuck out her tongue to her aunt. Skuld could be a real
pain when it came to education, and now was no exception. If she
thought that this was the end of it, they'd see. Besides, what could
a Mortal school teach her?
Skuld stuck her tongue back out at her niece.
Keiichi sat there with a small sweat drop forming on the back
of his head. "Twenty?"
Urd nodded, "Yep. She acts her age, don't you think?"
"Urd, you realise that to have a daughter her apparent, MORTAL
age you'd have to have gotten pregnant when you were thirteen?"
Urd shrugged. "So? A lot of girls get pregnant at that age."
This was not something that Keiichi wanted to hear...
***
Akane smiled to herself as she looked over the new campus that
was going to be her home for the next few years. It had taken some
time and effort, as well as some of the pull Aunt Nodoka had, but she
had finally managed to get to a school Kuno Tatewaki could not follow
her to. Hopefully, this school would signal a new start, one away
from the craziness that her life had been thus far.
Sometimes it seemed as though the Deities were trying to drive
her mad or kill her.
Since Sr. High School, she had faced hoards of boys, a perverted
old martial artist, a dojo destroyer, challengers from all over Japan
and some parts of China, and a horrible ordeal at Jusendo. No matter
what happened, the adventures, and the strangeness never seemed to
end. Jusenkyo curses, Ki techniques, Ancient tribes, Hidden
civilisations; all were a normal part of Tendo Akane's life.
Then again, with the death of cousin Ranma and uncle Genma,
she was the one who was expected to take over the school.
Since her aunt had come to live with them since she was six and
a half, about all she had ever done was practice the Art. Her
sisters had been allowed some freedom, at least, in pursuing their
own interests. Right now Kasumi was just finishing her internship
to become a doctor and Nabiki was already beginning her masters
work. Coming to NIT represented a freedom she never had before.
And perhaps the chance to finally become SOMETHING other than
a cursed martial artist.
***
Belldandy was doing what she did best, helping others.
Usually she was tending to the needs of her Keiichi, the man she
loved, and was willing to give up everything, including the universe
for. Keiichi, the one person she couldn't get her mind off of. The
one being who was everything to her. He was her love, her life, and
she would risk anything, do anything, to keep him safe.
The one Goddess said to be the kindest in the entire universe
became rage incarnate if anything or anyone ever threatened her love.
But she had other concerns today; that being the placement
of new students to the campus. Belldandy had been asked by the
housing committee to help the new students get to their dorm rooms
and to see if they needed anything. They believed that the normal
chaos that moving days caused could somehow be lessened by her famous
presence.
And to this point, everything had gone OK.
That was when Belldandy felt it.
It was a portent, a warning, that something was going to happen
and that it would not end very soon. As if the normal rules
governing the universe were suspended for the duration of whatever
was to occur. Not even an invasion of bugs could cause such unease
in the universal fabric.
Turning away slightly, she cast a quick detection spell, trying
to find out what had changed in the local environment, and it pointed
out one of the new students.
The girl in question had long black hair in a braid down her
back, a backpack, and boyish, somewhat oversize clothes. Her brown
eyes were friendly, but kept darting about as if searching for
something, and their was something in her stance that said she was
waiting for an attack of some kind. She was not the typical student
that came to NIT expecting to go to classes on technology. Instead
she looked like a warrior of some kind who was expecting the worse
at any minute. Something like Thor whenever he expected Loki to come
by for dinner.
Belldandy had to find a way to make her a little bit calmer.
Going up behind her, she asked, "Can I help you find your way?"
Akane blinked. The owner of that voice shouldn't be here,
instead she should have been in Tokyo completing her studies. She
turned, "Kasumi-oneechan, what are you do..."
The girl behind her was not Kasumi.
This girl was a foreigner, with long, light brown hair, clear
blue eyes, and a kind face. She radiated peace and calm. "Oh, I'm
sorry, I thought you were someone else."
Belldandy smiled radiantly, "That is quite all right. My name
is Belldandy, and I'm here to help first time students find their
way around and get adjusted to the campus."
Akane put her hand on the back of her head, "Ah-heh...I
guess I'm sort of obvious, aren't I?"
Impossibly, Belldandy's smile seemed to get a bit bigger. "We
tend not to worry about things like that since everyone needs time
to get used to a new place. Follow me and we'll see about finding
your room."
"Uh, thanks." Akane replied, "My name is Tendo Akane, by the
way. Sorry to cause you all this trouble."
"It's no trouble at all." Belldandy replied while looking
over the housing schedule. "Oh dear."
Akane blinked again. *Uncanny! Her manners, her voice, the way
she says her words, if this obviously wasn't Kasumi, I would think
she was. I wonder how she looks like without clothes?* She lightly
rapped her head, *Baka! You've been hanging around Happousai
too long.* "Is there anything wrong?"
Belldandy looked slightly embarrassed, even though it wasn't
her fault. "I'm afraid your room was taken off the list for now
since some renovations need to be completed. They do not have
another place listed."
Akane groaned. Perfect. Her life was going as it usually
did. "Ah well, I guess I can camp outside for a couple of days."
"Ano..." Belldandy continued, "It says that the renovations
won't be completed for another month."
*The Tendo curse strikes again.* Akane thought.
Belldandy was distraught. Perhaps this is what she was feeling.
"If you wouldn't mind, you can stay with my family until your room
is ready."
Akane looked at the girl, "Ah...No offence, but isn't that sort
of an unusual thing for you to do?"
Belldandy smiled again, "Perhaps, but I remember when my
boyfriend and I needed a place to stay, and a priest was kind enough
to let us stay at the temple where we now live. One cannot go
through life without others, and helping others is the right thing
to do."
Akane smirked. Definite Kasumi-like tendencies. She could get
used to this girl. "OK, I accept the invitation. Before I do
however, I want you to know that my life tends to be a bit strange
at times."
"Strange in what way?" Belldandy said as they walked away from
the campus.
Akane started to tell an edited version of her life story and by
the time they arrived at the temple Belldandy was determined
to keep Akane there, and trouble out of their lives.
***
Ran and Skuld were talking about various things that had been
going on in their lives while the younger Goddess was practising
her battle skills. It had been a fun sort of morning, but her mother
wanted to talk to uncle Keiichi in private for a while. She wasn't
about to interfere in her mother's business if given a specific
instruction. The last time she messed up one of her mothers
potions...
She shuddered to think of the punishment that followed.
Nope. Never again. Well at least not without a very good
reason. "So why hasn't aunt Belldandy married uncle Keiichi yet?"
Skuld shifted nervously, "Well, there have been a number of
troubles around here, which is why I built Banpei-kun. He's designed
to keep Marler away from here."
Ran stopped what she was doing. "Marler?"
Skuld coughed delicately, "She's a demon, and she's been trying
to break up oneesama and Keiichi for a while now."
Ran got excited, and started to wave her hands in the air, not
noticing that she was also tossing about her weapon. "A Demon? An
actual Demon to fight and defeat? WEEEEE!!! An adventure at
last!!!"
As she spun around and said that, Ran let go of the handle to
her Rapier, which went in a straight line and into the wall next to
the face of a young black-haired woman who was standing next to
Belldandy.
Ran placed her hand behind her head and started to play with her
braid as Belldandy's face flushed with slight embarrassment
and Skuld developed a sudden sweatdrop. "Eehhh...Sorry 'bout that."
Akane's eyebrow raised as she looked at the quivering sword
embedded in the wood directly in front of her eyes. "I think I'm
going to have no trouble fitting in around
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"Dreamers may die, but the Dream is eternal.."