Hey.
Neither Hitomi nor myself are on the ML right now; if you wish to send her
a comment, email it to me and I'll forward it to her.
-- Nick
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 gaigin
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 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
Beldandy, Urd, Skuld, Peroth, 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, 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,
Beldandy, Skuld, and Peroth 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 Beldandy, 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 Beldandy.
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 Morisatos, Beldandy, 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 Beldandy, 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 Beldandy 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 Beldandy 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 Beldandy 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 Peroth...How the hell am I going to
get rid of Peroth?*
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 Beldandy 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 the lighter 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
Beldandy 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 31'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 Beldandy's boyfriend? Did you
know great-aunt Peroth 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"
Moljinar, hence her own debugging hammer, Moljinar 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 school? 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.
***
Beldandy 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. Beldandy 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 Beldandy 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.
Beldandy 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."
Beldandy smiled radiantly, "That is quite all right. My name is
Beldandy, 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, Beldandy'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." Beldandy 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?"
Beldandy 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..." Beldandy continued, "It says that the renovations won't be
completed for another month."
*The Tendo curse strikes again.* Akane thought.
Beldandy 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?"
Beldandy 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?" Beldandy 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 Beldandy 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 Beldandy 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 Beldandy.
Ran placed her hand behind her head and started to play with her braid
as Beldandy'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 here."