Authors' notes:
Nothing much here this time ... just a notice to let you know that, if
you missed chapter 1, you can catch it at the FFML Mini-Archive, at this
link:
http://24.31.125.242/cgi-bin/RetrieveStory.exe?StoryID=150028
We have plans to HTML-ize all five chapters and put them up on our web
site complete with illustrations, but this hasn't been done yet.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter. :)
Credits:
This story is based on Oh My Goddess, an OAV series and manga written by
Kosuke Fujishima. It is not our purpose to make a profit from this--in
fact, if you don't own any Oh My Goddess, we highly recommend that you
go out and buy some. :)
****
And now, without further ado...Goddess in the Mirror
Chapter 2: Days Like This
By Bart Kelsey and Thomas Dye
Wow. It's been ten days now. Feels like a lot longer than
that, though--and I'm not sure that's a good thing. It's
just ... Mara can be so *mean* sometimes. I've never met
any divinity before her, but I guess I kind of expected
goddesses to be nicer than that.
Who am I to complain, though? Most guys like me never get
a chance to be with a woman like her in their entire lives-
-and here Mara is, willing to stay with me, Keiichi
Morisato, for the rest of my life. I can only hope that
some day I'll be good enough to make her happy.
Then there's Verdandi. I don't think I've ever met a nicer
girl in my whole life. What a contrast. If there's ever
anybody who *should* be a goddess, it's gotta be her. Not
based on looks, of course...she's all right, but certainly
not a head-turner like Mara is. But her personality.
She's so sweet and innocent, and she always knows just what
to say.
I can't really place it, but it almost seems like there's
something more to her. I kinda get a feeling of Deja Vu
when I'm talking to her--like we met in some previous life.
Heck, maybe we did. I mean, up until a week ago, I'd never
seen a goddess, and wouldn't have believed they even
existed. Now, well, anything's possible.
Either way, she makes an excellent roommate for Megumi.
They seem to get along really well together. A lot better
than Megumi would get along with Mara, that's for sure.
Whenever the two of them are in the same room, you can
almost *feel* the tension. I asked Meg about it a couple
days ago, but I couldn't get a straight answer out of her,
which was strange. Usually she doesn't avoid questions
like that.
And then there's Mara and Verdandi. For the life of me, I
can't figure out what's going on between those two. I
mean, Mara's kinda rude to everybody, but she takes it a
step or two farther when Verdandi's around. It's like
she's got some kind of grudge or something. And Verdandi
doesn't seem like she knows what to make of it. She just
kind of takes it, and goes on like nothing's the matter.
Case in point--yesterday, Verdandi invited Mara and I over
for dinner. She's a wonderful cook, as I've discovered.
Anyway, Mara, Megumi, and I were all sitting down at the
table, when Verdandi walked out of the kitchen carrying
this tray of--get this--Italian food. I've never really
been one to like Italian all that much, but man, when I
smelled her cooking, well, count me as converted!
"Wow, that smells great!"
"Oh, thank you Keiichi!" Her smile really does light up a
room. I wonder if Mara's does as well. It's hard to tell
though, since she seems to spend all her time glowering at
everyone. I wish I could do something to make her smile
like that.
So anyway, Verdandi passed our plates out. There was some
sort of breaded chicken with cheese and tomato sauce, some
ravioli, and a really nice salad. She had even put a
little piece of parsley at the side of the plate as a
garnish. Everything looked so nice I almost felt guilty
about eating it.
I think Meg felt the same way I did, but Mara basically
turned her nose up at it. She took a bite, and then made a
face and started pouring salt and pepper all over it.
I went ahead and tried it myself, expecting the worst after
seeing Mara's reaction. All I can say now is that I think
she needs to have her taste buds checked.
"This is excellent!" I really meant it, too, but I could
tell by the way Verdandi was glancing back and forth
between myself and Mara that she didn't believe me.
And then to make things worse, Mara goes and says, "Oh,
he's just being tactful."
I looked up at her sharply. Let me just say that Mara's
gaze is a difficult one to meet. I saw those eyes boring
into me, and I had to look away. I felt so ashamed of
myself. I really *did* like Verdandi's cooking--a lot,
actually--but I couldn't tell her that with Mara staring at
me.
"Keiichi, when you say things like that to people, you do
more harm than good. It's best that someone be honest with
Verdandi about her cooking so she'll stop and other people
won't have to suffer through it."
Verdandi excused herself after that--her voice was
trembling a bit. I could tell she was on the verge of
tears. She ran into the bathroom and shut the door behind
her. I'm not sure, but I think I could hear her crying
from inside.
Megumi was furious. Sometimes I really wish I had my
sister's courage. She leaned right over the table and
slapped Mara across the face ... and not just a little
slap. She did it like she *meant* it.
Now, Mara looks mad most of the time, but this was the
first time I'd ever seen her *really* ticked off. I could
almost imagine little flames burning in her eyes when she
wound up and slapped Meg back. It was enough to knock her
backwards a bit, and I think it actually drew a little
blood from the corner of her mouth. Meg was stunned--and
scared too, unless I read her wrong.
Mara looked back and forth between the both of us with a
level gaze, and then stood up and walked out the door,
leaving us there in the dining room by ourselves. Meg just
kind of looked at me, like she didn't know what to think.
Verdandi's sobbing from the bathroom finally broke the
silence.
"I think I should--" Meg trailed off, looking back over her
shoulder at the bathroom.
"Yeah," I replied. "Um, I better go. I'm really sorry
about this, Meg. You gonna be all right?"
Megumi picked up her napkin and dabbed another drop of
blood away from her mouth. "Yeah ... don't worry about it,
Kei. It's not your fault."
I nodded dumbly, thankful that I had a sister like Meg,
whom I could count on. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I
said, standing up to leave.
"Yeah. Bye Kei."
I waved half-heartedly as I shut the door behind me.
*
Urd was bored. She sat down in her chair in front of her
designated computer terminal, propping her head up with one
hand. It wasn't that there was nothing for her to do in
Heaven, it was just that her job could become extremely
tedious at times. Usually it consisted of watching the log
files fill up, correcting any errors in the database as
they came along, then repeating the process. After
scrolling up and down through her email for what seemed to
be the hundredth time, it dawned on her that there was a
way she could relieve her boredom. She would go visit her
younger sister.
The walk from Urd's post in the Yggdrasil System
Administration building to the Goddess Relief Office was
not a very long one. Just follow the path under the
crystal arches, turn left at the World Tree, and walk
straight on until you see a skyscraper built in the metal-
and-crystal architectural style of the first millenium,
with massive, ornately-carved ebony doors and the words
"Goddess Relief Office" in gold script just above them. A
casual observer would have been amazed at the sights, but
to Urd, it was nothing new.
The four front doors led into a lobby built with gold and
white marble. The front desk, an impressive stone affair
with famous scenes from various religious texts inlaid in
well-polished bronze, was staffed by five eager, young,
smiling goddesses in training. A giant crystal chandelier
hung from the ceiling, bathing the entire room with a soft
blue glow. Urd just shook her head; it was ridiculous how
far they were willing to go just to impress people.
The actual splendor, however, ended just inside the
elevator, where good business sense finally managed to
outweigh the desire to overwhelm. The elevator was fast,
at least, and shot Urd up seventy-two stories in a matter
of seconds without so much as a flinch, using some sort of
antigravity field to dampen the effects of the acceleration
inside.
The doors slid open to reveal row after row of cubicles,
just like one would expect from a modern office building
down on Earth. Urd meandered over to Belldandy's office,
expecting to find her inside; she was surprised to discover
that it was actually vacant. Normally Belldandy was a very
neat person, but it struck Urd as odd that all the photos
and knick knacks her younger sister had accumulated in her
office were missing. After checking through a few drawers
and finding them to be empty as well, she came to the
conclusion that Bell must have been transferred elsewhere.
Wondering why she had not been informed of this, she
proceeded to ask a few workers in nearby cubicles to see if
they could shed any light on this situation. Most just
shrugged, said they didn't know where her sister had gone,
and continued on with their business.
Urd was confused. If there was one thing she didn't like,
it was a mystery.
Giving up on that particular line of searching, she headed
back to her own cubicle in at the squat, gray Systems
Administration building, where she sifted through logs
relating to her sister and recent duties. After a brief
search, she discovered that Belldandy had been assigned to
grant the wish of one 'Keiichi Morisato', but the wish was
marked as yet unfulfilled. Strangely enough, Belldandy's
current location was not listed, most likely due to yet
another bug in the system, which would have to be fixed
later. She browsed through the mortal database and found
that this Keiichi was a college student who had been living
in the Nekomi Institute of Technology's Mens' Dorm. Just
recently, however, he had moved out and gone to a small
apartment complex called 'Northwood Tower.'
Where Keiichi is, she decided, Belldandy is most likely to
be near. It was time she pay them both a surprise visit.
*
"Delivery!" The postman walked to the front desk and rang
the service bell.
The receptionist looked up in annoyance since she was
sitting right there reading a book and fanning herself,
most obviously in view. She really didn't like that bell,
and she guessed that visitors just felt the need to ring it
regardless of whether she was sitting there or not. She
concluded that this man was a jerk and thought nothing more
of it.
"Sign here please," he said, handing her an electronic pad.
She took it and scribbled a few characters in the signature
box, then handed the pad back and watched with mild
distaste as he walked out the door. The label on the
package read 'Morisato'--no first name was given, and the
writing looked as if it had been scrawled there hastily.
She started to get up to put it in its rightful mailbox,
but at that moment Megumi wandered into the building.
"Hey Megumi, I have a package for you!" she said, pointing
at her surname on the label.
Megumi gave her a confused look as she accepted the small
item.
"Who's it from?" the receptionist asked.
Megumi turned the package over a few times, scanning it for
a return address. "I dunno--it doesn't say." She waved
it in front of her face, fanning herself in the summer
heat. "It sure is hot outside. I think I'm gonna head up
to my room and change into something a bit lighter. Catch
ya later!"
"Hey Meg," the receptionist called after her, "is
everything all right?"
Meg turned around. "Sure--why?"
"You've got a bit of a bruise on your cheek there."
Meg reached up and touched the side of her lip. It still
felt a bit tender. "Yeah. Don't worry--it's just a little
bump."
She ended the conversation with a quick wave goodbye, and
darted up the stairs, leaving the young receptionist alone
in the lobby again.
*
Verdandi glanced up from her homework, hearing the door to
their apartment open. She stood and stretched for a
moment, then walked out into the living room, only to find
that her roommate was nowhere in sight. She was just about
to return to her studies, when she noticed that there was a
small parcel sitting on the table. Curiously, she picked
it up, intending to check the address; the instant she did
so, however, she felt something almost like a jolt of
electricity running though her body, and she nearly dropped
the package in surprise. When the sensation faded a moment
later, she checked the label, found her roommate's family
name on it, and placed it back on the table. She began to
walk away, but then stopped, feeling almost compelled to
turn back. It was strange, but she really felt like she
needed to know what was inside.
"Megumi, are you here?" Verdandi called out.
Megumi's muffled reply came from behind the closed door of
her bedroom. "Yeah, I came up here to change into
something a bit cooler. None of these colors match, though
... give me a few minutes and I'll be right out, okay?"
Verdandi looked at the package again, still wondering about
it. "Hey Megumi," she ventured, "did this package come in
today's mail?"
"You mean that little box? I was wondering about that
myself. Go ahead and open it up if you want ... I'll be
out in a just a sec."
Again picking up the package, Verdandi tore through the
thin brown paper and removed its contents.
"It's a video tape," she said aloud. "It says 'Goddess
Productions' on the label."
"Doesn't sound familiar," came Megumi's reply. "Why don't
you pop it into the VCR, and I'll be out in a few minutes."
"Okay." Verdandi slid the TV room door open and then
closed it behind her, carefully loading the strange tape
into their old video cassette player. She flipped on the
television, hit play, and then sat back and placed her
hands in her lap.
The sultry music and decidedly racy title that issued forth
from the TV immediately brought an embarrassed flush to her
cheeks.
"Sexy Sister?" she wondered aloud. What kind of pervert
would send her and Megumi *this* sort of tape?
Just as she was reaching for the stop button on the VCR,
the title faded to reveal a pair of shapely legs on the
screen. The camera then slowly panned upward to their
owner's face.
Verdandi stopped for a moment. Something was oddly
familiar about the woman on the screen, although she
couldn't quite place it. She sat down close to the front
of the TV, trying to figure out where she had seen this
woman before, when something totally out of the ordinary
happened.
A foot popped out of the television set.
Verdandi rubbed her eyes, just to be certain her mind
wasn't playing tricks on her. When she looked again, the
better part of the woman's calf was also sticking out of
the television, accompanied now by her other foot. Backing
away quickly to a corner, Verdandi watched, frozen in
terror, as the lights flickered and the woman slowly eased
her way out of the screen. She was tall and slender, with
piercing eyes and wavy, platinum-blonde hair.
As the lights returned to normal, the woman, now fully
emerged from the TV set, knelt with her head inclined and
her cloak wrapped around her in a position that reminded
Verdandi of an old vampire movie she had once seen.
Slowly, deliberately, the mysterious woman glanced up at
her.
Something appeared to startle the stranger a bit. She
stared at Verdandi incredulously, as if sizing her up
somehow.
"Bell? Is that you?" she asked finally.
Verdandi screamed.
Seconds later, Megumi burst into the room brandishing a
baseball bat.
*
"Did you hear that?"
Mara looked up from her TV program and glanced at Keiichi,
who had been immersed in his schoolwork. "What?"
"I thought I heard a scream ... yeah, I definitely hear
something. It sounds like my sister!"
Without waiting for a response, Keiichi bolted out of his
apartment and into the hallway, banging on his sister's
door. There was definitely some sort of commotion going on
within.
Hearing no answer, he tried the doorknob, and was relieved
to discover that it was unlocked. Mara, by this time, had
strolled out to observe, so she followed him as he ran
inside.
The disturbance, as far as he could tell, was coming from
the TV room; he bounded in as fast as his legs would allow,
and took quick stock of the situation.
"Get out!" Megumi was yelling. "Get out now, or I'll call
the police!"
The recipient of Megumi's threats, a tall, slender woman
with wavy blonde hair and markings on her face, appeared to
be paying Megumi no mind. She was instead concentrating on
Verdandi, who was cowering in the far corner of the room.
"Bell," she was saying, "what's wrong with you? Why are
you looking at me like that?"
A fraction of a second later, Mara wandered in behind
Keiichi.
"Urd!" said Mara, alarmed.
At the sound of her name, the woman looked up sharply to
see Mara standing in the doorway. "Mara! What's going on
here, and what the hell happened to my sister?!"
Mara smiled a dark half-smile. "That's a very good
question, hon. But the thing is, I really have no idea.
You see, I'm just here on contract with Keiichi here." She
placed a hand on Kei's shoulder, causing him to flinch
slightly.
"On con--" Megumi started, but never got the chance to
finish.
"Quiet, girl!" Mara snapped, silencing Megumi's question.
"Now, Urd, I suggest you leave this apartment right now.
You're scaring poor little Verdandi here ... and I wouldn't
want to have to remove you forcibly--I don't think Verdandi
and Megumi could afford to pay the damages on this place."
The woman named Urd was nearly trembling with rage, a hint
of burgundy showing through her olive skin. "Mara," she
said very quietly, "I don't know what you've done here, but
when I find out what it is, I'm going to come looking for
you, and personally tear you to shreds."
"Urd, darling," Mara replied, all smiles, "don't make me
ask you to leave again."
Urd drew in a deep breath and walked out of the TV room.
Keiichi and Megumi poked their heads out into the dining
area and watched as she left the apartment, slamming the
door behind her.
"What just happened here?" asked Megumi, at length.
Mara sighed. "Her name's Urd," she explained. "I met her
a long time ago ... she's always been a bit loopy, but
lately she's gotten a lot worse. She's a danger to both
herself and other people--and on top of that, she's
delusional. If you meet her, your best bet is to just get
away as soon as possible."
A small whimper from the corner drew their attention back
to Verdandi, who was seated against the wall with her knees
pulled into her chest, crying. Keiichi immediately went
over and knelt down beside her.
"It's all right, Verdandi. She's gone now."
Verdandi looked up at him and gave a small nod.
"She'll be fine, Keiichi. Now let's go home, and let your
sister handle it."
Keiichi placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder for a
moment, then stood and went back over to Mara. "Hey Meg,
gimme a call later tonight so I know everything's okay."
Megumi nodded. "Sure, Kei."
"I guess we'll see you guys later then."
Quietly, Megumi showed them to the door.
*
"Mara?"
She was too engrossed in applying her make-up to respond,
so Keiichi walked over and took a seat on the couch next to
her. She turned to look at him, a hint of irritation in
her eyes. "What do you want, Keiichi?" she snapped.
"Can't you see I'm busy?"
Keiichi could tell she was in a bad mood again, but decided
to continue regardless. "I just got off the phone with
Megumi. She seemed pretty skeptical about it when she told
me, but apparently Verdandi told her she saw Urd come into
the apartment from inside the TV!"
He gave pause for a moment, a thoughtful look crossing his
face. "Actually, Urd had those markings on her face just
like you do. Would that mean Urd is a goddess as well?"
Mara looked shocked for a moment but quickly feigned an
expression of indifference. If Urd were to spill the beans
now about Mara not being who she said she was, then her
little game could very well be over.
"Absolutely ridiculous," she stated, looking away for a
moment. "My dear Keiichi," she added, in a voice typically
reserved for explaining something to a slow child, "Urd is
no more of a Goddess than I am a Demon."
She pursed her lips, peering into her compact's small
mirror. "Urd is evil. She lies, cheats, steals, and uses
people," She continued on, waving her hand in a chopping
motion at intervals while itemizing Urd's bad points, her
voice a steady crescendo.
Finally she calmed down, her anger subsiding as she peered
at her reflection. She touched her finger just below her
eye--her mascara was running slightly--and wiped it off on
a handkerchief.
"You shouldn't trust her at all." she said, her voice
wavering. Mara looked up, eyes pleading with him to agree
with her, "Keiichi, please tell me you'll stay away from
her. Please?"
Keiichi was unsure about this sudden change in events. One
moment, Mara was going on about an unpleasant subject with
her usual gusto, and the next, she was surprisingly small
and vulnerable. If Keiichi didn't know better, he would
almost say she was about to break down in tears.
Tentatively, he reached over and put an arm around her
shoulder, nodding reassuringly. She flinched slightly at
his touch--surprise, perhaps--but she did not object.
The two of them sat there for a few minutes without
speaking, a sniffle from Mara occasionally breaking the
silence.
Finally Keiichi spoke, hoping to help Mara stop thinking
about Urd; it was obviously causing her great pain. "Ya
know, Megumi mentioned that she was going to the beach
tomorrow ... she wanted to let us know we're invited to
come along too. I thought you might like it. Fun in the
sun, leave your worries behind, and all that." He smiled
at the thought.
Mara pulled away from him, her eyes hardening. "Is
Verdandi going to be there?"
Keiichi grew nervous. He wasn't sure how to answer that
one.
*
Urd could not, for the life of her, figure out what was
going on.
Her sister was without memory or identity, that much was
clear--and she looked different as well. This difference
in her appearance was subtle, but at the same time quite
distinct. Gone from her face was the angelic glow that
could put to shame goddesses and mortals alike. In its
place was the visage of a weak, confused girl, bereft of
the charm and magic that had so defined Belldandy's
demeanor.
And of course, there was Mara. She was behind it all
somehow--anyone with a brain larger than a walnut could
figure *that* out. It was no coincidence Mara was living
across the hall from Belldandy, with the man for whom she
was supposed to have granted a wish.
After storming out of Bell's apartment, Urd had shrunk
herself down to miniature form and crept back in when
Keiichi and Mara left, her idea being to quietly observe
her sister and hopefully garner some information about what
had been done to her. She discovered soon afterwards that
Bell's aura was almost gone--there was only a faint trace
there, as if her younger sister had somehow lost faith in
her powers. No other forms of magic were present--at
least, nothing that Urd was capable of picking out with her
limited divination abilities.
Bell eventually recovered from her state of shock with some
gentle prodding from Megumi. The young, spunky, dark-
haired girl seemed to have a way with people--her cheer was
infectious, and as far as Urd could tell, there wasn't a
bad bone in her body. She might make a good friend, if
there were ever a chance to get to know her better.
Belldandy was in good hands, at least.
Soon after Bell recovered, Megumi picked up the phone and
dialed Keiichi--her brother, apparently--and gave him a
quick report on Bell's welfare. Poor Bell. Megumi didn't
believe her about Urd crawling out of the television set;
and who would, really? Mortals just don't get to see the
supernatural all that frequently, and more often than not,
it's passed off as the product of a disturbed mind or, at
the very least, an overactive imagination.
>From her vantage point between the curtain and the window,
Urd listened to Megumi suggesting a trip to the beach
tomorrow. She even asked Keiichi to invite Mara along,
although it was evident from the sound of her voice that
she didn't particularly want to. An agreement was reached,
arrangements were made, and then Megumi Morisato hung up
the telephone.
Urd waited around for a few more minutes just to be sure
that everything was all right, and then switched the
television on and slipped through the screen while no one
was looking. Tomorrow, she would return and stow away with
the four when they went to the beach; it was time she gave
Mara a taste of her own medicine.
*
Keiichi's former dorm mates, contrary to popular belief,
are not totally useless and nonproductive people (although
sometimes they do manage to come pretty close). Keiichi,
despite his recent eviction from his onetime residence, was
still owed a few favors by some of the guys at the Nekomi
Auto Club. Tonight, he decided, was high time he cash in
and get some arrangements made for a pleasant day tomorrow.
A few telephone calls and several thousand Yen later, he
had managed to land reservations for a day's stay at a
small beach house just south of Yokohama.
Mara seemed nonplussed by the whole idea; judging by her
reactions to just about everything else, though. a lack of
reaction was favorable. She was oddly quiet that night,
her eyes distant, apparently lost in thought; Keiichi could
only guess what was on her mind.
Tossing a TV dinner into the microwave, Keiichi finished
his homework early that evening so that he could get a good
night's sleep. As fun and relaxing as the beach sounded,
he somehow knew that tomorrow was going to be a long day.
*
Taking a bus ride while stowing away in a duffel bag was
not Urd's idea of a great time, but it was either Megumi's
duffel or Bell's suitcase. The former at least allowed her
to poke her head out for some air, although she had to
stiffen up and pretend to be a doll whenever someone looked
in her direction.
The bus ride lasted about a half hour, and then there was
another twenty minutes of jostling around while the group
walked to the beach once they had disembarked. By the time
Urd's unwitting carriers had checked into their small beach
house and the bag had been tossed onto one of the two beds,
Urd felt as if she had spent the last two hours inside a
sauna during an earthquake. As soon as she was sure no one
was looking, she pulled herself out of the bag and sprawled
out on the bed to cool off, still in miniature form.
When she had finally cooled to a point where she felt like
moving again, she took to the air and found a hiding spot
in a potted fern that was hanging from the ceiling. From
her perch, she watched the four of them--Mara, Keiichi,
Megumi, and her younger sister.
Mara seemed a bit more subdued and introspective than
usual, a fact which Urd surmised could be used to her
advantage when she put her plan to learn the truth of
Belldandy's plight into action.
Keiichi, meanwhile, lay down on the bed closest to the
sliding glass door. The view off of the second story
balcony was nothing short of breathtaking.
Verdandi slid the door open slowly and took a deep breath
of the cool, pleasant ocean air. "Wow, it's just
beautiful!" she exclaimed.
Something about the way the morning sun played upon her
hair in the breeze caught Keiichi's eye. For a brief
moment, it seemed almost as if a different woman had been
standing in Verdandi's place. He rubbed his eyes and
looked again; it was certainly just Verdandi standing
there--a trick of the light, perhaps.
"Keiichi?"
He glanced up at the sound of Mara's voice. She was
leaning against the room's small table with her arms
crossed, staring impatiently out the window.
"Put your bathing suit on and come meet me on the beach,"
she stated.
Eyes brightening at the prospect of seeing his slender,
beautiful girlfriend in her swimsuit, he immediately
grabbed his satchel and went into the bathroom to change.
Keiichi changed quickly and made his way outside, leaving
the four ladies to themselves. Urd kept a cautious eye on
Mara as they changed, waiting for a moment to present
itself. The plan was simple and elegant, really. As soon
as the demoness left her things unattended, Urd would swoop
in and switch Mara's suntan lotion with a lotion of her own
devising, laced with a potent truth serum designed to
penetrate the skin and take effect almost instantaneously.
It would then be a simple matter of asking her the
questions outright. While a Demoness First Class could
likely resist any of Urd's none-too-subtle attempts at
magic, no goddess, demon, or mortal could defy the power of
one of her potions.
When Mara stepped into the restroom for a moment, Urd saw
her chance. In the space of half a heartbeat, she leapt
down from her roost within the ceiling-hung plant and
landed right in the middle of Mara's handbag. Hearing the
dull thump, Megumi turned and looked as she adjusted the
shoulder strap on her blue one-piece, which had been the
uniform for her high school swim team. By that time,
though, Urd had scrambled inside Mara's purse and was well
out of view; Megumi just shrugged, opened the blinds back
up, and let out a contented sigh.
Inside the purse, Urd uttered a quick matter-exchange
spell, sending Mara's bottle of lotion to her lab up in
heaven, and replacing it with her own. Very slowly, she
poked her head up out of the bag and glanced back and forth
across the room. Belldandy and Megumi were talking and
giggling quietly. She was about to take to the air again
and fly back up to her hanging observation post, but just
at that moment, she heard the bathroom doorknob turn, and
was forced to leap out and scramble underneath the bed
before Mara could spot her.
After that, the three of them headed out after Keiichi.
Urd, alone in the room, quickly changed into her own
swimsuit and assumed her normal form. People on the beach
might ogle her in her usual six-foot-tall physique, but all
in all, she would blend right into the crowd. On the other
hand, if someone were to see her walking around in
miniature form, trouble would almost certainly follow.
Summoning a small pair of binoculars, she left the beach
house and took an open space along the waterfront that was
close enough to see what Mara was doing, but far enough
away that being noticed would be unlikely.
*
"Keiichi, did you do something to my suntan lotion?"
Keiichi turned his head, trying his best to look at her
eyes as opposed to the rest of her. She was wearing a
bikini made of some kind of flimsy, iridescent black
material. "N--no, why?"
She shook her head. "I could have *sworn* I had a
different kind than this. Oh well." With that, she
unscrewed the lid of the bottle and moved to pour it out.
"Morisato! What are you doing all the way out here?"
Mara stopped and looked at the source of the voice. A
young woman, perhaps twenty-one or so, approached them.
She had long, dark hair, and wore a confident--almost
haughty--expression on her face. Behind her was a herd of
young men, most likely members of her in-crowd. Mara
slowly placed the bottle of lotion on the sand and stood
up, fixing the newcomer with a hard, level gaze.
"Oh," said the girl after a brief pause, sizing Mara up,
"and I see we brought some friends along as well."
When the two of them locked eyes, Keiichi could almost feel
an electric charge building up in the air between them.
"Um, Sayoko," Keiichi stammered, "this is Mara. That's
Verdandi there, and that's my little sister Megumi.
Everybody, this is Sayoko--we know each other from class."
Verdandi and Megumi waved cheerfully, but did not stand.
"A pleasure," said Mara, in a voice that indicated
otherwise. The flock of young men in Sayoko's tow eyed
her, but gave her her space.
"So," said Sayoko expansively, looking back toward Keiichi.
"My friends and I were planning on taking a boat ride a
little later. We've got some extra room, if the four of
you want to tag along."
Keiichi looked around at the three girls for approval.
Megumi and Verdandi nodded enthusiastically.
Mara heaved an exasperated sigh. "Whatever."
"All right then!" said Sayoko, clapping her hands together.
"We'll meet you down by the dock in twenty minutes! Don't
be late, or else we'll leave without you."
Sayoko and her cohorts turned and left, leaving the four of
them in peace once again. Mara, who had been standing the
whole time, knelt down to pick up her suntan lotion, only
to find that it had been knocked over during the
conversation. Cursing quietly to herself, she lay back
down on her towel and gazed up into the sky.
*
Urd's cursing, on the other hand, was neither quiet nor to
herself; in fact, it drew a goodly amount of attention from
the people around her. Throwing her binoculars down onto
the sand in disgust, she summoned the small vial of
remaining truth serum and regarded it closely. There
simply wasn't enough here for another attempt at the suntan
lotion plan, and the day would be well over before Urd
could finish making more--which left her with one option.
Somehow, she would have to get Mara to drink the serum.
*
The prospect of a boat ride was something that made Keiichi
a bit nervous. Not downright scared, by any means, but
rather just extremely cautious as he stepped onto the
vessel from the pier.
It was large, he noted, for a privately-owned craft. Its
source of propulsion was a pair of impressive outboard
motors on the back, probably over a hundred horsepower
between the two. The deck itself was hardly expansive, but
there was enough room to accommodate Sayoko and her
numerous friends quite comfortably.
The young men all made a point of introducing themselves to
Megumi, Verdandi, and Mara. The former two blushed shyly
in quiet enjoyment of the attention, and the latter seemed
to get great delight from teasing and tormenting her
admirers.
This troubled Keiichi--hurt him, even--that Mara would
flirt with every other guy on the boat; she seemed to be
going out of her way to do so, in fact. He was gazing
sadly at his girlfriend when the motors started and the
boat lurched forward, knocking him slightly off-balance.
The light touch of a hand on his back kept him from falling
over, however.
Verdandi, thin and unremarkable even in her swimsuit, had
been there to catch him.
"Thanks," he said, trying to mask the unhappiness in his
voice.
"Of course, Keiichi!" What a pretty smile she had.
He looked back at Mara and let out a sigh. She was busy
slinking around a tall, muscular twenty-something, with
whom he could never even hope to compete. Deep down, he
was hoping that Mara would at least notice his rueful
glance, but if she did, she paid it no attention.
Dejectedly, he turned back to Verdandi again. She nodded
to him in quiet understanding, unsure of exactly what to
say.
Things continued like this for a half hour or so; Keiichi
tried to make conversation with the other people on the
boat so as to keep his mind off of Mara, but hardly anyone
other than Verdandi or his sister took even a passing
interest in him. Finally, Keiichi and his quiet little
group migrated below-decks, avoiding the ruckus of Sayoko's
more boisterous crowd of acquaintances. Even Mara followed
them down, although Keiichi guessed that it was in order to
make sure he didn't accidentally start enjoying a
conversation with someone--like Verdandi, for instance.
The interior of the boat was surprisingly roomy, at least
more so than it looked from the outside. It was decorated
tastefully with a burgundy patterned plush carpet, dark
blue drapery, and varnished oak furniture. It must have
all cost a fortune.
At Sayoko's invitation, the four of them took a seat around
the small table at the far end of the room. "Can I get you
four anything to drink?" she asked, once they had gotten
comfortable.
"I'll have a soda water," Mara stated.
Megumi raised her hand "Coke please!"
Verdandi looked at Sayoko thoughtfully. "Do you have iced
tea?"
Sayoko nodded. "How 'bout you, Keiichi?"
"I guess I'll have a 7-Up, thanks."
*
"Soda water. Soda water. Which one's the soda--ah! There
it is!" Urd stamped her feet and shivered. Hiding out in
a refrigerator while wearing a bathing suit wasn't one of
her brightest ideas, but it was the only reliable way to
slip the remainder of the truth serum into Mara's drink
without being seen. Quickly, she wrenched the bottle cap
open with both hands and dumped the remaining few drops
inside, then did her best to replace the cap as if it had
been unopened.
As the refrigerator door swung open and the light came on,
Urd leapt behind a champagne bottle and peeked out while
Sayoko took out the drinks her guests had requested. Once
Sayoko finished and closed the door, Urd opened it up
again, just a crack, to observe the outcome of her scheme.
*
"Ya know," said Keiichi, after taking a sip from his tall
glass of what was supposed to be 7-Up, "I think this is
Mara's soda water."
It had an unfamiliar taste to it; he guessed that it was
some sort of fancy flavored seltzer, imported from France
or something. He touched his forehead as the room around
him blurred slightly, and he felt a mild wave of dizziness
overcome him.
"You all right, Kei?" Megumi asked, a look of concern on
her face.
Keiichi shook his head, which seemed to help. "Yeah, I
think so. Just had a bit of a dizzy spell there." He
looked around the room in wonder, eyes sparkling, as if
seeing everything for the first time. "Wow, Sayoko, your
family must be pretty rich for you to be able to afford a
boat like this."
"Well," Sayoko replied after an awkward moment, looking at
him strangely, "I guess you could say that."
"Wow," said Keiichi, "that was really rude of me, wasn't
it? I dunno why--I mean, I was *thinking* it, but I have
no idea why I just *said* it, ya know? I didn't mean
anything by it at all. Hey Mara, do you want your soda
water? It's really good!"
Mara reached for the glass, but stopped, looking around the
room suspiciously. "No ... that's all right. You go
ahead, Keiichi. I think I'd rather have 7-Up after all."
Inside the refrigerator, a small goddess slapped her
forehead.
"Wow," Keiichi continued, looking at his beverage again in
excitement. "This stuff is excellent! Are you sure it's
not spiked or something, though, 'cause I feel kinda funny.
Plus, I can't seem to stop talking, even if I want to.
It's so weird!"
Keiichi, by this time, was getting odd looks from his
sister, Verdandi, and Sayoko. Mara, on the other hand,
remained curiously expressionless as he babbled.
Shifting his focus once again, Keiichi looked over at
Verdandi warmly. "Ya know, Verdandi, you have a very
pretty smile, and you're really nice, too! I'm glad that
we're neighbors."
Verdandi blushed at this, but Keiichi was too busy speaking
his mind to notice.
"Mara never smiles like that. In fact, I don't think I've
ever seen Mara smile yet. I mean, I've seen her do that
little thing where she gives you that sexy kinda look, but
I haven't seen her really smile at all." His face became
sullen. "I guess maybe I'm not good enough for her," he
said to no one in particular. "She's a goddess, after all,
and here I am, just this little short little dweeb going to
college. It's no wonder I can't make her happy."
He looked up at her sadly. "Mara, I'd really like to be
able to make you happy some time. I mean, it's obvious to
me that you've had a rough life, otherwise you wouldn't act
the way you do. I'd like to make things better for you,
but I can't unless you tell me what you want me to do.
I'll do whatever I can if it makes you happy. You're so
pretty, I'd just--"
Mara stood up, her face bright red. "Urd!"
"--to see you smiling at me, even just once. I'd even--"
"URD!" Mara shouted. "Come out *this instant*!"
The occupants of the room, with the exception of Mara, were
surprised to see Urd step out from behind the alcove that
held the refrigerator--there certainly had not been anyone
there before. "What is it, Mara?" the platinum-haired
goddess asked. "Is he saying some things you're not
prepared to deal with?"
"Urd's a demon!" Keiichi exclaimed proudly, looking at
Verdandi and Megumi. "That's what Mara told me. That's
why she can just pop out of nowhere like that. Megumi, I
know you don't believe Verdandi about how Urd came out of
the TV set and all, but I do. Urd has magic like that, and
she uses it to do mean things to people. Mara told me that
one time she--"
Mara, in the meantime, had stood and strode directly over
to Urd.
"Urd, sweetie," she said very quietly, below Keiichi's
chattering.
"Hm?"
"I know what you were trying to do here--I know that truth
serum was for me."
"And if it was?" Urd asked indignantly.
"I don't want you meddling any more, Urd," she answered
sweetly. "Your little sister can't defend herself, and you
know very well that I would win a battle between the two of
us. So," she continued, her tone still saccharine, "unless
you want unspeakable things to befall your poor little
sister, I suggest you stay out of my business, okay hun?"
Urd breathed in very slowly, barely able to contain her
wrath. "I'll find out what's going on somehow, Mara, and
when I do, you better run as fast as you can, because I'm
not gonna take any prisoners."
Mara patted Urd on the cheek. "That's nice, dear. Now
move along. You're scaring the kids."
Scowling with impotent rage, Urd walked past Mara and into
the boat's small restroom, shutting the door behind her.
The door slowly creaked back open a few seconds later; the
strange woman was no longer there.
*
"I can't believe the nerve of her!"
Urd was still upset by the time she had reached the data
center room back up in Heaven. Everything she had done to
try to figure out what had happened to her younger sister
had gone awry. She had tried several times to sneak into
the apartment that Keiichi and Mara inhabited, but with
little success. It was strange, really. Every time she
started to make some headway, some stupid coincidence had
managed to stop her--be it people in the hall, or some
obstruction that had fallen on her, or that cat that
somehow got out and attacked her. It was as if something
was constantly working against her; every step she made
forward, she was pushed two steps back.
She started to go over the two previous days in her mind,
looking for clues that she could have missed.
"Mara." She said the name as if it were a curse.
What was the demoness doing there? What did she mean when
she said that Keiichi had a contract with her?
Suddenly, it clicked. No wonder things weren't working out
very well for her on earth. Yes, it would be next to
impossible to directly confront *that*. She would have to
be careful--and she would need to discover what set
everything into motion in the first place.
"How did you make Belldandy forget herself, Mara?"
She would find out--that much was certain.