							 "Dusk"

Version  1.0    April 17, 1997.

A Fan-Fiction Featuring Skuld


Disclaimer

     I would like to publicly thank omega@freenet.toronto.on.ca
for thy work. First as a proof reader, then a full fledge editor,
and finaly as a net-friend. Without thy help none of my stories
would have ever seen the light of the net.

     I would also like to thank all of my editors on "Dusk":
gaffney@iconn.net, rwalker@shooter.bluemarble.net,
pmarquis@neptune.on.ca, Rteker@aol.com, Daibidu@aol.com,
ayerss@rpi.edu, ChetKnu02@aol.com, rmadeira@interlog.com,
pauldoi@iastate.edu, weimin@pl.jaring.my, jallen9@mail.idt.net,
rbbarnet@cc10ss.unity.ncsu.edu, dje@melbourne.progress.com,
changy@email.uah.edu, brobinso@Hemisphere.neocomm.net.  Arigatou
yo.

     A special thanks to David Eddy an excellent editor and
friend, whose suggestions and ideas enabled me to finish this
story.  Doumo arigatou gozaimashita.

     A fan fiction based on Kosuke Fujishima's ongoing manga
series "Ah! My Goddess"  (Also know as "Oh My Goddess!"). 
Keiichi Morisato, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, Hasegawa, Tamiya, Otaki,
Satoko, and Megumi Morisato are copyright 1991, 1997 Kosuke
Fujishima, and used without permission.  Kenji copyright 1995,
1997, Ed Sharpe.  Donner copyright 1996, 1997 Ed Sharpe.


Dramas Personal

Keiichi Morisato:   A college student at Nekomi Institute of
               Technology (NIT), majoring in engineering.
               He lives in a temple with Belldandy and her
               two sisters.

Belldandy:     Goddess of the present, staying at Keiichi's
               side because of his wish and her own free will.

Urd:           Belldandy's older sister, goddess of the
               past, with tan skin and a nice figure.

Skuld:         Goddess of the future, the youngest of the three
               goddesses.

Kenji:         Keiichi's cousin on his mother's side.


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

     Skuld was upset, Urd was drunk, Belldandy radiated calm joy,
Megumi was bubbling over, and Keiichi was a nervous wreck.  There
was going to be a wedding.

	 Urd had started drinking from the first moment they boarded
the train and had not slowed down for a nanosecond.  Megumi was
having  a grand time talking with the other girls about the
wedding, Hasegawa had turned visibly red when the conversation
focused on the wedding night. 

     Belldandy was being Belldandy.  Polite and cordial to
everyone, she made sure everyone was taken care of.  But she was
worried on the inside.  Skuld was sulking in the corner of the
train car.  Belldandy understood that her little sister did not
care for the rowdy partying by the members of the NIT motor club. 
Belldandy also understood that Urd had been teasing her pretty
hard about Kenji(1) and Donner(2).  But for some reason Skuld was
mad at Keiichi-san.  He had become very pensive since the
announcement.  Even now he sat staring out of the window, drawing
into himself, unwilling to even talk to her about it.

     Skuld watched the scenery go by from her window seat on the
train.  Against all odds they were on their way to the shrine in
Nagano.  Skuld was fuming.  Urd had taken every opportunity to
tease her, trying to get her to personally invite Kenji to the
wedding.  Urd even went so far as to suggest that they could make
it into a double wedding.     

     Tamiya staggered down the aisle of the train car to sit next
to Keiichi.  "Aah, Morisato.  Why are you looking so glum?"
Tamiya began, throwing one massive arm around Keiichi's shoulder,
and shoving a bottle of sake in Keiichi's face with the other
hand.  "After all Morisato. . ."

	 Skuld's mind shut out the chaos raging around her as she
remembered the morning that had set in motion the events that
lead to her to being on this train.  It was the morning after
Donner had left.  Skuld had been enjoying breakfast with her two
older sisters and Keiichi when Otaki entered the temple like a
rampaging Burma bull.

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

     Otaki greeted the occupants of the temple with a thunderous,
"Yo! Morisato!" destroying the peaceful quiet of their breakfast. 
"I have grievous news..."

     Wrapping her arms about her head, Urd laid her head on the
table, trying to protect her hangover from the merciless decibels
of Otaki's voice.

     Skuld ignored Otaki, continuing to eat her breakfast. 
'Keiichi's senpai is such an oaf,' she decided.

     "Oh, my!" exclaimed Belldandy.

     "Senpai..."  Keiichi stammered, his chopsticks still half in
his mouth.

     "My life is over!" wailed Otaki to all within a few
kilometers of the temple. "He has me in his sights."

     "Senpai?  What are you talking about?" asked Keiichi.

	 Otaki collapsed onto his knees with a thud and leaned over
the table.  "Marriage," he whispered.  "Satoko's father caught
us, how shall we say, in a slightly embarrassing position.  He
insists that I make an 'honest woman' of her."

     "Oh, my!" Belldandy again exclaimed.

     "A little pot and soon hot(3)," mumbled Urd with a slight
smile on her face.

     A shocked Keiichi blurted out, "You didn't!" 

     "I swear Morisato it looked worse than it was.  I mean there
was no actual penetration."

     "Wimp," Urd mumbled.

     "Otaki-senpai, please!  There is a child present," scolded
Belldandy.

     "I am not a child!" Skuld protested.  'What does he mean,
'penetration?'' she asked herself, a slight frown creasing her
brow.  'Penetrating what with what?'

     "Do you love her, Otaki-senpai?" asked Belldandy.

     Nodding his head, Otaki quietly confessed, "Yes."

     "Does she love you?"

	 "Yes, I think so."

     A sense of doom had descended upon Skuld as she listened to
Otaki and Older Sister talk.  Something about Otaki's talk of
marriage gave her a feeling of terrible foreboding.  Skuld found
herself thinking of the dream, no the nightmare, she had last
night:

     She was in the temple with Older Sister, sitting at the
table. Older Sister was making tea, the feeling of comfort that
always accompanied her washing over Skuld.  "Older Sister!  You
won't ever leave me, will you?"

     She did not answer; Older Sister just smiled lovingly at
Keiichi, who was dressed in a formal kimono.  This was very
strange, as Skuld had never seen Keiichi in a kimono. The feeling
of comfort started to fade. "Keiichi, why are you wearing that?" 
Keiichi too did not answer.  Then Older Sister was in a white
wedding kimono.  The feeling of comfort was gone.  Keiichi was
holding Older Sister's hand and saying something to her as he
placed a ring on her left hand.

     Then Urd was there, dressed in a western style wedding
dress.  It was cut rakishly, with a neck-line that plunged almost
to her navel, and the skirt was slit all the way to her hip. 
Next to Urd stood Kenji dressed in a tuxedo.  "Kenji, what is
going on?  Why are you dressed like that?"

     Ignoring Skuld, Kenji picked Urd up in his arms and carried
her out of the room.  "No!  Older Sister stop them! Help me!"  

     But Keiichi and Older Sister were gone!  Skuld felt empty
and utterly alone.  She cried out desolately.  "Older Sister! 
Don't leave me!  Older Sister!  OLDER SISTER!!!"

     "Skuld?"

     Skuld snapped out of her day dream and back to the present,
"Belldandy?"

     "Are you Ok?  You were shouting in your sleep," Belldandy
informed her confused little sister.

     "You won't ever leave me will you Older Sister?"

     Belldandy reassured her, "Don't be silly Skuld.  I will
always be there for you."

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

     The reception had begun properly, orderly and formal.  But
Tamiya's opening speech consisted of toasts and crying jags which
proceeded to turn the strict progression of the reception into a
general free for all, that is to say, just like any other motor
club party.

     Skuld could not remember why or how she had taken that first
cup of sake.  Whether it was Urd's constant teasing or prodding
remained a mystery.  She knew one thing: that first cup had
burned through her like a high-voltage spike.  And like her
sister, Skuld could not, did not stop with just one cup.

     Her head swam, and most of her logic circuits were offline. 
Skuld could not help but think how beautiful Satoko looked in her
wedding kimono.  How embarrassed Otaki looked at the razzing his
club members were giving him, yet how happy he looked.  And when
he looked at Satoko, all Skuld could see in his eyes was love. 
'Must see Kenji!' Skuld thought as she staggered to her feet. 
'Must find phone.'  Grabbing a full bottle of sake, Skuld set out
in search of a phone. 

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

     "Excuse me Keiichi-san," Belldandy informed Keiichi as she
got up from the table, "I need to help Satoko-san change out of
her wedding kimono."

     "Okay."  'Ah, yes,' thought Keiichi, 'the traditional
oironaoshi(4).' 

     Keiichi got up from the table and made his way to a far
corner of the banquet hall, away from the Maelstrom.  Keiichi
sighed, 'why does this happen every time!'  The wedding reception
was supposed to be a fairly sedate and formal if not boring
affair.  But once Tamiya and the gang got started on the sake all
hell broke out.  Even now Urd was dancing on top of one of the
tables. Keiichi was thankful Skuld had not started throwing her
little bombs.

     'I hope ours is not as chaotic as this.  My mother would die
of embarrassment.'  Keiichi slapped himself in the head at the
thought.  'What am I thinking?  She's a goddess, she could never
marry a mortal!'  Keiichi struck his head trying to get the image
of a wedding night with Belldandy out of his head.  But, he knew
it was hopeless.  It was an image that haunted him most every
night.  There were three dreams that haunted Keiichi, the wedding
night one, one where Belldandy was cooking curry rice when he got
home from work, and then there was the one that had chi... .

     "She is very beautiful, is she not?"

     Startled, Keiichi turned to look at the speaker.  Next to
him stood an elderly one-eyed gentleman leaning on a cane.  He
had dark grey streaked hair and a full beard.  But his most
startling feature was his one piercing blue eye.  Keiichi felt as
though the man was looking directly into his soul.  The gentleman
radiated a power that Keiichi had only sensed in the presence of
Belldandy or her sisters.

     "I said she is very beautiful," the gentleman repeated in
response to Keiichi's silence.

     "Yes, Satoko was very beautiful in her wedding kimono,
kami..."

     "I am . . . not him," interrupted the gentleman.  "Just call
me uncle."

     "Uncle?"

	 "Yes, uncle will do.  I was talking about Belldandy, not
Satoko."

     "Yes, she's very beautiful," Keiichi agreed quietly.

     "So why have you not told her?" asked the man.

     "What makes you think that I have not?"

     "I know, and let us leave it at that.  She's beautiful,
therefore to be wooed, she is woman, therefore to be won(5).  She
is more woman than goddess, Keiichi.  Treat her like a woman and
not a goddess."

     "How..." Keiichi stammered, sticking his hands into his
pockets in frustration.  'What's this?' he thought upon finding a
small box in his pocket.

     "How?  It is quite simple, my son.  It is called honesty. 
And while actions may speak louder than words, words are
important too.  Just tell her."

     "What?  How?" Keiichi had hardly heard what the gentleman
had said.  He was looking at the box he had found in his pocket.

     "Open it, my son," the gentleman commanded.

     "But, I can't accept," Keiichi stammered at the sight of the
ring in the box.

	 "Consider it a gift of the gods.  Your second one, Keiichi.
Trust your instincts and you will know when.  Here she comes, I
must go."

     Keiichi put the box back in his pocket as Belldandy
approached.

     "Who was that you were talking to?" asked Belldandy.

     "I'm not sure.  Belldandy, can we take a walk or something? 
It's too insane here," Keiichi answered, taking Belldandy's arm.

     "That would be very nice Keiichi-san," Belldandy said,
snuggling up to Keiichi.

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

     Somehow Skuld had managed to find a phone booth.  'Damn
stone-age phones,' Skuld thought, trying to focus on the rotary
dial phone.  Carefully Skuld put down the bottle of sake, then
began a careful search of first her pockets, then herself for
change for the phone.  On her third search of her pockets, Skuld
found the needed coins.  Luckily for Skuld the alcohol had not
hindered her ability to recall Kenji's phone number, but her
finger did betray her the first time she dialed.  On her second
attempt she managed to dial the right number.

     "Takaiyama residence," the always surprisingly deep and
resonant voice of Kenji answered the phone.

	 At the sound of his voice Skuld cried into the phone,
"Kenji, Kenji, Kenji!"

     "Skuld?  Is that you Skuld? What is wrong? Are you OK?" a
worried Kenji responded to Skuld's cry.

     "I was worried about you, Kenji.  I am so worried that I
will never see you again."

     "Skuld, what's the matter?"

     "I need to see you Kenji.  Please Kenji, I need to see you
today.  Promise me I can see you today."

     "Just tell me where you are."

     Skuld pleaded, "Promise me."

     "Where are you Skuld?

     "Promise me!" screamed Skuld in frustration.

     "I promise.  Just tell me where you are so I can come get
you," Kenji vowed to his petite goddess.

     "Kenji," Skuld softly cried into the phone.

     Between Skuld's sobs, Kenji again asked, "Where are you?"

     "Where am I?"

     "Yes Skuld, where are you calling from?" Kenji repeated.

     "I am in a phone booth."

     "Where is the phone booth located?" a now frustrated Kenji
continued.

     Skuld read the address off of the phone, "Let me see.  204
Isebayashi-danchi, Nagano."

     "Stay there Skuld," Kenji commanded the goddess, "I can just
make the train.  I should be there in about two hours.  Please
stay put, or I'll never find you." 

     "I won't move a nanometer until I see you," Skuld promised.

     'Please hurry,' Skuld prayed as she hung-up the phone. 
Sitting on the floor of the phone booth, Skuld pulled out her
hammer to protect her bivouac.  Uncorking the sake bottle she
began to drink.

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

     The wind rustled the leaves of the trees in the park. 
Keiichi sat with his back against the big old ash tree, his head
leaned back against the bark, looking up at the forever-changing
shapes of the clouds dotting the cerulean vault of the sky.  The
breeze was cool against his face, the bark rough against his
head, and Belldandy's hand warm in his.

     Keiichi's thoughts drifted.  Feeling the box in his pocket,
He closed his eyes and sent a brief prayer soaring into the
heavens.  For the first time, Keiichi began to discern Belldandy
as a woman and not a goddess.  A woman, with a woman's faults...
and a woman's needs.  Being a goddess was just her job.

     He  felt  the world tilt sideways, and he snapped his eyes
open.  He was vaguely surprised to find himself still sitting
upright against the tree.  Have to start getting some sleep, he
chided himself as he leaned his head forward and shook his head
to clear it. 

     Belldandy was looking up at the sky, her eyes a million
miles away,  but her hand comfortable in his.  He studied her
profile, drinking in her beauty, seeing now in memory overlaying
his vision the hundred little ways she showed her love for him.

     But...  she had never pushed. 

     He  needed  to  think.  He'd just go to sleep  sitting 
here. "Belldandy?"

     She brought her eyes from the sky and turned to face him.
"Yes, Keiichi-san?"

     Her smile lifted his soul, her eyes were tranquil pools in
which he could swim forever, her face... her face was divine. 
And at that moment he knew what he would do.

	 "Would you like to walk for a bit?  Look at the park?"

     She smiled, nodded.  "Yes, please."
     
     Walking hand-in-hand with Belldandy,  his memory retrieved
images of her cheering him on when he drove, her delight when he
liked her cooking, her jealousy when other girls tried to come
between them.

     As they walked arm-in-arm through the park Belldandy
marveled at Keiichi's mood change.  The pensive brooding that had
gripped him since Otaki's announcement was gone.  Belldandy's
soul cried out in joy that Keiichi's soul had escaped from the
depths of despair.  But.  Didn't he understand she wanted,
needed, desired him to share everything with her.  That she
wanted, needed, desired to share everything, all of her with him?

       Keiichi exuded an air of confidence that he rarely showed,
but that she knew he was capable of.  His eyes shone with a
determination she had only seen once before when they had faced
the "Lord of Terror."  Today though, his eyes had a softness to
them.  Belldandy dare not hope that it might be love, love for
her.  Belldandy prayed.

     The sound of bells and cheering drew them.  They came out
from behind a copse to see a wedding party just getting into a
white limousine.

     "Omedeto!"  "Omedeto gozaimasu!(6)" called several members
of the crowd as they waved to the departing car.  The bride and
groom looked together out of the window.  She was blushing, and
they both seemed very happy.

     "Arigato!(7)"  they called as the car spirited them away.
"Arigato!"  The crowd waved, some jumping up and down in their
excitement.

     Belldandy sighed as she watched the car disappear around a
bend in the road.  'I wish that were us, Keiichi-san,' she
wistfully thought to herself.  'Maybe in a few years...'

     Turning her attention towards Keiichi, Belldandy saw him
stifle a yawn.  'Don't you understand?'  Belldandy thought as she
pinched his arm.

     "Gosh, please excuse me Belldandy," he said.  "I haven't
been getting much sleep, what with Tamiya throwing a bachelor
party every night for a week."

     "Would you like to go home then, Keiichi-san?  So you can
get some rest?"

     He nodded embarrassedly.  "If you don't mind, Belldandy?"

     She smiled at him, her love for him filling her heart.  "Not
at all."

     "Thanks."

     Belldandy felt his hand squeeze hers lightly, briefly, as
they turned towards the train station at the edge of the park.
It wasn't far.  Keiichi seemed happy, looking around distractedly
at the trees and birds that filled the park.  She felt very close
to him at the moment, even though it seemed as though she would
have to wait a while longer before her dream was realised.  Maybe
in another year or so.  She smiled at the prospect.  So soon, her
dream would come true.

     She could wait.  She was a goddess after all.
     
     The train platform was elevated, above-ground.  The setting
sun lit the platform, illuminating the dozen or so people
standing waiting for the next train in orange and red.

     Keiichi pulled Belldandy to the far corner of the platform,
away from the other people waiting for trains. 

     For the first time in his life Keiichi felt no fear.  Gone
were the self doubts and personal daemons that plagued him.  No
longer would he live in his self imposed purgatory of ignorance. 
He would risk hell for a chance at heaven.  With his mind and
soul, which had been like a raging tsunami, now like a calm pool
of cool water who's surface shone like a mirror, he pulled the
small box out of his pocket.

     'Where did he get it?' wondered Belldandy at the sight of
the small box in Keiichi's hand.

     It was a dark, fine-grained wood, inlaid with silver
gripping beasts, the detail picked out with niello.  The wood was
polished to a silken glow.  It looked very old.  Keiichi held it
up and Belldandy's heart thumped in her chest.

     Keiichi dropped her hand and slid open the lid.  Inside
nestled a gold ring.  A dragon, with two small emeralds for eyes, 
held a pigeon's-blood ruby in its jaws.  Belldandy's eyes widened
in amazement. It looked like her mother's ring.  How did
Keiichi...

     "To make our contract binding here on earth," Keiichi began,
as he extended the box toward Belldandy, "and to permanently seal
it in heaven.  That is, if you will accept this mere mortal,"
Keiichi stammered at the end, his resolve rapidly wavering.

     Belldandy felt her heart stop at the sound of his words and
the sight of the ring that had been hidden in the box.  Belldandy
threw herself against Keiichi, burrowing her head into his
shoulder, hiding her tears of joy.  

     Keiichi held Belldandy in his arms and waited while she
fought to regain some control of her emotions.  Wiping her tears
on his shirt, Belldandy pulled away so she could look at Keiichi.

     Keiichi looked at Belldandy's face, concern, love, and The
Question in his eyes, "Are you okay?"

     "Yes.  Everything is perfect My Keiichi-san.  Yes."

     Taking her left wrist in hand, Keiichi put the ring on her
ring finger.  "You're shaking Belldandy," Keiichi stated, "are
you cold?"

     "No My dear Keiichi-san," answered Belldandy, as she hugged
Keiichi again, the tears flowing freely.  "I'll never be cold
again."

     "Keiichi sighed and hugged Belldandy to himself.  'Play your
cards right,' Keiichi thought to himself, 'and you might just get
a kiss tonight.'

     As Keiichi pulled Belldandy onto the waiting train, the sun
set behind them exploding into a kaleidoscope of reds, oranges,
yellows, and purples.  And as the train began to move,
Belldandy's love for Keiichi radiated out from them, washing the
train station in the warmth of that love.  An older couple stop
arguing, a baby in a stroller stopped crying.  And as that warmth
radiated out into the world, the world changed. It was a perfect
end to the day, and the perfect beginning to eternity.

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

     "Skuld, Skuld?"

     Kenji's voice filtered through Skuld's alcohol fogged brain.

     "Wake up Skuld."

     Skuld open first one eye, then the other one.  Slowly she
focused upon Kenji's face, "Kenji you came!"

	 "I told you I would.  Did you doubt me?" Kenji asked as he
helped Skuld to her feet.  "Let's get you home."

     "Anywhere you want to go Kenji.  I'm never going to let you
go," Skuld informed Kenji as she threw both arms around his waist
and leaned her head upon his chest, the sake bottle forgotten.

     Supporting her weight, Kenji coached Skuld down the hill and
pass a park to the train station.  "Come on Skuld, one foot after
the other."

     By the time they had reached the train station, Skuld seemed
to have sobered up some, but refused to let go of Kenji, much to
his embarrassment.  They reached the platform in time to see
their train pull away into a blazing sunset of reds, oranges, and
purples.
     
     Awashed in the red and purple light of the dying sunset and
overwhelmed with a sense of warmth, love and eternity, Skuld
spoke, "Kenji?"

     Kenji turned his head to face Skuld.  "Yes?"

     "I..."

     "Yes?"
     
     Stretching out to her full length, Skuld pulled herself up
and firmly planted her lips upon Kenji's.

	 Startled at first, Kenji took Skuld's weight into his arms.
Kenji's dreams of kissing Skuld were a pale shadow of the
reality.  Kenji's head felt so light at the intensity of the
kiss, he worried he might pass out.  Nothing in his sixteen years
of life had prepared him for the warm, soft, moist intensity of
the moment.

     Skuld went limp as she disengaged from the kiss.  Kenji
picked Skuld up and set her on a bench when he realized she had
fallen asleep.  "Thank you," Kenji whispered into her ear.

     Skuld slept the peaceful sleep of the innocent, her head
resting in Kenji's lap, the entire train trip back.  Kenji
replayed their kiss over and over again in his head with the
regretful realization that Skuld was totally pissed(8) at the
time.

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

     Skuld's head swam.  'Why did I drink so much sake?'  Yet she
felt warm and safe.  Squeezing her arms she hugged Kenji, her
petite breasts pressing themselves into his back, her arms thrown
around his neck.  Kenji had an arm under each of her long slim
legs as he carried Skuld up the road to the temple that was her
earthly home.  Burying her face into the back of Kenji's head,
Skuld's nose was filled with the scent of hair.  Kenji's hair
smelled fresh and clean, yet with a hint of his masculine scent
which set her nerve endings on fire.  "I wish I could stay like
this forever," Skuld mumbled to herself.

	 "You say something?" Kenji asked.  "How are you feeling?"
Kenji enjoyed his burden.  Not only did he get to hold his
desire, Skuld was remarkably light.  He had not been sure how he
would get her from the train station to the temple, but once he
picked her up, he knew he could make it.  He could go on forever
like this.

     "Tadaima,(9)" Kenji announced, entering the temple with
Skuld still on his back.

     "I guess no one is back yet," Kenji whispered to Skuld, who
had fallen asleep again, when no one responded.  "Well let's get
you to bed, but I'm afraid you are going to have to sleep in your
clothes tonight," he added, heading to Skuld's room.

     Kenji stopped when, as he passed Keiichi's room, he heard
low animal-like sounds.  'What the hell?' pondered Kenji as he
opened the door to check it out.

     Belldandy was on top of Keiichi, straddling his hips with
her thighs.  Her skirt was partly hitched up, exposing a
dangerously large amount of her upper leg.  Keiichi's hands were
not visible, lost somewhere within Belldandy's billowing blouse. 
The two of them where joined at the mouth.  Low, almost animal
like, moaning came from the mound of human flesh that was Keiichi
and Belldandy.

     "OLDER SISTER!" screamed a suddenly-awake Skuld from her
perch on Kenji's back, deafening Kenji in the process.

	 Kenji grabbed his ear in pain, dropping Skuld on her cute
little ass.

     Disengaging her face from Keiichi's, Belldandy innocently
asked, "Oh, Skuld.  Are you home already?"  

     Staggering to her feet Skuld pulled her ever-present hammer,
Mjolnir Mk II,  out and pointed it at Keiichi in answer.  "You
pervert!  What are you doing to Older Sister?  Take your grubby
mortal hands off of her!"

     Keiichi sheepishly smiled at Skuld, but did remove his hands
from Belldandy's body, unwilling to challenge Skuld's hammer.

     Belldandy raised her hands, symbolically warding Keiichi
from Skuld.  "Skuld, it's not as bad as it looks.  There has been
no actual 'penetration'."

     Skuld yelled in frustration at Belldandy, "What does
'penetration' have to do with anything?  We are talking about
what Keiichi is doing!"  Skuld's voice caught in her throat as
her gaze focused on Belldandy.  Pointing at Belldandy's left
hand, Skuld choked out a question.  "What. . . what. . . is. . .
that?"

     Uncharacteristically bold, Keiichi answered for Belldandy,
"It is exactly what it looks like Skuld."

     "I said yes," Belldandy added, as if there was any doubt.

	 Skuld stood there, shaking with rage. "NO!"

     Launching herself at Keiichi intent on murder, Skuld
screamed, "Die mortal!"

     "Skuld!" Kenji yelled, grabbing her from behind.

     Skuld went ice cold rock solid as Kenji's hand grabbed her
where no male had ever dared touch her before.  

     "Aaa, nooo," Kenji stammered as he realized what his hand
was holding was anything but ice cold rock solid.

     Twisting around, Skuld caught Kenji with a right hook. 

     'Oh shit,' thought Kenji as he fell, stunned, to the ground.

     "Skuld!" yelled Belldandy.

     "Damn!" exclaimed Keiichi.

     "Hey nonny, nonny, did I miss anything?" asked Urd, making
her entrance, as if on cue.  "Ah, the beast with two backs.  Not
so rare here as I was led to believe."

     "Stay out of this, Urd!" Skuld commanded.

     "You speak like a green girl(10) Skuld.  Can't you see that
they're in lust?  Leave them in peace so they can exchange some
bodily fluids," she said rakishly.

     Belldandy gasped, "Urd, don't be vulgar!"

     Keiichi corrected Urd, "That's love, not lust, Urd."

     "Oh, Keiichi!" Belldandy giggled, before latching her lips
upon his.

     "I stand corrected!" Urd acknowledged. 'like men can tell
the difference,' Urd thought with a wicked smile on her face.

     "No!" Skuld stood there shaking with rage, watching Keiichi
kiss Older Sister.  The bile rose in her throat at his
desecration.

     Urd cheered them on, "Wo, wo, wo!"

     It was all too much for Skuld.  All the sake, Urd's
comments, Older Sister and Keiichi, all her fears where coming
true.  Skuld dropped to her knees and emptied the contents of her
stomach on the floor.

     'Oh, bother,' thought Urd.  'Why do I always have to fix
everything.'  "The naked truth of it is," Urd informed Keiichi,
"I have no panties.(11)"

     "Urk!"

     "Sister!" admonished Belldandy.

	 "Now that I have your attention," Urd began, "Belldandy,
please get Skuld's futon ready, I'll bring her as soon as she has
finished dry heaving." Urd commanded her younger sister.

     "Keiichi," she continued, "go get something to clean this up
with.  Kenji will be sleeping here with you tonight.  I will help
you with him once I have taken care of Skuld.  And Keiichi," Urd
added as Keiichi got up to leave, "No sneaking into Belldandy's
room tonight, Skuld will be there."

     "I understand," Keiichi acknowledged.  "Anyway, Skuld being
sick has killed the mood."  

     "Oh, Keiichi?"
     
     "Yes?"

     "Congrats, I'm happy for the two of you.  There will be
plenty of other nights."

     "Thank you Urd."

     Urd knelt next to Skuld as her heaves subsided.  "Let's get
you to bed, little sister." Urd waved her hand over Skuld's head. 
"Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!(12) Grant peace to this tiger's
heart wrapped in a girl's hide.(13)" Skuld's eyes closed as Urd
finished her spell.  Urd gently kissed her sister's forehead. 
"Sleep well sister," Urd finished as she picked Skuld up.

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

     Perched upon on the temple roof Urd poured herself a cup of
tea, before leaning back to mark the moon's path across the sky. 
'An older sister's work is never done,'  Urd reflected.  'Dear
Keiichi where did you find the courage?  The gods do smile upon
you.  And Kenji, how long before you find your courage and tempt
fate?  I wonder Skuld, will you have any resolve when that time
comes?'  Moonlit tears slid down Urd's calm face as she sipped
her tea, convinced that the fates decreed happiness for
sisters... but nothing for herself.  She blinked her eyes to
clear them and shook her head.  'Why can't I ever forget the
past?'

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

Owari

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

1.   See "No Mere Mortal" by the same author.
2.   See "Donner" by the same author.
3.   William Shakespeare: "The Taming of the Shrew," act IV,
	 sc. I, l. 6.
4.   "Sometime during the banquet [of a Japanese wedding
     reception], the bride slips away to change clothes.  This
     custom is know as oironaoshi, or change of the colors." 
     Hundred Things Japanese, Discover Japan, Kodansha
     International LTD., 1983; Page 103.
5.   William Shakespeare. "Henry VI, Part I", V, iii, 78.
6.   "Omedeto" Congratulations. "Omedeto gozaimasu" Formal for
     Omedeto.
7.   "Arigato" Thank you.
8.   "Pissed" Drunk.
9.   "I'm home," <<Japanese etiquette requires this announcement
     upon one's return.>> Kodansha's Romanized Japanese-English
     Dictionary, 1993
10.  William Shakespeare: "Hamlet," I, iii, 101.
11.  William Shakespeare: "Love's Labor's Lost, V, ii, 715.
12.  William Shakespeare: "Hamlet," I, v, 182.
13.  William Shakespeare: "Henry VI, Part III," I, iv, 137. 

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *//
//  esharpe@hsc.usc.edu
//