John Collins -------------------------------------------------------------- Being Skulded An "Ah! My Goddess" fan-fiction by John Collins All characters from AMG copyright Kosuke Fujishima. All other characters are copyright of their creators. In no way do I intend to infringe any existing copyright. -------------------------------------------------------------- Keiichi rode his motorcycle to university. His mind was not on the day's impending schoolwork, but on a special gift for the Goddess he loves so dearly. After he arrived at university, Keiichi parked his cycle, and walked slowly toward the dull grey building where his first class is. His mind was *still* not on what he's doing, as evidenced by the fact he'd just bumped into a fellow student ... "Oh! I'm sorry if I've hurt you in any way." Keiichi offered a hand to the girl on the ground, who accepted it gratefully. "That's okay, no damage done. My name's Maiko." "Hi, Maiko. My name is Keiichi Morisato." "Hi, Keiichi." Keiichi helped Maiko pick up her books, and asked, "May I walk you to your class? It's the least I can do for bumping into you." "Thank you, Keiichi," she returned. As she gave Keiichi her books, he saw a beautiful diamond ring on her finger. She noticed him looking at it. "Pretty, isn't it? My boyfriend gave it to me just before he went away. He's an exchange student, studying in America. I really miss him. Do you have a girlfriend, Keiichi?" Keiichi was lost in the beauty of the diamond, thinking, "That's the perfect engagement ring for Belldandy..." "Keiichi?" He blinked, startled, then blushed, thinking of Belldandy. "Yes... she's a real goddess." "That's beautiful. I'm sure you must love her very much. Oh, here's my class. Thank you, Keiichi, for carrying my books." "That's all right, Maiko. One final question, though: where did your boyfriend get that ring?" "Hmm, let me think... He got it at a small jewellery shop on Tamiya Street." Keiichi thought for a minute. Tamiya Street, hey? That's only a short detour on my way home. I'll drop in on my way home and have a look. If the other rings are anything like this one, I'm going to have one great gift for Belldandy ... "Keiichi?" "Huh?" he says, looking blank. "My books?" asks Maiko. "Oh, sorry! Just thinking. Here you go. Bye now. Have a good day." "Bye, Keiichi!" ***** Once his classes were over, Keiichi walked quickly to his cycle. He started it up and rode out of the university grounds, straight for the jewellery shop. Once there, he walked to the shop and opens the door. A bell mounted on the door tinkled, and the store owner walked out from the back room. Keiichi spotted the ring he was after right away. "Hello. May I help you?" inquired the store owner. "Yes," replied Keiichi, looking at the display cabinet for a similar ring to the one Maiko was wearing. "How much for... that ring?" he asked, pointing to a distinctive diamond ring encased under glass. "For that one, sir, only 50,000 yen." "50,000 yen!! I'm sorry, I've only got 40,000." "Sir, I'll make you a deal, 45,000 yen." "I'm sorry, 40,000 yen is all I can afford." "I'm hurting myself here, sir, but I'll sell it to you for 40,000 yen. It's a real bargain, sir." "I'll take it!" said Keiichi, paying the store owner. After taking the ring from the display cabinet, the store owner said, "You must be very much in love to buy that ring, sir. That's the most expensive ring we have here." "Yes, I am. She's a very pretty girl, a real goddess." "That's very nice, sir. Would you like the ring in a box? Take your pick." "I'll take ... that one," said Keiichi, and pointed to a small silver box sitting under the glass display counter. The owner carefully placed the ring in the silver box, and handed it to Keiichi. With a huge grin on his face, he thanked the owner and left the store. "Belldandy is going to be so happy when I give this ring to her, and ask her to marry me. I'm going to buy her some flowers now, and I'll propose when I graduate in a few weeks," he thinks. Keiichi put the box in his pocket, and got back on his cycle. He was about to leave when he saw Megumi running down the street towards him. "Hello, big brother." "Hi, Megumi. Get in, I'll give you a lift home." "Thanks! I didn't feel like walking home. Watcha got in your pocket?" "Here, have a look." He passed the box to Megumi, who opened it and gasped. The ring was one of the most gorgeous she had ever seen. Each face of the clear crystal caught the sunlight, and seemed to reflect it in all directions. The twenty-four carat gold band sparkled equally brightly in the midday sun. "And the best part is, it only cost me 40,000 yen." "40,000 yen? That's a real steal, big brother." "Yeah. But don't tell Skuld about it, and ESPECIALLY not Urd. I'm going to propose to Belldandy when I graduate." "Of course not, who do you take me for?" snapped Megumi. "Ok. Just warning you. Oh, by the way, do you have any money? I just spent the last of mine on that ring." "Yeah, sure, but what for?" "I want to get some roses for Belldandy. She's been so kind to me lately, and I want to thank her." "Ok. How much do you want?" "4000 yen will be fine, thanks, Megumi." Megumi dug around in her purse and gave the 4000 yen to Keiichi, who walked across the road to the flower vendor, and bought a dozen red roses. He gave them to Megumi to hold while he drove them both back to the temple Keiichi called home. When they arrived home, Megumi gave the flowers to Keiichi and walked through the back door. "Hi, everybody, we're home." "Hello, Megumi. Hi, Keiichi," came the greeting from the kitchen. Keiichi walked up the back stairs, carrying the roses behind his back. Peeking into the kitchen, he spotted Belldandy cleaning the floor with a mop and pail. "Belldandy! I've got something for you!" "What is it, Keiichi... oh! They're beautiful! Thank you, Keiichi! I'll put them in water straight away!" Belldandy put the roses in a vase standing on the kitchen table. "Thank you very much for the roses. They're very beautiful." "Just like you, Belldandy." Belldandy blushed deeply. "Oh Keiichi .... " Belldandy gave Keiichi a *huge* hug, followed by a long and passionate kiss. "*OK*. If I'd known you were going to do that, I'd have given you flowers a *long* time ago." The temple echoed with peals of laughter. ***** The next morning, Keiichi walked into the kitchen for breakfast. The three Goddesses were already up, and Belldandy was cooking breakfast. Urd and Skuld were having one of their little fights again. "What would *you* know, Skuld? You're not any good at this stuff. You're only here for debugging, and you don't seem to be doing too good a job at that, not with what happened recently," Urd snarled. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN? Are you saying it was *MY* fault the cherry tree was cursed?" "Well, it certainly attracted the bugs. And *you* didn't get rid of them. Thanks to you, I've been demoted to Second Class, Limited Licence!" "*You* can talk! *I've* been demoted to Surface World Trainee! It was YOUR idea to build that Ultimate Circle of Warding! Don't blame ME for your problems!" "*You're* the one with problems! It seems that you can't de- bug anything any more! Why, only last week it snowed. And in the middle of summer! You couldn't even catch the bug responsible for that!" "URD! SKULD! Be quiet! This is not the time or place to fight, especially not in front of Keiichi. Can't you see he doesn't need this stress right now?" Belldandy sternly told both of her sisters. Skuld immediately shut up, while Urd poured herself another cup of sake. She had a scowl on her face. ***** All four of them ate breakfast. It was, even for Belldandy, something special. "Oh, Belldandy, thanks a lot for that delicious breakfast. It's your best yet," Keiichi said, as he finished off his cup of Darjeeling tea. Belldandy blushed, and thanked him for the compliment. "I've got to go to university now, so I'll see you this afternoon." Belldandy walked with him to his motorcycle. Keiichi gave her a big hug, kissed her on the cheek, said goodbye, and departed. Belldandy returned to the kitchen table and began cleaning up. Skuld got up and walked back to her room in silence. She and Urd were not talking to each other, at least, not after *that* little episode. ***** A week has passed, and Keiichi's exams were finally over. He and Belldandy planned a night out to celebrate the end of exams, but everyone else invited themselves along, much to Keiichi's annoyance. Everyone was dressed and ready to go, as a trip to the amusement park was planned. Megumi and her boyfriend were there too, and she introduced her him to everyone. "Everyone, this is Ryoga Katashi... Ryoga, this is my brother Keiichi, and these are Belldandy, and her sisters Urd and Skuld." "Hello, everyone. I am honoured to meet you all." "Come on, time to go. Keiichi? Are you ready?" "Ready as I'll ever be, Belldandy. Let's go," said Keiichi. He instinctively reached into his pocket to check the little silver box was there, safe and sound. The group left, headed for the Tokyo Amusement Park. Once there, Skuld excused herself and headed straight for the ice- cream stand. Urd followed Skuld, making sure she didn't get into too much trouble. Megumi and Ryoga went their own way too, leaving Keiichi and Belldandy alone. "Oh look, Keiichi, the big wheel. I've always wanted to ride on the big wheel." All right! he thought. A perfect chance to propose. "You have? OK, Belldandy, let's go. I'm sure you'll like the view from up there." ***** Skuld sat down, happily eating her ice cream. Urd was looking incredibly bored. Suddenly, a small, white, furry creature with eight legs came bounding out from under the ice cream stand. "AAAH! A BUG!!" shouted Skuld, drawing her mallet from over her shoulder. Several people standing near to the two goddesses looked at Skuld strangely, and hurried off, anxious to get away from this looney young girl. Skuld began to chase the bug. ***** Before Belldandy and Keiichi could make a move, the ground beneath their feet started to shake. Screams of pure terror were heard from another area in the amusement park. The building that Keiichi and Belldandy were standing next to started to shake, and then crumble. Keiichi ran, pulling Belldandy along with him, looking for a safe place. Behind him, he could see the ground beginning to open up, at which point the building he was just standing next to toppled and crashed to the ground. Finally finding a safe place to stand, Keiichi and Belldandy watched the other patrons slowly calm down. An announcement came over the park's loudspeaker system. "Attention please: if there is a doctor on the premises, could they please report to the site of the Big Wheel. There are people who require immediate medical attention. Repeat: if there is any medical personnel in the area, could they please report to the area of the Big Wheel." Belldandy looked worried. "Keiichi, I've got to go and help them. It's my duty as a Goddess to give help to those people who need it." "I know, Belldandy. I'll come with you, I might be able to help." Belldandy and Keiichi ran quickly to the accident site. Once there, they found Urd and some show patrons working feverishly to get a large pile of rubble off a man trapped under steel girders and dirt. Just then, Megumi turned up. "Has anyone seen Ryoga? I know he's around here somewhere!! HAS ANYONE SEEN RYOGA?" Her questions went unanswered. ***** After an hour of solid work by Belldandy, Urd, Keiichi, and some other show patrons, the man was free of the debris which has previously pinned him to the ground. Urd examined him. He was in pretty bad shape, and his left leg seemed to be broken. "Belldandy? This is more your specialty. Can you do anything?" asked Urd, nervously. Belldandy took a step forward. "Yes, I can heal him." She looked at Keiichi and said, "It's going to be hard. I'm going to need you to hold me when I'm finished. This is going to take a lot out of me." "Of course, Belldandy," Keiichi said, "you know I'd do anything for you." Belldandy extended both her arms, palms facing each other, and closed her eyes. Muttering a magical spell, she concentrated hard on the man on the ground. From her hands grew a ball of blue light, which rose into the air, and then came to rest on the man. Before everyone's eyes, the gentleman's injuries were healed. Belldandy collapsed into Keiichi's arms. "It's alright, Belldandy, I've got you, you're safe and well. I'm just going to put you down here, I'm going to help the others look for more survivors." "Of course, Keiichi, do what you think is right." said Belldandy weakly, just before she dozed off, exhausted after the big healing spell she had just cast. Settling her up against the side of a building which was still standing, Keiichi returned to Urd's side and resumed digging, looking for more trapped people. A small white object with eight legs bounced past Keiichi, with Skuld in hot pursuit. "YOU! YOU'RE responsible for this earthquake?!?" she screamed at the bug, which was now well and truly getting away. "Oh no you don't," Skuld snapped. With a press of the button on the mallet's handle, she swung the mallet, which extended itself and connected squarely with the bug's head. With a stunned expression on its face, the bug vanished. At that same instant, the aftershock hit. The building on which Belldandy was resting began to move and crack apart, with pieces landing everywhere. She must have been exhausted, because even the aftershock didn't wake her. Keiichi turned around to check on Belldandy, just in time to see pieces of building bury a still unconscious goddess. "BELLDANDY!!!" Keiichi's scream got everyone's attention. He raced over to where Belldandy lay buried and started digging frantically, trying to get her out from under the rubble. Urd ran to call for an ambulance. ***** Skuld stopped, breathed deeply, then turned around and sprinted back to where Urd stood, arriving just in time to see the ambulance officers loading Belldandy, and the previously injured man, into the ambulance. Belldandy was in a very bad way. Keiichi got in as well, the men shut the doors, and drove away. Megumi turned up, with Ryoga in tow. "Look everyone, I found him ...", her voice trailing off when she saw the forlorn look on Urd's face, and the shocked look on Skuld's. "What happened? Where's Keiichi and Belldandy?" "Come on, Megumi, Skuld, we're going to the hospital. I'll explain everything on the way." ***** At the hospital, the group found the inquiries counter. Asking the duty nurse, they found out that Belldandy was in intensive care. The nurse directed them to the floor and room, where they found Keiichi outside, asleep. Urd woke him up. "Keiichi? What's happened?" "Huh? Oh, hi Urd, hi everyone." "Hi, big brother. How's Belldandy? Urd told me what happened," said Megumi. "Belldandy's still in intensive care. They're not letting anyone see her, even me. The doctors aren't sure if she's even going to make it through the night," he managed to get out, before breaking down into a fit of tears. "It's alright, big brother, it's OK, we're here now," said Megumi softly, hugging the still sobbing Keiichi. She's never seen him like this before, but then he'd never had this sort of thing happen to him before. "Come on, let's go home." "No, I'm not going, Belldandy might need me..." Urd slapped him across the face, hard. "Keiichi! Stop that! You're going into shock, and that's the last thing we need! You're coming home with us, *NOW*, and no excuses! Belldandy can look after herself, and besides, she's got God looking after her too, remember?" "Oh ... yeah. Sorry everyone, I don't know what I was thinking. Yeah, let's go home." The group left the hospital and headed home, Keiichi wrapped in a blanket that the hospital had given him. No one noticed that Skuld hadn't said a word since leaving the amusement park. ***** Keiichi woke up screaming. The images of today's events had just run through his mind, again, in perfect clarity. Megumi came running. "Big brother? What's wrong?" "Sorry, Megumi, I just remembered what happened tonight. I didn't mean to wake you." "It's all right Keiichi, it's all right. I understand." "If only I hadn't taken her to the amusement park, she'd be right here now, it's all my fault, I shouldn't have wished for her to stay with me in the first place." "Nonsense! If God hadn't have approved of your wish, he wouldn't have let Belldandy stay. It's not your fault, Keiichi." "Thanks for trying, but it's just not working. Nothing's going to cheer me up until Belldandy comes back." "We'll all go and see her in the morning, OK? Just to cheer you up." "Thanks, Megumi. Goodnight, see you in the morning." "Goodnight, big brother." ***** The next morning, Keiichi visited Belldandy. He was surprised (to say the least) to see her sitting up in bed, awake, bruised and battered, but otherwise all right. "Belldandy! You're awake!" "Keiichi! I'm so glad you're here. It seems that my healing power is working overtime on me. The doctors say that I was really lucky, I didn't get hurt anywhere near as badly as they thought I was." "That's good news." Keiichi fell silent. He thought about the past few days, and felt extremely lucky that Belldandy wasn't hurt badly. "Keiichi? What are you thinking?" Belldandy asks, with a radiant smile on her face. "Oh, it's not important, Belldandy. How long do you think you'll be here?" "The doctors say that in a few days, I'll be good as new." "That's even better news. When you get home, I've got something special to give you." ***** A few days later, Belldandy was discharged from hospital, and Keiichi went to pick her up. Urd and Megumi waited on the porch for Keiichi to return. "Belldandy! Glad to see you're back, safe and sound," Megumi smiled. "Hi, Megumi, Urd, good to see you both. Where's Skuld?" asked Belldandy. "She's in her room. I'll go get her," said Urd. Megumi went inside to finish making lunch. Keiichi got off his cycle and helped Belldandy, who was still sore from her accident, inside. When she was settled in the living room, Keiichi said, "Belldandy, I've got ... something to give you ..." Before he could complete his sentence, a cry came from Skuld's room. Keiichi ran to where Urd was standing, reading the note she had found on Skuld's bed. ***** Belldandy and Keiichi read Skuld's note for the third time. "Everyone, By the time you read this note I will be long gone. I'm so very sorry for causing the earthquake, and even more sorry for hurting my big sister. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me for what I have done. Goodbye and good luck, Skuld." Keiichi's eyes began to water when he finished reading. Belldandy cried into Urd's shoulder, and Megumi did the same to Keiichi. After Belldandy composed herself, she said, "Skuld's blaming herself, and not the bug, for the earthquake." "Why?" asked Keiichi, obviously puzzled. "It's not her fault the earthquake occurred. She was just doing her job as a debugger, that's all." Megumi had the answer to that one. "She's been going through a few ... *changes* lately, if you know what I mean. It's obvious that her emotions are overwhelming her, and seeing Belldandy badly hurt didn't help. She said something yesterday about not wanting to see how badly she'd hurt Belldandy, but I didn't take her seriously. She must have somehow got it into her head that *she* was responsible." ***** Skuld sat on a park bench, eyes closed, thinking deeply. "How could I have done such a stupid thing? I'm just doing my job, and look what happens! I almost killed big sister!" Her mind slips back to the fight she had with Urd ... ... "What would *you* know, Skuld? You're not any good at this stuff. You're only here for debugging, and you don't seem to be doing too good a job at that!" ... ... "The cherry tree certainly attracted the bugs. And *you* didn't get rid of them. Thanks to you, I've been demoted to Second Class, Limited Licence!" ... ... "*You're* the one with problems! It seems that you can't de-bug anything any more! Why, only last week it snowed. And in the middle of summer! You couldn't even catch the bug responsible for that!" ... "NO!" she cried out. She looked around to see an elderly couple staring at her. Skuld excused herself and walked off quickly. ***** "Hello? Police? I want to report a missing girl. She's about twelve years old, with long black hair, and carrying a mallet. Yes, that's right, a mallet ... Her name's Skuld." "Is that her first name or her last name?" "It's her *name*." "Right ... yes sir, we'll get on it right away. Goodbye." "Goodbye, and thank you." Keiichi put down the phone receiver. "I've called the police, and they've promised to be on the lookout for her. I don't know anywhere she could go and not be recognised, not with that mallet she's always carrying." Belldandy was visibly upset. "*Why* did she have to do this? It wasn't her fault, it's just one of those things. I wish she hadn't got it into her head that she was responsible for the earthquake." "It's alright, Belldandy, she'll turn up." Keiichi hugged Belldandy tight, so that she didn't hear him mutter "... maybe," under his breath. ***** Urd materialised from one of the computer screens in the Relief Goddess Office. She walked quickly to Kami-sama's office, and knocked on the door. "Come in," came the reply. Urd opened the door and went inside. Kami-sama was sitting there, a frown on his face. "This had better be important, Urd, you know how busy I am. And besides, you're still banned from here. This had *better* be good." "Yes, sir, it *is* important. Skuld's run away, sir, I'm hoping you can trace her." "Skuld? One of my best debuggers? Run away? That's not like her. She's such a nice goddess. Why would she do that?" "Well, sir, you saw what happened on the Surface World. Skuld blamed herself for the earthquake. It appears that she got rid of the bug at the same instant that the earthquake occurred, and she put two and two together ..." "And came up with five. I see why you're here now. I'm sorry Urd, but I can't help you. I'm sorry to say that, but you saw the state of the System when you came in, didn't you?" Urd had indeed. Bugs everywhere, and no-one debugging. The system was going crazy. She sighed. "All right, thanks, sir. If she does arrive, could you *please* tell her to call me. Even if she doesn't want to come back to the Surface World, please make sure she calls." "Of course I will. Goodbye, Urd." "Goodbye, sir." Urd left, and prepared to return to the temple. ***** Urd returned with her news. "He can't help us directly, but he'll keep an eye open for her, and if Skuld goes back to the heavens, he'll tell her to call." "Thanks, big sister." "Yeah, thanks, Urd. I'm sure Skuld will turn up somewhere." Keiichi told Urd what he had done in the meantime, and she nodded her head, a tired expression on her face. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to lie down. Transporting really takes it out of you." Urd left the room. "Well, there's nothing else we can do today. I'm going to turn in. Goodnight, Belldandy." Keiichi gave her another hug, and went to bed. ***** Keiichi awoke to the sound of sobbing. He walked quickly to Belldandy's room, and his heart broke to see his beloved Belldandy reduced to tears. "Belldandy? It's alright now, I'm here, it's OK, there's nothing to cry about." He walked over to her, knelt down, and hugged her close. "Oh, my dear Keiichi, I'm happy you're here. I just can't stop thinking about Skuld. Is she hurt? Is she OK? I don't know. I can't bear to be here when Skuld is out there by herself." Keiichi is lost for words. To see his Belldandy crying is more than he can take. "Belldandy, please don't cry. I'm sure Skuld will turn up, safe and sound. I'll go looking for her first thing in the morning." "Thank you, Keiichi, but I can't help thinking about her. She is my sister, after all." "I know, Belldandy. Try and get some sleep now. We've got a big day tomorrow." "All right. Goodnight, Keiichi." "Goodnight, Belldandy. I love you." "I love you too, Keiichi." ***** Skuld sat down. "How could I have been so stupid? To cause that earthquake ... and then nearly kill big sister? *WHY* did I become a debugger in the first place? The number of times I've hurt people by debugging ... why? Why is it always my fault?" Skuld started to cry. ***** Keiichi got up early the next morning, determined to find Skuld and bring her back to the temple, to make Belldandy happy. As he walked out the front door, heading for his motorcycle, the phone rang. He rushed back inside to answer it, in the hope it would be Skuld calling. It was the police, however, with the news that they might have found Skuld. A man had rang, saying that he had seen someone vaguely matching Skuld's description near the amusement park. Keiichi thanked the police, told Belldandy what had happened, and ran to his motorcycle. Belldandy followed him, and together they sped off towards the amusement park. ***** Skuld walked away from the amusement park. She was still visibly upset, and talking to herself. "Why did I come here, of all places? I don't want to be here. I nearly killed big sister here." ***** Keiichi and Belldandy arrived at the amusement park. It was still a mess from the earthquake. Workmen were slowly cleaning up the many piles of twisted metal that were there. Keiichi looked around for Skuld, but neither he nor Belldandy could see her. Keiichi asked one of the workmen if he had seen someone fitting Skuld's description. It was Keiichi's lucky day, as it was the same man who had called the police earlier. Yes, he had seen someone matching Skuld's description. She was sitting on a bench and staring at a spot near where the Big Wheel had been. Keiichi thanked the workman, and he and Belldandy left, in the direction that the man had indicated. ***** Skuld heard a motorcycle approaching, and snapped her head around. Keiichi and Belldandy rode up to her, but Skuld started to run away. "Skuld! Don't run away! It's not your fault!" cried Belldandy. "Yes it is. If I hadn't debugged then, you wouldn't have gone to hospital, and you wouldn't have almost died ... " "Oh, Skuld, please stop this nonsense, and come home with us. *Please*," implored Belldandy. She had an expression on her face that Keiichi had never seen before. There was a long pause, during which Belldandy was sure that Skuld was going to run away again. Skuld was frozen to the spot, her thoughts alternating between Belldandy, and what happened at the amusement park a few days ago. Skuld looked at Belldandy once again, then turned as if to run, but there was something in the expression on Belldandy's face that stopped her. Belldandy jumped out of the sidecar, then ran toward Skuld, who began to cry. Belldandy gave her a great big hug. Skuld struggled briefly, then gave up and sobbed into Belldandy's dress. Belldandy started crying also, but this time they were tears of joy. Keiichi, with a huge smile on his face, waited patiently until both goddesses had stopped crying, then settled Belldandy in the sidecar. Keiichi got on the motorcycle, Skuld jumped on behind him, and the trio rode back to the temple. ***** Urd's ears pricked up at the sound of the cycle returning. She walked to the back door, expecting Belldandy and Keiichi to be returning with bad news. She was overjoyed, however, to see Skuld with them. Forgetting her anger for the moment, Urd raced over to where Skuld was now standing, and embraced her. "Skuld! I've been worried sick about you! Where have you been?" Skuld was taken aback. "Urd? I didn't think you were talking to me any more after what happened last time ..." "Oh, you silly little girl ..." "I am *NOT* little!" "Sorry! But *why* did you run away? You know it's not your fault that the earthquake occurred. You were just doing your job." "I don't know why I ran away. I just ... *felt* it was my fault." "It doesn't matter now. Come on inside. I'll make everyone a nice breakfast." Belldandy said, smiling radiantly. ***** "It started when Urd and I had that fight. I was determined to prove that I was *still* a good debugger. When that bug appeared at the amusement park, I thought that this was a good time to prove it, but seeing big sister being buried at the same time I was debugging ... I just couldn't handle it, so I ran away. I needed time to think things over. When you," Skuld said, pointing to Keiichi, "and big sister found me, I was just about to leave and not come back. I'm glad, in a way, that you found me. When I saw how quickly big sister had healed, I was amazed. I honestly thought that I'd killed her. I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry if I caused you any grief." Everyone began to talk at once. Eventually, Belldandy shushed them all and served breakfast. Skuld wolfed hers down, as it was the first food she had eaten in over two days. Even Urd, who usually ate like a horse, was surprised to see Skuld eat so fast. She smiled, happy to have her whole family together once again. ***** Keiichi finished his breakfast, and pushed his empty plate away from him. "That was the best breakfast I have ever eaten. Belldandy, that's your best yet. It even beats the one you made last week." "Oh, Keiichi, thank you so much." "Ah, no, Belldandy, thank *you*. Thank you for coming into my life, and making me so very happy." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver box. He got down on one knee next to Belldandy, opened the box, and pulled out the most beautiful ring the goddesses had ever seen. He took Belldandy's hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. "Belldandy? I'm sorry I didn't get to ask you before, but ... will you marry me?" The entire group suddenly went quiet. Urd and Skuld both face-faulted. A huge grin crept across Urd's face as she realised what was happening. Skuld opened her mouth to say something, but Urd shut her up quickly with a swift kick to the shin. Belldandy turned red as she realised that her beloved Keiichi had just proposed to her. "...." was all she could manage to get out. Keiichi was still kneeling at her side, waiting for her reply. Belldandy finally managed to gather enough wits to say, "Oh, my dear Keiichi, I ..." Keiichi waited expectantly. "I ... I'd love to," Belldandy said quietly. * End * -------------------------------------------------------------- And so this story is done. It's been fun writing it. Thanks must go to: * The people on both mailing lists that I subscribe to: the Ah! My Goddess mailing list (subscribe to: skuld@usagi.jrd.dec.com, actual mail to megami@usagi.jrd.dec.com), and the Fanfic Mailing List (subscribe to: fanfic-request@andrew.cais.com, actual mail to fanfic@andrew.cais.com), for comments and suggestions; * Brett Handy (darkwnd@sv.net.au) for prereading and much good advice. I've got some ideas for my next fanfic, but I probably won't get started until after Christmas. Send all comments, flames, praise, etc to johnc@sv.net.au