Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction ❯ Somehow, Someday ❯ Calling ( Chapter 2 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: chanel_jay 
After Sentaro goes home, the Morisato residents receive a call...
Anime/Manga: Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.07.2002 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.7K | Visits: 595 | Status: Work In Progress
After Sentaro goes home, the Morisato residents receive a call...
Anime/Manga: Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.07.2002 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.7K | Visits: 595 | Status: Work In Progress
CHAPTER TWO: CALLING
"Has your boyfriend left yet?" Urd asked Skuld as her youngest sister entered the living room, this time carrying an electronics magazine with her.
Skuld huffed before sitting down beside the low table near Belldandy and Keiichi. "Like I said, Urd. He's not my boyfriend."
"Oh, please," Urd scoffed. "It's not like you to lie."
"It's not a lie! Goddesses are incapable of lying, remember?" Skuld defended. "He's just my friend, okay? Nothing more."
Urd turned away, a sly look on her face. "I'll bet."
Keiichi shook his head with a knowing smile. "Why do I have a feeling you're going to be interfering with *their* relationship soon, Urd?"
"Hmm? And what makes you think that?"
"Because it's in your nature."
Skuld glared at her sister. "You try doing something to Sentaro and I swear, Urd, I won't let you get away with it!"
Urd's eyes moved towards Skuld, her head stationary. "You do that and I'll make you create another set of useless machines."
Skuld gulped at the intensity of the gaze Urd was giving her, knowing fully well that she had no power over her eldest sister no matter what she said or did. She just stuck her tongue out and immediately immersed herself in her magazine, retreating for the moment.
"Onee-san, it's not very nice to indulge in people's weakness, especially if they're not at fault," Belldandy said, huge needles clacking together as she knitted.
"It's not very nice to get even with older sisters who just want to help, either."
"No offense, Urd, but. . ." Keiichi started, " . . . what you consider "help" becomes a problem sometimes."
"Ah, but they're not totally ineffective, ne?" Urd said confidently. "I mean, look at how most of my help got the both of you!"
"You mean most of your schemes."
"Be that way," Urd scoffed. "It's okay. I *know* you're grateful."
"Right . . ." Keiichi said just before the phone rang.
Belldandy was about to put down her needles to answer it when Keiichi placed a hand on hers. "I'll get it," he told her.
She shook her head and smiled up to him. "I'll be going to the kitchen to fix our snacks for tea anyway. I'll go with you." Taking Keiichi's outstretched hand, he helped her pull herself up before walking out of the room together.
Skuld chose to ignore them this time instead of commenting, flipping a page in the magazine she was reading. "I hope it's not Sentaro's mom . . ." she muttered loudly. "I don't want to hear him getting hurt on his bike again on his way home."
"Worrywart. Your boyfriend can pretty much take care of himself," Urd said.
Skuld could only roll her eyes.
*****
Keiichi casually made his way down the hallway towards the phone, picking up the receiver as he watched Belldandy enter the kitchen. He sighed, thinking of how lucky he was to have a beautiful goddess as a girlfriend. "Moshi-moshi?"
"It is I."
Keiichi's eyes widened at the sound of the deep, proud voice. "K-Kami-sama! Wha-what can I do for you?" he blurted out, half tempted to kneel on the ground even though the Almighty was not there. Or was not exactly there. Even after all those years it was still hard to grasp the concept of the world where the gods and goddesses reside in.
"I wish to speak with the goddess Belldandy."
"H-hai. I'll get her right away, my Lord!" Keiichi stammered before stumbling his way to the kitchen. [ I wonder what he wants? Surely he's not asking the three sisters to go back to the heavens . . . ? ] he thought, nervous all of a sudden. Kami-sama almost always brought bad news whenever he called.
Belldandy had been carefully pouring tea into four glasses when Keiichi went inside the kitchen, calling her name. "Hai, Keiichi-san?" she asked.
"Ka- . . . he . . . phone . . . you . . . wa . . ." Keiichi, in all his nervousness, stuttered, pointing at the general direction of the phone.
Belldandy tilted her head to the side, a cute, innocent smile on her face. "Eh?"
"Ah . . . eh . . . *ahem*. Ka-kami-sama is on the phone . . ." Keiichi finally managed to say.
The passive look on her face became worried as Belldandy rushed towards the phone, exhaling a breath she had been holding back before lifting the receiving end of the receiver to her ear. "Your Eminence."
"I will not prolong this discussion, as I shall tell you immediately what the purpose of this call is. It is of your sister, Skuld."
Belldandy felt her heart skip a beat as the Lord mentioned the name of her sister. She cast her worried look at Keiichi, who could only share the same expression. "What can she do for you, Your Eminence?"
"I have suspended her Earth training license. She is to return immediately."
"What?" Belldandy exclaimed, aghast. "But . . . but my Lord, what has she done?"
"She is a young goddess who is nearing the end of her childhood, and yet still had not reached the potential that she could have attained if she had remained here."
"My Lord, I am aware that this is a difficult time for my sister, but Urd and I are assisting her in -"
"It is not enough."
Belldandy paused for a while, sadness eminent on her features. "Almighty, I beg you . . . please do not take Skuld. She is happy here . . ."
"I am aware of that."
"And . . . and still, this is the way the lord had decided on how to educate Skuld?" Belldandy said almost incredulously.
"This may be cruel, but yes. Besides, even though staying in the mortal realm had made a great influence on her, I do not think she is expounding her full potentials, which is quite a shame given a talented goddess such as herself. Now te-"
"Almighty!" Belldandy boldly interrupted with a pleading voice. "My Lord, please . . ."
"I will take no more excuses. No matter what happens, may Yggdrasil crash again due to another *unfortunate* accident, the young goddess is still going home."
"I . . . I see . . ." Belldandy bowed her head in defeat. "I'm sorry for disagreeing with you, Your Eminence . . . but may I ask for a request in behalf of my sister?"
"And what is that request?"
"If she is to leave, please grant her the time to say goodbye to her friends. Let her spend a few last moments with those she cares for, so that she would not be so harmed by your decision."
The Almighty was silent for a short while, as if he was thinking deeply about the matter. Belldandy held her breath. "Very well. I shall give her three days, starting *today*. That is all."
"Thank you so much," Belldandy said before the transmission was terminated. She returned the receiver to its cradle, leaned on it heavily, and sighed.
"That was about me, wasn't it?"
Belldandy looked up, surprised to see Skuld standing right out of the door leading to the living room, in front of Keiichi and the kitchen.
*****
Skuld hadn't meant to eavesdrop on the conversation, contrary to what she would normally do. She just needed a break from Urd's constant teasing, so she decided to move from the living room to her laboratory, where she knew she would find peace and quiet. But when she heard her name just as she had slightly slid the shoji open, she paused, leaning on the wooden door as she quietly listened. Keiichi barely even noticed her.
Belldandy had mentioned something about education, that and a request. To say goodbye to her friends. For what? Why should she have to say goodbye? Clenching her fists tightly, she waited until her sister ended the conversation before coming out, confronting her sister, eyebrows knitted, a small frown on her face. "That was about me, wasn't it?"
Her sister had looked up and had turned to her direction, startled and speechless.
"Kami-sama wants me to return, doesn't he?"
Keiichi could only watch as his girlfriend looked away from her sister.
Skuld took a step forward. "Why?"
Belldandy could only slowly shake her head.
"*Why* do I have to return??" Skuld demanded, stamping her foot.
"Skuld, Kami-sama thinks you need to be trained-"
"But isn't that what you and Urd are doing now?" Skuld asked.
"Yes . . . but . . ."
Skuld violently shook her head. "No buts! I'm not going back!"
Belldandy gave her a stern look. "Skuld, you know we should obey the Lord's orders . . ."
"But I didn't do anything wrong!!"
"Skuld . . ."
"No! NO!" Skuld slowly backed from her sister before completely turning around and running away.
Belldandy tried to reach out for her but hesitated, bowing her head. Keiichi came to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, but it did little to comfort her. Then Urd came walking out of the living room, a serious, almost unreadable expression on her face.
"Kami-sama is really taking her?" Urd asked in a quiet voice.
Her younger sister nodded slightly. "Hai." Belldandy bit her lip. "The Lord said no more excuses, onee-sama."
Urd had a bitter look on her face as she clenched her fists. "Then there's nothing we can do."
Belldandy, Keiichi, and Urd could only stare at each other, their sadness evident in their eyes.
*****
Skuld ran and ran, tears in her eyes, out of the temple house and into the nearby shed, locking herself inside. Upon making sure that the bolts were secured, she leaned against the door and slumped to the floor, hugging her knees as she tried to comfort herself in the darkness. Noble Scarlet, given the degree of freedom that the angel had been granted for having a young goddess for a master, came out on her own will, and hovered over Skuld's shoulder, a worried look on her face.
Through the window where the only source of light came from, Skuld could hear Banpei-kun's whirring and clicking mechanisms, patrolling the grounds as he was supposed to during the evening. [ One of my most successful designs . . . ] she thought, leaning her head against the door. [ Mara's presence here became less and less ever since I made him . . . ]
[ If I leave, who would make sure Banpei would get his routine check-ups and updates? And Sigel? What if she breaks another part? Who would repair her? ]
[ Who would protect onee-sama? And Urd . . . how come she gets to be left behind while I have to go? She has more faults than I do . . . ]
Skuld bit her lip. One of her main reasons for leaving the heavens, aside from the bug problem, was because she had been lonely without her sisters. A year working without them had made her so depressed she was almost ecstatic when the problem with bugs came up. Finally, there came an excuse for leaving behind her godly functions at the Yggdrasil computer system. She even stayed illegally on Earth afterwards, even if she had hated Keiichi, but she was eventually able to legalize her stay as she and Urd had been called back once. Together. With a chance of coming back. Now it seemed she was coming back to square one.
Noble Scarlet gently reached out to touch her master, trying to offer comfort without words. Skuld gave her a slight smile and took the angel into her arms, knowing that the angel was perhaps the only one who could truly understand the bitterness that was welling up inside her.
"I'm needed here . . . I had helped my sisters face a lot of problems . . . the Ultimate Destruction Program crisis, the time when Urd got separated into two and her evil side had almost gotten rid of Belldandy onee-sama . . . when I helped Lind and was able to summon you once more . . . isn't that enough reason not to call me back?" She whispered to her little friend. "Is it just because I'm not powerful enough? Is it because I can't develop my powers more than what they are now? But I've been working so hard . . ."
She blindly stared at the dark room, trying to find anything to use her powers on. She could see her locked bike in the distance. Concentrating hard, she carefully lifted the heavy bike towards her using levitation, and had given it a new paint coating with the power of a single thought.
But she could not defend herself and others with those powers alone. She could not make use of high-level spells without the help of her sisters. If anything, she was almost useless if she did not have any spare parts and tools in hand.
"This is so unfair . . ."
More tears followed the path that had been made by earlier ones, some deviating, creating trails of their own. Holding Noble Scarlet close to her aching chest, a small sob escaped her throat, yet any more that would have followed had been painfully restrained. [ I'm not a child . . . I won't cry anymore . . . I won't . . . ]
Nevertheless, Banpei-kun and Sigel's enhanced hearing could not help but hear the sound of soft, heartbreaking sobs emanating from the shed that night.
*****
Urd silently wandered around the temple grounds. It was already past midnight, and her youngest sister had not returned. Belldandy had wanted to pick her up when she had not come for dinner - being a goddess, it had not taken her long to discover that her sister had locked herself up in the shed - but when Skuld refused to answer, she left the food outside in hopes that Skuld would get hungry enough to come out and take it herself. [ But skipping dinner with us is one thing, not coming back for the night is another story, ] Urd thought, frowning.
She became even more upset when she discovered Skuld's untouched food.
Urd stood back, pausing for a short while before reaching out towards the shed, a ring of pure magic emanating from where she had touched the wooden wall with her fingers, which had managed to slip through the other side of the wall. Within seconds, her entire being was already inside the shack, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room.
Everywhere around her were objects that had been levitated or had been given labels or entirely new paint jobs. Slumped against the door was Skuld, the path her tears made evident on her young features, her form - shivering from the cold - completely exhausted from the amount of power that she had exerted. Noble Scarlet was hovering over her, and looked at the newcomer with concern written all over her face.
Urd regarded the angel for a moment, nodding slightly to her sister's other half before kneeling down beside Skuld, a rare, tender look on her face. "You're lucky I didn't decide to just blow down the door . . ." she whispered softly, tending to the stray locks of dark hair that found themselves on Skuld's face. Lifting her youngest sister in her arms instead of using her powers as she normally would, Urd brought her back to the temple, where Belldandy was waiting for them with Skuld's futon ready. Noble Scarlet silently followed them.
Belldandy watched as her elder sister gently laid her younger one on the mattress. Delving into her powers, she changed Skuld's clothes into more comfortable pajamas before covering her with a warm blanket. With an open, inviting palm, she called Noble Scarlet to her, who obeyed her willingly. Belldandy silently thanked the angel for watching over her sister, kissing her at the small of her cheek. The angel then retired, quietly disappearing into her master's sleeping form.
"It makes you wonder . . ." Urd said silently as she watched Belldandy tuck Skuld in. "For Kami-sama to make this command . . . where have we gone wrong in her training?"
Belldandy shook her head. "I don't think we have done anything wrong. Kami-sama just wishes for her well-being, as we would."
"But what if it would be better for her if she just stayed here? I mean, without us, who can handle the little brat up there?"
Urd felt her sister's gaze on her. She could almost see the small smile on her face . . . "I am worried about her as well, onee-sama."
The eldest of the three Norns did not bother to contradict, as she knew that Belldandy could recognize the type of relationship between her and Skuld. Instead she waited until Belldandy fell asleep before leaning over and giving the youngest Norn a small kiss on her forehead. Then she turned around and made way for a troubled night.
Japanese words used:
hai - yes
kami-sama - Almighty
moshi-moshi - hello
onee-sama - big sister
shoji - sliding panel door
"Has your boyfriend left yet?" Urd asked Skuld as her youngest sister entered the living room, this time carrying an electronics magazine with her.
Skuld huffed before sitting down beside the low table near Belldandy and Keiichi. "Like I said, Urd. He's not my boyfriend."
"Oh, please," Urd scoffed. "It's not like you to lie."
"It's not a lie! Goddesses are incapable of lying, remember?" Skuld defended. "He's just my friend, okay? Nothing more."
Urd turned away, a sly look on her face. "I'll bet."
Keiichi shook his head with a knowing smile. "Why do I have a feeling you're going to be interfering with *their* relationship soon, Urd?"
"Hmm? And what makes you think that?"
"Because it's in your nature."
Skuld glared at her sister. "You try doing something to Sentaro and I swear, Urd, I won't let you get away with it!"
Urd's eyes moved towards Skuld, her head stationary. "You do that and I'll make you create another set of useless machines."
Skuld gulped at the intensity of the gaze Urd was giving her, knowing fully well that she had no power over her eldest sister no matter what she said or did. She just stuck her tongue out and immediately immersed herself in her magazine, retreating for the moment.
"Onee-san, it's not very nice to indulge in people's weakness, especially if they're not at fault," Belldandy said, huge needles clacking together as she knitted.
"It's not very nice to get even with older sisters who just want to help, either."
"No offense, Urd, but. . ." Keiichi started, " . . . what you consider "help" becomes a problem sometimes."
"Ah, but they're not totally ineffective, ne?" Urd said confidently. "I mean, look at how most of my help got the both of you!"
"You mean most of your schemes."
"Be that way," Urd scoffed. "It's okay. I *know* you're grateful."
"Right . . ." Keiichi said just before the phone rang.
Belldandy was about to put down her needles to answer it when Keiichi placed a hand on hers. "I'll get it," he told her.
She shook her head and smiled up to him. "I'll be going to the kitchen to fix our snacks for tea anyway. I'll go with you." Taking Keiichi's outstretched hand, he helped her pull herself up before walking out of the room together.
Skuld chose to ignore them this time instead of commenting, flipping a page in the magazine she was reading. "I hope it's not Sentaro's mom . . ." she muttered loudly. "I don't want to hear him getting hurt on his bike again on his way home."
"Worrywart. Your boyfriend can pretty much take care of himself," Urd said.
Skuld could only roll her eyes.
*****
Keiichi casually made his way down the hallway towards the phone, picking up the receiver as he watched Belldandy enter the kitchen. He sighed, thinking of how lucky he was to have a beautiful goddess as a girlfriend. "Moshi-moshi?"
"It is I."
Keiichi's eyes widened at the sound of the deep, proud voice. "K-Kami-sama! Wha-what can I do for you?" he blurted out, half tempted to kneel on the ground even though the Almighty was not there. Or was not exactly there. Even after all those years it was still hard to grasp the concept of the world where the gods and goddesses reside in.
"I wish to speak with the goddess Belldandy."
"H-hai. I'll get her right away, my Lord!" Keiichi stammered before stumbling his way to the kitchen. [ I wonder what he wants? Surely he's not asking the three sisters to go back to the heavens . . . ? ] he thought, nervous all of a sudden. Kami-sama almost always brought bad news whenever he called.
Belldandy had been carefully pouring tea into four glasses when Keiichi went inside the kitchen, calling her name. "Hai, Keiichi-san?" she asked.
"Ka- . . . he . . . phone . . . you . . . wa . . ." Keiichi, in all his nervousness, stuttered, pointing at the general direction of the phone.
Belldandy tilted her head to the side, a cute, innocent smile on her face. "Eh?"
"Ah . . . eh . . . *ahem*. Ka-kami-sama is on the phone . . ." Keiichi finally managed to say.
The passive look on her face became worried as Belldandy rushed towards the phone, exhaling a breath she had been holding back before lifting the receiving end of the receiver to her ear. "Your Eminence."
"I will not prolong this discussion, as I shall tell you immediately what the purpose of this call is. It is of your sister, Skuld."
Belldandy felt her heart skip a beat as the Lord mentioned the name of her sister. She cast her worried look at Keiichi, who could only share the same expression. "What can she do for you, Your Eminence?"
"I have suspended her Earth training license. She is to return immediately."
"What?" Belldandy exclaimed, aghast. "But . . . but my Lord, what has she done?"
"She is a young goddess who is nearing the end of her childhood, and yet still had not reached the potential that she could have attained if she had remained here."
"My Lord, I am aware that this is a difficult time for my sister, but Urd and I are assisting her in -"
"It is not enough."
Belldandy paused for a while, sadness eminent on her features. "Almighty, I beg you . . . please do not take Skuld. She is happy here . . ."
"I am aware of that."
"And . . . and still, this is the way the lord had decided on how to educate Skuld?" Belldandy said almost incredulously.
"This may be cruel, but yes. Besides, even though staying in the mortal realm had made a great influence on her, I do not think she is expounding her full potentials, which is quite a shame given a talented goddess such as herself. Now te-"
"Almighty!" Belldandy boldly interrupted with a pleading voice. "My Lord, please . . ."
"I will take no more excuses. No matter what happens, may Yggdrasil crash again due to another *unfortunate* accident, the young goddess is still going home."
"I . . . I see . . ." Belldandy bowed her head in defeat. "I'm sorry for disagreeing with you, Your Eminence . . . but may I ask for a request in behalf of my sister?"
"And what is that request?"
"If she is to leave, please grant her the time to say goodbye to her friends. Let her spend a few last moments with those she cares for, so that she would not be so harmed by your decision."
The Almighty was silent for a short while, as if he was thinking deeply about the matter. Belldandy held her breath. "Very well. I shall give her three days, starting *today*. That is all."
"Thank you so much," Belldandy said before the transmission was terminated. She returned the receiver to its cradle, leaned on it heavily, and sighed.
"That was about me, wasn't it?"
Belldandy looked up, surprised to see Skuld standing right out of the door leading to the living room, in front of Keiichi and the kitchen.
*****
Skuld hadn't meant to eavesdrop on the conversation, contrary to what she would normally do. She just needed a break from Urd's constant teasing, so she decided to move from the living room to her laboratory, where she knew she would find peace and quiet. But when she heard her name just as she had slightly slid the shoji open, she paused, leaning on the wooden door as she quietly listened. Keiichi barely even noticed her.
Belldandy had mentioned something about education, that and a request. To say goodbye to her friends. For what? Why should she have to say goodbye? Clenching her fists tightly, she waited until her sister ended the conversation before coming out, confronting her sister, eyebrows knitted, a small frown on her face. "That was about me, wasn't it?"
Her sister had looked up and had turned to her direction, startled and speechless.
"Kami-sama wants me to return, doesn't he?"
Keiichi could only watch as his girlfriend looked away from her sister.
Skuld took a step forward. "Why?"
Belldandy could only slowly shake her head.
"*Why* do I have to return??" Skuld demanded, stamping her foot.
"Skuld, Kami-sama thinks you need to be trained-"
"But isn't that what you and Urd are doing now?" Skuld asked.
"Yes . . . but . . ."
Skuld violently shook her head. "No buts! I'm not going back!"
Belldandy gave her a stern look. "Skuld, you know we should obey the Lord's orders . . ."
"But I didn't do anything wrong!!"
"Skuld . . ."
"No! NO!" Skuld slowly backed from her sister before completely turning around and running away.
Belldandy tried to reach out for her but hesitated, bowing her head. Keiichi came to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, but it did little to comfort her. Then Urd came walking out of the living room, a serious, almost unreadable expression on her face.
"Kami-sama is really taking her?" Urd asked in a quiet voice.
Her younger sister nodded slightly. "Hai." Belldandy bit her lip. "The Lord said no more excuses, onee-sama."
Urd had a bitter look on her face as she clenched her fists. "Then there's nothing we can do."
Belldandy, Keiichi, and Urd could only stare at each other, their sadness evident in their eyes.
*****
Skuld ran and ran, tears in her eyes, out of the temple house and into the nearby shed, locking herself inside. Upon making sure that the bolts were secured, she leaned against the door and slumped to the floor, hugging her knees as she tried to comfort herself in the darkness. Noble Scarlet, given the degree of freedom that the angel had been granted for having a young goddess for a master, came out on her own will, and hovered over Skuld's shoulder, a worried look on her face.
Through the window where the only source of light came from, Skuld could hear Banpei-kun's whirring and clicking mechanisms, patrolling the grounds as he was supposed to during the evening. [ One of my most successful designs . . . ] she thought, leaning her head against the door. [ Mara's presence here became less and less ever since I made him . . . ]
[ If I leave, who would make sure Banpei would get his routine check-ups and updates? And Sigel? What if she breaks another part? Who would repair her? ]
[ Who would protect onee-sama? And Urd . . . how come she gets to be left behind while I have to go? She has more faults than I do . . . ]
Skuld bit her lip. One of her main reasons for leaving the heavens, aside from the bug problem, was because she had been lonely without her sisters. A year working without them had made her so depressed she was almost ecstatic when the problem with bugs came up. Finally, there came an excuse for leaving behind her godly functions at the Yggdrasil computer system. She even stayed illegally on Earth afterwards, even if she had hated Keiichi, but she was eventually able to legalize her stay as she and Urd had been called back once. Together. With a chance of coming back. Now it seemed she was coming back to square one.
Noble Scarlet gently reached out to touch her master, trying to offer comfort without words. Skuld gave her a slight smile and took the angel into her arms, knowing that the angel was perhaps the only one who could truly understand the bitterness that was welling up inside her.
"I'm needed here . . . I had helped my sisters face a lot of problems . . . the Ultimate Destruction Program crisis, the time when Urd got separated into two and her evil side had almost gotten rid of Belldandy onee-sama . . . when I helped Lind and was able to summon you once more . . . isn't that enough reason not to call me back?" She whispered to her little friend. "Is it just because I'm not powerful enough? Is it because I can't develop my powers more than what they are now? But I've been working so hard . . ."
She blindly stared at the dark room, trying to find anything to use her powers on. She could see her locked bike in the distance. Concentrating hard, she carefully lifted the heavy bike towards her using levitation, and had given it a new paint coating with the power of a single thought.
But she could not defend herself and others with those powers alone. She could not make use of high-level spells without the help of her sisters. If anything, she was almost useless if she did not have any spare parts and tools in hand.
"This is so unfair . . ."
More tears followed the path that had been made by earlier ones, some deviating, creating trails of their own. Holding Noble Scarlet close to her aching chest, a small sob escaped her throat, yet any more that would have followed had been painfully restrained. [ I'm not a child . . . I won't cry anymore . . . I won't . . . ]
Nevertheless, Banpei-kun and Sigel's enhanced hearing could not help but hear the sound of soft, heartbreaking sobs emanating from the shed that night.
*****
Urd silently wandered around the temple grounds. It was already past midnight, and her youngest sister had not returned. Belldandy had wanted to pick her up when she had not come for dinner - being a goddess, it had not taken her long to discover that her sister had locked herself up in the shed - but when Skuld refused to answer, she left the food outside in hopes that Skuld would get hungry enough to come out and take it herself. [ But skipping dinner with us is one thing, not coming back for the night is another story, ] Urd thought, frowning.
She became even more upset when she discovered Skuld's untouched food.
Urd stood back, pausing for a short while before reaching out towards the shed, a ring of pure magic emanating from where she had touched the wooden wall with her fingers, which had managed to slip through the other side of the wall. Within seconds, her entire being was already inside the shack, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room.
Everywhere around her were objects that had been levitated or had been given labels or entirely new paint jobs. Slumped against the door was Skuld, the path her tears made evident on her young features, her form - shivering from the cold - completely exhausted from the amount of power that she had exerted. Noble Scarlet was hovering over her, and looked at the newcomer with concern written all over her face.
Urd regarded the angel for a moment, nodding slightly to her sister's other half before kneeling down beside Skuld, a rare, tender look on her face. "You're lucky I didn't decide to just blow down the door . . ." she whispered softly, tending to the stray locks of dark hair that found themselves on Skuld's face. Lifting her youngest sister in her arms instead of using her powers as she normally would, Urd brought her back to the temple, where Belldandy was waiting for them with Skuld's futon ready. Noble Scarlet silently followed them.
Belldandy watched as her elder sister gently laid her younger one on the mattress. Delving into her powers, she changed Skuld's clothes into more comfortable pajamas before covering her with a warm blanket. With an open, inviting palm, she called Noble Scarlet to her, who obeyed her willingly. Belldandy silently thanked the angel for watching over her sister, kissing her at the small of her cheek. The angel then retired, quietly disappearing into her master's sleeping form.
"It makes you wonder . . ." Urd said silently as she watched Belldandy tuck Skuld in. "For Kami-sama to make this command . . . where have we gone wrong in her training?"
Belldandy shook her head. "I don't think we have done anything wrong. Kami-sama just wishes for her well-being, as we would."
"But what if it would be better for her if she just stayed here? I mean, without us, who can handle the little brat up there?"
Urd felt her sister's gaze on her. She could almost see the small smile on her face . . . "I am worried about her as well, onee-sama."
The eldest of the three Norns did not bother to contradict, as she knew that Belldandy could recognize the type of relationship between her and Skuld. Instead she waited until Belldandy fell asleep before leaning over and giving the youngest Norn a small kiss on her forehead. Then she turned around and made way for a troubled night.
Japanese words used:
hai - yes
kami-sama - Almighty
moshi-moshi - hello
onee-sama - big sister
shoji - sliding panel door