Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction ❯ The dreamer and the goddess ❯ Just like every holiday... ( Chapter 12 )

Nekomi shopping district

Nekomi, Tokyo, Japan

Sunday 1PM

 

6 and half hours later, and the group (Michael, Yuna, Keiichi, Belldandy, Urd and Skuld) went out for shopping, which Keiichi bluntly said to the group “so much for a rest day”, he didn't mind though, as their guests seemed slightly anxious in finding out about Japanese shopping.

 

It was an weekly food shopping for the group, which would normally done on Saturdays rather than Sundays, but due to yesterday's sponsorship run and unexpected events, it was delayed. Fortunately some of the food stores were open on a Sunday, so at least there will be enough for the week.

 

To make it faster, the group decided to split up into two, Michael and Keiichi took care of one half of the food shopping and Yuna, Belldandy, Urd and Skuld took care of the other half. Ironically, because some of the stuff needed was at a different food store, they were in different stores. Michael and Keiichi's list included washing powder and toiletries. Whilst the rest had to get a variety of fruit and veg, soup, rice,tea, and bottles of lemonade.

 

During this both groups had a bit of time to themselves. In one store, Michael and Keiichi was discussing about shopping...

 

Michael: How much more shopping do we have to do?

 

Keiichi: Not much, just some washing power and a few clothes pegs and we will be OK for the week.

 

Michael: Fine.

 

Keiichi: Hey, you didn't have to come shopping if you didn't want to...

 

Michael: Nah, its OK, I'm just curious about how Japanese people shop. To be honest, i never really did much shopping back home. I usually looked around the shops if i had the time during collage breaks but unless i had the money on me, it wasn't really fun, just the same old routine.

 

Keiichi: Was there any clubs you could have gone too in your free time.

 

Michael: There was, but i didn't feel like it and it was rather disorganized. I don't know why but the principal at my collage seemed to start restricting areas to lecturers. Certain toilets, rights of passage, even leisure and spiritual areas were restricted. It all seemed to add up to problems outside of collage which made things boring and sometimes uncomfortable.

 

Keiichi: If you want to, i could show you around my collage tomorrow.

 

Michael: OK then.

 

And in another store, Yuna ,Belldandy, Urd and Skuld were discussing about... well it was going to be a discussion on Michael and Yuna's relationship...

 

Yuna:... Michael-san was very shy about doing tasks outside home, other than going to collage. So i encouraged him to do shopping with me for the family.

 

Skuld: But, you said Michael's family didn't care about him.

 

Yuna: In some cases, it looked like they did care about him but if that was the case, why wasn't he cared for when he was school.

 

Urd: Maybe because they needed Michael to be tough.

 

Yuna: Tough!

 

Yuna looked at Urd with a slightly furious look.

 

Yuna: If they wanted him to be tough, they would have asked him to defend himself against bullies, which he did by fighting them. That put him on the verge of exclusion and even suicide! So he ignored and reported them, and although that helped him stay in school, he was still in pain. They hurt him so much, the measures to give the schools full rights to exclude students without the need to fund their transfer to another school came too late for him, for they were all going to leave school for collage and they made up as a result. Add this to 5 years of primary school bullying, and he was bulled for 10 years with his family doing nothing to help him, not even comfort him. He was invisibly left to fend for himself.

 

Urd: But was he happy during school?

 

Yuna: Some of the time... but consider this, for every moment he was happy...he was afraid...afraid that the bullies will hurt him again. For every moment he was afraid... he was unable to focus on what he wanted to do...because of the bullies. For every moment he was unable to focus... he was sad...because he couldn't do what he wanted to achieve. And for ever moment he was sad... he wanted to disappear...because he felt he was inferior. This is why...

 

Yuna was starting to cry as she was about to finish...

 

Yuna (Crying): ...he is still in pain!

 

...And she broke down, with Skuld becoming furious as a result.

 

Skuld: Urd! Look what you have done! We told you to look after our guests and...

 

Before Skuld could finish, Urd goes over to Yuna, she looks at her, still upset.

 

Urd: I've been there Yuna, I know.

 

Yuna was puzzled. Urd repeats it in more detail

 

Urd: I've been there Yuna. I know exactly how he feels. I been brought up, although with a family i can believe and count on, to be inferior no matter what happens. But i learnt from a friend; a friend i call a sister one thing... to believe in yourself.

 

Yuna: But, Michael-san has tried to believe in himself but...

 

Belldandy: His heart is damaged because of what happened to him, but he believed that there is someone who can save him.

 

Yuna: Me, i can save him.

 

Belldandy: Because of you now being beside him, his heart is healing. He is no longer isolated nor lost because you are there to protect him from harm.

 

Yuna: Yes, i can save him, he needed me and i am willing to do anything to protect him from harm, anything.

 

She stopped crying and looked up at the rest of the group with a sweet smile. Yuna's face looked like a masterpiece, her dried tears visible on her haunting pretty face.

 

Belldandy: There, you feel better now, Yuna-sama?

 

Yuna: Yes, thank you, my friends.

 

Urd: OK, now with that out of the way, lets finish this shopping.

 

Meanwhile... Michael and Keiichi has collected their half and the shopping and were on their way to meet the others when they suddenly heard an explosion.

 

Michael: What the...

 

An advertising board suddenly crashed behind them, landing in between two of the shops and blocking them off and any escape as a manic laugh is heard all around them.