Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Two Wallets ❯ Divine Affairs ( Chapter 78 )

A Tale of Two Wallets

(An Altered Destiny)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

The trip to his mother's place (he was not yet ready to think of it as his own) went relatively smoothly, mainly because his mother had opted to rent a cab rather than take the bus this time, much to the dismay of his avaricious father. It seemed that his mother had hidden assets at her disposal to which Genma was not privy, and since money tended to vanish into his father's paws as fast as he could lay hands on it, this was a very good thing in Ranma's opinion. His mother seemed to exercise some kind of a power over his father that Ranma barely understood, only that the mere hint of displeasure turned Genma into a quivering mass of terrified politeness, and that even without her ever-handy sword being present.

His knowledge of history reminded him that in traditional samurai houses it was the man who earned a living but the wife who controlled the purse strings. Nodoka, being a very traditional minded woman, and who had come from a moderately wealthy background before her marriage to his father, had access to a trust fund set up for her in advance of that marriage. Ranma had been casually informed that a separate trust had been established in his name and that when he turned eighteen he would be given control over that fortune, provisional to his first getting married.

He was beginning to better understand why his father and Mister Tendo always seemed to be pushing for the marriage. Of course the fact that Ranma had gone along with their scheme willingly after having taken the time to get to know Nabiki only worked to their advantage.

"Stupid old man," Ranma murmured to himself, but privately he thought that it was one scheme his father had set up that actually seemed to be working out to his advantage.

Ranma thought uncomfortably of his iinazuke as he set down his backpack and studied the room that he was now in, which he had been informed was now his room…his room alone, not to be shared with any other person. He studied the walls of the place, took note of the furnishings and wondered to himself what Nabiki herself would say to such modest accommodations. A rolled up futon lay in one corner with tamati mats all carefully folded, along with bedsheets and linen set out on shelves as if a maid had come in and arranged things. There was a low-set dresser by one wall and a closet that stood open with clothes hangers and even some articles of clothing in full evidence, and the walls were sparse without the sort of posters and paintings that he was used to seeing in Nabiki's room. There was one silk screen painting of obvious Chinese manufacture adorning one wall where the sunlight through the window could play upon it to an interesting effect, but other than this those walls were relatively barren.

Well, barren except for one picture sitting on the low frame table beside some incense burners as one might adorn a house shrine, and when Ranma knelt to examine this he discovered that the picture showed a man and a woman who looked something like younger versions of his parents, and in the father's lap was a young boy who was quite obviously having a good time (and no doubt driving the photographer to distraction). The picture was somewhat faded and obviously quite old, but Ranma had no trouble deciphering that it was his family in the picture, no doubt taken during a happy occasion before the ten-year training mission from Hell had even been contemplated.

Ranma glanced around himself and marveled that this room could ever have been his. There was only the barest hint of familiarity about the place where he had spent the earliest years of his existence, and for all that he tried to recall those memories that were so deeply buried they would not come forth. His normally flawless memory failed him in some manner…perhaps because everything still seemed so new to him. The room was sparse, positively Spartan, but compared to most of the places that he had been in his life it seemed like luxury unimaginable, and he could not visualize himself having such a room to himself without the old man's snoring to his one side…

Or the warmth of two bodies nestled closely against him.

Ranma swallowed hard and wondered from where the hell that thought had harkened. Sure he was used now to sleeping in the same room with Nabiki and Shampoo, but considering the demanding way those two could keep him awake half the night you would think that he would be glad to have some time to himself to get his thoughts in order and maybe catch up on some much-needed sleep. He had only been away from his fiancées for a little more than an hour or two at most, so why was he missing them this badly, and why was there a certain tightness in his chest about not hearing the affection in their voices as they snuggled up beside him in the dead of night and complimented him on the quality of his performance? Just contemplating having all this space to himself left him expecting to hear Nabiki's usual sardonic commentary filling in the details that his own thoughts avoided, while that cute baby-doll voice of Shampoo's chimed in with ever-ready and helpful suggestions…

Ranma straightened up and fiercely reminded himself that GUYS DO NOT CRY! What the hell was he getting so maudlin for? (And never mind that before he knew Nabiki he would not even have known what the word "maudlin" was for except that it possibly described some kind of mackerel) It was only going to be for two weeks, he'd adjust to having a bed all to himself, and even a hard mat on a cold floor was better than having to fight for the use of the covers! No more games of foot-wrestling under the sheets, no half-fear/anticipation that one or both girls would produce a glass of water and expect him to carry on far beyond the limits of his male body, and no more stumbling around over sharp-cornered furniture or tripping over a pair of bonbori set with a sword in one corner. This was HIS room to do with as he liked, and he would not have to answer to anyone (except his mother) in the manner that he could use it. He could even hang posters on the walls and get a CD player, or maybe even a computer, like Nabiki. His mother would no doubt supply him with all his needs, anything he asked for, all he had to do was think of something he needed.

The fact that he could not think of anything he particularly needed at the moment only left him staring flatly at the empty spaces of his room and wondering why it felt less like a home than the dojo. Hell, even Ryoga crawling into his bed-space in a lame attempt at trying to kill him was beginning to feel nostalgic! The dojo and Tendo house had become so familiar to him that he could doubtlessly have negotiated his way to and from the kitchen with his eyes closed and never once have to worry about bumping into anything but a lost Ryoga. It was the only roof that had been over his head for more than two months that he could recall in his otherwise vagabond existence…

"Ranma?"

He whirled about, startled at his mother's voice, which had come upon him at a moment to total vulnerability and with his guard way down, unacceptable for a martial artist. He fought the urge to assume a martial crouch and instead made himself relax as he saw the concern in his mother's eyes and knew that this was one time that he could not afford to give into the reflexes of his training.

"Yeah, Mom?" he asked, hoping he would not sound too upset by the fact that his mother had somehow managed to surprise him, he not even having heard the approach of her footsteps.

His mother's smile helped him to relax as her eyes shown with affection, and in a very motherly voice she said, "I was just thinking how handsome you look standing there. I wanted to keep your room the way it was, but I thought you might feel less comfortable in the room of a five-year-old. I'll help you set things up to your liking as soon as you've had time to settle in, then we can decide if you would rather live here after your marriage or move back in with the Tendos."

"Mom," Ranma found himself smiling, and he bowed to her in respect, "Thank you."

"No, my son," Nodoka returned the bow, then stepped into the room and reached out to embrace him in a motherly hug, "Thank you…for coming home to me, for being so manly, everything that I could wish for in a son, and more…"

"Mom," Ranma put his arms around her, feeling incredibly awkward as it felt so different to be holding his mother like this instead of Shampoo or Nabiki.

"Your father did a better job of raising you than I could have imagined," his mother's voice was tight with emotions, but then she stood back and smiled at him, her eyes full of tears in spite of the happiness that she was almost literally radiating, "Even better than I think he suspects. You've grown so much in the time since you left me…now you're almost married, and soon…I'm going to be a grandmother…Oh Ranma! You make your mother so very happy!"

Ranma did not blink his eyes to this, but some part of his mind went, "TILT" at the mention of both his impending marriage and the idea of Shampoo being pregnant. The responsibilities of adulthood, of being both a husband and a parent, were creeping upon him with a speed that was phenomenal, and for the first time in his existence he began to have an inkling of why his father had always ducked responsibility on these subjects.

That thought alone repelled him. NO WAY was he going to turn out like the old man! Unprepared for it or not, he was NOT going to abandon either one of his iinazuke, especially NOT with children in the picture!

"Ah…well," his mother turned away as if to hide fresh tears that were streaming down her cheeks as the happiness bubbled up from within her, "I've embarrassed you enough for now, I suppose…I just wanted to tell you that dinner will be ready in one hour and I'm looking forward to having all of us sitting down at the same table like a family ought to. It's been so long since we had the chance to be like this and I am so looking forward to it…"

"An hour?" something clicked in Ranma's mind and he suddenly remembered a conflicting appointment, "Uh…but Mom, I've got to be somewhere…that challenge letter…"

"Oh, I know you want to answer it for yourself, Ranma," his mother replied, "But your brother has offered to handle it himself, and she is a Hibiki, so I think for once you can let the challenge slide. Besides, it's not as manly when the challenge comes from a woman…even a woman who seems as un-ladylike as that one."

"But…!" Ranma started to protest.

"Ryoga deserves the chance to find out more about this girl for himself," Nodoka insisted, "You should trust in him more and not always feel like you have to compete against him, just because he is older than you by a few months…"

"But-!" Ranma tried to get a word in edgewise, yet his mother was too smooth for this to be managed.

"Your father raised you to fight your own battles, and this is a very manly thing," Nodoka said with obvious approval, "But there comes a time when you must learn to trust in others who have demonstrated their abilities to act manly, and your brother is a very manly sort of boy, he even sneeked glances at his intended beloved while adopting the seemingly harmless disguise of his cursed form. I know how much the thought must have embarrassed him because he is such a nice boy over all, very much like his mother, only not quite as rough hewn around the corners…"

"Bu…what?" Ranma wondered if he was missing something here, or did his mother actually APPROVE of Ryoga's behavior?

"Now come along, Ranma," his mother turned to leave, "You can help me prepare the vegetables, and be sure to wash your hands before you handle the food. I understand that you've been learning to cook for yourself, and while that is not a traditional role for a man, it will no doubt help you to have such skills in your marriage."

"Hu-wha-huh?" Ranma reacted with confusion, wondering just how the subject had been neatly turned from his going to meet a challenge match to the subject of him learning to cook food for his two girlfriends. His every instinct told him that he had to leave NOW, that if he started out at once he might just barely make it to the park in time, and that there was NO WAY that he was going to let Ryoga fight his battles for him! If he paced himself and hopped rides along the way he could even cut that time in half, and unlike Ryoga he had no doubt of his ability to find the park in question. It was only a mere twelve miles tops from where they were standing, he could cover that distance in his sleep and still have time to rub Ryoga's nose in the dirt about it.

Instead he found himself compelled to follow his mother out towards the kitchen, somehow powerless to resist her suggestions, and before he knew it he was wearing an apron and had reverted to his girl form (in retrospect he realized that washing his hands with COLD water had been a tactical blunder).

"Now isn't this nice?" Nodoka smiled, relishing the thought that she could have both a son AND a daughter to help her around the house for a change. Such an obedient son, and so talented in ways that she could never have imagined.

Genma sat by the table watching his son-turned-daughter begin the slow and inexorable process of domestication that he himself had so narrowly avoided many years back. A part of him wanted to weep from the shame of having a son who could disgrace himself by turning into such a fishwife, and yet the part of him that was in control was gratified that the Boy was deflecting attention away from himself, freeing Genma to sit back and enjoy the comforts of a domestic existence, and all he had to miss was playing (or cheating, depending on how you looked at it) a game of Shogi.

(Of course Nodoka was a wickedly talented Shogi player, and too sharp-eyed to miss a detail when Genma had tried to cheat her. Since cheating was a large part of the sport that he and Soun loved to indulge the hours with, it took part of the fun out of the playing, and so Genma had resigned himself to the sorry fact that his wife was a far better player than he was…Oh the shame of being reminded…)

Ranma found himself with knife in hand dicing carrots, onions, peas, celery, lettuce and cucumbers with a flair to which he approached all subjects in a martial arts fashion. But as he diced he kept glancing over his shoulder at the fading light outside the window, relying on this as he had never relied on a time piece to tell him the approach of the hour when the challenge match was set to begin, and all the while burning with the need to get there…

And then, like the answer to all her prayers, Ranma-chan thought she heard what sounded like the thrum of a motorcycle, and-sure enough-moments later there came a knock on the door, which drew her mother's attention.

"Nihao!" a cheerful voice greeted Nodoka at the door, "Is Ranma in? Shampoo come find her airen at house of airen's mother…"

"Why hello, Shampoo," Nodoka said delightedly, "Did you come to share dinner with my son?"

"Honored mother-in-law," Shampoo bowed in a fair attempt at Japanese mannerisms, "Shampoo come take Ranma to fight. Is no proper that husband be dishonored by girl, and Shampoo dutiful wife, she see airen is on time for challenge."

"Shampoo?" Ranma-chan was astonished in spite of this being the answer to her prayers, and though his mother was clearly reluctant, she gave her no time to think about it as she said, "Thanks! I'll be back in time to share dinner, Mom, I promise!"

"Oh…" Nodoka replied, "Ah…Ranma?"

"Yes Mom?" Ranma-chan hesitated at the door, afraid that she was going to get called back inside at the last minute.

Nodoka turned and went to the closet, then came back holding an object that she handed to the astonished pig-tailed girl, "Always remember to wear a helmet. You could get into a terrible accident if you're not too careful."

Ranma-chan blinked, "What do I need a helmet for?" but one look from her mother was all it took to convince her that wearing the stupid thing was a lot better than arguing about it. He was so glad to be leaving that he did not even bother to ask where and when she had found the time to even acquire a helmet, he just took his place behind Shampoo as she started up her motorcycle.

One nagging question did occur to him then, and through the open visor of his helmet he asked, "How did you know I was going to be stuck here?"

"Ranma forget that Shampoo also have mother?" the Amazon cooed back, "Hold on tight to Shampoo, we get there in time, you see."

Ranma-chan did make certain that she had a firm grip around Shampoo's waist as the Amazon gunned the engine to her motorcycle and briefly popped a wheelie. So grateful was he for the rescue that he never even complained once on the RIDE THROUGH HELL that was shortly to ensue, (even though he fought to scream his bloody head off during certain portions of the journey). Shampoo was as good as her word, though they were to arrive a few minutes later than intended. The fight with Hibiki Kennou was already well under way when they got to the park, though they would be in time for a few of the more startling revelations…

Nabiki's Journal Resumes:

It was beyond a doubt one of the strangest encounters I have ever lived through (and considering what the past few months have been like that covers a lot of territory!). The BEING (I'm not sure if you can properly describe her as a "woman," though her resemblance to Kasumi in voice and mannerisms is a little too uncanny) sitting across from us was the perfect image of a genteel hostess, so polite and considerate that you just opened up to her without thinking. There was a timeless wisdom in her eyes that reminded me very much of Lotion, but without the guile and sophistication of the ancient Lore Master, and her AURA-my GAWD! She was like a Neon sign lighting up the room, only being in her presence made it seem like the best of spring and summer rolled into one little corner of an obscure Tokyo province.

"Would you like some more tea?" she would ask, and just the way she said this made me feel like genuflecting. No doubt if I were viewing her with ordinary eyes I would have seen nothing out of the ordinary about this girl, but the fact that my senses literally screamed not to underestimate her made her seem in some indefinable way even more impressive than Siren the Archmage. I didn't need to be informed that there was something about this Belldandy that was well out of the ordinary!

"Thank you no," my mentor declined after the third such helping, "You have been most kind to me and my apprentice. I trust you and your fiancé are getting along well these days?"

"Oh yes," the being smiled, and her smile would have defrosted an igloo, "Keiichi-san and I have been very happy these past few months, although…we have had some interesting moments…"

"Oh?" Lotion asked of this angelic woman, noting the slight hesitation with which she had spoke the latter half of her statement, "Is Peorth still being a bother?"

"She comes and visits from time to time," Belldandy said with a hint of sadness, "I wish she would stay and talk some more. We used to be such good friends in the old days, before a misunderstanding came between us. At least she knows now that I never intentionally meant to slight her."

"It is sad when old friends have a falling out," Lotion agreed, "I've never quite been able to forgive Cologne for interfering in my personal life, though in a way I suppose that she believed that she was acting in my best interests."

"I'm sure that Matriarch Cologne means well," Belldandy agreed, "In spite of her years she is still very young in a lot of matters, but in time I am certain that she will learn to trust people to govern their own lives better and not be so manipulative. When she earns the trust of those around her I am certain that will make an improvement in her general disposition."

I felt an odd sense, not as ominous as a chill, at the way in which this young girl so casually discussed Cologne's age as if she really was the errant teenager that she often comes across as, and this gently smiling girl really was Kasumi in her usual "Big Sis" role of understanding surrogate parent. I had a sense that it was not mere presumption that caused this other girl to take such things so much for granted, for there was something ageless and eternal about her, like seeing an eternally youthful flower that was always in bloom and would never wilt away with time's passage. It was almost as if before her I felt like a stray piece of chaff in the morning breeze, here one moment and then gone and forgotten.

Not that there was anything that could in the least bit be implied to be lofty or condescending about this Belldandy, for she was gentleness and kindness personified, almost like what I imagine Kasumi would be like if transformed into a literal angel. And yet I was given to understand that she had spent the past few months living in an abandoned Shinto shrine that had been ancient at the start of the Meiji era, and that she was living with a college aged boy named Morisato Keiichi, who was not coincidentally her fiancé under an arranged contract that I assumed was for their impending marriage. Whenever she talked about the boy or even mentioned his name she gave off a sense of supreme happiness that made it seem as if the air was full of birdsong and laughter. She never raised her voice, never said an unkind word towards anybody, and was all so remarkably content to be living a mundane domestic existence cooking and cleaning the house like any other Japanese-style housewife.

More and more the parallels between her and Kasumi were leaving me feeling more than a little bit breathless.

"I suppose it is very small minded of me to hold a grudge over all this time," Lotion's voice brought me back to the here and now so that my thoughts no longer wandered back tot he enigma of our hostess, "But I can't help but be amused at the turns her life has recently been taking. Here the Matriarch has the golden opportunity to begin her life all over, and yet she can't help but make many of the same mistakes that left her feeling old and bitter in the first place."

"It is sad that people do seem to be prone to old habits," Belldandy remarked, making it sound from her lips like a profound social observation, "But she is trying very hard to make a new beginning, or so it seems from the inquiries I made about her at the Home Office."

"Just the same, I look forward to seeing what new turns her life will take now that Siren is back in the picture," Lotion noted in dry humor, "There is another one who has been given the chance to make a new go at it, and I wish her well in her endeavor, if only that the happiness of one Elder is likely to be of benefit to the other."

"It does seem as if their lives will be going in some interesting directions," Belldandy replied, then she turned and regarded me with that look of infinite kindness she so freely manifested, "I think your apprentice is a bit bewildered by all our talk about the Elders. I suppose I should say that I am very pleased to see the way that you are growing into your role as a Lore Master, Tendo-san. It is good that Elder Lotion has brought you by this time so that I can properly congratulate you on your impending marriage to your future husband."

"Ah…thank you, Belldandy-san," I nodded, feeling the odd urge to refer to her as "sama."

"Indeed," Lotion turned to half-regard me, "It is for the purposes of her education that I thought it time to bring her by for a proper meeting. I wanted to lecture her on the subject of the kami, but bringing her to see you in person struck me as the best way of gaining her full attention."

"I see," the radiant vision before me said, her eyes as gentle as the embrace of my sister as she addressed me again, "And what would you like to know about us? I'll be happy to share my own knowledge if it will benefit you in your training."

You will note that she used the word "us" here. It was with silent acknowledgement that I registered this fact as confirmation of my growing suspicions.

"Ah…" I began (well, what would YOU say if asked that question by someone like her?), "I…ah…well…I was wondering…"

"Yes?" she politely inquired.

"What she means to ask is what you can share with her about the nature of the kami," Lotion said for me, "I was prepared to explain that the nature of reality comes in many layers, and that at certain levels of existence there are beings who are charged with looking over the mortal world and sometimes taking necessary steps to help mortals to enrich their lives, unlike the Demon Tribes, who often strive to mislead people into gross errors."

"That is certainly one way of putting it," the vision before me noted, "Of course we sometimes enter into contracts with specific mortals whom are designated as deserving by the system. It really is a very complex operation, and before we organized things by modern standards we could only act randomly with specific individuals, and only on rare occasions where such interference was permitted."

"Modern systems?" I asked a bit blandly.

"Yes," the vision smiled a bit fondly, "I suppose you could say that our reality was upgraded quite a number of years ago when the great computer system of Yggdrasil was established…"

"Computer system?" I blinked my eyes.

"It has simplified matters for us greatly," Belldandy revealed, "And a lot of the functions that used to be undertaken by lesser kami now are being regulated by trained system monitors who oversee routine daily operations."

"Routine daily operations," I repeated with a note of dull wonder.

"I myself am a systems analyst and part time consultant who often took turns servicing individual cases," the radiant beauty continued, "Of course since I entered into a contract with Keiichi-san I have tended to be exclusive in administering to my duties…but sometimes I receive calls from the Home office, and my services are naturally on call where needed."

"System analyst and consultant?" I was wondering if my surprise level was as off the scale as I knew it should be on hearing the casual way in which she had said this.

"Of course some kami still prefer to do things the old fashioned way," Belldandy continued, "And I certainly am not one to fault those of a traditional mindset. I suppose those are more the sorts of kami that you would be concerned with in your training. What I can tell you about them is that they tend to bond to certain elemental structures inherent in nature and are subject to the will of Yggdrasil, just like any mortal, only their lives are eternal and they tend to involve themselves with mortals on a highly localized level. My sisters sometimes like to involve themselves with people whom they meet, and you'd never know to look on them that there was anything special about us. In a way it's very refreshing to interact with ordinary people…you can lose track of the human element when you get too concerned with the routine maintenance necessary to the running of our system…"

"Tadaima!" a young voice called out in a cheerful manner, and into the room stepped three figures, two of whom immediately drew my attention, the third being a young boy who seemed only a few years older than me but who was barely as tall as my sister, Akane.

"Oh hoy," he said in surprise as he saw us, bugging the back of his head in an oddly familiar manner, "I didn't know we were having guests over…"

I did not immediately acknowledge him, of course, as it was the other two who locked the bulk of my attention. The girl who had been first to enter was not very tall and appeared to be barely middle school age, perhaps no more than fourteen or so with long black hair done up in a pony tail. Behind her was a much taller girl who was evidently a few years older than Belldandy, but whose beauty was easily a rival for our ethereal hostess, and there was something almost unconsciously swaggering and sensual about her manners. She had nut brown skin and long white hair that trailed down almost to the floor, and like Belldandy and the other girl she had odd markings on her face that seemed like a cross between tattoos and birthmarks.

What riveted my attention was the sense of a glow within them and the auras surrounding them, both far too intense to be mistaken as ordinary glow-lights. Neither one burned as intensely as Belldandy, but they still radiated power on a level that I could barely hope to comprehend, and even before she announced that they were her sisters I had the sense of this kinship being a fact beyond question.

"Tendo-san," Belldandy had informed me as I was making this estimation, "These are my sisters, Skuld and Urd, and of course…this is Keiichi-san, my fiancé."

Imagine her singing those last words and you can maybe get a sense of how much joy her voice contained when addressing the young man, who looked properly humble and pleased at the introduction. He bowed to me and we all made our introductions, then the one named Urd regarded me in a peculiar way and said, "Have we met before? You look…kinda familiar…"

"Ah," I replied, certain that I would not have forgotten someone like her if I had seen her on some prior occasion, "I don't think so…"

"A new Lore Master, huh?" the bratty one named Skuld remarked, "Hope she's better than the last one…she screwed up one of my experiments!"

"Silk apologized to you over this a long time ago, Skuld," Belldandy chided, "You should never hold a grudge over something that's in the past. Learn to forgive others and they will better receive you."

"She's just upset over what happened the other day when we were visiting the Beach," the one named Urd smirked in what sounded very much like sisterly teasing, "Like Megumi hasn't apologized over that a few hundred times already."

"SHE KISSED ME!" the younger girl wailed, "How do you expect me to forget about something like that? I always knew she was a closet pervert…"

"Skuld," Belldandy gently chided, and the younger girl flinched as though she had been more severely scolded.

"Well she did," Skuld scuffed one foot on the floor and looked pensive, then glared at the taller girl beside her and added, "If I didn't know any better I'd swear she'd taken one of your potions!"

"As if you'd need any help from me in getting a date," the taller girl grinned broadly.

To my surprise and horror the shorter girl shipped out something in her hand that looked like a homemade hand grenade and growled, "WHAT WAS THAT? YOU WANNA REPEAT THAT TO MY FACE, YOU ONI!"

"Skuld," Belldandy rose to her feet with a fluidity and grace that was as ethereal as her beauty and gently placed a hand on the girl's arm to restrain her. The shorter girl gave a guilty look her way then hastily put away her hand-bomb. I breathed a moderate sigh of relief at that, strongly suspecting that the gesture had been the heralding of something loud and unpleasant.

"Really," the one named Urd folded her arms over her substantial chest, "As if I need to condescend to employing cheap insults, you midget. Besides which I think you and Megumi liked it. She even offered to buy you ice cream."

"Oh yeah?" Skuld glared her way, "Well what about the way you were carrying on with Mara? Don't tell me you left things off with just a simple handshake!"

"Urk," the tall girl winced as if the younger one had just scored a bullseye, "Th-That has nothing do to with anything and you know it! Mraller was just there to cause mischief, like always, and I was…ah…distracting her from spoiling things for the rest of us…"

"Oh yeah?" the dark haired girl sounded even more skeptical, "You were distracting her for a whole two hours? You sure didn't look distracted to me when the rest of us had to come find you!"

"Please you two," Belldandy pleaded, "Can't you both agree to settle this later?"

"Yeah," the boy named Keiichi said, "Like how about when we don't have company over, huh?" he nodded to us with a special emphasis plain in his expression.

"Oh, don't mind the both of us," Lotion said as if amused by the whole spectacle, "You're doing a delightful job of illustrating my point. You see what I have been telling you, Apprentice? Beyond the superficial differences that you might find, at heart they are much the same as ourselves in their behavior."

"Yeah," I said nervously, "So I've noticed."

"One big, happy family," the one named Urd smiled, "That's us."

"Sometimes they're a little too much like us," the boy named Keiichi murmured softly, as if afraid of provoking a reaction.

I have to pause at this point to wonder about the analogies that were being drawn here…I mean, sure I've gone on and one about the fact that Belldandy reminds me of Kasumi, and now that I think on it that Skuld sure struck me as being a little too much like a certain younger sister of my own whom I might mention, especially seeing as she tends to walk around carrying what looks like a croquette mallet strapped across her back. I'm not too sure about that Urd, though…there is something about her that strikes me as a little too familiar, but I'm at a loss as to whom exactly it is she reminds me of, but I'm sure that I should know her. However at the time all of this was happening a nagging memory resurfaced, something said casually in conversation, and it suddenly clicked with me where I had recently heard the name "Urd" being mentioned.

"Excuse me," I asked politely, "But would you by chance know someone by the name of Siren?"

"Siren?" Urd's pale blue eyes immediately registered recognition, "Oh yeah…I knew a Siren…that must have been…oh Geez…twenty or thirty years ago at a place called Berkley. Been a while since I looked her up, though…so how is she doing?"

"As well as might be expected," Lotion replied, "She thinks fondly enough of you."

"Oh, that's sweet," Urd smiled in delight, "Now there is one mortal who really knows how to party!"

"I thought she was supposed to be a mage," Skuld frowned.

"Archmage," Belldandy said, "First Class, Licensed and registered with the Home Office."

Okay, so my suspicions were being confirmed. Now what do you do when you find yourself in this type of a situation? Okay, that's pretty much my reaction…I had no idea what I was doing there, and I felt more than a little sympathy for the boy named Keiichi, who looked even more out of his element than I was.

Of course we did exchange more pleasantries and Lotion was just starting to explain to me more about the workings of the kami when my senses caused my eyes to jerk towards the ceiling, and to my utter amazement I saw a swirling vortex open up there, and then a figure dropped into full view, landing in our midst amid a hail of red roses, rather like the black rose swirl sometimes conjured up by Kodachi.

"Keiichi-sama," she grinned, going to embrace the alarmed looking young man with obviously fawning attention, "How nice of you to call on me! It's been so long, Mon Cherri, almost a week since I last saw you…"

"Peorth?" Belldandy asked in milder surprise than I would have expected from her, seeing someone else embrace her boyfriend, "What are you doing here?"

"Being a pest, like always," Urd growled, "Or that's what it looks like."

"Called you?" Keiichi fought helplessly to resist the affections of the newcomer, "I didn't call you! There must be some mistake…"

"I did."

All faces but mine turned to regard Lotion, who had spoken the words as casually as if it were a fairly routine question, but my eyes were locked on the newcomer, for her face, voice and mannerisms caused an even more instant jolt of recognition than the parallel that could be drawn between Belldandy and Kasumi.

The new arrival let go of the boy and turned around, "You did, Cherri? For what reason does a licensed Lore Master summon one of my high station?"

"Quite simply to arrange for your meeting of my apprentice," Lotion indicated my presence, "Say hello to Megumi First Class Peorth, Tendo Nabiki."

"Tendo…Nabiki?" I saw the Megumi in question gape at me with a surprise that nearly rivaled my own expression.

"M-M-Mother?" I gasped just before I fainted…

Continued

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