Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction ❯ Somehow, Someday ❯ Fears ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer:
Ah! Megami-sama belongs to Kosuke Fujishima and all the other companies that own copyrights to the manga/anime. None of this, except this fic, belongs to me.

 

Author's Notes:
I'm really, really sorry for the long hiatus when updating this fic. I can't tell you just how many times I lost this chapter due to my negligence of maintaining my palmtop's batteries...

 

I can't guarantee that I will be updating as often as I used to, as the newly graduated bum who had started this fanfic now has a job to prioritize. But I will continue to upload new chapters when they arrive. Hopefully it wouldn't take as long as the two long years that it took for me to come up with this chapter.

 

To those who wrote to me, asking me to continue this fic, thank you very much. I shall do my best to meet your wishes.

 

 

 

CHAPTER SEVEN: FEARS

 

For Skuld, there was something not quite right that morning.

 

Her pillow was a little lumpy, and her bed was not as soft as she remembered it be.

Shaking the feeling off, she turned over, eyes still closed, determined to savor every minute granted to her by sleeping before one of the elders work her up for training . . .

 

"Skuld . . ."

 

The youngest Norn frowned. The voice sounded a lot younger than what she had expected. [Bug problem again?] Skuld inwardly sighed. She may be a goddess in training, but due to her debugging skills, she also had one section of Yggdrasil to watch over alongside her studies.

 

"Have you tried using the debugging program I made? That should be enough for minor cases . . ." Skuld mumbled almost incoherently, her mind still being gently swayed by the Sleep Demon.

 

She then heard a soft chuckle coming from the voice, along with the sound of someone leaving. Satisfied that there was no one left to bother her, she snuggled closer to her pillows and tried to go back to sleep . . .

 

. . . until the sound of a television tuned up to what was probably its highest volume interrupted her once again.

 

Skuld tried to drown out the noise by covering her head with her blankets, but it just didn't work. Finally, she sat up on her bed, looking incredibly irritated. "Would you mind turning the volume down!" she shouted irritably.

 

[Wait a minute. Television . . . ?]

 

"Urd! Skuld is still sleeping - you'll wake her up!" said the voice that Skuld had heard earlier.

 

"She needs to get up anyway! Otherwise she'll be sleeping the entire morning through!"

 

[Of course! I'm not in Asgard anymore!] Skuld finally realized, her senses now fully awake. She looked around the room she was in, bewildered at first, yet as she began to bask at the familiarity of her surroundings, a brilliant smile slowly surfaced on her lips.

 

She quickly stood up from her futon, and in her rush, her legs got tangled into her blanket, making her slip and fall. The yelp that she had made, accompanied by the sounds of a crash, caught the attention of Belldandy and Urd, which made them quickly run towards their little sister's room.

 

"Oh, dear!" Belldandy exclaimed as she saw Skuld sprawled out on the tatami mat. She rushed towards her sister's aid while Urd laughed heartily.

 

"Looks like somebody is still asleep!" Urd said teasingly as she watched her little sister stand up.

 

Skuld, rubbing her sore elbow, was in too much of a good mood to think up of a good retort. Deciding to settle on giving her eldest sister the best glare that she could muster, she then turned to look at Belldandy and said, "I'm fine."

 

Belldandy sighed in relief and smiled. "That's good. Do you feel like joining us for breakfast now?"

 

Skuld nodded, and the three sisters moved towards the living room, where they all settled down to eat.

 

"Where's Keiichi?" Skuld asked as Belldandy handed her a bowlful of rice.

 

Urd, who was conveniently flipping through the channels on the television with the use of her powers, answered her. "He went to work, silly!"

 

"This early? On a Saturday?"

 

"The Whirlwind has been quite successful and has grown considerably. Chiharu-san and Keiichi have had their hands full for the past few months," Belldandy said, happily sipping her tea.

 

"Sometimes he even brings work home with him," Urd added, finally settling down with one channel before touching the slightly eaten food in front of her.

 

Belldandy slightly frowned. "I do wish that he would not have to work when its time to rest, but I suppose it can't be helped, so we assist him whenever we can."

 

Skuld nodded. Even before she left, the three sisters, led by Belldandy, always made sure that Keiichi did not overwork himself to death.

 

"Which reminds me! I'm going to be doing some groceries later today - the party yesterday had depleted our food supply. Would you like to come?" Belldandy asked Skuld, a sweet smile back on her face.

 

The youngest Norn nodded once more, eager to set out on the road with her bike again, which she had left locked at the shed. "Sure! I'll just have to make sure my bike is not badly rusted or anything."

 

"Keiichi had been maintaining it for you, so you shouldn't worry about that," Urd informed her. "But don't you have any other plans for the day?"

 

"Not really . . ." Skuld said, looking at her lap. In truth, she had the urge to call Sentaro on the phone, but what would she say?

 

["Hi! Remember me? Your best friend who left you four years ago? Well, guess what? I'm back!" That sounded pretty stupid . . .] Skuld thought.

 

She noticed that her sisters were thoughtfully looking at her. "W-what?" she asked.

 

Urd shrugged before turning back to the television. "You only have a week, kid. And it starts now."

 

"I'm not a kid," Skuld automatically replied, her voice a little disheartened. [I almost forgot that I have a time limit . . . ]

 

Belldandy took out a piece of cloth and started to wipe her side of the table clean. "You know, Skuld . . . sometimes it's better to try than not to try at all," she gently advised.

There was a considerable silence after that.

 

*****

 

A few hours later, Skuld paced in front of the telephone. Noble Scarlet, which she had released minutes earlier, floated near the device, watching as her master walked to and fro. [C'mon, Skuld! What harm would it do if you just call and see how he's doing?] Skuld chided herself. But she just couldn't bring herself to pick up the receiver.

 

Skuld paused in front of it, and reached out, hand shaking. As soon as she had touched the smooth surface, however, she quickly withdrew her hand as if she was burned. [For Kami-sama's sake, Skuld! What are you afraid of!]

 

[ . . . what . . . -am- I afraid of?]

 

She sank down to the wooden floor and leaned her head against the wall. "Many things . . ." Skuld muttered to herself after a long pause.

 

Noble Scarlet tilted her head slightly to the side, as if she was silently asking her master, "What?"

 

"Like if he still remembers me. Oh, I know we had the same discussion before," Skuld told her angel as the little cherub looked at her disapprovingly. "He probably would, since Keiichi's friends and family did, and they had been drunk, to boot! But there are others. Like even if he -does- remember me, would he still welcome me? Will his new friends will? Or will I just feel out of place? Will I just be a 'has-been'? Someone from his past who doesn't have a place in his present? I don't think . . ." Skuld began to falter. ". . . I don't think I can handle that."

 

Noble Scarlet sighed, before picking up the phone and lifting it over to her master's side. She lifted the receiver and tried shoving it into Skuld's hand.

 

"Persistent, aren't you?" Skuld asked. [My other half . . .]

 

The other angel gave her an encouraging look, and Skuld knew what she had meant: "Like Belldandy onee-sama said, you'll never know unless you try. Besides, when will you have another chance?"

 

Skuld hesitated, but she finally nodded. She took the receiver from Noble Scarlet, and began to dial. [Let's just hope that he hasn't changed phone numbers over the years,] she thought, crossing her fingers.

 

She had a sudden urge to break the line as soon as the phone started ringing on the other end, but her angel was watching her so intently, she could have sworn the little cherub would try to stop her if she attempted it, even if it was against Skuld's wishes. [You know, you never -had- lost your stubbornness,] Skuld thought as she stared at Noble Scarlet.

 

Somebody picked up the line on the other side. Skuld's heart skipped a beat.

 

"Moshi-moshi? Kawanishi des," came the familiar voice of Sentaro's mother.

 

Skuld didn't know whether she should be disappointed or relieved. "K-konnichiwa. May I speak to Sentaro, please?" she said before she totally lost her courage.

 

"Sentaro? I'm sorry dear - he's at school today. May I know who this is?"

 

[School? Why would he be in school?] "Just please tell him that . . . Skuld . . . called . . ." Skuld said, still quite undecided as to how she felt after hearing that he was not at home. [Terrific. I don't have the guts to call him again after this!]

 

"Of course I will, dear. That's Skuld . . ." There was a pause as Sentaro's mother wrote her name down on a piece of paper Skuld knew was lying beside the phone.

 

Her heart sank. His mother did not remember her!

 

"Any message you would like to leave?" Sentaro's mother asked.

 

"Nothing, really. Just tell him I said hi," Skuld answered in a slightly subdued tone.

 

"Are you sure? He hasn't seen you for a long time, dear. I'm sure he would like to hear a lot from you."

 

Skuld's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped open. There was quite a long pause as she held the phone, speechless.

 

"You thought I had forgotten, haven't you, dear?" Sentaro's mother laughed on the other line. "This old lady isn't that old yet!"

 

Skuld smiled, and for some odd reason, she felt something burning at the back of her eyes. It was only a short while later, as Noble Scarlet reached out to wipe them, had she realized that they were tears. "Kawanishi-san . . ."

 

"How have you been? Is this a long distance call?"

 

"N-no. I just got back yesterday," Skuld said happily, while at the same time trying to stop her voice from shivering with emotion.

 

"That's great! My son would be happy to hear that!"

 

"I'm only here for a week, though."

 

"Even a single day would have been enough, considering that we haven't seen you for years! You have to come here to the house while you're still here - I'll prepare a nice little feast for you."

 

Skuld closed her eyes. "Thank you . . ."

 

She could almost imagine Sentaro's mother smiling on the other side. "You're always welcome. You may want to visit Sentaro at Kimitsu, though. There's a bike race going on, and he's in it."

 

[Bike race again, huh? I should have known.] "I'll try. Thank you so much, Kawanishi-san!"

 

"I hope to see you soon!"

 

"Me, too. Sayonara!"

 

After Sentaro's mother had said goodbye, Skuld laid the receiver on its cradle and looked at Noble Scarlet. The angel was giving her a triumphant smile, as if saying, "See? That went well!"

 

"You're right," Skuld whispered. "You're absolutely right."

 

She bent her head down and bit her lip. Skuld couldn't understand it; she couldn't fathom why, but when Noble Scarlet had laid a hand on her shoulder, her tears started to fall in earnest. [I can't believe this . . . I'm turning into Belldandy onee-sama . . .] she thought as she tried to hold herself back.

 

Urd, who had been watching television at the living room nearby, cautiously slid the shoji just a crack so that she could peek at her sister. Upon seeing Noble Scarlet trying to comfort Skuld by patting her on the head with a sheepish grin on her face, Urd understood what happened, and went back to watching her show with a smile.

 

*****

 

Belldandy had decided to do her groceries just after lunch. Taking their bikes with them, she and her younger sister pedaled their way downtown, where she showed Skuld the new buildings that had been erected; the new parks that had been built; and the new shops that had appeared since her absence four years had past. After passing by an electronics store, where Skuld bought the parts she would need to fix the television Urd broke, they went to the supermarket, where Belldandy began to re-supply their food stock, adding some ingredients she could use to bake up some sweets, all in order to spoil her sister.

 

As they took their sweet time shopping, the elder Norn noted the smile on Skuld's face with satisfaction. The younger goddess happily chatted about Asgard, of the things she had learned and the spells that she could now cast. Belldandy listened with rapt attention, proud of her sister's achievements, interested with the progress she continued to make, and curious of the bond she had made with Lind as her mentor.

 

But Skuld's enthusiasm did not last for long. On their way home, their bikes heavily laden with bags full of the items they had bought, Belldandy noticed that she had grown silent, and had been pedaling with a bothered look on her face.

 

"Skuld?"

 

Skuld raised her head, startled. She turned to look at Belldandy, who was gliding beside her. "Hmm?"

 

Her elder sister gazed at her with concern, but then suddenly she softly smiled, as if she had realized something. "Would you like to go some place before going home?" she asked.

 

Skuld gawked at sister with disbelief registered all over her features. [How does she do that?] she thought, wondering about her sister's empathic senses.

 

"Just lead the way," Belldandy gently coerced, not quite sure of where her sister would take her, but still trusting her instincts anyway. She felt Skuld's inner turmoil, and knew that a little push might help her solve it.

 

The youngest Norn bit her lip. She felt that she wanted to go to Sentaro's school, but she was terrified at the concept of meeting him face to face. [Maybe . . . a trip to the ice cream parlor is in order . . . ?] she thought.

 

She once more glanced at her sister's encouraging look.

 

[. . . or maybe I should stop lying to myself instead.]

 

"Ne, onee-sama," Skuld finally said, turning away so that her sister would not have to see her face, which was burning red. "I . . . haven't seen a bike race for a long time. Would you mind if we stop by Se- . . . uhh . . . Kimitsu High School before going home?"

 

Belldandy's smile widened. "Not at all, dear."

 

Skuld grinned.

 

*****

 

When they got to the school Sentaro attended, they saw that the race was already over. Many of the spectators - most of them students - had already left the racetrack that had been built on the empty lot beside the school, and had surrounded the tents where the contestants lounged.

 

Skuld noted the motorcycles that laid beside the tracks. [Has Sentaro-kun shifted to motorcycles . . . ?] she thought, feeling as if she was attending one of Keiichi's old races as she and her elder sister approached the field, pushing their bicycles (with the shopping bags) alongside them.

 

A few meters away from the crowd, Skuld paused. The knowledge that Sentaro was now competing with -motorcycles- overwhelmed her, causing her courage to fail her once more. "Well, the race is over. Maybe we should go . . . ?" she mumbled, turning her head away from her elder sister.

 

"Skuld . . ." Belldandy began. She then paused, rearranging her thoughts, before speaking once more. "Have you tried blending?"

 

"Huh?" Skuld asked, looking at her. Whatever she had expected her to say, that question definitely was not among them.

 

"Blending with your surroundings. Camouflage," Belldandy clarified. "Have you tried it?"

 

Her sister nodded. "That was the last Lind taught me before Urd picked me up," Skuld answered, confused. [Is she asking me to blend so I could sneak up past the crowd . . . !]

 

"Was it hard to learn?" Belldandy continued.

 

"Y-yes."

 

"How long did it take you to master?"

 

Skuld stared at the ground. "I haven't mastered it yet. And it has been three weeks . . ."

 

"Have you given up?"

 

"Even if I did, Lind wouldn't let me."

 

Belldandy nodded patiently. "But has the thought of stopping dawned on you, especially after you couldn't do it the first few times?"

 

The youngest Norn shook her head. "If I gave up before I've even actually begun, then I wouldn't have . . . achieved . . . anything . . ." Skuld said the last few words slowly, finally understanding what her sister was trying to tell her.

 

"Good," Belldandy said, smiling brightly. "You still remember then."

 

["If you give up, all possibilities are lost."]

 

Skuld recalled Belldandy's words, so many years had passed.

 

["Remember how hard you worked to ride the bicycle . . . ?"]

 

A smile began to appear on Skuld's face. "You're right . . ." she said softly.

 

"Excuse me . . ."

 

Belldandy and Skuld turned around and saw an unfamiliar, tall young man standing behind them. His fine, dark brown hair covered small eyes that were so chinky, one would have thought his eyes were always closed. His slightly disshelved look, along with his dirty coveralls and the helmet he held suggested that he had been one of the contestants during the event.

 

He smiled at them. "I haven't seen you around here before. Are you here to meet the other racers?"

 

"We're . . . uhh . . . looking for . . . for Kawanishi Sentaro," Skuld said haltingly, feeling her face burning up once more. "Is he still here?"

 

The teenager's eyes widened slightly in surprise - it was only then when Belldandy and Skuld saw that his eyes were blue. "Sentaro doesn't participate in the dirt bike competition," he informed them.

 

"Oh . . ." Skuld said, slightly disappointed. [Well, chalk up another close call for the day.] She could feel her sister's gaze at her.

 

"But he should be around here somewhere. I could take you to him if you want," the young man continued, smiling once more.

 

Skuld's own eyes widened, while Belldandy beamed. "That's really so nice of you," she said, thanking him.

 

The young man rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "It's nothing, ma'am. Sentaro's one of my good friends. Oh, wait, I'm being rude." He bowed slightly in front of them. "My name is Matsukiko Kyosuke."

 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Matsukiko-san," Belldandy said as she and her sister bowed as well. "I'm Belldandy, and this is my sister Skuld."

 

"H-hi," Skuld stammered, waving her hand slightly.

 

Kyosuke's eyebrows rose, grinning as he looked at her. "Konnichiwa," he told her. "So, shall we go?"

 

"Perhaps I could just stay here and guard the bicycles while the both of you go through that crowd?" Belldandy offered, reaching out to balance Skuld's bike with her free hand.

Skuld turned her head towards her, worry creasing her face. She felt brave enough to face Sentaro -with- Belldandy, not -without- her! "But onee-sama . . .!" she began to protest.

 

Once more, Belldandy gave her an encouraging look. "You'll do fine," she assured her younger sister.

 

Kyosuke laughed slightly. "Don't worry - I'll take care of you," he said, taking off his gloves and offering his free hand to Skuld. "Shall we?"

 

Skuld stared at his hand, hesitating. But he looked so friendly, and it seemed that Belldandy trusted him enough to allow him to take her to Sentaro by himself. [Of course . . . onee-sama trusts -everybody- and -anybody- . . .] Skuld thought, looking at her sister.

 

Taking a deep breath, she took his hand, and together they began to weave their way through the crowd, leaving Belldandy behind.

 

"Good luck . . ." the middle Norn whispered, pushing a few strands of her hair behind her ears as the wind blew against her.

 

*****

 

Since he was one of the racers himself, the people gave Kyosuke space, his hand tightly grasping Skuld's as they made their way through the assembly. Some of the students patted him on his back. [He must have won,] Skuld assumed.

 

"So, you're Sentaro's friend?" she heard him ask her. And although he probably couldn't see her, she nodded.

 

"I . . . to ad . . . I wa . . . to . . . out . . . at you're Skuld," he continued, his voice drowning underneath the noise. Finally, they made it to the front, where Kyosuke momentarily caught his breath before smiling at her once more. "I was expecting someone a little older."

 

While Skuld stared at him, her head tilted, wondering what he could have meant, a group of screaming girls - [His fan club,] Skuld thought distastefully - suddenly replaced the crowd, and they found themselves surrounded once more.

 

"Kyosuke-kun, you were great!"

"Matsukiko-sempai, can I have your autograph please?"

 

Kyosuke turned slightly red with embarrassment. "Not now, please. I'm looking for someone -"

 

"Surrounded by girls as usual, ne, Kyo-chan?" Skuld heard someone say.

 

A girl of about Kyosuke's age stood a few feet away, looking at them amusedly. With her coveralls covered with grease instead of dirt, she reminded Skuld of herself and her sisters after a hard day's work at the pit stop during one of Keiichi's races . . .

 

"Ah, Yu-kun! Good timing!" Kyosuke said, relief evident in his voice. "Help me out here!"

 

Giggling, the girl approached them, clapping her hands. "Okay, people, break it up! We still have work to do!" she said.

 

Slightly disappointed, the girls gathered around them cleared aside. Kyosuke grinned at his friend as he and Skuld walked towards her. "Thanks, Yu-kun!"

 

"No problem, Kyo-chan. That was your gift for winning second place," the young woman teasingly told him.

 

Skuld was beginning to feel drastically out of place. She wasn't part of the crowd, she -definitely- wasn't a member of Kyosuke's fan club, and she certainly was not familiar enough with her companion and his friend to boldly ask them if she could wander around and look for Sentaro alone while they chatted. [I wish Belldandy onee-sama came with us,] she thought, frowning.

 

"Ne, who's your new friend?" Skuld heard the girl ask, interrupting Kyosuke while he had been in the middle of relaying the details of his race.

 

The young goddess looked at the newcomer. The girl - a mechanic, judging from the way she looked - was quite attractive, despite the grease marks on her face. She leaned towards Skuld, her long. light brown hair tied in a ponytail following her movements, her green eyes sparkling as she gazed at their visitor.

 

"Whoops! I almost forgot! Where's Sentaro?" Kyosuke inquired.

 

"He's inside the tent, hiding from his own set of fans. What's your name?" the girl asked her friend's companion.

 

Skuld held her head high - there was something about the look on this girl's face that told her she thought the young goddess was just a child. "My name is Skuld," she answered.

 

"Mine is Ayahisa Yui," the girl said, grinning. "It's a huge pleasure to meet you!"

 

"Y-yeah. You too," Skuld told her as she bowed in respect.

 

"You're the one looking for Sentaro-kun, right?" Yui asked as she began to lead both Kyosuke and Skuld towards one of the tents that had been set up for the race.

 

Skuld nodded. "His mother said that he was here."

 

Kyosuke chuckled. "Yeah, well . . . he's still pretty obsessed with his BMX, but that doesn't mean he's not interested in motorcycles!"

 

Skuld inwardly smiled. It was a relief to hear that Sentaro still liked bicycles.

 

"In fact he has this old bike that he had already outgrown, and yet he still refuses to dump it or give it away!" her male companion continued. "He could actually still sell it, you know. It's in good condition despite all those scratches, and I'll bet he could still make a bundle out of it. I've tried to talk to him about it a few times, but he wouldn't listen-"

 

"Really now, Kyo-chan! He won a lot of races with that bike! It'll be difficult to part with something like that!" Yui argued lightly.

 

Kyosuke rolled his eyes. "You've told me that so many times, it's not too difficult to imagine that if only his cabinet was big enough, it would have been displayed along with all those trophies!"

 

Skuld found herself grinning at Kyosuke's words. She had a feeling she knew the bike he was talking about.

 

Once they entered the tent that Yui had led them to, Kyosuke was instantly surrounded by friends and teammates who congratulated him and encouraged him to do better next time.

 

But Skuld barely noticed them.

 

For her eyes met with those that once belonged to a young boy on his way to his teens.

 

And time stopped.

 

 

 

Japanese words used:
'des' - a variant of "desu", a verb signifying positive present existence
konnichiwa - hello/good afternoon
moshi-moshi - hello (used when answering the phone)
onee-sama - older sister