Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction ❯ Trial By Tenderness ❯ Part 40 - Tailspin ( Chapter 40 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Part 40 Tailspin



"What could this message mean? 'The mortals have failed their probationary period'?" Abbess Sora asked. She was seated in Abbess Chihiro's study, along with Megumi and Sayoko. Sayoko scanned the library of Abbess Chihiro's study; it had several bookshelves filled with texts in Japanese, English and German. Most of the titles concerned Zen Buddhism, with a smattering of philosophical works.
Sayoko recognized that part of her study was arranged in the traditional tokonoma setting. In the rear of the room, a small recessed shelf table had a bonsai plant resting benignly on it; the ancient scroll hung behind it only added to the sedate setting. Several scrolls were hung on another wall. In front of the scrolls rested a low writing table, with various inkbottles and a host of brushes in a wooden box next to it. A light yellow glow from candles illumned against the interior of the study.
Abbess Sora noticed the message flashing brightly on the screen, over and over and over, splashing the neons of modernity against the ancient landscape scrolls. She watched as her Dharma sister tried repeatedly to shut off her laptop, tried to close the Frameworx program, tried to unplug the laptop's power cord, removed the laptop's battery. Nothing happened. The same message kept flashing repeatedly.
She and Sayoko had spent over a year in that dreadful Toshishima building; even this calendar year was almost over! Now that she was out, she imagined herself feeling some of the same kinds of feelings an inmate has when they are released a prison term. Chihiro's study was a mix of old and new. Painting that seemed hundreds of years ago were hung right next to a bookshelf filled with something that looked like DVD cases. The room itself was a throwback to a more ancient design ethic, like a tearoom that would have fit seamlessly into a 15th century lord's mansion.
Megumi thought it was odd that Chihiro had such an old computer. Ancient technology by 2050 standards, from what she had seen of the temple's 'intelligence room' as Abbess Sora had termed it. She *knew* that something weird was happening...so she also tried to unplug the laptop, just to confirm what Chihiro reported. The computer was frozen somehow, despite all attempts to shut it off.
"So how do we find Belldandy and the rest?" Sora asked, having exhausted all the other possibilities concerning the issue of the message from Kami-sama.
"I would suggest that we simply wait, and let them come to us. After all, they *are* Goddesses...who serve a higher cause," Chihiro said calmly. "If we, who are trudging the spiritual life, possess even the slightest shadings of Truth, then we already possess enough for the Norns to find us. The Tokyo of these latter days is a blackened pit of illusion and iniquity; the Goddesses will soon wish to seek out our harbor of Light."
"Me...I would rather look for them," Sayoko said. "If some of us searched, it would increase our chances of finding them."
"Me too! Besides, it would give me an opportunity to eat some *real* food!" Megumi added. This brought a flash of a knowing smile to both Abbesses. Then Chihiro assumed a serious aspect.
"Yes...that would follow. However, neither of you is acquainted at all with life in the mid-21st century. There is *so much* that you do not know. Your comment about the foodstuffs of today is just an example of this...I wouldn't even dream of eating what passes for 'food' outside our temple. As you know, human beings are *owned* by corporations in this era..." Chihiro noted, pausing for paused for dramatic effect. She regretted that she had to hit these two young women with such a disturbing scenario; but she realized because of their youth that they would have to convince themselves of their ignorance. But she was the dispassionate Diamond Abbess, and had to instruct with harsh methods, even to those of the secular world.
She watched Megumi and Sayoko's faces blanch with disgust and horror when they realized what she was implying, and then both started retching and vomiting.
"W..we were up there for a year, and we were e..eating...?" Sayoko managed to gasp out as her stomach emptied itself.
When they were empty and starting to dry-heave, Abbess Sora quickly applied acupressure to dismiss their nausea and then served them a round of tea so they could wash the taste out.
"I beleive I have made my point clear, quite emphatically," Chihiro noted in a stern voice she used for novice instruction. "This is why we grow our own organic vegetables and herbs and don't bring any food in. Everything is created with the Path in mind here. There is no Path outside of this center of New Learning, save for the paths of illusion and selfishness. You both don't belong there. You both wouldn't *survive* there."
"Besides, the matter is further complicated by the fact that Aoshima's corporation has been attacked by terrorists, and my former husband has been met by the wheel of Karma. All of the media have your pictures as likely suspects or ..witnesses. I'm afraid that you're going to have to endeavor in your search from our humble temple. Happily for you, however, even in this age...temples remain sanctuaries for fugitives," Sora explained.
"Oh great...we're *stranded*!" Sayoko complained.

* * * * * * * *

MAKUHARI, CHIBA WARD, SHIN-KYO, JAPAN - DEC 2050:

The solemn group gathered around a corner of the temple grounds. Belldandy had used her Goddess powers to create a fitting resting-place for Kodama by restoring a small section in the corner to its former verdurous glory. A slight margin of life amongst the shadowy dearth of the rest of the temple ruins. There, they buried Kodama underneath the Infamous Cherry Tree. With a motion of her hands, Belldandy restored the rotted smashlings of the cherry tree. With a flash, the cherry tree bloomed against the chill December air; far removed from the usual time of year for cherry blossoms to dance in midair. The sakura blossoms rode the wind like tiny snowflakes, carpeting the grass bed and garlanding the orchids encircling the site where Kodama's remains resided. Belldandy willed this small patch of earth to blossom in perpetuity as a fitting epitaph for the Ninjette...whose ambition was gained and whose life was snuffed out in the briefest of flowerings.
Urd recited a testimonial for Kodama, speaking to her unceasing loyalty and ultimate sacrifice. Belldandy spoke next, delivering a moving speech about the need for a purpose in life and how Kodama had accomplished hers before it was her time to depart the mortal world. To her horror, Skuld had found a metallic remnant of Banpei-kun's cap earlier in the gray winter morning. Shaking off her tears, she resolved to employ the horrific artifact to the sway of hope. Half-burying the rusted shorn in the ground, it became a headstone for the departed Ninja warrioress.
Senrigan and Hikari wept openly at the loss of their sister Ninjette. They had been bosom friends for all of their lives, sharing in every adventure and danger. Despite the years, despite the constant nearness to the whispering spectre of death...they never could have imagined that it would have been Kodama who fell. Now, all they felt was a diminishment so grievous that they couldn't spell it with words of mourning.
Urd was concerned that the female shinobi might try to resolve their loss by deciding to commit seppuku to accompany Kodama. She remained awake late at night explaining to them that their deaths wouldn't change the fact that Kodama was gone. She reasoned with them that, since they had found the Goddesses, they should enjoy the presence of those they had rescued. Besides, it would be a grave insult for them to take their lives when they were still in the service of their Mistresses.
She wished that she could somehow undo the past and prevent Kodama's death. But this was not to be. In this new world they had been thrust into, everything was uncertain. The impermanence of life was just as profound here as it was back in 20XX. Urd took one last lingering look at the temple compound as they walked out the torii gate and down the street to the unknown.

* * * * * * * *

OITA, BUNGO PROVINCE, KYUSHU JAPAN - MARCH 1381:

Death is forged in the humility of hearth and home; and it can rip a man's life away with the Katana-like edge of domestic betrayal. Death is forged in fiery bowels of the smithy's bellows; and it can surely sever the umbilical cord of cognition from Soul as easily as a spider wraps its mired victims with webbing. Death is forged in the rancorous heat of battle; it can dissect an entire empire in just a few day's passing. But Death is also a patient thief, huddling in concealment until the fruits of life are at their ripest...and then harvesting young lives from the vine of Being with a callous avarice.
In 1381, it was this form of Death that visited us.
Our present homes in Oita are on the Western side of Kyushu. Kyushu traditionally was a gateway that linked Japan with Mainland Asia via Korea and the Chinese seaports. Busy port cities like Nagasaki and Kagoshima thrived on commercial intercourse with Asia; the resultant influx of imports influenced the economy of Lord Mori's domain as well. One look at Lord Mori's palatial compound was more than enough to qualify this conclusion; his houses were filled with imported Chinese painted wall scrolls, stele rubbings and objects d'art.
So in first months of 1381, when runners arrived with the news that people were dying in Eastern Kyushu, I was more than slightly concerned.
Disease shapes peoples and histories.
During my readings in Chinese, I was able to skim over the Medica Mirus sections of Kang Hsi's great Encyclopedia. I marveled at the meticulous records of illness and death; the Encyclopedia had compiled medical information from two millennia of Chinese dynasties, including exhaustive lists compassing hundreds of years and locales where Death had stricken the local populace.
As an archipelago, Japan has a natural insulation against macro and microparasitic disease carriers...the Sea of Japan. The Black Death that crippled Europe just three decades ago...in 1345-55...didn't even touch us here in Japan. The widespread Mongol Empire had a dramatic effect on disease balances in mainland Asia, but not here. The 75% death rate reported in Northern Europe during the grimmest years of the Black Death had occurred a world away, as far as we were concerned.
But I knew enough basics about epidemiology to realize that Japan's natural insulation against transmitted diseases had also created an undesirable biological consequent. This very geographical insulation that protected us...also shaped our demographics, allowing for the development of dense populations with a reduced immunity to infectious and communicable diseases. In other worlds, a fertile ground for a brief and intense entrenchment of any new strains of epidemic infection.
The rest is obvious. Take a population which is isolated and infect it with a killer disease...and the killer disease becomes isolated as well. The progress of an epidemic requires that the infection to move on to new populations. It *has* to, otherwise it kills off all the possible native carriers...and itself. But such is nearly impossible in Japan. Because of a lack of the steady introduction of one plague after another, the native population becomes slow to develop immunities to new disease invasions. Since there was such a low threshold or tolerance, it was much more difficult for an epidemic to remain long enough on the Japanese islands to subside into an endemic profile...a 'permanent' disease or a multi-year contagion...like mumps, bubonic multi-vector bacterium infections, measles and polio. Thus, the chronicity of a newly-introduced disease would hit Japan hard and fast, sweeping through the population until it exhausted itself.
Knowing all of this...when the reports of the "coughing sweat violence" started coming in from Eastern Kyushu, I was gravely concerned.
Actually, more like *scared shitless*.

* * * * * * * *

CHIBA WARD, SHIN-KYO, JAPAN - DEC 2050:

They wandered down the street with aimless abandon. No one had discussed *where* they were going towards. Skuld looked around, amazed at the variety of people on the street. Neon signs in Korean vied with holographic images in languages she didn't recognize. A queue of men were thronged around a holovideo display, watching a robotic sumo match. Several groups of teenage girls strolled down the street, animatedly conversing and pointing.
As they rounded a corner, Skuld saw a group of thugs dressed in leather clownsuits with spiked wrist and ankle bands and green hair. They were simply hanging out, angling for some passersby to harass. It was obvious to Skuld that these hoods were trying to imitate a certain villainous character from an American superhero manga she'd read a few. Their sloppy mimicry was derisively amusing to her. Her amusement turned to fear as the hoodlums started following them. She grabbed Urd and Belldandy's arms tightly. Finally, one of hoods yelled at them to stop in a garrulous voice and pulled a weapon. She and her sisters turned around...and before any of them could say a word, Hikari and Senrigan leapt into action. It was hilarious when the astonished clown gang literally got Batman'd by two six-inch Ninjettes, who immobilized them immediately. The pair swiftly railed them with blows from Bo staffs...on the shin, the groin, the solar plexus and the throat. Even before the semi-conscious hoodclowns fell to the ground, Hikari and Senrigan had disarmed them and bound their hands behind their backs. It was over in two or three seconds. Skuld looked back and sniggered as their group walked on.
"Ninjettes kick ass!" she thought with prideful admiration, feeling a moment of release from the sadness of Kodoma's valiant death. Seeing them work over five thugs in an instant, Skuld realized that the pair had gotten *a lot* better with their ninjitsu...they had probably reached the pinnacle of mastery.
After this, they decided to remain on the moving walkways in the middle of the street, thinking that it would be safer there if they were moving faster. Skuld was looking for a hospital, fire station, library...*anyplace* that they could drop in and possibly access some information about any of the others. If they could find the ocean, or at least Tokyo Bay, then she might be able to get her bearings straight.
The second gang they encountered tailed them on the moving sidewalk...which the locals called a "slidewalk"...for almost a kilometer. When they got off the moving walk and turned down a street, the gang made their move. Each of the seven men were dressed in garish hiphop gangster outfits, their hair bleached near white, sporting caps with the bill pointed backward and zebra-colored capes.
"Isn't that a little *old*?" Skuld commented sarcastically. Urd reacted with a loud laugh, which disconcerted the gang members momentarily. Regaining their composure, they ordered the three Goddesses to walk in a nearby alley, brandishing their knives to emphasize their point.
Hikari and Senrigan popped up on Belldandy's shoulders. The gang leader wiped his eyes with a leather-gloved hand, disbelieving what he was seeing. Two six-inch figures dressed as ninjas.
"I'll take care of them this time," Belldandy offered. Smiling at the gang members, she waved her hands over her head. Their knives turned to sticks of butter.
"Oh, and by the way, you will be unable to move from where you're standing until the police come and fetch you," she informed them. Urd and Skuld burst into laughter at the hapless hoodlets as they tried to lift their feet to walk.
"Urd...Skuld, you shouldn't laugh at other's misfortunes," Belldandy chided her sisters.
"Ohhh...you *can't* be serious!" Urd said in exasperation. "Hey look, there's something on your blouse." Belldandy looked to where Urd was pointing.
"There's noth..." she said as Urd flicked her in the nose, and then burst out in taunting laughter.
"You guys are *sooo* immature!" Skuld said with disgust. Belldandy started giggling while they returned to the slidewalk. Soon all three sisters were consumed by riotous laughter. It was uncontrollable.
"And you fell again for the 'spot on your blouse' trick! How many thousands of times..." Urd said as Belldandy playfully lunged at her, taking her off-guard and tackling her to the ground. Skuld leapt on her two older sisters and they engaged in a tension-releasing wrestling match. Hikari and Senrigan joined in, using their Bo sticks to poke the Goddesses in the ribs, tickling them. After a few minutes, they all sat facing each other, their clothes and hair disheveled. The other slidewalk pedestrians had given them a wide berth.
"It's so good to be together...and free," Belldandy said between laughs. After the horrid incarceration and Kodoma's death, the raucous playfulness was just the right antidote.
"Let's go to the police station, if they have 'em in this time. We should be able to try and locate the others from there," Urd suggested.
"Yeah...they'll think someone mugged us," Skuld said with a twinkle in her eye as Senrigan hopped on her shoulder.

* * * * * * * *

The three Goddesses strolled into the police station and explained that they were stranded visitors. Belldandy had asked the two Ninjettes to stay out of sight while they asked the policeman some questions. Unlike the well-lighted sidewalk and entryway, the interior of the station seemed dark and drab.
"Hi. We're lost, and we're looking for the addresses of some people we were going to visit," Belldandy asked politely. The desk policeman looked at them suspiciously, and then asked to scan their hands to confirm their identities.
The three sisters looked at each other in confusion.
"What's that?" Belldandy asked. The policeman's expression turned even dourer.
"Where *are* you from? Almost every nation has had imprint scanning for the last thirty years! None of you look like you're from France. And I *know* that none of you are that old," he explained as he saw the questioning look on their faces.
"If you only knew..," Skuld almost said out loud, holding her hand over her mouth to suppress the mirth that was threatening to boil over.
"What's an imprint?" she asked innocently. The desk cop squinted his eyes in frustration.
"Look, lady. Don't mess with me if you know what's good for you. Do you have any IDs?"
"Well...no we don't. Why would we need IDs?" Belldandy asked, now totally confused. She didn't know what the man was talking about.
Urd rolled her eyes and put a hand to her forehead...Belldandy's naiveté had done it again. Immediately, two uniformed policemen positioned themselves on either side of the sisters. The desk policeman looked thoughtful, scratched his head, and then arrived at a decision.
"We need to detain you until we can verify your identities. You may be some kind of rouge clones or something. Not to infer that you are...but it's for your own protection, of course," he insisted an blithe voice, noting that none of the three women were offering any cooperation. He went to a computer and downloaded the 3D scans from the lobby's interior cameras. A red light went off on the computer holoscreen. Hurriedly walking back, the policeman stood in front of them, his officious manner now replaced by a vigilant wariness.
"We have an 'emergency retrieval condition' on you three!!!" he announced in a signal a voice filled with the arrogance of someone whose suspicions were freshly confirmed. "You match the descriptions of possible witnesses to the sabotage of the Toshishima Imperium's headquarters. In fact, you're suspected of being the instigators of the terrorist attack. We will need to keep you in custody until Toshishima Bakufu Security comes to claim you." They were quickly surrounded at gunpoint by a dozen uniformed police.
"Can't you do anything? Zap 'em away or something?" Urd asked in a whisper as they were led to a holding cell.
"No. If I use my powers, it might cause problems...with the mortals and the Lord," Belldandy whispered back.
Moments later, they were conducted into a heavily-secured jail cell.
"What next?" Urd sighed as the barred door clanged shut.

* * * * * * * *

OITA, BUNGO PROVINCE, KYUSHU JAPAN - OCT 1381:

The horror of the burning bodies was a sight that Keiichi knew he would *never* erase from his conscious memories. About a month ago, people started dying off in the nearby villages. Several of Lord Mori's senior advisors suggested that they cordon off Oita with as many troops as they could muster, to protect the central city from plague refugees.
Cevn had argued vehemently against this, noting that they "were leading people to the plague" by posting troops, which would only quicken the rate of infection. Of course, Keiichi knew what he was driving at...but trying to convince a 14th-century group of advisors about anything that resembled modern medical science was an exercise in futility.
So the troops were positioned...and soon the soldiers themselves feel ill to the disease. Ironically, the very advisor who had recommended the military quarantine of Oita was one of the first people in Keiichi's circle to be stricken with the disease.
The plague was horrible to behold. The first indications of being infected were several days of coughing, diarrhea and choking, accompanied by a high fever and bouts of sweating. Then, the coughing turned pneumoniac; the sufferer would lose their breath and hack out gouts of blood and flesh. Finally, the disease shifted into a wasting...and rarely did anybody survive after two weeks of the consumptive phase of the disease. If they did, then the plague had run its course, but also had left them significantly weakened and susceptible to secondary infection.
Genji, Cevn, Tomohisa and he had engaged in several vigorous debates about how to protect themselves against possible infection. The plague vector seemed to indicate that it was apparently borne by insects and rodents, most probably carried by fleas. Genji was the first to conclude this, based on the pattern that those townspeople who lived near the grain warehouses in Oita were hit first...and hit hardest. Cevn reasoned that plasmodium disease variants often harbor in insect pests, because they could remain vigorous while infected. A disease that weakens its carriers immediately cannot spread itself effectively. And Keiichi discovered that the lifecycle of the infection was roughly three weeks.
So while almost all of their peers were viewing the plague in mythic and religious terms, Keiichi and his three companions were learning to view it as a *living thing*; an almost-conscious organism that had a capacity for self-preservation that was suggestive of any sentient species' survival instinct.
This sparked off another heated debate. Since there were survivors, it was possible that an immunity existed. A huge sprawling discussion of ethics ensued. Cevn felt like he was caught in a Faustian dilemma; having to pay the Devil to save people from the depredations of the infection. It was possible that they could develop some kind of immunization...but would this be tampering? Introducing a modern medical process, saving people's lives, saving their own lives, any of these could potentially have unforeseeable and devastating consequences in a future era. Thus, the four agreed not to do anything to prevent the spread of the disease.
A week later, they faced the full impact of their weighty decision...as Genji started coughing violently one day.
The plague had become their fifth roommate...

* * * * * * * *

BUTSUDANKYOJI ZEN TEMPLE - DEC 2050:

Abbess Sora had been pacing back and forth in the temple's computer center for a couple of hours, watching as forty nuns scanned the 3D meshes of the Goddesses against the thousands of surveillance cams in ..Tokyo. Drawing upon longago memories, she had whipped up some 3D AI meshes of the three. Following the clue given in the email, she had a hunch that they would locate them in Tokyo proper. She hated calling the city by its trendier nickname, Shin-kyo. By using the AI meshes, her intelligence network could search hundreds of vidlinks every minute. Under Sora's supervision, they had gotten really good at finding missing people.
"Abbess, we've located them!" one of the senior nuns said excitedly. "They are being held at a police station in Chiba, awaiting transfer to Toshishima Security!" Abbess Sora praised and thanked her, and then hustled through the grounds to Abbess Chihiro's quarters.
"We found them!" she said, rubbing her shaved head.
""Already? In just one day?" Abbess Chihiro stated in amazement. Finding people was hard enough, but finding Goddesses? She had assumed it would be much more difficult. As Sora repeated what the senior sister had told her, Chihiro realized that she had been circumspect in her estimation of the difficulty of the task. In the highly regimented society of 2050 Japan, three women without any visible IDs would stick out like a plotted cactus on the North Pole.
The two Abbesses role-played rescue scenarios in their discussions as they hastened to the computer center.
"Yes...that is most certainly them. We need to arrange for them to escape. We'll have to move quickly! Have a hovercar ready!" Abbess Sora ordered, after she confirmed the location. Chihiro accompanied her partway to the hovercar port, and then excused herself for a moment.
"My sister Abbess...don't you think we're a little too old to impersonate policewomen!" Abbess Chihiro asked, half-teasing her spiritual sister as she returned.
"Yes, and that's why I'm going as myself. They won't suspect the Abbess of Butsudankyoji Temple as a party to any rescue attempt. Isn't this exciting!" she answered.
"And *that* is why I'm going with you! I could use a little excitement myself. Besides Megumi and Sayoko, the last really exciting event was Senior Sister Reinkyoai's promotion to Senior Roshi. Besides, two Abbesses are better than one. We can tell them that the temple had been vandalized."
"You think they'll believe that?"
"Long enough for us to use this audio immobilization grenade," Chihiro pointed out with a grin. Reaching inside her long clerical outer robe, she gestured as she pushed the grenade against the fold of her robe, emulating a bank robber with a concealed gun in his jacket.
Sora couldn't argue with *that* logic.

* * * * * * * *

OITA, BUNGO PROVINCE, KYUSHU JAPAN - OCT 1381:

Genji was the first to fall ill, and then Cevn, and finally Tomohisa.
It was a harrowing experience for each of them. There is the sense of facing a quick death, like getting in an accident on an expressway or at the end of a katana blade during combat. And then there was *this*. Like true warriors, they would face their fates squarely; ..freely admitting to their fears but realizing that the language of Death is subject to all emotions. Except fear. With a sense of gallows humor, the three men joked about their death poems...should they be profound, or ingloriously flippant?
Genji's illness worsened day by day. Keiichi realized that Genji's health was deteriorating much more rapidly than Tomohisa's and Cevn's. Several times last night, Genji had woken everyone up with a raving delirium brought on by his fever. The 'violent' symptom of the "coughing sweat violence" that was the common term for this infectious disease. Henceforth, Keiichi realized with a grim self-admission that his friend would probably die, and that his other two friends could follow. Lord Mori had sent one of his physicians to inquire upon Genji's condition; a genial man whose earnest concern about Genji's health was matched by his inability to treat him. Thus, the doctor engaged in as much quackery as he could to try and cast some optimism on the situation.
As the only fit member of the household, Keiichi sensed that he would need to lay in provisions and hope for the best over the next few weeks. If any of his friends recovered, it would be essential that they have plenty of food on hand to nourish them back to health. And if *he* should take ill with the plague's infection...
Keiichi summoned several armed men to accompany him into town.
The social structure was quickly breaking down as the plague gained a foothold in Oita. Going to the warehouses was a risky business, as the town was filled with opportunist robbers who would risk everything to cut down a retainer of Lord Mori's. With courage buoyed by the looming possibility that they might take ill and be dead in a week, the common folk of the city were becoming more and more reckless. As for the rouges...they were banding together and committing all sorts of distasteful brigandry.
Keiichi walked to the grainhouse at the head of his personal guard, which only befit a senior retainer of Lord Mori's. Despite all the breakdowns, he still needed to maintain form and status; showing anything less would be shameful on him and his Lord. Thus, he and his men wore no visible armor. It would also assure the law-abiding citizens of the city to see a high ranking official confidently traveling the streets in midday with only sword.
Steadying against the shadow of death with a determined air, Keiichi kept his hand on his blade, projecting a steel-tough image. It had been almost ten years since he and the others had arrived in Ashikaga Japan. His time here had not been put to waste. Keiichi had studied martial arts for years in the service of Lord Mori, becoming even somewhat of an expert in archery and close quarters defenses against shinobi and other stealthy assassins. After six years of hard training, to his great surprise, the awareness settled in that he had actually *become a samurai*. More and more, his personality filled with self-confidence. His modern temperament of individuality had armed him as efficiently as the three swords tucked in his sash. Lord Mori had learned to rely on his presence in war councils, as Keiichi wasn't afraid to buck the tides of opinion...even to the point of criticizing Lord Mori himself!
"Stop! Hand over all the wealth that you carry!"
Keiichi narrowed his eyes. Holding his head motionless so as to not offer the impression of indecisiveness or panic, he scanned the street with his eyes. Just like he used to do when he raced at N.I.T., where he would flash his eyes on different objects in his room so as to build his visual acuity. But now, the stakes weren't simply the winning of a race...they were life-and-death!
Sixteen men in the next two alleys ahead, besides the four men who had emerged to challenge him. Blocking their way. Two more concealed on the roofs.
One of his guardsmen moved and Keiichi swept his hand downward in a chopping motion, signifying his subordinate to "remain still!" He listened, picking out the thicker clops of men's geta against the general trafficking of footstep sounds. There were probably another eight to ten men behind his group.
A woman's scream confirmed it.
There was four...he and his three guardsmen. The other members of his guards weren't able-bodied enough to accompany him. So the odds were eight-to-one, maybe even worse.
The men were a mixture of bumpkin bandits coupled with a few Oita gangsters and some young rowdies. Several of the wretched were already saddled with the illness. Keiichi felt a moment's empathy for them...some of them were probably trying to support their loved ones in the only way possible. Loved ones who were dying at home. It wasn't their fault.
The damned fucking sickness was doing this.
This was different than all the other fights and battles, because the enemy was invisible. Keiichi had fought in many skirmishes and swordfights, always against a visible enemy. The *foe*...to put it bluntly. But in this situation, he would have to fight and kill his own townsmen. Lord Mori's faithful subjects. Men whose survival instincts had been perverted by the plague.
Much as he wanted to detach from the necessary bloodshed that would follow...he couldn't. The damned sickness was causing this, robbing people of their humanity. Now he to set aside his own compassionate humanity, just to get a few grains of rice and some dried vegetables.
He flicked his katana partway out of its sheath and strode towards the four men standing about ten meters in front of his.
"STOP! Don't come closer. Throw out your moneypurses or w..we'll kill you!" the head gangster yelled.
Good. He had stuttered, tipping his fear to everyone.
The men on either side emerged from the alley as Keiichi walked towards the four men...who were now backing up. There would be no reasoning with them now; they had passed beyond the point of no return.
From the side!
"EEEIYAAAA!" a man screamed skitterishly as he raced at Keiichi, blade held aloft. Keiichi darted to the side, parrying his downward swing to the left. Taking off the man's right kneecap as he did so. On the pullback, Keiichi sliced upwards and opened the man's abdomen...not deep enough to kill, but hopefully enough to send a message. Perhaps his swordsmanship might convince them to value their lives and desist.
His attacker fell to the ground, writhing in pain. One of his guardsmen made to finish off the injured man, but Keiichi motioned him to spare the bloodied hoodlum. He was giving them one last chance to choose: survive or melee.
Unfortunately, his 'warning' didn't faze the group of attackers.
Keiichi knew that he would have to not only protect his life, but the lives of the men guarding him. The paradox of having a personal guard was that the men who served under him were much younger and less skilled than he...several of them had wives and children...so he would have to 'protect' his protectors. Keiichi didn't believe in throwing bodies at his foes, like some of his peers. He believed in the superior path: the virtues of strategy.
He swung his large sword in a wide arc, testing the air.
Two of the large men in front charged him, swords high and low. He knew that the man with low sword was much more dangerous; as the hoodlum made for his calf, Keiichi stepped in to his opponent's arc and kicked his attacker's sword to the right. Using his momentum, he spun partway around his attacker and quickly sliced him across the back of the neck. A split second later, the other swordsman tried for Keiichi's neck. In a fluid motion, Keiichi dipped his blade tight to his chest and thrust up-outs towards the second attacker, skewering him in the throat while sidestepping a thrown dagger from one of the men on the side of the street...
Two attackers came from behind him just as Keiichi buried his dagger in the knife-thrower's forehead. Another man stepped in front of him.
Surrounded by three men, Keiichi slow-parried with his sword, keeping their encirclement at a distance while he judged the lengths of their weapons. One man had a cheap kitsunegasaki knock-off, probably 79cm, while the other two had better Okada-giris, roughly 70cm. Keiichi unsheathed his kanemitsu longsword. Popular belief in Modern Japan was that Musashi was the first "two-sword man", but that was utter nonsense. Musashi only *perfected* the two sword system. But here in the 1380s, two sword fighting had a different bent...
As he slowly unsheathed his long tachi, the attackers took his occupation with pulling his second sword as a chance to exploit an opening.
"Amateurs," Keiichi said in modern Japanese. With his tachi partially unsheathed, he beheaded the first attacker with his left-hand katana, and then parried the second attacker's sword thrust with an arcing downward sweep. Slashing upwards in a U-shaped arc, he nailed the second man in the groin. As expected, he heard the approach of the third man from behind. Little did his third attacker know that Keiichi had set him up. In the psychological warfare of melee fighting, one had to approach combat with the attitude of a Go master. The man was almost on him when Keiichi unsheathed his long tachi and reverse-thrust his longblade directly backwards, as if he was reaching for his belt.
Impaling his attacker.
The extra 10 cm was the margin of error, as the wounded attacker's blade slapped harmlessly against Keiichi's back as his attacker fell to the ground.
"If Genji or Tomohisa were here, we'd have finished them off already," he thought sourly.
Already, one of his young guardsmen was in trouble, disarmed and slashed in the forearm by two of the bandits. Keiichi descended on the two hoodlums and quickly dispatched them.
Another four men charged Keiichi, and he made short work of them.
"Stop! Stop...or we'll *kill* her!"
Keiichi turned in the direction of the shout just as a spearman made a thrust at his waist. Clipping the spear between his tachi and katana, Keiichi rode the spear to the ground, then side-kicked the spearman right square in the face, felling him.
Three men were standing next to a woman who was unfortunate enough to be too close to the melee. She was holding the hand of her daughter, who was crying in sheer terror. One of the men had a shortknife pressed hard against her throat.
A young mother, taken as a random hostage by these thugs!
She was 23-25...Belldandy's age. Her daughter must have been all of five years old.
"If you value the life of this innocent woman, you'll throw us your moneypurses!" the man shouted.
There were eight men left, the three near the hostage women, plus two spearman and three swordsman.
Keiichi regretted that his short dagger was indisposed. He *had* to fell the dagger thrower as soon as the man had emerged from cover and threw his first knife at him. Otherwise the daggerman would have picked off Keiichi's men one-by-one.
But now he didn't have the luxury of a throwing knife.
Instinctively, he ground his heel into the earth...and heard the tell-tale crackle he was hoping for...
Attacking a senior official of Lord Mori was a treasonous offense. Endangering Keiichi and his guards as they were traveling to procure supplies that could save the lives of his three closest friends; this made the attack a personal offense. But taking an innocent young woman hostage and threatening to slit her throat in front of her daughter...was an unforgivable offense.
Keiichi gripped and ungripped the hilt of his katana as he slowly lowered his tachi...
There would only be one chance. An innocent's life was in the balance. The sickness had already killed enough people...Keiichi wasn't going to allow a murderous scoundrel to add to the tragic toll if he could help it!
He walked closer until he was only a few meters away from the three men.
With a sudden flick, he used the tip of his long tachi to fling a few pebbles and some dust at the eyes of the man who was holding the knife to the woman's throat.
His aim was true, as it fazed the man just for a split-second...the split second Keiichi needed to *throw* his katana.
Faster than an eyeblink, the knife hand of the thug was skewered through. A few cm to the left and his thrown blade would have sliced the woman's jugular. All those archery lessons had paid off by sharpening his perception of the direct path between his eye and its target.
The man on the left reached down to grab the dropped knife that was formerly pressed against the white throat of the woman. Keiichi noticed that she was ducking into a crouch to protect her daughter.
Perfect.
He swung his tachi and beheaded the man standing on right. The man on the left stood up and readied a throw. Keiichi removed his arm right behind the elbow with a sweeping arc, made possible by the crouching young woman who had moved herself out of harm's way. She had more than earned his protection by putting her daughter's life ahead of her own; a movement of virtue against the debasement of current times. All was not lost to the wasting sickness.
Two men were running up behind him...
Keiichi kicked the woman to the side as he stepped behind the dazed man whose hand tainted his katana. As the first swordsman swung downwards, Keiichi swiveled and pushed the dazed man in front of him. It was pretty much a Jet Li sort of move, using the dazed man as a shield. But it bought him two seconds, as the two men hesitated briefly when they realized that they had just killed one of their number. A powerful reminder that all was not lost to the wasting sickness.
Keiichi finished both men within those two seconds.
Looking at his guards, he saw that they had dispatched the remaining men.
Immediately, he softened his face and regarded the woman and her little girl. She was crying, with a confused expression on her face. Normally, Keiichi's first action after a melee would be to recover his blades, but instead he remembered the examples of compassion...
"My lady, are you unharmed?" he asked as he crouched down to comfort the young woman.
"M..my Lord! H..he tried to *kill* me! You saved my life!" was all that she could say. Keiichi spent a few minutes comforting her and her daughter
"For you and your daughter, with my sincere apologies. You were caught up on my behalf in affairs not your own...I am sorry that you were inconvenienced," he said as he reached in his purse and gave her a generous boon of coins and sent her on her way.
It's what Belldandy would have done...
As he stood up and surveyed the bodies, Keiichi once more had to face the fact that he was a changed man. Ten years. He had killed again, only this time in self-defense. In the protection of innocent worthies.
24 years of his life had been spent in another world. A world whose magical qualities were only mercurial. He had become the Impossible Warrior during these ten years. And yet, with each swordfight and battle skirmish, Keiichi always ended up having to challenge himself. In his mind, each act of violence only further separated him from the Belldandy. Separated his *now* from his memories of her. Of her gentleness and wisdom.
And as always, he heard her voice. He had been separated from her by so much life...he wasn't even sure if it was her voice, or just a voice in his head that merely resembled what he thought she sounded like. Keiichi had become fond of that voice over the years, as it was sometimes the single point of sanity this violent, rustic world. On a tragic day like today...with the sickness reaping lives all around him, his best friends dying before his eyes, and dead men on his conscience once again...it was the *sole* thing that kept him going. This time, as with all the other other times, the voice encouraged him for protecting himself and others, even to the point of killing. It made the pain less poignant.
"Keiichi...well done! Always remember that I love you! *Live* for me...stay alive for me, my dear Keiichi! Keep yourself alive by any means necessary; for each day you survive, you survive towards that inevitable day when I will come back into your life! So *live*, my beloved!"

* * * * * * * *

CHIBA WARD, SHIN-KYO, JAPAN - DEC 2050:

"May we help you, your...what *do* I call you?" the policeman asked, unnerved at the sight of two richly robed nuns in his station.
"'Your reverence' would suffice," Abbess Sora answered politely, with just a hint of terseness. "We have been experiencing a bit of trouble at our temple. Some unsavory young men have been vandalizing the property and stealing from our buildings."
"That kind of thing happens all the time, ma'am."
"Yes...but *this* is different from 'all the time'! You are aware that our temple maintains close ties with the Toshishima Imperium, as well as serving as a focal point for Zen practice in Tokyo, if not all of Japan? Our temple is the mother temple to a world-wide Buddhist teaching called Mahamahayana, which makes it, well, a world-class spiritual institution. We have a large contingent of important government officials who are adherents to our temple, attending our sesshin, the semi-annual week-long training we hold. It would be remiss for you to fail in your obligation to protect us. Several highly placed government officials would frown upon a police district that cannot be bothered to the aid of a humble cloister of nuns," Abbess Chihiro stated emphatically. The whole part of affiliation with Toshishima was a bald lie, as the only link was Sora's marriage to Aoshima in her 'former' life. A bald lie, given by a bald Abbess, she noted with brief humor.
"I'm sorry, this young man probably doesn't know who we are. I'm Abbess Sanko and this is Abbess Doenju of the Butsudankyoniji Temple," Abbess Sora said, using her and Abbess Chihiro's religious names. She looked at desk policeman severely, noting the conflict between his fear and the bravado-inspired face of nonchalance he preferred to exhibit to the public.
"I'll see what I can do about it," he grumbled, reluctantly intimidated by the two elderly nuns. He walked back to a rear office area and consulted with several of his peers.
Unnoticed, the two put on electronic earfilters, and then slipped on two headgears with microphones. Abbess Chihiro pulled out a sonic grenade and nodded to Abbess Sora. She tossed it over the counter and watched in silence as all the policemen within earshot put their hands to their ears. Protected by the earfilters, the two abbesses casually walked past them and studied the computer.
"This should be simple," Abbess Chihiro said into her mike as she placed a minichip onto the pad and typed a deencryption command. True to her word, the transparent walldoor to the Goddesses' cell opened up a few seconds later.
"Two rescues in as many days. Am I getting sprightly in my autumn years or what?" Abbess Sora said cheerfully as she put on her reading glasses. She wanted to be sure that she could see the Goddesses.
Indeed, the Goddesses were just as she remembered them. Of course, they were unaffected by the sonic burst that had immobilized the policeman...but they may have felt the initial blare of high-frequency high-decibel sound before they had a chance to react. Abbess Sora reminded herself to apologize to them when they reached the temple.
"So even Goddesses can be surprised, neh?" Abbess Chihiro commented, amused by the looks of surprise on all three Goddess's faces as they recognized she and Abbess Sora.
Chihiro and Sora motioned for the Goddesses and Ninjettes to come out of their cell. Walking past the writhing policemen and guards, they quickly exited the building. The late night pedestrians avoided the group, wanting nothing to do with a group of women and two elderly clerics running out of a police station. The limousine which served as the abbess's hovercar was waiting on the third story ledge, above the glass shield that covered the street. They climbed several flights of stairs until they reached the covered landing. Abbess Sora summoned the hovercar from where it was parked with a few pushes of her remote.
"Come on in, we've been expecting you," she said quietly, somewhat humbled to be in the presence of the Three Norns again.

* * * * * * * *

OITA, BUNGO PROVINCE, KYUSHU JAPAN - MAY 1384:

It had been a long 13 years in the service of the Lord. Tomohisa had grown up into a fine samurai, well educated and an expert archer. Lord Mori had pretty much adopted him as a son, impressed by his all-around martial prowess. It was hard to believe that Tomohisa would turn thirty next year. In the third year of living in the past, I was able to drop the deaf-mute act and speak freely. Genji survived his brush with death with the plague three years ago; as did we all. He and Keiichi had been steadily promoted over the years, becoming as respected by Lord Mori as his elder advisors. I was the resident artisan, serving as arbiter for poetry and dramatic performances. My hair and beard had gradually become peppered with gray...I would turn 42 this year.
The 21st century would never come to us.
Lords Mori and Shimazu were loyal to the Shogun, but disliked the policies of the Deputy Shogun, Imagawa. Both were torn between loyalty to the nearby Southern Court and their obligations to Kyoto. At first, their armies swelled with defectors from the neighboring Shibuya forces, as the Shibuya were aligned with the Southern Court. But in 1375, the Shogun unexpectedly shifted his support to the Shibuya Clan instead of the Shimazu-Mori alliance. In effect, the Shibuya were legitimized, while we were politically ostracized.
This only brought forth bitterness from both spurned daimyo. Enbravened by this, Shibuya obtained military support from Imagawa by gradual degrees and systematically overran Lord Mori's lands to the north, forcing all of us to relocate south to Hyuga. We knew that Imagawa was bringing more troops from Honshu...it was only a matter of time until an all-out assault would occur.
We had watched over past several years as our forces in Kyushu, already weakened by the "coughing sweat violence" plague, were overrun with strike forces from the Northern Court, determined to completely crush the Southern Court. We learned that the sickness that had decimated our numbers had never really traveled far into Honshu.
In spring 1384, 13 years after our arrival, the forces of the Shibuya, bolstered by Imagawa's troops, began their southward sweep towards Miyasaki. Increasingly, the old ideals of valor and chivalry had been discarded in the past years. Loyalties were suspect, and the calling of pedigrees between opponents was ignored. Honorable formal combat was replaced by subterfuge and ninja tactics.
Several pitched battles in the plainslands had resulted in total defeat for the Mori-Shimazu forces. It wasn't our fault...we were overwhelmed by constant battles with superior forces. Having wiped out most of our armies, we had no choice but to retreat to the protection of Lord Shimazu's castle in Miyasaki. To his credit and honor, Lord Shimazu had kept his alliance with our forces until the very end. Which only made our final task easier.
Shibuya and Imagawa besieged the castle with their forces. Every day, Imagawa's armies tried to scale the walls and take the castle. Each time it became more difficult to repulse them. We were running out of men...we barely had enough samurai to man the ramparts. Everyone sensed that this was a doomed struggle. The last attempt to surmount the castle walls had nearly succeeded. In the face of this, Keiichi and Genji had been preparing the war chariot as a means of escape for both Lord Mori and Shimazu.
I felt a heavy weight of sadness in my heart. The last few years, I had been troubled by a gradually mounting tragic sentiment. Our foundation of hopes was crumbling like sand buffeted by wind and rain. I knew that history would obscure the fact that Mori and Shimazu had allied themselves admirably. After all, it didn't even know about the plague of 1381...at least in all the textbooks I had read back in my former life. The plague had probably been censored out of the official histories so that the North's conquest of the Southern Court would seem all the more valorous.
My former life...
"After both Lords had put aside their pride and united their forces...that it would come to this?" I cried to myself. We were on the edge of decimation.
Our food was running out.
We watched hungrily as Imagawa's troops received cartloads of food and provisions every day. We were sustaining ourselves by eating gruel consisting of boiled grasses, weeds and millet. Just enough to have the sensation of something going down the throat.
I finally knew beyond doubt what the strength of loyalty to an ideal was all about.

* * * * * * * *

CHIBA WARD, SHIN-KYO, JAPAN - DEC 2050:

Belldandy had just been rescued from an involuntary confinement yesterday, and today she was back in an Earthrealm jail. Hikari and Senrigan immediately offered to free them, but she told them to be patient. She wanted to make sure they were safe when the Lord came after her. She owed them much more than this, but she could only do so much...
Despite her fears of a reprisal from the Lord, she decided to go ahead and try to locate the others using her Goddess senses. Her Norn's instinct informed her that they weren't *here* in this future time, but she had to know for sure. The longer she could avoid using her powers, the better. Inevitably, the Lord would contact her nd recall her to Yggdrasil. She attributed His delay to the disappointment He must feel that one of his Goddess daughters had actually committed such a heinous act. They would come and get her, and then she would be examined in the matter of the deaths of thousands of Earthrealm mortals when she had incinerated the upper half of Aoshima's headquarters, as well as her role in Tyrr's death.
After all, she had killed a God yesterday.
Suddenly, everything became noise. After a split-second of sheer audio cacophony, Belldandy adjusted her hearing to filter out the painful sledge of sound. She knew in an instant who their rescuers were. It had been a gamble, refraining from using her Goddess powers. But she was concerned that any more spells or magicks would draw unwanted attention to her and her sisters from the Lord. Urd and Skuld both understood why she kept from using her powers to effect an escape. Belldandy was deathly afraid that the Almighty *already* knew and was just waiting for the proper moment to call her on the carpet. A heavily-guarded jail cell was definitely not the place for time for that.
Her thoughts ground to a halt as she saw the two aged women, dressed in nun's vestments. Both wore light gray robes with a darker gray over-robe with flared sleeves. Even with their cowls pulled over their heads, their faces were familiar. But despite her foreknowledge of who her rescuers were, Belldandy was still momentarily stunned when she first beheld her old friends.
Her *old* friends.
She was relieved to see Sora and Chihiro again. Smiling at them, she followed their lead. Belldandy would have never thought in her wildest imaginings that these two women would become *nuns*. In this future world filled with a miasma of evil, ignorance, and darkness...seeing the two of them in their improbable roles gave her a sense of hope. Even in the worse, they had accomplished the best.
Soon they were in some kind of craft that resembled a large car, which hovered above a glass shield that protected the street-level pedestrians from the elements. Skuld was all eyes as they boarded the car. Belldandy could tell that her younger sister's engineering ken was excited into hyperdrive by the hovercar's console...she was probably engrossed in figuring out its dynamics and systems right about now.
The hovercar ascended ten stories, then merged into a 'lane' of hovercars.

* * * * * * * *

Abbess Chihiro turned to look at the three Norns while Abbess Sora drove. It was amazing! They were *really* here, in the hovercar with she and Sora! During the morning meditation, chant and teaching session in the zendo, both abbesses had patiently explained to the Sisterhood that the three Goddesses they were seeking after were manifestations of a compassionate Buddha-nature, despite their Nordic names. Not that their existence had been kept secret...Chihiro had painted a scroll modeled after Sora's faded photos, depicting all three Goddesses. It hung in the entrance foyer of the temple's scriptorium library.
They were really here. And not only three Goddesses...there were two little fairy girls dressed in ninja outfits. Abbess Chihiro seemed to remember something about a trio of personal guards who protected Keiichi's home. But these two fairy girls looked like chibi versions of the anime characters she used to enjoy in her childhood. They appeared harmless, but they also were quite alert.
And after all these years, she didn't know what to say. She looked at Abbess Sora, who was driving the hovercar with a look of excited confusion on her face. She could have used the autoplotter to drive, but Abbess Sora had her quirks...she liked to actually drive once and again.
"Do you have ice cream where we're going?" Skuld asked. Her simple question broke the awkwardness of the moment.
"For you...of course," Abbess Chihiro answered with a smile.
"Are you really Chihiro and Sora?" Urd asked. "I mean...there is so much about this time and place that is *massively* screwed up; the least of which being how we got here."
"Yes, to your first question. As for the second, we keenly hope that we can be of assistance to help you determine how you returned to us," Sora replied.
"You have both aged so well. I would have never ventured to guess that you would turn to the spiritual life with such enthusiasm so soon in your lives. But...I can sense a strong divine presence in both of you. You may not be able to notice it like we do...but you both radiate an intensity of spiritual beauty and goodness," Belldandy said.
Abbess Chihiro didn't know how to take *that*. She, along with Abbess Sora, had become accustomed to wearing the mantle of spiritual leadership. They were spiritual mothers to a whole community of Zen practitioners, and cofounders of the New Teaching that millions of Buddhists were now aspiring towards in their search for their own Paths. Now, she was being assessed by a Goddess who was immeasurably beyond her as far spiritual awareness was concerned. Yet, she felt a secret thrill of being recognized for what she was...an awakened spiritual being.
"Yes. I can tell that you both have undergone many trials of life to experience the spiritual maturation that you now possess. You have both become *harmless*, which is perhaps the most highly evolved state a mortal can achieve," Belldandy said softly.
Abbess Sora snickered in a very un-Abbess-like manner at the irony of Belldandy's statement. Harmless, they weren't! Just ask a few dozen policemen at a Chiba jail a few moments in the past about that one! Then she smiled, recognizing Belldandy's statement for what it really meant.
Of course, she and Abbess Chihiro were harmless...because they practiced the tenets of the Truth...
Soon, they arrived at the temple dome, crowded in on all sides by cityblock skyscrapers. Abbess Sora pulled up over the hoverpad on the roof of one of the storage buildings, and then parked the hovercar.
"Well, this is it," Sora and Chihiro said in unison. After three decades of living together in this temple, they could almost respond with one mind to the many daily secular and spiritual matters.
"I am...impressed!" Urd said.
"Waaah!!! You guys are using a holographic imaging dome! What kind of holophotic resolution are you imaging?" Skuld asked. Abbess Chihiro smiled maternally as the youngest Goddess rattled off a series of technical questions, which Abbess Sora fielded with enthusiasm. It was just like old times, back in her youth.
Soon, they were encircled by a crowd of onlookers. Nuns dressed in the simple dark gray robes of novices stood shoulder to shoulder with the light gray and blue robed senior nuns. Abbess Chihiro suddenly was concerned that this was going to be a scene at any moment, so she hustled the Goddesses off to her study without as much as a word. She regretted not telling the others, but she wasn't exactly prepared to mediate the fact that *divinities* were gracing their presence. But she knew deep in her soul that the sisters had been attracted to the Goddesses like moths to a flame. This was immensely satisfying to her...as it was one more confirmation of the strong spiritual resonance of the Sisterhood.
"May I fetch you all some tea?" Abbess Sora offered. Belldandy nodded, and Abbess Sora left the study. A moment later, Abbess Chihiro could hear hushed whispers in the hallway. Several sisters were probably a bit in shock to see their own Abbess fetching tea for their guests. Most of them didn't connect this morning's Dharma lecture with the presence of their guests.
Abbess Sora soon returned with freshly brewed tea. Abbess Chihiro could tell by the aroma that it was the tea reserved for the sozarei, the special times when the entire community of nuns would come together and drink tea as one. She smiled at Abbess Sora's choice of tea and Sora nodded at her in acknowledgment.
"Where's my ice cream? And why are you bald?" Skuld asked. Abbess Chihiro had to suppress a brief flash of irritation at young Goddess's brashness. Having lived in austere dignity since she took her vows, she was unused to the impulsiveness of children. It was a Zen-like paradox...that this young Goddess would behave like a hyperactive human girl while possessing powers unheard of by mortals.
Divinity *and* fragility.
"We'll bring you your ice cream shortly. We...haven't had the need to keep any ice cream here. It's not what we normally eat. We'll have to make it," Abbess Sora explained.
"Goodie, goodie! Fresh ice cream!"
"You brat! Don't act so important! Don't you know what this is? This is a Zen temple filled with nuns! They don't have ice cream here. And they don't allow girls in the temple either! So...mind your manners, Skuld," Urd scolded Skuld, lightly thumping her on the back of her head to accent her point.
"Now...now, we don't want you to feel inconvenienced now that you are guests of the temple," Abbess Sora interrupted, sensing that an argument was brewing between Skuld and Urd. It was just as before...Belldandy being the serene one while her two sisters seemed to endlessly antagonize each other.
"Can I check out your computer?" Skuld asked as she walked towards the laptop. Before anyone could answer, she was behind Abbess Chihiro's desk, reading the words on the screen.
"Hey, this message is for us, you guys! From the Lord. It says, 'THE MORTALS HAVE FAILED THE PROBATIONARY PERIOD.' What do you think that means?" Skuld said aloud.
Abbess Chihiro felt a chill as both Belldandy and Urd gasped, dropping their teacups in mid-sip. Their faces were momentarily frozen...with shock.

* * * * * * * *

OITA, BUNGO PROVINCE, KYUSHU JAPAN - MAY 1384:

We hadn't eaten in days. Weak from hunger, we slept during most of the day. It was apparent that Imagawa and Shibuya were biding their time, letting starvation drain strength from their enemy. It made good sense from a military standpoint. This way, they wouldn't lose as many men during the final assault.
For many weeks, we had been living with the certain knowledge that our situation was hopeless. As Genji and Keiichi and Tomohisa and I sat in the dawning sun, we realized that the only thing we could hope for was the successful escape of both Lords. In *our* history, both daimyo had lived full lives; their clans continuing on for generations.
But in this history...it looked like they might perish in battle. If they died, then Keiichi and Genji would never exist seven centuries hence. I could tell by the expressions on both of their faces that this fact weighed heavily on them.
There was an increase in noisy activity down below outside the castle, which could only mean that we were going to face a final assault sometime today.
"This is it. We have instructed Lord Mori on how to use the war chariot. They can drive it to a mountain stronghold near Nagasaki. There is gold concealed in the chassis frame and a passage to Korea. Once the Southern Court surrenders in 1392, they can emerge from hiding and swear loyalty to the Ashikaga," Genji stated.
"And I swore both Lords on the honor of their ancestors that they would bury the war chariot in a cave, never to be used again," Keiichi said.
"You guys...it's been an honor serving Lord Mori with you," Tomohisa said, his voice filled with emotion. "All we need to do now is ensure that the war chariot gets out the front gate and past Imagawa's forces."
We reflected silently on this last task. Despite living most of our years in the future, we had come to realize that this way of life, despite its shortcomings, had its positive attributes as well. It had become our truth. There was a certain strangeness in living life when one knows how the future unfolds; the historical fixedness of what is to come. Despite the sureness of predestination, we were going to struggle against it. Within a year, the castles we had lived in would be razed to the ground...
Our final sacrifice on behalf of our Lord would never be noticed in the annals of history...it wouldn't even merit a footnote. But it meant something to *us*. I wondered if Belldandy, Urd and Skuld would someday learn of our lives here. I imagined that they would be proud of us, despite the sad circumstance of our lot. I didn't want to think of the emotional pain our deaths would cause them to feel.
With a load roaring shout to announce their intentions, the sounds of numerous scaling ladders crashed against the walls of the castle.
It had begun.

* * * * * * * *

The attackers quickly broached the ramparts of the castle and pressed the remaining samurai from all sides. Keiichi watched keenly as they were crowded ever closer to the war chariot. He had planned for this 'collapsing offense'; as our enemies' circle tightened around the remaining defenders of the castle, they would be vulnerable to the straight-ahead escape route planned for the war chariot.
One of the simplest military strategies in the book...counter a circular motion with a straight one.
Keiichi watched as Tomohisa was felled by an arrow, then stood up and continued to fight as if nothing happened. He watched as Genji fought off five men with a long spear, buying them time. He watched as Cevn used his spear, stump hand and all, to ward off their attackers.
Then Cevn and Tomohisa were overcome and perished.
"It will be my turn too, soon, my love. With my last breath, I will pledge my eternal love to you, Belldandy," he said to himself. "It has been a good life."
Suddenly, with a burst of desperate insanity, an idea formed in Keiichi's mind.
"Genji...hold them for another minute! Do *anything* to hold them!" he yelled. Pulling his shortsword out, he began carving on the chassis of the war chariot with the point of his sword. He could hear the sounds of screaming, dying men all around them. Just...another...minute...
He finished his etching. Turning around, he saw Genji fighting on, wounded severely...but fighting on.
Keiichi stood up and kicked the jumpstart lever.
"GOOOOoooo!" he shouted to the two Lords in the war chariot. With a burst of forward motion, it mowed past several lines of attackers.
He looked frantically around him, and then saw Genji fall underneath a host of Imagawa's men. A half-dozen samurai turned towards him and swarmed him.
"Belldandy, my love! I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise to you...to keep myself alive and *live*!" Keiichi shouted as he fought his last battle.
As he perished, Keiichi's last thought was of Belldandy's smile.

* * * * * * * *



"Keiiiiiichi!!!!"
Belldandy sat upright in her bed, her heart feeling like it was going to rip itself out of her chest.
"Keiichi!!!!" she shouted to the voidless night.

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BUTSUDANKYOJI ZEN TEMPLE - DEC 2050:

Urd had been struggling to console Bell all night. Her younger sister kept imagining that she *knew* Keiichi was dead! It seemed impossible, as they had no idea where or *when* he was...
But Urd was too troubled to speak of her own sense of loss, for she too had been jolted out of a sound sleep, strongly sensing the death of a loved one.
Her sister and Keiichi shared a love that was far beyond mere affection. They were truly joined at the soul in some invisible way. Could it be true that she 'felt' the death of her beloved Keiichi? It was a really weak premise...but it could be true.
"And if it is true that Bell felt Keiichi die, could it be true that what *I* felt...was Cevn's death?" Urd wondered.
The news last night had been equally shattering. Kami-sama had declared that the mortals had failed their probation. Belldandy had decided to call Him tomorrow and try to convince Him to change His mind.
"As if *that* will ever happen," Urd said to herself, looking at Bell's sleeping form.

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The next morning, Abbesses Sora and Chihiro invited the Goddesses to the main meditation hall. In front of the assembled Sisters and Zen students. They explained that the three women were divinities who had come to save the world in the latter days of Mappa. Many reacted with outrageous disbelief at the claims made by the Abbesses...claims that ran explicitly counter to everything Zen Buddhism stood for. But a sizeable number of their Dharma daughters and sons took the news calmly, because they had grasped the essence of the New Teaching.
*Void is a Not.* Everything Zen Buddhism stood for was now within the Void. And it no longer existed, was no longer relevant in the old Way. But yet, there was Zen and Truth and Light after piercing the Void. There *always* was, which made the New Teaching so valuable and beautiful to those who had been Awakened to it.
Sora and Chihiro were seated on tall ornate wooden chairs, the same chairs they used for the convent's quarterly Dharma Combat Ceremonies. Each was dressed in the full regalia of their station as Abbesses. Both wore an elaborate peaked headdress embroidered with selections from the various sutras of the Buddhist canon, which fell over their shoulders and down their backs in a manner reminiscent of long hair. Their vestments were impressive; golden laced black robes replete with embroidered Buddhist symbols. In front of each Abbess was a small cloth covered table with a sutra book. Reinkyoai and her three sister Senior Roshis flanked them on each side, two to each side, resplendent in their rich deep-red robes of authority. Reinkyoai, ever the rebel, had chosen to ignore protocol by wearing her normal robe of authority, rather than the ceremonial robe. Chihiro felt an inner smile at this; her Dharma sister Sora disliked such pomp as well. She herself had resigned herself to the fact that such displays were traditional part of the life of a convent Abbess. *Someone* had to evoke a sense of awe in the novices once in a while.
Underneath and in front of the two Abbesses sat the three Goddesses in formal lotus positions. This made Abbess Chihiro feel uncomfortable, as the Goddesses were sitting *below* her and Sora and their four Senior Roshis. Almost 8500 women were in attendance, almost the full complement of nuns, plus another 1500 students from the Nun's College and the co-ed Doctrinal University. An exception had been made in this instance to allow monks into the Great Zendo hall.
They had promised to put on a show for the Sisterhood.
Waving her hands, Bell and her sisters rose in the air, levitating several meters above the wooden floor. At that moment, a hundred or so birds flew into the zendo and formed a moving circle in the air above them. Golden and blue sparkles of light illuminated the large hall, like floating candles and stars.
"<Bell...aren't you overdoing it a bit?>" Urd whispered a thoughtcast to her sister.
"<Urd, these women and men have gathered here for the purpose of becoming awakened spiritually...a noble goal in any age. In this modern age, it is even more remarkable. As we *are* here, why should we try to conceal what our true nature is from those who seek us? *These* are the mortals that will move humankind forward towards the Next Level. They honor us with their presence.>"
"<Well, since you put it that way...who am I to say that we should deny these women a glimpse of the Divine?>" Urd said, smiling as she realized the compassionate nature of Belldandy's actions.
"<Yeah!!! I say, let's pour it on for them!>" Skuld agreed enthusiastically.
With a flourish, the three Goddesses summoned their angelic forms to appear, which filled the zendo with gasps of appreciation and delight. Their Angels began to sing a hymn so filled with joy and love, it made the visual fireworks seem unimpressive. Finally, the three Goddesses turned into bright outlines of energy as they revealed one of their Divine aspects, an aspect which would be most meaningful to a group of Buddhists. Three lightglow manifestations of the Kannon of Infinite Mercy and Compassion brought a total silence of reverence to the Great Hall zendo. Returning to their human forms, they waved their hands in a circle, manifesteding soft shimmering halos around each nun and monk. This brought a further measure of delight to their audience. Finally, they floated back down to their meditation cushions and bowed respectfully.
Abbess Sora and Abbess Chihiro had sat in rapturous attention through the whole manifestation. Any doubts that there were Buddhas in this universe were dispelled by the Goddesses' display of gentle power. There was the path of gradual enlightenment...and the path of sudden enlightenment.
*This* was sudden enlightenment!

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