Ah! The following day ch17 part A

“Oh, hi there, Belldandy! Missed me?”

The Norn of the past, gave her sister a wink as she posed in her flimsy sheer nightie. Despite the few patterns around it, Belldandy had no difficulty to see Urd's form beneath it. She let out of a sigh, trying to figure out what the other goddess was up to, this time.

“Urd... Could you please explain, why did you suddenly drop by for a visit in your nightwear?” asked Belldandy, while giving the bronze skinned goddess a look of disapproval. “Keiichi's here, too. What would've happened if he saw you in such a state of undress?”

“Hm... that's an interesting question, actually...” wondered Urd, scratching her chin. “In the past he would've either ran away or pass out. Now that he's no longer influenced by Asgard's tampering, who knows what the result might be... Hey, you can call him and we can find out.”

“Neesan!” shouted Belldandy in shock. “We will do no such thing! He's sleeping, and...”

“Okay, okay...” said Urd as she held her hands in front of her in a dismissive gesture. “I was joking, you know... Don't be so serious all the time, remember to relax once in a while. Also, due to the time difference, it's still a bit too early for me to be up and running. After all, you know that I'm not exactly a morning person. So, excuse me for showing up like this. I just got out of bed and decided to deliver the item as soon as possible.”

Belldandy seemed a bit confused for a second, but quickly remembered what her sister was talking about. “Right... The amulet that uncle Loki had offered us as a gift! Is it already attached to Keiichi's wristwatch?”

“Sure thing! Skuld did a great job, it's almost impossible to tell that it wasn't part of it originally.” Reaching back to the TV, she made its surface glow once more and in a moment, the item in question, emerged from the screen and floated smoothly in the air, until it settled on Urd's waiting hand. “Here! Take a look!”

Holding the watch in her hands for a closer inspection, Belldandy had to admit that her sister wasn't exaggerating. Skuld had indeed done an excellent job and the goddess made a mental note to buy her something before they returned back home. “I have to agree. It's simply perfect! Give Skuld my thanks, and speaking of her...”

“She'll be just fine! You don't have to worry about anything, I'll take of her. What's really worrisome is this,” said Urd, before pausing to take a better look around. “How on Asgard are you going to pay for this place? I don't want to sound daft, but this isn't your average hotel suite...”

“It isn't,” agreed Belldandy. “Although, we've got to stay here for free!”

“Huh?! Did you win some type of lottery or something?” asked the confused goddess of the past. Belldandy had done such things before, so it wasn't unthinkable that she may had pulled a similar stunt now. Although, she still had some trouble to believe that this was the case here.

“No, not really. As a matter of fact, somebody else had already arranged it for us,” explained Belldandy.

“Really? It can't be Sayoko... She only gave you the tickets, right? Then who...”

“Hild.”

That actually surprised the elder goddess. “Why would my mo... the Daimakaicho, do such a thing? She's probably got something in mind, Belldandy. So why in Asgard's name had you decided to fall for such an obvious trap?”

“It appeared to be an honest offer at the moment, Urd. I didn't think that she actually meant ill, and we were having some bad luck at finding a room, back then,” explained the Norn of the present.

“Are you even listening to yourself?” insisted Urd, not wanting to accept her sister's reasoning. “There's no way, she's going to do that for free. It's just not the way that demons work, period.”

“She's your mother, so maybe...”

“You've got that right. My mother, not yours, so don't think that she won't try anything based on family bonds. Whatever good those are in a situation like this...” Urd couldn't believe how naive her sister was at times. The idea that, Hild of all people would just try to help them, was simply too hard to believe. “Have you already forgotten that she had spent years trying to separate you and Keiichi?”

“During all that time, she had only made a couple of attempts,” pointed out Belldandy. “The closest thing that threatened to actually split us apart, was the Judgement Gate; something that our people had come up with.”

“That's...”

“The truth, whether we like it or not,” said Belldandy. “Besides, whenever demons become upset with a mortal, they don't hold back like this. While they respect the doublet system, anyone that's not protected by it, is fair game. Keiichi's wish had been a thorn on their side for the last few years, given how I kept granting it on a permanent base. It was far too profitable and I sometimes worried that one day they would decide that they just had enough and let their military handle this.”

Urd was slightly taken aback, given that it was indeed possible that Hild may had gone easy on them. Still, she wasn't going to back off, just like that. “Even if that was going to happen, then we could've taken him to...”

“Asgard? It's a violation of our protocol to bring humans to our realm, Urd. It requires a special permission to do that and that involves not only the Daitenkaicho, but the Councils to agree as well,” said Belldandy as she shook her head. “Without passing the Gate's test, such acceptance would've been impossible.”

“What does the Judgment Gate even have to do with this?” insisted Urd.

“Because we would be asking the same people that wanted this test, to allow me and Keiichi to stay together in the very home world of the gods.” Letting out a tired sigh, Belldandy tried to put an end to this conversation. “But all this is purely hypothetical, Urd. In reality, the situation had never gone that far and whether you want to admit it or not, that may had to do with your mother. Given her position, she had to separate us, but I cannot say that she did her best and maybe that was on purpose. Perhaps you should give her a chance, at least once.”

“Look, Belldandy... I understand what you're trying to say, but it's a bit... complicated.” Urd appeared to struggle in order to find the right words to describe her thoughts. This wasn't one of her favorite subjects and Belldandy wasn't ideal for such a conversation. As much as Urd loved her sister, the Norn of the present had a very positive way to see things. While it wasn't a bad thing by itself, sometimes it was better to proceed with caution, instead of marching in with unfounded optimism.

“Urd, we could argue all day, but in the end we had to make a decision. Either way, if the demons wanted to involve themselves, they would've done that despite our desires. And over analyzing the situation would only prevent us from taking any action at all,” said Belldandy.

“Now that sounds more like something that I would've said.” Urd couldn't help but laugh at the thought that her sister had come up with something that was very similar to what she had told Peorth, during her first class test.

“Well, we are sisters after all,” said Belldandy with a smile. “Actually, now that you've already delivered the watch, why don't you join me for a bath?”

“Oh well... I guess that there's no way of changing your mind, so why not?” replied the Norn of the past. “Lead the way, and since we've got some time, I may give you some advice as well. I think that you're going to find it rather useful in a few hours.”

“Neesan!”

“Oh, give me a break, Belldandy! If you think that it's embarrassing now, then it won't be any easier when the big moment comes and you suddenly realize that you don't know anything,” insisted Urd, as she crossed her arms.

“I do know some things! I had the talk when I was younger and the textbooks I had as an adolescent covered the subject!” The goddess tried to look as convincing as possible, but she was somewhat failing to impress her elder sister, who still appeared to be dubious.

“So, you know the absolute basics, at least that's a good sign... What else?” asked Urd, waiting for more. However, she got absolutely nothing... All that Belldandy did was to play with her hair, while she stared back at her.

“Don't tell me... that's all you've got...” said Urd, trying to get something extra from her. “Come on, Bell! I'm not your mother, you can tell me a bit more...”

“Uh... there's nothing else?”

'She's such a piece of work sometimes...' thought the Norn of the past as she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. “Okay, I'll have to offer you a rundown of the absolute essentials, while we take the bath. No need to waste more time here, so let's go!”

“As you wish, neesan.” Belldandy was tempted to simply deny the offer, but then again, it was the last opportunity to get some extra bits of theory, before she moved to the practical part of the subject.

The younger goddess guided her sister to the suite's luxurious bath, never noticing the two suspicious looking crows outside of the living room's large windows.

Moments later, without anything else to see, they silently headed for the roof.

XXX

Ithavoll, Asgard

The great hall of the gods was just as busy as always, with various deities going from one administrative office to the next. While most tasks were handled directly through the Yggdrasil system, protocol dictated that all important documents should also exist in an offline, hard copy version for additional protection. If anything happened to the system and rendered it temporarily inoperable, Asgard had to continue functioning as normal.

This only meant that while most of the real work was done digitally, the gods still had the boring task of submitting their reports in a rather old fashioned, if not downright ancient method. However, that could be further complicated for those that were in charge of entire sectors and even worse, realms.

Such was the case for Freyr, son of the High Councilor Njord, twin brother of the first class goddess Freya and ruler of Alfheim, the densely forested world and most popular resort for the celestials. Together with Vanaheim, the second home of the gods, and Asgard itself, they consisted the three realms that were under their direct control.

As a result, the ruler of Alfheim was required to deliver the final report of his realm, that covered the events of the recent demonic coup and his garrison's response. It took a bit more than a hundred pages, but that was only the summarized version of it. The entire file, split into several folders, was also included and it was the job for Skirnir, one of Freyr's most trusted subordinates to carry that burden.

“We're almost there, Skirnir, just be careful on the next right turn.”

“I must admit that you would've made a rather good candidate for lending your voice to those personal navigator devices, sir. Its soothing tone, almost makes me forget the fact that I'm carrying this infernal stack that completely obscures my vision.” The second class god was clearly not having a good day. First, they spent hours patrolling on board Skidbladnir, Freyr's personal vessel and the largest battleship ever commissioned by the gods. Then, they had to compile all those pointless reports and create a summarized version of them. And now, he had to carry those bloody things.

“Thank you very...” started the blue haired ruler of Alfheim, before he suddenly paused. “Hey! You're being sarcastic, aren't you?”

“I'm afraid so, sir. Although, if it consoles you, Freyr-sama, it's nothing personal. I'm still unsure why they even need all this useless paper in the first place,” dryly commented the unhappy god.

“Because they want to feel important, by putting a bunch of signatures everywhere?” replied Freyr, before he looked around to make sure that nobody heard his comment.

“Can't we just use a handcart to move that stuff around? It would seem a much more sensible choice, if I have to say so myself.”

“Absolutely not!” said Freyr. “We won't appear before the Daitenkaicho himself, in such disgraceful manner! It could damage our reputation!”

His subordinate only grunted in annoyance, but continued to walk down the hall, until they've reached their destination; the office of Tyr, ruler of the celestials.

“Now, remember what I've said, Skirnir. No comments. Just let me handle all the talking.” Freyr was almost sure that his assistant was rolling his eyes, but considering his current situation, he couldn't tell for sure. Instead, he made a few final adjustments to his long white cape and knocked the door once.

“Enter.”

Opening the double doors in a single fluid motion, the ruler of Alfheim marched forward with great confidence. At least, until he stumbled on the large carpet that was located in front of Tyr's desk. While the god had regained his balance relatively fast, his assistant wasn't aware of the fact that his boss had come to an abrupt stop and therefore, he bumped into him, causing both to fall on the floor, along with the folders.

The Daitenkaicho blinked as he observed something that was more fitting for a comedy show, instead of an official business meeting. “Your entrances are as dramatic as ever, Freyr... At the very least, you seem to have a sense of humor, although, that would've been more appreciated at a different point of time.”

Struggling to get back on his feet, the god could only curse his bad luck. Every time something important was going on, he would end up involved in some type of embarrassing situation. Just like that incident, a long time ago, when he'd ordered a handcrafted dress for Ansuz-sama. While it was absolutely stunning, he had accidentally given his sister's measurements to the seamstress and the disparity between Freya's physique and that of the originally intended recipient of the dress was simply too much for words. At least, Ansuz-sama had given that outfit to her stepdaughter, but it was still a very embarrassing moment for him.

“Tyr-sama! I'm very pleased to see you again!” trying to salvage what was left of his dignity, the blue haired god, readjusted his cape once more and attempted to act as if nothing had ever happened.

“Well, I suppose that's the report?” Tyr couldn't help but shake his head. Freyr was a good kid, from a good family, but he was a bit accident prone. He had the opportunity to witness that, back when they were cadets in the Fighting Wings. Despite the fact that he was the youngest one in their team, Freyr was a rather competent warrior. Until, he somehow messed something up, due to his bad luck. Like stepping in one of his own traps, even though he had successfully disabled dozens that the demons had previously placed.

“Yes, Tyr-sama! I've got everything on the floor... I mean here! Just give my assistant a moment to gather the folders.” The god nervously searched for his own book, that contained the summarized version. Something that was easier said than done, given the current state of things.

“Never mind that. I'm sure that this can wait for a while,” said Tyr with a dismissive waive of his hand. “Meanwhile, I have a bit of a job for you. I want you to deliver this anniversary gift to my wife.”

“But, sir... I feel that this particular task shouldn't be carried out by a third party...” trailed the uncertain god. “Not that I mind, of course. It's just...”

“I know what you're trying to say, Freyr. However, I've already been to my wife's office today and unfortunately didn't have the opportunity to offer it back then,” said Tyr. Of course, he pretty much ran away from her wrath, as he made a bad comment towards the end, but the other god didn't need to know that.

Still, the ruler of Alfheim assumed that Tyr must have forgotten about it and was too busy right now to do that by himself. “Of course, Tyr-sama. I would be more than happy to help.”

“Good. Take this package and deliver it to Ansuz as soon as possible,” said Tyr as he handed the other god the wrapped box. “As a matter of fact, you can go right now, I'm sure that by the time you come back, your assistant will have everything under control and we'll be able to deal with the reports.”

“No worries, my lord. I'll be back in a few minutes.”

'I really hope so...'

XXX

“And that's the short version... Any questions?”

Urd leaned back into the sides of the jacuzzi, waiting for her sister's response, but the other goddess maintained her silence. In fact, Belldandy was so quiet and still, that Urd started to worry. Getting closer to her, the elder goddess got right in front of her sibling's face and lightly tapped the side of her head. “Hello... Anyone’s there?”

Getting no reply, the bronze skinned Norn started to get concerned. Perhaps this was a bad idea, but then again, she only gave her the basics.

“This isn't good... Oh boy, there goes the first night of the honeymoon. Although, I could probably stand in for today... Probably call Skuld and tell her that I'm going to be late...”wondered Urd with a devilish smile that would've made her mother proud.

“Ah!” Belldandy finally managed to snap out of it, and acknowledged her sister in front of her. “Urd?!”

“So you are still with us, after all,” said Urd with a laugh. “I see that little shock therapy did the trick. Now, I'll have to ask you again. Any questions?”

“Um... no... probably?” said the unsure and embarrassed goddess of the present. “I-I mean I got the whole concept behind it... but...”

“Okay...” said Urd, scratching the back of her head. “I suppose that the best option in that case is to try and act as normal as possible and focus on one task at a time. The rest will be easier after a short while. Makes sense?”

“Yes... I think...”

Urd gave her sister a nod and started to get out from the jacuzzi, but remembered the other thing that she had to deliver. “Oh, by the way... I've got something else for you.”

“Really?” asked Belldandy, as she got out of the water and reaching for a towel. “What is it?”

Holding her arms in front of her, the Norn of the past summoned the lingerie that she had picked for her sister and allowed Belldandy to take a good look. “Well? I think that it would be ideal for the occasion. Skuld thought that it was very nice too.”

“She did?!” The goddess of the present couldn't imagine her little sister doing something like that. She had always gotten jealous whenever she and Keiichi got a bit close, so that was a bit too much for her to believe.

“Yes, she even helped me in the process of choosing it,” added Urd with a smile. It was the truth, for the most part at least. “Still, what do you think?”

“Uh... It's good. I mean, I have something similar, but let's see...” Taking a better look at the top part, it reminded her some of her other nightwear, with the only difference being the lace floral patterns in the front part of it. The bottom part was maybe a bit skimpier compared to what she would've preferred, but overall it was something that she could possibly wear. “I think that it might do. Thank you, Urd. And tell Skuld that I'm happy that she helped, too.”

“You're welcome, Belldandy. Have fun...” said the goddess, as she started to walk towards the living room. Urd cringed at the idea of telling Skuld that the nightwear was for Belldandy and not for herself, as the younger goddess might've probably assumed. Still, she tried to maintain a neutral expression and pretend that everything was normal, as she was about to return back to the temple.

“I think I will,” said Belldandy with a blush. “Oh!”

“Yes?”

“Your gift had just reminded me the package that father had sent. It must be here, somewhere.” Going over to the bags, the goddess retrieved the wrapped box that her uncle Baldr had brought from Asgard. “Here it is!'

Urd appeared like a kid that was about to unwrap a new toy, even if it wasn't really for her. “Come on! Let's see what's inside!”

“You're always so anxious, Urd!” giggled the younger goddess. “It's almost like when we were little and you always got excited whenever our grandmother brought us some presents.”

“Oh, enough with that! Just open the box!” Urd actually remembered that, Frigg had visited them on several occasions, even though she was not directly related to the Norns. Technically speaking, she was only Baldr's mother, while Odin's two other sons and Loki were her stepchildren. Despite that, the elder goddess had offered them a variety of gifts, and for some reason, she always gave Urd something better than her sisters. Or any of her grandchildren, if Thor's own kids were taken into account. Frigg had even commissioned the fastest broom in Asgard for Urd, just as soon as she was old enough to use one.

Not wanting to keep her impatient sister waiting, Belldandy unwrapped the box and finally took a good look inside. “Oh, my! It's such a lovely hairpin!”

“Hm... That's odd... I don't remember our father getting these type of presents for us,” wondered Urd, as she stared at the item. Tyr preferred the more practical gifts, instead of vanity items, unless of course, his wife was concerned. Reaching to grab the hairpin that was shaped like a flower, Urd couldn't feel any magical property or hidden function, aside from the intended use of such an item.

“But, I like it! Doesn't it look nice on me?” asked Belldandy, trying to attach it to her hair, close to her long ponytail.

“Oh well... I suppose it does, although most things would look on you, Belldandy,” said Urd with a smile. “I have to go, though. Skuld is probably waiting for me and we need to go and take a look of our new work environment.”

“Take care, neesan,” said the goddess of the present. “It may have been a bit... awkward, but thank you for your help. I'll try my best to put that knowledge to good use.”

Urd stared at her sister in silence for a few seconds, trying to determine if her mind was plying tricks or her younger sibling had actually said that. Eventually, she gave the other goddess a wink and a thumbs up. “Sure thing! I can offer you the advance courses, if you want.”

“I-I... think that's it sufficient for now,” said Belldandy with a blush. “Although, i would like to do that later... if that's okay for you, neesan.”

“Of course! Just tell me, okay?” asked Urd, activating the TV and preparing to transfer, before she paused for a moment.

“Is everything alright, Urd?” asked Belldandy, noticing her sister’s hesitation.

The goddess of the past wondered if she was imagining things, but she could've sworn that for a moment she felt a very powerful demon, just a couple of blocks away. 'That's neither my mother nor Mara... and it's gone now. Belldandy haven't responded either. Although, I'm a bit more sensitive when it comes to demons. Still... Nah... I must be over thinking this.'

“Everything's fine, Belldandy! Have fun! Bye bye!” said Urd, as she dived into the TV's screen.

The lone goddess waited until the device turned itself off, before she headed to their bedroom to wake Keiichi up, it was about time for lunch and maybe even go outside for a walk, later.

'I should buy my sisters something for their efforts in helping me with this. Maybe we can find something while we're here, that they might like.'

XXX

“Hey, you moron! Didn't your mommy told you to look before you cross the street?”

The dark haired demon turned to take a glimpse at the annoying mortal, who was under the false assumption that owning a stupid piece of metal on four wheels suddenly made him someone important.

“These are city streets, not the highway, you insolent fool. Try driving like a normal person, before you open your mouth.”

Hild watched the exchange with mixed feelings. On one hand, it could be a nice opportunity to have some fun by scaring this fool while they waited for the sun to set. But another part of her, wanted to focus at her primary task and that required both of them to maintain a low profile. The last thing she needed was to get the celestials all worked up about nothing and use it as an excuse to send a few of their own to “deal with the evil demons.” Meanwhile, both the mortal and her demon companion were hurling spiteful insults to each other, neither willing to back off from this.

“Just let him go...” started to say the little demoness, but it was far too late to stop her subordinate. The Eldjotunn had decided to put an end to this nonsense in his own characteristic way, and gave the offending vehicle a sharp kick, causing the front part of it to cave in and activate the airbags, silencing the surprised driver in the process.

“What's wrong sucker? Nothing else to say?” mocked the demon, before he started to walk once more. Only to stop again, as he noticed the rather large group of onlookers who appeared to be slightly apprehensive after witnessing this feat of superhuman strength. Most were talking to each other in a low voice, pointing at him, while some attempted to slowly walk away, worried about their own safety.

“Well, isn't that just great?” asked Hild with a sigh. “Now we've got a nice mess to fix, before they cause a commotion...”

The demon snorted in response, not particularly worried about the mortals' reactions. “Let me deal with it, it's only going to take a second...”

“Hold on, you're not going to blow the island up, right?” Even though it sounded like a question, the sarcasm was too obvious to ignore.

“Why would I?”

“Don't know. I was wondering the same when you sent the eastern part of mount Etna to the bottom of the Mediterranean sea,” said the little Daimakaicho while staring at her subordinate.

“Tell that to your husband. He was asking for trouble and I was just kind enough to grant his wish,” replied the Eldjotunn. “It's not my fault that he went sleeping with the fish for a while.”

“Tyr? He was no longer my husband at that time,” said Hild with a frown. “Besides, what did he do to anger you? He's not the type to pick up fights for no reason...”

“No, he's the kind of god who thinks that being the Daitenkaicho means anything to a demon like me. I don't take orders from those celestial snobs, so trying to send me back to Muspelheim was a stupid mistake,” said Surt, looking around to the crowd of people that were still there. “Nasty buggers... They just won't leave. Okay, time to be a little convincing.”

“There's nothing interesting here. Go back to your business and forget everything that happened.” The voice traveled at a much longer distance than one might've thought based on its volume, and every mortal within that range could hear it directly inside their heads. Blinking a few times, their eyes started to become unfocused and after a few seconds of total silence, they started to walk away, almost in a trance-like state.

“Well...” started Hild. “That solved the problem. Although, you shouldn't have used that much power, behind that command. We were supposed to keep a low profile, remember?”

The demon simply shrugged, before he started to walk once again, leaving the confused driver behind them. “What's the problem? It's not like the gods will pick this up, all the way from Asgard. The only goddess here, already knows about us, anyway.”

“You are indeed correct, Surt. But she's not the only one right at the moment, Urd-chan is already here, as well,” said Hild, while looking in the hotel's direction, far in the distance.

“Are you sure that you don't want?...” started Surt, before he was interrupted by Hild.

“No, she will only get into an argument with me, if I showed up, over there.” The demoness briefly shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “Besides, she just left, by the looks of it.”

“You won't make any progress with her, if you just avoid the problem.”

“Oh? Is this your professional opinion, mister know-it-all? You couldn't even handle her for half an hour! How hard is it to keep company to an infant, anyway?” asked the ruler of Niflheim.

“Given her manners? That little menace tried a command voice on me!” replied the Eldjotunn, trying to explain himself.

“Surt, immortals cannot do such a thing at that age,” said Hild, offering her companion a skeptical look. “Not to mention that, Urd was the nicest little baby. She wouldn't ever do that.”

“That's not true. Infants can sometimes use their innate powers at certain occasions and she did certainly tried the command voice when she was looking for you. Furthermore, she was only nice when you were around,” said the Eldjotunn, remembering the incident. “She even launched that hammer-shaped toy she had at me...”

“Well... Thor is indeed her uncle, so it's something that runs in their family. Probably...” trailed Hild. “But enough with that! Our little couple is probably going to go for a walk, in a short while. So, it's the best opportunity to sneak in and prepare the seal.”

“Are you sure about that?” asked the Eldjotunn.

“Yes. I've sent one of my tiny insect spies to follow them, and I'm quite certain that the will be out of there in a short while,” said Hild with a smirk.

“Very well. Lead the way, then.” The demon nodded at his boss, as they both started to walk towards the hotel.