Only Human
An Ah! My Goddess Fanfic
By Roehl Sybing
Chapter One: Circuit Breaker
Keiichi pressed hard against the wall of the temple as the winds fought his every step. He kept everything just under his eyes covered with his rain- soaked jacket. He was making his way to the circuit breaker, situated in an odd corner of the temple grounds, a small room attached to the larger building but only accessible from the outside. With no illumination to guide him, Keiichi depended on the shape of the temple wall to take him where he needed to go. Without a doubt, this storm was the worst anyone had seen in a long time. Keiichi thought of nothing else to do but press on and make for the circuit breaker and restore power to the residence.
---
Inside, the hallway was lit with candles and littered with buckets and pans, protecting the floor from a leak-filled ceiling that was doing all it could not to buckle under the forces of the storm. Skuld was doing all she could to keep the floor dry, running up and down the hall, laying more buckets here and there. Sometimes one leak would stop and another would begin again, so she, thinking it just one more problem to solve, made some quick rearranging. At last, with so many obstacles about the floor, Skuld eventually tripped on a pail, causing her and a great deal of water to spill onto the hard surface.
"Waaah!" Skuld cried, "It's no use, there's just too many leaks!"
Urd floated out of her room, looking over her younger sister, "What're you fretting about now?"
"Hey, shouldn't you be helping out?"
"It seems like so much work for nothing," Urd yawned, examining the large puddle of water on the floor, despite Skuld's best efforts, "I wouldn't have worried about it!"
"Well, isn't that a lame attitude, Urd!" she pouted.
"I didn't get the floor all wet, kid."
"It's not my fault! It's this stupid old house! First the power outage, and now the roof!" she said, as Belldandy walked in with a mop in her hands.
"Don't say that, dear," Belldandy said, taking care of the floor, "We should be thankful for all that this house has done for us. It's a good friend to all of us."
"There you go with your crazy ideas again, sis," Urd retorted.
"It's true!" Belldandy insisted, "It's given us a place to sleep, a place to eat...it's kept us warm at night, cool during the day. This house has always been here for us when we need it, surely we can tend to it when it needs us."
Urd floated away, saying "That's right, Skuld. She's saying lay off the buckets, kid."
"But the roof!" Skuld exclaimed.
"It will survive this storm, I'm sure. Everything falters now and then," Belldandy said, "It is simply a test of true strength. Right now, we must-- "
The goddess stopped in mid-sentence as the lights around the house lit up again. "Oh, thank Keiichi!" she said, relieved, "He must have found the circuit breaker."
"Alright!" Urd said, "Now I can watch my program again!"
Quickly, the three goddesses returned to what they were doing. Urd, of course, went back to her room, not lifting a finger to help Skuld clean the floor or protect against the leaky ceiling. And Belldandy returned to her own tasks, making sure dinner wouldn't be too late. The brief outage stopped cold her efforts to prepare a meal for four, so she picked up right where she left off, not minding the fierce storm outside. The thunder and the lightning did not bother her one bit, as she worked to put the finishing touches on dinner. Of course, the only thing that caught Belldandy's attention was the sliding open of the door before Keiichi walked in.
Naturally, she rushed to his aid, "Were you alright out there, Keiichi?"
"Yeah!" he said, mustering up what little masculine independence he had within him, "Not a problem at all."
"Oh, you're all soaked! Let me take care of your coat. And your shoes, they're--"
"It's OK!" Keiichi said, smiling, "Just damp, is all. How's dinner coming along?"
"It's almost ready," she said, almost not paying any thought to the food, "Are you sure you don't need any help with your clothes?"
Now that was not such a bad idea, Keiichi thought to himself. He would've easily dropped all of his defenses, if it weren't for Skuld in plain sight, crawling around to deal with the puddles on the floor but able to listen to their conversation.
"Heh heh," he laughed, "Don't worry about it, Bell! I'll just change clothes and get ready for dinner."
"Oh, alright."
Of course, Keiichi thought about it as he walked to his room. He got an odd look from Skuld along the way, but he thought about it nonetheless.
---
Dinner was perfect, same as always. The four seated around the table almost forgot about the storm outside, but the timely lightning strike always reminded them of its presence. Still, the residence, with all of its obvious flaws at the moment, kept them safe and warm, as Belldandy suggested. Thus, they did their best to ignore the elements outside.
"You are such a marvel, sister!" Skuld said, "No one can cook like you!"
"Why, thank you, Skuld," Belldandy replied.
"I wish I was as perfect as you, Belldandy," she said, continuing to heap praise.
"Well, if you work hard, you can be whatever you want to be," Belldandy said, "But even I am not perfect, dear."
"I think my younger sister's being a bit modest," Urd said jokingly.
"Yeah," Keiichi added.
"Oh, stop!" she exclaimed, smiling and blushing at the same time, "I've always done my best, that's all. But even I have the potential to fail, to be imperfect."
"Well, perfect or not, you're still the best," Keiichi said, rising to help with the dishes, "Thank you for dinner, as always, Bell."
The other two gave their gratitude as Urd shuttled Skuld out of the room, leaving the couple to mind the cleaning. On a good day, Keiichi would have noticed the opportunity that quiet solitude with Belldandy presented. But on a terrible night such as this, with water still in his ear and a slight chill in the air, he remained completely innocent as he helped Belldandy with the dishes.
"Keiichi?" she asked, piling up the dishes.
"Yes, dear?"
"Do I...fail to meet your expectations?"
Keiichi turned his head, startled by the question but not knowing its meaning.
"I mean, when you said I was perfect and I said that I was not. Does that...disappoint you?"
"Not at all!" he retorted, putting down everything without a second thought, "After all this time, have you ever disappointed me?"
She looked at him, unsure whether or not to shake her head, though she knew the obvious answer.
"Belldandy...I don't think I will ever find the words to tell you how happy I've been since I met you, but you're just gonna have to trust that I believe that I'm the luckiest guy in the world. So what if you're not perfect?" Keiichi asked, "You are mine, and I am yours, and that's all that matters."
"Keiichi," Belldandy said with a faint but growing smile, "Thank you!"
"No, Bell," he said, "Thank you." Somewhere in his brief monologue he came upon the fact that he was alone with Belldandy. He'd like not to take advantage of his making her happy at that moment, but such openings were open to him, if ever. Keiichi drew closer to her, hoping that he just might steal a kiss from a goddess.
Suddenly, a thud gently shook the house and broke their close contact, and before Keiichi could kick himself for blowing the chance, the sound of Skuld crying from a distance drew them out of the room and into the hallway.
---
"Stupid puddle!" Skuld cried, obviously having slipped on a pool of water lying on the floor underneath a dripping ceiling.
"Hold on, I'm coming," the two heard Urd say from her room. Belldandy and Keiichi were not far behind.
"Hey, Skuld, are you OK?" Keiichi said, looking to help.
"Do I look OK?" Skuld replied through the pain.
Belldandy was right behind Keiichi, "Skuld, dear, do you--"
Suddenly, the lights in the house flickered as the goddess pressed her hand against the wall. Keiichi turned around; Belldandy was being electrocuted.
"Belldandy!" he shouted.
The goddess froze, crying out in pain. A great deal of electricity coursed through the wall and into Belldandy, as the others stood helpless, instinctively pulling back at one instant in fear that the charge may very well be lethal. Yet, Keiichi couldn't just watch his Belldandy suffer like she was at that moment.
"No, Keiichi!" Urd said, trying with futility to stop him. But he did what he could, pushing her away from the wall with enough force to keep her a good distance from the wall.
"Oh no!" Skuld shrieked, "What happened to Belldandy!?"
"I don't know!" the third goddess said, panicking. She examined the surface that Belldandy pressed against as she was electrocuted. It was damp with the rain that leaked from the ceiling. Faulty wiring inside the wall would've easily made it a very nasty trap.
"Belldandy?" Keiichi said softly as he lay beside her, "Belldandy?"
Skuld and Urd came to their aid, hoping that the incident was far from serious. "What's wrong? What's wrong!?"
For the longest time, Belldandy lay there on the floor, motionless. They knew not whether to move her or keep her there. Frankly, the three were simply stunned. The sounds of their own breathing easily drowned out the storm outside.
"Can't you do anything!?" Keiichi pleaded to Urd.
"No, she has to come out of it by herself."
"Well, she's not breathing, Urd! Shouldn't you--"
"Our biology is different from yours, Keiichi! Human methods won't work, she has to--"
Keiichi looked down, hearing Belldandy, resting in his arms, gasp a breath of air. Her eyelids moved about, much to his relief and to the relief of her sisters, and she gently opened her eyes.
"Keiichi?" she said very softly.
"It's alright," he replied, "You had a very bad shock. Just--"
"No, I'm OK," she said, slowly rising to her feet. Her knees quickly buckled, but she regained her footing with little effort.
"Sister, maybe you should take it easy!" Skuld said.
"Yeah, Bell," Keiichi added, "You should--ow!"
He gripped his shoulder. It was in pain, after hitting the deck with such great force.
"Let me look at that, Keiichi," Belldandy said, not minding her younger sister's advice. She lifted up his sleeve, and his shoulder had suddenly become swollen with red. "Oh, you're hurt! I can take care of the pain," she said, covering the injury with her hand. The goddess closed her eyes, praying for healing to come to him.
Yet, nothing happened. The thoughts of healing would have channeled from her mind and to her hand and into Keiichi's sore shoulder. But it hardly happened as expected. In fact, it didn't happen at all. Of course, Keiichi, not knowing what Belldandy was doing, didn't expect anything to occur, but gathered that something was wrong if she stood beside him in quiet emotional shock.
"Belldandy?" Urd said.
"It's not working," Belldandy said to her older sister.
"What?"
"I can't…my power!"
"What do you mean?" Keiichi asked.
"I mean--ow!" Belldandy looked down. She brushed her skirt aside to reveal her knees, scraped and splintered by the rough wooden floor, red with either faint traces of blood or the burning of the skin. "Oh no!"
Keiichi looked on, oblivious, saying, "Doesn't look too serious. I'll go get something to treat it." He took a step towards the washroom for the first aid kit, when he realized that, in all his time with Belldandy, after all the cutthroat races and after all the scrapes over the years, he had never needed to treat her until now. No sooner had he turned around did Belldandy's sisters rush to her side. Their beloved goddess was standing frozen in the midst of apparent shock. It was only until now did the fierce rain and thunder outside pierce the silence inside the residence.
---
A sound filled Keiichi's ears, though it wasn't the chirping of birds long after the storm died down and the sun rose. He lifted his head from his arms after having slept uncomfortably sitting at the table. He had lost track of time, and the moments leading up to his dozing off were all a blur. Something was wrong with Belldandy…Urd was in a frenzy…Skuld resorted to a full-blown panic throughout the house. Slowly Keiichi pieced together what he still couldn't understand. But the sound the two elder sisters politely arguing with each other entered his hearing again, so he instinctively made for Belldandy's bedroom.
"I am fine, Urd, really!"
"That is not what I think, and I need you to stay in bed!"
"I know you want to take care of me, but--"
"You're damn right! At least until this…whatever you have…is fixed!"
Keiichi listened from outside the bedroom, picking the right moment to enter. Was she sick? Had that shock done something to her? And were those scrapes on her leg a sign of something terrible? The questions raced through Keiichi's mind, and it was clear that there really was no appropriate time to rush to Belldandy's side except now.
"Belldandy?" Keiichi cried as he slid the door open.
"Oh, Keiichi!" Belldandy exclaimed.
"Are you alright?"
Urd looked at her younger sister, as if to persuade her to say what needed to be said, but Belldandy, putting up a weak smile, insisted, "Everything is going to be fine."
"She lost her powers, Keiichi," Urd said in one quick breath, "That electrical shock made her human."
Keiichi was taken aback, "W-what?"
---
"In principle, when goddesses come down to Earth," Urd said, trying to explain to all the rest, particularly to Keiichi, "Our souls are normally projected into these bodies, much like a flashlight shining onto a wall. We're never truly here, but our actions affect everything around us."
Keiichi shook his head, "So what happened when Belldandy was electrocuted?"
"That's the thing. The projection is a two-way connection between Earth and the Yggdrasil system. The electricity was sent through Belldandy and up to Heaven, and the connection was severed."
"So," he said, "Why is she still here?"
Urd continued, "I don't know. This…has never happened before. From what I can tell, the severance is somewhere between Yggdrasil and Belldandy, so when the projection was cut, she had nowhere to go except into her form on Earth."
"That is why I have no powers," Belldandy spoke up. They looked at her briefly; her expression of contentment hid any resentment if it existed at all.
"Can it be fixed?"
"The system techs are confident," Urd said, "But it's going to take some time, they believe."
"Belldandy," Keiichi said emotionally, "I am so sorry!"
"Please, don't be sad!" Belldandy replied, "The condition is temporary until it is fixed, so there is no need to be worried."
"Well," he insisted, "How long?"
Belldandy had no answer. She looked at Urd, who instinctively looked away. "It could be tomorrow," the elder sister said, "But it could be weeks from now, maybe more!"
---
"Maybe more…" rung in the ears of Keiichi…and Belldandy as well. Still, Belldandy persisted in not making too much of a problem out of her plight. It took a day or two before the others hid their concern, and went on with life as best as could be carried out. Urd kept a line to the system technicians of Yggdrasil open every day; some days there were progress, others days there were not. But they took some small comfort that Belldandy had not worsened. She was her cheery, loving self, same as always, with no sign of changing. Daily life was inconvenienced here and there, not because Belldandy had no powers, but because she had become human. Usually, she could almost always read Keiichi like a book, but her sixth sense was gone. Tasks were just a bit more menial, and the strain of daily chores was mild, but physical pain was new to Belldandy. In every aspect, Belldandy was a normal, human woman, who now experienced the world from a smaller, insignificant perspective. The symbol of inner strength that she was, though, she took it all in stride in front of her sisters and her beloved Keiichi and his friends.
---
One day, Belldandy almost forgot about her situation. She had never thought of it as a real problem - she still lived with Keiichi, her two sisters were still there for her, and she had not made any great changes to her routine - but the others insisted that she try to be more careful. Until that day, of course. Finally, she had not heard any of them show any unnecessary concern for her well-being.
Curious. Was she bothered by their constant outpouring?
"Ouch!"
Belldandy looked down at what she was doing. She had been chopping up vegetables on the kitchen counter, until the knife pierced the flesh on her index finger. Quickly, it showed spots of red. She pressed her finger to put pressure on the wound, and brought it against her lips to wipe away the blood. It stung with pain, being exposed to the open air.
"Damn!"
The word barely escaped Belldandy's mouth before she noticed what she had said. With her good hand she covered her lips, and looked around. There was no one to hear it, as everyone was tending to their own tasks. The goddess brushed aside any thoughts of distress, and made light of the pain she was experiencing. Laughing quietly to herself, she wrapped some cloth around the cut and returned to what she was doing, not giving one more thought to her error.
TO BE CONTINUED.
An Ah! My Goddess Fanfic
By Roehl Sybing
Chapter One: Circuit Breaker
Keiichi pressed hard against the wall of the temple as the winds fought his every step. He kept everything just under his eyes covered with his rain- soaked jacket. He was making his way to the circuit breaker, situated in an odd corner of the temple grounds, a small room attached to the larger building but only accessible from the outside. With no illumination to guide him, Keiichi depended on the shape of the temple wall to take him where he needed to go. Without a doubt, this storm was the worst anyone had seen in a long time. Keiichi thought of nothing else to do but press on and make for the circuit breaker and restore power to the residence.
---
Inside, the hallway was lit with candles and littered with buckets and pans, protecting the floor from a leak-filled ceiling that was doing all it could not to buckle under the forces of the storm. Skuld was doing all she could to keep the floor dry, running up and down the hall, laying more buckets here and there. Sometimes one leak would stop and another would begin again, so she, thinking it just one more problem to solve, made some quick rearranging. At last, with so many obstacles about the floor, Skuld eventually tripped on a pail, causing her and a great deal of water to spill onto the hard surface.
"Waaah!" Skuld cried, "It's no use, there's just too many leaks!"
Urd floated out of her room, looking over her younger sister, "What're you fretting about now?"
"Hey, shouldn't you be helping out?"
"It seems like so much work for nothing," Urd yawned, examining the large puddle of water on the floor, despite Skuld's best efforts, "I wouldn't have worried about it!"
"Well, isn't that a lame attitude, Urd!" she pouted.
"I didn't get the floor all wet, kid."
"It's not my fault! It's this stupid old house! First the power outage, and now the roof!" she said, as Belldandy walked in with a mop in her hands.
"Don't say that, dear," Belldandy said, taking care of the floor, "We should be thankful for all that this house has done for us. It's a good friend to all of us."
"There you go with your crazy ideas again, sis," Urd retorted.
"It's true!" Belldandy insisted, "It's given us a place to sleep, a place to eat...it's kept us warm at night, cool during the day. This house has always been here for us when we need it, surely we can tend to it when it needs us."
Urd floated away, saying "That's right, Skuld. She's saying lay off the buckets, kid."
"But the roof!" Skuld exclaimed.
"It will survive this storm, I'm sure. Everything falters now and then," Belldandy said, "It is simply a test of true strength. Right now, we must-- "
The goddess stopped in mid-sentence as the lights around the house lit up again. "Oh, thank Keiichi!" she said, relieved, "He must have found the circuit breaker."
"Alright!" Urd said, "Now I can watch my program again!"
Quickly, the three goddesses returned to what they were doing. Urd, of course, went back to her room, not lifting a finger to help Skuld clean the floor or protect against the leaky ceiling. And Belldandy returned to her own tasks, making sure dinner wouldn't be too late. The brief outage stopped cold her efforts to prepare a meal for four, so she picked up right where she left off, not minding the fierce storm outside. The thunder and the lightning did not bother her one bit, as she worked to put the finishing touches on dinner. Of course, the only thing that caught Belldandy's attention was the sliding open of the door before Keiichi walked in.
Naturally, she rushed to his aid, "Were you alright out there, Keiichi?"
"Yeah!" he said, mustering up what little masculine independence he had within him, "Not a problem at all."
"Oh, you're all soaked! Let me take care of your coat. And your shoes, they're--"
"It's OK!" Keiichi said, smiling, "Just damp, is all. How's dinner coming along?"
"It's almost ready," she said, almost not paying any thought to the food, "Are you sure you don't need any help with your clothes?"
Now that was not such a bad idea, Keiichi thought to himself. He would've easily dropped all of his defenses, if it weren't for Skuld in plain sight, crawling around to deal with the puddles on the floor but able to listen to their conversation.
"Heh heh," he laughed, "Don't worry about it, Bell! I'll just change clothes and get ready for dinner."
"Oh, alright."
Of course, Keiichi thought about it as he walked to his room. He got an odd look from Skuld along the way, but he thought about it nonetheless.
---
Dinner was perfect, same as always. The four seated around the table almost forgot about the storm outside, but the timely lightning strike always reminded them of its presence. Still, the residence, with all of its obvious flaws at the moment, kept them safe and warm, as Belldandy suggested. Thus, they did their best to ignore the elements outside.
"You are such a marvel, sister!" Skuld said, "No one can cook like you!"
"Why, thank you, Skuld," Belldandy replied.
"I wish I was as perfect as you, Belldandy," she said, continuing to heap praise.
"Well, if you work hard, you can be whatever you want to be," Belldandy said, "But even I am not perfect, dear."
"I think my younger sister's being a bit modest," Urd said jokingly.
"Yeah," Keiichi added.
"Oh, stop!" she exclaimed, smiling and blushing at the same time, "I've always done my best, that's all. But even I have the potential to fail, to be imperfect."
"Well, perfect or not, you're still the best," Keiichi said, rising to help with the dishes, "Thank you for dinner, as always, Bell."
The other two gave their gratitude as Urd shuttled Skuld out of the room, leaving the couple to mind the cleaning. On a good day, Keiichi would have noticed the opportunity that quiet solitude with Belldandy presented. But on a terrible night such as this, with water still in his ear and a slight chill in the air, he remained completely innocent as he helped Belldandy with the dishes.
"Keiichi?" she asked, piling up the dishes.
"Yes, dear?"
"Do I...fail to meet your expectations?"
Keiichi turned his head, startled by the question but not knowing its meaning.
"I mean, when you said I was perfect and I said that I was not. Does that...disappoint you?"
"Not at all!" he retorted, putting down everything without a second thought, "After all this time, have you ever disappointed me?"
She looked at him, unsure whether or not to shake her head, though she knew the obvious answer.
"Belldandy...I don't think I will ever find the words to tell you how happy I've been since I met you, but you're just gonna have to trust that I believe that I'm the luckiest guy in the world. So what if you're not perfect?" Keiichi asked, "You are mine, and I am yours, and that's all that matters."
"Keiichi," Belldandy said with a faint but growing smile, "Thank you!"
"No, Bell," he said, "Thank you." Somewhere in his brief monologue he came upon the fact that he was alone with Belldandy. He'd like not to take advantage of his making her happy at that moment, but such openings were open to him, if ever. Keiichi drew closer to her, hoping that he just might steal a kiss from a goddess.
Suddenly, a thud gently shook the house and broke their close contact, and before Keiichi could kick himself for blowing the chance, the sound of Skuld crying from a distance drew them out of the room and into the hallway.
---
"Stupid puddle!" Skuld cried, obviously having slipped on a pool of water lying on the floor underneath a dripping ceiling.
"Hold on, I'm coming," the two heard Urd say from her room. Belldandy and Keiichi were not far behind.
"Hey, Skuld, are you OK?" Keiichi said, looking to help.
"Do I look OK?" Skuld replied through the pain.
Belldandy was right behind Keiichi, "Skuld, dear, do you--"
Suddenly, the lights in the house flickered as the goddess pressed her hand against the wall. Keiichi turned around; Belldandy was being electrocuted.
"Belldandy!" he shouted.
The goddess froze, crying out in pain. A great deal of electricity coursed through the wall and into Belldandy, as the others stood helpless, instinctively pulling back at one instant in fear that the charge may very well be lethal. Yet, Keiichi couldn't just watch his Belldandy suffer like she was at that moment.
"No, Keiichi!" Urd said, trying with futility to stop him. But he did what he could, pushing her away from the wall with enough force to keep her a good distance from the wall.
"Oh no!" Skuld shrieked, "What happened to Belldandy!?"
"I don't know!" the third goddess said, panicking. She examined the surface that Belldandy pressed against as she was electrocuted. It was damp with the rain that leaked from the ceiling. Faulty wiring inside the wall would've easily made it a very nasty trap.
"Belldandy?" Keiichi said softly as he lay beside her, "Belldandy?"
Skuld and Urd came to their aid, hoping that the incident was far from serious. "What's wrong? What's wrong!?"
For the longest time, Belldandy lay there on the floor, motionless. They knew not whether to move her or keep her there. Frankly, the three were simply stunned. The sounds of their own breathing easily drowned out the storm outside.
"Can't you do anything!?" Keiichi pleaded to Urd.
"No, she has to come out of it by herself."
"Well, she's not breathing, Urd! Shouldn't you--"
"Our biology is different from yours, Keiichi! Human methods won't work, she has to--"
Keiichi looked down, hearing Belldandy, resting in his arms, gasp a breath of air. Her eyelids moved about, much to his relief and to the relief of her sisters, and she gently opened her eyes.
"Keiichi?" she said very softly.
"It's alright," he replied, "You had a very bad shock. Just--"
"No, I'm OK," she said, slowly rising to her feet. Her knees quickly buckled, but she regained her footing with little effort.
"Sister, maybe you should take it easy!" Skuld said.
"Yeah, Bell," Keiichi added, "You should--ow!"
He gripped his shoulder. It was in pain, after hitting the deck with such great force.
"Let me look at that, Keiichi," Belldandy said, not minding her younger sister's advice. She lifted up his sleeve, and his shoulder had suddenly become swollen with red. "Oh, you're hurt! I can take care of the pain," she said, covering the injury with her hand. The goddess closed her eyes, praying for healing to come to him.
Yet, nothing happened. The thoughts of healing would have channeled from her mind and to her hand and into Keiichi's sore shoulder. But it hardly happened as expected. In fact, it didn't happen at all. Of course, Keiichi, not knowing what Belldandy was doing, didn't expect anything to occur, but gathered that something was wrong if she stood beside him in quiet emotional shock.
"Belldandy?" Urd said.
"It's not working," Belldandy said to her older sister.
"What?"
"I can't…my power!"
"What do you mean?" Keiichi asked.
"I mean--ow!" Belldandy looked down. She brushed her skirt aside to reveal her knees, scraped and splintered by the rough wooden floor, red with either faint traces of blood or the burning of the skin. "Oh no!"
Keiichi looked on, oblivious, saying, "Doesn't look too serious. I'll go get something to treat it." He took a step towards the washroom for the first aid kit, when he realized that, in all his time with Belldandy, after all the cutthroat races and after all the scrapes over the years, he had never needed to treat her until now. No sooner had he turned around did Belldandy's sisters rush to her side. Their beloved goddess was standing frozen in the midst of apparent shock. It was only until now did the fierce rain and thunder outside pierce the silence inside the residence.
---
A sound filled Keiichi's ears, though it wasn't the chirping of birds long after the storm died down and the sun rose. He lifted his head from his arms after having slept uncomfortably sitting at the table. He had lost track of time, and the moments leading up to his dozing off were all a blur. Something was wrong with Belldandy…Urd was in a frenzy…Skuld resorted to a full-blown panic throughout the house. Slowly Keiichi pieced together what he still couldn't understand. But the sound the two elder sisters politely arguing with each other entered his hearing again, so he instinctively made for Belldandy's bedroom.
"I am fine, Urd, really!"
"That is not what I think, and I need you to stay in bed!"
"I know you want to take care of me, but--"
"You're damn right! At least until this…whatever you have…is fixed!"
Keiichi listened from outside the bedroom, picking the right moment to enter. Was she sick? Had that shock done something to her? And were those scrapes on her leg a sign of something terrible? The questions raced through Keiichi's mind, and it was clear that there really was no appropriate time to rush to Belldandy's side except now.
"Belldandy?" Keiichi cried as he slid the door open.
"Oh, Keiichi!" Belldandy exclaimed.
"Are you alright?"
Urd looked at her younger sister, as if to persuade her to say what needed to be said, but Belldandy, putting up a weak smile, insisted, "Everything is going to be fine."
"She lost her powers, Keiichi," Urd said in one quick breath, "That electrical shock made her human."
Keiichi was taken aback, "W-what?"
---
"In principle, when goddesses come down to Earth," Urd said, trying to explain to all the rest, particularly to Keiichi, "Our souls are normally projected into these bodies, much like a flashlight shining onto a wall. We're never truly here, but our actions affect everything around us."
Keiichi shook his head, "So what happened when Belldandy was electrocuted?"
"That's the thing. The projection is a two-way connection between Earth and the Yggdrasil system. The electricity was sent through Belldandy and up to Heaven, and the connection was severed."
"So," he said, "Why is she still here?"
Urd continued, "I don't know. This…has never happened before. From what I can tell, the severance is somewhere between Yggdrasil and Belldandy, so when the projection was cut, she had nowhere to go except into her form on Earth."
"That is why I have no powers," Belldandy spoke up. They looked at her briefly; her expression of contentment hid any resentment if it existed at all.
"Can it be fixed?"
"The system techs are confident," Urd said, "But it's going to take some time, they believe."
"Belldandy," Keiichi said emotionally, "I am so sorry!"
"Please, don't be sad!" Belldandy replied, "The condition is temporary until it is fixed, so there is no need to be worried."
"Well," he insisted, "How long?"
Belldandy had no answer. She looked at Urd, who instinctively looked away. "It could be tomorrow," the elder sister said, "But it could be weeks from now, maybe more!"
---
"Maybe more…" rung in the ears of Keiichi…and Belldandy as well. Still, Belldandy persisted in not making too much of a problem out of her plight. It took a day or two before the others hid their concern, and went on with life as best as could be carried out. Urd kept a line to the system technicians of Yggdrasil open every day; some days there were progress, others days there were not. But they took some small comfort that Belldandy had not worsened. She was her cheery, loving self, same as always, with no sign of changing. Daily life was inconvenienced here and there, not because Belldandy had no powers, but because she had become human. Usually, she could almost always read Keiichi like a book, but her sixth sense was gone. Tasks were just a bit more menial, and the strain of daily chores was mild, but physical pain was new to Belldandy. In every aspect, Belldandy was a normal, human woman, who now experienced the world from a smaller, insignificant perspective. The symbol of inner strength that she was, though, she took it all in stride in front of her sisters and her beloved Keiichi and his friends.
---
One day, Belldandy almost forgot about her situation. She had never thought of it as a real problem - she still lived with Keiichi, her two sisters were still there for her, and she had not made any great changes to her routine - but the others insisted that she try to be more careful. Until that day, of course. Finally, she had not heard any of them show any unnecessary concern for her well-being.
Curious. Was she bothered by their constant outpouring?
"Ouch!"
Belldandy looked down at what she was doing. She had been chopping up vegetables on the kitchen counter, until the knife pierced the flesh on her index finger. Quickly, it showed spots of red. She pressed her finger to put pressure on the wound, and brought it against her lips to wipe away the blood. It stung with pain, being exposed to the open air.
"Damn!"
The word barely escaped Belldandy's mouth before she noticed what she had said. With her good hand she covered her lips, and looked around. There was no one to hear it, as everyone was tending to their own tasks. The goddess brushed aside any thoughts of distress, and made light of the pain she was experiencing. Laughing quietly to herself, she wrapped some cloth around the cut and returned to what she was doing, not giving one more thought to her error.
TO BE CONTINUED.