Chapter 2 

Scene :
The Tarikihonganji temple, a crisp early November morning. The sky is 
clear, and pale sunshine falls across the temple's roof, shimmering 
rainbows glinting amongst the crystalline patina of frost on the ancient 
tiles, as a gentle breeze rustles and stirs the fallen leaves scattered 
across the courtyard.
The scene pans slowly left-to-right, then zooms inwards, showing us the 
interior of a room, the sliding door on one side open to partially 
reveal a kitchen. This is currently occupied by four people; two women, 
a girl, and a man.

The younger of the two women is humming happily, a pleasant lift-muzac 
sort of tune as she continues to prepare and serve a sumptuous breakfast 
for the others. Her feet hardly seem to touch the floor as she glides 
about, deftly preparing and setting out food, a small happy smile on her 
face. Belldandy is obviously a morning person (er, goddess).

Urd, on the other hand, most certainly isn't. Hands cupping a steaming 
mug of black coffee, she looks blearily at the breakfast TV/News 
programs, occasionally taking a sip and huddling a bit more back into 
her robe; despite the warmth coming from the kitchen, there is still an 
occasional waft of cold air drifting through the room.

Skuld and Keiichi are busy devouring the food in front of them, Keiichi 
with the somewhat preoccupied air of someone who is torn between taking 
his time to enjoy the food, and being late for classes, with the added 
bonus of being able to take a few moments out to worry about what his 
Auto-club friends are liable to have gotten him into today. Skuld is 
just eating, neatly and efficiently, while next to her a small mecha 
holds and steadily turns the pages of the current Scientific American 
for her to read, occasional small giggles from her breaking the soft 
sound of munching as she sees a conjecture she finds particularly naiive 
or amusing.

This scene of quiet domesticity is broken suddenly by a sharp clattering 
crash of breaking china.
Keiichi looks up, alarmed, to see a broken cup at Belldandy's feet, 
while she is holding her palm against her forehead.

"Belldandy! Are you OK?"

Urd and Skuld look over, their own concerns forgotten as they look 
curiously at their sister, each feeling a slight sense of anticipatory 
unease.

Belldandy smiled, a trifle shakily, but reassuringly at Keiichi.
"I'm sorry, Keiichi-san, the cup was slippery with soap and I dropped 
it. I wasn't paying attention and it startled me."

Keiichi still looked a little worried, but wasn't about to argue with 
her when she sounded so certain. He nodded, and got up.

"Well, as long as you are OK. I have to be getting off..."

In his preoccupation, he didn't see the covert looks that Belldandy and 
her sisters exchanged, ones of `What's REALLY the matter, you don't 
really expect us to believe that lame explanation' , and `Shush, I'll 
explain it all once Keiichi is out of the way'.

Oblivious (as usual) to all the sisterly non-verbal communication going 
on over his head, Keiichi smiled, and stretched upward slightly to kiss 
Belldandy gently on the cheek.
"The Auto club dosn't have anything planned tonight, so I'll be home 
the usual time, OK, Belldandy?"

Behind his back, Skuld made a small grimace, but nothing more; this 
wasn't the time to start teasing the two of them about their 
relationship, not with the shadow she could clearly see behind 
oneesama's reassuring smile.

Belldandy smiled at him, pleased at the unusual show of affection, and 
squeezed his hand gently.
"Of course, I'll have dinner waiting for you, Keiichi-san. Go on now, 
you don't want to be late.."

He nodded, and grabbed his jacket from the door, pulling it on as he 
walked out into the hallway. The sisters exchanged another round of 
glances, but Belldandy shook her head slightly.
Finally, they heard the stuttering cough of Keiichi's motocycle starting 
up, followed by the sound of it leaving. Belldandy finally sighed 
deeply, and sat down, looking a little upset.
 
Urd walked over, sitting down next to her, a worried frown on her face 
as she looked at her younger sister, slipping her arm about her waist in 
reassurance.
"What was it, Bell-chan? You felt something, what?"

Skuld nodded in agreement, one hand idly playing with the handle of the 
long bug-smashing hammer on her back.

Belldandy looked up at her sisters' worried faces.
"I.. I don't really know. I never felt anything like it before. It was 
as if something very evil appeared, just for a moment, and then vanished 
again - I can't think of any other way to describe it. It was so awful, 
it made me feel sick, that's when I dropped the cup. And now... I can't 
feel it, but I still have this _feeling_ that something is going to 
happen. Not evil, not like the other, but... something. Closeby. That's 
why I wanted to make sure Keiichi was gone, if it feels close to here 
he'll be safer at Nekomi Tech, and I'll feel much happier if he isn't 
involved."

Urd hmmd thoughtfully to herself, brow furrowed in thought.
"Something happening, nearby... could it be caused by that evil, even 
if it doesn't feel evil?"

Belldandy shrugged helplessly.
"I just don't know, I can't feel that awful thing at all any more.

Urd looked down at Skuld, and nodded slowly.
"Bugs?"

Skuld bit her lip thoughtfully, and a small mech trundled into the room, 
bearing a miscellaneous selection of her favourite items. She started 
ploughing through them, yanking her PA out of her pocket with her free 
hand, muttering technical terms under her breath.
Finally finding what she wanted, she hurriedly plugged items together, 
putting on a complex headpiece, fingers flying across the PA's keyboard.

Her sisters looked at her in anticipation. For a short while, it was 
quiet but for a faint electrical hum, and the quiet ticking of the 
idling mecha, that and the muffled stacatto clicking of Skuld's typing.
Finally, she stopped, her eyes peering around the room behind the 
enveloping goggles she is wearing.

"No bugs"

Both Urd and Belldandy looked surprised.
"None? But..."

Skuld shook her head.
"I'm sorry, oneesama, none. In fact, there is the lowest level of bug 
activity I've ever seen, I don't think I've ever heard of them being so 
peaceful. Whatever upset you, it can't have been a bug infestation."

Urd muttered something. Both her sisters looked at her, Belldandy with a 
small puzzled frown furrowing her brow, Skuld with a frown that rather 
more resembled a scowl.

"Well, since your tech can't find anything, why don't I try a spell or 
two...?"

"Ah, Urd, thankyou, but I'm sure it's nothing"
Belldandy hoped her sister wouldn't see the sweat drop on the back of 
her head. Somehow, the thought of ones of Urds' rather-more-than-
slightly unreliable spells interfering right now was something that 
worried her somewhat more than usual.

Skuld just scowled deeper, muttering something under her breath about 
incompetant, bulls and china-shops, fortunately too softly for Urd to 
hear.

Belldandy patted her elder sister gently on the arm.
"Well, Urd, whatever I foresensed, it doesn't seem hostile. And if it 
happens soon - we'll know what it is, neh? So lets just wait and 
see..."

Urd scowled a little herself, but gave in with fairly good grace. Then 
she looked upward, lost in thought, fingers absently rubbing her 
wrist...
"Well, if we haven't been alerted from Heaven, I guess it can't be 
anything that important..."

(to be continued)