Aaaghh!"

The ringing of the phone startled Keiichi so much that the pencil in his
hand snapped, smudging the blueprints he was working on. Muttering a
bit, Keiichi grabbed another from the cup on his drawing table, and
erased the stray mark.

The phone continued to ring.

*Why doesn't someone get that?* Keiichi thought to himself, as he tried
to figure out where he had left off. This project was due tomorrow, and
he was hurrying to finish on time. His professor was notorious for
refusing to accept late work, and Kei was afraid that he'd be pulling an
all-nighter.

The phone rang again, and Keiichi suddenly remembered: He was the only
one home at the moment. Belldandy had taken her sisters out shopping
earlier that day, so that he could have some peace and quiet to work.
Keiichi smiled to himself. *Bell... you are always so considerate....*

Keiichi was startled out of his reverie by another insistent ring from
the telephone. He jumped up from his desk and dashed out into the hall,
grabbing the handset before it could ring again. "Morisato residence,
Keiichi here."

"Is this... uh... Keiichi Morisato?" The loud female voice immediately
began to irritate Keiichi. *Didn't I just say that?* However, he did
his best to keep the irritation from his voice as he replied, "Yes,
that's me."

"Ah, Mr... Morisato, my name is Ex, and I'm with the Helper Goddess
Office. I'm calling you as part of our Quality Control Program for
Customer Satisfaction Assessment. I have a few questions for you --"

Keiichi tried to interrupt, to explain why he couldn't do this now. "Uh,
look, I really don't have --"

"This is Keiichi Morisato I'm speaking to, yes?"

"Yes, but --"

"And you did place a call to the Goddess Technical Help Line last year,
correct?"

"Yes, well --"

"Now let me see...." Keiichi could hear the clicking of a computer
keyboard in the background. "Your access request was answered by... the
goddess Belldandy, right?"

Keiichi sighed. "Yessss..."

"Well, then." There was a barely muted triumph in her voice, oddly
mixed with boredom. "Since Belldandy granted your access request, you
were given a wish. My job is to make sure that you, the customer, are
satisfied with the quality of your granted wish. So, I'll just need a
few minutes of your time."

Keiichi had already surrendered; he had picked up the base of the phone
and taken it back into his room, silently giving thanks that the phone
had an extra-long cord. "Okay, okay, go ahead, I'm listening." Keiichi
sat down and wearily rested his head on his desk.

"All right, then, Mr. Morisato. We've already established that you made
an access request, and the goddess Belldandy responded to your request
by contracting with you for a wish." The operator had settled into the
bored monotone of someone reading from a script for the umpteenth time.
"Now, has your wish been fulfilled?"

"Yes, so far," mumbled Keiichi.

"Excuse me?"

Keiichi raised his head from the desk. "I said, yes, so far." He began
to realize that answering this woman's questions and continuing to work
on his homework were mutually exclusive.

"So far? Hmmm." There was another burst of typing sounds in the
background. "Would you say that your wish was fulfilled in a timely
fashion?"

"Err... yes, I suppose."

More typing. "Are you satisfied with how your wish was fulfilled?"

"Well, yes, very much so."

"Could you elaborate on that, please, Mr. Morisato?"

Keiichi was taken aback by that one. That's getting a bit personal,
now.... Aloud, he responded, "Well, uh, this past year having Belldandy
here with me has been the best --"

"Wait -- wait a minute." The typing had stopped. "'Having Belldandy
here with...'" The operator had been surprised out of her usual
routine. "You mean... Belldandy is still there?!"

"Well, not right at this moment, but, well, yes."

"Umm, so your contract is one that is taking an extended period to
fulfill, correct?" It sounded as if Ex had regained a portion of her
composure.

Keiichi smiled. "You could say that, yes."

"All right then.... Hold one moment please." Keiichi heard some muted
clicks and beeps. "Okay, Mr. Morisato, I've pulled up your initial
contract file here. Your wish was --" There was a pause. Keiichi amused
himself by imagining the look on the operator's face. "You wished for a
goddess like her to be with you _forever!?_"

Keiichi's smile widened. "Yes, that's correct!"

The operator sounded as if she was in shock. "And that wish was
approved? I don't believe it! This is highly irregular..."

Another moment of silence passed. "Umm, is that the end of the
questions? Because I've got this project I need to finish --"

"Look, Mr. Morisato, this is all very unusual. Your wish -- well, it's
quite irregular. I'm going to have to check with my supervisor about
the validity of this contract."

"What? Hey, wait a minute --" But all Keiichi heard was a click and
then some light music. He had been put on hold.

*Oh, well,* Keiichi thought. *At least I can get some more work done.*
He cradled the phone between his shoulder and his ear while he continued
his calculations.

A few minutes passed. Keiichi had begun to hum along with the music,
when he suddenly realized what the operator had said. Check on the
validity of the contract!? After all that he and Bell had been through
that past Christmas, was he in danger of losing her again?

Keiichi firmly pushed that thought from his mind. Even Kami-sama had
said that Belldandy could stay. He was sure that this was just some
computer glitch. He hoped....

With another click, the music stopped, startling Keiichi. "Hello?
Hello?"

The voice of the operator was hushed, almost respectful. "Mr. Morisato?
It seems... it seems that my supervisor would like to speak to you."

Keiichi felt as if his heart had stopped for a moment. "Your
supervisor?"

"Yes.... Please hold for Kami-sama."

Kami-sama? Keiichi's pencil fell from his suddenly nerveless fingers.
Oh boy...

The phone clicked again, and Keiichi almost jumped across the floor.
Before he could say anything, a deep, mellifluous voice spoke from the
handset. "Greetings to you, Keiichi Morisato. How are you today?"

Keiichi was frozen in shock. *It--it's Kami-sama,* he thought
nervously, *and he's making small talk with me!* All that came from
Kei's mouth was a nervous stuttering sound.

"Keiichi? Are you there?" The voice of Kami-sama was at first
concerned, then amused. "Ah. Please, relax. I just want to have a few
words with you."

As if those words had flipped a switch in his mind, Keiichi felt a
measure of calmness pour into him. Kei's body relaxed a bit, and he let
out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. He cleared his
throat, still just a little nervous. "Uh, good day, sir! I'm doing
fine, I think..." Keiichi looked at his project spread in front of him
and sighed.

Kami-sama chuckled a bit. "Don't worry about your schoolwork, Keiichi.
I will endeavor to not take too much of your time, but I do need to have
a serious talk with you."

"Thank you, Kami-sama." Keiichi was surprised to note that his voice
had steadied. "What about, sir?"

"You are in a unique situation, Keiichi Morisato. I know of no other
mortal who has shared residence with not one, but three goddesses for
any length of time."

"Yes, well, things sometimes get a little rough, I mean between Urd and
Skuld, but Belldandy always fixes things." Keiichi swallowed nervously.
"I mean, we've all kind of settled down. Like a family, I guess."

The amusement had returned to Kami-sama's voice. "Oh? We still
occasionally register energy surges centered on your location, you
know."

Keiichi floundered a bit. "Sibling rivalry," was all that he could
think to say.

Amusement gave way to kindly laughter. "Well put, Keiichi. I couldn't
have said it better myself." Keiichi joined in the laughter for a bit,
but abruptly fell silent. *This is GOD that I'm talking to!* he
reminded himself, awestruck. Kami-sama continued to laugh for a moment.

"Speaking of that, Keiichi," Kami-sama went on, "how are you doing with
both Urd and Skuld living there with you and Belldandy?"

"I -- I'm not sure what you mean, sir." *Kami-sama wants MY opinion on
something?*

"Well, although I have been keeping track of events, I would like to
know how you are doing. After all, Urd's dealings with the world of men
have not always been for the best, and Skuld hasn't had much experience
there at all. How do you think things are going?"

Keiichi racked his brain for a response to that one. "Uh... things are
going fine, sir. Urd and Skuld have picked up a lot of... people
skills, I guess you could call it. And they seem to be adjusting to
life down here okay." *Meaning, of course, nothing's blown up
lately....*

Kami-sama chuckled a little. "I agree with you, Keiichi. Urd and Skuld
are benefiting greatly from their time on earth. They are learning how
to relate to mortals on mortal terms, both by observing Belldandy, who
has a natural knack for it, and by living with you. You've been a good
influence on them."

The compliment caught Keiichi by surprise. "Why...thank you very much,
sir!"

"You're very welcome, Keiichi. But checking up on Urd and Skuld wasn't
the reason why I wanted to speak to you."

Keiichi put down his pencil, confused. "I... I don't understand, sir."

"I am curious as to how you feel about living with three goddesses."

"Sir?"

"Belldandy lives there because of your wish, and because she wishes it
too; Skuld is there as an earth-trainee; and Urd, well, Urd is working
off some suspensions she's accumulated. But, at least with Urd and
Skuld, no one has really asked you how you feel about the situation. I
would like to remedy this now."

Keiichi was beyond surprise at this point.

"So, Keiichi Morisato," Kami-sama went on, "you have gone through many
trials in the past year. Your life has been disrupted greatly --
everything from system bugs to demon attacks, yet you have borne it
well. Better, in fact, than any mortal could be reasonably expected
to."

Keiichi interjected, "But sir, even if living with three goddesses
helped cause these... trials, isn't it also true that living with three
goddesses helped me deal with them?"

"Yes, this is true."

"Well, then," Kei went on, "there are benefits to living with three
goddesses."

"This is also true, Keiichi. What I am asking you, then, is whether in
your mind the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Are you willing to
continue having all three goddesses live with you?"

Kei felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead. "Well..." A
surprisingly unpleasant thought suddenly occurred to Keiichi.
"Kami-sama, if I could ask --"

"Go ahead, Keiichi."

Kei swallowed nervously. "Er... are you trying to tell me that... you
need Urd and Skuld back in Heaven?"

"Oh, no, don't worry, Keiichi," Kami-sama said, reassuringly. "Even
though the Helper Goddess Office is a bit short-handed right now, the
benefits of Urd's and Skuld's experiences living on earth certainly
justify a little extra work here. Besides, there are a few other
divisions that can pick up the slack."

"And...(gulp)... Belldandy?"

"Ah, Belldandy. Now that's a different case altogether." Kei's heart
froze for a moment. "Do not fear, Keiichi," Kami-sama continued. "Now
that the problem with the bug exhaust port has been eliminated, all is
as it was before. Belldandy has been released from her duties here in
Heaven in order to fulfill your wish."

For the first time since this phone call began, Keiichi truly relaxed.
Kami-sama had just laid his last nagging fears to rest. *I still have a
hard time believing that such a wonderful goddess would stay with me --
on the strength of a wish!* Kei thought to himself.

"Well, that's easy to explain, Keiichi," said Kami-sama, just as if
Keiichi had spoken aloud. "It's not just your wish at work here."

"Uh -- what?!"

"Never mind, Keiichi. All will become clear in time." Again, Kami-sama
sounded amused about something. "We have gotten a bit off topic here."

"I'm sorry, sir...."

"Don't worry about it, Keiichi. Take your time -- think about it."

Keiichi frowned in thought. "Well, I guess there have been a lot of
hard times in the past few months..." Kei thought of some of the things
that had happened since he began living with the goddesses. Little
things, like Aoshima trying to steal Belldandy away from him; bigger
things, like the demon Mara turning his sister Megumi into a car (*but
oh, what a nice car that was....* Keiichi shook his head abruptly --
stay on the subject!); to that horrible business with the bug exhaust
port that almost took Bell away for good. He shuddered a bit.

But then, Kei remembered how Urd and Skuld worked so hard together to
solve the problem and close the port. He remembered how Urd helped him
regain his energy, during that week when it seemed he was working twenty
four hours a day. He remembered how Urd, and later Skuld, would always
lend a hand with the motor club, from helping recruit members to
cheering at races, to building -- and sometimes rebuilding -- vehicles
from the ground up.

*On the other hand,* thought Keiichi, *there's the way that Skuld kept
on trying to prevent Belldandy and me from getting too close, while at
the same time Urd keeps on trying to push us closer together --*

Keiichi shook his head again. He gathered his courage in both hands,
and in a rush, he said, "Kami-sama, sir, I'm sorry, but it's no good
trying to weigh benefits and drawbacks."

"Oh?" Kami-sama replied. Keiichi swallowed hard, and continued.

"Yes, sir. I mean, well, there will always be good and bad things about
living here with three goddesses. But like I said before, we've become
a family. Yes, we have occasional... difficulties, but we always work
through them. We've stuck together, through both the good and the bad.
Being together means more than just profit and loss..." Keiichi trailed
off at this point.

"It is true that you have managed to surmount every 'difficulty' you
have had to face, Keiichi, but I must warn you that these trials are not
going to get easier." Kami-sama said. His voice had become more stern.
The atmosphere in the room seemed to darken, to get a bit heavier. "In
fact, they are going to get much harder."

Kei's eyes opened a bit wider at this. "Harder...."

"Yes, Keiichi. I must warn you that many problems await you on the path
you are taking. You will be faced with forces that are beyond your
comprehension, forces which haven't been seen on earth in millenia."

The dark, foreboding tones of Kami-sama's voice sent a chill into
Keiichi. Kami-sama's words brought with them premonitions of danger,
faint visions of an ancient evil awakening, all of them fighting for
their lives. Kei closed his eyes against the dark visions.

A moment passed before Keiichi felt he could speak. "Well, I appreciate
the warnings, sir. I understand that you want to spare me from too much
difficulty." He took a deep breath. "But, Kami-sama, sir, well, if I
can help fight this coming evil, I want to do all I can. I mean, I know
I'm only a mortal, but I think that together, Bell, Urd, Skuld and I can
do... anything." Keiichi felt as if he were holding up a shield against
the darkness, and that shield was -- "We love each other, Kami-sama. We
are a team. We are... a family."

"Once again, well said, Keiichi!" Kami-sama's voice had returned to
being friendly. Keiichi let out his breath in a whoosh.

"Thank you, Kami-sama," he said, weakly.

A new, more formal note entered into Kami-sama's voice. Almost
imperceptibly, the room began to brighten. "You have chosen a hard
road, Keiichi Morisato. However, as you have begun to learn, the
hardest roads can lead to the greatest rewards." The light in the room
was now noticeably brighter. Keiichi sat up straighter, eyes turned
towards the heavens.

"The love you share with Belldandy will serve you in good stead as you
travel the road you have chosen, but the kinship you claim with Urd and
Skuld will also help you just as much." The light was so bright now
that Keiichi could almost feel it flowing through him, filling his soul
with the weight of Kami-sama's approval.

"My blessings upon you and your household, Keiichi Morisato. You have
been tested and found worthy. You have earned the love of my daughter,
Belldandy. You have earned the trust and friendship of my daughters,
Urd and Skuld. May that love and friendship serve you well in the days
to come."

The light had gotten so bright that it was too much to bear; and yet,
Keiichi felt that he could stand it forever. Impossibly, it grew even
more intense, until --

***

Keiichi blinked for a moment, disoriented. *What just happened?* The
past few hours seemed to blur in his memory. *I was on the phone
with....* He gathered his wits back together and looked over the papers
spread in front of him. *But then how did I get so far on my homework?*
he thought to himself. Kei looked at the clock, then back at the
blueprints he was working on. *Anyway, I should be finished in no
time.* He put down his pencil and stretched.

Kei heard the sound of the front door sliding open, followed by the
voice of Belldandy. "Keiichi? How are you doing?" He smiled.

"Great! I got a lot done while you were out," Keiichi called out.

"Oh good," replied Bell, stepping into his room. "We ran into Megumi at
the market. I've invited her to stay for dinner, if that's all right."
Megumi peeked from behind Belldandy and waved.

"That would be just perfect," said Keiichi, grinning widely. "Need a
hand?"

"Oh, no, Keiichi! You need to finish your project!"

"It's okay -- I'll have time to finish after dinner. Hey, Urd!" Keiichi
said, seeing Belldandy's sister peering into his room. "How are you
today?"

"Fine," Urd said absently. She looked at the phone. "Were there any
calls while we were out?"

Keiichi looked down, puzzled, until he noticed the phone still sitting
by his desk. All at once, details of the last few hours flooded back
into his mind, along with several options for responding to that
question. Somehow, he didn't feel the need to explain exactly what the
call was about -- after all, why worry everyone? "Ahh... oh, yeah," he
said, in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone. "Just some relative,
checking up on how we're doing...."

Behind Urd, Keiichi spotted Skuld coming in, carefully trying to balance
a number of bags and parcels in her arms. "Hey, Skuld, Megumi, let me
help you with those." He quickly scooted around Urd and into the
hallway.

Urd hung back for a moment, staring quizzically at the phone. Out of
the corner of her eye, she thought she had seen it. . . glowing.

But the more she looked at it, the more she was convinced that it had
been a trick of the setting sun. Urd shrugged to herself and followed
Keiichi and Belldandy into the kitchen.