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When Keiichi awoke from restless dreams, he found himself staring at a white rabbit, and the rabbit stared back.
"Ah!" he yelped, bolting upright. The rabbit jumped off the bed and onto the floor, and scratched its ear with a hind leg. Keiichi gave it a suspicious look, and it fixed him with a similarly uneasy look. Its red eyes were strangely bright, like polished gems. It stood up on its hind legs, its nose twitching as it cocked its head to the side, and Keiichi had to admit it was kind of cute, wherever it had come from.
Still, what was it doing in his bedroom of all places? And didn't wild rabbits have brown fur? Or was this one a lost pet? But that didn't answer how it had gotten into his bedroom in the first place.
A knock at the door drew both his attention and the rabbit's. "Keiichi, darling?" came Belldandy's sweet voice. "May I come in?"
"Uh, sure!" Keiichi replied without thinking.
The door opened, and Belldandy stepped inside. "Is something wr— oh, another one!" she exclaimed as the rabbit hopped over to her, and she knelt to scoop it into her arms.
"Wait, another one?" Keiichi repeated flatly.
Belldandy giggled as the rabbit nuzzled her cheek. "Come into the kitchen for breakfast, and I'll try to explain," she said, and left the bedroom with the rabbit in her arms.
"Well, she seemed calm, at least," Keiichi mumbled to himself. "Hopefully it's nothing serious…" Grumbling, he threw off the bed sheets and stood to get dressed.
What had he been dreaming about, anyway? Rabbits, maybe? Or just the moon? He couldn't remember.
The sight that awaited him in the kitchen - well, perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised by much these days, but still, even more rabbits? Skuld cuddled one while another rested lazily in Urd's lap, and two pawed at Belldandy's ankles, vying for her attention. She smiled warmly as she spotted Keiichi, and said, "Oh, good morning!"
At least her cooking smelled as delicious as ever, Keiichi thought. "Morning, Bell," he greeted. "What's with all the rabbits? Not another bug infestation, I hope."
Wordlessly Urd urged the rabbit off her lap and stood, and she put her arms around Keiichi's waist and Belldandy's and pushed them together. Keiichi's face grew warm, and Skuld stared intently at a scanner pointed at them. After a moment she let out a sigh, one of both relief and disappointment. "No, it's clean," she said. "Also, these rabbits are way cuter than those bugs!"
Keiichi sat at the table, and beside him a rabbit stared as he tried not to make eye contact. "So, these are just ordinary rabbits?"
"I believe they're spirits of some sort," Belldandy said, "but we're not yet sure why they're here."
"Now we're haunted by ghost bunnies…" Keiichi muttered.
"Spirits, not ghosts," Urd stressed, and another rabbit had jumped onto her lap and nudged her hand. "It's unlikely these creatures were ever mortal in the way you are."
"Then, what exactly are they?"
Both Urd and Skuld simply shrugged their shoulders in response.
While it was unnerving to be stared at by so many rabbits, they behaved while Keiichi and the goddesses ate breakfast. They were all white with red eyes, and had straight ears instead of lop ears. On instinct Keiichi tried to pet one, but his hand phrased through it, startling him. However, Urd had no problem petting the one in her lap, and Belldandy had held one earlier. Maybe they just liked goddesses better, Keiichi thought. He could understand that.
"Well, I guess I'm off to work," Keiichi said, and a number of rabbits stood at the door with him, as if seeing him off. "Behave while I'm gone, all right?"
"We'll see what more we can learn about these rabbits," Belldandy said, and she touched Keiichi's shoulder and kissed his cheek. "Please take care."
Keiichi smiled. "Thanks, Bell."
Fortunately, no random rabbits appeared at the mechanic workshop - he could barely imagine Chihiro's reaction at such a sight - and working on the day's motorcycles helped keep his mind off strange rabbits. Not that he was any stranger to weird happenings, but after dealing with the Gates of Judgment and performing a miracle for Belldandy's father, he'd hoped, perhaps naïvely, that life would be peaceful going forward.
On the other hand, spirit rabbits hardly ranked in the top ten strangest things that had happened to him, and they were rather cute, at least.
Thus the workday concluded without incident, and soon enough Keiichi was on the road again. Briefly he had feared he wouldn't be able to ride a motorcycle again, recalling that feeling of death on the impossible course Belldandy's father had conjured, but Belldandy had simply reassured him that love was always stronger than fear, and besides, she said he always looked so cool when he rode, and deep down, Keiichi knew he was a little vain too.
When he arrived home, there seemed more rabbits than before, and an unwanted thought struck him. "Hey, rabbits are herbivores, right?" he said nervously. "So, um…"
"They're spirits, so they don't need to eat or drink," Urd replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "So your floors are safe."
Keiichi let out a sigh of relief. If that monk ever did returned to this temple, he wouldn't have wanted to explain that!
On the table was a strange device resembling a radar, and Skuld scowled at the small display. Keiichi peered over her shoulder at the screen, but couldn't make heads or tails of the odd symbols. Skuld noticed him and jerked away, giving him an even deeper scowl. Clearing her throat, she said, "Urd's right, they're spirits and not very powerful either. They shouldn't be in this realm, but how they got here I haven't figured out."
Keiichi cast a glance at a nearby group of rabbits. Some hopped and played like normal rabbits, but others were still as statues. "Hey, where's Belldandy?"
"On a call with Heaven," Skuld answered. "She'll be finished soon."
"Hopefully it's a heavenly issue and not a demonic one…" Keiichi said.
"These rabbits are way too cute to be demonic!" Skuld exclaimed, affronted.
"It might be neither," Urd added. "There are more realms than just those two, you know."
While Keiichi had dealt with spirits before - such as the spirit Belldandy had beseeched to watch over Megumi's home or the ones summoned by that inexperienced exorcist - there was still much he didn't understand about them, he knew. Truth be told, he also wouldn't doubt Mara trying to curse them and it resulted in an unexpected explosion of cute rabbits instead.
Belldandy entered the living room, and as Keiichi, Urd, and Skuld all looked at her hopefully, she shook her head. "No one I spoke to had any explanation," she said, and a pair of rabbits scampered over to her. "At the very least, these rabbits don't seem malicious."
Keiichi tried to smile. "So then we're stuck taking care of them until we find their home? We can do that."
Yet Belldandy didn't seem assured. "Are you sure? I know why you're reluctant to open your heart to pets…"
"They're not really pets, though?" Keiichi scratched his cheek. "More like… guests, I think?"
"As long as they don't start chewing any wires…" Skuld muttered. "And they are far quieter than other guests we've had."
Urd let out a teasing laugh. "You say that, but I've heard the cutesy way you try to beckon them closer."
"Urk—!" Skuld exclaimed, her face bright red.
Thus the evening that fell was like any other evening in the household, save for all the rabbits prancing about. They didn't get underfoot and sometimes even phrased through solid objects - they really weren't ordinary bunnies - but Keiichi did feel slightly unnerved as a group intently stared at him as he undressed for a bath. Their red eyes were bright and seemingly endless, and briefly he wondered just how old some of them were.
He felt a pang he hadn't felt in a long time. He was mortal. He couldn't understand eternity.
Night fell, and he headed outside for some fresh air. A full moon greeted him - no, not quite full, as it had begun to wane since last night. The moon wasn't eternal either, but it certainly felt as such to an ordinary human like Keiichi.
He sat upon the terrace and let out a weak laugh. He hadn't been "ordinary" in years, not since he had asked a beautiful goddess to stay with him always. But she had loved him long before that.
Staring up at the almost-full moon, his mind ran down a familiar track. He hadn't taken Belldandy's offer seriously at first - a goddess help line, really? - but even hidden behind the veil of a joke he hadn't wished for power or fame or wealth, but instead companionship. Though maybe he had gotten fame in the end; after all, even if his mortal life was just a flash in a goddess' eyes, Belldandy and her sisters would remember him always.
A grim smile tugged at his lips. And to say nothing of the trouble he had caused Belldandy's parents or Urd's mother! (Hild still frightened him even now. In her presence, he felt little more than the puny mortal he was.) As he grew older, someday he would have to tell his sister and parents the truth about the ageless Belldandy. Or would she pretend to age alongside him?
He remembered the grief of the goddess of the lake when her lover had passed away, and shut his eyes tightly. The sight of Belldandy's tears had cut straight to the heart.
"So this is where you are," came a familiar voice, and beside Keiichi stood Belldandy. She smiled and sat beside him, her warmth welcomed. "Have the rabbits overwhelmed you?"
"Maybe a little bit," Keiichi answered with a laugh. "There's so many of them, and we still don't know where they came from."
"You have a good heart, Keiichi, so it isn't so surprising that lost spirits are drawn here."
"Nah, I think it's you they're looking for. Would you believe me if I said I was hoping for some peace and quiet after the whole ordeal with the Gates of Judgment?"
Belldandy chuckled quietly as she wrapped her hands around Keiichi's arm, and he caught a glimpse of that ring he had worked himself to the bone to get for her. "That was only a beginning, you know."
"There's no end to a goddess' love." Keiichi bit his lip. "I've been thinking about something Peorth told me once - that we'll be together for the rest of my life."
"Yes, that is true." Belldandy rested her head against Keiichi's shoulder. "And you are also right that there is no end to a goddess' love."
A gentle silence fell over the two of them, and Belldandy's soft hair tickled Keiichi's cheek. He didn't mind, though. He could ask over and over why Belldandy had chosen him, but she didn't like it when he was so self-deprecating, he knew. He had only wished to be with her. She had fallen in love with him of her own choice. She too had feared the pain of grief. But this would be their home together, until he drew his last breath, and no one had the right to tear them apart.
For Belldandy's sake, he would live until he was an old, old man, become the oldest living person ever, not just oldest living man, and then…
He shut his eyes a moment. No, there was no need to think that far ahead yet. He was still young, and still had to figure out where these rabbits had come from.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw that he and Belldandy were suddenly surrounded by the rabbits in question. They were still as statues, staring intently at the night sky. The light of the waning moon sapped the color from their eyes, and they almost appeared forlorn. Not that rabbits would make facial expressions, but still, when Keiichi looked at them now, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
"It's rather like a moon-viewing party, isn't it?" Belldandy said softly.
"Not really the right time of year for it, though," Keiichi replied, his voice just as quiet. Whatever these rabbits were staring at, he didn't want to disturb them.
Yet they all turned their gazes toward them at once, and it took all of Keiichi's willpower not to cower behind Belldandy.
"Moon… moon…" she muttered, and then exclaimed, "Ah! It was a full moon last night, wasn't it?"
"Uh, maybe? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was."
Belldandy turned her familiar smile toward the rabbits. "You are all from the moon, aren't you?"
Immediately the rabbits sprang into motion, crowding around Belldandy and Keiichi, and some even tried to hop onto her lap. She giggled and pet one rabbit between the ears, and Keiichi said, "So rabbits really do live on the moon…"
"In a sense," Belldandy said. "Your own culture has lunar deities, correct?"
"Yeah, like Tsukuyomi and Princess Kaguya, and there's Chang'e from China. And Artemis from Greece! Or was she Roman…? Wait, are you saying they're all real?"
"That isn't a question with a simple answer. Human belief is both beautiful and endless." Belldandy smiled gently at Keiichi. "Even we goddesses are influenced by such beliefs, although sometimes our names are different."
Keiichi rubbed the back of his neck and tried to smile too. "Honestly, I've never given religion much thought outside of holidays. But when you say these rabbits live on the moon, you don't mean the big hunk of rock in the sky, right?"
Belldandy shook her head. "As Urd said, these rabbits are spirits. They would live in a dimension more like Heaven's."
"And we still don't know how they got here…"
"No, we don't." Yet Belldandy's smile didn't falter. "Btu still, we might have something to go on, and tomorrow I can search Heaven's databases to find out more."
"Like if these rabbits can make mochi?" Keiichi said teasingly, and each of the rabbits shot him a pointed look, and Belldandy laughed.
Eventually the rabbits dispersed and Keiichi and Belldandy headed back inside. As far as strange happenings went, lost spirit rabbits were hardly the strangest, Keiichi thought, but he couldn't push from his mind how they had shared so longingly at the moon.
The following day, Belldandy was on a lengthy phone call with Heaven - fortunately, Keiichi's phone bill didn't record such extreme international calls - while Skuld shut herself in her room with her computer to research more about the strange rabbits and determine the exact coordinates of their home dimension. Keiichi had the day off from work, but being a normal human, he could do nothing to help. Thus he sat on the sofa, absentmindedly flipping through an outdated repair manual while waiting for news. Some rabbits sat beside him, and still didn't allow him to pet them. He sighed; if Megumi visited, how would he explain this sudden influx of rabbits?
Urd suddenly sat beside him, startling him. "Goodness, you look like a husband waiting for news about his wife's pregnancy," she said with a smirk.
"D-Don't even joke like that!" Keiichi stammered, his face hot. Megumi bothered him enough about children, and it wasn't like he could explain why not. (Fortunately, his parents weren't the type to harp on about grandchildren.)
"You make it so easy, though." Urd laughed. "There's no need to be so stiff."
"I know, I know," Keiichi muttered, his fingers tensing around the repair manual in his hands.
Urd's smile vanished. "There's something on your mind, isn't there?"
Keiichi chewed his lip. "Do you ever miss home?" he asked quickly.
"Where did that come from? And for the record, I consider this my home too." Urd crossed her legs and stretched her arms, and gave Keiichi a knowing wink. "Sure, me and Skuld are stuck here on Earth for the time being, after that while incident with the cherry tree, but it's been fun, really."
Keiichi chose not to comment that Urd had been grounded to Earth beforehand, and that use of a forbidden spell had resulted in her powers being sealed temporarily. "You basically invited yourself here, you know," he said instead.
"And you're the one who put in the naughty tape," Urd countered with another playful smirk. "Besides, I'm not the one you wanted to ask, am I?"
To that Keiichi had no reply, and he cast a glance at a pair of rabbits staring out the window, and Urd's smile was unexpectedly gentle.
By now Belldandy and Skuld returned to the living room, and a number of rabbits pranced around their ankles. Skuld smiled and bent to pet one, and Urd asked, "So what did you two discover?"
Belldandy hesitated. "We were right in that these rabbits are from the moon, but moon residents tend to be reclusive - even our databases have little about them."
"So how do we get them home?" Keiichi asked. "Do they want to go home?"
"That's the thing - they're not supposed to leave the moon at all," Skuld said. "Of course, the full moon causes strange things, and you humans have plenty of superstition about that."
"Right," Keiichi said with a nod, recalling what Belldandy had told him about human belief last night.
"Sounds like we're stuck with these rabbits until at least the next full moon," Urd added.
"That's partly true," Belldandy replied. "But I believe the rabbits came to us for a reason. They may want us to accompany them back to the moon."
Keiichi felt his jaw drop. "But why?" he exclaimed.
Belldandy frowned. "I can't say. However, there is something amiss, and I feel very strongly we should help."
Urd grinned. "That's the soft-hearted sister we all know and love!"
"Hey, don't forget about me!" Skuld pouted. "It'll take a powerful spell to create a path for us too, and we can't blow anything up," she added, casting a pointed glare at Urd.
"That tree needed to go, and it worked in ensuring Belldandy and Keiichi could stay together, right?"
Belldandy touched the ring around her finger, a faint blush gracing her cheeks. "Everything will be all right, of course," she said softly.
"What can I do to help?" Keiichi asked.
"If it's true these rabbits can't create a path home without the power of the full moon, then they'll be staying with us for a month." Belldandy smiled as a rabbit hopped into her arms. "So you'll need to be a gracious host for them until then."
Keiichi eyed a rabbit beside him, and it eyed him back just as strangely. They didn't require food or water, and he couldn't even pet them like the goddesses could. What exactly could he do for them? "Right…" he said uncertainly.
Urd clapped her hands together. "Well, big spells don't plan themselves!" She patted Skuld's shoulder. "Come, we have designs and numbers to figure out!"
"Oh dear, I hope she doesn't get too carried away," Belldandy said as she watched Urd drag Skuld to her room.
"At least she has something she can do…" Keiichi mumbled.
"Hm? Is something the matter?"
"No, nothing at all…"
Belldandy didn't seem convinced by Keiichi's reply, but much to his relief, she didn't press him either.
The weeks leading up to the full moon were rather mundane, as if there were no goddesses in Keiichi's life. The moon rabbits kept to themselves, still not letting Keiichi pet them. (That wasn't so bad, he tried to tell himself. It meant he wouldn't get attached.) While Keiichi was at work, Belldandy worked with her sisters to formulate the teleportation spell, and no matter how busy she was, she was always sure to welcome him home with a smile, which he was grateful for.
Still the strange noises he sometimes heard from Urd's room worried him, but nothing he wasn't already used to.
The night before the full moon, Keiichi and Belldandy sat together on the sofa, and she rested her head against his shoulder, having fallen asleep. He swallowed silently, his body stiff as a board. Rarely did he see her so vulnerable. But it wasn't so surprising - she was pushing herself to help these moon rabbits. Maybe she was a little of herself in them, unable to return home. Oh, she could visit Heaven easily enough, but until Keiichi drew his last breath, she had to remain on Earth.
He let out a sigh. She had told him repeatedly that she wasn't "stuck" with him, that her home was with him, and they wouldn't have passed the Gates of Judgment unless he had trusted her love. He had only wished for her to stay with him. She had chosen to love him, and a goddess' love was no small thing.
Urd draped a blanket around Keiichi and Belldandy, and he managed not to jolt and wake Belldandy. "You make a good pillow for my sister," Urd said quietly.
"She tells me not to push myself so hard, but she goes and does just that herself," Keiichi replied, his voice just as quiet. "I wish I could do more for her."
"You're there for her - that's what she would say." Urd chuckled, and it actually sounded sincere.
Carefully Keiichi tucked a strand of hair behind Belldandy's ear. He could be close to her now. There were no bugs to cause mischief, such as out-of-season localized snow. He'd kept his promise. His eyes fell upon her bright lips, but instead planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. He did love her. Whatever else happened, that much he knew to be true.
"Still so innocent, the both of you." Urd patted Keiichi's shoulder. "But be sure to get some rest too - the big day's tomorrow."
"Uh, sure." Keiichi nodded. He could sleep in this position. At least, he was pretty sure he could. When he had pulled all-nighters in university, he had managed to sleep in stranger positions.
Urd left the two of them alone, and a handful of rabbits hopped onto the sofa to gather around Belldandy, and their eyes seemed to glow as they stared at Keiichi. It was kind of creepy, to be honest, but he chose not to say that out loud. "We still don't know why you guys came here in the first place," he whispered.
The rabbits cocked their heads in unison, but unsurprisingly, said nothing.
The next night, Urd and Skuld had the sigils for the teleportation spell drawn into the ground in record time. (Keiichi cast a glance at the remains of the cherry tree and hoped nothing would blow up this time.) The rabbits stood outside the perimeter, staring up at the full moon.
"You know, we never actually saw the rabbits arrive," Keiichi said.
"You likely sensed their coming in a dream," Belldandy replied, and like her sisters she was dressed in her goddess robes - blue for her, violet for Urd, and red for Skuld. Keiichi knew he was biased, but Belldandy definitely looked loveliest.
As if reading Keiichi's thoughts, Urd cleared her throat loudly. "We should begin before the rabbits leave without us. Keiichi, you stand with Belldandy."
He nodded and took his place beside Belldandy at the northernmost point of the spell. He couldn't make heads or tails of it, and Belldandy had explained it was a number of spells woven into one. She smiled and took his hand into hers, and Urd and Skuld stood to the left and right of them respectively. It was always an odd feeling to be so close to a spell, especially as he hadn't even done anything to help with this spell. The rabbits gathered at the point opposite of Keiichi and Belldandy, and he had never been able to count exactly how many there were.
(Idly he wondered if these moon rabbits reproduced as quickly as regular rabbits did.)
Rays of light from the moon shined upon the rabbits, gathering them together. Belldandy inhaled a deep breath as her fingers tightened around Keiichi's, and her angel Holy Bell appeared from her back. He returned the squeeze of her hand with one of his own, and she began to sing.
A goddess' voice was power, and music amplified that power. First-class goddesses like Belldandy couldn't lie, so when she sang, there was no greater force or beauty. The language she sang now Keiichi could not comprehend, but even he could tell how careful and precise each note was. As Urd once told him, such spells required absolute conviction, with not a single note out of place. Thus Belldandy continued to sing, and the spell below them began to glow.
From their positions Urd and Skuld held out their hands, chanting their own spells as well. They did not summon their angels - Skuld's was not yet powerful enough for such a spell, much to her disappointment, and Urd didn't want her power to interfere with Belldandy's - so their roles were to keep the magic contained. The light brightened, gathering into the center of the spell.
Keiichi's breath caught in his throat, and his gaze remained fixed on Belldandy beside him.
The light solidified slowly, placing glowing steps one by one toward the moon, and the mundane sight of stairs surprised Keiichi, but then again, it wasn't like they were going to the physical moon. (He still had to breathe, for one thing.) How many steps there were, he couldn't count, and they sparkled like stars as they floated in the air.
Belldandy fell silent and Holy Bell vanished. With another smile she turned toward Keiichi and said, "Thanks to the rabbits giving me a little of their power, I was able to complete the spell."
"That was beautiful!" Keiichi exclaimed.
"Why, thank you," Belldandy giggled. "Well, shall we?"
Urd and Skuld took the lead, and the moon rabbits floated beside the path, prancing on rays of moonlight. Belldandy kept close to Keiichi as they climbed the magical steps, and before long he saw nothing below his feet but the night sky.
"Don't look back," Belldandy whispered into Keiichi's ear. "It's best to keep your eyes focused forward."
Keiichi nodded tensely, and Belldandy's fingers tightened around his. One step at a time, he told himself, and he didn't even bother trying to count how many steps there were. No matter how long he had spent with Belldandy, inter-dimensional travel never got any less strange. Belldandy leaned against him for support, and her own steps seemed to falter. He put his arm around her waist to steady her, and felt how she trembled. She had had performed a powerful spell, and if she used too much magic at once, he remembered, she sometimes fell asleep afterwards.
Urd and Skuld glanced back at Keiichi and Belldandy. "Belldandy?" Skuld said, her eyes wide in worry. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I am—" Belldandy began to say, but her words were interrupted when the steps beneath her and Keiichi began to quake. She threw her arms around him, and Urd summoned her angel World of Elegance to catch Skuld before she fell. However, the night sky below grew distorted, blotting out the stars, and the darkness erupted, engulfing both Keiichi and Belldandy before he could even scream.
For what seemed a long, long time, Keiichi and Belldandy fell, holding each other tightly, and her heartbeat against his chest reassured him they both still lived. She hummed a gentle melody and he felt soft feathers brush against his cheek, and eventually he no longer felt as if they were falling.
Yet he still saw nothing but darkness around them.
"Bell? Belldandy?" he exclaimed, his arms tight around her. No matter what, he wouldn't let her go.
Her hands groped for his face, and she let out a weak chuckle as she cupped his cheek. "Oh, Keiichi, what a relief," she said. "Stay with me, please. I just need to rest a moment…"
"Of course, of course," Keiichi said frantically, hoping Belldandy couldn't hear how his heart raced. He brushed his lips against her hair, cradling her against his chest. As long as he didn't let go, everything would be fine. He hoped.
"It is rare for us goddesses to travel beyond Earth and Heaven," Belldandy said suddenly. "I apologize, Keiichi. It appears I miscalculated the necessary magic."
"It's not your fault," Keiichi said as he shook his head. "And besides, when have big spells ever gone well for us? But it always works out for us in the end."
"I love you, Keiichi."
His heart skipped a beat, and his blood no longer ran quite so cold. "I… love you too, Bell."
"I… just need to rest my eyes a moment…"
Keiichi clenched his teeth as he laid his hand on Belldandy's hair. Sure, he was a mere mortal trapped in absolute darkness, but a goddess loved him. They had proved themselves before the Gates of Judgment. Even her parents had accepted him! He searched for her hand, and felt the ring he had worked so hard to gift her.
He inhaled a deep breath. "Hey, can anyone hear me? Urd! Skuld! Rabbits, you got us into this mess, now help us out!"
No answer came. Well, so be it, he thought.
He lifted Belldandy into his arms, letting her head rest against his chest. He would never say she was heavy, but even though he was a mechanic, he wasn't strong like Ootaki or Tamiya, and his legs and arms strained beneath Belldandy's weight. Yet he forced himself to take a step forward, and then another, and another.
Weekly Belldandy's arms came around Keiichi's neck. "Keiichi…?"
"Trust me, please. Let me do this much for you at least."
The darkness was unrelenting, but Belldandy began to hum again, and faint light appeared in the far, far distance. The longer he walked, eventually white rabbits appeared around his feet, walking alongside him. Around him the darkness began to crack, and when it shattered, it almost blinded him.
"Belldandy!"
As Keiichi's vision adjusted, Skuld dashed over to him and Belldandy, and she clutched her sister's arm as Keiichi helped Belldandy to her feet. Crystalline walls surrounded them, giving a clear view of the starry sky above, and ahead stood Urd with a long-haired person in flowing blue robes, and rabbit pranced around them both.
"The rabbits found you," Urd said with a relieved sigh. "My sister really is in good hands with you, Keiichi."
"You have so much to explain," Keiichi said breathlessly, ignoring Skuld's glare.
Later, Keiichi and the goddesses gathered around a small table for tea, and their host introduced themself as a moon deity and the caretaker of these rabbits.
"I must apologize!" they exclaimed, clapping their hands together. "As two who have passed the Gates of Judgment, you both have become rather famous among us divine beings, and well, I suppose my rabbits thought I'd like to meet you."
"But they became trapped without the power of the full moon," Belldandy said. "Goodness, I had no idea our fame had reached so far."
Keiichi took a careful sip of his tea, and it was rather delicious. "I could do without the fame, really," he replied. "But wait - Belldandy said those of the moon are usually reclusive."
"Yes, that is true." The moon deity sighed. "I'd forgotten how painful loneliness is before my rabbits left for Earth. Thank you so very, very much for helping them."
Keiichi glanced around the crystalline palace, like something out of a girls' manga he read once long ago. It certainly was beautiful, but seemed too vast for just one person and their pets. "Are you really alone here…?" he asked, the question spilling out of his mouth before he could even think about it.
"We moon types are a reclusive bunch," the moon deity said with a weak smile. "There are as many of us as the human imagination, but we each have our own… dimension, so to speak."
"That's why finding the exact coordinates was such a pain," Skuld said. "And I ended up pushing my sister so hard…"
"That isn't your fault," Belldandy said, touching Skuld's shoulder. "As a first-class goddess, it was my responsibility to perform the hardest part of the spell."
"And yet you're always telling Keiichi to take better care of himself," Urd said to Belldandy.
Belldandy's face grew a bright red, but she said nothing in response.
Keiichi laid his hand over Belldandy's. "We took on the Gates of Judgment together. You can lean on me too."
A soft smile came upon Belldandy's lips. "That is what has been bothering you this past month, isn't it? But Keiichi, I've always told you that you being there for me is enough." She pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. "Now and forever. Thank you, my darling."
This time it was Keiichi's turn to blush, but he smiled as well.
"Once, I fell in love with a mortal too, but we… could not be together," the moon deity said. "Keiichi, Belldandy, the love you two share is truly beautiful."
There was still much Keiichi didn't understand about divine beings, so perhaps he was overstepping an unspoken boundary, but he asked anyway. "If you're feeling lonely, why not come visit us sometime? Your rabbits thought it was a good idea."
The moon deity's eyes widened. "Truly?"
Belldandy nodded. "We would be delighted."
Rabbits hopped onto the moon deity's lap, and they laughed as they pet their rabbits. "I will think about it. Perhaps it is time for those of the moon to forge new bonds."
The group soon finished their tea - and Keiichi tactfully refrained from asking about mochi - and the moon deity was powerful enough to create a new, stable path back to Earth. They all exchanged a chorus of goodbyes and promises, and once more Keiichi and goddesses walked above the stars. (How many mortals could claim such feat? He was just thankful he could still breathe.)
Before long they were back in front of their home, and when Keiichi glanced behind himself, the magical path had already vanished. "You know, I think I'll miss those rabbits," he said.
Belldandy took Keiichi's hand into hers and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Welcome home, darling."
Keiichi smiled; he would never tire of hearing those words. Beside him Urd grinned while Skuld simply shook her head in resignation.