Ah! We Really Screwed Up! (Ah! My Goddess!)

An Ah! My Goddess! fanfic
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Kosuke Fujishima
Part 2 of 3: This is a continuation of Ah! I'm Going to Sneeze!



"I'm sorry you didn't have such a good time tonight…" Yuichi started.

"No! I should apologize! I'm the one who ruined everything!" Sora interrupted, sounding almost on the verge of tears.

Yuichi laughed for almost a minute strait. "Are you kidding? I had a great time! Actually I…" He stopped abruptly, still smiling, but whatever else he was going to say he kept to himself. He looked directly into her eyes. His gaze was intense. Sora had never seen anyone look at her like that before. He put his hand to her cheek.

"What…" but she couldn't finish her question. He leaned forward and their lips met. Her eyes closed and, as if on auto-pilot, her hands found their way to his back. For a moment she could feel nothing else in the entire world except for the warmth that was filling up inside of her. Then she became aware of something else. Her eyes shot open.

"Wait…" she whispered.

"Why?" He asked.

"I have… to… snee… HAAAAT-SHOOO! (*squeak*)"

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Sora opened her eyes. Her face was cradled in Yuichi's gentle hand. Her hands, which she had intended to cover up with, were pressed against the outside of his. The realization of what she'd done horrified her - 'I. just. Sneezed. Into. His. Hand.' The thought made her wish she could vanish into thin air on the spot. She waited and braced herself for his disgust… his rejection. In a few seconds she knew she would start to cry. But that disgust never came.

Yuichi gently raised her face up, so she was looking into his kind and loving eyes. She was lost for a moment in those eyes. They grew bigger, as he leaned forward and their lips met again. Inside her it felt like that sad, frightened girl was now only a distant memory. She was filled body and soul by a warmth that felt as foreign to her as confidence. Her hand found its way to the back of his head. She had no idea how. She was holding him so tightly she was almost afraid she'd crush him. Then she held him even tighter as she fumbled for the doorknob with her other hand.

Of course the door was locked and they had to stop kissing so the she could fish the key out of her purse and unlock the door. Neither said a word, each looking at the other with shy smiles and nervous laughter. She took him by the hand and led him inside.

Once they were inside, her nervousness returned. She felt so good just seconds ago, what had happened? She didn't know what to say, or how to get back to where they just were; where she so much wanted to return to. She turned to say something… What? She didn't know. Offer him a cup of coffee, maybe? Did she even have any? It didn't matter. As she turned, he was right there and she was in his arms. He kissed her again, and the nervousness vanished. In her entire life she had never felt this happy. She had never felt this loved.

Somehow she found herself sitting on the sofa. Their lips pressed against one another. She could feel his hands, one on the back of her head, the other on her side. She could feel its warmth against her ribcage. Her heart was pounding. His hand moved ever so slightly. His thumb and index finger pressed against her, just beneath one of her small breasts. Voices of insecurity tried to speak, but only in whispers now. She wasn't even aware of where her hands were. She wanted him to touch her. She wanted him to take her. But she was brought back to awkward reality as a now familiar tickle crept into her nose.

"Wait…" She whispered. He was still kissing her.

"huh…?" He stopped, looking into her eyes through the glasses that magnified them.

"Hafta… sn… eeze… hup-*chew*!" She hated that high-pitched squeak. But when she looked back he was smiling, almost laughing, so she did the same. "I'm sorry. Must still be some cat hair or something from the party."

"It's OK," he whispered back. "You look so cute that way. I… I think you're really beautiful."

She could feel her face getting flushed. "You must say th-that a… lot… th-then… hup-*chew*!" She had turned away in time and when she faced him again, he dabbed the sides of her nose with a tissue.

"Now, now," he continued in a whisper. "I don't say that a lot and I do mean it. I don't know what you think about yourself, but I think you are beautiful."

"Even wh-when… hang on…" her eyes narrowed and she turned to the side again taking in a long sharp breath. "hup-*chew*! Even when I can't stop sneezing, and my nose is running like a faucet? Thanks, by the way." She nodded at the tissue in his hand.

"Especially when…" He cut himself off in mid sentence and remained silent for a moment longer. "Hasegawa… I really want to tell you something, but I don't know how you'll take it."

"*sniff* What is it?" She whispered, concerned that he was about to tell her something dreadful. Did he already have a girlfriend? Was he just not interested in her that way? The whispers of insecurity were screaming now. She sat up, and looked at him intently.

"I… ah… Oh boy, this is awkward." Cleary something was really bothering him.

Sora was as much surprised that she could even make such a great guy feel awkward as she was nervous about what he was about to tell her. She felt cold. She could no longer feel any trace of the warmth that had filled her just moments ago. She braced herself for the worst, leaned forward and whispered "You can tell me. It's OK."

He took a deep breath. "When I said 'especially' just now… Well… you see, I really meant that. When I said you were beautiful I really meant that and… when I said you were cute when you sneezed… well… I meant that too. In particular… I really like the way you look, and sound… when you… sneeze."

She sat bolt upright and stared at him, clearly confused. "Wait… What are you talking about? What do you mean? Like you have some kind of a sneezing fetish or something?" She wasn't sure where this voice was coming from. Was she angry? She wasn't sure. Didn't she really like him? Didn't he make her happy? Does what he just said really change anything?

"Well… yeah." He wasn't looking at her anymore.

She didn't feel so good now. Her old voice was back, filled with rejection and disappointment. If she had been flying before, she was clearly on the ground now. "So… that's the reason you came home with me? That's really why you're here, isn't it?" She sounded ashamed.

"No! No, that's not it at all! I really like you, I…" But he could tell she didn't believe him.

She wanted to believe him, but how could she? She didn't believe in herself. She had been bothered by a single thought all night, the only imperfection aside from these mysterious allergies that kept bothering her: Why? Why did he pick me? How could he like someone like me? How could he possibly find someone like me attractive? And now she thought she had her answer. It wasn't her at all; just her sneezing. "I think you should go now." She said in a sad whisper, fighting back the inevitable tears.

Now his heart raced. He wasn't sure how she would take it, but he hadn't expected it to go nearly this badly. "Hasegawa… I…" But he really had no idea what to say.

"Just *sniff* go." She could feel the tickle creeping up her nose again, and was determined not to sneeze in front of him again - ever, if she could manage it. In her long, pathetic life, she had never felt this humiliated.

"OK… I'm going… I'm… I'm so sorry." He walked out, with his head hung low.

Sora felt like crying, but the tears wouldn't come. She had just thrown the only guy that ever liked her out of her apartment. But, she thought, he didn't like her. Not really. She'd tried to remember if she'd been sneezing when they first met. She must have been, she thought. That's the only reason he asked me to go to that party. She walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water before going to bed. She'd forgotten about the roses on the table.

"hup-*chew*! AAAAAAAH!" She was furious now. At him. At herself. She threw the roses in the trash, sunk to the floor beside the trash can and the tears finally came. She sobbed openly for a long while. She couldn't even remember getting into bed.

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Sora woke up the next day feeling completely miserable. Her eyes were puffy from crying the night before and her nose had still not stopped running. Her clock-radio turned on at eight O'clock and she only heard the newsman say "…POLLEN COUNT…" before her hand hitting the snooze button.

"*sniiiiifff* Ugh. I don't even want to know." It was Saturday and, while she didn't have any classes, the auto club was still meeting. There was a big race coming up and they needed to draw up a work schedule for what they had left to do on the car. She got dressed and dragged her feet to the door. As soon as she'd opened it, she knew she'd forgotten something.

"hup-*chew*! *sniiiiiif* Ugh. Tissues. Need tissues."

She sneezed several times waiting for the bus. She looked a wreck and was vaguely aware of the other people trying not to get too close to her. The bus ride was uneventful, but the walk across campus was too much. She'd sneezed so many times that the single pocket pack of tissues was almost gone by the time she reached the club room. Thankfully, the air conditioning was working. She sat and put her head down on the table.

"Hey, Hasegawa," A deep booming voice called from above her. "You look terrible!"

Well at least some men can be honest, she thought. She looked up into Tamiya's hulking silhouette. "*sniiiif* ugh. I have bad allergies today."

"Oh. I thought you were sick or something. It looks like Asakawa-san's sick anyway – he didn't show! You heard from him?"

Thank god for small favors, she thought. "I have… hang on… haaaahp-*chew*! …no idea where he is."

"Well… if you want to, you should go get some rest. You look like you really need it."

So the big lug did care, she thought to herself. Of course she was only being noticed for looking particularly awful this morning, but at least he noticed. "Yeah, I might." On the way out the door, she bumped into Megumi, her friend Keichi's younger sister.

"Hasegawa – you look…"

"Terrible, I know. I… hang on… hup-*chew*! I'm having bad allergies today."

"Wow. You must have it really bad! Do you need any more tissues? I have a spare pack in my purse."

"*sniiif* Thanks, Megumi. Hey… can I… talk to you for a minute… in private?" She'd never confided in Megumi before, but if she was anything like Keichi, Sora knew she'd understand. Plus, being a girl, she would be easier to talk to about something like this.

Sora told her everything that had happened, leaving out the bit about Yuichi's fetish. As angry as she was, she didn't think it would be right to share what he obviously considered a secret. She just said he told her something that made her feel a bit used, but refused to tell Megumi anymore.

"Wow." Megumi sat quiet for a moment while she absorbed what had happened. "Well… first off you two really need to talk. Guys can say dumb things sometimes (just look at Keichi) and you may have just taken it wrong. Besides – he did say you were pretty, didn't he?"

"No – beautiful." She answered, sarcastically. "So… I mean, come on… how…"

"Hasegawa," Megumi took her hand up in both of her own. "You are a cute girl. You…" But she could see Sora wasn't with her.

"*sniff* Do I looked attractive to you at all right now?"

"OK. No. Not right now. Right now you look a wreck!" Megumi laughed a little, and Hasegawa cracked a smiled, before blowing her nose. "You know what? You might be surprised to learn this, but guys don't all go for the same thing, you know! Those guys that are always hanging off of Sayoko? Or the ones chasing the new freshman girl? What's her name… Asako? Would you even want any of them? I mean they obviously have no taste!" Now Hasegawa was laughing a little, feeling glad that she decided to open up to Megumi. "Look at me? Do you think I'm ugly? Well all those guys aren't chasing me around either, but do I care? No way. I know there's a guy or two out there who can't take his eyes off me, and Sora – there's a few out there for you too. You really are cute. Just not in the same was as all those girls you think are so hot are! Talk it out with him. I bet this is just a misunderstanding. The way you said he looked at you at the club meeting yesterday... there was something there. If you weren't so down on yourself all the time you'd have realized that." Seeing that Sora was still down on herself, Megumi had one other idea. "All right, I'll tell you what… If you don't want to take my advice, why don't you talk to Belldandy? I won't be offended. And you know she's not going to lie to you. But if she says the same thing I did, promise me you'll take our advice."

Sora blew her nose again and though itchy eyes looked back at Megumi's encouraging smile. "Thanks Megumi. OK. I don't know what I'd say… But maybe I will try to talk it out with him. I don't know. Maybe talking to Belldandy first would still be a good idea… But, thanks. You really we're a big help"

Just clean yourself up a little and take a pill before you go talk to him, Megumi thought to herself, waving to Sora as she left.

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Sora made the trip over to the temple where Keichi and Belldandy lived in relative misery. The bus was running behind, and waiting at the bus stop she was helpless to suppress her sneezing or do anything about her runny nose. By the time the bus came she was glad for the extra pack of tissues Megumi gave her. Her's were all gone and the air conditioning on the bus was broken, so all the windows were open. About the only saving grace, Sora thought to herself, was that, as much as she was sneezing and sniffling, no one wanted to sit near her so she had most of the bench to herself. The closest bus stop was only two blocks from the temple, but for Sora it was a long trek anyway. She never noticed how much landscaping the residents and businesses in this part of town had done, but her nose was painfully aware it as every fragrant hedge she passed seemed to set her off in force. At last she reached the temple, and knocked on the door. She was met by Keichi.

"Hasegawa, you look terrible!"

It was the third time she'd been told that that day, but she barely noticed. She said that to herself almost every day, so why should today be any different? "Kei! How come you're not down at the club house?"

"Uh… yeah… my bike's acting up today, so I'm running behind. I'd take the bus but at this point I'm pretty sure I'd miss the meeting anyway. But hey! Please, come on in! Sit down. Can I get you some tea, or something? Maybe… some… tissues?"

"That would be great, thanks. Listen, I'm sorry to come over out of the blue like this but… hang on…hup-*CHEW*! Oooh… My nose! Anyway, is Belldandy around? I really need to talk to her."

"Sure, I'll get her… Are you… OK?"

"N-no…" She started, but her breath suddenly stopped cooperating. "hup-*CHEW*! *sniff* No, not really. I talked to Megumi earlier, and she thought Belldandy might be able to give me some advice." Sora tried wait for Keichi to leave before blowing her nose but, of course, he poked his head in to ask how she wanted her tea just as she was in mid-blow. "Just plain, please."

Belldandy came in shortly, bringing a couple of cups of tea with her. "Oh Hasegawa, you poor thing! Is there anything I can do for you?"

At least she didn't feel the need to comment on my horrid appearance, Sora thought. She told Belldandy what had happened the night before, again stopping short of revealing Asakawa's secret, just as she had with Megumi. She had hoped that Belldandy would know exactly what to tell her, but instead she just looked Confused.

"Well… I'm not really sure what to say. It sounded like you were having such a wonderful time, until whatever it was that he said to you. But, if it was something really awful… Are you sure you can't tell me?"

"It wasn't awful. Not really. I just couldn't figure out why he was interested in me, and then… well… what he said kind of explained it and… I felt like he didn't really like me at all… hang on… excuse me… hup-*CHEW*!"

"I still can't imagine what he could have told you…" Belldandy fell silent for a moment, then continued. "Hasegawa, do you really want me to help you?"

"*sniff* Yes, but…"

"Well, I won't make you tell me something you shouldn't, but… would you close your eyes?"

"*sniff* OK."

Belldandy gazed deeply into Sora's thoughts, replaying the memories of the night before. When Sora felt happy, it filled Belldandy with happiness but soon she heard what it was that Yuichi told her and Sora's own sadness filled her with a cold empty feeling like none she had ever experienced. Making this feeling worse was Belldandy's realization of what she had done to contribute to the situation. She held Sora firmly by the arms and stared directly into her eyes.

"Hasegawa… When did you start getting these allergies? Do you remember?" her tone suggested that this was a point of utmost importance.

"*sniff* Right… *sniff* right after I met you and Kei for lunch, why?"

Belldandy embraced her. Hasegawa felt the slightest bit awkward about this, but Belldandy sounded like she was on the verge of tears, so she hugged her back. "Oh Hasegawa, I am so sorry!" Sora had no idea why her story had such an effect of Belldandy.

"Hasegawa, can you stay for dinner?"

"Uh… Well, no… not… *sniff* not really, I…"

"OK, then!" Belldandy stood up quickly and brought Sora to her feet as well. "In that case I want you to go strait home. Right away! Get some rest, and I promise I will sort this out! Everything will be fine, just go… home… right away. OK?" Belldandy was practically pushing her down the hallway, and seemed desperate that Sora leave immediately. Before she knew it, Sora was standing on the front step, the temple doors closed behind her.

'That was weird.' She thought, just as another sneeze overtook her. She blew her nose and started to make her way home.

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"Mister Keichi! Mister Keichi!" Belldandy sounded frantic.

"What is it Belldandy?"

"Oh, Mister Keichi! I think I've done something really horrible!"

"Come on Belldandy. You couldn't have done anything that bad… Uh… did you just throw Hasegawa out of the house?"

"Keichi, I think I'm the one who's made Hasegawa so sick! And that's why her heart is breaking!"

"Whoa, whoa… Just… slow down a second. Who's breaking what now? Why don't you start form the beginning?"

But Belldandy already knew that he wouldn't understand unless she revealed to him what Yuichi and Sora both wanted kept secret. "Mister Keichi… can you keep a secret?"

"Sure Bell…"

"I mean really keep it. If you tell anyone you won't just be betraying me, but you will make Hasegawa look like a liar as well. You have to promise me… you have to give me your word you won't ever tell another soul!"

"Uh… OK. I promise."

Belldandy told Keichi the entire story, and while he was a bit surprised when she got to the part about Yuichi's admission, he still didn't seem to understand Belldandy's part. "Don't you remember what I said when we met Hasegawa for lunch? The incantation?"

"Well… you said you wanted Hasegawa to have traits that Asakawa… would… find…" Realization hit Keichi like a brick. "Wow. Ha-ha. Yeah, I guess things did go little wrong there…" He had been afraid of something going awry at the time, but when nothing immediately happened, he let it slip from his mind. "Wait… Did Hasegawa tell you all that?" He was now eyeing her a bit suspiciously.

"I'm so sorry Mister Keichi. No. She didn't. In order to try and help I looked into her thoughts."

"Aaaaah. That explains a lot…"

"She really thinks that the only reason he wanted to go out with her was because he was enjoying her sneezing so much! But, even as hurt as she was, she really likes him! And I don't know how he feels about her! I mean… I could reverse the spell in no time at all but…"

"But you're not sure how that might change things."

"Yes."

"And you don't want to make things worse for her. To leave her wondering if it would have mattered, before they even have a chance to work things out for themselves."

"Oh Mister Keichi, you understand perfectly!"

"Oh boy. I don't really know what to do either. You're sure that Hasegawa really likes him?"

"Oh, yes. That's why it hurt her so much. She didn't know why he was interested in her, and so she grabbed on to the first explanation that made sense to her. Oh, poor Hasegawa."

"And poor Asakawa, if he really likes her. I think I'll try and have a talk with him.

"Oh no, but you mustn't! You can't say anything about…" Belldandy trusted Keichi, but feared that this path was far too risky.

"Don't worry, Belldandy. I won't say anything about… you know. I just want to find out how he really feels. Who knows? Maybe he'll tell me about it himself."

"OK. Just please be careful what you say. He'll think it was Hasegawa who told…"

"Don't worry. I'll be careful."

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With a little help from Skuld, Keichi got his motorcycle running again, and went to the auto club room to find Asakawa. He was surprised to run into him on the edge of campus instead.

"Asakawa-san?" Keichi called out.

"Morisato-senpai? How are you? Sorry about skipping the club meeting… I didn't know if I should go… I thought it might upset…"

"Hasegawa? Yeah, I know. She came by our place earlier. I didn't get a chance to talk to her, but she was really torn up about something."

"It's all my fault." Yuichi said in a subdued voice with his head hung low. "Everything was going great, and I said something I guess I shouldn't have and screwed everything up."

"Well… what did you tell her?" Keichi didn't really think it would be that easy.

"Uh… ha-ha. I'd rather not say, but let's just say it gave her the totally wrong idea about why I asked her to go out with me."

"Well… if you don't mind me asking… why did you ask her?"

"You too, huh? I know she's really down on herself, and that she's not really popular with the guys, but I can't for the life of me understand why. From the moment I first caught a glimpse of her I was crazy about her. And every word of every conversation we had last night reinforced that feeling. She's so smart, and so interesting, and so… deep. I don't know… I guess that sounds pretty silly. But she's this amazing girl and it's like she just has no idea. I guess that's why she took what I said so badly. She just couldn't understand what I really saw in her. But I… I really care about her."

Keichi looked at the man in front of him and saw a lot of himself, as he was a few years ago, before he met Belldandy. "Look, I can't really tell you how this will all turn out, but if you really like her, you need to tell her. Go to her. Be patient, but don't just let her go. If she wants to reject you that's her business, but it should be for the right reasons and not some misunderstanding. Just go to her."

"Really? I don't know… she was pretty upset…"

"But how else can you make things right? Staying away will only reinforce what she's feeling now. She'll accept that she was rejected, and keep believing that she's no good; that nobody could ever like her."

"You've got a point…"

"So go! Apologize… or whatever. Bring her some flow…" They both started laughing at the same time. "OK… maybe not. But if you really care about her, she needs to know it!"

"Thanks Senpai! I'll give it another try!" With that he was off and Keichi raced back to the temple to tell Belldandy to lift the spell.

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Evening was falling when Yuichi finally knocked on Sora's door. He heard the knob rattle, but a second after the light in the peep-hole went dark he heard the low thump of what sounded like someone putting their head against the door. "Go away." came the quiet voice from the other side.

"No Hasegawa-senpai. I'm not going anywhere. I want you to know that whatever you think happened last night, I never lied to you. I never misled you. From the first moment we met I was crazy about you. Maybe I just let my head get away from me last night, I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that when I did. But I can't let you go on thinking that that was the reason I asked you out. I… I care about you too much to let you think that. You're a great girl, Hasegawa-senpai. You're cute, and intelligent and interesting... You like cars as much as I do (not many girls you can say that about!) But don't you see? There are a thousand things I like about you! I don't know why you are so hard on yourself, and I'm sure I don't see the same thing as you when I look at you… When I look at you all I see is this painfully cute girl that gets me all tongue-tied and nervous. I don't care… if you want me to go away I will. I'll even quit the club if that will make you happy. I just… need you to know… how I feel."

She cracked the door open. "But why? How? There's nothing special about me. If I hadn't sneezed around you the first time we met, how do I know you still would have…" He started laughing. "Hey! What's so funny now?! I thought you were coming here to apologize or something!"

"Ha-ha. I'm sorry Hasegawa… Ha… it's just that you didn't sneeze the first time we met. Don't you remember? You didn't… until I asked you out, after lunch, in the afternoon. I remember because… well I remember that being the first time I saw you… you know… But we met in the morning? Remember?"

Suddenly Sore felt as if she'd been splashed with cold water. She opened the door the rest of the way. "Oh my God… You're right! Oh my God! Asakawa-san, I'm so sorry! Oh man! Now I'm the one who messed everything up! I'm so stu…"

"Hey… hey… It's OK." He reached up and brushed a tear off of her cheek with his thumb. He could not believe how beautiful she was. "You… uh… seem to be feeling better, by the way."

Now it was Sora's turn to laugh a little. "Yeah. Ha-ha. Well… whatever came over me yesterday seems to have left as mysteriously as it came. So yeah… all… all cleared up now. Do you… still want… to…"

"Hasegawa, I told you before that had nothing to do with it! Of course I still want to go out with you!" He wanted to kiss her but stopped short as he was struck by an unfamiliar glint in her eye.

Sora had no idea where her confidence was coming from and was positive the sly voice she was hearing her couldn't be her own. "You know…I might be feeling better but… if you wanted to… we could still… maybe… experiment a little…?" Asakawa saw that she was rolling a small vial of white powder between her fingers. He didn't recognize it at first, but was hit with a wave of profound embarrassment once it registered what she was holding.

"Where… uh… where did you get that?" He asked, smiling nervously.

"Oh… I found it between the cushions of the couch. I assume it fell out of your jacket pocket last night. Is this… what I… think it is?"

"Ha-ha… yeah… uh… it is, but… well… you see… uh… someone gave me that a long time ago…. I mean I didn't even know I still… please don't think…."

"Shhhhhhh…." She put her index finger on his mouth as took him by the hand and slowly led him inside, eager to pick up where they'd left off the night before.



TO BE CONCLUDED: Part Three - Ah! I Finally Understand! COMING SOON!