The episode unfolds with the couple at the entrance to Temple Tarikihongan. With hands behind his back, Keiichi musters his courage and offers Belldandy a gift, a ring. He slips it into her hand and the Goddess is obviously pleased - and mentions that she'll never forget Keiichi. In a sad voice Belldandy explains says that destiny has forbidden her to live on this planet, and that they were never  meant to meet. She ascends to the heavens, deaf to Keiichi's desperate protests....then Keiichi wakes from that nightmare with Belldandy by his side. Keiichi starts to describe the nightmare to her but decides against it. As Belldandy leaves to get some water, Keiichi contemplates the possibility of Belldandy leaving him one day.

Morning comes and Belldandy's sisters are in a snowfight. Urd casts a spell to create a muscular snowman while Skuld uses a snowthrowing machine. Keiichi notices the snow and wonders about it since it was strange to get so much snow that time of the year. He decides to put chains on the bike tires and checks the road condition. Amazingly there's no snow outside of the temple and Keiichi suspects Urd of fooling around again, to which she claims innocence. Keiichi points out that they should remove the snow to avoid drawing attention. Skuld runs off excitedly to make a snow removal machine while Keiichi decides to remove snow on the roof. Belldandy cautions him to be careful but just then a bunny rabit emerges from the snow and startles Keiichi, causing him to fall. Belldandy casts a spell to break his fall. Urd and Skuld chide him for failing the simple task but Keiichi explains that a weird creature popped out. The bug jumps out of the snow and Skuld chases it. Skuld finally whacks it with her special extending hammer and as the creature disappears the snow also vanishes.

Back at the temple Keiichi asks Skuld about the strange six-legged creature. Skuld explains that Bugs do not normally appear on Earth unless something very unusual happens in the heavens. Suddenly Keiichi's glass of tea begins to boil. Urd inquires if he'd done anything to anger Belldandy, just as the said goddess walks in and asks if anything was wrong. Above rabbit ears peek from the ceiling light but no one notices it. Keiichi wonders if the presence of the goddesses on Earth have any connection with the Bugs. Belldandy thinks it's a possibility but she'll have to as Kamisama. With no warning the table disappears, slamming Urd to the ground. Keiichi becomes a human magnet and nearly gets skewered by flying kitchenware, all of which he manages to dodge aside from a face-flattening frying pan. Skuld realizes what's been happening and switches on a machine she's been building. Bugs begin to materialize and are sucked in (much like the ghost trap in Ghostbusters). Using special goggles Skuld locates a Bug Exhaust Port between Keiichi and Belldandy, which disappears when the couple separate. Skuld notes that port is apparently created by their proximity and warns the two to stay away from each other until they find the source of the of the problem. The phone rings and Bell goes to answer it and Belldandy is surprised to find Kamisma on the other end. He issues a Recall Notice, which Belldandy protests vigorously since he has a contract with Keiichi. However Kamisama reminds her that of all people she should know the reason. He reminds Belldandy not to take any careless actions during the three days needed to set up the Gate. Out at the hallway Keiichi overhears the conversation and asks for an explanation. He asks if Belldandy would be able to return immediately but the Goddess cannot answer and turns her face away. Distraught, Keiichi asks if the contract they made was meaningless, if it was only a quick-fix. Belldandy strongly denies this and tells him that she made the contract sincerely but as a Goddess, she could not defy the Lord's orders. It was possible that she was being called back due a system malfunction that needed to be fixed. Keiichi apologizes for his outburst and asks that if this was the case, once the problem was fixed she could go back. Bell reassures Keiichi that she will surely come back but as Keiichi leaves for school it seems that she wasn't completely truthful. If the problem was what she thought it was she could no longer....

Before Keiichi leaves for school, Skuld reminds him not to go near Belldandy even on campus. The distance required for bug portals to form have a trend towards enlarging. At school Belldandy's absence starts the rumor that the she and Keiichi had split. During class Keiichi makes a mistake and automatically asks for an eraser from Belldandy before realizing she wasn't there. Meanwhile back at the temple Urd suggests that it might be better for Belldandy to stay at home. However she poignantly tells Urd that even if she couldn't be by his side she wanted to be as close as possible, to breathe the same air. Back at  the campus  Sayoko comes in late for class and sits beside Keiichi. She inquires about the absence of Belldandy but Keiichi doesn't want to talk about it. After class Sayoko accompanies Keiichi and invites him to take a ride on her newly-bought 500SL. Just that moment Belldandy steps out of the girls bathroom. Keiichi forgets Skuld's warning and rushes towards her, only to be stopped by exploding glass from the windows. Belldandy rushes to Keiichi by instinct but then stops and runs away. Walking by herself elsewhere, the depressed Goddess is worried that she can't be Keiichi's side if something happens and wonders if she is even allowed to think of him. At the campus cafeteria Bell peers through the glass doors and spots Keiichi, who also sees her. She goes to bring his thermos of tea but the vending machine explodes, making her drop the thermos and run away. With Belldandy's sad face in mind Keiichi wonders if there's anything he can do. Megumi drops in and tell's Keiichi about the rumors that the couple's split. Unable to explain the situation Keiichi simply tells Megumi that Belldandy is going back to her homeland. Megumi thinks this is as good as a break-up since the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is a lie and it is really "out of sight out of mind…" During the course of their conversation Megumi jokingly mentions giving a ring worth three months of pay. Keiichi is struck by the idea and immediately rushes off to his sempai to find part time jobs. Keiichi gets several jobs including one from Sora Hasegawa who also delivers a note to Belldandy telling her that he was happy to see her face in school, even for a moment.

Back at the temple Urd and Skuld are working on a computer. Skuld finds out for the bugs to gather in this world there must be an Attractor. The Attractor was the Exhaust Port's energy source, thus if it were to be destroyed the bug problem would end. Meanwhile at the NIT campus Belldandy prepares to travel via the mirror at the bathroom. Sayoko emerges and asks her about the rumors. Belldandy tells her she'll be going back to her homeland. Sayoko doesn't believe her and says she can't allow Belldandy to go away so easily after becoming so popular. As an incentive for her return, Sayoko warns Belldandy that she might steal Morisato away from her.

Belldandy comes home to find no one in the temple. In the fading light of sunset she spots her sisters and Keiichi gathered around a tree. Skuld explains that they have found the Attractor - it is this the tree with some powerful energy sealed in it. Belldandy's face dramatically changes into that of horrified recognition. Urd asks if she knew anything about it but Belldandy is speechless and can only shake her head. Keiichi demands Belldandy to tell them what she knew so that they can solve the problem and stay together. However the Goddess, shock and disbelief still clearly painted on her face, can only reply "not this" and with tears flowing says that she cannot do anything about it. Keiichi becomes angry and demands an explanation. He shouts that once she returns to the heavens they can never be together again, that he'll never see her again. Keiichi  steps  forward, ignoring  the explosions that shatter the fence and sliding doors of the temple. The couple confess that they want nothing more than to stay together but Belldandy will not give an explanation and runs away.

Inside her room Belldandy thinks it's her fault and tearfully implores Kamisama to grant her one wish, just this one wish....