Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of these characters. I'm simply borrowing them for my (and yours coincidently...) sick, twisted amusement. NOW DANCE LOKI, DANCE FOR MY AMUSEMENT.

Contradictions Abound
By: Tsuki Hoshino

Emotion is messy, contradictory... and true.
-Nigella Lawson

It was preposterous, not to mention presumptuous.

Not to mention Silly, utter fodder, inconceivable, and a whole mess of other words used to describe the improbability of it all.

In love? Not a chance. Especially with whom she had implied.

Verdandi was obviously off her rocker.

Loki did not believe in prophesy, he made his own fate. The norms could portend all they wanted, what ever force that was above them, could spin its thread and weave its tapestries. Each and every time however, he would slip the loop, knot the thread and tear the stitch.

Let them weave as they liked, he wouldn't go quietly.

It was not his nature, nor his niche to be told to dance and to do so.

Ragnorok would not be his to shoulder, he hadn't killed Baldur for fun or petty jealousy, but in self defense. Unlike they had foretold.

Plain to see, he did not put much stock into the words of the norns.

So then why the worry? Instead of brushing the words aside as flippantly as usual, he lingered. Turning it over and over in his mind like a wheel.

For all his rage, and adamancy against destiny, against the ordained-still in this one matter he found himself faltering.

As though a veil had been lifted from his eyes, the troubling situation had become clear.

He could acquiesce that perhaps Verdandi was onto something in this matter. Not because she'd seen it in some crystal ball or something like that, but because she was...astute.

Loki could see the signs twinkling back at him mirthfully, as if mocking him for not taking note of them sooner.

As if on instinct, His eyes were always seeking out her figure, allowing her to trouncing along after him despite the hassle it caused him on many occasions. He catered to her safety diligently each and every time.

He'd come to anticipate her barging in, seeking the excited cries of mystery, and hungering for exuberance she emitted.

Not for the first time, he noted the peculiarness of the girl in question.

Mayura, who charmed men, beasts and gods alike. His own two sons had been caught in the whirl wind that was Daidouji Mayura right along with their old man. "Guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree after all" Loki said to himself, affection sweeping through his eyes.

Still the situation was troubling, as a trickster's greatest asset was their ability to predict the situation and what would follow, and he certainly had not predicted this turn of events.

It was strange, something wholly unexpected, and irrational. He told himself that again and again. Yet his actions and his thoughts often escaped from him, often beguiling him.

Him, who was a god that lived to cause discord in the lives of others found the table turned at what seemed like the drop of a coin.

In the past, he'd been the one to draw them in like the spider and the fly. A god who could spin words into gold. Those who heard his honeyed tongue could only become drunk upon them.

Women of exceptional beauty and talent far surpassing hershad, and did continue falling to his feet, whether he was willing or not. Even stuck in the form of a child he could bring the grown to their knees. Although, it seemed as though she had a larger tolerance then most.

'Though that could be due to the fact to her, I'm just 'little' Loki.' he mused with a bit of bitterness attached. Not because he wanted to be anything more to her of course, but because it put a cramp in his style. Really, it was all truth.

Oh, Mayura surely thought he was cute, but it wasn't really the desired effect. 'not that I care.' Loki added, crossing his arms.

He, a god who had lived countless centuries, seen empires rise and fall- and quite possibly been the cause of one or two, was falling, a term he used quite loosely, for a mere slip of a girl. 'it's not love..It's affection.' Loki corrected himself flippantly, viridian green eyes slipping closed in frustration for a Moment.

Semantics aside, it girl who had no idea what, or who he was. If it were someone- anyone else, he would have laughed at the irony of it all.

Except it wasn't anyone else, it was him. And that made the situation horrendously unfunny.

What would she do if she knew? That he had a wolf and serpent as sons, and a daughter who presided over the dead. That the little boy she tagged along with was a god that had lived longer then every generation if her family combined, that that same boy had done many devious things

That was the most troubling thought of all. He'd never cared what anyone thought of him before.

As an unrepentant god when it came to the vast majority of the deeds he'd done. He prospects did not bode well. To be sure he had regrets, but he was what he was.

After all, there could be no harmony with out discord, no order without chaos. His role was both necessary, and desired. There could be no hero, without a foe to conquer, no villain without a foil.

He was both.

A hero when necessary, a villain when the story was in need of one, he played a diverse role in the world constantly flip flopping between boundaries. It was his nature to keep one guessing after all.

Contrary to popular opinion, he was not wholly evil. He could love, take pity, and even be quite merciful if the fancy struck him. Too few remembered those things.

He was not overly malicious without reason, despite being the so called evil god. Although admittedly he was indeed prone to playing a few mischievous and sometimes wholly undeserved pranks, but Asgard could be horribly stuffy sometimes, and someone had to stir the pot. Not to mention he'd had a number of unfair and undeserved things done to his person as well.

He was a man of contradictions.

The issue in itself however, was not how things were, or even how he saw them, but how SHE would see them.

"This is ridiculous." Loki murmured to himself, stopping in the middle of the side walk for a moment. 'This is just a passing fancy. You've got to get it together!' he said to himself. It was really beginning to be pathetic. When he'd been put in this form, it must have messed with his mind too.

Already he was walking again, his gait quick as his thoughts sped up. 'There's nothing worry about...all you have to is complete the task Odin gave you, and you're home free.' someday, this would all be just a distant dream.

Someday Mayura would be a ghost in his memory, a phantom from years long since passed. The conviction would have been taken far more seriously if the seldom heard but often displeased voice in the back of his mind hadn't of scoffed.

That didn't mean it was love though. It was just...affection. A peculiar little soft spot she'd managed to worm her way into

'This is stupid.' he reminded himself hands curling into fists.

Nothing to worry about at all.

For how long he'd been wandering in a semi state of awareness he had no ideal, it wasn't until the gentle tap of a hand being placed on his head that he broke free from his roaming mind.

"You should be more careful Loki-kun." the voice of the person plaguing his thoughts spoke from behind him.

"Mayura!" his childish voice sounded more unsettled then he would have liked. Clearing his throat, Loki began again-this time much smoother. "What are you doing here?" he asked, turning to face the girl who'd somehow gotten an unrelenting hold on his thoughts.

Mayura's expression ranged from confusion before melding into concern. "What am I doing here?" she parroted, hands fisting onto her hips as she pursed pale pink lips. "Don't you think the better question is what are youdoing?" she remarked, brown, almost red eyes peering at him suspiciously. "I've been walking behind you for the past ten minutes, and you never noticed at all, which is weird because you notice everything!"

well, perhaps the last bit was a slight over exaggeration on Mayura's part, because despite her accusation he did have a margin of error...hence the current position. A very small margin regardless, Loki comforted himself.

Before he could even begin to divert the line of questioning he could see brewing behind her eyes, the moment he opened his mouth to begin, Mayura was already rambling onto her second verse.

"Even worse, you just about walked into busy traffic!" Mayura accused, pointing a finger to the bright red traffic light gleaming down at him in the crude shape of a person.

"Now don't be silly, there's no way I would have done something like that." Loki began, not quiet sure if his pride could take much more. His arms were already crossing over his chest defensively.

"Something's most definitely wrong here." Mayura mused, bending at the waist to take a good hard look at her companion. With one eye closed, she stuck her tongue out thoughtfully, drawling out a suspicious "hmm" as she gave Loki a good hard look. 'Maybe he's possessed...' the wheels in her mind began turning. It took a lot of effort on her part not to shriek out a chorus of mysterious mystery! but she managed.

'Oh yes.' Loki agreed mentally, there certainly was something wrong. The issue of contention was what exactly was wrong with him and what sort of trouble he was going to find himself in because of it.

'When did the roles become reserved ?' He pondered to himself miserably. Hell, when had everything turned so topsy turvy? He was the one who was supposed to be plaguing her thoughts, not the other way around. It suddenly felt like some He'd become some sort of cosmic joke.

"Hey! are you listening to me?" Mayura pouted, placing her hands on her hips. He could at least look like he was following along with her after she'd saved him and everything. "How troublesome." She huffed, using his head to rock him back and forth.

Troublesome? 'That's the pot calling the kettle black.' He mused to himself, looking up at her. "I'm fine." He stated, glancing away from her eyes stubbornly.

Mayura didn't seem so convinced, and instead grabbed his face between two warm delicate hands, turning it this way and that as she studied it. "Hmm…" She said, quite seriously as she leaned in nearly nose to nose with him.

'Am I blushing?' Loki wondered in fascinated mortification. His skin surely felt like it was one fire. Nervously, his eyes made a trail from her forehead to her eyes. They reminded him of cinnamon. "I'm really fine." He insisted glancing away quickly. The way she looked at him made him feel just as warm on the inside as he did outside.

He really was not fine.

But if she kept looking at him like that, he might soon.

"Well…" Mayura trailed off doubtfully, before releasing his face. "I'll take your word for it." She said, grabbing his hand and leading him back down the sidewalk. She expertly weaved through the evening crowds as she navigated them towards the Detective agency.

He didn't struggle or complain; he simply trusted her and drew close to her side like a moth to a flame. For those few moments as she led him, he savored the peace he felt.

There were no gods out to assassinate him, no Narukami making a general nuisance of himself, there were no malignant spirits or artifacts putting the general public at risk, nor where there any well meaning but generally disastrous children running amok and causing chaos.

There was just him and her, his hand in hers. Before he even knew it, they were standing outside the iron gates.

"Well, here we are!" Mayura said, hand never leaving his. "You shouldn't wander so far for so long you know Loki-kun." She chastised. A tiny smile wound its way onto her face. "You'll worry everyone." When she had gotten off school, she'd come looking for him only to be told by Yamino that he'd left hours ago and hadn't come home yet. She'd been worried.

Loki seemed to sense that, because he was looking at her with those ever knowing green eyes. Not for the first time, she entertained the thought that there was something that was something unnatural about her small companion. 'Its to strange for someone so young to be like he is.' Too smart, to mature, too omniscient. Those were just a few of the things her mind had compiled. Not to mention that where ever Loki went, mystery was sure to follow.

He knew, that when she said he'd worry everyone, she meant he'd worry her. He could read between the lines just by looking in her eyes at that moment. "They'll be fine without me." Loki said, wondering if she too could understand the hidden message. He watched then, as a slow, timid smile lit up her face. At that moment his heart ached at her tender face.

Knowing that someday they were soon to part suddenly became all the more painful for him.

"No they won't." Mayura said, turning her face away to look at the sprawling mansion in front of them. What she meant to say was that she wouldn't be okay if he went away. Instead she continued. "Without you, they'd be really lonely." Her face was uncharacteristically guarded though he could not see it from the angle she held it at.

In her heart, there was a feeling of dread that soon everything would come to an end. 'I don't want to see that day.' She though miserably, wondering where the sudden gloom was coming from. Like a cloud, darkness seemed to linger in the air lately.

At that moment he damned it all to hell.

The look of sorrow on her face was all it took.

Someday soon, he would have to leave Mayura. Odin would have to be dealt with, things would have to be settled, otherwise the attacks and trouble would never end. 'It's a little strange that the God of Trouble is tired of it.' He though on the subject for a moment, irony was starting to play a large part in his life these days and the humor wasn't totally lost on him.

The fact of the matter was that if he even wanted to entertain the notion of him and her, whatever it may be he'd eventually have to learn her side and deal with his past. That was the choice he'd inevitably had to make.

"Even if I go away, I'll come back." He said after a long silence, retaking the hand that had once held his so warmly. "So they shouldn't worry." He didn't know if she understood that secret message he tried to convey to her with his eyes or not, but it didn't matter. To him it was as good as done.

He couldn't build the future he was dreaming of in the body of a child after all. He didn't know how he was going to explain it to her, or how she was going to take it, but he knew that he couldn't keep hiding the truth from her forever. Soon or a later he would have to tale her the truth, because if she somehow found out on her own which she seemed increasingly close to doing these days it would only serve to hurt her even more.

For now though, for that moment as they walked past the gates he would silently enjoy what they had now. Though he so dearly wished that it was his hand that dwarfed her's- he knew that someday that time would come.

Woot. I love Mayura and Loki.

If your wondering the time line of this thing, or the version it's a fusion of Anime and Manga. Set some time after Mayura and Loki go to get their fortunes told and Verdandi spouts some stuff about him being in love. ( Manga) and before he attempts to wipe her memories and go fight the good fight ( Anime)

It ended up being a lot shorter then I would have liked, but it was originally written on my I-pad, so whatever.

Anyways, this will be a series of one shots that may or may not be connected. ( For those of you who are interested…)

There will also be a long fic centered around Mayura and Loki in which he does wipe her memories, but only until he returns later. Unfortunately he miscalculates the time, and comes back years later to a grown up Mayura.

It's going be fun. For us. Not for Loki.

Ah! by the way, There is apparently a 3rd sequel being released for the manga. ( How exciting~~) Also i may accept suggestions and requests for these one-shots. So if you have something on your mind, be sure to ask!