Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Matantei Loki Ragnarok nor would I ever think of taking it from its creator, Sakura Kinoshita and the other people involved in the manga and anime series.
Final Night
Chapter 1: First Meeting
Mayura silently waited for the school bell to ring, excited that the end of the day continuously drew nearer with each passing second. However, no matter how quickly the day had gone, she felt it was going too slow for her. After all, with each passing second she spent elsewhere from the Enjaku Detective Agency that was one second less Mayura could spend solving mysteries. Until then, however, Mayura decided to at least try and pay attention to the teacher.
Almost immediately she slumped over and fell asleep, her bubble-gum pink hair falling over her face and providing a shelter from the light. Class was not her friend.
The girl threw the ball into the air and caught it in her right hand her attention still resting on that one classroom window. The child smirked and bit back the urge to laugh as her target fell asleep on a school desk. "Heh, I guess that girl won't put up much of a hassle," she determined.
Having analyzed the target, the girl delicately stood up and wiped off any stray dirt on her skirt. She smiled to herself and nonchalantly walked away. It won't be long... she thought to herself cheerfully. "Daidouji? Daidouji, wake up," a disembodied voice seemed to call out.
Mayura opened one eye and abruptly shut it once more. It was too bright in her room. And probably too early anyway. Her father always woke her up early. "Five more minutes...Papa," she murmured.
"..." The male poked her once in the shoulder. Not too hard, but enough to get the sleeping girl's attention. When Mayura didn't respond, he poked her again. "Daidouji-san, I am not your father," he muttered to her.
"...eh?" she woke up with a start. "I'm not at home?!" Mayura shrieked. She stood up and focused on her surroundings. School. She was at school. Eep. If that voice was whom she thought it was...she was in trouble. "S-sensei?"
Mayura nervously stood up to face and receive the punishment she knew was bound to happen. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she chanted continuously. Mayura couldn't bear to look her teacher in the eyes. She was already tearing up as it was.
"Calm down, Daidouji. You only fell asleep in class, after all."
Did I hear what I thought I heard? Mayura thought joyously. I'm not going to get into trouble after all! Looking upwards, she quickly prepared a thank you speech. It was because of her most wonderful, most kind, and most generous teacher that she would be able to pay her daily visit to the Enjaku Detective Agency, after all.
However, she did not expect to see a man standing in front of her with dirty blonde hair and soft brown eyes staring down quizzically at her. "Koutarou-kun?" Mayura uttered, startled. "Since when were you our teacher? Did you get a job here because of your high marks in school? Is that why you're my teacher now? Amazing!"
Koutarou felt his jaw drop. Mayura just seemed to get more clueless as the days went by. Swiftly composing himself he couldn't help but smirk, "School is over, Daidouji. The teacher didn't catch you sleeping in class."
The pink haired girl just stared cluelessly at him before it finally seemed to dawn on her what exactly Koutarou had said. Her eyes lit up with elation and she quickly grabbed her school bag and ran out the door yelling back, "Thanks for waking me up, Koutarou-kun!"
"...Narugami was the one who asked me to wake you up," he mumbled back. Koutarou shrugged and left the classroom. Those two had both run out of the classroom. One for his new part-time job and the other...well it was kind of obvious where she was heading.
Mayura sprinted down the road her attention focused solely on one thing: get to the Detective Agency. Paying attention to where she was going was no longer necessary; long ago she had memorized the shortest route from her home and from school. And more than ever before, today she was thankful.
Mayura mentally tried to get her legs to run faster. It was no use. She was no professional runner and her legs were letting her know it. Tripping over a loose stone, Mayura went flailing to the ground. "Ouchie..." she cried. She could feel the small scrapes along her right leg and bit the urge to start crying.
Mayura slowly got up slowly, attempting to test her right ankle. Gladly, she discovered her ankle, though no doubt bruised hadn't been sprained and that she still had the ability to walk without a limp. Now she was going to be later than if she had just walked in the first place. Continuing on, she sighed out of annoyance. Today was not her day.
Without warning, a red ball came rolling towards Mayura stopping just a few feet away. Picking it up, Mayura looked down the road of the general direction it had come. "Where did this...?" she asked herself. With no one around her as far as the eye could see she could only conclude one thing: this ball had come out of nowhere. "It's a myst-"
"Where did my ball go?" someone in the distance shouted cutting off Mayura's train of thought. Mayura frowned. It wasn't a mystery. Just a stray ball. The person in which Mayura could only assume was the ball's owner came closer into view. "Is this it?" Mayura yelled off to the figure in the distance.
The little girl looked no more than the age of 8 and her soft features resembled that of a doll. Her navy hair bounced along with the wind as she ran towards Mayura. Sparkling with jubilancy, the girl looked up to Mayura with her ebony eyes. "My ball!" she exclaimed. "You found my ball! Thank you so much!"
Mayura handed over the ball, completely enchanted by the small girl standing before her. "You're so cute," she couldn't help but tell the girl. The curly hair, the eyes, the purple dress...everything made the girl completely irresistible to Mayura.
For a few moments, the girl looked around, confused. "I...I don't know where the park is."
"You're lost?"
The girl nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. "I have to get back to my big brother. He's at the park. If I don't get back there my brother'll get worried. I don't want him upset with me..."
Mayura frowned. She was sure that Loki was involved in some mystery right about now...and what was worse was that she was missing it all. But...she wasn't a heartless person. This girl was lost. And she was so cute too. "I'll take you there, if you'd like," Mayura suggested with a smile. "It's not too far from here."
The girl's eyes lit up and she nodded in agreement and the two started to walk together towards the park. "Thank you," the girl whispered.
The walk wasn't too far and soon enough, the two came upon the park. Mayura noticed a man roughly her age sitting on the swings looking around with a worried look on his face. "That must be your brother," she concluded. And when she finally saw his face, any doubt that Mayura had was gone. He looked exactly like the little girl his eyes a dark and determined shade of ebony and his navy hair hung loosely around his head.
"Thank you for finding my little sister," he said. "I don't know how I can show you my gratitude."
Mayura shook her head. "Ah hahaha, it's not necessary. Anyone would've helped a lost child." She smiled and started to walk off. "Anyway I gotta go."
"Goodbye, Mayura," the male smirked as her figure faded from his vision. "We will meet again." Having finally made it to her original intended destination, Mayura burst through the room where she knew Loki would be and shouted exhausted, "Loki-kun, I didn't miss any mysteries, did I?"
"No."
Mayura plopped herself onto a couch and closed her eyes, grateful. "I'm glad...I thought I might miss one."
Loki placed his cup of tea on the saucer and asked with a grin, "Then why were you so late?"
"I was in the library at school studying with Koutarou-kun..." she said flatly.
To Be Continued...