Narugami helped Mayura to find Loki, even though he knows that the Loki they were searching for was long gone. Mayura stopped on her tracks, "What's the matter Daidouji, did you remember a place we can look for him?" Narugami asked. Mayura looked down on her feet, "There is none." She said. Narugami felt bad, he wanted to tell her everything but this was not his war. "Pardon?" Narugami asked as she turned around to look at Mayura. "There is none, there is nowhere for us to look. If you really stop and think about it, I know close to nothing about Loki. Even if I wanted to search for him, there's nothing that comes to mind to search for him. That's how little I know of him" she clarified. "Don't say that, I'm sure he's just out there." Narugami said. "I felt it again, this ominous feeling." Mayura said as a flash back of her old self praying hard to the Gods above to not take her mother away. Then it struck her, "there's this feeling that I won't be seeing him anymore," Mayura mumbled.
"Thank you, Narugami. I think I'll search on my own now, Sorry for making you come when you're still on duty." Mayura said, smiling one last time to her friend before running away. She had no clue where to search for, but for some reason her feet dragged her back to Loki's mansion. "The only place I know," she said to herself as she entered. She noticed that the place were rid of boxes and furniture. She slowly made her way upstairs to where Loki's study is located. As expected, everything was covered with white cloth. She saw that the piano was still left out it the open, she opened it and sat in front of the keys, one by one tapping the keys, reminiscing how she and her mother would play the piano and sing, how her mother would smile whenever she sings. How her mother says that she was feeling better just hearing her sing, and how she played piano and sing with the hopes of the Gods hearing prayers. She positioned her fingers, she felt comfortable and started playing.
The other night, dear,
As I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms.
When I awoke, dear,
I was mistaken
So I hung my head and cried
Mayura started singing, slowly memories of how she one day just woke up and realizing that her mother was nowhere to be found. The thought of waking up and realizing that you've lost someone dear, just the thought alone, made tears fall from her peculiar colored eyes.
Tomorrow when I wake up, Loki won't be here anymore…
Soon it won't just be Loki, my father, my friends… they'll be gone before I know it.
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are gray.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away
Mayura has come into terms that what she was feeling for the young lad was not simply platonic. It was far more than that, the yearning to know more about him, to be by his side. It was hard to admit given that their age gap is huge, and that Loki was a child, barely a man. But for now, none of those things mattered to her, the boy had become a large part of her like.
I don't know if I did something to anger Gods, they keep taking from the people I love, the people I truly care about. If there is, I wish to apologize
On the other hand, Loki was silently listening from the room next to his study together with Fenrir and Yamino. He remembered those times where she would just jumped out of nowhere asking for mysteries, that no matter how much he told her to stay away, she just won't budge. And slowly, her presence grew on him. Sure, it was annoying at first, but somehow she became the light to his and his sons' gloomy life. He looked over to his sons who were both sad, Fenrir who was never attached to anyone other than him was looking extremely down, knowing that they'll be leaving Midgard and Mayura behind. Even the Shikigami, even if she can't be seen by Mayura, has taken a liking to the girl.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away
Mayura played a few more notes before ending the song. She heard the door open and abruptly stood "Loki, I'm so sorry, I should not have tou—"Mayura explained as she turned around and look at the man standing by the door. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else," She bowed and carefully closed the piano. "No it's okay, I was just taken in awe at your small performance, that I had to see," Loki, in his adult form, explained to her. "You were looking for Loki?" he asked, and Mayura just nodded in reply. "I don't think he's here. Let's go to the park, he might be there," he offered, clutching the hairpin that was given to him to erase Mayura's memory of them.
Both of them sat in silence at the park bench, until Mayura decided to break the ice and asked, "Are you Loki's cousin? The both of you awfully look similar." "I'm more like Loki's Friend, a family friend." Loki answered, "A friend, I am too. I guess, if you can call it that." Mayura said, sadness evident in her voice. Loki looked at the hairpin on his palm, doubting if he should be doing this. Deep in him, he knows that he doesn't want to be forgotten by Mayura. But it's for the best.
"I need to go now, I'll continue searching." Mayura said as she stood and bowed to bid farewell on the man. "Wait, I hope that I could be of use to you. You seem really tired and pale." Loki offering to help in searching. Slowly he leaned over Mayura and spoke, "Well, you see, I'm a God. I can see that you're awfully tired. Think of this as a payback for that wonderful song you sang back there." He said, slowly giving her the pin, but was taken back at Mayura when she chuckled at his confession. "Thank you, but I don't believe in Gods" She said looking at the man's reaction before her. "It's true that I love looking for paranormal, the occult and for dark mysteries. But believing in Gods is where I draw the line." She continued. "Why believe in the paranormal, but not in the Gods above?" Loki asked, he never knew this side of Mayura. He never thought that Mayura was the kind to never believe in Gods. "When I was young, my mother became really ill. She was admitted to the hospital to the point that it seemed like she lived there, she told me that praying is a way to communicate to the Gods, and so I did. Every single day. I prayed and prayed, it might even sound that I am begging for them to not take my mother away, that I still needed her in my life. But to no luck, or maybe whoever is up there just hated me, still took her. Now, the same thing is happening to me, someone who I truly love, someone dear to me is going to be taken away from me. I can feel it, just like how they took my mother away from me." Mayura explained. Loki felt a pang in his chest, he looked at Mayura who looked really down, he never knew that this ray of sunshine was just a way for her to mask the darkness that envelopes her heart. Mayura bowed down one last time and ran, but suddenly stopped. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe in Gods. But if you really are what you say you are, or even if you just have the slightest power. I want to see Loki, I want to stay by his side. Better yet, let me see him one more time, I have so much to tell him and to apologize for. One last time," without looking back any further Mayura ran and continued her search.
Loki carefully watched as Mayura continued to search for him. "I'm so sorry, Mayura." He said under his breath. Loki went to the shrine and met with Mayura's father. "Hello Mr. Daidouji," he greeted the man sweeping.
"Let me get this straight, you're Loki. The little boy who my daughter is visiting every day after class, and you're telling me that you're the same Loki in the Norse mythology, who was banished to Earth as a form of punishment and now you're given the chance to go back to the Asgard, the land of Gods, and you want me to give this pin to my daughter to erase her memories of you and the other Gods who have been part of her life?" Misao retold everything, and Loki nodded slowly pushing towards him the box with the hairpin. "Aren't you being too cruel and selfish?" Misao asked, not expecting any reply from the trickster God. Sighing deeply before speaking, "Just when I finally see my little Mayura genuinely smiling again." Taking the box in front of him. "I wonder why you can tell everything to me but not explain this to my daughter." Misao asked. "I don't want her to endure the pain of our departure." Loki replied. "Aren't you a little bit underestimating my daughter, Loki? She's strong." Misao said, scratching his nape. "I understand, whether Mayura or not will wear this is beyond me." Misao said, standing up and placing the box on their shelf. Loki stood and thanked the man and left.
Loki and the other Gods left Midgard, since then it was never the same. Loki, the deemed God of Trickery has never played any prank since getting back to Asgard. He would continue to enclose himself on his chamber and watch Midgard from the Norn's crystal ball. He watched a certain pink haired mortal, she was not as radiant as she seemed, her hair was cut short and a certain hairpin was placed elegantly on her hair.
These past months were dreadful for Mayura, she wore the hairpin because she wanted something to remind her of Loki to be close to her, but for some reason that name started to become a blur to her. Months turned to years and Mayura is now in university taking literature, her hair was cut short, her fascination with the paranormal and occult has diminished. She has grown mature over such short period of time. If there's one thing that has changed, the number of male pursuing Mayura has increased, even her friend Koutaro gave it shot, well they both gave it a shot in dating, but decided that it was better off that they remain friends. If only Mayura knew how much restrain the Gods above had to do to prevent Loki from coming down and causing his little Ragnarok in Midgard. Mayura would always say to people pursuing her that she has this feeling that someone is looking at her always that she's just waiting for that person to show up.
Loki smiled and whispered to himself, "Soon, my sunshine… soon."
