- Disclaimer: Matantei Loki Ragnarok belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.
"Hoshi no Lullaby" ("Lullaby of the Stars") is from the anime Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, I think from the Message OAVs. I altered the English translation so it would fit with the music, so you can sorta sing along with it. It's a beautiful song, one of my favorite pieces. You can easily find the song on the youtube site.
Ah, My Loki-sama!
written by Kurosu
- Chapter Twenty-Five.
Their shopping trip continued, after their photo booth fun, which earned them a few sheets of printed out photo, and Mayura had all the images sent to her phone, and to Yamino's at Loki's insistence, to further treasure the memories together. She was admiring them her phone as they walked, smiling and finally blushing at her gutsy move in the final shot of her initiating a kiss with Loki, even if it was a more friendly one, but she couldn't deny the rush of warmth in her chest nor the rapid beat of her heart.
Smiling to herself, she made the fifth image of everyone smiling as her background and laughed aloud, "Too bad the others aren't here. We could get a picture of all of us, together."
Loki snorted, "No thank you. I'd rather not be in the same shot as Heimdall and Freyr."
Mayura rolled her eyes, noting that he didn't mention Freya, "Oh? So we should invite Freya-sama next time?"
He didn't miss the hint of jealousy in her voice and smiled, rather arrogantly, taking her free hand within his, "I don't mind, if I get to see all of Mayura's emotions for me."
"Ah, I don't know... what emotions?" she turned her head the other way, hiding her pink cheeks, but she allowed her hand to remain within his warm one. She looked at the girl next to her, "Hel-chan, I don't know how you put up with Loki-sama."
"It's never boring?" she blushed when her eyes met with her father's amused ones, ducking her head with a giggle.
"That's so true!" Mayura nodded.
'Daddy's the best!' Fenrir barked, and everyone sweatdropped, knowing how much of a daddy's boy the puppy was - practically a fact across the Nine Worlds these days.
The mortal nodded, "And I know Yamino-san is on Loki-sama's side."
The young man blushed with embarrassment at how true the statement was, but he also liked Mayura, so it would be a difficult choice if he was thrown in the middle of a fight between the two.
"Because I'm that lovable," Loki smirked.
It wasn't like she was going to deny the truth of the statement, but she just didn't have any witty comeback against the cunning god, and even if she did, the disruption from the few floors below them wouldn't allow her to voice it.
Yes, this trip had been too perfect to continue as so, and some action was needed as a break from all the sweetness that would give one tooth decay. They all hurried to the ledge and leaned over the railing, trying to search for the source of all the desperate screaming, which appeared to becoming from below, far below the floors they had been on.
"I don't see any idols," Mayura mused, eyes scanning the masses of tiny persons.
How could she mix up the screams of horror and shock with the high-pitched squeals of fangirls at the sight of their favorite idol? Really, anyone could make that mistake, but the throngs of people flooding towards the many exits around the mall indicated the former.
"The jaki," Hel-chan murmured, "Our presence here must have disturbed them."
Just as she said that, they heard screaming come from above too, and when they looked up, they could see people fleeing to the nearest elevators or escalators, followed by all sorts of objects, possessed by the spirits, spiralling down the center of the mall.
"There are too many people around," Yamino said worriedly.
The gods couldn't take action without their identities being compromised, and as they arrived to the ground floor where the majority of the chaos began because they could see four particular immortals at the center of all the jaki mess. Freya was batting them away with a frying pan, and her brother and Narugami were smacking the jaki with a magical wand and a wooden sword, respectively. Poor Gullinbursti and Gjallar were being pursued roughly by the spirits, leaving a very pissed off Kazumi about to unleashed his powers without a care for the safety of mortals around them.
While most people were fleeing the dangers, there were others who remained behind, because they loved the live action or were just plain idiots without a care for their lives.
'Daddy, we have to do something.'
"I know," Loki frowned. He had to do something, and without any other alternatives and from the way Kazumi's patience was about to explode, he might as well jump in with the magic. But before he did that, he had his number one worry in the form of a mortal girl, "You have to get out of here, Mayura."
"But, I want to help all of you!"
Fenrir jumped out of her arms, 'You can't do anything here! You'll just distract us!'
What he said was true, but there had to be something she could do, and it was Hel-chan who knew what it was. "Father, don't worry about us," she started, "I'll take care of Mayura-san." The goddess pulled her friend in one direction, allowing her father and her brothers to take care of the evil spirits.
"Hel-chan, where are we going?"
"Remember when you sang in the music room?" she asked, running straight by a music store, and straight to the mall's help center which was situated near the front of the main entrance.
"Yes..."
They reached the central hub, where a man was hiding underneath the counter and speaking into the system that reached all corners of the mall, telling everyone to exit the building in a calmly manner - as if that worked. Hel-chan apologized ever so politely, with a deep bow, and grabbed the microphone from him, turning to a confused Mayura.
"Mayura-san," she placed the microphone into the hands of the blinking girl. This was a chance to confirm her suspicions about the girl's abilities, if she was capable to possess other worldly powers that she had a glimpse of in the music room. She didn't want to have high expectations, for fear of getting her heart broken, but she had already believed the moment they met, "Please sing a lullaby."
"Huh?"
She kept her hands over Mayura's own, for support and for the faith she had placed in her, and looked down shyly at them, "It will put everyone here to sleep."
Her eyes widened, the crimson shimmered in wonderment, "Whaa... I can do that?"
"With my help, you will." Hel-chan smiled softly, "Your voice will reach the depths of their hearts." Mayura seemed uncertain but ever curious, and the goddess continued, "You have reached mine, Mayura-san."
"Hel-chan..."
With her friend's encouraging smile, she nodded and closed her eyes, bringing the microphone that they both held closer to her mouth, as she picked out a calm, melancholy piece from her memories. Even without the accompaniment of music, she could hear the melody in her heart and began to hum it. Hel-chan, smiling, closed her eyes too and began to whisper some words in an unknown language, summoning her powers and intertwining it with Mayura's voice...
o/` Softly, I gaze.
o/` Stars of the skies
o/` Around the bright, golden moon.
Everyone appeared to have stopped running or whatever they were doing and strained to hear the soft voice streaming from overhead, even capturing the attention of the gods.
o/` Battles of old, tiring my soul.
o/` Closing my eyes, the tears fall.
Loki looked up, having recognized the beautiful voice, soft and gentle, dancing straight in to the chaos, and smiled, because he believed that if anyone could calm the storm, it was that particular mortal girl, "Mayura..."
o/` Happiness had once filled those faraway days.
o/` I remember the smiling face you wore.
As they continued to listen, their bodies began to relax, the pleasant melody gracing their ears and the kindness in her voice soothing their souls.
o/` A single kiss upon my cheek,
o/` Your whispers of good night,
o/` I want to sleep...
Various reactions from the gods came about, from Freya's envious 'hmmf' and Kazumi's nonchalant attitude to Freyr's love-struck eyes as he mumbled something about his precious Yamato Nadeshiko, and a jaki-possessed toaster flew straight to his head.
A surprised Narugami glanced over to a nearby Loki, "Seriously? That's Daidouji?"
The blonde god just smiled, knowingly.
o/` So lonely, so lonely, lost in the darkness,
o/` I cry your name, hoping you would find me.
One by one, each person, still within the building who heard the song, fell to the floor, eyes closing and smiles on their faces as they drifted into a deep slumber.
o/` Within my fading touch, just frozen nights
o/` And emptiness.
o/` The stars' lullaby...
Now that all the mortals were unconscious, it was time for the gods to retaliate, and Kazumi was happy to start it off by blasting the nearby objects to the wall, even his cackle a bit on the sadistic side as he proceeded to pound more spirits. Narugami immediately followed Kazumi's attack with Mjollnir, slicing them in half, releasing the jaki from their core. Freya jumped in and collected the jaki into her pot, like she was planning to make jaki nabemono, which probably wouldn't taste very good anyway.
o/` Many late nights
o/` Of loneliness,
o/` Embracing my icy tears.
Freyr had just come out of his power up transformation and ran around blasting the flying jaki with moons and stars and rainbows and maybe some horseshoes... and balloons?
o/` You fill my mind, warming my heart,
o/` Like the sun melting the snow.
Loki sent a wave of flames into the air, hitting all the jaki around him.
o/` Straining my ears to hear your voice, my eyes close
o/` Just to see the dreams of a tomorrow.
Yamino ran around and snatched up the defeated jaki at Loki's and Narugami's hands and stuffed them into his father's container.
o/` Feeling this love, always with me,
o/` Guiding me to your heart,
o/` So please wait for me...
Fenrir returned to his wolf form and chased the remaining jaki, grabbing them within the confines of his large mouth. He chewed them up like they were bubble gum.
o/` This feeling in my chest, beating just for you.
o/` The gentleness staring at me from afar.
Whatever jaki was left gradually succumbed to the effects of the powerful voice, no longer frantically attacking the gods but drifting harmlessly in the air as if they had fallen into a deep trance.
o/` Waiting for that someday, I sit in my room,
o/` Quietly watching
o/` The stars' lullaby...
Loki was surprised that Mayura's voice was also affecting the spirits, which was strange that a mortal had such powers. He was pretty sure, when they first met, that she lacked any sixth sense or any spiritual abilities, so why was she able to display these powers now.
o/` With the wind and the falling stars of the heavens,
o/` How many more moons will fade into darkness?
o/` Even if the dream is still far away,
o/` It will come true.
With the rest of the jaki defeated, the gods hurried to collect them, even from Fenrir who spitted his collection on to the ground as one giant glob of shapeless spirits, and yes, they tasted terrible.
o/` I'll always believe...
o/` The stars' lullaby.
When the final lyrics left her mouth, Mayura opened her eyes again, feeling the sadness from the song ache in her heart, able to relate to it, somehow. It was so strange, as if the sudden feeling was a premonition of what was to come, but when she felt a squeeze from Hel-chan's warm hands, she forgot about her troublesome and happily received the supportive smile from the goddess.
"It was beautiful, Mayura-san..."
Hel-chan was deeply moved by the mortal's voice and the particular song, having sensed Mayura's troubled heart, tears brimming at the edge of her emerald eyes. Mayura's arms dropped to her side, and she hugged the mortal, resting her head on her shoulder with closed her eyes and felt the girls arm return the embrace, but win from this battle was only the start of a much bigger one.
Poor Fenrir was the only one to revert to his powerless form, because a small puppy could only do so much against an evil spirit, and besides, they were at the mall anyway, so getting him proper clothing was not a problem. But getting him to wear clothes that weren't so flashy was the problem, and he exited the dressing room, wearing ripped, red jeans and a bright yellow, baggy t-shirt that advertised some J-rock band over a long sleeve black tee, and a bright orange striped beanie on his head and dark shades, and were those black leather, platform boots, with metal spikes and buckles across the front?
"Nii-san," Yamino sweatdropped, "I'm not paying for that."
"What?! But this is in style!"
"How do you know?"
"It was on tv last night!"
"What were you even watching?!"
"Oi, Klutzy!" Fenrir called, pointing to Freyr who looked around like he wasn't the one being addressed to, "Tell him this is the trend!"
Right, it figured Fenrir would take fashion tips from the resident drama queen, but the more important matter was to get out of the mall without the outside authorities questioning them. It was a good thing this specific mall was actually connected to the local subway system on the third basement level, that was still running despite the few people passed out down there too.
The new arrivals found it strange and were distracted enough that the group of immortals and one girl casually snuck by and in to the nearest train, conveniently, catching a ride back to their neighborhood.
All worn out from the mall excursion, they managed to all squeeze in together at one end of the compartment. The nine persons and two pets were literally squeezed in to the small space: Yamino hugging the bags of his precious appliances next to Hel-chan, who was resting her head on Mayura's shoulder, whose back was pressed halfway into Loki's embrace, who sweatdropped to Freya clinging to his arm while a standing Freyr had a grip on his sister's other arm, trying to get her away from the evil god, and all the yanking caused his elbow to hit Gullinbursti who kept bumping into an annoyed Gjallar in Kazumi's lap, on the other side of the train, making the small god even more annoyed at having to be squished between the idiot Freyr, whose elbow sometimes missed the piglet and hit his head instead, and the ever-moving Narugami fighting over a bag of pastries with a human Fenrir, who growled, threatening to bite Flashy Pants' hand off. (Phew, what a long, purposeful run-on sentence.)
This scenario continued until they reached the desired stopped when everyone practically ran for the door, shoving all riders and personnel aside.
After a very eventful day, the night was much more calmer and peaceful, almost to the point of it being eerie and foreboding. All residents of the Daidouji house were tucked in bed and snored away in to dreamland, most were just exhausted from the long day and had quickly surrender their consciousness, though there were a few exceptions.
Hel-chan, with the covers pulled up to her chin, blinked, gazing through the window, where the moonlight seeped through the sheer curtains. She remained still and quiet in the bed, listening to the steady breathing of her roommate, who had been lulled into a deep slumber. After a moment of certainty that the mortal girl wasn't going to awaken from Hel-chan's careful movements, the goddess slipped out of bed and stood briefly at the bedside, staring down at the peaceful-looking girl.
Her eyes widened, and she quickly covered her mouth, muffling the surprised sound at the sight of her friend, who appeared like she did not belong upon the earth. She turned away and quietly left the room, moving stealthily through the hallway and down the stairs, practically like a ghost drifting in silence, but really, she wouldn't be the goddess of the Underworld if she couldn't even move like the dead.
She glided through the house and eventually out the back door. She continued outside, towards the woodlands in the back of the Daidouji property, taking quite a bit of time walking, pushing through the trees and forest vegetation until she came upon a small clearing. Standing at the edge, she could make out the familiar figure upon the large rock, his back to her.
He turned his head to the side, giving her a beautiful view of his defined profile, and asked, "What are you planning?"
Hel-chan walked up to the rock and stood, posture straight and confident, still in her borrowed pajamas with both arms at her side, and visible in the moonlight, a solemn smile upon her lips, "Heimdall-san, I would like your help."
Notes: Hm, I debated long and hard whether to add the mall fight or not, which did include the singing, because well, it wasn't really needed... lol. *sweatdrops* Since it wasn't the song I'll be using in the end. I guess it's just one extra chapter to delay the end, huh? Lol.
But as you can see, the finale is coming up... in 2-3 chapters. *sniffles* -kuro.