Of Course You Know This Means War?
A Matantei Loki Ragnarok fanfic: part 4
Mayura was approaching her term finals, and once again, her lack of focus on day-to-day assignments had caught up with her. She hadn't realized just how much she had slacked off untill she saw the list of assignments needed for her final grade. In both math and science she had gotten into the habit of tucking homework into her folders to begin at home, but never actually finish. So the errant scholar had set up a sort of "study camp" in the parlor of the Enjaku Detective Agency, much to Loki's dismay.
"Why here?" he had asked her.
"Because," she explained. "I need somewhere with a good study vibe; my house just isn't right. All your books and stuff just scream dull and unintresting."
Loki had almost asked her why she had bothered if his house was so dull, but she obviously had her mind set on it; he knew better then to argue with Mayura when she got like this. Over the next several days he saw an accumulation of books, papers, pencils, pens, notes, and something she called "brainfood," which looked suspisiously like Pocky and chocolate cookies. Odd volumes of manga also showed up, which Mayura claimed she needed to keep her brain from wearing out. Loki was sad over the loss of his parlor (he had liked to take tea in there sometimes), but came to the conclusion that a busy Mayura was a Mayura that wasn't bothering him. The sooner she finished her work, the sooner he could get his parlour back.
Yamino didn't seem to be helping matters any. He'd bring her a fresh pot of tea at the same time he brought one upstairs to Loki, and kept her well supplied with snacks. Mayura in turn shared with Fenrir (who would hide under the couch until Yamino was gone). Yamino once caught her feeding the puppy bits of chocolate Pocky and admonished her not to give him any more, since chocolate was very bad for dogs. The black puppy gave Yamino such an evil look that Mayura could have sworn he understood every word.
Loki in the meantime spent most of his time in his upstairs study, even during the afternoon when the south-facing window let in all the light and heat of the day. He didn't mind having Mayura around, he even rather enjoyed having another person around from time to time, but he was a very private person. He was, he reflected, rather intolerant of neighbors, no matter how considerate or cute they were.
It just so happened that as he was thinking this, Loki came across an ad in the Classified section of the paper.
"Tainted Gari needs a studio! Aspiring band seeks basement, spare bedroom, or cutting edge recording facilities; will pay rent on time."
Odin himself had learned to fear a certain smile that Loki had. Loki wore that smile right now.
&&
"It looks like we have some new neighbors," Heimdall remarked as he entered the apartment.
Freyr sat at the table and tinkered with some complex addition to Gullinbrusti. "They must be quite perceptive to have chosen the same honorable dwellings as we," he said.
Heimdall wondered what was so honorable about the low-rent apartment complex owned by an drunken Russian transvestite, but didn't say anything. Instead of letting himself be bothered by his roommate just after getting home, he went back outside to watch the movers.
He liked standing and watching the world from the upper level walkway of the building. It wasn't quite the same as standing on Bifrost where his keen ears could hear any being approaching from a world away, but it was good enough for now. Now Heimdall looked down on six young people, four men and two women. They were all dressed similarly with black leather jackets and dyed hair. All six carted items from a rented truck to the open appartment right below Heimdall's. The things they carried seemed mostly electronic: speakers, boxes of wires, microphones, mixing boards, computers and moniters, more wires, and items that Heimdall couldn't even guess at.
Freyr was now watching them, too. "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves."
They walked down the rickety steps. Two members of the group had sat down on two boxes and passed a home rolled cigarette between them.
"Greetings! I am Freyr."
"I'm Heimdall."
The one on the left, a young man maybe around 19, blinked slowly. "Whoa, wild names. I'm Ran, he's Suki. You guys live upstairs?"
Freyr said, "Yes, we've been upstairs for several months now."
Heimdall didn't miss the tiny glance that passed between the two men. "We're roommates," he explained quickly.
Suki snubbed his cigarette out on the wall of the building. "No, it's cool." He gestured at the tallest of those moving boxes. "Yun over there, he's, well, kinda out there, too. If you know what I mean."
Heimdall hurried to change the subject. "So what's all this stuff? It doesn't look like you're moving in."
Ran smiled. "We're in a band! This is gonna be our studio. We'll practice, and write songs, and even mix demo tapes for radio stations. It's gonna be so cool!"
Freyr perked up. "I am not unfamiliar with the noble pursuit myself; tell me, what kind of music do you play?"
Ran smiled again. "Loud," he said.
&&
Freyr was just leaving the apartment to go on his evening Freya hunt when he was approached by Suki, the older of the two men he and Heimdall had spoken with three days ago.
"Hey, glad I ran into you. I don't suppose you wanna stop by, see what we've got set up? We're breaking in the place, you know." He gave Freyr a wink that seemed to hold some implied meaning.
"If you need some place broken into, Kaitou Freyr will be glad to help."
He smiled. "Yah, that's what I thought. C'mon in and meet the band." He led Freyr into the apartment directly below the one he shared with Heimdall. The other six people were sitting around eating take out straight from the containers and passing bottles around. The air was heavy with smoke from the cigarrettes they also passed around.
Suki pointed at the various members as he introduced them. "Ran you know; the girl's Aoi, she's with Yuki. He's Yun, and she's Tsuki. We're Tainted Gari!"
"TAINTED GARI!" the band members yelled back.
Suki pulled up a box for Freyr to sit on, then accepted a cigarrette from Aoi at his right. He took a long drag on it, savored the smoke, then blew it out into the already smoky air. Then he handed it to Freyr.
Freyr didn't really understand this ceremony, but lack of understanding had never stopped the great Kaitou Freyr. He mimiced Suki's actions, inhaling sharp acrid smoke deep into his lungs, holding the breath, then exhaling. Then he handed across his chest to Aoi on his left. Soon the home-rolled cigarrette was back to Freyr, and he drew on it again.
The brand at the end of the little white stick soon went out and another one was rolled. Freyr watched this carefully, intrested in any aspect of human life that may help him A) find Freya or B) woo Yamato Nadeshiko. Perhaps this strange ceremony was a sort of bonding activity shared between neighbors. Freyr resolved to stay and smoke until he understood.
&&
Heimdall lay on the couch and tryed to stuff throw pillows into his ears. He was miserable. The world was only a pale blur now; he felt his body becoming lighter and lighter. Was it possible for a god to die from pain?
He heard the door slam despite the pillows he had clamped over his head. "Heimdall! Did you buy those crackers?"
He peeked out from underneath worn green velveteen to see Freyr shuffling through their cupboards as if Freya herself was hidden behind the dry rice.
"What?" he croaked out. Damn, now his voice was going. Was that a sign of death, too? First vision, then voice, then---what?
"The chicken crackers Freyr likes so much. I specifically asked that they be bought today."
"Go buy them youself." Heimdall did not want his last moments spent on a miserable Midgard to be spent arguing about crackers with Freyr.
Freyr yanked the pillows from Heimdall's face, revealing one blood shot eye ringed in dark shadows. "What's wrong with you?"
"Those people."
"Pardon?"
"Those people, those----NEIGHBORS, have been playing their damn music for two days! And when they aren't playing, their arguing. I've heard them talk about their guitar strings and their cigarettes and their underwear and the flies and---AND I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
"Freyr hasn't heard a thing."
Heimdall sat up sharply on the couch and smacked Freyr with one green pillow. "That's because you aren't the Guardian of Asgard! You don't have to be able to hear everything that crawls in all the nine worlds, whereas I can hear you picking your nose from the street!"
Freyr was taken aback. Heimdall was usually ornery, but he was rarely actually angry.
"You shouldn't say such things. They are generous and good people. They allowed Freyr to help break into their appartment by participating in a private human ritual called 'The Smoke Out.'"
Heimdall had given up on trying to make any sense out of Freyr long ago. He lay back down and covered his head with pillows. "Yah, well, it's your turn to cook dinner."
Freyr wandered back into the kitchen. "Do we have any peanut butter? Or toast? Freyr is very hungry."
&&
When Loki answered his door he wasn't surprised to find a certain purple haired boy standing on his porch.
"I give up," Heimdall murmured. "Call them off."
"I don't know what you mean, Heimdall."
Heimdall glared with his one good eye, now bloodshot and cloudy with lack of sleep. His face was pale and drawn; he looked awful. "Don't play with me, Loki. I can't take it any more."
Loki smirked. "So you admit you can't go up against me in a war?"
Heimdall's gaze smouldered like a sunburn. "I'll admit nothing! You play dirty, you bastard."
"And who was it that conjured a magic rainstorm that wouldn't dissapate for a week? That wasn't exactly fair, either."
"A little water's nothing; you're just a wimp."
Loki began to close the door.
"No, wait!" Loki stopped.
Heimdall started again. "I give up. Please call them off. I can't sleep, I can't think, and Freyr spends all his time sitting around with them and then eats all our food. I can't take it anymore!"
Loki had never been known for his pity in his formar life. In fact, he could be downright merciless if angered. To his horror, he was moved by Heimdall's begging. He'd never admit it, but he even had a slight twist in his gut about hitting so low. He shook it off; he'd been around humans and their obsession with guilt too long.
"I'll think about it," he said, and shut the door.
&&
Sure enough, the band did leave. When quesitoned, they said that there were attacked by swarms of fluffy pink creatures. Heimdall, used to not asking questions, didn't.
&*&*&
Author's note: And there ends the prank war between Heimdall and Loki. I have genuinly enjoyed writing this, and I'm very glad if you've enjoyed reading it, too. This show and it's fandom has become quite special to me in a very short time and I'm glad to have had a part in spreading the joy.
In this story we got to see a little more interaction between Freyr and Heimdall, which is always fun to write. We also met the band Tainted Gari, which actually comes from a band name a friend of mine and I came up with. Gari is pickled ginger, by the way. I really feel like I took a chance on that scene with Freyr and the band; I'm not sure how it'll be recieved, so be sure to leave me a review here or contact me at haruhara_raharu@yahoo.com or at my LiveJournal under user name kalhara. I'm also a member of the LJ Hemuloki Community and the Matantei Loki Ragnarok Yahoo! group. *waves*
I feel appologetic about the second installment of this story. Like cheap cheese, it hadn't been allowed to age long enough and were thrust out onto the internet before they had reached their full flavor. There have been a few changes made, most notably the absense of the narsacisstic self-insertion. I thought it'd work and I don't think it did. Also, it's been firmly established that Freyr and Heimdall seem to live in some kind of mansion or large house, probably an abandoned one. At the time this was orignally written there was very little info to be gained about their living arrangements and it seemed to me that it was different each time. So while their appartment living isn't accurate to the anime, it is pretty funny.
Finally, thanks again for reading. Without readers, there's no reason for my or any other writer to continue doing what we love. If you like, drop me a line at haruhara_raharu@yahoo.com.
A Matantei Loki Ragnarok fanfic: part 4
Mayura was approaching her term finals, and once again, her lack of focus on day-to-day assignments had caught up with her. She hadn't realized just how much she had slacked off untill she saw the list of assignments needed for her final grade. In both math and science she had gotten into the habit of tucking homework into her folders to begin at home, but never actually finish. So the errant scholar had set up a sort of "study camp" in the parlor of the Enjaku Detective Agency, much to Loki's dismay.
"Why here?" he had asked her.
"Because," she explained. "I need somewhere with a good study vibe; my house just isn't right. All your books and stuff just scream dull and unintresting."
Loki had almost asked her why she had bothered if his house was so dull, but she obviously had her mind set on it; he knew better then to argue with Mayura when she got like this. Over the next several days he saw an accumulation of books, papers, pencils, pens, notes, and something she called "brainfood," which looked suspisiously like Pocky and chocolate cookies. Odd volumes of manga also showed up, which Mayura claimed she needed to keep her brain from wearing out. Loki was sad over the loss of his parlor (he had liked to take tea in there sometimes), but came to the conclusion that a busy Mayura was a Mayura that wasn't bothering him. The sooner she finished her work, the sooner he could get his parlour back.
Yamino didn't seem to be helping matters any. He'd bring her a fresh pot of tea at the same time he brought one upstairs to Loki, and kept her well supplied with snacks. Mayura in turn shared with Fenrir (who would hide under the couch until Yamino was gone). Yamino once caught her feeding the puppy bits of chocolate Pocky and admonished her not to give him any more, since chocolate was very bad for dogs. The black puppy gave Yamino such an evil look that Mayura could have sworn he understood every word.
Loki in the meantime spent most of his time in his upstairs study, even during the afternoon when the south-facing window let in all the light and heat of the day. He didn't mind having Mayura around, he even rather enjoyed having another person around from time to time, but he was a very private person. He was, he reflected, rather intolerant of neighbors, no matter how considerate or cute they were.
It just so happened that as he was thinking this, Loki came across an ad in the Classified section of the paper.
"Tainted Gari needs a studio! Aspiring band seeks basement, spare bedroom, or cutting edge recording facilities; will pay rent on time."
Odin himself had learned to fear a certain smile that Loki had. Loki wore that smile right now.
&&
"It looks like we have some new neighbors," Heimdall remarked as he entered the apartment.
Freyr sat at the table and tinkered with some complex addition to Gullinbrusti. "They must be quite perceptive to have chosen the same honorable dwellings as we," he said.
Heimdall wondered what was so honorable about the low-rent apartment complex owned by an drunken Russian transvestite, but didn't say anything. Instead of letting himself be bothered by his roommate just after getting home, he went back outside to watch the movers.
He liked standing and watching the world from the upper level walkway of the building. It wasn't quite the same as standing on Bifrost where his keen ears could hear any being approaching from a world away, but it was good enough for now. Now Heimdall looked down on six young people, four men and two women. They were all dressed similarly with black leather jackets and dyed hair. All six carted items from a rented truck to the open appartment right below Heimdall's. The things they carried seemed mostly electronic: speakers, boxes of wires, microphones, mixing boards, computers and moniters, more wires, and items that Heimdall couldn't even guess at.
Freyr was now watching them, too. "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves."
They walked down the rickety steps. Two members of the group had sat down on two boxes and passed a home rolled cigarette between them.
"Greetings! I am Freyr."
"I'm Heimdall."
The one on the left, a young man maybe around 19, blinked slowly. "Whoa, wild names. I'm Ran, he's Suki. You guys live upstairs?"
Freyr said, "Yes, we've been upstairs for several months now."
Heimdall didn't miss the tiny glance that passed between the two men. "We're roommates," he explained quickly.
Suki snubbed his cigarette out on the wall of the building. "No, it's cool." He gestured at the tallest of those moving boxes. "Yun over there, he's, well, kinda out there, too. If you know what I mean."
Heimdall hurried to change the subject. "So what's all this stuff? It doesn't look like you're moving in."
Ran smiled. "We're in a band! This is gonna be our studio. We'll practice, and write songs, and even mix demo tapes for radio stations. It's gonna be so cool!"
Freyr perked up. "I am not unfamiliar with the noble pursuit myself; tell me, what kind of music do you play?"
Ran smiled again. "Loud," he said.
&&
Freyr was just leaving the apartment to go on his evening Freya hunt when he was approached by Suki, the older of the two men he and Heimdall had spoken with three days ago.
"Hey, glad I ran into you. I don't suppose you wanna stop by, see what we've got set up? We're breaking in the place, you know." He gave Freyr a wink that seemed to hold some implied meaning.
"If you need some place broken into, Kaitou Freyr will be glad to help."
He smiled. "Yah, that's what I thought. C'mon in and meet the band." He led Freyr into the apartment directly below the one he shared with Heimdall. The other six people were sitting around eating take out straight from the containers and passing bottles around. The air was heavy with smoke from the cigarrettes they also passed around.
Suki pointed at the various members as he introduced them. "Ran you know; the girl's Aoi, she's with Yuki. He's Yun, and she's Tsuki. We're Tainted Gari!"
"TAINTED GARI!" the band members yelled back.
Suki pulled up a box for Freyr to sit on, then accepted a cigarrette from Aoi at his right. He took a long drag on it, savored the smoke, then blew it out into the already smoky air. Then he handed it to Freyr.
Freyr didn't really understand this ceremony, but lack of understanding had never stopped the great Kaitou Freyr. He mimiced Suki's actions, inhaling sharp acrid smoke deep into his lungs, holding the breath, then exhaling. Then he handed across his chest to Aoi on his left. Soon the home-rolled cigarrette was back to Freyr, and he drew on it again.
The brand at the end of the little white stick soon went out and another one was rolled. Freyr watched this carefully, intrested in any aspect of human life that may help him A) find Freya or B) woo Yamato Nadeshiko. Perhaps this strange ceremony was a sort of bonding activity shared between neighbors. Freyr resolved to stay and smoke until he understood.
&&
Heimdall lay on the couch and tryed to stuff throw pillows into his ears. He was miserable. The world was only a pale blur now; he felt his body becoming lighter and lighter. Was it possible for a god to die from pain?
He heard the door slam despite the pillows he had clamped over his head. "Heimdall! Did you buy those crackers?"
He peeked out from underneath worn green velveteen to see Freyr shuffling through their cupboards as if Freya herself was hidden behind the dry rice.
"What?" he croaked out. Damn, now his voice was going. Was that a sign of death, too? First vision, then voice, then---what?
"The chicken crackers Freyr likes so much. I specifically asked that they be bought today."
"Go buy them youself." Heimdall did not want his last moments spent on a miserable Midgard to be spent arguing about crackers with Freyr.
Freyr yanked the pillows from Heimdall's face, revealing one blood shot eye ringed in dark shadows. "What's wrong with you?"
"Those people."
"Pardon?"
"Those people, those----NEIGHBORS, have been playing their damn music for two days! And when they aren't playing, their arguing. I've heard them talk about their guitar strings and their cigarettes and their underwear and the flies and---AND I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
"Freyr hasn't heard a thing."
Heimdall sat up sharply on the couch and smacked Freyr with one green pillow. "That's because you aren't the Guardian of Asgard! You don't have to be able to hear everything that crawls in all the nine worlds, whereas I can hear you picking your nose from the street!"
Freyr was taken aback. Heimdall was usually ornery, but he was rarely actually angry.
"You shouldn't say such things. They are generous and good people. They allowed Freyr to help break into their appartment by participating in a private human ritual called 'The Smoke Out.'"
Heimdall had given up on trying to make any sense out of Freyr long ago. He lay back down and covered his head with pillows. "Yah, well, it's your turn to cook dinner."
Freyr wandered back into the kitchen. "Do we have any peanut butter? Or toast? Freyr is very hungry."
&&
When Loki answered his door he wasn't surprised to find a certain purple haired boy standing on his porch.
"I give up," Heimdall murmured. "Call them off."
"I don't know what you mean, Heimdall."
Heimdall glared with his one good eye, now bloodshot and cloudy with lack of sleep. His face was pale and drawn; he looked awful. "Don't play with me, Loki. I can't take it any more."
Loki smirked. "So you admit you can't go up against me in a war?"
Heimdall's gaze smouldered like a sunburn. "I'll admit nothing! You play dirty, you bastard."
"And who was it that conjured a magic rainstorm that wouldn't dissapate for a week? That wasn't exactly fair, either."
"A little water's nothing; you're just a wimp."
Loki began to close the door.
"No, wait!" Loki stopped.
Heimdall started again. "I give up. Please call them off. I can't sleep, I can't think, and Freyr spends all his time sitting around with them and then eats all our food. I can't take it anymore!"
Loki had never been known for his pity in his formar life. In fact, he could be downright merciless if angered. To his horror, he was moved by Heimdall's begging. He'd never admit it, but he even had a slight twist in his gut about hitting so low. He shook it off; he'd been around humans and their obsession with guilt too long.
"I'll think about it," he said, and shut the door.
&&
Sure enough, the band did leave. When quesitoned, they said that there were attacked by swarms of fluffy pink creatures. Heimdall, used to not asking questions, didn't.
&*&*&
Author's note: And there ends the prank war between Heimdall and Loki. I have genuinly enjoyed writing this, and I'm very glad if you've enjoyed reading it, too. This show and it's fandom has become quite special to me in a very short time and I'm glad to have had a part in spreading the joy.
In this story we got to see a little more interaction between Freyr and Heimdall, which is always fun to write. We also met the band Tainted Gari, which actually comes from a band name a friend of mine and I came up with. Gari is pickled ginger, by the way. I really feel like I took a chance on that scene with Freyr and the band; I'm not sure how it'll be recieved, so be sure to leave me a review here or contact me at haruhara_raharu@yahoo.com or at my LiveJournal under user name kalhara. I'm also a member of the LJ Hemuloki Community and the Matantei Loki Ragnarok Yahoo! group. *waves*
I feel appologetic about the second installment of this story. Like cheap cheese, it hadn't been allowed to age long enough and were thrust out onto the internet before they had reached their full flavor. There have been a few changes made, most notably the absense of the narsacisstic self-insertion. I thought it'd work and I don't think it did. Also, it's been firmly established that Freyr and Heimdall seem to live in some kind of mansion or large house, probably an abandoned one. At the time this was orignally written there was very little info to be gained about their living arrangements and it seemed to me that it was different each time. So while their appartment living isn't accurate to the anime, it is pretty funny.
Finally, thanks again for reading. Without readers, there's no reason for my or any other writer to continue doing what we love. If you like, drop me a line at haruhara_raharu@yahoo.com.