The Great Train Robbery

A Matantei Loki Ragnarok Fanfic

Author's Notes: This takes place after the events of my first fanfic, After, and prior to any events in the manga. Thanks to Evaron and GreyWolf for prereading.

Prologue

"Mayura-san? Mayura-san? Wake up, you're going to be late for school!" a voice whispered urgently, shaking her from a blissful slumber.

"Aww, five more minutes dad zzzzzz…"

"Mayura-san!" he said, louder and more insistently this time.

"All right, all right, I… accck!"

The last was said because Mayura had managed to roll right off the couch and onto the floor, banging her head against the coffee table as she fell, scattering piles of magazines and her blankets everywhere.

"Owww!" she moaned.

"Punyaan?" Ecchan squeaked as it hovered around her anxiously.

Yamino brushed the little familiar out of the way as he scooped Mayura up in his arms, and gently lifted her back onto the couch. He carefully brushed aside her hair and winced as he saw the large, discolored lump that was forming on her forehead. Mayura let out a soft, miserable sound. A tear trickled down her face as the pain began to register.

"That really hurt," she whimpered.

Yamino winced. "That doesn't look good at all."

"What's all the racket, Yamino-kun?" inquired a sleepy voice from the doorway.

"Mayura-san hit her head on the coffee table, Loki-sama," he answered.

Loki, still clad in his pajamas, padded over to where the dazed Mayura lay. He frowned, looking at the nasty lump on her head. She looked at him blearily, her eyes trying to focus.

"Sorry, Loki-kun," she murmured.

He sighed. "Mayura, you shouldn't have spent the night here."

"I was just studying and, well… your couch is very cozy. I fell asleep!" she protested, then winced as another bolt of pain shot through her aching head.

"We can talk about it later. Yamino-kun, give Mayura's school a call and tell them she won't be in today because of illness."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Loki-kun, I can still get to school. You don't have to do that!"

He shook his head. "Not like that you won't. You might even have a concussion and as it is you'll never have enough time to get yourself cleaned up. But don't expect me to bail you out every time like this."

His attempts to be stern were spoiled when Mayura squealed in delight, sat up, and hugged a surprised Loki tightly. She started to babble out a thank you but then moaned and fell back, closing her eyes briefly. Loki began to grow genuinely concerned.

"I'll get you an ice pack right away," he promised, gently reaching down and stroking her forehead. "You just rest here. You can wash up when you're feeling a little better."

"Okay…" she moaned.

Mayura closed her eyes and settled her head back on the pillow, trying to get comfortable. Loki looked up to find Yamino smiling benevolently down at them from the doorway.

"Yamino-kun, I thought I asked you to go call her school?" he said, gazing pointedly at the butler.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I'll do it right away, Loki-sama."

Ecchan hopped on Loki's head and let out a soft "Punyaan" as they left the room.

***

A little later, Mayura felt well enough to join them downstairs for a quick brunch that Yamino had prepared. Part of the reason for this was because Yamino had slipped a bit of magical medicine in with the aspirin he had scrounged up for the girl. He was certain his special medicine had worked when Mayura began wolfing down the pancakes he had set out for her. Satisfied that Mayura would be well, Yamino turned his attention to Loki.

"More tea, Loki-sama?"

"That would be fine, Ya…"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Everyone turned to stare at Mayura. Before anyone could ask her what the problem was, she leaped onto the table and began waving the newspaper at them excitedly.

"It's a new mystery!" she said happily. "A mysterious thief stole the fortune of a wealthy American heiress and brought all the gold to Japan! They say the total amount stolen is worth… worth… wow."

Yamino gently took the paper from her and examined it himself. "Oh my," he said. "What on earth does someone need this much money for?"

"Hey! What does it say?" Fenrir barked. "I wanna know too!"

"Ahem," Yamino said as he adjusted his glasses. "Wealthy American heiress Irene Dunn will be arriving in Tokyo today to oversee the police investigation into the theft of her family fortune, worth almost five trillion yen in gold. The thieves have so far eluded capture in both the United States and Japan and police remain baffled…"

"Isn't this cool, Loki-kun?" Mayura said with great cheer. "This is the biggest mystery since Phantom Thief Freyr!"

Loki was pensive. "Irene Dunn… Irene Dunn… there's something familiar about that name…"

"Are we going to investigate?" asked Mayura, was practically bouncing up and down in place. "If we can find the money before the police do, the Enjaku Detective Agency will be world famous!"

Loki looked very tired as he said, "Mayura, we don't even have the faintest idea of where to look. We have no leads, no clues, and every policeman in Tokyo is probably looking for the thieves too. We can't just go running around on the streets hoping to bump into something."

"You're no fun," Mayura grumped as she sat back down in her seat and began to eat again, albeit more slowly this time.

The uncomfortable silence of the next few minutes was broken when someone rapped loudly on the front door.

"I'll get it!" said Yamino, as he stood up and hurried to the door.

Loki sighed and rested his head in his arms as he listened to Yamino unlocking the door and greeting whomever his new visitor was. He felt a bit guilty for rejecting Mayura's plan in such an offhand manner, but he sometimes wondered if Mayura would ever learn to ground herself just a bit more in reality. The girl spent so much time with her head in the clouds, dreaming of aliens and UFOs and chupacabras, that she continued to miss the mysteries that existed right in front of her. Mayura's ability to attract strange and bizarre occurrences, often without even noticing them, was a subject of endless fascination to Loki. He promised himself again that he'd look into how she managed to do it. His train of thought was interrupted as Yamino returned to the dining room, guests in tow.

"Inspector Niyama, good to see you," Loki said quietly, looking up at the unshaven man. "What brings you here today?"

In contrast to Loki's neat and tidy appearance, the policeman seemed more disheveled than ever. His black suit coat was rumpled and wrinkled and his hair was a terrible mess. There were dark circles under eyes. He smelled of cheap cologne, cigarettes, alcohol, and one too many late nights at the office. Wrinkling his nose, Loki wondered when the man had last bathed himself properly.

"Hey, kid," the inspector said uncomfortably. "Sorry to bother you like this, but Ms. Dunn here insisted we hire you to help us with this case."

A woman stepped from behind Inspector Niyama and reached down to shake hands with Loki. Loki stared at her, amazed. She had long silver hair, pale skin, and behind a pair of glasses she had sharp blue eyes that seemed to miss nothing as she took in her surroundings. She wore men's clothing – a dark gray suit and tie, and a pair of white gloves. She was slim and unusually tall, and moved with an easy grace.

"That's an… interesting new look for you," Loki said, examining her thoughtfully.

"Hello, detective," she said with a smirk as she shook his hand.

"Irene Dunn. I. Dunn. Idun. How very clever," Loki said dryly.

The woman threw her head back and laughed loudly, while everyone else looked on in confusion.

"Uhh… I take it you two know each other?" Inspector Niyama asked.

***

Comments and criticism are appreciated.