Surprise Encounter
by pinkpuruu

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Although it was two weeks to the day, that fated day, Mayura found it hard to forget. After all, it left many unanswered questions. Her relationship with him had hardly improved—in actuality, she felt like it had gotten even more strained than it was before. Nowadays, he'd avoid her stares, choosing to stare down at his hands rather than to look at her when he talked. It hurt, of course, but she felt that it might just be better this way. Better than having him gone, that is.

She had many questions for him, many things that she yearned to know. But she hadn't managed to work up her courage. She couldn't face seeing him that angry again. So she asked nothing and received nothing and their relationship was screeched to a stagnant halt.

Fortunately for her, she met that man again one day.

He wasn't easy to forget--someone that handsome and that mysterious tended to leave a lasting impression on you. She could clearly depict how fine and trim his red coat was on him, how composed, yet solemn he looked, how he sat, so awkwardly, next to her, and how his eyes seem to pull something in her and reminded her so much of the too-mature-for-his-age tantei who ran the Enjaku Detective Agency.

So when the overly exuberant teenage girl with hair the odd shade of bubble gum, waltzed out of school with a dazed expression on her face, eager to rush back to the Agency where she could uncover more mysteries, she walked right past a large crowd of giggling and chattering girls without a second glance.

At first, the words "Excuse me, ladies, but I have some business to attend to" spoken by a cool, smooth voice were lost on her as she hurried down the street away from the school. The groans and protests of the crowd of classmates seemed to have no effect on her either. No, it wasn't until his hand brushed her shoulder did she hear him gasp, "Mayura, wait a second."

She hadn't realized how quickly she had been trotting down the street until she turned and saw the man behind her panting slightly. The group of girls seemed very far off now, though not far enough to spot Mayura and shoot her penetrating stares. Her foggy daydreams seemed to drift away and her eyesight came to focus on the ruffled gentleman in front of her. He looked positively unnerved by the intense stare she was giving him and resorted to shuffling his feet.

"Um, how are—"

"You!" she exclaimed suddenly, cutting him off. Her eyes widened in recognition. "You! From that time! What are you doing here?"

He gave an impish grin, glad that she was not, in fact, glaring at him. "I missed you?" he said cheekily.

This, obviously, had a widespread effect on the rouge fangirls and they proceeded to exclaim threats of decapitation, disembowelment, and other forms of destruction.

She raised her eyebrows, evidently not hearing the girls' chant. "What do you want?"

He gave a mock pout. "Can't a guy ask a pretty girl out on a date?"

However, the shouts and jeers of the girls in the background were suddenly growing louder, and Mayura found herself suddenly deaf. "What?!"

The man calmly replied, but slightly louder, "Would you like to go for some coffee?!"

The shouts grew louder. "What?!"

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Honestly!" he exclaimed before grabbing the confused teenager's hand and running off with her, leaving the horde of girls wailing dismally.

After running one block until he was absolutely certain that no one was following them, he stopped to catch his breath.

"Really shouldn't run on the first day back in this form," he muttered. Mayura looked a bit bewildered.

"What?" She seemed to be saying that a lot that day.

"Nothing," he said a bit more clearly. "So, which way to the nearest café?" he asked cheerfully.

---

Which was how Mayura found herself sitting in a crowded café sharing a rather large banana parfait with the handsome, yet mysterious, man (god?) in front of her. She was dazzled by the situation she had managed to land herself in. Although she had wondered numerous times who this man was and how he came to come upon her, seeing him once again was less pleasant than she imagined.

Firstly, having a date was him was not the first thing on her mind. A meeting, yes, but a date? It made her uneasy. Mostly it was because she knew nothing about him, but a small part of her felt guilty. He wasn't Loki-kun.

Secondly, she had imagined a meeting with him to be a bit more... confrontational. Who (though "what" was a better word for it) was he? Did he really grant her wish? Why did he come to her? How did he know her? She pictured the scene: Mayura bombarding him with questions while the man quailed weakly underneath the strength of her shouts.

Lastly, what was his connection to Loki-kun?

"Ano ne," she began nervously, putting down the long-handled spoon, her side of the parfait only slightly eaten. The man looked up and mimicked her motion. He gave her his rapt attention.

"Do you have something to ask?" he said, smirking.

Mayura crossed and uncrossed her ankles in hesitance. "Who are you?"

The man gave a sharp bark of a laugh. She was taken aback.

"Well now," he said smoothly. "Knowing who I am will take all the fun out of it."

Mayura felt even more confused. "You're not even going to tell me your name?"

"Mayura, some things are better left unsaid," he said calmly, as if speaking to a child.

"Then if you won't tell me your name, tell me how you know mine."

Now it was his turn to be taken aback. "W-Well," he stammered, a bit nervous. "I'm a god, remember?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean that you get to know everything?"

He relaxed a little. "Something like that."

"Then tell me where Loki-kun went to on that day."

From the look on the man's face, this date was obviously not going the way he had expected. Mayura's eyes, creased in a frown, were intent upon him. He fidgeted slightly.

"That is…" he muttered. "I suppose something you ought to ask him one day."

She looked put out. "Are you going to tell me anything?"

"I can tell you that this parfait is wondrously delicious and it'd be a shame if it were to go to waste," he said, smiling.

Mayura stared. The man took a generous scoop of the vanilla ice cream, nicking a portion of the banana, and held the spoon out to her. "Cheers."

She reluctantly took the scoop of ice cream into her mouth and swallowed the cream. The man watched her eat with an amused smile, as if fascinated by the way her mouth worked. She was further unnerved by the way his eyes roamed her face, never ceasing to focus directly at her.

"S-so," she stammered. "Did you really grant my wish that day?"

His eyes lost the dreamy demeanor and instantly grew intense. "I suppose you could put it that way, yes. Why does that matter?"

"I wanted to know who to thank," she said softly, looking down. "I'm sure he wouldn't have come back to the Agency willingly."

He looked at her sharply. "Why's that?"

Mayura, as though pained by the memory, winced. "Don't you know? We had a fight before he left."

"A fight?"

"I… was snooping around Loki-kun's house," she confessed. "And he grew upset. Which is why he left, I suppose."

"You think he left because of you?"

She gave him a withered look. "I suppose he didn't think he could trust me."

"Is that so," the man murmured, taking another bite of the parfait, slightly more sedate than before. "So you think he left because he didn't trust you anymore?"

Mayura looked up. "Isn't it?"

"Again, something you should take up with him," he replied.

Mayura took another reluctant bite of parfait from the spoon that was offered to her.

"How did you convince him to return?" she said through the mouthful of ice cream. The man grinned.

"I had some very convincing reasons to give him," he said, smirking.

"What were they?" Mayura asked curiously.

He gave her a look that she assumed only meant "these-things-are-better-left-unsaid".

"You really aren't very helpful," she muttered, though to the man's surprise, she didn't make a move to leave. Instead, she looked longingly out the window. "This wasn't how I imagined meeting you again would turn out."

He tried hard to repress the oncoming smug look. "You've thought about me, then?"

She didn't respond.

"And how exactly did you think it'd turn out?" he added.

"I wanted to know more about Loki-kun," she said frostily, and to his surprise and disappointment, she stood up and prepared to walk to the door. "I thought you could've helped me with that." She opened the door, the bell jangling merrily, and walked calmly out the door.

"H-hey! Wait a second!" The man stood up, not forgetting to toss a few bills onto the table, and shot out of the store after her.

---

"Where are you going?" the man called after her, struggling to catch up as she stormed down the street.

"To see him!"

She didn't see the man's grimace nor hear the curse under his breath, but took a guess at his sudden silence. "Please don't follow me anymore."

He suddenly appeared in front of her, cutting off her escape route. "But I enjoy spending time with you," he said, grinning.

"Well, it's a bit one-sided, isn't it?"

"If you ask me, I thought their parfait was pretty decent…"

She gave an impatient stomp of her foot. "I wanted you to tell me more things about Loki-kun! I don't seem to know anything about him and you do, so how am I supposed to feel when you dangle that fact in front of me?"

"Dangle? I don't recall doing any dangling…"

She attempted to make her way around him, an irritated frown upon her face, but he caught her deftly. She found her nose buried in the frilly ribbon tied regally around his neck. Mayura nearly sneezed if he hadn't held her out at arm's length and stared fixedly at her.

"These things," he said clearly, "are better heard by the person you wish would say them."

With that, he released her and waited calmly for her reaction. To his surprise, she looked as if all the hot air had been released from her, and she stood in front of him, speechless. He waited a moment, certain that she was trying to organize a melee of thoughts undoubtedly swirling around in her head until he realized that she had been nearly standing there in shock-silence for at least five minutes.

"Mayura?" he said tentatively.

"I think," she said suddenly, very composed, "That I'd very much like to see Loki-kun now."

---

He quietly walked her down to the Enjaku Detective Agency. He made no comment to her silence and she made no move to give him a cause to. From his viewpoint, she seemed to be struggling with something immense, and he figured that it'd be best not to make a move.

They reached the gates of the large mansion, and Mayura slowed down to a stop in front of it.

"Here we are," she said nervously and a bit scared. "I suppose… I'd better go in and ask him for a chat."

"I suppose you should." Mayura could not distinguish his tone of voice, but she turned to him and gave him a sincerely grateful look, her past anger erased.

"Thank you," she said. "It was good to see you again."

"And it was good to see you once more," he said, beaming down upon her. She made a move to open the gate when he turned her head towards him by cupping her chin in his hands. Before she could react, he kissed her soundly on the lips. Whatever protest she was going to make was drowned out by his persistent lips.

"You…" she gasped, pulling away. "What—?"

The thoughts in her head crashed violently and she was left breathless and confused by her sudden and erratic heartbeat. She felt her face flush and her knees began to tremble, threatening a fall. But he was gripping her too tightly for her to move, and she found herself unable to pull back from him.

"Loki… kun…" she whispered softly as he bent down to draw her into another deeper kiss. That time, she did not resist.

Somewhere off in the distance, she could hear shouting, but she chose to ignore it. That is, until she realized that it was Yamino-san shouting.

"Loki-sama!" he exclaimed, with the dog, Fenrir, barking after him. "Where have you been all day—oh!" He stopped at the gate and suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

Loki gave a sheepish grin as he drew away from Mayura, who appeared bewildered and confused. He looked down at her and tried not to laugh at her surprise. "Looks like I've been caught," he said nervously.

Words could not express her paralyzing shock.

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AN: I don't know if I should add-on to this later, since there certainly is space to... but for some reason, I have this feeling that it'll end up with Loki, sex-crazy seducer god that he is, having the incredible urge for a sexual romp in the park with Mayura. oO. And I don't think I'm ready to write that sort of scene.

...Maybe he'll just make-out with her fiercely. And then explain matter-of-factly to her that all men have undeniable feelings of desire and that it is only natural that he'd want to divulge these feelings by making-out with Mayura, and that she should cooperate with him and just enjoy it thankyouverymuch. Or he could always smirk and look pretty throughout the entire thing, using his Wink of Doom to cause fangirls everywhere to faint and obtain nosebleeds.

...I really need to learn how to read Japanese.

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