Chapter 9: Tease a Little, Laugh a Little

Time elapsed for all those on Midgard. This passage of time however was most noticed by the gods who never much concerned themselves with it before. Mayura became more dedicated in school, making sure not to disappoint Loki. When she had to take her last high school final exam, Mayura was actually prepared. Although no where near the top scores, both Narugami and Mayura passed with admirable scores, especially considering their prior track record with exams. Master had finally come back from his trip around the world to learn more about coffee, and had quickly rehired Narugami as a full-time employee and partner. Mayura, not going on to college for obvious reasons, got a job at Ginga shrine. At first it was really difficult to go there everyday and work at the place she used to live. But she loved the old shrine, and realized she enjoyed her responsibilities as a miko too much to let memories get in her way. Life might have been going well for all concerned, but that didn't mean it was boring or quiet. There were too many 'mysteries' for Mayura to find, way too many comments for Loki to say, plenty of mail-order catalogs to keep Yamino happy, and a surprising amount of long awaited opportunities for Narugami to tease Loki.

Odin meanwhile was watching all of this from his seat in Asgard. Although Loki wouldn't have believed it, he had in fact forgiven Loki. Actually, he had to admit to himself that Loki hadn't done anything. But that wasn't something he was willing to share with the other gods. And as Odin watched Loki's attachment towards the human girl named Daidouji Mayura grow stronger, he couldn't help but wonder if this ordinary mortal would tame Loki. Before Loki's exile to Midgard, Odin would never have believed that a player such as Loki would ever settle with just one female. But there was something special about that girl that attracted Loki's attention. Why did Odin watch this you ask? Well, besides the general curiosity, and potential blackmail material—always a good thing to have with Loki around—Odin spied on Loki's life on Midgard because, frankly, he was bored. Life in Asgard just wasn't the same without Loki's constant barrage of practical jokes and snide comments. And Loki was always getting into funny and interesting situations.

For example:

"Nii-san, you got fleas again, didn't you? Well, we're just going to have to take care of that now won't we? Outside, now!" ordered an annoyed Yamino. Fenrir obeyed immediately.

"Nii-san? What did he mean by that Loki-kun?"

"Nii-san? Oh, well umm… Yamino-kun calls Fenrir that because… Fenrir's behavior and eating habits reminds him so much of his real bother."

"I see. That's so cute!!"

"Ah, it finally arrived."

"What did you order Yamino-san?" asked Mayura.

"Red roses, straight from England. I'm going to be planting them in the front yard. What do you think, Loki-sama?"

But Yamino-kun, it doesn't matter. You've already bought them. Loki just smiled and sipped his tea.

"It'll look beautiful Yamino-kun! I'll help plant them. I take care of the gardens at the shrine. There should be two planted on either side of the front steps and… let me think… Ah yes, perhaps they could be planted at the edges of the front sidewalk. What do you think Loki-kun?"

"Um, do you know if they'll get enough sun and won't that be a lot of work to maintain them?"

"You don't like my idea, do you? You think it'll be ugly."

"I… I didn't mean that Mayura. I was just asking…"

"I was only trying to help Yamino-san."

"I was just asking…"

"You're so mean!" Mayura began to cry.

Why is she crying? I didn't say anything… when in doubt, compliment… "I'm sure it will look nice."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better…"

…and compliment some more. "No, I really like the idea. It… it will put color in the front yard, right Yamino-kun?" Loki looked over to Yamino with a silent plea to agree with him.

"Ahhhhh… why yes of course Mayura-san. Loki-sama is quite right." Yamino shook his head in agreement.

"You really think so? Yeah!! Let's go plant them. Come on Loki-kun. You're going to help right?"

When the situation is fixed, don't rock the boat. Loki let himself to be dragged out the door by Mayura.

"Oh, look Loki-kun. I think Fenrir's got a girlfriend," commented Mayura from the front door.

"What?!!!" yelled Loki from the kitchen table where he was still eating breakfast along with Narugami.

"Oh, come on Loki-kun. It's cute. It's not like it's you're going to be a grandpa or anything. I got to get to the shrine. Bye Loki-kun."

"My, my… don't we feel old now," teased Narugami. "So, how are you feeling… grandpa?"

"Na…ru…kami…kun…" growled Loki.

"Calm down there Loki-grandpa. We wouldn't want you to raise your blood pressure."

"Narukami-kun…" spoke Loki softly as his eyes were sparkling mischievously. At this, Narugami swiftly stuffed the last of his meal into his mouth and left the house with lightening on his heels—literally. Narugami wasn't about to face the cunning intellect of an annoyed, and recently picked on Loki. Narugami knew there would be comeuppance, but it was worth it. How often did someone get one up on Loki the Trickster god?

---later that day in Loki's study---

"Now Fenrir, I've noticed that you've ah… taken an interest in a certain female. You didn't knock her up, did you?" Please say no. Please say no. Having nine or ten demi-dog-gods running around Midgard is not a good idea. And I couldn't take the grandpa jokes. Odin's a grandfather but… he looks old! Whoa, that means Frig's a grandma!.... I think that's one comment even I'll refrain from saying. I like all my body parts intact.

"Of course not daddy, she's been spayed."

"What's down there, Yamino-san?" asked Mayura.

"Down where?"

"In the basement, whenever I'll get near it you always get nervous and lead me away."

"Ah, well… maybe you should ask Loki-sama about that. It's his basement after all."

"Loki-kun, what's in your basement?"

"Huh? What did you ask about?" inquired Loki he looked up from the book he was reading.

"What's in your basement. Yamino-san won't let me down there and told me to ask you. So, what's down there, huh?"

"Nothing important, you can go down there if you want." Loki went back to reading his book.

---15 minutes later---

"Boring… the only thing remotely interesting there is an empty old weird looking candle holder thingy."

Of course it's empty. I don't need to collect jaki anymore.

"And it's spotless just like the rest of the house thanks to Yamino-san. He even cleans you're basement Loki-kun?"

"Yamino-kun has some interesting personality traits. He had a rough life in his younger days and has an incredible hatred to dust and dirt." Well, living in a cave and then the bottom of the ocean will do that to you. And just for some reason, he enjoys the sunlight too.

"Oh, okay. But why wouldn't he let me down there?"

"Because it wasn't clean to his satisfaction yet?"

"Yeah, that's Yamino-san alright."

"Hey Loki, how much are you going to eat?" Narugami asked incredulously.

"Until I'm full. Why?" Loki stopped shoveling food into his mouth only to answer.

"Well, for most people the tenth serving is a little beyond full," replied Narugami.

"I seem to remember a time when you would eat anything that wasn't nailed down Narugami-kun," informed Mayura. "And even now you aren't exactly the lightest of eaters. Isn't that right Yamino-san?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I seem to recall a time when you ate all the sandwiches I had made before Fenrir got to eat anything. And what about that time you ate a whole pot of rice with Gullinbursti at the picnic we had at Kotaro-san's summer lodge?" bravely informed Yamino. Scared of Thor he might be, but Yamino wasn't about to stand around while Narugami made fun of his father, especially when it wasn't Loki-sama's fault.

"Alright, I concede defeat," announced Narugami.

"Loki-kun is growing like a weed right now. He needs all the energy he can get," Mayura teased. In response, Loki just continued to eat.

"Yep, he's definitely got a giant's appetite," whispered Narugami.

Well, I am a giant. Just because I'm a short giant doesn't mean I don't grow like one. It's not my fault giants remain at a child's height until they're thirteen and then grow almost twice their height in three years. And with that much growing, I can't help but gain an appetite.

"What was that Narugami-kun?" asked Mayura.

"Oh nothing."

"Ah, Yamino-kun, what's in this mail order box you just received? It's ticking."

"It's a mail bomb Loki-sama. Many people get them."

"But Yamino-kun, people don't order them." Commented Loki dryly.

"What do you mean?"

"Other people send mail bombs in hope to injury or kill the recipient Yamino-kun." Loki sighed.

"Do you wish me to get rid of it Loki-sama?"

"Yes please." No, I want to get blown up by a bomb my own son ordered through the mail—for himself. I love you Yamino-kun, but sometimes you scare me.

"Loki-kun, would you stand up please?" said Mayura early one evening.

"Ah, sure. What for?"

"I need to take your measurements. Turn around please," instructed Mayura as she took out a long measuring tape.

Loki obeyed Mayura's directions. "But why?"

"Well, when I was doing the wash, I noticed that all your coats are splitting at the seams in the back. I think you've hit another growth spurt Loki-kun."

"Oh…"

"And while we're at it, I think we should buy you some new shirts and shorts. You're starting to outgrow them too. Or maybe we can even buy some pants this time."

"See, I told you I wouldn't be short forever."

"Well, you could be just getting fat Loki-kun. You've been eating enough."

"Mayura! I'm not getting fat!!"

"Of course you're not. See, you're two and a half centimeters taller than the last time I took you're measurements."

"I'll win that bet. I'll be taller than you."

"And what would you get if you win?"

"A kiss," stated Loki as he looked straight into her eyes. Mayura just laughed and agreed with the young man. She didn't know just how serious he was.

Omake: Odin's a Gamer?

So what exactly did Odin do when he wasn't watching Loki, the other gods or the rest of Midgard? He was playing RPGs of course. Never knew Odin was a closet gamer? Yeah, he's an oldie, going back past the PlayStation, X-box, or Game Cube. He was a gamer before the Nintendo 64, game boy, or Super. Sega Saturn and NES were new comers. Odin went back all the way to the heyday of the Atari. Remember when Pac-man and Pong were the most advanced games of the day? Yup, that's when he became a gamer, and he's been hooked ever since.

Final Fantasy 7: I'm a loser…

Final Fantasy 8: I'm a loser… whoa, no… that's got to be a mistake… What!... I got killed by a mortal! I… got killed… by… a MORTAL!

Final Fantasy 9: I kick ass. Call me Mr. Destructo.

---Omake Credits---

Author: This omake was inspired and partially written by my friend Alaska Boy… err, New Jersey Boy… depends which state you know him from. (aka. My beta reader) And yes, we're going to college in New Jersey. Got a problem with that? Sometimes we do.

Alaska Boy: But you're from Connecticut.

Author: And that makes it better… how?

Alaska Boy: Good point.

Author's Note: Hi everybody! It's time for LokiGirl's shameless plug. My Matantei Loki Ragnarok AMV was accepted for the Anime Next AMV contest… Yea!!! It's a drama characterization of Loki to the song "I'm Just a Kid" by Simple Plan. Alright… so hit me, it doesn't quite work… but, but it was too funny to resist. And I called the AMV "But… I'm Not Just a Kid." Hehe! It's like icing on a cake.

To Bibliomaniac:
1. No, it's not technically a magically-induced growth spurt. The way I see it… if Loki had to stay in child form 24/7 through all kinds of situations and emotions it would need to be a very detailed form change. i.e.: one that didn't require continuous use of energy or concentration. (Unlike the one in ep. 13 when he turned himself into a hamster, or was it a gerbil?) Staying so long in that body, (remember he didn't want to change forms inside the fortune telling tent with Urd… ch. 4) his hormones had stabilized enough that Loki's normally growing up—again. Poor Loki… going through puberty twice.
2. Admittedly, it's not Mayura. But, you can't expect even someone like Mayura to go through something as traumatic like that and not be affected. Don't worry; she'll still say "fushigi mystery!"
3. Yup, I just made that up. I thought it was kinda funny myself, having Loki born on April Fools Day. And since no one is quite sure when or why the tradition started—well then, it's as good of an answer as any. (Most people believe April Fools Day started when France switched to the Gregorian calendar, but some 'fools' still celebrated the old New Year's Day—April 1. I don't agree with that assessment because the dates are wrong for some areas and it doesn't explain how the holiday spread. But to each his own.)

To bbbb: Hmm, I don't see it personally, some of it fits, but some of it doesn't. Besides Norse legends weren't big into the astrology the way the Greeks and later Romans were. And Gemini is a Greek Astrology symbol. But when I picked Loki's birth date, I didn't really think very deeply into so… whatever works for you! (I had to look up what a Gemini was… LokiGirl cowers in shame. I'm lucky to know what my birth sign is… still don't know what it means though.)

To Melrose Stormhaven: Thanks

To Ytak: Thank you very much for that compliment. It really boosted my self esteem in writing. When I was younger, I was a horrible writer, and the self doubt is sometimes still there. And the angst coming; just wait for chapter 11!

To LittleGreenWolf: You're going to have to be patient for Mayura's surprise. But I think it's worth the wait. There'll be plenty of foreshadowing though, especially in the later chapters (like ch. 33 34, and now I'm scaring you… I know; it scares me too.)