Chapter 31: Wedding Plans and Strange Events
Reiya, Skuld, Freyr, and Mayura were busy talking and eating cake at the large table in Loki's study. Loki and Narugami meanwhile, although listening to the conversation and actively participating in it, truly didn't understand why they were having this conversation… again.
"The wedding date is September 25, and we're the only wedding scheduled that day."
"The koto musicians have been hired and have affirmed the date and time."
"You've gotten your kimono and other accessories…"
"I've gotten Loki's kimono and the bridal party attire taken care of."
"The flowers have been ordered."
"So has the sake."
"Yamino-san is taking care of the food, except for the wedding cake."
"The reception guest gifts have been bought."
"Loki, have you sent out the invitations?"
"Yes, last week when you told me to Mayu-chan," he replied sighing in a bored tone.
"What about the reception at the shrine?"
"Nakaji-san and his daughter are taking care of that."
"And his daughter is going to be the miko at my wedding. It'll be her first time performing as a miko too."
"So Mayura-chan, are you excited about the wedding next month?"
"Of course Reiya-chan, although I will miss being a miko," sighed Mayura.
"Why do you say that Mayura-chan?" asked Reiya blinking in confusion.
"Well, a miko has to be pure, and after the wedding I won't qualify anymore," answered Mayura blushing furiously. Everyone stared at Mayura except for Loki who wished the current subject hadn't been brought up because it reeked of problems… for him. "Ahh! I forgot to order the cake! And I have to have it in by today at two. I'll be right back everyone," panicked Mayura as she ran out the door.
Mayura! Don't leave me alone. The color drained out of Loki's face.
"This Freyr doesn't understand. What did she mean by that? What does purity have to… do… with… it… oh!" As if Freyr's comprehension was a signal, all eyes moved to Loki.
"She's still pure!" chorused those left in the room in total disbelief--except for Freyr who seemed to be thinking very hard about something. Loki sweat-dropped and was trying to pretend he didn't exist at the moment.
"You've been engaged for over four months now and you two still haven't…" ended Reiya.
"The mighty playboy has fallen, and hard… or should I say not so hard." Skuld snickered.
"I don't believe it. YOU are going to marry her without testing out the goods?" questioned Narugami is disbelief, barely containing his amusement. "If it wasn't Daidouji-chan who said it I would have just laughed… Maybe Daidouji-chan is right. There are pod people. It's the only thing that makes sense. The real Loki has been replaced with a fake Loki look alike," teased Narugami.
"If that's true, let's keep the look alike. He might not be marrying me, but he's much sweeter than the original," added Reiya getting in on the fun.
Giggling madly, Skuld added, "and less vindictive too, but that must be Mayura-chan's doing." Loki decided that these comments didn't deserve to be responded to and hoped that they would grow bored of it without any response from him and stop. But unfortunately, the gods knew they were annoying Loki and began to press him further from a different angle.
"So… Loki, how far did you get?" pried Narugami.
"And we know you tried Loki-kun," added Reiya.
"We've seen you two snuggling together often enough to know you haven't turned into a prude Loki," antagonized Skuld.
"Ehhh…" sweat poured down from his face.
"No Loki! You defiled your yamato nadeshiko before the wedding! That's bad Loki, very bad. That's exactly why I wouldn't let you date my sister Freya," stated Freyr with conviction. Conversation stopped as everyone in the room turned their head to stare at Freyr in amazement. Relieved that he wasn't the center of attention for a moment, Loki stood up and silently left the room.
"You got it backwards onii-sama! Loki-kun DIDN'T make out with her, and that's what we're teasing him about… hey, where did Loki-kun go?"
"Onii-sama? Who are you? This Freyr only has one sister."
"Onii-sama!!!" Reiya snapped her fingers and pans began to rain down on Freyr's head out of nowhere.
"Thank you so much for taking my wedding cake order personally Kotaro-kun. I know you've been very busy with the new store you're opening up in Osaka. How is it going by the way?"
"Just fine Daidouji. The store already seems to have a clientele, and filling out your order was no problem. You're my friend and I was in the store. I needed to talk with you anyway."
"Oh? About what?" asked Mayura stopping short.
Kotaro looked around nervously. "I would prefer to talk about it somewhere more private. Would you mind walking to my house Daidouji?"
"Of course not Kotaro-kun. I've always wanted to see the inside of your house anyway," she replied beaming.
They walked to Kotaro's house side by side down the street, but Kotaro made sure to keep a respectable distance between the two of them. He was already worried about the repercussions his decision may have, and Kotaro didn't want to antagonize Daidouji's fiancé any more than he had to—especially knowing what he knew. Mayura could only stare at the property as Kotaro talked to front gate security. There were several sets of buildings on the grounds separated into different architecture types. At the far left was well maintained traditional Japanese water garden that eventually lead to an outdoor bathhouse and a small Shinto family shrine. The main building to which Kotaro was leading Mayura into was of a European style very similar to Loki's house.
"It's a mansion!" exclaimed Mayura.
Kotaro laughed. "And Loki-san's house isn't?"
"But you have so much land, and that… that house is bigger than Loki's!"
"Well, it is true that the Kakinouchi family has always owned a significant amount of land. And instead of moving from our ancestral home, we've expanded our grounds as the family became more affluent," finished Kotaro as he gestured for Mayura to take a seat in the informal parlor. They sat in silence for several minutes while Kotaro rallied up the courage to tell Mayura what he needed to say. The silence didn't bother Mayura. She was still to busy fawning over the material comfort blatantly displayed throughout the rooms she had seen. "Daidouji… in one of your recent letters, you told me that you got engaged to Loki-san."
"Kotaro-kun, you didn't need to bring me over here to congratulate me. Practically the whole area knows and is in an uproar talking about the 'cute couple' getting married. But I thank you for the… consideration of not mentioning the engagement out loud. Loki is six years younger than me." Mayura blushed prettily and smiled.
"I didn't bring you here to congratulate you on the engagement. I… you need to know something about your fiancé. I've known this information for a long time, but I've kept quiet because it didn't seem like he wanted to hurt you in any way. But… you have the right… you need to know this before you marry that… man. Loki-san isn't what he appears to be." Mayura looked at Kotaro confused. "He's not human Daidouji. He's a powerful…"
"Oh, don't worry about that Kotaro-kun. Loki's already told me all about that." Kotaro sat frozen in his chair. He didn't believe that the evil trickster god that would begin Ragnarok would tell Daidouji the truth. And if he did, why would Daidouji then be willing to marry him? "He's somehow related to the Norse trickster and fire god Loki, and that's why he has the supernatural abilities he has. I've even met the god Loki-sama… twice! Oh… that means you met him too! He was that handsome foreigner I bumped into when I ran out of the cake store."
"Mayura, have you read anything about Norse Mythology? Especially about the god Loki?" asked Kotaro, not believing that Loki-san was anything but the Norse god Loki.
"No, why should I?"
"Because… because it's a… a great mystery! Don't you want to learn more about your fiancé?"
"Fushigi mystery! You're right Kotaro-kun; this is definitely a fushigi mystery! I wonder what the god Loki-sama is like. Is he anything like my Loki?"
"Oh, I'm positive they're exactly alike Daidouji. Here, why don't you borrow this book? It'll have all you need to get started," offered Kotaro as he pulled a book down from an easily accessible shelf. "I'm sure you'll find it quite enlightening."
"Thank you Kotaro-kun. I'm going to go home and start reading right away. See you later." Mayura walked out of the room, but came back only thirty seconds later. "Could you lead me out Kotaro-kun? I'm lost," sweat-dropped Mayura.
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Heading back into her room with Kotaro's book, Mayura ran into Loki. "You ready should pay more attention to where you're going Mayura," teased Loki as he offered her a hand back up. Taking his hand, Mayura looked up at him. On top of his head was a blurry pink blob. Shaking her head and blinking a few times, the vision didn't go away. "Are you okay Mayu-chan?" asked Loki concerned. "You've been doing that often lately."
"I'm fine Loki. I just was a bit shaken from the fall. I'm probably just tired. It's been a long hectic day after all." Loki let go of her hand and the pink thing once again disappeared. "Thank you for helping me up. I'm going to take a nap in my room."
"Alright… I'll call you when dinner is ready." Loki looked down and noticed a book on the floor. "Ah, Mayu-chan you dropped your book," commented Loki as he tried to pick it up, but Mayura beat him to it. For some reason, she didn't want him to read the title. "What book is it?"
"Oh, just a collection of mysterious stories," replied Mayura cheerfully, hugging the book tightly to her.
Why is she so nervous? She's been acting strange these last couple of months, but she keeps insisting its nothing. But then why has that shaking of her head almost become a habit? Mayu-chan, are you sure you're okay? I'm worried. And it's not like you to be so closed mouthed about something… anything… it's more like something I'd do. "If something is bothering her, why can't she tell me?" Loki heard the door to Mayura's room close.
"That pink blob has never been there for so long. It's always gone away before when I blinked or shook my head. Maybe it's getting worse." Mayura's voice was quiet and hysterical. "Should I see a doctor? Maybe something is wrong with my eyes… But all of them say I'm perfectly fine. And it can't be any magic, even though I wish it was… I don't have the ability to see that…" Mayura mused sadly. "This is one fushigi mystery I wish would just go away! Loki would know what to do; he always solves my mysteries…" Mayura smiled. "… but, I don't want to know the answer. What if the answer is I'm crazy? Then Loki won't want to marry me. Who would want to marry a crazy person? Or someone abducted by aliens… or someone who has been exposed to some kind of dangerous radiation and is mutating… or, or, or… No, I'm just stressed. Planning a wedding is a lot of work." Mayura felt better, having rationally solved her mystery. "Now it's time for a real fushigi mystery! The tales and prophecies of the Norse Gods: Chapter One… Odin the Allfather."
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"Creepy guy! Why would you want to know everything? And hanging yourself to learn how to write? He never did anything halfway did he?"
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"Oh… so that's Freya-sama. Why did Yamino-san lie? The goddess of love and fertility and maternity… and… wow, lots of things. She must be really beautiful, and a warrior too?" she said to herself dreamy eyed. "Eh…? That was mean Loki-sama, calling her the slut of the gods… eh? She slept with four dwarves to get the Brising necklace?!..." Mayura looked up from the book with a disgusted face, as if she had drank a whole bottle of lemon juice. "Alright, so maybe he's right. But he probably had no problem sharing the same bed though. Men!" Downstairs, Loki sneezed and shuddered at the same time.
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"Haahahaha!" laughed Mayura, kicking her legs widely into the air. "They had to wear dresses! I bet Loki-sama never let Thor-sama live that one down."
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"And now the final chapter, Loki: The Trickster god and bringer of Ragnarok. Ragnarok…? What's that?" Mayura began to read, "Loki, the Norse god of fire and trickery…"
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"He's a mother too?!!!!" yelled Mayura in disbelief, her lemon juice face returning. "Eewwuu… That… that… means he was really a female! Cross-dressing… ah… cross-shape shifting Trickster god Loki?!" Loki sneezed a second time and a third. "An eight legged horse? Geez, that's got to look funny, mystery!"
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"The eldest was a large wolf named Fenrir… the Midgard Serpent… and Hel, the pink and blue goddess of the underworld Niflheim. A sn… sn… snake! Didn't he ever have normal children?" Downstairs Loki once again sneezed. "I hope my Loki didn't inherit that particular capability… snake children. I hate snakes!"
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Mayura's face softened as she read further. "But… he loves them so much, doesn't he… except for that colt—Selphinir, Loki-sama doesn't have any contact with his first son… why?" Mayura shrugged her shoulders, unable to come up with an answer. "Still… Loki-sama is a really good father. He stayed in a cave with his children protecting them from the other gods until Odin-sama took them away. Let's see… it says Fenrir was chained up in Asgard, never to be released again until Ragnarok… that's so sad, but at least our Fenrir can have fun for him!" Mayura brighten at the thought. "The Midgard Serpent was cast down to the bottom of the ocean where he grown large enough to circle the world… Ewe… snakes…" she shivered before shaking her head and continued to read. "And Hel was cast out to Niflheim to become the queen of the dead… …the queen of the dead…" Mayura paused to think. "I… I met Hel-sama! She was the one who said her father hated her! But Loki-sama's actions say that he does… Why would she think he hated her? And when I met Loki-sama when I was looking for my Loki he seemed so worried and really wanted to help me. How could someone like that hate his own child?" Mayura continued to read.
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"No… no… NO! That's not possible!"
Author's Note: Kotaro-kun has finally made his appearance! Where was he all this time you ask? Well, since this story mainly centers on Loki and Mayura (otherwise this story would NEVER end) Kotaro-kun hasn't had much need to show up. Besides, this story takes place after Mayura has graduated from High School and Kotaro-kun would definitely have gone to college—unlike Mayura. Plus, any extra time he had would be used working for his father's store empire. And perhaps he's just a tad afraid of Loki hmm?
So, what has Mayura discovered about Loki? Will she understand and forgive Loki? Or better yet, how will Loki explain!
To LittleGreenWolf and Yeah, Freyr would do that, although I have no clue how thought it up.
Erinys: Are you psychic? Cause you'd have to be to see where my plot line is going… hehe.
To Lare: Where does the angst come from? Oh, I think you have an idea now. And about Loki hot reciting Poe… Loki's hot… it's that simple.
To Bibliomaniac:
1.Loki's moving fast because she ain't getting any younger! A 24 year old Mayura!
2. Loki planned to never tell her the truth. His reasons will be explained later.
3. I haven't even started with the connection thingy yet. Hehe…