Chapter 32: Loki-sama and Ragnarok
"No… no… NO! That's not possible!"
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"It can't be true!" Mayura stared at the book in disbelief. She even read the section twice to make sure she hadn't read wrong, and she desperately clung onto that hope. "No… that's nothing like the Loki-sama I met. My Loki wouldn't associate with a god like that." But she hadn't made a mistake. On the third reading, Mayura had to face facts… she didn't like what was written, but it was the truth. "So that's what Kotaro-kun wanted to tell me. My Loki-sama, Loki, Loki-sama… Loki-sama is a murder! An evil, vindictive, sinister, jealous, violent, incorrigible, lying villain who will cause the end of the world because he wants the power to rule the gods!" screamed Mayura as she threw the book onto the floor and began to weep in her pillow. "Why did you have to be so nice to me Loki-sama? Why do you have to be connected with the god of lies and evil, Loki? Why Loki? I… I can't marry you now. I can't… I can't love you anymore." Mayura broke down into uncontrollable tears.
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The world was being turned into a giant ice cube, or at least that's how Loki felt. He had been sneezing rather uncontrollably when suddenly a painful freezing, much like the way he felt the time Hel claimed to hate him, seeped through his soul.
"Loki-sama, are you okay?" Yamino didn't receive an answer. "Loki-sama…?"
"Daddy!"
"Loki-tama…," exclaimed Ecchan, landing on Loki's head. Fortunately, Ecchan's sudden extra weight snapped Loki back to reality.
"Someone's talking about me…"
"Why would that bother you daddy? People talk about you all the time. Some people just don't understand your role as the trickster god and call you evil. But it's always been that way."
"Loki-tama, which 'you' are they talking about?"
"Both…" Loki responded.
"Eh? But who knows besides the other gods both your identities daddy?" Fenrir's ears twitched. "Daddy I can hear mystery-girl crying."
"Mayu-chan…" Loki whispered, falling into his own thoughts once again. Opening his eyes wide in comprehension, Loki rushed out of the kitchen, leaving Fenrir and Ecchan with confused expressions on their faces.
"What's going on?" Fenrir asked.
"The reckoning has just begun," murmured Yamino.
"Punyaan?"
"I think Mayura-san has finally done some research about Loki-sama," he explained further putting down the dish he had been drying.
"But some of the information about the gods on Midgard is wrong! Especially the chapters about daddy! They wrote some of those stupid prophecies as history! Odin and Bragi didn't even bother to correct that stupid poet. Assuming that, 'Oh, it's not worth the effort to change it… it'll be truth eventually. The Norns are never wrong,'" finished Fenrir in a condescending falsetto. "And now those prophecies are no more, but they're still hurting daddy!"
"Nii-san… I thought you didn't like Loki-sama's and Mayura-san's relationship."
"I didn't. It felt like he was betraying mommy…"
"Nii-san…" Yamino looked sadly at his brother.
"He never considered marrying her, but daddy wants to marry mystery girl. He even waited over six years and went through all those troubles just to be with mystery girl. Why couldn't he have loved mommy like that? Then we could have been a family…" Fenrir's eyes clouded over.
"Fenrir-nii-san…"
"We are a family nii-san! Only Loki-sama loves Mayura-san…"
"And I hated daddy for it. I always loved daddy, but… I hated him too!" Tears fell from his eyes. "How could he leave mommy like that? I at first thought mommy went away because daddy didn't care for her and she had to leave to get away from daddy. …"
"But?" prompted Yamino.
"But… I can't think like that now. Mommy could have come to see us while were imprisoned, but she never cared. Only daddy cared about us, only daddy protected us, only daddy defied Odin for us. I know its silly, but I just figured that out," Fenrir finished lowering his head.
---Silence---
"Sure daddy loved us and was happy enough while we were all together in the cave hiding from Odin, but… I've never seen daddy like this before. Daddy's so happy now. And I can't hate him or… or, Mayura-san for loving each other." Fenrir paused in contemplation. "Mayura-san is really nice to me too. Even if she can't hear me, she doesn't treat me like I'm a pet. She treats me like the mo…" Fenrir stopped speaking abruptly as he stood still in shock. Without another word he ran out of the house.
"Nii-san…?"
"Fenrir-nii-san just realized something important Yamino-nii-san. Give him some time. I just hope Loki-tama can help Mayura-chan. They'll both be real sad if he can't, and it'll hurt Fenrir-nii-san badly now too," explained Ecchan ever all knowing in the matters of the heart.
"Eh?"
Loki had rushed out of the kitchen and up the stairs towards Mayura's room. As he got closer, he was able to hear the crying coming from inside her door. Loki paused; realizing that even if Mayura was in some kind of distress, rushing in without knocking on her door wouldn't facilitate his cause to help her. Taking a deep breath, Loki raised his hand and rapt on the wooden door. "Mayu-chan… Mayu-chan, are you okay?" His voice was only answered by a fresh onslaught of tears. "Mayu-chan, can I come in?"
"Go away Loki," sobbed Mayura. "I can't talk to you right now. Not ever…"
"Mayu-chan, we need to talk. We can't deal with a problem if you wouldn't tell me about it." Loki hesitated before he spoke again. "Mayura… I'm coming in…" announced Loki as he turned the door knob and opened the door. Walking quietly into the room and shutting the door behind him, Loki noticed the book that Mayura had thrown on the floor. The Tales and Prophecies of the Norse gods... She must have read the section about me and Ragnarok. Loki became fearful as he sat down next to Mayura on the bed. Can I convince her of the truth? Will she listen to me? It's silly, but I worry about her impression of me as a god. I… I need her to love me… all of me, my past and my present. Loki began to stroke Mayura's back, but she stiffened and rolled away. Taken aback, Loki dejectedly pulled his hand back. Loki sat in silence and Mayura sniffled quietly to herself.
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"Mayu-chan, that book isn't completely right… a, a lot of the prophecies have changed since the last time anything was written on Midgard about the gods." Mayura lifted up her head and questionably looked at Loki with wet glistening eyes.
"Ragnarok?"
"It's not going to happen. I… the god Loki never wanted to cause Ragnarok and never understood why the Norns thought he would. But, recently the prophecies have been changed and Ragnarok is no longer going to happen… or at least Loki isn't the instigator anymore."
"Really?"
Loki turned around so he could face Mayura. "Really."
Afraid that she would be helplessly drawn into Loki's eyes, Mayura looked down and stared at her blankets. "It's nice to know that the end of the world is no longer decided, but that doesn't change the fact that I shouldn't love you anymore."
Loki placed his hands on Mayura's shoulders. "Mayu-chan, I don't understand. What have I done to…"
"Don't touch me!" shouted Mayura.
Loki brought his hands back and looked at Mayura with tears forming in his eyes. "What have I done that's so wrong that you're willing to force yourself to stop loving me? Tell me, please… Mayu-chan," whispered Loki, "Mayu-chan, I love you. Tell me why you don't want to love me… I thought we were getting married…" Loki's head turned to look at the blankets away from Mayura.
Loki's soft tone affected Mayura more powerfully than any shouting could have done. "Don't do this to me Loki please! I can't be with you. I… I can't marry you. I shouldn't love you! You freely associate with a jealous vindictive villainous creep of a god. The only god I really believe in… the first god I trusted since my mother died turns out to be the god of evil! And even if Ragnarok doesn't happen…" Loki turned his head back to look at Mayura. "Even if Ragnarok doesn't happen, he's still a cold blooded murderer! And yet you name your dog after one of his ill begotten children!"
Loki's eyes burned crimson. "Don't you ever talk about them that way! Ever!" Mayura leaned back away from Loki in fright. "Fenrir, Midgardsormen, and Hel had no choice about the way they were born! You're just as bad as the other gods, hating them before you ever got a chance to meet them!"
Mayura sat back up and lowered her head in shame. "Sorry…" Loki's eyes changed to a less violent shade of red. "I'm sorry. I… It was wrong. What I did was wrong and completely uncalled for. It's just that they sounded so big and scary. The only thing written about them is what god they're going to kill."
"If you were cast into the ocean or chained up in the cold until Ragnarok, won't you be mad at the gods that put you there? Or maybe you would prefer to be forced to be the god of the dead and never leave Niflheim without using your very life energy!" His eyes remained a vivid red.
"I didn't know… I didn't think about their feelings. I… then how did I meet Hel-sama? Was I dead? I remember she took me from the shrine and tied my up with this multi-colored string. And she told me that I was there so she could hurt her father the same way he hurt her. I told her that there was no parent who would hate their children, but she didn't believe me and slapped me."
"She did that?"
"No, it's okay. She was just really upset, just like I was a little while ago."
"Oh…" responded Loki as the red continued to fade out of his eyes.
"But why would she kidnap me if she wanted to hurt Loki-sama?"
"Umm… well, you see… Loki-sama and I are really close and I… I didn't know it at the time, but I really cared about you Mayu-chan. And because I was distressed, Loki-sama was distress too, and…"
"Oh, I see. Umm… Loki, you know Loki-sama's children?" asked Mayura as she fidgeted with her clothes.
"You could say that…"
"Maybe I could see them sometime. You know… umm… to say sorry and such. I'm sure they won't mind a visitor or two, right? Even though I'm really afraid of snakes… really detest snakes…"
Loki stared at Mayura stunned. He couldn't believe the words that had come out of her mouth. She apologized? Of her own free will? His eyes returned to their normal emerald green, and held a softer look within them. She's willing to see Yamino-kun's true form even though she's terrified of snakes? "I'm… I'm sure they'd appreciate that a lot Mayu-chan, but to see them you'd have to be with Loki-sama." Talking in the third-person sure is awkward, and confusing. How does Freyr do it?
"Oh… right, the evil god."
"I wouldn't call him evil Mayu-chan," responded Loki still keeping his distance, but a playful tone had entered his voice.
"But the book said that he killed Baldur-sama, the god of light and joy and lots of other things. Just because he was jealous! If that's not an evil god, I don't know what is… but then why was Loki-sama so nice to me when I met him…" Mayura rambled.
"I agree with you Mayu-chan. A god that killed another just because he was jealous definitely is an evil god." Even if Baldur's an over energetic, cheerful harpy…
"Such a mystery! And a mystery I don't want! Why couldn't he just be a nice god, or have been evil to me! Then I wouldn't be so confused!" whined Mayura.
"He is a nice god. Oh, alright, so Loki-sama loves his practical jokes. Some would say a little too much…" Like Odin, and Tyr… the party poopers… Hodur too, he really needs to lighten up. Lighten… ahahahaha "… but I wouldn't consider that grounds to hate him huh? Or call him evil?"
(A/n: Tyr is the god of war. Hodur is the god of darkness and the twin brother of Baldur.)
"But what about the murder of Baldur-sama? You said that only an evil god would do that," retorted Mayura getting defensive once again.
"Prophecy," he stated matter of factly.
"Huh?"
"Everything written about the gods after Odin cast Midgardsormen into the sea and chained up Fenrir is prophecy."
"Everything? But the book said it was history and only Ragnarok was prophecy." Mayura tilted her head at Loki confused.
"Yes… everything. Loki-sama isn't married to Sigyn, in fact he's about to get married to someone else very special to him. He has three living children of the six that he has had so far, and Narvi and Vali haven't been born—if they ever will be. Besides, how could you have met Loki-sama if he's still tied to that stupid boulder until Ragnarok? The world isn't crumbling as far as I can see," teased Loki as he poked her on the nose.
"That's right!"
"Moreover, I would never associate with an evil god," Loki stated adamantly, crossing his arms over his chest. "And as long as I'm around, I'll make sure Loki-sama doesn't go evil.. I promise."
"But then why are the books all wrong?" Mayura pressed on leaning a bit closer.
"Ahh… that's actually kind of embarrassing for Loki-sama. Ah, you see, back when the first records of the gods were made on Midgard, Loki-sama couldn't read and didn't care if he could. He umm… didn't see the point in spending all that time and effort it took to learn. Sort of like you and your math senior year. You needed an extra push to sit down and study it." Loki lifted his hand to his head, looking every embarrassed.)
(A/n: Imagine Goku from DragonballZ… ko-wa-i!)
"I see. So what happened?"
"The problem was… the poet who was compiling the deeds of the gods and the prophecies of the Norns made a mistake in writing the final version. He wrote the prophecies of Loki-sama's fall into evil and darkness as history! And since Loki-sama couldn't read, he didn't know until it was too late about the mistake that had happened. It took him several centuries in fact to learn the truth. And by then, multiple copies had already been made and too many people knew the wrong story for Loki-sama to fix it himself. Only Odin had the power to change man's memory, but over the centuries since the original prophecies of Ragnarok, Loki-sama's and Odin's relationship which had always been strong, had become weak and tentative at best."
"That's horrible! What did Loki-sama do?" asked Mayura as she leaned into Loki.
"Determined to never to be caught like that again when only some work on his part could have prevented the whole problem, Loki-sama went down to Midgard and learned how to read and write in several different languages. Every once and a while he would come back down to learn any changes in the dialects. It was on one of those trips when he found his latest style in wardrobe." None of the goddesses noticed me before that either, especially Freya. She claimed to love me, but I knew that was false. How come she didn't love me until after I 'cleaned up' and became the 'hottest' god in Asgard? ............. Would Mayura have loved me before? Would she have loved me if I was still the scruffy scamp I used to be?
"Next time I see him, I'll have to tell him he has excellent taste in clothes," commented Mayura as she ran her hands up Loki's arms and down his chest to the first button. "Not that you need any help in the looks department; you'd look good in a rice sack," she finished as her hands went down to the second button. "Perhaps I should apologize for all that unnecessary drama—somehow," Mayura continued seductively. With agonizing slowness, she carefully unbuttoned each one before sliding her hands underneath to toss the red overcoat aside. Leaning in closer, Mayura pushed Loki onto his back and kissed him passionately. "I love you, Farbautisen Loki…" Picking herself back up, she began to untie the blue ribbon at Loki's collar. Breathing heavily, Loki stayed still, enjoying the first time Mayura had initiated intimate physical contact between the two them. "You won't be needing this either, Loki-anata."
It's true that we haven't gone all the way yet, but… Mayu-chan and I are both incredibly creative Thor. The end of this month is going to be very enjoyable to say the least. Loki thought before he completely gave in to Mayura's attentions.
Author's Note:
When I read the descriptions of Loki in the Norse Mythology books I found in my library, the first impression I had a Loki didn't remind me of the Loki in Matantei Loki Ragnarok. He was described more like a wayward and mischievous stable boy wearing a simple peasant jerkin and uncombed hair. The few pictures I found only seemed to augment my first impression. And although Loki is portrayed as being rather intelligent, he didn't strike me as the type to be very studious, or literate for that matter. But quite obviously, Loki knows how to read and has much better fashion sense in the anime. I hope you like the reasons I came up with for Loki's character development!
I wondered why Loki truly looked uncomfortable in Episode 13 in the diner, to the point that he had to ask Narugami if he felt uncomfortable too. If all that attention had only started a few hundred years ago, Loki still won't be completely used to it. Remember, Loki has been alive at that point for a very long time, so if he had been a 'nobody special' for several thousand, all that attention would be weird. But, it's Loki, so eventually he just goes with the flow. But it's probably mostly an act.
By the way, kowai means scary. Kawai means cute for anyone who was going to flame. Ja!
To The Liz: You nailed it on the head.
To LittleGreenWolf: Kotaro only did what he thought was right. But let's hope for his sake Mayura never tells Loki who gave her that book.
To Lare: The up coming chapters are all about that length or longer. But… it takes longer to write… boo
To Erinys: Chapter 31 wasn't originally going to be a cliff hanger but chapter 31 and chapter 32 were just TOO long together, and wala! Cliffhanger
To Melrose Stormhaven: Loki? Tell the truth? The sky would have to fall. And Heimdall isn't making any moves because he's still licking his wounds from that video tape incident.
To Bibliomaniac: I was writing this chapter at the same time the 'Tea Time Party' was just getting started. I had already mentally planned for Kotaro to give Mayura the book on Norse Mythology back at chapter 17. I will admit that a lot of the dialogue was influenced by 'Tea Time Party' however. And 'past records' are not always what they seem.