Loki's Redemption
Lying in bed.
Sound asleep.
Peaceful.
All of a sudden her eyes snap open, gasping for breath.
"Shit!"She says sitting up while placing a slender hand to her face while looking at the bedside clock. 3:30 a.m it reads.
Releasing a sigh as she swings her legs over the side of the bed."Well I might as well get up since I know I won't be going back to sleep." The woman mumbles to herself.
Standing up slowly making her way towards the bathroom shuffling small feet across the floor. Upon flipping the switch to the bathroom she's confronted with her reflection.
To her she believed she looked average at best, even though she was told differently constantly. Stepping closer she examines her face. Almond shaped eyes, oval face with a few freckles across her cheekbones and bridge of her nose, straight but small nose, well cared for eyebrows, and full but heartshaped mouth. There were two things that she knew made her stand out, well make that three now that she thought about it with a grin.
First was her hair it was black with perfect metallic streaks of silver. Second was her eyecolor, Her eyes were electric aquamarine making them quite hypnotizing. Finally and the most startling to most was her scar. Running a finger over it she traces from just above her right eyebrow to just below her cheekbone.
"Yep Tatsumi you're absolutely average, nothing special here." she says lying to herself.
Stripping of her clothes she climbs into the shower. While cleaning off she allows herself to ponder on why she awoke. Thinking about it she realizes that this wasn't the first time this happened. It happened twice before in fact. It was exactly the same as tonight. She would be sound asleep and all of a sudden she would awaken with this overwhelming sense that she was being drawn to something, but with the same unsettling effect as if someone had just sat on her chest and screamed.
Turning off the water and toweling off she's snapped back to reality by her alarm going off. Padding over and turning off the alarm it reads 4:30 a.m.
"Huh, I guess I really lost track of time." She says to herself. "Well time to get ready for work I suppose."
Walking to her closet quickly she flings it open to only pass a glance over the familiar wardrobe.
Shrugging out of her towel she grabs her favorite shirt, the same color as her eyes with a see through lace detailed back, and a pair of well fitting but comfortable leather pants that she'd had forever. Grinning mischieviously with clothes in hand Tatsumi skips over to her dresser to get out her most comfortable but sexiest pair of lingerie. She didn't know why but today seemed as good a day as any to wear them. Dressing quickly and shoving her favorite pair of heels on she braids her hair so fast you'd swear it was done by magic. Pausing only long enough to glance in the mirror by the door to apply some mascara and chapstick. She grabs her coat and wallet only to dash down the stairs outside.
Gasping upon entering the early morning air of fall she takes a deep breath enjoying the feel as the air burned the cheeks of her pale snow white skin. Taking her I-Pod out of her coat pocket Tatsumi begins to walk the four blocks to her store.
Unlocking and entering her store she ambles to the back so as to make herself her customary bagel with cream cheese as well as a pot of coffee so dark that you couldn't see the light through it when held up to a bulb, humming all the while listening to the playlist she planned for the day. It is only when all is prepared and she can sit down to eat does she turn off the music. Upon taking three bites of her bagel and fixing to take a sip of her glorious coffee she is startled by a loud crash outside in the alley of her store.
Jumping up and creating a mess she glances down without thinking and absentmindedly makes the mess disappear with everything back in it's rightful place before making her way to the exit.
Once she'd opened the door she hears a low moan coming from the six foot sized crater near her right.
"Hello?" Tatsumi says as she steps closer.
"OoOo.."
Movement, though subtle, comes from the crater.
"Oh my!" Hurrying closer she reaches out to the person in the hole only to gasp when she see's their state.
"Don't worry I'll take care of you." She says as she gently gathers up the rather large man.
Turning to go into her shop the door opens of it's own accord and she enters.
Moving quickly to the back of the store with the now unconcious man she gently lays him down on the lounge she liked to take naps on.
"What happened to you?" she whispers only now finally getting to really look at the man.
High cheekbones, straight nose, nice mouth and a jawline to die for. Yep this man was gorgeous by any of her standards.
But there was something she couldn't put her finger on, she could swear she knew him from somewhere.
"But where?" she says under her breathe befor giving him a quizical look and rising to get some water with a rag so as to tend to the mans wounds, mainly cuts and bruising nothing too serious if you didn't know he'd most certainly fallen from a great height in order to make such a crater.
Sitting down next to him she couldn't help but make sure that he was out cold before infusing the water with some of her healing ability. Many people in her past had found out about her "gifts" as they called them and had made her use them against her will. She couldn't help but grimace at the memories of what those people had done to her.
Satisfied with how well the wounds were cleansed she gets up taking the utensils with her, sanitizes them then puts them away.
Before leaving the room she makes sure to adjust the pillow under the mans head and get him a blanket.
Happy with how at peace he seemed she grabs her food, drink and I-Pod befor turning off the light and leaving the room.
Realeasing a sigh after closing the door Tatsumi couldn't help but pause.
"Hmmm this seems to be the makings of a very interesting day." She muses out loud while setting up the I-Pod to play the somewhat soothing but upbeat playlist for the day.
"I wonder what else interesting will happen?" She says as she unlocks the door and turns her sign around to announce the shop was open.
Loki could hardly contain his outrage when he was told by the All-Father Odin about his banishment. Unfortunately the muzzle over his mouth didn't allow for any remarks to be made on his part, therefore he could only fume in silence.
"Loki" Said the All-Father making him focuse on Odin, "You are to be banished to Midgard until I deem you worthy of redemption and then, only then, will you be accepted back in Asgard. You will be stripped of all your powers save for that required to cover your appearance allowing you to somewhat blend in amongst the Midgardians. You will not age or die by your hand or that of another for that would defeat the purpose of your punishment. No-one will know where you are to land in Midgard so as to prevent any allies you have from helping you. This is your punishment Loki, my son. Farewell."
And upon those final words being spoken he was flung from Asgard much like Thor had been not too long ago.
That was the last thing he remembered aside from crashing into the ground. He faintly recalled a womans voice and then being carried by said woman into a nearby building.
The pain was excruciating, he counted at least two fractured ribs and possibly a arm. Once the woman got near the door he fell into a deep sleep. He awoke later feeling at peace and in no severe pain other than the obvious bruises under his armour. No severe pain? He should be in all kinds of pain he thought to himself not just bruises.
"Odd." He said out loud as he cautiously sat up and tested flexing a hand. "Even I don't heal this fast. How long was I asleep?" He tried to take notice of his surroundings only to be confronted with a dark room making it hard to really take stock of this foreign place.
Flicking a hand so as to turn the lights on only to instantly regret it because he felt this nauseating sensation overcome him. It forced him to remember Odin's words about him not having any magic. He felt numb for a moment as that realization hit him. No magic. The words resounded in his head making him dizzy forcing him to shake his head.
Releasing a pained breathe he stands and walks carefully to the wall and once locating the switch he flips the lights on. The glare of the bulbs makes him wince in pain but he shrugs it off. Turning his attention back to the room he makes his way back to the middle so as to assess it more accurately doing a small, slow turn in order to take everything in more completely.
Tilting his head he took stock of the many different theatrical and group images on the walls as well as some reproductions of famous midgardian artist of old such as one painting called Starry Night by a Vincent Van Gogh if he recalled correctly. Then there was the lounge he had apparently been lain upon to recover from his injuries and a well cared for food preparation area. The over all effect of the room was strangely calming. Once he had allowed himself to take notice of the rooms appearance he could swear he heard music and a sweet sounding melodic voice coming from the other side of the door to his room. It was almost hypnotizing so much so that he found his hand going for the doorhandle of its own volition.
He stopped momentarily only opening the door a small amount so as to make sure no one was around to see him emerge.
Keeping to the shadows Loki makes his way quietly towards the sound of the music.
Singing along with her playlist after a trying day of dealing with imbecilic customers who were about as interested in the story plot of a movie and the thought that went into them as they were that it was the newest hottest gotta have it thing! Not to mention it was the same for any music and books!
Giving a aggitated "hmph" then taking a deep breath so as to calm herself from retreating to a much more sinister place of thought she switches her playlist to one she listened to daily, no matter what, to relax. As soon as the first chords of the song Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons starts she is at peace and begins to sing along completely having forgotten the man she tended to earlier in the day for the time being.
That man. she stops for a moment making a mental note to check on him after sorting through the stack of books in front of her.
Because of this lapse in memory it made it all the more startling when a form appeared in the periphery of her vision making her take a sharp, startled breath while wide eyed as she snapped her head to the side to look him dead on.
"Please don't stop." Loki says calmly so as not to alarm the woman any further, after all she did tend to him when he was harmed upon landing on midgard uncerimoniously in the alleyway.
Shaking herself mentally Tatsumi remembers quickly that this is the man she helped early in the morning and is astonished to see he is up and about.
"How is it you are able to be up and moving after how I found you this morning?" she ask increduiously while taking a step closer knowing full well that she was only able to heal the bruises and scrapes but not the broken bones. She was planning on taking care of those once she got done with cleaning the store.
Loki looks at her and realizes she is really quite striking on first glance, even by Asgardian standards she was beautiful though the scar he saw on her face did marr her visage enough to distract him from her looks for a moment but nothing more.
Narrowing her eyes and thinking she steps to the table to her right laying a hand on a stack of books she needed to sort noticing the man was intently staring at her not answering. "Why do you insist I continue to sing instead of tell me what I want to know?" Tatsumi says then looks up at Loki while her body was still slightly turned away from him.
Loki releases a breath shaken from his looking at the woman. "I am not in the habit of answering Migardians such as yourself it is quite usually the other way around."
Tatsumi has to keep herself from shivering at the wonderful english accent the man had and turned to face him full on while crossing her arms across her chest and resting a hip against the table next to her. "Well I would like to think I at least deserve to know the name of the man I rescued this morning don't you?" She says with a raise of her right eyebrow starting to feel irritated with him.
Loki thinks on this but a mere few seconds for he was the God Of Lies and could easily tell falsehoods like none other in existence. "Very well I will do as you ask." He says as he cocks his head to the side.
Nodding Tatsumi walks up to Loki extending her hand to him without hesitation "Do not think that I won't know when you aren't telling the truth." She states as he takes her hand in his so as to shake it.
Loki couldn't believe how unafraid this mortal was of him and the air she carried about herself was that of someone who on Asgard would be considered a royal. He was in awe of this until she told him what she did. Frowning inwardly "As I said I will do as you ask." making his voice sound weary so as to make the woman think he was tired.
Tatsumi could see that he was in need of some more rest but not to the extent that he would like her to believe with the tone of his voice. Releasing his hand she steps back and takes a look at his attire "I will go back to what I was doing before but not until you answer at least one question." She said while giving him a hard look. "Who are you?"
Loki stiffened at the question having to forcibly make himself relax under her stare "I am Loki of Asgard." He says smoothly and with as much regal air as he could muster "Now I have answered your question will you do as you said?" He remarks feeling a little irritated but tried not to show it.
"Of course. Please take a seat and rest a while. If you don't mind I need to clean up my shop or this mess will never be sorted for tomorrow." Tatsumi says while motioning to a comfortable wingback chair for her guest to sit in and began to seperate the pile of books in front of her on the nearest table.
Taking note of the chair Loki moves to it and sits letting out a relieved breath as he does so. "What song were you singing earlier when I came in?" He ask the woman actually interested as to what she says.
"Closer to you By The Wallflowers" She says while fishing out a controller from a pocket and pointing it in the direction of her I-Pod telling it to play, all without taking her eyes away from the pile in front of her that she was busily sorting.
Loki took this moment to look the female over but it was a little difficult since most of the lights were off in the store. From what he could make out she was unique to say the least. She was at least 5ft 8in with a slim fragile looking build but still very curvy making her somewhat of a contridiction. Her hair was extremely long going to the small of her back in a braid and the color was of black and silver, interesting he thought. Her skin was as pale as his but still looked tan, it was almost as if it was tanned by the moon rather than the sun he mused to himself. Her clothing was well fitting to not just her body but her personality, soft but hard at the same time. The only thing he couldn't see or remember clearly when they were talking face to face was, oddly enough, her face other than her scar.
Interrupting the woman he decides to ask her why this is such. "Excuse me Midgardian I must ask you why it is that even though we were close enough to shake hands in our deal that I still was never able to see your face? I would like to know the face of the woman who rescued me." He says with a tilt of his head and making his hands into a steeple in his lap.
Tatsumi smiles. She should have known he would notice sooner or later. "I'm sorry I tend to hide my face when meeting strangers out of habit I did not do it intentionally." She says while turning to face him "If it will help I can step into the light nearest you?"
"That would be most helpful indeed for I still can't make anything out in this light." Loki says while motioning to the store with his hands.
"Very well." Tatsumi says taking a few steps forward only to stop two feet away from the man making a point to put her face into the light fully.
Taking in a sharp intake of breath Loki couldn't help but marvel at the woman for she was incredibly beautiful as he had noticed before. Everything from her eyes extremely electrified color to her lips perfect pout were marvelous except for the scar that marred her face. "How did you receive that?" He ask before he can stop himself instantly regretting doing so as he saw the woman flinch inwardly and back out of the light.
"It is nothing that I feel comfortable talking to you about right now considering we just met." Tatsumi says with a slight edge to her voice though she tried not to. "Now if you don't mind I would like to continue my task." She knew that she would be singing along with the music now so as to ease her nerves and somewhat tune out Loki and his questions.
Loki nodded his head slowly "Of course." He said watching as the woman went back to tidying the store. "I will ask you one last question and I will leave you be." He says while shifting a little in his chair "What is your name mortal?"
Letting out a soft breathe she turns to look at the man "Tatsumi Kaido" she says then turns back to the various items she was putting away from a cart while simultaniously pulling the remote out her pocket yet again and turning on the music "Just so you know this song is called Seven Devils by Florence and The Machine" she says matter of factly to Loki not even sparring a glance in his direction.
Loki grinned at hearing the first notes come across the air "I believe I will like this song much, It seems to quite suit me." he says more to himself than to her and proceeds to close his eyes to relish the sound of Tatsumi singing along.
Tatsumi quirked an eyebrow but continued to sing along only sparing him a sidelong glance out of the corner of her eye. "What could he have meant by that?" She thought to herself.
Stealing another quick look over at Loki she couldn't help but notice once again how handsome he was making her have to supress a blush from creeping over her cheeks. Being distracted for a moment Tatsumi turns a little too soon and knocks a stack of movies to the floor. Without missing a beat she crouches down to pick them up only to be handed one of the movies by Loki.
Looking up at him in such a close proximity made her want to shy away instantly but instead Tatsumi takes the movie from him "Thank you. You didn't have to help me I had it under control." She states as she gathers the rest of the movies from the floor as well as a few more handed to her by Loki.
"I was just merely trying to be helpful but now I see you are quite adverse to it I shall refrain from doing so in the future, that is unless you request it personally." Loki says tensly before turning and going back to his seat looking unpleased.
Letting out a sigh Tatsumi rest the movies down and faces Loki "Don't take it personally but I have been on my own for quite some time and it will take some getting used to for me having someone help with anything. So trust me it really isn't you it's me, okay?" she says giving him a concerned look then goes back to the last of the carts she had to put away for the day.
A thought occured to Tatsumi at that moment making her straighten up abruptly. "I forgot but once I'm done here I was going to be going to my townhouse but I didn't think to ask if you had anywhere to go." She says looking at Loki once again.
"I have nowhere." he says flatly while shifting his eyes to look at the floor obviously uncomforable.
Tatsumi nods her head having come to a decision "I guess you'll just have to come home with me then." she states matter of factly and continues to finish off the last cart.
Upon hearing the mortal woman announce what she did Loki couldn't help but snap his head up quickly and stare at her in surprise for a split second "Either you are truly fearless and believe me to be of no threat to you or you are absolutely naive." He says while watching Tatsumi finish with the last cart and turn to him.
Giving Loki a passive look Tatsumi walks towards him "I am most definetly not naive nor am I fearless I just don't think I have anything to fear from you is all." she says yet again in that matter of fact tone she had.
Loki scoffed "And what makes you think such a thing?" he says moving to stand in front of the woman.
Looking up at Loki she replies simply with "I have a feeling and my gut feelings have never been wrong so.." she trails off as she shrugs her shoulders. "Anyways it's not like I have anyone who would miss me once I'm gone if you were to try anything." She says as she turns to go get her belongings with Loki trailing along behind her.
"I take it sense you are gathering your belongings that we are to be leaving now." Loki states as he follows Tatsumi to the door.
"How observant of you." she replies dryly moving out of the way so he could step out of the store and she could lock the door.
"No need to talk down to me." Loki says on a growl not happy with the womans attitude towards him. He after all was used to people fearing him or at least being intimidated by his mere prescence.
Casting a short look in his direction "Oh come off it, I wasn't talking down to you I was just pointing out your rather obvious observation and if you didn't like it oh well. Now are you going to be coming with me or wander the streets making this our farewell." she says exasperatedly.
Loki scowls "Fine. Seeing as I have no other options then those I will have to endure your rather terse personality until another opportunity arises."
"Great now follow me." Tatsumi says as she turns to head off towards her apartment.