- Disclaimer: Matantei Loki Ragnarok belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.
Ah, My Loki-sama!
written by Kurosu
- Chapter Thirteen.
"Mayura, do you remember what happened the other day?"
Koutaro rubbed the back of his head, trying to remember if all the events at the aquarium had been a figment of his imagination, considering the pink-haired girl had been present along with an unfamiliar face, then the next thing he knew, the tanks all broke and the main exhibition room was flooded. It had to be a dream, because there was no way of explaining a crazy, moving statue.
He had woken up outside of the building with the ticket booth employee watching over him. He was informed of a sudden earthquake that had rattled the area, destroying most the aquarium interior, and the first thing out of his mouth was Mayura's safety. The man had nodded, at having seen the girl safely escorted away for a physical examination by her 'boyfriend' and 'his son' apparently. Even if she looked too young to a mother, the boy had kept calling her mother several times to the point that she ran off, screaming.
He glanced over to his classmate who was fuming madly at recalling the previous day's events. "I don't know what you mean," she grumbled, still distressed at being called 'mom' by little Loki, and it didn't help that human Fenrir at the time chased after her because he didn't know how to act human, which caused a lot of misunderstanding along the way home, like a pair of regretful husband and son attempting to appease the only woman in their lives.
She didn't look happy at all, and he had to change that, somehow, because he didn't like seeing her without her bright smiles that always cheered him up. Ever since they entered high school, he had taken notice of her, her unique appearance, but it wasn't till the beginning of the year that they were in the same class, and approaching her was much easier.
"Say, Mayura..."
She finally turned to him, her anger slowly draining from her face, "Yes?"
"Do you... mind helping me after school?" he started, "Um, my cousin is getting married in a month, and I need to get a wedding gift for her."
"Ooh~!" she clapped her hands together, a big smile finally greeted him, and he felt all nice and warm for making her smile like that. "Yes, I'll help! Summer's coming up sooh, huh." She looked thoughtful, "Oh, she'll be a lovely summer bride!"
A sudden feeling of irritation crept down his spine, and Loki, still in his child form from losing his powers from the day before, stopped sipping his tea, leaving his cup hanging in midair. He frowned and dropped the cup back to its saucer, noisily, catching the attention of Yamino and the human Fenrir, who was already uncomfortable in his strange form. The two sons shared questioning glances then looked at their father, who appeared to be stewing silently in his thoughts.
"Loki-sama," Yamino nervously called, knowing his father quite well that when that particular frown adorned his face, it was a huge sign that someone would pay dearly for any transgression against the said god, "I-Is something wrong?"
The child pursed his lips, closing his eyes, and brought his hand to the side of his face to hide a bit of his exhaustion. His son was just a worrier when it came to his well being, so he didn't want to worry the boy, "It's nothing more than impatience in this state."
Yeah, anyone would be pissed at having to remain a child when one didn't need to, which Yamino understood that it limited his abilities to do a few things, so he decided it was best to leave the subject alone.
Loki had been mirthful all morning, having sent off a really annoyed Mayura to school, just knowing that she would be thinking about him all day. At least that was what he had thought and hoped for, but the silent connection they had told him otherwise. The abrupt sensation of pure joy had jolted him in to worry, wondering what had caused the change in her mood.
Though it was nice that their bond allowed him a certain insight in to her safety, it also produced various imaginations to her fluctuations of emotions, which never seemed to bore him. He found delight through his days at guessing what she was doing at the moment or what she could possibly be thinking, but at that moment her sudden streak of happiness brought a foreboding feeling.
"Nii-san!" Yamino's voice rang out in the background, followed by the spillage of edible contents across the table, onto the floor, "That's not how you eat soup! At least as a human." The distraction was enough for Loki, with a faint smile, to quietly slip from the kitchen, leaving the brothers to bicker among themselves.
"Oi, Jormungand!" his mouth dripping wet from miso soup, and some bits of tofu clung to the side of his mouth, which only took two seconds to be swept away by his tongue right into his mouth, "Don't be so picky! As long as I get food into my tummy, what's it matter?"
"Nii-san, you're making a mess..."
"And you like to play housewife," his older brother scoffed.
"Sensei! How about this one?"
Narugami pointed to a flat, rectangular screen that looked more like a photo frame than anything he recognized. He was being all loud in the middle of the electronics store, calling for Daidouji to take a look at his discovery. His master, with a long sigh as if Narugami had been the dreadful son that would make his hair turn gray before Mayura graduated from high school, walked over to the display.
"That's a tablet," he informed the young man, "Mayura doesn't need to carry around something that big." He looked around the store, gradually falling back into his thoughts, "We should probably get a family plan."
"What for? Aren't we just getting Daidouji a phone?"
The man gave the teenager an odd look and told him, matter-of-factly, "If you boys are going to live with us a while, you should have one for emergencies too."
Taken aback by Daidouji's words, Narugami was speechless, moved by the words of the mortal before him to consider him and the other gods as a part of his own family, "Sensei..."
And then smiled energetically, pumping a fist in the air like a happy child, along with Mjollnir, "I want a cool one!"
"You're getting a cheap one like everyone else," the man sighed, slightly embarrassed from his childish display in public, which most people thought was heartwarming because they thought the two were father and son.
"Won't that be confusing?"
"You can decorate it however you like."
"Nice, I want a lightning bolt on mine."
"A light- whaa...? Nevermind."
(So nine freakin' chapters later...)
Freya must have the worse luck of all the immortals in Asgard, and at the thought of her home, it brought tears to her eyes, because she missed it so dearly. She missed being pampered and doted upon by the other gods and goddesses - oh why must she have such a difficult life? (Pfffth, difficult life as a goddess?!) She was the goddess of love and beauty, fertility and all the good stuff, of all of Asgard. Everyone adored her, worshiped her, but no, she had to listen to the other goddesses and take a stupid vacation down in Midgard, just to forget about being stood up by the terrible, trickster god Loki.
At first, everything had proceeded nicely, finding herself in the comfort of the most richest and handsomest mortal men that Midgard had to offer. She spent her passing days in luxurious hotels, meals at the most extravagant restaurants, sunbathing and swimming at private beaches, shopping at expensive, brand name stores, or cruising in the largest yachts. Such was the perfect life of a beautiful and sexy goddess, and with all these luxuries at her fingertips, she could almost move to Midgard...
Yes, almost, because after a week of awesome relaxation, she had returned from a date, after seducing a random businessman in to taking her out to dinner because she was starving. She fingered the gorgeous Brisingamen necklace around her neck, pushing her date away playfully, and blew him a sweet kiss to call it a night. He was too smitten by her beauty to even notice the door slamming in his face, and he walked away with a bloody nose, still in pure bliss that he was able to date a gorgeous woman- err, goddess.
Just as Freya entered the ultimate suite that the hotel had, something was very off when she turned on the lights, and everything went downhill from there. She gaped at the chaos in the room, ransacked of all the expensive gifts and her belongings. Her immediate thought went to the large walk-in closet, and she rushed in there to find it empty too.
Her precious cloak of feathers was missing.
Her means of travel between the worlds had disappeared.
She collapse to her knees, scared, horrified... because without a way home to Asgard, she was stranded in the mortal realm... completely BROKE.
Sure, she could charm several more mortal men in to providing for her, but that wasn't the point at all! It was degrading when she had zero assets, being forced to resort to a begging, to charity. She was a damn, beautiful goddess with lots of pride, and if anyone in Asgard were to know of her predicament, the humiliation would last her for a few centuries, if not a millennium.
And that was how she ended up on a public bench at a bus stop, still dressed in the only sexy gown she had left and her golden necklace - quite inappropriate for the daytime wear in public, not that she cared. A cloud of gloom hovered over her head, her misery evident from a week's worth of searching for her beloved cloak, from one district to the next - from Ginza to Shinjuku to Roppongi to Shibuya, etc.
She never realized how large and confusing Midgard was, if she had not been completely lost - not even knowing the name of her current whereabouts - and the more she recalled her past experience in the city, the more she felt the despair and disdain, cursing the mortal heathen that had the balls to rob a goddess.
Currently oblivious of her surroundings of several males had admired her beauty but none dared to approach her, she stood up abruptly with a clenched fist by her side, as if she had realized something crucial. Her fury was quite apparent as she stalked away from the bus stop and the crowd that had formed around her. She, determined to find her cloak, would return to Asgard and beat the crap out of Loki, because he was the cause of all her misfortune.
"Father's going to be upset, kaa-san~!"
Little Loki peered up slyly to see Mayura's red face and grinned, finding her embarrassment always a great amusement in his dull day. He held her hand as they walked down the street, next to an uncomfortable Koutaro who had wanted to spend some alone time with his classmate that afternoon. If it wasn't for his powerless state, he would've picked her up as his real self, rubbing his more intimate relationship in the mortal boy's face.
"Stop calling me that!" she pouted, preferring to be a sister than a mother to him - at least she would be a young, good-looking mother.
"But kaa-san, father proposed," he snickered, enjoying the uneasiness in Koutaro's expression and posture, "And you-"
"OH LOOK!" Koutaro pointed to a random store, "Let's try that one! Aha, it looks like a place my cousin would love!"
Loki frowned, hate being interrupted, especially when he was at the good part. He and Mayura followed his pointing finger to a woman's boutique that catered more to the fancy gothic lolita crowd, and they sweatdropped.
"Um, she..." Mayura started, "has an interesting hobby."
"Erm, yeah..."
The blonde teenager stared straight ahead, too late to retract his statement, so all they could do was march forward and enter unknown territory, even Mayura found herself curious about such a place. The atmosphere was surprisingly pleasant, and they were greeted by two ladies in the most friendliest manner ever, even if they were totally cosplaying - one as the typical gothic lolita while the other was a frilly princess.
"Welcome! Are you looking to find a suitable dress for a party?!" the gothic one inquired of the pretty Mayura.
"Um, actually," Koutaro interrupted, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, "we just want to browse for a bit."
Loki rolled his eyes and tugged Mayura to an aisle, because he actually wanted to see her in any of these outfits, and since they were there, he might as well get her in to something - something sexy? Many of the outfits had several layers of frills and/or a lot of components to put together, probably a hassle to get on but would very fun to take off, in a private bedroom setting, of course.
"How about this?" he pointed to a devilishly black and crimson dress with a corset top and a short cut of the skirt to poof straight out. Accessories of black stockings and long gloves came with the outfit, and even the back of the mannequin had a pair of feathery wings of black and red.
"Maybe for Halloween," she replied with a shrug.
Loki grinned, "You could wear this to bed."
Koutaro walked up behind them and stood, staring at the pair, having missed the conversation, but he could tell which piece was the center of attention and blushed. He was puzzled when Mayura stomped away, fuming, leaving the boy to laugh at her reaction. He stood next to Loki, asking, "What was that about?"
"Oh nothing much," he was still smiling, giving the skirt a lingering touch, "Just a suggestion on what father likes."
Koutaro, still blushing, sweatdropped.
Mayura scurried away, her face still red from a mixture of embarrassment and anger, grumbling on how gods were a bit perverse, or maybe it was just Loki. Narugami and the others had normal personalities, normal interests if she overlooked Yamino's increasing accumulation of mail order meals and random items, so she couldn't understand why Loki always bullied her so much.
Perhaps it was revenge for being stuck on earth with her.
But still, that was pretty mean of a god to do, right?
She picked through the rack of dresses absentmindedly, no interest whatsoever on browsing nor bothering to remember that she had accompanied Koutaro to find a wedding gift because Loki was pretty much the center of her world right now. She stopped flicking through the hangers and walked off like a dazed zombie wandering off a movie set.
Being alone like this, even if her two male companions were just a shout away, Mayura ended up discovering the most crucial piece of item because of pure luck or just a damn curse. Either way, she now stopped in front of a particular plain mannequin, staring at the beautiful cloak draped over the inanimate display.
Her hand reached out and glided over the soft texture of the feathers, cool and soothing beneath her touch, fingers tickled by a sort of magical gentleness, and she giggled at the thought of being a stylish superhero. It would probably look cool for a heroine, and was it much to ask for the girl to even get a chance to try the thing on.
Hell waited for no one and broke loose with bad news, in the form of one glowing mannequin, very attached to the cloak of feathers, Freya's missing cloak of feathers.
Notes: I was going to wait till the end of the week to finish the mini-plot and update, but this is early for kdwml, because you asked about Freya. I had planned to add her next too, and now you know what Freya's been doing for two weeks, since chapter three, rofl. More of Freya in the next one, with the mini-plot's conclusion.
To EchizenRyoma, Koutaro is a normal human. The story's moving along okay, but if you've got a question on something, let me know 'cause I might have missed writing an explanation or will cover it in the future chapters. Anyway thanks for reading & reviewing! -kuro.