- Disclaimer: Matantei Loki Ragnarok belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

"Daijoubu" ("It's All Right") is from the anime Boys Be, sung by Maeda Aki. I altered the English translation so you can sing along with the song too! You can youtube it!

Ah, My Loki-sama!

written by Kurosu

- Chapter Twenty-Eight.

"Mistress!"

Hel-chan crashed into another body, much bigger and more softer as her cheek brushed across the thick, luscious fur of ebony. She was semi-conscious, but the texture beneath her fingers was all too familiar to her, and she smiled faintly, half draped over the creature, "Thank you, Garmr..."

"Hel-sama, I'm sorry," the large hellhound of Helheim lowered his head in shame, "If I had arrived here sooner, you wouldn't have been injured."

"But you're here now," Hel-chan chuckled, surprising him very much.

"Hel-sama, you're... laughing...? About this serious matter?"

With some assistance from him, she was able to prop herself up again, some slight staggering on her left leg because if she hadn't moved at the last minute from the blast, she wouldn't have a left side at all. She brushed a shakey hand through her hair, thinking how she must've picked up the optimistic attitude from a certain pink-haired mortal.

"What... the hell... are you?!" Heimdall was able to stand, despite the pain throbbing in his head, "Why... do you have my eye?! Did Loki have it all along?! EXPLAIN, DAMMIT!"

Hel-chan straightened up as much as she could, holding onto her bloody left side, and Garmr remained by her protective side, their attention on a frustrated Heimdall shouting at the powerful being that pretty much held their fates in his hands.

"Don't refer me to as that sorry excuse for a god!" he scoffed, arms folded across his chest as he floated in the air. From the earth of Jotunheim, the dark elves of Svartalfheim had molded a proper vessel, with their magic, to store Loki's remaining powers, and adding the eye that had been lost to complete a single god that could easily bring about destruction to one realm. And that was who he had become, a bringer of death, and after he rid these two pests, Loki would be next.

"I am..." he smiled. When Loki no longer exist in the Nine Worlds, he would emerge as the one and only, "Utgard Loki."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THOR?!"

Loki, at this point, couldn't think straight. His best friend had turned against him, against them, taking his most important person as hostage, or whatever Baldur wanted, because this couldn't be Thor's willing action. He wanted to believe in his friend, trust him, but with Mayura in his hold, he didn't know what to believe anymore. He couldn't take his eyes away from her, the frightened look in her eyes. She was scared...

He took his step forward, a hand wanting to reach out to her, to comfort her.

"Tut tut," Baldur shook his head in warning, "I wouldn't take another step."

Loki searched within Mayura's silent eyes, that were pleading to him, and he realized that she wasn't frightened for herself. She was afraid of what Loki would do, not wanting to be the reason that would ruin a long time friendship, and he lowered his head, ashamed that he had faltered, even for a bit. His shoulders slumped forward, and he began to laugh while his sons and allies stared at the god, who appeared to have lost his composure.

When he looked up again, meeting her beautiful eyes, his expression softened in apology but also thanking her for still believing in him.

Narugami hadn't even budged from his spot, his hand still over her mouth but no longer holding her with much force. He smiled inwardly, wondering why the girl didn't even resist against him, but he had already known the answer though hard to accept that such a pure soul existed. "Why, Daidouji?" his voice just barely audible for her to hear, "Why...?"

Her eyes still locked with Loki's, and she was smiling, "Because I believe this isn't Narugami-kun."

"Daidouji..."

He shut his eyes tightly, distraught and regretful of his actions, that he would let the contract of a god overshadow his own beliefs, but she never held it against him, and Loki, his best friend...

"THOR!"

He snapped his head up, in shock, as Loki shouted to him, no longer indecisive, "I leave Mayura to you!"

Baldur staggered back in alarm at flames blasting in his direction. He had barely stepped aside when all hell broke loose, and in anger, he screamed for his army to attack, "VALKYRIES! NO ONE IS TO SURVIVE!"

The winged, female warriors all shouted their battle cries before charging with various deadly weapons at the group, who in turn, prepared to retaliate. The siblings had already begun, showering the area with their bright, golden power, blinding as many of their enemies as possible, while a smoky mist enveloped Yamino and Fenrir, whose demi-god powers were released. Within a few seconds, their forms were obscured by the clouds, and from them, the giant wolf emerged, along side his little brother, the infamous giant snake that could surround Midgard - both as large as the Yggdrasil tree.

Baldur gritted his teeth angrily at the sight of the rebelling gods, especially Loki who was making his way towards him, and decided a retreat was best to avoid any injuries to himself - lest he wanted to upset his dear mother. Was he underestimating his enemies, because Loki was not just a few feet away from him, the flames in his hands were burning an intense color, almost a pure white, matching the blonde god's own fury.

A furious Loki, still in mid-flight, shot his fist down upon a frowning Baldur...

Utgard Loki dropped down on the roots of Yggdrasil and ran along it, white wings suddenly sprouted from his back. With Laevateinn in his right hand, he charged towards a staggering Heimdall. The glow of the right eye pulsating, causing more pain to swell in the one-eyed god's head, making him defenseless, as Utgard Loki, approaching at soaring speeds, swung Laevateinn, the crescent moon illuminating a dark flame, and trails of black embers followed.

He was taken by surprise when Garmr appeared in his way, the beast's mouth opened and a giant ball of wind shot from his mouth right for Utgard Loki, who easily deflects the attack aside, letting it smash into the frozen grounds. Hel-chan had swooped right behind and grabbed Heimdall before their opponent could launch a second attack.

"He's too powerful," Hel-chan mumbled.

Heimdall grunted, "Range attacks won't work."

She gasped when Garmr crashed in to the ground, and Heimdall cursed, the wound of his right socket continued to bleed. They didn't have a lot of options left, if either of them had any, and seconds were wasting away if they didn't get Famine into the trunk of Yggdrasil soon, because Mayura couldn't begin without a beacon.

"Hel, you have to leave me," he told her, but before she could object, he continued, "I'll make an opening for you. Just get Famine ready."

"Heimdall-san," she pursed her lips, and as much as she hated to leave him in such a weakened state, he appeared to have a plan, so she landed on the ground again and let him down. She took flight again, recalling that the dagger had fallen from her hand at one of the large roots. "Garmr!" she called to her guardian beast, "Help Heimdall-san!"

Garmr climbed to his feet again, shaking himself from his momentary daze, as Heimdall, fighting against the mental anguish, charged for Utgard Loki, who stood conceitedly at the base of the tree. He threw off his thick gloves, revealing long, sharp claws that could slice through anything, and shouted, "GJALLAR!"

Loki's white flames crashed against a golden shield, and he jumped back just as the sword was raised into the air by Tyr's hand. He saw the smirk on Baldur's face as Tyr stood in front of the haughty god, protectively and fully armed for battle. He recognized the legendary sword, Tyrfing, that never missed a strike and could cut through stone or iron like it was cloth. Knowing how formidable the weapon was, Loki couldn't fight against the god in his incomplete state.

"HO~RYAAAAAH!"

Following the familiar battle cry of Narugami, the wooden Mjollnir came crashing down upon Tyr's shield, and still in mid-air, Narugami kicked his right leg into Tyr's head, but it didn't even faze the large god. He leapt away before Tyr could attack, being rather slow on that take, and landed next to Loki, in a kneeling position. He looked up to his friend, grinning apologetically, with a short salute, "Sorry, Loki."

Before Loki could ask about Mayura, he stood up and tightened Megingjoro around his head, "I left her in good hands."

They quickly glanced over to Yggdrasil's trunk, where the girl stood, surrounded protectively by Jormungand and Fenrir, who bravely fought against the many Valkyries. Fenrir slammed his body against a group of them while Jormungand, who had coiled himself around the tree and Mayura, sprayed acid from his mouth, injuring many of their enemies.

"Thor!" Baldur called his brother, "You have betrayed your word as a god! You know the consequences of breaking an oath!"

"My promise," Narugami stood tall and proud, with Mjollnir faithful at his side, "first..." he raised the sword in front of him and gripped the hilt with both hands, "BELONGS TO SENSEI! TO MAKE HIM PROUD!"

He honored his words to his master first and foremost, the mortal who accepted a wandering god into his home without question, who treated him more like a son and family than his own blood relations.

"RYAAAAH~!"

Narugami ran forward with sword high over head and swung it down, clashing against the metal of the Tyrfing, but amazingly the wooden Mjollnir could withstand the legendary sword. Even Narugami's own strength was on par with the all powerful and all muscly Tyr, who was known for his brawn than brains, so this was a competition of pure strength, but the sight of a bulky, nine-foot tall god pitted against the five-feet-ten-inches junior god was a bit comical.

"Freya-sama!" one of the Valkyries addressed the goddess of beauty, "You're one of the great goddesses of Asgard! We wish not to raise a hand against you, so please surrender!"

The blonde goddess, floated in the air, wearing her cloak of falcon feathers, flipped her hair in a snobbish manner, "It's too late for that." She sighed, "And besides, Baldur has gotten on my bad side! He wants to hurt my dear Loki! And I will not forgive him!"

She waved a hand in front of her, and several feathers appeared and flew straight at the Valkyries, who easily evaded them but were still hesitant on attacking the goddess. But apparently they had no qualms about fighting her brother, chasing poor Freyr, riding on a giant Gullinbursti, with much hate and disdain.

"KILL THE USELESS MALE!" a random Valkyrie cried and charged at him with a spear.

Freya sweatdropped at her fleeing brother and shouted at him, "Nii-sama! Fight back with more pride please!"

"Easy for you to say," Freyr flailed, "They're not after your head!"

She rolled her eyes, "Nii-sama, isn't there something you want to protect?! Fight for that!"

He stopped and blinked, remembering that his precious Yamato Nadeshiko was depending on him too. "That's right! For Freyr's Yamato Nadeshiko!" he stood up on a sweatdropping Gullinbursti and raised his wand into the air with oodles of drama, "LOVELY FREYR TRANSFORMATION!"

Freya's shoulders slumped forward tiresomely after witnessing her brother's most embarrassing moment ever and sighed that his transformation just earned a huge bull's eye on his back. She summoned the power from her Brisingamen necklace, radiating a beautiful, golden light that spread across the skies, engulfing a few of the Valkyries, charming them into hopeless admirers of the goddess.

"Freya-sama~!" the female warriors gushed with hearts in their eyes.

"Nii-sama, you so owe me one!" she shouted as she fled from her groupie.

From the dark skies, Gjallar flew down right for Utgard Loki, only to be smacked away, but it gave Garmr a chance to run for an attack or two, which were deflected again. Heimdall jumped on to a large root and ran along it, managed to avoid a few shots of black fireballs. He ducked and leapt across to a different root until he was close enough to swipe his claws at Utgard Loki.

Just a mere second difference, and he missed the doppelganger, who had teleported behind him. Heimdall clenched his teeth and swung behind him, just to miss again, and he tried a few more times till his claws clashed against Laevateinn. Utgard Loki's free hand grabbed Heimdall by the neck, dangling him at arm's length as he slowly squeezed his fingers around his throat, promising an agonizing death.

"Not a heroic death," he shrugged with a bored, careless expression, "but it will do."

"Heh," Heimdall managed to get out a smirk and screamed out, "DO IT, HEL!"

Heimdall braced for the impact when the blade of Famine cut through a few strands of his violet hair, mere centimeters from his neck, but the metal pierced right through the chest of a surprised Utgard Loki, struck dead center of his heart and through his back and continued into the trunk of the Yggdrasil tree.

Laevateinn fell to the ground and disappeared.

Blood seeped through the wound, soaking the garments and spreading fast, and the crimson liquid also dripped from his mouth and eyes, a complete bloody mess mixing with what appeared to be a dull earth tone of his flesh. The hand around Heimdall's neck was losing its grip, crumbling into fine sand, enough for the god to wretch out of his grasp, and he fell back to the ground, revealing Hel-chan, still kneeling far below them, by the roots' end. She held the hilt of the dagger within her hands, but the blade had extended far into the distance, impaling all the targets, and barely sparing Heimdall, but he was sure a bad haircut was the least of his worries.

Utgard Loki's figure was dissipating into the air, returning to his origins, the hand full of earth from Jotunheim, with the dark magic also fading away, and leaving behind the one thing that neither belonged to the dark elves of Svartalfheim nor the trickster god Loki.

"Heimdall-san..." Hel-chan breathed out, watching the stoic one-eyed god stare down at his most sought after prize, his right eye laying just a foot away from him. Her green eyes soon focused on Yggdrasil in the background, beginning to glow a bright, shimmering white.

Loki brought up a shield of flames in surprise at Baldur's strike against his barrier, the latter grinning in triumphant at the shock on the blonde's face, staring at the tip of the legendary spear, Gungnir, that everyone knew belonged to Odin. Loki, deadpanned, stared at the young god, "You stole Odin's own spear?"

Odin's favorite son scoffed, "Why must you phrase it so boorishly. I merely borrowed it from father when he was preoccupied elsewhere."

The blonde sweatropped, "So you stole it when Odin was in the bathroom."

At such a ridiculous insult (of a very true statement), Baldur ground his teeth and gripped the spear shaft tighter, and with a turn of the weapon, he forced the sharp end through Loki's wall of flames, shattering the barrier and forcing the god to sidestep from the tip that was aiming for his chest.

The sudden illumination from Yggdrasil alerted everyone, halting every single action about to take place - from the Valkyries in mid-flight chasing the siblings, out of love and/or hate, to Tyr about to get a whack from Mjollnir to his nether region and a flash of lightning appearing from the tip of Gungnir - because serious shit, if the whole battle wasn't serious enough as it was, was about to happen.

"Kill the mortal girl!" Baldur ordered of his army of Valkyries and maybe a Tyr if he was free after his fight against Narugami, because she was going to be the end of things if she wasn't eliminated... like right now!

"Yamino-san!"

Mayura cried as the Valkyries were able to get close enough to injure him, but Fenrir rushed to his aid, ramming his furious head right into two of them, sending them into the distance. She was about to run to the giant snake protecting her and Yggdrasil, but what could she do to help him?

And besides, Yggdrasil was now glowing. Hel-chan had told her that she could begin when the obvious change in the tree occurred, which meant that the goddess, with Heimdall's aid, was able to set the beacon that would begin and end all their troubles. At that thought, she couldn't help the bit of sadness that crept into her heart, but she didn't regret the decision she had made, to be a part of this plan, to be useful to Loki and the others who were fighting so hard for her.

Yes, her precious (immortal) friends put their lives on the line to protect her, and she couldn't be selfish anymore. Her happiness was of little importance against the hearts of so many others at stake, in this field of war. She was happy with the short amount of time they shared, but it was time to let them go, let him go.

She was willing to do this for their sake, and she wanted them to know that.

Her mother once told her that there would be very sad times in her life, like when one had to say farewell to someone important and never see them again. It would be difficult to bear, but that was a part of life and growing up. However far apart two people might be, there was a deep bond that could never be broken and memories that could never be forgotten, and she had to do was believe and never give up her smiles.

'Eleven years ago,' Mayura closed her eyes, remembering Hel-chan's gentle words from the bus ride, 'I met a very gentle soul. Whenever I would visit her, she always hummed this beautiful tune. I asked her what the song was, and if there were words to it, but she would just smile and say... that one day, I will hear the lyrics from her inspiration.

'Mayura-san, let the gods hear the song that she entrusted to you.'

When she opened her lovely, crimson eyes again, she was confident and resolute, standing tall and shimmering as brightly as the radiant Yggdrasil behind her, with both hands clasped over her heart, quietly thanking her mother with a gentle smile. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, hoping that her feelings would be conveyed to those dear to her.

(Cue music...)

Baldur really shouldn't have shouted that direct, authoritative order so loudly, especially when his opponent was a very pissed off Loki, whose eyes were no longer the calm, green color but a fiery, dangerous, 'how dare you target my love interest because you're just asking for a death wish' red right now.

A sudden flare of immense power made the ever nervous Baldur, drenching in his own perspiration (and maybe urine if he lacked any bodily control) because a badass Loki had just regained the rest of his powers, which meant that Utgard Loki in Niflheim had been defeated.

o/` Why? The sadness,

o/` I can see it deep in your eyes.

A sphere of white flames engulfed the trickster god, swirling and expanding around him, forcing Baldur to immediately retreat with the divine protection of Gungnir to hold back to the intense heatwave threatening to burn him alive, a hundred times over.

o/` Voice, my voice,

o/` Praying someday it will reach your heart.

Mayura's voice, strong and beautiful, flowed across the vast battlefield, reaching the ears of all who heard, allies and enemies alike, but the words held more meaning to her friends, even those who were unwilling to admit how the mortal's existence had reached his/her heart too.

o/` Memories of you and me,

o/` So many I hold in my heart.

Standing in front of Yggdrasil, she began to shine a warm light along side the legendary tree, and the many jars and containers of the gods, holding all the captive jaki they had captured, suddenly appeared around her.

o/` When we smile or cry our tears,

o/` These are the times we won't forget.

The shell of wild, white flames exploded into the sky, and the ever handsome and powerful Loki reappeared, in his formal Asgard clothes, with Laevateinn in his right hand, and a pair of beautiful, white wings sprouted from his back.

o/` With your eyes to the sky, take this gentle breeze off to another day.

o/` And we'll keep this feeling in our beating hearts, embracing love and warmth.

All the jaki containers shattered, and the evil spirits spiral into the Yggdrasil tree.

o/` Though things will bring us down, and there will be times our smiles can't stop the pain,

o/` You and I, together, we will be all right.

Heimdall gazed down at his right eye, cradled safely within his clawed hands, with an uncharacteristic expression of great relief and joy at its final return to him, but the public display of his raw emotions didn't bother him at this point. Even Gjallar, perched on his left shoulder, was happy for his master.

o/` Fine. Every time,

o/` You throw all of your troubles away,

Hel-chan, with Garmr at her side, stood in front of the Yggdrasil tree - the dagger Famine still stabbed in the trunk - with a hand held to her heart, gazing at the intense, vibrant change of colors flickering madly from the absorption of the jaki into the system. She turned around and looked up to the dark skies of Niflheim and smiled, because Mayura's powerful voice had drifted into the frozen realm.

o/` Heart, your heart

o/` Will grow strong with each step of the way.

Freya twirled in the air, a deadly spin shooting out an explosion of feathers around her, towards the smitten Valkyries.

o/` In the sky, I feel so new,

o/` Holding the strength of the sun.

Then with a wave of his magical wand, Freyr blasted through another group of them, while an angry Gullinbursti charged into a few that were sneaking up behind his oblivious master.

o/` In your heart, don't you feel it

o/` Burning like a deep sensation?

A beaten up and bruised Narugami wiped the blood from his mouth, as he gathered all his remaining strength and charged at an equally injured, giant Tyr, both gods being unarmed now, in a final attack with just their fists. Thrilled with such a intense battle, the god of thunder smiled.

o/` Even if the tears flow and the pain still hurts, never give up your dreams.

o/` Forget all that's standing in our endless path, and believe in a smile.

Fenrir caught a spear with his mouth and used it to slash their flying enemies as he rushed at him while Jormungand unwound himself from the Yggdrasil tree and whipped his tail at a group of Valkyries, sending them straight to the ground.

o/` The door of light will just be a reach away, don't ever be afraid.

o/` I'm so sure, I'm so sure we will be all right.

"Why are you letting this happen?!" Baldur growled as he fended off the strike of Laevateinn, "That mortal will throw all of Asgard into chaos!"

Loki smirked, having no trouble pushing his opponent back, "Don't you know?"

With a surge of power through Laevateinn, the force pushed Baldur back. Without hesitation, Loki raised his staff into the air and answered the confused god, "I'm also the god of chaos!"

He brought Laevateinn down, ablazed with the divine, white flame of the god of fire, against Gungnir, the immense power knocking the spear out of Baldur's hand, leaving him defenseless. The spear spun through the air and then stabbed into the ground a distance away from the two gods.

A panicky Baldur stumbled back to avoid Loki's giant fireball crashing into the spot that he had stood earlier. The explosion momentarily dazed him, but the few seconds was enough for Loki to burst through the flames to surprise him, the crescent moon ornament crashed into Baldur's chest, cracking a few ribs.

Blood spluttered from his mouth as the defeated god slammed in to the ground, skidding painfully through a long stretch of earth.

o/` With our precious mem'ries, we'll keep wandering till we find our future

o/` And see what surprises lie before us, to take within our hands.

While the many fights continued across the field of Yggdrasil, Mayura's voice held strong and steady, reaching far across the Nine Worlds, connecting all of them together by one great tree and the strength of one mortal girl's pure soul.

The once clear skies began to twinkle with mysterious lights, from hundreds to thousands... to millions.

o/` Though the road will be long and filled with harm, we'll be together.

o/` With this map of our dreams, nothing can stop us...

She lifted her eyes into the skies as the lights of various colors accumulated and soared through the air, heading straight for Yggdrasil.

o/` With our eyes to the sky, take this gentle breeze off to another day.

o/` And we'll keep this feeling in our beating hearts, embracing love and warmth.

The largest mass of jaki ever to be collected at one time - according to the records of Asgard - danced above them and funneled right into the core of the Yggdrasil System, like a deadly virus infiltrating a network of computers, disrupting everything within its system.

o/` Though things will bring us down, and there will be times our smiles can't stop the pain,

o/` You and I, together, we will be all right.

With the absorption of so many evil spirits, the light display of Yggdrasil continued to pulsate at rapid rates until the whole network overloaded and a burst of blinding light blasted into the sky, engulfing the whole landscape, including all the realms that Yggdrasil reached, especially in Asgard, into its bright light.

The sun was just rising over the horizon of Tokyo, beginning the new day of a new week, the golden color washing over the stillness of morning life, as a quiet Mayura walked home, alone. Her small figure plastered against the light of day, her head hung low, the shadows hiding her emotions from the world, as she stared at the ground, step by step, the sound of her solemn footsteps coincided with the steady beat of her heart.

Somehow, she made it back to her home, safely.

Of course, it was safe - no more dangers, no more battles, no more gods - just a normal morning for an average mortal.

She walked up each step of the stairway, not skipping a single one, leading to the shrine and her home. Each move of her foot seemed to drag, feeling heavy, an invisible burden in her heart.

She stopped at the top and looked across the empty stretch of land that once was filled with many familiar faces, their laughter and their shouting, the many voices that made this place so alive. But now, it was just her standing in such a lonesome place.

As if to remind her of how alone she was now, only the silence greeted her, not a single chirp from a bird or the busyness of squirrels. The cool breeze picked up, and she shivered from the morning's low temperature - having left the previous day without a jacket. She wrapped her arms around herself, in a sort of solitary comfort, refusing to head to the house, afraid that she would lose her last memory of them if she left.

She didn't want to cry and braved herself to stay strong, for their sake.

"Mayura?"

At the call of her name, she whipped her head around with eagerness, but the brightness of her face fell when it was just the sight of her father. He saw the heartbroken expression of her face and dropped the two suitcases before running up to her. The last time he saw such a sorrowful look was when his wife had passed away, and he quickly pulled his daughter into his arms, quietly wondering what had happened while he was gone.

"Mayura," he cradled her gently, a light rock back and forth, but she wasn't crying, just shaking in his arms. He kissed the top of her head, worried and afraid to ask. Ever since the night before, when he tried to call home and no one answered , especially when there were four mobile phones and a house full of people, he knew he had to get on the next flight and train home immediately.

"Did something happen?" he finally asked the inevitable, "Where's Loki? Yamino-san? Narugami-kun? The others?"

With her head resting against her father's chest, she closed her eyes, the moistness at the edge of her eyes. "Papa," she sniffled, "They're gone..."

"Gone?" he blinked, "What do you mean?"

"They returned home..."

"..."

That evening, Daidouji sat in the kitchen, his hands clasped together on the table surface, and he stared at his hands, lost in thought, trying to make sense of everyone's sudden departure, that had left Mayura all alone and heartbroken. At one point, he had become so enraged at their insensitivity, but his daughter just shook it off, mumbling that it was her fault in the first place and that it was the right thing to do.

She even tried to smile, to show that she was going to be all right, because had it not always been just the two of them. It was just returning to the way things were before, before that fateful day.

He looked up when he heard footsteps and got out of his chair and entered the hallway. He was surprised to see his daughter up and about, in a loose, navy blouse and a pair of jeans - after insisting that she get some sleep that morning - slipping on her shoes, "Mayura, why aren't you getting more rest?"

She looked at him with a pout in an attempt to hide her sadness, "Papa! I can't sleep all day!"

"Then, where are you going?"

"For a walk," she put on her other shoe before straightening, "I just need some fresh air, papa."

"Hmm," he sounded hesitant, not wanting his obviously emotional girl to be walking the streets alone, but she appeared adamant about, "well... at least take your phone."

She gave him a small grin and pulled out her phone from the back of her denim pocket, and the man sweatdropped and added, "Well, don't stay out too long. I'm making your favorite for dinner."

Her grin faded into a small, grateful curl of her lips, "Thank you, papa."

She walked to the door and opened it. "I'm off then!" she announced with forced cheer and went quietly through the doorway.

Daidouji could only watch sadly, praying that whatever god is up there would watch over his daughter and make her smile once more.

Mayura had no destination in mind, just letting her feet carry her to wherever. She was so listless, walking about like a dazed zombie, oblivious to the few people around her and even the several places she passed by, from the park where she met Freyr to the spot she bumped into Fenrir. She eventually crossed the road where Narugami had saved her from a truck and then strolled by the tea shop that she browsed through with Yamino, following part of the path that Kazumi had lead her along into his little trap.

She made a few more turns, passing the spot where she had seen Freya snatch up Loki into a hug, which was just two blocks from the fancy boutique. Walking along that road, she didn't notice the cafe with delicious pastries that she enjoyed with Hel-chan.

About fifteen minutes later, she was quite far from home, pretty much at the other side of the district, just a few meters from the amusement park that she and Loki spent the whole day at, when her phone rang. She stopped and sighed, pulling the device from her pocket. Without looking at the screen to check the caller's ID, she opened it and brought it to her ear. With such a lifeless voice, she greeted with a soft 'moshi moshi'...

"Mayura?" came a familiar, worried voice, but it didn't registered in her brain.

"Yes?" she responded with another lethargic sigh, her gaze drifting upwards to the bright lights of the ferris wheel of the amusement park.

"Is that any way to greet me?" the tone was now playful.

Mayura blinked, "Eh?"

"Won't you give me something livelier?" the caller teased.

"Erm..."

"I was expecting a more cheerful greeting," she heard the sigh, no longer sounding like it was coming from the phone, but much closer, more crisp and clear. She turned to her right and dropped the hand holding the phone to her side, garnet eyes agape at the person standing about five meters away. A phone in his hand while the other in his pocket, and a sweet, handsome smile on his soft expression as he gazed at her, his emerald pools drinking in her appearance as if he hadn't seen her in months.

Her feet began to move on their own as her mind tried to process the situation, but neither connected until she stood right in front of him, still in shock, holding the phone to her chest, staring into his face as if trying to remember all of his beautiful features once more.

"Am I... dreaming?" she whispered.

His smile grew wider, and the laughter twinkled in his green eyes. He had already slipped his phone back into his pocket and brought both of his hands to her face. She recognized a flicker of mischief in those playful orbs before she felt her cheeks being tugged apart. She winced in pain, the proof that she wasn't dreaming at all, and cried out, "Mou, Loki-sama!"

Loki laughed and let her cheeks go, so he could throw his eager arms around her and crush her defenseless body to him. He could still feel her fuming in his arms and rubbed his cheek lovingly against the softness of her pink hair - how he missed the feeling of her in his arms, her warmth, her fragrance, just all of her. This single moment reuniting with her made the many months in Asgard worth the fight, to remind him that this was what real heaven felt like, his own personal heaven.

He felt her arms encircling around his torso, her hands grasping the fabric of his coat in desperation, her voice having ached for him in less than twenty-four hours - as incomparable as time was in his hell in Asgard, the pain and suffering of separation that she had endured was just as indescribable as his own.

"Loki-sama..."

Her sweet voice was so pleasant to his ears, a deep yearning within her heart, and he smiled into her hair, inhaling her scent deeply, needing to fill his senses with her. And he found his own voice calling out to her with mutual affections, "Mayura...

"I missed you..."

Notes: Um, I had most of this typed over the weekend, lol, so pardon any mistakes... and the really long chapter. I debated whether to split this up or not, but I was like 'nooo, I want all of it together' so just think of this as the hour long episode? Lol.

Sorry for all the drama and the sprinkling of a bit of humor throughout if you didn't like it. *eyes watering* I was almost tugging out my hair at how much angst I was putting in... to one of my more light-hearted pieces! I'm not sure if you're all mad at the ending... *hides behind a sweatdropping Narugami* but this was how I had planned it to end, lol... *sweatdrops*

So this chapter concludes SEASON ONE! *wipes the sweat off her forehead* Yes, season one because I tend to treat these as anime-like episodes, lol. I've been brainstorming Season two since last night, which is why I'm running on five hours of sleep, lol! So really, the story is not over? Lol... okay, I need to stop laughing right now.

Thank you so much for everyone who have read and review! I really appreciate all the wonderful, kind words and your support over the years and this month of July! Especially Gin Nanashi, whose reviews made me laugh and smile and inspired me to get to this point! Please look forward to Season two in the future! *smiles and bows deeply* -kuro.