As the Time Detectives rode Jörmungandr along the walkways of the forest, Mobius began to wonder.
"You know, I was so focused on the prospect of the shinobi that I didn't stop to think: if this is 16th century Japan, how were they able to call your number without telephones of their own?"
"Hm. That's a good question; I suppose I was too excited to wonder about that as well. Perhaps that's why I didn't see their number on the caller ID... do you suppose one of their gods contacted us with one of their inter-dimensional powers, or maybe even an otherworldly spirit?"
"We've met weirder." Sylvie acknowledged.
"You've all got your universal translators on?" Mobius verified with his team. They each confirmed that they did with nods and thumbs up.
"So Loki, do you remember where you were during the mid 16th century?" Fiamma asked the detective.
"That's a simple one: I was yet living in Asgard with my mother and her husband, along with Thor of course!"
"Then that's where I'm going."
"'My mother and her husband...'" Mobius repeated. "That's good, you should use that line when we visit old Odin here, and I'm not just saying that because I'm your current father!"
"Yes, it would likely be best for us to accompany you there, Fiamma..." Loki warned. "Asgardians aren't very welcoming of unexpected foreign visitors, especially giants!"
"Alright, then I guess I'll help you find this ninja first, and then I'll find my next Loki!"
"Hey, there's the shrine up ahead!" Sylvie pointed ahead to the doubled shrines, which were especially heavily guarded after the recent theft.
They approached the shrine and told the guards how they were called there to find the mirror thief, but the Japanese men were distracted by Fiamma, looking at each other suspiciously.
"Is that... Amaterasu sama herself with you?" The detectives' devices translated for them as the head of the guard spoke.
"Japanese goddess of fire and the sun." Mobius whispered to Fiamma. "This shrine is built to honor her."
The giantess cocked her head upward. "What do you think, mortals?" The device translated her reply into Japanese in return. "A priceless artifact was stolen from my sacred shrine, and I brought this team of Norse gods to join me as detectives." She motioned to Loki. "This is actually Loki, god of mischief."
Loki shot her a mixed look of surprise and irritation. "You can't just blow my cover like that!" He telepathically scolded her. "What if the Loki from this timeline hears of himself working as a detective in Japan?"
"We'll tell him the truth when we meet him later; I wanted to milk this goddess confusion for all it's worth, since I didn't take full advantage of it in Hawaii." Then Fiamma gestured to Sylvie. "This is his lover, the Norse goddess, Angrboda."
"And who's that supposed to be!?" Sylvie questioned her with another wave of telepathy.
"She's the mother of Loki's daughter, plus Jörmungandr and Fenris, in the Norse myths. Admit it, Angrboda is a much more imposing name than Sylvie!" Then Fiamma introduced Mobius. "And this is Loki's loyal human servant, Agent Mobius."
Mobius sighed. "Well, I've sure felt like it sometimes." He said in his mind. "Though it's pretty funny she should call me that after Loki waited on me, hand and foot, when I was just sick!"
"And lastly, this is his infamous Earth-circling serpent, Jörmungandr." The shrine guards gazed in fear at the gigantic, golden snake, who flicked his tongue in acknowledgment.
"Hey, you forgot to introduce meee!" Healer whined. The guards flinched further at the goopy black Symbiote as it ungraciously popped out of Loki's chest.
"I didn't forget you, I just wasn't trying to scare the mortals away." Fiamma explained. She looked back at the frightened guards and whispered. "Ah, who am I kidding, I'll admit it's pretty fun to scare them out of their minds, but we won't likely get to search this place if they panic and try to defend themselves."
Healer then faced the guards. "Don't worry, I am with Lokiii, so I will only eat the heads of those who threaten him!" He turned to his host while the guards' eyes widened in fear of his fangs. "Can we eat ninja brains?"
"You just had brains in France about a month ago! Besides, we only kill the criminals in extreme circumstances, remember?" Loki addressed the guards next. "Don't mind Healer... he won't hurt anyone who isn't a criminal. As his name suggests, his main ability is healing. Anyway, that's us, the Asgardian gods of the Norse people!"
The guards then looked to each other in puzzlement again. "Asgardian? We haven't heard of any Asgardian gods."
"That makes sense, since Japan is a very isolationist country." Mobius theorized. "Their homeland of Asgard, on the other hand, has mostly just made contact with European countries and occasionally the colonies."
"But they're very powerful and very clever, so their work today will speak for itself." Fiamma assured them.
"Right this way, Amaterasu sama!" The guards allowed the detectives in to inspect the crime scene, while a beautiful woman watched them with admiration from a distance.
"They snuck past security completely undetected, and they didn't leave a trace of evidence behind that we could see." The guards explained.
"What time approximately did you notice the mirror was missing?" Loki questioned them.
"It was around 1:15 in the morning, still very dark out."
"But no one was hurt or killed, at least." Mobius stated.
"Yes, no casualties this time, but next time, who knows?"
"And the High Priestess is angry enough with us for failing her." Another guard added.
"High Priestess?" Loki repeated. "Is she the ruler of your country?"
"Not of the country, but she is descended from the Empress that was tasked by Amaterasu sama herself with guarding her shrine. Did she not explain this to you?"
Loki shook his head. "No, only the basics of the mission." He turned to his pet. "Did you smell anything, find anything peculiar?" Jörmungandr flicked his tongue again. "Oh really?"
"Can you really speak with snakes?!" One of the guards realized in astonishment.
"Yes, and mine has just found your thief's point of entry. Look over here, at this tree: see how there's a hidden opening here?" Loki inspected the nearby area further until he found something. "And the ground down here appears to be moist, but the grass surrounding this patch is all dry."
"What would that mean, I wonder...?"
"That's what we're going to figure out. Perhaps your perpetrator swam here through a river or lake to sneak in, or perhaps they were merely parched after their journey and needed a cool drink of water. What do you think, Mobius?"
"Those sound like reasonable deductions, but since this is the only tangible evidence we have so far, maybe we should take a sample?" The analyst suggested.
"Of water? Could you tell where it came from?"
"I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt." Mobius then took a tiny evidence container while Loki transformed the moisture into ice with his cryokinesis and placed it inside.
They searched both the outer Gekū and the inner Naikū shrines, but the mystery thief didn't leave behind a trace of their existence. As the detectives began to leave, the Japanese woman who had been silently watching them made herself known.
"That was impressive, how you fooled the guards so easily. But I know you are not the real Amaterasu." She commended. "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Watari, the one who hired you."
"Are you the High Priestess?" Sylvie asked.
"Me, the High Priestess? If only I had such a position, but I am only your client."
"Yes, I recognized your voice." Loki told her. "Unfortunately, we haven't found much in the way of evidence, Ms. Watari, but that's never stopped us before."
"Yes, I can see your determination, Ouroboros san!"
"Loki is actually my real name: that wasn't a lie to trick the guards. Mr. Ouroboros is my detective name I use to protect my identity, since I have something of a trickster reputation, but that doesn't seem to be the case here."
"Oh?" Watari tilted her head in confusion. "Odd... I have studied the gods of other civilizations, but never before today have I heard of a Loki! You must be a top tier undercover detective to keep your identity so secret, Loki sama!"
Loki smiled. "Thank you. Could you then tell us who exactly this sun goddess Amaterasu is and about her mirror that was stolen?"
"Amaterasu Omikami, ruler of the realm of the gods, or kami, as we call them, is the oldest daughter of the kami Izanagi and Izanami, sister to the moon kami Tsukiyomi and the sea and storm kami Susanoo. It is said that a long long time ago, Amaterasu hid herself in a cave after a particularly repulsive prank from her mischievous brother, Susanoo, refusing to come out! But that caused a serious problem for the people of Japan, because without her, there was no sunlight for them to see and no way to feel her warmth! Then the other kami used the mirror, Yata no Kagami, along with the jewel Yasakani no Magatama, to lure her out and prevent her from hiding ever again!"
"A band of tricksters..." Loki mused. "They seem like my kind of kami!"
"So you think this ninja took the mirror to try and get Amaterasu's attention, maybe return it to her in exchange for some mystical reward?" Möbius wondered.
"Maybe so." Watari answered. "It also is said to reveal the truth of whatever is held in front of it, but I doubt anyone who isn't a kami can utilize this power by themself. The mirror is truly sacred not only because of this and because the goddess Amaterasu treasures it, but because of what it means to the humans and how it helped their ancestors, so it must be found!"
"What about that jewel you mentioned?" Mobius asked. "Has that been stolen?"
"Not that we know of, but we have anticipated such a pattern, and I sent Amaterasu sama's messenger to check on the other treasures for me just before I contacted you. He will soon return to tell us. They are both actually part of three sacred treasures: Sanshu no Jingi. These three treasures are so sacred, it is forbidden to even look upon them, so to steal even one of them is beyond contemptible!"
"So what's the third treasure, a mystical crown of some sort?" Loki guessed.
"Better, it is the legendary sword, Kusanagi no Tsurugi! It was actually a gift to Amaterasu sama from her youngest brother as an apology for his recent prank. Susanoo sama used it earlier to slay the vile 8-headed and 8-tailed snake, Yamata no Orochi!"
"That's definitely my favorite treasure of the three!" Sylvie admitted.
"Ah, I think that's him coming toward us now!" Watari exclaimed. The detectives looked to only see a crow flying towards them, but as it perched on Watari's shoulder, they noticed it had three legs instead of two! "Yatagarasu, how are the other treasures?"
"They're both safe for now; I've instructed the keepers to move them in secret, so not even I know their location!" The crow relayed. "If anything happens to them, they will send word, but there are guards in possession of the treasures at all times, and they will protect them with their very lives!"
Loki faced his adoptive father. "The prospect of a talking crow might have fazed me before I met that talking rabbit that shoots laser guns."
"Not to burst your Asgardian bubble, but he's a raccoon... well technically, a genetically modified Halfworlder raccoon." Mobius corrected him.
"That sounds more like a tanuki to me." Watari spoke with disgust this time. "Those cannot be trusted!"
The crow gave a very bird-like snicker. "By the way, my name is Yatagarasu, and I act as the sun goddess's messenger, aho! I take it you four are the detectives."
"We are." They introduced themselves to the talking crow and showed him what they found at the crime scene. "So we're going to need more information to find this ninja so we can retrieve the mirror."
"Of course, we need to keep in mind that shinobi seldom work for themselves: they are usually hired by a wealthy daimyo or man of similar ranking." Watari stated. "So if and when we find the spy, we'll need to figure out who they're collecting the mirror for and why."
"And getting information from a ninja can prove an even greater challenge than finding one!" Yatagarasu added.
Sylvie smiled. "Don't worry about that part: we're experts at finding secrets people have hidden in their minds! Let's just keep an ear out for word about the other two treasures for now!"
"Yeah, and maybe we can check out some of those feudal lords while we wait, see what they know." Mobius suggested.
"We can't let them know the mirror has been stolen, or they'll send spies of their own to find it and claim it for themselves!" Watari warned. "Then finding the mirror will become so much more difficult!"
Mobius smirked. "Who said anything about letting them know?"