[fic] In a Distant Time 1/? (MaLoRa)

[melrose_stormhaven]

Disclaimer: I do not own Matantei Loki Ragnarok. Don't sue.

Free talk: Yes! Finally managed to write this. Thanks to the ones who reviewed.

Chapter I: Of Tolkien and White Lies

I no longer love her, that's certain, but perhaps I love her.
Love lasts so short and forgetting takes so long.

But on nights like this I had her in my arms.
My heart is not used to having lost her.

Although this may be the last pain that she causes me
And these may be the last verses that I write her.

-Pablo Neruda, Poem Twenty: Twenty Poems of Love and Desperation

Loki's eyes snapped open, his breath coming out in rapid gasps, heart pounding.

That dream again, he thought as he realized he was in his room in the mansion, lying in his huge, king-sized, four-poster bed, staring at the dark red canopy. He could feel Ecchan, soft and fluffy, sleeping on his stomach. He was sure Fenrir would be here as well, probably sleeping at the foot of his bed.

How many times have I dreamed that dream before? Loki wondered as he relaxed, letting his breath assume its usual slow, steady rhythm, the tension slowly slipping away from him. He ran his fingers through his damp, maple brown hair. He glanced at the old, weathered grandfather clock. It was around two in the morning, far too early to wake up. How many times shall I dream of you, Sigyn? How many times must I remember that day? He could still smell it, the dank odors of wet earth and stone…and Sigyn's scent.

"Daddy?" Fenrir's worried whine broke through Loki's reverie.

Sighing softly, Loki said, "Go back to sleep, Fenrir. It's all right. It was just a bad dream."

~*~*~*~

Mayura Daidouji stared at her middle-aged English teacher, a glassy look in her ruby eyes. Head propped up by one hand, she stifled a yawn and began to tap her foot against the hard, polished floor with slow, seemingly measured beats, the sound drowning out her teacher's lecture on the use of prepositions.

She shifted her gaze to the clock above the blackboard. Fifteen more minutes before class ends, Mayura thought with an impatient huff, her cheeks puffing in annoyance. English was her last subject for the day. After this, she'd be free to pursue her hobbies, which was, of course, solving mysteries. Really, Kojikawa-sensei's taking so long…

I wonder what mystery I'll encounter today? Mayura mused, then she frowned in consternation. There hadn't been any new mysteries for the past two weeks. It was rather…unusual. Everything was quiet and in their proper order. Glancing at the window, she almost wished a giant beanstalk would sprout out of the school grounds so that she'll have something mysterious to work on.

"–and before we end," Kojikawa-sensei was saying in a louder voice, trying to be heard over the chatter of Mayura's classmates, "I'd like to announce that will be a field trip a week from now–"

Mayura's head snapped up at the word 'field trip' just as an excited murmur rose from the class. Eyes wide and round with excitement, she thought, Field trips are nice, and they could be fun! She listened to her professor with rapt attention.

"Our destination will be Gin-no-Taki, or in English, Golden falls. So everyone, please things you might need. Details will be posted in the bulletin board. Having said that, class is now dismissed." Kojikawa-sensei then collected his things, and left the room. As soon as he was gone, the class erupted into cheers and loud chattering.

"–Gin-no-Taki! I hear that place is beautiful, especially in autumn! All right!"

"–one of the most renowned waterfalls in Japan! I hear it’s a four-level waterfall."

"–heard there's some kind of mystery there!" a girl remarked to her friend.

Mayura glanced swiftly at the girl. "Mystery? What mystery?" she demanded in an eager voice, taking a step closer to the startled girl. Her eyes glinted with excitement.

The girl took a cautious step back. "Well, I heard that in the bottom pool of the falls, sometimes people would see something like a chest of gold underneath the water. But if you dive and look for it, it's not there. They say the gold has some sort of guardian too!"

"Really?" Mayura's eyes sparkled as the words 'Mystery! Mystery' flashed before her eyes. Quickly donning swirly-eyed glasses, she exclaimed, "Wow! Fushigi Mystery!"

Behind her, a familiar male voice chuckled. "Mysteries again, Daidouji? I would have thought you'd have enough of that."

"Koutarou-kun!" She smiled at her blonde-haired classmate. "I haven't really gotten tired of it. I love mysteries, and I still do want to be a great detective."

"An admirable goal," Koutarou Kakinouchi said in a grave voice. Then he grinned. "So, do you still hang out with that tantei–what's his name–"

"Loki-kun? Hai!" Her smile faded at the thought of Loki. She felt her heart contract painfully. It's been two weeks since Loki-kun disappeared and returned. Somehow, she couldn't say if that was a good or bad thing. She hung her head, pink locks shifting as she did, concealing part of her face.

"Oi, Daidouji, are you all right?" Koutarou asked. Talkative, sunny Mayura had fallen silent, and there was a sad, far-away look in her eyes. "Is something wrong?"

Mayura lifted her head, turned, and smiled him. "Eh? Nothing's wrong, Koutarou-kun." She quickly stuffed her things into her bag. Waving cheerily, she said, "Ja, Koutarou-kun!"

~*~*~*~

"Gold? Under a waterfall?" Yamino Ryuusuke asked incredulously as he carefully poured more orange juice into Mayura's glass.

"Um. Isn't it mysterious?" Mayura asked between mouthfuls of sandwiches. She swallowed it down in one gulp then took a drink of juice. "Arigato, Yamino-kun. Anyway, people do see gold treasure! But it disappears when you dive and look for it."

"It certainly is mysterious," Yamino conceded with a thoughtful nod.

"So, what do you think, Loki-kun? Should we investigate this?" Mayura turned to Loki, who was sitting in his usual place, behind his massive desk, writing only gods-know-what.

Loki looked up and frowned. He wasn't really up to Mayura's mysteries. He had little sleep last night and now have a headache. "It's not really a mystery. The gold people see may be an illusion produced when sunlight hit certain rocks underwater. That's why it 'disappears' when someone looks for it underwater."

"Loki-kun! But isn't it just unusual?" Mayura protested. "Aren't you even interested? There could be real treasure there!" Her eyes sparkled then turned dreamy as she began to daydream. "If we found the treasure, we could be rich!" I could buy everything I want, Mayura thought with a wistful sigh. I could buy that ghost-hunting kit I saw in one of Yamino-san's mail-order catalogs.

Loki looked at Mayura's dreamy state with a mixture of dismay and amusement. Really, there she goes again. Mayura never changes. Then he shifted her gaze to his son, and was mildly shocked to see that Yamino had the same look in his eyes. No doubt thinking about all the gadgets he could order, Loki mused. As if the money we have isn't enough for it.

Fenrir padded over to Loki, jumped onto his lap, and settled there. The wolf-puppy glanced at his brother and Mayura. "Daddy, they're weird."

Ecchan, who hovered around Loki's head, bobbed up and down in agreement. "Hai, Loki-tama."

Finally, Mayura snapped off her daydream. "So, will you go, Loki-kun?" she asked eagerly.

"Go? Go where?" Loki asked in a disinterested voice as he gave Fenrir a belly rub.

"To Gin-no-Taki to investigate the mystery."

"I don't really think there's something mysterious about it. I'm sorry, Mayura, but I'm not going." He gently put down Fenrir and resumed his writing.

Mayura leapt to her feet. "Eeeeehhhh! Demo, Loki-kun, aren't you even interested?"

Loki didn't even look up. "No."

Mayura puffed her cheeks, irritated. "Hidoi! Well, fine, I'll investigate it myself." She drew herself to her full height and swept up her bag into her arms. "And if I find the treasure, maybe I'll be nice enough to give you some." Huffing, she headed for the door.

Yamino hurriedly opened the door for Mayura, but not before casting his father a reproachful look.

Mayura was nearly over the threshold when she abruptly stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "Loki-kun," she began, the cheerfulness in her voice gone.

"Yes?" Loki said, almost indifferently.

"Would you still be here when I come back from the field trip?"

Startled by her question, Loki's head almost snapped up. That was when he realized why Mayura wanted him to come. She's still afraid I might leave. Their eyes met, and Loki could see the fear and sadness in her eyes. There was a brief silence before Loki replied, almost gently, "Really, Mayura. Of course I'd still be here. Where else would I be?"

A smile flitted on Mayura's lips, and her face brightened. "Then I'll see you. Ja, Loki-kun!"

~*~*~*~

Hidden by thick clumps of bright autumn red leaves and dense branches, they listened and watched, dark, glittering eyes focused on the girl with pink-hair and the boy with maple-brown hair taking in the nearby mansion. When the girl left, so did they, ghosting through the air with silent black wings. Their master had to be told.

~*~*~*~

As soon as Mayura was gone, Yamino quietly shut the door and turned to his father. "Why didn't you want to go, Loki-sama?"

Not looking up from his writing, Loki sighed. "It involves water, Yamino-kun. You know how I hate water." I'm a fire giant, and since time immemorial, fire and water do not get along with each other.

"But it is rather mysterious, don't you think, Loki-sama?"

An amused smile on his lips, Loki gave Yamino a sidelong glance. "You really want to go there, don't you, Yamino-kun? Is the possibility of gold treasure too much to resist?"

Yamino shook his head. "It isn't that, Loki-sama…it's just that…well, we haven't had any cases lately and…ah…I'm worried about Mayura-san."

Loki frowned. "Worried?"

"Well, you know how she always seem to attract," Yamino hesitated for a moment, searching for the right word, "well…trouble. And after what happened to her a few weeks ago…well…I though we should keep an eye on her."

Loki said nothing. He had not forgotten what happened weeks ago. It was constantly on his mind, alternating with his thoughts of…her. After a moment of silence, his face expressionless, he finally replied, "You worry too much, Yamino-kun. Mayura will be fine."

Yamino said nothing, studying his father's face. His father looked tired, and there were dark smudges in his eyes. "Is there something wrong, Loki-sama? You look tired."

I dreamt of the night when the woman I loved betrayed me. What can possibly wrong with that? Loki shook his head. "Nothing, Yamino-kun. I just didn't sleep well last night, that's all."

~*~*~*~

The night before Mayura's school field trip, Loki received a visitor. "Good evening, Narukami-kun," Loki greeted when Yamino ushered him in. Then he was surprised when the bokken-totting god of thunder stomped towards him, waving the bokken threateningly, an angry look in his face.

"I talked to Daidouji this afternoon. I wanted to talk to you immediately, but I had a job. Why aren't you coming with Daidouji to the field trip?" he demanded, slamming his palms on Loki's desk.

"I wasn't interested," Loki answered calmly. "Why are you angry, Narukami-kun?"

Narugami took a deep breath. "I'm just worried about Daidouji," he replied. "You know how she is, always getting into trouble."

"You worry too much, Narukami-kun. Besides, why do I have to be there? You're going to the filed trip, anyway. Why don't you keep an eye on her, if you're so concerned."

"I have a job, so I can't go to the field trip. Besides," Narugami glared at Loki, then grinned, "you should be the one to keep an eye on her because you're her boyfriend, Loki."

Everything fell silent at Narugami's statement. Yamino froze in the act of putting down a cup of tea on Loki's desk. Loki continued to stare at Narugami.

After several seconds, Loki finally stood up. "I. Am. Not. Mayura's. Boyfriend."

Narugami's grin widened. "Yes, you are. After all, you stayed here because of her."

"I didn't–" Loki began to say, but then stopped. "Who else think I stayed because of her?" he asked Narugami, a strange expression in his green eyes.

Narugami chuckled. "Everyone knows you stayed for Mayura, Loki, even Heimdall. For all we know, Odin knows too." He stopped when saw the expression in Loki's eyes. "What's wrong, Loki?"

Loki just smiled at him. "Nothing, Narukami-kun. A thought just came to me."

~*~*~*~

"Let's go, Daidouji," Koutarou called out to Mayura, who stood outside, her back facing the bus. It was the day of the field trip, and the normally hyper Mayura was strangely listless. "We're leaving."

"Hai, Koutarou-kun," Mayura replied without enthusiasm. She had hoped Loki changed his mind, but apparently, he didn't. With a sad sigh, she turned towards the bus and boarded it.

T.B.C.

Free talk, part two: Ehem. So, how was it? And yes, this will be Loki x Mayura. I'm sorry if Loki acts so cold and unfeeling here. He's just in a bad mood. He'll redeem himself, I promise. I'm keeping much of his personal thoughts and feelings to himself. Loki's like that.

The poem: I really have no idea what possessed me to put that poem there. It's from Pablo Neruda, translated by Jodey Bateman. I got it from an Internet site a long, long time ago. Don't sue, please.

Tolkien, huh: In case you didn't know, much of Lord of the Rings was taken from German/Norse myths. Apologies to Tolkien/LOTR fans!

Field trips and Japanese school year: I'm not sure how people conduct field trips in Japan, but I'm told field trips could last for several days. But I am aware that Japanese school year starts at April…so I'm guessing that since Mayura just finished her summer vacation and was back in class by the time Loki decided to stay, it's probably autumn in Japan (in MaLoRa world). If I'm wrong, please tell me…but just please, ignore it.

Next chapter: Did Loki abandon Mayura? Will anything happen on the falls. Oh…and can anyone guess from what Norse myth the 'rumor' about the gold came from? XD

[bookworm]

I luv it. Now...what are you going to do about the other one, Melrose. I'm waiting...
.
.
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...and I'll be waiting for this one 2.

As for ur question, sad to say I don't know. Care to tell us the answer?

[melrose_stormhaven]

hehehe...yes, I know. You're all waiting for it. XD

The answer? You'll find out next chapter. It'll spoil the surprise...XD