Vile orange cat.
Absolutely shameless. Loki maintained his smile anyway.
"Oh." He said lightly, "Well played. Thick skin suits you. Let's stop joking."
He leaned forward, eyes glinting. "Tell me, do you want to be the King of Asgard?"
Garfield almost said no.
Almost.
But when he saw Loki's expression… eager, just a little too hopeful, he changed his mind.
He straightened, folded his paws, and replied solemnly:
"I'm not interested. But your father, Odin… seems very interested in passing the throne to me."
What?
For half a heartbeat, genuine shock crossed Loki's face. Then reason clawed its way back in.
Impossible.
The throne of Asgard could only belong to Thor or himself. Even if the universe collapsed, it would never fall into the paws of an orange cat.
So… lies.
Loki relaxed, convinced he'd seen through the trick.
"Oh?" He said calmly. "Then my father must have thought very carefully before making such a decision."
Garfield tilted his head. "So, Loki… you support me?"
"I support my father's decision." Loki nodded smoothly. The wording was perfect, support Odin, not you.
Garfield beamed in relief.
"Excellent. Then there's nothing to worry about. Thor will surely respect Odin's will as well."
He smiled warmly. "That means I can take over Asgard peacefully."
What the…
Loki nearly sprang to his feet.
No. No. No. This was getting out of hand. This orange menace was clinging to the throne like a tick.
Loki forced himself to stay calm.
"Of course." He said quickly, "But you must understand, real power in Asgard lies with the generals."
"The Warriors Three, Lady Sif, and the army. Even a king must earn their loyalty."
He launched into a stream of careful nonsense, subtly pushing Garfield toward conflict with Thor's supporters.
A textbook maneuver.
Unfortunately for Loki…
Garfield already knew the ending of this story. Five thousand years ahead. One hundred years ahead. All of it.
Loki's mouth really is a deceitful ghost, Garfield thought. Not a single word is worth trusting.
His eyes widened in sudden alarm.
"So, Asgard is already this unstable?" He gasped. "Then I must speak to Odin at once."
He nodded gravely. "Reforms are clearly necessary. The first step should be restructuring the military, so I can secure full control."
Damn it.
Why wouldn't this damned cat let go of the throne?! Loki's heart pounded.
He would rather lose to Thor.
Rather abandon the throne entirely… than see Asgard ruled by a foreign orange cat.
Garfield continued, utterly unhurried.
"You know, I live quite well on Earth. House, land, endless comfort. Life is peaceful and hateful in its own way."
He smiled.
"Since you're so eager to support me, we should reward you. Why don't you stay the night? I'll get you an orange."
"…An orange?" Loki stiffened.
"I don't like oranges."
"No, Loki." Garfield said gently. "You don't understand what oranges mean."
"…Wait."
Garfield sighed and looked at him with unmistakable affection.
"One day, you'll understand. When I inherit the throne of Asgard, you'll be my subject."
He leaned closer.
"There's an ancient saying, love the people as your own children. I'll treat you the same… care for you, guide you, love you."
Loki understood instantly. This cat was going to treat him like a son.
That… was blasphemy!!!
Loki shot to his feet. "You insult a god!"
A faint smirk curved Garfield's mouth.
"God?" He asked mildly.
"Loki, God of Deceit, do you really think I believed you came here in the middle of the night to support me as king?"
He met Loki's eyes. "If you said that aloud, only a fool would believe it."
"I didn't expect you to see through me." Loki said, his lips curling into a sly smile.
"So… am I going to have to kill someone to silence you?"
A dagger suddenly appeared in his hand, gleaming in the moonlight.
Garfield yawned lazily and extended a paw. "Go ahead. Let my subordinates test your skills, Loki."
"Loki…" one of them whispered.
"Izuna!" Garfield barked. "Take him down,"
"Yes, master!" Izuna replied.
Stepping from behind Garfield, Izuna sprinted toward Loki, dagger in hand, eyes sharp and focused. "Please enlighten me."
Izuna's speed was incredible. But Loki was no ordinary opponent.
Years of Asgardian combat training, hundreds of years, taught him to read the faintest changes in a foe's movement.
Izuna lunged. Loki sidestepped with elegant precision, letting the dagger pass harmlessly through the air.
He countered, aiming his own blade at him~ but as his dagger passed through, there was no resistance.
Not good, Loki thought.
Instinctively, he stepped back, a flicker of cold light reflecting from his eyes. Izuna's weapon was no ordinary dagger.
But he didn't hesitate. Using his instant-body technique, he vanished, reappearing above Loki, narrowly avoiding his throwing knife.
Loki did a backflip, hands weaving a quick spell. Two daggers materialized, flying toward Izuna with deadly speed.
Izuna swung his blade expertly, knocking both daggers aside.
One-handed seal, fire escape technique, she unleashed a torrent of flames directly at Loki.
Though usually a melee combatant, Izuna was a capable mage as well. His Fire Ninjutsu surged forward.
But Loki wasn't defenseless. A wall of ice erupted before him, shielding him from the attack.
Fire and ice collided violently, generating a thick cloud of scalding vapor.
Behind the fog, Loki's lips twitched into a smug smile. He split off a magical clone, hiding his true body.
Izuna, cautious and experienced, didn't rush blindly.
He stepped back, keeping the smoke at bay, and prepared a massive ninjutsu.
His hands traced complex seals, summoning a wall of flames far more powerful than his previous attack. The flames expanded rapidly, engulfing the entire rooftop platform.
Even in the anime worlds, few techniques could rival this scale, over fifty meters of searing fire, nearly impossible to counter.
Loki's clone raised a dagger, poised to strike, but as the inferno surged toward him, he grimaced.
"You bastard!" He cursed, barely avoiding being engulfed.
The fire forced Loki's true self out of hiding.
His plan had been to observe quietly, letting Izuna take the first move, but the flames covered the entire area.
Realizing the danger, Loki abandoned caution and raced toward Garfield.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream