Hades

Chapter Twenty Four - The Reason

Chapter Twenty Four: The Reason

When Hades returned that evening he found Honda asleep on a chair, and Harusame sprawled on the floor next to him, Cerbi at her feet. Her chest rose and fell in peaceful sleep but her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy.

'Good grief,' said Hades with a sigh, and lifted her gently onto the bed. As he did so she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

'Welcome back.' Her voice was scratchy.

He sat on the bed next to her and sighed again. 'Sorry I woke you.'

'That's okay. I needed a snack anyway, I'm getting hungry. Pass me that bag over there?'

They split a cinnamon bun together, and Harusame asked,

'Did you and Uxi finish whatever business you had?'

Hades nodded, his mouth full, and studied her out of the corner of his eye. Traces of her mascara streaks were visible down her cheek and she looked weary. A tiny flake of pastry stuck to her lip, and resisting the urge to lick it off he swallowed hard and brushed it away with his thumb.

'Are you okay?' he asked huskily. 'I wouldn't have left in such a hurry if you'd told me you weren't feeling well.'

Harusame drew her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly in the way that he usually did. 'I'm feeling fine. Honda-kun told me a sad story, and it made me cry.'

'Oh.' And not being able to think of anything else to say, he added, 'Stupid kid.'

'Why did you lie to me, Hades?'

The question came so suddenly that it took him a moment to digest it. He stared. 'I didn't lie to you. What are you-?'

'About the Keres.' Her green eyes probed his, looking for a reaction. 'You told me that they fed off of violent deaths in the human world. But you neglected to tell me they were also the victims of violent deaths in the human world. They are the souls held back by hatred, sadness or regret – just like Treielle-chan...and Iwanami. Isn't that the full truth?'

Hades looked away awkwardly, and she glared at him.

'Why did you lie about it?'

'I never lied,' he returned, not looking her in the eye. 'I just never told you what you call the "full truth". I didn't see the need. Humans are scared enough of death and the afterlife without complicating it with matters like that.'

Harusame felt an irrational stab of anger. 'So what, you didn't think I could take it? Or maybe there's another reason...did you think that maybe I would become one of the Keres when I die?'

'Don't talk crazy,' he snapped, and she flinched from his aggressive tone. He jumped from the bed and paced, running his fingers through his hair. 'That could never happen to you.' 'Because you're a peaceful and gentle soul,' he added silently. 'And because I would never let it.'

'Then why hide it from me? Does this have anything to do with Iwanami, and why she wants to kill me?'

'I told you before not to worry about that.'

'There's something you're not telling me,' said Harusame, her voice raised. 'I know she wants to kill me for a reason and I'm starting to think you know why.'

'I don't,' Hades said in a contrastingly, dangerously quiet voice. 'So drop it.'

Harusame was never one to back down. She swung her long legs over the side of the bed, thinking. Eventually she asked, 'What do you actually know about Iwanami?'