Hades

Chapter Eight - The Threat

Chapter Eight: The Threat

About an hour before dawn, Harusame opened her green eyes wide in the dark, and listened to the silence. She loved this time when everything was quiet and still, and because she had too much on her mind to go back to sleep, she just lay motionless with blankets up to her chin, waiting for the sunrise and dreamily planning her exciting day ahead with her new friend.

Finally a warm, faint gleam of light appeared through her curtains, and she mused, ‘At last - a day when I'm excited to wake up in the morning!’ She sprang out of bed, ready to greet Hades, but to her great surprise he wasn’t there; there was nobody huddled up in the corner of her room, their arms wrapped around themselves as they should be, and Harusame almost fell down in surprise. ‘Where could he be?’

She looked around and checked her empty bathroom, calling out to him, but he was nowhere to be found. Distressed, Harusame ran down the corridor. She poked her head up the stairs leading to the roof, but he wasn’t there. She ran downstairs, still wearing only her nightie, but only Mrs Kamiya sat at the dining table, looking very surprised. Breathless, Harusame flung open the front door…and still no-one was there.

‘What’s the matter, dear?’ called Mrs Kamiya behind her. ‘The postman hasn’t been yet.’

‘N-no. That’s not what I…’

Feeling sick, Harusame shut the door behind her and rushed back upstairs, leaving the old lady staring after her in perplexity. Back in her room, Harusame closed the door behind her and walked a few paces forward. Then, unable to walk anymore she dropped to her knees, her body trembling.

Why had he gone? Had he made some kind of mistake over her time of death? But surely he would have told her something that important – he wouldn’t just leave?

‘What happened to “until tomorrow”, Hades?’ Harusame said under her breath, the dull ache inside her intensifying.

At that moment she heard a rustling sound, and when she turned to look Hades was standing behind her. He held up a paper bag.

‘I brought us breakfast,’ he said.

They sat down to eat together, Harusame oddly quiet, and as Hades passed her a cup of juice he noticed tears were dripping silently onto her pastry. He looked up at her in surprise.

‘If it’s that bad, you don’t have to eat it,’ he said, alarmed.

Harusame laughed, shaking her head. ‘It’s not that.’ She was so moved by his gesture that she couldn’t find the words. So instead she said: ‘This is really delicious.’ And she took a huge bite and smiled, her mouth full, as Hades sipped his coffee, mystified at her behaviour.

The phone rang as they were finishing, and Hades heard Harusame talking politely, saying ‘Yes, yes. It’s no problem, sir. I can be there in ten minutes,’ and she hung up, looking guiltily at him.

‘Work?’ he asked, and she nodded, hurrying to her wardrobe.

‘The manager really needs me to fill in for a couple of hours because Mei-san called in sick. I’m sorry; do you mind? I was hoping we could have some fun today.’

‘It’s no problem. I guess I’ll tag along with you and see if Dawson’s about.’ He made to leave her room without being asked that time, but Harusame grabbed his sleeve.

‘Wait for me okay?’ she pleaded, and Hades, slightly taken aback, found himself slumped in the corridor waiting outside her bedroom for the third time in two days.