Hades

Chapter Thirteen - The Wings, Part One

Chapter Thirteen: The Wings Part One

It seemed luck was not on Honda’s side, as the next day was rainy and cold. The grey clouds that had seemingly passed over the town had returned with a vengeance, disgorging their sleet and battering the newborn blossoms. Uxi, who had watched her little friend drifting around the Underworld with a dreamy smile on his face for the past twenty four hours, felt extremely sorry for him.

‘You wanted to go exploring?’ she asked, her fingers tapping away on the typewriter keys.

‘No,’ said Honda sadly. ‘I was going to meet someone, but with the weather like this she probably won’t be there.’

Uxi froze. ‘You were going to…meet someone?’

He was quiet.

‘Who?’

‘A guh-girl…I met…actually…’ 

‘But when did you…?’ said Uxi, and Honda ran his hands through his hair in nervousness. The gesture reminded Uxi of her master, and softened her heart a little.

‘Honda,’ she said, ‘I think it’s wonderful you’ve made a friend, but is it a good idea to go getting attached to people in the human world?’

‘I only saw her once, and it’s not like I’m breaking any rules, is it?’ He shifted. ‘Besides, Treielle is different. She knew I turned into a cat.’

‘You showed her?!’

‘No, of course I didn’t! She just…she just knew, somehow.’

‘And you didn’t wonder how she knew?’

‘Maybe she’s a psychic. Or maybe she just has really good intuition…I don’t know how she knows, but she does…’ Honda trailed off, and Uxi looked away, her expression grim.

‘Oh Uxi-san, you won’t tell the Boss, will you? If he finds out that my secret got out he won’t trust me anymore. Please Uxi-san, let me handle this!’ and he looked at her, his eyes filled with hope. Uxi felt herself giving in.

‘All right, he won’t hear it from me,’ she said as Honda hugged her thankfully. ‘But just be careful okay?’

‘I promise!’

*

Up in the human world, someone was waiting. All through the heavy downpour she sat on a solitary swing, rocking back and forth, her black dress soaked through, water dripping from her ringlets onto her cold hands. She waited all day in the park alone, and no-one came.

*

By Monday morning the rain was still falling. Waking from a strange and familiar dream, Hades opened his eyes slowly.

‘That vision again,’ he muttered, then felt something was wrong. He had come to know Harusame’s routine in the morning very well: it was to play very loud music from her favourite ‘golden oldies’ western radio station and sing along to it as she got dressed, so as Hades stood up to find her sitting in silence on her bed staring out of the window, he felt a strange concern echo through him.

‘Are you okay?’

She turned her head from watching raindrops run down the window pane, and nodded. ‘Good morning, Hades.’

Hades saw that under her makeup she was white as a sheet. ‘You’re not okay,’ he said, kneeling down in front of her. ‘You can’t go to school like this.’

‘I’m just fine. Don’t order me about,’ she said, but didn’t move.

Hades glared at her. ‘Can you even stand up?’