Chapter Twelve: The Butterflies
The days of the week flew by, and soon it was Saturday again. Ecstatic that she had a day off planned with Hades and her two new friends, Harusame floated around her apartment joyfully to the sound of the radio, packing a picnic. She swayed her hips and occasionally joined in for the chorus;
‘I wanna hold your haaand!’
Hades sat on her bed, eating a pastry she had brought home for him as a present. She had called it a ‘cinnamon bun’, and he thought it was the most delicious thing he had ever encountered on earth. Harusame had bought six for everyone to share, and as Hades finished devouring the pile, licked his fingers clean and reached for the final one she slapped his hand away.
‘You’ll get fat,’ she teased.
‘I won’t. Calories don’t have any effect on me.’
‘You’re kidding?’
‘No.’
‘So you could eat a million of those and not gain a pound?’
Hades gazed at the final cinnamon bun longingly. ‘Pretty much…yeah. It’s a god thing.’
‘You’re so lucky!’
‘I know.’
Harusame looked at her already slender figure in the mirror and wrinkled her nose. ‘All right, don’t rub it in.’
‘Gods don’t go to the bathroom either,’ he said, sneaking the last bun while Harusame wasn’t looking, and was so busy enjoying the scrumptious taste that it took him a moment to notice her gaping at him in fascinated astonishment.
‘What?’ he said, his mouth full.
*
The park was filled with the scents and sounds of mid spring: pastel pink petals strewn about the dewy green grass, dogs barking, and the happy shouts of children as they were lifted high into the air on their parent’s shoulders. Altogether, it was a very pleasant sunny day with blue skies and a breeze that was just gentle enough. As the park wasn’t too far, Harusame went on foot, her black clad companion skulking behind her and Honda in cat form trotting alongside. Uxi rode in the picnic basket at her own request. Harusame picked a nice spot near the edge of the park, spreading out her blanket in the shade of a big tree and setting out the picnic. She kept the lid of the basket open so that Uxi would have fresh air and a nice view. Hades stood looking at the tree with a funny look on his face.
‘What’s the matter?’ Harusame asked.
‘It looks just like…nothing. Never mind.’
And he sat down next to her.
‘Aren’t you hot wearing that black cape all the time?’
‘Not really.’
‘It doesn’t look comfy at all in this heat, are you sure you’re okay?’
More to please her than to cool down, Hades shrugged his cape off. Peeking out of the picnic basket, Uxi gaped. She’d never seen her master remove a piece of clothing at anyone else’s request before. Whenever his clothes got torn, damaged or dirty on the job she’d always had to wrestle them out of his possession.
Hades closed his eyes peacefully. The heat of Harusame’s bare shoulders brushed his, and he realised that she smelled even sweeter than the cherry blossoms. Somewhere nearby, Honda purred gently, a low, comforting rumble.
‘There are the butterflies again.’ Hades heard Harusame’s voice through the fuzziness of his mind.
‘Mm? Yeah, they’re everywhere.’
‘Everywhere? I thought they just followed me and you around?’
‘Why’d you think that?’
‘Because…well…we’re the only ones who can see them.’
‘So you think that just because you can’t see something, it’s not there?’ He swayed closer to Harusame and put his hands over her eyes as gently as she had done with him before.
‘You’re in a funny mood today!’ she laughed.
‘Now, when I remove my hands, take a really good look,’ he said in her ear.
As he pulled his hands away, Harusame gasped. It was as though her eyes had been opened for the first time. The butterflies were, indeed, everywhere. They flew through the sky in their masses, creating an arching, glittering golden rainbow above the clouds. They fluttered their way past everyone and everything in the park; thousands of millions of tiny glowing wings beating softly. Hades chuckled softly at Harusame’s awe, trying very hard not to think about how soft her skin had felt under his fingertips.
‘They’re always here?’ whispered Harusame.
‘They’re always everywhere,’ he whispered back. ‘They are the Farfalle Thanatos; the gentle spirits of death. They are a naturally occurring phenomenon, and work as my agents, removing souls from their bodies and pulling them to the Underworld. After all, I’m only one man and can’t be everywhere at once like they can.’
‘They’re beautiful,’ said Harusame with a sigh.
‘Yeah…beautiful,’ said Hades, though it wasn’t the butterflies he was looking at.
Inside the picnic basket, Uxi quietly munched at a piece of fruit and pretended not to listen.
*
After everyone had finished lunch Uxi begged Hades to let Honda perform some of his magic tricks for them, and having never seen a live magic show before, Harusame eagerly joined in the cajoling and pleading. Honda coloured as red as it is possible for an already orange cat to do, and Hades, feeling unusually affable, eventually gave in.
‘Just make sure people don’t see you change,’ he warned.
‘Yes Boss,’ said Honda, and after a quick glance around revealed to him that nobody was looking, he whispered the magic word. Lights flashed and a small blonde boy in a red uniform sat on the picnic blanket.
If gods were able to have heart attacks, Hades would have done so.
‘WHAT IN SWEET BUGGERING HELL ARE YOU DOING??!!’
‘Ah…I…you juh-just said to m-make sure that no-one saw, and it didn’t look like anyone was-’
‘What’s the matter with you? I meant go change in private! There’s a men’s room right over there. Bloody idiot,’ he grumbled, but decided to let it go, as both Harusame and Uxi were talking all at once, defending Honda.
While Hades leaned back and dozed in the shadow of the tree, Honda spent the afternoon conjuring flowers and coloured scarves, and performing sleight of hand card tricks for the girls. He had certainly got much better at it, and he felt a rush of pleasure when Harusame applauded and Uxi cheered from her basket. It seemed the trick he had saved for the finale was the hardest one of all: making a rabbit appear from the black top hat.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said meekly when for the tenth time, he tapped the hat with his wand and a rabbit – or anything for that matter – failed to materialise.
‘Honda-kun.’
‘Puh-please wait just a moment. I know I’ll get it this time.’
‘Ummm, Honda-kun?’
‘Really, I know I can do it!’
‘Honda-kun!’ said Harusame. ‘Is that not your rabbit over there?’
‘Huh?’ Honda finally looked up, and indeed a lop-eared white bunny was making a fast retreat into the grass. ‘Oh bother!’ he exclaimed, and chased after it, leaving the girls dissolving into giggles.
The white rabbit, despite being small, was rather keen on its bid for freedom and so legged it quite fast over the grounds of the park. Honda had to jog to keep up with it, and eventually he lost sight of it near the children’s playground. He made his way past the sandbox and the slide, all filled with laughing and smiling chubby young faces, until he came to the swings.
Sitting alone, holding the white bunny on her lap, was a pretty little red-haired girl. Sighing with relief, Honda approached with an apologetic smile.
‘Excuse me, I think you have my rabbit there,’ he said, painfully aware that this was not the most usual of greetings.
The girl stood up, the rabbit cradled in her arms, and Honda took it from her. Immediately it began to wriggle wildly, and it was all Honda could do to keep from dropping it. The girl reached forward and stroked its long ears, whispering soothing noises. The rabbit instantly relaxed, and Honda smiled in appreciation.
‘You’re very good at that,’ he said.
The girl looked up at him, and he stared into her china blue eyes with surprise. She was actually very pretty, and about his age, thought Honda, feeling a heat rising in his cheeks. She was delicate and fair, with porcelain skin and long lashes. Her fiery ringlets framed her face and cascaded down her back. She wore a black and pink dress with a bow and many ruffles, and a decorative head-dress with ribbons. Having no concept whatsoever of ‘Gothic Lolita’ style, Honda glanced at her frilly attire and smiled politely.
‘Are you going to a party?’ he asked.
The girl shook her head, still petting the rabbit. He watched her for a moment, and felt something familiar stir inside of him.
‘Do I know you?’ he asked.
The girl looked up into his face, tilting her head in consideration, her aqua eyes blank. She shook her head again.
‘My name is Honda. What’s yours?’
‘I am Treielle.’ Her voice was sweet and clear, like the ringing of a tiny wind chime in a slight breeze. Her Japanese pronunciation sounded impeccable, but she spoke with a touch of a foreign accent.
‘Treielle-san?’
‘No ‘san’. Just Treielle.’
‘Nice to meet you, Treielle,’ he said softly, not even noticing that his stutter had vanished.
With perfect timing, the rabbit began to wriggle again. ‘What’s wrong with this animal?’ complained Honda, struggling to hold it.
Treielle stepped back and stared at him, her eyes probing deeply into his. She had an unnerving way of looking right through you without blinking.
‘It is because you are a cat.’
Honda’s breath caught in his throat. ‘W-what?’ he gasped.
‘Are you not?’
‘Nuh-nuh-no, I-' The ambitious rabbit finally broke free and set off at a gallop. Honda let it go, his mind racing. He tried to grin but was so nervous it ended up as a grimace. ‘What on earth makes you say that?’
Treielle observed him silently for a minute that seemed like an hour, and then abruptly turned to go.
‘Ah…please wait, Treielle-’
The girl turned, her hair swinging gracefully in the wind as she moved and giving the illusion it was ablaze.
Honda stood awkwardly, not really knowing what he wanted to say.
‘Um, d-do you, do you come here often?
She nodded.
‘M-maybe, if you’re here the same time tomorrow, would you like to go somewhere with me? We can go into town, or something, if you like…’
Honda suddenly realised he was actually asking a girl out, and his stifling embarrassment got the better of him. ‘Forget it!’ he said, turning on his heel.
‘Please wait!’ said Treielle behind him, and Honda stopped, breathing hard, his face burning.
‘Y-yes?’
‘I’d like to,’ she said, and gave him a small smile.
Honda was enchanted. Utterly speechless, his golden eyes wide, he nodded at her in flattered disbelief.
‘Okay. Bye-bye Honda,’ she said and ran away, ringlets bouncing.
Honda walked back to the picnic site in a daze, feeling sick and pleased and sick and scared and sick and confused and sick and proud and sick a few more times. By the time he arrived back at the big tree, only Hades and Harusame remained.
‘Where is Uxi-san?’ he asked.
‘Her time was up long ago,’ said Hades, reclining in the shadows. ‘How long does it take you to catch one bloody rabbit?’
‘You couldn’t find it, Honda-kun?’ asked Harusame, noticing he had returned empty handed.
‘No, I found it,’ said Honda happily, and planted himself down on the blanket, staring dreamily at the sky. ‘It just got away again.’
Harusame and Hades looked at each other.
‘Well at least you’ve mastered the art of making a rabbit disappear,’ said Hades dryly.
*
On the way home they stopped at an arcade so that Harusame could play at a UFO catcher game.
Hades watched her play through the glass a few times, frowning.
‘This thing is rigged,’ he said.
‘Don’t be silly.’
‘No, really. Look at the claw. There’s no way it can pick up any of those things.’ The glass was indeed crammed full of pretty stuffed animals that looked far too large to be held by the game’s mechanical UFO claw.
‘Then I’ll go for something else,’ said Harusame firmly, setting her sights on a twinkling little object near the top of the pile.
‘You’ll never get it,’ said Hades, and his eyes grew large with incredulity as the claw clamped itself around the item, carried it safely along and dropped it into the silver chute.
‘I won!’ cheered Harusame, retrieving her prize.
‘No freakin’ way!’
‘Way!’ and she held it up so he could see. It was a lovely silver and onyx charm bracelet. The black stones glinted in the flashing arcade lights.
‘You should have a little more faith sometimes. Ah, I know! Hold out your hand.’
Hades held out his right hand, and Harusame was disappointed to see a black wristband. ‘Your other one!’ she said, and as he extended his left arm she placed the bracelet around his wrist, clasping it carefully. ‘There you go!’ she said happily.
The whole way home, while Harusame skipped along ahead of him with Honda in her arms, Hades admired the sparkling of the bracelet as the deep ridges of flawless onyx reflected the rays of the setting sun.
The girl sang a tuneless rendition of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World as they went, and for once, the young man quite couldn’t have agreed more with the sentiment.