Thank you to my reviewers! I love you all! *twirls* This update is for MistressOfTheNight16, who said she just couldn't wait :D If you've been thrown off by the time lapse last chapter, don't worry. It'll only happen one more time! Anyways, at this point a new friend is joining our cast. I hope you'll treat her kindly :3 Not long now til the gods start appearing...


Chapter Nine

The Arrival

In matters pertaining to tracking down and claiming souls in the human world Harusame learned the hard way that Hades was somewhat sensitive about his awful sense of direction, and because she was as inexperienced as he with communicating with the opposite sex this quickly led to another argument that poor Uxi had to clear up.

She protested one day; 'Why don't you just use Uxi's mirror? It would save us all that walking around only to discover that we've come to the wrong neighbourhood. Or the wrong state.'

She had begun to accompany him on his duties quite regularly, and as she was squeamish about seeing the actual death of other humans but quite okay with the bit after that-when they were all shimmery and quite talkative all things considered-they had come to an arrangement whereby Hades would take them both to the human world, and she would wait for him around the corner of wherever he was supposed to be. This arrangement had not yet been fulfilled, as Hades had not yet taken her on a job where he'd actually transported them to where they were supposed to be.

'What can I say?' snapped Hades, 'I get Nevada and Nebraska mixed up.'

'Nebraska,' said Harusame heatedly, 'is about ten thousand kilometres to the right of where we were.'

'Well you humans always move around so much,' he returned, his face flaming, 'how the hell am I supposed to keep track of you people?'

'Oh I don't know…the mirror?' exclaimed Harusame, as though talking to a simpleton, and Hades scowled.

'Shut up. I've been finding souls for thousands of years before you came along.'

'What did you just say?'

'I said I've been finding souls for-'

'Not that bit. You just said shut up to me, didn't you Hades?'

His lip curled. 'So what if I did?'

'You can't tell me to shut up!'

'I bloody well can. Shut up!'

Harusame gave a cry of outrage. 'Don't you dare tell me to shut up!'

'Shut up shut up shut up!'

'Merciful heavens,' sighed Uxi, who was watching from the dining table. She'd given up trying to eat in peace long ago, and was beginning to consider getting earplugs.

'You're such a big baby!' cried Harusame, as Hades stormed away. 'Why don't you just ask for directions? It would make everything so much easier!'

His door slammed, and Harusame rolled her eyes. She took a seat next to Uxi and reached for an orange, ripping its skin off as though it had committed a terrible crime. Uxi watched the peel go flying.

'Don't take it out on the fruit, Haru love.'

Harusame crammed a segment into her mouth. 'He's such a baby. Why does he get so defensive like that? I was only stating the obvious.'

'It's a male pride thing. They don't like asking for directions, even when they know they're hopelessly lost. It's our job as women to just smile, encourage them, trust that they'll get us there, and not point out that their supposed shortcut took an extra three hours.'

'But Hades couldn't find his way out of a paper bag.'

Uxi smiled, reaching for her own orange segment. 'You know it, I know it, and he probably knows it, but he doesn't want you saying it out loud. He wants to be perfect in your eyes; he wants to be your hero.'

Harusame thought this over and lowered her eyes to the table guiltily. 'I think I understand. Wow, so I just really hurt his feelings, eh?'

Uxi nodded, and Harusame puffed out her cheeks.

'He still didn't have to tell me to shut up though. And why does he have to go and sulk over everything? Stupid men with their big egos.'

Uxi laughed and patted her hand. 'Welcome to my world.'

-

Several hours later Hades had still not come out of his room, and Harusame talked Uxi into taking the afternoon off and watching soap operas with her on the portable TV she'd found in the rainy day box. It had to be bewitched to work of course-the Underworld didn't get the best reception, but on the plus side they were getting satellite for free.

When they had fully saturated themselves with Kaneda and Chiyo's forbidden love, they thoroughly discussed all the plot details while Uxi cut Harusame's hair for her. She'd decided that it was simply too bothersome to leave at thigh length, and so she wanted it to fall just below her shoulders. Along with the high heels and eyeliner, it was part of her campaign of trying to look more mature.

When the final lock was neatly trimmed and fell into place, Uxi set the scissors down and ran her fingers through it, checking it was even.

Harusame opened her mouth to thank Uxi for a job well done, but her voice was drowned out as Cerberus gave a great roar. Uxi cringed. The guardian dog of the underworld had a soft spot for his master and even tolerated Harusame, but he'd never liked Uxi too much. Hades told her it was because he could sense her fear. Uxi suspected it was because he was a bad tempered brute.

Harusame grinned at her in the mirror and patted down the stray hairs from her shoulders. 'Do you want me to see what's wrong?'

'Thanks,' said Uxi gratefully, bending to sweep up the hairs. 'I'll clean up here.'

Harusame wandered through to the outskirts of Hades' living (the term is used loosely) quarters, down to where an elegant set of marble stairs touch the banks of the river. Cerberus' cage hid in the darkness at the top of these steps, though Hades had warned Harusame that should an intruder ever enter the Underworld the bars would not hold the mighty mutt back. He growled as Harusame walked by, and she offered her hand through the bars to calm him. One of the giant black heads leaned forward, eyes glinting, and sniffed her. Upon deciding she was no threat, he whined pitifully.

'What's the matter boy? Do we have a visitor?'

Harusame walked to the edge of the stairs and looked down, expecting to see Charon's ferry, but instead she saw a girl lying still in the river like a water nymph, her upper half beached on the banks. She was deathly pale and wore not a stitch of clothing.

Harusame panicked, and then thought better of it, then decided that debating about whether or not to panic was wasting valuable rescuing time. Kicking off her heels (she didn't want to break her neck; she was immortal but one could never be too careful about breaking one's neck) she hurried down the steps two at a time and pulled the girl out of the water. She was a slight, thin little child of about twelve or thirteen, and the light blonde hair that was soaked to her face was almost as pale as her skin.

Harusame was not too sure about the etiquette of the Underworld, but she was pretty sure that souls were meant to be ferried in boats, not left to swim for themselves into the afterlife. She was also fairly sure that this was exactly the same manner in which Honda had been found.

This suspicion was confirmed as Uxi appeared next to her.

'You were taking a long time out here,' gasped the angel, trotting down the steps and shrugging off her shawl to wrap around the body. 'I thought Cerberus had eaten you. Goodness, look at this; I'm getting déjà vu here.'

'Uxi-chan, is this normal?'

'No, but it seems to be getting more frequent. You'll have to help me lift her, Haru love.'

Together, they carried the girl limply between them back to Harusame's room and laid her on the bed. The girl remained unconscious, but to Harusame's relief her chest rose and fell with slow breathing. She reminded her of a flower fairy from one of her childhood picture books.

'She's so pretty,' whispered Harusame, brushing the girl's damp hair from her forehead. It was cut fashionably short on one side and chin length on the other. 'Why was she…?'

'Another lost soul, probably,' guessed Uxi, tucking in the blankets. 'This reminds me so much of Honda. I guess I'd better tell Master about it, we don't want to give His Most Lugubriousness more reasons to be stroppy. Keep an eye on her, okay?'

Uxi left the room, quietly closing the door, and Harusame took the girl's hand. The child's ghostly pallor reminded her of her own, back when she had been weak and sickly.

'I'll take care of you,' she told her, and as if on cue the girl's eyes opened. They were a miraculous shade of effervescent turquoise, almost metallic in colour, like the surface of a tropical ocean sparkling in the sunlight. She blinked.

'Ah, hello there!' greeted Harusame, suddenly self conscious. She let go of the girl's hand and pulled back, not wanting to frighten her. 'How are you feeling?'

The girl stared; her face blank, her eyes almost hypnotic.

'There's no need to be frightened,' said Harusame, 'you're perfectly safe here. Hades will be along in a moment and he can explain everything to you.'

The girl didn't seem particularly frightened; the situation she found herself in was vexing but not cause for alarm. As she tried to right herself she shuddered and fell back.

'Ah-let me help you there.'

Harusame fluffed up the pillows and pulled the girl up gently, steadying her as she leaned back. She was saddened to see the girl recoil slightly at her touch.

'Please just take your time…um…'

'Cassie.' The girl spoke in a whisper.

'That's a beautiful name!' beamed Harusame, and Cassie smiled weakly.

Her white cheeks flushed with pink and she appeared to be gazing at something intently. It took Harusame a moment to realise that the girl was enchanted with her necklace; a small, shiny teddy bear pendant Hades had bought for her for her eighteenth birthday.

'You like this?' she asked, holding it forward, and Cassie nodded shyly.

'It's cute,' she whispered. She watched, surprised, as Harusame immediately undid the clasp and placed the pendant around her own neck.

'Then I'll give it to you,' she said happily. 'I'm sure Hades won't mind too much; I still have his ring after all. So you like teddy bears, Cassie-san?'

Cassie fingered the pendant with awe in her tiny hands and looked up, her eyes bright. 'I like animals,' she confided quietly. 'Cute things.'

Harusame thought Cassie was the cutest thing she'd ever seen, and was about to tell her so when Hades and Uxi re-entered the room.

'Oh, you're awake!' cooed Uxi, running to the bedside.

Cassie immediately reached for Harusame's arm, looking wary, and Uxi halted.

'I didn't mean to frighten you, honey,' she insisted, looking justifiably shocked and hurt that anyone would actually be afraid of her. 'My name is Uxi, and I work down here. It's lovely to meet-'

Hades pushed past, moving her to one side. 'If she's scared of you, Ux, she ain't gonna like me.'

'I'm not scared of anyone,' said Cassie boldly, and three faces in the room stared at her.

Her expression was cautious but adamant.

'Well aren't we a little firecracker?' grinned Hades, pleased with this reaction.

He sat on the edge of the bed next to Harusame, and Cassie shuffled further away. He already liked her miles better than that wimpy kid Uxi had found before.

'So what's your name?'

'Her name is Cassie,' supplied Harusame, 'and you're scaring her, Hades. Go away.' She shoved him off the bed, and Cassie covered her mouth to hide a smile.

'Okay, okay, don't get pushy. I need to ask her what she's doing here. She got past security, after all.'

'You don't have to answer any questions you don't want to, Cassie-san.'

'Harusame,' he started in a warning tone, but Cassie shook her head.

'Its okay,' she said, enjoying their good-cop bad-cop routine. 'I don't know why I'm here. I just…am.'

Hades sighed. 'Let me guess; you only remember your name, right?' She nodded. 'Excellent. Looks like you're stuck here then. Do you know how to row a boat?'

'Oh for heavens sake Master,' cried Uxi, stepping in. 'You can't just go employing the poor girl without her permission! She's only been here five minutes; let her get some rest.'

Hades looked from Uxi to Harusame, and it became clear to him that he wasn't in charge anymore.

'Fine,' he relented, 'but if she's going to stay she's going to make herself useful down here. That's my golden rule. Got it?'

Cassie nodded again, and he frowned at the small girl.

'Harusame?' he asked quietly.

'Yes?'

'Why is she wearing the necklace I gave you?'

Uxi decided that was a good moment to leave the room. Cassie would have followed had it not been for her weakened state, so she tactfully played with the edge of the frilly silken comforter and pretended not to notice.

Harusame looked uncomfortable. 'I didn't think you'd mind,' she said carefully. 'She really liked it, so…'

'No, its fine. Good to know how much it meant to you.'

'Hades-'

He left with the usual loud slamming of the door, and Cassie looked up guiltily.

'You want it back?' she whispered, and Harusame patted her hand distractedly.

'Of course not. It's yours now. Don't worry about him; I got him some cinnamon buns earlier so he won't be able to stay mad at me for long.'

Even as she said the words, she wasn't sure they were true.

-

It turned out that Cassie was to stay in the Underworld, but it was clear she wasn't up to the job of ferrywoman. She was far too small to even lift the oar, and so was appointed to helping out in the office with Uxi. There was still the matter of her clothes.

Standing before a full length mirror in Honda's old uniform, she twirled for everyone to see.

'It's a bit big on you,' said Uxi kindly in the understatement of the century. Hades snickered and Harusame elbowed him in the ribs.

'Why don't we try on something else, Cassie love,' she said, and before Hades could protest and resize the outfit, she grabbed his hand and pointed his index finger at Cassie. Instantly the girl's red and gold uniform disappeared in a sparkling mist, revealing black and white gothic style frills.

'That Lolita thing doesn't suit her,' said Harusame, and she took Hades hand and jabbed it once more at Cassie, who now wore a blue sundress.

Hades snatched his hand away. 'Cut it out,' he grumbled, 'I'm not a magic wand.'

Ignoring him as usual, Uxi grabbed for his hand one more time. 'The blue goes with her eyes,' she murmured, 'but we need something a bit more formal.' Now Cassie was wearing a pale cerulean pinafore over a white blouse. It had puffy sleeves that reached down over her wrists, with matching blue buttons.

'It's missing one thing!'

Hades rolled his eyes as his hand was yanked back in Harusame's direction, and with a final point a teddy bear face adorned the front of Cassie's pinafore.

'You look so cute!' she said happily, and Uxi agreed.

'Cute,' repeated Cassie, her face turning pink as she admired her own reflection and stroked the teddy bear stitching.

'Great,' said Hades with false enthusiasm. 'Can I have my hand back now?'