The Fine Thread

12

A month later...

"Suga! Asahi!" Hinata shouts, swimming over quickly.

"Yes Hinata?" Suga responds, turning around.

"I did it! I did it, I did it!" Hinata shouts, showing Suga 2 bottles of orange translucent liquid.

"What is that Hinata?" Asahi asks.

"You know how we said we wished we were humans so we could walk on land with Tsukki and Daichi and Noya?" Hinata asks. Suga and Asahi nod, getting a glint in their eyes.

"W-well I might've broken a rule and went past the rockline without you guys but that's not the point!" Hinata says quickly. "I found an old cave that Sirens or mermaids used to take refuge in and there was a recipe for a potion that would give you human legs for however long depending on the scale you used." Hinata explains.

"You went past the rockline?!" Suga shouts, getting protective of Hinata.

"Yes but that's not the point! The potion allows you to have human legs and change at will if you did it right." Hinata exclaims. "And apparently if I used my scales it would be permanent, you could switch as much as you want forever! We can go on land with them!" Hinata says, spinning around himself.

"What?! Hinata! How do you know this?!" Asahi asks. Hinata smiles before taking a deep breath and shutting his eyes. Suga and Asahi watch as Hinata's fin splits in 2 and another joint appears out of the fin cartilage. Hinata, who's now human legs are spotted with scales and the back on his achilles has the same feathering his tail has, just much smaller.

"Look!" Hinata shouts, using his legs to swim around Asahi and Suga. The other boys gasp, seeing Hinata turn somewhat human, before realizing that they can walk on land with the boys they all fell in love with. Suga and Asahi swim over to Hinata, hugging him tightly while crying.

"We can see them! W-we don't have to stay in the water forever!" Suga shouts.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you Hinata! I've wanted to walk around with Yūū for so long but until now I couldn't! I'm so happy!" Asahi says, crying into Hinata. All 3 sit there, crying, so excited. Soon, they all release and Hinata hands the potion bottles to Suga and Asahi.

"I have to warn you, when you drink it, it feels like knives going down your throat and the first time you switch it also feels like knives." Hinata warns, turning back into a mermaid so he can swim around faster. Both nod, carefully taking off the corck of the bottle and quickly putting the bottles to their lips. They drink the whole thing quickly, wincing in pain as soon as the liquid travels down their throats. As soon as they top off the bottle, both double over, feeling the pain of the liquid in their stomachs before their legs start to split for the first time. Both scream, feeling immense amounts of pain as their cartilage splits into legs. Hinata swims over quickly, hugging his friends as tight as he can to help them through the pain. After 5 minutes the 2 screaming boys stop, their tails finally turned into human legs, covered in scales and like Hinata's, Suga's had feathered bits attached to his achilles. Hinata turns his fin back into human legs and they all float in the water, their new legs on display.

"We can finally walk with them!" Suga cheers.

"They are gonna be so happy when they visit today! Let's set something up!" Asahi exclaims, smiling the widest he ever has.

That day, the mermen spent hours making the bottom of their Lagoon the prettiest it's ever been. Strings of pearls and treasure scatter along the floor with glistening water lights, making the crystal clear water sparkle.

"They should be here any minute!" Hinata shouts, swimming around excitedly.

"I know I know! We just have to be patient, Hinata, they will dive down soon enough." Asahi says, grabbing Hinata by the shoulders.

"Right, it's just a waiting game now." Suga says, taking a seat on a flat rock. And wait they did. A few minutes turned into an hour, then 2, then 5. Soon, the moon was shining down on the lagoon.

"They should've been here by now.." Hinata says softly.

"M-maybe they got sick and couldn't come tonight.. T-that's happened before.. Right?" Suga suggests, trying to keep his regular positive disposition.

"Y-yea! They didn't forget about us! Just sick..." Asahi says, going to turn off the lights under the water.

"Yea.. We can be p-patient.. Just wait till they feel better." Hinata says, going to grab his hairbrush for his nightly routine. All 3 of the mermen spend an extra long time on their routine, Suga playing the same song over and over for about 30 minutes, Hinata going an extra mile and brushing out Asahi's long hair, and Asahi, doing extra stretches that would usually leave him sore in the morning. The 3 didn't want to believe that their lovers forgot about them, they were just sick and would be better the next day and they would come back. But the next day never came. The mermen waited day after day, always checking to see if the human boys would jump down and surprise them with a reign of kisses, but the days turned to weeks, and soon, an entire month had passed. The mermen we're laying on the soft sand, depressed and upset.

"Screw this! We're going up there to find them!" Suga shouts, sitting up violently.

"I agree! It's been way too long.. A-and if one of them got hurt the others would've come down to say something!.. R-right?" Hinata says.

"I don't know.. But let's go up.." Asahi says, swimming off to find the clothes they made and found to put on while they were on land as humans. Soon, the 3 mermen are on land, walking around. The other human's eyed them strangely, their threads and belts of jewelry making them seem like thieves or gypsies. The 3 walk around the town square for an entire hour, before seeing something they we're not prepared for. In the square, Noya, Daichi and Tsukishima were holding tightly onto the waists of people who looked almost identical to the 3 mermen who now had legs. The 3 lookalikes scowl at the mermen, before turning to the boys once lovers to kiss them passionately. At that moment, the mermen's hearts break into a thousand pieces, seeing the boys they loved so happily kissing other boys. Hinata is the first to run, dashing back to the water with tears streaming down his already wet cheeks. Asahi and Suga follow right behind, crying.

"What was that noise?" Daichi asks, pulling back from the person he thought was Suga.

"I think it was just some gypsies dear." The fake Suga says, kissing Daichi's cheek sweetly.

"I don't know. It didn't sound like gypsie charms." Noya says, resting himself in the fake Asahi's arms.

"It kinda sounded like.. Coins? Or little metal things I'm not sure." Tsukishima says, holding the fake Hinata close.

"I dunno Kei. But let's go get something sweet, yea?" Fake Hinata says, grabbing Tsukishima's hand. Tsukishima nods, smiling at the ginger before getting dragged off to a sweet shop. Another week passes, and nobody knows why, but the Mooned Lagoon has started to play music once more. The first week, Tsukishima, Daichi and Noya didn't notice a thing, it being far too loud in their homes with their whole families, but soon, as everyone realised the presumed Sirens we're singing again, everyone went silent, taking cover inside their houses.

"Dear? What's the matter?" The fake Suga asks, sitting up to look at Daichi.

"I hear singing.. And it sounds like you, sugar." Daichi says, looking over the fake Suga.

"Maybe another mermaid took refuge in our old home." The fake Suga says, coming up with a lie on the spot.

"Well shouldn't you go visit them? They sound sad.. You also said you guys left your things down there." Daichi says, looking out his window at the lagoon.

"We can always go tomorrow. Just sleep for now dear." Fake Suga says, pulling Daichi down with him to rest. All of the other fakes gave similar responses to the boys. This made the 3 extremely curious, and one night weeks later, while the songs are still rung out through the whole village, they decide to explore it.