Behind the Glass (Komahina AU)

Chapter Twenty-One: To The Ends

THREE WEEKS LATER

Hajime's condition had worsened. That much was certain from the eyes of everyone around him, but to Hajime...he felt dead inside.

During his time, he became friends with the octopuses that kept him still. Hearing his story, Kuro and Shiro (that was their names) were touched, feeling sorry for the Noble. Whenever Hajime would begin to cry, they would also cry. As a way of trying to cheer him up, they decided to have their friends visit. Hajime enjoyed their company more than his own kind. They also gave him gifts that reminded him of Nagito's white hair and green eyes. He even hugged a shark as he once told them that Nagito's skin reminded him of one.

"I know you all want to look for him." Hajime said, laughing softly. "But he is waiting for me...on the surface."

They would gasp and awe as he would tell stories about him. How a human can make such an impact on a merman was remarkable. However, he would still refuse to eat, when meant that the octopuses had to force him. However, he would start to choke or puke it out whenever the thought of when other suitors approached him.
————————————————————————
Secretly, the council wanted to speed up his treatment so they sent merpeople his age to seduce him. However, he would reject him at first sight.

"I can offer more that that human can." They would say, but Hajime would say the same thing.

"I don't care what you have. Nagito has my heart. More than I can say about anyone else."

They even attempted their shape shifting skills to look like him, but it backfired. That was then they had the realization.

"If we up the dosage of his meds, perhaps...we can fool him." Lord Kingler said, looking out the council room's window.

"And risk the sanity of our only hope?" Lady Daveryn snapped. "You have no idea what you are imposing. That medicine is made by a special kind of coral that can be dangerous in high doses."

"SILENCE!"  Lord Kingler demanded. "Our livelihoods are counting on Hajime and time is not on our side. So, unless you want to end up buried in rubble that was once home..." He got into her face before continuing. "I need you to up the dosage."

Lady Daveryn stared at him, trying to keep a brave face. She then turned to the head healer and nodded. They swam off away, leaving Kingler with Angelyne and Andreas.

"Lady Angelyne..." Kingler joined the two siblings and placed his hands on her shoulders. Andreas growled, being protective of his sister. "The prophecy is coming along as planned. Please tell me...is there any hope for us?"

She remained silent, looking down at the floor. Her lower lip trembled as her hands were clamped together. Andreas got in between them and pushed Kingler away.

"What my sister can and cannot see is none of your business." He snapped at the elder. "She cannot see further than what has already been told."

"YOU LIE!" Kingler yelled, his face turning red with anger.

"What if I am? What are you going to do?" Andreas grabbed his sister's hand. "If you plan on dragging us down, think again. It's my responsibility to keep Angelyne safe." They swam to the exit before he gave Kingler one last look. "As far as I am concerned, she will never be safe around you."
————————————————————————
As the days went by, Chiaki and Izuru would try to negotiate with the council, but to no avail. It killed them seeing Hajime fade away slowly despite the visits from the fishes. However, they had noticed something was off. Hajime seemed more...bubbly. Not like happy, but more like crazed laughter. The doses were reaching a breaking point the more that Kingler demanded results.

"No...madness ensues..." Angelyne whispered as she watched Hajime squirm as he laughed uncontrollably. It wasn't a good laugh either, it was more like...he has lost control of his mind. "Hajime...spiralling out of control..."

"Angelyne?" Chiaki called out, noticing her watching. As the Queen saw what was going on, she became scared. "Wh-what is happening?"

"My Queen..." Angelyne spoke softly. "The fate of our race...lies with him." She pointed to Hajime. "However, without his love, he will wither away...just as she predicted..."

"Who is she?" Chiaki asked, grabbing the younger girl's hands. When she couldn't speak, Chiaki tried to reason. "I promise you...whatever it is you saw will not happen...but I need you to help me. Who told you this would happen?"

"...the one who embodies despair...for all life."

That's when it clicked. Hajime had mentioned about the captor hellbent on delivering despair: Junko Enoshima. If that was the case, how did she even find Angelyne?

"She plans to summon the monster...destroy all of us..." Angelyne whimpered. "I failed to protect Hajime...my wisdom fallen on deaf ears."

"No, sweetie." Chiaki reassured her. "I hear you loud and clearly." She led the mermaid up to her quarters where she found Izuru. "I need to find Nagito fast! I need you to stop the medicine that they are giving Hajime!"
———————————————————————
"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Hajime screamed as he scratched a healer's face with his claws.

He hissed as Kuro and Shiro tried to restrain him. Swimming away, the healer activated the dose of sleepy gas which in record time made Hajime fall asleep. However, at the moment, two hammerhead sharks had begun to scare off majority of the staff out of the building. They had seen what they had did to him so in order to keep him calm, they had began to guard the doors. His sorrow was fuelling their anger and hatred.

"Oh my Goodness..." The healer said to herself. Realizing how terrible things have become, she lowered the next dose of medicine for Hajime. "If this is treachery, then so be it."

Kuro looked at the healer and nodded, noticing her actions. It would take a miracle to keep Hajime sane enough...but keeping him alive was going to be difficult.
————————————————————————
To Be Continued...