"Junko comes back and ruins it all" Part 11037
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He was drowning.

The frigid waters consumed his weak body, dragging him under the currents. He could hear a faint chorus of laughter above him, but by this point, he was too injured to move.

His lungs were constricting, begging for air, setting his chest on fire.

He didn't struggle, didn't move as he let himself be taken away by the movement of the water.

Suddenly, he was pulled up, his vision blurred by the water.

"How do you think of yourself now? Not so mighty anymore, are we?"

He coughed, spitting out mouthfuls of water. He gasped for air, drawing in lungfuls and lungfuls of oxygen.

Just as quickly as it had come, the oxygen was replaced with the suffocating sense of water. Bubbles came out of his mouth as his wounds ached when he tried thrashing.

He was pulled back up again, a hand clenched around the collar of his shirt, pulling him to face the figure forcefully.

"Goodbye."

And like a rag doll, he was thrown into the water again, this time sinking, no longer in the shallow waters.

His hand reached upward, toward the dimming sun and his eyes drooped, his mind hazy.

Hot tears leaked out of his eyes, turning cold against the waters surrounding him.

Much to his relief, no one would be able to see him cry as he drowned.

Accepting his fate, he closed his eyes and inhaled a lungful of water and-

Nagito's eyes snapped open, one hand clutching his chest and the other outstretched. His chest was heaving and hot tears leaked down the sides of his face.

With a shaky hand, he touched his tears, wiping them away in fear that Hajime would see them again.

By the way, where was Hajime anyway? He vaguely remembered the brunet crawling into bed with him, but then his consciousness faded away.

Turning to his side, Nagito realized that Hajime must have left a long time ago since the side of his bed was cold, his sheets tossed to the side.

"BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU!" Hajime's overly concerned voice echoed through his mind.

Oh, yeah. Last night when he came home in the morning. The angry burning behind Hajime's eyes.

Oh, frick.

Nagito's fingers flew to his lips, his ears heating up.

Hajime had almost kissed him. He had challenged the brunet, and he had almost taken it seriously, going to such lengths of leaning in.

His head snapped to the door as it opened, revealing a yawning Hajime at the door.

"You're awake," he stated blandly, his soft side now buried deep within him again.

"Here's your breakfast." Hajime placed a tray of muffins and pancakes on Nagito's lap.

"And don't worry about your work. I finished it and gave it to the Queen before the deadline."

The stressful knot in Nagito's chest loosened in relief.

A prolonging silence settled between them as Nagito started on his meal.

Abruptly, Hajime's brows furrowed and he took both of the Grim Reaper's hands, prying the utensils from his fingers.

His hands were surprisingly gentle as it skimmed over his pale skin, caressing the purple blotches on his wrists.

"Sorry." Hajime apologized suddenly. "I wasn't thinking straight yesterday. Sorry for hurting you."

Nagito was about to reply when the brunet took one of his wrists and leveled it to his mouth, tenderly pressing his lips against the bruise. He repeated the action with the other wrist.

"You're okay now though, right?" His olive eyes met Nagito's gray-green ones, and the messenger of Death felt his breath catch in his throat.  

Pushing the tray away, the albino scrambled out of the bed, his kegs almost giving out from under him, and dashed to the bathroom.

"Y-Yeah! I'm good!" He closed the door with a slam, his back pressed against the piece of wood as he struggled to catch his breath.

Nagito slowly slid down the door, a hand on his chest. 

Someone stop his heart from beating so fast. It was an abnormal feeling. So... unordinary.

Nagito's mouth twitched upward.

It felt nice.

~

"I-It seems l-like your w-wings have g-grown." Mikan squeaked, careful not to touch Hajime's wings.

"Yeah, no duh." The mafia lord rolled his eyes.

"Eeek! I'm s-sorry!"

Right after Nagito had exited the bathroom, he noticed that Hajime's wings had grown twice its size, and decided to have it looked over by Mikan, just for precaution.

"Just tell me when I can use them." Hajime snapped irritably.

"I-it's not f-fully gr-grown yet, b-but it'll b-be fine i-if Na-Nagito teaches y-you h-how to f-fly."

"Alright! Thanks, Tsumiki!" Nagito smiled at the nurse.

"A-ah! H-Here is s-some l-lotion just i-in case y-your wings g-get sore." She passed the green vial to Hajime, who immediately pocketed it.

With a dip of their heads, Hajime and Nagito exited the room.

"You're going to teach me how to fly now?" Hajime asked.

"Yep. We have a special place for this type of training. Come on."

At the back of the castle was a crystal dome, packed with training equipment and supplies.

The two made their way across the field and stopped in the middle.

"The first rule of flying," Nagito took off his jacket, tying it around his waist. "Don't let your wings sag."

"They're heavy," Hajime stated blandly.

Nagito rolled his eyes.

"The first thing your opponents will do in battle will be to attack your wings since they're the most sensitive part of your body." Nagito demonstrated by brushing his fingers against the leathery skin of Hajime's wings.

The brunet shuddered, half leaning and half recoiling from the touch.

"Second rule. Learn how to tuck your wings in. If you don't then," Nagito made a gruesome noise as he drew an invisible line down the other's wings. "Let's do that first, shall we?"

"Clamp your wings together first," he instructed.

The brunet placed his wings together with ease, straining as he did so.

"Now slowly bend them down." Nagito folded his wings in, showing Hajime the right way to do it.

Hajime's face contorted into pain as he tried to do so, his wings unable to bend.

"I thought we were learning how to fly," Hajime grunted.

"Yeah, and the first thing you need to do in order to get to that part is learning how to fold your wings." Nagito retorted.

"Oooh, a personal flying lesson from the Grim Reaper himself. How delightful." A majestic voice called from the glass doors.

Nagito instantly sunk to one knee, his head bowed.

"My, my, what do we have here? It's rare for you not to be doing your job." Junko smiled maliciously at the albino.

"Your Majesty," he breathed. "Forgive me-"

"Why are you asking her to forgive you?" Hajime growled, advancing toward the Queen. "He's done nothing wrong."

Junko sighed in disapppintment.

"After all these months and you still disrespect me? How pitiful. Who even raised you? Such a rude and mannerless child you are." She clicked her tongue.

Something inside the mafia lord seemed to snap, and he drew his arm back, reading himself for a punch-

Nagito stepped between the Queen and Hajime, separating the two.

"We shall get going now, your majesty." He bowed, pushing Hajime back.

"Hey! What are you-"

Nagito clamped a hand over Hajime's mouth to silence him.

With a huff, Junko and her maidens departed from the training area, the doors shutting automatically behind them.

"You heard what she said," Nagito turned toward Hajime. "Let's go."

"You can't just let her manipulate you like that." Hajime gritted his teeth.

"But she does."

The five chains on Nagito appeared, and he took the one wrapped around his neck in his hands, tugging on it like a person would on a dog.

"You see this? I've shown it to you before. As long as this is here. Her and His Majesty can do whatever they want to me."

"Then break them."

Nagito shook his head.

"Impossible."

"At least try-"

"Enough." Nagito snapped, wrapping his arms around Hajime's waist.

"No more talking about this. We have a soul to catch."

Fortunately for the Grim Reaper, the mafia lord shut his mouth and they ascended into the vortex once more.