The darkness shrouded Hiei in a cloak of invisibility as he moved through the deserted carnival ground. The booths were empty. The grass was still littered with scraps of paper and wrappings.
The building where the merman had been that day was a dark, stocky shape looming before him. Hiei tried the door. To his relief, it opened at his touch. He slipped inside, shutting it quietly behind himself.
He knew what a stupid idea this was. The merman probably wasn't even still here. Even if he was, what could Hiei do? If Hiei tried to remove him from the tank, the merman would probably die.
Hiei kept close to the wall as he navigated the room toward where he was sure the tank had been. The room was completely black around him. From somewhere else in the building, he could hear the faint sound of masculine voices in some kind of heated discussion.
Hiei's fingers found the soft, velvet cloth of the tank's covering. He moved along it until he found the part. He tugged the curtains open.
The soft blue light of the tank bathed Hiei's face. Hope swelled inside him.
The merman was still here. His red hair was floating into his face.
Hiei pressed his hand to the glass as he drank in the sight. The light left nothing hidden on the merman's abused form. Each cut and bruise was stark against the merman's skin.
Red hair parted to reveal emerald-green eyes. They widened as they caught sight of Hiei. They looked much more alert now than they had that day. Whatever drug he'd been given to keep him docile for the viewings must have worn off.
Hiei's nose met the glass as he pressed closer. He wanted to talk to the merman, but that was impossible. If he tried, there was a chance that the men in the other room would hear him.
The merman's hands swept out, sending him gliding forward. His tail flapped lightly. Hiei's eyes remained locked on the merman's.
One of the merman's hands rose to meet Hiei's, separated only by the glass that kept the merman trapped. His gaze was intense, his eyes seeming to glow with an inner jade light.
"I'm sorry," Hiei mouthed silently.
Unsurprisingly, there was no reaction from the merman. Of course, he could not read lips.
The merman's tail gave a more powerful flap. Hiei stumbled back as it slammed forcefully into the glass. Hiei's breath caught as he stared at the glass, wondering if it would crack. It didn't.
The merman's expression twisted into an ugly look of fury. His tail hit the glass again.
Hiei moved closer to the tank. 'Stop it,' he mouthed. He was afraid that the merman would hurt himself.
But the merman ignored him, continuing to strike the glass violently with his tail. Reluctantly, Hiei let the curtain close, hoping that would calm the upset merman.
He turned away, feeling ill. Nothing. There was nothing he could do.
The voices of the men had risen, drawing Hiei's attention. He crept closer to the other side of the room, hoping to overhear part of the argument.
"Where there's one, there's more. Think of how much money we could make if we actually sold one."
"No, Mr Tarukane. I won't sell a live one. A dead one, perhaps, but not a live one."
"But we could practically name our price for a live specimen. A dead one won't be worth half that much."
"Right now I have the only live one in existence. I'm going to milk it for all it's worth."
"Well… I suppose."
Anger swept through Hiei like a tidal wave. The merman was just a payday to these people. They didn't care about him. Dead or alive, his worth was measured in coin.
They would keep exploiting him until he was dead. They would wring every cent out of him until he was nothing more than a corpse. Even after he died, they would continue exploiting him. His beautiful scales would be cut out and sold to the highest bidder. His organs would be dissected. Any part of him deemed worthless would be discarded like trash.
Judging from his experience with the merman, Hiei suspected that the merpeople could be vicious. But the cold, selfish cruelty of his own kind left him reeling.