It was nothing but an illusion to him; The way everything worked and the way everyone was. Nothing was the was real to him, not even himself. And yet, that was the way he preferred to live his life, behind an illusion.

This way, no one could hurt him, and he could continue on with his life, with no problems.

Ever since he was just a kid, just 8 years old, he discovered his talent for illusions, though still uncontrolled. He unconsciously released them at unwanted times, and not always were they the sweets of illusions. His illusions tended to be quite gruesome and scary, in another's opinion, and people chose to stay away from him for that same reason.

It wasn't his fault. He had never asked for this talent; It was just given to him. He became apathetic to everything, and spent more and more time alone. He developed a taste for sarcasm, and trained himself to control his illusions. Eventually, they became his wall, away from everyone and everything.

His parents sent him off, saying they could no longer deal with him. He was sent to his Granny's home, a kind woman that she couldn't even think of using his talent on.

One day while he was strolling by the river, he could hear multiple people coming, searching for him. He had no interest in even paying attention to them, and was fully intent on ignoring them. He kept his illusionary apple hat, incase anyone tried to attack, and he wasn't surprised to see the knives fly right through his hat, though inwardly, he was happy they flew above his head.

Now 13 years old, he could control his illusions much better, so he managed to keep the hat visible to all, to the point where it really did look real. He turned to face his new company, and was surprised by the strange people in front of him. Honestly, he had no need to speak with anyone; It was unnecessary in his opinion. But these people were intent on talking to him, and apparently recruiting him to either side, saying he knew them. He had no idea who anyone there was, and he guessed it had something to do with what Granny told him, about him falling and hitting his head.

He did what he knew best, and he annoyed them, throwing insults in an attempt to get them away from him, despite the part of him telling him that he wanted to be with these people.

One side promised to help him perfect his illusions, and the other gave him a chance to join an assassination squad. He had never thought of being an assassin, and the people on that side annoyed him, as well as the ones in the green uniforms who were offering something tempting.

The two sides had made a deal. The pineapple head would train him, and when he was older, he would be taken by the side with the tooth fairies, though a part of him wanted to go with them now, and he didn't know why...

Time with the Kokuyo Gang was both fun and incredibly annoying. Ken-nii-san annoyed him, and Chikusa-nii-san was quiet and barely ever spoke to him, not that he minded. It might have been one of the reasons why Chikusa was one of his favorites, because he seemed to be apathetic as well, though not as sarcastic.

Chrome-nee-san was his favorite, because although very shy, she was the nicest to him, and always kept him company when others would not. She didn't seem to mind his rude sarcasm and simply smiled shyly at him while sitting beside him. She took care of him, more so than anyone before ever had.

Pineapple Head, his master, was Rokudo Mukuro, an ex-convict from Vindice. His master was always the best to annoy, because his master always got so mad. It was amusing to him, to get his master so riled up. And at the same time, he felt so safe there. He forgot about the other group of people, which he came to know as the Varia, and prefered his time with the Kokuyo Gang. Which was why he was very reluctant to leave them.

"Fran, you are 18 years old now. Its time for you to go the the Varia now," his Master told him. He didn't want to go. That was the last place he wanted to go.

"No way. I'm staying here with you guys," he responded.

"Oya? And why is that?"

"Because then I can piss you off more Pineapple." A trident went through the top of his apple hat, which had stayed with him throughout the years, at the insult. He was lucky the hat was an illusion, or he would have to keep buy a new hat almost daily.

"I don't care. It is time for you to go to the Varia. They are annoying me too much. Plus, you'll get to train under the mist Arcobaleno now."

And that was why he was now here, at the Varia mansion. Lussuria, or the gaylord as he liked to call him, always took care of him, or all of them, and the long-haired captain, Squalo, annoyed the hell out of him with all of the screaming. Boss was cool, not that he talked to him much, and Fran honestly believed that Levi was completely unnecessary. Mammon, his new teacher, taught him a few more things than his Master did, but not much.

Then there was Belphegor, the so called Prince. He always loved messing with him, called him a fallen Prince, but he was also very careful around the blond man. He was careful around all of them, which was why his body was still with the Kokuyo Gang.

He had never left the Kokuyo Gang, and instead chose to send an illusion of himself to the Varia. It was so much easier than being there in person, because he knew he would have died if he was really there.

But everyday, he became more and more bitter; He became jealous of his own illusion and of Mammon, because he had fallen in love with a fallen Prince.

The more time he spend with Bel, the more and more he fell in love with the blond, despite knowing they couldn't be together. It was clear that Bel prefered Mammon over him. The most he ever did to Mammon was pinch his cheeks and threaten him, but with Fran, Bel never hesitated to throw a knife at his head or back. It depressed him, but he wouldn't let that show in his illusions. He wouldn't let the Fallen Prince see his true feelings. And would keep his illusionary self walking around Bel, because although he wanted nothing more than to walk beside the blond himself, Fran knew that it wasn't possible. He was too scared to ever try.

Despite everything, Fran made himself believe that everything was fine, because he didn't want to accept the fact that he was in love with a man that would never love him back. No matter what he did, Belphegor would not love him the same way, and he couldn't blame the Fallen Prince. All he did was throw sarcastic comments at the blond, and nothing more.

The only things he did do, no one, especially not Belphegor, ever noticed. He would stare longingly at the fallen royalty when no one noticed, and during those very few occasions where he had any physical contact with the blond, his touches would last longer than necessary. His favorite time was when he could go on a mission with Belphegor; Just that two of them - No Mammon.

Though, every insult that was thrown at him stung, more so than the knives that were constantly lodged into his back. Normally, he wouldn't think twice about an insult, but when it came from Belphegor, it hurt so much more than being stabbed, because he knew that Bel meant every word of hate towards him.

Then Mammon died. An accident, but it happened nonetheless, and though Bel refused to show it, he was deeply hurt by it. He threw it off as another thing, saying "We are assassins. Mammy was an idiot to get himself killed," and laughed. Just with that laugh, Fran knew that Bel was hurt, because it wasn't as wide as usual, and it wasn't full of the usual mischief. It was dull, and Fran didn't like that. He hated seeing his Fallen Prince so upset.

One moment, he truly thought that Bel was opening up to him, because Belphegor told him to remove his apple hat, saying he had gotten him a present. Fran had eagerly removed his hat, though with some complaints so that the Fallen Prince would get no ideas, and his present was what broke him beyond repair. A frog hat was given to him to replace his apple hat. He wanted to be happy. He really wanted to, but he realized quickly, that Mammon was the reason he was receiving this hat.

Fantasma was Mammon's pet frog, the one that was always on his head, and this frog hat would serve as Bel's reminder of Mammon. He would be Mammon's substitute, no more than that. He would live in the shadow of the Mist Arcobaleno, with his unrequited love following him with every step he took, never falling behind. He was, and forever would be in the covered eyes of the Fallen Prince, be nothing more than a replacement for Belphegor's past obsession. No matter how much he wanted to remove the frog hat from his head, he couldn't, not after seeing Belphegor's wide grin again. That was the only satisfaction the hat gave him. Despite his pain, it would make the Fallen Prince happy, and that was all Fran wanted.

And yet, despite all of his efforts, all of the knives thrown at him and all of the insults he received daily, he could tell Bel was still not truly happy. He appeared around the Fallen Prince more, hoping that his hat would lighten up Belphegor's mood just a little, and even if it worked for a while, it didn't last as long as it used to. Even months later, Bel still thought of Mammon, and Fran found himself unable to do anything about it. No matter how hard he tried, he knew the Fallen Prince would never look his way the same way Fran looked at him. It was impossible, and yet, his mind had thought of one more idea, his final try.

He knew the moment it popped into his mind, that this was the last thing he would ever do. Whether Belphegor's mood was good or bad, he could do no more for him after this, and he was fully prepared for the consequences. He had long since come to the conclusion that he would do anything, give up anything, for Belphegor, even if it meant his life, and that was all he had left to give.

He allowed himself to wake up from his slumber, and going to the Varia Mansion was the first thing he planned to do, after saying his goodbyes to the Kokuyo Gang. The moment he stepped foot on Varia territory, he released his illusion, making sure it was in his room, and entered through the window. He changed into the Varia uniform, making sure not to forget his frog hat. Bel hated him, he knew it, and he was ready to die for him now. Whatever would make Belphegor happy, he would do it without hesitation.

He walked to the living room, where he knew Belphegor would be during this time, most likely throwing knives at the wall to satisfy his boredom. The moment he entered the room, knives were thrown at him, landing on the side of his hat and missing his head. He couldn't die yet, not until he talked to Bel.

"Hey Sempai, what do you think about me?"

"Ushishishi. Isn't that obvious Froggy? The Prince hates you." He knew it. He knew it was true, but he just wanted to hear him say it out loud.

"How was I supposed to know? I didn't think a fallen prince could think about anything." That was all he needed to say as he turned and felt the knives enter his back. Just three knives. He knew more would come, but he needed to be careful. He wanted his Fallen Prince to kill him, but he didn't want him to see Fran die. No; Fran would much rather die alone, in the comfort of his room, then let Belphegor see him in such a pitiful state.

"Ow. Sempai that really hurt! No wonder your family didn't want you. You have such a bad temper."

More knives. Three more knives. Six knives now piercing his back, but he would continue until he felt too weak to continue. He didn't want to die by anyone else's hand. Just his Fallen Prince's. That was all he wanted now. He could fulfill Belphegor's wish, and that just made every knife so much easier to take in.

"The Prince murdered his family. They were too pathetic for the Prince, so he killed them."

"Wow. What an ungrateful child. No wonder you're a fallen prince."

Three more. That was all he could take. He was already feeling his knees weaken and the blood threatening to come up at any moment. He could feel the blood soak his undershirt, but he ignored it and walked away instead, retreating to his room with an illusion covering his back so that no one would notice his the blood that was now flowing out of his nine wounds.

Once inside of his room, he collapsed to the floor on his knees, pulling out every knife and throwing it to the ground. He dragged himself to his bed, curling up and lying there under the green covers, seemingly asleep.

He was content now. His love would get what he had wanted since they met. He would be happy, and Fran felt an unfamiliar warmth fill him as his vision darkened. He could finally make his love happy, even if the cost was his life. He would die happy, and as he felt his last breath rise and his world go dark, he could only think of how lucky he was. To be able to be with his love, even as an illusion, for so long, and be able to make his love happy. Even if his Fallen Prince had no idea of his feelings, he was content, and that was all that mattered to Fran. His last breath, his last words were spent on the words he would never be able to tell the one person he truly cared about.

"I love you, Fallen Prince."

~.-.~

Damn that was depressing. Why did I write that?
Oh yeah. PrincessxThexRipper is having a writing contest, and I joined.

And so, here is my depressing B26 fic! I hope you enjoyed it!

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics for it and I would continue it. :p

Anyway, please REVIEW~!

Ciao~