Shortly after the Representative Battles had begun, the distinct feeling of being watched had plagued Tsuna and his friends ever since the first fight, almost as if they were prey being sized up by an unseen predator. They tried not to think too much on it; it was probably someone from one of the other teams trying to unsettle them to gain the upper hand.

However, no matter how hard they had tried to find the explanation, they never could find anyone; just empty space where they had sensed someone else's presence.

It wasn't that they were completely threatened by this; they were Vongola, and they could fight back against whoever was stalking them. It was honestly more of an annoyance than anything, knowing that someone was there, but not knowing who or why.

They tried to ignore it, and they kept it to themselves as they didn't see a need to mention it to anyone else. However, what they didn't know was that they weren't the only ones being stalked; the Varia had the exact same problem, but even their own senses hadn't been able to find the culprit.

What none of them knew was that, in ignoring this and passing it off as something harmless, they were about to create a situation that would only build more tension and conflict between the two Vongola parties – and the Varia's already strained standing within the Vongola truly couldn't afford any more of this.

~~XX~~

The Vongola trio hadn't spent much time seated around Yamamoto's bedroom before their temporary tranquillity was broken once again by the feeling of being watched. It was almost strange; the fact that they were in an upstairs bedroom, but then again, there were still ways to see inside if one so desired.

"Who do you think it is?" Tsuna laid back on the hardwood floor with his arms folded behind his head. He stared up at the roof as he pondered his own question; why would anyone from the other teams feel the need to stalk them like this? "Do you think it's someone we know?"

"I don't know, Tenth." Gokudera gripped his pants tightly as he spoke in a soft tone; there was so much at stake in this fight, and they couldn't afford to lose – if there was someone hanging around, then it was reasonable to assume they were trying to get as much information as possible, maybe to try and take them by surprise and knock them out of the fight. "Don't let your guard down, though."

Yamamoto, who was sitting by the TV playing a videogame, looked over his shoulder at his friends. He hadn't sensed much malice, if any at all, from their stalker, so he said, "They're probably harmless. I've been ignoring them."

"You won't be saying that when you get jumped one day," Gokudera pointed out. "How can you be so stupid as to ignore something like this? Have you not learnt anything?"

"Yeah, but…" Sighing, Yamamoto rubbed the back of his head; how was he supposed to explain that with everything they had been through, he wanted now more than ever to believe that there was inherently good in everyone – that some people were just more lost than others, but could still be salvaged when they strayed. "…"

With the tallest teen silent, Gokudera turned back to Tsuna. "Do you want me to go outside and see if I can find anyone?"

"You don't have to, Gokudera-kun." Not wanting his friend to be in danger, Tsuna shook his head; they had never split up when the feeling of being watched occurred, and he was hesitant to start now; what if someone were to attack Gokudera if he were alone? Tsuna would never forgive himself if his friend got hurt.

Gokudera, as protective as ever, got to his feet. "I want to make sure the Tenth isn't in any danger."

Tsuna and Yamamoto watched the silver-haired male leave the room. The brunet wondered if he should follow the other; he had never sensed multiple presences in this moments before, and he trusted in his Storm Guardian's strength; surely Gokudera could handle this himself.

But, just minutes later, Tsuna's intuition started tingling when he heard his friend shouting. Rushing out of the house with Yamamoto by his side, he was just in time to see someone running off down the street, with Gokudera standing on the path with blood splattering onto the cement beneath him.

"Gokudera-kun, what happened?!" Tsuna grabbed his friend's arm. His eyes widened at the river of blood soaking through the material of Gokudera's jacket; how could he let this happen?! "Gokudera-kun!"

His eyes flickered in pain as Gokudera held his arm tight before forcing out, "That knife bastard… From the Varia. The knife bastard attacked me."

Tsuna and Yamamoto looked at each other with wide eyes before they ushered their comrade back inside, trying to keep him safe. Neither of them doubted what Gokudera had said; the knife user of the Varia was volatile and had tried to kill them before.

"I'll tell Dino-san and see what he says." Running around to find something to bandage the wound with, Tsuna palmed at his face in stress; what had any of them done to deserve this?

Lost in their own thoughts, none of the Vongola noticed a blond figure stalking around the house once again.

Shesheshe~

~~XX~~

Having been laying back on his bed and staring up at the roof, Belphegor stretched his leg out lazily before yawning. He rolled onto his side, bringing his blankets with him as he prepared himself for his second nap of the day. He didn't care for the empty dishes that fell off the bed with his actions; someone else would pick them up for him, and that was all that mattered.

However, just as his eyes closed, the sound of Squalo shouting from somewhere in the living area caught his attention. Laying still, Bel listened as his name was shouted a few times in conversation, a semi-familiar voice speaking softly as they tried to keep the situation calm. Xanxus was, for some reason, dragged into this, and after yelling from both of them and a few gunshots, the sound of feet stomping to the bedrooms became louder and louder until the door was thrown open, banging against the wall hard enough to leave a crack.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, you little bastard?!"

Lifting his head from the pillow, Bel frowned at his long-haired captain; they had never had this much of an issue with his lazy nature before, so why now? "…"

When he was close enough, Squalo reached out and grabbed blond hair. He yanked it harshly and didn't let go until he had pulled his subordinate from the bed and dumped him onto the floor. With a violent kick to the younger's stomach, he then leant down and wrapped his hand around the boy's throat, squeezing tightly. "Why are you trying to start shit with those trashes?! You want more trouble on our hands?!"

Bel didn't understand; he had hardly left his bed since they had been here, and he didn't even leave the hotel without the company of his fellow Varia officers – what the hell was Squalo trying to accuse him of?

Coughing and splattering as gloved hands finally released his throat, Bel rolled onto his side. He sneered at the Rain Guardian before his obscured eyes darted between Squalo and Xanxus, anger growing in them at his treatment; how dare they do this a prince. "I don't know what you're talking about; I've been in bed."

"Don't play stupid, you fucking little liar!" Squalo backhanded the Storm Guardian across the face before he grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him closer. "Tell me why we just had to put up with the Bucking Horse telling us what you've been doing!"

"I've been doing nothing but sleeping, stupid old man!" Angered further by accusations he truly didn't understand, Bel got to his feet. "Stop bullying me when I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Fuck, I'm so sick of your lying little mouth!" Kicking Bel back down onto the ground, Squalo pressed his foot against the younger's chest to keep him there. "You know you were out the night before, and none of us had any fucking idea where you were or what you were doing! We should just kill you right now!"

"I was eating dinner; I didn't do –" Bel froze as his cheek was grazed by a shot from Xanxus' weapon, and his eyes widened. He turned his head to the side and gulped as he noticed the hole right next to his head that hadn't been there before; he had been just an inch away from death's doorstep, and for something he truly didn't know what for. "…"

"You start shit like this again without my permission, and I will kill you myself, scum." Xanxus slipped his gun back into its holster before leaving the room, letting Squalo deal with the rest of it.

Bel glared at the long-haired man furiously. He hissed, "I didn't do anything."

"Like I believe anything that comes from your mouth, Belphegor; you're the biggest attention-seeking liar I've ever come across."

Bel growled at these words. He got to his feet and, without saying anything more, pushed past the man in order to flee from the hotel room and into the streets of Namimori. He had no idea what had just happened and what his superiors were screaming at him for, but he hated it; he was a prince and was above being treated like some abused commoner. Besides, he hadn't done anything wrong; he had been in his bed most of the day.

Whoever had made up lies about him like this was going to die a slow, painful death when Bel found out who had started them.