The next morning, Takeshi arrived bright and early at Mammon's, just like he had been told to do the previous day. He found Squalo in the same room he had before, the other looking joyful as he swung his sword with careful precision.
"Hey, Squalo." Closing the door behind him, Takeshi beamed at the man. "How was your night?"
Shrugging, Squalo pointed down at the lone sword laying on the other side of the room. "Fine. Why?"
"Did you have somewhere warm to sleep while it was storming?" Moving over to pick up the sword, Takeshi was glad to see Squalo nod.
"Why the fuck do you care if I was warm or not?" Absentmindedly wiping off a spec of dirt from his blade, Squalo turned to look at the younger.
"Because I want you to be comfortable, of course." His back to the man as he picked his sword up, Takeshi's smile softened. "I don't like the idea of someone not having somewhere warm to sleep."
"I was fine, okay?" Rolling his eyes, Squalo tapped his foot impatiently. "Bel was with me. We fucked for a while, and then the little shit slept on top of me like he always does. We were both warm."
"Where's Bel now? Is he fine?"
"Still sleeping in his bedroom. He had a quick fuck for money before we came back here."
"What about school? Is he going to go today?" Cocking his head to the side, Takeshi frowned; whatever Bel was doing sounded very bad to him, and he sincerely hoped it wasn't going to ruin the blond's life.
"Brat, he's never been to school a day in his life, and he's not going to start now." Gesturing for the younger to come closer to him, Squalo tapped his sword against the other's once Takeshi was close enough. "Let's not talk about him; let's fight."
"What about our protective gear?" Jumping back when the man swung his sword at him, Takeshi used his own to parry the attack. "One of us will get hurt without it!"
"In a real fight, there will be no holding back." Slashing at the Japanese male once more, Squalo showed no mercy. "You'll never become a better swordsman if you never fight for life. Come at me with everything you have. Fight as if your life depends on it."
Takeshi couldn't say he wanted to do this; he would love to spar against Squalo, but he didn't want to be put into a position where he could potentially hurt the man; it just wasn't in his nature to do so like this. "Squalo! Wait!"
"That's it!" Smirking as the other's blade came at him, Squalo forced the other to back up halfway across the room. "Fight like you mean it!"
Takeshi could barely block the attacks coming at him, and he could see no opening to fight back; Squalo was well-guarded, and if the man was serious like this, leaving himself open could get him badly injured. "Squalo!"
Kicking out to trip the teenager, Squalo thrust his sword downwards once the Japanese male had hit the ground, stopping inches away from Takeshi's neck. Holding the weapon there for several seconds, he drank in the anxiety that had suddenly crossed the younger's face at this position.
Pulling his blade back, Squalo then reached down to help Takeshi to his feet. "You have potential, brat. But your training is inadequate. If this were a real fight, you would have stood no chance."
"I'm just glad you didn't cut me. For a second there, I thought I was about to die." Taking the outstretched hand, Takeshi stood up. "You really are serious about it."
"More serious than I've ever been about anything, kid." Looking into hazel eyes, Squalo then said, "I want to train you."
"But, Squalo, I think you might accidentally kill me if you do." Laughing at his own joke, Takeshi didn't mind when the other didn't laugh back; there was probably a reason for this that he didn't need to know about. "When do we start?"
"Right now." With that said, Squalo swung his blade at the teen once more, purposely avoiding the younger but allowing the sword to come close enough to flesh for Takeshi to feel the velocity of it against his body. Leaving openings for his student to take, he instructed the other on everything he saw fit.
Squalo wasn't going to let the other leave until he was satisfied Takeshi had made a significant improvement on his skills, no matter how long it takes.
~~XX~~
When lunchtime rolled by and Takeshi had finally convinced Squalo to let them have a break, they had found themselves in Mammon's kitchen with bowls of fettuccini in front of them. Bel had soon joined them, but he had refused to eat anything. When asked if he was hungry, his face had paled and he ran from the room to vomit nothing but bile; he hadn't had anything in his stomach to throw up anyway.
Takeshi was quick to notice the way Bel curled up next to Squalo, resting heavily against the other's side as he drifted back into sleep. Takeshi also noticed how the man didn't seem bothered at all by this and instead allowed it; Squalo was so loud and angry, but despite the Japanese male's natural obliviousness to his surroundings, he could still see how the other seemed to only have a soft spot for the blond.
"You must really like Bel, Squalo." Eating a bit more of his lunch, Takeshi smiled when he received a shrug in response.
"He's a good brat." Absentmindedly patting golden locks, Squalo continued on. "I was the one who found him on the streets. At the time, I had a home so I took him in. Mammon took him off me, though."
"Why?" Wondering why someone would take Bel from Squalo, Takeshi tried to understand; Squalo had had a home, and he seemed to be good to Bel, so…
What on Earth could have provoked someone to take Bel away?
"Because she didn't like how I was looking after him." A dark look crossed Squalo's face as memories passed through his mind. "She said he would be better off with her, so she took him away. Happier with her, my ass… It was always me he came back to…"
"But you're good to him, Squalo; why would she not like it?"
"Because I'm the reason he's addicted to drugs and alcohol." Tightening his hold on his fork, Squalo bit his lip. He knew it was wrong of him to have started Bel on their addictions when the blond had been eight-years-old, but at the time, he truly hadn't known any better; his head had been in a very dark place, and he hadn't thought through the consequences of his actions – not until Bel had become too addicted to just simply stop giving it to him. "I was the one who gave it all to him. It's my fault he's like this, and Mammon knew it. She had good intentions, but she made things worse for him because he needs that shit to be able to cope. He needs it like I do, but no one fucking listens… They just judge and tell us we're wrong and that we're doing it the wrong way – but what do they fucking know…? They don't… They've never lived with what we have…"
"Squalo, I –" Before Takeshi could finish his sentence, Bel awoke from his nap. The blond let out a loud moan as he squirmed on the spot, mumbling something incomprehensible. He wrapped his arms around the man's neck as he turned to press his hips against Squalo's side, rocking them eagerly as he moaned again.
Squalo understood immediately; Bel had taken something after he had woken up, and now that he had slept off the drowsiness said drug always inflicted on him at first, he was left with another side-effect; he needed sexual release, and he needed it now. "Calm down, Bel."
"S-squalo…" His voice trembling from both sleep and arousal, Bel continued rubbing his hips against Squalo's body. "I-I need… I need…!"
Takeshi frowned as he watched this, knowing that this was vastly different to the Bel he had seen yesterday; what had done this to him? "…"
Picking Bel up as he got to his feet, Squalo looked to Takeshi. "I'm taking him to his room. Don't come and find us. Wait for me in the hall again."
Takeshi nodded, watching the two leave. What had happened to those two to make them like this?
But the biggest question of all was, was there anything Takeshi could do to help? As much as he wanted to, the more time he spent with Squalo and Bel, the more he felt he would be able to do nothing but wish he knew what to do.
Even so, Takeshi wasn't going to give up – not when there were people out there who needed help. Trying was better than doing nothing, after all.
