Tsuna didn't know what to do. They knew too much about him and they'd learned from last time. They'd used the whistle to make him submit. When they were done, they'd thrown him in Gabriel's heated pool to get rid of any of the evidence on him. They'd poured alcohol all over his clothes before redressing him in order to make it seem like he was talking drunk if he talked. The last thing they'd done was to shove his whole bottle of pills down his throat before shoving him out of the van that they transported him with. Even while he stumbled forward and they drove off in a rush, he could feel his body repairing itself from what they'd done to him thanks to the infusion of blood.

He had no proof. Even if he went straight to Autumn or Papa Paolo, they wouldn't believe him. He didn't have a mark on him and all the blood and other fluids had been washed away. He didn't know what to do. His Family would believe him, but what was the point of telling them now? They'd just want revenge. They'd be destroyed while trying to get it. If he'd had escaped, it would have been different. He would have told them so they could protect themselves. He couldn't tell them now. Not now. If he did, Gabriel would win. Snicker and all his friends would go to jail. He'd be left alone again.

The only thing he could do was to cope like he always had. Gabriel was satisfied for now. If he could go home and keep it hidden, he could keep his peace and quiet for a while longer. That's all he wanted. He wanted peace and quiet. He wanted to go on a trip to Japan with Snicker. He wanted to work hard and see his friends improve their lives. He wanted to watch while his family fulfilled their dreams. He could still do that. He just had to keep the boat from rocking. If he told anyone about this, there would be anger and rage. It wouldn't be quiet at all!

Cope. He had to cope. How had he coped before? Snicker. He'd told Snicker and that had helped. He couldn't tell Snicker this time, though. Snicker and he hadn't been as close back then. To tell Snicker now would hurt Snicker. He'd let someone else despoil him and stain him. Snicker might not want him if he knew, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. So many thought and memories were crashing around in his head that he couldn't think straight.

Noticing that told him what he should do, though.

He should go talk to Mike so that he could get his head to slow down.

That's what he'd do. He'd go talk to Mike.


BOOBOO: Hey.

FOOFOO: That was one hella long phone call.
FOOFOO: And you broke your contract.
FOOFOO: You logged out without talking to me.

BOOBOO: I didn't log out.
BOOBOO: My character was booted when I logged in on friend's computer.
BOOBOO: Can't go home yet.

CICI: Why not?
CICI: Where have you been?

BOOBOO: I'd rather not say.
BOOBOO: I just logged in because I remembered a different promise.

FOOFOO: Which one?

BOOBOO: Let me put it this way.
BOOBOO: I've got a joint and I'm really tempted to smoke it.

FOOFOO: What happened?

CICI: Booboo?

FOOFOO: Are you still there?
FOOFOO: What happened?

BOOBOO: It was a trap.
BOOBOO: I knew it was and I still went.
BOOBOO: He had Josh's son.
BOOBOO: I had to go.

FOOFOO: Someone kidnapped Josh's son?

BOOBOO: No.
BOOBOO: Charlie was there willingly.
BOOBOO: But he didn't know.
BOOBOO: I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen to me.
BOOBOO: That bastard was just using him.
BOOBOO: Charlie didn't know that he was a bad guy.
BOOBOO: No one knows.
BOOBOO: He's too good at pretending to be innocent.
BOOBOO: But he's a bastard!
BOOBOO: BASTARD!

FOOFOO: You're not making sense.
FOOFOO: Some guy used Josh's son as bait.
FOOFOO: And it was a trap for you.
FOOFOO: That's all I've got so far.

BOOBOO: I'm going to log out now.

FOOFOO: Wait
FOOFOO: What happened?
FOOFOO: Did you get beat up again?

BOOBOO: Yes

CICI: Are you okay?

BOOBOO: No

FOOFOO: Have you went to the hospital?

BOOBOO: No

FOOFOO: Stop giving me yes and no answers!
FOOFOO: How bad are you hurt?

BOOBOO: It's already healed.
BOOBOO: My body is different than most people's.
BOOBOO: There's no proof left to find.
BOOBOO: They got rid of it before they dropped me off.

FOOFOO: What do you mean by proof?
FOOFOO: You mean there's no bruises?

CICI: Did they do more than just beat you up, BooBoo?

BOOBOO: Yes
BOOBOO: Can I log out now?

FOOFOO: Not until you tell us what all happened.
FOOFOO: What did they do to you, Booboo?

BOOBOO: I don't want to talk about it!
BOOBOO: Please just let me log out.
BOOBOO: I'll be fine.
BOOBOO: I'm always fine.
BOOBOO: I just need to be left alone for a while.
BOOBOO: There's nothing you can do about it anyway.
BOOBOO: It's over and I just want to forget it.

CICI: Did they rape you, BooBoo?

BOOBOO: I'm logging out now.
BOOBOO: You can hate me if you want.

FOOFOO: Go ahead, Booboo.
FOOFOO: Come back when you feel like talking about it.
FOOFOO: We'll listen.
FOOFOO: You don't have to do drugs to get things sorted out.
FOOFOO: We can help if you'll just trust us.

BOOBOO: You can't help me.
BOOBOO: That's what people said last time.
BOOBOO: And it still happened again.
BOOBOO: He knows how to beat me.
BOOBOO: I've tried to get stronger than him.
BOOBOO: But he still always wins.
BOOBOO: He hurt me, Foofoo.
BOOBOO: And I don't have any way to prove it.
BOOBOO: I can't even tell anyone
BOOBOO: The only people that would believe me would just get hurt.
BOOBOO: And the people that I need to believe me and could stop him are related to him.
BOOBOO: They'd take his word over mine since there's no proof.
BOOBOO: I don't know what to do.
BOOBOO: I'm scared, Foofoo.

FOOFOO: Where do you live?

BOOBOO: Why?

FOOFOO: I can get access to a lot of information.
FOOFOO: I can give you the name of someone who can help you.
FOOFOO: You probably don't want me coming.
FOOFOO: I'd just blow the bastard's brains out.

BOOBOO: That wouldn't help me at all.
BOOBOO: That would actually be very bad for me.
BOOBOO: It'd make him stop, but I'd lose everything
BOOBOO: His family aren't people that I can piss off.
BOOBOO: I work at his family's restaurant.

FOOFOO: Quit working there then.

BOOBOO: I can't!
BOOBOO: I don't know how to explain this.
BOOBOO: I need the backing of his family.
BOOBOO: Without them, I'd be in a lot of trouble.

FOOFOO: What kind of trouble?

BOOBOO: The kind that the police can't help with.

FOOFOO: This guy's family...
FOOFOO: What kind of family do you mean when you say family?

BOOBOO: What do you mean?
BOOBOO: There's only one kind of family

FOOFOO: ...
FOOFOO: Nevermind.
FOOFOO: The bottom line is that you're tied in with this guy's family
FOOFOO: So you can't hurt him.
FOOFOO: But he has no problem hurting you.

BOOBOO: Pretty much.
BOOBOO: I tried to fight back anyway.
BOOBOO: But he use a sound device on me.

FOOFOO: Ow
FOOFOO: You told me before that you were sensitive to sound.

BOOBOO: Yeah
BOOBOO: Blew my eardrums out
BOOBOO: I still can't hear that well.
BOOBOO: It'll probably take the rest of the day for them to finish healing.

FOOFOO: Wow
FOOFOO: You weren't kidding about healing fast.

CICI: Done processing, Foofoo.

FOOFOO: What do you got for me?

BOOBOO: ?

CICI: The best option is the one I think Booboo will refuse.
CICI: He needs to tell those who will believe him
CICI: That way he can be better protected in the future.

BOOBOO: No.
BOOBOO: That'll just start a possible war in the city's underground.
BOOBOO: I don't want that.

CICI: I thought you'd say that.
CICI: So we go to option two.
CICI: Cut off contact routes.
CICI: The anger for quitting your job would be less than letting the truth out.
CICI: Without your job and contact with his family, he can't get to you.

BOOBOO: Try again.
BOOBOO: He lured me out this time.
BOOBOO: He can do it again.
BOOBOO: Plus, I still need his family.

CICI: True.
CICI: Adding that factor into processing results.
CICI: Option three is to let Foofoo blow his brains out.

BOOBOO: LOL
BOOBOO: Already been over that.
BOOBOO: No.

CICI: Option four is to kill him yourself...?

BOOBOO: I want to.
BOOBOO: But I can't figure out a way to do it without getting caught.

CICI: That last one was a joke.

BOOBOO: Oh.

FOOFOO: I can take care of it BooBoo.
FOOFOO: All you have to do is give me a name.
FOOFOO: He can disappear and no one will know that you were involved.

BOOBOO: You can stop with the jokes now.
BOOBOO: That's not funny.

FOOFOO: I'm not joking.
FOOFOO: If you hate him enough to want to kill him, then I'll do it for you.

BOOBOO: That's probably what Josh would say.
BOOBOO: I don't want you involved any more than I want him involved.
BOOBOO: I didn't talk to you about this to make you want to murder someone.
BOOBOO: I just didn't think I could take it if I didn't tell someone.

CICI: So you told someone that you didn't think could do anything.
CICI: But we can do something.

FOOFOO: Don't underestimate me, Booboo.
FOOFOO: For me, it doesn't matter if I know you in person.
FOOFOO: If someone hurt you, I want to know who.
FOOFOO: And I want to make sure it doesn't happen again.
FOOFOO: Aren't you a friend?

BOOBOO: Yes, I'm your friend.
BOOBOO: But being my friend doesn't give you a right to fight my battles.
BOOBOO: It doesn't give you a right to try to come into my life in person.

FOOFOO: Why?
FOOFOO: What's the difference in talking like this and talking on the phone?
FOOFOO: I'm closer to you than the people that I see every day.

BOOBOO: You're reading too much into our friendship.
BOOBOO: We just game together and talk.
BOOBOO: I never asked for you to interfere.
BOOBOO: I can handle this by myself.

FOOFOO: Fuck that shit!
FOOFOO: If you could handle it, you would have already!
FOOFOO: And you asked for me to help by telling me about it!

BOOBOO: Then I'll have to stop telling you about things.
BOOBOO: If that's the only way to keep you from thinking like that.

FOOFOO: What's that supposed to mean?

BOOBOO: I'd rather lose a friend than have a friend get hurt because of me.
BOOBOO: If I have to, I'll stop playing.
BOOBOO: You're not helping me at all by saying those kinds of things.
BOOBOO: I don't think they're funny and they're a serious invasion of privacy.

FOOFOO: I'm sorry.
FOOFOO: Don't quit playing.
FOOFOO: I won't talk like that anymore if it bothers you.
FOOFOO: I'm just upset because you got hurt.
FOOFOO: You can't blame me.
FOOFOO: I wasn't lying when I said I'm closer to the people I meet online.
FOOFOO: To hear that something like that happened to you
FOOFOO: And to hear you say that you're scared
FOOFOO: It bothers me
FOOFOO: I want to help you, but I don't know how other than to do stuff like that.
FOOFOO: Where I come from, we shoot first and ask questions later.

BOOBOO: I'd like to shoot him.
BOOBOO: But that would just land me in jail.
BOOBOO: Too many people rely on me for me to do that.

FOOFOO: What are you going to do?

BOOBOO: I don't know.
BOOBOO: Just wait it out and see what happens.
BOOBOO: I've got to think of some way to overcome his sound weapon.
BOOBOO: And maybe train some more.
BOOBOO: Training always helps me so that I don't worry as much.
BOOBOO: Talking to you has helped me calm down a lot, too.

FOOFOO: You train?
FOOFOO: Like weight training?

BOOBOO: Yeah
BOOBOO: I know Kickboxing, Boxing, a little Judo, and some Kempo.
BOOBOO: I started learning it after the first time I got attacked like this.
BOOBOO: It almost worked, too.
BOOBOO: If he hadn't had the sound weapon, I was almost out of there.

FOOFOO: Oh.
FOOFOO: I didn't know you trained like that.

BOOBOO: LOL
BOOBOO: I have to.
BOOBOO: Or else I'd get my ass handed to me by other gangs.

FOOFOO: Oh.

BOOBOO: Is there something wrong with that?

FOOFOO: No.
FOOFOO: It just changes my image of you a little bit.

CICI: LOL
CICI: He's been getting teased lately because his gut is getting soft.
CICI: He stopped training when he retired.
CICI: He's turning into a couch potato.

BOOBOO: LOL
BOOBOO: In that case, I'm probably in better shape than he is.

FOOFOO: Are you two done?

CICI: Done with what, Fatty?

FOOFOO: I'm going to knock the shit out of you.

CICI: You can try, fatty.

FOOFOO: BRB

BOOBOO: That's not very nice, Cici

CICI: LOL
CICI: He's pissed.
CICI: He keeps trying to catch me, but he can't.
CICI: It's so much fun to mess with him.
CICI: Don't worry about him, Booboo.
CICI: I'll keep him in line.
CICI: Ow.
CICI: He just broke two of my monitors.

BOOBOO: ACK!

CICI: It's okay.
CICI: I've got dozens.
CICI: And he's nicer about it than you think.
CICI: Even when he breaks stuff, he breaks the old ones first now.

BOOBOO: Why do you have so many monitors?
BOOBOO: Do you work with computers or something?

CICI: You might say that.
CICI: Hold on and let me get Foofoo calmed down.

BOOBOO: Okay.

FOOFOO: Back
FOOFOO: Sorry about that.
FOOFOO: Cici's a bitch.

BOOBOO: She's just thinking about your health.
BOOBOO: It's not good to game all day and not exercise.
BOOBOO: Maybe you could take some martial arts classes.
BOOBOO: Then we can spar one day

FOOFOO: ?
FOOFOO: If I take martial arts, you'd be willing to meet me?

BOOBOO: Maybe.
BOOBOO: You'd have to get really good, though.
BOOBOO: I won't spar if I'm worried that I might hurt you.

FOOFOO: Who the hell do you think you're talking to?

BOOBOO: A couch potato that's always online.
BOOBOO: I've never once logged in and you not be there.

CICI: Oh my.
CICI: He's turning red.
CICI: I don't think I've ever seen him that color.

BOOBOO: Thank you.

CICI: ?

BOOBOO: For helping me get my head on straight.
BOOBOO: I was about to lose it when I first got on
BOOBOO: But I feel better now.
BOOBOO: I can handle it thanks to you two.
BOOBOO: It's not the end of the world.
BOOBOO: I might have gotten hurt
BOOBOO: But the things important to me are whole and healthy
BOOBOO: As long as I know that, he can't ever win.

CICI: That's the spirit!

FOOFOO: You're full of shit.

CICI: FooFoo!

FOOFOO: You're crying right now.
FOOFOO: Aren't you?

BOOBOO: No.
BOOBOO: Guys don't cry.
BOOBOO: I'm really okay.
BOOBOO: I'm stronger than that.

FOOFOO: I still say that you're full of shit.
FOOFOO: Rape is different than a fist fight.
FOOFOO: Lie to someone else.

BOOBOO: Even if it's a lie, it's the only defense I have.
BOOBOO: I don't want what he did to interfere with my happiness.
BOOBOO: I want to go home to Josh and forget this happened.
BOOBOO: I say that, but I won't be able to forget.
BOOBOO: Will I?

FOOFOO: Probably not.
FOOFOO: But going home is probably a good idea.
FOOFOO: Since you're not going to do anything about it
FOOFOO: Go take a shower and get something to eat
FOOFOO: Then sit in front of the TV for a while.
FOOFOO: You always seem to be doing something
FOOFOO: So doing nothing might be just what you need to figure things out.

BOOBOO: It's worth a shot
BOOBOO: Thanks again.

FOOFOO: Just let me know if you change your mind.
FOOFOO: I haven't fired my guns in months.
FOOFOO: Target practice sounds good right about now.

BOOBOO: LOL
BOOBOO: I'll remember that.
BOOBOO: I'm going to go now.

FOOFOO: Alright

CICI: We'll see you later BooBoo.
CICI: Keep us posted on how you're doing.

BOOBOO: I will.
BOOBOO: Good night.

CICI: TTYL

FOOFOO: Ciao.


Taking FooFoo's advice was far easier than Tsuna imagined. It was easy because no one knew that he'd been missing. He'd left a note saying that he was going into work early and it was almost midnight by the time he returned. He always returned home late, so it was no surprise. For everyone else, his return was absolutely ordinary. They probably wondered a bit about why he hadn't taken his bike, but that was a minor worry. There were plenty of times that he'd not taken it in the past. It was a simple matter of knocking the chain off so that he had an excuse for not taking it this time.

For once, he hadn't cared about how much hot water he wasted. He stayed in the shower until he used every drop. Then he let it warm up again and stayed in a hot bath until that turned cold. After that, he went upstairs and quietly got a pair of Snicker's sweats to put on. It wasn't so much that he wanted them for warmth, but because they were comfortable. They were loose instead of restricting and they had Snicker's scent on them. That did wonders for calming his heart. Next up in FooFoo's advice had been food. While one of his hungers had been satisfied, his stomach was still empty. He didn't feel hungry, but he knew that he hadn't eaten anything all day. He refused to amend that statement, regardless of what had been crammed into his mouth. Although, the thought sent him to brush his teeth for the eighth time before heating up a bowl of ramen. After the ramen, he grabbed the bucket of chocolate chunky chocolate chip ice cream from the freezer before plopping down on the couch to see what was on.

He was in the middle of the latest episode of "Animal Psychic" starring Liam the Jester that Gigi came in. She was dressed for the cold in a fur parka that was meaningless when she her skirt was slit up both sides. Bangles and hoops look to be the accessory of the week, while an Asian inspired bun looked to be the hairstyle she was favoring lately.

"You're up late," she commented in surprise. "Isn't tonight your night to sleep?"

"I'm not tired," he mumbled around another bite of ice cream. "You're back early. You usually don't come in until the sun comes up."

"I was streetwalking tonight and my balls are frozen," she replied as she pulled her wig off. Tsuna gave her a crooked grin while she threw her purse and wig on the pool table, quickly followed by her jacket. She always was one to say things bluntly, which was one of the reasons that Tsuna liked her. There was no need to guess when it came to Gigi. "What are you-- Change that. Why are you eating ice cream?"

"I just felt like it," Tsuna shrugged while Gigi carefully sat down beside him. "You know that it's my favorite snack."

"That's true," she murmured. "But you never snack on it in winter. You said before that it's already cold enough without making yourself colder."

"Oh," he mumbled, biting his lip while he stared down at the bucket. "You're right. I should probably stop before I start feeling it." Getting up from the couch, he grudgingly put the ice cream back before Gigi started questioning over it. That was the problem with living with such close friends. They knew all his quirks and could read him like a book. If he was going to keep them from knowing... From realizing...

"What's wrong, Suoh?" Gigi asked, making him snap out of the blank space that his mind had drifted off to. Blinking rapidly, he shut the freezer door and did his best to put on a smile. He wouldn't let her know. She'd just get hurt because of him if she knew.

"Nothing's wrong," he lied while he tried to casually amble toward the stairs to his room. "I'm probably just tired. Like you said, this is my night to sleep. I should probably get to bed. Good night."

"Not--!" She called, making him freeze on the bottom step. "--So fast," she growled in a tone that made Tsuna slowly look over his shoulder at her. She looked angry for some reason. "You're still in trouble, mister."

"What did I do?" He asked worriedly.

"You didn't go to work today, for one," Gigi replied bluntly. "Both Autumn and the pet store called when you didn't show up for your shifts. I lied to cover for you, but I want to know why you skipped out. I've been worried sick, Suoh. I came back early to see if you were going to return home at the normal time. If you hadn't been here, I was planning on fessing up and calling an alert. I figured that you just decided to spend the day at Mike's again, but I want to hear it from you."

"I was at Mike's," he confirmed with a small grimace. "I just needed a break. Don't tell anyone. Okay?"

"You were at Mike's," she said in displeasure. Tsuna nodded in return, which only seem to make her angrier. "Then why weren't you there when I went to check at noon?"

"B-Because I didn't get there until seven," he flinched, seeing that she'd caught him.

"And before that?" Gigi prompted.

"I-I was... um... I-I was working," he lied, grasping the first thing that came to mind. "N-Not for Papa Paolo. I-I... um... h-had this other job that I-I had to do."

"Was it something with Poe?" Gigi asked with all the blood rushing out of her face. Tsuna grimaced, since even the mention of work with Poe brought up images of that bloody heart. That was one thing that no one had talked about and no one had planned to talk about since no one really wanted to know the truth of the matter. It was in the past and everyone wanted to leave it there.

"Yes," he nodded, deciding to run with the lie. Then it was his turn to pale, when the mention of the name stirred up a hungry feeling in his belly. He'd thought that he would be fine until morning since all his pills were gone, but apparently not. Not that it was too unsurprising. It was getting close to his time to feed from the source anyway, which was why he was hungry despite having been fed so much earlier. The last time he'd had to do it had been months ago when he'd gotten Jewel. Surprisingly, that feeding had been good enough that he'd been going off of pills ever since. From what Poe figured, getting beaten almost to death had sapped him enough that it'd 'dehydrated' him again. Thanks to that, he was back on a schedule that didn't require more than one pill a day. It had been an unexpected reward for making it through such a hellish experience. "I forgot to eat," Tsuna grimaced as he headed for the stage and the ladder leading up to the loft. "I'll see you later, Gigi. Okay?"

"O-Okay," she agreed with a green face. He ignored her, focusing completely on climbing up the ladder. Keeping his mind on innocent things seemed to be the trick that he needed to keep himself from thinking about what had happened earlier in the day. If he could, he'd block all of it out. As it was, he was keeping himself from making lists by the smallest of margins. He'd been through worse, he kept reminding himself. He'd been violated, but he could live with that. He'd lived with it when it happened before. It wasn't like he was sitting on a hospital bed with Snicker crying his eyes out beside him. He was still whole and healthy this time. He just had a few memories that he wanted forget.

In truth, it was a whole day that he wanted to forget.

Shoving the thoughts away, he focused on crossing the empty loft and climbing up the second ladder into Poe's rooftop greenhouse. The greenhouse had been far cheaper to build than he'd thought it would be. Especially since Poe had covered half the cost for it out of his own pocket so that he could get it in the gothic style that he preferred. The construction had gone smoothly, too, since Ore had talked his company into doing it without charging for labor costs.

"Suoh...?" Poe asked, stepping out from behind a night blooming tree. Tsuna chuckled slightly at the sight of him. Compared to the black-leather-loving vampire he knew, the Poe of the moment was like some creature out of the twilight zone. His long black hair was tied back in a purple handkerchief and he'd taken off his trench coat entirely in order to wear a colorful oversized shirt and blue-jeans that he could garden in. Even more incredulous was the sight of the watering can in one hand and the trowel in the other.

"I wish Snicker could see you like this," he laughed. "I don't think he'd be as scared of you."

"Yes, well," Poe replied with a lopsided grin. "The garden needs extra care in the winter if I'm going to keep myself from starving. It's a personal rule not to take energy from humans in winter when they need it most, unless I have no other choice. It would be uncivilized of me." Poe sighed as he set his gardening tools down on one of the benches in his private year-around park, stepping carefully to ensure that he didn't tread on more of the grass than needed to get back on the pathway encircling the area. "I'm assuming that you didn't come for a pleasure visit, since you've come so late," he commented, reaching up to free his hair from the handkerchief binding it.

"I'm hungry," he admitted softly. "Is now okay?"

"Now is better than in ten minutes when you'd lose control," he replied sharply before leading the way to the shed. Tsuna blanched and followed without being able to deny the statement at all. That part was no different. He knew the source of what he hungered for. Running into the hills for a blind search wasn't an option for him anymore. That wouldn't ever happen to him unless something happened to Poe. "You smell strange tonight," Poe continued once they were safely hidden away in the shed. Tsuna stiffened, pausing in the process of removing his shirt while Poe mirrored the action without stopping. "Did something happen? There's a hint of the tang that I smell from you after you've been with Snicker, but there's something different. It smells like fear has been pumping through you and something else."

"I don't want to talk about it," Tsuna murmured, carefully pulling his shirt off so that Jewel wouldn't be trapped inside the folds like she had been earlier in the day. The poor creature had nearly been through as much as he had. She'd barely managed to escape unnoticed before they'd started drowning his clothes in liquor. "Does it still smell good enough for trade?"

"Of course," Poe grinned. "I'll take you any way that I can have you. You should know that by now."

"You sound like Gigi," he laughed. Then the time for talk was over. He could see it in Poe's eyes. The man wouldn't be the one to initiate. He rarely was. He wouldn't bite until Tsuna had broken skin first, unless Tsuna prompted him otherwise.

"I'm not getting any younger," Poe commented with a twinkle in his eyes. Tsuna grimaced at the cue, finding himself strangely reluctant while he slowly crossed the distance between them.

"You're not getting any older, either," Tsuna replied. He bit his lip before reaching up to push Poe's hair out of his way. He felt as if his nerves were on fire every single time that their chests met. The bare skin was like scalding hot irons to him, but he knew that there was no way around it. He was too messy of an eater and Poe had lost far too many shirts because of him. He didn't want to get Poe's scent on Snicker's shirt, either.

Despite himself, he jerked back when he felt Poe's lips on his shoulder, seeking out a good spot to bite in return. What was normally a platonic touch made his stomach churn in memory of a matching one that he'd gotten earlier.

"What's wrong?" He asked automatically, sensing both Tsuna's reluctance and his fear.

"C-Can you wait until later?" Tsuna asked while he fought the need to tremble. "I-I know I can't wait, b-but--"

"That's not fair, Suoh," he admonished while Tsuna stiffened at a second graze. "I'm not sure what has you so frightened, but is it so great that you would have me ignore the feast when it's laid out before me? Just bite, my friend. I'll wait until you're otherwise occupied to deal with my own needs."

Biting his lip, Tsuna nodded in agreement. He was right. It wasn't fair to Poe to ask him to wait. As it was, he gave Tsuna blood pills and fed him on a regular basis. In return, Poe only got to eat once every few months off of Tsuna. To deny him now would be a cruel torture. Leaning forward, Tsuna tried to keep the image of Snicker in his mind while he searched out a good spot to feed from. Doing so kept the image of Gabriel or anyone else from entering it and also kept him from reacting to Poe's touch.

Poe let out a soft sigh as Tsuna carefully broke the skin along his collarbone. Unlike when he was in a feeding rampage, he knew how to be gentle with his teeth now. They were sharp from careful filing and only the slightest of purposeful pressure was needed to tear the flesh. He'd found his own method for biting, as well. Where Poe made a deep bite with his longer fangs and used those fangs to control the blood flow, Tsuna went for a shallow scratch that would bleed slowly enough for him to manage even after he pulled his teeth out. Of course, the unfortunate side effect of his process ended up giving Poe a hicky from the sucking, but it was better than having his face covered in blood.

"It looks like you won't be messy tonight," Poe commented in amusement after Tsuna proved that the wound he caused was within his tolerances to keep up. He didn't bother to reply. He was simply too intent on the peppery treat filling his mouth. Like Poe had taught him, he let the blood roll around in his mouth before swallowing in order to ensure that it was thickened with his saliva. Doing so meant that it would only take half as much as it used to in order to fill him. The warm peppered gravy quickly became peppered pudding that way. Where he'd chosen was a spot that had very little in the way of fat which meant that he was getting the purest of Poe's hearty side. It was delicious and filling, making him completely ignore the breathe on the back of his neck while Poe continued searching. It was--

"What the hell?"

Licking Poe's wound to shut it, Tsuna swallowed and froze in Poe's arms. Poe froze in the middle of still searching out his own spot to bite, stiffening in Tsuna's arms in return while he looked toward the shed door. Tsuna felt dizzy and his heart started pounding wildly in his chest. A surge of fear and panic raced through him while he slowly turned to see his worst fear standing in the doorway. It wasn't Gabriel. There was someone that he feared far more when it came to his greatest secret.

"Joshua," Tsuna breathed, staring at the man with wide eyes. Snicker stared back from where he was standing in his pajamas and bed robe. A million questions flew into Tsuna's head, all of which he was unable to voice around the lump that formed in the middle of his throat. He looked angry and hurt. Tsuna couldn't blame him for either emotion. He'd lied to him about it for over a year. He'd planned to keep the lie for the rest of his life if he had to. "J-Joshua," he gasped with tears building in his eyes. "I can explain."

"Don't bother," he replied, his face turning to stone when he turned and started storming away.

"Joshua, wait!" Tsuna exclaimed. Breaking out of Poe's arms, he gave chase and barely caught up to him in the loft. "Wait! Let me explain!"

"Explain what?" He snapped on his way across the catwalk and down the ladder leading to the stage. "I'm not stupid. I saw for myself what you two were up to. Biting, my ass! Looked a helluva lot more like foreplay to me! I bet you two have been laughing it up this whole time! Was it fun playing 'fool the old guy'?"

"That's not it!" He yelled, jumping down to the stage in effort to head Snicker off. "We weren't doing that!"

"Bull-fucking-shit," Snicker shouted. Tsuna choked when he found himself pushed so hard out of Snicker's way that he fell and slid across the stage. It was a measure of Snicker's anger that he didn't seem to care in the least about the force he'd used. Tsuna scrambled back to his feet to give chase once more, but he found himself in even worse straights when Snicker stopped to face him in the middle of the cathedral area of the renovated theater that they called home. "I should have seen it before! You've never been satisfied with just me, have you?! You know, I wouldn't be so damn pissed over it if you hadn't fucking lied to me! Even worse, you went to that blood-sucking de--" Snicker stopped with a dumbfounded look on his face, one that was matched by Gigi's from where she was watching on the couch, while Tsuna's hand hovered in the air in the aftermath of the slap that struck Snicker across the face.

"He's not a demon," Tsuna corrected through clenched teeth. His whole body was so tense that he felt like he would break, but he couldn't take it anymore. Snicker's insults hurt and he already felt injured enough from Gabriel. "We weren't doing what you think, Joshua. I've always been honest with you on that part."

"Then what were you doing?" Snicker scowled with his arms crossed over his chest. "I think I have a right to know. You were all over him up there. Look at you! You don't even have your shirt on!"

"I-I--" Lowering his hand, Tsuna shuddered slightly at the prospect of telling Snicker the truth. He didn't see any other alternative. If he let things stand, he'd lose Snicker entirely. If he told the truth, there was a small shred of hope that he would be forgiven. "I-I was biting him, Joshua. W-We had our shirts off because w-we didn't want b-blood to get on them. We weren't having sex. Y-You're the only one that I do that with."

"You're a fucking liar," Snicker spat. Tsuna's mind when blank at the words. For once, he was telling the truth and he wasn't being believed. He didn't know what to say to make him believe. Even worse, he was storming away again, although this time was with a purposeful look on his face. Less than a minute later, Tsuna slapped his hands over his mouth and turned green when he saw what his goal was. "That's right!" Snicker yelled righteously as Ore and Eric stumbled sleepily out of their rooms to investigate all the noise that Snicker was making. "I went into your damn email to see where you went so early this morning! Boy, did I get a fucking eye-full of what you've been doing behind my back!"

"Suoh--!" Gigi gasped. He couldn't blame her. The evidence was damning. Falling to his knees with a sob, he couldn't think of a single word to say. It hurt that Gabriel would go so far to torment him. It hurt that Snicker didn't trust him enough to let him explain. It hurt to see that everything that had been done to him had been video taped and it hurt to know that Gabriel had probably intended to use it as blackmail for in the future. It was right there on the computer screen for everyone to look at. He couldn't get free of him. It made him wish that Mukuro-sama was still with him because he was willing to let him have free reign now. It didn't matter anymore about who did it. He just wanted Gabriel to go away before Snicker saw any more of the video footage. "Suoh!" Gigi exclaimed urgently. Jumping over the back of the couch, she grabbed both of his shoulders to hold him steady while he continued to cry. "I know you wouldn't cheat on Snicker like that, so what happened?"

"I c-couldn't s-s-stop h-him," Tsuna sobbed. Reaching out to grab Gigi's dress, he clutch the fabric like it was a life raft. Here was someone who would listen to him. Here was someone who'd believe him. "I d-didn't want to go, G-Gigi! H-H-He made m-me! He had Ch-Charlie and... and... and I-I h-had to go to s-save Ch-Charlie! Th-Then he m-made a s-s-sound and it m-m-made m-my head hurt! And th-then... then... m-m-my ears exploded a-a-and everything started s-s-spinning a-and-- And I couldn't stop him!" Weeping hysterically, he tried to get Gigi to understand despite his almost incoherent stuttering. "I-I t-tried to fight. I r-r-really d-did, Gigi, b-but h-h-he b-beat me! H-He d-d-drugged m-me a-and hurt m-me again a-and... a-a-and... He w-was prep-p-pared for me, Gigi! H-He knew e-e-everyth-thing! H-He knew a-ab-bout the s-s-sound a-and the bl-blood a-a-and.. a-and ev-ev-everyth-thing!"

"W-What...?" Snicker asked in shock while Tsuna continued to sob into Gigi's arms.

"Gabriel raped him again, Snicker," Gigi answered tonelessly. "What you were using as proof that Suoh was cheating on you was actually Gabriel's attempt to harass Suoh with what he did. Did it ever occur to you to think that Suoh might actually be faithful? When has he once cheated on you? And yet, you keep jumping to conclusions that he's screwing every person that throws themselves at him."

"B-But upstairs," Snicker objected in defense. "Suoh--"

"Suoh was feeding," Gigi interrupted with her own frown. "He got turned a long time ago, Snicker. That's why he's been taking those pills. They're not for anemia. They're full of blood so that he doesn't go berserk. He didn't want to tell you because he knows how much you hate Poe. I can't blame him with how you insult Poe every chance you get. Or didn't you realize that words really can hurt as much as sticks and stones? Every time you called Poe a blood-sucking demon or a satanic leech, you've been calling Suoh that, too. I'm not surprised he slapped you. I've been wanting to slap you for a long time now."

"S-Suoh's a-a v--"

"A werewolf," Poe interjected from his quiet perch on the Dojo's signal bell. "He fought it for your sake, but he was damned even more harshly for not accepting the Change. At least, I wish I could say that. The truth is that he had no conscious control over the process. I tried to tell him that no good would come from pairing with humans now that he is altered, but he refuses to listen. He'll learn soon enough that the cursed can't live in peace with normal people. Unless you have no problems sharing a bed with the damned...?"

"Poe!" Ore roared up at him. "That's an outrageously bad thing to say right now!"

"Am I wrong?" Poe asked knowingly. The tone he used made even Tsuna look up in order to see the expression that Snicker held. The look of disgust and loathing on his face lanced straight into Tsuna's heart. It was just as he feared. There was no understanding when it came to that. There was no forgiveness for hiding it. There was no hope of overcoming it. When it came to vampires, Snicker already had it set in his mind that they were evil and wanted no part of them. He'd only accepted Poe as much as he had because of Tsuna's pleas. All of that changed when Tsuna was one himself.

"Snicker!" Eric gasped when the man stepped away entirely to dodge Tsuna's shaking, outstretched hands.

"I-I can't--" He choked. Tsuna stared at him in disbelief as he turned to rush up the stairs to his bedroom. His expression of shock was matched by every other face in the room when he came back down fully dressed in less than a minute. "I'm going out for a drink," he called as he practically ran for the door. "I'll be back later."

"I-I'll be waiting," Tsuna said automatically. It was the only thing he could think of to say. To force Snicker to talk about Tsuna's issue now would be more damaging than less. He could see it in Snicker's attitude. It was times like these that he needed his space. Snicker paused for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something, before quickly and silently leaving. Tsuna watched him go with a blank mind. He wanted to stop him. He wanted to grab him and hold onto him until he gave forgiveness. He wanted to beg and plead for him to not leave, but he knew that doing so would just push him away faster. All he could do was to wait and pray that he'd come back.

He'd come back. He'd definitely come back. He wouldn't leave and never come back. He just had a lot to think about. They'd hit him with so much stuff at once that he needed to cope. He still loved Tsuna. Right? He'd come back. He'd definitely come back. Tsuna just had to wait until then. There was nothing left to do but wait because he was nothing without Snicker. He couldn't survive without Snicker. It was okay, though. He'd come back. He'd definitely come back. He just had to survive until then. It would be hard, but Snicker was worth it. Snicker was counting on him to still be there when he got back, so that's what Tsuna would do.

"Where are you going, sweet-cheeks?" Gigi asked in surprise when Tsuna slowly pushed himself to his feet and started blindly walking toward the door.

"I'm going out front to wait," he answered honestly. He felt so distant from himself when he got outside. It was like all his feelings had broken again, just like when he'd killed. He couldn't feel pain anymore or heartache. There was a cold lump inside him that made it so that he couldn't even feel the chill air against his bare chest. He couldn't feel the coldness from the bench attached to the front of the building as he sat down. He couldn't feel anything but the strange sensation of hanging onto sanity with a thin, tattered cord.

All he could do was wait and hope that the cord didn't break before Snicker came back to save him.


"How are you holding up?" Gigi asked carefully. Tsuna shrugged, his full attention consumed by the paddleball that Houston had given him to play with before the boy had went to school. It was repetitive and soothing. He told himself a dozen times that he was going to stop playing with it, but then the ball started to fall again and he had to catch it! Up and down. Down and up. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. "I brought you some coffee to warm up," Gigi interjected gently. He nodded and reached out to absently accept it, much like he'd accepted the shirt and jacket they'd brought him earlier. Bounce. He had a blanket over his legs, too, that Eric had brought him after an hour had passed and Snicker still hadn't returned. Bounce. One of them was always sitting with him, he noticed. Bounce. They'd given up on talking with him after the first ten minutes of silence. Bounce. They didn't leave, though. Bounce He wanted to tell them that he appreciated the fact that they cared about him enough to keep him company, but they didn't have to stay out in the cold with him. Bounce.

After all, Snicker would be back any minute. Bounce.

"Do you want me to call into work for you today?" Gigi asked in the same quiet tone that she'd used before. Bou-- Tsuna paused, letting the paddleball fall silent while he thought. He needed to wait on Snicker, but Snicker was more likely to go to his work to find him when he came back. If he wasn't at work, Snicker wouldn't know where he was at and then they couldn't make up.

"What time is it?" He asked, blinking slowly while he looked up at the sky.

"It's almost seven thirty in the morning," she answered quietly. "It's kind of late, but you can still get to your delivery run. Assuming you want to go. You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Oh," he mumbled as he hazily remembered the interaction. "I better go to work. Snicker might go there when he gets back." Standing up, he let the paddleball start bouncing again as he walked in the direction of his work. Gigi followed after taking a moment to throw his blanket back into the building along with his coffee cup. He ignored her, concentrating entirely on the bouncing ball so that he wouldn't think of other more worrisome things. Things like why Snicker wasn't back yet. Bounce. Things like whether Snicker would ever come back. Bounce. Things like whether he'd really done the right thing by letting him leave. Bounce. Bounce. Things like maybe it was better this way because he seemed to be cursed to break Snicker's heart over and over again. Bounce. Things like the possibility that Snicker was better off without him and things like the possibility that he'd never been important to Snicker in the first place. Bounce. Bounce.

No! He knew he was important to Snicker. Bounce. The ring on his hand said so. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Snicker just needed time to cope. Bounce. He'd be back when he realized that Tsuna was still Tsuna. Bounce. It wasn't a curse. Bounce. It was just a little blood disease that had a strange treatment. Bounce. Unless... Bounce. Bounce. Unless that wasn't the reason he needed to stay away. Bounce. What if Snicker was upset that Tsuna had let himself get tarnished by Gabriel? Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. What if it was because Snicker didn't want to be with a weak individual who couldn't even keep one man from hurting him? Bounce. What if he wasn't worthy in Snicker's eyes because Gabriel had touched him? Bounce. Bounce. What if Snicker was worried about Gabriel targeting Charlie because of Tsuna and that was the reason that he wasn't coming back yet? Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

Tsuna paused and looked down at the hand that reached out to stop him. Bounce. He'd made it all the way from his home to work without noticing the transition. Bounce. He noticed that hand, though. Bou-- He let the paddleball drop from his grip while Gigi bristled behind him. She was ready to explode, but Tsuna felt something far worse in those three seconds. It wasn't Gabriel's open fondling that he felt. The fondling that Gabriel thought he had a right to do with his emailed blackmail was the just the trigger. What Tsuna felt was a precious cord snap inside of himself.

No more. He couldn't take it anymore.

Tsuna barely let Gabriel register the change in his expression before he slammed the man out of his chair with a fist to his face. All the pain. All the suffering. All the memories of all the times that Gabriel had tortured him fueled his rage until that was the only emotion that he felt. He released them all in the knowledge that he didn't want such baggage anymore. Tsuna could barely see past the red haze that covered his vision, but what he could see was enough to keep his fists and feet moving. Throwing Gabriel across the room, he rushed forward to leap on top of him and began pouring his anger out. Blow after blow, he sent into the man while his mind became engrossed with the memories of everything that he'd done.

He'd raped Tsuna.

He'd beaten Tsuna.

He'd made Snicker cry.

He'd tried to trick Eric and take advantage of him.

He'd tried to blackmail him.

He'd taunted Tsuna with what he'd done.

He'd repeatedly cornered Tsuna during work and had tried to hurt him again.

He'd taken away what feeling of security that Tsuna had.

He'd caused problems in Tsuna and Snicker's relationship with his actions.

He'd made everyone believe that Tsuna had been trying to seduce him.

He'd made Tsuna feel the need to hide and cower time after time.

He'd given Tsuna nightmares for what felt like years.

He'd made Snicker find out about his blood disease.

He'd made Papa Paolo believe that he was an unfaithful pervert.

He'd made Snicker leave him.

He'd touched Tsuna time and time again and--

Tsuna pulled back his fist and released the blade hidden in his glove, determined to finish the job. He mindlessly sent it downward and only one thing stopped him.

One thing that he hadn't expected to interfere jumped between him and Gabriel.

One thing that he...

He couldn't...

"Stop it, Suoh!" Autumn screamed as she tearfully shielded Gabriel with herself. That moment of hesitation was all that was needed for Isaac and several other cooks to jump forward to restrain him. They dragged him off of Gabriel's beaten body, having been summoned by a scream from another patron. Sagging in their arms, he released his blade. He didn't fight the men dragging him away from Gabriel and Autumn. He'd had his chance and he was satisfied with that. He didn't care what happened now. All that mattered was that Gabriel wouldn't forget Tsuna's vengeance if he survived. Tsuna doubted that he'd ever hurt someone again. If he did, he'd constantly have to fear for the day that his victim showed up to settle the score. On top of that, now that he was dealt with, Snicker would come back.

At least, that's what Tsuna hoped.

He barely felt the vengeful strikes that Isaac hit him with once he was hidden away in the kitchen. Blow after blow, he took what they offered without letting out a sound. He ignored Isaac's questions and his lecture about laying a hand on the Family. He ignored the pain lancing through his body as Gabriel's Family exacted their counter-revenge. His mind was still over a mile away, quietly waiting in front of the Dojo for his beloved Joshua. After a while, he felt the blows stop, but he didn't get up from where he lay. He could hear Papa Paolo's voice giving out angry orders and Gigi's shrill voice trying to explain, but Tsuna didn't care. All he cared about was whether they were going to kill him or whether he'd end up having to kill himself. He didn't care which, but he wanted it over with. He couldn't take it anymore. He had nothing left. Not his pride. His dignity. His strength. His love. All of it was gone and he was left with nothing.

Nothing but a small shred of fading hope that Snicker would come back...


An empty black field surrounded him. The cold landscape was bleak and hollow, much like his heart at the moment. He had no purpose anymore. He had no regrets. His only regret had been to allow Gabriel to interfere in his life for so long. He'd dealt with that with his Dying Will. It was over now. Snicker could find happiness now because Tsuna had gotten rid of the one person standing in the way. Tsuna just had to wait for him to come back. He had to wait for Snicker to come and find him, because he was lost. He didn't know the way out of the dark landscape surrounding him. The only landmark around him was a single bucket that looked faintly familiar. Someone had tied it to his wrist with a chain, but he couldn't remember who.

Curious, Tsuna knelt down next to the bucket. At first, he'd thought that it was Mukuro-sama's fishing bucket, but it wasn't. It couldn't be unless he'd filled it with glass for some reason. The pieces had strange shapes and seemed colored like pieces of a dingy stained-glass window. Some were curved and some had strange indentions on them. They looked sharp, so he didn't attempt to pick any of them up. He was satisfied with just looking at them. He slowly saw that there were pieces of a face inside, telling him that it was probably bits of a broken glass sculpture. It was a pity, because it looked so lifelike. That would be an ear and that would be part of a mouth. There was an--

Tsuna screamed in terror when one of the closed eyelids opened in order to reveal a black void. Lurching backward, he completely forgot about the chain on his wrist. His lurch caused the chain to jerk on the bucket's handle, forcing the bucket to tip over. Glass shards spilled across the landscape while he continued to blindly scramble away. The more that he tried to get away, though, the more that the bucket spilled while he pulled it along in his wake.

He froze entirely at the feeling of an earthquake beginning to rumble under him. The shards bounced and skittered along the ground, slowly seeming to vibrate towards one another while the air filled with the sound of them chiming. The ground began to toss and heave under him, making the shards bounce into the air even more. No, he amended in horror. They weren't bouncing. They were jumping. They were jumping on top of one another in order to reform themselves into the sculpture again.

Terrified, Tsuna could do nothing but watch as the last piece fit into place. Although it was the last piece, the sculpture wasn't more than partially complete. It had both legs, but its chest and back was missing. So was one arm and half of its face. He only had one thin side of his body, leaving a gaping hole that was lined with sharp glass.

"Stay away!" Tsuna blurted in panic when the sculpture started to advance. The sculpture didn't listen. It was like a zombie, slowly walking toward its goal without a mind or a soul. Tsuna had those things. Tsuna had what it wanted. Trembling in fear, he couldn't move anymore. He could only stare up into a face that looked far too familiar for him to comprehend while the sculpture stood over him. Then the sculpture moved again and all Tsuna could do was to scream.