Kaaaay so here is the 16th chapter... i truly wanna thank everyone for reading and following this story, and particularly Panda-san! for always giving me precious advice for improving the story.

Thank u so much! I'll try to correct everything i did wrong until now.

Now enjoy please! (^^)


Fucking hangover. He knew he shouldn't have drunk that much the night before, Squalo thought while rubbing at his forehead. He was used to take care of drunkards and hangover stricken people, not to undergo one himself. And even the cool breeze the storm was bringing on the city could change nothing. The silverette liked this kind of weather, though. It was relaxing, the low murmur of the rain hitting on the window panes, on the roof, on the grassed ground of Namimori U, the peculiar scent of it slowly but surely lulling and soothing his thoughts. How comely. It seemed it had been ages since the last time it rained like this.

But it wasn't time to ponder on the pulchritude of the weather. He was done with that day's work, and God, he was grateful for that – seriously, what was so frightening in dissecting a goddamn pig? If it had been a human body, Squalo could have somehow understood the swoons and screams (from both female and male students) and vomiting and faces turning as white as lab coats, but a pig? That day indeed had been a day full of blood and tears.

Squalo left the lab, impatient to find in the drawer of his desk a tablet of aspirin, when he bumped into a small group of students exiting a classroom.

"Squalo!... Sensei." Yamamoto greeted him with his usual radiant smile. "Were you looking for me? I just finished my last class, you can wait for me in the gymnasium…"

Geez, there was still that, Squalo grimaced. "No training for today, brat. I'm going back home."

"Ah? Why?" Takeshi uttered, his coffee eyes wide open. Superbi Squalo, the Superbi Squalo was postponing a training session? Something didn't seem to be right. "It doesn't sound like you at all." The boy laughed but was automatically silenced by the dark aura surrounding the silverette. "Well… It's okay for me. You don't look to be under the weather too."

Yamamoto was beaming, in spite of Squalo's horrified stare. Was that supposed to be a joke? "I'm too tired for those insanities." He said under his breath and moved past him, only to hear hurried footsteps behind him. That was Yamamoto, again.

"If you're going home, can I go with you? You live nearby, don't you? It's on my way, too…"

"Che. Don't get fucking …" friendly with me, Squalo almost said, but silenced as he spotted a huge crowd jamming the (yet) huge entrance double-doors of the building. For the older swordsman, it was the worst kind of crowd possible: girls squeaking, cooing and taking photos after photos. It was with no doubt a swarm of groupies, fangirls and addicts. And in the middle of this mob was standing out with his tall frame, bright blond hair and prince-like charming face, Dino Cavallone.

"Squalo! I've finally found you." He said whilst moving through the crowd toward the already annoyed silver haired man. "It's a real maze here. I couldn't help but lose my way at every nook."

"Eeeh, sensei! You knew Dino Cavallone?" An anonymous girl squealed. "No way!"

"No way!" Another one squealed. "It's so awesome!"

"So awesome!" The whole crowd burst. Now it was extending its tentacles around the silverette as well.

"I can't believe Dino is here, in Namimori U!"

"So this means you've finished the shooting of your last movie? I love all of them!"

"So do I!"

"Can I take a photo with you?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"Nee, sensei, how come you know Dino Cavallone? Are you friends?"

"Shut the fuck up, stupid brats!" Squalo glared at the enthralled ladies. "And you (Dino) moron! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I wanted to give you something…" Dino replied with difficulty, with all the girls pushing and pulling at him. "Is there a place we can talk quietly?"

"I think it won't be necessary." Takeshi said. "With all that noise, he will be here very soon…"

"Who?" Dino asked, but the complete silence that accompanied the young swordsman's word quickly answered to his question. Suddenly, the air around them felt a little colder. The girls started and, in a single motion, turned to look at the other side of the main corridor: a dark shadow was approaching, slowly, quietly, and as he drew closer, the features of a young and beautiful – yet intimidating – dark haired youth came into sight.

"Herbivores," Hibari Kyoya glared at the assembly, his amethyst eyes scrutinizing each one of the troublemaker. "I will not suffer you to disturb the calm of this place. Shall I bite you all to death?"

"We're sorry!" The girls bowed and said I unison before all running away, as silently as a herd of herbivore groupies could, from the dreadful Student Council's president. Everything happened under Dino's bewildered glance. The latter nearly jumped when Kyoya laid his sinister stare on him.

"I did nothing wrong!" The blond waved frantically his hands. "They just started gathering around me. I swear I did nothing wrong!"

"Voi, kiddo, you're scaring the hell of him." Squalo spoke with evident derision. "A little more and he'll be peeing in his pants ("I won't!" Dino shouted indignantly), and you don't want your precious entrance to be dirtied with pee, do you?"

This remark made the president's eyebrow twitch with displeasure. "Anyway, this herbivore (his tonfa pointed at the blond) is a stranger, and strangers aren't allowed on the university's ground. I'll bite him to death."

Yamamoto held the president back before the latter could deadly hit the Cavallone heir (Squalo, of course, hadn't even raised a finger) "Come on, could you overlook it only for once?" He pleaded. "He said he did nothing against the rules."

"Get out of my way."

"Look. I'll have my father prepare for you his special menu. You've always liked it, do you remember? As much as hamburgers."

This time, Kyoya looked seriously at the younger swordsman. In spite of his impassive face, a glistening in his amethyst orbs was betraying his interest in Yamamoto's deal. He huffed. "You'd better not forget this, herbivore."

"I won't…" Takeshi smiled at him. "Oh, talking about forgetting things… Sensei?"

"Wha?" The silverette grunted irritably.

Yamamoto nervously averted his eyes. With the blond's appearance, he knew he would have no more occasions to ask what he was going to ask to his tutor. "Um… First Saturday of next month, are you free?" Dino stared inquiringly at him. Just what was that unexpected change of topic?

"How the fuck should I know?" Squalo barked. "Why?"

"It's the first intercollegiate baseball game for the autumn series." No sooner had the silver haired man asked than Kyoya replied. The latter was looking at neither of them. Arms folded and head tilted forward, he was staring darkly at the floor. At any rate, despite Kyoya's total indifferent air, the event in itself wasn't a minor one. It was even one of the biggest baseball contests of the year – although something Squalo had actually never heard of. However, being the Student council's president, Hibari Kyoya had to be aware of those kinds of trifles.

"Yes, that's it." Yamamoto stated. "If you're free, can you attend it, please? I'd truly be happy if you did. But if you can't, it's all right." He added quickly, as though afraid of the silverette's reaction.

"Baseball?" Squalo scowled.

"Yes, baseball." Yamamoto bowed his head apologetically. It was obvious the older swordsman was reluctant to do anything unrelated to his work or fencing. That's why Squalo's answer practically bowled Takeshi over.

"Yeah, maybe." The silverette shrugged. "Whatever."

In that rainy afternoon, they had lunch in a new café, a snugger one where Dino Cavallone knew no one was going to ask for stupid things such as autographs from him. It was funny, though, Squalo was pondering. Back in high school, he would have never believed Dino Cavallone would become someday a famous model and then, few years later, a more famous actor. The very same Dino who was always so loath to draw people's attention on him. Something else was funny, that is, after all those weeks they had been together, he found out that detail only now.

Squalo had his head propped on his arm and was sipping lazily at the straw of his drink when Dino abruptly shoved a package under his nose. It was well ornate, ribbons and all.

"So, here it is." The blond said casually.

"What's that?"

"Well… I thought you'd need a new one. A new phone, I mean."

Grey orbs, as grey as the clouds outside, looked intently at the Cavallone heir. How did he know Squalo didn't have his phone anymore? And had he possibly…? "Voi… w-what is that for? I've asked nothing from you."

Dino's smile grew gentler, as if to apologize for the suddenness of his act. "I know you haven't. It's just a gift from me. You can refuse it if you want."

"No, it's okay…" The silverette hesitantly opened the box and started typing randomly on the gadget's screen. It didn't feel quite right. It was only a cell phone, wasn't it? So what was that turmoil in his mind?

"You still love Xanxus." Dino said, out of the blue, as if to answer to Squalo's question. It made the silver haired man froze on his seat with both embarrassment and anger. He looked up at the blond.

"Vooi, I've never had this kind of feelings for that damn bastard!"

Dino laughed. "You're denying it so zealously…" He paused and reached at the silverette's hand, at the other side of the table. Dino's hand was icy. Their eyes locked together. "You know, I really do love you. Even if I know you probably will never have the same feelings for me." A bitter smile. "After what happened yesterday, I realized things will always stay the same between us. For you, I'm at best a friend. But for me, you're the most precious thing I have in my life. That's why I just don't want to see you sad. I don't want anyone to hurt you. But I guess this finally can't be helped…Squalo," the grip of his hand tightened. "Am I really not good enough, even if it's only for staying by your side?"

A violent surge of disgust was rushing in the silverette's stomach. Not because of his childhood friend. In his heart of hearts, there was an unalterable, yet nearly unconscious certitude: that was Squalo's total incapacity of betraying the raven. Of course, if, in this case, one could ever talk about betrayal. But it was indeed that unconscious faithfulness which was disgusting Squalo. Xanxus was treating him like a mere bitch, he was aware of that fact, so why couldn't he get that asshole out of his head? He had seen women – he had seen Sarah – degrading themselves for the sake of a lousy bastard. They would weep at night, curse themselves for being toyed by such men, and nonetheless when said men deigned dropping by once in a while, they could smile lovingly at them, kiss them, love them as though every time was their last time together.

And there came Dino with all his sickening sweetness and soft words. He, Superbi Squalo, when did he become that weak for that dastardly to even think about such a covenant? For the very first time of his life, he was disgusted with himself. And he could do nothing about it. Go on and remaining Xanxus' thing? Or playing half-time lover with the Cavallone? This situation was totally absurd, totally dishonorable!

Before him, the blond still was holding his hand tightly. How irritating. But since the first time, everything about the Cavallone was irritating: his limitless naivety, his complete uselessness when it came to fight, his constant trying to become Squalo's "friend"… However, that was more or less what they finally became, in the end. The silverette's expression hardened. "Dino…"

"I won't ask you to do anything you don't like!" Dino exclaimed, half-raising from his seat. "I swear, even talking to you is enough for me. And looking at you. I'm already so happy I've found you after all those years, and that I got to talk to you about this."

"It's not that." Squalo got up. "Do you have any plan for this Friday? I've got nothing to do."

"Ah?" Dino gaped, but then grasped the long haired man's intention. "Aah! Yes! I mean, no, I'm free. If you're okay with it, can I pick you up?"

Squalo's thin lips stretched into a faint smile in an attempt of throwing away the last remnants of his pride. "Yeah. We'll do like this."

Those few last months, Tsuna had seen a lot of weird things happening around him. They all started when that weird sensei, Superbi Squalo, moved in the building. Well, maybe his life was too plain and normal, and for other people it could be completely different. Another thing is, in the first place, the young boy never got accustomed to have his father's boss, Xanxus, living upstairs. They never actually met, and it wasn't as if the guy stayed at home 24/7. His dad told him that one way or another this place was only Xanxus' town flat, so they likely won't see him that much. Tsuna was glad to hear that: the raven was truly scaring the hell of him.

Then Squalo arrived, and then he saw that… Er, that weird scene in the newcomer's living. Tsuna had to admit one thing: they were kind of a good match, together. That is, both of them were scaring the hell of him. But with those two living in the same place, the vicinity became much noisier. Whether they were arguing together or had…had s-… Had se-… Were doing it, they were noisy. They also looked pretty happy together. That's why Tsuna couldn't explain himself why all of a sudden Xanxus stopped coming around. More exactly, the raven wasn't particularly the sedentary type, not before he started living with Squalo. Something that would have looked utterly normal for the brunet one or two months earlier now seemed strangely odd to him.

But Squalo never let anything reflect on his usual behavior. With his students, with his co-workers and anyone else, he was always the "shark-like" teacher: brilliant and terrifying, loud and in the same time, sort of secretive. For instance, he never told anyone who was that handsome blond who seemed as if he had become good friend with him (Tsuna wasn't that acquainted with celebrities and all that jazz), few days after Xanxus left. The young boy regularly saw them leaving Namimori U together at lunch time, or the silverette's flat in the evening to come back most of time only few hours later, Tsuna couldn't exactly tell at what time. The blond was always smiling and talking to him with a rare courteousness. He gave the impression of being a nice guy. So was he his professor's new lover? The young boy had too many courses to review to actually ponder on the question.

And early in that foggy morning, as Tsuna went out to buy some stuff at the convenience store, another question rose in the brunet's mind: just who the hell was that guy who was furtively following the silver haired man all through his jogging while sneakily taking photos of him?

Tsuna obviously had no means to find out the answer. So, instead of following the young brunet, we'll go after the other youth – a boy more or less the same age as Tsuna, but with thick blond hair falling on half his face, thus perfectly hiding his eyes, and on top of which, if the hood of a black sweater hadn't hidden it, one could have spotted a small shiny tiara.

Belphegor shadowed his former tutor till they reached his building. But then, instead of going inside, Bel entered another one (an older ten-storeyed building), exactly at the opposite side of the street. He quickly ran to an elevator and pressed the '6' button. Few seconds later, he was in a small flat which, at first glance, looked like an ordinary one – apart from the fact that near the windows were scattered cameras, PCs, tablets and receivers. As soon as Bel entered the room, he jumped behind a professional camera whose lens was directed at the other side of the street, right on the silver haired man's flat.

The image was net and perfect. Fortunately, the weather got slightly better. It still was raining from time to time, but it was bearable; otherwise Bel would have never started that play. Thanks to the huge bay-windows both in the living-room and the bedroom, the blond could have a full sight on most parts of the silverette's apartment. As for the other rooms, small, practically indiscernible cameras had been placed almost everywhere in the apartment and even outside in the corridors of the building and in his office in Namimori U, and in order to get the videos, Bel only had to start his computer. No need to say the silver haired man's rooms were already bugged.

There is always something creepy and unhealthy in spying on adult people (even if watching over a child is always a good thing), however for Bel, the whole thing came just like a second nature. When he left his family for the nth time, and this time swearing he wouldn't go back again, the young blond had been confronted with the evidence that one couldn't go that far with only gums in their pocket.

During tough times, one naturally turns their eyes to a motherly figure to save them from their own destruction. In Belphegor's case, the 'mother' had always been a certain silver haired man. Bel wanted to impose himself to his former tutor again, but when he called Squalo's number, the latter hadn't been the one who picked up.

Bel didn't remember Xanxus anymore, neither did the raven. For those misfits, it was hard enough to recall a face, a voice and a name in the same time. But fortunately for both of them, they still had some brains and soon grasped their situation of supply and demand.

Evidently, the prince didn't do it just for pleasure, but it sure amused him a lot, playing like in the Notorious or in the Rear Window movie.

On an enormous white board, he had indexed every single habits and comings and goings of the silverette, for each day of the week, had stuck up the photos of every single person Squalo had been talking to, the places he used to go, etc. The young boy was pretty satisfied with his work.

"0622. Shower in the bathroom. No change." He was reciting in a small Dictaphone.

"…0638. In the bedroom. Putting peasant clothes on. No change."

"…0701. Breakfast in the kitchen. Today's Thursday, so… eggs, bacon and tomato juice. No change. I'm hungry."

"…0715. Phone call n°… (He cast a quick glance at the screen of his computer) 23 from Dino Cavallone. No change."

At 0728, Bel finally let go of his camera and got out again, his Dictaphone replaced by a notebook: Squalo was off for work. A good point for the blond was his age: he could totally go unnoticed in Namimori U. All he had to do was to look as dumb and poor as the other students, with an old rucksack on his back and earphones hanging on his shoulders. With that attitude, he even made few acquaintances there.

At 1243, as Bel was following the couple in "Restaurant n°05". He spotted a paparazzi secretly taking photos of them from behind a newspaper. How annoying. The boss had specified he didn't want those vultures to hover around his property. And although being a misfit, Bel could actually comprehend Xanxus didn't want the world to know that the man he was banging was flirting in broad light with a screen idol. Right at the moment, there was already well enough advertisement around the tanned man – and not a good one. The blond already had to deal with at least ten of them only this week. In that kind of case, the boy's instructions were clear: getting rid of the guy and deleting all evidences, including the paparazzi himself. It didn't even take ten minutes for Bel.

His task done, the Prince came back to his seat at the other side of the bistro, well-hidden by a house plant. Suddenly, a light tap on his shoulder. The boy's features remained placid. No matter how one could look at him, Bel looked like an ordinary student lunching in an ordinary restaurant. He turned to look at the intruder behind his blond locks. It was a very tall man in a dark suit, with a stupid look plastered on his face.

"As ugly as always, you peasant." Bel snickered.

"Shut up, brat!" Levy fumed. "I got your message. Where is it?"

The boy took a long sip of milkshake. "The back alleyway. I don't know if the guy still is alive, but he sure was unconscious when I left him. Tell the Boss I'll send my 'gifts' at the usual hour." Bel tilted his head, his grin stretching wider. "Shishishi. If he can read them, of course. I heard there were a lot of problems in you guys' company. I'm impressed the Boss can manage them all. Is everything okay for him?"

"Humph. A kid like you doesn't have to stick your nose in the Boss' affairs."

"If you say so." The younger blond went back to his sipping, his eyes focused again on the couple while Levy was leaving the restaurant. They looked so natural, talking normally in that common place, those peasants. Bel couldn't help but compare the bright and smiling Cavallone with the dark and deranged raven. He snorted noisily. "Jealousy is nurtured with our doubts and becomes wrath, huh." Bel murmured.

TBC