"The funeral is tomorrow."

Squalo looked over his shoulder at the younger man standing behind him; a depressed look was on Takeshi's face as the other stood by the counter in Tsuna's kitchen. Putting the milk carton back in the fridge, the Italian male glared at the offending appliance before him as he said, "Stop blaming yourself for it, Takeshi; there was nothing you could have done."

"…I shouldn't have left to do that delivery…" Slipping his eyes closed, Takeshi fought against tears, remembering clear as day how he had returned to his family's restaurant and found his father slaughtered behind the counter. "If I had just… If I had been there, I might have been able to save him…"

"But you weren't there, and you had no idea it was going to happen…" Dragging his gloved fingers down his face, Squalo sighed. He moved towards the younger, sitting beside him at the counter. He hesitated before he wrapped an arm around subtly-shaking shoulders, wishing he could do something for his friend; he had been in Japan for only a few days now, and it seemed become clearer with each day just how much the younger missed his father. "Don't blame yourself for it; it's unbecoming of you."

The Japanese male nodded slightly before he leant closer, embracing his friend tight. Squalo tensed and held his breath, stiff for a few seconds before he allowed himself to relax; he trusted Takeshi, knowing the other would never hurt him. "Thank you, Squalo… You always make the most sense to me…"

"Hmm…" Brushing strands of hair from Yamamoto's eyes, Squalo sighed. "If you need to cry, do it, brat; I'm not going to judge you…"

"But you never cry; you always said it's weakness…"

"That doesn't mean I don't want to cry at times, though; it just means that I… only do it when no one's around to see me so pathetic…" Shaking his head, Squalo continued on. "Cry, brat; you lost your father and there's nothing wrong with shedding tears over that."

The younger chewed at his lip for a few seconds before he nodded slowly, letting the first tear slide down his cheek. The rest followed soon after, and before Squalo knew it, his friend was crying into him, letting out all of his despair.

"It's alright, brat; let it out." Squalo stayed unmoving, knowing that he needed to give the Japanese male comfort he needed himself; sometimes he wished he could be as free with his emotions as the younger was. "I'm here."

Tsuna and Dino soon walked into the kitchen, the two having arrived for breakfast. They were silent as they realised what had happened, knowing that Yamamoto just needed his hero; it was amazing just how good Squalo was with the younger males considering he had an explosive temper – Dino suspected it had something to do with how much the man had suffered in his own life.

When at last Yamamoto wiped away the last of his tears and put a smile back on his face, breakfast had been served and everyone had relocated into the dining room, eating their meals quietly. Dino sat by his friend, knowing that Squalo didn't notice the small looks he gave the long-haired man, but also knowing that Tsuna was watching closely, as if he knew how the blond felt towards his childhood companion.

And then, as if to prove it, Tsuna said, "Dino? A word outside?"

Squalo gave the older male a suspicious look before he shrugged, returning to his breakfast. Dino nodded, getting up and following the smaller male out into the hallway; whatever Tsuna had to say, it would be okay; the brunet was too kind for his own good.

"I've been wondering for a while now." Closing the door to the dining room, Tsuna smiled. "Do you like Squalo?"

Blushing, Dino nodded as he scratched at his cheek. "Yeah... Don't tell him that, though; he'll kill me."

"I think you should tell him," the brunet explained. "Have a look at what he's going through; he needs love more than anything. I'm sure he'd be overjoyed to be with someone who wants to take care of him."

"Yes, but until he's over and done with Xanxus, he won't even think about someone else; that's the kind of person he is, Tsuna - he'll get upset if he knows someone else wants him."

"Lay it out there for him; let him know that he has someone to come to as soon as he's ready." Patting the blond's arm, Tsuna stepped closer. "I'm sure that's all he wants; someone to give him the kind of love he never got from Xanxus."

"I just don't want to upset him or make him feel pressured..." The teacher rubbed the back of his head, sighing. "If he's going to be happier with someone else, I want him to take that chance... I bet there's more of a chance he'll wind up with Takeshi or Bel at this rate..."

"Yamamoto is interested in someone else and I sincerely doubt anything will happen between Squalo and Belphegor, Dino. Talk to him. He's your best friend."

"I know he is..." Glancing back at the door, Dino couldn't help but feel a little better knowing he had someone to talk to about his problems; it wasn't easy doing what he was, but he persevered anyway; Squalo was worth everything in the world. "Thank you, Tsuna; I've needed someone to talk to."

"Any time, Dino." Opening the door to the dining room, Tsuna held it open for his guest. "After you."

Squalo was quiet as Dino sat back beside him, focused on his food; it tasted good, and what made it even better was that someone else has cooked it instead; he had grown so used to his own cooking, he had long-since hated it.

"What were you two talking about?" Squalo glanced lazily at his friend, not really interested in the answer; it wasn't any of his business, after all.

"Oh, nothing much; just -" Dino fell silent as the other's phone started ringing, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was; couldn't Squalo get a break from Xanxus just once?

"What do you want, Lussuria?"

Dino let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding; thank god it was just Lussuria.

"What?" Squalo frowned, grabbing everyone's attention. "The fuck are you on about, fag? I'm not even in Italy."

"Well, he's not with Fran, and you know it's not like him to be out at night." Lussuria sounded stressed, and Squalo didn't blame him; it was very late back in Italy, and Lussuria didn't know where Belphegor was. "I should ring him and see where he is."

"What the fuck, Luss? You ring me looking for him when I'm not even in the same fucking country, and you haven't even rang him yet? Call him! I'm not in the mood for this shit, faggot!"

Dino chuckled as the younger ended the call, his hazel eyes shining with affection. "Lussuria always does jump the gun when it comes to Bel."

"Fucking does my head in..." Picking his chopsticks back up, Squalo sighed. "I don't know how Bel can live with him so easily."

"Simple; he hardly comes out of his room unless he's hungry." Tsuna laughed at his own joke, earning soft laugher and nods of agreement.

Just a minute later, Squalo's phone rang again, the caller ID reading Lussuria again. Answering the phone, Squalo growled, "What now, trash?"

A sob on the other line answered Squalo, startling the man. "Squa, it's horrible...! I don't know what to do!"

"Calm your tits, Luss. What's wrong?"

"I-I called him and it kept getting declined but when I finally got through to him..." Lussuria sobbed again, seemingly crying harder now, "...it was silent for a few seconds, and then... Gun shots, Squalo! Gun shots! What if my poor Bel has been shot?!"

"Why the fuck are you ringing me ?!" Squalo roared, panic surging through him; had Xanxus gotten to Belphegor in his absence? "Call the fucking police, fag!"

Lussuria mumbled something before he ended the call, leaving Squalo to dial in the one number he had memorised by heart. The dial tone rang for only a few seconds before Xanxus answered, an amused snicker escaping his lips.

"What the fuck did you do to Bel?!" The long-haired man shouted, barely aware of the three sets of eyes watching him.

"The question is, trash... What didn't I do to him?" The older male made a pleased grunt before he continued on. "You should have seen him; he puts up more of a fight than you do – goes to show just how much of a slut you are, shark trash."

"The fuck have you done to him?!" Tears welled up in Squalo's eyes as he thought about everything that could have happened to the blond; when it came to Xanxus, nothing could be put past the man. "Where is he?!"

"He's a pretty good fuck, actually; I was surprised by just how tight he is for a slut." Squalo could almost hear the smirk in his boyfriend's voice, and it sickened him. "But then again, he's less of a whore than you are; it's not hard to be looser than you."

Closing his eyes, Squalo felt as if he could cry; he had tried so hard to keep Belphegor safe from the man who lived to hurt him, but he had failed; he should never have left Italy knowing Xanxus was still out there. "…You… I don't…"

"Squalo, what's happened?" Dino moved closer, knowing that something bad had happened; was there anything he could do to help?

Taking a deep breath, Squalo screamed, "That's fucking it, Xanxus! It's over! I'm done with you! You can do whatever the fuck you want to me, but don't you ever bring Bel into this! He has nothing to do with it! When I get back to Italy I'm going to fucking kill you! Where the fuck is Bel?!"

"You don't have the balls to leave me, shark trash; if you did, you'd have left years ago. Don't think you grew a pair now just because I killed that little slut; if you really want to know, he's lying face-down in a gutter. Have fun at his funeral; don't cry too much for the worthless slutty trash." With that said, the line went dead.

"Squalo, what happened?" Dino held a stressed expression on his face, reaching out to his friend. He didn't say anything when his hands were slapped away, watching in silence as the other got to his feet.

"I need to get back to Italy; Xanxus got Bel."

Dino and Tsuna didn't hesitate to stand up, either. "We're coming with you, Squalo."

Takeshi looked conflicted, as if he wanted to go with them, but something was keeping him in Japan. "…I… don't know what to do…"

Tsuna nodded in understanding. "You stay here and go to the funeral, Yamamoto; I'll get Gokudera-kun to come with us."

Dino looked back over his shoulder to find Takeshi whispering to the brunet, so he took this opportunity to follow his best friend out of the dining room, needing to know exactly what had happened; he had never seen the younger like this before.

"Squalo, tell me what's happened." Trailing behind the smaller male up the stairs, Dino frowned. "What did Xanxus do to him?"

Whirling around to glare at the blond, Squalo's mouth opened and closed wordlessly before he hissed, "What do you think he would have done, Bucking Horse? It's Xanxus we're talking about here, and he got Belphegor."

"Oh…" Dino didn't need any further explanation; he could work out the hint from those words alone – Xanxus had used and abused Belphegor in the same manner he did his own boyfriend, if not worse.

Squalo nodded, sniffing. He stopped walking, throwing his arms around his friend's shoulders as he pressed their chests together. "I shouldn't have left Italy, Bucking Horse… I shouldn't have…"

Dino returned the embrace, holding the distressed male tight. He dropped his chin on top of a silver head, wishing he knew what to say, but what could he say? The damage had been done, and if Squalo had meant what he said over the phone, he had finally found the strength to get himself out of that relationship; what was left to talk about?

"Bel…" Sobbing into Dino's chest, Squalo allowed himself to cry, hoping that Xanxus had fabricated the truth to hurt him further and that Belphegor wasn't dead. He truly hoped the younger was still alive, but when it came to Xanxus…

Did he believe his boyfriend's words or not?