A/N: Very sorry for the super late update. Here's the next chapter~
Chapter 7
How to Get Along with Senpai
"Bel-chan! Fran-chan! Calm down!"
THUNK. THUNK.
Oddly shaped knives stuck to the wall as a certain teal-haired illusionist quickly evaded another attack from the prince.
"Shut it, gaylord! I'm going to teach this brat how to treat a prince whether he wants to or not!"
"You're not even a prince! You're fake royalty! Uwaa-!"
A concerned Lussuria stood in the corner, a worried expression on his face as the two youngest members of the Varia battled it out in the living room. "Oh my."
He brought out his cellphone and flipped through the contacts. "I have to call Squ-chan."
Earlier today:
It was another 'peaceful' afternoon in the Varia HQ. Squalo, Leviathan and Mammon had been sent out to do their missions, leaving the rest of the members to enjoy their day off. Lussuria woke Fran and Bel up a little early to help him hang out the laundry.
Reluctantly, the two accepted, or they'll never hear the end of it.
"Ushishi~! Lussuria, the dumb frog can't reach the clothesline~" the prince called out. "What should we do now?"
Without turning away from what his was doing, Lussuria easily answered, "Then carry him, Bel-cha-"
"No way in hell."
Fran, who was busy bringing the baskets from the laundry room to the clothesline, interrupted them with his usual montone voice. "I don't like the idea either, Luss-senpai." he droned. "Can I go back in the house and watch TV instead?"
"No, Fran-chan." Lussuria answered in a stern voice. "This is good exercise in the morning. Besides, isn't it great to bond with your family~?"
The kouhai shrugged at that. He didn't exactly dislike the idea, but he didn't like it either. He simply nodded and settled the basket on the ground beside Bel. He took out the clothes and passed it to the senpai, as the prince took them and easily hung them over the line.
Lussuria observed the scene before them; the wind blew and the morning dew could be seen shining in the sunlight, the birds were starting to chirp their happy songs and the sun had risen above the horizon. "Perfect day to hang up the laundry, ne~?" He beamed. The other two simply nodded and went back to hanging up the clothes. But then, Fran pouted as he mumbled, "I wanna hang them, too."
The prince looked down at the frog and snickered. "Sorry, Froggy. You're gonna have to reach the 'prescribed height'." Bel mocked, emphasizing his statement by holding his hand out and waving it back and forth in front of his forehead. The kouhai looked away, his cheeks puffed.
Bel chuckled, admitting to himself that it was kind of cute. As Fran passed another shirt to the blond, the prince leaned down, held Fran's waists and picked him up, making the illusionist squeak. "What are you doing, moron senpaaai~?"
"Didn't you want to hang them?"
Fran sheepishly blushed, before turning to the clothesline and hung the five shirts that were in his arms. Lussuria squealed at that, fangirling over their adorable relationship. This was turning out better than expected.
And they had to admit, it was pretty peaceful.
...If only it lasted.
They were finally at their last basket, Lussuria went back inside to make them breakfast as the two finished up. "This is the last one, senpai- Ah." The kouhai noticed that the certain striped shirt he was holding had a hole in it. He quickly got up to give it to Lussuria, however, Bel had already pulled the shirt towards him and-
RIIIIP.
"...Eh?"
There were a few moments of silence, the two staring at the GIANT hole in the middle of the shirt. It was beyond repair. Fran, who had no idea to who this shirt's owner was, sighed. "I guess we have to throw this in the trash now, huh..."
Bel, on the other hand, was a little more than pissed off. "You dumb, useless, frog! This was the prince's favorite shirt!" he yelled.
This ticked off Fran and automatically yelled back,"How would I have known? It was your fault for pulling the shirt away!"
"It's never the prince's fault, you toad! We've been through this!"
"You're no prince. A true prince always takes responsibility for his subject's actions." Fran scoffed.
"Tsk!" Bel immediately pulled out five knives and stabbed them onto the boy's head. Annoyed, the teal-haired illusionist ran towards the senpai and kicked him there. The prince groaned, crumbling to the ground as he cursed at the frog. The kouhai stuck out a tongue and ran towards the building. Bel followed suit, but at a much faster pace.
It didn't take long for that fight to heat up, taking it to the next level as they started throwing plates, chairs, vases and not to be forgotten, knives. Hearing the noise, Lussuria rushed downstairs, wondering what all the commotion was about.
"Oh my! What's going on here?" He yelled, bringing his hands up to his cheeks.
"Fake prince!"
CRASH.
"Dumb toad!"
BANG.
Lussuria was confused. What happened to that sweet moment a while ago? Did something happen?
The 'battle' lasted until 10 AM, until Lussuria called Squalo over and explained the situation. All it took was one 'VOOOOOIIIII!' to shut the two brats up. However, a provoking statement from Fran earned another comeback from Bel. Lussuria had to lock his arms around the prince's and Squalo's around Fran's, restraining to two.
"You're a fallen prince! Fallen, fallen, fallen, undeserving prince!"
"You brat! You're just a stupid weak peasant who can't even fight to save himself!"
"VOOOIII! SHUT UP BRATS, OR I'LL SLIT YOUR THROATS!"
"Squ-chan, you calm down too!"
"Interim prince!"
"VOOOII! DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN LUSSURIA!"
"Shishi~ Say that again, you stupid frog, and I'll dice you!"
"VOI! BEL, QUIT IT! I'M REALLY GOING T-"
BANG.
Everyone in the room turned to the source of that gunshot.
"Fucking trashes. Shut up or I'll blow you to pieces."
The four people in the room gulped. The boss really was something. The ill-tempered man blew the tip of the gun, settled it back on his belt, and yawned. "If I hear another noise again, consider yourselves dead." And with that, he turned around and walked back to his room, shutting the double-door behind him.
"Yes boss..." The four said in unison.
The flamboyant man sighed and let go of Bel, as Squalo shut Fran's mouth with his hand to prevent him from saying any more.
"Now, Bel-chan. Apologize . You too, Fran-chan."
Bel, who was too ticked off at the moment, snickered coldly. "Shishishi. No way."
"Bel-chan!"
No. The prince will absolutely not after what he said and did.
Instead of apologizing, he turned his back on Fran and crossed his arms as the long-haired swordsman let go of the illusionist's mouth, only because Fran promised to apologize.
The kouhai reluctantly looked up at the blond who had his back turned at him. "Senpai..." he started.
"Che. I don't want to hear it, you worthless, good-for-nothing, dumbass toad." Bel coldly replied. Fran froze at that. Most specifically, at the word 'worthless'. He backed up and bit his lip. That was a bit too harsh, wasn't it? Lussuria could see the hurt in Fran's eyes, those emerald orbs quivering, and somehow, he quickly understood what the kouhai was feeling at the very moment.
Pain. Hurt. Rejection.
Worried, he interrupted, "Bel-chan, you don't really mean that."
"No, the prince means it. I never cared for someone like him. He's better off dead."
Better off dead.
Better off dead.
Better...
off...
dead.
Fran could feel the tears stinging his eyes, and he violently rubbed them away. Taking a brave step, he questioned the senpai. "Then, why were you beside me all this time? Why were you always there?"
Bel mumbled the first thing that came to his mind. "Because you were a junior. It was my job as a senpai to look after you. It's just because it was my job, and nothing more."
Squalo gaped. Lussuria silently gasped. And Fran?
A tear rolled down his cheek, as thoughts rushed through his head.
So, this whole time...?
Ever since the first day I joined...
..when we ate together...
...when we laughed together...
..when we smiled and played together...
...our first mission, that day when my grandmother died...
...this morning too...
...it was all an act?
The silence in the room scared the prince a bit. He turned around to look at his kouhai, when suddenly, his hidden eyes widened.
Fran was staring at him; those eyes, shone with hurt, confusion, disappointment, sadness...
...and betrayal.
Bel looked back at what he said, and immediately regretted that he did.
That was a lie.
That was a lie!
He opened his mouth to speak. "Froggy-"
"Senpai." Fran interrupted, head held down.
…?
"I hate you."
…!
At that moment, both Fran and Bel felt their hearts shatter as those words left the kouhai's mouth. But the illusionist didn't stay for more. He shoved Squalo's hands off him and ran to his room, tears falling endlessly down his cheeks.
Right now, he hated this place more than anything.
Four days had passed since that argument, and the Varia members had no idea what to do. The headquarters were unbelievably quiet without Bel and Fran running around. They had to admit, they liked the noise better than this deathly silence. Lately, all the prince does is sit on the couch or stay in his room, only coming out to take a bath, eat food or do missions. As for Fran, he did the same, only he avoided the senpai as much as possible. This argument was getting out of hand. Whenever they would come across each other, Fran would either run the opposite direction, or pretend the senpai wasn't even there. Bel had to admit, he wanted to hear his voice again. they haven't spoken for days, and he had come to miss the toad's monotone.
However, it was different on the kouhai's point of view. Ever since the argument, he had been speaking rudely, or at least, ruder than usual, and he would always answer back coldly or just stay quiet. Fran would also constantly lock himself in his room, and Lussuria could hear him talk during his sleep. The sun guardian thought it was normal thing since he was a kid and all, but little did the Varia know, the kouhai had been formulating a plan this whole time.
If only they knew.
...
Bel made his way into the kitchen, as he tried to find something to eat. All that was on the table that didn't have to be cooked was an apple.
Apple, huh...?
The prince sighed as he played with the apple in his hands. He sure missed his kouhai.
When they played together, when that cute face of his showed a smile for once, when they would sometimes sneak into the kitchen and get some of Lussuria's cookies, hid in the prince's closet and ate them. When the frog would blush adorably when they called him small, the way Fran would always know what to say no matter what the situation. When they would always be the first ones up, visiting each other's rooms just to annoy each other; the senpai teasing Fran and the kouhai arguing back. Weren't they happier that way?
Those memories only made the prince guiltier. He set the apple back on the table, and tried to look for his cute kouhai. He figured it was time to settle this once and for all.
...
"What...?"
"Voi, like I said, that little runt ran away." Squalo sighed, passing an envelope to the prince. Apparently, Fran had knocked out about 150 Varia rookies when about ten of them saw him try to escape. The attempt seemed too desperate to be a prank.
Bel couldn't believe his ears. "Why...? And to where?" His heart yelled at him to run after the frog, but his brain told him to calmly grasp the situation first.
"Mu. That's the problem. We have no idea. His mist flames have been completely concealed." Mammon spoke, floating beside Bel. "But it looks to me you have something to do with it."
"Anyway! We have to find him! Who knows what could happen to him, all alone out there!" Lussuria panicked. "He'll starve!"
Bel quickly turned around to chase after the kouhai, when all of a sudden, Squalo's phone beeped.
"I've never seen this number before..." The swordsman mumbled, before answering it. He gasped.
"You're...!" Squalo set the phone to loudspeaker.
["Kufufu. Greetings, Varia. Are you all doing well?"]
Mammon grunted, "Rokudo Mukuro, huh? What could he possibly want now?"
"Why are you calling, you bastard?" Levi accused.
["Now, now. I'm just here to give you a heads up. Your precious Fran is missing, it seems?"]
Bel immediately grabbed the phone from Squalo's hands, earning a 'Hey!' from the swordsman. Ignoring the captain, the blond hissed, "Why do you know something like that?" Different kinds of negative emotions swirled through the prince's body. He had half a mind to break the phone in his hands right now.
["Kufufu. I just called to tell you that the little one is with me, safe and sound."]
Lussuria butted in, "So you kidnapped him?"
"You bastard...!" Bel mumbled through gritted teeth.
["Oya, oya. Jumping to conclusions, are we? No, Varia. You are mistaken. It is Fran that came to me."]
...Huh?
Everyone in the room fell silent.
["For the past four days, we had been contacting each other in my illusionary dream world. We settled a deal. In exchange for his service as my apprentice, I will take him away from you."]
The prince didn't give up. "I don't think Froggy would do something like that. I don't believe you."
["Kufufu. Prince the Ripper..."] The voice chuckled through the line. ["Kindly turn off the loudspeaker. I have something to tell you."]
Reluctantly, Bel did as he was told, earning confused looks from the Varia members. "What do you want?"
...
["Senpai...?"]
The blond could swear he almost dropped the phone when he heard that voice. That monotone. Froggy. Hearing his voice again was a big relief. At least he knew the kouhai was safe. However, that doesn't change the fact that he tried to run away.
"Froggy? Where-"
["Ne, senpai."] Fran interrupted through the line. ["Don't look for me anymore. I'm master Mukuro's apprentice now."]
"Are you an idiot? Why would you do something like that? I- We need you here."
["Because..."] The kouhai paused. ["You lied to me."]
Bel froze. "What?"
["Remember...when you told me you only stayed by my side...because you had no choice? Because it was all... part of the job?"] Fran spoke through sobs. The prince gasped. Hearing the illusionist cry broke Bel. He wanted to just run to him right now, hug him tight and never let go. The way the illusionist said it, he didn't know how to explain to his kouhai that it was just another lie.
Not knowing what to do next, he breathed, "Froggy..."
But the kouhai didn't let his senpai finish. ["I...stayed with you...because I wanted to be with you. To always be with you...through everything. Heh, selfish, isn't it...?"] Bel could hear the tiny hiccups and sobs from the other line. He clenched his fists, nails digging into his skin.
There were a few moments of silence, when Fran decided to continue.
["I never needed a reason to be with you, senpai."]
Fran's voice was quivering, trying to choke back sobs. ["I really, truly, wanted to be with you, simply because I loved the feeling when you're with me."]
Me too...
Bel's mind yelled.
Me too.
Me too!
The prince opened his mouth to speak, but once again, he was interrupted. ["See you later , senpai."]
"Froggy-!"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
And nothing else was heard.
Next chapter: How to Live Without You
A/N: So, here I am, with a fancy new update after abandoning this for about 3 months, when all of a sudden, I ruin your happy spirits with angst. I'm sorry, you must all hate me right now. I just needed to get this on track, so it could merge with what's going on in the manga right now, you know? I can't wait for Fran VS Bel to happen!
Please review! I'd love to know what you think, if I should continue this or not! Bye bye, and 'til next week!
-Minto-san