When Bel awoke the next morning, he was curled up in his futon. He didn't remember going back to it last night, certain he had fallen asleep in Tsuna's bathroom and hadn't woken up; had one of the older two carried him back?

Sitting up, Bel rubbed his eyes before he looked around. His eyes glued to Gokudera when he found the older male standing in front of his wardrobe, changing out of his pyjamas and into his usual black suit. Swallowing thickly, the boy quickly became aroused as he remembered last night.

"What." Noticing the blond staring at him, Gokudera shuddered and tensed uncomfortably; he felt as if he were being devoured by that gaze, and he had never felt as uncomfortable around Bel as he did now. "Stop staring at me, creep."

Bel blinked, having barely noticed how enticed he had become. He dropped his head, surprising Gokudera when he didn't say anything; he couldn't trust himself to speak without his voice squeaking, and he was sure that his cheeks had gone impossibly red; a prince couldn't be seen like this by a mere peasant.

"The fuck's wrong with you?" When he didn't get a reply, Gokudera just sighed and shrugged, going back to what he had been doing. "Freak…"

Peeking up beneath his long bangs, Bel licked his lips as he took in the sight of Gokudera's creamy skin. He wasn't sure why he wanted to touch it, to feel how smooth it was, but his hands begun to quiver with the need to reach out and run his palms over the older male's body. Biting back a moan that had almost slipped from his mouth, Bel chewed at his lip hard enough for a small trail of blood to slide down his chin.

Once he had dressed himself, Gokudera sent the younger a strange look before he left the room, muttering something under his breath. Bel just sat where he was, his hand in his lap as he tried to clear his mind; he was feeling so overwhelmed by what he could only describe as a feeling very similar to when he lusted for blood, and it made it hard to think straight.

Minutes passed by, and Bel could feel his self-control slipping; never before had it been so hard to gather himself when he was feeling like this. It felt like his need for something he didn't entirely understand was only growing, and he didn't know how to cope with it; for once, he couldn't ignore it until it went away on its own because it was only demanding more and more of his attention.

Deciding he couldn't keep doing this, Bel glanced over to the door. It wasn't locked, but maybe if he were to position himself in a particular way on the futon, that if someone were to walk in, the blankets would hide what he was doing.

Rolling onto his side, Bel unclipped his belt before he undid the zip on his pants. Reaching in, he gasped as he wrapped his hand around his hard shaft. He let his eyes close, losing himself in the sensations he had never felt until last night.

But then, before he could really get into it, he was startled by the door opening. Pulling his hand out from his pants, he was careful not to jostle the blankets. "Eh, Hayato-kun? Did you come back to spend more time with the prince?"

Lifting his head to look over at the door, Bel instinctively went into survival mode as he found someone he knew for a fact was not from Vongola, or even allied with them – he knew who this person was, because even in his own timeline, that family crest on the other's uniform was one that had done nothing but cause trouble for the Vongola.

Without hesitation, Bel slid his hands into his pockets, only to feel panic as he realised that his knives were not on him; they had been taken from him and placed somewhere Tsuna felt was safe. He knew that he was a sitting duck in this position, but even so, he couldn't help but wonder; if they were under attack, why had it not been announced? Why did it seem as if this man had just casually strolled into Gokudera's bedroom?

"Well, well, look who it is." The dark-haired man before Bel sneered. He had blue eyes that held nothing but amusement in them, and the blond couldn't help but shiver; all he could sense was malicious intent. "If it isn't the slut of the Varia. Did that damn bazooka hit you?"

"I'm not a slut." His body starting to quiver in anticipation of a fight, Bel curled in on himself; he knew he would lose like this, but still… The idea of a fight was one he could rarely ever pass up. "I'll kill you if you talk shit about me again."

Shaking his head, the other moved close enough to grab Bel's hands and pin them to the futon. "I digress; you are the sluttiest piece of trash I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with. I never could stand faggots, and yet you had the whole of Varia fucking your ass, you sick little shit. Not to mention all the other whores you've picked up off the streets. Part of me doesn't even want to kill you because I don't want your blood on my skin; who knows what diseases I'll get from such filth."

Bel didn't understand what the man was saying to him; he didn't know anything about his future counterpart, and he couldn't see himself doing what he was being accused of; he had just discovered that he liked to touch himself with his hand, but other than that, the thrill of blood was far too captivating for him to want to give it up for something else. "…"

"I guess you're only here so that the Vongola can have their turn at pounding away inside of you." Backhanding Bel hard enough to snap the younger's face to the side, the older male wrapped his hand around the teen's throat before lifting him into the air. Bel choked and sputtered, trying to get free, but he was soon slammed against the wall so hard, he was sure he could feel blood dribbling from the back of his head. Raising familiar items into the boy's view, Bel's assaulter sneered. "Were you looking for these, by any chance?"

Choking, Bel's eyes widened at the sight of his knives; where had the other gotten them? Before he could even form coherent thought, the boy cried out as he felt himself being pinned to the wall by his own knives, his blood spilling and pooling on the floor beneath his feet. The attack had come so quickly, he wasn't prepared for the beating that had knocked him senseless; he could just hang there from the wall, his knives keeping him upright as he coughed up blood.

"I'm not finished yet."

Closing his eyes, Bel forced himself out of reality and into the back of his mind, unable to keep up with what was happening to him.

~~XX~~

Gokudera had been minding his own business as he made his way downstairs. He had been intending on having a smoke outside before leaving on his mission, but Ryohei had approached him with a serious look on his face.

"What do you want, turf top?" Shoving a hand in his pocket, Gokudera frowned at the older male; couldn't he just be left alone for a while?

"Did you hear what Sawada said?" The taller male crossed his arms against his chest, waiting impatiently for an answer. When none came, he said, "Sawada said Rokudo caught two of the Sera Family in the grounds. Rokudo finished them off good, but Sawada said to be careful and stay alert in case there are more hanging around."

Grunting, Gokudera pulled the packet of smokes from his pocket. "Yeah, whatever, turf top."

Ryohei didn't argue back; he instead asked, "When are you leaving for your mission?"

"After my smoke."

"What about Belphegor?"

"Hmm?" Meeting the stronger male's gaze, Gokudera stayed still. "What about him?"

"You're really going to leave him alone like this?"

Waving a dismissive hand, Gokudera started walking again. "He'll be fine. He's in my room."

"Are you sure about that one, octopus-head? Who's to say no one will get in and do something to him? They already got into the grounds."

"What are they gonna do? Rape him? Like anyone'd wanna touch the little creep…"

Ryohei knew he was getting nowhere, and he was quickly starting to lose his temper; why couldn't Gokudera see the way he was treating Belphegor? "Octopus-head, it has – Yamamoto?"

Gokudera turned around, finding Yamamoto entering the room, blood all over his shirt as he held what looked to be a deep gash that ran vertical from his collarbone down to his hip. "Baseball freak! What the fuck happened?!"

Shaking his head, Yamamoto coughed up blood. "There's more of them…" And with that said, the swordsman fell unconscious.