"How the fuck did they find out." Xanxus snarled as he dodged a spray of bullets.

Fran joined him by the massive rock, "I believe I saw one of our spies talking to the guards Sempai." He didn't flinch as Xanxus colourfully swore in Italian. "If it makes you feel better, they killed him before raising the alarm."

Xanxus' eyes gleamed in satisfaction, "Alright trash, get ready to run over there." He pointed to a steep ravine and smirked when his subordinate gave him an incredulous look. "There's a passageway there that I saw on a map, the scum doesn't know about it."

Fran surged forward as Xanxus stood up and shot potent Wrath flames at the guards. Fran was at the edge of the ravine when pain erupted from his shoulder and an unseen force propelled him down the slope. Xanxus wasn't here yet and Fran took the time to look at his shoulder, a small bullet hole that was leaking blood was the source of the pain. Fuck. Xanxus did not need this on top of the current situation.

Fran grit his teeth and pressure bandaged his right shoulder, leaving the bullet in there currently. A quick flare of mist flames and Fran was ready to go again, just in time too and Xanxus slipped out of the shadows near him.

"Follow me, I've given the guards the idea we went the other way." Xanxus said, brushing past his mist.

XXXXXX

Fran muttered a curse as rudimentary tweezers entered his shoulder. He had managed to find a first aid kit in the hotel they were staying in and had dug out the needed equipment. He had thoroughly sterilized the tweezers and wound before searching for the imbedded bullet. "Grazie Dio." Fran breathed as he got a good hold on the bullet. Carefully, Fran pulled the bullet out of his shoulder, wincing as it made the blood flow worse. He set the bloody tweezers and bullet down on the bathroom counter and grabbed the gauze.

Fran doused the pad in iodine and swiped it across the wound, barely minding the dull sting. When the blood was wiped away, he placed the gauze in the bin and picked up the complimentary sewing kit he had found. Steadily, Fran threaded the needle in and out of his skin, wincing at the pull on his pulsing skin. Tying off the knot, he cut the excess thread and wrapped non-stick bandages around his shoulder to cover the stitches.

The patch work would have to do as Xanxus knocked on the bathroom door, "Are you done yet trash? I want to have a shower before we leave."

Fran quickly put everything back in its proper place and opened the door to the bathroom, "I'm done Boss-Sempai."

Xanxus gave him a weird look as he brushed passed him, but didn't say anything about his lack of noise. "We're leaving in half an hour. I want your stuff pack in ten." Fran gave him a nod and once Xanxus shut the door, grabbed his shoulder in pain as he went to pack his bag.

XXXXXX

It's been a week since Fran and Xanxus were on the retrieval mission and Fran's shoulder was still very tender. The wound had healed up well considering the circumstances, but it was still a baby pink colour. Every time the illusionist raised his arm, he tugged on the healing scar, sending shooting pain through his arm. It was a problem as the rest of the Varia were slowly being clued into the problem.

Belphegor had seen the problem first. He was watching Fran make breakfast and had seen his kouhai wince when he picked up the heavy pan. The prince kept a close eye on Fran for the rest of the day and each time Fran had to lift something heavy with his right arm, his face contorted in pain. Bel kept his observations to himself for the time being, it could simply be a pulled muscle from training.

Levi-A-Than saw Fran moving oddly next. He was sparring with Squalo when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fran's hand fly to his shoulder. There was no time to contemplate it further as Squalo lunged at him, but he resolved to talk to Fran later. Levi managed to pull Fran aside for a talk after the spar finished but was brushed off by the illusive mist. "Don't worry so much Sempai. It's just a minor sprain."

Lussuria caught Fran in the Infirmary, as he had gone down to restock supplies. He watched in the doorway as Fran rummaged through the medicine cabinet. "What are you looking for Fran-chan?" He asked, taking pity on the searching mist.

Lussuria's eyes narrowed as the illusionist looked guiltily at him and racked his brains for anything Fran may have done recently. "Luss-Sempai!" Fran squeaked. "I was just looking for some aspirin, I forgot to get a new packet for my room."

The sun accepted the answer, "Silly Fran-chan. We don't keep it in here anymore, remember? Everyone was coming in to grab some, so we moved it into the kitchen cabinet." He watched as embarrassed realisation flittered across Fran's face.

"Yes, apologies Luss-Sempai. See you at dinner." Fran said, and shifted out of the room.

Xanxus and Squalo were discussing the upcoming Varia mission when three members tumbled into the room without knocking. Squalo stared in amusement as they hurriedly scrambled to their feet and tried to explain themselves to the Boss. Xanxus grew tired of them all speaking over each other and shot a bullet into the ceiling to make them shut up. "Would one of you explain what exactly you are all doing in here?" He said in a calm tone. "One at a time, Lussuria you go first."

Lussuria shifted under the scrutiny of his Sky but stood straight when speaking, "I encountered Fran in the Infirmary, he was looking for some aspirin. I wouldn't have come to you about this, but he looked rather… guilty I guess you could say. Like he was hiding something. I saw these two in front of the door and one of them pushed me into here."

Squalo's amusement faded as he heard Fran was searching for painkillers. "Levi, is your story the same?" He asked.

"Sort of captain. He was grabbing his shoulder when you and I were sparring, I thought he had twisted a muscle wrong." Levi said awkwardly.

Xanxus sat back in his chair, "What makes you say, 'you thought'?"

Belphegor took a step forward, "Shishishi, Froggy was having trouble since this morning."

"I see, obviously Fran has injured himself again and didn't want us to know. I'll confront him at dinner." Xanxus said, annoyed his subordinate was still doing this.

The three Varia members inclined their heads in deference to their Sky and exited the room. When they were gone, Xanxus leant forward and put his elbows on the desk. "What am I going to do with you, silly mist."

XXXXXX

The Varia were seated at dinner and making small talk when slowly, the chatter quietened. Fran looked up in surprise and came face to face with five Varia members staring at him. Xanxus started talking, voice deceptively mild. "I hear from the others that you were injured today trash."

Fran stiffened, "It was simply a sprain Boss-Sempai. I iced it and took some painkillers and it hasn't bothered me for the rest of the day."

"I see." Fran mentally sighed. "Just to make sure, stand up and raise your arms above your head. You shouldn't have any problems if you aren't injured anymore." Xanxus stated as he watched Fran freeze.

The members were watching their mist with eagle eyes as Fran slid out of his chair and stood behind it. Fran bit his lip and they caught the nervous body language immediately. He put his hands above his head and started shrieking in his head at the pain. Fran held his arms up, not letting them shake and stood there, staring Xanxus in the eye. "You can lower them now, there obviously isn't an issue." Xanxus stated.

Fran breathed out, "I did tell you sempai." He didn't catch the curl of Xanxus' lip as he looked down at his plate.

Without warning, his injured shoulder was squeezed, and he cried out in pain. The hand was snatched back quickly, and Fran curled into a ball in his seat, whimpering as unrelenting pain pulsed throughout his body. "Damnit Fran, didn't we talk about this!" Squalo shouted as he pulled the mist's chair out to get a better look at him. "Lussuria, come and heal him."

Lussuria pulled off Fran's jacket and cut his shirt off, not listening to Fran's half-hearted protests. He sucked in a sharp breath as he saw what Fran was hiding from him, "Where the hell did you get a bullet wound from!"

"What!" Belphegor snarled as he tried to look at the shirtless Fran, "The prince will slaughter them!"

Fran sat in his chair, utterly miserable, as the people around him erupted in fury. "It's really not that bad." Lussuria glared at him. "There's nothing you can do for it." Fran amended.

"Well at least that part is true." Lussuria muttered as he deftly moved his hands over the fresh scar. "Levi-Chan, grab me an icepack and more aspirin for Fran please."

Xanxus leant against the table beside Fran, "Why can't you ever tell me about this stuff Fran? Am I not trustworthy?"

"No, Sempai!" Fran denied vehemently. "It's just, I don't want to worry you. Everybody worries a lot and put off things they like to help me get better when I can do it myself."

The Varia looked stunned at the answer Fran gave them. Everything he said was something that should happen for sick people. Then again, he hadn't had very good role models in the past. "Fran, I know you had a bad time with your mother but it's not like that here. We expect you to come to us when you're injured or sick. It's not a sign of weakness, and although it makes us upset, it makes us happy that you trust us enough to come to us when you're like that." The rest of the guardians nodded at their Sky's words.

Fran looked down, tears automatically pooling in his eyes as he listened to his Boss, family, tell him that he was that important. "I promise." Fran murmured, as Levi pressed the icepack to his shoulder.

"Thank you, Fran." Levi said to him. "The next time you get hurt, come to us immediately and not wait a few days, alright?"

Fran attempted a wobbly smile, "Yeah."