A/N Sorry about not having updated anything within the past week; my cat was bitten by a snake and I had been too distraught to write. We brought her home from the vet yesterday, but she can still go downhill in the coming weeks, so if I abruptly stop updating again, that's probably what has happened and apologies in advance.
Also, I don't think I mentioned this before, but I've set this ficfor shortly after the Inheritance arc. The Checkerfacearc may or may not come into play; you guys can have your say on whether or not you'd enjoy seeing it. The chapters will also get longer once the ficgets going; I just don't like jumping from day to day in one chapter.
Fran hadn't thought about those weird dreams for months now - so when Mukuro Rokudo brought him all the way to Japan, it was no surprise he didn't link the dreams with why it felt as if he knew the teenager from somewhere.
"Why do you live in an abandoned school?" Fran questioned, his lidded teal eyes hinting at boredom.
"Kufufu~" Mukuro smiled as he shrugged playfully. "Who knows? Your room is over on the right."
Fran moved through the hallway they were standing in. He placed a tiny hand against the moth-eaten hardwood door, almost too afraid to touch it; it looked so old and rickety, he was almost sure the slightest pressure would bring it crashing to the ground.
"Go in, little one," Mukuro reassured, smirking at the younger's hesitance.
"Master, your tastes in housing are terrible." The boy pushed open the door, frowning as he noticed the single futon laying in the corner of the dust-filled room. There was nothing but loose floorboards and plaster from the cracking walls and roof, and the few rays of sun that shone through the filth-caked, broken window barely illuminated anything.
"Don't complain." Mukuro tapped the bottom of his trident on the ground. "It's your home now. Be grateful you have a roof over your head and somewhere warm to sleep."
Fran didn't reply to this; he honestly wasn't sure how. Part of him felt as if he had been here before, but he wasn't sure when - how was it even possible when he had never left his hometown, so much as France?
"Master, you will feed me, right?" Fran asked, lifting up the blanket to inspect it for creepy crawlies; he wouldn't be surprised if there was a spider or two hiding away under there.
"Of course. Why do you ask?"
"Because if you're living here, I can safely assume you don't have money to feed me."
Fran threw the tattered blanket back to the ground, turning back to face the teenager. "My grandmother was like that. Sometimes she didn't have money to feed us."
"Ah, but we're different, you see."
Mukuro's heterochromatic eyes were full of amusement. "Of course we have money - it's just a matter of us spending it."
Fran dropped the dust-covered blanket back to the futon, turning to look at the older male. He had a feeling he had seen those heterochromatic eyes somewhere before - but how often do you see a set of eyes with two different colours with kanji in one? It was then, and only then, he brought the dreams back in mind.
The boy remembered a long-haired man - who looked like an older Mukuro - with eyes just like this. But that was ridiculous! They were just dreams! It's not like they actually happened.
...Right...?
With a sigh, Fran sat down on his futon, his head hanging. He heard Mukuro turn to leave, but nothing was said between them.
I must miss my grandmother a lot... The boy frowned. Here I am, thinking that I may even have been dreaming of the future...
Fran picked the blanket back up, dropping it onto his lap as he laid down on the futon. He curled up into a ball, not used to being away from his grandmother - to be honest, it was quite lonely; he even missed her horrible cooking.
~~Kokuyo Land~~
"What are you going to do with that little brat?" Ken asked, holding his bag of potato chips tightly.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mukuro's signature laugh made itself known. "Kufufu~ I'm going to train him. Such potential can't go to waste."
"A message was left for you earlier today," Chikusa said quietly, pushing his glasses back up with his forefinger. "From the Vongola Decimo. A meeting between Vongola and Varia has been called, and all guardians need to be present."
As much as Mukuro hated the Mafia, he knew that, if he played his role as the Mist Guardian, his goal of having Sawada Tsunayoshi's body for himself would soon be possible.
"Kufufu~" Mukuro's usually-present smirk widened, his eyes shining with amusement; if the Varia were there, he could have all sorts of fun if he brought Fran along with him - the Varia hated the kid in the future, and their resentment for him still probably ran strong from the memories they would surely have received. "Looks like I'll have to attend this one. Fran will accompany me."
Ken and Chikusa shared a look, one that silently asked, "What is Mukuro up to, now?"