Chapter edited 15th April 2016

Mukuro and Chrome were quiet as they walked to Fran's school a few days later, hoping the younger was okay; Fran's school finished before theirs did, so the boy had to wait for them to come and get him.

"Do you think Fran-kun's okay?" Chrome asked softly.

"I hope so," Mukuro replied. His heart sped up slightly as he worried about what could have gone wrong for his little Fran, and all of a sudden, he couldn't help but wonder when the walls he had so carefully erected to keep people out had been shattered by the kid; he hadn't realised just how close he was getting to the younger until he had found himself worrying all day in class about whether or not Fran was going to be alright by himself.

I am getting soft… Mukuro sighed to himself. What is it about him that makes me want to hold him close? I just want him to be happy. But why…?

Mukuro couldn't come up with an answer to his question by the time he and Chrome begun walking towards the entrance of the school, and he wondered if he ever would; while he could easily hide his emotions behind a playful smile, it was much harder for him to acknowledge and understand what he was feeling.

When the entry gate of the school became closer to them, they saw Fran sitting on top of one of the cement columns, talking to a blond teenager who wore what they recognised to be the uniform for Namimori Middle. Mukuro couldn't explain it, but he immediately got a bad feeling about the other – something wasn't right with him, and the blue-haired male didn't want him anywhere near his beautiful Fran.

Wait. His Fran…? Since when was Fran his?

Since I took the kid away from a grandmother who could not look after him. Mukuro shook his head; he knew that he could acknowledge Fran meant more to him than he understood, but right now he couldn't ponder over it; he had to get to his charge's side and protect him from this possible threat.

"Mukuro-sama?" Chrome matched her best friend's pace as she sensed the older male's concern; she was very in tune with the other, and if Mukuro was worried, so was she. "I-is something wrong…?"

The blue-haired male shook his head, not wanting to worry the girl; it wouldn't do to stress her if it turned out to be nothing. "Never mind, dear Chrome…"

Though Chrome wasn't convinced, she didn't say anything about her companion's strange behaviour; she was smart enough to put two and two together as she noticed Fran's 'friend' reaching out to touch teal hair. "Fran!"

Fran looked at his guardians when he heard his name. He held his arms out to be picked up; the security Mukuro provided for him was always enough to help him melt in the teen's embraces.

"Who is this?" Mukuro couldn't keep the possessive tone out of his voice as he clutched Fran tighter to him; he wouldn't dare let someone close to the boy if he didn't know them because how could he trust a stranger to not harm his charge?

Fran didn't reply to the question; he was too busy watching as Chrome leant down to pick his bag up from the ground where he had dropped it earlier. The blond was the one to speak for himself, in a quiet, withdrawn tone with an under layer of anger. There was no hint of malice whatsoever in the other's voice, but there was just something about it that sent shivers down Mukuro's spine and made him want to protect his charge from the blond. "We were just talking; I did nothing..."

Mukuro didn't reply as he spun around on the spot and walked away with Chrome behind him; he wasn't going to subject either of his precious people to this kid any longer because the more time he spent in the other's presence, the more unnerved he became; he still couldn't put his finger on it, but his gut was telling him the blond was nothing but trouble and could not be trusted at all.

The blue-haired teenager didn't have to turn around to look to know that the blond was watching them leave; he could feel the intense stare on his back that didn't seem to leave until they had rounded the corner and left the other's sight altogether.

If he goes near Fran again, I'll… Mukuro bit his lip to keep his anger under control; it wasn't Fran's fault this had happened.

Chrome was silent. She could tell that her best friend was becoming much more attached to the little boy he had rescued, and it warmed her heart; the older teenager had always been withdrawn and quiet, never speaking a word to anyone until they had been taken away from that place and then became full of anger. Somehow, Fran was soothing the teen's suffering, even if Mukuro didn't realise it himself.

"Stay away from him, little one," Mukuro muttered. "There is something about him I do not like."

He seemed nice… Fran thought to himself as he wrapped his green school jacket tighter around his body. I wonder why Pineapple Master doesn't like him?

The little boy, deciding he was too tired to truly be bothered by this, closed his eyes. He rested his head on Mukuro's shoulder and gripped the other's shirt as he relaxed. Chrome smiled as she watched her friend's large hand run through teal hair as if to help soothe Fran into sleep. She could see Mukuro was still bothered, so she kept quiet and let the blue-haired teen process his thoughts.

Mukuro looked down at Fran and smiled at Fran's sleeping face. His eyes were closed ever-so-lightly and his lips were parted in a slight circle as his breathing came steadily. The teal hair that just barely hung down his face was parted, revealing the soft creamy white forehead that had all-too-often received soft kisses of affection from Chrome.

Is his grandmother is still alive. She seemed pretty old. Mukuro's smile slipped at the thought; just how much longer did she have left before she would have inevitably left Fran all alone in a village he was hated in? Had he come along just in time to save the child? Was it fate that Mukuro had found the kid?

I wonder what it is like to lose someone you love, and if Fran knows that feeling. I wonder how he felt when he was abandoned by his parents, and what the circumstances around that were. Was he sad? Did he even know he had been abandoned? What had happened…?

Mukuro made a mental note to ask Fran about his past one day before he changed his train of thought to that of Ken and Chikusa, wondering when they'd return from buying food; he was feeling rather hungry, and he would like afternoon tea when they got back to the motel.

Chrome couldn't help but lower her head as she smiled. She was just so happy to see that Mukuro was getting better and becoming happier than she had ever known him to be, and she knew she owed it to Fran.