Chapter edited 15th of April, 2016.

Fran hadn't expected the blond from yesterday – whom had introduced himself as Belphegor – to come back, but when he looked up from the patch of grass he was pulling out of the schoolyard ground to the chain-link fence after he heard it squeaking, he noticed the same boy standing there watching him with a large smile on his face.

Curious, Fran stood up and moved to the taller male's side, unnoticed by the many other kids who had ignored him since his first minute in the school. When he got closer to the blond, he found that the other was acting much differently than he had yesterday; yesterday, Belphegor had been sad and quiet, but today he was looking happy, energetic and outgoing. When he knelt by the fence a few seconds later, he watched as the older male slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a handful of sweets.

"If you come out of the yard, I will give you this," Belphegor said as he thrust the candy closer as if to emphasise his point.

"I'm not allowed out of the yard, though. I'll get in trouble if anyone sees me." The boy watched as the taller male lifted a broken piece of the fencing into the air to reveal a gap large enough for Fran's tiny body to crawl out of.

"Crawl out, Froggy. I won't tell anyone you left. Ushishishi~"

Fran did as he was told, really not considering what could happen by doing so; all he knew was that he was going to get candy if he obeyed the blond's instructions. I hope he really doesn't tell anyone or Mukuro will be mad at me...

Belphegor watched hungrily as the tiny boy crawled beneath the fence. As he thought of all the things he could do to the 'frog', his groin started twitching in interest, but he had to control it; it wouldn't do to ruin his plans before they even started.

When Fran was sitting before him, the blond handed over the candy as promised before he stood up and pointed to the street behind them. "Let's go over here, Froggy."

Fran didn't question why they were heading away from the school; he was too content with the lollipop he was now sucking on.

I bet he has no idea the danger he's in... Belphegor bit back a laugh as he led Fran back towards his school, wondering how long he'd be able to keep the boy with him; the more time he had spent with the kid yesterday, the more he begun to realise just how much he wanted the younger.

"How old are you, Froggy?" The teenager questioned, drawing Fran's attention back onto him.

"Seven." Fran's attention drifted once more as he watched the cars pass by them quickly. "What about you?"

"Sixteen."

Fran blinked innocently up at the teenager and said the first thing to come to his mind. "You look too small to be sixteen, liar."

Bel bit his lip as he fought to keep his anger controlled; if Fran knew of the fucking environment he lived in, maybe then he wouldn't be so fucking insensitive and point out the things he already fucking knew – it wasn't his fault he wasn't growing the way he should be at his age.

"A bit of a smartass, aren't you?" Belphegor spat. "A peasant such as yourself should know better than to offend a prince. From now on, you shall call the prince Bel-senpai, uncute kohai."

Fran continued speaking his thoughts, something he had grown accustomed to doing with Mukuro. "You're a fake prince, Bel-senpai. They aren't real."

"Little shit!" Bel yelled. He was delusional, and he truly believed that he was royalty, so when his royal status was attacked, he became frightened and lashed out. He raised his hand, ready to slap the younger as hard as he possibly could as he knew no other way to express himself. "You're lucky Squalo took my knives or the prince would have turned you into a cactus already!"

Fran flinched and pulled away out of instinct at the threat of being hit. Bel frowned as he saw this. His stomach churned and tears pricked at his eyes; he didn't like the feeling of someone fearing him, but he knew it had to be this way.

With a sigh, the blond started walking again. He called over his shoulder for Fran to hurry up as he fought back his tears; he couldn't let the other see him so weak and pathetic..

For the first time since meeting Bel, Fran doubted whether or not he should trust the teenager – but he was so desperate for love and affection, he trailed after the blond anyway, reasoning that since the other hadn't hit him, he could trust Bel.

Fran truly had no idea just how wrong he was.

~~Mukuro and Chrome~~

By the time Mukuro and Chrome got to Fran's school, the blue-haired male was finding himself becoming frustrated at the Namimori Middle students who seemed to always pop up with Fran out the front of the teal-haired boy's school; two days in a row he had come to collect Fran and found students from the middle school with his charge.

But instead of the blond from yesterday, Mukuro was slightly grateful to find that the same group of teenagers who had looked after Fran that day when Mukuro had fought with Kyouya. He breathed a sigh of relief and slipped a smile onto his face, feeling as if he could trust these three with Fran.

"May I enquire as to why you are here with Fran?" Mukuro's voice was soft as usual. He opened his arms for Fran to lean into as he waited for a reply.

The brunet Mukuro remembered as Tsuna spoke in a shaky voice as he started to explain things. "W-well… It's just… Uh, my school was on lunch when we noticed a classmate had Fran, s-so we brought him back here and waited with him to tell you…"

Mukuro raised an eyebrow at this, while Chrome was the one to speak. "F-fran was… at your school…?"

The three Namimori Middle students nodded. "H-hibari-san was the one to find them together…"

"Who had him?" Mukuro questioned as he picked the boy up in his arms protectively.

"A psycho," the silver-haired male spat. Mukuro couldn't recall a name for this teen, but he could tell there was bad blood between him and whoever had Fran; the angry glint in his eyes and the bitter tone he spoke with told him enough.

"Did he hurt Fran…?" Chrome bit her lip.

Tsuna frowned. "W-well, no, but…"

"But?" Mukuro pressed.

The brunet scratched the back of his head as he tried to explain, "…I-it's just… B-belphegor isn't…"

The silver-haired male finished his friend's sentence. "The freak's a deluded psychopath. If Hibari didn't find them, anything could have happened."

The nagging suspicion that Belphegor was the blond from yesterday kept eating at Mukuro. If that was Belphegor, I was right about him. "Is Belphegor blond?"

"Yeah, he is. He's really…"

"Fucked up." Once again, the silver-haired male completed the sentence.

"Did Belphegor do anything to you, little one?" Mukuro ran a large hand through teal hair as worry shot through him. It doesn't matter where my feelings for Fran stand – if Bel hurt him in any way…

Fran shook his head. "He gave me candy, though."

"F-fran, you…" Chrome twisted her hands as she spoke gently, "…y-you shouldn't accept anything from strangers…"

"Didn't I ask you to stay away from him?" Mukuro reprimanded carefully; as a teenager himself, he wasn't ready to play the entire roll of a parent – it was hard enough trying to take care of Fran as it was without having to act like an adult on top of it.

"I told him that, but he kept asking." Fran frowned. "Bel-senpai said we were going to go play together in the toilets, but Kyouya said I had to go."

"I see." Heterochromatic eyes fixed on the Namimori Middle students. "Where do you three come into this?"

"We were going to our usual spot for lunch." Tsuna raised his hands in a defensive manner as his eyes darted in anxiety. "He found us, and when Hibari-san told us what happened, we said we'd bring him back here and tell you."

"Yeah, Bel's fucking crazy," the silver-haired teenager added. "Fran's lucky Hibari got there in time."

"I will do a better job on teaching him to stay away from blond boys with sick minds." Mukuro nodded thankfully as he adjusted his hold on the boy. "Thank you for bringing him back; Chrome and I appreciate your kindness towards him. Join us for dinner one day."

"A-ah, sure." Tsuna smiled back as he stood up, his two friends following suit. He reached out to ruffle teal hair before he said, "See you around, Fran."

Mukuro turned to Chrome and whispered to her while the boy's attention was elsewhere. "Do you get the feeling Belphegor is going to keep coming back?"

Chrome nodded nervously. "Yes, Mukuro-sama…"

The blue-haired male looked down at the kid in his arms and sighed to himself. "What are we going to do with him, Chrome?"

Chrome didn't reply; she nervously fumbled with her hands again as she dropped her gaze downwards.

If anything happens to Fran… Mukuro bit his lip as he started walking. …Especially because of this Belphegor… I will kill him if he dare lay a finger on Fran.