Chapter edited as of 16th April, 2016

What felt like years had really been days since Bel had kidnapped Fran, and things had only gotten worse for the boy; it seemed as if all Bel did to him was force him down into the bed and do things to him he didn't understand for most of the day.

To the boy's growing distress, it seemed that most of the other males who lived with Bel seemed to either enjoy watching them, or wanted one of the boys for themselves. Whenever it was the blond who was chosen to be one of their partners, Fran could only feel relieved that he would get however long they took with Bel to lock himself away in his mind until it came time to be used once again.

Lussuria seemed to be the only one who never used Fran, instead trying to help clean the blood and other bodily fluids away and heal the wounds. He had grown to be the only one the teal-haired boy could trust, feeling safe in his arms as his injuries were treated.

That night, while everyone else was downstairs, Bel was laying once again on his bed with Fran. This time, however, he had a knife in his hand and was dancing the blade against the younger's blood-stained skin. He licked his lips as he took in the sight of his lover, trying to ignore his twitching arousal; that could wait for a while.

"You love me, don't you, Froggy?" Bel drank in the fear Fran was radiating because of him, and it only gave him more of a high; he believed fear equalled love, and the more fear he could get out of his victim, the more he sincerely believed Fran loved him back. It was what Xanxus had taught him, and he loved Xanxus because he was so scared of him – the man was right, as always. "You love me as much as I love Xanxus. I can see it in your fear."

Fran let out a scream as he felt the blade penetrate his body deeply. He cried hysterically as he watched Bel raise the knife to his lips to lick the blood away before he lowered it to watch in fascination at the blood that was pooling atop Fran's body.

The boy, however, had had enough of being scared and hurt, and the second he saw the opportunity, he took it; he kicked out, managing to catch his assaulter off guard and bury the blade of the knife in Bel's stomach.

Bel whimpered as he felt the knife penetrate his stomach, but before he could do anything about it, the boy kicked him again, sending the knife in deeper. His eyes widened in pain and horror as Fran scampered off the bed before he took one last look back at the blond who had put him through so much pain.

Fran felt sick when blond bangs fell to the side and revealed purple eyes that looked as if they had just been betrayed. He didn't understand why he was feeling so bad over it; Bel had done nothing but torture him, so why did he feel so terrible for causing such a devastated look in Bel's eyes? The heartbreak he could see in them was enough to make him want to go back and hug his attacker, but he knew better; he wanted Mukuro, and if he stayed here, he would most certainly never see him again.

As Fran ran from the room, Bel felt tears slide down his cheeks. He removed one hand from his wounded stomach as he reached out shakily and whimpered for Fran.

"F-froggy…" Bel had never felt so betrayed before; he had been sure Fran loved him back, but perhaps the younger had merely used him, cared nothing for him; only for the things he could give Fran. If that was the case, he still forgave the younger; he couldn't bear the thought of being all alone again. "…Froggy… C-come back… Don't… Don't leave me…"

~~Mukuro's hotel room~~

It was early in the morning when a loud banging at the front door of the hotel room woke the sleeping occupants. Chrome and Mukuro had left their bedrooms to investigate while Ken and Chikusa glanced over the back of the couches they had been sleeping on; no one should be at their door like this when it was still so dark outside, but what if it were Fran? They couldn't ignore this.

Mukuro was careful as he opened the door, ready to defend himself if someone dared attack him – however, the tiny arms that wrapped around his waist and the frail body that pressed against his were all too familiar and he suddenly found himself feeling panicked; oh, please let Fran be okay...

"F-fran…" Mukuro knelt down and took the crying boy into his arms. He ran a hand through teal hair, trying to soothe the distressed kid, not knowing what he was supposed to think; the boy goes missing for days and then suddenly shows back up in the middle of the night, crying, naked and covered in blood – all he knew was that someone had hurt Fran, and he needed to help his charge. "Fran… Who did this to you…?"

"B-bel-senpai…" Fran cried harder as he tried to explain everything that had happened to him to the four in the room. "H-he… I-I'm sorry, Mukuro… I-I should have listened… I should have listened…!"

"It's okay, Fran," Chrome whispered as she moved to join the two. "It's not your fault. You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to. We understand."

Fran wrapped his arms around Mukuro's neck. He pressed closer to the older male as he was lifted from the ground, drowning in the comfort the older male always radiated; he so desperately needed it after everything he had been put through.

"M-mukuro…" Fran's crying didn't cease, even when his carer begun rocking him; he was in so much pain, both physically and mentally, and he didn't know what to say or do.

"Let's go have a bath, little one…" Mukuro stroked teal strands from the boy's eyes, hoping he was doing the right thing. Fran just nodded, clinging to the older male with the little strength he had left.

~~XX~~

"How is he…?" Chrome asked, watching as Mukuro tucked the now-sleeping boy into bed.

Mukuro shook his head as a distant look crossed his eyes. "…He… is not good… He told me what happened, and… Chrome, I have called the police… They are going to that house now…"

"He needs a doctor, Mukuro-sama…" the girl whispered.

"I know that – I… I just do not think I can be there for him like he needs me to be…"

"You can only do your best, Mukuro-sama." Chrome offered a shy smile before she excused herself. "I'm going to go back to bed. You should do the same."

"Goodnight, Chrome." Mukuro pulled the blankets back so that he could crawl in beside Fran. It hurt him inside when the other pulled away from his hug and a small whimper escaped the boy's lips, but he couldn't blame him after what had happened.

At least I've cleaned his wounds and bandaged them up… With that thought in mind, Mukuro drifted off into an uneasy sleep, his nightmares all about Fran's torture, being helpless to look after him, to save him.