Disclaimer: Amano Akira-sensei owns Reborn! and all its characters; I solely use them for writing funtimes.

Author's Note: This was originally to be six chapters long; but as you can tell, I've added far too many details to cut it short now. Sigh.

Amusement was the last thing Squalo had been aiming to erect from his earlier threats; but as Mukuro chuckled that deep, sultry laugh he always emitted, the silverette frowned darker. And as would be expected from such a take of mockery, the silverette growled deeply and unsheathed his blade once more. By most regards, the two visitors should have felt threatened by his actions - but they did not.

In fact, it was far from it.

A smile adorned Fran's complexion, and despite how much it frustrated the two-pseudo siblings, he did it only of comfort. He really had not wished to hurt them at any point in his life; however, it was the first time he had seen Belphegor let his guard down for so long. It was a miracle to have been able to see it on its own.

Fran simply felt blessed to harbor the right to etch the sensation of having Belphegor's wrath directed solely at him.

"Well, this clearly has been an immense waste of our time and effort." Mukuro broke through the silent tension, eyes averting from shocked aqua to furious sapphire. "Come, Fran; there is nothing left for us to —"

"Oh, leaving again, are you, bastard?" Squalo snorted, although his bravado was given away by the scarce trembling of his sword-wielding hand.

"— …say." A brief sigh from the navy-haired man, before he smirked derisively.

"What, you think you can bring back your precious Boss back if you were to kill us, right here, right now?" A flurry of indescribable emotions flickered through his heterochromial eyes.

Fran watched in what could only be classified as horror and mortification, as his blond crush and elder sibling tensed immediately. The emotions on their faces warned it all: ire, hurt, confusion.

Mukuro's smirk became sincere when no retort was made, and he had to stop himself from a chuckling fit as he turned to the silverette and added, "Or should I say, your "lover"? Superbi Squalo-kun."

The latter male refused to take anything the two virtuosos had to give; instead, he proceeded on following instinct and lunged forward with his metallic appendage. Not only did it infuriate and perplex him further when Mukuro simply chuckled, but he had to bring himself to a screeching halt whence he heard a faint "Oh."

Turning, collectively, they trained their eyes onto the blond youth who seemed to have been gone.

"So… you're trying to tell me… that Squalo and Xanxus…?" Belphegor began, but continued with his usual amused tone.

Not one of them believed he was marginally sane.

Gulping softly, Squalo strode haphazardly towards his younger sibling, worry on his features. Carefully, he reached out a hand, comfort lacing his words as he slowly began to whisper, "Don't listen to them, Bel. Xanxus —"

The abrupt sound of a high-pitched, shrill, war-cry like laugh interrupted, terrifying them all; fear settling into each one of their very bones.

"I get it now! I really, really do." He refuted, inching forward as they stepped back.

What scared them most was the fact that they could now see his eyes, despite his fringe. Belphegor never let anyone see them without -

"You're all… just a bunch of pathetic liars." He stated calmly, laughter ceasing as he armed himself steadily with his silver throwing-knife. "So, even to you scum, I apologize."

Fran, who wanted nothing more to rid himself of his burden he had originally come for, prodded; "Apologize for what, Senpai?"

His answer was the gruesome sight of watching the blond rapaciously assault the silverette, streams of blood decorating the otherwise banal garage. The clattering of weapons and metal scratching metal echoed; Squalo grunted with what seemed honest effort to survive whilst Bel emitted his usual silver laugh. However, it did not send pleasurable shivers up Fran's back; it did not make his heart flutter or his palms perspire as it normally would.

Even Mukuro had to take it upon himself to meddle, in order to save the life of the very man whom he had torn his world apart.

Fran wanted to say what he had to so badly, so much, it literally hurt him as much as the confirmation of the presumed affair had broken Bel. He wanted to confess it so dearly, due to the inexplicable feeling that it would make the blond feel the slightest bit relieved, he knew he could no longer hold back.

Yet, as he opened his mouth to say it, to rid himself of a life-long burden, it was intervened by his shushou.

"No one is to blame for Xanxus' death, Belphegor!" The sound of the latter's blade impacting against his trident interrupted. "Nor are we!" He flinched when the blond snarled; however, Mukuro persevered, leaning close to whisper, "Nor are you."

Like magic, as if he had filliped his fingers to signal his awakening from a trance, the blond youth stopped his barbaric attacks.

His breaths were heavy and ragged, as he had just run ten miles, and his irises were oddly dilated. What they further had not expected was to witness him retch at the sight of all the copper-redolent crimson lining the ambiance as well as the silverette crumpled akimbo. Even more so, when he fell to his knees, a heart-breaking wail slithering from his throat as tears cascaded down his cheeks in a flurry.

"Yes, I am! It's my fault. It is. It's my fault." He began to chant, convictingly; shaking hands gripping his locks painfully as he stared distantly. "It's all my fault."