The world was a terrifying place, Belphegor had learnt long, long ago. The slightest of noises were deafening, his sense of smell overwhelming. Sudden flashes of light were dazzling, causing headaches in a split second. Even touch was painful and unwanted; the littlest thing such as the sensation of clothing against his skin almost unbearable.

But the scariest thing of all was the man behind him, chasing him down the street in an attempt to catch him and drag him back inside the house he had so desperately escaped from. Belphegor ran, knowing there was nothing that hurt him or frightened him more than when this man put his hands on him. Tiny legs moving as fast as they could, the boy wasn't sure he had ever run so fast in his life.

Throwing himself onto the ground, Belphegor crawled through a gap beneath the fence, knowing the man wouldn't be able to follow him through. Without looking back, Belphegor kept running, not sure where to, but anywhere would be better than that this hell.

Unsure of how far he had run, but noticing that the man was no longer behind him, Belphegor slowed to a walk. He sobbed as he wrapped his arms around himself, his ripped striped sweater doing nothing to keep him warm against the cold weather that sent chills down his spine.

Disconcerted by the array of cars passing him, the boy raised little hands to cover his ears, but it made no difference; he couldn't block out any of the loud noises were still enough to send shocks of pain through his body. He trembled as his tears came harder, and through his long golden bangs, he saw people staring at him and could hear the whispers that may well have been yelling.

Trying to get away from it all, Belphegor ran again, bolting around a corner until he hit a hard surface and bounced to the cement. In a daze, the boy could only lie there and stare up at the teenager who had almost fallen as well, steadied by the other next to him.

The blond teenager, clad in a school uniform with a bag on his back, laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, his smile reaching his hazel eyes. The other teenager, a silver-haired male, held an annoyed look on his face as he removed his hands from the other teenager's shoulders.

"You're fuckin' hopeless, you dumbass…" Dark eyes darted over to Belphegor, his gaze hardening as he surveyed the youngest. "Watch where you're fuckin' going, you little shit."

Belphegor sniffed as tears flooded his eyes once again. He was too afraid to move, worried that if he were to do so, they would both jump him; maybe if he stayed where he was and made himself look smaller than he already was, they would be on their way.

"Sorry about that." The blond teenager smiled again as he leant down, extending a hand to the fallen boy. "Are you okay?"

Belphegor refused to take the hand, frightened of even the thought of touch; he would much rather lie here and wait for them to leave before getting up.

The stronger blond didn't seem fazed by the child's silence, but he did seem to sense that the other didn't want to be touched; pulling his hand back to his own self, he cocked his head to the side. "What's your name?"

"…" Blinking beneath his long bangs, Belphegor felt his panic rising further; why couldn't they just leave already…?!

"Not much of a talker, hey?" Kneeling down so that he was next to the boy, the teenager showed no hint of wanting to leave any time soon. "Does that have something to do with why you're crying? Did you lose your parents?"

"…"

Then, hazel eyes narrowed, a hint of anger filling the air, and Belphegor couldn't work out for the life of him why he always seemed to make everyone mad, even when he hadn't done anything.

"Voi, Bucking Horse, let's just go; the little brat will find them himself." The silver-haired male was getting impatient, and he was about ready to pull his friend away if they didn't leave soon; why were they even talking to the rude shit when he knocked the blond teenager over in the first place?

The blond ignored the other, instead speaking in a tone that sounded choked, vastly different from the kind voice he had been using earlier. "Or… Is it because of those bruises on you…?"

Looking down, Belphegor tensed at this question; he knew only too well of the bruises that littered his body, and he didn't want to talk about them. "…"

"Are you perhaps… running from whoever gave them to you…?"

Looking up at this question, Belphegor hesitated, his mind going over the possible outcomes of admitting this; would they only hurt him further if they knew what he went through in his house?

Swallowing a lump in his throat, the boy nodded. Glancing over at the rough-looking teenager, Belphegor found the other was scowling now, an unreadable look in his eyes. While the older blond looked as if he were about to cry himself, the silver-haired male simply stood there, grinding his teeth.

"Then you should come with us; we won't let anyone hurt you." Getting back to his feet, the blond's anger vanished, replaced once again with kindness. "We were on our way home anyway; we've finished school for the day and we got some sushi to bring home for lunch. Do you like sushi?"

Unsure of whether or not he did like sushi as he had never had it before, Belphegor remained silent; did he want to find out…? At any rate, he wanted to get away from the monster who always sought to hurt him; could he trust these two to keep him away…?

Getting to his feet, Belphegor flinched and backed away as the older blond came closer to him again. Shaking his head, he hugged himself tight once more, trying to tell them to stay away; he didn't like anyone close to him at the best of times, especially not someone who may hurt him.

"How about you just follow us home, then?" Offering a gentle smile, the taller blond moved back to his friend. "My name is Dino, by the way. This is my friend, Squalo. Do you want to tell us your name?"

Shaking his head, Belphegor waited for the teenagers to start walking before he moved, always careful to keep distance between them; maybe… just maybe…

Maybe he had found an escape from the pain.

~~XX~~

Unlocking the door to his home, Dino felt a little embarrassed; the kid was obviously in awe of his family's mansion. He couldn't help but wonder; what kind of home had his fellow blond come out of? Dino shuddered to imagine.

Belphegor hesitated to step past the threshold, but he did so; trembling, he followed the teenagers further into the mansion, eventually finding himself in a kitchen. He stayed in the doorway as he watched the two approach what seemed to be a chef, Dino requesting a few plates. Belphegor cocked his head to the side when the other was granted his wish, surprised that he dropped them within seconds of touching them, but Squalo had been on the ball and caught them before they shattered on the ground, almost as if he had expected it.

After an apology to the chef from Dino, and a few choice words from Squalo, they came back to Belphegor's side, leading him towards the staircase.

"My room is a few flights up." Looking over his shoulder at his guest, Dino smiled, noticing that Squalo hadn't spoken a word to the boy after he had invited him along. "I have a nice, comfortable bed you can sit on. You can even have a sleep if you want to; you seem pretty tired to me."

Belphegor sighed, knowing he was tired, but how had the other known? Keeping his head down, he followed in silence, too afraid to talk.

"Here we are."

Looking back up, Belphegor found the two disappearing into a room on his right. Hurrying his pace, he stopped just before the entrance, finding the teenagers had entered the biggest room he had seen in his life, approaching a huge bed with red covers and a drape over it. They sat on the end of the bed, Squalo putting the plates down on the mattress before sliding his bag off his shoulder to pull cartons of sushi out of it.

"C'mere, brat."

"Don't call him a brat, Squalo."

"Well, he is one…"

Hesitantly, Belphegor approached the two. Side-stepping around them, he moved to the side of the bed, reaching out with shaking hands. Placing them on the comforter for a split second, he flinched and jumped back, not liking the feel of the fabric at all.

"You okay?" Instinctively, Dino reached out to grab the boy, his nature caring, but it seemed he only made things worse; the second Dino's fingers brushed against his guest's shoulder, Belphegor let out an ear-splitting scream.

"Jesus!" Dropping the sushi to the mattress, Squalo reached out, pulling the boy away from Dino; he hadn't expected for such a tiny child to throw himself at the teenager and bite the other hard enough to break skin; the kid was a fucking shrimp, so why would he attack someone like Dino for no reason? "Calm the fuck down!"

It seemed that touching Belphegor only made him more agitated as he started screaming again, flailing his thin limbs around and smacking Squalo in the face in the process. He whimpered as he was dropped to the ground, climbing beneath the bed. He didn't exit the other side; he simply laid there and watched their legs, trembling violently as tears rolled down his eyes.

"Get your ass out here, you little shit!" Squalo dropped himself onto the ground, reaching beneath the mattress to try and pull Belphegor out. Squalo yelped as teeth sunk into his hand, his anger only growing; he didn't care what that kid had come out of; he was a little shit, and Squalo wanted him gone. "I'll snap your fucking neck!"

"Squalo!" Dino had always had more sense than Squalo, so it was only natural he was the understanding one in this minute; Squalo had a bad habit of letting the blood rush to his head. "Squalo, stop! I'll handle this!"

Squalo turned around, sneering at his friend. "Get rid of him before I murder him!"

"Squalo…" Gently moving his friend out of the way, Dino leant down, looking beneath the mattress. "Are you going to come out from there? I can't imagine it'd be very comfortable. Surely you'd want to eat your sushi somewhere else."

Shaking his head, Belphegor sniffed back tears; he didn't want to come back out if the silver-haired male was going to hurt him; he was hurt enough by his father as it was and he didn't want anyone else to do it as well.

"Well…" Sitting back up, Dino grabbed one of the sushi containers and some cutlery from the bed. Leaning down again to pass it to Belphegor, he offered one of his brightest smiles. "You can have this. Feel free to come out whenever you want, okay? Squalo and I will be in here for a while, so take your time."

Belphegor didn't reply, nor did he take the food; he simply watched as it was placed on the ground. He was too scared to touch it, sure that it was a trap; he had often been beaten for trying to eat what he had been given.

Lying where he was, Belphegor was still for what felt like an eternity before his hunger pains grew too much for him to handle; grazing the tips of his fingers against the container, he glanced at the teenagers to make sure they weren't looking before he took the sushi, opening the lid as quietly as he could. Glad that the older two were busy doing something else, Belphegor ate in silence, glad that he could eat what he had been given; it was hard for him to find food he could tolerate.

Finishing his meal quickly, Belphegor pushed the container away from him before curling up into a ball, wanting to sleep; he was so tired, he wasn't sure he was going to last much longer.

However, just when he had gotten to sleep, Belphegor was startled awake by a loud thump. Opening his eyes, he found that the blond teenager seemed to have fallen over, and that the silver-haired one was laughing at him. However, something about that laughter seemed different to the one he always heard from his family; there wasn't that cruel vibe resonating from them; instead it seemed almost… happy.

"You're a fuckin' idiot, Bucking Horse." Getting to his own feet, Squalo approached his friend. Reaching down, he picked Dino up, taking a few steps as he watched the older male brush himself off. "What, did you trip over your own feet again?"

Dino chuckled, smiling shyly. "I think so, Squalo."

Belphegor could sense that the situation had calmed down, so warily pulling himself out from beneath the bed, he sat and watched the two; he had never seen interactions like this before, finding that they didn't frighten him – hell, there was no violence or anger there to scare him in the first place, nothing but friendliness. "…"

Dino took notice of the boy after a few minutes. Cocking his head to the side, he said, "I guess it's not as comfortable beneath the bed as you thought it would be, huh?"

Nodding, the smaller blond dropped his head, picking at the stitching on his raggedy pants. "…"

Moving to kneel next to the child, Dino smiled. "Would you like some new clothing? The ones you're wearing look very old and worn out."

Beneath long bangs, Belphegor just blinked, not understanding what was being said to him; what was the teenager talking about? "…"

Remaining patient, Dino didn't mind the silence; he knew that he was dealing with a damaged boy, and he couldn't let himself grow frustrated; he had to be understanding if he wanted to help. "I will buy you clothing."

"…?" Cocking his head to the side, Belphegor decided he didn't like the confusion and instead returned to picking at his clothes; he wasn't used to anything but yelling and screaming, so having someone speak to calmly to him was like a foreign language he had never heard of before.

"So, what's your name? What do your parents call you?"

"…" Looking up at Dino again, the boy licked his lips before avoiding eye contact. "…B…Belphegor…"

"Belphegor?" His eyes crinkling with kindness, Dino smiled wider. "Can I call you Bel?"

"…" Nodding, Belphegor stood up and moved to the wall window, his hands on the glass as he watched the trees begin to sway in the heavy wind.

Squalo sighed as Dino came back to his side, his dark eyes narrowed. "I don't care what his name is; he's a brat to me."

"Give him a chance, Squalo; I'm sure he's just a little nervous." Turning back around to face Belphegor, Dino called out, "Hey, Bel? How old are you?"

"…Eight…"

Not wanting to ask this question, but knowing he couldn't kidnap a child no matter how good his intentions were, the oldest teenager asked, "Do you want to go back to your parents, or do you want to stay here with Squalo and I?"

"…" Freezing on the spot, fresh tears started sliding down Belphegor's face at the question. "…I don't want to go back to them…"

Dino wished he could get up and hug the child, but he knew how frightening that could be for Belphegor; he instead stayed where he was, dropping his head; how was he supposed to respond to such a heartbreaking scene?

Shaking his head, Dino turned away. He could feel Squalo tensing beside him, the smaller teenager clearly angered by the reaction, but Dino knew that anger wasn't directed at Belphegor – never at Belphegor; it was aimed at the people who had done this to the boy in the first place.