The betrayal of Luce still leaves a bitter taste in the chosen Arcobaleno's mouths, its seared in their minds even as they are forced to gather by her bedside as she begins her journey to Death's embrace.
Reborn stares at the dying Sky, one that could have been his had things gone differently. If she hadn't already been fully bonded, if she had decided to trust them and gave them a choice instead of lying with her honey-soaked words and forcing them to play a part in a curse they never agreed with. (He wonders if any of them would have stayed had they known). If she hadn't decided to betray them, to betray him. He remembers her kindness, the way she light up with room with her Sky flames, the way she drew each and every one of them in with her smiles and treats, with her promises of safety and care. How she formed latent bonds with each of them, gain their trust, gained their names, only to throw everything away when brought them all to Checkerface like lambs to a slaughter.
He remembers how it felt to have the curse latch onto to his flames, onto his very being. How it sucked out each and everyone of their lives without restraint until they were forced into the bodys of infants, how Luce smiled at them still, claimed it was their duty, that they should be honored they were Chosen. How they fled the moment the Incident ended, with their too small bodies and anger flooding even the calmest of veins.
Reborn threw himself even harder into his work, didn't stop even when exhaustion plagued at his senses. He throws himself into every field he can get his hands into, deadly and free aside from the Curse. He ensures that despite his new body, everyone remembers why he was called the Greatest Hitman, and if he's ways are a little more violent and sadistic then before, well that's nobody's business but his own.
Viper threw themselves into the Varia, takes reign of the finances and distracts themselves with their own illusions and the monotonous movement of cash. Numbers don't lie, and there is a price for everything in this world, Viper understands this now. They won't make the same mistake a second time.
Skull, the least underground of them all, drowned himself in stunt work that bordered on suicidal. He earns the name 'Immortal Skull' for his daring, and dips into the darker side of the underground. He's an Arcobaleno now, after all, even if everyone says he's the weakest. He doesn't have much of choice anymore.
Fon disappears back to the Chinese Triads, he throws himself harder into his martial arts, into learning how to quell his own Stormy anger. He does his best to avoid what little family he has left, torn between the worry of the Triads breathing down his back and Curse that now follows him like a disease.
Lal and Colonello avoid each other as much as possible. Lal can't stand the knowledge that he took her place - sacrificed himself to the curse for her, and Colonello can't stand to the grey pacifier that hangs around her neck. A sign that he didn't save her completely. He can't stand to see her guilt-stricken face when her eyes lock with his own light blue pacifier, her guilt eating away at her the same way the curse eats away at him.
Verde locks himself in his lab, erratically shifting between trying to find a way to end the cruse, and a mixture of resignation an apathy when it all becomes too much. When the knowledge that they're going to die like the countless Arcobaleno's before them becomes overwhelming and he can no longer breathe.
Luce's death changes nothing at all. They're still stuck in those cursed child-like bodies as they wait for Checkerface to arrive and pass the pacifier onto it's next bearer: Luce's daughter, Aria. She smiles and looks just like her mother, spouting the same shit of how they should be grateful they were Chosen, how they curse was a blessing that her mother bestowed upon them. How they should be thankful that they got to work with two Skies when most Elements would kill to even meet one. They hate her already, just like they grew to hate Luce and her holier-than-thou ideology. The only solace they find is she, like her mother, already formed her Guardian bonds.
They've all long since come to realization that they will die without ever meeting a proper Sky, one that was supposed to care and love them as much as they care about them. Instead they were going to die for a curse they had no choice with for a power-blinded Sky and their mistaken ideals.
Checkerface appears with little fanfare. With his arrival the Sky pacifier vanishes from Luce's clasped hand to reappear in Checkerface's outstretched one. Aria take a step forward, her chin up as she walks towards her Fate.
Tsuna is five years old when a soft voice in his head whispers at him to go to the park early instead of staying home with his Mama. It is the same voice that whispers in his head whenever he nearly trips, or when Ms. Shiroma is looking at him and he needs to pay attention again in class.
Tsuna is five years old when he meets a smiling man with sad eyes. (The voice whispers at him to go nearer, trust the man, this is important. And Tsuna knows to trust the voice, it will not do anything to hurt him, even if it asks him to do things he would rather not.)
Nonetheless, Tsuna takes a seat next the smiling man. No wonder pass between the two as the wind blows. The smiling man seems to be in no hurry to speak, and Tsuna has never been one to mind the silence. (It is important after all, the voice whispers, that the smiling man be free to make his decisions in his own time. His task is not one to be taken lightly.)
Wordlessly, Kawahira reveals the orange pacifier in his hand, sadness tainting his smile now. His breath catches as the young Sky's eyes turn molten before he lowers his head. (This is important, the voice whispers instistantly. This is yours, it purrs in his mind).
Tsuna is five years old when the weight of the pacifier is placed around his neck, the mans smiles replaced by a small frown although he offers no apology. Instead he settles closer to the little Sky and finally offers to talk to him.
Kawahira's heart breaks at what his hand is forced to do but the Arcobaleno need a Sky and Sepira's line hadn't been able to produce a pure enough Sky after Luce. While Aria was strong in her own right, and she had the same charisma that all Sky seem to embody, she wasn't enough not for the Arcobaleno, not for the Tri-ni-sette. He will do what he must to ensure that this world continues, even if it means that he must condemn a child. This world is all he has left.
Kawahira is tempted to leave their conversations at idle chat, there is no need to thrust the young boy into a panic, and normally he would have - after all he has no reason to play favorites with the young Sky and he has left bearer's unknowing before. But the Sky that sings beneath the child's skin makes him hesitate. It's purer than Luce's - who he would begrudgingly was one of the strongest Sky bearers he's cursed, nearing his dear Sepira in purity and strength. He can barely taste the young Sky's Flames in the air around them, the beginnings of Harmonization forming with area, but it's enough to know that the child will rise above Luce - has the potential to rise above Sepira. And while that should scare him, should make him angry that a mortal could be better than Sepira. He can't bring himself to be angry at the small Sky that has yet to speak a word. That has given him free rein of how this interaction would go down without any expectations. That has not run away yet despite the fact that there is nothing keeping him here.
A soft chuckle flusters through the air as he finally turns to the little Sky. "What is your name, little one?"
The child perks up, "Tsuna! But Mama calls me Tsu-kun!" The young Sky chirps, a wide smiles plays on his face.
"Hello, Tsuna. I'm Kawahira, have you ever heard of a group called the Arcobaleno?"