Yay! Chapter two! I actually liked writing this, because it wasn't hurried, and I didn't have to force myself either. Here, we step just a little bit deeper into the plot.

Enjoy.

I hid behind the wall, poking my head out ever so slightly. The hallway was clear, thank God. The dining room was on the other side of the hall. If I could get there before Reborn saw me, maybe I'd survive. He doesn't like fighting at the dinner table.

But what if he was using his camouflage again? That was dangerous. He might as well be right next to me. I turned my head just to make sure. Nope, no one there. Okay, I'm moderately fast. Maybe I could just leg it. Okay Skull, you can do this. Yeah! I'm the Master Commander! I can totally do this! Reborn can kiss my ass!

I made a dash for it, and just as I did, someone shot at my feet. I cried out and jumped up just in time. I turned to my left, to see my impending doom. Reborn was walking down the stairs casually, holding a regular pistol in his hand, dressed rather nicely for a simple dinner. Oh, and he was frowning. Nothing good happens when he frowns. "You were thinking aloud earlier."

DAAAAAAAAAMN IT. I have no idea which part he heard, but the last was the one I was most concerned about. I did a verbal keyboard smash. "Dasfdhkfjg… ha?"

He frowned even more and tipped his hat up so I could get the full weight of the glare. "Retard."

And then all of a sudden he's right behind. Before I can even turn around, he slaps the back of my head so hard I fly forward a few feet. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

He mumbles something I can't hear before disappearing into the dining room, and I stalk in after him, taking the seat as far away from him as possible. Fon came in bearing the last of the dishes, and took his place next to Reborn. So now that everyone was seated, Uni clapped her hands together. "Now let us thank the Lord for this meal."

And then she forced everyone to hold hands. I scowled, but complied anyway. Lal nearly broke my right hand, while Viper kept his barely hovering over mine. He wasn't one for physical contact anyway.

After that, I kind of stopped paying attention. Though dinner seemed to taste good, I didn't really care. Verde stayed silent pretty much, aside from making snarky remarks about how Reborn's sideburns defy physics. Fon silently nodded his head here and there as he listened to Uni chatter. Viper brought out several wads of money and began sorting them silently, nibbling on his pasta and smiling at the growing stack of hundreds. Collonello was telling some strange story and Lal was giving a good punch here and there for getting parts wrong.

My eyes wandered the other occupants of the room, before determining that they are all fucking insane. I think I came to that conclusion with in a half second. Probably less.

I rolled my eyes, and took my plate into the kitchen, before dumping it into the dishwasher and closing the door with my feet. I was still kind of hungry though. My feet found themselves walking towards the fridge, my one true love. She is the only one that understands me.

I need a life.

I look in. Vegetables, jars of things I don't know, and is that a foot? Probably one of Verde's experiments. I push that to the side and tilt my head, trying to see if I could find some sort of imaginary dessert from this angle. And I did, on the shelf below it. My hands shoved the unnecessary pile of vegetable out of the way, and grabbed that sweet plate of pie. Half of it was already gone, but who cares. And, Oh Sweet Lord! It was blueberry with whipped cream on top. My favorite.

I cut off about half of the heavenly treat and shoveled it onto a plate, before putting the rest back in the fridge. Taking my fork, I shoved a rather generous amount into my waiting mouth, and who cares how dirty that sounds because dear GOD! This is heavenly. I almost twirled back upstairs to my room in pure joy. I love my pie.

I locked the door behind me for good measure. Last time I checked, Collonello had strange nighttime sparring habits. I put my plate down on my bed; I walked over to the closet, to get my bag. I crouched down and peered inside, using my hands to get down to the bottom, and sure enough, the clasped around a familiar checkered box. It was small enough to fit in both hands. I lifted it out and walked back onto my bed, and opened it, taking out the mini chess pieces and setting them up on the board. My stomach requested more food, and I am surely not one to disappoint. Mmm, pie.

Ah, I forgot my notebook. I went back to my bag and pulled it out and grabbed a pen as well. Sitting down properly, I began to move the little pieces, scribbling down into my book, and occasionally crossing things out. My brows furrowed in concentration, and I took another bite of pie.

Someone knocked on my door. I sighed and dropped my notebook down next to the empty plate, before heaving myself off of the bed and going over to open the door. Verde appeared, his usual scruffy self, minus the lab coat. He rubbed the back of his neck like the socially awkward fuck he is. "Uni asked you to come downstairs."

"Okay."

Verde was surprisingly tolerable when he wasn't in the middle of one of his experiments. As we were walking downstairs, I looked down for a moment and apparently, Verde wears bunny slippers. I am not allowed to laugh, but holy crap, I was not expecting this. I bite down on my lip in a silent grin to stop the laughs from coming out. Somehow, I manage to make to the end of the staircase, but then of course, they squeaked.

I literally fell down clutching my stomach, laughing like there's no tomorrow. He turns around and frowns, like he hasn't got a clue. "Why are you laughing? Get up."

I sit up on my arms and grin, keeping back a few stray giggles. "Why? Are you blind or something? You're wearing squeaky bunny slippers, Verde!" I wave my hand in the general direction of the offending footwear.

He rolled his eyes. "They're comfortable and don't get dirty, so I don't care. Now get up."

I did as told, letting out a few snickers despite his frown. Or actually maybe it was because he was mad. He was funny when he was mad.

Uni and the others were all gathered around the fireplace, all warm and cozy, despite the fact that the room was filled with the world's greatest hit men. Uni sat on large, overstuffed chair, her tiny frame only further exaggerated. Reborn sat on the floor in front of Uni, with his hat and coat next to him. I spotted his chameleon, Leon, wrapped up in a little bundle on his lap. Seemed Russian weather didn't suit him that much.

Lal was crouching by the fireplace, poking the logs with an iron. Collonello sat up on a rocking chair, feet up, like the kid he was at heart. Viper was sitting next to him, impatiently waiting for whatever spectacle that was supposed to happen, to happen. Verde sat cross-legged on a pillow next to him.

Fon came in, bearing a tray of teacups and began to pass them around. Uni smiled and clapped her hands. "Now that everyone's here, lets start. Reborn, tell us a story."

Wait, she brought me here for story time? I twitched. It couldn't be helped. She was only ten years old after all. Reborn thought for a moment, stroking Leon gently. Though the image only made me think of those old movies where the villain would sit and pet his weird furry cat of doom. It wasn't that far off actually to what I was seeing. Fon came to me and smiled. "Can I convince you to have some green tea?"

"Hmm, nope."

He simply shook his head and poured me some coffee. Was it too late for coffee? Nah.

He placed the tray on the table and sat quietly next to me. I took a sip as Reborn started his story. Some tale about mythological creatures in Africa. Seemed like complete bullshit to me, and when I said so out loud, Lal smacked me across the face for being 'culturally intolerant'. But he was talking bullshit though. I'd already heard the story a long time ago, and he was telling it wrong, but I let it slip because I'd rather not go to bed with two hand prints on my face, thank you very much.

'Story time' went on for ages, mostly because Uni, being the curious, lovable child that she was, begged for details from everyone. Verde was finishing describing a tale of how when he was younger and had blown up his father's second house, resulting in permanent grounding. And though he didn't mention it, it would also explain why he didn't have a girlfriend. Though I'd poked enough fun at the guy today, so I'd let that slip.

Uni's eyes set on me and she smiled that adorable smile that she always did. "Skull, its your turn now! Tell us a story please!"

I liked telling stories just about as much as I liked hugging jagged rocks. I rubbed the back of my head nervously, and was upset to see an empty coffee cup. There goes my excuse to not talk. "Um, I don't want to tell a story."

The rest of the Arcobaleno sat patiently (and impatiently, in Collonello's case) as Uni continued to pester me. "Come on Skull! Just one story, please! It doesn't have to be anything special."

She paused for a moment. "Why don't you tell about your past? I've always been curious as to how you got your powers."

She smiled and cupped her face in her hands. That bitch. This was the first time and the last that I would ever say something like about Uni, mentally or not.

"Uh, I'd rather no-"

Reborn pulls out a regular pistol and points it at my head, since Leon is currently out of commission. "You rather would, actually."

"No, I'd rather not." He seems surprised that I actually stood up to him like that. The others seem more than a little interested by now, and they're all pestering me to tell. Uni just looks at me with these gigantic doe eyes like she's upset, because she is upset that I'm keeping a secret from her. But it's a secret worth keeping so I only harden my gaze and stare right back.

Viper stood up. "If you'd all be quiet, please."

And the group did, Collonello mumbling something I didn't quite catch. It must have been offensive, because Lal almost stabbed his side with her elbow. Viper cleared his throat. "If you pay up, I'd be more than willing to make him talk."

Verde was the first to reply. "I'll put the usual fee in your bank account later." And he had the nerve to yawn and scratch his head and yawn, like this wasn't actually a big deal. I gave a look that clearly had 'traitor!' written all over it.

Viper moved towards me, "Very well then, I'll get started." He lifted up his hand and leaned forward, and I was already having the worst flashback about where'd I'd seen that last. I knew exactly what he was doing, though no else did, and I'd been taught how to counter it. Just as his finger was about to touch the little space between my brows, I grabbed his hand and twisted it backwards until I heard the bones crack and his scream till I was sure I was deaf.

In that moment of panic, I reached out to get his other hand, just to be safe. I can't have him reading my memories. They're mine and mine alone to share. Than all of a sudden there's arms pulling us apart and I'm scrambling and trying to force myself out of the grip but I can't. Viper screams and his hood is tossed back and it seems that he is actually a she. Everyone screaming and yelling and I don't know what's going on anymore. My vision starts clouding, and I'm panicking and I'm screaming at everyone, but I don't even know what I'm saying.

And then I break free and I run out of the room and upstairs. I can hear someone running after me, but then the footsteps stop and I'm too scared to look back. I slam the door behind me and I lock it twice, just to be sure. And my room is so quiet that all I can hear is my own breathing. Either the yelling stopped or the walls were thick. I couldn't tell anymore.

My knees go weak and I almost collapse onto the floor. I make my way to the bathroom, holding onto furniture to keep myself steady. I leave the door open behind me because movement is starting to hurt. Its hurts to get everything off and get in the tub. And I settle for just sitting down on the tub floor with the water drumming on my back because standing is taking too much effort. The water was cold, but my skin still felt like it was burning.

Minutes pass, and I lie down because I'm tired. The water is cold on my torso, and I think I might freeze like this, but even so, I was burning up. If I opened my eyes and squinted I could see steam coming up. My hand reached up to turn the knob, making the water colder.

I close my eyes and rest my head back. I hear a familiar humming in the back of my head, and the voice speaks. It's Luce. I don't know if her ghost is haunting me or if she's just a wandering spirit that likes to check in.

Why did you run away from them like that?

I'm not ready. I can't tell them; I can't even tell myself. You know why.

They have to know Skull. It'd better if you told them before someone else did.

I frowned. Why don't you tell them if you think they should know?

I can almost hear her smile. Its nostalgic and its sickening and its making my chest hurt.

It's not my story to tell.

I try to retort, but the humming is gone. I feel cold now. I touch my skin just to make sure. I feel empty as well, but that was a feeling that came and went every now and then. I think I might be insane.

I keep the towel on my head and close the door behind me. I pulled out some clothes and put them on slowly. My body seemed to ache everywhere. I winced when I tried to put on my shirt. I threw it to the side. Not tonight. I'm just about to collapse on the bed when I realize. I freeze, stiff as a board. "Viper?"

I hear a familiar sigh, and he, no she, seems to materialize next to the door. I widen my eyes in shock. Was she watching me change clothes?

Like always, she seemed to read my mind. "Relax, I closed my eyes."

I only glare. "Isn't it to a stupid idea to sneak into someone's room right after they break your hand?"

She sighs and walks closer. "I'm just here to ask a few questions."

I take a step backward and sit on the bed, still weary. Time to change the topic. "Didn't Uni forbid you from using illusions?"

She smirked. "What Uni doesn't know won't hurt her. Now, as I was saying."

Fuck, guess this was unavoidable after all.

"You recognized the technique I was using. Now that made me curious as to how you did. After all, aren't you supposed to be a stuntman?"

I give her a glare in reply. "I'm not answering any questions until you take off your hood."

She pursed her lips. "It'll cost you."

I cross my arms. "I'll pay you with answers."

"Fine." She lifts her hand up and lowers her hood.

I get a good look at her for the first time. She had slightly purplish hair, though I'd always known that from the stray locks that slipped out of her hood. But she had these horrifyingly pale eyes. I would compare them to the sky, but they were so fucking pale. And they stood out, despite the bad lighting. "Sit down, will you."

It takes me an effort to not let my voice shake.

God, she looked like she possessed by Satan or something. Hell, maybe she was half the time. You could never be sure.

She plopped down next to me and sat cross-legged on the bed. "Now as for my questions, how did you know what I was doing?"

I frown a little. Like Luce said, they would all find out eventually. "Someone used it on me before. I know how it works."

She raised an eyebrow. "When it almost started to work, I saw something."

I let my eyes wander round a little. Nope, no eye contact now. "Yeah, I know. I'm the one that had the memory forced out."

She glared and crossed her arms. "You're not being helpful."

I glared right back at her. "Did you think I would cooperate willingly?"

She sighed, after a moment. "We're getting nowhere. Now if you don't mind, my other hand is still fine."

It took me a moment to understand what she jut meant, and then another two to actually react.

"G-give me a moment to get my thoughts in tact."

She noticed the obvious stutter; I could tell; but didn't say anything. I took a deep breath. Remember. Remember back to the time when I was little, where all the memories are cloudier than the sky above. I shivered. "Okay, I'm ready."

She nodded. Her finger lifted up and I clenched my fists to make sure I didn't hurt her again. My eyes focused on like everything was in slow motion. Her finger was still a few inches away, but I could the gears turning and my mind fading back into some kind of soft mushy goo.

And then her finger made contact and we both remembered.

Ah! This was so much fun. I wrote this over a week or so, and on the final night when I had to go to bed I got so excited because I only had just a little bit left to write. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did!

Oh and next chapter will be the beginning of the memories, haha. Things will be a little confusing now, but they'll be explained later.

Reviews are sexy little things.