Well, holy shit then. (I keep not expecting such a large reaction and it happens anyway. You guys just make me blush, dammit.) Here's the next chapter!

(Imma admit, I don't know Skull as well as I probably should considering I'm writing a fanfic about him. So, if he, or anyone else, seems out of character, can someone warn me so I don't look like an idiot? Thanks~)

I don't own D. Gray-man or Katekyo Hitman Reborn


"Who is this clown?" A hood covered person asked, eyeing Skull as he paused to take in the room.

He saw five other people situated around the room, each with their own bubble of space. There was an Asian man dressed in red sitting at the table, which had enough chairs to seat seven people. With him sat two other people, a green haired man in a white lab coat and the hooded figure that had noticed Skull's arrival. Now, Skull was rather good at determining gender, from his interactions with Master Cross and Kanda, but the conflicting vibes from the person in purple just made the stuntman confused.

Other than the three at the table, there were two people standing the shadows of the dimly lit room. One was a tanned woman with dark blue hair. Her glare sent shivers down Skull's spine. He mentally marked her name under Cloud Nine's on his Women-Not-To-Mess-With list. Of the hundreds of women he met while training under Master Cross, only four have ever made his list. Cloud Nine, Anita, Lenalee, and Lulubell.

The last figure nearly caused Skull start shaking in fear. The man was tall and undoubtedly handsome, from what little he could see from the shadows. But he radiated the same dangerous and playboy aura as Master Cross. It was only the short black hair and the lack of Timcampy's excited movement from inside his small bag that calmed Skull down.

"You don't know who I am?" Skull asked incredulously. "I am the great and powerful Skull! Death quakes at my mere name! I flirt with danger ev-"

A gun was cocked in his direction. Skull shut up immediately, recognizing the sound from years of torment.

"Shut up, Lackey." A smooth voice called out from the dark shadow. Skull froze, watching the gun with hesitance. This man was way too much like Cross for his comfort. At this rate, he would have to adjust his carefully constructed personality. Skull de Mort was an arrogant showman that lived for the crowds. He wouldn't be welcome among dangerous gun-toting men. He would need to tweak this rough new persona. It wouldn't due to die from an itchy finger. Not after everything.

"Lackey?" Skull squawked, watching the others through the safety of his helmet. Not that he would be able to keep it on for much longer. "The Great Skull will-"

"-get me an espresso. What a good Lackey we have." The man smirked, lowering his gun slightly. The others followed his expression. Skull sighed internally. Would he have to play the slave-child once again? Though, it was a mask that he already knew. It shouldn't be too hard to integrate it into Skull's own ego. Maybe even pass it off as self-preservation.

"I will not-" Skull huffed, refusing to move from his spot.

"We're missing one," the man with the gun noted, glancing around the room casually.

Skull crossed his arms, choosing to lean against the wall next to the door. A quick exit and an easy way to watch everyone in front of him. The man smirked in his direction at his action.

The door opened slowly at the infuriating man's comment. A puffy hatted head peeked around the corner. "I apologize for making everyone wait on me." The woman who confidently stepped into the dark room stated. She breezed over to the chair situated at the head of the table. Everyone's attention was focused solely on her.

"And you are?" the red dressed man asked, smiling benignly.

"I am Luce." She glanced around for a moment. "I'm sorry, but, I don't think I know all of your names…" she trailed off.

Skull could practically taste the egos in the room suddenly expand.

The lab coat wearing man spoke up first. "Verde, Scientist Extraordinaire." He nodded at Luce. She turned her head expectantly to the figure sitting beside him.

"Viper." The figure stated. They didn't offer anything else, but Luce smiled at them anyway.

The red dressed man spoke up. "I am Fon, a pleasure to meet you Miss Luce." The smile that graced his face reminded Skull of his former self. A polite gesture that had started to lose its meaning. Surprisingly, Skull felt that the man actually meant his words, even with his smile cracking at the edges.

The tanned woman introduced herself without prompting, "Lal Mirch, COMSUBIN officer."

Skull found himself suddenly subject to the woman's entire attention. "Skull de Mort." He muttered self-consciously. There was something about this woman that made him uneasy. Her twinkling eyes made him uncomfortable.

"Don't try to be cool, Lackey." The man sneered. Luce rounded on him the moment he opened his mouth.

"And you are?"

"My name is Reborn, The World's Strongest Hitman. Chaos." He tilted his hat up slightly with his gun to smirk openly at Luce. She smiled winningly back up at him.

Skull couldn't hold back the muffled giggles that erupted at the 'World's Strongest Hitman's' responding bewildered look.

"What are you laughing about, Lackey? I don't see that espresso…" Reborn trailed off threateningly, cocking his gun back towards the stuntman.

Luce reached up, cupping the tense hand to lower the gun. "I'm sure Skull didn't mean anything by that, right, Skull?" Her knowing eyes were back on him. Skull was reminded heavily of Hevlaska. The mere thought made him shiver. Reborn grinned ferally at the sign of fear.

"Of course not, Senpai!" Skull chirped. No one cringed at the title or his tone of voice and Skull marked it down as useable. Instead, the five other members of the group radiated satisfaction. "I'll go get it right away!" He allowed a tinge of fear to coat the undertones. Everyone immediately caught onto it, but most seemed to just scoff at his perceived weakness. Only Fon and Luce eyed him strangely. Fon with confusion and Luce with amusement. Skull noted to himself to avoid her as much as he could during this 'Group Project' that the person in the letter mentioned.

He stepped away from his position by the front door to cross the room for the door further in the darkness. No eyes followed him, to engrossed in the conversation that Luce had started. Marching deeper into the small house, Skull searched for a kitchen.

Finding one, he set about making an espresso as well as other drinks he suspected the rest of the group would enjoy. Waiting for the espresso and tea pot, he took the time to remove his helmet, revealing his painted face and purple hair to the empty room. He attached the velcro strap on the back of the helmet to the hook on his waist, allowing it to dangle at his side. Free of the physical reminder of his new identity, Skull leaned his back against the counter.

He didn't trust any of them, but Ginevra and the Boss were counting on him. He didn't want to let anyone else down. Twisting his gloved hand through his short purple dyed hair, he tugged at the locks.

He needed to be careful. These people were dangerous. If the screaming of every battle honed instinct in his hadn't clued him in, then it was the self-assured way that Reborn claimed to be the best Hitman in the world. That's not something you just throw out without it being true.

The two warring elements inside of him have kept him alive through all of his stunts, but he didn't think that Crown Clown or the Noah could save him from a bullet to the head. But, this new gig might help Skull develop this identity even further. No one looking for him would search among a bunch of hitmen and psychos. It might even be safer than his public arrogant image.

Or it might leave him dead in a ditch.

And Skull couldn't keep his promise if he was dead.

He was tempted to walk out the back door of the small house and never look back. To hell with opportunities and big breaks.

But, Skull knew better. His experiences as Allen and Red taught him more about the world than one would think. This was not something that he could get out of, at least not easily.

And the last thing he needed as a third party after his head. The Noah and the Black Order was more than enough for the eighteen year old.

"What a mess." Skull admitted to the empty room.

You can say that again, my adorable nephew.


The next chapter will probably be another time skip. Either right after the curse or during a 'team bonding' mission.

I really like my Skull, he's just adorable. (I should probably read the manga rather than rely on the anime, but I think I'll let my writer's privileges rule this story instead of my obsessive need to get everything right.)

I already have three other serious stories and two goof-off ones. Why the hell am I willingly adding more to my work load? Imma combust at this rate.

I'm actually surprised that I'm updating this so soon, but I live to serve my readers.

However, I probably won't update this story for a while, since Imma be doing a Song Challenge with some of my friends. We're gonna write a oneshot story everyday based on a song for the entire month of April. Sadly, most of my other stories are gonna have to take a backseat due to this. They'll still be updated, just not as often as previously.

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter~