Title: Contract

By: Metamorcy

Rating: M

Pairing: Arcobaleno27, main R27

Disclaimer: Seriously? Don't own, just the idea

A/N:

Beta'ed by WhiteAngel128 and Ankou13


Chapter 28

After the incident with Byakuran, Tsuna continued with his shopping and eventually came across Skull in the bakery section close to the far right of the building. Tsuna peered around the area, taking notice of all the wonderful pastries, cakes, and various other goods and chuckled in amusement. Stepping closer to see what Skull was eyeing, he looked over several of the cakes before concentrating on the one before the purple-haired male. It looked like a carrot cake by the color of the insides, unless it had been colored, and the carrot-shaped confetti on top. Leaning over, he read the details of it, mentally taking down the ingredients that had been used to make this lovely dessert, and smirked. "If you want, I can make that for you."

Skull tilted his head back to observe Tsuna, pondering over the brunet's words, before breaking out into a massive grin as realization began to grow. The smile itself was a little awkward from the piercings and the bad-boy attitude Skull was trying to give off. Still, if Tsuna were to take those out of the equation, the Meraviglian would look like a child who had just received the best thing in the world with the way his eyes were sparkling so brightly. "C-Can you?"

"Yeah, of course! I'm almost done with my shopping and I have the ingredients I can use already in the cart. If you'd like I can make this for dessert tonight." Tsuna gave a soft smile well aware of how the other beamed at the thought of getting something sugary. Skull shifted forward, his eyes still sparkling like mad, and for a second, Tsuna imagined seeing an excited puppy in the other's place. Shaking his head and preventing himself from giggling at the sight, he continued on with his shopping and made sure to pick up those requested coffee beans for the raven before he accidentally forgot. A little while later, he was paying with Reborn's credit card and was standing outside the store with the numerous shopping bags in hand, struggling to pull them all out of the door. There was simply too many to carry and even his companion was having difficulty.

Upon exiting the grocery store, Skull immediately pulled out the box device from one of his many pockets and concentrated on his purple hell element. Spreading his attribute outwards a flame-like substance danced along his fingertips before he poured it into the opening of the box. Tsuna heard a loud click as the box unlocked itself, the hinges automatically opening and a white light blast outwards from the opening, just narrowly missing where he was standing. Muttering a small apology, Skull aimed it towards the goods just as Tsuna stepped aside and within moments everything was sucked into the light, leaving an empty street as the hinges slammed shut. The light and the hell element vanished, drawing itself back into Skull's body. Some of the Meraviglians peered over curiously or amazement, never before seeing such a thing occur, and whispers broke out among the crowd.

Tsuna leaned closer towards the box, staring at it in wonder. "Whoa… That makes things so much easier."

"I know, right? It's so convenient. Some of Verde's inventions are really awesome!" Skull grinned, looking proud of himself despite not really doing anything. "Well, since we walked over here I'll give you a ride back."

At those words the brunet blinked, tilting his head curiously. His hair followed the direction and fell downwards, some brushing against his cheeks. "A… ride?"

The purple-haired man nodded, smiling lightly as he scratched the back of his head. "I guess you don't know my other form. The others didn't say anything about it?" Tsuna shook his head confirming the other's guess. "I see, well I take it that this will be the first time then. Now watch as the amazing Skull transforms!"

The brunet almost wanted to sigh, starting to get used to Skull's eccentric personality. He was the complete opposite of the other Arcobaleno, but then again perhaps they needed someone like him around to lighten the mood. Of course, Tsuna could see it backfiring as well but Skull's liveliness was definitely a good thing. Still, he watch as purple smoke materialized around the male, spreading out from that one spot in the center. As it did so he narrowed his eyebrows when he noticed something slightly odd compared to the others when they transformed. 'It's a little… no, much larger than when the others transformed…'

As soon as he thought that, there was a deafening roar that conducted a massive wave of power. It was painful enough that Tsuna dropped down onto his knees to cover his ears in order to preserve his hearing. Those nearby mimicked his movements, some screaming out in agony, before there was silence. Shakily, Tsuna stood back up watching the mist carefully for any signs of the transformation. He was curious as to what was going to happen, he couldn't help it. However, a second later Tsuna flinched when a large paw suddenly slammed down just outside the mist, creating an enormous hole on the ground. The force of the crash made the ground he stood on shake, enough so that he couldn't keep his balance tumbling to the floor with a small yelp. The paw was about half the size of a large car back on Earth, clearly big enough to crush anything below it like a pancake. The people in the surroundings ran for cover, not wanting to get caught up in the destruction that might follow. Tsuna on the other hand simply watched, his eyes still on the being within.

Finally, the smoke began to fade away, revealing glowing purple flames somewhere in the middle and Tsuna's eyes widened as shapes began to emerge. There, he could see the outline of a figure… no, a beast! A loud gasp escaped his lips, quickly recognizing what the creature appeared to be. It was the shape of a giant dog, almost the size a two-story house, towering over Tsuna by multiple feet. The fur was a dark black like midnight and the toes that were supposed to look like a normal dog's had razor sharp claws digging into the soft ground. The concrete didn't even stand a chance, it cracked under the pressure, crumbling as if it were made out of sand.

There was no neck between the head and the shoulders. It was like the head was hovering in place and in between, there were flames - purple flames - that shaped out into a collar of sort, burning outward. The long demon-like tail that wagged behind the beast was no different in its material form. The center of it was made of heavily condensed flames that almost looked like bone. When Skull opened his mouth, rows of jagged teeth that definitely had the ability to tear through flesh shined in the sunlight, making him appear more demonic than before.

Tsuna continued to examine Skull's new appearance, taking everything in with awe. 'It looks like a… hellhound.' It was as if the beast had been taken directly out of the stories back home. A few changes here and there were noticeable but that was to be expected. Soon Skull turned towards him with large purple-colored eyes and howled, rumbling the earth as he did so. Tsuna could hear and see the windows rattling at the force, a few cracking, and he almost jumped at the sound, slamming his hands over his ears for protection.

"Whoa…" As Skull calmed down, the brunet stepped forward and was tempted to reach out to touch the fur. He wanted to know if it was just as warm as it appeared with all that fire. Or would it be cold? Normal? It was a curious thing to know, one Tsuna wanted to find out. Skull didn't move at first, but eventually lifted his left paw up to bring it closer to the human, his own little way of saying it was okay to touch. Tsuna immediately complied, grasping gently onto the hair and treaded his fingers through the soft strands. "You look really different…"

"Did you expect something else?" The voice was raspy and had a harshness that didn't belong to Skull.

"Kinda… I mean, I thought that something else would fit you," Tsuna scratched the side of his cheek, his eyes glancing to the side as he tried to convey his thoughts. "I mean, the others kinda went along with their personalities and everything."

"Oh?" Even Skull's childish personality was slightly altered from the morph, giving him a dark aura, though that might be just the appearance. Flames made of condensed hell attribute breathed from of his mouth, providing more imagery to his hellhound appearance. His tail whipped to the side, sounding a snap though the air. By the silence that followed, Tsuna quickly figured it wasn't the first time Skull had gotten such a comment. The hellhound awkwardly wiggled his nose and bent his head downwards for a better look of Tsuna due to his height. "Well, since you need a ride the amazing Skull will lend a hand! On this planet I'm known as the immortal Skull!"

'A raven fits Reborn's personality and abilities perfectly, same with Fong and Colonello. But Skull's doesn't. Hellhounds are meant to be dark and… evil. Is it the supposedly immortal fact? Well, at least he still acts the same.' Tsuna almost shook his head at the childish quirk and went forward, going around the giant beast. Skull settled down, bending low enough for the brunet to grasp tightly onto his fur to lift himself up. The hellhound growled lightly when the Capturer pulled too hard but Tsuna continued onwards, muttering apologies along the way. There wasn't much he could do on his end to prevent pain except getting to the top as quickly as possible. Eventually he made it, ignoring the stares that were pointed his way from the residence, and settled close to the center, straddling Skull's back as if the hellhound was a horse of sorts. His fingers grasped a little higher towards the neckline for a better grip, not wanting to be sent flying by any sudden jerks. Tsuna liked remaining upright and pain free thank you very much. "I think I'm ready, Skull. Thanks again."

"It's an easy feat for someone like me." Skull chuckled and immediately took off, quickly making his way back home as he dashed through the streets with little to no trouble. No one opposed him during his run, those in the way moving aside immediately upon spotting the hellhound. It was like no one wanted to mess with a hell attribute bearer, much less a creature that was larger than their own sizes and could possibly crush them with merely his paw. Tsuna didn't blame them, a hell element was considered more troublesome and violent than anything else, willing to backstab their Capturers without a second thought. However, Tsuna thought otherwise when it came to Skull, the purple-haired male didn't give off an aura that complied with that accusation.

Regardless, the brunet felt like he was riding a giant animal, that he was in receipt of a free ride that was bumpier than a car on a rocky road. Tsuna tightened his hold on the fur, sensing Skull about to jump over a tall house, and almost let out a yelp when they landed. Tsuna shook his head at Skull's pace, he just hoped he didn't fall sick during the ride. Flying was way better for traveling than this.


Tsuna cheerfully hummed to himself as he placed all the groceries away in their respective homes in the Arcobaleno household. Skull had vanished into his little shed soon after releasing the items onto the kitchen floor, saying he needed to fix something before he forgot. He had transformed back into his humanoid form, disappearing into the other side of the house. The brunet didn't mind, taking this time to figure out where everything was placed. About halfway in, he found out that only half of frozen and refrigerated groceries could fit in the current refrigerator until Lal marched in, covered in sweat, and mentioned they had another one in the garage. She wiped her forehead with a towel and got a cold bottle of water from the fridge before running back out the door to continue whatever workout she was doing.

The brunet had been a little surprised to hear about the extra compartment, but knew he should have expected it. He continued with the unpacking, organizing everything to make things easier to find, before heading towards the garage. Inside there wasn't only another refrigerator, it had a separate freezer that contained more of the heavier items that wouldn't be able to fit in the second door so easily.

If anything, the Arcobaleno household had everything it needed to take care of everyone, it was just that no one that knew how to use it. After he finished unpacking he quickly started on lunch, making sandwiches for something simple. He made about twelve sandwiches, all cut in two, with half of them containing sliced honey-flavored ham, pieces of sharp cheddar cheese, a tomato slice in the center, some hint of basil in-between, lettuce, mustard, and a small amount of mayonnaise. The other contained similar ingredients except the meat which was switched out for oven-roasted turkey and the cheese for Swiss. Lunch was considerably healthy, keeping everything simple yet enough to sustain everyone until dinner. Next, he placed the cut sandwiches onto a platter, aligning them for easy access, and covered it with a plastic wrap to keep it safe. It would be easier if everyone came down whenever they felt hungry to grab something for themselves than him going around finding them.

As he finished up with everything, Tsuna glanced outside the window from the kitchen and spotted a familiar figure just outside standing near the surrounding trees. He blinked in confusion and tilted his head as he observed Reborn, watching the raven as he flexed his arms multiple times around him. It was obvious as to why he was performing such an action after seeing it done so many times. Since everyone else was currently busy, Tsuna pushed open the front door and made his way outside, striding closer to the other. "Hey."

Reborn tilted his head back just slightly, his sideburns bouncing at his movement, and nodded his head in greeting. "Tsuna."

"What are you doing?" The brunet made his way in front of Reborn before standing in place with his arms behind his back, his fingers interconnected. The mid-day sun was shining brightly down on them, its warm rays heating up the world, and the shadow created by the fedora grew darker, shading Reborn's eyes like usual. Tsuna remained quiet, waiting for the other to respond. He felt a strong gust of wind blow by and listened as the leaves of the trees rustled and the grass whistled at the force. Over the gust there was the soft chirping of the birds, echoing through every corner of the forest. It was quite relaxing, a place that one could just unwind with ease.

"Nothing much honestly."

"Are you sure?"

Reborn just sighed, folding his arms after flicking his fedora upward. "Since you're pestering so much I'm just irritated. The other me wants to get out for a while."

"The other you?" Tsuna tilted his head at that, questions appearing within his mind. It was a little odd after all, he couldn't help it. Was Reborn talking about his transformed side?

"It's more a matter of instincts really. My bird-like side wants to spread out his wings and stretch since it's such a nice day while I want to stay grounded. I can't help it. It's like Fong and how he enjoys sleeping in the hot sun whether he's in his humanoid form or the fox one. It's just shared instincts that interact," The raven flexed his arms again in response, "It's annoying at times."

"Then why don't you transform? I'm okay with it."

Reborn paused for a moment to let those words settle in, watching Tsuna's expression for any lies, before chuckling in amusement. "I guess it wouldn't hurt," He took a few steps back to gain some distance and allowed his darkness powers flow outward, letting himself morph in his raven form. Darkness scattered into the surroundings, two massive wings appearing through the mist and immediately flapped to push everything away. Tsuna fell back at the intensity, slightly surprised, but continued to watch in amazement as Reborn materialized. He couldn't help but gasp at the sight, enjoying the view of the enormous black bird as it cawed. The wind died down as Reborn settled and he shifted on the soft ground, his feet clawing into it to get a good perch. The grass and earth was yanked up immediately from the strength, but it was enough for Reborn to get leverage in order to sink down against the ground, his body all curled up. The position looked like one of those ducks on the water with his feet tucked inward to prevent any uncomfortable positions, Reborn's wings pulled back. His narrowed yellow eyes peered down, watching Tsuna's reaction, but only found happiness.

Standing up onto his feet, the brunet grinned. "You look so cool like that. It's like out of those books where the raven is the harbinger of death." Tsuna moved closer, touching the soft feathers gently. A few fluttered around his head but it didn't matter, his mind was more interested in the giant beast before him. The breast area of the bird was made out of tiny feathers all bunched up together tightly, never revealing the skin underneath no matter how hard he tried to spread the material apart. Wisps of darkness floated around him, most of the feathers made exactly out of that same darkness while others were condensed as protection. It was interesting to touch and feel, Tsuna clearly enjoying every moment.

Reborn just watched in amusement before bending his head downwards and used his beak to gently peck Tsuna's side, gaining his attention. "I'm in a good mood today. Get on and I'll give you a ride."

"A ride? Where?"

"Just a ride, now get on before I change my mind."

"Alright," Tsuna treaded around, crawling his way up to the top, and wrapped his arms tightly around Reborn's neck, burying his face into the soft feathers. Moments later he could already feel Reborn taking off, flapping his massive wings to gain some distance from the earth, before quickly dashing off into the sky. Tsuna lifted his head slightly. "Thanks."

"I don't do this often," Reborn huffed and went further up into the sky, hovering just below the clouds. Having the wind against his wings felt wonderful, he enjoyed the sensation immensely. His shadow was barely noticeable on the ground, too high up to actually leave something behind. Tsuna didn't reply, knowing when to keep his mouth shut, and stared at the ground, examining the trees, rivers, anything related to life as it passed by. Everything looked so beautiful so far away. He tightened his grasp around Reborn's neck, smiling happily, and buried his face into the feathers once more, enjoying the sensation it created against his cheeks. The raven didn't pay any mind to it and shifted around a large mountain, passing the town where Tsuna had been earlier in the day, before making a circle to head back home. "It's been a while since I've actually been able to enjoy this. I don't fly often."

"Why not?" Tsuna's voice was a little difficult to hear over the bustling wind, but due to their close proximity Reborn could pick it up.

"It's just like you said, I look like the harbinger of death. People tend to freak at my appearance, it's just easier not to transform and prevent massive panic."

"Is that so? Well, you're welcome to transform whenever you need to bring me anywhere. I won't mind. I actually quite like it." Tsuna just smiled as his eyes watched the scenery below, memorizing the surroundings so that he would use it for his artwork and taking note of how every tree was placed. It was too pretty to not paint. The brunet shifted closer into Reborn's neck, wincing slightly when one of his bangs slapped him in the face from the force of the wind. He could breathe in the scent of darkness, it wasn't something he normally was able to smell but with Reborn's body made out of it, it was possible.

The raven didn't reply, ignoring the fluttering feeling within his chest, and began to make their way back to the house. He passed through the similar settings, able to see the residence in the distance. Before long he was rapidly flapping his wings to push his body against the wind, getting himself to drop downwards for landing. Just a few feet away, he hovered over the grass and gently dropped down, his claws ripping into the earth to get a secure grip. Reborn didn't transform back, raising his back upwards to allow Tsuna to slide off first, and tilted his head to the side to watch. There was a small squeal as the brunet slid down, landing safely, and ambled across so that he was back in front of Reborn. He gave a wide grin, reaching up to pet those feathers once more, enjoying this immensely. Minutes passed as they enjoyed each other's presence until it was finally interrupted.

"How interesting."

Tsuna snapped his head up, startled by the sudden voice, and peered back at the intruder, taking a quick one-two over the person. He recognized him immediately as Verde, that green hair and white lab coat was most recognizable to anyone among the whole group. The scientist stepped closer, looking over the two before him, and pushed up his glasses with a strange sparkle in one eye. He looked a little ragged, probably from residing downstairs in the basement for so long, and had specks of dust on his white coat.

"I've never seen a human so comfortable with Reborn's other form before," Verde took a momentary glance at Reborn, watching the raven as he remained in the same spot, still allowing Tsuna to run his fingers through his black feathers. "Not even Luce was like this."

There was an instant darkening of aura around Reborn, wisps of darkness spilling out. The threat was as clear as day and yet the other man didn't care, simply observing the interactions between the two. Tsuna, curious on the subject, stopped his petting and twisted around, facing Verde completely. "What do you mean?"

"Luce, when she first saw Reborn's other form, reacted very negatively. She screamed at the sight of him, completely terrified. Eventually, Luce eased up after a while, but the damage was already done," The green-haired male huffed, placing his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. "You can't exactly blame her. As far as I can tell, it's human nature to be afraid of something unnatural."

"That's…"

"Horrible?" Verde chuckled darkly. "One would say so, but like I said, can one blame her? Not really. She was a normal person, born in a normal setting, with a normal life. Despite moving here, she was still an average human with nothing all that special about her except for the way she could move people's hearts," The scientist stepped closer, examining the human thoroughly as if searching for something that was hidden underneath. Reborn quickly transformed back into his humanoid form and marched up beside the brunet for protection, not sure on what the other was trying to do. He had a suspicion but he had confidence it wouldn't be dangerous, physically at least. "You, Tsunayoshi, interest me with that heaven attribute and attitude of yours. You're too accepting of everything, that's far too suspicious to me. Just what are you hiding?"

Tsuna flinched back, his fingers wrapping around each other as if trying to hold himself together. What was he supposed to say? He didn't know much of anything. Nothing really. He was a stranger, a nobody, a doll to his own family, and so much more he didn't want to think about. The brunet shrunk down, staring at his feet as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Perhaps there was no escaping his fate?

"Wait…" Tsuna blinked, looking a little confused over the matter. "Heaven attribute?"

The two glanced at each and Verde was the first one to speak, "He doesn't know?"

Reborn just shook his head, folding his arms across his chest, and released a heavy sigh. "No, he doesn't. He honestly doesn't know anything." His eyes glanced towards his Capturer before peering at his ally. "And I take it that it wasn't hard for you to find out either."

"Simple research and Tsunayoshi was emitting the heaven element into his surroundings. It's not noticeable enough to be felt but my machines could pick it up," Verde leaned closer towards the brunet knowing very well that the other was listening intently. "I picked it up when he first came over but I didn't think much of it. I believed it to be just a simple malfunction but my machine kept beeping whenever he arrived so I looked into it. This is my conclusion."

"So…" The Capturer looked confused by the whole setting. He could use the heaven element? That wasn't possible… right?

Reborn reached up and pet Tsuna on the head, "I guess I better explain it then. The others know and I was hoping to leave you in the dark a little longer until I got all the information together," He dragged his Capturer closer to his body, tugging him towards the house with Verde following behind. "I'll tell you over lunch. You should know about your abilities anyway."

"O… kay?" Tsuna wasn't sure on what else to say, it was strange… As they made their way towards the building, the brunet paused for a moment as if remembering something. "Oh, that's right." Tsuna whispered, catching the attention of both Reborn and Verde. The two older males peered back curiously, the raven tilting his fedora down towards the side by habit. "I almost forgot…"

"Forgot what?"

"Next week…" The two Melivagians raised an eyebrow up at that, not getting what Tsuna had meant. However, they remained quiet, waiting for Tsuna to continue. "Next week there's a family meeting I have to attend… My whole family will be there."


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