"You look happy."
Reborn stated. He observed the Sky with a clinical eye cultivated through many years as a hitman. He didn't allow the months of worry and sleepless nights to affect his judgement. That would be unprofessional. He is the World's Strongest Hitman, and his pride wouldn't let him do anything unprofessional.
But, even he could acknowledge that Sawada Tsunayoshi had changed. He looked happier, content. The haunted look in his eyes was gone. Even the heavy bags under his eyes that had appeared from stress caused insomnia was gone.
The boy was wearing a pale peach coloured formal dress shirt, revealing a few inches of pale creamy skin. He has his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, displaying lean muscled arms. It's paired with the black pants he wore, as well as the pair of black Oxfords.
Wherever he had gone, it had done him some good.
Reborn thought that it was a relief.
Even when it had driven the Vongola and its allies into absolute anarchy. He had been missing for a whole six months after all. In the first place, someone who was civilian-born and raised wouldn't have survived. Not for long anyway. The mafia isn't all sunshine, rainbows and sugar. It's filled with snakes, tigers and wolves, each hiding their agenda and are all too willing to kill for it. Tsunayoshi, with his kindness and gentle nature, would be devoured alive.
He wouldn't admit it, not even with a threat to his life, but he is thankful and relieved. Whoever had taken him had helped the young teen better than he could have. And despite his arrogance, even he knew he had his faults.
"I am", Tsunayoshi replied, calm, collected and with a faint smile on his lips. Seeing that settled his worry. After six months of silence, he finally had the chance to see his student. In good health to boot. He had feared the worst, wondering if he would find his student's corpse one day.
Then, the Vongola had received a letter. It's sealed with Tsunayoshi's Sky flames but the handwriting was foreign. There was a time, date and a place for a meeting, with a request for Reborn to be the only one to attend. It caused the Vongola as a whole to riot.
Had it not concerned his student, he would have found it hilarious.
As much as the Vongola hated it, they had allowed Reborn to meet with his student alone. That was only because whoever had taken Tsunayoshi was more than good. Whenever the Vongola converged onto the meeting place, they failed to find anything. That is if one would refer to the various humiliating pranks they encountered as nothing. Even attempting an ambush had resulted in Vongola's complete humiliation. It had made the 'most powerful mafia family' look stupid, which was a good bonus.
Xanxus and the rest of the Varia had laughed themselves sick. Especially when Iemitsu found himself wearing drag from a particularly nasty Mist illusion. He knew for a fact that Mammon had made a lot with those blackmail pictures.
He had to admit, the pranks were tasteful and were something he enjoyed. He wouldn't mind talking to the person behind it. Given that they hadn't hurt his student, of course, or he will bring the wrath of the Strongest Sun down on them.
In the end, he could only say one thing seeing them more relaxed and happy than he ever did when he had tutored him.
"That's good."
Tsunayoshi beamed, looking up at the stoic visage of his tutor. Neither said anything, letting the silence stretch. Each of them had lost themselves in their thoughts. It was peaceful, especially with the rich scent of coffee in the air.
"I was somewhere safe." Tsunayoshi looked down on the coffee, stirring sugar and milk into the black liquid.
He knew that Reborn had cared, which was more than what he could say of his family. His mother had been oblivious and air-headed, a good caretaker but not a good mother. As for his father… The less said about him the better. And while his Guardians had cared, more so than his actual parents, but not for the right things. Not for him, Sawada Tsunayoshi. He had learnt that now. Even if it had hurt to know.
"You don't have to tell me about it."
"I do", Tsunayoshi said as he looked into onyx eyes hidden by the shadow of the infamous fedora. "You don't deserve it at least. Not like them", he added in a softer tone.
Reborn remained silent, the brim of his fedora casting a dark shadow over his eyes. It was obvious who 'them' was. And he supposed that he could understand, to an extent. When he had gathered Tsunayoshi's Elements for him, it was half-hearted at best. It had been because of proximity and luck that he had even managed it. His contract was to train the boy into a mafia boss, not help him harmonise with his Elements. And you couldn't force a perfect Harmony, no matter what the Vongola Nono had wanted.
"Given what happened in the past six months? That's a wise choice." A new voice, lilting in its familiarity and pitched obnoxiously, spoke up. The male slid into the extra seat around the coffee table. The familiar spiked purple hair and amethyst eyes caused Reborn to freeze. It was only the minute widening of onyx eyes that gave away to his surprise and shock. One that both Tsunayoshi and the man noticed but ignored.
"Did you finish with your business?" Tsunayoshi didn't blink at the new addition to their table. Instead, he pushed a plate of biscuits towards him.
"Yep." Skull reached out and snagged a piece of biscuit from the table to nibble on. "The Carcassa are still the same as ever. Although the number of human trafficking had gone down with our new railroad system."
Tsunayoshi perked up in interest. "So soon? Wasn't it only implemented last month?"
Skull shrugged, taking another biscuit. "Dion is very good at what he does."
The young Sky paused as he thought it over. "Point", he conceded.
He had met the man placed in charge of the Carcassa a few times. And that had only been because he had shown up on the Carcassa's front doors out of the blue. He had his Intuition leading him, which meant that he had nothing but his clothes on him at the time. He is one of Skull's most loyal men and one who knew of the intricacies of the mafia. He had been born the second heir to a prominent family before he ran away from his famiglia after all.
The former Cloud Arcobaleno then turned shrewd and observing eyes towards the Sun. "It's been a while senpai." His voice is soft, lilting and without the obnoxious tone of the Cloud Arcobaleno. Keeping up the act was troublesome enough. Especially when Tsunayoshi was insistent on bringing the hitman into the fold. He didn't want to pretend to be someone he is not, even if it would have taken Reborn a while to comprehend it.
"You were with Skull?" Reborn managed to squeeze out in disbelief, turning to Tsunayoshi. The Sky sniggered, using the cup of coffee to attempt to hide it. He was going to savour this for all its worth. After all, it wasn't every day that you could surprise the hitman.
Even Skull was amused although he hid it well enough. The only thing that gave him away was the twinkle in his eye, as his expression remained neutral.
"Yes." Tsunayoshi grinned, still finding it amusing to one-up the hitman.
Reborn had frozen in place as he stared in incomprehension at the Cloud. Said Cloud only leaned back in his seat, crossing one leg over the other with an aloof indifference.
Tsunayoshi couldn't blame the hitman. There was a vast difference. Especially when the former Cloud Arcobaleno wasn't acting out the stuntman persona. Even knowing that he had his appearance altered by a strong Mist illusion, the Cloud was deadly. He carried a regal and dangerous aura, one that made people think twice about targeting. The pressure alone would have made the weaker-willed into cowering. And that is not including the reactions of the mafioso he often has contact with.
It wouldn't surprise Tsunayoshi that Skull was royalty in some way. There is no way that a civilian would be born with such majesty. That is if he was a civilian at all.
This is someone who possessed power in his hands to lead and rule, and he knew and thrived on it.
Currently, the former stuntman was wearing a neckless long-sleeved black coat-like shirt. There was dark purple embroidery on the linings and buttons made of amethysts. It matched the pair of black pants he wore, complete with a pair of black dress shoes. And with the lack of heavy make-up and the many piercings that Skull had chosen to wear.
Without it, he looked like a feminine beauty with regal and ethereal features.
"Huh, you broke him", Tsunayoshi observed, laughter still slipping past his lips. That turned into a yelp when the hitman shot at him. It resulted in a bullet lodged inside the stuffings of the chair he was sitting in.
"What was that Dame-Tsuna?" The dangerous edge in Reborn's voice immediately quelled any amusement the boy had.
Skull sighed while Tsunayoshi squeaked out an apology. He took comfort that the boy only moved to avoid the bullet and did not cower as he did before. Reborn seemed to also take notice of that as he stopped and Leon shifted back. Then little chameleon settled back into his nap on the brim of the fedora.
"That's what I thought." Reborn turned to face Skull, who smiled at the hitman. "Skull."
"Reborn", the Cloud acknowledged.
The hitman observed the Cloud. If he didn't know any better, he would have mistaken the man for someone else. But, it was those dark purple eyes that made him believe that it was Skull. No one could have such eyes. They are beautiful and brilliant, with a shine akin to amethyst gemstones.
Finally, he sighed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to keep his calm. "Good grief…."
The corner of Skull's lips curved upwards in a faint smile. But, his eyes were indifferent and there is a dangerous edge that has Reborn tensing in response. "I will apologise for taking Tsunayoshi without informing anyone. But, I will not be apologising for taking the boy from where he is dying a slow death."
Reborn pulled his fedora lower over his eyes without replying. Even he could see that Tsunayoshi was crumbling under the pressure. The Vongola had heaped expectations and responsibilities on him, expecting him to thrive. His Guardians hadn't helped either, with their overbearing tendencies. And it didn't help that he is a kind and gentle soul.
"Skull!" Tsunayoshi protested half-heartedly. Said Cloud gave him a reprimanding look. While Tsunayoshi could understand the reasoning, it didn't mean that he liked having to hear about it more than he should. It was bad enough that he had placed his trust in the wrong people. But it was worst being reminded that who he thought was his closest friends had only been seeing an illusion.
Reborn twitched, looking at the two, although it was more so towards Skull. However, he decided to temporarily ignore the slip of the name. Especially with the amethyst eyes still staring at him. "What happens now?"
"Tsunayoshi-kun?" Skull moved his gaze from the hitman to the anxious Sky. Said Sky twitched, looking startled but regained his composure.
"What do you want to do, Reborn?" Tsunayoshi spoke in a soft tone of voice while avoiding looking at his tutor. "You can come with us if you want. If not, I can break the contract you have with Vongola. We're heading back home in a week anyway, so you can have some time to think."
Skull twitched, giving the boy an odd look before looking away. It was not his problem if the boy chose to think of his territory as his home. It would only mean that he has another person under his watch. Tsunayoshi hadn't even noticed the slip of the tongue. But Reborn had, judging from the slight widening of his eyes as surprise showed in his onyx eyes.
"Home?"
Tsunayoshi blinked, confused. Then he flushed a deep red as he reviewed what he had said. He peeked towards Skull, who looked out of the window offering a good view of Italy. He has a lazy and bored expression on his face. Given what he had paid for the penthouse room, it was well worth it.
"What?" Skull raised a brow, having caught the look from the corner of his eye.
Seeing the indifference on the Cloud's face, Tsunayoshi cleared his throat. He turned away, awkward and embarrassed. Skull shook his head.
"It's not like I can stop you if you think of the palace as your home. Think of it as you wish."
That has gotten the young Sky to calm down, a bright grin appearing on his face.
See it as your home as you wish. You will always be welcome. Was implied behind the curt words that Skull had spoken.
Skull returned it with a small smile before turning to Reborn. "You have your choices. Once you have decided, break this." The Cloud took out a bracelet from his pocket. It is a simple purple string bracelet with a single yellow bead as an ornament. He handed it over to the hitman, who took it to examine.
"What is this?"
The Cloud shrugged. "It's something like a communication device. If you inject your flames into it, it links up with mine." He raised his left hand. On his wrist is a bracelet like Reborn's. Except the strong was white, and small circular bells are hanging from it. They are all in different colours, and Reborn could see a Sunny yellow one among others. Immediately, he could identify the colours to the colour of flames of the Dying Will. It was missing an orange one, but in its place, there is a grey coloured one and a transparent one.
It didn't take Reborn long for him to connect it to the Arcobaleno pacifiers. He knew for a fact that all of the former Arcobaleno had kept a fake pacifier around even with the Curse broken. They were so used to having something that connected them that they rarely took it off anymore.
And seeing the bracelet, Reborn could tell that Skull was no different. The bracelet wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. And it is also subtle enough for others to overlook. Reborn approved and he wondered if Skull could do something similar for him and the others.
"I see", he settled on saying while brushing a thumb over the smooth bead. He could sense something inside the bead, but it was so muted and faint. He had mistaken it as a figment of his imagination, if not for the fact that it reacted to his flames. He could feel a sense of safety and warmth. It is a comfort, especially for someone who had longed for harmony for as long as he had. But he wasn't sure that it was Sky flames, with it hidden in the bead. But he could tell that it is a precious gift, with a few hidden secrets of its own.
"It has Lightning to prevent it from breaking, and Mist to hide it from any nosy idiots," Skull explained.
That was enough for Reborn to slip it onto his left wrist without any further explanations. "So, I just have to inject my flames into this?"
Skull shook his wrist in reply, letting a merry jingle resound in the room. Strong and pure Cloud flames flowed into the yellow bell hanging from his wrist, causing it to glow. At the same time, Reborn's own bead glowed, linking the two objects. As a result, the hitman and the former Arcobaleno Cloud could sense each other.
"Whatever you say, I can and will hear it from this end", Skull confirmed. Will pressed against Will, forming a temporary bond. It allowed them to converse using the flames as a medium. Not only is it untraceable, but it is also a private connection which no one could hack.
Reborn shuddered, unused to the odd feeling of having another's Will pressed so close to his. Even it is the Will of his former teammate. The only reference he has was the mangled bond with Luce. But unlike the former holder of the Sky pacifier, it wasn't forcing his flames to do anything. In fact, it seemed to be content to remain close with his own Sun. That baffled him, as, despite the Cloudy nature of Skull's flames, there is also something else. It is beyond his grasp, teasing his senses enough that he couldn't pinpoint it. But he was certain that it has the same feeling he has with the bead.
Skull smirked but didn't bother saying anything. Tsunayoshi, on the other hand, grinned. They could already predict what Reborn's choice would be. Even if the hitman hadn't realized it yet.