Reborn stops walking when he hears the roar of an engine. He spots something low set and bright purple racing down the other side of the road, so he gives a little wave even though he can't see Skull through the darkened glass of the car.
Wheels screech as the car whips around in a sudden U-turn, just barely missing the back of an SUV passing by, and comes to a stop just beside the curb Reborn is standing on in a perfect parallel park between a Mercedes and a Toyota.
The window rolls down and Skull stares up at Reborn with wide eyes. "The Mafia are trying to kill two of our agents, we need to help them!"
That's cute, Reborn thinks. Skull wants to roleplay a little rescue mission.
The back window rolls down and a shaken woman in a business suit holds out her Interpol badge as proof. There's also a man sitting next to her, holding one of Skull's jackets over his thigh to staunch the bleeding.
"The Urlare famiglia is chasing us," the police officer says, her voice surprisingly even considering her ruffled appearance. "We have recorded evidence of their Don admitting to drug trafficking, but our backup is being stalled by their allied Ostruire famiglia." She meets Reborn's eyes, determined. "We can't let them continue ruining people's lives."
What.
How is this a thing? Where did Skull even find these people? If Reborn isn't careful his Cloud is actually going to join the police and it's going to be really awkward telling him the truth after all that.
"Sure," Reborn says anyway. "Sounds fun."
Reborn sits with his chair further back than Skull's when the Interpol Head of Investigation and Head of Intelligence thank them for their quick and thorough work. Reborn killed a lot of people during that ambush (and the subsequent car chase) so he's trying to not attract too much attention.
No one has questioned their fake IDs that Reborn whipped up when he was restocking his ammo, Skull attending to the two officers and their injuries downstairs. Skull thinks Reborn is an undercover spy so he's not reacting to the fact that no one knows Reborn here.
Reborn is just a little incredulous about the fact that he hasn't been arrested yet. He hasn't even tried to hide, still in his usual suit. He knows for a fact that he's on the Interpol most wanted list, so either these people are all incompetent or they're putting up with his murder spree because he's doing their dirty work.
Judging by the occasional wary glace from the Head of Intelligence it might be the latter.
Reborn swallows a few times when an itchy sensation starts in the back of his throat. Skull turns to him and he smiles, nodding along. The Cloud goes back to gesturing wildly and making little 'pew, pew' sounds with finger guns as he explains the breaking and entering portion of their little adventure.
Reborn clears his throat but it quickly turns into a cough that he politely raises the back of his hand for. The Head of Intelligence pours him a glass of water and Reborn murmurs a thank you to her while Skull makes loud car noises.
The Head of Response seems positively enthralled by the storytelling, along with the two police officers sitting further down the meeting table -despite them actually living through it- and Reborn thinks it's a little cute.
He sips at the water but quickly sets it down when a coughing fit takes over him. Something wet splatters against the back of his hand and he grabs his handkerchief from inside his suit jacket, covering his mouth with it and subtly wiping off his hand at the same time.
Everyone gives him a concerned look but he waves them off and hastily leaves the room, his throat starting to get sore from all the coughing. Once in the hallway, he ducks into the bathroom further along despite the new and very much proven fear that Fon will ambush him inside.
Reborn sucks in a shaky breath and swallows thickly, moving to the side as a man exits. It's quite a large bathroom, empty now. Reborn waits but the coughing seems to have stopped so he lowers his handkerchief. The sunflower yellow cloth has turned red.
Reborn throws it into the nearby bin and pretends he didn't see it. It's fine, it'll be fine.
Reborn barely makes it to a sink before another coughing fit overtakes him. He clasps a hand over his mouth as he hunches forward and shakes from the force of it. Blood spurts out from between his fingers and splatters onto the pristine white sink.
He coughs until he becomes lightheaded and thinks he'll pass out from lack of oxygen, but it abruptly subsides. Reborn gasps, wheezing as his body finally settles down, clutching at the sink so hard his fingers have turned white.
His throat feels like he just swallowed shards of glass and his chest is compressed with a strange pressure that aches. He slowly pulls the hand away from his mouth, trembling fingers covered in blood.
This...can't be because of his flames. A flame injury shouldn't have think of effect on the body. Right? Reborn can feel like he's dying but he won't actually die, okay? Maybe it's something Verde gave him – or he probably ate something weird.
Blood drips from his hand and adds to the droplets scattered over the sink.
Fuck, Reborn is dying.
