Act Eight: Goodbye Our Sky

To say that the Carcassa famiglia were surprised at Skull's appearance was an understatement. They gaped so much that their jaws dislocated. They stared so much that their eyes dried up and turned to stone...

Okay, that was an over exaggeration, but it sounds way better than 'they gaped' and 'they stared,' right?

Their ace. Skull. The man feared by death himself. Was. An. Infant.

The Terzo was actually a bit happy. At this size, maybe Skull wouldn't be able to send him to the hospital.

After about five minutes flat he figured out how wrong he was. Vittorio managed to piss off Skull. Again.

When he woke up the next day in the hospital his pride was a hurt a bit more than usual. Who wouldn't when a baby sends you to the ICU?

Boredom. A word so simple, but yet so agonizing when experienced.

Skull had long since tuned out the droning monotone. What did he do to ever deserve such punishment? He may have gone overboard just a teensy bit, but he apologized over and over again. Geez, he's still upset over what he did, but... ANGER MANAGEMENT?

Please, he could manage his anger just... except that one time he.. and when he... oh and there was that summer... well fuck, maybe he did belong here.

He probably would've been a little bit okay with this if his boss hadn't had the audacity to schedule the sessions during the time he spent with Oodako. Skull smiled thinking about the octopus.

He had decided to name the little guy Oodako.

Why? Because within the first couple of weeks the adorable bundle of tentacles doubled in size, but he didn't stop there. The former tiny octopus was now six times Skull's size.

...That statement would've been much more amazing if he wasn't currently an infant. But still, Skull swore he saw the red octopus growing before his eyes.

" -ull? Skull? Are you even listening?"

The young mafioso's head shot up. " Huh? Uh... I mean, of course!"

The woman huffed. " Skull, how are you ever going to control your anger if you won't even listen! Can you even remember the anger management coping exercises?"

" Think of the positives, walk away, exercise, talk it out, distract myself, count to ten, write about it, deal with it later..." ...kick them in the shins, chuck knives at their arteries, rupture their lungs. Wow, these sessions seriously make me think more violently.

" Have you had any progress not trying to kill your boss every now and then?" Skull choked. This woman was amazing; she could say any thing so casually, like she was pointing out an oddly shaped cloud.

He coughed a bit more before regaining his ability to speak. "Yes, I have, Ms. Maria. I've been able to not attempt to kill him recently." Those techniques did surprisingly help somewhat.

The woman nodded curtly. Progress was good; it meant a bigger paycheck. " Good. Now that you're listening again let's con-"

Ring, ring, ring! Maria clicked her tongue in annoyance. Ring ring ring! " Just answer it Skull."

" Okay... Hello? L-LUCE-NEE? How have you been I haven't heard from you lately...? Oh... I see... I can be there by tonight... Jus- uh, I'll see you then... Yeah, I'll be there. Don't worry."

Skull got up. " Tell my boss that I went to Luce-nee's."

Skull gasped for air when he made it to the Giglio Nero mansion. One flight and two stolen cars later and he managed to make it before sundown. He would have to return those cars later, but the Bugatti might not make it back to the unfortunate woman who was pulled out its window; it would be so fun to drive around.

He knocked on the door and was taken to Luce's room by one of the men. Fon and Lal were there already. Reborn and Viper had disappeared without a trace after they became the Arcobaleno, Colonello was unreachable at Mafia Land, and Verde was too far deep in an experiment to even acknowledge anyone's existence.

Verde probably the only one who actually liked being an Arcobaleno. It created a whole new genre of experiments and hypothesis for him to test. Probably including a lot of live subjects... Eh, at least the mad scientist was enjoying himself, no matter how creepy the thought.

" Skull-kun... I'm glad you m-made it." A frail voice spoke. Skull's eyes widened.

" Luce-nee." Luce, in all of her former glory was reduced to spending her last days on her death bed.

Looking at her now, Skull was amazed that she even last this long. She had started showing the signs of her imminent death five years ago.

What was it fifteen years now since they had been cursed? It had to be somewhere around that time.

He and the other two gathered around. That was when he noticed the teenage girl holding Luce's hand. She looked just like Luce, only younger. If Skull remembered correctly this was Luce's daughter, Aria.

It wasn't only Aria there either. A few of Luce's famiglia stood around the room.

" Miss Luce, is there anything we can do for you to make you more comfortable?" Fon asked politely. She painfully shook her head.

" Just- stay here with me, I want-ed you all- to be here, but this- this is enough. Thank you- Fon. Lal. Skull-kun. And Aria I-I'm so sorry, but you need t-to be brave." Her voice cracked as tears poured out of her eyes, but nonetheless, Luce smiled.

The four stayed there in silence listening to Luce's harbored breathing become quieter until... it stopped. The Sky's curse that affected her lifespan had finally ended Luce's beloved life.

Aria was the first to cry. She sobbed and begged for her mother to come back, even though she knew it was worthless. Luce was gone.

The rest of the Giglio Nero Famiglia cried silently along.

Fon bowed his head sadly and cover Luce's head with the white sheets. Luce was special to all of them. She was their sky. She was Fon's dear friend, and he had lost her today.

Lal didn't speak because she prided herself in being a tough person, and if she spoke she wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep herself together. She had seen a lot of deaths, but somehow the smiling woman had made it into her heart. Lal looked up to Luce.

Skull felt his eyes water, but he didn't let his tears escape, he couldn't. When he had met Luce-nee he had thought she reminded him of his parents, but she was different in the end. She was gentle, kind, and accepting. To him Luce was the closest family he had besides the Carcassa. She was a loving sister to him.

The three Arcobaleno left with heavy hearts that night, but not one of them could cry. They had seen too much death already. Crying wouldn't bring her back.

In various places around the world the rest of the Arcobaleno stopped what they were doing and looked around. They could've sworn that for a second they had heard someone bidding them goodbye.

(A/N) Sorry for the short chapter, I'm having writer's block! I didn't want to delay an update too long. Sometimes I wonder why I'm writing such an angsty story, even though I prefer comedy.

I don't make sense to myself. TT_TT

I'm having a lot of trouble with writing this story, so I'm thinking of ending it soon. I'm not sure how long I want to keep this going, but I feel that I've been dragging it out too long.

Thank you for all the support for this story so far!

Ciao~ Ciao~!