When the future Arcobaleno look at Skull, they saw a civilian. A loud mouthed, weak-willed civilian who had no clue how much he had screwed up because he had awakened to his flames and accepted an offer from a complete stranger. After all, how could someone as loud and obnoxious as the inverted Cloud know how to survive the worst humanity had to offer?
If Renato actually did have the ability to read minds like he claimed, he would have treated Skull very differently. Skull was just too polite to call him on the fact what he was really doing was reading the microexpressions and little tells all humans had to make a scarily accurate guess what people were actually thinking at the time.
He knew this for a fact because if Renato really were psychic, then Skull would have KNOWN and kicked his ass. And not in a 'child throwing a tantrum', but more in a 'you've seriously fucked up and I'm about to demonstrate WHY in as many ways as possible' way.
So Skull smiled. He put up a front and let the others believe him weak...mostly so they didn't try to rely on him to do anything but the most boring tasks they were too 'proud' to do themselves.
The only tolerable one was Fon, and that was because the man didn't mind companionable silences that were only broken by the sound of fine china clinking together and tea being enjoyed. Fon had been openly delighted when he discovered Skull had an entire cabinet of properly stored loose leaf teas from a variety of places, and knew how to brew them correctly. And that the Cloud didn't mind sharing at all with the only person who would properly appreciate his collection.
Skull could hide his true self like a pro. He had a lot of practice putting up a front... he had done it his entire life after all.
Renato put down the papers he had gotten from one of his contacts in annoyance.
"What's wrong?" asked Fon. It wasn't that he cared, but someone had to ask.
"Night Raid struck again. This time they nearly wiped out the Espada famiglia in northern Florence," said Renato in annoyance.
"Mu...not surprising. They've left a lot of unhappy victims in their wake that would be happy to pool together their resources in order to attract that group," said Viper unsympathetic.
"Though it does beg the question...how exactly is Night Raid getting the information needed to pull off such massive operations in such a short time period?" said Fon.
"Um...what's Night Raid?" asked Skull.
"Night Raid is a rogue group that speciliazes in taking out the more unsavory famiglia. If enough victims are created due to their business practices, then they show up out of the blue and have a tendency to wipe it out. I will credit them this though... they at least spare those truly innocent of crimes committed by the famiglia, regardless of whether or not they are connected by blood to the main members," said Luce.
"Huh?" said Skull.
"Night Raid kills the adults and those old enough to understand what is actually going on or even participates in the day to day operations, but leaves the kids too young to understand what their parents actually are alone. Oftentimes the remnants will be found in various orphanages with decent reputations or with the church under the sanctuary laws," clarified Renato. "As a result they're reluctantly tolerated by the mafia. I think the only reason the Vindice haven't tried to arrest them yet is because there has never been evidence of flame use."
"I heard some rumors that Night Raid is a specially selected group that works for the Vindice as a way to discreetly cull the ones that toe the line a bit too much for them to tolerate, but have yet to break the laws," said Viper.
"Either way they've made a lot of the lower rank and file assholes very nervous."
Skull looked mildly interested in this "Night Raid" group and paid Viper for everything they had on them. As far as the Mist was concerned, the annoying Cloud was just another fanboy.
It would only be later that they all realized their error in mistaking the Cloud as "harmless".
Renato wanted to curse, and he wasn't the only one.
They had known Night Raid had been in the area and had foolishly assumed that after the 'target' had been destroyed that the group would allow their security to lax since odds were that Night Raid had already left the area. They weren't known for sticking around after a massacre after all.
Except the don of this particular famiglia was apparently paranoid enough to believe that Night Raid would come after them next, if only so they didn't have to make a trip back later. Considering what they found while trying to sneak into the place, it was a reasonable assumption provided Night Raid was actually aware of what they were doing.
Which was how the group had found themselves caught in a trap meant for the mysterious Night Raid. Needless to say there was quite a bit of surprise on both sides of that particular equation. Renato was still kicking himself for being caught in the first place.
Lal was chained up and considering her gender wasn't likely going to enjoy it when her turn for 'special attention' came up. Viper had a nasty concussion as did Verde, who had been more or less stripped to his boxers to insure he didn't have any little gadgets to get them out of this. He had no idea where Fon was at the moment, but he had been protecting Luce since Night Raid had been in the area and they wanted to be safe.
And that left Renato, who like Verde had been stripped to his boxers and chained to the wall in a way that it would take a lot of effort to get out of it. The chains were tight enough to keep him from going anywhere, but loose enough that he could move around a little.
As for Skull, well that pathetic Cloud must have scarpered the second things went south. Renato honestly didn't care because the only thing that idiot could do would be to act as another hostage to break. It wasn't like the fool was remotely capable of killing anyone.
So when the don of the famiglia they were trying to rob walked in with the idiotic braggart of a Cloud they were forced to play nice with, Renato wanted to bite the fool's head off. He didn't care which fool either... Skull was stupid for allowing himself to be caught!
He would only belatedly realize that he was so angry at Skull for becoming yet another hostage that he missed the expression of calm serenity in Skull's eyes. He could play the terrified act all he wanted...in reality he was as cool as a cucumber inside.
Renato wants to curse and shoot the oblivious Cloud as he fusses over Viper. Wants to knock some damn sense into the idiot before he ends up with them.
"You hurt Viper."
It wasn't a question. Skull is well and truly pissed about the concussion Viper has, yet hasn't shown an iota of giving a damn about what the other three were being put through.
The don sneered at Skull.
"I'm going to do much worse to your little Rain friend over there," he replied.
Skull had an expression on his face that Renato was having trouble identifying.
It took him far too long to register that there was no empathy or humanity in it, which bothered him far too much to explain why.
"You hurt Viper. You openly admit you plan to rape and torture the tsundere simply because she's a woman. For that alone you're a dead man, the question is how graphic and painful do you want it to be in the end?" asked Skull in a tone that makes Renato want to shiver in instinctive fear.
That was the same sort of tone he used when he was well and truly pissed, and more than ready to make someone suffer before he showed them the only iota of mercy he was willing to give them by finally ending their miserable existence.
The don sneered and laughed openly at Skull. Everyone "knew" the loudmouth that trailed after Renato and the others was a civilian. After all, if they treated him like a nobody then why would anyone need to take him seriously in the first place? Never mind the fact that most people disputed he was a Cloud to begin with because he never fought back.
Right now though? Renato would openly admit Skull scared the living shit out of him and he hadn't even done anything yet.
So it didn't surprise him in the least when said Cloud took out a gun which looked far too much like one of Renato's to be a coincidence (Skull later admitted to 'borrowing' it before they even came into the mansion, but he had earned enough respect from the shell-shocked hit man that Renato didn't beat the crap out of him for it) and calmly shot the bodyguards next to the don in the head. Without any hesitation or remorse.
The don looked at his guards in shock and disbelief...he wasn't the only one.
Skull's grin looked like death itself had taken on human form.
"Why don't we have a little chat?" he purred, which sounded far too sensual for the topic in question.
Either way watching Skull positively dismantle the fat bastard before making him suffer a quick, if very painful death by propagating the oxygen in his bloodstream until he quite literally exploded into meaty chunks all over the walls outside the cell was an eye-opener.
Renato hoped Skull didn't notice the fact he had a boner from watching the entire thing. He had no idea that the annoying bastard had that sort of ruthlessness in him. Best of all he got to watch the entire scene from the open door without getting any blood on him!
"Am I hallucinating from the head trauma or did Skull literally just blow someone up by propagating the oxygen levels in that man's body?" asked Viper faintly.
Renato's grin was not reassuring.
Skull easily handed Renato his clothes...their weapons were a lost cause as he hadn't bothered to look for them, but being dressed was a nice change of pace...and gave Verde a shirt and some pants that more or less fit him. He also fussed over Viper and did something that had the Mist straighten a bit and look far less pale than they had before.
"Renato, you should carry Viper out of here. That way you can heal them while you walk."
"What about us?" asked Lal. She had been in an awkward position with those chains and was somewhat happy she wasn't stuck carrying Viper. However light the Mist was she didn't think she could pull it off. And Verde was out of the question.
"Stay out of my way. After what I found and what that fucker planned to do to Viper and you, I'm out of fucks to give about the place."
"I might be inclined to believe you could level the place if you were inverted," said Renato flatly.
The look Skull shot him for that comment could have killed someone. It was that acidic.
"I'm not inverted, you self-absorbed asshole. The only reason people think that is because not a single one of you bastards outside of Viper bothered to get to know me at all. And that was only out of boredom," said Skull coldly. "And forget Luce...she could care less about us. It's clear in the way she behaves that we're just a means to an end for her, though I have yet to figure out what bullshit 'greater good' excuse she's trying to play."
Renato sensed there was a deeper story behind that, but considering the situation it really wasn't a good time to ask. Either way they were all going to be re-evaluating how "useless" Skull actually was after this.
Watching him tear through the defenses of the opposition was more than eye opening. Renato had no idea what he was looking at because it definitely wasn't a Cloud's Rage.
Viper, who had mostly put up with the fact Renato was carrying them on his back while discreetly trying to heal him with his flames...he wasn't very good at healing but a half-assed job was better than nothing at this point...watched the entire scene. There was a sense of deep pity and no little empathy.
"You know something."
"It will cost you," said Viper, likely out of reflex.
"I don't care," said Renato.
"Imagine a Cloud who was beaten into submission so often it became normal for them. Who was never allowed to properly establish a territory without it being taken from them or being used against them to restrict any freedom they might have had. Who essentially became used to the idea of being caged save for the times they were set loose to unleash their pent up rage against a target with the same focus you would give a hit," said Viper bluntly.
Renato observed Skull with new eyes as a dawning horror filled his expression.
"Dear god... someone managed to successfully turn a Cloud into a fucking weapon?" he said with absolute horror in his tone.
Because that? That was a recipe for complete and utter disaster just waiting to blow up and take everyone and everything in their immediate surroundings with them. Hell, a cloud with that much pent up rage might very well be able to topple entire countries!
"We are fortunate in that Skull has a surprisingly deep well of patience that would surpass even Fon. And that he hasn't taken offense to your abuse to the point he's turned his anger out on you," said Viper.
Lal observed Skull, with an unreadable look on her face.
"So basically he's an abuse victim with untreated PTSD. Fuck... how did I miss that?" she said in disgust.
A soldier would know the signs of battlefield trauma better than anyone... and now that she was looking for it all the little signs she had learned to dismiss were suddenly pointing to a glaringly obvious conclusion. And she had been too caught up in her own troubles to notice someone was suffering silently in front of her.
When they left the mansion, it was more or less a smouldering wreck.
However it was what Skull left behind that had Renato almost drop Viper out of disbelief.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me!"
Because he just watched the Cloud he had always taken for useless and a complete idiot paint a very familiar symbol on the biggest wall he could find...all purely from habit by the way he was acting!
He wasn't the only one staring, so were Lal, Viper and Verde.
"...Skull is part of Night Raid?" said Viper in disbelief.
Skull realized his mistake a bit too late, but the cat was already out of the bag so he shrugged.
"I'm not part of Night Raid. I am Night Raid," he said flatly.
"Why on earth do you pay Viper for the rumors about the group if you're Night Raid?" asked Verde confused.
Skull looked at him like he was an idiot.
"For shits and giggles, obviously. I find it hilarious to hear what the mafia keeps saying about me while assuming it's a group of people when it's just something I do to vent out of boredom. That and most of these guys are assholes anyway who deserve the reminder they're not at the top of the fucking food chain," said Skull, rolling his eyes.
Renato had a headache. All he wanted to do was sleep for days and pray to whatever god would listen that the world would make sense when he woke up.
However that comment about performing small scale massacres to 'vent out his boredom' sounded off. It took Renato a bit to figure out why...and explain why the Vindice had yet to arrest the idiot yet.
Clearly they had picked up he was an abused Cloud who was slowly venting out years of pent up instincts while taking out famiglia that no one would really miss. The fact he only targeted the ones that were disliked to begin with (the hard drug traffickers, human traffickers and generally assholes everyone hated but ignored anyway so long as they kept to the pecking order) and never once tried to break Omerta was likely the main reason the Vindice ignored it.
Obviously the idiots had done something to set the Cloud off, so it was on them. And since he limited himself to one target at a time and didn't involve outsiders, it was well within the acceptable 'limits' the Vindice placed on Clouds.
They were violent and territorial little shits after all.