Chapter Text
Here he stood on a bright day in the Italian countryside, the sun beating down on his head as the deafening sound of mate-seeking cicadas made the heat more unbearable than it should be. He was slightly regretting the layers of clothes covering his body, but first impressions are important.
Skull looks at the door before him; how plain, he thinks with a disappointed moue. For a meeting orchestrated by the gods, the place itself seems… minimalist. Maybe it wasn’t orchestrated by them after all, but the man seemed so earnest in his invitation that he at least thought them to have influenced the checkered man’s actions. Perhaps he should dial back his expectations.
He knocks once, twice, and thinks about redoing the act but catches himself. The door opens easily for him, and he feels a powerful presence hiding inside the room. Oh, and what a delightful presence it is. Empty, hollow at its core, and yet so oppressive, the force made the far right corner of the room almost glow in Skull’s eyes. He does not look, for you do not look at the gods directly, but he still glances toward the corner. The strange power that has followed him since childhood coats his eyes, a tear or two escaping his pupils as they burn and see through the, still unknown to him, mist’s illusion.
He pouts a bit disappointed as he realizes the presence to be of the strange man who invited him here. Oh well...
Checkerface smirks as Skull lifts his head. For some reason, a civilian happens to hold the purest and strongest cloud flames he has ever seen. And to add to it, the civilian had a background more exciting and intriguing than any of the other guests of this meeting.
Finding the last element had been long; clouds always had to be called in last, but he had to interrupt this one in the middle of him… praying ? The cloud had simply glanced at him, expression waiting as Checkerface handed him the invitation paper. The violet-haired male, boy really, read the letter before kissing the paper. The invitation burst into violet flames seconds later, the information already anchored in his head. Checkerface had been surprised; of course he had been. The civilian seemed in tune with his flames, and no sign of the Vindince appearing made this already more exciting than the dance he had to improvise around the Sun’s torrent of bullets during his own invitation.
Checkerface thought the younger man had refused and was preparing himself to chase after the cloud to change his mind, he would not have been the first cloud to make itself wait on, but he stopped. The teen pulled back on the veil on his head, and the sight of such a violent cloudy coloring made the ancient pause.
‘You have been sent by the gods to Skull for a request, this one supposes ? This great servant agrees to it, of course, for it is the Great Saint Skull’s duty to help the ones asking for him. But still, for confirmation, why Skull ? We do have other members less busy than me to help you out.’ Skull, as it seemed to be the cloud’s name, asked in an airy tone, slowly getting up to stare up at the other, eyes crossing as he tried to squint through the shimmery mist flames coating the other’s skin.
‘You are the strongest cloud at this moment, and should you accept, you will become one of the strongest seven of this world.’
Skull’s eyes lost a bit of their self-satisfaction at his explanation, a small childish pout gracing his painted lips.
‘Oh no, Skull was wrong; you aren’t a messenger of any god at all ! Had you been, you would have made a more enticing promise. They know what the heart of their chosen desire is. But still, even the most unseeing of people can see you think of whatever mission you fashioned yourself the planner of to be of great importance. As a saint, it is my duty to light the soul of those They have sent my way.’
The cloud pricked his right index on one of the ritual blade and spread his blood in the palm of Checkerface's hand, creeping the mist a bit with his actions.
‘The great Skull will go to your meeting and help you accomplish your goal. But, please, do not come back in this room like that again. Ignorance only excuse once and should you enter a place as sacred as here without following the proper rites, Skull will personally have to rid you of your eyes. The posters are so very clear to everybody, you simply don’t interrupt someone when they pray, sir. Good day to you, may the gods favor your success.’
The cloud has a slight bounce in his steps as he skips towards the middle of the runic circle he was completing before being interrupted. When he noticed the mist standing still before him, he grinned up at him. Checkerface smiled back at the cloud before escaping the boy’s intense gaze. Civilians were becoming weirder every decade.
And now back in present time, he thought about this encounter with slight amusement.
The cloud was the first to arrive, and he simply smiled with the same unnerving sweetness he had at their first and only meeting until Checkerface acknowledged him.
Skull sat, not looking back in the corner as people entered the room. Such a colorful bunch, the indigo-hued woman glared at the yellow-tinted man, who only smirked flirtatiously in return. The other had less apparent feuds as they sat in silence until the last person arrived. A woman who looked so… so… blessed ? No, not quite. She had the same air of righteousness as the Checkerman in the corner. She must believe in the same cause as him. It distorts their view of the world but in a way that gives them purpose. Skull cannot straighten their view short of hurting them or worse. Oh well, as long as it only affects them.
The people around the cloud present themselves with pride and arrogance, such an eclectic group. A scientist, a hitman, a soldier, and more. The cloud can’t begin to make sense of what type of goal the checkered fellow had of their range of talent, but it sure seemed exciting. Now it is the blessed one’s turn to introduce himself.
‘Skull is Skull DeMort, saint of the gods, hated by death itself. And if Skull had to guess what the weather words you assigned yourself refer to, Skull is purple. How nice it is to meet you all. Let’s all be friends !’
A bang cracks through the air, the tension thickening in the same fraction of second.
Skull smiles brightly at them and looks at the wall behind him with the same unbothered expression. It is fuming as a small dent could be seen, a bullet falling from it. His eyes widen a bit, his smile more mocking as he stares into the sun’s eyes. The hitman just shot at him.
‘Shooting at Skull is not nice. As one chosen by the gods, it could lead to trouble if you were to hurt me senselessly. Skull does not know what would happen to you, sunny man. Not that killing Skull would help much, Skull’s time is not near.’
His eyes are blank, still paired with a serene smile as the cloud grabs the bullet flattened on the ground. Small fingers close around the metal bit before opening above the hitman’s palm. Reborn sneers at him but does not shoot again, observing the cloud’s careful movements with renewed interest.
Skull let his elbows hit the table, violet eyes peeking through darker bangs with a friendlier gaze.
‘Skull is hoping that you could all be friends together. It would be sad to lose such a great opportunity for relations for something as fickle as ignorant hate and hierarchies. May the gods bless our union.’
The saint shakes his head from side to side in a rocking motion, strands of hair framing his young face.
Reborn observes him for a moment before smirking, hiding his gun back into his breast pocket, tension dissipating. Somehow, a cloud civilian landed on his plate, and past their annoying tendency to talk in the third person, they seemed… alright. The kid looked cute if not odd, with Asian-adjacent features, some weird gems encrusted in his skin right below his left eye, and a generous amount of makeup for a baby too, all of that obscured by a weird patterned lacy veil on his head. The clothes felt too purple to be religious yet too intricate to not be. Yes, Reborn is going to have fun ; he cloud looked like a riot. If only they met in another context, Reborn would, maybe, feel less hostile.
‘Union ? Not planning on having a child bride, kiddo.’ Reborn grins, pulling the cloud’s chair closer. The hair looked natural, violet in a uniform shade, with no tell-tale sign of box dye, so the man who invited them hasn’t just painted a random weird kid to pull a fast one on them. They are stuck with this frail teenager, hilarious.
‘Mou, can’t the cloud drop the veil ? It feels gross now that we brought up child brides.’
Fon and Lal winced, subtly, in sync at the image planted in their heads. Skull glanced at the rest of the group before pouting and pulling the veil off. How discriminatory ! At least he didn’t have sex, unlike the mushroom woman, Sky, if he remembered, who mentioned being pregnant for a week or something.
‘Lucky for you, Skull has not made any vows regarding hiding his face, as such, you are permitted to observe him. As unworthy as you are.' The saint whispered the last sentence, only the sun caught onto the words. Reborn had half a mind to put a bullet in a non-lethal part of the kid but held back, only shooting close enough to graze the other’s cheek. He received a pout for his trouble.
Luce smiles softly at the group before explaining to them their sleeping arrangement as well as the type of mission expected of them.
‘Stealing ? That’s a sin, Skull cannot do that unless he gets a good enough reason to do it. The gods would be disappointed in him.’ the cloud pouts while crossing his arms. He seems to do that a lot, pouting.
Verde rolls his eyes at the notion of ‘gods’ before talking. The scientist will follow the other’s acceptance of the kid but won’t spare any time indulging in his delusions.
‘I will side-step the matters of your "gods" as to not lose any brain cells with a plebeian such as you. What in Mafia did you not get ? At least pretend that you read the contract they made us sign beforehand.
- Skull did not sign any contract.
- So you were threatened? The storm interrupts with a judging glance towards the donna. To blackmail a civilian into the lifestyle was a bit dishonorable.
- Skull was not, Skull said yes after the first meeting with the checkered man.’
The rest of the group stare at him until Skull understands the implicit prompt to explain himself.
‘Oh, Skull took pity on him and said yes. It is a saint’s duty to assist the ones in need of help.’
Reborn sighed and muttered a small ‘kill me now’ before turning to the idiot he, unfortunately, still finds funny enough to keep alive. He pulls out his gun and fires another warning shot above the other’s head. The kid does not even have the decency to flinch, his painted face still frozen in that ‘indulging parent’ expression he stared at them with when he noticed how they subtly got annoyed by it.
‘Then what’s the big deal, by doing the mission, you’re helping him. No need to whine, lackey. Just stay put and don’t get in our way then. Hey, Donna, we still get paid right ? Even if he stays useless ?’
Luce nods, and the group almost relaxes at one, at least the civilian won’t be much of a burden if they could just make him stay put.
Skull is still smiling genially at them as he fiddles with the hem of his discarded veil. The gods have blessed him with an interesting path of life. He grabbed the two flattened bullets that fell behind him and rolled them on the table while the adults talked boring business. The mafia looked way more fun than he thought.
Good. He was getting bored.