"...I love you..." "Stop! I d-don't want to hear it! Just... stop! I told you! I told you that-" "I love you-" "STOP! I told you to stop! Nothing is going to happen-" "but something already did happen, and I fell in love-" "No-!" SLAP!

"I love you..." she whispered "I know you told me not to, and I feel stupid for feeling this for you when you warned me NOT to but well," she gave a bitter laugh "I can't help it. I already fell in love with you."He turned away from her and looked to the ground, shaking.

"I u-understand, if you don't l-like me. H-hate me, even. I can, no, I will respect that. B-but... you just can't be afraid of love." He felt her hands on his back, and feel her shake too. "I k-know you g-got a good r-reason t-to be afraid but..."She faced him, and showed bright and watery cerulean eyes to him that burned bright with resolve, and she yelled "love was never meant to be feared, Skull

And he woke up to see not the bright and a warm sunny sky, but to a white and cold ceiling. He woke up to hear not the loud and familiar noises, but to a stifling silence. He woke up not to see her by his side, with a smile on her face to greet him a good morning, no...

He woke up alone.

And he cried.

——

For all the praises, achievements, power or whatever 'great' shit they spout they have, the other Arcobalenos were a bunch of simple, blinded, and arrogant fools.

He came to them, knowing what they would expect, and knowing they would be disappointed. Because, who would want some civvie cloud as part of the Seventh Strongest? He obviously knew that he would be deemed a useless weakling, and the possibility of being mistreated. But man, he didn't expect back then that they would also demote him as 'lackey'.

(They didn't even consider him an equal, or someone worthy of 'rights'.)

The way he was treated was humiliating, infuriating, outrageous... and so fucking hilarious!

They were making things just sooo easy for him.

Oh, they got some of it right. He was a civilian who never had to deal with the mafia (and he never would, if he was given a chance) and a fucking crybaby, and oh, a fucking coward as well, but he also was so much more. He wasn't simple as he made himself look. And yeah, he had dark secrets that he kept.

And no, he had no intention sharing it to anyone, and much less, to them.

He knew the very basic nature of humanity, they were all so fucking curious. You don't tell a kid to stop being curious, to stop snooping around, that there is nothing to see. You are just basically giving them more reasons to dig you out! No, the right way to stop people being curious and so nosy is to stop giving them reasons to be one.

Studying the others for a little bit when he met, was just enough time to gather info to fool them. They had expectations, and if let down, they would treat you the 'baby' or AKA, the useless and unwanted Lackey of the group. And although your pride would be really bruised, you can say being the Lackey is fine if you see the advantages (if, uh, you can stand being treated as a punching bag and some maid). They wouldn't be too involve and concern themselves over his business. They could careless about him.

And the last thing he wants is to be cared by them, and to care for them too.

So if he acted a little more cowardly, a bit more of a crybaby, a lot more weak, more foolish, like an ignorant idiot, and the fact that they were all fooled, well,

It wasn't really his fault they were idiots, and he just had to take advantage of it, right?

They should be proud of him! Skull was being a manipulative, sneaky, little shit. And yeah, he felt a bit bad for screwing with them but, well, he's gotta do what needs to be do. He needs this, and he needs them to go away which he knew they would not do if he had asked. Besides, they never seemed guilty, so why should he feel guilty? Skull was just so fucking tired of all this shit that was his life, and all he ever wanted was-!

"...tsk!"

He was just so tired, and he had seen a lot of this kind of scenarios from his long, long, long life. He had been in this situation before, and it all ended the same way. He was determined to not fall for the same trick again. To get hurt again. It was worthless getting close to someone who you would lose in the next life, that's like asking to stab yourself, and he wasn't a masochist, thank you very much.

Besides, he already had this fucking reincarnating problem to deal with and now he had to deal with this new life with these stupid flames who wouldn't stop regenerating him back to health and then-!

Inhale.

(How funny that his flames was symbolised and characterized after the clouds, always drifting and free, was the very thing chaining him to this miserable life.)

Exhale.

Repeat the process and calm down.

(He had been suffering for who-knows-how-long. He could wait patiently, just for a bit, if it meant f r e e d o m)

The curse was now broken, and I just have to wait a little more time until Yuni can let us go (because god forbid if a Lackey said he had something important to do, and he hadn't been beaten to pulp for his insolence, and be charged by spilling all his secrets.) and then he can finally start find ways to finally rest.

Because while he was Skull de Mort, the man who is hated by Death, he was also someone who fucking had enough of all this torture!

(Because Living was torturous)

Skull wanted to sleep.

Permanently.

And he wouldn't stop to find a way until he would cease to exist in this plane.