Cloud filled sky (drowning out the rest)

*Shows up nine months late with Starbucks*

S'up

OO

Chapter 4

"So, what your trying to tell me is that this thing has an inbuilt taser in the handles?" Skull looked at the motorcycle with a doubtful look.

"No, what I'm trying to tell you is that it has a small disc on the handles that can be taken of, that is able to generate enough electricity to knock out a man. So basically yes." Leo says with a shrug. "I had first thought of using flamethrowers, but then I tested it and it was just fire everywhere. A giant fire hazard. That would not be practical for anyone that isn't fireproof like me. And that would be everybody except me. So, I dropped it and made this instead!" Leo proudly stood beside his creation.

Skull kept on circling the motorbike, trying to see if he could spot any other changes. Leo got most of the joy of building something for someone out of watching them spot what made it better than what they had expected. And maybe sometimes he went a bit overboard with what he thought others might need, so it was best to keep an eye on it before actually driving on it.

Every time Skull got something from Leo it goes something like this.

"Did you change the exhaust-" "No" "is the frame different-" "No" "did the tires get wider-" "A bit but not that much" "the controls-" "no" "did anything other than what you have already said change?" "No" "God damn it, Leo!"

After twenty minutes of just uselessly looking at the bike, Skull punches him in the arm. Hard. Leo laughed at him while running behind one of Festus' wings to hide. He sticks his tongue out at him.

"Real mature Leo!" Skull says it with a laugh as Leo stays hidden. He hadn't realized how much he had missed this. Bantering around with friends without having to care about getting shot at or letting hid mask slip and show something he doesn't want to explain. No secrets, just trust.

"Hey Leo!" he shouted to him. A tuft of hair peeked over the bronze wing, "Let's take this baby out for a ride!" Leo was over the wing and by his side before he finished the sentence.

"Hell yes!"

OO

Houses and light poles had at some point turned on and the light came in glints as he passed by on the road, his motor making the few people out on the streets turn his way. The way back to the mansion was somehow more complicated than he remembered and ran through a lot of civilian quarters. Leo was sitting behind him almost not even holding on to him just a hand on his shoulder and looking from side to side and taking everything in. His blabber about how the seat could be taken away and on from a small space under his own seat was almost lost in the wind but given that it was almost shouted into his ear Skull heard it. The fact that neither of them was wearing a helmet was easily dismissed.

Oodako was happy to meet with Leo again and hung to him from around his neck as Leo with one hand attached a small device around one of her tentacles while describing what it should be able to do.

Leo had become one of both Skull and Oodako's main weapon and support technology dealer when it had become oblivious that even if Verde and everyone else that had knowledge of flames since they were born or thrived in making weapons that could channel Flames, the weapon, no what was done to it would not be able to kill a monster. Pure Flame could kill a monster if you were lucky and got it with a fatal hit in the first try but the weapon itself was still fully mortal ores therefore useless in combat. After Skull had described his situation and might have gotten his hands on a few texts about how flames worked described very basically and how it could affect the weapon itself, Leo had taken it as a challenge and decided that he would be able to the make even better weapons that would be able to channel flames better than everything else (he got it bit sad over know that he would never be able to the beat the Trinisette rings or whatever magic was used int them to do the stuff they did). And he succeeded. Of course, he did. So, there was really no other reason to have others to do it.

The mansion appeared around a corner and Skull slowed down a bit as they made their way to the main gate. The guards let them in with a glance at his face and a suspicious look at Leo before they dismissed him, returned to their original stance again, looking out over the road.

Skull kept on driving, slowly moving forward before he stopped in front of the stairs leading up the entrance to the mansion itself. Leo jumped off first setting down a Festust turned suitcase heavily on the grounds of Oodako slid over onto Skull's shoulder again.

"You know," Leo said, "I knew we were headed for the base of the biggest mafia family, but somehow this still seems way too big."

The building was two plus the half of a cellar you could see from the outside tall, with all the walls plastered with grand windows and small gargoyles staring down from the roof (probably a later addition to the mansion itself and filled with cameras filming your every move) and it seemed to move infinity in all other directions.

Leo craned his head back and his back gave out a loud crack and he let out a satisfied sigh.

"Felling you old?" Skull asked as he hopped off the motorcycle.

"Heh, never." They grinned at each other.

The door upon the stairs opened with a click of the handle. They both looked up.

A young man stepped out with the purple sky in the background, the orange light from inside lighting up his movements as he turned towards them and began to run down the steps of the stairs. His foot slipped. He caught himself on the railing and hung there, looking at them.

"Skull! Your back!" Tsuna said as he cautiously let go of his grip and slowly made the rest of the way down to them stopping a bit away on the last step.

"Yep!" Skull said and struck a pose, "The great Skull-sama is back!" He let out a boisterous laugh. Tsuna let out a slightly shakier one too, relived.

Tsuna looked over Skull's shoulder and noticed another man standing there, watching him. The man's eyes were narrow as he looked at him, one hand resting on Skull's shoulder good-naturedly and the other scratching at a slight stubble on his chin, before it moved on to tuck a lock of curly hair behind his ear and then shifted his collar a bit with a finger. His hand kept in motion never stopping completely.

"This is Leo, my most awesome friend!" Skull introduced with enthusiasm.

Tsuna made a slight bow towards the man, breaking eye contact. "It's nice to meet you, Leo."

"And this," Skull pointed at Tsuna while he turned to face Leo, "is Tsuna."

Leo's eyes widened a bit at the introduction before he leaned forward in interest. His eyes seemed kinder now.

"So, this is the famed Boss of the Vongola huh? I have heard a lot about you." He said mischievous, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He polity extended his hand for a handshake.

Something in the back of Tsuna's mind rang a bell. Tsuna's eyes turned orange and he grabbed Leo's hand and gave it a polite press. A small fire flickered to life over their fingers and danced across their linked hands. Tsuna blinked in surprise and his eyes turned brown again.

Leo looked down at their hands and slowly released his grip and the flames went out as he shook it in a playful manner.

"Got a hot grip there mister boss."

"That's an interesting reaction there isn't it?" Reborn asked. All heads turned with wide eyes towards the voice. Skull let out a screech that was silenced by a gunshot swirling by his ear as he ducked behind Leo. Reborn stood with Leon in his hand, by Tsuna's side with his head slightly tilted with his fedora letting a shadow fall over his eyes from the light from the mansion.

"Chaos," he extended his hand, "The name's Reborn."

OO

So, uhm, Thada! A new update. What a miracle. I hope you guys like it. Still no promises for more chapters.