[I - Outbreak]

Prologue: Darkness Grows, Sunlight Stings

.

.

When all's said and done, it is Skull who first knew that something was wrong.

Ever since he was a teenager, Skull never got sick- weather it were something as frivolous as a cold or serious as a lung infection, his Flames propagated antibodies too swiftly for him to actually get sick. The only people similar to him in that respect were Fon and Reborn, the former's Storm Flames got rid of the majority of germs leaving the martial artist to deal with only an occasional cold while the latter's Sun Flames healed the hitman of any illness to the point of it being negligible- even then, they still visibly got sick unlike Skull. So, when Skull did get sick, he panicked and called the Sun Arcobaleno.

"Lackey," Reborn's unimpressed tone answered eventually and he winced at it because he knew he'd pay for this later. "I told you not to call me."

Which was true but- "Reborn-senpai, I'm sick!"

There was a long, displeased silence- where Skull shrunk into the comforter wrapped around him- before Reborn said. "Everyone gets sick."

Idiot wasn't said, exactly, but it was very much implied, making him wince again but this was important because Skull. Did. Not. Get. Sick.

"Senpai, you don't understand-" He managed before being hit with a series of hacking coughs.

"Eat some soup, stay hydrated, get plenty of sleep and don't call me again." Reborn told him flatly before hanging up.

Skull would have called back, insisted that the hitman listen until Reborn understood what a big deal this was because it had been decades since he was sick and for him to suddenly be so meant that something was wrong- very much so, but his coughs got worse until they made his entire frame shudder with them.

Oodako flashed yellow in concern, nudging and prodding him to bed- and that, that was the last thing Skull knew.

"Ah, Reborn?" Tsuna wondered, looking at the silent hitman staring at the Leon-phone.

His tutor let out an annoyed noise and Leon morphed back into it's original form, "You're supposed to be working, Dame-Tsuna."

"I know!" Tsuna hurried to say, "But you hardly ever get calls!"

Reborn glared at him, "That wasn't a suggestion."

"But you- hieeee! I'mworking!"

.

.

Song of the chapter: My World by SR-71