WNW I : Skull Befriends Death

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This one-shot is dedicated to the song "Young and Beautiful"- specifically the line "I've Seen The World, Done It All".

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The first time Skull met Death, he was seven.

Hm, a woman's voice mused and he turned to look at the voice, staring when he saw the lady in white watching him. This is a new development.

"Um." He blinked, wondering who she was and why she was here. Not that he knew where here was, the last thing he remembered was-

Falling from a tree, her voice said but her mouth did not move, You landed wrong, broke your neck and died.

"Oh…" it wasn't something easy to believe but he really had no way to explain why woke up to a world of weird black-grey-white- purple (?) fog-smoke- stuff swirling around. "Is this...the afterlife then?"

No. Her voice told him and he really wanted to know how she spoke without, well, speaking . I am Death, I do not need to speak to be understood.

"Then where am-" He froze, eyes widening when he registered just what she had said(?).

You died so you should have continued on to the afterlife but your Cloud Flames are healing you. Death said. It's not something that has happened before, they seemed to drag you out of the Death Flow- your species really are too many, I've had to make the entire process automated since trying to personally escort each new soul lead to a backlog and Limbo- entirely to bring you here until they can call you back to life.

"Sorry?" He squeaked to the note of irritation she(?) got when speaking of needing to change her work.

Yes, Death sniffed, Well, no more World Wars. The Flow ended up clogged with souls and I had to ask Time for a favor- it was rather messy and tedious.

"...I'll try not to start a war?" He tried, entirely unsure of what he's supposed to say- it wasn't as if he were alive during either World War…

She peered at him before nodding, No, I don't believe you will. Good. She looked around them and he noticed that the purple had taken over the other colors present. It seems as if your Flames are done.

"Flames?" He questioned but Death only offered him a smile- it was as beautiful as it was terrifying- before something grabbed onto him and pulled before he was waking up in his backyard, his mother calling him in for dinner.

...he just met Death...

...nah, it was probably just a dream.

The first time Skull really acknowledged he had met Death, he was fourteen.

Again? The female voice he'd started think he'd only imagined tsked and he cringed.

"Sorry?" He offered.

Well, Death allowed, I don't suppose it's your fault for getting mugged- at least you managed a few years before this happening. Though your Flames are stronger then last time.

He glanced and found that the purple fog seemed to be eating the other colors at a steady pace, "What are Flames?"

Dying Will Flames, She said after a while, Were born eons ago...I...lost a...bet...they are an embodiment of a being's will and resolve; the greater the resolve, the purer- the stronger- the Flames will be. There are different types of Flames, what concerns you are the Flames of the Sky- specifically the Cloud Flames. They are purple in color with the characteristic of Propagation.

"Flames of the Sky? Propagation?" He asked.

Your Flames are done already, Death informed him even as he felt himself being grabbed. If you want a longer conversation then die a messier death then a simple stab wound- I recommend an explosion.

And then he was waking up in the alley he'd died in.

...it was a lot harder to brush off that meeting.

The first time an Arcobaleno met Death, Skull was nineteen.

It wasn't common that Mors, as Death had told him to call her that after their seventh meeting, decided to visit him in a mortal form rather then wait for the next time he had an accident to speak to him but it also wasn't exactly uncommon for it to happen. She had, over his stories of what he's done between meetings, grown curious of the world and had decided to visit it- visit him - one time for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire, she then promptly fell in love with food in general and chocolate in particular which made her one time visit a more frequent thing.

Mors' human self was dressed in her usual white though it's a dress (ankle length, sleeveless and over the shoulder like a toga) instead of robe and has some purple (the same shade as his Flames, she tells him) as accents. The pale-white skin is tanned and the white-grey hair is a dark, solid black while the eyes are a darker shade of blue then the usual pale-whitish blue.

They are seated outside at a table together, Skull making Mors laugh over the odd things that he's heard about while they wait for their food so, given that he is dressed in something other then sleep clothes or his riding suit, it's probably forgivable that it is mistake for a date.

"Ho?" Renato says, suddenly there at their table. "Who is this, Skull?"

Mors smiles at the hitman, the human body taking away the terrifying factor and leaving it simply beautiful. "I am Morgana, you must be the Mr. Sinclair that Skull works with."

"I am but please call me Renato, Miss." the hitman says smoothly. "I must say, it is lovely to meet you."

His friend's smile widens, "If that is what you wish, Renato. It's very kind of you to say that, aside from Skull, very few ever have more then one meeting with me."

"It is, Miss." Renato affirms. "That is their loss, then. How long have you known Skull?"

Mors blinks, glances at him then, when he shrugs and nods, says, "I first met him when he was seven, then again when he was fourteen but it wasn't until he was fifteen that we became more then acquaintances that kept running into each other- it was actually around the time he took up stunt work."

He winced at the memory because his first year as a stuntman was one of repeated deaths as he tried to work out tricks- he probably could have been more careful while he was learning but it wasn't as if there was much of a consequence for his recklessness. Skull just sits back and watches the two, a kind of morbidly amused fascination at the fact he is watching a hitman literally flirt with Death .

It ends with Skull being dragged back to where the group was staying and Renato teasing him in front of the others about his 'secret girlfriend'.

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Omake - Curse

Skull really should have expected that his friend- Anubis this time- to show up eventually.

In his line of work, some have called him suicidal and in a way, it was true since he made sure to, well, die at least once every other month- less to die and more to meet up with his friend so he wasn't sure if it was considered being suicidal if he still liked living.

Since the curse, however, he had been especially careful to not have any accidents- mostly because the Arcobaleno were all living in the same place as they got used to the change but also because he didn't want his friend to see him in this form. That turns out to be a bad decision when Death tears a portal between the worlds in the middle of the building they were staying at, all skeleton gates and life-leaching fog that makes the plants wilt and furniture decay, in the rather intimidating Anubis form- jackal head and all.

"WHAT HAVE YOU-!" Skull's friend bellows in his otherworldly voice that makes everyone cringe away.

" Anubis! " Skull shouts before the being could get worked up enough to forcibly drag everyone to the afterlife. " I'm fine! "

The being stalls, whirling to look at him and makes an aborted movement that is worrying- his friend has never really hesitated before- but the gate disappears and whatever the fog harmed is fix so Skull figures it's okay. Then Anubis is crossing the space in three strides before picking him up, "You are a baby ."

"I was cursed." Skull informs the other blunts.

Anubis is fascinated, " You're a baby ."

"Yes. I am aware." He deadpans.

" Skull, " his friend manages, tone odd. " You're a baby and you are adorable."

" Lackey. " Renato is the first Arcobaleno to speak.

Skull finally looks ate his fellow cursed (cursemates?). "This is my friend Anubis, you met him before as Mors- though she told you to call her Morgana. He is the personification of Death."

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Omake - Representation

"So," Mictlan summed, their eyes narrowed. "You need someone to fight for you in order to free yourself from this curse?"

Skull nodded, "Yeah, I don't really know who I can ask though."

"Right." He blinks to find them nodding firmly and reforming their outfit into some kind of armor (were those wings made of metal!?) . "I will represent you." He opens his mouth an they glare, "You are my friend. You will not change my mind."

...Skull is 1,000% sure that this should be cheating or against the rules somehow, he also decides he needs to prepare bribes/apology gifts for everyone else taking part in the entire thing.

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Omake - Flirt

Skull was instinctively looking for escape routes when something seemed to click for Renato and the hitman turned to glare at him. "You knew ."

"Er…" He fumbled, knowing denial would make this worse but having no idea what the Sun was talking about. "...I...did..?"

The you're an idiot was clearly visible which Skull thought was pretty unfair, it's not like he's the one who is called the mind reader of the group. "When I first met... Morgana . You knew who...she...was."

"Well, yeah ." Skull answered, still not really understanding where this was going because- "It's not like I go around having meals with strangers...except for Luce...and- erm. Well, it's not like it happens frequently ."

The level 'not impressed' on a baby's face was both impressive and disconcerting. "We'll talk about your habit of being friendly to strangers later ." He kind of shied away at the implied threat, the hitman was terrifyingly good at causing the maximum amount of pain without causing a major injury. "What I want to know, is why you let me flirt with Death ."

...oh. Well. Skull was screwed.

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Omake - Realization

"Wait," Fon said and they turned to find the Storm's eyes were narrowed. "Renato said that...Morgana...told him that...she...met you when you were seven."

Skull blinked, "Yeah. I climbed a tree and fell trying to get down, broke my neck and died which is when I met her- not that I really believed it, though I just took a nap under the tree and dreamed the entire thing. It wasn't until I was fourteen and I died in a mugging that I really acknowledged that I met Death- it was hard to dispute when there were holes in my shirt and blood covering me…"

"You got to know each other at fifteen." Renato said flatly, like a demand.

"Yeah, it's when I started stunt work- I had a lot of accidents because I was kind of reckless, not that it mattered since I always came back. It actually became a habit, to have an accident every other month, to meet up with Death again and talk about what's been going on since we last saw each other- I never knew there were so many natural disasters…" He blinked and added, "That every other month meeting is actually why Anubis showed up like he did..."

Luce looked kind of pained. "You know that it's not alright to die, right?"

"Why?" Skull wondered, bewildered. "It's not like it sticks and I like being able to visit my friend. So it's okay, right?"

He looked around but they were either blank-faced like Renato or looking like they were in pain like Luce.

Their reactions were odd , it wasn't as if he hadn't told them he was immortal, obviously he would have known for a reason- but maybe it was because he befriended Death ? It was a rather unique- and terrifying- thing to do…

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Omake - Representative

"Who is that!? " Skull wasn't sure who asked that, he was pretty sure it was more then one person, but he knew that it was none of the Arcobaleno whom all suddenly looked rather pale.

Mictlan was a rather imposing figure of over 200 centimeters in height, wings of bone with metallic feathers attached, pure white eyes to match the hair (which was actually on fire ), long coat made of the life-leaching fog (killing off the grass and plants that the being walked past), an iconic scythe strapped to the back like a sword and purple veins ("To show my support.") that stood out vibrantly against the otherwise bone-white skin. That's to say nothing of the armor that seemed to be made out of skeletons- some of the human .

Their holding Skull like a stuffed animal really did nothing to change the fact that Mictlan was intimidating.

"I," Mictlan said, placing him on their shoulder in the same movement they grabbed the scythe to slam the butt to the ground (a wave of death and decay rippled out from it, making everyone else scramble away to keep from being touched though Skull knew it wouldn't have harmed them beyond aging their clothing). "Mictlan, the Being known as Death, shall represent the Arcobaleno Skull in this. Which of you shall challenge me?"

There was only silence (though Skull was pretty sure that Viper was keeping their team from doing anything like Fon- and a blond man- were doing for Hibari).

Skull looked at his fellow Arcobaleno and said, "I'm so sorry."

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Originally, Death was going to be rather fluid in gender- Mors when female, Anubis when male and Mictlan when neither (plus various forms of skeleton/animal that each get their own 'name')- but the first meeting was female then it amused me to have a teenage Skull meeting Fem!Death and imagine the awkward, hormone dreams that might have happened while the "third" had Reborn and how could I pass up the line of "a Hitman literally flirting with Death"?

So I added two omakes to get Anubis and Mictlan in it. Then a review (this was originally for AO3) sparked a few more ideas which caused the other omakes.

What is WNW?
A series of different stories of things that never were (basically AUs) that, so far in the works, include Street Racer!Skull, Hogwarts AU, Finalis!Skull and Arcobaleno chained together teamwork test.