Interlude: Arcobaleno III

Sorell, or Skull as he prefers to be called now, is conflicted. He's a stuntman. A great one, if he's honest with himself. And while he may not be the brightest tool in the shed, he's sharp. He has to be as he's an actor. He likes to monologue a bit too much, but he's observant. He can copy all the actions he sees and he learns all practical stuff at an incredible pace even if he's lacking on theory aspects that don't involve a bike. But he knows how to read people, how to act like them, and more.

And this whole setup smells fishy. Like the start of a horror movie.

"You want answers. This is but an opportunity for you to receive them."

The man with the checker-faced mask pulls out a simple card, similar to the one that the man with the mustache did not long ago, this time in white.

He admits he's curious. The man showed him Flames, the same one he can make appear but in a different color, with a different feel altogether. He wants to ask the man to give him more information about those flames if he wants him to consider his offer, but something stops him. Some primal fear that makes him want to snap at the man. It's been there since the man appeared in the middle of his walk, the one he's always like to go around the place he sleeps as he's restless without doing it at least once a day. He calls it healthy paranoia.

(Later, he'll wonder if his problem had to do with him being a Cloud and anticipating he was soon become caged)

The man gives him the card and after reading, he says with a false smile he knows will look perfectly honest, "The great Skull will like to know more first."

"Understandable," the man says and starts talking. A translucent orb appeared on his hand. It makes him wary and he always trusts his instincts.

His eyes flick to his fingers, where the ring the Orange-eyed little dude gave him is. He's not afraid, but he wonders if he's in trouble will that lion appear again? Will it fight for him in the same way it did against those cloaked figures?

He knows how to fight, he's been a stuntman for many action movies not to, but he knows he can't fight this guy. There's no role for him to take. At least not yet. He's using his normal persona but he doesn't know if it'll work here or against those teammates the man wants him to meet.

He hopes it does.

-x-

Surprise doesn't begin to describe what Viper is feeling. As soon as they enter the room they know there are Mist flames that are not their own, powerful enough to make their own look like a kid's. A man, or at least looks like one as now they don't trust anything they can see, is sitting on top of their desk. They're not easily threatened, but they're also not used to being surprised. And what they're feeling is exactly that.

With a flick of their eyes, they try to teleport away, to someplace they can find more information about powerful Mists in the Mafia. However, they soon find they can't. Their movements aren't obstructed as they can still move, but they aren't. Able. To. Teleport.

They're not happy.

"Mou. If you wanted my attention this much you better be ready to pay for it," they say, as if they were not planning to escape a second ago.

Surprisingly, the Mist places a large piece of gold from the inside pocket of his suit. "I hope this can cover the five minutes I plan on being here."

Viper eyes the gold. With a solid illusion, they carry it to their hands. With a proving trail of flame, they inspect it to see if it's real.

It is.

"You've five minutes and counting."

The man doesn't smile as he's wearing a mask, but they think he probably is.

"I'm in need of the Greatest Information Broker. I'll pay handsomely, of course."

"Mou. I'm listening."

He starts talking about the Arcobaleno, a topic he knows little about but it's still enough for them to get an idea of where this is going. The seven strongest of an era, strongest of what, he doesn't know, but they're sure it has to do with flames as they've always been people of different specialties. Everyone knows what they're and they immediately gain respect but it's also known that there are no records about their identities, as if someone has been erasing every piece of information about them after they leave their post. A thing that is horribly suspicious and they don't want anything about it, even if they pay him well.

The five minutes pass and before Viper can comment on it, the man takes another piece of gold from their jacket. Then a card appears. It's an invitation for the Vongola Ball this year, the one Natsu will be in, too. It makes the offer more real as everyone knows if Vongola is involved, it can only be true.

For some reason, they remember the call they made the day before with him, to inform themselves about the companies Natsu has chosen to deal with and to ask what he was calling them for. It was for money, to buy a suit and a mask. Both things he's obtained in that mysterious way of his. They didn't comment, not even when his voice became small and he asked for them to meet him when they're in the same country again, preferably after Christmas he said.

(They don't know what to think about him. He's a Sky, which is something they don't want at the moment, but he's also warm and nice and has a power that can make money. He also has a powerful Mist at his beck and call, which is annoying as their type can be possessive and competitive at the best of times.)

"If you accept," the man says, a small sphere appearing on his hand in the same way the card did, "you will need this."

Then he explains what they need to do.