Chapter 64

There is a silence when the man with the strange hat and unique silver hair finishes talking. Heavy and somewhat uncomfortable. It isn't the tone of his voice when he told them about the jobs they would take, nor is his presence the one that makes it stifling. It is more of an instinctual feeling. The foreboding kind that one keeps on having no matter how skilled one is. She has felt it a couple of times before when she was just a recruit, but that's all. She questions why she's feeling it at all when it's information all he's spoken about, nothing unfamiliar or world-changing. Though it feels like it should be. Now she wonders when she'll be able to use the gun well hidden in her person because something tells her she'll have to use it if only to escape.

Why has she come in the first place?

She huffs a silent laugh. Right, information. A way to obtain her former job back.

Lal Mirch throws a wary glance at her new teammates for the nth time, examining them while not being obvious about it. Arcobaleno, the man repeats as he asks for the pacifiers, the ones he gave them as tickets to be able to get inside the room they currently are in. The hitman, Reborn, tilts his fedora slightly up, sharing a glance with the enforcer of the Triads, one that tells her they're more than simply passing acquittances. She doesn't know what this arcobaleno business is about, but going on by the slight twitch in the expressions of most of her teammates and the words the man in the Iron Hat told her the day she invited her to join, they're famous—legends.

From what she's managed to find out, their names are forgotten but the title never is. And if her source is not mistaken, it's been almost forty years since the title has been mentioned. She would have shrugged off as another weird myth of the mafia if not for the solid proof that can be found of their existence. Though most don't know how they're chosen, it's always been clear that the title goes to the best of the best as their other title is the Strongest Seven. Though from what she can glean from the weird man's words, while all hold certain truth, the title is mostly related to Flames.

After all, everyone with active flames, no matter how novice they are in the world, know the importance of the number seven in the mafia. She never would have thought that it existed while in the military, but apparently, once you manifest your flames, you're in, no matter if you want it or not.

It still smells fishy. And that's why it doesn't surprise her the dread slowly increasing deep inside her gut.

The renowned Shaman, Luce, is most likely the orange one, going on by the color of the chair she chose, the Sky of this little misfit group. Once she got the information about that flame, they are usually hard to miss, mostly because they all seem to wear something orange. The relationship between Skies and the other elements still freaks her out a little, so she's made sure to seat as far away as she can from her. However, aside from the Giglio Nero boss, she's not sure which flame the people around her have, she can only guess because of clothes and color hair. However, it's stupid to think like that so in the end, she only knows that no one but her is a Rain.

Or she didn't know. She knows, now,

Is not surprising the man in the Iron hat has that information and he didn't sound condescending at all as he listed their Elements for all of them to know.

It still made her tense, wanting nothing more but to reach for her gun and shot him in the head.

The dread doesn't diminish, but it's easy to ignore it thanks to the excitement she feels at the thought of difficult missions the man promises, something she misses from her time as a soldier, even so…

"Isn't it dangerous for her to be part of it then?" The purple-haired male, Skull, says. "She's pregnant and the Sky, our 'boss', right?"

Luce smiles, her cup of coffee clinking softly against the plate. "I assure you, you don't need to—"

"She won't be your Sky."

Luce blinks in surprise, her head turning to look better at the man from where she's standing next to the small table with their cups of coffee. She opens her mouth, but no sound comes from it as a pained frown changes her expression. She rubs the side of her head and almost stumbles when trying to reach the table. Viper, sitting closer, stabilizes her with a hand on her arm.

"Don't worry, she's only having trouble with a vision," the man in the Iron Hat says, walking forward and helping her to her seat.

"I'm fine," she says, shaking her head twice before glancing at the empty wall on her left. "The new Sky… No, he's not the only one. I'll be, too." She turns to give him a look, her gentle features shifting into something fierce. "Just what are you planning..."

The man in the Iron Hat nods calmly as if she hadn't just demanded information from him. He walks to where she's been staring and gives a slight bow, his right hand signaling the empty space next to him. "I should introduce him, shouldn't I? Though most of you already know him."