02.

He arrives three hours before the designated meeting time.

As a wet-behind-the-ears genin, his sensei's bad habit of being late to almost everything had frustrated him to no end, but it had also taught him patience. Later, missions hammered it in. Be still. Be silent. Wait for an opportunity and then spring into action.

Impatience only worked for Naruto, who was skilled and unpredictable enough to power through his opposition - or able to befuddle them with his kindness and then turn them to his side with just a few inspiring words. Skull doesn't have the charisma or inclination to befriend anyone trying to kill or otherwise harm him and no one to back him up if he tried.

He doesn't regret his self-imposed solitude, is in fact the happiest he's ever been, but if there's one thing he misses about his old life, it's the knowledge that he always had someone he trusted without question to watch his back and someone he would in turn give his life to protect.

He doesn't have anyone like that anymore, so he'll just have to watch his own back.

Not that he needs anyone else. Far gone are the days where he cried about his uselessness while others got hurt time and again protecting him. He's strong, and he's capable, and he is no one's damsel in distress.

-o-

Silently, he creates several clones and has them comb the forest and surrounding area for traps, enemies, or anything suspicious.

Absently, he tugs his glove down, securing it more tightly around his hand.

It's not that he's thirsting for a fight, exactly, but it's been over a decade since he regained his memories. Not once has he been able to let loose or even work up a sweat in the few times he's engaged in combat, and he's restless. Itching to measure his strength and abilities against a worthy opponent.

This shady job, those purple flames - every inch of him is absolutely convinced that this world has more to offer, that his initial assessment was wrong, and he's... excited by the possibilities. Not afraid - because he hasn't felt truly afraid since his first life, and that was fear for his friend's lives.

He is cautiously hopeful, warily interested, and when his clones report nothing unusual save a young woman sipping tea in the cabin, he disperses them and walks right into whatever this is - a trap or a new world or both.

-o-

He glides through the house like a ghost, like a ninja, making no sound, no unnecessary movement. Shinobi are most at home in the shadows - in darkness - and although he and his comrades had been unconventional in just about every sense, this is still true of him.

There is no folly on Skull's part, no misstep. He has even used his chakra to hide the fire ever burning inside him in the slim chance it might be related. He has slowed his breathing. Logically, there should be no reason the woman would notice his presence the moment he steps into the room.

Yet she does.

Despite himself, Skull is intrigued.

"Skull DeMort," the woman says, calmly, warmly. "I've been expecting you." She takes a sip of her tea. Her words and facial structure reveal her Italian blood.

She is not a civilian, but she is also no fighter. There are no callouses on her hands, she doesn't tense in preparation for a fight, she has no visible weapons, and she's exuding a gentle demeanor, harmlessness. A myriad of other details only serve to highlight her lack of battle prowess.

But she's world weary, older than her physical appearance, and undoubtedly a leader of some kind. A military leader, Skull thinks. Likely a private one. Perhaps illegal.

Dangerous, his instincts warn him. Do not underestimate.

This is what you wanted, a voice reminds him dryly. Don't fuck it up.

He can't help the flicker of anticipation in his chest, but he remains vigilant and cautious nonetheless.

He shifts into the light, leaning his back against the wall and putting his hands in his pockets. A deceptively lax pose adopted from his sensei, who was a master at fooling others into underestimating him, even - or especially - those who knew of him and his deadly reputation.

He's on guard, ready to attack at a moment's notice, but he looks relaxed and at ease. The woman meets his gaze readily and smiles at him.

"My name is Luce, and I'm the boss of the Giglio Nero Famiglia," she introduces herself, eyes soft and welcoming.

Skull immediately feels a pull towards this woman, who is gentle and motherly and warm. It makes him uneasy and sets off a million warning bells in his mind. He was taught to be suspicious of such things - anything that inexplicably made him feel safe and peaceful. It's usually a sign of a weak genjutsu or else some other enemy technique, and it sets him on edge.

He doesn't trust this woman, but the pull makes him want to. It's more than a little unsettling.

"What do you want?" Skull asks, making no mention of the off-putting feeling. He doesn't want to tip off his possible enemy.

"No need to be so worried, Skull," Luce says in reply, placing her cup on the table. "Or perhaps," she adds, switching seamlessly to Japanese, "I should refer to you as Haruno Sakura."

At Skull's visible shock, Luce tells him serenely, "As I said, we've much to discuss."

-o-

The others trickle in at various times, and Skull, quite comfortable in his chair, idly sipping his tea and reheating it every once in a while, is still musing over everything Luce had divulged.

Which, granted, had not been much at all. But she knew enough. And she'd been quite happy to explain the curious purple fire - Dying Will Flames, Cloud Flames - and the world in which such power was coveted and jealously guarded.

The Mafia. Heh. He'd heard civilians' accounts of the criminal organization, but much like this world's military, he'd assumed they were just as civilian and powerless.

If only Tsunade-shishou could see him now. She'd definitely make Sakura-now-Skull regret making such a rookie mistake.

Skull mentally berates himself for her and vows never to underestimate this world again. Clearly, there is more than meets the eye here, and honestly, by now, shouldn't he know that?

Kakashi-sensei had only drilled it into their heads - sometimes literally - over a thousand times. Look underneath the underneath. And then keep looking. Rarely is anything exactly as it seems.

Skull takes the lesson to heart, again, and moves onto another troubling topic.

Even without digging further, he can tell Luce is hiding something. Granted, with her Sight, she's likely always hiding things, and as such, maybe she is simply evasive and frustratingly vague by nature.

In that vein, one can conclude Skull is an excellent stuntman and nothing more.

He doesn't trust her, and he's sure he's missing some valuable piece of information she declined to share with him regarding Dying Will Flames. For instance, she'd been happy to go in depth when it came to every Flame but her own.

Once he's done here, the first thing on his agenda is compiling as much information about Flames, the Mafia, and the Giglio Nero famiglia in particular as he can.

Being a shinobi, that's quite a lot.

-o-

Once the Strongest Seven - save Luce - fill the room, Skull begins to actively take notice of them. Luce had given him descriptions of his counterparts, but like everything that comes out of that woman's mouth, they were succinct and barely enough to go on.

Even so, he is able to identify them. Naruto's descriptions - in mission reports or otherwise - had always been much more confusing and pointlessly dramatic, and Sasuke had taken to using the fewest words possible to get his point across, verbally and non-verbally. Worse than both of them, Kakashi-sensei had a way of only ever giving away what he wanted you to know and nothing else. Comparatively, Luce is an open book.

The other five members in this room aren't much better.

Near the head of the table is a man in an expensive suit waiting impatiently in one of the overly ornate chairs. Most of his expression is shadowed by his hat, but Skull can read his arrogance from every line of his body. He believes he has nothing to fear from the people in this room, despite their titles as the Strongest.

Luce mentioned he was considered the World's Best Hitman, and there's no doubt he's earned the reputation, as much as the man's personality already vexes him.

Without him saying a word, it's easy to tell Reborn is much like Sasuke at his worst. Luce confirmed as much.

Skull's really not looking forward to butting heads with that one.

Across from Reborn is a woman, Lal Mirch, decked out in a military uniform. She's apparently a part of COMSUBIN, an Italian military force that specializes in combat as well as traps and guns, as an instructor, which likely speaks of her own combat prowess. Skull likens her role to that of a jounin-sensei.

Luce said she was strict and prone to anger, but her competency in battle and intelligence more than made up for it. Skull believes that easily enough. Lal Mirch has the bearing of a woman forced to prove her worth time and again as she kicked ass and worked her way through the military, and well, Skull has a soft spot for badass ladies.

Skull's own supposed lack of combat experience might be an issue for her in that case. There's only two women out of seven total people here (which irks Skull to no end, and he can't imagine Lal is any different if he's reading her right), and yet one of the men is no more than a stuntman? He'd understand her righteous anger. However, he's confident he can put her concerns to rest with a display of strength. Perhaps even Tsunade-shishou's favored method - sending someone flying with only her pinky finger.

Regardless, Skull pulls a Naruto and makes it his personal mission to befriend Lal Mirch whatever it takes.

Further down from Reborn is another man in a lab coat and glasses. His wild green hair is the most noticeable thing about him - if one ignores the fact that he's been muttering to himself and going through notebook paper at an alarming rate since he got here. Skull recognizes that look on his face, though. Members of the Konoha Cryptanalaysis Team had sported similar expressions when they finally found the key word or meaning that would lead them to cracking a particularly tough code.

Luce explained he was a scientist and inventor, someone who only seemed to care about his experiments and would not hesitate to fight anyone who got in the way of them. On the other hand, he apparently always repays his debts.

As long as Verde's experiments never involve Skull, it looks like they won't have any problems, which is a relief. He could probably pick Verde's brain for ideas on new equipment and hopefully recreating a few things from Skull's past life, such as weapons that properly channel chakra or soldier pills that work with Dying Will Flames. Perhaps even ways of combining his Cloud Flames and his chakra.

Right across from Verde is a cloaked figure without any truly identifiable features, who must be Viper, the illusionist. They supposedly only care about money and charge high prices for their services, whatever those happen to be. They're apathetic to pretty much everything else.

Luce told him illusions created by Mist Flames were different from your run of the mill genjutsu. For one, expert illusionists like Viper have the ability to make their illusions real, and no amount of pain or flooding one's body with Flames will get rid of them. The only surefire way of getting out of them is by beating the illusionist.

When asked whether Viper would notice the difference between genjutsu and Mist illusions or whether they would be able to dismiss or see through genjutsu, Luce had once again been annoyingly ambiguous.

Regardless, Skull has plenty of money to spend, and using it to figure out those differences himself or at least to hear it from an expert wouldn't be a bad idea at all. Something to think about later.

Leaning against the wall is Fon, a Chinese martial artist and member of the Chinese Triads, covered head to toe in the color red. He is said to know over a hundred martial arts styles, and Luce had characterized him as a calm and fair person.

He's watching the room with a polite smile, and for some reason, Skull is reminded of Genma. Perhaps it's the easy-going, will-smile-through-anything, can-kick-your-ass-without-breaking-a-sweat aura the young man gives off.

In any case, Skull predicts the two of them will get along. Skull himself is outgoing and friendly, and while many see that as a weakness, well, he's quite used to using people's preconceptions against them. As he's gotten older, the initial sting has faded, and now, he takes quite a lot of joy in making his enemies underestimate him.

The utter shock on their faces when he pounds them into the ground never gets old.

-o-

"Sorry I'm late, everyone," Luce says apologetically as she enters the room, and all eyes turn to her. Taking a seat at the head of the table, she gives them a kind, beaming smile and continues, "I'm sure you're all excited to hear the more in depth explanation your letters mentioned, but first, why don't we all introduce ourselves? My name is Luce, and I'm the boss of the Giglio Nero Famiglia."

She looks encouragingly at Reborn, who seems a little unsettled by the brightness of her smile.

"Reborn, the World's Best Hitman," he says, as if everyone in the room should already know - and as if he's questioning the intelligence of anyone who doesn't.

It grates on Skull's nerves. Exactly like Asshole Sasuke.

"Verde, scientist," the man tells them, distractedly, peering down at his latest notes with serious concentration.

"Lal Mirch, combat specialist in COMSUBIN." Even her voice is harsh and no-nonsense. Looks like she doesn't really care for this silly meet and greet. He doesn't blame her.

"My name is Fon. It's nice to meet you." He gives another polite - but sincere - smile at the glances that gets and doesn't divulge any more.

It doesn't really sit right with Skull either, this information being so freely given. What if they turn out to be enemies? What if someone decides to use the information against them? Even something like their specialty is too much, in his opinion.

Then again, he comes from a world where information is heavily regulated and secrets getting out could cost someone their life or worse, the safety of their clan or village. Things are a little different here, even if he suspects the Mafia of being much the same. Knowledge of Dying Will Flames is hardly common place after all, even if (like chakra) every single person has the ability to use them.

Perhaps they're just confident in their abilities. Being called the World's Strongest certainly wouldn't help their egos.

"Viper, an illusionist. Any more will cost you," they reluctantly reveal, caving under Luce's expectant yet kind eyes. Skull stifles his amusement.

As if reading his mind, Luce gives him a knowing look, and he inwardly rolls his eyes.

Knowing that's his cue, he speaks up, tone wry, "It is I, the Amazing Skull!"

Luce smiles even wider at that, especially when Reborn and Lal Mirch instantly scowl in disgust.

His playful smirk doesn't waver, even as the two of them size him up and then dismiss him completely.

As for the others... Verde doesn't look up from his notes, Fon only appears calm and considering, Skull hasn't suddenly transformed into money, so Viper is still apathetic, and Luce knows exactly what he's capable of and treats him accordingly.

"I've never heard of you before," Reborn says, suspiciously, pinning him with a patented Sasuke glare.

Skull has been dealing with those since his Academy days, and if they weren't enough to quell even pathetic, fan girl Sakura (for long), they're certainly not enough to faze him as he is now.

In response, he dons Sensei's patented crinkly-eye smile and admits cheerfully, "Maa, I'd never heard of you before I stepped into this room either."

He can tell that pisses Reborn off. His fingers twitch, almost unnoticeably, as if reaching for a weapon he must have hidden. The only other tell is more obvious: the pronounced frown on his face.

"Funny." Perhaps sensing talking to her will be easier on his temper, Reborn addresses Luce when he asks, "Is this... person a civilian?"

Luce maintains her angelic aura, despite Reborn's prickly demeanor. "Technically, Skull could be considered a civilian," she allows after a nod from Skull.

The others have visible reactions to this, each of them more or less what he expected. Fon is curious, Verde takes the news in clinically, Viper actually seems a little interested, Lal Mirch is likely affronted at the idea of involving a civilian in their affairs, and Reborn has already decided Skull is the weakest of them all.

"Does he even know what he's getting into?" Lal demands, talking as if he isn't there. "This isn't a game."

Reborn's concerns are a little different. "Why is a civilian one of the Strongest Seven? He probably doesn't even know about Flames," he scoffs.

Skull barely refrains from rolling his eyes.

"My associate chose Skull the same way he chose all of you," she assures, and Skull would swear she's exasperated under that heavenly veneer. "If you'll recall, I said Skull was technically a civilian. Whether he has connections to the Mafia or not, Skull is just as strong as the rest of you and just as deserving of his title."

...What is she getting at, defending him? They both know he can take care of himself, and it's not as if she's worried about his feelings.

He quirks a brow at her, and she gives him a meaningful look. Unbidden, Skull remembers their conversation not two hours ago.

"As Sakura, your temper led to no small amount of collateral damage," Luce begins, tactfully.

"That was as Sakura. Skull doesn't have a short temper," he reminds her.

"Nevertheless, some of the members will be antagonistic and provoke you. If you don't mind, I ask of you to find another way to vent your frustrations. The vision I had of this meeting... did not end well, to say the least."

"...Very well."

...

Damn. What's the point of his monstrous strength if he can't use it to knock sense into assholes? He's still wary of using genjutsu without verifying a few things - hopefully with Viper's help - and the rest of his arsenal is on par with his strength in terms of power.

He could subtly mess with him...?

"Your associate is an unknown to me, and I only trust my own judgement," Reborn counters. "If this 'Skull' didn't even know who I was until today, then he's civilian enough to matter. We're going on dangerous missions, right? He'll be a liability."

This Reborn guy is a real bastard, though.

And who does Skull know of who was annoying enough to successfully rile Asshole Sasuke up every time?

Not Naruto, no, he could never be that endearingly obnoxious.

He can, however, emulate his favorite sensei. (Sorry, Yamato-sensei!) Kakashi-sensei is, after all, a master of getting under peoples' skins.

If he can't (won't) be a world-renowned medic-nin better than Tsunade here, he might as well take up his other teacher's legacy and annoy the hell out of everyone he meets. Kakashi-sensei would be proud - and absolutely gleeful.

"Hey, you," Reborn calls, apparently getting nowhere with Luce. "Do you have anything to say for yourself? A Mafia boss is defending you, and you're just sitting there with that stupid smirk on your face."

Skull takes a slow sip of his tea, savoring the taste, allowing the silence to drag on just a little too long before he glances casually at Reborn and says, "Oh, were you saying something?"

A moment of incredulous quiet, then:

Fon huffs a laugh, Viper snorts, Verde sports an amused smirk, Luce looks like she regrets all of her life choices until this point, and Lal Mirch doesn't stop frowning, but maybe she was amused. A little. It's hard to tell, even for him.

Reborn, however, does not take it well. In less than a second, he has his gun out and a bullet heading straight for Skull's head.

Skull idly tilts his head to the side and asks, "Weren't you going to tell us about our super important mission, Luce? The Amazing Skull is quite busy, you know?"

The bullet almost grazes his cheek on its way into the wall. Almost. He thought it'd be more amusing if it came so close only to fail.

He's right.

Luce gives Reborn a disapproving frown, even as she answers, "Yes, Skull, I was just getting to that. If you could please not damage my personal cabin anymore than you already have, Reborn, I would appreciate it."

Reborn grits his teeth. He really looks like he wants to unload a whole round into Skull, but nevertheless, he tucks his gun away and settles back in his chair, brooding. Gathering information apparently trumps sating his anger.

Thank you, Kakashi-sensei, for your valuable expertise. Who knew suffering through your shenanigans would come in handy someday?

Skull only withholds his own laughter because Luce turns her stern gaze on him. He's certainly not afraid of her, and he still doesn't trust her. But right now, she's his tentative ally, the only person in the world who knows who he used to be, and he doesn't want to burn that bridge while it's still useful. So he obliges.

Luce puts on her mega-watt smile and beams as she begins detailing what exactly the seven of them had been gathered for and how they were going to be spending the next few months.

Though it's been a while, Skull is used to mission briefings and team bonding activities, even if the latter had mostly occurred as a genin. (And look how that turned out.) Regardless, he understands the need for it, unlike Reborn, Verde, Viper, and Fon.

Lal Mirch seems resigned to it, and Skull's not surprised. Both of them are soldiers, and Lal likely has comrades she trusts with her life within the COMSUBIN. Armies don't really work if their soldiers can't even trust each other. Team building exercises would have to be common for her, especially since she's an instructor.

Reborn, like Asshole Sasuke, doesn't trust anyone but himself. Verde is a scientist of questionable scruples, and because of his research and inventions, he likely has to watch his back for betrayal and assassination attempts. No doubt the idea of bonding with coworkers is foreign to him. Viper will work with anyone so long as the pay is worthwhile, and they probably don't see the point in forcing bonds in what is essentially a business deal.

As for Fon, well, Skull's first impression of him had been that he was like Genma, but now he's beginning to wonder if Fon isn't more like Sai. Maybe Sai when he figured out how to smile genuinely. If the Chinese Triads are anything like Root... Well, that's just another thing to look into.

"You're not expecting us to stay in this cabin, are you?" Lal chimes in, tone conveying clearly what she thinks of that idea.

Skull agrees. The cabin is nice and ridiculously fancy - though given Luce is a mafia boss, that makes sense - but it's not big enough to house four people, much less seven.

Luce smiles, laughter in her eyes. "No. We simply chose this location for the initial contact. I've prepared one of my Family's remote bases for our extended stay."

"When are we expected to arrive at the base?" Fon speaks up, for the second time. "I have business to take care of before I can commit months of my time," he elaborates at Luce's questioning glance.

She tells them two weeks. "I understand the rest of you will have to rearrange your schedules for this, as well as prepare to be away for so long," she adds, a tad apologetically.

Fon nods, genial. "That will be enough time. Thank you."

"I will require a lab," Verde says - or rather, demands. The fact that he'd lose all interest in this experiment(?) were he denied one goes unsaid.

Luce is ready for him, though. "We chose this base with all of you in mind. Not only is there a fully-equipped lab, but there are several training rooms that have been designed to accommodate each of your preferred fighting methods." She smiles at each of them as she awaits more demands or protests.

She gets none. Skull is already making plans to cancel training and postpone shows. His life is about to get even more exciting, for better or worse.

He can't contain his giddy smile, even long after the meeting is over.

-o-

He was too busy scrutinizing his new "teammates" and then messing with Reborn to fully take in the situation, but during the two weeks before their long-term mission, Skull has plenty of time to dissect Luce's words and their underlying meanings and implications.

Thus, he's come to a few conclusions - of varying importance.

- If he wants to fully imitate his sensei, he's going to have to pick up a few habits Sakura - and the rest of the village - had used to gripe about endlessly. It's for the purpose of annoying Asshole Sasu- uh, Reborn, though, so it's necessary.

Plus, he likes the idea of carrying Kakashi-sensei's memory with him in this way, especially when it would utterly please him. It's also a way of remembering pre-Madara-brainwashing Obito, if he thinks about it a certain way, which both of them would be happy about. At least, he hopes so.

- The seven of them are not actually the seven strongest people in the world. He's not even sure how such a thing would be measured. By actual strength? Intelligence? Power? Their title says it all, though. They're just the strongest "selective seven." Seven people who were selected via unknown means and criteria.

One could argue that they're the strongest Flame Users of their respective types, but since Skull has never successfully harnessed his Cloud Flames, that can be ruled out. Or maybe it has to do with potential to use said Flames?

He doesn't know, but he's willing to find out.

- They were selected and gathered together for a reason, and it's not because Luce's "associate" needed a super powerful team for some particularly difficult tasks. Luce already knows, of course, and she seems grimly determined to see it through.

Skull has seen the lengths people with that kind of determination go to.

It's the kind willing to subject the whole world to an illusion in order to put an end to all war. The kind that's willing to make sacrifices.

The only thing left to wonder, then, is whether Luce is sacrificing her life or theirs.

(He'd never thought to wonder whether she was sacrificing both.)

-o-

Two weeks passes in a blur. Skull does one of his biggest shows yet, entirely spur of the moment, and still the tickets are sold out, and the stands overflowing.

Skull gets the same thrill out of his stunts and the cheers and enthusiasm as always, but there's a thrumming anticipation in his bones and deeper still. Every single cell is ready and waiting for more action, for more excitement. For more than this.

He'd never considered himself an adrenaline junkie Before, but his restlessness goes beyond that.

Pre-Tsunade Sakura had been reluctant to fight, only interested in her image of an ideal kunoichi - and how she could be the perfect wife for Sasuke - rather than putting it any effort into the physical aspects, and that had caused her no small amount of grief.

Post-Tsunade Sakura, though, thrived on the sheer power and grace in her every movement, loved being able to protect herself and her comrades with her own hands, and often sought out Ino, Hinata, and Tenten for spars because she never got tired of the feeling.

Here and now, Skull feels the same. Traveling the world soothed him somewhat, and he's been content with his stunts until now. Content isn't same as happy, though.

Maybe it's the shinobi in him, the seasoned fighter, the little girl turned soldier, cut down before she could retire on her own, turned civilian without being given a choice.

Maybe it's that she spent years training and studying and fighting to be on the same level as her teammates, chased after both of them hopelessly for years, always, always watched their backs from behind, and after she finally, finally got there and stood next to them as equals, she had absolutely everything she ever cared about taken from her in a single moment.

Maybe, just maybe - he wants to be one of the strongest, for once. Unquestionably, undeniably the strongest.

For the little girl who tried desperately to protect her teammates in a forest of death and failed, who had to have one of them save her...

For the little boy who dreamed of escaping parents who never understood him and never tried and a life that would never fit him...

For them, for himself, he wants this. He would risk his miraculous second life for this, and he has never wanted to die less.

When the two weeks are up, he is once again hours early and geared for a fight. Luce welcomes him with a warm smile and a knowing look.

-o-

What Giglio Nero considers a home base is apparently wildly different from Skull's own definition. Bases are usually fortified labyrinths with twisting hallways, secret passages, and hidden rooms meant to confuse and disorient any intruders. Only those stationed at the base know the correct paths, but even finding the entrance - or realizing a base is even there - is supremely difficult.

A Mafia base is an ostentatious, highly visible mansion. A mansion! Mist Flames probably conceal its presence from enemies (hopefully), but still, it seems like such a stupid risk to take. Just how cocky is this Family? Or is the entire Mafia underground like this? It makes the paranoid, pragmatic shinobi in him twitch.

Ugh, he's underestimating them again. There's probably a reason for... this, perhaps having to do with tradition or simply confidence in their security. Maybe a display of power? "We don't need to hide. You pose no threat." It could even involve their "mission" or the fact that the seven of them are supposedly some of the strongest in the world and can handle themselves.

Whatever the case may be, he knows how to set traps and seal rooms, so he's not worried for his own safety. Tsunade-shishou was not as accomplished in fuinjutsu as her teammates, but she knew some and passed that knowledge down to her student. Like everything his shishou taught him, he soaked it in and practiced it until he had it down perfectly.

The Hiraishin or sealing away the tailed beasts is far beyond him, even if he weren't a life and a world away, but he can manage simple storage seals, run of the mill explosive tags, and sealing his room to keep out anything with killing or harmful intent and - something he was able to tweak with a lot of time, effort, and explosions - any being without chakra.

The original seal had only worked by sensing chakra and keeping out those whose chakra signatures weren't keyed into it, making it utterly useless in a world without chakra. The new version has proved effective in keeping out the few crazed fans who have tried breaking into his hotel rooms and his annoyed manager who can never barge his way into Skull's room and force him to wake - the latter of which is always hilarious.

If only he could have kept out Tsunade-shishou or Kakashi-sensei when they decided to wake him up for training at ungodly hours of the morning. He laments the missed opportunity - and hours of precious sleep lost - and moves on. Thinking such things is always painful, no matter how long it's been, after all.

-o-

Much as he'd expected, his room is plush and fancy and way too expensive, but the bed, at least, is comfortable. He never spends much of his time in his room, which he knows is a trait shared by most shinobi - even lazy, naps-a-lot Shikamaru; he found nice shady spots outside to sleep in instead - so it's not that big of a deal.

His own personal garage is a bit of a surprise, but he's pleased to have his own space to store his favorite bike and perform maintenance on it when needed.

The training room is more in line with what he'd expected. Reinforced punching bags, weights, targets, wooden posts, and a whole host of other things greet him when he opens the door. It feels... strange. Nostalgic, even.

He changes into a tank top and shorts, setting aside the bodysuit for now, and goes on to try out all of his new equipment like a child with new toys.

Later, splayed out on the ground, drenched in sweat and muscles burning pleasantly from a familiar-unfamiliar workout, he thinks this might be the first time he's felt like an actual shinobi - like Sakura - since he got to this world.

He throws an arm over his eyes and lets out a choked breath. Despite the tears streaming silently down his face, however, he's smiling.

It's a very good feeling - and one he's dearly missed.

-o-

At breakfast the next morning, Reborn - through intimidation and threats - tries to make him into some kind of lackey.

Skull punches him through three walls and an unknown number of trees in the surrounding forest.

No one questions his right to be there after that.

End Notes: I couldn't make the style of the first chapter work with what I wanted to cover here, so sorry to anyone excited to see more of it! I'm still relying on my shoddy memory of the series for this, as well as fanfiction, so any mistakes are because of that. I'm calling it AU and moving on.

As you can tell, I agreed that there's no way Skull would let anyone treat him like the Arcobaleno treated the original Skull - or like PTS-Sakura.

Someone wondered whether Reborn and Lal Mirch would sense Skull's strength. They did, and I think that's what angered Reborn more than anything - that this supposed civilian who mouthed off to him was strong. He sort of wanted to prove himself wrong? I guess - and there's the fact that Skull's a total unknown, too. Not having information on Skull likely irritated him. I actually like Reborn quite a bit, but he is undeniably cocky and mistrustful, even if rightfully so, and as you guys said, the parallels between him and Sasuke would strike a cord with Skull.

And I went over Lal Mirch's reasoning.

Some Answers:

- Skull is genderfluid, meaning he feels he is both male and female. He doesn't have preferred pronouns, though, and mentally frequently switches between he/him and she/her, as evidenced by the text.

- You can call him whatever you want, but he chose the name Skull for himself. So that's what I'm going with.

My own questions!

- Should I split this chapter into two? I could never find an ending I was satisfied with, and even now, I've got more written that didn't make the cut.

- I am awful at coming up with cool techniques! I'd love to hear your suggestions for Cloud-based attacks that would fit this Skull or ways the Cloud Flames could work with chakra. (have not decided whether they can mix yet) I've got my own ideas of course, but I would appreciate some help on that front - if you're willing! ;)

- Finally, please tell me what you thought of the chapter! I'm really nervous, haha.