When You Wish To Be Wanted

By: Yidkirkin

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Hey ya'll, look who's editing a fic for once :P Enough changed that I feel it's worth a reread if anyone cares to – although I'll be honest it's mostly setup for my revamped future chapter goals. Hope you enjoy! FYI –I headcanon Harry as being East Indian of Sikh descent.

TIMELINE EXPLANATION AT END OF THIS CHAPTER

SPOILERS PROBS

Whenever Harry was out of the house and had to get away from Dudley and his friends, he would go to one of two places. The first was the old park just beyond Magnolia Crescent; it was quiet, had several trees that were perfect to climb into and hide, and was far enough away from number four that Dudley rarely found the energy to pursue him. The second place was another park on Dahlia Drive; it was closer than Magnolia Park but very often crowded with other children, and it was over the line that Piers' and Thorton's parents had forbade them from crossing. Dudley could still come after him however, which was why Harry frequented it less than the former.

The day that Piers punched him in the stomach and he had run away, Harry made it as far as the entrance to Magnolia Crescent before he slowed and nearly fell over, unable to run any longer with the wind knocked out of him and his stomach running on empty.

Cradling his middle, tears sprung into Harry's eyes when the pain unexpectedly worsened –any injuries he suffered, from bullies or otherwise, always affected him doubly so when he hadn't eaten. It was also more difficult to run like this, and since today was the second he'd gone without food made it especially hard to keep going, let alone tough it out the rest of the way to the park. After less than a minute of rest, Harry caught the sound of feet pounding on asphalt coming towards him from Wisteria Walk, accompanied by the hollering and jeering usually made by Dudley's gaggle of cohorts. With a prickling terror running up his spine, Harry turned to see a rather determined pack of about seven boys sprinting towards him, Dudley smack in the middle.

Feeling queasy, Harry pushed his legs as hard as he could and took off in the opposite direction –to the haven that Magnolia Park might provide. This had happened only twice before and Harry had easily been able to evade them both times, but his throbbing belly and weakness from hunger weren't going to make this easy. He knew even before the childish shouts in his ears grew louder that if he was caught he would have a lot more to worry about than missing a few meals.

The pain in his stomach spiked again as he rounded the bend that led into the park –he was almost there, almost there –and he tried to ignore it, but it was hard when he also needed to concentrate on his footing and how far back his pursuers were. Sweat soaked his hairline as he glanced behind him to see exactly what he didn't want; the yelling boys were hot on his heels and even gaining ground as he began to slow down against his will.

Harry knew this was his last chance, so he shut his eyes, kicked hard off the dirt, and sailed over the barbed fence separating the park from the farmer's field that bordered it on one side. He cried out as his arm tore open from one of the metal spikes but he didn't stop running; in fact he managed to go so far on his adrenaline that when he ran out of steam for good he was in the middle of the tree line that separated the field from the next one over. He had run so far that all the children who were chasing him weren't even within earshot any more.

Harry gasped and panted harshly, throat raw and chest heaving, his skinny legs wobbling dangerously as he came down from the high of the adrenaline rush. Once it all leaked out of his system he swayed for a moment, eyes glazed over and unfocused, and then he promptly fell to his knees, hands only just preventing him from getting a face full of dirt as he pitched forward, coughing and sobbing. When even his arms couldn't support him, Harry let himself fall onto the leaf strewn ground, and didn't even care as his bent glasses jabbed his nose painfully and his now aching body protested the violent movement.

Harry felt his eyelids slide shut, his vision going blurry as he stared at the blades of grass through his glasses. He laid there for a long moment as a bright light slowly overtook his sight, enveloped in warmth, feeling utterly content for the first time in several months. He soaked it in briefly before the radiance disappeared, and terror rose in the seven year olds throat as he suddenly went cold and could see nothing but darkness. Harry was frozen, but his mind whirred –he wanted to go back to that place of safety, he didn't want to be left in the cold, so much like the nights when he had been locked out of the house by a tired and muttering Uncle Vernon. More tears spilled onto his cheeks, and he felt a horrible yank behind his ribs –like someone had elbowed an already bad bruise –and then, his entire body started moving again. It was almost like he was being spun, squeezed and pulled all at once, effectively disorienting him and making him sob even harder. Harry was about to scream when a sharp jolt of searing pain ran through his entire body –but everything ceased before he could even open his mouth.

The warm light was back, and Harry sobbed with relief as he was cocooned again in airy bliss, the sensation far more intense now than it was before. Harry tried to keep still, hoping the cold wouldn't return, and in the few minutes of quiet before he finally passed out he thought he heard a distant, worried voice.

Vvv

Takimaru was patrolling the northern border of Simple Diet Hill on his regular rotation when a soft sound caught his attention from one of the cliff outcrops directly above him. He frowned and concentrated to try and hear it again; it was a broken, heaving sound, that of someone sobbing as if they had lost everything important to them in the world. He pat Del on the neck and slipped down to the ground, and then used a short version of his pre-shot routine to help him access the full use of his leg and arm muscles so he could scale the sheer rock to investigate.

Initially, he couldn't make heads or tails of which bush held the crying individual, as Quilt Sage had the peculiar effect of muffling and redirecting any sounds that occurred nearby. Regardless of its importance to the local ecosystem, it wasn't the best Flora to have in a frequently patrolled area, and Takimaru was reduced to checking each bush individually for whoever was in distress. After about five minutes of searching he finally came across the right one –and he immediately let out a shocked exclamation when he pushed the thick leaves aside to see who was there.

It was a child, curled in on themself and crying so despondently it hurt Takimaru to watch, even as the crying reduced to a full body shudder when the child passed out. He did a quick once over and noted the bleeding arm before he scooped the unresponsive and shivering form out of the underbrush and into his embrace, alarmed at the child's light weight and delicate extremities. The child –probably a boy –was anywhere from five to eight years old, with messy, short hair about the same shade as Takimaru's own and thin, umber coloured skin. They had a scar shaped like a stylized 'S' smack in the middle of their forehead, wore bent and dirty circular glasses (which Takimaru pocketed) and was dressed in a pair of near comically oversized shorts and t-shirt. Before he made the trip back down to Del, Takimaru placed a hand on the child's forehead only to remove it just as quickly, wondering just how long the extremely feverish child had been lying out here.

It took nearly twice as long for Takimaru to pick his way back to his horse as it had taken him to climb up, with how much attention he needed to make sure he didn't jostle his young passenger. He only allowed himself to relax once they were standing next to Del; he dug into his saddle bag and pulled out the seldom used smoke flare gun that was inside. Whoever was on duty would see it and the colour would tell them that he was returning with an injured party.

So young, Takimaru thought sadly once they were sat astride Del's back, even younger than he was when he contracted his disease. Young and sick and not from around here, for Takimaru knew everyone in Simple Diet Hill and Eco Land, and this far West there weren't many with skin as dark as the child's, though he didn't count tourists, Gourmet Hunters and the like. If he had to guess, the child came from somewhere in the South East, near the Ma-Chilian Isles, or maybe even near the Southernmost Human World border, the stretch of land only called 'Value'. But how had they arrived here, to the outskirts of Simple Diet Hill and up a cliff even Takimaru had some difficulty scaling?

Takimaru stared at the shivering child and drew them closer to his chest, pushing his fretful thoughts away for the moment as the Gourmet Knights' Lodgings came into view up ahead. As he expected, Aimaru and the resident nurse Karasuke were already hurrying toward him, with several more of his comrades waiting near the Administrative building in case they needed further assistance.

Takimaru slid off of Del and sent him off to the stables, then met Aimaru and Karasuke halfway –the medic took one look at the child and paled.

"Strangely light and brittle of bone, with a fever close to 101°. I came upon him among the Quilt Sage crags, so do be certain he was not exposed to any Crag Fester Beetles. I know not how long he was there," Karasuke nodded and ushered Takimaru towards the Lodgings, where two Knights were ready to take the child onto a stretcher.

"Let Karasuke see to them right now, Taki," Aimaru said, one hand on Takimaru's shoulder; he let out the breath he'd been keeping a tight leash on and eased the child onto the canvas.

"We shall be in exam room four, Aimaru-san," Karasuke said, already focused on his patient.

"We'll meet you there," The Knights leader received a quick nod before they bustled the child into the Lodgings. Once they were alone, Aimaru turned and drew Takimaru into a quick hug. "Are you alright, Taki? I was worried when I saw the flare."

"I am well, if a little shaken," Takimaru admitted. He let Aimaru lead him into the building and over to the examination rooms at a slow pace. "The child did not look in good straights, I can tell that much."

"What happened?"

Takimaru sighed and paused in the hallway, making Aimaru stop as well. "I did go on my regular patrol route, and as I passed through sector 6B I heard a sound from above me on the cliffs. Hence, I investigated and found the child among the Quilt Sage bushes, crying but soon after passing out. I immediately hastened to return."

"No one else in the vicinity?" Furousuke asked, appearing suddenly behind them. The second tier Knight had a knack for sneaking up on people and Ingredients alike, though his usual cheer was now replaced with seriousness.

"I did not spare the time to look," Takimaru said, ashamed now at the thought. "It was more prudent to tend to them, I believed."

"I already rounded up Sana and Jen –we shall go scour the area. If it pleases ye, Aimaru-san?" Furousuke asked, taking off the moment their leader nodded.

Aimaru smiled briefly, but quickly sobered. "Alright, let us catch up with Kara and see if we need to send for Amara-sensei."

Vvv

When Harry returned –rather abruptly –to consciousness, he wasn't in the light or the cold, but instead was tucked into a soft bed covered with a light brown comforter. The bed was in the middle of a lowly lit, red wood panelled room; Harry shivered violently and pulled the blanket tighter around himself, only then realizing he wasn't wearing his glasses. With his eyesight the way it was, Harry could easily see that there were two chairs on either side of the bed and that there was a dark wood door in the wall to his left, but everything on the nightstand or the bed eluded him.

Still shivering but not as chilled, Harry listened for a few minutes to try and figure out where he was from the sounds around him. He could hear running water in the ceiling, and there was a low murmur drifting in through the door, like when he was in his cupboard and his Aunt and Uncle were talking in the kitchen. He knew he wasn't in a hospital, nor was he at number four or Mrs. Figg's and he had never seen a room that looked like this at school. Harry shifted uncomfortably and then stilled before he lifted up the blanket to find that he was no longer dressed in Dudley's hand-me-down t-shirt and shorts. Now he was wearing a light green long sleeved shirt and a loose pair of brown pants, both made out of a thick fabric that Harry had never seen before. He had the sleeve raised far from his face to try and see it clearly when the door to the room opened unexpectedly, an action that made Harry squeak in fright and bury himself underneath the comforter.

"Oh –Aimaru-san! He is awake!" A voice called from the door, one that Harry didn't recognize at all, nor the name of the person they had said. Harry kept himself still, heard the person enter the room and sit down in one of the chairs to his left, and then seconds later another person came in. There was silence for maybe a minute before the newest person addressed him.

"Hey there, kiddo," The voice –a man? –said, very close to Harry's head. "It is alright, we're not going to hurt you. We only want to make sure you are okay," Harry still didn't move, but he listened to the man as he walked to the foot of the bed and sat down. "C'mon now, do not be shy. My name is Aimaru, what might yours be?"

Something in the man's voice –sincerity, honesty, Harry couldn't quite pin it down –made Harry feel as if he should answer him. It was as if the man really wasn't going to get angry with him like his Aunt and Uncle often did, and Harry liked that feeling. Hoping he wasn't making a mistake, Harry swallowed his fear, sat up and moved the blanket off of his head so he could see them.

Of course, his sight was blurry even with the man sitting further away, so all he could make out was a red, black and peach coloured human shape a few feet in front of him at the other end of the bed, and another person off to his left, this one dark blue, black and peach. As Harry squinted at the two cautiously, the man before him moved slowly, holding an arm out so the man in the chair could give him something –it was a pair of glasses, his glasses, polished and unbent as the day his Aunt bought them four years ago.

"They are only temporarily fixed, I'm afraid," The man said as Harry slipped them onto his face and the blurriness lessened significantly. "Our medic can update your prescription now that you're awake, so in a few days we can get you a better pair," Harry inspected the man on the bed, and quickly came to the conclusion that he was the strangest person he had ever seen.

Aimaru, as he called himself, was dressed in a red, long sleeved shirt and black pants, with bandages covering his forehead and his long black hair tied back into a tidy braid. He had three red triangles marking each of his cheeks, tanned, beige coloured skin and dark brown eyes. He was smiling at Harry patiently, and made no move to speak while Harry directed his curious stare at the other person in the room.

The man on the chair looked younger than Aimaru, and while he had similar shades of hair and skin his one visible eye was blue and the one triangle Harry could see on his cheek was black. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt and a light blue turban that did nothing to hold back the hair covering the right side of his face from view. The as-yet unnamed man smiled at him as well with something like concern on his face, so Harry decided then and there that he had to be polite and speak now to these so-far very nice people.

"My name is Harry. Where am... uh... I mean..." Harry knew his Aunt didn't tolerate questions, but would these two be the same? He struggled with the words for a minute longer before the man in the turban spoke to him for the first time.

"It is a good thing to meet you, Harry-kun. I am called Takimaru. Right now you are in a place called Simple Diet Hill, in one of our guest rooms," Harry ceased his stuttering in order to pay attention to Takimaru, gripping the blanket tightly when he didn't recognize the name of the place Takimaru gave him. "I found you, alone, in a Quilt Sage bush on the northern cliffs of the Hill's perimeter, and brought you here. You were feverish –we had you thoroughly checked over and gave you several natural remedies in order to make sure you would get better. You have been asleep since I found you early this morning, and it is just past nine o'clock in the evening, presently."

"I –I don't understand," Harry said, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes without his permission. "I was in the forest near Little Whinging before this, how did I get here?"

"Little Whinging? Harry-kun, what continent is your home on? Taro? Ma-Chili? Perhaps Value?" Aimaru asked, frowning when Harry shook his head.

"It's –It's in Britain, which is in Europe. I don't know what those p-places are," Harry sniffed and took his glasses off so he could rub at his eyes. "I don't understand... it was warm and then cold and then warm again –and then I woke up here. I-I –I'm sorry, I think I did something freakish again –I didn't m-mean to do it!" Harry started crying in earnest and Takimaru was instantly beside him, rubbing at his back and attempting to soothe him.

"Do not fret; it is alright Harry-kun. It is okay, we do not make to blame you for anything," Aimaru stayed where he was, frown growing deeper as he watched his protégé try to console the mysterious, frightened child. "By what way did you do something freakish? If you tell us, mayhap we can figure out a way to get you back to... Europe."

Harry hiccupped wetly, choking out several gasps as he started to calm down, at the same time tensing like he was considering trying to make a break for it. By the time he began speaking coherently again, Takimaru had moved into a more comfortable position, removing his hand from the boy's back and instead holding his hands in between his.

"My –My Aunt and Uncle don't like iiiit whe-en I do freakish stu-tu-uff. Once, I... I turned a plastic toy into –into a wooden one and Unnnncle Vernon locked me in my cupboard for-for two days," Harry tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. "Annnnnd I once... got fro-om-om the gr-ground to the sch... ool roof in a split second. I must've done it againnn... when-when Aunt Petunia finds out, she's going to –going to be so mad!"

"Well, I do say that what you can do sounds amazing," Takimaru said calmly, though he shot an alarmed look back at his leader at the offhand comment of being locked in 'his cupboard'. "Harry-kun, your aunt cannot bear her anger upon you if we are not of a mind to tell her. We mean to help you, and we shall not go about discrediting that. Does that make things more bearable?"

"...mmhm..." Harry nodded frantically. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"It is fine, you are alright, everything is alright," Takimaru said gently, patting the child's hands and humming quietly. "Why do you not endeavour to sleep a bit more, Harry-kun? When you wake, you can eat and talk, if you so wish to. How does that sound?"

"...okay," Harry agreed quietly, letting Takimaru take his glasses from him and cover him with the comforter again. "Will... will you still be here?"

"I promise."

It took a few minutes for Harry to drift off, during which time neither of the Knights moved an inch for fear of jostling him awake as Takimaru had resumed holding one of his hands.

"I cannot monitor him as much as I would like," Aimaru said quietly, waiting for his son to untangle himself from the child's grasp. "How long are you on leave for?"

"Match-san has insisted I rest; marry, no less than two months," Takimaru didn't sound overly disappointed by it, though.

"Would you be open to watching over him, then? It seems he has taken a liking to you, and if he has a stable presence for at least the first few weeks he is here, it may make the difference in his recovery," Aimaru gave a tired hum. "We can look into a more permanent solution once he is somewhat healthier."

"Truly, I feel as if I should, I the one who did find him, after all," Takimaru accepted immediately, thinking back to the blood that seeped from the child into the dirt surrounding him; he touched his covered eye absentmindedly and sighed. "I do know you are busy, Aimaru-san, but could you stay with him for just these few minutes? I shall need to fetch some things and speak to Oumaru-san about having a meal delivered."

"I can stay. Karasuke already dropped off Amara's medical specifications, but make sure to stress his weak stomach lining even so. Once you are back I'll go and consult the library for mention of the places he told us about."

Takimaru thanked Aimaru profusely and immediately made his way to the Lodgings' kitchens, trying to mentally prepare himself for the upsetting topics that were bound to come up when Harry awoke again. Oumaru was happy to see him drop in, and they spent nearly half an hour going over Amara's recommendations along with simply catching up with one another. Oumaru herself had four children and was currently pregnant with the fifth, so Takimaru tried to answer her questions about Harry's behaviour and mental health as best he could given the boy hadn't been awake very long.

She shooed him out eventually with a bento each for himself and Aimaru, telling him to send a runner once Harry woke up and needed to be fed; she also insisted that he keep her in mind if they needed someone to take the child in for any length of time.

"I will remember, Oumaru-san," Takimaru told her gratefully, accepting the pitcher of water she handed to him. "Do pass along a hello to Sayaka-san and your children for me."

"Sure thing, Taki-kun. Now, go and make sure that leader of ours takes that bento! Subsisting on diseases might be possible, but not while I am around!" Oumaru swept back into the kitchen with all the grace her distended belly allowed her, and so Takimaru laughed and made his way back to the guest room.

Vvv

IMPORTANT TIMELINE EXPLANATION (spoilers for toriko)

So, the Cooking Fest battle still happened, all the way up to when Midora and Ichiryuu were fighting. Midora still kills Ichiryuu, Starjun still kidnaps Komatsu, and Toriko still needs to go into the Gourmet World in order to retrieve his combo partner from Gourmet Corp. But Midora never used his Meteor Spice technique. See, I absolutely disliked the manga after the time skip happened, so in this fic I'm doing what I want and ignoring it lol. And, I go by the Viz Media English translation of the manga.

Starting from the Cooking Fest Arc (in May);
YEAR ONE- Takimaru goes back to Simple Diet Hill and helps with Cooking Island cleanup. Toriko and Komatsu come back from the Gourmet World and start making trips there with the other Kings. The world isn't destroyed so they're looking for Acacia's full course on their own time. Teppei is rescued from NEO by Jirou. Just disregard all of the NEO/Gourmet Corp/GOD drama, that's Toriko's shtick and won't affect this story.
YEAR TWO- Takimaru goes to work as a liaison between the Gourmet Mafia and the IGO in order to get Nerg City and Jiddal Kingdom back on their feet. He makes small trips back to Simple Diet Hill and asks Aimaru to officially assign him to this endeavour.
YEAR THREE- Same as year two.
YEAR FOUR- From May until October it's the same as year two and three. From December until April Takimaru goes to Life to work with Teppei and some of the younger generation of Gourmet Revivers who have expressed an interest in trying to revive Nerg and Jiddal's lost ecosystems. The IGO attempts a Cooking Fest on its usual date but the repairs to Cooking Island aren't done yet, so they hold a sort of honorary fest to acknowledge the lives lost.
YEAR FIVE- Takimaru spends his time travelling between Life, Nerg, and Simple Diet Hill.
YEAR SIX- From about May to August Takimaru does as he did in year five. Come September he moves back to Simple Diet Hill for a time b/c Match made him take a break, and the beginning of October is when Harry shows up.

TL, DR: Chapter one is in October, about five and a half years after the Cooking Fest Arc, and the Meteor Spice and the time skip never happened.