Disclaimer: Harry Potter is property of J.K. Rowlings and KHR of Amano Akira.
AN: Whine incoming feel free to ignore paragraph, I'm just venting. When I write (as rare as that is), I do work hard to write a story that I hope others will enjoy. It's fine if people think that my story sucks, but it does frustrate me some when it seems people do like my story but can't take a few seconds to write a few words of encouragement or criticism if they did not like it in a review. It is nice that people like it enough to favorite/follow but comments are much more meaningful. I don't really expect people to review older/inactive stories but I hoped that readers would review a new story. As it stands less than 1% of the people who viewed the first chapter actually left a comment and I sincerely thank the five people who did. Well enough with my venting.I will work on this as long as my muse is fixated on the idea and the conditions for me to write are met though my ideal writing conditions will end soon. I like absolute solitude to write and my husband is coming home from his business trip soon so expect things to slack off after this chapter or maybe one more. Right now I'm just typing up whatever scenes come to me regardless of where in the story the scene takes place and working on the next chapter whenever I feel like it.
I'll be honest and say I do not know anything about London, any legal procedures or policy, and my medical knowledge extends to whatever I can read online in a few minutes so if anything I spout is inaccurate to those that are in the know, I apologize and if you point it out to me I will make an attempt to fix it. Also if people seem a bit out of character or too familiar with each other like Tsuna calling Gokudera Hayato, or Gokudera being more calm do remember it is six years later so they have grown up some and also gotten closer and more familiar with each other. Also living in Italy for two years would have gotten them more used to using people's first name.
"English"
"Italian"
"Japanese"
Titles and Japanese suffixes will be in whatever font that the sentence is in.
Talk of a Child
The car ride to the hospital was quiet and for the sake of the child thankfully relatively short. Once in the limo Tsuna tried to put the little boy down on the plush seat but the child clung fearfully to his suit. With an understanding smile but sad eyes, Tsuna settled the boy in his lap allowing the child to burrow into his chest while Tsuna explained briefly to his right-hand man how he found the child.
"Should I heal him with my sun flames, Juudaime? Maybe after he falls asleep?" The silver-haired man asked after the explanation was completed.
"No. Not yet at least. We will need evidence of the state I found him in and I will need some hospital records of his injuries and condition. He's light...too light. Malnourished most likely. Abused definitely, though I can't tell the extent and I suspect psychologically hurt as well, but you have given me a good idea. I should have thought of this earlier. Poor little one." Tsuna answered.
"Little one," Tsuna whispered gently. Big worried eyes gazed up at him, "I need you to close your eyes for a short while. I promise nothing bad will happen to you. This will make you feel better."
The boy complied. He had heard Sir and Ma'am promise things to Dudley and he always got good things from it. Tsuna-nii was so nice that he could do nothing but trust the man. Concentrating on his flames Tsuna carefully produced a blue flame and allowed it to wash over the boy soothing the pain of his injuries and putting the child into a peaceful sleep.
It had taken years of allowing Verde to experiment on him and his sky flames and then much practice but Tsuna found that he could wield all the elements of the sky. It had been known that sky flames could be replicated by combining the other flame types. However, the reason behind that feat was because it was found that the reason sky flame users were so rare was because sky flames were actually not a separate flame type per se, but rather a combination of the other flame types balanced perfectly with each other. Thus the sky flames gained their harmonization properties. It accounted for why sky flames were mostly passed down genetically and rarely spontaneously developed outside of families that did not formerly have them. Xanxus being one of the rare exceptions.
After understanding the make-up and properties of the sky flames, Verde theorized that a sky user could pull out the individual elements and use them though not as skillfully, powerfully, or easily as someone who had those flame predominately. Gokudera and his ability to use five flames was cited as an example and the ex-Arcobaleno scientist believed that it was possible for one of Gokudera's descendants to eventually be a sky flame user once his bloodline gained the missing flame type and someone in his line developed the flames in a balanced amount. It took years of practice but Tsuna, who always rose to the challenge if it would help him protect his family, finally did learned how to wield all the flames. It took too much concentration for him to pull out the individual sky element for it to be useful in active combat but it was good for support.
"Juudaime. I have already called ahead to the hospital and requested a private room." Gokudera reported.
"Thank you Hayato."
When they finally arrived at the hospital they were immediately shown to a luxurious hospital room. Tsuna thanked the elderly nurse that guided them to the room and requested, "If possible could we get a doctor that is accustomed to dealing with children?"
Looking at the battered child sleeping peacefully in the handsome young man's arms, the nurse scrutinized Tsuna carefully causing Gokudera to bristle at the implication of the searching gaze. Finally deciding that regardless of the young man's relation to the the child if indeed there was any at all, the obviously wealthy man had nothing to do with the child's deplorable condition.
"I'll see if Dr. Jamison is available. She is our top pediatrician, but she might have already finished her shift." Smiling charmingly at the woman Tsuna thanked her causing the old nurse to blush a bit at the startlingly beautiful smile before quickly regaining control of herself. "For now you can set the child down on the bed. You can wait here for Dr. Jamison or we do have a cafeteria if you would like to get a snack."
"Do you have a kitchen here? I would gladly pay for it's use and the ingredients. I'd like to make some chicken noodle soup for the child. I don't think he has had any food for most of today."
The nurse looked at the man in surprise, "You cook? I mean you wish to cook for the child?"
"Hmm...yes. My mother taught me a wonderful recipe that I always make for my family when one of them gets sick."
"Do you mind my asking if the child is related to you?" The nurse asked doubtfully but wanting to know more about this strange little group.
"No, I just found the little one in the park and he obviously needs help." Tsuna replied as he gently set raven-haired child on the bed. He had to gently pry the boy's fingers away from his shirt though the little one whimpered at the lost of warmth and the feeling of safety that Tsuna exuded.
"Although we do have a kitchen, I believe it is against hospital policy to allow anyone but staff in and patients aren't really allowed outside food and drink." The nurse explained apologetically. "You can however consult with the doctor. I will leave you to wait for the doctor. If you need anything please press the help button by the bed."
After the nurse left Gokudera turned to his boss, "Juudaime...I know Juudaime is a wonderful and kind person that would help anyone in need especially children, but could I ask is there something special about this child?"
"Hmm...I think so. My intuition has never demanded I do something as strongly as this other than when the family is threatened." Tsuna replied while stroking the child's messy hair soothingly. It seemed to relax the boy.
"Do you know why?"
"No, but this child needs us in more ways than one. He has flames. Strong ones at that."
"Flames? As in multiple elements? What are they? How strong are they?" The Storm fired the questions at the Sky in rapid succession.
"Yes as in multiple. I can sense at the very least Sun and Lightning although the Lightning flames are odd, as if they do not belong totally to the boy. I think there is at least one, maybe two other types as well though weaker. As for how strong," Tsuna shrugged, "I'm not quite sure but I think the two main ones are around as powerful or maybe a tiny bit less than Lambo's at this age. I think he has been unconsciously using his flames to protect and heal himself from whatever abuse he suffers from."
"That's rather significant. What do you plan on doing with him? Do you want to take him into the family? He'll need to learn to control his flames or else he could hurt himself or others."
"I honestly don't know, but you are right that he needs to be trained or I could seal his flames. I'd rather not do that though. Sealing my flames at this age caused me a lot of harm in the long run even if Nono did not know it then. It really messed with my mental and physical development. But...I also do not want to bring such a young innocent child into our dark world."
"The Ahoushi, was around this age when he came to us and I wasn't much older when I ran off on my own and became a freelance hitman."
"Yes but Lambo was born into the mafia and so were you although I wish neither of you had to suffer like you have."
"There are things worse than the mafia, Juudaime, especially being in your family. You won't let the children face the darkness of our world until they are ready and even then you shield the entire family from it as much as you are able. Our family is dysfunctional and made of people that were honestly broken before you came along and fixed us enough to be able to be human again and gave us a place to belong."
"Are you encouraging me to take this boy into our famiglia, Hayato?"
"That is completely up to you Juudaime, but there are much worse fates. Being part of your family was the best thing to ever happen to me. As much as I do not really want another brat running around the mansion, this boy has probably dealt with people as bad as some of the worst ones found in our world. Maybe not the level of the Estraneo but not far removed from them either."
Tsuna sighed, "I'll think about it. Until we know more about the little one's circumstances or even who he is, we can't really make any decisions. We should probably ask him what he wants as well. He could have just gotten lost and ran into some bullies."
"You don't really believe that."
"No, I don't but for the sake of his caretakers, I hope that was the case." Tsuna's voice turned hard.
A knock sounded at the door then, interrupting the two mafioso. Opening the door Tsuna saw a woman that looked to be in her fifties with brown hair streaked with gray wearing a doctor's coat and carrying a notebook computer. The woman entered the room and introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Dr. Rachael Jamison, head pediatrician here."
"Hello Dr. Jamison. I am Tsunayoshi Sawada-Vongola, but please call me Tsuna. This is my friend Hayato Gokudera."
Dr. Jamison raised an eyebrow at the good-looking young man that had just introduced himself as the CEO of Vongola Industries. She had heard that the Vongola CEO was young but the man looked no older than his late-teens, possibly twenty. Vongola Industries was a large and very wealthy privately owned security and finance firm that had recently gotten even bigger after their new CEO took over and expanded their operations successfully into several other fields including medical research. The CEO was also known as a philanthropist that donated to many orphanages and other such charities. The silver-haired young man next to him she had also heard of as a scientific genius although he primarily worked as the executive assistant to the Vongola CEO. She had never imagined she would meet them in person since the firm was headquartered in Italy.
"Are you relatives to the child?" Jamison asked.
"No. Honestly we don't even know who he is. I just found him in Hyde Park about an thirty or forty minutes ago. It was cold and he was under dressed for the weather. He also seemed hurt so I brought him here to be checked out. If you could would you please give him a through check-up and give me a full report of everything you find as well as treat any injuries he has?" Tsuna requested politely.
"Honestly, I should not be giving out any information on any patients to anyone but their relatives, but since we do not know who the child belongs to...I will do so though I will need to call Children's Welfare."
"Thank you. I was going to call them myself after I talked to the boy to find out how he ended up the way I found him. Ah...would it be alright for me to bring in some homemade soup for the little one? He'll probably be hungry when he wakes up."
"It is really against the hospital's policy to bring in outside food, but if you cook the food in our kitchens under the eye of our staff, I think we could allow it." Jamison smiled at how sincere the young man seemed. "Why don't you go ahead while I examine the child?"
Nodding to the older woman, Tsuna beckoned Gokudera to follow him out. Once in the hall Tsuna turned to his right-hand man and requested, "Hayato could you go to some stores and buy a few clean clothes for the boy. Warm and good quality please. I trust you to be able to guess at the size. Buy multiple sizes if in doubt. " Glancing at his watch Tsuna, noted that it was only approaching five, there would be plenty of time to shop. "I'll go make the little one that soup and something for us as well unless you want to go out somewhere? I really need to stay nearby for when the little one wakes up."
"Juudaime should not trouble himself to make something for me and I'm sure the boy will be fine with whatever the hospital provides."
"But I want to, and food made by someone that cares tastes so much better, but I do understand if you would rather eat at a restaurant, just please bring the clothes back here before you go back to the hotel." Tsuna instructed.
Gokudera looked scandalized, "Of course not Juudaime! No one's food compares to Juudaiume's except Mama's, certainly not these restaurants. I apologize for making you think that! And how long does Juudaime plan on staying here? I will gladly stay in your stead."
"No I think I need to stay here. I think the little one is comfortable with me. I need to stay at least until we talk to the child though maybe until he is released. If needed we can extend this trip for a few days. I'll have my paperwork emailed to me."
"Will you not be going back to the hotel to sleep?"
"Depends on if the little one is ready to be released by then."
Gokudera spoke to his boss firmly, "Then I will be back here with clothes for the boy, yourself, and myself. As your right-hand man I can not leave you here alone all night. I'll demand they bring in another bed for Juudaime."
"It's alright, Hayato. You can go back to the hotel after you bring the clothes and I can sleep on the visitor's couch."
"Absolutely not Juudaime! As your right-hand man I cannot allow you to sleep on a couch."
Tsuna pouted as he saw the obstinate set of his friend's face and hoped that he could just take the child back with them to the hotel tonight and save the hospital staff the hassle of bringing in another bed for him. He finally nodded at his right-hand man and told him, "I'm going to send Kyouya a text to find whatever he can about the child and then go make some food for us and the little one."
"I'll be back as soon as I can then Juudaime."
After the Storm left, Tsuna sent the picture of the child that he took along with a request for as much information as Kyouya could find on the boy. He asked his Cloud Guardian to also contact Basil at CEDEF to help in order to employ more resources in the search. Though Tsuna also asked that they give him whatever information they could find even if it was only the most basic as soon as possible. Right now Tsuna really just wanted names to get the things started.
Tsuna headed to the cafeteria following the signs reasoning that the kitchens must be near there in order to charm their staff into letting him prepare a meal for his new charge, himself, and his Storm.
The boy woke up soon after he felt the presence that radiated warmth, comfort, love, acceptance, safety and everything that he could think as nice and good left the room. Looking around he found himself on a clean bed in a nice room with a woman with nice looking brown eyes smiling at him. Although she was smiling at him, the boy cringed back and frantically searched for Tsuna-nii.
"Where is Tsuna-nii?" The little boy asked timidly.
"Tsuna-nii?" The woman questioned.
Tears filled the boy's emerald-green eyes as he began to fear that the nice man wasn't real and was just part of a dream, but he tried to describe the kind stranger but found he couldn't do so since he hadn't been able to see the man very well in the dark. "He was tall and was very pretty. He had a nice soft voice."
"Ah...you mean the young man that brought you here?" The woman asked as she inwardly laughed at the boy's description, fairly certain that the Vongola head would have been put out at hearing himself described as "pretty".
The boy nodded. "He went to get you something to eat. He'll be back soon. For now would you mind spending a little time with me? My name is Dr. Jamison. Would you tell me your name? I'm going to see where and how you are hurt."
The boy's eyes widened. He knew that he would be in trouble if anyone found out that he was hurt. He had a nice teacher lady notice his bruises once and asked about it. After he told her about how Sir hit him, some people came to talk to Sir and Ma'am and talked about taking him away. It didn't happen though. A few days later it was as if nothing ever happened and Sir beat him harder for telling the teacher. The boy was locked in his cupboard for a week and didn't get anything to eat for several days as well.
Lowering his head he softly told the lady, "I'm fine. It doesn't really hurt." And he wasn't lying. For some reason the things that hurt before hurt a lot less now. "I'm just clumsy and fell."
Jamison didn't say anything but she did not believe the child. It was obvious he had been conditioned to respond in that manner, but she would not push the fragile looking boy. Maybe when the Vongola came back he could get the child to talk because the child seemed attached to the young man, most likely an automatic response to the man saving him from the cold. "Well I still need to check up on you. Mr. Vongola requested I find all your injuries and treat them. Let's start with you telling me where you hurt."
The boy just shook his head. Jamison sighed before trying another tactic, "Please child?" Not knowing what to call the boy since he still would not give her his name. "I promised Mr. Vongola that I would take care of your injuries. I really would hate to disappoint such a nice man. I'm sure he would be sad if he came back to find you were still not treated."
The boy was torn. He did not want Tsuna-nii to be sad because of him but what if Sir found out that he told someone he was hurt? But Sir had left him in the park and probably wouldn't be coming back. Finally making his decision he nervously told the doctor where he hurt. She instructed him to take off his clothes and she began to lightly poke him asking him questions. Eventually she had a nurse bring in a wheelchair and settle him in it. She explained that she needed to get some pictures of his insides to see if anything was wrong inside. He went along with it quietly and hoped that Tsuna-nii would come back soon.
When Tsuna came back to the room pushing a cart loaded with food for the child, Gokudera and himself an hour later, Dr. Jamison was waiting for him outside the child's room looking livid. She raised her eyebrow at the amount of food on the cart and Tsuna smiled sheepishly at her explaining, "I figured that Hayato and I could eat with the little one once Hayato gets back with the clothes I sent him out to buy for him."
Dr. Jamison nodded before she told him seriously, "Mr. Vongola. I must thank you for finding that child when you did. That poor boy as been badly abused and there is a chance he could have died if left as he was. I'm honestly surprised he has survived as long as he has.
He's currently not badly injured though his head shows signs of having received blunt head trauma, a mild concussion was the likely result. He mentioned having blacked out. He had mild signs of hypothermia though it seems you managed to warm him up some before getting him here. There are contusions all over his body. He has multiple fractures- one large one in his right arm, that we put in a cast to help it set and heal properly. He also has several hairline fractures on his ribs, that we have wrapped though the wrapping needs to be changed daily. He should be mostly fine in about a month as long as he is careful not to strain himself. Children heal fast thankfully. It is just lucky the concussion was mild and that he had no internal bleeding.
He tried to tell me his injuries were self-inflicted from clumsiness but the injuries say otherwise. The bruises were inflicted by an adult fist and most of those injuries would be hard to be self-inflicted. The fractures were on both sides of his ribs instead of just in the front or on one side as it would be if he fell. The child is also malnourished to a startling degree, I'm honestly surprised he isn't more injured considering how fragile his bones must be from the malnourishment. The X-rays also showed signs of his bones having been broken in the past. I would like to see his past medical records because from how the boy spoke, I doubt he actually got treated for his previous injuries. It's a miracle that he never got an infection or had something heal wrong.
Unfortunately the child would not tell me anything including his name so I cannot look up his medical records. I have already called Child Welfare. May ask what do you plan on doing with the child?"
Tsuna let out a slow breath as he tried to reign in his temper. Tsuna was slow to anger but there were things that were sure to rile him up quite quickly and thoroughly and abuse of innocents was one. "I do not yet know. I wanted to talk to the little one and find out more about him first. Regardless though I will not allow him to go back to whatever monsters caused this even if I have to ruin them and adopt that poor child myself."
"Good! Please be assured that I will help you however I can. Here is a signed copy of the report, along with the X-rays. I've included all my observations on the child's behavior and my conclusions. My private cell phone number is also there if things get taken to court and you need me to testify." Dr. Jamison said handing Tsuna a packet of papers that Tsuna carefully stowed into his coat pocket until his right-hand man returned and he could hand them over to him.
As Tsuna nodded to the doctor as she left, his cell phone rang and seeing the name hurriedly picked up. "Omnivore," a cold, curt voice greeted him, "What have you gotten yourself into now?"
