Viper felt Fon's gaze on her the rest of the meeting, and it was very nearly a physical weight against her shoulder, but Viper was Varia Quality and she wouldn't fail her sweet little Sky.

The yearly meeting eventually ended and Fon didn't call her out, (much to her relief), but he did fall into step with her and pleasantly ask if she was going to visit him any time soon.

Viper turned her hooded gaze to the side, "I will check my schedule, but Skull should be finished with the job he's working on for me soon and I'm sure he'd love to see you as well, and combining business with pleasure would save money."

Fon's smile brightened and the Storm in his eyes abated slightly, "I'll hold you to that, Viper." He told her evenly before sweeping forward to catch up with Reborn.

Once she was sure she wouldn't need to employ unsavory tactics or fight to keep her secret, Viper used her Mist to transport herself back to the Varia Headquarters and sank back into her chair.

How was she going to break this news to Skull and Harry?

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Harry smiled brightly as Skull wrestled with the sailing equipment, his muscles bulging underneath his jumpsuit.

They'd been traveling through Greece, but Harry wanted to spend more time at sea and not have to constantly be at the mercy of a cruise line, so they'd purchased a ship that had had magical modifications done to it so that they could man it themselves.

The charms would keep it from capsizing, assisted in navigation, kept people from noticing it unless the wards were specifically adjusted, helped keep the sensation of seasickness to a minimum, kept the rooms below deck from being disturbed by the violence of the sea through a series of absorption and redirection wards, and made the below decks quite spacious and comfortable.

So, basically it was like a floating, warded house that ran on magically-generated steam, with a potion-based back up system.

(It had belonged to an older couple who had traveled for many years after they had retired from the Mediterranean Magical Authority, but after they passed, none of the family had wanted to keep it.)

It wasn't very big- maybe ten meters along the waterline, but that was plenty big enough for Skull and Harry.

Harry had been cheerfully stocking the rooms with his knickknacks and souvenirs, a bit happy to finally have a space to call his own and even more ecstatic that it wasn't tied down to a fixed location, meaning that he was still free. He had been hanging pictures on the walls since the ship had officially come into their possession, delighted to be able to walk down the corridors and chart his journeys across the world.

Their plan was to sail from where they were in the Aegean Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, floating past the tip of Sicily and passing into the Tyrrhenian Sea and along the coast of Africa as they transitioned into the Alboran Sea along the coast of Spain. They would pass through the Strait of Gibraltar before coming out into the North Atlantic Ocean, where they'd float along the outer coast of Spain and Portugal, kissing the Bay of Biscay as they skimmed France and made for the Celtic Sea, and their destination- Ireland.

Ireland had two Gringotts locations- Dublin in Ireland proper, and Belfast in Northern Ireland, so they would meander their way up the coast and take short trips into the beautiful country as they saw fit, as Harry had wanted to get lots of pictures of Ireland's natural beauty. Harry would take his assessments at one location and choose what he wanted from the Family Vault, and pick up the item at the other location, going by the order along the coast; it would be Dublin and Belfast, respectively.

So, when Viper called and told them about Fon, Skull had been ready to smash something.

Harry, however, had smiled brightly and told Viper to tell the Storm that he could wait when Harry and Skull were planning on visiting China's waters, or he could meet them in Ireland, whatever Fon wanted to do.

"I'm his Sky," Harry told Skull, (and Viper who was still on the phone as she was tired and didn't want to Mist travel to their ship when she'd have to overpower her technique due to her not being keyed into the wards), "You and Viper have done a great job protecting me and I love you both for it, but you can't protect me forever and he just wants to meet me, not make me a Mafia Boss or something crazy. It'll be okay, you'll see!" Hedwig hooted from her perch on a nearby railing.

Skull and Viper both groaned at that, already knowing what the Storm Arcobaleno would choose.

(Though they both tried to ignore the traitorous warmth that unfurled from deep within then and spiraled through them when their adorable little Sky told them that he loved them. Neither Skull nor Viper had ever been loved before- they had always been too dumb or too unpredictable or too different or too something- but this bright, bright boy loved them for doing their jobs- and well-

Maybe this was what family felt like?)

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Sailing, Harry and Skull had found, was much more difficult than they originally thought- even with their magical 'cheats'.

However, it was fun to learn something pretty much entirely new to both of them, even if they were pretty sure they'd never be qualified naval officers. They enjoyed the sea spray and other traditional sea fare while they were on the unprotected parts of the upper deck, while also enjoying stepping behind the protective enchantments and feeling almost as if they were back on dry land, just with an awesome view.

They really didn't spend a whole lot of time below deck, honestly. They'd stopped and gotten a few hammocks after just a day at sea, and they enjoyed sprawling out in them at night, under the clear skies with no man-made obstructions for miles while Skull pointed out the stars to Harry and taught him the history behind the various constellations under the guise of bedtime stories.

Their little ten-meter vessel slid cut through the seas at about 20 knots per hour without issue, and the trip from Athens, Greece to the Strait of Gibraltar was about 1400 nautical miles. Skull and Harry weren't in a hurry, and fall was a beautiful, if somewhat warm, time to be in the Mediterranean so they looped casually around Crete and Malta, (though they didn't stop), halving their speed most of the time, and outright dropping anchor some other times- making their three day journey take almost two weeks, in the end.

Harry used about twelve rolls of film and had a blast, so Skull counted it as a success, though.

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Skull sighed as he leaned against the mast and kept an eye on Harry's profile in the moonlight.

The thing that was easiest to misconstrue about Harry was that his free spirit and kind nature translated over into being a saint or a doormat.

Neither of those latter titles applied.

Harry Potter had been fighting for his right to see the world before he died since the moment Checker Face handed him the Pacifier when he was eight years old.

"It's like I had been living in a fog and all of a sudden everything was clear to me." Harry had told him one night, the first night that something like this had happened, ""I had always been scared of being hurt, or losing what little tolerance my relatives gave me and being thrown out to fight back. But knowing that I was going to die- did you know that Aunt Petunia was thirty-five when I was left?- gave me the courage to stand up for myself. I don't go looking for fight- and I like to try to talk to people because I like to hear their points of view- but sometimes the only way to earn a person's respect is by fighting them and holding your ground, and sometimes they just want to kill, so you have to kill them first."

They had stopped in Spain while their ship had been processing, (they'd had to lower the wards a bit to pass through without alerting the MMA), and they'd been cornered by some thugs. They'd just been street gang trash, but there had been too many for Skull to simply knock out before escaping with his Sky, and Harry's words and knockouts had gone unheeded as the leaders showed up with reinforcements, so Skull had had to watch his baby Sky's vibrant eyes dull, (like they always did when just defeating someone wasn't an option), and his young jaw clench, as the boy had hardened his resolve and pushed forward to kill the leaders while Skull kept the minions at bay.

Harry had been learning self-defense from Skull, and he'd always been quick on the uptake so it wasn't long before the gang was leaderless and in disarray and Skull could get his Sky back home.

The boy was staring up at the night sky and crying, (Harry always cried without making a sound), mourning more for the lost potential of the men that he'd killed than the men themselves.

Still, it made something inside Skull froth with rage to see such an expression on Harry's face, and he hated those men for putting it there- dead or not.

Actually, they were lucky they were dead, and their minions would most like run afoul of Viper soon.

"Skull." Harry called softly.

"Yes, Harry." Skull called back.

"Am I bad person?"

Skull gaped, "What?"

The boy turned to him, wet tear trails glistening on his cheeks and re-rimmed eyes serious, "Am I a bad person? For traveling the world when I should be a Boss and for-for-"

"Never." Skull said seriously as he leapt up to the railing Harry was perched on, taking his baby Sky's face in his child-sized hands gently, "Ever think that. You're carrying one of the heaviest, most thankless burdens in the universe. You don't want an empire or accolades or treasures- you just want to live. There's nothing wrong with that. There's also nothing wrong with not being able to save everyone- it doesn't mean you won't try of course- you delight in trying to give the Great and Glorious Skull grey hair-"

Harry released a watery laugh.

"-but just because you cannot reach everyone does not mean you failed, it means that there simply was no light left within them for you to reach." Skull finished smoothly.

The Sky released another laugh, that was more of a sob, and reached for Skull, who allowed himself to be swept into Harry's arms and cuddled as the boy cried.

"It's alright, Harry. I'm here for you, Viper's here for you. You're not in this alone." He soothed as the boy rocked him back and forth and tears dripped down onto his purple hair.

"Thank you." Harry whispered sometimes later, when the tears had stopped, but he was still clinging to Skull, "I know it's just because of the Pacifier that you're with me, but I love you both so much. I'm happy that I get to live like this, even if it's not going to be for very long."

Skull swallowed harshly and blinked rapidly.

What do you say to that?

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Viper nearly crushed the phone in her hand as Skull quietly relayed the events to her after Harry had gone to sleep later that night, (or rather, early the next morning).

Incidents like this didn't happen often, as their little Sky had a knack for seeing people's hearts and bringing out the best in them, but it hit Harry especially hard when he was left with destruction as his only option. "I see." Viper said flatly.

"Yeah." Skull echoed dully.

"I will call you soon." She said just before she hung up, gesturing to Fantasma who gamely hopped on her head and allowed her to float towards Tyr's office.

Viper was taking a few days off whether that old bastard liked it or not, she had business in Spain.

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After the incident in Spain, Harry and Skull received a gift from Viper: a television and a device that played movies via a Flame-imprinted disc. It wouldn't be released on the Mafia Land markets until the next Spring, but Viper had also sent them an assortment of movies that had already been converted.

Harry had gaped and then thrown himself at Viper and hugged her, babbling thanks and promises of strawberry milk for the rest of her life.

Viper gave off an air of patient longsuffering while Harry had held onto her, but Skull spied a small, pleased smile on her lips.

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The trip to Ireland was fairly quiet after Spain, and Harry ended up taking his assessments at Gringotts Dublin.

The Goblins had also gotten him the International Wizarding Standardized Assessment Tests, which was what those who wanted to work for the ICW had to take, (except for the politicians, who were appointed). They were exponentially harder than the individual countries' own testing standards and were administered exclusively by the ICW Examination Authority, (who, coincidentally, hated politicians and found it hilarious that they were bound by Gringotts to not tell anyone that Harry Potter was alive. The two examiners probably could have eventually worked around their vow, but they were from Switzerland, what did they care about Britain's political disasters? Free entertainment!).

The testing had taken nearly a week, between his magical and nonmagical subjects, as his IWSAT Examiners were very thorough and tested him on everything that he'd studied until they'd surpassed his knowledge of the subject, even in subjects not normally taught at Hogwarts.

By the time Harry had finished, he was moaning to Skull about his brain having turned to mush, and he was more than ready to get out and explore Ireland in an attempt to recollect himself.

So, naturally, that was when Fon showed up.

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They had just sat down to lunch when a head of dark hair popped up out of nowhere, causing Harry to startle and Skull to screech like a cat caught in a sudden rain shower.

"Hello." Said the pleasantly smiling toddler with dark hazel eyes, a red and gold Chinese martial-arts uniform, white pants, and Storm Pacifier, "I am Fon, and this is my Animal Partner Lichi."

Harry recovered quickly and smiled brightly, "Hi!" he chirped, "I'm Harry, holder of the Sky Pacifier. Hedwig is my Animal Partner, but she's back on board the ship today since I was taking my tests until just a little while ago. It's nice to meet you, Master Fon- you know over a hundred martial arts styles right? That makes you a Master, doesn't it?- would you like to have lunch with us?"

Fon's pleasant smile turned a touch warmer and he made himself comfortable bedside Skull, (who was just now collecting himself and glaring daggers at Fon while muttering about 'stupid Chinese ninjas'), "I'd love to, and just Fon is fine, 'Master' is reserved for my chosen students. If I might say so, Harry, you look awfully young."

Harry smiled, his green eyes vibrant despite the glasses obscuring them, (Fon absently noted that Reborn wouldn't allow such a travesty if his Sun Flames could possibly heal the boy's vision problems), "I was eight when I took the Sky Pacifier, I turned twelve this past summer."

"Ah." That much of Viper's story was true, then. Fon supposed that he could cut her and Skull a bit of slack in keeping this young Sky from some of the more volatile Arcobaleno.

Suddenly the boy's eyes sharpened and Fon's breath caught somewhere between his lungs and his mouth- because this was the look of a warrior.

"I understand," The boy said slowly, "That you or the other will be angry with myself or Skull and Viper, but please understand that I only have so much time and I will not spend it caged. That being said, I never meant to hurt any of you I just-" Harry waved a hand and leaned back in his seat, turning to stare out the window as he continued in a quiet voice, "Skull said that when you all came together with Luce, you weren't the Arcobaleno yet, just a group of powerful strangers brought together for an unknown job. Luce pulled you together and was there for you when the Curse took you, I'm just the kid who got the Pacifier when she died. I didn't want anyone to think I was trying to replace her or be her or something. I'm just me, and most days, I'm not even very good at being that."

Harry turned and gave Fon a small, depreciating half-smile, "I'm just trying to live until I die, Fon. I'm nobody's hero or Boss or anything like that, and it wouldn't matter how much training or tutoring I got- nothing will change that. I'm just a traveler." Harry grinned then, warm and bright and brilliant, "Don't you know? 'Not all who wander are lost and-"

"-all that is gold does not glitter." Fon finished with a warm smile of his own. "JRR Tolkien."

Harry became animated, "Yes! I love that guy! Skull has been reading me his books! He does all the best character voices!"

Skull spluttered into his drink, "Harry! You can't tell him! He's a ninja!" the Cloud Arcobaleno wailed.

Fon leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner, "Oh really? Do go on, I believe this might be one of Skull's undiscovered talents."

Harry grinned brighter and opened his mouth, but Skull's dignity was saved by the waitress arriving.

(For a little while at least.)

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"Oh, come on Skull, please!" Harry whined.

Fon sat back, gently petting Lichi, as Harry begged Skull to perform his favorite poem from The Lord of the Rings.

The Chinese martial artist could admit to already feeling a kinship with the young Sky. It was very different from the sort of companionship he'd felt to Luce, much rawer in terms of emotion, as Harry seemed to bypass most conventionalities and go straight to the source of matters.

In the week that Fon had spent with his new Sky and Skull, he'd watched Harry be remarkably childlike and finger-paint nonsensical designs on old bed sheets from thrift stores during a rainy day when they'd had to stay on the ship, only to turn around and donate them to one of the poorer orphanages they passed by the next day. Fon had watched Harry buy an almost obscene amount of food and then stage a coup on a local soup kitchen, exchanging lessons on cooking local cuisine for the food he'd brought, before happily serving the poor and homeless. After the food had been served, Harry would take the time to sit with the people and hear their stories- making notes in one of his many notebooks and taking hosts of pictures to remember them by.

The young Sky also was doing schoolwork, both magical and nonmagical, and while Skull was an unorthodox tutor, he and Harry seemed to thrive off of one another, as Skull was able to follow Harry's somewhat whimsical way of thinking while still keeping the boy engaged in his lessons.

The week hadn't just taught Fon a lot about Harry, it had taught him a lot about Skull as well, and Fon was a little ashamed of how easily he'd written the other off simply on the basis of not being Mafia before the Curse.

Fon could understand Viper and Skull's hesitation in introducing Harry to the others, but personally the Storm Arcobaleno felt that Harry was the Sky they needed. No offense to Luce, of course- but there was a steel in Harry that Luce had lacked, and Fon truly felt that it could only benefit the other Arcobaleno to know their baby Sky.

For now, though, Fon would sit back and enjoy Skull's performance, as Harry had brought out the 'puppy eyes' and the Cloud Arcobaleno had folded like wet paper.

The purple-haired baby gave Harry one last exasperated look as the boy scurried over and scooped Fon up and settled him on his lap, (that was another amusing thing. Harry knew, intellectually, that they were adults, but he had a tendency to get excited and cuddle them. Skull didn't mind in the least, and Fon suspected Viper merely pretended to be annoyed. Fon was a little uncomfortable with the habit, but Harry's genuine excitement and utter lack of patronization kept him from being annoyed for more than a moment.).

Skull cleared his throat and began in a soft, almost hypnotic voice, "All that is gold does not glitter/Not all those who wander are lost/The old that is strong does not wither/Deep roots are not reached by the frost./From the ashes a fire shall be woken,/A light from the shadows shall spring;/Renewed shall be blade that was broken,/The crownless again shall be king.**"

Harry and Fon burst into applause, with Lichi, Oodako, and Hedwig adding their own noises of approval.

"Do the older version next!" Harry cheered excitedly.

Skull sighed and allowed himself to bask in Harry's honest praise, (and studiously avoided looking at Fon, "All that is gold does not glitter;/All that is long does not last;/All that is old does not wither;/Not all that is over is past./Not all that have fallen are vanquished;/A king may yet be without crown,/A blade that was broken be brandished;/And towers that were strong may fall down.***"

Harry sighed happily and settled further against the wall his back was touching, tipping his head back to look up at the stars, "The way you recite that is amazing, Skull." The young Sky told the Cloud Arcobaleno sincerely.

Fon nodded and hopped up to Harry's shoulder so Skull could settle on the Harry's lap, "Indeed. I had no idea you were so talented in the performing arts."

"I was a stuntman." Skull grumbled half-heartedly, "Showmanship was part of the gig."

Fon hummed and once again thought to himself that this bright, bright boy was what his fellow Arcobaleno needed.

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Fon could only stay with them for two weeks before needing to get back to the Triads, but he was surprised by how attached he'd become to the young Sky Arcobaleno in that short amount of time.

"Take care of yourself, Fon!" Harry fussed worriedly, pointedly ignoring Skull's amused snickering in the background, "We're thinking of coming back towards Asia after dropping by the Mediterranean next Spring, taking our time going around Africa."

Fon frowned, "I'd rather you'd stay further out from Africa. They've been having civil unrest and it's spilled over into the oceans. This ship is also small, and for all of its magical advancements, sailing in frozen waters is suicide without an experienced Captain. My recommendation is for you to cross the Atlantic Ocean and use the Panama Strait to transition into the Pacific Ocean, and make your way to Asia that way."

Harry's eyes were steady as he studied Fon carefully, "Wouldn't the drug cartels be just as big of an issue as the pirates?"

Fon shook his head, "Panama might not be American territory, but it's an open secret that they keep an eye on it, and the threat of the American Navy bearing down on them is enough to allow the Canal to mostly operate smoothly. Africa has an ocean between them and the Americans- who, for all their various faults, are a fairly philanthropic people- and so the pirates are far more brazen. I know you have magic and Skull, but I would personally feel better if you avoided Africa for now."

It was a long, tense few moments before Harry's shoulders relaxed and he nodded, "Alright."

"Thank you." Fon breathed out, relaxing as well, absently noting the grateful look Skull tossed him. Hm, apparently the Cloud Arcobaleno had been trying to avoid Africa as well. "There is a harbor mostly used by my family in Xiamen, China, where you can dock, and I can be your guide for the summer."

Harry brightened almost immediately, "Are you sure you wouldn't mind? I'm mean I know you're really busy and everything, but you probably know all the best places!"

Fon smiled gently, "My duties will be much easier to keep up with while in China, it will be no trouble Harry. Though you might consider revealing yourself to the rest of the Arcobaleno soon." Fon held up a hand, "I have heard your reasons, and they are good ones, but they are also flawed. You are our Sky, Harry, and while there would be some adjustment for us, ultimately we cannot make you do anything."

Harry subsided but he looked unhappy, and Fon didn't want to part on such a sour note, "Just something for you to consider. Now, make sure that you practice your Mandarin as Simplified Chinese is anything but- trust me the traditional style is much simpler once you grasp the flow of the language."

The young Sky nodded and grinned at him, stepping forward and sweeping Fon into a warm hug.

Fon huffed a laugh and made a mental note to break Harry of this habit before he was introduced to Reborn.

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**Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings

***Tolkien, J. R. R. (1989), Christopher Tolkien, ed., The Treason of Isengard, p. 80, p. 137

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