I know…Kuroyuki is surprisingly still alive. A mixture of real life, me taking my time writing this out, and procrastination prevents me from updating more often.
Chapter 2: Break Away II
"Someone get a Mediwizard in here immediately!"
"Merlin's saggy balls! How long has he been like this?"
"We're losing him! I don't know what's wrong. At this rate, his body will shut down, and he'll die!"
"His Magical Core! Something's just drained his Magic dry! There's not a drop of it left!"
"It's the Goblet of Fire! Magic is punishing her Champion!"
"It's too late. The boy will be dead before sunrise."
"Is it done?"
"Wait! His Magical Core is acting up again! It's…? He's fighting back?!"
"...Is that…? That fire… It can't be… Is it truly Soulfire?"
Hadrian suddenly jolted awake from his dream. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears, and his sheets were completely drenched in his sweat. Breathing heavily, he struggled to calm himself down.
He wasn't able to go back to sleep that night. The agonizing feeling of what happened to him was still fresh in his mind.
ʅ(°ヮ°)ʃ
On the twenty-fifth of November, Hadrian had suddenly collapsed in the middle of his negotiations with the Gringotts Goblins. He didn't remember much of what happened, but from what he was told, he had been teetering between life and death for almost a whole week as his body struggled to function. Every last ounce of Magic was drained away from his Magical Core, leaving him to slowly and painfully die as a result. This was his punishment for not fulfilling his Magical Contract with the Goblet of Fire.
However, despite the odds, Hadrian had survived. His previously empty Core immediately sprang back to life. The foreign energy had filled up the gaps left behind by Magic, though it caused a few noticeable changes to his body.
When he finally came to in the Gringotts guest room, the teen had almost panicked when he saw purple fire coming from his forehead and his vivid green eyes gaining a glowing orange-purple ring around the pupils. The Goblins took samples of the fire and tested them. They later concluded that in a bid for survival, his Core had forced him to awaken a type of Lost Magic to make up for the lack of Magic, Soulfire Aspects.
Hadrian didn't know what a "Soulfire Aspect" was, but luckily the Goblins had a book on the subject, a long forgotten collection of research notes by a woman named Lavinia Lockheart, whom Hadrian would later find out was an ancestor by marriage of a certain fraud of a DADA professor. (Of course, the rental fee on such a rare book was anything but cheap. Those greedy little bastards.) Judging by the color of the fire, Hadrian more or less fell under the category of the "Amethyst Soul Shade" classification, however, there was no explanation for why there was the occasional flicker of a lighter color within the purple-tinted flames. In the end, the Goblins chalked it up as a side effect of his newly-Awakened Soulfire.
According to the book, Soulfire Aspects came in seven different types of Soul Shades: amber, ruby, turquoise, topaz, emerald, amethyst, and sapphire.
Sapphire Soul Shades were the most common. Those who had this Aspect were more compatible with Transfiguration. Shrewd and cunning, these type of people were the type to strike when you least expected them to.
Topaz Soul Shades made very effective Healers. It was rather common for them to be excitable and passionate people.
Ruby Soul Shades were first and foremost warrior-born. They came off strong and intense even when they were not practicing their Hexes.
Emerald Soul Shades may be quirky individuals, but when push came to shove, they were highly protective. It was no wonder their specialty was Defense Magic.
Turquoise Soul Shades typically had an easier time mastering Jinxes. But contrary to their Magical specialization, they were typically peacemakers and pacifists.
Amethyst Soul Shades were fairly uncommon compared to the other types. A common personality trait among people who fall under this type was that they were viciously independent and territorial individuals. Curses, normally a magically taxing field, were no problem whenever they wanted to use them.
And lastly, Amber Soul Shades were the rarest of them all. Social and charismatic, they were natural leaders. It wasn't uncommon for a regional ruler or war general to be an Amber. Typically, Charms were where they excelled when it came to Magic.
Lavinia also added that Wizards were completely unable to awaken this type of magic and utilize them to the extent Muggles and Squibs could. According to her hypothesis, Soulfire was the equivalent of a Wizard's Magical Core, only their pathways didn't actually contain magic. In fact, Soulfire was actually the mystical manifestation of the individual's soul. While every person's soul had an Aspect to fall under, it was impossible for an individual to be both a Magic User and a Soulfire Wielder without suffering heavy repercussions. Adding another power source created cracks on the individual's Magical Core, not only causing irreparable damage to their bodies but also severely damaging their souls in the process. The strain would eventually kill them within a few months to a decade at most, as their broken bodies eventually succumbed to fatal side effects invoked by their Aspects, and their very soul was painfully whittled away from the overwhelming presence of both supernatural forces.
Due to the dangers it posed to Wizardkind at the time, Soulfire Magic was categorized under the label of Dark Arts a couple of centuries ago by the Ministry of Magic. It was considered to be a branch of highly forbidden Soul Manipulation Magic. Eventually Soulfire Magic faded into obscurity. The only information that was allowed to remain was about Soul Shades, which were mostly used in Divination to determine a someone's core personality and Magical Affinity but nothing else.
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'Is my luck really that bad or is it a Curse I picked up somewhere?' Hadrian thought to himself irritably as he reminisced on what just happened.
Changing his name was easy. Learning Italian was easy. Migrating to Italy and moving his inheritance to the Gringotts Italian Branch was time consuming but still easy. Finding and keeping a job, on the other hand… Hadrian was at a total loss.
It wasn't that he wasn't able afford a house or lacked the ability to get food. On the contrary, thanks to the combined riches he'd inherited, Hadrian, all the way down to his grandchildren, could feasibly live a lavish lifestyle without ever needing to work a single day in their lives. However, the teen didn't want to become a spoiled deadbeat, so he decided apply himself.
First, he started off as a cashier at a local fast food restaurant, but within a week, he was quickly let go. According to the manager, his coworker and customers complained that there was something about him that made him "unapproachable." Despite no real evidence of Hadrian being a bad worker per say, the manager felt that it would be better for both parties if Hadrian were to stop working with them.
His next job was at a maid and butler cafe of all things. While Hadrian was out grocery shopping, his looks caught the attention of the owner of a theme cafe that had opened up recently in the neighborhood. At first, he was one of their butler-dressed waiters, assigned with playing the role of a tsundere (whatever that meant). However, he was eventually replaced in favor of a new butler the cafe hired. Not only was the guy an authentic Japanese native, but he also appealed to their customers way better than Hadrian had. (To be honest, Hadrian was actually glad to be fired. There was only so much squealing and 'MOE~!' he could take before he had a mental breakdown.)
Disappointed with his luck, Hadrian took a few months break from work by volunteering at a local soup kitchen until he regained the confidence to start job hunting again. His time there got him a lot more than experience to add to his work résumé.
Turned out, some of the homeless, who had seen things best left untold and knew how to tell who was Flame Active, had a lot to say about the Mafia World and how it worked. The Famiglias, the Vongola, Dying Will Flames, Vindice, the Varia, etc. By the time he finally managed to get accepted at his new workplace, the information Hadrian received in exchange for an extra serving or two answered a lot of questions that the Wizarding World couldn't answer.
His third attempt was as a part-time janitor at a large multinational corporation that served as the legal face of the Vongola, easily the longest job he'd ever held thus far. Everything was more or less fine until an incident occurred that forced him to quit because it was easily the worst thing he'd ever experienced ever since he moved to Italy.
One evening, Hadrian had just clocked out when all of a sudden, he was accosted by one of his coworkers. The older man proceeded to drag him into a nearby church and bodily threw the young teen at the feet of a confused priest. He started demanding that the dark-haired boy be exorcised to "get rid of his demonic influence and the unnatural presence possessing him."
The priest took one look at Hadrian and immediately gave him a look of sorrow and pity. The priest then tried to calm the God-fearing man down and tell him that Hadrian was just an ordinary person and that there was nothing that could be done. Rather than listening to the holy man's pleas, the unhinged man blew up and dissolved into a venomous rant about how "an abomination like him deserves to be killed." It wasn't until the man finally uttered the word "freak" that the teen felt a familiar snap in the back of his mind, then everything went black.
When he finally came to, Hadrian found himself standing over the beaten and bloody body of his coworker with his fists covered in the man's blood. One of his arms was being held back by the frightened priest, who was begging him to calm down and stop his assault. Horrified by what he had done, the black-haired young man stiffly turned to the priest and quietly apologized before swinging his still groaning coworker on his back and carrying him to the nearest hospital.
The next day, Hadrian handed in his resignation to his boss and quietly disappeared from their lives.
It wasn't until after the teen was fired from his fourth job that he was able to get some answers to what was going on with him.
ʅ(°ヮ°)ʃ
Hadrian Temperanza, aged fifteen as of last month, had managed to find a part-time job as a waiter at the Praepropere, a quaint little restaurant owned by a middle-aged woman. The environment was homey, the food wasn't bad, and the customers were relatively amicable. Unfortunately, Hadrian should've known that with his luck, something was bound to go wrong in some way.
"Get out of my restaurant. You're fired," the owner snapped at Hadrian as soon as he walked through the door.
The teen felt a vein pulsating on his temple as his previously good mood instantly soured. It was now the what? fourth? or fifth time he had heard those words. "...Let me guess... Was it because of the douchebag I threw out by the ballsack just the other day? Because if this how you fucking reward your employees for protecting themselves from sexual harassment, then this shitty job is one I'm actually glad to be fired from for once." Hadrian deadpanned, already sick and tired of the look his current (ex?)boss was giving him.
The older woman sniffed and glowered at the green-eyed teen. "Believe me, my restaurant won't be losing anything by getting rid of you. And don't give me the innocent act. I know...We all know what you really are."
'Crap! How did she knew that I used to be a Wizard?!' Hadrian internally panicked.
"Abominations like you shouldn't be around good folks like us. Your kind is better off at the mercy of the Vindice."
'Why the Vindice? I thought the Mafia tries to keep themselves away from the Wizarding World.'
"I'd even go as far as to say the world will be better if someone finally puts a bullet between your eyes. A merciful fate for those like you than risk infection by keeping you around a bit longer."
Hadrian growled lowly at her hateful words. Infection? Seriously!? Firing him for not being a people-person was one thing, but adding insult to injury by saying that he belongs in the Mafia World's equivalent of Azkaban was a bit much.
Not even bothering to collect his last paycheck, Hadrian turned around and left the restaurant. Already he could feel a migraine developing. He could use a nap to sleep off today's stress and frustrations.
Just as he was about to cross an intersection, the man next to him began talking to him. "Oh, you poor, poor thing. That woman was so rude, humiliating you by publicly outing your condition like that. That just shows how low-quality that place is," he said, his masculine voice accented with an effeminate tonation.
The man talking to the teen was tall and muscular with most of his hair shaved off save for a part in the front, which was dyed green. He had on a pair of tinted, red-rimmed sunglasses and a metal plate on his left knee. But what stood out the most was that he was wearing a recognizable uniform that identified him as a member of the Varia, the Vongola Famiglia's independent elite assassination squad.
"Ciao, dearie~! My name is Lussuria," the Varia Sun happily greeted the teen and held out his hand.
"Ciao. Hadrian Temperanza. Nice to meet you, I suppose," he replied and firmly shook Lussuria's hand.
"You must be upset after being fired from your job in such an uncouth manner, darling. Why don't I cheer you up by taking you out for an early lunch, my treat," Lussuria said. From an outsider's perspective, he sounded like a relatively friendly individual. However, Hadrian could feel restrained eagerness coming from the Sun Officer in waves. The fact that it was coming from the professional assassin spoke how unwise it was to say no to the flamboyant man.
The green-eyed teen sighed heavily. "You're just going to kidnap me anyways even if I refuse."
"Actually, I prefer to call it 'borrowing your person for an undisclosed amount of time.' It sounds much more tasteful when you put it that way."
Hadrian let out a loud exasperated groan. He could feel his migraine getting worse. "Of course...the Mafiosi do what they want after all," he mumbled under his breath.
...Fuck it all, it's not like Hadrian had anything better to do at the moment. "I'm craving seafood."
ʅ(°ヮ°)ʃ
Half an hour later, Hadrian found himself seated at a private table with a glass of wine at a relatively-upscale restaurant with Lussuria who was currently ordering for the both of them. "Do you happen to serve treacle tart for dessert?" Hadrian interjected.
"Yes, we do, Signor," their waiter nodded.
"Ooh~! That sounds just lovely, I'll have that as well," Lussuria chirped.
The waiter quickly jotted down the new additions to the order. "Will that be all for you two?"
"For now," Lussuria waved him off. Once the waiter left, the Varia Officer fixed his full attention on Hadrian. "Now, you're probably wondering why I think the Varia would be interested in a civilian like you?"
"That is… one of the many questions running through my mind. Also, before I open that can of worms, why a cutesy nickname like 'Hari-chan?'" The green-eyed boy said with a miniscule frown. It wasn't that "Hari-chan" was bad or anything, it was just that it hit a little too close to his former identity.
"Why not? A cute little nickname to suit a little cutie like yourself~!" The Sun Officer cooed. Then he took on a more serious demeanor while keeping an amicable smile so as to not scare the teen off.
"Anyways, why don't we cut to the chase? I want to know why an Active Cloud such as yourself feels like a Discorded Element despite not displaying any of the tell-tale symptoms. From what I can tell, you're Unbonded and you've never been Bonded before. Not only that, but your Flames fluctuate erratically, which doesn't bold well for you either. Healthwise, that is.
"Your Flames are very unique, dearie. I wasn't too sure whether or not I should even approach you, but the moment I shook your hand, I finally had my answer. I decided that the Varia would certainly love to get to know you better, my little Cloud cutie." Lussuria finished with a not-so reassuring smile.
Cloud? Oh yeah, his Soulfire Aspect. Here in Italy, the Mafia referred to them by weather phenomenons for some reason.
"If you're looking for an elaborate explanation, then you might want to get a Flame Doctor or something. Besides I'm technically a civilian even if everything I know about how the Mafia works came from unconventional sources. Doesn't help that I barely know anything about Flames in the first place." The dark-haired teen replied carefully. "Why are you so curious about me anyways? I highly doubt you talked to me because you wanted a lunch buddy. What? Does it have to do with my Flames or something?"
"It's a bit of a long story, sweetie, but I'll try to stick to the basics. I don't know if you've heard, but my Sky has been iced, no thanks to the Nono Vongola. Xanxus had… how should I put this? He had a bit of a temper tantrum after finding out that the Vongola has been infested with a nest of rats. It didn't help that he had received a bit of bad news a few weeks earlier. When he tried to confront his father, the talks didn't go well."
Hadrian narrowed his in suspicion at all the details the older man deliberately left out but decided not to dig deeper. That didn't stop him from sliding in a dry comment. "Jeez, sounds like a family drama straight out of a soap opera. I still don't see why the Varia would want anything to do with a civilian you just met on the streets."
"I'm getting to that." Lussuria interrupted before continuing. "You see, after Xanxus's disappearance, we found that most of the aforementioned rats could be traced backed to the Varia Cloud Division. Unfortunately, the Nono put his foot down and refused to allow us to, and I quote, 'needlessly kill those under our command without probable cause.' He declared that only the Boss could order the extermination of the current Cloud Officer, otherwise a challenger could kill him to take his position for themselves."
"Let me guess, you want me to be that challenger." Hadrian confirmed just as their food arrived.
Lussuria gave the teen a girlish giggle and proceeded to gush over the former-Wizard. "Compared to that traitor's measly wisps of power, you're a tsunami of potential, and I still haven't fully examined your Flames in depth." Taking a sip of his wine, the Varia Sun became serious once more. "However, that bastard hasn't kept his title as the current Cloud Officer by overpowering his opponents. He learned to be sneaky and underhanded when it comes to getting rid of any power rivals. We don't just need a stronger Cloud...we also need a smarter one."
"And you're offering to train me up so I can take him down for you and replace him in the process?" Hadrian asked suspiciously, sampling a bite of his capitone in umido (stewed eel in tomato sauce). It needed more sauce if you asked him.
"I like to think that my offer is better than the alternative. Let me paint you a picture. Sooner or later, someone will take notice of how unusually powerful a Cloud you are, assuming that they haven't already tried to force you into something you don't want. Luckily, I'm here to give you a choice."
"Not much of a choice from where I'm standing." Hadrian grumbled unhappily.
Lussuria gave the teen a helpless shrug, but otherwise didn't deny it.
"By the way, you mentioned earlier about my Flames being 'distorted' or whatever. I'm getting the feeling that's not good, right?"
"Discorded, darling," Lussuria corrected before adding, "It's hard for me to explain, but your Flames aren't in very good shape. I need to get a closer look at you so I can do a rough diagnosis on what's going on."
"So, what? You're going to do a full-body check on me here in the middle of this restaurant?"
"Pretty much~! Don't worry, dearie, you can keep your clothes on seeing as you're too much on the small and delicate side to be my type," Lussuria chirped without batting an eye.
Hadrian immediately choked on his drink. Once he got ahold of himself, he wheezed out, "...I was being sarcastic…"
The older man got up from his seat and danced towards the emerald-eyed teen. Lussuria deftly lifted the chair with Hadrian still on it and spun it so they were face to face.
Lussuria started off with a simple pat-down. Carefully probing with his Flames, he poked and prodded until he located an anomaly around the teen's cranium. Immediately migrating his touch to the head area, the Varia Officer managed to locate something in Hadrian's forehead. Spotting the unusual lightning-shaped scar, Lussuria casually poked a finger at it.
Suddenly, the flamboyant man immediately yanked himself back away from the former-Wizard in revulsion. "What kind of sick, twisted person-?! How could this have slipped past the Vindice?! Whoever did this to you should forgo the Vendicare altogether and be chucked straight into the lowest levels of Hell!" Lussuria spat out, his disgust not actually directed at the young man in front of him.
Startled by the man's reaction, Hadrian asked in concern, "What?! What's wrong?!"
The Sun Officer could only give the green-eyed teenager a distressed look before answering, "I'm afraid this is all bad news for you, Hari-chan. Inside that scar on your forehead, I found a fragment of what I think is someone else's Flames, or what's left of them. Not only is that thing thoroughly Discorded, but from what my Flames can tell, it's not the first time they've torn their own Flames into pieces and shoved it somewhere outside their body. I think it's probably the fifth or sixth time, but my guess could be off since the fragment is way too small and thoroughly ruined for me to get an accurate read. We're going to need some heavy duty Flame equipment if we're ever going to get the full story behind the Flame Shard. I don't know if that's the right word for that, but that's how I'm going to describe it from now on, Hari-chan."
Hadrian felt his spine turn to ice and the blood drain from his face. Horror and realization slowly dawned on his face as the teen's emerald-green eyes were blown wide open. His pupils shrank in terror behind the ugly coke-bottle glasses and his oxygen intake grew less and less.
In a flash, he jumped up to lunge towards Lussuria and grabbed ahold of the man's lapels with a white-knuckled grip. The force of his actions knocked back his chair and tipped over their table in the process, spilling its contents onto the floor. Hysterically, Hadrian pleaded, "GET IT OUT OF ME! GET IT OUT RIGHT NOW! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT THIS THING IN ME FOR ANOTHER SECOND!"
"I can't! If I could, I would be more than happy to! But right now, I can't think of a way to get rid of that little parasite without severely damaging your Flames. In fact, I don't even know if there is a safe way to fix you without risking Discord." Lussuria protested, trying to placate the young man while coaxing his hands to let go of him.
Over and over... All he could think was, 'What the hell? What the hell whatthehellwhatthehellwhatthehell?!' He'd had a bloody piece of Voldemort inside of him for how long? Was it during his Second Year down in the Chamber? His First? Or maybe the night when Voldemort murdered his parents? He felt dirty and violated. All this time, that thing had been inside his bloody scar for... for years, and he just learned of this now?!
Hadrian didn't register much after that. He wanted to demand more answers, but for some reason, his voice had failed him. No matter what he tried, his traitorous body refused to listen and let him speak or… or do something. Anything! It was like being caged within in his own mind as he was slowly and painfully fading away.
He could barely hear the Varia Officer gently talking to him over the sound of his blood pounding in his ears. The world around him distorted, darkness was starting to creep into his vision. He couldn't breathe! Why couldn't he breathe? The pressure was suffocating. His chest hurt so much. It felt like his heart was trying to escape his chest. A tingling numbness spread throughout his body. He began shaking all over, and at some point, his legs had collapsed underneath him.
It felt like an eternity before Hadrian finally managed to come to his senses. Lussuria's voice gradually brought him back to reality as the martial artist carefully rubbed his back. The man's repetitive motion of comfort was just enough to get him to calm down little by little. He was still sobbing pathetically, his head between his knees, sitting on the floor, and his clothes felt uncomfortably sticky from sweating earlier. According to what Lussuria was saying, he had just had a panic attack and needed to breathe on his count. All the while, Hadrian thought, 'Is that what happened to me?'
"Here, Hari-chan, I got you something. You need to get your blood sugar up after a panic attack. It'll help you recover faster," the flamboyant Sun advised him gently as he took a glass of what he guessed was a mango fruit smoothie from a passing waiter.
Barely responsive, Hadrian slowly turned his head towards the older man who held out his bright yellow, lacy handkerchief and the offered drink to him.
"You know, I think Shamal Trident can help you," Lussuria suggested once the former-Wizard was starring listlessly into his reflection in the fancy drinking glass in his hands.
"...Hm?" The young man questioned.
"He's a reputable assassin who specializes in diseases, or more specifically Flame Diseases," the martial artist elaborated. "Don't let his methods fool you, but he's one of, if not, the best Flame Doctor Italy has ever produced. He's good enough that the Varia tried to recruit him once or twice. Shame he's always turned us down," Lussuria finished with a pout.
"It's getting late so I should get going, Hari-chan. I'll pay the bill on my way out so you can take all the time you need to collect your thoughts. Arrivederci, sweet pea."
And with that, the Varia Sun Officer got up to leave the restaurant, but not before leaving a generous amount of money to cover the damages from their little lunch date.
However, the martial artist suddenly recalled an important detail he had forgotten to mention to Hadrian. "...Oh dear, I should've told Hari-chan that Shamal doesn't treat men…" Lussuria said to himself as he headed home. "Oh well, I'm sure he'll be fine~!"
ʅ(°ヮ°)ʃ
Getting away from the suffocating expectations of the Wizarding World was the best decision he'd ever made. Sure, he had to give up his Magic forever in the process, but the chains that once threatened to choke out his individuality were gone. However, in sacrificing his identity as a Wizard for his freedom, he also felt like he had also lost something vital in the process.
Even though he was now free to do whatever he wished with his life, he couldn't help but feel… Listless... Empty.
It felt like there was a big gaping hole in the depths of his heart that kept him from truly being satisfied. His gut instinct told him that it wasn't a side effect of losing his magic but something much deeper. Hadrian knew that he was searching for something, but the problem was he had no idea what it was that he was searching for.
His slump had only gotten worse ever since a certain Varia member told him about the fragment of Voldemort living rent-free on his forehead deformity. That was about a month ago.
"Hari-chan~! Ciao, long time no see~! How have you been since I last saw you?" Lussuria cooed.
Speak of the devil...
Hadrian gave the flamboyant Sun a tired wave and complained, "I still have a piece of my parents' murderer stuck in my head, I only got about three hours of sleep last night, and I'm on my way to beg for that androphobic, disease-ridden quack to take me on."
Not that the older man got a good look at the former-Wizard, the young man looked a bit under the weather. "Ooh, not very well then," he commented sympathetically.
"I am this close to turning him into an eunuch in his sleep, force feeding him his own testicles, and shoving his dick up his ass."
"Why don't you just check out the other Flame Doctors?" Lussuria pointed out.
"I did. Of all the doctors in the world, there are only seven who even have the basic requirements to perform the Flame Surgery to get this thing out of me without killing me and/or being forced to kill me," Hadrian continued explaining. "Two of them are Storms (which will cause problems because of how delicate the procedure is and how they will conflict with my Cloud Flames), three are already a part of a Famiglia (the last thing I want is to be forced to join one as payment for the treatment), one has the knowledge but recently lost the necessary skills to perform after a bad fight, and the last one was reported to have been seen traveling around the UK, which is already a deal breaker (I didn't move to Italy just so I would get dragged back to that backwards hellhole of a community).
"You're really British? That explains a few things, like your accent and your background check," Lussuria clarified.
Hadrian lifted an eyebrow at that. "What'd you find out?"
"Word of advice, Hari-chan. When you're constructing a believable false identity, try adding a bit of truth here and there if you can't afford to keep up the act indefinitely. The way your profile was set up wouldn't look too out of place for a native Sicilian. However, you obviously aren't. Everything from the way you act down to how you look practically screams foreigner. The work done to construct your background is impressive, but the way you've pulled it off is so mediocre, it's almost insulting," Lussuria finished with a displeased pout.
Hadrian couldn't help but sweatdrop. When he put it that way, it did sounded very suspicious. "...To be fair, I had someone else whip that up for me, and I was planning on living in Italy indefinitely. I guess we didn't think that someone would investigate one teenaged boy."
When Gringotts helped him formulate his new identity, he paid them to make his new background "look as natural as possible." Technically, he got what he asked for so the former-Wizard couldn't exactly fault the Goblins for not taking paranoid Mafiosi into account.
The Varia Officer then noticed the object his little friend held in his hands. "So, what's in the basket?"
Hadrian held it up proudly with a gleam in his eyes. "Bribery. Money didn't work, so now I'm trying to seduce him with my cooking. Hopefully, he likes my most successful attempt at the local cuisine."
"Will that work?"
"Worth a shot. The man thinks more with his lower organs than the one in his head. With the promise of more goodies, at least I'll be speaking his language through a different type of hunger."
"But what will you do if your plan doesn't work out?"
Hadrian looked up at Lussuria. His delicate features might as well have been carved in stone, but there was an unsettling glint in those expressive, vivid green eyes. "I'm giving him a week. If he still refuses after that, then whatever I do to him is all on him," the teen deadpanned eerily with a barely noticeable smile.
The Varia Sun Officer decided not to pry any further into what the young man meant. Before Hadrian went on his way, Lussuria gave him his contact number and managed to convince the dark-haired teen to buy himself a cell phone, so they could stay in touch.
It would be some time before the flamboyant okama ever saw Hadrian in person again.
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"VOOOII! You found a Quality Cloud? How powerful is this Hadrian kid exactly?" Squalo exclaimed in amazement.
Lussuria tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Probably not Arcobaleno level, but more than enough to put Ottavio in his place."
"If he's a Cloud, why wasn't he hostile towards you after practically blackmailing him? Civilian or not, there's also the question of his territory. If it's going to cause problems for us, I doubt he'll be too keen on helping us," Levi pointed out.
"About that... I don't think he even has a territory, at least not anymore," Lussuria elaborated, which shocked his fellow Officers into silence. "You know all those baby Clouds who are still getting used to their Flames? It's like that, but for Hari-chan, he doesn't know whathis true territory is. Even if he does, it's like the loss isn't affecting him as it should unless he's not all that attached to it."
"Ushishi...Sounds like it could be that," Belphegor chimed in, turning his head to look at Mammon.
The tiny Mist nodded back in reply before explaining. "Call it a cultural difference. To put it in perspective, for the majority of the Mafia World, there's an unspoken rule that Clouds and their territories are to be left alone unless you're foolish enough to want to deal with the aftermath."
Levi scoffed. "Everyone and their grandmother knows that. Where are you going with this?"
Belphegor interjected. "Mammy and I have heard about this, but it's more or less a theoretical technique that rarely works. You take a baby Cloud and force them to accept a territory that you yourself chose for them as their own. At the same time, you do whatever it takes to isolate them in order to induce dependency, practically to unhealthy levels. It takes years for the conditioning to stick, but what you get out of it is a Cloud attack dog completely under your thumb. It has to be done very early in the Cloud's life, the window of opportunity stopping at when they start to figure out their territorial boundaries."
"Are you telling me that there are people who've succeeded?!" Levi exclaimed in horror.
"Muu, calm down, Levi," Mammon interrupted. "I did say it's a cultural difference. To answer, yes, there are foolish people willing to try that, but as far as I know, this is the first I've actually seen any form of success within the Cosa Nostra."
"Back to the peasant...this might be a guess, but I think he may be one of the lucky Clouds that got away from his conditioning. However, he's at his most vulnerable from a mental standpoint. Better that the Varia gets their hands on him before another Famiglia gets the same idea," Belphegor added.
"Madre di Dio, a Quality Cloud with no attachments. The little trash's sounds almost perfect. Maybe too perfect. That just makes me even more suspicious," Squalo said, feeling very conflicted. On one hand, his paranoia was screaming how this might be a trap set by their enemies, but on the other hand, this was their chance to get back some of the Varia's autonomy. Finally, the Sword Emperor decided that they couldn't let this opportunity slip through their fingers. However, they needed to approach the situation with caution in case this turned out to be another attempt to sneak an insider among their ranks. "Luss, you keep on mother-henning this kid. In the meantime, Mammon will be in charge of digging deeper into his true identity."
"Can do, Squalo-sweetie~!"
"Muu, wire me the usual fee once I have all the information."
Immediately after, the sound of Spanish guitars strumming away with rock music playing the background interrupted the meeting. Recognizing his ringtone, Lussuria reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Oh, perfect timing~! Hari-chan just texted me."
"What'd he say?" Levi questioned suspiciously.
Lussuria read what was on the screen out loud. Finally captured him. Just had 2 threaten 2 burn his balls away with acid. Have 2 go MIA 4 a while 4 treatment tho. Will text u the deets later. ()ゞ
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Ushishishi...I like him already."
AN: Compared to prototype Acedia, I changed Hadrian's jobs to more realistic opportunities, added more Varia appearances and more Lussuria/Hadrian BroTP-to-be interactions, fixed up the pre-existing interactions, and injected into Hadrian several healthy doses of pessimistic sarcasm. By the way, in the next chapter, expect more Varia appearances as well as snippets of what's happening on the Wizarding World's end. Unfortunately, Xanxus is still a couple more chapters away before he makes his first official appearance, so stay tuned.
Praepropere: To eat before the time of the meals in order to satisfy your palate is one of the five ways to commit gluttony, according to Pope Gregory I (or St. Gregory the Great). In Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas later defines it as Praepropere, eating to hastily (too soon or at an inappropriate time).
Soulfire Aspects: I would like to thank Araceil for the inspiration behind Soulfire Aspects and the Wizarding World's conception of DWF. All credit goes to this wonderful author~! I hope you don't mind me putting my spin to the concept for my story.
Hadrian's Flames and Soul Shard: Hadrian is still a Cloudy-Sky. It's just that no one has realized it yet because he's subconsciously propagating his secondary Flames to hide his primary. It's a carry-over from Hadrian's former habit of not wanting attention, and he already knows that Amber(Sky)=leadership expectations=unnecessary attention. As for the quote-on-quote Flame Shard, it's the reason why Hadrian felt Discorded to those familiar with Flames despite not showing any additional symptoms to confirm that he is. Hadrian and the Mother's Love Protection are doing its best to combat the Horcrux's influence, but time has eroded Lily's Sacrificial Magic. Occasionally, that protection slips and the Horcrux briefly overpowers Hadrian's Flames, letting loose a malicious aura that causes people around him to feel uneasy and slowly foster negative feeling towards him. Things starts off small but build up slowly. Those negative feelings stew and fester until the person affected is tipped over the edge. It's even worse for those who are aware of how much of a danger Hadrian is as a "Discorded Element." So it's not really anyone's fault that Hadrian's experiencing the low end of the Potter Luck in this chapter.
Omake II: Special Order
Hadrian stared down at the three fish laid out on the kitchen counter. They were undoubtedly pufferfish. Their inflated, round, and pointy bodies were unmistakable. Not only that, they were still alive and flopping about as though they had just been taken out the water (which, for all Hadrian knew, that might just be the case).
"The prince demands fugu sashimi," Belphegor declared with a smug shit-eating grin. Maybe it was his wide smirk and striped shirt, but for a moment, the dark-haired teen couldn't help but think how this situation felt was as if a Cheshire-esqued cat had brought in his most recent kill to his owner.
"Bel, pufferfish are poisonous. Deadly poisonous," the other teen warned.
"So?"
"Don't chefs need years and years of practice to safely prepare them? Years and years that I don't currently have?"
"And?"
"Bel, given my track record, I'll cut myself while preparing the sashimi and end up foaming at the mouth on the floor. And knowing how my luck goes, you'll be in the same state after the first bite."
"The wildcat is just being a pussy."
"Yeah, no, I'm still not doing it," Hadrian objected with a note of finality.
"Ka-ching! You're either going to cut them up, or the prince will cut you up," the blond teen snapped as he tried to take a stab at the Varia chef.
"Bitch, don't test me! I have a fork and fucking Cloud Flames. I can show you exactly why the Quarto used a bloody fork of all things for a weapon," the Cloud snarled back after catching the knife with said utensil.
It wasn't until Belphegor finally told Hadrian what he was planning to do with the fugu sashimi that the dark-haired teen finally agreed to try and make the deadly delicacy. A few YouTube videos later and the fish were ready to be amateurly butchered.
ʅ(°ヮ°)ʃ
Funny thing about Storm Flames was that their Disintegrating characteristic allowed Users to break down foreign substances within their bodies into almost nothing. This ability made Storms fearsome opponents. Not only could their Flames completely destroy their enemies, but they were the worst opponents for poison users.
So when a certain Storm was charged with disposing a few would-be spies after the Varia had gotten all the information out of them, the young Varia Officer capitalized on his immunity to not only grab a delicious meal but also complete his "chore" in one go.
"VOI! Are you done taking out the trash?" Squalo bellowed as he kicked the door that led down to the holding cells open.
Behind him, Mammon floated into the room. "Bel, if the rats are still alive, I'm docking your next paycheck for shirking your duties," the Mist Officer warned.
What they find in the room was a self-satisfied Belphegor surrounded by the corpses of said spies polishing off what remained of an exotic lunch. The bodies sported blue agonized faces and had foam bubbling in their mouths. Scattered across the floors were abandoned plates and utensils. They don't need an autopsy to see that the infiltrators had died from a potent neurotoxin laced within the young Storm's meal. No doubt the little shit offered to share his food with the ignorant prisoners despite the fact that they should've known better that anything Belphegor had would kill them but not him.
"Ushishi, the prince is just about done," the blond teenager sneered as he stuffed the last of his sashimi into his mouth.
Let it be known that a bored Prince the Ripper was a creative Prince the Ripper.
AN: Before I forget, shoutout to my friends over on Discord for helping me formulate the panic attack scene and this omake. Your advice and suggestions have really helped me~ And another shout-out to blackkat1325 for being my beta~ I love and appreciate your patience and hard work~! Thanks for everything!
Fugu sashimi: The liver and ovaries contain lethal amounts of poison. Once in the system, the poison paralyzes the muscles by shutting down the nerves and eventually kills the victim via asphyxiation. I had an idea where Belphegor would totally eat neurotoxin-laced fugu with no problems because his Flames can easily break down the poison. Even better if he can trick some unknowing sap into eating it. It might not be as satisfying as butchering his targets in a battle, but it can sure make the job of disposing some infiltrators fun.
Thank you all for reading this reboot~! Any and all reviews, favorites, and follows are appreciated~! (^ω^)
