Summary: When he didn't remember and then suddenly he did and wished to forget again. Or where Regulus survives, hits his head and becomes the Cloud Arcobaleno.

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Katekyo Hitman Reborn is mine.

Warnings: Language, Reborn, others I'm not sure of, absolutely NO pairings

Rating: T

Word Count: 4564

Author's Note: Yeah, no, it's awful. Got any ideas about this fic or any of my other ones? Send me a PM or leave a review. See mistakes, point them out so that I can fix them.

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Chapter 3

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"Kreacher, are you sure? If Sirius really willed the Black fortune to this Harry Potter..." Regulus started, uncertain and afraid. If Sirius really wrote the whole Black fortune in his will then where would Regulus go? Where should he go? Did he have anywhere to stay at, other than his childhood home?

His former classmates and allies were just that, former classmates and allies. And he didn't think he had much of either. His age mates and other Slytherins were most likely dead, in hiding or in Azkaban. Or they knew about Regulus' betrayal and would kill him where he stood, if he came to them for help.

There was also the option of them turning to the Light, turning their backs on Voldemort but Regulus didn't count on that. It sounded ridiculous. Too good to be true.

Then they could not know about him betraying Voldemort himself, and rat him out to the government (or whoever was in charge now, Dumbledore's former associates and pupils, most likely, and the whole Harry Potter gang, maybe?) anyway. Maybe buying their way to freedom by selling out a former associate. After that his options would be either going to Azkaban or death or whatever-they-did-to-criminals-these-days. Or former criminals.

Did he count as a criminal if what he did was decades ago? And he was still a minor, back then. His actions were committed under peer pressure and family influence. Technically, he could use those arguments to free himself of any charges they may have against him...

He snorted, yeah, no. The Wizarding World wasn't known for acting reasonably so his wiggling and slytherining out of the situation using rational arguments may as well go over their heads. The dunderheads wouldn't understand, most likely. They will see the Death Eater, supporter of Voldemort, criminal. They won't see a seventeen year old (actually, forty-five year old, but nobody needed to know that) being forced to serve the Dark Lord at fourteen, after his elder brother left him with their family. A dark inclined family that wasn't afraid to throw a Crucio or two at one of their own misbehaving children. They wouldn't see a boy that was scared of his own parents but a cold-blooded murderer, a reminder of a tyrant and his reign, of times long past. But maybe not so long, it was only eight years since the fall of the Dark Lord, meaning that they would hunt for any Dark Wizards with all the more fervor.

No, he definitely won't be going to any of his former associates. No, no, no. That would be a horrible idea.

And his age, he groaned. How would he ever explain that? The Department of Mysteries would have had a field day. The Daily Prophet, too. He could already see the headlines, 'Regulus BLACK, a forty-five year old, suddenly appears looking no older than seventeen. The rise of a new Dark Lord? Discoverer of the Fountain of Youth? Or time travel? The exclusive interview with the aforementioned Death Eater on page 3!'.

And the government itself would dose him with Verita Serum, trying to make him reveal all his secrets to immortality. Ugh. He grimaced, they would take him for another Voldemort, think he dabbled in Horcruxes and lock him up. Yes, no. He was definitely avoiding contacting his former acquaintances.

He gazed around the gloomy building, feeling nostalgic and reminiscent. Grimmauld Place hasn't changed in all the years he has been gone. Not one bit. Everything was still as old and dark as it was when he was still a child.

However there were some things that were different. For one, there was dust and cobwebs. His mother would have screeched like a banshee (not that she had any other volume besides that, mind you) if she ever saw the state of the house. He followed Kreacher when he saw the elf disappearing down the hall and into the dining room, from where he could easily enter the kitchen. He took in the peeling wallpaper and crooked paintings. There were eyes looking at him from the paintings. Wide, disbelieving eyes following his slow trek after the house-elf, lots of finger-pointing and behind-the-hands whispering.

He ignored them all and continued making his way to the kitchen.

"The Blood Trainor was blasted off the family tree by the good mistress, he was. The house stood open to him only because there was no order against it," explained the giddy elf, fluttering about the kitchen and preparing a meal. Regulus settled at the small table, out of the way of the flying plates and utensils and glanced around before slowly, carefully, putting his elbows on the wood and leaning his head on his left fist, his right arm laying on the table, his fingers tapping a slow rhythmic pattern into the its surface.

His eyes flickered around once more, his ears straining to hear anything beyond Kreacher's excited chatter. There was nothing but the clanking of dishes and silverware and he smiled, slowly, tense muscles relaxing, and leaned all his weigh on the table. His eyes crinkled, a huff of a laugh escaping him.

There was no one to tell him what to do, no one to scold him ("Put those elbows off the table, have you learned nothing, stop behaving like some mudblooded lout, where are your manners, do you need me to remind you–"), no one to punish him. His mother was dead. His whole family was gone. From Kreacher's ramblings, he got that only his cousin Andromeda and her grandson (grandson, how crazy was that, he remembered her when she was still a schoolgirl and she was a grandmother now, Merlin) remained (although they weren't actually Blacks, Andy was blasted off the Family Tree and the child was her daughter's and that werewolf's, Lupin's, one of Sirius' friends). His father died a few years after Regulus took his one (supposed) last stand against Voldemort and his mother died a short while after him. The rest of the family, the olds, were all dead too.

Harry Potter technically counted as family, as did Cissy and her son but those weren't pure Blacks (except Cissy) and from the information dump going on in the kitchen courtesy of Kreacher, he knew that there wasn't anything significant that either of them received after all the other Blacks died.

He learned that Sirius was not returned to the Family Tapestry after Regulus' supposed death and the Black Family riches were not written for him. They were for Regulus, even when his mother thought him dead.

After a moment of consideration, he shook his head. She must have checked with the goblins and when they confirmed that the status of heir didn't change (still alive but somewhere unreachable), she surely thought he was on a mission from the Dark Lord or something like that, he knew her too well. And everyone knew about his obsession (true but not in the sense they thought) with the Dark Lord so no one even suspected (at least he thought so) that he wasn't on the lunatic's side anymore. The articles and pictures on the walls gave that impression and he was somewhat glad for the smokescreen that it made, he didn't need to hide his research on Voldemort's true identity because everyone thought it was just part of his fanatical self.

And nobody (should have) realized that he betrayed Voldemort until the time when his note in the false locket was discovered, which was somewhere from 1996 to 1997 (from Kreacher's story), quite a long time after his apparent death.

So his mother knew he was alive somewhere, probably fulfilling a mission for the Dark Lord, and decided to just leave her will as it was (leaving everything to him and only him, he would be touched if he didn't know that she technically didn't have any other choice, with Bellatrix in Azkaban, Andy a Blood Traitor, Sirius both a Blood Traitor and in Azkaban and Cissy in Malfoy's hold, those blond peacocks would have destroyed the Black family if they only had the chance to get their grabby hands on the vaults).

So Sirius was let into Grimmauld Place because the house recognized him and the defenses were lowered, the wards old and rusty, in need of repair and renewing. And he let the Order in to have their secret meetings here. The idiot. Then he wrote everything he (thought he) owned onto Harry Potter and died.

It stung, his death, Kreacher had enough sense to say all this in a fairly neutral tone, masking any feeling he might have had about Sirius' death himself (he must have been ecstatic, Regulus thought dryly, he would have been, too, if he was treated the way Sirius treated Kreacher in their childhood, his brother could scream all he was worth that he was nothing like their mother but Regulus saw all the times when he pushed Kreacher down the stairs or kicked him in his anger, in those moments he was so like their mother that Regulus was afraid to even breathe wrong), wary of the suddenly shiny silver eyes and Regulus' tight expression, and Regulus felt a wave of affection towards the old elf.

Even when he didn't care about Sirius, he cared about Regulus and through him, he, in some way, ended up being careful and respectful when talking about the death of his brother.

Of course, Kreacher then ruined the moment when he started elaborating on what an awful time it was when he was forced to spend it with both Sirius and the Order, croaking about the absolutely horrible Blood Traitors and their appalling lack of any manners whatsoever. It was nice to know that that part of him hadn't changes in the slightest. He thought, with wry amusement, that he knew what his friend was doing, taking Regulus' focus off the heavy thoughts by lamenting about the time he spent with the Order.

And as he leaned forward, silver eyes trained on his friend's small form, he smiled fondly and breathed deeply, taking in the slightly musky scent of Grimmauld Place. He was finally home.

...

The party went off without a hitch. Or, as without a hitch as anything involving Vongola goes. That is to say, there were some minor complications. But that was to be expected. Mixing alcohol and Christmas cheer and adding to that equation the fact that the steak wasn't up to Xanxus' standards, the Eastern Wing of the Vongola Mansion was blown up.

The Snow Battle after that ended up going in flames. Literally and figuratively, as the Varia and soon-to-be Vongola Tenth Generation were placed on opposing teams. The fact that Reborn choose that moment to rile everyone up didn't help. The weaker guests (or those who didn't want to get involved in the bloodbath) carefully removed themselves from perimeter when they saw the Wrath Flames lighting up around Xanxus' hands and casting eerie glow on his face. His brow was twitching and his lips were pulled back in a terrifying mockery of a smile that seemed to be more of a snarl.

When Skull didn't show up to the party, nobody even noticed. There was too much to do, to many guests to greet and food to eat and conversations to engage in. Therefore, he wasn't especially missed by the gathering. No one waited for him and everybody just assumed that someone else saw him fiddling and fooling around.

So it was no surprise that after the party, when the Arcobaleno decided to meet up in one of the rooms generously provided by the Ninth for this occasion, no one even thought that Skull may actually not be there. They waited two hours, chatting idly and laughing together but everyone noticed the silence that crept up on them when the ideas for conversation dried up. Normally, it was at this very moment that Skull did something (usually stupid) to gain their attention and Reborn punished him for whatever moronic thing he did.

So it was after a few minutes of silence and clinking of teacups and cracks of biscuits, and whatever other pastries there were, being eaten, that Reborn finally voiced his displeasure.

"Where is that idiot Lackey?" He growled, dark eyes scanning the room as if the Cloud would suddenly pop up from thin air. The others looked around as well, knowing the purple-haired man to be partial to grand entrances, screaming about his greatness and proclaiming his superiority over Reborn. There was no such thing now. Only silence.

Colonello growled, getting to his feet, "If that idiot thinks he can just stand us up-" he started, pushing away from the table to stare at the door and cracking his knuckles.

"Then he has another thing coming," continued Reborn, tipping his hat to shadow his darkly glinting eyes, a smirk growing on his lips. He stuck his hand out to the table where Leon was previously exploring, for the chameleon to climb onto and change into his favorite green gun.

Yuni sighed, smiling at them exasperated, trying to placate them, "Maybe Skull had something else to do? Besides, it's not really that important."

Reborn looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "I quite disagree, Yuni. We had an accord to meet here. All of us. If he had some other plans, he should have said something. Instead, he choose not to come at all, the spineless coward," Colonello snorted, clearly of the same mind and Lal leaned back in her chair, silently agreeing.

"Maybe he didn't have such plans back then?" Suggested Fong, calming smile firmly in place and a cup of tea cradled in his hands, steam rising from it in little puffs of white mist.

"Arcobaleno plans take precedence. Anything other, that came up, should have come second place," muttered Verde, fiddling with a small mobile phone in his hands. Colonello nodded sagely, arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his face.

"Well then," Reborn stood up, straightening his already impeccable black suit, a wicked smile curving his lips, "We will just have to remind Lackey about that, won't we?"

...

Skull was not home, was the general conclusion that was shared by all the Arcobaleno after barging into the empty flat. The trip to the tiny apartment lasted three hours, an hour on the private plane and two hours looking for the place. In truth, none of them really knew where exactly Skull lived, only realizing it when it was time to lead the others to the Cloud's abode.

Skull's home was in Rome, as opposed to the Vongola Mansion in Palermo. That was something they all knew. Contrary to popular opinion, Skull apparently wasn't an idiot of epic proportions (only just, Reborn admitted silently) and didn't shout his address from the rooftops. Reborn might have even appreciated it if it didn't make the search for him all the note irritating and time consuming. Ad it was, they had to waste time looking.

When after two hours his spies, not bugs but people who owed him big and whose debts were called in (Lackey was going to pay), notified him of their wayward Cloud's address, he was ready to tear something apart. Better be it the Lackey.

So here they now stood, clustered in the dirty hallway, with peeling paint and smelly staircase. The block of flats was located in the poorer part of the city, crammed between two other apartment blocks. And as they stared into the tiny flat (Colonello was impatient and kicked the door in when nobody answered after four knocks), some of them became concerned. Others not so much, they became irritated.

Reborn strode past them and into the apartment and they slowly filed in after him, looking around curiously. As Reborn disappeared down the hall, they continued gazing at the messy living room. It was quite dirty, with long dried up, muddy footsteps all around, magazines and newspapers and parts of a bike strewn all around the floor. There was also an aquarium, where Yuni immediately trotted up to. She peered into it, tapping at the glass carefully but nothing came out of the castle, nothing moved, she could tell it was empty. She sighed, turning back to survey the room.

Her attention was caught by Reborn's voice, most likely coming from the bedroom, "Lackey is not here but his things are all around the place. It's disgusting."

Yuni chuckled, her eyes sparkling with mirth at the hitman's complaints, "Don't be too harsh on him, Uncle Reborn. He lives here alone, I think he's allowed to be a little messy," she tried to placate. Lal snorted, eyes roving critically over the papers, machinery, dust and mud on the ground and then the ugly chipped yellow paint of the living room and the cobwebs. She stared at the grease stains on the carpet, sofa, blanket and a little on the walls, and sighed, shaking her head with a faint smile.

Then she looked up, hearing a clatter from the bathroom. Reborn stood in the doorway, expression blank and tight and said, "There's blood in the bathroom."

Yuni froze, as did all the others but only for a second and then they were all making their way to the aforementioned room. Reborn pushed away from the doorway to make place for them and Yuni was carefully guided to the back of the group, the others not letting her see inside. She pushed on a few legs and backs in hopes of seeing anything but to no avail. They were bigger and stronger. A mere push from a child, former one of the Strongest Seven or not (especially as she was a Sky Arcobaleno and the strength itself referred to the Flames), would have little to no effect on them. So she turned her pout-face on and turned to Reborn, knowing that her Uncle was rather susceptible to her teary eyes and quivering bottom lip. But as it was, Reborn wasn't even looking at her, he was staring forward, brows furrowed and lips twisted as if he smelled something foul. He glanced to the side, at the light switch and started forward, towards it. When he reached it, he flicked it on. Nothing happened and he cursed under his breath.

"The lights are out. The bulbs might be just in need of changing. Or the electricity was cut off," he explained briefly and started walking towards a different light switch and when that one also didn't work, he ambled into the kitchen. Yuni followed after him, something unpleasant curling in her stomach as she gazed around the small area. It was utterly silent. The only sounds that she could hear was the mad whispering coming from the bathroom, hisses and quiet conversation between the rest of the former Arcobaleno.

She looked up when Reborn opened the fridge and a truly awful smell wafted out of it. She covered her mouth and nose and her eyes watered at the smell.

"The food has gone bad. Looks like it was here for a while," he commented, almost nonchalantly (if not for the slightest edge to his voice, a tense line to his shoulders, a hard look on his face) while peering inside. He pursed lips and wrinkled nose a little, expressing his disgust. A voice sounded from the door, Colonello standing there and looking troubled.

"Reborn, it doesn't seem to be much blood. Maybe the Lackey just nicked himself while he was shaving?" The poor attempt at a joke was meant to loosen up the atmosphere but Yuni suddenly felt cold. All the Arcobaleno regained their former bodies, the ones from before they were cursed. That meant that the world finally got to see the real people who were behind the adorable, chubby with baby fat and innocently wide-eyed faces.

Reborn himself was in his early thirties, she guessed, the same for Lal and Verde, who looked to be the oldest of them. Colonello was younger, in his late twenties, maybe around twenty-seven. Viper's age was anyone's guess, they hid themselves even after all these years, never showing their face or divulging any personal information about themselves. Yuni herself was seven years old.

But the one who really made her take a second look was Skull. His voice was thankfully no longer the screeching and wailing one he had when he was an infant. From what she remembered when she last saw him (when was this, when, was it weeks ago, no, she hasn't seen him since they parted ways after regaining their freedom, a few days after the Representative Battle of Rainbow. What kind of Sky was she, was she even his Sky, she didn't know. She never had an especially strong connection with the other Arcobaleno because they already had two Skies before her and were grieving them. But even though, she had a connection with them. Only the purple-haired Cloud was a unknown, always away, always distant. She never felt any special bond with him, were they even bonded, was he even one of hers? Was he even her Element, oh god), his voice was even and, dare she say it, smooth. Of course, that was only when Reborn or Colonello or Lal, or anybody, really, wasn't bullying him.

His behavior, after getting over the weirdness of the new (old) body, was quite strangely smooth, too. It was looping strides and controlled movements. More reserved expressions and guarded looks. That is, if he wasn't getting riled up about Reborn or screeching or screaming or laughing uproariously (a little bit of fakeness). Suffice it to say, she rarely got to see that strange Skull but when she did, she dismissed it. How wrong she was.

And it wasn't often that she heard him say anything, either. He was often shut up by one of his fellow Elements, she thought guiltily. Or preferred not to say anything, staying silent in the few weeks where they stayed together after regaining their freedom.

Only now did she realize that all of this meant something. Maybe his upbringing was rearing its head or he was always like this or maybe he was acting.

But despite all this, there lingered an awkwardness, something that wasn't present in any of the other Arcobaleno, who were already adults.

Skull talked like he was unsure, back then (if he talked at all, and now that she thought about it, she realized with shame that she didn't really talk to him, didn't engage him in a conversation, choosing to follow the others' example and simply ignore him), he talked... She furrowed her brow, thinking carefully about it. He talked like Tsunayoshi-san and Kozato-san. Like a teenager.

His face also wasn't fully that of an adult, she never even saw the stubble that grazed Verde's and, on the rare occasions, Reborn and Colonello's chins.

The hair, make-up and piercings only added to the young-rebellious-teenager image he had going on.

Now she felt sick. She wasn't sure, it may not necessarily be what she thought it was. Skull may just look young, it may be the result of his powerful Cloud Flames. She shook her head, now wasn't the time, there was something more important than that. Like finding Skull.

The silence that met Colonello's weak pun stretched almost painfully until she quietly asked what should they do.

"The electricity was cut off. That means the Lackey hasn't been paying his bills. The food is rotten and has been so for a few months. He's either a disgusting slob," here Reborn sneered and finally closed the fridge behind him with a click. Yuni leveled him with a disapproving gaze and he rolled his eyes. "Or," he added pointedly, "He's not been here for the few months that it's been there, gaining life on its own."

"Skull is an idiot but even I'm doubtful of the fact that he left it all to rot while he was living here. The conclusion to that would be, he has not been here to get rid of it," said Verde, walking into the room with his white lab coat billowing behind him, pushing his glasses up when they slipped down his nose. He glanced around at them and sniffed lightly, a grimace appearing on his face, "There is blood in the bathroom, not a big enough amount to kill, especially not Skull, but enough to knock out. The living room is in a disarray but there don't appear to be any signs of struggle. Most of his things are still here. He wouldn't have resisted if he was unconscious. And his unknown history with medically inclined group known as the Estraneo Famiglia. The neighborhood," here he curled his lip and coughed into his fist, disdain clear, "Doesn't look particularly friendly. Possibility of a kidnapping, sixty-one percent."

There was a silence again, so deep that she could have heard a pin drop.

"Is there something else that could have happened?" She asked desperately, trying to grasp any other subject. She was not ready to hear that Skull might have been kidnapped a few months ago and they didn't even care enough to check on him.

The scientist nodded absentmindedly, typing something on his phone, before answering her again, in a musing tone of voice, "There is also a possibility that he left himself, as indicated by the lack of struggle, the fact that his door and windows show no point of forced entrance. Also, his familiar is missing," he pointed carelessly over his shoulder in the general direction of the living room. Yuni suddenly remembered the empty aquarium and felt dread forming a lump down her throat. The electric green eyes peered at them over the glasses as Verde stopped tapping at his phone, "He may have also just left on a mission. He does belong to a Mafia Family still, doesn't he? What was it? The Carcassa, is that right?" He didn't even wait for confirmation before nodding to himself, not needing it, as he knew clearly that he was right.

Now Yuni felt a small ray of hope before it was squashed by the memory of just who fought for Skull in the Representative Battle. It wasn't anyone from the Cloud's supposed Famiglia. It was Tsunayoshi-san's friend, Kozato-san and his own Family.

Now, she may not know many things but she liked to think that she at least knew a little about her (former, but was he even that, was he ever hers to begin with) Cloud. And she knew that he was a proud person. He wouldn't have asked for help from someone he barely knew if he didn't have any other choice. That would mean that the Carcassa refused to fight for him.

She worried her yellow dress between her suddenly sweaty hands and looked down at her little boots. Maybe she was overthinking this. Maybe he knew Kozato-san from somewhere, before. Maybe they were friends. She certainly didn't know, as it appeared she herself hasn't been a friend to him at all. And what with her no longer being an Arcobaleno, her gift of Seeing dwindled to near nothing. She didn't know what the future held in store for them.

She tasted ashes on her tongue. She hoped they found Skull, and soon. She was beginning to get really worried.

...