A/N: I don't own anything.
Chapter 4
There had been no interruptions on their way to the first level of the basement or the room with his Sky's things. Actually, those possessions hadn't consisted of much at all. A non-descript bag, kind of like a messenger bag, and a strange wrap-around kind of gown. There had been no shoes and as the Corocos had kept the gown there would have been no reason to throw out the shoes. So, his Sky probably hadn't been wearing any shoes during his capture. The hospital theory was becoming more and more likely.
His Sky had immediately reached for the bag - was this what the goon had been babbling about? - and after a brief search dragged out a small pouch on a thin leather string as though to be worn around the neck. So that was clearly one of the things his Sky had been looking for.
And then his Sky had stuck his hand and far more of his arm into the pouch than should ever have reasonably fit. Reborn would definitely be demanding some answers. Soon.
But his Sky had apparently found whatever he had been looking for in that pouch, because there had been clear relief in his eyes.
Soon after whatever stubbornness had kept his Sky awake up to that point ran out and even though he had clearly tried to remain alert, his eyes were now closed. Reborn moved through the base with his Sky tucked neatly into his arms. He felt the exhaustion pulling at his Sky's Flames, urging Reborn to get him somewhere safe.
Still, the Corocos Famiglia had deprived his Sky of his freedom, food, rest and who knows what else. Reborn had already rigged the lower levels with explosives and a few more to make sure nothing of this base remained - where his Sky had been kept - couldn't hurt. That would take care of any possible traces of his Sky and Reborn ever having been here. As Reborn had originally gone after the technology without a contract, there would be no way to link the destruction to him.
The rest of the Corocos Famiglia would have to wait until he had his Sky safe and tucked away at home. Hm, even though Reborn would love nothing more to raze them to the ground, he would have to be carful. It would raise too many questions and he had no intention whatsoever to make the existence of his Sky general knowledge. He would have to find another convincing reason for his rampage. Maybe he could take on one of their contracts - which were being avoided by most - let himself be betrayed and then take the Famiglia apart. This would have its own drawbacks as he would have to get the contract anonymously - no one, absolutely no one would be insane enough to try and set up the World's Greatest Hitman. Definitely something to consider though.
Well, first things first. With the exhaustion pulling at his Sky Reborn had all the more reason to get him to his apartment and hide him from the world - keep him for Reborn himself.
As he moved out of the base, Reborn considered his options. Though Reborn had an apartment in the next city, it did not even come close to being sufficiently fortified and at the very least Vongola might know of its existence. There was another secure apartment a little further away but decently close still.
Decision made, Reborn tucked his Sky into the passenger seat of his car. Just in the time it took him to move to the other side and get behind the wheel, his Sky had started to rouse slightly.
Reborn noted smugly that just a brief reassuring touch of his hand was enough to settle his Sky. The bond that had formed between them was ridiculous in its strength. Reborn had seen other newly bonded and neither Sky nor Element had been quite this dependent. It might be increased by the stressful circumstances, or the setup in the interrogation room, or his Sky's barely lucid state and thus his increased need for protection. However, Reborn had a feeling there might be other exacerbating factors. Factors that he was not aware of.
Reborn definitely had questions for his Sky.
Well, as far as the dependency on touch went, Reborn was very willing to accommodate. A smirk flitted across his face. He re-arranged his Sky's position to lean against the passenger seat sideways with his back to the passenger door and settled the slim naked legs into his lap for the drive.
The trip to his safe house passed without a hitch and without his Sky truly waking at any point. Reborn even switched cars in between - there was no such thing as too paranoid, especially now - and his Sky had barely twitched during the transfer.
Pulling up to the apartment complex, he punched in the code to the garage. It was 3am right now, so it should be relatively safe to assume that even if he were to carry his Sky through the building to the apartment directly, there would be no one to see them.
Reborn would actually prefer to check the apartment first, however, leaving his unconscious Sky on his own in the car wasn't an option. At all.
This was certainly giving him a taste of why single Guardians were always so damn twitchy. Being forced to drag a Sky into a potentially dangerous situation in order to avoid a potentially dangerous situation. That would wear on anyone.
Not that Reborn would have problems defending his Sky on his own, even with his Sky in his arms. Reborn would just really have preferred not to. Still, nothing for it.
That had been five days ago. Reborn watched his Sky as he slept tucked into Reborn's bed. His Sky had been sleeping for almost five days straight at this point, only ever rousing enough to drink some of the soup Reborn offered, without ever being truly aware. Something in Reborn purred at this kind of unquestioning trust, but the long period of near-unconsciousness was gnawing at him.
Reborn moved towards the kitchen area as he considered all the questions that had amassed along the way.
Harry felt himself coming more aware. How long had he been out of it? He actually felt rested, his mind better focused and his magic coiling rather smoothly in his core.
The bond was still humming in his mind. So, that hadn't been some weird dream his semi-lucid mind had come up with. Wonderful.
Where was he then? Harry remembered the man carrying him for a bit and collecting his things. To his utmost relief his pouch had been there. It had actually been Sirius' and Harry had found it when he had started to sort through Grimmauld Place in the weeks after Voldemort's defeat. The pouch was small from the outside, just big enough to fit his hand, and rather flat. It was of course extended on the inside and carried some rather ingenious charms against theft of the pouch itself, theft from the pouch, charms for diversion of attention and quite a few more, probably even some that Harry wasn't even aware of.
Harry had stored some of his most treasured belongings in the pouch, including the few memorabilia he had of his parents and of Sirius, as well as the Hallows which he had re-collected a few weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts. He had no actual interest in holding another title, real or not, but just the possibility that the legend might be true... At some point someone else might go for the elder wand and even worse he had dropped the resurrection stone in the Forbidden Forest on Hogwarts grounds. What if a kid found it by accident? Harry had never had anyone check whether there might be any harmful magic remaining on the ring after the removal of the Horcrux or of the curse that had been triggered by Dumbledore.
He had gathered the wand and the ring and stored both with his cloak in Sirius' pouch. Maybe he would research a way to destroy the items at some point or bury them in his Gringotts vault never to be found again. No one knew he carried all three Hallows. As far as Ron and Hermione knew, the wand had been destroyed and the ring had been lost. Harry did not intend to ever inform anyone otherwise.
Well, back to his current situation. Harry slowly peeled his eyes open. He was still tired.
Harry stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, which wasn't that surprising as the man from before had pretty much declared he was taking Harry somewhere. Home, as Harry had demanded - wherever that turned out to be.
He heard movement off to the side and as though summoned by his thoughts the man appeared in his field of vision.
"Hello there, beautiful. I hope you had a good rest." The man easily lifted Harry from the bed he had been lying in, neatly tucked under the covers.
Harry was still too close to sleep to protest while he was carried out of the bedroom into what seemed to be the living room and set down on the sofa. The man poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the low table and sat down next to him - close, really close -, easily wrapped an arm around Harry's waist and pulled him into his side. He offered the glass of water with a straw and Harry slowly blinked at the man, trying to compute his situation in general and the change in location in particular.
He saw a grin work itself onto the man's face. "Enjoying the view, beautiful?"
By Merlin this guy was going to be infuriating, Harry could already tell. Still, he laboriously reached for the water - his throat felt as though someone had taken some sandpaper to it - but hesitated when he saw his hand shaking. Sighing internally, he reached for the straw instead - the man accommodated easily, probably having expected something like it already - and Harry gratefully drank some sips.
He could easily recognize the deprivation in himself - damn his childhood - to know to measure himself and take small sips as to not overtax his stomach right off the bat. Harry could feel the man's eyes intently fixed on his face.
"How long?" Harry asked and was surprised how clear the words sounded compared to the slurring from before.
"It's been five days since our meeting." The man answered. "You were awake a few times in between, enough to drink some soup, but not lucid. Going by your expression you are aware of your tendency of rousing from unconsciousness long enough to be fed, before going under again. It's an interesting habit you have there."
That was definitely a question, or rather a demand for an answer. Harry was well aware of how his magic made sure he survived. However, it was still rather disturbing that his magic and instincts had trusted this man unquestionably, in a way that he would take sustenance without any kind of awareness on his part.
Well, maybe pretending obliviousness would get him out of answering that one for now. Harry would like to keep this man agreeable at least until he could move on his own again. He considered the first part of the statement. Five days? Well, that explained why he felt a clear difference compared to the last time he had been aware.
"Where are we?" His speech was still kind of dragging, but he was definitely getting there.
The man obviously knew Harry was avoiding the question but seemed to be willing to let it go for now. "A safe house."
Or not. That was clearly revenge for the lack of answers by being as reticent as possible. "What country?" Harry could still remember the strain on his magic during the airplane travel.
There was no surprise on the man's face and the man's expression seemed to soften slightly at the edges. Harry felt his stomach drop. "We are in Italy at the moment."
Well, damn.
At least it was still the same continent?
Reborn could see the shock and definite irritation in his Sky's eyes.
He felt tremendously relieved at seeing his Sky aware and somewhat recovered from his previous state. If it hadn't been for his Sky's clear assertion to avoid doctors - their bond urging Reborn to believe, to wait - he would have brought his Sky to a hospital right away. However, bringing anyone to his apartment - and thus divulging their location - wasn't an option and just the thought of taking his Sky anywhere else made Reborn gnash his teeth.
It would also have required Reborn to reveal that he had bonded and the news that he had a Sky would spread through the mafia within hours.
From now on the easiest way to permanently tie Reborn to any Famiglia would be to capture his Sky and force additional Guardian bonds on him. Reborn would not be able to kill any other Guardians without risking harm to his Sky. So after all these years of freedom, Reborn would be caught. And his Sky would be the tool to get him there and keep him there, constantly in danger and under threat possibly from the very Famiglia that they would be forced into.
For the first time since he had gained a reputation in the mafia, the World's Greatest Hitman had a weak spot.
Mafia Famiglias would be rushing to be the first to get leverage over Reborn, force Reborn into an alliance. By using his Sky. His civilian Sky.
The world would burn before Reborn let anything happen to his home.
A/N: Ok, you guys are simply awesome! Thanks so much for all the reviews! I'm amazed and a little bit in love with you guys! Although I had to try to cut down the responses a bit, otherwise they are going to overtake the actual chapters soon ^^ I'm still going to try to respond to direct questions.
Chapter 3 review responses:
To Wicken25: Thanks for your review! I agree that Hermione is the better friend (which isn't even a question since Ron simply fails), but there are problems with her friendship as well. In any case, there will be no real character bashing in this story.
To Celesta SunStar: Thanks for the review! Luna will make an appearance, how could I possibly not include her? Pomfrey and Reborn will definitely meet and probably be equally impressed :) Right now, magical travel is not an option for Harry as it bears too much of a risk of further disturbing his core. Thanks so much for the tip, any help with my English is very very welcome.
To Ondine de la Mer: Thanks for the review! And can I just say, wow, thanks for taking the time to consider all this. I will answer the questions that won't give too much away :) [The WW in general does not know about Flames, however, Harry will also not be the first ever wizard to come in contact with Flames; Moving Harry back into the WW will definitely further disrupt his core and the entire situation with Harry's magic is also designed to keep him mostly in the MW for a bit; Carrier iguanas, that's awesome :D; While the potential might be there, magical folk can't activate Flames easily but it's not impossible] Hope this helps with some of your inquisitiveness :)
To khr junkie: Thank you for your review! You're definitely right, there won't be an immediate soul-mate-like, throwing-all-caution-to-the-wind kind of thing happening, even with the bond helping them along. Glad you're in support of that :)
To Guest 15: Thanks so much for reviewing again! Harry started the treatment less than three months after Voldy and he had been told that the actual treatment would take a few days. That's his point of reference.
To Diamond Yandere: Thanks so much for reviewing again! Harry will definitely be making his opinion known on the matter of Hermione and Ron's latest iodicy :)
To azerty91: Thanks for reviewing again! The Dursleys didn't say anything about wizards, even if only because that might reduce the chance of them taking Harry. Also, Vernon abhors anyone who is not normal by his definition and that would include the mafia, so he wouldn't warn them or care if anything happens.