Fourth Memory, 8-9
"What we remember from childhood we remember forever — permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen."
~Cynthia Ozick
As the memory faded around them, Fon glanced at Skull. "I had no idea that was you." He stated, rather stunned.
A light blush grew on Skull's cheeks, "I barely even remembered that..." He admitted, rubbing his neck sheepishly.
The next memory started in a swirl of colours.
An eight-year-old Harry was cornered, his eyes wide behind the ugly wire-framed glasses as his cousin and said cousin's friends surrounded him.
An odd look crossed Skull's face as he watched his younger self try to back away only to bump into the brick wall behind him. "Harry-Hunting." He stated, hands in his pocket and shoulders relaxed. He had gotten use to his cousin's 'game', it didn't bother him anymore.
The small boy cringed backwards as the older kids laughed and curling in on himself in preparation of a beating, hands clutched over his head and knees drawn up to his chest to protect his vitals, his eyes clenched shut.
"What the Hell is going on here?"
The children turned, eyes drawn to the teenager standing in the mouth of the alley. He was around seventeen, tall and thin with noticeable muscles under his white button-up shirt, wearing a pair of black jeans and shiny shoes. His dark hair stuck up wildly, and the most memorable thing about him, other than his cold black eyes, were the curly sideburns framing his face.
"What the fuck!" Skull spluttered, eyes widening in shock as he looked between Reborn and the teenager in the memory.
Reborn himself looked rather surprised, "So that was you."
The other Arcobaleno looked as shocked as Skull as they stared at the teenaged Reborn in the memory.
"Well?" The teenager asked sharply, dark eyes glaring at the five boys who stood over the cowering Harry.
The children scattered in fear.
"Pezzo di merda [Italian: Piece of shit]," The teenager grumbled under his breath as he strolled towards the small boy on the ground, who tried to make himself look even smaller than he actually was. The teenager's eyebrow rose and he slowed his gait, as if he was approaching a wounded animal. "Relax, Nano [Italian: Midget]. I'm not going to hurt you."
Harry stared up at the much taller boy, eyes wide as he uncurled himself. "W-what does nano mean?"
"Midget." Colonello and Lal intoned in unison, looking faintly amused with the whole thing.
Skull's cheeks pinked, "I know that now."
"Quiet Nano, the memory's still going." Reborn said, a mocking grin on his face.
"Senpai! Don't call me that!"
The teenage Reborn ignored the question and began to walk away, hands in his pockets.
"A-ah! Wait!" Harry squeaked, scrambling to his feet and darting to the older boy's side, his hand reaching out and grabbing the fabric of the teenager's shirt. Reborn stiffened, shoulders tightening, and Harry, who must have sensed the danger, let go immediately. "S-sorry."
Reborn grunted and resumed walking, Harry dogging his steps. "Didn't your parents ever tell you not to go with strangers?"
"I don't have parents. I live with my aunt and uncle."
Reborn raised an eyebrow, "Then what did your aunt and uncle tell you about going with strangers?"
"To go with them."
The teenager paused mid-step, eyebrow rising even further is surprise as he stared at the completely serious boy beside him. With a huff and a barely audible Italian curse, Reborn kept walking.
"Hey, Mister Stranger Man?" Harry asked, picking up speed so he could walk beside the much taller boy. "What's your name?"
Colonello snorted, "Mister Stranger Man."
"You can call me Ren."
The memory faded, and the next formed almost immediately.
'Ren' and Harry sat across from each other in a small café, the small boy stared starry-eyed up at the teenager, all but sparkling with hero-worship.
"Order anything you want." Reborn said, waving a hand towards the menu that sat beside Harry's arm. "I have enough to pay."
Harry stared at the older boy with large green eyes, lips parted in a surprised 'o'. "R-really, Mister Ren?"
"Don't call me 'mister', it makes me feel old."
Harry smiled shyly as he picked up the menu and scanned through the contents, however his face fell after a few moments. "I-I've never tried any of this... And it's all so expensive..."
Reborn's eyebrow rose, "It's not actually all that expensive, Nano."
"B-but-"
"Anything you want." The teenager repeated forcefully, and Harry ducked his head.
"C-can I have a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich?" The small boy asked hesitantly, as if expecting Reborn to deny his request.
"Sure," Harry's head snapped up in surprise to where Reborn sat, reading his own menu. "Do you want anything to drink?"
"C-chocolate milk?"
Reborn hummed, "Chocolate milk it is."
Harry looked dazed as the teenager waved over the waitress and placed their order.
"What a nice big brother," The young woman sighed, looking at Reborn with exalting eyes. "Taking your little brother out for lunch. He's so adorable." She gushed.
Reborn plastered a charming grin on his face as Harry's cheeks pinked and the kid ducked his head behind his menu.
Skull groaned, "Stop flirting with every waitress we meet!"
"You're just jealous they like me better." Reborn shot back without missing a beat.
"Dude, I'm gay." Skull returned. "I don't flirt with the waitresses."
"You have in the past."
"To get information."
The memory faded, and the next took it place.
Harry was following Reborn through a large, rather expensive, boutique, his green eyes staring at everything in awe, and the young boy never noticed the looks shot towards his scruffy appearance and too-big clothing.
A large smile spread over his face as something off to the side caught his attention and the little boy darted away from the teenager.
"Nano," Reborn called as his companion wove through the displays. "You better not get lost, because I am not looking for you if you do."
"'kay! Just a sec, Ren!"
"Aww," Lal mocked, "You do care."
A few moments later, Harry came bounding out from the displays, a black fedora in hand and a large grin on his face. He placed the plain black hat on his older friend's spikey hair with a flourish and a faint blush. "It looks good on you, Ren."
The teenager blinked a few times, before adjusting the hat so the brim shadowed his eyes, a small smirk on his face. "You think so?"
The small black-haired boy nodded enthusiastically, and 'Ren' turned to the shop assistant.
"I'll take it."
"So that's where the fedora came from." Verde mused in faint amusement. "I had wondered."
A light blush dusted Skull's cheeks as he rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck.
The scene faded.
The next memory formed with an unhappy Harry kicking at the ground as 'Ren' stood across from him, hands in his pockets and fedora covering his eyes.
"You're leaving?" Harry's voice was small and shaky as he stared up at the older dark-haired male, eyes pleading.
"Sorry, Nano." The teenager offered, "We both knew I'd be leaving eventually. I was only here for a job." Harry's shoulders slumped, and Reborn, seeing the boy's expression, released a sigh. With practiced ease and inherent grace, the teenager easily reached behind his neck.
Harry blinked in surprise when 'Ren' held a simple silver chain in front of his eyes, adorned only by a small golden sun-shaped charm. The teenaged hitman reattached the chain so it hung around Harry's thin neck.
"There, you can keep that."
Reborn looked away awkwardly when Harry grinned brightly, fingering the pendant around his neck, before stiffening when the small boy launched himself at him and hugged him tightly around the waist, burying his face in Reborn's stomach.
"Cute." Viper said flatly, however there was an underlining thread of amusement in his otherwise deadpanned voice.
Fon grinned, and Skull blushed.
"S-shut up."
"I didn't say anything."
"I'm gunna miss you, Ren..." Harry said, his voice muffled by the fabric of Reborn's shirt.
Shoulders relaxing slightly, the hitman patted the young boy self-consciously on the back. "Ah, me too, Nano." He confessed.
The memory faded, and the next one start almost immediately afterwards.
Seated at a table, books and papers scattered around him, was Harry. His head of dark curls was bent into a book as he scribbled furiously on the paper next to him.
"What are you doing?" Fon asked with open curiosity as the young boy in the memory mouthed something silently to himself, furrowed his brows, and went back to his book.
Skull scratched his cheek, "Well- er... IwantedtolearnItalian!"
Reborn raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing, hon?"
Harry jumped in alarm when a young woman with curly brown hair and brown eyes approach from behind him, the badge on her chest declaring her as a volunteer. The woman smiled kindly, and Harry looked away with a blush.
"I-I have a friend. In Italy. I wanted to learn Italian." A sudden spark of excitement entered his eyes. "I want to go to Italy someday!"
The woman giggled, placing a hand over her mouth as her brown eyes lit up at the boy's enthusiasm. "I can help if you'd like, my grandfather is Italian. I'm Juliet."
"Harry."
The two worked in relative silence, Juliet occasionally leaning forward to correct Harry's spelling or grammar as they struck up conversations about both the language and whatever else came to mind.
"You know, Harry." Juliet told him as she went through his writing, making small notes as she did so. "You remind me of my niece."
Harry blinked, "Really, Miss Juliet?"
"Just Juliet, Harry. And yes, I think the two of you would get along. Hermione is about your age, and she simply adores her books." Juliet smiled fondly,
"Holy shit." Skull breathed, eyes wide. "I had completely forgotten! Miss Juliet was Hermione's aunt!"
her eyes soft. "And you're both so intelligent."
Harry blushed, "I'm not that smart, Miss Juliet."
"You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for, hon." Juliet told him, eyeing him with shrewd brown eyes. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
The memory faded.
The next started in a flurry of colour. Harry stood dutifully at the stove, poking absentmindedly at the sizzling bacon in the pan. After a few moments, the boy turned away from the stove and walked stiffly towards another cupboard, a slight pained grimace on his face. He rummaged through the cupboard for a few moments, before emerging with a stack of plates.
He turned, fully expecting to walk back to the stove area and he managed to make it half way there, limping slightly and trying to keep weight off his left leg.
Then he stumbled.
It happened as if in slow motion, the young boy's body jerked when his leg gave out on him, his arms wrenched upwards in a desperate attempt to catch his balance.
He hit the ground with a harsh, painful thud.
The plates followed soon after, shattering on impact with the tiled floor.
For a moment, nothing moved as Harry stared in horror at the remains of what had once been beautifully designed plates with floral designs, then he was scrambling to his feet, face pale and terrified.
The only noise was Harry's panicked gasps, before a shout rocked the house.
"BOY!"
Harry's whole body froze as thunderous footsteps made their way towards him, he stared at the ground with wide eyes and a purple-faced Vernon stomped into the room.
His uncle took one look at the broken plates, then exploded. "YOU USELESS FREAK!" The man hollered, advancing on Harry's small form, and the boy backed up fearfully, right towards the stove.
The Arcobaleno had gone stiff, their eyes glittering dangerously as they watched the memory unfold before them.
Vernon then began shouting angrily about how useless and a waste of space Harry was, all the while throwing in digs towards the boy's dead parents, calling them 'a no-good slut' and 'lazy bum', and how Harry was just like them, and that he'd go out in the exact same way.
All through this, Harry grew tenser and tenser, his fists tightening at his sides, eyes flashing dangerously.
"SHUT UP!"
Everything went silent, and Harry looked horrified that he had just yelled out loud.
Skull had gone pale, one hand gripping at the other as if he was feeling a phantom pain.
Vernon's face steadily darkened, a snear twisting his ugly face.
Harry staggered backwards when the man's large hand connected with the side of his face, sending him stumbling backwards, and one hand shot out to try to keep him balanced.
The boy's small hand landed in the sizzling bacon grease, and he screamed in pain, ripping his hand away and cradling it against his chest.
A sinister grin spread across Vernon's face, "That'll teach you to respect your betters, Boy."
The atmosphere around the Arcobaleno was crackling with fury at the fat man's words and actions.
Watery green eyes glowered at the floor, and the smile melted off Vernon's face.
"Obviously you need more lessons, you fucking freak."
Harry flinched when Vernon reached forward, snatching the boy's thin wrist and tearing it away from his chest as he dragged the small boy towards the stove top.
With a malicious smile, his uncle press his hand into the boiling grease.
One could almost hear the snap of their control when the young version of their Cloud released a screech of pain.
Harry writhed and cried, begging for his uncle to release him and just let him go, and finally, after what felt like hours, the fat man let his nephew go.
Harry recoiled away from the man with a shuddering hiccup, fat tears sliding down pale cheeks.
"Get out." Vernon snarled, "I better not see you until it's time for your chores."
He didn't need to be told twice.
Cradling his wounded hand to his chest, Harry turned and fled.
The memory dissolved.
Skull let out a surprised squeak when strong arms wrapped around his waist and all but crushed him against an equally strong chest, glancing up Skull let out a breath of frightened shock.
Fon's normally kind brown eyes were glowing red, blistering Storm Flames all but radiating off his body, the intensity enough to snap the others out of their anger.
"F-Fon," Skull wheezed, "I'm fine, this happened years ago."
He hadn't known there was anything that could upset Fon enough to send him teetering towards activating Flames of Rage- hell, none of them had. He was the calm one, their pillar of support, the one who was always there to calm them down.
However, it would seem they had discovered what could cause Fon to go batshit, and Skull's attempts at calming him down wasn't working, if the martial artist's almost feral growl was anything to go by.
He did the next best thing.
"Fon, you're hurting me."
It work immediately, Fon released the smaller male with a choked noise of alarm when the statement sunk in. "I-I'm sorry." He breathed, horrified when Skull winced slightly when taking a breath.
"It's fine, Fon." Skull assured, smiling at his lover gently.
"Fascinating."
The Arcobaleno started, none having noticed that the next memory had already started.
Harry was seated on a snow covered bench in nothing but his over-large clothing, face tear-stained and face flushed from the cold. He jumped violently and looked up at the voice.
Standing in front of him was a man with white hair, pale skin, and a pair of round glasses, wearing nothing but a green kimono with a knitted shawl thrown overtop.
"Checkerface." Reborn hissed, eyes narrowing.
"What are you doing out here, child?"
Harry didn't answer, instead he shifted backwards, eyes wide and startled,
Kawahira smiled, an almost hungry gleam in his eyes as he took in the small boy in front of him. "Amazing..." He breathed, "Such potential... A corrupted Sky that became a Cloud out of necessity... I've never seen anything like this..."
"Wait- what?" Skull squawked. "A corrupted Sky- what the hell does he mean by that?! Why don't I remember this?!"
Verde adjusted his glasses, "I had thought it odd... You're a Cloud, however, at times I could almost feel Sky potential from you... I'll need to research this more..."
Harry twitched uneasily under the man's shrewd gaze, before flinching when the man reached forward and grasped the hand Harry had clutched against his chest, exposing the blackened, bleeding flesh of his palm.
"Humans... disgusting creatures." Kawahira tsked in disgust as his hand lit up in golden Flames, which seemed to cause a chain reaction, as Harry's eyes flashed violet and his Cloud Flames sprung to life, engulfing his hands.
Harry squeaked, flailing in alarm before freezing, eyes widening when he realized that the Flames on his hands weren't burning him.
Kawahira/Checkerface grinned, "Facinating..." Then he reached forward once again, indigo Flames springing to life on the tips of his fingers, and he tapped the boy on the forehead, then watched as the small boy slumped like a puppet with its strings cut.
The memory became fuzzy, before fading completely.
Tahdahhh! New chapter!
About the 'corrupted Sky' thing, in my mind/this story, Harry was born a Sky with a secondary Cloud affinity. However, when Harry was turned into a horcrux, this corrupted his Sky Flames, and his secondary affinity picked up the slack and took its place. The Dursleys' furthered this corruption.
But, on a lighter note, teenaged!Reborn! Yay! I also threw some Kawahira/Checkerface in there too! I thought it would be fitting.
Hope you enjoyed, and sorry for the wait.
~Uzu
Update:
Thank you bloodshound for pointing out my spelling mistake (damn you auto correct!) I've gone back to correct it. And don't worry, there are some authority figures whom haven't messed up when it comes to Harry.
Update:
Guest11 pointed out that something I wrote was similar to another fanfiction, so I went back to fix that. I guess that's what I get for writing a fanfiction half asleep, slightly out of it with migraine medicine, and after I had read fanfiction.
Thanks for pointing that out!