Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Katekyo Hitman Reborn and I don't earn any money with this story.

Author's note: Still alive! Yup, that took more time than expected and is shorter than I'd have liked it to, but a lot is happening in this chapter AND it doesn't even end in a cliffhanger (I think) for a change! So there's that. Enjoy and let me know what you think :)

Rating: M

Warning: Short panic attack

Beta'd by the lovely NonchalantxFish, thank you very much :)

Reborn barely noticed the smoke drifting around him that slowly dissipated. There was a deep ache inside his chest, trying to steal his breath away. He clenched the cloth of his shirt just above his chest between his fingers and waited for the pain to fade a bit, but it stubbornly held on.

He remembered arriving on the backside of Mafia Island and his little spar with Colonnello, something they were wont to do, when they met anywhere. Tsunayoshi's ragtag team had tried to wrangle the Bovino brat back into behaving (with minimal success), when said boy had tugged a bazooka out of his hair. After some of the stories Lal had told him about, Reborn had been pretty sure that it was the infamous Ten-Year-Bazooka. It had piqued his interest and not just because he wanted to find out whether his curse would be broken or not with its help.

The hitman had knocked the bazooka out of Lambo's hands with Leon in boomerang form, before evading another one of Colonnello's attacks by jumping right into the group of teens. He'd tugged on the string attached to the trigger and that was the last thing Reborn remembered.

No memories of the future, no external injuries and no idea what the hell was going on .

Gritting his teeth, the brunet took a look around and quickly noticed that he wasn't the only one in bad shape. Tsunayoshi was sitting on the ground, his legs drawn close to his chest and his wide-eyed gaze fixed on his blood-covered hands. His friends were crowding around him, talking over each other and bombarding the shivering, non-responsive teen with questions.

To Reborn's other side was a slightly calmer but no less dramatic scene.

Harry, white as a sheet, was standing in a similar stance as Reborn, clutching one hand to his chest and struggling to breathe. Basil was standing behind him, one hand on each shoulder, and no doubt trying to calm his friend and Sky down with Rain Flames, while Shamal was gently guiding him through breathing exercises meant for panic attacks.

Determined to shed some light on the situation, Reborn tugged on the closest person's trouser leg.

"What 'appened?"Reborn tried not to wince at the slight slur he could hear in his voice and instead focussed on Harry's best friend - Who just so happened to be glaring at him suspiciously. Had his older self appeared as planned and done something to both teens? But then why was Reborn feeling like someone had literally opened up his chest and ripped out his heart?

But no, that was wrong, too. It came from even deeper.

A few minutes passed and finally, finally the pain lessened somewhat. It was still there and Reborn assumed it'd stay that way for some time to come, but at least it wasn't as overwhelming.

That's when he noticed the piece of paper on the ground. A note with familiar handwriting and written in code only one person knew. Unfortunately, the decoded message wasn't much clearer:

' The scars will heal and your wish will be fulfilled in time with your second, first and only choice. '

Why did he have to be such a secretive bastard?

Every muscle in Harry's body tensed up upon seeing the pink smoke, either in preparation to help anyone injured or to finally stop the obviously dangerous fight.

The picture in front of him, after the smoke had dissipated, threw him for a loop, however.

Tsunayoshi's group had stepped back to make space for the two unexpected, yet familiar men who had appeared on the field. Time travel had to be involved somehow, there was no other explanation for this. Both of the time-travellers had dark hair and both were clad in suits, but that's where the similarities ended. The shorter man was unmistakably Tsunayoshi, but the contrast to the fluffy-haired, nervous looking teen was startling. The brunet was still in Hyper-Dying-Will-Mode and it was doubtful that the red smears on his suit and skin were paint or juice.

The other man had to be an older Reborn. The curly sideburns were a dead-giveaway alone. Unlike Tsunayoshi, Reborn was not only clean, but also more casual. The first few buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned and his black tie hung loosely around his neck. He was also barefoot, but didn't seem to mind standing on the stony ground without shoes.

Needless to say, a lot of jaws had dropped to the floor in astonishment.

"Well, isn't this nostalgic?" Reborn drawled with a smirk that did things to Harry that he'd contemplate later. A lot later.

The hitman nodded to Tsunayoshi in greeting, not at all perturbed by all of the blood, before smirking at his (former) fellow Arcobalenos, who demanded to know how Reborn had got rid of the curse.

"My younger self will be so traumatised… at least I was already finished with them," Tsunayoshi grumbled after coming out of Hyper-Dying-Will-Mode, but returned Reborn's greeting surprisingly amicably. In the next moment he was being accosted by Shamal's former protegée, who pretty much transformed into a puppy right in front of Harry's eyes. The wizard's attention didn't stay on them long, though. It quickly drifted back to the Sun, who was approaching him. The Sun on the other side of a Sky-Guardian bond he hadn't had before, but was now indisputably there.

Shell-shocked didn't even begin to describe what he was feeling right now. Harry had admittedly thought about it once or twice, especially after the Arcobaleno had saved Blaise's life, but- It was a difficult situation. Even though Reborn had helped him with Voldemort and Basil, it fit into the job description of making Harry the next Don of the Vongola – someone who wasn't tied down by other obligations and dangers, relatively sane and with a full set of Guardians.

"How-" Harry started, after Reborn had sauntered over to him, but fell silent, when the other brunet shook his head.

To be honest, he wasn't even sure what he wanted to ask. How did you break the curse? How did we Harmonize? How does my future in the mafia look like? All of them, probably.

"It's better if you know as little as possible, especially of the next few months. It's going to be a turbulent time," Reborn stated determinedly, while fixing Harry with an unreadable look. "A challenging one."

That was probably one of the most foreboding things Harry'd ever heard, not just because of the words themselves, either, but because it was Reborn saying them – the same man who thought getting into Voldemort's headquarters and single-handedly killing most of the dark lord's inner circle was child's play. He couldn't help tensing up and asking for more information, after all, but all he got in return was one of Reborn's default smirks and a pat on the head. For a short moment, elegantly long, but strong fingers carded through his hair. He felt a tingle on his scalp, then one by one most of his muscles relaxed. Harry didn't understand why. Reborn didn't have Rain Flames, after all.

"Looks like you're enjoying life to the fullest," Shamal commented leeringly, obviously in a bid to change the topic, as he tapped a finger against his own neck. It was the same spot where Harry now noticed a love bite on the former Acrobaleno's. "Back in the dating, pool, huh?"

Amused, Reborn raised his left hand with a cocked eyebrow. It was adorned with a simple gold ring.

The apparently unexpected sight made Shamal gape.

"You're married ?"

"It would seem so, wouldn't it?" Reborn drawled, but Harry could see the fondness in his eyes, as he momentarily studied his wedding band.

"I'm glad, you're happy… and that things with the curse worked out," Harry knew how miserable it had made Reborn. He idly wondered whether he had helped breaking the curse or if the hitman had found another way to get rid of it.

"I am," Reborn agreed as he started to fiddle with the bracelet around his wrist. It was made out of silver or platinum and its surface was littered with tiny symbols that Harry didn't recognise.

"You asked me to give this to you." After unclasping it, Reborn grabbed the wizard's wrist and wrapped the bracelet around it. While doing so, he leant forward and whispered into Harry's ear. "I'm sorry for burdening you with the bond. You'll have to live without it for a while, but it'll come back, when the time's right." As soon as the clasp was closed, Reborn stepped back and disappeared with another puff of smoke.

The brunet had no time to wonder about the hitman's words or the sudden disappearance, because as soon as the Sun was gone, he was in agony .

This was nothing like the time he'd lost Basil. Their bond had weakened bit by bit, but the smallest tendril had always remained in the back of Harry's mind. It felt like someone had clawed his chest open and ripped the end of the bond right out of him, leaving only a yawning chasm of despair behind.

Harry heard the voices of his Guardians and friends, but their shouting sounded far away and fuzzy and why the hell couldn't he breathe ?

The last thing he noticed was darkness encroaching on his vision.

When Harry opened his eyes, he was lying in his hotel bed. For a long moment he just stared at the ceiling, trying to understand what had happened. Slowly but surely he remembered the trip to the back of Mafia Island, Reborn and the bond that had broken barely a few minutes after it had formed. His chest still hurt something awful, but now it was a more manageable pain.

He turned his head and blinked at Spanner, who was staring at him with concern written all over his face. It was an expression Harry had seen too many times in the last few months. He raised his hand and smiled weakly, when Spanner gripped it with his own and settled next to Harry on the bed.

"You hyperventilated and passed out. Basil tried to help you with Rain Flames and Shamal with breathing exercises, but neither worked. What happened? Did he hurt you?"

Harry wasn't sure if he should reveal what had happened, at least for now, but he barely had any secrets from his brother. If there was one person he could confide in, it was Spanner.

"We Harmonized. He was my… Sun and then he disappeared and the bond snapped ."

God, even thinking back to the first few minutes caused his breathing to pick up pace. He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down again. Spanner squeezed his hand in comfort.

"Then you'll probably Harmonize in the future and when he came back to this time, the Sky side of the bond was temporarily transferred to you," the blond mused. He didn't even look surprised, that there'd be ever a time that Reborn would be his brother's Sun. "Apparently that cow brat has something called a Ten-Year-Bazooka. It switches a person with their future self for five minutes. That reminds me- Someone seems to have obliviated Reborn. He can't remember anything from his trip to the future. "

"Sounds impossible," Harry mumbled and dragged a hand over his face. He was exhausted - physically, emotionally and mentally. "Harmonizing with him in the future, I mean. It feels like a wound that just keeps bleeding."

But hadn't the older Reborn said something similar? He'd apologised for the bond and told him it would take some time until he'd have it back. And also-

The brunet raised his arm and studied the bracelet around his wrist.

"Any idea what it is?" Spanner asked with a curious tilt of his head.

"No. It's got magic in it, though. Guess I'll find out in time." He'd show it to Severus and Hermione as soon as possible. Maybe one of them would recognise the symbols and knew what their purpose was. "How's Tsunayoshi?"

"Pretty out of it. He hasn't talked at all since coming back, as far as I know. We brought you both back to the hotel. I think the plan is to meet up again, when you both feel better."

Harry suspected he wouldn't feel better for a long time to come.

He also had no idea how to face the Reborn that was still an Arcobaleno.