A.N. at bottom, read if you want questions answered
The walk back should have been awkward.
It should have been strained with uneven knowledge (Harry), secrets (also Harry), and sexual tension (Skull. Just Skull. Definitely not Harry. Nope.).
Instead it was easy. Simple. Like two old friends.
The thought almost made Harry trip.
Harmony is pretty terrifying. Harry thought ruefully, ignoring Skull's concerned glance. Taking two complete strangers and making them into…Harry shook his head. Regardless, he now had one of his Elements. Checkers was going to be pissed.
The man had made it a point to keep any and all Elements away from Harry whenever he could. For some reason, he had never wanted to see Harry Bond.
Harry's face darkened.
After Cedric, Harry could almost understand.
The pain he had felt, the choices he had made, no. Harry hadn't handled Cedric's…passing…well. Not in any sense of the word. If that had been what Checkers was protecting him from, then yeah. Harry almost got it.
But only almost.
Glancing at Skull, standing by his side, Harry couldn't quite regret it.
Yes the bond had been abrupt, yes neither had had any warning, and yes Harry knew he was dragging Skull into not only the Mafia, but the Magic world as well, but.
But.
Harry had always been a possessive little shit.
It came with having everything taken from you as a child. You started to treasure precious things. Pull them so close and so tight, that they could never be pried away. Even now, Harry kept his invisibility cloak in an extended moleskin pouch. His old Holly wand and his resurrection stone remained close companions. Always.
To have an Element, a Guardian again, after what happened to the last…it was hitting every last one of his possessive tendencies.
Guardians weren't just subordinates.
They were family.
And if there was anything Harry had always wanted, it was family. So Harry would hold tight (so so tight) and hoard any and all Elements he bonded with. They would be his and under his protection and as the proclaimed Man-Who-Conquered, they would be safe. What happened to his Rain, to Cedric, would never happen again.
A hand broke Harry's thoughts.
"You okay?" Skull asked, voice oddly gently. He had been alarmed by the increasingly dark features on his Sky's (he had a Sky!) face, but felt oddly content at the same time. So he was only a little surprised to see the Orange eyes that greeted him.
Harry gave Skull a tight smile.
Yes, he would protect what was his. He wasn't weak like before. He could keep them safe.
"Brilliant." Harry assured.
Never again, Harry swore to himself, eyes glowing brighter at his resolve.
And if Skull walked a little closer, Harry wasn't saying anything.
Sometimes, Harry wondered if he had been a serial killer in his past life.
Maybe an arsonist? A politician? A tea-hater?!
What else could have given him this kind of luck?
Standing in front of the rendezvous point, it was all Harry could do not to vibrate out of his skin.
Everything itched and felt alternatively too hot and too cold. His skin crawled and his breathe came in small pants. Harry shuddered.
His instincts were screaming.
GogogogogogogoHURRYUPgogogogoMOVE!
It was the tugging he felt towards Skull only a thousand times worse. Even his Flames were acting up, withering and pulsing and demanding to be let loose.
A glance towards Skull assured Harry of his companion's similar state.
It was obviously weaker for the Cloud, but the discomforted frown told Harry all he needed to know.
"Should we- are you sure-?" Skull tried to ask, confused and worried. Their Bond urging him to look to his Sky for reassurance, though from what Skull had no idea.
"We need to go." Harry answered firmly. He had a sneaking suspicion about why his Flames were this excited, and if he was right…it would be worth it.
He would murder Checkers for it, but a quick 'thank you' beforehand wouldn't be misplaced.
Skull shot his Sky a disbelieving look that actually made Harry blush.
Yeah, it wasn't the best idea, but was the are-you-stupid look really necessary? From Skull?
"Shut up." Harry muttered, the textbook definition of disgruntled.
"Didn't say anything." Skull shot back, a small laugh hidden in his tone despite the obvious nerves.
"You didn't have too." Harry grumbled, only half for show. Making a point to walk ahead of his unfairly happy Cloud, Harry approached the ballroom that had been rented for the meeting (and really Checkers? A ballroom?).
Comforted by the feel of Skull's flames at his back, Harry pulled open the double doors.
And almost immediately regretted it.
The room itself was mysteriously (purposefully) dark, and the harsh light of the hallway only highlighted the two newcomers.
Trying to look as casual as possible, Harry took a moment to glance around the room only to feel his murderous impulse towards checkers rise again. Seven high backed (and frankly very uncomfortable looking) chairs framed a round table. They weren't ornate but nor were they simple. Large crystals sat at the top of each chair, each Harry recognized as Flame identifiers.
Checkers had used them to help Harry draw out the individual flames within his Sky Flames. It had been long and tiring, and he would never be very good at Lightning (as the rest of his flames had literally spent years trying to suppress the extra volume) but he had an otherwise, fairly good handle on the others.
But that wasn't why Harry was subtly freaking out (though not as subtly as he'd like if the looks Mr. Sun was sending him meant anything). Rather, it was the idea that he would have to release his currently way too excited Sky Flames in a room full of the other strongest Flame users while he still had only one of his Elements.
Forget the thank-you.
Checkers was going down (and if Harry had to ignore the fact that he had never won even one of their spars, that was fine. Checkers was still going down.)
Casually maneuvering so that he was between the unknown Elements and his Cloud, Harry guided Skull carefully to the only two seats left (that were thankfully together).
Harry was pleasantly surprised when Skull didn't have to ask what to do, and reached out to the crystal above his chosen chair. Which just so happened to be directly to the right of Harry's (and if anyone saw Skull's smug grin they were polite enough not to say anything).
A brilliant, deep violet filled the room for a long moment, before fading out, leaving only a purple crystal behind. A long enough moment for Harry to identify most of the previous unknowns.
Mafia's Most Renowned Scientist (was that an alligator!?). Check.
Triad's Best Assassin(a monkey?). Check.
World's Greatest Hitman (Chameleon….?Checkers was dead dead dead). Check.
Harry freely admitted to having no clue on who the Mist was (those illusions were amazing) and couldn't bring himself to examine who resided under Rain. Not now.
Just as Harry had gathered enough control to feel safe(ish) about igniting the crystal, a voice interrupted his focus.
"You're joking. You're the World's Strongest Cloud?" A skeptical voice asked derisively. Harry bristled.
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Skull demanded back, shooting a glare at the World's Greatest Hitman.
"You look more like a circus reject than a Flame user-" But those side burns…everyone thought, sweat dropping "-, what Famiglia do you belong to, lackey?"
"I would appreciate, if you refrained from using that term, Rentaro." Harry broke in softly, voice low with promise. "As to what Famiglia he belongs, well, that isn't your business, now is it?" Harry continued almost idly.
Rentaro sneered.
"And who are you brat?"
Harry felt more than saw Skull stiffen beside him. In an effort to save his (and most likely everyone else's) eardrums, Harry did the only thing he could think of that would put the errant Sun in his place.
He ignited his Flames.
An interesting fact about Sky Flames, they're borderline sentient.
Any Flame can take an echo of the person who owns them, but Sky Flames took it a little farther, they had an Instinct. It wasn't anything as accurate as the Vongola Sky Flames, but all Sky's did have a little extra Intuition to guide them. It came from having the ability to understand others on such a deep and resonating level.
After all, how could you not know how to react to someone, when you know them better than their best friend?
And so when Harry used his Intuition to look, he expected the haughtiness, the arrogance, the superiority. He expected all the negatives he could imagine compiling themselves in a neat little list awaiting his perusal.
At least, he had.
But Harry's Instinct whispered about not a proud man, but an infinitely lonely one.
A man who had searched long and hard for the one thing all Elements longed for, only to be disappointed time and time again. Because what Harry had thought earlier was painfully rare.
Elements were treated as subordinates by most Sky's because they were, in fact, weaker.
A Sky could take weaker Elements, but an Element could never take a weaker Sky. The Element physically could not submit. No matter the Sky's enticements or attempts, the Element would remain impossible to reach.
And as Harry looked, his Instinct weaved him a tale of failure after failure after failure for a man who only ever expected the best from himself. A tale of a man who, even though he knew, even though he knew it wasn't his fault, struggled with rejection over and over until he damaged his Flame so much he had eventually held all Sky's in contempt, if only to not hate himself.
So Harry did the only thing he'd ever done when he'd seen something hurt and small and afraid.
He reached out.
With no care to the consequence or any memory of past transgressions.
It was the Platform all over again. Even though Harry had known the broken creature under the tables was Voldemort, the man who had ruined Harry's life, hunted him, hurt him, killed him, even then, Harry had wanted nothing more than to wrap the pitiful creature in his arms and heal it. It's broken Flame had all but begged to be soothed, and if it hadn't been for Dumbledore's timely arrival, Harry could admit he would have.
That didn't mean however, that he didn't regret the choice immediately after.
Because Harry had forgotten.
Forgotten that it wasn't just the unattached Sun in the room when he spread his Flame out.
Forgotten that all the Elements in the room had probably suffered the exact same problem as the Sun Element and were just as eager if not more so to finally gain a Sky.
Forgotten how untamable his Sky Flame had been just before he entered the room.
So the following black out wasn't half as undeserving as it should have been.
I'm an idiot Harry thought, resigned.
When Harry came to, it wasn't (thankfully) to an anxious group of newly minted Guardians, nor was it to the stark white of a hospital room.
Instead, it was to a large Checkered Mask, which promptly dodged the haphazard punch aimed at it.
"You suck." Harry managed to bite out before collapsing back on whatever he was laid on.
"You were supposed to be smarter." Checkers shot back, the tiniest trace of relief coloring his voice. So tiny, Harry wondered if he imagined it. "In fact, if you hadn't already Bonded to that Cloud of yours (and so recently too) the influx of Bonds would have killed you."
Harry groaned. So even the one thing his Flame was designed for had almost killed him. Great. He'd have to add it to the ongoing list of other things that had almost killed him later.
"Are they-?"
"Fine? Yes. The Bond was as magical as it was supposed to be for them as it would have been for you, if you had had the common sense to Bond to each individually." Checkers stressed, almost irritated.
"Where-"
"Outside." Checkers answered easily enough. "They seem a good sort. Almost wouldn't leave me alone with you, I had to give them proof I knew you already." Harry cracked open an eye.
"Proof?" Harry asked, almost having to drag the word out.
"Oh yes." Checkers practically gloated. "It was a wonderful opportunity to showcase your childhood. Your Mist drives a very hard bargain."
Harry choked.
"You showed them pictures of me as a kid? And then you sold them? When did you even take them?" Harry demanded, confused and vexed. What the actual-!?
"Now now, Hadrian. Is that really the proper way to thank someone? I did gather all your Elements for you." Checkers said condescendingly.
"I wondered why you tried to keep me away from other Elements." Harry commented tiredly, before tensing. "Wait. But what about-"
"Your new Rain? Yes, that is going to be an issue. The loss of your previous Rain Guardian left a rather nasty mark on your Flames. You remember the lesson on Flame Sentience?" Checkers asked seriously. Harry barely had time to nod before he continued. "Yes, well, it seems your Flame took the loss even harder than you did. It became startlingly greedy about those with the Rain Flame. Apparently, my original applicant was followed by an interloper, one who by Fate's lucky mistake, also has a Rain Flame."
"Wait, so you mean-"
"Yes, yes. Congratulations on having two Rain Guardians. I'll leave the explaining to you." Checkers sniffed.
Harry wanted to crawl under a rock.
"Checkers….I don't know if I can do this. Not just one but two…" Harry trailed off. And he truly wasn't.
Losing his Rain Guardian, his first Guardian, had left him in a very dark place. It had taken every bad emotion Harry barely realized he had and shoved it in his face. It took the combined efforts of his friends, teachers, and Checkers to bring him back and even then…it had been close.
To have not just one but two more chances of it happening again-
It scared him.
"They are waiting outside. I think I'll inform them of their Sky's latest status." Checkers commented airily, as though he wasn't aware of the mental battle Harry was fighting, as though he wasn't about to flood him with his new Guardians in an effort to distract him. "Ta ta now~"
Harry dragged himself away from the clawing thoughts just in time to hear the tail end of an argument.
"-didn't even know his name, so what gives you-"
"-still first and that already gives me enough-"
"-the hell were you thinking following me-"
"-sorry but I had to do something. It was so suspicious-"
"Hadrian!" A Chinese man in a red called, successfully diverting everyone's attention.
Harry shot him a look. I-know-what-your-doing-and-I-don't-approve.
The man gave a sheepish smile in return. Sorry-but-it-was-necessary.
"You." Rentaro suddenly snarled. Harry felt his eyes widen.
"Me?" He asked weakly. Rentaro gave him a dark look and Harry was honestly surprised to see Skull and a few of the others copy it.
"Yes, you. What were you thinking?" Rentaro continued, anger coloring his every action. "You could have died. Bonding us all like that. Did you not remember what happened when you Bonded that idiota?" He ranted, ignoring Skulls indignant 'Hey!'. "And that was only one person! We did not finally find a Sky strong enough to Bond us only for him to die out of stupidity."
Harry could only blink, admittedly bewildered at his Elements anger.
Waiting a moment to make sure he wasn't interrupting the highly agitated Hitman in front of him, Harry slowly replied, "I wasn't thinking. As you said, I had only just bonded with Skull and was running more or less on Instinct. When you brought my attention to you-" At this Skull seemed to bristle all over, much to Harry's hidden amusement, "-I got something of a sneak peek and, you, well…" Harry trailed off, unsure if Rentaro would want him to continue.
At the Hitman's impatient nod, Harry finished softly, "You were hurting." And Harry almost winced at the sheer coarseness his own voice took.
Looking up at the rest of the group surrounding him, Harry steeled himself, "You all were. And I was still too raw to guard against it. It just hit me. All the loneliness, all the pain. I could feel all of it. Everything came up and I just wanted it to stop. I wanted you all to stop, so I did the only thing I could."
The silence stretched. Harry shifted and looked away, uncomfortable with the stares he was getting.
"You did something almost fatal because you thought we were in pain?" A soft voice asked. Too soft for Harry to identify without looking.
"I didn't think." Harry argued gently, still looking away. "I knew." And no one had a response to that.
"How old are you?" Rentaro asked suddenly. Harry couldn't help but give his Sun Guardian (and oh fuck he had a full set of Guardians. Hell, he had more than a full set) a curious look.
"Sixteen." Harry answered.
"Parents?"
Now Harry was even more curious.
"Dead." That got a few raised brows, but no one commented.
"Guardians?"
Harry gave the man a dry look.
"As in legal guardians." Rentaro clarified already exasperated. This poor man. He has no idea. Harry thought, reminded for a moment of his old Potions professor.
Harry considered the question. Technically? "None." Harry answered.
Rentaro nodded, as though the answer had been expected. Harry frowned lightly at that. He wasn't that bad, was he?
"Good. I'm adopting you." Rentaro stated to a shocked Harry.
"Wha-"
"Hey, wait a minute, kora! Why do you get to adopt him?" A blonde man demanded angrily only to be hit in the head by a pretty women with blue (?!) hair.
"Shut up, idiot student! You have no right to talk! Where would you put him? In your bunker?" The woman scolded. Harry couldn't help a small surge of vindication at the man's pained look. He liked the lady already.
"If anyone should take him in, it's me." The woman continued. And there went the like.
"Ha! The Great Skull will adopt Hadrian!" Skull yelled.
Rentaro sneered, "Please, you look like you're barely old enough to drink."
"The Great Skull is 19!"
"Even worse." Rentaro scoffed.
"Ah," The Chinese man injected. "I believe our Sky has something to say about his living status." Harry decided then and there that the Chinese Storm was his new favorite. And if the smile his Storm sent back was of any indication, he knew it to.
"Thank you- erm. Actually, I don't know half your names." Harry confessed sheepishly. The Chinese man nodded.
"Understandable. We did not have time for introductions. I am Fong." Fong said softly, bowing lightly towards Harry.
"A pleasure to meet you Fong." Harry greeted back, a soft smile growing on his face. Fong seemed to stare at Harry's face intently before Skull broke in.
"AND I AM THE GREAT SKULL-ack!" Skull cried out as The Blonde man hit him.
"He already knows who you are, kora!" The man yelled at the downed teen. "My name is Colonnello, Kora!" Colonnello announced, offering a hand to Harry.
Taking it, Harry let out an amused huff. "A pleasure, Colonnello. Please refrain from assaulting fellow Guardians. The same for you , Ms...?" Harry asked. The woman huffed.
"Lal Mirch. And that Idiot is my Student. It's discipline."
This time Harry laughed.
"Well, far be it that I interfere with such a bond." Harry agreed lightly. "Just don't go overboard, yeah?" The grudging nod was enough for Harry. Turning expectantly, Harry waited for his Mist.
"Mou, it will cost you." His Mist sniffed. Shrugging, Harry pulled out some Euro's from his pocket.
"This enough?" He asked.
"Viper." Was all he got in response.
Harry made it a point to smile especially bright at the man.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Viper." Harry said as sincerely as he could. He knew the type. Defensive, difficult, careful, and most importantly, damaged. He would have to tread carefully or risk alienating his Mist Guardian.
"Verde." The man with green hair and an alligator stated, before returning to the monitor (and Harry swears that wasn't there a second ago-?!).
"Pleased to meet you, Verde." Harry said, a little bemused.
Continuing, he barely had time to look at the Hitman before he started speaking.
"My name is Rentaro, but you already knew that. I am adopting you." Rentaro simultaneously announced and demanded.
"It's nice to meet you Rentaro, and no. You aren't." Harry replied pleasantly, smile just this side of nice. The room seemed to grow colder and the shadows lengthen, but Harry kept his smile firmly in place.
"None of you are adopting me-" And hello winter."-because I am emancipated." Harry finished, smile as large as ever.
"In what country?" Rentaro asked.
"That's…actually going to be quite a story-" Harry began only to be cut off when his moleskin bag began to vibrate.
"Sorry, I need to take this." Harry said, apologetically, before pulling out a small, handheld mirror.
"What-?" Was all Harry heard before Draco's irritated drawl cut in.
"About time you picked up, Potter."
"I was indisposed." Harry replied, using the same drawl. Draco's eyes narrowed.
"The only time you're 'indisposed' is when you're either in the shower or mortally wounded. And even then, the shower is a tossup. What moronically noble thing did you do this time?"
"What makes you think it was noble?" Harry shot back. He could admit to moronic (fighting a Basilisk at twelve wasn't one of his brightest ideas) but he had hardly been noble in a long time.
"You're Gryffindor's Golden Boy. Of course you were doing something disgustingly noble. Regardless, are you healed?" Draco continued with oh so much concern. Not.
"I'm fine Drac. What do you want?" Harry asked tiredly.
"Don't take that tone with me. I wasn't the one who left with only a day's warning for an undetermined amount of time. Honestly Potter, if you wanted to go on vacation, you couldn't have chosen a worse time." Draco whin- erm, scolded.
"I didn't get much warning either Draco. And would you use my first name already? I think we've tried to kill each other often enough to warrant it." Harry said dryly. Harry made a point to ignore the others reactions.
"Hmph. You are my employer as of right now. It would be far from appropriate" Draco stated, a sliver of humor in his otherwise steely grey eyes. Harry shot the blonde a wry smile.
"Speaking of which, the original reason I mirrored you was because the Ministry was being even worse than usual." Draco stated seriously, the glint of humor in his eyes long gone.
"How do you mean?" Harry asked warily. They'd been bad when they were pretending the Death Eater attacks were from Trolls, for Draco to say they'd gotten worse.
"They're trying to put a ban on all Dark Magic." Draco explained grimly.
"All of it?!"
Draco nodded once. "All of it."
"Who wrote the bill?" Harry asked.
"Who do you think?"
"Fudge." Harry growled.
"The man is paranoid, Hadrian. He's desperate to keep what little power he has left, and if banning an entire branch of magic will help.."
"But that's insane!" Harry cried, truly astounded at the man's stupidity. "The number of people he'll have ticked off alone…he really has gone off the deep end." Harry realized, s little shocked.
"The bill is going to be presented at the next assembly. What do you want to do?"
"What are our options?" Harry asked. Draco was right. This had been an awful time.
"We could consolidate our own sources, veto it. It would be simple enough. The amount of sway you have since killing that man is borderline cult. However, that wouldn't keep him down long. He'd merely wait for the next gathering, and you know how these people are. Eventually they'll say 'yes' just to get rid of him." Draco offered.
"Yes, I see your point. But the man isn't exactly original. There's a root. I want you to find it for me, Draco." Harry ordered. "Find it and then get back to me. I'll deal with it. Until then, hold Fudge off."
Draco gave a tight nod. "Understood." Harry sighed.
"Thank you for informing me Drac, I know this is beyond your job."
Draco scoffed.
"If all I ever did was my job, I'd be bored to tears. Besides, your money is fine." And with that lovely farewell, Draco hung up.
"Prick." Harry muttered fondly, before putting his half of the mirror pair away. Only to wish he had kept it out so that he at least had something to use to hide from all the incredulous stares he was getting.
"You're magic?" Hello Rain Duo, great synchrony you got there.
"You talked through a mirror?" Skull really needs to sort out his priorities.
"How did you fit something so large into that ouch? That makes absolutely no sense. Two objects can't exist in the same space simultaneously. Do you have no respect for physics?" Harry couldn't decide if he was amused at Verde's conundrum or concerned at the shade of red he was turning.
"…" Fong's shocked silence said enough.
"You hired someone who tried to kill you to do your finances?" Was Rentaro's complaint. Harry actually took a moment to think about that.
"He was tenacious, cut throat, and completely fine with other people getting hurt if it meant killing me. What else would I hire him for?" Harry asked, a little confused at the Hitman's question. Especially when he saw Viper nodding along to his explanation. Harry wasn't the only one to think of this.
"If it makes you feel any better, he has a strict 'no-kill' policy for clients." Harry offered. "Said it would be bad for business if customers started dropping dead." Harry continued wisely, bolstered by Vipers continued agreement. Harry could have sworn the Mist was sending him a small smile of approval.
"That isn't-. Never mind. So you are emancipated according to whatever government…magic people are beholden to?" Rentaro asked resigned. Harry couldn't shake the feeling it had something to do with the finance situation. Honestly, Harry wasn't sure he felt all too safe with anyone so focused on his money.
"Yes, as well as the English government. The Queen and Prime Minister are aware of us and take care of the muggle side of things."
"Muggle?" Fong asked. Harry smiled reassuringly at him. The poor guy had probably been in a bad case of shock earlier.
"It's a term for non-magical people, sort of like how Mafia members call others civilians. There's also a parallel to Omerta, but." Harry shrugged. He was Bonded to these people. If the Ministry had a problem with him telling them about magic, they could take it up with his lawyers.
"Can you show us some magic? Other than the mirror thing?" Skull asked, excited. Harry smiled a little ruefully.
"Sorry, no. I'm emancipated sure, but that doesn't stop me from being underage. I can't use magic for another three weeks."
"What happens in three weeks, kora?" Colonnello asked.
"I turn seventeen." Harry explained. "At seventeen, all wizards and witches (yes, yes, I know how ridiculous our names are, thank you) are considered of age."
Rentaro's eyes took on a strange gleam.
"When you say 'of age', do you mean the standard package? Alcohol, freedom, marriage?"
"Well, I suppose." Harry answered a little unsure. "We get all the rights recognized adults get, so yes? Only with the addition of magic. They even give out I.D.'s for if we're ever in the Muggle world."
"Alright. Then I won't adopt you." Rentaro stated to Harry's immense relief. Which died a brutal death as soon as Rentaro opened his mouth a second time. "Instead, we'll get married."
A ringing silence followed the Hitman's announcement
For a moment, Harry tried to understand exactly what his Sun Guardian said. Then his brain quit.
"WHAT?! NO WAY! If anyone is marrying Hadrian, It's me!" Skull shouted, shattering the silence.
Rentaro approached the bed and slipped a stunned Harry easily into his arms.
"Why? Because you Bonded first? Big deal. Hadrian needs someone to keep him out of trouble. As his husband-" Hahaha, apparently Harry brain could still fry even on vacation "-I'll be able to ensure it."
"I'm not just his first Bond." Skull argued. "I'm his first kiss." He finished smugly.
Rentaro shrugged. "I'll take all his others."
And before anyone could properly process what the Hitman had said, Harry found himself in another kiss.
With another man.
In less than two days.
Again.
Making an (extremely) belated sound of shock, Harry almost had a heart attack when Rentaro's tongue joined his lips. It didn't take long for Harry to begin to feel the lack of air keenly.
Gasping was apparently all the invitation the Hitman needed, because the tongue easily moved from Harry's lips to the inside of his mouth. It felt…good. Amazing, actually. Rentaro clearly knew what he was doing, and before he knew it, Harry was kissing back. The dominating organ had turned playful, and slowly coaxed Harry's own into pleasurable flurry of nips and licks. The sound of a moan broke Harry out of it.
Blushing worse than he'd ever done before, Harry made to scramble out of his Sun Guardians lap, only to be held by the steel bars Rentaro had the audacity to call arms. Lacking any other place to hide, Harry ducked his face into the Hitman's chest where he planned to stay for the rest of his life. Everything else be damned.
"You just-"
"Yep."
"We just-."
"Indeed."
The sound Harry made was not human.
The loaded silence was broken by the sound of several angry outbursts.
"YOU LITTLE-"
"-still not legal you filthy-"
"-can't believe you, kora!"
"-going to cost you so much-"
"-needed a new test subject, you just volunteered-"
"-not even my idiot student-"
"Hello~ How's everything going in there?" A familiar voice asked, Checkered mask poking in.
Harry whipped his face out of Rentaro's chest. Eyes pleading, he sent his most beseeching look to his years old mentor.
For a moment the two shared a gaze, eyes locked, message passed.
"Well, I see you're all doing well. Just thought I'd tell you dinner is here~ Have fun!" Checker Face announced before quickly leaving, the yell 'TRAITOR' following him as he walked merrily down the hall.
Ah students, Checker Face thought, listening to the sounds of a scuffle that quickly followed the yell. They grow up so fast.
Omake: (Where the Sun finally shone)
Rentaro was trying very hard to not glance at the clock. Again.
It probably hadn't changed the last time I checked it, there is no reason for it to have changed now. He reasoned to himself.
A look later told him he was right.
Cazzo.
It wasn't that Rentaro was nervous (he was the World's Greatest). Of course not.
It was merely that his razor sharp wit was easily capable of imagining the series of potential traps this little…get together could be.
Sure he had (triple) checked the authenticity and contacted (several) an expert to confirm, but still.
He had only just gained the title. The idea that a competitor could have set this up was…not unnerving, just a little concerning.
And if the competition was anywhere near as thorough as Rentaro was-
But of course it wasn't.
He definitely didn't startle when the double doors suddenly filled the room with light. Another look confirmed Rentaro's original thought.
They were late.
Rentaro hated tardiness.
Already grumpy antsy, Rentaro could admit to being less than amenable when he noticed the ridiculous get up the taller one was wearing. He was even more surprised irritated when he saw what Flame he wielded.
"You're joking. You're the World's Strongest Cloud?" Rentaro scoffed, derisive. That had to be a joke.
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" The Offensive Purple Spot whined.
"You look more like a circus reject than a Flame user, what Famiglia do you belong to, lackey?" And as far as Rentaro, that was all the boy could ever amount to. He was little more than a child. He shouldn't have even been involved in any of this. Didn't he know how dangerous the Mafia was? The lackey would be killed in a heartbeat. Rentaro was doing him a favor, scaring him away.
Especially since the Offensive Purple Spot was spineless, if the way he cowered so easily at Rentaro's glare was any indication.
Pathetic .
"I would appreciate, if you refrained from using that term, Rentaro." A second voice broke in. Rentaro was surprised at how threatened he suddenly felt. "As to what Famiglia he belongs, well, that isn't your business, now is it?" Rentaro almost regretted examining the other person. Or should he say kid. If he had thought the other one was young…
Fucking hell.
"And who are you brat?" He sneered. If he was wary about the Cloud's joining, it was nothing compared to his reaction to the youngest.
Children. They were dragging children in. Rentaro thought shakily. Even if they were the Strongest, they were too young. Way too young to know the pain of being so powerful. Of never belonging.
No.
He'd chase them out. He had to.
At least, that had been the plan. Until the shortest ignited a brilliant Orange Flame and everything got hazy.
Against his will, Rentaro could feel the memory of his every failed attempt to Bond replay in his head like some horrifying nightmare. He thrashed and fought, but the memories sucked him back in every time. The pain of his Flame being Rejected time and time again had almost consumed him completely when he felt a secondary presence.
Without a thought, Rentaro clung to the new being with a feral desperation. And saw light.
Strong and shinning and warm.
It was kindness and acceptance, affection and trust. And it soothed an ache so deep, it was all Rentaro could do not to stretch out like a contented cat after a long rub.
He was relaxed.
For someone who had spent most of his childhood and adolescence killing and hiding and struggling; for someone who had fought his way through miles of blood, guilty and innocent; for someone who always had one eye open and a back to the wall….it was everything.
For the first time in a long time, Rentaro felt at peace.
And he would do anything to keep it.
A.N.:
Holy cow! Guys! You're all awesome!
Thanks for the amazing responses. I honestly wasn't expecting my story to get any attention. At all. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy.
Okay quick things I'm going to clarify:
HARRY IS THE MASTER OF DEATH
LAL MIRCH AND COLONNELLO ARE BOTH HIS RAIN GUARDIANS
SKULL IS 19
REBORN IS 24
FONG IS 25
VIPER IS Who the hell know's?
LAL MIRCH IS 24
COLONNELLO IS 23
If you have any questions feel free to ask, I will do my best to answer, but please be patient. There will be no GRAPHIC SEX until Harry is AT LEASET SEVENTEEN. Everything will be consensual.
Please please please understand that the main plot (TSUNA AND THE LOT) will NOT be showing up for a loooooooooong time. Like, at least 20 or so chapters. It's for plot reasons. They're all bonded now, sure, but as you can see, they are faaarrr from cohesive. Harry is not the type to put up with that bullshit.
He will straighten them out, or die trying.
So be prepared.
ALSO, I may open a poll on what relationships you want to see. This is definitely an HARRY X ALL!ACROBALENO, but I'm okay with side pairings. Just don't expect them too soon.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL BEING FANTASTIC VIEWERS. I'M NOT FUCKING KIDDING. YOU'RE ALL AWESOME.