Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Another chapter – yay! Ah, the first one got such a good reception – I mean, over 35 faves and 55 follows in less than a day! I mean, wow!
Also, my thanks to cross-over-lover232 who I have been bouncing ideas off – they have really helped me, and have given me sweet ideas!
~Nom Nom :3
PS: In the chapter before I wrote a PS that said it will be a Hana/Toko pairing. I've decided against this now. That's because as many pointed out, they don't go. I also have a different pairing in mind (don't say anything cross-over-lover232) so I've changed it.
PPS: I forgot to say this last chapter, but the HP timeline is moved forward to fit into the KHR timeline.
IMPORTANT: When either two or more languages are spoken:
"Japanese"
"English"
"Italian"
"Spells"
'Thinking'/'Telepathic Bond'
The Potter That Wasn't
Chapter 2: A New Life
Hogwarts, England
Headmaster Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was currently having a grand time. This year he had just diverted a catastrophe, but for neither reason one would think. It was neither with the werewolf Remus Lupin and his little lapse of control, nor the notorious Azkaban escapee Sirius Black and his mistaken attempts to murder Harry, but with the rat – and the true betrayer of the Potters – Peter Pettigrew.
He knew who was at fault from the start, as he was the spell caster of the Fidlius Charm. But he needed the boy to be broken, and a life with Sirius Black wouldn't do. So Dumbledore pushed for outright imprisonment of the man, and considering how he was both disowned from the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black and accused of the betrayal of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, it was easily done.
If the rat hadn't gotten away, the innocence of Sirius Black would be obvious, and thus guardianship of Harry Potter would be rightfully his, meaning all the wards around Privet Drive would collapse too soon, and all his hard work would've been ruined. The "blood wards" – which were really just illusion wards and hate wards were key in making a mouldable weapon for the Light, and for others who saw the boy would see him pampered like a god. To save the Wizarding World from itself required sacrifice, and if that meant that one life was to be destroyed and many more damaged in the process, so be it.
But, of course, he wouldn't allow Harry to save the Wizarding World by himself. No, that would make him too powerful. So Dumbledore chose two companions to be with Harry, to be the 'other heroes' of the Wizarding World.
The first person he chose was the muggleborn girl Hermione Jean Grander, who right at that moment sat alone in the middle of the Gryffindor table, a nose buried in a book, looking like a typical book-worm Ravenclaw. She suited his plans perfectly: a muggleborn who could achive things that many wizards could only dream of? She would become an icon to muggleborns everywhere, very much like Lily Potter neé Evans was to her generation. However, she also held the important role of carrying Harry through his school years.
When Harry was younger, he showed extreme intelligence, the likes of which made him a prodigy, but Dumbledore couldn't allow that. No, it would make him too independent. So, the best course of action was to curb this desire to succeed, but to also make him reluctant to share his household abuse (after a close call with the muggle Auroras), and the only thing that fitted the bill was the Acedia potion, the sin of sloth from the Septem Mortalia Peccata potions – the 'Seven Deadly Sins'.
He was no stranger to the Septem Mortalia Peccata potions, no one was: it was a compulsory part of both the Potions and History of Magic OWLs for the past eight hundred and fifty years. They were, after all, both the first potions ever created by wizarding kind and still, to this very day, the most powerful dark potions in existence. The only reason that such dark potions are common knowledge is the fact that they were thought to be unbrewable now, as most – if not all – of the ingredients are from creatures and species long lost.
In fact, Dumbledore could probably say he was the only person in the last five hundred years to have actually brewed any, never mind four of them. This was only because of his extensive knowledge of both the magical and muggle world, with the Potter fortune at his disposal (curtsy of being Harry Potter's magical guardian) and with the Elder Wand, one of the Deathly Hollows, in his position that he found out ways to get the ingredients. Apparently, muggles have found fossilised remains of extinct magical creatures, and assumed them to be from millions of years ago, creating species that they know through 'evolution'. They were easily obtainable too: gold in the correct places and spells on certain individuals erased the fossils from the map and, with the power of the Elder Wand, he was able to use Phoenix Tears to revitalise the ingredients. One such example was the femur of an Indonesian No-Wings, an extinct dragon subspecies that the muggles have dubbed 'Tyrannosaurus Rex'.
The Septem Mortalia Peccata potions all represented a sin. It was said the brewer was a jealous man, a man who wanted everything others had and stopped at nothing to get it, even combining the darkest and foulest of earth's creatures to do so. And, from his hatred, he created seven sinful potions.
The sin of lust, the Luxuria potion: stronger than even Amortentia, the Luxuria potion is able to create infatuation of the drinker depending on how much is consumed. It can range from simply drawing the drinker's eyes down to complete and enthralment.
The sin of gluttony, the Gula potion: the Gula potion is able to create the need for consumption manipulating the body's metabolism so that it works incredibly quickly. It is usually considered the worst, as without constant food consumption, the body will eat itself. It is unique as it is the only potion of the seven that the victim is aware of.
The sin of greed, the Avaritia potion: the Avarita potion is able to manipulate the drinker to horde a certain thing, anything from gold to grass, that the brewer chooses. The drinker must horde these things, as their mind cannot find reason not to. If the drinker does not gather the required substance, the mind will deem itself as a failure and the drinker suffers from a brain aneurysm.
The sin of sloth, the Acedia potion: the Acedia potion is usually the most undermined potion of the seven, as the effects are not a severe as the others. It causes the lack of motivation, and amplifies present fears and distrust of others. It was mainly used to isolate individuals.
The sin of wrath, the Ira potion: the Ira potion was the most deadly, potion. It binds with the drinker's magical core and causes extreme anger from the drinker. The drinker will proceed to attack anything in sight until their own magical core depletes and they die from magical exhaustion.
The sin of envy, the Invidia potion: perhaps the most feared potion out of the seven, the Invidia potion had the ability to transform the drinker into whatever appearance the brewer desired. However, because of how unnatural it was, the drinker's body suffers from malnutrition, pain and the overall degradation of their health.
The sin of pride, the Superbia potion: another undermined potion, the Superbia potion causes the drinker to feel heightened emotions which the brewer decided, and more rash. Depending on the dosage, the personality of the drinker may change.
In essence, they were the Unforgivables of the Potion world.
Dumbledore sighed. It was hard for him to feed those potions to an unsuspecting child. First was the Invidia potion, which he brewed to make the drinker look exactly like James Potter, except with Lily Potter's eyes. Yet finding the child was hard. Normally he would've used the real Harry Potter's magical signature, but the problem was he was born a squib. Therefore he had to improvise, and it resulted in him finding a suitable child in Japan, without being able to investigate the family. It was lucky for him though – they were in a fully muggle house so that meant the child was muggleborn, so he left it at that.
The second potion was the Acedia potion to curb the child, Harry's, intelligence. Then, before Hagrid visited him, Dumbledore slipped the Superbia potion into the child's meagre rations – constantly reminding himself that it was all for the greater good – so by the time Hagrid visited him, Harry would be ready to embrace his Gryffindor side.
It wouldn't do to have him in Slytherin.
Then finally it was the Luxuria potion. This one was a relatively new addition to the plan, but not an unwelcome one. The idea came to him after Harry's little adventure in the Chamber of Secrets, where the Weasley girl was kidnapped. He would constantly feed it to Harry in small doses until the end of his fifth year, when he would be absolutely devoted to the girl, and thus completely under his control. And therefore willing to die by Voldemort's hand.
A loud clattering snapped Dumbledore from his current train of thought. Looking towards the disturbance, he noticed the second 'hero' he had chosen, one Ronald Bilius Weasley, on the floor next to the Hufflepuff table, with both plates and food platters scattered both on him and on the floor.
The hall was silent for a moment before it erupted in laughter, mainly coming from the Slytherins and Gryffindors. Ron turned bright red before attempting to stand back up. However, both the pumpkin juice, gravy and mashed potatoes proved to stop him from doing anything but slide around – a remarkable resemblance to a fish on dry land.
"Can someone at least help me get up?" He shouted through the laughter. Hermione sighed dramatically and slammed her book shut with an awfully loud snap, her glare at the other students reminiscent of one of Professor Mcgonagall's. As the laughter died away, she turned to Ron, adopting an amused look.
"How did you actually manage this?" She asked gesturing to the Hufflepuff table, which had a good three seats worth of space cleared from where Ron had ran into it. "Did you run and jump onto it?"
Ron scowled. "Never mind that! Look at this!" He said thrusting a piece of parchment into her hands instead of his own. Hermione merely raised an eyebrow. He nodded and she sighed, reading the note. Rolling her eyes, she looked over to the Gryffindor table, frowned after about a minute before reading the letter again. There were still whispers in the hall, but the duo had the attention of the whole school.
"Ok this isn't funny." She said in a harsh voice. "Harry James Potter get here now!" She shouted towards the hall.
"Hermione!" Ron hissed. "Be quiet! We don't need everyone knowing!"
"Knowing what? That our best friend has ran away?" She shrieked, making Dumbledore freeze on the spot. He did what…? "That he-" She looked at the note. "-has decided that 'the Caribbean looks nice this time of year'? How did he even get out the school?"
"I can answer that Miss Granger." Snape drawled, entering the hall. He had his famous scowl on his face, yet it was more pronounced at that moment, his black cloak billowing behind him as if he was walking against a harsh wind. "It appears Mr Potter has decided to use my own personal Floo for himself. The ego on that boy knows no bounds."
"How did he get in Severus?" Professor Mcgonagall asked sharply. "Did you not ward your office from intrusion?"
Snape smirked. "The Headmaster enacted rules for students to be able to enter a Head of House's office encase of emergency."
Dumbledore felt his heart plummet as almost every student rushed out the hall, probably to write a letter to their parents on how the Boy-Who-Lived had slipped away on his watch. He sighed.
The Ministry of Magic will have his head.
Namimori, Japan
Toko opened his eyes and quickly sat up, instantly regretting it as he felt what may be his breakfast coming back up. A pair of gentle but firm hands pushed him back down, so he was lying back on the soft bed. Looking towards the owner of the hands, he saw… himself, or what he would've been if he was a pretty girl with brown hair. Her face looked almost like a replica of his own, except slightly softer. Her hands left his shoulders but they gripped his still hand. He didn't know how to respond. Should he grip back?
Her touch made him feel strange. Not uncomfortable like most did, but strange in a good way, slightly warm inside. Like he was finally whole again.
"Kyoko…" He whispered. She smiled.
"Hello, little brother." She said back. "You're back home, at last."
He nodded, and noticed that they were alone, no one else in the room. "Where are the others? Ryohei, Misaki and Ryuu?"
"That's mother and father to you!" She scolded lightly, remarkably similar to the way Hermione would with him and Ron. "Anyway, the healers wanted us to re-establish our Twin Bond."
"Twin Bond?" He echoed.
"A special bond formed with magical twins. It's something that I required by law to establish in Japan. It allows the twins to share things, such knowledge, emotions and even mentally communicate with one another. It will also boost our power."
Well, that explained why the Weasley twins were so… connected. He idly wondered if he and Kyoko would be able to do that.
"I get why then." Then he frowned. "But why is it law?"
Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "I thought mother explained about how our society worked and how it differed from European society."
"She did. It sounded nicer, without the blood fanatics and giving everyone equal footing, how ability is everything."
She shook her head. "You don't get it, but with mother painting that beautiful picture, I understand why." She sighed. "You should know about how on August 6th and 9th of 1945 the United States of America used nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki." He nodded. He hadn't been living under a rock when he was at the Dursleys. "What isn't known to the NMs is the fact that the radiation from the bombs affected the whole country. 95% of all magical folk died, and mutations in the blood made it so NMs which bear magic folk became significantly lower. Currently, the wizarding population in Japan is the lowest in the world, at about 5,000 for the whole country."
Toko blinked surprised. He didn't think there were that few wizarding folk in Japan.
"Because of our natural ability to utilise wandless magic, other countries see this as a threat, and want to end all Japanese Wizards. The only thing that deters them is our strength." She looked at him directly in the eyes, her voice low. "The Japanese may respect those with power and ability, but if you have neither, you are killed. They can't risk a war if it is revealed that we are not all born strong."
Toko felt cold. That was worse than the blood status hierarchy in Europe! Yet, it made sense, unlike the blood status hierarchy. Not only would their lives be endangered, but the whole muggle – no, non magical population be endangered. It was basically the needs of the few against the needs of the many. It was obvious what was more important.
"Father is a prodigy, and is currently a high-ranking wizard. Mother is strong too, and she has money from her father. While money is not everything, a few… donations here and there is always helpful." Right before he started to complain about the unfairness of it, she hurried on. "I myself was never a problem, as I was one of a twin and therefore had access to a Twin Bond… but we had a problem with Ryohei."
His felt himself go white. He actually hadn't seen his brother... did that mean…?
"Oh no no no!" She quickly said when she saw his face. "He's fine. It was just before that we discovered he could barely cast magic with a focus. When we were tested, he was deemed as…" She felt her throat closing, but she continued on. "…as a liability. If it wasn't for those donations, he would've been killed, his magic core extracted and stored. But mother had friends in very high places, and she managed to contact the boss of the head of the department to run a scan on his magical core." Here she laughed, tears falling down her cheeks, making him ache inside. "It turns out his magical core was too powerful, too large for him to control. Now he's got a teacher to help him harness the power."
Toko stayed silent after she ended her explanation. Japan… it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns like he had thought. He had almost lost his brother – before he had even known him – to its militaristic laws. It was like a giant Dumbledore: seeing people as walking weapons, sacrificing the few for the many.
But, as the man once said: it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. He may be crazy, but he was still wise.
Shaking his head and clearing his mind, he looked to Kyoko. "Can… Can I meet everyone else?"
She smiled fondly and nodded.
"Hanasei-chan?"
"Yes Sasagawa-sama?"
"…"
"Sasagawa-sama?"
"Can… can you do Misaki and me a favour?"
"…does it involve Toko?"
"Yeah… could you watch over him in school?"
"…"
"You're the only one I know who has the credentials to be a teacher..."
"…"
"…and he's your godson..."
"…"
"…and you'll get paid the difference between your current salary and what you will receive by me."
"10% raise."
"I thought we were friends?"
"Sorry, but being a teacher requires a whole new wardrobe."
"Hah… fine."
"…when do I start?"
"Today."
"…you work fast, don't you?"
One Week Later
Tsuna was running late. Again.
Reborn, over the past week, had become more Spartan, if possible. Just the night before he had Tsuna running laps through Namimori. At midnight. With Reborn constantly shooting him. Sometimes he wondered how the whole city just seemed… oblivious of all the mafia messes. Honestly, it wasn't like they were discrete, they were as quiet as a bull in a glass house. On fire.
Somehow, as if by a stroke of magic, Tsuna made it to school just before the cut off time, and made it to class without being late. But just when he thought his luck was picking up, the teacher spoke.
"Ok everyone, settle down!" Seiten-sensei called, calming the class with ease. Even though she had just been employed for a week, she was practically the favourite teacher in the school – even Hibari respected her, something Tsuna found quite scary. Even now, he wasn't sure if she was mafia related or not, and the fact that Reborn had been cagey with the details made him suspect something too. And Kyoko hadn't been present for a whole week – not even Hana knew what was wrong. His reason for attending school (well, his old reason now) wasn't there.
"Ok, thank you." She said, snapping Tsuna out of his thoughts. "Now, we have a new student today!" Murmurs arose, many people thinking about the last transfer student they had. Tsuna was currently banging his head on his desk – there was no way the student would not be mafia related.
"But, before I bring the student in, I want you all to know that his circumstances… are difficult. You may recognise the name, but please do not pester him. His story is his own to give." She looked towards the door. "Bring him in!"
The door to the classroom opened, and in walked Kyoko, followed by her brother Ryohei. Everyone looked at them strangely, especially since Ryohei was quiet and was being led in by Kyoko, and that Kyoko closed the door after them. When they reached the middle of the blackboard, Seiten-sensei walked to the board and wrote in big letters:笹川 東子.
It was then that people noticed that the boy was, in fact, not the famous extremist of the Sasagawa family. He was too thin, looking almost fragile, his face was more feminine, looking remarkably similar to Kyoko's, and his eyes were identical to Kyoko's. Kyoko stood a step in front of him, her hand still gripping his, as he fidgeted uncomfortably.
Kyoko broke the curious silence. "This is Sasagawa Toko… my twin brother."
Jaws dropped. Eyes widened. Tsuna even (somehow) fell out of his seat, yet no one paid any attention to him. They all just stared at the boy – Toko. He fidgeted under their looks, and took a step behind Kyoko, as if using her to hide.
Toko felt really uncomfortable. He was used to all the stares from his previous life as the Boy-Who-Lived, but this felt different. From his Twin Bond with Kyoto, he knew all these people. Like the silverhaired boy who sat like he wanted to gut Toko on the spot was called Gokudera Hayato, a transfer student from Italy who used dynamite and worshiped the ground Sawada Tsunayoshi walked on, or how the tall blackhaired girl near the front was called Kurokawa Hana, and was Kyoko's best friend. Heck, he even could remember memories of the female changing rooms – like with the rest of the females present. He couldn't make himself look at them after knowing what they look like, like… that…
"Because of certain…circumstances, Toko was raised in England." Kyoko told the class. "He is able to speak in Japanese, but he is used to English." That was a lie. He was only able to speak in Japanese because of his Twin Bond with Kyoko, like how she had full mastery of English (to the level Toko had, anyway). "Please be kind towards him… His health is not the best."
"… I'm not a child…" A voice muttered from behind Kyoko, surprising most the class at how soft it was. It was like Kyoko's voice, albeit slightly deeper, but soft just like hers. Kyoko turned to face him.
"Toko… If you're not a child then why are you hiding behind me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not!" He said, and stepped out to prove a point, only to freeze as he laid eyes upon the class, memories from Kyoko assaulting him.
'Toko, do you enjoy being a pervert?' Kyoko thought.
'It's not my fault!' He protested. 'I just see them and the memories come to mind!'
'Well try not to. My memories aren't the only ones that are uncomfortable.' Flashed of certain memories (ones that any teenage boy would never want to share with their sister) crossed Toko's mind, making him whiten even more (if that was even possible). 'But, anyway, you still look like a dear in the headlights.'
He quickly turned bright red, and moved to run out the class but Kyoko's firm grip held him in place. "Oh no you don't!" She turned to Hanasei. "Seiten-sensei, can Toko sit next to me?"
"Of course." She turned to a certain silver haired boy. "Gokudera-san! Your new seat is now next to Yamamoto-san."
Gokudera glared harshly at Toko, earning him a bunch of glares from the newly formed Toko fan club, and moved to sit next to the bane of his existence. Kyoko and Toko both sat down in their respective seats, Kyoko's grip on Toko not loosening until they were both firmly trapped (in Toko's opinion).
The class proceeded normally, with the exception of a few looks being shot towards Toko, and it wasn't long before there was a break. As soon as the sensei concluded the lesson, there was a surge towards Toko and his twin.
"Since when did you have a twin Kyoko?"
"Why was he raised in England?"
"Have you been to London?"
"Have you met the Queen?"
"Were you kidnapped?"
Then the fan girls arrived.
"Ooh, you're so cute!"
"His hair is so soft!"
"He is adorable!"
"Hey! Stop shoving!"
"Who pulled my hair?"
"Did you just bite me?"
"Ooooh… Now you're asking for it bitch!"
'Kyoko, save me!' He begged as the situation got out of hand, and girls began to hit each other. Hard. He had always thought a catfight would be less… violent, but it made a fight between boys look like a little play. Girls were harsh, and they were merciless.
"Toko, I want you to meet my best friend!" Kyoko called out as she wrapped her hand around his arm, crushing his bicep and tricep in the process making him whimper slightly. She pulled him away from the masses of people and towards a lone tall girl with long black hair and a sharp expression. She had an eyebrow raised at the antics of the class, reminding Toko of Hermione. "Toko, this is Kurokawa Hana, my best friend. Hana, this is Toko, my estranged twin brother."
Hana smiled slightly, and Kyoko's memories provided that, for Hana, it was practically a beaming smile. This was swiftly followed by memories of the girl's changing rooms, making Toko turn red and push Kyoko in front of him.
"Sorry about that Hana." Kyoko smiled while whacking Toko slightly over the back of his head for being a pervert. "Toko doesn't mix well with new people." She turned to said brother. "Let's go find onii-chan, 'kay?"
Toko nodded while rubbing his neck awkwardly, not trusting himself to speak. Kyoko smiled happily and grasped his free hand and pulled him away, Hana following close behind frowning. When she saw Toko rub his neck, she saw something that answered a few questions but raised a hell of a lot more: a large scar that was too big to be an accident.
Kyoko had a twin brother?
Kyoko had a twin brother?
Kyoko had a twin brother?
Tsuna felt like his head was about to explode. Kyoko, the girl he was crushing on bad had a twin brother? How? Since when? How? Why? How? Why didn't Reborn tell him? How?
"Dame-Tsuna, I can hear what you're thinking from across the room, it's that obvious." Came a high pitched voice, causing him to jump. His home tutor, Reborn, was sitting in front of him with his trust Leon gun pointing at his head.
"HIEEEEE!" Tsuna screeched. "Re-Reborn! When did you come in here?"
"I was here the whole time, my idiot student."
Tusna paused for a moment before asking something in a low voice. "Can… Can you tell me about Sasagawa-san? I mean Toko-san?"
Reborm paused, surprised at his student's confidence. There was no stutter like when he usually asked about things, and he didn't wait like he would've done when Reborn first arrived until he himself told him about the boy.
"O-or not…" Tsuna added haistily, ruining the admiration that Reborn had somewhat gained traces of. Dame students stayed Dame, unless forced.
"Sasagawa Toko, born 4th March 1997 to both Sasagawa Ryuu and Sasagawa Misaki, reported to be kidnapped at the age of 2, and was not seen again until his miraculous appearance just over a week ago. Nothing much is known about him during his disappearance, so it was likely that it was professional. Notable relations are his father's sister, Sasagawa Seiuchi-" Tsuna coughed to hide his laughter. Seriously though, who named their daughter walrus? "-now named Lal Mirch, someone with strong ties to the Vongola, and his mother's father, a man from England by the name Regulus Black, now deceased, from an old family in England, dating back over fifteen hundred years."
"Wait, his aunt has strong ties to the Vongola?"
"Not just strong ties, she is high up in the mafia hierarchy, and is a curse holder."
Tsuna wanted to question the 'curse holder' part of his sentence, but decided that his survival from the sadistic tutor would be greatly diminished. "And his grandfather?"
"From old blood, like I said. He was the head of the family, over his older brother Sirius who was disowned, and therefore has lots of money behind his name." He shook his head. "Anyway, the Ninth has sent us a job, to deal with some criminals..."
Tsuna noted the bitter turn his words had taken, but decided against questioning about it. Reborn only had the emotions sadistic and condescending (if those actually counted), so for him to be bitter… He didn't relish taking a chance.
Reborn, on the other hand, was hating how he had to talk about the Black family. While he had no hatred of the family, it always brought back bad memories. The Malfoys…
He shook himself out that thought, glancing up at his head. His blond roots were showing – he would have to dye it black again.
Toko sighed as he walked home the long way. The deal he made with his sister was that if he came to school, he would be able to walk home alone while she spent some quality time with her best friend. Also, it meant a reprieve from her memories.
Twin bonds were funny things. Through them, they could communicate telepathically with one another and even look through each other's memories. Yet, this had a 'range' so to speak. Apparently, the two of them had to be within about 13 meters of one another (Toko found it funny how it was such a unique number) for the bond to be at the strongest to do that. After that, the bond is weakened and they could not do that, and could only feel strong emotions from the other, but thankfully their shared knowledge stayed – otherwise Toko would not know a word of Japanese.
He currently was walking through a park, with only another girl in it. She had a black cat on her lap, and was playing with it, her black hair covering her face as she looked down. He tensed for a moment, thinking that she may be one of the many fan girls that had wanted to walk with him (and thus causing him to take the long way home), but a look at her uniform confirmed that she was not from his school. He relaxed and was about to move on when a thought struck him.
'It's the first girl I've seen without… those thoughts playing in my head.' He mused. 'Maybe if I talk to her?'
"Erm… Hello?" He called out hesitantly. Her head shot up and looked at him, letting him see her big violet eyes that made him gasp and stare at the unnatural colour. They were beautiful… She turned, breaking his trance, looking around her. Dark memories of his past in Privet Drive, when he sat alone in the park, no one to talk to, hesitant when people called him out. Crushing the depressing thoughts, he approached the girl.
"Hi." He said slightly awkwardly, sitting on swing seat next to the girl. She looked generally surprised and incredibly wary that he wanted to talk to her.
"Hello." She said in a suspicious voice.
"I'm Sasagawa Toko." He introduced himself.
"Nagi." She said not giving her last name. 'A runaway?' Toko mused. Deciding to ignore it at the moment, he talked about other things.
"So, Nagi-chan." Toko said. "Who's that?"
"Sasagawa-san-"
"Toko. Or Toko-kun." He said firmly.
"Toko-kun… this is Gisei. I called him 'sacrifice' because I died to save him." She sighed.
That was the first like he got out of her, however peculiar, but it wasn't the last. Soon, they were talking on equal terms (as in Nagi not withdrawing into herself as if he was a crazed killer whenever he so much as breathed louder), and hours had passed.
"It's getting late…" Toko mused. "Do you have anywhere to stay?"
She gave Toko a pointed look.
"Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow." He promised. He actually quite liked the girl – she was fun (under her steel shell), nice and the best part? Not a fan girl.
He left and, true to his promise, came back the next day. Kyoko had been teasing him about how Nagi was his girlfriend, making him blush and splutter while the rest of the girls in hearing range cried. He was shocked at how fast fan girls were created in Japan, and by all the manga that he had begun to read, it was common.
So that's how his days continued. School, talk with Nagi and home. Each day she opened up more and more, until she was actually quite lively around him compared to her old self – but still quiet compared to other people. However, he was uncomfortable with two things: one was Nagi's sleeping arrangements – he had no idea where she slept or even ate, but it was clear she was a runaway – and two was a stalker. Well, it wasn't really a stalker, but he just felt like he was being watched whenever he was with her. And if his years at Hogwarts had any indication, he should trust his gut.
It took 10 days, but the gut feeling paid off and the watcher met up with them. What he wasn't expecting, however, was Nagi's response.
"Mukuro!" She shouted in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"Well, I'm looking after my dear Chrome of course." He smirked, looking at Toko with a raised eyebrow. He looked like he was Nagi's twin, or at least her older brother.
"How many times have I told you I won't take that name?" She sighed.
"And is this the famous Toko you kept talking about?" He asked, approaching Toko and ignoring Nagi's comment. "I've got to say, you've made Chrome-" "NAGI!" "-into almost a completely different person. I mean, someone who actually opens up with someone? Why, it's almost like magic…"
Toko shivered. He said magic in such a way it made him think that he knew.
"Anyway, if you intend to win Nagi's heart…" He smiled. "…do so with care. I have knives."
With that, he kissed Toko on the cheek and disappeared in a shimmer. It wasn't any wizarding travel he knew of, not even with Kyoko's additional knowledge.
"Who is he?" Toko asked Nagi in a small voice.
She sighed. "We are the same person, but not."
"Is that some strange relationship talk?"
"What? No!" She sighed again. "It's… complicated. Anyway, I've got to go now." With that she walked off, leaving Toko confused and alone in the middle of the park.
He suddenly got the feeling that his life had gotten more complicated…
All alone, in a hospital bed without someone to love them, without someone to care, a small black haired girl took a shaky breath. Her single eye brimmed with tears from the pain of her crushed stomach, from her missing eye, and from the fact that her mother left her to die. And it was all because of that cat, that stray black cat. She dreamed that a man came to her in her dreams, healed her with his illusions, and took her to a place where she had friends. Boss, Haru, Kyoko…
But it was a dream nonetheless. She was here alone, dying, and would never be saved. With that thought, the girl breathed her last breath, and her heart stopped beating. It took only a few seconds for doctors to rush to resuscitate her, but when they failed, they announced her death.
"Tsukiganai Nagi, time of death: 15:47."
With that statement, the future was forever changed.
Ok, another chapter done!
This veered off what I wanted to write, but I've decided I like it. Now what do you think about Nagi? What exactly happened? I may talk about it in the next chapter, but I may not… Who knows? :3
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Tsukiganai (ツキがない):
It means 'No Luck'. Fitting for Chrome I think.
Gisei (犠牲):
It means 'Sacrifice'. Another fitting name.
Seiuchi (セイウチ):
It means 'Walrus'. This was a joke, and also the reason why she changed her name.
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The Seven Deadly Sins Potions:
These aren't that important to the plot. I only put them in here to explain how even though they are thought to be impossible to make, they are known by everyone due to the fact that they were the first Dark Potions ever. Also it explains how Dumbledore got the ingredients – they probably won't show up again, but I like to cover everything.
Dumbledore:
Ok he isn't evil. It's as I've said in the chapter: The needs of the many overweigh the needs of the few. He felt terrible leaving Toko abused like that, but he tried to justify it.
Japanese Schooling:
I have no clue what so ever about Japanese schooling. I know that they advance school years in the April, and they have breaks… somewhere. But, for the sake of the story, I'm saying their summer holidays are 2 weeks or so, and they're not there yet.
Japanese Wizarding Society:
It may seem… harsh, but someone pointed out how things just seemed to be going too good for Toko, to lack a better word. I decided they were right – Japan being perfect just wouldn't work. I was going to darken it up in that aspect, but not by much, but I decided on this. Also, this will come into play later (future arc largely) – so it is worth remembering.
Time Set:
I'm saying that Reborn started in 2010, meaning that Voldemort was killed in 1998 rather than 1981 – that means the war lasted from 1970 to 1998, an extra 17 years. My logic is that everything that is canon about the war stays that way, only the timing is more spaced out. And, quite frankly, a man who brought a war lasting 28 years would be more feared then by just 11 years.
Nagi/Chrome's Personality:
I decided to look at it from this point of view: when you have a mother who doesn't care for you and a step-father who hates you, you either become so complacent and shy or thick skinned and suspicious. Canon took the first option while I'm taking the second. Also, it means her life is completely different. It will be explained on later. Also, I have a reason for this.
