Chapter Seventeen - Future (Part 3)
Teddy sat by his Godfather's bed, holding his hand. He didn't know why Uncle Harry had collapsed, or what was wrong with the Varia and why Bel-nii wasn't picking up the phone. He just wanted Uncle Harry to wake up. It had been three hours already. He wanted to know what his Godfather was dreaming of, and why he kept whispering his name.
"So these are new developments?"
"That's right! A trio of scientists used some designs from a genius of Primo's time to create these weapons. The Rings are based off the Vongola Rings; you channel your resolve into them, and they allow you to open the Box Weapon!" the Weapons Development manager explained.
"Voi! What's with the colours?" Squalo demanded.
"The colours are for the different wave energies that people can access, which dictate the colour and nature of the Flame produced. Orange is for Sky; Sky Flame users can open every box, although the rsults doesn't seem to be as powerful as if the Box was opened by a user of its specific type. Red is for Storm, Yellow is for Sun, Blue is for Rain, Green is for Lightning, Indigo is for Cloud and Violet is for Mists."
Lussuria immediately grabbed the yellow box and ring set, and cooed about how pretty it was. Levi took the green set dubiously. Bel picked up the red set, commenting that he was expecting a Princely weapon. The scientist started to sweat. Squalo swept up the blue and orange sets, tossing the orange to Xanxus, who threw his wineglass in retaliation. Fran looked utterly disinterested in the violet set. After a minute, all that was left was the indigo.
"Focus all your resolve into the Ring. You need to light it with your Dying Will!" the scientist said, once Rings were all on fingers, with Boxes in hand.
Xanxus was the first one to manage it. His ring lit up with bright orange Flame, engulfing his hand. He slammed the ring into the hole in the top of the Box Weapon. A bright light burst out, making Harry squint and look away. When he looked back, a white lion was curled up at Xanxus' feet. He had a hand its fur and a smile on his face. Harry smiled softly as Levi started exclaiming about how talented his Boss was.
It took a few days for the rest of them to open the Boxes. Lussuria had a peacock which emitted healing Sun Flames. The spoiled bird was immediately names Pea-chan, and most of Lussuria's designs for the next month involved peacock feathers. Squalo had a shark, and after the first time, he didn't open his Box again for two weeks. It was only once Xanxus threw a glass at his head and yelled at him to "get the fuck over it, shitty Shark! I don't need a Captain who's scared of his own trashy weapon" that Squalo started practicing fighting alongside it. Bel had a mink called Mink whom he adored. It had a fringe that matched his, and spent most of its time curled around Bel's neck. After two days, it was even mimicking his laugh, to the terror of the entire Storm Division. Levi had a Manta Ray, and he immediately set to work designing aerial attacks.
Harry's own Box Weapon was Canaries. Cloud Canaries that Propagated themselves until the enemy was surrounded by a wall of feathery death. Harry remembered Hermione shouting furiously at Ron and laughed until he cried.
Fran had returned from wherever he had been training with Mukuro, He was terrifyingly skilled, and grated on Bel's nerves like nothing Harry had ever seen. It was a cross between adorable and hilarious. Fran had taken to calling him Aniki, purely to annoy Bel. In return, Bel had started calling him Harry-nii. Harry was trying to avoid choosing a side, even as their squabbling made his chest ache. He missed Teddy.
The Wizarding world was completely destroyed. In less than a week, every Magical community across the world had been wiped out by the Millefiore. Wizards had no idea how to fight against Box Weapons, and they simply couldn't adapt in time.
Everyone Harry had known in England had been killed. Andromeda had made on final phone call, passing on the message. She was the last one standing, and they were coming for her. She knew the protections on the house wouldn't hold for long, and they were hard on her heels. There was nothing more she could do. Harry, trapped by the anti-Apparition barrier, could only listen helplessly as three White Spell members cut her down in her own bedroom.
Xanxus fought with him until he was completely exhausted, sweaty, burned and bleeding. Then he held him while he screamed out his pain and grief.
Harry spent six hours modelling uniforms for Lussuria, letting him take photos, make adjustments and pin labels to the clothes while he wearing them. One in particular finished with more paper cloth showing, covered in notes that said things like 'add body armour', 'that green just doesn't work', 'zips instead of buttons', 'more room across the chest' and 'maybe some piping'. By the end of the afternoon Harry was exhausted but Lussuria was practically glowing as he spun around the workroom. He considered it a day well spent.
"So why did you throw Levi through a wall?" Harry asked, as he and Xanxus enjoyed a rare moment of peace holed up in his office. Normally, they took advantage of the quiet times in a bedroom, but Xanxus had been in a foul mood all day.
"Trash called me an Inverted Sky." That would explain it.
"Oh, I've been hearing about that." Xanxus shot him a look that told him to explain, right now.
"Well, before, knowledge about Flame was limited pretty much to the upper echelons of the Vongola, right? And the Vongola Guardians, plus the Arcobaleno, plus whoever managed to activate it with Reborn's bullets or whatever, is a really small sample size to decide anything about how they actually work."
Xanxus' look had changed to 'get to the point'.
"But now everyone with enough resolve can use Flames, and so people are looking for links. Rain is the most obvious, I suppose. Rains are meant to be all peaceful and tranquil, because softening is the property of Rain, right? So people who are all peaceful and soothing are 'Classic Rains' and people who are loud and aggressive are 'Inverted Rains'. Yamamoto is a 'Classic Rain', and Squalo is an 'Inverted Rain', apparently."
"What the fuck kind of difference does it make?"
"None at all, really. It's a descriptor of personality more than anything, with absolutely no bearing on power or Box weapons or anything at all, really. 'Inverted Flame' seems to mean 'I can't fit you into the little box I associate with your Flame'. You're an Inverted Sky because you won't accept any trash that comes knocking, like Sawada does, and I'm an Inverted Cloud because I'm not a vicious, anti-social asshole. It doesn't mean anything. Levi wasn't trying to be offensive, he was just excited because he thought he had learned something new."
"Trash still deserved it." Still, Xanxus seemed happier now. They finished their drinks quietly.
After a minute, Xanxus shoved his paperwork aside with a snarl, and pushed Harry down against the sofa.
Harry was the only one in Tsuna's office when the young Don finally broke down crying.
"I'll just run this past Reborn, but…" Tsuna stopped talking as he realised what he had said.
The awful forced smile he had been wearing since the Sun Arcobaleno died slipped, and his lip started quivering. Harry took a step forward, and that was all it took to break the dam. The young Decimo was sobbing like his heart was broken, arms wrapped tightly around his chest as he rocked himself back and forth. Harry knelt beside his chair, offering a silent support as Tsuna cried all the tears he hadn't let himself shed since his tutor died.
"I'm sorry," Tsuna said at last, forcing that awful smile back up.
"Don't be sorry. You're allowed to grieve, Tsuna. You're allowed to cry. You're a twenty-three-year-old carrying an awful burden, and you're allowed to put it down once in a while. You're human, Tsuna. You don't always have to be strong." Harry spoke calmly, soothingly, like he would to Teddy.
"But it's so selfish! Everyone is hurting, and we can't afford to stop moving. Every day we lose ground and lose people and what good am I if I can't keep anyone safe?" Tsuna was almost screaming.
"Stop, Tsuna. Stop and listen." Harry paused for a moment to make sure that he had the young Boss's attention. "You are doing a fantastic job. All your Guardians are alive. Vongola is still fighting. We aren't just puppets, Tsuna. We make the choice to follow you. You can't push us into something we don't want to do, alright? Grief is selfish, by its nature. And that's OK. You're allowed to grieve however you need to, Tsuna. Just don't bottle it up until it breaks you."
Tsuna nodded, wiping his eyes. Harry offered him a small smile as he left the office.
"Can I try your Ring?" Harry asked Squalo one evening, when they were all gathered together in the main lounge watching some cheap slasher movie with more blood than plot. Bel was the only one who was into it, eyes fixed intently on the screen, giggling every time someone died.
"Why?" Squalo asked, already pulling the ring off his finger.
"I was assigned as Cloud Officer because it was the only opening. I'm lucky that I had Cloud Flames at all, really. I was wondering if I had any others."
"That's a good idea!" Lussuria said. "Why don't we all see what Flames we can access?"
After half an hour of experimentation under Xanxus' amused gaze, with Bel participating only reluctantly and with one eye constantly on the TV, they had established what Flames everyone could use. Lussuria was a pure Sun, and didn't get even a flicker of response from the other Rings. Likewise, Fran was a pure Mist. Neither of those were a surprise.
Levi could light the Storm Ring, and the Mist, to everyone's surprise. Squalo could light the Sun. Bel could light the Cloud and Mist. Harry made the Rain glow almost as brightly as Squalo did, and got a good response from the Lightning as well.
"Looks like you're a Rain primary, trash," Xanxus said, making Harry jump. Xanxus hadn't said anything all evening.
"Well, Rain's taken. I'm the strongest Cloud you have, anyway, so I guess I'm stuck as the Officer."
With their curiosity satisfied, everyone settled back down to watch the movie, Harry making a mental note to see about obtaining a Rain Box. Just in case.
"Do my hair tomorrow," Xanxus demanded one night as they lay next to each other, sweaty and spent.
"Any preference?" Harry asked sleepily, curling closer. He loved the feeling of Xanxus' strong arms wrapped around him.
"Nothing fancy. Just grow out the sides. You're the hairdresser."
"Sure thing." Harry kissed the shaved patch that his lover had above each ear, laughing as Xanxus turned his head to claim his mouth in a passionate kiss. Xanxus was insatiable.
It had been two weeks since Teddy's scheduled check-in and Harry was on edge. No amount of awkward reassurance from the Varia could ease the knot of panic inside him that said something had gone horribly wrong. One morning, a DVD appeared on their front doorstep, the case embossed with the Millefiore Crest.
Once it had been checked for drugs, illusions and explosives, the Varia gathered in the lounge to watch it. Xanxus sat on his throne, with Harry alone on a sofa. Levi and Lussuria took armchairs, and Bel and Fran took the other sofa. Harry's every instinct was shrieking that something very bad was on that DVD. Lussuria pressed play.
Byakuran's white head popped up on screen. "Hello everyone! Are you sitting comfortably? Do you have your snacks ready? Trust me, once the show begins you won't want to move from your seats. Are you ready? Then let's start the show!"
The scene cut from Byakuran in his office to a lounge. A man Harry recognised as Irie Shouichi, one of Byakuran's most trusted, and Byakuran himself were seated next to each other on a sofa, with paperwork spread out on the table in front of them. There was a knock on the door. Irie called for whoever it was to enter. A White Spell member came in with another man in handcuffs. Harry didn't recognise either of them, until the handcuffed man stared straight at Byakuran. That head toss, that little snarl. This was Teddy. Teddy had been caught. Harry closed his eyes.
He heard Bel suck in a breath through his teeth, and knew he had realised as well. Someone sank down on the sofa beside him. Xanxus had left his throne and was sat next to him. He wasn't touching, but he offered comfort through his presence. Harry leaned against him, breathing in his scent. Whatever it was, whatever was coming, he could face this. Teddy had endured this, he could too. Lussuria restarted the film.
Teddy was glaring at Byakuran in silence. Irie was the first one to speak.
"What's going on? Why is John in handcuffs?"
"This man was caught trying to access confidential information, sir," the White Spell explained.
"Teddy. Teddy, Teddy, Teddy," Byakuran sang. "That was very naughty of you."
Everyone on the film turned to stare at him.
"Teddy? Byakuran, this is John Black. He's a new recruit from England," Irie said.
"No he's not. You're a Varia member, aren't you Teddy? Your Godfather is Harry Potter, that interesting wildcard." Byakuran had stood up. He was in front of Teddy, stroking his face. Teddy was growling, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to bite Byakuran's fingers.
"Well, if Harry-chan won't take care of his pieces, I'll remove them from play."
No. No no no. Harry forced himself to keep watching, to not look away. Xanxus' arm was around his shoulders, a grounding weight.
"Can I have your gun please, Alfred?" The guard handed it to him. Byakuran pointed it at Teddy, before laughing.
"I'm not really a fan of guns. Come here, Shou-chan."
Irie startled, looking up with wide eyes. He walked slowly over to stand beside Byakuran, who handed him the gun.
"Shoot him. Execute the traitor for me, Shou-chan." Byakuran's smile was all poison.
Teddy shifted. The nondescript dark-haired man was replaced by a perfect replica of Byakuran, down to the tattoo under his eye. Byakuran's smile grew even sharper.
"Don't you want to die as yourself, Teddy?"
"I want you to see your death, Byakuran. I want you to watch as your most trusted man kills you," Teddy spat at him.
Shouichi raised the gun with trembling hands to point at Teddy's forehead. For a moment, there was absolute stillness. Then Teddy smiled, and mouthed a word. The gun fired. Teddy collapsed in a growing pool of blood and the sound of Byakuran's laughter filled the room.
The Vongola Headquarters had been razed to the ground. The Vongola had gone to ground in their base in Namimori. The Ninth had been killed. The Varia were the last stronghold left in Italy, and they were beset on all sides. Harry was incredibly aware that only Byakuran's love for twisted games kept him from launching an attack and wiping them out completely. He was completely exhausted all the time, running on pure rage and lust for vengeance. Was this how his lover felt all the time? Xanxus was an even stronger person than Harry had realised.
Children. They were relying on children to fight for them. Somehow, the Decimo and his Guardians had been switched with their ten-years-earlier selves. Had the situation become so desperate that they needed children to fight their battles for them?
The young Tsuna was even more pathetic than he remembered. He whined and squealed and didn't want to fight. The fate of the world and the lives of everyone who had sworn themselves to him weren't enough of a motivator. Only Xanxus' arm around him stopped him Apparating to Japan and slapping the useless child. They were all doomed. The most they could do was complete their own attack on the Italian base, and pray that the children didn't manage to complete screw up their end.
The attack on the Italian base had gone off with barely a hitch, although the look on Squalo's face when Harry's Rain Butterflies saved him was absolutely priceless. Everyone was safe, Bel's brother was dead, and they had just received a message from the Vongola.
Harry was listening to the conversation Squalo was having with the young Decimo, even as he helped Lussuria with first aid for those who weren't injured enough to need Pea-chan. It took more effort not to listen in then it did to keep an ear open. Mostly, he was attuned to any mention of Irie or Byakuran. He prayed that the redhead at least had died in the attack.
Squalo closed the screen and beckoned Harry over before flinging himself down onto a sofa.
"He was on our side the whole time," Squalo said.
"What?" Squalo couldn't possibly be talking about who he thought he was.
"Irie Shouichi was working with our time's Decimo. It was all planned."
Harry didn't stop to hear any more. He caught sight of Xanxus storming into the room as he Apparated away.
He didn't waste any time once he reached the hidden base. Any doors that didn't open to Alohomora were blasted apart. When he blew open the door to the main room, where the murderer was hiding, the entire Tenth Generation was on high alert. They looked so young. Teddy had died that young.
He stowed his wand away, and the room relaxed. Until he pointed his gun straight at the murderer's forehead. The weapon had been a gift from Xanxus, and he had never fired it before. He had been saving it for this. The world was in startling focus around him, but nothing mattered except the trembling redhead in front of him.
"Thirty seconds. Make them count." He would give the man a chance to explain how he could possibly be innocent. Then he would execute him. He barely noticed his Magic erecting a shield around them, so they were contained in their own little world.
"I didn't pull the trigger," Irie gasped, clutching his stomach and looking like he wanted nothing more than to collapse. How pathetic. Teddy had faced death on his feet.
"Try again." He cocked the gun. Just one twitch, and he would have his vengeance.
"I didn't! He smiled at me, he said something, and the gun fired. My finger never moved." Irie looked Harry straight in the eye. "I needed to keep my cover. I don't know if I would have shot him, if I'd had to make the choice. But it didn't kill him."
Teddy had said something. Teddy had said a word, just one word, and the gun had fired. They had gone over wandless spells before he left. Astringo, a household charm for wringing out a cloth. Could it squeeze a trigger?
There was nothing but honesty in Irie's eyes. Harry lowered the gun.
Harry was leant against Xanxus, the phoenix-feather hair ornament tickling his cheek, utterly exhausted. All his Flames were gone, drained by the Ghost, and Byakuran was hovering over them like some kind of evil Angel. Summoning every ounce of energy he had left, he pushed himself upright. If he was going to die here, he would die on his own two feet, side by side with his lover, with his whole Family behind him.
"Did you like my gift, Harry-chan?" Byakuran chirped with a malicious smirk.
Harry felt ice flood through his veins. Suddenly, he was totally alert. There was no anger any more, no fear, no exhaustion. Just pure, plain resolve.
"I found it to be in remarkable poor taste for you to send a film of my Godson's suicide. Don't worry, I can't say that I expected better from you." His voice was cold, the ice to Xanxus' fire.
"Suicide?" Byakuran laughed. "Harry-chan, that was an execution."
"No, it wasn't. You know what we can do with a word. He pulled the trigger himself. He chose his own death, and he died proud. He beat you, Byakuran. You lost that game. Teddy was Quality down to his bones. You, on the other hand, are trash. You always have been, and it doesn't matter how many worlds you destroy. You'll never be able to hide the fact that inside, you're nothing but scum."
Harry kept his eyes on Byakuran, watching as his face twisted in anger. With a scream, he threw himself at Harry. Tsuna intercepted him, and they clashed in mid-air. Harry watched with frozen eyes as the one man in the whole world he hated was turned to ash.
Harry's eyes snapped open, ten years of memories creating a maelstrom in his mind. The moment his gaze landed on Teddy, innocent, eight-year-old, living Teddy, he pulled the boy into his arms. It was a long time before he could bring himself to let him go.