Title: A Soldier's Revenge

Definition: Reborn wanted to do this cleanly if there was a chance, because, as horrible as these people were, they were civilians... Scratch that, he'd torture those bastards, heal them, then make it look like an accident. Because Skull was his by default, and no one harmed what belonged to him.

Word Count: 1,358

Warnings: mentions of torture/death/abuse, Skull-is-Harry, Dursley bashing, protective!Reborn

Reborn stared down at the screen in front of him, "So this is it?"

Verde nodded, "Vernon and Petunia Dursley, they gained custody of their nephew after the death of his parents in, what it says here, a freak gas explosion in 1981. Suspicious. I've managed to pull up pictures of their nephew, but his name's been blacked out of the databanks. The work of a highly skilled hacker." The green-haired man pulled up a picture of a young boy, overly thin to the point it was unhealthy, with a mass of wild black hair and bright green eyes, "Could pass as a younger version of Skull if you managed to wash that makeup off his face..." Verde mused out loud, "There were calls made to Social Services about child abuse, but the cases were never completed. Almost like the agents completely forgot about it. It would seem that who ever put the kid in that house, wanted him to stay there." His eyes narrowed, "No hospital files on the kid, seems like he was never taken to see a doctor. Completely dropped off the face of the earth at age eleven, only reappearing during the summer. Relatives claimed he was attending a school for criminally insane boys. Which makes no sense because the kid had a perfect record; slightly above average scores, he only ever got in trouble once in a while, but other than an instance when he was climbing the school buildings, none of it could be pinned on him because there was no proof. Says here he had a cousin his own age, Dudley Dursley, now forty-nine, divorced for over twenty years, no children. That kid, he was a delinquent. Drugs, gang fights, assault, breaking and entering, spouse abuse. He did it all, everything except murder." He pulled up another file, "Says here that both Vernon and Petunia are still alive, aged seventy-nine and seventy-five respectively. Living with their son, in Number Four, Privet Drive, their family home." Verde looked at Reborn, "And their nephew? Vanishes at seventeen, the last picture of him is his drivers license, which was taken right before he disappeared." To prove his point, Verde opened the next picture. "Looks exactly like Skull, doesn't it? Remove the glasses, change his hair and eyes to purple, add makeup, and he'd be Skull's spitting image."

Reborn hummed, absentmindedly fingering his handgun, "Any notable health issues?" He wanted to do this cleanly if there was a chance, because, as horrible as these people were, they were civilians.

His eyes moved to the picture of the small dark-haired boy and his eyes sharpened. Scratch that, he'd torture those bastards, heal them, then make it look like an accident.

Verde raised an eyebrow at the Sun Arcobaleno, "Both Vernon and Dudley suffer from coronary heart disease, type two diabetes, sleep apnea. Wouldn't be suspicious if they died in their sleep. Petunia; she had breast cancer, managed to survive it. If she suddenly had a relapse, though..." He looked pointedly at the hitman. "Well, no one would be surprised."

Reborn smirk, and Verde shivered.

That smile did not bode well for his target.

"You called me so I could kill civilians?" Shamel asked, "You dragged me all the way to Britain, to kill civilians."

Reborn sniffed dismissively, "No, I brought you so you could poison civilians. I'll be doing all the work. Make sure you use a long-lasting poison, I don't want them to all die the same night. It would look too suspicious. Vernon Dursley will die after a severe sleep apnea attack tonight. Within the month, the stress of her husband's death will cause Petunia to suffer a cancer relapse. And Dudley will fall victim of heart failure not long after that." A smirk lifted Reborn's lips, "It will be such a tragedy, a whole family dying one after another. The media will eat it up."

"Yes, but why?" The doctor/assassin demanded.

"Skull revealed a little about his past before his curse." Reborn said darkly. "He was raised as a slave by his aunt and uncle. Lived in a cupboard until his eleventh birthday, and told, on a regular basis, that no one cared about him. From what I picked up, he was also starved and beaten."

Shamel sucked in a breath, "And these Dursleys?"

"His aunt, uncle, and cousin."

Shamel cursed in Italian, eyes narrowing. He had known Reborn for a very long time, and he knew that the hitman was possessive of anything he saw as his. And Skull was Reborn's underling, which meant Skull was his be default.

These bastards would regret the day they laid a hand on what was Reborn's.

Reborn looked up at the dark windows of Number 4, Privet Drive, eyes shadowed by the brim of his ever-present fedora. "It's time."

Vernon Dursley woke from his sleep with a start, a feeling of sudden dread ripping him from the land of unconsciousness. Beady eyes flickered about the darkened room, from his sleeping wife to the open window...

Wait.

He never opened that window before going to bed.

"Vernon Dursley," a deep voice greeted amiably.

The overweight man's head snapped around to see a man wearing an expensive Italian suit and fedora seated on the rocking chair in the corner of the room, calmly polishing a pistol.

"W-who-! Pet! Wake up!"

The man's eyes never left him as Vernon attempted to shake his wife awake. "That won't work. I made sure we wouldn't be interrupted." Those dark eyes pinned the male Dursley in place. "Neither your son, nor your wife, will be coming to your aide."

"W-wait! I've never done anything! I am an upstanding citizen who-"

"I don't care," Reborn interrupted sharply "weither or not you are an upstanding citizen. I'm here about your nephew."

"The Freak?! He's long gone! Unthankful brat vanished years ago! Good riddance I say-" Vernon was cut off by the barrel of a gun being pressed against his forehead.

"Yes, well, he happens to be a friend of mine." Reborn continued in a deceptively friendly voice. "And I certainly do not take kindly to what you just said."

Vernon quivered under the hitman's sharp eyes.

And just as Reborn promised, no one came to help him.

In fact, no one even heard his screams.

Skull staggered tiredly into the dining room, rubbing a fist against his eye as he yawned.

"Good morning."

The purple-haired stuntman stumbled in shock, wide eyes turning towards where Reborn sat, calmly sipping a mug of coffee, a newspaper held in his hand while he studied the headline, an almost cheerful expression on his face.

Skull was instantly suspicious.

"M-morning, senpai..." Skull greeted warily, edging away from the older man.

If Reborn noticed (and Skull knew he did), he never mentioned Skull's behaviour, "Coffee's in the kettle. Help yourself."

Skull eyed the kettle sitting innocently on the stove, eye twitching slightly in nervousness. "It's not poisoned, is it?"

Reborn looked up from his newspaper, expression innocent (which was highly suspicious in itself - Reborn was never innocent). "Would I really stoop so low as to poison a cup of coffee?"

"Yes." Skull deadpanned.

The hitman sniffed in offense, "So little trust these days." Standing, Reborn tossed his newspaper onto the table. "Is Fon in the dojo?"

"I-I think so... He usually is at this time."

Reborn hummed, "I need to talk to him about this article..."

With that statement, Reborn wandered from the dining room, hands in his pocket and still looking suspiciously happy.

Skull watched him leave, scooting closer to the table, and therefore, the newspaper that Reborn had been reading.

What was so important in the paper, that it managed to but Reborn in such a good mood... And why was Reborn reading a British newspaper?

Tragedy Strikes! Entire family dies within a month of each other!

Oh...

Oh.

So, people asked for what Reborn had in store for the Dursleys? Well, here you go!

Wow, I'm on a roll today. Three stories posted within the same day? That doesn't happen very often for me. So I'd like to send a shout out to all those who commented on my other Soldier Series fics; your comments keep my Flames of Plot burning brightly.

And there's a little bit of protective!Reborn thrown in there too. And no, Reborn still doesn't know Skull's real name (must be grating), as someone's erased it from any and all databanks, and Vernon never calls him by name.

Please review with your thoughts on the story! Your comments are welcoming and they make my day.

~TDU