NB: I have to apologize in advance regarding this chapter. This contains the second cameo instance and, whereas the first one was so fleeting you probably never realized it was there, this one is obvious. Unfortunately, FeS2: Add-Ons won't start posting until after all FeS2 chapters are up. It didn't even occur to me when I began publishing this one that there was no frame of reference yet for the cameos. Just, you know, roll with it for now. The same is not true for the cameo appearances in other stories, because I have a handy little chart made up telling me when to post stuff to more or less sync up. So, whoops? If I remember, this note will poof once it's no longer applicable.

My personal e-book copies, lovingly formatted, are available at Grazhir. If you need a different format, Calibre can easily do the conversion from one of these two.

The two of them bowed again as a good-bye and allowed themselves to be shown out of Nono's suite, then found a quiet spot and apparated home. Luna grabbed Neville and started whirlwind preparations so Harry made a quick call to the Sawada house, then made up an overnight bag, captured Lambo, and hauled him away.

He only stayed for a minute ("I'm sorry it was on such short notice.") and then popped back home to rummage through the supplies in the kitchen while thinking about dinner and breakfast for everyone. That occasioned a fast trip to the store and he got back home just as the doorbell rang, so he hastily dropped the bags on the counter and headed for the front door to open it.

"Please be welcome in our home," he said, stepping back to allow entry to the group. Once they were all settled in the living room he asked, "Would anyone like something to drink?"

A minute later he was back in the kitchen putting away his groceries and preparing a drinks tray. That was floated out and placed on the coffee table just as Luna and Neville came down the stairs.

Reborn handled the introductions again so that Luna could report that rooms had been made ready. Harry suspected they had expanded one or two of the spare rooms; after all, he did not doubt that at least one guardian, if not two, would be in Nono's room the entire time keeping an eye on him. He was right. Once Nono was comfortably set up two of his guardians took up position in the room.

"This is going to feel super weird," Luna warned, then when Nono nodded she looked at Harry and said, "Can you decrease the gravity a bit for Nono for the duration without too much trouble? I think that would make things more comfortable."

"Yes. I can do that even though I'll be downstairs fixing dinner. I don't think I can do it while I'm asleep, though, so. . . ."

"I have plenty of Pepper-Up on hand."

"We're good, then."

She nodded and turned back to Nono. "May I proceed?"

Harry reached out with his Earth Flames as soon as she vanished the bones and had given Nono the Skele-Gro, so that the man's flesh wouldn't flatten so much. It might actually reduce the amount of pain since the new bones would have an easier time forming. "Done. I will be downstairs prepping for dinner if I'm needed."

Luna waved him off so he left. On his way downstairs Reborn landed on his shoulder and he picked up one of the guardians as his shadow. "You'll want to check in an hour," he told Neville as he passed through the living room, "to see if she wants to switch for the infusion."

"Okay, eleven people," he muttered. "Reborn, anything I should avoid?"

Reborn glanced at the guardian. "Ganauche?"

"Avoid shrimp."

"You could just make lasagne again," Reborn said casually. "You haven't made it in a while."

That was code for, "Please make me lasagne and the rest of them can deal with it." He smiled. "Sure." A bit later the kitchen smelled wonderful from the sauce bubbling away, the noodles were parboiled and waiting, the filling was ready, and a large salad was chilling in the fridge. He checked the clock and decided he had time to take a break, so he grabbed a bowl of grapes from the refrigerator and took a seat at the table with Reborn and Ganauche.

"Going to have to buy more of these. Lambo will flip if he finds out I ate so many of his grapes," he commented.

"Tch," Reborn said rudely. "He'll just pout at you and give you a teary look, then forgive you."

"Your son uses Lightning Flames, correct?"

Harry nodded. "Well, he has them. We're working on him consciously using them, but I prefer to get him up to speed on other things first, physically. Speed, reaction, aim, stuff like that. I mean, being able to wield flames is fantastic and all, but if you can't hit the broad side of a barn even with a map and a spotlight. . . ." He shrugged.

Ganauche chuckled.

"My chibi is enthusiastic and he's a very hard worker, but I like to make sure he has plenty of time for normal school-type activities and fun."

Reborn plucked some grapes out of the bowl and started munching on them.

Harry popped another grape into his mouth and went through his mental inventory, then got up to toss together a chess pie and one of mocha-chocolate cream. By the time the chess pie came out of the oven he was ready to put the lasagne in. The bread was prepared next and set aside, so he set his mental alarm and refreshed drinks all around before taking a seat again and slowly edging the bowl away from Reborn, who had made serious inroads on it.

"How are you going to stuff yourself senseless on my lasagne in an orgy of pleasure if you eat all the grapes?"

Reborn smirked. "Grapes are mostly water, so it's not as thought they're terribly filling."

Half a dozen responses flitted through his head, but all of them bordered on lewd, and he was not about to voice any with a stranger in the room. Instead he got up and put the bowl in the refrigerator and transferred the bread to the oven. "Let me think," he muttered. "Four upstairs, seven downstairs. . . . Kitchen or living room? We're not exactly formal around here."

Ganauche shrugged. "Sounds like they're watching television, so out there is probably fine."

Harry nodded and started grabbing plates, cutlery, and glasses to stack up on the counter. A pitcher was pulled out of storage and filled with pure water and a ton of ice, wine was selected, and he ducked into the storage room long enough to push out a serving cart.

Enough food for six was placed on the cart along with service for four and charms were used to maintain the temperature. "Reborn, I'm going to deliver this upstairs. Will you get everyone else squared away?" As soon as his lover nodded Harry was off, using his powers to float the cart up the staircase, and was shortly entering the room Nono was in.

Luna was back on duty so he told her, "If you need more, just send a messenger," before getting trays ready for the four of them. Luna would find it slightly difficult to manage considering she was infusing magic into Nono, but she was plenty inventive. "I hope you enjoy."

He joined the others downstairs, finding that Reborn had prepared a tray for him, so he took a seat next to him on a loveseat and tucked in. He sat back once he was done with a happy sigh, gave Reborn's hand a squeeze, then popped back up to give Luna a break.

Pepper-Up potions were used to keep him awake, but he was pleased to see that Nono was able to sleep through a lot of the pain. By morning he was fine, though stiff. He was also very grateful, though it came across in a fairly restrained way.

Once they finally left Harry crashed face-first onto his bed and slept.

. . .

They found another forest clearing and co-opted it for Halloween. A trail through the surrounding forest was made from glowing footprints, a way to lead guests to the location, and the route was sprinkled with scare effects. Luna wanted tacky, so he gave her tacky. There was a haunted house, cupcakes with bats on them, and every cliché he could think of when it came to food and décor for her birthday party.

Of course, no one they invited had any clue it was her birthday, because she did not want gifts and knew if they knew that they would feel obliged to bring some. Reborn was let in on things, but mostly so he could properly appreciate it if Tsuna and any of his friends freaked out on the way in. Harry would have considered calling in some actual ghosts to play parts, but muggles could not see them. He wasn't sure if flame users could, either. As it was, Neville was presumably having a hell of a time scaring people as they followed the footprints.

When they did finally arrive Tsuna looked a bit frazzled, Nana looked enchanted, and Lambo was giggling madly; about what he expected, really. Luna appeared wearing a set of rabbit ears and a puffy tail, to welcome everyone to her party and invite them to dig in.

. . .

A week later Reborn showed him another letter sealed with Sky Flame, then opened it. "Nono sends his thanks. He's doing very well and seems to have full mobility again. He has also mentioned a possible job, if you were interested in taking one."

"Oh?" He sent off spells to call in the others and started getting the snacks ready. "What sort of job?"

"There is a flame-wielding murderer at large, a very clever one, it seems. He uses Mist Flames to create artwork and sells them to his targets."

Harry's brow furrowed, not quite seeing how that worked.

"Once the work is safely at the target's home he uses his connection to the illusion to trap the target, and then he moves in for the kill, using the existing flames to essentially scare them to death. Because the art itself isn't actually real, there's no evidence left behind, no fingerprints, no DNA. . . ."

"Huh. That is pretty clever. I guess it's the thrill of the deception and the mystery left behind when the actual object goes missing."

Reborn shrugged. "Perhaps. The job is to take him out."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Can an insane person competently use their flames?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so that's out. A hit, then."

"I think it sounds interesting," Luna piped up. "Definitely the sort of criminal that mundane law enforcement couldn't possibly bring to justice."

Tsuna looked a bit uneasy as he settled in for their break.

"I agree," Harry said. "Any specifications on how he's to die?"

Reborn said, "Obvious."

"Well, either of us could do obvious," Luna said. "Want to flip for it?"

He pulled out a galleon and handed it to Tsuna, who looked at it curiously, then flipped it into the air.

"Heads!" Luna called.

It hit the picnic blanket heads up; Harry reclaimed it and tucked it away.

"Mwua ha ha. Public or private?"

"Either," Reborn said, "but if you do what I think you have in mind, you may traumatize the hell out of a lot of innocents in public."

"True."

"How can you be so casual about it?" Tsuna asked.

Luna gave him a disbelieving look. "Do you have any idea how many people we had to kill because of that terrorist and his minions? Once you accept that some people are simply too dangerous to live you kind of get over it. Look at it from inside your own skin. What if this man had sold some of that artwork to Nana-san? Kyoko-chan? It feels a whole lot different when it happens to someone you know, as opposed to hearing about someone going postal several countries over and gunning down a bunch of school kids."

Tsuna grimaced. "I understand, but—" He sighed. "Yeah."

"It's if you start not caring at all about who you kill that it's time for a long stay in a padded cell with lots of drugs," Harry said.

Tsuna shrugged and started eating.

Harry counted it as progress, and so did Reborn judging by his expression.

Reborn delivered a contract two days later that they went over with a fine-toothed comb. Luna signed in her spot and kept a copy as proof of her mission. "To give myself inspiration," she said, "I'll just pretend this is Fenrir Greyback."

Neville nodded. "Good choice."

When Friday evening rolled around she went off on a little trip and was back by Sunday. "It was simple," she claimed. "I tracked him until he was alone on the subway and decayed him into a puddle of disgusting goo."

"I can't imagine that the janitors will appreciate your gift," Neville said.

"No matter where I did it, someone would have to clean up," she pointed out. The copy was filed in a new safe they had constructed and life went back to the usual.

The next mission offer that came in involved a group that used flames to poison food, sort of like Bianchi could do, but not so obviously. Harry was offended by that and volunteered. He had his choice of how to deal with them, and chose to make it clean, simply compressing them all out of visible existence. He felt the odd twinge at what he was doing as he did it, but he also knew that, as Luna had said, mundane law enforcement would have absolutely no clue how to even find them, never mind bring them to justice.

Harry and Reborn were watching a movie when he realized that Reborn had fallen asleep, and did not look to be enjoying whatever dream he was having. "Reborn?" he said softly, hoping to wake the man, and when that did not work, he carefully placed a hand on his shoulder and shook gently.

A split second later a gun was pointed at his forehead.

And then Reborn was asleep again, the gun having vanished.

"Okay," he muttered. "This is weird."

Reborn did not actually wake up until morning, which made Harry extremely uneasy. But when he did, his expression was disturbed. "I apologize," he said. "Would you be willing to host a meeting tonight? I don't want to do this around Mama."

"Of course. How many people? What should I have on hand? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

Reborn stopped him with a kiss. "Just snacks or whatever, nothing special. As for how many, hm. Up to a dozen, I suppose. Lambo goes to bed at nine, correct?"

He nodded.

"I'll start contacting people, then. I'll see you tonight." Reborn gave him another kiss and vanished.

It was probably a good thing that they were on break for the new year. He got up, realizing that Lambo must have come in, seen Reborn there, and slept in his own bed for once, and went off to find his son.

After letting Luna and Neville know about the meeting he spent the better part of the day with Lambo, wandering the shopping district, playing games, and messing around with modeling clay. It wasn't until they were having an afternoon snack that Lambo finally said, "Was Otosan having a sleepover with Reborn?"

"Something like that, chibi. Daddy and Reborn like each other and like spending time together."

A finger went up to rest against Lambo's lower lip. "Mama and Sawada-san like? Lambo-san saw Reborn give Otosan a kiss once."

He chuckled. "You do realize that Reborn isn't really a little boy, right?"

Lambo nodded.

"It's Mama and Sawada-san like," he said.

Lambo's eyes widened and he started poking his index fingers against each other. "Is Reborn going to join our family?"

". . .I have no idea, chibi. I think it's a bit early to worry about that."

"O~kay!" Lambo warbled, then snarfed down more cheesecake.

He took his little man upstairs a bit early and tucked him in, read him a story, then kissed him good-night before heading back down to ensure everything was ready for the mystery meeting.

Reborn arrived with a number of people in tow. Tsuna was there, Dino, Dino's right-hand man Romario, and a number of Dino's men. Harry welcomed them all in and got them settled, though the nameless men arrayed themselves in twos here and there, including one set near the front door. Neville and Luna brought in a cart groaning with nibbles and drinks and made sure everyone had something, at least, before sitting down, as well.

"I have a favor to ask," Reborn opened with, after he situated himself on the arm of Harry's chair. "That favor is for representatives to fight on my behalf."

Tsuna went into partial freak-out mode while Dino just looked puzzled.

"Last night I dreamed of something from long ago, when a man with an iron hat and a clear pacifier appeared in my room with a claim that he was gathering the 'I Prescelti Sette'. It changed after that"—he glanced briefly at Harry—"to seven of us gathered together. We changed from our adult forms to these immature ones, though one disappeared, to be replaced by another, and one disappeared entirely.

"The man with the iron hat reappeared and we attempted to attack him. After all, he was responsible for what happened to us. When we realized we could not move the man—we eventually decided to call him Checker Face for the etched mask he was wearing—explained that we were sharing a dream, and that we would not be able to attack, either with weapons, flames, or our Arcobaleno powers."

Harry frowned slightly. He had not yet heard that term in any context aside from a weather phenomenon.

"He wasn't there to fight, he said, but rather to assess our determination and to make a proposition. None of us were of a mind to be anything but suspicious, but he asked whether or not we wanted to solve the 'Curse of the Rainbow'. I said nothing, but the others said they did. There would be a battle, he said, and the Arcobaleno who won would have their form reverted to an adult state. We would need representatives to fight on our behalf. I didn't trust him or what he was saying and stated so, but the others were . . . in favor, after Checker Face threatened to disappear and leave all of us in these forms for the rest of our lives."

After a silence Luna spoke up. "All right. What is the Curse of the Rainbow, then? Just the change in form and the powers you mentioned?"

"That, and being the bearer of these," Reborn said, tapping the pacifier he always wore. "None of us were asked if we wanted this. We were chosen based on our strength, our abilities, for each of the Flames of the Sky, and forced into this. I do not know the actual purpose behind any of it."

"Why would this come up now, after all this time?" Neville asked. "What, because iron hat guy is bored and wants to torture a new person with this curse?"

"That's an excellent question," Dino said. "What do you mean by representatives? Just one, or what?"

"A team. A 'boss' representative and up to six fighters. I myself will be unable to fight unless a representative is in serious danger, in which event I would be able to take on my adult form for three minutes only and fight. My real self is super cool," he said proudly. "We won't know the full details until later, but I do know that team alliances are allowed."

"Reborn," Harry said slowly, "are you—have you been feeling well, lately?"

". . .Now that you mention it, I have been feeling a little under the weather," Reborn admitted.

Luna slipped her wand out just enough and cast a diagnosis, then frowned and shrugged minutely.

"So—"

"I will help you," Harry heard himself saying. "I will fight for you."

Reborn leaned closer and whispered, "Thank you."

That was when he heard a familiar giggle. Harry sighed and said, "Excuse me for a moment, please," and got up to capture his son, who was spying on the meeting from behind a pot plant. He tossed an embarrassed smile over his shoulder before hauling Lambo upstairs to tuck him back in with a round of scolding and a stress on secrecy.

When he got back downstairs it was to find that Dino and—shockingly—Tsuna had agreed to be representatives.

"And others?" Luna was saying.

"That depends. I asked Hibari and he refused."

"Ano, that's not exactly surprising if a team can be a total of eight people," Tsuna said. "But, I guess, we could ask some of my friends."

"I was thinking of Gokudera, Yamamoto, Sasagawa, and Dokuro," Reborn stated.

Harry was simply pleased that neither sibling had jumped to volunteer. And speaking of that—"This is a battle to defeat, not death, right?"

Reborn gave him an amused look. "Yes. But accidents can happen, or someone might get caught up in bloodlust."

He spared a look at the ceiling, toward Lambo, and nodded.

"Are you willing to host meetings here, or at the field?"

"Of course."

"Then that's it for tonight. Tsuna and I can talk to the others tomorrow."

Dino eyed Harry and Reborn, then said, "I'll escort Tsuna back to his house."

Reborn simply nodded, though Tsuna looked puzzled. Harry wondered if the kid even realized that sometimes people went for their own gender, because he obviously was not interpreting the signals right when it came to his two tutors.

Once everyone was gone and it was just the two them, Reborn leaned in for a lingering kiss. "It means so much to me that you would volunteer."

"I wouldn't be me if I hadn't." Part of him had wanted to be flippant, because feelings were something he generally shied away from expressing all that openly. "You mean too much to me not to, Renato."

Reborn actually looked shocked. "Who—?"

Harry smiled a touch ruefully. "I accidentally lifted it from someone's mind."

"It was Shamal, wasn't it."

He nodded. "I was curious because of his behavior around the ladies, and then you wandered into the scene and he saw you. It dredged up your original name, which I heard-saw-felt as I was pulling away. Reborn is a fitting substitute, twice over."

"Do you know what I actually look like, then?" Reborn asked curiously.

"No. I didn't stick around. It was bad enough I gave into temptation at all. But then I didn't feel so bad later when he hit on Tsuki and she cursed him. By the way, why do you wear orange on your hat if you're a Sun?"

Reborn hesitated, then sighed. "There was always a tiny part of me that hoped to harmonize with a Sky. I wore orange as kind of a way to say it without really saying it. But I never did, and after I was cursed, never even bothered to consider it. I guess I still wear it because it's become a part of my image."

"What would you say if I changed that band to a reddish-brown?"

"That depends."

"On?"

"Will you promise to keep feeding me?"

"Yes," he said, knowing that Reborn was really asking, "Do you love me? Even in this cursed form?"

Reborn smiled and nodded, so Harry used his hard-won ability at wandless magic to alter the colour of the hat's band. He didn't even object when Reborn snuggled up to him, then nuzzled and kissed his neck. It was making him feel a bit weird—'Okay, a lot,' he thought—to feel his insides quiver with longing when he knew perfectly well the one kissing him was not in adult form, but he allowed it.

"I want to believe that this battle could give me what I've dreamed of," Reborn whispered against his neck, "but I fear it's all some kind of cruel cosmic joke."

Harry gave a mental "fuck it" and carried his lover upstairs and to his bedroom, so they could sleep cuddled up together.

The next day Lambo was spending time with I-Pin and Fūta, so he was safely occupied. Because of the holiday break Harry had plenty of time to open up a trail to the training field that would allow certain people to find the place. After all, the thought of apparating that many people—just no.

He met up with Reborn and the others outside Nami Middle and led the way, arriving not too much later at the field, where he broke out refreshments. Tsuna's friends were looking around curiously, probably wondering how they had never stumbled over the place before. They had just settled down when a very strange man appeared and bowed.

His face looked almost mask-like, for one. His hair was black and slicked back, and his eyes were unnatural. His tie, his gloves, and the top of his hat all sported a checker pattern. After laughing gaily he announced, "I am Wonomichi, the planner for the Representative Battle of the Rainbow!"

"How kind of you to drop in," Harry said dryly.

"It is, isn't it? I am here to explain the rules!" Wonomichi giggled like a school girl. "So! Here it is. Each team will be given a box with special wristwatches in them, one for the Arcobaleno, one for their representative boss, and six more for battlers. If a person's watch is destroyed they are eliminated from the Representative Battles. If the boss watch is destroyed, the team is eliminated.

"The watches will display the team name and a time. One minute prior to the start of a battle session the watch will display the allotted length of the session and, once it begins, count down, so you must all always be on your guards. The Arcobaleno may not engage in battle unless one of their representatives is in mortal danger, at which time they can request of the watch to suspend the curse for up to three minutes per twenty-four hour period."

"Can that suspension be invoked multiple times in that twenty-four hour period?" Reborn asked.

"Yes. There is a feature to resume your current form. So long as you have time remaining from those three minutes, you can suspend the curse again if one of your representatives is in mortal danger. During battle times any team can attack any other team, or members against members. You do not have to fight as a complete team at all times. If you have extra watches you may recruit additional battlers. You may form alliances between teams."

"Where will the battles take place?" Dino asked.

"Good question!" Wonomichi cried happily and giggled again. "Wherever you are!"

Harry frowned and made a mental note to have his siblings keep Lambo under house arrest, and to get a hotel room or camp out. "When does all this begin?" he asked.

"Four days from now!" Wonomichi said joyfully, and opened the briefcase he was carrying. From it he pulled a smaller case, which he handed to Reborn. "Choose wisely!" Then he disappeared.

Reborn opened the case and stared at the contents. "Do any of you wish to back out?"

No one said a word.

Reborn pulled one of the watches from the case, a black one, and offered it to Harry. "Will you accept this?"

He looked and saw that it was heavy-duty in construction and had a small plate at the top which read "Boss" on it. The time displayed on it was set to zeros, and just above that was "Reborn". He accepted the watch with a nod. He knew the offer meant that Reborn was confident in his ability to protect himself as what might well be the focus of the attacks.

The remainder were passed out, though he noticed that the one for Reborn resembled the cross-section of a pacifier for the face and came with a small tag, presumably instructions for the curse manipulation. His also had two lines of display, one of which already showed three minutes. There was one unused watch, which Reborn pocketed. Harry had no idea who Dokuro was, but they had not shown up.

"Unfortunately we don't know who else will be acting as representatives," Reborn said, "but I can make a guess that the Varia may well stand in for Mammon. The battles can be anywhere, which is not a good thing."

"Bets on any time, too?" Dino said.

Reborn nodded. "It is both good and bad that the students are all on break, because it means a very small chance of any battles occurring at any of the schools. However, if other teams do not respect the innocents of Namimori, there may be incidents within town. Something tells me we will not be able to go far, so please keep this in mind."

"You think everyone's coming here?" Tsuna asked.

Reborn nodded again. "If I'm wrong, we'll all very possibly be transported elsewhere when the time comes. That we weren't told where to be says something. So, let's talk about techniques to efficiently break the boss watches of other teams, and to support each other."

That evening Harry sat Lambo down for a serious talk. "Daddy is going to fight on Reborn's behalf, chibi, and I need to know that you'll behave, that you'll stick to the house while all this is going on. I don't want there to be any chance that you could get hurt."

"Tsuki-oba will make it fun like last time?" Lambo said.

He nodded. "I'm sure she will. And Kuma-oji. No spying, no running off. Will you do that for me?"

Lambo looked a bit disheartened at the idea of house arrest again, but nodded. "Lambo-san won't let Otosan down."

He pulled Lambo in for a fluffy hug. "I love you very much, Lambo. Thank you. I'll probably sleep somewhere else for those days, so that none of the fighting comes near here, but I'll do my best to call every day, all right?"

A finger went up to his mouth before Lambo said, "Does Otosan think that Kuma-oji will let Lambo-san sleep with him?"

"I don't see why not, chibi. You know he and Tsuki-oba love you a lot, too."

"Okay." It wasn't his usual cheerful warble, but he did not seem too unhappy.

Harry gave him another hug. "Let's go ask him together."

. . .

What upset Harry about the battles was not the fighting. It was the sheer brutality he was seeing, such as from Iemitsu toward Tsuna. It was time for his son to be "treated like an adult"? Punched so hard he flew and landed several blocks away? Thankfully the boy had been in Dying Will mode, so the damage was not fatal, or even a long-term problem.

It struck him that after all he had heard about the man, his insistence on coddling Tsuna, that suddenly expecting the boy to fight like a seasoned veteran was more than a bit ridiculous. Of course, Iemitsu seemed to be under the impression that Tsuna held the Boss watch and was very surprised that he did not.

At the end of the first "day" six people had been eliminated as recounted by the watches: Tazaru; Torikabuto; Daisy; M.M.; Tumeric; Oregano; and Ryohei.

Reborn explained who each of them were in an aside to Harry, the ones he was familiar with, at any rate.

"So all the CEDEF people have herb names?" Harry replied. "Does anyone ever make Spice Girls jokes?"

Reborn snickered. "From what the watches are telling us Team Verde eliminated five people in all of ten minutes. We need to gather intel to see what we're up against. My spies have told me where they are. We can get a few hours of sleep and head out." He pulled Harry aside and whispered, "I have insects spying and reporting back to me at intervals, but there's always a delay for them to travel. If you can get trackers on any other bosses. . . ."

He nodded. "I have them already on Colonnello and Iemitsu, Fon and Hibari. I don't know how fragile they are against a vast expenditure of flames, though, because it's not like Tsuna ever blew a gasket on us and shattered one. I'm also not sure what would happen if I threw up a quick and dirty ward set to try to hide us from everyone, in the event that we all desperately needed sleep."

Reborn frowned thoughtfully. "Without knowing what kind of true power Checker Face and his planner have, I couldn't begin to guess. We could try it, if it comes to that. The less you do obviously, though, the better, otherwise I might have suggested you charm the watches to all look the same, to further the confusion, or make them look like something else entirely."

Harry had a mokeskin pouch, for one, absolutely stuffed with various seeds. No plant life in the vicinity? Not a problem. Not as good as actual rooted plants, but certainly enough to give an opponent pause.

While everyone else was bedding down for the night Harry was checking the perimeter wards. The first day's battles had not begun until toward evening, but they had no guarantees aside from midnight, presumably. The wards would wake all of them with increasing, jagged vibration if anyone not of their group should approach their location.

Harry fell back into his habit of sleeping lightly, but they still managed a proper amount before it was time to get up and get moving, to go spy on the competition. Reborn led them to a manor on the outskirts of town.

The second "day" of battle started at sunset and was set for thirty minutes. It was a confusing brawl involving Teams Yuni, Reborn, Verde, and Colonnello. Team Yuni was eliminated and Harry took out someone who looked like an Arcobaleno but wasn't (Lal Mirch, Reborn informed him later; Harry had crushed her watch with gravity from under a disillusionment spell, reasoning that if Mist users could get away with altering reality on that level, so could he—and really, was an official going to pop in long enough to test him for the right kind of flames?).

Team Fon was eliminated when Hibari broke his own Boss watch in a snit over not being able to fight Xanxus.

Team Skull was eliminated when a new team appeared, Team Bermuda, and both defeated and took for their own the team's watches. Wonomichi appeared to all remaining Arcobaleno to inform them of the change, though not why it had been given sanction.

"Bermuda is Vendice," Reborn said, looking worried, having queried his returning spies.

"Why would they get involved?" he asked. "What possible reason could they have to bust in on this?"

"Bermuda. . . . He's like me."

"What?" That had certainly not been a part of the information shared about Arcobaleno.

"It's part of what I don't understand, Hari," Reborn said, sounding tired.

'Holy fuck,' he thought, 'and everyone keeps saying you don't mess with the Vendice. Shit.'

When the watches came to life again everyone groaned, then expressed confusion over being informed of more eliminations. They weren't even on battle time, so why was any of it allowed?

Team Colonnello was eliminated by Team Bermuda. They would not find out until later that Iemitsu had offered for Team Colonnello to sleep at the Sawada home, and that Nana had come under attack during Team Bermuda's assault, and had been hospitalized. The second Reborn's insects came back with the news Harry ducked away to cover and sent off a patronus to his siblings.

"I saw that, whatever it was," Reborn whispered when he returned.

"A messenger, essentially," he replied. "I asked my siblings to bring Fūta and I-Pin to our house and keep them there. Team Colonnello might be eliminated, but I rather doubt that Sawada-san will bother to look after them, not with Nana-san in hospital." He glanced over to see Tsuna huddled next to Gokudera and Yamamoto.

"This won't do a thing for the relationship between Tsuna and Iemitsu."

Harry shook his head. "I'll activate the secondary aspects of the wards here. If Team Bermuda is attacking outside of sanctioned time. . . ."

"I agree."

The third "day" brought another ally. A girl showed up and accepted the final watch from Reborn right before they were attacked by members of Team Bermuda. The three Vindice fought with incredibly long chains tipped with sharp, triangular tips. The watches alerted them at midnight that a session was about to start and was set for twelve minutes.

Part way through the battle a combination of attacks stripped away most of the bandages covering the Vindice, to reveal a nightmare of zombie-like forms of partly-decayed flesh, and each of them wore a stone-like pacifier. One spoke. "First of all, I'll praise you. It's the first time anyone has ever managed to see the real us. Even though only momentarily, you surpassed the power of a human being."

"Are you suggesting," Reborn said, "that you aren't human, in the end? Besides, what you have around your necks isn't something that can be found just anywhere. Those pacifiers have the exact same shape as an Arcobaleno's."

"Why do you have them?" Gokudera demanded. "Tell us!"

"We can't . . . without Bermuda's permission."

"What is he?" Tsuna asked.

"Maybe he's in collusion with Checker Face!" Gokudera shouted.

"No!" their spokesman said angrily. "Bermuda would never, ever team up with Checker Face! Bermuda is the most worthy of being an Arcobaleno!"

Yamamoto and the girl took out one of the Vindice, Harry took out the second with gravity, and Tsuna and Gokudera managed the third, but only after Reborn pulled out an old test paper of Tsuna's that showed what a loser he had been previously and said, "You've been doing so well that if you lose in a battle of Dying Wills at this point, Tsuna, I wash my hands of you! Understood?"

Before they had a chance to relax more flames burst into being. "My pacifier is resonating," Reborn muttered.

Out of the disturbance came two Vindice, one in Arcobaleno form. "I didn't come here to fight you this time," Bermuda said. "I have business with Reborn."

"What do you want?"

"I bring you an invitation. Join me."

There was a long pause while everyone tried to make sense of that. Even Reborn was showing signs of surprise. "You want to make an alliance with my team?"

"No, I don't need your team. I just like you. I want only you. For my team."

Reborn's brow went up. "Are you mental? Of course I'm going to say no."

"I thought so," Bermuda said, raising a finger. "But once you know the truth you won't be able to."

Something started forming near Reborn. Harry had no clue what it was, but Tsuna shouted. "A warp hole!?"

"You're coming with me," Bermuda said.

'What the fuck is a warp hole?' he thought. Before he could figure out how to react, Reborn was sucked into something like a singularity, and Tsuna with him, as the boy had jetted forward using Sky Flames and followed him through.

'I feel . . . like a complete failure,' he thought, then checked the tracker on Reborn. 'Italy? So warp holes are a form of transportation.' The watches came to life again and announced the end of the battle day. And that reminded him that Dino was nowhere to be found; in fact, he usually wasn't. Had Reborn sent him off on some mission during a moment of inattention?

The others all looked at him. "They're in Italy right now," he said. "If Bermuda is attempting to sway Reborn to his side, we can hopefully expect them to be safe, and to be returned to us. Get something to eat and try to rest. I'll keep watch."

"Ano, Gokudera and Yamamoto look like they might need the hospital," the girl said, causing the two boys to glare at her.

He looked more closely and saw she was correct. "Shit," he muttered. Healing potions would only work if he infused magic into them for long enough, and he was only one person. "You two still okay to stand?"

Both boys nodded and got up, though they were flagging pretty badly at the effort. Harry reached out and altered the gravity around them. "I'll float you there, then."

"I will come, just in case," the girl said.

He learned her name along the way—Dokuro Chrome—and recalled that Reborn had mentioned wanting to recruit her. She might not be an exceptionally powerful Mist user, but she had plenty of resolve and their victory would not have gone nearly as smoothly without her. She stayed at the hospital while Harry returned to the clearing.

It wasn't too long after that Reborn and Tsuna stepped out of a sudden disturbance.

"Reborn! Tsuna!"

Reborn sent a small smile at Harry, but turned to tell Tsuna something. After a few exchanges Tsuna nodded and walked away. Reborn moved to Harry's side. "The others?"

"The hospital. Dokuro-chan and I brought them there. I couldn't heal both by myself. But they should be fine quickly enough."

Reborn nodded. "Tsuna went home for the time being. As far as I know Iemitsu is there, but since he's out of the battles. . . . I need to gather the other Arcobaleno to speak with them about what just happened. I am certain that Bermuda's team won't attack out of session, so if you want to visit home yourself. . . ."

"Why do I get the feeling you may not tell me what happened?"

"Not right now," Reborn replied. "I'll be back here as quickly as I can. Please."

He sighed. "All right. I don't like it, but all right."

"Thank you." Reborn gave him a kiss and vanished.

Harry slipped into a tent and waited. As much as he would like to see his family in person he just couldn't risk it. He never realized he had fallen asleep until Reborn woke him up by sitting on his chest and leaning in to give him a kiss.

He covered his mouth so he did not yawn right in Reborn's face. "Huh."

"We Arcobaleno had a bit of a scuffle," Reborn said. "When Bermuda borrowed me—and I let him do it, because I wanted to know the truth—I was finally shown the truth behind the Arcobaleno, the Fated Day, and the Representative Battles. All of it is part of a generational system. The rings the Vongola guardians wear? The pacifiers? They end up handed down to the next generation at some point. There's a second set of rings, but that's irrelevant for the moment."

He did not like where what Reborn was saying was going.

"The difference is that the pacifiers are, well, different. The point of these battles is to find the next generation of Arcobaleno," Reborn said tonelessly.

He stared into his lover's eyes while his heart broke. The Vindice had pacifiers, stone ones, and were horror show freaks. "You either end up dead or part of the Vindice," he guessed flatly, but he could not prevent the almost painful action of swallowing after those words.

Reborn nodded. "We're coming to the end of our lifespan as Arcobaleno. We need to be replaced. The pacifiers are part of a system to protect the Flames of the Sky in this world, and we're the poor bastards who got sucked into competing for places under a curse. Checker Face alternates how it happens so that people forget in time and don't make the connection."

"So no matter who—so why did Bermuda want you on his team?"

"He wants to break the system. The only time Checker Face is supposed to be vulnerable is when he's making the changeover. Bermuda wants to win so he can kill him then, and it would result in the destruction of the pacifiers, as well as anyone connected to them. It's basically a question of how we want to die."

"I see. Why did you fight with the other Arcobaleno? They couldn't agree on how to respond?" Both of them ignored that his voice cracked.

"Basically. I saw Tsuna just a little bit ago. He looked like he'd barely slept. He made it very clear to me that he wasn't giving up. He also called me a failure as a home tutor if I was going to act so accepting of death. I think he's up to something, has some plan. He's really coming into his own."

Harry smiled, then snapped, "Fat lot of good that will do if you and the others die and the best of us become your replacements."

Reborn kissed him again. "I know. I just couldn't resist you. Let's hope whatever Tsuna has in mind works, because I want to be with you for a long, long time, Hari."

Three o'clock and everyone able to fight was ready according to the plan worked out amongst the strongest fighters and the Arcobaleno. Team Reborn was at the clearing when Bermuda appeared through a warp. "Reborn-kun. I came to pick you up. Have you made preparations to join us?"

"Sorry, Bermuda. I can't become your ally."

"Eh? This is a surprise. You know what this'll mean, right?"

"We won't let your team win," Dino said.

"We won't let Reborn and the others get killed, either," Tsuna added.

"Well, well. Even though I already told you that no matter what, there was no way for them to stay alive. . . . Or could it be that you've come across some secret method of keeping the current Arcobaleno alive? Well, whatever. I have no need for weak allies that would cling to life like this. This is good-bye, Reborn-kun. I'm counting on you, Jager-kun."

"Don't think I'm the same as before," Tsuna warned. "My friends are here with me today!"

Bermuda just laughed creepily.

"When it comes to trash, the result is the same no matter how many people come at you." The watches announced the battle start and Jager acted, using chains to lop off Tsuna's head, but the body refused to fall or even show signs of death. "This feeling. . . . A puppet!?"

"It's strange," Bermuda said. "I can sense the flame, and even the heartbeat. . . ."

Jager used his chains again and ripped open "Tsuna's" body down the center, revealing a container of flames and mechanisms.

"As we anticipated," Reborn said, "you have the power to not only sense our forms, but our flames as well. On our side we have not only fighters, but also several geniuses. Well done, right? Using Verde's equipment, specialists installed speakers giving off heartbeats and voices, and devices containing everyone's respective flames, into exact simulacrums to create these 'decoy puppets'."

Jager attacked again, taking down everyone but Reborn, exposing them all as puppets.

"But you're the real thing, Reborn-kun," Bermuda stated.

"Hm, I wonder. . . ."

"You just said, 'on our side,' huh? In other words, it's not just your team, but the remaining three teams have joined together, huh?"

"Hm, I wonder. . . ." Reborn repeated.

While Reborn was keeping Bermuda busy, Harry, Tsuna, Basil, and Enma were going from battle to battle and destroying the opponents that everyone else was keeping distracted in preparation for their arrival. All four of them could fly, and two of them could speed the others up.

Eventually it came down to Jager, and it was realized—by Tsuna!—that Jager had to keep making contact with Bermuda in order to replenish his flame. Tsuna shouted it out for all of them present to hear it.

"I see," Reborn said, "Now everything makes sense."

"In other words, the Arcobaleno who become Vindice don't stand on their own feet, but simply survive with the energy Bermuda gives them!" Verde said.

"That is. . . ."

"Just like living corpses."

"I don't want to be his slave!" yelled Skull.

"It's too late," Bermuda said.

And then Wonomichi appeared, flailing his arms. "No, Bermuda-san!" he called with a laugh. "You must move away! Even though you're the Arcobaleno of the team, unless you break your spell you're an outsider!" He giggled happily. "From now on I will consider any contact an act of cooperation, since you're supplying energy, and that's forbidden! If you do it you go against the rules and lose!"

"It's okay," Jager said. "I've recovered enough energy."

And the battle was on again. Eventually it came down to Enma and Harry holding Jaeger in place so that Tsuna could blast a hole straight through Jager's torso and send him tumbling in a heap on the ground.

"He won't die so easily. Finish him!"

"I won't let you," Bermuda said. "Now that I've come this far, I won't let you get in my way. Present, please!"

But while Bermuda was doing the usual villain-type speech after he morphed into his un-cursed form, Harry just rolled his eyes slightly and flattened him. Tsuna immediately destroyed Jager's watch, ending the Representative Battles.

"Oooo!" Wonomichi said. "This means, Team Reborn is the winner!" He laughed happily and removed his hat, reaching in to grab handfuls of confetti and toss it around. "Congratulations! As a special gift, Reborn, the Arcobaleno of the winning team, will have his curse removed!"

"Don't lie, Wonomichi," Tsuna said flatly.

"What?" Wonomichi stopped mid-throw of more confetti.

"The real goal of the Representative War of the Rainbow is to get rid of the current Arcobaleno, kill them, and chose the next generation of Arcobaleno to protect the pacifiers."

"Eh? Hah? What are you talking about?" And still he giggled and laughed.

"You shouldn't blame him," came a voice. "He really doesn't know anything."

Checker Face appeared, doffing his hat as a greeting.

"I can't feel his presence," Reborn said.

"Must be a hologram or something," Fon added.

"It seems that Bermuda-kun told you a lot of bad things about the Arcobaleno and the secret of the pacifiers."

"It's all true," Bermuda said from his position on the ground.

"I believe what Bermuda told us about the secret of the Arcobaleno is true," Tsuna said, "but I don't support his plan of killing the Arcobaleno to defeat Checker Face."

"Defeat me? That's a nice dream."

"Sawada Tsunayoshi! Don't speak too much!" Bermuda demanded.

"But we have to discuss this, either way!"

"Discuss with me?" After a slight pause Checker Face continued, "I think Bermuda-kun is slightly misunderstanding things. First of all, he thinks that I'll take you to the dimension where I actually exist, where you would be able to kill me. However, the me you see here is the real one. I'm just hiding my presence with the Segno Ring." After drawing attention to his hand he reached up and removed his disguise. He was a perfectly normal-looking human male with white hair, glasses, and wearing a green kimono. The disguise went back on a second later.

"This is only one of my various forms. For the Tri-ni-set. Your plan of defeating me is wrong from the start." He let loose with a burst of flames that washed past everyone. "About ten times your flame. To me it's as easy as breathing. Now—"

"Yeah, yeah, get on with it," came a new voice.

Harry oriented on it to see two men standing nearby, looking bored. They had been customers of his once upon a time.

Checker Face ignored them for some reason. "We have different standards. Scientifically, as creatures."

"Are you saying that you're an alien or something?" Verde asked.

"On the contrary, I'm a true Earthling. The only ones of my species currently alive are me . . . and Yuni."

"Eh?"

"Same species?" Reborn said. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't plan to speak about this, but I may as well do it for once. If I change my mind I can just erase your mind or you directly."

"What!?" rose up from those present.

But Harry heard something else. He heard a yawn coming from those two men.

"I don't know what you've seen or heard so far, but what I'm about to tell you is the only truth. My species has been living on this planet since way before your species was even born. Protecting this miraculous planet, the Earth, was the mission of my people. The Tri-ni-set is a device that keeps the balance of the Earth's life force and cultivates life so that it evolves correctly.

"The original Tri-ni-set looked different from now. In the beginning they weren't twenty-one pieces like the current pacifiers, the Vongola rings, and the Mare rings. They were seven stone pieces. This is because in the faraway past, when there were still over ten people of my species, we were able to light flames inside the seven stones with our power and activate them."

"Kami-sama, does this guy beat Binns or what?"

"But when my comrades died one after the other and only five of us, me included, were left, we became unable to make the stones work with just our power. That's when we decided to borrow the power of the new Earthlings—that is, you. The pacifiers were born by partitioning the seven stones. Since the flames must be kept on continuously, the pacifiers can't be removed, and the Arcobaleno were born as sacrifices to protect the pacifiers. It was a cruel system, but we had to do it to protect Earth's lifesystem."

"Or, you know, they could have reproduced more often. Same damn mistake as the pure-bloods."

Harry turned to look at them again in confusion. The Japanese one winked at him.

"But, our comrades kept on dying, and in the end only I and Yuni's ancestor were left. The two of us alone were unable to control all the remaining stones. Once again, trying to borrow power, we further divided the stones and created the Vongola and Mare rings, following the proposal of Yuni's ancestor. Contrary to the pacifiers, the rings can be removed, and since there are more of them, they're less of a burden for the wearer.

"The Vongola rings were given to the young family of vigilantes chosen by her, and the Mare rings were controlled by her family. After that I became the one who controlled all regarding the Tri-ni-set. I only appear when it's time for the pacifiers' maintenance. In other words, at the time of the Arcobaleno's generational challenge. Well, it was refreshing to talk about it, but how about you give me back the current pacifiers?"

"Wait!" Tsuna shouted. "There must be another way!"

"If there was one I'd already be using it," Checker Face replied. "This method is the last one that's left. By the way, Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun, you're worrying about the current Arcobaleno, but you're one of those on the list of new ones."

"Don't worry, Harry," that man said again. "You're not on it because of your flame type, but it won't come to that."

Harry finally got curious enough and frustrated enough to walk over there and cock a brow at the fellow.

"Even if you were, there's no way I'd let an alternate version of myself end up as a chibi."

"What the fuck?" he said as Tsuna said, "I'm already prepared."

"Sorry for the wait, brat," said yet another new voice. An old man appeared, eyes covered with a blindfold, and carrying a curious device. "Checker Face. Why don't you try this before creating the new Arcobaleno?"

"Talbot-jiisan!" Tsuna said in relief.

"Really, Harry, don't worry. I may even explain before we leave again. Or leave a note. Something. Or maybe not. I may have to steal some of your recipes, though."

Harry glared as Checker Face asked, "What's that?"

"A container that can take the place of the pacifiers. If you use this you will never need the pacifiers again."

Checker Face actually looked intrigued. "And why?" he drawled.

"The seven types of Flames of the Sky have a special characteristic," Talbot explained. "If they accelerate and surpass a certain speed their energy is amplified. By putting the eighth type of flame, the 'Flame of the Night', inside the container in the shape of a loop, and making the seven types accelerate by going through a succession of warp holes, you won't need to replenish the flames again for almost an eternity."

"I see," Verde said.

"There are some issues. First of all, the flame used as the initial spark must be huge. Secondly, someone must keep on lighting the Night Flame."

"It's interesting," Checker Face said, "but if the eighth flame is needed. . . ."

"These people really need to get to the point more quickly," Harry muttered.

"Indeed, it's pretty unthinkable that after living for the sole purpose of defeating Checker Face and creating the eighth type of flame to use it for his vengeance that Bermuda will agree to use it to protect the Tri-ni-set," Verde opined.

Reborn turned to Bermuda, who had yet to bother getting up, and said, "What do you think?"

"Of course. I want to do it!"

"What?" Checker Face seemed surprised more than anyone by that answer.

"This way we will be the ones controlling the fate of the pacifiers. We can steal the leadership from the odious Checker Face."

"Those aren't nice words, Bermuda. In this case, it's good manners to refuse."

"No!" Yuni shouted. "We should ask him! By stealing the rights over the Tri-ni-set from you they will have accomplished their revenge. This is because for you, it would be the greatest humiliation. And after their desire for revenge has worn off, they want to offer their own future so that no other sacrifices like the Arcobaleno are born. You should be extremely happy about it," she insisted. "Also because your life will not last forever, Checker Face."

He gazed at her through the slits in the mask he was hiding behind. "You can see it, descendant of Sepira. The Tri-ni-set still thriving in the future."

"Yes!"

"Fine." He removed his disguise again and said, "Then do it, Talbot. And thank you, Bermuda. I've lived so far, keeping my belief and wearing this embarrassing mask, because my wholehearted desire to protect the life on this planet made me decide that small sacrifices were needed to avoid greater ones. But I've always thought that if there was a better way to maintain the Tri-ni-set, then I'd have used it right away and entrusted it to the next generation."

"To make the pacifiers successful even when not attached to a human being, the size of the first flame is vital," Talbot said. "All of you must do your best to pour the flame inside the device!"

Harry moved back over to join the circle and help. At Talbot's signal they began and a glorious ring of flames rose up around them.

"If this works," Skull said, "our curse can be broken, right?"

"I'll promise it," Checker Face replied.

And then it was done, but the Arcobaleno were still in five year old forms. The only one who morphed back to an adult state was Lal Mirch.

"Why didn't all the others go back to normal?" Tsuna asked as Checker Face disappeared.

"Lal was only cursed partially," Verde said dismally, "while we were cursed completely. Maybe when he removed the same amount of curse it had different effects on our bodies. Lal's curse was less powerful, so in her case it was removed completely and she went back to normal. But in our case it might be that only the block on aging was lifted. In other words, like normal human children, we might be growing up from now on."

Reborn sighed and scrambled up onto Harry's shoulder. "It's something, right?"

Harry laughed because he didn't know what else to do. "Maybe we can fix it."

"Har~ry!"

He turned around again and walked over to the two men. "What!?"

"Expect a surprise in the morning, okay? A very special gift. Because we like you."

Before he could respond the two men faded out, leaving him speechless.

"Hari? Who were you talking to?" Reborn asked carefully.

He sighed and shook his head. "No one, apparently. You want some pizza? I could go for some pizza."

Reborn looked back at everyone else and nodded. "Yeah. Pizza sounds good. But there's a question I should ask first."

"Oh?"

Reborn hummed thoughtfully. "Wander over to Tsuna, please."

Once he had Reborn asked, "So, have you given any more thought to becoming Vongola Decimo? I mean, you are wearing the ring, which pretty much says you are."

Tsuna looked like someone just told him all his hair had fallen out. "I—I don't know."

Reborn clucked his tongue. "I see. Well, if you can't make up your mind and decide to take on the role—I was thinking, since I'm not cursed any longer, I'd like to start a new life. See you."

"What!?"

"I'm not so good-natured, you know. If you have no intention of becoming the tenth, then I have no more business with you." He stroked the back of Harry's neck as a signal.

Harry hastened away from a sputtering Tsuna to a secluded spot and apparated, landing in his bedroom. "Do you really mean that?"

"Sort of, but it's more of a way to let him know that choice is still looming over his head. I'll give it a week. You don't mind if I hide out here, right?"

"Of course not. Now let's go let everyone know it's over."

The next morning Harry woke up wrapped in an embrace. This puzzled him greatly. Then his neck was kissed and nibbled on, his ear bitten—

He shot up and looked at who was in bed with him. "What the fuck?"

"Interesting. I seem to be an adult again."

"Eh?"

"Even my hat is adult sized!" He laughed delightedly.

"Reborn?"

"Mm. The things I will do to you. . . ."

Harry's eyes went wide and he could feel the heat stealing over his face.

"I certainly hope you intend to ward this room in the near future so that noise can't escape," Reborn said, leering at him.

". . .Wow. You're really handsome," he said inanely.

"I told you my real form was super cool," Reborn said smugly. "Now feed me. Breakfast, I mean."

Luna laughed her ass off when she saw Reborn in adult form and the look on Harry's face.

"Ano, who is this, Otosan?" Lambo asked curiously from his position latched onto Harry's leg.

"Reborn."

Lambo gasped and scrambled up onto Harry's shoulder so he could peer more closely at Reborn. "Oooo, Otosan's gonna get some!"

He closed his eyes against the urge to strangle his sister. "Tsuki, what have you been teaching him!"

— End —