Author's Note: See next chapter for Author's Note.

Nana could not have children.

When she first heard the verdict from the doctors, that she was infertile, she thought that there had to be a mistake. She did everything she could to conceive but to no avail. It wasn't a common practice—still experimental—but when she got a flier in the mail for invetro-fertilization, she practically jumped at the opportunity.

When she got there, she had been informed that her husband's seed had already been extracted. She found it odd and there was always a small part of her that wondered if it was really true or not but, nine months later, when she was holding a baby boy with her caramel-colored eyes and hair, she knew it didn't matter because this was her son.

"Tsunayoshi. My sweet Tsunayoshi." She whispered, holding the boy close. She was exhausted but her son was here so it was all worth it. "Welcome to the world."

But her happiness was short-lived. As soon as she was released, as soon as she planned on telling Iemitsu the good news, her boy was taken.

She screamed and yelled, hired detectives, assassins—anything she could get her hands on—but her son was gone.

It was late one night when she was contemplating ending her own life that they came.

The man in the checkered mask and the girl with the white dress.

"Your son is not dead." The little girl and Nana was overcome with an eery calm. "In fact, he will return to you."

"When?" She whispered.

"Now, now," The man said and Nana wanted to scream in fear because there was just something wrong about his presence—or lack thereof. She was not sure, all that she knew was that these two were unnatural. "I will grant you the gift of a second chance with your son—however, it is important that you don't ask any questions when I do."

Nana frowned. "How will I know that what you're bringing back is truly… my son?"

A crafty smile spread over the visible part of his face and Nana shivered. "I give you my word that, who I bring to you, will be your biological son—however, one day, the people that he touched while being separated from you will come back to retrieve him. I ask that you do not fight them for your son is very special and plays an important role in maintaining the balance of this world. I will give you your son back—give you a second chance to raise and nurture him—but you cannot ask any questions and you cannot keep him."

"I don't understand. Why are you doing this?" Nana whispered, filled to the brim with joy, fear and anguish. "I'm cursed..."

She did not expect the masked man to laugh at her. "No, madam, it is not you that is the one that is cursed." His smile widened into a teeth-baring grin. "Your son is."

Nana wondered what he meant but when she woke up the next morning, she had no recollection of ever having a son.

Esta Diamonatique wanted to have children so bad but she couldn't carry her child to full term. Esta had long, wavy black hair and garnet eyes that seem to glow in an alluring way. She carried herself as though she was better than everyone, as though she had no time for incompetence. It scared some off but those that dared to approach her were sure to remember her.

But her striking beauty came at a severe price. Half-way through the pregnancy, something in her body would shift and kill the child before the due date. Three children were already forcefully terminated because her body was flawed.

When she got a flier in the mail, she knew that this was the only chance she would get. She was young and beautiful but she had a nasty temper so no man wanted anything to do with her, in fear that she would scratch their eyes out. She had tried learning restraint but no matter what she did, she always seem to turn back.

She hoped that having a child would change that. She knew she would treat a child of her own flesh and blood better than she would those nasty men.

"Do you have a husband?"

She lied and told them she did. When they asked for his name—to see if they had his DNA, she was told—she gave them a fake name. She was horrified when they came back and said that they had it but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"It says here that your body cannot carry a child. There is an experimental procedure that lets someone else carry your child—there are three women here currently that match your blood type. Would you like to ask one of them if they can carry your child?"

Esta leaned forward. "Yes." She said, tears of joy already streaming down her cheeks. The good doctor smiled.

"This way then." He stopped outside of a door. "Wait here please." When he walked in, Esta could hear the doctor talking. There were a few exchanges but Esta couldn't make any of it out. When the doctor walked out, he looked pleased. "I have good news—one of the women volunteered to help. Nanako, will you please come out here?"

A beautiful woman with long brown hair stepped out. She smiled at Esta who, belatedly, scrambled to do a half bow. "It's nice to meet you." She said with lightly accented Japanese. Nanako looked relieved. "My name is Esta."

"I'm Nanako but please call me Nana. I heard you needed someone to carry your baby?"

The clinic burned down before the procedure could be done.

Esta remembered sobbing into Nana's chest. Her only chance to be a mother, ruined.

The next day, the newspapers released a statement—the semen samples that were labeled with different names all came from three different people. The children that matched the DNA samples found just seem to vanish.

And the entire time she read the newspaper, Nana felt a dull ache take root at the base of her skull.

What was that strange feeling?

"Where did they get Vongola Primo's semen?" Luce asked, somewhat horrified.

Kawahira set his teacup down. "It is my belief that, if a bloodline is in danger of collapsing, the Vendice will pull a hair-brained scheme like this in order to renew it."

"Why?" Luce asked.

"I do not know." Kawahira admitted. "I can tell you this—of all of the times I have met Tsunayoshi, this is the first time I have met him in this time period."

Luce, who was only 9 at the time, frowned. Kawahira had raised her, taught her everything she would need to know, so she called on that knowledge in order to connect the dots. That would mean that… "Wait… that means that… this Tsunayoshi… he was not supposed to be born yet?"

Kawahira smiled. "Exactly."

Tsuzukeru.

Esta Diamonatique is the name I gave to Xanxus' mother since it's not ever actually revealed... is it? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.