Kazumi's stay in the hospital largely consisted of a lot of nothing. For the first two days after she regained consciousness, the nurses pretty much refused to let her do anything but rest to ensure there was no lasting damage from sustaining a concussion. No books, no television… The only thing she COULD do was listen to music. And even then it was only the soothing, relaxing kind. Which by the end of the first day alone made her more irritated than relaxed, resulting in her attempting to sleep through most of the second day anyways.

Except the nurses were checking up on her every hour.

It always happened just when Kazumi thought she might actually be able to get some sleep, but every time, right at the last second, she'd hear the door to her room begin to slide open, and she'd be wide awake. Again. This time was no different. When Kazumi opened her eyes, she slowly turned to look at the intruder, only to find the wide eyed nurse who thought she had been being sneaky. She knew it wasn't the nurse's fault, they were just doing their jobs, so she couldn't quite get mad at them for it. And she had tried to be quiet. Just those doors were so noisy. But damn it was annoying.

"Still awake I see." The nurse said with a heavy, almost defeated sigh, as she realized she had been caught yet again. "You really should get some rest Yamashita-chan, it will help your injuries heal much faster." Kazumi let a ghost of a smile grace her lips as her eyes followed the nurse who was once again checking her vitals.

"I'll try my best. Thank you." The nurse returned the smile.

"That being said, you appear to be healing well. The bruising on your cheek and neck have come a long way in these few days alone, and the doctor has even said that it's likely your bones will heal stronger than ever! It's a shame you'll have such a terrible scar left behind though." Instinctively, Kazumi looked at her arm, most of it tightly bound in a brace and hiding the large wound in question.

"That's a relief." She said quietly, almost whispering to herself. It's not like she cared that much if the injury left a scar. She already had more than her fair share. If anything she was more worried about the number of questioning or concerned stares she'd likely get whenever the scar would be seen. She was lucky up until now, that most of her scars were either faded along with the memories of how she got them, or easy to hide. Kazumi was so engrossed in her thoughts that she barely realized that the nurse was even still talking. God she was tired.

"The young man that brought you in and visits you every day; is he your boyfriend?" The nurse asked, attempting to make simple small talk as she went through all of her checks. Kazumi almost choked when the question came out. The sudden change of posture, along with coughing to breathe again made the side with her broken ribs hurt painfully. Well, she was definitely awake now!

"What? No! He's just a classmate. A friend! A friend!" Kazumi managed when she finally was in control of herself again. She huffed out a sigh as she tried to get back into a relaxed position with the nurse's help who gave her an apologetic smirk.

"My apologies for assuming. I only meant that where he seemed so concerned about you, I thought you might have some sort of relationship with him." Kazumi managed a laugh at the nurse's response.

"No, he's just like that. He cares for everyone more than himself." She explained with a hint of admiration in her tone.

"Ah, I see. Then you're very lucky to have a friend like that, Yamashita-chan."

"I know." She smiled weakly. "I'm quite grateful for him. His kindness is more than I deserve."

xXx

A day later, Tsuna came again after school, only this time he had brought along Takeshi and Hayato. There was no Reborn. Thank. Kami-sama. Together they each walked into Kazumi's room, helping Tsuna carry in what looked like a gift basket that was far too much for just one person. She found herself openly gawking at it, completely speechless while Tsuna stood there awkwardly, unsure of how to address the gift.

"S-sorry. My mom said she couldn't decide what to get you, so she pretty much included everything." He nervously explained. "I think she put a magazine or two in there, colouring and puzzle books, and I'm pretty sure she mentioned something about pajamas… Oh, and she baked a few things for you as well. I don't know what exactly, but I'm sure it'll be good."

"Tsuna's mom is as great a baker as she is a cook!" Takeshi pitched in a second later. "I guarantee you'll like whatever it is."

"Mio Dio." Kazumi muttered, still staring at the monstrosity with her mouth hanging open. "I, um… Thank you. Please tell her I said thank you." It was at that time that Hayato stepped forward, placing a small sized gift bag beside the basket. He didn't look at her, just silently shuffled over awkwardly before returning to his spot against the wall.

"What?" He asked grumpily when he caught her stare following him. "It's just a few magazines. Nothing to get all excited about."

"I… Thank you, Gokudera-kun." Kazumi huffed out, trying not to make a big deal out of it. She was definitely touched by his thoughtfulness, despite the feeling she's had that he didn't really care for her.

"Che. Don't think too much into it. It wouldn't have been right if I was the only one to not come with a gift."

"Oh? You brought a gift too, Takeshi-kun?" At this point, Kazumi didn't know whether to feel impressed or distressed. Seriously, she was only going to be in the hospital for a few more days at most. What was she going to do with everything?

"Yeah! It's not much, but my dad had some left over sushi from the restaurant and said I could have it. I thought you might get tired of hospital food, and I couldn't think of anything else to bring." With that he propped a giant cooler bag, full of food, onto the foot of her bed. Kazumi's face blanched as she regarded just exactly how much he brought.

"Um… I don't mean to be rude, but by whose definition is that left overs? There's no way I can eat all of that by myself." Takeshi laughed then, a good natured grin spreading across his face.

"Nah, I brought some for everyone. It's better if you eat with friends, right?" A soft smile made its way onto Kazumi's lips, and an almost familiar string lurked behind her eyes as she thought she might actually cry from their generosity. She managed to blink the feeling away, and stretched her smile wider as she patiently waited for Takeshi to distribute the food between them.

The remainder of their evening was spent eating the various types of sushi and simply just chatting. Once again, it turned into mostly one sided arguments between Hayato and Takeshi while Tsuna watched them with equal amounts of distress and fondness. And Kazumi found that she was slowly able to understand his feelings.

While it evidently became a fact that the two of them were his Guardians, they were also brothers, in a way. They shared the sense of brotherhood that had them fighting and bonding like so. It almost made Kazumi jealous, but she didn't give into the opportunity to think on it further, instead focused on the fondness that so easily warmed her heart. It was when the two of them started to get more rambunctious, that Tsuna finally stepped in and tried to get the two of them to settle down before they could get kicked out before their time was up.

As Kazumi watched with intrigue and a grin on her face, she noticed Tsuna's Flames had been partially activated when a comfortable warmth filled the room as he reprimanded his Rain and Storm. In it she once again found that odd sense of safety where she was able to relax into the pillows of her bed, where normally they were barely a manageable nuisance. And before she knew it, she was once again falling asleep.

It wasn't long after that, that once again the nurse attempted to sneak in. At first, when she noticed Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato talking, arguing, she thought she had failed again. But upon closer inspection, seeing Kazumi's eyes closed, face peaceful, and body relaxed into the sheets, the nurse couldn't have been more overjoyed to have been wrong and nearly shouted in delight.

"YES! She's actually asleep!" She announced, barely remembering to keep her voice quiet while in the doorway, bringing the three teen boys out of their conversation. Tsuna actually looked behind him, realizing he had completely left Kazumi out of their conversation.

"What do you mean by actually? Does she not sleep?" Hayato asked, practically glaring between Kazumi and the nurse, who responded with a tire sigh.

"Not really. Every time someone comes to check on her, she's wide awake. Or if she was sleeping, she wouldn't be once this dumb door opens up. It doesn't matter how quietly we do it." The nurse answered, showing her distressed from the whole ordeal. "We were beginning to wonder if she was an insomniac, or even perhaps traumatised by what happened to her. So seeing her asleep now, and so comfortably, it's such a relief."

"Wait, so she really hasn't been sleeping?" Tsuna asked, concerned as his attention focused onto her. Now that he really looked, he could see the tired circles under her eyes, and he almost berated himself for it. How did he not notice it before?

"Well, in the time that I've been taking care of her, this is the first time I've seen her asleep." Tsuna frowned at this new piece of information as he watched the nurse gently adjust Kazumi's bedsheets.

xXx

When Kazumi woke up again, Tsuna and everyone were long gone and night had already fallen. At first, Kazumi wasn't really sure why she had woken up, until she became aware of a certain presence in her room.

"Reborn." She greeted simply, still a bit groggy and vision still adjusting to the darkness. "Have you come to kill me after all?" She asked cautiously.

"No." Reborn answered. He was cleaning his gun, clearly unconcerned about whether or not she posed any kind of threat. "I've come for a few things." Kazumi chose silence as her answer, waiting for Reborn to continue. "First and foremost, I thought you would like the peace of mind in knowing that I had your apartment cleaned out before the police could arrive." Kazumi let out a nearly audible sigh of relief as some tension left her shoulders. "And secondly; a proposition for you.

"As you're likely aware, Tsuna is currently only the Boss-in-training. He has no official authority over anything yet, so despite him deciding he won't kill you, he cannot currently speak for the rest of Vongola. Which is why I contacted Nono.

"What I am suggesting is for you think about offering fealty to Tsuna; using your skills and talents for whatever they may be needed. And in return you will be protected by Vongola." Kazumi sat in a long and thoughtful silence.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we cannot help you if the Vongola decides to overrule Tsuna's decision." Another silence passed between them. "Alternatively, I could appoint you as his tutor." Kazumi let out a snort for a laugh. She looked away from Reborn, and to the darkest parts of the room.

"Being a tutor really doesn't sound all that bad after all." She said causally, remembering the last time she was forced into the role. "Can I think about it?" She asked, just as Reborn finished putting his gun back together.

"Don't take too long." Reborn warned as he made his leave.