"Yamashita." There was no answer. "Yamashita?" The teacher called again, and when he was once again met with silence, he looked up to Kazumi's empty seat and sighed. "Does anyone know what's happened with Yamashita?" A murmur went around the classroom, students asking each other if they knew anything.
"Dame-Tsuna does!" Someone from the back of the room shouted, making Tsuna flinch under the sudden unwanted attention. Especially when the teacher turned an expecting eye to him.
"Um…" What was he supposed to say? Certainly not the truth. "I don't really know anything. But I do know she's in the hospital." Tsuna answered awkwardly without telling the full truth. He wasn't prepared for the explosive response in return. He should have known better.
"WHAT?!" Nearly half the class had shouted.
"Is she okay? Which hospital?" One of the girls began listing off questions like rapid-fire.
"I don't know!" Tsuna cried, attempting to hide himself under his arms. Even if he wanted to tell his class the truth, there wasn't any point. Remembering Reborn's words from that night, making it so that anyone wanting to see Kazumi would have to be approved through him or Kazumi herself. And then there was the fact that Tsuna was almost certain Kazumi would not want the entire class visiting her in her small hospital room.
"Tch, Dame as ever Sawada. What are you good for anyways?" Another guy had berated. Tsuna just let it slide with a sigh.
"Thank you Sawada for the information." The teacher interrupted, and attempted to get the class to settle down again. "I will work with the principal this afternoon to try and get some information that can be shared with the rest of you. Until then, please remain focused on your studies." The homeroom teacher then began preparing them for their next subject. When lunch finally rolled around, Tsuna found himself at the teacher's lounge.
"Ah, Takamura-sensei, do you have a minute?" Tsuna asked, catching him just as he appeared to be going through Kazumi's student file.
"What is it Sawada-kun?" He asked without looking away from the on screen file.
"Um, it's about Kazumi-san." That had his attention, and he turned to Tsuna once again giving him that expecting look. "I couldn't say anything in class but…" How was he supposed to word this? "Kazumi-san is… being held under protective surveillance at the hospital. She's not allowed to have any unauthorized visitors."
"What do you mean? What happened?" Takamura asked seriously, understanding where the tone of conversation was going.
"I can't say." Tsuna answered with a frown. "I just thought I would tell you what I could." A heavy silence passed between them for a moment.
"And, you have permission to see her?" Takamura asked with skepticism, though mostly to confirmation. Tsuna nodded and Takamura let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright, I understand. Please keep the school informed if you can." He paused. "Is she alright?" Tsuna let out a smile.
"She will be." He answered with a confidence that surprised Takamura. It was something he hadn't ever seen in the boy, even since before he became his homeroom teacher. "I don't know when she'll be back to school, but she's doing fine."
xXx
When Tsuna once again visited the hospital after school, he entered Kazumi's room in the middle of a check-up with the nurse. She was sitting on the edge of her bed facing away from the door, and the back of her hospital tunic was hiked up just enough to see the ugly black and blue bruising on her side. The door had clattered open loud enough for both occupants inside to hear him come in, so when they turned to see who was intruding, Tsuna quickly realized what he was seeing before practically running out of the room and back into the hall.
"HIIEE! I'M SORRY!" He ended up standing near the door, waiting with red on his face the entire time. Fortunately it only took another few minutes for the nurse to come out and make way for him to go in, smirking all the while. Kazumi had remained seated on the edge of her bed, but her tunic was once again concealing the most apparent pieces of evidence that she had been attacked at all. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't think you'd be in the middle of a check-up." He apologized awkwardly.
"It's alright." Kazumi breathed out. "The doctor will probably be back in a few minutes after he looks at my file."
"O-oh… Um, did you want me to come back after then…?" Tsuna asked, awkwardly pointing himself out the door. Kazumi shook her head.
"No, that's fine. Honestly, I wouldn't mind it if you stayed... If you want to." She answered, giving Tsuna the room to decide for himself whether he would stay or leave. It was Tsuna's intuition that led him to pulling up his usual chair closer to the bed. He had gotten the impression that Kazumi was the type who would wish for something but never actually say it if it inconvenienced others. Something he could relate to. And Tsuna knew that if he were in her situation, he would probably be nervous to be alone.
As they waited for the doctor's return, Tsuna told her about things that happened at school. When he told her about telling the class that she had been hospitalized, she visibly winced, only to be relieved once again when Tsuna reassured her that he didn't tell anyone much more than that, and that Takamura-sensei has been very understanding of the situation.
"Thank you, Tsuna-kun." Kazumi softly smiled at him. "You're truly a better friend than I deserve." Kazumi could tell her words both surprised and concerned him, even before he voiced anything about it.
"Everyone deserves a friend, Kazumi-san. Even you." She let out a light chuckle, a hand bracing her side as it jostled her ribcage, and proceeded to pin Tsuna with a critical stare.
"Unhun, and tell me. Before you became friends with everyone at school, would you have believed your own advice?" She asked with narrowed eyes. The pink on his cheeks was all Kazumi needed to know the answer. "Look, I don't know about you, but for myself and likely a lot of others who are close to you, it's not that easy to forget that my original intentions in coming here was to take your life. The fact that you come visit me nearly every day, alone for that matter, goes beyond what I describe as mere friendship and a whole different level of trust that I didn't think was possible. And yet I can't help but be thankful for your kindness. It means more to me than you could ever imagine."
"I-I… Umm…" Tsuna's cheeks began to burn much darker now. The only thing that saved him from any teasing from Kazumi was the door rattling open and the doctor stepping in.
"Yamashita-san." He announced himself by addressing her and briefly greeting Tsuna with a nod. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm well, thank you. The pain becomes less and less every day." Tsuna watched as Kazumi painted a jovial smile onto her face. A smile so disturbingly like the ones Takeshi made before they became friends.
"Glad to hear it. And your check-ups seem to be showing similar results. I think we can start arranging for you to be released and put you on a home care recovery plan." The doctor announced as he looked over the papers. From his seat, Tsuna was absolutely relieved for Kazumi's sake. "That being said, we want to make sure that you're taken care of properly, and we'd like to bring in a parent or legal guardian to sign the release forums." And with that, any form positivity in either Tsuna or Kazumi just about evaporated.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Kazumi muttered, her expression dropping, leaving a perplexed expression on the doctor's face. "You see, my father isn't available. He wouldn't even make it here in a timely matter if he was." Kazumi's words were almost like a slap in the face, and Tsuna felt his stomach tie itself into knots. But at the same time, there was a quiet simmer of anger towards the man she so casually mentioned, who was responsible for putting Kazumi in this situation in the first place.
"Then you're mother?"
"Impossible." She answered immediately and without any further explanation.
"Older siblings? Grandparents?"
"I don't have any older siblings. I do have grandparents here in Japan, but they much too far away to come here, and I don't think it's possible for them to look after someone anymore." The doctor sighed in understanding. "Plus I'm not even sure they know I exist." Kazumi added as an afterthought.
"Do you have any family that can be contacted?"
"None. None that are currently living at least." Well, that would certainly put a wrench into things. Without a legal guardian to sign off on Kazumi's release, she would be stuck in the hospital until her full recovery.
"In that case, the only viable solution would be for Tsuna to sign her release papers." Came a voice from the doorway. All eyes turned and met Reborn, who was standing there looking smug as anything wearing doctor's scrubs. Tsuna felt his eye twitch at the sight. "Tsuna was the one who brought Kazumi into the hospital and has visited her nearly every single day. It's only logical that she be sent home with him." Reborn continued, as if the subject was a non-issue.
"I suppose that might be possible…" The doctor trailed off.
"As long as a legal adult can obtain rights of guardianship, then Yamashita Kazumi will be able to be release to them." Reborn interjected swiftly and confidently.
"Of course, but that's a process that takes time." The doctor retorted. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"I am Doctor Reboyan." The two teens in the room watched as the doctor's expression practically lit up.
"The Doctor Reboyan? The very same one that can identify any mysterious illness?" Reborn simply answered with a smirk while Tsuna just slapped a hand to his face, and poor Kazumi just looked so completely lost and confused. He would have to remember to explain this to her later.
"By the time Kazumi is ready to leave, you should have everything arranged." He pointed a stare at Tsuna, who simply sighed and quietly uttered out an affirmative sound.
xXx
Tsuna was sitting down with Nana at the dinner table later that night, explaining everything he could about Kazumi's situation. He ended up recounting the night Kazumi had been assaulted, explain everything once again but with new information. The second Tsuna told her that it has been Kazumi's own father that attacked her, Nana almost seemed personally offended.
"That can't be right! How could a parent do something like that to their own child?!" Tsuna had never seen his mother so furious, and it was at this precise moment that he was glad to not be on the receiving end.
"I know. When Kazumi-san explained that to me, I was so shocked I hardly believed it." Tsuna said. "But now Kazumi-san has a problem. Since her father was the only relative that could take her in, she doesn't have a legal guardian. And Reborn had this idea that we could take her, and make sure she was looked after and-"
"Absolutely!" Nana interjected, accepting the role unflinchingly and before Tsuna could even finish. "I couldn't possibly think to leave the poor girl in such a situation. Especially if she's my Tsu-kun's friend. We can go to the hospital first thing tomorrow and bring her home with us." She announced enthusiastically as she waltzed over to the fridge and peered inside. "Humm, do you know if there are any foods Kazumi-chan doesn't like or is allergic too?" Tsuna, knowing exactly what his mother was thinking, put on a thoughtfully look, trying to recall all the times he had seen Kazumi with a bento.
"No, I don't think so. I don't think I've ever seen Kazumi-san be picky with her food."
"That's a relief. I'll definitely prepare a welcome dinner for her tomorrow once we're home." Tsuna couldn't help the fond smile that spread onto his face. Seeing his mother so happy at having the opportunity to cook for another person made Tsuna feel all that much better about everything.
xXx
Something Tsuna hadn't even thought about before going to the hospital was what Kazumi was going to wear on the walk home until he and his mother got there and she was still wearing the hospital clothing. He was actually relieved for her when the nurse came in, delivering the clothes Kazumi had been wearing when she arrived at the hospital, clean and free of any sign that they had blood on them at one point.
He ended up watching, feeling useless, as Kazumi made pained expressions while sitting up and crawling out of the bed. At some point she had managed to make a joke about nurses being experts at getting blood out of clothing; he was amazed at how she could have a sense of humour at all, what with it having been her own blood and everything. He only remembered to leave the room to give Kazumi her privacy to change when the nurse brought her clothes to the bed in order to assist her in getting them on.
When Tsuna stepped into the hall, his mother was walking towards the room, paper work in hand and chatting amiably with the doctor. They came to an intersection in the hallway and closed up their conversation before they parted ways. Nana bowed politely, thanking him for his hard work and turned to greet her son.
"Is Kazumi-chan getting changed?" Tsuna nodded just as the door opened from the inside and the nurse poked her head out to invite them in.
"Now remember Yamashita-chan, please take it easy and don't push yourself too hard. Your injuries are still healing. Ribs can take anywhere from four to six weeks to heal, but you can still experience some discomfort for longer. That said, in the next four weeks, it's recommended you return for an x-ray to ensure everything is on the right track."
"I understand, thank you." Kazumi said, sounding almost breathless as she stood there with a hand holding her side. The nurse said her goodbyes quickly and left the room to attend to other patients. Once she was gone, Kazumi focused her attention on both Nana and Tsuna, letting them know she was ready to go. "I don't mean to be a bother, but I'm going to have to get some clothes from my apartment." Kazumi started on their way out. Tsuna almost froze at the thought. Going to Kazumi's apartment was a whole other level of dangerous that he wasn't prepared for.
Okay, so maybe he was. He learned long ago to always have his gloves on his person no matter what. But that didn't mean he wanted to put Kazumi, who was injured enough as it was, or his mother in any unnecessary danger! What if Kazumi's father had returned and was waiting for her to go home? But at the same time, she needed her own clothes.
"Don't you worry about that Kazumi-chan." Nana had answered before Tsuna could come up with any form of reasonable excuse. "I'll have Bianchi-chan get your things while you rest." Nana assured, and before she could protest, Kazumi was lead down the hospital corridor and the three of them took the elevator to the main level. It was the walk that almost did her in however.
With every stride she took, her ribs protested against the movement. She ended up apologizing every time she need a break just to relieve the ache, even if for only a moment. Neither Tsuna nor Nana ever spoke against her, rather they had constantly reassured her that she had nothing to be sorry for. Still, Kazumi continued her string of apologies. When they arrived home at the Sawada residence, it was well past noon, and Nana rushed ahead though the door to get straight to work in the kitchen.
"Welcome home, Kazumi-chan." Nana added once she was through the door, and before she disappeared from sight. "Please make yourself comfortable, and don't ever hesitate to ask for anything you need. Tsu-kun, please make sure Kazumi-chan is comfortable."
"Hai." Tsuna responded, gesturing for Kazumi to go up the stairs and proceeded to follow after her to make sure she didn't suddenly fall. When they both made it to the top of the stairs, Tsuna marched ahead and opened up the door to his bedroom, letting Kazumi enter first. She didn't say anything as she went ahead, giving him a confused look as she walked through the doorway. "You'll be staying in here." Tsuna answered her unasked question.
"But, this is your room…" She commented with a hint of suspicion.
"It's the only other room in the house with a proper bed. Which you'll need more than I will." Tsuna explained with a shrug of his shoulders. He noted Kazumi's appalled expression, and couldn't help the laugh that came out. "Don't worry, I'll be using a futon in the room across the hall."
"I wasn't worried about that!" Kazumi exclaimed. "I can't just take your bed after everything you've already done for me!" Tsuna smiled warmly at Kazumi, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Please don't worry about it. We already decided that this is what we were going to do last night." Once again Tsuna was reassuring her, doing all that he could to ease her worries, and Kazumi was completely unable to fight against it.
