Sawada Nana was a hard working individual, though dense at times, but she knew that she could do little to nothing for her baby boy, as she had tried before to argue with school officials about her son's bullying. Which only resulted him in getting more physically abused. She did not dare breathe another word about his bullying, in fear of causing more harm. Instead, she did her best to work enough hours to be able to pay for the house bills, clothing, food, and hopefully for her Tsu-kun's college. However, this limited the actual time she spent with her beloved child, and often times she would only see him in the morning for brief moments and maybe on the weekends, if she was lucky. But working two jobs was hard, especially since Nana was still used trying to get used to it. Before, she just had to be a housewife, not needing to lift a finger if she truly didn't want to. (the house was always tidy anyways. missing a few days of cleaning never hurt) Unfortunately, that changed when her husband told her that he would not be able to send any more money to her or Tsu-chan. Shocked, she had asked why, but the only thing that was heard was Iemitsu choking back a sob and a quiet:

"I'm sorry…"

That was the last she had ever heard of him.

(she had never felt more hurt in her entire life)

Now, Nana was dense. (she will admit it) But even she could see something was wrong with her Tsu-chan as he entered Namimori High. His smiles became less and less, he became more withdrawn and always covered himself with sweaters or long-sleeved shirts, and he seemed to get thinner every time she saw him. (she had so many signs how was she not able to notice how much pain her son was in) Due to the bullying, Nana just assumed her son was trying to hide his bruises from her, and never pressured him or anything. (why why why did she not say crap) So, at first, she said nothing, in fear that her child would completely cut her off. But after a few weeks of the same behavior, she gave in and asked him what was troubling him. Her Tsu-kun looked at her in surprise (and was that fear?) before just smiling at her and shrugging it off; making her believe that it was just part of adolescent mood swings. (her Tsu-kun was about to be fourteen years old, and had barley hit puberty if his height said anything. her Tsu-kun went from a 5'2" to a 5'5" in just a couple of months) This carried on for a while, and his eating habits became erratic. Either eating quite a bit, or too little. But Nana ignored it, but did try to regulate his eating. And she admits, it did get better once her Tsu-kun begged her to learn how to cook, which she delightfully did. And in just a matter of months, her child was on par with her own cooking skills. (Oh, how proud she was! Her Tsu-kun was even going to major in cooking!)

Though, on days her Tsu-kun would seem sadder than usual, she would do her best to leave him a home cooked meal or a little note to cheer him up. (later she would find out that her small deeds would often prevent her son from harming himself) And in Tsu-kun's last year of high school, Nana took it upon herself to work more hours to be able to pay for the college that her son wanted to go into; thus, her time with her son was almost nonexistent. She, however, did not mind the fact so long as she was able to help her son get into the school that he wanted and make him happy. (how mistaken she was. her son would rather spend time with her than go to college) So she worked. And worked. And worked. Because she knew he hated school, but was always proud of him for doing his best. However, she was a little sad. Her baby boy was already towering over her, with a height of 5'7", perfect in cooking, baking, and cleaning, and was soon to start college. (she didn't want to admit it, but she didn't want him to leave the house, and prayed every night that he would pick a school nearby and stay with her. she didn't want her relation with her child to become as nonexistent as her husband)

Nana shook her head, and lightly tapped her face. She felt her eyes sting a bit, but quickly wiped the tears away. (no use thinking of something that hasn't happened)

"Agh," she mumbled to herself. "Nana, you are at work. Get yourself together. Your baby will still be your baby even if he moves."

She let out a breathe, and was about to head back to shift –

Until she got a call from a strange number.

Confused, Nana tentatively answered.

"Yes..?"

(she had to admit that she was crushed when it wasn't Iemitsu)

"… !"

(wasn't Kusakabe Tetsuya the second in command in her child's school?)

"Is Tsu-kun in trouble?"

Oh no.

"Has he become a drug dealer!? I mean, I'm not always there for him, and not always at home so it would be easy for him to bring drugs and – oh my lord! My Tsu-kun is – "

He cut off her rambling.

"Sorry! Oh yes, now how may I help you?"

Hearing the news, Nana's blood ran cold.

"… What? What do you mean he's in the hospital!? Is he okay!?"

"…"

"Tetsuya… What happened to my baby boy?"

Her heart dropped.

"S-suicide…? Oh my god – I – I need to go to him! Please, I don't have a car, bu –I need to get to him! Please help me get to my baby!"

"…"

Click.

"Thank you," she whispered, even though the phone had already hung up. Immediately after, Nana told her manager that she had an emergency and she wasn't sure when she would be able to work again. Her manager quickly let her go, seeing how distraught she was and wished her the best. She wished she was acting, but Nana had never felt so horrid. She physically felt ill and she could not stop herself from shaking.

She swiftly left her workplace, and, as promised, a car was already there waiting for her. She quickly went in, said hello to the driver and pleaded with him to drive as fast as he could. (he did as told, thankfully. they arrived in less than three minutes, despite the hospital being ten or so minutes away)

She had never felt more relieved, yet distraught, when she was pulled up to the hospital.

Nana's first impression of Hibari Kyoya was: Interesting. She saw Hibari arguing with a doctor demanding her son's condition and threatening the doctor to let him see her child. It was peculiar to her, for a few moments at least, to see that the Demon of Namimori was an acquaintance (friend?) of Tsu-Kun. She pouted. She was going to ground her Tsu-Kun for never telling her that he had such a good friend who would actually threaten a doctor just to see him in the hospital –

She started bawling once she recalled why she was there.

The fighting immediately stopped, and Hibari stalked up to her, as well as the doctor.

"Sawada Nana?" they both questioned, and then immediately glared at each other. But Hibari backed down (most likely because he was uncomfortable by Nana's tears), and allowed the doctor to take over. The doctor gave a small, smug smile before clearing his throat.

He asked, "Are you Sawada Nana?"

Nana nodded, too hysterical to properly speak.

"Okay. Then, Miss Sawada, your son has just been stabilized, but is still very fragile at the moment.. He lost a lot of blood and had just begun to show symptoms of shock, but thankfully this," he glanced at Hibari, "… nice man helped keep your child from being in extreme critical condition. So, unfortunately, you won't be able to see him until a few more hours. I'm sorry to tell you that, but it's for the best. Do you understand?"

Nana nodded, keeping back sobs. (because losing blood could only mean that her son has purposely sliced himself in an attempt to escape this world)

(Hibari himself was listening intently. Still feeling agitated and worried. He silently thanked his mother for her bitch face being passed onto him, and not his father's. The man could be read like a book.)

The doctor nodded. "Okay. I will be back to update you if anything happens, or when you are allowed to see him. In the meantime, please do your best to calm down, okay? You wouldn't want your son to see you like this, right? I know this sounds cruel, but he needs a strong figure in his life right now."

"Okay…" Nana managed to croak out.

The doctor excused himself, and went along with his work. A silence fell over Hibari and Nana for a few minutes, until Hibari awkwardly escorted Nana to sit down. (He is a gentleman after all.) It took a good hour, multiple tissues, and two teas (Hibari's. Nana had one coffee. Or, tried to.) before Nana managed to recollect herself. After that, Nana and Hibari talked in mild chit-chat (even though it was just Nana doing most of the talking. and it mostly, if not all, being about her baby boy) (Hibari didn't particularly care about conversation, but it seemed to calm Sawada down. And he even started to understand what kind of a person Tsunayoshi Sawada was. Good research.) Time passed in a blur, and it was already late afternoon before the doctor came out again.

Both Hibari and Nana stood up, awaiting the news.

The doctor gave a small smiled. "Please, follow me."

They all walked in silence to her Tsu-Kun's room. The doctor was speaking but Nana wasn't paying attention. She was terrified to see the state her child would be in once they arrived. (Hibari heard everything. He kept making mental notes, and was prepared to what he was about to encounter. He was the person to find Tsunayoshi half dead.)

They arrived, and the doctor excused himself again, giving Hibari a pointed look, silently asking him to keep Nana sane at least. Hibari glared, but understood.

Hesitantly, Nana opened the door –

And immediately gasped in horror.

She saw. She saw the angry, and scarred (so scarred) marks on his arms (and oh dear god, why did they look old and recent and – the new ones. they were the only ones covered in thick gauze. but the other cuts? scratches? accidents? no, there's too many to be accidents. too closely together. too straight) were so noticeable on his pale skin. The red contrasting the white, as though they wanted to be noticed, yet, at the same time mocking her in their jagged glory. (because, for Christ's sake, why did she not notice? how did she not notice!?) His skin was oh so painfully marked from months (years? weeks? no, it had to have been years. there's too many. too old. too scarred). And God, did that strike a painful and horrifying cord for her. Her son had already hit his point of breaking, and had already begun self destructing, if the multitude of cuts on his body had anything to say about that. (and, lord, how she prayed that him being so skinny as to see his ribs sticking out was just because he was not eating as much as he should, and not because of any eating disorder)

"I'm so sorry, Tsu-kun… I'm so sorry…" She whispered, but made a vow to herself.

She would not let her son deteriorate like this

Hibari, on the other hand, went immediately to the clipboard pertaining to Tsunayoshi's well being. Most people would have left by now, just glad that they were able to bring a person back from the clutches of death; however, this was Hibari. Because Tsunayoshi was part of the town he protected, Hibari felt as though he was responsible for his well being.

And it seems he was not doing a good job.

(Hibari clenched his teeth together in agitation.)

He scanned the paper on the clipboard, his eyes narrowing once he realized the paper read:

· Self harm (that is visible) lacerations on arms, thighs, and hips (range from years ago, exact years unknown, to just recently)

· Underweight. H: 5ft 7in W: 105lbs

· BMI: 16.4 (eating disorder?)

· Possibly depressed, anorexic/bulimic, others to be determined

· Psychological State: To be determined

· To be put on 24 hour suicide watch awoken (next actions to be determined)

Hibari let out a low growl. He was disgusted, not at Tsunayoshi, but at himself. How could he have allowed this to happen? To someone under his protection? To an innocent of this world? How did he not realize what was going on? He should have realized. He should have noticed, ever since he saw the dead look in Tsunayoshi's eyes. How could he have failed? (Hibari was absolutely disgusted with himself. He texted Tetsuya, telling him to punish the bullies of Tsunayoshi and of other's in school. The damage was already done, and there was no going back. But he would do all in his power to prevent something so horrendous to occur again. This time, Tsunayoshi was saved. But who knows how dreadful the demons in his mind are.)

Would he be able to right his wrongs?

Hibari wasn't sure, but he as hell would try.

They stayed in silence for the rest of the night.