Standing at eleven years old, Tsunayoshi only had one friend. Also eleven, Takeshi found a friend in Tsunayoshi, who had helped him as many times as he'd helped Tsuna, which amounted to more times than he could count. The two were nearly inseperable, and their parents got along well, a nice by-product of their friendship.
When Takeshi said that he wanted to stay over for the weekend and play the new video game that just came out, Tsunayoshi was ecstatic. More than happy to play with his friend, and his mom had even bought two copies of the game, one for him, and one for Takeshi. "Here you go! Now you boys go have fun upstairs, I have to do some quick shopping, and I'll only be gone for fifteen minutes, alright?"
The two kids looked at each other with a grin, nodding at Tsunayoshi's mother, shouting a thank you before racing up the stairs with their copy of the game's box in their hands. From downstairs, Nana giggled, grabbing her purse and slipping on her jacket, before making her way out of the house and into the snowy front yard. The store was only a five minute walk, but she left as soon as possible, not wanting to leave the kids alone for too long.
While she was on her way, she noticed a small screen. Peering closer, she read off the words to herself. "Over one hundred people dead, mainly young kids, who have participated in the game SAO... Seemingly due to headset sending electric shocks to the brain after trying to force off helmet or unplug set. If your child is in the game, do not mess with it, instead, call your local—!" Nana cut herself off, just begining to realize something as her stomach filled with dread. "TSU-KUN, TAKE-KUN!"
Nana took off, worry etched into herface, praying she wasn't too late as she bursted through the door to her house and rushing up the stairs, barging through the door, only to find that she'd been too late... Both Takeshi and Tsunayoshi laid on the bed, their NerveGear turned on, and over their heads as they didn't move a muscle. Nana cried, she cried for hours, just staring and her little boy and Tsuyoshi's.
Walking over to Tsunayoshi and Takeshi, she wiped the tears from her face, holding their hands and she kneeled down and sobbed. "You two are my strong boy's... I know you can make it, I know it," unconfidently, she whispered in the boys ears, giving their hands one last squeeze before moving away and running downstairs to grab a chair for her to sit in.
On the way back up, her phone began to ring, so she quickened her pace and place that chair in the room, fishing her phone out of her pocket, she answered, not bothering to check the number. "H—Hello?" she asked, dragging the chair closer to the sleeping duo.
"Hello? I just called to check on Takeshi. Is he okay?" Nana flinched as she immediately recognized the voice as Tsuyoshi, Takeshi's father.
Letting out a quiet sob, Nana turned to look at the boys. "No, Tsuyoshi, when do you think you can get here? I promise I'll explain, and if after that you don't want Takeshi to be around me or Tsunayoshi, I will understand." Nana sniffled, and Tsuyoshi knew that something was wrong.
"Of course, I'll be over right away," Tsuyoshi replied, before hanging up, presumably on his way.
Nana let out another cry, placing her hand on her forehead, gaining a headache. She dialed a different number, the caller ID reading 'Iemitsu'. After three rings, he answered. "Anata?" Nana asked, hoping that Iemitsu would answer, because she swore to herself that if he kept brushing them aside, she wouldn't call back, and he would lose his rights.
"Nana? Is there something you need? If there is, I'm a little busy right now, but I'll call you back later—oh! How is Tsuna? Is that boy Takeshi still his friend?" Iemitsu questioned, and Nana immediately closed her eyes.
Nana couldn't do it anymore... She wouldn't. "...Tsu-kun is fine, and yes, Take-kun is still his best friend, nothing will change that... Goodbye, Iemitsu." With that, she hung up, fresh tears gathering in her eyes.
Not long after that, Tsuyoshi knocked on the door, and Nana went down to open it, wrapping her arms around Tsuyoshi, who was shocked to find Nanacrying. "Are you alright? What happened?" Tsuyoshi asked, and Nana took his hand, leading him upstairs and into Tsunayoshi's room.
When Tsuyoshi entered the room, he had expected to see either Tsunayoshi or Takeshi hurt, or maybe even fatally wounded, not unconscious with some device on their head. "I... I'm failing to understand, what's wrong, Nana?"
The answer he gets makes his whole world come crashing down. "If we unplug the gaming gear, they'll die... I saw it on the news and came as soon as I could, but... I'm such a horrible mother! How could I have bought the game without reading up on it first?!" Nana began to cry again, and Tsuyoshi noticed tears gathering in his eyes as well.
"Nana, you aren't a bad mother, the news only airs late in town, and even then, the game only just came out, you couldn't have known. That doesn't make you a bad parent..." Although he comforted her, he degraded himself for not being there with Takeshi.
"We have to call the hospital, okay? They'll make it, I'm sure," he said, pulling Nana up and going downstairs to the house phone.
"Okay," Nana mumbled, a little numb, yet relieved that Tsuyoshi wouldn't leave her or Tsunayoshi.
After the hospital people got there, they added another bed for Takeshi, careful to not damage the wires or unplug them. The doctor walked up to Nanaand Tsuyoshi to ask them questions. "Hello, my name's Dr. Aiko, I'm here to ask you a couple of questions, is that alright?" She asked, holding her hand out for the two of them to shake.
They both shook her hand, and allowed the questions. "Alright, first, what is your full names and your children's names?"
Nana went first. "My name is Sawada Nana, my son is Sawada Tsunayoshi."
"I'm Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, and my son is Yamamoto Takeshi."
The woman looked satisfied with the answer, but didn't write anything down. "Any allergies?"
They both shook their heads no. Other questions were asked, and they spent fifteen minutes answering them before the doctor decided they were done.
"Alright, thank you for participating! Please note that we will not speak about this event to others without your permission. With that being said, my team and I will be over everyday to check on their health. For now, we'll go back and order the required equipment."
They left, and Nana turned to Tsuyoshi. "Um, Tsuyoshi... After this, what will you do?" Nana questioned, not wanting Tsunayoshi to lose his very first and best friend.
Tsuyoshi looked at her with confusion. "I'm going to spend time with Takeshi..." Tsuyoshi trailed, a little confused by what she meant.
"No, I mean, are you still going to let Takeshi come over? It's okay if not, I can always explain to Tsu-kun," she whispered, looking at Tsunayoshi and Takeshi from her seat.
Then it clicked in Tsuyoshi's mind. "Of course! You had no idea this would happen, and I didn't either. Your kid is in a coma as well, so we're in the same boat. I wouldn't leave you just because you didn't know something bad would happen if you bought a game,"
Nana and Tsuyoshi sat in the room in cold silence, hearing nothing but the soft cries that came from Nana. Tsuyoshi stared at Tsunayoshi and Takeshi. "Please let them be okay..."