Notes: This is the beginning of the extra stories! (I'm sorry they're so late 8v8 I don't feel like I should call them drabbles, they're too long for that orz.) They deal with the events before and after the beginning and end of the main story. Some things to remember:

1) The stories aren't necessarily in chronological order.

2) The age difference between Nagisa and Rei is 7 years, but when it's written as 6 years it means Nagisa's birthday has passed in that year and Rei's hasn't yet.

With the exception of the first two chapters, I'll be posting each story as a separate chapter because most of them are pretty long. I uploaded the first six today, and the rest will come soon. Hope you enjoy~!

Edit: Now with a lovely illustration by juniperjadelove! Thank you so much! *^w^* Please check out the link on my profile!

01. Voices from the Past

Time Setting: Ryuugazaki Rei, age 22/Hazuki Nagisa, age 16

"Youth is great, eh?"

Startled by the voice, Rei whirled around to see General Mikoshiba standing before him with a cheery grin on his face.

"While there's no harm in having an eye on that lad, remember to keep your eyes wandering on duty, soldier! After all there's been reports about a group of troublemakers around here recently—can't leave the kingdom's young ladies to their harassment now, can we?" Flushing and promptly straightening up, Rei saluted Mikoshiba and gave him a sharp bow.

"G-general Mikoshiba! I-I apologize for my inattention, sir!" Laughing good-naturedly, the tall orange-haired man clapped a friendly hand on his underling's shoulder.

"It's no problem, Lieutenant! Just remember to be vigilant—though there's nothing wrong with keeping an eye out for that boy as well!" He winked at Rei, who blushed harder.

"I—it's not like that, sir! I—" Chuckling, General Mikoshiba waved a hand before he resumed his own patrol around the streets. Soon after, Rei slumped to the ground, hiding his eyes with one hand in embarrassment, his ears red as he sighed in defeat.

Had he really been staring so obviously at Nagisa? Now that he thought back on it, he had been so lost in observing the blonde manning a crop stall part-time that he had not even sensed Mikoshiba approaching. And for Rei that was saying something—he had trained in the Royal Army for nearly eight years and had developed a keen ability to sense the human presence. To think that he had been so distracted…the brunet sighed as he stood up and straightened his glasses, redirecting his eyes on the street in the marketplace where he was stationed.

It was early in the afternoon, just around the lunch hour when customers were fewest in number. Most of the vendors and merchants were having a quick bite behind their stalls, some of them sitting together and chatting as they did. Rei's eyes traveled down the street, examining the state of affairs—children running past an apple stall, a woman bargaining with a cloth merchant for lower prices, a vegetable farmer and flour merchant discussing their sales as they ate, Nagisa joining them—

"Hey, guys! Can I eat lunch here?" The boy's cheerful voice rang in Rei's ears like a wake-up chime, startling him. As the brunet blinked, he heard the farmer and merchant welcome Nagisa, and in a moment the three of them were sharing the same spread as they ate and chatted. Groaning slightly, Rei averted his eyes and tried to refocus his attention on the vicinity, reminding himself that he was on patrol duty. He would switch with another guard in an hour, so he only had to hold out until then—

"—Is it just me or have there been more guards patrolling around here lately?" And there he went, tuning into the conversation. Stiffening self-consciously, Rei tucked himself further behind the wall where he was stationed, making sure he was properly out of sight.

It was protocol for all guards on patrol that they keep their presence as unnoticed as possible, save for times when intervention was required. The rule had been enacted by the Sultan—because while the redheaded ruler himself was loved by his people, his soldiers were a different matter. There were too many bad memories from the previous Sultan's authoritarian rule—during that time, there had been many guards who took advantage of their authority and terrorized the subjects while on patrol. And while four years had passed since Sultan Rin inherited the throne, many people still hated the royal guard—the fact that they still talked bitterly about the soldiers was proof enough.

Knowing this, Rei frowned—there had been more guards patrolling the marketplace in particular because there had been reports of rising thefts and harassment in the area. But if the guards had been properly alert, their presence should still have gone unnoticed by the civilians—had the soldiers been lax on duty? Making a note to mention this to General Mikoshiba later, Rei returned his attention to the street before him—

"—wish they would go away. I absolutely hate royal guards."

And took a stab to his heart, figuratively. Nearly falling over from shock, Rei hastily steadied himself as Nagisa's voice continued to voice complaints.

"—they start fights out of nowhere, going around drunk. They know they can't harass the richer merchants because of their status and money, but they think it's nothing to snatch apples from farmers and bread from bakers. I've even seen some of them bullying children once!" At this Rei frowned—while General Mikoshiba's discipline was in no way lax, there were many guards in the royal army, and he knew there was still a handful who resented the restrictions on their authority after Rin came to power. These guards tended to abuse their authority in places where they knew their superiors weren't watching. At the least, Rei hoped that they weren't the soldiers under his command.

"It's true, there have still been incidents like that—but don't you think they've decreased in number recently?" As the flour merchant spoke, Rei couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude towards the man. "Seems that the current General's got a pretty decent head on his shoulders, actually—and the Sultan is pretty tough on those guards, from what I hear. And you know there's been more delinquents around the marketplace recently, so maybe that's why there's been more patrolling around here?"

"But still—I've never met one who's actually halfway decent," Nagisa muttered, frown still on his face. "I've dealt with more of them than I ever wanted to, to be honest—I've had enough of their stupid catcalls and advances." Upon hearing this, something snapped in Rei, as his eyes darkened and the grip on his bayonet tightened significantly. There had been guards harassing Nagisa? Just the thought sent a flare of protective anger through his stomach as he began muttering the extensive 100-penalty code for the royal guard under his breath to calm himself down. He was starting to recite the tenth penalty as the vegetable farmer patted Nagisa on the back sympathetically.

"Getting a lot of trouble from them lately, hun? God knows you deserve a good lad or gal instead—it's a shame, with how lovely you are." The blonde cracked a smile at the woman.

"Well, it'd be great if I could meet someone nice—but for now, I'm fine on my own! And don't worry, I can fend off those annoying guards on my own." With a spark in his eye, Nagisa flexed one arm, a smirk forming on his face. "I was taught by the best, after all!" Somehow Rei had a feeling he was talking about his older sisters. Sighing quietly, the guard wiped his brow and let his eyes wander back around the vicinity.

'Well, it'd be great if I could meet someone nice!'

He tried not to ponder over the statement for too long. After all, what was the use of him out of all people over-thinking things? It wasn't as if being a royal guard was the biggest obstacle. There was also their age gap—and the fact that the Hazuki sisters had made it clear that they did not want to be approached by his uncle (who had offered them help after they were orphaned) made Rei sense that this wish also applied to himself as well.

That was not all—although Rei had watched over Nagisa for several years, Nagisa had only met Rei once, nine years ago. It was likely that he had forgotten about Rei, having only been a child at the time—and even if he did remember, what would that say about Rei's character? If he were to say that he—that he was suddenly attracted to Nagisa now after only meeting him once when he was seven, that would no doubt call for misunderstandings—and if Rei were to reveal that he had watched over Nagisa for the majority of those years, that would likely invite even more misunderstandings. Not that Rei had exactly followed the boy everywhere—he had just seen him during his patrols, his duty as a royal guard. True, he may have specially kept an eye out for the blonde, might have stared after him from time to time, sometimes to the point that his own general had to tell him to keep his vigilance while on duty…

Was he no better than a stalker? Rei was starting to fear that this was the truth. Groaning, he took off his glasses and pressed the back of his hand to his eyes for a moment in despair.

For a brief moment he thought of Nagisa, how he had seen the boy earlier as he sold wheat and potatoes at the crop vendor's stall, charming customers with his bright smile and cheery demeanor. He was only sixteen—but in their kingdom it wasn't strange to start courting and even marry at that age. Over the years he had grown into an attractive youth, and Rei knew others were not blind to the blonde's charm either. It would only be a matter of time before Nagisa found someone—and as much as the thought pained Rei, he knew the best thing he could do for the boy was to stand back and watch him find his happiness. He had sworn to protect that smile after all, no matter what.

And who was to say that Rei's own feelings would not change? Even now, the guard was not sure—was deathly scared of being sure—that what he felt towards Nagisa was romantic love. Maybe with time the feelings of attraction would go away—after all, it could just be that he was seeing the blonde in a new light because he was on his way to maturing into an adult. To Rei that theory made more sense than the speculation that he had somehow fallen in love with a boy who he hadn't even spoken to for nine years. If time was given…Rei hoped that would be the case. Sighing, he placed his glasses back on and resumed patrolling the area discreetly.

He just had to give it time, he told himself. With time, these confusing emotions would go away.

…

It was thirty minutes into his patrol when Rei heard disruptive voices coming from the direction of a nearby alley. He could not clearly hear the remarks being made but could make out bits and pieces, with bouts of crude laughter in-between.

Immediately, Rei frowned—he thought there was a good chance that the voices belonged to the delinquents that had been cornering girls around the marketplace recently. Hand tightening around his bayonet, the guard hastened his steps as he stealthily ran through the narrow alleys.

Soon, he caught sight of torchlight—even in the daytime, the back alleys near the marketplace were fairly dark. Coming to a sharp halt before turning the corner, Rei flattened himself against the wall and carefully peered out, observing the situation.

He could make out four figures surrounding a fifth, who was backed up against the wall. The light from the torch—which seemed to have fallen from the cornered figure's hand—highlighted the face of the victim…

In a split second, Rei's heart nearly leapt out of his throat. It was Nagisa—the boy was glaring fiercely at the men who were surrounded him, his body tense against the brick wall.

"Aw, why the frown, lovely? When you've got such a pretty face?"

"Such pale skin too—just like a whore's—"

"Let us take a closer look, won't you? We'll treat you really well—" As the men sniggered, the blonde opened his mouth.

"Actually, I don't have time to waste—I've got a part-time job to get back to and I don't have any moments to spare on scum like you. So if you could just get the hell out of my way, please?" Upon hearing the boy's cool response, Rei froze with worry and dismay. There were four men backing Nagisa up against a brick wall, all of whom were taller and more heavily built than the blonde himself—just what was he thinking, provoking them with such language? True to his expectations, the delinquents' voices sounded a little angry as they responded.

"Oh really? Getting a little mouthy, aren't we?"

"Maybe we've been playing nice a little too long? We can play rough if that's what you're into—" From the shadows Rei saw one of the delinquent's hands reach out towards Nagisa's face. Hands tightening around his bayonet, the guard stepped forward to intervene—

"Oof!" When he saw the man crumple to the ground, Rei stopped short, barely muffling a squawk of surprise. Within seconds, he saw the blonde's leg aim swift kicks between the men's legs—all he could do was watch stupidly as the three other delinquents were also felled to the ground. As they clutched at their groins and moaned in pain, Nagisa huffed slightly while dusting his hands off.

"Oh please—like I haven't dealt with the likes of you before!" Picking up his torch, he turned to leave the alley—

"Not so fast, you little wench!" From the ground, one of the men's hands shot out to grab Nagisa's ankle. As the blonde cried out in surprise, he dropped his torch and began falling forward—

When a sudden thumping sound was followed by a cry of pain, and his ankle was released. Nagisa barely registered the sound of a rock falling to the ground before a calloused hand grabbed his wrist.

"Run!" Before Nagisa could fully understand the situation, or even respond, the hand pulled him through the dark alleyways, its owner seeming to navigate them effortlessly. Startled, the blonde dazedly allowed himself to be pulled forward—with only the sounds of short breaths and footsteps and the warmth of that hand guiding him through the darkness. And yet, somehow—

Somehow, Nagisa felt safe. Even if he could not see the face of his savior, nor knew who he was—the sensation of that hand wrapped around his wrist felt strangely familiar. As they neared the brighter streets, he was able to make out a violet vest, white pants, and a red turban—

And suddenly, they broke into the main street. Bright light flooded Nagisa's eyes as he was suddenly swept up in the marketplace crowd. Now that it was past lunchtime the influx of customers was back, with vendors and merchants' calls filling the air. Stumbling to a stop, Nagisa barely regained his balance as civilians pushed past him towards the stalls.

Only when he finished catching his breath did he realize that his wrist had been let go. Blinking, Nagisa looked up to scan the crowd for the stranger—and caught the flash of a red turban slipping into the opposite alley. Gathering his wits, the blonde quickly ran after the guard.

"Wait!" Although he was running at full speed, Nagisa found he could not keep up with the anonymous guard. Despite his calls, the man would not slow down, and soon the boy had to give up, leaning against one of the walls as he caught his breath.

"Mr. Guard!" he called out as a last attempt. He heard the footsteps come to a stop a distance away.

"Thank you! For helping me out!" Nagisa's fingers clenched the edge of the shawl around his waist in earnest. "I didn't think there was a decent guard out there—but you seem like a nice person! That's all I wanted to say!"

He only received silence in response—hoping that the guard had stayed to hear his words, the blonde turned and left the alley, walking back towards the marketplace.

Behind a nearby wall, Rei's knees gave out from under him. Sinking against the wall, he blinked his widened eyes, releasing the breath he had been holding, heart doing somersaults in his chest.

"God heavens—what did I just do?" he whispered to himself. His eyes traveled down to his hand, the one that had touched Nagisa's cool wrist, pulled the boy through the back alleys and back to the marketplace.

'Thank you! For helping me out!'

'I didn't think there was a decent guard out there—but you seem like a nice person!'

A bright blush spread across Rei's face as he let his head drop onto his knees, a new hope starting to stir in his chest. The voice at the back of his mind seemed to rebuff all the logical reasons he had given himself, all reasons against why he should give up, why he should let these feelings pass and move on.

At that moment, Ryuugazaki Rei was quite sure that he was doomed.

02. A Stranger's Kindness

Time Setting: Hazuki Nagisa, age 16

As Nagisa walked back to the crop stall to collect his part-time wages, he found himself staring at his wrist. When the stall owner paid him, she asked if something was wrong with it. Blinking, the blonde smiled and said "It's fine!" before thanking her and leaving.

'It'd be great if I could meet someone nice!'

He heard word spreading through the marketplace that the recent troublemaking delinquents had been arrested. On his way home he whistled a cheerful tune, making sure to avoid shortcutting through the alleys this time.

End Notes: To the next drabble~!