"I will serve you until the end of my days." It was words like this that embarrassed Cain so much that he couldn't stand to be around his new guard.

It had actually started with the statement, "I will protect you with my life." This had been alright.

When the guard had proclaimed it upon meeting Cain the boy had been surprised and a bit flattered. It was when the proclamations of loyalty continued and became a bit more…imaginative that Cain had misgivings on letting his father hire him a new body guard without his approval.

"I will let no one touch your body."

"I will make sure you are completely satisfied."

"I will guard your purity."

Okay. What the hell? Cain was sixteen, old enough to catch all the implications and double entendres in the guard's words. It didn't help that the guard smiled at him every chance he got. He always looked suspiciously cheerful, like a fox in a chicken coop. What was the guard's name again? Gino—?

"It is Giovanni, young master Cain." The boy practically jumped out of his seat. He hadn't noticed the guard come into the room. He hadn't noticed he was speaking aloud either. Cain really had to break that habit.

"Right. Giovanni," Cain said, forcing down the flush that had inflamed his face. He eyed the brunette warily out the corner of his eye.

Giovanni smiled briefly before he set a rather serious look on Cain, who stiffened in recognition. Oh no, not again.

"But you may call me whatever you wish, young master. I am yours to—"

"Yes, yes, I get it," Cain snapped, "So stop, no more. God, you're embarrassing."

Giovanni cocked his head. "Master Cain?" Like he really didn't know. The boy cast an evil look at the guard before scampering off to the next room.

If he had looked behind him as he left, Cain might have spotted the tiny but visible smirk tracing his guard's lips.


Ryoma didn't know when he started having the dreams exactly. They just started one night and he had been tormented by them ever since. He couldn't even place when exactly they had started because he never remembered them afterwards, not until recently when he started recounting bits and pieces.

When Ryoma realized that he had been having the dreams for a while he thought he might tell someone. The only problem was he could never remember enough to have something definite to say. He just kept waking up in the middle of the night, soaked with sweat and heart pounding from whatever dream he had and wouldn't remember. He got so worked up it usually took him up to an hour to fall back asleep, which was damn annoying and had made him late for school more than once.

There was one odd constant in his dreams that Ryoma caught on to, and it was shocking when he finally put together the pieces. The hair, the eyes, the laugh, the smile, the odd affinity for spicy, disgusting foods, the quick wit, the temper, the genius—these characteristics and more kept appearing in his dreams and it wasn't long before Ryoma realized that he was dreaming of Fuji-senpai of all people.

Fuji-senpai was the key. The question was, why?