Disclaimer: I own none of the characters except for OC's

This Dream is Always Knocking...

"Is it true that you prefer men?!" Haruka suddenly blurted.

"…Eh?" Otoya said blankly as Masato's cup slipped out of his grasp and fell back onto his desk, spilling over the document he had been working on. Even he had a blank yet completely shocked look on his face.

'Grandma…I think I just made things a hundred times, no…a thousand times more awkward!' Haruka said to herself, realizing that probably wasn't the smartest way to address the situation.

-A week ago-

"It's about time for lunch. Care to join me?" Masato offered.

Haruka was hesitant at first but realized that this could be a good opportunity to be able to get to know her employer better.

"Well, if you insist, I suppose it would be nice. Thank you so much!" Haruka said with a warm smile.

'I know I said this would be a good chance to get to know him better…' Haruka said to herself as she stared awkwardly down at her lap. 'But now I have no idea what to say to him!'

Though she had been thrilled to receive an invitation to eat with the prince, there was still an awkward tension hanging in the air.

She was currently sitting at a long, nicely furnished wooden table. Masato sat across from her, quietly eating his meal. Haruka was thankful however that they weren't seated on the very ends of the table. That would have made the situation a lot more awkward than it already was.

'Why does this keep happening…?' Haruka wondered to herself as she glanced up at Masato.

He looked as calm and composed as ever. It was as if the situation didn't affect him at all.

'What should I do?!' Masato mentally shouted, desperately trying to get a grip of his rising emotions.

Despite seeming calm outwardly, he was sweating bullets on the inside. He doesn't know how to talk to women, considering he was almost always surrounded by male servants and tutors. Though there were maids, he never held a conversation with them. He knew he had to treat girls with respect and care (at least that's what he read) but he didn't know how to talk to one for an extensive amount of time.

So sitting alone with his new attendant was a bit nerve wracking on his part. He didn't know what to talk about that could possibly ease the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

'This always happens…' Masato sighed to himself.

Whenever they were alone, he could never think of anything to say to get a nice conversation going. Their talk in the hallway must have been the most words spoken between them and it frustrated Masato that he couldn't talk to her without getting tongue-tied.

He glanced up at the young woman sitting across from him. She had hardly touched her meal and was staring intently at her lap. It seemed as if she was affected by the awkward silence as well.

'You're going to be ruler of this Kingdom someday, so stop acting like a coward and talk to her!' Masato berated himself. 'A simple question will suffice!'

He suddenly cleared his throat, causing Haruka to flinch at the sudden break in the silence. "So…tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from?"

'That's good! Yes, a great way to start off a conversation!'

Haruka looked at him in surprise before responding, "I grew up in a small village near the eastern border with my grandmother. When I was young, I was very sickly, which is why my grandmother brought me to the countryside."

"What about your parents?"

Haruka paused for a moment as a sorrowful gleam passed over her eyes.

"My parents died when I was little so I remember practically nothing about them."

The sudden shift in the mood caused Masato to panic slightly. He hadn't meant to make her remember painful memories.

'That was the wrong thing to ask... What in the world were you thinking, idiot?!'

"Ah…I'm sorry." Masato said quickly.

Haruka however gave him a small smile and shook her head. "Don't be. Even though I didn't know my parents, my grandmother was always there for me. Everyday was always a lot of fun."

Masato's shoulders relaxed a little in relief. "I see. It's best to move forward past the pain rather than linger in self-pity. That's what makes you stronger."

'Huh, not bad.'

A bright smile spread across Haruka's face, causing Masato's heart to nearly skip a beat.

"It does, doesn't it?"

Masato had to restrain himself from placing a hand over his chest. She would definitely question his action, which he wouldn't even know how to explain. Why had his heart beat like that when she smiled? However this wasn't the first time he felt like this.

'Why does this feel so familiar…?' Masato wondered, trying to wrack his brain on when he felt like this before.

"Are you okay?" Haruka asked, snapping Masato out of his thoughts.

"Ah, I apologize. I was just thinking about something," Masato replied, hoping she wouldn't ask about what was currently going through his mind. So he decided to change the subject.

"I have some free time after lunch, would you mind if I showed you something?"

Haruka looked at him curiously. "Of course. What do you want to show me?"

A small smile formed on his lips. "You'll see."

The rest of the meal turned out rather pleasant as Masato engaged Haruka in small talk here and there. After a while, Masato found it fairly easy to talk to the young woman, it almost felt natural.

Haruka also seemed to ease into talking with him and her smiles became even brighter.

Her smiles were infectious and he couldn't help but offer a couple of his own throughout their conversations.

Once they were finished with their meal, Masato led her outside of the palace. They rounded to the back and when Masato brought Haruka to their destination, her eyes widened with awe.

They were standing amongst a beautiful garden. There was a single stone path that weaved itself around the whole area. Several different patches of flowers lined along the path with several different assortments of trees hung in the back. Most of the trees were cherry blossoms.

"It's so beautiful…" Haruka said in admiration.

Masato nodded. "Jii makes sure that the garden is maintained everyday since I often come here to clear my head."

"I don't blame you. It really is quite lovely," Haruka replied as she glanced up at him. "Thanks for showing me this."

A small bit of red dusted Masato's cheeks, as he turned away, unable to meet her eye at the moment.

"You're very welcome."

'What's with the attitude? Look at her when you speak!'

Pushing away his thoughts, Masato watched as Haruka went over and examined the different assortment of flowers.

It was nice to be able to see her so relaxed. Ever since he brought her to work at the palace, she always looked anxious and uneasy.

He let out another sigh. If only he'd have been more honest as to why he had given her the job from the start then maybe she wouldn't have been so intimidated. Though he figured it was a little late for that now. The least he could do was ease the tension that they had unintentionally built.

Masato followed Haruka as she happily explored the garden's wonders. She was like a curious child exploring somewhere new and exciting, which Masato found endearing. The way that her golden eyes shone with excitement and awe, accompanied by her smile made her so much more radiant.

"Oh!"

Haruka hurried down a pathway, which led to the garden pavilion that was surrounded by a small pond. Masato couldn't help let a few chuckles escape from his lips at her reaction. It was obvious this was her first time seeing such a garden.

He stopped midway down the bridge to the garden pavilion before looking up at the sky. The sun was still high which meant it had to still be around early afternoon. If he didn't head back soon, someone would definitely notice and come running to find him.

"We should head back soon," Masato called, slightly disappointed that this peaceful time they were having together had to end. Hopefully they would have more times like this. It was nice to be able to appreciate the garden's beauty with another person.

Haruka called back in acknowledgement before standing underneath the pavilion. She gave one final look at the structure before heading back towards Masato.

However, as she made her way down the path, the toe of her shoe hit a piece of the pavement that was sticking out. She let out a surprised cry as she stumbled forward.

Everything started moving in slow motion as Masato's eyes widened in alarm and he quickly darted forward, stretching out his arms to catch her.

Luckily, he was able to reach her in time. However, Haruka's momentum caught Masato off guard and both were sent hurtling into the pond with a giant splash.

Thankfully the pond was only knee deep and Masato was able to stay above the surface by sitting. He was leaning back with his arms supporting him with Haruka on top of him.

Despite their soaked state, Masato was more bewildered by something soft pressing against his lips. His eyes widened with shock upon realizing that he and Haruka were currently sharing an accidental kiss.

Masato's mind went completely blank. 'What...?'

Haruka slowly opened her eyes before widening them as well in bewilderment.

Neither made a move, not knowing what to do in this situation.

However, the moment was broken when Haruka let out a flustered gasp. She nearly flew off him as she scrambled backwards, her face completely red.

"I-I-I-I am so s-s-sorry!" Haruka stammered, as she bowed apologetically.

Masato quickly snapped back to reality in time to answer. "…It's all right. It was an accident."

It took nearly all of his willpower to prevent any sort of blush to form on his cheeks and stable his voice. "Are you all right?"

Haruka nodded a bit hesitantly as Masato rose to his feet. He slightly grimaced upon seeing how drenched his clothes were but decided there were more important things to deal with.

He reached down and offered his hand to Haruka.

She was hesitant at first but eventually took his hand, allowing him to pull her up.

Before he could say anything however, a familiar voice called out.

"YOUNG MASTER!"

Masato winced upon hearing his butler and quickly dropped Haruka's hand.

The older man came rushing out into the open, stopping right at the pond's edge.

"Young master, what happened?! How did this-!" Jii stopped upon seeing Masato and Haruka standing in the pond and immediately narrowed his eyes. "You! How dare you soil the young master's suit not to mention you could have caused him unnecessary harm!"

"Jii, calm down," Masato said, trying to make sure his irritation was withheld from his voice. "It was an accident. Besides, we're not injured."

"Hmph! I knew it was a mistake bringing this woman into the palace," Jii commented. "She's been nothing but trouble since working here."

Haruka recoiled at his statement and glanced to the side guiltily. Her reaction caused Masato to narrow his eyes and shoot a scolding glare at his butler. However, the older man ignored him for the moment.

"This is why I am against you bringing random people off the street into the palace, servants or not. All of them have caused a considerable amount of damage while working here."

"That is quite enough, Jii," Masato snapped. Though his voice was mostly even, he couldn't help but allow a bit of anger slip into his tone.

Both Jii and Haruka looked up at him in surprise.

"They are doing the best that they can and I will not tolerate you berating them because of a few mishaps." Masato said in a firm tone.

"But young master-"

Masato held up a hand, cutting off Jii's argument. "That is final."

Before Jii could protest further, Masato reached over and grabbed hold of Haruka's hand and quickly led her back to the palace.

Haruka let out a squeak of surprise as Masato practically dragged her back to the palace; similarly to the way he did when they first met.

In their haste, both Masato and Haruka failed to notice a figure standing behind one of the cherry blossoms, observing them.

"Huh…interesting…"

As Masato pulled her down one of the extensive halls of the palace, Haruka couldn't help but blush.

Who could blame her? She had her first kiss (accident it may be but it was still a kiss) and was currently holding hands with him.

However, ever since the mini squabble with Jii, Masato had not spoken a word to her after they had left the garden.

It was as if everything had reset and the prince was back to being cold and detached as he had been when she started working at the palace. Maybe he was bothered by what Jii had said to him.

A small frown formed on her face. Just when she had thought the prince and her were getting along. He probably thought she was just a burden, which was why he wasn't speaking to her.

"It would be best to get you out of those clothes and into something dry as soon as possible," Masato said, without turning to look at her. "We wouldn't want you catching a cold."

Haruka glanced down at the ground before giving a small hum of agreement. She felt him tense slightly before his grip slackened and hung loosely around her wrist.

Both continued in silence until they reached Haruka's room.

"I'll inform one of the maids to bring you a spare uniform along with some towels," Masato said monotonously, avoiding direct eye contact. "Once you're done, you will be shown another one of your duties."

"Okay…thank you." Haruka replied.

With out another word, Masato walked off, leaving Haruka to herself once more.

Not long after the prince left, a maid delivered a dry uniform to Haruka's room along with some towels. She quickly dried off using the towels the maid had left and got dressed. Once she was done, she went over and sat down on the bed.

So many things had happened that Haruka didn't know what to think. She gingerly reached up and touched her lips, remembering the strange sensation of touching someone else's lips with her own.

'His lips were really soft…' Haruka thought to herself.

She suddenly realized what she was thinking and turned a considerable shade of red.

'No, no, no, no, no! Stop thinking about it!'

If she didn't stop thinking about the accidental kiss, she wasn't sure if she would be able to meet the prince's gaze.

A sudden knock at the door snapped Haruka out of her thoughts, nearly causing her heart to fly out of her chest.

Deciding it would be best to address the situation later, she pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind and made her way to the door.

When she opened it, a tall man with layered black hair, seemingly in his mid thirties stood in the doorway. However, his most notable trait was the eye patch covering his left eye.

Haruka recalled seeing the man on several occasions by the prince's side. Tomochika had informed her that the man was the Hijirikawas' bodyguard and regularly patrols the palace. She had never met him personally but he always seemed a bit aloof, hardly ever talking to any of the other servants.

"You're my lord's attendant?" the man asked in a completely disinterested tone.

Haruka nodded slowly, assuming he was referring to Masato. "Y-Yes? You're Kaito-san, the Hijirikawas' bodyguard?"

"Huh…I suppose," the man replied with a shrug.

'He supposes…?' Haruka thought in confusion, feeling a bit of suspicion prick at her side. Though she decided to disregard it.

"Anyways, my lord informed me that I would be showing you to your newest duty. If you'd follow me."

"Oh! Yes," Haruka said as Kaito already started walking away.

He slowed down a little, allowing Haruka to catch up with him.

"You're the one who shouted out how you didn't want to be my lord's mistress, right?" Kaito asked without turning around to look at her.

Haruka's face immediately flushed bright red. "T-That…!"

Memories on the kiss earlier came flooding into her thoughts, causing Haruka's pulse to increase.

"There was no need to worry about that in the first place," Kaito commented in a bored tone.

Haruka looked at him curiously, snapping out of her anxiety. "Why?"

Kaito paused and turned to face Haruka. "You really want to know?"

The question caused Haruka to be a little suspicious. However, curiosity got the better of her and hesitantly nodded.

He gestured with his hand for her to come closer, which Haruka complied. She leaned her head towards him as Kaito cupped his hand against her ear and whispered, "There's a rumor that the prince actually prefers men."

"Eh?" Haruka said blankly as she slowly tried to process the information she was given.

After a moment, Haruka's face went completely red once again.

"WHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTT?!"

Kaito quickly clamped his hand over her mouth and pressed his finger against his lips. "Shhh! Do you want to attract everyone in the palace's attention?"

"S-Sorry…" Haruka said in a muffled voice before Kaito released her. "B-But…is it really true?"

The older man shrugged. "He's declined all marriage proposals and has never showed any interest in girls. Not to mention that people have caught him staring at other guys."

"Huh…" Haruka said, clearly taken aback by the news. However, thinking back, Haruka realized that Masato didn't seem bothered by the fact that they had accidentally shared a kiss. With this information, it made sense of the prince's lack of expression.

"Hmmm," Kaito mused as he rubbed the scruff on his chin thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, he's been surrounded by mostly male servants all his life so it's not surprising. Well in any case, moving on."

Before Haruka could respond, Kaito was already walking away. Haruka wasn't sure how to take the new information. Especially since she had to deliver his evening tea in a few hours.

'How am I supposed to look him in the eye now…?' Haruka thought helplessly as she hurriedly followed after Kaito.

Since his back was facing towards her, Haruka couldn't see the small, devious smirk that appeared on the man's face.

'Very interesting, indeed…'

When he reached the comfort of his office after changing, Masato sat down at his desk and stared blankly at the wall.

Once everything that happened sank in, his face flushed bright red. He reached up and covered his mouth with his hand, feeling the heat from his burning cheeks.

The accidental kiss continued to replay in his head, causing his blush to burn brighter.

'Stop thinking about it! Or else you'll never be able to look her in the eye again!' Masato shouted internally.

Though he was bothered by how Jii spoke poorly of those he chose to serve at the palace, it wasn't enough to fully distract him.

He knew it would be best for them both to forget the incident and move on. However, it proved to be a bit more difficult as Masato just couldn't get the scenario out of his mind.

'Calm down…just calm down!' Masato thought furiously. He was thankful that he was alone as it was undignified to be seen so flustered.

'Forget about the incident, it will do you no good if you keep on obsessing over it.'

Masato drew in a long breath, trying desperately to get a hold of his feelings. He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. Just when Haruka was beginning to be comfortable around him but then that happened. To make matters worse, he ended up acting cold towards her afterwards because he didn't know how to react.

He gracelessly dropped his head onto his desk with a loud thud, hoping that the pain may provide some kind of distraction to the unsettling thoughts racing through his head. Dealing with this kind of thing was definitely not what Masato was accustomed to and it proved to be a lot more challenging than he had hoped for.

'Someone just put me out of my misery…'

Little did he know that Haruka was plagued with a completely different thought that would remain unspoken for a week.

-Back in the Present-

The room was still deathly silent, causing Haruka's nerves to act up.

"…Do you always blurt out unnecessary things when you're nervous?"

Haruka looked up to see Masato staring at her with a disgruntled expression. She mentally smacked herself. It was obvious that she must have offended him.

"Erm…So is it true?" Otoya asked hesitantly.

Masato immediately shot him a fierce glare, causing Otoya to cower away from the blue-haired man.

"Sorry! Forget I asked!" Otoya cried. "Ah, um…I'm going to go get some towels to clean up the mess…"

He quickly excused himself and ran out of the room, leaving Haruka and Masato to sort out the situation themselves.

An awkward silence fell upon them once more, though Masato was still staring at her as if waiting for her to explain herself.

"I-I'm sorry…I don't mean to be judgmental, it's just that-"

"Did a man with an eye patch tell you that?" Masato said, cutting off her flustered apology.

"Huh?" Haruka said in surprise. "How did you know?"

Masato let out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't take whatever that idiot has to say seriously," Masato explained, a small vein pulsing on his cheek. "He was merely teasing you."

"So then you-"

"NO," Masato said firmly before irritably running a hand through his hair. "I swear, that idiot…"

Haruka cast her eyes down at the floor sadly. "I'm being a nuisance again…aren't I?"

Masato snapped his gaze back on Haruka in shock. "What?"

"Ever since coming here I've done nothing but be a burden," Haruka said dejectedly. "If you don't want me working for you any longer, I'll understand."

The prince didn't hesitate. He quickly got up and walked over to Haruka. Before she could ask what he was doing, he reached up and patted her soothingly on the head.

"Ah, so that was bothering you," Masato said with a small sigh, recalling Jii's words a week ago.

His hand slipped down and gently caressed Haruka's cheek, wiping a stray tear from her eye with his thumb.

"I had imagined you would have thought better of me by now. No one is perfect. Besides, if you don't make mistakes, you can't learn from them. You haven't poisoned me since that time Shinomiya helped you make that tea."

Haruka glanced up at the prince with a trembling gaze. "Your Highness…"

He gave her a small, reassuring smile. "You mustn't drop your gaze at small mishaps. Raise your head high and work to overcome them. Don't let other people's words make you doubt your abilities. Have more confidence in yourself."

Haruka's eyes widened in surprise, touched by his words. A smile found its way onto her lips as a tinge of red dusted her cheeks.

"Okay…thank you."

Masato's hand slightly twitched before a small blush appeared on his own cheeks.

'Cute…'

Upon realizing his thoughts, he quickly retracted his hand, earning him a confused expression from Haruka.

An awkward cough escaped from his lips as his blush grew brighter.

"In any case, I think I'll need a new cup of tea," Masato said as he glanced back at the spilled drink on his desk.

"I'll be happy to get you a new cup," Haruka replied with a smile and bowed politely. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be right back with it."

Masato watched as she left his office, definitely in higher spirits than she had been in a week. It gave him a sense of relief knowing that the awkwardness between them would hopefully be erased.

However, it slightly embarrassed him that they were internally freaking out about two different things.

Another sigh passed through Masato's lips as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or disappointed that Haruka had forgotten about their accidental kiss so quickly.

~OOOOO~

It was snowing again and Haruka trudged her way down an unknown path. It was barely visible due to the snow, but she continued pressing forward.

She couldn't see anything but snow, that's all there was.

Where was she going? She didn't know but somehow her feet seemed to have a destination in mind.

Suddenly, the ground started shaking for a split second. Haruka paused and looked around but saw nothing but darkness and snow. That was strange. It wasn't dark a moment ago.

The ground started trembling again. It didn't feel like an earthquake. No, there was a momentary pause in between each quake, it couldn't be.

While Haruka tried to figure out what was going on, the vibrations seemed to get stronger with each passing moment.

That's when Haruka realized: they were footsteps.

Without another hesitation, Haruka took off in a full sprint, desperate to get away from whatever was coming.

However, no matter how fast she ran, the footsteps continued to get closer and closer.

Her thoughts were racing through her head as fear gripped tightly onto her heart. Whatever was coming, Haruka was desperate to get away from it.

She looked over her shoulder and her breath immediately got caught in her throat.

A giant, monstrous figure with glowing yellow eyes was looming right behind her. She couldn't make out the details due to its body being covered in shadow.

Haruka's eyes widened in terror and let out a horrified cry, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She desperately tried to run faster as the shadowed monster slowly reached out a giant, clawed hand towards her.

"RETURN…"

'No…'

"RETURN…TO…"

"NO!" Haruka cried before the hand closed around her, swallowing her in darkness.

Haruka let out a gasp as she shot up in bed, covered in sweat.

Moonlight shown through the blinds, spilling out onto the hard, wooden floors.

She frantically looked around, seeing that she was in her room. Glancing over to the side, she spotted Tomochika sleeping soundly in her own bed, the sight giving Haruka a small sense of relief.

Haruka was still breathing heavily as her heart beat rapidly against her chest. She shakily pressed a hand against chest, taking shallow breaths to try and calm herself down.

"It was just a dream…" Haruka sighed in relief. "I'm in my room...everything is all right."

The shadowed figure came back to mind, causing Haruka's whole body to start trembling.

'What…was that thing…?' Haruka wondered as her heartbeat picked up again.

She quietly laid back in bed, trying desperately to ease back to sleep and to forget about the giant shadow.

...On the Mind

A/N: Well...this definitely turned out longer than I expected. Darn me and my need for Masato/Haruka fluff. (/▽*＼) A fairly quick update considering I actually had this written out for the chapter before, but was scrapped due to a better idea, so here it is.

Kaito is an OC that I decided to try out. I'm always hesitant to put OC's in my fics but I decided to try putting one in and see how he does. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed~

Biased? I'm not biased. Not at all...
Previous chapter that focused on Otoya: 3,601 words
This chapter that focused on Masato: 4,541 words
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