Vanguard; that was the game that sparked the friendship between Kai and the lonely boy named Aichi. After being separated for many years, Kai meets Aichi again to find that the boy he had met all those years ago had not changed. He was still of the same build, and his personality was too soft and kind for the world. Kai challenged Aichi to a duel, and thus began their journey into life.

As their relationship blossomed with their talents in the game of Vanguard, their personality and emotions towards each other also grew. Kai could not place it, but it was some sort of warm, fuzzy feeling inside of his chest whenever he looked at Aichi; much like one of those cuddly bears that children hoarded. He brushed it off as some type of adrenaline he felt towards one of his greatest rivals; it cannot be anything else, after all.

But however much things change, some things simply stays in concrete. Aichi's childish habit was one of them. When Kai had first found out about it, he had tried in vain to hide a smile as his friend blushed furiously beside him, moonlight illuminating his face. You may be wondering, what habit of Aichi could be so cute that it would crack a smile from the infamous ice-king of the Vanguard society?

The thing is, Aichi cannot sleep in a foreign environment. To say it more clearly, is that Aichi cannot sleep in such a thing as a hotel bed without any source of familiar comfort, and the only source of familiar comfort on the frequent tours that the Q4 would be Aichi's roommate; namely Kai.

How Kai had found out about Aichi's habit was a great story itself. It was on the first time they had been on a week-long tour in the name of Q4. The group had crashed into the hotel with exhausted vigour after a gruelling day in the tournament. Kamui shared a room with Shin because of their shared habit of snoring; Misaki got a room for herself, leaving the last available room for Kai and Aichi.

The group found no problem in the arrangement, and had set off for their respective rooms. Kai and Aichi followed their nightly routine, preparing for sleep in each of their single bed in an almost zombie-like manner. Kai briefly noted how small Aichi looked in his over-sized shirt and boxers before shaking off the thought as teenage blabbering and bade his friend good night. Then he'd drifted off to oblivion in the comfortable sheets of the bed.

Somewhere during the night, Kai recalled a small shift in his bed and a sense of being completed as he wrapped his arms around something very soft and warm. Then sleep took him once more.

One can only imagine the surprise (though admittedly not unpleasant) that was presented to Kai in the form of a very sleepy and –dare he say it- angelic Aichi in his arms when he awoke in the early hours of the morning. Their legs were tangled together and Aichi had his face buried in Kai's chest, and was breathing softly.

Needless to say, Kai was a bit disappointed when Aichi jerked awake and flapped his arms in the air for a moment before falling off the bed in sheer shock, taking tangled blankets and Kai with him. Furious blushing from both side ensued, and then Aichi spent an hour trying to explain to his friend about his horrible habit of seeking comfort at night in the form of dear people. It proved to be a difficult task, as either of them would break out into giggles or blushes.

But in the end, Kai and Aichi had worked the matter out. On tours, Kai would share a bed with Aichi in case he somehow manages to open the door and sneak into another person's room at night, and in return, Kai would get a really nice, warm and living body pillow. After some convincing, Aichi had agreed.

Without saying, the following morning was a very traumatising one for Kamui, who had burst into Kai and Aichi's room intending on waking them up, onto to find the beds pushed together as one and the two occupants of the room snuggled in the centre of it, much like what his mother and father would do. He was then given a very educational talk by Shin. But thankfully, the couple of the topic remained blissfully oblivious.

Nowadays, Kai was used to waking up beside Aichi with the ever-present fuzzy feeling in his chest. And he was also used to the flushed face of Aichi whenever he would wake up in Kai's arms. They still did not know why Kamui always gave them strange looks. But still, Kai could get used to all this. The fuzzy feeling was not that bad, not at all.

To think that all of this started with a card game.

Thank you for reading! Yes , I'm still alive. I actually wrote this on my friend's laptop after watching Neon Messiah with her. Note how Kaichi it was. Also note how the streets Kai and Aichi met on were crossed, much like an interception of life, and how the road was red... coughfatecough I will end up updating when I get my laptop back from the repair shop and after restoring my data...

But for now, stand up, the Vanguard!