Nitocris walked into the building, his face stoic and stern as his heels making a sharp, crisp sound on the floor as he walked. His subordinates clicked their heels together and bowed respectfully as he passed.

He merely gave them a slight nod, if any, and walked to the elevator.

Once he reached his office, he closed the door and he headed to his chair, sitting down. He looked around and closed his eyes for a second, calming himself as he cherished his 'alone' time before starting work.

Away from the prying eyes of people, alone in his room. Opening a drawer, he keyed in the code and pressed his thumbprint and opened the lid.

His treasure was there.

Slowly, he took out a pile of pictures and spread it on his table.

Every single one was a picture of Xing Han. Xing Han at home. Xing Han at school. No matter what he was doing, or where he was, Xing Han always had this smile on his face. His entire being was like a piece of sunshine.

Nitocris had looked at these pictures countless times but he was never bored of them.

Everyone had their routine to start the day. A big breakfast. A cup of coffee. Going through the news. Those sort of things.

For him, it would be going through pictures of Xing Han. It never failed to give him a sense of peace, and happiness. He touched the pictures lovingly, a soft gaze on his face that no one had ever seen before, not even his mother.

"Soon, my little puppy," Nitocris whispered longingly, "Soon."

Nitocris didn't know when it began.

At first, he had found Kyle's best friend slightly annoying.

He was always so chirpy. Energetic. Nothing seemed to get him down.

In his world of darkness, that sunshine was a bit too glaring. Too bright.

Yet, no matter how hard he tried to tune him out, he couldn't.

Xing Han was like this persistent fly that kept buzzing about with his chirpiness. A bundle of energy. A puppy that couldn't sit still.

Then, an itch began within Nitocris to poke fun at that little puppy. See what would make him stop, or deflate, so to speak. He just wanted to tease him a bit.

He didn't know then how much fun it would be to tease him and how little of an effort it would take to do so.

All he had to do was just 'steal' Kyle's attention away from him.

The way Xing Han just puffed up indignantly, the way his face just seemed to go red or even pout. There were so many expressions! Nitocris found himself doing it over and over again just to see what sort of expression would come next. Or what would he do or say.

Xing Han was simply just too adorable!

The more Nitocris teased him, the more he wanted to do it.

Xing Han was just too pure.

Soon, Nitocris found himself thinking of Xing Han constantly and a sense of protectiveness arose within him. He wanted to protect that purity. That smile. That sunshine.

No one could taint him or tease him.

No one but him, of course.

Once he realised his feelings, he had his men tail Xing Han.

All for his protection, of course.

However, he also left explicit instructions not to do so when Xing Han was with Kyle. After all, Kyle would have noticed his men following them and that would have alerted Kyle to ... his fascination with Xing Han.

His men found the 'mission' strange enough but the additional order was even stranger.

Yet, who were they to question him?

Only the rookies were used for this tailing mission.

They were told that it was for training purposes. All they needed to do was follow this one guy, take pictures and make a weekly report. They were to submit it to The Big Boss himself, and many rookies didn't survive this 'easy' mission.

Why did many fail such a simple mission, you ask?

There were many reasons given by the Big Boss. Mostly, they weren't professional. The pictures were blurry or the reports were too boring. Worse, they had to maintain a stoic expression when giving the reports.

No expressions. If you looked bored or excited about the subject, you get kicked. Literally.

Nitocris sighed as he collected the pictures and kept them securely once again.

If there was one thing Nitocris was good at, it was being patient. Claiming this little puppy for himself would take time and a lot of effort but it would be worth it. It's best to let the fruit ripen properly.

Nitocris smiled, thinking of the day when he can finally hold that little puppy in his arms.

His little puppy.

His.