Guardian

Chapter 1

Nishinoya Yuu arrived at work early and set his coat over the back of his chair. Sighing softly to himself, he booted up his computer and looked through his emails. Two job offers were at the top of the list, followed by spam mail and an email from an old school friend and co-worker, Tanaka Ryuusuke. He clicked the first job offer. A two week guarding for someone's son. Boring, but it paid well. Not many people needed bodyguards anymore. He looked at the other one. No set end date, but it paid well and the name seemed familiar. Asahi Azumane. 

"Hey, Ryuu," Nishinoya called out, looking over at his friend's desk. "Did we go to school with anyone named Asahi Azumane?" 

"Yeah, he was the ace in our volleyball team. Coach called him man bun, remember?" Tanaka replied. "Why do you ask? Job offer?" 

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Job offer." 

"Take it." Tanaka shrugged. "You can catch up and reminisce on old times. Maybe save his life once or twice."

"Very funny." Nishinoya rolled his eyes but he emailed back with his acceptance of the offer. An hour later, he was packing a bag and leaving. Starting a bodyguard business was rough, but connecting with an old friend was worth it. He waved goodbye to Tanaka and headed for the train station. Asahi would send a car to pick him up two towns over and drive him to Asahi's place of work where they'd discuss details and payment. 

After arriving at the company and receiving directions on where to go, Nishinoya looked up at the building. Three stories tall, twenty-five rooms on each floor, two pairs of elevators, two full flights of stairs, and a flight going from floor two to floor three. He shook his head and slung his bag over his shoulder, walking in the building behind a taller person and going to the front desk to identify himself. He headed up the stairs and noticed that not a lot of people seemed to notice he was there. "Perks of being so short, I guess." Nishinoya thought to himself. He came upon Asahi's office and knocked twice. 

"Enter." The voice that responded sounded stressed and Nishinoya assumed he would have two or three small to medium stacks of paperwork he was going through on his desk. Turning the knob, he opened the door and walked in. Sure enough, there were two stacks of paperwork, and the man at the desk, who Nishinoya recognized by the long hair pulled into a tight bun, was sifting through and organizing into folders and smaller stacks. 

"Hello. My name is-" He stopped and lashed out, hitting someone near the door. The person had walked up behind him and instinct kicked in. He hit them in the gut, causing the man to double over. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, you just startled me! I-" 

"Nishinoya, right?" Asahi interrupted. Nishinoya nodded and tensed up. Would he be fired before starting? "You still have good reflexes huh? Never failed you in high school." He gave a stressed smile and motioned for him to sit. "That's one of my sons, Kane. He was prepared to be hit, so don't worry about him too much." Kane stood up and grinned, lifting his shirt to show a vest. Nishinoya recognized it as bulletproof. "He works for the police force in town. Thank you for answering. It's come to our attention that there may or may not be an attempt at my life soon and I needed someone who could ghost me." 

"So you hired the shortest bodyguard ever?" Nishinoya raised an eyebrow and crossed one leg over the other. "Seems pretty strange." He looked at his hand and hummed thoughtfully. 

"You're important because you're short." Asahi said. "With my height compared to yours, you'll be able to successfully follow me around without being noticed as easily as a bodyguard my own height would. I also know your reflexes are sharper than most, raising you as an asset even more." 

"Oh? You make a good point." He said. "Alright, what are my hours? Will I be with you at your home or is that where I go home as well?" 

"You'll work from six to ten, getting two days off of your choice, and yes you'll be at my home. After ten and before six, I don't care what you do. You can choose to stay at my place, or I can pay for a hotel. Until the threat settles down, I'll need you nearby. As for pay, how does 12,000¥ an hour sound?" 

12,000¥ an hour... "Deal." He said eagerly, holding a hand out. Asahi shook it, confirming the deal. "So, when do I start? Now? If I start now, I have someone I have to contact before it." He said. 

"You can contact them, you have about an hour until my next meeting." Asahi said. Nishinoya nodded and left the room, calling Tanaka. 

"Hello?" Tanaka picked up on the third ring. 

"I got the job," Nishinoya said, walking down the hall. "It's the same Asahi from school. He's got a kid now, at least two since he used kids as a plural." 

"Nice! How's the pay? Good?" Tanaka asked. 

"You'll never believe it," Nishinoya said, quieting his voice. 

"What? Tell me, man! Don't leave me hangin'!" Tanaka pouted. 

"12,000 yen an hour," Noya muttered. "Can you believe that? An hour." 

"How long do you work though?" 

"Six to ten. That's sixteen hours." He said.

"Holy shit!" Tanaka gasped. 

"I know right!" Nishinoya kept quiet, turning around to head back. "I start soon. Talk to you later." 

"Be careful Yuu," Tanaka warned. 

"As always, Ryuu," Nishinoya replied, hanging up and walking back into the office. He nodded to Asahi and leaned against the wall. "I'm ready when you are, sir." He said quietly. 

"My meeting is in twenty minutes. We'll be going to the conference room then." Asahi said. Nishinoya nodded and stayed silent. Ten minutes before the meeting, Nishinoya and Asahi headed to the conference room. Nishinoya checked for traps or bugs and found nothing. He was still observing the windows when he heard someone in the hallway and put a hand in his pocket, going to Asahi's side with himself between his new boss and the door.

"Hello, Mr. Asahi." The man who walked in greeted, nodding to him and taking a seat. More people filed in and the meeting was started. Nishinoya stood behind and to the right of Asahi, keeping an eye on those in the meeting, especially those across from him. He'd learned that people often sat across from their targets to appear less suspicious when they died. After all, who wouldn't suspect those sitting right next to the victim?

As the meeting continued, Nishinoya cleared most of the people as suspects. Two were too much in the grey area to not be careful of. He told Asahi, who nodded and stood. Nishinoya sighed softly and followed Asahi back to his office. The rest of the workday went similarly. Afterward, at around five, Asahi packed up to head home. Nishinoya accompanied him and kept an eye out for danger. This would be his life for a while.