Wilson pulled into the cafe parking lot. When he stepped out of the driver's side, Kaito tossed his motorcycle keys at him. The flying object hit him in the face. "Geez! Watch where you aim!" Wilson grumbled.

"Hurry up, I'm running late." Kaito snatched the sedan's keys out of Wilson's hand. He nudged him out of his way.

"Where the heck are you rushing off to? Didn't Haruka tell us to be on standby?"

"It's none of your business." Kaito hopped in the car and started the ignition. Then he pulled out of the parking lot. Wilson decided that he was going to have to follow after him.

After a few minutes, Kaito pulled up into a complex with several apartment buildings. Each building had 2 apartments, one on the left and one on the right. He glanced at his phone quickly, trying to see which building number Samantha had texted him.

The place looked very upscale for a small town. The buildings looked clean and well taken care of. He spun the wheel around and turned to park in a space when he spotted Samantha waiting in front of one of the buildings. She was on her phone, texting someone.

Kaito observed her appearance, and she looked completely different. She straightened her hair, so her long brown strands reached below her shoulders. She wore a long-sleeved turtle neck and a long black skirt with boots, most likely because it was wintertime and it was cold.

Kaito opened the door slightly and called out to her. She turned in the direction of his voice and smiled at him. Then she placed her phone in her bag and jogged towards the car.

"Sorry, I'm late," Kaito mumbled when she took a seat on the passengers' side.

"Oh, no you're fine. We have 20 minutes before the movie starts anyways. Do you need directions to the theater?"

"I know where it is." He changed gears to reverse and pulled out of the parking lot. While the two rode off in the direction of the movie theater, they exchanged a bit of small talk. "I like your hair." Kaito wasn't usually a person of good communication. He did what he thought was best.

"Thank you!" Samantha giggled anxiously. "I'm super excited for the movie. The trailer for it looks pretty cool. What do you think?"

Kaito cursed mentally. He forgot to watch the trailer. "I think it looked interesting. I'm just hoping it won't be a waste of money."

"You won't have to worry about it. I'll be the one paying."

"You don't have to—"

"I want to." Samantha intervened. "Turn here, it's a shortcut." Kaito pressed his foot on the breaks and make a right turn.

"You're very generous." Kaito chortled.

"As are you. You keep giving me free coffee. It's about time I return the favor." Samantha chirped. "The theatre is here! On the right."

Kaito signaled and turned his wheel again. He knew where to go, but it amused him to see her take the lead. He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the ignition. The two hopped out of the car and strolled inside the building.

There were a lot of people inside, which made Kaito feel uneasy. He was always used to wearing a mask in front of big crowds. Before he could take in his surroundings, Samantha grabbed him by the arm and dragged him over to the admission and snacking area.

The clerk in charge of admitting people scanned her phone and waved her off.

"Do you eat popcorn?"

Kaito hated buttered popcorn. But he didn't want to be rude or sound odd. So he nodded his head and lied. Samantha smiled and ordered a large bowl of popcorn for the two to share and two soft drinks.

She carried the popcorn and Kaito carried the beverages.

"It says we have to go to room number 4." Samantha checked her phone and jogged down a hallway. She squeezed past a couple of people, and Kaito almost lost her. She was very fast when she wasn't doing journalism work.

"This is it." She stopped in front of a door and placed her phone back into her bag. She held the door open for him and walked in. The room was dim-lit and trailers for the other movies were playing before the film started.

Kaito sat down in a seat and Samantha sat next to him. She placed the popcorn bowl in her lap and organized the drinks separately. The lights dimmed even more and the screen started to widen, which meant it was about time for the movie to start.

Samantha relaxed, but Kaito found it very hard to do so when other people started arriving in the same room. When the movie started, he found it hard to focus. After about an hour into the film, he felt Samantha rest her head on his shoulder.

He stiffened and bit his tongue. He poked her head off his shoulder carefully but realized she was fast asleep. The film must've bored her to slumber. It was pretty bad. The plot was entirely empty and the story wasn't going anywhere.

He sighed and let her rest on him. Maybe it was best not to move her. The film ended and the credits scene began. People in the audience started leaving, and Kaito felt more comfortable. The lights turned on and Kaito nudged his shoulder to wake Samantha.

"Hey." He cleared his throat and nudged her arm. Her eyelids slowly opened, and she blinked a few times. "The movie is over."

She shot up quickly and rubbed her eyes. "The movie is over?!"

"Yeah."

"I missed the ending!?" She whined. "Why didn't you wake me!?"

"You seemed tired."

"How did the movie end? Did earth win the war?" She huffed. Her pout made Kaito laugh. He decided to tease her.

"I'm not going to tell you. You'll have to rewatch it on your own time."

"That's not fair!"

Kaito ignored her and got up with his empty cup. Then he walked out of the room. Samantha followed as she continued to pester him until he told her. She did this all the way back to her home when he dropped her off.

He finally decided to give in and tell her the ending. "Earth lost the war. The greed of humans is what caused them to lose."

His answer shut Samantha up and she crossed her arms. "I wish you hadn't told me. That's a sucky way to end a movie. What a waste of money." Her reply made Kaito laugh. He stopped when he heard her cellphone ring. Samantha answered it and frowned.

"Okay, I'll be there in 15 minutes." She hung up and glanced at him. "Thank you for today, it was fun! I've gotta go to work. There's been some sort of emergency." She smiled softly at him and stepped out of the car.

She closed the door behind her after giving her final greeting. Kaito raised a brow. Maybe it wasn't a date after all. The two barely even had a connection, not that Kaito would ever feel one towards her. He was slightly more upset that he didn't find out any more information about her.

~

Wilson watched as Kaito walked through the cafe doors. Kaito didn't know that Wilson followed him to see what he was up to. The answer to his curiosity infuriated him.

Kaito was supposed to be focused on finding Asuka. But instead, he was out lolly-gagging with some girl, a black woman at that. The woman didn't at all look like his type, heck, he didn't even know Kaito HAD a type.

He used to think Kaito was gay because he never interacted with women. At least, he never saw Kaito interact romantically with women. It was always business with him. Either that, or he was timid and extremely shy.

But Kaito didn't seem like he'd be into the same sex either.

What was worse was that it was the journalist. The woman who wrote and published articles slandered him. He didn't understand why Kaito was out with her of all people. Maybe he had an ulterior motive, that's what Wilson was hoping.

"Kaito." Wilson called out and tossed him the TV remote. Kaito caught it with one hand. "I think you should watch this." Wilson pointed at the screen.

Displayed on the TV was the news channel with a CCTV image of none other than Asuka. The reporter on screen narrated the story. "Witnesses say that they heard a man knock on the victim's door and a loud gunshot afterward. The victim, 26-year-old Oliver Harris, was found dead a few days after the shooting. Neighbors recall a ghastly smell and eerie silence after that night. As of now, the suspect has not been taken into custody."

"The man was a publisher who worked at CW." Wilson sighed.

"You think Asuka was the one who killed him?"

"Had to be him." Wilson shook his head. "I even searched for his last known location, and all I can find are videos of him walking out of this subdivision and getting into a cab. When I searched for the cab's license plate, it came up as unregistered."

"Then that means the person trying to frame me isn't Asuka." Kaito hissed. "Why would he kill someone who only publishes stories about me? I think there is something bigger going on within that company. Asuka only kills people who've done something against him personally."

"We don't know for sure."

"Trust me, we will." Kaito sauntered behind the service counter and pressed the button under it. The hidden room opened as the wall shifted forward.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Wilson snapped. "You're not going to meet with that journalist again, are you?"

Kaito stopped when he heard Wilson's words. "How do you know that I went to meet with her?" He turned on his heel and leered at Wilson. "Did you follow me?" He scoffed.

"It's not like you to go off on your own while leaving me to search for your target." Wilson shot back. "I saw the way you were looking at her. What would Haruka have to say?"

"Haruka won't say anything because he won't find out." Kaito stepped forward and backed Wilson against the counter. "Whatever is running through your mind about that journalist and I, get it out of your head. I've been trying to convince her to stop writing slander about me." He poked Wilson in the forehead.

"So you don't like her?"

"I don't care for women," Kaito stated. "That journalist is the only key I have to get some intel. Someone is giving them information about me and my whereabouts. I need to find out who."

"But.. she looks like she has a thing for you." Wilson spat. Kaito shrugged. "You're a deranged dastard, leading her on like that."

~

A week later, Samantha stood over her dead co-worker's coffin. She was trying her hardest not to cry. If only she had done something about his disappearance when she noticed that it was hard to contact him. He didn't deserve to die like this.

That day when she went back to the company, she learned the horrific news that Oliver was murdered. Her first thought was Kaito, but there was no XO symbol left anywhere.

She walked out of the funeral home and offered condolences to his family. He was so young, taken too early. Oliver's mother was sobbing uncontrollably while holding onto a young girl. The teenage girl looked like a replica of Oliver, but with more feminine features and long blonde hair. It was probably his younger sister. She was crying too.

The entire mood made Samantha feel extremely horrible and guilty. She felt like she could've done something, but she didn't.

"Samantha," Isabella whispered in her ear. "Follow me for a second." Samantha followed Isabella to the parking lot. Isabella scanned their surroundings to make sure none of Oliver's family members were lingering around. Once she felt she was in the clear, she began to speak.