"Kaito, I'll kill you." Haruka spat the moment he stepped inside Wilson's apartment. His eyes met Samantha's briefly before shifting back to Kaito. He had just got off a long shift at the station. Recently, there have been break-ins all across Osaka, most of the people who were robbed turned out dead.

After having to file so many reports and offer condolences to the families of the ones who lost their lives, the last thing he needed was Kaito screwing things up. Haruka took one step towards Kaito but was abruptly stopped when a soft hand slammed hard against his cheek. His head was knocked aside, and he almost lost his balance.

The room grew silent as Samantha exhaled. The three men watched her with wide eyes after she had slapped him. Samantha quickly realized what she had done. She assaulted a cop! "I'm so sorry!" She apologized but then stopped herself after coming to another realization that he was the one who allowed Kaito to get involved in her life.

"No wait, I take that back. I have every right to slap you!" She felt so confused, but also was overwhelmed with anger and frustration.

"I like her." Wilson chuckled and whispered to Kaito.

Haruka was too bewildered to speak. He hadn't been slapped by anyone other than his mother.

"Do you realize what you did to me? You're so sick! Why would you ever allow an assassin to involve themselves with a citizen, an innocent bystander." Samantha heaved. "No offense, Kaito." She glanced back at him.

Kaito was still amazed at her action. He almost didn't hear her clearly. "None taken." He mumbled in response.

Haruka uttered a swear in Japanese to regain his composure. "I understand why you are frustrated, but it isn't completely my fault."

"You should've come to me and told me. Don't talk to me like I'm stupid. The moment I began visiting that cafe regularly back in Cartersville, you should've done something to stop me!" Samantha let out a sarcastic cackle. "He is YOUR agent."

"I'm not an agent—" Kaito began but stopped when he saw the look Samantha gave him. "Continue, hint received." For the first time, he enjoyed watching someone else other than him getting backlash from Samantha. He decided to step back and let Samantha vent.

Better it be Haruka than him.

"Mrs. Takemi, Takashi, uh...?" Haruka bit his lip when he realized he didn't know exactly what to call her. "You are quite disrespectful."

"A little disrespect from me won't hurt you as much as the harm you've caused to me. I married a killer, okay? And not only that, I gave myself to him and gave birth to a child. And then I had to raise a murderer's son, all because a cop never told the dastard to stay away, or because the cop was too much a coward to come to me himself!"

"I told him to stop seeing you—"

"You didn't try hard enough!" Samantha hissed and grabbed her forehead. "I should Sue you, but I'm so exhausted I don't know where to begin." Her head began to ache.

"I don't know what to say." Haruka glanced at Kaito, but Kaito moved his gaze elsewhere. He didn't want to be involved. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear your apologies. How are you going to solve the issue?" Samantha snapped.

"Are you asking for financial compensation? My team has already begun working on that after Kaito helps us to close this case."

"So you've already been planning for Kaito to go back to prison, and leave me with his child to raise on my own?" She scoffed.

"We can talk about this later." Haruka groaned. "If you're here, I'm sure Kaito has already told you how serious this case is."

"He hasn't." Samantha snickered.

"Katashi Matsumoto, his younger brother went missing 3 years ago," Haruka admitted.

"What?"

~

Kaito fixed his sleeves and observed himself one last time in the mirror. His XO tattoo was still visible so Kaito slid on a watch over his wrist, using the leather strap to cover the symbol. Although he was in Japan and didn't need to wear a mask, he still had to hide the tattoo. Osaka wasn't the safest place, in fact, there were areas of the city where the Yakuza roamed freely.

They would know who he is the moment they saw the symbol on his skin. Not to mention, it was still afternoon. Kaito had to be aware of the environment. There were still nosy neighbors that resided on their block.

Kaito fixed his hair, brushing his bangs behind his ear. The moment his fingers touched the strands, he realized that his hair was already growing back so quickly even though he and Samantha, along with Keiji had been staying with his mother for a few weeks.

It was only until he could find a new apartment to rent, or after the case was solved. Then Haruka would send Samantha and Keiji back to America, and he would finally earn his reduced prison sentence back in Queenstown.

"You look well dressed today." Samantha walked into the room with Keiji fast asleep in one arm and a few envelopes in her other hand. "What's the occasion? Going on another run with Haruka?"

"Would you keep it down?" Kaito quickly pressed his fingers to his lips. "I don't want her to hear." Kaito was referring to his mother.

Samantha placed the sleeping boy on the futon and covered him with his favorite blanket. "Relax, she's asleep. She won't hear us." She placed a soft kiss on Keiji's head and stood before facing Kaito. "Are you still going to keep quiet about what you'll be doing today?"

"You know I can't tell you." Kaito narrowed his eyes. "I regret telling you. I should've kept my mouth shut."

"And have me running after you constantly to find out myself what you were up to? Wouldn't that have just annoyed you more?" Samantha picked some lint off his shirt and looked him directly in the eye.

"I don't like being open about my job." Kaito sighed. "I'm not used to it, and it just means you're a liability. I'm taking a huge risk here—"

"A liability, huh?" Samantha crossed her arms. "Is that all I am to you?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Kaito groaned. "Don't get mad at me, even Haruka thinks telling you about the case was a foolish move. And now that I think about it, I should've kept my mouth shut and denied your accusations. That would've been the safer thing to do."

Samantha bit her bottom lip and rubbed her arms gently to think. After Haruka explained that Katashi was Kaito's younger brother and that they'd been trying to solve the case of his disappearance, she felt bad. Kaito actually showed visible emotion. It wasn't blatant but very subtle. Occasionally, he would ball his fist just hearing the name come out of Haruka's mouth.

He must've really cared about his brother. And not only that, she soon realized that Haruka was Kaito's father. She didn't understand what exactly happened to their family, but it didn't take long for her to recognize him as the man in the photo album she saw a few weeks before.

"About Haruka..." Samantha stared at the ground. "I think I should apologize for my behavior."

"Don't bother." Kaito snorted. "After a while, he won't care."

Samantha raised her head again and stared for a moment. Then she stepped closer and embraced Kaito, catching him completely off guard. He stood there stiff as a tree, unaware of what to do next.

"Be careful on your next run, okay?" Samantha sighed.

"I can handle myself." Kaito chuckled and tugged away from the hug. "You won't have anything to worry about. I'm the one putting my life at risk."

"That's not making me feel any better."

"By the way," Kaito pointed at the envelopes in her hands. "Where did you get this?"

"Oh, these?" Samantha glanced at the few folded papers in her hands. "Your mom sent me to go and check the mail. But the mailman gave me this as I walked out the door. I came back to give it to her, but Keiji fell asleep on the couch in the living room. I saw your mom sleeping in her room as well."

"The mailman just gave you these? Just now?" Kaito snatched the envelopes out of her hands and examined the contents closely. Samantha frowned at his action, definitely bothered that he grabbed the envelope from her like that.

"Yes, I just said that." She tilted her head and glanced over his arm. "Why?"

Kaito saw that they were letters addressed to Katashi. Instead of replying to Samantha, he shoved the mail back in her hands and raced for the front door. Once out of the home, he looked to his left and his right. In the distance, not too far from their home, he saw a man dressed in a uniform. Kaito could tell immediately it was a disguise.

Fortunately, there were no people on the street at this time. He sprinted for the man and shouted after him.

"Baka! Sokode tomare!" He caught the man's attention, calling him a fool and commanding him to stop. The man whipped his head around before taking off. Kaito swore and increased his speed.

Kaito caught up to the man in no time and reached for the man's shirt collar. But the man ducked his body and jumped to the side before taking out a knife and pointing it at Kaito. Kaito stepped back and eyed the weapon with a lustful gaze.

"Wow.." Kaito muttered in a Japanese accent. "Utsukushī naifu..." Kaito thought the blade was beautiful. It was a bit small, but he could tell that it was sharp. The knife had a familiar symbol engraved onto the handle, and Kaito couldn't remember exactly where he saw it before.

"Ikitainara chikayoranaidekudasai!" The disguised man warned Kaito, threatening to kill him if he stepped closer.

"Hai." Kaito waved his hands up defensively with a smug smile. He glanced at the man's uniform and laughed because of the name tag. It was written in English. "Anatawa ēgoo hanashimasuka?" He pointed at the name tag, asking if the man spoke any English. "Matt?" Kaito snorted.

"No." The man replied.

"That's too bad." Kaito clicked his tongue and kicked the man down. He dropped the knife, and Kaito grabbed the man before chucking him in the opposite direction of the weapon. Then, he grabbed the knife and held it up for the man to see. "I don't like liars, you approached a foreigner and handed her some mail? And you don't speak English? What a load of Bullsh—"

The man backhanded Kaito, knocking him away. He tried to figure out how to get the knife out of Kaito's hands. "Ima bokuo tataitano?" Kaito scoffed when he reached up to touch his lips. His bottom lip was bleeding lightly. "You hit me!" He cackled and hopped in the air, landing a hard kick to the man's chest.

The man hit the concrete with a loud thud, and a grunt left his lips. A swear soon followed.

"You've a lot of nerve, hitting me while I'm talking to you! Don't piss me off!" Kaito spat viciously and turned the knife around. The blade cut into Kaito's palm, but he ignored the pain. He raised the knife's handle and rammed it against the man's head, knocking him out cold.

Kaito discarded the knife and glanced at his hands. The cut wasn't too deep, he'd deal with it later.

"Kaito!" Samantha's squeal could be heard from yards away. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her but stopped when she saw the unconscious man at the feet of her husband. "What is wrong with you!?"

"What?" Kaito blinked at her nonchalantly.

"You killed him!" Samantha crouched down and hovered her hands over the man's body.

"He's not dead." Kaito rolled his eyes. "Don't touch him." He squatted down and started searching the man's pockets.

"Your face!" Samantha caressed his cheek and observed the cut on Kaito's lip. "Your hand! It's bleeding! Why on earth would you attack a mailman!?"

Kaito pulled away from her. "He's not a real postal worker. It's a disguise." He pulled out the man's wallet and searched the contents inside. There were a few coupons and business cards inside, but there was another card with the same symbol from the knife imprinted, along with a number he recognized all too well.

Although he recognized the number, he secretly hoped that whoever answered wasn't the person he was thinking of. He pulled out the man's cell phone and dialed the number written on the card. It rang three times before the call went through. "Moshi moshi?" A familiar deep voice answered.

Kaito immediately cut the line, and growled. "Baka Inochi." He swore, indicating that it was his old friend who introduced him into the world of the Yakuza, Inochi Naka, was the one who continued sending those letters to his mother's residence.

He didn't know why. Was Katashi also in debt with his old friend? Inochi knew Katashi was Kaito's younger brother. So what exactly happened with his family while he was away in America? Did Inochi have something to do with Katashi's disappearance?

"What are you going to do?" Samantha poked the unconscious man. "With his body, I mean."

"Jesus." Kaito brushed his fingers through his hair aggressively and slid his palm down his face in frustration. "You speak like I just killed him."

"He's not moving!" Samantha whined. "What if someone else sees us? Oh my gosh!" She slapped her hands on her head.

"What?" Kaito groaned.

"What if the camera catches us?! Will I be your accomplice? We can't let that happen! We have to hide the body, quickly!"

"Samantha." Kaito rolled his eyes. "Relax. The cameras on the buildings are fake or disabled. I checked and took care of them a few days ago. And no one will think you are an accomplice. That knife has his fingerprints all over it. I could easily claim self-defense. Don't touch him!" Kaito snatched her hands away before she could grab onto the man.

"How many times have you done this before?" Samantha hissed at him. "I'm genuinely curious."

"You're annoying me." Kaito shook his head. "I'll take care of him, you go back home and watch Keiji."

"I almost forgot!" She whined and stood up quickly. She couldn't believe she left her sleeping toddler unattended. "Okay, don't kill him okay? And if he wakes up—"

"Don't worry about me." Kaito groaned. "If he wakes up and tries to pull something I know what to do. I've been doing this for years." He didn't like that Samantha was starting to treat him like a child. "Go."

"Be careful."

"Go..!" He repeated in a harsher tone.

"I love you," Samantha whispered and Kaito opened his mouth to scold her but closed it after becoming flustered from her words. His face turned red, and he decided to shake off the feeling. He had a job to finish and didn't want to be held back by Samantha's sweet words.