"Look Keiji! It's snowing!" Samantha brushed the little one's hair and pointed out the window. His eyes lit up like stars once he saw the small white flakes stick to the window. He clapped his hands and raced over to the front door. "Don't touch the knob!" Samantha said sternly and gestured for Keiji to walk back over to her. "You have to put on your coat and shoes first if you want to go play outside."

Samantha took down the coats handed by the door and began dressing her baby accordingly so he'd be warm once he went out in the cold weather. Keiji was born where it was warm all the time. He wasn't quite used to Japan's air and the weather difference.

Then she helped him put on his socks and boots and small mittens for kids and wrapped him in the biggest scarf for children she found at the nearby market the other day around his small neck. Then she put on her clothes and opened the door. Keiji bolted out before she could say anything, and she reached her hand out to grab him, but Keiji was too far out.

Keiji's little legs carried him closer to the street, and Samantha panicked. "Keiji! Stop! Don't move!" She raced after him and slipped on the ice forming on the patio.

Keiji ran out into the street, completely distracted by all the snow everywhere to hear his mother's cries. But before he could go any further, a random civilian dressed in a black hoodie grabbed Keiji by his arm and brought him back over to Samantha.

Keiji was confused by the strange act and began wailing while being dragged away. Once he was close to his mother, he ran into her arms and started crying.

Samantha was surprised by the civilian's behavior as well. She hugged Keiji close before scolding him. "Don't run off like that! You don't want to scare mommy, do you?" She wiped Keiji's tears away. "Next time, you will hold my hand." Samantha looked up at the local who stopped Keiji from getting into danger and stood up. She bowed to him and muttered out a soft yet mispronounced "arigato" to him. Kaito's mother had been teaching her basic greetings.

The civilian didn't reply, only stood there awkwardly. Samantha couldn't see his face, but his quiet behavior made her feel extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden. She was able to tell he was a guy, but he was a lot shorter than her husband and had very pretty eyes.

The man looked at Keiji one more time and back at Samantha before nodding his head and walking away. Chills went down Samantha's spine. Who in the world was that stranger and why was he looking at them like that?

~

"Daddy!" Keiji reached his small arms up the moment Kaito walked in the door. He looked exhausted again. Bags were forming under his eyes, Samantha could tell. It was apparent he was stressed out majorly. But instead of showing his vulnerability, Kaito smiled at Keiji and swooped him into his arms.

"Hey, buddy." He kissed Keiji's cheek, making the child giggle.

"You always come at the wrong times." Samantha stood up and sighed.

"Excuse me?" Kaito narrowed his eyes at her.

"I didn't mean it like that." Samantha frowned and grabbed Keiji. "I just washed his hair, and he was finally in a comfortable position so I could braid it. Now I have to start over."

"Just cut his hair." Kaito picked at one of Keiji's wavy curly strands. "It's growing too long anyways, about the time he gets his first cut."

"I will not have a blade go near my child's hair! His curls are beautiful." Samantha grumbled.

"He is starting to look like a girl." Kaito frowned. "I don't like it. I'll just take him to the shop nearby, he'll still have curly hair—"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Samantha heaved. "No offense, but I refuse to have a bunch of men who have never dealt with his hair type botch my baby's hair!"

"Keiji, do you want to cut your hair? Do you want to look like daddy," Kaito pointed to his short length of hair and then pointed to Samantha and her medium-length curls. "Or look like mommy?"

"Daddy!" Keiji giggled happily.

"See? He doesn't want long hair anymore." Kaito smiled as if he won the debate.

"If you let them give him a bowl cut I will murder you in your sleep Takashi." Samantha spat at him. "I'll go with you to make sure they don't screw anything up."

"If you're going to embarrass me in public I should just stay home and cut his hair myself." Kaito rolled his eyes, but Samantha opened her mouth slightly, not completely understanding that his words were just sarcasm.

"I'd prefer that, actually. Do you know how to cut hair?"

Kaito raised his head and glared at her as if she had lost her mind. "Are you serious?" He snorted. When he was younger, he often had to give Katashi haircuts because they were too poor to afford to go to get it done at a shop. But there was no way he was going to do that again with his son when he knew he could afford even the expensive salons to get the job done. "I'm not going to cut his hair."

"Then I guess it'll grow longer until you decide to. Until then, I will keep styling his hair in plats because it tangles easily when it's out." Samantha placed a hand on her hip.

Kaito groaned and walked into the bathroom before pulling out an old back from under the sink. He placed the bag on the counter and unzipped it. "It's been years since I've used this." He mumbled and took out some clippers from inside. "Place him on the dining chair."

After setting things up, Keiji sat elevated on the dining chair, with a few of the couch pillows from the living room making his seat higher. Samantha wrapped a towel around his upper half and propped him upright so Keiji could sit still. "Don't move, Keiji."

"Can you keep him more still?" Kaito plugged the clippers in and fixed the blade so it wouldn't take off as much hair.

"He's a toddler Kaito, he's not going to sit completely stiff," Samantha complained still a bit nervous about Kaito handling her son's hair. "Don't cut too much off the top of his head."

"I thought you didn't want me to give him a bowl cut." Kaito chuckled and nudged the back of the child's head forward slightly and began shaving the back hairs off. One by one, Keiji's long strands fell and stuck to the towel or the kitchen floor.

Keiji yawned and fumbled with the towel once he saw the small pieces of hair sticking close to him.

Samantha was holding in tears. It was Keiji's first haircut. "I have to get a camera!"

"Why?" Kaito mumbled.

"This is his first cut! Can I borrow your phone?"

"No."

"Kaito! I just want to record this moment."

"I still don't trust you." Kaito side-eyed her. "You don't have to record this. It's not that significant."

"This is your son's first haircut, and you don't feel it's significant at all?" Samantha snapped at him.

"You're really not going to leave me alone until you record this, huh?" Kaito turned off the clipper and took out his phone, before handing it to Samantha. Samantha opened it and went straight to the camera to start recording it while Kaito finished what he started.

"Keiji, how does it feel?" Samantha tilted the phone forward with a smile on her face. Kaito patted the extra hair away and wet his hands before brushing his fingers through Keiji's hair, in an attempt to style it.

Keiji still had the curls on top of his head, but it was short enough so all Samantha had to do was detangle the top part and put gel to style it easily. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah!" Keiji ripped the towel off his body and attempted to climb off the chair, but Kaito caught him the moment Keiji lost his balance. Then he skipped over to the bathroom and stood on the stool that helped smaller kids wash their hands at the sink hopped up and down excitedly when he saw his new look in his reflection.

"He likes it—" Samantha turned off the recording but she noticed a woman's name come on Kaito's phone screen the second she did. His phone began to ring loudly. Why was a woman calling him at this time of night? "Who is Nina?" She mumbled to herself.

Kaito snatched his phone out of her hands and slid the red phone icon, disconnecting the call. Then he started texting away, and Samantha felt a pang of jealously in her heart. She decided to disregard the feeling for now, since it was time to put Keiji to bed.

"Can you clean this up?" Kaito gestured all around the kitchen floor where the cut hairs landed.

"Why do I have to clean it up?" Samantha groaned. "You were the one who wanted Keiji's hair to be cut."

"I... y'know what?" Kaito grumbled. "I'm not going to argue with you." He brushed his hair back and grabbed a nearby broom and dustpan. He started to clean up as quickly as possible, knowing that Nina probably was waiting on him. He hadn't gotten in contact with Inochi yet, but Haruka tracked the number to a small office that wasn't too far from Wilson's apartment. Haruka wanted Kaito and Nina to check the place out and see how busy it was.

Samantha went ahead and tucked Keiji in bed, and walked out of one of the bedrooms, m back into the living room. She saw Kaito putting the broom away, then he stepped over to the front door before putting on his jacket. She wanted to exchange a few words to test him, just to make sure he wasn't going out to do anything suspicious.

"Going somewhere?" Samantha sauntered to him slowly and placed both hands on her hips. "Again?"

"You know I have to work, right?" Kaito buttoned his jacket and placed a scarf around his neck. "If I don't work, then we will all live out in the streets." It wasn't 100% true, since Kaito knew he had some money put away in his savings just for emergencies, but he didn't want to give any details of his mission to Samantha.

"Before you leave, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," Kaito remarked and slid his feet into his shoes.

"How long do you think you'll be keeping Keiji and me here?"

"What?" Kaito blinked at her.

"Are you thinking about leaving us anytime soon?"

"Why are you asking that now?"

His phone began to ring again, and Samantha took a quick glance at his phone screen. It was the same woman's name. An extremely bitter feeling bloated the insides of her stomach. "It's because you've been acting, so.."

"So...?" Kaito turned off his phone and slid it into his pocket.

"I just have a bad feeling." She looked down in embarrassment.

"I don't know what you're thinking, or feeling." Kaito took a step closer to her. "But you have my word. As soon as I accomplish what I have to finish, I'll see to it that you and Keiji return to America safely." Kaito took her words in a harsh way. He thought she was sick of staying here in Japan, which she had every right as he did take her away, but it still hurt that she seemed so bored in coming to his country.

He thought she had loved him.. not that he cared, anyway. "And I'll keep sending you cash to help raise Keiji."

"Oh." Samantha swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew he was still a criminal, but the part of her that loved him wanted him to be around her son as he got older. He was a good father, even though Kaito probably didn't recognize it.

"I have to go." Kaito reached for the door. "Don't stay up too late—" His words cut off when he felt two arms wrap around his front, and the feeling of warmth engulf his back. Samantha was hugging him from behind, and he wasn't sure what to do. If anything, the action confused him.

His body tensed up at first, but slowly relaxed when he felt her place her head against the back of his shoulder.

"Be careful, don't do anything stupid. Okay?" Samantha frowned, knowing deep down he was going out to meet with another woman. She wanted to follow him, but she also wanted to trust him for once. "I love you."

"I know." Kaito sighed and pulled away from her. He opened the door and a gust of wind blew through the doorway, sending chills down Samantha's bare legs. "Lock the door behind me," Kaito ordered as he stepped out. It was freezing outside, colder than he expected.