"What took you so long?!" Nina growled as Kaito approached her. "Do you realize how cold is it out here?! Do you want me to catch a cold? I can't afford to get sick! I have 2 mouths I've gotta feed!"

"I apologize." Kaito snorted.

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it, pal! Your lame excuses aren't either! You try being a single mom and a cop! It ain't easy!" Nina swung at him, and he jumped back in surprise.

"Relax! I already said sorry, it wasn't easy for me to get here either." He grumbled. "I told Haruka to let me do this on my own." He pulled out his phone, leading Nina to bombard him with another question.

"Do you know how many times I've called you?"

"14 times?" Kaito snickered and flashed his phone in her face. "In the last hour."

"So you knew I was calling and still decided not to answer?" Nina cackled sarcastically. "You're insane."

"Let's go ahead and finish this. The sooner done, the quicker we can both go home." Kaito pressed on in the direction of a street filled with people, both foreigners, and locals, along with night stalls open serving various street foods.

There were plenty of prostitutes lining the sidewalk, trying to lead the drunk foreign and Japanese men away into the different love hotels to get paid. Nina moved closer to Kaito, feeling uncomfortable in the area they were in. This part of Osaka was a very dangerous place, criminally active and full of all kinds of crooks.

The place reeked of tobacco, and Nina scrunched her nose at the site of an older gray-haired man sloppily kissing a younger prostitute nearby. "Where exactly is this guy located?"

"Inochi owns an office down the block." Kaito pointed ahead of them. "We're being watched so don't act rashly and keep walking."

Nina glanced over her shoulder. "Who's watching us?"

"Don't look around either!" Kaito hissed softly. "It doesn't matter who's watching us. We stand out here."

"How do you know this area so well?"

"I grew up here. My family's old apartment is on the left."

Nina stopped. She was too stunned to move further. "Haruka raised you here?"

"For the first part of my life, yeah," Kaito admitted very ashamedly. The memories of his past haunted him greatly. Just coming back to this side of town made him feel bitter. If he were to bleed, acid would deep out of his skin instead of blood.

"So you were also one of these young men."

"No, I wasn't a drunkard. I had to work hard and take care of my mother and brother. Why am I even sharing this with you?" Kaito stopped walking after realizing that he had blabbered all about his life story to a cop within minutes of them meeting up.

"Your wife must be changing you." Nina smiled at him.

"She's not changing me." Kaito rolled his eyes.

"It's not a bad thing if you change, Kaito. It may be for the better."

"Don't you dare," Kaito swung around and pointed his index finger dangerously close to Nina's face. "I don't know what Haruka put in that thick skull of yours, but don't you EVER, insult me in such a way. My whole life, that dastard has been wanting me to change. He's been chasing after me like cat and mouse, pissing me off for several years. I am not like Haruka, I'm not going to change, and I'm not a stupid money-hungry cop like you and him."

"Kaito—"

"I am so sick of people telling me to change. I don't want to."

"Kaito—"

"What!?" He snarled.

"Lower your voice. People are starting to stare!" Nina reprimanded him. "I don't know why you're so pressed today, but now is really not the time for you to get into your feelings."

Kaito's eyes widened when he realized that he went off completely based on the emotion he'd been holding inside for years. What the heck was happening to him? Why was he letting things slip? "Shite." He rubbed his forehead. "You're right."

"Besides." Nina tapped his shoulder. "These things you can share with your wife, someone who can better help you."

"I'm not going to whine to Samantha like a child." He laughed and continued in the direction they were headed. He stopped at a crosswalk, spotting the office Inochi resided. But he was too wary of approaching it. Before, there would be 2 men on the outside guarding it. Maybe Inochi was out.

"Shitsurēshimasu!" Kaito called out to a nearby prostitute. "Ino uchinakawa dokodesuka? karewa gaishutsuchūdesuka?" He pointed at the building. The prostitute sashayed over to him flirtatiously.

"Shiharaiga tadashīka dōka oshiraseshimasu..." The woman brushed her hands from his shoulder down to the front of his coat. She wanted him to buy her out for the night.

"No thank you." He grabbed her hand and brought it off of him, rejecting her in the politest yet disgusted Engrish accent ever.

"Shy..?" She muttered back.

Kaito pointed at the ring on his finger, indicating to her that he was married. However, the prostitute didn't care. She had dealt with many unloyal men coming to her before.

The prostitute wrapped her arms over his shoulder and hopped up for a kiss, but Kaito placed his hand right over her mouth and shoved her away, not caring much that he smeared her lipstick. It looked like he was going to have to come to see Inochi at another time.

Nina cackled at the prostitute as she whined at Kaito's action. "You could've been a tad gentle with her. She obviously wanted you."

"The first mistake she made was assuming that I'm a gentleman wanting her services." Kaito pulled down his coat sleeve revealing the XO tattoo to the prostitute, and she scurried off in the opposite direction.

"Oh? Whose services did you want?" Nina teased.

"Nina, don't push me." Kaito rolled his eyes. "We have to go back."

"Back?" Nina frowned and looked back at the building.

"To Haruka."

"But we came all this way!"

"Inochi isn't in the building."

"How do you know?"

"Inochi is only around when he has two bodyguards at the door. I'm not risking my life walking in there alone. I'm not the only Assassin he's recruited. We all have different ways of setting traps for unwanted visitors."

"Interesting... guess yours always had something to do with knives and blades, huh?"

"Not always." Kaito snorted. "I dabbled with grenades before. But they're too loud. And they do too much damage. It's hard cleaning up."

"You're insane."

"Yes, I know." Kaito smiled at her.

~

Samantha was in charge of serving the guests at Hana's noodle shop. She didn't speak much Japanese, so all she did was bring them out their orders. However, one particular customer had caught her eye.

At first, she thought he looked familiar but she couldn't put a pin on it. He was dressed in all black and his face was covered. But instead of letting his order be taken, he just sat there at one of the tables, staring at the surface quietly.

Hana had urged Samantha to go check on him, by pushing her out of the shop's kitchen. But in reality, Hana didn't want any loiterers. She was too busy cooking for the other customers to tell the strange man to leave.

Samantha didn't want to disturb him. She couldn't speak any Japanese, and the locals didn't understand her English. Samantha felt that she would offend him.

Before Samantha could technically take any action to deal with the shady man, her little boy Keiji ran into the noodle shop with a burst of energy. With a loud squeal, he tripped over the leg of one of the chairs. Then his toy pistol in Keiji's hands flew up into the air and smacked the customer dressed in black's head.

The man held his hand out before Keiji could fall on his face and steadied him. Keiji's small but adorable eyes widened at the stranger and he began to cry.

"I'm so sorry!" Samantha tugged Keiji closer to her by his little arm. Keiji most likely just woke up from a nap and came to find his mom to play with him. "Keiji can you put the toy down and help mommy?" She kneeled at her son's eye level.

"Play!" Keiji hopped up and down like an excited little bunny.

"I know you want to play, but mommy can't right now. I have to help grandma finish some work. So put the toy down and come help." Samantha knew that Keiji wouldn't sit in place for too long, so she decided to put him to good use. "Come help, okay?" She extended her hand out to him and Keiji reached up to grab it.

"Cute." The strange man muttered with a thick accent. It was hard to hear, but Samantha knew what he said. She was just so surprised to finally hear him utter a word, especially one in English.

"Oh! Do you speak English?"

"Little." The man looked up at her. His face was covered by a black mask. Samantha also noticed that he had a bruise under his left eye. "Cute." He pointed at Keiji. The way the man's eyes lit up, Samantha could tell he was smirking under that mask.

"Thank you."

"How old?"

"He is 2." Samantha held her fingers, and the man nodded in response. Then he leaned forward and tapped Keiji on his shoulder.

"Nihon'gowa hanasemasuka?"

"Oh, no, he doesn't speak or understand Japanese. He was raised in America, so his father only spoke English around him." Samantha brushed Keiji's hair back. "I don't mean to be rude sir, but are you going to order something? If not, you will have to leave."

"I will order." The man replied before running his hands down the menu. He pointed at a particular item. "This."

"Okay." Samantha looked over his shoulder and memorized the number on the menu. But then, the man began pointing at other smaller dishes as well. She tried her best to keep up and put his order in for Hana. After some time had passed, she began bringing out the smaller dishes of rice and veggies, with the help of Keiji.

He placed the chopsticks on the table, and the man kept his eyes on the boy. Keiji shyly went behind his mother's legs and clung to her.

Eventually, the man pulled down his mask, revealing the rest of his face. Samantha was surprised at how young he looked. She could've sworn that he had some similar features to her husband.

"Enjoy. When your soba is ready, I'll bring it out to you." Samantha took Keiji and lead him away. Some of the other customers had left, so she began to clean up the place before it was time to close.

"Oh! Kaito!" Samantha gasped when she almost ran into her husband at the entrance. She almost dropped a stack full of plates, it would've been a disaster. "You scared me! What are you doing back so early?"

"Am I not allowed to come back anytime I want?" Kaito stepped forward and studied Samantha's appearance. She looked exhausted. Her hair was pulled back into a messy and curly ponytail, and her skin was glistening because of her sweat.

"That's not what I meant. I was just surprised." She placed all the plates and bowls onto a nearby trolley. Then she wiped her forehead. "Keiji has been a good little helper so far. He's very smart. But I've been thinking, that maybe it's time for him to start studying Japanese. You could teach him."

"Uh-huh." Kaito went inside one of the mini-fridges his mother kept on the side of the store and he pulled out a beer.

"It would be good t for him to develop that while we are here." Samantha huffed. It had been a long day for her. Going back and forth to take care of Keiji and helping Hana with her shop was a lot. Working and managing a child at the same time was stressful. "Oh! You won't believe me when I tell you this!"

"Mhmm."

"Are you listening to me?" Samantha placed her hands on her hips.

"I am. Just a bit tired."

Samantha scoffed at him. "There's a customer out there, he's really nice. Speaks a bit of English. He called Keiji cute, and even tried speaking some Japanese with him."

"You spoke to a man?" Kaito placed the beer can on the trolley and stopped Samantha in her tracks. "Who speaks English?" Kaito finished his sentence, not wanting her to get the wrong idea and think of him as jealous.

"Yes." Samantha stood straight. "What's the problem?"

"... Nothing." Kaito opened his mouth and closed it. This part of Osaka was an area where there were only elder locals who couldn't speak a sliver of English. The only side of it where they could were the richer areas, or where the Yakuza resided. "Was he Japanese?"

"I'd assume so. Y'know what's interesting? He kind of looks like you. He's real young though."

Kaito snatched her arm and looked at Samantha dead in her eyes. He didn't want to make any assumptions, but the last time he heard those words were from the neighbors. Although Katashi was his half-brother, the two did have similarities in their facial features.

"Where did you see this man?"

"Ow! You're hurting me—" Samantha panicked briefly.

"Where is he?" Kaito asked in a firmer tone.

"Over there!" Samantha pointed at the table where she left the customer, but there was no one. It was as if the man had vanished in thin air. Just a moment ago, he was eating. But he had left without paying for the food. Hana was going to be upset.

"I don't see him."

"He was just here— wait. Where's Keiji?" Samantha pulled away and looked around. "Keiji?!" She said louder, hoping he'd respond. Kaito had been calling out his name as well, but there was no reply.

Samantha abandoned all her items and rushed out of the shop. Kaito followed closely. Pretty quickly, Kaito spotted their son across the street, roaming in their opposing direction. "He's over there!"

"No!" Samantha took a leap forward but the light had already turned green, and cars began to whiz by. Kaito wrapped his arm around her waist and lugged her back. "KEIJI!" Samantha hollered. "Let me go, Kaito!"

"Don't be stupid! The cars won't stop if you run out there!" He growled at her. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"But he's out there!"

"He's on the other side, safe and sound. When the light turns red, we will cross and go after him." Kaito released her.

"He doesn't have a coat." Samantha bit her lip nervously. "He'll catch a cold! No, he'll get taken away by a stranger!"

"Samantha, it's fine. He's not that far." He sighed. "I'll catch him. You go back inside—"

"I'm NOT leaving him." Samantha tapped her foot anxiously, waiting for the light to change. Goosebumps formed on her arms, because of the lack of proper clothing she had on to keep her warm.

Kaito stared at the light briefly, before deciding to run out into the road. In his mind, he had made a decision to not argue with Samantha. He didn't have the time to. A lot of honking followed after Kaito as he strategically dodged all the moving cars. And Samantha hollered after him, but he continued to ignore her cries.

Once he was safe across and on the other side of the street, he pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Wilson's phone. Kaito didn't even wait for Wilson to greet him on the other line. "Wilson, I need you to check the cameras at Hana's shop for me."

"Hello to you too Kaito." Wilson chuckled.

"I need you to check, now!"

"Hold on! Geez! I just got back home from the store. Is it that urgent?"

"Absolutely." Kaito took a deep breath and sprinted after Keiji. "I think Katashi was just there."

"No way!" There was a loud thud on the other end. Kaito could hear Wilson stuff something in his mouth and tat art typing on his laptop. "Why does it sound like you're out of breath, Kaito?"

"I don't have time to explain, just check the cameras." Kaito turned his foot to the right before running into a busy alley. He was surprised to find that Keiji was so fast. If Kaito lacked the stamina, surely he would've lost track of his son.

"I don't see anything strange."

"Check for a man sitting near the exit wall. That is where Samantha said he was sitting."

"Samantha saw him? Did she know who he was?"

"She wouldn't know what Katashi looks like. All she told me was that he looked like me, but younger." Kaito chuckled and jumped over some trash. "Keiji!" He hollered after his son, and the little boy stopped. But Keiji didn't stop for Kaito.

In the distance, Kaito noticed his son reaching his hand out toward a mysterious figure dressed in black. He assumed that was the man Samantha saw.

"I can't see his face clearly," Wilson mumbled.

"Save the video, we'll identify it later." Kaito hung up the phone and jogged over to the little boy and strange man. He tackled the man to the ground and rolled him onto his front before Keiji could touch him. "Who are you!" Kaito snarled. "Take off that mask!"

Keiji watched the two in shock and stumbled back. Then he let out a cry when he lost his balance and plopped himself down onto his butt.

"No no no, Buddy!" Kaito held his hand out to calm Keiji down. "Don't cry, it's okay." Kaito reached for the man's face, but he was knocked off with a simple but harsh kick. The sudden action only scared Keiji more.

The man pulled himself up and brushed himself off.

"Who are you?" Kaito groaned and pushed his body off the ground as well. The two looked at each other directly in the eyes, and Kaito tightened his shoulders. Those eyes weren't his brothers.

But it didn't make any sense. Could Samantha really have given him the wrong information by mistaking another local as a lookalike? Why had he believed her so quickly like that?

Just before Kaito could utter an apology, the man pulled out a gun and aimed it directly at Kaito. Kaito placed his hands high in the air immediately, not wanting to do anything too sudden with his son right behind him.

Kaito observed the man closely. Who exactly was he? There was nothing there to indicate that he was working with the Yakuza. There was no way this could've been another assassin, right?

"Can we take this somewhere else?" Kaito glanced behind him at Keiji and swallowed the lump in his throat. The man's hand began to twitch, and so the gun began to tremble as well. Kaito smirked, willing to bet that the man didn't even know how to use the gun.

He quickly moved forward and tried snatching the weapon out of his hands, but the man pulled the trigger just as he did so. The bullet bounced off the wall near where Keiji was sitting, and both of the men froze. "You could've killed my kid." Kaito stared blankly at the guy and elbowed him in the gut. "Do you know who I am?" Kaito's voice lowered in a dangerous tone.

He shoved the man against the alley wall and showed him his wrist. The XO tattoo was enough to make the man's entire body shiver at the sight. "If you had hit him with one bullet, I would've snapped off your head and put it on display for all of Japan to see. I'm not going to ask you again, WHO are you?"

The man rammed the back of his head into Kaito's face, throwing Kaito off. Kaito swore and caught himself against the wall. Then the guy ran off and disappeared. Kaito's nose was bleeding, but fortunately, it wasn't broken. He grabbed Keiji and hugged him close, in an attempt to ease the boys crying but it wasn't working.

"It's okay, Keiji." Kaito lifted him in his arms and made his way back over to his mother's home. Samantha was clutching onto her shoulders for warmth, pacing around anxiously for their return. When she noticed him, her face went from joy, to surprise, and then fear.

"What happened?! Why is he crying? What did you do!?" She grabbed Keiji in her arms and wiped his tears and shushed him gently. "Did you fight?" She gasped when she saw the blood running down Kaito's nose.

Kaito didn't answer, as his mind ran with so many thoughts. Who the heck was that guy? Why did he come here? And why was he leading Keiji away?

"Kaito! Are you listening to me?" Samantha whined.

"Pack your and Keiji's things," Kaito responded to her. His words were so direct and sudden that she took offense.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean pack your bags." Kaito spat. It was no longer safe for them to stay there. He couldn't risk any thugs finding out about his wife, son, and mother. It seems as if the Yakuza weren't sticking with the agreement to stay out of his personal life. But that was just it. He didn't know if the guy was a part of the Yakuza. He had nothing to indicate any sort of representation to any family.

"Why do we have to leave again?" Samantha frowned.

"Because I said so."

"Do you think I am twelve? You can't tell me what to do."

"If you don't pack, then I will drag you with the clothes you are wearing." Kaito sneered at her.

"Why are you acting like this? You're threatening me now? It's not going to work. It's obvious you're keeping something from me. It's written all over your face—"

"SAMANTHA just—" Kaito shouted at her, but stopped himself and wiped the blood from his face. "I need you to for once, listen to me. I know you want to know why Keiji is crying, you want to know why my nose is bleeding. You want to know because you're curious, but I can't tell you anything. I just need you to do what I'm asking you to do."

"You're asking me to just.. pick up and leave again? Tell me, which country are you going to kidnap and take me to next? Is your job making you do this? Because we can go to Haruka and tell him to shove his dumb ideas back up his arse where they came from. I'm not going anywhere!" Samantha snapped. "Do you realize how hard all of this is on me? Since I found out about your occupation, I haven't complained. I'm trying to endure this, okay?"

"This isn't Haruka's idea."

"Then who's dumb idea is it?"

"Mine." Kaito heaved. "I'm doing this for a VERY good reason."

"Why!? You want me to pack everything and leave again, but you aren't telling me exactly what the issue is!"

"Because I'm trying to protect you!" Kaito admitted with a heavy sigh. Samantha opened her mouth but quickly closed it. "I'm trying to protect you, him." Kaito pointed at Keiji. "My mother. Everyone, all at once. It's bad enough that I'm dealing with a dastard criminal on my tail, and a foolish cop, but on top of that, I have to be responsible for the lives of people I care about. It's draining! I'm exhausted, and I have no energy to fight with you, so just do what I say!"

Samantha was too stunned to say anything, so she smiled warmly at him. Then she walked over and wrapped her free arm around him. Kaito didn't understand how to react. He was usually good at keeping a level head, but there was so much emotion going through him. It felt like a rollercoaster, a feeling he definitely wasn't used to.

"I love you so much, Kaito."

"I know you do," Kaito grumbled.

Samantha sighed. "I knew you were working so much because of your agreement with him. I also noticed that you'd come back late and sleep for a whole day, I can only imagine the stress you were going through. But please don't give up so easily."

"I'm not giving up." Kaito rolled his eyes.

"I can tell there is a lot more you aren't sharing with me. They may have to do with the case you're working on. So I can't completely understand what you are going through, but you should speak to Haruka. Jumping ahead and getting us to move somewhere else isn't the best way to handle your fear. Running away never helps."