A soft groan escaped Kaito's lips as he drifted into consciousness. His body felt numb, and he felt his legs and arms tied down by itchy rope. He opened his eyes slowly, and there was a gleam of light that slightly blinded him. He squinted and moved his eyes back and forth.

"Inochi.." He moaned after realizing where he was. Someone placed him in Inochi's office. Whoever hit was handled his body carelessly. He'd be sure to make Inochi and his lackeys pay for it later.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," Inochi said in a sarcastic tone. He strides toward Kaito carefully and kneeled in front of him. "You had me frightened. I thought I hit you a little too hard, but surely, a great knife-wielding warrior like yourself wouldn't die or go brain dead so easily."

"Inochi.." Kaito grunted and rolled over. His hands were tied behind his back, so he was using his knees to propel himself up to a more comfortable position. "Why? Where is...Katashi?" Kaito spoke in shallow breaths.

"We have bigger things to worry about. You'll see him soon." Inochi yanked Kaito back by his shirt and slammed him against the wall. All the air left Kaito, and he was sure one of his ribs was seriously bruised or broken. "What did I ever do for you to disrespect me, boy?"

"What are you talking about?" Kaito coughed.

"When you were younger, I took you in as my own. I fed you, gave you warm clothes. I even gave you a job." Inochi narrowed his eyes and raised his palm to Kaito's neck. "But you've changed, and I see why. Honestly, Kaito. How stupid do you think I am? I know you!"

"I have no clue what you are hinting to. Get to the point." Kaito clenched his jaw tightly.

Inochi placed his hand around Kaito's neck and tightened his hold. "YOU DARE MOCK ME? Did you really think when you came back to Japan that I wouldn't find you and get intel? My best assassin disappeared for 4 years! So I took it upon myself to do some research." Inochi smirked and released Kaito.

Kaito dropped to his knees and gasped for air.

"Since when did you start working for the cops, Kaito?"

Kaito swore under his breath. Inochi snapped his fingers, and the office door was kicked open. 2 bulky men in suits dragged Nina, who was kicking and screaming inside. Kaito's heartbeat sped up.

Inochi snapped his fingers, and the men released Nina. He sauntered over to her and mercilessly began ramming his fist into her face. Kaito rolled around helplessly, watching the horrid scene unfold. Inochi knew that Kaito wasn't the type to harm a woman or child, this was a test.

"Inochi!" Kaito gasped. "Stop!"

Inochi ignored him and continued. He only stopped when Nina's face was beaten to the point blood ran down her nose and lips.

"Please!" Kaito grumbled. "You're angry with me! Leave the cop out of it."

Inochi tossed Nina's body aside, and he snapped his fingers again. The two men began taking care of Nina, dragging her out of the room. Inochi wiped his hands on a towel and sanitized them afterward, as if he touched some filthy insect. "You're right. I'm very pissed off with you, disappointed really. How is it that the boy I trained directly under me goes behind my back and works with the enemy? But that's okay. My plan for you is different."

"Different?"

"I've learned all about your little girlfriend and boy."

Kaito's blood went cold hearing Inochi's tone. Kaito put as much effort as he could into positioning himself in a position where he looked Inochi eye to eye. He clenched his jaw. "You'd better not lay one finger on them." Kaito spat out in a deadly tone. His voice was laced with a venomous key.

"Oh, don't you worry," Inochi smirked. "I won't. But he will." Inochi pointed to the doorway. A skinny man walked in. He was wearing all black, and his face was covered by the mask he wore. But Kaito recognized him by the eyes.

"K-Katashi." Kaito's heart rate sped up as Katashi took small steps toward Inochi. Katashi pulled down his mask, revealing his plump pink lips, and a scar that ran from his chin to his neck. Although his appearance was very different from his pictures, in Kaito's eyes, there was still his younger brother. He saw him as a young boy who was too reserved and shy around other people.

But with the way Katashi was eyeing him, it seemed as if his personality were completely different.

"Usually it's hard for me to get rid of foreigners. It causes a ruckus, and a nationwide search is an issue that always slows our business down." Inochi scowled at Kaito. "But I'm willing to take that risk to teach a dastard like you a lesson. I mean seriously, what on earth made you decide to become a cop?"

"I'm not a cop," Kaito grunted heavily.

"A spy, whatever. You're a Rat... no, you're worse than that. You're a spineless lowdown piece of filth with daddy issues." Inochi walked over to Kaito and flicked him in the head. Kaito balled his fists at the insults, trying his best to let them wash over him.

"When you wanted to train to become an Assassin, the first thing I told you to do was to get rid of your heart, your emotions. I'll admit, it took you some time, but you impressed me after your first kill." Inochi continued. "You didn't even bat an eye when you saw the blood on your clothes. I've never seen anyone like you with the same distant and cold behavior. That is why you're my best Assassin."

Kaito felt a sour taste in his mouth. Hearing Inochi describe him in a way in front of his brother made him feel vile.

"And now that I mention a woman and a child, you're having a hissy fit. So now I guess I'll have to get rid of them so you can come to your senses."

"Please." Kaito lowered his head, ashamed. "Inochi, please. They have nothing to do with any of this." He slumped over, bowing in respect to the man that had him bound to rope.

"Perhaps I'll spare them. On one condition. You find and kill the man who sent you to betray me. It's about time Haruka Takashi learns what happens when he crosses the line." Inochi smiled. "In return, I'll send the woman and the child away safely. You can continue working for me."

"You're Sick." Kaito spat.

"And you're a murderer. I don't got all day, kid. Name-calling is for children." Inochi shrugged.

"I refuse to do any more of your dirty work," Kaito growled.

Inochi snorted and wiped his mouth. "Don't decide so quickly Kaito." He looked at Katashi.

"Beat him up some more until he makes the right decision. If he doesn't, just kill him. Then Take his body downtown and toss him in the dump. I want him to know what happens to fools who double-cross me." Inochi sauntered over to the door.

"Katashi!" Kaito hissed. "Look at me! What happened to you? This isn't you! Korewa anataja nai!"

Katashi ignored Kaito and nodded in response to Inochi's command. "Wait!" He held out his arm, stopping Inochi from leaving. "Are you really going to kill that woman and kid?" Katashi swallowed.

"It's none of your business. Do what you're told unless you want to join him?"

Katashi shook his head to refuse, and Inochi huffed in amusement. "I thought so." He brushed past Katashi and closed the office door on his way out. Katashi and Kaito were both left alone, so Kaito tried to use the time to convince his brother to snap out of the act. "Katashi! Untie me--"

"Chin'moku!" Katashi snapped.

"What the f--"

Katashi backhanded Kaito as hard as he could. Kaito flew back to the wall and licked his now cut lip. Then he slowly shifted his gaze back to his younger brother. "I don't know why you're acting like this." Kaito growled viciously. "But you better get yourself together before you see a completely different side of me, a side that you won't enjoy. I'm only this tolerant of you because you are my brother, but do remember that I was never afraid to put you in your bloody place."

Katashi snorted. "Look who's talking." Katashi pulled a small knife from his pockets and held it up for Kaito to see. "By now, you should realize who has the upper hand."

"What a nice toy. Where'd you get it? Mcdonald's?" Kaito smirked at the tiny knife being held up for display. He'd seen and used better. "Inochi couldn't find you a better weapon? Figures. You're just his chore boy."

"Shut up!"

"You shut up, and listen to me! Have you lost your mind? What are you doing here? Why are you working for Inochi? Do you realize how dangerous he is, what kind of business you're dealing with?" Kaito barked.

"I should ask you the same question."

"Shite!" Kaito snapped. Katashi was right. This entire time, Kaito had hidden his occupation from Katashi and Hana. He was an assassin. One of the best ones in Japan. "You really don't know what you're getting yourself into Katashi! I understand this business well! You have no mind to be hanging around with these thugs!"

"You don't understand what I'm going through or dealing with. Don't act like my father, because you're not." He narrowed his eyes.

"You're right," Kaito responded softly. "But it is my job to care. I am your brother, Katashi. Do you have any idea how many years I've been searching for you? I ruined so many people's lives just to find you. Then I come to find out you PURPOSELY ran away! What got you into this mess? Tell me! Is it money? I will help you--"

"That is the problem I have with you. I'm not a child anymore! I can take care of myself!"

"Like heck you can!" Kaito snarled. "Do you know what Mom is going to do when she finds out you've been hiding under her nose? She's going to be heartbroken! Think about your family--"

"Just like how you did when you LEFT us?" Katashi shot back.

"I-- what?" Kaito blinked. "What the blazes are you talking about?"

"Four years ago, you left to stay in America because of your "job". You were always the type to do things on your own without asking for help. You paid for my tuition and when the time for you to make more money, you up and left. University isn't easy, brother." Katashi seethed. "I needed you, but you left. Mom needed you, and you disappeared!"

"I went away to make sure you both were taken care of!" Kaito snorted. "When Haruka left us, do you know how hard it was for me to pay for everything? You don't remember, because you were just a scrawny little brat back then. I busted my behind off to make sure you and Mom had some food on the table!"

"If you hate Haruka so much, why are you working for him?"

Kaito couldn't answer. "Katashi, listen. Untie me, we can talk this out and settle things reasonably."

"No." Katashi slapped a piece of duct tape over Kaito's mouth and began dragging him to the other side of the office. "I make my own decisions now. I don't want to listen or hear what you have to say. I've already made up my mind."

"Katashi! Please!" Kaito pleaded. "You want me to ask for help? Well, here I am! I'm asking you to help me stop Inochi."

"Oh, so you can act smug and run off again?" Inochi scoffed.

"Because my wife and my son will die." Kaito strained out a groan. Katashi paused at his words and frowned. Kaito took a deep breath and rested his head on the ground. "I screwed up."

"I didn't believe it at first." Katashi forced out a light chuckle. "I guess it's true that you ran off and started a new family, forgetting about us."

"I didn't run off to start a family," Kaito mumbled. "I was assigned to do a job in America and was framed. The reason I was gone for so long was that I was in prison. I had no way to contact you or Mom."

"You were framed?" Katashi blinked in confusion.

"More like ratted out. Long story short, I was offered to have my sentence reduced to find you. I dragged Samantha into this in the process and let her down. I let you down. None of this is what I wanted."

"I..." Katashi looked down and gazed at the hardwood floor.

"I wish we had reunited under better circumstances, and I understand that you're mad with me. But I'm asking for you to for once put your grudge aside to make sure that they don't get hurt." Kaito huffed. "Samantha and Keiji don't have anything to do with this. You can spit at me and break my bones, but if anything happens to them... I... I'll..." Kaito stopped, he couldn't find any right words to express himself.

"Do you love that woman and child?" Katashi hunched over and poked Kaito in the head. Kaito's face turned red. The question was so sudden and direct. He wasn't sure how to respond.

"I... you..." Kaito stuttered and his cheeks darkened with the shade of more red.

Katashi laughed and placed himself next to his older brother. "You do."

"I never said—" Kaito narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth.

"You're still shy as always," Katashi smirked but he stopped when he finally took a second to think. The only reason why he wanted to work with Inochi was to find his brother. He spent so much money hiring people to do the job, and when he found out that Kaito was enjoying himself in the states, anger overwhelmed him.

He wanted to prove to Kaito he wasn't a naive little boy anymore. But now he was realizing that he was still immature for wanting to get revenge in a dangerous way. "What am I doing?" He shook his head in frustration. Then he used his knife to cut the rope that held Kaito in place.

"Katashi?"

"Inochi is going to kill your family, as well as Haruka." Katashi sighed. "Inochi had planned on expanding his business to the outskirts of Osaka. With Haruka out of his way, he'll be able to reach his goal quickly."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're my brother." Katashi shrugged. "When I paired up with Inochi, I didn't want anyone to die. I only wanted to get back at you. I didn't know that Inochi was going to go after your wife."

"You're a smart kid." Kaito slugged his arm over Katashi's shoulder and ruffled his hair. "You've changed a little, but you're still that intelligent brat."

"Stop it!" Katashi shoved Kaito off. "I'm not a kid anymore." He brushed his jacket. Kaito smiled at him and slapped him on the shoulder roughly, sending his younger brother forward. "Ow!"

"You're still a kid to me. Now," Kaito cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms. "I'm going to go after Inochi and stop him from getting to Haruka. I need you to find out where they took Nina."

"Wait! You're gonna take Inochi on by yourself?" Katashi pouted.

"Yes?"

"You're insane!"

"I know," Kaito smirked.

"Do you have any idea how many guys are out there playing Inochi's bodyguard? There's over 30 of them outside the building right now!" Katashi complained. "You won't last! You'll need my help—"

"No, what I need for you to do is find Nina and help her get out of here. I'm not going to let you get hurt."

"Kaito! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"That's not the issue, Katashi." Kaito glared back at his brother. "Haruka, my wife, and son will die if I don't do something. Their lives, are more important than mine."

"But—"

"My answer is no, so hold your breath." Kaito snapped. Then he realized there was a small issue. If he was going to stop Inochi and help his brother grab Nina and escape, he was going to have to make up a lie so they wouldn't suspect his brother to be a part of it. "However, we can't rush out there easily. We'll need a distraction or a demonstration to keep their eyes off of you."

"What do you have in mind?" Katashi bit his lip nervously.

"...You're not gonna like it."

"...You're not going to make me lick the floors again, are you?" Katashi felt his palms go sweaty.

"Not exactly."

"Oh no."

"Remember when Mom used to get on me about disturbing your studies?" Kaito cleared his throat. "She'd always send me out to go buy groceries or something."

"Are you talking about the time you put me in a headlock and called me Einstein's sperm?"

Kaito grinned.

"No... please. Mom had to take me to the hospital after that!"

"Oh don't be a baby, I'm not gonna hold onto you that hard." Kaito shrugged. "It'll be fun. Like old times."

"How was that fun?!" Katashi whined. "You were a Brute!"

"It was fun for me." Kaito lunged forward and snagged his arm around Katashi's neck.

"Ow ow oW! AGH!" Katashi squirmed.

"Hold still." Kaito rolled his eyes.

~

"What the—" One man shouted when the door to Inochi's office burst open. All of the workers stopped what they were doing to observe the scene before them. Kaito had Katashi held against his will, in a headlock, and a gun placed next to his forehead.

"Tell me where Inochi is or I'll blow his brain out," Kaito commanded ferociously.

"That wasn't the plan!" Katashi whispered.

"Shut up or they'll catch on," Kaito mumbled back.

The men all reached for knives, or poles and then they all ran at Kaito. Kaito quickly shoved Katashi away, before taking on the hits of all of Inochi's lackey's. This allowed Katashi to crawl away safely. Kaito was grateful that the workers weren't aware that Katashi and he were brothers.

"Woah!" Kaito let the words slip from his mouth when a knife came flying through the air and clipped a piece of his hair. The blade smacked onto the wall and Kaito let out a relieved sigh. He almost died.

"That's not fair!" Kaito clicked his tongue and grabbed onto one man's arm before slamming him into two more. "Who threw that knife?" He moved his gaze and wiped his mouth. Some blood was running down his lip. He spotted a man in a red suit and narrowed his eyes at him.

"You. You threw that knife. Come here." He motioned forward in annoyance. The man's face was sweaty and he shook his head nervously. "Come here! You wanna play like a pro, so I'll show you." Kaito taunted with a dark smile. "If you don't step forward right now, I'll kill you."

"Sumimasen!"

Kaito lunged forward and jumped in the air, before ramming his foot into his face. The man in the red suit was knocked unconscious. Kaito brushed off his shoulder, but he was soon tackled by another worker. He swore and began ramming his elbow continuously into the larger man's torso.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Katashi guiding Nina over to the elevator. But before he could register anything, the larger man grabbed him by the neck and held him in a chokehold. Kaito struggled against it and began kicking his legs back and forth to escape.

Then a gunshot rang across the room, and everyone stopped fighting. Kaito saw his brother fall to the floor and heard Nina scream her heart out.

"Thought you could pull a fast one on me?" Inochi stepped out of the elevator with an evil smile. He stepped over Katashi's bleeding body without a care and aimed his gun at Kaito.

"KATASHI!" Kaito kicked the larger man away and managed to free himself. Right before he could check on his brother, he was yanked back harshly by the hair. "NO! HELP HIM!" He roared.

"Help him?" Inochi scoffed and looked over to Katashi, who was clutching onto his torso in pain. "You should've followed my orders, you could've been so much more than your brother." He aimed the gun at Katashi again.

"Inochi! Please!" Kaito heaved and tried yanking his hair out of whoever was holding him back. "Don't hurt him."

Another gunshot went off, and Katashi hollered. Inochi was testing Kaito. "Look at you. Weak, and pathetic. Begging for mercy." At that moment, Kaito was pushed over his limit. He looked at his brother once more before his vision began to blur.

In a spur of rage, Kaito knocked back the man who held him by his hair and sprinted towards Inochi. He tackled him to the ground and began punching Inochi repeatedly, over and over. But he didn't stop when he saw Inochi's face bruised and battered.

"Kaito!" Nina gasped and reached for him. "Kaito stop!"

Kaito shoved her off and continued hitting Inochi.

"You're going to kill him!"

That was Kaito's goal. Kaito only saw red and had full intentions of letting the man below him go out in a very painful way.

"Kaito! STOP!"

"EVERYONE FREEZE!"

Kaito was quickly shoved off Inochi and pressed to the ground. An entire fleet of police entered the office and held their weapons high. All the workers inside raised their hands while some of the cops grabbed Inochi and arrested him.

"Kaito! Calm down!" Haruka's voice reached Kaito's ears as he squirmed underneath his hold. "Easy Boy!"

"LET ME KILL HIM!" He snarled.

"No, you did your job! The case is going to be closed!" Haruka tapped Kaito on the shoulder. Kaito was still laid out on his stomach, so Haruka took the chance to grab Kaito's hands and place handcuffs on him. "Take Katashi to the hospital." Haruka nodded at another officer and tapped Kaito again. "Are you hurt anywhere Kaito?"

Kaito remained silent as he saw paramedics place Katashi on a gulley and wheeled him out. They also escorted Nina out as well. "Kaito?" Haruka called out again.

Kaito let out an exasperated groan. Haruka raised him off the ground and guided him to the elevator. When the doors closed, Haruka eyed Kaito up and down. Other than a few bruises and cuts on his face, he should be fine. "Do you need medical attention?"

"Which hospital are they taking Katashi to?" Kaito responded coldly.

"Kaito, I'm asking about you."

"And I'm asking about my brother." Kaito narrowed his eyes at Haruka. "If Katashi dies, I'm going to kill Inochi, and if you try to stop me again, I'll kill you too." Kaito was serious. Katashi wasn't Haruka's real son, but it was killing Kaito inside that he showed no empathy when Katashi was shot.

"When he gets there I'll be sure to let you know." Haruka sighed.