Kaito ended up having to close the shop early again because of what was showing on the News that Wednesday morning. He wouldn't have known if he didn't overhear the conversations of the customers.

That little wench must've snuck a photo out of her phone before he deleted it. Broadcasted on all News stations were photos of him the other night and his sign. Sure enough, the report made it seem like he was the one who killed the woman in the store.

He wasn't the killer. He had so many questions now. Someone was trying to frame him for a crime he didn't commit, but who? Maybe Asuka knew that Kaito was after him? That's why he probably killed the woman, but it didn't make any sense. Asuka knew that his symbol was always written with a knife, not spray paint.

Kaito was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a strong punch ram against his face. He caught himself before falling and shot a death glare at whoever just hit him. It was Haruka. If looks could kill, they'd both be 6ft under.

"You'd better have an explanation as to why I found your name on the big screen at work this morning. I made you an agent, offered to reduce your sentence, and here you are, out killing people again."

"It wasn't me." Kaito hissed back at him.

"I'm tired of hearing your bull crap! You told me you went out the other day and that you met with a troublesome journalist, but you never told me about the dead woman! I gave you enough chances! You're under arrest—"

"I have proof that it wasn't me!" Kaito shouted over him. Haruka placed the handcuffs on the counter and crossed his arms.

"You'd better not lie. This isn't a time for joking, kid."

"I sent you a photo of the man who killed the woman and wrote my symbol with spray paint." Kaito explained. "I don't kill women or children. And I never use spray paint to leave my mark. I always write with a knife of some kind. As long as you've been chasing after me, you should know." Kaito snapped.

"He's right." Another voice chimed in, causing Haruka and Kaito to whip their heads around. Wilson stood there proudly with his hands on his hips, and Haruka raised a gun immediately. "Woah!"

"Shite." Kaito clenched his teeth. "How did you get in here?"

"Who the heck is he?!" Haruka yelled at Kaito. Kaito completely forgot that Wilson knew about the cafe, and he forgot to tell Haruka about Wilson. His mind was seriously being tested in ways he never thought would happen. That journalist wasn't so stupid after all, her trick was making him lose his mind in other ways.

"He's a friend."

"A friend?"

"A criminal friend, who helped me find out Asuka's last known location," Kaito admitted. "He was able to locate Asuka's CCTV footage much quicker than you ever would've."

"Is he part of the Yakuza?"

"I can't exactly disclose that information to you." Kaito bit his tongue.

"So, you've been working with a cop, Kaito?" Wilson walked towards the two with his hands still raised. "That's how you were able to escape prison. I knew a dastard like you wouldn't be able to get out of Queenstown that easily. You know, the Yakuza families won't take it well now that you work for someone who's their enemy."

"I'm in a difficult position right now." Kaito groaned and massaged his forehead. He felt a migraine coming.

"Since when were you ever into double-crossing, Takashi?" Wilson nudged Kaito playfully. "Who exactly are you? Are you still that insane killer?"

"You wanna see insane?" Kaito snapped at Wilson, and he jumped back a bit. Wilson was still very terrified of Kaito's unstable behavior.

"Don't get your boxers in a twist. I was just joking." Wilson chuckled. "It's good that you're working for the cops. I was starting to get sick of the criminal life anyways. Maybe the old man can get me a job too?"

"What's your name, boy?" Haruka narrowed his eyes at Wilson. He looked much older than Kaito, probably a decade or so. He could tell because of the grays forming on the front of his hair.

"Wilson." The Caucasian man held his hand out for Haruka to shake. Haruka stared at him for a moment and then put his gun back in his holster. "The other night, I was there with Kaito. There was a weird SUV that pulled up after we got there, so I went to check on Kaito to let him know there were probably some paying customers going inside after him. On the way, I saw a strange man in between the side of the convenience store, and the plaza. He looked like he was confused or something."

"And the symbols?"

"Kaito doesn't use spray paint. That journalist he met in the alley just mixed up the information she saw and put it all in some exaggerated story."

Haruka grumbled and took a folded stack of paper from his coat pocket before throwing it on the counter. "I apologize, Kaito. I had assumed the worst." He pointed at the paper. "I did some investigating on the woman you met. She's no journalist. However, the information she did give you was correct. Her name is Samantha Johnson, and she's 24 years old. She graduated from college a few months ago and works for CW, a Broadcasting and News station. She may have contributed to the report, but the one who wrote it is named Isabella Garcia."

"I knew I saw a Hispanic woman that night too," Wilson swore under his breath. "That SUV, three people got out and went to the station."

Kaito looked at the woman closely. He recognized her as one of the Barista's regular customers. She was the same woman who defended him the other day. She and that Hispanic woman were people he'd seen before. "They come here often. I remember those two talking about the Yakuza, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Americans usually make crazy stories about them."

"We have got to get these women to stop making stories about the Yakuza before they get themselves in some deeper trouble. I feel like having information about Kaito is just a start." Haruka sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"But how did they get information on Kaito in the first place? What exactly is their source?" Wilson hummed.

"We have to figure that out, and find out who tried framing you." Haruka tapped Kaito's shoulder. "Do you think Asuka knows about you?"

"I don't think so. This was done too sloppily to be him." Kaito shook his head.

"I think we should still investigate, just to make sure. Asuka doesn't have all the resources here as he did in Japan." Kaito nodded at Haruka. He made a fair point. Doing business in America was a lot harder than doing it in Japan.

"And what about the report?"

"I'll tell them to take it down. It's our case, so I can tell them it's misguided information." Haruka nodded.

~

"Do you guys understand why I called you to my office?" Mr. Giles paced slowly, around his desk. Isabella and Samantha were sitting in the lounge chairs, preparing for the worst. They looked at each other with frowns spread on their faces.

"Um... no sir?" Isabella fiddled with her fingers nervously. Mr. Giles raised a brow at her. The two employees knew well why he called them in. The shy expressions the two made we're giving it away.

"Is there a reason you both chose to disobey my direct orders to publish a story on the shelter?"

Before the two could answer, the phone on Mr. Giles's desk rang loudly. Mr. Giles answered before speaking briefly with another person on the line. Then he hung up.

"Ever since we've published the story about Kaito, we've gotten a lot of calls and questions." Isabella frowned and pointed at his cell phone, which was ringing again. "This just proves that the people want to know more about the Yakuza. That shelter story isn't anywhere near as interesting as this is."

"That may be true, but what if your report completely fell through?" He grumbled back at her. "There is a reason why I give you these precautions and rules Ms. Garcia."

"But it didn't. Now, people want to hear more." Isabella fired back, and Mr. Giles's face was now a red color. He was trying his best to hold back his words.

"What do you think Mrs. Johnson? Do you feel you should be punished or rewarded?" Mr. Giles looked at Samantha fiercely.

"Yes and no, sir. I don't think it was right to disobey your rules as we did, so for that, I do think it deserves punishment." Samantha bit her tongue when Isabella nudged her in the arm roughly. "But at the same time, we both went through so much trouble to find proof. I encountered the Assassin myself! And because of that, people want to know more. Look at what we've accomplished, sir."

Mr. Giles let out a sigh of apprehension and massaged the bridge of his nose. The stress was obviously getting to him. On one hand, he was pissed because they decided to go off and do their own thing.

But on the other hand, he was quite impressed. Both of them had that natural talent and drive to be great journalists. Isabella has improved, and Samantha chased the opportunity.

"Well congratulations, Mrs. Johnson. As promised, you have earned your promotion. Starting tomorrow, I want you and Isabella to find out more about this Kaito, character."

"You're kidding." Samantha hopped out of her chair with a wide grin on her face. "Seriously?"

Mr. Giles nodded, and she leaped for joy. Samantha wrapped her hands around her boss but pulled away when she came back to her senses. "Oh crap, sorry sir."

"It's fine—" He was interrupted when his phone started to ring loudly again. The answered and his faint smile faded away. He was left with a grim expression. "Oh? Really? Fake news?.... I see what you mean, sir." Mr. Giles sat on his chair and glanced at Isabella. "I'll be sure to do that... alright. Thank you for letting me know." Mr. Giles hung up and groaned.

"What happened?" Isabella gulped.

"Would you care to explain why the Police station just told me to take the article you wrote down?"

"The Yakuza may also be working with the police to keep our mouths shut. They're very powerful. Isn't it strange how 24 hours AFTER we published the article, now they want us to take it down?" Isabella leered.

"She's right. It's not fake news at all. I met with Kaito personally, and I assure you. He's crazy. He held a gun to my face!" Samantha nodded in response. "He even asked for my identity! So clearly, he knows that I'm working here trying to expose him!"

"Cams exposing him is what you will do. I want you to find out everything you can about this man. Don't focus on the Yakuza, focus on Kaito. His identity is what people want to know." Mr. Giles tapped the two on the shoulders. "Remember what you're assigned. In 2 weeks I want another story, and it better be good."

"You got it, sir." The two nodded in agreement. When the two women left his office, they both high-fived.

"I can't believe I got promoted!" Samantha squealed.

"I told you! I knew that if we worked together we'd earn that bonus! Now, look at us! We're like crime-fighting news reporters or something!"

"We're going to be a lot busier you know," Samantha mumbled. "Your cop friend has got to keep giving us tips. We wouldn't have been able to find Kaito without them."

Busier was an understatement. Over the next few weeks, Isabella and Samantha worked hard to write new articles about Kaito. Samantha got better at hiding and snapping photos of Kaito, wherever he was. A few weeks turned into a few months, and eventually, she had written over 40 articles. But still, they had not found out anything about Kaito's identity.

Recently, Oliver has been slacking with some of his work too. Samantha noticed that he wasn't around as much to work. Maybe the stress was starting to get to him, as it did with her. Samantha stopped typing on her laptop. She decided to take a break from overtime work at her apartment and go to the nearby Barista. She needed a coffee. Thankfully, she had about half an hour before they closed.