Kaito had felt burnt out in the last month. Haruka had been giving him a hard time about going after his imposter. Every time he tried digging deeper himself, he'd find one small hint and go out to stop the imposter from killing any more innocent victims.

The murdered victims all had one thing in common, all of them were connected to Asuka somehow. At this point, it looked like it was obvious Asuka was behind framing Kaito. And he didn't even want to acknowledge all the news reports about his name. He was now the most wanted fugitive in all of America.

Haruka tried to quiet the News station down, but it wasn't working. Hence, why Kaito felt so burnt out. He needed a break from all the missions. He barely had any time for himself. He always had to work during the day, and go out to investigate at night. At this point, he felt exhausted.

If he made one more cup of coffee, he felt like he was going to puke. Fortunately, there were no more customers after 3 pm. He wanted to close the shop early, but he decided to take one short nap before closing up.

As soon as his back hit the cushion, he heard the doorbell chime as a customer walked in. He moaned sternly and turned his head to the door. Then he quickly sat up when he recognized the customer as the journalist who kept writing news reports about him.

He wondered if she found out his identity. He hadn't seen her come to buy coffee in a while.

Samantha studied the room, and an eerie feeling crept up her spine. The Asian man who worked there sat up when she walked in as if she'd done something wrong. "Is this place closed?" Samantha glanced at her watch.

"Not yet," Kaito grunted in response.

"Okay." Samantha nodded. There was no one else in the barista, except for the two. "Can I make an order?"

"Go ahead." Kaito pushed himself off the couch and walked over to the counter. He decided not to pull out the notepad to write down her order and instead pulled out a coffee mug. Samantha leaned against the counter and twirled her fingers on the surface of it.

"I'd like a coffee with 3 creams and 3 sugars. Can I also get a chocolate chip cookie?" She straightened her shoulders as she ordered. The tiredness she was feeling was catching up to her. It was a good thing she was going out for coffee.

Kaito pulled out a cookie from the display case and tossed it on the service counter gently. He noticed that Samantha looked pressed about something. Her eyes were unfocused and they were fixed upon the ground.

"Tough day?" He pressed a button to turn on the kettle. It needed to be reheated. Samantha slouched forward and tapped her chin.

"It's been a rough month," Samantha answered. "Work has been stressing me out a lot."

"What do you do?" Kaito took out crushed coffee and a filter before placing it on a device over the mug.

"I am a journalist. I work for the CW News Station nearby." Samantha exhaled. "I'm sure you've heard about the Assassin on the loose?"

"I think so." Kaito shrugged.

"He's been giving me and my coworker a run for our money. My boss has been pressuring us to find out that crazy dastard's identity."

"Have you made any progress?" Kaito's voice darkened. He was hoping they hadn't, or else there was going to be some serious issues. Why else would she come to the barista other than to find out what he really looked like without the mask.

"Nope. I only saw his eyes. For sure, he is Asian... and I don't mean to be of any offense to you when I say that." Samantha chuckled nervously. She didn't want to sound rude.

Samantha just about had enough of that Kaito guy. She was the one who ran into him the most often. She now had to start carrying a hidden camera whenever she snapped photos of him. He knew that he could delete the photos off her phone, but she always made sure he'd never take the hidden video recording tucked in the pocket of her shirt.

When she encountered the killer, he'd always tease or joke around with her. Samantha had started to take self-defense classes recently, but she was still no match to his agility. So chasing after him was starting to get tiring.

"If it's tiring you out so much, maybe you should stop focusing on the guy you're looking for. I suggest working on something else to pass the time." Kaito grabbed the kettle and began to pour hot water into the filter. Brown liquid seeped through the filter and into the mug.

"Honestly, sometimes I wish I could do that. Going on a crime chase is fun and all, it has its perks. But when your leads and tips run out, it becomes redundant like a chore. Unfortunately, if I want to keep my job, I can't let up writing about him."

"Why not take on another profession?" Kaito suggested. He was trying to convince her so there'd be no more dramatic stories on him. Once he finished with her, he wanted to go for the Hispanic lady next.

"Because I love journalism and writing." Samantha sighed in annoyance. She stared at him as he swirled the kettle around the filter. He almost looked like a professional at it. "Besides, I've already switched from Nursing to Journalism in college. If my father were still here, he'd be pissed at me."

"That's usually a parent's job." Kaito snorted, and Samantha giggled lowly in response. Kaito understood the feeling of having two parents being disappointed in him for his job choice.

"I know. It's one thing I miss about them." Samantha hummed.

Kaito listened intently as she spoke. He realized that he was getting useful information about her. "Why not give them a call?" Kaito wanted to test just exactly how much she'd reveal about herself in an informal setting.

"They both passed away quite some time ago." Samantha's bottom lip twitched.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'm over it." She huffed. "It's why I work so hard. Although they're not here anymore, I still feel like they're watching from heaven. I want them to be proud of me."

Kaito added the cream and sugars into the mug and slid it to her.

Samantha reached for her wallet. "How much is it?"

Kaito grabbed her hand and stopped her. "You don't have to pay. It's free. Consider it as a small gift." He smiled at her.

Samantha blinked at him in surprise. A small grin formed on her lips and she relaxed. "What's your name, Mr?"

"Leo. Leo Takemi." Kaito lied through his teeth.

"Thank you, Leo." Samantha raised the mug to her lips and sipped softly, allowing the hot liquid to go down her throat. She savored the taste. The coffee tasted sweet and light, he must've put the vanilla flavored creamer in it.

"It's my pleasure." Kaito hummed. "If you ever feel stressed at work again, just stop by this cafe." Kaito didn't care about her emotions or well-being, but it was a great way for him to find out more about her. Haruka was slow at trying to stop them from publishing articles, but if Kaito could do it simply by convincing her not to write about him anymore, it would be perfect.

He wanted to find out who exactly was trying to frame him, and where Samantha and her coworker got the tips to snap pictures of him. He still didn't feel like Asuka was the one doing this, but it made sense that he didn't have the resources to do regular jobs.

"I will." Samantha sank her teeth into the cookie next and moaned. "It's delicious!"

Over the next period of weeks, Samantha's job grew more stressful as she ran out of ideas to come up with stories. Isabella was beginning to get choppy with all the information she put together about Kaito. He had been off the radar lately.

Another thing that the two noticed is that Oliver quit working for the company. I'm fact, he had disappeared completely. It was odd, but Samantha was starting to worry that she couldn't get into contact with him anymore.

She began suspecting that maybe Kaito had something to do with it. He was a part of the Yakuza after all. There was no doubt in her mind that he probably got rid of Oliver first before going after her and Isabella next.

Isabella wanted to write other stories, to find out more about the Yakuza itself, but Mr. Giles kept pressuring them to focus on Kaito. This was also strange of him to do, but she decided not to question it.

Often after work, she'd go to the Bunny's Barista. Leo would always give her free coffee, despite her protests. She was starting to feel bad because she was being treated differently by him. When he wasn't looking, she always left tips.

She thought that maybe he was interested in her. Every time she'd walk in, it felt like he was always happy to see her. He flashed an adorable smile at her whenever she'd come through that door, and she didn't want to admit it, but it did make her feel warm inside.

But it dawned on her that whenever she went to the barista, she'd only talk about her life and interests with him. But she knew nothing about him. After realizing that, she slapped herself mentally. Samantha felt that Leo probably felt she was being rude by making everything about her.

She liked a little bit of attention, but she also knew that it was good at times to be attentive to others around her. She decided to go to the Barista and when she did, she met with him right before closing time.

As always, he smiled and greeted her. "Are you ordering the usual today?" Kaito placed a tray he was cleaning on one of the tables.

"Actually, I wanted to try something different. Do you serve iced coffees?"

"Sure." Kaito nodded at her. "Do you want Vanilla or Caramel?"

"Vanilla." Samantha smiled and tapped her fingers on the service counter happily. Kaito nodded at her as he walked around the back and scooped up some ice into a small plastic cup. Recently he learned how to make the coffee base for cold coffees, and Nina helped him add it to the menu.

While he was mixing the ingredients together, Samantha leaned forward and hummed. "Leo, what do you usually like to do when you have free time?"

Kaito stiffened and glanced at her. His eyes shifted to the bookshelf in the lounge area. He suddenly remembered the hobbies Haruka told him to pretend to be interested in. "I like to read."

"Really? Cool! What genre of books are you into?"

"Action."

"Do you like comic books?"

Kaito was suspicious now. Why was she asking him so many questions? He placed the coffee cup down and pressed his lips together. "Do you?"

"Not as much as I used to." Samantha bit her lip nervously. She noticed the change in his body language. Maybe he felt uncomfortable. "I'm just asking because I'm curious about you."

"Oh.." Kaito narrowed his eyes, still not buying into it. Maybe she found out about his identity and was trying to use the information against him. "How's work going?" He tried changing the subject.

"I don't even want to mention it." She rolled her eyes and grumbled. "Do you like movies?"

"I guess.." Kaito shrugged and poured vanilla milk into her cup.

"There's an Action movie that recently came out. It's called Planet Wars. It's about two planets, one named Pa'upaungkorp and the other is earth. The two planets are at war because of a broken alliance. Have you heard about it?"

Kaito didn't know what the heck she was talking about. But for lack of words, he simply nodded at her. "Sure."

"Have you seen it already?"

"I haven't."

"Would you like to see it together sometime?" Kaito almost dropped the cup he had in his hands. He was beyond stunned. He wasn't sure if he heard her correctly, but it sounded a lot like she was asking him to go on a movie date.

"What?" Kaito blurted out before thinking of anything else to say. He wasn't sure how to respond. Women in Japan were never this bold. He opened his mouth to answer, but his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out to look at the screen. It was Haruka.

"I mean, if you don't want to, it's okay—"

"No!" Kaito reached out to her and stopped her from finishing her sentence. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised. I'd love to." He gave her a fake smile. He couldn't wait to tell Haruka that he hit the jackpot.

"Okay. There are gonna be showings this Saturday. If you want, we could meet here and—"

"Send me your address, and I'll pick you up." Kaito swiped left to disconnect Haruka's call and pulled up his contact list. "What's your number?"