After the barbeque gathering, Akira did not go to the Yamazaki mansion as often as she used to. She did not hold a grudge for the incident with Hanae, but she did not feel like she could stay for too long in the house with her mother.

Their good relationship became a little distant after her welcoming back Hanae. Akira understood her reasons, but she disliked her mother's bad habit of dealing with situations unclearly. She did not want to be close with a person who did not have a quick mind and a firm attitude.

Therefore, Akira decided to live a peaceful life in her apartment with Kaito. He had craftily moved in, even though his apartment was on the floor below hers. She did not make a fuss because he was not disruptive, and she enjoyed their domestic happiness.

On some days, he would go to check on Takahashi Industries or meet with his cousin, Hajime. On other days, they would spend time working in companionable silence in the living room. He would handle his Shuriken Logistics business while she would work on her manga or compose music.

The only annoying thing about Kaito was his progressive pickiness in food. Once he started eating at Akira's place, he became a very selective foodie.

He did not like eating the same thing twice, and his tastes were quite varied. He would come with fresh ingredients and look at Akira with begging eyes until she capitulated and cooked him something. She could not say no when he looked like a harmless puppy.

The primary positive thing that Akira discovered as they cohabited was that Kaito was surprisingly good at cleaning. When she realised that he could wash dishes, clean the kitchen and even vacuum the house, she was alright with cooking fancy, healthy and junk food for him.

She liked cooking, but she did not like cleaning up. When she watched Kaito cleaning a tad obsessively, she believed that he was so particular about it because of all the crime scenes he had handled. She told him her thoughts, but he only laughed without explaining.

A few weeks after the barbeque, Kaito told Akira that he was going to leave Mountain Ridge for a few days. He said that he found a clue about the destination of the 'zombie drug'. Akira did not like the sound of it.

"I will come with you." She declared.

Kaito smiled at the fierce expression on the lovely face. He was touched that she was worried enough about him to suggest such a thing.

"I am not going to do anything dangerous. I told you I will no longer participating actively in the old profession or doing anything risky. I like our life here." He responded.

Akira pouted. "I can watch your back. You heard about the effects of the strange zombie drug on the lab mice. I don't think the people handling it are simple. If something happens to you, I will have to lock you up."

Kaito pulled the young woman into his arms and tucked her to his chest. He breathed in the sweet scent from her shampoo with something that was so uniquely her. He felt like taking a bite out of her.

"I promise I will be back soon. I am only meeting up with one of the people involved in shipping through that harbour we visited that night. I told one of my guys to keep an eye on the situation and find out more." Kaito explained.

"It is fortunate we have found someone willing to talk about the strange shipments. If we miss this chance, we will not know the intentions of the recipient until it is too late. You have also talked with your contacts and still can't find out anything."

Akira relaxed a little more despite the niggling feeling of discomfort in her heart. She did not want to be away from Kaito. She was already used to having him by her side at all times. How could she bear his absence?

The thought caught her off-guard. She did not know how to feel about her desire to always be close with Kaito. But it scared her. She liked being an independent and free individual, but she had slowly become a part of a two-person system.

She did not know if it was a good thing.

She tried to push her fears to the back of her mind. "I have tried to find clues and even asked for help from the Immortal Sword Brigade, but there is not much to work with. Your uncle's finances are clean, the shipping records are clear, and the drug is not a known official compound, just a variant."

Over the last few weeks, the two of them had become a little more open with each other. Some secrets were blurted out. One of the exposed facts was that she was an agent under the Immortal Sword Brigade, even though she was no longer active after fulfilling the service requirements.

The couple had laughed at the situation between them.

An assassin and a hero of justice…

"Exactly. Since there is an opportunity to learn more about the drugs my uncle is selling, we cannot let it go. He has become more arrogant than ever. He thinks that the Takahashi family is his. I need to destroy him." Kaito was angry.

Senzo was not a good man, but he had become a little more aggressive with his actions in the company. He gave his nephew, Hajime, a dressing down in front of the employees. He even criticised him and implied that he was only there because Senzo allowed it.

He did not target Kaito directly, but the work he was assigned was completely nonsensical. He was supposed to review the routes from shipping Takahashi goods and improve distribution efficiency. It was busywork.

Kaito shredded the documents without a thought.

"Why don't you just take him out directly?"

"Is my darling little Akira finally feeling the allure of the dark side?" Kaito teased in a baby voice.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I will have a badge ordered immediately to mark your first day as a member of the darkness." Kaito laughed with a strange glee.

"I am just curious about your plans?" Akira pinched the arms holding him.

"Then, I will educate you, my little darkling." Kaito got more comfortable. "A good assassin does not act careless and obey their client without question. If I took out everyone as people requested, the world could become a messy place."

"So, what do you do?"

"I conduct investigations on all my targets. Moreover, I confirm my findings by following their target for a while. If the assessment is successful, then I proceed. But if the information provided by the client is erroneous, I will question the client." Kaito continued.

"It is so complicated?" Akira asked.

She always thought that Kaito did not think much about his targets, but it seemed he was meticulous. It was no wonder that he was such a piece of hotcake to countries and agencies. Even the chief wanted to find out more about Kaito and the possibility of recruiting him.

"If I did not take precautions, I might be set up. I have remained safe and sound and, dare I say, lovable because I do not act rashly. I cannot drop this habit to deal with my uncle. I want to uncover all of his secrets before ending him." He added.

"Fine, fine. Go and investigate. But if anything happens, do not hide it from me. Otherwise, I will… I will bite you." Akira threatened.

Kaito's eyes turned dark and sensual. "You know I like it when you bite me."

Akira blushed as she noticed a hickey on Kaito's neck.

He did like it when she bit.

"If you hide things from me, I won't bite you anymore."