The next morning, Akira drove Kaito to the airport for his early flight. She was a little tense about his departure because she was worried about his safety. The nature of that drug had proved to be dangerous, and this meant that some bad people were involved.

She could only hope that her assassin was a little more dangerous. Her apprehension rose higher as they got closer to the airport. Her hands were tight on the wheel, and she did not chat with him as she always did.

Kaito looked at the lovely but tense face and sighed lightly. He felt helpless about the situation. He did not have any way to handle the problem without being there in person. The matter was sensitive and personal.

In the last few months, he had not done anything dangerous. He had readily agreed for Ayumi to be in charge of the Shadow Brotherhood. He did not want Akira to worry about what he was doing, and he wanted to spend more time with her.

The change did not bother him. He did not feel like he was losing anything by giving up his life in the underworld operations.

And now, seeing how his departure was affecting Akira, he felt more certain about his choice. He did not like the pursed lips, unblinking eyes and clenched jaw.

When she pulled into the parking lot at the terminal, Akira took a deep breath.

"Ok, you can go." She said calmly.

Kaito reached a hand and held her chin in his right hand. He turned her face to look at him. She did not resist, but she closed her eyes.

"Open your eyes." He cajoled softly.

Akira shook her head.

"Should I just leave?" He asked.

Akira nodded.

Kaito let go of her chin and opened the car door. Akira panicked at the thought of him disappearing just like that without saying goodbye. She opened her eyes and found him still leaning close to her, waiting for her. He had only disengaged the door lock.

The two of them looked at each other for a long moment, and then, Akira's eyes watered with tears.

She wanted to turn away from Kaito again because she did not want him to see her cry. She did not even know why she was crying. It was not like Kaito had not left for Tokyo before. She knew he would come back in a few days, but she could not control her emotions.

Kaito reached his hands and held her face with his warm hands. Akira lost the battle with the tears, and the drops flowed from her eyes down her cheeks.

She was frustrated with herself for being such a baby and acting like it was the end of the world for this simple parting. The feeling caused more tears to flow out. Kaito used his thumbs to wipe the wet tears on the cheeks with his thumbs.

"Akira, I love you." He said in a firm, clear and stable tone.

The confession turned Akira into a bawling baby. She removed Kaito's hands from her face and hugged him over the partition between their seats. The more she tried to control her tears, the more she felt the uncontrollable weight in her chest.

She just wanted to cry.

They remained in that position as Kaito ran his hands comfortingly on her back. When she got her emotions a little under control, she dug her face deeper into the crook of his neck and bit him. Her teeth dug into the flesh, and she refused to let go for a few minutes.

Finally, she let go of him and sniffed. She grabbed wet wipes from the glove compartment and cleaned her face. Kaito looked on without a word. Within a few moments, she looked a little better, except for a little puffiness after crying.

She turned to Kaito.

"You can go now." She lifted her nose in the air.

Kaito smiled. "I will be back in four days or so. And I won't stay longer than a week."

"Alright. Be careful. Remember to let me know if something unusual happens." She responded.

"I know. Do not worry. I am invincible. Can anyone beat me?" Kaito added.

Akira snorted. "Fine, Mr Invincible. I won't worry about you anymore."

"I like it when you worry about me. How else will I know you love me?"

"I already said it once. I will tell you if anything changes." She huffed, but a smile returned to her face.

"There she is."

Before Akira could do anything, she was pulled into Kaito's arms once again and kissed senseless. The man seemed intent on swallowing her up, not even giving her a chance to breathe. She felt lightheaded, and her head floated, causing her to forget her worry.

"I will be back soon," Kaito said before pecking her red lips again. "Oh, and I hid a present for you somewhere in the house. If you can find it before I return, I will allow you to make any request from me."

When Akira recovered, he was long gone. She pouted in annoyance. How could he kiss her like that and then just leave? But the lingering smile as she looked at her face in the mirror betrayed her inner satisfaction.

She drove back to the apartment and changed into her workout clothes before going to the gym. As she stretched to warm up, she noticed her clothes had gotten a little tighter. She frowned and looked at herself critically.

She had not gained a lot of weight, but she could definitely tell she was a little fatter. She cursed Kaito's greed. Since he moved in, they did not miss a meal. They had breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as snacks in between.

When he returned, she would put him on a diet. She laughed to herself as she thought of his habit of being picky with food and eating continuously. He would be in for a rude shock once she started steaming and baking his food.

"You are here a little earlier than usual," Hina said as she entered the gym.

The two of them were usually the first ones in the facility, except for a few rare occasions.

"I drove Kaito to the airport. He had an early morning flight. I decided to come here immediately." Akira said.

"You seem pretty serious about him." Hina started her dynamic warmup beside Akira.

"Mmmh! I decided to keep him." She laughed.

"You don't know him well enough. He could have hidden motive." Hina felt concerned.

"He has hidden motives." There was a complacent and indulgent look on her face. "But I like it."

Hina stopped and stared at Akira. "You are totally obsessed with him. You are probably going to say even his farts smell nice."

"Don't be vulgar." Akira stuck out her tongue. "He is just the one for me. I will not give him up."

Hina knew Akira would never joke about something like that. She did not know why her friend loved that devious Kaito, but she wanted to be supportive. After all, Akira had always been at her side cheering her on regardless of what happened in her life.

"Then, I will congratulate you on your happily ever after in advance."