Akira could not sleep.

She did not know if it was excitement or apprehension. When she thought about Kaito going to meet with a person with information about the zombie drug, she could not rest.

Unfortunately, she could also not talk to him. He had already told her earlier that he would be out of reach for the night. Therefore, she could only wait until morning to find out the situation.

But her brain refused to listen to her. It refused to power down and let her rest, even though there was nothing she could do.

It was also impossible for her to focus on work. She was too jittery to draw another volume of her manga, and her mind was too keyed up to hear the musical notes in her head.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

She did have something to do.

With renewed energy, she began searching for the mysterious gift left by Kaito. She had already given up on it after searching for it for a while. She had no intentions to begin again because a ninja assassin would not hide an item in an obvious place. She could not begin to guess his thought process.

However, since she had some time to kill, she decided to restart her search.

When she combed through the house before, she thought that he had hidden the gift in a place with some sentimental significance. However, after looking in all their 'spots', she realised that she was being too optimistic.

And after thinking about Kaito's personality, he probably would not go easy on her just because she was his girlfriend. He had a wild competitive streak, a fact she had learned when she tried playing video games with him.

Moreover, he was not above playing dirty tricks.

The only time she was close to winning, he tickled her ribs with his free hand, causing her to drop her controller. His pettiness knew no bounds. He would do anything to win. She did not put it past him to even drill a hidey-hole in her apartment.

Since he had staked a single request for the hidden gift, he would not make it easy for her.

She decided to think like an assassin. She checked the nightstands with care, ensuring that there was no false bottom. She inspected the box bed and made sure that the furniture had not been tampered with before moving on to the closet.

She searched the nooks and crannies and found nothing. Just as she was about to go to another room, she remembered that she had a safe behind a signed magical girl poster she got from a certain manga artist.

She smiled.

She removed the frame and exposed the safe. She put in her password and opened the safe. There was a sticky note on the far end of the safe with some words. She took it out and read the writing. [Nice try. But your husband is not a plebeian!]

The note angered her because she had been almost sure that the gift was hidden there. She felt re-energised by her wrath and kept searching. Unfortunately, three hours later, she was no closer to finding it. She had checked every part of the house.

She stretched out on the couch in the living room and punched the fluffy pillows. She wanted Kaito to be there so that she could bite him a little for making her waste so much time.

Just as she was grumbling, her eyes landed on the large figurine of Yuki the Sword Princess. Of course, she had checked the statue and confirmed that there was nothing hidden on it. However, she had not considered whether the gift might be in the figurine.

She stood up and inspected the item while tapping lightly on it. The middle part and the legs were solid. However, the arms and the head had a sense of hollowness.

Without wasting time, she plucked the arms off of the figurine. She checked them and discovered they were empty. Then, she found a stool and stood on top of it. She detached the head with some difficulty. When she finally got the unit off, a pink fabric sachet bag fell out.

She got down from the stool and placed the head on the couch before picking the small bag. She loosened the drawstring and discovered a small rolled scroll-like paper in the bag. She opened it.

[How could you do that to Yuki? But you know I don't mind when you are a little rough. ;-) Put the present around your neck until I come home.]

'Who did this to Yuki first?' She complained in her heart, but her lips had a sweet smile as she dug into the bag.

Her lips formed an O-shape when she took out a ring with an attached red string. The platinum shank was flawless, and the head was in the shape of a shuriken. The centre had a large clear diamond, while the pointed ends had smaller diamonds, forming a beautiful halo.

Akira felt tears come to her eyes as she looked at the ring. She tried to stop the drops from escaping, but it was hopeless. Her face washed with tears within a few moments. As she got her emotions under control, she felt embarrassed.

She missed Kaito, but she was glad he was not there at that moment. She did not want him to see her in that state. Again.

For a moment, she was tempted to put on the ring on her finger because it was too stunning. However, she suppressed that little voice and used the silky string to tie it around her neck. Her smile was wide, and she had a cute girlie blush.

If the people at the Immortal Sword Valley saw her, they would probably think she was possessed.

Unfortunately, the discovery of the gift made her even more excited and jittery. She made herself a mug of hot milk and played a documentary about racoon dogs on the TV.

Before she knew it, she was asleep on the couch with her hand clutching the ring on the string.

In a certain red-light district in Tokyo, Kaito stood in a dark alley. He had an old grey beanie on his head, and his face had black stubble. His clothes looked washed out and old, allowing him to blend in with the late-night loiterers.

He had agreed to meet with the contact from the clandestine shipping company in a bar nearby. However, he did not want to expose himself before knowing if the informant was a reliable person.

It was this level of caution that had kept him alive for all these years.

He was not going to give up this habit when his safety was more important than ever.