Kei just turned away, the split second he talked with Freeze, then another incendiary came to sight once he led his eyes back at the plaza.

Every trained and adroit team in Rinn's underworld business group consisted of five teammates. Having to have a low population in the secret business of mad dogs and tyrannic kings, Kei's team was down to three. Only he, Freeze, and Quinn had been classified together instead of five full members. As a matter of fact, Kei found the two as troublemakers much more than a whole pack.

Down below, where a bunch of police officers had gathered, there was him. The blond boy slowly held his hands up, surrendering for a crime he didn't even commit.

That fucking Quinn. Kei gritted his teeth, analyzing the cause for his sudden appearance. No matter how he looked at it, it always leads to one thing: a plot that comprised of Kei's presence and secret.

Quinn wasn't very trustworthy as he looked like. Despite the innocence masking his brown orbs, there were sparkles of mischief, glinting at every course of his vision. Not to mention, he had revealed a secret to Rinn that Kei had once fallen head over heels for Aiya. He only hoped that Rinn had believed his words when he had stated that it was all in the past. Or else, a much worse choice had to be made. And as of now, the choice he had decided on began to risk his entirety.

"Hey, isn't that Quinn? Aren't you going to ask him why he's there?" Freeze rolled her eyes, flipping the strands of her pink wig to her back.

Kei's eyes widened in frustration of all that's happening around him. His words were being restrained by a mount of worries. All the wrongs were made and he couldn't even think of a way to get out of the hell he had been in, then Freeze just had to add more and more anxiety he already possessed. Unleashing his wrath onto the olive skinned girl, he snapped, "Can he even answer and hear me? Are you even thinking properly?"

"I was just asking," she said, pouting. Freeze shrugged her big shoulders, making her neck shorter than it seemed. Her mouth twisted upon the lack of eye contact between them. "You asked me that question and I was only bringing the files. You have favoritism problems, Kei."

Rigid cords in his neck became visible. The insides of his stomach twisted then so did his brain, turning to different directions and corners of his mind for the answers he sought. "Not right now, Frizelia."

She shut her lips down, zipping it tight, locking together. Freeze perhaps maybe a fighter yet she was incomparable to Kei. He had tons of experience while the girl with the plumpish body hid behind her computers. Once Kei had given a warning through uttering one's full name out loud, it meant that he's mad. And when he was mad, he'd become an unstoppable ruthless person.

Although perhaps a little push was all he needed to allow the determination to get to him. Still, the pressure placed on him was heavy and enormous. He swallowed the lump stuck on his throat too harshly while attempting to erase the agonizing stress, intensely suffocating him.

And yet despite the tension drawn beside them, Freeze decided to bother more than ever. She attempted to snatch the binoculars from Kei as he grunted in resistance. He growled, snarling and showing how sharp his teeth was, indicating how easy it was to snap her head off with just one movement of his infinite agility.

"Shit," he hissed, "I said: not right now. What do you think you are doing?"

"What do you think he's doing? Seriously, stop arguing with me and start arguing with him. He has yet formed another one of his villainous plans and do you think he will allow Diamond to be safe?" Freeze shot back, pointing at Quinn who babbled many words than they could translate. "Quinn didn't even want to protect his own twin. What more could you expect when it comes to his half-sister?"

Kei hated to admit that he was blinded by bafflement and the never ending spin of imminence, but she was right.

He and Quinn had been friends for years and both were not exactly sure how many years it had been. In those days they spent together side by side, like partners in- literally partners in crime, both knew each other's sides. It was just as how Kei knew about the meticulous plots Quinn would conduct each time he abusively wore danger as a smile.

Every person working under Rinn knew Quinn as the King of Calculations, examining every fact and taking advantage of it, knowing every abiding rule and breaking it, always resulting with success and owning it. He might look like a sweet and gentle lamb but was actually a wolf under sheep's clothing.

Kei had certainly confirmed that fact and was cautious in every word he says in front of him. To be quite honest, uneasiness began to consume him little by little. His team might not really be a team. His friends might not really be his friends. Skepticism like those importuned him to jump off a cliff or engulf him in flames. Kei liked neither of the choices fate presented upon him.

He'd rather stay in the moment and live freely, vying for Aiya's precious golden heart. He failed before. Kei couldn't do it in the midst of the perilous period.

And he perhaps could never will.

Just thinking about how to end the stubborn pressure latched to him shook his head to scramble the boundless thoughts.

But he had to think of something. He had to at least try even if it failed. He had to soar and touch the unreachable sky with his fingers. Kei had to change himself, releasing the overwhelming stress.

He had someone to protect and he couldn't protect them if his spirit had been absorbed by the pessimistic old self.

"We should retrieve him, right? Before he makes a whole lot of mess," Freeze said, smiling innocently as though she also felt the relief sinking in Kei's chest.

"We have to." Kei took a deep breath before he exhaled all of the burden. It wasn't long enough until he ended, "Just do what you do best and I'll do mine."

Freeze scurried to the couch and opened the only laptop available in the area. She knew Kei's password since the moment she found out about Aiya's birthday. Of course, she didn't say a word about it. Not until the second Kei realized that his password was no longer a secret.

"Since when?" He raised a brow, not with desparation and frustration unlike several minutes ago. Calmness inhabited his voice with deep serenity but embellished in everlasting seriousness.

She shrugged the answer away, evading his question. Freeze giggled and said, "Oh, just get the job done. You can deal with this later."

Kei took her advice, slipping his mask over his head. At that point, only his dark eyes were seen. The young boy filled with worries evaporated. He shifted into the chaotic assassin he had been known for quite a long time. Kei wasn't Kei anymore.

He strapped his weapons inside his hidden pockets then looked down the plaza. He must retrieve Quinn without being seen by Aiya.

However, Quinn's eyes darted at him. The single glance from the blond, interpreting that his mischievousness would go well was enough for the girl to veer her head towards the top of the building. The building where Kei and Freeze stood.

Kei graciously met with her soft black orbs, dilating within seconds. His heart thumped faster, and he couldn't keep up with the pace. Looking at her, face to face, Kei found Aiya growing prettier by each day. Or perhaps they both just had grown and he didn't notice it.

Miracle will be the day they meet again. Once more, they did. However, he mustn't be seen. Yet he failed.

For the first time in his life, he was glad he did because he saw her, she saw him, and the surrounding feeling was irresistibly precious.