Kei's irises turned hearts as he followed the movement of the girl unaware of his gazes.

He had been inside the hotel, near the center of the city, at the balcony with binoculars, stalking the girl in the mask since the second she arrived at the scene.

The only thing Kei decided to do as of now was to declare a warning and hope she would hide back inside her castle where it was more safer for her. Even Rinn knew who the Midnight Detective was. She had investigated it thoroughly without being seen by the indefinite eyes of the skillful bodyguards and computer geeks hired by the head of the Veleen family.

Guards roamed around Aiya's house, preventing any other trespassers from entering and she from leaving the grounds. Kei curiously wondered how she left without being caught.

She perhaps had changed so much in the years they couldn't communicate that left Kei with more questions about her. Looking at the girl who had a serious expression glued onto her face, Kei couldn't bear the weight of not stretching the edge of his lips to the side though it didn't last long, not until he remembered what he had done and what she had discovered underneath the gripped fist of the corpse.

The smirk turned to a frown. His gray eyes engaged in more dullness of the colors. Kei already made the choice but that decision he made had a price which was the life of another man. A random one, at that.

The day earlier, he had four choices. It was either flee with his parents and hide away from Rinn, follow his boss's orders and kill the girl he loves, assassinate Rinn, or warn Diamond and let her do the hiding instead.

With a sick mother and a disabled father, it'd be hard to move in haste before Rinn catches them. On the other hand, having to bury the blade's knife deep in Diamond's chest could create a traumatic experience for him, enabling Kei to never hold something so dangerous ever again.

Then, if he were to shoot at Rinn's head, his entirety would be over. His money for his parents would disappear along with literally his own life, being chased by the remaining loyal dogs of Kei's master.

The only way that was reasonable enough and could create more time than he could comprehend for his scheme was the last choice. Warn Diamond Veleen. But part of the plan didn't include killing a random man until he was threatened by him when the man voluntarily presented himself to Kei.

"Who are you to Miss Aiya?!" The man had asked, furious eyes flaming in desire to reach the standards for the child's safety. "You're sent to kill her, weren't you? Her father ordered me to protect her thus, you won't get to hurt a hair on her head."

To ignore or to shut him up, Kei had chosen the latter, leading him to regret at the minute his heart became a heavy burden for his chest to carry.

What have I done? he pondered to himself, recognizing her blue eyes resisting to sparkle with tears.

"Well that's sad," a voice behind him caused tingling static to creep down his spine. Kei flinched, turning to the figure in a long straight pink wig. Her thick body was wrapped around with a black dress, wearing high heels as her feet's support. Her lips pulled down with her words as though she was the actual person meeting with the guilt, although sarcasm lingered around her tone.

"Freeze," he uttered without consent to his consciousness. Only when he muttered her name was when Kei realized if the hacker on his team already knew his plans. Glowering at her, Kei sneered, "What are you talking about, and what the hell are you doing in my apartment?"

She plopped on his couch, grabbing the chips from the coffee table. Kei swore he heard the springs of the seat scream for help when the girl twice his size had laid down. "Files, have you forgotten? Oh, and I saw you staring at the masked dark-haired girl at the plaza. My guess? It's her, isn't it?"

For as long as Kei knew Freeze, he warned himself to be aware and careful with his actions as much as possible. Frizelia San Diego had red pinkish eyes made from the orbs of eagles, ears as sensitive as a bat's, a nose as strong as a dog's, and a mouth as sharp as a snake's.

With both her cunning and easy-going personality, it was difficult for Kei to determine whether she was a constant friend or a hazardous foe. Over the years they were friendly to each other, slowly, it seemed that Freeze really wasn't as vicious like he once thought. It was only her extensive abilities that caused Kei to doubt since it was possible it would be to her advantage to spy on him as a friend and as the astonishing computer attacker on their team. It didn't look like she was a nerd or a deft fighter on most days, but she was one.

"Right. The files." Ignoring her last statement, an obtuse edge from his voice declared the disinterest in their discussion. Kei continued to gaze through the binoculars, watching her down below who stared at the letter he had written.

"Yeah, but you seem to know everything about her already." Freeze struggled to get herself to stand up. Once her feet carried all her weight and straightened up her spine, she embraced the bag of chips and walked over to Kei who continuously was gawking at the scene down the plaza while resting his arms on the metallic handrails. Freeze took a bite, munching the piece of potato first before she taunted, "You really like her, don't you?"

"Wha-" Kei immediately brought down the binoculars to narrow his eyes down to Freeze whose smile had traces of chips. He said, evading her mocking stare, "I don't like her."

She rolled her eyes while offering the chips to him foremost until he shook his head to decline. The smile plastered on her face widened in terms of teasing, with a playful tone marching on her every word. "Then you love her. You even killed someone just for the warning."

Those taunts were a reason why Kei incredibly dislike his team he had been placed in. His breathing stopped as though all the oxygen ran out of his lungs and no more air slipped pass through his nose. Kei shouldn't be surprised anymore, not when he knew exactly how Freeze was. "You knew. Heh, of course. Are you going to tell Rinn?"

"Probably no. Probably yes." A lopsided grimace masked her face of uncertainty.

"Please don't," he pleaded then bit his lower lip, wary in fear for the consequences of Freeze's wrong actions.

"And what are you going to do if she finds out about your job as an assassin because of that note you sent. You scribbled your initial on the paper. Don't you think she's going to investigate you?"

Kei firmed his mouth from talking further. That very question of hers baffled his mind in wonders of what he should do. The what-if questions always brought the drought to his throat and the storm to his heart. He wore a mask every time he'd kill someone and he wouldn't want Aiya to be the person unveiling his identity, shocking her in disappointment.

But the real question was: does she still remember?

It was four years ago. It didn't look much of a long time ago but it was for him. The four years of not getting in touch with the girl he admired felt like an arrow stuck to his heart. Kei could only watch from afar though he couldn't be satisfied with it.

If Diamond Veleen had forgotten about the time spent together, then all his worries would be for nothing but his chest would tighten and crush him since she didn't cherish the moments with him. It would mean that he wasn't special at all to her as she was to him.

With the knowledge of his part time job as an assassin, the expectations of him would be lowered to nothingness.

"She won't know." Determined to retain the secret hidden in the shadows, he formed a pact with himself. "She can't."

And carrying all the burden by himself, the unaware Freeze managed to add one last thought to the list of his anxieties.

"You warned her but Rinn still ordered you to kill her. How will you do that without both your lives being taken away?"

Kei kept silent. He didn't know.