Japan was back to normal. No more rebellions, riots. No more totalitarian schools. People did not fear going to work. People relaxed at home. People were able to relax. And on Sundays, people went out on dates.

"I wish you wore something nicer."

"Hoddies are comfortable. There's a feeling of security when the hood's up." A sneer grew on Inumata's face that did not match his voice. His face was only inches away from the computer screen. Iori, meanwhile, played with the straw in his milkshake- vanilla. Not that it would be a hard problem to fix, but he didn't want to worry about staining his orange turtleneck.

The sky was overcast and it was breezy. Inumata and Iori were the only ones sitting in the café's outside tables. The quiet was nice. There little noise except the growling of the wind and the rapid clicking of the laptop. Inumata had not touched his iced tea. Iori's eyes bore into the back of the computer.
"Iori, tell me what you think of this peace."

Iori was surprised. He wanted a one-sided conversation, but he was hoping that Inumata would carry the bulk of it. "I made the best work of my life. I'm done." He leaned his head on his arms. "I hit my peak to soon. I don't know what to do now. That's okay."

Inumata's clicks paused. His eyes flashed up and met Iori's. "Boredom is never okay." He jammed his index finger down on the enter key. He giggled.
"Iori, I just bankrupt the Nazemaki Corporation. Why? Because I thought it would be fun. Hundreds, thousands of people just lost their job. A billion dollars just now disappeared. And the best part? They will never know that a seventeen year old just blew up their ship."

Iori returned the statement with an annoyed stare. He clicked his tongue. The last thing he wanted to say was "Am not fun enough for you?" but that sounded just stupid. Houka wouldn't even be here if he didn't want to. Iori looked past Inumata for a moment as something caught his eye.
A group of people wearing suits was approaching the café. They all carried suitcases. Inumata saw that Iori wasn't looking at him and followed his gaze. When he saw the pack of suits, he tensed up, but the nervous smile grew on his face. He clutched his laptop. One of them made eye contact with him. The group marched right up to their table.

"Are you Inumata Houka?" a burly man asked. Iori was eyeing his long suitcase.

"Let's say I am," Inumata began, "then what?"

Without answering, everyone dropped their cases and pulled our machine rifles. They jumped a few feet back and began to fire.

Inumata kicked the table over and he and Iori dashed behind it. The force of the bullets was slowly chipping the wood away. Iori could feel each strike against his back.

"Under Kiryuin Satsuki's rule, you killed so many people!" one of them cried. "We want revenge."

Inumata situated his computer onto the ground as the two laid low. Iori was curled up in a ball next to him. He began typing furiously, his eyes aglow.

"Please don't tell me you're enjoying this."

"Challenges are always welcome. Unlike you, I haven't even started hitting my stride!" And with another swipe of the enter key, the café's fire alarms went off. The twelve people who were in there rushed out of the building.

The people in the suits ceased fire in the confusion, apparently not wanting to hit innocents. With that, Iori grabbed Inumata's hand and ran away into the crowd. Inumata quickly took the lead, dragging Iori along. He could hear the hacker's laughter. Iori wanted to yell at him, but he needed to save his breath. Sitting and sewing all day wasn't exactly athletic, after all. The sound of fire trucks could be heard behind them.

Inumata quickly dodged into an alleyway. Iori pulled back towards the street.

"This is a bad idea. If we keep to large crowds, then they can't shoot."

"They can find us in a crowd, but how many streets are in Tokyo, Shiro? We're fine."

Iori was surprised that he used his first name. He guessed that he really was having a good time. They pressed their backs against the wall while arguing. A shadow appeared on the sidewalk. Screams echoed from the sidewalk. Shots were fired. Iori gulped. They really didn't care anymore, did they?

Then they appeared in the alley's opening. They aimed their guns and fired.

Inumata ran to try and get to the other end of the alley across the block, but Iori pushed him down in time for the bullets to fly.

Holes ripped into his back. Iori cried out and fell on top of Inumata. The shots stopped.

"They still might be alive."

"That's okay. We sent our message. They'll get the hint." Footsteps told Inumata that they finished their job.

He flipped over and cradled Iori in his arms. His back and his ponytail were soaked in red. None of the bullets made it all the way through. Inumata didn't know how to respond. He looked to the side to see his laptop practically shattered on the concrete. He looked back to see Iori's body shaking. "Shiro?" he whispered. He felt so afraid. Never in his life had he feared this much.

Iori opened his eyes. He raised his arm and grasped onto Inumata's collar as he leaned into him. "I don't want to die," he almost cried. Inumata held him close. "Houka, I'm not-" he gasped. His breathing became ragged.

"It's okay. You're okay," Inumata said. He desperately tried to hide the tremor in his voice.

Iori looked up at him. "Houka, I'm not finished yet." His eyes relaxed then glazed over. His head fell onto his chest and the hand on his collar loosened and fell limp.

Inumata stared at his eyes. It took him a moment to realize that Iori had died. "Shiro," Inumata cried. He grabbed at his shoulders and head and held the body tightly. He felt a heat rising in his chest. Anger evaporated the sorrow. He picked up Iori's body and leaned him against the wall beside a garbage can. He took off his hoddie and placed it over his torso. Before he left, he stroked his head.

The people in suits were easy to find. Inumata hid behind a store's open door as he stalked them throughout Tokyo. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He swiped the lock off and began to work his magic. The tips of his fingers became hot as they worked furiously. Suddenly, a group of people's phones all went off at once. As each of them accepted the call, names and numbers appeared on Inumata's screen. He opened a text message and began sending information here and here. A minute later, police sirens roared throughout the city. The confused looks on the suits' faces became ones of panic when the noise got louder. Inumata entered their line of sight.

"I just sent your personal information to the police. It seems you're phones' IDs were connected to a series of murders over the past few weeks, huh? How strange." Inumata did not smile.

We didn't do them!" one of them shouted. Some of them aimed their guns at the hacker while other tried to shuffle away from their suitcases

"Well, you did now." And Inumata dashed away as the police cars screeched to a halt.

"Put down the weapons! You are under arrest!" The noises faded out as Inumata returned to the alleyway.

He found Iori's body the way he left it. Blonde hair was falling into his eyes. Inumata tucked a bang behind his ear. "Now what?" he sighed.