If Kurosaki thought about it, he could pinpoint the exact turning point in his life that brought him to where he was now. Well, maybe there was more than one, but the point that got the ball rolling was at age six.

His mother had bought their first home computer.

It was bulky, with the box-like screen, keyboard, and separate hard drive, but top of the line at the time. His little eyes widened as his mother turned it on, the machine whirring to life. She showed him how to move the mouse to select things, the programs on it, and the internet.

Tasuku loved to watch his mother work on the computer, how her fingers would expertly tap the keys to create words on the screen. She even had gotten him his own computer game to play when she wasn't using the machine, some educational game that taught him his hiragana and kanji.

What was it that made it work? It was kind of like the television set they had in the living room, but you could move things on it yourself. He would scratch his dark brown hair and wonder what was inside the box, but never did anything about it.

That is, until he was nine. Adults were always telling how clever he was, how grown up he looked! He was one of the taller kids in his class. So when the brilliant idea of dismantling the computer struck him, he had to follow through with it. He was almost a big kid; he would definitely know how to put it back together again.

His mother came home that night to a horrifying mess. There was glass all over the floor, gears and things on the table, and an open faced computer on the desk.

"Tasuku!" she shrieked. He was hidden under the bed, tears streaking messily down his face. She sighed as she pulled his unwilling form out. She placed him in her lap and hugged him to her chest.

"Mm forwy!" he wailed into her shirt. She picked his head up a little to hear more clearly, "I'm sorry! I just wanted to see how it worked! Then I dropped one of the screws and some of the gears popped out and then the screen fell and broke all over the place and you told me never to touch broken glass and, and…," he started to hiccup as he wiped his eyes. "Please don't hate me."

His poor mother sighed. "I could never hate you my dear."

"Yes you could, I'd hate me if I were you," he started to tear up again. She hugged him to her chest even tighter.

"I'm mad at you, but I don't hate you. We can get another screen, and I can clean up the mess in a few minutes. Just promise me you won't do this ever again. That doesn't just include the computer, but all other appliances." He nodded into her shirt. "There, there. Now help me clean up this mess."


Several years later and Tasuku was still what others called a 'computer geek'. He took afternoon classes on computers after his middle school classes. He applied to every computer-focused high school he could find (there weren't many, mind you). If you didn't know the difference between Ada and COBOL the better schools would simply laugh at your application. After being accepted into Tokyo's Technical High School of Computers and Engineering, he set his sights on being top of his class.

Of course, there was the issue of tuition. His family wasn't poor, per say, but even with a small scholarship his mother could barely pay for the school. He hoped that with top grades he would be able to get a larger scholarship the next year, but the chances were slim. His mother supported his interests, however, and worked two jobs to keep him in the path he had chosen.

Tasuku would always feel a pang of guilt whenever he saw his mother heading out for her night shift, or the ever present bags under her eyes. He wished that he could somehow help with the money situation, but the workload that he had from school prevented him from doing so.

The school itself was amazing. It had been completely revamped a few years before; state of the art computer labs littered the floor plans, projectors were used in every classroom, even the bathrooms were better than the usual public variety. Most of the teachers were harsh graders; they expected the best quality work from their students. The students were highly competitive; there was almost a silent ranking system between them all. If you were near the bottom, no one had to worry about you. If you were near the top? You were the one to beat.

Tasuku, through talent and copious amounts of studying, was number one in his class. The teachers praised him as his fellow students glared at him jealously. He needed to stay on top though, or he probably wouldn't make it to the next year.

But money was going from tight to non-existent. Even with the extra jobs, his mother was behind on the payments for school. Tasuku was worrying about how many more months he probably had left in his classes when he bumped into someone rounding a corner.

"Oof, sorry about that," he apologized quickly, until he actually noticed who he had bumped into.

Every school has its own collection of snobby popular kids, and Tasuku's high school was no different. Instead of preppy boys, or sports stars, his school had snobby rich bastards whose parents donated generous amounts of money to the school. They had a decent amount of influence over the faculty, and could generally get away with anything. The one boy he had bumped into, a second-year who was a grade above him, was one of the higher ups in the 'Snob Squad'.

"Watch where you're going, Kurosaki," he replied gruffly. Tasuku decided it wasn't worth it to pick a fight with him.

"I will, Hiruma-sempai," he responded politely. The older boy looked at him, seeming as if he was deciding on something.

"Hey, I heard you're a little scrap for cash right now," he started. Tasuku shot his head up; he hadn't shared that particular fact with anyone in the school.

"How did you-?"

"You should know there's lots of ways to find things out on a computer, Kurosaki," he replied with a smug grin. Tasuku glared. Of course there were means to find anything online, most of which were definitely illegal.

"Your point?" he asked guardedly.

"No need to be like that. I was just wondering if you wanted to make some side money, help your family out a little."

"I don't need your help," Tasuku responded, annoyed. He was, in his own words, a proud person; he was confident that he could handle things by himself. Others (mostly those below him in ranking) called him stubborn and arrogant.

"Oh? You don't want any help? Even though you'll probably get kicked out in two months because your mother can't make the payments?" Hiruma taunted, a slight grin tugging at his lips. Tasuku's fists were starting to shake. Not only did this bastard know all about him, he was making fun of his mother.

"Why do you even care, Hiruma-san?" he demanded, just keeping his voice even.

"What do you think? You're supposedly the smartest kid in your class. I know a couple of people who'd love to have use of your expertise. You need the money, they need some services. Simple as that," he replied in an offhand tone.

"I'm not going to hack anyone's computer, no matter how much they pay me," Tasuku retorted bluntly. The older boy glared at him.

"Not even if they offered you 100,000 yen for one job?"

"Not even- wait, what? For just one job?"

"Uh-huh. Just think what you could do with that money."

"I- I still wouldn't do it." Yet his voice wavered uncertainly. Hiruma sensed him weakening.

"Whatever. If you change your mind, you know where to find me," he then walked past Tasuku and out of sight down the hall.

Tasuku continued on his way as well, telling himself that he wouldn't lower himself to hacking for money. Not even if it paid well and was easy. Not because he desperately needed the money. No, never.

So of course he went and found Hiruma-sempai a few days later, and took him up on his offer. Looking back, Tasuku decided this was turning point number two. From computer geek to Daisy Cutter, the choice that would spin his life out of control.


A/N: Part one of this two part story. I have the second part started, but no guarantees as to when it will be done. So, what do you think? Reviews, yes, no, maybe?