Tasuku strolled the back streets of Tokyo with an arrogant gait. The nineteen years old man had just finished another particularly easy job, take some funds here, transfer them there. It had been simple, for a computer genius like him. Throughout high school he had delved deeper and deeper into illegal activities, and was making more money than most working men. He, of course, gave a safe portion of it to his mother. He had told her that he was working for the father of a friend, and he seemed happy enough, so she wasn't bothered.
Hacking suited the dark side of his nature perfectly. It showed off his skill and intellect, it had a fair amount of danger attached to it, and there was the intoxicating grip of power as well. He could hack almost any computer in Japan, he had money, and he had connections. The little job that night was nothing compared to some of the things he had been able to do. His name was growing in the underground, only a teenager and he was one of the best hackers out there.
Smiling at the thought, he continued on his way to the large apartment he owned in the better part of the city. The landlord had originally doubted he could make the payments, but he needn't have worried. Tasuku had ample amounts of cash, some of which he actually saved in a high security bank account.
His life hadn't been any better than it was now.
But sometimes reality has to take you down a few notches.
As Tasuku walked along the alley, almost home, he bumped into two men walking the other way. Both wearing black, they had been almost invisible in the dim light.
"Hey, watch where you're going, idiots," said Tasuku, irritated. The eye of one of taller of the two men twitched dangerously.
Before he could register how it happened, one of the men grabbed Tasuku's jacket and pinned him against the wall.
"Arrogant little bastard-," growled the man who had a death grip on Tasuku's collar. The teen tried to struggle, but could barely breathe with the fist pressed up against his windpipe.
"Don't kill him yet, Daiki," the shorter man chided. The pressure on Tasuku's neck eased up a small fraction, and he drew in a ragged breath. The shock of the situation was slowly turning into fear. Kill him yet?
"Nothing less than he deserves, Saburo," Daiki retorted. The man ignored him.
"So, the infamous Daisy Cutter really is only a kid. That just makes it sting more." Saburo muttered, seemingly to himself. "So Daisy Cutter, do you know who I am?"
Tasuku stared at him, but no recognition flashed through his mind. He managed a strangled "No." Saburo's expression darkened.
"Of course not. You didn't need to know my face to completely bankrupt my company. Ever hear of Kamiki Shipping and Transportation? Do you know that name?" The man's face had become livid.
Kamiki Shipping. Kamiki Shipping. Then it clicked.
"Oh," Tasuku uttered. A few months prior he had done a small job for the rival of a certain man's company. Shift funds, mess with their paperwork. He had essentially brought the company past its breaking point and now had the consequences glaring at him in the face.
"Oh? That's all you have to say? Screw this; Daiki, get rid of him."
"WAI-," was all Tasuku managed to scream before the fist slammed into his face. He fell to the ground as the man let go of him. He scrambled to get up, but only received a punishing kick to the gut for his troubles. Doubled over in pain and with blood and stars blurring his vision, he knew he was done for. They're gonna kill me, he thought in disbelief.
"Try this one on for size," he heard his attacker say. He cringed.
And everything went black.
The first thing he heard when he woke up was whistling, which was more than a little confusing. It sounded vaguely like a TV show theme. He groaned and tried to sit up, only to receive a sharp pain through his abdomen.
"Whoa there! You're not going to be able to sit up for a while," a male voice warned him. Tasuku cracked open an eyelid to see a man about his age sitting next to him. He had unruly black hair and a kind smile. He gave a quick glimpse around the room; it looked like a small bedroom of an apartment.
"Whr…Where am I? What happened to those guys?" he asked, his voice sounding slurred. Gods, it felt like he had one hell of a hangover. He rubbed his forehead in a futile attempt to ward off a headache as he waited for the man to answer.
"Don't worry; you're currently lying down in my house. I scared those two goons off with my best police voice. You three, what are you doing down there?" he uttered the last sentence in an authoritative tone, but it sounded slightly ridiculous. Tasuku merely stared at the man, wondering if he had gone from one bad situation to the next. It was just his luck, getting rescued by a crazy person. The man noticed the incredulous face. He laughed.
"I'm not insane or anything! Riko is always telling me I have an odd sense of humor." Tasuku suddenly realized something.
"Why aren't I at the hospital?" His rescuer frowned.
"I was planning on taking you there, but as soon as I tried moving you, you started shouting not to take you to the hospital. My apartment's closer, anyhow. Do you remember any of that?"
Tasuku shook his head in reply. It made sense though; he tried to avoid any official government agency. He hadn't thought of getting insurance before (nineteen year olds don't have much foresight), and him paying for hospital services with straight cash would raise eyebrows. He needed to avoid any unwanted attention towards his bank accounts, and how he had attained it. He knew that the government was starting to get suspicious of him, and that was more than a little worrying.
"Thank you…?" Tasuku started, and then realized they didn't know each other's names.
"Kurebayashi Souichirou," he filled in.
"Thank you, Kurebayashi-san. I'm Kurosaki Tasuku."
"I saved your life and you call me by my last name? Come on, I think that leaves us pretty well acquainted, Tasuku-san?" he grinned like an idiot. Tasuku actually laughed at the absurdity of it all. He had only just met this man and now they were on a first name basis? Unfortunately, laughing was another thing that sent shots of pain through his stomach. Souichirou gave him a worried glance as the teen gasped in pain.
"I think you should stay the night, your stomach is pretty bruised. I mopped up your nose as best I could, I don't think it's broken. You have a nasty black eye, but that will go away soon enough," Souichirou listed for him. Tasuku nodded, then smiled.
"How lucky am I? Rescued by a doctor, what are the odds?" The other man laughed.
"Doctor? Why would I still be in this small apartment on doctor's wages? No, I'm a computer programmer," Souichirou replied. His face darkened as he mentioned his occupation, which went unnoticed by Tasuku.
"Computer programmer, huh? I work in the computer field too," he joked. Yet, as he thought about his 'occupation', he remembered the look on one of his assailants face. The man had lost it all because of what Tasuku did. Though the company he owned wasn't without its own blemishes, the guy probably had a family or something. That man had had nothing to lose and was ready to kill Tasuku and all others who were involved in his downfall.
A dark thought clipped him like a bullet, sucking the color out of the room for a second. How many other lives have I destroyed? He pushed the question aside, too scared to think about it in depth. Souichirou coughed to get his attention.
"About your occupation… I heard some of what those guys were saying last night. Tasuku, I'm not completely ignorant of the computer underground," the man started. Tasuku paled as he realized what was coming, "They called you Daisy Cutter, which, as far as I know, is one of the biggest hackers out there. So, I want to know, is that who you are?"
The hacker in question considered lying. The man didn't know him well enough to be able to tell the difference. But, as he looked up into this guy's face, he knew the man wanted the truth. Fearing the worst, the hacker nodded. No point in lying if he had already heard it. Any second he would be thrown out of the apartment, to limp all the way back to his own.
Souichirou sighed, and then got up. "I just wanted to make sure. Do you need anything else? An extra pillow, some water, any pain medication?" He made vague gestures to where each would be. Tasuku simply stared at him.
"You, mean, I can stay?" the youth asked incredulously. An idiotic grin spread on the older man's face.
"You thought I was going to kick you out? Of course not! I didn't drag you all the way here just to dump you on my doorstep. It was the right thing to do. Now, the thing that will get you kicked out is if you go anywhere near my little-,"
"Onii-chan? Is someone here?" a voice came from outside the room. Tasuku heard the door open, but was too sore to try and pick himself up again.
"Ah, Teru-chan! I'm sorry if we woke you up. This man is just staying here until he feels better. You should go back to bed," Souichirou scolded gently. Tasuku noticed the whole tone of the man's voice became softer when speaking to 'Teru-chan'.
"But Onii-chan, he looks hurt. Did something happen?" Tasuku had wondered idly if he looked as bad as he felt. Apparently he did.
"Please, Teru-chan, go back to bed. It's alright." Tasuku heard a little huff of annoyance, and then the door closed. Souichirou sighed once more. "As I was saying, you can stay as long as you don't go anywhere near my little sister," he laughed. Tasuku rolled his eyes, why would he go anywhere near her? He couldn't even get up for heaven's sake! Not to mention he felt like he was going to pass out again from exhaustion.
"I'm sorry, Souichirou-san, but… er… could I go to sleep again?" Tasuku asked, hoping that he wouldn't annoy the guy by passing out mid-conversation.
"Oh, oops, yah of course, of course. I'll leave you alone then," and with that he turned off the light in the room and slipped out. Tasuku sighed in relief. Really, that guy was a handful. As he was about to slip off into sleep his previous words echoed in his head.
How many other lives have I destroyed?
How many lives have I destroyed?
How many…?
The next morning Tasuku discovered that he was able to sit up again, though not without a considerable amount of pain. He got up slowly and grabbed onto a nearby dresser for support. It felt as if he hadn't slept at all the night before. Shadowy nightmares had plagued his sleep, making him feel drowsy as well as beat. Turning his head (which didn't hurt as bad as he thought it would) he caught sight of someone else in the room. After a moment's hesitation Tasuku laughed humorlessly. His face was so messed up that he hadn't even recognized himself in the mirror. He picked up his hand to feel the blood matted in his dark hair, collected his jacket, and left the room to tell Souichirou that he was leaving.
He found the man sitting in the kitchen part of the apartment, sipping on a cup of coffee.
"Thanks so much for, well, everything," Tasuku muttered lamely, knowing that it barely covered anything. Souichirou simply smiled.
"If you ever need anything, you know where to call," he replied. Tasuku still couldn't understand how this man could be so generous, though he didn't mind in the slightest.
"Hopefully it won't be a matter of life and death next time."
The two shook hands and Tasuku headed back to his apartment. Both of them doubted they would meet again anytime soon.
So ten minutes later, when Souichirou opened his door to head out to work, he was surprised to see Tasuku racing down the hall to see him.
"Guys- last night- apartment- ran away," he explained, completely out of breath from running. Souichirou only had to look in the other man's terrified face to know what he should do.
"Come on, you can come to work with me," he replied with a grin. Surprise flitted across Tasuku's face, until he too smiled.
"Th-thank you so much."
"Really, it's the least I can do."
Turning point number three, meeting Kurebayashi Souichirou.
A/N: Guess who fails at updating, guess who fails at updating, guess who fails at updating, oh that's right! It's me! (Look Who's Got a Letter Theme) Yah, this has almost been done for a while now, but I just couldn't get the last bit right until now. I hope that it's worth the wait (pfft no) and don't hold your breath for the next chapter. Senior year is eating my soul slowly but surely. D:
