Chapter 1: The Hacker
Ding
"The data has been verified. The agreed amount has been transferred to your account".
Despite the drowsiness clouding her head, the message brings a smile to her lips. Remembering that she does not have class until 1:40 PM, she rolls over and goes back to sleep. She deserves a nice long sleep for spending the entire night hacking the Akatsuki. The cyber division of that organization is controlled by the infamous Puppeteer who is second only to Doll in the underground hacking world. The city would not sleep for weeks to come.
Konoha city is the economic powerhouse among the Five Great Nations. Corruption is at the lowest percentage. Business and trading with foreign nations are highly encouraged and promoted. The success of the transition is due to the transparency of the government the efficiency of the system. The youngest mayor in the history of the city is able to establish trust between the government and the citizens- something that his predecessors failed to accomplish. Despite his sunshine demeanor, the mayor understands the limitation of the laws.
To protect the city, the Akatsuki is a necessary evil. On the outside, the organization is a branch of the Konoha Police Force that deals with terrorism. In the inside, the Akatsuki reigns over the underground world, and protect the laws through "unlawful tactics". The downside to this work is that occasionally, there are opportunistic members who want to have their cakes and eat them. Taking advantage of the unparalleled cybersecurity of Akatsuki, those people conduct illegal activities without worrying about getting caught.
The head of Akatsuki is no idiot. He has long been aware of such actions taking place, but since he and his top members prioritize privacy among the organization, the Puppeteer has not been ordered to resolve the issue. They decide that as long as those activities are kept at a minimum and do not violate human rights, they are allowed to exist.
She is no hero. With a reasonable price, she will break into any computers and take any information as request. Her clients range from teenagers to high profile individuals who have money to lose and reputation to keep. She has no issue with accepting requests from mobsters. Even so, she does have a moral code. She does not accept any request that is "highly concerning". If anyone asks her to clarify that term, she would say "intuition". In a simpler term, she accepts jobs that she feels like doing. Besides, what is the point of being a freelancer if you don't have control over what type of jobs you want?
The information she stole was of little importance to Akatsuki, but the breach of security is a big deal. The Puppeteer will rewrite the entire system, while other members would track down the hacker. There is not a single doubt that the hacker was anyone other than the elusive Doll- the notorious figure that rises to fame through taking down only the top security of the Great Five Nations and many infamous criminal rings. The manhunt has gone on for 2 years, but the identity of the hacker has not been uncovered.
"It will remain that way as I see fit." She thought.
Despite many speculations for the motivation of Doll, the reason was extremely simple. She needs the money, or to be more specific, money to pay for her college. It all started when her parents fell ill during the last few months of her high school year. Even when they exhausted their savings, the illness took their lives. Fresh out of high school and having no experience or relatives to turn to, the girl knew she had to rely on the only talent she possessed. As a child, she had always been fascinated with the digital world. She would spend her entire free time on a computer despite the disapproval of her parents. Fortunately, they were able to see her natural gift for programming and didn't scold her much.
"Who would have expected that the only skill she has to turn out to be her mean of living?"
It began with silly pranks by teenagers and young adults. Gradually, she took on corporations and mobsters, and that was when her name was known to the hacking world. She knew she can't allow herself to be caught or she won't be able to live her life, so she spent time honing her skills to be unparalleled to anyone. Once she saved enough money, she accepted fewer requests and resolved to stop hacking.
"Okay, that was a lie."
She resolved to only hack if the case is interesting enough, and even so, she won't take more than two requests per year. She can't afford to get caught, and it's stupid to assume that no one will surpass her in this area.
To distract herself as well as to have a "normal" image of a college student, she signed up for a service. The money is not as much as her other activity, but it is her "dates" that get her hooked. The girl is a normal young adult who desires human relationships but has no interest in nurturing one. Outside of her work, she does not have to interact with the clients, and that circumstance suits her perfectly.
Unfortunately for the girl, fate tends to go against one's expectations.