At exactly 11:47pm, Hiroshi heard footsteps closing in on him. He was sitting in the office going through the files sent to him.Hiroshi Tanaka was twenty-two years old, 5'8ft tall, with a thin stature that came from not eating as much as he should. His eyes were always looking tired. He had worked many jobs before now to earn a living and take care of his sick mother, Emiko Tanaka. His mother Emiko had been sick for three years now. The hospital bills ate through his father's life insurance. Then her savings. He even took money from loan sharks. Now, they are after him because he hasn't paid.The steps were hard and fast on the marble floor.He had been looking at that same spreadsheet for twenty minutes. He was already feeling sleepy but he did not stop because he had to finish putting the information together before 10am that day. His neck felt stiff from bending over the keyboard. The Kuroda building was supposed to be empty at that time. That was why he worked late at night. No o

The conference room was on the top floor of the Kuroda Tower.Glass walls, long table and leather chairs. Twelve men and women sat around it. They were investors. Kazuo stood at the head of the table. He was wearing a black suit. His hair was perfect. His smile was perfect."Thank you all for coming," he said smiling.A man at the far end of the table spoke. His name was Mr. Endo. He is a Class A citizen. He had gray hair. He was wearing a Rolex watch. He smelled like old money."You said there was an emergency meeting," Mr. Endo said. "What is the emergency?"Kazuo pressed a button on the table. A screen lit up behind him. It showed a picture of Hiroshi and his student ID photo. “You all asked for accountability and thorough breakdown of your investments. The company was running at a loss and I didn't know how. This man," Kazuo said. "Hiroshi Tanaka, a former intern at Kuroda Industries."A woman with short hair which looked like it was dyed brunette leaned forward. Her name was Mr

Hiroshi woke up that morning from the floor. He laid there while Ren took the couch last night. His body aches. His arm hurts from being tucked under his head throughout the night.Ren woke up tired that morning. His head ached from drinking too much than his body could carry last night. His breath still smelled like alcohol.He stood up from the couch and found Hiroshi sitting on the floor. He stopped and placed his hands on waist. He said, “Hiroshi. Why are you on the floor? You have a room, don't you?“I didn't feel like lying on the bed last night, " he replied. He observed his hands. His hands and entire body were still strangely strong. He picked his phone and checked his account balance. 24,000,000 credits. He checked his messages again to confirm if truly, this system thing was true and he wasn't hallucinating. No messages from new loan sharks, no unknown texter about mistakenly sending him money. He asked, “Ren. Do I look different?Ren chuckled. “You look like you have bee

It was raining hard Monday morning. The kind that hits the window and doesn't stop easily. It was pouring down heavily.It was six am that morning. Renji Kuroda opened his eyes before the alarm went off. His body just knew.The room was small. A bed. A desk. A closet. Nothing on the walls. No pictures. Not even his own face anywhere in there. The staff brought in a plant once. It was gone before noon. He liked it empty.He had his bath and got dressed. Tied the tie the way his father taught him when he was twelve. Takumi Kuroda. Kazuo's younger brother. He had kind eyes and a soft voice. He was tall like Renji but gentler in the face. Everyone said Renji looked just like him.Takumi used to laugh when the knot came out wrong."What did you do this time boy? Come here. You'll get it, just keep at it." Always smiling when he said it. "You have good hands."Renji looked at his hands. Still good hands. They'd done things his father wouldn't recognize.He walked to the kitchen. A long cold

Hiroshi walked into his mother's room. That medicine smell hit him straight away like it always did. Then the machines. A typical hospital.Emiko was sitting up. The tube was still in her neck but she looked better than yesterday. Less pale in her face. A little color was coming back.She smiled when she saw him come in."You look tired," she said."I'm fine.""You're lying."He pulled a chair up and sat next to her. He took her hand. Her fingers were thin and cold like always."How are you feeling?""Better. The doctor said my lungs are starting to clear.""Good."She gave him that look. The one she'd been giving him his whole life when she was about to say something he didn't want to hear. "You don't have to sit here all day you know. I know you've got things to deal with.""I want to be here mum."She squeezed his hand. "You were always terrible at lying. Has it been hard paying for my bills? I feel so bad that I have stressed you in the last week. God only knows how you managed to