Hayate received no cake for his twenty-first birthday.

It had been years since he got a birthday cake.

Ever since he lost his little sister, things weren't the same. It felt as if he had no purpose in life, and was just letting everything that happened - happen. Hayate's dream of moving out with his little sister had died. There was no reason to work hard in school, no reason to go home early after school, and no reason to argue with his mother anymore. Sayuri was still an alcoholic, perhaps her addiction was even worse than before. She drank and smoked in the house, not caring about Hayate's well-being. He had graduated from high school at the top of his class but had no intention of going to college or university. Instead, he worked as a bartender in a pachinko pub.

"What are you doing?" Sayuri had just stepped out of the house, watching Hayate on the front porch.

"Nothing." The white-haired boy responded bluntly. He had just lit a cigarette that didn't belong to him and brought it up to his lips.

"When did you start smoking?"

"Doesn't matter," Hayate muttered, taking a drag. "Can't believe you're only now finding out." His laugh was dry and humorless.

"No, I knew a long time ago. I'm not that stupid." Sayuri shot back. "Give me one." She reached out a hand.

Hayate paused for a moment. He didn't want to smoke with this fucking woman. He'd rather have her snatch the cigarette out of his hand, and crush it on the ground. Those two were still unable to get along, so they just accepted that and didn't bother with one another. It was fine. Hayate didn't want to deal with her anymore. He didn't want to deal with anything anymore.

Hayate finally complied and handed a cig and lighter to Sayuri. She grabbed both from his hand.

"Look at you. . . You're becoming more and more like me every day. Don't you think?" Sayuri blew out smoke, a bitter smile on her face.

"I'm nothing like you." The boy glared at nothing in particular, he stared straight ahead.

"That's not true." Sayuri sighed. "I had no reason to live after Jung left me. Now you have no reason to live because Mio is gone."

"Both of those things happened because of you," Hayate responded. "I don't want to have this fucking conversation with you again."

"Then leave."

"Fine," Hayate didn't hesitate.

After all those years, Jin, Hayate, and Matsuda were still close friends. They played soccer together and often went to Matsuda's house to play video games. But Hayate didn't want to drag the other two boys into every situation he ended up in. Hayate liked to keep all his issues to himself now, even if they were too much to bear on his own.

The white-haired boy had left the house for a while and wandered the streets. His destination in mind was the arcade where Matsuda won that toy Pikachu for little Mio, but it had closed down some time ago. Instead, the pachinko parlor he worked at was opened - Nine Point One. Hayate didn't know if he was glad that happened, or extremely bothered. It was a childhood memory that had turned to dust now.

With not much else to do, and not many people to see, Hayate entered the parlor. It was more of a pub, rather than an arcade house. The store was dimly lit, a bartender served drinks and beautiful waitresses took orders and accompanied men. Hayate knew most of the people there, the regulars and the waitresses that all adored him despite his cold exterior. The job paid well, but he had no reason to spend any of that money. Sometimes he felt like just giving it all away to charity. Hayate didn't like money.

"Hayate! Welcome back!" The owner of the pub never missed a chance to say hi to the young man. The owner's name was Daichi Yamanaka, he was a rather old and chubby man. He wasn't very tall or very handsome, but the girls loved his charm and money. Daichi was almost always at Nine Point One drinking his life away, but he was a nice man, and Hayate respected him. Daichi had a love for women, very often all the drinks were on him.

In response to Daichi, Hayate just nodded his head and waved.

"You're here on your day off? What can I get for you?" Daichi called out to him, beckoning. "Come sit with us! All the girls will love you!" He let out a hearty laugh.

"He's so cute, is he your son?" One of the girls hummed.

"He is the son I've always wanted," Daichi responded to the girl with a smile, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. She shyly giggled and turned her face away.

"Maybe next time. I just want a drink." Hayate dismissed the offer and walked over to the bar. He took a seat at the table and asked the bartender for a glass of soda. He didn't really like alcohol all that much, he'd only ever drink with Jin and Matsuda.

"Hayate? Is that you?" A sweet voice had crept up behind the boy.

Hayate turned around to see it was Yura. He blinked his eyes in confusion, before returning his gaze to the glass in front of him. She had definitely grown up since he last saw her in high school. Her purple hair was chopped shorter, but it suited her. She wore a black dress and matching high heels. Yura seemed to be alone for some reason, but Hayate wasn't curious enough to ask her about that.

"Yeah." He responded, hoping she would just go away. He should have known better than to show up here, of course, everyone was going to want to talk to him, even if he wanted to be alone.

"Oh my god," Yura exhaled, a smile on her face. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" She asked.

"Do what you want."

"As cold as ever." She laughed, taking the seat beside him. "You look good, though. I recognized your white hair from so far away. . . Are you here alone? Where's Eul-Jin and Matsuda?" She glanced around the area.

"Yeah, it's just me." Hayate took a sip of his drink. "Order whatever you want. It's on me." Hayate was feeling a little generous all of a sudden.

"Really? Wow, thank you. I didn't expect you to be this nice." She grinned. "I thought you hated me. You know. . . After what happened back in school." Yura's voice got quieter when she noticed Hayate let out a small sigh.

"I hate everyone equally. It's not that big a deal." Hayate passed her a look, but there was a very faint smirk on his face. It was enough for Yura to tell he wasn't trying to be mean.

"I'll have a martini." She made sure to order her free drink. It would be rude to pass it up, no?

"So, are you in university?" Yura asked, extremely interested in Hayate's life.

"No," he shook his head. "You?"

"I'm a model now, can you believe it?" She chirped. "I'm not too popular yet, but I'm working my way up! It's always been my dream to be a model for magazines and catwalks. I just-"

Before she could finish, a voice boomed from the entrance.

"Everybody get the fuck down!"

The shout was followed by screams from everyone in the pub.

"What's going on?" Yura lowered her voice to a mere whisper, terrified.

"Get behind the bar. Now." Hayate jumped out of his seat. She hesitantly nodded and did as told.

Gunshots were fired into the ceiling.

This was bad,

Bad.

"Give us all the fucking money. Everything!" Three men dressed in all black had entered Nine Point One. One of them had a gun.

Daichi jolted up. All of the girls that had surrounded him fled behind the bar, crouching down alongside Yura.

"What family are you from?" Daichi showed no fear on his face.

"You think this is a fucking joke!? Give us all the damn money!" One of the men shouted. He made his way over to Daichi, jutting the nose of his pistol against Daichi's forehead.

Daichi didn't say anything. He glared right into the man's eyes.

"If you kill me, you will never know where my money is," Daichi spoke slowly for the thug to understand.

"Daichi!" Hayate called out to him.

The thug pulled the trigger and blew Daichi's brains out. Blood splattered against the ground and lounge chairs.

All of the girls screamed, some turned their faces away as Daichi's lifeless body dropped to the ground.

Two of the men sprinted towards Hayate and held him back as the man with the pistol surveyed the pub.

"Stop fucking screaming!" The gunman walked around the bar and pointed his gun at Yura.

The girls sobbed, and as some stood up to run away, they were shot in the legs and dropped to the floor.

Hayate tried to fight back.

Yura was left behind.

"Please, please, please. . ." Yura cried her heart out, begging for her life. "Hayate!"

Hayate's eyes widened as she was shot in the head, and killed on the spot.

It felt as if the world had stopped. . . The smell of blood wafted through the air, bodies littered the ground, and the sound of screams filled Hayate's ears.

He felt a strange feeling in his stomach and in his blood.

But it wasn't fear.

It was anger.

Hayate stomped on the foot of one of the men that held him back, and he elbowed the other one in the face. They both held on tightly as the gunman looked for the money. It was a mistake to take his eyes off Hayate. The white-haired boy fought back, finally getting out of their grip and punching both men in the jaw. Only then did the gunman turn around and was instantly tackled to the ground beside Yura's dead body. The gun fell out of his hands and slid against the ground. Hayate was quicker than him to get up and grab the gun.

"Go to fucking hell." Hayate's crimson eyes were burning with acid. He pointed the gun at the man and shot him once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four times.

Five times.

He then turned towards the other two men and shot them too.

Then it was silence. . .

Hayate was panting heavily.

He looked down at the gun in his hand. . . And smiled.