Everyday Life with a Murderer

Chapter 13: The Fight

[ Next week's Friday ]

Seiji was at work, focused on a particularly complex piece of code when his mobile phone began vibrating repeatedly. A dozen pings sounded off, followed by more in rapid succession. He sighed, pausing his work to glance at the screen.

10,

15,

20 messages from Hideaki.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course."

Hearing the exasperation in Seiji's voice, Ken looked up from his desk, turning to his friend.

"What's going on, Seiji?"

Seiji held up his phone with a look of weary resignation. "Hideaki. He's discovered texting. And apparently, he's decided it's an emergency - again."

Ken leaned back in his chair with a grin. "He sounds... persistent. Doesn't he know you're working?"

"He knows." Seiji scrolled through the messages, not bothering to read most of them. "I've told him to stop spamming me when I'm at work, but he has a special talent for ignoring common sense. It's like babysitting a... particularly stubborn toddler with a phone. Since I bought him phone, he became annoying with it... "

Ken chuckled. "Sounds like he's a handful. Wait-did you say you got him the phone? Was that a charity case, or did you lose a bet?"

Seiji paused for a second, calculating the least suspicious response. "Well, his old phone... had a bit of an unfortunate accident. Fell out of his pocket while I was, uh, testing something nearby. Totally my fault. So, I promised to replace it. And now, I'm suffering the consequences." He forced a half-smile, though his mind was already on damage control.

Ken raised an eyebrow, amused. "Still, that's pretty generous of you. You've always been one to help people, even when they don't make it easy."

Seiji offered a polite shrug. "I'm just trying to maintain... some level of order."

Ken grinned. "You downplay it, but I think it's impressive. You've always gone out of your way for others, even when it's a hassle."

Seiji shifted slightly, not particularly comfortable with praise. "Well, thanks," he muttered, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks.

His eyes returned to the phone, now cluttered with more notifications. He sighed again. "I'd better reply, or he'll just keep at it until my inbox collapses under the weight of his nonsense."

His eyes scanned the phone, now cluttered with more notifications. Seiji sighed again, his irritation kept in check, though visible in the sharp exhale. "If I don't respond, I'll be dealing with this all day."

With quick fingers, he typed a message, keeping his tone dry and precise:

"Hideaki, I'm at work - again. Please refrain from sending non-urgent messages until I'm done. Let's try silence for a few hours, shall we?"

Satisfied, Seiji placed the phone down on his desk, watching to ensure the message sent without any problems. "That should give me a few hours of peace. Hopefully."

At the same time, Hideaki read Seiji's message and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Idiot!"

He tossed the phone aside, clearly amused. With nothing else to do, the killer resumed practicing his magic, honing his abilities. Glancing at the balcony, he noticed a few pigeons perched on the clothes dryer. With a flick of his hand, he caused them to bleed internally, watching with glee as they collapsed.