Fumikazu Haba

Haba is intelligent, determined and willing to take significant risks when he believes he is pursuing wrongdoing. His technical aptitude makes him useful in investigations involving computers and cybercrime.

He develops strong feelings for Kyouko Tachibana while working at her law office. Their relationship gives his involvement in the investigation consequences beyond the conflict between prosecutors and Public Security.

Haba can also act rashly. While investigating a game company suspected of criminal activity, he breaks into its offices in an attempt to obtain evidence, exceeding lawful investigative boundaries and exposing himself to arrest.

Haba is an ordinary human with considerable computer knowledge. His technical ability allows him to investigate hackers and digital activity that would be difficult for someone without specialist expertise to follow.

He is not a police officer or formal investigator, so his methods lack the legal authority available to law enforcement. His decision to enter the game company illegally while searching for evidence ultimately allows Public Security to arrest him.

Haba also serves as a private informant for prosecutor Makoto Kusakabe. His combination of technical skill and willingness to operate unofficially makes him useful to Kusakabe's cybercrime investigation but also places him in a precarious position.

Haba's story occurs largely before the main events of Zero the Enforcer. He works at Kyouko Tachibana's law office and becomes involved in an investigation concerning hackers connected to a game company.

Haba is secretly acting as an informant for prosecutor Makoto Kusakabe. After breaking into the company to obtain evidence, he is arrested by Public Security officer Yuya Kazami and interrogated. Authorities subsequently report that Haba committed suicide while detained.

The apparent suicide devastates both Kusakabe and Tachibana. Kusakabe interprets Haba's fate as the result of Public Security's ruthless treatment of informants and begins seeking revenge.

The final revelation overturns the assumption surrounding Haba's fate: Public Security faked his death. Rei Furuya arranged the deception as part of an effort to force the prosecutor's office to stop improperly using private informants, meaning Haba is actually alive.

Kyouko Tachibana employed Haba at her law office, and the two developed a romantic relationship. [The report of Fumikazu Haba's suicide devastates Kyouko Tachibana and contributes to the collapse of her practice.](#spoiler)

Makoto Kusakabe secretly uses Haba as an informant during an investigation into cybercrime. [Believing Fumikazu Haba died because of Public Security's actions, Makoto Kusakabe becomes consumed by anger and builds his later revenge plan around the apparent injustice.](#spoiler)

Yuya Kazami arrests Haba after discovering his illegal entry into the game company during the cybercrime investigation.

Rei Furuya is the Public Security officer overseeing the operation surrounding Haba. [Rei Furuya ultimately reveals that Haba's death was staged by Public Security rather than genuine.](#spoiler)