Chapter 6: First Player

Zanichi rose from his couch as Zaboru approached, his face filled with excitement.

"What is it, son?" Zanichi asked, intrigued by Zaboru's enthusiasm.

Zaboru grinned. "Come to my room, Dad! My gaming console prototype is done, and I've got some games to show you!"

Zanichi raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. "All right, lead the way."

The pair made their way to Zaboru's room, which was cluttered with electronic components, wires, and scattered notes. Zanichi glanced around at the organized chaos, shaking his head.

"Looks like you've been busy tinkering, huh?" he remarked, his eyes landing on the sleek black-and-gray plastic box sitting neatly on the desk.

"Yeah, it's been a grind," Zaboru admitted.

Zanichi approached the console, noticing the wired controllers and cartridge slots. "So this is your console? I used to play on the Magnavox and Odyssey back in the day, and I've tried my fair share of arcade games too. Does this compare?"

Zaboru smirked, confidence brimming. "Oh, it's more than that, Dad. You'll see. Let's try it out!"

He grabbed a cartridge and slid it into the console.

"What's that?" Zanichi asked, inspecting the cartridge.

"It's the game. I call it a cartridge—each one contains a different game for the console," Zaboru explained.

Zanichi turned the cartridge over in his hands, examining its casing. "You made this yourself? The case and everything?"

Zaboru nodded. "It was tough integrating the hardware with the console, but I figured it out."

"Impressive," Zanichi said, clearly proud.

Zaboru handed him a controller. "Here's the controller. On the left, you've got the D-pad to move the character. On the right, there are two buttons: one for jumping and another for different commands depending on the game. The button in the middle pauses the game."

Zanichi turned the controller over, testing the buttons. "Seems simple enough. Let's see what this can do."

Zaboru powered on the console, and the first game, Donkey Kong, appeared on the screen.

On the TV, Jumpman navigated platforms, dodging barrels thrown by a giant ape. Zanichi's interest grew as he started playing. After 15 minutes, he leaned back, a smile on his face.

"Not bad at all. Got anything else?"

"Of course!" Zaboru swapped cartridges, loading Mario Bros..

Zanichi watched as the screen displayed Mario navigating stages and battling lizard-like enemies. Zaboru added, "In this game, you can press a button to shoot a short projectile to defeat enemies from a distance. But be careful—if an enemy is curling, the projectile will bounce back at you."

Zanichi gave it a try, struggling at first. "Damn it!" he muttered as Mario lost a life.

Zaboru laughed. "Don't worry, Dad, you'll get the hang of it!"

After 20 minutes of trial and error, Zanichi asked, "Is there one more?"

Zaboru's grin widened. "You'll love this one."

He swapped to Pac-Man.

Zanichi's focus sharpened as he guided the iconic yellow character through mazes, munching pellets while avoiding colorful ghosts.

"Be careful not to touch the ghosts unless you're in super mode," Zaboru explained. "Super mode activates when you eat the big pellets, making you invincible and allowing you to eat the ghosts. But it doesn't last long, so plan carefully."

Zanichi nodded, fully engrossed. An hour passed in what felt like minutes.

"Damn it! So close!" Zanichi groaned as he lost a life with only one ghost remaining.

Zaboru burst out laughing.

The door creaked open, and Sanika peeked in, curious. "Ni-san, Dad, what are you doing? Oh! What's that?"

Zaboru grinned. "This is my game console, Sani-chan! Cool, right? I made it myself!"

Sanika's eyes sparkled. "Wow! I want to try!"

Zanichi handed her the controller with a smile. "Come on, sweetheart. Let me show you how it works."

Father and daughter sat together, Sanika giggling as she played. Zaboru leaned back, watching them bond over his creation.

"So, what do you think, Dad? Pretty cool, huh?"

Zanichi nodded, impressed. "This is amazing, son. The games are better than most arcade machines I've seen. And the cartridge system is genius. You've really outdone yourself."

Zaboru's grin widened. "So, if I asked you to invest in this so I could start my own company, would you?"

Zanichi rubbed his chin, thinking. "Maybe. But first, you've got to finish high school. After that, we'll talk. Though if I know you, college probably isn't in the cards, is it?"

Zaboru chuckled. "You're right. I just want to focus on making video games."

Zanichi sighed but smiled. "Well, let's see where this goes. For now, finish school, all right?"

"Deal," Zaboru said, shaking his dad's hand.

Just then, his mom's voice echoed from the kitchen. "Zaboru, Sanika, Anata—lunch is ready!"

The family headed to the dining room, leaving Zaboru's room filled with the quiet hum of his console, the start of something extraordinary.

To be continued…