Chapter 101: Akechi Gets Akechi

Saturday, November 23, 1991 – Morning

As usual, Zaboru went to his company despite it being the weekend. The three new games had already been shipped to retail stores partnered with ZAGE, and long lines of eager customers had begun forming at various locations, waiting to get their hands on the latest additions to the ZEPS library.

Meanwhile, Zaboru was busy at work, tweaking the next set of games scheduled for release in December: Ninja Gaiden, Gun-Nac, and Metroid. After that, he would need to brainstorm ideas for the January lineup. One of the slots had already been reserved for Ayumi's Karate Bunny, leaving two more titles to be decided. Beyond game development, Zaboru had grander plans—he intended to host a public seminar on game development, hoping to inspire and cultivate a wave of third-party developers for the ZEPS console. If ZAGE remained the sole developer, the console's future could become stagnant. He craved variety, new ideas, and surprises—games that wouldn't have existed in his past world.

"Hehehe, I wonder what kind of games third-party developers will come up with... And Sonaya too. Hope they don't disappoint."

As a lifelong gamer, Zaboru was just as excited about playing games as he was about making them. Just as he immersed himself in his thoughts, a sudden chime echoed through his office.

Ding-dong!

"Huh? Who could it be at this hour?"

Raising an eyebrow, Zaboru walked over to the door. The moment he opened it, he was met with a familiar face—Akechi.

"Good morning, Zaboru," Akechi greeted him calmly, yet there was an unmistakable intensity burning in his eyes.

Zaboru smirked. 'He can't wait to get his hands on the game, can he?'

"Morning, Akechi-san. Come on in."

Akechi shook his head. "No need. Just give me the games, and I'll be on my way."

Amused, Zaboru chuckled before handing him a package containing the three new games, each complete with box art and a ZAGE-branded tote bag.

"Here you go, Akechi-san. Have fun."

Akechi gave a curt nod, muttered a quick "Thanks", and immediately left. Within seconds, his car was speeding down the road.

"Whoa, he must be really eager to play it."

Inside the car, Akechi examined the three game boxes. One of them, Metal Gear, he was already familiar with. The second was Sonic the Hedgehog, a title that intrigued him. But it was the third that truly caught his attention.

A wide, almost sinister grin spread across his face.

"Heh... Hehehe..."

His driver, Kosuke, broke into a cold sweat. He had worked for Akechi for years, and he knew that his master rarely showed excitement. Seeing that unsettling grin was enough to make his hands tremble on the steering wheel.

'Akechi-sama... is actually excited? This is terrifying...'

Akechi's eyes locked onto the box art of The Legend of Akechi. The cover featured a comic-styled illustration of a ninja resembling him, standing protectively in front of a princess while fending off evil samurai and ninja. The artwork was undeniably stylish.

"Hahaha... Zaboru really outdid himself with this cover. This is so good! So, I'm a ninja saving a princess? Not bad. Not bad at all!"

Eager to get home and play, he leaned forward. "Kosuke, drive faster."

Kosuke shuddered but obeyed. "Y-yes, Akechi-sama!"

With that, the car accelerated towards Hamazou HQ.

Upon arriving at Hamazou HQ, Akechi wasted no time. He stormed into Ayumi's workshop, the place where his sister was diligently refining Karate Bunny. She was deep in thought, contemplating additional improvements, when—

BAM!

The door burst open!

"WHAT THE—?!"

Ayumi snapped her head up, ready to scold whoever had just rudely barged in. However, upon seeing her usually stoic brother sporting an uncharacteristic, almost childlike grin, her irritation turned to curiosity.

"Nii-sama? What's with you? Did something good happen?"

Without a word, Akechi held up the Legend of Akechi box. Ayumi's eyes widened in shock.

"WHAT?! Is that an official game from Zaboru ZAGE for ZEPS?! How the hell did you get your own game?!"

Akechi smirked. "Secret."

Ayumi clenched her fists in frustration. "That's so unfair! I want to be in a game too!"

But then, an idea struck her. "Heh, but just because you have your own game doesn't mean it's good, right? What if it's trash?"

Akechi's grin faded slightly. "Your jealousy is showing, Ayumi. Since when has Zaboru made a bad game?"

Ayumi smirked. "There's a first time for everything, Nii-sama."

Akechi sighed. "Fine. Let's play it. We'll see for ourselves."

Ayumi eagerly nodded and turned on her ZEPS console. Akechi opened the game box and took out its contents: the cartridge, a game manual, ZEPS Volume 3, and a Z-card.

He unfolded the manual first, briefly scanning its contents. Then, he flipped through ZEPS Volume 3, noting the three additional games added since Volume 2: Metal Gear, Sonic, and Legend of Akechi.

Lastly, he examined the Z-card. The text printed on it read:

"I'm one of them. Let's see if you can beat me."

Akechi's eyebrow twitched. He didn't particularly care about Zabo-man, mostly because he was jealous—he wanted his own special character, but Zaboru refused to make one for him.

Shaking his head, he inserted The Legend of Akechi cartridge into Ayumi's ZEPS.

"Alright. Let's see if this game is worthy of my name."

To be continue

*Author Note : Lol Akechi is one of them who shows excitement when talking things that he liked , and nonchalant about everything else!. anyway POWER STONESS!*