Sunday, 9 May 2001.
It was already night when Zaboru finally returned home. Before that, he had already called Aoshidan to handle the "ZAGE Homebrew" incident properly. He also asked them to investigate whether there were other people pretending to be ZAGE employees, because after seeing one fake ZAGE ID card that convincing, he refused to assume it was an isolated case. Someone impersonating ZAGE staff was not just embarrassing; it was dangerous. Still, after giving the necessary instructions, Zaboru decided to let Aoshidan handle the cleanup. He had other things to prepare for.
Tomorrow, he would fly to New York to check on the USA team. The Japanese teams already had a little more knowledge about ZEPS 4, but the USA branch and other regional ZAGE teams were still mostly in the dark. Because of that, the company forum had become extremely noisy. Zaboru had created a company chat system called "Slack," inspired by the one from his previous life, though obviously this version was still limited by the current technology. It could not do everything the real Slack from his previous world could do, but it already worked well enough as a global group chat for ZAGE employees across different branches.
Unfortunately, giving developers a global chat system also meant giving them a global place to whine.
The team leaders outside Japan had been complaining nonstop. Some wrote things like, "ZAGE loves the Japan branch too much," while others shamelessly posted, "Boss, please tell us about ZEPS 4 too!" One person from the USA side even wrote, "This is discrimination against non-Japanese curiosity," which made Zaboru laugh so hard he almost replied with only a laughing emoji before remembering that, as the boss, he should pretend to be professional once in a while.
Honestly, none of it looked professional at all, but Zaboru did not really mind. He loved interacting with his employees this way. It made the company feel alive, not like some cold tower filled only with orders and reports. Still, later this month, he would definitely ask all major ZAGE branch leaders to come to Japan so he could finally give them proper information about ZEPS 4. For now, however, he only wanted to relax. His head was already filled with wild ideas after seeing all those insane homebrew experiments at the Unlock gathering, especially the ridiculous X-Guns and the fake ZAGE employee chaos.
The moment he entered the Renkonan household, Zaboru quickly headed toward his room with the energy of a man who had either discovered a world-changing idea or eaten too much sugar. Sanika was in the living room playing MediEvil on her ZEPS 3, while little Arumi sat comfortably in her arms, watching the spooky skeleton knight with silent fascination. Sanika glanced up and immediately raised an eyebrow when she saw her brother almost sprinting through the house. "Nii-san, what's with the rush?" she asked, sounding half curious and half used to his strange behavior already.
Zaboru answered without slowing down, "Inspiration, Sani-chan. Heheheh." He looked like he was about to dash across the room dramatically, but then he suddenly froze.
Keiko was standing nearby.
His mother stared at him with the calm authority of someone who could silence a billionaire CEO with one look. "Zaboru Renkonan," Keiko said, her voice gentle but terrifying in the way only a mother's voice could be, "even if you are a CEO, this house has rules. Open your shoes first, then wash your feet."
Zaboru flinched like he had just been hit by a boss mechanic he forgot to dodge. "O-Okay, Mom!"
Sanika immediately burst out laughing from the sofa, while Arumi blinked innocently and looked between her uncle and grandmother as if she had just witnessed the strongest person in the house being defeated. Even Ayumi, who was sitting nearby reading manga, covered her mouth with a small smile. Zaboru, the man who could negotiate with world leaders and terrify rival corporations, obediently turned around and walked back to the entrance like a scolded child.
Nearby, Zanichi was sitting calmly at the table, completely absorbed in assembling something. He did not react to the commotion at all. His focus was so intense that even if the house exploded, he might only mutter, "Hmm, the vibration is unusual," before continuing his work. Right now, he was not a CTO, not a hardware genius, not the man whose machines pushed ZAGE forward. He was simply a father in the zone, assembling Gunpla with the seriousness of a monk carving a sacred statue.
After Zaboru properly removed his shoes and washed his feet, Keiko smiled warmly and opened her arms. Zaboru immediately hugged her, and for a moment the childish annoyance on his face disappeared, replaced by simple happiness. Keiko patted his back gently and said, "The food is ready. I tried making spaghetti carbonara today, using a proper recipe from Italy. I hope you'll love it, Zaboru."
Zaboru's stomach immediately remembered that he was hungry. "Well, Mom, I'm already starving," he said with a grin. If there was one thing he could never get enough of, it was his mother's cooking. Keiko's talent in cooking was honestly monstrous. Even the chef Zaboru hired for his private jet once admitted, with a completely serious face, that Keiko had "terrifying culinary instincts." Zaboru still remembered that because the chef had looked more frightened than impressed.
He was about to head toward the kitchen when his eyes suddenly widened.
He noticed what Zanichi was working on.
At first, it looked like a classic RX-78-2 Gunpla. But after staring for another second, Zaboru realized something was strange. It was not plastic.
It was metal.
Not just some random metal parts either. The pieces were precision-cut, clean, sharp, and detailed enough to perfectly resemble Gunpla parts, but made with a level of craftsmanship that should not have been sitting casually on a family table like an evening hobby project.
Zenshin was already standing near his grandfather, watching with intense fascination. His small eyes followed every movement Zanichi made, as if he understood that he was witnessing something amazing. Zaboru quickly approached the table and stared at the box of metal parts. "Dad... where did you get this?" he asked, his voice carrying both curiosity and disbelief.
Zanichi did not look up immediately. He simply patted Zenshin's head, then grinned faintly. "Be a good boy and sit if you want to watch. This is just the result of one of the new machines I developed for hobbies."
Zaboru's eyes widened even more. "Y-You made a precision metal-cutting machine advanced enough to replicate Gunpla parts?"
Zanichi only grinned without answering.
That annoyed Zaboru immediately, but he also understood his father well enough to know that when Zanichi entered this kind of zone, conversation became optional. The machine, the parts, and the assembly were currently more important than words. Zaboru sighed and said, "Dad, please talk to me about this later, okay? I want one too."
Zenshin immediately looked up and said in a cute voice, "I want one too, Ojii-chan."
Zanichi chuckled softly and caressed Zenshin's head. "Okay, Zen-chan. Don't worry this one is for you."
Zaboru froze. "Wait. That fast?"
Zanichi nodded calmly. "Yes."
Zaboru pointed at himself. "And me?"
Zanichi looked at him, then looked back at the metal Gunpla. "Later."
Zaboru groaned dramatically. "Hey, that's not fair!"
Zanichi chuckled. "I have priorities. This one is the only prototype for now, so it's for Zen-chan."
Zenshin looked extremely pleased, though he tried to hide it by standing very still. Zaboru noticed immediately and pointed at him. "Zen-chan, don't make that smug face."
Zenshin blinked with perfect innocence. "I'm not Papa."
Keiko laughed from the kitchen area, while Ayumi smiled behind her manga. Sanika leaned back on the sofa and said, "Nii-san, are you seriously jealous of your four-year-old son over a toy?"
Zaboru turned toward her with a wounded expression. "Sani-chan, first of all, this is not a toy. This is precision-cut metal art. Second, yes. Absolutely yes."
Arumi, still sitting in Sanika's arms, quietly raised her hand and said, "Toy?"
Zaboru softened immediately. "Yes, Arumi-chan. A very cool toy."
Zanichi corrected him without looking up. "Model."
Zaboru clicked his tongue. "Fine. A very cool model."
Arumi nodded seriously, as if the distinction mattered.
Zaboru then quickly walked over to Keiko and hugged her from behind like a grown man shamelessly asking for backup. "Mom! Look at Dad! He's being stingy!"
Keiko laughed warmly. Ayumi finally lowered her manga slightly and chuckled at her husband's antics. "Zabo, you look like Zenshin when he wants more pudding."
Zenshin immediately looked offended. "Papa is worse."
The entire room went silent for half a second.
Then Sanika burst out laughing.
Zaboru turned slowly toward his son. "Zen-chan... betrayal?"
Zenshin hid behind Zanichi's arm, but his eyes were sparkling. Zanichi finally laughed quietly, clearly enjoying the chaos far more than he pretended.
Keiko wiped her hand with a towel and looked toward her husband. "Dear, please don't be stingy to our son."
Zanichi sighed. "Keiko, you spoil him too much. He is literally my boss at ZAGE, you know? ZAGE is a multibillion company, and he can probably build a factory just to make metal Gunpla if he wants."
Before he could continue, Keiko smiled.
It was not an ordinary smile.
It was Keiko's scary smile.
The kind of smile that said love, patience, and absolute authority had combined into one terrifying expression.
"Dear," Keiko said gently, "don't be stingy to our son, okay?"
Zanichi gulped.
Zaboru stood behind Keiko with a victorious grin, looking exactly like a child hiding behind the strongest character in the party.
Zanichi sighed in defeat. "Fine, you brat. I'll make one for you later. But not today."
Zaboru raised both fists slightly. "Yay! Thanks, Mom. You're the best."
Keiko chuckled and patted his cheek. "Go eat. I already cooked it for you. And Ayumi has been waiting for you to come home. She hasn't eaten yet, you know?"
Zaboru immediately turned toward Ayumi. "You waited for me?"
Ayumi smiled softly and placed the manga down. "Of course. Eating together is better."
That single sentence hit Zaboru harder than any rival company ever could. His expression softened, and he walked to her side. "Sorry, I'm late. Something ridiculous happened."
Ayumi raised an eyebrow. "With you, something ridiculous always happens."
"That's not true."
Everyone in the room looked at him.
Even Arumi looked at him.
Zaboru paused.
"Okay, maybe it's slightly true."
Ayumi laughed gently and took his hand as they went to the dining table together. The family gathered around soon after. Keiko served the carbonara proudly, and the smell immediately filled the room with warmth. It was creamy, rich, and comforting, with just enough black pepper and cheese to make Zaboru's stomach cry in gratitude. Zanichi eventually left his metal Gunpla alone long enough to join them, though he kept glancing back at it like a man worried his hobby might escape.
During dinner, Zaboru ate a huge portion, then another, and then somehow a third. Keiko looked delighted, Ayumi looked amused, Sanika sighed, and Zanichi simply nodded like this was expected behavior from his son.
Sanika stared at his plate and said, " Even though i seen this often it's always amazed me.. Nii-san, are you eating dinner or preparing for hibernation?"
Zaboru replied calmly while twirling pasta on his fork, "Creative work requires fuel."
Ayumi smiled and said, "You said that last time when you ate thirty gyoza."
"That was different. That was business fuel."
Keiko laughed. "Then what is this?"
Zaboru took another bite and said, "Family fuel."
That made Keiko's expression soften immediately. Ayumi smiled warmly too, and even Sanika stopped teasing for a moment. The dinner table became peaceful after that, filled with small talk, laughter, Arumi's quiet curiosity, Zenshin's serious comments about his grandfather's metal model, and Zanichi's occasional technical explanations that only Zaboru and possibly Zenshin seemed to understand.
For Zaboru, this was the best kind of warmth. Not grand celebrations. Not corporate victories. Not press conferences. Just his family around one table, his mother's cooking, his wife waiting for him, his children nearby, his sister relaxing in the living room, and his father casually creating impossible machines for hobbies.
After eating far too much, Zaboru finally leaned back with satisfaction. "Mom, that carbonara is dangerous."
Keiko tilted her head. "Dangerous?"
"If you sell this, people might fight over it."
Ayumi added with a small smile, "He means he wants you to cook it again."
Keiko laughed. "Then I'll make it again next time."
Zaboru nodded with complete seriousness. "Excellent. The Renkonan household has secured future happiness."
Sanika groaned. "Nii-san, you talk like a company report even at dinner."
Zaboru grinned. "Family happiness increased by 35% after carbonara implementation."
Ayumi laughed and lightly hit his arm. "Stop turning dinner into a shareholder meeting."
Eventually, after helping clean up a little and kissing Ayumi's cheek, Zaboru finally headed toward his workshop inside the Renkonan household. His head was still buzzing with ideas after witnessing the insanity at the Unlock gathering. The X-Guns, the modded consoles, the strange tools, the fake ZAGE employee incident, the homebrew creativity, the chaos, the talent hiding in messy communities—all of it had started mixing inside his mind.
He closed the workshop door, sat down, and pulled out a notebook.
The warmth from dinner still lingered in his chest, but now inspiration was burning again.
"Hehehe"
To be continue
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