After coming all the way to Akihabara, Kobayashi Tetsu naturally wandered about, checking if the electronics district had anything useful.
To be fair, comparing Akihabara to Sanhao Street or Zhongguancun wasn't entirely accurate.
Akihabara wasn't that predatory.
Of course, it wasn't exactly trustworthy either. Electronics were a mystery to most people—many simply bought the expensive one rather than the right one.
The moment Tetsu walked into the district, shops immediately noticed his young face.
A youngster—easy prey.
Kobayashi Tetsu strolled casually along, not falling for a single trick.
Passing a shop with a huge glass window, he suddenly stopped.
"Oh? Well now. A Commodore 64!"
Even through the glass, that horizontal case and its matching monitor looked striking. The silver-white shell had a futuristic, sci-fi charm.
The C64, produced by Commodore in the U.S., was a home computer from the era before industry standards solidified—each machine still its own peculiar species.
In America it had once claimed over 60% of the market. Only after October 1983, when Microsoft and several companies established the MSX standard—and then spent years pushing it—did the C64 finally lose ground.
But as of now, the C64 was still in its prime.
Hearing Tetsu speak its name so smoothly, the shop attendant bowed politely.
Clearly, this customer understood computers.
"Sir, we have many more advanced electronic products inside—music synthesizers, optical effect synthesizers, computers from various countries supporting different programming languages. Would you like to have a look?"
Tetsu wandered through the shop. Most machines matched what he remembered of old hardware.
"Wait—what's this supposed to be?"
He stopped, pointing at a device.
If he wasn't mistaken, the kana spelled something very familiar.
A digital tablet.
"Don't tell me this connects to a computer for digital drawing?"
He was genuinely stunned.
They had digital tablets in the '80s?
The shop attendant looked even more stunned—this young customer knew that much?
"Yes, sir!" He bowed deeply. "This is a digital tablet—cutting-edge technology, manufactured and released by ASCII Corporation. It can connect to systems from Fujitsu, Commodore, Microsoft, and more to support graphic-design work. As for the price…"
He hesitated.
Because the price was… unpleasant.
Tens of thousands of yen—well beyond what a non-professional would consider.
As expected, Kobayashi Tetsu didn't buy it. He simply browsed a bit longer and left.
ASCII, he recalled, was not only a character-encoding standard but also a company—later merged into Kadokawa.
Its two major achievements:
First, collaborating with Microsoft to establish early computer standards—from programming languages to hardware specifications.
Second, helping Microsoft gain traction and brand recognition throughout Asia.
Only after Microsoft established its own Japanese branch in 1986 did they part ways.
Which meant that even in the 21st century, the keyboard layout used across East Asia still followed standards originally set by Japan's ASCII Corporation.
Digital tablets, like the mouse, had existed since the '60s, but remained specialized equipment—far too expensive for home use. Only after Microsoft promoted the MSX standard did the mouse become widespread.
Digital tablets were similar: early, rare, costly.
Tetsu wasn't a graphic designer anyway, so he let it pass.
---
Tuesday Afternoon
Kobayashi Tetsu dropped by Shimayori Game Shop. The place was packed, mostly with teenagers.
Japanese high schools ended early; unless a student was university-bound—and therefore buried in extra prep classes—most went home by three or so.
Which meant the kids here were… not on the college track.
Most weren't even playing—just watching others made them happy enough.
Tetsu waved at Shimayori Yōsuke.
"Yo, uncle-in-law. How's business lately?"
"Pretty good! Excellent!"
Yōsuke flashed a grin so wild it looked almost beastly. "The hunting game is selling slower—its arcade version came out ages ago. Maybe one or two cartridges a day. But the new Tank Battle? Completely different story. That one sells like crazy—some days I move ten cartridges!"
Tetsu tilted his head. "New Tank Battle?"
Yōsuke explained, "Yeah, Namco released something similar years ago, but the details differ. So this version is called New Tank Battle."
Tetsu nodded.
Namco had released a rough arcade tank game in 1980—no items, no fancy mechanics. Just tanks shooting each other.
Games with similar gameplay were hard to classify as plagiarism, especially if the later version improved on the original.
For example, Namco's 1986 Assault City and Capcom's 1990 Human Weapon were almost identical in gameplay except for setting—one was SWAT vs. criminals, the other soldiers in South America. No lawsuit followed.
And with how well Sega's Yamiyama Tank Battle was selling…
If Namco had objections, they could talk to Sega's legal department first.
After greeting Yōsuke, Tetsu dropped 200 yen into a machine and sat down to play.
Voices buzzed excitedly behind him—people were already gathering.
He tugged his cap down slightly.
Such was the curse of being the Blue-Eyes White Dragon of gamers.
He breezed through the early stages. Although he played on standard mode, the game was child's play for him.
The spectators watched as though witnessing a battlefield god.
After a while, his peripheral vision caught someone arriving—Kobayakawa, slightly late.
Even though October was near, the temperature still hovered above twenty degrees. Her fine hair clung to her forehead, and she stopped to dab sweat with a handkerchief.
"Yo, Kobayakawa," he called. "Want to try the new game?"
"T-Tetsu-kun…"
Seeing the crowd behind him, she tensed up, but Tetsu didn't care—he walked over, took her hand, and pulled her closer.
"It's fun. Try it."
She exhaled softly, forcing herself not to notice the stares, and picked up the joystick.
As they played, she realized something amusing.
In stage one, the bricks spelled a K.
Stage two: O.
Stage three: B.
If one kept progressing, the early stages spelled KOBAYA.
Later ones completed it differently.
Naturally—this was Tetsu's hidden easter egg. His name, Kobayashi, was spelled KOBAYASHI. He simply removed the SHI to get KOBAYA.
Past stage six, the SHI would appear.
Now they were just reaching stage six.
Kobayakawa glanced sideways at Tetsu's profile—clean lines, sharp contours, unfairly handsome even from the side.
…And come to think of it, her own surname, Kobayakawa, also started with Kobaya.
Tetsu abruptly turned toward her. Their eyes met. She jolted like a startled rabbit and darted her gaze away.
"What's wrong?" he asked, pressing pause. "Something to say?"
"N-no. I mean—yes, I do!"
Her face flushed, but she gathered her courage.
"Um… next month is our school festival, so… I was hoping Tetsu-kun could—"
"Sure," he said.
"Eh? What?"
Her thoughts froze—his reply came too fast.
Tetsu repeated, "I said sure. But you'll have to tell me where to find you. You can't expect me to stand outside waiting."
The girl stared, stunned beyond words.
And then her heart, somewhere deep in her chest, began to melt.
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