By the time Zaboru finally left ZAGE Tower, it was already late at night. The livestream had gone much longer than he originally expected. What started as a simple Monster Hunter stream somehow turned into him teaching thousands of people how to properly use Great Sword, bullying Super Black Diablos, playing several more hunts, and then jumping into Halo multiplayer just to casually destroy random players with the Magnum.
Zaboru chuckled to himself as he drove home.
Tonight he wasn't using one of his sports cars either. He simply drove his silver Toyota Corolla through the relatively quiet streets. There was no reason to rush, and honestly he sometimes preferred using something simple anyway. Driving an expensive sports car everywhere sounded fun until every person on the street immediately recognized who was inside.
By the time he arrived home, the clock was already around 22:30.
Most of the house had gone quiet. His mother was already asleep, while Zanichi was probably still somewhere inside his workshop tinkering with something despite the late hour. Zaboru wouldn't even be surprised if his father was currently taking apart some machine simply because he had suddenly thought of a way to improve it. Sanika was already asleep too, and both of Zaboru's children, Zenshin and Arumi, had gone to bed long ago.
The living room lights were still on, however.
Zaboru stepped inside and immediately saw Ayumi waiting for him.
Her pregnancy was impossible to miss now. The twins were already extremely close to being born, probably within the next week or two, so Ayumi had become considerably slower when moving around. Even so, she was still sitting comfortably in the living room waiting for Zaboru to return.
The moment she saw him, Ayumi smiled.
"Welcome home, my love."
Zaboru's tired expression immediately softened. "I'm home."
Ayumi slowly stood. "Do you want something to eat?"
Zaboru chuckled. "I definitely want something, but it's fine. I'll prepare it myself. You're already carrying two little monsters in there."
Ayumi smiled mischievously. "Too late."
"Huh?"
"I already cooked."
Zaboru's eyes immediately lit up. "Seriously?"
"It finished not long ago."
Zaboru grinned. "What would I do without you, my love? Hehehe."
Before going toward the dining table, he walked closer and gently placed one hand against Ayumi's stomach before kissing her pregnant belly.
"How are you two doing in there?"
Ayumi laughed softly. "Probably planning how to ruin our sleep."
"Ah. They're definitely my children then."
"Exactly."
Zaboru kissed Ayumi's forehead before helping her sit comfortably again. He then moved toward the dining table and immediately discovered that when Ayumi said she had cooked something, she apparently meant she had cooked enough food for several normal people.
There was chicken teriyaki, stir-fried vegetables with shrimp, miso soup, rice, and another plate filled with beef and eggs coated in barbecue sauce.
Zaboru stared.
Then looked toward Ayumi.
Then back toward the food.
then grinned "You really goddess..." Ayumi chuckle clearly know her husband portions
Zaboru sat down and immediately started eating with absolutely no hesitation.
Ayumi watched him for several moments before laughing. "You really do look happiest when you're eating."
Zaboru swallowed a mouthful of chicken. "Food is one of humanity's greatest achievements."
"Very profound."
"I know."
Ayumi rested one hand against her stomach and watched him continue eating. "So... you finally finished streaming?"
Zaboru nodded while reaching for some vegetables. "Yeah. That went longer than I expected."
"I watched it."
Zaboru stopped.
"Oh?"
Ayumi smiled. "You were really good, as always."
Zaboru immediately grinned. "Good at what? My gaming skills or my looks?"
Ayumi stared directly into his eyes.
"Both."
Zaboru laughed.
Ayumi maintained her sweet smile for several seconds before suddenly making a completely emotionless poker face.
"But..."
Zaboru immediately became suspicious.
"There were quite a lot of thirsty comments during the stream."
Zaboru slowly stopped chewing.
Ayumi continued staring at him.
"Apparently plenty of women—and maybe some men too—really like watching my husband."
"...Ayumi."
"Yes?"
"It's scary how quickly you can make that face."
Ayumi held it for another second before immediately bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha! I'm joking!"
Zaboru sighed dramatically. "Don't do that to me."
"But it's true."
"That's the scary part!"
Ayumi laughed again and gently rubbed her stomach. "It's fine. I know you don't care about those comments."
Zaboru resumed eating. "Half the chat is insane anyway."
"I noticed."
"Someone literally offered their body."
"I noticed that too."
"...Please stop noticing things."
Ayumi giggled.
She then tilted her head slightly. "But honestly, I didn't know Great Sword could be played like that. Every time I saw people using it before, they looked like they were struggling to hit anything."
"Exactly!"
Zaboru immediately became animated.
"That's why it bothered me! Everyone keeps treating it like a normal sword that's just really big. It's not. Great Sword is basically prediction with a giant slab of metal."
Ayumi smiled. "And then you played Halo with the pistol."
"Magnum."
"Pistol."
"Magnum."
Ayumi laughed. "Whatever. Somehow that also felt extremely... you."
Zaboru raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"
"You always like taking something people think is simple and then showing them they're using it wrong."
Zaboru stopped for a moment.
"...Actually, that's fair."
"Hehehe."
He continued eating, and for a while the two simply enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. Despite everything Zaboru dealt with every day—the companies, development teams, games, hardware, international business, media, and constant new ideas—moments like this still felt strangely normal.
Just Zaboru eating too much food while Ayumi watched him.
Then something suddenly entered his mind.
"Oh yeah, Ayumi."
"Hmm?"
Zaboru swallowed his food before continuing. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."
Ayumi looked curious. "What?"
"Do you have any plans to use Mirko again?"
Ayumi blinked.
For a moment she looked confused before realization appeared on her face.
"Oh! Mirko from Demi-Usagi?"
Zaboru nodded.
Ayumi smiled as old memories came back. "Wow. It's been a while since we talked about her."
Demi-Usagi had been one of Akaishidan's older ZEPS games, created back during the earlier era when Ayumi and Akechi were still rapidly developing their own identity as game developers. The game itself was a cooperative beat-'em-up featuring six humanoid rabbit fighters, each with completely different weapons, abilities, and fighting styles.
Shigero fought like a stealthy ninja using claws. Rugyo was an enormous defensive fighter carrying a mace and shield. Unokawa specialized in archery and long-range attacks. Ruruka used strange carrot-themed magic, while Lilianne could summon tiny rabbit spirits and eventually transform herself into an enormous bunny.
And then there was Mirko.
A powerful female rabbit fighter whose combat revolved almost entirely around her legs.
Fast movement.
Explosive jumps.
Devastating kicks.
Powerful thighs capable of launching enemies across the screen.
Even among Demi-Usagi's colorful cast, Mirko had immediately stood out.
She had actually become the most popular character in the entire game.
Ayumi chuckled. "Players really loved her."
"Yeah. A little too much in some cases."
Ayumi immediately remembered something and burst out laughing. "That guy in Osaka!"
Zaboru covered his face.
"Don't remind me."
During one crowded arcade session years ago, someone had apparently shouted "MIRKO, STEP ON ME!" loudly enough for almost everyone nearby to hear.
The phrase somehow followed the character around afterward.
Ayumi laughed harder. "I still can't believe that happened."
"The internet would make it even worse now."
"Oh definitely."
Zaboru chuckled before continuing his meal. But the real history behind Mirko was something only a very small number of people understood.
In this world, Mirko wasn't a character from some existing superhero manga.
She was known as Mirko from Demi-Usagi, an Akaishidan character originally designed by Zaboru.
Before Demi-Usagi existed, Zaboru had been casually sketching inside his office. One of those drawings happened to be inspired by Rumi Usagiyama, the rabbit hero Mirko from My Hero Academia in his previous life.
The design had always appealed to him.
A strong woman with a muscular physique, powerful legs, rabbit traits, wild confidence, and a fighting style built around physical ability rather than flashy energy attacks.
Ayumi had accidentally discovered the drawing on his desk.
And because Ayumi had always loved rabbits far more than any reasonable human being probably should, she instantly became obsessed with the character.
She asked Zaboru who the woman was.
Zaboru couldn't exactly say:
"Oh, she's from a manga that won't exist for more than a decade."
So instead he explained the character concept, personality, powers, and fighting style.
A woman with rabbit-like abilities who trained those seemingly simple powers until she became monstrously strong.
Ayumi loved it.
Then she asked whether she could use the design.
That single sketch eventually became the foundation for Demi-Usagi.
Ayumi had adapted Mirko into the game's universe while preserving the traits she loved most about Zaboru's original drawing: the muscular legs, fearless personality, explosive kicking style, confidence, and rabbit features.
And even though Zaboru repeatedly told her she could simply treat Mirko as her own character, Ayumi refused.
Demi-Usagi's credits specifically stated:
Mirko — Original Character Design by Zaboru Renkonan.
Ayumi hadn't wanted to take full credit for something that began from Zaboru's sketch.
Now Ayumi looked at him curiously.
"Why are you asking about her?"
Zaboru ate another piece of shrimp before answering. "I've been thinking about making something with her."
Ayumi's eyes immediately brightened.
"A game?"
"Probably."
"What kind?"
"Not sure yet."
Zaboru leaned back slightly.
"I've always liked the design, and Demi-Usagi only really uses her as one member of an ensemble cast. She's popular, but she doesn't exactly have a deep personal story."
Ayumi slowly nodded.
That was true.
Demi-Usagi gave each character enough background to establish who they were and why they were fighting, but it was primarily a cooperative beat-'em-up. The story existed mostly to push players from one ridiculous battle into another.
Mirko had personality.
She had style.
She had an immediately recognizable fighting identity.
But she didn't really have a life outside of the game.
Ayumi suddenly smiled widely.
"Then do it!"
Zaboru blinked.
"That easy?"
"Of course!"
Ayumi leaned forward slightly before remembering the enormous stomach in front of her and immediately stopped herself.
"I want to see what you would actually do with her if she's the main character."
Zaboru chuckled. "You don't mind?"
"Why would I?"
"Well, she's part of Demi-Usagi now."
Ayumi shook her head.
"Zabo, you drew her first."
"But you made her an actual character in this world."
"And now you can make her more interesting."
Ayumi grinned. "Besides, if you make a Mirko game and it becomes popular, Demi-Usagi becomes more popular too. I win either way."
Zaboru stared at her.
"Businesswoman."
"Hehehe."
Zaboru smiled and returned to his meal. "Maybe I'll use her for Zaborn eventually."
Ayumi raised an eyebrow. "Your personal dev account in steam that create FATE game?"
"Yeah."
"So you're finally making something there that isn't a visual novel?"
"Maybe."
Zaboru shrugged.
"Zaborn became known for Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime, and I'm already planning another visual novel next. But it was originally supposed to be my personal development account anyway. There's no actual rule saying every game I release there has to be a visual novel."
Ayumi nodded. "That actually sounds more interesting."
"I think so too."
Zaboru started imagining possibilities again.
He didn't want to simply recreate My Hero Academia around Mirko.
That world didn't belong here.
This world's Mirko already had a different history.
She was a humanoid rabbit fighter from Demi-Usagi.
If Zaboru eventually gave her a standalone game, then he wanted to develop this Mirko, not simply copy everything connected to the character from his previous life.
Give her a real origin.
A proper setting.
Enemies.
Relationships.
Reasons she became so strong.
Maybe explain why her entire fighting philosophy revolved around throwing herself directly into danger and kicking the living hell out of anything standing in front of her.
There were plenty of ways he could take it.
And that was what interested him.
Zaboru smiled slightly.
'Although... I wonder what happens if My Hero Academia still somehow appears in the future.'
The thought was genuinely amusing.
Would Kōhei Horikoshi eventually create something completely different because Mirko's design had effectively existed publicly for years already?
Would there still somehow be a rabbit heroine?
Would My Hero Academia even exist at all?
Zaboru had already changed so much of history that worrying about one more butterfly effect seemed completely pointless.
'I don't really care anyway. Hehehe.'
If anything, he was curious to see what happened.
But that was a problem for another decade.
For now, Mirko already existed here.
And she belonged to this world's gaming history.
Ayumi watched Zaboru's expression and immediately recognized the look.
"You're already thinking about the game, aren't you?"
Zaboru looked at her.
"...Maybe."
Ayumi sighed dramatically. "I knew it."
"Hehehe."
"At least finish eating before you create another project."
"Yes, ma'am."
Zaboru continued eating until eventually almost every plate was empty.
Ayumi stared at the table.
"You actually finished all of it."
"You sound surprised."
"I don't know why I still am."
Zaboru laughed and stood before gathering the dishes. Ayumi tried to get up too, but Zaboru immediately pointed toward her.
"No."
"But—"
"You're carrying twins."
"I can still carry plates!"
"You can carry yourself to bed."
Ayumi narrowed her eyes.
Zaboru grinned.
"Doctor Zaboru's orders."
"You're not a doctor."
"Details."
Ayumi laughed and finally surrendered.
After Zaboru cleaned up, the two slowly made their way toward their bedroom. Zaboru walked beside Ayumi carefully, keeping one hand near her almost instinctively whenever she moved.
The twins could arrive soon.
Another game idea could wait.
Another livestream could wait.
ZAGE could wait until tomorrow morning.
For tonight, Zaboru simply wanted to sleep beside his wife.
As they entered the bedroom, Ayumi suddenly looked toward him.
"Zabo."
"Hmm?"
"When you make Mirko's game..."
Zaboru waited.
Ayumi smiled.
"Keep the legs."
Zaboru stared at her for several seconds.
Then he burst out laughing.
"Obviously!"
To be continued.
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