The following Saturday, Zaboru finally returned to ZAGE Tower after disappearing from work for several days following the birth of Zenji and Azusa. Normally, Saturday was considerably quieter inside the tower. Some development teams still worked depending on their schedules, especially anyone approaching deadlines, but most employees either stayed home or only came in for several hours.
That Saturday was different.
The moment Zaboru entered the building, he immediately noticed there were far more people around than there should have been.
"Huh?"
Several employees near the entrance noticed him almost immediately.
"Boss!"
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations on the twins, Zaboru-san!"
"How's Ayumi-san?!"
"Are the babies healthy?!"
Zaboru stopped walking and stared at the increasingly large group gathering around him before laughing. "So this is why Dad kept telling me everyone was asking about me."
Apparently, a considerable number of employees had deliberately come to ZAGE Tower despite it being the weekend simply because they wanted to congratulate their boss. News of the twins had naturally spread throughout the company almost immediately. Most of ZAGE's senior staff had worked alongside Zaboru for years, and even many newer employees had grown used to seeing him wandering around development floors, eating with normal staff, testing games, or suddenly appearing inside someone's workspace because another strange idea had entered his head. To them, Zaboru wasn't some distant CEO who only existed inside company announcements.
So when they heard Ayumi had safely given birth to twins, many genuinely wanted to congratulate him personally.
Zaboru grinned almost nonstop as people surrounded him. "They're healthy. Both of them. A boy and a girl."
Someone immediately asked, "Names?"
"Zenji and Azusa."
Several employees smiled.
"That's cute."
More congratulations followed, along with questions about Ayumi's recovery and whether Zaboru was sleeping properly.
That last question caused him to pause.
"...Mostly."
Everyone laughed.
Naturally, Zaboru couldn't simply accept congratulations without doing something in return. Before long, he ordered a ridiculous amount of food for everyone who had come to work that Saturday. Tables on several floors became covered with meals, snacks, desserts and drinks, and some employees who had only intended to congratulate their boss ended up staying considerably longer than planned.
Someone joked that Zaboru had somehow transformed the birth of his children into another ZAGE company event.
Zaboru's response was simple.
"If you're going to come to work on Saturday just to congratulate me, at least eat properly!"
That immediately earned cheers.
It was a strangely relaxed way for Zaboru to return to work, but return he did. After several days spent almost entirely with Ayumi and the twins, the moment Zaboru sat in front of his workstation again, his brain seemingly restarted at full speed. Reports were waiting. Development builds needed reviewing. Meetings had accumulated. ZEPS 4 was still in its early months, meaning ZAGE had dozens of projects moving simultaneously behind the scenes.
Zaboru loved his family.
But he also genuinely loved working.
By the end of that Saturday, several employees had already commented that their boss looked suspiciously happy simply because he was staring at development documents again.
And from there, life gradually returned to its usual rhythm.
Several days passed.
Thursday, March 12, 2002.
By this point Zaboru had returned to his regular schedule, although he was still going home considerably earlier than usual whenever possible. Ayumi was recovering well, Zenji and Azusa remained healthy, and Keiko along with the rest of the family continued helping constantly.
That meant Zaboru could finally give more attention to ZAGE's upcoming releases.
One of the next major ZEPS 4 projects approaching release was Sengoku Basara.
There was another game preparing alongside it as well, but for the moment Zaboru wasn't discussing either project inside some formal meeting room. Instead, at around 15:00, he sat inside the ZAGE Tavern with the leaders of Team IZAN.
The tavern was unusually quiet because normal lunchtime had already ended. Most employees had returned to work, leaving only a handful of people scattered around the large dining area. That suited Zaboru perfectly. He had just finished another meeting with Team IZAN regarding their future development plans, and rather than immediately separating afterward, Zaboru had simply announced:
"I'm hungry."
Apparently that was enough to turn the meeting into a second lunch.
Sitting around the table with him were Team IZAN's leaders: Shinji Mikami, Shinji Owara, Shinji Suiyoko, Hideaki Itsuno, and Hideki Kamiya. Most of them had already eaten earlier, so they ordered only drinks, desserts or small snacks.
Zaboru did not share that problem.
In front of him sat an enormous bowl of gyudon accompanied by several side dishes, another plate of meat, miso soup, vegetables, and enough rice that Mikami had spent the last minute silently staring at it.
Eventually, Mikami couldn't resist anymore.
"Boss."
Zaboru looked up while chewing. "Hmm?"
Mikami pointed toward the bowl. "I've been wondering about something."
"What?"
"Does eating like an absolute madman make you more insane?"
The entire table looked toward Zaboru's food.
Zaboru looked down as well.
His gyudon bowl looked less like a serving for one person and more like something intended for a small family.
He swallowed and shrugged. "Maybe."
Itsuno immediately laughed.
Kamiya sighed. "Honestly, it would explain a lot."
"What does that mean?"
Kamiya leaned backward in his chair. "Sengoku Basara."
Zaboru immediately smiled.
Kamiya continued, "Who looks at Japanese history and decides Honda Tadakatsu should basically be a fucking cyborg?"
Zaboru started laughing.
"And Tokugawa Ieyasu?" Kamiya continued. "A boxer? Why is Tokugawa Ieyasu solving national politics by punching people?"
"Because punching people is effective."
"Boss, that's not the point."
Suiyoko adjusted herself in her seat before calmly joining the conversation. "Honestly, though, it works. The absurdity gives the characters a stronger identity. If we simply recreated historical battles realistically, it might appeal strongly to history enthusiasts, but ordinary younger players probably wouldn't care nearly as much."
Mikami nodded.
Suiyoko continued, "Instead, the historical figures are exaggerated until they're practically legendary characters, but the main story still uses actual names, alliances, rivalries, locations and historical events as references. Players might not learn accurate history directly from the game, but they could become curious about the people."
Zaboru pointed toward her with his chopsticks. "Exactly!"
Owara had been listening quietly while eating a small dessert. Eventually he nodded sagely.
"Yes. Very educational."
Everyone looked toward him.
Owara cleared his throat dramatically. "For example, before working on this project, I never realized Toyotomi Hideyoshi was capable of throwing a fucking mountain."
Several people immediately started laughing.
Owara continued completely seriously. "And apparently Date Masamune can cut through it using six swords, three in each hand."
Itsuno laughed even harder. "You can't tell me that doesn't sound badass."
"It sounds extremely badass," Owara agreed.
Mikami rubbed his face. "That's the problem. It's so stupid that it loops back around into being amazing."
Zaboru looked incredibly pleased.
That was basically the entire philosophy behind his version of Sengoku Basara.
He had taken the already exaggerated concept and pushed it further.
Way further.
Historical figures were still recognizable. Their rivalries, territories, motivations, famous battles and relationships still borrowed heavily from actual Japanese history, but reality stopped mattering the moment gameplay began.
Honda Tadakatsu wasn't merely a terrifying warrior.
He was practically a walking mechanical superweapon.
Date Masamune didn't simply wield swords.
He fought with six of them, three between the fingers of each hand, while shouting ridiculous lines and attacking entire groups like historical physics had personally offended him.
Tokugawa Ieyasu increasingly relied on his fists.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi possessed strength so absurd that normal human limitations were more of a suggestion than an actual rule.
Some warriors created shockwaves. Others launched themselves across battlefields. Entire armies could number in ridiculous quantities purely because defeating hundreds of enemies at once looked cool.
Zaboru had personally encouraged the developers whenever they came to him wondering whether something was becoming too ridiculous.
His usual answer was:
"Make it cooler."
That had become dangerous.
Mikami looked toward him. "You know, Boss, I used to think I was the insane one."
"You are."
"Thank you."
"No problem."
Mikami sighed. "But compared to you, apparently I still have much to learn."
Zaboru laughed loudly.
Then Mikami grinned. "But I fucking love this game."
"There you go!"
Zaboru happily returned to his food.
Suiyoko took a sip from her drink. "I still think we should be careful with the historical side, though. If we're using real names and events, younger players might assume everything actually happened."
Zaboru nearly choked.
Itsuno looked toward her. "You mean Honda Tadakatsu wasn't a giant mechanical warrior?"
Suiyoko stared at him.
"...Itsuno-san."
"Just confirming."
Kamiya smirked. "Some idiots might actually believe it. Although maybe that's not entirely bad if it makes them interested in Japanese history."
Zaboru waved his hand. "There probably will be someone who believes something stupid, but that's easy to solve. We'll have actual historical information available in the game. Character profiles, proper historical notes, maybe unlockable encyclopedia entries. Make it obvious there's a difference between the real people and our completely insane versions."
Suiyoko nodded approvingly. "That would actually be good."
"See? Educational!"
Owara immediately added, "So children can learn that Date Masamune historically did not carry six swords between his fingers."
"Very important information," Kamiya said dryly.
The table dissolved into laughter again.
Zaboru leaned back slightly, completely satisfied. "Come on, guys. History doesn't have to be boring. You can respect the source and still make completely ridiculous entertainment around it. If somebody plays Sengoku Basara because Date Masamune looks cool and then ends up reading actual Japanese history afterward, that's already a win."
Itsuno nodded. "Honestly, that's how a lot of people become interested in something anyway."
"Exactly."
Mikami looked toward Zaboru's bowl. "Are you seriously still eating?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"I'm hungry."
"You already finished enough food to feed Kamiya twice."
Kamiya immediately frowned. "Why am I the measurement?"
"Because you're sitting there."
"Good reasoning."
Zaboru laughed and continued eating.
Suiyoko remained thoughtful for several seconds before looking toward Zaboru again. "But still... will people actually play this? I mean, what if it's just too weird?"
The table became slightly quieter.
Mikami shrugged first. "Don't worry about it too much. If people love it, they love it. If they don't, they leave it alone. Right, Boss?"
Zaboru chuckled and nodded. "Pretty much. That's always been my philosophy."
He set his chopsticks down for a moment.
"We don't need every game to appeal to every single person. If we try doing that, we'll eventually make something with no personality at all. What matters is that if we're making something bizarre, we actually commit to it."
Suiyoko listened closely.
Zaboru continued, "Sengoku Basara is fucking weird. I'm not going to pretend it isn't. We have historical warlords punching armies, using six swords, throwing mountains and turning into walking weapons."
Itsuno smiled.
"But we're not making it weird because we don't care," Zaboru continued. "We're doing the opposite. We've put enough love into this thing to make sure the combat feels good, the characters are memorable, the animations are polished, the soundtrack hits hard, and the presentation sells the ridiculousness properly."
He grinned.
"It might be bizarre as hell, but it's polished as hell too."
Kamiya immediately nodded. "That part is true. The game looks damn good."
"Damn damn good," Itsuno added.
Kamiya glanced toward him. "That's what I said."
"No, I added another damn."
"Important contribution."
Owara nodded sagely again. "Development has advanced significantly."
Everyone laughed.
Suiyoko finally smiled. "Okay. I understand."
She paused before adding, "Sometimes I forget that common sense doesn't really work when we're dealing with Boss, because he keeps defying it."
Itsuno immediately laughed. "That sounded like an insult."
Suiyoko's eyes widened.
She immediately blushed.
"It's a compliment!"
Zaboru chuckled. "I'll accept it."
"No, seriously! I mean it as a compliment!"
That only made everyone laugh harder.
Suiyoko covered part of her face with one hand. "You people are annoying."
Mikami grinned. "Welcome to Team IZAN."
The conversation gradually shifted away from Sengoku Basara toward smaller development topics, future Team IZAN projects, technology they wanted to experiment with, and several mechanics Zaboru wanted tested. It barely felt like a formal company discussion anymore.
That was normal around Zaboru.
After some time, everyone eventually returned to their respective work. Zaboru headed back toward his personal workshop, still feeling surprisingly energized despite the enormous meal he'd just finished.
Once inside, he sat in front of his computer and opened the current ZEPS 4 development schedule.
Sengoku Basara was there.
But it wasn't alone.
Another project was preparing to arrive alongside it.
Zaboru stared at the folder for several seconds before a grin slowly appeared across his face.
"This one is actually insane enough too..."
He moved the cursor toward it.
"Hehehehe..."
To be continued.
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