Saturday, 24 July 2001.
AKAI HQ.
Hyoga Akai let out a long sigh as he sat inside his office, staring at the newest expansion plan Zaboru had sent him. Several documents were spread across his desk, each one containing department structures, projected costs, new office proposals, production schedules, hiring targets, manufacturing contacts, and a frightening number of notes written in Zaboru's usual confident style.
The more Hyoga read, the heavier his head felt.
"Somehow, I really am grateful that Zaboru bought AKAI," Hyoga muttered while rubbing his forehead. "But sometimes, I seriously think he is too much. How the hell am I supposed to expand this much in such a short amount of time?"
Then, despite his complaint, he chuckled.
That was the strange thing about working with Zaboru. His plans were often absurd at first glance, but once Hyoga actually read them carefully, the structure was always there. The funding was there. The reasoning was there. The future market logic was there. Zaboru was not simply throwing money around like a bored rich man. He always had a target.
That made the situation even more troublesome.
If Zaboru's ideas were stupid, Hyoga could simply reject them.
But they were not stupid.
They were excessive, insane, exhausting, and often made Hyoga want to throw the entire folder into the sea, but they were not stupid.
This time, Zaboru had asked AKAI to expand heavily into two major new directions.
Software.
And sneakers.
Hyoga leaned back in his chair and laughed weakly. "Phones, Z-Pods, electronics, software, sneakers… what is AKAI becoming? A technology company? A lifestyle brand? A sports brand? A Zaboru experiment cage?"
He paused.
Then he answered himself.
"Probably all of them."
Back in May since Zaboru proposal, Hyoga had already begun preparing for this expansion. He had actively searched for new office locations, investigated possible software-development divisions, contacted footwear manufacturers, studied materials for sneaker production, and quietly explored ways to build a new internal structure that could support Zaboru's long-term plans.
Thanks to Akechi Hamazou's people, the progress had gone more smoothly than expected.
That fact still frightened Hyoga slightly.
Akechi's network was terrifyingly efficient. If Hyoga needed information about a building, a supplier, a struggling manufacturer, a quiet investment opportunity, or someone's suspicious financial background, Akechi's people somehow found it quickly. They rarely spoke too much, rarely smiled, and always looked like they knew things they had no business knowing.
Hyoga had once asked one of them how they gathered information that quickly.
The man had simply replied, "Rashomon-sama prepared the path."
Hyoga had not asked again.
Still, their help made AKAI's expansion far less chaotic than it should have been. The software department was already forming. The first wave of engineers had been selected from both inside and outside AKAI. Some were young programmers attracted by the company's connection to ZAGE. Others were experienced system engineers who had previously worked in telecommunications, operating systems, music software, user-interface design, or embedded systems.
Zaboru wanted AKAI's software division to support Desktops, Z-Pods, future portable devices, digital music systems, synchronization tools, media software, and eventually a much wider consumer-technology ecosystem.
In other words, Zaboru wanted AKAI to stop being only a hardware company.
He wanted AKAI to become a company that controlled the experience around the hardware too.
Hyoga understood the logic.
A phone was not only metal, plastic, glass, chips, and antennas. A music player was not only storage and buttons. The software decided whether people loved using the device or hated it after three days. Menus, music libraries, transfer tools, media playback, online-store integration, account systems, messaging, syncing, updates, security, customization—all of that mattered.
The sneaker division was even stranger.
He doesn't know why Zaboru wanted to make Sneakers in the first place but he said to trust him Hyoga thought that sounded ridiculous but still he remembered that Zaboru had already done equally ridiculous things before, and many of them had worked.
So now AKAI was seriously looking for footwear specialists, designers, factories, materials engineers, and athletes who could eventually represent the brand. They were not trying to become a giant sneaker company overnight, but Zaboru clearly wanted the foundation prepared.
Hyoga chuckled and folded his arms.
"I'll be damned if I can't do this much," he muttered. "AKAI already became this big because of Zaboss. Now I need to show why AKAI is my name. Hehehe."
There was pride in his voice now.
AKAI was no longer a fading family electronics company struggling to survive. It had become one of Japan's top-tier electronics brands, and with ZAGE behind it, its future looked almost absurdly bright. The AKAI Z-2 phone had already become a strong product, the Z-Pod was spreading quickly, and young consumers were beginning to see AKAI as stylish, modern, and cool.
That mattered to Hyoga deeply.
AKAI was his family name.
Even if Zaboru was now the majority owner, Hyoga did not feel robbed. In fact, he felt rescued. Without Zaboru, AKAI might have remained a respectable but limited electronics company. With Zaboru, AKAI had become a monster in the making.
Hyoga looked at another document on his desk.
"Next month, our new phone will be released…"
He tapped his finger on the paper.
"And will Zaboss represent it?"
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
"Definitely."
Then his grin became even wider.
"If he doesn't, then all I have to do is kneel and beg. Because if it's not him who presents it, who else!?"
Hyoga burst out laughing.
He knew Zaboru's charisma was basically infinite. The man could present a phone, a console, a ridiculous game, a school, a charity project, or even a chair, and somehow people would still watch him like he was announcing the next step of human civilization. If AKAI's next phone was presented by Zaboru in August, the event would instantly become far bigger than a normal product reveal.
Hyoga could already imagine it.
Zaboru walking onto the stage.
The audience cheering.
The new AKAI phone appearing behind him.
Zaboru saying something stupid but memorable.
And then sales exploding because the world had somehow accepted that anything Zaboru personally introduced deserved attention.
Hyoga shook his head while still smiling.
"Damn cheat character."
Then his eyes moved to another document.
This one was not about phones.
It was not about sneakers.
It was not even about normal AKAI expansion.
At the top of the page, written in Zaboru's unusually direct style, were the words:
Plan: Make Microsoft F*cked
Hyoga stared at it for several seconds.
Then he slowly grinned like a madman.
Apparently, Microsoft's owner had offended Zaboru badly enough that restraint was no longer the preferred option. Before this, Zaboru had held back a little when it came to directly challenging Microsoft in software. Not because ZAGE lacked the ability, and certainly not because Zaboru feared them, but because Microsoft and ZAGE had worked together in the past. There had been a certain level of professional respect.
Zaboru had not wanted to focus too aggressively on the exact areas Microsoft dominated.
But apparently, that was changing.
Hyoga leaned closer to the document and began reading the outline.
The plan did not mean AKAI would suddenly replace Microsoft overnight. That would be childish and unrealistic. Instead, Zaboru wanted AKAI to slowly build software foundations that could weaken Microsoft's future comfort zone. User-friendly operating environments for AKAI devices. Media-management software. Developer tools. Office-lite productivity software. Synchronization systems. Internet services. Mobile software. Cloud-style account connections. Compatibility layers. Business communication tools. And eventually, software ecosystems that made people less dependent on Microsoft products.
It was not a single attack.
It was a long-term encirclement.
Hyoga's grin grew larger.
"Heheheh… I almost feel sorry for Microsoft," he whispered. "Because when Zaboss is already pissed like this, that means he's going to pull some insane shit."
He laughed again, louder this time.
"And honestly, I really look forward to it."
At that moment, the secretary standing near the door quietly watched him talk and laugh alone.
Kawau Uehara sighed softly.
She had worked under Hyoga long enough to understand that this was not entirely unusual. Her boss often talked to himself when reading Zaboru's plans. Sometimes he complained. Sometimes he laughed. Sometimes he looked like a man who had seen the future and did not know whether to worship it or run from it.
Still, today was slightly worse than usual.
Kawau looked at him with concern and thought, Boss really needs some slack… He might actually go insane one of these days.
Unfortunately, she had seen enough of AKAI's recent schedule to know that rest was unlikely.
Between the new phone launch, software division formation, sneaker expansion, supplier meetings, hiring plans, ZAGE coordination, and whatever the hell "Make Microsoft F*cked" meant, Hyoga's workload had become terrifying.
Then Hyoga suddenly noticed her expression.
He immediately coughed into his fist and sat straighter.
"Kawau-chan, you should knock, you know," he said with forced dignity. "And I know that look. No, I am not insane."
Kawau smiled politely and nodded.
"I know, Boss. Don't worry."
Her tone was professional.
Too professional.
Hyoga narrowed his eyes. "That was definitely a laugh-to-save-your-career tone."
Kawau's smile did not change. "I would never do that, Boss."
"You absolutely would."
"Your next schedule is ready," Kawau continued smoothly, ignoring his accusation. "You are scheduled to meet the group that Big Boss recommended to AKAI contact. We have already arranged the meeting, and they are waiting downstairs."
Hyoga sighed and scratched his head.
"There it is again. Why do you call Zaboru Big Boss?"
Kawau smiled. "Because he is really Big Boss, Boss."
Hyoga stared at her.
Kawau stared back calmly.
For a few seconds, the office became silent.
Then Hyoga sighed again. "I hate that I can't argue with that."
Kawau continued, "Also, about the group… they are apparently quite excited to meet you."
Hyoga's expression became tired. "Excited?"
"Yes."
"That means loud."
"Probably."
"That means troublesome."
"Most likely."
Hyoga leaned back and groaned. "Why does Zaboss want us to hire those lunatics anyway? Sure, they made unconventional stuff, and I admit they have talent, but still. Why does he want to meet them personally? Why does he want AKAI involved? Why is every strange person in the technology world slowly being pulled into our orbit?"
Kawau answered calmly, "Because Big Boss likes strange people."
Hyoga paused.
Then he reluctantly nodded.
"That is true."
He looked again at the short profile report Kawau placed on his desk.
The group had a reputation.
A very strange reputation.
They were not mainstream engineers. They were not respectable corporate developers. They were hobbyists, hackers, modders, experimenters, hardware tinkerers, and software lunatics who had somehow created something called X-CANON, an extremely unconventional device concept that had caught Zaboru's attention.
They called themselves:
ZANIAC.
The name alone already gave Hyoga a headache.
He stood up, adjusted his jacket, and looked toward the door with the expression of a man walking into a controlled disaster.
"Fine," Hyoga muttered. "Let's go meet the lunatics."
Kawau opened the door for him with a polite smile.
Hyoga stepped forward, already preparing himself for whatever kind of chaos Zaboru had dragged into AKAI this time.
To be continued.
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