Sunday, 27 July 2001.
AKAI HQ.
Zaboru had returned from Italy a couple of days ago, and right now, he was spending his weekend with his wife and children. Since he still needed to visit AKAI headquarters, he decided to bring Ayumi, Zenshin, and Arumi along. While Zaboru handled his meeting with ZANIAC, Ayumi and the children would take a tour around the AKAI offices. Akechi also accompanied them, although he planned to wait inside the AKAI building rather than join the full office tour.
Zaboru was currently holding Arumi in his arms while the little girl fed him grapes one by one with a proud expression, as if she had been given a very important royal duty.
Ayumi smiled at the sight before asking, "Zabo… so you want to meet the group that created X-CANON? Why do you want to hire them?"
Then she chuckled softly. "I can already imagine Hyoga-san's frustrated face when he heard your idea."
Zaboru ate another grape from Arumi's tiny hand and laughed. "Well, they created the masterpiece known as X-CANON. And sometimes their ideas are a little bit… wild. But that's exactly why I'm interested in them."
Ayumi tilted her head slightly. "Wild?"
"Very wild," Zaboru said with a grin. "Not normal wild. It's the kind of wild where normal engineers look at the design document and say, 'Why?' but the people who made it proudly answer, 'Because we can.'"
Ayumi laughed. "That sounds very much like the kind of people you would like."
"Exactly."
Ayumi then became slightly more serious and asked, "But why did you suddenly become hostile toward Microsoft? You and Bill Gates worked together in the past, right? You worked together for Diablo and Diablo 2, Zabo."
Zaboru's expression paused for half a second.
He could not tell Ayumi the real reason.
He could not tell her that Bill Gates had dared to touch the area Zaboru would never forgive: Ayumi herself. Even if the threat had not yet become an action, even if it had only been a possibility spoken in darkness, Zaboru had already decided that Microsoft would no longer be treated with the same restraint as before.
So he only sighed and smiled.
"Well, let's just say he really pissed me off recently. Don't worry about it, Ayumi. Hahaha."
Ayumi looked at him quietly.
She knew Zaboru was hiding something. She had known him long enough to recognize that kind of smile. It was not a normal smile. It was the smile he used when he wanted to protect someone from unnecessary worry.
But Ayumi did not push further.
She trusted him.
If Zaboru chose not to tell her, then he probably had a reason. And if he looked slightly dangerous while smiling like that, then whoever had angered him was probably the one who needed to worry.
Not long after, the car arrived at AKAI headquarters.
Ayumi, Zenshin, and Arumi were guided by AKAI staff for their office tour, while Akechi quietly followed them for a while before choosing a waiting area where he could observe without getting in the way. Meanwhile, Zaboru headed toward the meeting room where Hyoga and the ZANIAC members were already waiting.
The moment Zaboru entered the room, all three ZANIAC members turned toward him.
Then their eyes lit up.
Literally.
All three of them were wearing strange glasses that could light up when they pressed hidden buttons on the side. The lenses flashed in bright colors, making them look less like engineers and more like secret villains from a low-budget science-fiction movie.
For a second, Zaboru simply stared.
Hyoga, who was standing beside them, slowly covered his face with one hand.
"Really, guys?" Hyoga sighed. "You met Zaboru for the first time and your opening move is glowing glasses?"
Zaboru suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! That's actually nice. I like those glasses."
The three ZANIAC members immediately looked as if they had received a blessing from heaven.
Then the first member rushed forward.
He was the loudest by far. His hair was messy, his eyes were intense, and his entire body seemed unable to stand still. This was UTAGE, real name Rikuyo Shiba. He was known as the type of genius who could understand complicated mechanical and software systems quickly, then explain them so loudly that everyone within two rooms would also be forced to understand them.
UTAGE stretched both arms dramatically and shouted, "ZABORU!!! I'M YOUR HUGE FAN! MY NAME IS UTAGGGEEE!!! OR MY REAL NAME IS RIKUYO SHIBA!! BUT UTAGE SOUNDS COOLER, RIGHT!?"
The entire room vibrated with his voice.
Hyoga's expression became tired immediately.
Zaboru grinned. "Nice energy."
UTAGE clenched his fists. "THANK YOU! ENERGY IS IMPORTANT! WITHOUT ENERGY, GENIUS BECOMES ACCOUNTING!"
Hyoga muttered, "What does that even mean?"
Before anyone could answer, the second member stepped forward.
He had a large afro, bright eyes, and the kind of relaxed confidence that made him look like he might suddenly hear music nobody else could hear. This was Kamaru, real name Kagami Marugane. Compared to UTAGE, his voice was not as loud, but his excitement was physical. Whenever he became happy, he danced. Not small dancing either. Real dancing. Smooth, rhythmic, stylish, and annoyingly good.
Kamaru pointed at himself and said, "I'm Kamaru! Real name Kagami Marugane!"
Then, because Zaboru smiled at him, Kamaru suddenly did a quick dance step, spun once, slid backward, and stopped with one hand raised dramatically.
Zaboru blinked.
Hyoga looked at the ceiling as if praying for strength.
Kamaru grinned. "Sorry. I dance when I'm excited."
Zaboru clapped lightly. "No, no. That was good."
Kamaru's eyes widened.
Then he immediately danced again.
This time he added a foot shuffle and a clean shoulder roll.
UTAGE shouted, "KAMARU'S EXCITEMENT DANCE HAS BEEN APPROVED BY ZABORU!"
Kamaru pointed toward the ceiling. "My soul is rising!"
Hyoga whispered, "My blood pressure is rising."
Then the third member finally introduced himself.
He was the calmest-looking of the three. He wore glasses, had neatly arranged hair, and held a small notebook against his chest. At first glance, he looked like the most normal person in the room. But Zaboru quickly noticed something in his eyes. They were sharp. Extremely sharp. This was GUMINI, real name Hayato Oonuki.
Among the three, Gumini was said to be the most brilliant.
Not the loudest.
Not the flashiest.
Not the most charismatic.
But the most dangerous intellectually.
The problem was that his speaking volume was absurdly low.
He looked directly at Zaboru, pushed up his glasses, and said in a tiny voice, "My name is Gumini… my real name is Hayato Oonuki… nice to meet you…"
Zaboru leaned closer. "Sorry, one more time?"
Gumini blinked, then repeated at almost the exact same volume, "My name is Gumini… my real name is Hayato Oonuki…"
Hyoga immediately groaned. "Gumini, speak louder. You're meeting Zaboru, not confessing secrets to an ant."
Gumini pushed up his glasses again. "…Nice to meet you."
Zaboru smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Gumini."
Gumini's face turned slightly red, but his expression remained calm. Only his hand trembled a little as he shook Zaboru's hand.
Zaboru greeted them one by one properly. When he shook UTAGE's hand, UTAGE looked like he might explode. When he shook Kamaru's hand, Kamaru did a tiny victory step with his feet without letting go. When he shook Gumini's hand, Gumini froze completely for two seconds before quietly whispering, "I can die now."
Hyoga immediately said, "Please don't. We just started the meeting."
After the introductions, Zaboru asked them to sit.
Amazingly, all three obeyed immediately.
They sat straight like puppies waiting for instructions from their favorite owner. UTAGE, who had been shouting seconds earlier, suddenly closed his mouth. Kamaru stopped dancing and placed both hands on his knees. Gumini lowered his notebook and stared at Zaboru with terrifying focus.
Hyoga stared at them in disbelief.
"How could yo…" He stopped himself, then sighed. "Ah, never mind."
Zaboru chuckled and sat across from them.
"All right, ZANIAC. Let's cut to the chase."
The three leaned forward at the same time.
Zaboru continued, "I'm impressed with X-CANON. Honestly, when I first heard and see about it, my first thought was, 'Who the hell thought turning bugs into weapons was a good idea?'"
UTAGE raised his hand proudly. "ME!"
Kamaru pointed at him. "Technically him."
Gumini quietly said, "The implementation was mine…"
Zaboru looked at Gumini. "You created the technical framework?"
Gumini nodded. "…Mostly. UTAGE created the initial madness. Kamaru created the field-use concept. I made the logic stop exploding."
Hyoga sighed. "That is the most accurate summary of ZANIAC I have ever heard."
Zaboru laughed. "I see. So UTAGE is the spark, Kamaru is the motion, and Gumini is the one who prevents everyone from dying."
Gumini pushed up his glasses. "…Approximately."
UTAGE slammed one hand against the table. "YES! I AM THE SPARK! THE FLAME OF GENIUS! THE FIRST EXPLOSION!"
Kamaru immediately stood up halfway and danced in his seat. "And I am motion!"
Hyoga snapped, "Sit properly."
Kamaru sat.
Zaboru grinned. "Anyway, X-CANON is creative. Useless in its current form, yes."
The three stiffened.
Zaboru raised one hand. "But that's not an insult. Sometimes useless inventions are important because they prove that someone can think in a direction nobody else even considered. Turning insects into a controllable weapon platform is insane, probably inefficient, definitely disgusting to many people, and likely impossible to commercialize directly."
UTAGE slowly nodded. "Yes, yes…"
Zaboru's grin widened. "But the amount of effort required to make it even partially work is impressive. It means you guys have real skill, real imagination, and a dangerous lack of common sense. I appreciate that combination."
UTAGE's eyes sparkled.
Kamaru started doing tiny footwork under the table.
Gumini quietly whispered, "…Dangerous lack of common sense… compliment…"
Hyoga rubbed his temple.
Zaboru leaned back. "UTAGE. You're loud, but from the report, you're also very good at connecting unrelated ideas quickly. You create stupid concepts faster than most people create normal ones."
UTAGE grinned proudly. "That is my power!"
"Gumini," Zaboru continued, looking at the quiet megane genius. "You're probably the strongest pure engineer among the three. Your designs are strange, but the logic is cleaner than expected. Honestly, that's frightening."
Gumini lowered his gaze, clearly happy but too quiet to express it properly. "…Thank you…"
"And Kamaru," Zaboru said, turning toward the afro-haired dancer. "You seem to understand movement, usability, and physical interaction better than the other two. X-CANON is absurd, but some of the control concepts are actually interesting."
Kamaru placed one hand on his chest. "Boss Zaboru… if I dance now, is that rude?"
Hyoga immediately said, "Yes."
Zaboru said, "No."
Kamaru stood up and danced.
It was not even bad. His footwork was clean, his rhythm was sharp, and he spun once before sitting down again like nothing had happened.
Zaboru laughed loudly. "You're actually good!"
Kamaru nodded seriously. "All invention is rhythm."
UTAGE pointed at him. "THAT'S RIGHT!"
Gumini whispered, "…Not scientifically proven…"
Hyoga said, "Thank you, Gumini."
Zaboru then finally pulled the trigger.
"Well, let's say AKAI wants to help you guys."
The room became silent.
Even UTAGE stopped breathing loudly.
Zaboru continued, "We will create a separate workshop for you three. A proper one. Equipment, tools, development machines, test materials, software support, hardware support, safety supervision, and enough budget to experiment properly. If you create a product that actually impresses me and somehow becomes useful, AKAI will utilize it and release it properly."
The three stared at him.
Zaboru smiled. "And of course, it will be released under your names too. If the product is good and sells well, you guys will become rich. I won't be stingy with something like that."
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Then UTAGE suddenly shouted, "WE'RE FUNDED!?"
Kamaru jumped from his chair and immediately began dancing like his body had been possessed by celebration.
Gumini's glasses lit up again by accident because his trembling finger pressed the hidden button.
Hyoga sighed. "Boss… really?"
Zaboru shrugged. "Really."
UTAGE grabbed Gumini's shoulders. "GUMINI! WE CAN BUY MATERIALS THAT AREN'T FROM JUNK SHOPS!"
Gumini quietly replied, "…That improves survival probability."
Kamaru spun once and pointed at Zaboru. "Boss Zaboru! I swear I will create something so strange that people will cry while buying it!"
Hyoga muttered, "That sentence should not be allowed in business."
Zaboru only laughed. "Good. That's the spirit."
After they calmed down slightly, Zaboru explained the detailed conditions. ZANIAC would not be restrained like a normal AKAI department. They would be treated as a special experimental division under AKAI, with freedom to create prototypes, test strange product concepts, and explore unusual technologies. However, their work would still pass safety checks, budget review, and product evaluation. Hyoga would supervise the business side, while Zaboru would personally review major breakthroughs whenever necessary.
In other words, they were free.
But not free enough to accidentally destroy the building.
Gumini quietly raised his hand. "…What is the maximum acceptable explosion size?"
Hyoga immediately shouted, "Zero!"
Zaboru thought for a moment. "Controlled micro-explosions in proper testing environments might be acceptable."
Hyoga turned to him. "Boss!"
Zaboru laughed. "I'm joking. Mostly."
UTAGE wiped imaginary tears from his eyes. "This is the happiest day of my life."
Kamaru nodded. "Mine too."
Gumini whispered, "…Same…"
Zaboru looked at the three of them and smiled.
In his previous life, people like this might have disappeared into obscurity. Too weird for normal companies. Too chaotic for universities. Too impractical for investors. Too eccentric for corporate environments. Their inventions might be mocked, their concepts rejected, and their talent wasted because nobody wanted to deal with their personalities.
But Zaboru liked people like that.
Not because every strange person was a genius.
Most strange ideas failed.
But sometimes, inside a ridiculous workshop filled with dangerous nonsense, someone created something the world had never seen before.
And Zaboru loved things that did not exist in his previous life.
That was why he wanted ZANIAC.
Hyoga could already see the future headaches approaching, but even he understood the logic. ZANIAC might be troublesome, but they had talent. If AKAI could control the chaos just enough, this special division might eventually produce strange but useful products no normal company would ever attempt.
And so, one of AKAI's strangest experimental divisions was born.
ZANIAC.
After the meeting, Zaboru returned to Ayumi and his children so he could spend time with them. After that, they went to an amusement park.
To be continued.
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