Now the main room is filled with people, making the once spacious Hamazou living room feel strangely crowded and lively. Aside from Akira and Zaboru's family—Ayumi, Zenshin, and Arumi—Akechi is also there, standing calmly with his usual composed expression. Then there is Asumi, Ayumi's older sister, who carries a slightly dangerous "bad girl" aura wherever she goes. Her body is covered with tattoos, her clothes are bold, and her attitude makes it obvious that she lives however she wants, without asking permission from anyone. She is also known for having multiple boyfriends, and Zaboru has always thought that dealing with her would definitely be troubleso, not because she is truly evil, but because she is the type of person who turns every conversation into a trap if one is not careful.
Beside them is a beautiful woman with an elegant atmosphere, dressed in casual clothes yet still looking graceful. She is Ayumi's mother, Kyouko, a woman whose sharp tongue and warm heart sohow coexist naturally. She has the kind of gaze that can scold soone and comfort them at the sa ti, which honestly makes her even more dangerous in Zaboru's opinion. Then there is Ayumi's grandfather, Azai Hamazou, a huge old man whose age has done almost nothing to erase the pressure around him. Even though he is already old, his body is still large, his shoulders are still broad, and that old Hamazou aura still clings to him like a living warning sign. With all of them gathered together, Zaboru can't help but feel that this is less like a normal family visit and more like being surrounded by forr raid bosses pretending to be friendly NPCs.
First, Asumi approached Zaboru with a playful sway in her steps, her smile sharp and teasing. "Zabo~ long ti no see…" she said, licking her lips slightly as she opened her arms, clearly intending to hug him without asking. Zaboru saw it coming from a mile away. With the calm reflexes of a man who had survived many social ambushes, he sighed, stepped to the side, and dodged her completely. "Asumi-san, please don't call that," he said with a perfectly straight face. "Only Ayumi and Akechi-san are allowed to call that." His tone was polite, but firm, drawing a clear line without even raising his voice. Asumi had always teased him whenever they t, acting playful and shaless, but Zaboru knew there was a serious edge hidden beneath her jokes. Unfortunately for her, he had no intention of entertaining it at all.
Asumi pouted, folding her arms with exaggerated disappointnt. "Hmmph! No fun! Like I told you before, I don't mind being your second wife~ A young billionaire like you really should have multiple wives, no?" she said, trying to make it sound like a joke, though her eyes were still watching him carefully. Zaboru only sighed, then answered so casually that it struck harder than any dramatic confession. "Ayumi is more than enough for . She is everything I ever asked for." He did not say it to show off, nor did he say it to embarrass Asumi. He said it like it was the most obvious truth in the world, as natural as breathing, as if the idea of needing anyone else had never even crossed his mind.
Ayumi, who heard everything, imdiately froze. Her face turned red so quickly that even Kyouko noticed and smirked. The fact that Zaboru said it so naturally, without hesitation, made it feel even more powerful. It was not sweet talk, not sothing said to calm the room, and not a performance for her family. It ca from the bottom of his heart, simple and sincere. Ayumi lowered her gaze, trying to hide her blush, but her smile betrayed her completely. Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her sleeve, and for a mont, the noisy Hamazou living room seed to fade around her. No matter how many tis Zaboru made her flustered, words like that still reached straight into her chest.
Zaboru glanced at Ayumi's reaction and softened just a little. "Besides," he added, his voice quieter now, "I don't need anyone else when the person I want to co ho to is already beside ." That line made Ayumi's face burn even harder. She wanted to scold him for saying sothing so embarrassing in front of her family, but she could not find the words. Instead, she only looked away, her lips trembling into a shy smile. Asumi stared at the two of them for a second, then clicked her tongue in defeat. Even she had to admit it—there was no opening there. Zaboru's eyes never wandered, and Ayumi was loved so openly that trying to wedge herself between them felt like trying to cut a mountain with a paper knife.
Azai grinned broadly and nodded, clearly pleased. In his eyes, Zaboru had proven himself again—not with money, status, or power, but with loyalty. "That boy really is a man," the old patriarch muttered with satisfaction, his voice low but full of approval. Coming from Azai Hamazou, a man who had seen countless n boast, threaten, lie, and break under pressure, that single sentence carried more weight than most complints. He had seen many powerful n chase pleasures carelessly, especially n with money and influence. Yet Zaboru, with everything he possessed, still looked only at Ayumi. That alone made Azai's opinion of him rise even further.
anwhile, Akechi quietly moved behind Asumi and grabbed her head with one hand, not roughly enough to hurt her, but firmly enough to stop her from continuing her teasing. "Hey, don't bother them," he said, his voice calm but heavy with warning. Asumi clicked her tongue, but Akechi did not let go imdiately. He looked at his sister for a mont, his gaze sharper now, not angry exactly, but disappointed in the way only family could be. "You're just damn lonely, right?" he said quietly. "Like I told you before, that lifestyle of yours… you'll regret it as you get older. Acting like you don't care, jumping from one man to another, pretending everything is just fun… that won't fill the empty part forever."
For a mont, Asumi's usual playful expression cracked. It was only a second, barely noticeable, but enough for Akechi to see it. She hated that he could read her so easily. She hated even more that he might be right. Her lips tightened before she clicked her tongue again, this ti more bitterly. "Shut up… what do you know?" she muttered. Then she glared at him, trying to recover her usual sharpness. "Besides, do you even have a woman yourself!? Or are you gay and in love with Zaboru!?"
Akechi only sighed, completely unaffected by the childish counterattack. "Unlike you, I'm not playing around," he said flatly. "If one day I et my partner, then I won't mind. But until then, I won't pretend aningless attention is the sa as love." His words landed with quiet force. Asumi groaned, clearly in a terrible mood now. "Fuck, I'm out of this. You guys are boring!" she snapped, turning away before anyone could answer. Her steps were quick, almost irritated, but there was a heaviness behind them that did not match her usual swagger. Once outside, she pulled out a cigar, lit it, and took a slow drag, exhaling into the cool air with a ruined mood and thoughts she did not want to face. Behind all her teasing and confidence, Zaboru's words had landed harder than she wanted to admit—not because she truly believed she had a chance with him, but because his devotion to Ayumi reminded her of sothing she had never been able to hold onto herself and she so jealous of her.
anwhile, Kyouko sighed while watching her daughter leave, her expression carrying the tired affection of a mother who had scolded the sa child too many tis to count. "That brat," she muttered, shaking her head. "Like I said, she needs to look for soone proper… soone who won't just play around with her, and soone she can't scare away with that attitude." She crossed her arms, then glanced at Zaboru as if he had suddenly beco a matchmaking agency. "Hey, Zaboru, do you have anyone in mind for a girl like her? A man who can lead her? She really needs it now." Her tone sounded casual, almost joking, but there was real concern underneath. Asumi might act wild, shaless, and impossible to control, but to Kyouko, she was still her daughter—one who laughed too loudly, smoked too much, loved too carelessly, and hid loneliness behind provocation. Zaboru understood that concern, but he also knew very well that recomnding soone for Asumi sounded like sending an innocent man into a high-difficulty side quest with no save point.
Zaboru shook his head without hesitation. "No… Kyouko-san, I don't have anyone."
Kyouko's eye twitched imdiately. The room's temperature seed to drop by several degrees, and Zaboru felt an invisible warning sign appear above her head. "The hell did you just call ?" she asked slowly, her smile becoming terrifying in a way that reminded Zaboru far too much of Ayumi when she was pretending not to be angry. "Kyouko-san?" She took one step closer, and Zaboru's instincts scread that he had made a fatal dialogue choice. Sowhere in his mind, he could almost hear a ga notification: Relationship Route Error. Mother-in-law affection level decreased. "Call Mom, bastard! You married my daughter!"
The room went silent for half a second. Even Akira stopped moving, his large hand freezing halfway toward a snack as if he had sensed a predator entering hunting mode. Azai's grin widened like he was watching premium entertainnt, while Akechi looked away with the calm face of a man who had decided this was absolutely none of his problem. Ayumi covered her mouth, but her shoulders were already shaking. Zaboru stared at Kyouko, then slowly sighed like a man being surrounded from all directions by family mbers with different attack patterns. In his head, he had already categorized them: Akira was the physical boss, Azai was the hidden superboss, Akechi was the assassin-type boss, Asumi was the status-effect boss, and Kyouko was clearly the dialogue boss who could kill him with one wrong honorific. Finally, he lowered his head slightly and surrendered. "Fine… Mom."
Kyouko's expression changed instantly into a smug grin, and she nodded as if she had won an important war after years of preparation. "Good," she said with deep satisfaction. "That's better. Rember it properly next ti." Ayumi covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, though her shoulders betrayed her completely. Zaboru glanced at her with a look that said, "Your family is dangerous," while Ayumi's eyes sparkled with amusent. At that mont, Zaboru once again wondered why every mber of the Hamazou family had so kind of pressure-based attack, and why marrying Ayumi apparently ant unlocking all of them.
anwhile, Azai, who was already holding Arumi comfortably in his giant arms, laughed loudly as usual. "HAHAHA! Zaboru, you should co here more often! We are not that scary, right?" Zaboru rolled his eyes inwardly. What was this silver-haired gorilla in front of him even saying? The man was almost seventy years old, yet his muscles were still ridiculous, and his laugh still sounded like it could shake windows. Also, saying "we are not that scary" while looking like a retired final boss did not make the statent convincing at all. Still, Zaboru only answered politely, "Yeah… I've been busy." It was technically true, though he left out the part where "busy" also ant "avoiding this forr-yakuza family gathering because survival instinct exists." Ayumi noticed the stiffness in his smile and pinched his side lightly, silently telling him not to be rude. Zaboru straightened imdiately, because between Azai's pressure and Ayumi's pinch, the pinch sohow felt more dangerous.
Azai, completely unaware that Zaboru was internally fighting for his life, simply grinned wider and bounced Arumi slightly in his arms. "See? Even Rumi-chan likes it here! Right, Rumi-chan?" Arumi, who was being treated like a tiny princess, nodded seriously. "HiiOji-chan house big." Azai looked so proud that one would think she had just praised his entire life's achievents. "HAHAHA! That's right! Big house for big family!" Zaboru stared at him and quietly thought that the Hamazou family's definition of "big family" seed to include relatives, forr subordinates, security employees, suspicious uncles, and possibly three hidden minibosses sowhere in the building.
anwhile, Akira and Akechi were playing with Zenshin in their own strange way. Akira tried his best to understand what Zenshin had asked Akechi earlier about philosophy, but the poor man clearly did not understand it at all. He nodded seriously every ti Zenshin said sothing complicated, as if pretending hard enough would sohow make the aning appear in his head. Still, he loved seeing his grandson speak so seriously, even if half the words flew over him like birds. Zenshin, anwhile, seed perfectly content being surrounded by adults who treated his questions with respect rather than confusion. Akechi, unlike Akira, actually answered properly, which made Zenshin look at him with the quiet trust of a child who had found an adult willing to take his thoughts seriously.
At one point, Akira tried to contribute. "Zen-chan, Grandpa thinks… good people should be strong!" he declared proudly, as if he had just solved ethics itself. Zenshin looked up at him with calm eyes and asked, "But if strength is used without wisdom, does it not beco violence?" Akira froze. His mouth opened, then closed. He looked toward Akechi for help like a student looking at the smartest classmate during an exam. Akechi sighed faintly and answered for him. "That is why strength needs purpose and restraint." Zenshin nodded, satisfied. Akira nodded too, though his expression clearly said he understood only half of it and would pretend the other half was also clear. Zaboru watched this interaction and nearly laughed. The forr Ashura of Hamazou had been defeated by a three-and-a-half-year-old philosopher.
Kyouko smiled as she watched them, her expression softening with a warmth that contrasted with her earlier sharpness. She then asked Zaboru to sit nearby with Ayumi, while Azai followed along with Arumi still on his lap. Once everyone settled a little, the room beca calr, though not truly quiet. The Hamazou household never seed capable of becoming completely quiet. Soone was always laughing, soone was always moving, and sowhere in the background, a forr tough-looking subordinate was carrying tea with the precision of a soldier handling explosives. Zaboru sat beside Ayumi, still a little tense, but less than before. The atmosphere was strange, but not hostile.
After everyone settled a little more, Kyouko's expression softened further. "Zaboru… no, son," she began, her voice suddenly more sincere, "I really, really thank you. When you ca into our lives, the Hamazou family changed for the better. We stopped being yakuza. We have legitimate businesses now, security companies, dia connections, proper work, and a future that doesn't need to be hidden in the shadows." Her words made the room quieter. Even the people who had been joking nearby seed to naturally lower their voices. "There was a ti when I thought our family would always stay like that, always living with fear, pride, and violence. I thought change was impossible because people like us had already gone too far. But sohow, after Ayumi chose you, and after Akechi began walking a new path, everything slowly shifted."
She glanced toward Akira, who was still trying to answer Zenshin's questions with the seriousness of a student facing an exam. "And not just that… you actually changed that old fool Akira too." Kyouko smiled faintly, rembering the past. "After you forgave him so casually, even though he almost killed you back then, it hit him harder than any revenge could. He really wanted to change after that. At first, he didn't know how. So he tried doing things you liked, starting with gas. He thought maybe if he understood the things you cared about, he could understand the kind of person his daughter chose." Her smile widened slightly. "And now he's really a gar, you know. Terrible at it, but still a gar. At least now he can spend his money on sothing harmless instead of terrifying everyone."
Zaboru blinked, then slowly looked toward Akira, who was currently nodding at Zenshin while holding a controller nearby like a man pretending he knew what he was doing. The image was honestly surreal. This forr terrifying man had beco a Harvest Moon player, a grandfather, and apparently soone who owned a custom arcade room. Zaboru did not know whether to feel proud, amused, or deeply concerned. "So… gas rehabilitated Father?" he asked carefully. Kyouko placed a hand on her cheek and smiled. "Sothing like that. Though I think farming gas made him stranger." Akira imdiately turned his head. "Crops teach patience!" he said loudly. Zaboru lowered his gaze and muttered, "I can't argue with that, which sohow makes this worse."
Kyouko continued, her voice softer now. "Before all this, I thought gas were just a waste of ti. Childish things. Toys. Sothing adults should grow out of. But now I've realized they can change lives. They can soften people. They can connect people who don't know how to speak honestly." She looked at Ayumi and chuckled. "Maybe Ayumi was right back then, when she kept shouting at us whenever we disagreed with your relationship. She used to say, 'I'm so lucky to have Zabo! If you don't let be with him, I'd rather die!' Hahaha!"
Azai burst into laughter as well, his booming voice filling the room. Akira laughed too, though he tried to hide it behind a cough and failed completely. Ayumi's face instantly turned bright red. "Mom!…" she cried, mortified. Zaboru turned toward Ayumi with a teasing smile. "Well, I didn't know you were that honest~" he said lightly. Ayumi could not look at him directly. Her face burned so much that she wanted to hide behind Arumi, but Arumi was currently sitting like a princess in Azai's arms, completely unavailable as a shield. "I was young…" Ayumi muttered weakly. "And desperate…" Kyouko imdiately added, "Very desperate." Ayumi covered her face with both hands. "Mom, please stop…"
Zaboru leaned back slightly, his teasing smile slowly softening into sothing more genuine. "Yeah… I'm glad," he said. "Video gas have always been everything to , you know? That's why I love them. They can change lives, they can change people, they can give soone a place to belong, or even a reason to keep going. Unlike movies, where you watch soone else's story, in gas you actually step inside the story. You beco the character. You make choices. You fail, try again, improve, and feel yourself moving forward." His voice beca quieter, more reflective. "Sotis, a ga is the first place soone learns they are allowed to try again after failing. Sotis it is the first place where a lonely person feels accompanied. Sotis it is just laughter with family in a room that used to feel cold."
His voice beca even more thoughtful. "Maybe that's why they matter so much to . Gas are not just entertainnt. They can be mories, bridges, lessons, comfort, and sotis even salvation. So if Akira-san… no, Father… beca the person he is now partly because of gas, then I'm genuinely glad." Zaboru smiled sincerely, and for once there was no joke behind it. Akira, hearing that, looked away for a mont, clearly embarrassed, though his large hands tightened around the controller like he was touched more deeply than he wanted to show.
Azai laughed again, though this ti his laughter carried real warmth. "Hahahaha! Zaboru , you should really co often!." His words were simple, but the atmosphere in the room changed after that. It no longer felt like Zaboru was surrounded by forr raid bosses. It felt, strangely enough, like family. Loud, intimidating, bizarre, emotionally clumsy family—but family nonetheless. Ayumi quietly reached for Zaboru's hand under the table and squeezed it. When he looked at her, she smiled softly, and he understood what she was feeling. This was the mont she had wanted for a long ti.
After this, Zaboru spent more ti in the Hamazou household. Akira proudly dragged him to the gaming room, and Zaboru almost lost his ability to speak when he saw the custom arcade collection. There were racing cabinets, fighting ga cabinets, rhythm machines, shooting gas, and even a Harvest Moon-thed corner that Akira had apparently requested himself. "This one is relaxing," Akira said proudly, pointing at a farming setup that looked absurdly expensive. Zaboru stared at it and whispered, "Father… you made an arcade cabinet for farming?" Akira nodded seriously. "Yes. Crops must be respected." Zaboru had no answer to that. The machine even had a custom wooden steering-wheel-like tool for controlling farming equipnt, a seat designed like a tractor, and a tiny bell that rang whenever a cow in the ga was happy. Zaboru stared at the bell for several seconds and finally said, "This actually cool as hell i approved" Akira nodded grinned like a kid. "hehehe"
The gaming room itself was almost offensively well-made. There were polished floors, neon signs, customized cabinets, shelves of ZEPS gas, fighting ga sticks, racing seats, light gun setups, and one entire wall dedicated to high scores where Akira's na appeared suspiciously often. Zaboru imdiately narrowed his eyes. "Father… did you put your own na on the high score board even when no one else played?" Akira looked away. "A champion must start sowhere." Akechi, standing nearby, sighed. "He also resets the scores when he loses." Akira glared at him. "That is maintenance." Zaboru slowly nodded. "I see. Corruption remains, but now it is arcade-related."
The children enjoyed themselves imnsely. Zenshin watched Akira play gas and occasionally gave strategic advice that sounded too mature for his age, while Arumi ran around being spoiled by every adult in the house. At one point, Arumi was given so many snacks that Ayumi had to confiscate half of them, while Azai argued that "a growing princess requires tribute." Zaboru looked at the pile of sweets and said, "That is not tribute, that is a sugar-based military operation." Arumi, holding a cookie in each hand, looked completely satisfied with the arrangent. anwhile, Zenshin studied the rhythm ga cabinet and asked whether music timing could be considered mathematics with emotion. Akira froze again. Akechi answered, "Yes, in a way." Zenshin nodded. Akira whispered to Zaboru, "Your son is strong." Zaboru replied, "ntally, yes. Physically, please don't train him like Hamazou."
Ayumi watched all of it with a soft smile, her heart feeling lighter than before. Seeing Zaboru actually having fun in the Hamazou household made her happier than she expected. She had always wanted these two parts of her life—her husband and her family—to et properly without tension, fear, or old wounds standing between them. For years, there had always been a strange gap between them, sothing made from the past, from Akira's mistake, from Zaboru's wariness, and from Ayumi's own complicated feelings toward her family. But today, that gap felt smaller. Not gone completely, perhaps, but smaller. And that was enough to make her chest feel warm.
By the end of the day, Zaboru was tired in a different way. Not from work, not from developnt, not from business, but from being surrounded by an overwhelming amount of Hamazou affection disguised as pressure. He had answered too many questions, survived too many terrifying smiles, eaten too much food offered by people who looked like they used to collect debts, and watched Akira explain the moral value of turnips with complete seriousness. Still, he could not deny that the visit had not been bad at all. In fact, it had been surprisingly warm. As they prepared to leave, Akira, Kyouko, Azai, and Akechi all saw them off. Ayumi stood beside Zaboru with a pleased expression, and Zaboru finally gave a small smile. "I'll visit more often in the future," he said.
Ayumi's eyes brightened instantly. Akira grinned like he had just won a tournant. Kyouko nodded smugly as if this was only natural. Azai laughed loudly enough to make Zaboru regret promising so quickly. Akechi simply smiled faintly and said, "Good. Next ti, co without needing Ayumi to drag you." Zaboru sighed, but this ti there was no real resistance in it. "Yeah, yeah… I'll try." Then Akira added, far too seriously, "Next ti, we harvest together." Zaboru froze. "In real life or in Harvest Moon?" Akira stared at him. "Both." Zaboru slowly looked at Ayumi. "Help." Ayumi only smiled sweetly. "You promised."
And so, what Zaboru had feared as a dangerous Hamazou family event turned into sothing unexpectedly warm. The forr yakuza household was still intimidating, chaotic, and strange, but sowhere beneath all that pressure, it was also filled with people who had changed, people who were trying, and people who had accepted him as one of their own. For Zaboru, that was still awkward. It would probably remain awkward for a long ti. But now, the awkwardness no longer felt like rejection or danger. It felt like the clumsy warmth of a family still learning how to be normal after years of living in the shadows. For Ayumi, watching her husband stand among them without truly running away was more than enough.
To be continued
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