Zaboru's black-lidded eyes widened in disbelief. He had expected Akechi and Ayumi to visit, but not this person—their sister, the infamous Asumi Hamazou! Before he could react, Ayumi lunged forward and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"Haha! Zaboru-chan, long ti no see! I can't believe you never tried to contact secretly~" she teased, her hands shalessly roaming over his body.
"U-Umm... A-Asumi-san!?" Zaboru stamred, trying to pry himself free, his face turning crimson.
Ayumi, her face burning with embarrassnt, shouted, "Nee-san!! You promised not to do this! You swore you'd behave if you ca with us!"
Akechi stood to the side, observing with an awkward expression, unsure whether to intervene. anwhile, Asumi simply grinned, finally letting go of Zaboru, but not before playfully ruffling his hair.
"Ohhh? Did I say that? My bad~" she mused, feigning innocence. Then, flashing a sly smirk at Ayumi, she added, "You're just jealous, aren't you? If you don't want to steal your man, you better make him yours quick. Otherwise, I just might, you know~"
Ayumi grit her teeth in frustration. "Nee-san, stop talking nonsense!!"
Akechi sighed and finally stepped in. "That's enough, Asumi. You're making everyone uncomfortable. You promised to behave, so keep your word."
"Tch, nii-sama is as strict as ever," Asumi pouted but ultimately relented, casually strolling around the office. She made her way to Zaboru's refrigerator, grabbed a canned soda without asking, and plopped down into a chair, cracking it open with a satisfied sigh.
Zaboru let out a tired exhale and turned to Akechi and Ayumi. Akechi, as stoic as ever, had the faintest trace of discomfort on his face, while Ayumi looked apologetic.
"I'm really sorry, Zaboru," she said, bowing her head slightly. "She insisted on coming because she was curious about where we were going... She promised to behave, though..."
"I'm a good girl here~" Asumi chid in from her seat, lifting her soda can in a mock toast.
Zaboru sighed again, rubbing his temple. 'How can siblings be so similar yet so wildly different?' he wondered. "Anyway, welco, you three. Feel free to grab a drink from the fridge—just like Asumi-san over there."
Asumi raised her can. "Mmm~ this is the best cheap soda for peasants~"
"Nee-san! That's rude!" Ayumi scolded, glaring at her older sister.
Asumi rely shrugged in response.
Zaboru decided to ignore the banter and turned to Akechi. "So, this week, I made two gas for you. They're not as advanced as Final Fight, but I think you'll still enjoy them."
At the ntion of Final Fight, Akechi's eyes lit up. "Zaboru, who is Zabo-man? Why does he keep appearing in all your gas?"
Ayumi eagerly nodded. "Yeah, he's everywhere! Sotis he's an enemy, sotis an ally, and sotis even a boss! When we finished Final Fight with a high score, we were shocked to find a hidden boss even stronger than the final boss—Zabo-man!"
Zaboru grinned proudly. "Yeah, I wanted to create a recurring character—sothing for players to look forward to in every ga."
Akechi, who had been given his own ZEPS last Sunday, suddenly said, "Zaboru... I want my own character in so of your gas too."
Zaboru frowned slightly. "I don't think I can do that, Akechi-san. I don't just insert characters randomly beyond easter eggs."
"I'll pay you two million yen," Akechi countered without hesitation.
Zaboru was montarily stunned but quickly shook his head. "Sorry, Akechi-san. I can't do that. My gas are my creations—they're precious to . If I start changing them just for money, then they won't be my gas anymore."
Akechi pouted slightly but quickly returned to his neutral expression. "Fine then. Let's check out the new gas."
With that, Akechi and Ayumi powered up the ZEPS and started playing Punch-Out. The two quickly beca engrossed, enjoying the unique chanics. anwhile, Asumi sipped her soda and watched from the sidelines with mild curiosity.
After a while, Akechi switched to Hang-On, a colorful motorcycle racing ga. Unexpectedly, Asumi's interest was piqued. "Whoa! This looks so cool!" she exclaid, her eyes sparkling.
Asumi had always loved motorcycles, and her enthusiasm showed. She practically wrestled the controller from Akechi, much to his annoyance, and started playing eagerly.
"I didn't expect that..." Ayumi murmured in surprise.
Zaboru chuckled. "People have different tastes. You can't expect everyone to love or hate the sa gas—it's all about preference."
Ayumi nodded thoughtfully, taking the lesson to heart. Then, she turned to Zaboru. "Zaboru, I've been working on my ga. It's about 65% complete now, but I'm stuck. I want enemies to ricochet off walls when hit, but I can't seem to implent it properly. Can you help?"
Zaboru's interest was piqued. "Hoo? Ricocheting, huh? That's a pretty advanced chanic. But actually, it's similar to jumping chanics. You just need to tweak it—add a function so that if the enemy is blasted into a wall, they bounce off instead of stopping. It's all about adjusting the hit detection and assigning a proper reaction to it."
Ayumi's eyes widened. "Why didn't I think of that?! I'll try my best to implent it!"
Zaboru nodded. "Keep at it, Ayumi!"
She smiled, but then her mood dropped slightly. "I've been working on this ga for months, and it's still only 65% done... anwhile, you've made so many gas since we t. Is it because I suck, or are you just insanely talented?"
Zaboru smirked. "To be honest, you're pretty good, Ayumi. But compared to ? I'm just built different."
Ayumi laughed. "Yeah, maybe! Haha!"
anwhile, Asumi and Akechi continued bickering over the controller, both fully invested in Hang-On. After a few more hours of gaming, the Hamazou siblings finally prepared to leave. Before heading out, Akechi handed Zaboru a fat stack of cash—600,000 yen.
"These two gas were worth every yen," Akechi said simply.
Zaboru took the money with a grin. "Thanks for your business, Akechi-san."
After they left, he stretched in his chair, grinning ear to ear. "600k, get!"
To be continued...
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