Meanwhile, after the video ended, Zaboru was now standing face-to-face with Ayumi, who gave him the coldest look she could manage. The silence between them was so heavy that even Zaboru, a man who could calmly deal with rivals, executives, and entire game industry wars, suddenly felt like a criminal waiting for judgment. He let out a long sigh and tried to smile. "Ayumi… you know it's not what it looks like…"
Ayumi slowly tilted her head, her expression completely flat. "What does it look like exactly, Zaboru Renkonan?"
Zaboru flinched instantly. She didn't call him "Zabo." She used his full name. That meant danger. That meant war. That meant his survival rate had dropped significantly. He raised both hands in surrender and quickly said, "Hey, it's just statues, okay? And yes, they are made to mimic human flesh, and yes, the limbs can move, and yes, that sounds really bad when I say it out loud, but I swear! I'm not doing anything weird with them!"
The more he explained, the worse it sounded. Even Zaboru realized that halfway through. His mouth opened, closed, then opened again as he desperately searched for a better argument. "They're collector items! Artistic references! Character preservation! A celebration of sculpting technology! You know, for research! Pure research! Completely innocent research!"
Ayumi kept staring at him with that same emotionless poker face, but deep down, she was fighting for her life not to laugh. The way Zaboru panicked was too funny. This was the same man who could casually challenge Microsoft make Sonaya Almost give up , build video games empires, and change lives with a single decision, yet now he looked like a schoolboy caught hiding snacks under his pillow and honestly? he is so attractive now. She wanted to tease him a little longer, so she stayed silent, letting him suffer.
Zaboru swallowed. "Ayumi… please say something. Your silence is scarier than Akechi-san smiling in a dark hallway."
Ayumi almost broke at that, but she held firm. She simply narrowed her eyes slightly, making Zaboru's shoulders stiffen even more. Finally, after a few more painful seconds, Zaboru sighed in defeat. "Fine… then I'll fulfill one of your wishes."
Ayumi's expressionless face remained perfectly still, but her eyes immediately lit up so brightly that Zaboru knew he had been trapped. She leaned forward just a little and asked in a sweet, dangerous voice, "Promise?"
Zaboru smiled and nodded, though he still looked a little cautious. "Promise… but only if you do it tonight."
Ayumi's expression immediately changed. The cold poker face vanished in an instant, replaced by a bright, mischievous grin. She suddenly laughed, unable to hold it in anymore. "Hahaha! Got you, Zabo! Of course I'm not mad, silly. I was only pretending to be mad so you would listen to me properly and join me now!"
Zaboru stared at her for a few seconds, completely silent. Then his shoulders dropped as he let out the sigh of a man who had just realized he had been defeated before the battle even began. "I knew it…" he muttered, though his expression clearly said he did not know it at all. "But join you where?"
Ayumi smiled sweetly, far too sweetly for Zaboru's comfort. "To my family home. The Hamazou household."
Zaboru froze.
For a moment, even his breathing seemed to stop. His face slowly turned blank as if his soul had briefly left his body and gone somewhere safer. The Hamazou household. The former yakuza headquarters. A place he had not visited properly in a long time, not because he hated them, but because the atmosphere there still made his instincts scream danger. They were technically his family now, yes. They had changed, yes. They treated Zenshin and Arumi like a prince and princess, yes. But that was exactly the problem. His children were spoiled, adored, carried around, praised, and protected there like royal heirs.
Zaboru, on the other hand, was usually treated like a suspicious son-in-law who had stolen their princess and somehow survived the consequences. Even when they smiled at him, it often felt like they were measuring whether he was worthy of Ayumi. Even when they spoke politely, their eyes carried the pressure of men who used to solve problems in dark alleyways. To Zaboru, visiting the Hamazou household did not feel like a family visit. It felt like walking into a social boss fight where every uncle, cousin, and former tough guy was an enemy NPC waiting to test his courage.
He swallowed and looked at Ayumi with a deeply betrayed expression. "Ayumi… you used my secret room scandal to drag me into enemy territory?"
Ayumi tilted her head innocently. "Enemy territory? Zabo, that's my family home."
"That's exactly why it's dangerous," Zaboru whispered, far too seriously.
"Ughh, Ayumi… why now?" Zaboru groaned, sounding as if she had just asked him to walk into a monster-infested dungeon without equipment. He rubbed his forehead dramatically, but Ayumi only sighed and looked at him with a patient smile. "Zabo… it's been almost three years since you last visited properly. The last time you came was when I was pregnant with Zenshin. Come on… you know they've changed, right?" Her voice was gentle, but there was a little firmness beneath it. She knew Zaboru's fear was half joke and half real, yet she also knew that avoiding her family forever would only make things more awkward.
Zaboru crossed his arms and looked away, still trying to resist. "Hey, weren't you the one who didn't like your family much before? But now you suddenly like them?" he asked, not accusing her, but clearly searching for any excuse to avoid going. Ayumi chuckled, because she could see through him far too easily. "Well, they changed. Mom and Dad, for example… they really changed after Zenshin and Arumi came around. Dad especially. He's much calmer now. He looks more like a real grandpa these days." She paused for a second, then smiled softer. "And honestly, I think they miss you too, even if they're terrible at saying it normally."
Despite not visiting Hamazou HQ for years Zaboru often meet Ayumi family at other events even that they not interact a lot
Zaboru made a pained expression, as if the idea of former yakuza tough guys missing him was somehow more terrifying than them hating him. "That doesn't make it better, Ayumi. That makes it suspicious," he muttered. "When scary people become nice, that's when you need to be careful. In games, that usually means the second phase is coming." Ayumi couldn't help laughing at that, lightly tapping his arm. "Zabo, they're my family, not raid bosses." Zaboru looked at her seriously. "You say that, but your father has raid boss shoulders can you see his muscle? he can lift car you know?."
Ayumi covered her mouth, trying not to laugh too loudly. Then she stepped closer and gently held his hand, softening the atmosphere. "Please? Just this once. The children will be happy, and I'll be happy too." That last sentence landed harder than any argument. Zaboru stared at her for a moment, then let out the long, defeated sigh of a husband who knew he had already lost the moment his wife said please.
"Fine…" he said at last. "Then let's go. But we're bringing the kids along. If things get dangerous, I'll use them as diplomatic shields." Ayumi's eyes brightened instantly. "Yay!" she said happily, completely ignoring the second half of his sentence. Zaboru looked betrayed again, but before he could complain, Ayumi quickly called Junjou, her personal driver, to prepare the car. After some light dressing and gathering Zenshin and Arumi, the family headed out without further delay, leaving Zaboru mentally preparing himself for what he continued to call the Hamazou household event quest.
After nearly an hour of riding in the car, they finally arrived at the former Hamazou HQ. These days, however, everyone called it the Hamazou residence. The building still carried traces of its old identity—the large gates, the wide courtyard, the intimidating structure that looked far too serious for an ordinary family home—but the atmosphere had changed greatly. Under Akechi's leadership, the Hamazou family had officially left its yakuza past behind and shifted its focus toward Aoshidan, a security company that had grown rapidly and now even held influence in media-related businesses. Even so, for Zaboru, the place still looked like a dungeon entrance disguised as a respectable household.
Ayumi stepped out of the car first, graceful and calm as always, then helped Zenshin and Arumi out with her. The moment they appeared, Akira Hamazou—Ayumi's father—was already waiting near the entrance. His enormous body and intimidating presence had not faded at all. Even while standing still, he looked like someone who could scare debt collectors into apologizing or just fist bump with Gorilla because the Gorilla might think he is one of them . But the moment he saw his grandchildren, his entire expression melted into a wide, almost ridiculous grin. "Zen-chan! Rumi-chan! Ojii-chan is here!" he called out, spreading his arms with such enthusiasm that Zaboru briefly wondered if the earth itself trembled a little.
Zenshin, stoic as always, merely nodded in greeting while continuing to hold a Philosophy Book, as if meeting his gigantic grandfather was just another ordinary event in his intellectual morning. Arumi, on the other hand, reacted with pure excitement. "Ojii-chan! Halo!" she shouted happily before rushing toward him. Akira crouched down with surprising gentleness for a man of his size, but Arumi did not stop there. Instead, she climbed onto his back like he was some kind of friendly mountain. Akira only laughed proudly, completely accepting his role as a human playground for his granddaughter.
Akira smiled broadly while still carrying Arumi on his back like a proud grandfather showing off his greatest treasure. "Alright, let's come in," he said warmly, already turning toward the entrance. But then the front passenger door opened, and Akira's eyes widened slightly.
Because Zaboru stepped out.
For a brief moment, both men simply looked at each other. Arumi was still clinging happily to Akira's back, completely unaware of the strange tension that suddenly appeared between her father and grandfather. Zaboru opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, unsure what kind of greeting was appropriate. In his head, the memory returned too clearly: back when he had just started dating Ayumi, Akira had nearly killed him during that absurd confrontation, literally forcing him into a fight that might have ended very badly if Akechi had not stepped in. Akira had apologized for it long ago, and logically Zaboru knew the man had changed. But emotionally? It was hard to forget the experience of almost dying for the second time especailly with his Deep Memory dive.
Still, standing there in front of Ayumi's family home, Zaboru knew he couldn't act like a coward forever. So he awkwardly scratched his cheek and blurted out the first polite words he could find. "Sorry I haven't had time to visit… I've been busy."
Akira stared at him for a second, then sighed—not angrily, but almost gently. His huge shoulders relaxed, and his expression softened in a way Zaboru had not expected. "Okay, son… let's come in."
Zaboru froze again.
Son?
He had expected a glare. He had expected a heavy hand on his shoulder, a threatening smile, or maybe some terrifying comment about finally showing his face again. Instead, Akira had called him son, naturally and without hesitation. Zaboru looked at Ayumi in disbelief, silently asking whether he had heard that correctly. Ayumi only smiled and chuckled softly, her expression saying that this was exactly what she had been trying to tell him all along. Akira really had changed, even if his body still looked like it could punch through a wall.
Not long after, they entered the living room, and Zaboru was immediately surprised again. There, in the middle of the room, was a ZEPS 3 connected to the television. The screen showed Harvest Moon, its peaceful farm music filling the room with an atmosphere so gentle that it completely clashed with the intimidating image of the Hamazou household in Zaboru's mind. He stared at the screen, then at Akira, then back at the screen, as if trying to confirm that reality had not broken somewhere along the way.
Akira laughed loudly, still carrying Arumi on his back while the peaceful Harvest Moon music continued playing from the television. "Hahaha! While waiting for you, I was actually playing Harvest Moon. It's a really great game, you know. The crops grow slowly, the animals are cute, and somehow it calms the heart." Zaboru's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape as he stared at him like he had just witnessed an impossible bug in reality. "You…? Playing games? Akira-san?" In his mind, the contradiction was too much. The "Ashura" of Hamazou, the former terrifying head of a yakuza family, was sitting here playing Harvest Moon like a peaceful countryside grandpa. Akira sighed, looking genuinely offended. "Hey! That's cold. It's Otou-san, okay?" Then he grinned in what was probably meant to be a cute expression, though with his gorilla-like build and overwhelming pressure, it looked more like a final boss trying to unlock a friendship route. "Just wait until you see my gaming room. You'll be surprised! I even have a cool custom arcade!"
Zaboru stared at him in disbelief. "Your… gaming room?" He suddenly felt slightly dizzy. Part of him wanted to laugh, part of him wanted to puke, and part of him wondered whether he had entered the wrong timeline again. Akira acting cute was not suitable for his body at all. His massive shoulders, thick arms, and intimidating face made every soft gesture look like a joke that reality itself was playing on Zaboru. Before he could process it further, footsteps approached from the hallway. Akechi entered the living room with his usual calm presence, his sharp eyes softening slightly when he saw Zaboru. "Hey, Zabo. Unusual to see you here." Then, without making the atmosphere awkward, his attention shifted toward Zenshin, who was still quietly reading his philosophy book as if nothing strange was happening around him.
Akechi approached Zenshin and crouched slightly so they could speak more comfortably. "Hey, Zen. What are you reading today?" Zenshin looked up from his book with a serious expression far beyond his age. "Uncle Akechi, if a person does good things only because they fear punishment, are they truly good, or are they only obedient?" The living room went quiet for a second. Zaboru almost choked on air, while Ayumi blinked as if she had already expected this but still found it troublesome. Akechi, however, did not react strangely at all. He simply touched his chin, thought for a moment, and answered calmly. "That depends. Fear can stop someone from doing evil, but it cannot make their heart good. A truly good person chooses good even when no one is watching and no punishment awaits. But obedience is not useless either. Sometimes rules train people until kindness becomes habit." while at it Akechi look at Zaboru smiling a bit
Zenshin nodded slowly, absorbing the answer like a tiny scholar in the middle of a former yakuza household. "Then goodness must be tested when there is no reward or punishment," he said. Akechi smiled faintly. "Exactly. That is why people are most honest when they think no one important is looking." Zenshin looked satisfied and returned to his book, while Zaboru quietly stared at Akechi with deep gratitude. He was truly glad that Akechi never treated his son as weird, even though Zenshin was only around three and a half years old and already asking questions that sounded like they belonged in a university ethics class. That was also why Zenshin loved Akechi so much. Akechi never laughed at him, never dismissed him, and always answered properly.
Not long after that, more members of the Hamazou family began entering the living room one after another which Zaboru clearly would not enjoy...
To be continue
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