Zaboru had barely stepped out of his private room when he heard familiar voices coming from the living room. His tired expression immediately brightened, and he walked faster before calling out with a grin, "Ayumi, you're back!"
Ayumi turned toward him with a warm smile, but before she could answer, Arumi noticed her father and immediately broke into a tiny run.
"Papa!"
Her short legs moved as quickly as they could, while a bizarre little procession followed closely behind her. Two rabbits hopped after her with surprising discipline, several frogs bounced across the floor, and one particularly determined frog seemed to be struggling to keep up while refusing to abandon the formation.
Zaboru laughed as he bent down and caught Arumi in his arms. "Whoa! Papa's little animal general is back!"
Arumi giggled and immediately wrapped her small arms around his neck. Behind her, the rabbits stopped near Zaboru's feet, while the frogs gathered around him like soldiers waiting for orders.
Zaboru glanced down at them and said, "You guys protected her properly, right?"
One of the frogs croaked.
Zaboru nodded seriously. "Good work."
Ayumi covered her mouth as she laughed. "Zabo, you really talk to them like they're your employees."
Zaboru looked offended. "They have better discipline than some developers I know." and Zaboru already used to it that his daughter can Command Animals
Nearby, Zenshin stood quietly with his usual composed expression. Despite being only four years old, he somehow carried himself like a tired artist who had already experienced too much of the world. Zaboru shifted Arumi to one arm and gently patted his son's hair.
Zaboru asked warmly, "Did you have a good day, Zen-chan?"
Zenshin gave a small nod before replying in his calm little voice, "Yes, Papa. I want to practice guitar and piano after this, so please don't bother me."
Zaboru stared at him in disbelief. "Zen-chan, that's cold. Papa wants to watch."
Zenshin shook his head without hesitation. "No."
Zaboru placed one hand over his chest as if he had been stabbed. "Not even one song?"
"No."
"Half a song?"
"No."
"Can Papa stand outside the door and listen secretly?"
Zenshin looked at him with the silent judgment of someone who knew his father far too well. "You won't be secret."
Ayumi laughed while Zaboru sighed in defeat. Zenshin then turned and began walking toward his room with small, composed steps, looking almost comically serious for a child his age.
Zaboru watched him go and muttered, "My own son already treats me like an annoying fan."
Ayumi smiled and replied, "Maybe because you are one."
Meanwhile, Arumi had already started playing with Zaboru's hair, twisting a few strands between her fingers while humming happily. Somehow, during the brief conversation with Zenshin, one rabbit had climbed onto Zaboru's shoulder. A frog had also positioned itself on his other shoulder, looking strangely comfortable there.
Zaboru did not mind at all.
He simply stood there holding his daughter, wearing animals like royal decorations.
Then he noticed Akechi.
As usual, Akechi stood quietly nearby with his arms relaxed at his sides. His face was calm, unreadable, and almost completely expressionless. To most people, the Rashomon looked intimidating even while doing absolutely nothing.
But there was currently a squirrel sitting on top of his head.
Zaboru stared.
The squirrel was resting comfortably in Akechi's dark hair, holding a small piece of food between its paws as though this were the most natural place in the world for it to sit.
Zaboru blinked twice before asking, "Akechi-san... why is there a squirrel on your head?"
Akechi's expression barely changed. However, when he looked toward Arumi, the hard stillness in his eyes softened noticeably.
Akechi replied quietly, "She's Arumi's new friend. Her name is Kurumi."
Arumi immediately pointed excitedly toward the squirrel and said, "Kuru-chan loves Akeji-chan's hair!"
Zaboru's grin widened. "Akeji-chan?"
Arumi nodded proudly. "Akeji-chan!"
Zaboru looked at Akechi. "So she combined Akechi-san and Oji-san?"
Akechi gave the smallest nod. "Apparently."
The answer was short and delivered with his usual stoic face, but Zaboru noticed that Akechi made no effort to remove Kurumi from his head. In fact, he tilted his head slightly whenever the squirrel shifted, careful not to make her fall.
Ayumi watched her older brother for a moment before laughing warmly. "Nii-sama really has changed."
Akechi glanced toward her.
Ayumi continued teasingly, "The famous Rashomon allows squirrels to live in his hair now."
Akechi remained expressionless as he replied, "Arumi asked."
That explanation seemed sufficient to him.
Zaboru laughed. "So if Arumi asks you to carry ten rabbits into a business meeting, you'll do it?"
Akechi looked at his niece, then back at Zaboru.
"Maybe."
Ayumi stared at him in surprise before laughing even harder. "You really are hopeless around them."
Akechi did not answer. He only reached up and carefully allowed Kurumi to climb from his head onto his hand. The movement was gentle enough that no one unfamiliar with him would ever believe this was the same man feared across Japan's underworld.
Arumi quickly struggled to get down from Zaboru's arms. "Papa, down!"
Zaboru carefully placed her on the floor. She immediately ran toward Akechi, who crouched down without being asked. Kurumi stepped from his hand onto Arumi's shoulder, while the rabbits and frogs gathered around her again.
Arumi raised one tiny fist and announced, "Let's go, everyone!"
Then she marched toward the backyard with her animal followers trailing behind her like a bizarre expedition force. She apparently wanted to show Kurumi her new home before going to sleep.
Akechi watched her disappear through the back door. Though his expression quickly returned to its usual stillness, there was a quiet warmth in his eyes that only appeared around Zaboru's children.
Ayumi leaned slightly toward Zaboru and whispered, "You see? Nii-sama barely talks to anyone let alone smile, but Arumi can make him discuss squirrels."
Akechi heard her perfectly.
He said nothing.
That somehow made it funnier.
After spending several minutes preparing a small place for Kurumi in the backyard, Arumi finally became sleepy. Ayumi carried her to the bedroom, while Zaboru helped remove one stubborn frog that had decided Arumi's blanket was now its permanent territory.
Soon, Arumi was asleep.
When Ayumi returned to the living room, she stretched slightly and casually said, "Mom and Dad are on a date tonight. Sanika is gone too. She went to Okinawa with Hide-chan."
Zaboru nodded happily. "Whoa, that's nice. Good for them. Hehehe."
Ayumi waited.
Zaboru simply smiled.
Akechi looked at him.
The silence continued for several seconds.
Finally, Akechi sighed. He rarely interfered in conversations unless necessary, but apparently Zaboru's complete failure to understand his wife had become painful enough to justify breaking his usual silence.
Akechi said flatly, "Zabo, you really are a idiot sometimes."
Zaboru blinked. "What?"
Akechi looked at him with the tired expression of an older brother forced to explain something obvious. "Ayumi told you everyone else is on a date because she wants you to ask her out too."
Zaboru's eyes widened. He immediately turned toward Ayumi. "What? Is that true?"
Ayumi slowly turned her sharp gaze toward Akechi.
Akechi remained stoic, but a tiny bead of sweat appeared near his temple.
Ayumi smiled sweetly at her brother. "Nii-sama has become very talkative recently. Perhaps it was better when you stayed quiet and expressionless."
Akechi looked away.
For perhaps the first time that evening, his face showed the faintest hint of regret.
Zaboru looked between them before asking awkwardly, "So... you wanted me to ask you on a date?"
Ayumi immediately waved the question away and replied with suspicious speed, "Not at all, Zabo. Nii-sama is imagining things. I came here because I want you to review our newest game."
Zaboru nodded slowly. "Oh. Okay."
Akechi looked at him.
Then at Ayumi.
Then toward the ceiling, as though asking the universe why he had involved himself.
Inside, Akechi thought, What the hell did I do? Damn woman.
Still, he remained expressionless.
Ayumi, however, smiled while walking past Zaboru and lightly pinched his side. "But after the review, perhaps my husband might remember that dates exist."
Zaboru finally understood.
His eyes widened again. "Ah."
Ayumi walked away before he could respond, leaving him standing beside Akechi with a deeply embarrassed expression.
Zaboru whispered, "You were right."
Akechi replied without looking at him, "I know."
Not long afterward, the three of them entered the Renkonan Workshop. The room was packed with development equipment, prototype controllers, computers, art boards, recording devices, hardware parts, notebooks, and several objects that looked dangerous despite supposedly being entertainment technology.
Ayumi immediately became energetic again once they stood in front of the development station. She inserted the game disc, then turned toward Zaboru with visible excitement.
Ayumi announced proudly, "Zabo, this is the direct sequel to my signature series, Karate Bunny! And this time, it's finally in full 3D! for ZEPS3"
The title screen appeared.
KARATE BUNNY 3
The logo was accompanied by an energetic orchestral theme mixed with sharp piano notes and heavy guitar.
Zaboru leaned forward with interest. "So after several years since the ZEPS 2 game, Karate Bunny is finally returning to ZEPS 3 ?"
Ayumi nodded quickly. "Yes! And this time, the main character is Runtei, the son of Buntei, the previous protagonist."
Akechi sat nearby and leaned back in his chair. He remained quiet, observing the screen with his usual unreadable expression. As the leader of Akaishidan, he already knew the game well, but he was interested in Zaboru's reaction.
Zaboru started a new game and selected the highest difficulty without hesitation.
Ayumi stared at him. "You haven't played it before."
Zaboru grinned. "That makes it more exciting."
Ayumi crossed her arms. "Don't complain if you die." but she know her husband is insanely good at game.
The opening sequence showed Runtei, a young humanoid rabbit martial artist, training beneath falling leaves while his father, Buntei, watched from a distance. The camera moved smoothly around the characters, demonstrating the scale and freedom that the older 2D titles could never achieve.
When gameplay began, Zaboru immediately noticed how responsive the movement felt. Runtei could dash, jump, dodge, wall-kick, slide beneath attacks, and chain together several fast martial-arts techniques.
Unlike Buntei, whose older fighting style relied heavily on balanced punches, throws, and traditional karate forms, Runtei's style focused more strongly on kicks. He moved quickly across the battlefield, using spinning heel kicks, sweeping attacks, aerial combinations, and sharp counterattacks.
Zaboru's eyes brightened. "Whoa. The movement is incredibly smooth. The transitions between attacks are clean too. You used motion capture?"
Ayumi grinned proudly. "Of course. One of Nii-sama's subordinates is extremely skilled in martial arts, so I asked her to become the motion-capture performer. She did much better than I expected."
Akechi sighed quietly before saying, "I still can't believe you asked Eagle Eye Ruri to become a motion-capture artist."
Zaboru glanced toward him. "Eagle Eye Ruri? You mean Ruri Kochou-san? The woman with the green eyes and unusual pupils?"
Ayumi nodded. "Yes. She's flexible, fast, and knows lots of kicking techniques. Most of Runtei's movements are based on her performance."
Akechi added flatly, "She spent three days arguing that a rabbit's hip structure would change the correct angle of a spinning kick."
Zaboru paused.
Ayumi smiled awkwardly. "She became very committed."
Akechi continued in the same emotionless tone, "She also wore fake rabbit ears during the recording sessions."
Zaboru slowly turned toward Ayumi.
Ayumi looked away. "It helped her enter the role."
Zaboru burst out laughing.
The gameplay itself played like a fast 3D hack-and-slash action game. Runtei could fight multiple enemies simultaneously, but button-mashing was punished heavily. Stronger opponents could interrupt careless combos, dodge predictable attacks, and counter Runtei if the player attacked without thinking.
Zaboru quickly learned the rhythm. He dodged a sword strike at the last moment, triggered a slow-motion effect, then launched the enemy into the air with a rising kick. He followed it with an aerial combination before driving the opponent into the ground.
The next enemy rushed him from behind, but Zaboru rotated the camera, blocked at the final moment, and performed a counterattack that sent the attacker crashing into a wooden stall.
Zaboru grinned. "Damn, this feels good."
Ayumi sat beside him and watched closely. "You learned the timing too quickly."
Zaboru shrugged. "The game teaches it well."
Akechi silently observed him for several seconds before commenting, "Most testers died several times in this section."
Zaboru looked at him. "I'm built differently."
Akechi replied flatly, "You say that too often."
The first larger battle took place in a mountain village under attack by armored beasts. The enemies surrounded Runtei from several directions, forcing Zaboru to constantly reposition himself. Some enemies used heavy weapons that could not be blocked normally, while others threw projectiles or attempted to restrain him.
Because Zaboru had selected the hardest difficulty, even ordinary mistakes removed a large portion of Runtei's health.
One enormous enemy raised a hammer overhead.
Zaboru dodged sideways at the last possible second. The hammer smashed into the ground, sending debris outward, and Zaboru immediately rushed up the weapon's handle before kicking the enemy directly in the face.
The impact sent the creature staggering backward.
Zaboru laughed excitedly. "This is like playing a stylish action game, but everyone is a martial-arts animal!" Zaboru thought thinking about this game like DMC but with Animals style instead! so dope.
Ayumi's grin widened. "That was the intention."
Zaboru continued combining dodges, parries, and kick-based attacks. Runtei's moveset felt distinct from Buntei's older style, but certain techniques had clearly been inherited from his father. Some counters used the same stance Buntei had performed in the earlier games, creating a visual connection between generations.
Zaboru noticed it immediately. "You kept Buntei's defensive stance."
Ayumi nodded. "Runtei complains about his father's old-fashioned techniques, but whenever he becomes serious, he naturally falls back on what Buntei taught him."
Zaboru smiled. "Nice. That gives the gameplay some character storytelling."
Ayumi looked deeply pleased by the praise.
Then the music shifted.
Outside combat, the soundtrack had been calm and comfortable, using piano, soft strings, and gentle wind instruments that made the mountain village feel peaceful. But the instant a stronger enemy appeared, distorted guitar and heavy percussion crashed into the orchestral arrangement.
Zaboru's head moved slightly with the rhythm as he continued fighting.
"Damn! This music is insane, Ayumi!"
Ayumi laughed excitedly. "I heard the soundtrack from Microsoft's X-Box game Elf Adventure. It mixed metal with a fantasy atmosphere, and I thought the contrast was interesting. So I asked our composers to try something similar here."
Zaboru nodded enthusiastically. "It fits perfectly. When there's no combat, the music feels cozy and adventurous. Then suddenly—bam! The battle starts and everything becomes intense. It makes the transition feel powerful."
Akechi remained silent for a moment before adding, "The first version used only orchestral music."
Ayumi groaned. "It sounded too safe."
Akechi nodded slightly. "She made them rewrite half the soundtrack."
Ayumi looked toward him. "And it became better."
Akechi did not argue.
Zaboru continued playing for nearly an hour. He tested the movement, camera, combat, difficulty, enemy behavior, menus, item system, checkpoints, and several optional challenges. The game was polished, responsive, and full of personality. It respected the older entries while clearly using 3D to expand the series rather than merely changing its appearance.
After defeating a difficult miniboss through a perfectly timed counterattack, Zaboru finally placed the controller down.
Ayumi and Akechi were genuinely surprised by how easily Zaboru cleared the first stage on the highest difficulty. The mode had been designed to punish even small mistakes, yet Zaboru moved through every encounter with such calm precision that the enemies almost looked easier than they really were.
Ayumi stared at the screen for a moment before letting out a disbelieving sigh. "Zabo... the highest difficulty is supposed to be difficult for a reason. You're making it look like the normal mode."
Zaboru leaned back slightly and chuckled. "Well, you know me."
Akechi remained silent at first, watching the defeated enemies disappear from the screen. Then he gave a quiet sigh and said flatly, "Is there actually Hard game for you Zabo?"
Zaboru grinned. "Maybe not? Maybe yes?"
Zaboru laughed before placing the controller down. He then looked toward Ayumi with a broad, sincere grin and said, "But seriously, this is a really solid game. The movement feels excellent, the combat has real depth, and the music fits every shift in atmosphere perfectly. Runtei feels different enough from Buntei to have his own identity, but the inherited techniques still make him feel like Buntei's son. You didn't just move the series into 3D—you actually used 3D to expand what made Karate Bunny special in the first place."
Ayumi's expression brightened immediately, while even Akechi gave a small, approving nod.
Zaboru continued warmly, "I can't wait to play the full version."Ayumi's eyes immediately lit up.
Zaboru continued, "For me, it's approved. Submit it to the ZAGE review team. I'll ask them to begin the formal review tomorrow."
Akechi gave a small nod.
Ayumi jumped up happily. "Yay!"
But the moment her feet touched the floor, her expression suddenly changed.
Her smile vanished.
She placed one hand against her stomach and bent forward slightly.
"Aah!"
Zaboru's eyes widened as he immediately stood. "Ayumi? What's wrong?"
Akechi's eyes widened as well.
Then, after one brief look at his sister, the surprise on his face disappeared.
Akechi slowly sighed.
To be continued.
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