Saturday 1 August 1995 ZAGE offices Japan Tokyo

Zaboru was in his office, working as usual, surrounded by the steady hum of machines and paperwork. However, this wasn't a typical workday—two other people were present with him. One was his cheerful girlfriend, Ayumi, and the other was her sharp, serious older brother, Akechi Hamazou. Their presence made the normally quiet room feel unusually dynamic.

Ayumi smiled and said, "Zabo! These ZAGE forums are so amazing! Hehehe, I really have fun browsing and posting here!" Zaboru chuckled. "Hoo, is that so? Will you finally give me your username then?" Ayumi chuckled and shook her head. "Hehehe, it's a secret!" Zaboru sighed, kept working, then turned to Akechi.

"So, what's the important matter you wanted to discuss, Akechi-san?" Zaboru asked, turning toward him.

Akechi, his expression unreadable as always, replied calmly, "Well, do you know that you have spies in ZAGE, Zaboru?"

Zaboru blinked, momentarily surprised. "Spies? Like what, government agents?" He let out a short laugh. "Are we talking CIA? Black Widow?"

Akechi allowed himself a slight smirk. "Not that intense. More like corporate spies—from Sonaya. And the one I'm talking about is operating out of your Tokyo branch."

Zaboru's eyes narrowed, his interest piqued. "A Sonaya spy? In our Tokyo branch? That's... interesting. But how exactly do you know this, Akechi-san?"

Akechi allowed himself a small smile. "Well, our Aoshidan units are always keeping an eye on ZAGE offices, whether in Tokyo or Osaka. While one of my subordinates was on patrol, they overheard a conversation between the suspected spy and what appeared to be a Sonaya executive. It turns out they had arranged a meeting somewhere in Tokyo. My subordinate discreetly followed them, and sure enough—the spy was meeting with none other than Hikaru Kurata and another engineer from Sonaya."

Zaboru's eyes widened slightly. "Interesting... Hmmm, so... who's the spy?"

Akechi didn't hesitate. "It's Yoshi Motohira—one of your game developers, if I'm not mistaken."

Zaboru's expression shifted. He knew the name well. Yoshi was talented, dependable, and had been with the company for a couple years. "Huh. That's unexpected. He's actually pretty good. So, what do you suggest, Akechi-san?"

Akechi grinned with unsettling calm. "Don't ask me. If I were in your shoes, I'd eliminate him. For good." Then he grinned scarily.

Zaboru flinched at the bluntness. "Let's not go that far, please." He rubbed his temple. "Do you know when he's meeting his contact again?"

Akechi nodded confidently. "Yes. It's today, in fact. I know the exact location. The meeting is set to happen in about two hours. Motohira will be meeting with Makoto Matsuda—Sonaya's head engineer."

Zaboru stood up, straightening his coat. "Well then, let's give them a little surprise visit, shall we?"

Meanwhile, in a discreet hotel suite in Tokyo, Yoshi Motohira sat with a folder of confidential files and several CDs loaded with stolen ZAGE source code—materials he intended to hand over to Sonaya's Head of Engineering. Yoshi had been secretly working as a mole for Sonaya, receiving steady payments in exchange for whatever valuable data he could smuggle out. He'd been doing this for over a year, operating carefully and quietly. While he hadn't managed to steal everything—since full data transfers were heavily monitored—he had successfully copied fragments of the code bit by bit, avoiding detection all this time.

Not long after, Makoto Matsuda arrived, and the two began chatting casually. But then, a voice broke the moment. "Hmm, I wonder what's inside those CDs—could those be ZAGE source code?" Yoshi Motohira's eyes widened, and his face turned pale—because the voice belonged to none other than his big boss, Zaboru Renkonan. The weight of guilt and fear hit him like a brick, and he instinctively fidgeted, avoiding Zaboru's piercing gaze.

"B-Boss, wha... what are you doing here?"

Zaboru gave a casual chuckle. "Oh, just passing through. Thought I'd treat myself to a fancy meal and, well, what a surprise to run into you here, Motohira-san. And you, Matsuda-san—if I'm not mistaken, you're Sonaya's Head Engineer, correct?"

Makoto Matsuda tensed slightly, mentally cursing the situation. This just got a whole lot more complicated.

Yoshi then tried to speak. "B-Boss, it's... it's not what it looks like..." Zaboru chuckled. "Don't play dumb, Motohira-san. I've known for quite some time that you've been copying ZAGE game source code—over a year, isn't it? Don't worry, we'll deal with it through the proper channels during the workweek." He turned his gaze to Matsuda. "Now then, Matsuda-san, you look like you're in a hurry. Mind if I join you at the Sonaya offices? I think we have some matters to discuss."

Makoto Matsuda sighed and said, "Well, do as you please." Deep down, he wanted to object, to stop Zaboru from stepping into Sonaya territory—but he knew there was no use. If Zaboru wanted to go, there was no justifiable reason to block him, and no one at Sonaya would have the authority to turn him away without causing a scene. With little choice, Matsuda relented, and the two of them made their way to the Sonaya offices. Zaboru, unfazed, left Motohira behind without another word.

Meanwhile, Hikaru Kurata was relaxing in his office, sipping wine as if it were just another laid-back weekend. Around him, Junpei Hoshida and a team of Sonaya engineers were hard at work, focused on Project Amaterasu—the ambitious 32-bit console that Sonaya hoped would redefine the gaming market.

But then, the office door swung open. Hikaru Kurata looked up, expecting to see Makoto Matsuda bringing in the latest batch of stolen ZAGE code. Instead, he froze in disbelief. "What's the meaning of this? What are you doing here, Zaboru?"

Junpei's eyes widened as well, stunned to see Zaboru Renkonan standing in the doorway of the Sonaya offices—especially on a weekend, of all times. The air in the room grew tense in an instant.

Then Zaboru grinned and said, "Well! I just stopped by to say hello—from the guy who caught the spy you planted in my company. I've got to admit, it's impressive that you sent someone so skilled. The spy you sent actually turned out to be pretty talented at what he does. In a strange way, I almost see it as a compliment. Technically, it's still a loss on my side, isn't it? I mean, you sent such a capable person into my company as a spy—it's almost a compliment to my organization that you thought we were worth infiltrating with someone of that caliber."

Zaboru then sat in front of Hikaru Kurata. "Kurata-san, I know these kinds of tactics are common in the corporate world. I'm not going to make a huge issue out of it—at least not officially. Even if I did press charges, Sonaya has the resources to drag it through court and hire top-tier lawyers to shut it down. It'd be a waste of time and energy—and honestly, a major hassle I don't need."

Hikaru Kurata grinned smugly. "Heh. So you do know your limits. The fact that it took you a whole year to uncover our spy says plenty about how poorly you manage your company."

Zaboru chuckled. "True. Heh heh."

Zaboru then grinned and say "It's completely my fault," Hikaru Kurata confused under his breath, frowning as a strange unease crept into his gut. Something about Zaboru's visit didn't sit right. He couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't just a casual greeting.

Truthfully, Zaboru had come here just to rattle him.

"Anyway," Zaboru continued with a smirk, "I'm just here to greet you, Hikaru Kurata. And I see Sonaya's busy building its little next-gen console. Not exactly a well-kept secret."

Hikaru grinned back, refusing to let Zaboru see any cracks. "Yeah, well, brace yourself—ZAGE won't last forever, not while I'm still standing."

Zaboru gave a low chuckle. "Sure thing. That's all I came for. Well then, I'll be on my way. Oh, and make sure to fix that little issue with getting 32-bit games to run smoothly on cartridges, alright?"

Hikaru Kurata and Junpei Hoshida's eyes widened. How did he know about the very problem Sonaya had been quietly struggling with behind closed doors?

Zaboru then left the Sonaya Tokyo offices, his expression calm and unreadable. What no one realized was that he hadn't simply come to stir up tension—he had also been quietly observing every hallway, every door, every corner of the building. With the aid of his Deep Memory Dive ability, Zaboru committed the entire office layout to memory. Every exit, every server room, every restricted-access area was now locked in his mind, meticulously catalogued for a purpose yet to be revealed. Whatever plan he was forming, this visit was only the beginning.

As for the spy, Zaboru would handle it through the proper legal channels. He wasn't in the business of tolerating weak links, and this incident would serve as a clear example to everyone under his leadership. Yes, Zaboru was known for his fairness and calm demeanor—but kindness never meant softness. Betrayal, in his book, came with consequences.

To be continued.

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