Chapter 1394 1312 Reminiscence

Monday, 16 December 2001.

The morning after his birthday celebration, Zaboru found himself in an unusually reflective mood.

Perhaps it was because he had just turned twenty-seven. Perhaps it was because the previous night had reminded him that almost ten years had passed since the beginning of his second life. Whatever the reason, instead of immediately heading toward ZAGE Tower, Zaboru decided to take a slow ride around the neighbourhood where everything had started.

Naturally, he used his old bicycle.

The Silver Wrecker.

The bicycle was nowhere near as expensive or impressive as the cars Zaboru owned now. It had been repaired, repainted, modified, and upgraded so many times over the years that very little of the original bicycle probably remained, yet Zaboru stubbornly refused to replace it.

To him, the Silver Wrecker was not transportation.

It was a partner.

Zaboru pedalled slowly through the familiar streets, wearing simple clothes, a wig, and glasses to reduce the chance of being immediately recognised. He chuckled as several memories surfaced through Deep Memory Dive. "Well… back then Dad gave me four hundred thousand yen as my first 'investment.' Hehehe… I really thought I was rich."

Four hundred thousand yen.

Today, Zaboru could spend that amount without thinking about it.

Back then, it had felt enormous.

That money had allowed him to begin creating his first arcade machine, the ZAS, and one of the first places he had visited while gathering equipment was the electronics store in front of him now.

Except it was no longer the same store.

The old independent electronics shop had disappeared years ago after its owner experienced financial problems. ZAGE eventually acquired the property, renovated the entire building, and transformed it into an official ZAGE Store.

Large glass windows displayed ZEPS 3 consoles, ZGBA handhelds, games, controllers, televisions, AKAI electronics, Z-pods, Black Berry Z01 phones, merchandise, and several arcade-related products.

Zaboru stopped the Silver Wrecker across the street and stared at the building with a quiet smile.

He could still remember walking inside as a young boy carrying money from Zanichi and trying desperately to look like he knew exactly what he was doing.

He had not.

Not even remotely.

Zaboru chuckled. "I was really just winging everything."

A particular face returned to his memory.

Hinoko Utsunomiya.

She had once worked there as a cashier. At the time, Zaboru only knew her as Hino-san, a friendly young woman who occasionally helped him whenever he came looking for strange electronic components. Her family had struggled financially, especially after her mother became ill, and Zaboru had eventually helped her find more stable work as ZAGE expanded.

Today, Hinoko was no longer a cashier.

She managed one of ZAGE's larger branch stores.

Zaboru smiled warmly and murmured, "Hino-san really is a great person."

He had helped her, certainly, but she had earned everything that followed. Zaboru merely opened a door. Hinoko had been the one who walked through it, learned the business, managed employees, and gradually became someone ZAGE trusted with an entire location.

That distinction mattered to him.

Zaboru pushed the bicycle forward again and continued down the street until another familiar shop appeared.

This one had changed far less.

Yuki Television & Electronics.

Years ago, Uncle Yuki's shop had primarily sold second-hand televisions. The place had been cramped, slightly dirty, and filled with old CRT sets stacked in places where no responsible shopkeeper should have stacked anything. He bought it cheaply from this store for his first ZAS

When Zaboru finally became successful, he quietly helped Uncle Yuki modernise the business without taking ownership away from him. The building had been renovated, inventory systems improved, and new suppliers introduced.

The shop still sold used televisions because Yuki stubbornly refused to abandon that part of the business, but now the front windows also displayed newer models, including modern LCD televisions imported from Korea.

Zaboru slowed down.

An older man standing outside noticed the bicycle first.

Then the rider.

His eyes narrowed.

A huge grin appeared almost instantly.

"Oi! Zaboy!"

Zaboru laughed immediately.

Yuki pointed toward him and shouted, "Long time no see! And you're still riding that damn bicycle? You've got all that money and somehow you still ride around on this thing!"

Zaboru stopped beside the shop and proudly patted the handlebars. "Uncle Yuki, show some respect. This is the Silver Wrecker. My partner."

Yuki burst out laughing. Age had definitely caught up with him. His hair was greyer, wrinkles had deepened across his face, and his movements were slower than Zaboru remembered from ten years earlier. Yet his voice remained ridiculously energetic.

Yuki reached into his pocket.

Zaboru immediately narrowed his eyes. "Don't."

Yuki froze with a cigarette halfway out.

Zaboru pointed at him. "You're still smoking too much."

Yuki scoffed. "I'm old enough to decide when I want to die."

"That doesn't mean you need to speedrun it."

Yuki stared at him for a second before laughing again. "You really haven't changed, Zaboy."

"Neither have you, apparently."

The shop door opened, and another familiar face appeared.

Yuta.

Yuki's son had grown considerably since the days when he helped Zaboru load televisions and equipment for the first ZAS machines. He now handled much of the shop's daily operation, although Yuki still refused to officially retire.

Yuta smiled the moment he recognised him. "Yo, Zaboru-san! Long time no see."

Zaboru raised one hand. "Yo, Yuta. Still carrying televisions for your old man?"

Yuta chuckled. "Less carrying now. More arguing with suppliers."

"Character development."

Yuki snorted. "He still carries televisions whenever I tell him."

"I'm almost thirty, Dad."

"And?"

Zaboru laughed as Yuta sighed in defeat.

The three spent several minutes talking beside the shop. Yuki proudly explained that sales had been good, especially after newer LCD models became more affordable. Yuta talked about expanding their repair services and possibly opening another small location.

Zaboru listened without trying to turn the conversation into business advice.

Eventually, he climbed back onto the Silver Wrecker and waved. "I'll stop by again sometime."

Yuki raised his cigarette despite Zaboru's glare and grinned. "Come before I die!"

"STOP SAYING THAT!"

Yuta laughed loudly as Zaboru rode away.

His next destination was far more important.

A place that had existed in his memories even before his reincarnation truly began influencing everything.

Bakudan Arcade.

Zaboru slowed down as the familiar sign came into view.

The building looked dramatically better than it had a decade earlier. The original Bakudan Arcade had been small, noisy, and filled with old machines. Some cabinets barely worked properly, and several of the games available there had honestly been terrible.

Yet the original Zaboru had loved it.

Before the memories from his previous life fully changed his direction, that boy had spent countless hours inside Bakudan Arcade simply because he loved games.

That affection had remained.

Perhaps it had even become one of the reasons the reincarnated Zaboru became so obsessed with building the gaming industry differently.

He parked the Silver Wrecker outside and looked at the arcade with a quiet smile. "Hehehe… this place really became something."

Bakudan Arcade had expanded significantly. The building was larger, the interior had been renovated multiple times, and additional floors now contained modern arcade machines, multiplayer areas, private rooms, ZEPS 3 rental booths, and small tournament spaces.

The newest ZAGE arcade releases were already visible through the windows.

Classic ZAGE machines that Bakudan had intentionally preserved rather than replacing.

Zaboru could still remember the first five ZAS machines he had sold to this place.

He had been unbelievably excited.

He had also been unbelievably stupid.

The contract he created for those first machines had included a clause requiring Zaboru himself to repair them at least twice every month.

There had been no proper schedule.

No limitation.

No definition of what actually counted as repair work.

No explanation of responsibility when damage was caused by customers.

Young Zaboru had simply written something that sounded responsible and assumed everything would work out.

Later, Toki Bakurou and his close friend Satonaka, owner of Dream Catcher Arcade, had noticed just how terrible the agreement was.

They could have exploited him.

They did the opposite.

Both men told him the contract was ridiculous and deliberately invalidated it before forcing Zaboru to sit down and understand why.

Zaboru remembered Toki practically yelling at him.

Boy, if you sign stupid contracts like this with the wrong person someday, you'll lose everything before your company even exists.

At the time, Zaboru had been embarrassed.

Today, he was incredibly grateful.

That small lesson had influenced the way he handled contracts throughout ZAGE's growth.

Whenever ZAGE expanded into arcades later, Zaboru never forgot either man.

Bakudan Arcade and Dream Catcher received early access to new ZAGE cabinets, discounted first-batch orders, maintenance support, and preferred purchasing agreements. Toki and Satonaka could also purchase ZAGE consoles and games at significant discounts for their rental areas.

But Zaboru had done more than simply give them cheaper machines.

Before ZAGE opened its own official arcade facilities, he had shared several ideas with them regarding what a modern arcade could become.

More social spaces.

Better food.

Tournament areas.

Comfortable seating.

Dedicated multiplayer sections.

Membership systems.

Console rentals.

Regular events.

Better machine spacing.

Cleaner environments.

Instead of treating arcades as rooms where people inserted coins into machines, they turned them into places people wanted to stay.

Today, Bakudan Arcade and Dream Catcher had become two of Tokyo's most respected independent arcade businesses.

Neither belonged to ZAGE.

Zaboru liked that.

Not everything successful needed to belong to him.

He walked inside.

The familiar noise immediately surrounded him.

Arcade cabinets.

Music.

Buttons.

Players shouting.

Coins.

Laughter.

A crowd had gathered around Dead or Alive 2 while two players fought intensely. Nearby, another group watched Bloody Roar 2 as Shenlong transformed into his tiger form.

Zaboru smiled.

This sound had followed him for nearly his entire life.

A voice suddenly came from behind the counter.

"Well, well, well…"

Zaboru stopped.

Toki Bakurou stood there with his arms crossed and a gigantic grin.

"What makes the mighty Zaboru Renkonan visit my humble arcade this early?"

Zaboru adjusted his glasses and touched the edge of his wig. "You noticed me?"

Toki immediately laughed. "Boy, I'd recognise you from a kilometre away."

"My disguise is good."

"No."

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"Because it's true."

Zaboru sighed and walked closer.

Toki looked him up and down before glancing through the window toward the Silver Wrecker. "And you still use that bicycle."

Zaboru smiled proudly. "Obviously."

"You own private jets."

"Silver Wrecker has better personality."

Toki shook his head, laughing.

The two men moved toward a quieter section of the arcade while players continued enjoying the machines around them.

Toki eventually asked, "You're not working today?"

Zaboru chuckled. "I will. Just… taking the morning slowly."

Toki raised an eyebrow.

Zaboru looked around the arcade again and smiled. "It's been about ten years."

Toki understood immediately.

Zaboru continued more quietly, "Since I really started everything. Since the first ZAS. Since Dad gave me the first investmen. I don't know… after my birthday yesterday, I just wanted to see these places again."

Toki smiled faintly.

Zaboru then looked directly at him. "And I wanted to thank you again for that contract."

Toki immediately groaned. "Oh, for God's sake, not this again."

Zaboru laughed. "I mean it."

"I know."

"You and Satonaka-san could've completely taken advantage of me back then."

Toki waved one hand dismissively. "You were a kid."

"I was smart."

"You were a smart kid who wrote a stupid contract."

Zaboru laughed louder. "Fair." He was actually ashamed because he was not even a kid mentally back then but because he is too "Excited" he made that mistake.

Toki leaned against a nearby cabinet and sighed. "Listen, Zaboru. You already thanked me enough about that stupid thing. More than enough." He gestured around the enormous arcade. "Look at this place. Half the reason Bakudan became what it is now is because of the opportunities you gave us."

Zaboru started to respond, but Toki continued. "And you even gave my useless son a proper job."

Zaboru smiled immediately.

Toji Bakurou.

Toki's son had eventually become one of ZAGE's gym instructors and physical-training specialists.

"He's not useless."

Toki snorted. "He's my son. I'm allowed to call him useless."

"That's not how that works."

"It is in my house."

Zaboru chuckled.

Toki's expression softened. "He likes working there, you know. More than I expected. So if anybody owes anybody eternal gratitude, I'm pretty sure it's me."

Zaboru shook his head. "That's not why I hired him."

"I know."

"He earned it."

"I know that too."

For a few seconds, neither man spoke.

Zaboru looked across Bakudan Arcade again.

He could remember everything.

Where the first ZAS had stood and now it's still there being like "Crowned History".

Where he had watched people play his game for the first time.

Where customers had complained.

Where machines had broken.

Where he had realised that creating a game and watching strangers enjoy it produced a feeling unlike almost anything else.

Deep Memory Dive brought the old images back effortlessly.

But for once, Zaboru did not use the ability deliberately.

He simply stood there and remembered naturally.

The memories did not need to be perfect.

Toki eventually smiled and said, "You know, back then I thought you'd become successful."

Zaboru glanced at him. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"How successful?"

Toki looked around dramatically before replying, "Maybe two arcades."

Zaboru burst out laughing.

"You asshole."

Toki laughed with him. "How the hell was I supposed to predict ZAGE?"

"Fair."

"You were some weird kid making arcade machines with his father's money. Now you own half the damn entertainment industry."

"Not half."

Toki gave him a look.

Zaboru reconsidered.

"Okay, maybe enough of it."

"That's what I thought."

The two continued talking for several more minutes before Zaboru finally checked his watch.

Work was waiting.

December still had game releases approaching. ZAGE's end-of-year event needed preparation. ZEPS 4 development never truly stopped. FAMITSU's Game of the Year awards were also approaching, which meant nearly every Japanese game company would soon begin pretending they did not care about winning while secretly caring enormously.

Zaboru stood and smiled. "Okay then… I should actually go work before someone notices the CEO has spent the entire morning riding a bicycle around Tokyo."

Toki grinned. "Sounds like something your employees would expect from you."

"That's probably true."

Zaboru started walking toward the exit before stopping once.

He turned back toward the old arcade owner.

"Seriously, Toki-san."

Toki looked at him.

"Thank you."

This time, Toki did not dismiss it immediately.

He simply smiled and nodded.

"Yeah."

Zaboru returned the smile and stepped outside.

The winter air felt cold against his face as he climbed onto the Silver Wrecker again. For a moment, he remained there looking toward the familiar streets.

Ten years ago, he had possessed four hundred thousand yen, strange supernatural abilities, memories from another life, an old bicycle, and an absurd amount of confidence.

Now ZAGE existed.

Rivals.

Entire industries that looked completely different because of decisions he had made.

Zaboru slowly looked toward the winter sky.

A grin appeared across his face.

"I wonder…"

He rested both hands against the Silver Wrecker's handlebars.

"What will the next ten years look like?"

For once, Deep Memory Dive could not provide the answer.

And Zaboru realised that he liked that.

Maybe ten years from now the world would contain games he had never seen in his previous life. Maybe developers he had never heard of would create genres he could not predict. Perhaps Zenshin and Arumi would already be making their own ridiculous projects. Maybe the twins would be causing trouble alongside them.

Perhaps ZAGE itself would become something even he could no longer fully control.

The uncertainty was exciting.

Zaboru chuckled softly. "Hehehe… guess I'll find out."

He pushed down on the pedal.

The Silver Wrecker began moving again.

A few minutes later, the billionaire owner of ZAGE was cycling toward work like the same strange boy who had ridden through these streets ten years earlier.

Only now, an entire world was waiting for whatever he decided to create next.

And December was far from finished.

New games were approaching.

The ZAGE end-of-year event was approaching.

FAMITSU's Game of the Year awards were approaching.

And somewhere inside ZAGE Tower, another mountain of work was undoubtedly waiting on his desk.

Zaboru smiled as he accelerated.

"Alright, partner. Let's go."

The Silver Wrecker carried him forward to another 10 years or more..

To be continued.

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