Chapter 43 - 41: Ayumi’s Surprise
While Zaboru was celebrating his massive payday, Akechi Hamazou returned home, heading straight for Ayumi's bedroom. Without hesitation, he powered up the ZEPS and eagerly began playing the newest game from Zaboru—Final Fight. The room was soon filled with the pixelated action of punches and kicks, the distinct sound effects of blows landing, and the background music setting the intense atmosphere. Akechi's eyes were glued to the screen as he immersed himself in the game, completely absorbed by the action.
Ayumi, sitting at her desk, glanced at her brother with mild annoyance. She had been focusing on developing her own game, meticulously crafting her characters and refining their animations. Her protagonist—a cartoonish bunny—was finally coming to life, but the game itself was still only about 40% complete. She had spent countless hours implementing just the basic features, and even that had taken her a full week. The more she thought about it, the more impossible it seemed that Zaboru had created not one but two fully polished games in the same timeframe.
"Sigh... Zaboru's speed is insane if you really think about it," she muttered to herself, shaking her head in disbelief.
Hearing the familiar sound effects from the game, she turned her attention to Akechi, who was deeply engrossed. She stepped closer, watching as his character moved fluidly across the screen, executing seamless combos. The animation was crisp, the enemies responded realistically, and the game felt alive in a way that most titles at this stage of development simply didn't.
"Nii-sama, at this point, why don't you just ask Zaboru for your own ZEPS? I'm sure he'd give it to you, or you could just pay him," she suggested, raising an eyebrow.
Akechi paused the game, looking up as if struck by a revelation. Why hadn't he thought of that before? He had been so focused on playing on Ayumi's console that it never occurred to him to get one for himself.
"You're absolutely right. I'll request one from him tomorrow," he said, making a mental note.
He resumed playing, and Ayumi moved even closer, now genuinely intrigued by what she was seeing.
"What's this game called, Nii-sama?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Zaboru named it Final Fight," Akechi replied, his tone carrying a hint of admiration.
Ayumi's eyes darted to the screen, watching intently as Akechi's chosen character, Guy, dashed across the screen, delivering rapid kicks and punches, grabbing enemies, and pulling off stylish combos with ease. Her jaw dropped slightly.