Still on Saturday, March 28, 2002, the bright yellow Lamborghini Murciélago moved through the streets of Tokyo at a surprisingly relaxed speed.
Behind the wheel, Zaboru rested one hand comfortably on the steering wheel while the other tapped against his thigh. His sunglasses remained over his eyes, his long hair moved slightly whenever air entered through the partially opened window, and the expression on his face suggested that the meeting he'd just left had annoyed him considerably more than he wanted to admit.
Not enough to ruin his day.
But definitely enough to irritate him.
"Heh... so there really are people like that in this world too."
He chuckled quietly as a traffic light ahead turned red.
"A damn purist."
The Lamborghini slowed to a stop.
Zaboru leaned back against the seat and remembered Yuna Kamijo's expression across the table. She hadn't simply disagreed with Sengoku Basara. Zaboru could deal with disagreement perfectly fine. Hell, plenty of people inside ZAGE disagreed with him almost every day.
What annoyed him was the attitude.
I don't care what your reasoning is. I am right. Cancel it.
That part bothered him.
Zaboru sighed.
"Would be troublesome if she somehow became minister after Keisuke-san."
He thought for another second.
"Or Denzo-san."
Then he laughed.
"Though those two old bastards probably don't even want the seat forever."
Keisuke and Denzo had influence, connections and decades of experience, but neither struck Zaboru as somebody desperate to cling to political office until death.
If anything, Denzo often looked like he wanted nothing more than a quiet retirement somewhere with good tea and absolutely no Zaboru-related phone calls.
Zaboru grinned.
"Sigh... good people always seem to be the ones dreaming about retirement, while the people who desperately want power are the ones you need to watch."
The traffic light turned green.
He accelerated smoothly.
Despite what had happened, Zaboru wasn't genuinely angry at the government itself. Keisuke and Denzo had immediately made their position clear. Neither supported Yuna's threat, and Zaboru had enough experience with both men to know they weren't secretly preparing some ridiculous legal attack against ZAGE because Honda Tadakatsu had become a cyborg.
If anything, Zaboru had intentionally allowed the atmosphere to become serious for a moment.
He wanted Yuna to understand something.
He wasn't some young developer begging powerful people to let him exist anymore.
That version of Zaboru had disappeared years ago.
His father, Zanichi, had repeatedly taught him not to underestimate his own position. Sayuri had drilled financial reality into his head. Executives, politicians, competitors, employees and his own experiences had gradually taught him the same lesson from different directions.
Know your worth.
Zaboru didn't enjoy throwing his influence around.
He wasn't interested in becoming the sort of arrogant bastard who entered every room expecting people to bow because he had money.
That simply wasn't him.
He liked laughing.
He liked eating too much.
He liked games.
He liked teasing executives and randomly appearing in development rooms to annoy people.
But being relaxed didn't mean being weak.
If somebody disagreed with him, fine.
If somebody criticized him, also fine.
If somebody insulted one of his games?
Honestly, he'd probably laugh.
But threatening his company after openly refusing to even discuss his reasoning?
That was different.
Zaboru's fingers tightened briefly around the steering wheel before relaxing again.
"Heh. Whatever."
He had already moved on.
There were much more interesting things to think about.
"The operating-system proposal can wait."
That had been the thing he originally intended to bring up after the Sengoku Basara discussion. ZAGE's growing operating-system work and a possible arrangement involving Sonaya would eventually require government cooperation anyway, particularly if Zaboru wanted the project to become more deeply connected with Japanese institutions.
But it wasn't urgent.
He could simply arrange another meeting with Keisuke later.
Preferably without somebody slamming a table at him.
"Maybe I'll bring him bento next time," Zaboru muttered. "Government diplomacy seems to work better when food is involved."
He smiled at his own thought.
Then another idea came to him.
"Actually..."
He glanced at the dashboard clock.
There was still plenty of Saturday left.
Zaboru had originally considered simply going home. He had been curious about Microsoft's three newly released Xbox games—Fist Knight, SPAZEN, and Renzoku—and he hadn't gotten a proper chance to play any of them yesterday because his schedule had been completely packed.
"Well..." He rubbed his chin. "I do want to see what Xbox cooked."
Especially after spending the previous day indirectly destroying part of their release-day momentum with a trailer while sitting on a sofa eating sandwiches.
Zaboru chuckled.
"Maybe I should play them before I go to America."
He would be flying to the United States in another two days anyway.
Going home, relaxing with Ayumi and the children, then spending a few hours testing Xbox games honestly sounded like a perfect Saturday.
Then Zaboru suddenly remembered something else.
His eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
He had another proposal waiting.
One that didn't require the government at all.
A grin slowly appeared across his face.
"Well, since I didn't use the rest of my government meeting time..."
He reached for his phone while the Lamborghini stopped at another light.
"Maybe I can annoy Hikaru-san instead."
Zaboru found Hikaru Kurata's number and casually dialed.
It rang several times before someone finally answered.
"Hello?"
"Hikaru-san!"
There was an immediate pause.
"…Why do I already feel tired?"
Zaboru laughed. "Come on. That's rude."
"It's Saturday, Zaboru."
"I know."
"Then why are you calling me?"
"Are you at Sonaya?"
Another pause.
"…Yes."
Zaboru's grin widened.
"Perfect."
Hikaru immediately sounded suspicious. "Why?"
"I want to meet you."
"Today?"
"Yeah."
"Did we schedule anything?"
"No."
Hikaru sighed loudly enough that Zaboru actually moved the phone slightly away from his ear.
"I have meetings."
"Cancel one."
"Zaboru."
"Come on, Hikaru-san. It's important as hell."
Those words made Hikaru quiet.
He had known Zaboru long enough to understand the problem.
Sometimes when Zaboru said something was important as hell, it really was.
Other times he simply wanted to show somebody a ridiculous game mechanic.
There was almost no way to know until he arrived.
"What is this about?"
Zaboru smiled.
"Superheroes."
Silence.
"…What?"
"I'll explain when I get there."
Before Hikaru could properly object, Zaboru added cheerfully, "See you in thirty minutes!"
"Zaboru, wait—"
Click.
Zaboru put the phone down.
"Hehehe."
Then he changed direction.
Roughly thirty minutes later, the yellow Lamborghini entered the parking area of Sonaya's Japanese headquarters.
Hikaru had, in fact, canceled one of his meetings.
He was not particularly happy about this.
Junpei Hoshida, however, happened to be present at headquarters as well and became considerably more interested the moment he heard Zaboru was coming.
So before long, the three men were sitting inside Hikaru's office.
Or rather, Hikaru and Junpei were sitting normally.
Zaboru was already eating.
A plate of expensive chocolate cookies had been placed on Hikaru's table for guests. Normally, visitors would take one politely, perhaps two if the conversation lasted long enough.
Nobody had told Zaboru about that unspoken rule even if he know it he don't care.
He was currently eating his fourth.
Crunch.
Hikaru watched him.
Zaboru reached for another.
Hikaru's eye twitched.
Junpei noticed but wisely said nothing.
Zaboru finally spoke while still chewing. "Uhh... sorry about suddenly showing up, Hikaru-san."
Hikaru looked at the diminishing cookie supply.
"Are you apologizing for showing up or for eating all my cookies?"
"Yes."
Junpei turned his head away to hide his smile.
Zaboru swallowed. "Basically, I was supposed to have a longer discussion with the government today. Something happened, I decided to postpone part of it, and suddenly I had free time."
Hikaru stared.
"So your government meeting went badly, and therefore I lose my Saturday?"
Zaboru considered that.
"When you say it like that, it sounds bad."
"Because it is bad."
"Hehehe."
Zaboru grabbed another cookie.
Then frowned at the table.
"Where's the milk?"
Hikaru blinked.
"What?"
"Milk."
"There is no milk."
Zaboru lifted the cookie. "Hikaru-san, this cookie is heavenly. You can't serve something this good without milk."
"They are my cookies."
"Then why are they on the guest table?"
"So guests can have some."
"I am a guest."
"You've eaten almost half the plate!"
Zaboru pointed toward himself. "Very important guest."
Junpei finally laughed.
Hikaru looked toward him. "Don't encourage him."
Junpei raised both hands. "I'm not involved."
Zaboru sighed dramatically and took another bite without milk.
"Fine. Cruel hospitality aside, I actually do have a serious proposal."
That changed Hikaru's expression slightly.
"Finally."
Zaboru brushed several crumbs from his fingers and leaned forward.
"You guys currently hold the game licensing rights for several DC superheroes, right?"
Hikaru nodded slowly.
"For the relevant properties, yes."
"Good."
Zaboru smiled.
"Unlike ZAGE with Marvel, obviously you don't actually own DC itself. You've got licensing arrangements."
"Correct."
Zaboru rested an elbow on the chair.
"Well, DC has several characters I really like."
Junpei immediately looked more interested.
Zaboru continued, "Especially one extremely rich man with severe personal issues who spends his nights dressed like a bat and beating criminals."
Junpei's eyebrow rose.
"…Batman?"
Zaboru pointed at him.
"Exactly."
Hikaru sighed. "You could've just said Batman."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Junpei chuckled.
Zaboru leaned back. "Batman has always been one of my favorite superheroes. Great villains, great city, great atmosphere, detective stuff, gadgets, martial arts... there's so much you can do with him in a game."
Hikaru's eyes narrowed slightly.
He already understood where this was going.
Zaboru grinned.
"So I want ZAGE to make a Batman game."
Junpei's eyes widened.
Even Hikaru sat slightly straighter.
But before either could respond, Zaboru raised one finger.
"Wait. Let me finish before you start thinking I'm asking you to hand the license over."
Hikaru gestured for him to continue.
"Sonaya stays involved. Obviously. It's your licensing relationship, your side of the agreement, and I'm not interested in pretending otherwise. You select a development team from Sonaya to join the project."
Junpei listened carefully.
"They'll work directly with a ZAGE development team. Not separately. Not just sending documents back and forth every few weeks. Actual collaboration."
Hikaru folded his arms.
"And who leads development?"
"ZAGE."
No hesitation.
Hikaru snorted.
"At least you're honest."
Zaboru laughed. "Come on. You know why I'm here."
He continued, "Your developers support the project, especially where the licensing relationship and Sonaya resources matter. But the core direction, systems, gameplay design and technical development will primarily come from our side."
Junpei was already visibly excited.
Working alongside ZAGE developers wasn't merely another corporate collaboration.
For Sonaya's developers, it meant getting direct access to the workflows, tools, design methods and decision-making processes of teams responsible for some of the industry's most successful games.
Zaboru knew exactly what Junpei was thinking.
He grinned.
"You guys have always been curious about how our teams work directly, right?"
Junpei smiled.
"Obviously."
"So there you go."
Zaboru opened both hands.
"A front-row seat."
Hikaru stared at him.
Then looked toward Junpei.
Then back to Zaboru.
"And revenue?"
Zaboru shrugged casually.
"Since you hold the license relationship and we don't, I'm actually fine taking the smaller part."
That surprised both men.
Zaboru continued, "Fifty-five percent to Sonaya. Forty-five percent to ZAGE."
Junpei blinked.
Hikaru narrowed his eyes.
"You're offering us fifty-five?"
"Yeah."
"While ZAGE leads development?"
"Correct."
Hikaru remained silent.
Zaboru reached for another cookie.
Hikaru slapped his hand away from the plate.
"Stop eating for five seconds."
Zaboru stared at his hand.
Then at Hikaru.
"That was aggressive."
"Answer me."
Zaboru laughed.
Hikaru leaned back. "You don't need our developers, do you?"
Zaboru's grin became smaller.
Junpei glanced between them.
Hikaru continued, "You need the licensing relationship. Fine. But if this were purely about making a Batman game, ZAGE could probably negotiate a structure where our development staff barely touched the project."
Zaboru said nothing.
"So this developer collaboration..." Hikaru sighed. "It's partially a gesture."
Zaboru leaned back and shrugged.
"Well."
Hikaru pointed at him. "I knew it."
"You know me."
Junpei smiled.
Zaboru continued more seriously, "Look, I'm not doing charity here. Sonaya developers helping is still useful. And I'm going to expect whoever you assign to actually work."
"Obviously."
"But yeah." Zaboru shrugged again. "Your people will learn things from ours. Maybe ours learn something from yours too. That's what collaboration is supposed to be."
Junpei nodded immediately.
"Boss, I think this is an excellent opportunity."
Hikaru glanced toward him.
Junpei continued, "Not only for the Batman project. If our developers work inside a ZAGE-led production, they'll understand development methods we normally only see from the outside. Even if we don't copy anything directly, the experience itself has value."
Zaboru pointed toward Junpei.
"See? This guy gets it."
Hikaru sighed.
"I hate when the two of you agree this quickly."
Junpei smiled.
For another several seconds, Hikaru thought quietly.
Financially, the proposal was attractive.
Sonaya received a major revenue share while ZAGE carried much of the technical and creative leadership. Sonaya retained direct involvement in a property connected to its existing licensing arrangements. Its developers gained experience working directly beside some of ZAGE's strongest teams.
And Batman was hardly an obscure character.
The downside was mostly pride.
Which Hikaru wasn't foolish enough to prioritize over a useful opportunity.
Finally, he leaned forward.
"Fine."
Zaboru grinned.
Junpei's smile widened.
"But," Hikaru continued, "we'll do proper contracts. Legal teams. Licensing approval. Developer responsibilities. Milestones. Everything."
Zaboru nodded. "Obviously."
"And I'm changing your split."
Zaboru raised an eyebrow.
"Fifty-fifty."
Silence.
Then Zaboru's eyes widened theatrically.
He slowly placed one hand over his chest.
"Hikaru-san."
Hikaru already looked tired.
"What?"
"You're voluntarily giving me more money?"
"Yes."
Zaboru stared at him in exaggerated disbelief.
"Damn."
Junpei pressed his lips together.
Zaboru looked toward the window.
"The sun is still there."
Hikaru's eyebrow twitched.
"The building isn't shaking."
"Zaboru."
"Maybe the world's ending later."
"Enough."
"You're not greedy anymore?"
Hikaru pointed toward the door.
"Keep talking and the deal becomes sixty-forty in my favor."
Zaboru immediately straightened.
"Fifty-fifty sounds extremely fair."
Junpei finally failed to hold his laughter.
Hikaru sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Bastard."
Zaboru laughed. "Love you too, Hikaru-san."
"I absolutely did not say that."
The serious portion of the discussion continued for another twenty minutes. They didn't attempt to finalize anything on the spot—Hikaru was absolutely not trusting a superhero licensing collaboration based on three men talking beside an increasingly empty cookie plate—but the basic direction was settled.
Sonaya would contact the relevant licensing partners.
ZAGE would prepare its development proposal.
Both sides would select developers.
If the legal and licensing details cleared properly, development could begin as a genuine joint project, heavily led by ZAGE but with Sonaya staff embedded alongside them.
Junpei looked more excited by the minute.
Zaboru, meanwhile, looked increasingly pleased with himself.
Finally, Hikaru pressed the office intercom.
"Could someone bring milk?"
Junpei looked toward him.
Zaboru froze.
Slowly, he turned.
A smile appeared across his face.
"Hikaru-san..."
"Don't."
Several minutes later, a staff member entered carrying a glass bottle of cold milk.
Zaboru looked genuinely touched.
"You really do care."
"I want you to finish talking and leave."
"Same thing."
Hikaru pushed the remaining cookie plate toward him.
"And take those too."
Zaboru's eyes widened.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"Hikaru-san, I misjudged you."
"You do that constantly."
Zaboru happily poured himself some milk and dipped one of the chocolate cookies into it.
Junpei watched him for several seconds before shaking his head.
One of the most significant superhero-game deals Sonaya had discussed in years had somehow concluded with Zaboru Renkonan drinking milk and stealing Hikaru Kurata's cookies.
Yet perhaps that was simply how business with Zaboru worked.
It rarely looked serious from the outside.
Until one realized what had actually been agreed upon.
Zaboru took another bite and smiled quietly.
He had gotten what he wanted.
The path was now open.
If licensing and contracts went smoothly, ZAGE would finally have the opportunity to create a Batman game—the kind of Batman game Zaboru already remembered from another life.
Dark atmosphere.
Free-flowing combat.
Predator encounters.
Detective work.
A terrifying collection of villains.
The beginning of what could eventually become one of the finest superhero game series ever made even one of best games ever made.
Batman: Arkham.
Zaboru swallowed the cookie and drank the rest of his milk.
"Hehehehe."
Hikaru immediately looked suspicious.
"What are you laughing about now?"
"Nothing."
Zaboru merely reached for another cookie.
The government proposal could wait.
Xbox could wait a few more hours.
For now, Zaboru had unexpectedly turned a ruined Saturday meeting into something considerably more interesting.
He had just found his path toward Batman.
To be continued.
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