Still on Sunday night, 4 April, Zaboru had just returned from the AKAI KUMA offices when he noticed Arumi playing in the park nearby. As usual, she was somehow commanding the rabbits around her like a tiny general, and the rabbits were actually dancing in circles around her. Even stranger, there were now small lizards and squirrels following Arumi around as well, almost like her growing army of animals.
Honestly, Zaboru had already stopped questioning it.
But then his attention shifted toward Zenshin.
Unlike Arumi, who was causing chaos with animals again, Zenshin sat quietly by himself, completely engrossed in a thick book.
And honestly?
Zaboru could only sigh after seeing the title.
Those were not children's books anymore. They looked more like advanced college-level physics and mathematics books. Somehow, despite only being four years old, Zenshin was already studying them seriously.
The reason itself was strangely simple.
Because Zenshin had once said, "I'm interested in making games."
After learning how complex video games actually were, Zenshin became obsessed with understanding the logic behind them. Physics, mathematics, programming theories, and system structures fascinated him endlessly, and because of his terrifying intelligence, he absorbed knowledge absurdly fast despite his age.
Zaboru chuckled softly and decided to leave his son alone for now. Despite being a genius, Zenshin still loved art deeply too. He enjoyed drawing constantly, and he had even already created his own manga called Shin-Man as a birthday gift for Zaboru.
Honestly, watching both of his children sometimes felt surreal even for him.
Meanwhile, Zaboru noticed Ayumi sitting on the couch with a worried expression. Her eyes were fixed on Zenshin, who was still reading quietly nearby, and the way she looked at him immediately told Zaboru that something was weighing on her mind.
He approached her quietly, slowing his steps so he would not disturb the children, then leaned slightly over the back of the couch with a small smile. "I'm home, by the way…"
Ayumi did not answer immediately. She only sighed softly, still lost in her thoughts.
Zaboru watched her for a moment before chuckling under his breath. Then he slowly sat beside her, close enough that their shoulders touched. Without warning, he leaned closer and kissed her cheek, lingering just long enough for Ayumi to finally notice him.
Ayumi startled and turned toward him with wide eyes. For a moment, her worried expression cracked, replaced by surprise and faint embarrassment.
Zaboru laughed softly. "Hey, daydreaming like that will make thieves come, you know."
Ayumi blinked in confusion. "Thieves?"
"Especially the thief of your heart," Zaboru said shamelessly while pointing at himself. "Me. Hehehe."
Ayumi stared at him for one second before laughing despite herself. "Hehehe… welcome home, Zabo. Sorry, I didn't notice you."
Zaboru smiled and gently pulled her closer, wrapping one arm around her waist while his other hand softly brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. "It's fine," he murmured. "I like watching you like this sometimes."
Ayumi's cheeks warmed slightly. "Watching me worry?"
"No," Zaboru replied, his voice softer now. "Watching you care so deeply."
That answer made Ayumi fall quiet for a moment.
Zaboru leaned in and kissed her temple, then her cheek again, gentle and unhurried. Ayumi let out a small laugh, half amused and half embarrassed, but she did not push him away. Instead, she leaned slightly into his embrace, letting herself rest against him as his warmth slowly softened the heaviness in her chest.
For a short moment, the room felt peaceful. Zenshin continued reading quietly nearby, Arumi's distant laughter could be heard outside, and Zaboru simply held Ayumi as if reminding her that she did not need to carry every worry alone.
Zaboru rested his chin near her shoulder and spoke in a low, warm voice. "So… what's on your mind?"
Ayumi sighed softly. "Let's talk in the yard…"
Zaboru nodded before following her toward the backyard. Meanwhile, Arumi was somehow commanding the rabbits to do… boxing practice.
One rabbit was awkwardly hopping forward while another tried to imitate footwork.
And somehow?
One of them was actually attempting an L-step.
Ayumi looked at the ridiculous scene before sighing again. "Arumi seems obsessed with watching your boxing training, Zabo…"
Zaboru chuckled while watching the rabbit footwork seriously. "Maybe. But let her be."
Then he looked back toward Ayumi.
"Anyway, what's wrong?"
At this point, both of them were already used to how unusual their children were.
Still, Ayumi's expression slowly became more worried.
"It's about Zenshin…" she said quietly. "You know he'll already be four years old this year…"
Zaboru listened calmly.
"I was thinking about putting him into kindergarten or preschool so he can make friends and experience normal childhood things, but…"
She hesitated, her fingers lightly gripping the edge of her sleeve.
"…do you think it'll just bore him?"
Ayumi looked toward the house window, where Zenshin was still quietly reading as if the world around him barely mattered. The warm light from inside reflected faintly against the glass, and Zenshin's small figure sat there with a thick book on his lap, looking far too calm and focused for a child his age.
"I mean… look at the books he reads," Ayumi continued softly. "Even I don't fully understand them. And Zen-chan…"
Her voice grew quieter.
"…he thinks too maturely. He learns things way too fast. Sometimes when he talks, it doesn't even feel like I'm talking to a child anymore."
She lowered her gaze afterward, and her expression became even more fragile.
"I'm proud of him, Zabo. Really, I am. Every mother would be proud to have a child like him. But at the same time… I'm scared."
Zaboru did not interrupt her.
Ayumi swallowed softly before continuing. "If we put him together with normal children, will they understand him? Will he be able to laugh with them? Will he be lonely because he's too different? Or worse… will they think Zenshin is weird?"
Her eyes trembled slightly as she looked back toward the window.
"He is still so small. No matter how smart he is, he's still our child. I don't want the world to treat him like something strange just because his mind moves faster than everyone else's."
Zaboru smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah… I understand your worries clearly. You're afraid Zenshin might struggle to make friends, but at the same time, you're also afraid that if we don't put him into kindergarten, he'll grow up lonely with even fewer chances to connect with people, right?"
Ayumi slowly nodded.
"I honestly don't care how 'extraordinary' Zenshin might become," she whispered. "I love him regardless. He's my precious child…"
Her voice began trembling slightly.
"But thinking about him… being isolated just because he's different…"
Ayumi tried to hold back her tears, but they still slowly fell down her cheeks.
"I can't, Zabo…"
Her hands tightened slightly against her own sleeves.
"I grew up as a Yakuza princess. I know how painful it feels to be treated differently. People become careful around you. Some become afraid. Some become distant. Even when you try to smile normally, there's always this invisible wall between you and everyone else…"
Her breathing became shakier.
"I don't want Zen-chan to experience that kind of loneliness."
For the first time tonight, Ayumi truly looked afraid.
Not for herself.
But for her son.
"He's still so little, Zabo…" she continued weakly. "When I look at him reading those books alone, sometimes I feel proud… but sometimes I feel scared too. It's like he's already walking ahead of everyone else before he even had the chance to properly become a child."
More tears slipped down her face afterward.
"I'll do anything to stop him from growing up isolated because he's different…"
Zaboru quietly listened to everything without interrupting her.
Then he chuckled softly before gently caressing her hair. His fingers slowly brushed away the tears on her cheeks as he pulled her closer into his embrace.
"You really love him that much, huh…" he whispered warmly.
Zaboru smiled softly before gently wiping the remaining tears from Ayumi's face. "Ayumi… you honestly worry too much."
He chuckled quietly before continuing, "It's okay. We'll put Zen-chan into kindergarten. Maybe even some kind of genius kindergarten. I heard there's a famous one in Tokyo."
Then his expression became calmer and more reassuring.
"But don't underestimate Zen-chan."
Ayumi looked up toward him quietly.
"His emotional intelligence is honestly incredible," Zaboru continued warmly. "Yeah, he's absurdly smart, but he's not emotionally disconnected from people. He notices feelings very carefully. He understands kindness. He understands empathy. Honestly, I don't think he'll have trouble making friends."
Zaboru gently held her hand afterward.
"And even if things become difficult sometimes, Zen-chan still has all of us."
His voice became softer.
"He has you. He has me. Mom and Dad love him. Sanika adores him. Arumi follows him everywhere like his little sidekick. Even your family treasures him."
Zaboru smiled faintly.
"So what exactly are you so afraid of, Ayumi?"
Ayumi stayed silent for several seconds before finally smiling weakly.
"…I see."
Then she slowly hugged him tightly.
"Thank you, my husband," she whispered softly. "You always know how to cheer me up."
Zaboru smiled warmly before hugging her back. "Anytime, my love…"
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The night breeze moved gently through the backyard while Arumi continued teaching rabbits how to box in the distance like some tiny martial arts master.
Then Ayumi suddenly blinked.
Because she noticed Zaboru's hands slowly wandering.
A small amused smile immediately appeared on her face.
"…Someone seems excited today?" she teased softly.
Zaboru immediately laughed it off shamelessly, clearly enjoying the moment far too much.
Meanwhile, nearby, neither Zaboru nor Ayumi realized that Zenshin had overheard their entire conversation. The small boy quietly sighed while lowering his book slightly, his eyes calm in a way that did not belong to a child his age.
"Mom always worries the most about me…" he murmured softly to himself. "And Dad is always like that too… completely trusting me no matter what."
A faint chuckle escaped his lips. Somehow, it had always been like that from the very beginning. His mother worried endlessly, his father believed endlessly, and both of them were always correct in their own ways. That warmth made him feel grateful, but it also made something old and quiet inside him ache for reasons no four-year-old should understand.
Zenshin leaned back slightly in his chair before glancing toward the night sky outside the window. "Seems like I'll really start kindergarten soon…" he muttered lazily. "Guess I'll have to lower my IQ a little so I don't accidentally terrify the teachers."
He said it like a joke, but his gaze slowly became distant. Behind those small eyes, thoughts moved too deeply, too carefully, too far beyond ordinary childhood. Memories he should not have possessed flickered faintly at the edge of his mind: strange machines, impossible screens, crowded virtual spaces, and worlds that felt more real than dreams.
"Still… damn, I really miss ZRVR games."
Zenshin lightly tapped the physics book on his lap while thinking quietly. ZAGE Realistic Virtual Reality. Even the name itself felt nostalgic to him, though it had not yet been born in this world. The sensation remained vivid inside his mind: the weightless movement, the immersive worlds, the way players could almost forget where reality ended and the game began.
For a brief moment, he seriously considered whether he should create the technology earlier than it was supposed to exist. With enough time, enough resources, and the right push, it might actually be possible. But after a few seconds, he slowly shook his head.
"Nah… that'd mess up way too many things."
His voice was quiet, almost too calm. It was not the voice of a child abandoning a toy idea.
Then his gaze shifted toward Arumi outside. His little sister was still commanding rabbits to do boxing drills with absolute seriousness while squirrels and lizards followed her around like loyal subordinates. A faint smile appeared on Zenshin's face, softer this time.
"Still… honestly, I really missed watching Rumi's weird 'Animal Kingdom' stuff."
For a moment, his expression carried a strange nostalgia, as if he was not simply seeing his little sister now, but remembering her from somewhere far beyond this peaceful night. Then, just as quickly, that look disappeared.
Zenshin smiled again while looking at his dad and mom slowly becoming more "handsy" with each other. Honestly, seeing them like that always made him feel strangely relieved.
"Well… they really are always like this," he murmured quietly before chuckling to himself. "And honestly, I'm glad."
His gaze softened slightly afterward.
"The best parents ever. Seriously."
For a brief moment, the calm smile on his face looked oddly mature, carrying a quiet gratitude that felt far too deep for a four-year-old child.
Then his eyes slowly drifted toward the night sky outside the window again.
A strange silence followed.
Not uncomfortable.
Not lonely.
Just… distant.
As if part of his mind had wandered somewhere impossibly far away for a split second before quietly returning.
Zenshin eventually chuckled softly, sighed, and returned to his book as if nothing strange had happened at all.
Nobody knew why a four-year-old child thought that way.
Nobody knew why his eyes sometimes looked far older than his small body.
And honestly?
That was the most terrifying part.
To be continue
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