Monday, 5 August 2001
ZUSUGA HQ, Japan
Inside one of the main meeting rooms of ZUSUGA Tower, the atmosphere felt heavy with pressure.
Steve Jobs sat at the long conference table with several of Apple's top engineers and business executives around him. Beside them were ZUSUGA executives, including Zanki Zagashira, who sat with his usual relaxed smile, as if nothing in the world could disturb him.
In front of the room, one of ZUSUGA's lead engineers was explaining the final release plan for iPlay's next major game.
This title was not treated like an ordinary release.
For Apple and ZUSUGA, this game was supposed to be redemption.
The iPlay had launched with ambition, noise, and pride, but its early software lineup had not been strong enough. The hardware had potential, but potential alone could not win consumers. Forums were filled with complaints, doubts, mockery, and comparisons to ZAGE and X-box. Even after the patches and system fixes improved the situation, iPlay's reputation still carried the bitter smell of a shaky launch.
That was why this game mattered.
It was the title they had been polishing for months, a game designed to properly show the power of the iPlay hardware. It had been delayed several times, but now that delay felt almost fortunate. If it had launched together with the console, it might have been buried under the early complaints. But now, with the system more stable and public opinion slowly recovering, this game had a chance to become the spark iPlay desperately needed.
The lead engineer finished explaining the graphics engine, the physics improvements, the cinematic presentation, and the marketing schedule. On paper, everything sounded impressive.
But Steve Jobs did not look fully satisfied.
He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes fixed on Zanki.
"Zanki," Steve said, his voice calm but sharp, "as one of the core leaders behind this game, how confident are you about this release?"
Zanki turned his head toward him with a small smile.
Steve continued, "Will this game actually help iPlay? Because if even this title fails to make iPlay rise, then we need to admit something very simple. iPlay may already be in serious trouble."
The room went quiet.
Some of the engineers looked uncomfortable. Others lowered their eyes to the documents in front of them. Steve's words were harsh, but no one could deny them. The iPlay needed momentum. It needed a game that could make people stop laughing and start paying attention.
Zanki chuckled softly.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, Steve," Zanki said. "This one will be good."
Steve's expression did not change.
Zanki leaned forward and tapped the table lightly with one finger. "We used the hardware properly this time. The graphics are strong. The presentation is strong. The development team has had enough time to polish it. In fact, it was probably a blessing that this game wasn't ready when iPlay launched a few months ago."
He smiled.
"If it had released during the messy launch period, people would have ignored it. But now? Now the system updates are working. The worst technical complaints are calming down. The forums are not completely friendly yet, but the mood is improving."
Steve narrowed his eyes. "Improving naturally?"
Zanki's smile became slightly more amused.
"Well," he said, almost casually, "naturally and unnaturally."
One of Apple's executives frowned.
Zanki continued without shame. "I hire people to used several fake accounts to create positive rumors, defend the update quality, exaggerate user satisfaction, and push the idea that iPlay is becoming better every week. Nothing too obvious, of course. Just enough to move the atmosphere."
Steve stared at him.
For a moment, the room became colder.
Then Steve exhaled through his nose.
"I don't like dirty tricks when they are clumsy," Steve said.
Zanki grinned. "Then fortunately, I'm not clumsy."
Steve did not smile, but he also did not object further. He understood the reality of corporate war. Apple could speak beautifully about vision, elegance, and innovation on stage, but behind the curtain, the market was not a holy place. Perception mattered. Rumor mattered. Momentum mattered.
And right now, iPlay needed all three.
Steve picked up one of the reports and looked at it briefly.
"How about ZAGE?" he asked. "How many games are they releasing this month?"
Zanki's eyes moved slightly.
Steve continued, "From what I know, their internal manpower has shifted heavily toward ZEPS 4 development. In June and July, they only released one major game each month. That made some people assume ZAGE was slowing down. But I don't trust that assumption."
Zanki nodded slowly. "You're right not to trust it."
Steve looked at him.
"From what I heard," Zanki said, "and from what they teased in their monthly magazine, ZAGE is releasing around five games this August."
Several people in the room immediately reacted.
"Five?" one Apple executive repeated.
Zanki raised his hand. "Calm down. It sounds bigger than it is."
Steve's gaze sharpened. "Explain."
"They have their yearly basketball game and their yearly football game," Zanki said. "Those are expected. Sports fans will buy them, but they won't completely shift the market. Then there is one PC title, and two ZEPS 3 titles. So yes, it is a lot for one month, especially when everyone thought their focus had moved to ZEPS 4."
He paused, then smiled.
"But we do not need to panic."
Steve tapped his finger once against the table. "Why?"
"Because ZAGE usually places its larger monthly releases toward the end of the month," Zanki answered. "If we release our game next week, we can take the early August attention before ZAGE floods the market."
Steve became silent.
He looked at the calendar placed on the table.
"Next week…" Steve muttered.
His mind began to calculate quickly. If they were to be released next week, the advertisement had to begin immediately. Magazine spreads, store posters, demo booths, forum seeding, preview articles, and launch interviews all had to move fast. It would be risky, but waiting longer might be worse. If ZAGE announced its August lineup properly before iPlay's next title arrived, Apple's moment could disappear again.
Steve looked back at Zanki.
"So our advertising campaign needs to be completed this week."
Zanki nodded. "Exactly."
Steve looked toward his own executives. "Can Apple's side prepare the promotional materials in time?"
One of them hesitated, then answered, "It will be tight, but possible."
Steve's eyes became colder. "Possible is not enough."
The executive straightened. "We will make it happen."
Steve turned back to Zanki. "And ZUSUGA?"
Zanki smiled. "Ready."
Steve was quiet for a few seconds.
Then he nodded.
"Fine," he said. "We release the game next week."
A subtle wave of relief passed through the room.
Zanki leaned back, satisfied. "This will be the rise of iPlay. After this, we already have several third-party studio games prepared for the next few months. If this title lands properly, the narrative will change. People will stop saying iPlay has no games. They will start saying iPlay was simply waiting for the right moment."
Steve listened to him, but his expression remained tense.
"I hope so," Steve said quietly.
He did not say the rest out loud.
If this failed, iPlay would not merely lose sales. It would lose belief.
And once consumers stopped believing in hardware, even brilliant design could not save it.
What no one inside the meeting room realized was that they were not alone.
Near the ceiling, floating lazily as if the entire corporate war beneath him was just free entertainment, was Zaborn.
Zaboru's ghost friend had been listening to everything he was tasked by Zaboru to spy on Zusuga offices as he knew Steve Jobs would be there.
He hovered upside down for a moment, watching Steve, Zanki, and the engineers discuss release timing as if they were planning a grand attack. Then he grinned.
"Well, well, well," Zaborn muttered. "So next week, huh?"
Without wasting another second, he sped out of the room like a blur, passed through the walls of ZUSUGA Tower, and flew straight back toward ZAGE Tower.
Not long after, inside Zaboru's office, Zaboru sat behind his desk while reviewing several ZEPS 4-related documents.
Zaborn suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Bro," Zaborn said with a wide grin. "I got news."
Zaboru looked up.
"What did they say?"
Zaborn floated closer and folded his arms proudly. "Apple and ZUSUGA are releasing their next big iPlay game next week. They're betting hard on it. Steve looks tense as hell, and Zanki is acting like his usual slimy self."
Zaboru's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Next week…"
Then he slowly smiled.
"So that's their move."
Zaborn grinned. "Yep. They think ZAGE will release most of the August lineup near the end of the month, so they want to steal the early attention."
Zaboru leaned back in his chair.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then the smile on his face became sharper.
"I'm honestly a little excited," Zaboru said. "If their game is good, then good. The market needs competition. But…"
His eyes grew colder.
"But after knowing Apple and Microsoft are working with Zanki, and after knowing Zanki wants to mess with Ayumi, I don't really feel generous anymore."
Zaborn's grin became wider. "Get them, bro."
Zaboru chuckled.
He stood up and walked toward the large window of his office. From there, he could see the city stretching beneath ZAGE Tower, bright and full of movement. Somewhere out there, Apple, Microsoft, Sonaya, ZUSUGA, and every other company were moving their pieces, trying to predict him, trying to surround him, trying to turn his own world against him.
But they had made one fatal mistake.
They had touched something personal.
Zaboru had already prepared booths for AKAI's next phone showcase. The product was not unfinished. The concept was ready. The prototypes were ready. The booth designs were ready. The presentation flow was mostly ready. The only thing missing had been the perfect date.
Now Apple had given him one.
Zaboru turned around with a calm smile.
"Tell AKAI to prepare the final showcase schedule," he said. "We will reveal the next phone next week."
Zaborn burst out laughing. "On the same week as iPlay's big redemption game?"
"Yes."
"That's evil."
Zaboru raised one finger. "Strategic."
"Bro, it's evil."
Zaboru sighed, then laughed a little. "For the first time… I think being evil feels pretty great."
Zaborn placed both hands on his waist and nodded proudly. "Hey, it's not evil if you do evil shit to evil people. That's heroic."
Zaboru laughed louder.
"Your morality is terrible."
"But entertaining."
Zaboru returned to his desk and picked up one of the AKAI reports.
"At first, I wanted to restrain myself," he admitted. "I didn't want Apple or Microsoft to collapse in this world. Their names are still attached to my memories from my previous life. I grew up knowing them. I used their products. I understood their importance."
His expression slowly darkened.
"But now? I don't care anymore."
Zaborn floated closer.
Zaboru's smile became terrifyingly calm.
"If they want to work with Zanki, then they should be ready to lose. If they want to threaten my family, then they should be ready to bleed financially. If Apple falls in this world, then so be it. If Microsoft suffers, then so be it."
He tapped the report with one finger.
"I already know their future inventions anyway."
Zaborn whistled. "That sounds very villainous, bro."
"It does, doesn't it?"
"Very."
Zaboru chuckled darkly. "Then maybe they should not have forced me to become one."
Zaborn nodded with great satisfaction. "That's the spirit."
Zaboru sat down again and immediately began writing notes. His hand moved quickly across the paper, outlining the revised AKAI showcase plan. The presentation needed to be sharp. The announcement needed to be unavoidable. The timing needed to be brutal. It could not merely distract from iPlay's next game. It had to dominate the week completely.
Technology journalists would have to choose what to cover.
Consumers would have to choose what to talk about.
Forums would explode.
And if the iPlay game was truly good, then it would still survive.
But if it was only "good enough," Zaboru would bury it beneath the future.
He looked at the phone prototype sketch one more time.
Then he smiled.
"Let's see how much attention your redemption game can get when the future arrives on the same week."
Zaborn floated behind him and laughed.
Outside the office, ZAGE Tower continued moving as usual. Employees walked between departments. Developers worked on games. Engineers prepared hardware. Marketers planned campaigns. No one knew that Zaboru had just decided to turn Apple's most important week into a battlefield.
Zaboru continued writing.
And somewhere far away, Apple still believed next week would belong to them.
To be continued.
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