Zaboru arrived home much faster than Ayumi had expected, although for once he had actually listened to her message and resisted treating the road like a private Need for Speed course. As he pulled into the Renkonan household and slowed the car near the entrance, he immediately noticed a familiar figure standing outside.
Ayumi.
She had wrapped herself in a warm cardigan and was standing near the front door with both hands loosely clasped over her pregnant belly. At first glance, she seemed as though she was simply enjoying the cold night air. Zaboru knew her far too well to believe that for even a second.
She was fidgeting.
Her fingers kept moving against the fabric of her cardigan. Every few seconds she glanced toward the road, then toward the house, then back toward his car. The moment she realized he had actually arrived, some of the tension in her shoulders disappeared, although she immediately tried to hide it.
Zaboru parked, stepped out, and deliberately kept his expression relaxed.
He had no intention of walking toward her looking worried or alarmed. Ayumi had already spent the evening imagining thousands of strangers judging her. The last thing she needed was her own husband acting as though some catastrophe had happened before either of them even knew what the public response looked like.
He approached her with a small smile. "Ayumi, why are you standing outside? It's cold."
Ayumi looked away for a moment. "It's just… I wanted to feel the cold wind outside."
Zaboru stared at her.
Ayumi glanced back.
His eyebrow rose slightly.
She knew immediately that he did not believe her.
Zaboru chuckled softly but decided not to embarrass her further. Instead, he slipped one arm gently around her shoulders and pulled her closer against his side. "Alright. You've felt enough wind. Let's go inside before the twins start wondering why their mother is trying to freeze them."
Ayumi smiled faintly. "They're inside me, idiot."
"Exactly. Even worse. They can't escape."
That earned a small laugh from her, which was precisely what Zaboru wanted.
They entered the house together.
The Renkonan household had become unusually quiet. Zenshin and Rumi-chan were already asleep, and Keiko and Zanichi had deliberately stayed away from the living room after realizing Ayumi was waiting for Zaboru. Nobody wanted to surround her with questions immediately after the most personal public statement she had ever made.
Zaboru and Ayumi eventually sat together on the sofa.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Zaboru glanced sideways.
Ayumi still looked tense.
Not dramatically so. She was not panicking. She was not crying. But she was sitting slightly too straight, one hand resting over her belly while the fingers of her other hand repeatedly rubbed against her thumb.
He knew that habit.
She was thinking too much.
Zaboru finally asked, "You already read the comments?"
Ayumi froze slightly.
It had only been about an hour since the video released, but there were already lot of comments underneath it.
Zaboru himself had deliberately avoided reading any of them.
Ayumi hesitated before quietly admitting, "I… I haven't."
Zaboru blinked. "Not even one?"
She shook her head.
For someone who had willingly looked directly into a camera and admitted that her father had been a Yakuza boss, she suddenly looked remarkably vulnerable.
"I want to," Ayumi continued quietly. "But I'm afraid to read them."
Zaboru's expression softened immediately.
That was probably the most honest thing she had said all evening.
He moved closer, gently placed both hands against her cheeks, and lightly squeezed them until she had no choice but to look directly at him.
"Ayumi."
Her lips compressed slightly between his fingers.
Zaboru smiled. "Whatever happens out there doesn't change anything here."
Ayumi stared at him.
"Some people might like you. Some might hate you. Some will probably decide they know your entire life after watching one video. Some will believe things that aren't even true because apparently thinking is too difficult for them."
Ayumi's eyes softened.
Zaboru continued more seriously, "But none of them get to decide who you are to me."
Then he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"I'll always be on your side. Remember that, okay?"
Ayumi remained still for several seconds.
Then her shoulders finally relaxed.
The tension was not completely gone, but Zaboru could feel the difference immediately. She leaned toward him, resting her head against his chest while his arm wrapped around her.
"Thanks, Zabo…"
Zaboru smiled and gently ran his fingers through her hair.
Ayumi closed her eyes.
For several minutes, they simply stayed there.
Just husband and wife sitting quietly together.
Eventually Ayumi murmured, "I'm tired."
Zaboru looked down at her and chuckled. "Then sleep."
"I can still walk."
"I know."
Before she could argue further, Zaboru casually lifted her from the sofa.
Ayumi immediately wrapped one arm around his neck and gave him an unimpressed look. "You just wanted an excuse to carry me."
"Yes."
"At least deny it."
"No."
Ayumi sighed but smiled anyway.
Even with the additional weight from her pregnancy, carrying her was nothing for Zaboru's Strong Body. He brought her upstairs, gently placed her on the bed, helped arrange the pillows so she could lie comfortably, and remained beside her until her breathing gradually became slow and steady.
Only after Ayumi fell asleep did Zaboru glance toward his Black Berry.
The notifications were absurd.
Zaboru stared at the screen for several seconds.
Then locked it again.
"Tomorrow."
Tonight was not the time.
By the next morning, avoiding the subject was impossible.
Ayumi Renkonan had become one of the largest stories in Japan.
The headline appearing across multiple newspapers, television programs, and online news pages was almost exactly what Zaboru had expected.
ZABORU RENKONAN'S WIFE REVEALS YAKUZA BACKGROUND
Others were less restrained.
ZAGE PRESIDENT'S WIFE: DAUGHTER OF FORMER YAKUZA BOSS
UNDERWORLD CONNECTION TO ZAGE?
WHO IS AYUMI RENKONAN REALLY?
Then came the more sensational versions.
DID ORGANIZED CRIME HELP BUILD ZAGE?
ZABORU'S SECRET CONNECTION TO JAPAN'S UNDERWORLD
IS ZAGE'S HISTORY REALLY CLEAN?
The problem was that Ayumi had never told the public exactly which family she came from.
She had admitted that her father had once been a Yakuza boss and that she had grown up around that world, but she had deliberately withheld the family name.
That single omission created an enormous vacuum.
And the internet immediately filled it with speculation.
Some users claimed she had come from a powerful Tokyo family.
Others insisted it was Osaka.
Another rumor suggested her father had connections throughout Yokohama.
Several message boards began listing old Yakuza organizations and trying to match them against Ayumi's age, Zaboru's early life, and unexplained gaps in public records.
None of them had proof.
One popular thread claimed with complete confidence that Ayumi belonged to one family.
A competing thread claimed that was impossible and named another.
A third insisted both were wrong.
Then someone else appeared claiming they had "a relative in law enforcement" who had supposedly confirmed a completely different family.
Naturally, nobody could verify the relative existed.
The rumors became increasingly contradictory.
"Her family was based in Tokyo."
"No, definitely Kansai."
"I heard her father controlled ports."
"Someone told me they were involved in construction."
"My uncle says her family used to be huge."
"Which uncle?"
"I can't say."
The uncertainty did not stop people from speaking with absolute confidence.
That was precisely what made the situation dangerous.
A vague accusation could mutate endlessly because there was no specific claim to disprove.
What surprised Zaboru more was how strongly another part of the public pushed back.
Many of the people defending ZAGE were not blindly denying Ayumi's background.
They simply separated Ayumi having a Yakuza father from ZAGE itself being a criminal organization.
That distinction became increasingly important.
Several influential gaming creators pointed toward the company's actual public history.
ZAGE Foundation had funded cancer research for years.
It had helped patients who could not afford treatment.
It had supported disaster-recovery projects.
Thousands of students from poor families had received scholarships funded by ZAGE programs.
Schools had received computers, development software, and technology grants.
ZAGE had repeatedly invested enormous amounts of money into projects that created little direct short-term profit.
One popular technology creator summarized the issue in a video that spread quickly: "You are completely allowed to question Ayumi's family history. You're allowed to ask whether the people around her really left organized crime. But saying ZAGE itself must be criminal because Zaboru married someone with that background is not evidence. If you have proof that ZAGE used criminal money, show it. Otherwise you are just turning someone's father into an entire corporate conspiracy."
There were users who argued that Ayumi's honesty did not erase the actions of whatever organization her family once belonged to.
That was a reasonable concern.
One popular comment read:
"I don't hate Ayumi. She seems sincere. But organized crime hurts real people. I think it is fair to ask whether her family truly left that world."
Another said:
"She shouldn't be blamed for what her father did, but the public also shouldn't romanticize Yakuza families just because she is beautiful and married to Zaboru."
Zaboru actually agreed with that much.
He did not want people turning Ayumi's background into some glamorous fantasy.
There had been ugly things in that world.
Ayumi knew that better than most.
Then there were people who remained openly hostile.
"Once Yakuza, always Yakuza."
"She is hiding the family name because she knows the truth is worse."
"Zaboru fans will forgive anything."
"Imagine if Microsoft's president had a Yakuza wife. Would ZAGE fans defend him too?"
Those comments triggered enormous arguments.
But the reaction was far from uniformly negative.
Many viewers were impressed specifically because Ayumi had admitted something uncomfortable without pretending everyone had to forgive it.
One comment gained enormous attention:
"She didn't say 'trust my family.' She said 'judge me by what I do.' That's actually a reasonable thing to ask."
Another user wrote:
"She could have denied everything. Instead she confirmed the worst part herself. I respect that."
Someone replied:
"And she still didn't expose her entire family just to save her reputation. Honestly, I respect that too."
That became another major point of discussion.
Some viewers criticized Ayumi for not revealing the exact family.
Others defended her decision strongly.
A popular response argued, "Why does the public need the names of every relative she has? She admitted her own background. That does not mean she has to give strangers a map to everyone in her family."
Then something completely different happened.
People began realizing just how beautiful Ayumi was.
Zaboru had been famous for years, and the public obviously knew he was married. There had been occasional photographs of Ayumi at private events, company functions, or family occasions, but she had generally remained far outside the spotlight.
Now millions of people had watched her speak directly into a camera for several minutes.
The reaction was immediate.
"WAIT THAT'S ZABORU'S WIFE!?"
"BRO WAS HIDING HER FROM THE PUBLIC."
"DAMN. NOW I KNOW WHY ZABORU NEVER CHEATS."
"MY MAN IS A BILLIONAIRE, OWNS HALF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY, MAKES GAMES, AND GOES HOME TO HER. WHAT DID I DO WRONG IN MY LIFE?"
"AYUMI AND ZABORU ACTUALLY LOOK RIDICULOUSLY GOOD TOGETHER."
Another user posted a screenshot of Zaboru's verified comment.
My wife is beautiful as always. Heheheh.
The caption underneath read:
MAN SAW A NATIONAL SCANDAL AND IMMEDIATELY ENTERED HUSBAND MODE
That post exploded.
Another read:
EVERYONE: QUESTIONS ABOUT ORGANIZED CRIME
ZABORU: LOOK AT MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE
Ayumi was deeply embarrassed when she discovered those.
Zaboru thought they were hilarious.
But the most interesting shift in discussion came from game-development communities.
A huge number of viewers had almost overlooked the Yakuza confession because they were far more shocked by something else Ayumi said.
She had helped build ZAS.
Not after ZAGE became successful.
Before.
She genuinely appeared to have been around Zaboru before ZAGE became enormous.
That completely changed the way some people viewed her.
"Wait. She didn't like Zaboru after he became rich?"
"She was literally helping him when he was just some weird high-school kid building arcade machines?"
"She was there BEFORE ZAGE?"
One comment summarized the revelation perfectly.
"Bro did not get a trophy wife. He married his party member from the tutorial."
That became one of the largest memes of the day.
Another said:
"Ayumi unlocked the billionaire ending by joining the protagonist before Chapter 1."
One fan summarized it with:
"So she loved him when he was a broke arcade nerd, became his development partner, confessed because he was too dense, married him, gave him kids, and now she's casually revealing she's also U-Bunny? What kind of romance manga is Zaboru living in?"
Even people uninterested in celebrity relationships found the history strangely compelling.
Then came a third reaction group.
Developers.
They did not care much about Zaboru's marriage.
They wanted Ayumi to talk about games.
Akaishidan developers were already respected among more dedicated gaming communities, and U-Bunny's identity had been known inside certain circles long before the general public discovered she was Ayumi Renkonan.
Suddenly thousands of questions appeared.
"What games did you personally work on?"
"How much of Karate Bunny was yours?"
"Please talk about early ZAS development."
"Did Zaboru really teach you programming?"
"What was young Zaboru like as a developer?"
"Did he already refuse to sleep back then too?"
One commenter simply wrote:
"Please ignore all the Yakuza questions tomorrow and explain how the hell ZAS hardware worked in 1991."
That comment received tens of thousands of likes.
By afternoon, the reaction had settled into something far more complicated than either Zaboru or Ayumi had initially expected.
And, surprisingly, the overall situation remained manageable.
The public did not suddenly abandon ZAGE.
ZEPS 4 pre-launch interest did not collapse.
If anything, the enormous amount of attention surrounding Zaboru's family had unintentionally increased public interest in everything connected to him.
Zaboru stared at the report and rubbed his forehead clearly good problem to have…
To be continued.
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