Chapter 1465 1383 — ZEPS 4 Trouble… Kind Of?

Sunday, 15 February 2002 — Renkonan Household

After several stressful days, the Renkonan household was finally quiet again. Ayumi had been discharged from the hospital earlier that morning after the doctors confirmed once more that both she and the twins were healthy. Their instructions, however, had been extremely clear: she needed proper rest. No disappearing into another room to work, no sitting for hours trying to solve development problems, and no convincing herself that "just a little" work somehow did not count.

Zaboru had taken those instructions almost too seriously.

Since returning home, he had barely let her do anything by herself. He made sure she ate, brought her water before she asked, adjusted the cushions behind her more than once, and kept glancing toward her every few minutes. Ayumi noticed all of it, of course. She also understood why. Even though the doctors had reassured him repeatedly, the call he received while still in America had frightened him far more than he wanted to admit.

Now the two of them were resting together on the large living-room couch. Ayumi leaned comfortably against several cushions while Zaboru sat close beside her, one arm resting behind her shoulders. An American news channel played quietly on the television, mostly serving as background noise while Zaboru periodically checked whether Ayumi looked tired.

Then the headline changed.

GTA: SAN ANDREAS UNDER FIRE — PARENTS QUESTION VIOLENCE IN HIT ZEPS 4 GAME

Zaboru stared at the screen for several seconds before letting out a quiet sigh. "There it is."

Ayumi glanced toward him. "Another controversy?"

"Looks like it."

She adjusted herself slightly against the cushions and looked toward the television with mild curiosity. "Leave it on. I want to hear what they're actually complaining about this time."

Zaboru nodded and settled back beside her.

The segment began with footage of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas running on ZEPS 4: CJ driving through Los Santos, a police chase, a gang confrontation, and a brief shot of one of the casinos. The anchor explained that while ZEPS 4 had received enormous praise for its technology and launch lineup, San Andreas was now attracting criticism from several parent groups concerned about the game's adult themes and the possibility of children gaining access to it.

The anchor's tone remained professional as he explained, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has quickly become one of the most popular titles on ZAGE's newly released ZEPS 4 system. Critics, however, argue that its depictions of car theft, gang violence, firearms, gambling, and other criminal activity may be inappropriate for younger players. Supporters of the game point out that San Andreas carries an adults-only age classification and is not marketed as children's entertainment."

Zaboru's expression changed slightly at that last sentence. "At least they mentioned the rating."

Ayumi nodded. "That already sounds more balanced than some of the older reports."

The segment then cut to a suburban neighborhood in the United States, where a woman stood beside the field reporter. A caption appeared beneath her name.

KAREN WILLIAMS — PARENT

Zaboru's eyes immediately stopped on the caption.

For a moment he said nothing.

Then a laugh escaped him.

Ayumi turned toward him. "What?"

Zaboru tried to suppress it, but the coincidence was too perfect. "Her name is Karen."

Ayumi looked back at the television, then at him again. "Yes?"

Zaboru shook his head, still grinning. "Nothing. Just…well forget it."

Ayumi then says "Is it because the name is similar to Karen Josh who really insulted ZAGE a couple years back Zabo?"

Zaboru smile and say "Well.. part of it anyway don't think too much about it"

Ayumi gave him a suspicious look but let it go.

Karen Williams, meanwhile, appeared genuinely frustrated rather than theatrical. "My son used to spend most afternoons outside with his friends. Ever since we bought him the ZEPS 4, he can sit in front of this game for hours. And when I finally watched Grand Theft Auto properly, I was shocked by how much you can actually do. You can steal almost any car you see, run from the police, fight people, use weapons, go into stores, change clothes, play basketball, work out at the gym, gamble, explore whole cities… there's just so much freedom."

Zaboru's lips began to twitch.

Karen continued, increasingly concerned. "And that's part of what worries me. The world feels so alive. People walk around, cars move everywhere, the police actually chase you, and the graphics are so realistic that sometimes I can barely believe this is running on a game console. I have never seen a video game with this much detail before."

Zaboru lowered his head.

His shoulders started shaking.

Ayumi looked at him. "Zabo?"

Karen was still speaking. "Children can spend hours inside this world because there's always something else to do. You can leave the main story completely and still keep finding things. I don't think games should be this immersive when they contain so much violence."

That finally broke him.

Zaboru covered his mouth and burst out laughing. "Hahahaha—holy shit."

Ayumi stared at him. "What?"

"She's supposed to be criticizing us!"

Ayumi blinked.

Zaboru pointed toward the television, still laughing. "Listen to what she just said! 'The world feels alive.' 'There's so much freedom.' 'I can barely believe this is running on a console.' 'There's always something else to do.' That's a fucking commercial, Ayumi!"

Ayumi tried to remain serious, but a smile started forming. "She clearly didn't mean it as praise."

"That's why it's funny!" Zaboru laughed again. "She just reviewed San Andreas unintentionally"

Ayumi finally chuckled, especially when the report replayed footage of CJ driving through Los Santos while Karen's voice continued in the background talking about how detailed and immersive the world was.

Zaboru pointed at the screen again. "Look at this! They're showing the city while she talks about how amazing the city is!"

Ayumi covered a small laugh with one hand. "Okay, that part is a little unfortunate for them."

The reporter then asked Karen whether she believed violent games could directly cause violent behavior in children. Karen became more measured. "I'm not saying every child who plays a violent game becomes violent. But children are impressionable. They imitate things, and games are becoming much more realistic than they used to be. Parents need to understand what their children are playing before simply buying whatever game they ask for."

Zaboru's laughter faded somewhat, and he nodded. "That part is actually fair."

Ayumi looked toward him. "So you do agree with her?"

"With that part, yes." Zaboru settled back into the couch. "Parents absolutely should know what their kids are playing. San Andreas is rated for adults. ZAGE isn't pretending otherwise."

The report then returned to the studio, where the anchor noted that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas carries an adults-only classification, is not marketed as children's entertainment, and is not included in ZAGE's family-oriented ZEPS 4 bundles. Retailers were also expected to restrict sales to minors, though the report noted that enforcement varied between stores.

Zaboru nodded toward the screen. "Exactly."

Ayumi leaned comfortably against his shoulder. "Then the real question is how her son got the game."

"Some adult bought it." Zaboru shrugged. "That's the part people always skip. If a child is playing GTA, the game didn't crawl into the house by itself."

Ayumi smiled faintly. "Maybe his father bought it for himself."

Zaboru considered that and grinned. "Honestly? Very possible."

He glanced toward the television again, where footage from San Andreas was still playing behind the anchor.

Then he started laughing quietly once more.

Ayumi sighed. "Still thinking about her accidental review?"

"Yes." Zaboru wiped the corner of one eye. "I'm sorry, but imagine trying to tell people a game is dangerous and your argument is basically, 'The world is too detailed, there's too much freedom, the graphics are unbelievable, and my son can't stop playing it.'"

Ayumi chuckled. "When you put it like that…"

Zaboru grinned, but his tone became more serious afterward. "Still, if this gets bigger, we should probably remind stores and parents about the age rating again. Not because GTA did anything wrong, but because if the game is attracting this much attention, we should make sure people can't honestly say they weren't warned."

Ayumi nodded. "That sounds reasonable."

"It's an adult game. It should be allowed to be an adult game." Zaboru looked toward the screen. "Violence, crime, gangs, corruption—that's part of GTA. I'm not going to remove all of that just so nobody can complain. But making the rating clear? That's fair." Zaboru chuckle despite he knows in his previous lifes GTA San Andreas is adult game but somehow it's everybody childhood game

Ayumi laughed softly and rested her head against his shoulder again. "Fine. I'll give you that one."

His attention quickly shifted away from the television and back toward her. The moment Ayumi adjusted her position, Zaboru immediately looked down at her. "You okay?"

Ayumi sighed softly, though there was affection in it. "Zabo, yes."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"You don't feel dizzy?"

"No."

"Any pain?"

"No."

Ayumi lifted her head and looked directly at him. "You've asked me some version of that question all morning."

Zaboru's expression softened. "I know."

She gently took his hand. "I'm fine. The doctor said I'm fine. The twins are fine. I'm resting exactly like they told me to."

"I know," he repeated, quieter this time.

Ayumi squeezed his fingers. "You're still worried."

Zaboru did not deny it. "A little."

She gave him a knowing look.

He sighed. "A lot."

Ayumi smiled gently and rested against him again. "Then stay close. But stop looking at me like I'm going to collapse every time I move."

Zaboru gave a reluctant nod. "I'll try."

They remained like that for another few minutes while the news moved on to an unrelated story. Eventually Zaboru shifted forward as if preparing to stand.

Ayumi immediately noticed. "Where are you going?"

"I was going to grab my laptop. I have a few things I can check from here." He looked back toward her. "Nothing important. I'll stay beside you."

Ayumi considered that for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I want to go to your workshop."

Zaboru stared at her. "Ayumi."

"I'm not going there to work."

"You're supposed to rest."

"I can rest there." She smiled at him. "You have that large chair beside your desk. I can sit there while you work."

He still looked unconvinced. "Why do you even want to watch me work?"

"Because I like being around you."

That answer immediately weakened his resistance.

Ayumi noticed and smiled slightly wider. "And I've been stuck either in a hospital bed or on this couch for days. I want to sit somewhere else for a while."

Zaboru thought about it, then finally nodded. "Fine. But you sit down the entire time. No helping me, no opening projects, no 'I just want to check one thing.' If you feel tired, we come straight back."

Ayumi nodded. "Deal."

Zaboru stood and extended a hand to help her up, but after looking at her heavily pregnant stomach, he hesitated. Ayumi was already preparing to stand when he instead leaned down, carefully placed one arm behind her back and the other beneath her knees, and lifted her.

Ayumi instinctively wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Zabo, I can still walk."

"I know."

"Then why are you carrying me?"

"Because I want to."

Ayumi looked at his face for a moment. There was no joke behind the answer. He was still worried, still trying to make up for not being there when she first went to the hospital, and carrying her was simply another small way of reassuring himself that she was safe.

Her expression softened.

"Alright," she said quietly.

Zaboru carried her through the house much more slowly than he normally moved, careful with every step. Ayumi rested against his chest and allowed him to fuss over her for once rather than arguing.

The workshop was less than a minute away.

But by the time they reached it, Zaboru had checked her expression twice.

Ayumi noticed both times.

She said nothing.

Instead, she simply held him a little tighter.

To be continued.