Chapter 1461 1379 — Ayumi Hospitalized and a Visit

Saturday, 14 February 2002 — Tokyo, Japan

Only a day after returning from the United States, Zaboru found himself sitting somewhere he absolutely did not want to be.

A hospital room.

The doctors had already told him more than once that Ayumi and the twins were fine. There were no signs of premature labor, no serious complications, and both babies remained healthy. Ayumi had simply exhausted herself far more than she should have this late into the pregnancy.

That explanation should have reassured him.

It did not.

The moment Zaboru received the call while he was still in the United States that Ayumi had suddenly become weak and needed to be taken to the hospital, his mind had gone straight to the worst possibilities. He had rearranged everything he could, left as soon as possible, and spent most of the trip back to Japan unable to sit still. Even after arriving and hearing the doctors explain that Ayumi was stable, the fear did not immediately disappear. It had simply changed into something quieter.

Now he sat beside her hospital bed with one hand wrapped tightly around hers, his thumb slowly rubbing over her fingers. Ayumi rested against several pillows, looking tired but otherwise calm. Her stomach had grown considerably over the past few months, and seeing it now only reminded Zaboru how close they were to welcoming two more children into their family.

He had spent the last several minutes saying almost nothing.

Ayumi noticed.

She gently squeezed his hand. "Zabo…"

Zaboru looked up immediately.

Ayumi gave him a small, reassuring smile. "I'm okay."

He nodded, but his expression barely changed. "I know. The doctor told me." His eyes dropped toward her stomach for a moment before returning to her face. "I know you're okay. I know the twins are okay. I heard all of it."

Ayumi studied him carefully. "But you're still scared."

Zaboru was quiet for a few seconds before finally admitting it. "Yeah."

There was no joke in his voice this time.

He leaned closer, still holding her hand. "When Mom called me and said you suddenly got weak, I didn't know what happened. I was on the other side of the damn ocean, Ayumi. I couldn't do anything. I just kept thinking about you being here without me."

Ayumi's expression softened immediately. "Zabo, I wasn't alone. Mother was with me. Father was there. The doctors were already checking me."

"I know."

"You came back as soon as you could."

"I still wasn't here."

Ayumi understood then that arguing with logic was not going to help. Zaboru was not blaming her or even blaming himself rationally. He had simply been frightened.

So instead she lifted his hand slightly and pressed it against her cheek. "Look at me."

Zaboru did.

"I'm here," she said softly. "The babies are fine. I'm fine. Nothing happened."

He exhaled slowly, but his eyes remained tense. "You scared the hell out of me."

Ayumi gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

That answer made him look down again. After a moment, he asked more quietly, "How long were you feeling tired before you told anyone?"

Ayumi hesitated.

Zaboru immediately noticed.

"Ayumi."

She sighed. "A few days."

His grip tightened slightly around her hand. "A few days?"

"I thought it would go away after I slept."

"And you kept working?"

Ayumi looked slightly guilty now. "A little."

Zaboru closed his eyes for a moment and leaned back in his chair. He was clearly trying not to become angry because anger was not really what he felt. Fear sat underneath everything.

When he opened his eyes again, his voice was much softer than before. "How many times did I tell you to rest?"

Ayumi gave him a small smile. "Many."

"That's not funny."

"I know."

He looked toward her stomach again. "You're carrying twins. The doctor already said early March is possible. Your body is doing twice the work right now, and you're still trying to develop games when nobody is watching."

"I wasn't doing anything difficult."

"Ayumi."

She immediately stopped defending herself.

Zaboru leaned forward and rested his forehead briefly against the back of her hand. "Please don't do that again."

Ayumi's expression changed. The concern in his voice was enough to remove the last trace of playfulness from hers.

"I won't."

"I mean it."

"I know." She moved her thumb gently across his knuckles. "I promise, Zabo. I'll rest."

He stayed like that for another few seconds before finally sitting upright again.

From the other side of the room, Keiko had been watching them quietly. She had originally intended to scold both of them the moment Zaboru arrived, but seeing how shaken her son already was made her hold back longer than expected. Still, Ayumi's stubbornness could not go completely unaddressed.

Keiko crossed her arms and looked toward her daughter-in-law. "And I'm going to make sure you keep that promise."

Ayumi turned toward her. "Mom…"

"No. You really frightened all of us yesterday." Keiko's voice was firm, but beneath it there was obvious exhaustion. "I checked on you repeatedly. The moment I wasn't watching, you went back to working."

Ayumi looked slightly embarrassed. "I thought I was fine."

"That is exactly the problem. You kept assuming you were fine until your body told you otherwise."

Zaboru looked toward Ayumi, and the worry in his face made her feel even more guilty.

Keiko then turned toward her son. "And you too, Zaboru."

He straightened slightly. "Me?"

"Yes. I know ZEPS 4 just launched. I know you had business in America. Nobody is saying your work isn't important." Her expression softened slightly before she continued. "But Ayumi is this close to giving birth. You need to pay attention too."

Unlike before, Zaboru did not try to joke his way out of it. He simply nodded.

"You're right."

Ayumi immediately looked at him. "Zabo, don't blame yourself. You had work. I'm the one who didn't rest."

He glanced toward her. "That doesn't mean I shouldn't have noticed how tired you were before I left."

"You can't watch me every second."

"No. But I know you better than almost anyone."

Ayumi squeezed his hand again. "Then know this too—I'm okay."

He looked at her for a moment, and some of the tension finally began to leave his face.

From the nearby couch, Zanichi finally spoke while holding little Arumi comfortably against his chest. Zenshin sat nearby with his handheld game, occasionally glancing toward the adults even though he was pretending not to listen.

Zanichi looked between his son and daughter-in-law before saying calmly, "I think both of you understand the point now. Ayumi needs to rest. Zaboru needs to stop carrying all of this like something terrible already happened."

Zaboru sighed. "Easy for you to say."

Zanichi gave him a knowing look. "No. It isn't."

That answer made Zaboru pause.

Zanichi continued more quietly, "I was worried too."

The room became silent for a moment.

Keiko looked down, and Ayumi's expression softened.

Zanichi gently adjusted Arumi in his arms before adding, "But the doctors said they're safe. So now our job is to make sure she stays that way."

Zaboru finally nodded.

Ayumi looked toward Keiko next. "Mom… thank you. For yesterday."

Keiko's stern expression softened almost immediately. "Of course."

"I know you barely rested."

Keiko stood and gently adjusted the blanket around Ayumi. "You're family. I'm going to worry."

Ayumi smiled faintly.

That was something she still appreciated deeply. Keiko was not worried about her simply because she carried Zaboru's children. She was worried about Ayumi herself.

Keiko looked down at her. "Just promise me you'll stop thinking every quiet moment is an opportunity to work."

Ayumi nodded. "I promise."

"Good."

The room gradually became calmer after that. Zaboru remained beside the bed, still holding Ayumi's hand. He had not completely relaxed, but at least he was no longer staring at every small movement she made as though expecting something to go wrong.

Zenshin eventually moved closer and asked Ayumi whether the twins could already hear him if he spoke near her stomach. Ayumi smiled and explained that they probably could hear voices by now. Zanichi glanced at Zenshin and seemed to notice immediately that the boy already knew more than he was pretending to know, but he said nothing.

Arumi, meanwhile, became completely fascinated by a much simpler fact.

There were two babies inside her mother.

Still sitting in Zanichi's arms, she held up two small fingers and looked toward Ayumi's stomach. "Two?"

Ayumi smiled. "Two."

Arumi studied her mother very seriously. "Two babies?"

"Yes."

She stayed quiet for several seconds as if performing an extremely complicated calculation. Then she whispered, "Crowded."

That finally broke some of the tension in the room.

Zaboru laughed quietly—not loudly or wildly, but genuinely for the first time since arriving. "Yeah… probably a little crowded."

Ayumi smiled toward him, clearly relieved to see even that much.

The peaceful moment lasted until someone knocked on the hospital-room door.

Zaboru glanced toward it. "Come in."

The door opened, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.

Standing outside was Hikaru Kurata, carrying a neatly prepared fruit basket. Beside him stood his wife Ikuyo, along with their teenage son and daughter, Higashi and Inari Kurata.

Zaboru slowly stood. "Hikaru-san?"

Hikaru gave him a small smile. "Good afternoon."

Zaboru looked from him to the rest of the Kurata family. "How did you even hear about this?"

Hikaru lifted the fruit basket slightly. "I have my resources."

Under normal circumstances Zaboru probably would have teased him about that answer, but today he only gave a tired smile. "Apparently."

Hikaru's expression became more serious as he looked toward Ayumi. "I heard your wife had been hospitalized. Nothing serious, I hope?"

"Thankfully, no." Zaboru accepted the basket. "The doctors said she and the twins are fine. She just pushed herself too hard."

Ayumi gave Hikaru a small smile from the bed. "I'm alright, Kurata-san."

Hikaru nodded. "That's good to hear. Please take care of yourself."

"Thank you."

Ikuyo approached the bed soon afterward, greeting Keiko before sitting nearby. She did not overwhelm Ayumi with questions. Instead, she spoke quietly with her about pregnancy, exhaustion, and how easy it was to underestimate how much energy the body was already spending simply carrying children.

The conversation felt gentler than the earlier scolding, and Ayumi seemed to appreciate that.

Nearby, Hikaru's attention briefly shifted toward Zanichi.

The two older men exchanged a glance that carried far more history than either needed to explain. Years ago, Zanichi had worked inside Sonaya's hardware division. Hikaru had known how technically gifted he was, and also how little motivation he had shown there. Seeing that same man become ZAGE's CTO and one of the minds behind ZEPS 4 was something Hikaru could never entirely ignore.

Still, this was not the place for old history.

Zanichi simply nodded politely. "Hikaru-san."

Hikaru returned the greeting. "Zanichi-san."

That was enough.

Outside the room, Higashi and Inari helped keep Zenshin and Arumi occupied. Both teenagers had clearly been excited about visiting Zaboru, but even they understood that this was not the time to bombard him with questions about games, ZEPS 4, or ZAGE. Instead, they stayed with the younger children and kept the atmosphere light.

Zaboru noticed that from the doorway and appreciated it.

After nearly half an hour, Ayumi had become visibly more relaxed while speaking with Ikuyo and Keiko. More importantly, Zaboru had finally seen enough with his own eyes to begin believing what the doctors had already told him.

She really was okay.

The fear had not completely disappeared, but it no longer sat quite so heavily in his chest.

Eventually Hikaru glanced toward him in a way Zaboru immediately recognized.

There was something else.

Zaboru looked back toward Ayumi first before saying quietly, "I'm going downstairs for a little while."

Ayumi looked up at him. She could still see the concern in his face, so she squeezed his hand before letting go. "Go. I'm not going anywhere."

Zaboru remained beside her for another second. "If you feel anything—anything at all—you tell Mom immediately."

Ayumi nodded patiently. "I will."

"And don't try to work."

"I won't."

He still looked uncertain.

Ayumi smiled gently. "Zabo. I'm fine. Go talk to Hikaru-san. I'll be here when you come back."

That finally convinced him.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead before stepping away. "I won't be long."

Zanichi looked toward Hikaru and then toward his son before carefully handing Arumi to Keiko. "I'll join you."

Keiko immediately gave her husband a suspicious look. "You want to smoke."

Zanichi did not bother denying it. He simply reached into his pocket.

Keiko sighed.

A few minutes later, Zaboru followed Hikaru and Zanichi through the hospital corridor and into the elevator. They eventually reached the quieter cafeteria level downstairs, where a designated smoking area sat behind glass.

Zanichi took out a cigar while Hikaru reached for a cigarette. Zaboru did neither. He only stood there for a moment, glancing back toward the elevator doors before finally sitting down.

Even now, part of his attention remained upstairs.

Hikaru noticed.

He lit his cigarette but waited before speaking, giving Zaboru a moment to settle.

Smoke slowly rose toward the ventilation system while the noise of the cafeteria became distant behind the glass.

For the first time since Hikaru arrived, there were no wives, no children, and no hospital bed between them.

Just Zaboru Renkonan, Zanichi Renkonan, and Hikaru Kurata sitting together.

And judging from the way Hikaru finally looked toward Zaboru after taking the first drag from his cigarette, the Sonaya CEO had not come to the hospital only to deliver fruit.

To be continued.