In the garage, Yuji Naka was poring over the arcade-to-console port. Masuko Tsukasa was idly drafting new synth tracks. Kitagawa Takeshi was fiddling with a promotional poster.
And Kobayashi Tetsu was hand-soldering a circuit board.
Other than the software already delivered to Sega, this was—at this moment—the only existing cartridge of Jörmungandr in the entire world.
Of course, not for long. Kobayashi planned to hand-solder five cartridges.
And these five cartridges would—sometime between March and April, after the pirate-cartridge dealers had been crushed and scattered—"leak" into the market.
Naturally, the contents weren't complete. Kobayashi deliberately used cheaper memory chips and sloppy epoxy globs, with only a single stage included.
In plain terms: it was a demo.
Only one disguised as a leak.
After finishing the first cartridge, Kobayashi stretched his stiff back.
Tiring work.
This was something he needed to clear with Tanaka Minoru. If Tanaka misunderstood and thought Sega had sprung a leak internally—launching a self-investigation and a grand purge—that would be trouble.
He dialed. Tanaka sounded noticeably warmer than before.
"Tetsu, what's up? We're having an internal meeting this week. I was going to bring up release plans."
"I made a few cartridges myself," Kobayashi said, "planning to leak them into the market in a few days."
A sharp intake of breath came from the other end.
"Are you insane?!"
"I'm not. And I'm serious. A 'leak' catches more attention than a demo. I removed part of the code—only the first stage remains."
Tanaka paused to think, then pressed, "That's fine in theory, but once it leaks, pirate shops will crack it almost instantly. Even if the code's incomplete, it'll still hurt sales. Players won't know it's incomplete until after they've bought it. That hurts reputation."
"No need to worry," Kobayashi replied. "Nintendo will be running a special crackdown on pirate cartridge dealers very soon."
An even sharper inhale.
"Kentaro works for Sega—I thought! Don't tell me he actually works for Nintendo! How could you possibly know this?!"
"Because I called Nintendo and filed a report."
On the other end came the violent thumping of a desk. Kobayashi had to hold the phone away from his ear.
Tanaka exhaled like a man surrendering to fate.
"I have to say… you were born to do this stuff. Even if you didn't make games, you'd be perfect in Sega's publishing department. You should be the head of the whole division."
Kobayashi couldn't help laughing.
Funny—Nintendo said the same thing.
…
…
Time slipped into March.
At Shimayori Game Shop, the TV had just aired the Jörmungandr anime.
Kobayashi nudged Shimayori Yosuke, joking, "Shimayori-san, the cherry blossoms are blooming back home again."
Shimayori looked at him as though Tetsu had said something odd.
"Tetsu-kun… America has cherry blossoms?"
"Probably?"
Tetsu shrugged.
March—when all things sprout anew. Spring break. Cherry blossoms opening across Japan. A perfect season for travel. But Kobayashi had no interest in going to Daigo-ji in Kyoto for flower-viewing.
The last man to do a grand Hanami at Daigo was Toyotomi Hideyoshi—and his hometown ended up shelled to ashes.
Shimayori suddenly pointed. "Kobayashi, your girls are here."
"Eh?"
Tetsu snapped his head up. Two girls in casual clothes approached—one in a hoodie: Kobayakawa; the other in a long-sleeve blouse: Anezaki Nene.
Tetsu drew a sharp breath of phantom sakura petals.
"How did they end up knowing each other?!"
Kobayakawa looked as if she wanted to say something but felt shy. Anezaki gently urged her forward, giving her a light push on the shoulder.
Hands behind her back, Kobayakawa stopped in front of Tetsu.
"We went by the garage," she said. "That toad-faced guy said you were here."
"Toad?" Tetsu thought about it. Probably Yuji Naka.
Well, not completely wrong… Naka's round glasses did make him look a bit like a scholarly frog.
Kobayakawa suddenly lifted what she'd been hiding behind her back, presenting it proudly.
"Kadokawa Game Monthly?" Tetsu blinked. "The new issue? I haven't bought it yet."
"This issue is different!" she insisted earnestly. "You have to read it."
He took it casually and flipped it open.
His eyes slid down the table of contents—then stopped.
A peculiar pen name.
"Kobayashi Puzzle High-Score Strategy Compilation"
Author: Blue-Eyed White Dragon · Tetsu
Tetsu jerked his head up—meeting Kobayakawa's hopeful, expectant gaze.
Anezaki, hands folded behind her, smiled warmly. "Kobayakawa worked very hard. She experimented for a long time and revised it many times. It's an article full of heart."
Tetsu read the whole piece carefully. Indeed, it covered several advanced Tetris techniques—more than enough to qualify as a guide in this era.
Of course, the wording was still immature—too flowery, lacking the crisp jargon gamers preferred.
But the techniques were solid.
"Impressive," Tetsu said, giving her all the emotional support she sought. "If this had come out earlier, I probably wouldn't have won the title at the esports tournament."
"Of course!" Kobayakawa lifted her chin, grinning triumphantly.
She had worked on it for a long time, after all.
She opened her wallet. "Kadokawa paid me a manuscript fee. It's a big amount. Senpai said the family restaurant she works at is really good so… let's go eat."
Then quickly added, "No refusing!!"
Anezaki smiled serenely. "Tetsu-kun isn't the kind of boy who disappoints girls, right?"
Tetsu closed the magazine.
"All right. Let's go."
Shimayori, who had watched the whole thing, scratched his head.
What an unbearably sugary trio. Thank god none of them were his kids—he'd be embarrassed to death.
"Sigh… Even Tetsu, who games all day, has girlfriends. Why do I still have nothing but Sega? Then again, women are troublesome. Sega is all I need!"
Just as Shimayori comforted himself, a regular customer rushed in, eyes gleaming with suppressed excitement.
"Uncle! Big news! Huge!!"
"You heard? In a little alley in Shibuya—they arrested a ton of people! And those guys ratted out even more! All of them were making pirate cartridges!"
Shimayori's eyes widened.
Well damn—good job, Nintendo!
He sold legitimate games—pirates hurt his business too!
Not far away, Kobayashi slowed his steps just a bit—then his smile grew lighter, easier.
Good work, Nintendo.
Next step: time for the leaked demo.
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