Akira Zaizen

Akira Zaizen (, Zaizen Akira) is a character that appeared in the anime Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS. He is the older step-brother of Yusaku's classmate Skye Zaizen. He is also the former security manager of SOL Technologies, but was reinstated to his original position after the defeat of the Knights of Hanoi.

Appearance
Akira is a fair skinned young man with blue and teal hair and pink eyes. He wears a suit which consists of a blue coat with a darker one underneath, a white shirt, and a black tie. He also wears blue sports trousers and black shoes.

Personality
Akira is a man who values work above all other things. Despite this, he appears to genuinely care for Skye, and seems to be rather protective of her as he advises her to quit Speed Dueling out of concern for her safety, and when he is asked whether Blue Angel will duel Playmaker, he says no so as to protect her. Akira is generally calm and cool headed most of the time but he can also be stubbornly aggressive especially when Skye is in danger. This is seen when he lost his cool when he was unable to stop the Duel between her and Playmaker, and when she fell into a coma after the duel he ruthlessly tortured Playmaker whom he believed was responsible for her condition. He is not above admitting his mistakes however and felt remorse for what he did to Playmaker after learning the truth.

In Season 2, he begins to question some of the decisions SOL Tech has made, such as hunting down Playmaker and capturing the Ignis, especially after one of them was fragmented. This accumulated when the Queen continued ignoring the Gore's health condition, and Akira decided to disobey her instead of letting the man die.

Etymology
"Akira"「晃」means "bright" or "clearness". "Zaizen"「財前」can be translated as "before wealth" or "before riches".

History
Ten years ago, Akira and Skye's parents died in a traffic accident while on vacation celebrating their wedding anniversary (the accident is not mentioned in the dub). Akira and Skye were left alone, and their possessions were sold out, including their manor. Akira had to do a lot of illegal work, but Skye made him happy, and Akira swore to protect that smile. Akira worked hard and was promoted to security manager for SOL Technologies - all to protect Skye from suffering. Skye cried a lot for the disappearance of her parents, feeling alone and miserable. To cheer her up, Akira read her the story of "Blue Angel", which made Skye happier. Despite Akira's attempts, Skye became closed off and insecure. Akira went with Skye around cities to work, leaving his sister in school. One day, he heard Skye got in trouble for losing her friend's mother's ring. However, Akira knew Skye was not a type of person to get her friend in trouble. The two left the city, and Skye never saw Miyu ever again.

Three years ago, Akira was in a team with Blood Shepherd and Emma Bessho. Together, they rode in a cyberspace to track down a hacker, who promised to hurt them with a program. Akira and Ghost Gal pondered what to do, but Blood Shepherd gave the hacker three turns before surrendering. The hacker thought he was bluffing, but Blood Shepherd snapped his fingers. On the third turn, Ghost Gal and Akira charged, only to see Blood Shepherd continued hiding, for he intended them to be decoys. The hacker emitted a net to capture Ghost Gal and Akira, and just as he went to attack, Blood Shepherd started shooting at him. The hacker was defeated, but the program to hurt them started falling to Ghost Gal. Blood Shepherd pushed Emma out of the way and shot the program, which exploded. Akira and Ghost Gal were fine, but were angry at Blood Shepherd for being used a decoys. Blood Shepherd simply stated his mission was over, and logged out. While Akira was furious, Ghost Gal realized Blood Shepherd knew her real name, Emma.

Hanoi
At SOL Technologies headquarters, Akira informed Bishop that Ignis was inside of the network. Bishop reminded that SOL Technologies has been the leading force in the network for many years and that is all thanks to the data material that has been created from Cyberse World, but five years ago due the attack from the Knights of Hanoi, Ai hid the Cyberse somewhere inside the network. Akira added that due to the removal of Cyberse the supply of data material had steadily been decreasing and the performance of the network had fallen by 30%. To save their company, Bishop ordered Akira to find Ai and to determine the location of Cyberse. Shortly after, he informed Bishop that the preparations for the scan was complete but was worried about the decline of the security during the scan and that there will enormous damage if the Knights attack at this moment. Shortly after, Akira looked at the SOL Technology's staff performed a City Scan in order to search for Ai and got frustrated when the Knights of Hanoi decided to attack as LINK VRAINS defenses would be left vulnerable at that point. He was surprised that Ai was bonded to Playmarker's Duel Disk and asked what happened when a mysterious light went out from Playmaker's Duel Disk.

During the Duel between Playmaker and a Knight of Hanoi, he was surprised that Playmaker summoned a Cyberse monster and wondered why he had those monsters. After Playmaker defeated the Knight, Akira wondered if Playmaker and Ai have teamed up. He, Bishop, Knight and Rook discussed the incident caused by the Duel between Playmaker and Knight of Hanoi. Rook proposed to close down LINK VRAINS and perform some maintenance. Knight added that there were some reckless individuals who appeared and it might result in injuries. However, Akira didn't think it would be a good idea to shut down LINK VRAINS for their company didn't decrease in profits and the Data Storm was confirmation that Cyberse was safe. He added that Ai was captured by a hacker named "Playmaker". When Knight asked Akira about Playmaker's identity, he answered that they devoted all their resource into investigating it. Rook reminded Akira that this was his job as the head of Security Department. Akira told them if they shutdown LINK VRAINS and the battle between Playmaker and Hanoi moved elsewhere, they will lost Cyberse forever and suggested to restrict LINK VRAINS as a battlefield for Playmaker and Hanoi to capture Ai. Bishop agreed but warned that they won't accept failure.

Akira met with Emma Bessho and asked her to get information about Playmaker. When he learned about The Gore and his manager, Akira was surprised that Gore lived in a warehouse and thought he would have a lavish lifetime. Go's manager said that Gore was not a Duelist who was after money. Akira asked Gore to defeat Playmaker and retrieve the AI Program that he had. He offered him a D-Board for Speed Duels and explained Playmaker's AI program was originally created by SOL Technology, but due to certain events it fell into Playmaker's hands. He added that this AI program would determine the future of LINK VRAINS and if it fell into Hanoi's hand, LINK VRAINS would be destroyed. Akira wished for Gore to protect LINK VRAINS and if he succeeded, SOL Technology would become his main sponsor. When Gore refused and asked him to leave, Akira told him that he would come back later. He noticed a handmade championship belt and affirmed that many people wanted him to be champion. Before leaving, Akira told Gore that if he changed his mind, he could contact him anytime.

When Gore visited his office, Akira helped him by giving him Knight of Hanoi avatar so he can lure out Playmaker and Duel him. He then set up a trap to prevent Playmaker from logging out and watched the entire Duel between Playmaker and Gore. After Playmaker defeated Gore, Akira then left his office. Akira was then pursued by the media, feigning ignorance that he was responsible for setting up a Duel between Gore and Playmaker. When they asked him whether there would be a match between Playmaker and Blue Angel, Akira told them that it would never happen. He then called Skye and asked why she was unhappy and advised her to quit Speed Dueling because if something happened she would get hurt, to which Skye timidly agreed. He then watched the Duel between Blue Angel and Playmaker and was angered that Skye disobeyed his orders. When he saw Blue Angel summon Dark Angel, he went in panic and tried to stop the Duel between them.

After Playmaker defeated Blue Angel, Akira immediately called Skye but Yusaku answered his call after finding Skye's unconscious body and taking her to the hospital. He then went to hospital and attempt to follow her to emergency room but was stopped by a nurse. Akira met Yusaku and thanked him for saving his sister. He then asked doctor about Skye's condition and learned that she is in coma and don't know when she'll wake up. Akira was then interrogated by Bishop, Knight, and Rook when they found out that Blue Angel was related to him and wondered if she was secretly working with Hanoi. After being threatened with losing his job, Akira asked Ema to help him trap Playmaker. After capturing Playmaker with LINK VRAINS, Akira questioned and tortured him while refusing to believe that Hanoi caused Skye's comatose. However, when Varis appeared and told Akira that he could capture Ai or save Skye, he reluctantly freed Playmaker and apologized to him for violently torturing him. Akira then pleaded for Playmaker to save his sister and fight for him even if he hates him. Akira was also surprised when Playmaker told him he only hates Hanoi. As Varis and Playmaker went away on their D-Boards, Akira had Ghost Gal follow them, and show the footage of their Duel. He also noted how his sister's fate would be determined by the outcome of Playmaker's Duel. As the beam of light was shot in the sky, Akira noted how he saw that in Playmaker's first Speed Duel. Akira ordered Ghost Gal to follow Varis and Playmaker, but Ghost Gal was unable to enter the Data Storm. As Ghost Gal was helped by someone in entering the Data Storm, she had her cameras record the Duel between Varis and Playmaker, allowing Akira to remotely see it.

After Playmaker used the program on Blue Angel to cure her, it made her disappear as well. Akira learned from Ghost Gal that Blue Angel logged out of LINK VRAINS and was happy. He wanted to thank Playmaker, who immediately logged out, and logged out as well. Akira stormed out and met up with Nathaniel who was sent by Ghost Gal to take Akira to the hospital. There, Akira came to Skye's bed and watched as she woke up from her coma. Skye apologized for her actions, but Akira asked of her to rest. While Akira cried that she was restored, Skye smiled, seeing how her brother cared for her.

Back at his office, Akira was approached by Hayami, who gave him coffee. However, she got too excited and spilled some coffee on the table. Akira forgave her, and asked about her work history. Hayami was thrilled, thinking how Akira cared about her, but he specified he only wished to know that as her boss. Hayami counted three years since her employement, as Akira noted she could not know the location of the incident that had happened ten years ago. Hayami confirmed this, since her specialty was managing equipment, which was stored in a special room inside SOL Technologies building. Akira was not pleased, since he could not touch the equipment that held the data. He left off to go to his house, while Hayami noted how cool he was, even if he was demoted. Elsewhere, Akira spoke to Emma, who noted even if Akira was involved in saving LINK VRAINS, he was still demoted. Akira was not displeased, since his wish to cure Skye was fulfilled when Playmaker gave out the virus removal program. Emma stated Akira was replaced by his former boss Kitamura, whom Akira believed to be the one making the Duelist army that used AI, and would do anything to get results. Emma wished to know about Playmaker's incident ten years ago; since Akira knew nothing about it, Emma decided to make her search on her own, by hacking into SOL Technologies' data bank. Akira was shocked, but Emma claimed this was just to make connections with that company. Akira asked of her to give such data to him, but Emma stated she was not forced to do so, claiming he could pay her. Akira refused, and Emma grew disinterested of Akira. She left, claiming Playmaker could buy such data to know more about the ten-year-past incident.

In LINK VRAINS, Ghost Gal told Akira how she gave the program to Playmaker. Akira was furious, wondering what was Ghost Gal thinking. As a digital butterfly flew near them, Ghost Gal defended herself, reminding Akira also wanted to know more about the data in the mother computer, but had no authority after his demotion. Ghost Gal claimed that Kitamura would be held responsible, and would make his attempt to stop Playmaker. Akira noted if Playmaker was the decoy, nobody would notice their activities, and he grew more interested in his company's activities. Akira wished everything would go as planned, and logged out. Later, Akira and Emma were watching Playmaker's infiltration in the system on the latter's computer. Seeing Kitamura sent two AIs to Duel Playmaker, Akira and Emma logged into LINK VRAINS, and went deeper to access the data bank. Ghost Gal was glad Blue Angel came to the mother computer system, but Akira, shocked at this, thought Ghost Gal had some involvement. He went to save her, but Ghost Gal reminded him this was their only chance to find more about the incident, and pointed out Blue Angel was not a mere child. The two continued on, intending on reaching the data bank before Playmaker did. The two went through a light, where the data bank was located. They saw a pedestal with golden pillars, where the data about 10 years ago was located. When Playmaker arrived, instead of hiding, Akira activated a program, and awaited Playmaker to Duel him.

When Playmaker questioned Ghost Gal and Akira about why they were in the data bank, she explained they, were after the data as well. When Playmaker ordered Akira to move, he refused and admitted that he obtained the data, learning what happened to Playmaker ten years ago. He claimed he had the right to know about the incident and Playmaker asked of him to hand that data over. Akira refused, and Ai started to complain, claiming he is the great Ignis everyone was searching for. Akira wondered if Ai actually had free will, like Varis told them. Instead, Akira asked Playmaker to hand over Ignis and disperse. He wanted to shed some light over the incident, and Ghost Gal added Akira was demoted, due to the incident with Varis. Yusaku claimed he would be the one to reveal the truth; since this didn't personally involve Akira, Playmaker challenged him to stop him. He bet Ai for the data, and Akira accepted, seeing this was the only way to defeat Playmaker. Akira already reinforced his defenses by setting a monster, a card and Special Summoning "Tindangle Base Gardna". Playmaker prepared his offence, but Akira tributed "Tindangle Base Gardna" for "Tindangle Hound" to weaken Playmaker's monsters. Next, he activated "Lemoine Point" to prevent Playmaker from attacking face-down monsters as he confidently smiled.

Playmaker used "Cyberse Gadget" and "Gadget Token" to Link Summon "Flame Administrator". The latter's effect increased "Decode Talker's" ATK, enough to destroy "Tindangle Hound". The latter's effect flipped his face-down monster, "Tindangle Angel", which revived his "Tindangle Hound" in face-down position, and ended the Battle Phase. Ai realized Akira played a Flip monster deck, with unique strategies. Akira wondered how old Playmaker was, and sensed he was the same age as his sister. He admitted he knew the pain Playmaker bore, as he and Skye lost their parents. Still, he swore to protect Skye and keep her happy. However, he admitted if Skye was kidnapped by strangers like Playmaker, he would be terrified. Playmaker trusted that Akira was a good person, but doubted he knew anything about the pain he bore. Akira was surprised Playmaker would continue fighting, though he swore he wouldn't fall and continued his turn. Akira Flip Summoned "Tindangle Hound", and set "Tindangle Angel" into face-down position and gained its attack, plus weakening Playmaker's monsters. Akira attacked Playmaker's "Flame Administrator" and halved Playmaker's LP. Playmaker saw Akira knew nothing of his goal, as he Link Summoned "Firewall Dragon". Akira was shocked by Playmaker's dragon, remembering that's the monster that defeated Varis.

Akira used "Tindangle Hound's" effect to reduce "Firewall Dragon's" ATK, though his monsters were soon destroyed by Playmaker's "Link Hole". This allowed Playmaker to attack Akira directly with "Decode Talker" and drop his LP to 1100, though the latter monster was then destroyed by Akira's "Tindangle Delaunay". Akira immediately brought out his ace, "Tindangle Acute Cerberus", and used it to attack "Firewall Dragon", whom Playmaker protected with "Doppler Phase Coating". After Akira protected his own monster with "Gergonne's End", Playmaker tried to destroy "Tindangle Token" with "Firewall Dragon", enhanced with "Alert Lancer". However, Akira prevented damage with "Morley's Shield", and to counter Playmaker's strategy, used "Nagel's Protection" to protect his Tokens. "Tindangle Acute Cerberus" attacked, causing Playmaker's LP to be lowered down to 500. Playmaker drew a card and set it, which Akira declared as Plamaker's destiny. Swearing to uncover the truth himself, Akira asked Playmaker once more to end his revenge and return to his normal school life with his friends. He stated Playmaker must cherish those memories and not remain obsessed in the past, or else he will not find happiness, just like Akira didn't.

Blue Angel suddenly appeared, much to Akira's surprise, and asked to hear the truth about the incident ten years ago before the duel ended. Accepting his sister's request, Akira began to describe the "Lost Incident" where a secret organization six children were kidnapped, Playmaker being one of the victims. He refrained from explaining further after Playmaker told him to stop and went on recount the story himself. Akira believed that Playmaker was rescued from the incident, which had been covered up so the media wouldn't fuss. Playmer refused to believe he was rescued, swearing he needed to uncover the truth for the sake of the people hurt in the incident, as well as save the person whose voice that encouraged him to fight and who may still be trapped. Playmaker claimed even if Akira believed revenge was pointless, he still discovered that the Knights of Hanoi had involvement in the project. Akira also stated the SOL Technologies' data bank contained the name of the mastermind behind the Hanoi Project. Playmaker was shocked, and yelled out for the name, but Akira remained silent.

Playmaker demanded Akira to reveal the name of the mastermind, but Akira refused, fearing this would only feed Playmaker's desire for revenge and hatred. Akira decided to conclude the Duel by having "Tindangle Acute Cerberus" attack "Firewall Dragon". Playmaker avoided the defeat by banishing his dragon with "Cynet Backdoor" and with "Doppler Phase Coating" gone, Akira's Battle Phase ended. Akira turned the tables by using "Euler's Circuit", preventing Playmaker from attacking, and allowing one "Tindangle" monster to be switched to Playmaker's field. Playmaker was frustrated, and noted this was a Duel for justice. Akira swore to solve the incident and hold the ones responsible, but Playmaker doubted he knew anything, as he trusted his own justice that would make him prevail and win. Drawing a card, Playmaker used "Draconnet", "Bitron" and "Digitron" to bring out "Link Spider", "Recovery Sorcerer" and "Secure Gardna". Akira deemed the multiple Link Summons pointless, as Playmaker was unable to attack. Since "Secure Gardna" was placed on the top link of "Tindangle Acute Cerberus", Akira used "Gergonne's End" to nuke all monsters linked to inflict massive damage on Playmaker, believing the latter has lost hope in winning. The effect activated, seemingly dealing 4500 LP damage to Playmaker.

Announcing that Playmaker's revenge was over, Akira turned to leave, but to his surprise, Playmaker survived as "Secure Gardna" prevented all effect damage during that turn. This trap destroyed "Euler's Circuit", and allowed Playmaker to attack. Despite the advantage, Playmaker used "Recovery Sorcerer" to bring back "Secure Gardna" and "Firewall Dragon" to return Akira's "Tindangle Hound" and "Tindangle Angel" from the GY to his hand, thus forcing "Tindangle Acute Cerberus" ATK to drop to 0. As Playmaker attacked "Tindangle Acute Cerberus" with "Firewall Dragon", Blue Angel rushed to protect Akira from the blast, only for him to protect her as he fell down in defeat. After Playmaker acquired the data and told Akira to stay from away him and the incident, Akira asked Playmaker why he didn't attack directly with "Firewall Dragon". He replied that "Tindangle Hound" and "Tindangle Angel" represent Akira and his sister, who should turn and walk towards the light, rather than the darkness. After Playmaker and Ghost Gal logged out, Akira lamented he couldn't do anything in the end, though Blue Angel cheered him up by saying she knew what Akira was feeling. She noted that just as nobody would stand up to Playmaker, nobody would prevent her brother from protecting her, causing Akira to smile.

The Deleted
At evening, Akira and Skye ate dinner, since the former could come back from work earlier due to his demotion. Skye gloated, making Akira believe she did not like that. Seeing Kitamura developed the AI army to confront the Knights of Hanoi, Akira reminded them unlike Skye, the AI-s could not be turned into the Deleteds, and forbade her to enter LINK VRAINS. Skye was sad, but accepted Akira's demand. The two watched as Kitamura's AI army battled the Knights of Hanoi, but lost to two of elite members and Akira left to work. Before he left the office, Akira heard the news about Blue Angel fighting a Knight of Hanoi. Akira was shocked to see this, and questioned Skye why would she even do this. Akira nervously watched the Duel between Baira and Blue Angel with Hayami. After witnessing Blue Angel getting slightly injured and fearing she would become the Deleted, he decide to log into LINK VRAINS and stop the Duel between them but was stopped by Hayami who encouraged him to watch the duel instead and felt relieved after Blue Angel won. The Next day he and Skye watch the news about the Deleted victims getting cured while eating breakfast. Skye then attempt to apologize him for her action but Akira was happy that she was able to cure the victims of the Deleted and praised her for it. This made Skye genuinely happy and she gave a cheerful smile to him.

Akira met up with Emma, reporting with the Knights of Hanoi gone, peace returned to LINK VRAINS. Emma wondered if Akira came here just to tell that, who reported despite the victory, SOL Technologies have been looking for more employees. Akira reminded that Knights of Hanoi wouldn't retreat that easily, and Varis was still out loose. Emma felt something was going on, in this peaceful era. This motivated Emma to search through LINK VRAINS for the treasure, and promised to sell it to Akira. Akira asked for a discount, as Emma promised to think about it. Hayami alerted Akira about a footage of a Duel in LINK VRAINS. He came to the computer, finding Skye was Dueling Specter, who had defeated Kitamura. Akira prayed for Skye's victory, and was shocked to see her defeated at the hands of Specter. He stormed back to his apartment, ignoring his robot servant, only to see Skye unconscious. He logged in to LINK VRAINS and ran off to Blue Angel, who was lying on the floor. However, he was trapped in a cage made of vines to prevent him from come closer to Blue Angel. Dr. Kogami appeared, explaining Akira would be infected by the virus that would make one lose consciousness. Akira recognized Dr. Kogami as a former employee of SOL Technologies, who died because of SOL Technologies, but was revived. Akira listened to Dr. Kogami's personal story, and their mission to destroy Ignis. Dr. Kogami explained anyone that is trapped inside the Tower of Hanoi cannot leave, and once the tower was completed, data worldwide would be erased. Akira was overwhelmed by the fact Dr. Kogami would erase even himself to get rid of Ignis. Dr. Kogami deemed it was the only way they had left, and warped away. Akira called out to Dr. Kogami, and watched as Blue Angel faded away.

In order to block Playmaker's attacks, Specter showed Akira was captured. He threatened should he be injured, the vines around Akira would grow and he would soon be infected by a virus. Despite this, Akira told Playmaker not to worry about him, but was surprised that Playmaker decided not to attack. But after Shoichi Kusanagi's failed attempt in a rescue, Akira decided to sacrifice himself. This angered Playmaker and he went on to defeat Specter. Since the bridge collapsed soon after his defeat, Specter's current status is unknown. Akira, who watched the Duel, yelled out Playmaker should ignore him and attack, else that would make Skye's sacrifice worthless. Playmaker continued on defensive, as Akira noted that "Link Processing Failure" would stop Specter's monsters from attacking. Later, Shoichi completed the code, causing Akira to vanish. However, the trap was too complex, and the attempt failed. Akira reminded the importance of winning, else Skye's sacrifice would've been in vain, and all of this would lead to more victims. He asked for Playmaker's conviction, reminding even with these sacrifices, he has to bear this burden and continue. Akira smiled for a bit, and grasped the vines, taking that damage. He thought he would soon be rejoined with Skye, and vanished. With Varis' defeat, Playmaker stopped the Tower of Hanoi, which emitted the data back. Thus, Akira and Skye woke up from their coma. Later, Akira spoke to Gore about the problem, and asked of him not to inform the media that the Tower of Hanoi put LINK VRAINS at risk.

Lost Memories
Three months after the Knights of Hanoi were defeated, Akira met with his boss, the Queen, in LINK VRAINS to discuss Playmaker's bounty, which Akira questioned after Playmaker's heroic actions. Noting Akira's boldness since his reinstatement as security manager, the Queen reminded him if they do not have Ignis in their possession, SOL Technologies would not improve. Since the Knights of Hanoi were defeated and there were no Ignis at the newly discovered Cyberse World, the Queen assigned Akira to create a special bounty hunter team to hunt Playmaker down and capture his Ignis, by any means necessary. She threatened to demote Akira, if the task was not finished, before walking away, leaving a frustrated Akira to log out of the session. Later, Akira took in his office three people, one of which was Gore, in a new outfit. While both men expressed their disbelief at working with each other again, Gore declined to explain his own reasons for doing so. Instead, he noted there was the Deleted bounty hunter and asked where he was. Hayumi explained he was late, which upset Gore a bit. Akira assured him that person was dangerous and merciless, yet was professional in his activities.

Seeing Soulburner on his monitor, Akira confirmed he had an Ignis. Hayumi analyzed that Soulburner's cards were not found in SOL Technologies' database. Akira realized they were Cyberse cards, and suspected Soulburner could be one of the victims of Hanoi Project. When Soulburner summoned the Deleted copy of "Salamangreat Heatleo", Akira wondered about the Reincarnation Link Summon the guy conducted. Akira met up with the bounty hunters, and introduced them to Blood Shepherd. Gore and Blood Shepherd started arguing, but Akira didn't expect them to get along anyway. Instead, Akira showed a footage of Bohman, the orange figure, since Blood Shepherd believed it would help them track Playmaker down. Gore was alarmed at the figure, while Blood Shepherd noticed the figure did not log out yet. Regardless, Akira exclaimed the figure went beyond the restricted area of LINK VRAINS. Akira was later driven in a limo by Nathaniel to a gazebo, where he met up with Skye and Emma. Akira greeted them, since he requested their meeting.

Akira explained there were six Ignis created from the Lost Incident, one of which was Ai, Playmaker's AI. Since their Cyberse World was attacked, the Ignis have disappeared, so Akira asked of Emma to find the missing Ignis. Emma reminded that Akira hired bounty hunters to track Playmaker down, but realized Akira wanted to find Ignis without SOL Technologies' permission. Akira showed an entrance to the restricted area, where the figure that had went to after attacking Playmaker. Since the team that Akira had sent to investigate never returned, Akira asked of Emma to go there and find the Ignis. Emma assumed Akira wanted to bargain with SOL Technologies to sell the Ignis. Skye defended that her brother would never do that, who wanted to know of Ignis' intentions and capabilities. Emma accepted, under the condition of three times the ordinary payment, since she would become a target of bounty hunters. Akira complied, and gave Emma a program that would force her to log out in dire circumstances. Much to Emma's disapproval, Skye obtained the program and wanted to head with Emma, too. Emma believed Skye would slow her down, who only wished to help her brother find the truth about the Ignis. Emma sighed, while Akira reminded the importance of finding the Ignis, for the sake of humanity, and to return safely, for his sake. He noted they won't be able to communicate past the restricted zone, and wished the girls luck in their mission.

Akira noticed Playmaker's companion, Soulburner, who had defeated BitBoot. Regardless, he had his employees create a trap to stop Playmaker and Soulburner. Much to his displeasure, the two dodged the trap, which two of bounty hunters have triggered and were blown away. Hayami informed Akira of Soulburner's avatar name, who pondered about his presence, feeling something is to happen to LINK VRAINS once more. Thus, he ordered his employees to remove the trap and continue observing the enemy. He watched as Gore and Soulburner started a Duel. Akira had his employees search for Playmaker inside LINK VRAINS, while Hayami feared Akira could get a demotion if he were to fail. She launched attacks at Soulburner, but Gore took one of the attacks. Akira intervened to see what Hayami was doing, and asked of her not to interfere with the Duel. Hayami apologized, and was invited to Akira's office once the situation would resolve. Once Gore lost, Hayami started to cry, fearing for Akira's employment. Blue Girl and Ghost Gal followed Playmaker and Soulburner. The two ladies passed through the "gate"; Akira, who lost their signal, prayed for Skye's safe return. When Hayumi reported the research team sent through to investigate, Akira realized Blue Girl and Ghost Gal have used logout programs to save the people.

Ignis Warfare
Akira informed Gore and Blood Shepherd of the gate in the restricted area, through which Playmaker and Soulburner had gone to. Gore questioned why Akira didn't inform them of this earlier, but was reminded they were only hired to capture Playmaker and his Ignis. Akira noted unless the gate was reopened, Playmaker had no reason to return to LINK VRAINS, while his team were investigating the chances of reopening the gate. Blood Shepherd asked about Soulburner, whom Akira had no information of, save for having an Ignis and being a Lost Incident victim. Akira simply asked of them to be ready to capture Playmaker. Blood Shepherd turned around, deciding to take the matter into his own hands, regardless of Akira's demands. Blood Shepherd jumped and logged out, making Gore question if it was wise to trust him. Akira met up with Emma and Skye, who reported their findings through the gate. Emma stated Playmaker was after consciousness data, leading Skye to believe there was a connection towards the Ignis and that data. Akira noted Playmaker was the one that could contact the Ignis, and still had regrets for having bounty hunters track him down, since Akira owed his life to him. Emma stated they had to wait for the gate to be reopened, while Akira wished there was a way to speak with Playmaker. Emma noted Akira wanted to search the city for a Dueling hacker that fought the Knights of Hanoi, but neither she nor Skye were aware of such a person. Akira reminded a person's can act differently while logged in, though Skye replied they would feel who Playmaker was. Later, when Gore was scouting the area, he was ordered by Akira not to pursue Playmaker, since Akira had to show him something.

Akira saw Blood Shepherd's gate had trapped Soulburner. Hayami quoted "to fool your enemies, you must first fool your friends", but Akira doubted Blood Shepherd viewed them as allies. He briefly watched Kenmochi duel Playmaker, but was more concerned about the trap. His employees could not decipher the code, which made Akira realize that Blood Shepherd knew about the Ignis program, much like Dr. Kogami did.

George Gore was informed of the AI chip that could be installed into his brain, to stimulate his thoughts to make better decisions during the Duel. Akira confirmed that the chip was still in its experimental phase, and feared once George had it on, he would not be himself anymore. However, he still offered George an option to refuse having the AI integrated into his brain. George was amused, since Akira led him to this experiment, but did not care what happened to him afterwards, though Akira simply stated he was just an employee. George, wishing to accept the risks to become stronger, accepted in partaking in the experiment. After having the chip installed, the Gore had a virtual Duel, but lost. Akira was concerned about George, who saw some distortions in his visions, and blacked out. When he woke up, Akira complemented him, but reminded he was taking too much damage. George did not listen to Akira's warnings, and continued the experiment. Eventually, he started winning Duels and broke many records. Despite taking a lot of damage to his body, George claimed he "seized it". Akira wanted to stop the project, but the Queen, in person, arrived to have the experiment continued, for the company would prosper for these AI chips. Akira feared George would perish if the experiment continued, but George desired to continue, for the AI in his brain showed him remarkable things that only he could comprehend, and it showed him a path to victory.

Akira had his employees continue searching for information about the Ignis. Since he was called by the higher-ups for a meeting, he left Hayami in charge. Akira met up with the Queen, who was not pleased by Akira's progress on catching the Ignis. Akira apologized, and stated that "the special mission" was still in preparation: Gore was still finishing the program needed to execute. The Queen simply stated they didn't need people that failed to deliver results. After the VR simulation ended, Akira returned to his post. Hayami, believing the message of the Earth Ignis was a hoax, told Akira everything was in order. Hayami went to Akira to report the message from Knights of Hanoi. Akira showed that Playmaker and Soulburner were chasing down three people, and an Ignis they didn't saw before. Hayami believed it to be a Hanoi trap, but Akira nevertheless ordered the bounty hunters to go in and investigate.

Akira sought Playmaker out at a warehouse at night. Yusaku, who wore a hood, approached him from behind, and swore he would leave if Akira saw his face. Akira heeded his words, but questioned whether he really was Playmaker. Ai commented that Akira was distrustful, who was still surprised that Playmaker sought him out. Yusaku warned him about the two Ignis that were causing trouble in the network. Akira was in disbelief, as he was told that the Ignis declared war on humans. Ai wanted to stop Lightning, and while they did not know how would the war look like, Yusaku feared a much bigger threat than the Tower of Hanoi. Thus, they thought Akira could be the one to defend LINK VRAINS from that threat. Akira saw that he came to warn him of this threat. He turned around, but saw Playmaker was gone. The next day, he came to Emma's hideout, to warn her and Skye of the Ignis, as well as Bohman, who pose threat to humanity. He noted that the Wind and Light Ignis want to conquer humans, which was what the Knights of Hanoi were trying to fight against. Emma reminded that Ai and Flame were their supporters, and believed the Ignis would face each other. Akira feared what would happen if Playmaker would lose, but Skye wondered where were the two remaining Ignis. Akira thought the two remained neutral for now. While Akira went back to his company, Emma promised she and Skye would search for the remaining two Ignis. There, he found out Gore was pursuing Earth. He wondered why was he there if he hadn't recovered yet, but Hayami stated the Queen ordered that.

Hearing that the Gore had an AI installed into his brain, Akira feared this was no longer George Gore they had known. He continued watching the Duel, and upon Blue Girl's arrival, wanted that she does not interfere with the Duel. He was contacted by his employee, as George was taking too much damage to his body. He was present when Earth was dissolved into data, but he did not approve of such actions. Skye called her brother for a meeting. She wanted to ask him what is an Ignis, as Emma told her that Akira would have answers. Akira frowned, while Skye wondered if the Ignis were actual living beings. Akira exclaimed they had free will, and could be frightened to perish. Skye concluded that SOL Technologies have eradicated an Ignis, though Akira felt many of his company would disagree. Emma believed Akira wanted her and Skye to capture the Ignis to avoid such an incident. Akira denied, though he also didn't count on SOL Technologies to make such a drastic move. Thinking of Earth, Akira exclaimed humans shouldn't hurt the Ignises. Skye thought if they were really alive, they could also hate humanity.

Skye sent a letter to Akira, as she wished to be alone for a while, to figure out what the Ignis were. Akira, however, was disrupted by Kengo, and Hayami warned that he came without an appointment. Akira dismissed her, and faced Kengo Dojun, who asked him about their intention involving the Ignis. Kengo gave Akira a device, showing data about SOL Technologies goal: using the Ignis to build a greater AI. Akira heard about this, but didn't believe it to be possible. Kengo stated he was misled, for he didn't apply for the job to have a new Ignis created. On the question whether he should follow this goal, Akira replied that he didn't have enough power in the company to affect this decision. Kengo called him lame and walked away, stating he needed time to think. Akira decided to stay in the company, but understood if Kengo wanted to quit his job.

Akira reported to the Queen that Playmaker and Soulburner were in LINK VRAINS. His queen confirmed that she'd send the Gore after them, now that Blood Shepherd was gone. Akira frowned, reminding that the Gore would be hurt if he continued his mission. The queen simply stated she needed more data, and she'd use the Gore and the Ignis' data to make the company grow. Akira reminded the Gore already had taken the Earth Ignis, but the Queen replied she gave it to him. Akira was confused, but the Queen refused to answer. Instead, she showed that the Gore was already logged into LINK VRAINS. Akira noticed that the Gore used "G Golem Crystal Heart" against Playmaker, and realized something terrible. Akira was furious, seeing that the company didn't consider risks of putting Earth's data inside the Gore's AI chip. The Queen contacted him that she ordered that, and she needed more data, for it was all business. Akira had his team monitor the Gore's progress. As the Gore had his life endangered, Akira ordered his employees to force him to log out. However, the Queen appeared on the screen, reminding Akira not to interfere. When the Gore was defeated, Akira demanded the Gore to be logged out, but the Queen ordered a capture unit to be sent out. The Gore was logged out, and Akira questioned the Queen if she would let the Gore die, which frustrated her.

Akira changed the security level of LINK VRAINS. Hayami was worried that they didn't get approval from the boss, but Akira stated they had no time for that, for something big would occur soon, for Playmaker warned him about that. Akira and Hayami reviewed the security properties of LINK VRAINS. Suddenly, they noticed that someone was scanning the network, and saw LINK VRAINS being blurred for a moment. Akira reported to Hayami that he'd personally go to LINK VRAINS to monitor the status. He went to Ghost Gal, just as LINK VRAINS started to tremble.

LINK VRAINS started to flicker, and Akira asked of Ghost Gal what was going on. She explained it was the interference of Mirror LINK VRAINS, which was created for the Ignis to stage their rebellion against humanity. As Akira wondered why would the Ignis do that, Ghost Gal reported that Playmaker and others joined up with Varis and went into that world. Akira became concerned to hear the Knights of Hanoi were helping them, but Ghost Gal cut the talk, as she received the video from Playmaker's ally of Bohman facing Blue Maiden, the latter being Akira's sister. When Blue Maiden mentioned Miyu Sugisaki, Akira remembered that friend of Skye's, while Ghost Gal added she was also a victim of the Lost Incident. When Blue Maiden took an attack from "Cubic Hydradrive Lord", Akira became concerned how much damage she had taken. He believed due to his employment in SOL Technologies was why Skye was involved in this cause. He exclaimed it was his responsibility to raise her, and was why he wanted her to stay away from this digital world. He didn't expect her involvement with the Lost Incident was much earlier. When Bohman let out a blast, LINK VRAINS started shaking; Akira received reports from Hayami that someone was interfering with the system, so nobody could log out.

Akira and Ghost Gal went to the basement of the central stadium, to trigger a program to force everyone to log out of LINK VRAINS. He went to the computer to authorize this action, but was rejected. As he and Ghost Gal wondered about this problem, the screen showed Blue Maiden and Bohman, which made Akira realize the latter wanted him to watch this Duel. He frowned, and wished if Skye wanted to grow stronger, he pleaded her to win, thinking there was a way for her to reverse the situation. He shouted at Blue Maiden not to give up, and was glad when she found a way to protect herself. However, Bohman managed to beat Blue Maiden, and Akira screamed at his sister's defeat. Bohman understood the sibling love, and had Akira's hologram appeared. Akira went to hug his sister, who disappeared in flashes of data. He contacted Hayami, demanding of everyone in the company to find a way to rescue Blue Maiden. Ghost Gal reminded him he had people to take care of, for many accounts could not log out. Akira realized she was correct, and instead, he asked of Hayami to look after the people in LINK VRAINS. Soon, another screen showed up, showing Playmaker facing his ally, Kolter.

The two continued watching the Duels, shocked to see even Varis deleted. Ghost Gal reminded that Spectre, Blood Shepherd, Soulburner and Blue Maiden were also the victims of these battles. The latter became sad upon hearing the latter's name, while Ghost Gal exclaimed they could not wait around any longer. She reminded that they had to help other people out; since they could not log out, Akira thought of restarting the system. Ghost Gal feared that would have an impact on everyone, hurting them mentally. Akira knew that consequence, but feared of worse possibilities if they did nothing. As they saw Bohman using an Ignis algorithm to create a sphere, Akira and Ghost Gal went to reboot the system. As Bohman used Master Storm Access Skill, Ghost Gal and Akira became concerned, as the people hit by the sphere's beam fell unconscious.

Skye Zaizen (Blue Angel)
Akira deeply cares about Skye and works very hard so she won't go through hard times, but in doing so he unknowingly neglects Skye, causing her to think he doesn't care about her. He is completely oblivious to her wanting him to recognize her and her abilities.

He was dismayed about Skye being comatose and became desperate to save her, going as far as claiming he wouldn't care if he was fired from SOL in the process. When Varis blackmailed Akira with Skye's safety he quickly caved in to Varis' demands.

He later learns to accept Skye going into Link VRAINS, as shown by how he allowed Skye to go with Emma to capture the Ignis in order to learn the truth. He still cares about her safety, as he told Skye to come back safely.

Yusaku Fujiki (Playmaker)
Despite having a brief interaction with Yusaku at the hospital, he was grateful to him for locating his sister and informing him about her comatose status. He questioned Yusaku about his relationship to Skye and the latter responded they are only classmates.

On the other hand, Akira dislikes Yusaku's alter ego "Playmaker" for having stolen Ai. Akira grew to utterly hate Playmaker after his Duel against Blue Angel which resulted in Skye falling comatose. Akira immediately assumed that Playmaker was the culprit for Skye's predicament and worked with Ghost Gal to turn all of LINK VRAINS into a trap to capture Playmaker. Akira then mercilessly tortured Playmaker and refused to believe Playmaker's explanation that it was the Knights of Hanoi's fault for Skye being comatose. However, upon being informed of his mistake by Varis, Akira reluctantly freed Playmaker and was surprised that Playmaker didn't hate him for what he did. After Playmaker defeated Varis and used the removal program to permit Skye to awaken in the real world, Akira thanked Playmaker.

In their next encounter inside SOL Technology's database, Akira displayed pity for Playmaker after discovering the data he was after, even insisting that Playmaker trust him and reveal the truth in his stead. Compared to their previous encounter, Akira even demonstrates sadness for Playmaker, especially when he figured out that Playmaker is around Skye's age. Akira felt that Playmaker shouldn't waste his youth chasing after the Hanoi Project and wanted to handle the situation himself, only for Playmaker to immediately refute Akira's claims and mantained that he deserved to learn the truth himself.

Emma Bessho (Ghost Gal)
Akira considers Emma his only alliance even though he's aware of her double-crossing nature and tendency to come up with schemes that only benefit her behind his back, such as when she informed the heads of SOL Technologies that his sister is Blue Angel. When Nathaniel said that he got an anonymous tip to pick Akira up and take him to the hospital, Akira guessed it was Emma and seemed grateful.

Hayami
Hayami is a subordinate of Akira Zaizen at SOL Technology. Once, she mistakens that Akira liked her.

Queen
As the high-ranking official of the SOL Technology, Queen is a superior of Akira Zaizen. However, Akira began to question her of placing a bounty on Playmaker despite of his efforts of saving Link Vrains from the Knights of Hanoi. After Akira logged Gore off during his defeat by Playmaker, Queen became furious of him disobeying her orders.

Deck
Akira runs a "Tindangle" Deck, focused on Flip monsters and Lockdown strategies. By his own admission, his deck is particularly effective against Link Monsters due to his combination with "Tindangle Hound" and "Tindangle Angel". He utilizes a variety of Trap Cards to not only prevent the destruction of his Monsters, but strengthen his own arsenal as well. His ace monster, "Tindangle Acute Cerberus", which he can summon on his opponent's turn, allows him to summon Tokens, which in conjunction with his Trap effects, not only limit the actions his opponents can take, but help prepare for massive offensive strikes.