Episode 16: "Despair"

Zero
"In order to nurture a strong plant, there are times when it becomes necessary to trim away the weaker sprouts...
This seems to be one of those times."

Before Zero even finished speaking...
He extended his hand toward Yo.
Instinctively, Yo braced himself.

Zero
"..."

Zero shifted, moving his hand in order to point it directly at Sui.
A moment later, a small, red light appeared at the center of Sui's chest.
It couldn't be...

Zero
"These two are the weak sprouts holding back your growth."

Yo Kuronaka
"...!"

Upon the realization that the red dot was a laser's aiming point, Yo rushed to extend his hand toward Sui.

Yo Kuronaka
"Watch out, Sui!"

Sui Yakumo
"...Huh?"

Sui hadn't yet noticed the red dot that marked his chest.
Then, a moment later...
A laser beam came through the ceiling.

...And proceeded to pierce Sui directly through the chest.

Sui Yakumo
"Augh...!"

Blood began to gush from both his chest and mouth.
And after only a few seconds, he collapsed.

Tsuki Iroha & Yo Kuronaka
"Sui?!"

Yo and Tsuki called out to him simultaneously.
They didn't hesitate to run toward where his collapsed body had landed.

Tsuki crouched right beside him.

Tsuki Iroha
"Wh-What should we do?!"

Sui's eyelids fluttered closed as the blood continued to gush from his chest.
Tsuki pressed her hands against the open wound desperately in an attempt to stem the bleeding.
But...

Tsuki Iroha
"Yo, Sui's bleeding so much!
I can't get it to stop!"

As she spoke, tears streamed down her cheeks.

Yo Kuronaka
"Tsuki, no! You have to move!"

The red light reappeared, the laser's point now aimed at Tsuki's head.

Yo Kuronaka
"Hurry up, Tsuki! You have to get out of here!"

Tsuki Iroha
"H-Huh?"

Panicked and not fully understanding what Yo was saying, Tsuki scrambled to her feet.
Following his instruction, she began to run.
First to the left...
Then to the right...

It made no difference, as the laser tracked her movement with flawless precision.

Tsuki Iroha
"What's this...?"

Yo Kuronaka
"Run!!"

Yo's screams echoed through the area.
But Tsuki remained where she stood, eyes locked on Yo.

Tsuki Iroha
"U-Umm... It looks like... I won't be able to keep our promise..."

Yo Kuronaka
"...What?"

As she spoke, the tears continued to spill from Tsuki's eyes.

Tsuki Iroha
"I'm sorry... It's okay, though...
You'll achieve our dream, right, Yo? I'm sure you can do it..."

As she finished speaking, the laser beam pierced right through her skull.

Yo Kuronaka
"...!!!"

The blood spurted from her head, splattering around her.
And then, as if in slow motion, Tsuki's body slowly began to fall.

It was only a moment before she fully collapsed to the ground.

Yo Kuronaka
"Ah... agh... gah..."

Yo couldn't manage to utter a single word, reduced to only sounds.

Everyone else present was rendered speechless by what had just transpired right before their very eyes.
They couldn't will themselves to move, let alone make any attempt to escape.
Despair took over each and every last one of their faces.

But there was no one suffering more in that moment than Yo.
He was the one most overcome by that despair as he stood in front of the fallen, bloodied bodies of his childhood friends.

(Is this...
Is this all my fault?)

Feeling helpless, he asked himself that question.

Had this all happened because Sui and Tsuki had come to save him?

Zero
"Well, now that we've gotten rid of the dead weight... How about I give you one more chance to make a choice?"

Zero continued on as if nothing had happened.

Zero
"Won't you join me in the ultimate game that I've prepared for us, Yo?"

Yo Kuronaka
"..."

Amid his regrets, Yo continued to question himself.

(I don't have the right to mourn for either of them.
How could I, when I don't even remember anything about them?
What dream had they even been talking about?
What am I supposed to do now?
Could I have even done anything at all for them?)

He had no idea.
He couldn't recall a single thing.

But just then...
Something Tsuki had said earlier suddenly flashed into his mind.

Tsuki Iroha
"We should play some XB once we get out of here!"

Yo Kuronaka
"...?!"

XB...
The phrase echoed repeatedly in his head.

Tsuki Iroha
"You know, you were like, a really strong XB player!
The best of all of us, actually!"

Yo Kuronaka
"X... B..."

Yo whispered to himself. Then...

Sui Yakumo
"Ha. Honestly, I never really had to worry about you from the very start.
Not that it stopped us, since you're the type who'd always make us worry... but somehow, you'd always just shrug it off and resolve everything with a straight face."

Sui's face, and his words...
As well as Tsuki's.

Both flashed through his mind.

Tsuki Iroha
"I'm sorry... It's okay, though...
You'll achieve our dream, right, Yo? I'm sure you can do it..."

Yo Kuronaka
"..."

Yo looked up.

He felt as if he'd finally realized exactly what he was capable of.

There was a way for him to combat Zero!

Right before Yo's eyes, a new choice appeared.
This one wasn't manipulated by Zero—it was one he'd created all on his own.

Select
"Defeat Zero in XB."

There was only one option.
However, Yo was firm in his convictions as he made that decision.

Yo Kuronaka
"You won't get away with this, Zero!"

The emotion his voice held was overpowering.

Yo Kuronaka
"I'm not going to just let you do whatever you want! If you're so desperate to play games..."

His words were almost commanding as he voiced his decision to Zero.

Yo Kuronaka
"Then let's have an XB showdown!"

Zero
"..."

It took a moment for Zero to respond, but when he did, he sounded impressed.

Zero
"My, now that's an interesting proposition. I can't say I saw that coming.
After all, you don't know the first thing about XB. Isn't that right?"

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Y-You moron, the hell're you doing?!"

Hyakuichitaro was quick to rebuke the suggestion.

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"There's no way he'd agree to somethin' like that!"

Zero
"I accept."

Koishi Kohinata
"Wait, what?!"

Zero's swift response left them all wide-eyed with shock.

Zero
"Are you really so surprised? XB is a type of game, is it not?
It's only natural that he realized that a direct confrontation would end in defeat. Yo made a reasonable proposition in response."

Yo was sure that behind the mask he wore, Zero must have been grinning.

Zero
"This is also a type of fate, isn't it? That's why I'll accept your challenge.
I'll play XB with all of you."

Kazuki Aoyama
"...With all of us?"

Zero
"I'd rather not drag things out too long, so we'll keep this to each playing offense and defense once."

Without anyone else's input, Zero decided on the conditions of the game. He appeared serious about the effort.

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"You gotta be kiddin' me! We really have to play, too?!"

Miu Jujo
"If we're only playing offense and defense one time... Then this'll be a one inning game."

Eiji Todoroki
"That begs the question: what if we can't decide the outcome in one inning? Does the game end in a draw?"

Zero
"Should it end in a draw, then I'll allow you to consider yourselves the victors."

Q
"He seems pretty confident."

Zero
"You can call it that if you'd like. The game simply won't end in a draw, that's all."

Yo Kuronaka
"..."

Yo was carefully studying Zero's every move.
After making his decision, his mind had felt oddly calm.
For the time being, he knew he had to block out any thoughts of Sui and Tsuki.
He could take the time to mourn them after taking Zero down.

Kazuki Aoyama
"So, if we win... you'll let us go?"

Zero
"Correct. If you can eke out a win, then I won't interfere in your lives any further.
You have my word that you'll be able to safely leave. However..."

Zero's tone maintained an air of utmost confidence.

Zero
"If you lose to me in XB, you'll have to participate in my game."

Yo Kuronaka
"That's fine by me."

Yo responded without even a shred of hesitation.
Upon hearing that, Zero gleefully shrugged his shoulders.

Zero
"And the rest of you? Are those terms agreeable?"

Jio Takinogawa
"Why even bother asking?
It's not like we have any other choice."

Kazuki Aoyama
"That's fine. We're all former XB players.
You're putting our pride on the line, which means we can't back down from the challenge."

Kazuki expressed a rare display of power.

Zero
"All right, then. Consider that matter settled.
This space is too small to play XB, so how about we move down to the surface?
Which location, though... hmm, yes..."

Zero pointed to his feet.

Zero
"Shinagawa City is right beneath us.
Since all of the escape pods have been destroyed, we'll need to use another method to get there."

Tsuruko Semba
"A-Another method...?"

At the snap of Zero's fingers, a fleet of drones appeared from thin air and began to grab everyone from behind.

Eiji Todoroki
"What the...?!"

They levitated, helpless, before the ground below them opened up.

Yo Kuronaka
"Whoa!"

The vast night sky appeared beneath their feet.

In an instant, Yo and the others began their descent from the airborne fortress through the night sky.
In doing so, they left Sui and Tsuki behind.

Zero
"Well, then. Let's enjoy ourselves today."

After he muttered those words to himself, Zero stepped into the vast abyss that was the night, his body dancing through the sky.