Episode 22: "Setting Things In Motion"

...

......

.........

Buff 24 Tribe Member
"Mr. Ichinose. We've apprehended someone acting suspiciously."

Yo was shoved forward by one of Kazuma's subordinates, coming face to face with Kazuma himself, who stood at the center.
Kazume set down his ornate teacup down, offering the helpless Yo a sick grin.

Kazuma Ichinose
"Oh? Here I thought it'd be some sewer rat, but it's worse than that. You've brought me the repugnant skunk from the Sewage Tribe.
And he's all alone! Did your teammates abandon you once they realized it was all hopeless?"

Yo Kuronaka
"Damn you! Let me go! Agh!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Hmph. Pathetic. You come in without a proper plan, get caught immediately, and all you can do is scream, 'let me go!'
Even lowly sewer rats know, when to give up, and if you don't pipe down soon, I'll deal with you accordingly. Perhaps some rat poison will quiet you down?"

Yo Kuronaka
"How dare you?! If it weren't for you—"

As anger took over him, Yo lunged at Kazuma, but was quickly pinned down by Kazuma's subordinates.

That was when... *plop*
... a tiny box slipped from his pocket, falling helplessly onto the floor.

It shone gold and caught Kazuma's attention immediately.

Kazuma Ichinose
"Huh? What's that golden box? Pick it up at once!"

Petite 24 Tribe Member
"Yes, sir! Right away, sir!"

Yo Kuronaka
"S-Stop! Don't you dare put your hands on it!"

Despite Yo's protests, the 24 Tribe member rushed toward the box and a shaky hand reached down for it.
She picked it up and held it high so Kazuma could see it.

Petite 24 Tribe Member
"M-Mr. Ichinose! This is...!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"The Otori Family crest! Do you mean to tell me this is the Azuchi-Momoyama Half-Baked Castella?!"

The Otori family's crest lay emblazoned on top of the box.
Shock was clearly etched in both Kazuma and his subordinate's faces. Not only was this legend of Neo Tokyo real, but it also lay right before them.

Yo Kuronaka
"G-Give it back! Do you have any idea what we went through to get that?!"

Yo stretched his hand out, desperately trying to reach the box. It was all in vain.
He was severely outnumbered, with there easily being over one hundred of Kazuma's subordinates present.
Even if his teammates came to the rescue, they still wouldn't have the manpower to turn the tides and retrieve the castella.

Kazuma Ichinose
"How tragic! Finding such a precious item, only to clumsily lose it again!
All the better! As I will be the one to graciously deliver this to the CEO!
Haha! With this, the CEO's favor will be mine and mine alone!"

Already certain of his victory, Kazuma burst into triumphant laughter, his subordinates following with awkward smiles.
One subordinate, however, didn't join in on the forced mirth and merriment.

Petite 24 Tribe Member
"A loaf of castella usually weighs around six hundred grams...
If you factor in the weight of the gold leaf-covered box, the weight should be a little over that, so why is this lighter than that...?
U-Uhm... Mr. Ichinose, if I could have a word with you—"

She called out to Kazuma, sensing that something was wrong, but...

Kazuma Ichinose
"You! Hand it over already! You'll get your filthy fingerprints all over it!"

Petite 24 Tribe Member
"Eek! I-I'm so sorry!"

Kazuma ignored her scared apology as he stood up and snatched the gold leaf box from her hands.

Gong! Gooong! Gong! Gooong!
At last, the bell marking midnight rang.

The CEO swayed heavily, his eyes lighting up a fiery red.

CEO
"Riiise and shine, everyone!
What a ruckus you all got going on here. Did something happen?"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Good morning, CEO. As it so happens, I have good news for you.
We managed to obtain that which you've wished to taste at least once in your life."

Kazuma rubbed his hands expectantly as he leaned close to the CEO's ear and whispered...

CEO
"HUH?! Are you for real?! You got the Azuchi-Momoyama Half-Baked Castella?!
Let me have it! I want a taste! I REALLY wanna eat it!"

The CEO, in his excitement to taste his oft dreamed of Azuchi-Momoyama Half-Baked Castella, jittered from excitement. A little more movement, and he might've toppled over.

Kazuma Ichinose
"But of course! Please accept my offering to you, and enjoy!"

CEO
"Hell yeah! Time to diiig in!"

Kazuma offered the castella carefully, cradling it in both hands as one would a treasure. As he approached, a door on the CEO's torso popped open, and a black hand shot out to grab the castella, immediately withdrawing once it had its prize.

Kazuma Ichinose
"Heh heh heh... HAHAHA! I've won, you loathsome skunk! This victory of this XG is min—"

Kazuma's proud proclamation of victory was swiftly interrupted.

CEO
"BWOOOOOOHH!!!"

The CEO's door opened again as something shot out from it.

Kazuma Ichinose
"Huh? CEO?!"

CEO
"What IS this?! Ew, EW! Gross, gross, GROSS!!!
This isn't castella! This is just a SPONGE!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Wh-Wha... A sponge?!"

CEO
"You tricked me! UNFORGIVABLE!!!"

The CEO flew into a rage.
But this didn't make any sense. He'd given him the castella... right?
Kazuma's subordinates quickly dispersed, scared by the CEO's angry thrashing.

Kazuma Ichinose
"N-No... This can't be..."

Sure that this was some kind of mistake, Kazuma approached the item the CEO had spat out.
What lay on the ground was not a half-chewed castella as he expected, but the remnants of what appeared to be a half-chewed kitchen sponge.
Kazuma paled.

Yo Kuronaka
"...Heh."

Kazuma Ichinose
"You... You miserable skunk! You planned this, didn't you?!"

Irate, Kazuma stomped toward Yo.
Still, Yo remained unfazed as he was approached.

Yo Kuronaka
"I don't know what you're talking about.
You did this all on your own."

Kazuma Ichinose
"Why you little!"

Kazuma raised his fist high, clenched in anger, his eye twitching.
But that fist never came down on Yo.

CEO
"ICHINOSE! Care to explain?!
What exactly is going on here?!"

The CEO was still furious.
Kazuma knew that were this allowed to go on, he could be executed at any moment.
Defeated, he lowered his fist and bowed his head apologetically.

Kazuma Ichinose
"M-My sincerest apologies, CEO.
But you must understand! I, too, am a victim in all of this!"

CEO
"And what is that supposed to mean?"

'I, too, am a victim in all of this!'
The CEO's whole body swayed to the right, as if he intended to tilt just his head and the rest came along.

Kazuma Ichinose
"It was all a deceit orchestrated by this malicious skunk! He tricked us all!"

CEO
"Hmm? So HE's the one responsible for this insult?"

The CEO's gaze followed Kazuma's accusatory finger, which landed squarely on Yo.

Yo Kuronaka
"That's a lie! Kazuma delivered it to you! I didn't do anything!"

CEO
"..."

Despite Yo's attempt to clear his name, the CEO didn't react.
After all, the CEO can only hear one voice, and that would be the Director's voice.
Kazuma's mouth twisted into a wicked grin.

CEO
"I get it now. It wasn't Ichinose's fault after all!
I totally misunderstood! Still... the one who DID trick me... should be LAID OFF!"

Yo Kuronaka
"Damn it... Is this the end of the line...?

Kazuma Ichinose
"Haha! I must admit, I was a little worried for a moment, but there was nothing to fear after all!
Try and scheme all you want! The bond between me and the CEO is unbreakable!"

Yo hung his head as if in bleak acceptance of his death, and Kazuma couldn't help but sneer.
Until Yo lifted his head. He was smirking.

Yo Kuronaka
"Did you really think I'd say that?"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Oh, what's this? Trying to play it tough at the eleventh hour?
You are such a beast, unable to even accept your own death with grace."

Yo Kuronaka
"We'll see who's playing tough soon enough.
Hey, CEO! Take a good look at THIS!"

Yo stepped forward, free from the long-gone subordinates.
He held up a sheet of paper toward the CEO, right up against his face so he'd have a clear view.

Kazuma Ichinose
"Hmph. Quit your boorish flailing. Nothing you do can help you now."

CEO
"AAAAAAGH!!! What in the heck is THIS?!
ICHINOSE! I'll never forgive you!!!"

Kazuma recoiled almost on instinct at the sight of the CEO's uproar.
Why was he being blamed again? He'd cleared it all up!

Kazuma Ichinose
"H-Huh? CEO?! What did you show him?!"

Yo Kuronaka
"I guess I can show you, too, since you're that eager.
I think it's a rather good shot. Don't you?"

Yo calmly handed Kazuma what he'd just shown the CEO.

Kazuma Ichinose
"WHAAAAAAAAAT?! What is this?! How could this... be ME?!"

What he held in his hands was a picture, clear as day, of Kazuma himself swallowing the Azuchi-Momoyama whole.
He was stunned. How could he have a picture of something he had no memory of doing?

CEO
"Ichinose... You ate my castella!
Unacceptable! Unacceptable, unacceptable, UNACCEPTABLE!!!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"N-No! I would never! I don't know what's going on here!"

CEO
"Don't lie to me! I see you clear as day—swallowing it!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"N-No... That, uhm... That has to be..."

Kazuma sputtered in a panic, trying to come up with a suitable excuse. But as he tried, and failed, to explain himself, several figures came in running from the plaza.
It was Yutaka and everyone else.
They easily broke through the meager few guards still around. They lined up, surrounding Yo.

Yutaka Gotanda
"Heh. It's pleasant to see the Director of Shinagawa City himself reduced to such a pathetic mess."

Kazuma Ichinose
"I-It's you people! I thought you ran away!"

Yutaka Gotanda
"It's what we wanted you to believe."

Tsuruko Semba
"I'd love to fill you in, but this plan would have never come to fruition without Mr. Gotanda's idea!
So it's only right I let him do the honors!"

Despite her love for overexplaining, Tsuruko held herself back this once just so Yutaka could reveal his plan.

Yutaka Gotanda
"Thank you. Allow me to elucidate you, then, on the plan that was your downfall, so you may etch it into your memory before you depart this world."

Yutaka proceeded to explain it all.

First, Yo and the rest of the gang had obtained the rare Azuchi-Momoyama Half-Baked Castella, which could turn the tides for them all. However, the CEO was currently unreachable, surrounded by a large number of Kazuma's subordinates, making the delivery impossible.
It was then that a eureka moment hit after hearing the story of Hyakuichitaro mistaking a sponge for the ever-famed castella.
Maybe they couldn't deliver it themselves, but they could instead make it so Kazuma delivered a fake one, lowering his standing with the CEO.

This plan still had one major problem, however.
The CEO could still only hear the voice of the Director, in this case Kazuma.
Kazuma could very well talk his way out of it and the CEO would, none-the-wiser, accept it at face value and execute Yo and the others.

With time hanging over them, Yutaka remembered something from when he first met Yo and the others.

The candy that Yo had dropped in front of the CEO.
No matter how loud he shouted, the CEO never reacted to Yo's voice, but he did react when the candy dropped on the floor.
This meant one thing: the CEO could still react to visual information.

Knowing that, Yutaka had Minami feed recorded footage of Kazuma that had been taken with her smart glasses to her AI model to fabricate some evidence.
That evidence being the photo of Kazuma swallowing the Azuchi-Momoyama Half-Baked Castella whole.

Kazuma's expression rapidly transformed into one of despair after hearing Yutaka's explanation.
He'd been set up.
He knew that. Every inch of his body knew.

And still, Yo and the others felt absolutely no sympathy for him.
This man was responsible for far worse acts against the residents of Shinagawa City. He didn't deserve that sympathy.

Yo Kuronaka
"Do you get it now?
These sewer rats got one up on you!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!!!
How dare you lowly scum ensnare me?! I'm the Director! I'm Number One!
The CEO would never be fooled by a mere photo! Our bond is unbreakable!!!"

A faint glimmer of hope shone in Kazuma's eyes as he directed his sight toward the CEO.
The two of them had been deeply entwined ever since the governing rules began.
The CEO would understand. He knew the type of man Kazuma was and would listen to him, right?

Or perhaps not...

CEO
"Kill Ichinose! Kill Ichinose! Kill Ichinose! KILL ICHINOSE!!!"

The CEO's violent shaking was more pronounced than before as he repeated the one phrase, murderous intent toward Kazuma clear.

Kazuma Ichinose
"Eek! C-CEO! Don't you remember how much I've contributed to the governing rules?!
A simple piece of castella cannot be worth all that!
I'm begging you, CEO! Please, reconsider!"

His last hopes crushed, Kazuma dropped into a deep, apologetic bow.
He pressed his hands together above his head and prayed desperately, as if begging a god for forgiveness now instead.

CEO
"Well, so long, Ichinose! And thank you for all your hard work!"

Despite the cheer in the CEO's tone, it was clear his mind had not changed.
As he bid his farewells, a heavy thud echoed through the room. The door on his torso opened up slowly.

It felt like staring straight into the deep gates of hell.
Black hands shot out from within the void, violently lurching toward Kazuma and wrapping around his neck.
Kazuma struggled futilely, his scarf coming loose from his neck. As it did, a light-brown line became visible across his neck.

(What... What is that mark?)

It was gone just as quickly as Yo noticed, covered by snaking, dark hands.

Kazuma Ichinose
"D-Don't touch me!
Don't touch my neeeck!!!"

Tears welled up in Kazuma's eyes as he frantically tried to pry the black hands away from him.
They didn't budge.
They simply pulled him in, steadily, closer and closer toward the CEO.

Kazuma Ichinose
"N-No!
I don't want to die—urgh... I don't want to—"

And yet the hands kept an ever-strong pressure on his neck, cutting off his airway. He could barely breathe.
It didn't take long for his body to give out, his body collapsing as the last signs of any fight left in him vanished. With his strength gone and no resistance to give anymore, Kazuma was dragged through the gates of hell itself.
Once he was through, the gates closed. Ever so slowly they sealed his fate, signaling the end with one deep, resonant thud.

CEO
"Now, you're getting LAID OFF!"

The CEO slid his finger over his neck, gesturing as if slicing his own throat. As he did, the blade engaged, snapping into motion with a metallic clank.
Kazuma may have been their enemy, but watching him die still shook Yo and the rest. And still, the CEO remained unfazed.

CEO
"Phew... Laying people off sure takes it out of me! So... nap time, everyone! Nighty night!"

The CEO's eyes dimmed as he sank into a deep slumber.
A dark liquid dripped steadily from inside him, pooling at his feet.
It left no room for doubt. Kazuma had breathed his last within the CEO. He'd been laid off.