Episode 28: "Dawn of Victory"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Wh-Why... Why did I lose?!
This makes no sense! It's... It's impossible! It shouldn't be happening!"

Yo set his bat down and exhaled deeply as he looked on.
Kazuma was violently clawing his head, still on the mound. Unable to accept he'd lost.
Yo, followed by the rest of the team, walked toward him, choice words at the ready.

Yo Kuronaka
"Kazuma... The reason you lost is simple. You were left behind by those under you.
XB is supposed to be a team game. And yet you never played it like one. You neglected and abused all those under you.
That, in essence, is why you lost."

Tsuki Iroha
"That's right!
If you'd valued your team, maybe things would've turned out differently! But you wasted that chance all on your own!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Don't you dare talk to me about... teamwork! You fools could never hope to accomplish anything without mooching off of each other!"

Kazuma spat the words out, but was interrupted just as he was about to lash out.

Zero
"Huuuh? That's the reason you lost? That's so silly!
You know, Ichinose. Unlike you, I could beat Yo and the rest aaall by myself!"

A tiny black hole appeared in mid-air, Zero's ugly plushie form popping from within as it held a popcorn bucket.
You could see a small, analog TV through the hole. Zero must've been watching the game through it.

Kazuma Ichinose
"Z-Zero?!
Please listen! This was all just... Just a fluke! Yes, a fluke! Just bad luck, that's all!
Please, just give me another chance! I swear, next time I will be victorious! I will achieve a victory worthy of the Number One title you've bestowed upon me!"

Kazuma crawled over to Zero the moment he noticed him, trying to cling to him as one would when needing emotional support.

Zero
"Heh heh. Aw, Ichinose. You worry too much!
I promise I'm not mad at all!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Oh! Ooohh, what a merciful being you are! Truly..."

Zero offered him a gentle smile. And, for an instant, relief washed over Kazuma.

And then...

Zero
"I'm not mad... because I never expected anything from you in the first place!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"H-Huh? Wh-What do you mean by that?"

Kazuma was stunned frozen, the words taking him by surprise.
All while Zero, nonchalantly, fidgeted in place like a nervous schoolgirl, dragging the moment out.

Zero
"I guess now's as good as ever to finally spill the beans!
You see, you're Number One 'cause you're the first of the numbers! Ergo, the weakest and tiniest one!
Plus, your name has two 'I's in it, which look a lot like ones, so I thought it was fitting!
Phew! There! *sigh* The truth finally being out is like a weeeight off my shoulders!
I always wanted to tell you this, but I was worried I'd hurt your feelings."

Kazuma Ichinose
"This... This had to be a joke... right?
Zero! I thought you, of all people, had finally acknowledged me..."

Tears welled in Kazuma's eyes. All this time, he believed he was ranked number one, and behaved accordingly.
And yet the true meaning behind his title was nothing if not absolutely humiliating for him.

Zero
"Yup, yup! I mean, I totally acknowledged all the awful parts about you! Like your personality! Only someone truuuly twisted could adapt to the reigning rules so fast and lay off people like he's changing clothes!
But I have to say, you really ARE the weakest among the Numbers. But that's what made you so good! You served as Yo's perfect XG tutorial!
And now that that's said and done, bye bye! You can just pick up your stuff on the way out!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"No... No, no, no, no, no... This can't be happening to me...
Zero... You were the only one who... who acknowledged me."

Despite the heft behind his words, Zero had explained the situation to Kazuma as if he was having a casual conversation, waving his arms out carelessly.
Kazuma sank to his knees, a deep, dark void of despair swallowing him.

Q
"Hey, Zero.
We beat Kazuma in XB as well. You didn't forget about your promise, did you?"

Zero
"Ah, right, right! Don't be pushy. I just had to wrap up some loose ends still.
Game set! Yo's team is the winner! As promised, everyone in Shinagawa City gets to play XB now!"

This time, Shinagawa City's XG had truly come to an end.

Yo and his team exchanged quiet but happy glances, sharing a high-five with each other.
It had been a long, long battle. Heaviness permeated their bodies, heat still clinging to their palms from the exertion.

Kazuma Ichinose
"Hah... This loss was just bad luck, that's all... After all, from an objective standpoint, I am always correct.
I already know how your futures will turn out, anyway."

Yo Kuronaka
"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Kazuma slowly rose to his feet, staggering toward them.
Even Yo's retort didn't seem to faze him, as he kept the incoherent excuses coming.

Kazuma Ichinose
"You might all be praised as heroes at first. The saviors that abolished the governing rules.
But eventually, you will be condemned as the criminals who destroyed them."

Tsuki Iroha
"No way! Everyone will be happy to see them gone!"

Tsuki's retort only served to anger Kazuma, his eyes flying open like those of a madman.

Kazuma Ichinose
"They're all just too slow! Too slow to realize the true beauty of the governing rules!
The world before was garbage! The more you earnestly try to fit in as a cog in this deplorable society, the more you'd suffer!
Everyone out for each other's throats, pulling everyone else further down! No one ever noticed my talent!
But with the governing rules, it was all different! The cogs WERE rewarded for their contributions!
Why won't you understand that?! Why can't you grasp their brilliance?!
You refuse to appreciate Zero's mercy! The mercy that wiped this rotten society and cleaned the slate!"

He cried out in desperate, painful anguish.
Yo couldn't know just what kind of life Kazuma had lived before.
But woven in between his words was an unmistakable tapestry of disdain and resentment toward the peace he'd once known.

Yutaka Gotanda
"Hey... About Ichinose's background..."

Minami Oi
"Yes... We might need to look into it further."

Clearly Yo was not the only one to notice, as he heard Yutaka and Minami whispering among themselves.

Zero
"Ahahaha! Man, Ichinose is SUCH a riot!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Please watch carefully, Zero. I'll defeat them soon enough. I'll win, and bring back the governing rules to this city!"

Zero
"Hmm. I don't think that's really possible.
'Cause you're about to run out of battery. And I mean it literally!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"Run... out of battery?"

Kazuma blinked rapidly, stupefied. His eyes flickered, yet he seemed unable to process what was happening.

Zero
"Turning you into a robot was fun! But one of the cons is that if you move too much, you'll uuup and run out of battery ASAP!
But I guess that's my fault for building you out of spare parts! Of course you'd work like junk!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"N-No! Please, recharge me, then! Or give me a new battery!"

Zero
"No can do! Sorryyy. I'm not all that good with machines!
But I'm sure someone out there who's good at them will fix you! Someday! So you can go on and take a nap until then!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"W-Wait... pLeAse-e-e-e-e... I cAN StilL fIGHT...! I c-c-c-c-c-caN sTiLl... f-fiii... iii... ig... t..."

Ichinose's speech slowly began to slur and jerk, his movements coming to a stop.
He'd ran out of power. Just like Zero said he would.

Zero
"You'll just lose even more power if you get worked up! So, nighty night!"

Kazuma Ichinose
"G... G... Gr... Grahh... GRAaaAaaaAaAAaa—"

Kazuma finally collapsed and went completely still.
A heavy and thick silence fell over everyone.

Tsuki Iroha
"He's not moving anymore...

Zero
"Heehee! Well, that was fun! I'm pretty pooped!
Ahh... Just to think of all the other fun games I'll get to see in the other cities gets me feeling all fuzzy inside!
You all better keep working hard!"

Zero casually waved his wand and stepped back through the black hole while everyone stood in stunned silence, still processing Kazuma's sudden shutdown.

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"*siiigh* Man, I'm wiped."

Eiji Todoroki
"That makes two of us. And look. The sun's about to rise."

Indeed, the eastern sky slowly overflowed with soft, pink tones. Dawn edged closer, painting the edge of the buildings in beautiful colors.
Darkness retreated, the city's outline gently rising into view.

Tsuruko Semba
"My... It's beautiful...

Q
"It really is... The sky looks so nice today..."

Everyone stood entranced by the dancing light of dawn, the sun's warmth hitting their tired faces and washing away the heat of battle with the pale beauty of morning.

Tsuki Iroha
"Hey, everyone! How about we have a little celebration party? After we get some sleep, of course!
We all worked suuuper hard today, so I think we can let loose just a li'l!"

Everyone exchanged glances at the suggestion, then smiled softly.
Relief was palpable. Peace so still you'd even catch a stomach growl or two.

Minami Oi
"That sounds like a wonderful idea."

Yutaka Gotanda
"Indeed. I'll treat you all to whatever you feel like. Pizza, chicken—your choice."

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"I do kinda feel bad for Kazuma and the others... But I guess they'll manage!"

Yo Kuronaka
"All right, everyone. Let's head back to the Shinagawa Princess Hotel."

Yo and the rest started their walk home, bathed in the morning sun.
Yutaka and Minami retrieved Kazuma. With him no longer functioning, it was decided that Minami would take care of him, as robots were her specialty.

When he got back to his room, Yo let himself fall into bed promptly, pulled in by the mattress.

Yo Kuronaka
"Wait for me, Sui... I swear I'll... I'll absolutely find you..."

With the weight of everything else finally lifted off his shoulders, Yo could finally let himself think of Sui once more.
He closed his eyes as he wished for a reunion with his precious childhood friend.

That night, he dreamed a happy dream.
He dreamed of Tsuki and Sui, the three of them playing XB. Their laughter carried him through the night.

...However, the bright morning light cast a deep shadow. A shadow that already set out in silent action.

-Tribe Nine Chapter 1 END-

Writer : CHRONOGATE