Episode 22: "The Three of Us, That Day"

Following the match's outcome, Yo and the others returned to Minato Tower and visited Sui's room.
They retrieved the beam bat that had been mounted on a wall, then returned to Santaro's secret base.

Tsuki Iroha
"I'm sure he really wanted this beam bat...
Since Sui really loved the Minato Tribe."

Tsuki had been crying for a while on the sofa, beam bat in hand.
She couldn't get her mind off Sui's death.

Kazuki Aoyama
"We're getting to the point where we can't really afford to be picky.
There's a good chance we'll need to strengthen our forces going forward."

Kazuki gave Tsuki a sidelong glance, expression stern.
They'd just witnessed the death of one of their teammates; Kazuki sensed it was a turning point in which future battles would only grow more dangerous.

Santaro Mita
"That so? How 'bout letting me join the team, then? You're gonna go around to the other cities, aren't ya?
Might be a good idea for me to tag along and keep an eye out for the other missing members of the Minato Tribe."

Kazuki Aoyama
"That's fine with me, but... didn't Saori entrust you with overlooking Minato City?"

Santaro Mita
I'll leave it to the Four Children. With the governing rules gone, they should be fine."

Ichiro
"Yes, I think we should be able to handle things."

The addition of Santaro to their team was a reassurance to Yo. After all, he was a member of the admired, legendary Minato Tribe.

Yutaka Gotanda
"Mr. Aoyama, would you allow Oi and myself to join officially as well?"

Kazuki Aoyama
"Are you sure?"

Yutaka Gotanda
"This is no longer just a battle that involves Shinagawa City. Oi has also agreed on this matter."

Yutaka and Minami had offered to officially join the team.
That meant the Trash Tribe had three new members.
It was nothing short of a promising start toward strengthening their forces.

Kazuki Aoyama
"In that case, welcome aboard. Now, regarding our next move—"

Yutaka Gotanda
"Before we continue, there's one thing I'd like to do, actually. Mr. Kuronaka, do you still have the XB Ball that was used in the match earlier?"

Yo Kuronaka
"I do, yeah. But..."

Yo had tracked down the XB Ball and took it with him after the match with Sui came to a close.
He'd kept it as a memento, so he wouldn't forget their last game.

Yutaka Gotanda
"There's something that caught my attention. Do you mind if I hold onto it?"

Yo Kuronaka
"Hm? Yeah, sure. Take a look, if you wanna."

Yo didn't hesitate to hand the ball over. He was sure that Yutaka would be able to make good use of it.

Yutaka Gotanda
"You have my thanks."

Santaro Mita
"Oh, right. I've got something for Yo and Tsuki. Here, take this.
It flew my way when Sui died."

Santaro spoke up as if his memory had suddenly been sparked. After a moment, he took out a smartphone from his pocket.
It was in rough shape; the screen had spiderweb cracks running across it.

Tsuki Iroha
"Wait, is this Sui's phone? I probably shouldn't snoop, but... Oh! I guess I turned on the screen..."

When her hand made contact with the phone, the screen lit up.
The image displayed on the lock screen was...

Tsuki Iroha
"...Whoa, this picture's ancient!"

The picture Sui had been using as his lock screen was one of him, Tsuki and Yo.
They were still kids at the time; it had to have been taken when they were still in elementary school.
Sui stood in the middle, bat slung over his shoulder.
On the left side, Tsuki held an XB Ball.
And Yo had been to the right, looking toward the camera.
Yo's expression had been serious, in contrast to the way Sui and Tsuki both smiled.
Their expressions made for a good display of how much fun the three of them had playing XB together.

Yo Kuronaka
"..."

Though Yo had no recollection of taking that picture, looking at it caused his chest to tighten.
He was sure that his heart remembered the joy of those days, even if his mind couldn't.

Tsuki Iroha
"Sui... Even though things turned out the way they did, you still cared about us, didn't you?"

Tsuki had to be right. If Sui had felt otherwise, if it weren't true, he wouldn't have used that image as his lock screen wallpaper.
That was what made it so strange, though. Right as he was dying...

Yo Kuronaka
"Just before he died, he said it was my fault things turned out this way.
What... What did he mean by that? Do you know, Tsuki?"

Tsuki Iroha
"I don't know. I seriously don't..."

Her voice was barely audible as she cast her gaze away from Yo.

Yo Kuronaka
"I see... Sorry."

Tsuki Iroha
"..."

Sui was dead. He had completely vanished from this world.
There wasn't even a corpse left behind. All that remained was deep regret lined with a single ray of hope.
If they could defeat the Numbers and earn the ultra reward, there was a chance they could resurrect Sui.
Still, it was possible that it was a perverse lie from Zero intended to give them false hopes.
Despite that, the only thing Yo could do was press forward.
To restore Sui's life.
To reclaim the joyful times the three of them had spent together, just as they had been immortalized on Sui's lock screen.

-Tribe Nine Chapter 2 END-

Author: Kyohei Oyama