Episode 5: "The Cause of Defeat"

Yo's eyes were trained on Tsuki's phone screen as they waited.
With a photo of Trash Tribe up on her screen, he pointed to each member, muttering each name as he tried to commit them all to memory.

Yo Kuronaka
"Okay. So this one is Miu... and then that's Shio?"

Tsuki Iroha
"Bzzt! It's Jio, not Shio."

Yo Kuronaka
"Ah, right. Man... Remembering people's names is pretty tough."

He gave the back of his head a scratch and he lamented his mistake.
Even though he had the intent of memorizing all the names of his new teammates, he kept getting them mixed up.
These were the people he'd be fighting alongside going forward. To mess up their names would be incredibly rude, so with Tsuki's help, he was working to link faces to names.
Just as he'd finally managed to get a handle on properly identifying everyone, a sound coming from the leather sofa opposite them reached their ears.
Yo and Tsuki looked up to find Kazuki and Q were seated directly across from them.

Kazuki Aoyama
"Sorry to keep you waiting for so long. Let's just jump right into it."

With that, Kazuki proceeded to move the conversation along.
The main topic at hand was, of course, the game's final pitch.

It had been the deciding outcome in the game against Zero. That very pitch, the one Zero had unleashed, and Yo somehow managed to hit right back.

All of the members of Trash Tribe had begun to cheer at that unexpected hit.
However, Yo had burned all of his strength with that final swing.
With that, he'd lost consciousness and collapsed, resembling a marionette whose strings had been cut.

XB was game based on baseball's rules.
If the hitters didn't advance to the next base, then those on the other bases couldn't make their way to home plate. Which was to say that their hands had been completely tied at that point.

That was how Trash Tribe had victory snatched from them, even though it had been right in their grasp.

Yo Kuronaka
"I seriously can't believe I passed out at such a critical moment...
I'm sorry... I owe everyone on the team an apology."

After hearing the whole story from Kazuki, Yo's knees went weak and the color drained from his face.

It was a game so crucial that they'd staked their futures on it.
Yo could feel his anxiety building. He couldn't believe he'd been the reason they lost a game of such importance.

Q
"...This was OUR loss. It's not just on you."

Kazuki Aoyama
"Exactly. Things might have ended up a lot worse if you hadn't been part of the team."

Yo Kuronaka
"That's not true. I know you're just trying to be considerate, but this is my fault.
If I'd just managed to keep it together and made it to first base, then you all wouldn't have been dragged into this mess..."

The more the others showed him concern, the more his guilt mounted.
The air around him felt heavy and weighted.

Kazuki seemed unbothered by it, though. He continued on, the corners of his mouth still turned up in a smile.

Kazuki Aoyama
"Haha. You're pretty self-conscious, huh? It was our choice to get involved, so don't worry about that part so much.
We took a gamble on your potential; that was a conscious decision on our part. We've got no regrets about it, so you don't need to beat yourself up over what happened."

Q
"We knew what we were getting into when we decided to come to 24 City."

Kazuki nodded.

Kazuki Aoyama
"That's why nobody is blaming you for our loss to Zero.
When it comes to XG, we're just going to have to combine our strength and do the best we can.
So don't you think it's about time you quit moping? We've got enough moody-types on the team as it is."

Kazuki did his best to encourage Yo in his own way.
His playful banter displayed a manner of kindness, one specifically aimed at relieving Yo of the burden he'd placed on himself.
Q, on the other hand, didn't say much at all, but his gaze remained kind.

Yo Kuronaka
"...Thanks. I feel a little better now."

Yo expressed his gratitude as his own gaze lifted.

Tsuki Iroha
"Um... Mind if I ask something?"

Her hands were trembling slightly as she inquired.

Kazuki Aoyama
"What's up, Tsuki?"

Tsuki Iroha
"S-Sorry. I'm trying to keep up with the conversation, but there are some things I just... don't really get...
What's 'XG'? Don't you mean XB?"

Yo Kuronaka
"No, he's right...
XG is the name of the game we're going to be playing from now on."

Tsuki Iroha
"Huh? Wait, so does that meaning the governing rules are different?"

Tsuki's eyes darted around a bit confused, all the while Yo was stumped by her phrasing.

Yo Kuronaka
"Governing rules? What are those?"

Tsuki Iroha
"Oh, right! I guess you don't know what those are, since you've been in 24 City all this time..."

Acknowledging Yo's gap in knowledge on the topic, she began to explain.

Tsuki Iroha
"When Zero took over Neo Tokyo, new rules were established for all the different cities. Those are called the governing rules.
Everyone in Neo Tokyo is forced to abide by them...
Breaking any of them or losing is punishable by death."

Yo Kuronaka
"So that's what you all meant when you said all the cities on the surface had been caught up in the games..."

Tsuki Iroha
"Mmhmm. That's why I still don't really get what the difference is between the governing rules and XG..."

Seeing their confusion...

Q
"XG is a game that uses the governing rules, just with teams selected by Zero.
The easiest way of putting it would be to view it as an 'extreme death game,' that's played while using the governing rules."

Q explained how the game worked as simply as he could.

Kazuki Aoyama
"That's not all, either. You'd better brace yourself for the real shocker—who our opponents are. Supposedly, it's going to be the 'Numbers' we've heard rumors about.
The games we've got coming up are gonna be pretty different from the ones we're used to. No doubt they're going to be pretty thrilling, to say the least."

Tsuki Iroha
"You've gotta be kidding me! It's already tough enough trying to survive out there... Now you're saying it's gonna even harder?!"

Kazuki Aoyama
"I wish I were kidding. Zero's really setting the stage for a tough battle."

...The Numbers.
Those were the special players that Zero had gathered.
Champions who had already survived the system of governing rules. Defeating them would be no easy task.

Yo and Tsuki's expressions both clouded over with exhaustion and worry with news of what the future held. With their feelings in mind, Q bought them warm drinks from one of the vending machines.
His appearance was a bit intimidating, but the longer Yo spent around Q, the more he could see that he was a kind-hearted person.

Unable to decide what he should get to drink, Tsuki selected a green tea for Yo.
It seemed that it was the brand he liked prior to losing his memories.

Once he took a sip, he could feel that familiar wave of nostalgia rise in his chest.
There was no doubt that the tea was a favorite of his.

The tension began to drain and gave way to casual conversation. A short while later, everyone's phones beeped their notification sounds.
They all took out their phones and opened NINE.

NINE (Hyakuichitaro Senju)
"Anyone know where Enoki went?
Let me know if any of you have seen her."

It seemed that Hyakuichitaro was looking for Enoki.
The tone of his message made it seem rather serious.

NINE (Koishi Kohinata)
"She was with me just a second ago, but she's not here now."

NINE (Roku Saigo)
"I haven't seen her."

One by one, the team replied to the message, but none of them seemed to know where she'd gone.

Tsuki Iroha
"Hey, Kazuki..."

Kazuki Aoyama
"Yeah. I think it's possible that Enoki might be in some kind of trouble."

Everyone's expressions tensed as they prepared themselves for a potentially dire situation.
Kazuki was quick to open NINE and type in a message to further inquire about the situation.

NINE (Hyakuichitaro Senju)
"Damn it! That little punk!
She just left me here and ran off on her own! What a pain in my ass!"

Before Kazuki could send his message, Hyakuichitaro sent another message, accompanied by a sticker of a demon waving an iron club.

Everyone exchanged glances at one another.
It seemed possible that there was nothing to worry about after all.

NINE (Jio Takinogawa)
"Calm down, Hyakuichitaro.
Can you start by telling us what happened?"

Even those not present appeared to be thinking along similar lines.

NINE (Hyakuichitaro Senju)
"Me and Enoki had a sweets party at the Princess Hotel, and then we were walkin' around kinda aimlessly after that.
But then the manager came up to us and told us to clean up the mess we made!"

NINE (Hyakuichitaro Senju)
"So I started cleanin' up, but next thing I knew, Enoki was just gone!!"

Yo slumped in his seat as he quickly lost interest in the anticlimactic story.

NINE (Miu Jujo)
"Well, that makes sense."

NINE (Tsuruko Semba)
"I can't believe you two would cause so much trouble for the hotel, considering how much they're doing for us..."

The other members of the chat expressed their exasperation, but Hyakuichitaro was unrelenting in how seriously he took the situation.

NINE (Hyakuichitaro Senju)
"I get it, I get it! I know I screwed up, but this mess is wayyy too much for one person to clean up!
Please, please, PLEASE come help if you're free!"

No one sent a response, despite the desperation in Hyakuichitaro's messages.

Tsuki Iroha
"Hey, what should we do? Looks like nobody's actually gonna help him..."

Tsuki sounded sympathetic toward Hyachuichitaro, even as she put her phone away.

Yo Kuronaka
"You reap what you sow. Right, Kazuki?"

Kazuki Aoyama
"No arguments from me there. Honestly, what were they even thinking?"

Kazuki's smile faded as he crushed the empty can he was holding.

Q
"Losing our base of operations right now would be a huge setback.
It'd probably be best for us to help clean up, just to make sure we stay in the manager's good graces."

Yo and Tsuki found themselves taken aback by Kazuki's expression of frustration. Q, on the other hand, remained calm as ever as he expressed his thoughts.
Q's response seemed to set Kazuki at ease. After a deep breath, he smiled once more.

Kazuki Aoyama
"Good point. Well, then... Shall we go help him out?"

They came to the agreement that the right thing to do was to help a friend in need.
With that settled, Yo took out his phone once more and sent a message to Hyakuichitaro.