Episode 16: "XB vs Sui Part 1"

Everyone gathered at Azabu Crossing, which was to be used as home plate.
Yo and Sui faced off against one another silently, right in the middle of a four-lane road.
Yo was up at bat, with Sui taking position directly in front of him as pitcher.
Though the match hadn't formally begun yet, fierce sparks flew in their exchanged gazes.

Zero
"All right, sorry for the wait! Here's that XB Ball you've been waiting for."

Sui easily caught the ball thrown in his direction and proceeded to press the eye-shaped button.
As he did so, a diamond made up of light lines appeared in the crossing.
With the signal from Space Envoy 3 shaping the city into an XB battlefield, the preparations were complete.
(Beeeeep!)

A buzzer went off, signaling the start of the match.

Top of the first inning.
The Trash Tribe was up to bat.
Yo was up first; he kept a tight grip on his bat as he awaited Sui's first pitch.
His eyes remained fixed on Sui, his glare intense as he prepared himself to hit any pitch that came his way.
Sui, on the other hand, didn't seem too inclined to start the match with any haste, instead laughing while toying with the XB Ball in hand.

Sui Yakumo
"You gonna keep clingin' to a childish game like XB forever, or what?
Don'tcha think it's time to find a new hobby?"

Tsuki Iroha
"Geez... You've forgotten how fun XB is too, huh? We'd just be wasting our time trying to explain it to you like this..."

Tsuki sighed sadly as she looked on at her childhood friend, lamenting how he'd changed for the worse.

Tsuki Iroha
"Oh! But maybe if our match gets heated enough, the sheer fun of it will snap him out of it!"

Yutaka Gotanda
"It's certainly possible.The Shinagawa Tribe members managed to come to their senses by playing XB."

Tsuruko Semba
"When you think about it like that, you definitely have a point!"

Sui Yakumo
"Would you just zip it?! I've already told ya that I'm not brainwashed!"

Irritated, Sui began to shout at them.

Tsuki Iroha
"Yeah, well, the Sui I know would never trash talk XB!
And I know you pretty well!"

Sui Yakumo
"The me that's been livin' in your memories doesn't exist anymore! I've thrown away my past!
The weak person I used to be... I threw it all away when I was brought back to life!"

Koishi Kohinata
"I can understand wanting to overcome your weaknesses, but... I don't think it's right to deny the past you have with your friends."

Tsuki Iroha
"Exactly! Spending times with your friends is what makes you stronger!"

Sui Yakumo
"Just 'cause you spend time with your friends doesn't mean you're gonna get any stronger!
You really need to grow the hell up!"

Tsuki insisted that strength came from having friends, whereas Sui argued that strength came from solitude. It seemed they had reached something of an impasse.

Yo Kuronaka
"Being so obsessed with power... Aren't you the one who needs to grow up here?"

Sui Yakumo
"...Huh? What'd you just say, Yo?"

Sui shot Yo a glare.

Yo Kuronaka
"Getting addicted to power, thinking you're so strong all on your own... It's all pretty immature, if you ask me!"

Sui Yakumo
"You've got some nerve sayin' I'm immature..."

The bloodlust was palpable in Sui's eyes as his glare remained fixed on Yo.

Sui Yakumo
"Fine, if you're gonna provoke me? I'll bite. Let me teach you a lesson... with my fists."

Just then, as Sui sprinted toward Yo's position in the batter's box...

Zero
"Hey! Are you going to get started, or what? Enough with the pointless lover's quarrel! Get on with showing me the XB match!"

Zero's words stopped Sui in his tracks.

Sui Yakumo
"Fine, whatever. Guess we'll just have to settle this through XB after all."

Sui responded to Zero as he reluctantly made his way back to the pitcher's mound.

Sui Yakumo
"...But you better be sure to keep your promise when I win."

Zero
"...Naturally."

Once their ambiguous exchange concluded, Sui looked over to where Santaro and the Four Children had taken up their defensive positions and grinned.

Sui Yakumo
"Well, considerin' I've got some of the legendary Minato members on my team, pullin' off a win should be easy enough.
Lookin' forward to what you can do, Santaro."

Santaro Mita
"..."

Santaro awkwardly shifted his gaze away.
Having to face off against Yo and the others, even if it was just to get back the beam bat, seemed to really weigh on him.
Once Sui had taken his position back on the pitcher's mound, the game could truly begin.
Yo swung his bat a few times in an attempt to get focused.
No matter how fast the pitch was, he was confident he could hit it. Steeling himself with determination, he glared at Sui.

Sui Yakumo
"I'll show you the power my rebirth has brought me! And I'll make sure you don't forget it!"

With that proclamation, Sui tossed what appeared to be a boomerang above him. It had to have been some manner of XB Gear.
Then, he jumped vertically and docked with it in midair.

Yutaka Gotanda
"What the... is he flying?!"

With the XB Gear attached to his back, Sui was suspended over the pitcher's mound.
The gear seemed to have some sort of flying mechanism in it, similar to a drone.

Sui Yakumo
"Taaaake this!"

From midair, Sui threw the first pitch, which flew toward Yo with the speed of a laser beam.
That the blazing fastball being thrown from high above meant it was going to enter the strike zone at a sharp angle. Yo was unsure how to properly swing at it.

Yo Kuronaka
"Hngh...!"

Yo's bat swung through the air, not even grazing the ball.
The second and third pitches fared much the same, easily striking him out.
When the next two batters also struck out in the same manner, the Trash Tribe's first inning offense came to a close.

Sui Yakumo
"Are you for real right now?! After all that high and mighty yappin' that's all you weaklings got?
Well, whatever! Taking home the win in such an outdated sport wasn't gonna spark joy, anyway!"

Sui's loud laughter echoed around them as he toyed with the XB Ball in his hand.

Tsuki Iroha
"You're still calling it outdated? And anyway, both XB and this match are nowhere near over!
We haven't even gotten out of the first inning yet!"

Sui Yakumo
"The top of the inning told me everything I need to know. XB is boring as hell, and you're all too pathetic to keep up."

Tsuki Iroha
"Grrrrah!"

Tsuki's face flushed with anger from Sui's taunts.

Tsuki Iroha
"That's it! If you're gonna keep yammering on like that, then there's no way we're gonna back down!
Give me the ball, I'm pitching! I'm gonna make you face my wrath head-on, Sui!"

Yo Kuronaka
"Wait. Tsuki, you're gonna pitch?"

Yo blurted out, surprised by her declaration.
He'd assumed that either Yutaka or Kazuki would be their pitcher.

Kazuki Aoyama
"...Fine. Let's give it a shot.
It's not as if Tsuki's going to back down once she's made up her mind."

Kazuki readily agreed to let Tsuki take on the pitcher's position.

Tsuki Iroha
"Thanks, Kazuki! Just you watch, I'm gonna make sure my pitches get through to Sui so he remembers the thrill of XB!"

Kazuki Aoyama
"It's a nice sentiment and all, but that sort of reminder might be a bit too naive."

Yo Kuronaka
"What do you mean?"

Kazuki Aoyama
"I just mean the time for that has long since passed.
If you're planning to take him down, you have to make sure you're prepared to do just that."

The weight of Kazuki's words was matched by the serious expression he wore.
Despite that, Tsuki chose to laugh off his words instead.

Tsuki Iroha
"Don't worry about it! The power of our bonds will bring him back in a jiff, you'll see!"

Kazuki Aoyama
"...I hope you're right about that."

Concern laced Kazuki's tone as he spoke before he moved into his defensive position.