When Maniwa arrives at Tsukiko’s father’s house, the father tells him what
happened ten years ago (the audience does not find out at this point) and shows him a
shed that contains the remains of a doghouse that says “Maromi” on it. In the doghouse
is a bat that Tsukiko’s father once used as part of a promise to hunt down the attacker.
Maniwa picks the bat up and sees it as a type of holy sword, one that should be able to
defeat Lil’ Slugger since it represents the truth about what happened.