A rascal, a board game, and a game night that was supposed to be simple.
Azusagawa Sakuta just wanted a quiet summer. Instead, he found an old board game left behind at his part-time job—"Youth Sugoroku: Musubi Dice"—and brought it home as a souvenir for his little sister. But the moment Kaede saw the box, her smile flickered, and something dark surfaced in her eyes.
No rulebook. No numbers on the die. Just strange symbols, and a board that looks suspiciously like their own neighborhood—Minega
Rascal Does Not Dream of Everyone Playing Games - Rio's Analysis and the Unmoving Piece
Saturday morning.
Azusagawa Sakuta was walking down the dim covered walkway behind the Minegahara High School building.
"Ugh, what a pain..."
The words slipped out on habit.
He scratched at his sleep-tousled black hair, deep brown eyes still half-closed. The navy blazer of his uniform didn't so much fit him as hang off him.
He thought back to last night.
Mai had left without a word.
Kaede's sad face.
That die, lying on the table.
The symbol for "crossing paths."
"...Tch."
Sakuta clicked his tongue softly.
He could read the room.
And because he could, he understood.
Mai had sensed something in that game.
And that something was carving a small but unmistakable rift between him and Kaede.
"So what the hell am I supposed to do about it?"
He muttered it to no one.
There was no answer to be found.
Sakuta climbed the stairs of the old school building.
His destination: the physics lab.
The one place in this school where he could talk to someone without any pretense.
The science club's only member.
A sharp-tongued girl in a white lab coat.
Futaba Rio.
"Heeey, Futaba. You in?"
Sakuta slid the lab's door open with a rattle.
Instantly, a distinctive smell hit his nose—chemicals, old wood, and dust all mixed together.
Rio was sitting at a desk by the window.
Her long, slightly wavy hair hung down carelessly. Her intelligent black eyes were fixed on a notebook, framed by her glasses. A pen and a small piece of lab equipment poked out of her coat pocket.
She looked up at the sound of his voice.
"...You're loud. Learn to open a door quietly."
"Is this your room or something?"
Sakuta dropped heavily into the chair across from her.
"It's practically my room. No one comes here but you."
Rio returned her gaze to her notebook.
"That's 'cause you set a fire with one of your experiments. People talk, you know. 'The mad scientist of the physics lab.'"
"Rude. That wasn't mad science, just carelessness. ...So? What do you want today? Another pointless chat?"
Her voice was as flat as ever.
But Sakuta could tell.
She was willing to listen.
Her sharp tongue was just her way of communicating.
Sakuta set the paper bag he'd been carrying on the desk.
"Take a look at this."
What came out of the bag was that old board game.
"Youth Sugoroku: Musubi Dice."
"...This is the one?"
For the first time, Rio's eyes behind her glasses turned toward the game.
"Yeah. A cursed game I picked up at work."
"Cursed, huh. Don't say unscientific things in front of me."
Rio picked up the box and examined it closely.
A faded cream background with retro-style illustrations.
"...No manufacturer listed. No barcode either. You really have no idea where it came from?"
"The manager doesn't know either. Apparently it was wedged in the waiting-room sofa for about two weeks."
"Hmm."
Rio opened the lid.
She took out a thick cardboard board and a cloth bag containing dice.
"Where's the rulebook?"
"There isn't one. Never was. So we've all just been making it up as we go."
"Making it up, huh. ...These dice don't have numbers."
Rio pulled a die from the bag and set it in her palm.
All six faces bore different symbols.
A human figure. Two hands clasped. A wave-like shape. An eye-like shape. A star. Two arrows pointing in opposite directions.
"We can only guess what the symbols mean. ...But the dice aren't the only problem."
Rio spread the board out on the desk.
Sakuta looked at her face.
She pushed her glasses up with her index finger.
Her thinking habit.
"This is Minegahara High. And it's drawn exactly as it looks now."
"...Yeah, I figured."
"Yes. The shape of the building, the window layout, the position of the walkway—all match the current Minegahara High. ...But the board's design is clearly old. Late Showa to early Heisei era."
"So it's a contradiction."
"Exactly. If this board was made in the late Showa era, it couldn't possibly know what the school looks like now. Conversely, if it was made recently, this aged design makes no sense."
Rio traced her finger across the board.
"It's like time itself is twisted."
At those words, something stirred deep in Sakuta's chest.
"...Hey, Futaba. I don't think this is just a game."
"What do you mean?"
Sakuta gave her the short version of last night.
How Mai's piece kept landing on the "Too much attention—can't move a single step" square.
How Kaede's piece got stuck on a game rule and wouldn't move.
And how the die had rolled on its own.
"...The die rolled on its own?"
For the first time, Rio's voice wavered, just slightly.
"Normally you wouldn't believe it, right?"
"...Normally, no. But abnormal things have happened around you over and over. Three times, just counting what I know about."
Rio crossed her arms.
"Mai-senpai's puberty syndrome. Kaede-chan's puberty syndrome. And your own chest wound."
Sakuta unconsciously touched his left chest through his clothes.
"So we can't rule out that this game is connected to puberty syndrome."
"Quick on the uptake as always."
"Are you mocking me?"
"I'm complimenting you. ...So what do you think? What is this game?"
Rio stared at the board for a while.
Morning light streamed in through the window, creeping slowly across its surface.
"...This is a hypothesis."
She spoke quietly.
"This game might be reflecting the players' psychological states onto the board."
"Psychological states, huh."
"Yes. Mai-senpai's piece stopped on 'Too much attention—can't move' because Mai-senpai herself is bound by her past as a celebrity. Kaede-chan's piece won't move because of the smartphone rule because Kaede-chan herself is afraid of smartphones."
Rio looked Sakuta straight in the eye.
"This game is a mirror that reflects what's inside our hearts."
Sakuta swallowed hard.
"...A mirror, huh. That's terrifying."
"Yes. Which is why I want to try it too."
With that, Rio took a die from the bag.
"You? On your own?"
"Yes. I want data on what squares my piece lands on."
Rio rolled the die across the desk with a small clatter.
It tumbled, clicking against the wood.
Then it stopped.
Facing up: the human figure.
"...A person. Does this mean 'interacting with people,' I wonder."
Rio moved her piece across the board.
It passed several squares and stopped on one.
"Being alone is easier."
That was what the square said.
"...Hey."
Sakuta couldn't help raising his voice.
Rio just stared at the square.
"...Hmm. So that's how it is."
Her voice was flat as always.
But Sakuta could tell.
She was shaken inside.
"What are the odds? It's a coincidence, right?"
"...Six faces on the die. Roughly sixty squares. The probability of landing on this one in a single roll is, by simple calculation, about one in a hundred and sixty. ...And you call that a coincidence?"
Rio rolled again.
Click, click.
The face: the human figure again.
She moved her piece.
The square: "Being alone is easier." Again.
"...You're kidding."
Sakuta leaned forward without thinking.
Rio rolled a third time.
Same result.
"Being alone is easier."
"...It seems this game knows me quite well."
Rio pushed her glasses up.
Her hand was trembling, just a little.
"...Futaba."
"What?"
"Is that how you really feel?"
Sakuta pointed at the "Being alone is easier" square.
Rio went silent for a moment.
"...Who knows. Even I'm not sure. But it's true I don't mind being alone. It's not a hassle, and I don't get hurt."
"...But you asked me to analyze the game."
"That's because you don't laugh at what I say. ...Besides, I do consider you a friend. ...Probably."
Rio turned her gaze to the window.
"...Call me again next time you play this game. I want data."
"You? Volunteering? That's rare."
"...I want to know more about how my piece moves."
Her voice was quiet.
But deep in her eyes, intellectual curiosity was definitely burning.
"...All right. We're playing at my place this afternoon. You coming?"
"Yes. ...What about Mai-senpai?"
"...I'll try inviting her."
Sakuta reached for his pocket, then stopped.
His smartphone.
He didn't have one.
Ever since he'd thrown it into the sea because Kaede was afraid of them, he'd gone without.
"...How am I supposed to get in touch?"
"You never change. ...I'll contact her. Mai-senpai, from my phone."
"You have Mai-san's contact info?"
"There were various things involving you before. ...Anyway. Afternoon, at your place."
Rio wrote something in her notebook.
Sakuta watched her profile and thought:
(She's carrying her own share of baggage too.)
"Being alone is easier."
Maybe those words were the flip side of the loneliness deep in Rio's heart.
"...Hey, Futaba."
"What?"
"Even if being alone is easier, sometimes playing a game with everyone isn't so bad, right?"
Rio stared at Sakuta's face.
"...True. To gather data, I need multiple subjects anyway."
"...That's so you."
Sakuta smiled wryly.
But he thought he saw the corner of Rio's mouth soften, just a little.
Afternoon.
The living room of Sakuta's apartment.
"Big brother, the tea's ready! Oh—Rio-san, hello! We're playing a game today, right?"
Kaede, wearing a cardigan over panda-patterned pajamas, spoke happily.
"...Hello, Kaede-chan. ...Yes, today it's an experiment with the game."
Rio gave Kaede a slightly awkward smile.
"An experiment? What kind?"
"...We're investigating how this game reflects our psychological states."
"Wow! That sounds like so much fun!"
Kaede's eyes sparkled innocently.
"...Well, for Kaede, an experiment counts as play."
Sakuta spread the game out on the table.
Then the doorbell rang.
"Ah, it's Mai-san!"
Kaede pattered off toward the entrance.
"Hello, Kaede-chan. ...Pardon the intrusion."
Mai's voice came from the entryway.
Sakuta thought of last night for a moment, and his chest twinged.
Mai came into the living room.
Her long black hair swayed softly. Her rabbit-shaped hair clip caught the light.
"...Oh my, Futaba-san is here too."
Mai looked at Rio and smiled.
"...Yes. Today, I'm analyzing the game."
"How reliable. ...Sakuta, the least you could do is prepare the tea properly."
Mai looked at Sakuta with her usual faintly teasing smile.
"...Yeah, yeah. Kaede just made it."
Seeing Mai's face, Sakuta felt relieved.
Last night hadn't been erased.
But Mai was here, just like always.
That alone made his heart a little lighter.
The four of them gathered around the low table.
"Let's begin, then. ...We're just making up the rules as we go, right?"
"Making it up. No rulebook, so no choice."
"...That's right. Let's all just have fun with it."
Mai placed her piece on the board.
A woman in a black dress.
Rio chose a piece that looked like a scientist in a lab coat.
Sakuta picked the boy with bedhead.
And Kaede chose the panda.
"Kaede wants this panda piece! It's so cute!"
"...You do love pandas, Kaede-chan."
Mai gently stroked Kaede's head.
"Yes! Pandas are Kaede's friends!"
Kaede happily rubbed her cheek against the panda piece.
"...Don't nuzzle the game piece."
"But it's so cute!"
"...I'll roll first, then."
Rio rolled the die.
Click, click.
The face: the wave symbol.
Her piece advanced several squares and stopped on "Shichirigahama."
"...Shichirigahama. The famous sunset spot. ...Not a place I have any connection to."
"...Mai-san and I go there a lot, though."
"...Huh? Big brother, you go on dates with Mai-san?"
Kaede's big eyes grew even bigger.
"...Well, yeah. We're dating, technically."
"Big brother, that's amazing! Dating someone as pretty as Mai-san!"
"...Thank you, Kaede-chan. ...Though it's less 'dating' and more just staring at the ocean."
Mai tucked her hair back, looking a little embarrassed.
"...Don't go telling Kaede weird stuff."
"It's not weird. ...It's the truth."
Mai glanced at Sakuta and smiled.
That smile made Sakuta's h
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