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 - A glowing board and spreading wounds
"...So this is the game everyone's been talking about."
Toyohama Nodoka stared down at the old board game spread across the low table.
Saturday night.
In the living room of Sakuta's apartment, the night breeze off Shonan stirred the curtains.
Nodoka was dressed in flashy street clothes befitting an idol. Her hair, cut to shoulder length, curled softly inward at the tips. A pale pink knit top, a skirt that ended above the knee. A tiny star charm dangled at her throat.
"Which piece is mine? Hey, which one should I pick?"
Nodoka pinched a colorful game piece between her fingertips, lifting it from the box.
"Were you even listening? There's no rulebook. We're just making it up as we go."
Sakuta ran a hand through his sleep-tousled black hair, his deep brown eyes half-closed.
"We can just make it up? Then this one! I want the sparkly one!"
What Nodoka chose was a small star-shaped piece, its gold paint flaking away.
"Of course you'd pick the flashiest one. Leave it to an idol to have an eye for these things."
"Right? Isn't my piece just too flashy? But I figure something like this suits me."
Nodoka placed the star piece in her palm and smiled happily.
That smile was the same perfectly crafted one she showed on TV.
Sakuta watched her from the corner of his eye, started to say something, and stopped.
He could read the room. And because he could, he knew there were times when it was better not to touch certain things.
"Nodoka-san, that's really cute. Kaede likes how sparkly it is."
Kaede said it while fidgeting with the sleeve of her panda-patterned pajamas.
Kaede was usually wary of older strangers, but with Nodoka, she seemed to feel some kind of familiarity.
"Kaede-chan, you get it! As expected of Sakuta-kun's little sister!"
Nodoka patted Kaede's head, stroke after stroke.
Kaede squinted, looking ticklish but pleased.
"...So how long are you going to keep up the idle chatter? We're starting the game, aren't we?"
Rio pushed up the glasses she'd pulled from her lab coat pocket.
She sat at the edge of the table, staring at the board as if trying to devour it with her eyes.
"Futaba, you're extra motivated today. You think you're going to get some interesting data out of this?"
"You're the one who brought it in. I'm the one who hypothesized that this game acts as a mirror reflecting the psychological state of its players. I'm not going home without testing that."
Rio's voice was as flat and matter-of-fact as ever.
But behind her glasses, her eyes held just the faintest glimmer.
"Mai-san, thank you for having us today."
Kaede bowed her head politely to Mai, who sat beside her.
"Yes, thank you for having me. ...Though there's no cake today."
Mai's long black hair swayed softly.
A rabbit-shaped hair clip glinted in the living room light.
"Ah... yesterday, you went to the trouble of bringing one, and Kaede never even thanked you properly..."
Kaede's voice grew small.
She was still bothered by the fact that Mai had left last night without a word.
"Don't worry about it. You didn't do anything wrong, Kaede-chan."
Mai gently stroked Kaede's head.
But her fingertips seemed to tremble, just slightly.
Sakuta looked at Mai's profile.
Mai's eyes were fixed on Kaede.
But somewhere deep in that gaze, something complicated swirled—something she wouldn't let Sakuta see.
"...All right, let's get started."
Sakuta deliberately spoke with forced cheer, as if to change the mood.
"Yeah! Let's do it, let's do it!"
Nodoka leaned forward.
"I'll roll the die. ...I need to record the correlation between the symbol results and the pieces' movement."
Rio took out that strange die from the cloth bag.
A die with a different symbol carved into each of its six faces.
Instead of numbers: a human figure, two hands clasped together, a wave-like shape, an eyeball-like shape, a star-like shape, and two arrows pointing in opposite directions.
"Correlation... What exactly are you researching?"
"The ecological observation of rascal pig boys."
Rio said it without so much as a glance in Sakuta's direction.
"That's a harsh way to put it."
Sakuta gave a wry smile.
"Ahaha, Rio-chan, you're as sharp-tongued as ever."
Nodoka laughed brightly.
Her laughter made the air in the room just a little lighter.
—Yes. Up until this moment.
Rio rolled the die.
It tumbled.
The die rolled across the board and stopped on a certain square.
"...The 'Hide Your True Self' square again."
Rio pointed at the board.
Nodoka's star piece had come to a dead stop on the square labeled "Hide Your True Self."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
Nodoka tilted her head.
"Exactly what it says. Doesn't it mean you're hiding your true self?"
At Rio's words, Nodoka's smile froze for just an instant.
But a moment later, it was back.
"Ehh, what's that?! I'm not hiding anything! This thing's totally wrong!"
Nodoka waved her hand dismissively.
But that smile was somehow different from the one before.
She was forcing herself to smile.
That was how it looked to Sakuta.
"...Nodoka."
Sakuta started to say something.
"Toyohama-san. Since this game started, you've landed on the 'Hide Your True Self' square every single time. Statistically speaking, that's impossible."
Rio continued flatly, jotting something in her notebook.
"Huh... it is?"
Nodoka's voice grew a little quieter.
"Yes. Five rolls, five times the same square. A simple calculation puts the probability at... well, low. This isn't coincidence. This game reflects your psychological state. ...You're hiding something too, aren't you."
Rio's words were quiet.
But each one sank deep into Nodoka's heart.
The air in the living room turned taut.
"...I'm not hiding anything."
For the first time, Nodoka's voice turned hard.
"I see. ...Then fine. It might just be my imagination."
Rio said nothing more.
But that silence, conversely, cornered Nodoka's heart.
"...Nodoka, you okay?"
Sakuta peered into Nodoka's face.
"Huh? What? I'm fine! Come on, who's rolling next? Mai-san, right?"
Nodoka put on her smile again.
But that smile was clearly forced.
Sakuta sensed there was something behind Nodoka's smile.
But he didn't know how to reach out to her.
"...Then I'll roll."
Mai took the die from Rio.
That was when it happened.
—Suddenly, the board began to glow blindingly bright.
"What—"
Sakuta instinctively covered his eyes with his hand.
The light spilling from the board painted the entire living room white.
"Big brother!?"
Kaede clung to Sakuta's arm.
"...What's happening?"
Rio's voice trembled faintly.
The light subsided quickly.
But the board was clearly different from before.
The five pieces on the board each emitted a faint glow.
"...Mai-san's piece is..."
Kaede's finger, shaking, pointed at a spot on the board.
Mai's piece—the figure of a woman in a black dress—flickered for a moment and vanished.
No, not vanished. Rather, its very existence was growing thin.
"...It's disappearing...?"
Nodoka's voice went hoarse.
"...This is a resonance phenomenon. The game is projecting the players' hearts."
Rio spoke with her eyes nailed to the board behind her glasses.
"...Mai-san's puberty syndrome..."
Sakuta stared hard at Mai's piece.
Mai's puberty syndrome—the phenomenon that had once made her existence unrecognizable to those around her.
The memory of that time came flooding back to Sakuta with vivid clarity.
"...Kaede's piece..."
Kaede's voice was on the verge of tears.
Kaede's piece—the small panda-shaped piece—had patterns like tiny wounds rising to its surface.
Countless red-black wounds.
The patterns looked as if they were projecting the wounds in Kaede's heart exactly as they were.
"...Stop it."
Sakuta glared fiercely at the board.
"...So this is what this game really is. It visualizes the wounds in the players' hearts. ...What sick taste."
Rio's voice tried to stay calm.
But her face held a fear she couldn't hide.
"...What about my piece...?"
Nodoka timidly looked at her star piece.
The star piece glowed faintly, just like the others.
But no wound-like patterns had surfaced.
"...Your piece seems fine. ...For now."
At Rio's words, Nodoka exhaled in relief.
But her face was still pale.
That was when it happened.
Text rose to the surface at the center of the board.
'The Administrator declares: Continue the game.'
"...Again with this."
Sakuta heaved a deep sigh.
"...Big brother... is this... because of Kaede...?"
Kaede gripped Sakuta's arm tightly.
Her hand was cold as ice.
"No. Absolutely not."
Sakuta shook his head immediately.
"But... only Kaede's piece has wounds... and since Kaede doesn't have a smartphone... maybe the game is angry..."
Kaede's voice was shaking.
"No! Kaede didn't do anything wrong. There's no way not having a smartphone is something to be punished for."
Sakuta held Kaede's shoulders tightly.
Kaede's body trembled slightly.
"...Kaede-chan. Sakuta's right. You didn't do anything wrong. ...The one at fault is whoever made this game."
Mai gently rubbed Kaede's back.
But Mai's gaze was fixed on Sakuta.
"...Sakuta."
Mai quietly spoke Sakuta's name.
"...What is it, Mai-san?"
Sakuta looked at Mai's face while still holding Kaede.
"Protecting Kaede-chan is fine. ...But you're carrying too much on your own."
Mai's voice was quiet.
But her eyes looked straight through Sakuta.
"...What's with that, all of a sudden?"
Sakuta couldn't grasp the meaning of Mai's words.
"This game. Kaede-chan. ...You're trying to solve everything by yourself, aren't you. Without saying a word to me, or Rio, or Nodoka."
Mai's words pierced deep into Sakuta's heart.
"...It's not like I'm trying to carry it all alone."
Sakuta said it deliberately lightly.
"...I see. Then fine. ...But don't push yourself too hard."
Mai said nothing more.
"It's okay, Mai-san. Kaede is fine. ...Because big brother will protect me."
Kaede, her face still buried in Sakuta's chest, put on a smile.
But that smile was clearly forced.
"...Sakuta. That smile of yours."
Mai stared hard at Sakuta's face.
"...Smile? Am I smiling?"
Sakuta touched his own face.
He hadn't meant to be smiling.
But that was how it looked to Mai.
"...That smile of yours is the same as Kaede-chan's. ...You're forcing yourself to smile."
At Mai's words, Sakuta was at a loss.
He wanted to argue back.
But he couldn't.
Because Mai was right.
I was putting up a brave front, forcing a smile, to protect Kaede.
It was the same as Kaede forcing a smile so I wouldn't worry about her.
"...I'm sorry. ...That was mean of me."
Mai quietly lowered her eyes.
Her profile looked sad, and yet, somehow relieved.
"...No. ...You're right, Mai-san."
Sakuta let out a small sigh.
"...Are you two done talking? ...If you are, look at this."
Rio pointed at the board.
The wound patterns that had risen from Kaede's piece hadn't disappeared.
If anything, they were slowly beginning to spread across the entire board.
As if the wounds in Kaede's heart were staining the air in the room, heavy and dark.
"...Big brother... Kaede is scared..."
Kaede clung to Sakuta.
"...It's all right. I'm right here."
Sakuta gently stroked Kaede's head.
But inside, Sakuta was anything but all right.
What is this game?
How much of our hearts does it have to gouge out before it's satisfied?
Sakuta glared at the glowing board.
The game wouldn't stop.
'The Administrator declares: Continue the game.'
The words blinked ominously on the board.
The air in the living room was heavy, cold, and taut.
The wounds in five hearts spread quietly but surely across the board.
Outside the window, the night wind off Shonan shook the curtains violently.
In the distance, the sound of waves.
Waves rolling in, rolling in, over and over.
That sound echoed in his chest, strangely ominous.
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