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 - The Square of Memories and the Unstoppable Runaway
Sunday morning.
Thin shafts of light slipped through the gap in the living-room curtains.
Azusagawa Sakuta sat slumped in front of the low table, raking a hand through his sleep-tousled black hair. His deep brown eyes were still half-closed.
On the table lay that old board game.
*Seishun Sugoroku: Musubi Dice.*
The board was exactly as they'd left it the night before. The countless scar-like patterns that had risen from Kaede's piece had now spread faintly across the entire surface.
"...What a pain."
Sakuta muttered under his breath.
The night before, the game had stopped with the words *"A message from the Administrator. Continue the game."* floating above it. No one had wanted to roll the dice.
So they'd called it a night.
Mai had left without a word. So had Rio and Nodoka. Kaede had stood in front of Sakuta's door, head hung low the whole time.
"Big brother... Kaede is sorry."
She must have apologized a dozen times.
All Sakuta could do was stroke her head.
"You've got nothing to apologize for."
That was all he could manage.
This morning.
Sakuta was alone in the living room.
Kaede still hadn't come out of her room.
(That game...)
He stared at the board.
(Why did it have to come to this?)
No answer came.
Then—
*Ding-dong.* The intercom rang.
Sakuta rose sluggishly and headed for the entryway.
He opened the door.
"Good morning. ...I came again."
It was Mai.
Her long black hair swayed softly in the morning light. The rabbit-shaped hairclip glinted. A white blouse, a pale blue long skirt. A small paper bag dangled from her hand.
"'Again'...? This is only your second time coming here."
"Second time still counts as 'again.' ...Here. For breakfast."
She held out the paper bag.
The smell of bread wafted from it.
"...You went out of your way to buy this first thing in the morning?"
"Not really. I just wanted to eat it myself. ...Besides, food tastes better with someone than alone, doesn't it?"
Mai blushed, just a little.
Something warm spread slowly through Sakuta's chest.
"Mai-san, pulling stuff like that is just unfair."
"Pulling what?"
"Saying things like that when you know I can't refuse."
"Oh my. Caught me?"
She smiled mischievously.
That smile made Sakuta's heart a little lighter.
"...And Kaede-chan?"
Mai lowered her voice to ask.
"Still in her room. ...I think yesterday really got to her."
"...I see."
Mai stepped up into the living room and stared at the board on the table.
"...Isn't this pattern darker than it was yesterday?"
"...Yeah. Probably."
Sakuta sat down beside her and looked at the board too.
The scar pattern spreading from Kaede's piece was, without question, more sharply defined than it had been the day before.
"This game really isn't normal."
"You're realizing that now?"
"Now. ...But we can't just leave it alone, can we?"
Mai's voice was quiet.
But her eyes looked straight at Sakuta.
"...Yeah."
He nodded.
Just then—
*Click.* Kaede's door opened.
"Big brother... Oh, Mai-san. Good morning."
Kaede appeared in the living room, still in her panda-print pajamas.
The usual smile.
But it was clearly forced.
"Good morning, Kaede-chan. ...Let's have breakfast together."
Mai spoke gently.
"Okay. ...Um, Mai-san, I'm really sorry about yesterday."
Kaede bowed deeply.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Kaede-chan. ...Come, sit down."
Mai took Kaede's hand and guided her to the table.
Sakuta silently thanked Mai for that effortless kindness.
The three of them ate the bread.
Mai had bought croissants and chocolate danishes from the neighborhood bakery.
"It's delicious! Mai-san, thank you so much!"
Kaede said happily, cheeks stuffed with chocolate danish.
Her smile was a little more natural than before.
"I'm glad. ...Sakuta, don't inhale those croissants so fast. You'll choke."
"I'm fine. ...Mai-san, are you monitoring how I eat now?"
"It's not monitoring. It's worrying."
As she said it, Mai gently brushed a bread crumb from the corner of Sakuta's mouth with her fingertip.
"...Hey."
Sakuta froze for a moment.
"See? You had one. Such a child."
Mai laughed, clearly enjoying herself.
Kaede watched the two of them, beaming.
"Big brother and Mai-san really are close, aren't you?"
"W-we are?"
"...Yes, I suppose we are."
Mai tucked her hair back, looking a little embarrassed.
Then—
*Ding-dong.*
The intercom rang again.
"Who is it now?"
Sakuta headed for the door.
He opened it, and—
"Morning! Sakuta-kun! We're playing the game again today, right!?"
Nodoka stood there, grinning from ear to ear.
A flashy pink hoodie, denim shorts. A star charm dangled at her collar.
"...You're way too energetic this early."
"Of course I am! An idol's job is to be energetic, anytime, anywhere!"
Nodoka slipped past Sakuta and into the living room.
"Mai-nee, Kaede-chan, morning!"
"Good morning, Nodoka."
"Good morning, Nodoka-san."
"Oh, bread! Nice! I want some too!"
Nodoka's eyes lit up at the bread on the table.
"You really have your sights set on other people's breakfast, don't you?"
"What's the harm! It's not like it costs you anything!"
She helped herself to a croissant.
"...Noisy, aren't we, first thing in the morning."
Rio's voice came from the entryway.
"Futaba too?"
"You said yesterday we'd keep playing today. ...I'm just here to collect data."
Rio walked in with her hands shoved in the pockets of her lab coat.
Her slightly unruly long hair swayed. Behind her glasses, her sharp, intelligent eyes fixed on the board.
"...The pattern's darker, isn't it."
She pushed her glasses up with one finger.
"Sharp eye, as always."
"Naturally. ...This is a change we can't ignore."
Rio sat down at the table.
And so the five of them were gathered in the living room once more.
"...So what do we do? Are we really continuing?"
Sakuta looked around at everyone.
"We have no choice. ...We need to figure out what this game is."
Mai's voice was firm.
"Agreed. ...If we gather data, we might learn something."
"I'm in! This is definitely gonna be fun!"
Nodoka said it without a care in the world.
"Kaede will... play too. If everyone's together, it'll be okay."
Kaede said it quietly, but clearly.
"...Kaede."
Sakuta gently stroked her head.
"It's okay, big brother. Kaede will do her best."
Kaede smiled.
She was still forcing it.
But even so, she was trying to move forward.
"...All right. Let's do this."
Sakuta picked up the die.
The die with strange symbols carved into its six faces.
"I'll roll first. ...That okay?"
He looked at everyone.
Mai nodded. So did Rio and Nodoka. Kaede clenched her hands tight.
Sakuta rolled.
*Rattle-rattle.* The die tumbled across the board.
And stopped.
The symbol that came up was *two hands clasped together.*
In that instant—
The board glowed.
"...It's glowing again!"
Nodoka cried out.
The light from the board gradually coalesced into an image.
It was a school hallway.
A hallway they recognized—Minegahara High.
A single girl walked down it.
Long black hair.
It was Mai.
But her figure was somehow faint.
Like a ghost.
"...Is that... Mai-san...?"
Kaede murmured.
In the vision, Mai was calling out to the students.
But no one noticed her.
Even when she touched their shoulders.
Even when she called their names.
No one turned around.
No one would even look at her.
Mai stood alone in the hallway.
Her face was expressionless.
But her hands were trembling, just slightly.
"...That's already over and done with."
Mai murmured quietly.
Her voice was hoarse.
"...Mai-san."
Sakuta looked at her profile.
Mai kept her eyes fixed on the vision.
Her hands were clenched tight on her lap.
Trembling faintly.
Sakuta couldn't say anything.
He just watched Mai's trembling hands.
The vision faded.
"...So this is Adolescence Syndrome, visualized. ...Sakurajima-san, your past was projected."
Rio spoke quietly.
"...Yes. It seems so. ...This was from when I couldn't be seen by anyone around me."
Mai lifted her head and smiled.
But the smile looked sad.
"...Mai-san, you don't have to force a smile."
The words came out before Sakuta could stop them.
"...Sakuta?"
Mai looked at him, startled.
"...That's how it looks to me. ...You're forcing a smile right now, Mai-san."
Sakuta looked straight into her eyes.
Mai was at a loss for words for a moment.
Then she let out a small breath.
"...So you saw through me. ...I'm sorry. I made you worry."
This time, Mai smiled naturally.
"...It's fine. It's not something you need to apologize for."
Sakuta scratched his head, hiding his embarrassment.
"...Thank you, Sakuta."
Mai's voice was soft.
"...I'll go next."
Rio picked up the die.
"Read the room, would you?"
"Is there a need to read the room? This is an experiment. ...I came here to collect data."
Rio spoke flatly and rolled.
*Rattle-rattle.*
The symbol was *an eyeball.*
The board glowed again.
This time the vision was a hospital bed.
A middle-school Sakuta lay there, chest soaked in blood.
"...Big brother...?"
Kaede's voice shook.
In the vision, Sakuta was unconscious.
Blood pulsed from his chest.
The white sheets turned crimson.
"...So this is the truth behind the hospital incident."
Rio murmured.
"Big brother... why would something like this..."
Kaede covered her mouth with both hands.
"...What a pain. Do they have to show stuff from this long ago?"
Sakuta laughed, deliberately making light of it.
But—
"Sakuta. ...You're faking that smile again."
Mai stared at his face.
"...Huh? I'm not smiling."
"...You are. ...When you really don't care about something, your eyes are much more dead than that."
Sakuta's words caught in his throat.
"...That's a harsh way to put it."
"It's the truth."
Mai gently laid her hand over his.
"...You don't have to force a smile. ...Not in front of me."
Her hand was warm.
Sakuta felt something tighten in his chest.
"Big brother... so something like that happened to you..."
Kaede's eyes were welling with tears.
"...Kaede. That's in the past. ...I'm fine now."
Sakuta gently stroked her head.
"...But it must have hurt... it must have been so hard..."
Her tears spilled over, one after another.
"...Kaede."
Sakuta pulled her into a tight hug.
"It's okay. ...I'm right here."
He patted her back gently, again and again.
"...Big brother... big brother..."
Kaede buried her face in his chest and kept crying.
The vision faded.
"...Kaede-san, you're next."
Rio quietly placed the die in front of Kaede.
"...Kaede is..."
Kaede stared at the die.
Her hands were shaking.
"Kaede-chan, you don't have to push yourself."
Mai said gently.
"...But Kaede will do her best. ...Everyone showed us their own hearts."
With trembling hands, Kaede gripped the die.
And rolled.
*Rattle-rattle.*
The symbol was *two arrows pointing in opposite directions.*
The board glowed.
This time the vision was a smartphone screen.
Countless heartless words.
*Disappear.*
*You're gross.*
*Die.*
*Don't come to school.*
*Because of you.*
*You're annoying.*
*You don't deserve to live.*
The words overflowed across the entire screen.
"...Ah... aah..."
All the color drained from Kaede's face.
Notification sounds rang out from the vision.
*Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping.*
"Stop... stop...!"
Kaede covered both ears with her hands.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry...!"
Apologizing over and over, she stood up.
And bolted from the living room.
"Kaede!"
Sakuta chased after her at once.
Kaede ran into the bathroom.
*Slam.* The door shut.
*Click.* The lock turned.
"Kaede! Are you okay!?"
Sakuta knocked on the bathroom door.
From inside came the sound of Kaede crying.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... it's Kaede's fault... I stopped everyone's game..."
Kaede kept crying on the other side of the door.
"Kaede, no. It's not your fault. ...You didn't do anything wrong."
Sakuta pressed his hand against the door.
"...But Kae
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