Chapter 17 - Even If I Can’t Run Away

“I’m gonna give it one more shot.” When Kai saw Nanaka smile through her puffy red eyes, he felt like everything was going to fall into place from now onwards.

They decided to hold another victory celebration on the following Monday. Nanaka looked worried about the fact that she’d slapped her friend’s cheek, but Aya’s response to that was a simple, “Hm? I was making you mad on purpose. We’ll call it even since you came back to us and all.”

They all went out to buy snacks together and returned to their room—this time, with Eru in tow. Kai noticed that this was the first time all of their members had gathered together in the club room since the first day he arrived. The space around him felt smaller than usual, but he found it comforting for some strange reason.

“I apologize for interrupting your fun,” said the Student Council Vice President, Rei Shizaki, making her way into the room. “I have come to report the outcome of our reexamination on the continued existence of the social game club.”

She stopped for a moment to survey the room as Kai and company froze with their cups still raised in a toast. Then, she continued dispassionately, “We asked that you attain victory in a routine competition, and you have done well to accomplish the task we set out. The Student Council has no intention of forcing the disbandment of any club that operates properly; that is to say, any club which we can expect to act in good faith and morality. Therefore, the conclusion we reached was to allow the social game club’s continued existence—or at least, that was the case.” She stressed the word ‘was’ to turn the entire story on its head, and then looked over to Kai.

A loud voice suddenly rose up from behind the vice president. “Shiraseki Kai! You look like you couldn’t hurt a fly, but to think—to think! That you were a troublemaker who drove Tsukigase into chaos!”

“... President,” said Vice President Rei, “I thought I mentioned that I would be explaining this.”

The Student Council President’s wickedly smug grin poked out from behind the vice president. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head,” he told her. “I thought this sort of work might be harsh on a woman of integrity like yourself. How about it, Rei-kun? Can’t you feel my overwhelming manliness?”

“Thank you for your concern, but I merely wanted you to stay back because your words are as shallow as an inflatable pool, and your presence would cause undue trouble,” Shizaki told him coldly. “Furthermore, if you are still concerned about my pointing out that all of your decisions reflect on how sore of a loser you are, then know that the only overwhelming sensation I feel from your little maneuver is irritation.”

“You really ought to learn the meaning of the word ‘mercy’!” the Student Council President complained.

“I pride myself on the fact that I tolerate you more than anyone else, President..”

“This attitude is you being tolerant? ...Fine, enough of that. Let me through,” he said, lunging forward as the Vice President stepped back. “There was a slanderous insider leak at Tsukigase High School with regard to the popular social game, Girls’ Symphonic Rondo,” he announced next. “The culprit was one ‘Shiraseki Kai,’ wasn’t it?”

“That’s...” Kai was at a loss for words. In the end, there was only one thing he could say. “...It’s true that I leaked internal data.”

“I see.” The president was grinning from ear to ear as he continued, “When I made fun at the expense of the social game club the last time we met, you were quite angry with me. Indeed, your anger was well placed, so I offer my apologies for that. After researching the matter, I found that Japan’s gaming applications market exceeds one trillion yen and seems to still be growing; our national government considers it worth creating policies to push the growth of the field. Though our school may be one of long tradition, we would be more than happy to expand our reach to include activities like this within our club roster in order to connect with the changing future.”

“What on earth are you trying to say?” Eru asked sharply.

“I’m not seeing the punchline,” Aya added.

The Student Council President ignored them and pointed his finger at Kai. “That is exactly why your history is such a pressing issue, Shiraseki Kai: should this club attain similar levels of popularity, your very presence will cause unrest in our users. You serve to harm the reputation of this club. And of course, I’m sure you’re aware of all this. After all, isn’t that why you left Tsukigase?”

Just as those who create masterpieces are praised, those who create failures also have their names remembered by the users. Even a seemingly enjoyable game can have its reputation tarnished if ‘that one guy who worked on that other shitty game’ is found to be involved. There was nothing anyone could do about it.

After the incident, Rondo had been slammed all across the internet. One of the club members must have made their own post about it, because it was now public information that Kai was the culprit. On top of that, his name, school year, address, and personal email account were all exposed, and Kai received countless abusive messages from Rondo users and random netizens. There were complaints about gacha rates, complaints about event design, and more; every issue in Rondo’s management up until that point became the personal responsibility of Shiraseki Kai. His name became a dumpster. Any horrible statement was fair game as long as it was paired with the words, ‘Shiraseki Kai.’

If Kai ever got involved with social games again, his name alone would become a burden. He knew that better than anyone else, which was the entire reason he’d planned on never touching the field again.

“Our decision is simple,” the president continued. “We will acknowledge the continued existence of the social game club. However, Shiraseki Kai, your continued presence will not be acknowledged. I order you to withdraw from the club at once. And if you withdraw, this club will be back to having less than four members. But I’m no demon; I’ll look the other way on this matter until summer break comes to a close and the second semester begins. If you manage to find a new member to join you by then, we will recognize the social game club’s status as an official club... Of course, all the students who have to be in a club already are. Mwahaha!” He laughed in the spitting image of a supervillain and turned to leave.

“Please wait!” Nanaka called out to the Student Council President as he was turning his back.

“What is it? You might not realize this, but I’m quite busy,” he noted dismissively.

“We won in our competition because Kai-kun was with us! He worked so hard for us!”

“So, we should forgive his misconduct because he worked hard?”

“Th-That’s not what I—” Nanaka stammered.

“An athlete who behaves violently is banned from entering tournaments,” the Student Council President pointed out. “This has nothing to do with how much effort someone puts in; a student who causes problems is removed from their club, and this scenario is no different. He did something that he shouldn’t have done, that’s all it is.”

“President, I believe that’s enough,” Vice President Rei stated.

“Hm? I suppose so,” agreed the President, who looked across their silent faces before cheerfully leaving the room. The vice president gave a deep bow and then followed after him.

Kai couldn’t bring himself to say anything as he stood with a meaningless paper cup in his hands. He had felt so hopeful just a moment ago—like everything was going to go well—and now, because of him, all of it was washed away without a trace. Because of Shiraseki Kai. His only thought was that he wished he could go bury himself in a deep underground hole and never come back to the surface. ‘I’m sorry,’ he wanted to apologize. But as he was about to open his mouth...

“Aight, let’s get back to the toast,” Aya’s bright voice made its way to his ears.

“Yup, let’s!” Nanaka followed up.

“Dear, that isn’t something you ought to say,” Eru said, chastising Aya.

“Yeah, yeah, my bad,” grumbled Aya. “Aight, Nana-sen, it’s all you.”

“R-Right. Um... Kai-kun, raise your cup with us,” Nanaka invited.

Kai raised his head and made eye contact with a smiling Nanaka. Aya had a smug grin on her face and Eru looked sick of waiting, but both of them had their cups raised. It was as if nothing had happened.

“B-But!” he stammered. “Because of me—”

“It’s okay,” Nanaka told him. Her voice was soft yet powerful, and made its way directly into Kai’s heart. “Kai-kun, we know you wouldn’t do something so awful.”

“That’s how it is,” Aya agreed.

“...Would you hurry up and toast?” said Eru, beckoning to him.

Urged on by the three of them, Kai was swept up in the atmosphere and held up his cup. After the toast, he took a moment to look at all three of the faces before him. Nobody seemed to be putting on a mask; they all truly believed in him. Nanaka’s, ‘It’s okay,’ echoed in his ears and he felt like he’d start crying if he didn’t focus.

“Now then...” After a short while, Aya spoke up to reset the flow of conversation. “I dunno if you were framed, or what... Senpai, what really happened?”

Everyone’s eyes were on Kai. When Nanaka asked him before, he hadn’t been able to answer... But now, he wasn’t in a situation where that strategy would fly. So, Kai tightened his resolve and began telling the girls about what occurred that day.

◇

“I see.” Aya’s statement was a simple confirmation, but was also chock-full of the nuance of someone hearing an unbelievably stupid tale. “So by leaking the rigging to the public, you managed to prevent it from actually taking place.”

“That’s... correct,” Kai affirmed.

“My dear, are you stupid?” Eru was just as—no, even more disbelieving than Aya was. “Before you committed to a leak, you should have snitched to your club president or advisor—someone in charge.”

“Mmmmm, I dunno,” Aya countered. “I’d bet that Senpai didn’t exactly have a place in his club.”

“Oh dear, I can imagine that,” Eru agreed. “Which means the root cause of his demise was the fact that this moron had no one to discuss the issue with.”

“Yeah, senpai, you seem like the type that super duper sucks at asking someone for help,” Aya pointed out.

“I mean, yeah, you’re not wrong...” Kai grumbled. He’d thought they were going to react in a nicer way. It wasn’t as if he expected the girls to console him, but he didn’t think they’d rail him so hard right after he opened up with such a personal story.

Of course, he could understand their incredulity. I wonder if I can cry now? he thought to himself.

“There’s something wrong with this, I think!” Nanaka broke the mold and raised her voice for him as the other two shook their heads in resignation. “Why is Kai-kun being treated like the bad guy here?!”

“Duh, that’s ’cause senpai set it up that way himself,” Aya explained.

“What a masochist,” Eru observed.

“No, I’m not a masochist,” Kai tried to retort.

“I don’t care whether he’s a masochist or not!” Nanaka exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table and leaning forward. “This is wrong!” Turning to him next, she asked, “Kai-kun, are you okay with how this turned out?!”

At the time, Kai had thought it was the right decision. Re-evaluating it now, whether or not his choice back then had been correct, it was all that he could have managed in what little time had been available to him. But now, this was no longer a problem of the past. Like the twisted roots of a plant, his lingering issues from Tsukigase had curled around his leg and now threatened to drag him back into the darkness.

There was no changing what had already happened, and thinking about whether or not he did the right thing wouldn’t accomplish anything. Still, the situation had changed: at this rate, Kai would have to leave this club behind, too. That... was not something he could stand.

“I’ve decided!” declared Nanaka, reaching the end of her patience and balling her hands up into fists. “I’m going to Tokyo!”

“What the heck would you do in Tokyo?” Aya asked.

“I’m gonna go to Tsukigase High School and talk it out with their club’s president! I mean, I haven’t done anything to make me seem like it...... but I’m the president of our club!”

“Please wait.” Kai stopped her and pulled out the tattered letter from his bag. He stared at the contact information written on it.

Nanaka had decided to walk forward yet again. As the one who pushed her to that point, he couldn’t keep running forever.

“I’ll be the one to go,” he said.