“That concludes this vote. Nobu will lose 4500 points. This concludes the game, so Hibiki can continue talking. I’ll return shortly. Please don’t leave the room.” Keiko abruptly excused herself and turned around, walking towards the door. We’d navigated a lot of potential threats through the game, but things turned out well for the most part.

  It’s undeniable that our friendships had taken some irreversible damage.

  Someone is lying.

  Nobu’s in an incredibly vulnerable state right now. Yori will need to help him through it. As for Yaeko, we’ve seen how much damage she can cause. I’ll need to manage her carefully through the future games.

  Focussing on the positives, it was already clear that I helped Osamu chip away at his insecurity. Before today, he’d barely taken part in conversation. He wanted to, but would feel relieved if someone else took the spotlight.

  He took a massive step forward today.

  He forced his opinion onto Yaeko, and made her vote to save Mei. He did this with the entire group watching. In that intense moment with emotions running high, he didn’t care what the group thought.

  He did what he thought was right, and Mei praised him for it.

  That was the hardest part. I got him to speak up, and he saw how positively it was received. It’ll be a gradual process, but he’ll begin to feel more comfortable speaking up, even during mundane conversations.

  As for Mei, she’d played her part in my plan. I needed to tell her that she chose the perfect time, but that could wait. Right now, she’s emotionally drained. I’d forced her to stay quiet while Yori dealt with Nobu.

  I used our friendship to do it.

  There’s no doubt she’d be mad at me right now. What she needed right now was to be comforted. Yori was already on it, so I had a second to think.

  I took a deep breath as I looked at my phone. The timer was frozen on 12.29 seconds. I looked at Yori as I questioned how things would’ve played out if I forced the issue and confronted Nobu by myself instead of relying on him.

  He didn’t just come through.

  I miscalculated. I only had a few seconds, so I made rough estimates on how long everything would have taken. If his intuition hadn’t saved us those thirty seconds, then who knows how things would have played out.

  He was comforting Mei with a kind and gentle smile on his face, but when our eyes met, I could tell he was masking a quiet anger.

  I turned away, looking at Osamu and Yaeko. Yeako smiled. Her body was turned, facing Osamu’s. She seemed oblivious to the game’s long lasting implications.

  Osamu was different.

  He wasn’t enjoying this “win” with Yaeko.

  He was watching Mei and Yori with an expressionless face.

  After a few seconds, he turned to face Nobu and took a sharp breath in.

  Sure, Nobu had “redeemed” himself, but, what does that actually mean for him? It may have improved his image, but ultimately, he still can’t prove that he was telling the truth. He’s no longer the trustworthy figure he’s always been, and that will continue to hurt him deeply.

  Based on the emotional maturity Osamu showed during the game, I reasoned that he probably already saw all this.

  More importantly, he already told Yaeko that he can’t trust her completely. Normally, it would be heartbreaking to hear that from your crush.

  So why did Yaeko seem so carefree right now?

  Osamu couldn’t look her in the eyes, and I switched my gaze towards Hibiki and Choko.

  Choko watched as Yori comforted Mei, while Hibiki sympathetically looked at Nobu. Hibiki noticed I was looking at her, and she forced a smile before looking away. It was clear how much of a toll this took on her.

  As for Choko, she had seemed unphased throughout the majority of the game, but she couldn’t hide her emotions right now. She seemed exhausted. Even though she wasn’t directly involved in any of the accusations, just watching everything unfold was draining.

  There’s still one unanswered question.

  Choko’s been going up against Yaeko this entire game.

  First, when Yaeko tried to silence Hibiki in the first vote, Choko asked why.

  Then, during the third round, Yori was about to suggest that Yaeko should lose points as she had the most. Choko cut him off. She wasn’t subtle, either.

  Later, when I tried to show that Nobu could be innocent, Choko intervened at the perfect time. She pointed out that I’d already accomplished what I wanted. I’d shown a situation exists where Nobu’s actions could be explained even if he was innocent.

  She didn’t speak often, and she normally waited for the right time to get involved. That being said, one thing was clear. When she did speak, it had a big impact.

  But there’s an exception to that rule.

  She stepped into the spotlight when Yori was about to speak up in the third round. It wasn’t a natural segue for her. She forced herself into the conversation. I tried to analyse her, but her face only showed signs of unease, natural given what we’ve been through. I replayed the moment again.

  “It should be Yaeko”

  Why did she step in back then, and why did she do it in such a confrontational manner?

  Now that I’d had time to process everything, I started comforting Mei.

  “Thank you, Akira…” This was a huge opportunity. Right now, Mei’s exhausted. That also means she’s vulnerable. I’d set a seed for her growth, now I was going to speed it up. I chuckled before replying.

  “What are you thanking me for?” I chuckled again, as I held her hand tightly. Yori sat beside her, holding her other hand.

  “For saving me… don’t be humble…” She took a deep breath out, as if my response annoyed her.

  I focused on those words - “don’t be humble.”

  She feels like she owes me for stepping in.

  In other words, she’s feeling like a burden.

  I could never address it before since I didn’t have the right tools, but this was the perfect time.

  “We’re friends, right? Of course we protect each other.” I paused for a second. I needed to let her process that before continuing. “That’s what we do.”

  “No, It’s not.” She took a deep breath in as she let go of my hand so she could cover her face.

  “You and Yori are always working together, you know how that makes me feel, but you never let me help you.” Choko, Hibiki and Nobu watched us as Osamu and Yaeko tried to ignore our conversation.

  “What did I do wrong?

  Why don’t you guys trust me?

  Am I just too stupid or something?”

  I swallowed as Yori hurriedly cut in.

  “Come on Mei, don’t say that! Of course we trust you!” He tried to comfort her, but that wouldn’t work.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Mei just confessed her deepest insecurity.

  She feels like we don’t trust her because we see her as a burden rather than an equal.

  I knew that words alone would never be enough to convince her otherwise.

  “Then why don’t you ever let me help you guys?” Mei softly shot back. She stood firm, yet she sounded almost apathetic, as if she’d already made her mind up.

  This wasn’t going well, but I saw an opportunity to help Yori grow as well. I let him try his best to handle this. Holding Mei’s hand would be all the support I offered him.

  “Of course we do!” He’d done a good job with Nobu, but it’s much harder to do it with someone you care so deeply for. Emotions overwhelm you, and you make bad decisions. It’s only natural. It’s a sign of how much you care for someone.

  “Really? Then tell me when you’ve ever done that.” Yori hesitated. He realised he’d walked himself into a trap. He never should have said “of course we do” if he couldn’t give an example. When he fails to give an example, it’ll only confirm all these negative thoughts that Mei’s having.

  I needed Yori to feel how difficult this was.

  How painful being helpless to save a friend was.

  That’s the most powerful motivator to improve yourself. So that you can become someone who can save your friends in the future. Now that he felt this hopelessness, I could get involved.

  I whispered into Mei’s ear, making sure no one could hear us.

  “You helped me a lot today, Mei.”

  I already knew Mei felt like a burden.

  Pushing her to confess it without an example to prove her wrong would be disastrous.

  I’d orchestrated a situation for both Osamu and Mei to grow, and that’s why I made her confess her insecurity. The timing couldn’t have been better.

  “Do you know why I told you to praise Osamu?” I paused as I started with a question. I needed her to realise how significant her actions were.

  “No…” Her voice was still soft, but she uncovered her face and held eye contact.

  “I need you to promise not to tell anyone else what I’m about to say. Not even Yori.” I was making sure the traitor wouldn’t find out about my capabilities. At the same time, I was giving Mei exactly what she felt like she’s always lacked. I was letting her in on a secret I was keeping from Yori.

  Why would I do that if I considered her a burden?

  “Ok… why…?” The pitch of her voice rose as she finally showed a trace of emotion.

  “Ignore the why for now. It’s not important. You remember how we were talking about Osamu, and how he’s insecure about looking like he’s entitled to things?” I needed to remind her what Osamu was like before we’d helped him grow.

  “Yeah.”

  “We always thought that’s why he’s so quiet and shy whenever we’re talking…”

  “Yeah…?” She’s so caught up in her self destructive thoughts that she couldn’t see where I was going with this, even though I know she noticed it.

  “Do you remember what I asked you to do?” I made sure she felt like she was part of this conversation. I wanted her to feel like an equal.

  “You asked me to praise Osamu for publicly defending Yaeko when the time felt right… wait a second - how did you know that would happen?” She turned around to face me. The game took up all of her attention, so she never realised that I already knew Osamu would defend Yaeko.

  “Ignore that for now, I can tell you another time. Do you know why I told you to do that?” I held her hand a bit tighter.

  “No… why did you?” She looked me in the eyes. I could tell how exhausted she was. From her argument with Nobu, to being forced to be quiet when she wanted to simply sacrifice herself, I could understand why. Now, she’s confessed on top of all of that. I rubbed my thumb against her hand as I continued.

  “Osamu never speaks up because he doesn’t want to be the centre of attention. Even when he has stuff he wants to say, he’ll hold back. What do you think would happen if his friend praises him for stepping into the spotlight?” I saw Mei’s eyes flicker for a second before she turned to look at me.

  “He would realise that he’s allowed to be in the spotlight.” Mei’s voice had risen, but luckily no one heard her. I reminded her to quieten down.

  “Exactly.” I paused and smiled at her. She’d realised that I’d let her be a key part of my plan.

  Now it was time to show her how much good she’d caused.

  “Osamu started this game by accepting his silencing without a fight. He even stopped Yaeko from fighting for him. Did you notice anything about Osamu after you praised him?” I waited as I let her connect the dots. I knew she was more than capable.

  “He started talking way more…” She wasn’t confused, but more in disbelief. She’d noticed it, but she didn’t understand why. Now she was realising the role that she had in it. I just had to bring it home.

  “Exactly, Mei. That’s only because you helped me. I paused. “Do you think the Osamu we know would have been able to convince Yaeko to save you by being that open and honest in front of everyone?”

  “But… you didn’t need my help…” I expected that.

  Mei had convinced herself she was a burden.

  She’d be looking for reasons to downplay her role in everything. I’d already planned for this, so I let her continue before making my point.

  “You could’ve done it yourself, or even gotten Yori to do it.” Her face stiffened as her voice remained soft. These conflicting signals showed me that she wanted to believe she’d helped me, but she just couldn’t accept it, and I couldn’t blame her.

  It’s hard to stop believing something that you’ve spent so long convincing yourself about.

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Mei.” I took a second before continuing, making my voice as soft and warm as I could.

  “I was engaging in a tough back and forth with Yaeko. I couldn’t suddenly contrast it with warm words to Osamu. The entire group would notice how odd and forced that looked. If anything, it would put Osamu off from speaking in the future.” A smile appeared on her face for half a second. Sure, I explained why I couldn’t do it, but what about Yori?

  “As for Yori, he had a different role in this game.” Mei turned to look at me as I continued. “I know you noticed it. Yori was the key mediator throughout this game. Even more, he’s the person that Nobu trusted the most. Imagine how much it would have hurt Nobu if Yori praised Osamu for defending Yaeko from his accusation. If Nobu got upset with him, how would Yori be able to mediate so effectively?”

  A smile slowly formed on her face.

  “That’s the exact same reason I had Yori convince Nobu to save you, rather than to do it myself. It’s because Nobu had that trust in him. I couldn’t throw that away by letting Yori praise Osamu.” She was about to speak, but I had one more thing to add.

  “That’s not all.” The smile disappeared as she curiously waited for me to go on. “I let you decide when to interfere. Not only did you choose the time that was perfect for Osamu’s growth, but you also defused the entire situation with Yaeko.” I paused and looked her in the eye.

  “Mei, your weakness isn’t the fact that you aren’t capable of helping us. In fact, you have one massive strength over Yori, and an even bigger strength over me.” I smiled as I wiped away one her tears.

  “Your weakness is your lack of confidence. That’s why it’s so important for you to understand that you chose the perfect time to get involved. And that’s why it’s important for you to see the good that came from it.’

  She followed my gaze as I turned to look at Yaeko and Osamu. They both smiled at us. Mei laughed as she took her hand away from mine to wipe off the remaining tears. She looked me in the eyes as she spoke.

  “Thanks, Akira.”

  This was different.

  She spoke with confidence.

  She wasn’t thanking me because I saved her when she was powerless to save herself.

  She thanked me for showing her that she isn’t a burden.

  She thanked me for caring enough to empower her, and of course I care about her.

  She’s a friend that means a lot to me.

  And she’s also a friend that can become someone very capable.

  I didn’t need to say anything in response. I gave her a gentle smile as I looked towards Yori.

  This time, his eyes didn’t meet mine with anger. It was indifference.

  I could tell that he was glad that whatever I told Mei cheered her up, but he was on edge, likely wondering what I said to her. I turned around as I heard the door open.

  Keiko returned, and I braced myself for whatever's next.