Chapter 1

## Navigation

**Huh? Is Yuuichi-Kun Doubting His Friends?** (あれ？ 友一君は友達を疑ってるの?, *Are? Yūichi-kun wa Tomodachi o Utagatteru no?*) is the first chapter of the Tomodachi Game manga series.

## Short Summary

Yuuichi and his friends discover that the 2 million yen school trip fees have been stolen and rumors start spreading. Yuuichi receives a letter from Sawaragi, who asks him to meet her and the rest of their friends in front of the school at night. They are then kidnapped and brought to a mysterious location where they meet Manabu, who offers them a chance to clear their 20 million yen debt by playing a game. The group agrees to join the game and is introduced to the rules. The chapter ends with the first question of the game, which surprisingly gives the incorrect answer.

## Long Summary

The chapter opens with a flashback to a young Yuuichi Katagiri counting money. His mother tells him that there's something more important than money: friends.

High school second year Yuuichi is delivering newspapers to pay the 70 thousand yen fee to go on the school trip with his friends. Later, Makoto Shibe offers for his parents to pay Yuuichi's fee, while Shiho Sawaragi berates him for looking down on them since his father's a city councilor.

We are introduced to Yuuichi's friends: Shibe, who's from a rich family but is characterized as a likeable airhead with a sharp tongue, Sawaragi, the reliable class vice president who's been raised strictly by her policeman father, Tenji Mikasa, the grade's genius who is the group's mediator, and Yutori Kokorogi, a kind girl who was bullied before becoming friends with Sawaragi.

The teacher later reveals that the school trip fees, 2 million yen in total, have been stolen by someone in their class. Sawaragi apologizes, saying it was her duty to hand the money in, but someone stole it from her locked locker. She will accept responsibility for the missing fees, waiting after class until someone turns it in.

Sawaragi and Makoto are absent from school the next two days. Rumors that they stole the money start spreading, and Mikasa attempts to stop the rumors. Later that day, Yuuichi receives a letter from Sawaragi, stating that she has something important to tell him and will be waiting in front of the school at 11 that night.

In front of the school, Yuuichi sees all of his friends, who received letters from him to meet there. Yuuichi and his friends are then kidnapped and brought to a mysterious location, where they meet Manabu, a character from a cancelled anime who steals children's valuables.

Manabu explains the rules of the game in which they can earn 2 million yen just by clearing it once to clear their 20 million yen debt. Yuuichi angrily questions Manabu why they must shoulder so much debt, and Manabu explains that it's the debt of someone among his friends. Mikasa accuses Manabu of kidnapping them against their will, to which he responds that they are the ones who wished to participate. Someone among them submitted a 10% participation fee of 2 million yen to join the game.

If they don't join the game, the person in debt will continue to shoulder it on his/her own, whereas if they join, the debt will be divided evenly among them (4 million yen each), which they can decrease by playing games. Manabu gives them 5 minutes to consider.

Yuuichi's friends say they would gladly be willing to lend a friend 4 million yen without asking questions since they are friends, which he cannot believe. Manabu accuses Yuuichi of doubting his friends, pressing him about who he doubts the most and saying Yuuichi prefers money over his friends. Yuuichi rebuffs this, saying friends are more important than money.

The group agrees to join the game and is escorted to the venue of the first game. Manabu introduces them to the rules of the Gokkuri-San Game (*Main: Gokkuri-San Game Rules*). Each player is provided a nameplate displaying their current debt, and they are instructed to not show the numbers on the nameplate to anyone. If this rule is broken, the player's debt will double.

Manabu guides the group through a practice round. The question is "The northernmost prefecture of Japan is Hokkaido," and the group successfully moves the coin to "Yes." He instructs Yutori to push it toward "No," and the coin moves toward "No."

They receive a warning to not doubt their friends, and the game begins. Shibe is the first questioner. He asks, "The highest mountain in Japan is Mount Fuji," and the coin surprisingly moves to the incorrect answer, "No."

## Characters

* Yuuichi Katagiri
* Makoto Shibe
* Tenji Mikasa
* Yutori Kokorogi
* Shiho Sawaragi
* Manabu
* Yuka Katagiri