Chapter 10 – The Next Round
The hallway buzzed with tension. Dozens of students had gathered around the bulletin board, necks craned, eyes darting between names.
Kotarō slipped in closer, scanning the white-printed sheet.
His eyes locked onto the line:
Round 1 Winner – Class 2-C (Government)
He froze.
"We won. Not badly. Not barely. Just… won."
For a second, he wasn't even sure he read it right. He blinked, read it again. It didn't change.
Haruka stepped in beside him, her eyes tracing the same text. She gave a quiet exhale—not a laugh, not a sigh. Just the smallest sound of satisfaction.
"Told you it was winnable," she said.
Kotarō didn't answer immediately. There was a weight in his chest, but it wasn't anxiety.
"What is this feeling? It's not calm. Not relief.
It's louder than both.
Is this... excitement?"
Watanabe appeared behind them, peering over shoulders.
"Oh, we actually did it. Huh."
He fist-bumped no one in particular.
"Next one should be easier."
"Don't assume that," Haruka muttered, eyes already on the next sheet being posted.
Round 2: Class 2-C (Opposition) vs Class 1-A (Government)
"First-years," she said. "But that doesn't mean harmless."
Kotarō didn't say anything. Just nodded.
"They might be younger. But everyone wants to win."
"And for the first time, so do I."
Inside the prep room, the whiteboard was clean.
A folder was handed to Haruka by one of the staff.
She opened it, read aloud:
Motion: This House believes social media does more harm than good.
They were on the Opposition side this time.
Haruka sat at one end of the desk. Kotarō sat beside her, already scribbling in his notebook. Watanabe leaned back against the chair, flipping through the motion sheet lazily.
"Okay," Haruka began. "Let's split this up. We need three clear angles. Reframe the debate, attack the assumptions, and close with why banning isn't the answer."
Kotarō nodded, drawing three vertical columns on the page.
"They'll argue mental health, misinformation, body image, addiction. That's the obvious route. So we counter with three things: autonomy, digital evolution, and existing tools for regulation. Don't deny the harms. Just contextualize them."
Haruka leaned forward. "We defend social media as a tool. Not a truth. Not a religion. Just something that reflects what we give it."
Kotarō spoke slowly. "We also flip the harm argument. They say influence corrupts. We say it democratizes."
Haruka smirked. "If they fear viral misinformation, we say education beats censorship."
Watanabe raised a finger. "Can I say that it's not the platform, it's the people?"
Haruka nodded. "If you say it with a straight face and don't mumble, sure."
"Her tone's sharper now. Tighter. I can feel she wants to win this one even more than the last."
Kotarō flipped through a few of his handwritten references. He pulled a short quote from a speech he saw months ago:
"Communication platforms amplify. They don't invent. If you fear what's being said, the issue isn't the medium."
He underlined it twice.
"They'll try to moralize. We bring it back to structure, intention, systems. Make it sound mature. Make it sound controlled."
Haruka began drafting the case structure aloud.
Argument 1: Amplification Is Not Creation
Social media doesn't create hate. It reveals it.Banning or restricting it won't make those issues disappear.
Argument 2: Access to Representation
Marginalized voices find space on social platforms.Change movements, activism, awareness all grow online.
Argument 3: Literacy, Not Censorship
Problems arise from unprepared users, not the platform.What's needed is education, not restriction.
Watanabe jotted a few lines under each. Kotarō rewrote the third point three times.
"That's the weakest. It's not punchy enough. But we can clean it live."
There was a knock at the door.
A staff voice called out.
"Prep time is over. Please proceed to your debate room."
Haruka capped her pen. Kotarō closed his notebook.
"One match behind us. Another ahead. And this time, I'm ready before they speak."
Chapter End