The Cold IT Executive Who Stole My Heart: My Wedding and the 7 Rings-Kai Fujisawa

*In light of the incidents on Tumblr…I’m pushing up my timeline and publishing this a week earlier than originally planned*

I finally managed to find the time to tackle some of these Voltage games from my backlog! While I have the time I’m going to bang out as many of these as I can. So first up is Kai Fujisawa!

Initially, I was not overly excited about My Wedding and the 7 Rings, in fact I was quite content to forgo this addition to the Voltage lineup. My Forged Wedding was one of my favorite games, and the fake marriage premise was played out for me. But, that was before I saw this guy, the minute I saw Kai’s character design, I started singing a completely different tune. Kai is the calculating aloof type, both in his personal and in his professional life. Which makes him the perfect fit as Sanno Corporation’s Special Executive of IT Solutions. He is ruthless, not stopping at anything to get what he wants and if that means marrying the MC and having a loveless marriage…then so be it.

*Disclaimer: I don’t own these images, they belong to Voltage Inc…and this goes without saying, but there may be minor SPOILERS under the cut…*

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He Never Factored Love into the Equation

When asked to pick one of the gathered Special Executives, the MC chooses Kai Fujisawa, because he looks like the man with zero interest in her what so ever. Seiichirou then explains that now Phase one of the Marriage Program is underway, starting immediately the MC and Kai will be living under the same roof. After a hashing of some ground rules, namely, that the MC can use anything in the house, save his stupidly obnoxious three monitor computer. The MC agrees and the two of them settle into their awkward room share, barely interacting with one another. In the beginning, Kai is pretty cold towards the MC, keeping as much distance between the two of them as possible. For him, marrying the MC is just a means to securing the CEO position, and that’s exactly how he treats her. He spends the entire first few chapters treating her the same as one would regard a booster shot. You need it, but you don’t necessarily enjoy the experience.

There is a constant tug of war between the pair that I rather enjoyed, which is especially prominent after Kai blackmails the MC into signing a marriage license. The other guys have started to notice that the relationship between the two of them is going nowhere fast. So in order to solidify his claim on the CEO position, Kai manipulates the MC into acting lovey dovey with him when they are in front of the other Special Execs. He also very subtly reminds her of their agreement every chance he gets, keeping the MC on a tight leash. I don’t condone this behavior at all, but at this point in the story Kai has an “any means necessary” mindset, so in hindsight I can excuse his behavior. After witnessing the “love” between Kai and the MC firsthand, the other Execs back off into a corner of despair, all except Sei (bless him), who is still a little suspicious.

While the MC goes along with the ruse in public, privately, she comes up with a plan to dig up some dirt on him and free herself from the heartless bastard! This is the point where her feelings toward him change from disdain to mild affection. She really starts to pick up on his softer side, which prompts her to wonder which side is the true Kai. Along the way she learns that he is out for revenge against Sanno for ruining his childhood. Initially the MC sympathizes with him, and agrees to help him with his plan, mostly so she can learn more about her grandfather. It isn’t until Kai explains everything to her that she really gets on board with the whole revenge plan, but the more she learns about his past and her grandfather’s role in it, the more her opinion changes. She begins trying to convince Kai that he hasn’t really been living, that a life fueled by revenge is merely existing. There was even a moment when it actually looks like she is getting through to him, but then he goes back to his old ways. Let me tell you it is heartbreaking to see him have a complete turn around, in fact this part of the story had me on the edge of my seat!

Overall, Kai is a very hard working, intelligent, and compassionate man. At first he comes off just as cold and indifferent as the very computers he works with, but the more you peel back the layers of his personality, the more you realize how wonderful he really is. He has had a hard life up until this point, and you really empathize with him as a character. If I had been in the same situation, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. He is a very raw and organic character, so even though you know revenge isn’t the answer, you still root for him. So when he finally does open up, you realize just how tragic the whole situation is. Kai is a man that has been pushed to his limits, he doesn’t really know any other way, so it was wonderful to see him finally open up to someone and let them in on his suffering. In the end, Kai is a character that chooses to rises above his past experiences, so that he can move on and forge a new future for himself.

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The Worst Kind of Virus

When this game first came out, people were a little disappointed with this MC…I have no idea what they were talking about! This MC is awesome! This is definitely one of the better Voltage MCs, she is spunky, stubborn, and smart, she made my inner otome fangirl squee with joy.

She and Kai are two sides of the same coin, with similar childhoods. However, where as Kai was alone in his struggles, the MC had a supportive network of friends, family, and mysterious benefactor to help her pick up the pieces and move on. So it’s only natural that she be the more optimistic of the two. But, please don’t mistake her optimism for weakness. This MC does not take anything in this story lying down, she goes toe to toe with Kai every chance she gets. This woman actually weaponized kindness…kindness! She uses her strengths to her advantage and it works. By empathizing with Kai, she is able to break through to his walls and appeal to his better nature.

There was one moment that I had so strong feelings about, after receiving some bad news Kai breaks completely and becomes an emotional mess. So the MC offers herself to him as a means of comforting him. At this point she has realized her feelings for him, so she is 100% okay with giving herself to him sexually, but I dunno…it just felt wrong. The scene definitely fits in with the rest of the story and is in no way out of place…it just left me with a bittersweet kind of feeling. Kai even attempts to dissuade her, but she holds fast to the choice, and they do sleep together.

I don’t know whether to commend her or rebuke her for that, the whole moment was so emotionally charged it’s hard to say whether it was the right choice or not. At this point both characters are at an impasse, unsure where they stand with one another and unsure of how to proceed with their relationship. They are both vulnerable, especially Kai, and I suppose it speaks to her overall strength of will. In that moment she was able to put someone else’s needs before her own. As a result she learns more about herself and helps him change. So despite that slight blip, she is definitely an MC we can be proud of!

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Do I Recommend His Route?

I loved Kai’s Main Story, it was one of the better written routes of the game. This is a very difficult and somewhat dark story, and Voltage did a great job with it. As a characters, both Kai and the MC were fleshed out to the point that their actions just made sense! There weren’t too many awkward or mistimed developments, everything seemed to happen naturally, and for that I am glad. I also felt emotionally invested in the characters, their pain was my pain, their happiness was my happiness.

The overall, the plot is pretty fast paced, but you never feel too overwhelmed by it. In fact, you get swept up in all of the suspense, curiosity driving you to see how the whole thing turns out! There was never a dull moment in this route. Now the true MVP in this story is Seiichirou! Throughout the route he is a confidant of sorts to the MC, assisting her as she progresses through the Marriage Program. He is the mysterious puppet master of the game, he always seems to be ten steps ahead of everyone else around him. This route further piqued my interest in him and I can’t wait to give his route a try!

There are two endings in this route: the Happy Ending and the Super Happy Ending. In the Happy Ending, the MC and Kai confess their feelings for one another. Later that evening the two of them celebrate Kai’s reinstatement with the rest of the Special Execs, hilarity ensues. In the Super Happy Ending, Kai and the MC spend some alone time at their special place and reminisce about how far they have come as a couple. Both endings have their merits, but I like the Super Happy Ending best! It’s a wonderfully sweet moment between the MC and Kai and definitely a fitting end to the route!

I also want to note that if you pick the right choices throughout the route, you will unlock five Secret Stories (you can pay $2.99 up front to unlock them all). These are cute insights into Kai’s character at certain points in the story and I highly suggest trying to get them all.

Some folks are a smidge disappointed at how anticlimactic the confession scene is and for once I wholeheartedly agree, it was so abrupt…but it was definitely an in character moment for Kai, so it works…But, if you are still disappointed about it I suggest reading the Epilogue. Now, that is all I will say on the matter. All in all, I loved Kai and I absolutely loved this route. He is a very complex character and I Voltage did a great job of fleshing that out as the plot progressed. I absolutely recommend this route, it is one of the best Voltage stories I have ever read! 

Do you have any suggestions for posts? Any burning questions? Want me to review a specific game or character? Feel free to Comment on this post or Ask Me on my tumblr!  As always Thank You for reading!