#Kai is the mom. Keiji is the dad. Sara is their child. Do you get me.

[myaorta00912d53]

Kai didn't trust Sara. It's true that he "stalked" her but he didn't know her.

This was evident in the Russian Roulette minigame. Kai didn't trust Sara in the sense that he didn't believe that she would be emotionally strong enough to be the Challenger.

We know from the letter he wrote on his laptop. He only saw her as some poor innocent child who was tragically dragged into the hands of ASU-NARO.

Furthermore, Kai could have possibly seen himself in Sara, particularly from her innocence. He knew the happiness in innocence in childhood (at least a little bit), he knew the cruelty of ASU-NARO, and he knew what it's like to have a person die right in front of him.

Imagine if that person's death had come from your own hands. Kai couldn't, and he definitely didn't want Sara having any of it.

(Additionally, maybe it's possible he was aware of the simulations where Sara was that bloodthirsty teen. I highly doubt it though, considering ASU-NARO's cultish hierarchy and how Kai ranked low, and considering his development that sort of conflicts with this notion. But if he did, he definitely did not want ASU-NARO to get their way with her. He did not want them to have their "star".)

That's why he'd rather have Q-taro be the challenger. True, it was risky to put so much trust on a complete stranger who was very open about his distrust. But Kai prioritized Sara's safety (from accidentally taking a life) much more.

(This also brings up the implication that Kai would rather have Sara get shot than have her kill someone. Might be a sneak peak into this guy's values.)

But of course, a major part of Kai's character was the development of how he perceived Sara. After beating the Russian Roulette minigame, Kai learns that Sara was much stronger than he thought.

This development completely pulls through when he literally kills himself in front of the already shocked and grieving Sara, giving up all his hopes to her, knowing she's capable. He spoke positively, he wanted to encourage her and everyone else, but it's undeniable that he also hurt her that way.

Post could end here but let's relate Kai to Keiji. Kai and Keiji are the same considering how they have their own perceptions and expectations for Sara, but their opposites in terms of how they view Sara. Kai saw her as a victim he needed to save while Keiji saw her as his escape ticket. Both characters eventually learned to see Sara the other way, with Kai doing That (and also confusing Sara at that time, funniest shit ever) and Keiji putting more effort and consideration on who he should trust for his survival.