[ominous music playing]
Destroy the Council President?
[Aoi] Yeah.
I… I don't understand what you mean.
Why would you wanna hurt her if you're on the Council?
[Tsuzura gasping]
-Because of this. -[Mary gasping]
MITTENS
Don't you think this is a little much?
They treat you like an animal just for losing a game.
It's wrong.
The Student Council President created this system.
I want to dismantle it.
If you're willing to help me out, then I'll give you this million back.
I know we can do it, Mary.
I just need your help.
[Mary grunting]
I'm sorry.
All of this is my fault. He messed everything up.
[Mary] Huh?
No. You don't need to say sorry.
And don't blame yourself for a scenario that I didn't prepare myself for.
Mary, no! Please don't blame yourself when you weren't the one playing.
Now, now! Calm down.
Isn't placing blame just a waste of energy?
We should be focusing on how to bring money into the den--
[Mary] Don't be stupid!
How are we gonna do that without a buy-in?
[Mary gasping]
[both groaning]
[Mary sighing]
Heading home.
[door opening, closing]
[indistinct chatter]
[Mary] It's no use. I don't have the headspace for this.
-[Mary sighing] -[girl] Are you kidding me?
[boy] It's that time of year.
[boy 2] Oh crap. Do I have anything saved up?
STUDENT COUNCIL DONATION DEADLINE NOTICE
[Mary gasping]
Hey, uh… Do you know what this is?
[boy 3] What? You can't read?
It's announcing the due date for Student Council donations.
Oh. Right.
So…
[boy 3] If you don't pay up, you'll be a house pet.
So, you'd better be careful.
[Mary] This is bad. I don't have any cash right now.
I won't be able to help Tsuzura at all if I'm the one that ends up…
MITTENS
[Mary] And if I'm a house pet too,
then neither of us would have any hope of becoming human until we graduate.
[opening theme music playing]
TWIN
[Mary grunting]
[knocking on door]
[Aoi] Come in.
[door squeaking open]
I had a feeling you'd show up right about now.
[Mary gasping] What are you two doing in here?
Well, uh…
I invited them here.
Huh?
You came all this way,
so I assume what I said was a little intriguing to you.
[Mary] I haven't decided if I want to accept your offer.
That's totally fine.
For a long time,
the power of the Student Council has gone completely unchecked.
No one has any ability to confront them.
And it's all because of this tiered system they made.
The threat of becoming a house pet is enough
for students to lose any motivation to rise against the Student Council.
They get comfortable with the way things are,
which only encourages them to maintain the status quo.
Gotta admit they really thought it through.
People get to be petty, and the Student Council stays comfy.
So, what do we do about it?
I say we destroy the system.
[indistinct chatter]
What the hell?
FIDO
MITTENS
FIDO
[Mary gasping]
Is everyone in here a--
Yes. They're all house pets.
Why get a bunch of them together to do this?
We picked out the ones that were higher in rankings.
House pets are not typically able to donate 100,000 yen,
but if it's 10,000 yen, that's much more doable.
10,000 yen from 100 people?
Well, that adds up to a million yen.
So you--
We can weed out the strongest contenders, have them play higher-stakes games,
collect the winnings, and buy everyone out of being a house pet.
This is how we can destroy the system
before we take on the Student Council President.
Enough talk. I wanna play a game.
-There's a certain one you'll like. -Huh?
This particular one requires multiple people to participate.
That's why I asked a couple of your friends to tag along.
[both shuddering]
If you end up winning, you walk away with a million yen.
Consider it a gift from me to you.
[ominous music playing]
[Mary gasping]
Please, Mary.
Please help me save them.
Hello, all you sad singles!
Were your lonely tears all that kept you company last night?
[crowd jeering]
Great! Thank you all very much.
I'm happy to say you can stop crying!
Welcome to the 50th Annual Coupling Party!
There have been over 5,000 participants thus far!
Many of our happy alumni have stayed together
and gotten married after graduating!
I wonder what kind of drama we can expect
from the couples coming up for our 50th year.
Best of luck trying to find the one out there tonight, everybody!
-What the hell is going on? -[crowd cheering]
How is this gonna destroy the Student Council?
Is this guy messing with me?
[MC] It's the Coupling Game!
Ladies will confess their love to a special someone!
Gentlemen will choose their special someone!
I should add, getting coupled up is only for the purposes of the game.
So, please have fun and don't be creepy!
Just relax and enjoy the ride.
But as long as your heart is open, there have been countless times
that something here has grown into something more.
-It's okay to have some expectations. -[crowd cheering]
All right. Listen up. Sort yourselves out.
We need girls and boys on teams of five.
Once you find your team, we'll move on to…
[boy] Step one.
[MC] Conversation time!
Deepen your friendship and try to find your special someone.
Next is…
[boy] Step two.
[MC] Consultation!
Talk to your team and decide who you wanna pick.
Finally…
[boy] Step three.
[MC] Confession time!
One of the ladies will select someone on the men's team
to confess their love to.
The men will choose whose confession they will accept.
Once everyone filled out their cards,
the ladies will announce who they confess their love for.
We'll do this in order.
For those who are lucky enough to become a couple,
the man is the winner!
The lady pays the man the amount they bet to play.
The men who don't have a partner at the end will lose.
They will pay the amount they bet to the ladies.
Now, in this game, men and women will both be betting the same amount,
but women are a little shy when money and dating are put together.
With that in mind,
we have a special incentive tonight for the ladies.
The Maiden's Promise!
If a lady declares any of these prior to play,
they will take on that obligation after they lose
in exchange for a large reduction of their wager.
For the fellas out there,
the risk involved may come with some big rewards.
You'll only have once chance to confess your love and choose that person.
Let's get excited to find love, everybody!
[crowd cheering]
Does this high school seriously have parties to hook up a bunch of stray kids?
[groaning] I did not agree to this!
There's no way I'm gonna be matched up with some guy I don't even know!
[Mary] But if we don't go along with this, what would we do?
-[Mikura] Hello, Mary Saotome. -[Mary gasping]
-Good to see you. -[Mary] Whoa!
Hey. You're… you're Mikura.
You're here?
Call me Sado, please.
You don't deserve to use my first name.
So what brings you to this?
-Finding a boyfriend? -[Mikura] Of course, not. Disgusting!
-Huh? -My only purpose here is business. Look.
Mistress Juraku is the head manager for this party.
I'm here to assist her in its flawless execution.
[Mary] Great. She's here?
[Sachiko] You think we should have Mary Saotome participate
in the coupling game?
[Aoi] Yeah.
That isn't what we discussed.
I thought you were going to incorporate her into your plans?
I feel like you're trying to sneak into my territory.
And if you are, I'll eat you!
Understood.
[indistinct chatter]
[all groaning]
Back to business. You came as a group of three?
Oh. Yeah.
Then I'll introduce you to two more players.
You want the two of us to hop on their team?
[Mikura] Yes.
What's up!
Second-year from Sakura class, Kurumi Kurume.
I'm excited to play!
Third-year from the Botan class, Chitose Inui.
It's so great to meet you guys!
Yeah. Nice to meet you.
So have any of you lovely ladies ever been able to participate
in the coupling party before?
This is the first time I've ever done it.
[Mary] We've never played either.
Oh, how fun!
I'll try and break everything down for you as best I can.
I've been playing the last couple years, so I know how these things tend to go.
Sounds like you didn't find a boyfriend.
[Chitose] Don't mention that.
I got paired up one of the last times the school did this,
and they told me it was how the game was supposed to be gambled.
And then when I asked him out, he told me no.
What was so wrong with me that he said no?
This is wrong. None of this is fair! [seething]
Let's just try and focus on doing our best.
You're so right.
Sorry. Kinda spaced out a minute.
Well, first, we fill out our lineup card!
[Mary] Lineup card?
[Chitose] We fill this out and turn it in to the front.
This is gonna determine the order that we confess or make decisions.
So I can write down all our names.
-Oh. I feel like I should also ask… -[all] Huh?
Do you want a boyfriend or money?
Which one of those are you going to prioritize today?
If we aren't open about what we want,
we might accidentally end up working against each other.
If you're here for a man, then the timing on when you make your confession
is gonna be really important.
And the guys only have one chance to say whoever they want to pick.
But going early doesn't always guarantee you'll win!
I only came here for the money.
I'm cool just going along with the group.
[sighing heavily]
Fine. All right then.
Then we can just us Rock Paper Scissors to figure it out, or whatever.
[all gasping]
[classical orchestral music playing]
All set! Our lineup is in!
Thanks, Inui.
[giggling] I think we're gonna get lucky today.
They said we can go take our seats over that way.
[ominous music playing]
[MC] Has everyone taken their seats?
Awesome!
Then that means it's time for you all to get to know each other.
Conversation time, begin!
-[indistinct chatter] -I guess I'll start us off.
Nobuya Sera. I'm excited to play.
Haruto Kibashira. Nice to meet you.
I'm Ren Kochi.
I'm Mamoru Kuonji.
[Mary] All these guys seem to be ridiculously good-looking.
Why would any of them want to be here?
I'm Kanade Musubi. Happy to be here!
[Mary] Although, I guess there's one exception.
[Nobuya] Your turn, ladies.
Okay. [giggling]
I'm Chitose Inui.
I'm here to find a boyfriend that can treat me like a princess.
I'm excited about maybe finding the one this time!
[Mary] That's good.
It's better for us if they don't know our goal is to make money.
She's doing a great job fooling them.
And all of you are gorgeous, so this is gonna be fun!
-[Mary] She is fooling them, right? -[Chitose moaning]
Wow. So the three of you really run a gambling den?
Doing something like that's a lot of hard work.
Well, yeah. It would be if we were open right now.
So what kinda guy are you into?
I'm sure you like dudes that are really smart.
Oh. No, not really.
Lucky. So what is your type then?
[Mary] Hmm.
Someone who is so honest that they're stupid,
If I'm picking one.
Why did I answer that honestly?
Hey, Hanatemari.
You've been sitting real quiet ever since we started.
Don't hold back because you're a pet.
Tell me about your hobbies.
Well, I guess I like to cook.
And needlework I'll do sometimes.
But I also like to--
Cooking and needlework?
Incredible! You're a prime example of femininity!
[Kanade giggling]
[Kanade] You're exactly my type.
This is amazing!
All right, lovers! Time is up!
Did you find anybody out there that you might like?
Let's move on to consultation!
[indistinct chatter]
How does the betting work?
I don't remember her explaining that during the rules.
[Kurumi] Hmm? It was on the registration form.
Oh. We had a direct invite.
It's one million yen per round.
[Mary gasping]
[Mary] That's too expensive!
Dammit! I see what game he's playing now.
He's testing me to see if I can handle this.
If I'm not experienced enough to get through this,
he'll just toss me to the side.
That means we'll probably need to offer the "dinner date" benefit.
[Tsuzura sighing]
-Why don't we try using the "sleep over"? -[both] Huh?
All of us would end up saving some money.
We could try and have them in the same room.
Doesn't that sound fun?
Do you not know what that means?
[Yukimi] Uh, Hanatemari,
a "sleep over" is when you go to a guy's house and they--
[Tsuzura gasping]
[Mary] Did she seriously have no idea?
Now that we've shot that down,
we can go ahead and offer the dinner date to lower our wagers.
As for the specifics of our plan,
we'll prevent as many couples as possible to win.
Otherwise, we'll end up owing.
To ensure this, everyone should confess to someone different.
If all of us confess to the same guy,
it increases our chances of coupling up.
Tsuzura should definitely not be confessing to Musubi.
Yeah. He seemed to take quite a liking to her.
Oh! Could I pick Kuonji to confess to?
[Mary] Hmm? Why?
Did you see how hot his glasses made him look?
Sure, he might not have talked a lot, but I love the quiet types.
-I might even offer the "sleep over"… -And I'll fill this out for everyone else.
Just make these picks, all right?
Any objections?
[all] No objections.
Great. Let's go!
Consultation time is almost over.
Please start making your way back to your seats.
[Kurumi groaning]
-Tsuzura. -Huh?
Don't let any of the others know, but let's switch our confessions up.
Huh? Why, Mary?
I'm just being extra careful.
There's a pretty big flaw in this plan.
It's a countermeasure.
If there's one traitor among us,
there's a danger that we'll all lose.
[indistinct chatter]
[Mary] If someone tips off the guys about who is confessing to whom,
we're all done for.
I understand.
But Togakushi…
I'm sorry, but I don't trust her yet.
-[Tsuzura] Really? -[Mary] Tsuzura.
Now is not the time for us to be hesitating.
We need to walk away from this as winners.
You hear me?
[Tsuzura shuddering] Okay.
CONFESSION TIME
And now it's the moment you've all been waiting for.
It's confession time!
Yeah! Take the risk!
Let's put those hearts out there!
I'll be attending the needs of your table for tonight.
I'm Sado.
Thank you for joining us.
[Mary] It's her again.
[Mikura] Ladies, please circle the number of the person you would like to confess to
and pass it to me.
Gentlemen, please take these five cards.
The numbers are the same as your lineup card.
I will collect these after each confession.
Would anyone like to declare a benefit?
Yeah. I'd like the "dinner date."
-I'd like to do that too, please. -Me too.
Your choices are noted.
Please begin your confessions.
I get to start us off.
Which of you is it gonna be?
[Mary] Seems like no problems yet.
If we played normally,
we'd have to expect at least one couple to form from this.
Even if we did have a traitor that told the guys who we were gonna confess to,
Tsuzura and I would still win.
[electronic music playing]
Gentlemen, it's your turn.
Please indicate on a card the lady you would like to select.
So, man, who you picking?
I don't think I'm into girls that wear a lot of makeup, you know?
[Mary] I feel like something's off, but I don't know why.
[Kurumi] Okay. My turn!
Hey, Kibashira, I like you.
Wanna go on a date with me?
I'm just kidding! [laughing]
Uh-oh. My joke flopped.
[Mary gasping] Wow. None of them picked her?
Why didn't any of those guys react at all?
[Mikura] All right. Next person, please.
Oh. Right.
I pick Musubi.
Next lady, please.
Uh, okay.
[Mary grunting]
CIRCLE THE OBJECT…
I'm picking Sera.
[both] Huh?
Not me? Why choose him?
I thought we were getting along!
That wasn't who we agreed you would pick, Hanatemari.
-[Tsuzura gasping] -[Mary] Yukimi.
It's part of my strategy to win.
Sorry I didn't get a chance to tell you. Hang tight for a bit.
[groaning] If you say so.
Let's move forward. Next player.
Oh. Right.
[inaudible]
[MC] All right! You're doing a great job, everybody!
All of our players have finally finished turning in their confession cards.
All that's left now is the results!
[Mary] I've done everything that I can.
With this plan, we should be able to win.
I have your table's results.
-The order will be-- -[Chitose] Yes!
We go in confession order,
but if it's okay, I want last.
-My heart's… -That'll be fine.
Let's just get it done.
That won't be a problem.
The first confessor, Kurumi Kurume.
Her confession was made to Kibashira.
Our results,
we have a couple.
[gasping] Oh, crap. I got it, right?
Hmm? Were you hoping to have a chance at the money?
That's cool. I'd still be down for going on a real date with you.
Please leave courting until later.
Our next confession was from Togakushi,
and was delivered to Musubi.
Another successful couple.
Huh?
[Musubi exclaiming]
I also have strong opinions about literature.
We will get along great.
You wagered a dinner date. Have I got that right?
[Musubi sniffing]
I'll find us somewhere romantic and make a reservation.
[Mary] This can't be a coincidence.
What is the likelihood we'd have two couples in a row?
So that means we really do have a traitor here.
Kurumi and Yukimi aren't off the hook because they got paired up.
The traitor would try to cover their tracks
by giving themselves a match too.
I'm glad I planned that countermeasure with Tsuzura.
Next up, Hanatemari.
We have another couple.
[both] Huh?
Followed by Saotome,
who made another couple.
-[gasping] What? -[Mikura] Last is Inui.
Another happy couple.
-[ominous music playing] -Congratulations.
We have five couples.
Such an accomplishment.
Enjoy, ladies.
I don't understand.
[Yukimi shuddering]
So great! He agreed!
[Kurumi laughing]
Well, this didn't play out like we thought it would.
What the hell?
This is bullshit!
I refuse to accept this at all!
Calm yourself.
Is there something you're trying to imply here?
Of course, there is!
How could there be five couples at one table?
Tsuzura and I swapped our choices before we even made the confessions.
We wanted to protect ourselves in case someone shared our picks with the guys.
It isn't possible to have this many matches
unless someone cheated!
[sighing] I will not tolerate accusations.
[Mary gasping]
I caught you cheating just the other day--
[Sachiko] What's wrong, Mary?
Is there a problem I can help you with?
[Mary] Sachiko Juraku!
Is she the one behind this?
Yeah, there is! I'm calling out your scheme--
Stop. I won't stand here and listen to any more of your accusations.
No house staff has altered your results.
I can guarantee you that with the utmost confidence.
Do you really expect me to believe that?
[Sachiko] Mary.
Don't be blinded by your own failure.
There's another way.
A completely different, much simpler possibility.
[Mary] Was there something I missed?
Even if we did end up getting betrayed by someone,
there was no way that everyone would still become paired up.
The only thing that makes sense is that management cheated.
[Mary gasping]
[Mary] No. I refuse to believe that.
There's no way that can be right.
What if the traitor is Tsuzura?
If management is telling the truth and they didn't cheat,
then it would make total sense.
Tsuzura was the only one that knew our confessions were gonna be different.
Why was Tsuzura having that meeting with Mibuomi before I got there?
What were they talking about?
Maybe they're working together to entrap me
for standing up against the Student Council,
and she worked out some sort of sweetheart deal for herself?
But wouldn't that mean Yukimi was in on it too?
[dramatic music playing]
Of course, Juraku would be in on it.
I bet they're all working together to bring me down!
Well done. That will conclude the first round.
Now it's time to get started with the bonus game.
Begin round two!
Buy-in will be doubled at two million yen.
[crowd cheering]
Now, then. What are you going to do?
Aoi gave you so much money, and you just lost it all.
You know you're going to be a house pet at this rate, right?
[gasping] But I don't have two million yen.
[Kurumi laughing] You don't need that much.
No worries, girl. Kurumi's got you.
But I can only do 20,000 each.
Huh?
You'll have to add the "sleep over" to your wager.
This is going to be so much more fun.
[Sachiko] What a great idea.
Do you like that option?
What do you say, Mary?
Mary, no.
[Mary] Shut up! I don't want anyone else to talk to me.
No more.
I'm so sick of being conned by these people!
What should I do?
What can I do?
I… I don't know who I can trust!
[ending theme music playing]
[music fades]