DREAMING CREAMING SISTERS
KAWARU NATARI
How?
I know she beat me talent-wise.
But we were supposed to win the round.
Surely she didn't...
But that's the only way!
The only way to lose after bribing the audience
is if they were double bribed!
She bribed the audience, too!
This is such a sleazy academy.
I knew this place revolved around gambling
but cheating is rampant, too.
Discrimination is condoned under the pretext of skill.
If the ends justify the means, then people use the only means available.
You can vote for whoever you like.
But please try to vote for the contestant
who gives the most moving performance.
Did you really think you could beat me with bribery?
Shit!
Even as a gambler, this girl has no flaws.
Looks like I'm no match for her, either as an actress or a gambler!
We didn't win on talent. Nor by cheating.
How can we ever beat an opponent like her?
We're in trouble, aren't we, Yumemite-san?
You don't look at all troubled.
I can't stand it. I'm surrounded by freaks!
Alrighty, it's time to move on to round 2,
which was devised by Kawaru.
It's the Grin and Bear It Death Macaron!
The rules are simple.
Each team will be given three macarons that must be eaten in order.
One of the macarons - the death macaron - will be filled with habanero sauce.
The winner is the team that takes fewer guesses
to identify the opposing team's death macaron.
Now let's taste the death macaron
and see how spicy it really is.
Who, me?
Tasting time!
Too spicy! Water! Water!
As you can see, it is far too spicy for ordinary folk.
Let's see how well the teams manage to disguise it.
Such an interesting game you've devised!
Nice and simple, isn't it?
Controlling physiological response
is a first principal of acting
and the most challenging.
Yumeko-chan, would you leave this to me?
Of course!
Bring it on!
It's my chance to out-act Kawaru Natari.
Very well. Teams, please start with dish A.
Let the tasting commence!
Natari-san looks supremely calm as she eats.
Surely it would show
if that was the spicy death macaron.
How about Yumemi-chan?
Yumemite-san?
Oh, dear.
Has she bitten off more than she can chew?
Yumemi! How could she...
Relax. She might be acting.
No! She must have...
Okay! Let's move on to dish B, everyone.
And finally, dish C, please.
Wow, even just finishing them all is an achievement!
Okay, it's time to guess. Let's start with Kawaru.
Well, I salute your efforts.
Sense of taste elicits a reflex, not a reaction.
Feigning a reflex is no easy task.
Your face after dish A was very typical of a reflex.
No.
Busted.
So, Kawaru-chan, your answer is...?
Dish B. That was the death macaron, wasn't it?
Correct! Dish B is the correct answer!
But how?
I'm delighted you trusted me.
You knew I couldn't fail to notice a reflex.
Or fail to distinguish between a reflex and acting.
I'm right, aren't I?
And that's why,
you broke your own finger so you didn't have to act.
Yumemi-chan!
Self-harm is not something I would advocate,
but your determination is truly admirable.
Such a shame bad acting let you down.
It's obvious to anyone with a trained eye.
You'll need to work on that.
So, now it is your turn to guess, Yumeko Jabami.
All right.
The death macaron was in dish B.
B is the correct answer!
So the Grin and Bear It Death Macaron round finishes in a tie!
Would you please share your reasoning?
I counted how many times you chewed.
You chewed A 25 times, B 19 times and C 20 times.
So you chewed A more times than B and C.
Now, someone of your caliber won't have been so caught up
in Yumemite-san's acting that it slowed you down.
That means the chewing on A was deliberate.
Which means that the correct answer was either B or C.
Really?
What if that's what I wanted you to think?
So what's your reason for eliminating C?
There was no particular reason.
And that's way more fun, right?
You've piqued my interest, Yumeko Jabami.
Is that so?
You won't be able to remain a mere observer.
Yumemite-san.
I can't believe you'd go so far as to break your own finger!
Such impressive resolve!
Sacrificing your own flesh! What a strategy!
However, you were still defeated.
What now?
What strategy are you going to come up with next?
Next...
Yes?
I don't have a next move.
What?
She's way more talented and experienced.
She's so driven.
I knew all that from the start, but I still thought I could win.
But now, I'm full of despair and joy at the realization
that I'll never beat her.
I can't perform anymore!
No matter what I do, she sees right through it.
There's no point!
My certain win has become a certain loss.
But even though I've lost, I feel strangely refreshed.
The woman I idolized is even more amazing than I thought.
The summit I must reach is higher than I ever imagined.
My dream is bigger than ever!
In the final round, I'm going to learn from Natari-san.
I'll fight her with everything I've got.
I'll give it my all so that one day,
I might reach her level.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Stop spouting such nonsense, Yumemite-san.
I've gone along with this because you said you would do anything to win.
You can't give up now.
You don't think you'll be able to win
so you'll look at it as drama training?
You'll be fine but I'll be left high and dry!
It's a convenient excuse, isn't it?
I hate people who move the goalposts
when they think they can't win!
Now the moment we've been waiting for.
The game played in round 3
was devised by the Election Management Committee.
The dealer will be Runa Yomotsuki, chair of the committee.
And the final game is called Soixante-Trois.
You will all participate individually!
And whoever wins will double their points!
So what was the point of the other rounds?
Okay. Time to explain the rules!
Soixante-Trois is a game of chicken
in which players try to get as close to 63 as possible.
We'll be using a pack of 52 cards.
Numbered cards are worth face value, and pictures are worth ten!
The first player takes one card from the deck.
Don't show it to anyone else!
Declare the card's value,
and set it face down on the pile.
Players can declare the actual value or they can bluff!
Take it in turns to take cards.
As the game continues and the cards pile up,
the total will increase but no one will know the real value.
It's a game of chicken.
Just make sure the total doesn't exceed 63!
When a player thinks her card
takes the total too close to 63, she can elect to "pass."
But then can't take any more cards.
After two players have passed,
with one player left, it's time for the showdown.
If the actual total of the stack of cards is less than 63,
the last remaining player wins.
But if it is over 63, then the last remaining player loses.
Those are the rules.
So let's get the game underway.
Let's play Soixante-Trois!
But first, a short commercial break.
Shuffling is complete!
Okay! Let's start with Kawaru-chan.
It's either pass or set, right?
Set. King of hearts.
A ten on the board straight away! Or is she bluffing?
Also, the running total
is based on what the players declare.
No need to worry, Suzui-san.
The advantage goes to whoever can best estimate
the real total.
Don't forget that Yumemi and Jabami-san can share information.
You're right.
If they work together, they are sure to win!
Alrighty. Next up is Yumemi-chan.
The game was explained to us beforehand.
So naturally, Yumeko and I came up with a way of communicating.
Set. The ace of hearts.
Why won't she look at me?
Yumemite-san. I'll fight this one on my own.
Yumemite-san is scared of you, Natari-san.
She accepts she'll always play second fiddle to you.
She has aspirations,
but she is boxing herself in with her own limitations.
I've had enough of her abject stupidity.
Set. Two of hearts.
Perhaps they are just pretending to work separately?
Set. Nine of clubs.
No. Yumemite's distress is real.
Set. Four of diamonds.
And Yumeko Jabami's anger is also real.
They have not combined forces.
They are fighting against each other!
Alrighty. The estimated total is now 32.
We're over the half-way point to 63!
I hate people who move the goalposts when they think they can't win!
She's right.
She's completely right.
For the first time in my life, I want to lose.
I want to give everything, everything I've got,
and still not beat her.
To realize a Hollywood actress is truly on another level
and that I can't hope to compete against her.
You admire someone because they are better than you.
Face to face, you realize how inconsequential you are.
I'm not even qualified to stand on the same stage as her.
That's the truth. The truth I didn't want to accept.
In which case, is there any point in beating her right now?
Yumeko Jabami is not lying about any of her cards.
Whereas Yumemi Yumemite is lying about all of them.
Ladies, your awkward performances make it so easy for me to see through you!
Time for the winning move.
Set. The ace of spades.
You're amazing, Natari-san.
Playing an ace when we're so close.
I'd like to think you're under declaring the value,
as strategy dictates
but I didn't sense anything unnatural.
I can't do anything.
Natari-san.
You believe that the card you just played raises the total above 63, don't you?
No comment, Yumeko Jabami.
But you believe the total hasn't reached 63 yet, am I wrong?
No comment.
That was very unnatural, Yumeko Jabami.
I'm sure we've bust already but passing would be so boring.
I can't contain my excitement.
I want to keep this gambling freak rolling!
There's no way Yumeko will pass on this turn.
She's 100% certain to play.
This girl has already lost the will to win.
There is no way she will decide the match.
We've just crossed the 63 threshold.
If she doesn't pass, we will bust.
And I will be victorious.
I don't know. I don't know what to do.
I thought it would feel good to beat Natari-san, the woman I idolize.
But I was wrong.
The gulf between us is far too wide.
I can't win with skill.
So there's no point.
I don't care about that.
Whether there's a point or not, I can't allow you to give up.
We're gambling, after all.
You can't fold in this one, anyway.
Just like in the gamble we call life.
- Come on. - What's your move?
Then I lose.
I don't want to win if I can't win through skill.
- I'm going to give... - Don't give up!
What?
Yumemi. Please.
No way. Why on Earth would I want to be an Idol?
I want to become an actress. A Hollywood actress.
I don't have time to prance around in costumes.
You may be a big-time producer's daughter but I don't need your help.
- But I can't just do nothing. - What?
I know that together, Yumemi,
we can go places beyond our wildest dreams.
52 VIEWS: SEPT 18 11,620 VIEWS: NOV 11
I...
I'm going to pass.
What?
Yumeko-chan.
Yumeko-chan, can you pass, too?
If you do, we are sure to win.
What? No way!
You were acting the whole time?
Amazing.
I thought if I got mad, I'd be solo,
and if we didn't work together, Natari-san would go to 63
so that you would have the make or break decision on your turn!
But that was your goal all along!
Wonderful!
I had no idea!
This was your cunning, winning strategy!
I wasn't acting.
I couldn't.
I really don't want to win.
I want to lose to the great Kawaru Natari-san,
so she sympathizes with me, and says I tried hard.
I'm weak and immature. It's what I want.
But I need to win.
And go places beyond my wildest dreams.
And so I need to win.
What's going on here?
I definitely overwhelmed this girl.
That's why Yumeko rejected the union
and worked solo using a strategy of not lying.
In response, I mixed in some bluffs and waited for the right moment.
But that made it easy for her to read the situation.
But I thought you really didn't want to win?
Weren't you trying to lose?
That wasn't acting, was it?
So tell me how.
How did you manage to win the game?
At first, I didn't think there was any point in becoming an Idol.
It was a temporary rung on the ladder to becoming an actress.
But then all the singing and dancing
and playing the role became fun.
More people adored me as an Idol
than I could ever have imagined.
I took pride in exceeding their expectations.
For the first time, I found meaning as an Idol.
It helped me see places I'd never have seen otherwise.
I still don't know if there's any point beating you without talent
but I might understand someday.
If I keep trying to figure it out.
The Warakubami family trade is entertainment.
We have an expression:
Anyone who can't, is worthless.
Why win?
Because to stop progressing means death.
I don't think about meaning.
I walk a path of destruction and victory.
The path you're choosing involves constant thinking.
It's very different to mine but just as confusing.
But you might be able get there.
All right. It's your turn, Yumeko Jabami.
Will you play?
No, no.
I'd like a taste of Yumemite-san's certain victory.
I pass.
A second player has passed. No more declarations.
It's time for the showdown, Natari Kawaru.
Will the total be higher or lower than 63?
This is just the worst.
I didn't want Natari-san to see me like this.
I'm so pathetic.
So lame.
This is not the way I wanted to win.
Time to reveal the total!
The total is 67.
Bust!
The winners are Yumemi Yumemite and Yumeko Jabami!
Yumemi!
A win is a win.
Pick yourself up and move forward.
That's the victor's duty, no?
I'll make sure I win next time.
EPISODE 6 THE HOLLYWOOD GIRL
See you in Hollywood!
Yes.
What's up, Saotome?
None of your business.
Really?
Yes?
Yes, I understand.
I'll be there right away, Terano-sama.
Manyuda-senpai, who bet a million and lost?
Do you have a conscience?
Do as I say for the rest of your...
- Looks like there's a traitor among us. - Sure, this is proof.
That you're a liar.
EPISODE 7 THE TRAITOROUS GIRL