Int. Classroom 1-A - S.T. Academy - 2 weeks later

Masanori sits in the classroom and thinks about past events.

Jason notices. He laughs and punches him on the shoulder. “Are you daydreaming again, Mori?”

Masanori is pulled out of his thoughts, but says nothing.

Jason realizes something is wrong. “You were probably thinking about how to enter the tournament, weren’t you?”

Masanori looks out of the window with a tilted head and a thoughtful expression.

Mrs. Watanabe is teaching the class right now.

Masanori looks at Jason.

Jason stands up and looks at Masanori. “Then let me help out.”

He stands up straight and speaks up. “I propose a qualifying tournament to be held internally in the class!”

The class falls silent and everyone looks at Jason.

Aitou stands up and immediately strikes a formal pose. “It’s rude for you to interrupt class like that!”

Aitou pauses for a brief moment and considers. “However, this is an efficient opportunity to determine our participants. After all, we still have six more weeks to go.”

Mrs. Watanabe takes the floor. “Sit down and listen to the lesson. You can discuss anything else during the break or in your free time.”

Despite her nice voice and smile, the students realize that they had better do as she says.

Aitou blushes and turns frantically to Ms. Watanabe. “Please forgive me Mrs. Watanabe! It won’t happen again!” and immediately sits down.

Jason in return replies completely nonchalantly. “Jo, sorry.” and sits down as well.

Ms. Watanabe continues the lesson. “As you can see, the root of 16 is 4.”

Masanori’s mind wanders again. “A qualifying tournament…”

He looks at Jason. “Jason’s actually a smart guy.”

Jason looks at Masanori and replies with a beaming smile.

Mrs. Watanabe notices that Masanori and Jason are not following the lesson. “Jason! Masanori! If you’re not following the lesson, you’re welcome to help the principal with his work!”

Jason is shocked and tries to smoothly remove himself from the situation. “No, no, we’ll be careful. Masanori just asked me for an assignment.”

Unfortunately, he fails miserably.

Mrs. Watanabe’s mind is already made up. “Out.”

Masanori and Jason get up and walk out.

Masanori looks at Jason and thinks to himself. “Or not…”

Int. Principal´s Office - S.T. Academy - A little later

Masanori and Jason stand in front of the doors of the Principal´s Office. However, they look much more like the gigantic doors of a throne room than normal doors.

Jason looks anxiously at Masanori.

A brief silence. “Are we going to die now?”

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A bead of sweat runs down Masanori’s forehead. He nods to himself confidently. He takes the first step, swallows again, hesitates and opens the door.

Behind the huge doors is an even larger room that looks much more like a throne room. Further back, we see a huge desk where the principal is sitting. There is also a mountain of papers on his desk.

Behind him is a bookshelf that takes up the entire wall. He raises his eyes and looks at Masanori and Jason.

Tense silence.

Masanori tries to say something, but can’t. He is under enormous pressure. He finds it difficult to think clearly. “He has an incredible presence. I can’t manage to say anything, even though I try.”

Jason is no different, but he keeps a poker face

The principal’s deep voice sends a shiver down Masanori and Jason’s spines. “So you weren’t paying attention in class.”

Silence.

No answer.

After a moment, the principal speaks again in his deep voice. “Well then, that’s not my concern. It’s actually more convenient for me to finally meet you in person.

Masanori is shocked. He wants to look at Jason, but can’t take his eyes off the principal. In his stressed state, he has only one thought. “Why does he want to meet us in person?”

The principal continues. “You’ve already made a name for yourselves in just a few weeks. Masanori Mochizuki, the problem boy who likes confrontation, and Jason Milos, the boy who women avoid.”

The last sentence unleashed unexpected powers in Jason. The principal´s enormous aura no longer seems to work.

Jason is shocked. “WHAT?! WHY AVOID!?”

The principal continues. “It’s extremely interesting that you’ve become friends so quickly.”

Jason won’t let up. “WHY ARE THEY AVOIDING ME?!”

The principal ignores him. “Given the circumstances, however, I’m not surprised.”

Masanori reacts. “Why according to the circumstances?”

He turns to Jason to see his reaction.

Jason, however, is in his own depressed and sad little world. With a blank and absent look, he keeps repeating quietly to himself. “Women love me… women love me… women love me…”

Masanori is annoyed. “This guy is out of his mind.”

The principal starts to laugh heartily.

Jason is torn from his daydream by the laughter.

The principal continues talking. “You are special children, you know that? Not many manage to build up a reputation so quickly, good or bad. And now you’ve even managed to upset my granddaughter.”

Masanori and Jason look at him questioningly. “Granddaughter?”

The principal’s look suddenly changes to a serious one. “Your class teacher.”

Jason looks at Masanori. “Shit man, she’s his granddaughter. I better not start anything with her.”

Masanori looks at him incredulously. “Yeah right…”

The principal continues. “I heard you´re planning a qualifying tournament to determine the participants in the summer tournament.”

Masanori is shocked. “How does he know that so quickly?”

The principal cannot suppress his smile. With an unexpected fire in his eyes, he stretches out his arms in euphoria. “What do you think about holding a double fight instead of individual duels?”

Masanori and Jason synchronize in astonishment. “A DOUBLE FIGHT?”

The principal starts laughing. “Exactly! A double fight! Also known as tag-talk!”

Masanori whispers quietly to himself. “Tag-talk?”

The principal beams with fighting spirit. “In a tag-talk battle, two participants compete against each other. However, the difference is that before you lose your entire social battery, you can swap. A team wins as soon as one of the opponents is defeated. This means you have to find the right moments to swap in order to defeat your opponents efficiently.

The slightest mistake can lead to the defeat of both participants. This not only depends on how much social battery you have, but also tests your strategic thinking, your ability to work in a team and your stress resistance.

How do you act when you know that you are not the only one who will suffer as a result of your mistake?”

Masanori is nervous, but can’t help smiling. His fighting spirit blazes in his eyes.

“Damn it, this guy really is a monster. Who comes up with such crazy ideas?”

Jason starts to laugh. “Sounds good old man!”

Masanori looks at Jason in shock. “What did you just call him?” He looks at the principal in fear and waits for his reaction.

The principal starts to laugh. “I like the fighting spirit in your eyes! However, I have one more condition.”

Masanori and Jason look at him with interest.

He continues. “You two are forbidden to form a team together.”

Masanori is shocked. “Why can’t we be on the same team?”

He continues with a more serious look. “After all, you disrupted the lesson and I can’t let you get away without punishment. After all, I was given an educational assignment.”

Masanori says to himself in his mind. “As if, you don’t believe that yourself.”

The principal can’t suppress his smile. “Besides, I want to see you compete against each other.”

Masanori looks at Jason in shock.

He replies with a fiery look and a winning smile. “Well Mori, it looks like you’re going to lose for the first time.”

Masanori smiles. “I’m sorry to disappoint your expectations Jason, but I’m going to win!”