Medalist (メダリスト)

Coach Tsukasa, that girl just landed a triple Lutz.

Ah, yes. That's Miku Ahiru. She's one to watch in this championship.

You know her?

Do you remember our conversation about seeded skaters?

Yes.

These are Miku Ahiru's scores from the Block championship.

Hmm?

91.10. Second place.

Wow, Suzu scored over 100 points.

And I…

13 - IN OR I YUITSUKA

- Miss Inori. - Huh?

If you land a quadruple jump, you'll score over 100 points too.

100 points…

Yep, we've got this!

Yep!

IT BEGINS

Thanks for coming to see me off.

Inori, don't hesitate to call me if you have any more worries

about your jumps.

Okay.

Miku, make sure you talk to your coach about that jump, okay?

I will.

Well, I'll be rooting for you to do your best jumps ever at the championship!

Thank you very much!

Thanks to Coach Uobuchi, she landed a quadruple jump.

But what matters now is what comes next.

Ah, I was too late to say bye.

Will Coach Uobuchi make his plane on time?

Yes. He told me to decide on a jump for next time we meet.

A quadruple toe loop, huh?

Coach Uobuchi said I should try it already while my body is nice and light,

rather than waiting until next year.

That's certainly true.

You can decide for me.

Huh? All that pressure on me?

This championship isn't for some fond memory.

The three of us are in it together, so the brains of the team should decide.

The brains…

I don't recall signing up for that role.

True. But it's not Juna, that's for sure.

Yeah, well…

- Besides, I… - Hmm?

I know I won't regret it if I leave the strategy to you.

Kohei! Wait!

That's it! Keep it up!

Got it.

We don't need a quadruple jump. We'll fight with what we've got!

Roger that!

- All right, let's break for lunch. - Okay!

Long time no see, Tsukasa.

Ah! Kohei!

Someone's happy to see me.

Coach?

Ah.

TONAMIMACHI LAKE FSC HEAD COACH

This is Kohei Kamogawa.

I learned a lot from him when we were in the same club together.

Sorry about earlier. We got in the way of your training.

Let's eat!

It's so good!

This onigiri place is my absolute favorite.

It's great to see you're doing well, Kohei!

What a surprise to see you here in Niigata!

You look more athletic now than back when you were competing.

That's because now I can afford to be choosy about what I eat.

Your student's the one who won Chubu, right?

Can I introduce her to Miku and the little ones?

Ah, that's right. They haven't officially met yet.

Miss Inori!

Oh, so that's why there's a remainder in this equation.

- Thanks, Miku. - They're already besties.

Well, let me introduce the pip-squeaks too.

Pow!

Kohei!

What are you doing, Kazuki? Apologize this second!

Um, let me introduce these kids.

From the right, Ryota, Kazuki, Takuma, Haruka, Yuto, Yusuke, Ryuto.

Uh, Ryo…

A bunch of boys. Impressive!

You teach them all by yourself?

I only teach the little ones once a week,

and lately that guy's been taking care of them.

Th-That guy?

TEAM AHIRU

Huh?

Stop that!

- Please, stop! - Wait, wait!

- Coach Tsukasa! - No, not the chair!

Hey! Take that off already!

Wait, I've seen his face somewhere.

No way! Juna Shiratori's true form is a duck!

You mean the other way around.

Wait, why's there a celebrity at the ice rink?

- I wanna see! I wanna see! - Do Dark Duck Juna! Dark Duck Juna!

Here he comes. He's coming.

With a musty laundry smell, it's… Dark Duck Juna!

I-It's really him.

Juna's a former figure skater from the same club as us.

He's Miku's choreographer.

Coach Kohei, choreographer Juna, and skater Miku.

We're Team Ahiru!

Huh? She looks like she had no idea he was a skater.

All she sees is a celebrity.

Coach, you were in the same club as Juna Shiratori? That's so cool!

No, Juna Shiratori is the amazing one.

I don't have anything to do with his success,

so there's nothing cool about it.

Huh? His reaction is so different from when he met Coach Kohei.

Tsu, is that really how you greet an old friend

you haven't seen in forever?

Cut it out. You're being annoying.

He must be able to tell Coach Tsukasa isn't enjoying that.

Juna Shiratori…

Sorry about this, Inori. It's a bad habit of Juna's.

Huh? Bad habit?

He tends to tease the people he doesn't quite know how to talk to.

He doesn't usually annoy people so much.

Miku! Could you stop spreading weird rumors about me?

The three of us grew up around here.

We've been skating together since Miku was only four years old.

I used to find it so cute and funny that Miku acted like a big sister.

But she turned out to be far more capable than I imagined,

and now she's the one in charge.

Quit it already! Why are you always saying stuff you shouldn't!

I guess every student-teacher relationship is different.

It's bad for my reputation! Sheesh!

I wonder about Hikaru.

What kind of relationship does she have with her coach?

Huh? What was that about Hikaru Kamisaki?

Huh? Ah, um…

Well, I really look up to Hikaru Kamisaki.

That's why my goal is to beat her.

- Impressive. - Huh?

Having a goal like beating Hikaru.

That's seriously cool.

Thank you.

Do you have a goal?

My goal is to rank well at All-Japans Novice

and get recommended for All-Japans Junior.

I see. So some skaters aren't aiming for the medal,

but for something like that.

Hmm. I don't really know much about the other skaters.

But if I can do that, I get to keep skating for one more month.

Huh?

I'm quitting skating after this championship.

This rink is closing down by the end of this year.

She can't keep skating without a rink nearby.

That's why she's quitting.

I know it sounds sad, but so few people showed up during public skating sessions,

that we basically had the rink to ourselves for practice.

It's ironic, but because the rink is going under,

we got more time on the ice than skaters at elite clubs.

Her form is beautiful.

You can tell she's received rigorous training on every detail,

right down to each fingertip.

So Inori's putting a quadruple Salchow into her routine?

Yes.

But I've never had to evaluate how consistently she lands a jump

over such a short period of time.

I don't know how good it needs to be before I tell her to go for it.

If it were me, I'd decide based on whether she can land it

three times in a row.

Huh?

Okay, attempt the first jump here.

The next here, then here.

If she can do three successful jumps without stopping once,

then she gets the green light.

You're right. If she can land the jump three times in a row like that,

she should be fine in the championship.

But three quadruple jumps in a row is way too difficult.

A quadruple jump, huh?

If it were me, I'd just decide based on her final attempt.

Even if she fails the first and second attempts,

if she can land the third,

it proves she can deliver when it counts.