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 - INORI 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.
♪ Disinfecting, antibacterial Cleaning power! ♪
♪ All together. It's Hyper White Juna! ♪
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.
Of course!
Even this approach is pretty brutal.
But there's no right answer on the ice.
Tsu, you should make a decision based on your gut feeling.
Juna...
- Thank-- - That's absurd.
- Huh? - Assuming she'll somehow pull it off
when she can't do it during practice isn't a challenge.
It's just reckless.
- Ah. - Oh?
Why are you totally dismissive of my idea?
I actually used this approach myself,
and I heard Shinichiro Sonidori decides like this too!
Coach Sonidori does it too?
What others do is their business. We do things our way!
If she can't do it three times in a row, it doesn't go in the program. End of.
Don't make that stupid face!
You're such a bore.
You already shot down Coach Uobuchi's idea too.
What's that got to do with anything?
You made a decision behind my back while I was gone!
You're being so selfish playing it safe!
Miku asked me to decide.
Could you stop blaming me without knowing what actually went down?
- Hmm? - You're making me so mad. Just quit it!
As a former ice dance competitor,
I just want to win with a polished performance.
All the top skaters at All-Japans can land the triple Lutz.
So the key to victory is minimizing point deductions.
Plus, none of us have landed a quadruple before,
so we don't really know what we're dealing with, do we?
I know what it takes to become the best in the world.
You do not. Therefore, your dreams won't come true.
Thank you. Both of you.
I got the information I was looking for.
My challenge as a coach this time is to include the quad and make it work.
I'm betting the rest of my skating funds
on the All-Japans where Hitomi plans to retire.
If I become a medalist, I'll have a reason to keep competing.
You haven't changed, Tsukasa.
We're up against each other again.
COMING SOON! ALL-JAPANS NOVICE CHAMPIONSHIP
With the Tokyo Block championship behind us,
the Kinki championship on the 24th
will decide who qualifies for All-Japans Novice.
Among them, the spotlight is on the skaters from Tokyo's Starfox FSC,
where Riley Fox is the coach.
During her competitive career,
she won the Olympic gold medal for the United States.
And then four years ago,
she realized her dream of opening a skating club in Japan,
a country close to her heart.
Skaters from her club are making the podium
in multiple categories, surpassing established elite clubs.
Ramen tastes so good when you slurp it real loud!
RILEY FOX HOW SHE USUALLY LOOKS
Excuse me. Ah!
Your hair's all messy again.
Oh, Ako!
TOKYO BLOCK 1ST PLACE QUALIFIER AKO KOARA
You're gonna disappoint all the students
expecting to see the version of you they saw on TV.
Ako, that costume is absolutely killer every time I see it. I love it!
Don't change the subject! Everyone's already here warming up!
Morning!
Good morning!
My beloved students!
Let's work hard today, then we can all win!
Yes!
All this snow. I wonder how much will settle.
- Kiyoka! - Oh?
I built a skate rink on the lawn for ya! Come try it, quick!
Grandpa!
Kiyoka. Kiyoka.
HOKKAIDO/TOHOKU BLOCK 2ND PLACE QUALIFIER - KIYOKA KOSUZUME
Grandpa?
I'm not grandpa.
Riley's TV show has already finished, you know?
Huh? Why didn't you wake me up?
You were saying "grandpa" in your sleep. Were you having a dream?
Yeah.
Somehow, his legs were all better, and he had made a rink for me.
I'm so happy he's coming to watch me at All-Japans this year.
It's so handy the venue is right nearby.
KYOTO UJI ICE ARENA
FIGURE SKATING KINKI BLOCK CHAMPIONSHIP
Yes!
- Here. - Oh. Thank you.
I tensed up a bit early.
That was the best Lutz you've ever done. You did great.
Mmm.
Rengecha FSC's Ema Yamato's score.
80.01. She currently ranks in seventh place.
Okay, I've got the shot.
- Thank you very much. - Thank you very much.
Huh? What the hell? I'm so mad I don't even know what's going on!
She only had one fall, landed a triple Lutz,
scored 80 points, and she's in seventh place?
Coach...
Yes? What is it?
You don't need to try to cheer me up, okay?
Why not?
Just now, I was thinking about the West Japan Championship,
back when I was level one.
About how I kept trying and trying and never quit
until I finally won the gold medal.
You don't need to worry about me. I always keep my head up.
My specialty is bouncing back. So please stick with me.
Yeah.
You're getting past obstacles the others haven't encountered yet.
By the time you're a senior, it might be too easy and boring for you.
Yep. It's gonna be a breeze.
And in first place, Suzu Kamoto from Rengecha FSC.
Yep!
Suzu's the one who brought me into this world.
Once I became a novice, I thought I might get closer to her level.
But she's so far off.
It's been a week since the Kinki Block championship.
I think it's time you finalize Suzu and the others' programs as the head coach.
No, let's not decide yet.
I want to finalize them after watching the other skaters' official practice.
Tokyo's Ako Koara,
Aomori's Kiyoka Kosuzume,
Fukuoka's Ran Ohgumo,
and Niigata's Miku Ahiru.
Above all, it depends on her.
Still at it?
Staying behind to watch in secret? Busted.
If the princess gets home late, Shinichiro will worry.
Wait, I meant the witch.
I'll take you home. Come on.
Here you are.
You're really a wild beast pretending to be a girl, aren't you?
Sorry, I couldn't help watching.
Do you like the music that much?
But honestly, I think the choreography I made for you is even cooler.
It's not that I like it so much.
I just hate not knowing the world that my coach saw.
I want to make everything my own, not just what's handed to me.
ICE SKATING RINK
- Yes! - First one.
Next!
Hey, did you see that? She just...
A quadruple jump. That's insane. That's better than Hikaru.
Miss Inori, let me tell you one thing first.
Once you start doing quadruple jumps at the Nagoya rink,
you're going to get a lot of attention.
Don't let it bother you
when the adults start treating you differently.
It's not going to bother me, so...
Coach, I saw that coming.
I knew that when I chose the quadruple jump.
What I mean is...
someone who doesn't let attention like that beat them...
is someone who can become the world's greatest medalist.
You never know.
Nothing is ever certain on ice!
It is, actually. Certain.
I'll prove it.
Akeuraji... Yes.
Rumor has it they're working on a new jump.
She's probably going for a quadruple Salchow.
How did you know that?
Because it's the only chance she has at beating Hikaru.
I'll show you...
the real meaning of certainty.
FIGURE SKATING ALL-JAPANS NOVICE CHAMPIONSHIPS
OPENING CEREMONY VENUE
Oh.
Here are your shoes.
Thank you.
Inori.
I've been waiting for you.
Translated by Daisy Savage