The Preliminary Badge Test (Japanese: 初級バッジテスト Shokyuu Bajji Tesuto) is the second chapter of the Medalist manga.
Characters[]
Story[]
During their third lesson, Tsukasa is pleased with Inori's progress, but Inori can't help but doubt herself when she sees the younger students practicing jumps and spins. Later, Tsukasa and Hitomi introduce Inori and her mother to an upcoming Badge Test, a series of evaluations that determine a skater's skill level. Inori decides she wants to take the test as soon as possible.
Two weeks later, Inori arrives at Howa Sportsland where the test is held. She encounters a man dressed in black with an intimidating presence, who smashes his phone after receiving a call. Observing other skaters take their tests inside, Inori grows nervous, and in an effort to calm herself, she slips outside to dig for earthworms.
Crawling through the bushes, she unexpectedly bumps into a girl dressed in an elegant black and white dress. Inori is struck by her beauty and praises her, and the girl immediately befriends her. However, a boy named Rioh interrupts, acting hostile towards Inori and calling her a "fried shrimp." This angers the other girl, who slaps him and demands an apology, but Rioh says that she "wouldn't get it" and tells Inori that if they don't already know her at her age, she's "either an outsider or a crappy wannabe" and shouldn't talk to him.
Inori returns to the rink even more overwhelmed than before, but Tsukasa distracts Inori with an exercise involving touching fingers, which successfully calms Inori down. Setting her eyes on Tsukasa's hoodie strings, Inori asks if she can hold onto them until her turn, as they resemble worms and help ease her nerves. When her turn arrives, Inori passes the test without issue. Seeing this, Nozomi agrees to support her, but only until middle school.
Some time later, back at her home rink, Inori gets ready to skate but overhears some parents gossiping about her. The girl from before arrives, finding Inori crying and overhearing the mean comments. She changes into her skating outfit and drags Inori along toward the ice, telling her to pay no mind to the people who can't step onto the rink themselves. On the ice, Hikaru continues dragging Inori along. Amazed by her speed, Inori finally realizes who she is — Hikaru Kamisaki, a figure skating prodigy who won last year's national Novice B competition.
Inori frees her hand from Hikaru's grasp and keeps up on her own. In turn, Hikaru accelerates, and is surprised to see Inori still keeping up, pushing herself to her limits. Impressed, Hikaru boosts ahead and performs a Lutz, but Inori crashes into her after she lands. Hikaru laughs and expresses how impressed she is, but Inori remains fixated on the jump, intensely begging Hikaru to teach her before breaking down in tears, lamenting the huge skill gap between them despite being the same age.
After Inori calms down, they take a break. Hikaru, though unable to teach her, asks for Inori's name and once again offers to be her friend. Taking her on the ice once more, Hikaru shares that she has asked her coach to take her to the Olympics. She explains that adults always assume children are satisfied with just being decent, emphasizing the importance of speaking up if one desires to reach greater heights, before adding that she's looking forward to seeing Inori join her in competitions soon.
Later, Tsukasa finds Inori in the locker room, handing her badge she earned and congratulating her. Taking Hikaru's advice, Inori asks Tsukasa if he would help her become an Olympic gold medalist. To her surprise, Tsukasa firmly acknowledges her wish, sealing their promise with a fist bump.