Kiss and Cry (Japanese: キスアンドクライ Kisu Ando Kurai) is the twenty-first chapter of the Medalist manga.
Characters[]
Story[]
It is Inori's turn to go on the kiss and cry. Tsukasa tries to get Hitomi to sit with her instead, but is naturally forced to sit down himself. Inori shares with Tsukasa that she used to dream about sitting on the kiss and cry, to the point where she prayed for the dreams to stop, because she'd get sad every time she wakes up. Tsukasa reassures Inori that she won't need to pray for that anymore — she'll be sitting here plenty from now on.
Inori's score is announced: 81.20, placing her in first. With the final skater finishing soon after, the event comes to a close. Yotsuha, breaking down in tears, finds Yuna. She admits that when everyone around her quit skating, she considered it too, but was inspired by Yuna to keep going and rediscover her love for skating. Seeing Yuna try so hard and land the 3Lz3Lz + 3Lo3Lo, Yotsuha confesses that she wished Yuna could have taken the gold. Even so, she promises to keep chasing after her. Shinichiro once again reassures her that he'll craft a program where she can make full use of the 3Lz3Lz + 3Lo3Lo, and they'll aim to win and march proudly to the nationals.
| Rank | Name | Club | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inori Yuitsuka | Lux Higashiyama FSC | 81.20 |
| 2 | Yuna Yagi | Meikoh Wind FSC | 80.03 |
| 3 | Manaka Roba | Aisei Ride FSC | 72.62 |
| 4 | Main Kobuta | Meijo Crown FSC | 71.22 |
| 5 | Rinna Sarukawa | Meikoh Wind FSC | 70.04 |
| 6 | Sakina Anaguma | Takt Toyohashi FSC | 69.98 |
| 7 | Noto Tonakai | Kanazawa 21 FSC | 69.02 |
| 8 | Momoga Takeda | Aisei Ride FSC | 68.37 |
| 9 | Setsuna Ashikaga | Meijo Crown FSC | 67.40 |
| 10 | Honami Kanie | Ice Tsuruga FSC | 64.00 |
| 11 | Sana Niwatori | Meijo Crown FSC | 63.26 |
| 12 | Kurumi Risu | Nagakute Flower FSC | 60.43 |
| 13 | Yotsuha Ushikawa | Meikoh Wind FSC | 53.77 |
| 14 | Hina Niwatori | Meijo Crown FSC | 50.12 |
| 15 | Waka Umitsuki | Atami SC | 49.86 |
Later, Tsukasa is invited to dinner by fellow coaches Rintaro Chiwa, Atsushi Wani, and Shoya Kijita, who are good friends from their skating days. Rintaro brings up that if they want a podium finish at the upcoming All-Japans, a Triple Lutz is a must, before revealing that they're here to pry Tsukasa's coaching secrets out of him.
They are then joined by coaches Seiji Gori and Shinichiro Sonidori. As they chat and eventually shift to the topic of Hikaru, Tsukasa realizes that the other coaches don't know about Jun Yodaka, finding it strange Shinichiro is keeping up a facade.
After dinner, Shinichiro pulls Tsukasa aside for a private talk. He starts by thanking him for Rioh again, before asking why he pushed Inori so hard for a gold when she only needed top 5 to qualify for the All-Japans. Tsukasa answers that his goal is to help Inori gain new supporters, people who will expect more of her, which will be essential if she's to take on Hikaru.
Hearing this, Shinichiro becomes certain that Tsukasa knows about Jun, and thanks him for keeping quiet about it during dinner. As he turns to leave, Tsukasa tells him that he doesn't want people to get the wrong idea about him, as he still fulfills his duties as Hikaru's coach, watching her at practice and taking care of her at events.
Hearing this, Shinichiro invites Tsukasa to his home. He acknowledges Tsukasa's kindness, believing he knows he has no intention of stealing Jun's spotlight. He explains that Jun himself had requested to keep his involvement with Hikaru secret, and he's doing so to protect both Hikaru and Jun. Before he can elaborate further, Jun himself joins them, telling Shinichiro that he's talking too much.