Kamisaki the Wolf (Japanese: 狼 Ookami, lit. "Wolf") is the thirty-second chapter of the Medalist manga.
Characters[]
Story[]
A few days before the trip to Niigata, Tsukasa is working a traffic control job late at night to make up for the cost of the harness. Suddenly, Hikaru Kamisaki speeds past him on roller skates. He immediately gives chase but falls into grass as Hikaru stops and dodges him. He tries to call Shinichiro to get Hikaru home, but she kicks his phone aside and insists that he take her home himself.
In the present, Hikaru's performance continues. It is revealed that Hikaru asked to change her first jump because of Inori's 4S4S, and when Shinichiro gives Jun a call, Jun would advise her to change her final jump as well. As her routine progresses, Yuna is left wondering why she is suddenly doing jumps that she never told her clubmates about, and why Shinichiro is allowing her alone to take such risks. Everyone present, including Tsukasa and Inori, finds themselves utterly absorbed, her performance likened to magic.
A flashback shows a conversation between Leonid and Hikaru. Leonid explains that the piece from La Cage Aux Oiseaux was once popular among figure skaters until Jun used it to secure victory at the World Juniors on his first attempt. Since then, the song had become synonymous with him, deterring others from performing to it. Leonid recalls Jun's declaration that he would never allow anyone else to skate to the piece, and asks Hikaru if she truly believes she can claim it from her teacher. Hikaru responds that Jun had told her to use it, and interpreting it as a necessary step of her medalist path, she issues a challenge to Jun Yodaka. Delighted to hear this, Leonid pledges his support, proposing they begin by switching her starting pose to the "pianist," making her the pianist who brings the confined dancer out into the world.
When Hikaru completes the fifth of her six required jumps, tension among the coaches rises, as she has yet to perform an Axel jump. The beginning flashback resumes, where Hikaru questions Tsukasa whether his night job is part of his "sacrifices" for Inori to win, recalling Jun's assertion that sacrifice is the key to victory. Tsukasa, however, states that he's never thought of this as sacrifice, nor does he intend for Inori to sacrifice anything. Hearing this, Hikaru accelerates ahead, finding him the same as everyone else.
The audience is filled with all kinds of emotions as they anticipate the final Triple Axel. Some hope she will refrain from attempting it, while Rioh prays for her success, remembering her confession that she has a deal with Jun: if she falls even once during an evening music routine, she will quit skating. Suzu, too, prays for Hikaru to attempt the triple, having included the jump in her own routine specifically to surpass her.
However, Hikaru would exceed every expectation when she executes a Triple Axel + Euler + Triple Salchow combo. After she lands, she briefly turns to Inori with an expression of manic exhilaration. Tsukasa observes her form overlapping with Jun Yodaka's, realizing she has consumed everything Jun has given her, and growing certain that Jun's song will become Hikaru's in the near future.
| Order | Element | Base Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4T4T | 9.50 |
| 2 | 3Lz3Lz + 3Lo3Lo | 10.80 |
| 3 | 3Lz3Lz | 5.90 |
| 4 | FCSp4FCSp4 | 3.20 |
| 5 | 3F3F | 5.30 |
| 6 | 3Lox3Lox | 5.39 |
| 7 | 3A3A + 1Eu1Eu + 3Sx3Sx | 14.08 |
| 8 | StSq2StSq2 | 2.60 |
| 9 | CCoSp4CCoSp4 | 3.50 |
| 10 | LSp4LSp4 | 2.70 |
Amidst the never-ending applause, Hikaru's score is announced: 129.98. Met with an instant defeat, Suzu is unable to hold back tears, and Ema's eyes too well up. Skating next is Miku Ahiru, whom the audience feels a collective sympathy for. Tsukasa, too, is overcome with despair, knowing that beating Hikaru is impossible, yet struggling to tell Inori that they should simply aim for a podium finish. However, his thought is interrupted by Inori, who expresses an intense desire to beat Hikaru no matter what it takes, pleading for Tsukasa's trust one more. Thus, Tsukasa decides they will alter their routine, and Inori promises to be the one who turns him into a gold medalist coach.