The Junior Rules (Japanese: ジュニアのルール Junia no Ruuru) is the thirty-eighth chapter of the Medalist manga.
Characters[]
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Story[]
Iruka immediately rejects Inori's request, insisting she has no reason to do anything for her, but she can't help but find Inori incredibly cute like a puppy deep down. She touches Inori's "shrimp tail" hair, remarking that it's weird. Inori recalls Coach Tsukasa telling her it's okay to get mad when being toyed with, so she breaks free and protests. They are then joined by two of Iruka's friends, Neneko Kurekuma and Kino Takaihara. Neneko calls out Iruka for "bullying" Inori and turns to compliment Inori, calling her a genius.
However, Iruka dismisses the compliment as stupid, arguing that skaters labeled as "geniuses" often let the praise go to their heads and are the first to quit when they grow heavier and stop receiving praise, including Inori's sister Mika. Inori, unfazed, insists she won't quit and knows it's fine to pursue her dreams without anyone's praise. Iruka attempts to brush this off as a lame reason, but their conversation is interrupted when Tsukasa arrives.
When camp officially begins, Inori grouped with Hikaru and Iruka, firing her up further. The camp includes ice and ground-based lessons from special instructors, along with classes on nutrition, artistic expression, and competition rules. At the Junior level, meets involve two separate runs, a Short Program (SP) and a Free Skate (FS), whereas the Novice level only required the Free Skate. The Short Program poses a significant challenge for Inori: under the current year's rules, skaters must include a Lutz within the three jumps allowed, and quads are forbidden in the girls' Short Program. This means that Inori has no choice but to tackle her weakest jump, the Triple Lutz.
During practice, Inori finds that Iruka jumps an incredibly strong Triple Lutz, but wonders why she constantly speaks ill of her sister. During break, she approaches one of Iruka's friends, Dahlia Karasuba, to ask about it. As she decorates Inori's hair, she explains that Iruka and Mika used to be clubmates, and Mika won the Chubu Block Tournament Novice B. Hearing this, Inori vaguely recalls playing with Iruka and Mika years ago. Dahlia reassures Inori that Iruka holds no personal grudge, and in fact deeply cares about her.
Their conversation is interrupted by Iruka herself when she overhears them talking behind her back. Inori panics and runs, but slips and slams her nose against a table. Fortunately, the injury isn't serious, and Inori receives another special massage from Suzu. Iruka brings her an onigiri and aggressively feed it to her, before sitting down for a conversation. She shares that she and Mika made many promises when they were young, but Mika forgot about them and quit skating, which is what upsets her. Inori offers to call Mika, but Iruka declines, stating that she won't talk to her until she wins gold at the Olympics.
Listening in nearby, Tsukasa is relieved to see the two girls make up. In the evening, all the coaches get together to hang out. Tsukasa is determined make use of the opportunity, looking to learn from them and help Inori overcome her current obstacle.