Virtuous Maneuvering (Japanese: 善意の策動 Zen'i no Sakudou) is the forty-fifth chapter of the Medalist manga.
Characters[]
(flashback)
Story[]
Suzaku Hiyodori watches a video of her coach, Reilly Foxx, from when she won gold for the U.S. at the Olympics. In an interview, Reilly declares her intention to retire and become a coach in her beloved Japan. The girls' free skate concludes with Iruka Okazaki securing first place, while second and third go to a U.S. and a French skater. Reilly reflects on her own Olympic journey, noting that she competed at 16 due to a temporary age requirement change, which lowered the Senior class minimum from 17 to 15 before reverting. She muses that if the rule had remained, Iruka might have won gold at the Olympics at the same age she had.
Inori ends up finishing in fourth. A Thai skater, Ploy Superbund, approaches her, telling Inori that she was inspired by Inori's confident performance and asking to be friends. When asked what to call her, Ploy suggests "Kung," meaning "shrimp," which reminds Inori of her own nickname. With a free day left, Inori invites Iruka to go shopping. Iruka notes that she is not as frustrated as when she lost to Hikaru, but Inori admits that she is so frustrated that she could scream, though she is forcing herself to move on. She also acknowledges a difference in the frustration: this time, she clearly sees where she was lacking, whereas at the All-Japans, she truly gave everything she had.
After the boys' meet, the Bangkok event comes to a close, and the athletes gather for a Thai meal at a night market. Inori has an extreme reaction to a spicy salad, and and Iruka tricks her into eating a celery to neutralize the heat, which proves ineffective. They watch as a singer perform, but Inori is put in a difficult spot when the singer drags her on stage to dance. Suzaku comes on stage and flirtatious offers to dance with her, but a possessive Iruka drags Inori away, prompting Suzaku to freestyle a diss track directed at her.
Over on the coaches' side, Reilly Foxx unexpectedly invites Tsukasa to her room. Yudai is shocked, but she extends the invitation to him as well. Though they both find the situation sketchy, Tsukasa agrees without hesitation when Reilly claims she has insights about Inori. Her room turns out to be a lavish queen's bedchamber, where Ako and Suzaku's mothers attend to her. However, instead of discussing Inori, Reilly reveals her true intentions: she showers Tsukasa with compliments on his coaching talents and invites him to join Starfox FSC as an assistant coach, adding that Inori could join as well.
Realizing that Reilly is attempting to poach Tsukasa, Yudai tries to leave, but Reilly insists that the discussion is for the benefit of her students and Tsukasa himself, assuring them there is nothing to feel guilty about. Despite this, Yudai finds it inappropriate that she is making such an offer without involving Hitomi, and decides he will stop Tsukasa from being misled. However, Tsukasa remains unfazed and promptly steers the conversation back to Inori.
Reilly emphasizes Inori's Choreographic Sequence, which replaces the Step Sequence in the Junior class free skate. She finds it strange that Inori was losing out on points in her Choreo, as girls with good Step Sequences are usually fine with Choreos. She attributes her struggle to the lack of a rink where Inori can train using the full ice, which turns out to be another excuse to get Tsukasa to transfer to Starfox, which has its own rink facility. She continues to justify the move by highlighting the club's other assets, and further persuades Tsukasa that he need not feel guilty about leaving since Kohei can take care of the club. She argues that if Tsukasa truly prioritizes Inori, the decision should be obvious.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Suzaku is also telling Inori about how great his club is and inviting her to join. Inori hesitates because Starfox is all the way in Tokyo, but Suzaku asserts that athletes serious about their career move all the time.
Although Yudai feels that Reilly is being unfair, he struggles to refute her arguments. Reilly tries to reassure Tsukasa that she isn't picking on Lux Higashiyama, calling Inori's fourth-place finish wonderful, but her words backfire horribly. Tsukasa suddenly breaks down in tears, insisting that it's not wonderful at all. He points out that Reilly won both of her events and the final in her first JGP, and Inori, being just as special, had a strong chance of winning. Given how much Inori wanted the gold, he feels devastated for failing her a second time.
Shaken by the extreme reaction, Reilly unexpectedly kneels before Tsukasa and apologizes, realizing her own arrogance. Seeing how she's been affected, even Yudai joins her in persuading Tsukasa to transfer. However, Tsukasa is unable to make a decision without Inori and her family. He insists he won't make an empty sacrifice just to appear serious, as the change of environment won't guarantee improvement, and move could result in psychological burden if Inori struggles to adjust. He also believes their smaller club offers more personalized attention, and points to their success with Level 4 Step Sequences, which also require full-rink training, as proof that they can compete with Starfox without uprooting Inori.
At the same time, Inori tells Suzaku that she has been taught to make major decisions only when she is completely sure they are right, so she cannot decide now. Reilly, impressed, admits that she now likes Tsukasa even more. Just then, Ako's mother notices some messages in the club's group chat — Shinichiro Sonidori has been hospitalized.
Some time later, Hikaru visits Shinichiro at the hospital and reveals to him that she is leaving Meikoh Wind for Tokyo. Meanwhile, Jun Yodaka pays Reilly a visit to inform her. Hearing the news, Reilly bursts into laughter, amused that her recent blunder has turned in her favor. Gleaming with wild exhilaration, she revels in the thrill of getting exactly what she wants.