All-Japan Junior Women's SP (Japanese: 全日本ジュニア女子SP Zennihon Junia Joshi SP) is the forty-ninth chapter of the Medalist manga.
Characters[]
(mentioned)
Story[]
An hour before Inori's SP, Kohei rushes back to the rink carrying Inori's worm plush, hoping to comfort her after Iruka's injury. However, upon arrival, he finds her already calmed down. During practice time, Inori appears to be in good shape.
After hearing the news of Iruka's injury, Hikaru recalls her thanking Iruka for detecting her injury early, only to be dismissed with a curt response. Hikaru acknowledges despite disliking her, Iruka still looked out for her and is a kind person at heart.
When Inori's program starts, Hikaru is stunned by her bright smile, upgraded choreography, and newfound elegance in her poise, a stark improvement from her performance at the JGP. However, when she reaches her first jump, a crucial 3F3F + 3T3T combo, she loses her axis and instead lands a 1F1F. This is a critical error, as the SP rules require skaters to include a 2A2A and a Lutz by themselves, meaning she cannot improvise her next jump into a combo.
Inori's next jump, a 3Lz3Lz, ends in a fall. Unable to bear watching, Kohei tries to leave, but Tsukasa stops him, insisting that they must witness her performance, ensuring she doesn't bear the pain of failure alone. Following the Lutz is a FSSpFSSp which she executes at Level 4, and a StSqStSq, where she makes several mistakes, resulting in a Level 2. Her final jump is the 2A2A, but she falls again.
| Order | Element | Base Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | 3Lz3Lz (Fall) | 5.90 |
| 3 | FSSp4FSSp4 | 3.00 |
| 4 | StSq2StSq2 | 2.60 |
| 5 | 2A2A (Fall) | 3.30 |
| 6 | ? | ? |
| 7 | ? | ? |
Inori's SP earns a score of 47.96, placing her in twenty-second. In the audience, Koichi notices that she lacks a "Q" next to her name on the leaderboard. Yoh explains that due to time constraints, Junior tournaments enforce a cutoff for free skate qualifiers. Skaters who fail to earn "Q" on their short program are eliminated and cannot advance to the second day. Although three qualifying spots remain, subsequent skaters Setsuna Ashikaga, Noto Tonakai, and Sakina Anaguma score 57.61, 58.66, and 59.91, respectively, eliminating any chance of Inori advancing.
After the event, Hikaru waits outside for Inori. When she finally emerges with her mother and sister, she is smiling, excited for ice cream. On the verge of tears, Hikaru calls out to her. However, before she can say anything, Inori abruptly turns and runs away. Hikaru gives chase but soon loses track, eventually wandering into a forest. Hearing a rustling sound, Hikaru finds Inori curled up in a bush, her face streaked with tears.