Tsukasa and Senpai (Japanese: 司と先輩 Tsukasa to Senpai) is the fifth Short Program chapter of the Medalist manga. It was originally released in the June 2023 issue of the Afternoon magazine as "Short Program 5," but was never collected into a tankobon volume.
Characters[]
Story[]
When he first begins ice dance training under Shou Takamine, Tsukasa is made to spend all his time practicing basic skating without a chance to skate with Hitomi. Seeing this, Kohei Kamogawa worries that he may lose motivation.
Another clubmate, Juna Shiratori, calls Kohei aside, astonished to learn that Tsukasa has been self-taught until now and has been paying out of pocket. He reflects that he and Kohei were made to skate due to their parents' interests, remarking that Tsukasa's efforts are on a whole different level.
Kohei suggests that Juna instruct Tsukasa on Step Sequences to give him a head start. Enthusiastic about the idea of becoming a senpai-slash-coach, Juna eagerly approaches Tsukasa. Tsukasa is extremely grateful to them both, and while Kohei tells him to skip the formalities, Juna insists that he show him proper respect as his senpai and coach, which does not impress Kohei.
Two weeks later, however, Juna and Tsukasa have developed a bizarre rapport: they constantly act like clowns in their interactions, yet appear utterly dead inside. Kohei realizes that Juna had assumed the role of the funny man expecting Tsukasa to act as the straight man, while Tsukasa, believing it would be rude not to go along, matches his energy. The result is a terrible, exhausting dynamic that neither of them knows how to escape.
Juna continues coaching Tsukasa, critiquing an inefficient turn, but his feedback soon devolves into bullying where he pokes fun at Tsukasa's spatial awareness, comparing him to a Zamboni and a baby panda falling off a slide. Tsukasa, finally pushed to his breaking point, later aggressively lifts Juna on the ice and swears that if he's ever to teach someone, he'll always speak to them as an equal no matter who they are. He vows to never be like Juna, calling him a scumbag.
In present time, Miku shares this story with Inori, noting that their relationship has remained awkward until now. Inori comments that even adults can struggle to make up after fighting, much to the embarrassment of their coaches.