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Junior All- Japans has concluded.
After landing multiple quads and having a near-perfect run, it’s no surprise that Miss Kamisaki would obtain the gold. Her performance was nothing short of phenomenal. She has always been amazing, but you can feel that this time there’s a difference in her energy. Somehow, Tsukasa could feel that her driving force is not to win gold. Is it to surpass Jun Yodaka? Or is there something else…?
“Let’s head back, Inori.”
Inori, who had been slowly tailing Tsukasa, nodded slowly. Her face was still red. This tournament has been especially tough for her. Seeing her cry as hard as she did was unexpected and Tsukasa was at a loss on what to do. He could only hope that seeing Miss Kamisaki’s performance could motivate Inori to get back on her feet. But for now, all he could think of was to give her some time to rest and recuperate.
They walked side by side without saying a word. Inori was looking at the ground the whole time. Tsukasa wished there was something he could say, he thought about the things he could’ve done. He thought back about yesterday where he could tell she really was trying to hold it together after her sp. Was there anything he could’ve done differently? Seeing Miss Okazaki fall like that must’ve deeply affected her. He trusted Inori’s determination to be able to pull together after seeing that. How could he have been so stupid?
After sending Inori off with her mother, Tsukasa walked to the nearest bench. He sat down, pulled his head back and sighed deeply. He blew it again. After the Novice All-Japans he swore to not let Inori experience such devastating failure anymore, and he failed. Seeing this competition really showed him the overwhelming gap between Inori and Miss Kamisaki. And this time, he wasn’t sure if Inori would be able to catch up.
…No!!
Tsukasa smacked himself hard on the face. How could he let her trust in Inori waver?! He quickly got up. He could feel his heart burning. He made a promise to help her win gold, and he WILL succeed. He got up from the bench, and with no destination in mind, he ran as fast as he could.