Ice Revolution 6

1
[Side text: The Tokiwa Skate Rink is full of anticipation. This is the real deal...!!]
[Sign: Tokiwa Miracle Ice Show]
[Book: The Nutcracker]
Announcement: Ladies and gentlemen...

2-3
Announcement: The wait is over... let the Tokiwa Ice Show commence!
[Ice Revolution]
[act 6: The Two Claras]
[Insert text: Masaki's first big performance. It's finally time for her to shine on the silver surface...!!]
Masaki: Gahhhh... the lights went out! How am I meant to see anything like this?! // The heck's goin' on?!
Saionji: OI.
Masaki: Ahh!
Saionji: "Waahhh, it's gone all dark~! I'm scared~!" // ...is what you say!
Masaki: .........Right...
Saionji: ......... / *ahem*

4
Saionji: The reason it's dark is so that light can be shone on the performers alone, providing an ethereal and beautiful atmosphere!
Masaki: Huh......... / Ah! // Ohhh... / I see what you mean!
[Music: Let's go get those Dragon Balls~!♪]
Saionji: [aside]ahh, the classic series![/aside]
Masaki: Hey... isn't figure-skating something you do on your own normally? // There's so many of them......
Saionji: Well, a show isn't like a contest; it's essentially anything-goes. // You can wear whatever costumes you like, and even use props to enhance your performance.

5
Masaki: Huh... I always thought it was just an individual sport.
Saionji: No, there are all kinds of styles. // But even a single person can put on a performance to entrance an entire audience! // That's the beauty of an ice show!
Masaki: I... // I see...
Saionji: Wha~t's that face for, eh? Eh?! // Don't tell me you're getting nervous!
Masaki: .........Heh...
Saionji: !

6
Saionji: (Crap... I hit the bullseye?! I always thought she'd be the type who handles pressure well...)
Masaki: I dunno if it's nerves exactly... // But I'm just thinking... what's going to happen when I come through that curtain and out onto that stage like this...? // What are they gonna think when they see me dressed up like a girl...? // What if they just laugh at me...?
Flashback!Dream!Guy: [aside]Hahahahah! // You trying to act like a girl or something?![/aside]
Saionji: Masaki, I've told you this before, and I'll say it again. // When you step onto the ice, you enter a different world.
Masaki: !

7
Saionji: The music that's playing helps to draw the audience into the world you've created... // ...and the costume you wear helps you to truly melt into your role. // That audience is just going to sit right where they are and watch everything you have to show them. // So there's nothing to be afraid of.
Masaki: ......Coach...
Nao: There you are! // Come on, Masaki - it's time we got that make-up of yours nice and fixed up!
Masaki: Ah - Nao-san!
Saionji: [aside]who on Earth...?![/aside]
Nao: Oh, hello... would you happen to be Masaki's coach? / Lovely to meet you. I'm a sucker for hopeless-looking men!♡
Saionji: [aside]hopeless-looking...[/aside]

8
Masaki: (I wonder... is my old man gonna show up...?)
Flashback!Father: Not a chance!
Masaki: (He was saying that, but...)
Nao: That Kaoru is a real cutie, eh...?
Masaki: H - H - How do you know about Kaoru...?!
Nao: I ran into him on my way here. He does stand out, doesn't he? // The classic "prince"... he seemed just like the kind of guy you might fall for. // And from your reaction, it looks like I was right!
Masaki: Gahh...
Nao: He was telling me how he hadn't seen you recently, so he was really looking forward to watching your performance. Good news for you, right?
Masaki: .........
Nao: What's wrong?

9
Masaki: ......Kaoru still thinks that I'm a guy... It's the guy "me" whose performance he's really looking forward to. // Will it really be all right... // ...with me like this...?
Nao: Don't you worry! The great Nao-sama is here to make sure you're the perfect little lady out there today... // ...so you stand tall and proud!
Remi: Your costume's all ready~! // I was up all night making it......!
Masaki: Ohh! Thanks for that, Remi!
Nao: Looks like we're all set then, aren't we!
Announcer: That was the primary-school club performance. Next up...

10
Announcer: It's the girl who secured overall victory in the national Novice A tournament the year before last... Katakura Saaya-san! / As a middle-school second-year, she will be moving up into the Junior class this time around, and hopes are high for an excellent showing! Now, let's see just what she can do!
People: Huh? Is that really the Katakura?! // I thought she was over in Nagoya...! // She's great, she really is! // Yeah, I was really worried when I didn't see her anywhere all last year...
[Note: * Novice A: A tournament for skaters from the fifth year of primary school to the first year of middle school (ages 11-12) with a 4-kyu or above in Singles.]

11
Remi: Wow... she's beautiful!
Nao: This music is from "The Nutrcacker". I've seen it myself at the ballet.
Remi: That's our Nao-san... you always know what you're talking about!
Nao: A lady must always strive to keep in touch with the arts on a daily basis... this is why you don't have a boyfriend, you know.
Remi: Well, you don't h -
Nao: Silence. // "The Nutcracker", by Tchaikovsky. // Along with "Swan Lake" and "The Sleeping Beauty", it is one of the three great works of ballet.

12
Nao: A classic piece that is always performed every year during the Christmas season.
Remi: She's dancing with a famous piece like that as her set? Woooow!
Nao: [aside]"Set"...?[/aside] // The story begins when a girl named Clara, who has been looking forward to Christmas Eve... / ...is utterly enchanted by one of the presents she receives, a small "Nutcracker" doll.
People: WOw, she's cute...! // I think I'm going to become her die-hard fan!

13
Nao: Once night has fallen, Clara sneaks out of her room, because she is worried about the doll. But as the hand of the clock strikes twelve, she herself mysteriously shrinks down to the size of a doll. // A host of vicious rats appear and attack her... // but with the help of the Nutcracker himself, she is able to drive them away.

14-15
People: A triple flip!! // Whoa... are there any other girls here at Tokiwa who can do a move like that? // Not a chance... // Forget just Tokiwa... // ...there aren't many girls in the country who could pull off that jump!
Saionji: (The triple flip, a jump that even the world's top female skaters find difficult... and Saaya can execute it flawlessly! // And it isn't just technical skill she has... her skill in portraying the character of Clara is sure to touch the audience!)

16
Saionji: (In tournaments, she has the skill to achieve top marks for both technical execution and artistic merit!)
Remi: Everybody certainly seemed excited by that jump, but was it really that incredible? / All the other skaters have been doing jumps, as well...
Nao: I daresay there are many distinct varieties of jump. // I'd like to learn some more about that myself...
Masaki: ............
Remi: Oh, yes - so what happens after Clara and the Nutcracker defeat the rats?
Nao: The curse on the Nutcracker is broken, and he transforms into a handsome prince.

17
Nao: As thanks for breaking his curse, the prince takes Clara on a journey to the Land of Sweets.
People: [aside]aaaahhhhh![/aside] // Her steps are lovely, too... // If this were a tournament, she'd be getting all the points, and that's a fact...

18
Remi: Then what?! Then what?! // [aside]lucky Clara...![/aside]
Nao: Clara has a wonderful time in the Land of Sweets...
Saionji: (A layback spin... // Brilliant posture!)
Nao: But I'm afraid real life isn't as sweet as all that.
Remi: Hmm? // [aside]sweets...♡[/aside]
Nao: In the end...

19
Nao: ...it turns out that the whole thing... // ...was just Clara's dream. // And that's how the tale of the Nutcracker ends.

20
Saaya: (I didn't feel like I was in danger of messing up on the jump or anything else...... // I can do it... I'll be fine this year!)
Remi: That performance was lovely~~~! Ahhh, I want to be able to skate like that too~~!
Nao: Yes, yes... // Hmmm... Masaki was telling me she was going to perform the Nutcracker as well, but... // .........after a performance like that...... I don't know...)

21
Saaya: !
Masaki: .........
Imaginary!Masaki: [aside]Heh! // Not a bad show, I'll give ya that, but I sure as hell ain't gonna lose to the likes of you, a'ight?![/aside]
[Box: What she's expecting]

22
Saaya: ..................! // Hey...
Announcer: Next up, we have an up-and-coming member who only joined us this April! // With only one month's skating experience... / ...it's Oosawa Masaki-san!

23
People: Eh? // Ahh! // This girl's a cutie, as well...! // That outfit really suits her!

24
Saonji: [aside]whew...[/aside] // (I'm sure Masaki will be able to handle this much. // ......Huh?)
Masaki: (My mouth's gone completely dry... // My heart feels like it's about to burst... // And why on Earth...)

25
Masaki: (...does this rink that I've been skating on every day...... // ...suddenly seem so big...? // Katakura... // Will I really... // ...be able to skate like she does...?)

26
Nao: (............ // This isn't good...)

27
Saionji: (No... // The music's already playing, but her face is practically frozen... // And her movements are clumsy...)

28
Saionji: (She's got her beloved Nutcracker doll...... but she doesn't look happy at all...!)
People: I suppose a single month's experience could never amount to anything more than an amateur performance. // And performing to the exact same piece as Saaya-chan just makes it look all the worse...
Masaki: (I... practised so much for the sake of this performance... // ...but was it all for nothing...? // Does Kaoru like me better as a guy, after all...? // Is dressing up like this... // ...just not going to work...?)

29
Masaki: (Dammitall...!)
Saionji: Ahh... she rushed into her step!

30
Saionji: Masaki!!
People: Whoaah! That didn't sound good... // Is she okay?!
Masaki: ...Nghh... // Owww...
Saionji: ........................ // I guess as a martial artist, she can at least handle herself falling...
Father: .........
Masaki: (......Ahh! // Th... // The song is still playing! // I should already be all the way over there by this point...!)

31
Saionji: (This is bad... She's made a mistake, and it's thrown her completely out of the flow of the routine...)
Masaki: (Aahh... what was the next move again...?! // It's no good... I'm drawing a total blank!)
People: Why is she just sitting there...? // You think she's hit her head? Somebody should call off the performance...
Kaoru: (Masaki-kun... // It's my fault... // A - Ahh...! She's... from back then...!)
Masaki: (Everybody's staring in horror...... it's like the complete opposite of Katakura's performance...... // How am I meant to make anybody happy like this...?!)

32
Saionji: Huh?
Masaki: ......Wha?
Kaoru: Ah...
Nao: Hehehehe... // You can't just sit there forever, Masaki!

33
Nao: Your prince is right there... // Do you really want him to see you like this?!

34
[no text just awwww]

35
Masaki: (That's right... Kaoru was the one who saved me... // It was meeting him... // ...that let me change!)
SomeGuy: What are you doing in here?! This isn't your business!
Nao: Oh, come now... // I'm just putting a little dramatic emphasis on the moment when the doll transforms into a prince...!
SomeGuy: This room is staff-only!
Nao: Sometimes you just have to go with the flow, all right?!

36
People: Hm? Suddenly she seems to have a lot more speed... // Her face looks different to before, as well...
Saionji: (What the...? This isn't what we practised... // What's she trying to do?)
Masaki: (I can't let myself be satisfied with just skating like Katakura does... // I'll never make anybody happy that way...)
Flashback!Sakai: The truly wonderful part is when you give everything that you have, and make the people watching truly happy through your performance.

37
Masaki: (Give everything... // ...that I have!!)

38-39
People: Whooooooa! The way she moves... it's incredible!! // I don't think I've ever seen anything like it!

40
Nao: Eheheh... // You know, I think I prefer a straightforward Clara like you in the end.
Saaya: ..................
Father: (Those are the movements I taught you... // You've actually gone and integrated your karate skills into your skating... // ...You're brilliant, Masaki!!)
Saionji: (Just like Saaya has her own strong points, you have your own as well... // It looks like you finally worked it out for yourself!)

41
Masaki: (Not yet... // ...I haven't shown 'em everything yet...!)
Nao: ALL RIGHT! / [aside]go for it! // This is romance![/aside]
SomeGuy: aaghhh...
Masaki: ! // (Kaoru!)

42
Masaki: (I have... // ...to reach him!!)

43
People: A double Axel!! // And it's huge......!! // A girl, performing a double Axel of that size...!! // Unbelievable!!
Masaki: (In the story of the Nutcracker... // ...the whole thing turns out to be a dream...)

44
Masaki: (But I won't... // ...let it end like that! // Wow... all those people are really applauding for me... // My performance just now... // ...actually made them happy!)

45
Masaki: (What about Kaoru? It might not have been the kind of girl to make him happy in the end... // ...but I did show him everything I have!)
[Insert text: Her first performance ends in tears of joy!!]