Part 6: S.K.A.T.E

Kokona: Woah?! That girl is a real pro, isnʼt she?!

Shizuka: If you pick on amateurs, you donʼt deserve to be called a pro.

Kokona: Th-thatʼs not what I meant!

Kokona: Sasuga-chan, I hope you’ll be fine…

Kathrina: Sasugaʼs good at skating. She should just beat that jerk up so hard, she’ll never dare to open her mouth again.

Yae: Violence is not the answer, Kathrina-san. People should use their skills not to show off, but to make others happy.

Kokona: Y-yae-chan, so you also got angry?..

Panda: …

Panda: (No, I guess even Sassu wonʼt be able to keep up with a pro opponent…)

Panda: ...I told you not to bother, didnʼt I?

Chisa: So, how should we go about the match? Make it a traditional Game of Skate*?

Skateboarder: Yeah. You can go first. I’ll be the one to win anyway.

Kokona: ...so, the rules are that they attempt to perform each other’s tricks, and whoever fails five times loses?

Shizuka: Seems so.

Kokona: Then, Sasuga-chan has to land a more complex trick than a pro… Sasuga-chan, Iʼm rooting for you!..

Chisa: Let’s get started. I’ll go ahead.

Skateboarder: …

Shizuka: So far they both have successfully landed three tricks. Not bad, Sasuga!

Yae: Looks like they are evenly matched… Jumping high with the board, making it flip, it’s like magic!..

Kokona: Right! They are so amazing, I’ve almost forgotten they are having a match…

Kathrina: The one who does the most complex trick wins, right? Then hurry up and come up with something your opponent wonʼt be able to land, Sasuga!

Shizuka: If you fail, you lose, so it makes sense to start with the tricks you are sure in. But Kathrina is right, if you stick with simple stuff, you won’t win.

Yae: Itʼs about time to get serious!..

Chisa: Alright, now, let’s do this…

Chisa: Here we go!

Kathrina: She went on the offensive!

Chisa: Oh…!

Shizuka: She failed… Now it’s her opponentʼs turn. That girl is free to choose whatever trick she wants…

Yae: I wonder what she’s going to do…

Skateboarder: Oh, what a pity. But you’re about as good as I expected. Well then, how about something like this?

Yae: Woah?!

Shizuka: What in the world…?!

Kokona: It was so fast I couldnʼt follow, but she was suddenly flipping the board high in the air!..

Panda: (I have no idea whatʼs considered skillful or not at skateboarding, but even I can tell that trick is not easy.)

Panda: (No matter how good Sassu is, thereʼs no way she can successfully land it.)

Panda: (Until now, Sassu was the one to set a trick, but now sheʼll have to keep up with her opponentʼs skills.)

Panda: (No matter what you say, competing against a pro must be tough...)

Chisa: (Oh, Pandaʼs looking at me.)

Chisa: Heya!

Panda: Huh? Sassuʼs looking at me…

Chisa: Hehe. Our eyes met.

Panda: Gosh, just what are you giggling about?~ Come on, stay focused. Everyone’s eyes are on you.

Chisa: Fufu, Pandaʼs smiling.

Panda: Honestly, sheʼs always so spacey…

Panda: It was the same at that marathon, and at the interview we had.

Chisa (in a flashback): Leave it to me.

Panda: …Well, Iʼll leave it to you, I guess.

Kokona: Go-go, Sasuga-chan!

Yae: Sasuga-san! Do it with a bang!

Shizuka: Sasuga! Donʼt you dare to lose!

Kathrina: If you win, Iʼll treat you to somen noodles or whatever you like!

Panda: Go! Sassu! Show them what youʼre made of!

Chisa: Iʼll definitely win!..

TL note

* Kokona gives a brief summary of the rules, but to provide a little more context, the Game of Skate, also known as S.K.A.T.E, is a skateboarding game where skaters attempt to perform each other’s tricks in succession until all but one player are eliminated; it can also be held in a form of competition between the two teams of skateboarders (the game in the event seems to follow the rules of the latter, but with the teams consisting of just one person each). Put simply, once a player from the team that goes first set a trick, the player from the other team should attempt to perform the same trick. If they succeed, the game continues; if they fail they receive a letter, starting with S, and so on, until one of the teams have missed five tricks, spelling S.K.A.T.E, then the game is over. If the player who attempted to set a trick fails to land it, the right to set a trick goes to their opponent. No trick can be set more than once in the same game.

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Pub: 14 Jul 2024 10:45 UTC
Edit: 20 Jul 2024 11:38 UTC
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