Episode 6

***Skate 6 - China's On! The Grand Prix Series Opening Event!! The Cup of China Short Program***  (*第6滑走: グランプリシリーズ開幕！やっチャイナ中国大会！, Dai rokku Kassō: Guran Puri Shiriizu Kaimaku! Ya Chaina Chuugoku Daikai!*) is the sixth episode of *Yuri!!! on Ice*.

## Synopsis

Assigned to the Cup of China for the first competition, Yuuri and Victor head over to Beijing where they first encounter Victor's old coach Yakov and Russian skater Georgi Popovich. During dinner at a local restaurant, the pair are discovered by Phichit who invites his coach Celestino, along with two other competitors - American skater Leo de la Iglesia and Chinese skater Guang Hong Ji - to join. On the day of the competition itself, the skaters meet the final competitor, Swiss skater Christophe Giacometti. The episode moves on to showcase the individual short programs by each of the six competitors. Having delivered a flawless performance, Yuuri finds himself first in place after the short program is over, with a score surpassing his personal best.

## Summary

Early in the morning, Victor pats and hugs Makkachin, telling the pooch not to steal any sticky buns. Yuuri advises Victor to hurry lest they miss their flight to Beijing, and the two wave goodbye to the Katsuki and Nishigori families. Minako, who is also with the two families, says that she will come along later. While on the plane, Victor lightheartedly complains about flying economy class when Yuuri says that he wants to nap, but falls asleep on Yuuri's shoulder.

The results of the first two Men's Singles Grand Prix series events are announced. Skate America's gold medalist is Leo de la Iglesia, followed by Otabek Altin and Guang Hong Ji. Skate Canada was won by Jean-Jacques Leroy, followed by Yuri Plisetsky and Emil Nekola. The narrator announces that the third event, the Cup of China would begin the next day, and repeats Yuuri's theme for the season as "Love".

The scene cuts to an interview with Yuuri, who is unable to answer how much "power of love" he has. A bored Victor urges Yuuri to hurry to eat hotpot, then suddenly catches sight of Yakov walking alongside Georgi. Victor invites Yakov for hotpot, but Yakov ends up angrily reprimanding Victor. Victor does not seem rustled by this development and leaves with Yuuri for dinner.

At the restaurant, Victor is overjoyed at all the Chinese cuisine and asks Yuuri to try some. Yuuri politely declines and starts pondering about the press conference where he revealed his season's theme. Yuuri is startled when his name is called, and sees Phichit waving to him. Phichit asks Yuuri whether or not he could call Celestino over. Yuuri is uncomfortable at the mention, but Celestino turns up anyway, and is insistently offered some raw shrimp by Victor.

   Beside a streetside stall, Guang Hong buys a crepe to eat, and is discovered by Leo. Leo asks Guang Hong to accompany him to the restaurant where Phichit had invited them to. Guang Hong is not very enthusiastic at this, until Leo mentions that Victor would be there, to which Guang Hong becomes excited. Georgi, who is watching the two converse, smiles to himself, musing about their youthful behavior.

When Guang Hong and Leo reach the restaurant, they find that Victor and Celestino have drank too much. A shirtless Victor is clutching Yuuri, begging to go to a hot spring. Phichit tries to wake Celestino who had passed out entirely, but ends up taking a picture of the coach instead. Guang Hong and Leo are slightly traumatized, but takes pictures when Victor starts to remove the remainder of his clothes.

   The next day, fans have spotted the risqué photo of Victor kissing Yuuri's cheek uploaded by Phichit. Phichit apologizes with a less-than-sincere expression, upsetting Leo and Guang Hong who had refrained from uploading the pictures themselves. Yuuri becomes nervous about appearing like he had been fooling around the competition, but his thoughts are interrupted when Christophe greets Yuuri by stroking Yuuri's hind. Christophe asks why he had not been invited for hotpot, then changes the subject, commenting that Yuuri had got into shape thanks to Victor.

Victor greets Chris, causing Guang Hong, Leo and Phichit to start snapping pictures of the two. Chris mentions that he is unable to motivate himself without Victor, and Chris' coach Josef confirms this, begging Victor to return to competitive skating. A pair of female Russian skaters notice Victor and urge him to leave Yuuri's side. Chris tells Yuuri that it is a grave sin to keep Victor to Yuuri's own self, and that the world wanted to see Victor back on the ice.

    The scene soon changes to the rink, where Phichit is first to perform. Celestino assures Phichit that the short and free programs would become Phichit's signature performances, and the two shake hands firmly in agreement. The announcer mentions that Phichit, having gotten fourth in Skate America, would have to place second or higher in the Cup of China to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. The audience claps in time along to Phichit's short program music, Shall We Skate?, which is described as being a popular song choice for competitive programs. Yuuri, who is watching from the waiting room, recalls that Phichit had wanted to skate to this song for a long time, and notes that Phichit is doing his best this season. Phichit falls on his only quad jump, but Celestino is proud that Phichit is able to enthrall the audience nonetheless. Celestino cheers for Phichit when the performance ends, and Phichit scores a new short program personal best.

The next skater is Guang Hong, who had placed third in Skate America. The audience cheers encouragement in Chinese for their local skater. Guang Hong lands a quad toe-loop for his first jump. Yuuri, still backstage, is no longer watching the short program, and has become determined to do well after watching Phichit's skate. While jogging around the aisle, Yuuri thinks to himself that people would never be satisfied with his skating if they compared him to Victor or to his old self, and thus hopes to be hated from taking Victor from competitive skating. Chris, who is warming up as well, notices Yuuri pacing and asks Victor if Yuuri is alright, but Victor who had been watching Yuuri interestedly, quietens Chris and mentions that he had never seen Yuuri in such a state before.

    Back in Russia, Mila calls Yuri over to sit with her and another skater to watch Yuuri's short program on television. Yuri declines, preferring to watch from his seat further back. At the rink, Victor gives Yuuri a short talk, telling Yuuri that the latter should no longer have to seduce Victor by picturing pork cutlet bowls and women, believing that Yuuri could show off his own charm. Victor asks for confirmation if Yuuri could picture it by himself and grips Yuuri's hand. Yuuri pauses for awhile, before clasping Victor's hand tighter and presses his forehead onto Victor's. Yuuri solemnly asks Victor to not take his eyes off him, and proceeds to skate into the middle of the rink. Victor watches Yuuri while touching his forehead where Yuuri's forehead had pressed against, musing that Yuuri is different today and wonders what had caused him to change.

Yuuri begins his performance by licking his lips and smiling at Victor, to Victor's surprise. While he skates, the announcers point out that his image has changed from previous skates, and that living with Victor might have changed him. Yuuri skates his step sequence, believing that people think that the image is not like him, but that they wanted to see the new version of him. Yuuri nails his first two jumps, which includes a quad Salchow that he rarely landed in competitions. Yuuri tells himself that he is the only one who could satisfy Victor and understands Victor's love, and executes a quad-triple combination jump to prove it. Yuuri completes the short program with the highest technical score so far in history, netting himself a new personal best and a standing ovation from the audience.

Victor joins Yuuri at the kiss and cry and asks him if he felt great. Yuuri responds by saying that he hoped everyone enjoyed his performance. Yuuri's short program score is announced, putting him in first place with a score over a hundred. Yuuri squints his eyes to see the score, but Victor pulls Yuuri into a hug and ruffles Yuuri's hair, reassuring Yuuri that everyone would feel great to watch such a performance. Chris' coach Josef notes that Chris does not look very happy, while Leo tries to calm himself down before the next performance. Phichit is impressed, as Yuuri had never scored so highly before, but Celestino tells Phichit not to worry as there is still the free skate, and that Yuuri is not used to being the one to beat.

    Georgi begins his short program, with the announcer revealing his theme to be "heartbreak". Georgi imagines himself to be the evil fairy Carabosse, who places a curse on the princess, which Georgi visualizes to be his ex-girlfriend Anya. Only a true love's kiss can wake the princess, but a heartbroken Georgi believes that there is no such thing as true love. Mila provides explanation that Anya had left Georgi and started dating another man, but Yuri is not interested in hearing it. Mila then notices that Georgi is tearing up halfway through the performance. Georgi continues in his role as Carabosse, vowing to hunt Anya down to the ends of the world, to which Mila and Yuri feel that Georgi had gotten too engrossed in his performance. Georgi concludes his short program, and Yakov claps approvingly for Georgi, proud that he is finally seeing a performance worthy of Georgi's abilities.

Leo takes the ice next, wanting to skate the way he envisions the music that he likes. Guang Hong, Phichit, and Yuuri watch from backstage. The announcer points out that Leo is most likely to make it to the Grand Prix Final, having won Skate America. During his skate, Leo recalls that he had found courage in himself due to his discovery of music. As Leo's performance ends without mistakes, Yuuri notes that Leo's short program is designed to maximize Leo's strength. While Guang Hong is happy for Leo, Phichit is nervous that Leo's score, like most other skaters, had also overtaken Phichit's score.

    The last to perform is Chris, who hugs coach Josef before taking to the ice. Chris' first jump, planned to be a quad, ends up as a triple, but Chris is unfazed. Victor, who watches backstage while spooning Yuuri, explains that Chris usually does not try to peak early on in the Grand Prix series, but for some reason, is already going all out this particular season. Chris skates on, believing that he is the only one who could beat Yuuri's innocent sex appeal. Upon concluding his short program, Yuuri unwillingly admits that Chris showed the most eros in the competition.

Chris' performance puts him in fifth place, leading Yuuri to realize that he had gotten first in the short program. Hiroko, who is watching the Cup of China at a viewing party from Yu-topia Katsuki, muses whether Yuuri would be okay, since Yuuri is not used to being in first place. Yuuri is asked by interviewers about how he felt for the free skate, and Yuuri nervously replies that he would win with the power of love along with coach Victor.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

Makkachin

Victor Nikiforov

Yuuri Katsuki

Minako Okukawa

Toshiya Katsuki

Hiroko Katsuki

Takeshi Nishigori

Yuuko Nishigori

Mari Katsuki

Axel, Lutz, and Loop Nishigori

Leo de la Iglesia

Otabek Altin

Guang Hong Ji

Jean Jacques Leroy

Yuri Plisetsky

Emil Nekola

Yakov Feltsman

Georgi Popovich

Phichit Chulanont

Celestino Cialdini

Christophe Giacometti

Josef Karpisek

Mila Babicheva

Anya

## Trivia

* Unlike most stadiums, the location of the kiss and cry in the stadium used for the Cup of China is different from the rink entrance's location. Victor is unaware of this, until Chris points it out.

* During the interview at the end of the episode, Victor interjects with the phrase "Kat-katsu!" Though it means "Win!", it could also be a direct encouragement to Yuuri in particular, being a play on Yuuri's surname.

* During Yuuri's performance, the background can be seen changing during one of his jumps.

## References

1. ↑ *Yuri!!! on Ice* interview - Spoon 2Di vol.21 (English translation by toraonice)