Chapter 4: The Shadow of a Swan

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The next morning's practice session was more challenging—and more fun—than Sakura had expected. It turned out that East Wing first years trained together, regardless of which team they ended up on for the intra-competition. Their coach, a muscular woman with a no-nonsense attitude named Coach Park, ran them through a series of drills designed to test their basic skills and, as she put it, "weed out the wannabes from the will-bes."

Sakura quickly realized that while she wasn't the most naturally gifted skater in the group, she wasn't lagging behind either. Years of practicing on her own, pushing her limits in her backyard and at the local park, had given her a solid foundation. They spent the first hour on basic maneuvers: gliding smoothly across the flux field, using its natural dips and surges to gain momentum, and practicing jumps and turns on their Flightskates. 

"Remember, girls," Coach Park barked, her voice echoing across the practice field. "It's not just about speed. It's about control. You need to be able to move with the flux, not against it. Become one with the board. Feel it in your bones!"

Next, they moved on to platform work, using the strategically placed floating platforms to build up kinetic energy and launch themselves across the field in bursts of speed. Sakura had always loved the feeling of weightlessness as she soared through the air, her Flightskate humming beneath her. 

"Don't be afraid to experiment!" Coach Park called out. "Find what works for you. There's no one right way to ride a Flightskate."

Finally, it was time to break out the JetGas canisters. Sakura had always loved the idea of the JetGas—who didn't want to blast across the field at warp speed?—but actually using it was a whole other story. It required a different kind of timing, a different feel for the board. They practiced with all three types: the green Light canisters for sustained movement, the blue Medium canisters for quick bursts of speed, and the red Strong canisters for those moments when you needed an extra jolt of power. 

 Coach Park gathered them around a demonstration board, pointing out the two slots built into the underside. "Each Flightskate can hold two gas canisters at a time," she explained. "You can switch and activate between them using the levers under the board. Just remember, timing is everything. Hit the gas at the wrong moment, and you'll end up kissing the ceiling—or worse.

"The girls peered down at the underside of their own Flightskate. Sure enough, there were two levers, positioned so you could reach them with a quick crouch. It looked easy enough... in theory. 

"Once you've used up your canisters, you'll need to head back to the Bench Stop for a replacement," Coach Park continued. "That's where our trusty Tuners come in.

"Sakura had heard about Tuners, of course. They were the unsung heroes of Hoverblitz, the ones who kept the Flightskates running smoothly and made sure the players were equipped and ready to go. But they were more than just mechanics. Tuners were also backup players, ready to jump into the game at a moment's notice if someone got injured or—as Coach Park put it—"ran out of guts." Each team had two Tuners on standby during a match, which meant a total of six players on the roster. 

"Now, here's the catch," Coach Park continued, her expression turning serious. "Each team gets a limited supply of JetGas canisters for a match. You'll have to make them count." She pointed to a screen at the edge of the field, which displayed a chart with different colored bars. "You'll get fifteen Light canisters per period, but only eight Mediums and four Strongs. Use them wisely."

"But Coach," a girl in the front row piped up, "what about the random canisters? The ones that drop during the game?"

"Ah, yes," Coach Park said, a glint in her eye. "The gas balloons. Those are a wild card, for sure. Every once in a while, a balloon filled with a random JetGas canister will appear somewhere on the field. First one to reach it gets the prize."

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