AXIS | Yuzuru Hanyu

2.

Brianna drove Kaori home in silence, she could feel the girl's eyes on her but didn't say a word. Eventually, the small girl gave up and broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Bri?"

"Yes, Kao?"

"I think the coach doesn't like you"

"Don't worry, I don't like him either"

"But it's Hanyu-san! Everyone loves him!"

"Not me, that I can tell you for sure. He needs to learn how to talk with people"

"He was just in a bad mood, I think he doesn't like waking up early, the afternoon sessions are always better."

"Somehow I doubt that"

Brianna stayed with Kaori until her sister arrived. Normally Kao would have classes but they were currently on holidays, hence the reason behind the early morning practices. Her sister Mei was at the daycare. Bri worked peacefully on the couch while her niece played some games or her Stitch. She still had so much to code, partly because she procrastinated most of the week.

She saw a text notification from her boyfriend Hirohito on the screen and knew right away that he was probably at her house, time to face the music... 'Where are you? I worked the whole day expecting a nice reward and I don't know where you are'

'busy' was all she answered

"Getting smart Bri? Trying to get punished when I find you?'

'how was I supposed to guess you were coming?

'maybe you should always be ready for me'

Brianna was seriously getting tired of him, the only reason why he was still around was to satisfy her sister. She had been the one setting them up with the purpose of Brianna finally starting to settle in. Mary hoped that she would be like her, marry, and have kids. But if that was ever to happen, Hirohito was not the one to give her that life for sure.

She ignored his texts, getting back to work when the door opened, revealing her sister.

"Hey"

"Hey Mars"

"Thanks for staying with her"

"It's alright, I can always work from here" Brianna told her gesturing to the laptop.

"How was the skating practice?"

"We were late, Mr. Coach was a jerk about it"

"I had a feeling you two would like each other" Mary told her, holding a laugh as Brianna stared at her.

"I really hope you're joking"

"Come on, he's not that bad"

"You say that cause you didn't see how he stared at me"

"You know, a lot of girls would love to have that man stare at them"

"As if"

Mary secretly smiled, her sister was clueless and she was going to love seeing her figure it out.

"About that, would you mind taking her to practice from now on?"

Brianna's eyes went wide but she recovered quickly. "Why? You used to be able to take her."

"Koshiro changed schedules, he used to take her most of the time. With my uncertain shifts, I never know." Mary was a nurse, being sometimes called to work unexpectedly. Brianna understood her point of view and wanted to help her sister but the prospect of having to endure the looks every day wasn't enticing. "Besides, it's good for you, getting out of the house"

Her phone kept buzzing, Hirohito hadn't given up yet.

"Ignore it" Brianna said as her sister's eyes gazed on it.

"Who is it?"

"Hiro"

"You're ignoring your boyfriend?" Mary was judging, it was clear by the look on her face.

Brianna unlocked the phone and showed the texts to her, he started fairly normal with flirty innuendos but got desperate as no answer came and started describing exactly what he would do once they were alone. Mary's eyes widened "Was he always like this?"

"Pretty much"

"And he does these things... You know?"

"Depends, most of the time he doesn't do much, his stamina is not as big as his head"

The girls started laughing, Mary wondered why her sister kept seeing Hirohito when there was clearly no interest on her part but she didn't say a word about it.

"So, about Hanyu..." Brianna groaned as her sister brought back the subject

"Don't"

"I just want to know why he bothers you so much"

"He's just so arrogant, thinks he knows everything" Mary lifted her brows in confusion, which was very different from the Yuzuru she knew.

She met him at Waseda, they were both doing e-learning and had a few classes in common. He had always been a sweetheart to everyone. It was one of the reasons why she asked him to coach Kaori.

"I think you judged him too fast"

"No, I did not"

"Stubborn head...I will get dinner done, you'll stay? You can sleep in the guestroom"

"Sure, if you don't mind"

Brianna took a break from work, got some scrap paper and a pen, and started doodling. Drawing always managed to calm her, and she needed that if she was going to reply to Hiro any time soon... After drawing a traditional Japanese landscape, she took her phone and answered.

'I won't sleep at home today, so you can take all those ideas out of your head'

'Where are you?'

'Mary's, I have to take Kaori to her skating practice, it's easier if I'm already here.'

'I want to be with you'

'I'm drowning in work, you will have to wait'. She wasn't, not really. Brianna was always a fast but effective employee

'Most girls would prioritize their man'

'Guess I'm not most girls'

'What time are you going to the skating thing?'

'8'

'I'll meet you there'

Brianna wanted to find a good excuse to avoid seeing him, he would be pissed at her and it always ended in bruises. At least in public, he won't be able to do much, she thought, not with Kaori around.

Mei arrived with Mary's husband Kohiro soon after, the small girl gave her a big hug and put a smile on her face as she asked for a princess drawing. Brianna scribbled on the white paper and soon enough a pretty sketch of Snow White was done and ready to color.

The small gesture that had so much meaning to the tiny girl brought a bit of perspective on how easy things are when you're a kid

That night, Brianna only managed to fall asleep at 3 am, her head afraid of what tomorrow would bring.