AXIS | Yuzuru Hanyu

9.

They kept the same routine for a few weeks, on most weekdays Brianna and Yuzuru didn't talk much, exchanging a few words when she arrived and sometimes before she left.

The one thing that changed was they started calling each other by their nicknames. At first, it was strange to hear Bri coming out of his mouth, but soon enough, it was a natural thing for them.

On Wednesdays though, they made a routine of her watching his practice sessions. He took the opportunity to show her most of his programs, sometimes explaining minor details that made each one special. Brianna learned that he wore those tight clothes every single time, all black, with differing details on them. Sometimes he wore a long sleeve over the short, equally as tight. She was sure he had a whole drawer of practice clothes that looked all the same.

One thing Brianna didn't understand was the plushie he carried around, she found it was a tissue box cover after the second week, but was too shy to ask if it had a special meaning. He only used it for his practice time, keeping it safe in his office whenever he was coaching. Maybe one day she would get the courage to ask.

Today, something was different. When Brianna entered the rink with Kaori, Yuzuru was very entertained having a conversation with an older man Brianna didn't recognize. Her niece said hi and hugged the other man, instantly going to the locker room.

When Yuzuru saw her, a smile was instantly on his face.

"Hey Bri"

"Hey Yuzu, how are you?"

"I'm great, you?"

"I'm alright"

"I want you to meet someone" he said, switching to an accented, broken English. "This is Ghislain, he was my coach. Brianna is friend"

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." she said to the coach

He instantly opened his arms for a hug. "Any friend of Yuzuru's is mine, come here".

They hugged as if they were old friends. The man was very kind and warm, and Brianna loved him instantly.

" Ghislain is coach today" Yuzuru explained. "He help. It's good for skating"

"You've done this before then?"

"We do it sometimes. It still amazes me that Yuzuru is coaching under such a tight and busy schedule. I will gladly help when I can."

"It's okay, I manage"

"He's great. I don't understand much, but the kids love him" she said, making Yuzuru smile.

"So you don't skate?"

"No, it would be too dangerous if I ever put those things on my feet"

"I'm sure Yuzuru could help you if you ever decide to try"

"Who knows, maybe someday"

With Ghislain coaching the class with his limited Japanese mixed with English, Yuzuru just stayed by the edge of the rink, watching from the distance.

He occasionally looked at Brianna with a smile.

Not long after, she gave up on what she was doing, got up, and headed towards Yuzu.

She leaned against the edge of the rink, right behind him with a grin, that he mirrored when he noticed her.

"Bored from work?" he asked.

"Too tired to think, not even coffee saves me"

"Overworking?"

"Some stuff the company just trusts on me, sometimes it's a bit too much. But it's work"

"I have this feeling you don't love your job"

"I like the core of it, some days are just bad. I'm sure it happens to you too.
I love programming and coding, but sometimes it's just a bunch of the same things over and over and my head hates it, I can't think. "

"With skating is more when you have days when nothing goes well. You can't land jumps, you slack on everything else. It used to be bad when it happened on competition day"

"That's awful, I can't imagine how I would react"

"I don't miss it, to have everyone judge after you don't do great"

"Yeah, I could never be a skater, just thinking of all the attention... I would die on the spot"

Yuzuru laughed at that. "It's one of the things I love about it. At that moment, everyone is looking at you and only you "

"You're an attention whore essentially," she told him laughing too hard. Yuzuru couldn't help but join, a few of the students looking at them.

"It is what it is, medals do that to you"

"But off the ice..."

"I'm private, I don't want anyone messing with the people I care about, it's not just me anymore, you know?"

Brianna hummed, it was nice talking to him about deeper subjects. They don't talk much, but when they do it's always easy.

"Bri?"

"Hum?"

"When we had dinner at your sister's, Mary mentioned you were staying there because you were afraid. I know it's none of my business, but I still worry... Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. It's just hard to relax in a place I know he can show up at any time. It's dumb really, I know better than most how to defend myself, but my body freezes around him and that's scary." Brianna started, she hadn't talked about this yet but felt like Yuzuru would understand.
"The day you dragged him out, I don't know why, but I couldn't move, no matter what my brain told my body, it was completely frozen."

"Mary said you got a restraining order. That doesn't reassure you?"

"He's crazy when he drinks, I know how he reacts on impulse... It might be stupid, but I just can't relax enough to fall asleep there"

Yuzuru hummed in understanding "It's not stupid, it's normal"

"I'm a karate Shodan (black belt), I could, in theory, easily knock him out so I don't think it's that normal. He didn't know about it though."

His eyes widened at the unknown information. "You are?? Scary"

"Afraid I'll kick your ass?"

"Slightly... How have I never heard about this? Why karate?"

"My dad is a master, one of the kids had to follow. My sister was never into martial arts, but I took a liking to it very young. Besides, it's the only form of sport I like to do and keeps my body in shape. And Mary can't tell you everything, If she told you all there is to know, there wouldn't be a reason for us to talk,"

"That means I have to make sure we talk more"

"Seems like a plan"

"So... Can I have your phone number?"