Safe Haven | Yuzuru Hanyu

43.

The challenge was on and Yuzuru was far more dedicated than she initially anticipated.

Just a day after they had made the bet, he was giving her a list of exercises for her to do off-ice.

Emma nodded, even if she wasn't that keen on getting back to the old days of competition when everything was about skating.

A worthy sacrifice, this time.

She really dedicated herself to it as well, following the plan that he gave her with all her might and effort.

They spent more time on the ice together and sometimes Emma felt like she was back in her skating days, but better.

Yuzuru was a better coach than he gave himself credit for and she loved their little moments on the ice.

They really took the time to perfect her technique in everything, not just the axel.

It seemed like the company for his sessions was beneficial for him as well.

Yuzuru was far more motivated to improve now and they connected with their journeys.

While Yuzuru was attempting the Quad, Emma was going for the triple. It was different but the process was simple. Getting that extra rotation.

Easier said than done, of course.

Part of Em wanted to quit on the second session when she was already sick of falling over and over again.

It was hard to keep the motivation when all of your efforts just seem in vain, but Yuzuru's resilience for his goal inspired Emma as well.

And boy, she wanted to give up.

Just after the first week, the bruises started showing and they weren't pretty.

For someone as used to pain as Emma was, her body was taking an entirely different beat than what it was used to.

She was starting to feel like maybe bullets and knives had nothing on the repetitive pain of falling on your ass.

Maybe skaters were all slight masochists given how much pain it required to do something like this.

The admiration for her boyfriend only grew with this experience.

In the middle of all the chaos, they had a few moments that made it all worth it. Whenever one of them came close to the goal or when he came behind her and hugged her, distracting them both from the necessary practice and usually ending up with a makeout session against one of the borders.

Emma was falling constantly, but his situation wasn't any better.
The rotation speed required and height for the quad axel made the falls crazy dangerous and scary. She had noted that before but now that she was on the ice and felt it shake with every fall, the impact seemed far more drastic.

"Yuzu, I think that's enough" she said on a particular day where he just seemed to be taking things more seriously and had already taken too many falls for her to take.

"I'm close to getting it."

"Yes, but you might injure yourself if you don't take it easy."

"It's fine..."

He just kept jumping.

Attempt after attempt, Emma's concern only grew and she was starting to feel like she would have to drag him out of there.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

He was too stubborn and in one of those crazy attempts, she saw him gain a bit less height than he usually did. It would have all been fine if he didn't try to rotate it.

Yuzuru fell to the ground and Emma heard the unmistakable pop of his ankle from the distance. She knew immediately that he had just damaged his ligaments with that sprain.

Once again.

"Fucking hell." She said before skating in his direction.

His right ankle started getting swollen within seconds and she just breathed hard before getting down to check it.

"You can say I told you so..." He muttered when he saw the frown on his face.

"This is dangerous! You get all caught up on the goal and forget that you have to take care of your body!"

"You were jumping too!"

"It's not my career on the line here! I'm not a skater, Yuzu, not anymore. If I have a bad sprain I can always do something else. You live for this, you live for skating!"

"I know..."

"Is it really worth it?" She asked with a sad look on his face.

"It's my last dream, Em..."

"God, you are unbelievable! You have every single medal possible and you still want this stupid jump."

"I need something to keep going... You know I need a goal to motivate myself."

"Okay..." She answered taking a breather again and trying to calm herself before saying something that she could regret.
"Let's get you out of the ice."

Emma had enough strength to lift him but carrying him while in skates wasn't so easy.

Thankfully, Yuzuru was able to help once he was standing.

She sat him down on a bench before massaging the sore joint.

"How bad is it?" He asked her, noticing her frown.

"I'm not a physiotherapist or a physiatrist"

"You're still a doctor and a skater... You know."

"It's a sprain... But you already know that."

"Not what I asked."

"I don't know, Zu... Your tendons just seem so unstable... This is far from my specialty but I don't even know how you jump on them."

"I endure the pain..."

Emma merely gave him a stern look before taking her phone and calling Yumi to pick them up.

"You should probably see a specialist but either way, you need to stop jumping the Axel for at least a few months."

"Months?" He said looking scared, he needed the training. Time was already limited.

"If you want to compete at the Olympics. Yes."