Safe Haven | Yuzuru Hanyu

49.

Not surprising anyone that knew that man well enough, it was only a few minutes into the warm-up for the free program for Yuzuru to start throwing quad axels.

Or attempts.

There was a particular one that even if slightly underrotated, had everyone awing.

It was close, very very close.

For Emma, it wasn't a question as to if he was able to jump the damn thing, it was more whether he would get injured before finally succeeding.

She has given up a long time ago to try and bring some sense into him. Once that stubborn person had an idea in his head, it was almost impossible to try and demotivate him from going for it.

One day he would learn the hard way...

All she could do was support him unconditionally on whatever decision he made and that included throwing all sorts of death glares to anyone who dared to look in his way.

Especially those dumb federation members.

Tenchi was a program that reminded Emma of a warrior and for her, it was simply perfect for an Olympic cycle.
Sure, Yuzu already had Seimei, but this one had the potential to be extra special in her eyes.

The costume was so gorgeous that she almost wanted to steal it for herself. Maybe it would fit.

But the most beautiful thing about Tenchi was Yuzu and the performance he gave.

If there were any doubts about who was the deserving National Champion, he threw them all away with the steps into that monstrous challenge that was the Quad Axel.

He landed it, two-footed and under-rotated, but it was still one of the best attempts that Emma had seen from him, only missing a tiny bit for it to finally be successful.

As crazy as it was for him to include that jump, Emma knew that he was confident enough to pull the score needed to win, even if he fell. And if she knew this, he did as well. Yuzuru was a master of score calculations after all.

You could call him crazy all you wanted but the reality was that he was closer than ever before, despite all the consequences for his health.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar face.

Of course, the bitch was there.

The lady that she had once given a piece of mind didn't look happy in the least to see Yuzuru thrive but that only made Emma more satisfied.

What a pity that she wasn't satisfied...

Lady is too much of a good nickname for that individual, but Emma was in a good mood.

Surprising absolutely no one, Yuzuru won Nationals as easily as she imagined. As much as his rivals were slowly improving, the dominance that he settled whenever he competed against them was just too evident.

Emma tried to remember her first years of competitive skating and she didn't remember anyone dominating the field as easy as he did.

It was still fascinating to her how he managed to do all of that with only one and a half functional ankles, but it was just another feat to the many on his list.

She saw someone trying to approach Yuzuru as he left the Kiss and Cry and quickly stepped into action, blocking the way.

"What do you think you're doing?" The man trying to reach Yuzuru quickly asked with a pissed-off expression.

Emma didn't budge. She didn't recognize this man and that meant she wasn't allowing him to reach the skater.

"My job."

As bad as her Japanese speaking skills were, it was good enough to answer the man without breaking character.

"Go away."

"No."

"Listen, I don't know who you think you are but..."

"I don't care who you think you are either. You're not on the list of safe personnel to interact with Hanyu san. That means you're not allowed to get close to him.

"Why does he even need a list? Do you have any idea who I am?"

"No, and I don't care."

"I will destroy you, little lady. Back off "

"Em, let's go." She heard from behind. Yuzuru didn't even acknowledge the man's presence and that only confirmed her suspicion that there was no reason for this man to get to him.

"Yuzuru" the man tried again.

Unfortunately, he was too polite and turned around to look into the man's face.

"We have to talk about the Olympics."

"I can't right now. Feel free to book a time with my agent." Yuzu replied with a slight smirk on his face.

He truly didn't give a shit about the fed anymore.

"You don't have an agent."

"Exactly."

Emma was too weak to resist the laugh attack that erupted from her as the man slowly gathered his thoughts and realized what Yuzuru had said, his face turning red as the realization finally came to him.

Yuzuru dragged her to his locker room without much explanation and as soon as they were inside the four, safe walls, he pinned her to the nearest wall, kissing her lips deeply.

She reacted with wide eyes, not expecting such actions from him after a free program. It was almost as if he hadn't just skated to an incredibly hard routine.

"Yuzu...what?"

"God, I loved that."

Emma was confused for a few seconds and even if it took him a while to realize that, just when he did, the skater was quick to explain himself.

"You acting all authoritative, protecting me like a badass. I was wrong to fire you from being my bodyguard. It fits you."

"That got you this horny? Seriously?"

"When we get to the hotel, you're calling the shots today."