TBATE: Your Name

Chapter 2

Thankfully, the place was completely empty.

The minute Arthur entered through the glass doors, he noticed the whole locker area was empty save for the staff member by the counter. The woman with dark red hair raised a questioning eyebrow at the hulking man behind Arthur whilst confirming that yes, we are still open. Arthur felt a little happy, wanting to feel the cold air slice through his skin again.

Arthur had always loved skating. He used to watch people skate back on Earth, but never got into the sport back then. In this life, he decided to try it and realized he loved the feeling of being free and carefree on the ice. On the ice, he wasn't a reincarnate. He wasn't a former king. He wasn't a prince. He was Arthur Leywin. He ended up taking some classes for fun back then as a teen in his second life, and he'd found out that he genuinely enjoyed the sport.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to compete, his conflicting schedule getting in the way. Meanwhile, his fellow reincarnate and personal friend, Nico Sever, has made history multiple times as a professional figure skater. He'd always been there to support him, and oftentimes the world would be shocked whenever he'd attend the competitions to watch.

Chuckling softly as he tied on his skates, Arthur reminisces that last time when he suddenly showed up at the world competition and the whole world seemed to have fainted in shock. Nico, however, was blushing and seething at him for 'causing such a ruckus'. He didn't mind that other people murmured and asked for pictures, he loved skating and would watch it millions of times.

He'd told Cadell that he could just sit by the locker area and relax or maybe even skate if he wanted to, he'll be done in about two hours or so. Then, bouncing in excitement, he enters the rink area.

He is not alone.

There's someone else in the rink. Only one person, though. Arthur could barely make out the blur of the person due to the constant... beautiful... moving...

Holy cow.

Arthur's eyes widened as he watched the beautiful girl gracefully slide across the ice, moving about with practiced ease and inclined grace. Every move, every glide, every step seemed calculated and natural all at once. The rink seemed silent, but an endless entrancing music emanated from this woman's body. Every movement of her arms, every swing of her hips, and every step of her legs let out another note that harmonized with the melody. It was a beautiful dance that seemed like it was perfected over lifetimes.

The pale moonlight embraced her in its silvery glow. It seemed to have been casting an aura of enchantment around her, as Arthur found his feet carrying him towards her. He was almost leaning over the barrier between him and the ice in order to look at the view closer. He couldn't see much, but he could see the loose practice clothes this woman had and also the gunmetal gray tousled hair that seemed to cascade down like a waterfall of molten silver.

The girl moves to a spread eagle, angling herself near the barrier of the rink, and Arthur figures she must've spotted him because the woman flailed a little before going in for a jump. Arthur winces as the girl goes sprawling painfully on the ice, letting out a pained yelp.

Arthur immediately moves, gliding onto the ice and scrambling to get to the woman, which was not that hard since she landed near the entrance of the rink. "Are you alright? Did you break anything?" He asks, voice laced with worry.

The girl shakily holds herself up with quivering arms, head turned down but Arthur could see the pained grimace on her face. "Do you need help? Do I have to call for the staff-"

The girl raises her head, soft emerald eyes locked unto his azure ones, and Arthur's breath is taken away.

"O-Oh... Um-" The girl manages to get herself fully seated upright, and Arthur marvels at her soft voice that seems to carry in the air almost as gracefully as she does on the ice. "I-I'm alright, thank you."