Beyond the Sound | Yuzuru Hanyu

27.

Yuzuru was on the ice just when he said he would be, doing the show from top to bottom.

He was wearing a t-shirt from the show, his name in bold letters at the back, and his usual skating pants.

Near him, Maya had left a microphone so he could ask for any adjustments.

Seeing the whole thing, even without his costumes, just started giving her a bigger picture of what the show would actually look like.

The first part of the show took them about 2 hours to review, with Yuzuru stopping every now and then to give some instructions or drink his energy drink or supplements.

Yuzuru in his work mode was different than what she was used to seeing and it only made Maya realize that he was never like that when they worked. Everything had always been very casual between them and maybe only then was she realizing just how different he treated her from every other member of the staff.

Just a few minutes after they started the second part of the show, Maya saw Yuzuru suddenly lying on the ice in an unplanned manner after a spin. It wasn't a fall either, which made the situation even weirder. In the beginning, no one seemed to pay him any mind, but when he stayed like that for a bit longer than expected, it was clear that everyone started growing concerned.

His mother, who was by Maya's side for the duration of the rehearsal, suddenly stood, and only then did she start to worry.

"Is he okay?" Maya asked Yumi.

"Doesn't look like it." the older woman said with a stern tone and expression.

Maya took her microphone and decided to just go with it.

"Yuzuru? Are you ok?"

He raised his finger, almost as if asking for a minute and she just replied with a soft "Ok."

Eventually, he stood. Maya was scared, not understanding what was going on.

"We can just move on to the next program." he said into the microphone as if nothing had happened.

Maya looked at the woman by her side and noticed that she didn't look anywhere near pleased with what was going on, possibly knowing more than most people in that venue.

Mikiko came to Yumi, whispering some kind of question that Maya didn't understand.

Yuzuru resumed the rehearsal, only for everyone to hear him groan and drop to the ice once again after just a few minutes.

"He will have to stop the rehearsal." Yumi muttered and Maya just stared at her with wide eyes.

"Injury?"

"One he has been pretending not to be there." Yumi answered, making Maya remember their night about a month before when he had complained of back pain.

"Is it his back?"

That made the woman turn and look at her with a raised brow.

"How do you know that?"

Oops, Maya thought, not sure of just how much the older woman knew about their nights together but choosing against being the one to tell her.

"Wild guess." Maya tried, more than aware that Yumi wasn't buying her excuse.

"Hum. I'm going to pretend I don't know where he has been spending his nights in Tokyo and you will tell him to get out of the ice." Yumi said, making her flush a bright red color.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Why me?"

"Because he won't listen to anyone else."

Maya just couldn't understand why his mother thought that he would listen to her, of all people, but it wasn't as if she had much of a chance to argue.

"I don't think he will listen to me more than he would to you."

"You would be surprised. Go down there, please."

Yumi just seemed so desperate and concerned about her son's health and well-being that Maya couldn't deny her. Even if she was confident that the woman was considering their relationship to be far more than what it actually was.

Giving some instructions to the sound tech before finally descending the stairs that led to the ground level of the Dome, Maya had no idea how to approach the man about this.

When she finally reached the side of the ice, he was just attempting to stand on the ice again.

Unlike from the distance, right there, his pain was definitely visible as he tried to move.

"Yuzuru" she called out to the skater who hadn't seen her yet.

"Maya? What are you doing down here?"

"Your mom seems to think that I can convince you to stop and get out of the ice."

He looked in the direction of where Maya had been before, knowing well that his mother was right there and watching his every move.

"What did you tell her?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Nothing. I just asked if it was your back."

Yuzuru sighed, knowing well that the question was enough for his mother to take her own conclusions.

"It is, yes."

"Then you should stop."

"I have to rehearse."

"You can barely move. I'm no doctor but I doubt that keep going is your best option right now."

"But the show..."

"Won't happen if you can't skate tomorrow."

Maya tried to reason with him while knowing how hard-headed he could be. They might not be best friends or anything remotely similar but for the amount of times that they shared a bed, she liked to think that she knew him at least a little bit.

"But if I don't practice the rest..."

"Yuzuru, you've been practicing for 3 months. The only difference is the lights and sound. The ice is the same. You know the whole show by heart, you know every single move you have to make. Stopping now and taking care of your body is the best thing you can do to make sure you're able to skate at a decent condition for everyone tomorrow and give the show you planned for so long."

He sighed once again, holding his back in pain before nodding.

Maya took the microphone and announced it on the speakers.

"Rehearsal is over for today. Thank you, everyone."