Beyond the Sound | Yuzuru Hanyu

58.

Chiara sighed as the skater left the apartment. She was completely sick of the mess that her friend had managed to get herself into.

To be fair, she understood both of them but knew she had to side with Maya. The girl was her best friend after all.

Still, the Italian was having a hard time realizing exactly what had happened.

She knew that Maya always got a bit different in May. It was during that month that her father had died and she was always a mess, especially near the birthday of the actual date.

Even so, the girl was usually very open with the man she was engaged with and she couldn't understand why her friend didn't want to talk to him.

As she tried to understand what had happened, Maya always gave her blank answers.

All Chiara knew was that her friend was having doubts.

They didn't seem to be related to her feelings for Yuzuru but rather how fast they were doing everything.

When she asked, Maya just told her that they had been having fights about how things would be and that she didn't want to quit her job at the Dome.

Chiara could understand what was going on, but it was hard to realize exactly why Maya just wouldn't talk with the skater and fix it with him. All of it seemed like her friend was entering some kind of self-defense bubble and the worst of it all was that she knew it would eventually lead to something she would regret.

When the shows in Makuhari finished, Yuzuru tried again and Chiara couldn't help but sigh.

Those two had to figure their shit out, hopefully, sooner rather than later. If things were to keep going like they were now, she had this feeling that it wouldn't end well.

Maya just asked Chiara to stop him from entering the apartment and the Italian had no idea what to do.

"Chiara, help me out on this...If I can't talk with her."

"I've tried, Yuzuru, I really have, but she seems impossible to convince."

"I just wish she would tell me what was wrong so I could somehow fix this."

"I wish I knew it too... I've tried but she's a completely closed door."

"She won't even talk to you?"

"Nothing. She just says that she needs to think by herself and locks the door."

"Maya needs someone, this isn't normal."

"I know, Yuzuru. But I can't let you in when she begged me not to."

He was the one sighing now. It seemed like he was about to go back to the usual texts that she never answered back. Begging her to at least say something.

Taking a pass from his bag, he handed it to Chiara.

"We're going to Sendai next. This is a backstage pass. Please tell her to come."

"I will try. I can promise you that."

"It's all I ask. Thank you."

🎚️

None of them would ever be able to understand the reasoning behind Maya's choice.

The truth was far darker than anything any of them could expect.

Sure enough, she had been a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing with work and her relationship with Yuzu, but that was far from the reason behind her choice not to talk with him.

Hidden on her bedside table was the letter she had received a few weeks prior.

It was strange from the beginning, the unknown sender, the lack of stamp or anything that would indicate being sent by mail...  The letter had just been placed under her apartment door with her name written by hand.

Maya wanted to ignore it at first, but curiosity was killing her so eventually, she had to open it.

Inside, she found two pages worth of text. Whoever had written it knew details that not even Chiara was aware of, details that she rarely shared. It was a complete description of who she was, followed by the same thing with Yuzuru.

In the end, a cryptic yet terrifying message had been written.

End it or we will kill him.

For a while, she considered that this was someone playing some very stupid tricks on her but in the following days, other letters started showing up, each one with details that they had both shared with one another in private, things that she hadn't even shared with her own mom.

The ultimate thing was photos of Yuzuru. They looked recent, as he left the rink and detailed with date and hour.

We know his every step. If you want him alive, end the relationship. If you tell anyone, he will suffer the consequences.

Maya was scared to death and took those letters to the police who just deemed like this was some random scheme that she found to meet Yuzuru in person. Maya was trying to tell them that she was his fiancée but they just laughed in her face and sent her home.

As much as she wanted to tell Yuzuru and Chiara, Maya was just so scared about what they would do that she figured that the best way to protect him was to cave in on the threats.

Someone with these pieces of information had to be watching them from way too close. Not only was it creepy but she started imagining all sorts of scenarios that could happen.

The last threat had been the one that came up a few days before he came to Tokyo.

Recognize this?

It was a picture of Yuzuru sleeping in his bedroom, in the condo. Maya had never panicked more than when she saw such an intimate picture, even if the quality looked very grainy.

You have until the Sendai shows. Make sure he knows it's over.

Maya cried herself to sleep that night but she knew what she had to do.

His safety was bigger than any feelings she had and if letting him go was what these people wanted, then that would be what she would do.