The Princess Of Ice

⋆˙⟡break⋆˙⟡

For a couple a weeks Y/n's mind had become a mess. She realized that one year was not that far away and the pressure was on. Everything she did from now on had to be perfect. Her stretch routines became more intense and her conditioning was insane. As soon as she came back from practice every day, she fell asleep instantly. Y/n was planning on training her body beyond the limit so she could have been an even more powerful figure skater. There were two possible outcomes for Y/n at this point, she would either become unstoppable or she's break down. 

When she was in class, she barely had any energy and caught herself dozing off in class a few time. Fighting the sleep was a different type of fighting and she eventually couldn't fight the sleep and knocked out in class. She was out for a only five minutes but then she felt someone poking her arm with a pencil and quickly sat up and turned to see who it was. 

Akaashi had woken her up before the teacher noticed her falling asleep. You good? He mouthed to her. Y/n just nodded and tried her hardest to pay attention to the lecture so she didn't fall asleep again. The first classes felt like an eternity, but when they were over, Y/n was so happy that she had time to rest. She put her head down on the desk and tried dozing off. 

"Maybe you should eat something so you have some energy" Akaashi suggested while giving Y/n some onigiri. "Thanks" Y/n bit a small piece. "How's figure skating?" he asked. "It's good, I've been training a lot so I'm ready for next winter" Y/n explained. "You look exhausted Y/n" Akaashi pointed out. "Maybe I'm a little exhausted" Y/n admitted. "You're gonna burn out" Akaashi said. "I'll be fine, I'll just tough it out for a couple of months and then I'll go on a break" Y/n reassured him. "How long are you gonna torture yourself like this?" Akaashi asked. 

"As long as it takes" Y/n replied. "No one would blame you if you need a break or even a hiatus" Akaashi explained. "That's what you think, the entire country is gonna be counting on me and I cannot disappoint" Y/n explained. "I think you'll do well regardless" Akaashi tried his hardest to support his friend. "That's what you think, have you seen Russian figure skaters?" Y/n asked. "Can't say that I have" he replied to her. "They're next level and if I want to have a fighting chance against them I have to train harder and harder every day" Y/n explained. "Okay, don't kill yourself for figure skating" Akaashi said before stepping out of the classroom to go see Bokuto and the rest of the volleyball team. 

 Y/n closed her eyes again and felt her how sore her muscles were from all the training. She was thinking of taking an ice bath when she got home to soothe the pain a bit. She didn't even want to think of the condition her feet must've been in. The blisters that she'd gotten over the past couple of days was insane but she ignored the pain. 

Once the school day was over, Y/n went straight to the rink for practice. She warmed up and stretched her body for longer periods of time and further than her body usually could've taken. "You look like a Stretch Armstrong" Coach Tomioka said to Y/n. "I need to have limbs of rubber" she replied bluntly. "You do have a point" Tomioka agreed with her. 

Y/n laced up her skates and got on the ice. Toyoko didn't even need to say anything, Y/n knew her routine and needed no reminders on how to do it. Y/n spun and did her leap, not getting enough power in her jump. "Bend your knees a little more" Toyoko suggested to Y/n. Y/n gained some speed and bent her knees more when she jumped and gained better air time and landed smoothly. 

After another long practice, Y/n was ready to go home and just sleep. The next day she had a competition and it was the first time she felt nervous. The night was unforgiving, not allowing her to get more than two hours of sleep. She woke up the next morning feeling groggy but still got out of bed and did her hair and makeup. She painted on a smile and got ready to leave. 

The rink was packed to see Y/n perform. She was in the locker room warming up and stretching. "How are we feeling?" Tomioka asked Y/n. "Fine" she curtly replied while falling into a split. Y/n pushed herself as far as she could've gone and felt something tear. She winced in pain for a second and tried to ignore it so she could perform. I don't have time for pain  she told herself.

Y/n took off her tracksuit revealing her emerald green dress. She laced up her skates and got onto the ice. Unbeknownst to her, her mother had invited Akaashi to see her perform. Y/n felt as if she was going to vomit as she was on the ice but tried to distract herself.

The music played, but it felt faster than when she practiced. It felt like she was chasing the music and it was out of reach, she still tried her hardest to hit every jump and spin, but it was difficult and her leg was hurting so much that she couldn't focus properly. Y/n attempted the jump that she had practiced the day before, it was powerful but she had lost her footing and she landed wrong. 

In that moment, Y/n's heart sank. She fell to the ice with a loud thud, not even noticing that her ankle had been injured. Her eyes welled up with tears and she couldn't get up from the ice. Tomioka and the medics ran onto the ice to aid Y/n, but nothing compared to the humiliation she felt. As the medics sat her up, she saw Akaashi sitting in the crowd. They held eye contact and he had a worried expression on his face.