Deep Edges | Yuzuru Hanyu

23.

Yuzuru just couldn't avoid how her words instantly hurt him.

There were a lot of things that you could say in that time but he just allowed his heart to lead and that ended up leading to him snapping.

He just decided there and then that leaving that place was the best choice he could make.

If he was a distraction, then he should leave.

Yuzu left that ice quicker than ever and ignored the look that his old coach threw at him right away.

"Everything ok?" the old man asked while looking unimpressed at the little scene he had been watching for the last few minutes.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Sure. I will be leaving tomorrow by the way."

Tsuzuki-sensei moved right away, walking slowly to the back of the bench Yuzuru had been sitting on and patting the back of his neck in reprimand.

"What are you talking about?"

"Auch" the skater complained when he felt the hit on his skin. "Just, you know... I don't want to be a distraction."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Just ask her."

Yuzuru would usually not act like this at any time, but right then, he was feeling hurt by her words and everything he said was just a consequence of his anger.

The old coach tried to reason with him but the skater was just too fast, leaving with his things faster than Tsuzuki-sensei could try for an explanation.

🩵

Izumi knew that her coach had seen it all and she knew that he had spoken to Yuzuru after.

It was undeniable that his deep stare noted every reaction that left her, trying to gather exactly what had happened merely from her body language.

The truth was that even if she didn't know the Olympic champion that well, Izumi had never seen him like that. She had never seen him completely lose his patience and just leave like he had just done.

In fact, she had no idea what he meant with "I will be gone tomorrow." Did he mean he would change schedules? There was still a month left after all.

It was only when she left the rink that Tsuzuki-sensei finally spoke.

"Do you want to tell me why Yuzuru says he will be leaving tomorrow?"

She couldn't possibly hide her shock. Izumi had expected him to disappear but she also expected him to stay at the rink, even if just at a different time as initially expected.

"Leaving?"

"Yes."

"I..."

"You didn't know?"

"I just figured he would change schedules."

"What the hell happened?"

"I might have insinuated that he was distracting me... Yuzuru took it the wrong way."

Izumi instantly saw the disappointed look on her coach's face. It seemed like he hadn't been mad before but didn't like a single thing that she had just told him.

"Izumi..."

She knew it right then, Izumi had to find a way to convince him to stay. She had to talk with the skater even if it would be uncomfortable and awkward.

"Do you know where he's staying?" she quickly asked Tsuzuki-sensei, more than aware that the old man knew everything.

"Maybe...Why?"

"I need to talk to him."

The coach seemed to take some time to consider everything. It was clear that he was fully aware of the heavy ambience between them but part of him almost felt as if he wasn't partly to blame for that. He knew that he had made his student a bit wary with that conversation they had after the short.

Truth be told, the only reason why that conversation even happened in the first place was because he had seen Yuzuru's eyes on Izumi. He knew his student fairly well after so many years and he didn't remember seeing him that utterly captivated by anything other than skating.

So maybe he wanted the Olympic champion to finally have something other than the ice but at the same time, pressure never seemed to work in these situations.

Whenever Yuzuru was concerned, it seemed like allowing things to happen was the absolute best choice that he could make.

When he muttered the name of the hotel that Yuzuru was staying at, he didn't expect Izumi to run so fast to the door, only stopping her with a audible scream of her name.

"Izumi, you need the number as well!"

He proceeded to tell the number to the girl from the distance. The truth was, there was no way that she would be able to find it at the reception. Not when Yuzuru was always so cautious about his privacy.

Izumi had never run faster to catch an Uber like on that day.

All she had with her was her wallet and skating equipment but the truth was that she couldn't possibly risk the possibility of Yuzuru leaving before she could have a decent conversation about it.

She found herself worried, not really sure about what she could say to the older skater without making him even more mad. The thing was that she barely understood what he had meant with their conversation. Yuzuru was more than aware that he was not like every other guy that walked into the street.

The thing that fazed her, however, was how she was gradually understanding her clear avoidance of the small things that led to this very moment. Because yes, she felt that current when she was near him, that little spark that makes you all excited about something.

Yuzuru was an easy distraction for most but still, there was no denying that she felt different towards him than she ever felt with anyone else.

So as she took the elevator to the floor of the room that Tsuzuki-sensei had so nicely helped her with, Izumi's body was shaking in anticipation due to the uncertainty that filled the situation.

What she could never expect was how the opening of the door would be more than enough to distract her from the true purpose of that meeting.

Because right in front of her eyes was the man in the flesh, looking as ordinary as ever and yet, hotter than she had ever seen him. He was wearing the exact same clothes that he had on the rink but the one key difference was how his hair was all over the place. Almost as if he had run over it several times in frustration.

Izumi gathered all of her courage and finally said what she had planned on doing when he first opened.

"Can we talk?"