Deep Edges | Yuzuru Hanyu

55.

As fun as their little reunion was, there was a very suspicious man just a few rooms away.

Izumi barely realized the time go by when they finally dropped the matter of Akito and started talking about her skate.

It felt good to be able to speak with someone who understood the sport as well as she did as they debated how the Short Program had gone.

Having a light conversation like that was what she strived to have often, next to people that she could trust and love.

Everything that is good does have to end eventually.

When they heard aggressive knocking on Nanami's hotel door, Izumi's eyes went straight to Yuzuru in panic. He instantly gestured for her to be silent, whispering words of reassurance in her ear.

"I will hide in the bathroom and everything will be fine. I'm not here, you're just discussing things with your coach like any athlete would, ok?"

Izumi nodded and Yuzuru silently gestured for Nanami to get the door as the knocking got more insistent.

When she did, it didn't surprise anyone that Akito was at the other side of the door. 

"Yes?" Nanami asked immediately, not even bothering to hide that she didn't like the guy a single bit.

"It's getting late, Izumi should go back to her room."

"She will as soon as we're done."

Akito tried to get inside the room, only to be stopped by Nanami once again. "I didn't tell you to come in either."

"But..."

"I'm sure you can wait in your own room. Izumi will be back as soon as possible."

"This isn't fair."

"I already told you to go back to Japan if you don't agree with my methods. When the competition is over, Izumi is free to do what she wants but until then, we still have work to do."

Izumi watched the man retreat like a lost puppy and realized that she wanted that strength and confidence to be able to speak up like Nanami did. The woman couldn't care less about what anyone said, she just went for it.

As soon as the door closed, the woman turned to the skater.

"10 minutes and you will leave this room and go to that man, if he even dares to touch you in a way that you don't want to, you will come back here and I don't give a shit about who he is or how much power his family has, I will personally remove him from the hotel."

She gulped in reaction, but still nodded, just when Yuzu was leaving the bathroom.

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah... I need to go back before he does something crazy."

"I hate this."

"It's ok."

"Just... promise me you will be safe."

"Of course I will be."

Yuzuru hugged her again, his embrace tight and clearly despaired. He wanted to keep her within arms reach, he wanted to know she was safe at all times.

"Do you have Line on your phone?"

She nodded in confirmation. Like many Japanese people, she liked the app to chat with fellow Japanese skaters and a few friends from her school time.

"Yeah."

"Give me your phone." Izumi realized quickly that he was adding his contact information to the app. Despite their history, they had never exchanged contact information before. "Alright... if anything happens or if you need to talk without leaving the room, just text me, it doesn't matter the hour."

She would never text him in an inappropriate time but it was still nice to know that he would be there if needed.

"Thank you."

"I mean it."

"Okay" she answered with a smile.

They stared at one another as if they were saying a permanent goodbye when this wasn't a time for any of that. The time to cry and mop about their imminent separation would come after the gala but for now, he was still around and Izumi could still be close enough to his embrace.

The tension was evident but Izumi didn't stop him when one of his hands traced her lips in a gentle, adoring way. Yuzuru kissed her cheek eventually, close enough to her lips but never quite reaching there.

Even if she had made the decision to eventually part ways with Akito, she was still engaged to the man and Yuzuru didn't want to make her a cheater. It was bad enough that he kissed her before.

"Take care of yourself and stay safe"

"Always"

"Can you two stop acting as if you won't see each other again?" Nanami eventually intervened as soon as she got too tired of their sappiness.

With a chuckle, Yuzuru finally released his hold on her.

"Have a good night."

"You too. Thank you Nanami-sensei as well."

"Just doing my job as your coach."

"No, you do way more. I will forever be grateful to you."

Nanami wasn't one for a lot of warm and fuzzy moments so her eventual reaction was expected.

"Stop the nonsense and go."

"Alright... see you tomorrow."

🩵

Izumi walked the halls of the hotel in slow motions, wanting to delay the time of arrival to her own room as much as possible.

Even so, when she finally arrived, the skater took a deep breath before using her keycard to open the dreaded door.

Akito was in a similar position to the one she left him previously, playing on his phone as if it was the most interesting thing in the whole world.

She didn't mutter a single greeting, merely getting her pajamas and moving to the bathroom to change. Even in that, the change was obvious.

"You took a bit too long, don't you think?"

"Just a bit, but I expected it. I have to be on my top form for the Free Program."

"It's frustrating to me."

"How so?"

"Because I never know where you are or what you're doing."

Izumi immediately thought that none of those things should always be in his control but she refrained from saying it out loud.

"I told you where I was and what I was going to do."

"Yes, but how do I know it's the truth?"

She was now a bit pissed. If anything, this man had no single reason to doubt her when all she did was comply with his every request.

"By trusting me? Your future wife?"

"Hum. I guess."

"Is that all you wanted to say?" She eventually asked with some light hope that he would apologize for his behavior from before.

"Yup."

Another deep breath and she finally laid on the bed.

"Then I guess I'll just sleep."

"Whatever."