Unforgettable | Yuzuru Hanyu

6. Olympics

Kana's following weeks were just as normal as any other.

From the moment that she fully accepted that this detail she found was yeat another thing to add to her extensive list of things she enjoyed, it was easy to just let it go and pretend like she didn't know.

It took just some hours of considering for her to arrive to the conclusion that no, she didn't really want to know anything more. Some things were best kept under wraps and without too much exploration.

You could bet that her best friend didn't find the situation funny in the slightest. Stella had gone her way, talked with a few people, and found a way for her to get a consultation with a figure skating coach who was available to evaluate her skills and let her know exactly how competitive she could have been in the past.

Well, Kana eventually refused it all. She didn't want to uncover anything that could make her sad now. What if she actually was decent and waiting this long made her lose all of that skill that she could have been putting to good use?

No, it was better that she didn't know. It was best to keep things as they were. Her life was fine, she was happy, why mess with it now?

One thing about Kana was that she was stubborn enough to move a mountain and if there was anyone who knew this, it was her best friend.

Stella did fight it in the beginning, trying to get her to budge and change her perspective slightly, attempting to get her to at least do the test but the reality was that it seemed completely impossible. Kana didn't want it and all she could do was accept it.

From that day forward, the topic was never mentioned again and even the attempts to get Kana on the ice failed miserably. The girl just didn't want to have that in her life and it wasn't as if she could do anything about it. It was what it was...

Above everything, she just didn't want to get even more confused.

Now you could be certain that the last thing she expected was to find herself glued to the screen once the Olympics came.

Well, it wasn't that straightforward. The truth was that Stella had dutifully placed herself in front of the couch and stole the remote after dinner, not allowing Kana to say anything about it. 

Accepting her fate, the Japanese girl just made sure to get some snacks and settle right by her friend's side as she watched what seemed to be the men's event.

"You're not giving me a chance to watch something else, are you?"

"It's the Olympics, Kana! I want to watch!"

In a way, Stella could have been watching it anywhere in the house but she had some hopes of convincing her best friend to stay by her side and maybe enjoy the time watching a sport that she was sure to have been trained on. It worked so well that she was proud of herself for being so smart. This was an amazing opportunity to get it to work out.

The reality was that it worked better than she could have ever anticipated. Kana was glued to the seat from the very beginning of the men's event.

"Get me some water, will you?" Kana asked Stella when she stood up to get something for herself.

"Oh? You don't want to move from the couch?"

"Just do it and don't bully me too much. I can see why you enjoy this."

Having timezones did mean that the event stretched throughout the evening for them but once you started watching, it was impossible to stop.

Even when Kana almost gave up on it, Stella quickly told her that the best athletes were always in the last group, which meant that you couldn't just stop watching in the middle if you wanted to see the very best.

So they were both glued to that couch, blankets covering their laps as they watched in deep focus.

"Hum, some of these athletes need to work on their technique." Stella found herself saying, not even bothering to pretend like Kana understood a single thing that left her mouth.

"Yeah, did you see that Lutz? The edge was all wrong."

As soon as those words left Kana, Stella was staring at her with wide eyes. She could do whatever she wanted, but it was impossible to fool her now. Kana might have not been able to remember a single thing of her past, but the inherent knowledge of certain topics was there. It explained how she got through college so easily and how she could now point out problems that only an avid skating fan or athlete would be able to.

"You can point out technique flaws despite not remembering that you used to skate..."

Kana's eyes quickly left the screen to look at her friend.

"We don't know it for sure."

"Maybe not... we could have but you didn't let me."

It wasn't that hard to figure out that her friend was still sensitive about this but she didn't blame her in the slightest. It was only normal to feel that way.

"I just don't want to open that side of my life. I think it would only bring more disappointment than happiness."

When Kana said that, Stella went completely silent. She didn't want to pressure her friend or even cause any discomfort to her. If this was her choice, she would have to respect it, even if her curiosity made her wish things were far different.

Just as they both settled into that agreement in silence, the last group began the warm-up. As each skater was introduced, Kana's eyes fixed on one of the skaters.

"From Japan, Yuzuru Hanyu."