Unforgettable | Yuzuru Hanyu

13. Training

The whole process of actually beginning the skating training was far more difficult than she could have ever anticipated.

It was very weird to explain how the DOMS seemed to settle after every practice, how every muscle ached, and how much the whole thing affected her day-to-day life.

Kana quickly found herself more exhausted than ever before and yes, all of her research suffered in the process.

There was no denying that it took her a while to adapt to the new schedule and responsibilities but when she eventually did, her body felt better than before.

All of the extra physical effort helped her sleep better and her mind seemed to be in a better condition after just a few weeks of training.

Being on the ice started to become her escape from reality, from the university, and from the struggles of not getting the desired results in her experiments... All the while improving her skating faster than she could have ever predicted.

It took exactly 2 weeks until she mastered each of the single jumps, even the axel, and each conquest brought an unexplainable joy that helped her mental health a great deal.

The whole process of reviving her skills seemed perfect. If anything, the only downside she could actively point out was the small disappointment in terms of her memory.

In a way, once she actually started it all, Kana expected some answers about her past, even if small. The only actual thing she learned in the process was how much she did enjoy this.

It was so easy to blame her stupid family for never telling her about this side of her life when she thought of it all but at the same time, it wasn't worth the effort to even consider them.

There wasn't a single indication of her memory being able to be revived, even if after the accident every doctor told her that there was a big chance she would remember eventually.

Now, 6 years later, the small hope she still had was completely gone after just a few weeks. So maybe now, even with all of those gone, she could just enjoy skating for the sport it was and the joy it brought her.

This wasn't her job or anything remotely close but rather something to enjoy outside of her already very busy life.

One thing was certain, her mood had been way better since she started and that was something she owed to the coaches, for all of their efforts, to her best friend, for actually taking her to the TCC, and to the current Olympic champion who seemed to be able to convince her to do this with just a few words.

Kana found herself thinking of him more often than she should.

The Japanese skater had long left Canada to spend some time in his home country. She hadn't even seen him since that day but for some kind of reason, she couldn't stop thinking about him and his effect on her.

She wanted him there, watching every step of her progress and maybe even giving her tips along the way but was that even plausible?

Thinking about it only made her realize how stupid she was being. This was someone who was probably way too busy to even remember about her, let alone even consider the possibility of spending his already scarce free time on this.

Why would he even think of her? She was just a random girl that happened to be on his skating rink.

Yet, part of her stupid fantasy seemed to become a reality when he came back from Japan way earlier than would be expected of him. At least that was what everyone said.

In the weeks that Kana spent at the TCC, finding some acquaintances had been easy and it did help to talk to other athletes who had been doing this for longer than her (at least that they remembered). One of the biggest topics of conversation in the club seemed to be Yuzuru.

Sure enough, he was the most awarded skater of the club and was bound to be talked about but he was also the most famous one, only encouraging gossip even more.

Kana learned things that she never expected to be interested in, from his eating habits to the girls he ignored and dated. Well, it seemed like the dating list was incredibly short and everyone like to tell her that he wasn't one to care for women at all.

Why she was even interested in the topic seemed to be a bigger mystery but it was uncontrollable on her part.

So when he came back early, the gossip managed to increase even further.

Everyone wanted to know the reasoning behind it all. The rumor was that this particular skater would do anything for some extra time at home, even if it meant recovering away from his team but it seemed like he had suddenly decided that Canada was a more viable option.

Kana couldn't, for the living life of hers, stop thinking about it. She couldn't even begin to understand the implications but what was even weirder was that on that very first day he returned in all of his glory, the superstar skater got on the ice with a big grin and headed straight in her direction.

To say that she got as red as a beetle in the matter of seconds was an understatement. Kana completely lost her ability to speak in his presence while he seemed oddly comfortable and happy as he spoke to her for the first time since her first day at the club. This time he didn't even bother with English, jumping straight to Japanese.

"Mizaki-san, I'm very happy to see you here."