Unforgettable | Yuzuru Hanyu

45. Trip

The flight to Japan was scheduled way too early but when it came to her boyfriend and his choices of travelling, Kana had quickly chosen not to interfere.

He warned her that things wouldn't be so easy in Japan and truthfully, she hadn't really understood what he meant until they were at the Toronto airport and he started putting on his "disguise."

Yuzuru had been very patient as he explained to her that even though fans were usually nice, he preferred to keep out of the public eye when he went anywhere.

The mere consideration that his privacy wasn't assured was a bit crazy to her but then again, she had never been to Japan where he was mostly recognized.

Not ever going to a competition of his probably didn't help either. She saw it all in video but it was far different to see it in person and understand the true implications of his fame and success.

Seeing his mom being so comfortable with it all purely showed her that this was way more common than she expected.

It was one thing to be back in Yuzu's life when he was in Canada but it was an entirely different story to actually be in his life when he was a public figure.

Somehow, until that moment in the airport, Kana had never really considered that side of things.

Hell, it was scary.

Still, all at the same time, it only made her love him even more. Knowing that he was so different from the usual public persona was all she needed to know.

This was truthfully her first trip since the accident. Kana didn't have a single recollection of being on a plane so the whole thing was as if experiencing everything for the first time.

By her side, the man wearing a mask, hat and glasses tried to help as much as he could by explaining everything she should expect and it helped more than she ever could've realized before.

Being on the air wasn't as scary as she imagined it to be. In fact, the trip was so long that about halfway through, she could easily forget that they were hovering somewhere over a sea or unknown land.

He kept her distracted with conversation and before she knew it, the time to land had arrived.

Kana wasn't too sure what his plans were once they actually reached their hometown. Her requests for them to actually plan the visit and somehow warn her grandparents were dismissed.

Yuzuru just kept telling her to calm down and that they would sort things out one at a time. She had to admit that this was something that bothered her slightly. Kana enjoyed stable planning and this was far from her usual way of doing things.
He was right in a way. Constantly overthinking things and planning out possible bad outcomes wasn't necessarily always positive.

Relaxing once she actually landed wasn't as hard as she had once expected. Turns out that she had once again underestimated her boyfriend and his ability to make her forget things.

Well, from the first moment they landed and she actually realized what it meant to be in his world, hiding in plain sight, Kana had more than enough things to worry about. It seemed like a lifetime went by before they were finally arriving at the Hanyu house.

Out of all the panic that she initially had about meeting Yumi, Kana hadn't considered that she could be meeting another Hanyu once they finally arrived. It was only when Yumi opened the door of their home and Kana saw the man on the living room table that reality finally kicked in.

"Oh god" she said in an almost inaudible gasp. It was still enough for Yuzu to hear it and chuckle in reaction.

"Kana-chan! I can't believe my eyes... they told me you were alive but it's still unreal to see you in the flesh."

Hearing this man talk to her with so much kindness hit her hard. She just wished to remember everything, all the people that used to be in her life and their implications towards building the woman that she was now.
When the older man came to her and hugged her almost as tightly as his wife had, Kana could understand just how important she had once been to this family and how much impact the accident had. It was jo easy to think of the consequences to herself that knowing that others suffered equally as much while she was clueless felt selfish on her part.

Kana couldn't change what had happened in the past but she certainly could change who she was now and how each situation went.
So maybe she had once overreacted about coming to Japan but now she truly felt like it was the right choice.

It was undeniable that seeing her grandparents wouldn't be so easy but all at the same time, the anticipation was killing her. If only time could go by just a bit faster...

Thinking of this while being stared by the whole Hanyu family was certainly a bit weird but the sense of belonging in a place was unlike anything she had felt in the past.

If only she could remember everything and all of these incredible people that she had once known as her family...
There was no turning back now, she was back home and ready to get part of her life back.

All she was missing was her grandparents.