Unforgettable | Yuzuru Hanyu

50. Surprise

It was hard to understand everything that was happening at that time.

Stella's presence, the overwhelming emotions of skating to those she loved and all of the little glimpses of memory that somehow chose that time to settle in her brain. The experience felt unreal, unlike anything she had gone through in the past.

Kana felt happy, of course, but having all of it happen at the same time could be overwhelming as well, even without the usual headaches tied to her glimpses of memory.

More than anything, seeing Stella raised more questions than it answered anything.

What was she doing there?

The woman saw everyone gather together, as if all of it was some sort of plan carefully orchestrated behind her back and before she knew it, Kana noticed some of the lights going off.

Once only the rink was in light, she couldn't even begin to explain or understand the confusion that was settling in her brain.

What the hell was going on? What is everyone doing?

She should've guessed that none of it was a coincidence. Kana shoul've known how her boyfriend was and how things rarely happened unplanned when he was around.
The feeling that he had been plotting something quickly came back and turning into his direction, it wasn't that hard to understand that she wasn't wrong.

Yuzuru had taken off his signature rain coat and exposed a costume that she barely realized to be there before, one that she recognized from the intensive research that she had done about him in the past and the little sneaks of memory that often settled in her mind.

Her Romeo.

Kana was certain that a lot of other women dreamed of having romantic moments like the one he was surely planning but she was always a bit nervous when they came.

Knowing Yuzuru, nothing could prepare her for whatever he had envisioned. This was a man that could turn her world with just a few sentences and it was only natural that she worried a bit with whatever he had in his mind.

"Can I skate for you?" he asked, slight tint of red on his cheeks, looking as adorable as he looked handsome.

One thing was certain, no one would ever deny to see him skate, especially not when he made so much effort to make it happen.

She was quick to nod in agreement, unsure about what to say or even do.

Yuzuru grabbed her hand and guided her to the border of the rink, before lifting her to a sitting position on top of it.

"Yuzu..."

Kana didn't know what she wanted to say or even ask him, but there seemed to be a need to get some answers before he started whatever he was planning for her.

"You might not remember, but this was the last program I skated for you and I wanted to bring it back."

2012, the year he went to Canada. Kana vaguely remembered their tradition with new programs. One of her dreams had depicted the image of both of them showing eachother new programs for each season before anyone else got a glimpse of them. In a way, she could see why he had chosen this one to show her on that night, even if she wasn't quite sure what the end game was.

Like every other time, watching him skating to any song was the most beautiful thing in the universe. Yuzuru had this way of commanding the audience and making it impossible to focus on anything else.

Somehow, on that night, he seemed even more intense than usual, showcasing every silent emotion and a passion for what he did that was beyond words. Kana barely remembered seeing this program live but the whole experience seemed to bring her back to the very first time she saw it, when they were both teens and he was getting ready to fully move into a foreign country, leaving her behind.

In a way, the tears that left her were almost predictable as all of the emotions filled her mind. It was all so intense that her brain was having trouble on deciding what to really feel. Most of all, the intense love that she shared with him from the very first day was as obvious as it had been when she met him after the accident. Nothing could hide their connection, not even the lost of memories.

As he finished, Kana made the mistake to look behind her and see everyone else in tears as well. Yuzuru's parents had somehow showed up in the middle of the whole thing and no one seemed to escape the intensity of the moment.

Turning to the man responsible for all of this, she found him headed her way, flowers in his hands and a gentle smile in his expression.

"What is this?" she ended up muttering, now completely lost on whatever his plan really was.

"I wanted everyone to be here today." he started, confusing her even further with each word that left his mouth.

"Yuzu... I really don't..."

"Shh... let me speak."

"Yeah, shut up, Kana." she heard from Stella in English right away, unsure of how the other woman even understood his Japanese and ignoring how everyone seemed to find the moment funny enough to giggle.

"I'm so lost." she ended up admitting with a smile that mirrored his own. He quickly got to work on explaining things to her.

"I know you're going to say that I'm overdramatic and all of that... Well, you're right. Seeing you slowly figuring out who you really are and tying every memory to your feelings was something magical. Today, and even if it's too predictable and maybe even cheesy, all I wanted was to show you how much I love you and how much you mean to all of the people present in this room.
For a while, a lot of us mourned your loss but at the same time, the memory of you always made us smile. You are a source of joy and happiness to all of us but forgive me when I make tonight about us as well."

Seeing Yuzuru cry wasn't that unusual, but the way he was looking at her with so much love hit her like a ton of bricks on that night. The whole thing was so emotional that she wasn't sure if her heart would survive.

"Yuzu..."

Interrupting him again, she was scolded right away by their spectators, making him laugh in return.

He handed her the flowers he was holding and grabbed one of her hands in the most gentlest of motions.

"I guess that what I mean to say is that if we somehow survived your accident and amnesia, there is no doubt in my mind that our love is enough to withstand a whole lifetime."

Maybe it was only then that she finally realized what was going on, what his plan really was and the true importance of that moment.

"Ohmygod" she uttered in English and interrupting him once again, against the dismay of everyone else in the room.

"This is the time where I ask a question that I should have done a long time ago... So... My Beautiful Kana, Will you marry me?"