This is the story of Ayame, a young artistic gymnast who, due to a stroke of fate, can no longer practise her sport. In search of a new purpose in life, she comes to Sendai from her home town of Sapporo by chance to work in the house of a famous fig...
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Yuzuru had taken her into his private rooms. Of course, she had often entered his bedroom and study to clean or make the bed. But always only briefly and as efficiently as possible. She didn't want to disturb his privacy unnecessarily.
"You should be allowed to use my bathroom," he said now, theatrically describing a wide circle with his arm. "Here you go, the bedchamber. And right here..." he pushed open the sliding door, "the stately bathroom! The shower is yours!" he described in a slightly exaggerated manner. Ayame laughed.
They had gone upstairs immediately after recovering from their wild ride. A shower was desperately needed now, and not just because it was still a hot summer's day outside and they had been in the lake with their legs...
"We should have swum in the lake today," Ayame suddenly said. We should go back there once!"
"I think that's only allowed at the campsite on the other side of the lake...", Yuzuru pondered. "But, I know a few natural bathing spots in other places not too far from Sendai! We used to go there often as a family, it was a lot of fun."
He seemed so happy. While Ayame undressed and immediately put the clothes in the laundry basket, he watched her.
"You really are very beautiful, Ayame!" he said.
She turned to him and he looked at her with a smile. For the first time, he realized now, she was just standing there naked in front of him. His gaze suddenly lingered sadly on her left leg and the three unsightly scars. She noticed it.
"From the operation?" he asked.
"Yes. They're... ugly. But I'm glad I can walk and run normally again."
"They're a part of you and your story. Ugly or not, it doesn't matter at all."
Yuzuru took off his clothes and sat down on a stool. He pointed to his right ankle. "There... I have one too. And there... the second one," he pointed to his left foot. "And here... three," he tapped at his right eyebrow, „... and the fourth, here," a barely visible incision on his stomach. "I won!"
Ayame giggled. "You always have to be first!"
"Of course!", Yuzuru stood up. "I'm a champion!"
They laughed together.
"Come on, let's take a shower - I want to wash your scars, champion!" said Ayame, grinning.
And she finally did.
***
After dinner, they didn't stay up too much longer, as the tiredness after the eventful day and last night's lack of sleep was beginning to make itself felt. Yuzuru had to be fit because he had his first officially booked ice time the next day. Four hours from 1 p.m. He wanted to get to the rink earlier to warm up so as not to waste his precious time.
"Will you come with me again?" he asked Ayame as they lay snuggled up together in his bed this time.
"If you want to. However, I have to finish the laundry in the morning. You know it's been left lying around... and why!" she pinched his chest a little.
"Hey, that hurt!" Yuzuru laughed. "It's not my fault that you're doing other things in the laundry room than washing clothes!"
"And it's not my fault that you misused the guest toilet for lewd acts!" Ayame countered glibly.
"Ouch, that did it! I'll keep my mouth shut."
"I certainly hope so," Ayame triumphed.
"One to zero for you. But, seriously, it'll all work out if we can manage not to get up too late..."
"Do you think we can do it?" Ayame audibly doubted, suspecting that the night would not be uneventful... Their physical attraction was just too strong...
"Well, we should at least try!" winked Yuzuru. "Let's sleep for now, then we'll see..."
Ayame just nodded and snuggled against Yuzuru's chest.
***
They both lay awake. The closeness was good for them, but their emotions prevented them from falling asleep.
Yuzuru felt happiness flowing through him. Not long ago he had been so lonely and hopeless, having had to take advice from his doctor about his neglected sex life. Now there was this special woman with whom he had been allowed to soar to all heights several times in the first 24 hours since they had found each other. He couldn't believe it...
But it wasn't just the sex! Oh no, there was so much more. He hadn't been wrong about her and his intuition had been right. From the very beginning, she had understood him more than anyone else in the world, including his mother, with whom he truly had a close relationship. But that was something completely different...
Today at the lake, he had seen for himself how much she could empathize with him. And he instinctively sensed that it wasn't just a matter of hormones, that he was almost putting Ayame on a pedestal! He sensed that it was something that only happened once in a lifetime. That you meet that one special person. And he knew that he never wanted to let her go.
Yuzuru sighed softly, happy and excited at the same time.
"What is it?" Ayame asked him quietly.
"You're not sleeping at all!" Yuzuru responded immediately.
"Neither are you... is something on your mind?"
"I was just thinking how lucky I am to have met you... because you know and understand me so well in such a short time. With you by my side... I suddenly feel like I can get out of this hole I've been stuck in for so long."
He fell silent and kissed her hair. She looked up at him, kissed his lips.
"And I came to you to take on a new challenge and to figure out my future. Now I may be in the arms of that future... and I'm very excited to explore new paths with you. I want to go on this journey of discovery with you, I want that more than anything!"
"I will try to fulfill this wish with all the strength I have in me. I promise you that, Aya!" Yuzuru kissed her gently.
