Destined

Uneasiness

Yuzuru's POV

Today in training, Coach is working on my hydroblading.

Although I don't require it in my current programmes, we might add it into the one for the next season, or maybe some exhibition programmes. Ina Bauers are getting boring.

I've done hydroblading before, but I haven't been working on it so it's not really good.

I bend down again, trying to lie parallel to the ice.

My balance topples as my body hits the ice, sliding.

Coach laughs at me again, asking me to give another try.

"Don't treat it like a Shoot The Duck. Lie sideways, not towards the front," he reminds.

I gain speed, and go into the position again, keeping in mind Coach's advice.

I glide around the rink, Nam whooping as I grin.

It takes me some effort to get up from the position but I do it nonetheless, and now at Nam.

Coach works on Javi's quad toe, and I shoot off, finding my adorable girlfriend curled up in the corner of the benches, wrapped in a big fluffy hoodie and reading, her feet dangling off the edge of the benches.

Pooh socks, I notice.

Memories of her finding the pair of pooh socks in my drawer resurface, followed by her claiming her ownership over my socks.

I can't help but laugh at myself whenever I think of the funny things we did together.

Having dinner together, making sushi, eating dollops of wasabi, playing a little bit of piano, calling each other at 2am.

Nakamura comes round the corner of the rink and prepares for a jump.

His triple axel was under rotated, and the landing was horribly wobbly.

He's been working on his triple axel for the past week, and we haven't talked.

More like, I've been avoiding him.

I decided not to interact with people like him.

It's not worth it.

I put on my guards and sneak up behind Koharu, hugging her from behind.

She drops her highlighter in shock, but turns around and pecks me on the cheek.

"Get a room," I hear Nam calling from the side of the rink.

He's been asking us to get room for the past month, I'm not sure what that means in Japanese.

Have more space?

Damn English.

"What did you do just now? That thing," Koharu asks, drawing a stick figure on her paper.

"That's called hydroblading, my dear Pooh," I proudly say.

"You look so handsome doing that. Keep working on that, okay?" She smiles, kissing my hand.

I give her shoulders a small pat, and peck her on the cheek before hurrying back to the ice.

Somehow, I feel like Nakamura is staring at me.

That Bakamura.

He looks away, and continues working on that funny triple axel of his.

I grumble and skate around preparing for hydroblading again.

Coach catches me and instructs me to practice the difficult entries into the triple axel.

I can feel Nakamura staring at me again. It gives me an uneasy feeling, but I shake it off.

I gain speed with crossovers, and do a back counter into a triple axel.

It feels really good, since I got the timing right, and I land, grinning at coach.

Nakamura is wiping off his sweat at the side, but he looks quite angry. I brush it off as well.

I don't skate for him.

I skate for myself.

I skate for my audience.

I skate for my Koharu.

The back counter prepares me for my jump and I launch myself in the air.

One, two, and--

I get thrown to the side, and I land sideways with a loud thump, another thump resounding when I slide and hit the walls.

Pain shoots through my hip, and I whack my fist against the ice in a failed attempt to bear the pain without crying out.

A low groan escapes me, and I clench my teeth, tears brimming in my eyes.

The rink seems to suddenly quieten down, the usual buzz stopping, and I hear people skating towards me.

"Oh my god, bro, are you okay?" Nam asks, and Coach tries to turn me around, but I wince and plead him to leave me alone.

I'll be okay as soon as the pain goes away.

I hear the other skaters helping the other person who collided into me.

A wave of fury passes through me, and I clench my fists.

"Yuzu, can you get up?" Coach asks.

The pain ebbs away, and it hurts, but it doesn't make me feel like screaming.

I glance angrily at that Nakamura, lying on the ice with Javi hovering over him. He's groaning in pain, clutching his arm, bleeding from a cut.

Nam supports me a little as I skate to the benches, rubbing my hip.

I sit down and Nam gets me some water, while I pull up my shirt, peering at the ugly red mark on my hip, starting to swell.

Koharu walks past, and I'm surprised, since she doesn't ask about my injury.

She approaches him instead.

One night while we were rambling about the sky, she told me that she would love to work in A&E to try it out someday.

She explained what triage was, and how they ranked people according to priorities.

But somehow, as I sat there, rubbing my sore hip, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

I thought being her boyfriend would move me up her triage list.