Foreign Ground (Yuzuru Hanyu)

1. What Is She Even Doing Here

"So um... How does this work?" The shorter girl asked.

"What?"

"Figure skating, how do they judge, just, like what they like the most?"

"No, no... It's all very technical, it's not supposed to be subjective... Well it is a bit, but it's designed not to be. It's complicated, you'll see." The dark haired friend shook her head, swaying her loud earrings around.

"Alright...?" The clueless friend was still clueless to figure skating. What was she even doing at The World Championships, she wondered herself.

"So this is a rehearsal?" She questioned the same girl.

"No silly, it's a practice. This is a sport. Well, it's also art, but don't worry about that."

"I'm so confused." The fair girl announced as they took their seats at the official men's practice.

"Just enjoy it, trust me, you'll be able to see who's the best."

"And who is the best?"

"What do you mean?" The knowledgeable one frowned.

"Who are we routing for? Who's the favorite?"

"Oh.." She giggled, "Well, let me tell you a little story: Since we're in Japan, the crowd's favorite is definitely the Olympic champion, Yuzuru Hanyu, BUT, our favorite is Nathan Chen, trust me."

"Chen? Chinese?"

"No, American."

"Oh, we're being patriotic?"

"Of course, we support our country men."

"Okay, you'll have to tell me which one is he."

"I will, but trust me, once you see those curls you won't need any more reminders."

Lilis nodded to herself, remembering that the favorite had curly hair. Curiously she searched the crowd, wondering if there was someone else as uninformed as her here. Probably not, she figured, they all seemed like experts.

"If this is just a practice, how come the is rink full and why was it so damn hard to get in?" Lilis remembered to ask.

Clara responded, not taking her eyes off the ice, "It's Hanyu, they're obsessed."

"The Olympic champion?"

"Well, double."

"He must be good."

"He is."

"You sound unimpressed."

"I'm not... He really is good... It's just... He's too unreliable. When he's on, he's truly unearthly... But he's often not, plus he's jumps are messy, and he's always dying after his programs... I don't know."

The intruder scanned the mostly female crowd with judgement, thinking about the not so great fan favorite.

"He's great..... I just don't like him that much, he's too Japanese and too old. Nathan is adorable, you'll see."

"Whatever you say." Lilis shrugged, feeling irreverent.

"Plus, I find the glorification of him a bit strange. The guy is like a Hollywood actor... It's creepy."

Suddenly, the rink collectively gasped, and the blades cut the ice.