Yuri in Quarantine

Chapter 5

Yuri arrived in Hasetsu feeling a little lonely. He was so far away from St. Petersburg with its bustling streets and nightlife. Only the beach with the seagulls soaring overhead looked remotely similar. Nevertheless, he was back in his hometown. Everything looked the same as he had left it six months ago, but the streets were quieter somehow. Minako didn't pick him up at the airport, which he found odd too. He took the bullet train instead and then walked to his home at the inn. The hot springs were virtually empty and he walked past the gate, not a customer in sight. What's going on? He knew the virus was bad, but the emptiness he saw and felt created an odd tension within him. He pulled his mask a little tighter over his face.

"Yuri? Welcome home!" his sister, Mari chimed. "Come on in, I've been trying to restrain Minako all day". She headed back inside.

Yuri hauled his suitcase into the porch and took off his shoes. He remembered the feeling of taking off his skates and looking forward to seeing Viktor's sweet smile every day on the rink. He sighed, this was going to be tougher than he thought.

"Yuri!" Minako called from the living room. "I'm so glad to see you! Everyone has been worried sick about you."

"Worried about me?" Yuri questioned. "I think you've got the wrong person, Minako. Shouldn't you be more worried about my mom? I heard that she's sick." This was the moment Yuri was most afraid of, how was she? Did she catch the virus?

"It's just a cold, mom's fine," Mari said nonchalantly. "She's in her room, sleeping it off. It's nothing to worry about".

"Nothing to worry about..." Yuri paused. "You told me on the phone that everyone was concerned and that I should come home! What was that about? Are you kidding me?!"

"I never said you should come home, we were more concerned about you in that big city, honestly" Mari responded.

"I would've been fine! But instead, I had to leave Viktor in Russia all by himself. How could you?!" He had never been so furious in his life. He needed to book a flight back to St. Petersburg right away. He refused to be apart from his love for another second.

"Yuri, wait," Minako said placing a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged her off. "Look, I know this is tough for you to hear, but you have a pretty poor constitution yourself...something you probably inherited from your mother. We just didn't want you to be away from your family right now. We assumed Viktor would come back with you." Minako sounded so serious compared to her usual optimistic self. It caught him off-guard.

"Well, he's not here with me," Yuri said, grabbing his shoes and backpack.

"Yuri, just wait a second!" Mari called.

He ignored her and ran out the door. He had to get to the rink before it closed. Tears streaming down his face, he pushed forwards, past the moonlit beach. He couldn't believe this. He was torn apart from Viktor from a stupid and superficial reason. His mother was fine after all, but still, they could have just told him that in the first place!

Tired and frustrated he reached the rink, but the door was locked.

OPENING HOURS REDUCED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS. MON. – FRI. 9am - 3pm

This day couldn't get any worse, he groaned. His face was hot with anger.

"Yuri?" a voice called from around the corner. A familiar figure emerged in the streetlight. She looked tired and solemn. "I heard you'd be home around this time".

"Yuuko, what's the meaning of all this?" Yuri demanded.

"It's the virus, the Japanese government declared that all "non-essential" facilities be closed to contain the spread. Of course, if you want to skate you can, Yuri. I'll let you in just this once since it'll only be the two of us." She looked tired from waiting all this time for his return, but Yuri knew he absolutely had to skate. He needed to relieve some of the tension he was feeling before he returned home.

He nodded and the two of them entered the building. He laced up his skates and quickly headed onto the ice. He felt as though he was back in St. Petersburg...back with Viktor. He skated their routine, "Stammi Vicino". It felt different without his love there, but he made it work. He felt Viktor's presence in every breath as he moved to the music.

Yuuko caught his performance on video and prepared to send it to Viktor. Yuri's skating was so beautiful! Maybe she could convince Viktor to leave Russia and come back to be with him. She was about to call him when she suddenly felt overcome with a strange heat. Her vision went blurry and she could feel herself blacking out. All she could hear was Yuri calling out to her and the sound of his skates racing across the ice.

"Yuuko!" Yuri called after seeing her collapse on the sidelines. He rushed over to see her on the ground. She was burning up, the dark circles under her eyes suddenly looked far worse to him. Could it be that she had the virus?

He called an ambulance and Takeshi, her husband, worried that she hit her head when she fell.

Once the paramedics came, Takeshi spoke to Yuri privately. "She hasn't been feeling well all day. I told her not to meet you, but she insisted" his voice wavered. "We'll take it from here, but you should really go home and look after yourself," he said. Then he headed onto the ambulance with Yuuko and they drove away.

The full brunt of what was actually happening hit Yuri hard. He couldn't go back to Russia now. What if Viktor caught it too? He'd never forgive himself. This was supposed to be their big comeback on the ice. They'd just have to communicate via cellphone for now.

As Yuri walked home, he felt completely worn out after his long day. He missed Viktor so much it ached. He'd call him once he got back to the inn. He pulled his mask a little tighter on his face as he continued home, wondering what tomorrow would bring.