salmon_puffer
"I don't belong in a palace, Zanka. And neither do you. You look like a ghost in there. Come be a monster with me."
Zanka Nijiku is the "Ice Prince"-a porcelain masterpiece of Triple Axels and silent perfection, held together by the suffocating grip of his elite family. Jabber is the "Enforcer"-a 6'0" whirlwind of neon pink eyes, golden-ringed wicks, and a masochistic love for the bruise. One moves in graceful arcs; the other moves in straight lines and bone-deep collisions.
When Zanka finally snaps under the weight of the "Nijiku Standard," he doesn't just fall-he jumps. Straight into the chaotic, cigarette-stained world of the Grey District.
Living in a "Trash Palace" apartment littered with used guitars, broken dreams, and the heavy scent of wintergreen and rebellion, Zanka must learn that "perfection" is a cage, and "trash" might just be the only thing that's real. Between the 4:00 AM practices and the high-stakes world of underground grit, the friction between the skater and the enforcer begins to melt the ice.
What starts as a volatile rivalry transforms into something deeper-a raw, messy, and fiercely protective bond. In a world of cracked needles and gold medals, they'll have to decide if they're just two kids running away, or if they've finally found a place where they can truly be handled.