Skating on Thin Ice – Ichi (Beginnings)
Distinctive white headphones sitting above his orange hair, yet another familiar rock tune blaring in his ears, Ichigo headed up the stairs to the rink's entrance and tapped his access card. Following the familiar 'beep', he pushed on the handle then pulled, the cool blast of wind that gushed out a stark contrast to the summer heat. Entering, he allowed his eyes to adjust to the darker surroundings before walking through the corridor into the seating area, heading for his usual corner in the stands.
It was his usual routine during the summer. With his dad working from home – the clinic was just in front of their house, there was almost no opportunity for him to read in peace and quiet. While he did not mind helping out in the clinic occasionally for the experience, he still needed the relevant content knowledge and Ishida's snide reminders had not helped. It had not taken him long to discover that the rink was an ideal place to curl up and read before his twice optional weekly practices during the off-season. Though some people still trained during the summer, this was after all the Kuchiki private rink and it was more often than not, empty.
Today was different though. Before the next song came up on his iPod, the faint rhythm of an exotic melody reached his ears as he walked into the stands. Drawn by the tune, he pushed down his headphones; the next thing that caught his eye was the whirl of black and white on the ice. Mesmerised, he watched as the figure jumped, slid and spun on the ice, each element in time to the beat of the piece.
Rukia had insisted he learn about the various elements involved in figure skating, especially since he had volunteered, or more like had been bullied into writing the ice skating articles for "Seireitei Communication", the school magazine. After Shuuhei had taken over as chief editor, he had recruited some of the team members, Ichigo included, as correspondents for the magazine.
He had only been assigned the swimming, diving and skiing events initially. Rukia had however pressured him into covering the collegiate and other related figure skating events through a mixture of persuasion and threats. Since the collegiate figure skating championship was at the beginning of the school term, he had missed the one in his freshman year. Rukia had more than made up for that by making him watch enough videos on figure skating on Youtube in order to familiarise himself with the competition.
This however, only meant that he had a rather good idea of how difficult the routine he was seeing was. There was also something else in the routine that had caught his attention – if only for a moment, he had felt unbridled passion, and it made him more interested to know the skater's identity. 'He looks familiar though. Where have I seen him before?'
"Let's go back to the free skate." The voice that rang out brought him out from his reverie, so immersed in the performance had he been that he had not noticed the music stop. As the skater turned away from the control room, which was directly opposite where Ichigo was standing, his white mane gleamed under the rays of the warm afternoon sun and the orange haired sophomore immediately recognised him.
Brown eyes locked onto turquoise ones as time seemed to stop momentarily, before the skater turned again, nodding in the direction of the control room. Heading to his usual corner as a different tune rang out from the loudspeakers, Ichigo found himself staring blatantly at the white haired skater, his gaze refusing to pull away from the figure on ice.
'Where in the world did Toushirou learn to skate like that?' They had taken the same compulsory module the previous semester, one on entrepreneurship that was solely graded on group assignments. Thankfully, they had been allowed to choose their own groups and while he had grouped up with his senior high friends, two of his teammates – one with boyfriend in tow, had ended up with Toushirou and Rangiku. Considering their regular practice schedule and how often he hung out with his teammates, it was no surprise that he was acquainted with the two juniors.
Toushirou had already caught his eye back then, despite how little Ichigo knew about him. Knowing that he was a remarkable figure skater only added that fascination. Renji had egged him on then, after discovering his interest in the white haired junior.
"I have Byakuya already. It's time for you to get someone too," only to have been answered by a growl, "Stop rubbing it in, you moron." He had seriously considered it though, despite his doubts on approaching someone he knew so little about; Toushirou was quiet and intensely personal. Things had not worked out though, with the junior's constant disappearances.
Another more familiar voice rang out through the quiet rink, pulling him back to the present. Reluctantly, Ichigo replaced his headphones, only noticing then that the music had been playing all the while. Pulling out the textbook he had borrowed from the library earlier, he dragged his gaze from the figure on the ice, determined to get some reading done. Nevertheless, every time he looked up, it would be at the lone, white haired skater.
Finally getting into the mood for reading, Ichigo had been devouring pages on the human musculoskeletal system when he felt his headphones being tugged off. Turning, he was greeted by a grinning redhead. "Renji, return them."
"Heya strawberry, it's time for practice. What's Hitsugaya-sempai doing on the ice anyway?" Stretching slightly to grab his headphones, Ichigo turned to look at the white haired figure, who was now sitting along the first row, tugging off his skates.
"Dumbass, he was skating. What else did you think he could be doing?" "Moron, of course I know he was skating. What was he skating?" Before he could even decide whether to actually tell Renji about what he saw, Ichigo heard Shuuhei's even tones. "Coach Ise's here. Let's go get changed."
Nodding to the rest of his team of six, then the members of the reserve team in the locker room, he changed quickly, then headed onto the ice with his stick in one hand and puck in the other. Gathering around their assistant coach, he listened intently as her sharp voice rang out. "We'll warm up with a few rounds of passing. Forwards, we're working on your shooting today; defenders and goalkeepers, your passing."
Amidst some groans, she continued, propping her spectacles up with a finger. "Practice match in an hour. Coach Kyouraku's coming down with Kuchiki-sama to watch." Allowing a moment for her words to sink in, she then blew her whistle, signalling for practice to start.
The moment she was done, the chattering started. Tossing the puck on the ice, Ichigo nodded to Renji, before flicking his stick, sending it speeding towards the redhead. As they sped around the ice, the familiar 'swish' and 'thump' echoing round the rink, Ichigo caught sight of Toushirou out of the corner of his eye, sitting between Coach Ukitake and an unfamiliar woman.
"Ichigo." Turning a little too late, he saw the puck whizz past him. Before he could skate out to get it, he heard Renji call out, "I've got it. Here, Ichi." Seeing Renji's knowing smirk beneath his helmet, he narrowed his eyes and shot it back squarely in his direction.
A few moments later, the whistle blew again, signalling the changeover for their position based practice. It was not their turn to haul out the goalposts and as the reserve team headed back into the store room, the orange haired goalkeeper skated over to Renji and punched him squarely in the arm. "Asshole."
"Ichi's got a…" "Shut the hell up, Renji, unless you want me to tell Byakuya you know what." Ichigo hissed under his breath, the 'don't play around with this' expression more than evident in his gaze. He could not explain why he felt so uptight around Toushirou, even resorting to threats to ensure that the white haired junior did not know that he was the least bit interested in him.
'It's not cowardice.'
He knew it sounded like a lie, but he did not want to think about the matter any further. "Sorry Ren, I'll make it up to you later." Without another word, he skated off, headed for Coach Ukitake, 'and Toushirou', the latter a subconscious prompt from his mind.
Stopping in front of the two white haired skaters and the unfamiliar female, heads bent in discussion, Ichigo waited to be noticed. He did not have to wait long though, Ukitake happened to look up a moment later and smiled. "Kurosaki-kun, it's time for practice already?"
Nodding as Toushirou looked up at him, Ichigo struggled to find his voice. "Erm… Yep. I'm sorry to bother you, Ukitake-san." "Oh, not a problem."
Turning then to the unfamiliar short haired lady, Ukitake bowed and continued, "I apologise, Soi Fon. I'll be back later. Please do stay, since Kuchiki-san will be coming later. Oh, and Rukia will be coming in a bit, so you can run through her routine with her as well."
'Routine? Is she another figure skater coach?' "Kurosaki-kun, let's go." Leaving aside his thoughts for the moment, they made their way to the centre of the rink where the rest of the defenders and the other goalkeeper were.
Although Coach Kyouraku was the head coach, the team was supervised mainly by Coach Ise, who organised their practices and occasionally worked on their strategies. Coach Ukitake was actually a figure skating coach, but he was also Coach Kyouraku's good friend and helped out occasionally as their skating and passing instructor. Ichigo also knew that he was Rukia's coach and did not mind helping out since he was after all based in the area.
As Ukitake clapped his hands, Ichigo glanced at Chad and Kira and nodded as they headed out towards the far corner of the rink. Together with Shuuhei, Renji and Ikkaku, they made up the first team of the Shinou Shinigami, one of the most highly ranked collegiate ice hockey teams in the country, and the conference and NCAA defending champions.
The teamwork between the defensive backbone of every team was as important as the offense and Ichigo felt himself slowly warm up to the familiar passes and hand signals used by his teammates before Ukitake clapped his hands again and called for the next rotation.
It was very common for substitutions during the game, being fast paced and rough. That made it necessary for him to get used to the other members of the team – familiarity was an essential part of teamwork. Nodding to Iemura who swapped with Kira, they continued, until Ukitake clapped again and Chad swapped out for Enkougawa.
Coach Ise's shrill whistle sounded out again, capturing the attention of all the players. "Match in five." Taking off his helmet, Ichigo headed for the water cooler, eager for a drink of water, like most of his teammates.
Pondering what he could do next, he did not realise that Renji had come over until he felt an arm on his shoulders. "Sorry, Ren. I know I promised not to bring it up ever."
Sounding more sensible than he usually did, Renji countered, "I'm letting you off this time, but you are going to tell me exactly why the hell you did that later. For now though, we have a game to play. We're going to win this."
"Yep, we are." Grinning back at the redhead, they made their way back onto the ice after rehydrating themselves. Heading to a corner with the rest of their team, they briefly discussed strategies before the whistle blew once more.
"Abarai, your team takes that side, Kotsubaki, this side. We'll only be playing for one period and I expect a clean game." Grudgingly, the teams trooped off – one period was short. Someone had noted their coach and team sponsor's presence though and that made it unwise to bargain any further. When everything was ready, puck on the ice between the two team leaders as they faced-off, the whistle rang out again and the game began.
A quick glance before the whistle had told Ichigo that Toushirou was staying for some reason. Turning to face the front and catching Renji's cocky grin before their Captain turned to focus on the puck in front of him, Ichigo pushed all stray thoughts from his mind as the whistle sounded.
Renji led the attack after winning the puck, using an all-out offensive strategy that aimed to breach the opponent's defences as quickly as possible, leading to a forecheck with Shuuhei remaining behind as the centre. As the other team pulled back to their defensive line, Ichigo kept a close watch out for any interceptions from their opponents.
Seeing a pass from Renji to Ikkaku getting deflected by Sentarou towards Ashido, Ichigo looked up and noted Shuuhei's signal as he prepared for the counterattack. Controlling the puck with his stick skilfully, Ashido skated pass Shuuhei, only to be checked by Chad.
The puck sped from the Latino defender to Kira, then back to Shuuhei, who in turn sped past the incoming defenders and shot the puck past the defensive line. Less than a metre away, Renji caught the puck and made further headway into the defensive region, before being checked by both the defenders. As his pass to Ikkaku was intercepted yet again, the puck headed back towards Ichigo.
It was a close match between the two teams. They were more than familiar with each other's styles and any new strategy variations were quickly picked up by the opposing side. Neither side had scored yet though Renji had managed two shots on goal and Ikkaku one so far, halfway into the period. The goal that Ichigo was guarding had not even come close to being attacked yet, thanks to the combined efforts of Kira and Chad.
Not a minute later, the first attempt came. In a first successful counterattack by their opponents, Sentarou had brought the puck to their defensive line, Ryuusei and Ashido following closely behind him. Just slightly further back, Shuuhei had pulled back just a little too late, leaving only the two defenders to deal with the three incoming attackers.
As the puck passed between the three forwards, with Shuuhei now in the mix, there proved no advantage for either side. Keeping a close watch over the puck, Ichigo was immediately aware when Ashido had a clear shot. As the puck whizzed across the ice towards, the orange-haired goalkeeper immediately deflected it to the unguarded Shuuhei, who immediately sped off with it.
A quick pass to Renji and some deft passing between him and Ikkaku left them metres away from the goal. As Shuuhei moved in to block one defender, and Ikkaku the other, the redhead aimed and with a flick, sank the puck into the net. Coach Ise's whistle rang out to indicate the goal before the puck made its way back to the centre for the next face-off.
More passes followed and both sides picked up their game as shouts rang out on the ice. Sounds of "Back!" resounded as Ichigo's side found itself on the defensive once again, after a successful check. The decoy by Ryuusei did not work on Chad though and in another successful check, the taller defender intercepted the puck from the smaller forward, sending it speeding towards Ikkaku, who led yet another counterattack on the opposite goal.
As Renji and Ikkaku passed the defensive line, their challenge was met squarely by the defenders. Before they could actually get close enough to score, the whistle shrilled twice, indicating that the period and their practice were over. Cries of "Good game!" rang out between the players as they made their way to the bench.
A rare smile crossed their assistant coach's usually cool features as she noted calmly. "Considering it's still the pre-season, that was a good match. I expect all of you to work equally hard into the season and show the other teams that the defending champions are not be trifled with. You're dismissed."
Taking off his helmet, Ichigo noticed Rukia sitting next to Toushirou with Coach Ukitake and the lady, and headed over to see what was up. "Hey, Rukia. What's up?"
Smiling, the black haired sophomore replied, "Oh, nii-sama wants to see our routines today."
"I'll head off to change and shower then. Give me a few minutes. I need some stuff to work with before the championships."
"I'm expecting something better as good as your other articles. Saying that it's your first article on figure skating is not an excuse. Don't keep nii-sama waiting," a hint of a threat in her voice as she answered.
Waving, Ichigo headed off to the locker room immediately, getting out of his uniform quickly before jumping into the showers. Drying up and pulling on his shirt and jeans after the quick shower, he hollered, "I'll catch you guys outside," before heading back into the stands.
Hearing the piece used for the white haired junior playing on the sound system, Ichigo slipped into the seat next to Rukia and whispered, "So, who's the lady? How long have you known about Toushirou skating anyway?"
"For one, she's not the lady; she's Coach Soi Fon, our routine choreographer and part time coach. As for Hitsugaya-sempai," Rukia smirked before continuing, "I've been persuading him to join us since last semester at nii-sama's insistence. He finally agreed before the deadline for the submission of this season's plans and he's been training ever since."
Glancing at the figure on ice clad in black and white, Ichigo attempted to process the information slowly in his mind. 'When the hell did she know he was a skater?' Before he even got past the part on Rukia persuading the skater to join the small skating club under Byakuya that was affiliated with the prestigious Skating Club of Boston, the black haired skater had continued. "You should go google him for more information. You'd be surprised. Anyway, you do need a copy of our routines right? I'm off."
Numbly taking the sheaf of papers from Rukia, Ichigo sat, overwhelmed at the information, as the exotic piece he had heard earlier headed to its climax. Rukia had headed out onto the ice to warm up before her routine and soon after, Toushirou returned to the benches, still wearing a determined expression on his face.
Not knowing what exactly to say in the light of Rukia's words, Ichigo sat silently, taking in Rukia's short programme, subconsciously noting that it was an improvement over the video of her previous year's that she had made him watch. It was only when she started her free skate that he managed to actually look at the routines in his hand and evaluate how well she was doing compared to what had been planned.
It was over quickly though and by the time she had got off the ice, Renji and the rest of his team had joined him on the benches. "Ichi, the usual for dinner?" Renji's voice cut through his thoughts and he nodded. "Rukia, join us for dinner? You too, Hitsugaya-sempai?"
Thankful that Renji was doing the asking, Ichigo was surprised when Toushirou agreed to join them, asking if it was fine that he asked Rangiku along since he was supposed to meet her anyway. Without any objection, the skater called the busty blonde and that was how Ichigo found himself dragged away for dinner with the rest of his teammates.
Dinner was as usual, a noisy affair, with Yumichika, Ikkaku's boyfriend, joining them as well. As they chatted and caught up with each other over what they had done over the summer vacation, Ichigo felt himself going along with the crowd even though he did not exactly feel up to it.
He was more bothered with his reactions towards the white haired junior and Rukia's words and found himself sneaking sideway glances at Toushirou occasionally. Pleading tiredness, Ichigo had excused himself from the after-drinks session and headed home instead, hoping to figure out what exactly was bothering him.
Pulling out his laptop, the orange haired teenager opened a tab for Google and typed in 'Toushirou Hitsugaya'. In several seconds, the results page popped up with several thousand results. Browsing through the page, he was surprised by an article entitled 'National Junior Skating Champion pulls out of World Junior Championship citing family bereavement'.
Opening the window, brown eyes glanced quickly through the article and what he read only resulted in more questions instead of answering those he had after hearing Rukia's words. "As quickly as he emerged on the scene, stunning watchers by capturing his first ever Junior Nationals, Toushirou Hitsugaya, coached by Sousuke Aizen, pulled out of the World Junior Championships in a shock move today, citing family bereavement. It has been reported that his adopted sister, Momo Hinamori, passed away in a suicide attempt several days ago…"
Another subsequent article had this to say. "Current National Junior Champion, Toushirou Hitsugaya, has cited personal reasons for a break up with his coach, Sousuke Aizen, and a premature retirement from the skating scene. Another coach, who refused to be named, said that the suicide of his adopted sister, who had been an up-and-coming skater under the same coach, played a large part in his decision."
Staring blankly at the screen, Ichigo buried his head in his hands. It was as though he had opened Pandora's Box and was eagerly prying into someone else's personal life. 'Then again, I do need to know some of these in order to write. Rukia, why the hell this now?'
More confused than ever over his emotions, Ichigo turned off his laptop and headed to bed, hoping that a night of restful sleep would offer more clarity of thought the next day. However, bothered as he was, sleep was long in coming for the orange haired teen.
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