A/N: This is a little one-shot and a teaser to Spark, which will be the sequel to my story Home. If you haven't read Home, the basic premise of that one is that Viktor and Yuuri adopted two girls, Sonia and Clara. This is set shortly after the ending to Home, which had Sonia winning gold at the novice level at US Nationals and announcing her intention to move on to the Junior Grand Prix Series next year. Also, because Home was started before Kubo made her tweet about the world of YoI being free of homophobia (and before the actual engagement of Episode 10), the family lives in the U.S. This was done because at the time I thought it was the most logical move so that Viktor and Yuuri could get married, and by the time Kubo's tweet came around, I was three chapters in.
Home is more focused on Viktor, Yuuri and Yurio than it is on the girls, with the girls primarily being side characters so that I could explore the Viktuuri family. Spark will be more focused on the girls as actual characters, so if you're not willing to read an OC fic you might want to skip that one, although I still do plan on exploring Viktuuri as parents. For those of you who've sent me reviews and comments asking for more from the girls' point of view, Spark is the story for you.
(FFnet readers, if you don't want to miss the sequel, follow this story. I will post an update HERE when I get Spark uploaded, not on Home.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Yuri on Ice!
Hi readers! Hope you're all excited for the upcoming skating season! We know we are, and we bet Viktor Nikiforov and Yuri Katsuki are too. Between Russia's Yuri Plisetsky, Japan's Hana Yamano, and USA's newest junior skater Sonia Katsuki-Nikiforova, it looks like it's going to be a busy year for our favorite skating family. Today, we sat down with Clara Katsuki-Nikiforova, to talk about skating, embarrassing dads, and how it feels being part of a legacy. The transcript of that interview is below:
Hello!
Hi! It's nice to meet you.
It's nice to meet you too. Why don't you tell the readers a little about yourself?
Sure! My name's Clara Katsuki-Nikiforova. I'm eleven years old. I'm in fifth grade.
You've seen a lot of the world for a fifth grader.
(laughs) Yeah, a little bit.
What country's been your favorite so far?
Well, you're recording this, so I think I'm supposed to say Japan, right? Hi, Dad! Hi obaa-san [grandma], ojii-san [grandpa]! (waves at tape recorder). Ojii-san, I'm telling everyone to go to Yu-topia, don't worry! But I've also had a lot of fun in Paris. Papa's been teaching me French, although it's really hard.
How many languages do you speak, Clara?
I speak English, obviously, and Japanese although I have trouble reading it sometimes. And my Russian is okay but it could be better. I understand Spanish but I don't speak it very well.
Wow! Did you learn all those languages at home?
Some of them. I took lessons for Japanese, even though Dad helped me practice. Papa and Yura talk in Russian all the time, so I had to learn a little bit so I could eavesdrop on them.
(laughs) By Yura, you mean Yuri Plisetsky, don't you? Any interesting information you'd like to share?
Well, Yura told me not to give all his secrets to the press, so I won't tell you too many things. But it's not all about skating. Sometimes it's really boring things like 'Oh my god, Yurio, do your laundry!' or 'When was the last time you cleaned this basement? It smells like something died in here.'
So would you say Yuri Plisetsky is a bit of a slob off-ice?
Yeah, I'd say that. I think Yura works so hard at skating that when he's at home he just sort of doesn't want to do anything anymore. At skating, though, I'd say he's really hard working. I've never heard him complain.
Plisetsky's been in your parents' rink from the very beginning, right?
Yep! Yura was there before even me and Sonia. So he's sort of like our big brother. Even though Yura doesn't like to admit it sometimes, it feels like we're one big family.
What about your rink's newer member, Hana Yamano? Is she part of your family too?
Hana-nee [big sister Hana] is great! I think she's fit in really well, even though it's only been a year. Hana-nee doesn't live with us, but she comes over all the time and sometimes she babysits me and Sonia. She's really strict but also kind of fun? She also works very hard at skating, I think.
I can tell! For those readers unfamiliar, Yamano went from placing 8th and 11th at her Grand Prix Series events last year, to qualifying for the Grand Prix Final and placing 5th this year. Do you have a feel for how much of that improvement was because of your parents?
Um…well, obviously I'm not the person to ask if you want to talk about skating! But I think Hana-nee is pretty—uh—what's the word for it? She can do her own thing. I think she just needed to be somewhere else, you know, and have people who believe in her.
Self-sufficient?
Yes, that's it!
Okay, well, let's move away from skating for a second. Let's talk about your parents. What are Viktor Nikiforov and Yuri Katsuki like at home?
Like in general, or do you have any specific questions?
Who's stricter?
(laughs) Dad [Katsuki] definitely! Dad always makes the rules and the bedtimes. Papa [Nikiforov] goes along with it sometimes.
Only sometimes?
Only when Dad's looking.
So would you say Viktor Nikiforov is…what? Indulgent?
Well, if you're asking if he's spoiling us, I'm going to say no. Sometimes, he puts his foot down and that's like…really scary. Not because he's overly mean or anything, but—you know how it is when the nice person at the table stops being nice?
I can get the picture, yes.
It's like that! It's way more common to be in trouble with Dad but when I get in trouble with Papa I kind of know that I went too far.
You sound really experienced with this.
Yeah, well, I maybe get in trouble a lot…(giggle)
In public, Nikiforov seems like a fun, outgoing guy. Is he like that in private too?
He's definitely fun and outgoing in private. He likes to tell jokes—sometimes it's really embarrassing! I think the public has this image of him that's like, this cool, suave mad genius—but that's because they've never had to deal with Viktor Nikiforov making dad jokes and threatening to dance in front of all your friends.
(laughs) But Viktor Nikiforov is a great dancer!
Not the way he threatens to dance in front of my friends…I think he's trying to be embarrassing.
That's his job, isn't it?
Embarrassing your kids? Yeah, but it's worse because my friends come to my house expecting him to be like, this superstar, right? And sometimes he is, but sometimes…(grimaces)
(laughs), okay. So there's a lot of differences between Viktor in public and in private, huh?
Yeah, a lot. I think what a lot of people don't get is that Papa is actually a very private person. Like, yeah, he can be fun but sometimes he just needs time to himself, you know? We have this humongous bookstore in Portland—like really, really big, I think it breaks records or something. Sometimes he gets lost in there and Sonia and I have to go find him. It's like playing hide-and-seek.
What about Yuri Katsuki? Is he very different from how he is in public?
I think Dad's kind of the same. Kind of dorky, kind of sweet, kind of strict. I don't think Dad ever really learned how to keep those two things separate, you know?
Is it true that he does all of the cooking at home?
Oh definitely! Sometimes Yura will make something. But usually it's Dad. Papa cannot cook. At all. Ever. But Dad learned to cook from helping out at his parents' inn—Hi ojii-san! Everyone go to Yu-topia in Hasetsu, Kyushu, it's great!—so he's good at cooking. He also does the accounting and stuff because Papa's hopeless at that.
He sounds almost like a mom.
Yeah, but it's really annoying when people say that. Or ask me questions like 'Hey, Clara, which one is your mom?' Like I don't have one—that's the point?
Sorry.
No, it's fine! I wasn't talking about you, just in general. But if we're going to talk about who does 'mom' things, Dad is awful at hair and clothes advice! That's what you go to Papa for, because otherwise Sonia leaves the house looking like she got dressed in the dark.
So Sonia doesn't really care much about what she's wearing?
Nope. I love her, but Sonia lives on a different planet most of the time. So if Papa and I don't watch her, she'll leave the house with two different shoes on or something. And Dad will let her!
You mentioned dad jokes. Do you get more of those with two dads?
Ugh, yes. It's not so much that I get more of them, but the ones that I do get stick around for a while.
Do you have an example?
Sure! One year, we were in…I don't even remember—Moscow, I think? Anyway, we were supporting Yura, and a reporter was asking Papa about his coaching career. Papa mentioned something about Sonia's regional competition, which was coming up—I think Sonia was still in Intermediate at the time. Anyway, the reporter asked without thinking if Sonia's parents were alright with her being in Moscow with us instead of at home.
So before they realized what they said, Papa said 'Oh, hold on one second, let me ask them.' Then he walked off, stood in a corner for a bit, came back and said 'Yeah, they're fine with it!' Then at Nationals one year someone asked if they could use Sonia's picture on their website and he was like 'Hang on, let me ask her parents.' Then he walked off and waited to see how long it took them to realize.
Then he got Dad in on it and now their favorite trick to play is to complain that Sonia's beggaring the family with coaching fees and that all of their income goes straight to her coaches. Sonia just kind of sits there and looks at them in confusion until they walk away, but they think it's really funny.
So you don't think you're missing out, not having a mom?
I don't think so. I mean, if there's a question that Dad or Papa can't answer, there's always Auntie Mari or Auntie Yuuko or obaa-san. And I have a lot of friends with moms who are really helpful. Although I guess it makes Father's Day a little complicated (laugh).
Two presents?
Yeah, and you have to have exactly two! One year, I played a trick on them and only got one #1 Dad shirt. It was like the Second Russo-Japanese War in our kitchen.
Do you want to elaborate on that?
No. I don't think I will. I don't want to talk about my parents fighting to the press.
Fair enough. Do you mind if we talk about your sister for a moment? Do you think she's ready for the Junior Grand Prix Series?
I think Sonia is ready for anything! She's really talented and she works really hard.
You sound proud of her.
I'm very proud of her.
You never wanted to skate yourself?
No, I'm not that crazy (laughs). I like watching skating, but doing it is a lot of work. You have to really love it. And I don't love it that much, you know? I want to do other things with my time.
Like what?
I draw a lot. I also hang out with my friends. I ride my bike or take Latte [my poodle] on walks. I take a lot of after-school classes. It's kind of cool, because Papa and Dad are always busy with Sonia after school, so they kind of just let me learn whatever I want. I'm learning sewing now, and I think I want to make my own costumes. You know, for cosplay and that sort of stuff.
In a previous interview, your papa mentioned that you help keep the team together? Is that true?
Haha—well, he might be exaggerating a little. I just help Dad keep the schedule straight. Because when you have three skaters from three different countries who have interviews and costume-fittings and flights and competitions, it gets kind of crazy. And then there's all the people who want to talk to Papa or Dad and try to convince them to commentate or do ice shows or whatever—it's a lot of stuff.
He mentioned a notebook?
It's just a planner. I have a different colored pen for everyone. Papa is purple, Dad is blue, Yura is gold, Hana is red, Sonia is pink! I like schedules, so it's not that hard.
Is it difficult at all, living in a skating family without being a skater?
Um…no, I don't think it's difficult. I mean, it was like this when I moved in, right? It's not like I woke up one day and we were flying to Russia. When I was little, it was the Yura show, and then it became the Yura and Hana show, and now it's the Yura and Hana and Sonia show.
What about the Clara show?
I don't need a show. I'm happy watching everyone else's show.
Okay, well, I think that's all the time we have for questions. Before we go, can you help us settle a debate? Is your papa's name spelled V-i-k-t-o-r or V-i-c-t-o-r?
Neither. It's spelled В-и-к-т-о-р (ve-ee-ka-te-o-er).
(laughs) That's fair. Do you want to say anything else before we wrap this up?
I just want to tell everyone to keep cheering for Yura and Hana! And to remember to cheer for Sonia next year.
Thank you for speaking with us.
Thank you! This was fun!
For more information, see the following social media pages:
Viktor Nikiforov (Twitter: vnikiforov, Instagram: v-nikiforov)
Yuri Katsuki (Twitter: katsukiyuri, Instagram: katsuki-yuri)
Yuri Plisetsky (Twitter: yuriplisetsky, Instagram: yuri-plisetsky)
Hana Yamano (Twitter: hanayama, Instagram: hanayama_official)
Sonia Katsuki-Nikiforova (Twitter/Instagram: soniakatnik)
