I stared at the travel brochures in my hand of Kyushu, Japan. It was where I really wanted to go next. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration. I really want to go to Japan and out of all the locations, Kyushu is one of the cheapest places to get to, so I've set my heart on that.

I'm a writer who is currently unable to find the back bone for their novels and money is running low. I've got a couple of shorter pieces self-published on Amazon, but with how much of a cut they take and the fact my wok isn't all that well known, the royalties on all of my projects are really low. I'm currently trying to work on a couple of novels at once, I was never great at sticking to one project at a time, but as I've said already, I'm struggling to find the backbone that they need. As well as trying to be a novelist, I'm also a freelance writer who writes articles for journals, blogs and newspapers, but as I've said, I'm not well known, so my work source is all but dried up.

I've burnt out recently which is why I so desperately need a vacation. I picked up the vouchers for Kyushu again. 'I'd love to see Hasetsu Castle, but I need the money for the flight first.' I threw the brochures down on the table and ran a through my fringe, pushing it back atop my head.

My phone started ringing in my pocket and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Damien. I answered and flopped myself down on my coach. 'Yo, Damien. What's up?'

'Yo to you too, Autumn. I have a proposition for you.'

'And what would that happen to be?'

'Well, you know how you really want to go to Kyushu?'

'Well, Japan in general. I'd much rather go to Tokyo or Shibuya, but yeah, go on.'

I heard Damien sigh and I knew he was dragging a hand down his face. 'Beggars can't be choosers Autumn. Right, I'm gonna get right down to it. I have a contact who wants an article written and knowing you want to go to Japan, I volunteered you for it.'

'Okay.' I said, dragging the word out. 'That sounds fantastic, but you've volunteered me before I even know what the article's on. What's the catch?' There was a pause. 'Damien, tell me.'

'You just need to write an article on a Russian man by the name of Viktor Nikiforov. He's a professional ice skater, he's thinking about retiring soon, he's twenty-seven, and at the moment, he's residing in Kyushu, to coach a Japanese figure skater, by the name of Yuuri Katsuki.'

'Right.' Now it was my turn to do the face palming. 'You do understand that I don't know the first thing about ice skating? And if he's Russian, how do I communicate with him?'

'I believe he might be trilingual in Russian, Japanese and English. Maybe not completely fluent in all three, but you'll manage. You have English, and how long did you spend studying Japanese?'

'About eight years, but-'

Damien cut me off. 'See? There you go, you're set. All you need to do is to pack yourself a bag and get on the plane.'

'I haven't agreed yet.'

'Well, see, that's a problem, your flight is tomorrow.'

'Ehh?! You expect me to uproot everything by tomorrow?! I don't have any money! Damien, for fuck's sake! You can't keep throwing me in front of the truck every time you feel like it!'

'It's fine, it's fine. This is a big company, it's all expenses paid. Flight, transport, accommodation, the lot. I threw you under the bus because this is a big break for you and I know you deserve it.'

I knew this was Damien trying to talk himself out of a potentially sticky situation, but I knew that he meant well. Kinda. '…For fuck's sake. I get what you're saying, but still, it's a bit much.' I paused and got up and started to pace, not being able to sit still any longer. 'Right, but why're they pulling out all the stops for this guy? Either he's really, really special, or no one's been able to get much out of him.'

'It's a bit of both really. He is really special, but he's important too. He's the man that everyone's watching right now and no one has been able to dig past his charming exterior.'

'Charming?'

'Yeah, he's kind of a looker. It's difficult to admit it, but he's won over most of the female population, and that's the problem, he uses charisma to dodge all of the serious questions. They need someone grounded to interview him, someone stubborn, who'll get past the charming exterior.'

'So you suggested me?'

'Yup.'

'…Fine. I'll do it.'

'Really?!'

I'm gonna regret this. 'Send me my flight details and accommodation and anything you've got on both Viktor and Yuuri.'

'I know you're thinking that you're going to end up regretting this, but you won't. This is going to be your big break. I'll contact Viktor and arrange interview times.'

I was stunned. 'Doesn't he have a publicity representative or something?'

'His coach, Yakov, took care of all of the PR stuff, but then Viktor ditched him in Russia and went off on his own.'

I got off the phone with Damien and he sent me all of the details I needed. Info on Viktor, Yuuri and on my flight and accommodation. I watched the files come through on my inbox and I was kinda tempted to open them right then and there, but I held a hand out in front of my laptop to stop myself. I needed to go and speak to my parents, if I was just going to fuck off across the world like that.

I grabbed my bag and my bike and set off to cycle the three miles to my parents' house.

'Hello Autumn dearest,' my mother said as she ushered me in. 'What brings you here?'

I pulled her in for a hug, burying my face in her dark brown wavy hair that was so much like my own. 'Hey mum.' I pulled away and kicked the door closed behind me. 'I may or may not be going to Japan tomorrow.'

Her eyes widened, but she didn't seem as shocked as I was thinking she would be, this isn't the first time I've given less than twenty four hours' notice before taking off to a different country.

'Did Damien set you up with more freelance work?'

I nodded, 'yeah, he knows I need it. My last collection of short stories completely flopped on Amazon. Damien knew I had an interest in Japan so he signed me up immediately, and then consulted me on it afterwards.'

'Well, I'm going to be sorry to see you go, but I'm glad I get to see you doing what you want to do. Your just like your father Autumn, he's still not back from his latest business trip.' The crestfallen look must've been really showing as my mum pulled me into a hug.

'It would've been really nice to see him before I left. I have absolutely no idea when I'm going to be back just yet.'

'Come through into the living room darling, Elizabeth just got back from school, she'll be really happy to see you.'

I was handed a cup of coffee and I sat and watched my eight year old sister with her colouring book laid out by my feet.

'I know you wanted to go to Japan since that's where you're new novel's set. But what are you required to do whilst you're over there?'

'I'm required to do an interview on a Russian figure skater, Viktor Nikiforov.'

My little sister perked up at this and she kneeled and clapped her hands on my knees, staring at me with those bright hazel eyes. 'Viktor is amazing! He's so cool!' She scurried to her feet and started prancing around the living room, doing twirls and spins. 'Viktor goes like this!' She shouted before doing a big spin.

'Oh, she's enamoured with him. She made me take her ice skating; only to get injured doing it and realising it's not for her.'

Elizabeth promptly looked very sheepish as this information was relayed to me.

After a little while, I had to bid farewell to Elizabeth and my mum, as I apparently had a trip to Japan that I needed to prepare for.

I got back to my tiny apartment that night and packed up as best I could, considering I knew nothing about what this trip entailed. Damien, thankfully, knows about my tendency to be a crap packer and to always take too much, so he made sure I could take extra luggage on the plane. After this was done, it was quite late, so I settled down in bed to do some reading on Viktor and Yuuri. There was quite a bit of background information on Yuuri, about his family and such, but there was very little background on Viktor's family. I sighed at the seemingly insurmountable task ahead of me and settled down for bed.

After a twelve hour flight, I finally arrived in Japan. I stretched my neck and went through security and the procedure needed to get my luggage as if in a complete trance. I dragged all of my stuff into the lobby of the air-port and pulled out my phone as I double checked what the agenda was. Landed in Japan, check. Next, I have to check in at the hot springs place. Then I have the rest of the day to relax, before I have to meet with Viktor tomorrow and God I really need that rest.

So imagine how I felt, when I saw a particular silver-haired man standing in the lobby, spinning around a sign with my name decorated across it, not just written but proper fancy, cursive script and he was whistling as he did so.

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