He remembers when he first fell in love with the ice.
It was eight years ago. One of his cousins was participating in some regional ice skating contest. He didn't want to have anything to do with it, but of course, his parents had dragged him along as well, something about "supporting family". He reluctantly trudged along.
He remembered sitting there, bored out of his mind, the typical uninterested 8-year old in the stands; his cousin was ninth in the lineup, and entrant number seven was currently performing.
He pulled his legs up onto his seat and rested his chin on his kneecaps. There didn't seem to be anything spectacular about this one either, just a lot of simple spins and short hops. Participant number eight came and went by as well, and then it was his cousin on the rink. She was wearing the same simple dress as the other competitors, only a different shade of dark blue. He leaned forward slightly, a part of him curious to see how his cousin did. Maybe he could expect a little more out of her?
She took her first stride forward and…
...continued with a completely average routine.
He sank back in his chair. Just another copy of what he had already seen eight times over. He crouched over a little more, and puffed his cheeks. How many more were there going to be?
He tugged program out of his mother's hands and flipped the little brochure open. Ten competitors. Just one more after his cousin and they could leave. The last one was one 'Mibu Sayaka'.
He turned back to the rink to see his cousin perform the last few moves of her routine. And then she was done; his parents, uncles and aunts were up, standing, yelling, clapping. He applauded too, under the obligation of "supporting family."
She caught sight of the family in the stands, smiled and waved back before making her way off the ice as the tenth and final skater took to the rink. For some reason, his gaze was immediately drawn to her.
Maybe it was simply because she was the youngest performer yet; she looked to about his age. But looking back, he suspected it was something deeper; the way she carried herself, her grace, poise and confidence.
She turned around to face the audience, ponytail bobbing in the air. A bright smile and equally bright eyes graced her features with the beauty only a child can have, her white dress giving her an almost angelic aura. But it was her eyes that caught him, eyes that challenged him, "Watch this. Watch me."
And then she moved.
It was a spectacle unlike any of the prior competitors. Brilliant Spins. Graceful leaps. Incredible speed. His eyes grew larger and larger, wonderment filling in the edges of his vision. Grace. Elegance. Power.
Like a fairy, she danced and flitted, back and forth. A jump here, a spin there.
All the while, her eyes never wavered.
Watch me.
"What do you mean 'we're not a good match'?!"
"That's exactly what it sounds like; we're not compatible! I felt it during the round, and I know you did too. Our timing was off on almost every throw and jump, even if it was only for a hundreth of a second."
"Even so, we placed th-"
"Don't give me that. Are you seriously telling me that you're satisfied with second place? Really? Face facts Mibu; this is as far as we are going to get, unless we move on."
Sayaka bit her lip and looked down. He was right, she wasn't satisfied with second place. But still, the two of them had been partners for as long as both of them were doing Pairs Skating. They had gone through so much together, 12 competitions in the last 4 years.
Memories flashed before her.
Their first competition, the Tokyo Ice Skating Festival; it was both of their first times doing a Pairs repertoire. She remembers how weird it felt for him to be holding her at certain times and how nervous he had been he almost didn't manage to toss her hard enough for that double throw jump.
The fifth competition, Kanagawa Prefecture Cup. It was their first competition outside of Tokyo, and the first one where they did not place first. Their first, and hardly last, bitter taste of defeat.
And then there was their ninth one, the Kanto Region Competition. They were the only ones to attempt a double twist lift in their entire category. She remembers the bruises and scrapes from practicing that one.
And then their latest competition, the Japan Youth Ice Skating Nationals qualifiers. They had worked so hard on their routine and ended up placing third out of nearly thirty pairs to represent the Tokyo prefecture at the national level. Good enough to get past the preliminaries, but would it be enough to take a national championship?
It was true, that the two of them had been performing less consistently of late. She could feel when he was releasing too early, or she would be spinning slightly faster. Even the competition before this one, they had barely placed first, by less than three tenths of a point, but was it really enough to prove that they were no longer ideal for each other anymore?
Sayaka lifted her eyes to meet those of her partner for the last 4 years; his answer, at least, was spelled out in his gaze, defeat written in his eyes. So he had indeed given up.
But who had he given up on, himself, or her?
Her partner, or former partner, turned away, breaking their gaze, and walked past her. He stopped after a few steps, but didn't turn around.
"We had a good run, Mibu."
And with that final statement, he walked out on her.
At that point, it was all she could do to not break down right there. Biting down on her lip harder, she closed her eyes as she felt the first drop roll down her face. Why was she crying? Was it because he actually left her? Or was it because now she wouldn't be able to move on to the final competition? She had to find a bathroom and calm down.
She was looking down, and so she didn't see where she was going until she ran into him as she turned the corner.
"Sorry."
She muttered a quick apology and made her way around the stranger. She didn't get far before she received a tap on the shoulder. Turning, she was surprised to see it was the same stranger, a teenage boy. His arm was outstretched, in his hand, a packet of tissues.
"I know all too well how these venues are."
Handing it to her, he turned and walked away. She noticed a duffel bag slung over one shoulder, and over the other, a pair of skates.
Falling in love with the ice is one thing; actually being able to do what you love is a rather different story.
At first his parents didn't know what to make of his sudden request to take up ice skating. Of course they were pleasantly surprised at his enthusiasm, but they told him to give it a week, and then ask again if he truly wanted to learn.
A week passed, and his request stood unchanged, so he received his first pair of skates. He remembers taking them out of the box and holding them up, eyes sparkling, his parents looking on smiling gently.
His first official lesson was that weekend, his first instructor, his cousin. She had graciously volunteered to help him get use to the ice and, despite her mediocre performance at the competition, she was a patient and thorough instructor.
At the rink, he remembers hastily pulling on his skates, and in his haste, tied one of his laces improperly. He almost didn't even make it onto the ice that day. Not used to the sensation of walking in skates, he tripped and fell over.
Luckily, his cousin suspected that would happen and caught him before he wiped out on the benches. She made sure the laces were tied properly and made him wear pads for good measure.
His first few attempts were as good as anyone could expect him to be.
His first step into the rink was with the help of his cousin; after she was confident he could at least stand on his own, she let go of his hands; he was steady at first, but then the claws of panic sank themselves into him and he tried to secure himself by lunging towards the wall, to secure an anchor for himself.
Unsurprisingly, he promptly fell.
The sting of his fall was almost as painful as the sting of failure. But he remembered her. And he got up.
WIth the help of the wall and his cousin, who had glided over at the sight, he picked himself off the ground.
And he pushed the away from the wall.
This time he made it two feet before a skate slipped out from under him and he collapsed again.
But he got up again. And again.
He lost count of the number of times he stumbled and tripped. Sometimes he managed to travel a few yards, sometimes only one step between falls.
But he kept getting up.
And a few weeks later, after his usual weekly practice, he realized something as he was removing his skates.
Not once did he fall that day.
Sayaka stood on the rink for the first time since the Japan Youth Ice Skating National preliminaries. Other than her, the rink was empty of people; her coach had a prior commitment that day and would be unable to make it today. An involuntary shudder shook her shoulders, and she rubbed her hands together to generate some warmth.
Normally, she would have been ecstatic for the opportunity to have the rink all to herself; days like these were few and far between. But last week's events still weighed heavily on her mind.
Absentmindedly she began warming up, taking a few laps around the edge of the rink. What was she going to do? A pairs skater without a partner was useless, and unless she or her coach found one for her soon, she would be disqualified.
She bit her lip as she glided through the last of her warm up laps and went into footwork drills, attempting to block out her thoughts by concentrating on something else.
She went in a series of simple Crossovers, brows furrowed. Push off left foot. Push off right foot. Pick up left foot and move it in. Push off left foot...
...far as we're going to get…
She transitioned into a Rocker turn, gliding into it easily, but at the pivot her left foot wobbled slightly before she caught and steadied herself.
...move on…
Frustrated, she sped up, preparing for a Salchow Jump. Spinning, she swing her right leg around and jammed her pick into the ice, lifting her left leg at the same time.
We had a good run, Mibu.
Overwhelmed, Sayaka lost concentration and crashed onto the ice, pain shooting up her ankle as silent tears began rolling down her face once again. What was the point? She wasn't going to Nationals, why was she still trying. The damp cold was beginning to creep into her hands and legs, but part of her didn't want to move.
She curled up and sat in silence for a few minutes, until she couldn't stand the cold any longer. She steadied herself with frozen hands, her soaked socks and pants clinging to her legs, and stood up. Her gaze was drawn to a scrape on her arm; she brushed the broken skin, vaguely thinking that her fall a few minutes ago was the first one since she started participating in pairs skating.
She shivered again as she drifted towards the exit of the rink. Stepping off the ice, she made her way towards the benches before sitting heavily; her face twisted in pain. She could already feel the swelling; there was going to be bruising.
She didn't return to the rink for the rest of the week. Only with the combined efforts of her parents and her coach did she hesitantly allow herself to be coaxed back to practice.
Neither her nor her coach had had any luck finding a replacement for her former partner, and at this point so late in the season, it looked like it would be unlikely she would be able to compete at Nationals this year.
She leaned her head on the car window and stared out. Low, gray storm clouds rumbled, and bleak drizzle rendered city streets and business fronts dark and miserable. Raindrops rolled down the windowpane. She shifted her position and her reflection became visible in the glass; blank eyes reflected back at her. Her mood matched the weather perfectly.
They pulled into the parking lot of the rink; unsurprisingly, there didn't seem to be any cars. Probably a result of the prelims being over and the weather being rather disagreeable today.
Her coach parked the car as close to the front entrance as possible, and the two of them made a dash for the doors. Despite the effort, the two were thoroughly soaked to the skin.
"You go on ahead; change if you need to. I'll be in the main office for a while making arrangements."
Sayaka nodded numbly, and turned towards the locker rooms. She should have had a change of clothes in there somewhere.
After changing and drying her hair, she went back out into the hallway that led to the rink area. The empty room was rather ominous, with no sign of life other than herself; it would also appear that whatever her coach was doing, it would take some time.
Shouldering her duffel bag, she walked over to the door to the rink. Up until then, the hallway had been silent, but she noticed that the door to the rink was slightly ajar, and that sound was coming from the rink, the low swish of a skate on the ice. It would appear that she would be sharing the rink today.
Pushing open the door to the rink, she walked in; a teenage boy was the sole occupant of the ice. Her eyes slowly widened as she watched the boy skate. She didn't move from the entrance, mesmerized by his movements, and time seemed to come to a standstill..
The teen glided through his movements, flowing from one element to another. Spins, jumps and turns; an inexperienced observer would not be able to tell where one form ended and the next began, so smooth was his skating.
Graceful…
His speed and reflexes were simply incredible, bordering on superhuman. One moment he was a spiral, a blur on the ground, and the next, a jump, soaring above the ice. She had never seen a skater move with such elegance and dexterity, with such skill and conviction.
And then as soon as it started, it was over, at least it seemed. She was still rooted to the spot by the entrance to the rink, enraptured by such an overwhelming performance. Silence filled the room and the air stood still.
Abruptly, the boy caught sight of Sayaka by the doors, and without a word, skated to the edge of the rink and walked off. Shaking herself out of her trance, she fairly ran over to where the boy was, sitting on the benches and removing his skates. She stopped a few feet away, just as the boy stood up to leave, skates slung over his left shoulder.
"Wait!"
Sayaka wasn't quite sure what had come over her, but that last request had simply slipped out of her. The boy halted his exit and turned his head slightly, just enough that she could see his eyes.
His eyes. She took a step back; his eyes…
And then she managed to get a good look at him. Even though she could only see part of his face, there was no mistaking it. He was the stranger that gave her those tissues after the prelims.
"...Yes?"
"I-You're...ah...you skate...well."
She was at a loss for words, the thoughts mixed up in her head. Feeling that nothing else was coming, he took her statement as the sign to be leaving, and the boy turned back towards the exit.
"Wait!"
This time the boy turned around completely. She swung her duffel bag around and dug through it, finally finding what she wanted. She held out the pack of tissues he had given her at the elimination rounds. The boy's eyes softened in recognition at the sight of it.
"Keep them. Competitions are hard, something I know all too well."
Sayaka retracted her arms, her hands still nervously clutching the package to her chest.
"Ah...what's your name?"
"...Kirihara. Kirihara Takeaki."
Kirihara Takeaki.
"What event do you compete in, Kirihara-san?"
"Singles. Boys, sixteen to eighteen."
"...I see. Did you make it past the preliminaries?"
"Yeah. I was practicing for the final rounds."
The two were silent for a while, Sayaka looking down at her feet and Kirihara straight at her. Sayaka couldn't hold it any longer and finally burst.
"Do you think you could be my partner for the Pairs competition?"
Silence continued to permeate the room. Nervously she glanced up at Kirihara, who simply seemed surprised at the request.
Maybe he assumed I was eliminated when he saw me crying.
Kirihara composed himself after a few seconds, and then opened his mouth to answer...
"...No."
Sayaka's expression fell, and the boy turned his back to her.
"I'm sorry. I'm a Singles skater."
With a final statement, he continued to the exit. The disappointment was crushing, but really, what could she expect. He was a complete stranger, a boy that she had just met, and she had asked him to be her partner for Nationals, which was in three weeks. It would have been impossible to learn the movements of another partner and perfect a routine in that amount of time. Pairs skating was fundamentally different from Singles. And yet…
She closed her eyes recalled what she had just seen. His performance was unlike any she had ever experienced. And that aura surrounding him…she remembered a time when she had that as well. She had just met him, but she knew, when she saw that performance, that he was a kindred spirit, whose love of the ice knew no bounds. She didn't think about asking him, her mouth simply started moving and the words simply flowed out.
But she wasn't sure if she still had it in her. Part of her was glad he turned her down; she would only have been a burden.
A clatter echoed throughout the rink as Kirihara set his skates down on the bench in the boys locker room and dropped his backpack onto the ground.
He sat himself down on the floor a few feet away from the bench and began to stretch, eyes closed. A dull ache radiated from his hamstring, as he eased himself into position, left hand grabbing his right foot.
He felt bad for rejecting her outright, but as he had said, he was a Singles skater. Nonetheless, the dejected look on her face remained burned in his memory; he attempted to squash it out by pulling on his muscle harder, the dull ache in the hamstring suddenly growing into a small fire.
He grit his teeth.
However, it did nothing to remove the memory of that girl's disheartened face at his cold response. Eyes as pretty as hers were not made for disappointments. He could tell that she was on the verge of tears, and yet tried to maintain her confidence in his presence; his hasty getaway was a way to have a clean break, for both himself and for her.
But those eyes.
But he was a Singles skater. And she was a stranger that he had just met.
The more he repeated that to himself, the more ridiculous he sounded.
Picking up his bags and skates, he walked out of the locker room and outside, if only to escape the ice rink and the girl inside.
The gloomy weather had finally broken, the drizzle now a downpour.
Kirihara pulled his hood up and stepped outside. The rattle of raindrops against the pavement still could not drown out his thoughts.
A singles skater.
Kirihara leaned up against the wall of the train, face turned to look out over the Tokyo cityscape.
There was something mystical and beautiful about the city in the twilight hours, when the sky was tinged pinkish-orange and the city slows down as commuters made their way home. Some of the lights in the skyscrapers twinkled in the semi-darkness and there was just a sense of...melancholy.
A good kind of melancholy though.
He rested his head against the window glass. It's chilly, just like the turning weather outside. Bare tree branches indicated the coming winter season.
Getting off the train, he made the short trek from the station to the ice rink. A shiver passed through him as the winter wind ruffled his jacket.
Would she be there? He hoped she wasn't. Then he wouldn't have to face those eyes.
Pushing open the double doors, he noted that the hallway lights were off. But as he turned to go down the hallway that lead to the boys locker room, he noticed that the door to the rink was ajar.
The low swish of a skate on the ice.
Taking care not to make any noise, he slipped through the doorway, and into the arena. A lone figure stood in the middle of the rink hands on their sides, eyes closed, and face lifted up.
The girl with the beautiful eyes.
Still concealed in the shadow of the doorway, he silently watched her.
The girl slowly opened her eyes. And she began to move.
Pushing off her left foot she glided forward, at first slowly and gracefully, then building up speed she transitioned into a full on sprint.
She swerved at the edge of the rink, barely avoiding a collision with the barricade and went into her first jump, a simple waltz jump.
She had excellent form, managing to cover a few feet while in the air, and landed gracefully.
Perfect.
And then she launched into the rest of her routine.
It was nothing spectacular if one were looking at it from the perspective of a judge evaluating a skater in the sixteen to eighteen category. In fact such a routine would have been commonplace in the twelve to fourteen category.
But it still left him at a loss for words.
The girl danced across the ice, still oblivious to his presence. She spun into another jump, landed, and raced across the ice.
Kirihara continued to be mesmerized, still watching the girl. As he continued to follow her movements, another image appeared, a memory, of many years ago.
A memory of a young girl, in a white dress, a smile gracing her features.
And her eyes. Those brilliant eyes. The ones that said "watch me".
Mibu Sayaka.
The girl that had made him fall in love with the ice.
Her name had been burned in his memory from the moment she moved on the ice.
He watched her now, and saw her eyes. It was the same eyes as those many years ago.
The eyes that demanded to all that looked on.
Watch me.
He had often wondered what that girl from all those years ago was doing. Was she still skating? Did she still inspire? And here she was. Skating in front of him, making him recall that same sensation of awe and wonderment from eight years ago.
She entered her last spin, dissipating the rotational energy and slowly coming to a halt on the ice, eyes closed. A perfect routine.
Kirihara, shifted slightly, unsure of whether he should make his presence known or not, finally deciding to enter the arena.
As he moved out from the shadow of the doorway, the girl seemed to lose all strength and collapsed silently on the ice.
Alarmed, Kirihara ran out onto the ice, despite not having skates on.
Maneuvering to where she was, he dropped down to one knee beside her. He was surprised to see her right forearm over the eyes; silent tears streamed down the side of her face.
At the sudden presence besides her, she sat up and shifted away from him, her jacket and pants glistening with dampness.
"Kiri...hara...san?"
He stood up and pulled his jacket off, then draped it over Sayaka's wet shoulders.
"Let's get you off that ice. I have a towel you can borrow if you want to dry off."
Kirihara extended a hand down to the girl sitting on the ground. She examined his hand for a moment, her own hands clutching the jacket wrapped around her. Kirihara rolled his eyes at her hesitation, then simply swooped down and picked her off the ice, eliciting a very unfeminine squawk from her.
He deposited her on the bench next to her things. He retrieved his own duffel bag from where he had left it by the doorway and pulled out a towel and passed it to her.
"Here. It hasn't been used. More than once."
A mix of shock and aversion crossed her face, as she looked from his face to the towel and back.
"So it has been used!"
Kirihara shrugged and smiled. Sayaka gave a final look at the towel, then decided it was her best option. She wrapped the towel around her damp pant legs, and let the moisture seep in.
She cast a sheepish and grateful look at Kirihara.
"...Thanks."
A thousand thoughts careened around inside his head, so many things he wanted to say.
"You know, Mibu...you skate pretty well yourself."
A blush crept into her pale cheeks and she averted her eyes.
"...Thanks…"
Kirihara simply nodded, still attempting to work out how he would ask his question, then simply decided it was best to not beat around the bush. It should make up for everything he said to her last time.
He turned his entire body to face her. She noticed his sudden change in demeanor and cast an inquisitive look towards him.
"...Do you still need a partner for pairs?"
"So do you think you can do it?"
After she had gotten over the shock of Kirihara's question, she immediately called her coach, letting her know about the surprising good news.
She had immediately dragged him to one of the prep rooms, one that was equipped with a television; the two were currently going over her and her old partner's routine that they had used in the preliminaries.
Once the video started rolling, Kirihara seemed to block everything out except the skating before him. A few times Sayaka cast furtive glances from her position besides him; she would note things she hadn't payed attention to before, the sharp jawline, the scrunch of his eyebrows, but most of all his eyes.
So intense.
"Kiri-"
"I've done all of the spins and jumps, but the things I'm not sure about are…"
He turned his shoulders suddenly, the two coming face to face, only centimeters apart..
"...those lifts and throws."
Kirihara seemed to not notice their proximity, or didn't care, at least until Sayaka started blushing. His eyes widened at the sudden realization of that fact, and he pulled back, his cheeks tinged a slight red as well. He took a few seconds to recompose himself, but it seemed that the thought of being that close to her was still in close; he avoided eye contact.
"A-As I was saying, I've only ever participated in the Singles figure skating event, so I have no experience synchronizing my movements with a partner, much less lifting and tossing you as well...But I've already agreed to be your partner, so I won't back out of this one, as long as we work hard."
A look of determination crossed his face.
"Less than three weeks…"
He suddenly got up, and extended a hand down to where Sayaka was seated on the ground.
"All right, let's get started."
Sayaka looked at his hand, a quizzical look on her face.
"What are you waiting for, let's go! We can't afford to waste any time!"
"Ah...wait, huh? Are we going to do the routine now? But you haven't even practiced the routine by yourself! And you want me to do it with you? Now?!"
Kirihara rolled his eyes.
"Fine. We can go slow if that makes you feel any better. I've already memorized my movements, so I just need to polish it up and synchronize with you, learn where everything fits. We'll practice the lifts and throws one by one after we do a quick run through. Sound good?"
He's already memorized the routine? It took Kikuchi-kun an entire week to get it down by himself! And Kirihara-san says he can do it less than thirty minutes after seeing it for the first time?!
Sayaka looked up with admiration.
Kirihara noticed her change in expression; he averted his eyes.
Pretty.
"How long are you going to sit there? Let's go!"
Smiling, Sayaka took Kirihara's outstretched hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.
The next two and a half weeks pass by in a blur.
It seemed like neither of them left the rink; either Sayaka or Kirihara or both, at one time or another was always on the ice, from opening to closing. It was always dark out whenever they arrived or left from the facility.
The two would practice together for most of the time. Kirihara seemed to be getting the hang of coordinating his action with another skater, but the lifts still seemed hesitant for the first week or so. There were times when he had positioned his hand in the wrong way, or had thrown her too early or late, and each time he barely managed to catch her or stop his movement before she could be tossed in a way that would inevitably end in a bruise. However, as the actions came more naturally, his confidence rose, and his movements became smoother.
Occasionally they would take a break and go back to the video. The more times Kirihara watched it, the more things he would have to say about it, some about the his parts and some about hers. Often Sayaka found herself agreeing with him, sometimes they would argue for a bit depending on how she felt about a certain action.
"There. Did you see that take-off? Your timing is slightly off."
"It's not off. It's perfectly fine. I've been doing it for years."
"No, no. Look again. There. Your landing is kind of awkward when you do that. It's any wonder how you even manage to not fall."
"I'm telling you it's fine."
"No it's not."
Sayaka turned and glared at him.
"It's fine."
Kirihara met her frosty stare with his own. The two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, neither wanting to give in to the other.
Finally Kirihara leaned back, closing his eyes and sighing.
"Fine, fine. Do what you want. If you say you'll stick the landing, I'll trust you on this one...But only because you've managed to do it up till now. I still think that you could improve your form, but we can't be picky about everything."
A smirk crossed her face, something that did not go unnoticed by Kirihara. He scoffed and shook his head.
"What are you, a child?"
But still, she makes it look cute.
Kirihara glanced up at the clock in the room.
"Ah it's almost one. Are you hungry? I'll go out and get us something to eat."
Kirihara pulled himself up on his feet and stretched, yawning loudly.
"Um, I'll have whatever you're having. I'm not too particular about my food."
"Alright, I'm heading out. See you in a bit."
Fifteen minutes later, Kirihara returned from his food run.
He entered the rink arena, a plastic bag with two yakisoba-pan inside. He dropped the bag on the bench and shivered, rubbing his arms with his hands in an attempt to warm himself up from the blustering cold outside.
He turned to the rink area, but noted that Sayaka wasn't on the ice. He looked around for a moment, to see if she was around, and his eyes landed on a body on a bench a few feet away.
Curious, he walked over and was surprised to see it was Sayaka; apparently she had decided to take a nap. He supposed it was well deserved with the way the two of them were pushing the limits in preparing for the upcoming competition. He hadn't even taken time to go over his own Singles routine.
Kirihara studied the girl's face as she slept, noting her soft features. Her mouth was turned up in a gentle smile. He brushed away a stray strand of hair. She shifted her position, but stayed asleep; a slight shiver passed through her body. Kirihara removed his jacket and draped it over her upper body. It could get quite cold in here sometimes if one didn't keep moving.
He went over to the plastic bag with the sandwiches and placed it by the side of the bench next to her skates so she could find it when she woke up. He himself grabbed his own skates and pulled them on, for another go on the ice.
They had agreed to meet at the venue itself, so Sayaka hadn't seen Kirihara for the past two days. He had suggested that they take some time off before the competition to rest their bodies.
"Just don't wake up late."
As if she could. This was the Japan Youth Ice Skating Nationals they were competing in.
She immediately picked him out among the crowd of skaters and spectators passing through the courtyard on the way into the building; he's leaning up against the wall a few feet away from the front entrance, duffel bag and skates by his feet and bread in hand.
"Yo."
"Hey."
He held out a package to her, a red-bean paste anpan. She took it graciously and he picked up his duffel bag and skates, slinging them over his shoulders. The two of them made their way into the venue. They walked in silence for a few minutes.
"Nervous?"
Sayaka looked over at Kirihara, then back forwards again.
"Aren't you? It's Nationals. Everyone here is the best from wherever they came from."
"Well, yeah, I'm a bit nervous. But I also know we're better than everyone else here. So let's have some fun."
He smiled at her; somehow seeing that helped her relax a little bit.
A large crowd had gathered around the wall near the hallway that lead to the locker rooms. Kirihara nudged her in that direction.
"Looks like the event schedule is up. We should take a look."
It took a few minutes for them to be shuffled to the front of the crowd, where they could finally pick out what time they were performing.
Tokyo...Tokyo...Tokyo, Kirihara T. and Mibu S….there we are.
"Our pairs event is at 11:30 in rink B. What about your singles event?"
Kirihara was still scanning the singles event poster for his name. His eyes came to rest at a point, but he remained silent.
"Kirihara-kun?"
"...11:25, rink A."
Sayaka's breath caught in her throat. The fact that their events might coincide never even occurred to her; she had thought that the event committee would have prevented incidents like this.
She tentatively studied his face.
Kirihara still hadn't taken his eyes off the poster.
What would he do in this situation? Attempting to change the times of the events was obvious, but what if that didn't work out? Which one would he pick?
"I'm going to talk to the event staff to see if they can do something about this. You go on ahead and warm up. I'll catch up to you."
He turned and looked at her, noticing her expression; he smiled in response.
"Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging. I'll work this one out."
Kirihara turned and left, leaving Sayaka to herself. She made her way towards the female warm-up and locker room. She couldn't dispel the lump of dread that had lodged itself in her stomach.
After she had finished stretching, she made her to the rink, to see how the arena was.
So many people.
She had never performed in front of a crowd this size before. Her nervousness came back, and she was suddenly wishing Kirihara was here as well.
There was an unexpected tap on her shoulder, and she spun around in shock, nearly falling.
Kirihara caught her shoulders before she could hit the ground.
"Watch it. We didn't come all this way for you to get injured and disqualified."
She hesitated a moment before asking the question that had been on her mind for the past twenty minutes.
"Did you manage to…?"
A gentle smile crossed his face.
"It's been resolved. We're still going at 11:30 here in rink B."
She sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness. I'm going to skate around for a bit in rink C, I'll meet up with you later, ok?"
Kirihara nodded, and pulled his duffel bag up on his shoulders.
"I'll meet you there."
"Next Pairs competitors: Tokyo representative group 2, Kirihara and Mibu, would you please make your way onto the ice."
Sayaka fidgeted nervously as she made her way from the bench towards the rink entrance. Kirihara had to make some last minute preparations, so he hadn't been able to sit with her.
At the announcement, she could see him making his way from the opposite direction and the two met up at the entrance to the rink.
Kirihara's competition clothes consisted of trousers and a simple form fitting dress shirt, all black. Appropriate for his straightforward personality and style of skating.
Sayaka herself wore a dark red dress, with skin colored leggings. Despite the two not having coordinated, the two looked a perfect pair.
The came to a stop facing each other before the entrance. Sayaka's nervousness must have been showing because Kirihara extended a hand towards her.
"We're going to win this."
She studied his hand for a moment.
For the past three weeks or so she had touched his hand countless times, but this was the first time she got a good look at them. They looked firm and yet gentle.
She looked back at his smiling face, then responding in kind, she took it.
The two walked the last few feet hand in hand, with Kirihara helping her out onto the ice when they reached the rink.
His heart felt like it was going to explode.
Kirihara talked a big game, but in reality, he was just as nervous, if not more so, than his partner.
When he helped Sayaka onto the ice, he was afraid he was going to slip and let her fall. Thankfully it was not so.
He was glad she didn't let go of his hand as they skated to the middle of the rink.
As we was about to let go of her hand to get into his own position, he felt his other hand get taken as well.
Surprised, he looked at Sayaka, who had taken both of his hands into her own.
She smiled.
"Thank you for being my partner."
Then she let his hands go and moved to her own starting position.
Hey, hey. How am I supposed to concentrate when you smile like that at me?
He desperately tried to quash the butterflies in his stomach, but could not suppress the smile that came to his face.
I can't let you down when you do that to me.
The music began and Sayaka pushed off and did a lazy, graceful turn, her eyes catching sight of Kirihara mirroring her own actions as the two spun past each other. They caught eye contact for a moment, and then they continued moving, flowing into the next form.
The two skated parallel towards the one end of the rink; the two had managed to find each other's rhythms, feet pushing off at the same time, arms swaying to the music.
For a few moments they simply skated, then she felt Kirihara catch up to her, only a few feet away from her now. There was a strange comfort in being such close proximity to him.
The two arced back when they reached the end of the rink. She forced her body to relax at the involuntary stiffening; they were about to go into the serious part of their routine, their first throw.
Kirihara was right behind her right now, and she felt the weight of his hands on her hips. She felt his breath on the nape of her neck, and suddenly she was off the ground. Time slowed and she prepared her body for the release.
Kirihara threw her and she spun, a triple salchow. Her blade hit the ice and she spun to dissipate the rotation.
She skated backwards for a moment, facing Kirihara. His face reflected their intensity.
He reached out both his hands and she took them. They moved hand in hand for a few seconds as they closed the distance between them again.
She braced herself again, this time for a hand to hand lift. Taking a deep breath, she pushed off the ice and she felt Kirihara heave as he lifted her above his head.
Nice.
Kirihara let her back down onto the ice, and the two danced across the ice, with the jumps and spins proceeding without incident.
The two were reaching the end of their program; the final big moves were the death spiral and the last few jumps.
She took Kirihara's hand as he went into the pivot position. He anchored his right toe on the ground and his left leg dipped. Sayaka herself, began to spin, her face inches from the ice.
The spiral itself proceeded without incident; Kirihara began to rise again, and he pulled her close to his body before separating again, for the last jumps, a double axel-double toe loop combo.
They skated parallel along the edge of the rink, prepping for their last movements. They built up speed and launched into their jumps. The first jump proceeding without a problem. Sayaka landed and prepared to go into the next jump.
She tensed her leg and then pushed off the ice, jumping into the air.
But something didn't feel right.
It was the jump Kirihara had kept mentioning during their practices. She had pushed off slightly too early and their moments had become unsynchronized. In her attempt to correct herself, she could feel herself losing her center of gravity.
Her body tilted slightly, and she compensated in her legs but it was too late.
She was going to fall.
Her skate blade touched the ice, but she could feel the wobble in the blade, and then her body tilted, her upper body heading towards the ground.
And suddenly Kirihara was there, his hands catching her body.
Wait, this isn't what we practiced!
He held on tight to her, her body fitting closely to his own. Somehow they managed to stay synchronized before splitting off again.
He spun and skated backwards; she could see his eyes clearly, and his own met hers. There was a smile on his face, that seemed to say, "Didn't I say I would trust you? So you trust me too."
They finished up their program and they ended the routine back in the middle of the ice, face to face, holding each other's hands.
And then it was over.
They had did it. He had managed to learn a completely new routine, and she had learned the movements of an entirely new partner. It was almost perfect, other than her almost fall at the end.
The crowd cheered on as they stood in the middle, facing each other. Kirihara was smiling, and she responded in kind. Time stood still and the cheering muted and it was just the two of them on the ice.
"Ah, well, too bad."
Kirihara sighed as they walked down sidewalk, away from the competition venue towards the train station. Sayaka trailed behind a few feet, silent.
He wasn't sure what to say in a situation like this. After all the pairs skaters had performed, they ended up coming in fourth place, only a few points short of placing in the top three. He knew Sayaka was hurting, so he refrained from saying anything further; he could tell she was holding back tears.
He stopped and allowed her to catch up with him; he fell into step besides her.
"Here."
Sayaka started, and saw his outstretched hands, a package of tissues in it.
At this she burst out crying, and grabbed the packet.
"Hey, there's a park near by, let's stop there for a bit."
Kirihara guided her towards a bench and sat her down as she continued to sob.
He stood in silence nearby to simply let her vent.
A few minutes later she calmed down. She turned to Kirihara to pass back the package of tissues. He shook his head.
"Keep it. I know all too well how these venues are."
Ah. She supposed that was true.
Kirihara took a seat next to her. They continued in silence for another ten minutes or so before she spoke again.
"...I guess the Singles event didn't go as you had hoped either, huh? Sorry for dragging you into my selfish wishes."
Kirihara glanced sideways at Sayaka, then faced forwards again.
"...I didn't compete in the Singles event. Just Pairs with you."
"...Huh? Wait...then...but you said…"
"The event staff couldn't move my time. No one wanted to accommodate me; one less competitor for everyone else. So I dropped out of the Singles event."
Kirihara noticed her horrified look, at the realization that she had cost him his chance at a national title. Her eyes were glistening and he could tell she was going to cry again.
Come on now, your eyes aren't meant for tears.
"Then I...then I-"
"Hey. Shhh...It wasn't anything you did. I made my choice."
"But-"
She was silenced by Kirihara's jacket. He had wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and brought her close to his chest.
"No buts. I told you that I would help you realize your dream, and that's what I did...or tried to at least. Not that I did much."
She looked up at his wry comments. It was barely noticeable, but his own eyes were red and slightly puffy.
So he cried as well.
She turned into his jacket and started sobbing again.
"I-I'm...so so...sorry...If only...I...didn't ask...then…"
She trailed off as the tears came back in full force.
"You should...go back...to...Singles...I'm sorry…I suppose you...don't want to see me...ever again...do you..."
Kirihara didn't respond to her comment for a while.
"Hey...Do you want to know why I got into figure skating?"
Sayaka was still crying, but it seemed that she had calmed down a bit. She looked up at him.
"It was eight years ago. My family had dragged me to my cousin's figure skating competition. Familial obligation...it was so boring. All nine of the first competitors did the same thing."
"But then the last competitor came on the rink. God. I'll never forget that performance. She blew all of the other performances out of the water. She was wearing a white dress. But the feature that made me sit up and notice? Her eyes. Those eyes that demanded the attention of everyone in the room."
Kirihara looked down and met Sayaka's tear stricken gaze.
"...Your eyes. You were the one, all those years ago, that inspired me to take up figure skating. It was you that set me on the path I am today...the path that took me to nationals...This same path that allowed me to meet you again after all these years...The path that allowed me to skate by your side."
His eyes softened.
"You made me fall in love with the ice all those years ago. And now, after these past three weeks of skating with you, of learning about you, of understanding you...the ice has made me fall in love with you as well."
Sayaka's eyes widened and a blush flushed her cheeks. Kirihara took her hands in his own.
"So don't tell me to go back to being a Singles skater. These past weeks allowed me to discover that, as much as I was good at it, I wasn't meant to be a Singles skater. I want to skate with someone I can connect my heart with, who I can understand. So please...will you let me continue to be your partner? I want to skate by your side some more."
Their eyes met. Sayaka moved her entire body closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. Kirihara pulled her in closer; their bodies pressed up against each other.
A wide smile graced her face and tears started rolling down her cheeks for the third time that day, but this time out of happiness.
"...Yes!"
The sun sets, and two figures sit on a park bench. Two duffel bags lie by their feet. Two pairs of skates reflect the brilliant rays. Two pairs of eyes look forward to their future together.
a/n
finally.
after a year of writers block and procrastination, i was inspired to suck it up and finish this piece after reading ao haru ride. i swear, i must have listened to 'sekai wa koi ni ochiteiru' a billion times (what, its a catchy song. and romantic. so.).
i wanted to do a piece on some characters that didn't get much screen time, so here you have it, kirihara and sayaka. obviously, i don't have much experience with figure skating, or romance, for that matter, so take it what you will.
melakhim, this one is for you. finally managed to write something semi-decent after abandoning the first draft over half a year ago. i guess this can count as a graduation present? congrats and have fun in college.
anyhoo, i'll stop rambling.
thanks for reading, and as always, reviews are always appreciated!