STORGE: The Familial Bond

STORGE: CHAPTER 1
Introductions and Their Past

Anri, as a child, had been more mature than other children.

There are times her parents and siblings notice that she does things that are too advanced for her age, and yet she seems to know what she is doing.

She also had been always compared to a sponge. Her learning process was said to be faster than most children. For example, she is a child who would rather be more confident in her abilities before doing anything else. This caused everyone not to baby-talk her for her to get the pronunciations right. By the time she was one year old, she managed to say her first word: "Arigatou".

Her family and some of the customers also noticed that she seems to understand English better than Japanese, so they taught her their native language while mixing English in the lessons. Thanks to that, her learning capacity expanded by a mile. So whenever there are foreigners visiting their inn, a two year old toddler would great them in English, which is a pleasant surprise to them. They always complimented her parents because she nails the pronunciation whenever she talks to them.

As she reached the age of three, she told her parents that she would like to have masculine clothes instead of the dresses she inherited from Mari. With that statement, her mother took her to a store and let her choose on what to put in her wardrobe. In the end, Anri didn't buy anything but rather ended up telling her brother to give her hand-me-downs instead.

Just before the month of her fourth birthday, her fourteen year old brother introduced her to ice skating as his birthday gift. While she isn't as passionate as her brother with figure skating, she enjoyed the time she got to feel free as she glided on the smooth ice.

She managed to maneuver herself independently just minutes after her brother and his friend Yuuko taught her the basics. When she began to feel more confident, she sprinted around as her brother and Yuuko practiced their routine.

That's the moment they realized she was a natural on ice which prompted to Yuuko almost taking her home for herself. The outcome was funny but Anri doesn't like being almost kidnapped under her brother's nose.

Anyways, being a curious child that she was, Anri decided to binge watch the Winter Olympics from last year overnight. It was held in Turin during that time it was recorded and looked very fun.

Though she got a bit too hyped with the ice hockey (causing Mari to knock and told her to calm down), it wasn't the sport that she was looking for. Her eyelids were already starting to feel heavy as lead when the last event started. Suddenly, energy was refilled when she saw just what she was looking for: Speed Skating.

Anri began to research about the sport and learn through online tutorials. At first, she tried to use inline skates for practicing, as she had seen in one video that skating on concrete and ice are somehow similar to one another. It was hard, but she really wants to learn it. So she persevered.

In her sixth birthday, her parents gave her the best present ever. A coach, she's got a coach now. His name is Takeshi Ken, a retired speed skater from Kushiro, Hokkaido. He has one gold, three silver and three bronze medals from both national and international championships. This means that he has enough experience with the sport she fell in love with.

She was told by her coach that her idea with inline skates was a good one and encouraged her to practice in her rollerblades as she still doesn't have the necessary skates for speed skating at the moment. She was also taught on how to lessen the air resistance to improve her speed as well as exercises to strengthen her developing legs.

The following year, her coach finally gave her the two pairs of skates she needed. He told her that one are called short track skates while the other are called clap skates. He then showed the difference between her and her brother's shoes. Hers have longer blades, only covers her foot from below her ankles, and the clap skates have a hinge and spring.

They finally began to use the Ice Castle Hasetsu for practices as well as using the park for practicing with her inline skates. This is when Anri decided that she likes both long and short tracks, though she prefers the former more even if she couldn't really practice it properly due to not having the needed rink nearby.

She also began to take lessons on swimming (for toning her body and improving her breathing) and taekwondo (for more leg strengthening and discipline). While it was a hassle at first because she finally started school that time, it was worth learning in the end.

The next few years passed like a blur, somewhat too fast for her. Before she knew it, her favorite sibling, Yuuri will be leaving Kyushu to attend a university in Detroit, USA. Anri knew that he planned it for a while now but it doesn't she was prepared for it. So she became clingy and slept on his bed with him days before the flight. He wasn't against it; in fact, he found it endearing. Mari may have rolled her eyes at her sister's antics but she smiled affectionately while doing so.

By the time that Yuuri finally packed everything he needed, the walls that were once filled with the posters of Viktor Nikiforov are completely barren, like the posters were never there. The room is so empty and lonely, just like what she feels as she watched Yuuri's retreating back. She crushed the urge to run and hug to him. There's no need for unnecessary drama, after all.

As soon as they got back, she locked herself in her room and cried herself to sleep that night.

TBC