"I don't think I've ever seen you so nervous, Yuri," Victor said, snapping Yuri out of his trance.
"Oh, uh-" Yuri stutered. "I, just, ya know-"
"You're nervous to compete against me for the first time, aren't you?" Victor asked.
"Victor, competing against each other won't change the way things are between us, will it?" Yuri asked, his hands shaking slightly.
"Yuri," Victor took Yuri's face in between his hands. "My love for you, whatever love that may be, will never change. Win or lose, nothing will be different. In fact, I would be honored to be beat by you in competition, so I want you to give it all you got out there. Do you hear me, Yuri?"
Yuri nodded, his hands still shaking. Victor dropped his hands from Yuri's face and took his hands instead.
"Stop shaking. There is no need to be nervous. I want you to be the best Yuri," Victor brought Yuri's hands up to his face and kissed them. "And in order to be the best, you have to beat the best."
"Next up," The announcer spoke. "Yuri Katsuki!"
"Good luck, Yuri," Victor hugged him. "And remember what I said, give it your all. Try with everything you have in you to win."
"Alright… Thanks, Victor."
Yuri got into place on the ice.
Yuri was skating to a song he had never skated to before. It was a piano piece, similar to Yuri On Ice, but the tempo was a bit faster. This song told the story of a dreamer. Or, at least, that's what Yuri thought. A young dreamer who had lost hope for the longest time...but eventually found it again through a special someone. For Yuri, that special someone was Victor, so he decided to dedicate this performance to him.
The first of Yuri's jumps was a triple flip, representing the hope this dreamer grew up with. Hope that was certainly there, but could have been strengthened. Hope that could have been greater. The second was a mere single toe loop, to represent the fading hope. Here, Yuri's motions began to slow and became lame, but Yuri ensured that he filled the performance with as much emotion as possible, in order to keep the audience's attention. Suddenly, there was a pause. Yuri stopped momentarily along with the music, as firm and still as a statue. Then, suddenly, the music burst into such a colorful arrangement. That's when Yuri pulled off a quad. This jump represented Yuri's change in hope after Victor entered his life. Yuri's motions were, then, at peak performance, and had the audience on the edge of their seats as they watched him. He was rapid, yet graceful. His performance was astoundingly gorgeous and breathtaking.
Yuri then performed a quad, triple toe loop, then another quad, taking the audience by storm. He had landed each and every jump. Yuri was confident then, and knew he more than deserved the applause he was receiving. He had never prepared so thoroughly for a performance in all his life. As the song came to an end, Yuri performed his greatest combination of jumps thus yet. He went from a double lutz to a triple axel, onto a quad. His body ached from pushing himself so hard. As the piano died down, Yuri breathlessly got into position for his final pose.
As the song ended and the crowd began to cheer, that's when Yuri truly felt the awful effects of the strain he had put on his body from pushing himself so hard. Yuri began to walk off the ice, but nearly keeled over as he approached the exit. Victor, noticing his struggle, met him out on the ice.
"Yuri, are you alright?" He asked.
"Yeah," Yuri briefly replied, needing to catch his breath. "I just...really need some water."
Victor helped Yuri reach a chair so he could sit down and set a bottle of water next to him. Victor then sat beside him.
"Yuri, that was amazing!" Victor exclaimed. "I have no idea how you pulled off something so dynamic! I know that must have been awful straining, but you did it, so just rest, now."
"With an astounding performance that took the audience by storm, Yuri Katsuki has received an unbelievable score of 120.42 points for the short program, alone! Obviously putting himself in first place! This is incredible! Undoubtedly the highest score we've seen so far! Katsuki seems to be quite the record breaker!"
"Did you hear that, Yuri?! You did amazing! You definitely beat me in the short program!"
Yuri was still trying to catch his breath, but it was super difficult this time, for some reason.
"Yuri, are you alright?" Victor asked once more.
"Yeah...I just...can't catch my breath…"
"But you would usually be alright by now, should I get a medic or something?"
"No...I just...pushed myself...a lot harder...this time."
"Next up, Victor Nikiforov, taking his place to represent Russia after taking a break last year to coach Katsuki."
"Yuri," Victor gently held his face. "Are you're alright? You have to tell me! If something is wrong, I would rather be by your side than out on the ice."
"No...go ahead, Victor… Make me proud."
Victor gave Yuri one last hug. As he was headed towards the ice, he told a staff member standing near Yuri to keep an eye on him. Victor took his place on the ice. His song had a very rapid tempo. Yuri wanted to watch Victor perform, but he still couldn't catch his breath. Figuring he would be alright, Yuri stood up, in attempts to watch Victor's performance. But suddenly, Yuri fell, and his world snapped to darkness.