Mean Skaters

by BlackDarknessFanfics

Yuuri Katsuki has been a figure skater for many years but his dreams to become a professional figure skater is starting to come true when he is accepted into Sliver Valley High. A special school for Ice skaters. But things are not always as they seem, and Yuuri quickly learns that he has to fight for his spot in the world finals and fight for a chance to be by Victor's side.

HEY PEOPLE…
I am back with another YoI story…
This story will always be updated on archiveofourown first, so if you wanna get updates as fast as possible, go look this story up there.
It's the same name as this one, by SumSteal1.
GO CHECK IT OUT. Fav it.. do whatever.
Kay bye xD

The ice has always felt like home to me. Since the first time I started skating when I was a little kid. Something about being on the ice just makes me feel better about the world around me, and myself. That is also when I heard about the gold medal winning figure skater, Viktor Nikiforov. Viktor won gold many times in his life due to his skating skills and confidence in his own choreography. I have never done anything like that. I have never skated in a world competition, I have never won gold, and I have never made my own choreography. I am nothing like Viktor Nikiforov.

My name is Yuuri Katsuki, and when I am not eating Pork Cutlet Bowls, I am probably ice-skating. Or sleeping. It depends on what time it is. Anyway, Yesterday, I was accepted into Sliver Valley High. A special school dedicated to figure skating. I was lucky to be accepted, because I have no confidence in my skills on the ice. Not to mention no confidence in myself. I am nothing like Viktor. However, I have decided to get better, therefore, I was accepted into Silver Valley, to improve my skating and to become better. I want to become good enough to skate on the same ice as Viktor one day.

Today was my second day in this school, and I already did not fit in there. I am originally from Japan, but this school has people from all different countries. Different skaters with many different types of skills. Phichit is also going to this school, which makes things a little more comforting, and easier to handle. Yuuko came with me from Japan as well, but she does not skate. She helps the administration to maintain the ice rink.

So now, with Phichit and Yuuko always close by, I am going into my second day in Silver Valley high. I just got a new pair of skates and I am ready for this day. Today we have training on the ice. Jump practice to be more specific. But that can not be a surprise to anyone. A skating school having skating practice. How shocking.

"Yuuri!" Yuuko's voice reached me as soon as I stepped into the entrance to the rink. She jumped over to me in a happy manner, as she would always do. She was the primadonna of ice castle Hasetsu. But now she is here, working by the rink, and rents out skates to those who do not have skates.
"Ah, Hey Yuuko" I stopped in my tracks as she popped up in front of me with what looked like a list of names. I did not pay attention to the list in her hand, but paid attention to her instead.
"I am so glad you decided to go to Silver Valley!" she squeaked out in a happy voice.
"Yeah. I am too... I think it's going to be fun here"
"I think you can become a great ice skater Yuuri! We could get you to the finals!"
"I don't know about that" I chuckled nervously.

I would want nothing more than to be one of the top three best skaters in the grand prix finals, but I also know that it will not happen any time soon. I am not good enough for that yet. However, someday. Someday I promise I will skate on the same ice as Viktor, and he will see a winner.

I was dressed in my normal skating outfit. Black jogging pants, a loose black t-shirt. I had my favourite blue jacket on. Due to the coldness in the rink, it is important to stay warm when you are not on the ice. Even so, with a jacket, it was still slightly cold.

I just smiled while I am listening to Yuuko ramble on about her plans and support for me. She had always been a big support in my life and this was just one of the many times she was. My eyes flew around in the rink while I was listening to her. There were already people on the ice, skating and jumping. They were all fairly good. Now, do not get me wrong. I do not think I am bad. I just do not think I am the best, and that is what I want to be.

I sat down on the bench, and pulled out my skates from the bag I had with me. I would have to put them in a locker later on. Now I said before that I had gotten new skates, and that is not a lie. However, these skates made me feel slightly uncomfortable. Maybe it is because they are new and I have not been on the ice with them yet.
Yuuko sat down next to me, looking more than just super excited, which I did not think was possible. I put on my skates and looked down at them for a moment. They were white, with gold laces. The blade protectors were red in the tips and blue in the middle. It would make them more visible for me. I am practically blind, most without my glasses on, so I now I might actually see my blade protectors with the multi colours.

"Oh that reminds me…" Yuuko said as she just realized something. And with that, I looked over at her again, with a curious face.
"Hm?"
"I got this list…" she waved the list I had seen before into my face, excited. "It is a list over the hottest skaters in Silver Valley High right now!"
"Yuuko, why do you have that?"
"Well, I know how you like to know who you are going up against" Yuuko smiled as she then cleared her throat and looked down at the paper. This had to be interesting. She was not wrong at all. Knowing whom you are skating with is very important.
"This is Phichit, Otabek, JJ, Christophe, Minami, Seung-gil, Guang Hong, Michele, Mila, and Georgi…" She ranted names on as she pointed down her list on each name. She then looked up at me with a smile, as she waved her arms up and down to make herself a center of attention, "The BEST people you will ever meet…" she giggled.

She was right. She was a good skater in my eyes. I learned most of my skills from her. She than looked over at the rink, and as soon as she did, her once so cheerful smile disappeared.
"...And the worst." She mumbled.

My eyes followed the direction she was looking, and there on the ice was a blonde boy. This blonde boy had a red shirt on and black loose pants. He was skating backwards, facing the brown haired girl who was skating with him. They were clearly speaking, and the brown haired girl smiled as she lifted her arms, almost as to embrace the blonde boy. The blonde boy rolled his eyes and turned his back to the girl before he started speeding up on the ice. The brown haired girl seemingly knowing what the boy was doing, stayed at a safe distance. The blonde boy then made a perfectly performed triple axel jump on the ice. The boy was like a professional on the ice, and the brown haired girl knew it too. She skated quickly after him and tried to imitate his jump, but failed. She made a triple toe loop instead. However, she was very cheerful despite her failure.

At first, I could not put my finger on who this blonde boy was. He was much smaller than the girl was, and his hair was long despite him being a boy. His hair was set up in a ponytail, and revealed a handsome, confident, yet cold face. It was hard to see from such distance, but I could have sworn that his eyes were a delightful shade of green. In addition, there was something oddly seductive about him. Perhaps it was his moves on the ice, or perhaps it was simply the coldness in his attitude. Then it hit me. This blonde boy, with the flexibility of a cat, was Yuri Plisetsky. The Russian junior winning medallist. I knew this Russian figure skater. Yuri was known as the Russian fairy because of the way he moved on the ice. So lightly and smooth. However, he was also called the Russian punk, because of his cold and arrogant attitude towards other people. I always thought Yuri was too good for a place like this, but he actually went to Silver Valley High. Such a surprise. Moreover, everyone seemed to look up to him and Mila a lot.

"Evil takes figure skating form in him. Yuri Plisetsky. He is one of the best figure skaters around… That is why his ego is so big. It's full of skating experience," Yuuko giggled cutely.
"Wow… Evil is graceful" I smiled over at her, before I landed my eyes back at the boy.
"I know" Yuuko smiled brightly as her eyes returned to the blonde boy as well.

The blonde boy truly was mesmerizing on the ice. He moved so smoothly, and for once in my life, I wish I could move like that as well. Then it hit me again. Like a double fall on the cold hard ice. If I could become friends with Yuri Plisetsky, he could teach me his moves. I am very flexible, but I want to move even smoother. Yuri could help me with that.
"Yuuri... " Yuuko finally said and it caught my attention, mainly because I had been so far away in my own thought that I did not notice that she was standing up.
"Ah yes. I should practice" I finally said as I stood up and looked down at my skates.

I slowly walked towards the entrance to the ice with my skate, and when I was there, I stopped and looked back at Yuuko.
"You can do it!" Yuuko said excited before she patted my shoulder and then took a step back. I did not understand why she took a step back before I looked back to see Yuri and Mila skating towards me. My heart stopped for a moment when I saw the blonde boy come up, put on his blade protectors and walk by me without even batting me an eye. I could feel the coldness of his heart when he went by. Mila on the other hand was different. She actually smiled at me when she walked by.

Mila was beautiful if I had to say so myself. She was fairly tall, and had short auburn, almost red coloured hair. Her hair was short, but longer than Yuri's blonde hair. She was skating in a pair of leggings, and a loose black shirt. Her eyes were deep blue, and the lip-gloss on her lips made her lips look pinker.

I might have been wrong, but as far as I could see, it seemed that Mila and Yuri were very close to each other. They seemed to have a casual but close relationship. Anyway. The two walked by me, and only a soft smile from Mila made me calm down again. I was not scared of Yuri, but I did not want to seem like a total loser to him, and give him a reason to bully me. I was already lacking confidence and I did not need Yuri to point it out to me.

"Yuuri…" Yuuko whispered over at me when my eyes followed the blonde boy and the brown haired girl. I quickly looked back at Yuuko and nodded. I needed to practice if I ever wanted to become better. With that nod to Yuuko, I took off my blade protectors and stepped onto the ice. My whole body shivered when I felt my skates automatically take me further out on the ice. The ice was like a second home to me. On the ice, I felt like I actually had a place in this world. On the ice, I was like Princess Elsa from Frozen, confident and happy. I was content. When I had started skating, Yuuko had leaned against the railing and was watching me closely.

I felt like home on the ice, but that does not necessarily mean I was ever good at skating. My balance is good, I have a lot of stamina, and I have been good at making the basic jumps in practice. However, I easily get nervous and tend to miss jumps. I also tend to be very tense when I skate, which naturally lowers my presentation score, because I do not move smooth or fast enough.
Let me explain how the scoring system in figure skating works. Jumps and spins counts to the technical elements score (TES). Chorography and interpretation counts to the presentation components score (PCS). A skater's final score is the sum of those two, minus any deductions (TES + PCS - Deductions = Total score). I used to lose many technical points because I missed jumps due to being too nervous. Now that my jumps have gotten better, I am only missing my smooth movement, which causes me to lose presentation points. I always make it through with the presentation score I have, but it is not enough to go far. I need to do more. I will never win the grand prix final if I do not improve.

I know how to do the basic needed jumps to get a good TES score. I can do a triple axel jump like Yuri did, but the difference between Yuri and me is that he can move smoothly before, through, and after the jump. I tend to tense up quite a bit, which also makes me fail jumps, and lose TES points. Figure skating can seem like such a confusing matter, but it really is not once you become familiar with the score system.

Like I said. In practice, I am normally all right at landing my jumps. I made a turn with my left leg and made a double salchow jump. I landed it but I noticed my leg being too stiff. I needed a couch or some kind of help. Which is why Yuri Plisetsky came into my mind. If I could only get on his good side, I could ask him to teach me his moves. I went around a bit before I made my next jump. I made a double toeloop, followed by a single toeloop. I took a deep breath and had a short break where I just skated around, before I made a triple loop jump. I landed it and as soon I did, I looked over to see if Yuuko had been watching. She had and she jumped up and down a few times as she clapped her hands together, seemingly excited. What I also noticed was Mila watching me. Yuri Plisetsky was now nowhere to be seen. Mila smiled as she clapped at my jump as well.

"Isn't he good?" Yuuko giggled to Mila, as I skated over to the two girls.
"It was okay. You are a little stiff..." Mila mentioned as I took my water bottle and looked at her. "You need to relax a little more," she said with a smile. It was just a tip for me, but somehow it made me feel bad. I knew I had to relax, but I can not seem to do it.
"I know. I am pretty bad at that, I guess" I nodded with a nervous smile as I took a sip of my water.
"You are, But it is okay. You will get it eventually" Mila said before turning back and leaving Yuuko and me alone again. Mila was a good skater, so hearing her point out my mistakes, merely made me more aware of them. I had so many flaws, and it made me feel sad that I could not fix any of them at the giving time and place.
"She is so nice" Yuuko nodded as she looked after Mila until Mila disappeared from their sight. "And really pretty too!" Yuuko giggle before looking back at me. I noticed how Yuuko was always in such a good mood. I nodded.
"I have to get back to my post. You are really good on the ice Yuuri. Keep practicing!" Yuuko smiled before hugging me lightly, then running off through the entrance, and disappearing from my sight. I let out a soft sigh. I knew Mila was only talking about my stiff posture to help me, but when people notice my flaws, I tend to lose confidence in my skating, and in myself. I do not have a whole lot of confidence.

I decided to skate another half-hour before I got off the ice. I took my blade protectors on my skates and stepped off the ice. With skates on it did not go very fast, but slowly I made my way towards the changing room. The changing room was big and set up in vertical rows of lockers. There was a row of lockers, benches, another row of lockers, more benches, and that is how it continued all the way to the end of the room. I sat down on the bench closest to my locker and untied my laces before pulling off my skates. My feet always felt sore after practice. I had many sore spots on my feet, but with a soft sigh, I stood up and put my ice skates into my locker. I then sat down again and looked at my phone. I knew I had to call my parents and tell her how I was doing.

My mother had been very worried when she knew I was going away. It was only natural for a mother to feel worried about their kid going abroad, but she was proud that I had taken up the suggestion about going to ice skating school serious. My parents support had always been the most important to me. Even If I sometimes did not believe in myself, they always did, and that meant the world to me. If only I could use that support to move forward, but sitting there on that bench I felt like my skating career had finally hit a wall that I had trouble getting by.

"You need to work on your speed after the jump, Yurio," a familiar voice sounded in the big changing room, which was almost empty at this time of the day. I looked up from my phone as I heard the voice. I was not alone in the changing room, but this voice sounded so familiar. Moreover, who was Yurio?
"I know, But if you would get on the ice with me, you could teach me" the other voice sounded. I knew that voice. That sounded much like Yuri Plisetsky.
"Yurio, you need to practice that by yourself. I can't help you with that" the male voice chuckled. The chuckle send a shiver down my spine. I felt like I knew this voice, or that I had heard the voice somewhere before.

I stood up and sneaked up to the edge of the row of lockers on my side, as I peeked out. I could only just see the back of some person a few rows further away. A tall person, with an almost beige coloured trench coat on.
"You're just lazy. You can not just stop skating, get on the ice with me soon, you lazy idiot" Yuri growled at the other person. The other person simply chuckled. Again with that chuckle. I could not put my finger on who the other person was. I knew I had heard that voice somewhere before, but I did not know where. I do not remember. That surely was not Mila speaking. Unless she had gotten a much deeper voice.

I stood there for a while, watching and listening like a stalker, before the male took a few steps back and held out a hand to Yuri. I did not notice before, but seeing that face, I realized. That was Viktor Nikiforov. The famous multi gold medal winning figure skater. Obviously, he would hang out with Yuri. They even went by nicknames. I heard Yuri sigh deeply as he gave his hand to Viktor. It was almost magically to see, but Viktor raised Yuri's hand and kissed it, while Yuri was just looking away, almost looking embarrassed.

My eyes went wide in shock. This was something I had never seen before. They were so close, and I could not help but to think what I would give to have Viktor kiss my hand. Yet Yuri did not seem to care.
"I will come skating with you, Kitten. I promise" Viktor said after he had kissed Yuri's hand.
"I will keep you to that promise, Viktor" Yuri said as he pulled his hand back. Viktor smiled as he grabbed Yuri's face, and they stood there staring into each other's eyes for at least 30 seconds before they broke apart and headed towards the exit to the changing room.

'What even just happened? What...' I thought to myself for a moment before I leaned against the lockers, and then heard the door slam shut. I was now alone in the big changing room. I could not believe what just happened. They did not do anything inappropriate. However, that was Viktor Nikiforov, and it blew me away that he was right there. He was so close, yet still he felt so far away. That was the closest I had ever been to Viktor. I shook my head and quickly went over to my locker and locked it. I grabbed my phone and headed out of the changing room. I gently pushed the door open to see if anybody was outside, but there was no one. The hallways were as empty as ever. Which made sense. Everybody should be in their own rooms on campus or doing whatever many people do in their free time. Hobbies or jobs. People had these things to deal with. I did not.

I stepped out in the empty hallway and started going down towards the public restrooms. There was an unusual cold air in the hallway, and the lights were somewhat dim. It almost seemed like a horror story. I thought for a moment that a bunch of zombies would appear out of nowhere and drag me away. It was only wishful thinking.

As I made my way into the restroom and went into a stall and sat down on the toilet. The silence was somewhat soothing and calming. I took up my phone and went into my contacts. I scrolled all the way down to the letter M, and hit dial on my mother. I put it up to my ear and heard it ringing. I was nervous for some reason. I felt good going to Silver Valley but I felt slightly bad for leaving my family, and for not being good enough at skating. I did not personally think I deserved to be at Silver Valley. They paid for my scholarship to Silver Valley, so the least I could do is improve so I could make them proud. I had to make sure they would not regret their decision.

"Hello? Mom.."
"Yuuri! I am so glad you called. How are you?"
"I am okay mom. How are you? And dad? How is the business?"
"Oh yes. We are all doing fine here. How is the school?" Her voice was so cheerful, and it made me smile, but I also had a big urge to cry. I can not believe I was this far away from home. Silver Valley was in the US, and only good skaters would be accepted into Silver Valley. I was surprised to be accepted, but it boosted my confidence to be accepted. That confidence was slowly lacking again. The urge to cry slowly emerged into actual tears and rolled down my cheek.
"School is going good… The rink here is amazing" I mumbled trying not to sound like I was crying, but at that point, tears were already rolling down my cheeks.
"Oh... Yuuri! Are you crying?! What happened?" my mother sounded so worried about me, but the truth was that nothing had actually happened. I was just lacking some confidence and missing my home. I had been away from home before, but with Silver Valley, I felt more pressured than normal.
"No. I'm fine…" I mumbled again.
"Did something happen in practice?"
"No I did well at practice"
"Did you fail a jump? Don't worry! You will get the hang on them…"
"No No... I landed them..." My mumble turned louder and it sounded more like I was crying now.
"You will come home for vacation and I will make you a Pork Cutlet bowl, I know they are your favourite!"
"I know... I deserve at least like, four..." I continued, and by now, the few tears had changed into a flood of actual crying. My tears could not be stopped now, and I was surprised my mother could even understand what I was saying. Hearing her be so cheerful did make things better. My parents were always so supportive. "Thanks mom" I cried out as my eyes closed. I had now decided to just cry, and let everything out.

I could hear my mom talk to me and take orders at the same time. For the first time I actually felt bad for crying to her. She was so busy, but she was trying to calm me down while still working the business. The cold air was still around, but it had gotten colder somehow. It was like a winter cloud sneaking into the toilet and I was almost expecting snow when I stepped out. The only problem was that I did not step out. The door automatically slammed open with force while I was crying. Well it was kicked open, and it came as such surprise to me that I ended up dropping my phone into the toilet I was sitting on. The panic had only just started in my case.
"My phone!" I cried out. The tears were still running down my cheeks and I was panicking by now. My eyes looked up to meet a hooded blonde boy. Not just any hooded blonde boy. It was Yuri Plisetsky. Again.

"Wait... Why don't I know you" Yuri narrowed his eyes. His hands were tugged into his pockets and he looked at me in what almost seemed like a mix of confusion and disgust.
"I… I'm from Japan," I cried out. I wanted to dry my eyes, but all I could do was try to cover as much of my face as possible. There was no way I could let Yuri Plisetsky see my face. He would probably tell other people, and by tomorrow, I would be the laughingstock of the entire school, including campus where I lived too.
"Shut up…. Shut up…" Yuri said in an almost sarcastic sounding voice, but in fact, the voice was just really bitchy sounding. It was a kind of, 'I-am-better-than-you'-type of voice, and it was clear to hear.
"C...Can I go back to crying alone in the bathroom now?" I cried out. This was embarrassing. I felt like a monkey in a cage. There was no way out of this. Yuri would clearly not leave, and I could not let my phone stay in the toilet for long. Moreover, I could not keep trying to hide my face when my eyes were filled with so many tears that I could almost barely not see the blonde boy in front of me.

"Japan? That's really interesting…" Yuri smirked a tiny bit at me. I did not understand why Yuri seemed to be totally okay with the fact that he had just busted in on me crying on the phone to my mother, in a bathroom. "…Are you are like, not so mediocre" Yuri nodded with what seemed almost like a smile. But was not. It was the same smirk from before.
"Uhm... Thanks..." I sniffled nervously. I had then started to slowly uncover my face. Yuri Plisetsky had just called me mediocre, which meant that he saw me as a normal skater. Not good nor bad at skating, which almost boosted my confidence again.
"So you agree… You think you are not so mediocre" Yuri than raised his brow, and looked at me with an almost judging facial expression. It made my heart stop for a second.
"Uhm…" I mumbled as I watched him. This was happening. It was only my second day at Silver Valley, but I had already seen much more than I was expecting.

"What are you doing...? Crying alone in the bathroom like a loser" Yuri said. He now folded his arms over his chest and eyed me down as if I was some sort of bad dog that did something to unplease its owner.
"I was just… upset"
"You don't have time to be upset. You should practice"
"I … I know…" I nodded as I finally stood up. It was weird but I was probably a little taller than Yuri was. As I stood up, I picked up my phone from the toilet. It must have been my lucky day because my phone had not fallen into the toilet completely. It had just barely made the cut, and had not even gotten a single drop of water on it.
"Mila told me about you…" I heard Yuri again and looked over at him.
"S… She did?" I stuttered, and that apparently caused Yuri to smirk again.

Now, one might not think that Yuri's smirk was a bad thing. His face was normally so cold and uncaring; that people found it rare for Yuri to ever make a face that said he cared even the smallest bit. This smirk was a smirk that looked like he just found the next victim for his evil plans and scams. A smirk I truly did not like at all.
"You should come skate with Mila and I tomorrow. I'm sure we can teach you a thing or two about skating… Consider yourself lucky…" He smirked before he turned around to one of the mirrors and checked his own face. He pushed some hair aside before he looked back at me. "Well. See you in the rink at 10 tomorrow morning, let's see if you can keep up" Yuri said. The almost nice attitude Yuri showed me was almost scaring. Yuri seemed like the kind of person who would rather push you face first on the ice, rather than complimenting your nicely done jumps. Needless to say that I felt special. Yuri had asked me to skate with him.
Yuri Plisetsky, the gold winning junior medallist, had actually just asked me to skate with him, and said he would teach me things. My eyes were wide in surprise and excitement as Yuri than left me alone to my crying again. However, at that moment I did not actually feel like crying. I was rather happy.

It could actually be that everybody had just misjudged Yuri. Yuri seemed nice. He did not judge me for crying in the bathroom, he called me an okay ice skater and he asked me to skate with him. For once, I think I had misjudged Yuri's cold attitude. He seemed rather nice to me, and not as cold as people said he was. Even Yuuko said he was pure evil, but he seemed so nice.

What was the chance of these things happening all in one day? I saw Yuri Plisetsky. I saw Viktor Nikiforov, and I was asked to skate with Yuri Plisetsky and Mila Babicheva. They were all Russian top skaters, and that made it so much more special to me.

For once, I could not wait for another day at Silver Valley High.

I could feel a new adventure starting now.

A completely new start.