Ice Princess

Troubled Typist

A/N: I start my part time job tomorrow! Wish me luck! I also have to work at my full time job tonight so I wanted to get another chapter out before all of that :) Hehe. Enjoy.

Chapter Eight:

For Makoto

Sakuno went back to the ice, lost in her thoughts, but aware enough of what was around her to skate towards Makoto and Eiji. Neither had noticed that she had returned to the ice and were deep in conversation with each other. Sakuno was wondering what Eiji was saying to the other boy, from the way that Makoto was blushing but didn't get the chance. She cleared her throat, bringing both of their attentions back to her.

"Well, Sa-chan?" Eiji asked, gripping her shoulders lightly, looking into her eyes, worried. While earlier, he was teasing her, he wasn't sure what was going on either. Now both he and Makoto were worried for her. She grinned at him.

"I'm being partnered with Tezuka." She said simply.

"Nani?!" Eiji got little cat ears in surprise and Sakuno grinned at the visual.

"Why would you be partnered with Tezuka? He isn't even in the play? He doesn't do them!" Makoto pondered out loud.

"He said it was for some tournament that was coming up-"

Eiji interrupted her, "The Ice Bowl!" Sakuno blinked.

"The competition...is the Ice Bowl?" She said slowly. Eiji started nodding excitedly and Sakuno started feeling nervous butterflies in her stomach.

"I'm going into the Ice Bowl?" She said. Eiji just kept nodding but Makoto was looking in between the two with a confused look on his face.

"Ice Bowl? I think I've heard of it but...what the heck is it?" Sakuno and Eiji both turned to the bespectacled boy in shock.

"You don't know?" Sakuno said, more surprised that Makoto didn't know something than anything else.

"Oh! Let me tell him! Nya!" Eiji said, not giving Sakuno a chance to start talking. "The Ice Bowl is the first wave of competitions! Basically its figuring out which teams are the best and whichever teams are the best in this district will go on to regionals, and whoever is best at regionals go to Nationals!" Eiji started jumping up and down again, grabbing Sakuno's hands and twirling her in a circle.

Sakuno, who (usually) only skates alone had a hard time holding her balance and almost fell. Eiji, realizing this, slowed down before she had a chance to fall.

"You've never skated in pairs before, have you Sa-chan?" He said, cocking his head to the side. Sakuno shook her head nervously.

"No..." She laughed nervously, "You don't think that thats going to be a problem, do you?" Eiji smiled softly at her but pat her head lightly before taking her into a tight hug and releasing her.

"You'll do great Sa-chan..." he started doing his regular grin again. "You're going to be representing us at the Ice Bowl!" Sakuno, still nervous and unsure smiled back but with less light in her eyes than usual.

"Yeah. I am gonna be, huh?" She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked at Makoto.

"You're going to be great Sakuno. Don't worry about that ."

"Hai!"

"Kikumaru! To the center!" The three of them all looked at Yamada who had everyone who was in the play behind her. The only one who wasn't over their was Eiji. Sakuno blushed at everyone's attention, Makoto looked to the ground but Eiji just put a hand behind his head and laughed.

"Gotta go! Nya!"

After that, nothing special happened during practice. Sakuno did her normal stuff, jumping, twirling, spinning, and just skating. She then tried to think about doing it with someone else but she just couldn't imagine it. Someone else behind her? In front? Holding her?

Sakuno knew about pairs moves and a lot of them were dangerous. She was worried about putting her life into someone else's hands but if she was going to skate with Tezuka-buchou, that was exactly what they were expecting her to do.

She wanted to skate pairs, she did, it was something she always wanted to learn, but she never thought about how she was going to start, and just figured she never would. All those new moves...she wanted to learn them, but she was so afraid of them.

The spins wouldn't be to bad, she figured. In fact, they might even help a skater improve their balance. The jumps...well they would just being doing the jumps at the same time...but the lifts?

Sakuno stopped skating. She was on auto-pilot in the rink and was just skating randomly. When she started thinking about the lifts it was as though she woke up and started to see the rink and everyone inside of it again.

Those who were going to be in the play were in the center of the rink, with Yamada the coach and Tezuka instructing and describing what was going to be happening and how they would all be working and what moves they were expected to do and how. They had all gotten scripts by now and were reading them aloud to each other. Sakuno glanced at Eiji and had to admit that they made a good decision in placing him as the sun. It fit him.

After that, Sakuno looked around for Makoto but didn't notice him anywhere.
"Where did he go?" She asked herself quietly when she heard a chuckle from her side.

"Where did who go?" Makoto asked her. Sakuno blushed.

"I er... didn't see you there. Sorry." Makoto laughed at her embarrassment.

"I've been right here since Eiji left." He said grinning. "You've just been in your own little world and didn't notice. What are you thinking about, anyway?"

Sakuno bit her lip and put her hands behind her back, clasping them. "Just nervous, I guess." She said softly. Makoto wanted her to say more but didn't push the subject. He figured if she wanted to tell him, she would.

It didn't take long for Sakuno to get back to what broke her out of her reverie last time to return and take her back. She turned her attention to Tezuka though as he helped some of the skaters understand their lines and go over why they had to do it 'like this' and 'not that'.

She thought back to Tennis again, and how good he was at it, how dedicated. She had to wonder if she was ready to be as dedicated as him. She knew if they were going to be partners, she would have to give as much as he was going to to the team, but she wondered if she even had that much to give. Sakuno knew that Tezuka was strong and could probably lift her without a second thought, but would she let him? Would she be able to control her balance enough so that they both didn't go tumbling to the unforgivable ice?

Sakuno had had her fair share of falls on the ice (as well as everything else) but that goes with the territory. She knew this. But in pairs? If she fell, there was a good chance that she would hit her head, or fall and get Tezuka with her skates and blood and hard ice didn't make for a very good day. Sakuno felt her doubts creeping in again, wishing that they gave her some more time to think about all of this when she felt Makoto's hand on her shoulder again.

"Sakuno. You're going to be fine. Trust me. You'll be awesome."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Sakuno grinned at him and couldn't help but give Makoto a quick hug. "I'll do it then, for you." Makoto just smiled and kept skating, and for now, Sakuno's mind didn't drift any farther then the rink.

-fin chapter-