Chapter 25: Dirty Little Secrets
Tora held Victor's hand and pressed close to him as they entered the Hiroshima ice arena and headed for the media staging area. She looked down at her dress and shoes, then back up at her father, who gave her an encouraging smile.
"Don't look so worried," he chided her gently, "This isn't going to be like the other day. I purposely scheduled the interview to be at a time when there wouldn't be anyone practicing here. It's really just going to be us, Morooka and the TV crew."
"But, they're going to ask me a lot of questions," Tora complained, "I didn't like what they asked before, especially after you explained last night what a love child is."
Victor sighed and patted her back lightly.
"Don't worry about that," he said reassuringly, "I've been dealing with reporters for many years. If they ask any uncomfortable questions, Yuuri and I know what to do. And Mr. Morooka is not the kind of man to be very rude, like those other reporters were."
"Okay," Tora said anxiously, glancing at Nico, who gave her a sympathetic smile in return.
The four were met by Morooka, who bowed and greeted them politely.
"Victor, Yuuri," he said, smiling.
"Good morning," Victor said cheerfully, "and this is my daughter, Tora Nikiforova, and my student, Nico Palomo."
"Very nice to meet you, Nico," Morooka said, bowing, "And Tora, pleased to meet you as well. I've been hearing a lot about you. Now, if you will just come and sit up here with me, our cameraman can record the interview. Kids, just relax. I'm just going to ask you a couple of basic things about yourselves and your skating, all right?"
"All right," Tora and Nico answered together."
"I'll save the hard questions for Victor," the newsman joked.
"Just don't make them too hard," Victor snickered, "It's still early."
"Okay, just a second to get the camera ready."
The cameraman angled the camera, then gave Morooka a thumbs up.
"Whenever you're ready."
"Okay," Morooka said, turning on a friendly smile, "Good morning, Hiroshima and also to our viewers around the world. As you know, there is going to be a big competition this afternoon. The men's free skate will be taking place, and one of the skaters competing here tonight will be Victor Nikiforov. We have Victor here with his students, Yuuri Katsuki and Nico Palomo. Also here is the young lady that we all have been hearing about over the last few days, Victoria Nikiforova, Victor's American born daughter. Victor, Yuuri, Tora and Nico, welcome."
"Thank you, Morooka," Victor answered, "We're happy to be here."
"We're happy to have you. I'm sure you're aware of all of the stories that have been making their way around social media. So, now is your chance to give us the true story. Let's start with what people have been the most curious about, Tora. Victor, can you tell us about your daughter? I've heard that you were not aware until very recently, that you had a daughter. What is the story on that?"
"Well," Victor said, taking Tora's hand in his, "it is true that I did not know about Tora until very recently. Tora's mother was an ice dancer who I met a little over ten years ago on a visit to America. I was scheduled to perform in a private exhibition in New York and Tora's mother, Sage Maxfield, was chosen to perform an ice dance with me."
Morooka nodded.
"It seems like more went on than just skating," he teased gently.
"Yes," Victor chuckled, blushing slightly, "Sage was a very charming young woman, one of the best skaters I have ever worked with. There was something about the two of us that just…clicked, and after skating together and attending the exhibition dinner, we were a little giddy from all of the fun and we got a little carried away."
"Just a little," Morooka laughed.
"Yes," Victor agreed, "I wanted to continue to see her, but Sage had some private reasons why she felt that could not happen, and I was young and under a lot of pressure as my skating career, so agreed with her that we should just continue to be friends."
"But you didn't speak to her after that?"
"No, I was traveling all over the place and very focused on my skating, so we fell out of touch and I didn't hear from her again."
"And, how did you find out about Tora?"
"Ah," Victor laughed anxiously, "I was out of the country on business, and while I was gone, Tora was brought to my house, where she was cared for by Yuuri until I came back. I was told that her mother was killed in a car accident, and it was her wish for Tora to be sent to live with me."
"That must have been an incredible shock," the newsman acknowledged, "Can you tell us, what were you thinking when you saw her? Did you know right away?"
"Ha, what do you think, eh?" Victor asked, smirking, "She looks just like me. I knew right away that she must be mine. The information sent with her confirmed that she is my daughter."
"Now, Tora, first let me say that I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother."
"Thank you," Tora said softly.
"Can you tell us what it was like for you, meeting your father for the first time?"
"W-well, I actually met Yuuri-san before I met my dad," the girl explained, brushing several silvery strands of hair out of her eyes, "I was really scared, because I had never been to Russia. I could barely say anything at all, but Yuuri-san took care of me until Daddy got there."
"And what was it like, meeting Victor?"
Tora laughed nervously.
"I was pretty scared of him at first. He wasn't mean or anything. He was just confused, like I was. Once he knew who I was, he was really nice to me. I only knew that he was an amazing skater before. It's exciting and sort of strange to think he's also my dad."
"Well, I think a lot of people agree that it's exciting you're Victor's daughter. I understand that you are already a talented skater too?"
"She is," Victor agreed, "Tora is definitely talented, and we will be carefully developing that talent, while making sure that she is not pushed too hard too soon, which, as you know, is how young skaters are often injured. We know that Tora is going to be successful in the sport, but we want to also make sure that her health is protected too."
"Well," said Morooka, indicating a playback of several of Tora's jumps and spins, "I think it's clear that this young lady will be a force to be reckoned with."
"Oh, she is already that," Victor joked, his eyes twinkling.
"I heard that Tora is going to be competing in pairs skating," the newsman went on, "Is that true?"
"It is," Victor affirmed.
"Mmhmm, and we seem to have picked up some footage of Tora's future partner from social media," Morooka said, as the playback switched to a clip of Victor lifting the slender Latino youth over his head.
Nico blushed brightly and Victor chuckled good naturedly.
"Can you tell us what was going on at that practice session?" Morooka asked.
"Well," Victor said, smirking, "one way to test a rather cocky young skater is to basically put the shoe on the other foot and see how well he understands, not just his role in the performance, but his partner's as well. I was performing an ice dance with Nico that he and Tora had done for an exhibition, but having him take on my daughter's role to test that ability to shift perspective on the whole performance. As you can see, Nico was quite capable of shifting that perspective and he gave an admirable performance. This is part of what inspired me to take him on as a student. I believe he has much to bring to the sport, both as a singles skater over the next couple of years, and eventually as Tora's pairs partner."
"I think we can all agree that Nico is a thrilling young skater to watch."
The newsman turned his attention to the still blushing youth.
"How do you feel about relocating to Russia to train with such a legend in figure skating as Victor?"
"Heh," Nico laughed nervously, "It's pretty incredible. Everyone knows that Victor is one of the most talented figure skaters ever, so being able to train with him is pretty amazing."
"We're sure we're going to see some amazing things from you and Tora," the newsman said, grinning, "But, let's move on to Victor's other student, Yuuri Katsuki. Yuuri, there were a lot of stories flying around about your recent injury that resulted in your having to drop from the Grand Prix Series, everything from you being arrested in Russia and beaten up by other detainees to you being injured in a skating accident. Can you tell us anything about what happened? How were you injured?"
Yuuri exchanged glances with Victor, who gave him a little encouraging nod. Yuuri glanced at Tora, then back in Victor's direction before answering.
"Well, I can't go into a lot of detail, because the Detroit police are still investigating the incident, but the truth is, I was shot in the shoulder while in a park near the hotel in Detroit where Victor, Tora and I were staying during the competition," he explained.
"That's terrible!" Morooka exclaimed, "Someone attacked you in the park?"
"Actually," Victor said solemnly, "someone, an, as yet, unidentified person, attacked and threatened Tora and Nico in the park. Yuuri was injured as he very bravely protected them. From the moment Tora came to us, Yuuri has loyally cared for her and protected her. They have become close, and I know that Tora could not have a better friend…and stepfather, than Yuuri."
"What an amazing story!" the newsman said emphatically, "Yuuri, while it's a great loss to not have you in the competition, I think it's incredible what you did."
"What Yuuri did wasn't just protection," Victor said, giving his husband an affectionate look and wrapping his arm around Tora, "it was heroic."
"You have my full agreement there, Victor," Morooka agreed, "Well, we are glad that all of you are safe, and we're looking forward to the competition tonight. Victor, the short program went well, but are you concerned at all about the fact that J.J. is so close in points to you? What are you thinking as you go into the free skate."
"I think it will be a visually thrilling competition to watch. All of the skaters performing tonight are at the top of their game. All of us are ready. Win or lose, that is the best kind of situation."
"But you think you have this?" Morooka asked, grinning.
Victor gave the newsman a charismatic wink.
"I am performing in competition in front of my daughter, here," he said firmly, "I am not going to disappoint her."
"And if your short program is any indicator, J.J. is going to have to really push himself to pull ahead. Well, we're all looking forward to tonight's competition. Thank you, Victor, Yuuri, Tora and Nico."
"And thank you," Victor said graciously, "It's been a pleasure."
The red camera light turned off and Morooka nodded appreciatively.
"That's some shocking stuff that's been going on. I hope they apprehend the person who hurt Yuuri and threatened Tora and Nico."
"They're working on it," Victor informed him, "We are keeping the security around us high until the person is captured."
"I hope that's soon," the newsman said sincerely.
The four took their leave of the media crew and headed into the preparation area, where the skaters for the evening's competition were stretching ahead of the last morning practice. Yuuri slipped his arms around Victor and kissed him tenderly.
"Good luck out there today. Do your best," he said affectionately.
"I will," Victor promised.
Victor nodded and turned his attention to the two children.
"You two go with Yuuri back to the hotel. If you go out, keep Sava close to you. I will see you in a few hours."
"Goodbye, Daddy. Good luck!" Tora said, hugging him tightly.
"Good luck, Mr. Nikiforov," Nico added.
"Thank you, Nico."
Yuuri led the children out of the preparation area, and towards a waiting car, where their bodyguard met them and opened the car door for them. They climbed inside and the vehicle pulled away from the curb, heading back to their hotel.
"I thought that went pretty well," Yuuri commented, "You and Nico did just fine for your first big interview."
"It wasn't too bad," Tora said, smiling, "Mr. Morooka was really nice."
"Yeah, he's always been one of my biggest supporters. Victor and I knew that he would be tactful, but still run a good interview. We trust him. I just hope that the interview will kind of calm things down."
"Me too," Tora sighed, "It was scary before when people started to surround us."
"Well, if it happens again, just take a few deep breaths and make sure you stay close to Sava. He won't let anyone bother you."
"Yeah," Nico agreed, "he's pretty great."
The car turned into the hotel roundabout and came to a stop. Sava left the front of the vehicle and started towards the door to open it for them, but he stopped again and picked up his cell phone. His expression darkened instantly, and he climbed back into the car.
Yuuri stiffened.
"What is it? What's going on?" he asked, putting an arm around Tora, "Did something happen to Victor?"
"There's been an incident at the sports arena," Sava explained, "Victor's bodyguard called to tell me that some kind of bomb went off near where the skaters were practicing, and it filled the arena with noxious gas and smoke. He got Victor out, but he and all of the other skaters, as well as a bunch of others who were watching the public practice, were unconscious and being taken to local hospitals."
"Daddy?" Tora said in a scared voice, her face going white.
"He'll be all right," Yuuri said, clenching his jaw and holding the girl close, "We're going to him now, right Sava?"
"Yes, just be sure to stay close to me. If this is the work of your stalker, it's a bold move, and we have to think about what else they might be planning."
"You think they could try something at the hospital?" Yuuri asked.
"I'm not sure. They would have to figure out where Victor would be taken if he was one of the ones injured. From what I heard, the injured have been sent to several different hospitals to keep any one of them from being overwhelmed."
"Right," Yuuri sighed.
The car was quiet and the air thick with apprehension as the car sped across town to the hospital. The vehicle entered the roundabout and they found Victor's bodyguard waiting for them.
"Artur!" Yuuri exclaimed, "why are you out here? Where is Victor?"
Artur gave Sava a look of warning, and the bodyguard led the children inside the hospital to wait. Yuuri's hands clenched into fists as he read the look in Artur's worried eyes.
"Artur?" Yuuri said anxiously, "What's happening? Tell me!"
The bodyguard sighed and nodded.
"Victor is in with the doctor, and I wasn't allowed in. There is a private waiting room inside that we can go to, but…there is something that you should know."
"What? What is it?" Yuuri demanded, "What's happened?"
Artur's voice shook as he answered.
"I just overheard that one of the skaters brought here has died."