CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED FIFTEEN

"The score for Seung-gil Lee...85.26!"

"...That math is off." He commented grimly as the audience clapped, "I scored higher than that."

Coach Min-so's brow furrowed slightly, but she shook her head, "You're always right on the mark with your assessment of your technical score, but you can never be sure about the judges' opinion of your style. This program has scored lower than your average this season...maybe we should try something else before the Games."

"I can't replace an entire Short Program in a week and a half." He retorted, and rose up from the bench, "Maybe I can resurrect an older, better program."

"You know how much I've thought it was a mistake to skate a challenge rather than for mastery." Min-so continued, and stalked after her skater towards the curtain, "Surprising people with unexpected musical choices shouldn't be a focus. Pick music you actually like and then push yourself on the things you're good at."

He stopped just inside the prep-area and shot the woman a glance, "Everyone here lavishes Viktor with praise, but I'm the one who had the first ratified quad Loop in international competition."

"And then he did it the following season, and he's mastered every quad jump since then. No one can take the first away from you, but you can't count on it to boost you forever. Not when there's quad Axels in competition now." The older woman countered, "Call him a lazy skater. He's naturally gifted but he pushes himself only just enough to keep ahead of the pack."

Viktor, of course, heard every word of the exchange as he waited to take Yuri's blade-guards; he stood in a stiff slouch, deadpanning the pair as they vanished behind the curtain, hand out and waiting for those rubber bars to be sit into it.

"What was all that about?" Yuri commented quietly, and made sure to nudge his husband's fingers around so they'd grasp the guards.

"A lazy skater?" Viktor echoed.

"Next to take the ice, representing Japan...Yuri Nikiforov!"

The crowd was wild enough in their applause that Viktor had no choice but to forget the offense, and looked aside as he felt his husband's hand fall from his grip. Yuri slid out onto the ice, silver costume shimmering under the spotlights. He greeted the crowd with arms out to the sides openly, then veered back around. By then, Viktor had already propped Jiro up against his chest to be above the edge of the wall, and Yuri came close to ruffle those perky ears, "I wish a therapy pup was all I needed to get my stamina back." He commented quietly, feeling the happy licks on his thumbs.

"Just do your best out there. That's all anyone can ask." The Russian advised, "Try to go blank, like you did at the Nationals Gala. You didn't even realize how well you did until you were done."

Yuri nodded, and lifted his hands to cup his palms over his husband's cheeks. He leaned in over the Akita to press his brow to his partner's, and held there for a moment, as though he could draw out an extra boost of energy through osmosis somehow. With nothing else to do, he sought his last kiss, and departed from the rink-wall. The audience was louder again as he circled his way towards the center of the rink. There's nothing I can do about the fact that I'm sick, he thought, Nothing whatsoever. I just hope people understand... I don't know how many of them know what's been going on. The judges won't care...that's not what they're here for. I don't want to let the JSF or Viktor down though... They chose me to go to the Olympics, but instead of being proud and excited, my stupid anxiety got me stress-eating and sleepwalking instead. I still owe Viktor for the mochi I took...

.

The room was quiet and dimly lit, illuminated mostly by the glow of the television screen a few feet away.

[Skater Yuri will be performing while under the weather tonight,] Newscaster Morooka's voice explained as the cameras panned on the athlete's starting pose. The screen displayed the basic information; JPN Yuri NIKIFOROV (25) - Coach: Viktor NIKIFOROV - Music: 'Try Everything' by Shakira (Zootopia OST.) [All of Japan is sending its wish for good health and strength tonight. Do your best, Nikiforov-kun!]

Grey-brown eyes stared intently, unblinking. The music began, and Yuri's dance with it.

Oh oh oh oh ohhhh...

Behind that darkened figure, a white Hokkaido-ken lifted her head, yawned, and set her chin down on her human's waist. Asahi watched the screen intensely though, and the pup closed her eyes against the glow. I stayed behind so you could get your bearings again, Yuri, He thought, his knee - bent upward where he laid on his side in his bed - swayed slightly from side to side, Don't make me regret it, like I do everything else about you.

.

With one foot planted firmly on a raised step, and the other hanging off the edge, JJ slowly dipped down, letting his hanging heel barely touch the ground before he rose up again. He repeated this twice before he paused and looked up at his wife, who in turn was holding up her phone.

"It's Yuri. He doesn't look so good." Isabella commented, brows furrowed slightly, "Someone in the comments section mentioned that he's sick. Why would he still compete like this?"

"I've competed while recovering from the flu before." JJ puffed, and returned to his therapy exercise.

"A whole lot of good that did you," She teased back, and turned the screen around again to watch from her spot against the wall, "You know, of all the skaters that went to the Final, he's the only one who came to see you after the accident."

JJ grunted as he lifted up and down on his fragile leg, feeling the pull of those scars with each dip, "Is that why you're worried about him now?" He wondered.

"He seems nice. It's a shame Viktor is such a brute to you. I feel like you and Yuri could've been friends."

"There's no room for friends in competition." JJ explained quietly, "I think it's for the best th-"

"Oh, he fell..." Isabella commented, "He's really struggling."

.

"C'monnnnnn Yuri." The triplets said in tandem, looming over their mom's laptop. They huddled on their couch, still in their pajamas despite it being late in the morning already, "Pull yourself together."

"What's going on?" Yuko wondered, trying to get a better vantage from the kitchen, "Is that Yuri skating right now?"

"Yeah!" The trio answered, all but biting their nails, "Yuri's still sick! He fell on his triple Axel, and he took longer than he should've to rise up from his combo spin!"

Yuko's brow furrowed, and she went back to watching the green onion sizzle in one pan. She reached for the chopped chicken leftovers, held the cutting-board over the pan, and hesitated, ...I'm so sorry, Yuri...I shouldn't have been so rough with you before, she thought. With a rubber spatula, she pushed the chicken into the pan, I didn't even apologize before you left, which I think is even worse... I'll have to make it up to you when you and Viktor get back home.

.

Hiroko couldn't help but stop working as she spotted her son's lackluster performance on the big-screen.

[That's a quad Loop, triple Loop combo that's been dropped to just a double Loop...] Morooka said; his wince could be heard through the speakers, [Skater Yuri, please recover! You can still pull off the quad Lutz, right!?]

"Oh, Yuri..." Hiroko sighed. The screen swapped over to Viktor for his reaction, but he could do little more than watch as helplessly as everyone else, "This season has been so rough for you boys. I wonder if I jinxed you...?"

Mari stood outside at the back of the resort, puffing idly on a cigarette, I can't watch him like this. I don't even want to go back in until I know it's over.

.

Minako hissed a groan and closed one eye in a wince as she watched her former student's camel spin sag. She pulled her arms in over herself, one gloved hand curled over her mouth, "This is so tragic. Viktor should've pulled him."

Yurio nodded warily next to her, "No kidding. This is just embarrassing. This might even score worse than China."

"If he isn't completely heartbroken by this, he'll be lying to himself." Minako added, "There's no way he can just brush this off as totally okay even though he's sick. He's too competitive for that."

"He's going into the Lutz... Get ready for the fail."

.

Viktor watched anxiously, though he didn't let it show on his face. As Yuri bent down into the backwards slide, his upturned leg barely made it up above waist-level, and he dripped sweat like he'd just stepped out of the shower. Viktor lowered his gaze and lifted a hand to shield his eyes. By the sound of the audience, he knew it hadn't gone well. Fingers parted and he glanced through; Yuri was still on his feet, but it was clear that the man had no energy whatsoever; the jump hadn't even been attempted.

It's almost over, my love... Just get to the finish-line. We can recover from this.

.

The Selfie Squad was like a line of 'no evil' monkeys; Phichit had his hands over his eyes, Minami had his hands over his ears, Leo had his hands over his mouth, and GuangHong had his hands just up. Everyone around them in the competitor's viewing box was just as shocked at the sight.

"He's supposed to be a World Champion, right?"

"Didn't he break Viktor's Free Skate record twice...?"

"What's wrong with him? This is worse than Sochi."

Minami whipped back around, tears clinging to his eyes, "Don't talk about Yuri-kun that way! He's sick! He's doing his best!"

.

Celestino shook his head sorrowfully from where he watched in the prep area with the other idle coaches, though he didn't begrudge his former student. He crossed his arms, and lifted one hand to rub his scruffy chin, "You should know better by now, Viktor... When will you learn not to let your athlete skate while sick or injured? Even if he wins somehow, the toll it takes on his body and confidence will take longer to fix than the shame he would've had for not skating."

.

Yuri struggled to get himself back up to his normal height; he floundered as though he'd been hit by a car, and every muscle in his body ached too much to move. The rink was a blur - even more than normal. The ice was just a fine white mist before him, with no definition, texture, or depth.

I can only move on muscle memory now...but my muscles have given everything they have, he thought bitterly. I'm not even in any pain...I just can't move! Did I not eat enough? Did I run out of calories? I can't be this sick...I just can't be... I feel fine otherwise...

He struggled even more for the final pose, and he felt his toe-pick bounce rather than plant itself. Nothing in his body wanted to work anymore; he felt like a puppet with cut strings, standing there in the middle of the rink, completely exposed. At least the music finally stopped, and he could let himself sink down. Hands went down to his knees at first, but just as he leaned backward, his skates slipped out from under him, and he tumbled hard to his backside. He couldn't resist anymore, and he let himself roll to his back, staring up at those intense white lights high above.

He could hear the muted applause from the audience, but he wasn't sure if it was really that quiet - a polite golf-clap - or if he just couldn't hear it. Before he knew it, Viktor appeared out the corner of his eye with the tissue box and can of oxygen.

"Easy, my love." The silver commented, and wiped away the spit and snot from his beloved's face, then held the small canister-mask up and let the man have a couple inhalations, "You made it. It's done."

"I c...I can't..." He protested weakly. The disappointment started to bubble like tar in his gut, thick and vile. Even spotting Jiro loom from above his head wasn't enough to stop the boil.

.

"The score for Yuri Nikiforov..." The announcer called. Yuri clawed his fingers around his water bottle where he held it above his pinched-together knees, eyes down and his whole body sagged sadly, "...46.1."

Another polite golf-clap; this time, he could hear it clearly.

"I haven't scored this badly since Juniors." Yuri commented quietly, and took his husband's arm to stand up. Jiro hopped down from the bench and followed at their heels, ears splayed apart slightly, though not quite down. Viktor stayed quietly beside the man and helped him back into the prep-area. To Yuri's great relief, Viktor took command of the disappointed and rather subdued post-skate interview. He could hear the words of ill-health being explained, but the optimism for the Free Program was clearly feigned. The interview was rather short by normal standards, and the trio moved off to wait for the next skater to finish. When they were finally apart from the crowd again, Yuri could feel the crippling agony of his abysmal score settle in, and he pressed his eyes to his husband's shoulder, "I knew it would turn out like this... I just didn't think it would still hurt this much."

"I know, my love. I know."

"You have to avenge me..." Yuri added, and clung a bit tighter to that white jacket, "I've let down Japan, I've let down my parents and sister, Minako-sensei, the Nishigoris...I've let down our family..."

Viktor pulled back slightly and looked onto that sad face, "You haven't let anyone down. They know what happened and why. I'm sure they're madder at me for letting you skate than they are disappointed at how you did out there. I'm really a terrible coach."

"You're not... Please don't say stuff like that..."

"I'll make it up to you and everyone." The silver went on, and looked up slightly as he heard the music cut out to make way for the applause, "There's nothing I can do as a coach now...but I can do as you asked, as an athlete."

The kiss and cry didn't mean anything as the SkateHusbands went back through the curtain to rink-side, and Viktor handed off their Security Pup's leash, then his jacket, then his blade-guards. He still waited politely for the applause to die down before he approached the entrance to the ice, but once it was palpably over, the announcer's voice set a fire inside him.

"Our next skater for the evening, representing Japan...Viktor Nikiforov!"

He stepped out into the rink with strength; one push off the concrete was enough to get him into the middle, and he swerved to return to his beloved. Like before, Jiro was pulled up against the edge of the wall, and Viktor offered the pup a quick pet before he turned his attention fully to his despondent spouse. Just as he raised his eyes up though, lips parted to speak, a sound he'd never heard before - for himself, anyway - bubbled-up from under the excited applause.

Boooooooooo...

Booooooo!

"...What the...?" Yuri looked up, confused as all Hell. Even the audience seemed taken aback by the sentiment, and their own clapping subsided as eyes darted around to look for the source of the noise.

[A surprising response from the crowd here at Four Continents...] Morooka commented warily, [Fan-favorite Viktor Nikiforov is...being boo'd?]

Family and friends in the stands gaped in stunned horror; all save Yurio and Mikhail, who looked particularly disgusted and viscerally angry about it. The source of the booing came primarily from around them, and a few descended into mocking laughter...followed by Russian words of malcontent and petty insult. Even Nikki could understand enough of it to know it was Russian, and she gripped her father's arm a bit tighter where she'd already clung to it, "...Papa...why are they...? They're all around us."

"Keep your cool, sweetie." He recommended, "This is what they do."

"Did you know this was going to happen...?" She asked, looking up with those nervous jade eyes.

Mikhail shook his head once, "Not for sure...but I didn't think it was unlikely, either."

"Hun, what the Hell is all this?" Minako asked, leaning forward in her chair, "What do you know...?"

"I didn't think they'd come all the way here to be dicks," He started to answer, "I knew a ton of Russian sports fans were going to go to PyeongChang to be rabble-rousers because of the ban...but here? I had hoped they wouldn't."

Viktor grumbled quietly to himself, but then managed a smile, "Yuri, you know what this means, right?" He asked pointedly.

Startled eyes looked forward again, but Yuri shook his head, "I don't...understand what's going on."

"They're Russians." He explained, "Idiots with money and time on their hands to cause problems. They're here to try and spook me."

"...How can you skate like this...?"

"Because they don't scare me." Viktor answered assuredly, "They can boo me all they want, but they can't stop me from winning Gold for us this weekend. It's their own damn fault I'm skating for Japan now. Yurio tried to warn them that my relationship choices don't hurt my skating. I'm going to show them how much stronger I am because of it instead."

The dark circles under Yuri's eyes lightened slightly, and he let himself have a shred of hope, "Please do your best. I love you."

Viktor nodded, and tilted his head to find his kiss, "I love you too. Go sit with smol nugget and the others. Be surrounded by friends while I bury these haters."