Yuuri stopped and turned to look at Kai, who'd been trailing a half-step behind him. "Are you sure you don't want me to find you another way into Tokyo? I'm already inconveniencing you by making you come with me so I can have coaching sessions while I'm working here."
Kai just smiled. "I'm pretty sure that Celestino insisted that you have coaching sessions, and you and Madison decided who would stay with her in Detroit and who would come with you to Tokyo."
"It wouldn't have been fair of me to take the main coach for a week while everyone else is at the DSC. We're not Celestino's only skaters, and Nationals are coming up after the Prix for everyone." Yuuri sighed. "But still, there are other ways of getting to Tokyo than driving in with me."
"Do you not want me to? Why would you even arrange your flight to come in around the same time as mine if you were just going to abandon me at the airport?"
Yuuri shook his head. "It's not that. It's just… you'll see." They kept walking, but his steps soon slowed as they walked past an airport conbini. "At least you'll keep me honest."
"What do you mean?"
"When I travel to Japan by myself, I always get a convenience store onigiri as soon as I can."
Kai paused. "Go on. I will wait with our luggage. But get me something good! With seaweed!"
Yuuri grinned and ducked into the store, making a beeline to the cooler section in the back. After a few seconds of thought, he grabbed a tuna mayo onigiri and a nice-looking premium kombu onigiri and took them up to pay before exiting again.
"I assumed by seaweed you meant something like kombu?" he asked as he handed the second onigiri over to Kai. "Or did you just mean with seaweed on the outside?"
"Either is fine. It's a flavor I'm familiar with and like." She paused. "At the end of the season I will bring some spam musubi for you."
Yuuri hummed. "Hawaiian style onigiri, right? I'll look forward to it."
After teaching Kai the correct method of dealing with the crinkly plastic covering, they stood by their luggage and ate, Yuuri visibly bouncing on his toes with the sheer pleasure of the texture and flavor. He held his hand out for Kai's plastic once she'd finished hers, then went in search of a trashcan to dispose of the wrappers.
"As far as welcome home traditions go, I see why you like this one," Kai remarked once he'd returned.
"It's not a tradition. It's blatant cheating , but so worth it."
"Yuuri-kun!"
Yuuri took a deep breath before spinning around on the ball of one foot. Shuji was making his way toward them with the same confident energy he always had, Fujino-san trailing behind as per usual. And Yuuri knew exactly what he had to do.
"修司！これは EXCITEになる ぞ ！"
He grinned. The outburst was so out of character for him that he could practically feel Kai jump next to him.
Shuji's steps faltered and he stopped, staring at Yuuri for a full minute before literally jumping in the air with joy. "やばい！Yuuri-kun did it, Fujino-san! Did you hear him?! He said it! I've been trying for years and he finally did it!" The Japanese tumbled out of Shuji's mouth at a rapid clip, and Yuuri couldn't help but laugh a little. Shuji was well past trying to keep up his cool J-rock idol character and just jogged the rest of the way over, wrapping Yuuri in a one armed hug for a second before stepping back. "You need to say it all the time now."
Yuuri quickly waved his hands in front of him. His outburst had caused enough people in the airport to stop and look at them; worse, some had even pulled out their cameras. There was no way he was ever repeating that again. "いや！Not happening. EXCITE is not entering into my Japanese vocabulary like that." He stepped to the side as Fujino-san joined them and gave Kai a once-over. "Kai, this is Tatsuno Shuji, a former classmate of mine and good friend. He's the lead singer of EXCITE." He then nodded towards Fujino-san. "And that's his manager, Fujino-san. He works at the same agency as Hirano-san, but he works exclusively with EXCITE and primarily with Shuji-kun."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kai Tamm, Yuuri's assistant coach in Detroit." Kai bowed, a little awkwardly but still less so than Ciao Ciao did whenever he was dealing with the Japanese contingent. "Um, is English all right?"
"My English is great!" Shuji said.
Yuuri shook his head. "Shuji-kun's English is passable, but Fujino-san's is quite good."
"おい、ユウくん、てめぇさぁ..."
"Let me guess, he just called you an ass?" Kai took a breath and rolled her eyes upward.
Yuuri bit back a laugh. "Not literally, but it was rude. Which is probably why Fujino-san is looking pretty annoyed at the moment. Shuji-kun should be speaking more politely because you're here, even if you can't understand him. Also we might be overheard by…" Yuuri motioned to the space around them. They were in public, after all.
"I see."
With his explanation concluded, Yuuri turned back to the group. "I am not trying to be mean, I am being accurate . Shuji's English is better than it has been and was better than Shouta's, though London definitely helped him with his, so who knows now." He paused, then leaned over to Kai. "I can still help you get to your hotel a different way other than in the car with the two of us. You'll be hearing the word EXCITE a lot . It basically replaces all positive adjectives in Shuji-kun's vocabulary. It's not a 'cool car,' it's an 'EXCITE car.' It's not a 'nice pen,' it's an 'EXCITE pen.' It's not an 'awesome movie,' it's an 'EXCITE movie.' And negative adjectives too. He doesn't say it was a bad show, he says it was NOT an EXCITE show."
Fujino-san covered his mouth and stared at the ground; Shuji flashed a look of only partially feigned outrage.
"なんやねん ！ユウくんってクソ友やな。 " Everything after the "ku" got muffled by Fujino-san's strategically placed hand.
Yuuri just nodded to Kai. "That was much closer."
"Stop it or I will tell Hirano-san on you, Katsuki-kun." Fujino-san sighed. "On the other hand, Katsuki-kun is correct about Shuji-kun's limited vocabulary. So I will do my best to keep up the conversation with Coach Tamm as we drive into Tokyo. This way Shuji-kun can get out all his excitement at having Katsuki-kun back in Japan."
Shuji smiled. "Don't you mean EXCITEment, Fujino-san?"
Fujino-san sighed, audibly louder.
Yuuri just shook his head. "See what I mean. And that was in English."
At least this time Fujino-san let him handle his own luggage, but he made a point of taking over Kai's before they all climbed into Fujino-san's sedan and headed into the city. Once Kai seemed to be drawn into conversation with Fujino-san, Shuji switched to Japanese and redirected Yuuri's conversation with him.
"If you seriously aren't going to be in Japan for the Seijin-shiki, you have to come to Osaka after the NHK so we can all take you out for dinner for your 20th, Yuu-kun."
"It's the middle of the competition season. Do you know how busy I am and how impossible that plan is if I actually do make the Final, which I'm really hoping will happen? Not even going into how out of my diet plan any of your ideas for dinner will be?"
Shuji pressed his lips into a tight line and shook his head at him. "Like we aren't all busy working too? We want to do this." He paused. "Well, no, actually we want you to come to the Seijin-shiki so we can all celebrate together after like we're supposed to, but we'll take what we can get. You promised Haruka-chan to do better a year ago . So do better. I might have said it as a joke earlier, but… You're being a shit friend."
Yuuri sighed. "I can't ." At Shuji's growing frown he tried again. "I'll think about it, but I seriously don't see how I'll be able to make staying in Japan longer work." With that, he laid his head back against the headrest and stared at the ceiling of the car. It was going to be a long two weeks.
"Thank you for giving me a ride, Hirano-san. It wasn't necessary. Yuuri made sure I had a Suica card and showed me how to use it, and I'm sure I could have figured out how to get to the garden on my own."
Yuuri's manager gave Kai a professional smile. "It is no problem at all. Part of my job while Katsuki-kun is here in Japan is to make sure he gets where he needs to be in regards to work. And while I know he's more than capable of navigating the train systems in Tokyo, it's just easier this way believe it or not." She glanced back at Yuuri through the rearview mirror; he was currently sitting next to Kai, typing something in Japanese on his phone and visibly unhappy about it. "I convinced him to stop being stubborn about it over the summer."
"Advertisements in the train stations have a way of doing that to a person." Yuuri grumbled, punctuating his statement with a huff; he didn't bother looking up from the phone screen.
For her part, Kai bit the inside of her cheek. It had been like this for the last two days now. She would work with Yuuri at a rink near that was her hotel and seemingly close to wherever Yuuri was staying, which she assumed was with the friend she met the first day. Then Hirano-san would show up either mid-morning or after lunch and offer to drop Kai off where she wanted to spend her afternoon – as long as it wasn't too far afield – before whisking Yuuri off to do the work she contracted for him. Kai wasn't quite sure of the extent of said work, but knew the first day was a shoot with UNIQLO since Shuji had accompanied him to his practice that morning and told her so as they had watched him warm up.
Which was just as well, since Yuuri didn't really talk about it; he just gave one of his long sighs, saying that he'd take the work he could since it helped pay for his coaching contract with Celestino as well as living in the States, all the while insisting that it wasn't like he was a model like Viktor or anything.
Kai almost showed him the picture she'd taken after spotting one of his previous UNIQLO ads while navigating the underground pathways, but thought better of it: knowing his likeness was plastered in public obviously made Yuuri uncomfortable. For Kai, however, it was an eye-opener; it was one thing knowing that he'd done some modelling work, but actually seeing it up there on the wall was an experience . And it wasn't just UNIQLO, either; Kai was pretty sure she'd passed by an ad for some sort of sports drink or something, too.
At times like this, she wished she'd known what his life was like in Japan before making the trip with him. She hadn't expected him to be quite so busy – or to see one of her skaters plastered on the wall of the Tokyo Metro, for that matter. On the train itself, there had even been multiple NHK Trophy advertisements, which had nothing to do with the modelling and everything to do with his skating. She was sure that Yuuri did not like those, either.
That didn't even get into her first trip into a Tokyo bookstore, mainly an effort to look around and try to find Yuuri on the cover of the infamous ON ICE she'd heard so much about. She of course picked up a copy of that, plus an issue of 【 スポーツ 】 which had Aida Masao on the cover and NHK in large letters, under the assumption it would have something as well. Phichit would definitely get a kick out of them. And when Kai had turned around to head to the register, she was suddenly face-to-face with the kid with blue bangs Yuuri was staying with, staring back at her from at least four or five magazine covers, alone and with others. And that was how Kai had discovered that EXCITE was not some little garage rock band like she'd thought, but a legitimately famous J-rock group. Yuuri always brushed off the idol talk, so Kai hadn't really taken it all that seriously, either. Maybe she should have.
As if all of that hadn't been enough, the end of her second day had her flipping through the channels in her hotel room, vainly trying to find the live talk show, or variety show, or something Hirano-san had mentioned that Yuuri would be a guest on that night. She briefly stopped because she suddenly spotted Yuuri on the screen, only to discover she was watching some commercial for PlayStation or maybe just a video game; Kai wasn't quite sure.
What was certain was that her and Celestino were definitely out of the loop on all of this.
Sure, Maddy was known and did things like TV spots and some advertisements and even a little bit of modelling, especially for the companies that sponsored her. But Yuuri in Japan… that was something else.
In the here and now, Hirano-san sighed from the front seat. "Yuuri-kun, stop frowning. I know you do not want to go to this fitting, but it is happening."
"What? No, that's not why I'm frowning. I've given up on arguing about the suit. You somehow managed to get me an interview in Famitsu, so at least I could not be difficult about a suit. Even if you forgot to mention the photoshoot until the last minute."
"And I apologized for that. You still had almost 36 hours notice." Hirano-san did not sound apologetic at all, and Kai realized she should probably use the opportunity to take notes on how to manage Yuuri; the other woman seemed to have it down to an art form.
"It wasn't the worst photoshoot ever. Actually it was probably the best. I liked Daisuke." Yuuri brightened briefly, but then sighed. "I'm frowning because I'm arguing with everyone in group chat. Shuji-kun and Noda-chan thought everyone ganging up on me about Seijin no Hi would get me to change my mind. So now I have Kanon-chan, Furase-chan, and Shouta-kun all mmpf . And they're just the ones being the loudest about it. At least Keiko-chan hasn't started, because she's prepping for the NHK herself."
"Are they upset because you'll be in Hasetsu?" Hirano-san's response did not help clue Kai into what they were talking about one bit.
Yuuri shook his head. "No. I'm not doing it at all. I'll be in Detroit and I'm not coming all the way back two weeks after Nationals. It makes no sense."
Hirano-san didn't seem pleased with his answer, judging by the way her reflection showed her her lips pressed together in a thin line. Still, it had to be a "thing" if even his friends were giving him a hard time, and that only piqued Kai's curiosity further. Yuuri didn't seem to want to talk about it at all if the thunderstorm crossing his features was any indication, but Katya might know, given how much time they'd spent together in St. Petersburg back in the day. Kai knew she probably shouldn't use her new source of information excessively; it was definitely tempting, though.
At that moment, Hirano-san asked Yuuri a question in Japanese that just made Yuuri sigh again. He answered with what Kai thought was a "no," but she couldn't be sure. She did recognize the name "Turov" in Hirano-san's follow-up; that also drew out a negative answer. Hirano-san said one other thing before humming, but Yuuri didn't bother replying this time; his expression was now even grumpier, something Kai hadn't thought was even possible.
After a second of awkward silence, Hirano-san addressed her directly. "I'm sorry, Tamm-san, as that was rude, but I felt that I should spare Yuuri a little bit of embarrassment, so I chose to inquire further into the situation in Japanese."
Kai shook her head. "If it's not going to have an impact on his skating, it's not my business." Which was completely the truth, even if she was terribly curious about what could annoy Yuuri so much. She looked over at him for confirmation. "Will it impact your skating?"
"Taking time before Four Continents to come back to Japan? Yes, it will impact my skating. That's the whole reason I am not doing it."
"There are rinks available," Hirano-san interjected. "If I remember correctly, your friends in Hatsetsu own the rink, even."
Yuuri sighed. "I can deal with this later. I haven't even received my letter yet." He turned to Kai. "It's just a Japanese holiday that people want me to come back for. That's all."
"OK. If you say so." There were plenty of Japanese holidays that Yuuri never went back to Japan for, namely all of them - he hadn't even extended his trip by a week to go to New Year's with his family last year and wasn't doing it this year either, and she knew that was an important holiday in Japan. But it never seemed to get under his skin the way this one was.
The car finally rolled to a stop and Hirano-san looked at Kai. "Shinjuku Gyoen, Tamm-san. I will make sure that Yuuri gets back to you in time for his afternoon session." Kai got out, but paused by the door as she saw the back window roll down; Yuuri obviously had something to tell her, but he was currently looking at Hirano-san.
"No. I have a meeting at the JSF, so I have to head there after the thing for International Figure Skating Monthly. I can take the train." Kai almost smiled; the photographer for that particular article had been at their morning practice today taking pictures while Yuuri spent the entire time furiously pretending that there wasn't an interloper watching his every move. "You don't have to come to the JSF meeting if you don't want to, but you're more than welcome to," Yuuri finally announced through the open window. "It's going to be in Japanese, and I can't guarantee that I'll be able to keep up a running translation, but I will do my best and sum up the rest after."
"That's skating-related, so I'll be there. Celestino already told me that he wants me there. Then we'll go and get an evening session after the public session ends. Is that all right?"
Yuuri nodded. "Yeah, I don't have anything scheduled for tonight. I guess I'll meet you outside of Harajuku station about twenty minutes before? It's a short walk from there. And you can cross off another tourist destination."
"I don't remember Harajuku being on my list, but I suppose that's true." She patted his shoulder. "See you later."
"じゃあね。"
Yuuri wasn't even really paying attention as he followed Hirano-san from the car and into the store, but the space and lack of suits seeped into the brain regardless. He stopped. "This isn't a tailor." He only felt a little ridiculous for stating the obvious.
Hirano-san hummed. "No. Not a tailor. Did you think that is where we were going?"
"For a suit? Yes, I may have been under that impression." This was definitely not what Yuuri had been expecting. Hirano-san just stood to the side with her hands clasped behind her back, leaving a fidgety Yuuri to start wandering around looking at the clothes, which had apparently been arranged on racks solely for display purposes as opposed to something as pedestrian as finding a given size. It was all womenswear but nicer; not overly ostentatious. Yuuko would appreciate it, but most of his former classmates would probably find it all a little dull.
"すみません。Menswear is up on the second floor. You can look there while you're waiting if you would like." The saleswoman who approached them was dressed simply but nicely in all black and smiled with the expected professional courtesy.
Yuuri looked over at Hirano-san, who just motioned to the metal staircase at the edge of the space, so he climbed up while she followed a few steps behind. It was more of the same as downstairs – sample clothing loosely hung on racks in a way that was easy to look at – but instead of bright white, the walls were slate. He walked over to a display of a winter coat and fingered the edge of the garment the partial mannequin was wearing. It looked so comfortable. And warm. And practical. And nice. The flashiest thing on it were the large buttons that shone with a blue fire to them.
A different woman approached him holding a book in her hands. "Do you like it, Katsuki-senshu?"
He glanced over at Hirano-san. Of course they'd all know his name, especially at a place where he was sure the prices were more in Viktor's price range than his. He bit his cheek to stop the sigh from escaping and just barely inclined his head in an affirmative. The woman opened up the book and flipped to a page showing him the coat as part of a complete outfit. He glanced down at the picture, more because at that point he felt like he had to than out of any real desire to look at it. The dark blue pants looked comfortable, with a relaxed fit and rolled cuff; the charcoal shirt had a slightly wider neck then most shirts and yet still looked good under the mid-tone gray sweater. The coat just tied it all together perfectly.
He leaned closer, not caring that he could see a slight smile curve Hirano-san's lips from the corner of his eye. It wasn't that he hated clothes or fashion, he just didn't have the innate sense for it that Viktor did, and he definitely didn't like feeling ridiculous.
He bit back a sigh. Even if he really liked it – liked the whole outfit, in fact – there was no way he was going to buy it. He was already nervous enough about finding out the final cost of the suit, especially given their current location. So he thanked the worker and went back to stand next to Hirano-san, only pausing on his way when he passed the sweater from the image he'd just looked at and instinctively reached out to see if it was as soft as it looked.
It was. Damn it.
"I know when I'm being manipulated. My old coach used to do it all the time."
Hirano-san didn't look at him, keeping her gaze focused out the large windows. "Did it work?"
"Sometimes." Yuuri paused, shifting from foot to foot. "I'm not going to drop money on clothes like Viktor does. I can't afford to. I have other financial commitments, and I need to save what I can once the modelling work from UNIQLO dries up so that I have a cushion."
"As far as I've been told, UNIQLO is quite pleased with your performance so far, and I last talked to my contact there yesterday about the shoot you just did for Spring. Suffice it to say, that I am confident that you will be getting more contracts from them."
"Obviously they haven't actually looked at the pictures yet, because I looked like a piece of candy. Every time."
Hirano-san paused to take a breath and Yuuri was pretty sure she was trying not to laugh at the idea. In fairness, it was pretty ridiculous. Whoever thought he could pull off pastels when they hired him again–
"In the age of digital photography, I am confident that the RAWs have been at least glanced through. However, if UNIQLO no longer wants to work with you, there are other companies that would be more than happy to, I'm sure. I recently discovered that Nakagawa-san signed a contract with BAPE, for instance. In addition to that, you do not have any sort of exclusivity contract with UNIQLO. So, if you want more modelling work, all you have to do is say so. As long as it is not sportswear, because that would violate your sponsorship contract with Mizuno."
Shouta's contract with BAPE was something Yuuri had already known about for obvious reasons; he hadn't expected Hirano-san to pick up on it, too. "That works for Nakagawa-kun. I'm… well aware of his looks. I'm also aware of mine."
"Are you?" Hirano-san turned to look at him, and she seemed actually curious about his answer.
"Yes. I also know that Photoshop is a thing. Which explains the current run of UNIQLO ads that are everywhere." He paused and clasped his hands behind his back. "I'm not saying that I'm ugly, I know I'm not, but neither am I… that . I am of average attractiveness, which is why the whole model thing confuses me. I'm just a skater, and currently not even a great one."
"Now I know you're lying. You're currently ranked in the top ten in the world."
Yuuri shook his head. "No, I'm not." He didn't know for sure – he didn't like knowing, which would just mean more stress and pressure – so he'd never looked it up. But he was sure that he wasn't in the top ten. Maybe top twenty, though.
"Eighth, to be precise."
His breath caught. Eighth? That… was not possible. She must have gotten it mixed up with his placement in Worlds. "No. That's not how… My placement in Worlds is not the same as my ranking."
Hirano-san sighed. "I am well aware of that fact. I specialize in managing sports idols. You are not the first skater that I have managed. You aren't even the only skater I am currently managing. As your manager, it's my job to be aware of both your ranking and your placements at competitions." She reached into her bag for her phone. "Shall I pull up the official rankings on my phone to show you? I have them saved."
Yuuri frantically shook his hands in front of him. "No! No. Please don't."
Thankfully, another saleswoman picked that moment to interject. "Katsuki-senshu, if you can follow me up these stairs. We have your suit in a changing room, and then we're just going to do the final fitting in order to make whatever small adjustments are necessary."
Hirano-san almost chuckled. "Ah, saved by a suit that you did not even want."
Yuuri shook his head in exasperation and followed this latest salesperson in black up another metal staircase to the third floor.
Three Musketeers
Yuuri
Congrats on gold, Chris
I saw the results
Take it you landed your Lutz?
I haven't managed to watch the skate yet
I've been a bit busy
Chris
Thanks!
So proud of that save even if I felt like I was
about to slam my face into ice doing it.
I was on my skates and only got a -1
So it was better
It was enough
Still in Tokyo?
It's fine if you can't watch by the way
Yuuri
Yes. Still in Tokyo.
Still working
I'm probably going to watch it on my way to Sendai.
Viktor
Are you putting in skating time at all?
This is a longer trip than it was last time and the NHK starts in a few days
Yuuri
I'm very aware of when the NHK starts
There are actual ads for it here
I am on them even
I've been putting in about three hours a day on the ice.
Two in the morning
One in the afternoon or evening
Kai is working with me for at least one if not two sessions a day
She's basically getting a paid partial vacation
And Lyosha came in for jump work for a day early on
I'm not slacking
Viktor
Good
Because you have a competition to win.
I expect a gold medal, Yura.
Chris
Gold at NHK and you should make the GPF
Yuuri
Silver and probably not
Unless everyone else implodes
I know
I don't know if I can get gold
Doesn't mean I'm not going to try
Chris
Manu, Aaron and Cao are all there
Aren't they?
Yuuri
Yeah
It's not going to be easy
Georgi too, but he's in the same position as me
Viktor
Georgi would definitely need gold
His other finish was fifth.
So even gold wouldn't cinch him a spot
What's tomorrow's schedule like?
WIll you have room for FaceTime?
Yuuri
No. Sorry. I know I haven't been available much this week.
It's just been busy.
Tomorrow is just more of the same.
Skate in the morning
Photo shoot for some merchandise
Meeting for said merchandise I'm not allowed to veto or skip
Skate some more
Variety Show because Hirano-san is trying to torture me
Or hates me
Unsure which but it's one of those two
Tuesday is basically the same
Morning skate
MIZUNO shoot
Sponsoship meeting with Sony that needed to get
squeezed in
That is definitely not going anywhere, but…
Probably some other work thing Hirano-san came up with
Afternoon skate, I hope.
Then dinner with Shuji-kun to thank him for putting me up
That dinner is non-negotiable. Hirano-san tried and her and
Fujino-san got into a… disagreement… he won.
Chris
Who is Fujino-san?
Yuuri
Shuji's manager. Shuji's schedule is not quite as bad as
mine since he actually lives in Tokyo, but it's still really busy,
and making sure that Shuji and I could go out to dinner before
I headed up to Sendai was a priority for Shuji and therefore his
manager, so Fujino-san wasn't going to let Hirano-san schedule it away.
Technically, I guess, he ranks higher than her since we're both
with the same agency… but usually it doesn't matter because
athletes and idols don't cross paths.
Viktor
Unless you're Yuuri
What did Lyosha call you the other day to me…
"Japan's top skating idol"
Yuuri
I hate it when Lyosha calls me that. It's nonsense
Anyway
On Wednesday I just have some errands before Kai and
I take the train to Sendai
It's basically my day off
Chris
Has the entire week been like that?
Yuuri
Yes
Everyday there has been some combination of work,
media, or meetings that I've had to fit around my skating schedule
This is what I get for not wanting to fly back to Japan
more often though
I might have to rethink how to approach this next season
Viktor
So… um… you mentioned a photoshoot for merch?
Yuuri
That?
It shouldn't hurt Wave 2 of Makka v Pipsqueak don't worry
At least that's what I've been informed
"That collaboration is taken into account when developing ideas for
new lines" or something I don't know… Apparently any idea that involves
Vicchan gets run by your team first because of a right of first refusal
or something. I don't know. This is just me. And skating.
I don't even know why it exists
I mean, who would even buy a clear file with me
doing an Ina Bauer in my short program costume
Or a calendar?!
Why is a calendar a thing that my manager thinks
people would even want to buy?
And only two thirds of the images are even skating pictures!
I don't even remember saying all right to a calendar, but
it's already printed and in stores or something so I
did at some point.
She's been trying to convince me that I should consider
doing an official photobook!
"You like Daisuke. He'd be a great photographer for parts of it."
Viktor
Yura...
Chris
? ﾟﾘﾆ? ﾟﾘﾆ? ﾟﾘﾆ
Wow…
I had no idea
Pretty sure Viktor doesn't care about the impact it'd have
on the Makka v Pipsqueak stuff tho
Just wants the merch
Yuuri
I don't remember getting free Viktor merch at any
point in our friendship
Just mentioning
Viktor
Chris, Yuuri is being mean
Chris
Not if he's telling the truth and you didn't send him
stuff for free
You know, now that I think about it…
I've never gotten any either
Viktor
(╥﹏╥)
I'll have you both put on my PR list.
Chris
Now that's more like it.
I'll do the same.
Yuuri
I don't even know what that is.
Chris
It's how you get free merch before release.
Technically we're probably supposed to insta it
or something to help him sell more
Yuuri
So if I tell Hirano-san to put you on this list if I even
have one which I doubt
VIKTOR would technically have to post about it?
Chris
Yep!
Viktor
I would!
Yuuri
…
I'm thinking about all the possible hashtags that might
result from that
I think I'm good with our current arrangement.
I will just buy Viktor's merchandise like a normal fan.
Viktor
(ಥ﹏ಥ)
。゜゜(´Ｏ`)゜゜。
Chris
Hold on. Have to look up these emoji thingies you use
*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*
I hope that's a laughing one because I am dying
Viktor
I need a favor
Georgi
If it's about the calendar, forget it
I had to try three different stores just to find one
for Mila
I am not trying to find another
Viktor
But I can't find it anywhere online!
(╥﹏╥)
Georgi
…
Fine. But don't get your hopes up
It's been sold out
Maybe I'll try to ask one of the Japanese skaters…
Kai found herself standing next to Yuuri's manager in a clothing store rarified enough to make her afraid to touch anything. It wasn't the sort of place she had expected when Yuuri mentioned that they were picking up his suit, but this was their last stop before Hirano-san took them to Tokyo Station to catch a Shinkansen to Sendai, Yuuri's week of work and training in Tokyo having finally come to an end.
Getting a glimpse into his Japanese schedule was definitely eye-opening; she now realized that Yuuri's reality when coming to Japan for just a week was fitting at least two weeks of outside work around three to four hours of ice time a day into half the time needed for it. And he never complained, at least not openly. He was obviously grumpy about it all, but never to the people he actively worked with; then he was unerringly polite. Only Kai, his manager, and his friends ever saw the tension in his shoulders and spine, and the frowns etched on his face.
She couldn't help but think of when he'd come over at the beginning of the summer, fitting all that around ice shows and moving around the country for a month solid while dashing from one hotel to the next, all in addition to apparently shooting not one but two commercials. There had only been one commercial this trip – at least as far as she knew, because once again that fact had just been casually mentioned by someone who was not Yuuri. Kai wasn't even sure what it was for, or where it had even fit into his schedule.
"I can't believe he agreed to getting his suit here ." Kai did not associate Yuuri with designer, and this was definitely designer .
Hirano-san hummed. "He wasn't given a choice. I reached out to people in the fashion industry that I know and mentioned that I had a 20-year-old Japanese male figure skater who needed a suit for work functions at international events and wanted to showcase the work of Japanese designers. I thought Yuuri-kun might appreciate that last point." She paused. "So Sacai reached out and asked if these were similar functions to what Viktor Nikiforov attends as a skater, as he is a known quantity in the fashion industry." Hirano-san smiled. "I, of course, was happy to reply in the affirmative and that Katsuki Yuuri was, in fact, ranked in the top ten Men's skaters of the world. They thought about it, and then agreed that they could work with the short timeframe. I was especially pleased, since this brand is a good fit for him."
Kai blinked. "You are very good at your job."
This time, there was very little of the innate Japanese humility in Hirano-san's smile. "I am adequate. Which is why Katsuki-kun is now sharing me with Aida-san as far as figure skaters go. Though I will say it is easier to work with Aida-san, since she lives in Japan. She also isn't idol-adjacent, which is a unique situation to Katsuki-kun." She paused. "She also isn't as obtuse as Katsuki-kun can be. He definitely does not see what other people see when he looks in a mirror."
"He also doesn't see what others see when he skates. The numbers only matter to him in that they determine who he skates against. And he wants to skate against Viktor." Kai sighed. "As does every other male skater in the world, but I think it's a little different for Yuuri."
The curtain blocking the fitting area pulled back and Yuuri stepped out in a navy suit. He looked almost sheepish and was definitely unsure, keeping his fingers clenched into a fist at his side while they looked him over.
After a moment, Hirano-san sighed and stepped forward to stand directly in front of Yuuri. "When you wear a suit like this, made by a designer such as this, you do not fold in onto yourself, Katsuki-senshu. You show it off. The stitches are done with the same care your designers put into your costumes." She paused. "A suit like this should make you want to stand up straighter and maybe preen a bit." Another pause, though if she was waiting for a reaction from Yuuri, none was forthcoming. "Don't you want people to see the workmanship that the designer and her team put into creating the clothing you are wearing?"
Yuuri took a deep breath and straightened his spine, releasing the tension in his hands and lifting his chin up just slightly. Hirano-san stepped back and nodded with visible satisfaction; just the change in stance made a huge difference. It wasn't the most formal of suits in the world, but Kai admitted it was definitely a good fit for Yuuri. For starters, the slimmer fit didn't make him look as if he was swimming in wool suiting. The small square pattern and the slight sheen to the fabric worked well, while the burgundy tie complemented his complexion and drew attention to his eyes. It wasn't overly formal or stuffy, definitely kept to a younger vibe, and could probably be dressed down and still look good if he lost the tie. That versatility alone made it a great buy.
Kai gave him a thumbs up. "Do you like it?"
Yuuri surprised her when he nodded. "My bank account wasn't the happiest, but it's worth it, I think." He chewed on his lip for a minute. "I just worry it's… too much. Not cost-wise, but…" He trailed off.
"No, it's definitely you. It's well made and fashionable, but not in 'Viktor's Alexander McQueen nonsense from Skate America' way. Functional and youthful. Which is kind of you to a tee."
When Yuuri flushed slightly but offered a bright smile, Kai wasn't surprised to hear the shutter of Hirano-san's phone camera go off. It was obvious why a designer would want Yuuri to wear their clothes.
"Good." Hirano-san smiled. "Go change." She paused as one of the shop's workers approached and hung some clothes up in the fitting and changing area. "Someone may have heard that your 20th birthday was in a few days, and has left something for you."
Yuuri frowned and turned around, shaking his head as soon as he saw the clothes. "You can't be serious."
"That outfit is what you should wear on the train, I think," Hirano-san said before returning to stand next to Kai for a better view. Kai gave her a questioning look as Yuuri went back into the changing area and slid the curtain closed. "He was admiring an outfit from the look book when we came for the fitting. And now it is his." Hirano-san paused, obviously thinking for a moment before deciding to continue. "There aren't many birthdays that matter in Japan. But the 20th, that matters at least a little. He will be officially and legally an adult. And while he may have been living as one already for the most part, there is old tradition and history made modern behind Coming of Age. It's not as important as it once was, same as in many places in the world. But I think it still matters."
"So he should stay in Japan for a few extra days to celebrate? That would be difficult to make happen, but we could try." Yuuri's birthday was the 29th and the NHK wrapped up the 26th. The Final was close behind, though, and there was a decent chance he'd make it; his free was looking really good. A day or two was probably possible, but not ideal, and three was definitely pushing it.
Hirano-san shook her head. "No. You do not traditionally celebrate on your birthday. You can, but no. Coming of Age is actually a national holiday held on the second Monday of January and everyone who has turned 20 the previous school year celebrates on the same day. You dress formally in a suit or kimono, the government welcomes you to adulthood with a ceremony and lecture on civic responsibility, et cetera. You go to a shrine or temple with your family, have a nice meal, take many pictures. You go out to celebrate being an adult with your friends that night."
"Seijin no Hi." The Japanese that she'd heard multiple times over the course of the week in Japan suddenly made sense. Even during the meeting with the JSF, the term had been a topic of conversation between Yuuri and various officials, albeit briefly and to everyone's evident displeasure.
Hirano-san nodded. "Exactly. It's not a requirement. He won't be in trouble or breaking a law by not participating, or anything like that. Many don't participate. But it matters to people. The JSF would like to see him participate; federations with internationally ranked athletes always like seeing the athletes attend a Seijin-shiki – a coming of age ceremony. His parents and family, I'm sure, would want to celebrate it with him."
All the puzzle pieces were finally slotting into place. "And his friends are trying to guilt him into it."
"They most definitely are. They are, by far, the most vocal about it, and they are not succeeding from what Fujino-san has said. Yuuri-kun is… stubborn."
Kai snorted. That was an understatement. But then the curtain pulled to the side and Yuuri stepped through, putting an end to their whispered conversation. He was smiling with his hands thrust into the upper pockets of an incredibly nice coat.
"I'm never taking this off. It is amazing and I want to live in it." The change from his typical clothes to something designer and fitted made a world of difference. He didn't look like a little lost boy anymore, slumming in a workout jacket and jeans hidden beneath a burlap sack of a winter coat.
Hirano-san smiled. "Then show that when you leave the building."
Yuuri's smile faltered. "There are going to be cameras, aren't there? Staged 'casual' photos like Shuji-kun does." A small nod. Yuuri pulled a face. "I guess it's worth it."
"It's a performance," Kai said. "Just like on the ice."
[the front of Ekibenya Matsuri in Tokyo station]
a2F0c3Vkb24 I feel like I'm about to go into a candy store.
[two ekiben on fold down trays with a train window and blurry scenery in the background]
a2F0c3Vkb24 Best way to get from Tokyo to Sendai. And you get ekiben. Add in watching the free from TEB and what's better than that?
Celestino and Madison were already waiting in the hotel lobby with their suitcases when Kai and Yuuri exited the elevator from the Shinkansen level of Sendai Station.
"I want to travel this way all the time," Kai whispered as they headed over. "No shuttle. Customs was a week ago. I'm used to the time zone already."
"You got ekiben." Yuuri added.
Kai nodded. "That too. I'm glad you talked me into that."
Madison was blinking at them. "Did you get kidnapped by someone with fashion sense while in Tokyo, Yuuri?"
He sighed. "That's actually incredibly accurate. Yes."
Celestino clapped him on the shoulder. "Kai has been sending updates. She says it's good."
"I hope so. With the way things shook out in France, I need gold to make the Final."
Celestino took a breath. "Don't think about that. Just… we're going to aim for strong and clean. The rest will follow."
Yuuri clenched his jaw and nodded. It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but Ciao Ciao was probably right.
Check-in went by in a blur, as did getting his accreditation from the JSF. And then Yuuri was in the elevator heading up to his room, for once alone in blissful silence. He swiped the keycard and went in before stopping dead in his tracks and sighing. He'd forgotten that he wasn't the only Men's Japanese skater at the competition.
"こんにちは, Katsuki-kun."
"こんにちは, Murata-san." He'd met the silver medalist from Nationals before, of course, but he didn't know him well. Murata-san was two years older and had never placed above Yuuri in national competitions, though he'd come close a handful of times, like last year. He supposed if Oda-san had been competing here, Yuuri would probably have ended up rooming with him instead, as Yuuri would have been the silver medalist. That probably would have somehow been even more awkward, even though Yuuri had had more conversations with Oda-san over the course of his career.
"I thought you might like having the bed by the window," Murata remarked as he turned his attention back to his competition kit. "You know, since your luck has run out and you're not the sole Japanese Men's competitor this time."
"Thank you, but it's fine if you want it, Murata-san. I just need a place to sleep."
"You can call me Murata-kun like everyone else. It's not like we haven't been competing against each other for years or anything."
Yuuri sucked in a sharp breath. He knew he was being baited. and that he had a reputation for being distant even among other Japanese skaters. Yuuri had gotten so used to his interactions with a small group of skaters that falling back into being prickly and uncomfortable around his fellow competitors felt worse than it had in the past. Add that into not having a space of his own during a competition… This was going to be miserable.
Yuuri bowed. "I'm sorry, I just…" He shook his head and stopped trying to explain himself. Instead, he just sat down on the bed and shrugged out of his coat.
"Keiko-chan gave me the run down when I saw her before I checked in. That, and your friends in the Team Japan skaters' chat you don't want to be in. The Pair skaters. Yuuko-chan and…" Murata trailed off while he tried to remember the name.
"Nishigori Takeshi," Yuuri supplied.
"Nishigori-kun. I remember him from Singles back in Juniors for the couple of years before he quit and presumably started the switch to Pairs. His last year was your first, right?" Yuuri nodded. "They all said you're quiet and awkward and not to take things personally. So I won't. We're sharing a room, not becoming best friends overnight. All I ask is that lights go out at a reasonable hour. They might have also mentioned you being a night owl."
Yuuri nodded. "I can do that." With difficulty, but he could do it. Probably.
"Then we're good."
Three Musketeers
Yuuri
Phone's going on DND in the evenings
Viktor
Why?
Yuuri
I have a roommate
Chris
On the brightside you'll go to sleep earlier
Yuuri
Yes, because that is how my brain works
Chris
Good to know your sense of humor is intact
Yuuri was not a fan of public practices. They ramped up his anxiety and made him feel like any flaws they'd expose would be magnified and looked at even more so than usual. He slowed down and stopped in front of Celestino and Kai, pulling off his lighter-weight white Team Japan jacket and setting it on the boards to expose the elbow-length charcoal training shirt underneath. Kai grabbed the jacket and put it over her arm while Yuuri grabbed his water bottle, pulling the top open with his teeth before taking a sip, then snapping it shut and putting it back on the boards.
"You popped the Salchow." Celestino's voice was flat; neither booming nor hesitant, which meant he didn't know how to deal with Yuuri. Which was fair; Yuuri didn't know how to deal with himself, either. "What happened?"
"It was all wrong and I didn't quit out soon enough, so I just opened up because I didn't want to hit the ice right in front of camera row." Yuuri's gaze flicked toward the row of photographers and cameramen toward the end of the rink and he frowned. "I need to retry it," he added as he stuffed his necklaces back under the collar of his shirt.
"You have thirty minutes left for practice. Lay off the jumps for a while, maybe work spins and steps for a bit." Yuuri's coach paused. "Just let go and feel the ice; you're good at that. There's no reason to head straight into jumping passes; maybe warm up a bit more."
Yuuri nodded. It was as good advice as any. "I can try." He skated off, knowing he'd be back to check in after a few minutes anyway. It was the way that these practices worked. He circled around the perimeter a few times, skating random steps off and on before veering off out of the way where it'd be all right to enter a spin and easier for the other skaters to avoid him. He went into the camel spin from his short program; it felt better, and he could feel the tension leave his body a bit. Coming out of the spin, he coasted by his coaches. Celestino nodded and Kai gave him a thumbs up, so he kept going, picking up momentum to start working through his step sequence. He swept through the space between Aaron and Georgi as he did so, carefully angling to avoid the others working.
Once clear, Yuuri hit the illusion and then moved into a spread eagle before shifting to skating around the edge again, slowing down but not stopping while taking in a comment from Celestino as he passed.
There was always activity around the edges of the rink; photographers taking pictures, camera crews filming the public practice for news or websites or streams, test runs for a fancy camera rig on a mechanical boom which captured them skating in ways that hadn't been the norm years ago. But there was something about two people standing off to the side in an empty section in conversation that was a bit out of place, so Yuuri slowed down enough to try and make them out without his glasses, turning to skate backwards to grab a second look and then smiled once his suspicions had been confirmed. He pulled up to Kai and Celestino and grabbed his water again, already in a better mood.
"You look calmer."
"Yeah. I think I'm going to try the Salchow again."
Celestino nodded. "Good! See! Feeling the ice worked. Let's see the Salchow. Remember what Turov told you to do. I know he went over that jump with you last week in Tokyo."
Yuuri nodded and started skating to prep the jump, taking off right in front of the two bystanders, then gliding and turning before heading over to the boards to greet them.
"Who let you past security, Kanon-chan?"
His former classmate smiled and leaned forward, cupping a hand around the side of her mouth. When she spoke it was in a stage whisper as if she was imparting a secret. "I have an inside woman."
Yuuri laughed; Riku was standing there next to her. "I caught her heading up into the regular stands to watch you, and thought that maybe she deserved a few minutes of a better view."
Yuuri shook his head. "That doesn't explain what you're doing here at a public practice in the first place, though, Kanon-chan."
Kanon ran her finger over the delicate gold scrollwork of her helix piercing; it'd been just a hoop over the summer, but she was clearly feeling more daring. "Why not watch your public practice? What else am I supposed to do until everyone gets into Sendai this afternoon?"
Yuuri narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm going back to skating because I did not just hear the words 'everyone gets into Sendai' come out of your mouth." With that, he took off skating backwards, staring at her and pointedly ignoring the "YUU-KUN" that she shouted after him with a shake of his head. Turning, he finished the lap around and pulled up next to his coaches again, this time grabbing a tissue.
"That was good. Good distance and all the rotations." Celestino slapped him on his shoulder. "Now don't get distracted." He glanced down the rink and Yuuri looked over his shoulder to where Riku and Kanon were still standing, smiling before shaking his head.
"I won't. She's a former classmate who decided that taking a cab from Sendai to watch public practice in the middle of nowhere would be fun ."
"Is she a rock star too?" Kai deadpanned, causing Celestino to look between them curiously. She leaned closer toward Celestino and added in her own version of a stage whisper, "One of Yuuri's idol friends is a legitimate Japanese rock star."
Yuuri groaned. "J-rock idol. Not a rockstar. EXCITE is popular in Japan and niche elsewhere. And no. Kanon-chan is not a J-rock idol."
Kai nodded. "OK, so actually just a former classmate."
Yuuri furrowed his brow. "I didn't have 'just classmates' in high school." He sighed. He really should have just agreed with Kai and not tried to explain, but now he was stuck and wasn't going to live this down. Ever. "She's part of LOVE-ly, which is J-pop. Which makes her a J-pop idol."
"Does she get put on magazine covers too?" Yuuri sighed and nodded; Kai was looking way too entertained by all this. "So a popstar . A Japanese popstar is visiting you?" She chuckled.
Yuuri took a deep breath and adjusted his gloves. "I want to try the Axel with the back counter entrance."
Celestino was nodding, obviously happy that the conversation had gone back to a place that wasn't as foreign to him as J-rock and J-pop, topics which caused his eyes to glaze over in the same way they did when Phichit started talking about K-pop. "OK. Let's see it."
It went well. And the rest of the practice was good. It was the best public practice he'd had in a while, which either meant the short was going to go amazingly or horribly. There was no possibility for in between.
Yuuri zipped up his light team jacket as he walked out of the areas closest to the rink and into the rest of the backstage area. Kai was standing next to him, patiently waiting while he fiddled with his bag.
"Are you heading back to Sendai for lunch?"
"I am not going to spend an extra hour in the shuttle just so I can go back to a room with a skater who I barely know, feel uncomfortable for a couple of hours, and then come all the way back before I have to do press. I'm going to find a corner somewhere and put a psychology lecture on in my ear and play video games for a while. Then I'm going to find lunch. After that I'll go and do my press appointments so I don't get in trouble again, especially since I'm in Japan and there's a lot of JSF officials around, so I will definitely get in trouble if I try. Might try and fit in a bit of homework before the 3 PM session. Actually, I start closer to 4 PM, don't I?" Kai nodded. "I might go for a run instead. I'm feeling ambitious."
"OK. I'm going back in, since Madison will be on the ice soon. And then Celestino or I will find you. So keep your phone on and take it off Do Not Disturb."
Yuuri nodded and started walking toward the exit to the backstage areas as Kai turned to head back to the rink.
"There's a sitting area on the main floor that some of the skaters have claimed as theirs." The voice was quiet and Japanese and so very familiar. Yuuri turned and gave Riku a hug before murmuring a hello. She rubbed his back. "How was Tokyo?"
"Awful." He sighed. "No. It wasn't that bad, just… a lot. Hirano-san kept me busy and I still had to put in my ice time." He ran his fingers through his hair. "How's Roma?"
She frowned at him. " Sen-chan is fine. Alexei is in charge of him back at the hotel this morning. Though my mother came up, so I wouldn't be surprised if she took Sen-chan off Alexei's hands. Grandmother's prerogative, apparently."
Yuuri smiled, not missing the emphasis at all. "So, 'Sen-chan' with you and 'Roma' with Lyosha, is that how this is going to work?"
Riku nodded at him. "Yes, that is exactly how this will work. No picking sides, Yuu-kun. It's not fair since you see Lyosha more." She paused. "Walk with me."
"Of course." He fell into step next to her. "You need to be somewhere, no doubt."
Riku nodded. "Always. I have your letter from the city of Osaka about Seijin-shiki."
"Oh." Yuuri sighed. "This is a walk and talk with a purpose." He took a breath and frowned. "Why would it be from the city of Osaka?"
"You never changed your city of residence. You set up the mail forwarding service, but with everything that was going on last year, none of us remembered to change your residence back to Hasetsu."
Yuuri chewed on his lip. "You know, this ruins my argument with everyone that even if I came back for it I'd be in Hatsetsu and not Osaka."
"Oh. I see." There was some small bit of inflection in her voice that made it obvious to Yuuri that she was well aware of the arguments he'd been having in the Class E chat. Keiko-senpai's doing, no doubt; small wonder Keiko hadn't said anything to him about it. She didn't need to; not when she could have Riku-san do so instead, with the added bonus that it'd be more effective than her saying something directly. Add in the fact that the suits at that JSF meeting hadn't been happy either, and that would have been passed onto Riku as well…
Everyone was ganging up on him, and it wasn't fair.
"Why does it matter to everyone so much?" Yuuri stopped and Riku immediately came to a halt next to him, giving him an inquiring look.
"What do you mean, why? Yuuri! I cannot believe that you'd be so cold to not only your own parents, but to Lyosha and I, who helped your parents raise you for four years. To Minako-sensei, who has supported you in your career since you were twelve. To Mari-san. To your friends . Kanon-chan is here solely because she wants to see you and never can, because you're never here in Japan and it's inconvenient for you to come to Osaka when so much of your work is in Tokyo. You flit in for a competition or ice show and then take off again just as quickly. You haven't even been to Hatsetsu since you left for Detroit. Your mother calls Alexei to find out how you are because you talk to him more often than you call home, and she doesn't want to burden you."
This was not what he had expected. A guilt trip, yes, but not at this level. Yuuri really wished the ground would open and swallow him whole.
"And you ask me why we want you to come home for Seijin no Hi?" Riku huffed out a harsh breath. "I am not going to talk to you about this anymore until you figure out where you have gone wrong with your current question and find a different one to ask." She paused; when she spoke again, her voice was closer to the quiet meter he was used to from Riku. "Kanon-chan is outside the main arena. You should walk around the area with her before she has to leave to return to the city. The surrounding park is quite nice. Give me your bag, I will take your things and give them to a coach. Make sure you have your phone. And you may want a heavier jacket."
"はい, Riku-san."
He followed Riku into the depths of the backstage area, but only went as far as the coat room to grab his Team Japan jacket to layer over the lighter training jacket. After slipping it on, he slid his phone into his pocket and then walked back to the exit and through the main doors of the arena. Kanon-chan smiled at him as he walked out.
"You look like someone just ate the last mitarashi dango and you didn't get any, Yuu-kun. Want to talk about it?"
"I think you just want to remind me of the things I cannot eat during competitions."
Kanon just smiled at him and waited.
In Yuuri's head, Kanon-chan and Noda-chan were a firmly established set; Noda-chan was always with either Shuji-kun because they'd be paired off as leads of their idol groups, or with Kanon-chan because she was basically the Number Two of LOVE-ly, her best friend and now her roommate. So it was weird seeing just her by herself; weird, but not unwelcome.
Yuuri motioned to the little gold ball stud in the bit of cartilage over Kanon's earlobe. "That's new."
"The tragus? Not very. A few months now. I'll get to change out the stud around Christmas. I already have its replacement picked out." Kanon glanced away for a second before looking back. "But you're just trying to change the subject. My advice for next time is that you at least offer up a compliment if you're going to blatantly avoid the subject by bringing up my earrings."
Of course she'd see through his attempt. After all, she was part of one of the idol groups that he was closest with and had the easiest time talking to, if not the idol group he saw the most often. "このイヤリング、めっちゃかわいいね。"
Kanon smiled with a nod and started walking, forcing Yuuri to fall into step next to her. "You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to, but wouldn't it be better to?"
Yuuri sighed. "Riku-san is annoyed with me because I asked why everyone cares so much about me coming back for Seijin no Hi. It can't be that important."
Kanon nodded with a little hum. Of course.
"Not you too."
"Not me too, Yuu-kun." She tilted her head to the side. "Though it is why I came to Sendai early. Shuji-kun got you for a whole month off and on in May. Shouta-kun and Yui-chan had you for a whole week in August. Haruka-chan got a few extra days because of a photoshoot in May. Shuji-kun got you to visit again last week, though even he was complaining he really only saw you in the morning and for a short time before you passed out at night, since you were so busy. So I talked our manager into shuffling the Nissin CM filming schedule so that I could fly out last night instead of this morning, since I knew that once you started the competition there would be no talking to you at all."
Yuuri didn't reply and they turned down one of the side paths in the park area that surrounded the arena. "I don't want to be that busy. I think Hirano-san hates me. I had to do two television interviews last week back to back, and I have another for the NHK today. Not that she had anything to do with that one; that's all Riku-san's doing. But still. That's not to mention that variety show. I hate this."
"I know you do. We all know you do, and we wished the media aspects were as easy for you as they are for some of us. You didn't sign up to be an idol or celebrity, just to skate. Unfortunately for you, you're really good at it." Kanon took a deep breath and fidgeted with the edge of her coat for a few seconds before continuing. "My point stands, though. Even over the summer when you were in Osaka, you were doing an ice show and were just too busy most of the time. I was able to go to dinner with you once when we got a group of us together. Is it so wrong to want to be able to see your friends? Or are we just not friends anymore?" He glanced over. Kanon-chan was not being facetious, and the hurt look that passed over her face for a second was genuine. He felt like a jerk.
Yuuri opened his mouth and then shut it, unsure what to say or how to fix things. "If it makes you feel any better, Class E is the only group chat I actively participate in."
Kanon-chan looked surprised. "You don't do group chats with skaters? Do they not have any?"
"No, they have them. There are even a couple I've been invited into, but I've never accepted the invites. And there's one imessage group with just Viktor and Chris, but that's less a group chat and more 'busy and need to only say this once' or 'wait, I need to tell this to Chris too' chat so we don't use it all the time. So as far as group chats go, Class E is where I spend my time."
Kanon-chan nodded, rushing forward a few steps to get in front of him before turning so she could look at him while walking backwards, sending the edges of her skirt flaring out as she did.
Yuuri shook his head. "Don't run into anything."
"Then watch out for me and warn me if I'm going to. Now be quiet. I want to say something, Yuu-kun."
"Am I supposed to warn you of things or not talk? I'm not sure. Your instructions were unclear."
Kanon-chan scrunched her nose at him. "やめてよ！I understand. I wouldn't want to fly all the way to America and then fly all the way back two weeks later, either."
"Thank you. Finally someone is on my side."
Kanon-chan held up one finger. "I am not on your side."
"But you just said-"
"No. I said I understood why you don't want to fly to America and then back. But I don't understand why you don't just stay in Japan for a couple of extra weeks."
Yuuri stopped walking and kept opening and closing his mouth, vainly trying to find the right argument.
As if she knew what he was doing, Kanon started listing and discarding the same arguments he had run through in the privacy of his head. "Can't say you need rink time. Both Hasetsu and Osaka have rink space for you. Which cancels out saying you need to practice as well. At this point in the season and with FaceTime, you can get away with virtual coaching sessions for a couple weeks, I'm sure. Can't even say that you'd be in Hasetsu because as I've already pointed out to you in chat, you can catch a midday Shinkansen from Fukuoka and still be in Osaka to go out with all of us by evening, and you literally have a list of people to stay with so can't even use hotel costs as an excuse. If Alexei コーチ doesn't want you staying with him, which I find incredibly unlikely, there's Shouta-kun's parents – he's said so – and Shuji's parents, and even my parents, because you are literally the only boy in our class my father did not have an issue with: He's under the impression that you are incredibly wholesome."
Yuuri furrowed his brow in thought, then smiled when he finally found an excuse. "I have classes in the States."
Kanon just shook her head slightly. "I don't care. I know your instructors are aware that you miss classes because you're a foreign athlete, and that would be why you're missing classes. You're a foreign skater who has a thing to do in Japan. You always make up the work, and just the fact that you aren't complaining about school in the chat means you haven't been doing poorly. You don't even need to take anything in Michigan this coming semester. You mentioned that last month. You signed up for Russian because you wanted to." She paused. "You're not going to win this argument. Give up."
"No."
"Give up."
"Kano-rin, no."
Kanon laughed and then started walking back toward the stadium. "I know I've won when you stop fighting fair and break out nicknames because you don't have any other arguments or excuses," she said over her shoulder as she passed him. "It's 'make Yuuri-kun blush' all over again when you get competitive and try to turn the tables. I'm heading back. I need to get a cab to Sendai before Haruka-chan and the rest of LOVE-ly get in. I think Shouta-kun was getting in this morning, might have already been there, but I didn't care enough to check before I took a cab here."
When and how he had not only lost the argument but control of the whole conversation, Yuuri had no idea. He spun around and jogged to catch up. "Shouta too?"
Kanon nodded. "Yes. You can't be surprised when you've been so stubborn about January. Shuji-kun and the rest of EXCITE are coming up on the Shinkansen this evening. Even Atsuo-kun is coming with them and you know that he's busy with medical school. After all, you forgot to tell us that we weren't allowed to come this year. We probably would have ignored you even if you did remember, though." She sighed. "Sometimes you're an idiot and forget you have friends at all. You make it very hard to like you sometimes. Luckily we know that and have collectively decided to forgive you anyway."
"Thanks." It wasn't news, but not what he wanted to hear, either.
Kanon beamed. "No worries. "
They chatted about less serious topics on the way back until Yuuri motioned for her to follow him to the backstage area of the arena. "I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be back here." Kanon whispered as she kept close, fingers gripping the edge of his jacket. "Riku-san already snuck me back here once so I could see you at the boards."
"Which is basically tacit permission for this. No one is going to argue with Riku-san about who she can and cannot bring into the non-public areas. I think only the President and Vice President of the JSF would dare, and I doubt they would anyway. Their focus is speed skating, not figure skating." He glanced over at Kanon, who had caught her lip between her teeth.
Less than a minute later they passed Riku, currently in conversation with a JSF representative. She looked up and motioned to a grouping of seats where skaters and coaches alike were congregating. "I gave your bag to Lyosha, Yuu-kun. He's over there. Don't forget he's at a competition, Kanon-chan, and has things he has to do. Like press ."
A small squeak escaped from Kanon as she nodded. "I'm heading back soon. I promise, Riku-san. I'm not going to distract him from his skating."
Riku smiled at them. "I know you wouldn't."
"The scolding was for me," Yuuri murmured to Kanon as they continued on in the direction that Riku had motioned to. "I may not have been on my best behavior in Seattle."
Yuuri looked over toward the group. It seemed to be close to lunchtime, judging by how many people had gathered here instead of focusing on their own preparations. Their walk must have lasted longer than he'd thought and he'd lost track of time – something a quick glance at his phone confirmed. It only took him a second to spot Alexei talking to Kai; sure enough, his bag rested at his coaches' feet. Yuuri led Kanon over to the group and then squeezed between the chairs that Manu – Yuuri hadn't seen the Spanish skater since the Finlandia Trophy – and Aaron were sitting in, muttering an apology as he reached over a low table to pull his bag over and dig through the pocket.
"Who's the girl, Yuuri?" Aaron asked. His attention was focused on his bag, but Yuuri could tell just from his voice that he was grinning.
Yuuri groaned and stood up, wallet in hand and looked around at way too many people to do a quick introduction for before sighing. "Skaters, Kanon-chan. Kanon-chan, skaters." He nodded. That would have to do. "I'll be back."
Kanon-chan just smiled and waved as she said a cheery "Hi!" in English before following him a few steps away.
"I'm paying for your cab back," he said. "You only came out here to see my morning practice skate which is... insane. And you only did that because I'm a bad friend. So I'm paying for it."
Kanon just smiled back. "Well, don't expect me to argue with you about any of that."
He laughed and pulled his phone out of his pocket before stopping, unsure who to call in Sendai. "Do you have a cab number for here? I only have Osaka and Tokyo programmed in."
She nodded and unlocked her own phone, bringing up the contact before handing it over. Yuuri talked to the operator to order the cab and asked if paying with a Suica was possible, smiling upon discovering it was an option. That meant he wouldn't have to worry about not giving Kanon-chan the right amount of yen. Pulling his Suica card out of his wallet, he handed it over to Kanon along with her phone. "They'll be here in about ten minutes. Pay with the card and I'll get it back later. Where are you staying, anyway?"
"Metropolitan EAST. So on the other side of Sendai station from you."
"Of course you are."
Kanon-chan clasped her hands in front of her. "Don't look so put out. We had trouble booking your hotel, otherwise we'd be staying there!"
He'd had enough needling for one day. "Do you need me to walk you to the exit?"
"That's all right! I can find it!" Kanon-chan grinned and then bent around him to look at the grouping of skaters and coaches, switching to English. "Bye bye, 'skaters'! Maybe one day Yuu-kun will learn how to do introductions right, but that day is not today!" There was a chorus of laughter and good-byes from behind him; he was not looking forward to turning around.
He breathed out as he watched Kanon head to the exit before turning and walking around all the chairs to get to his bag in a less annoying manner. The whole encounter went about as well as Yuuri could have expected it to. He hated this, but it was kind of deserved. What was the phrase? Just desserts.
So he slipped his wallet back into its pocket, ignoring the multiple sets of eyes on him. Even Kai was staring.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing. I was just hoping to meet the pop star, that's all." She leaned back. There was more to it than that and Yuuri knew it, but he'd have to pin that for later.
"Pop star?" Aaron asked from behind him.
"Thanks," he mouthed at Kai; she just shrugged, not looking contrite in the least. He turned to look at the curious skaters. "Classmate from high school, not really a pop star." Because that was an American thing like Taylor Swift, whereas Kanon-chan was an idol. There was a difference; a small one, but still a difference. In Yuuri's opinion, anyway.
When Alexei spoke, it was in Russian; the only other Russian speaker around that Yuuri knew of was Georgi, who wasn't really paying any attention to them, caught up in conversation with Cao instead.
"I heard that you got a bit of a lecture earlier. Did talking to Kanon-chan help?"
Yuuri shook his head. "No. Just added some more salt to the wound ."
"Well, her and Haruka-chan have never been ones to pull their punches. They never would have made it as idols if they did. They balance public persona versus private persona quite well."
Yuuri nodded. If they acted like their public personas all the time, he would have run in the other direction as quickly as possible. They both fell into the same category as Yuuko: pretty, bubbly and friendly, but down to earth. Kanon-chan was a bit more cutting than either Noda-chan or Yuuko, however. It was usually a trait he appreciated, at least when it was turned on someone who wasn't him.
The skaters who weren't on the ice started getting up to head to the area where the JSF had set up lunch for the athletes and teams who were still at the arena and had opted not to return to the city to eat. Yuuri trailed behind, but was aware that someone was going to pull him into conversation. He just needed a couple of minutes. He had a lot to think about and a skating competition to try and win. Somehow, he had to manage both.
The little changes he'd made over the last month with his short program had paid off. When Yuuri stepped out of the Kiss and Cry at the NHK Trophy, he had only been a point behind Viktor's score for his short at Rostelecom, and that score had just barely fell short of Viktor's world record. That meant that Yuuri was in 1st after the short, with a decent point buffer to make up for any deficiencies in his free. However, it also meant he would be skating last during the free skate the next day.
He knew the Japanese journalists were going to have a field day with him in the press area in a few minutes. Yet those things shrank into the background for a moment as he put his glasses on and looked out across the ice before heading back to do press. Right across from the Kiss and Cry, bearing one of those huge banners that seemed to be everywhere and never failed to raise his ire, were way more of his high school classmates than he expected to see, cheering for him. He waved at them and then let Celestino guide him backstage with a hand on his shoulder.