Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no GO...
Thanks everyone, for all your reviews, Coiling Death, Xair, Jamfase, Kari55. Kikkid3 and DarkPortAtreides.
Also thanks to all those you read this fic.
Finally this chapter has come about Akari's past, I had altered it so many times until I have surrendered finally. I still find it pretty lame and not to mentioned a cliche didn't turn out as good as I wanted it. It won't be much of Akari and Touya in this chapter... but I still hope everyone enjoys.
Chapter 14
Soon Eternal Snow was back up into business again. Akari and Mitani were so busy up their sleeves that they hardly had time for anything else. Akari understands Mitani had a family and a little girl, who always looked forward to seeing her own mother, so took the liberty to take over some of her jobs, to give Mitani time to leave early once in a while. On the other hand, Akari gave up her social life. She had barely seen Touya all week except when he came for breakfast on the days he didn't have GO match.
Touya who always understood that Akari needed her space, never complain, but that doesn't mean he didn't miss her. He missed her so much that he made it a point to come for breakfast practically everyday. Just to see her, even though sometimes, it wasn't Akari who came to take his order.
"I am so sorry Touya-kun." Akari said one morning, after he had finished breakfast and Akari followed him out the café for a few minutes to talk to him. "It seemed like there is so many things to do to get Eternal Snow stable again."
"I understand," Touya said softly touching her cheek gently with his knuckles. "If only, you let me help you…"
"We'd been through this Touya-kun…"
"Akari-chan, table 14 is calling!" Mitani's voice came from inside the café.
"Be right there!" Akari called back before she turned back to Touya hurriedly. "I'll call you tonight?"
Touya nodded.
"I am so sorry!" Akari touched his cheeks gently. "I promise I'll make it up to you."
With that she turned around rather sadly and ran back into her café. Touya watched her momentarily before he turned and walked down the street, heading for his salon where his rival awaits him. At least, there was something to take his mind away from his aching heart.
Akari was totally zonked out as she head back to her apartment at night. She unlocked her door and stepped into the dark apartment slowly. She reached out to switch on the light before she went over to the phone and pressed the recording machine to see if there was any message for her throughout the whole day.
'You have one message.' The recorder said.
"How pathetic can I be?" Akari mumbled pressing another button to play the message. "The whole damn day and only one message?"
She turned away from the machine heading for the kitchen to whip up something to eat, when the message played, she heard a voice she knew so well and stalled on her steps with surprised.
'Hi hi over there, little girl! SURPRISE! Well I know you will be. I came home today! Finally, I'm back to Japan after such a long time and to visit you, my little pampered girl. So be happy about it. I thought I'll leave you a message to cheer your sorry bum up, for working your ass like that at Eternal Snow.'
Akari turned back to the machine her mouth slightly agape and slowly a grinned appeared on her face.
"Neechan, you are back!" Akari whispered as the message played on.
'I'm back just in time for your birthday too. So hearing from some of your friends I met today, you got yourself a boyfriend. So, bring him back home, I want to see him! I am eager to see, who is this lucky guy, who had attracted my dear little imotto, besides that brat Hikaru!'
It was rather unusually quiet for the two rivals to play a game together so silently. It should be by that point, a debate or a rather childish quarrel will go off, shouting at each other on their bad move. But it never came. Ichikawa was rather curious, watched those boys she knew so well, rather suspiciously.
'Pachi.'
Hikaru looked up at Touya who only stared at the GO-board rather quietly. He raised his eyebrows and looked down the board again.
'Pachi.'
A sigh came from the dark green hair, Professional GO player. Hikaru frowned and ducked his hand into the GO-ke, concentrating but his mind wonder off again. He looked up at his rival irritably and down at the GO-board, slamming the stone down slightly too hard, pushing a stone next to it off its course. Swiftly, he moved it back to its original place. Waiting for an angry retort to come from Touya but it never did.
There was a paused from the other side and Hikaru sat back waiting for Touya to make his move. Finally, Touya leaned back on his chair too and looked up at his very agitated two-tone hair rival. Who had his arms crossed in front of him, staring.
"What's wrong?" Hikaru asked finally after a short moment of staring contest.
"Fujisaki-san invited me to come over to her parents place this weekend."
"So finally you are meeting her folks." Hikaru grinned, suddenly dawning to him that Touya was actually nervous to meet Akari's parents. "Don't worry, Akari's parents are really nice. You should meet her oneechan. She is even more interesting but I think you won't be meeting her."
"Fujisaki-san has a sister? And what do you mean I won't be meeting her?" Touya was rather surprised at that news, why didn't Akari mentioned about her before?
"Yeah, it is definitely a sister, the last time I saw her." Hikaru said thoughtfully. "I think she got married to a British and move there or something. So she is no longer in Japan. Akari cried when her sister migrated there."
"Oh," Touya mumbled, no wonder he knew nothing about it because Akari never mentioned things that she shed tears for or feel sad about. "I see."
There was a pause as Hikaru was still deep in his thoughts when his eyes widened suddenly.
"Did you say you are going over to her place this weekend?" Hikaru asked again.
"Yeah why?" Touya stared at Hikaru who suddenly looked so anxious.
"Don't you know, it's May 17 this weekend!" Hikaru exclaimed.
"Yeah why?" Touya frowned at Hikaru's weird behaviour. "I am aware of the date."
"But you are not aware that it is Akari's birthday is it?" Hikaru asked frowning at his rival.
"She never said anything!" Touya eyes widened with shock.
"I guessed you never asked either." Hikaru sighed.
Touya stood up immediately and left the salon without another word. Hikaru smiled softly to himself clearing the stones slowly. He was sure that Touya was on his way to get something for Akari. Ichikawa smiled secretly to herself, finally understanding why Touya was rather quiet today.
It was a rather beautiful spring afternoon when Touya reached Akari's neighbourhood, which she grew up in. Well, not only Akari's but Hikaru's too. It was a rather quiet peaceful and nice place. Touya found he liked her neighbourhood very much. There was also a small park near to her house.
When he reached Akari's two storey home, he looked down at a piece of paper where Akari had wrote her address on again, just to make sure. But he actually didn't need to, since her family name was at the front of the front brick wall. On his right, he could see Hikaru's house just right next to hers. So Hikaru's parents still stayed here.
Slowly he pushed the small grilled gate opened at stepped into Akari's front lawn and walked towards the door to press the bell. He waited rather uneasily, before the door flew opened and a lady that looked so much like Akari with her burgundy eyes and auburn chestnut colour for her hair, stood before him, slightly baffled.
Instead of long hair like Akari's, she wore her hair short in a boyish cut. In spite of all the similarities, Touya could see that this lady before him was definitely older than Akari because of the maturity of her features.
"Touya right! You're early!" The lady burst out happily suddenly, before Touya could even introduce himself. "Come on in! Akari is not in at the moment! She is out with okasan getting some groceries, but not to worry, she will be back shortly."
Touya was rather wordless at how this lady could speak so openly and not too mention, without stopping because she continued talking, even after he stepped into the house and she closed the door.
"I am Akari's oneechan by the way," She went on ushering him to the living room. "You can call me Akane, I don't really like all the formalities anyways. I guess staying in Britain for so long had rubbed off on me. You see everyone there uses your name instead of your family name! So my husband and I…." (I don't know Akari's sister's name so I it made up)
Touya followed her to the living room listening to her quietly. The living room was spacious with a set of couches that includes, a small tea table and television set in front of the couches. Besides that he also realized that the living room was decorated with family photos, trophies and other memorial possessions.
Touya settled himself on the three sitter couch with Akane next to him as she continued to talk about her family, husband, older daughter and a younger son. They couldn't make it for the trip because her husband couldn't take his time off work and her daughter and son had school to attend. So she came home herself.
"Oh my, I forgot about tea!" Akane cried standing up. "Just wait a moment Touya, don't hesitant to look around and make yourself comfortable. I will be right back!"
Touya watched Akari's sister stride out the living room before he stood up and went over to the shelf which all the photos and trophies were placed. He was rather curious about how Akari actually looked like when she was younger. Slowly he studied the photos.
There he could see a pre-school Akari and maybe an elementary school Akane in one of the photos. He smiled at how cute Akari looked in her usual grin, holding onto one of her sister's arm and her other free arm stretched out in front of her, flashing a 'V' sign. Some of them are family pictures with their parents in it. Then a photo of Akari caught his attention. He inclined his head studying it. It was perhaps she was around sixteen or seventeen.
Akari was wearing a fitting red skating outfit. She looked beautiful in it. The red skating outfit had some rather beautiful glittering beads all over the front, arranged into a beautiful picture of flowers, over her right shoulder and stopped somewhere around her torso. The sleeves of the outfit were long and towards the edge, they were decorated with the same glittering beads and the mini skirt flares out with lots of frills. She had a pair of white skating shoes on. Her hair was tied up into neat bun, and her face made up lightly with glittering dust that made her looked rather enchanting. In the photo Akari was smiling cheerfully back at him.
Touya smiled slightly seeing that and slowly tearing his eyes away from the photo, he moved his eyes to the next photo to see, another picture of Akari but this time she was with three other girls that he was very sure he had met them before, at the opened air skating rink, on his birthday last year. All of them were wearing, cotton track suits, cotton sports jackets and ice skating shoes. Their arms were around each other smiling happily. So they knew each other…
Soon he started looking at the trophies on the shelf. Some of them were medals from swimming competition, first and second medals and the trophies that were placed there were skating competition trophies. All the trophies were High School Competition, second and third places. But what caught his attention most was a huge gold one at one end of the shelf. He went over to it and studied it slowly, from the top he looked down and stopped at the engraving on the bottom of the trophy. His mouth dropped slightly after reading what was engraved there.
First Prize Skating Regional Championship
"She was a great skater…" A voice behind him nearly made jumped out of his skin. "And I was the school team swimmer…"
He turned around to see Akane had returned from getting him some tea. She was looking at the trophy he was staring at earlier. Her face was rather sad unlike earlier when she was talking to him. Slowly she turned to him and smiled softly.
"She didn't say anything about it, did she, by the look on your face, you were pretty surprised."
"She did bring me ice skating once…." Touya replied softly.
"She did?" Akane still had a small smile on her face as she stared at Touya rather amazed. "She never skated ever again since that day! I am pretty astounded that she brought you to skate with her."
"That day?"
"You know what," Akane put a hand on his shoulder gently. "I think, I want to show you something that may interest you greatly. Akari will kill me, but… I think you should know after all."
Touya watched Akane dashing out the living room again and this time he could hear her running up the stairs. Not long later she returned with a rather huge box in her hand. She went over to the television and sat down on the floor. She turned to Touya who still stood next to the shelf rather bewilderedly.
"Sit and make yourself comfortable." Akane said and turned back to the television and video player. "Just pretend you are in the movies…."
Touya sat down on the couch slowly still rather puzzled at what Akane was saying. He watched her opened the box, took out a videotape and pushed it into the player. When the pictures came out on the television only did he realized that Akane was showing him, Akari's teenage life maybe starting around fifteen or sixteen. Touya left the couch he was sitting on and sank down the floor next to Akane, nearer to the television.
(A/N: This part onwards those in italic are movie clips from Akari's past, taken by her older sister in her video camera)
"That was at our grandma's place behind her house on the pond." Akane explained. "That was she first gotten her new skates, first year in High School."
"Hey Akari, you can do better than that!" Touya heard Akane shouted, she was holding onto the camera.
"Shut up!" Akari shouted in returned.
She was wearing a thick dark blue woolly jacket over a red turtle neck sweater and a pair of faded blue jeans. Her hands wore a pair of bright blue knitted gloves and she had her head covered in a horizontal stripped colourful knitted snow cap. Her shoulder length red hair tied into two pigtails at each side.
Touya thinks she looked really cute. He noticed her hair was shorter compared to the length she wore now, which passed over her shoulders, somewhere above her waist.
She was on the pond, skating around rather awkwardly on the ice. Slowly, Akari increased speed, both her hands up as she skated around the pond. Then at one point she leapt into the air and turned two full circled around the air, her hands crossed in front of her. When she land on the ice, she tripped and fell excruciatingly on her whole body, skidding almost a foot away from the spot she landed.
Touya cringed at the sight. It must have hurt terribly.
"Akari are you alright!" Akane shouted but still held the camera.
"The ice on the pond is too uneven, oneechan!" Akari shouted back getting up on her feet slowly. "I can't even land my double axel properly!"
"I told you, you suck!" Akane snickered.
"Shut up and shut that stupid camera off!" Akari yelled back. "Besides I think I will try out for the school skating team, no matter what you say!"
"Way go girl…" Akane laughed behind the scene.
Touya saw the scene was cut off, replaced with another one. This time Akari was on proper ice skating rink, like the one he had visited with her but this one was indoors. Unlike the colourful outfit she wore when she was at the pond, Touya saw she was in sport attire, a grey cotton sport jacket over a sweater underneath and matching gray cotton tracks. She wore no gloves and her hair was tied up in a high ponytail.
"Neechan, can you please shut that thing off!" Akari said exasperatedly as she skated around the rink. "You are driving me mad with that stupid thing flashing behind my butt!"
"Well you do have a cute butt!" Akane replied.
Akari stuck out her tongue at her sister when she skated passed her. Using her toe pick she increased more speed around the rink before she leapt into the air again. This time she turned three full circled in the air before she land perfectly on her feet. She glided slowly towards her sister, her face in slight shock before she stopped totally staring straight at the camera.
"I just landed a triple!" Akari mumbled rather unbelievably.
"What me to replay it?" Akane asked laughing.
"Oh wow!" Akari shrieked turning away from her camera and started skating around the rink again and twirled rapidly around the spot and suddenly stopped abruptly flawlessly. "Did you see that? That was a triple neechan."
"I sure did…"
"Shut that thing off!" Akari shouted again.
"She hated that camera." Akane smiled looking back at Touya who was never this engrossed watching the television before, didn't take his eyes off the screen. "That was only the beginning of her skating profession. She told me that she wanted to be like Hikaru, to be a professional. Well, she couldn't do it in GO so she decided that if she is good in figure skating, she will improve on it."
"So this is about Shindou?" Touya asked quietly. Wondering, how much Hikaru influences Akari.
"No, this is all her." Akane shook her head. "She wanted to proof she could do it, though our parents were not too happy about it. It was her dream to become a professional figure skater and she started working hard for it. Since that she wasn't satisfied in competing in School Competitions and with the Regional Championship coming up in the winter, during her final year in High School, she worked for it. Besides that, I had a project to hand in."
"Project?" Touya turned to Akane surprised.
"Watch on," Akane chuckled turning back to the television.
"I can't believe you are going a make a project out of me!" Akari yelled. "Without even asking me first!"
Akari was in her room doing her homework, she looked over at the camera rather disturbed that her sister was filming her private times in her room.
"Hey, my project is to write about an interesting person for my creative writing class." Akane voice came into the video. "So I gather that you will be a professional figure skater one day, so that is how you became an 'interesting person'."
"I am flattered." Akari smiled falsely, she was on her bed, flop on her stomach, doing her homework. "I did hear you say write, so why is this camera in my face again."
"I thought this would make my project even more interesting and creative."
"OUT!" Akari grabbed her pillow hurling it at the camera.
The scene was cut off and another scene came to view…
"Hey you look really cheerful today." Akane's voice could be heard pretty loudly over the scene.
Akari was at the indoor skating rink again, practicing. She was wearing her usual cotton sports jacket over her turtle neck knitted sweater and cotton tracks. She glides over the ice gracefully in a very elegant graceful dance. Her face was smiling happily as she skate around the rink practicing her dance on ice.
Touya was enthralled at the way she moved gracefully along the ice, the blade of her skates sculpting circles along the smooth surface of the ice.
"Guess what, I got third for the opening to enter the Regional Championship!" Akari cried as she glides on the ice. She looked really contented, as she placed her head backwards looking up; her hair trail gracefully behind her, with the cooling breeze brushing passed her. "I got in! Every fifth place and above had the chance to go for the regional. Coach said that I may take first in the regional if I try harder!"
"So, you passed for the regional competition this coming winter?" Akane voiced out.
"You bet neechan!" Akari cried enthusiastically. "I made it!"
With that she leapt into the air and spin, then landing on the ice perfectly.
"I finally made it!" Akari repeated again happily.
Touya was rather astounded at Akari's ability, could only stare at the screen quietly. He couldn't stop feeling pleased for Akari to be able to reach her dream. How he wished he was able to share her enthusiasm at that moment. But why did she stop?
"Well I think the show is about to begin." Akane said softly. "Her first week…."
Touya watched on and was very surprised at how Akane could sneak up to Akari while she was still sleeping.
Akari was jerked out from a slumber when her alarm clock rang at around five thirty in the morning. Her eyes widened with huge surprised looking up slightly before she slammed it shut and realized her sister was in the room with the camera.
"Why are you up early." Akari croaked her hair slightly messy getting off her bed, in rather cute teddy bear pajamas.
"Project…" Akane replied.
"I am not skating!" Akari said, suddenly she wide awake rushing for the adjoining bathroom she shared with her sister.
"Well, it is about the life of the interesting person, so I have to see everything you do!" Akane explained. "It would be nice too if I can record you taking your shower."
"Dream on!" Akari shouted slamming the bathroom door shut at her sister's camera.
Akari came back to her room hurriedly, where her sister was still waiting, dressed warmly in her a grey sports jacket zipped up to her neck, a dark blue scarf around her neck and matching track suit. Grabbing her books from her desk, she quickly chucked them into her backpack, grabbed her school uniform from the cupboard, pushing it into the bag and fishing out her pair of skating shoes from under her bed and stuffed it in too.
"I'm taking your bicycle neechan!" Akari cried not even looking at her and dashed out the door.
"Cycle safely!" Touya could see Akane's hand waving at her sister.
"Every morning at five thirty she will wake up to have her private skating time." Akane explained when Touya could not understand why Akari wake up so early in the morning. "She will cycle to the skating rink which is opened to all students and members. Then at eight she rushed for school, after school she rushes for work…"
"She worked when she was in school?" Touya turned to Akane rather surprised.
"It doesn't come cheap to skate." Akane continued. "Like I said, my parents were against it, so it was unlikely they are going to pay for her. She worked for it."
Touya turned back to the screen when another scene came on. It was obvious that Akari was at her working place after school. Touya didn't like it at all, of the place she was working at and the short black skirt she was wearing was something Touya wasn't please about, with lots of guys staring at her slender legs.
Touya didn't know why but he had a huge urge to dig their peeping eyes out of their sockets. He never felt like this for anyone before. Was because he was over protective? But he was sure he didn't like those guys watching her with lusty eyes. Trying to calm himself down, he reminded himself that this was already in the past. He was now with Akari, not those boys.
"Neechan why are you here?" Akari shouted over the noise in the restaurant. She was holding onto two trays, each on one hand. "Please I have enough of this project thing."
"Well, you are so cute in that outfit!"
"Shut up!" Akari turned away from her sister placing a tray down a table. "It's not like I like wearing it. It's the uniform!"
Akari rushed to another table placed the tray down and was about to walk away, when she nearly freak out but turned around so swiftly back at the table with a taser in her hand (Touya couldn't seehow she got that out so quickly) and stabbed it at a rather pervert looking teenage boy, electrifying him.
"That is for touching my butt!" Akari yelled and turned away, before the boy could even get his posture back. "That boy sure had the nerve…!" She muttered angrily.
"Is that why you carry that around Akari?" Akane asked rather worriedly. "Don't you think you should try looking for another job without having anyone trying to grope you?
"This place pays me enough for everything oneechan!" Akari turned to her sister furiously. "I need to pay my couch, choreographer and my blades need to be sharpened every week! Where am I going to find that money!"
"But I am sure…" But before Akane could finish her sentence there was a shout from the kitchen.
"DISH READY FOR TABLE 20! FUJISAKI I DIDN'T HIRE YOU, SO YOU COULD STAND AROUND CHATTING ALL DAY!"
"I don't have time for this!" Akari turned away rather wearily and stalked off. "My choreographer arranged a time for me to meet him today after work, for private ballet tutoring so please, let me be oneechan!"
The scene changed…
Akari was in a ballet studio practicing some ballet steps and stretching her leg on the wooden bar. After her ballet tutoring, Akari would be in the gym doing some cycling, and then carrying weights with her legs, looking very determined and full of energy. Then in the night, Akari would try to keep awake doing her school work. Every now then shaking her head to clear the grogginess away from her head and reaching out a book, tossing it at the camera…
"That was only the first week…." Akane mumbled softly. "You should see how it went for the rest of the month."
Touya watched on, feeling like he wanted to reach out towards Akari that moment. Help her; give everything that would help her to reach her dreams and killing that guy who grabbed her butt. How dare he even think of touching his Akari? Touya stopped in his thoughts. His Akari? Where did that come from? He shook that thought away. Akari wasn't his… even though he would love it. But he knew very well Akari was still afraid to open up and he should respect her decision.
Second week, Akari still woke up normally and goes on with her schedule rather energetically. Third week, Akari was having difficulty in getting up. Fourth week, Akari pushed the alarm clock off the side table agitatedly. Fifth week, Akari practically took her alarm clock and tossed it to the corner of her room before she took her comforter and cover it over her head.
Before she covered her face, Touya caught a glimpse of how tired she looked and his heart ached for her. How he really wished he could turn back time to help her, after watching her past. He never knew the bubbly girl like Akari had worked so hard to reach her dreams. Now he understood why Akari always stood strong no matter what happened.
The scene changed to one night as Akane sneaked into her sister's room again.
Akari was fast asleep on her bed, still dressed in her common clothes, sweater, jeans and her hand held onto a pen, books opened everywhere on the bed and paper scattered around her.
"Akane what are doing in your sister's room?"
"Nothing okasan," Akane said quickly, backing out from the room, shutting the door quietly turning off the camera.
"Then she started dozing off even on dinner times too…" Akane smiled grimly, mumbling softly but Touya heard her. "That is when okasan found out what she was doing and hell broke loose at the dinner table…"
"So how is class," Akari's mother asked. "And how is the project coming."
"Great…" Akane replied shortly still behind the camera.
"I heard you spent a lot of time in skating Akari, more than usual." Her mother turned her attention to Akari.
But Akari was leaning her head on one hand, her elbow placed on the table, snoozing quietly. (Touya could see Akane's hand in the video) Akane reached out to grab the chopsticks on the table and threw it at her. It hit her squarely on her head. Her head slipped from her hand with a jerk. She quickly looked up and looked around the table. Blushing crimson at what just happened, she looked down her bowl of rice.
"Sorry…."
"Akari, I hadn't really seen you all month!" Her mother protested. "Aren't you taking this a little over board? I know you are in the school skating team trying very hard. You won second in the Interschool finals for the High School Skating Competition! Didn't you? So why are you still doing this to yourself? What about your studies? You have to know, it is your final year in high school. What about College?"
"I'm working on it okasan…." Akari said in a rather small voice.
"That is not good enough. You failed your math test! How are you going to go college with bad results!"
Akari looked up at her mother perplexed.
"I saw it when I was bringing your clean laundry up your room. I wanted to talk to you about this but you were always away! You never fail in your subjects before Akari! What is it about you and skating?"
"I just thought I will be good in that sport…." Akari said rather lamely.
"And sleeping in class too!" Her mother exploded.
Akari stared up at her mother.
"Don't look at me like that! I had a call from your math teacher saying you slept in his class! He asked me, what you had been doing all this time. You were his best pupil!"
"I want to go for the regional mum!" Akari finally said her voice filled with determination. "Please, I had mostly second and third prizes in school competitions, but only if I could have the chance to go for the regional this coming winter! I have already got into the opening. I have a shot for it okasan!"
"So that is why you had been taking up private lessons suddenly, working and knocking yourself out, sleeping in class and fluking your test?" her mother raised her voice slightly furious.
"Okasan if you would just listen…"
"Not another word! After dinner, you better go to your room and study young lady!"
There was a silence at the table before Akari turned to the camera and glared at her sister.
"Shut that thing off! This is personal and not for your project!"
"Fine!"
"Our okasan finally talked to otosan about this," Akane smiled. "And finally agreeing for her to go for the regional when she was in the final year of High School. She was great there! I couldn't film any of her school competition because I had classes at the time but the Regional Championship was on a weekend thank goodness!"
"So recorded her on the competition?" Touya asked hopefully. He yet had seen Akari figure skated.
"Yup I did…" Akane smiled at Touya's enthusiasm. "She told Hikaru to come that day, but he was late. You should see how disappointed she was at that time."
Touya remained silent, feeling like skinning Hikaru alive to be late on the most important day of Akari's life. Soon pictures started flashing on the television again and Touya turned back to watched silently forgetting about Hikaru.
"Is he here yet?" Akari asked nervously dressed beautifully in a light blue outfit, with its sleeve translucent, which made the whole outfit looked sleeveless and sparkling beads all over it. The mini skirt was light with ruffles to make wave effects. "I told him to come…"
"Don't worry he will be here." Kuniko said pushing a diamond tiara into the top of Akari's head, her hair tied into a beautiful bun.
"That baka could be late at a time like this…" Yuuki mumbled rather irritably.
'AND NOW PLEASE WELCOME FUJISAKI AKARI….' The announcer spoke and Akari gasped slightly.
"Deep breath Akari-chan, deep breath!" Kuniko said when she saw Akari was nearly breaking into tears by anxiety. "You will do fine!"
Akari took a deep breath like Kuniko told her to and stepped into the ice. She glide gracefully to the middle of the rink and stopped, waiting for the song to play. It was a slow soothing music in the beginning where Akari did a few gentle ballet movements with her hands and started skating.
Touya didn't blink a single moment as he watched for the first time Akari danced gracefully on the ice in a tournament. She looked really different, with her dressed up and made up, instead of wearing her usual sport attire when he saw her practice in the video a couple of scene, she was utmost gorgeous in her skating outfit!
Soon the music started to pick up speed and Akari choreograph her to dance slightly faster and jumped into the air for a twirl three full circles. Unfortunately she landed poorly and fell onto the ice painfully.
Touya held his breath, he could see Akari winced slightly before she got up to her feet and continued. He never thought watching someone ice skating will put him into so much trepidation, but watching Akari falling onto the ice was something he could bear seeing.
"That baka really didn't make it!" Yuuki said softly.
"It is sort of put Akari looking rather down didn't it?" Kuniko said anxiously. "She seemed so sad when she skate. I never have seen her skate like that before."
Akari continued on with her dance on ice in a rather dishearten way.
"How did she do?" Suddenly Touya heard Hikaru's voice.
"You idiot, you are late!" Yuuki nearly yelled.
"Sorry, GO discussion…" Hikaru replied shortly.
"She fell once…" Akane who was rather quiet all this time spoke. "I hope she pick up…."
Akari glide gracefully and miserably along the ice and stopped somewhere in front of the camera spinning slowly on the spot, her eyes down. Slowly she looked up, looking straight at the camera immediately she stopped, staring at the camera. She looked like she saw a ghost as she suddenly lost all her steps to dance.
"I think she saw you, Hikaru…." Akane said softly.
"I know…"
Akari's face brightened up gradually, her cheerful smile appearing on her face before she turned away and glide on the ice with more enthusiasm than before. As she picked up speed she leapt in the air and did a triple loop, landing on her feet perfectly. The crowd cheered. Almost immediately she did another jump in the air for another triple and everyone cheered without stopping when she land flawlessly.
"Great Akari…" Akane whispered. "Maybe you could even make it for the Nationals…"
When the song came to an end Akari stopped her dance by spinning really fast on the spot and halt abruptly without difficulty. Everyone was on their feet after she finished. She raised a hand in the air and bowed gracefully at the audience and the judges. After that, quickly she turned over to the camera and skated over so quickly, towards Hikaru, who was there waiting for her.
"You were late!" Akari yelled but flung her arms around him anyways. Hikaru hugged her back. "How could you."
Touya couldn't help feeling a tiny pang of envy, just watching Hikaru who could share that moment with her. How he wished it could be him there for her. Giving her the support she needed and he was sure about one thing; he will never be late.
"Sorry," Hikaru grinned. "You were great though I heard from Akane-neechan you fell…"
"Well, yeah," Akari looked rather worried. "I hope I didn't loose too much at that part."
"You won't!" Akane said reassuringly.
"I always thought you skated like a frog…." Hikaru teased, jokingly. Then he added in rather seriously. "But this time, I think you will be able to get first…" With that he walked away from the camera.
"Akari!" Another voice came to into the video. "It's time they put up your points!"
"I'm coming couch!" Akari called back towards the person and turned towards to the camera, obviously talking to her sister. "Frog?" She mumbled with a small frowned on her face. "Was that the best he could do?"
"I am sure he meant swan, dear…." Akane said.
Akari shrugged before she walked away from the camera.
The camera was switched off.
"That is how she got that trophy," Akane smiled turning to Touya. "But that was also the last time she join any competition."
"Why?" Touya asked looking over to Akane.
"Because she did wanted to go all the way, more than just the regional…" Akane started slowly. "In the first year of college, she had her first tryout for the Nationals…"
"I can't believe you could do this behind my back neechan!" Touya heard Akari's voice from behind them and he turned around to see Akari leaning on her side, on the wall.
Akari had arms crossed in front of her and she was livid. She came home to hear voices coming from the living room and went to see who it may be. When she entered, she was nearly gotten a stroke to hear her sister telling Touya about her past. Something she had shield away never looking back at it for a long time. That was past was history, like Hikaru to her life.
Besides that, there was something very familiar in between them, it was a box of her most memorial things that she had kept away, never wanted to look at it again. Akari shook slightly at the sight. Never her life thought that she would be looking at it at this day.
"Opps," Akane said rather nonchalantly.
TBC
I know... I know... (Dunks from rotten fruits). I first chapter I left with a cliffy. Muahahahahaa! I promise next chapter, how Akari gotten her scar, though I have a feeling it may be quite obvious HOW she gotten it since she SKATES and all that... hehehee... clues I am giving but not giving out anything until next chapter when Akari tells Touya what actually happens.
Clarification on why this chapter had so many scenes of Akari's past. I came up with this idea because I wanted Touya to see and actually feel what Akari had went through in her past. That was why... I came up with this cliche with the whole big video thingy and Touya watched it. Lame I know but just couldn't help myself... LOL