CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN

Triple axel.

Why does my heart cry?
Feelings I can't hide.

Combination spin.

Why does my heart cry?
Feelings I can't fight.

Big finish!

ROOOOOOOOOOXAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN!

Final pose.

"The score for Georgi Popovich..."

The extravagant skater and his conservative coach sat in the kiss and cry anxiously, hearing the announcement overhead.

"...92.76."

Georgi was on his feet, throwing his arms into the air as he cheered his score. As Yakov clapped in approval, the skater's eyes went over to the waiting area where the rest of his team, and 'the defector,' had been watching.

Did you see that? Viktor... Georgi thought to himself, shrugging on his track-suit coat, strutting like a peacock from the kiss and cry to go backstage, I wasn't even pushing myself this time. By the end of this, I'm going to shell out a new Personal Best and get into the Final. You won't be the only Russian skater with a long track record of stunning victories...

Viktor just clapped politely, commenting something to the people around him that Georgi couldn't hear. The group laughed though, making the younger Russian skater a bit anxious as he went back into the prep area again.

"Next on the ice, representing Germany...Helmute Knabe!"

The 16-year-old with auburn hair made his way out onto the rink, wheeling around to get one final pep-talk from his coach. Camera footage showed him nodding a few times, shaking the woman's hand, and then heading out into the arena to the cheers of the crowd.

"Skater Helmute is an interesting case this year. While many skaters enter the Senior Division as soon as they can, especially when they do so well in the Junior circuit, Helmute was forced to stay an extra year because of a technicality on his birthday. He was born one day too late to make it into the listings last year. Members of the audience who are new to skating should know...athletes must be aged 15 before July 1st of the previous year in order to compete in the Senior Division. Helmute is last year's Junior World Champion, and competes against his former rival, Yuri Plisetsky, for the first time since then."

Yurio scoffed, sitting with the others in the waiting area with one ear-bud in from his phone, "He won Silver at my last Junior World Championships...that doesn't mean he was my rival."

"Huh?" Yuri looked back at him from the lower row.

"...Listening to Morooka talking about the event on LiveStream. He said this scrub was my rival back when I was still in the Junior Division."

"Well, he might not be your rival, but you're his for sure." The older skater pointed out, "He won Bronze at our last event, so he's not doing all that bad for his Senior premiere."

"I guess."

Morooka went on, unheard by all save the blonde, "Skater Helmute's song for the Short Program is an older one...'Black Betty' by Ram Jam. He really got the audience in Canada going with it, so we're looking forward to hearing it here in France!"

The young skater held his arms out to the cheering of the audience, relishing in the sight of the German flag waving all around him.

Half of the Final Six spots have already been called for, practically... He thought to himself quietly, twizzling a little to get himself in the mood, Plisetsky is expected to make it to the Final again, despite his disastrous fall from grace after the Final last year... His green-brown eyes rose to see the blond in the stands, watching him intently as he had in their Junior days, With all the training he's done since Worlds though, and taking Silver at our last event, he seems to be back in form again. Do I even have a chance?

He took his spot in the middle of the rink and entered into his starting pose, crossing his right leg over the left and lowering his head a little.

It's bad enough that Viktor Nikiforov is competing at this event... But Yuri's here, too, and Christophe... I know the ISU has to put competitors somewhere, but if they're going to be selective with where they put previous Gold medalists, why couldn't they take pity on a newcomer and put me somewhere less stacked?

The audience's cheering slowly dwindled, and the sound of the drum-beat started up.

Each skater is ranked and given points based on their standings in each event.

The song was high-energy, introducing bass and electric guitar, and the footwork was crisp to match it. Black blades were clicking along the ice in swift sweeping movements as the skater went back along the arena, turning as he came close to the rink wall on the south end.

Fifteen points for 1st place, 13 for 2nd, 11 for 3rd, and so forth... Those skaters whose ranked scores are highest will be eligible for a spot in the Final Six. Those who tie will have other factors taken into account... Yuri Nikiforov and Michele Crispino had the same Grand Prix Series total score last year, but Yuri managed to sneak in because he medaled at Cup of China... Silver counts for more in the eyes of the ISU if the total point value is equal...

Quad loop, and the song's lyrics began. Triple axel, other elements, triple toe-loop with triple Salchow combo. The first stanza ended, and the step-sequence began.

With my Bronze from Skate Canada, I have 11 points on my ticket so far. It's unlikely that I'll medal at this event...but I think I can take 4th place, earning me 9 more points. If only Viktor wasn't here...I had bad luck ending up at the same event as him...

The Russian watched the show quietly, leaning against his hand where he'd clasped it to his partner's. He was almost unblinking as the performance went on, idly rubbing his thumb back and forth where he felt warm fingers against his cheek.

"Minami-kun would love this." Yuri said, leaning in a little to be heard over the music, "It's so high-energy and up-beat. This is right up his alley."

"...How old is he?" Viktor wondered.

"He turned 18 over the summer."

"Really?" The Russian was stunned, "But...he's so small..."

The younger skater laughed, "Yeah, isn't he? I don't exactly remember his birthday, but it's sometime in the summer. He technically made his Senior debut last year."

"So how come he isn't in the Series?"

Yuri shrugged, "Maybe his coach doesn't think he's ready. But speaking of being ready...shouldn't we go?"

"Mh. After this one." Viktor kissed the ring on his partner's finger before lowering their hands to settle on the arm-rest between them.

The German skater's Short Program was coming to an end, and he leapt into the flying sit-spin to round out the finale of his performance. He dropped down to his knees and leaned back, arms out to the side, as the song came to a sudden end. The crowd roared its approval. He held the pose, catching his breath for a few moments, and then sunk forward to put his hands on the ice.

...Whatever my score here turns out to be, I'll be better at German Nationals and Euros...

"The score for Helmute Knabe..." The announcement came overhead, and the teen looked up with his coach and choreographer in the kiss and cry, "...96.25!"

"Wow~!" Viktor cheered, clapping.

Yuri clapped as well, but was somewhat more subdued, watching the younger skater jumping all over both of the figures with him in the score box.

...He's even better now than he was in Canada. If not this season, then the next...he's going to be a force to be reckoned with...

Yurio was clapping, but he was being sassy about it. When it was over and the next skater was getting ready for his turn, the teen stood up and started making his way to the aisle, "Viktor, we should go. This is the last of Group 1."

"Da, we're coming."

"Next on the ice...representing the United States of America...Leo de la Iglasia!"

The audience was clapping and cheering all over again as the trio of skaters moved to go backstage, leaving a few non-Men's Singles athletes to wait and watch for Group 2. There was plenty of time to prepare though, as the zamboni would resurface the rink between sessions, so no one was in any particular rush. By the time they got down into the prep area, work was underway by the next set of skaters getting ready to head onto the ice.

Yurio broke away from the group to check the listing on the wall one more time, and Yuri soon followed after him. Viktor 'danced' his way back to the benches they'd claimed earlier, practicing a few easy maneuvers from his Short Program as he went.

"I don't think it's going to change if you stop looking at it." Yuri pointed out, standing next to the teen as he analyzed the listing.

"It's not about whether it changes. It's about ice conditions, judge fatigue, and audience apathy." The blond answered, raising his hand to make an example of the skating order, "Haven't you ever considered it?"

"...Well, I never really got into competition so I could climb to the top. I just wanted to-"

"-skate the same ice as Viktor, I know, I know..." Yurio grumbled, "Maybe you should think about it more now then. Look." He put his hand over the block for Group 1, "The ice is going to get resurfaced before Group 2 goes out there, but that only means a perfect skating surface for the first guy out there. Whatever toe-assisted jumps he does will leave gouges in the ice for the next person, and so on. The last person out there has a small disadvantage because of it." He slid his finger down the list, "Giacometti is the lucky fuck going out first, then the Czech clown, then the South Korean guy with the big eyebrows, the French guy, then me, then Viktor."

"So you're saying you and Viktor have the biggest handicaps?"

"Don't you remember that time your dumbass fell on the ice in St. Petersburg because of the crack your skate dropped into?"

"...Sure I remember." Yuri deadpanned the teen.

"Well, imagine having that happen when you're skating for competition. If there's a jump-scratch deep enough, you might get tripped up by it."

"You'd have to hit it absolutely perfectly though. It seems like a really minor thing to quibble about."

"Swimmers will shave their eyebrows for that microscopic difference in water resistance." Yurio explained, "But that's less important than knowing about judge fatigue. Everyone knows that the very first person on the ice is at a disadvantage because the judges haven't 'warmed up' yet. Skaters in the middle will do the best on average, and then the heavy hitters at the end, if the ISU tweaks skate order after lots are drawn."

"...Yeah, I noticed that Viktor didn't even bother drawing a number." The older skater said, looking at the other lists idly.

"He doesn't always have to." Yurio explained, "It's just like at Worlds, when they put you and him dead last to keep the audience from leaving early. At 'minor' events though, it's not always important."

"Are you worried the judges will score you low because they'll be tired?"

"In part." Yurio said, pulling his hand back from the chart to put it back in his track-suit coat pocket, though he kept his eyes up, "The judges really crafted this whole season around you and Viktor."

The Asian skater sighed, but said nothing, his mind drawn right back to what Phichit had said again.

"It would've been nice to skate at an event on my own." Yurio went on, "Instead of being stacked up against you guys at both of them, I could've gone and swiped gold from that shit-eating cunt JJ or something. I should've been at Rostelecom."

"I think you'll do fine. Viktor's only doing three quads...you could always up the ante like it were the Final and push ahead." Yuri suggested, "I doubt he'll deviate much from his plan even if he sees you pushing yourself. It's your final event for the Series...he's probably expecting you to."

"I don't want to win anything if it's only because someone else held back for my sake." The blonde turned his eyes a little, "If Viktor doesn't change his plans after I do, then it'll mean he's slacking."

Yuri just tilted his head and huffed a slight laugh, "That'll depend on your score. If he doesn't think you'll beat him based on what he already has in mind, then he'll just stick to the plan."

"You two were real dicks to not show me what your programs looked like while I was in Hasetsu."

The older skater just slouched over Yurio's back dramatically, dangling his arms in front of the teen, "But it would ruin the fun! Even Viktor had to disappear and train by himself sometimes when I was living in St. Petersburg. I didn't even know he was working on the quad Axel until after he'd pulled it off, and I never even saw it until he did it in front of everyone in his Worlds SP, remember?"

"...Mh."

Yuri pulled off of him and tugged on his jacket, "You should go stretch though, and get something to drink. You'll be out there within the hour. I can't wait to see what your new score is going to be."