CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED FOURTY SEVEN

12 years prior...

[Everyone, I want you to meet our newest arrival.] Sayoko said happily, standing in front of a small crowd of skaters, ranging in age from 6 to 17. Beside her, and barely half her height, was a skinny barely-teen boy with messy black hair and blue-rimmed glasses, with a flush of pink on his cheeks and ears, [This is Katsuki Yuri. He comes from Hasetsu.]

"Yōkoso, Katsuki Yuri-san." (Welcome) The group all said at once.

"Dōzo yoroshiku, onegaishimasu." (It's nice to meet you.) He answered back, bowing nervously.

One of the younger girls suddenly found a skate sliding out from under her and he plopped down on her butt rather unceremoniously, earning a few giggles from the others. A skinny teen boy went over to help the younger one back up to her skates.

[Keep one toe-pick down so you don't slide around.] He explained quietly, [You can hold onto me if you want though.]

The group coach smiled at that, [Thank you, Asahi-san. What do you say when someone helps you, Haruka-chan?]

"...D-domo...arigatō." (Thank you very much.) The child whispered, earning her teacher's approval and a nod, which made her feel less embarrassed about having slipped in the first place.

[Katsuki-san has been skating for a few years already, but he hasn't taken any advanced lessons yet, so everyone go easy on him.] Sayoko continued, [I expect you'll start practicing English with him, too, so he can get comfortable with the language before he starts competing.]

"Haaai." The group answered.

[Good. Let's split up into groups then. Everyone up to age 10 go to that end,] She pointed to her right, [You'll be working on basic moves in the field today. Yuri-san and Asahi-san, you'll be here in the middle with me. Everyone else on that end,] Sayoko pointed to her left, [Footwork drills, and spin transitions. Coaches Satoshi and Hana will join their assigned groups in just a moment.]

The group split off towards each end of the rink, save the two told to stay put. Asahi waved off the little girl as she eased her way to her peers, but then turned towards the newcomer, and rubbed his bare arms where the cold was starting to creep in, "...So...do you know any English yet...?"

"...I..." Yuri started sheepishly, his cheeks getting a bit pinker, and he looked off to the side to avoid the older boy's face, "I...know... Ahh... I know some. My English...okay."

"Is okay." Asahi corrected, poking the ice with a toe-pick to slide closer, "My English is okay."

"...Oh..."

[Don't intimidate him too quickly, Asahi-san.] Sayoko commented, reaching to pat Yuri's shoulder, only to find him instinctively recoiling a little bit. She pulled her hand back, and moved around in a wide inside spread-Eagle instead, as though she'd never meant to touch him in the first place, [You two are about the same age, and most of the other students are either much younger or much older, so I imagine you'll both be training a lot together. Challenge one another, but respect one another. Asahi-san, you're already starting to do quads, but I want you to help Yuri-san master his triples for now.]

[Yes ma'am.]

.

[I want to skate like Viktor one day.] Yuri explained, looking up at a box-television in the corner of the mess-hall that was playing footage of a recent Seniors event, [Yuko-san told me about him a few years ago.]

[Who's Yuko?] Asahi wondered, leaning against the wall where their table was pushed up against it, [Someone in Hasetsu?]

The younger teen's cheeks went pink, but he nodded anyway, keeping his eyes on the screen, [She's a friend. I've known her most of my life.] Yuri explained, resting his elbows on the table and setting his chin against his palms, [She and I like to copy Viktor's programs when we skate together at the Ice Castle back home. She's...] He sighed half-dreamily, [...She's really good... They call her the 'Madonna.']

Asahi quirked a brow, noting the odd way Yuri was suddenly speaking. He felt a weird pain in his chest, and rubbed it with one hand as though his skin were itchy, but then coughed to himself and shrugged, [She didn't come with you to train here though. Is she not going to compete?]

[Nah...] The younger teen shook his head, [She's never been interested in that. She just skates for fun. I like to show off for her sometimes.]

.

"Asahi-kuuuun!" Yuri yelled, running up to the front doors of the small dormitory, carrying something small in his arms, "ASAHI-KUN! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"I'm here!" The teen called back, "What's wrong!? Are you hurt!?" He shoved the doors open suddenly, not realizing how close Yuri was behind them, and accidentally knocked him right back onto his butt, "Ah! Gomen!"

There was a high-pitched whimper as Yuri groaned and rolled forward to sit upright, "...Ittaaiiii..." (Owww.) He whined, looking down and reaching up with one hand to put his glasses back in place as his arm kept hold of a particular brown fluff.

"...Are you okay?" Asahi wondered nervously, crouching down in front of his friend, and only just then spotted the puppy in his arms, "What's this? When did you get a dog...?"

"...On Friday, after I got back home..." Yuri explained, rubbing his nose where the door had hit him. He shook the dizzy feeling and moved to hold the pup up in both hands, "This is Vik-chan!"

"...Vik-chan?"

"Yeah! I named him Viktor! But it's Vik-chan for short!" He answered excitedly, "Viktor has a poodle in Russia, so I got one, too!"

.

"You've been acting weird all day." Asahi said grudgingly, "Would you quit being all sour and just tell me what's wrong?"

Yuri sighed, rolling over where he'd been lying on the long grass, and scratched Vik-chan behind one ear to distract himself, "...Yuko-san started dating someone..." He said quietly, "Nishigori... The guy who used to make fun of me..."

"Really? Why...?" Asahi crossed his arms as he moved down to sit in the grass next to the toy-poodle, "Didn't you say she was always defending you from him?"

"...Yeah..." He nodded, and pushed to sit up a little, arms bent out behind himself to hold him up as he leaned back, "Maybe I've been gone too long. Nishigori hasn't teased me in a while because I'm not really around anymore, except on the weekends and stuff. I don't know how this happened." He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his knees, "...I didn't see it coming..."

"Maybe it wasn't meant to be."

"...The only reason I ever decided to get into competition was because Yuko-san always said she wanted to see me compete against Viktor one day." Yuri went on, barely holding the tears behind his eyes, "I thought maybe she'd like me more if I did, but now it's...a lost cause..."

Asahi watched quietly, not sure what to do. He lowered his eyes down to the poodle, who had since flipped over to stand up, and pawed at his human slightly, whimpering quietly.

Yuri lowered his knees and crossed his ankles, picking his dog up to lift him into his lap, "Vik-chan..."

"Are you going to give up skating now...?" Asahi asked nervously, "You've been doing really good. I can't imagine you quitting after all the work you put into it."

"...I don't want to quit. I still want to meet Viktor one day..." Yuri answered, petting the dog lightly as those soulful brown eyes looked back at him adoringly, tail wagging, "...Maybe I should go ahead and ask Coach Nagisa if I can move up to Seniors. I'm old enough now. I'm just holding myself back by staying in Juniors."

.

"THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE." Yuri complained loudly, coming off the train in Imari like he'd been practicing his lamentation the entire way. Asahi and Coach Nagisa watched him in complete confusion, "I NEVER WANT TO GO BACK TO HASETSU EVER."

"...What...happened?" The two asked anxiously.

"TRIPLETS HAPPENED." Yuri yelled in answer, "They made me hold them and feed them and help change diapers. IT WAS THE WORST THING."

"...That doesn't sound so bad." Sayoko pointed out, "Triplets are a lot of work but it can be really rewarding."

"I don't care!" Yuri whined, burying his face against the fluff on Vik-chan's back where he held the poodle in his arms. A few tears escaped his eyes as other train passengers continued to unload all around them, "I don't want to go back to Hasetsu! I can't stand it!"

"Well..." The coach thought, putting one hand on her hip as she looked on at the distraught young skater, "When my students transition to Seniors, sometimes they move on to train abroad. You've been saying for a while that you wanted to move up. I could...see if there's anywhere that has an opening for you."

"Nagisa-kōchi...!" Asahi started, looking rather anxious suddenly, "I-Is that really necessary? Can't he just stay here? I could ask my parents if Yuri can stay with us on weekends so he doesn't have to go back to Hasetsu... Or maybe he could-"

"That's kind of you, Asahi-san, but even you can't stay in Juniors with him forever." Sayoko explained, putting one hand on the teen's shoulder, "You're already 18...this is your last season before you have to move on. I'm not even sure why you haven't already...you've been ready to start in Seniors for 2 years now."

The teen's face went red, but he shook it away. He opened his mouth, about to make some excuse, but Yuri cut him off.

"I want to go as far away as I can." He said, his voice cracking under the tears, "Every time I go to Hasetsu, it's like a knife in my chest. I hate it."

"Yuri-kun, you can't be serious..." Asahi pleaded, all but grabbing his friend to shake some sense into him, "Maybe you can just come with me to Tokyo after the season ends...we can move up to Seniors together!"

.

"...What do you mean, he's gone?" Asahi was paralyzed from the news, unsure how to take it, "Where did he go?"

"...I told him about an opening at the Skate Club in Detroit, in the USA." Coach Nagisa explained, "I didn't think he'd jump on it, but as soon as I mentioned where it was, he said yes."

"I told him I'd make a spot for him at my Skate Club though! He was supposed to wait for me!"

"Asahi-san..."

"I was just telling him about one of the guys retiring after this season! It's only a few more weeks!" Tears were filling his eyes already as he sat in his former coach's office, "I thought he'd be happy and we could train together again, like old times!"

"...I think he was more miserable than you knew." Nagisa explained quietly, "Ever since you moved to Seniors, Yuri-san hasn't had anyone his own age to talk to. Telling him about the club in Detroit...it was the first time I've seen him smile in almost a year."

"It...it was o-only going to be...a few m-more weeks...!" Asahi could barely hold in his despair, "The club m-manager already s-said it was okay for Yur-Yuri to come!"

"Maybe you can tell him when you see him at Nationals?" The coach offered.

"Wh-when did he...go?" The teen asked between charged breaths, reaching one arm up to rub his eyes on the back of a wrist.

"A few days after he turned 18."

"THAT WAS A MONTH AGO!"

"Asahi-san, I know you're upset, but this was Yuri-san's choice." Sayoko explained, trying to calm the man down.

"HE'S BEING SELFISH!"

"It was a time-sensitive offer, and I don't think your offer was secure yet." She went on despite the outburst, "He really wanted to go with you...but there was no guarantee that spot would open up. It weighed him down quite a bit to have to choose before knowing for sure."

"Who is his coach now, then?" He asked bitterly, "It better be worth it."

"Celestino Caldini." She answered, "Please don't be mad at Yuri-san for this. It's only a week until Nationals. Talk to him...but let yourself cool off first."

.

"Yuri-kun...?"

The skater in question practically bounced off the walls like a pin-ball at the sound of his name, but when he finally landed and those brown eyes lifted to see that familiar face, his fright turned to panic and embarrassment, "Asahi-kun! Ahhhhhhhhhh I'm so sorry!"

The older figure took a few steps forward, breaking off from his Club group, "You don't call, you don't write..."

"I know! I'm bad!" Yuri pleaded, dropping to his knees and bowing repeatedly in apology, "Everything just happened so fast! Then I got really badly jet-lagged and I was a total mess!"

"Who's this? Yuri..." Celestino wondered, stepping up from where he'd been at the hotel check-in counter, "Someone you know?"

"Oh...Celestino, this is Asahi Saito... We trained together while we were in Juniors together." He explained, though still sitting on his knees on the floor, "He's a really good friend of mine."

"Apparently not good enough to keep in the loop until you've been cornered and forced to say something." Asahi said stiffly, watching Yuri go right back to begging for forgiveness again, this time staying down and rubbing his hands together above his head. He watched the spectacle for a few seconds before the flutter in his chest turned his disappointment into guilt, and went down on a knee before his old friend so he could speak more softly, "Yuri-kun...I... Sorry, that was mean of me. I'm just sad I missed you. I had good news for you...I went back to Imari to tell you in person but you were already gone."

"Eh...?" Those eyes came up, and Yuri pushed himself to sitting, keeping his hands on the floor.

"I was going to tell you that a spot at my club was going to open after the season ended...but..." Asahi looked up at the Italian coach who'd been watching them, "It looks like you got out before I got back."

"Coach Nagisa emailed me to say that you turned up..." Yuri sighed, "But I just...couldn't wait anymore. Things in Hasetsu were getting really stressful for me and I..."

"...I get it."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it. I knew you'd be upset and I just...didn't want to put that on you."

"Yuri," Celestino said suddenly, "We really need to get moving. Maybe you two can catch up later?"

"Oh..." The younger figure nodded nervously, and rose up to stand, looking up into the grey-brown eyes he'd known for the last few years, "...Asahi-kun, I'll tell you all about it as soon as I can. Maybe we can hang out tonight? It's been ages since I last saw you. There's so much to say."

"Yeah...that sounds good."

.

"Yuri-kun! What in the world is going on with you!?" Asahi wondered nervously, rushing towards his former rink-mate as he came into the prep area, having just finished his Nationals Short Program and heard the appallingly-bad 62.12 score, "That was worse than Sochi!"

"...I know..." Yuri sighed, dark circles under his eyes. He pressed a hand to his hip and hissed a breath, "...I fell on this same spot four times...it hurts really bad now..."

"Just sit down a minute." The older figure suggested, following the man towards a nearby seat, "What's going on with you lately? You've just been falling apart out there. It's entirely unlike you."

Celestino was coming back then with a bag of ice, folding a towel over it and handing it to his athlete, "Shake it off, Yuri. You can still recover in the Free Skate tomorrow."

Asahi backed off a little to let his friend's coach in closer, and watched quietly as Yuri did everything he could not to cry. He couldn't help but see how ragged the younger man looked though. Yuri's skin was pale and mottled, his hair looked dry and rough, even with the gel to slick it back. His hands trembled as well. It was all rather worrying.

"Asahi..." Another voice sounded, coming up from behind. The older skater looked back and spotted one of his current rink-mates; a younger man with scattered red streaks in his hair, slightly shorter than Asahi himself but taller than Yuri, and pale brown eyes flecked with gold, "What's wrong with him...?"

"I'm not sure." Asahi whispered back, setting one hand on the shorter figure's shoulder to speak close to one ear, "Maybe he's sick?"

"...Since Sochi though? It's been 2 weeks since then. If he was that ill, his coach should've pulled him."

"Your guess is as good as mine, Riku."

.

"That's a real shame." An older man said, sitting behind the wheel of a small sedan, "So he's coming back to Japan?"

"I'm not sure." Asahi answered from his place behind the driver's seat, looking at the small JSF bulletin about Yuri cutting Celestino loose as his coach, "The article doesn't really say anything else...not even if Yuri's looking for someone to take Celestino's place. It's super vague."

"Maybe you should reach out to him." Riku suggested, sitting in the back passenger seat, "Maybe he'll join the Tokyo club this time. You'd be happy about that."

"He hasn't been answering my emails." Asahi sighed, putting his phone away, "I'm worried about him. The way he looked when we all left the hotel after Nationals..."

Riku's eyes looked forward, checking that their coach wasn't looking back in the rear-view mirror, and then reached his hand across the middle seat to place it gently over his partner's, "He probably just needs some time to himself."

Asahi twitched slightly at the feel of a palm on his skin, but realized quickly that the man in the front seat wasn't paying any attention, and let his heart calm. He moved that hand to curl his fingers around the ones that cupped over his knuckles, "You can never be too sure with him. The longer trouble went on with him, the less he'd talk about it."

"You guys have known each other for so long. I'm surprised he's not replying." Riku went on, rubbing his thumb slowly back and forth, "You're practically brothers."

"...Yeah...brothers."

"I can reach out to Celestino if you want." Their coach asked suddenly, causing both skaters to jerk their hands back and look away from one another, "Maybe he'll tell me since I'm asking on your behalf."

"That'd be great if you c-"

"WATCH OUT!"

KRUNCH

The car flew suddenly and flipped a dozen times before coming to a stop, only to be struck again by two other cars as they tried to avoid it. Everything cut to black. When Asahi started coming to again, his head was spinning and the world was blurry. It felt like his head was in a vice, and the coppery-metallic smell of blood and gasoline was all around. He didn't have the presence of mind to think, or ask questions...his body was numb. Moving his limbs felt like trying to control a puppet, but he eventually crawled out of the twisted and broken door, and flipped onto his back, landing on the crunchy road. Dizziness made his head feel heavy, and he dropped it back, feeling the shards of obliterated glass under his hair. He closed his eyes a moment as stiffness and pain started creeping in, but along with the pain came some of his senses, and worry replaced his confusion.

"R-Ri...ku..."

Asahi used every bit of strength in his body to turn over, and reached for the jagged metal of the car to help him stand. The effort only made him painfully aware of how much his left arm was bleeding, and the shards of glass that had ripped half a dozen cuts into his face and neck. His hair was sticky, and his left eye didn't focus that well, leaving the world slightly blurred as he moved. He was able to find the black blob with the red streaks though, on the other side of the wreckage, and collapsed to his knees.

"Riku...!" He called, putting one hand on the younger man's chest as the other tried to comb a few strands of hair from those closed eyes, "Riku...! Answer me...!"

Eyes clenched and weakly opened to the sound of his name, but only one eye would open to look up, and it closed quickly from the brightness of the sun directly above them, "A...sahi..."

[Are you hurt!?]

[...M-my...chest...] He answered quickly, voice barely a whisper, [I...feel hot...]

Asahi could feel the man's skin was clammy and damp, but he couldn't see any injuries that were obviously any worse than his own. He didn't feel any blood in RIku's hair, or see any pooling under him anywhere. He reached quickly to pull the thin t-shirt up to see if there were any signs of a puncture through Riku's skin, but there wasn't much to see there either.

[...My ch-chest...hurts so much...As...sahi...]

[Just breathe. Stay calm. Maybe you got hurt inside. I'm sure help is already on the way. Just listen to my voice.] He pleaded, seeing that one open eye rolling back, "Riku!"

The younger man was gone though. That last breath exhaled, his chest never to rise again. Asahi pressed two shaky fingers to the man's neck, trying to feel for a pulse, but was unable to find one.

[Wake up...]

No answer.

[...Wake up...!] He begged, wrapping his arms around the younger figure's frame and pulling him closer, rocking back and forth as tears started rolling down his face, [Riku wake up! Please...! You have to...!]

TaTHOCK

His eyes shot open, and he looked around the room quickly, gaze scanning every inch of his surroundings for the sound of the sudden noise, only to realize it was the Shishi Odoshi bamboo fountain that had been the culprit. It had reset by then though, and water was slowly trickling into the open end of the bamboo tube, getting it ready to tip again in another minute. Asahi drew a breath and tried to calm his heart, resuming his meditation position, legs crossed and wrists perched on the crests of his knees.

That smell was just overwhelming though...the copper-metal smell of blood. Eyes opened again, this time slower, and he pulled his hands into his lap, looking at his palms, seeing the memory of all the red vitae that had once caked them. The bits of gravel, dirt, and broken glass that had gotten stuck to him. A trickle of it started to drip away though as a few tears fell from his eyes, landing on his thumbs...but then it was all gone again, leaving clean, uninjured skin.

I wish you were still here... I could handle this thing with Yuri so much easier if you were still by my side...

His right hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose, and rubbed some of the liquid away, letting him see again...but his expression then hardened into something more determined.

I'll beat Viktor this weekend for you... I'll make him eat every insult...