CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE
Yurio brooded incessantly while he waited for the 'gross' antics on the ice to end. He found himself feeling somewhat in-kind with the bear sitting nearby, ignoring Mikhail's iPad for his own reasons, but ignoring it all the same.
There were a few small food stalls just inside the arena's main doors, but nowhere to really sit down and eat it, save within the arena itself where fans were starting to find their seats. Places to sit were otherwise hard to come by...and Kon had made his claim on a bench pressed up against a nearby wall.
"...Oh no, Viktor's limping..." Nikki commented suddenly, perched over her father's right shoulder, "Is he okay?"
"Hard to tell with this view..." Mikhail said, tilting his head as though it would help make the vantage better, "Minako...? Oi! Minako!"
"I don't think she can hear you while she's holding her phone up like that, papa."
Yurio stuck his head into the gap between their eyes and the screen, "Viktor's what?"
"L-I-M-P-I-N-G." Nikki spelled out, only to reach forward with both mittened hands to squash the teen's head down and out of the way again, "He's not walking normal."
The blonde flailed and pulled away, trying to reset his hair through his fluster, "I know what limping means, dummy!"
"Language."
"What'd he do to himself...?" Yurio grumbled, "He was fine a minute ago."
"He was stumbling around when Yuri came back to rink-side..." Mikhail went on, "I think he might've dinged himself then."
"Oh, there's the score!" Nikki interrupted, getting between them both to get an eye-full of the screen, trying to see the tiny font on the display screen above the rink. Thankfully, Minako noticed it as well and lifted the view-finder to focus on it, "180...no, 188.96? 95! His total is 290.21 and he's in second!"
"So then it's just that guy with the green in his hair." Yurio surmised, "Katsudon fucked this one up badly...what was wrong with him? He was all over the place."
"Maybe it's something to do with Minako being on Viktor's bad side suddenly?" The elder wondered, "She wouldn't say what was going on though..."
"Počemu ty govorišʹ o Viktor?" Kon wondered suddenly, getting all their attention.
Mikhail lifted his head, [Your boy tripped and hurt himself. He's limping on the right side.]
Quirking a brow, Konstantin reached through the group with his massive arm and swiped the tablet right from his in-law's hands, holding it up so he could see it more clearly...only to get an eyeful of Yuri's attempt to silence his coach with a kiss. The bear groaned loudly and gave the tablet back, [Why can't they keep that to themselves like normal people? Don't they get in trouble for being gross in public?]
Yurio cackled, [He gets it! I'm not the only one with some sense around here!]
[They get cheered for it, actually.] Mikhail corrected, turning the tablet around to reorient it, watching the FaceTime footage carefully as it followed the two skaters back towards the prep area. Minami was taking the ice just in front of the pair, [Viktor's too popular to put a leash on his behavior. If he wants to be theatrical, even if it's making-out with Yuri, then as long as it doesn't get too inappropriate, he gets away with it. The JSF staffers were out there pulling them off each other a minute ago though so obviously there's a limit.]
[...It's inappropriate for a coach and student to be acting that way...] Kon grumbled, pulling the lapels of his jacket up beside his face, the brim of his hat creating the lid of a box-like barrier between him and most other people around, [I doubt they're exercising the old socialist fraternal kiss either. Neither of them are political dignitaries so they have no reason to do it.]
Mikhail and Yurio exchanged skeptical looks.
"He's drowning in denial." The teen rolled his eyes, "Should I remind him?"
"...It's not worth it."
"What are you guys talking about?" Viktoria wondered impatiently.
"Dude-bro over here thinks that if he refuses to acknowledge that Katsudon and Viktor are married, that he can somehow complain about how affectionate they are as though it's wrong." Yurio explained, thumbing at the bear casually, though the man didn't see given the blinders he'd erected for himself.
"You complain about it." Nikki poked her 'brother's' arm a few times as she said the words.
He pulled his frame out of reach and twisted to face her, "I complain about everyone who does PDA. It's gross no matter who it is."
Mikhail leaned against his daughter's shoulder, "It's true. He complained bitterly about Minako and I."
"You were being deliberately confusing!" The teen argued, pointing at the elder with both hands, "You weren't even really being affectionate! At least not like them! I complained because you two didn't have your shit together! You guys only made sense for less than a week before it all went weird again!"
"...Sorry?" Mikhail said half-heartedly, eyes crossed to look at both fingers where they'd come dangerously close to his nose. He blinked, shook his head, and swatted the digits away lightly, "Anyway, that's just how it is when two people have an equal say in things. It doesn't matter what I want if that's not what she wants."
"You tell us what to do all the time."
The elder Russian stood up, tablet still in-hand, "We have an unequal relationship. I'm a parent or guardian...you're a minor under my care. You can have a say in things, but in the end, I still have to have your best interests in mind and say no when what you want is dangerous or destructive. That's how it works."
Yurio sighed loudly and turned on his heel towards the rest of the hall, but that just earned him a sudden monkey on his back.
"Listening to papa isn't always the worst thing in the world." Nikki teased, arms tossed over his shoulders as she leaned against him from behind, "He's put his foot down on plenty of things I wanted to do, and even though I was mad at him at the time, looking back on it...more often than not, he was right."
The blonde just started walking forward, even if it meant dragging his giggling sibling along, "This is dumb. I do what I want."
"Yuri Plisetsky, get back here with my daughter." Mikhail groaned, half an eye on the iPad still, hoping Minako would turn it around.
The Russian Tiger cringed under the order, and quickly hopped back to stand where he'd been before with Nikki still attached to him like a remora fish.
"Nikkita Rozovsky, let your brother go."
She was practically at-attention next to him a split second later.
Yurio leaned slightly towards her, speaking out the side of his mouth in a hushed tone, "Notice how it's 'my daughter' and 'your brother' when he says it?"
The silver teen just giggled behind one hand, "He has to remind you of your place in the pecking order. Beneath him but equal to me."
"I'm older than you though. Doesn't that mean I have seniority?"
"You're new to the family...and, Vikki is older than you, even if it's only by a month. She has seniority."
"Are you two conspiring?" Mikhail asked suddenly, gaping down at them past the edge of the iPad, "I can hear you whisperi-AH!"
Both teens gave stunned looks as they spotted the older man being abruptly grabbed off his feet, one massive arm going around both his shoulders and hugging him close, and up, to the bear's bulky frame.
[Mikhail...] Kon started, hardly noticing where the skinny figure was trying to escape, [Remember how much you meddled when I was courting Tatiyana?]
[THIS ISN'T THE SAME THING. PUTMEDOWN.]
[I remember it like it was yesterday.] The bear went on, staring off into the air of the hall, [Even before the elders gave their blessing, and both our families made the arrangements...you did everything you could to get in the middle of it all because you didn't want anyone getting involved with your sister.]
[YOU BETTER NOT BE SUGGESTING WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE SUGGESTING.]
Though Nikki had no clue what was going on, she was still amused by the sight of her papa being manhandled like a child.
Yurio, on the other hand, had a stunned-horrified look on his face, [This isn't what you think it is! Jeeze!]
[Hush, tiny blonde creature.] Kon muttered at the Tiger, [The adults are speaking.]
Yurio really had no come-back to that. He just looked on, mouth open and eye twitching.
"What are they saying?" Nikki whispered, still smiling nervously at the spectacle.
"...I think Viktor's dad is trying to arrange our marriage...?" He explained apprehensively.
"WHAT!?" She yelled, then rushed forward to get into the bear's line of sight, flailing her thin arms to get the man's attention, "NO NO NO! THIS ISN'T WHAT YOU THINK IT IS! I JUST LIKE MESSING WITH HIM!" She quickly grabbed the blonde and pulled him near roughly, pointing between them, "WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SIBLINGS!"
Kon just blinked down at her, having no idea what the noises she was making were supposed to mean...and assigned his own understanding, [See, Mik? They get it.]
[SHE WASN'T AGREEING WITH YOU!]
[Like I'd believe that coming from you.]
[No! She's telling it straight!] Yurio attempted, a nervous sweat rolling down the side of one cheek, [She's just a friend! Mikhail even set it up that way! She's supposed to help remind me what it's like to just be a regular teen, cuz I never got the chance!]
[She's practically got him by a leash!] Mikhail added, hoping it would make sense to the huge man.
It didn't, [So you already have a wife-husband relationship then...you go out and work, and she keeps you in line. It's perfect. A wedding would just make it official.]
Both Mikhail and Yurio were gaping in stunned horror at that point, [HE'S/I'M 16.]
Viktoria came up behind her sister, "...We really need to learn Russian. I feel like this would be hilarious to eaves-drop on, but..."
"...Hilarious to you...!" Nikki whined, "Konstantin thinks Yuri and I are dating and that papa's just getting in the middle of it like an over-protective dad would..."
"...You guys have only been hanging out for like...2 weeks."
"I KNOW!" She whined, pulling rope-like cords of hair on either side of her head, "This is so embarrassing...! I'm just trying to be friendly!"
"Maybe you over-did it?"
"How do I under-do it!? I have to take it back somehow!"
"Maybe act aloof instead?" The older teen suggested, "Pretend you aren't interested at all."
"I'm not interested though...why should I have to pretend the truth?"
Viktoria shrugged, "Pipaw's always said his bro-in-law was really old-school. To him, as long as you guys aren't trying to murder each other...then you're good."
"What about you though? Why isn't he dragging you into it?"
Another shrug, but this time with a smug grin and a wink, "I don't horse around with Yuri in an attempt to make his fan-club jealous."
"Oh! So that's it!" Nikki thumped one woolen fist into the palm of the other, looking determined, "He fell for our trick just like Yuri's Angels did! We just have to explain that it's a game, and it'll clear this whole thing up! It's genius!"
"Yeah I don't think that's gonna work at this point." Viktoria mused, pointing at the trio ahead of them.
Mikhail had somehow tweaked his back again and had gone entirely limp, half-crying where he hung like wet laundry from Kon's arm; his flat-cap fell off a moment after that, landing on the tile floor beneath him. He didn't have the energy, or the presence of mind, to try and get it back. Yurio was fumbling against the 'attack' of the other arm, trying to get close to defend his honor but continuously repelled.
The two girls sighed, "...Men..."
.
Minami looked down at the poodle-plush tissue box on the ledge of the rink-wall, eyes huge and starting to water. His coach waved her hand in front of his face, but the teen was in his own little world. Shaky hands reached forward...grabbed a single tissue...and pulled it up with the gentle, delicate grace of a paleontologist freeing a 100-million-year-old dinosaur fossil from the earth. The tissue was soft, light, and perfectly white. Thick but not cumbersome, and creased perfectly where it had been interfolded with the next sheet.
"Minami-kun!"
"...It's..." He answered, his voice cracking, "It's just so... So beautiful..."
"It'satissue."
He sobbed uncontrollably into the fluff, pressing his eyes against the kleenex like it was given to him directly by God, "No tissue will ever be as soft as this!"
"We'll just find out what brand it is and get it later!"
"But this came from Yuri-kun's own stock. Nothing will ever be the same!"
"Quit mucking around and get serious! You have to do your Free Skate!" The coach insisted, holding up the last piece of the skater's costume in her hands.
Minami wore what could be described as a suit...but it was old fashioned; double-breasted, the jacket unbuttoned and with long coat-tails waving behind the skater's legs, the vest beneath it fastened tightly over a white shirt with a white bow-tie. He wore a half-cape over his right shoulder, covering the length of his arm so only the tip of his fingers could be seen beyond it. All that remained was...the quarter-baroque mask, which he took from his coach after much convincing, trading it for the used tissue.
A quick slip under his blonde hair, and the mask stuck to his skin, covering his right eye and cheek, "Okay..." He blubbered through his remaining fanboy tears, "I...I think I'm ready now..."
"GO!"
.
Retreating from the stands and avoiding people in the hall was easier said than done, but Asahi pressed on until he escaped and was back in the relative safety of the prep-area. His heart pounded like a jackhammer in his chest, and he took a deep breath to try and calm it.
Flashes of Yuri's Free Program were still blinking through his mind, flickering with the intensity of a strobe-light. The falls, the struggle...
...I never meant to hurt him this badly...! I completely screwed him up! What am I supposed to do!?
A few passers-by from the earlier competition spotted him and waved, but that just made him panic internally even more, and he quickly took off in a different direction to avoid them, leaving the group confused.
That ballerina Minako lady didn't know what she was talking about...! I just got them both mad at her too now by being around her to watch their programs! I should've just stayed down here and watched on the monitors like the rest of the competitors! I'm so stupid!
He looked around frantically for anywhere at all that he could use as a hiding place, but nothing was really looking all that promising...so he just kept moving forward. Forward, and forward, and forward, until the circular path of the arena lead to the back halls, and a number of elevator-like doors, beyond which were conference rooms. The herd of competitors and event staffers had thinned out the farther back he went, and by the time he found himself at the end of the line, unable to go further, no one was in sight. Still, he ducked through one of the open doorways and planted himself into one of the many rows of empty seats.
He sat in silence for a while, leaning down over his knees with his face buried against his hands.
...I really can't justify why I kissed Yuri anymore... I thought I could, but after seeing how he's taken it...how angry it made Viktor...I was so wrong about absolutely everything... But maybe Minako was right, even if it was a dumb way of doing things...
Pushing up again, he leaned back against the chair, closing his eyes as he faced the ceiling.
Yuri really pulled it back together again though at the end. The skating in the second half was unlike anything I've ever seen from him, or even Viktor before... A quad Flip, Lutz, and Axel? I knew he could do the quad Loop before...but the rest is just crazy... Almost no skater is ever able to master all of the regular 5 quad jumps, but he got +GOEs on the 6th and hardest jump there is...a jump that most of the world thought was impossible...
Asahi rubbed his face on the back of a sleeve, and slid down the seat slightly, slouching until he felt the back-rest come up behind the back of his neck.
With a second-half like that...I wonder what his first-half would've been like if I hadn't intruded so hard on his feelings like I did...? He probably could've easily broken 300...I'll be lucky if I can still beat him at this point... Yuri always had more stamina than I did. That's half of what caught my attention about him in the first place.
He stared into the halogen lights until he saw spots, but then closed his eyes and looked away, focusing on those spots on the inside of his eyelids instead.
I wish there was a way to tell him how sorry I am...but Viktor will probably never let me get close enough to get a word in. What a mess...
.
Minami was bouncing from side to side, water-bottle in his hands, Makkachin-tissue-plush on his lap between his forearms. The quarter-mask was still on his face, but he was too excited to take it off.
[The score for Kenjirou Minami-san...]
He half-rose from the bench, crouched down and ready to spring.
[...171.92! Kenjirou-san is in 3rd place!]
To say that the teen started screaming would be an understatement.
[A great score for a stunning performance! Skater Kenjirou-san gets better every single year!] Morooka announced, looking down at the schedule for the final three performers, [It'll be less than 30 minutes before we see who's up on the podium at this year's All Japan Championship Men's Singles! Stay tuned!]