Disclaimer: I do not own YOI, just this fanfiction.
And here's the second chapter of today. I had enough time on my hands to make two during the days when studying wasn't as stressful.
Thought it'd be nice to release two chapters at once after about a month of waiting.
FAVOURITE, FOLLOW, and REVIEW, please!
Ch 5: Fall at the Grand Prix Final
Thursday. December. 7, 2016. Marseilles, France.
Yuri squeezed Victor's hand as they walked through the snowy streets of Marseilles. Lights were lit up on nearly every department store and building that they walked by, making the air have a cheerful yet calm atmosphere.
The next day, the Grand Prix Final men's short program would begin. Tonight is the last night where they would be able to enjoy themselves before the pressure began.
But this time, Yuri doesn't feel the pressure he felt in his previous competitions. Well, he felt it, that's for sure. But it wasn't so significant to have an impact on him.
Yuri just brushed it aside like it was nothing. Since the last event at the NHK Trophy, Yuri's been feeling really positive, confident, and overall more open.
It was like he completely discarded the old awkward Yuri and became this new Yuri. He was still a bit shy and awkward when it came to certain situations, such as when Victor was showing him some samples of spray-on hair.
Yuri would usually quickly remove the can of spray-on hair from Victor's hand and ask why he would try such a thing. But this time, Yuri just laughed and complimented Victor, saying that spray-on hair is for people who wants hair like his.
And now, the two of them are walking back to their hotel from a day of fun and adventure. Yuri is also no longer afraid of publicly showing his relationship with Victor, to Victor's delight.
There was something about that night when the two slept together for the first time, that changed Yuri.
"Yuri, why won't you come with the rest of us to the Casino? You aren't tired already are you?" Victor begged as they exited the elevator on their floor.
"Sorry, Victor. But I already made plans with Yurio, I'll go with you guys maybe after the short program."
Victor looked a little deflated. "I wish you told me earlier. I kind of got my hopes up, and now I'm down."
They entered their hotel suite and settled down the several shopping bags they carried in their arms. Yuri removed his coat and shoes before grabbing his laptop from his travel bag.
Victor organized all of the bags together in a corner of the room. He turned to Yuri after he was satisfied with the arrangement. Grabbing Yuri from behind, Victor planted a quick kiss on the side of his temple.
"Alright, I'll be back around 10 or 11. Don't worry about me ok? Have fun with Yurio. I'll see you later."
"Ok, don't spend all of your cash! We're gonna need it if you plan on buying more stuff after the free skate!"
Victor laughed as he disappeared out the door. Yuri sighed as he admired his gold ring against the warm glow of the bedroom lights.
He checked his phone for any texts from Yurio.
Yurio: I'm in my room right now. Yakov's out doing some errands. R u coming?
Yuri texted back.
Yuri: On my way.
"Took you long enough, I thought you and Victor would be back around 8:00!" Yurio opened the door to let Yuri in.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away. Minako wanted some pictures of the latest clothes and bags that were being sold. I didn't know which ones were designer and which ones weren't." Yuri sat down on the bean bag chair nearby.
"Why would Minako ask you, a guy, to take pictures of women's designer apparel?" Yurio questioned.
"Uh...she was planning to come to Marseilles herself with my sister, but uh...they accidentally boarded the wrong plane…" Yuri explained.
Yurio cringed.
"Damn. How are they going to get back?"
"I kinda have to go get them after the competition...they were not prepared for something like that to happen."
Yurio suddenly remembered the reason why he asked Yuri to come down. "Yuri! Turn on your laptop! I think I found out who the mystery girl is!"
Upon hearing those words, Yuri felt his heart suddenly slow down. Usually, he'd get really excited whenever they found a new clue to discovering who Victor's mystery girl is.
But now...Yuri couldn't help but feel like they should just drop this whole search. And it wasn't because he thought that it's invasive to look in Victor's privacy.
Well, it was sort of...
But the main reason is that he doesn't want to accept the fact that Victor might've been in a romantic relationship with another person before meeting Yuri.
Nevertheless, Yuri turned on his laptop and went onto Google. Where Yurio typed in the search bar, Olivia Nguyen. Images and websites related to her name popped up on the first page.
Yuri's eyes widened when he saw that this girl Yurio searched up was the same girl Yuri had sort of suspected to being the mystery girl.
...the Asian girl…
Yurio clicked on the images button and selected an image of a smiling Olivia holding a gold medal and bouquet of flowers. He took out the copy of the photo of Victor with the dark haired girl.
Yuri looked back and forth between the photo to the laptop screen. It was an almost perfect match. Other than the makeup, attire, and different hairstyles, both girls in the images had the same features.
Yuri felt himself shrink inside as he stared the image of the girl on his laptop screen. She had pale skin and large dark brown eyes with mildly arched brows that gave her an innocent yet seductive look.
And deep brown, almost black, hair that framed a well-defined face. The beige dress she was wearing embodied her figure very well.
Lithe, but not a stick. Curvy, but not ample. She was Asian that's for sure, but she wasn't Chinese or Japanese. Almost Vietnamese...or maybe…
"What do you think, Yuri?" Yurio snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, this is probably her alright."
"Olivia Nguyen...silver medalist at the 2013 Russian Championships, gold medalist at the 2006, 08, and 10 Worlds, and bronze medalist at the 2009 and 11 GPFs...not as big as Annie's or Laurel's achievements but still pretty impressive," Yurio remarked.
"You mean not as many golds as Annie or Laurel. But she definitely placed more on the podium than they did." Yuri corrected as he scrolled down her medal history.
Yurio grabbed a piroshki from his snack bag and offered one to Yuri.
"Don't bother scrolling down for any more info. I already checked, there's nothing there about Victor. Or about her current whereabouts."
Yuri stopped scrolling and turned off his computer. He rubbed his hands through his hair, trying to absorb all of this new information. Yurio swallowed his piroshki before talking again.
"Her last competition was the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. She never made a public statement of retiring, but she stopped making appearances in competitions after that." Yurio explained.
Yuri felt somewhat relieved to hear that this 'Olivia' is gone from the competitive world. He threw his hands into the air.
"Well that's that! Congratulations Yurio! We are officially Sherlock Holmes and Watson! Case of Victor's mystery girlfriend: solved!"
"Case not solved!" Yurio brought his hand down against the bed sheet hard.
Yuri stopped smiling and looked at Yurio, confused.
"Eh? Why?"
"We have no confirmation that Olivia is indeed the girl mentioned from the game of twenty questions. And not mention that Victor was crying when you asked him if she was still skating currently. This leads to something bigger, Yuri. And we're going to —"
"No," Yuri said flatly.
"What?" Yurio was shocked.
"I don't see the point in finding out more, Yuri. In fact, I don't know why we're even doing this in the first place! I dunno...it was just because I was curious and wanted to know something I didn't know. But now...I think we're just going in too deep."
"We're already in too deep. The only way out is to confirm. And then, things will be settled."
"I'm afraid, Yuratchka!"
Yurio fell back. That was the first time Yuri ever called him by that name.
"I know that Victor probably had a 'thing' with some girl before me. And now, we put a name to that girl. But I'm afraid. Is this something sensitive to Victor? Does he still have feelings for her? I don't want to...I don't want to lose Victor!"
Yurio understood. Why didn't he see it sooner? Of course, by now Yuri would have become so attached to Victor that he doesn't want the risk of Victor suddenly leaving him for an old lover.
But he still couldn't shake the thought of this whole thing being related to something bigger.
Yurio softened his tone. "I'm sorry. I was being insensitive. And you're right, we have no right to intrude into Victor's personal life."
"It's ok. Besides, I think you might be right too. There's something behind all of this. Victor...he cried when I asked about this girl's current state. He was in pain when Chris was talking about love and relationships. I guess the other reason I'm afraid, is because I don't want Victor to get hurt." Yuri admitted.
"Well then. If you want to help him, Yuri. Go talk to him. You care a lot about him, right?"
Yuri felt a surge of energy rush through him as he stood up again. "Right. I'll ask after the short program. I'll try not to be so to-the-point with it."
"Good. Well, Yakov shouldn't be back until around half an hour later. You want to—"
"Yuratchka! Come help me with some of these suitcases! Eh? Yuri Katsuki? What are you doing here?" Yakov suddenly burst in through the front door, dragging a whole trolley of suitcases.
Yurio sighed. "Never mind, I lied.
Thursday. December. 8, 2016. Palais Omnisport Marseille Grand Est.
The men's short program was starting today. All of the skaters were jumping, stretching and breathing a mile a minute. The warm up on the ice was already over and Yuri Plisetsky was the first one to go in this short program event.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Otabek giving him a thumbs up at the sidelines. Yurio returned it with a thumbs up too.
"Yuri," Yakov whispered.
"I'm listening."
"You are strong in your short programs, Yuri. Prove it to them."
Yakov patted Yurio in the back, sending him off onto the ice. The audience cheered. River flows in You began playing over the speakers. Yurio started his short program with a gentle step sequence.
From there, he goes into his first jump combination. Triple axel/triple toe. Landed! Yuri applauded loudly when he saw the Russian teen land solidly on the triple toe.
Victor was standing by the rink side, talking to Chris and JJ. By the sounds of it, they seemed to be arguing over some unfair gambling from the Casino last night.
Yurio finishes his final combination spin and brings his arms out gracefully as he holds his finishing pose. Everyone applauded and cheered. Cat ears, tiger suits, and more of the related flew down from all directions.
The short program score for Yuri Plisetsky was 100.60. He is currently in first place. Yuri Katsuki was already on the ice as soon as Yurio left. Victor held his hands and whispered words of encouragement in his ear.
"I should be saying 'good luck', but what's the point? You're the 'skater with no fear,' you don't need it."
Yuri huffed upon hearing that. Victor's right. He didn't need to hear 'good luck.' He already has it.
Les Miserables played from the speakers and Yuri immediately went into character. All of the outer thoughts were pushed away as he absorbs himself into his own world.
First jumping pass, quadruple salchow was changed to a quadruple loop instead! He lands it ease. Yuri goes into his flying camel in synch with the music and his footwork sequence right after.
What's there to be nervous about? Nothing! His triple axel/triple loop was huge just like the one at the NHK Trophy. But all eyes were on the final jump and breaths were being held as Yuri approached it.
The quadruple lutz. Yuri goes into the preparation with a lot of speed. He holds the edge before planting his toe pick firmly into the ice.
One...two...three...four…
And Yuri lands cleanly, on one foot! Victor literally began smashing Yuri's skate guards against the boards in joy when he landed the jump. Yuri completes his combination spin and ends his entire program. He throws his arms up into the air with joy.
And nearly lets out a yell. Yuri rushes over to Victor and embraces him. The two look at the score being presented while on the kiss-and-cry. 102.46 points! Yuri Katsuki is currently in first place.
Victor grabs Yuri by the shoulder and gives him an affectionate kiss on the side of the head. Right in front of all the cameras. It was all over the screen.
The audience and fans went wild. The squeals were loud enough to crack the ice! Yuri didn't pull back or look extremely awkward. He blushed and smiled at Victor's act of love.
Even Yurio couldn't help but smile at that. Chris smirked as he skated off from the boards to the center of the ice. The Swiss skater's song was Carmen Fantasy.
It was a contrast to Yuri's emotional program previously, but that was what made it stand out. Chris goes into the quadruple loop/triple toe with success.
He skated with more added flair than he usually inputs. Even though he stumbled on his triple axel, he was able to hold it together through the last quadruple toe.
Chris finishes and lets the cheers rain down on him. Chris had scored 95.89 points, placing him in third currently. Otabek is the next skater after Chris. He is ready to take the ice.
The song, My Demons filled the entire arena. Otabek presents himself fiercely. Each stroke he takes is done with power.
The first jumping pass, the triple axel was strong. But then suddenly in the middle of his step sequence, he catches an edge while doing a bracket turn and falls over.
This affected Otabek's confidence as he pops his quadruple loop/triple loop combination and falls on the last jump, the quadruple toe loop. Disappointed, Otabek tries hard to keep a firm face when he skates off.
His short program score is 91.94 points. He is currently in fourth place. The skater many fans were waiting for all night, Canadian Jean-Jacques Leroy takes the ice.
This time, he's skating to an unreleased original song. Breaking Illusion is the name.
JJ's program is not as technically difficult as his previous ones, but was more enjoyable to watch. He connected even better to this program than he did at last year's Grand Prix Final.
JJ lands all of his jumps, triple axel, quadruple salchow/double toe, and quadruple toe loop. But the real show was when he went into his transitions and footwork sequences in between.
JJ finishes with a score of 94.63, beating Otabek's score and landing him in fourth place. Victor is the final skater of the night. He gives Yuri a wave before he departs. Yakov sends him off at the boards.
A hush falls across the arena as The Godfather Theme began playing. This time, Victor performed his first combination, quadruple lutz/triple toe with great power and elegance.
He goes into his footwork sequence and back to back spins from there. Every stroke was done with personality and emotion. It was a dance. A story being told on the ice. Whatever the audience chooses to interpret.
And then the story was interrupted by a fall. Victor's quadruple flip was confident throughout until the landing. His had body suddenly dipped dangerously low and had to push himself back up with one hand.
But upon doing so, he catches an edge and falls over. Yuri covers his mouth upon seeing Victor make contact with the ice. Half of the audience nearly jumped to their feet in shock.
Ignoring that, Victor goes into the triple axel and manages to hold onto the landing, even though it was a bit scratchy. Victor skates off and goes to the kiss-and-cry with Yakov to see his score, which is 99.76. He is currently in third place.
Victor then felt the area around his neck and chest, a look of shock and fear appeared on his face. Yuri and Yurio ran off the bleachers towards Victor, just as he called over one of the little skaters that picked up the gifts the audience throws down.
The young girl nodded as Victor pointed to the opposite end of the rink and told her instructions that Yuri was unable to hear. She skated over to the end of the rink and scanned the ice closely. She bent down and felt it with both hands.
Almost like she was searching for something. When the young girl finally picked it up, Yuri could barely see it.
All he could see was the highlights of a silver chain necklace that had something round and gold hang from it. She skated back to the boards with the rest of the skaters, handing Victor the object.
Victor sincerely thanked her and squeezed the chain in the palm of his hand. Yuri looked down at the chain Victor was holding.
It was definitely a silver chain. And the thing that hung from it was without a doubt, a gold ring. But it wasn't the ring he had bought for Victor. No, Victor was still wearing that one on his finger.
The one on the chain had a slightly different design. Yuri felt a pang of anger and pain shoot through him.
Why was Victor wearing another gold ring? Even though it wasn't on his finger, he was still keeping it close! What's the meaning behind this?
"Yuri!" Victor called out cheerfully.
Yuri forced a smile back. He ran out to give Victor a hug. Yurio, who also saw the ring on the chain, backed up a little. Giving the two some space.
"Haha, looks like I just wasn't feeling my best today!" Victor laughed.
"Yeah...right…" Yuri chuckled nervously.
"Hey, come on. I'm only human, I fall every now and then. Why don't we get out of these uncomfortable clothes and head to the buffet?" Victor comforted.
It's not the fact that you fell that I'm feeling upset….thought Yuri.
"Hey, Victor? What you got there in your hand?" Yurio asked without hesitation.
"Huh? Oh, this? It's nothing really, just some woman's jewelry. You know, good luck charm...old gift...fell off during the short program. Boy, am I glad that I noticed before leaving!"
Victor carefully put the chain into his sleeve and grabbed Yuri's hand with the other.
"Come on, let's go. Want to come, Yurio?"
Yurio waved his hand. "Nah, I got a lot of stuff to do. Work just keeps…piling up."
Victor shrugged. "Oh well. Be sure to finish it all by the day if the free skate! We need to all go out to celebrate!"
With that, Victor dragged Yuri out of the arena. A few moments later in the front lobby, Yuri receives a text from Yurio.
Yurio: It's time to ask. Don't yourself hold back.
At the Chalet buffet
"Yuri! I thought I told you to cut back on the barbecued ribs!"
Yuri looked down at his plate, realizing that he took three instead of one of the servings. Victor sighed.
"It's not like I'm going to gain weight again! Look, working this hard, I'll burn it off like it's nothing!" Yuri cried out in defense.
Victor played around with his drink's paper umbrella.
"I know, it's just that you're so sensitive that I'm afraid you might quit competing again after another failure. And poof! Piggy again!"
Yuri sweats. "Thanks for your confidence in me…"
Victor smiled sweetly at him. Yuri couldn't help but return it. They engage in a conversation about Yuri's life in Detroit, America. "Which area in Detroit did you and Phichit live in?"
"Uh...an urban area? The college we went to was the local one. It had a rather good reputation. It was close to the Detroit Skating Club so I didn't have to worry much about transportation," Yuri explained.
"I see. Were there any art programs in your college?" Victor asked.
"Huh? I don't know, I mainly focused my studies on business and data...you know, the basics? But I do remember Phichit mentioning an art institute in Detroit before. Why ask?"
Victor shrugged, resting his cheek on his hand. "Just curious." Yuri's eyes fell in the gold ring shining on Victor's finger. He felt the same heat of anger and pain build up inside him again.
It's time to ask! Just not now…
Yuri and Victor finished eating and paid for the check. The night was still young when they left the buffet.
Snow was falling at a slow and gentle pace. Yuri breathed deeply as he prepared to ask the question that's been bothering him since the night of last year's Grand Prix Final banquet.
"Victor? Can we talk?" Yuri asked as they neared the front entrance of the hotel.
"Of course. What is it?"
"I'm not sure myself. In fact, I don't know if I should even ask you this in the first place. But...I'm going to do it. Victor, that ring on the silver chain. Whose is it?"
Victor's eyes widened as he slowed down his walking to a halt. "Yuri...I already told you...it's just an old piece of jewelry…"
"I truly want to know, Victor. I—I care a lot about you, and lately, I've been feeling like you're hiding something from me. I can't stand this anymore!"
"Well, if you feel this way. Then maybe you can tell me what you and Yurio are up to exactly! I know that you aren't actually helping him in quadratics or whatever he needs help in."
Yuri was at lost for words. He didn't have a good comeback for that. What was he supposed to say?
"You're not the only who's been a little left out of this relationship, Yuri. And at least I haven't been asking you about what you've been doing privately."
"Victor, I'm…"
"Sigh. Just please, focus on your free skate for Saturday night. Ok? You're going to need your head straight to skate cleanly. And trying to peep into my personal affairs isn't going to help."
The two of them walked into the hotel in silence. Side-by-side. Up the elevator. Down the hall. And into their room. Yuri's initial anger was replaced by confusion and regret. The only words he and Victor exchanged were simple sentences and mere acknowledgments.
There was none of that nervous anticipation or excitement that Yuri enjoyed feeling when being in the same room as Victor. What have I done?
Saturday. December 10, 2016. Palais Omnisport Marseilles Grand Est.
Since that night when Yuri asked Victor about the origins about his other gold ring, Victor has been quiet and distant from Yuri. He would only talk to him when there were other skaters around too. Yuri felt like crying over the last two days.
But he directed his thoughts towards the free skate. He's going to need to really focus if he wants any chance of winning. And of making Victor happy again…
Yuri and Victor entered the arena together, still giving each other the silent treatment.
"Oh! Christophe! Where have you been last night?" Victor called out.
"Eh. Here and there...and everywhere…"
Yuri slowly walked away from their conversation. He didn't need to hear Victor's cheerfulness being directed to another person. I'll need to get Victor to look my direction again! This free skate may be the only chance I got…
"Hey, Yuri!"
Yuri turned around to see Yurio walk up to him. He was already in his warmup outfit and had a look of eagerness on his face.
"Well? Did you ask him that night? You weren't answering your phone yesterday and wouldn't come out of your room."
"I made things worse, Yurio. Because of our initial curiosity, Victor's being distant with me now!"
"Oh...I'm sorry. Maybe you were right, we should stop this search."
Yuri shook his head fiercely. "No. You were right. This leads to something bigger, and I'm not going to stop right now! I just Victor's attention first, and then I'll talk to him again. I'll tell him what we've really been doing behind his back. Hopefully, that'll be more than enough to get him to reveal what he's been hiding from me."
Yuri walked off to the sidelines, warming up on his own. Yurio left him be, walking back to Yakov.
It was about time he starts asking too! And not just Yuri. "Yakov! I need to talk to you. Can we go out to the back?"
Yakov looked confused. "Why? The ice is going to be opened soon for warm up."
"Please, just really quickly."
"Sigh. Make it quick, Yuratchka."
Yurio led Yakov down the hallways to the back of the entire complex. It was much quieter and no people were present. Perfect.
"Alright, Yuri. Ask me what you wanted to ask me."
"How long have you been coaching Victor for?"
"Huh? Well, quite awhile now. I've coached him since he was in intermediate, I think. And been watching him grow and improve ever since."
"Uh huh, does he ever talk to you about his personal life?"
"Sometimes. Victor is...a bit of whiner back then and still is today. I had to keep his head straight constantly, but in the end, he never really listens."
"Alright Yakov, was Victor seeing anyone back then? You know, was he in a relationship with anyone? Another skater maybe?"
Yakov's face grew serious. "...This is where I draw the line, Yuratchka. There are some things I just can't reveal. Why are you even asking these in the first place?"
"Yuri Katsuki saw that ring Victor dropped on the ice after the short program. Victor won't tell him anything about it, and he's been acting strange about things. Yuri wants to help Victor, he deserves to know. They're engaged, Yakov!"
Yakov brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
"If Yuri really deserves to know, then Victor would've told him already."
Their conversation ended there. Yakov took Yurio back to the arena, warm up began and all the skaters filed one by one onto the ice. Yuri didn't work in any jumps during the entire period of time. Victor barely gave Yuri any comments and was focusing on his own skills.
Minutes later, the warm up ended and the first skater went on. Otabek Altin hugged his coach, who comforted him over his short program. Otabek is going into this free skate with all he's got.
As he leaves the boards and to his starting spot on the ice, Otabek kept his face strong throughout. Lacrimosa plays loud and clear over the speakers.
Otabek drops his serious face and goes into his performance face. Starting the program with a strong quadruple flip/triple toe. Otabek was putting out his everything into this free skate.
It was even better than the one he performed at the NHK Trophy. Yuri forgot about his own troubles for awhile and just watched Otabek's emotions pour out. He lands all of his jumps cleanly, even giving a little smile of accomplishment to himself after landing the last quadruple loop.
Otabek was beaming as he left the ice and saw his score with his coach. 195.81 points. That really was better than his free skate score at the NHK Trophy! Otabek has a combined total of 287.75 points and is currently in first place.
The second skater is Jean-Jacques Leroy. He seemed to be a little more confident now than he was in the short program. JJ left the boards with a large smile. He waits for his music, Viva La Vida to come on.
JJ goes into his free skate with enthusiasm. He focuses on his expression and performance, rather than the jumps. The majority of the jumps were rather simple. His first jump was the triple axel which he lands cleanly.
The rest of his jumps were also landed without stumbling. JJ was on fire as he moved with the fast-paced music. His final combination spin caused the audience to already jump to their feet.
JJ threw both arms into the air in joy. Though he didn't score very high technically, his program components made up for it. 190.47 points for JJ. A combined total of 285.10 points. He is currently in second place.
Right before JJ left the ice, Yuri saw Victor walk towards him. Unable to move, Yuri sat where he was and let Victor embrace him without saying a word. Yuri didn't return the hug this time. But he did speak first.
"Have you finally remembered me?" He asked flatly.
Victor looked at him in the eyes.
"I owe you an apology, Yuri. I shouldn't have been so harsh with you that night. I guess I was getting annoyed over not knowing what you and Yurio were up to. And I felt a little forgotten myself…"
Yuri didn't say anything. He nodded for Victor to continue. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let out my frustration on you. I'm so sorry."
When Yuri still remained silent, Victor thought hard on what to say.
"I'll make it up to you. Let's go anywhere you want to go this time! We don't have to invite anyone else with us! What do you say?" Victor asked.
Yuri shook his head. "Make it up to me. By setting a high score so I can beat it."
Victor smirked and nodded. He was the next skater to go on after all. Yuri pats him in the back before he left.
Yakov gives him one last drink before sending him off. Croatian Rhapsody plays and Victor begins his free skate. Yuri sits back and enjoys himself.
His first combination, quadruple loop/triple loop was gorgeous. The choreography was well made and Victor emphasized on every single tiny edge and turn throughout.
This entire free skate is fine-tuned to the core. From the smooth footwork sequence to the centered flying sit spin with variations, to the quadruple flip/half loop/triple salchow.
Victor delivered the whole package. Finishing it all with the flying camel combination. Yuri felt his entire body shake in anticipation for the scores. Victor and Yakov sat together as the numbers appeared onscreen.
210.14 points and a total of 309.90! He is currently in first place. Yurio whistled in a deflated tone upon seeing the score. Yakov left the kiss-and-cry to send Yurio off.
The young teenage skater had a look of determination on his face. Now that's a score to beat! His music, Battle of the Heroes, matched his feelings as of the moment.
Yurio opens with the quadruple salchow and goes into the triple axel/triple toe right after. He isn't holding himself back too much this time. Performing two back to back spins so he can have the majority of his jumps in the second half.
Most of the jumps were well landed, except for the double-footed landing on the quadruple loop and the fall on the combination, quadruple flip/triple toe. Yurio holds it together for the final jump, quadruple toe, which he lands!
And finishes the program with a combination spin. Sweat poured down his forehead and breaths came out in ragged intervals as Yurio skated over to the boards.
Yakov handed him the bottle of water he so desperately needs. 196.92 for the free skate! And a combined total of 297.52. Yurio is currently in second place.
Yuri was already down in the boards when Yurio came off. Victor held his warmup jacket for him as well as his slightly-chipped skate guards. Yuri stepped onto the ice with confidence. He turned around to face Victor before he skated off.
"Victor, watch me. Watch me chase after your 210.14 points."
With that, Yuri leaves the boards and to the center of the ice. The aura around Yuri changed as Ballade in G Minor began. The first combination, triple axel/triple loop was stunning. Followed by another stunning quadruple salchow.
Yuri barely had any change in expression on his face before he entered the jumps. The jumps are just transitions that linked together this whole free skate.
Competitions should bring out the best and worst in a skater. So if motivation and nerves are used properly, this will bring out the best of him! Yuri was not a part of this plane of reality anymore. He is in another dimension and is bringing them all in once again.
Victor, Yurio, and even Yakov were utterly speechless. Finishing the final combination spin, Yuri prepares himself to go into his last jump.
And he decides to change it from the quadruple salchow to the quadruple lutz!
He waits in his edge before takeoff. Pulling in tight, Yuri realized that he mistimed his takeoff. His body is positioned awkwardly in the air, but he couldn't stop rotating by now.
Attempting to stop the rotation, Yuri opens slightly—just as his toe pick touches the ice again. Yuri felt the back of his blades grab the ice and the shiny white surface rushing towards him.
Bam!
Pain soars through Yuri's body from his left hip to his head. It was so bad, he could barely improvise a finishing pose. Tears automatically sprang in Yuri's eyes due to the pain. He attempted to get back up, only to fall back down.
From the sidelines, Victor dropped everything he was carrying and called out to Yuri before shouting for the first aid people. A group of first aiders rushed onto the ice with a trolley. But Yuri refuses to be put on.
Instead, they helped him make his way back to the sidelines where Victor also helped him to the kiss-and-cry. 195.87 points for the free skate. And 297.93 points in total. Yuri is currently in second place.
Smiling weakly, Yuri winces in pain from his fall, causing Victor and the first aiders to hold him steady again. They carefully take him out of the arena. Victor's hands never let go of Yuri.
His face showed guilt, pain, and anger at the same time. Emotions Yuri rarely got to see. The last skater Chris took the ice. But Yuri wasn't able to see his performance in real live experience.
Eventually, Yuri was put on the trolley due to the overwhelming pain from his left hip and the haziness of his vision from the hit on his head. Victor put a hand to his forehead affectionately.
"I'm so sorry, Yuri...I'm so sorry…so sorry…"
Victor's voice just got quieter and quieter. Until Yuri couldn't feel his presence anymore. And everything turned black.
Well, that's that! I don't know when the next chapter is going to be released. But I won't give up on this story. (As long as I have the motivation to write that is...)
I hope you guys are enjoying this! :D
Thanks and please FAVOURITE, FOLLOW, and REVIEW!