Disclaimer: I do not own YOI, just this fanfic.
THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE BACKSTORY!
Hopefully, it all makes sense now of what happened and how Liv's story ties in with the anime series. Alright, from now on, the story will continue from THE PRESENT, from YURI'S POINT OF VIEW! 2018 Olympics here we come!
I hope you all enjoyed up to this point, and hope you'll continue to read on! (Though next chapter might not come until sometime later...I have a lot of projects due this week)
But it will come! And I hope the story will continue to be interesting, if not more interesting!
Feel free to give me any ideas to build this story onwards from here! Ideas like what might happen at Yuri's competitions, any more complications to Yuri and Victor's relationship, maybe some more spotlight on other characters?
DO IT IN THE REVIEWS! Don't forget to FAV and FOLLOW!
Ch. 24: The Accident
(Flashback to Chapter 5: Fall at the Grand Prix Final)
"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.
Liv takes off on the final jump of her short program, the triple axel. She's been landing them a few times in the past week or so. With some convincing and pushing, she decides to finally attempt one in her program run-through.
And he changes 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 was positioned awkwardly in the air, but he couldn't stop rotating by now.
Victor squeezes his fists as she launches herself into the air. The amount of force and power put into the takeoff is huge. Too huge. Liv, unable to control her body's tightness and upright position mid-air, loses balance and comes crashing down.
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.
The flat blades of her skates hit the ice first instead of her toepick, causing her to slip backward and go flying into the top sharp edge of the boards.
Bam!
The next second, the back of her head comes into contact with the edge and hits it with a great amount of force.
Pain soars through Yuri's body from his left hip to his head. It was so bad, he could barely improvise a finishing pose.
"AAAHHHHHHHHH!" Victor screams in horror.
The thud echoes throughout the rink, Liv falls down and slides across the ice from the impact.
Barely conscious, whimpering and holding her head in pain. A bright pool of blood forms around her at the same time as Victor rushes onto the ice, desperately trying to assess the situation. His mind becomes hazy and his fingers feel numb as he kneels next to Liv.
"Omigod...omigod...omigod…hold on, Liv. I—I'll get help!"
The doors to the rink suddenly open and in rushes a flustered and panic-stricken Yakov. "I heard a scream. What's going on here—OH MY GOD!"
Yakov comes running down the stairs and onto the ice the minute he sees Liv lying in the increasingly growing pool of blood. He kneels down on the other side of her. "Liv…Liv…are you awake?"
Liv answers with a pained whimper. Victor is barely able to speak coherently. "T—there was an accident. W—where do we keep the first aid stuff!?"
Yakov attempts to put a hand on Liv for comfort but pulls back in fear of making things worse. "I'll go get it, you call EMS! Hurry!"
With that Yakov rushes out of the rink and out into the hall at the same time as Victor retrieves his phone and dials the number for emergency services.
"Hello, what is your emergency?" The clear woman's voice answers across the speaker.
Victor swallows hard and controls his ragged breathing to a minimum. "Hi, um, there's a woman w—with…she uh, hit her head. It looks really bad…and just please send help!"
"Please stay calm, sir. I need you to state your location and name."
His hearing is becoming weak too as he tries hard not to faint over from the situation at hand. He kneels down on the ice again and tries to answer all of the receiver's questions.
Outside in the main hall, Yakov sprints towards the location of the first aid kit and grabs a defibrillator just in case. He nearly drops the kit on his way back due to the shakiness of his fingers.
Halfway there, he passes by the front lobby and sees Mila and Georgi come in from their lunch break. They wave at him, but he shoos them away.
"Go home, practice's canceled for the day!" He shouts as he runs down the hall towards the rink Liv is in.
"What? Why?" Mila asks. "Hey! What's going on?"
"Just leave!"
From the front entrance, more skaters show up from their lunch break, at first looking all smiley and happy until they see the distressed faces of Georgi and Mila. All of them had the 'what's going on?' look plastered on them.
Inside the rink, Victor finishes answering all of the questions and hangs up the phone. Yakov carefully walks over to Liv's side with the first aid kit and opens it up. He takes out a pair of gloves for him and Victor.
"What did EMS say?" He asks.
"They'll be sending an ambulance our way. But one of us has to direct them into this specific rink." Victor explains as he takes out a piece of gauze and unrolls it.
Yakov gently touches one of Liv's fingers to check if she's still conscious. "Liv, are you still there?"
"Mmm…" She weakly groans.
Victor cuts the gauze at one end and folds it before assessing to see where to apply to on her head. "Help's on the way, Liv. Don't worry, we got you. You're going to f—fine."
Yakov prepares another strip of sterile dressing as Victor places the gauze top on the back of Liv's blood-soaked hair. Yakov quickly puts another on top as the first layer becomes completely saturated.
They continue doing this for the next few minutes or so. All the while, waiting for the sound of an ambulance outside.
"Liv?" Victor pats the ice around her. "Hello? Liv?"
"It's freezing in here. That's not good," Yakov assesses. "Where're the paramedics!? We need to get her out!"
"Well, we can't move her!" Victor counters. "She hit her head, there could a spinal injury and we won't even know!"
"Help me…" Liv croaks, her voice barely audible by now. Her right arm drops down, having lost its strength from holding her head.
"Get your jacket! We need to keep her warm until help arrives, treat for shock, you know! Go grab it!" Yakov nods towards the bleachers where Victor's warm-up jacket lies.
Almost immediately, Victor goes over to the side and grabs his country's nation warm-up jacket from the sidelines, accidentally pushing Liv's cell phone off the top, hitting the ice with a crack! But he didn't notice and focused on placing the jacket over Liv like a blanket.
The left edges of his jacket get slightly soaked by the blood but that is the least of his worries right now. Yakov takes a longer piece of sterile dressing and tries his best to wrap it around Liv's head.
Suddenly, the sound of an ambulance siren is heard outside. Yakov seems almost relieved.
"Finally!"
He gets up from the ice and runs towards the exit of the rink to guide the paramedics. Victor also stands, but instead of leaving, he opens the second door to the ice surface, making a bigger entry for the paramedics and whatever equipment they'll be carrying.
Liv moans from behind him, he turns back around and kneels in front of her. He eyes the left side of his warm-up jacket, now completely soaked with Liv's blood. Looks like he won't be wearing that to the first event of the Grand Prix Series.
"Hey…" Liv whispers. She tries to move her right hand lying helplessly on the ice. "Hey…"
Victor gently takes her hand, not moving it an inch. "Help is here. It's under control. Anyways, what were you going to say?"
Liv manages a weak smile with half-closed eyes. "How about a visit to Detroit when this mess is all over?"
Detroit…the hometown of Liv back in the US. That's where she grew up, her friends and family are, that's where she started her skating career, which led up to this point right now…
Liv continues speaking as Victor listens attentively. "I'll introduce you to my folks, take you to all my favourite places as a kid, show you my old rink maybe? And perhaps meet some friends of mine, Holly especially…"
Victor lightly laughs. "Why not? After the GPF is over, let's pay a visit there! You tour me around! Everything will be great!"
"Mmmm!" Liv smiles before the doors to the rink bursts open.
In rushed in three paramedics along with Yakov. All of them pushed a large trolley with some kind of flat yellow board on top of it. Victor stands up to make way for the team of first aid experts to enter.
"Is this the location of the victim, sir?"
"This is it!" Yakov confirms.
"I see her! Head trauma definitely. We have the C-collar, right? Great!"
The team consisted of two men and a woman, one of the men pulled the trolley onto the ice with great care. Victor is able to see more items on top it. So many of those supplies were foreign to him.
"What's the victim's name?" One paramedic asks Victor.
"Liv," he answers.
Two of the paramedics rushed in next to Liv, taking out several more supplies from their pockets as the third one behind them lowered the trolley and joined his teammates.
"Are you her husband, sir?" The paramedic asks as he grabs a large box off of the trolley and places it down on the ice.
Victor's mouth became dry. He barely comprehends the question. "Uh, fiancé."
"She have any family members we can contact later?"
Before Victor could answer, Yakov answers the paramedic. "Not here, she's an abroad student, her family's in America. We can contact her guardian."
"Thanks, sir!"
One paramedic waves his hand in front of Liv's eyes, trying to assess her consciousness. "Liv? Liv can you hear me?"
Victor holds his breath for Liv to respond. But she didn't respond. Not even a moan or whimper like before. The paramedic takes note of that.
"No response."
The other paramedic takes hold of Liv's head, preventing it from moving around as they continued to treat her. One takes a visual assess on her breathing and punches her fingers to check for proper circulation.
"Breathing normal. Circulation normal. Patient breathing but unresponsive."
They begin moving at such a fast pace, Victor and Yakov are barely able to keep up with it all!
The paramedics all go in such an orderly fashion at such a rapid pace, it's almost unbelievable watching them at work! They go from checking Liv's pain responsiveness to inserting a large neck brace on her.
"Put the C-collar in place."
"Small head deformity, major bleeding."
"No pain and rigidity. Arms intact."
Eventually, they pulled the trolley closer to Liv's side and took down the large yellow board with several black straps across it.
Two paramedics took Liv by the side and one continues to hold her head. Simultaneously, they roll her over to them and feel for any deformities on her spine.
After a thorough check, they roll her onto the yellow board and adjust her accordingly before quickly and tightly strapping her in.
"We're going to lift you up, Liv, ok? Alright, on three! One, two, three!" The paramedics lift Liv up onto the trolley and buckle the board in place.
Immediately after, the paramedics began rolling the trolley off of the ice, a sickening sound of cracking glass is heard, but nobody paid attention. The paramedics sped up the ramp and out into the hallway towards the entrance. Right behind them, Victor and Yakov ran close by.
They sped through the hallways of the arena all the way to the front door, where the ambulance is parked. Several skaters, coaches, and staff members crowded around as soon as they saw the commotion, trying to see what's going on and who was on top of the trolley.
Yakov waved away at the lot of them, shouting for them to go home. The arena is closed for the day. None of them really listened though, they just kept asking questions and shouting in confusion.
Out in the parking lot, some pedestrians passing by gathered around along with younger skaters being dropped off by their parents. The ambulance was very attention-grabbing.
"Whoa! What happened?"
"Holy shit…"
"Grandpa? What's going on?"
"Turn around Yuratchka, don't look, don't look…"
Yakov quickly commands the head staff to close the arena and get the rink where the accident happened 'cleaned up.' The paramedics board the ambulance as Victor and Yakov got into his car.
The sirens go off again as the vehicle hits the road on a one-way course to the hospital.
Hours later in the emergency room.
Victor sits in the quiet waiting area, resting his forehead against his fists. Yakov paces around, waiting for any updates on Liv's condition. But no one came out yet.
When they first arrived, Victor called Angela who was in the middle of a pelvic examination and told her what happened. Angela took the news better than he expected and promises to come as soon as the exam's done.
That was hours ago, and by now, there is still no sign of her. The only thing that happened during this waiting period was Yakov answering phone calls nonstop from staff members of the rink, skaters, and parents of junior skaters. It was exhilarating.
Victor on the other hand, only got up when he needed to get a drink or use the washroom. Other than that, he sat in his seat, looking anxious and scared.
Finally, the doors flew open and a flustered looking Angela rushed in. Victor stands up to greet her as Yakov's phone rings and he leaves to answer the call.
The two of them hug before Angela asks for a clarification on what happened. "Alright, so, Liv got in an accident this morning? How? And how bad is it?"
"We were just working on her short, and well, she tried to attempt a triple axel near the end, but, uh…"
"How did she hit her head?" Angela demands.
"She flew into the boards. It all happened so fast, even I can't comprehend it. The next thing I know, she's on the ice, bleeding and crying, and then Yakov came in, and yeah the paramedics came later, and now we're here…yeah."
Angela walks away from Victor and turns to the wall, her shoulders quivering and head shaking. "How…why did things have to go so bad? I just got better, and now my student's like this…I should never have made her move here."
Victor tries to comfort the middle-aged woman. "Things were looking up recently. It wasn't all bad. She was invited to two Grand Prix events—"
"And now she'll have to withdraw from them. If the injury's as bad as I imagine it to be," Angela sighs. "Thanks for everything Victor. Tell Yakov thanks too. I'm not feeling too well."
"I understand. You get some rest. I'll wake you up when we get some updates."
Even more hours later…
"Mr. Feltsman?" A male voice, loud and professional, asked.
On the benches, Yakov suddenly wakes up, also causing Victor wake up next to him. Angela continues to sleep until Victor gently rubs her awake. Yakov stands up and turns around to see the person who asked for him.
A middle-aged man in a white doctor's outfit stood before him. "Are you Mr. Feltsman?"
"Yes, I am."
"I'm Dr. Ieraci, are you in relations with Olivia Nguyen?"
Yakov gestures to Angela behind them, she steps forward. "I'm Angela Raskolov, I'm her closest relation currently, her skating coach. She's not from this country, family's in the United States."
"Oh, alright, then. I can trust you to contact her family as soon as possible?" Dr. Ieraci asks, Angela nods. "Ahem, your student is suffering from an open depressed skull fracture. The operation is currently underway, but we're pretty confident she'll be fine given the proper treatment and recovery. Head injuries like these are common in sports. She's a skater, right?"
"Champion of the Nationals last year," Angela says in a downtoned voice.
Dr. Ieraci smiles. "We'll bring that talent back after a few months or so. In the meantime, Miss Nguyen won't be available tonight, I suggest coming back tomorrow to the ICU. I'm sorry, that's all I can do right now. I have to go now."
Angela rubs her eyes in agony as the doctor leaves the room. Yakov's phone rings once again, but he cancels the call this time. Victor sits back down on the seat, trying to think of some happy times. But that was nearly impossible right now.
Depressed skull fracture…did she hit the boards that hard? She needed that amount of speed and power for the triple axel, a jump she didn't want to attempt…but I pushed her to do it. And this happened…
Angela picks up her purse from the bench and prepares to leave. She turns around to wave at Yakov and Victor. "Thank you, both so much for being there for Liv this morning. I can't thank you enough. Seriously, thank you. You deserve a good night's rest. I'll be leaving now, and I'll call her parents, don't worry. Just go home. Bye."
With that, Angela exits the room, leaving Victor and Yakov standing there, along with several other people, eagerly waiting for updates on their loved ones. Yakov talks first.
"The caretakers back at the rink don't know what to do with your jacket. Is it ok if they throw it away or would you rather keep it?"
Victor gets up to leave as well. "I'll wash it. It's a good jacket, I'm still going to wear it to the Grand Prix."
"Victor, what happened today—"
"Was an accident?" Victor finishes with a pang of guilt and anger pulsing through him. "It depends on how you look at it. It could be just circumstances, it could've been karma, or it was all staged. Liv's consistency was off today maybe? Wasn't the ice properly smoothed? Her skates were dull?"
"She attempted the most difficult jump in ladies figure skating," Yakov pressed as they walked to the outside parking lot. "And failed to land it, no surprise."
Victor stops in front of his car and buries his head against the front trunk of it. "I—I thought she could do it. If she wanted to hard enough, if her heart was in it, I thought she could! I was out of my mind, and both her and Angela knows it too. And so do you."
Yakov stands there, looking at Victor with pitiful eyes, not saying anything to comfort him. That's when Victor knew it, this coaching thing was a bad idea from the start.
Victor drives away in tears.
Weeks later.
The first event of Victor's Grand Prix Series, Skate Canada, doesn't start until the end of October. During these past weeks since Liv's accident, Victor's been on a round trip from his home to the rink, to the hospital and back home every day.
Or at least he wishes he is, Yakov's been making him practice overtime again, just like with the Worlds. He could only visit Liv during Fridays and weekends.
If one could still call visiting someone who sleeps all the time while being strapped up to all sorts of instruments and tubes in bed, a 'visit'.
Because that's all Victor's been seeing from Liv every time he goes to see her. While she's sleeping, he's keeping himself entertained by watching the IV drip slowly drain, or observing the carefully wrapped bandages around her head, concealing all of her hair.
He'd always leave something behind, whether it be flowers, cards, books, or even some CDs of composers he knows she loves.
Angela contacted her family, who are highly alarmed by the news and is flying over to Russia immediately. That includes her parents, two older brothers and their wives and children, and her younger sister.
Victor only met them once, they were inside Liv's room, crowding around her and looking insanely concerned. He didn't dare to enter, deciding to give the family some privacy.
Liv's mom wouldn't stop crying and squeezed the hand of her still sleeping daughter. "Oh, my little girl…my little girl…"
It was nearly enough to make Victor breakdown, he left that day and went back to the rink to work on his free skate.
Stay close to me plays over the speakers as Victor performs his free skate run-through. He puts a lot of conviction and strength in all his elements.
Even from the sidelines, Yakov could see the seriousness on his face. Every jump was done cleanly and with utmost precision. Every turn was sharp and clean. Every spin was rapid and centered.
Today, Victor is bringing out all those qualities that earned him the rank of top skater in the world. He is reminding everyone, including himself, exactly why he is a dangerous competitor.
Nothing will break down his walls, nothing…
Victor ends his free skate with the combination spin and a strong finishing pose, or at least he tried. Right at the very end, he loses composure and falls to his knees.
Yakov quickly takes over to the bleachers before the other skaters ask if he's feeling alright.
"Come, Victor." Yakov hands him a bottled water and sits him down. "You're doing much better now. You'll be fine at Skate Canada, you'll make out to the Final."
"Is it normal to feel this way?" Victor slams the bottle against the boards. "What term do they use…PTSD?"
"Is it really that bad?"
"I…I just can't stop feeling guilty. It's like, it's my fault it all happened. It's haunting me, I can't think, can't sleep, can't do anything properly! Maybe I should just withdraw from—"
Splash!
Cold water hits Victor in the face. He coughs and sputters as he wipes his eyes, and sees Yakov holding a half-empty bottle in front of him. His coach looked like he's about to blow a fuse.
"Wake up, Victor! Look! Is the sun exploding? Is the Earth being sucked into a black hole? No!" Yakov crushes the bottle with one hand. A few of the skaters carefully back away. "Life goes on! So stop fighting the flow!"
Victor will not just sit there and take it this time. "I've never been through something like this! Is this how therapy works?!"
"I'm not your therapist, Victor. I'm your coach. Your skating coach. And so, it's my job to ensure the success of your career. I only wanted what's best for you. I advised against taking Liv as a student. But I gave in because I wanted to be something more than just coach. I wanted to be your friend. And you fooled around hardcore." Yakov no longer looks angry, but rather disappointed.
He takes a few steps back. "I knew from the beginning you had ulterior motives for coaching Liv. I knew your infatuation. I hoped you would go beyond that and actually create something for the skating world to see."
Victor tones down. "Yakov…I didn't fail in that. It was an accident, Liv would've blown away the competition this season with her triple axel—"
"You still don't get it," Yakov looks down in pity. "Liv. Liv and her skating were just tools for you to build your fantasy and turn it into reality. You never loved her or her skating. You loved the possibilities you could do with her."
Victor became speechless. He didn't argue because there's a tiny part of what Yakov said, that is true. As much as he wants to deny it, it's true.
It's like a sudden moment of realization when you finally find out the real reason behind all your actions.
"I wanted to help," Victor's voice is barely audible, but Yakov heard just fine.
"You wanted to see your imaginations come true. And now, reality burst back in. I'm sorry about what happened with Liv, believe me, I can't forget either! But it's not within our control anymore. Come on, Victor. Let's go." Yakov prepares to skate away. "You got half a month before your first event comes up. The season's not slowing down for you, or for anyone."
After a few seconds of sitting on the bench with residues of water still dripping down his face, Victor finally gets up and follows Yakov onto the ice. He's still got a season to skate, and competitions to win.
"Let's do this."
Oct. 21, 2014.
Victor drives down to the hospital straight from his apartment. He was due to leave for Skate Canada tomorrow and haven't visited Liv for quite a few days. He wanted to give a proper goodbye before leaving.
He arrives at the parking lot and rushes up the elevator towards the HDU ward, where Liv's room is. But something seemed off. Victor couldn't pinpoint why, but he feels that something isn't quite right.
And he was correct.
The room where Liv used to be, was now empty. Well, except for the bed and the curtains, and the furniture and equipment, but it was empty of her items, her medications, and herself. A passing nurse sees the confused look on his face.
"Are you looking for the patient who used to reside here?"
"Olivia Nguyen, where is she? Was she relocated, or discharged?"
"Oh, Miss Nguyen? I remember, her family wanted to move her out a few days ago. They got approval from the doctors, and left."
"Left to where?"
"That's confidential, I'm sorry."
"Thanks anyway!"
Victor turns around and ran like a madman back down to his car and drove out of the hospital. His destination: Liv's apartment. All the way there, he nonstop dials Angela's cell phone number, but nobody picked up.
Eventually, he reaches the apartment building and runs up the flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator. His heart pounds fiercely in his chest as he runs down the hall of her floor.
Please don't let it be empty, please don't let it be empty!
Empty. The front door to her apartment is wide open. A single caretaker is inside, sweeping the wooden floors of the empty living room, where her desk and couch used to be.
The imprints of her digital piano are still visible in the dust, and he could still imagine the messy pile of clothes tossed here and there.
Victor feels his breath stuck in his throat as he rips his eyes away from the sight of the empty apartment and walks away.
Dec. 13, 2014. Sochi, Russia. Grand Prix Final - Men's Free Skate.
Victor hears the crowd roar as he takes a standing ovation after a successful and clean free skate with a score of 198.95, his new season's best for now. It's a no-brainer, he's taking the title of 2014 Grand Prix Final champion, just like always.
After emerging from the changerooms, comfortable and fresh, Victor finds lil' Yurio standing by the bottom of the benches and joins him. Yurio has recently won the title of Junior Grand Prix Final champion after a shockingly choked performance by his friend and rinkmate, Mike Dalmer.
And Yurio isn't taking it very well. He feels that it was an unfair win, considering that Mike was rumored to have been diagnosed with bronchitis a few days before the JGPF, but refused to withdraw.
As a result, Mike's performance wasn't as great as it could've been. Yurio wanted to win against Mike in a proper free skate. And ever since then, Yurio's been in a sour mood with a constant scowl on his face.
The ice is being cleared of any leftover gifts thrown down for Victor, he barely pays attention to those right now. Right now, he has one thing on his mind: to call Liv.
He remembers a few days ago when Angela finally called him and explained everything that happened.
"Hello, Victor? It's Angela."
"Angela? Oh, finally! I've been trying to reach you since October! What happened to you? What happened to Liv?"
"First of all, I'm sorry about not answering, I was having complications and went for a surgery. Anyways, so the thing with Liv…"
"Yeah? I already know that she and her folks are gone. Her entire apartment's empty, and I can't get anything out of the hospital staff because of confidentiality!"
"I know, Victor. I know. So please don't do anything rash, alright? I'm about to tell you what happened with Liv. Her family moved her back to America, she's going to get further treatment there and things'll be easier there for her folks. They're closer to home and they understand the health care system there better."
Victor nearly drops his phone. "She's back in America…? So…that's it? You don't think she's coming back?"
"I spoke to her parents, they didn't hide anything. They directly told me they won't encourage her back into competitive figure skating. But it's really up to her in the end, though I highly doubt she'll come back."
"I…I see. Ok, thanks, Angela. Bye."
"Victor."
"Yes?"
"It's not your fault."
Victor shakes his head against the receiver, but he knows Angela can't see him anyways. She continues to comfort him. "Call Liv. Her family told me she's awake and in rehab now. Talk to her, clear things up."
His hands shaking, Victor reaches into his pocket and fishes out his cell phone. It's screen black and cold. The cheering suddenly intensifies as the next skater comes onto the ice. It was the dark-haired and pale-skinned man representing Japan.
Yuri Katsuki…if he remembered correctly. It was hard forgetting that name after an unnerving short program the night before. Victor has seen stage fright before and knows how bad it can be. But he has never seen stage fright at the level of poor Yuri's.
Though, he did have good musicality skills and choreography that blows his mind away! Reminds him of someone he used to know…
Remembering the task he was going to do, Victor unlocks his phone and opens his contacts list, slowing down once he got to the 'O' part. His thumb trembling, he finally presses the name and phone number of 'Olivia Nguyen.'
Yuri begins his free skate as soon as Victor presses the phone to his ear, waiting for someone to answer. In the meantime, he watches as the skater from Japan performs the first portion of his free skate to River Flows in You.
It was a long step sequence that absolutely mesmerized Victor. It even widened the eyes of a still sour-looking Yurio. It was beautiful, dynamic but gentle, all in all brilliant. The phone continues to ring, and Yuri prepares to enter his first jump.
The triple axel.
Halfway through the jump in midair, he loses control of his body and opens up, crashing down on the flat of his skates and flying backward…onto his back. Victor feels a burn in his stomach as he witnesses the fall and the audience gasps in reaction to it.
Yuri quickly picks himself up and continues to skate, but without the same beauty and patience from before. Everything became a mess, and Yuri's fragility was exposed. Fall after fall…it became difficult to watch.
On his last jump, the triple toe, Yuri pops it as soon as he takes off and then falls.
"We're sorry, the number you dialed is unavailable."
That's it. Victor's stomach flips upside down and he feels extremely lightheaded all of a sudden. Yuri stands as the audience applause him and he goes over to his coach to his scores. Victor barely sees the numbers on the screen before dashing out of the rink and towards the washroom.
Covering his mouth, he bursts into the men's room and runs to the large empty stall at the very end of the room. Emptying the contents of his stomach over the toilet, Victor heaves and cries for an unknown amount of time.
Minutes later…he hears the sound of someone else entering the washroom. The man goes into a stall not too far from his and sits down. He seemed to be calling a family member, his mom apparently from what Victor heard.
"I'm sorry…I messed up…" said the voice of the man from the stall down across.
The quivering in the man's voice is enough to make Victor cry even more. Looks like he's not the only one who's having a bad night. The man in the stall begins to cry. It's as if he's lost all hope.
Victor wonders what happened. But before he could think more, a loud BAM shook the entire washroom from floor to ceiling. It nearly gave him a heart attack! It sounded like someone purposefully kicked one of the doors to the stall.
He hears a stall door open and the voice of Yurio speaking to the man who was supposedly crying. Sitting perfectly still in the corner of his stall, Victor hears how Yurio threatens the poor man to quit competitive skating since 'there's no room for two Yuri's in the division.'
So…that poor crying man was Yuri Katsuki…
After waiting for the washroom to clear, Victor finally emerges from his stall and washes his hands in the sink. He splashes some onto his face as well.
"Yuri Katsuki…so he placed last here eh? First time at a GPF, I guess. But it wasn't all that bad. He has the abilities, he just needs the confidence, and the heart."
Victor walks out of the washroom, feeling, for the first time in a long time, excited.
"He's no Nobuo Adachi, but…that's beautiful potential right there. Can't let it go to waste."
Feels kind of refreshing eh? Going all the way back to the very first episode of this insane anime of 2016! I haven't been watching YOI for the past six months due to all sorts of stressful work coming up (and partly due to the release of Game of Thrones season 7!)
But I do watch a little bit of it now and then for a good recap and the OSTs! (I love the osts in here!)
But I've been watching a lot of real-life skating right now too, I'm looking forward to seeing Satoko Miyahara back in competition after withdrawing from the second half of the season last year! :( And not to mention Katelyn Osmond of Canada! Luv that girl! Not to mention Mirai Nagasu of the US! (Have any other skating fans out there saw her almost-triple-axel from Skate Detroit? So close!)
Oh, and I heard that Evgeni Plushenko (Victor's real-life counterpart apparently) is coaching Adelina Sotnikova. I'd like to see how she'll do. And of course, my precious Yuzuru Hanyu and Javier Fernandez! :D
Alright, I'll stop here. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
Remember, please give out ideas and suggestions, because I'm kind of brain dead from chemistry homework overload right now! :P