Chapter Three – Welcome to the Madness

Yuri skidded to a stop as he heard the door to the rink open. He had reserved the rink for some private time, especially since he made the last minute decision to change his Exhibition Skate, which was tomorrow to say the least. A friendly smile crossed his lips as he saw his friend Otabek; he had invited him to help with his routine, especially since the DJ introduced him to his new music.

However, his smile immediately disappeared once he saw someone following behind Otabek.

"What is she doing here?!" Yuri exclaimed.

"I thought she could be of some help."

Otabek then stepped to the side, revealing his sister. However, she was obviously very tired, definitely not like the feisty little thing Yuri met a day ago. Katerina let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes, giving Yuri a sleepy glare towards his comment. Her hair was in a messy bun, a few of her hairs poking out randomly. She was in a similar Kazakhstan warm up jacket to her brother's and also had on a simple pair of black tights with some combat boots.

"Hey, if you don't want my help, I can gladly go back and rest. It's way too early here for me. Plus, I also have an exhibition skate to work on as well." As if on cue, Katerina yawned once more. She gripped the strap to her warmup bag more tightly as if to not let it fall of her shoulder.

Yuri pointed to the door. "Well then. Feel free to leave."

Katerina rolled her eyes, adjusting her bag over her shoulder as she prepared for her exit. However, she was only able to take one step before Otabek grabbed her shoulder. She met the eyes of her brother who gave her a disapproving look.

"Come on Katya. You know that's how Yuri is. He needs your help, the Exhibition Skate is tomorrow."

Katerina looked over to Yuri, who seemed pretty frustrated that Otabek was stopping his sister from leaving. However, the Russian said nothing. He mumbled something under his breath as he took off, doing a light warmup lap. Katerina grunted impatiently, walking past Otabek to sit on the bleachers as she dropped her bag and begun to put on her skates.

"Yuri, Katya knows you want to choreograph this on your own. She's just here to help you."

"Help me? What does she know about choreography?"

"Me?" Katerina scoffed as she tightened the laces on her skates. "You haven't told him have you?"

Yuri came to the edge of the ice, looking at the siblings, "Told me what?"

There was a small smirk on Otabek's lips before he spoke. "Katerina has choreographed every one of her programs since she was in the Junior Division."

Yuri opened his mouth, wanting to make a slick retort, but couldn't find anything to say.

Since the Junior Divison?

Every single program?

Both Short and Free?

That…that was a lot.

Which meant that the routine that had captivated Yuri when he first saw her was none other than the girl herself.

Again, it was something he heard only Victor Nikiforov could do.

"So," Katya stood up, crossing her arms. "Do you want my help or not?" She smirked, knowing damn real that she wasn't going to be denied.

Yuri : 1 Katerina : 2

Yuri doubled over himself as he placed his palms on his knees, his breathing coming out in quick huffs. Otabek had his skates on and was on the ice, but only by the ledge, making sure he stayed out of the way. Katerina however, was skating around, doing lazy figure eights.

"Well?" Yuri snapped impatiently, looking up towards the younger sister.

Katerina then skated towards the Russian, circling him as she bit into the pad of her thumb. "It's not bad." She finally spoke.

"But?" Yuri stood up completely, placing his hands behind his head.

"That's the thing. It's just not bad."

Whoa, was she saying Yuri's choreography was…boring?

Before the Russian could say anything however, Katerina spoke once more.

"You need a wow factor. Something to keep the audience engaged." Katerina then skated over to the blonde, standing next to him. "Remember," she looked into Yuri's eyes. "This is an Exhibition Skate. Have fun with it. There's no rules." A smile crossed her lips.

"What do you suggest I do?" Yuri genuinely asked, wanting to learn more from this petite skater.

"Hmm," Katerina crossed her arms, rubbing her chin as she began to think. Within seconds, she snapped he fingers, turning to look at the blonde once more. "What do you plan on wearing?"

Yuri felt stumped, blinking his eyes slowly. Did she just ask…what he was wearing? "Um. I wasn't sure yet honestly…" Was now the time to be seriously discussing wardrobe choices?

Just then, Yuri heard a soft chuckle from Otabek. "Katya sure loves a costume change."

Katerina turned her torso, pointing at her brother. "Exactly!" She giggled. "Check this out." Her fingers found the zipper of her warmup jacket, pulling it all the way down so that her jacket was left open. She then skated a bit away from Yuri, showing her back to him. "Beks, music please."

Yuri noticed that the female was in his opening pose. Otabek then begun the music. Despite Katerina not skating the program herself and only watching Yuri practice it, she was able to flawlessly recreate his moves.

Even though he wasn't going to admit it, Yuri liked watching Otabek's sister skate. However, he was taken off guard when she flicked the bottom of her jacket, exposed her shoulder, put the jacket back on, and continued to skate.

"See what I mean?" She laughed as she stopped skating, seeing Yuri's surprised yet entranced face.

Yuri couldn't help but smile back, it was definitely a good idea to have her help him with his program.

"Look what we have here! Victor Nikiforov, Yuri Katsuki's coach, who has just announced his comeback to figure skating, has made a surprise appearance! He has joined Yuri to skate to a duet version of his program 'Stay Close to Me!''

"That...That pig!" Yuri yelled, completely frustrated that the pork cutlet bowl apparently had an ace up his sleeve. He, Yuri Plisetsky, wanted to be the only one with a surprise at this Exhibition Skate. But no, apparently Yuri and Victor had one as well. And it just wasn't fair that they were performing before him. All because he was the gold medalist.

"I guess we weren't the only ones with a surprise." Otabek trailed off, his thumb rubbing his chin.

Both Otabek and Katerina were with Yuri Plisetsky, witnessing what was unraveling in front of them. Otabek seemed to be thinking, Yuri was pissed, and Katerina...well, she was surprisingly quiet.

"Yuri." Katerina's voice was low yet stern. Both males turned simultaneously to look at the female skater. "Do the same as you've been doing."

"What? How could I? I need something more!"

"Yuri," Katerina looked into Yuri's eyes, a certain look in them that Yuri couldn't quite pinpoint. "Trust me." And with that, Katerina spun on her heel, making her way out of the rink.

"Wait! Hey, where do you think you're going?! I need your help right now!" Yuri yelled after her. But all she did, was give a small wave as she broke into a run. Yuri huffed, this girl was leaving him! To fend for himself!

However, Yuri was a tiger. He could do this. He could change his situation around.

"Otabek!" The Russian turned his attention to the other Kazakhstan skater. You're my friend right?"

Otabek raised an eyebrow. "Of course I am."

"Well, we are going to be even more intense than these two. Be in my program!"

"And now, our gold medalist of the Men's Singles Grand Prix, Yuri Plisetsky!"

Yuri stood right by the entrance to the ice, hearing as the announcer announced him and the crowd erupted into cheers. He let out a breath, briefly looking towards Otabek who was already at the other end of the ice. He gave him a slight nod and had one skate hovering over the ice when something grabbed his arm. His eyes traveled up his own arm and widened when he saw who it was.

It was Katerina…and she was wearing something very similar to Yuri.

"W-What's going on?" The Russian asked. Katya was basically wearing the opposite of Yuri. Her long brown hair was styled into a braided bun, once again adorned with purple jewels that glimmered in the light. Her one piece dress was a fuchsia color mixed with purple, a few slits exposing the skin on her back. She also had on a black cropped jacket that stopped right by her ribs, the cuffs along with several seams outlined with glitter and sparkles. And on her hands were a pair of matching gloves that stopped mid finger.

Yuri couldn't help but glance at his own outfit, then at hers, and back to his again. They were eerily similar, with just the colors being switched.

"Katerina, I'm confused."

"Don't worry about me Plisetsky. Just skate your program like you usually do." And with that, Katerina gave a small push on Yuri's lower back, forcing him onto the ice.

However, it was when Yuri did a quick lap around the ice and passed by the sister once more was when he noticed that she had skates on as well.

Yuri wasn't sure when Katerina had joined him on the ice. All he remembered was skating over to Otabek, placing his palm by his cheek, prompting the male to assist him in removing his gloves oh so skillfully with his teeth, and when he turned back around, he saw her on the ice, with her arms crossed and one heel kicking the ice.

And for a split second, Yuri panicked.

However, he remembered what the female said. Trust me. Skate like you usually do.

And that's what Yuri did.

However, he was more than surprised to see that Katerina not only knew his choreography but accented it. When she joined him on the ice and begun to skate, she not only didn't get in his way, but her moves complimented his own perfectly.

From what Yuri could tell, Katerina made it seem like a chase between the two, with only one obstacle, Otabek.

And for the finale, Katerina tried to stop Otabek from shooting the madness of Yuri Plisetsky, but to no avail. Otabek mimicked a gun and shot the Russian, causing him to fall on the ice as Katerina fought against her older brother.

Once the music stopped and the lights dimmed, it was over.