Katsumi's Point of View
[One Year Later]
It's hard to believe that a year has passed, since I won my first gold medal. Want to know how that year went? First I shifted my focus onto school. Don't worry I couldn't forget about skating, even if I tried Rose would beat me into shape. Then again she asked me to suggest methods to stay in shape, now she regrets the idea. Let's just say aerobics is her new nightmare, on the other hand I love it and can't wait to teach Yuuri. That guy hasn't been here in five years, Rose and I had to keep Minako busy. Her dance studio has been getting less clients, while Rose and I would visit to keep her company. We came with her to pick up Yuuri. I told Rose and she jumped at the opportunity, now we're waiting at the bottom of the escalator for him. Minako seemed excited, she even had a banner with Yuuri's name on it. The anticipation was killing me, Yuuri, Rose, and I could finally hang out again. When I noticed a person heading down the escalator, who was bundled tightly in clothes and a sanitary mask. The boy stood in shock, his photo was posted throughout the station. "Yuuri." Minako chimed spinning around and spreading her sign. "Yuuri." I bounded towards him and launched at him, almost knocking him over. "Hey Kat," Yuuri said fixing his balance, when I grabbed his hand and dragged him over to Minako and Rose. "Nice to see you Yuuri," Rose smiled, a blush spread across her cheeks. "I missed you, Kat and I missed you." Rose caught herself, even though it was pretty obvious that she was in love with the bashful skater. When an old man approached Yuuri. "Let me shake your hand, young man," He extended his hand out to Yuuri, which sent Yuuri reeling and he pulled up his mask. "I'm sorry but I'm." Yuuri started but then Minako cut him off, "it doesn't cost you anything to shake hands." Then she continued to lecture Yuuri on how Viktor greets his fans, "even Kat greets her fans." Rose pointed towards me, since I was swept away by a group of children.
There were about three kids, each one of them was tugging on my plaid jacket. Two boys and one girl, who seemed to be hiding behind the other boys. "Hello there." I said crouching over, "aren't you the ice princess." The little girl whispered behind the boys, which seemed to confuse me for a second. "Because you dance on the ice," the boy answered "you and the ice prince." I understood they were referring to me as the ice princess, except who did they mean ice prince? I glanced back at the boys, "who's the ice prince?" I asked the small children. "Its Viktor," the girl squeaked, sparkles filled her eyes. While my face grew blood red and Rose came to my rescue, when she grabbed my arms and jerked me away. Rose had brought me back to the group, as we left the station. We piled into Roses car and the trip back was silent, then again I suppose Yuuri was exhausted from his flight. While I was still flustered from being called the ice princess, those kids shipped Viktor with me. The ride wasn't long and we all rushed out of the car. We opened the door to the hot spring, while a couple people glanced over at us. Yuuri's mother came running towards us. "There's Minako, and it's always a pleasure to see you Rose and Kat," Mrs. Katsuki smiled. "Thanks for bringing Yuuri." Minako and Yuuri's mother continued to talk, Rose seemed to be staring at Yuuri. It feels like nothing has changed, even after a year I can still call this my second home. "Yuuri aren't you getting hot?" Rose asked, since he still wore his layers inside the hot spring. "What are you hiding Yuuri?" Minako glanced at Rose and they tackled him. Pieces of clothes went flying, before revealing Yuuri's bloated stomach. Minako screamed and Roses jaw fell to the ground. I knew Yuuri ate when he was stressed or anxious, I did too and my mother would hide the scones in the house. "You look just like your mother." Yuuri's father said, sliding the doors open. Minako didn't seem to find the remark humorish, instead she continued to lecture Yuuri. Rose seemed to chime in the conversation every now and then, about how a figure skater must maintain a certain weight and physique. Rose is just happy that after eating plenty of icecreams, that I now am lactose intolerant. There is only one problem with this, actually there are many but one specifically that comes to mind. Like Yuuri I have a special dish for gold medals: a big bowl of chocolate and sea salt caramel ice cream, with hot fudge drizzled on top. I haven't had the heart to tell Yuuri's parents that I can't eat it, luckily Rose seems to have a similar taste and scarfs it down for me. "How many pork cutlet bowls would you like?" Yuuri's father ask, returning everyone's attention back to him.
While everyone followed Mr. Katsuki towards the kitchen, Yuuri excused himself to pay his respects to Vicchan. Yuuri had gotten the toy poodle after reading about how Viktor had a poodle, even named him after our idol. The poor pup died before Yuuri's first Grand Prix Final, they held a funeral for Vicchan and Yuuri couldn't attend. This led him to be anxious and depressed, which was what caused his poor performance. I'll let him be, don't want to intrude on his time with Vicchan. We all sat around the table slurping away at noodles, when the doors slid open and Mari popped in. "Hey Mari." I waved her over, "hey Kat, I didn't know you and Rose were here." She sat down beside me at the table, "we came with Minako to pick up Yuuri." I wiped a noodle off my cheek. "Where is Yuuri?" Rose asked, setting down an empty bowl. "He's in the hot spring, he seemed worn out," she replied, "I mean you can join him if you'd like?" The mention of being in the hot spring with Yuuri made Rose flustered. Minako slammed a bottle of booze onto the table and flipped on the tv, "I really wanted to go to the championships, if only you qualified Yuuri you could've of gotten me the skaters room numbers." "So that's it, you support me in hopes that I'll make it easier for you to stalk hot skaters," Yuuri pouted behind Minako. While Rose and I sat at a table watching the grand prix, I could only imagine what it would of been like. Then Viktor appeared on the screen, he was shadowing his performance since he was going next. My eyes were glued to the TV, they followed the Russians every movement and found delight in the bounce of his snow white hair. The man sitting next to Minako snatched the remote and changed the channel. We were all now watching a soccer match, which angered Minako and she tried to snatch the remote. The doors slid open and Yuuri's dad popped out, head to toe in the home soccer teams merchandise. I couldn't handle the noise, so I dragged Rose outside with me. Yuuri's mother was unloading drinks from the back of a van, no wonder she's lost weight. The sound of footsteps grew louder as Yuuri sped by the both of us, "you just came home and you're already leaving." "Sorry I want to get some practice in," Yuuri shouted while running off. "Rose let's follow Yuuri," I whispered linking arms with her. "I don't think that's a good ideal Kat," Rose always seemed to be my voice of reason, except when it came romance. She was a hopeless romantic, then again I can't blame her. If I was as smooth as her I would probably have plenty of boyfriends, she has something I don't the ability to hold a conversation. "Don't worry Mrs. Katsuki, we'll keep an eye on Yuuri."
I dragged Rose along the sidewalk as we silently followed Yuuri, she found it ridiculous and said I wasn't as stealthy as I thought. I disagreed with her, I've always followed him to the rink and have never been caught. We continued to follow Yuuri, inching closer each time. Until he completely halted and I bumped into his back, "Katsumi were you following me?" Yuuri awkwardly chuckled, turning to face me. "How did you know? Did you always know?" I asked, my dreams of becoming a ninja came crashing down. "I guess you noticed Rose as well," I said, which seemed to catch Yuuri off guard. "We've been compromised." I joked around, when Rose leaned out from behind Yuuri. That caused Yuuri to jump and cower behind me, "a dancer has to be graceful and quiet on their feet, you could say dancers and ninjas are one in the same." Now that Rose and I were found out, we walked with Yuuri to the rink. The three of us stood in front of the Hasetsu ice castle ice rink, it felt nostalgic recalling every time I came here. The doors slid open and we followed Yuuri inside, "excuse me?" A figure stood behind the desk putting away skates. "Sorry we're closed, you can come back tomorrow." A familiar voice informed, "hey Yuuko, long time no see." Yuuri said awkwardly, twisting his right foot. "Yuu-san I've missed you so much," I fell onto the front desk. "But I see you and Rose almost everyday," She chuckled, "are you guys here to skate? Go right ahead." Yuuri, Rose, and I laced up our skates and headed into the rink, with Yuuko following right behind us. Yuuri stepped onto the ice and handed his glasses over to Yuuko, "there's something I really want you to see. I've been practicing this since the competitions ended." Yuuri skated out to the middle and took his stance, "wait that opening." Yuuko questioned and she was right, it was the same opening as Viktors free skate. The music started and Yuuri begin to glide across the ice, every ounce of his being poured into the movements. Neither Yuuko or I could peel our eyes away from his performance, his jumps were flawless and he perfectly executed his footwork. Yuuri ended the routine with sweat dripping down his face, his breathing now short and shallow. "Your freaking amazing." Yuuko squealed, pounding her hands on the edge of the rink. "That was a perfect imitation of Viktor," I said, while Yuuri skated over to the edge. "Don't think you're the only one who's practiced." I smirked stepping out onto the ice, motioning for Rose to come over. "We've been working hard on improving technique, footwork, and the flow of movement with the music." Rose replied, flaunting her goods as she stepped onto the ice.
Yuuko starts the music and the sounds of guitar pierce the silence. Rose and I stand back to back and with the entrance of the singer, Rose skated outward. She seemed to dance around me to the rhythm of the guitar, ending the phrase with her arms placed on my back and her head tucked between them. The second phrase started and I skated away from Roses grasp, turning to face her I knelt onto one knee. My hands outreaching to her, like the day she extended her hand out to me. The phrase ends and she skates over to me, once again tracing her hands across my back. Ending in front of me, she places a hand under my chin and pulls up my face. The singer says to take their hand and I grasp onto Rose's, this pair skate hasn't even started. Rose pulls me in close, close enough that I can feel her heartbeat on my back and her breath against my neck. I remember the day when we planned out this program, since we had plenty of time to practice. She wanted to test my skills from the year of training, because even if my skill improved it was minimal in comparison to my performance. She chose the song specifically because it hinted at love and sex, which made my anxiety rise. She declared that as a performer I should be able to embody any story and any emotion, that I too could be lustful, dare I say sexy. Then again it was a pair skate and Rose wanted to prove something as well, it was like the dancer in her was screaming to come out. In writing the piece we divided the two verses, where both of us could show off our strengths. The first half was mainly dance and Rose choreographed it, she did enjoy finding new ways to move her body. It was actually humorous on the lessons she had to teach, on how to move my hips and dance seductively. It started out rough and my movements were stiff, she tried everything to loosen my movements. Eventually I was able to let the rhythm guide my flow, I was almost as good at Rose by the end. Rose spins me and I lean out, as she pulls me back. She twirls before grabbing under my arms and spins me across the ice. I kick out of the turn and grab onto her hand, while her lands rest on my hip. We brush our hands in sync and she spins me around, I move one hand to her shoulder and the other clutches her left hand. We increase speed because the next part is rather difficult, not only on Rose but on me as well. One other thing that went into preparing for this program, was strength training. Rose had to work on her strength, since she would be lifting and tossing me. Typically a man would fill the position, since they were naturally stronger and left the submissive role to the women. Rose could only laugh at the notion, she believed that a woman was strong enough to fill the position. I had faith in her, with her determination I knew she was more than capable. Even so taking lead position required more than just skill, she would have to adjust her training regiment and add strength training. It didn't seem to phase her at first, but she still found herself unhappy with the results. There were days when I felt her confidence and determination chip away, those practice sessions were rough. I could tell she was working hard, desperately trying any method to reach her goal. We glide across the ice and release, as we turn around and Roses hands move to my hips. I place my hands on her and we turn once more, I raise one foot and Rose tosses me into the air. A perfect triple twist as Roses hands clasp onto my waist, setting me down onto the ice with one leg and the other extended. With the end of the chorus and the beginning of the second verse, I take the lead position. Skating around the edge of the rink, Rose follows as we turn back to the center. Digging into the ice we jump a triple salchow, twirling across the rink and kicking up the ice. I grab into Roses hands and wrap my arms around her, before she breaks lose. Heading for the approach of the combination jump, our triple toeloop was in sync but Rose went a millisecond too early on the double toeloop. The verse two was now over and the bridge started to repeat, which Rose and I went into a unison combination spin. It started with a camel spin moving into a sit spin, while I clutched onto the blade of my skate for dear life. We continued changing from sit and camel spins, till we grabbed the blade and extended our legs up. Slowly releasing the blade we finish facing each other, just in time for the reprise for the chorus. We skated towards one another, Rose grabbing onto my hips and tossing me into a quad toe flip. My landing was a little shaky but I manage to remain unfazed, while I grabbed onto Roses shoulder and she spun me around with only her left arm. Spinning me once more she pulled me into a dip, as the music came to a conclusion. The sweat beaded off of my face, my heart was beating out of my ribcage. I could hear Roses short and fast breaths, her hand still clutching onto my leg. "That was amazing." Yuuko shouted, flailing her arms around and almost hit Yuuri.
The three of us stood out on the ice, when three little heads popped up in front of Yuuko. "My girls Axle, Lutz, and Loop. They are a lot bigger than the last time you saw them." The girls stared at Yuuri, Rose, and I. "They also have the best babysitter," Rose chimed, which made me scoff. "Sure, you can say that." Rose seemed puzzled by my comment. "They didn't take off your leg!" I muttered. Yuuri looked at Rose and I, while we bickered about the horrifying experiences as babysitters. "Wow you really did get fat Yuuri." "So you're retiring?" "You've never had a girlfriend?" The girls blurted out, bombarding Yuuri. "Hey!" Yuuko shouted, trying to corral the three girls. "I'm telling you, those three are some of your biggest fans." A familiar voice sounded. "Hey," a large arm wrapped around Yuuri's neck. "Nishigori," Yuuri squeaked, while the stocky man kept his arm around Yuuri. "You're fatter than me," he said pulling up Yuuri's shirt, revealing a plump stomach. The three girls started snapping pictures of Yuuri's belly, while Yuuri struggled to break free. Rose pried the triplets away from Yuuri, while I continued to talk with Nishigori. "Come by anytime. The Nishigori family always has your back, as well as you too." He said glancing from Yuuri to Rose and I, then we decided to head back since it had gotten late.
Rose and I dragged our futons into Yuuri's room, Rose seemed exhausted and fell face first into the bed. While Yuuri and I could only laugh, then his eyes focused on me. "Kat, when are you going to spill the beans?" I could tell he was nervous about asking, since he was playing with his hands. "Yuuri only Rose, Yuuko, and your family know. If everyone else knew they wouldn't look at me like any other skater, they'd feel like I need additional help. And I don't need it, I've been doing fine on my own," I responded, "I'll think about it." I concluded, trying not to crush Yuuri's hopes for me. While we settled into our futons, Yuuri glanced at me once more. "I believe you'll do it, just at the right time." He smiled before laying his head down, "who knows Yuuri, the world doesn't find beaten and bruised to be beautiful." This comment caused him to flip over to face me, "no but they find it inspiring." And with those final words I went to sleep. A few hours later I woke up to Yuuri crying on the floor. "What's wrong with him?" Rose nudged me. I looked at her as puzzled as she was, when my phone starts to ring. "Hello." I groaned, scratching at my eyes. "Hey Katsumi, its Nishigori. I'm sorry but along with uploading Yuuri's video, they also uploaded your video with Rose." I dropped the phone and jerked to face Rose. "Who died?" she asked. I picked up the phone and passed it to her, after a while her face matched mine and Yuuri's. Shutting off our phones we tried going to sleep again, only to have Minako barge in and start to lecture Yuuri. The videos were now on the internet, I wonder who would be watching? And thanks to Minako we barely got any sleep.
"You can't just hold up in your room forever? Come out and help shovel the snow," Yuuri's mother said, her footsteps grew fainter as she walked away. "Snow?" Yuuri questioned, shaking me from my slumber. "What is it Yuuri?" I slid out of the futon and grabbed onto Yuuri's desk, since I took off my prosthetic and left it in the corner. "It snowed," he replied. While I slowly made my way to the corner and strapped my leg on. "Scoot over," I said, joining Yuuri on his bed. He opened the curtains and the snow was flurrying, "woah she was right! And this late in the year." That was strange I didn't hear about a weather alert, except then I remembered Rose, Yuuri, and I shut off our phones after the news of our videos being uploaded. "Hurry up Kat, we need to go shovel the snow." He said, passing me one of his winter jackets. "Why doesn't Rose have to shovel snow?" I pouted, glaring back at the girl who had snuggled back into the futon and was fast asleep.
I followed Yuuri down the hall and as he opened the door, a giant brown poodle pounced on Yuuri. The poodle stood on Yuuri licking his face, "you're too big to be Viktor." I continued to look at the poodle, something about it seemed familiar. Yuuri's eyes grew wide, maybe he knew whose dog this was. "Morning," Yuuri's father greeted from behind, "looks just like our Viktor, aye. His owners a new guest, some good looking young man with an accent. He's in the springs right now." Mr. Katsuki finished, both Yuuri and I were in shock. Looking at each other we made a sprint through the room, when Yuuri clutched my hand, "close your eyes, well be running through the wash room." Bursting through the wash room, the noise of men gawking at us could be heard. When Yuuri finally stopped and released my hand. "Yuuri, can I open my eyes?" I asked but no response. "Viktor?" The sound of his name made my eyes pop open, where they found him sitting in the hot springs. "What are you doing here?" Yuuri questioned, his hands kind of jittering. I don't blame him, I was biting on my lip and it's surprising it didn't bleed. Pulling the rag off his head, he stood up from the spring. Revealing his perfectly sculpted body and I felt like I was in heaven, while an angel was right in front of me. With an extension of his hand he spoke, "hello Yuuri, starting today I'm going to be your new couch. You're going to get to the Grand Prix finals and you're going to win." A wink sealed his statement and at my capacity of Viktor, I turned to walk away and slipped on a towel. I fell down and hit my head on the floor, luckily my leg didn't come off but everything seemed to get fuzzy.