(To check out some of my drawings of Osha, check out my Pinterest – daisy0754)

Previously in, "The Charms of a Nikiforov":

Yuri was having an effect on Victor that neither of them could fully see or understand, but to Osha it was clear.

Even if Yurio did win the competition in two days time, it would be very difficult to tear Victor away from the Japanese skater.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, nor the universe of Yuri! On Ice – they all belong to Kubo 3, nor do I own any of the famous skaters, jumps, music etc. I only own my OC's and this story.

Chapter 5

I am Eros, and Eros is Me?! Face Off! Hot Springs on Ice

Part 2

(Third Skate)

***1 Day before Hot Springs on Ice ***

It was the day before the big face off, and Victor had insisted that they, the two competitors, take it easy for the morning and then have their individual, final rehearsals in the afternoon. Osha had been asked to tag along to that, but had only agreed after Victor and Yuri promised to take her to see the castle above the sea. Yurio was still asleep when they set off, so they decided not to disturb him until it was time to practice.

Victor, in his excitement to see the ninja house again, walked ahead of the other two. Osha and Yuri wandered, side-by-side, and chatted about random things.

"Does it still hurt?"

Osha looked up into Yuri's brown eyes as he adjusted his glasses. She too, pushed her glasses up her nose and sucked in a long breath. Immediately Yuri regretted asking, he could see that the subject bothered her – even if she wanted to deny it. The silver-haired girl gave a shrug and patted her hips as she walked along.

There's no point lying to him…I have nothing to hide.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I didn't mean to pry, but Victor talks about you so fondly and I-"

She smirked and looked forward to the slightly distant figure of her brother.

"No, no you're fine to ask. Vitya and I are very open people, as you probably know. Honestly, we have no secrets from each other, let alone other people. But, yeah, my leg does give me trouble from time to time, but I'm learning to endure the stiffness a little longer each day…and I'm actually able to skate again and land a couple of smaller jumps now."

Yuri smiled and looked at her fondly.

"That's great! I know I was worried when you had your accident."

"Oh, that's right, you hadn't qualified that year for the Grand Prix, but you were in the block competitions and the early stages of the Worlds."

He stopped and blinked in surprise.

"How do you remember that?"

Osha smiled, although an embarrassed blush crossed her face and she, once again, adjusted her glasses.

"Well, I love watching your skating. You're a very expressive person, Yuri."

It was Yuri's turn to blush.

"T-Thank you. I didn't understand why Victor decided to come and be my coach-"

Because he developed the biggest crush on you after the banquet last year.

She became lost in her thoughts, and was only dragged out of them when she caught sight of the massive, towering castle. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she began bouncing up and down with excitement and ran over to Victor.

"Ninjas!"

"I know right!"

Osha pulled out her phone, the musical note case catching the sun, and opened up her camera.

"Yuri, can you please get a photo?"

"Sure!"

He took the phone and Victor wrapped an arm around Osha's shoulders. Together they winked at the Japanese skater and held up their fingers in the "peace" sign. Yuri chuckled at how similar the siblings were and how sweet it was that Victor doted on Osha. He then raised the phone and grinned.

"Say vkusno!"

"VKUSNO!"

After a couple of photos – one of which had Yuri and Osha striking ninja poses, and another had all three of them (Yuri and Victor crouching down to Osha's height and dabbing just for a laugh) – they walked back down the hill and went to collect Yurio from the hot spring.

They then went to the Ice Castle, where Osha was reunited with the Nishigori girls: to the amusement of their father. She and the triplets sat and watched the two Yuri's practice their routines and judged which music was better. Overall, Japanese Yuri was the running favourite, but they weren't going to tell the other Yuri that. When Yuko came to drag the triplets away, Victor decided to seize the opportunity and pester his younger sister. He walked over to her, as best as he could in skates and hands behind his back, and sat down.

"Ossssshhhhiiiiii."

Without looking up from her phone, and taking a snapchat and sending it to Mila ad Sara, Osha answered him.

"What do you want, Vitya?"

"Who says I want anything?"

"You only say my name in that whiney voice when you want me to do something."

"Hmmpf, fine."

He then pulled a pair of skates, size four and a half, and placed them on her lap. Osha lowered her phone, closing her Instagram after liking a picture from Chris, looked up at her brother. Victor was wearing a stupid smile on his face.

"Want to go for a skate?"

"Not really at the minute."

"Please."

"No."

"Please."

"Vity-"

"I won't stop until you skate."

The siblings mock-glared at each other, until Osha gave in ad began unlacing her boots. Victor clapped his hands and then went to watch Yurio and Yuri's programmes. Osha joined them on the ice a few moments later and then Victor called out to her.

"You want to try the programmes?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Victor answered it by pressing the play button on his iPod and then the guitar opening of "On Love, Eros" began to play. Osha chuckled and tried to remember how she'd seen Yuri skate. Her arms swung around her head and then ran them down her hips before clipping her toe off the ice and twisting her head round, a smirk on her face as she winked at the boys.

Her brother sent a firm glare to Yurio when his cheeks turned red.

She managed to get to the end of step sequence, spinning around with her arms twisted – hair annoyingly in her face – and spun with her hands raised before hopping into the Flying Sit Spin. However, her stamina let her down as she entered the first jump and she slipped, landing on her bum and sliding a wee bit along the ice. Panting, she managed a laugh as her leg only ached a tad.

"That was beautiful, Oshi!"

Victor sped over to her and helped her to her feet. He patted her head and she shoved him playfully as they skated over to both Yuri's.

"That was incredible, Osha. No one would've thought you only learned that this afternoon."

She looked down shyly and shook her head.

"You perform it much better than I do, Yuri."

Yurio grunted and raised an eyebrow.

"Still got it, Osha."

"Thanks, Yura."

…

Knock.

Knock.

Grumbling sleepily, Osha sat up on the sofa and groaned.

Doesn't anybody care about how much I love my sleep?

She searched, blindly, for her glasses and put them on squintly as another knock came from the door. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Osha got up and pulled down her pyjama top – creeping to the door so not to wake her brother who was sleeping on the futon not too far from her. When she slid open the door, she raised her eyebrows at the person on the other side.

Yuri's voice came out in a whisper.

"Sorry it's so late, but I really need your help with something."

…

The skating rink was jam-packed the next morning. People from everywhere were piling in to see the results of Victor Nikiforov's coaching, and choreography, and the noise levels were getting ridiculous. However, above the noise, the voice of the commentator – Morooka Hisashi – rung out clearly.

"We're here at Ice Castle, Hasetsu – venue of the Ice Castle exhibition: Hot Springs on Ice. I am here before the face-off to interview the two competitors, Yuri Katsuki and Yuri Plisetsky. You will both be performing short programmes, choreographed for you by Victor Nikiforov…"

While this interview was going on, Osha was trying to convince Victor to change out of the kimono he was wearing.

"Put the fan down!"

"Never!"

She tried to grab it, but he held it up in the air out of her reach. Osha jumped to grab the fan from his hand, but her brother, instead, smacked her on the forehead with it, before scurrying off to be interviewed.

Sometimes I really hate his enthusiasm!

The girl let out a triumphant whoop when both Yuri's commented on the tackiness of the fan.

"Let's put the fan down, shall we?"

"You're making this look like a cheap publicity stunt! We're starting soon, you better be ready to pick a winner."

"Today decides which of us you're going to coach."

Osha managed to squeeze past the reporters just in time to hear her brother's reply.

"Right…I said that, huh?"

Immediately she smacked her forehead and groaned, speaking with a very loud voice.

"HOW CAN YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT THIS WHOLE COMPETITION IS ABOUT?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"Glupy!"

"I HEARD THAT!"

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!"

Yurio growled and dragged both of the yelling Nikiforov's into the changing rooms, followed by a concerned Yuri who waved his arms frantically.

"You two are useless, we're starting soon and your yelling doesn't help!"

"Sorry, Yurio. Vitya go and get changed while the boys warm up."

Victor huffed.

"Fine."

He returned a moment later dressed in a smart suit, gloves and the green scarf Mrs Zillanov had knitted him for his birthday two years prior. A silence fell over the room and Osha left to go and sit at the rink edge. She gave Yuri a pat on the arm and attempted to hug Yurio, wishing them both luck with their skates. On her way out, she passed Yuko – whom she offered a smile – and then sat down on a bench and rubbed her knee.

I'm surprised it doesn't hurt more after yesterday…perhaps it is healed?

The lights dimmed and a spotlight hit the ice. Morooka's voice rang out over the speakers, which caused the crowds to go silent and for Osha to stand and walk to the edge of the rink. She bent a little ways over and rested her elbows on the side, her chin atop her fists, as she watched the glittering, glistening, angelic figure of Yurio sweep out onto the ice.

"He won gold at the Junior World Championships, and the Junior Grand Prix. Now he hopes to make a brilliant senior debut with a programme by Victor Nikiforov…it's Yuri Plisetsky!"

He really does look like a Russian fairy.

The crowd cheered and Yurio inhaled as he reached the centre of the rink. His hair fell over his eyes, shielding his face and he stared downward at the floor below him.

"He will be skating to 'On Love, Agape'."

Osha felt Victor walk up next to her, stroking his chin thoughtfully as the music began to play.

Yurio swept around the rink, moving in and out of his choreography with ease. His eyes focused on the blur about him, heart stammering in his chest and ringing in his ears. His feet moved of their own accord as he approached his first jump.

"Here comes his first jump – a triple axel. Excellent."

He landed it beautifully and spun away with ease – innocence and beauty radiating from him as the light hit the silver sparkles of his outfit. Everyone was mesmerised by the entrancing, ever-evolving monster as his skating held a purity, a true understanding of the meaning behind agape, behind it.

"Here come the quads he previously wasn't allowed to perform, daring to put them in the second half of the programme. A quadruple salchow, followed by a triple toe-loop."

Osha cupped her hands over her mouth, tears in her eyes which made the lens' of her glasses fog a little, and watch proudly as Yurio landed his final quad. At 15 he was doing the almost-impossible by debuting with such a strong performance. A small frown crossed her face, though, as he went into his final step sequence.

Sorry Grandpa. I'm too busy concentrating on the programme, I cannot feel the agape.

The feeling in his programme slipped, and her brow creased. He was trying too hard, his desire to win was beginning to show…even if it was masked behind the sparkle of his costume and the beauty of his fluid movements.

Dammit.

Her eyes drifted over to her brother, but Victor was to enthralled by the performance…he couldn't see the slip. Was this all that time spent with Yakov, actually having some impact with her? Some inner knowledge of coaching breaking though and analysing the performance?

Just end already!

Whatever it was, it was overcome by her whoops and clapping as Yurio raised his arms and finished his performance. Both she and Victor clapped loudly as Yurio took in the noise of the applause…he looked a little overwhelmed by it.

"YURIO THAT WAS THE BEST PERFORMANCE I'VE SEEN FROM YOU SO FAR!"

"TAKE A BOW YURA! YOU EARNED IT!"

With a wave and a smile, Yurio bowed and then came off the ice. Osha ran over and hugged him tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That was amazing!"

"Spasibo, Osha."

She smiled and pinched his cheek, causing him to blush, before turning her attention back to the ice as Yuri skated on. Her eyes softened as she saw her brother standing at the edge watching after him – a light blush on his face.

"Introducing our next skater, representing Japan, a late bloomer who has slowly become a rising star…YURI KATSUKI!"

The crowd cheered as the spotlight followed him around. Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her tracksuit jumper, Osha bit her lip.

He looks nervous…I hope he doesn't let it get in his way.

"He will be skating to 'On Love, Eros'. He struggled with how to express eros, but found inspiration by thinking of his favourite dish the pork-cutlet bowl."

A loud laugh – generated from a certain short, silver-haired Russian woman – sound over the applause and Osha blushed as eyes fell on her. She bit her knuckle, giggling and hiding behind Victor who looked highly amused by her reaction. As the music began, she whispered to him.

"The pork-cutlet bowl? Seriously?"

"Whatever works for him…I respect that."

"But seriously?"

"And you mastered your "Desire" programme envisioning pirozkis?"

"…no comment."

They both went back to the performance as Yuri snapped his head towards them. Victor let out a sharp whistle, eyes glistening with excitement as he watched. Osha smirked and looked between the pair.

After all the work we did last night, that's no ordinary pork-cutlet bowl he's watching.

…

***Several Hours Earlier***

"Sorry it's so late, but I really need your help with something."

The sleepy Osha frowned.

"O-K?"

Yuri inhaled and exhaled heavily.

"I want you to show me how to move like a woman."

The short girl blinked, stepped out the room and closed the door behind her.

"What?"

The dark-haired man looked around and then gestured towards the living room. They went in and both sat down, Osha yawning and straightening her glasses.

"I can't be the playboy in my routine, it's not me."

"Well, you're not really the playboy type."

"Exactly, so I thought…well, what if I were the beautiful woman who seduces the playboy?"

He watched curiously as she stroked her chin – resembling her brother for a moment – before she sat forward with an excited smile and wide eyes, the blue iris' sparkling.

"That's a fantastic idea, Yuri!"

A faint smile crossed his face, and Osha continued.

"So why do you need me?"

"Well…" He coughed. "Today when you performed you looked so sexy and I thought that you could show me how to move like you do. I mean, I won't change any moves I'll just change the way I move…I think that would be a better expression of what I really feel."

She nodded and bounced on her knees.

"Alrighty then, let's a good space to practice!"

…

"THAT STEP SEQUENCE WAS BE-"

Victor covered his little sister's mouth and laughed.

"Stop, you'll distract him…he's doing so well!"

"Sorry, sorry, just a little overexcited there."

"Oooh he stepped out of that quad salchow."

Two sets of blue eyes connected and Osha held up her hands.

"Not my fault!"

Her silver-haired brother shook his head and laughed. He ruffled her hair, never taking his eyes off the Japanese skater.

"No, him and Yurio have been doing secret practice sessions trying to land those jumps."

Don't panic, just stay in control. One mistake doesn't mean I've lost.

A determination set within Yuri as he neared the end of his free skate. Both Nikiforovs watched with such focus, analysing the emotion and performance within him. They were amazed, Victor's eyes dilating, clapping as he finished with beautiful, dramatic flair. The audience was going crazy as he stood alone on the ice, gathering his breath.

Suddenly Osha was back-handed to the ground by Victor spreading his arms and beaming. She raised an eyebrow and pushed herself to her feet.

"YURI! I don't think I have ever seen a tastier, more inspiring pork-cutlet bowl!"

Victor hugged Yuri tightly, engulfing him in his arms.

"Really?"

"Da! You were amazing out there!"

"Thank you, Osha!"

"Oshi is fine."

They both smiled and then Victor continued, his blue eyes piercing.

"And now, there is something I want to ask you…"

And with that he set off on a rant about the failed quad salchow. Yuri fell back on the ice and Osha laughed, facepalming and turning to address Yurio…however Yurio had gone. She shoved through the crowds and stopped by the doors of Ice Castle, when she saw two figures. One was Yuko, and the other Yurio – now dressed in his usual tiger-striped attire, hood pulled up.

"That performance…I'll keep skating under Yakov. Das vidaniya."

"I'm sorry."

"This isn't over, though. I'm taking gold at the Grand Prix Final, tell him that."

Then he began walking away. Osha's mission was successful, he was going back to Russia. She pushed open the doors and walked out. Yuko put an arm on her shoulder and smiled.

"I think this season is going to be the best yet."

"Me too, Yuko. Me too."

…

Russian Dictionary

Vitya – Victor

Oshi/Oshka – Osha

Vkusno – Delicious

Glupy - Stupid

Pirozki – Fried Russian Bun-Pie

Spasibo – Thank You

Das Vidaniya – Goodbye

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