(To check out some of my drawings of Osha, check out my Pinterest – daisy0754)
Previously in, "The Charms of a Nikiforov":
"I think this season is going to be the best yet."
"Me too, Yuko. Me too."
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 6
Like Yourself, and Complete the Free Programme
(Fourth Skate)
Yuri groaned as he awoke to the sound of knocking. He rolled over, Makkachin woofing dreamily, and checked his phone, putting his glasses on.
From the other side of the door, Osha laughed as she heard the shriek, the bedsheet flying around, Makkachin's yelp and the rushing around of Yuri "I totally slept in for my practice session" Katsuki. As the door slid open, she held out a bottle of water and a food bar (this occurrence had happened every day since the Hot Springs on Ice exhibition, so it had become a part of her routine) which Yuri grabbed on his way out.
"I AM SO LATE! THANKS OSHI!"
"TELL VITYA I'LL BE DOWN SHORTLY!"
"OKKKKKK!"
The front door slammed shut and Osha let out another giggle. Undoubtedly Victor wouldn't be bothered by his lateness.
I wonder what JJ is up to?
She sat in the television room and pulled out her phone, taking this quiet time to catch up with social media.
Hey JJ! How goes the practice? X
An angry reply came a few moments later.
Osha. I love you, I really do. One of my bffs, but never text this early again! Or I will have to kill you! I'm Canadian, I can hunt bears! -_-
Whoops sorry! Forgot about the time difference xx I'll ttyl? X
Yup :) Night, toots
She laughed and thought about the times when she and JJ had been skating partners. It was him who brought her out of her shell with his "garish", showy attitude. His smile was infectious and they really clicked as friends. She looked at him as a younger brother, not in the sense that she felt responsible for him, but in the way that he influenced her to make bold decisions. He'd felt really guilty after her accident, he hadn't wanted to do the jump, but he hadn't caught her…it had taken a long lecture and a lot of hugging and tears before she managed to convince him to pursue a solo career. In doing so he was now a big success and in a happy and healthy relationship.
He made the right decision choosing his parents as his coaches, but I hope he doesn't feel too pressurised by them.
…
***4 Years Earlier***
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
She hated the noise of all the hospital machines. She wanted out of the horrid, sickeningly-clean building, but she still wanted to curl up and sleep. Sleep was good for her recovery…apparently. Osha's eyes felt heavy as she opened them, the bright, piercing light stabbing into them causing her head to spin and the world to waver within her vision.
'I want to go home.'
"Hey, Toots."
She tried turning her head but it felt too stiff, so her eyes merely drifted over to where she had heard Jean – JJ's voice. Her small frame was still firmly tucked tightly amongst the white sheets, apart from her broken leg which was propped up with a sling and plastered to the nines – a cast and metal frame pinning every broken bone into place, an uncomfortable plate holding the skin of her knee together as the kneecap had shattered. It hurt to move, but JJ helped her prop herself up; tucking a pillow behind her back. He passed her a glass of water and her spectacles, a weak smile on his face.
There was also a large bruise on his left cheek…from where Victor had punched him. It made her mad to see the greenish skin…her brother had had no right to do that to her skati- former skating partner. Their former coach, on the other hand, deserved the blow…but the damage had been done and no good would come from it.
The water soothed her sore throat and JJ kept opening and closing his mouth to speak. Osha rolled her eyes.
"Stop imitating a fish, JJ, and tell me what's wrong?"
"How di-?"
"We've known each other for seven years. You're basically my brother…I know when something is wrong."
A mild chuckle came from the tired boy and he rested his elbows on the bed, running his fingers through his hair.
"I…I want to quit."
"What?"
"I'm going to quit skating."
Her blue eyes blinked several times, before her mouth opened and she exploded at him.
"Don't you dare, Jean-Jacques Leroy! You quit skating and I will never speak to you again!"
"Osha.."
"Don't Osha me! This is because of what Victor said isn't it?"
JJ looked away, his dark blue eyes focusing on the corner of the room. Osha rubbed her face and sat up a little, prodding him in the arm so that he looked back at her.
"Listen to me, JJ. You are a fantastic skater, you could win the Grand Prix and the Worlds if you put your mind to it. It's not your fault what happened, ok? If I hadn't moved we would've both been hurt."
"I should've caught you…as your partner it's my job to catch you."
"I made the choice there, not you. I'm to blame for this, not you. You need to keep skating because I don't want to be the reason you quit, I can't be the reason both of us give up on the thing we love. Please…please don't quit."
Tears filled her eyes as he gawked at her. An awkward silence fell over the pair, that was only interrupted by the nurse coming in to check on her. Eventually JJ spoke, when it was getting close to Victor's visiting time.
"Alright. I won't quit, but I'm not working with Andres after this."
"What will you do then for a coach?"
"Dunno…could ask my folks, I suppose."
…
The three skaters – Victor, Osha and Yuri – worked at the Ice Castle every day in the build up to the assignments being announced. Victor was desperate for Yuri to begin working on his free programme, allowing him to choose and choreograph his own routine, but Yuri was finding it difficult to pick music that he could really relate to. Osha watched, occasionally taking part in the skating to build the strength in her knee, and helped with the presentation side of things – especially for Yuri's short programme. Most of the time, however, she worked on her own routines – ones she had never performed publicly due to her accident – and, unbeknownst to her, was filmed half-the-time by the triplets.
At the current moment, Yuri and Victor were getting in touch with Yuri's former coach: Celestino Cialdini, and asking about free programmes – much to her brother's embarrassment as the older man was making comments about him "tiring" of being a coach.
"Ah, that's a load off," Yuri said as he hung up, "I couldn't bring myself to call him for so long."
"Yuri?"
Victor leaned in, pressing his forehead against Yuri's ear and ghosting his lips very close to the younger man's cheek. Yuri was reddening rapidly as his coach spoke.
"I think it's about time I heard this music he mentioned."
"Yeah, ok."
"Why didn't you tell me about it before? I'm your coach aren't I?"
"I should have…I'm sorry."
"Hey boys, was just wondering if yo- am I interrupting something?"
Osha stopped as she walked into the changing rooms for the baths. Her eyes widened as she saw the close proximity of the two men and her cheeks reddened with embarrassment and awkwardness at the fact that one of them was her brother. Yuri, just as red as she was, leapt to his feet and waved his hands around.
"No no, you're not interrupting anything! Nothing at all."
"Ha…it's ok, I'll just go."
She smirked and made a quick exit, laughing into her hand and sending a message to Yuko about the encounter.
The next day they found out that Yakov had brought in his ex-wife, Lilia Baranovskaya to help choreograph Yurio's free programme and Victor had, also, listened to a piece of music Yuri had had composed a while back, but hadn't found it that impressive. While Yuri had played it off that he was alright with his coach's opinion, Osha could tell that he was a little hurt that her brother had rejected it so quickly. She'd popped by the rink that evening to see if Yuri was there, but had just missed him so she went back to his house and waited to speak to him when he got back. She was sat in her pyjamas, hair damp after her bath and tied messily back and glasses askew – reading when Yuri came back from his walk with Makkachin. Victor was already in bed.
"Hey Oshi."
"Evening, Yuri."
"What's up?"
"Well," She scratched the back of her neck, "I was wondering if I could listen to the music you showed to Vitya. You looked really down when he said no about it."
He looked down at his feet and nodded.
"Yeah, I was, but the piece does feel a little weak."
"Weak?"
"Come on, I'll show you."
They went into his room, Yuri sitting at his desk and Osha on his bed. He popped the headphones into her ears and played the music. There was a lack of build to it, like it was missing a strong backbone to support the melody…the piano seemed measly under the weight of the other instruments.
Yuri's right, it is weak.
"Wow, you have a good ear."
"Thanks. I wanted it to describe my career as a whole, so technically it does fit."
He sighed. Osha offered a smile and sat forward,
"You've come on so much since last year though. Why not have it recomposed?"
"Recomposed?"
"Da! Have the person who made it, redo it. Suggest the improvements you want and see if it works."
"And you think that'll work?"
"You won't know if you don't try."
Yuri nodded and gave her a smile.
"Alright then, I'll phone Phichit and see if I can get him to get in touch with the girl."
The silver-haired girl raised a quizzical eyebrow as Yuri began his Facetime call.
"Phichit?"
"Oh, he was my old rink-mate back in Detroit. He's practicing back home in Thailand though."
"Ohh, I'll go then so you can talk."
He waved a hand as the call connected.
"No, I'm sure he won't mind."
The phone screen lit up with the face of a tanned boy with bright grey eyes. His messy, lack hair fell just above his eyes and he had a bright smile on his face. Osha felt that he was obviously the type with an infectious smile. She suddenly felt a little awkward, in her current, dishevelled state as Yuri grinned at his friend.
"Hey Phichit!"
"Hey Yuri! It's been a long time, good to hear from you. Oh, who's your friend? Not Victor is it? Haha!"
"Haha, no this is Osha, she's Victor's younger sister."
Osha waved and squashed next to Yuri.
"Hello. I take offence to that comment about me being Vitya, by the way!"
Phichit laughed, which caused Osha's ears to redden, and waved a hand.
"I was only kidding."
"Better be."
The pair laughed and shared a smile. When Yuri cleared his throat, Osha turned her eyes to find that he was looking at her, a slight smirk on his face. She looked away, blushing, shot up and went for the door.
"Well, I uh…better, was that Victor calling me? Da…I think so! I'll let you two catch up. Nice meeting you, Phichit."
"You too, Osha."
Once she'd left, Yuri turned his smirk onto Phichit. The Thai skater raised an eyebrow, although his cheeks flushed shyly.
"What?"
"Nothing. So, I see you left Detroit behind to practice back in Thailand, huh?"
"Sure did. What can I say, Detroit wasn't the same after you left – you should come and visit me in Bangkok sometime! I'll show you around."
The dark-haired man smiled and nodded.
"Haha, I could bring Victor and Osha too?"
"I'm sure Ciao Ciao would love that."
"Mhmmmm? Anyway, I was wondering, could you do me a favour? You remember that demo I had made?"
"Yeah by that one conservatory student? You asked her to compose it for you right?"
"Uh huh, but then I didn't end up using it after all...anyway it felt a little awkward talking to her after that."
Phichit nodded.
"Yeah, I can see why. If you want, I could try to track her down for you? I'm sure she's not mad." He said with a chuckle.
The pair talked for a little while longer, before Celestino called Phichit back to practice and the younger boy had to go. Yuri then turned his attention back to choreographing his programme, chewing on the end of his pen.
…
"What? You haven't chosen the music, yet? Pick something that inspires you! Like a memory! Or when a girl said she loved you."
"WHAT?!"
Yuri's outburst caused Osha to turn quickly and slip on the ice. He never yelled at Victor, he could barely talk to him at times and he was yelling at him? Immediately Yuri was apologising, but Victor waved it off.
"No, it's my fault, I forgot you've never had a lover."
Lover? Where are you from? The medieval period?
The Japanese man huffed and pushed off the ice, turning his back on his coach.
Oooh Vitya must've touched a nerve there!
She smirked as Yuri ignored Victor for the rest of the day, despite the tall man's best attempts to "bond" with him…which even spanned into the middle of the night.
"YURI HOW ABOUT A SLUMBER PARTY?"
SLAM!
Victor looked around as the door next to him slid open and he was met with a glaring Osha.
"Oh hello!"
"Go to bed, or I will kill you!"
SLAM!
…
The next morning, due to lack of sleep because of a certain sibling of hers, Osha woke late and found that there was nobody about – save Hiroko who wished her a "good morning" as she went for her run.
I hope Yuri and Vitya will be ok. Hopefully they'll get back to practice soon.
She ran along the pier, her knee feeling pretty good, and stopped to look up at the seagulls. They reminded her of the gulls from her runs at home. When she lowered her head she saw two figures standing on the beach, shaking hands. There was also a dog, fluffy and curly-haired, so she knew instantly who it was.
They make a very handsome couple.
A gentle smile settled on her face and she continued on towards the Ice Castle, not wanting to interrupt their tender moment.
She was already practicing in the rink when the boys showed up. Victor told her that they were going to be doing jump practice. For a good while she watched from the edge of the ice, making up wee bits of step sequences, as Victor and Yuri went from quad to quad. The Russian tired quickly as sweat dripped from both their brows. Yuri wiped his chin as they finished doing a quad salchow, triple loop combination.
"That was good, but if it's alright with you, I'd like to try it again."
Victor was double over and panting.
"But we've done it ten thousand times already!" He whined.
"Thirteen actually."
As they talked, Osha's feet itched to do a jump…she wanted to know if she could land that combination… Body moving of its own accord, she built up her speed and took off, feet locking and spinning into a quad salchow, then into a triple loop. Her landing on the final jump was wobbly and she staggered backwards…
I DID IT! I LANDED THE JUMP!
"OSHI YOU DID IT!"
Victor beamed at her, holding his arms open. She sped over and hugged his waist with a huge smile on his face. Her brother began chattering away to her in Russian, praising her and such like. Yuri smiled, but then his attention was distracted by the top of Victor's head. His finger stretched and he touched Victor's hairline. Instantly Victor seized up and Osha backed away, covering her mouth so she wouldn't giggle too loudly, as Victor touched his head.
"Is it getting that thin?"
"Yes!"
"NO NO NO!"
"You're going bald Vitya!"
Yuri grabbed Osha and covered her mouth as Victor sunk to the ice.
"It's very thick and shiny!"
"Mbsjdh- bald, nsoisf- old!"
"You've wounded me. I don't know if I'll ever recover."
"I'm sorry!"
"Don't be, Yuri! He's too self-involved with his hair."
"Oshiiiiiii, stop hurting me with your words!"
…
The same night as Victor's hair drama, the music came. It was perfect. Victor basically woke up the entire household so that they could listen to it…much against Osha's better nature she didn't kill him.
It was also on that night that Yuri decided his theme – "On his Love."
And everything was all sorted in time for the assignments being delivered:
(3rd Event) Cup of China – where Yuri would be competing against Phichit.
(6th Event) Rostelecom Cup – where Yuri and Yurio would face each other again ad when Osha would be going home until the final.
Unfortunately, Yuri still had the block competition of the "Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu Championship" due to his EXTREMELY poor performance in the Nationals last year.
…
Russian Dictionary
Vitya – Victor
Oshi – Osha
Da – Yes
Yura/Yurio (Japanese) – Yuri
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