Yays! Computer is finally unpacked so I can now put up the new update! I hope you enjoy the it.
Note: I do not own Skip Beat!.
When breakfast was cleared away, the two couples got dressed for the day. It was Christmas and there had been snow last night, so they decided it would be a wonderful idea to go for a walk in the nearby park. Kyoko almost danced as she led the way down the walkway into the public park. Someone had already been out to salt the path so that no one would fall in the ice. Ren laughed at his love while Yashiro and Catherine followed the actors. Yashiro stayed very close to Catherine as they walked along the damp path. When they got to the center of the park, they found that someone had sat up an ice rink.
"Let's go ice skating!" Kyoko pulled on Ren's arm in her excitement. Ren smiled and started to follow the girl over to the rink. He stopped as two things crossed his mind. The girls had left his wallet at home so he did not have any money, and he did not think it would be a good idea for Catherine to get out on the ice. Catherine solved his dilemma for him by stepping up next to the girl.
"I think that it a wonderful idea." Catherine pulled the girl away from the actor and when to get ice skate for all of them. Ren exchanged a worried look with Yashiro before following the two women. The guys collected their skates and found a place to change their shoes.
In no time at all Kyoko was up and moving around the rink at full speed. She loved to skate. Ren was taking it a little easier. He knew how to skate, but it had been a while since he had done it. He moved slower remembering how to stand on the slippery surface. When Kyoko zipped past him for the second time, he gave up his caution and chased after her. She squealed in delight as she saw the man pursuing her and raced off into the crowd gathered on the ice.
Catherine took a little more care in getting up on her feet, but it was still only a few minutes till she was moving around the rink in a leisurely pace. It was Yashiro that was having the real problem. He had never been on ice skates before and was a little intimidated by the slick ice. He stood just outside the rink's opening and watched as his friends whizzed past him laughing at each other. Catherine saw the man's plight and stopped by bumping into the wall in front of him.
"Give me your hand Yuki." Catherine held out her hand for him to take. Reluctantly he took it and let her pull him through the door and onto the ice. Yashiro held on to Catherine's hand and the wall for dear life as he found out how to keep his feet under him on the smooth ice. Once he was more stable, Catherine turned him in the right direction and taught him how to push off so he could move. She held on to his hand and pulled him away from the wall so that they could move together around the rink. Catherine stood close to his side and helped him maintain his balance as the faster skaters passed them.
When Kyoko and Ren caught up to them again, the young actress stopped to see if they needed any help. Catherine waved her on and continued to lead her lover around the rink as a slow pace. He was starting to get the hang of it so Catherine picked up the speed a little till they were keeping pace with the other couples skating hand in hand. Every time Yashiro would hit a rough spot on the ice and get off balance, Catherine would grab on to him and stabilize him. Ren and Kyoko slowed their racing to skate hand in hand a few feet behind their managers.
Yashiro had done very well on his first trip out on the ice, with Catherine's help he managed not to hit the ice. The two couples skated around for a long time till a group of younger teens got on the ice. They were pulling the same antics that Ren and Kyoko had done when they first hit the ice together, but these kids were not paying attention to the other skaters around them. One of the boys slammed into Yashiro's side as he skidded out of control through the skaters. This caused the unstable man to flail as he tried to keep from going down. Catherine tried to catch him, but another one of the boys bumped into her and the couple when down to the ice hard. Catherine had turned to catch Yashiro so when they started down, he wrapped his arms around the girl and brought her down on top of him.
A very frightened noise issued from Kyoko as she watched the brats bang into the managers and go racing off into the crowd. She had half a mind to go chasing after the naughty boys, but she was held back by her concern for the couple sprawled on the ice. Kyoko swung around to stand over the fallen pair while Ren took up a position on the other side. This protected the struggling couple from the skaters that were passing around them. There were a lot of people watching, but seeing that the unlucky couple had help, they skated on their way.
"Are you alright?" Kyoko asked as she squatted down to pull Catherine from Yashiro's arms. He held onto the girl protectively as he lay on his back trying to catch his breath. The hard hit with Catherine's added weight had served to knock it from him.
"I think so." Catherine answered as she sat back on the ice. Her worries were for the man that she had landed on. "Are you ok?" Yashiro coughed and stared up at his worried friends as his vision cleared. He slowly sat up as he recovered from the fall.
"Ya, I'm ok." Yashiro straightened his glasses were they had come dislodged before rubbing the back of his head. He had wacked it on the ice when he went down. They sat on the ice for a moment longer as Yashiro collected himself. Once he was more together, he nodded again. "I think we're good." Catherine slid across the ice to give the man a hug before getting to her feet. Ren helped Yashiro up and the four friends made their way off the ice. Sitting on the frozen water for so long had soaked through the managers' clothing and they needed to go back before they caught cold.
Kyoko and Ren went to get their shoes while Catherine and Yashiro found a seat on a nearby bench. Yashiro had still not recovered fully from the fall and was ready to get out of the ice skates. As he pulled them off, a very mad woman pulled the two culprits that had caused the accident over to stand in front of their victims. She grabbed their heads and forced them both into low bows before joining them.
"I would like to apologize to you for the trouble my boys have caused." The angry mother addressed the managers. Yashiro accepted her apology and bowed his head to her from where he sat, he had already pulled the skates off which made standing on the snow covered ground impossible. Kyoko came back with their footwear as the mother dragged her sons away for more punishment. Catherine smiled as her eyes followed the woman scolding her sons. Kyoko noticed her hand resting on her stomach again.
"I think we need to go back to the ryokan." The young woman announced when Yashiro sneezed from the cold just as a very light snow started falling again.
Author's note: Sorry for the short chapter, I have not had much time to get anything done. Now that I am back at home, I will have time to get back to the main story line. Thanks for your continued interest.