Destined

Shush

ONE DAY TO JAP NATIONALS let me die in a corner just like quietly here okay bye// on a side note, I can't follow all his competitions and accurately say which jumps he landed and all, so take note that all the competitions here are probably made up. Don't kill me.

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Koharu's POV

That day, Yuzuru made me promise about not telling Coach Brian about his condition. I could understand his feelings towards the situation, and respected his choice. But I had a bad feeling about not telling Brian.

For the rest of the week, Yuzuru trained extremely hard for his upcoming Finlandia something. I'm not too sure about figure skating competitions.

"LOOK AT THAT WEE BOY, HE'S SO SKINNY," Nam shouted, a comical expression plastered on his face. Apparently, Yuzuru had lost some weight, and had the tailor adjust his costume. He'd been mocked by Nam ever since this morning, running around in nothing but white socks and his costume, albeit baggy around his midriff.

That evening, just before my shift ended, I heard soft knocks on my glass window.

The head of Winnie the Pooh appeared, and in a very squeaky Japanese voice, it said, "Can you come with me?"

I got out of the office, and Yuzuru knelt under the counter, laughing, with Pooh in his hands.

"Come," he whispered, a cheeky grin on his face. He beckoned me to follow him, and ran off in his skates.

The tailor did a good job of adjusting his costume, as it didn't have the same bagginess it had earlier. But you could see how terribly skinny he was.

He pointed to the front row of seats, where there was a small Pooh Tsum Tsum (the same one I was holding in his house) on that particular seat.

"Relax, and enjoy," he grinned, taking off his skate guards and bowing to the ice.

As he took his position, the lights dimmed and the opening bars of his music played. A quick glance upwards told me that Brian was watching his programme, too. But other than the three of us, the club was empty and silent.

He moved with fluidity, so much grace that I couldn't possibly replicate with this clumsy body I had. He had a determined look set upon his features, all traces of the goofy Pooh-loving boy gone. He landed his quads, very cleanly, even making small victorious gestures.

As the climax of the music approached, I could see him breathing through his mouth, like a goldfish. Open and closed, open and closed.

I heard a voice on my right.

"He's physically rather weak, yeah?" Brian asked, a small frown clouding his face.

"He's gotta work on his stamina. Maybe we should bring him running outside, in the hills," he continued, studying his last jump, which was landed, but wobbly. Like he had no strength to hold on.

"Um, I think running in this cold weather wouldn't do much good to him, he just needs more time," I stammered.

If Brian took him out to the hills for long distance running and in the winter, it'd be a miracle for him to not plank face-flat halfway through.

"I think he's a young healthy chap, should be able to take a little bit of running, though we do need to work on his step sequence," he said, pointing at Yuzuru, who was going through the step sequence now.

And when the programme finally ended, with him in his finishing pose, he sat on the ice, and lay down. From a distance, one could see the heaving of his chest.

I can't rush to him, Brian will notice, I thought.

So when he was feeling a little better, and coming back to the rink side, I handed him his skate guards, saying, "That was beautiful, Yuzuru,"

And as he put the guards on, I whispered beside his ear, "You can't hide it from him forever, Yuzuru."

He stiffened up, but grinned at me, ignoring my warning.

"Just call me Yuzu," he said.