Skate With Me (Victor Nikiforov x Reader)

Chapter 45: Okayama

***

I threw our bags in the trunk of the car we're using. It is thanks to Minako for getting us a car to use. Minako and Takeshi are coming with us as well. Takeshi would be in charge of the wheels. Minako sat on the passenger's seat. Yuuri, Victor and I sat on the back, me in the middle.

I tugged the sleeves of my jacket so it could fully cover up my arms. Right, let me tell you about my outfit. I am wearing some black jeans, white sneakers, a black tank top and a maroon leather jacket to cover my shoulders and arms. Style is also very important.

It is about 6 in the evening when Takeshi started driving and we are now on our way. Where? We've booked a hotel near Okayama International Skate Rink. That would be the venue for Yuuri's first competition. Okayama is about 6 hours away from here.

We stopped by some convenience store from time to time to have some breaks. Yuuri, Victor and I slept almost half of the traveling time to get as much rest as we can before the competition tomorrow. Victor's arm was wrapped around me, as usual. I'm quite surprised his arm isn't getting numb yet.

We were awakened by Minako when we were 45 minutes away from the hotel. It is around 1:00 in the morning. We'd still have enough time to sleep when we get there.

45 minutes passed by in an instant. The car found its way to the parking lot. We all carried our bags up to our room. Minako did the talking with the staff and we all made our way to our room. There were 3 beds inside which means we must share beds. Minako and Yuuri, and Victor and I would share beds while Takeshi will have a bed for himself. He pretty much deserves it. If sitting in a car can get exhausting, how much more can driving?

Before going to bed, I changed into some sleepwear, of course. I've been wearing this outfit almost the whole day since I accompanied Minako to prepare for this trip. We went out and did a little bit of shopping since the once I bought were very few and they weren't enough. I put on a white pajama shirt and shorts then quickly sat on the edge of our bed.

The others were getting ready to sleep too. As they were getting ready, I read out the schedule for tomorrow to remind each of us. "Tomorrow or rather, later, there will be a public practice. The three of us need to get there early so we'll go on ahead of you," I looked at Minako and Takeshi who nod in response.

"Guess we'll all just meet up in the main event, then. We'll also be preparing some foods and we'll just take it there," Minako replied.

I nodded and thanked her. The main event would be later on at night. I kissed Victor goodnight and quickly fell asleep. No time shall be wasted, we shall rest for as much as we can.

***

Yuuri, Victor, and I woke up at around 5 in the morning. Well, Minako woke up a bit earlier than us because she prepared our breakfast. Oh, Minako, what can we do without you?

The meet up with the other skaters would be at seven. I think this is just the right time to wake up. We took our turns in the shower. I went in first then Victor, then Yuuri. Of course, the star should look fresh so he had showered last.

Luckily, there was a dressing room beside the bathroom, so I went ahead and dressed up there without asking the other boys to get out of the room so they wouldn't see me. Gotta look good. Cameras would be all around so why not look our best?

I put on a plain white shirt, white sports trousers that has red and black lines on the sides, a pink jacket, and black boots. I didn't wear the jacket yet, though. I tied it around my waist for now. I'll wear it later in the rink.

As I wait for Minako to prepare breakfast, I went on to fixing my bag: my pink sports duffel. I brought the pink one so somehow, it would go well with my jacket. I placed there my necessities and a change of clothes.

As soon as Yuuri finished showering and is now dressed, breakfast is now served. It makes me excited because there might be a new Japanese delicacy to try. We sat down on the dining chairs. In front of me, there were three slices of rolled omelet, a small bowl of steamed rice, a bowl of miso soup, spinach salad with sesame, and pickled vegetables.

Minako's cooking isn't bad. The food tastes good and this could keep me going til lunch without snacking. Once we've finished eating, we rested for a while then made our way to the rink. It is just a short walk away from here. Before we went out, Minako handed us our IDs. We almost forgot that one. This will give us the authority to go in and out of the building. This was one of the things Minako and I were taking care of yesterday.

From a distance, I can see that the outside of the building is already filled with people. We are going to take the back entrance since the front one is packed with people. It would be quite the trouble to get through in there.

We were sneaking around to the back door when one guy seemed to notice us. "It's Yuuri Katsuki!" He shouted. The majority of people looked our way. Before they could reach us, we made a dash towards the back door to avoid getting interviewed out of nowhere. Luckily, there were guards around the back door and they noticed what is happening right now and they came to help.

We got inside in no time. Like outside, the inside is also filled with people. We were led towards a room by one of the staff. Inside the room, there were some VIPs who get to see us and watch the skaters pick a number from a small bag which decides who'll perform first.

Eyes were glued on us as we went further inside. There were rows of chair, but there were four ones on the front, one of which is not occupied yet, and a lady in formal attire waved at us. We walked towards the lady. She motioned Yuuri to sit on that one chair beside the other three in front. Victor and I sat on the first row of chairs to see a better view.

As I wait for the skaters to get called, I noticed that Yuuri was the eldest among the others he'd compete with.

A moment later, Yuuri gets called. He stood and walked forward towards the lady. He placed his hand inside the sack, moving it around to make the paper he'll pick will be even more random.

At last, he picked a paper and raised it up. He gave it to the lady for her to unfold it. "Skate Katsuki Yuuri, you're up first," she said. Yuuri covered his face with his hands. Surely he didn't want to go first.

The next skater was called, then next to him was Minami. He happy-go-luckily picked a paper and raised it up in joy, "Yay! I'm going fourth!" Yuuri would be much happier if he got that one.