How dumb of him to not even realize it at the beginning? The woman that he loved had been through a lot in life since childhood, and he could never, ever, give her that one thing for her to finally seek happiness.

A normal life.

Without a sound, he got dressed up and wrapped Louise in his coat. He kissed her forehead one last time and left.

Since he got out of that apartment's door, Ojiro has never been the same. It had taken a toll on his life and completely left him with no control over it. When he broke down in tears inside the men's toilet, sitting on the floor with his skates on while his forehead leaned on one hand, sobbing silently, looking like a complete loser, he couldn't help but be unfairly bitter.

You did this to me. YOU DESTROYED ME.


But he knows that the time will ultimately come, and he needs to face it. He can't live like that anymore, so during his free skating, he poured everything into it.


He skated to a song called "With all my heart," a Japanese lullaby that he heard Louise singing to him one time when he got home beat up from his training.


As he closed his eyes, he listened to her voice while he drifted into sleep, calming himself down into her careful hold of her soft hands in his face.

These tiny hands of mine, every time I hold you

can only grasp happiness.

When everything falls apart

Why do we let go of each other's hands?

and then get lost.

in the future

On an ordinary day,

such today,

My only wish is to be

by your side

and, in simple words,

I want

to convey it to you.

with all my heart.

"I love you."

Will it reach you?

If someday

the flame in our hearts

Will go away.

Wherever you go

In simple words,

I still want

to convey it to you.

with all my shattered hearts

"I love you."

Will it reach you?

As I hum to you, this song

the tiny hands of mine

that grasps the

shadow of our past

I play our memories in my head.

With a smile...

He's supposed to be dedicating this performance to Louise and actually attempting to propose to her again afterwards, but instead it became his final goodbye to the love of his life.

"We all know about this rumored romance between you and this woman named Maria Louisia Diaz has been going around. Does this have an effect on your preparations for the Worlds?"

He can feel everyone's eyes dissecting him and the NSF official's, Daisuke-san, staring right through him.

"Regarding that person, you mentioned. I don't want to hear that woman's name at a public event like this ever again." He firmly announced it into the mic.

The next moments are filled with awkward silence, and then they proceed to the next series of questions. It's a relief for Ojiro that the sports journalists can only ask one question each, and the next one's is back to the season's highlights.

When the press conference was over, he asked his staff to get him directly to his hotel. As soon as he got out of the elevator, he was tackled by someone and pressed him hard to the wall.

"What do you mean you didn't want to hear Louise's name, huh?!" It was Nissho and he's screaming at Ojiro's face, clasping his friend's team Japan jacket tightly.

They both represent their country in men's singles including one kohai but since he and Louise had broken up, Nissho, his nephew Kaimen and his friend Ichika had stopped talking to him.

Yoshio acted immediately, ready to get between them, but Ojiro signaled him to stop.

Without showing any emotion, Ojiro shots up to him said to him in his cold voice, "Unhand me."

Nissho clasps his clothing more tightly in response. "I know I am not the one to talk. But how could you do this to her?! How could you forget her like that?!" he spats.

Ojiro didn't make any movement. Every time that he remembers how the people close to him that have witnessed his relationship with Louise have grown fond of her, he can't help but smile. Now that they had stopped seeing each other, they have also become cold and distant to him especially now with all the ongoing rumors in the fandom about him and Aimi Suzuki, and now that he confronted and stopped the media from announcing Louise's name in the public, his friend Nissho might had enough of it.

"I thought I already know you Ojiro Korishima...but turns out I'm wrong. How can you do this to the person that cared and suffered the most for you?!" Nissho blurted out.

Ojiro lowered his head, not meeting his gaze. "I don't want anything to do with that person anymore."

"Oi!"

"If you want to go after her then go, you can have her Nissho. You seem to be really interested on her now anyway--"

"Fucking asshole!" Nissho launches to Ojiro, punching him to the face that sends him sprawling on the floor, but he didn't make any movement to fight back.

Yes. I deserved that.

Yoshio acts quickly and manages to get Nissho away from Ojiro and warns him that if he will make any movement against his client, he will gonna regret it but Nissho didn't listen. He launches again and grabs Ojiro's jacket that makes other staff to move, trying to get him away from Ojiro.

"Say that again after I tell you this." He gritted his teeth. "Louise got sexually assaulted."

Ojiro blink's his eyes, his senses coming back to him. His head turns slowly to Nissho. "What did you just say?" he whispers.

But the staffs grabbed Nissho away from and twisted Nissho's arm in his back to ensure he won't attack Ojiro again.

"Nissho, what are you saying?!" Ojiro is the one who grabbed his friend this time.

Nissho checks the surroundings before talking. The lobby is clear, and they're only alone with Ojiro's staff that signed an NDA, so he goes on. "It happened during the earthquake relief show."

Ojiro shook his head, everything dawning in him now remembering the way Louise cried so much that day.

I just want a normal life.

Ojiro slumps on the floor, his remaining strength leaving his body.

"Nissho...I don't know what to do anymore," he sobs. Burying his face on a hand.

Nissho taps his friend's shoulder in comfort. Ojiro's staff stands there, not knowing what to do, watching the champion that they have looked up to for so many years sit there on the floor, crying.

--Your Votes and comments means the world to me! <3