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..........M.E.R.I.D.I.A.N......L.I.G.H.T.S..........

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The coaches back in the Nagoya Sports Club decided to bring the whole team to Hiroshima Prefecture to observe the 2006 Japan Junior Championships. We also had some skaters from our club competing in this championship. Hence, explaining the banners that we prepared beforehand splayed around us.

I wasn't able to attend the first half of the SP competition because I had to help my mom set up our things in the apartment we rented. Thankfully, when we finished and arranged everything in order, Coach Omura called and told me that one of the coaches from the club had something to do that morning as well and wasn't able to board the bus. To summarize it all, that coach and I went together to follow the rest of the team in Hiroshima.

When we arrived at the stadium it was already halfway through the competition, the coach left to go to our players leaving me to my own devices. I scanned the bench area before I finally spotted Shoma.

Smiling, I swiftly came over and ruffled his hair before turning again when the crowd cheered as the current skater finished their SP program.

Eh.

My mind blanked out for a moment.

I hadn't expected this.

Logically, I knew he was around that age already to be competing in these kinds of competition. In my mind, however, he would always be the eight-something-year-old boy that never grew up.

Just like in my video.

I was still in a state of shock as a certain mushroom-haired boy left the rink.

*****

The club members were at the hall near the main entrance currently waiting for the bus.

I scanned the surrounding area but to no avail.

Shoma was chatting with the other boys. Coach Omura, together with the other coaches, was handling some official matters. Having nothing better to do, I walked around the side hallways in search of a vending machine. I'm pretty parched from all that yelling I did.

Pulling out some coins, I counted down the change I had if it's enough to buy something or if I had to go back and bully some change out of Shoma.

BAM!

I literally just walked right into a door.

In my defense, I was walking along a clear path, but then the damn door decided to open. Doors normally open on the inside, but this was a glass door that swings inside and out.

Lucky me.

"Sorry!"

Dazed, my eyes watered from the pain as I held my throbbing nose.

"Are you ok?"

"It's fine, I mean I'm fine. Don't worry about it." I lifted my hand to wave the concerns off.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, ye-" I looked up and saw a mushroom-haired boy staring concernedly at me.

A moment of silence descended.

"Uh..."

Earlier on, I actually had plenty to say to this boy. I was searching him out after all.

Maybe it was the suddenness of the situation or my nose throbbing and beginning to turn red like Rudolph that I actually blanked out of anything to say.

What happened next was humiliating beyond belief.

Ever since I was a kid, I had this weird habit that when the situation got too awkward for me, my body just begins to move on its own with what my mind was currently thinking.

Still staring at MMH, an innocent passing staff just minding his own business was immediately grabbed by me. I handed him my phone before going to MMH's side.

Both the staff and MMH was bewildered.

"Picture," I said.

There was an awkward silence before the staff took the picture.

I grabbed the phone, bowed to the staff, then mechanically walked away.

*****

Muffled noises sounded on the bus as I burrowed my face against my bag.

"Era-nee," Shoma started to fidget away cautiously, "you're scaring me."

"Shoma-chan." I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. "I'm ruined," I lamented, before hugging him close.

"There, there," he consoled me, patting me on my back. "What did you do this time?"

*****

Last night, I seriously deliberated whether to just burrow myself in the comfortable covers of my bed or just go on ahead and face the day like a woman.

There wasn't really any choice at all as my Mom dragged me off the bed.

And now, here I was.

Waiting for the next skater to come on the ice and perform their FS.

Sitting beside me, Shoma played around with other boys his age as they began lightly shoving each other. He was starting to grow up. Yes, he's still shy, but not to the point that he'll stay absolutely silent when meeting new people, like the first time we met.

"-on the ice, Hanyu Yuzuru."

Petrified, I watched as MMH glided in the rink... I should probably call him as Hanyu... Yuzuru... I'll stick with Yuzuru.

I shrunk into my seat as Yuzuru gestured to the crowd, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't notice me sticking out like a sore thumb among a group of pre-teen boys. It wouldn't do at all to see that weird foreign girl from yesterday observing you in the stands and subsequently messing up your routine.

Yuzuru then got into center ice and posed.

https://youtu.be/8-0w1IEYD0s

Wow.

This boy never did fail to amaze me.

He proceeded to do triples that were so fluid, I wouldn't mind giving him a GOE+3... that may be an exaggeration but hell, I couldn't even belt out consecutive triples like that.

He glided around the rink before he did a double-double-double combination.

...

What the heck was this kid eating?

I nearly choked on my own saliva as Yuzuru did a spread eagle before doing a double Axel.

Successfully.

A double Axel.

With such a difficult entry.

From that point on, I stopped thinking and merely enjoyed his performance.

I cheered as the crowd cheered. I think I cheered the loudest judging from the discreet looks Shoma was throwing at me. The incident from yesterday was suppressed in the back of my mind at the moment.

My god. I was such a fangirl.

Yuzuru's step sequence was fluid and his spins were strong and fast. I did notice that he seemed out of breath near the end though.

Flinching, I gripped the edges of my seat as he stumbled from that jump.

He was on his last combination before he finished his program with a flourish.

The crowd cheered.

Again, I think I cheered the loudest as I stood and jumped up and down giddily. I felt way too excited about this. Thinking back on it, I should probably be ashamed of myself. Even Shoma was openly staring at me with a weird look on his face.

I couldn't help it.

Trembling, the excitement and adrenaline came rushing back to me. This was the same electric feeling that I experienced two years ago. The same feeling that got me into figure skating in the first place.

In the end, he didn't get on the podium. He placed 7th overall.

Japan Nationals were in an entirely different level compared to the nationals in the Philippines. Even if we were in the same division, the skaters here were clearly more skilled than the skaters in my country. If I were to compete in this country, I highly doubt that I would even get to step on the podium.

*****

Coming from the restroom, I strode off the hallway towards the main entrance. The team bus would be leaving soon.

Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks as I saw a woman emerged from one of the rooms holding some luggage. I'm normally an easy going person and I'm fine when it came to meeting other people. The problem was I recognized this woman.

It was Yuzuru's coach. The same coach who always trailed behind him throughout the whole competition.

Channeling my inner ninja, I immediately hid behind a nearby vending machine.

I was not over yesterday's incident. The embarrassment ate me up whenever I thought about it. Even though I really would like to get to know the person who inspired me to go into figure skating, I wasn't ready. Maybe in a year. Or a few years... never?

Someone tapped me on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

Begone, I thought, as I watched the woman's back striding down the hall while simultaneously watching out for a certain someone.

I was tapped again and I flicked the offending hand away with my own.

I froze from my crouched position as my mind finally caught up to me.

"It's you," a cheeky voice came directly behind me.

I nearly let out a whimper.

"This is not what it looks like," I began with downcast eyes before slowly turning around, still on a crouching position.

Yuzuru sported a cute smile on his thoroughly amused face as he looked down on me.

"Wah. You really do speak Japanese."

"Um, yes." I awkwardly stood up. Now I was the one looking down on him. He only reached the level of my shoulders. He was taller than Shoma, who only reached below the level of my chest.

Subconsciously, I compared the two boys in my mind.

Shoma was a shy boy, especially when meeting new people. He wasn't really keen on strangers but he would respond if a stranger asked him something. On the other hand, Yuzuru seemed perfectly fine and in control when meeting new people as a certain confidence exuded from him. He even took the initiative to talk to a weird stalker-esque foreign girl. Me.

He let out an astonished sound as he continued to stare up at me.

Heat began to creep up my cheeks. This was getting too awkward for me again. I decided to abort mission before my body decided to move automatically like yesterday.

"Uh, see you," I quickly stumbled through my words before striding off.

"Wait!" Yuzuru grasped my hand forcing me to a stop.

"Who are you?" He asked curiously while still holding my hand.

"I..." My mind stuttered before I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "I'm Ela."

"Era." Yuzuru blinked up at me before a smirk covered his face and finally letting my hand go. "I'm Yuzuru."

"Yes, I know," I quickly replied, before shutting my mouth. I closed my eyes in horror.

Yuzuru burst out in laughter.

"You're funny."

Glad to know. Now watch as the ground swallows me.

"Look," I began, rubbing my forehead, "I'm sorry. You must think I'm pretty weird. No, I am not a stalker. And yes, I do agree that I'm weird. Sometimes, my brain just overloads and I do weird stuff. Sorry about that."

He just tilted his head at my explanation.

"It's ok." He shrugged. "I was just curious. You don't look Japanese. That's why I was surprised when you spoke our language."

I smiled in relief at that.

His opinion mattered much more to me than I thought.

"Great job at the competition, by the way." I smiled at him, slowly getting in my comfort zone again. "I really enjoyed your program."

"Thanks." He rubbed the back of his head as a faint yet sad side grin peeked out. "I didn't win though."

"Win or lose. I really loved your program." I looked at him with intensity surprising him, and even myself. But this was what I really felt deep down in my heart. "The way you moved on the ice, the utter fluidity of your steps, your spins were just so intense and beautiful and heck, even your jumps were amazing! The way you do your Axel was just insane," I rambled on before I noticed the slowly turning red boy in front of me.

"Sorry, this is just me being weird again." I waved my hand, laughing nervously.

We smiled shyly at each other, both red-faced for various reasons.

"Do you skate too?" Yuzuru smiled shyly, a dusting of pink still covering his cheeks.

"Actually, yes. I'm a member of the Grand Prix Tokai SC. Um, it's a skate club in Nagoya," I answered casually, thinking back to my group back in the hall. Now that I thought about it. Wouldn't I miss the bus? I was in here for a pretty long time.

"-goya, so far." I faintly heard him mutter something.

"Huh? What?"

"Ah, it's nothing." He shook his head. "I skate in Sendai at Katsuyama FC."

Oh. Silly me for assuming that he's from Jingu, Tokyo.

Sendai... I haven't heard of that place before. Maybe it's a province?

"Ferrer-san." I turned as someone called out to me. It was one of the coaches beckoning me over. "We're leaving soon."

"Ah, hai." I quickly bowed at the Coach. He then left and strode towards the entrance.

"Well, that's me." I turned to Yuzuru again. "I have to go. It's really nice meeting you. Again, great skate out there. I hope to see more of your programs soon." I smiled at the thought of that. I wondered how many more beautiful programs he would come up with in the future.

"Will I see you again?" he asked. He had a strange expression on his face that I couldn't decipher.

What a weird question.

"Probably." I shrugged. I really didn't know.

I know I'll see him either on TV or on social media videos, he had a great future ahead of him. I just don't know how long it would take me before I'm skilled enough to take part in international competitions.

I gave him one last grin.

"We'll see."

I waved at him before turning around and following behind the coach.

*****

"Elana, your mom and I are just gonna head to the convenience store, you want anything?" Dad asked, knocking on the door.

By the time I came home from the junior nationals in Hiroshima, I was surprised to see Dad lounging in the living room with my mom in our rented apartment. His excuse was that he didn't have anything urgent to do in work so he just randomly thought to visit Mom and me here in Japan.

I knew for a fact that Dad missed Mom though, so there's really no use in making half-hearted excuses. I knew, Mom knew, and Dad knew. Mom let it slide since she did miss Dad also. Whenever I think of my parents, I couldn't help but roll my eyes exasperatedly and grin at their lovey-dovey antics.

I truly wish I can have a future like this.

"Hm, can you get some ice cream on the way back?" I bit my pen, then I quickly added, "Oh, and tea!"

"Ice cream and tea... will your stomach be ok?" Dad shook his head in mirthful perplexity.

"I'll survive, you did introduce me to isaw, Dad."

"Don't let your mom hear that. She'll skin me alive."

"Hear what, honey?" Mom's voice suddenly called out from the living room, already sounding cross.

"Nothing dear! C'mon, let's go, let's go."

I listened for a while as Dad ushered Mom out, before letting a small laugh escape. Mom was a health freak, she always frowned upon street foods. In contrast, Dad loved to eat them.

Shaking my head, I turned back to my worn notebook.

Unlike other skaters, I wanted to do things in my own style, a little old school when I thought about it. Whereas others would develop programs in the rink itself, I preferred creating mine on paper first.

The pages all had curved shapes on it, ranging from circles to lines, and even obliques, all in different pen colors. Small notes scattered throughout the pages could be seen, some were spins, while others were jumps, and Ina Bauer could even be discerned in one of the shapes.

Whenever I create programs, I had to jot it down immediately after hearing my chosen music. From experience, I worked best in this manner.

A sigh escaped my lips, I tapped the pen on my notebook as I reached a block in my routine.

What next... choctaw? No, too tacky...

Maybe crossover here... no, doesn't fit the music...

Groaning tiredly, I buried my head on my arms and just rested for a moment on the desk. Sometimes, the programs would just come naturally, like a snap.

However, other times, like in this one, I would be stuck in a rut... worse still was that I need to complete this routine soon in time for the next competition. It takes months to master a routine. It would be too late if I delayed completing this program.

I lightly slapped my cheeks, and loudly announced, "Ok! I can do this!"

Yet, in the next ten or so minutes, not a single progress could be seen from my already messy notebook. I swayed back and forth on my computer chair, feet propped on the chair with my arms wrapped around my knees. I let out another sigh.

I turned on my phone, then flipped through the media gallery and found what I was looking for. Before I could press on the play button, I hesitated.

Now that I saw him and knew each other now, albeit not too much... it felt weird to just watch his video again. I mean, it's weird in the first place, but not too strange because back then - in my mind - whenever I watched his video, it was just like watching your idol's video, or watching an instruction video.

But now that I know MMH or Yuzuru...

I bit my lip, hovering my finger on the delete button. My finger trembled as I greatly hesitated for a moment before I then shifted and pressed the play button.

Well, it's not like we're going to see each other again.

To him, I was, after all, only an odd foreign fangirl who just happened to see him skate.

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..........M.E.R.I.D.I.A.N......L.I.G.H.T.S..........

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(That scene at the end is one of the additional scenes that I added. I have many more additional scenes planned.)

(These scenes don't affect the overall story, they're just there to make the story flow more naturally.)