In Our Corner of the World || y.h.

twenty-eight ; without you

It had been three months.

Three months and Yuzuru had been training almost every single day, preparing himself at any given competition, even spending his free time skating, not wanting to have any free time if that were possible.

He used to spend his free time with her, lying on the sofa with her in his arms, playing with her hair and the lingering scent of jasmine always stuck with him whenever she was around. He didn't know it was possible, but the smell never left him.

He was in Canada the day when the pain kicked in again. The ankle didn't seem to be getting any better, and him pressuring it to keep on going was only going to make it worse.

His coaches could see the pain as well. Their faces filled with worry, and Brian, who was viewing him from the side with Javier, watched with worry.

"He's not taking a damn break." Brian said.

"What do you expect? The man just made the biggest mistake of his life." Javi pointed out.

"How do you think we get him to stop?" Brian asked.

"Beats me. He's young, so he feels everything too much. He's always so confident, but he felt so inferior and that was when he broke up with Misaki."

"Well, I'm not a love coach. I coach skaters, not relationships. And right now, I need him to take a break so his ankle can rest." Brian said, "Yuzuru!"

Yuzuru came to the side of the rink, "Yeah, coach?"

"I need you to really do me a favour. You really have to do this if you want to win at your next competition by a landslide." Brian begged.

"What is it coach? Anything." 

"I need you to take a week off."

"What?" His facial expression changed from curious to confused, "Why?"

"Because, your ankle's going to get worse if you keep on skating now and you're going to wear yourself out. Trust me. If you don't do this, I'm taking you out of the competition." 

Yuzuru let out a sigh. He really was going to get the free time he dreaded. Defeated, he reluctantly agreed to take the week off. But being alone in Canada was something he had never actually done before. It was always his mother that would be around him but now that she's more comfortable in their hometown, he's got no one to turn to.

Walking back with his earphones blasting some rock music, he suddenly paused when he recalled the time he was on the bus during a school trip, and he had heard Misaki's music taste for the very first time, and that it was the similar type of rock music he was listening to at the moment.

I wonder how you're doing without me. He thought to himself.

Misaki began daydreaming in her dressing room as she was shooting for her upcoming film. She plays the lead in a movie whose relationship was slowly deteriorating and the two leads have to decide whether to make it work or to walk away.

As she recited her lines, she was able to improvise on the questions she asks he co-star.

"Do you really want to give up on this? I don't want to be the one that got away. I want to wake up next to you thirty years from now, and see a life fully spent by your side. I don't want to give away that chance because of something stupid we did while we're young."

She suddenly began crying, and that certainly was not in the script. But once she showed raw tears and emotion, the director completely fell in love with her acting.

"Cut!" The director shouted, "That was phenomenal, Misaki. You truly are a gifted actress."

"Thank you." She thanked, still producing tears.

"Are you alright? Do you need a tissue?" Her co-star asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just going to go to my trailer and fix my make-up." She assured them and walked away, realising that those were indeed the words she had wanted to say all along. Words that never got through because she was indeed the one that got away.

I'll have to learn to live without you. It's not my first time. She sighed at the disappointing thought.

"In first place, Yuzuru Hanyu!" The announcer said through the sound system, and the ice soon became a see of yellow pooh bears and flowers. He was used to seeing these types of crowds, and the cheers were deafening, but he loved every moment of it.

Though winning the gold medal he had always dreamed of, he can't help but look around the arena of the foreign country, in hopes of recognising a familiar pair of starry brown eyes, and a smile of someone he loves directed at him.

Trying to keep his expression, he can't help but feel sad. He doesn't want the medal suddenly. He glanced at his coach, who gave him a thumbs up, but then he looks at the crowd with a smile, and it wasn't a smile that meant happiness.

It was a smile that translated to memories of the words she said echoing in his mind, and her ghost haunting him. It was a smile that meant the realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks. He was holding the world in his hands, but he was in misery.

You could hold the world in your hands and win everything, but I hope you realise I'm not going to be there anymore, Hanyu Yuzuru.