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HE LANDED ON one foot, not without stumbling with the gracefulness of a rhino learning tango. Immediately, Ego called for his attention with a few sarcastic claps that resonated around the entire rink, even over the music.
Reo felt his cheeks grow red with embarrassment.
"That's enough for today, Mikage," his coach said, so bored with him he couldn't even bother to be rude.
Months ago, the dismissal wouldn't have upset him, but now Reo only wanted to disappear. Every day more holes and tears appeared in his confidence, and being his harshest critic, a part of him believed everyone else was becoming more and more aware of the failure he had turned into.
Because that was who he was at the end of the day, a failure.
Shut up.
It was meant to be a process. Every skater had to "recalibrate" after finishing puberty. He was only sixteen, and his body had gone through more changes now in his late teens than it had before. It should be merely a hiccup, he tried to remind himself.
But it was hard to keep optimism when he couldn't tackle old obstacles such as the triple Axel, and the quads he had always struggled with weren't getting any easier. Every practice since he joined Blue Lock — the best team in the country — felt fruitless. It was as if he had lost his touch, or his magic, or whatever talent he had for this sport. Nothing he tried could reverse that, and he should simply stop trying.
But no, he wouldn't let his Olympic dream vanish so fast.
Reo snapped out of his thoughts when Ego's voice rang again. "Isagi, put your skates on."
That was Ego's favorite gem, whether he noticed his favoritism or not. A year ago, Isagi wasn't even on the podium. Now, he was better than whatever Reo could offer on his best day. Reo couldn't help the bitterness that clung to his heart whenever he lay eyes on the other skater, nor could he blame Ego for preferring him.
Was Reo's future meant to be like Kira's? A young, promising skater that couldn't make a lasting impact at senior competitions? Was he meant to retire and do nothing but inspire future skaters as talented as Isagi?
No. He needed to stop with that. Nothing good came out of the negative talk. It sounded too close to giving up, and that was a concept foreign for a Mikage. Fake it till you make it. His pride was the one thing he shouldn't let be ruined.
"I have five minutes left," he argued, reminding Ego he was just as important as Isagi, with or without the same results.
Ego didn't even look up from his notebook. "Will you land that Axel last-minute?"
