An Unwavering Love (A Yuri Plisetsky Fanfiction)

Chapter 23: Six Degrees of Separation

[Sports Champions Club, Saint Petersburg—2nd week of September (5 weeks later)]

@a.matsumoto New York stole my heart. @fsnewyork @thirtyparkplace

Yuuri Katsuki was taking a break from practice, scrolling through Instagram. No matter how many times he swiped down at Ayumi's feed, there were no new posts. Her last photo was a view of the city skyline from her window. It was the only one she posted ever since that night.

"So, anything?" Viktor asked, sitting next to him and taking his skates off.

He shook his head. "Nothing. I guess it really is that bad."

Ethan's admission did nothing to appease Yuri's fans. The media was not there to broadcast it, so they still saw Ayumi as the girl who ruined their idol's life and continued to bombard her Instagram with vile comments. Even the Matsumoto Corporation's PR team could not handle the onslaught and stayed quiet. Since then, she has not posted anything apart from that one photo.

But that did not mean it got harder to keep up with her. To find updates, they did not have to look very far. Various accounts, society pages and even Page Six have posted sightings of her either walking along Fifth Avenue with a cup of coffee or reading books at Columbia University's iconic Butler Library. She was sombre in every photo, but she did look like she belonged in New York.

They were about to head to the locker rooms when Yuri entered the rink. He did not say anything to them, just as he always did since Ayumi left. Viktor honestly expected him to recoil to the spiteful personality he had before befriending her, but that was not the case. Though he was still the same salty teenager, he spent the last month in silence, focusing on his routines and perfecting the quad loop he planned on executing that season. He has gotten better at it—all he needed to work on is consistency.

Yuri's silence online had the world believing he no longer cared, but his rink mates knew better. They often caught him on breaks checking social media for photos of her. They knew how much he longed to speak to Ayumi, but even they couldn't reach her. She has completely blocked off everyone from Saint Petersburg.

Well, everyone except Yakov. He was still her coach, after all. Ayumi started contacting him three weeks after she left, telling him that she joined Columbia's Figure Skating Club and established a temporary home base at Chelsea Piers Sky Rink. She even gave him a copy of her class schedule as well as her ice times. She had two regular practice sessions, one in the morning and one in the evening. He arranged to call her every 1 p.m. (6 a.m. EST), coaching her via video chat.

Speaking of which...

"Ayumi," Yakov's voice boomed when their scheduled call started. The two skaters paused, and they noticed Yuri stop practicing his free leg and look at his direction. "Have you read your assignments for the Grand Prix?"

Her face appeared on screen, but she clearly did not see them. "Yes, coach. I'm assigned to the Cup of China and Skate America."

"Well, I'm out of luck. None of the others are assigned there. This'll be a tiring season for me."

Viktor saw Yuri sulk. He wondered if the girl was secretly pleased she did not have to face any of them before the final.

"I'm sure you'll work it out coach," she comforted Yakov. "Actually, there's something I wanna say before we begin practice today."

He looked at the screen suspiciously. "What is it?"

"I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've decided... I've decided that this will be the last season I'll have you as my coach."

They all turned to look at Yakov in shock. He snapped. "What?! Why?"

She gave him a sad smile. "I just think it might be best if the tension between Yuri and I won't loom over everyone else anymore. I'm sure they'd feel more comfortable if I wasn't around. I've already contacted Coach Celestino to ask if he's willing to take me in, but I'm secretly hoping Coach Brian will agree so I can have Toronto as a training base."

"Are you sure about that, Ayumi?" Yakov asked. Viktor clutched Yuuri's hand and hoped she would say no, but... "Yes, coach. I think I am."

They winced. Yuri left the ice with a hopeless expression on his face. Yakov gave her a terse nod, acknowledging her choice. "Okay then. I'll make sure you win on your last season with me. Start warming up so we can proceed with your free program. Go!"

"Yes, Coach Yakov!"

------

Staring at his new phone inside the locker rooms, Yuri honestly felt like ripping his hair out.

He tried his hardest to pretend he was okay with the way things were, but knowing the last shred of contact he had with her would completely disappear at the end of the season was aggravating. Pressing the call button again, he was not surprised that it only rang once then directed him to voicemail. It was not the first time he tried to call her after she blocked his number.

Damn. She's still so beautiful, he thought as he scrolled through photos of her in New York. The city was treating her well, and she was slowly finding her place at Columbia. He knew classes for them have just started, yet Ayumi was already participating in community programs and volunteering in non-profit organizations. She appeared at home where she was... far away from him.

He wanted to move on and forget, but every harsh word he said and every mistake he made continued to haunt him. They both had faults, but it was clear he lit the fuse. If he did not let the stress and the pressure get to him, maybe he could have gone through it another way. He could have reasoned with her instead of slamming down on her that night. He could have talked to her instead of ranting to Otabek first. He could have acted on her weird behaviour sooner—if only he did not focus solely on himself.

"You should have known better than to trust someone like me. I'm a rich heiress who wants nothing more than to gain more money and marry a man who can help expand the family business. I can't have real, honest feelings like a normal person could."

Yuri couldn't stomach how she spoke about herself. He knew who she was, and she was nowhere near the person she described. The fact that she said that meant she accepted the critiques from his fans, believing it was the exact same girl he saw in her.

Dammit, Ayu! You're so stupid! If you just stayed, you'd know that isn't true!

He decided to shake it off and go back on the ice. There was no time for him to mope around while the Grand Prix series was getting closer and closer. He swore to win, beat the Katsudon's free skate record, and eventually win gold at the Olympics. He cannot let his frustrations about Ayumi get in the way of that.

After a gruesome six hours, it was time to call it a day. He freshened up, packed his skating bag, and prepared to leave. Just as he was about to exit the door, however, he ran across a woman dressed in a black trench coat and stiletto heels. His eyes widened. Standing right in front of him, in all her splendour, was Ayumi's mother Vivian.

"Yuri, may I have a word with you?"