Worlds 2018

Chapter 2: Meeting him

"Do you have my redbull?" Shoma asked Mihoko as he sat down next to Katsuki, a towel around his neck.

"You just drank your last one before warm up, but you are welcome to go buy one in the entry hall" Mihoko said looking at the tv screen showing boyang Jin skating.

He took his wallet from his bag and started to walk out of the room. He was still wearing his skates and costume, even though the possibility of him getting on the podium was relatively small, he still needed to be prepared to step back on the ice if needed. Right now he felt like shit, his muscles were sore and everything he wanted to do, was flop down on his hotel bed and cry out the frustration. This had not been a satisfying skate and he was disappointed in himself. Knowing that he wasn't able to perform at his best tore him slightly apart.

He placed a hand on the wall, using it to support his tired body. At this point he could not feel the pain in his left ankle. The pain had subsided after he had gotten the shot with painkillers earlier this morning. It had not been an easy decision to get the shot and finished the competition. He had been talking with his mother on the phone before he had chosen, she had told him to withdraw and take some time to rest, yet he had felt the need to finish what he had started. Now that Yuzuru had withdrawn after the injury he had gotten at the olympics, he felt like he was the only one left to defend his country's reputation. Katsuki had stepped up though, at least that was what he had heard, he hadn't had enough time to watch the rest of team Japan.

He looked around the corridor, to his luck it was empty. He didn't feel like crashing into a lot of fans right now, wanting him to pose for pictures and sign autographs. He loved his fans and the support they showed him, but it could be tiering sometimes.

As he approached the vending machines he noticed the silhouette of a girl, standing next to the machines, her back turned towards him. She was wearing a bordeaux winter jacket with a fur hood, a black messenger back was standing on the floor next to her. She had her brown hair tied in a high ponytail running down her back. He watched her as he walked closer to where she was standing. She raised her hands to head height, at first he was confused to why she was holding her hands like that. As he stood approximately a meter behind her, he realised that the underside of her hands were tattered with a red substance. Realising it was blood he felt a slight worry for the unknown girl.

"You okay?" He asked the girl, standing by her side.

"I'm fine, thank you" she said giving him a quick glance, before she turned her head, looking at him with big brown eyes.

"Shoma???" She said quietly and looked at him confused, tilting her head a little to the left.

"Your hands are ...um.. red" He said pointing at her hand.

He knew that his english wasent the best, and hoped she understood him anyway. She only blinked at him, staying quiet. Maybe she doesn't speak english too. He took the towel from around his neck and held it towards the girl. She looked between the towel and his eyes, before shaking her head.

"No thanks, it will just get blood on". He was kinda confused by the refusal of his help. He furrowed his eyebrows looking down at her.

He heard the click of the door lock, and an elderly man walked out, staring weirdly at them both, before walking away. Apparently the girl saw it as a mean of escape, and she slipped into the bathroom locking the door.

What a strange girl, he whispered to himself and turned his attention towards the vending machine. Why was her hands bleeding anyway? He took out his wallet, inserting the proper amount of money before pressing the bottom for his drink. As he bowed down reaching for the well known can, he noticed the black bag still standing on the floor.

He was trying to decide whether or not he should stay and watch over her bag, even though he had promised Mihoko to be back as fast as possible. He wondered if she was here alone, normally the fans would go to competitions along with some friends. She looked to be around the same age as him, maybe a little younger.

He stood for a couple of minutes waiting for her to come out of hiding. Was she waiting for him to leave? Finally she opened the door and peaked out at him. Their eyes connected, and she slowly stepped out of the room.

"You forgot the bag", He said putting the weight on the other foot, putting the can of Red Bull into his other hand.

She bowed her head slightly, saying a small "thank you" in japanese.

He couldn't help but smile at her small polite gesture, as she took her bag. The shy girl had somehow managed to take his mind away from the stress caused by the competition, and he liked the small moment of escape. She was about to turn around, but he stopped her by softly grabbing onto her wrist. The crowds cheer could be heard all the way to where they stood, another skater must just have finished their performance. He turned her hand around, so he could see her palm. The blood were gone, but the small cuts looked red and sore.

"Come with me" He said and started to drag her with him back to the competitioners area. She let herself be dragged, but seemed a little hesitant of what he was doing.

"What are we doing?" She jogged up next to his side.

"I help you" Speaking english wasn't normally a thing he would get embarrassed about, but he felt a little bit embarrassed by his poor attempt at speaking, especially when she spoke the language so fluently.

She didn't seem to be be bothered by it though. He pushed the door open for them to enter, holding it open for her as she stepped in. Mihoko were immediately in front of them, scrolding Shoma for taking so long time. He brushed her aside, setting the girl on a chair next to his sports bag. He sat down on the floor next to her, pacing his red bull on the floor and dig into his bag.

"You have to get ready, you are going to, at minimum, get a second place. The only one left is Nathan". Mihoko informed Shoma in Japanese.

He found the pack of bandaids and took some of them out. Shoma only registered half of what she just said, too focused on helping the female sitting on the chair, in front of him.

"And you might be?" Mihoko said in english looking at the girl.

"My name is Jessica ". She told them.

Shoma took his hands forward, motioning for her to do the same. She showed him her hands, and he started to put on the bandaids.

"Shoma it's not time to go around picking up pretty girls" Mihoko said now in japanese tabing her foot on the floor.

Warmth rose to his cheeks, he suddenly had a fear for the girl understanding what Mihoko said even if it was in japanese, after all she had said thank you in their language. The small smile on her lips, told him that she had caught onto at least some part of the meaning.

"I got a bit delayed" He admitted, patting the last bandaid on her hand.

"Well, you can't exactly bring people here, she doesn't have the proper permission" Mihoko wasn't exactly mad at him, he knew that, but she seemed to be a little irritated, by his lack of focus on the competition at hand.

"You make it sound like I stole her from someone". He stood up, throwing out the wrapping for the bandaids.

"Shoma we need you for the medal ceremony" a worker yelled into the room.

It was first at this point, that he realized, that he somehow had managed to win a medal. It must really have gone bad for the other skaters, if none of them had managed to top his score. He looked back at the brown eyed girl, as Mihoko placed an arm behind his back, and they walked out of the competitor area.

He knew that she wasn't gonna be there when he came back, but some part of him felt like he wanted to meet her again.