Unreachable [yuzusho]

3

Today is the day of the competition. Kazuki and Keiji's competition - nationals. Ive been doing well. Unlike last week. Keiji has been my pillar of support. Everytime I felt a spur of confusing emotions, he was there for me all the way.

Sota and I made our way to our perspective seats in the rink. We were in the front line, closest to the ice. This gave us a clear view of the skaters who were going to perform and compete. "Its cold." Comments Sota despite wearing a longsleeve shirt and a jacket over it. I chuckle at his statement.

We were minutes early for the opening. Thats because we wanted to support our friends even before the competition. Looking around us, I see a group of people making their way to their seats. I make eye contact with a girl who smiles and waves at me. Unsure of what to do, I awkwardly smile back which causes her friends to start whispering and giggling behind her.

I face Sota who was focused on his phone. "What are you doing?" I ask. "Social media and youtube." He plainly answers, eyes still glued to the screen. I take my phone out of my pocket, deciding to play a game but my head started aching so I closed my eyes and tried to relax.

"Sho? Shoma. Its starting. It started." I open my eyes to see Sota shaking me. "Im up. Im up." I groan. I stretch and adjust my eyesight, to see a female skater already on the rink. How long was I asleep? As if he was reading my thoughts, he answers. "You were out for a long time that you missed the first group of ladies. Shes the last to perform." 

"Woah. Really?" I ask, yawning. He laughs at me and we finally gave our full attention to the lady performing. "The way she skates is really beautiful." Comments Sota, eyes still on the girl performing. "Rika Kihira. She just made her senior debut." As Rika finished her program, a loud roar of applause was heard from the crowd. She placed 1st. "Wow." I mutter under my breath.

After all that, it was the men's turn. Keiji was first on the ice. "Go Keiji!" We both yell. "We're rooting for you!" The music played and Keiji glides gracefully on the ice. He landed almost all of his jumps nicely. In the end, he was able to get a great score. "Nice Job Keiji!" We both yell.

Another skater was next on the ice but he placed below Keiji. A few guys were on the ice until it was Kazuki's turn. He did well, but fell behind Keiji, gaining 2nd place. "Lets Go, Kazu!" Sota yells. "Goodjob!" Though looking a bit disappointed, he smiles and waves at the crowd. He points at us before he leaves the rink.

Everything went well until a great skater made his way to the ice. "Daisuke Takahashi." Sota beside me says. "He's one of the best ones out there." And indeed he was, he skated clean and beautifully, robbing Keiji of his 1st place, putting him in 2nd and Kazuki 3rd. The standings were maintained until the last skater made his way to the ice.

"Yuzuru Hanyu!" Says the announcer. The crowd yelled as he makes his way to the center of the ice. A prince like aura surrounded him, he looked composed and confident. "Damn. The King is here." Sota comments. "What?" I ask. "Just watch and you'll see what I mean."

The way he skated was mesmerizing. He was graceful. He captivated the whole crowd. I focused on him the whole time, I couldnt take my eyes of him. "Beautiful." I mutter. Finishing his skate, the crowd erupted in cheers, louder than ever. The gifts thrown at him were more than what I saw from the other skaters. He gained first, which does not surprise me.

I let out a breath that I didnt know I was holding in. My heart was beating extremely fast, my face felt hot & my hands were shaking. "Shoma? Are you alright? The first part of the competition is done." Sota says, now standing up. "Yeah Im fine." I reply. "Well, Keiji said we should see them and we should eat out." I nod at him and we both made our way to where the two skaters were.

"I was so close!" A frustrated Kazuki yells. "Sorry Kazuki." Keiji says as he pats the other's back. "It wasnt your fault Keiji, its because I didnt try harder!" He says. "Well, for us. You both did well, right Shoma? Shoma? Hey are you listening?" I didnt know I was thinking that hard about that skater earlier until they called out to me. "Huh? What?" I ask, finally out of the spell.

"Whats in your head again?" Sota chuckles. "Im just probably hungry." I say with a laugh. "Lets hurry up and eat then so we can catch up and see the pair skaters. Plus we still have our free program tomorrow." Says Kazuki. "Yeah. Lets go." And we made our way to a restaurant just a few walks away from the rink.

We waited for a little while until we got our food. We started conversations here and there. "Do you think I could still skate?" I say out of the blue. "You want to skate?" Keiji asks. "Well, I think I could give it a try." I give a half smile. "Well, if you work hard enough, you have a chance for nationals." Says Sota. "What made you want to skate, Sho?" Kazuki asks. As he said that, the skater from earlier comes into my mind. "Nothing. I was just asking out of curiosity I guess." I let out a chuckle.

"Eh? He's blushing. You must like a skater then huh?" Sota teases. "He wants to impress someone. How cute!" They tease. "I dont! I was just asking." I say. "Is it Rika?" Sota comments. "Stop it Sota." I say. "Its a guy then?" Laughs Kazuki. "Its alright Shoma. We will still accept you no matter what." The whole day, they tease and laugh at me, as we ate our food and even as we made our way back to the rink.

That night, I couldnt get the skater out of my mind. The grace he displayed, the beauty he showed the crowd. He was an angel from heaven. "Yuzuru Hanyu." I whisper his name. Gosh, I sounded like a lovesick teenager. This was nothing, It was simply idolization. I saw hope and inspiration from the person. Thats simply it. Nothing more.

A/N:

Hello! Sorry I published late. This is chapter three. How was it? A bit rusty I think but I did my best. The story will progress more (I shall try). Thank you for reading !