"The top six skaters we'll see today have survived the brutal GP Series. Here they come, on their way to the number one spot."
"In sixth place, Katsuki Yūri was the last qualifier. Will he reedem himself in his second Final? With Viktor Nikiforov and Kim Y/n as his coach and manager this season, he'll try to prove the power of love by winning gold in the Final.
Phichit Chulanot finished fifth in the Grand Prix Series. He's on a roll after becoming the first Thai skater to win gold at the Cup of China. In his first Final, he'll rewrite history for Southeast Asia figure skating.
Yuri Plisetsky finished fourth in the Series. Last year's junior champion, this is his senior debut. He's been allowed to jump quads this season, and he's done brilliantly, placing second in both qualifying events. As the youngest skater this Final, he seeks to defend Russia's prestige by securing his first victory.
Christophe Giacometti finished third in the Series. His mature skating and giant quadruple Lutz have bewitched the entire world. He'll aim for hs first victory at the Final.
Otabek Altin finished second in the series. Kazakhstan's hero won bronze at the World Championship, before his first GP victory in the NHK Trophy. His first Final qualification is another upset.
Finishing first in the Series is Jean-Jacques Leroy, the man of the hour and the only qualifier to win both his events. In both his short program and free skate, he jumped six quads. JJ sets rules for the rest of the world!
The final round is about to begin here in Barcelona!"
The worker opened the barrier allowing the skaters to enter the rink to warm up.
~*~
"And now, Katsuki Yūri is the last skater remaining on the ice," Mooroka commentated. The other skaters walked by, Yurio the only one giving him a side glance. Yūri set down his water bottle looking down.
"Yūri," Viktor said.
"Yes?" The black haired male looked up. Viktor grasped his hand pulling it up to place a kiss on it. The audience gasped and the reporters began taking pictures; Y/n joined them grinning.
"His coach is empowering their matching rings in prayer for victory," Mooroka said.
"Huh? Why matching rings?" Sara wondered.
"Lucky... I wish I had one with Sara!" Mickey said.
"Yūri, good luck!" Emil yelled.
Flashback
"Okay," Y/n said. She opened the little pouch that came with the item she brought from the store. Y/n pulled out a golden ring, similar to the one Yūri brought, and gave it to Viktor. Viktor lifted Yūri's hand and slid the ring on his finger.
"I'll say something you won't even have to think about. Tomorrow, show me the skating that you can honestly say you liked best," Viktor said.
"Don't worry about the other skaters," Y/n added. "You're better than anyone out there."
Flashback End
Viktor smiled assuring Yūri he'd do fine. Y/n placed a kiss on Yūri's cheek after she fowarded the pictures to Minami and Phichit then smiled as well. "I believe in your love," she whispered.
Yūri held up his fist that had the ring on it. Determination filled his eyes.
"I'm off!"
The audience roared in applause as Yūri skated on to the ice. Mari held up a banner of the Japanese flag and Minako held up one with Yūri's name on it. "Yūri!"
"You can do it!" Minako cheered.
"Yūri-kun!" Minami cheered back at Hasetsu where everyone who didn't go was watching. The triplets were falling asleep already.
"One year after he finished the Final in last place, Katsuki Yūri is about to start his short program." Viktor held Y/n's hand as he kissed the ring. Y/n felt her heart beating erratically; she ran her thumb over the jewels of her ring. Yūri kissed his exhaling trying to calm is nerves. The music started to the song.
"He is skating to "On Love: Eros." Yūri looked over to his coach and manager before starting the step sequence. Viktor pressed his hand to his chin like he always does when he thinks. Y/n noticed but didn't say anything. "So, Oda-san, he's supposedly changed his jump combination in this program."
"Yes, after the Rostelecom Cup, it was changed for higher marks."
Compared to when he skated to the song, it is evident that Yūri had greatly improved. He seemed more confident in his steps and flowed better to the rhythm of the music.
'Even if I top my personal best again, I can't beat JJ. His program has 5.22 points on mine in the jumps' base value alone. If I don't change my program...'
Flashback
"You want to change the jump to a quad flip in your short program?" Viktor asked while they were practicing. "You've barley even landed that jump cleanly in practice."
Yūri nodded. "Yeah. But I still have time to improve the execution. Finding out how far I can push my limits to win will motivate me to fight through the Final! Don't you want to see it, Viktor? To see me land a quadruple flip with a +3 GOE?"
He had said it with such confidence and determination that Viktor didn't know what to say at first. His eyes then sparkled with enthusaism and he hugged Yūri. "I do!" Yūri smiled.
"Right?"
They heard something clatter against the ice. Anime tears streamed down Y/n's face. "My phone!" Her phone slipped out her hand as she was trying to take a picture of the two and landed screen down on the ice. "God damn it."
The two chuckled. Yūri skated over and picked it up. Luckily, it didn't crack. "Y/n, you want to see me land a quadruple flip, right?" Yūri asked as he handed her her phone.
"Is that a trick question?" Y/n smiled widley. "More than anything in the world!"
Flashback end
'Since then, I've forcused practice time on the quadruple flip, but my success rate is still low. I've decided to go for it, though.' Yūri rose from the sit spin, the audience applauding.
"Yūri's confidence has increased tremendously," Y/n thought. "He no longer seems hesitant to try new things. But Viktor's expression is scaring me...what is he thinking about?" Yūri's first jump went flawlessly.
"A triple axel." Together, Viktor and Y/n cheered. Their hearts still felt like they were going to explode.
"That jump has a difficult entry, so it will get higher marks."
"Next is a quadruple jump combination." Viktor's eyes narrowed in anticipation. "Quadruple salchow, triple toe loop." The audience yelled and cheered.
"Another success!"
"Yes!"
"Excitement courses through the body, down to the toes, and is released!" Viktor thought.
"Now, the highly anticipated quadruple flip." Y/n had complete faith that Yūri could do it, but that didn't stop the sickening feeling in her stomach. Yūri drug his knee across the ice, from then it would lead into the jump.
"Good, just use that speed to..." Viktor jumped and spun at the same time as Yūri.
"A quadruple flip, but one hand on the ice."
"That spin recieved a level four rating again this season."
"That was close!" Exclaimed Emil. Tears streamed down Mari and Minako's faces as they clapped.
Everyone at Hasetsu watched hopefully. "That flip had enough rotation right?" Axel asked, her and her sisters now wide awake.
"It was fine," Yuko said.
"Yūri-kun's sit spin position is so beautiful!" Minami exclaimed.
"Dad, what would be the base value be?" Loop asked.
"I'm calculating that now!" Hiroko smiled at her son.
After the final spin, Yūri finished the program. His cheeks were pink from exhaustion. The audience's loud cheers became muffled to him. There was a look of somewhat terror on his face. Yūri collapsed on his knees panting heavily. The only thing that went through Yūri's mind was the fact that he touched the ice during the quadruple flip.
Tears prickled in his eyes. Yūri laid his forehead against the ice to keep anyone from seeing, but his clenched fists shook. Viktor had a neutral expression to Y/n's shock and irritation.
Flashback
"What do you have in mind for next season?" The reporter asked Viktor in an interview after the Finals the pervious year. Viktor couldn't answer.
'When I approached every program like a new beginning, I could always surprise everyone. But that also held me back..."I can only find new strength on my own." Snow fell around him as he sat alone outside with Makkachin. "That's what I always thought."
Flashback end
Viktor held on to Y/n's hand and had one arm around Yūri's shoulder. The boy sulked, talking to neither of them.
"Here comes the score for Katsuki Yūri. His score is 97.83. It didn't break the 100 mark, but it's still a high score." The three didn't say anything. What could they?
Phichit skated out on to the ice. His name was announced over the intercom. Viktor looked over at Yūri who was just intently staring ahead. He smiled a little.
'Now I can feel new emotions flowing into me through Yūri. What should I give Yūri now?'
Y/n let go of Viktor's hand and left without a word. Yūri's eyes followed her leaving figure, but he didn't say anything. The hurt showed only in his eyes.
Mari and Minako switched their banners so that it was the Thai flag. "Next is Thailand's Phichit Chulanot." The first verse of the song played before bursting into the upbeat tune. "He is skating to "Shall We Skate?" He has a lot of supporters here from Thailand."
The audience already was clapping along to the familiar song. It seemed more like Phichit was dancing along. He landed his first jump, a triple axel.
"Phichit Chulanot is the first Thai skater to advance to a Grand Prix Final. His career began when his talent was discovered as he skated at a rink in a Bangkok commercial district. He moved to Detroit by himself to train under Coach Celestino. Last year, he made Thailand his home rink again."
♪♪'Shall we skate? Your dreams will come true if you believe...'♪♪
"Triple lutz, triple toe loop." Phichit landed both without fault. Yūri had somewhat of a tired, sad expression as he watched. He was confused as to why Y/n left; she didn't even say anything when they were waiting for his score. While part of his mind was filled with worry about her unexplained actions, the other was worrying about how the other skater's would do since he didn't break the 100 mark.
'My quad is the toe loop. It'll be hard to earn higher than the others.'
"A quadruple toe loop." He recieved loud applause. Phichit smiled holding his head high. Celestino cheered on his student.
'I have no past accomplishments to defend. This is my new beginning! It's a waste if I'm not as excited as a child drawing art no one's ever seen before on a blank canvas!' Yūri watched with mouth slightly agape as Phichit peformed a flawless camel spin.
Flashback
Phichit and Yūri sat on the bed in their dorm together while they were still in Detroit. Y/n laid on a pile of pillows on the floor while scrolling through her computer with one of Phichit's hamsters curled up on her shoulder. Phichit had several of his pet hamsters sitting on his shoulders and head.
"Y/n, Yūri... I want to skate to "Shall We Skate?" Phichit said. "Even though it stars a Thai actor, no Thai skater has ever used the music in a program. Someday, I'll skate to it at a major competition." He then smiled at his two friends. "You'll both be there, too!" Yūri nodded, smiling. Y/n gave him a thumbs up.
Flashback end
♪♪'Shall we skate with me? Listen to the music. Shall we skate with me? Let's step out with us.' ♪♪
The song ended. Phichit panted, but there was a smile plastered on his face. The audience roared with applause and cheers.
"That was a flawless performance from Phichit Chulanot!"
"Bravo!" Celestino cheered. Minako and Mari clapped with tears streaming down their faces. Phichit covered his face, tears of joy pooling in his eyes.
"He seems to be feeling a release from the immense pressure. Really, that was amazing."
'Phichit-kun... you were a perfect entertainer until the very end!" Yūri thought. Suddenly, the bench was kicked. Yurio glared at the two already in his short program costume.
"How long are you idiotrs gonna sit in the kiss and cry?!"
"Yurio..."
"Davai," said Viktor.
~*~
Y/n sat in the lobby hiding in a corner. She wrote in her notebook on a page titled "Barcelona GPF." Unlike the other pages where she wrote in sloppy English or in Japanese, Y/n wrote in Korean.
Yūri's Score: 97.83
Deduction: Quadruple Flip --> touched ice
?????
-had enough rotation
-starting form looked good
-enough speed
Yūri, why don't you have confidence in yourself?
I don't understand. What are you so afraid of?
Y/n could hear the audience. She looked at the TV. Phichit and Celestino were on the screen at the kiss and cry to recieve Phichit's score.
"Phichit Chulanot's score is 95.73! That's a new personal best! He's currently in second!" Phichit took out his phone and got Celestino's attention. The two took a selife to commemorate the ocassion.
Yurio got ready to take the ice next. Lilia went over last minute things before Yurio's name was announced over the intercom.
"Here's Russia's next generation, Yuri Plisetsky."
"Davai! Davai!" Minako and Mari cheered once again having changed the banners they were holding. (This time the Russian flag and one that said Yurio).
Yurio skated out to the center of the ice taking his starting position. "He is skating to "On Love: Agape." The program was choreographed by Viktor Nikiforov." The gentle song began to play. Yurio gracefully spun, his loose strands of hair flying up a little. "Yuri Plisetsky has said that his relative lack of experience has kept him from skating to his full potential at the Rostelecom Cup due to nerves."
Much like Yūri, Yurio had come a long way from when he was first assigned the task of skating "Agape." He skated with more grace, portraying the meaning behind the song better than before.
"Here comes the first jump..." Yurio took off. He jumped with his arm raised which would earn him more points due to the higher degree of difficulty. The building filled with the audience's cheers, which continued as Yurio performed a flying sit spin.
"He won at the Golden Spin, held right before the Final."
'All Yuri lacks in the senior division is experience,' Yakov told the reporters in an interview. 'Yuri has sought help to address that, and we have provided the resources.' Yurio didn't just recieve help from Mila and Lilia, he once Face Timed Y/n who gave him pointers on jump execution.
'His short program will have "agape" as its theme,' Lilia said. 'I believe he's found an entrance to "love" through his many encounters with others. People shine brightest when they seek to undestand what kind of love sustains them.'
If anyone paid real close attention, they'd recognize Yurio's step sequence. It was just like the one Viktor had for one of his programs back in his junior competition days. Yakov saw it; his eyes widened slightly.
"Now, in the seond half if his program, we'll see a quadruple-triple combination." Yurio sped up, taking off with the first jump.
"Quadruple salchow, triple toe loop." Yurio landed both; his arm was raised while he was in the air.
"That was mind blowing!"
"He had one arm raised. That was perfect.
"The last jump is also a quad." Yurio skated around to build momentum. He took off, having both arms raised as he executed a quadruple toe loop. Lilia and Yakov stood there mouth agape in awe and shock. "He did it!
"This time, he had both arms raised."
"All of his jumps were flawless!"
"Here comes the step sequence." The step sequence was much more dramatic, adding to the agape affect.
Viktor stood in the audience. His eyes never left Yurio. Y/n was walking by, a slight limp in her step, when she saw him, but she didn't approach him right away.
In the lobby Yūri was being interviewed, but his attention was redirected elsewhere. He looked around in confusion. 'Huh? Viktor's not here...and Y/n... Where is she? I really want to talk to her.'
The final aspect of Yurio's program was the combination spin. "He's attempting difficult elements with the highest possible execution. A beautiful monster continues to evolve to even greater heights!"
Yurio raised his glasped hands into the air. He panted from exhaustion. Sweat trickled down his face. Despite the high volume of the cheers, Yurio couldn't hear any of it.
'Oh... my mind went blank in the middle of it.' People threw flowers and cat plushies on to the ice.
~*~
"Are you proud of him?" Y/n asked startling Viktor. The male turned around quickly seeing her leaning against the wall for support.
"Y/n! Why are you standing up?" Viktor asked.
"Because I have two body parts that allow me to," she answered. "Now stop worrying about my leg and answer the question."
"I am proud. I remember when Yurio skated back in the junior division. I'm happy about how much he's improved since then." Y/n groaned banging her head against the wall.
"No stupid, are you proud of Yūri Katsuki?"
Viktor crossed his arms. "I could ask you the same thing because you got up and left." Y/n crossed her arms as well but more childishly.
"I am too proud of Yūri!" Her cheeks flushed red in slight anger. "For him to make a recovery like this after last year, I couldn't have been more thrilled." Y/n walked over looking down toward the rink where Yurio was heading to the kiss and cry to recieve his score. "I...I see so much potential in Yūri. He just seems so hesitant to reach it. Yurio's fifteen and goes to great extents to up his performance. I've never seen someone jump as high as JJ or hold their head up with such pride like Phichit. Hell, I'll even say Chris goes above and beyond in his own special way. But Yūri... his skate is his skate, yet, he doesn't always skate like it is."
Yūri headed up the stairs to the audience seats. He saw the two people he was looking for together. "Y/n, Viktor-" Yūri stopped when neither looked back at him. There was a serious yet neutral expression on Viktor's face. Y/n rested her hand against her chin.
Something in Yūri's heart ached. It was almost unexplainable. The best way to put how he felt was neglected. Viktor and Y/n easily could and have broken the 100 mark in the short skate. He wondered if they were disappointed. Y/n hadn't spoken to him since she whispered that she believed in his love, the love that she helped form.
And he somehow felt that he let her down.
A/n
Okay. Spring break is next week and my goal is to finish this story before then. (probably won't happen but I'll try)
I came up with this idea. I think what I might do is make a genderbent version of this story where all the characters are female with Y/n being male. I know, it'll pretty much be a copy of this story, but I'd change up Y/n's personality somewhat and change up certain scenes.
Is anyone interested?