Chapter Text
He makes it a total of eight steps into the hangar before he hears somebody screaming his name.
"Yuuuu-riiii-kuuuuuunn!" He's tackled to the floor. Yuuko Nishigori always knew how to make her entrances.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, disappearing for a whole year then showing up again out of nowhere?!" She sounds harsh, but Yuuri looks at her and can see that she's beaming.
"Y-Yuuko-san, you're crushing me."
"'Yuuko-san?' Is that what you're calling me?" She rises to her feet, holding her hand out for Yuuri. "I know it's easy to forget who I am when you refuse to talk to any of us for a year, but for god's sake, Yuuri, call me Yuu-chan!"
He grabs the hand. "Well, alright," he grunts, looking directly now at the radiant face he's missed so dearly, "Yuu-chan."
They both smile, then break out into uncontrollable giggles as they grab each other into a giant rib-crushing hug.
"It is so good to see you, Yuuri."
"It must be. I got pinned to the floor."
"You deserved it."
"You're probably right. Like you always are."
"Damn right." She releases him. He notices how she shifts her weight back and forth beneath her, and spares to glance at both of her legs.
Ah, that's right. She moves so confidently, Yuuri can barely notice the prosthetic leg she wears. Minako-san hadn't been wrong when she said Yuuko was tough. But even then, the way she holds herself and keeps shifting her weight, the way she walks alongside him with a slight limp, the way she had oh-so-slightly winced when she pulled him to his feet earlier, gives away that she is still in pain from the accident.
No, Yuuri reminds himself. Not an accident. My own carelessness caused this.
"What do you do here? Now that you're not a pilot." Yuuri treads carefully.
"Oh, they have me working in LOCCENT now. I track kaiju signatures, give orders, control missions from home. Chief Officer." She stands a little taller. Yuuri's heart swells with pride.
"You're lucky. It could be a while before I'm allowed back in a Jaeger. I'm not even sure who I'll be partnered with."
"But I'm sure you'll get paired up fairly quickly, right? Minako, those cadets you have are still in need of copilots, right?"
Minako, who's witnessed the whole reunion, frowns. "N-No, unfortunately, we've just paired them into our new team. I'm sorry, Yuuri, you'll have to wait before we can get you a copilot." She casts her eyes to the floor.
"Oh, uh, don't worry, Minako-san. I'm sure it'll be fine." Honestly, he's a little grateful. He's glad he doesn't have to rush back into training right away.
"We can walk you around the base if you'd like, show you our newest Jaeger and introduce you to the new kids. At the very least, they'd like to be introduced to you," she chuckles.
As if on cue, a set of doors at the end of the hangar fly open, and a boy walks in. Yuuri does a double take. He's tiny. Whose child is this? He bounds over to the resident Jaeger of the hangar, rattling off questions to some technician before Minako calls him over. He's by their side in the blink of an eye. The boy is much smaller than Yuuri, with a bright red streak in his ashy blonde hair. He looks to be about twelve. But he wears the black and blue jacket of the Japanese Shatterdome, and when Minako introduces Yuuri to him, he gawks and stands at attention.
"K-Kenjirou Minami, sir! Pilot of Test Mark Jaeger Monarch Orion along with Phichit Chulanont! It's a pleasure to meet you, sir!" He snaps into a deep bow.
Yuuri's frozen, unsure how to react. Yuuko kicks him. "Oh--uh, l-likewise." He holds his hand out, and the kid takes it, unconfident at first, but then begins to shake it vigorously, barely holding in his excitement.
Whatever professionalism the kid had painted on at first had flown out the window. "You're Yuuri Katsuki, ex-pilot of Mark 3 Genesis Victory! I've watched all your battles, sir, you're amazing. When you took on Razortooth? And Kyojin? I've kept all your posters, you're the reason I even enlisted in the Jaeger program in the first place! It'll be an honor to fight alongside you! I've had my drivesuit customly modified to have your emblem..."
Yuuko snickers as Kenjirou continues to ramble. "Remind you of someone?" Now it's Yuuri's turn to kick her.
Minako takes the time to step in. "Okay, Kenjirou, slow down. Yuuri just got back, we don't want to scare him off right away. There'll be plenty of time to ask him about his battles later, and I'm certain Yuuko-chan wouldn't mind chatting, either. Go, you're dismissed. And Yuuko, you too. Don't forget to meet me in the control room for a mission briefing." Yuuko salutes, exchanging one parting glance with Yuuri before bounding off. The kid babbles his apologies, bows at least three more times, and scurries off after Yuuko, probably to find Phichit and tell him about his encounter.
After they leave, Yuuri leans over to Minako. "How old is he?"
"Seventeen."
Yuuri swallows. "So you're enlisting kids now."
"It was nothing he didn't volunteer for. Times are changing, Yuuri. Like I said, we're losing the war. He was top of his class, nonetheless."
Yuuri loosens, despite still feeling uneasy. "And he's piloting with Phichit?" The name makes him relax a little bit more. Another friendly face he'd have to reunite with.
"Mhm. We put them in charge of our new Test Mark, right here. Monarch Orion." She leads him to the base of the giant that inhabited the hangar. Not going to lie, Yuuri always thought standing at the foot of a Jaeger was something akin to a religious experience.
Monarch Orion stands just over seventy-five meters tall, not quite as tall as Genesis Victory, yet still tall enough to give the ceiling of the hangar a run for its money. Where light reflects off of her, Yuuri can see she's painted a deep regal blue, but in the shadows she looks almost completely black. Gold trim fades itself like ribbons in and out of focus, depending on where Yuuri looks. It pools together closer to her shoulders, where it forms the Jaeger's emblem, the bright constellation Orion. He pulls his eyes even farther upward, and takes note of the two wing-like panels jutting out from her shoulder blades, and the sharp helm that takes the shape of a crown protecting the cockpit.
"Isn't she great?" Minako has a wicked grin. "The crown was a nice touch."
She's right. Monarch Orion has an air of regal authority that keeps Yuuri in a complete state of fearful awe. "Why's she a Test Mark?"
"Oh, it's mostly just for her weapons. You see those wings?" Yuuri nods. "Our J-Tech team cooked those up. You'll see what they do soon enough." Yuuri's not quite sure if he wants to find out.
"We're keeping your Jaeger in a separate bay until everything's ready again. Would you like to see her?" This catches Yuuri off guard. But she leads him into an adjacent mini-hangar anyway, up onto a catwalk that directly overlooks the dormant Genesis Victory.
And for Yuuri, it's just like the first time he saw her all those years ago. Nothing about her has changed, not even the scratches and scuffs that accumulated over a few years of hard fighting. He picks out a few, like the long jagged scrape along her neck, and pinpoints exactly how it happened. That was in that Shanghai assist. The Category 4. A set of star-like scars pepper across her knuckles. In Seoul. That really scaly one. Along her left knee, a long stripe of welded metal has been hastily painted over. Yuuri shudders. Tokyo. Where one pilot slipped out of alignment and left the other to fend for herself.
The last battle I ever fought.
"I'm sure you've got a lot to think about," Minako says in a low voice. "I know I asked a lot of you when I asked you to come back. This won't be easy, I'm sorry." Yuuri shifts. He had expected that. "But I swear on my life, I will do everything in my power to make sure what happened then doesn't happen again. We're all here for you, Yuuri. Don't hesitate to come to any of us." She pats his back. "I've got to run off to that briefing, yeah? I better not find you looking so mopey when I'm done." She smiles. Yuuri does, too. Then he's left alone with the Jaeger.
Even with all the scuffs and bruises, Genesis Victory still looks just as formidable, if not even more so. She's still painted that magnificent jet black, the chrome emblem just the same as it was before. The silvery scrapes just make her shine even more, standing out like stars reflecting off a tidal wave.
Getting back in the cockpit is not going to be easy, not by a long shot. Yuuri's not even sure if he's capable of holding a drift again. Trauma has a habit of getting between pilots and obstructing any sort of connection. At best, the bond would simply be impossible to form. At worst, it could cause another slip out of alignment and cause one or both pilots to chase the rabbit. But he knows there has to be a chance; that's why he's here. As scared as he is, he knows it's what he has to do.
After an indeterminable amount of time, he realizes he's not alone on the catwalk anymore. A short man, with dark skin and even darker hair approaches him. Yuuri smiles; he recognizes Phichit Chulanont anywhere. "Sorry for intruding, but I figured you might like a little company." He slides next to Yuuri.
"Not a problem. I was going to try and find you eventually, anyway." Phichit is only a little bit younger than Yuuri; they had gone through training at similar times and became quick friends. Phichit had been there for Yuuri's and Yuuko's official placement ceremony, and Yuuri felt just a little bad for missing Phichit's. "Congrats on the Jaeger, by the way."
"Thanks! We haven't really gotten the chance to see everything she can do yet, but..." Phichit sighs, "she's really incredible. Kenjirou's a bit of a fireball, as you've probably seen already, but we get along great. He's a great pilot." He chuckles. "He never stops talking about you, either."
Yuuri shifts. "It's weird having fans after so long."
"It's not surprising, though! After all, you've just come out of retirement!" Phichit laughs. "Everybody's gonna want an autograph from Japan's most mysterious pilot!"
Yuuri cracks a smile, but it's uncomfortable. "It's not what I came back for, though. I could live without all the attention."
"What did you come back for?" Phichit's tone suddenly softens.
Yuuri takes a deep breath, then holds it. "I'm...not completely sure." He exhales. "It just felt right, I guess." It's not entirely false. However, he does refrain from telling Phichit about the week he spent fighting himself over it.
Phichit doesn't press it. "I suppose that's reason enough," he agrees softly. "No matter what, it's good to have you here." He slings an arm around Yuuri's shoulder for a quick hug. "Minako told me you'd be here, she's instructed me to show you up to your room. You good to go?"
Yuuri looks at his Jaeger one more time, taking it all in. "Yeah, I'm good." They leave the hangar, making friendly small talk all the way up to the floor that housed the dorms. They talk about each other's homes, the ways they've each spent the past year, news that the other might've missed, even about their colleagues on the base. By the time they arrive at the room, Yuuri is no longer worrying why he came back.
"I'll see you around, Yuuri. Hopefully sooner than later, I'll get to see you with a copilot in the test pods." He smiles.
Yuuri thanks Phichit, clapping him on the shoulder. It would be nice to get some sleep. He's had a long day, and wants nothing more than to collapse onto a familiar bed and rest.
He fidgets with the lock on his door, then steps inside, taking it all in. This is his old room, the single dorm he lived in back before he and Yuuko were officially partnered up. It's been a while since he's been here, but he knows it all the same. The single bunk on the side of the room, the small office space with room for a couple framed pictures, the battered coffee maker and mini fridge, the worn couch sitting comfortably in the middle of it all, the--
The half-naked man already waiting inside his own room.
"Oh good, Yuuri, you're here! I was beginning to get worried."
Yuuri trips, stumbling back into the door behind him. What the hell? The man is tall, well built, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around his hips. He uses another towel to pat down his hair, probably fresh from the shower. His long, pale limbs move around with precise, fluid movements, and he looks like he could almost be floating. He pulls the towel away from his hair, and reveals it to be a short, silky silver mop. He takes notice of Yuuri's aghast gaze, and gives a warm welcoming smile. Oh god, he's like an angel. The more he examines this man, the more his heart threatens to drop into his stomach.
This cannot be happening.
Victor Nikiforov is naked in his room.
"What--What are you doing here?" Yuuri rushes, more of a statement than a question.
Victor chuckles, letting the towel sink even farther down his hips, extending an arm out to Yuuri. "Yuuri," he begins, "starting today, I'll be your new copilot! I'll help you become part of the greatest Jaeger team in Japan again!"
What. The hell.
He winks, and Yuuri's sure he's almost just woken up the entire hallway.
--
"Yuuri, when I said to call if you ever needed anything, this isn't what I meant."
"Are you aware Victor Nikiforov is in my room?"
"Oh, yeah, of course I knew about that! You think I don't know who comes in and out of my base?" Minako says to Yuuri from her office, phone cradled in her neck. "I gave that mission briefing after he showed up and we had to decide how we were going to proceed with it."
"And you didn't think it important to inform me?" he hisses. Victor has now draped himself across the couch.
"I didn't want to scare you. But by the sound of things, I guess it did anyway."
"He is naked on my couch."
"I'll admit, that's a little strange. But what would you rather I have done, send him back to Russia? Yuuri, when the greatest Jaeger pilot of all time shows up at the front door of my Shatterdome and says he wants to work with us, I don't exactly turn him away. Especially when we're this desperate, god no."
Victor throws the towel across the room and trades it for a pair of loose gray sweatpants, completely tuned out to the rapid Japanese phone conversation right next to him. He looks at Yuuri and smiles. "Oh god, what am I going to do?" Yuuri groans under his breath.
"You're going to train with him, Yuuri, obviously. I know it's sudden, but this is probably the best match we could ever have hoped for. You're both very strong and proficient pilots, I'm excited to see what we can get out of this. Just relax, we'll have everything worked out by morning. I'll make sure he gets back to his own room, but you should help him unpack. He brought, um, a lot of bags." She pauses, taking a deep breath. "I'm going to hang up now, Yuuri. Good night." The connection clicks before Yuuri has any chance to protest.
Victor carries on as if the phone call about him never happened. He's still lying across the couch, still completely shirtless. Yuuri can't leave him alone forever, despite how terrified he may be to suddenly be this close to his idol. He gradually moves away from the door and closer to the couch.
"So you've been relocated here?" Yuuri begins, voice wavering. He still can't believe this is Victor Nikiforov.
Victor looks confused. "What?"
Oh god, he needs to clarify. Is it Yuuri's English? "Y-you didn't have a copilot anymore," Yuuri stutters, "so your base moved you here to work with me, right?" God, he hates the way he sounds so unsure.
"Huh?" Victor blinks. "Oh, no, Vladivostok didn't send me. I came here on my own."
He came here on his own? Yuuri feels dizzy. "I-I don't understand."
"Well, after Yakov wouldn't let me get on the plane I asked for, and after he told me to 'stop calling him by his first name, dammit, I'm your Marshal', I decided to do what everybody's been telling me to do for months and I retired. Except, not really. I just left Vladivostok and came here."
"So you could be my copilot."
"Exactly!"
"That was your own decision." Victor nods in confirmation. Yuuri's stomach flips. "I think I need to sit down." Victor pulls him to the couch.
"You're very talented, Yuuri. I've seen how you fight, and even though you've been out of commission for a while, I see potential within you that I want to maximize. You'll need to do some solo training to get back into shape, obviously, before I really begin my training with you, but that shouldn't take too long. I have a training regimen outlined for us as soon as you've done that, it's very rigorous but I'm sure you can handle-- oh, are you okay?"
Yuuri is not okay. Yuuri thinks he's going to pass out. "S-slow down--"
"Right, sorry. I did want Marshal Okukawa to let you know I was here right away, but she decided against it. It probably would have been better that way; you look very tired right now, and frankly, a little bit sick."
Yuuri gulps. "Sorry. It's been a long day." Victor backs off slightly, recognizing that Yuuri's on edge. He leans back on the couch and runs a hand through his silver hair. Everything's quiet for just a minute, and Yuuri relaxes only a bit.
"Were you a fan of mine, Yuuri?"
Yuuri jumps, again. Is this how it's going to be from now on?! Yuuri thinks back to his childhood days, the very first time he saw him fight. He never fails to surprise me. "Yeah, I suppose."
"Then you must know a lot about me."
Yuuri tries not to think too hard about his room at home coated in posters. "Y-yeah, I guess--"
"But I know nothing about you, Yuuri. How is that fair?" He leans closer to Yuuri on the couch. "Before we even think about Drifting together, it's important we have a strong mutual understanding of one another." He keeps inching closer. "I want to know everything about you, Yuuri," he sings, eyes lidded. His hand trails down Yuuri's wrist. "As your copilot, it's important to keep our relationship strong. Tell me your hobbies, how you usually train, your favorite foods..." He tilts Yuuri's face up towards his, mere centimeters apart. "...any lovers you've had...."
Yuuri tears himself away, very near climbing over the side of the couch. He's steaming red.
"Huh? Why'd you run away? Did I make you uncomfortable?" Before Yuuri can answer, Victor's already climbing over to him.
Somebody knocks on the door. "Yuuri-kun? I'm here to take Victor to his room--" Kenjirou opens the door to find Yuuri, half laying off the side of the couch, with Victor climbing over him like a clingy cat wearing only a pair of sweatpants. Kenjirou freezes. Yuuri turns bright crimson.
He shoves Victor off of him as politely as he can. "You need to go." He practically throws him at Kenjirou, who speechlessly and unhesitantly helps lead him away and out the door.
"Huh? But Yuuri, we should totally sleep together! It would really help us get closer!"
"Good night." He hopes slamming the door manages to hide how beet red he is.
He lays awake in his bed later that night, the events running through his mind at rapid speed. Victor Nikiforov is here. Victor Nikiforov wants to be my copilot. He throws his hands up against his face. Was he hallucinating? Victor was every bit as charismatic as Yuuri imagined, much to his horror. He certainly is...touchy. Yuuri isn't quite sure what to think of that. He had wanted to jump out of his skin. But he's here and he's real and...come to think of it he's probably sleeping only a few doors down from Yuuri. Oh god. He shrinks against his mattress, succumbing to nerves, thinking of all the ways this could go wrong. Tremendous pressure had been suddenly placed on his back the minute he got back to the Shatterdome, and he felt like a sheet of ice on a lake moments away from cracking.
But he stops himself, thinks about what he really has here. He's back on base, on track to be back in a Jaeger fighting for his world. He has a potential copilot, and that copilot is the one and only Victor Nikiforov. He chose to be here, with Yuuri, and to work to be in the Jaeger with him. Yuuri can feel his heart pounding, and a flush overtakes his face as he grins from ear to ear. His nerves somehow melt away.
Because despite his apprehension, Yuuri Katsuki is incredibly, intangibly happy.
--
Vladivostok is one of the oldest Shatterdomes in the world, built only three years after the very first kaiju attack. It sits overlooking the sea close to the border of China, serving as a guard station against any kaijus that managed to make it past Tokyo. It housed some of the very first Jaegers, and birthed legends that would protect the world for years to come. It's an irreplaceable landmark for human history and serves as a continuing light of hope for all mankind.
But in this moment, Yuri Plisetsky swears he will tear it to the fucking ground.
He lays his phone flat on the mess hall table, then slams his fists. An open news article on his phone reads Renowned Ranger Victor Nikiforov moves to Tokyo. It shows photos of Victor and some Japanese pilot Yuri's never heard of. What the hell does Victor think he's doing?! The article said he retired from Vladivostok, that couldn't be right! That bastard still owes me! Is that why Yuri couldn't find him in morning training? What's so important about Tokyo anyway?
"Fucking Victor..." Yuri seethes, snapping a plastic fork in two. "I'll get you, I swear to God."
--
"...And this is where we keep the Jaegers." Yuuri leads Victor into the gigantic hangar the next morning.
Victor gasps. "My, how majestic!" He immediately runs to check out Monarch Orion. "Whose is this?"
"That belongs to Rangers Minami and Chulanont, our newest team. She's a Test Mark." Yuuri still doesn't really know why she's a Test Mark, and luckily Victor doesn't ask. He pulls out his phone and tries to take a selfie with the Jaeger, but Yuuri makes him put it away. "We don't allow pictures just yet."
They continue around the hangar. "Where's your Jaeger, Yuuri?"
"Oh, um, she's in a side hangar. We'll get there."
"So those are the only two Jaegers you have here?" Victor asks.
Yuuri pauses. Damn, that's right. Up until recently, there wasn't even one official team guarding Tokyo. It's a miracle they're even alive. "Y-yes, we just have the two. But...Genesis hasn't been in use for almost a year, and Monarch Orion just barely got a team..." Yuuri trails off, ashamed to let Victor know the state of their base.
"It's no issue. It's like that up in Russia, too. When Luna was decommissioned, it was just our one other Jaeger Ganymede Blue on duty out there, and she's brand new at the job, too. That's part of the reason I came over here, Yuuri. The world needs as many Jaeger teams as it can get right now." Victor says, looking slightly more serious than before. He shakes it off quickly. "Please, show me where your Jaeger is!"
Yuuri leads him to the side hangar and back onto the catwalk he rested on the day prior. "Woah, she looks just the same! Can I get a picture this time?" Yuuri lets him take one; his phone was already out and there was no stopping him anyway. It felt unreal, seeing the greatest pilot alive awing over his Jaeger like a child who just found a cool toy when Yuuri had done the same for him his whole life. He wants to try pinching himself again, but Victor's already done taking the selfie and has propped himself against the railing. "Yuuri, do you mind explaining some of these scuffs?"
Oh man. That's a conversation Yuuri doesn't currently have the emotional capacity for. "They're not that important, really, we should move on--"
"The scar on the leg. Is that from last year's accident with your copilot Yuuko?"
Yuuri tenses. Victor hadn't come here unprepared. "Y-yeah, it is."
The bay door is open, letting chilly winter air waft through between them. "Do you want to tell me about it?"
Yuuri is rigid. "Not really." He looks at the floor. "Sorry, it's not like--I mean, I just can't--I don't have the--"
"I understand, Yuuri. It's okay, I'm sorry I brought it up." An ocean breeze blows in, making Yuuri shiver even through his jacket. "It's still that painful to think about, huh?"
Yuuri shudders. "It is."
Victor continues to gaze out at the Jaeger, silent for a minute. "What's your relationship with Yuuko?"
Another unexpected question. "Oh, um, we're friends. We're still close." Yuuri gulps. "When I left the base, she stayed here because she needed more time to recover than me. But even after that, she still stayed and got a new job in LOCCENT." Yuuri's panged with a bit of guilt. He doesn't mention how he neglected to talk to her or anybody here for the entirety of his absence.
"Are you friends with everybody here?" Victor keeps imploring.
"Well, it's a small base, and I've known most everyone here for years, so, yeah, I guess." Yuuri cracks a small smile. "Minako likes to think of herself as my mom, and Yuuko's like a big sister. I've known her since I was little." He kept thinking back to Yuuko, damn it, and every time he did he felt knives dig into his heart. He'd have to find her after this tour and invite her to lunch or something so he would stop feeling so guilty.
Victor smiles. "It's hard to get answers out of you, Yuuri Katsuki, but whenever you do talk I feel I know you a little better." He faces the smaller man. "I can tell you're not telling me everything yet, and that'll have to change if we ever want to be a compatible team, but I'm happy with what you've given me so far." He pats him on the shoulder. "I suppose I should tell you more about me in return, but I almost forgot Marshal Okukawa wanted to see me in the command room. I've always had a bad memory. I'll just have to talk to you more later!" The way he changes the mood like that is dizzying, and Yuuri's not sure if he's supposed to feel relieved or offended by his sudden departure.
Yuuri watches him stride off, then realizes he forgot to show him where the command room is. Oh well, I'm sure Victor can figure it out. He's not in the mood to chase after him, and more in the mood to head to the cafeteria and see what was going to be served for lunch.
It's still unbelievable for Yuuri that he's suddenly in this close proximity to Victor Nikiforov, not that he'd been given much time to adjust anyway. So much for not immediately going back to training. As exciting (and terrifying) the prospect of working with Victor seems to him, he wishes he had a little more time to settle back in. In just the past 24 hours he's taken a terrifying helicopter trip back to the job that almost killed him, reunited with friends who surprisingly didn't hate him for abandoning them so suddenly, and now he suddenly had to live up to the otherworldly role of being Victor Nikiforov's copilot. It's enough to make him feel a little sick.
Whatever. Food first, worry later.
He turns the corner, and is swiftly greeted with a knee to his stomach.
Yuuri crumples, the air forced out of his lungs. He strains to take another look at his attacker, but has to raise his arms into a block to avoid another incoming kick to his face.
"There you are, you little pig! Where is Victor?"
"I--What? What the hell?" Yuuri blocks another vicious kick.
"Don't play dumb with me! I know you know he's here! Where is Victor?" He throws another kick, but Yuuri thinks to catch it midair, using it to throw the kid onto his back. Wait, this is a kid?! He's back on his feet before Yuuri realizes, and he delivers a sharp kick right to the middle of Yuuri's back, knocking him down the hall and onto the floor. He tries to step on his face, but Yuuri rolls, grabbing the kid's other leg and toppling him over. Damn, this kid is smart. He rolls onto his knees, then back onto his feet, grabbing one of Yuuri's arms as he goes and pinning it behind his back. Yuuri lets out a yell of pain, and the kid jabs him in the side with a closed fist.
"Where," he seethes, "the fuck, is Victor?"
"Okay, okay, slow down." Yuuri pants. "I don't know what you want, just let me go, we can sort this out."
The kid tightens his pin on Yuuri's arm. Yuuri winces. "Did you even hear me, you dumb pig? I want to know where Victor is!"
"I'm right here, Yuri, it's okay." Victor turns the corner of the hall, along with Minako, Yuuko, and anybody else who had heard the commotion from the command room. The kid, Yuri, releases his hold on Yuuri's arm, letting him face plant into the floor.
"What the hell are you doing here, Victor?"
"I should ask you the same thing."
"You still owe me, damn it. Why'd you leave?" He sounds faintly hurt.
Minako steps in. "Enough. Who the hell are you, what the hell are you doing in my base, and why did you beat up one of my Rangers?" She's not messing around.
The kid shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, blowing a strand of hair out of his face. "I'm Yuri Plisetsky, fifteen, cadet from Vladivostok Shatterdome. I came on the orders of Marshal Feltsman to take him back to Russia." He points an accusatory finger at Victor. "Your Ranger was in my way." Yuuri doesn't think that last part is quite right. He came after me first! He takes a good look at Yuri. He wears the white, red, and blue jacket of the Russian Shatterdome, with the hood pulled up over his long blond hair. He still has his bags with him, which could explain why he relied on his legs to beat up Yuuri. Did he say he's only fifteen years old? That's crazy!
Minako stares him down. "Without official clearance, you have no right to be in here. What I do with my Rangers is none of Vladivostok's business. You break into my base and assault one of my best Rangers, tell me, why shouldn't I have you arrested on the spot?"
Yuuri senses the kid's getting nervous. His plan hadn't been so well thought through. He looks around at the official faces pinning him down. "I--"
Victor cuts in. "Marshal Okukawa, if you don't mind, I think this might just be a misunderstanding. Yakov's been sending for me ever since I left, Yuri here's just following orders. If it's alright, I think I can talk to him and sort this out, it's probably all my responsibility anyway." He throws his hands up in front of him, throwing his signature charming smile.
She looks back and forth between him, the Russian Yuri, and Yuuri who's still lying on the floor. The tension is icy cold. "If this is your fault," she glares daggers into all three of them, "then fix it. I don't need any bad relations with Russia right now. I don't want this happening again."
Victor nods. "Yes, ma'am." He walks over to Yuuri, helping him to his feet. "I am so sorry about him." He turns to Yuri, sighs, then grabs him by the arm and drags him angrily down the hall towards the elevators, the kid cursing the whole way up. Yuuri has to chase to keep up with them.
The three arrive in Victor's room, Yuri sprawled out on the couch, Victor pacing back and forth, and Yuuri anxiously lingering by the door. Victor stops, his tone cold. "Yakov didn't really send you here, did he?"
Yuri shuffles. "So what if he didn't?"
Victor pinches the bridge of his nose. "You could've put your entire career as a pilot in danger, Yuri! What made you be so careless? Breaking into a Shatterdome with no clearance, what were you thinking? What would you have done if I wasn't there to cover for you?"
"It's a good thing you were. Now pack your things, we've got to head back to Russia."
Go back to Russia? No, Victor just got here! Yuuri doesn't want to lose him that quickly! What is even going on between them, anyway? Yuuri is obviously missing some crucial detail, something either involving Yakov or the Yuri kid himself, and it doesn't help that he only has his spotty Russian language abilities to try and fill in the contents of their rapid argument.
Victor's patience is growing thin. "Why's it so important I go back to Russia?"
"Because you promised if I graduated top of my class at the academy you'd practice Drifting with me! Don't you remember, old man?" Yuri barks.
Victor completely freezes, mouth still open. Everybody's quiet. "I did?"
Yuri raises his eyebrows, exasperated. "Don't tell me you forgot."
Victor's quiet for a minute, tapping a finger against his lips in deep thought. "No, you're right, that sounds like something I'd do," he murmurs. He puts his hands on his hips. "In any case, it doesn't matter. I'm signed on here to be Yuuri Katsuki's copilot, and I can't just drop that. I'm sorry, Yuri, but I'm going to have to come up short on that promise. Sometimes, that's just how it has to be. I'll arrange your plane back to Vladivostok."
Yuri stands, slamming his fist into the arm of the couch. "I'm not leaving here without either you or that promise!" It makes even Yuuri jump.
Nobody knows what to say. Yuuri doesn't even want to say anything, for fear that the other Yuri will lash out at him again. Finally, Victor raises his finger. "I have an idea."
Both the Yuris are listening. "For the next week, I'll train with both of you, in the Kwoon Room, the simulator, and anywhere else, and at the end of the week I'll do a test Drift with each of you."
Yuuri's jaw drops in disbelief; Yuri is smiling ferociously. "Whoever's more compatible will get whatever they want! If I win, you'll come back to Russia and be my copilot!"
Yuuri can't believe his ears. "Wait, what?"
"Yes! I love this sort of thing." Yuuri could see Victor formulating the schedules and plans as he spoke.
Yuuri tries to butt in. "I'm not so sure this is a great idea--"
Yuri whirls to face him, devilish. "Are you scared, pig? I'll destroy you! Victor, get me a room here! I won't let the pig have you all to himself!" He shoves past Yuuri and out the door, shouting the whole way.
"I better go tell Minako we got the issue sorted out before somebody comes trying to arrest him again. Oh, lighten up, Yuuri, this could be fun! Be sure to get some rest before tomorrow, it's going to be an exciting day!" He pats Yuuri on the cheek and exits, chasing after Yuri.
Yuuri just stays there in Victor's room, frozen for a minute. Then, left alone, beaten, and utterly bewildered, he goes back to his room. He's calling it a day.
--
Later that night, as Yuuri tries to go to sleep, he hears a knock on his door. "Yuuri! Let's sleep together tonight!"
Yuuri rolls over on his side, bringing the pillow to his ears. "No thank you, Victor."
The knocking ceases, and Yuuri thinks for a minute that Victor actually left. But then he speaks again, softer this time. "Then would you like to share some tea?"
Yuuri gets up to open the door and finds Victor in his pajamas, cradling a pillow under one arm and two empty mugs by the handle in his other hand. He lets him in, dazed, and suddenly Victor goes to work making two steaming cups of strong minty tea. He hums as he works, and Yuuri's entranced, adding it to the ever growing list of things he wouldn't have ever expected from when he came back to the base. Victor calls over his shoulder. "Do you like sugar?" Yuuri gives a small nod, and soon Victor hands him a mug, sitting himself down on the couch. Yuuri joins him.
They sit quietly for a moment, sipping at the tea. It's scalding hot, but it's strong and sweet. Yuuri drinks in tentative sips.
Victor's the first to speak. "I want you to know how happy I am to be here, Yuuri, and I'm very thankful for the warm reception you and Minako have given me." He sounds so sincere, it catches Yuuri off guard.
"Oh, y-you're very welcome. We're grateful to have you here." He means it.
"Are you happy, Yuuri?"
He thinks about last night, and how he felt even despite all the surprise. "Yeah, I'm happy." Yuuri shrugs. "Everything's just been happening so fast. I don't remember it being like this since I first enlisted." The tea helps to calm him down.
"You enlisted around the same age as me, right? At eighteen?"
Yuuri nods, sipping his tea. "As soon as I could." He thinks briefly of Kenjirou and fifteen-year-old Yuri.
Victor must've been thinking the same thing. "They started us as young as they dared back then, in Russia. Now they've just become a little more daring. Lord knows, we could use just a little daring. I just hope they know when not to cross the line," he says. "But in any case, I'm twenty-seven years old, I've been doing this for a third of my life, and I don't want people to tell me when to quit. Do you sometimes feel that, Yuuri? You've been a pilot for, let's see, is it five years? You're twenty-three, right?"
Yuuri shakes his head. "Twenty-four. My birthday was last month."
"Oh! Well, happy birthday, Yuuri. Don't let me forget next year."
The thought warms Yuuri like the tea. "You really intend on staying that long?"
"As long as I can. It was my intention all along." He sighs. "I feel awful for dragging Yuri--ah, the other Yuri--into this." His brow furrows.
Yuuri clutches the cup of tea. "It's ok, he came here on his own accord. I'm not worried about him being here. It'll all work out in the end, I think." That's a lie. He still can't help himself from sounding unsure. But it helps to know that Victor wants to stay in Tokyo.
Victor smiles softly, downing the rest of his tea. "Yuri's still young. There's a million opportunities waiting for him, he's just impatient. He'll try to get to you, that's just how he is, but don't worry about him too much. He doesn't know what's best for him yet." He chuckles fondly.
Yuuri finishes his last sip of tea. He wishes he had more; Victor looks like he's about ready to leave. But he's not quite done talking. "I promise I can help you rise up, Yuuri. I wouldn't have come here if you didn't inspire me." He looks directly into Yuuri's eyes. "I won't be thrown off course easily." He rises off the couch. "Get some rest, Yuuri. It's going to be a busy week." He pats Yuuri's shoulder, letting the door close gently on his way out. Yuuri watches him the whole way.
He climbs into bed, thoughts wandering. Victor being here did make him happy, but the arrival of the younger Yuri filled him with an unshakable unease. Even if Victor seems to have every intention of staying in Tokyo, he still feels nervous about having him taken away. Yuuri wonders for a moment what he would do if he lost this new competition Victor devised. If Victor went back to Russia, would Yuuri still want to stay here? Obviously, I came here not even expecting him to show up. I can do this with or without him. But another part of him disagrees, the same part that doesn't want Victor to go anywhere, the same part that's willing to fight tooth and claw to keep him here. God, it was that morning with the cat all over again. Two equally vocal parts of him, disputing over what was more important to him.
It always comes down to this, he thinks. Always whether I want to stay on base or not.
Whatever, there's no use worrying about it now. He had one week of training to get through before anybody was going anywhere. And nobody's going to leave, I'll make sure of that.
He lets himself fall into a shallow, dreamless sleep, uncertainties of what the future would bring caught beneath his eyelids.