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The solemn tones of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata filled the air, accompanied by the light slashing sounds of skates cutting across ice.
The ice rink was mostly empty at the moment; sitting just outside of it were Mr. and Mrs. Kamukura. Standing near its entrance was the Kamukuras’ personal skating instructor.
And by himself on the ice, skating to the music, was Izuru. His movements were poised and precise, and his long black hair flowed around him like thick ribbons made of fine silk.
Complete the turn; two, three, four. Arms forward, core down; sit spin, one, two, three, four rotations. Up again. Bracket turn at the start of the measure…
It was so easy, so rote. Izuru had been practicing this same program for months. Day in and day out, it was the exact same sequence of maneuvers, to be executed and timed to the beats of the exact same song.
It was all for the sake of winning a regional competition; it was the biggest one Izuru had entered yet. Now fourteen years old, and with a streak of wins under his belt, Izuru was set to rise in the ranks of the figure skating world. It was an exciting time in his life.
… Or, more accurately, it should be an exciting time in his life.
The final notes from his program’s cut of the song played, and he stopped, upright, arms held up gracefully. Then, his instructor and parents applauded him, as he skated to the rink's exit, finally finished with practice for the day.
“Great work, Izuru!” his instructor said, beaming. “Perfect technique, as always.”
“I hope you’re excited for the regional!” his father said, also smiling. “You win that, and you’ll be on the fast track to the Olympics. Wouldn’t it be great to win the gold?”
“Oh, we would be so proud,” his mother said, looking dreamy.
In response to that, Izuru barely nodded at them; his face was as impassive as always.
His instructor’s bright smile faded at that. “Hey, it’s an exciting thing, isn’t it? Your technique is incredible, but your expressiveness could still use some work. You can’t win a competition on technique alone.”
Izuru turned to his instructor, eyebrow raised. Was this going to be another inane lecture about opening up?
“Come on, how do you feel? Why don’t you show us how happy you are? Give us a smile!”
Izuru smiled, all right; he curled his lips upward in an expression filled with passive aggressive spite.
“... Ah... well, that’s all the time I have for today! See you on Thursday,” the instructor said, quick to wave off Izuru and exchange farewells with his parents.
As Izuru sat off to the side, taking off his skates and getting packed up, he found himself wondering: Why am I here?
That Saturday, at 7 AM sharp, Izuru was walking up to the front entrance of a different skating rink. It was a small, family-owned place, and the owners agreed to set it up and let him practice there during off hours—they even gave him a copy of the keys.
He was by himself when he went to the rink, and once inside, he noticed that he was still by himself. The rink’s owners must have been very trusting.
He went to the back of the lobby, and once he opened the door—
Lively notes from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Waltz filled his ears. He could also hear the faint sound of skates cutting across ice.
Someone else was here. Surprising, considering that he was supposed to have the rink to himself.
Izuru quietly slipped inside, and turned the corner, arriving at the rink.
The music sang out with joy, and Izuru couldn’t take his eyes off the skater.
There, in the middle of the rink, was another boy, around Izuru’s age. He had a slim frame, bouncy wavy hair, and the paleness of his skin and hair was like porcelain. The main lights in the rink were dimmed, and the Christmas lights were on instead; the other boy was dancing among a sea of glowing points of color.
His movements were clumsy, lacking finesse; but they were beautiful. Full of wonder, joy, excitement.
Before him, Izuru saw a different world. It was serene and full of beauty, and at the center of it was a sprite playing in the snow, utterly carefree.
The waltz swung into lows and highs, and the boy couldn’t match the beat, but he gave it everything he had. At one point, he fell down; before Izuru could move to help, he was already back on his feet, and Izuru was again transfixed.
Finally, the song wound down, and the boy came to a stop, holding his arms in the air like he just finished a performance.
And without thinking, Izuru gave him the applause he deserved.
“Ah!” The boy jolted at that, and once he caught sight of Izuru, he flushed. Then, he skated towards Izuru, looking shy and asking, “Who are you? What’re you doing here?”
“Ah… my apologies for not introducing myself. My name is Izuru Kamukura.”
“Oh! Izuru Kamukura…” The boy’s eyes lit with recognition. “I’m sorry! I’ll get out of your way now, I’m sure you’re here to practice.”
That’s right… Izuru was here to practice. He felt some dread at the thought. “Please do not leave.”
“O-oh…. Um… did you need something? My parents own this rink, so I can help you out. Ah, you probably don’t want these Christmas lights on, for starters… I know, they’re out of season…”
“Please, leave the lights as they are. I do not need you to do anything for me.”
“Oh… I see…” The other boy was still blushing, and he looked down at his hands, gripping onto the rink’s railing.
Silence.
Then, finally, Izuru spoke up. “What is your name?”
“Nagito Komaeda… sorry I didn’t introduce myself sooner… I didn’t want to waste your time with something like that.”
“It is not a waste. It is nice to meet you, Nagito.” Izuru enjoyed getting to say the boy’s name.
“Nice to meet you too.” Nagito flashed him a small smile.
Then they fell quiet, until finally, Izuru figured out what he wanted to do. “Would you like to skate with me?”
Nagito blinked, incredulous. “Um… yeah. We can skate together. Do you need help with practice?”
“Please, no practice. I would simply like to skate.”
“Oh… okay.” Nagito became more flushed and nervous at that, but nodded in agreement all the same.
Soon, Izuru joined Nagito in the rink. Nagito was so tense and restrained, but after some coaxing, he finally agreed to replay Swan Lake Waltz. By the time the song was over, Nagito was smiling widely again, much more relaxed and open—much more like the happy, carefree boy that Izuru first stumbled upon.
From there, they skated together like they had all the time in the world for it. They played a constant stream of the songs they wanted—some songs were beautiful, and some more whimsical.
Nagito showed Izuru his favorite maneuvers to try; Izuru, in turn, performed some of his own favorites.
Nagito pretended to put on another performance, and then got flustered at Izuru’s genuine applause afterward.
They talked to each other about their favorite skaters and programs.
And then they skated quietly, letting themselves get lost in the music.
At one point, Izuru took Nagito by the hand, pulled him in for a spin, and nearly made Nagito fall over again; from there they put on an uncoordinated, improvised pairs performance.
Izuru was spending his morning skating through a colorful sea of Christmas lights, heart filled with song, feeling the air against his face and through his hair, weightless and gliding along the ice.
By his side was the prettiest boy he had ever seen, and they shared this morning together—filled with joy and laughter, in their own space.
… Finally, Izuru remembered why he was here; why he was on the ice.
He remembered a long time ago—before talks of the regional became common in his house, before all of the competitions, before the practice, before the lessons, before he was first approached by adults for revealing some innate talent for the sport—
He remembered the times he visited the lake during the winter and enjoyed the feeling of gliding out there, among nature. The times he got to skate among all the other people casually, soaking in their smiles and cheer. The times he ran into other children his age, and they’d race and play games and try to skate like what they saw on TV.
It was so happy, beautiful, and full of wonder.
… And now, here he was, in the little world that Nagito had created for himself. Full of happiness, beauty, and wonder. Thank you, Nagito, he thought. Thank you so much for letting me share your world.
It took Nagto’s breath away when he saw it.
For the first time in a long while, Izuru wore a genuine smile.