Chapter Text
Riku sat in the corner of the gym; her thumb was pressing hard into a small slime-based stim toy. She watched as her brother and his teammates practiced. They had a lot of important games coming up; they had been practicing really hard. She, on the other hand, hadn’t been practicing at all.
She had stopped practicing after her last competition for a few reasons, but mainly her coach was too much for her. She was autistic, and her coach was neurotypical. She had worked with many neurotypical people in the past who were understanding, but this coach was not. He made her feel like her differences were a burden, and she was tired. She didn’t want to retire completely, but with no coach and a boatload of performance anxiety, what else could she do?
“Riku,” her brother called softly. He was bending down in front of her. His facial expression was full of concern. “You’ve been so sad since you came home. Is there anything we can do?” His voice was calm, but it was almost wavering. She squished the toy in her hand harder. She noticed Hinata, the orange-haired first year, and Daichi watching the interaction. Neither of them were being sneaky about it, though Daichi was trying to be.
She shrugged. “I don’t think so.”
“Why don’t we take a trip to Hasetsu this weekend?” Koushi suggested.
Riku tilted her head. “Why would we do that?”
“You used to skate at Ice Castle all the time; I’m sure they would let you.”
Riku tucked her head into her knees. “I don’t want to skate, Koushi.”
“Wait! You ice skate?! That’s so cool!” Hinata yelled. He grabbed the attention of everyone in the gym. He clapped his hands over his mouth.
“Yeah! Riku is an internationally recognized skater. She won some big competition last year, right?” Nishinoya asked.
“Riku is a gold medalist. She won gold in the junior world championship last year,” Koushi said with a soft smile. You could tell he was a very proud big brother.
“Then why are you here? Shouldn’t you be practicing?” Tsukishima questioned.
Nishinoya and Tanaka both glared at him. “I don’t have a coach anymore. I can’t compete without a coach.”
“We can’t coach you, but we can come to watch you skate!” Hinata exclaimed.
“Huh?”
“This weekend, let’s go to the ice rink, and you can practice, and we’ll cheer you on! You come to all of our games; that’s only fair.”
“I guess Hinata’s right,” Nishinoya said with a smile, “What do you say, Riku?”
“Uh… Sure I guess.”
《\/》/\《\/》
[ Kenma is online ]
Riku let out a sigh of relief as she put her headphones on. “Hi, Kenma.”
“Hey, Riku. You okay?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You seem tense.”
She laughed a bit. “You can tell that from me saying ‘hi Kenma’?”
She can’t see it, but he shrugs. “You sounded down.”
“Just a bit stressed is all.”
“About what?” He inquired.
“My brother and the rest of his volleyball team are gonna come watch me skate on Saturday.”
“What’s the big deal about that? Your brother has seen you skate before, hasn’t he?”
“Yeah, he has. I’m just nervous; most of them haven’t seen me skate before.”
“When and where are you going?” Riku blinked at the question. “Riku?”
“Ice castle in Hasetsu.”
Kenma breathed, letting out an “Mmm.” in response. “Let’s play some games. Take your mind off of it. Minecraft?”
“Creative mode?”
He smiled. “If that’s what you want to play.”
《\/》/\《\/》
“Don’t look so nervous, Riku! You’re gonna do great.” Her brother’s soft smile did little to calm her, but it was still appreciated.
“Thanks, Koushi."
Daichi, Tanaka, Hinata, Noya, Asahi, and Kageyama were soon at their front door. On the train ride to Hasetsu, Riku played with a fidget cube in her hand and joined in the conversation when she felt like she could.
Before she even realized it, they had arrived at the Hasetsu train stop, and they were soon making the short walk to the ice rink. The bright smile of Yuuko Nishigori greeted them. “Oh my gosh, Riku! It’s been so long; how are you?”
A slight blush formed on the young girl’s cheeks. “I’m okay. Would you mind if I skate for a bit? I’ve been having trouble finding motivation, and my brother suggested coming down here.” Koushi gave the girl a quick smile. She smiled in return.
“No one is here right now. You’re welcome to practice as much as you like!”
Riku smiled at her; a slight nod followed. That’s all she could muster, but Yuuko didn’t mind. She had known Riku and Koushi for years. The volleyball players made themselves comfortable on the benches or leaning on the wall while Riku went to get her skates on.
“How’s she been doing?” Yuuko asked. “I haven’t seen much about her since the Grand Prix Final.”
Koushi shook his head. His nostrils flared. “It’s going alright. She’s doing okay; I can just tell she’s really anxious about getting back out on the ice again. Her most recent coach was an ableist asshole toward her. It made her feel really insecure. That’s why I thought coming here might help. Viktor and Yuuri are here, right?”
Yuuko smiled and nodded. “Yes, they are! They’ll stand off to the side, and hopefully, she won’t notice them until after she’s done some skating.”
“Thank you for convincing them to come.”
“It’s no problem at all! Yuuri is impressed by her skill, and Viktor is interested in her as a prospective student.”
Koushi’s mouth fell open. “I’m sorry… Who are we talking about?” Hinata interjected.
Yuuko happily answered. “Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki. Viktor is the reigning world champion, and he’s currently coaching Yuuri. Riku loves both of them.”
“Riku really looks up to them, and watching their careers has helped her through a lot. Yuuri is also Autistic like Riku. Seeing other Autistic skaters helps her feel confident and comfortable on the ice.”
“Woah, that’s so cool! That’s almost like if I got lessons from the tiny giant!” Koushi laughed at Hinata’s excitement, though it was honestly a nice change of pace. Koushi shifted his attention to his sister in the rink. She was skating in a few small circles as a warm-up.
“Hey, Riku!” He called. She looked up from the ice briefly, though the pair didn’t make eye contact. “Why don’t you skate one of Viktor’s or Plisetsky’s routes to get you back in your groove?”
She shrugged and pulled out her phone. It wasn’t hard to connect it to the local speaker system. This wasn’t her first time, after all. The music began to play, and she started to mimic Viktor’s movements.
She knew there were people watching, but she would never have counted on three pairs of eyes;
Viktor Nikiforov
Yuri Kasuki
And Kenma Kozume.