Chapter Text
“Now on the ice is Eiji Okumura, an 18-year-old from Izumo in the Shimane Prefecture. Okumura is a fan favorite this season, with high hopes that he finishes in the Grand Prix Final. Skating to Moonlight Sonata, Movement One by Beethoven, he opens with a triple Axel…there he goes into the entry edge…oh and he nails it! Perfect execution! Followed by a quad flip-triple loop combination…his toe jumps never fail to fascinate me.
Step sequence is perfect and fluid as always, really capturing the emotion of the piece. Wonderful execution on the flying combination spin…. Okumura’s next jump is a quadruple lutz, one of his specialties. Just look at that outside edge! and…oh god…did you see that ankle turn? Oh no, he’s not getting back up. This isn’t good. Looks like he’ll have to drop out of the competition…”
***
[Okumura Eiji, Japanese figure skater, retires at 18 after sustaining a severe ankle injury at the Cup of China.]
***
Eiji bitterly gazed at the newspaper headline, shoved away under piles and piles of others under his bed. He didn’t have the heart to throw it away, keeping it as some sort of reminder of what he lost. He didn’t really remember the event clearly: his father had died before the season began, and everything was just numb. His body was doing all the work for him, and at just the perfect moment, had decided to give up.
Recovery was hard. He was bed-bound for a month for his ankle to heal, and then grew too depressed to actually find the motivation to get up. He moved back in with his mother, who was anything but happy to have him back in the house. He spent the majority of his days sleeping everything off, or watching competitions he was missing via livestream. He missed skating, but was too scared to return to competing. He couldn’t show up after that; he didn’t even know if he would be able to jump like he used to.
After around 6 months, his sister grew tired of seeing Eiji so upset and longing, and dragged him to the rink with her and her friends. Eiji was exhausted and protested the whole time there, but he was the designated driver anyways, so where else would he go? Might as well go say hi to the workers inside. Grabbing his skates, sighing as he noticed that the blades had rusted, he threw them into the trunk of his small car and begrudgingly drove Chiemi to the rink.
Eiji had no idea that deciding to take his whiny teenage sister to the rink would lead to him getting back into skating. A few shaky laps turned into C-steps and crossovers, which turned into three-turns and mindless footwork. His ankle was still sore by quite a bit, so he didn’t dare jump; he was nowhere near as strong as he used to be. But he was skating, and it felt amazing . Freeing . Maybe he should resharpen his skates, clean them up a little. He wondered how much a pass card would cost. He didn’t have anything to do anymore, why not come a few times a week? Just for a few hours? That would be nice. Maybe he should start working out again…
These thoughts followed him for the next hour, until his sister decided she was done and wanted him to drive her over to her friend’s house. And for the first time in what had felt like forever, Eiji was about to complain about leaving.
“Excuse me, are you Eiji Okumura?” a man asked. He was carrying a hefty backpack and camera with him, and had a friendly enough disposition for Eiji to feel the slightest bit of joy from recognition.
“Yes, that would be me, who are you exactly?”
“Oh no worries! I was just hoping I would find you around Izumo, I’m Shunichi Ibe,” he said, shaking Eiji’s hand firmly but genially. “I’m a photographer and journalist for figure skating magazines. Usually I do international competitions, but since the season just ended, I’m taking some photos for the local skating club here. You’re a legend amongst them, you know.”
Yeah, a legend for being the biggest flop in the country , Eiji groaned internally.
“Oh, so you are also from Izumo?” Eiji asked, wondering honestly who the hell this guy was.
“Well, I was born here, and went to university in Tokyo. Graduated a few years ago and returned here to have a more quiet life.”
“Oh, cool,” Eiji half-mumbled. He really hadn’t talked to anyone in a long time, there was no way he was used to this kind of attention.
“Well, would you be alright if I took some photos of you skating sometime? Or maybe with the skating club kids? I’m sure they would love it.”
Eiji’s heart dropped. How hadn’t this guy known that Eiji hasn’t even touched the ice in half a year? Did they all just assume he was back up and running in private?
“Er, maybe give me a while. I didn’t really come prepared and I haven’t skated in ah…quite a while,” Eiji shuffled awkwardly, wringing his hands together. “If there’s ever a competition, maybe I’ll come, but I’m about to leave right now-”
“Oh, of course, no worries! I’m here once a week, let me give you my phone number if you’re ever interested,” Ibe scrambled for his phone. The two exchanged contacts, and that was that.
***
It had officially been a year since Ibe and Eiji began talking. Eiji eventually became his assistant, helping out with carrying equipment and doing on-ice videography. It didn’t require strenuous hours of training on and off the ice: just show up, take photos, set up tripods, and record promotional videos. He got to skate whenever he wanted, and even taught a few lessons. It was awkward being asked by the younger crowd, “Can you do a triple axel?” over and over again, but usually saying a simple “Oh, well maybe later,” would be enough to divert their attention for a few minutes.
Around a month ago, Ibe had come into work with someone on the phone. This wasn’t an abnormal occurrence, but was odd because he was talking in English. Eiji threw an asking glance at Ibe, wondering who it was. Ibe held up his hand signalling to wait a second, and returned to speaking. Ibe was talking so casually to this person, so maybe they were a friend? From America? Eiji had been to America before during a competition, but the only place he stayed was between the hotel and the rink.
“All right, I’ll ask him. Thank you so much, Max, tell Jess I said hi,” Ibe chimed, before he hung up. He looked at Eiji with excitement in his eyes.
“Eiji, how would you feel about travelling to America for a season?”