Work Text:
Off the Ice: Persona Meets figure skating!!!
Location: Chinese Diner Aiya, Yaso-Inaba
[Evening]
Chie: “Thanks for bringing me here tonight Yu. I was so hungry I thought I was going to starve to death.” Immediately after saying that, she devoured her beef bowl, acting as if she was starving. They were sitting at the front closest to where the chef was, where they always sat. It had been a couple of years since the incident that happened in Yaso-Inaba, and Chie was over 5 years older than she was before. Her dreams of becoming a police officer to protect her home town of Yaso-Inaba were taking shape, and in the next couple of months she would complete it and become a full-time police officer.
The closer that she was getting to achieving her goals, the happier that she was getting. Though things were stressful, and she would often have long and arduous days at the force. Thankfully, she had Yu on her side, who decided to come back to Yaso-Inaba for good and stayed with Chie.
Yu: “I know you far too well Chie. I know things have been tough lately, and I wanted to take you here as a treat.” Currently he was working towards getting a culinary degree of sorts, so he could continue to work on creating the best tasting curry ever. He was even somewhat inclined to opening his own restaurant, though he was also occasionally helping Mitsuru with any persona related incidents. Aside from a possible thing with these so called Phantom Thieves that had been around lately, it had been quiet, which was good, because it allowed him to spend more time with his girlfriend; though there was a good chance they weren’t just staying as boyfriend and girlfriend for too much longer.
He could only watch with an amused expression as Chie inhaled her food like always. She did choke a few times, but the vast majority of the time she was able to without much issue. Part of him wanted to figure out how she was able to do it, but he ended up just chalking it up to being one of her many talents, and part of the reason he loved her, now and forever. He would go ahead and chow down on his meat bowl as well, and they would be mostly silent for a little while.
Chie: She finally broke the silence as she finished her first meat bowl of the night, determined to have another. “Another meat bowl please!” She told the chef behind the counter, and he went to work on another meat bowl. “Oh, Yu, when I get home from the academy tomorrow I’m taking you to see the premiere for the new Trial of the Dragon. They have made another, and I can’t wait! So, whatever you have planned tomorrow evening, cancel it.”
Yu: “I didn’t actually have anything planned tomorrow, but I definitely won’t now.” Her love for kung-fu movies always amused him, though he kind of liked them as well. She got into her little tangents regarding Kung-Fu movies for a bit before she was interrupted by the door opening. Both her and Yu would focus their attention on who was entering. It was two people, both in their 20’s. Something about both of them was ringing some bells in Yu’s head, but he couldn’t quite place where had saw them before.
The first guy had short, messy black hair, blue eyes and half rimmed blue glasses. He stood close to the other guy and was holding hands with him as they had entered. It seemed like both were new to the area and were taking a good, hard look around the place, taking in the sights and the sounds. The other guy was taller though not by much and had short gray hair with bangs that covered his left eye. From what he could tell, the other man had light green eyes.
Chie: “Wait…. I recognize those two.” She spoke softly to Yu, somehow ignoring the fact that her next beef bowl was sat down next to her. For a little bit anyways. “Yeah, yeah! I definitely recognize them. That’s Yuri Katsuki and Victor Nikiforov, those esteemed figure skaters. I remember watching the Grand Prix Finals with you, since everyone was making a big deal about it. Yuri’s performance was amazing! I wish I had that kind of flexibility and mobility.”
Yu: That was when the metaphorical lightbulb hit his head. Of course, the figure skater and his coach that he had watched at the Grand Prix finals with Chie! He was surprised that it took him that long to put it together. “Right, now I remember. I knew I recognized them from somewhere.” After he said that, Yuri would comment on the place.
Yuri: “Huh, nice little place.” He commented to Victor as his eyes scanned the place. He wasn’t familiar with this part of Japan, but Victor wanted to come here since he heard some good things about it. Besides, it was between seasons, and they weren’t doing much practice anyways. So, he decided to go along with this trip of his. He did notice that Yu and Chie were looking at them. Probably fans, so he was expecting an autograph session.
Victor: “I hear they have something called the Mega Beef Bowl challenge. But only when it’s raining. You better not try that challenge, or you’ll go back to the little piggy that you were when we first met.”
Yuri: “I wasn’t planning on it….” He replied stoically. (“Besides, even I have my limits, at least, I’m pretty sure I do anyways.”) He just rolled his eyes at Victor before deciding to go over and talk to Yu and Chie. They seemed to be regulars here, so there was a good chance that they could tell them all about the area and where to go in terms of the sights. Making his way over, the two would quickly look away and act like they weren’t observing him in the first place. “Hey, we’re new around here. I was wondering if you could tell us about this place.”
Chie: “Oh! Heh, yeah, sure. This is the Chinese diner Aiya. Their main claim to fame is the beef bowls that they have. They are heavenly, and I recommend having at least two. You’ll want that many. On rainy days they have the mega beef bowl challenge, a massive bowl full of beef, rice, and assorted things with a fried egg on top. Yu here successfully managed to complete it once, only to have a stomach ache afterwards. It’s not for the faint of heart. Oh, and there’s this delivery girl that can deliver to you no matter where you’re at. Even if you’re running away at high speeds.”
Yuri: He sweat dropped at that last part. (“How can something like that be possible? Maybe she’s psychic or something. Or maybe she has a tracking device on everyone. Now I want to check to make sure I haven’t been bugged.”) He felt around himself for a bit which would raise some eyebrows. He was also imagining the scenario. “I’ll keep that in mind. Hopefully we’ll never be in a situation like that…. will we Victor?”
Victor: “Who knows, maybe you have a lot of fans here in Yaso-Inaba. You’ll probably have to run away from them. You might as well get something to eat while you’re on the run.”
Yuri: “How the heck would I be able to eat while I’m on the run?!” He turned to look at Victor with a flabbergasted expression. “I’m pretty sure running would not help with digestion at all. (“Besides, I’m pretty sure I would make a mess all over the ground as I’m running away.”)
Victor: “Well, I’m sure you would find a way.” He responded with his trademark grin, amused by the situation, and just wanting to mess with Yuri a bit, since he was easily messed with.
Chie: She just had a deadpan expression on her face from the two’s interaction. Though in a way it sort of resembled how her relationship could be with Yu at times. “Wow, they certainly act a lot different than they did on the ice.”
Yu: “I don’t mind it. It’s actually kinda amusing and really nice to see.” From what he could tell, the two had to been in a relationship, especially since they had matching rings that they wore all the time. Possibly engagement rings, which meant they were going to be married. Well, he wished them luck regardless.
Yuri: “Oh, that reminds me, I don’t think we’ve asked for your names yet.” He just realized that he hadn’t asked for them. He also realized that they had been standing in the middle of the restaurant for a bit and hadn’t sat down yet. Woops. Well, they would get that fixed in a little bit.
Chie: “I’m Chie Satanoka, and the person next to me is Yu Narukami.”
Victor: “Ah, it is wonderful to meet you Chie.” He told her, getting somewhat uncomfortably close, his light-hearted expression etched on his face. He also said that in a seductive tone. “That is a lovely name that you have there.” He watched as Chie’s face turned a dark red and garnered a little bit of a glare from Yu, but mostly shrugged it off. He still had charisma and charm in spades it seemed.
Yuri: He would grab Victor by the ear and start pulling him towards the other two seats, so they could order their beef bowls. “Come on Casanova, besides, you’re with me now, remember?”
Victor: “I am? Sometimes I forget.” He admitted, showing off his forgetfulness as usual as he was dragged away from the blushing young woman, sitting in the seat furthest away from them, with Yuri sitting on the seat next to Yu.
Yuri: “So, tell us more about you, you two.” He asked, curiosity peaking in his voice. They seemed like pretty interesting characters, and to know more about them would satisfy that. Plus, it was an effective way to pass the time after he ordered two beef bowls for the both of them.
Chie: “I’m currently working towards becoming a police officer for Yaso-Inaba. Ever since a couple of years ago I have strived to want to protect this town and its inhabitants. I’m still doing training down at the academy but in a couple of months I’ll be a certified police officer!” She announced proudly, a big smile etched on her face as she said that. “I also love marital arts and know a good variety of moves myself.”
Yu: “I’m studying at a culinary academy and thinking of opening my own restaurant.” He began, imagining what his possible restaurant would look like in the future. Though he would need more than just a good curry to make it successful. He was more than up for the task though. “I was told that my cooking skills were pretty good, and I wanted to take advantage of that. I also occasionally help out a friend with some stuff related to what they do.” He told them, being vague since it was persona related.
Yuri: (“So, an aspiring chef and police officer huh? Pretty interesting. I would hate to return here in the future and do something to end up arrested by her though. I imagine she would kick my ass with her martial arts skills.”) He shuddered at the thought as he was handed his beef bowl along with Victor’s. He turned to look at Victor who had an intrigued expression.
Victor: “You must show me your martial arts skills once we’re done eating!” He pronounced quite loudly, almost slamming his fist down on the table. This quite fascinated him, and he was just thinking of how well she was with them. Plus, they could inspire him for his return to the ice. After all, he always wanted to surprise the audience, and this would be a fantastic way to do so.
Chie: “Er…” The enthusiasm took her back a bit, but then she decided to go along with it. “Sure, why not! I would love to show off my martial arts moves, like my galactic kick. Once we’re done eating we’ll head down to the flood plain where I regularly practice my routines.” With that arrangement agreed upon, they would finish up their beef bowls, both Yuri and Victor enjoying them incredibly, and were definitely going to come back to here in the future.
[Location: Samewaga Flood Plain]
[Evening -> Early Night]
Chie: The group arrived at the flood plain, and would head towards the riverbank, which was her primary place for working on her various kicks and techniques. She would start to do some light warm ups, which would include stretching her legs out, bending down and touching her toes and so on. She wasn’t feeling the best since today had worn her out, but Victor’s enthusiasm gave her enthusiasm and she wanted to show off to them what she could do and wasn’t going to hold anything back!
Victor: “Ooh, this is going to be quite fun, don’t you think Yuri?” He was still fascinated and was holding his hands together in anticipation at these moves. He really wanted to see her go all out, that was for sure.
Yuri: “Yeah, I think this will be quite interesting to see.” (“Plus, it could give me a couple of ideas for my step routine possibly. Huh… dammit, we weren’t supposed to be here for stuff like this. We were here to relax!”)
Yu: “She has some pretty impressive moves. Just don’t get her too upset, like by breaking her favorite DVD. She may end up using one of her techniques on you.” He added in, chuckling at the memories of the times that Yosuke got hit with them. Sometimes he really did somewhat deserve them, but still, poor Yosuke.
Chie: “Alright, here goes nothing!” She told the three of them, and then would start demonstrating her various kicks and techniques. Having warmed up helped things a bit, though she felt she wasn’t doing things as well as she normally did. Chalk that up to being exhausted after work it seemed. “Galactic Kick!” She yelled, showing that off in top form. After a few minutes of that, she finally stopped, chest heaving up and down. “So, h-how was that?”
Victor: His eyes lit up the entire time and was enthralled at the performance. At the end he would give her a congratulatory applause, eyes sparkling. “That. Was. Awesome! I knew it was going to be good, but I certainly wasn’t expecting this!” He then turned to Yuri. “Were you watching closely Yuri? Her techniques were very good, maybe you could incorporate them into your routine…. wait, why am I giving you advice?” He suddenly remembered that they were going to be rivals next season. “Actually, you better not be taking any ideas. I claim them first.”
Yuri: “Did you seriously just forget that we are going to be rivals next season.” He just breathed off a long sigh at that. Why must he be so forgetful like this? And why does he love this guy so much despite that?
Victor: “Besides….” He put both hands on Yuri’s shoulders, his expression turning colder and calculated. “It won’t help you win against me next season. You will need to a lot more than just incorporating a few martial arts techniques into your routine.” This sent a chill down Yuri’s spine, and caused Yu to have a puzzled expression. And as quickly as he turned cold and calculated he went back to his normal happy go lucky expression. “But that’s neither here or there now is it? Ha ha.”
Yu: (“Wow, this guy can get pretty scary when he wants to.”) That sudden change in personality took him by surprise, but he couldn’t ponder on it much before Victor changed back to his normal personality. “That was great as usual Chie.” He complimented her before going over and giving the exhausted young woman a kiss on the lips as a reward.
Chie: “T-Thanks Victor, Yu.” She returned the kiss in earnest before continuing to get herself composed and back to normal. “I’m really surprised that I inspired you two so much it seems, heh. I just took a lot of these moves from the kung-fu movies that I watch, they really aren’t all that exciting.”
Victor: “Oh, they may be taken from movies, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t any less enthralling to watch. You made them your own, my dear, and you should be extremely proud of yourself for that!”
Yuri: “Yeah, it was a great routine to watch.” He chimed in, after getting over what Victor had just said to him. And had noticed Yu giving Chie a kiss. He figured that the two were in a relationship, and Victor’s little act of flirting probably didn’t come off the best. Still, there seemed to be no real harm done. “We were going to do some more sightseeing before we went back to the Amagi inn for the night, but it seems everything closes here pretty early. Regardless, we should meet up again before we head back to Russia.”
Chie: “Definitely! We would love to show you around Yaso-Inaba more while you two are still around, right Yu?”
Yu: “Of course.” (“They really are interesting people, beyond just being revered figure skaters, that’s for sure. I would love to get to know them more.”) He thought to himself as he agreed with Chie on that. “We won’t keep you any longer if you need to go back to the inn for the night.”
Chie: “Oh, and when you head back, tell my friend Yukiko hi for me, and tell her I’m sorry for not talking to her recently. She’s the owner of the inn, you’ll find her easily. She works way too hard keeping that place going and is probably still working despite being really late.”
Yuri: “Yukiko….” He was pondering on the name, trying to remember whether it was ringing any bells. It wouldn’t take him too long to remember. It was when they first showed up to the inn, they were greeted by her. Really nice woman, from what he remembered. “Ah, yeah, I’ll relay that message to her. Well, it was nice to meet you two, really. Have a nice night!”
Chie: “We will, thank you!” She gave them a courteous bow as they left, Victor telling them goodbye in his native Russian tongue as well. Before long, they had disappeared, and Chie was left there alone with Yu. “Well, that certainly was interesting. I can’t believe that two top figure skaters would suddenly appear here in Yaso-Inaba.”
Yu: “Maybe they wanted to come to a place where they wouldn’t be hounded as much by fans.” He brought up that possibility, since the town was small, and as a result, probably wouldn’t have many fans. “Those two are interesting people though. I’m glad we were able to meet up with them though.”
Chie: “I know right?! And the fact that they took inspiration from my moves? Wow, I may end up being more influential than I thought.” She was going to have to check up on them once the season started. Never had she thought she would get into watching figure skating, but if there was a chance that she would see her martial arts moves incorporated into a routine? Yeah, she was going to have to investigate it. “Alright, we should probably head home now. It’s getting late.”’
Yu: He nodded, agreeing with that. “Yeah, let’s head home now.” And with that, the two would head home together, now that they lived together in their own apartment. What had started off as a routine, sort of boring night turned into an interesting one. And who knew, maybe they had just made new friends with Yuri and Victor.