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..........M.E.R.I.D.I.A.N......L.I.G.H.T.S..........

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"Which team are you joining now?"

"I dunno. Coach Brian's waiting in the lobby."

It's been almost a week. Two more days left before the competition starts. I've been slated with different teams since then. That's one of the problems if a skater belonged to a very small federation. Practice time meant being passed in different teams and squeezing your way in just to get a slot.

Personally, I didn't know what's smaller than Team Philippines, seeing that I was the only skater from the said country competing in the NHK.

"I wish you're with us." Yuzuru held my hand, which I promptly removed.

"Someone might see," I hissed at him, darting my sight here and there.

"Who cares?"

"I care. Not to mention, your squealing fangirls care," I drawled, dully. "Even the media cares. I could go on and on, but I think you get what I mean."

Yes, I spoke to Yuzuru in English the whole time. It was our way of communication because I was helping him get used to the English language. We've been doing this for about a year now. At first, he had trouble deciphering the words I said as if I was speaking Latin.

Eventually, he got used to it. Even when I spoke at a normal pace, as opposed to the slow-paced tone that I used in our initial English conversations, he could understand what I said. However, he still had trouble with it if I spoke too fast.

We had our bags with us while we headed towards the entrance where the buses were waiting. The organizers assigned the different teams to different practice rinks. The lucky ones would get to practice in the NHK rink itself, and the others will practice on nearby rinks. The schedule rotates every now and then, that's why every team would get to practice in the NHK rink before the competition starts.

I yawned and my eyes watered in the process. It's too goddamn early for this. An arm draped over my shoulders and changed our direction. "What the-?" I attempted to shrug him off but Yuzuru tightened his arm around me, sticking me to his side.

"I saw a vending machine here."

"We're gonna be late!"

"The bus won't leave, don't worry so much."

"Your bus won't leave. Mine will."

"Then just join us," he said, slightly stumbling with his tone. He preferred practicing some English words he knew.

I couldn't get the strength to argue with him further. I was too sleepy that I let him lead me to wherever the hell he was going on.

Finally, after passing several corridors, we reached the vending machine he was talking about. He bought a can of hot tea while I chose milk tea for mine.

"Cold?"

"You know hot drinks don't do it for me."

But hell, this milk tea was cold. I could feel my hands numbing from it.

Is there a freezer inside that vending machine?

A few minutes later, we reached the lobby where our team was waiting, complete with the media, of course. Flashes surrounded us in every turn and big cameras in various stations were positioned strategically in different parts of the room.

Some teams had already left in their team buses but there's still a couple of other federations hanging around the hall and readying their own teams.

"Elana," I heard Coach Brian call out. I saw him waving his hand, a piece of rolled paper in his grasp.

"Need to go, bye!" I said hurriedly, flashing a quick smile to Yuzuru before jogging to Coach Brian and my support team.

"Sorry, some random guy dragged me somewhere."

"Good thing that random guy is a member of Team Japan." Coach Brian chuckled, unrolling the paper containing our schedule. "We're slotted in the same venue with Japan."

"Oh!" I glanced to where Yuzuru was, he's talking with the other members of Team Japan. I saw that Kanako was there, along with Mao, whom I met in Vancouver, and Daisuke Takahashi, the boisterous guy from back then. There were other skaters who I wasn't introduced yet.

"Come on." Coach Brian patted my back then strode towards the coordinator of Team Japan, discussing with him our schedule.

I adjusted the strap of my duffel bag then went to Yuzuru.

"Hiya!" I butted in while Yuzuru was chatting with Kanako.

Before I left Nagoya, my relationship with Kanako became somewhat better than our initial acquaintance-like friendship. We weren't close still but at least we were past that stage of awkwardness where we share a short smile then go on different ways, like having never met the other before.

Yuzuru was surprised, then he teased, "Missed me already?"

"Seems like I'm in your team today," I scoffed at him then gave a playful smile to Kanako. "Is this guy bothering you?"

Kanako blushed shyly, then quietly said, "Not too much."

I blinked, sensing something in the air. Glancing between Yuzuru and Kanako, I fought off my impending grin. I diverted the topic, "How are you? I miss the team, especially that smol bean, Shoma."

"The usual, we've been busy lately with the season. Shoma's great, he's improved a lot. He's going to watch the competition along with the rest of the club."

"Yeah, I've got a text from him," I replied, nodding.

"Oh! Elana-san," Mao greeted, happily surprised. She was talking with other members of her team when she saw me.

"Hi!" I said, cheerfully. We shared a brief hug. "It's been a long time. I haven't been able to see you after Vancouver, congratulations. It's late but still, congratulations on the win."

"Thank you," Mao replied, graciously. "You were great too. I honestly love your free skate."

Us girls chatted for a time. On the side, I saw Yuzuru watching our exchange with a relaxed smile on his face. He listened to our conversation but he didn't participate in it. I was curious as to why.

When it was finally time to board the bus, we readied our bags and headed outside. The other members of Team Japan got on the bus first, along with Daisuke and the Japanese support team, followed by the Philippine support team and Coach Brian. Kanako was ahead of me, she got on first then I did. The back of the bus was already filled out leaving us to occupy the middle part.

This bus was a spacious double seater type, there's a space in the middle that acted as a walkway and two comfy seats on each side. Seeing that Kanako sat on the window seat on the left side, that left the seat beside her vacant. I gave her a quick smile and sat on the aisle seat on the right side.

I got to say, my match-making skills were to be highly commended.

I'm kinda proud of myself.

Why? Because before boarding the bus, Kanako was ahead of me, and behind me? Yuzuru took the spot.

Any sane person would seat on the easily accessible aisle seat on the left side, instead of seating on the window seat on the right side because they have to squeeze right through the small space I had left.

But whoever said Yuzuru was sane?

So, imagine my surprise when Yuzuru nudged my foot with his own and moved his head to the side, indicating me to shift over. I pretended not to notice him by looking out of the window.

"Yah!" I protested when Yuzuru squeezed through the small pace at my front then sat heavily on the window seat beside me. I sputtered in indignation, then scoffed unbelievably. He turned to me with a smug smile on his face. "You-!" I turned to look at Kanako but my vision was obscured by Mao's backpack. I immediately leaned back so as to not get hit by the bag.

Mao sat beside Kanako and that's the end of my first matchmaking attempt. Disastrous.

I shot the random guy beside me an unimpressed look. He had the audacity to look innocent by widening his eyes and adopting a confused expression but that failed when his lips twitched upwards slightly.

The bus started moving, cementing our positions in place. The next few rows ahead of us were filled out by support teams that got on the bus late, only a handful of seats at the front were left available. Changing seats now would mean falling over the walkway.

I didn't like the aisle seat because it oddly makes me dizzy, Yuzuru knows that. My original plan was to let Yuzuru seat on Kanako's side then I will shift over to the window seat and let another person - Mao, in this case - seat beside me.

After a moment, my mind starts getting dizzy as expected, causing me to groan lightly and close my eyes. Yuzuru nudged me with his shoulder, he said, "Lay your head on me. Rest."

I was about to protest when he interrupted me, "There are no media here."

Hesitating for a moment, it occurred to me that, media or not, I was too dizzy to care. Hence, I closed my eyes again and laid my head on his shoulder. Our arms got in the way, so I embraced his arm with mine. The Team Japan jacket that he was wearing was comfy so when I laid my head, it served as a makeshift pillow, in a way.

It was a long ride on our way to the practice rink, that's why in ten minutes of riding, I let down my guard and fell into dreamland.

I didn't know the amount of time that elapsed. When Yuzuru woke me, half the passengers on the bus were missing. From my groggy daze, he explained that the team was split into two practice rinks. The pairs team and ice dance team would go to one practice rink while the ladies and men singles would go to another one.

The bus was decreasing in speed and pulling over a big stadium. It would take a few more minutes before we could get off it.

"Oh," was all I said, tightening my grasp on Yuzuru's arm and laying my head on his shoulder again. I wasn't in my right mind yet. This happened whenever I was woken from sleep, my mind couldn't exactly process what's happening. It took me a few minutes afterward to sink in that our team was split in the first place.

The mini overhead aircon that accompanied each seat ruffled my hair, it was irritating me greatly. I grunted and waved my hand lazily at it. A chuckle was heard and the aircon was directed elsewhere. I mumbled, "Thanks."

Fifteen minutes later, my mind was clear again, in time for us to get off the bus and head inside the stadium. The bus was great and all with the spacious seats but having my feet touch solid ground again was great beyond compare. I stretched my body and walked around to get my circulation running.

I was changing into my training gear in the locker rooms and tying my skates along with the other girls when Mao asked, "You're really close to Yuzuru. I remember you saying you've met years ago?"

"Yeah, I met him several years ago. I couldn't brush him off since," I offhandedly joked. I was casual to Yuzuru, as he was casual to me. That's what years of close friendship produced. We were very comfortable with each other. Perhaps, too comfortable.

That's when the trouble began.

"That's very rude of you!" Kanako, who was silently standing off the side, burst out, surprising Mao and I. "You shouldn't speak like that about Yuzu!"

A heavily tense air descended around us, Kanako was furiously glaring at my frozen state. "I was just joking," I tried to say from where I sat on the bench beside Mao but Kanako was unfazed and continued to glare at me.

"Kana-chan," Mao intervened, trying to calm down Kanako. Her untied skates were wobbly causing her to sit on the bench again.

"You call yourself a friend of his when you're this callous?" she retorted, sneering.

Woah! What the hell?

Now that's going too far.

I tried to reign in my temper, which proved to be successful, mostly because I was confused. Slightly hurt at the insult but confused by the sudden anger of Kanako. "Ok, look, what I said-"

"Stay away from Yuzuru," Kanako cut me off, causing me to flinch in severe annoyance. "Yuzuru doesn't need friends like you."

Oh, it is on!

I had a bunch of angry words at the tip of my tongue. I angrily stood up but Mao grabbed my hand and pulled, forcing me to sit back down again on the bench with her.

The hell's your relationship with the bench, girl?!

I thought, erratically.

Kanako gave me one last frosty glare before stomping out of the girls' locker room. I let out several angry breaths, trying to restrain my anger, while Mao patted me on the back.

"What's with her?" I scowled in frustration. Mao had that lost look on her face, not knowing what to say.

My heart was beating fast as I fumed on the seat. I shook my head and let out a heavy breath. An uncomfortable thought came to me, I turned to Mao. "What I said... is it, is it really rude of me to..." I trailed off, uncertain.

"Um, about that..." Mao said, thinking back on the events. "In my eyes, it's only a joke between friends... but I'm not that close with Yuzuru, you are... I think Kanako is also close to him... I'm sorry, I don't know." Mao gave a helpless smile.

It was silent as we got ready and when we left the locker room I involuntarily sought out Kanako's location. She was already on the rink, zooming by and doing her thing. I noticed that Daisuke and another Japanese guy was on the rink as well, doing strokes and generally testing the ice.

A heavy and troubled sigh escaped me.

Suddenly, a pair of heavy hands patted me on the shoulders, causing me to slightly buckle down. "What took you so long?" Yuzuru asked with a ready grin on his face.

Nothing came to mind except for the fight earlier, I became speechless on what to say. Mao gave another helpless smile and decided to leave us alone, heading to the rink to start her practice.

Faced with Yuzuru's question, I gave him a rigid smile and said, "Nothing special."

He could tell that something happened but he didn't push it. It was clear that I didn't want to talk about it. When we stepped on the ice, I left him to clear my thoughts. I encircled the entirety of the rink, doing step sequences and parts of the choreography that was imprinted within me. If there was a time I passed near Kanako, we simultaneously avoided the other. I was kind of sour about what happened.

It's been a couple of hours, each of us was busy with our own programs. I often went to Coach Brian and listened to his advice and insights. I took another tissue and wiped my pinkish nose, even after skating for years, my nose still gets irritated from prolonged exposure to ice.

My gaze was drawn to Yuzuru. He circled around the rink and performed his corresponding transitions before readying his position... he jumped a quad toe! The landing was shaky but he completed the rotations, that's what mattered most.

"Wow!" I was flabbergasted. I knew Yuzuru could do quads, he's been working on the jump for nearly a year now. Nevertheless, it was my first time seeing him do it personally. I started to glide over to congratulate him then I stopped immediately. Kanako came over by his side and they were laughing and chatting pleasantly.

It's funny that I tried to pair them off together back in the bus, yet seeing them now?

No, thank you.

My eye twitched in immense irritation. A part of me was pissed and wanted to confront her. A larger part of me wondered what exactly ticked her off. I didn't buy the whole disrespectful part. It was clear even to Mao that what I said was a harmless joke.

Of course, there was a chance that Kanako was seriously offended by that joke alone and there's no hidden reason or another reason really, on what angered her. Watching Yuzuru and Kanako's interaction... was it possible that she liked Yuzuru to the point that she got possessive over him?

I knew she liked Yuzuru. I wasn't that blind.

I remembered that scene in the bus where I rested against Yuzuru. It started to dawn on me that the scene was probably the case. If so, then as Yuzuru's friend - the irony - I didn't want him to get together with someone who got jealous over such a simple thing!

... eh, who am I to dictate who Yuzuru deserves...

I'm sounding like Kanako...

Downtrodden and bitterly stewing, I blew strands of hair away from my face, circling the ice and practicing my jumps. My hair got messy again, I arranged my bun, making sure all stray strands were tied away before focusing on my practice.

I landed a triple Lutz with a smooth landing. Continuing with my transitions, I began to practice my jumps. At first, I landed each jump smoothly then as I continued on with my free skate program, I became wobbly in my landings, even missing one of them entirely.

Biting my lip, I crossed my arms and wished that this wouldn't happen in the competition itself.

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..........M.E.R.I.D.I.A.N......L.I.G.H.T.S..........

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(Hi Kanako fans!)

- dodges incoming frying pans -

(I don't have anything against Kanako. Please don't kill, thank you!)

- bow - 

(Also, I think this chapter was necessary because I wanted to showcase Elana's flaws as well. She could be really petty if she wanted to, lmao!)

(If you liked this chapter, please leave a vote and/or a comment. Let me know what you honestly think. Thank you!~)