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

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"How is my lovable smol bean doing?" I cooed, shamelessly pinching the cheeks of the protesting chibi.

"Era-nee!" Shoma complained while lightly clutching my hands. He didn't remove them himself. It seemed to me that he missed my teasing.

Ahh, this little tsundere.

"Shoma! I missed you so much! I wish I could bring you to the cold lands of Canada!" I exaggeratedly said, causing passing staff to look weirdly at the scene while I hugged the boy tightly, rubbing my cheek atop his head. Shoma had grown a couple of inches. His head now reached above the level of my chest.

We were currently in the backstage of the NHK stadium.

"I can't. I still need to dominate Japan," Shoma said, seriously.

"Who said anything about competing? You're so competitive lately. I'm surprised at you, Shoma-chan." I poked his chubby cheek to lessen that seriousness on his face. Bring back my adorable boy! I don't need another sarcastic Yuzuru!

"I heard you won earlier this month? Chubu Regionals, was it?" I asked.

"Yes, he still has another competition coming up in Chiba this time." Aiko smiled at us from the side.

"When is it?"

"Next week. He's been practicing ever since. It's been difficult trying to drag him away from the rink. I'm surprised that... it's not that surprising when I think about it. When he heard that you're in the NHK, he said he definitely must watch the competition." Aiko was amused.

"Aww, that's sweet of you, Shoma-chan." I ruffled his hair causing a red-faced Shoma to protest once again. "I assume you will also be watching Yuzu's fs tomorrow?"

"Mm." Shoma nodded. "We were watching together with the club."

"You should join us, Elana-chan."

"Hm, alright. I will." I gave a closed smile, trying to appear unaffected. I just hope Kanako wouldn't be there to ruin my mood.

"That's nice to hear. Then, we must be going. I still have to pick up Itsuki and go buy some groceries."

"Ehh, we're going?" Shoma was unwilling to leave.

Aiko was torn because she knew Shoma and I haven't seen each other for such a long time.

"I can look after Shoma if you want?"

"Aren't you busy?"

I shook my head. "The ladies division ended, same with the many interviews that came along with it."

Aiko was hesitating. She didn't want to bother me.

"Don't worry, Shoma-chan's safe with me." I patted the boy's shoulders. "I can take him together with me to the bus going to the hotel."

"Won't that be a bother?" Aiko was concerned.

"Not at all. We have plenty of space on the bus."

"Alright, if you're sure. Shoma-chan, don't go anywhere without Elana-chan, you hear?" Aiko informed Shoma, who nodded determinedly. "I'll come to the hotel later this evening to pick you up."

Aiko turned to me, saying that if something comes up or if we needed her for anything, we should give her a call. I reassured her once again, and this time she left to pick up her other son.

"Well," I began, arm draped around Shoma's shoulders, "it's you and me again."

We looked at each other for a second then simultaneously grinned. I side-hugged Shoma before ruffling his hair. "Let's get outta here."

Side by side, we walked through winding corridors towards the direction of the main hall.

"How are you? Made any new friends? Tried eating veggies?"

Shoma shrugged. "The usual. You mean friends in skating? I haven't really talked to other guys besides the ones in the club. And bleh," Shoma responded disgustedly, "I hate vegetables."

I pinched his cheek lightly causing him to protest. "Aish! That's why you're such a shorty! Nee, you want to be a chibi all your life? If you don't, eat the freakin' veggies!"

"I'm not! You're one to talk," Shoma complained. "You haven't grown an inch for years!"

I scoffed at him unbelievably. I firmly placed a hand on the head of this shorty to emphasize our height difference. "Talk like that when you've grown taller than me, Chibi," I proclaimed, arrogantly.

A flash of light suddenly brought us out of our senselessly childish argument. I glanced on the side and saw a few reporters standing nearby with cameras on hand. With practiced ease, I protectively guided Shoma on the opposite side, leading him to the main hall where the team bus was waiting by the entrance. "Time to go."

As we neared the main hall, the number of reporters that surrounding us increased, hence, leading to the increase of flashes. I felt Shoma's shoulder tense under my protective hand so I patted him which caused him to glance up at me. I gave him a comforting and relaxed smile. "Almost there," I said in an undertone.

Shoma smiled back and became more comfortable... as comfortable a boy could be while dealing with a mob of reporters constantly surrounding him. I knew Shoma had encounters with the media ever since he was a young boy. I saw the videos where he was interviewed for being such a child prodigy. After winning novice competitions and attending ice shows, he was also surrounded by the Japanese media. However, the hype and amount of reporters from novice against the immense popularity of the senior division? It was incomparable.

"Hey, at least you're getting some practice in," I joked around, trying to lighten up the nervous boy. "This will be your life once you turn senior."

"Yeah," Shoma replied, clearing his throat in nervous tension, "right... thanks, Era-nee," he added, giving me a grateful look. He knew I was trying to calm him down. He loved skating but he wasn't too keen on the constant attention that he received. Now that he tasted the life he would have in the coming years... he's just grateful that someone was beside him.

Thankfully, aside from the constant flashing and the big cameras recording our every step as we headed to the entrance, the reporters didn't try to block us or bother us with questions. The Japanese media was kind of polite, maybe it was because I had a minor with me who wasn't part of the competition or maybe there's some kind of ruling here that prevented them to block skaters after the competition, I didn't know.

I saw Coach Brian and the others waiting by the entrance.

"Coach!" I waved at him, catching his attention. I ushered Shoma to where the others were waiting. "This one right here is my friend, Shoma. There's still some space, right?"

"Oh, hello." Coach Brian smiled kindly at the boy, who fidgeted while giving back a slight smile. "Yes, sure, plenty of space in the bus. You're right on time, we're leaving in a few minutes. I was about to call you."

"Great! We'll get settled in then."

Going back to the hotel were filled with endless chatters between Shoma and I. Snacks that Shoma brought with him were quickly devoured in an instant and I was craving for more. Thankfully, in a short while due to the close proximity of the NHK stadium, we reached our destination.

I was shocked that there was plenty of media roaming about in the entrance. I thought they would stay back in the stadium to interview the other skaters. Sadly, it wasn't to be.

Intermixed with the media were dozens of fans holding banners and little flags, each of them had their phones or cameras on hand. I hesitated because I didn't want to implicate Shoma. Somehow, my popularity recently shot up in a span of a day and now I was being bombarded with dozens of flashes even when I was still on the bus.

Me speaking in Nihonggo had somehow sparked the interest of Japanese people and media alike, same with other foreign fans that favor the Japanese skaters. Even though the interview was done just a few hours earlier, the news spread immediately like a massive wildfire through the social media and by word of mouth.

If I get down on the bus with Shoma, he may probably be bombarded with unnecessary attention due to our obvious connection. I didn't want that to happen.

"It's ok, Era-nee." Shoma understood what I was thinking right at that moment. He tried to look brave despite being uncomfortable.

I observed him for a while then sighed.

Someone patted me on the shoulder. I looked up and saw Coach Brian standing with his arm on the seat. "Ready?"

I nodded uncertainly.

As soon as we set foot on the ground, the number of flashes tripled and screams from the fans arose. Thankfully, there was a barrier set by the hotel staff to keep the skaters unobstructed in their way in. Some fans shouted my name excitedly which greatly amused me. Other fans congratulated me and even - weirdly enough - thanked me. I nodded in return and smiled at them, which then started another wave of clicks and flashes.

Shoma walked beside me when we headed inside the hotel, across the lobby, and into the elevator. I didn't guide him, lead him, or placed my hand securely on him this time. In my mind, now that Shoma's been exposed to his future setting, he must get used to it. Now would be a great time to start.

An hour later, I stepped out of the bathroom clothed in a comfortable pink shirt and grey sweatpants while rubbing my hair with my towel. Shoma was lying down lazily and haphazardly on the center of the bed munching on chips and watching television.

"Wat'cha watchin'?"

"Lame stuff."

I rolled my eyes and nudged him to the side. Sitting heavily on the bed, I continued to brush my hair. There's some kind of anime going on, it's about ninjas and stuff.

"Didn't you browse other channels?"

Shoma sighed heavily then pointed at the remote at the roundtable where Yuzuru and I had our impromptu dinner. "It's too far. I wish it could levitate."

Momentarily, I stared at this lazy pile of chibiness before squeezing and pinching his chubby cheeks. Shoma protested and wiggled out of my hold, falling down the bed in the process. "Ow!"

I ignored him as I got out of the bed and wore my forest-green jacket. Patting to check that my wallet and phone was in place, I waved my hand at the scowling kid. "Dinner."

That shut him up. Now that I had someone else with me, I guess I could eat at the buffet now. I know, I was using the kid to gain courage against this stuff. But you know how awkward it was to share a table with dozens of people that knew each other?

I just hope we could find a lone unoccupied table.

Shoma's not covered by the expense so I paid at the entrance for his ticket. Surprisingly enough, while the restaurant was near full, there were still a few vacant tables near the huge glass windows. Shoma and I took our time browsing the different dishes.

"You know, I didn't like vegetables when I was a kid either." I noticed that his plate was overflowing with rice and different kinds of meat. "You really need to try it. Here, take some of this."

"No!" Shoma moved his plate away. I almost dropped the goddamn lettuce wraps.

"Fine, fine, but mark my words," I began, glowering at him, "I will make it my life mission so that you will your veggies voluntarily."

"That will never happen," Shoma monotonely pointed out. "You're better off winning the gold in the Olys instead."

I smirked. "Who said I couldn't?"

In response, Shoma picked up a piece of juicy tenderloin meat and ate it. "I believe you. Just don't mess with my diet, then we'll be friends for eternity."

"No can do, Chibi."

*****

October 24, 2010

I burst out in excited cheers along with the ecstatic crowd.

It was Yuzuru's first quad jump! A quad jump!

At fifteen?!

That's totally insane!

Oh my god! He did it with so much grace and the fluidity of his body added to its aesthetic appeal. I couldn't help but be hooked in his program. I took in the beautiful in and out transitions that became the norm for him.

I joined Shoma and his mother in the section where the club members were seated. Yes, Kanako was there but we coldly ignored each other as per usual. Not that it was hard to. Yuzuru took up my whole attention.

There goes his trademark triple Axel! In combination, no less!

His skate wasn't flawless. It was noticeable that he began to tire halfway through his program due to the high-quality jumps, transitions, and sequences that he continuously belted out earlier.

"Ah!" I winced hard when he popped a triple into a single.

The tension was building so much that I clutched Shoma close to me. In hindsight, I think he was tense too because he didn't protest at all. He stayed quiet, his eyes glued determinedly on the ongoing performance of Yuzuru.

When Yuzuru's program ended, the stadium burst into applause at the desperate fight he gave. His skate wasn't perfection, far from it actually, but the feeling he imparted to people... it was intense. It was indescribable. The charisma flowed from every part of his body.

It was to the point that people were unconsciously drawn to him. His mere presence alone demanded the whole attention of each individual in this stadium.

Yuzuru Hanyu was something else.

My heart pounded strongly. I stayed quiet as everyone around me, even this awkward kid Shoma, burst out in cheers and waved their Japanese flags. I bit my lip as this overwhelming feeling passed through me. It was a combination of emotions that I couldn't put my finger on. It made me want to cry for some odd reason.

Without waiting for his score, I bolted down the walkway and passed through seemingly endless corridors. My head wasn't clear. I didn't know where my feet were taking me. It looked like I have a direction in mind because I noticed the familiar walls.

No one stopped me in my run. Not the staff, nor the security, as they belatedly recognized their ladies figure skating champion. They did wonder why I was in such a hurry. If they did question me, I wouldn't know what to say either.

Finally, I caught sight of a familiar figure, entering the backstage through the curtain flaps while still panting heavily from that tiring but utterly splendid program that he exhibited.

The collision between us was inevitable. This boy... no, this man...

He was something else.

I was clutching onto him. My arms wound tightly around his sweat-covered form. We were so close that his comforting scent of wood and rain that I vaguely noticed from those days prior washed over me. It only took a moment before I felt a warm hand on the back of my head and another around my waist.

He drew me closer as I struggled to calm down my distorted and unexplainable emotions. This guy that I actively tried to stay away from... it was funny that it was me hugging him now. Desperately, for that matter.

While we were temporarily lost in our own little world, the other people that we drowned out the presence of had different reactions to this scenario.

A part of Yumi's feelings was happy to see that her son had such a good friend, another part was conflicted at the scene that she was seeing. She may have joked about it now and then, but it was only supposed to be that. A joke.

A joke that mothers do to embarrass their children in front of their crushes for fun, but now... it was worrying to see such a reaction from her normally calm son. She knew Elana was a kind and cheerful girl that would never actively hurt her son... what was worrying was that Yuzuru seemed to take her kindness in a deeper kind... a much deeper kind.

She thought it was just an innocent and simple crush that would fade away in time, for why would someone at this age get so serious in this aspect? Seeing the opposite on her son's face... she felt a sense of crisis rush within her.

A lens was reflected and the shutter nearly sounded, it was stopped by a hand covering the vantage point. Nanami Abe had gone through a lot in her life. She personally knew how the media worked seeing as she's been in the industry for such a long time. She may be known first and foremost as the coach of Yuzuru Hanyu. That's alright for her. She was actually proud to be called as such. Being a mentor to a person with such a high potential was gratifying and humbling.

Being a coach, part of the job was to be protective of her students, and she was. Protective. Not only to Yuzuru but also to each of her students back at the club. That's why she smiled warningly at the photographer who had the gall to capture this precious, yet infinitely private, moment. 

The photographer backed down. He wasn't actually cowed by this woman, a large part of him just didn't want to lose his future clients. He knew of Nanami Abe. He saw that she's quite prominent in the field, especially to those skaters from Sendai. From today's performance, he felt that this boy skater would do great things in the future, not to mention that the other party was the gold medalist from the ladies division.

Sometimes, it's better to let a juicy piece of gossip go. A piece of gossip that would no doubt make big money for him in the short run, but it would be considered gossip nonetheless. No, instead of making enemies out of the two skaters with such a huge potential to be great, it would be better to let this one go and wait for that time to happen.

Thankfully for the two oblivious teens, these three people were the only ones in this part of the vicinity. The majority were busy elsewhere seeing as that the competition wasn't exactly finished. More skaters were yet to perform.

He laughed, his phoenix eyes crinkling gently into a smile. He wiped away my tears. "Shouldn't I be the one crying?"

With teary downcast eyes, my nose and cheeks seemingly powdered in a blush, I must've looked quite the sight. I groaned and pressed my face on the junction of his neck in an attempt to hide my face from him. I felt the rumbling of his chest, indicating a humorous silent laughter.

Ok, he was mocking me now. Elana Ferrer was not a girl to be mocked.

Placing on an indignant expression, I hurriedly wiped my cheeks and glared up at him with hands on my waist. "I seriously haven't cried so much in front of the same person as I do with you. It's my first time, you know?"

Yuzuru tilted his head in a thoughtful manner before shaking his head and smirking confidently. "Then I'll be sure to collect all your firsts then."

It took a while for it to sink in, when it did I smacked him on the chest. "You are such a perv!"

"Uh, you're the one who thought about it."  Yuzuru snickered, then he listed out, "What I meant was... first time riding a bike without crashing, first time doing a blind triple Axel from a spread eagle, first time tasting a tremendously delicious hot chocolate from a very handsome chef." He winked suavely. Before I could retort, he continued, "first time slow dancing to mainstream pop music, first time being kissed by a guy-"

I blanched and was about to interrupt him when he placed his finger on my lips.

"-on the cheek and as friends." My face was aflame from the mere mention of it. Yuzuru smiled at me and gently tucked my hair behind my ear. "I've been a lot of firsts to you, and I swear, you've been a whole lot of firsts to me. I think I've been doing a great job so far."

"Whatever, Yuzuru," I scoffed at him again. Trust him to try and trip my words. I should've gotten used to him at this point but I was flustered as hell when I noticed that his mom was watching us silently from the side. Oh, and Coach Nanami was there too... nice...

"Yumi-san, Nanami-san." I bowed shyly to them and they greeted me in return. I was furiously cursing Yuzuru on the inside for putting me in this position.

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

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