.

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

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I waved the huge banner in my hand, and yes, it was the Yuzu is Best! banner that he kept on pestering me about. It was in a neon bright pink color, complete with glitters, beads, and feathers.

Yuzuru made a few mistakes in his SP but not so much as to rapidly decline his scores.

"The scores please."

I held my breath in anticipation.

"Hanyu-san's score is 57.25 points. He is currently in 4th place."

Applause rang throughout the stadium.

"Go Yuzu!" I cheered, waving my banner above my head. "Whooo! You can do it!"

There were twenty-eight competitors in the juniors men division. Getting 4th place in the SP was good enough. In short, Yuzuru was still in the running to get on top of the podium.

I watched as Yuzuru bowed once more to the crowd from the Kiss & Cry. He seemed to be looking around the stands as his head turned here and there.

"Yuzuru!" I called out, hoping to be heard from the other cheers of the audience.

I think my crazy neon banner acted as a beacon since his gaze zeroed in my direction. Judging from his expression and shaking shoulders, he seemed to be laughing at me. I just deciphered that since we could hardly communicate being so far apart.

Yuzuru waved his hand in my direction before gesturing his hand in a phone sign, bringing it to his ear. I immediately nodded and gave him a thumbs up before his coach, Abe Nanami, dragged him towards the backstage.

*****

"Come on, just pick one." Shoma impatiently stood to the side while sipping his yogurt drink.

"Ok. Ok. Wait a 'sec."

My finger hovered over a button hesitatingly before I hovered it in front of another button.

Choosing something from a Japanese vending machine was so damn hard. There were so many interesting options around, it even came with a cold or hot drink in a can.

How cool was that?

Back in the Philippines, unless it's in a paper cup, vending machines usually just offer cold drinks in bottled or canned forms. But here, hell, you could even get a yogurt drink.

I just pushed the milk tea button when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered distractedly, as I took my milk tea from the machine.

"Where are you?" Yuzuru's familiar voice sounded out.

"Yuzu! Um, I don't know." I looked around my surroundings before turning to Shoma. "Where are we?"

Shoma just shrugged at me. We both had a lost look in our face.

"Don't tell me you got lost..." Yuzuru replied, slowly, "in a single stadium..."

"I didn't!" I was appalled, either at the accusation or the truth behind it. I didn't know. "We just... kinda... walked around a bit," I justified.

I could hear the amused breathing from the other end of the line.

"Honestly, why did I know that you'll be hanging around this place." Yuzuru sighed mockingly. Problem was, I heard it both on the phone and behind my back. I quickly turned around and saw him approaching me with a smirk on his face.

"Yuzuru!" I yelled excitedly, forgetting about his sarcasm... for now. I'll get back at him for this later. Immediately, I ran to him and engulfed him tightly in a big hug. Unlike the other times, Yuzuru promptly hugged me back with no hesitation, giving me a comforting squeeze in return.

"Ew, you're so sweaty," I joked around and pushed his chest back a little. He laughed bashfully in response, his hand arms still hanging loosely around my waist.

This guy sweats a lot.

I reached out and gently wiped his face with my sleeve.

He was still in his SP costume with a black Team Japan jacket on. He already changed out of his skates to a pair of scuffed gray rubber shoes.

Then I realized.

"Woah. You got so tall." My eyes widened in surprise. My mind didn't click in earlier because when you wear skates, you will gain three to four inches in height because of the heels. I thought nothing of it until I noticed that he's not wearing his skates. I reached up and placed a hand on top of his sweat-drenched hair. "Slow down, will you?" I chuckled bemusedly.

Yuzuru now reached my current height, which was 5'1'', and at the rate he's going, I'll soon be dwarfed by him. I cursed my damn genes. I really wanted to grow taller, and yet, I'm still stuck in my diminutive form.

"This is so totally unfair," I lamented.

The Yuzuru who only reached around the level of my chin several months ago suddenly had a growth spurt. 'Lo and behold, we're now the same height.

"You just got smaller," Yuzuru teased me, amusement twinkling in his eyes. I playfully slapped him on the chest.

Suddenly, the corner of my sweater was tugged lightly.

Looking down, I saw a timid Shoma staring at us. For some reason, Shoma tugged me again, away from Yuzuru. I tilted my head curiously before stepping away from Yuzuru.

"Sorry." I put a hand around Shoma's shoulders. "Shoma-chan, this is my friend Yuzuru. Yuzuru, this is Shoma, the one I told you about."

I didn't know why but some weird atmosphere descended around us. If I didn't know any better, Yuzuru and Shoma seemed to be weighing each other... which was absurd so I quickly discarded that idea.

Finally, Yuzuru made the first move.

"Hello, I'm Yuzuru. Era told me a lot about you. Nice to meet you." Yuzuru held out a hand. Shoma glanced at it before shaking the offered hand.

"I'm Shoma. Era-nee didn't tell me anything about you. Nice to meet you too."

The corner of Yuzuru's mouth twitched a bit.

"Ookaay." I came in between them and forcibly pulled apart their hands that had interestingly turned into a vice grip. This was weird, scratch that, this was way beyond weird. Even my usually dense self noticed that.

"What's going on here?" I asked them utterly befuddled.

"Era-nee. Mom's probably looking for us already, let's go," Shoma interrupted my questioning as he tugged my hand. Well, it was true that we had been gone for pretty long. We should probably head back soon.

"Era." Yuzuru had a stiff expression on his face. He lightly clutched a small portion of the end of my sleeve.

What the hell is going on here? What's with this situation?

Suddenly, I felt like a distressed heroine from one of those cheesy soap operas airing back at home. Instead of smoldering latino hunks though, I was surrounded by a Smol Bean and a Tol Bean.

I was saved by a potentially awkward situation once again by my phone ringing. I was seriously starting to love my phone.

"Wait." I disengaged my hands and showed my palms to the both of them. "Wait. Alright?"

I quickly dug my pockets for my phone.

"Era-san?"

"Aiko-san."

"Where are you? You've both been gone for half an hour already."

"We're just heading back," I quickly replied. We talked for a few more times while I subconsciously nodded.

"Yes. Ok. We'll be there soon. Bye." I hanged up the phone and noticed a slightly triumphant-looking Shoma. "Your mom called."

Shoma held my hand again and started to drag me away.

"Wait." I turned back and saw a dejected Yuzuru. "Hey, come with us."

"Huh?"

Both Shoma and Yuzuru was surprised at my offer.

"That is if you're free." I smiled hesitantly at him, really hoping to disperse this strange situation. "I wouldn't want to take up much of your time."

"Era-ne-" Shoma started to speak up.

"No!" Yuzuru shook his head and gave me a lopsided grin. "I still have a little time."

With that decided, the three of us headed back to the main hall with Yuzuru guiding the way. It was fortunate that Yuzuru did so, to be honest. I was pretty terrible with directions.

On one side, Shoma was still firmly holding my hand. On the other side, Yuzuru was walking pretty close to me. Normally, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but some people were beginning to look at us, or at Yuzuru to be exact. It made me slightly uncomfortable.

Even at a young age, Yuzuru was already popular in Japan.

The name Hanyu Yuzuru became a household name because of the ever-increasing live coverage on him. It seemed like I wasn't the only one who noticed the raw potential this boy had. The Japanese media basically covered his training and the competitions that he took part in.

It's actually the same for Shoma. The boy beside me had also been interviewed by the media a couple of times mainly due to his closeness to Asada Mao at first, but when Shoma began to win in various local competitions, the Japanese media began to earnestly get interested in Shoma himself.

Shoma's not as well known as Yuzuru. But if you're a big fan of skating and paid attention to the novice skaters, you'll probably know the name Uno Shoma.

Yuzuru's popularity was on an entirely different level.

The Japanese really did love their skaters.

Some of the people around us began to take out their phones and started to take pictures or maybe even videos. I honestly didn't want to know. One of the things that I love in Japan was my anonymity. Not to brag or anything, but I was somewhat popular in the Philippines since I do sponsor work and all. But here in Japan, I'm just an unknown foreign girl that could go wherever she liked without being recognized.

After a long walk with people ogling at Yuzuru and the extras - aka Shoma and me -, we finally saw Aiko sitting on one of the benches located near the main hall.

*****

"Finally! Alone at last."

I lightly smacked him on the arm.

Once they were introduced, Aiko recognized Yuzuru and was also in the know of my friendship with him. Aiko promptly dragged a protesting Smol Bean away to give us some privacy.

Well, not really, we were still hanging around the benches after all. I swear I could see Shoma pouting in the distance.

"Where did you even get these feathers? " Yuzuru grinned as he tugged the feathers here and there. "Wait, are they real?"

"Hey! Don't criticize my work. This is my masterpiece." I took the banner from him and mockingly cradled it. Placing my bag on my lap, I dug around inside.

"You still have it," Yuzuru stated, pleasantly surprised as he touched the Pooh keychain hanging on the sling of my bag.

"Of course, you gave it to me," I replied, casually. With my head still bowed, I didn't notice that slight pink dusting that covered his face.

"By the way, I got you something." I proceeded to take something out of my bag. "Here." I handed the container to him.

Wide-eyed, Yuzuru took the warm container before opening it. A rich aroma wafted around us, it made my mouth water a little since beef steak was one of my all-time favorite food.

Beefsteak garnished with onions in combination with steaming hot rice?

Yum.

"It's delicious!" Yuzuru smiled widely at me and then took the chopsticks I offered him.

"You haven't even tasted it yet." I laughed at him, thoroughly amused.

"Just by looking at it, I know already. *Itadakimasu." Yuzuru took a sip of water first, before picking up a piece of meat and onion with his chopsticks. Chewing the food, he closed his eyes and let out a blissful groan. "This is so delicious."

"Really?" I beamed excitedly, finally letting out a breath of relief. Yuzuru nodded in reply as he continued to dig in. "I know you said you prefer light foods, but I just want to let you taste one of my favorites."

"I'm glad you did." He covered his mouth as he replied, still chewing his food. "I want to taste everything that you make. You said you'll cook two dishes for me, right?"

"Remember our deal?" I teased him, raising a brow.

"I'll win this." He gave out a confident grin in return.

If someone else other than him had said that, I would have a hard time believing them. But this was Yuzuru. A unique kind of confidence exuded from his person that when he says he'll do something, you better watch out for it because he's certainly going to do it.

"Fine, I'll take your word for it."

*****

https://youtu.be/DyrKPs9U-Zs

I clapped along with the others as Yuzuru got on center ice and did his starting pose. And yes, I still had that infernal banner in my hands.

Yuzuru glided gracefully around the ice whilst doing his step sequence.

He jumped for a triple Axel.

He landed!

Triple Salchow, triple toe combination.

Triple Lutz.

He landed that triple loop with such fluidity.

This kid is turning into a jumping machine.

He proceeded to do his choreographic sequence as his body flowed through with the enchanting music. My heart pounded at the beautiful scene he's creating.

Ah!

He stumbled on the triple Lutz, yet he was able to complete the combination with a double toe in the end.

Triple flip.

Yuzuru readied his form-

-then did a double Axel, triple loop, double toe combination!

Double Axel.

He did his final combination spin before gradually straightening his body and did a final pose with his arms gracefully placed above his head.

The crowd burst into applause.

I couldn't contain my excitement as I frantically waved the banner in my hands and cheered as loud as I could.

"Hanyu-san's score is 124.92 points, with a total of 182.17 points. He is currently in 1st place."

In the end, no one could surpass him.

He won gold.

*****

It had been two days since the competition.

I was bustling around the kitchen when the doorbell rang. I turned the stove to low fire before I went to the door.

"Come on in." I opened my door wide as Yuzuru walked in. "Before you texted me yesterday, I thought you forgot all about it."

"Never." He took off his shoes as I provided him with house slippers. "I come for my reward," he replied cheekily.

"This way." I waved at him to follow me. "Welcome to my humble abode. This is the living room, and there is the kitchen... as I can see you already found it." I rolled my eyes at him as he overtook me.

Yuzuru sniffed at the enticing aroma coming from the pot. I couldn't exactly blame him, I was starting to get hungry as well.

"What's this?" Yuzuru curiously peered inside the pot. "It looks like miso."

"It is miso," I answered, stirring the contents of the simmering pot with a ladle causing a warm steam to rise. "To be exact, sinigang sa miso. It's basically miso with milkfish added in it."

"Wanna taste it?"

"Sure."

I got a spoonful of soup before bringing it near his lips. He looked surprised at first before shyly sipping the offered food.

"Mmm." He groaned and closed his eyes blissfully.

"Good, right?"

"I wanna take you home with me."

"Down boy. Let's not scandalize Japan while we're at it, shall we?" I also took a sip from the pot, before adding a little more seasoning. I stirred it one more time before turning off the stove. "There. Done."

After that, Yuzuru helped me set up the table and we proceeded to eat.

"You're alone?" Yuzuru asked, sipping a glass of ice cold water.

"Yeah, my parents just left a day ago," I swallowed the food in my mouth first before answering, "one of them normally stays with me but they needed to do something back at home. I'm used to it." I shrugged.

"That's kinda cool. It must be nice to get your own place." His eyes lightened in interest.

"I wouldn't say it 'my own place' exactly." I tilted my head a bit, as I thought about it. "My parents just leave me a few days at most before returning again. I'm still a minor after all. But yeah, I was pretty excited when they left me alone the first few times. Next year, I will officially become an adult, so I think they'll trust me enough by then."

"Huh? You're just seventeen right?"

"Yup, eighteen is the age of majority in the Philippines."

"Wow, really? It's twenty here."

"So, you're gonna be a kid for a pretty long while," I taunted him, leaning my face in my hand.

"I dunno... I mean, I'm taller than you," Yuzuru replied slowly, with an innocent expression on his face. "Seconds, please." He handed me his rice bowl.

"No, you're not." I was aghast as I shot a dirty look at him, before getting up and refilling his bowl.

"Wanna check?" He gave a smug grin in return.

I remained silent at that. It's not like I was intimidated that what he said was true, ok?

...

At most, it's only half an inch difference.

...

Probably.

*****

"What's up with you and Shoma?" I asked, still curious about what happened days ago.

We were currently lazing on the couch in the living room. We actually planned to go around Nagoya to sightsee for the second time, but laziness struck us when all our energy seemed to be sucked out. In short, we ate a lot.

Yuzuru stayed silent for a while before he shrugged.

"I'm not gonna force you or anything," I started out, turning on my side to face him as I leaned the side of my face on the couch, "but Shoma's my first friend here, he's important to me. And you're important to me too. I guess, I just want my friends to get along with each other."

He turned his head towards me as he let my words sink in. Then he finally nodded.

"Thank you." I let out a soft smile.

Yuzuru relaxed back on the couch. He had a deep look on his face that I couldn't decipher. From my point of view, with Yuzuru staring at the space in front of him and me staring at his side profile, I could see that he was quite the good looking guy.

I'm the type of girl who appreciates a gentle kind of beauty rather than rugged handsomeness when it comes to boys.

From his natural phoenix eyes to his straight thin nose, down to his sharp narrow jaw. If he was the same age as me, or even a few years older, I would definitely have a crush on him.

Alas, I couldn't.

He's only fourteen for Christ's sake.

First, I considered him as a younger brother. Second, I'm not in favor of being labeled as a cradle robber. Third, it would just be too weird.

At most, I could just appreciate his good features from a distance.

In an entirely Platonic manner, that was.

"...-one you like?"

From the gentle whirring of the fan and the windy breeze that swept through the open window that slightly ruffled some strands of my hair, it created a very comfortable and sleepy atmosphere. I was dazed at that time so it took a while before my mind processed that he just asked me something.

"What?" I blinked as I tried to clear the haziness in my mind. I didn't catch what he said.

"Do you..." He hesitated, the back of his head leaning on the couch as he stared up at the ceiling. His hair was slightly unruly as some strands lightly touched his cheeks. He should get a haircut soon. "Do you... have someone you like?"

Huh?

Did he really just ask that?

"Uh..." I thought his words. "Hm, you mean Like Like?" I asked, uncertainly.

He turned his head to stare at me with a serious expression on his eyes.

"Yeah, Like Like." He slightly quirked the ends of his lips.

"Oh." I blinked again as I searched for the answer in my mind. "I'm not in a relationship at the moment. I guess I'm just too busy for that."

"But you don't have someone in mind?"

"Hm, well, there's Basketball Mike." I let out a sigh of amusement as I remembered the antics of my friends back in the Philippines. They really liked to pair me up with guys. I knew for a fact that Gizelle liked that Mike back then so it gave me an excuse to let them back off, but a few months after that, she got over her crush and then snatched herself a boyfriend.

Which then led to another round of teasing from my friends as Mike continued to pursue me in a roundabout way.

"Basketball Mike?" Yuzuru furrowed his brows as he questioned me.

"Yeah. Just some guy back in my school." I closed my eyes, enjoying the comfortable and breezy atmosphere. "He asked me to prom. I wasn't able to attend my junior prom last year because of competitions, but now, I'm basically free at the moment," I hugged a throw pillow in my arms as I answered lazily.

I was just starting to drift off again when I heard his voice.

"Do you like him?"

I sleepily opened my eyes and saw him gazing at me with a look of uncertainty.

"As a friend, I guess?" I bit my lip. I didn't really know how to answer that. Being in a relationship was not a priority for me. I was too busy with everything that I just couldn't afford to make some extra time and effort for that. I didn't want to continue Yuzuru's line of questioning, so I turned the tables on him. "How about you? Any girl back home I should know about?" My eyes narrowed teasingly at him.

I knew for a fact that boys his age already have crushes and the like. Same goes for girls actually. Thinking about it, I was just the aberrant of them all. I could appreciate good looks but I never experienced something like a genuine crush on someone.

Even when I was around actors or models, especially when I did Sponsor works, I never had that palpitating and nervous kind of feeling when working around those beautiful and handsome people.

"Back home? No, I don't," he resolutely said, but I noticed that he averted his gaze slightly.

"Then how about outside of Sendai?" I playfully questioned him again. "Do you like that Kanako girl?"

"Eh? Kana?" His eyes widened as he uttered those words.

"You do like her." I raised my voice excitedly as I lightly slapped his side with my throw pillow.

"I don't!" He shook his head vigorously.

"Mmhm." I gave a tone of disbelief as I raised my brow at him. I desperately tried to control my stoic expression lest I let out a smile. "You even gave her a nickname."

"I really don't. Promise!" He waved his hands at me.

"Really? Why not?" I propped my elbow at the head of the couch while I leaned my head into my hand as I looked at him with an amused expression. "I think you look cute together. She's a pretty girl."

Yuzuru had this weirded out expression on his face as I said that. I totally get it. It's like what I experienced whenever someone tries to pair me with a guy that I only consider as a friend.

However, it was true though.

Yuzuru and Kanako looked cute together. They're the same age and they also had the same sport. Eventually, some fans tried to ship them together in online forums. Somehow, the Japanese media got a hold of this news, and now, they asked Yuzuru and Kanako questions like what kind of person they liked and even what they thought of each other.

The Japanese media wasn't milking it though since both Yuzuru and Kanako were still minors. They just asked them in an indirect manner during interviews.

The fans went wild with it.

Mission achieved for the Media.

Actually, I knew Kanako. She was in the same club as me, Grand Prix Tokai SC, and like Shoma, she was also a student of Coach Higuchi and Coach Yamada. However, at most, we were only passing acquaintances. We were nice to each other but we're not close enough to hang out and chat away.

"I just don't. She's just a friend to me," Yuzuru looked at me directly in the eyes as he said this. His expression was so serious that I didn't have the heart to continue teasing him.

"You're so cute." I pinched his cheek as I chuckled at him. He let out a sound of protest but he didn't take my hand off.

With the afternoon light softly illuminating the room, we shared a smile as we leaned back on the couch, on our sides, facing each other.

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

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(Teenage hormones be like...)

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

(I guess you guys probably know by now that Elana is pretty much the unreliable narrator, lmao!~)

(If you liked this chapter, please don't forget to comment or vote. Thank you very much.)

ヽ('▽')/