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Chapter Text

Katsuki Yuuri’s vision blurred as he continued to stare at the scoreboard. Panting heavily and throat dry, he couldn’t believe his eyes as his score popped up on the screen after he finished his program.

319.41

It was the highest score he’d ever gotten, a fitting score to end his skating career with. His second Grand Prix Final and he was able to win gold. Even though the audience’s cheers were loud enough to hear from outside the building, he couldn’t as he sat in the building, right in the middle of the cheering crowd. Not even the voice of his coach seated right next to him could reach him. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he cupped his hands over his mouth. ‘Thank you,’ he thought to himself.

“Holy shit, he actually did it?” a blond teen whispers as he watches the TV showcasing the Grand Prix Final. A man a few years older than him with black hair styled in an undercut and sitting right beside him adds, “Aren’t you glad Yura? You’re a big fan of his.”

The teen mumbles a bit, embarrassed to admit that he is a fan of Katsuki Yuuri. Like seriously, the skater had the same name as him but the exactly opposite personality. He didn’t know what exactly drawn him to the skater, just that watching him perform had him breathless and anticipating what would happen next. With the rumors of Yuuri retiring, Yuri didn’t know how to feel about the skater’s accomplishment. “I mean, I’m glad but… Those rumors of him retiring might just be confirmed true now. I don’t know how to feel about that. You know what I mean Otabek?”

Otabek just hums in reply, feeling the same about Yuuri’s retirement. Since he watched the performances with Yuri for a few years, he naturally became a fan himself, even though they mainly watched recordings because their jobs made them too busy to actually watch the livestreams. All of a sudden, the two of them hear someone’s voice calling them from behind, “Guys, have you seen Viktor?!”

Yuri looks back, seeing a young woman with fiery, wavy hair and blue eyes frantically running towards them. He huffs out a small breath and irritably says, “No, I haven’t seen the old man at all.”

Otabek asks as he turns around, “Why are you looking for him? He should’ve been at the mission site Mila. You did call him to confirm right?”

Mila huffs, crossing her arms around her chest as she replies, “Well, he didn’t pick up! So I thought he was still here…”

All of sudden, a phone started to ring. The three of them stayed still for a moment, not making a sound and waited for the ringing to stop. It could’ve been a prank call. The organization has been getting those frequently so no one even bothers to answer the company phone anymore. The ringing continued on for a minute, slowly becoming lower and lower, until a click sounds and the room became silent. A message soon begins to play and Viktor’s voice filtered with slight static filled the room with sound.

“Sorry for not picking up earlier Mila, I got sidetracked! There was a cute poodle walking through the street and—”

Yuri narrows his eyes, disappointed as he says, “Of course he would do that. And he’s rambling now. …How long is this message going to continue?”

The message drags on and on, making them ignore the majority of it until Viktor switches to a more serious tone. “Also, I think I’ll need to be away from the office to complete this. I’ll call every so often to give updates but this requires my total attention. Be sure to take care of Makkachin for me!”

It ends at that, the phone making another clicking sound and a pattern of beeps after. Little did they expect that those would be the last words they’d hear from him.

-6 Months Later-

Yuuri exits the airport, stretching out his arms once he stood at the airport entrance, looking out at the familiar scenery before him. It has been around five years since he last seen it, the scenery of his hometown Hasetsu, and he can stay home permanently now since he retired from his competitive ice skating career. He turns back, waiting for someone else to exit the airport. Soon, a tan skinned young man walks out with his phone in his hand, ready to take snapshots. His best friend Phichit seemed to be cheerful as usual. Excited, the other exclaims, “Thanks for coming with me to Japan! And here I thought you were going to stay in that dreary city in America!”

Yuuri winces once Phichit says the word ‘dreary,’ looking back into his memory if the apartment that the two of them shared for those five years was located in a ‘dreary’ place. A pleasant neighborhood, barely any crime happening, tranquil weather… Really, what part of that is dreary? He didn’t understand why Phichit would describe it as that, asking for his reason. Phichit just responds, “Because it was hard to get job opportunities Yuuri! In a place with barely anything going on, it’s a terrible place for info collecting business!”

 Mouthing out an ‘oh,’ Yuuri nods. Phichit works as an informant, making use of his habit of staying on top of social media and his charisma for making people comfortable enough to tell him almost anything. In America, he barely got any jobs so he often traveled around just so he could have enough resources for any job that could come out of the country. It wasn’t a problem for Yuuri, considering he had to travel for competitions too. Phichit pouts a bit before continuing to speak. “I’m so glad I got this contract though! And for it to be stationed in Japan… I knew I just had to take you with me!”

Yuuri makes out a nervous laugh as the two finally leave the airport entrance to walk over to his home, Yu-topia Katsuki. Their walk became longer than expected, with Phichit stopping every few or so meters to take pictures of the town and Yuuri right in the background. The former skater didn’t mind in the least but it felt embarrassing to be the focus of them, knowing that the photos would immediately be posted online once Phichit settles himself at the resort. Soon, they got to the resort and were greeted by a woman with brown hair with blonde highlights put up with a purple headband. She flicks the cigarette in her hand, smiling as the two men approached her. “Welcome home little bro. And nice to meet you Phichit.”

Phichit waves his hand frantically, quickly saying a greeting back and swiftly walked into the resort. Yuuri stands next to his older sister, fidgeting his hands together as he whispered, “I’m back Mari-nee.” She puts out her cigarette and ruffles his hair, chuckling as she says, “I see you haven’t changed much. I’m glad you’re well.”

He smiles, adjusting his blue half-rimmed glasses as Mari adds, “Go ahead and go inside. Everyone’s itching to see you,” as she turns towards the resort and enters it. Yuuri takes a few deep breaths to prepare himself. It has been five years since he was last home, and he never bothered to contact his family during that time at all. It pained him, considering he always wanted to at least give them a call but he just couldn’t. What if he bothered them? What if it was too late at night or too early in the morning? He had many what ifs pop up into his mind when he resolved himself to make the call, and it made him scrap the idea entirely.

Eventually, he shakes his head, knowing that thinking about it now wouldn’t help. He was home now, he can talk to them any time he wanted. He can talk to them in every passing moment if he really wanted to. He starts walking to the entrance full of confidence and once he opened the doors, he was knocked back by his mother and a small toy poodle, his mother hugging him and the poodle licking his face. He hears a snap in the distance, knowing that Phichit somehow got ahold of the moment on camera, but he focuses his attention on the two, saying, “I’m home Mom, Vicchan.”

His mother’s eyes sparkle as she gives him one last squeeze before letting go of him, a large, soft looking smile evident. Vicchan, the chocolate colored toy poodle, stays where he was, right on the man’s shoulder, continuing to lick his owner’s face. Yuuri giggles, feeling ticklish from the constant licking, and then lifts the dog up to his face. Vicchan wags his tail excitedly and Yuuri pushes his forehead towards the dog’s own, smiling.

During those five years, he always wanted to ask how Vicchan was doing. It was some sort of excuse he told himself so he would contact his family. Yes, an excuse… Since Vicchan is a familiar he summoned as a child. Because of their contract, Yuuri is always aware of the dog’s condition even though they were so far apart. The fact that Vicchan has easily stayed here on this side labeled Yuuri as a genius for summoning, even though he tries to slink away from summoning in general.

Summoning is a skill everyone had. While the majority of the world’s population can summon up elements, one fourth could summon animal-like beings which are called familiars. Because familiars were similar to living things, it was difficult to keep them present and if they stayed on this side for too long, the summoner could get sick or start developing serious health issues. Anyone who could keep them here in long periods of time without any of these side effects was called a Nymph, though many stuck to call them geniuses instead because it sounded normal. Yuuri wished that people didn’t coin that term in the first place. It’s too misleading.

Because of Yuuri’s status as a Nymph ever since he was 13, he tried to focus more on his skating career and avoid summoning in general. He didn’t expect to be one once he summoned Vicchan, especially since he only tried to summon the poodle because he was thankful to someone who saved him and wanted a poodle familiar like his. The idea of sending Vicchan back never occurred to him so Vicchan stayed with his family day by day, living exactly like a pet.

Suddenly, someone calls Yuuri’s name, making him look away from Vicchan, and tells him to come over to the main room where everyone ate and watched the television. Holding Vicchan close to his chest, he quickly slips his shoes off and goes over to the main room, finding Phichit motioning for him to sit down beside him. Vicchan barks and squirms a bit in Yuuri’s arms, eventually jumping out and running over to Phichit, giving the young man a warm welcome. Yuuri sits down, just watching the two get acquainted with each other.

The day goes on. Phichit introduces himself to Yuuri’s family, the family constantly gives Yuuri praises, the patrons tells Yuuri how much they missed him… For five years, so many things have happened in Hasetsu, and in addition, Japan. The police force has recently implemented a section fully dedicated to summoning, with the officers hired in that section being that 25% of the population that summons familiars. The police in every city had this section. Both Mari and Minako, Yuuri’s former ballet teacher, joined the force while he was away. This addition was possible because of the ISU, International Summoner Union, who has grown into a large scale organization. It’s a wonder how Hasetsu got this addition when the town is slowly losing its touch as the number of tourists visiting has dwindled. But it was the right thing to do, at least Yuuri thinks so, since incidents could happen in areas with fewer people.

Other than that, the other things that have happened are relatively small. Yuuko, a childhood friend of Yuuri’s, recently started taking up ice skating again to give lessons to her three daughters since they insisted for a few years. A few other children joined the lessons too, curious of how skating was, at Ice Castle, the ice rink in town that was run by both Yuuko and her husband Takeshi Nishigori, who was also a childhood friend of Yuuri’s. The Nishigori family wasn’t able to come over to welcome him back so Yuuri mentally notes to visit them the next day.

The resort recently installed a room to have familiars stay in while their summoners stay at the resort. Apparently the room is the banquet hall right next to Yuuri’s room. Unfortunately, none of the guests are summoners so the room is currently empty. He really wanted to see the different familiars others had. Phichit, in particular, has hamster familiars who he summons daily just so he could take pictures of their cuteness and post them up. Mari, from what he could remember, has a dragon-like familiar and Minako has the same. His mother and father were finally able to plan something special, and they wouldn’t tell Yuuri what it was since it took them around two years to finalize it. Just telling him that it was a secret, Yuuri could tell that it was related to him and his arrival back home. It made him even guiltier of not updating them about his well-being for these five years.

Once night begins to fall, the regular patrons leave and the Katsuki family and Phichit prepare themselves to go to sleep. Yuuri leads Phichit upstairs to his room but Phichit stops, staring at the banquet room with an intense gaze. Yuuri asks, “Phichit, is there something wrong?”

Phichit nods his head, taking a few steps to open the banquet room door but it wouldn’t budge. Yuuri tries to open it instead, finally getting it to budge after a few rough pulls. The room was lightly decorated: a few small futons on the floor, a couple of dog beds in various sizes, a few large cat trees, a few wooden perches, and various feeders. Two potted plants sit at the corners of the room. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary so Yuuri looks back at Phichit, hoping to find an answer of why his best friend thought there was something wrong.

Phichit takes a step inside and the room’s lights turn off as a strong gust breezes through. “Huh…? What’s going on?” Yuuri asks frantically, a little scared of how the situation is playing out. Phichit shushes the other, taking another step. The wind blows harder, knocking Yuuri back into the wall right outside the door. Because of the noise, Mari appears, running towards Yuuri in worry. After telling his older sister that he was fine, he looks back at Phichit, noticing some light mist lingering around on the floor.

Mari asks Phichit to step aside as a few particles of light dance around her, eventually forming the shape of a snake-like dragon about five feet long. Once the young man moves away, the dragon swirls around the room, circling the middle of it. A figure of a man starts to form right in the middle of where the dragon was circling, his light blue eyes glaring at the three. The mist grows denser and denser as the man’s figure clears, revealing his short silver hair and tall figure. His hair covers left eye, and his black, tight-fitting clothes were ragged and torn. A few specks of blood stain his face, looking like they’ve long dried. How did he get in here?

Mari asks the man, “Are you the one who has been causing trouble lately?” The man doesn’t answer, continuing to glare at them. No matter what Mari asks, he stays silent and she sighs, unsure of what to do with the situation. Yuuri asks his sister, “Trouble? There’s been trouble for a while?”

Phichit takes this time to answer the question. “From what I could gather from the short amount of time I’ve been here, it seems like several areas have frozen over and no one knew why. The ice seems a bit excessive to have been just be an elemental summon. Luckily no one was hurt or anything but the damage from the ice caused business to make some unwanted adjustments.” He nods a bit, hoping that Yuuri understood his words before continuing to talk. “People started to suspect the summoners who have familiars passing through but since the tourism has been…well…lacking, they can’t really pin the blame on anyone. After all, no one around here seems to have a familiar that can conjure up ice.”

Yuuri nods to the information, trying to sink it in. As expected of Phichit, his way of gathering intel is spot on no matter where he is. Mari turns around, glancing at the two while trying to keep her focus intact. She adds, “I’m pretty sure he’s the one doing it. Look at the mist in this room! And how cold it is right now!”

Yuuri finally takes notice of the temperature, not really paying attention because he was used to the cold. Being on the ice kind of made you immune to it but once you consider it, the cold really takes it out on you. Even so, it was nearing autumn here so it was bound to get colder soon. Some early cold temperatures might not be too bad. He hugs himself, trying to warm himself up a bit before looking back at the man trapped in the middle of the room. The man’s gaze was now fixated on him.

As if drawn to the gaze, Yuuri takes a few steps forward, keeping his eyes fixated on the man as well. Mari and Phichit yell at him to stop but didn’t even try to make a move to pull him away. Maybe they thought that if they moved forward, it would just make the man paranoid and attack him. Just as Yuuri gets about a feet away, Mari yells, “Xiao, don’t let Yuuri come any closer!”

The dragon curls around the man’s figure tighter and moves its head in front of Yuuri, obstructing his view and becoming a barrier between them. In reflex, Yuuri cups the dragon’s snout and lightly tilts it, making the dragon change the direction of where it was looking. Xiao tries hard to resist but cannot despite the force being weak, eventually getting back to its former position. It moves its tail in a desperate attempt to block him again but Yuuri whispers, “Xiao, stop.” Even though it wasn’t even his familiar, it listened to him.

One more step and Yuuri finds himself a few centimeters away from the man’s face. The man’s eyes, cold and almost lifeless earlier, started to soften as Yuuri looks up at him. Yuuri extends his right hand out, placing it on the man’s cheek and a few bits of the dried blood break off from the contact. The man closes his eyes, looking absolutely relaxed and turns off into blue particles of light, floating around Yuuri and disappearing once one of them makes contact with his fingertips.

Thump. Yuuri could feel his heart flutter. A feeling of someone’s breathing right next to his ear, a feeling of another’s presence with him that’s too close for comfort. All of a sudden, someone turns him around roughly, and he finds himself face to face with his sister, her expression grim. “Yuuri, you just…” She didn’t bother to finish her sentence once she saw how her brother’s complexion looked.

His face was pale other than the flush spread across his cheeks. Yuuri knew he broke into a fever. A side effect.

Yuuri never once sent Vicchan back to the other side. He didn’t know how it would affect him. Just keeping him here to stop being lonely. To honor that person who saved him. That was his reason for doing that. Without even realizing, he just became the summoner of an unknown familiar once he sent that man back to the other side.

Chapter Text

Yuuri lies on his bed, gaze fixed on the dark ceiling. Since he broke into a fever, Phichit insisted that he stay in a different room just so Yuuri could have more ‘breathing’ room. Thinking back, Yuuri just believes that his best friend didn’t really want to leave but did it because they were surrounded by his family. In America, Phichit would always stick to him and making sure he was okay, giving him anything that would help. He even skipped school or work just for Yuuri.

He couldn’t do that now, considering that they were in a different environment. …And the fact that Yuuri’s fever was basically a side effect from returning a familiar. Everyone had different effects depending on the familiar but this was the first time Yuuri realized that sending back could do something to a person’s well-being. Out of all people, it had to be him with a rare side effect. He covers his forehead with his left arm and groans. The fever isn’t the worst he had but getting sick right after arriving home is discouraging.

A split of light makes its way into his room, causing him to tilt his head up slightly so he could see who opened the door. When he saw no one, the door closes and he hears Vicchan’s bark along with some water splashing. He moves his gaze down to beside his bed, finding Vicchan sitting at the edge with a small tub of water. He reaches down, touching the water with his fingertips. He sighs a bit on contact, finding the cool sensation relaxing. Vicchan barks again, grabbing a towel with his mouth and dips it into the tub, soaking it entirely with water. After soaking the towel for a few seconds, the poodle quickly takes the towel out and hands it over to Yuuri.

Yuuri takes the towel and places it on his forehead, thanking the poodle as he did so. Vicchan jumps up the bed, nuzzling himself right next to Yuuri’s face, near the wall. Yuuri chuckles a bit before saying, “Hey Vicchan…”

Vicchan rubs his face against Yuuri’s face in reply, as if saying that he was listening. Yuuri continues, “Can you see him? That… The man from earlier?”

Vicchan whines a bit, moving his head to the side in slight confusion. ‘Oh,’ he thought, ‘maybe he doesn’t know because I never sent him back before.’ Familiars under the same summoner are able to communicate with each other telepathically, without the knowledge of the summoner. Technically, they can after they have seen each other and it has to be at the other side so it’s a bit of a stretch to ask that of the little poodle. After a moment, the poodle softly barks and Yuuri smiles. Ah well, it should be okay even if Vicchan didn’t know. Sooner or later, the poodle will see him and Yuuri would learn about him too.

--

Ice Section [8 Members]

Mila:
How’s the search going on guys? Find anything?

Yuri:
As if we found anything! It’s been 6 fucking months he’s fucking dead.

Otabek:
Calm down there Yura. We can’t just rule Viktor as dead just yet.

Mila:
That’s right! There’s no way he could be dead! Even though we can’t reach his phone anymore…

Yuri:
Not being able to get in contact with him just makes it even more possible for him to be dead. That old geezer had it coming to him.

Chris:
Now, now, little Yuri, don’t say such morbid things. Viktor’s alive, I’m sure of it.

Yuri:
How the fuck are you so confident about this.

Chris:
Good old Yakov hired someone to give us intel. He should be in the chat right now…

[Phichit Chulanont joined the chat]

Phichit:
Oh wow, this is awkward. Hi guys, I’m the intel!

Yuri:
Are you serious

Phichit:
You must be a real sunshine there. Interesting how you have a similar name to a friend of mine.

Mila:
lmao

Yuri:
STFU MILA

Phichit:
I’m gonna like this chat already. This a weird question maybe, but Yakov didn’t give me any details other than finding a missing person. I can tell you for sure that I’m in Japan just like he asked.

Chris:
Oh, leave that to me. Where exactly in Japan are you? I’ll go and meet you for the details.

Phichit:
Kyushu, Hasetsu. Do you know that place?

Yuri:
wtf
hey creeper take me with you

Chris:
And why do you want to go?

Yuri:
IT’S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS

Phichit:
I don’t mind if more of you want to come as long as I get more details about the job. Also, another question. Why did Yakov ask me to come to Japan instead of Russia? Because Ice is stationed in Russia right?
You’d think that finding info about a person that went missing in a certain country would be in that country.

Chris:
Considering the nature of our jobs, it’s easy to assume that there are people after us. And his disappearance was quite sudden… Like someone planned to take him once he left on an important mission.

Phichit:
Important mission?  ?( ο´･д･ )??

Chris:
It’s not relevant so I’m not going to talk about it.
But Hasetsu hmm? I would be able to get there in a week’s time. Any good place to meet once I get there?

Phichit:
Yu-topia Katsuki.
Currently staying at this place so it would be easy to talk here.

Yuri:
holy shit
you’re absolutely taking me now
Beka you better come too

Chris:
Wow, deciding that before letting me give an okay?

Otabek:
Would it alright Chris?

Chris:
Ha, of course. Just don’t cause trouble.

Phichit:
It’s getting late here so see you then. Any info that you can give so I can start early?

Chris:
Haha, I forgot about the time difference. Well…
You’re looking for a man around his late twenties, silver hair and blue eyes. Looks like a model. When we arrive, we’ll give a picture so don’t worry too much.

Phichit:
Okay! See ya then >w0

~

Phichit locks his phone, thinking about the description that Chris gave to him. It was somewhat familiar… He thinks a bit harder, remembering what happened earlier that night. “Is that him…? Nah, it can’t be…” he mutters to himself, trying to get rid of the doubts. Soon, he goes to sleep, thinking it’d be best to deal with it in the morning.

--

Suddenly feeling a cold sensation on his forehead, Yuuri opens his eyes and finds himself gazing up at a pair of blue eyes. A concerned voice sounds out in English, “Ah, sorry, did I wake you?”

After a few moments of silence, the man just smiles and then asks, “How are you feeling?” His voice was a bit low, a little bit louder than a whisper but still quiet that it was a kind of difficult to hear.

Yuuri takes a moment to answer, “…Better?” He hears a relieved sigh and the cold sensation disappears. He wished that the cold sensation would’ve stayed. A slight pressure is exerted on the bed, making Yuuri a little surprised at the sudden movement, and whatever caused the pressure pulls the curtains, allowing some sunlight to peer through the glass and revealing that the man materialized himself without Yuuri even noticing. Unlike last night, his clothes were neat, as if they weren’t damaged in the first place, and his expression was softer. The blood on his face from before disappeared without a trace.

The man sets himself off the bed, sitting on the floor right next to it, a slight smile on his face as he looked at Yuuri. Thump. There it was again. How could a smile make him feel at ease that easily? They’ve only just met, and the circumstance of their meeting was a coincidence. The man adds, “Your fever went down a lot as you slept. But you should still rest.”

It was a little weird, hearing the man’s voice since the two of them didn’t exchange a word last night. It was a bit deeper than he expected. Yuuri was a bit tongue-tied, not knowing exactly what to say. He knew that he had to ask about him. Where did he come from? What was his name? Why was he here in Hasetsu? What happened to his former summoner?

Which would be best to ask first?

In a panic, he glances over to left, hoping to find Vicchan. However, the poodle wasn’t there. Maybe he left because someone called him or because the tub of water wasn’t cold anymore. As if noticing Yuuri’s panic and hesitation to say anything, the man continues talking. “Sorry for suddenly coming out. I just thought it was a good time to and wondered who took me under their wing. You can ask me anything you like, I won’t mind.” Another smile accompanies the last word and Yuuri turns to the right to lie on his side, sorting the questions in his mind in a certain order. Once ready, he starts with, “Can I ask for your name?”

“From what I can remember, it’s Viktor,” he replies, voice low with a hint of sadness. “What about you? I’d like to know your name,” he then asks in return, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“…Yuuri. Katsuki Yuuri,” Yuuri answers, wondering if he should ask another question or not. Viktor hums a bit, whispering, “Yuuri. Such a familiar name…”

After a short moment, Viktor then adds, “Is it fine for me to call you Yuuri? Considering your name, I’m assuming you’re Japanese so it might be rude to just call you by name from the get-go.”

Getting called by his name is no different than his time in America or during his skating career. He was used to it, having people being overly friendly to him. Viktor’s concern was refreshing. Yuuri’s face flushes a bit from the concern and nods at Viktor’s request. Viktor flashes a bright smile as he makes out a cheerful yay. Yuuri takes the moment to ask, “Where did you come from?”

“Hmm, I don’t remember. I wonder why,” Viktor mutters, trying his best to conjure up some memories so he could answer Yuuri’s question. After a few moments, Yuuri says, “It’s okay if you don’t answer, I was just curious.”

Viktor just shakes his head, as if to say that he wanted to keep thinking about it, that leaving the question unanswered was unacceptable. Just as Yuuri was about to ask something else, Viktor exclaims out an ‘ah’ and begins saying, “Russia! That’s where I’m from.” Satisfied with remembering, he happily hums to himself before asking, “Where are we now?”

“Japan, in a town called Hasetsu,” Yuuri whispers quietly, not wanting to the others to hear him and barge into his room. If they did, it might cause a panic, mainly from Mari since she seemed bent on capturing and questioning Viktor. Well, the familiar did knock him against the wall the first time but that wasn’t the reason why.

…Did he really freeze those areas? Maybe he should ask that next if Viktor isn’t keen on talking some more.

“Japan?” Viktor asks himself before clearing his throat. He starts speaking again, only in slightly accented Japanese, “So it might be easier if I talk like this then? I haven’t spoken Japanese in a while so it might be… Wait, how do I even know how to speak it…?” He casts his gaze down, placing his right hand cupped under his chin.

Yuuri couldn’t help but think that Viktor had some serious memory problems, probably worse than a normal person’s. Though, Viktor’s knowledge of Japanese is surprising. It didn’t seem like he would know, and Yuuri hasn’t met a lot of people who seriously learned the language enough to be somewhat fluent, in his experience anyway. …The fact sort of comforts him actually.

Eventually Viktor shakes his head and lets out a big sigh as he crossed both of his arms across his chest before continuing to speak. “I think I can’t remember a lot of things right now. I’m sorry Yuuri, I don’t think I can answer any other questions you have…”

“Can you at least try to answer the next one?” Yuuri asks as he sits up from his bed, letting the blanket fall off his shoulder and unconsciously flashing a pair of puppy eyes. He notices Viktor flinching for a second and gets off the bed to sit right in front of him, eye to eye. After staring him down for a while, Viktor finally mutters out a yes and asks what Yuuri wanted to know. He didn’t hesitate in asking, “Some areas have been frozen recently. I’m wondering if you did or not.”

“I didn’t,” Viktor quickly retorts, not showing a single trace of a lie in his eyes. Yuuri breathes out a sigh of relief, letting his shoulders relax. He had a feeling that Viktor couldn’t have done it. His intuition was never wrong; well, it hasn’t been proven wrong yet. Maybe he felt that way because Viktor is technically his familiar now and summoners just know what their familiars are up to. But just because Viktor said so isn’t enough evidence for Mari, not even the link between familiar and summoner could possibly be enough evidence.

Just as Yuuri tried to think of a way to persuade Mari, his bedroom opens with a voice saying, “Yuuri, are you awake? I got you some medicine.” He swiftly looks over to the door, finding Mari standing there, her expression fairly blank. She was wearing a white, long sleeved, button up shirt, along with a leather harness around her chest and back, and black slacks, her uniform for her job. Her sudden appearance and expression scared him.

All of a sudden, Viktor pulls Yuuri towards him, hiding the other’s view of Mari.  A few moments of silence pass and then Mari finally sighs, saying, “Look, I’m not going to start anything.”

Yuuri attempts to squirm out of Viktor’s arms, eventually muffling, “I-it’s okay Viktor, please let me go,” and Viktor quickly releases him, carefully stroking Yuuri’s hair to straighten out any strands that are out of place once Yuuri was sitting up straight. Flushing slightly, Yuuri mutters out a thank you and glances over to Mari, saying, “You can leave the medicine on my desk Mari-nee.”

She shrugs a bit, walking over to Yuuri’s desk and placing the medicine and a glass of water on it. After doing so, she leans back on the desk, asking Viktor, “So, I assume you can talk now?”

Viktor keeps his gaze on Yuuri as he replies, “Sure. So you’re Yuuri’s sister?” Mari nods to confirm the question, not caring if he saw it or not, and then says, “Since you’re tied to Yuuri now, I can’t force you to come with me, but I’d like it if you can come to the station later.”

“For questioning?” Viktor asks with his voice nearing the tone of sarcasm. Yuuri was tempted to say scold him but didn’t once he heard Mari laugh a little. She then says, “Not exactly. Think of it as a check since you seemed like a rogue familiar.”

Viktor makes out an hmm and then says, “I’ll go when Yuuri feels better.”

“Alright, but that’s for Yuuri to decide. If he tells you to go, would you?” Mari says, almost sure that Yuuri would tell the familiar to go. Yuuri thought about it, thinking it might be better if Viktor did get checked as fast as possible. Maybe he should tell him to go?

“…I would,” Viktor answers reluctantly with his voice expressing displeasure.

“Then, can you go now?” Yuuri asks, his voice a bit quiet from uneasiness. Even though Viktor did say he would, there was a nagging feeling that made Yuuri think otherwise. Viktor attempts to say something but closes his mouth right away. Yuuri then takes this moment to blurt out, “Of course, I’m coming with you! Just wait a bit for me to take my medicine.”

Viktor’s face lights up instantly as Mari’s expression turns sour. The two of them start calling his name where he interrupts them by pushing the two of them out of his room while saying, “Just have a chat in the main room and I’ll be there soon!”

He closes the door, locking it so they couldn’t come in, and sighs as he eyes the medicine on his desk. Mari suddenly not caring to ask Viktor any questions was a little strange. She couldn’t have just disregarded it, what about her job? He wanted to ask her but shakes his head. ‘Time to take it and get ready…’ he thought to himself as he goes over to his desk and plops the medicine in his mouth, gulping down the water soon after.

Once he finished changing, Yuuri goes downstairs to the main room.

--

[Yuri, Otabek, Chris]

Yuri:
wtf why is prep taking so long

Chris:
Wow Yuri, it’s only been a few hours, why are you so antsy?

Yuri:
I’M NOT ANTSY

Chris:
Otabek, care to explain?

Otabek:
The excitement’s getting to him. He just wants to see Hasetsu.

Chris:
Hmm, is this related to those skating livestreams you two watch?

Yuri:
IT’S NOT

[Yuri Plisetsky has left the chat]

Chris:
Well

Otabek:
It is. Yura’s just embarrassed

Chris:
I figured. Hey, do you think it’ll be better to bring Makkachin with us to Japan? If she’s there, she might help us find Viktor.

Otabek:
Aren’t there any regulations with bringing pets to Japan?

Chris:
I already went through the procedures half a year ago since I thought Viktor wanted to bring her along for the mission. Not so sure if it’s still valid…

Otabek:
Well if we still can take her… I say take her. She seems pretty lonely, no matter how much we try to comfort her…

Chris:
Got it, I’ll finish our prep and then we can leave in 3 days

--

Once Yuuri steps into the main room, he finds Mari, Viktor, and Phichit sitting at the same table. The room was fairly empty, with only them there. Well, that’s only normal since it was early in the morning, maybe around six, and there weren’t any guests staying last night. His parents were most likely preparing to open for the day along with the other workers who have been employed ever since he was a child.

It was nostalgic, experiencing the morning here again. The sound of the running water along with sound of the hot springs, the sound of his mother and the cook chopping up ingredients, the sound of his father speaking over the phone to order things for the day, the sound of brooms swishing around the floor… While it wasn’t that different from how he did things in America, hearing these sounds here in Japan made him feel more at home. …Maybe he was more homesick than he thought he was for all those years.

Yuuri finally sits himself down at the table, hands fidgeting under it. His fever was down and it didn’t seem like it would cause him anymore problems so it should be okay for him to go… Right?

Mari sighs, saying, “Yuuri, are you sure you want to come along? What if your fever spikes up—”

“I’m fine Mari-nee!” Yuuri interjects immediately, showing more energy than an ill person would. “Side effects shouldn’t even last longer than a day so I’m absolutely fine.”

Just as Mari was about to protest again, Phichit pulls her shoulder back and shakes his head so she would stop pushing the issue. She sighs again, crossing her arms as she leaned back a bit. “While it’s true that they don’t last longer than a day, it’s only been about four hours for you little bro. I can’t keep an eye on you while we go to the station.”

“Then…!” Yuuri yells out, trying to think of what else to say. Eventually he adds, “Then Viktor or Phichit can stay close to me. Or maybe even Vicchan.” While he knew that Viktor and Vicchan would come along, he didn’t know if Phichit wanted to. His best friend might just wander around town, trying to find information for his job, but he isn’t sure if that’s what he wanted to do.

Mari’s eyes close as she says in a dry voice, “Yuuri. Viktor’s going to get checked, there’s no way he can watch you. And Vicchan is a small familiar, do you think he can help you?” Phichit smiles sadly as he adds, “And I have to go info hunting. I got some details of my job so I can’t really stay with you Yuuri. As much as I want to.”

Yuuri looks down at his hands, tightening them together. What Mari said was true; it would be difficult for the little poodle to watch over him. The most Vicchan could do was give him comfort, but if only… If only Vicchan had some abilities…

Viktor finally speaks, his voice low and comforting to Yuuri’s ears, “Well, let’s just take him along first and then we can work from there. I bet Vicchan can help him regardless of his size since he is a familiar.” He closes his eyes as he continued, “Familiars are more complex than you think. Even when they look as if they wouldn’t hurt a fly… They can surprise you when the time is right.”

Eventually, Mari sighs again as she says, “Fine, fine… Let’s go then.” And at those words, they left the resort. Mari led the way with Viktor, Yuuri and Vicchan tagging along behind her. Phichit followed for a little while before wandering a different direction, only telling them that he would be back to the resort in the evening. Soon, the four reach the station.

The station seemed to be recently built since Yuuri didn’t recognize it. From the front, it looked fairly small with pure white walls and no windows in sight. They walk in and Yuuri realizes that the building was larger than he thought. There was a stairway leading down to the underground while the ground floor was mainly a place for people walking in to give their complaints to the receptionist. The receptionist was a young man, most likely about a couple years younger than him, with blond hair with a large red streak right in front and eyes that seemed to sparkle as he talked. “Ah Katsuki-senpai, good morning! Who are your visitors today?”

Mari chuckles, replying, “Just my little brother and a familiar that needs to be checked.” The receptionist gasps and excitedly yells, “Wow, so this is your brother!” as he stares at Yuuri with his eyes sparkling more than before. Yuuri takes a step back, a little uncomfortable with the attention as the receptionist continues to talk, “I heard a lot about you from Katsuki-senpai! I always wanted to search up your performances but I got so tied up with my job that I couldn’t even find out what you look liked or how you performed…” His eyes start tearing up as he said those last words and Yuuri felt a little sad so he just tells the other that he’ll share some stories some other time. The receptionist eyes sparkle again, telling Yuuri that he can’t wait for it.

After the receptionist swipes a card, a part of the table slides into its sides and the three of them walk past him, going down the stairs. Vicchan stations himself on Viktor’s shoulder, eyes closed and seemingly sleeping. At the bottom of it was a long, light blue painted hallway which ended with a large steel door. The hallway was empty, with only the lights up in the ceiling, and slightly eerie to even been walking through. After entering through the door, they arrive at a wide room bustling with people wearing clothes similar to what Mari was wearing.

Mari swiftly walks over to a door and opens it, gesturing for Viktor to follow her. Viktor carefully takes Vicchan off his shoulder and hands the poodle to Yuuri. Yuuri hugs the poodle close to his chest and goes over to sit down in one of the sofas placed throughout the room once Viktor steps away. The workers didn’t bother to pay attention to him, leaving him to his own devices as they continued to work. ‘It’s amazing though… All of these summoners in one place…’ he thought to himself as he waited for the check to finish, darting his eyes around the room to keep himself somewhat occupied. He always tried to stay away from summoners whenever he could in the past, just so he could focus on skating. Luckily he hasn’t met many, though it’s probably because he never drove his attention elsewhere.

All of a sudden, Vicchan stirs in his sleep, making Yuuri lose a bit of his grip on the poodle. Then he felt it, that thump again. Not like before where it calmed him, no, it felt different. It was something painful. An image starts developing in his mind, making him let go of Vicchan and put both of his hands on his head. Vicchan barks, trying to lure Yuuri’s attention to him but fails.

The image was vivid: two strings knotted together, slowly being pulled to undo it. Just as the knot starts to disappear, Yuuri yells out, “Stop.”