Chapter Text
Sakura's narrative
Have you ever felt like you've found your place and purpose in life? I used to, and look, I was still very young. Some call it luck, vocation, but for me it didn't matter, I just knew that I loved ice skating. It was about how happy and how free I felt. I could spend hours in the cold ring practicing my jumps and steps.
And modesty aside, I was pretty good at them!
I lived all my childhood like that, colorful and hectic in the midst of after school practices and competitions. I liked them, and I liked winning them even more. At that time, I really thought I could skate forever.
That was until the hardest day of my life.
It was a Sunday, and I was in the semifinals of my division. I had just turned 13 and was thrilled to have been able to advance so far in the championship. But all it took was one wrong jump and a fall that made all my dreams seem to go away.
The pain of a torn hamstring just wasn't as bad as hearing from my trainer that I wasn't and would never be good enough, and that this fall was just the first of many I would have for not looking like the other competitors.
Yes, I was the tallest among them all. I had just had a growth spurt through adolescence and was entering that phase where we were get a little awkward, you know? And that's why I was no longer fit for the small beauty standard of figure ice skaters.
Bull shit! With the rage that consumed me, I threw my skates into the lake at the back of my house, wishing it would never be cold again so I couldn't ever again see it frozen over. But let's be realistic, I live in fucking Canada, one of the coldest places in the world, and that obviously didn't happen. Winter came with everything, but nothing in the world made me go ice skating again.
I was resolute in my decision, and I thought I would fulfill my promise never to step in a rink again in my life.
Well, that's what I thought until I gained a best friend, a crazy blonde who dragged me to every college event.
“Come on, Saky, please! I heard that hockey players are too hot, and we as freshmen should support our college!” Ino spoke loudly around me, as she made me go towards the big icy stadium.
I rolled my eyes, but I knew I couldn't beat the Yamanaka's insistence, so I agreed to go in.
After all, what harm could it be? Without a doubt, I had already overcome what had happened to me!
Narrator: She was not over it…
Yeah, I wasn't over it, and I realized that the instant I felt the characteristic cold breath hit my cheeks. I breathed in the wet and effervescent aroma so characteristic of the place, and I became that little girl again who loved to slide on ice. I was in such a state of contemplation that I didn't notice the game ending in front of me. When I caught myself, I was waving my hand at Ino, telling her to go ahead, that I would find her later.
The bleachers were already empty when I walked to the edge of the ring. As if the universe was playing with me, a pair of old skates and a helmet were lying on the bench.
I wore them without even thinking. I could still feel the vibration of the game in me, and even though I took my first steps cautiously, as soon as I hit the ice it was like I had never left.
You know when they say you never forget how to ride a bike? I think ice skating is like that too!
I glided through the ring, gaining more and more speed and feeling like I could fly! Finding a bat and a lost puck was not a difficult task, and when I saw it, I hit it into the small goal.
“Hey, you're really good at this, man!” A male voice reverberated loudly through the place and I held back a scream, startled.
On the other side of the ring was a young man with dark hair smiling at me as he carried some clubs in his hands.
“I'm Shisui, second captain of the team.” He continued to talk as he came closer and closer, but someone called his name, and he turned around. “Look, I really need to go now, but you should come over here sometime, man! We are in need of good players, and tryouts will be next week. See you later!"
He spoke hastily, and I could only nod in agreement.
Had I really been invited to the college's ice hockey team? I smiled like I hadn't smiled in a long time, but then something echoed in my head.
"Man”. He used that word. Twice!
I looked at my clothes. The beat-up tracksuit from the school's track team and helmet hid any of my feminine traits.
Shit! He thought I was a boy.