Chapter Text
Itadori Yuuji — Age Six
“Yuuji, don’t stay out too late! That cold front’s coming in from goddamn Siberia or something!”
“It’s alright, Gramps, I’ll be fine!” Yuuji shouts back, tugging on his boots as the snow whips through the open cabin door, and he quickly pushes himself out into the brisk air.
He takes off into the snow, grinning as his cheeks burn from the cold wind, and he slides his way down the sloped hillside. He darts through the tall, thick trees, looking up through the canopy to the snow covered branches and leaves. His cheeks are red and cold, but he ignores it as he keeps a lookout for his landmarks. As he passes by the tree that looked like a lady, he reaches that familiar, hollowed out tree tree, he grins as he reaches around to pull out the small sled he’d hidden inside it.
As Yuuji trudges up through the trees towards his sledding hill, he hears the sound of something shredding against icy snow, and he snaps his head towards it. He hears it again, and quickly scales down the side of the hill towards the trail on the other side of the trees.
Finally reaching the break, he peeks up to see a small terrain park, with a small halfpipe, a few jumps and some tubes scattered around, looking a little rough around the edges, but his eyes fall to the small blur of black tossing themselves off the top of the halfpipe.
He could barely see their movements, but all he could see was how quickly and effortlessly they slid down the small pipe. Quickly tucking himself behind the branches of a tree, Yuuji carefully watches as the black blur halts to a stop at the end and looks back up the hill. And as he squinted, Yuuji had to hold back his squeal as he saw that the bundled up kid was the same size and presumably the same age as him.
Leaning over to undo his bindings, the kid quickly hops off and starts to run back up the hill, stumbling a little as their feet slip against the sloped mountain. They ready themselves back up at the top of the hill, little shoulders heaving up and down once before they jump to the side and start to slide towards the first jump.
Yuuji holds his breath as he watches them approach the first rail, but they effortlessly jumps on, sliding a few feet before jumping off right before the end. The kid was small, just like him, but they were moving so easily, it was like they’d been doing it since birth, like they were only following pure instinct. But there was no way a kid his age could be good enough to jump off that halfpipe.
“Woah.” Yuuji whispers to himself as the blur approaches the last jump, and flings himself up into the air, moving faster than Yuuji’s eyes can even keep up. Before he knew it, the black flash was gone barreling down the hill into the trees, and disappeared.
He stood there, hand still holding up the branch as he stares at the small tree trail that black blur had gone down. His little heart was pounding as his brain supplied him with images of himself flying through the air, the board gliding over the snow like silk, how weightless his body would feel, what the view must look like above the trees. He’d never craved something he’d never tasted before so desperately.
It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
And as he trudged back through the snow to his grandpa’s cabin, he took the time to look at the land, picking up on the sloped hillsides, the rock formations that dropped into ravenes, the trees dipping along the mountain. He could envision himself out there, slipping in and out of the evergreens, wind whipping his cheeks, that board underneath his feet.
His grandpa had learned to snowboard with his brother, but since they stopped talking years ago, before Yuuji was even born, Wasuke had stopped. He still ran the pro shop, helping others and criticizing them, too, but he'd never gotten back on a board after that. He’d grown up seeing that old board hung up above the fireplace on the mantle, and he’d spent years wondering what that freedom his grandpa sometimes wistfully spoke of really tasted like.
Finally, opening up the cabin door, he shakes off the snow before stepping inside. He takes a big, brave inhale as he takes a few more steps inside towards the living room.
“Hey… Grandpa?”
“What do you want, kid?”
“Can you… Can you teach me how to snowboard?”
Fourteen years later
Pushing out that same old rusted cabin door, Yuuji inhales the cold, brisk air off the mountain as he steps outside into the snow.
“Don’t stay out too late!” He hears Choso yell from inside as he snags his board leaning against the wall, “It’s cold as hell, even with the sun!”
“Yeah, yeah!” Yuuji just waves him off as he shuts the door behind him, shaking his head a bit as he squints against the sun shining off the bright snow and tugs his goggles down.
He pushes through the snow to the worn down tree path off the right side of the cabin, lifting up branches as he moves through the thick trees until he finds that funky looking tree, now looking more like a fat troll than a lady, and he takes a hard left towards the terrain park.
Unsurprisingly, considering how remote this part of the mountain was and how Yuuji was technically not supposed to be here, the park was empty, and Yuuji shoves his headphones into his ears, pressing play on Mac Miller’s Swimming album, letting the smooth, relaxing music soothe his brain from reading through their bills from earlier in the afternoon.
Taking a long, deep breath, Yuuji pushes off from the top of the hill, bouncing his knees and jumping up off the snow once as he approaches the first rail, easily skidding across it as the wind whips at his cheeks.
He felt his muscles relax, his mind clear a bit. He hadn’t been able to come out here by himself in a few days, and he could feel himself getting antsy with each passing day.
Yuuji had never really been trained by anyone, he figured out tricks by himself by watching videos and YouTube tutorials, and spent every summer practicing and timing his flips and rotations on the old trampoline he’d saved up for. It was unconventional, yes, and probably very dangerous, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d never felt more clear than when he was curving down the mountain, inhaling the crisp air surrounded by the most glorious shades of green trees, towering over the trails and topped with snow.
This old terrain park had become his safe space, a place he came to clear his head when he felt stuck, where he could let his body take over his mind and just let go. He went back as soon as his grandpa begrudgingly said he was good enough to try tricks on his own. He’d quickly become obsessed, watching every competition he could on TV and online and he went to all of the mountain’s events just to catch a glimpse of what the best of the best looked like soaring through the blue sky. But he still loved this park best, despite its flaws and imperfections, because it was his.
People didn’t come here very often, and it got groomed two times less than the newer, main side of the mountain, but Yuuji had never let this place go. It was where he’d decided that he wanted to snowboard like that little black blur for the rest of his life.
However, on his fourth go through the course, his head is still a little dreamy as he confidently tries to up one of his tricks a bit. He approaches the last jump, bending his knees as he rounds the curve and twists the backside of his board forward as he jumps, spinning three and a half times before his board hits the ground. But he’s still adjusting to his surroundings as he lands, and he wobbles before the edge of his board catches in the snow and he goes tumbling down, rolling a few times before he flops onto his back.
“Oh, fuck.” Yuuji groans hoarsely, slamming his fist against the snow in frustration. He’d been practicing this trick for three weeks, but he still couldn’t land it, his board kept getting tucked just under the snow enough to make him eat shit right at the last second.
He stares up at the bright blue sky, sighing loudly as he looks at the outline of the trees framing his vision.
He’d been snowboarding for fourteen years, since he was six years old, and that old dream of spending the rest of his life on the mountainside hadn’t faltered, not even once since that fateful day at the terrain park. It was one of the few things he still had left of his grandpa, those days they spent with Wasuke standing at the top of a hill, hollering at Yuuji to fix his stances. He’d go home sweaty, exhausted, with the biggest smile on his face as he asked his grandpa what time they could go out tomorrow after school.
But now he was twenty, and Grandpa was gone, and he was still working at ski school and picking up as many ski patrol shifts as he could to make enough just to help Choso pay for the gas bill. He knew he’d have to move on to something else eventually, but he just didn’t want to let go yet.
“Hey, kid.”
Yuuji's thoughts screech to a halt as he slowly looks up to see a man in a blindingly white ski jacket standing above him with his hands on his hips. He glances down quickly to see the bright blue ski and snowboard emblem on his chest pocket, and he gulps.
“Um, hello, sir.”
“How’s it going down there?”
“Uh,” Yuuji glances around from his position sprawled across the snow, “Been better.”
“Too much toe on your backside 1260, huh?”
Yuuji stops his internal panic as he flops over onto his stomach to lean on his elbows and look up, “What?”
“Your 1260. You’re close to landing it, but your upper body is too stiff and you’re pulling your board up too quickly. That’s why your landings are shaky, and your toe edge gets caught.”
Yuuji stays silent, still staring in astonishment at not immediately getting thrown off the mountain as the man leans over to look closer at him, “Am I wrong?”
“I, uh, I guess not.” Yuuji replies carefully, tilting his head a little, “My landings are always the roughest part of my skills.”
“Mm. I can see that. Those corks were impressive, though. Add a double McTwist and that would add crazy points to your scores,” The man stands up as he looks back to the halfpipe, “And that thing isn’t regulation for the height you're getting.”
“No, I don’t have, uh, access to the regulation halfpipe on the mountain,” Yuuji replies, looking down at the snow, “And I don’t compete, sir.”
“Do you want to?”
Yuuji looks up, “What?”
“Do you want access to the regulation halfpipe? And to compete?” The man repeats, finally bringing his goggles up above his eyes, revealing a shocking shade of blue that seemed to glow off the white snow, and Yuuji’s stomach drops.
“You’re… You’re Gojo. The mountain team’s coach,” Yuuji says breathlessly, heart picking up a little, “You’ve won six gold medals.”
“Would’ve been seven if my back didn’t give out on me!” Gojo huffs out, shaking his head, “But anyway, my offer still stands. I’ve seen you around this park before, you’ve got a gift. Your skills are rough around the edges, but you’ve got something.”
“Oh, I— Thank you,” Yuuji replies, finally scooching up onto his knees, “I haven’t really had any formal training.”
“You’re completely self taught?” Gojo asks, his cool expression faltering for a moment as Yuuji nods.
“Yeah, I mean, my grandpa showed me the ropes, but I ride just in my backyard and—uh, yeah.” Yuuji says quickly, not wanting to divulge how often he’d snuck onto the trails on the private side of the mountain just yet.
“Mm.” Gojo hums, keeping his blazen eyes on Yuuji for a few more moments as he closes his eyes and prepares himself to be reprimanded and banned from the slopes forever.
“Well! Come along, now!”
Yuuji snaps his eyes open up and he sees Gojo wave him forward, and he quickly undoes his bindings as he looks up at him quizzically.
“What?”
“Our practice starts in about fifteen, but you seem stretched out enough already so you should be good to go.” Gojo says dismissively, heading up towards the top of the small trail the terrain park sat on.
“Practice?” Yuuji stumbles over himself as he picks up his board and scrambles to follow behind Gojo’s quick strides.
“Yes, practice! Now hurry up!”
“So over here we have our slope style course, that’s Yuuta and Maki’s main event besides Big Air,” Gojo explains as Yuuji tries to keep up, “They’re both ranked in the top ten in Japan, so they’re both gunning for the next Trials. I figure you could qualify for both, too."”
“I think I saw them both compete last year at the last X Games, right?” Yuuji asks as Gojo nods, falling a little behind as he looks around the park in awe.
The snow was immaculately groomed, the perfectly packed snow eliminating the icy slabs he was used to on the western side’s terrain park. He tried to keep up with Gojo and his ramblings about the different events and tricks and qualifying competitions, but this was like something out of his dreams, actually being able to step foot on a professional course. He’d watched competitions from behind the bright orange fences, from afar, but feeling the snow crunch under his boots was something else entirely.
“And this,” Gojo grins as they approach the bottom of the big air slope, and he yanks the shoulder of a grumpy looking young man towards him, making him stumble a bit in the snow, “Is our assistant coach.”
The man scowls over at Gojo before his eyes flit to Yuuji’s, and his heart falters a little. They were dark green, a reflection of the trees around them with the sun bouncing off the snow, framed by long, dark lashes.
“Um, hi,” Yuuji says, glancing at Gojo as he swallows hard and tries to smile, “I’m Itadori Yuuji.”
“Yuuji here is joining the team!” Gojo exclaims excitedly, and both boys whip their heads towards him.
“He is?”
“I am?”
“Yes!” Gojo claps his hands together, “He’s a natural, Meggy, I’m telling you. He just needs someone to show him the ropes and he could be on the Olympic team by the next Games!”
“Absolutely not.” The man says flatly, dropping his clipboard to his side as he turns back towards the course, and Yuuji’s heart wobbles a bit.
“Come on, Megs!” Gojo yanks him back over again, ruffling his hair with the other hand as he grumbles and shoves him off, “You can totally teach him your old stuff!”
He stiffens, slowly turning to glare at Gojo, but Yuuji just continues to stare at the man, trying to figure out why that hair looked so damn familiar before it hits him like a truck.
“Wait, I remember you! Y-You’re Fushiguro Megumi!” Yuuji shakes his head in disbelief as he laughs a little, “I remember you from the junior X Games! Holy shit, you were the youngest person to ever hit a backside triple cork 1620 in competition!”
Megumi just glares at him for a moment before he turns back to Gojo, “No way. I’m already working with Inumaki on his halfpipe and our best shot at medaling is Yuuta or Maki for slope style, so I’m focusing on them. I’m not going to waste my time teaching this idiot the difference between a 360 and a cork.”
“Hey! I just said I know those!” Yuuji protests weakly, but Gojo just takes a step forward and lowers his eyes, but Megumi just glares right back.
They seem to silently fight it out for a few seconds before Gojo quietly says, “Megumi. He rides on the west side of the mountain.”
Megumi’s glare softens a bit as he glances back at Yuuji, then he takes a moment before closing his eyes and inhaling sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose as he turns to Yuuji, “What’s your style?”
“What?”
“Regular or goofy?” Megumi clarifies, but Yuuji’s stomach tightens as Megumi just stares at him expectantly.
“…Goofy, I think? That's right foot forward, right?” Yuuji says slowly, glancing at Gojo as he sees him try to stifle a laugh and Megumi glares at him.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Gojo?”
“Come on, Megatron, just give him a crash course!”
As Yuuji stands in front of his front door, brain still a little muddled from all of Megumi’s lessons from earlier and shaken from Megumi in general, he inhales deeply, preparing himself before he opens it up, and is greeted by a sweet, smoky smell coming from the kitchen.
“Yuuji?”
“Hey, Cho,” Yuuji calls out, propping his board up against the wall in their rubber shoe mat by the door, “You making dinner?”
“Yeah, it’s almost ready, just go and sit down!” Yuuji plops down at their dinner table as Choso looks up at him from the kitchen, “Good day?”
“Interesting one.”
“Why? What happened?” Choso asks, quickly rounding the corner to place their bowls on the table and sits down.
“Chill, nothing bad,” Yuuji replies quickly, and Choso’s shoulders relax, and he breathes in sharply before he adds, “I, uh, was actually asked to join the mountain team.”
Choso’s expression drops a little, and he looks down at his bowl, “Yuuji, congratulations. That’s… that’s fantastic. It’s just… you know we can’t afford that right now.”
“I know,” Yuuji replies quickly, and Choso furrows his eyebrows in confusion, “I met Gojo. He said he’d cover the costs.”
Choso eyes him warily, “Gojo? The coach? How’d you meet him? Why would he do that?”
“Uh…” Yuuji then realizes he’d slipped up, considering Choso had scolded him many, many times for sneaking onto the mountain, and his eyes narrow.
“Yuuji. Tell me you weren’t in that old terrain park.” Choso says lowly as Yuuji slinks back in his chair, and Choso then just sighs deeply, rubbing his temples, “You know that old thing isn’t well maintained by the mountain. They don’t care about this side.”
“I know, I know, but it was good today since we got some snow last night, I swear!” Yuuji tries and Choso just shakes his head as he takes a bite of his food, “He said he thinks I might be able to make the next Olympic team.”
“That’s years away, Yuuji.”
“Only two.” Yuuji fights weakly, and Choso sighs warily, shaking his head.
“I don’t know. What if you get hurt?” Choso asks, dropping his spoon as his warm eyes crease with concern.
“Then I’ll get back up again like I always do,” Yuuji replies quickly, and Choso looks down, breathing in deeply. Yuuji takes a moment before he adds, “Cho, this is my best shot to make some real money somehow, maybe even go pro. Even if I don’t make the Olympics, it might be a way to make connections, you know, set me up with something else so I can keep snowboarding, or at least be connected to it.”
Choso looks at him in silence for a few moments, eyes creased with concern, before they soften as he sighs, “It’s not because I don’t think you can do it.”
“I know.”
“This… All of this is just expensive.”
“I know.”
“And those people… they don’t always treat others very well.” Choso says warily, the truth thinly veiled within his words, and Yuuji’s heart squeezes a bit as he nods.
“I know, Cho.” Yuuji repeats, a little softer this time, before Choso just sighs deeply and shrugs as he scoops up some of his curry.
“This is all your Grandpa’s fault, you know.”
Yuuji laughs, the anxiety in his chest breaking as Choso seems to relax a little more, but that stubborn, faded memory of that black blur reenters his mind, “Yeah, yeah, blame the old man.”
“So, tell me,” Yuuji looks up to see Choso looking at him expectantly, “How’d it go?”
“It went… okay, I think,” Yuuji says carefully, thinking back to Megumi’s annoyed eye rolls as he tried to walk him through the technical bases, but thanks to Yuuji’s enthusiasm and barrage of questions, they hadn’t even had time to hit the course, “I just kinda met the coaches and the team today, walked the courses.”
“They seem nice?” Choso asks, tilting his head a bit.
“Yeah, actually. Nicer than most of the other regulars out there,” Yuuji shrugs as he scoops up some food, “The girls are a little scary, but the guys are chill.”
“Good, good,” Choso nods supportively, and Yuuji feels his shoulders relax a bit more, “That Gojo as annoying as they say he is?”
“Yeah,” Yuuji laughs, nodding his head, “Little bit, but I like him.”
“Thought so,” Choso chuckles, “Yuki always said he was a pain in high school.”
“She went to school with him?” Yuuji asks, tilting his head a little as Choso nods.
Yuki was in charge of the pro shop at the mountain, she’d worked there growing up, and ended up taking over with Choso after Yuuji’s grandpa retired. Choso had always had the most shamelessly obvious crush on her, stumbling over his words and blushing like a tomato every time he talked to her, and even as they neared thirty and were as close as could be, he still blushed every time she playfully grabbed his shoulder or tugged on his hair.
“Yeah, guess he had some personal reason come up when he was a teenager that made him want to stay. Always said it was just her luck he decided to stay at this mountain." Choso chuckles a little before sighing wistfully, and a little dreamily, and Yuuji rolls his eyes as he scoops up some more food.
“Hey, wait…” Choso then furrows his eyebrows before he tilts his head, “Isn’t the assistant coach that Fushiguro guy?”
Yuuji hesitates, opening and closing his mouth once before he just nods casually, “Yeah.”
“Wasn’t that the kid you used to watch all the time?” Choso asks, and Yuuji feels his face get hot as he quickly looks down to his bowl, shoving his spoon full of curry into his mouth.
“Mhm.” He hums quickly, desperately hoping Choso will drop this, and thankfully, he does.
“Mm,” Is all he responds with, before– “Does this need more onions?
The next morning as they stand at the top of the terrain park, Yuuji gulps hard, glancing over to Megumi standing by Gojo, talking about something as Gojo nods silently next to him.
He didn’t mean to keep staring at him, but this was Fushiguro.
Yuuji had tried to recreate his tricks all the time when he was teenager, and he remembers watching the Youth Olympic games live where he’d swept in three categories, broke multiple records for his age. Yuuji had kind of looked up to him, he was just so fun to watch, it seemed like he was barely even trying while making history. He was one of the most impressive snowboarders Yuuji had ever seen, talked about a lot by the analysts, but never got the actual recognition Yuuji thought he’d truly deserved for the boundaries he pushed. And then he just… quit. There was no announcement or reason that was shared publicly, and it had always stuck in the back of his head, like an itch he couldn't scratch.
But Yuuji wasn’t going to admit that to Megumi.
And he most definitely wasn’t going to admit he went home and rewatched all of his highlights on YouTube last night. And all of his interviews. Specifically, the ones where he’d taken his helmet off and he was out of breath with messy, sweaty hair.
And he really, most definitely wasn’t going to admit that Megumi, with his pretty eyes and sweaty hair and annoyed eye rolls, was the sole reason that Yuuji discovered he wasn’t completely straight when he was fifteen.
“Alright, so you ride goofy. Ironic,” Yuuji jolts a little as Megumi silently appears next to him, bright sunlight off snow reflecting off those dark green eyes, “Do you have a usual slopestyle routine?”
“Um,” Yuuji laughs a little awkwardly, “Not exactly?”
“You’ve done the terrain park on the west side of the mountain though, right? That’s basically the same.” Megumi asks, tilting his head a little, and Yuuji swallows hard as he glances over at Gojo.
“Yeah, but I usually just mess around, you know, hit tricks that feel right in the moment, or try and recreate stuff I’ve seen.”
“Great. Unpredictability,” Megumi sighs, shaking his head a little as he nods down to the park, “Go through the course.”
“What?” Yuuji snaps his head towards him as Megumi looks at him like he’s an idiot.
“Show me something.”
“Like, uh, like what?” Yuuji asks nervously, breathing in shakily as Megumi sighs in annoyance.
“If you don’t have a practiced routine, just do what you normally do.”
“Alright, sure, okay.” Yuuji replies, looking down at the course as his heart starts to pick up. He could easily go through a terrain park in his sleep, but Megumi’s critical eyes on him made his knees buckle a little.
“I’ll ride behind you.” Megumi says as he turns back towards the start of the run, and Yuuji’s stomach lurches.
“Wait!” Yuuji calls out, quickly scrambling to follow him, and Megumi just barely glances behind him, “Are you sure there’s not something specific I should show you? My corks are solid, same with my Miller flips off the rails, and I’m good with—
“Don’t care,” Megumi interrupts bluntly, plopping down in the snow to the side of the trail as he tugs his goggles down and straps himself up, “Just show me what you can do.”
“O-Okay.” Yuuji stutters out, dropping down into the snow to lace up his bindings as he tries to control his breathing. Letting himself slide a little further down the hill towards the start of the course, he can hear his heartbeat in his ears, pounding over the still of the snow. He inhales and exhales deeply, trying to calm down his racing heart as he tries to envision his backside trails, the quiet silence of the mountain just after it snows, the untouched pristineness of the white blankets covering the canyons and trees.
“Relax, Yuuji,” He mutters to himself, shaking out his arms, “You’re just trying to impress your first dude crush and new coach who is hot and also unbelievably sick at snowboarding. You’ll be fine.”
Yuuji takes one look down at the terrain park that seems to lengthen and narrow as he does, and he gulps, “I’ll be fine.”
“Itadori!” He snaps his head to the side of the hill to see Megumi waving him down, “Any day now!”
“Okay, okay,” Yuuji breathes out before he glances down to his knees and mutters firmly, “Do not fucking fall.”
He shifts over, dropping his board downhill towards the first rail, bending his knees to pick up some speed before hopping up onto it, leaning onto the backside of his board as the frontside lifts into the air and he skids across easily. Just before the end, he drops the front back down and spins off one rotation before hitting the snow again, exhaling a little as the familiar movements ease his tense muscles.
He eyes the small incline up the hill before the rounded piping comes up, and he bends his knees to speed up towards it, aligning himself along the left side of the jump, right foot ahead. He flings himself backwards, flipping back one full time over the pipe as his fingertips graze over the smooth metal for a few moments before he rights himself and his feet hits the end of the rail, skimming down it a few feet and then he jumps off.
He exhales in relief as he barrels down towards the first jump, bouncing a bit to keep his nerves in check before he launches off the jump, leaning back to grab the tail end of his board as he spins two and a half times, glancing down at the snow before he releases his board and floats through the air before he slams back into the snow.
Approaching the last jump, Yuuji exhales a huff before he flicks the back of his board up and throws his shoulder downhill, twisting as he flies off the jump, and he crouches a bit to grip the middle of his board and flips over twice while he spins three times through the air. He relishes the cold air hitting his cheeks, the trees blending into a blur of green, white and brown, before he quickly releases his board, preparing himself before he hits the snow again.
He smiles to himself beneath his mask as he carves down the hill and skids to a stop at the bottom as Megumi stops behind him, leaning over to undo his bindings, before he stands up straight and just stares at him.
“So?” Yuuji says nervously, glancing back at the terrain park before he turns back to Megumi, who is still just staring at him, eyes tracing him up and down.
“Your movements are good, fluid, but you tense up right before your big landings. You don’t hold your board for long enough and it limits your ability to add rotations. That cork 1080 was slow and easily could’ve been a 1440.” Megumi finally says, voice firm, and it makes Yuuji gulp a bit.
“Yeah,” Yuuji rubs the back of his neck a little sheepishly, “It’s kind of always been my issue.”
“Mm,” Megumi looks him up and down before he sighs and turns towards the lodge, “I’m not coaching you.”
“What?!” Yuuji exclaims, his stomach turning to lead as he quickly grabs his board off the snow to follow him.
“Gojo can do it.” Megumi replies bluntly, not turning around as Yuuji trails behind him.
“B-But–” Yuuji tries to protest, trying to come up with any reason to get him to stay.
Megumi just breathes out sharply before he suddenly turns around and walks back towards him, “You’re scared. That’s why you let go too early. If you’re scared, you’ll never finish a mountain competition, much less a qualifying or a damn Olympic event. I can’t teach you to let go like that, that’s something you do on your own.”
Yuuji doesn’t reply, he just lets the sinking feeling in his chest weigh him down a little as Megumi stares at him expectantly before he just rolls his eyes and turns back towards the lodge again.
“I’m not scared of falling!” Yuuji shouts after him, and Megumi’s walking slows a bit, “I… I’ve just never had expectations for my snowboarding, I always just did what was fun. I fall all the time, I’ve broken my wrist in three different places. I’m not scared of getting hurt. I’ll try any trick, any time, any place.”
“Then what are you so scared of?” Megumi asks, glancing over his shoulder before he turns back around.
“I, um…” Yuuji trails off, unable to really properly focus on what he wants to say with Megumi’s intense eyes on him, “I-I don’t know.”
Megumi’s mouth twitches before he just shakes his head, turning back to the lodge again, “Don’t come back until you do.”
Yuuji stands there for a few moments, before irritation and resentment and the idea of losing his dream engulfs his chest and he pushes himself forward through the snow.
“Hey!” He shouts after him, and Megumi just sighs and turns back around as Yuuji stomps towards him.
“Don’t count me out because I don’t have the same training as you! I could have been ten times better than all of those other rich assholes if I got half the opportunities they did!” Yuuji shouts, his throat feeling a little thick before he adds, “I could be amazing! I could be better than you!”
Megumi just stares at him, those intense eyes never faltering, and as nervous as they make Yuuji, he forces himself to stand firm underneath them.
“Yeah. I know you could be,” Megumi then replies soundly, looking almost irritated, “That’s why I’m telling you to come back.”
Yuuji’s fire extinguishes immediately as Megumi just stares at him a little longer, and then clears his throat as he steps back to turn away, “Polish your run. Hit those rotations. Show me when it’s ready.”
“O-Okay,” Yuuji replies shakily, shifting on his feet before he hesitantly adds, “Thank you.”
Megumi nods, then just turns back to trudge towards the lodge.
Yuuji stares at him as he watches him walk away, nodding politely to a few different riders before he shoves his way into the lodge. His heart picked up with every step he took away from him, but as anxious and nervous as that conversation had made him, he couldn’t help the excited flutter in his chest as he finally looks back up the course. A smile twitches on his lips before he just laughs and shakes his head, “Holy shit.”