Tetsuro was surprised to find the ice rink near his house open so early in the morning. Back in Canada, he had a few friends who would wake up at dawn to train together at a nearby rink. Unfortunately, there were no friends to join him in this instance.
The rink was empty, save for the staff who were awake at this hour. He thought to himself.
As he laced up his hockey gear, he felt a sense of relief when he stepped onto the ice and found it smooth. Tetsuro glided effortlessly through his routine laps, focusing deeply on his training. However, his concentration was soon shattered when someone interrupted him.
"That's the only training you do?" Tetsuro looked at the feminine voice questioning him.
The girl's jet-black hair cascaded in soft, elegant waves down her back, catching the light as she moved. Her icy blue-colored eyes, framed by a delicate pair of glasses, observed him with an intensity that felt both curious and critical. Every feature of her face seemed perfectly sculpted, flawless in its symmetry, as though she had stepped out of a painting. Her complexion was smooth, unmarked by a single imperfection, radiating perfect beauty. She carried herself with quiet confidence, her body gracefully curved in all the right places, exuding a sense of poise and strength. There was something strikingly captivating about her presence—an allure that kept Tetsuro's attention on her.
Unfortunately for him as his attention was focused elsewhere the end of his skate blade caught the rink's end boards and he crashed down onto the ice. Tetsuro groaned with a bit of discomfort. Falling on the hard ice didn't feel good.
"Yes, that is my usual routine" Tetsuro responded as his face showed discomfort.The girl drifted closer to the rink, her skates glinting as she carefully entered and made her way toward Tetsuro.
As the girl took him in, she noticed he was considerably taller than her, with dark brown hair and amber-colored eyes. A few freckles dotted his nose and cheeks. He had a rugged yet refined handsomeness about him, which made sense given that he played such a physically demanding and violent sport.
"You do realize that's only useful for straight-line speed, right?" she asked, her tone critical. She had been a hockey fan since childhood and was so passionate about the sport that she had learned the training routines of several professional athletes.
"No, I didn't know that," Tetsuro replied, still hunched over, struggling to catch his breath after the fall that had knocked the air out of him. "These are the training routines my friends and I used to do back home." He concluded as he gasped for air.
"Who are you, anyway?" Tetsuro added, his voice tinged with annoyance. "You seem pretty comfortable interrupting other people's training."
"Mina Oshiro." She introduced herself quickly.
"Tetsuro Arbour" Tetsuro responded back. His discomfort slowly fading away.
"Arbour doesn't sound Japanese" Mina asked quizzically.
"It isn't. My father isn't from Japan." Tetsuro assured her.
The conversation faltered as they simply stared at each other. Tetsuro couldn't help but wonder why Mina was awake so early at the ice rink, and she, in turn, was curious about the same thing. The rink was usually empty in the mornings and afternoons, so there was really no reason to be up at such an early hour to avoid the crowds.
"Why did you ask if that was my training routine?" Tetsuro asked as he began to slowly skate away. Mina followed, gliding effortlessly around the ice with delicate grace, using her edges to make smooth turns.
"You're not improving anything except your straight-line speed," she said, her voice steady and critical. "From what I saw, your speed is already good, so why keep training the same way? You need to focus on your edges and your skating strides. Your posture is too upright— you need to fix that..." Tetsuro found it hard to keep up with her rapid-fire advice.
"Okay, okay, I get it. You don't need to write a book about it," Tetsuro sighed, rubbing his arm over his face in exasperation.
"I haven't finished yet," Mina replied with a playful smile. "I still need to see you use your hockey stick and control the puck." Mina gazed towards the bench where Tetsuro kept his bag.
"Are you serious?" Tetsuro asked, surprised. He hadn't expected anyone to analyze his hockey skills today, but it was better than training alone.
"Very," Mina replied, skating effortlessly around the rink with grace. Tetsuro didn't want to admit it, but the way she glided over the ice made him feel a little jealous. She was clearly better at skating than he was, though he'd never say that out loud.
Tetsuro fumbled through his bag, searching for a hockey puck. Everyone had told him back in his youth hockey days that he was one of the most disorganized players on the team. Looking back now, he couldn't help but agree. It took him several minutes to find the puck.
"Ah, here we go," Tetsuro muttered, finally pulling it out and dropping it onto the ice.
The rubber puck slid smoothly across the surface as Tetsuro took control, skating laps while maintaining possession. However, he found himself glancing down at the puck far too often.
"You're looking at the puck too much," Mina called out. "How are you going to spot a pass or set up for a goal if you're too busy making sure the puck stays on your stick?"
Tetsuro frowned, slightly annoyed. "You're asking for someone to hit you. Didn't your coaches ever tell you to keep your head up?" Mina continued her critique without hesitation.
Tetsuro let out a frustrated sigh. "Did anyone ever tell you there's a nicer way to point out someone's weaknesses?" he asked jokingly.
Mina didn't seem bothered, continuing to observe him critically. Growing more irritated, Tetsuro took a hard shot at the rink's glass. The impact was loud, the sound echoing through the empty arena.
"Finally, something you can be proud of," Mina said, skating over to the puck he had shot.
"You've got quite the shot," she said with a pleased smile as she handed the puck back to him.
"Do I?" Tetsuro said, puffing his chest out with pride.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Mina warned. "You still have a lot of issues to work on."
She continued, her tone a mix of seriousness and encouragement. "The good news is that all your issues have solutions—if you're willing to put in the work. You can train off the ice too. There are exercises that don't require you to be on the rink."
Mina skated over to her bag, pulled out a sheet of paper from her notebook, and began writing. Tetsuro wondered if she was giving him her contact info, but the thought faded as she kept writing.
"Here." Mina tore the paper out of her notebook and handed it to him.
Tetsuro scanned the paper, confused. "What's this?"
"It's a training exercise," Mina said. "If you want to improve as a hockey player and work on your weaknesses, start with these exercises."
Before Tetsuro could respond, Mina glanced at her watch. "Oops, I'm going to be late. I hope this helps!" she said quickly, removing her skates and slipping on her casual shoes. She dashed out of the rink.
Tetsuro stood there, feeling a bit bewildered. That was random, but she decided to help. She seemed nice, he thought.
Checking his phone, he realized how quickly time had passed. Nearly two hours had flown by. He quickly packed up and went to his mother's house to shower, leaving his gear to air out in his room.
Downstairs, he found his mother in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. Tetsuro still found it awkward to strike up conversations with her; they hadn't really done anything together since he arrived from Canada.
"Did you think about what I said on our drive back from the airport?" his mother asked as she placed a rolled omelet in front of him.
"About joining the hockey club at Kenryoku?" Tetsuro replied, taking a bite of his omelet.
"Yes," his mother said, watching him expectantly.
Tetsuro paused, glancing at her over the rim of his mug. "I don't know yet, but... I'll think about it. I'm starting to like it here, though."
His mother gave him a small nod but didn't say anything more. She sipped her tea, her expression unreadable.
"Well, remember that school starts in a few weeks," she said, changing the subject. "Your uniform should be upstairs."
She picked up his plate and carried it to the sink. "I have to head to work, Tetsuro. I left some money in the kitchen cupboard if you get hungry later. Don't worry about the dishes, I'll take care of them when I get home."
Tetsuro looked up, feeling a pang of guilt. "I can do the dishes. You've been cooking for me all this time. It's the least I can do... Good luck at work."
She smiled softly. "Thank you. I'll see you at dinner."
As his mother left, Tetsuro stood there for a moment, reflecting on the day. Maybe Japan wasn't so bad after all.