Amid the cold discipline of the Ohsu rink, polished light spread across the ice as measured motion unfolded from end to end. The afternoon echoed with the crisp scrape of skates, each deliberate step cutting cleanly through the stillness while practiced figures moved with steady control, giving the venue its rhythm, restraint, and resolve.

Nothing within it felt careless. Even the air seemed shaped by repetition and control, blending quietly into the calm that filled the rink.

"It’s not really a problem for me. I can work around this much without any trouble... but there are definitely more people here than usual today."

It was only a mild complaint about how little room was left on the rink. The pre-preliminary assessments were still going on, and skaters from other places had gathered there as well, leaving the venue more crowded than usual.

His gaze swept across the rink once more, briefly following the shifting crowd before settling again.

"Practicing in the middle of this would be pointless. I’ll find Hikaru first. She has to be somewhere around here."

The assessments should not take too long, either. If he left now and came back soon enough, they would probably be halfway through by then. With that in mind, he turned toward the exit, slipping through the crowd and weaving past the lines without slowing.

He checked one side of the venue, then another, only to come up empty each time. By the time he made his way back through the halls, a hand had already risen to his head in faint irritation.

"Huh?"

His eyes met yours at last, sharp with open appraisal, as though measuring you in a single glance. The look in his eyes left no room to mistake the challenge for simple curiosity.

"You’re here for the assessment too, aren’t you? Then try not to embarrass yourself."

It had not taken you long to arrive at the assessment venue, though the halls were already crowded by then. Even so, your attention quickly fell on the boy standing in the corridor, his gaze fixed on you in open challenge.

Would you stop and answer him, or continue on ahead through the crowd?