Love Letter On Ice

The crisp schwick-schwick of blades slicing over fresh ice echoed through the empty rink at 5:45 AM. Miyazawa Sakura’s breath puffed in little clouds as she skated through her warm-up routine, each movement smooth and effortless. The early morning light streamed through the high windows of Nagano Municipal Ice Arena, turning the ice into a glittering sea of gold.

Honestly, this was her favorite time of day—before the world woke up, before her classmates at Shimizu High School started their groggy commutes, she had the entire rink to herself. Well, almost to herself.

“Ohayooo, Sakura-chan!”

The familiar, way-too-cheerful voice of Matsumoto Yuki shattered the peaceful silence. Yuki’s short black hair was still sleep-mussed, her school bag hanging off one shoulder in an obvious rush job.

“You’re late,” Sakura called, transitioning seamlessly into a camel spin. Her long ponytail whipped around, catching the morning light as she rotated.

“Only by five minutes! Some of us actually need beauty sleep, you know,” Yuki huffed, dropping her bag and plopping down to lace up her skates. “Besides, Coach Yamamoto texted. She’s running late—something about train delays.”

Sakura nodded, smoothly gliding to the barrier. At sixteen, she was already one of the top junior figure skaters in Nagano Prefecture. With regionals coming up, this was her shot at making nationals—a step closer to her dream of competing internationally.

“Hey, did you finish Nakamura-sensei’s English homework?” Yuki grumbled as she tugged on her skates. “That Shakespeare reading was pure torture!”

“Mmm,” Sakura hummed in agreement, taking a sip of water. “The language is pretty different from modern Japanese. But—”

The sudden thud of the rink’s main door interrupted her. Both girls turned.

No one else was ever here this early.

A tall figure stepped inside, silhouetted against the early morning light. As he moved closer, Sakura caught a glimpse of a dark green school blazer—Shimizu High’s uniform. But wow, she’d never seen someone wear it at that height before.

“Uh, excuse me,” the boy called out, bowing awkwardly. “Is this where the figure skating club practices?”

Sakura and Yuki exchanged looks.

The boy straightened, revealing messy black hair and warm brown eyes that crinkled at the corners, even as he looked wildly out of place.

“This is a closed practice,” Sakura said, her voice cool and professional. “Public skating hours are posted outside.”

“Ah, sorry!” He bowed again, even deeper this time. “I’m Tanaka Ryota, Class 2-B. I’m actually looking for...” He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. “Miyazawa Sakura-san?”

Yuki’s elbow jabbed into Sakura’s ribs.

“That’s her!” Yuki chirped, completely ignoring the do-not-engage glare Sakura shot her.

“Oh! Miyazawa-san!” His face lit up like she’d just handed him free concert tickets. “Sorry to interrupt your practice, but I really need your help. See, I lost this bet with my team...” He scratched the back of his head, looking thoroughly sheepish. “And now I have to learn a figure skating routine for the school festival.”

Sakura blinked. “...What.”

“And,” he continued quickly, “Everyone says you’re the best skater at Shimizu High, so—”

Sakura was already shaking her head. “The festival is in two months, and you’ve never skated before?”

“Well… I did go ice skating once in elementary school...” Ryota said hopefully.

Sakura gave him a flat stare.

“I’m a fast learner! And I promise I won’t get in the way of your training!” he added. “I can come early, stay late, whatever works!”

“Absolutely n—”

“One second!” Yuki grabbed Sakura’s arm and yanked her away across the ice. “Are you out of your mind?” she hissed.

“I have regionals coming up,” Sakura whispered back. “I don’t have time to teach some total newbie—”

“Think about it,” Yuki interrupted, her tone way too smug. “Helping someone else might help you understand your own skating better. Plus…” Her grin turned positively wicked. “When was the last time a cute guy asked for your help with anything?”

Sakura felt a betrayingly warm flush creep up her neck. “That is completely irrelevant.”

“C’mon, just give it a week,” Yuki wheedled. “If it doesn’t work, you can bail.”

Sakura sighed, sending a misty cloud into the air. She glanced back at Ryota, still standing awkwardly by the rink barrier—absurdly tall for a Japanese high schooler, at least 180 cm. The thought of someone that height attempting a spin was almost… amusing.

“Fine,” she relented. Skating back to the barrier, she crossed her arms. “Six AM. Every morning. If you’re even one minute late, I stop teaching you. Also, you need real skates—no rentals.”

Ryota’s whole face lit up, a ridiculously bright smile stretching across his features.

“Thank you, Miyazawa-san! I promise I won’t let you down!”

With that, he practically ran out of the rink, probably late for basketball practice.

Behind Sakura, Yuki cackled. “Ohhh, this year’s school festival just got a LOT more interesting.”

Sakura tried to shake off the distraction and launched back into her warm-up routine. But somehow… her morning practice felt slightly off-beat for the first time in years.

The sun had fully risen now, turning the ice into a shimmering canvas of light. Another day was beginning at Shimizu High School, but Sakura had the strange feeling that this one might just be different.