he has a very small knit group of friends, whom he rarely contacts. he often keeps to himself, but he is always trying to be conscious of how he comes off to others and how strangers view him. he rarely acts without thinking, but when he does it is thanks to high anxiety and jumping the gun due to rampant emotions. he is generally very lowkey and is not one to be loud and boisterous. he does not like to take up more space than he thinks is absolutely necessary--this means he is often shrunk in on himself, and will not speak out unless spoken to. once he is warmed up to someone, though, a bit of that anxiety starts to fade away, and though he will still try to be courteous and quiet, he will be more willing to speak out about his opinions and feelings.
yuuri was born and raised in hasetsu, kyushu, japan. his family owns and operates an onsen there, attracting tourists and residents. as a child, his family was often so busy with managing the business that they had little time to devote to their son, so they turned him towards ballet. he met minako at a very young age, and grew immediately attached to her. she was able to devote hours of attention to him during rehearsal, and he thrived on this. he became her top student, and while yuuri would have been more than content to remain there, minako could not focus her attention solely on him.
when yuuri grew a little older and continued to prove himself as a competent dancer, minako decided to suggest that he look into figure skating. there was only so much minako could teach yuuri, and she figured skating would provide a good distraction for him when she had to attend to other students.
yuuri thrived as a figure skater, and immediately took to the ice. his ballet had clear influence on his skating, and he soared through the ranks until he found himself in the same class as yuuko. she was his first real friend, and his first crush. it never went beyond innocent admiration, but yuuri found in her someone he could confide in and trust.
the day yuuko showed yuuri viktor nikiforov for the first time was a day yuuri would never forget.
from then on, his goal became succinct and driven. he wanted to be like viktor, to be able to skate on the same level that he did. he began to put in countless hours of training. His devotion verged on obsession--never had he wanted something so badly, or worked so hard to achieve a goal. no matter how badly he ached or how many blisters he had, he kept pushing and kept training as best he could.
as a gift for winning his first competition, his parents brought home a spritely toy poodle puppy, whom yuuri promptly named viktor. “viktor” became “vicchan,” and yuuri spent every second not training or at school with his dog. he told everything to vicchan, and held the dog close during panic attacks and his first few bouts of depression. vicchan would lay beside him every night, and greet him every time he came home. they were close companions, and yuuri wouldn’t have given vicchan up for anything--even if it meant meeting the real viktor.
it was around this time that yuuri began to realize he didn’t quite identify as a boy, and some days found himself feeling uncomfortable in his own body. there were times when people called him “boy,” or when getting dressed, where he found himself squirming and wishing things could be different. he confided in vicchan about this, but of course, vicchan could not reply, nor give advice. many years in the future he would come to find an article on people who did not always identify as the gender they were assigned. this gave him closure he hadn’t known he needed, and from then he become more able to adjust to his own body--trying out new clothes, and experimenting with makeup. there are still times that he struggles with this, but he is far more comfortable than he had been as a young teen.
similarly, this was also when he began to develop his crush on viktor. his idolization of viktor steadily grew into something more, but he shoved the attraction down and did his best to ignore it. he had never heard of a boy liking another boy, and it took many years for him to recognize it for what it was. as far as he was concerned, it was unimportant, and was a distraction that would only hinder his performances and development.
despite the many hours that he devoted to training at the ice castle, he was still a top earning student, and excelled in many of his classes. this was in part due to a fear that, if he were to fail, his parents may not continue to pay for his skating lessons. to yuuri, this was a fate worse than death, so he refused to allow it to even become a possibility. his best subject was science, surprisingly, and he took quite a few extra science classes, particularly physics. he did so well in his classes, that he eventually received an offer from a university in america--if he attended, half of his tuition would be paid for, and he could seek training from a professional skating coach in the area. after extensive research and some urging from his parents, he accepted. had he known he wouldn’t have ever seen vicchan again, he may not have gone.
before he knew it he found himself on a plane to america, with as many belongings as he could fit packed into two suitcases. It was hard to adjust, especially with his limited knowledge of the english language. he took many courses on english to try and become adjusted to speaking it, and was thankful science was more universal and required less speaking and more calculating.
it didn’t take long for him to find celestino, and it took even less time for him to begin training under him. celestino saw in him a wealth of potential, and after a few calls home and several meetings to discuss a payment plan for his coaching fees, yuuri was his new student.
meeting phichit was a blessing, and something yuuri was eternally thankful for. the thai boy was able to fill yuuri’s silence in a way that didn’t leave yuuri feeling guilty, and understood the times that yuuri needed peace. he helped yuuri climb out of his shell by taking him out on the town, and introducing him to more people.
under celestino, yuuri began to attend his first major competitions. he was a frequent bronze and silver medalist, but every now and then was able to score a gold. despite his successes, yuuri felt as though he was failing--sure, he had his successes, but viktor was still miles ahead of him. the russian was winning gold medal after gold medal, headlining every major figure skating magazine. viktor’s successes were taunting yuuri, hanging over his head as an impossible goal. it ignited a fire in him, and there were several nights he devoted so much time rehearsing that he didn’t manage to return to his dorms until well past midnight. yet no matter how much time he put in, there was a nagging part of yuuri that told him he could never amount to viktor.
this fear held him back, and often led to him bailing in actual competitions. against all odds, though, yuuri managed to score a position in the grand prix. even he wasn’t sure how he had managed this, and in the weeks leading up to the competition his anxieties grew to overwhelming heights. he would be performing in front of viktor nikiforov, the top figure skater in the world. the man he had idolized for years, who had given him purpose in skating. this anxiety, accompanied by the death of his beloved dog led to, in yuuri’s opinion, his greatest failure. his shame from winning last place at the grand prix debilitated him for the next few months, and he often found himself considering quitting skating altogether. he had had his time in the limelight, had gotten a chance to prove himself in front of viktor nikiforov himself--and had failed.
for several months, he stopped attending his training, and devoted his time instead to finishing university. he graduated with a bs, and accepted his loss at nationals. a spontaneous decision led to him cancelling his coaching with celestino, and buying a plane ticket home. as far as he was concerned, he was done. he could work at the onsen and stay at home, pay his respects to vicchan, and fade into a failed legacy.
the rest, of course, is history.
independent, private, and selective yuuri katsuki.
written by lili, she/they.
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