TITLE: Spinning in Opposite Directions

AUTHOR: Tyra Kaelar

WARNING: Slash (Male/Male), AU, OOC

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from Bleach… I'm just playing with the characters! Obviously inspired by the Cutting Edge movies, lets just cover myself and say I don't own that either!

SUMMARY: Byakuya Kuchiki is a prodigy in the world of figure skating. Taking the skating world by storm since he was 16 years old he's at the top of his game. But one miscalculation at the Nationals and his singles career is ended. Now, rather than giving up skating, he'll be making the shift over to pairs. Now all that's left to do is find the perfect partner. Enter Ichigo Kurosaki, a hard core blader that follows the circuit. When the two meet, they immediately clash. Now the ultimate war is about to begin as they pair up and find out if this can be one of the best partnerships created, or the worst mistake either has ever made.

NOTE: I am using the old 6.0 scoring system because I really couldn't understand the new one. I am working on lengthening my chapters so be patient with me please. And constructive criticism is always helpful!

Prologue

"This may be it. Only one more element to complete and Kuchiki may just walk away with the gold for this year's Nationals. The final combination is quite high in difficulty, a quadruple axel followed by a triple, but he's completed the combination cleanly in competition before. Here's the set up…"

Down on the ice, Byakuya Kuchiki's world was narrowed down to one moment. One more combination completed successfully and he'd take the national gold for the second time. The feel of his blades cutting crisply into the ice, the wind rushing past him, the muted cheering of the crowd - everything seemed sharper. He readied himself for the jump, gathering the momentum and power needed for the quadruple. The moment hit and he pushed off strongly, glorying in the feel of flight, if only for a moment. Arms tucked tightly, he was already preparing for the landing and the next element, the triple. As the final rotation completed he brought his arms out and prepared to land it, determined to land it clean.

At the last second he realized he'd slightly miscalculated the angle. Not enough to affect the landing of the quadruple, but the triple…

I will make it, he growled, I will not fail. Failure is not an option!

As Byakuya landed the jump he was already gathering himself for the triple, ignoring the fact that his miscalculation had made it staggeringly difficult to complete the second element cleanly.

I will not fail!

He pushed off for the triple as hard as he could to compensate, feeling a slight strain in his knee as he did so. In the second rotation he could already feel his angle and timing was off but he was damned if he would give up now. As he prepared to land the triple, he hardened his resolve.

The seconds between the final rotation and the landing seemed to stretch endlessly, the world falling away. And then time sped up again as the ice rushed towards him.

The minute his blade hit the ice, he knew he'd miscalculated badly. He could feel the strain ripping through his knee as he fought to correct, his weight much too far forward, and increasing the strain on the knee exponentially - and when the weight of landing a jump increased by eight times the body weight regularly, even the slightest miscalculation could be damaging. Byakuya gritted his teeth against the pain, committing himself to the course of action he'd chosen. Seconds later his knee gave out, grinding painfully against cartilage, and he was sent crashing to the ice.

For a moment he lay on the ice stunned, his heart pounding in his ears as his knee screamed. Slowly the sound of the audience came back, worried murmurs reaching him. He slowly got up, favoring his right leg as he dragged himself upright. The minute he touched his right skate to the ice he had to choke back the scream that was clawing its way up his throat as black spots danced at the edge of his vision. He immediately brought his foot up off the ice, balancing on one blade as his coach hurried out onto the ice. He held back a sigh of relief as his coach reached him, slipping under his arm to support his weight as he slowly limped off the ice, the cheering of the crowd fading to a dull roar in his mind.

I failed.

***************

Jushiro glanced at his skater worriedly as he helped him off the ice. Byakuya's face was expressionless to those who didn't know him, but Jushiro could see the clenching of his jaw that spoke of extreme pain and disappointment.

"We should get you to a hospital to have that ankle looked at," he said softly, knowing that Byakuya was probably going to object.

"No. Thank you. I would like to see my scores first." His voice was even more clipped than usual.

Jushiro nodded, knowing it was fruitless to argue. Byakuya wasn't going to budge. This was too important to him. He helped him slowly lower his weight to the bench while they waited for the scores, keeping an anxious eye on the knee. It was already very swollen after only a few minutes off the ice.

"And the judges appear to have reached a decision. And hear are the scores. 5.5…5.4…5.2….5.3….5.4."

The crowd was hushed as they waited for the total to be tallied. When the total flashed up onto the screen a collective groan seemed to fill the arena.

"And it won't be enough to take home the gold. Kuchiki's fall will cost him, leaving him a few short points behind the leaders and taking home the bronze this year. Ulquiorra Schiffer takes the gold and Jin Kariya the silver. "

Byakuya let his forehead drop onto his laced hands, feeling the disappointment hit him like a fist in the gut.

I was so close. Only a couple points away from gold. If only I'd landed that triple. With that and the last element the technical score alone would have given me the points I'd needed.

Byakuya gathered himself together. There was nothing he could do about it now. As he brought himself back to the present he couldn't help but notice the angry throbbing originating from him knee that was now very swollen. He frowned, anxiety creeping up on him slightly. He'd originally thought it was either a slight tear or a simple strain, but…

"Coach Ukitake, I think we'd best head to the nearest hospital now."

***************

Byakuya sat on the exam table, waiting for the doctor to get back with the MRI scan. Ukitake had left a little while ago to see if he could find some coffee, though knowing hospitals it was probably going to be worse than engine oil. If he'd been less disciplined, he'd have been fidgeting by now. He was brought abruptly out of his musings at the sound of the door opening. His doctor, followed by his coach, entered the room and he felt a chill run down his spine at the serious expressions both wore.

The doctor brought up the document on a laptop, before turning to face him.

"Now, Mr. Kuchiki, as you can see, the ligament is torn. Unfortunately, it was not as simple a tear as we'd hoped. The stress you placed on your knee, on top of the daily stress any figure skater places on those ligaments, resulted in a much more serious case. Not only was the MCL ligament torn, the ACL ligament was completely severed. That said, you have two options – you can rest the joint and see if it will heal naturally, or you can opt for surgery to reattach the ligaments. However, I must warn you that if you choose to let the ligaments heal naturally, only about 30% of patients ever gain back full range of motion. With surgery, you have a much higher chance of the ligaments healing and allowing you to return to competitive sports, though it comes with its own risks. There are the risks that are present with every surgery of course, no matter how minor."

Byakuya could feel the adrenaline racing through his veins as he tried to breathe steadily, knowing there was only one question he needed to ask.

"Assuming I have the surgery, what are the chances that I will I be able to compete at a national level?"

He could feel his heart pounding in his ears, his breathing picking up slightly as the doctor placed what was probably supposed to be a look of compassion on his face.

"The chances are much higher, assuming everything heals correctly. The main concern will be if the ligaments heal without too much scar tissue, which will weaken the ligaments and possibly restrict the range of motion you previously had." The doctor paused, "If everything heals correctly, you will be able to skate professionally on it. However, if the ligaments don't heal completely, they will most likely be too weak to take the rigorous demands that that level of competition will place on them, and will eventually result in them tearing again, possibly to the point where they won't heal enough to allow a normal range of motion."

Byakuya distantly heard the doctor leave the room, contemplating the choice he now had to make. Choice? What choice? He thought sarcastically. Skating was his entire life. Competing was his life! There was no option here.

"Ukitake, please schedule the surgery as soon as possible," Byakuya said lowly, refusing to contemplate that the ligaments wouldn't heal enough, even with the surgery. It wasn't an option. He would have the surgery, and he would be back on the ice in time for the next season.