The music of “The Emperor” began, like the many who had skated this evening, she awaited the first bars of the music with anticipation. She had not cemented in her mind the feelings that she longed to express in the process of this performance, but rather, let her feelings flow as they pleased. Her mind was in a mode of continuing flashbacks, all the things that he had ever done, however remote they were in the process of influencing her life, his past achievements in the world of skating, and his kind nature that had changed her own view of the world. She remembered the thoughts that had been on her mind only a few minutes ago, and what the other competitor (she had already forgotten her name) had said about Asuka. Ami believed that many people felt the same way about Asuka, and the influx of skaters was because of his charm. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in the middle of a double-double jump and decided to let her body lead the way.
    The routine was a combination of dance and skate, in the whirl of colors she no longer saw individual faces, the stadium became a blur, soon, she was lost in her own world of imagination. Like a temple for a God, the palace of the Emperor, she danced to celebrate Asuka’s glory, showering immense praise for all that he had ever done. He was her Emperor, that was final. As her knees bent, she saw herself in deep prayer, and as her feet left the ground, she could see herself dusting petals of roses upon his almighty. She swept low to touch the ice, and kissed the ground that he walked on

    He stared at the figure in black, swaying and dancing to the music. The music was familiar, but he could not place his finger on exactly what the name was. It was almost as if the knowledge was memory from another life, some life that he did not remember, one before the incarnation of himself. For as long as he could remember, the exotic delicacies of the things from Earth had been forbidden to him, it was only these few years that the ban had been lifted. There was no questioning in his mind, why those pleasures had been out of his reach before, but he found that now he had tasted those pleasures, he had been missing them from some time before his memory. He enjoyed those things before him, and always longed to see more of it, especially what was before him now. The beautiful and complex movements of a exquisite young lady.
    His eyes averted from the blank stare, back onto the large television screen in front of him. He, Lord Takechi, was mesmerized by this creature in black, whose dance was fit for the Gods. She was dancing in praise of her friend, Asuka Akiyama, whom right now, was only a slave to his whims and orders. Very soon, he was sure that the lady would be dancing the same praises for him. With his fists clenched tightly, he absently banged it on the arms of his chair, he was determined to bring this girl, Ami Mizuno, into the Negaverse. She would not arrive as the commander of one of the branches that he had rule over, but as Lady Takechi, the wife, and the equivalent ruler of the Negaverse.

    Again they stared at what was before them, a form completely different to what they had seen only an hour ago. Although she had only joined the skating entourage for a few months, the performances that she had given never failed to surprise. It had always been rumored that Akiyama-san had been training some protégé unknown to the skating world, and when he had presented this competitor to the judges on the selections round, they had not been disappointed. They trusted Akiyama’s judgment because they knew, above all, that his taste and style, even at such a young age, was not one to be reckoned with. He was the champion not because there was no one better, but because he was the best, and when he picked out someone to be trained, rest assured with all the publicity, the student would also be the best. Now that she was in front of their eyes, there was no question that with time she could be the best, the best in the world.
    As she completed her last leap from the ice, reaching up to the heavens, sliding to a stop when the last note drew an end to the music, they would not have been surprised if God himself reached down from his throne in the sky and welcomed her as an angel. She was a lost angel whom was waiting to be received once again in the presence of her creator, her emperor. It was clear in her eyes that she had admiration for someone who was not with her, during the skating, her eyes had been searching, and reaching outwards. Each flawless step from a dance that the judges longed to see more of, but alas, when the music ended, so did it.
    It took them a moment to recover from the spell that she had cast over the entire stadium in the few minutes that she had just performed. Like her previous performance, the audience sat stunned at what she had just done on a piece of ice that many others had skated on and had tried to do the same. Suddenly, the third judge made a quick movement to his scoring panel, as the screen in front of him flashed a 10 (out of the possible 10), he pushed his chair backwards and stood up. Clapping in a deliberate style, slowly, clearly and loudly, waking the audience from a trance. Most of the judges followed immediately suit, while others took longer to decide on the unanimous result, a perfect score, she had gained the perfect accumulated score of 100!
 

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