“Owww! Dammit! I’m never gonna get this crap!”

Wiping away a strand of flame-red hair stuck to her face with sweat, Ranko tossed her water bottle to her companion, who was still sitting up from her prone position in the grass of the Yusue High School rugby field. “Hey. Don’t get discouraged. This isn’t gonna happen in a day, you know. We all fall sometimes. Even me.”

Her dejected trainee caught the plastic sports bottle, squirting some of its contents into her mouth. “Ran-chan, we should just face it. Some girls aren’t built for this sort of thing, and, well, I’ve got just about enough gymnastic skill to run the manga club. No matter how many nights you work with me after school like this, it’s not gonna get any better. You know it. You should’ve picked somebody else.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Ranko sighed quietly, walking back to the bleachers where she’d left her bulging red gym bag. “I mean, if you want to quit, I’d understand.” Without turning back to face Kumiko and revealing her insidious grin, she unzipped the bag, pulling a large, oblong black object from it.

Take the bait, Kumi. Come on. I know you can do this. I know you want it. Fight for it.

“I mean…” Ranko’s friend clamored to her feet, dusting bits of grass off of her green pleated skirt with a sigh. “It’s not that I wanna quit! I don’t! I’m just hopeless.”

Ranko nodded as she sat on the first step of the bleachers, leaning back on the bench above it. “It’s up to you, Kumi. I fully believe you can do this, a thousand percent. It’s only been a couple of days. The gymnastics part is always the hardest to get started with.”

“Yeah? I mean, that, and the cheering, and the dancing… I think I might have managed to put the outfit on right?” Kumiko groaned. “I should just let it go, and give you back all of this time. I’m sure Akane’s going crazy with the wedding right around the corner and you spending all your afternoons up here with me.”

Ranko shook her head. “Hey, now. I promised I’d help you, and I will, for as long as you want it. I knew what I was getting myself into when I made that promise, and so did Akane. Don’t you dare quit for my sake. But I’m not going to ask you to do something you don’t want to do. So, you know what? Forget it. Let’s just hang out instead.” As she spoke, Ranko reached up to her right, swatting at the second button from the right on the portable stereo she’d brought, and the cassette heads engaged with a quiet click.

Kumiko’s hands flopped to her sides in defeat. “I mean, I can’t flip, I can barely cheer. I don’t know what the hell you were thinking when you picked me, Ran-chan. Everybody’s gonna think you’re cr… wait a minute! Is that Dream-Color Chaser?! She grinned, listening more closely as an upbeat trill of synthesized brass and a fast, hammering drumbeat bounced from Ranko’s radio. “From Metal Armor Dragonar? I didn’t think you were into mecha shows!”

Ranko just nodded, still relaxing on the bleachers without talking over the music. I’m not, but I know you, of all people, can’t resist an anime. You’ve gotta know this.

The brunette laughed, almost involuntarily swaying her hips in time with the energetic synthesizer. “I friggin’ love this song! I just can’t help but move to it!” Her exhaustion seemed to fade from her eyes as the upbeat music took hold of her body.

Kumiko’s friend and fellow cheerleader smirked confidently. Yeah, that’s why I picked it, dummy. Ranko pushed her hands off her bare knees and stood, her lycra shorts sticking slightly to the aluminum bench as she rose, and closed the distance to her giggling friend in a few quick steps.

After watching Kumiko flail about for another few beats, Ranko began bopping along with the rhythm exactly as her friend was, mirroring every one of her simplistic moves precisely. Kumiko looked to her left, watching with wide awestruck eyes as Ranko flawlessly - and nearly instantly - picked up a move set that she herself was making up on the spot.

After twenty seconds of dancing in synchronization with her friend, Ranko made a wide gesture toward herself with one arm as she moved, beckoning wordlessly for Kumiko to watch as she began to add to the impromptu choreography Kumiko had begun. She stuck out her left arm, locking her elbow and extending her palm forward, slowing the popping of her hips to match every other thump of the heavy, high-energy bass. She rocked her palm back and forth in half-circles extended away from her body, as she imagined one might do with the steering wheel of a car. She repeated this pattern for several seconds until Kumiko got the hint and aped her movements. The brunette laughed heartily, loving every second of sharing this element of her favorite pastime with her best friend.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Bolstered by a series of three rapidly ascending beats from the synthesized trumpet, Ranko swung her arm across her chest, bending it at the elbow. She then rotated her shoulder so that her hand was pointed upward, raising her hand to the sky with an open palm and spread fingers in a pose similar to the ones found on the covers of any number of Kumiko’s magical girl manga serials. This position, Kumiko had no trouble at all mimicking, and Ranko gave her a quick nod of acknowledgement as she did so successfully.

Slowly drawing a wide spiral in the air over her head with her hand as she lowered it, as if spinning an invisible gymnastic ribbon, the squad captain smiled brightly at her friend. She moved slowly and deliberately, giving Kumiko plenty of time to follow along. Her left fist came to rest on her hip, and her right rose to join it on the other. She kicked forward a half-step on bouncy toes and raised heels, alternating which foot bore the majority of her weight with every pop of her hips as if to emphasize each heavy hit from the electronic brass. As she did, she swiveled slightly at the waist to face whichever of her feet bore her weight at the moment.

It took Kumiko a moment to fully follow Ranko’s lead, but she eventually did, a scintillating smile on her face.

Yes! She’s doing it! Now, can we level it up a little bit? Watch me, Kumi!

Beaming, Ranko swung her right arm until it was extended fully from her side toward Kumiko, swaying her hand at the wrist every two beats until Kumiko duplicated her posture. Her feet never stopped moving, even though they never left the ground.

Good. Now… Ranko curled her fingers on her extended hand toward herself repeatedly. Bring it back to me. Come on, Kumi! See the pattern! You can do it…

After a few beats of not having received further guidance, Kumiko understood, and swung her left arm toward Ranko, mirroring the gesture she’d already done to her right side. With a joyful grin of pride, Ranko followed suit four beats later.

Yes! You got it! Now back to you… Her weight still alternating on the balls of her feet with every other beat, Ranko again extended her right arm to Kumiko as she lowered her left. This time, Kumiko immediately understood what to do, continuing the cascade to her right, and then redirecting the chain back toward Ranko with her left arm a second and a half later.

Okay. Now, let’s go back to the beginning. Are you paying attention? Remember how we started? Ranko threw her hand forward again and as the next chorus began, and as she rotated her arm as she did before, first at the wrist, then left, then up, and then thrust upward to the sky, Kumiko followed in lockstep with her without the need for delays to comprehend the next move.

Hell yeah! She’s doing so great! Ranko beamed at her friend. I’m so proud of you, Kumi! But I can’t complicate this too much - she needs to finish without falling. She’s not gonna get any confidence if she wipes out at the end.

The redhead raised her left arm skyward again. Every time she kicked her weight to the right, her head and her hand moved to the left, and vice-versa. Just a few more seconds, Kumi. You got this…

As the song built to its end, Ranko’s hand came to rest above her head, her skyward palm shadowed by the first two of her fingers curled over it. Kumiko shadowed her movement a quarter-second later as the song faded to silence on Ranko’s little portable cassette player.

The captain turned to face her new recruit so quickly that her ponytail whipped over her right shoulder. Her face was aglow, and not just because it was glistening with sweat in the mid-May sun. “That was amazing! Now, was that fun or what?!”

Kumiko nodded, a little short of breath from her exertion, but her eyes sparkled as she did.

Ranko draped her right arm over her friend’s shoulder, giving her a tight squeeze. “I told ya you can do it! You just gotta let loose and have fun! Don’t let yourself overthink it!”

The nascent confidence fading somewhat from her eyes, Kumiko shook her head as she worked to catch her breath. “I mean, that was great! But it was one song, Ran-chan. No big deal.”

Right on cue, Ranko’s radio began to play the second song on the mix tape its owner had prepared, and the high-pitched lyrics of Miraiha Lovers, the opening song from Mobile Police Patlabor, broke the silence and drew a bright smile from Kumiko.

Ranko motioned toward herself, encouraging Kumiko to rise from her doubled-over posture with an enthusiastic smile as her hips began to sway again. She cringed playfully. “Yeah, but… was it really just the one, though?”

Kumiko rolled her eyes, grinning as the new, upbeat song began working its way into her spine. “I’m gonna get you for this, Tendo.”

With a smirk and a giggle, Ranko kicked off the grass, spinning once on her toe with the grace of a ballerina, her arms whirling around her torso.

“Gotta keep up with me first, Ikawa! Now, move!”