Teacher's Pet
Chapter 43: Being A Cheerleader
The rest of the day went off without a hitch and then it was time for Kagome and Sango to get the recertification try-outs underway. They had already changed into some short shorts and tank tops.
"I'm gonna go ahead and go to the gym." Kanna told Kagome at Kagome's locker. "I don't want them to think that I got some sort of special treatment."
Sango smiled. "Alright. I'm sure you'll do fine. You're a great cheerleader. I didn't really expect you to be. You're the best flyer right after Kags."
Kanna blushed. "Thank you." She took off towards the gym.
Kagome smiled at Sango. She knew that Sango had been both skeptical and suspicious about Kagome's decision to bring Kanna onto the team, but she was glad Sango had warmed up to Kanna.
"You ready?" Sango asked.
"Not really. I really hate doing this." Kagome sighed.
"Who are you telling? But at least we don't have to actually cheer today." Sango said.
"Yeah, you're right." Kagome turned to where she felt Inuyasha and Tsubasa's auras. "Hey guys."
"Hello there." Tsubasa greeted warmly.
"Hi Kags. I think Miroku went to math tutoring and Koga is off chasing some female." Inuyasha told her. "Can we watch try-outs?"
"Sure. But you can't say anything. No laughing. No talking loud. You've got to be the perfect audience." Sango told them.
"She's right. We banned Koga from coming to try-outs freshman year because he laughed at the girls that weren't really that good." Kagome said, closing her locker.
Tsubasa ran his eyes up and down Kagome's form. He focused on the creamy flesh of her long legs. He realized that she'd said something to him by the way she was looking at him. "Huh?" He asked, dumbfounded.
Kagome laughed. "I said are you just gonna stand there and stare, or are you gonna follow us?"
Tsubasa smirked. "I'm pretty ok with standing here and staring."
Kagome rolled her eyes with a smile. "Just follow me you hentai."
When they got to the gym, the girls were stretching and preparing themselves for the hard work they knew was to come.
"Alright. This works pretty simple but we'll explain it for those of you who haven't been on this team. Today you're pretty much getting recertified to be a cheerleader. I know that sounds weird, but we've got to stay at the top of our game. As you all should know, we're the best high school cheerleading team in Japan. In Japan. I cannot stress to you how much of an honor this is for the serious cheerleaders in this group. We've won first place in every competition we've been in since 1994 and we aren't gonna stop now." Kagome began the meeting talk. She and Sango hadn't known what they were going to say before they got inside, but they figured it out as they went along.
"Which is why we have to make sure you're all the best of the best. Sometimes after the Christmas break, cheerleaders get a little bit lax and they fall off the cheer wagon. Yes, I really did just say cheer wagon." Sango laughed a little bit, but got right back serious. "Kags and I are gonna split you into two groups. You're going to learn a cheer and a dance from both of us. You will get to do it three times for us. The first time, you may ask us questions, the second time, you may ask each other questions, but the third time, we're going to judge you. Of course, you are allowed to ask us questions as we go along. Alright, let's begin!"
"Is Kagome always this focused?" Tsubasa asked Inuyasha.
Inuyasha nodded. "Whatever she puts her mind to, she focuses on it. And she really loves cheering." Inuyasha paused. "Are you gonna play basketball here? The season's already started."
"Yeah, but you've only had three games. And the coach here was excited when he heard I was transferring so he wants me on the team." Tsubasa shrugged. "I'm gonna play because sports are my life. Do you play anything?"
Inuyasha shook his head. "Never really had the chance. My brother's mom had her claws in my dad so deep she had him ship me off to boarding school as soon as Sesshomaru moved out of the house. I moved from school to school though because I raised hell wherever I went."
Tsubasa laughed. "That sucks, but I'd probably do the same thing."
They talked and watched as the girls separated into two groups and Kagome and Sango began to teach them the cheer first. Tsubasa watched Kagome's face as she demonstrated the cheer for the girls in front of her. She answered questions with patience. She didn't have an attitude when some questions were repeated.
After both groups had learned the cheer and the dance, it was time to perform. Kagome split her group into two smaller groups and Sango did the same. The two best friends sat on the bleachers. "Alright ladies, the first group of mine, come on." Kagome called, clipboard in hand. The girls came to the center of the floor and just stared at Kagome. They all looked like they were going to pee on themselves. "I know that Sango and I put a lot of pressure on you to be the best, but that's only because we know you can be."
"You are all wonderful cheerleaders. Never forget that. Just because you don't make it today doesn't mean you should give up. We will have open practices and you should keep practicing and stretching on your own." Sango added. "Alright. Now, Kagome's first group, step forward. Three rows. Use windows." Sango instructed.
Kanna was in Kagome's first group and she lined up with the other eight girls. She was in the front row and Kagome told her to count off the start of the cheer. Neither Sango nor Kagome said anything, they just nodded and took notes on their clipboards. "Again." Kagome called. The girls did the cheer again and Sango moved a few people around for them to do the cheer a third time.
"Alright. Next group of mine, come on up." Kagome said.
Tsubasa watched Kagome's face. She looked so serious and he knew that, just like Inuyasha had said, Kagome really did love cheering. He loved that she was so passionate about something, just as he was passionate about sports. Tsubasa felt that if you weren't passionate about anything in life, then you'd fail.
The cheering portion of the tryouts was done, and it was time for the dance. It took another hour for them to completely finish the dancing portion because Kagome and Sango wanted to see it several times, and at full performance energy every time.
"Alright ladies. You've all done a wonderful job today." Kagome said with a smile.
"You've done so well, that we decided that you get to watch a special dance that Kags and I made up." Sango finished.
All of the girls cheered. They loved watching Sango and Kagome dance. The two moved so gracefully and their steps were always on point. Kagome turned on the music and she and Sango performed a dance that they'd made up a few days prior.
In the bleachers, Inuyasha and Tsubasa's eyes were both glue to Kagome. The way her body moved was intoxicating, it was jaw dropping, it was…magnificent. And they couldn't tear their eyes away from her even if they'd tried.
Once Sango and Kagome's dance was over, the auditorium exploded in applause. Kagome and Sango smiled.
"Alright, now to more important matters." Kagome said, turning to grab her clipboard off the bleachers. "I need you all to listen up. Sango's group, if I call your name, stand to this side." Kagome pointed to an empty area beside the girls standing in front of her and Sango.
"And Kagome's group, if I call your name, then you stand to that side too." Sango finished, her clipboard also in her hands.
"Eiko, Fuji, Eri, Mayumi, and Rika." Kagome called out. The five girls walked to the spot Kagome had pointed to earlier.
"Akemi, Nobuko, Teruko, Tsukiko, and Kanna." Sango called from her list. Those five girls also went to the spot Kagome had pointed out.
"Congratulations ladies, you've kept your spots on this team." Kagome smiled at the ten girls she and Sango had hand picked. The ten girls smiled and let out varying sounds of happiness.
"What?! How the hell did Kanna make it?!" Cho yelled in rage. "You just kept her ass on the team because she's your friend."
Kagome turned to Cho. "Cho, would you like to know why you didn't make it on the team?" Kagome's voice was really sweet and she was smiling.
Cho gulped. She'd let her big mouth run before she could even stop herself. She simply nodded.
"You were two whole counts off in the dance. All five times you did it. The first two times, you were behind. The last three, you were ahead. Your toe touch isn't high enough. Your high V is sloppy. You don't have very much spirit. When I asked you to repeat stunts, you hesitated. That's what causes injury, Cho. You can't hesitate. If you doubt yourself, then you can be pretty sure Sango and I are gonna doubt you." Kagome said. She wasn't harsh. Her voice was gentle and her eyes were kind. She knew that Cho was a troubled child, but that didn't give her a reason to be mean.
"You know how this process goes. You can try out again later this week." Sango added.
Cho scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Like I want to be on this sorry ass team. I could beat you or your sorry ass best friend at any given time. Cheering, tumbling, or dancing."
Kagome's eyes danced with fire then. "Now, you see, I don't believe you know what you just said."
Sango smirked. "Neither do I."
"Cho, you weren't here last year. So you didn't have the opportunity to be on this team. But Sang and I were challenged for our spots on the team because, well to put it simply…we. Are. The. Best." With each word, Kagome took a step closer to Cho.
"Alright. It's time for a little cheer-off." Sango smiled. "Kanna and Akemi, call out the stunts you want us to do and we'll do them."
"Mix up the degrees of difficulty." Kagome added.
Kagome and Sango did a few simple stretches, just to warm up their already prepared bodies.
"You ready?" Kanna asked.
"Yep!" Sango and Kagome answered at the same time. Cho simply nodded.
"Straight jump." Kanna called.
The three girls did the straight just, the simplest of all the cheer jumps. Their bodies went straight into the air and their arms into a T position.
"Spread eagle." Akemi said. Cho was her friend, but she knew that she'd stepped out of lime by challenging Sango and Kagome. Akemi had been on the team last year and she'd seen how Kagome and Sango completely trashed the two girls who'd challenged them for their spots. Kagome and Sango were the best, as Kagome had put it. And they weren't afraid to let people know it when they were challenged.
Again, they performed the jumps perfectly. After a few more jumps, changing from simple to a bit more complex, Kanna decided that this wasn't going to work.
"Ok so we're going to do some combinations." Kanna said. She remembered that Kagome had told her it was important in cheerleading that the cheerleader remembered combinations as soon as they were called out.
Kagome smiled. She knew that combinations was something that Cho wasn't really good at. No, Kanna wasn't being unfair, because it was imperative that cheerleaders grasped and remembered the combinations as soon as they were called. Sometimes in competitions, routines were changed at the last minute and the team was expected to keep up.
Akemi started the combinations. "Toe touch double jump. Spread eagle. Pike. Front tuck." It was fairly simple.
Kagome and Sango did the combination without difficulty, but by the pike, Cho had slowed down.
"Spread eagle. Herkie double jump. Double hook. Hurdler. Herkie. Toe touch." Kanna was next with her jump combination.
Again, Kagome and Sango performed effortlessly. By the final jump, they didn't even seem winded.
Cho, on the other hand, barely made it to her final herkie.
"This is gonna be the last jump combination." Kanna said. "Spread eagle double jump. Toe touch. Front tuck. Back tuck. Herkie double jump." Kanna paused. "Around the world."
Kagome and Sango looked at each other and smiled. This particular jump combination was one that they loved. Kanna didn't know it, but the two best friends had already perfected this exact combination their freshman year when they were just practicing outside. They finished the jump combination before Cho had even started.
"You're hesitating again. You're not supposed to go into a jump scared. Especially a jump combination. This is a hard one, too. The slightest hesitation can cause you to come down wrong on your foot or your ankle."
"Or your back or your ass." Sango added.
"And you could be seriously hurt." Kagome was serious. "You're a decent cheerleader, Cho. But you aren't ready to continue on this team."
"And your attitude needs a lot of work." Sango told her. "You can't just be pretty. You can't just know how to cheer. You have to be a good person. Cho you really have a lot to work on before you try out again. Maybe this just isn't the year for you." Sango finished. Neither her nor Kagome had been rude or mean to Cho, even though everyone thought she deserved it.
Cho looked from Kagome to Sango with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry." She whispered and ran out of the gym.
Kagome sighed. "Ladies, I understand that sometimes we aren't gonna get along. We're girls, and it sucks but that's to be expected. But Sango and I will never lie to you. We won't tell you something that you don't need to hear."
"We're here to help you get better. Just like you all better us. We're all a family here and we encourage you to talk to one another and help one another. You wanna know a secret? Kags actually sucked at a few moves when we first started cheering." Sango said with a smile.
"I sure did. And I asked Sango to help me with them since she did them so effortlessly. Just like I helped her with a few things." Kagome said. "Its all about teamwork."
"Those of you who didn't make it, we encourage you to try out again at the end of the week. Those of you who did make it, we will see you all Friday for the cheer meeting. Thank you all for coming out. We really do appreciate it." Sango said.
As the girls filed out, Kagome and Sango noticed that a few of them had tears in their eyes. Sango sighed. "I hate seeing them cry."
"Yeah, me too." Kagome sighed too. She turned to Inuyasha and Tsubasa. "You guys ready to go?"
Inuyasha nodded and hopped down from his spot on the bleachers. He stepped to the side when Tsubasa landed next to him.
"Why are you sad?" Tsubasa asked Kagome.
"Because I know that they really want to be cheerleaders and it breaks my heart to shatter their dreams." She gathered her books.
"Well think about it this way, you telling them no now will better them. It'll make them practice and work harder so you can tell them yes later." Tsubasa said.
Kagome smiled. "You're right. We're pushing them to be the best that they can be."
Sango looked at her phone. "Miroku should be out of tutoring now. I'm gonna catch a ride home with him."
"Oh wait!" Kagome called. "What do you want to use for the new girls who are trying out?"
"Um…" Sango paused. "Freshman try out routine? You still remember it?"
Kagome nodded and she and Sango put their books down. Sango counted down to start the cheer and she and Kagome did it without having to think about it. They laughed when they were done. The two best friends were completely in sync.
"How long have you two known each other?" Tsubasa asked.
"Twelve years!" They said in unison with a smile.
"We met the first day of kindergarten." Kagome said, still smiling.
"She wanted my juice and I wanted her cookies. So we traded. From then on, we were best friends. We slept by each at naptime. We played together on the playground." Sango told the boys standing in front of her.
"And when Haru and his stupid friends started bullying us, we beat their asses." Kagome said with an attitude.
"We sure did!" Sango laughed at the memory. "We were up against five guys. They cornered us outside and tried to make us eat sand."
Kagome joined in on Sango's laughter. "Oh my gosh! You remember the look on Shig's face when I shoved his face into the sandbox?" Kagome was crying with laughter.
"We made five boys cry." Sango and Kagome were in hysterics and Inuyasha and Tsubasa just stood there staring at the two best friends.
"You two are utterly insane." Tsubasa shook his head and picked up Kagome's books. "In case you've forgotten, we have a ten page report to write."
Kagome groaned and rolled her eyes. "That's right. Then it's due Wednesday. We only have today and tomorrow to write it."
"Sounds like you two have a lot of work to do." Sango said, trying her best not to laugh at her friend's misfortune.
"Sango, I hate you so much right now." Kagome stuck her tongue out.
"Are we gonna do that over your house or over mine?" Tsubasa asked.
"Well since I have to drop Inuyasha off, we might as well do the report over yours." Kagome said.
"You sure Kags?" Inuyasha asked, wondering if she'd forgotten where Tsubasa lived.
"Yeah." She shrugged.
"Alright. I'm tired. And sore. I wonder if Miroku will give me a massage." Sango said.
Both Inuyasha and Kagome gave her a look. "Now you know he'll be more than glad to give you a massage, Sang." Kagome told her.
Sango smiled. "Yeah you're right. Maybe I'll give him a little something extra."
"Ok, gross. You need to leave. Now." Kagome said with a frown.
Sango laughed. "You're just jealous."
"What. Ev-er." Kagome led her friends out of the gym. "You two are just really gross." Kagome winced once she got to the door of the gym. "I think I tweaked my ankle."
Sango's eyes immediately got wide. "Stay the hell off of it! Tsubasa, give Inuyasha Kagome's books! Kagome, get on his back!" Sango was always bossy when there was a possibility Kagome could be hurt. She was their captain, their head cheerleader, and even though Sango was next in line, she didn't want the responsibility of leading their girls. Kagome was a natural leader and Sango was perfectly happy being her right hand girl.
Kagome laughed weakly. "I'll be fine." But Tsubasa was following Sango's orders. He crouched low so Kagome could get on his back. Kagome sighed and complied, knowing that if she didn't, Sango would be on her ass for the next week. On Tsubasa's back, Kagome realized just how tired she was. She always gave all of her energy when she was cheering or dancing, it didn't matter that they weren't performing. How could she expect her girls to do their best at all times when she didn't herself? So she gave them her all just like she wanted them to do. Kagome leaned her head forward on Tsubasa's shoulder.
"See you guys tomorrow." Sango called, already halfway down the hall headed towards where she figured her boyfriend was.
"Alright." Kagome said after her. "I'm tired."
"You sure you wanna come over and do the paper?" Tsubasa asked.
Just as he asked that question, Sesshomaru walked around the corner. He saw Kagome on the bear demon's back and her head leaning forward on his shoulder. Kagome didn't even look up when she felt his aura approaching. She was determined to ignore him. But it seemed that Tsubasa had other plans.
"Oh, Mr. Taisho, about the report that we have to do, do you want it about a specific part of his life or just over his whole life?" Tsubasa asked.
Sesshomaru fought the urge to growl. Kagome was making it her mission not to even glance his way. "His entire life." He answered shortly. A smile finally appeared on Kagome's face and for a second, Sesshomaru thought it was for him, but he saw that Kagome wasn't looking at him, only in his direction.
"Kanna! You did great! Oh my goodness I'm so proud of you!" Kagome gushed to her friend.
Kanna blushed. "Oh stop it."
"No, seriously! You did really great!" Kagome was smiling, obviously proud of her.
Kanna's face turned a brilliant shade of pink and she looked at her shoes.
Tsubasa waited for Kagome to finish bragging on Kanna before he continued talking to Mr. Taisho. "What if I just wanted to focus on Hammurabi's Code?"
"No. He did more in his life than just create his Code of Laws." Sesshomaru answered. His eyes flicked to Kagome and saw that she still hadn't glanced his way. She'd put her head back on Tsubasa's shoulder and was playing in Kanna's hair.
Kagome hid a yawn behind her hand.
"You're gonna end up falling asleep before we get started on the paper." Tsubasa turned his head to the side to talk to Kagome. He turned back to his new history teacher that he was almost positive was angry with him for some reason or another. "Thank you for answering my questions."
Sesshomaru walked off without another word. Kagome rolled her eyes and fought the urge to sigh. "Are you gonna help us with our paper, Kan?"
"Of course not." Kanna laughed.
"Well damn." Kagome joined in on her laughter. "You can chill with Tsu and I or you can go to Inuyasha's condo."
"Actually, I've gotta go home. I'm not even catching a ride with you." Kanna looked down at the floor. Kagome had forgotten that Naraku was back and that Kanna had to report in to him that day.
Kagome's eyes got wide.
Kanna shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I've got everything covered."
"You sure?" Kagome was still going to worry about her friend.
"Yeah. Everything's gonna be fine." Kanna said with a smile. But as the small white haired demon walked away, Kagome felt like it wasn't going to be fine.