On Solid Ground

"Was that the thing she was trying to… did she…?"Ayako leaned over to her sister, hugging her and beaming. She remembered most of the stunts from her brief time as a cheerleader, back before she left her adopted parents' house and moved into the Phoenix. "Yeah. Izzi! She nailed it! And then some! Holy fuck!"Hana tried to say something to Akane, but she was not heard. The raven-haired girl was on her feet and screaming as loud as she could, but then again, so was most of the arena.Ranko remained frozen in her position, leaning forward on her right leg with her fist in the air, until she was sure all of the judges had locked in their scoring. Her elated teammates rushed her, and Ranko swiveled on her right heel to face them. Shiori ran toward her to hug her, and Ranko took a step toward her.As she did, Ranko's left leg buckled under her and she collapsed to the mat.Akane gasped, covering her mouth. She turned to her left to say something, but the seat next to her was empty. Hana had already cleared the first four rows on her way down the steps.The crowd grew quiet as Ranko lay crumpled on the blue vinyl mat, but Shiori and Kou quickly reached her, lifting her up. Ranko put one arm around each of their shoulders, Kou having to stoop somewhat to allow it, and they helped her off the mat without Ranko putting any weight on her left leg. Once the girls had her back on her feet, the crowd resumed their revelry, and then their disjointed voices formed a single chorus."RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE!""Do you know how freaking crazy you are?! You could have killed yourself!" Shiori would have punched the redhead leaning on her for support, if she wasn't so damned happy."Save some strength, Captain," Ranko said with a smile that concealed a grimace. "You're gonna have to carry the trophy back to the bus."The girls flanked Ranko as they helped her back to the dressing room designated for their team. When they arrived, there was already a man in a purple jumpsuit waiting on the bench where Ranko had tested her microphone. "Let's get her over here and sit her down?" The man stood, making room for Kou and Shiori to place Ranko on the wooden bench."Hi, Ranko, I'm Dr. Hakada, and I'm gonna take a look at your leg, okay? Can you tell me what happened?" The man adjusted his glasses before beginning to unlace Ranko's sneaker."I felt my ankle pop when I landed," Ranko said, wincing a bit as the elderly man worked on removing her shoe.From just outside the heavy double doors, Ranko thought she heard a voice she recognized, but with the crowd noise, it was hard to be certain. But then she heard it a second time, louder, and there was no doubt."I don't care if you're the queen of England, that's my daughter in there, now, MOVE!"The doors burst open and a browbeaten security guard in a black uniform sullenly pulled them closed behind Hana as she stalked to the bench where her daughter sat."Ranko, baby, what happened? Are you alright?" Hana knelt next to the doctor, looking the redhead over."Ma'am, I'm Dr. Hakada, with the Invitational. I'm checking your daughter out right now, if you'll give me just a moment." The elder gentleman smiled, and pulled Ranko's shoe off, punctuated by a yelp from the cheerleader.Ranko almost didn't care what the doctor was doing, though. She smiled over his shoulder at Hana, a look of pride and exuberance on her face. "I did it, mama!"Hana grinned, reaching over the crouched medic and taking her daughter's hand. "You're damn right you did, baby. It was incredible. They're still going crazy out there."All thirteen of her squadmates stood in a semicircle in near silence, giving the doctor space to work. No one worked on getting out of their uniforms. There was no celebration, only concern."Okay, Ranko?" The doctor looked up at her from his knees, holding her socked foot in his hands. "I'm gonna check your ankle out, okay, honey? Just tell me if anything hurts."Ranko nodded, reaching out over his shoulder and taking Hana's hand as the doctor flexed her foot backward. "Okay, that's not so bad…"The doctor put pressure on the side of her ankle, rotating her foot. "Ow! That… okay, that hurts!"The clinician placed his hand on the sole of her foot. "Can you push against my hand, honey?"Ranko did as she was told, gritting her teeth, and his arm cocked back a few centimeters."Okay. Great job. So it looks like just a sprain, nothing too serious. Try to rest it for a couple of days, and you should be just fine. Let's get it wrapped up for you." He unzipped the black bag on the floor, digging around for a bandage.Only now did Ranko's squadmates begin to celebrate, whooping and clapping Ranko on her shoulder as the doctor wove the long cloth bandage around her foot."Do you think we have a chance," Tamiko asked, looking up at the monitor mounted on the far wall. Under each of the judges, a blue box awaited for their score to appear, but they had not rendered yet.Yori nodded. "They'd be crazy not to give us extra points. Can you believe Ranko pulled that off? Holy shit!"The first number popped up, and Shiori gasped. "Girls! Girls!"Nine point five.The standing cheerleaders took each other's hands, holding their collective breath as the second number appeared under the middle judge.Nine point four.A chorus of squeals rose from the girls, clenching each other's hands tighter as the third number appeared.Nine point five.The average, 9.467, flashed on the screen. From outside the doors, the girls could hear the crowd erupt."And there you have it, cheer fans! Our 1990 All-Tokyo Cheerleading Invitational champions, the Yusue High Fighting Lions!"The little room devolved into chaos. The girls hugged, jumped and screamed. The contents of a water bottle were sprayed through the air via its sports nozzle.Hana laughed, taking it in as she knelt at her daughter's side. "Do you have any idea how proud of you I am, Ranko?"Tanda walked over to the bench, bending down and giving Ranko a hug from behind. "You did it! Just like you promised!"Ranko beamed as a woman in a purple jumpsuit matching the doctor's entered through the double doors, a clipboard in hand. She stopped Yori, motioning to the clipboard, and Yori nodded, pointing to Shiori. The woman walked over to the squad captain, and showed her the clipboard. She handed it, and a pen, to Shiori, who wrote something on it and handed it back."Mom, would you mind telling Akane and the girls I'm okay? And thanks for coming. You don't even know how much it meant to me that you were all here." Ranko beamed at her mother."You got it, baby. You enjoy this. You worked hard for it." Hana stood, bending down and kissing her daughter on the forehead before heading to the door.The woman with the clipboard motioned to the assembled girls. "Okay, girls, ready to go get your trophy?" A chorus of elated whoooos came from the cheerleaders.All fourteen of them.Shiori leaned down, offering Ranko her arm. "C'mon, you." Ranko gripped it and pulled herself to a standing position, gingerly following her back down the narrow hallway to the waiting area at the side of the stage. It felt so much different this time than just a few moments before, when Ranko nearly had a panic attack standing in this very spot.A man in a green suit and matching tie strode to the podium that had been set up at the center of the arena, where the dance mat had been moved aside. "Presenting, your 1990 All-Tokyo Cheerleading Invitational champions, the Yusue High Fighting Lions! Accepting the trophy on their behalf, squad captain Shiori Nagata!"As he spoke, the woman with the clipboard ran out to the podium, whispering in the man's ear."Oh. Excuse me!" The man laughed. "Co-captains, Shiori Nagata, and Ranko Tendo!"Ranko looked up at Shiori. "What?!"Shiori squeezed the redhead around the waist, still supporting her weight. "You earned it. And next year when I'm gone, the squad'll be yours. Now, c'mon, champ."