So You Think You Can Da....sorry, no. Just Dance Team.

Ageha trailed into the practice room, meeting Ayame's gaze for just an instant. Souta should have been coming along with her -- he was at her side just a minute ago -- but she didn't know where he'd run off to. She really wished he hadn't, though; she needed someone to snark with throughout this whole thing. She couldn't do it with Ayame, for obvious reasons. Their leanings toward who the position would go to were totally different.

In Ageha's opinion, she should have had the most say in all of this; she was the captain, she had actual training and could recognize skill when she saw it, and she wanted someone who was both talented and could work with her (preferably without being too annoying). That was what it was like between her and her old senpai. She wasn't vice-captain last year, but she'd worked so hard the past two years, her senpai guiding her thoroughly, that she ended up being chosen over the actual vice-captain at the end of last year.

She'd gotten all mushy and sort of cried when it happened. A lot.

She knew quite a few people were auditioning. She'd seen Spencer in the hall as she made her way here and, while it took her a moment to swallow down the urge to toss an insult his way, she wished him good luck. He seemed weirdly... nervous. It was like watching a cat swim -- something that seemed almost impossible in real life, but there it was, right in front of your eyes.

After setting her overstuffed bag onto the floor, Ageha took her seat in the front row. She'd be watching with Ayame and helping judge the auditioners, anyway; she deserved a good seat.

Kage could feel her head pounding. She had initially joined the dance team because she felt it out help her with her dancing in drama. She wasn't amazing, having only been taught by her mother, who had been an exceptional dancer....but her lessons had ended when she was nine. Still, when she had joined the club she had instantly come to admire the way Ageha danced. Kage wanted to be that good. She wanted to learn to be that good.

But Ageha didn't seem to care. Kage constantly felt alienated by the captain.

Washio-sensei had tracked her down after the last practice and told her that she was expected to try out. Kage didn't know why. When asked, Washio-sensei only praised Kage's talent and her adaptability. Kage didn't know what the woman was talking about. There we so many people in the club who were better than her.

She hadn't even planned on coming today. She had wanted to skip the auditions entirely, but Washio-sensei being her homeroom teacher, she couldn't just fake being ....even if she felt like she could vomit at any moment. She quietly stepped into the room and took to stretching, surveying who was here. Spencer and Souta. Nope. She didn't stand a chance against these two. WHY had Washio-sensei insisted she try out? Kage was nowhere near as good as these two. She could memorize the dances fairly quickly, but her excecution was always lacking. She didn't want to be here.

She managed to flash Spencer and Souta a nervous smile and quietly wished them both good luck.

Ayame waited until the steady stream of students dwindled down to just the lazy stragglers. She looked around the room for a moment and then spotted....Ageha! Good. She was right where Ayame wanted her to be. She waved enthusiastically to Ageha. Ayame was very impressed with Ageha last year and how strong a captain the girl had become. She waited until everyone had finished stretching before clapping her hands to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone, pay attention please! Can I have the second-years who are auditioning up front?" She waited for everyone to shift positions. Ayame counted out the number of students standing in front of her. She had expected Souta and Spencer to try out. Ah, good, Kage was here, too. Hmm...no Shiro. She must be busy with Archery. Once everyone was ready, Ayame spoke up again.

"I know last year, you all auditioned with your own routines....but I want to do something different this year. Not only do I think our new vice-captain should be talented...but I want them to be able to learn quickly. I want them to be able to cover not just the styles they're strongest in, but the styles they're not, so that they can help other students. I want to see how fast you all can learn."

She picked up the remote to the television behind her. "So. I have a routine here that I'm going to let you all watch twice and then practice with once. Once you've gone through the dance all three times, I'll expect you to perform it in front of me right here. Right now. I'll pick out the top three and they'll do it again...and then I'll choose the vice-captain from there." She looked around. "Alright, the dance won't take up too much room, but I want you to spread out at least arm's length from each other. There we go. Good? Now let's practice."

She pressed play and the video began. Overall, the routine was just difficult enough to weed out the ones who needed the most practice, but not so difficult enough that it would be impossible to learn after just three run-throughs. It was also short enough that there would still be some time to practice before the end of club time.

Ayame paced in front of the group, watching them learn the routine. She saw the determined, and nervous, faces of the second-years. Over all, it would be nearly half an hour before they'd be done with the video.

"Alright, this time you don't get a video." She lifted the remote and turned off the television. "Aaaand....cue music!" She pressed play and the music started up.

After watching the video through Souta could feel himself feel slightly better... only slightly. By the second run through he was pretty sure he'd got it. It was kind of fun actually, he always did like learning new dances and this one wasn't so bad! It was alright. 

When the music started without the video he started to dance again, overall confident he had the dance down! The occasional looks he managed to get to the others it seemed they were doing really well too. The frown that had been permanently lodged on his face for an hour slowly started to ease of his face and by the middle of the run through with just the music he was pretty sure he was smiling for Japan. This was what he loved, this was what got him through middle school, this was what he was good at!

By the end of the dance and at the final move he breathed hard and when the music stopped he looked up, face shining. He put his hands over his face, running them back into his hair, making his hair stick up in odd angles. He beamed brightly, grinning right at Ageha before looking away and breathing out, pulling the zipper down on his hoodie and fanning his face.  

Ageha kept her eyes on the stage. They widened as she caught sight of Souta among the auditioners, her hackles raising because that little sneak never even told her he was auditioning, but she soon recovered. He was good. He'd improved a lot more than she gave him credit for.

When he smiled to her, she managed to return it. It spread, small but noticeable, across her face.

It looked like the candidates she leaned toward were doing as well as she'd hoped, regardless of mistakes. Mistakes were normal, especially in this situation. Ayame's process was weird. Ageha didn't get it, even after Ayame explained it. Having talent, being able to learn fast, and being well-rounded were good, but so were personality and experience. Dedication. If you were dedicated and worked hard, the things Ayame looked for would fall into place, wouldn't they? She didn't care so much about how fast they learned as much as she cared about wanting someone who could help her bolster this team. Her vice-captain needed to be a strong performer. Someone with enough skill to help show everyone the ropes and keep up with her, and decent ideas on how to help the team reach new heights. She wanted to get to nationals this year, after all. They'd gotten close last year, but hadn't made it. The team would need to be a lot stronger to do that.

As much as she hated to admit it, Spencer was really good. He didn't have a lot of training, but he worked hard; she'd caught him a few times while hanging out with Ryan. His style was surprisingly fluid, and he was a good learner, even if he was annoyingly mouthy. He was popular with everyone else, too, which would help unify the team.

She'd worked with Souta the longest. He was... punchy, she had to give him that, and he was one of the few people she knew who'd trained formally harder than she had. They collaborated well together, both here and in the Idols Club. She trusted him to do well. He was a lot better at dealing with people -- all brightness and smiles -- so he could help her teach the others.

Kage was... okay. She tried hard, and she was starting to improve. Her skills were there, but still unrefined, though she had potential. Ageha asked her once about her experience and learned Kage hadn't danced since she was nine. That explained a lot about the roughness of her movements. Her personality was sort of closed-off and abrasive, too. Her strengths matched what Ayame was looking for more than what she wanted.

She glanced over at Nanami with a vague sense of satisfaction, then turned to study Ayame, gauge her reaction.

Spencer let out a sigh of relief, running his hands through his hair. It made it stick pretty much straight up, its default state. He took his glasses off, rubbing his eyes vigorously. He felt so much better after hearing Ayame.

He was one of the finalists. Good. He caught Souta's eye and sent him an encouraging thumbs-up and a nod, slipping his glasses back on. He was so ready. He was born ready! It was either him or Souta now - Kage wasn't even on his radar. He hadn't been able to see her, since he'd been next to Souta and someone else. Nevertheless, he turned to her and smiled.

"Hey, good luck, yeah?" He nodded.