Tanaka Hajime, new recruit of the Ouendan, could feel his heart beating fiercely in his chest.  It hammered harshly as he stood in the frozen wasteland that was Earth.  Everything he had trained for came down to this.  He looked up at the dying sun and closed his eyes.  Could he do it?  Could he cheer his town on to safety?  Could he cheer the WORLD on to peace?  Deep down inside, Hajime doubted it.  He didn’t know how his superiors could handle it…

---

“If I fail…” Hajime murmured lightly at the Ouendan Headquarters, which was hidden deep within a secret wrapped within an enigma that was veiled within a mystery, “Everything will be over.”

Ippongi Ryuuta, the Ouendan Leader, stared at the recruit, “What did you say?”

Hajime looked up at his superior, speaking up a little so he could properly hear the recruit, “If I fail…”

“Don’t ever say that, Hajime,” Ryuuta said, his breath escaped from his mouth with a hiss, “You won’t fail.”

“But… Ryuuta-san…”

“You will NOT fail,” The leader said sternly, “Do you understand?”

Hajime stared in surprise at Ryuuta, and spoke up, “But…!”

“How long have you been a part of the Ouendan?” Ryuuta asked.  Hajime snapped to attention with a salute.

“S…Six years, Sir!” Hajime blinked at his superior’s frown, and gulped, wondering if Ryuuta wanted a more specific answer, “M…more or less.”

“You’re right, Hajime-kun,” Ryuuta said with a smile, “You are no longer a recruit.”  The Ouendan stared in rapture at the thought of it, “You are a full fledged Ouendan.  Those of Yuuhi town know you by name.  They are familiar with your face.  You have helped them countless times.  They will be comfortable with you.  You are to remain here and cheer them on.  Doumeki-san and I shall…”

“You’re going to other places… far away towns… for people that don’t have saviors…” Hajime repeated, avoiding Ryuuta’s gaze and glancing at the floor, “I’m going to be alone here.”

“You won’t.”  Ryuuta nodded, “Suzuki-san and Saitou-san will accompany you.”  He placed his hand on Hajime’s shoulder, nodding lightly, “You’ll need them more than Kai-san and I.”  Hajime looked back up, but didn’t look into his superior’s face, too afraid to even look at him, “Hajime-kun.  When this is over, we’ll all go out to celebrate.”

“Will the Cheer Girls come too?”

“Depends on whether they want to come or not,” Ryuuta released Hajime’s shoulder and smiled, “But I’d count on it.”  Hajime’s eyes lit up.  He had hardly seen the Cheer Girls; they were at such a higher league than he!

“Well then, are you ready, Hajime-kun?”

“…Y…Yes Sir!” Hajime shouted, snapping to attention.

“Then GO!”  The recruit nearly jumped and rushed from the room, his shoes clattering loudly as he went to help his townspeople.

---

Yuuhi town’s population stood at the top of a hill.  A huge, dying tree stood at its peak.  It was far too cold for any plant life.  At this rate… all of Earth’s life would die…  The townspeople turned and blinked at Asahi town’s population.  They had also climbed the hill, where they could be closer to the sun.  Both of the towns stared at each other.  Each had been cheered by rival Ouendan groups… but now was not the time to fight amongst themselves.

“Where are the Ouendan?” Tsuyoshi asked no one in particular, hugging his brother close to him.

Mana held her arms and shuddered, “Sister… I’m just glad you’re not here to see this…”

“We can’t give up!” Kuroiwa shouted, “Ouendan or not…!  We can’t keep waiting, we MUST do what we can on our own!”

Dan and Joe pointed upwards, “Right everyone!  Let’s…!”  The policemen were interrupted.  A huge icy comet dropped to Earth, nearly crushing dozens of people.

“It’s HOPELESS!!” Three housewives screamed in unison.

“I don’t want to die, Wan-chan!!” Kumi cried, wrapping her arms dejectedly around the werewolf she fell in love with.

“Wait!!” The air is filled with a powerful voice that made everyone’s panic flee.  They turned and stared at the newcomers.   Just in time, it was Tanaka Hajime, Saitou Atsushi and Suzuki Ittetsu!  They raised their arms in a “V” shape, “IKUZEE!!”

“OUENDAN!” The conjoined towns shouted in relief.  The Ouendan cheered the people on.  “Osu!” they shouted.

“Nii-chan…” Tsuyoshi’s brother clung to his brother and shivered madly.

“I’m not going anywhere.  The Ouendan will save us!” Tsuyoshi replied, smiling at Hajime.  The recruit… no… the full fledged Ouendan swelled with pride.  He would not give up!  He WOULD not fail!  For his people, his town, his family, his planet!!

“OSU!” Hajime shouted.  The Ouendan of Yuuhi town began to cheer; both Yuuhi town and Asahi town followed suit and prepare for their work.  “UOOOOOO!!!”

“GOOOOOO!!!”

“Don’t give up!”

“We can do it!”

“More!  MORE!”

“Please, Sun!  Please warm up!”

“OSU!” Hajime continued to cheer.  On his face was a serious, emotionless mask, but inside he was beaming.  The light, the energy radiated from the Ouendan inspired the people, and they shouted louder, roaring and praying, begging and pleading with the sun, “Don’t go out!  Please!  Shower us with your love once again!”

Gorou howled and pointed a furry paw at the ice that was creeping up at them, “It’s a wall of ice!” He shouted.  People rushed away as it crumbled towards them, but they’d never make it in time!  Suddenly, out of nowhere, Moriyama and Gorou leap at the women, shoving them out of the way in time.  No one is hurt from the forces of nature.

“Alright!  Good work everyone!  Just…!”  Hajime suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, even colder than the biting snow on his face.  Turning slightly, he gasped when he saw Asahi town’s own Ouendan recruit, Kikuchi Shinta, with his backup cheerers, Moriyama Tsuyoshi and Sugita Kenshin.  “OSU!” Shinta shouted, punching the air.

“Everyone!  Follow me!” The young leader of the Asahi town Ouendan shouted.  Hajime clenched his fist, and turned to the conjoined towns.

“Everyone!” Hajime screamed into the howling wind, “It’s me!  Follow me!”

Yuuhi Town’s Ouendan stared in disbelief as everyone rushed to the side of Shinta, who raised his hand, “Right!  Ikuzee!!”

Hajime stared, dumbfoundedly, as everyone passed by him, following the motions, responding to the cheers of young Shinta.  Hajime dropped to his knees, anger welling up inside.  Why…?  Why was Shinta there?  Why was he stealing everything?  “Shinta…!!!”

Shinta smiled, his face beaming, a youthful glow was around him.  A natural leader, Shinta, given time, would probably go far.  He continued to cheer, sing, dance, and inspire.  It worked.  Everyone looked up at the sun and begged the sun to return to normal, “Sun!  Please!  Don’t go out!  PLEASE!”

The old and young are soon dragged away.  They couldn’t possibly continue to cheer; already they were too tired, “This can’t be…”

“It’s hopeless…”

“It’ll never stop…”

“Don’t give up!” Shinta shouted.

“Follow me!” Hajime shouted.  The two Ouendan teams both shouted loudly, one on each side of the hill.

“We can do it!” Shinta shouted.

“We’ll revive the sun together!”

“Everyone!  Listen to us!”

“No!  Listen to US!”

The towns were confused.  Neither was sure who to follow.  Hajime wondered if Ryuuta-san and Doumeki-san were having the same problem with rival Ouendan…  Hajime looked up, and his eyes widened.  He shut up and stared up at the sky.

“That’s it!” Shinta shouted, cheering, roaring, screaming.  Everyone began to follow him as Hajime stared into the sky, his jaw dropping slightly.

“Hajime-san, what’s wrong?” Suzuki asked.  Hajime pointed up at the huge comet that was heading to earth.  His arm trembled, and he spoke in a barely audible whisper:

“It’s going to hit… It’s going…” Hajime’s breath caught in his throat, and he shouted into the cold, “It’s heading straight to the Asahi’s Ouendan!”

“Dammit!” Saitou roared, “What do we do, Hajime-san?”

“Shinta-san!” Hajime shouted, rushing forward, “Shinta-san, you have to move!  You and the others have to move NOW!!!”

Whether Shinta did hear he did not wish to listen, Hajime couldn’t tell.  Asahi’s Ouendan continued cheering, and Hajime felt his stomach churn, he felt like throwing up.  There was a huge dilemma that he had to debate within himself.

An Ouendan’s job was to protect, to save, and to replenish.  Under no circumstances were they allowed to let a person get hurt.  However, an Ouendan was never allowed to place himself in harm’s way.  It was their job to cheer until the person noticed the danger, so they could avoid it.  It would have been a problem, but Shinta’s cheering, the town’s screaming, and the howling wind made it impossible to be heard.  Hajime clenched his fists and apologized to his superiors, “Shinta-san!!!”

Shinta turned when Hajime rushed at him.  Asahi’s Ouendan glared daggers at the obvious attempt at taking the town by force, and he raised his hands in self defense.  Hajime leapt from the ground, Suzuki and Saitou following close behind.  Together, the Yuuhi town’s Ouendan bodily shoved the Asahi town’s Ouendan out of harm’s way.  Hajime felt the comet crash into the planet, and into his frail, freezing body…

…Everything went black…

---

Silence filled the huge hill.  Everyone stared into the crater the comet created, and many refused to breathe until they knew for sure that this wasn’t a dream.  Shinta, still prostrate on the floor, stared at where he and his friends had been standing just moments before.  Asahi’s Ouendan picked themselves up from the ground, and the young leader looked up at something fluttering in the wind.  Hajime’s black as night cap danced in the air, very similar to his graceful steps in life.  Shinta reached out and the cap landed in his hand.

The sobs started.  First the women, then the children, and soon everyone dropped to the snow, weeping, “It’s… it’s over…” They sobbed, “They… they’re gone…!”

“Ouendan!”  They shouted, “Why?  WHY?”

“Why…?” Shinta asked, holding the cap in his hand, “Why did you do that…  Hajime-san…?”

---

Hajime had learned that pain was good.  It proved you were alive.  Hajime wondered if he should be happy to be alive, or if he should curse the gods for letting him endure such torture.  Crushed under tons of ice, slowly freezing to death… he just wished he could have… “H…Hajime-san…?”

“I…Ittetsu-san?” Hajime turned lightly, and despite the numbness, it sent ripples of pain through his body, “You…’re a…alive…?”

“Me too,” Atsushi groaned, “I… I’ve been…”

“Cheering…” Hajime couldn’t see them, but he did feel their energy.  They were had been cheering.  He assumed that was the only reason he was alive now, “It’s… the least we can do…”

“We can’t…” Hajime suddenly said.  He tried to wiggle his toes.  Frostbite had killed them, “We’re… finished.  R…Ryuuta-san… was wrong…” He closed his eyes angrily at his weakness, “I failed… we…  I…’m not…”

“Never give up, Hajime-san!” Ittetsu shouted, his voice cracking from his crushed larynx, “We can handle this!  We can help save the world!  OUR world!”

“I’m sorry!” Hajime cried, “I shouldn’t have come!  I wasn’t ready for this!  Now I’ll never see anyone ever again!  Ryuuta-san, Doumeki-san, the girls…!  My… my brother, my family!!”  Hajime hyperventilated, his lungs burnt, and he wondered how he was still alive. He couldn’t even feel his heart beating in his chest.  Perhaps he wasn’t even alive…?

“What’s that…?” Atsushi’s voice was heard over Hajime’s rant.  Ittetsu hushed the Ouendan, and Hajime could hear something… something that tugged at his heart as an Ouendan.  He strained to make sure that it was true.  Was it really what he thought it was?

“...Ouendan…” Someone was…

“...Don’t leave us…” Multiple people were…

“...Ouendan… don’t go…!  We NEED you…!” Tears prickled at Hajime’s eyes.  Was it true?

“...Hajime-san…”

“...Atsushi-san…”

“...Ittetsu-san…”

“...Come back...!  ....PLEASE...!” They…!  They were crying!  They… they wanted him to…!

“They…” Hajime couldn’t feel anything, but he knew… he was alive because he couldn’t die yet…  Yuuhi town… Asahi town… EVERYONE needed him!  “Don’t… cry…”  He said, humming despite his damaged throat, “I’m here…”

“Hajime-san…?”

“I can’t give up…” Hajime said, “WE can’t give up…!  They need us!”

The three nodded, “OSU!”  They shouted as loud as they could.

---

Young Takuya lay in the snow, sniveling loudly, “I’m scared… Ouendan… don’t go… we need you, Ouendan!”

Something was heard in the back of his head.  Takuya looked up, “Wh… what was…?”

“Takuya?” Shizu asked, staring at her son.

Takuya wasn’t listening to his mother.  He was straining to listen for what he thought he heard.

“...osu...”

“Ouendan…?”

“...Osu...!”

“Ouendan!  You’re…?”  Takuya stood up dizzily, and shivered in the wind.  He shut his eyes tight and began to chant, “Ou-En-Dan!” He threw his fist into the air, and retracted it; “Ou-En-Dan!” his fist went out again into the biting wind.

“Takuya…” Shin said, reaching out to take his son away from the crater.  Takuya refused to move.

“Ou-!  En-!  Dan-!” The child shouted, louder, louder, and louder than ever before, tears falling down his face and freezing before they ever touched the ground, “Ou-En-DAN!”

The people looked at each other, and soon they followed suit, “Ou-En-Dan…!” They shouted.  It was soft at first, as the wind and snow ate any sound that came from their mouths, but soon it grew in volume as the town shouted louder and louder, “Ou-En-Dan!  Ou-En-Dan!  Ou-En-Dan!  Ou-En-Dan!!”

Shinta looked around, and turned to his subordinates.  They nodded, and the Asahi town Ouendan joined in, cheering like never before, “Ou-En-Dan! OSU! Ou-En-Dan! OSU! Ou-En-Dan!  OSU!”

“Ou-!!  En-!!  DAN!!!”

---

Tanaka Hajime shuddered madly in the cold.  He was still alive, and his body shivered in a futile attempt to keep him warm.  Nevertheless, he continued to cheer, “OSU!” He was so tired; he couldn’t even move.  He fought sleep, and continued to shout, “OSU!  OSU!”

A warmth flooded his body.  He could hear them up above.  The town was cheering.  THEY were cheering for HIM.  Hajime could move his numb fingers… wiggle his frostbitten toes.  Their energy was small as one, but together, they formed the energy of at least an entire Ouendan squad!  Hajime smiled, he could feel Shinta cheering as well.  With all the energy, he knew that there was a way to escape, to be saved.  He had to take that chance!  Hajime felt the energy revitalize him, and he turned to his friends, “Everyone… are you alright?”

“Hajime-san…” Ittetsu said, “We can do it!”

“With their help…”

Hajime smiled, and shouted, wriggling and preparing a cheer, “We’ll do it!!  Send your yells out!  We’ll escape!”

“IKUZEE!!!”

A small light was seen in the crater as the town screamed around the hole.  They shouted and screamed and watched as the light grew in magnitude, spreading out of the crater and sending a beacon high into the sky to be seen from miles around.  The ice cracked, and the towns and Ouendan refused to give up.  They continued to chant, shout and cheer.

They shouted in delight when the ice broke apart, and leaping gracefully out of the frozen coffin was the Yuuhi town Ouendan!  They had escaped!  They landed at the edge of the crater (Hajime had to keep from toppling back in, in fact), and the Ouendan looked across at their rivals.  Shinta grinned embarrassedly at Hajime, avoiding his gaze, and held out the cap for his rival to take back.  How could Shinta look at Hajime after his selfless sacrifice…?  The full fledged Ouendan smiled at the man and took the hat, reapplying it to his head.  He felt complete again.

“Shinta-san!” Asahi town’s Ouendan looked up at Hajime, and he smiled with a nod, holding his hand out.  Shinta smiled and extended his hand.  They locked arms and smiled happily.

“Hajime-san, let’s do our best!  Together!” Shinta said.  Hajime nodded.

“Yes, let’s combine our power!  Together, we can do anything!”

The six Ouendan, now united, stood before the populous of Asahi and Yuuhi town.  They shouted aloud, “OSU!  TATAKAE!”

“OUENDAN!!” The town shouted back.  Hajime wondered if he was ever injured.  The pain was gone, not a scratch lay on him.  Their energy revitalized him as if the comet had never crushed him.  He decided to thank his friends the best way he could.

“Ikuzee!” The Ouendan roared, preparing for their last cheer.

“San-!”

“Nii-!”

“Ichi-!”

“SURE!!”

…
…
…

-End.