Parings: TakashixLiz,AmyXOC,HamgraXOC,CunninghamXOC

"Racing, competing, it's part of me. It's in my blood, it's in my life; I've been doing it all my life and it stands above everything else"

~Aryton Senna

Takashi rubbed his eyes lazily, he hated going to the pre-season party, he was backstage waiting for his team to be introduced. It was the same as it had been for the past two years, Benjamin Bright introduces the teams, asks a few questions, and then the rookies are then thrown to the wolves. He was bored. Liz gave him a light punch in the shoulder.

"Having fun yet?" she asked playfully.

"Not really," he replied absently grabbing her hand in his. Liz turned away from him to hide her blush.

"Yeah, well we're on in a few minutes so get ready," Liz mumbled trying to keep calm though her heart was racing like it was a mech on the track.

"Hey you guys ready?" Satomi's voice announced the question happily. She had been getting plenty of sponsors lately. As she approached them she glanced around, looking for someone. "Where's Amy?"

Takashi gave a shrug, but Liz answered for the both of them. "She went to the bathroom earlier." Liz pointed past Satomi. "There she is."

Satomi looked over her shoulder and sure enough there was Amy. The now-sixteen year old was dressed in a slightly revealing light blue dress. She gave her team a smile as she walked towards them. Satomi made a note in her, the team was growing up…maybe it was time to invest in finding a fourth member. Andre certainly didn't have the energy to replace anyone again.

"Now introducing the returning champions, Team Satomi!" Benjamin Bright's voice rang out loudly.

Takashi was the first to begin to walk onto the stage from behind the curtain. As Liz tried to slip her hand from his he tightened his grip and gave her a smile over his shoulder. Amy followed behind the two a warm hearted smile on her face. A spotlight circled around them and Benjamin Bright approached them with a microphone in hand. After the basic introductions he began asking questions.

"How are you guys feeling about this season? Another win?"

Takashi answered for the team. "That's the plan, but we know it won't be easy. It never is."

Bright laughed. "Before I introduce the newest team in the IG-1, who do you think will be the biggest challenge for you this year?"

Takashi looked down the row of teams, White Snow, Velshtein, Edge Raid, and Sledge Mama. Each was dangerous in their own way and each was out to knock Team Satomi from number one spot. They were all destined to be a challenge. But as his eyes locked with Cunningham's for barely a second he knew his answer. "They'll all be a challenge, but Velshtein has always been one of our toughest opponents."

Bright laughed again and moved across the stage. He gave a big grin to the crowd. "Now introducing our newest team, the champions of the IG-2, Team Cygne Noir!" The lights flickered and circled dramatically finally landed directly on the spot to Bright's left. Team Satomi each eyed their respective competition.

Bright gestured to the tallest man in the group. "Defender, Manny O'Sullivan!"

Liz got a look at the defender, he was a tall guy with dark curly brown hair and pale skin with a few freckles on his cheeks. His muscle was noticeable through the suit he wore and his face was expressionless. He looked tough.

The next introduction was for the smaller boy, he looked about sixteen. "Midfielder, Dominic Matthews!"

Amy glanced over at him, only to find him staring intently back at her. He had emerald green eyes, tan skin, dark brown hair that was spiked everywhere like he didn't care when he woke-up. He gave her a grin that she returned with a shy smile. As she turned back to the stage she was happy to see no one from her team seemed to notice the exchange.

As the audience stopped their cheers, the final team member was introduced. "Forward, Kairi Moreau!"

Takashi eyed the girl curiously. She was thin and could've looked breakable if it wasn't for the layer of muscle that he could see on her arms. She had light brown hair that was put up. She didn't look like much, but as she caught him looking at her and a smile settled on her face Takashi could tell she was more than what meant the eye.

Bright's voice caused them to brake their stare. "Kairi, who's your team looking forward to racing against this year?"

She laughed lightly, "As a team I'd say we'd disagree on that."

"What do you mean?"

"Both my teammates are looking forward to the match against Team Satomi, but me…I can't wait for the race against Velshtein."

Bright gave her smile. "Good Luck to you."

She nodded and then the introductions ended, the party began. The music blasted from speakers and the platters of food circulated throughout the room. The teams broke off into the floor to mingle with sponsors, each other, and fans alike.

~xXx~

"Kairi, you seemed distracted," Manny mentioned as he took a swig from his cup. His accent was thick and heavy, all Irish. It was getting slightly slurred from his drinking (the party had been going on for a few hours now), but at least the drinking had loosened him up a bit. Without it Manny was cold, distant, and completely uncharming. And for the sake of sponsors they needed him to be charming.

"I'm fine," Kairi replied looking around the room. "Where's Dom?"

"I ain't his keeper," Manny slurred with a grin.

Kairi smiled and rolled her eyes. She placed her hand on the cup and gave it a gentle tug, pulling it from him. "I think you've had enough of that."

He nodded and the grin stayed on his face, he patted her head absently. "Okay, but don't drink any Kairi. You may not be a kid anymore, but—" He cut off abruptly, a confused look on his face. Slowly he swiveled his head around and found their manager. "I'm going to go talk to Mr. Bellamy." Kairi watched him leave to talk to the elderly man that ran their team. As Manny approached it was clear Mr. Bellamy wasn't surprised by his conduct and quickly he used Manny's sudden appearance to speak with a sponsor.

Kairi sighed and started to walk to the bathroom. She had never liked parties, they were loud and obnoxious or…at least the ones she had attended. As she went down the hall to the bathroom the city's light caught her eyes. She stopped and stared, through the light of the city the track was clearly visible.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see Alexander "Cunningham" Hume looking at her.

"Yeah," she answered softly.

He smiled at her. "It's good to see you again Kairi. It's been—

"About a year," she interjected coolly, she watched him cautiously.

"Yeah…" he muttered. "It's good to see you're finally on the track. I could never understand why you liked being coped up in a garage all the time."

"You wouldn't," she nearly snapped at him letting her angry flare a little. She averted her eyes from his, she was acting like a child. She needed to show him that she was different now and this wasn't a good way to start.

Cunningham only smiled though, his expression easy and calm. "Maybe you could show me why you love it sometime." Kairi shrugged a reply and he continued to speak. "How'd you get into it? The racing I mean…you never showed any interest in it before."

"I worked in a garage for a couple of IG-2 teams, but…it wasn't the same. Then one day Mr. Bellamy approached me with the offer. I said no at first, told him I was just a mechanic. After some insisting, I got a couple of practice runs on the track," she paused remembering the moment, lingering on it. "I understand why it's so important to you now." She gave him a smile.

For once the appearance on his face was empty. His green eyes stared intently at her, it made Kairi want to take a huge step back then turn around and run as fast as she could. She settled for looking back out the window avoiding his gaze. "You look good Kairi."

"Is that all you have to say?" She said swallowing the lump that was in her throat. She felt heat rise to her face and she turned to look at him, but shut her eyes at the last minute. "You haven't tried to talk to me since then. You didn't call or…even try to see me. You acted like I never even existed, like you never even care." She took a deep breath, opened her eyes and gave him the coldest look she could muster. "So why say anything now?"

"Look it's more complicated than that," Cunningham began to say, but Kairi walked straight past him. Her heels clicking as she did, she needed to find Manny and Dom so she could leave.

~xXx~

Takashi smiled at Liz they danced together. Neither of them really danced, but for once in their lives they thought it'd be fun. Maybe it was because they were together. Not it was definitely because they were together. Everything was better when they were together.

Amy watched them dance sipping her water as she leaned against a wall. They looked so happy, she wondered if all couples felt that way at some point. "You sure stare a lot," a voice chirped. Amy turned her head to see the midfielder from Cygne Noir. He gave her an arrogant grin.

"I mean, I caught you staring at me earlier." Amy just gave him a smile and a shrug. He continued, "So…you want to dance?"

"You…want to dance with me?" she asked, slightly caught off guard.

"Well yeah, you're the prettiest girl here." He offered her his hand.

She tilted her head a little. "You just have all the lines don't you?"

"Are they working?" Dominic asked raising his eyebrows.

"Not really." She turned away and gave a small wave of her hand as if to say goodbye. She left the boy standing by the wall, the rejection looming in the air.

A hand slammed on Dominic's shoulder. He looked up to see Manny grinning at him. "Facing rejection is hard huh Dom."

"You are wasted as hell," Dominic muttered grinding his teeth as he watched that Amy girl begin a conversation with some green haired guy.

"Pretty much," Manny laughed.

"Are you guys ready to leave?" a female voice questioned in a quick, clear voice. Kairi approached them, looking slightly deflated. Manny slung an arm around her.

"Kairi, letsss dance!"

Kairi sighed and Dominic watched her plaster a smile on her face and carefully remove Manny's arm. "I'll take that as a yes for you Manny." She looked over at Dominic and raised an eyebrow. "Are you ready Dom?"

"Yeah," he replied starting off towards the door. "I hope you feel better Kairi."