A/N: Hey all! It's my first Mars fic, and I hope you like it! Please review when you're done, even if you didn't like it.

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, me no own, so you no sue!

Now, enjoy the first chapter!!!!!

C'mon…Focus, man! You've got 500 yen riding on this shot… Tatsuya Kida narrowed his eyes and carefully adjusted the beat-up basketball cradled delicately in his sweaty palms. "C'mon…C'mon…" With practiced ease, he bent his knees, sinking several inches closer to the dark asphalt beneath him, then tightened his muscles, and rose gracefully into the air like some strange and deluded bird. But at the critical moment, just as the ball lifted off his fingertips, someone revved their car engine behind him, producing a growling Vrrrrmmm! It was not an incredibly loud noise, but it was just enough to throw him off. Tatsuya let out a dismal wail, as he watched the ball sail majestically over the hoop and backboard, to where it landed with a thunk over the fence, and proceeded to bounce across the street.

"Dammit!" he shouted, wrenching around, ready to throttle whoever was in that car.

But none of the cars parked around the edge of the court were running, and it was too hot to be in your car anyways. Confused, Tatsuya scanned the crowd, looking for a guilty person, ignoring Suichi and his buddies who were pestering Tatsuya to 'pay up'.

Vrmvvvrrrrvrrvrrmmmmmm…He whirled, and his eyes lit on a black jeep that was idling near the opposite side of the school basketball court, a large silver utility trailer attached to the back bumper.

"You!" Tatsuya yelled, jabbing an angry finger across the court at the jeep driver. "You!" he yelled again, shaking off Suichi, and striding across the pocked asphalt.

The driver regarded Tatsuya for a moment, then reached down and turned off the automobile.

Just then, Tatsuya reached the jeep. "Hey! You!" he glared fiercely at the driver. "Gimme 500 yen!"

After a tense moment, the driver stepped out of the jeep, and raised an eyebrow at him.

Tatsuya was astonished to discover that the driver was a pretty young woman of about his age, with long strawberry blonde hair, and astounding grayish blue eyes. She wore a large old t-shirt that had been cut off at the sleeves and at the base of the ribs, a pair of large overalls, and thick black sunglasses anchored in her hair.

"Before I fork over the money, may I ask why I'm giving it to you?" her voice was light and lilting, with a sardonic undercurrent. "Am I being mugged? Or are you some bum who needs some extra moolah?"

Everyone within hearing distance chuckled, and Tatsuya clenched his teeth. "No…" he grated. "But your stupid showoff trick just lost me a bet!"

Again, she arched one delicate eyebrow. "May I ask what 'showoff trick' I pulled?"

He flushed a little more. "Well… making all that noise in your car. It distracted me. And that is gonna cost me 500 yen!"

She coughed slightly, which might have been covering a laugh. "So now driving my car now comes with a toll? I'm sorry, but I didn't mess up your shot on purpose. I didn't even know you were sensitive enough to hear my jeep. But if it makes it any better," she reached into the back pocket of her jeans, and pulled out a bill. "Here's 100 yen."

Tatsuya glared, and snatched the bill from her hand. She chuckle/coughed again, and turned back to her jeep.

He glanced at the money in his hand, sighed in frustration, and tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned back around, he wordlessly shoved the bill back at her, carefully studying the pavement next to his right sneaker.

There was a pause, then the money slipped softly from his hand. Seconds later, it glided into his back pocket. Startled, he looked up, meeting the girl's eyes. She wore a slight smile, and with a wink she turned and climbed back into her jeep.

"Wait!" Tatsuya called. "You don't get it! Keep your money!"

She leaned out of the window of the jeep and stared down at him. "It's yours. But if you really wanna do me a favor, could you tell me if there's a racetrack around here?"

Rei Kashino pulled his helmet down over his head, tightened the chinstrap, and swung a leg over his practice bike. His friend Hamazaki gave him a thumbs up from the pit, and winked. Rei nodded, and revved the engine, before tearing on to the track.

After a quick lap, he screeched back into the pit. "Time?" he gasped, tugging off his helmet.

Hamazaki glanced at the stopwatch in his hand. "Fifty-eight seconds! This is great man! Your best time yet!"

Rei nodded, and sank down on a bench grabbing a water bottle and empting it over his head.

"Hey, dude. Check it out…" Hamazaki gestured to the parking lot above the track, where a black jeep and trailer had just pulled up.

Rei raised an eyebrow, and opened another water bottle. "I don't recognize the rig. Must be a newbie or some out-of-towner." He shrugged and took a sip of water.

Hamazaki however, continued to stare, shading his eyes with one hand. "Holy shit! It's a chick!"

Rei followed Hamazaki's finger, and sure enough, a long-haired girl in overalls had just stepped out of the driver's side of the jeep, and was now surveying the track. She must have been satisfied, because when she hopped back in the jeep, she drove it down the ramp, straight to an empty pit, and backed the trailer right up next to the track.

Oblivious to the two guys staring at her, she opened the trailer doors, revealing a mechanics workbench, and a load of motorcycles. She disappeared inside for a moment, then reappeared, zipping up a racing jumpsuit, a helmet under her arm.

"Man!" Hamazaki muttered. "She actually serious?"

It seemed she was. After letting down a ramp from inside the trailer, she walked out an impressive looking practice bike, ran a quick look-over, and pulled on her helmet.

Hamazaki laughed as she revved the engine of her bike. "Chick's crazy." He looked at Rei, and smirked. "You wanna teach her some respect?"

Rei grinned. "But of course. Can't have her thinking she owns the circuit, now can we?!" He threw a leg over his own bike, and roared towards the girl.

She looked up when he drew near, bur Rei couldn't read her expression behind the helmet. He darted in close enough to ruffle her hair as he blew by, a clear challenge. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw her swing onto her bike and tear onto the track after him.

He maintained a good lead for a about a lap and a half, but she quickly gained on him and by the second lap, they were neck and neck. Rei was shocked. Not many people can keep up with me this close! His opinion of this girl rose a few points. But still, I've got a rep to keep up. Time to kick this thing! He revved the bike again, watching the tiny needle on the speed dial steadily rise.

But while he was checking his speed, his bike veered slightly off course. When Rei looked back up, he had drifted in closer to the inner edge of the track. He began to move back into the track, but found his bike blocked. How did she catch up to me?! I'm going 250 kilometers per hour! How did she manage to sneak up on me?! The corner of the track was looming ahead, and he had no place to go. He couldn't ram the girl's bike, for fear that they would both crash, and he couldn't keep going, or he'd be forced off the track! With a curse, he dropped his bike back behind her, and took the turn on the outside, while she took the lead.

Growling to himself, he made sure to keep plenty of space between her bike and his, so she could not pull that trick again. But he had given her the lead, and he needed that advantage. Still keeping a few feet of space between their bikes, he put on a burst of speed as they came around the corner, almost lying flat on the track. As they approached the marker for the third lap, a flicker of movement ahead, drew Rei's attention. Hamazaki was running across the track, carrying something. Rei groaned. What is he doing now…He put on another burst of speed, pulling ahead of the girl, and to his delight, passing her! He pulled in front of her bike, forcing her to move around him if she wanted the lead back.

But suddenly there was a huge crash behind him, loud enough to be heard over the roar of the bikes, and Rei glanced quickly back. With a curse, he wrenched his bike around, bike fishtailing, and cut the motor. He sprang off the bike, letting it fall lifelessly down behind him, as he sprinted forward.

Somehow, the girl had crashed her bike, one of the more violent ones Rei had seen. Her bike had gone out from under her, flipped over, and she was now pinned under it, unmoving, while flames began to spurt out of the side of the bike.

Rei reached her quickly, putting a shoulder under the totaled bike, struggling to move it off her. Damn! I never realized how heavy these hunks of metal really are! With a grunt, he shoved it off her, disregarding the small fire issuing from the engine. He frantically ripped her helmet off, checking the pulse at her throat. It was weak and erratic, but present nonetheless.

Thank god! He thought, tearing off his gloves, and unzipping the top of her jumpsuit, checking for injuries.

"Jeez, man," Hamazaki's wry voice interrupted. "Isn't there a better place to do this? Like a bedroom?"

Rei glared up at him. "Dammit, you jerk! Call 911 for chrissakes!"

Hamazaki chuckled. "Whatever." But he trotted off anyways.

Rei yanked the zipper down to her waist, revealing a black jogging bra, and several large bruises, already purpling. Wary of moving her, he checked for broken bones or other serious wounds. He found a broken arm, several cracked or broken ribs, and he was sure she had at least fractured some vertebrae.

Soon, the paramedics arrived clustering about Rei and the girl like ants on honey. They quickly and efficiently loaded her onto a gurney, and wheeled her up to an ambulance, where she disappeared behind the white doors, while someone hosed the flaming bike down with a fire extinguisher.

Watching the red lights fade into the distance, Rei sank to his knees. He let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and scrubbed his face with the back of one hand. He felt a presence at his back, and knew Hamazaki was there.

"What happened?" he asked wearily.

His friend gave him a hand up, and shrugged. "No idea. Looked like she hammed out on the turn or something."

Rei shook his head, and picked up his gloves. "That couldn't be it, I didn't pass her until we were back on the straightaway…"

Hamazaki slung an arm over his shoulder, guiding him over to where his bike lay forlornly on the edge of the track. "I don't know man. She just… went down. But you kicked some serious tail out there, dude!"

Rei hauled his bike upright, and began to walk it back to the pit. "Yeah… I guess. Hey, I'm gonna check on her at the ER. Make sure she's okay and shit."

Hamazaki raised an eyebrow. "Don't waste your time, man. It's not like it was your fault or anything. She'll probably just yell at you. That's what women do when they can't move around. God knows my mom does…"

Rei shook his head. "Look, I just wanna make sure she's okay." He looked over at the crash site. "Her bike's dead, but at least I can bring her helmet, and lock up her bikes. I do feel kinda responsible…"

Hamazaki grinned. "Whatever, dude. I'll take care of yer bike for ya, make sure there's no serious damage. See ya later!" he took the bike from Rei, and disappeared into the pit.

Rei walked slowly over to the flaming bike. As he picked up the girl's discarded helmet, he noticed that the tires of her bike had been burning. Curious, he looked around. Nothing on the bike gave him a clue as to what had happened, so he went back over the track looking for anything. The sharp smell of gasoline alerted him to the oil spill, which was sloshed out, and looked like someone had run a bike through it. So that's it. He thought. Girl that can race like that should know to watch for those…

He trudged slowly over to her jeep and trailer, her helmet under one arm, his under the other. He set them on the ground, and looked around quickly, before climbing into the trailer.

Inside, he found a cache of state-of-the-art bikes, from Suzuki to Yamaha, even a Harley Davidson. She had a works machine, a nice Honda RC45. Rei let out a low whistle. Damn… this girl's got everything! He ran his fingertips over the shiny silver, letting the cool metal calm his nerves. He found a padlock on the floor, and locked the trailer tightly.

Making sure the jeep was locked, he put a wedge under the tires, and grabbed the helmets.

Soon, he was flying along the highway, heading for the hospital.

An hour later, he parked his bike, and grabbed the girl's helmet, before heading towards the front door. Inside, he approached the aging secretary behind the desk. "Um… I'm here to see about a girl that just got brought in. She's got long hair and she's wearing a racing jumpsuit."

The woman blinked. "The girl who came from the motorcycle accident?" At Rei's nod, she sighed sadly. "She's in the ER. I think she's still with the doctor, so I don't think you can see her, but the waiting room is right over there…" she pointed him through another door.

"Thanks." He flashed her a smile and ambled through the indicated door.

Several hours later, Rei put down the latest magazine he had been leafing through, and approached the ER secretary, a prim woman with short hair, librarian glasses (complete with neck chain), and a mouth that seemed permanently frozen in a frown.

"Excuse me," he asked politely. "Can you tell me if the girl from the motorcycle accident is able to see visitors yet?"

The secretary raised one penciled eyebrow, and glared skeptically at him over the top of her glasses. "Doctor Carter has finished seeing her, but she is only accepting family visitors now." Not long haired punks from the racetrack her look finished.

Now normally, Rei would have gone back to waiting, but the arrogant look on her face decided for him. "Actually," he said sweetly. "I'm her brother."

The woman pursed her lips, but pointed him down the hall. "Room 212."

He grinned cockily at her and exited, to leave her glaring after him and huffing like a freight train.

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!