A few opening words: Wow! Surprise update! Guess what? I have decided I will be finishing this sooner rather than later. I have let the ideas ferment in my head for long enough now, and anyway, here I go!

Enjoy!

"Well, now that we're here, how about letting me in on how this tournament works?" They had barely even walked in the door before Kagura asked the question. Sakaki ignored it and slumped onto the bottom bunk to put her aching head to rest for a while. Unable to sleep though, she listened to the conversation from there.

"Fine, Kagura, whatever keeps you from badgering me about my car. I swear, there isn't a thing else I can tell you about it..." Reiko said, exasperated. It was true; on the way, Kagura had asked just about every possible question about the car.

"Heh, well, what can I say? It's a nice car."

"Yeah, and so are the brakes, and the suspension, and the rims, and the roll cage, and the dashboard, and the turbo, and the exhaust system, and the-"

"Alright, I get the point, no more questions about your car," said a defeated Kagura.

"Thank you. Now, as you already know, the tournament is for four person teams. There are so far 64 teams registered from around the world. First, after each round, the teams who advance are all thrown into a hat and randomized. There is no way to predict whom you will race or the next round. The first round is a four-person race – one from each team. Only the top two advances there, and then we are left with 32 teams. From there it's another of the same type, leaving 16 teams remaining.

"The next round is a two team race, each with two drivers. In these races, there are five checkpoints along the course, and the second person to pass through stops the time for that section. The team with the best time overall wins. The trick is, both teams are running at the same time. The fourth round is the same as the third, and brings the team count down to four. The semi-final round uses all four racers, and is done in a relay style. First racer does a lap, second starts when they finish, and so on. Loser is eliminated.

"The last round is a little confusing. It has three parts to it. The first is a relay race, the same as the Semi-finals, to determine what happens in the second part. The second part is a three race series, with any number of racers from either team allowed to compete, from one to four. The first racer across the finish wins. The winner from part one chooses where the first race will take place, the other team chooses the second location, and the last is at the stadium. Best out of three determines who the choice in the last part.

"The final race is done at the 'Fatal Heights' as they have been called. It's a treacherous mountain road that follows the length of the mountain, with a steep drop off on one side of the road, and often no guardrails. The interesting thing about this part is that it's a two-person race – only one racer can represent their team. The catch is this: the majority of the road is one lane wide, with barely enough room to pass on either side. The cars start one after another, and the team that won the best out of three is given the front position. From there, first – or only – one down wins." Reiko sat down on a fold out chair, letting the description sink in. Even Sakaki hadn't known about the cliff race.

"That's all well and good, but what does the winner get? I mean, what's so important that you guys can't let my cousin win?" Kagura asked. It was a good question.

"The winning team gets the equivalent of 10 million American dollars, in whatever currency their country uses. That's not what we're worried about though, it's the second half of the prize. It consists of one favor, to be granted by the Yakuza. There are no limits to this, aside from asking to become head of the Yakuza itself. Whatever it is, they ill grant it, no questions asked, and should t be required, no trail leading to you." There was a foreboding tone in her voice as she spoke the last sentence.

"You mean..."

"Yeah. Anything."

About an hour or so later, Kagura and Reiko had just finished eating a meal consisting of two TV dinners. Ezaki had fallen asleep on the fold out futon on the garage floor, and Sakaki was on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed up top.

"I assume you guys have school tomorrow right?" asked Reiko.

"Yeah, but it's the last day before summer break, so nothing much is gonna be happening."

"Really? That's great, cause I was just going to ask if you guys would be able to miss the day tomorrow. We have a lot of stuff to do before the tournament."

"That could work. I can almost guarantee our teacher won't be there. Just don't wake up Sakaki 'till it's too late, though she probably won't mind anyway. What did you have planned for tomorrow?" Kagura asked.

"You're gonna stay back here with Ezaki and set up the Evo for you to use, then later on go to the stadium and practice. It's the same place the tournament will be held, for the most part. It's Yakuza owned, but they've opened it to anyone wishing to practice, you just have to reserve a time slot. We have from 4pm to midnight." Replied Reiko.

"What about you and Sakaki?"

"We're goin' car shopping," she said, in a merry tone, almost as if they were going Christmas shopping.

"I've been meaning to ask actually, what's so important about Sakaki? Won't you be out a lot of money, and why does she have to get involved?"

"Well, for one, I'm not as poor as this place makes me out to be. Like most smart people, I have a 'rainy-day' fund, so to speak. As for Sakaki, I guess you don't know now, but the girl really seems to enjoy the racing. She may not show it, but I believe she's a racer at heart, and shows it on the track. Hell, look at how good she is, with how little experience she has!

"Getting her involved in the whole Vipers fiasco was not my intention, but when they targeted her, coupled with the new addition to the prizes, there is no other choice. Her popularity has skyrocketed, and already racer's from around the city want to try to beat her instead of other high-ranking members, like myself. It was bound to happen sometime," Reiko said, with a defeated sigh.

"Anyway, you should get some rest; you've got a lot of work to do tomorrow. You can stay here the night, take the top bunk," Reiko added, as she got up and headed down to her car to sleep. Kagura climbed up onto the top bunk, careful not to wake Sakaki, and put her head against the pillow. It was not long before she fell asleep, with dreams of having yet another way to compete with her rival Sakaki.

Author's notes: This was going to be longer, but, well, I don't like 4-5k word chapters, so I split it up. Look forward to another chapter or two in quick succession.