Four hours passed, and Sakura was still driving in her circle. It felt like she had fallen hundreds of times, and she just couldn't get it right. What am I gonna do? If I can't become a biker, I'll never be able to get them back… She approached the same turn she had fallen on dozens of times, concentrating and leaning into it, but at the last second she flinched and braked. She looked down. I can't… She looked over at Kozue, who was trying to get Tae to do the track on her own. What am I gonna do?

There was the sound of tires screeching.

Sakura looked up to see a black van pull into the parking lot and blind her with its headlights. Oh no… how did he find us?

The van turned off and out stepped Koutarou. He frowned and started walking towards her.

One of the girls walked up to him and shoved him back toward the van. "Back off! This is Korosuke business!"

He stared down at her. "THIS IS ZOMBIE BUSINESS, YOU STUPID BIKER!" He threw her to the side and walked on past.

The girl was petrified and thus made no effort to do anything else to him. She merely watched him strut toward the girl.

Sakura bared her teeth. How did he know I was here? She turned off her bike, untied herself, and walked towards Koutarou.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as he approached.

"I'm finding the bridge girls!" she yelled triumphantly.

He was unfazed. "You ran away without telling anyone."

"W-well, I was planning on coming back… but then Korosuke gave me an opportunity! And I took it!"

He looked past her at Kozue, then back at her. "We're going home." He turned and started walking away.

Sakura didn't move.

He noticed this and turned. "WE'RE GOING HOME, YOU STUPID ZOMBIE! GET A MOVE ON!"

"I'm not going!"

He put on a childish face and mocked her. "Oh? And why's that? Is the mansion so dangerous that you'd rather be a biker?"

She squinted angrily. "Who are you?"

"Wha…" He shook his head. "I'M KOUTAROU TATSUMI, THE MYSTERIOUS IDOL PRODUCER, THE MAN WHO-"

"Shut up! Who are you really?!" she yelled.

He stopped for a long moment before looking away. "I can't tell you that."

"Then why should I trust you at all?!" She shook her head. "I heard you talking the other night! How I wasn't ready to handle the truth!" She put her hand to her chest. "I can handle the truth!"

"No, you can't."

She turned. "Then I'll see you when I've captured the bridge girls." She started walking back towards her bike.

"Sakura-han…" Yuugiri called from the van. There was the distinct clopping of wood on asphalt.

"O-oh my god! Another zombie!" One of the Korosuke girls yelled.

Sakura turned to meet her glowing red gaze. "What?!"

"You don't have to trust us to let us help you. We want to see this idol group succeed just as much as you do. Yes, our reasons are mysterious and secretive, but they are good reasons. Just trust in the thought that we also believe in the project."

She stared at the two of them. "I'm going to take Dorami down using Korosuke. And I'm not coming back until I do. Don't bother trying to stop me."

"We don't plan on stopping you."

"Huh?" Koutarou and Sakura asked together.

Yuugiri pulled Koutarou in close and whispered in his ear. "If my understanding of her plan is correct, then she's very close to finding them. It's in our best interests to allow her to continue."

"You think so?" He asked.

"She will come to us when she needs us. We should just hope that this works out."

"Why don't we actively support her, then?"

"She obviously doesn't trust us. You and I being there would only hinder her work."

Sakura watched the two of them whisper to each other. She could hear every word. They aren't very good at being discreet…

Koutarou turned toward her. "Alright. You can continue being a biker. But let me put my number in your phone."

She reached into her pocket and handed him the phone, which had been thoroughly scratched and dented during her four hours of biking.

He flipped it open and pressed some buttons. Then he took out his own phone and pressed even more buttons. Then he looked back at her phone and pressed several more buttons. Then he pressed more buttons on his own phone. Finally, he handed her back her phone. "There."

She took it and looked up at him.

"Call me when you've caught them." He and Yuugiri turned back towards the van.

Sakura watched them walk away silently. What on Earth was that?

Koutarou turned around one final time. "And be careful with Tae. She's legendary." Then he climbed into the van, turned it on, and drove back the way he'd came.

She watched as the van disappeared behind the treeline then turned back towards her bike. I can do this. Yuugiri-san said that I was their best bet! I can't fail! She sprinted back towards her bike and hopped on. Filled with newfound motivation, she turned it on and backed up. She took another deep breath, then pulled back the throttle and took off. She rapidly approached the first turn and clenched her teeth. Her turn began, and she leaned into it hard and had her knee mere inches from the ground. I'm not afraid of you, Saki-chan! She breathed evenly through her teeth. I know that I can do this! She completed her turn and sped up. She didn't even mentally acknowledge what she had done, instead just moving on to thinking about the upcoming turn.

Kozue watched in approval as she completed one turn, then another, then another. She smiled to herself and chuckled. "As long as it takes."

Misa pulled into the lot at 5:48 AM. Normally she would never get out of bed so early, but this was a special occasion. She needed to check on the status of Korosuke's secret weapons. She looked down in front of her to find three girls and one zombie in black and purple outfits asleep on the ground. She ignored them, walked her bike towards the track, and smiled at what she saw.

Kozue rode alongside Sakura as they rode in circles around the outside. "Come on! Keep your body low! See your arm?! Move it out! You can keep low and still use your prosthetic!"

Sakura slowly leaned down but kept her shoulder backwards. What resulted was a funky-looking biker looking like she was about to topple over.

"No, no, no!" Put your shoulder down! Move your arm towards me!"

She twisted her torso, pushing her shoulder down into the bike. Her prosthetic arm began to lose tension and as a result the throttle rotated back a bit.

"Now point your arm at me!"

She held her arm out at her, but her shoulder twisted back up.

"No! Both at the same time, damn it!" She looked up and saw Misa. "Oh! Nevermind, Misa's here! Let's take a quick break! I wanna see you do a drift into a stop!" She sped ahead.

Sakura held her head back up and gauged the distance between her and Misa. Ok… now! She did a slight turn then twisted back the way she came, riding sideways over the asphalt to a stop. She looked up to find that she had undershot by a long shot. Oh. She shamefully turned off her bike and walked it over to where Misa was.

"Not bad, Sakura…" Misa smiled. "But you still have a long way to go." She turned to Kozue. "How's the other one?"

"Tae? She's fearless, but she's a chaser. She'll only follow."

"That's not such a bad thing…" she said, bringing a hand to her chin. "Can she do it on command?"

"No, she chases pieces of squid."

She laughed. "Seems she really is more dog than human." She turned to face both of them. "You're good for the day. Go home and rest." She turned to look at Tae and the other sleeping girls. "Tae, too."

"What about them?" Sakura asked, glancing at the other girls.

"They weren't supposed to fall asleep. I have something special in mind for them." She reached for her whip.

She gasped. Is she going to whip them?! I should say something to make her stop! "They were awake most of the night!" she exclaimed. "They only fell asleep around half an hour ago!" That was a lie, but she didn't want to see her punish the girls for being human.

Misa turned to look at her. "Really? They did a lot better than I thought." She moved her hand away from her hip and waved it at her. "Anyways, you two can go. Be back here by eight tonight to pick up where you left off." She handed Sakura a key. "Here's my backup. Don't lose it. Park in the corner. Make sure you lock them up so they don't get stolen like the others."

"O-okay…" She walked her bike over to Tae and gently nudged her awake. "Tae-chan, it's time to go home."

"Gruauaugghh…" the sleepy girl moaned.

"I know, I'm sorry I woke you up, but we have to go before people start arriving to learn how to drive! Let's go."

She yawned and followed her to a bike. She sat down on its seat and rubbed her eyes. She grabbed the brake and let Sakura turn it on the rest of the way.

Sakura turned on her own bike and turned to face Misa and Kozue. "Alright! See you tonight!" She yelled with a smile. Then she took off, with Tae mimicking her every move perfectly.