Saki groaned as she walked through the front door. "Jeez, what a day…" She closed the door behind her, locked it, and sat down in the genkan. She started untying her boots. The house was dark, so she was operating only off the light her own eyes produced. Damn, this is pretty cool. She had stayed out way longer than she had planned to. Unfortunately, because she had to paint her bike before she started modifying it, she had to wait a full twelve hours to even start changing its body. Junko and Maria had returned Ai and Lily's bikes back to the house several hours prior. It was now 4:22 AM. She was tired and sore and covered in paint and grease and she wanted nothing more than to just crawl into bed after a nice cold shower. She slipped off her first boot and grunted as she moved onto the next one.
There was a gasp from the top of the stairs. "She's here!"
She turned slightly to see a pair of glowing red eyes speeding down the stairs. "Huh?"
"Saki-chan! You're back!" Lily jumped into a hug.
She could feel her heart beating against her head. "Well, yeah, of course I am!" She shrugged the child's arms off of her. "The hell are you doing awake so early in the morning?"
"Zombies don't need to sleep! Besides, we have something to show you! Let's go upstairs!" She turned back to her and tugged on her arm.
"Hey, I gotta get my boots off first! Relax, will you?" She shook the child off of her and turned back to her boot.
"Fine…" she crossed her arms and pouted in the dark. "Slowpoke."
Finally, Saki got off her second boot and stood up. "Alright, now we can go." She turned and walked at a leisurely pace up the stairs.
Lily bolted up the stairs on all fours. Once she reached the top, she bounced up and down. "Come on, Saki-chan! Come on!" She turned and ran into their shared bedroom. "Here she comes! Move over!"
"Ow!" Ai exclaimed. "Be careful!"
"Sorry, Ai-chan!"
Jeez, what's going on? She slowly walked down the hallway to their room. She opened the door to see three pairs of glowing red eyes on Lily's bed across from her. "The hell are you all doing?" she asked as she took off her jacket and threw it to the ground.
"Turn on the light!" Lily yelled.
She flicked on the light to reveal that Ai, Lily, and Junko were each sitting on the bed across from her with wide smiles on their faces. Lily's hair had bright lines of neon green shooting through it. Ai's hair started black on the top but faded into a crimson red hue as it reached the bottom. Junko's was similar to Ai's, but with navy blue instead. Their makeup had all been washed off and they all sat before her in their new pajamas.
"Ta-da! Whaddya think?! We did it for you, Saki-chan!" Lily cheered.
Saki stood staring with her mouth agape. She clasped her hands together as tears started forming in her eyes. They all actually did it? She stepped onto the air mattress and slowly walked up to the girls.
"I think she likes it," Junko observed.
She stopped right at the edge of the bed. She sniffled. "I love you guys…"
Lily jumped up and hugged her. She pressed her heart into her sister's waist. "I love you too, Saki-chan!"
"Aww!" Junko stood up and wrapped her arms around both of them. "I love you all, too."
Ai got up and joined in on the group hug. "I feel the same way."
The group fell over together and landed on the air mattress. They all started laughing together.
Saki squeezed her new family and closed her eyes, grinning from ear to ear. There's not a damn thing that will ever take this away from me.
Sakura stared out into the Matsuura river. The cool night wind breezed by. This is what I've been working towards…!
Tae, Kozue, and her were all stopped beside a bridge for a train line that ran across the river beneath a streetlight. It was just around the corner from the driving school.
"All right. I'm gonna tell her the rules now. Start time when I say go," Kozue instructed into her phone. She held the phone away from her, leaned down, and looked into Sakura's eyes. "Alright, zombie. This is your final exam." She held up a piece of paper in her other hand. "This is the map of the route Saki took when she stole Misa's bike. You have thirty seconds to memorize this. Throughout the route you will encounter two toll booths. You will drift under the bars without stopping. At the end of the route is a parking garage. You will ride off the top of it and land on the roof of the building next door. Time stops when you land on the roof. If you don't finish it within two minutes, you fail. Any questions?"
She raised her hand shyly. "What happens if I fail?"
She clenched her eyes shut and sighed. "Saki gets away."
She gritted her teeth and nodded. "Right!"
She handed Sakura the piece of paper. It was a map of Karatsu with a route drawn in red marker. "Your thirty seconds starts now."
She quickly scanned the map. The city layout was familiar to her, but she didn't have time to dwell on why. Okay, so they're having me start here, and I go straight for a while, then I cross at the footbridge, and then- wait, they're having me drive across a footbridge? She shook her head. This is the route Saki-chan took! I have to follow it! So I get off the bridge and take a slight left turn, then there's a parking garage on the right that should have a way onto the building next door. Now to get onto this footbridge, I'll have to ride up some stairs, which means I'll need to do a wheelie right when- Her train of thought was interrupted as the paper was ripped from her hand. "H-hey!"
"Time's up!" Kozue held the paper above her head.
"Was that actually thirty seconds?!" she asked angrily.
"Yup!" She nodded. "Hope you learned the route!" She glared at the other zombie. "Tae! Follow!" she yelled, pointing at Sakura.
"Grauuuge!" Tae yelled back.
"Alright! You ready?!" she asked.
"No!" Sakura screamed in a panic.
"Then say goodbye to Saki!" She yelled. She pulled the phone in close to her face. "Three!"
She snapped back to attention and stared straight ahead. Saki! Ai! Junko! Lily!
"Two!"
She bent her body over to make herself more aerodynamic. I hope you're ready!
"One!"
She took a deep breath and lowered her eyebrows. I WILL get you back!
"GO!"
She yanked back on the throttle at full force. She jerked back in response, but kept her balance. She quickly peeled out and sped down the street. The first section was a long straight part, so she continued to tug on the throttle until she was at the maximum speed her bike could handle. The engine roared in pain. She stared straight ahead and followed the road perfectly. Soon, she was watching buildings fly by. She ran red light after red light. She was not concerned about traffic laws. She cleanly wove through perpendicular traffic as she concentrated on the road before her. Stay focused!
"The hell are you doing?!" a man in a truck yelled from his window.
"GRAAAUUUUUAGAGHH!" Tae screeched behind her.
She gritted her teeth as she sped onto a bridge crossing the mouth of the Matsuura river. Here comes the first turn! She started applying pressure to her brake. Gradually, she slowed to around 65 kilometers per hour and prepared herself to turn. She came to the end of the river and saw the toll booth. Time to drift! She leaned into a sharp right turn, her knee mere inches from the ground. She slid under the bar with ease. She straightened back up and immediately turned right. In the corner of the parking lot sat the entrance to the footbridge. She slowed down slightly so as to not overshoot, turned left, and popped a wheelie. Her bike's wheels gripped the stairs and she successfully shot up them. She landed and quickly turned into the direction the bridge ran. She picked up a little speed and looked ahead. At the end there was a hole in the fence covered up with caution tape. She clenched her teeth together. I've got to do what she did! She rode straight through the police tape and she and her bike fell to the street below.
"GRUUOOUHGH!"
She grabbed the police tape and threw it off of her. She twisted back her throttle again. I'm almost there! She took a slight turn and watched her right. There it is! She turned sharply into the parking garage and rode under the bar without even thinking about it. She quickly made turn after turn, climbing her way to the top of the structure. Finally, she reached the roof. She looked around. Huh? Where am I supposed to jump off? The only building next door is that one, but there's no exit! She rode in a circle around the top of the structure in a panic. What do I do? What do I do?
"Sakura! Over here!" Misa yelled.
Sakura looked over her shoulder at her boss, who was standing next to a large crack in the concrete wall.
"Do a wheelie and jump over the barrier with your bike!" She yelled.
"What?! Are you insane?!" she screamed as she completed another circle with Tae behind her.
"You're a zombie! You can do it!"
"Why on Earth would I be able to do that?!"
"Because Saki did it!"
She gasped and looked toward the crack in the barrier. That's what that is! She put on the most determined face she could muster. "I'm going to get them back!" she screamed. She leaned back on her bike and felt her weight shift. Her front wheel lifted off the ground. "Because… we are idols!"
Misa stepped out of the way.
"We… will save… SAGA!" she yelled triumphantly as her bike crashed into the barrier. She and the bike tumbled through the air. After what felt like an eternity, Sakura came crashing down on the roof next door. Her bike landed next to her. She stared down into the gravel roof she had faceplanted into.
"GRAOUGH!" Tae yelled as she did the same thing. She and her bike went flying through the air. Finally, she landed right on top of Sakura and her bike landed on top of hers. "Grahg!" After a moment, she stood up. "Ghakeuura!" She cheered.
Misa applauded the two of them. "Well done, Sakura! Excellent job, Tae!" She reached into her pocket and produced some fried squid. She tossed it onto the roof next door.
Tae leaped and caught it in the air. She landed in a squat and started chewing on it immediately.
"One minute, thirty four seconds," she said. "Not bad! You're ready!"
Sakura rolled over and looked up into the sky. She sighed a breath of relief. Tomorrow night is the night… The night I get them back!
