Chapter 5: Close To Kissing, Close To Death
Haruka ran for her life, knowing that if she was too slow, she would end up under the tires of the car that chased her. Her eyes fell on the almost three meter high wall that surrounded the race track, and a short flash of memory came up in front of her inner eye. "Right and left leg muscles were replaced…" "Does that mean that I can jump higher now too?" the blonde wondered, when she realized one thing that should be prove enough: she was able to run away from a car that drove on high speed, so it probably wasn't a problem to jump over the wall. Pulling in a deep breath, Haruka sped off towards the wall, the car still chasing her and becoming faster. Slowly, the blonde approached the wall, and she pulled in one more deep breath before she flexed the muscles in her legs and jumped.
"Whooaaa!" Haruka cried out while sailing over the wall, almost two meters between her feet and the capstone. She could hear how the car came to a screeching halt; the driver was probably shocked to no end now, after he had to see how his supposed victim jumped over the high wall. Then, Haruka hit the ground with unbelievable force, rolled a few meters and finally stopped, lying in the grass motionless.
"Haruka…Haruka, wake up!" The sweet, melodic voice reached Harukas ears, traveled on to her brain and finally made her open her eyes. "Huh…?" the blonde groaned, but let out a shocked little squeal when two concerned blue eyes looked back at her. "Hey, calm down. It's me, Michiru." The aqua haired owner of the eyes quickly spoke, causing Haruka to let out a relieved sigh. "What happened to you?" Michiru asked concerned, helping the groggy blonde to sit up and holding her. "I had a fight with my father…" Haruka explained, rubbing her hurting ankles while she did, "and so I drove here to relief my stress…and suddenly some maniac in a car started to chase me, and so I…" the blonde trailed off, realizing that she couldn't tell Michiru about her jumping over the wall. "And so you what?" the aqua haired girl now asked, frowning. "…climbed over the wall, then slipped on the top if it and fell." Haruka explained lamely, hoping that Michiru would buy that. Before the aqua haired had a chance to question Harukas story though, the blonde quickly asked: "What are you doing here anyway?" Michiru blushed heavily, looking to the side. "Well…I hoped that I would catch you on the racetrack, but the stupid guard at the front gate wouldn't let me in…so I wanted to walk around that wall to find a back entrance, and that was when I saw you lying here." "I see." Haruka replied, smirking. Michiru blushed even deeper and didn't dare to look at the blonde, until she felt how someone gently took her hand. Surprised, Michiru looked up, finding herself staring into Harukas eyes. Sparks flew, and slowly, the two moved closer to each other, just about to kiss…when a male voice interrupted them. "Hey, Tenoh!" Both Haruka and Michiru flinched, Haruka silently letting out a curse. She had been *this* close to kissing Michiru, and that idiot had interrupted it all…Sighing, the blonde turned to look, only to find herself staring into Kaketo's not-too-handsome face. "What's up, Kaketo?" she finally asked, suppressing the urgent need to punch the racer into the face for keeping her from kissing Michiru. "What are you doing out here? I thought that you are at the track?" Haruka just shrugged it off and stood up, pulling Michiru with her in the process, since the two women still were holding hands. The aqua haired girl refused to let go of her, much to the blondes happiness, and of course Kaketo had to notice. "Aww, got yourself a new girlfriend?" he asked, envy in his voice. Both Haruka and Michiru blushed heavily, and Haruka shook her head. "No…she's not my girlfriend." Michiru looked down to her feet for one second before her eyes came up again and she forced herself to smile. "Nope, I'm not her girlfriend." Kaketo smiled. "Too bad, the two of you would make a great match, I think…anyway, Tenoh, I wanted to ask something else." "Spill it." Haruka replied, letting go of Michirus hand in the process and crossing her arms over her chest, much to the aqua haired girls discomfort. "We have a new rally car, want to test it out?" Kaketo now asked, grinning. "I already drove it, it totally rocks!" Haruka smiled and looked at Michiru. "Want to drive with me, Michiru?" Michiru nearly jumped with joy. "Of course, Haruka!" Harukas smile widened, and she took Michirus hand again. "Come with me, then." The two of them walked off, leaving Kaketo behind with a slightly worried expression on his face.
Haruka started the engine of the car, revving it. Next to her, Michiru started to beam at the sound and looked at Haruka, grinning from ear to ear. "Ready to go?" the blonde asked, and Michiru nodded, putting her seatbelt on. Haruka stepped down on the gas pedal again, and the car sped off, racing over the track at tremendous speed. Then, the first curve came, and Haruka stepped down on the brake. Nothing happened. Harukas eyes widened with shock, and she stepped down on the brake pedal harder, again with no avail. Next to her, Michiru started to panic, and then the aqua haired girl screamed when the car approached the wall at tremendous speed.