Chapter 7 – And the race begins!

The next morning Hotaru seemed rather quiet and concerned at the breakfast table. The others were silent for a while, but then Michiru asked the girl what the problem was.

"I had another vision," Hotaru replied. "This time only one word. "Tomorrow.""

"Maybe you'll hear something more tonight," Goku said. "Like the place or the exact time. Or who this is who's supposed to come."

"Maybe," Hotaru agreed quietly, "but I don't like those visions. They're painful…"

Haruka patted her head and stood up. "I feel sorry for you but thanks to you, we may be able to prevent something very bad from happening."

"But why does it warn before coming?" Trunks asked.

Haruka shrugged. "To get attention? To give us wrong directions so that we wouldn't be in its way? Who knows? I'll be going now; I have to be on the track in two hours."

"What track?" Trunks and Goten asked with surprise.

"She has a motocross race today," Michiru explained as Haruka left the kitchen.

Both kids blinked. "Really? Cool! Can we go and watch the race? Please?"

Michiru smiled slightly. "Actually this isn't a bad idea. It's been a while since I last saw one of her races. We could all go, what do you guys think?"

Haruka stuck her head into the kitchen again. "Would you look at that, I guess I'll have to thank you Saiyans. It's been ages since Michiru last came to see one of my races; she says that I'd win one way or another."

"And you always do," Michiru grinned.

"That's not the point," the other girl snarled. "I'll go now, you know the train departure times and all." The door slammed shut as she left the house.

Two hours later Michiru, Hotaru and the four Saiyans were standing by the race track. The race was about to start and people were chatting excitedly.

"I bet Masanuro wins that race today," one man stated. "He's in a very good shape today and I've heard that he's testing some new sort of fuel which is supposed to be a hit."

"Yeah, but he has been losing his touch lately," another man claimed thoughtfully. "I think he's already getting too old for that kind of sports. Besides, that new guy Yusuke, he has had a few very good races as I remember. Where did he come from, Yokohama…? Anyway, I heard that he was the best one in his hometown."

A third man laughed loudly. "What are you, living in a fantasy world? That Tenou-girl has won each and every race this year and probably keeps winning. She's the kind of type that breaks a leg during the race and still keeps going. A tough one, indeed. Why those other contestants even bother to race while she's around, I still haven't gotten that."

The first man gave him an unpleasant grin. "That insolent lassie won't win today."

Michiru's eyes narrowed and she turned her head a bit.

"What makes you say that?" the other men asked.

The guy grinned again. "Do you know what happens when you pour sugar into a motorbike's gas tank? It won't do good for the bike, that's one thing for sure."

Trunks gave a quiet grunt. "Why I oughtta…" Michiru held her back and clicked a button on her communication watch. "Excuse me a moment, will you…?" She left towards the hot dog booths where weren't many people. In a few moments she returned, with a smile on her face.

"Everything's fine…?" Goku asked.

Michiru nodded. "She can't be underestimated. I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of the guy who's responsible for the sabotage…"

"The race is about to start!" Goten shouted.

The loudspeakers rattled a little. "Attention ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today's motocross race. Please stay away from the track, it's very dangerous and may disturb the racers. The contestants are ready, as I see. Well then, let's begin the race!"

And the race started with a loud gunshot. Around ten dirt bikes rushed down the bumpy and muddy track, side by side. After a few hundred yards, one of the bikes was ahead of the others. It was a blue-and-yellow striped Kawasaki bike.

Michiru nodded with a smile. "Like I said."

Goten and Trunks were hopping up and down excitedly. "She's leading! She's leading!"

"What the hell?" they heard the man from before asking quietly. "How could she even start the bike?"

"She's not giving her best yet," Vegeta remarked as the contestants passed the tribunes. "It's obvious that she's holding the bike back. What for?"

Michiru shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't want to race alone, in front of everyone else… maybe she just likes to tease the others. I'd go for the second version."

"How long is the track?" Goku asked.

"Quite a long one." Michiru pointed to a huge screen next to the tribunes. "It goes through the forest. They have cameras attached to the trees so that we'd be able to see the race in progress. Look, there they come now."

The yellow and blue Kawasaki was still leading. Slightly, but keeping a clear distance. The rider was wearing a helmet but as she passed the camera the people on the tribunes could see her eyes behind the visor for just one second. These were the eyes of a winner. Confident and calm.

"This race is quite boring," Vegeta remarked as nearly half of the race was over. "It's obvious that she'll win."

Michiru grinned and nodded. "That's why I never go to any of her races even when I have the time for it. She always wins. Once she drove out of the road and hit a tree; people said that it was sabotage but they never proved anything; but she got back to the track, caught up with the others and won anyway."

"She's cool!" Trunks stated.

"She's just a very bad loser," Hotaru remarked. "That's why she prefers to be good at everything she does."

"And she's cool," Trunks replied.

 Finally the audience could see the contestants ride out from the forest and aim towards the finish line. Haruka was still ahead but now the distance between her and all the other bikes was increasing. The finish line came closer… and closer… and suddenly the yellow and blue bike gave a loud roar and dashed forward. It left all the other bikes far behind and raced over the finish line at least fifty feet before everyone else.

Trunks and Goten went almost crazy because of the enthusiasm. "She won! She won!!!" they screamed loudly and hugged each other. "Wheeeee!"

"Wow, surprise," Vegeta remarked as Michiru nodded. "Good racing though."

"Let's go see her," Goku suggested and leaped over the fence.

Haruka was sitting on her bike next to the track with a very annoyed look on her face as the others finally got to her. The other racers had finished as well and were now taking off their helmets, checking their bikes and glaring at the winner.

"Well done, as usually," Michiru said, coming up to her. Haruka gave her a smile and pulled her hand through the hair.

"Not exactly intense," she replied. "People are losing hope. They're not even fighting any more. They see me leading and they're not even trying to pass me. They struggle for the runner-up position instead. Pathetic…"

"They don't have much chance against you anyway," Goten said with admiration.

"For me, motocross is not for winning but for racing itself," the girl grunted. "For fighting. These guys are not even trying; and they're supposed to be the elite of Japan's motocross racers."

"Listen here, you girl." Everyone turned their heads to see a tall, stout man in his mid-40s with a very unfriendly look on his face.

Haruka's face showed no expression at all. "Masanuro…?"

"I've had it with you!" the man stated, stepping up to her and glaring right into her face. "Who do you think you are anyway? You think you're such a big star in the motocross world, eh? Wrong! I'll tell you who you are! You're a little girl who's trying to belong somewhere she doesn't belong. You may have that fancy bike that can overtake all the rest of us but do you think that makes you better than everyone else?"

Haruka smirked slightly. "Oh, should I cry and run away now? I've heard speeches like that ever since I started as a motocross racer and that was quite a few years ago. Let me tell you one thing, Masanuro. It's not about having a fancy bike." Haruka's Kawasaki bike chose that same moment to lose a little screw which fell on the asphalt and gave a quiet clink. "Any idiot can buy an expensive bike and look pretty in the saddle. But the bike doesn't ride without a rider. If you want to win the race, you have to fight for it. You have to have the soul for it. You used to be the champion of Japan. What happened? Did the big bad me come and steal your precious little first place?"

"You make me sick," Masanuro hissed furiously. "Listen kid, if you don't come to your senses and start acting like a girl of your age should then some day, maybe some day, that precious little bike of yours just might get into some nasty accident."

"Now you listen, buddy." Vegeta stepped forward and grabbed Masanuro's throat. The man's eyes turned big as he felt the prince's steel hard fingers slowly closing his breathing. "You're the one that's making others sick here. She won that damn race because she's better than you pathetic bunch of intriguers, got that? She's the one that's better than the rest of you. She fights for what she has accomplished. Oh right, you fight too. With what? Sugar in gas tanks? You're pathetic!" He threw Masanuro on the ground. "Get off my face."

"Now that we got that settled, can we go home?" Haruka asked with a grin. "I'm kinda hungry."

"Got the prize and all?" Michiru asked.

Haruka nodded and showed her a check. "100 000 yens. Not bad. Now we can pay that heating bill we've had for three months."

"Because you were too lazy to go and pay that bill," Michiru retorted. Haruka laughed and stood up. "Let's go."

"Excuse me, Miss Tenou." A woman with a microphone rushed closer, with a photographer right behind him. "Sora Mayami, Tokyo's Daily News. Would you be interested in giving us a small interview?"

"Make it fast," Haruka frowned.

"You've won 47 motocross races this year and haven't lost a single one. How do you explain that amazing success?" the woman asked, sticking the microphone under Haruka's nose.

"Just good racing skills," the girl replied laconically. "Racing isn't difficult when you put your soul into it. Just sitting in the saddle and giving gas isn't enough."

"How do you prepare for races?" the reporter asked.

"I don't. I just check my bike and go behind the starting line. I have no lucky charms, if that's what you mean…"

"And how do you find time for all of your hobbies? As most people know, you're also a very talented piano player."

"I have plenty of time. Let's go guys." Haruka took her bike and went towards the exit. The others followed her.