Dragster
It was many weeks after the incident with Zeus. Taki was almost fully recovered and Leon was almost over the fact that he let Taki go. However, Taki had once again managed to upset the detective. Count D's other daily visitor, Chris, had grown attached to Leon's nemesis. Today was a little different from the normal days at the pet shop where Leon and Taki exchanged insults until Leon had to leave for work and always managed to slam the door extra hard just before he left. Taki hadn't come to the shop for a few days and only Chris and D knew why (Chris never really understood why the Count told him not to tell Leon he knew of Taki's whereabouts).
Just then a soft knock was heard at the door and claws could be heard clicking on the concrete steps. Chris smiled and went to get the Count.
"She's back, Count" said Chris. D followed Chris out to the main room. Taki pushed open the unlocked door. The look in her eyes let D know she was happy to see him.
"How was the competition, Miss. Taki?" asked D
"It was great. I'm in the finals tomorrow. I might have to go against my father though" she sighed. "It could be hopeless for me if that happens"
"Why, Taki? I know you're good" Chris said.
"Well, my fathers' been the champion since I was a teenager and he's still good" Taki answered with a smile towards Chris's praise. She began to scramble through her things. She pulled out some pictures envelopes. "I got them developed a few hours ago" she said.
D, Chris, and all the animals began to crowd closer. "There's my dad's and there's mine" she said gesturing at some pictures. As usual, Leon managed to show up at the quietest moment and make the most amount of noise possible.
"What are you guys talking about?" Leon asked forcefully.
"Check out these pictures of Taki's dragster, big bro. See? Her dad has one, too! Aren't they cool?" said Chris knowing of Leon's love of cars but unknowing of the obvious resentment he'd have toward Taki's.
"You drag race, Taki?" said Leon with obvious disbelief in his voice.
"Yeah, the finals are tomorrow. Which brings me to another reason why I'm here, D, would you like to come with me?" she asked.
"Too late, Taki, he has to watch Chris, don't you D?" said Leon trying to get the Count to deny the request.
Taki just smiled mischievously. "That's alright. Chris, do you want to come, too?" she asked.
"Yeah! Can I, Leon?" pleaded Chris.
"No" Leon said angered.
"Aw, does Leon want to come? I'm also inviting you, Leon. You can come, too" Taki said
"I can?" Leon asked
"He can?" D asked.
"Of course, I can tell he likes the car, don't you Leon?" she said with a laugh.
When the morning came Leon, D and Chris were all waiting outside the pet shop for Taki. It was a bit cold, but Taki told them to dress for heat.
"Hopefully, it's hotter over there than it is over here!" Leon complained.
"Now, now detective, Taki won't be much longer and I'm sure she knows about the weather over there" D said in Taki's defense. In a matter of minutes, a massive white trailer pulled up with a white, roomy truck pulling it. Behind it was black, roomy truck pulling a giant black trailer. Taki stepped out. Leon noticed she was wearing something that looked like D's. Leon merely raised an eyebrow at it but decided to ignore it.
"Good morning everyone" said Taki obviously excited over what was going to happen later in the day.
"Yeah, easy for you to say, you didn't wait in the freezing cold" snapped Leon
"On the contrary, I did have to wait for my father and uncle" Taki answered annoyed. "Anyway, this is my father, Yuan" she continued pointing to a tall Chinese man with short black hair.
"Good morning, sir" said D slightly bowing.
"Uh...yeah, good morning" said Leon attempting to bow.
"This is my uncle. We call him Otis" Taki said pointing to a man much shorter than her father but with the same style hair and almost the exact same face. Leon and D did the same introduction they did with Taki's father. Taki told her father and uncle who the three were in Chinese.
"Good morning" they said politely. Taki let D, Leon and Chris into the trucks and they were on their way.
After about an hour of driving and the sound of Leon's complaining, they pulled into the race track area. Within minutes of arrival, the canopy was set up and people began to cook. Then, Yuan's dragster, the dragster almost everyone wanted to see was being taken out of the trailer. It was sleek and long. It was blue and fire orange. People gathered around and waited. D and Leon looked at each other curiously. Taki's dragster was next. It was red with a dragon's head painted on the topmost part of the dragster. White and black wolves lined the sides. One black streak lined both sides as well. The dragsters were mounted up on two red things that looked like miniature slides. People began to plug their ears as the drivers stepped into their race cars. Leon, Chris and D decided to do the same for they had a feeling they knew what was coming. With what looked like the push of a button, turn of a key, or flick of a switch, the cars roared to a start. The drivers tested a full run. Finally, the noise died down.
"My ears are ringing..." complained Leon. D tried to avoid laughing. Chris ignored the two and walked over to the cars. "Well, at least Chris is having fun" Leon said.
It was now the afternoon. Two runs were left. Yuan and Taki had made it to the semi-finals. It was not their turn to race yet, and since they were both so good, everyone knew what that meant. Taki and her father would race against each other in the finals.... It's what Taki had feared from the start, but she didn't let it bother her yet. Taki looked up from the dragster.
"D, do you want to get in?" she asked with a smile.
"Me? Miss Taki, I couldn't possibly..." was all D managed to say.
"That's alright, how about you, Leon?" Taki asked.
"What about me?" asked Chris.
"You can get in if you want. Just sit on Leon's lap. There's plenty of room for you" Taki answered. She led the two over to her car. She showed them both how to get in and let the two get comfortable. After a few minutes of showing the two the gears of the car, she finally showed them how to get out. After a bit of struggle the Leon and Chris managed to stumble out of the car.
"You should've done it, D. Who knew Taki could do that" Leon said trying to hide enthusiasm.
"You think I should've, detective? I wonder what Taki thinks of me now. I won't even go near the thing she seems to love" D sighed.
"Why do you care what she thinks, D. She obviously still likes you. She wasn't mad when you wouldn't do it" Leon said. "Oh, and another thing, is that your robe?" he asked.
"Why, yes it is" D said simply. Since Leon didn't know the story of Taki's stay in D's place, he automatically jumped to a conclusion that actually helped Taki and D somewhat. It finally clicked in Leon's mind, though some facts were wrong, that Taki and D were developing something new. Yet at the back of his mind, because of his secret friendship with D and obvious resentment of Taki, he hoped it still didn't click right.
Three o' clock came quickly. The final match was as prophesized: Taki vs. Yuan. The trucks were loaded and the dragsters were pulled into the staging lanes. The finals were about to begin. Taki was in her fire suit again. It was all black and her helmet was black with fire and a heart with wings and a crown of thorns on it that had "Ginger" written in the center. Only a few cars were left. Each were ready to compete for champion of their division.
A man familiar to Taki approached her. "So you're back. What made you decide to come to this race?" he asked. Taki smiled.
"It's been a long time since I rock and rolled" answered Taki simply and with a smile as she headed for her dragster.
Finally, Taki and Yuan's cars pulled up. The pre-stage light came on for both of them at the same time as did the full stage light. Then the light flashed in sort of a countdown. The top yellow light flashed, then the next one. As soon as the third one flashed, they were off. The cars flew down the lanes and the crowds waited for the lights on the scoreboards to flash to indicate the winner. The gigantic scoreboards on each side of the track for each competitor seemed to freeze momentarily. Finally the lights at the top of a scoreboard flashed. The victor of the race was Yuan.
The group met Taki and Yuan at the end of the track. They were both congratulated and they made their way to the winners circle. The crew got their picture taken with Yuan holding his trophy.
"He's so good" said Taki proudly.
"It's still too bad you lost though Taki. I wanted you to win" said Chris
"It's okay, he's much better than me anyway" she answered with a smile.
"Yes, he's truly remarkable, indeed" said D watching Yuan curiously.
At about an hour or more later, Taki got a call on her cellular phone. She went inside the trailer to talk because it was so loud outside. When she emerged she looked calm but by all means she wasn't.
"We have to go home" Trisha's house got burned and the cats need to be taken care of. Everyone looked around obviously a bit worried.
"Let's go everyone" said Yuan calmly. All was packed up quickly. The hurried out of the track and drove down the road. It was getting late and darkness begn to engulf the sky. The stars peeked out from the layer of darkness. All the while, Taki just wondered about the fire. Almost as if she knew about what started it....
To my reviewers:
To ERH: Thanks for the luck. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Yeah, Robert Plant's birthday is the best day in the world. Hopefully, that inspiration will strike and I'll see an update from you too.
To Sweet 'n' SASSY: I'm glad you liked my chapter. About the review coming out a lot of times, that's okay. It's happened to me before. Lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.
To MagicalGirl: I'm not the master, am I? Cool! Anyway, you aren't lame. I used your ideas in the story. I thought they were funny. I love your suggestions. In fact, the first suggestion you gave me will be seen in my Mexico chapter, which in fact is the next chapter. Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you like my work.
To Just a random reader: Yeah, you'll see fluffiness soon. I'm glad you're enjoying this and that this story isn't boring anyone. Lol. I have fulfilled your request for an update and I hope you liked it.
To Nobody-Special: Yeah, D's getting REALLY attached. Lol, I'm glad you're satisfied. I imagined Taki to be the girl who showed him the other part of the world and not just to the parts he's used to. Kind of like showing him the dark side of the moon if you will. Oh, and now I understand why you use the name Nobody-Special. I think it's cool too. Very creative and mysterious.
Note to everyone: There is a hidden song quote in my story. Whoever guesses right will get a special place in my heart. The next chapter is the Mexico chapter. So the next chapter is your chance to read what I've been so excited about writing and submitting. Until then, adios amigos!