It was a bright, sunny and cloudless Saturday morning as Haruka pulled up to the old racetrack. A number of garages were spread about the long oval track; full pit areas were available but rarely used. The older track had not seen a professional race in many years, but on weekends it was home to many amateur races.
Haruka stepped out of and locked her gray, 2004 Pontiac GTO. Though she loved her everyday car, today wasn't for driving around Vegas. Today it was time to indulge the speed demon in her, today was her day to forget traffic laws and speed limits. She grinned as she remembered the new car waiting for her in the garage.
"Haruka! Its all ready to go, we gave it a full once over yesterday just to make sure." Called out a young mechanic as he jogged over. He smiled at the woman, the teen extremely happy to mess with any of the cars in said garage.
"Thanks Billy." Haruka ruffled the teen's hair, ignoring the glare she received for it. They walked toward one of the garages that the track rented out to more serious customers. As they approached an older man appeared at the garage doors. He smiled at both.
"You bought a nice one this time, not the brand name I'd have chosen but not all Fords are a joke." He looked back toward the large doors, motioning for Billy to help open them up. "I think the extra money for the custom parts will help too."
As the doors pulled back they revealed a golden yellow, 2005 Ford Mustang GT. Haruka had taken a great deal of time picking a new car recently, selling her old one to a high school kid as his first car. When she chose a Ford Mustang her two mechanics, an old friend and his grand son, had laughed at the idea of using a Ford. The brand wasn't exactly the most popular anymore. However, the 2005 Mustang, with a few custom add-ons and some modifications from her two mechanics, seemed to serve Haruka's current purposes just right. It had, after all, been a Mustang she'd driven seven years ago.
Flash backHaruka stood beside her yellow Mustang, glancing around at the crowd. It was Friday afternoon, a race just waiting to start and she still hadn't spotted the object of her thoughts. With no time left to wait, she got into her car and drove to the starting line. This was a quick race; four laps around the old track would decide the winner. Six cars, all street racers, were arranged on the starting lines. Each driver was waiting for the signal to turn green.
Red, yellow, green. The cars all started forward, engines growling as they shot around the track at high speed. Haruka found her self stuck behind a green car, its driver seemingly cautious of the high speeds at which they raced. A glance at her speedometer showed them to be going about 80 miles an hour. She waited, careful not to get too close, until they reached a turn. When they reached the first turn the green car took it as tight as it could manage. Haruka, on the other hand, let her Mustang drift out and pass him on the out side.
People in the crowd winced as her Mustang grazed the wall, losing one side mirror and throwing sparks into the air. A yellow line could be seen on the wall where she had scraped it. Still, Haruka was past the cautious young man and headed for the four in the lead. Her speed quickly reached 100 miles per hour and she caught up to the rest of the pack. The second turn was more restrained, five cars trying not to run into each other on the pavement.
Carefully Haruka began to pull past the fourth car on the straight away, just beginning the second lap. She realized, wither or not the others did, that her tires and theirs were losing traction as they raced. Carefully she passed him, taking up position next to the third place car. Three laps to go, and they started the next turn. More sparks were seen as the car she just passed grazed the wall. This time the unlucky car started to have steering problems. Soon the driver slowed to a stop in the pit area.
The pits weren't really in use, so if for any reason someone needed to leave a race they drove there to get out of the way. Haruka glanced toward the right side of her car, thanking the fact that she only lost that mirror instead of a more important part. They pulled into another turn, nearing the end of the second lap. The third car slowed down, trying to avoid hitting Haruka, and she sped up a bit.
Now in third place Haruka started the third lap. She watched as the two cars in front of her tried to drag race each other toward the next turn. Always the one on the right would slow down just before the turn; the one on the left would keep his speed but pull inside as much as he could. She watched this through out the third lap, looking for an opening, waiting for a good chance.
Half way through the fourth lap she finally got her chance. The second car slowed, as it had been doing, and fell into line behind the other car. Before the two could pull out of this, however, Haruka shot past. She was half a car length in front of the two when they flew across the finish line. It took a full lap to slow back down to a normal speed. Coming back around and pulling off the track, Haruka parked next to an old garage.
"You won!" Yelled an older man as she got out of the car. He grinned at the 18-year-old woman. "Not that I was expecting anything less."
Before Haruka could reply a form bolted from the crowd forming near her car. The shorter brunet hugged her tightly while babbling about what a fast race that was. After a few minutes Jill finally calmed down enough to release her and step back. The blonde looked down at her 16 year old friend with a grin.
"I thought you weren't going to make it." She commented.
"I got here right before you hit the wall." Jill said her own grin died a bit and she turned a little pale as she remembered watching it. "That was pretty dangerous wasn't it?"
"Nothing to worry about." Haruka waved a hand dismissively and looked at her car. It was going to need a paint job and a new side mirror, maybe a new door. "Want to go for dinner?"
"If I didn't know better, Haruka, I'd think you were asking me out." Jill playfully pointed a finger at her taller friend. She looked up at her but Haruka looked completely serious.
"And if I were?" Haruka asked. Jill looked surprised and even after being friends for five months Haruka didn't know how she was going to answer.
"You want to go out with me? Like a date?" Jill asked, her expression a little cautious. Haruka nodded, trying not to look too nervous about the answer. Instead of an answer Jill hugged Haruka again, leaving the blonde blinking in surprise. She supposed she could take that as a yes.
End flash backAs the race finished Haruka pulled her Mustang up to the old garage, parking it just outside. She got out, and though she had won her smile wasn't as big as years ago. She closed the door and leaned against her car as different racers came by to speak to her. Most said a few words and left, or asked how much her car cost and if she was going to race again today. She watched the cars on the track, only drag races for pink slips or personal bets left today.
"Ten'ou!" Somebody yelled to her right. She looked over and saw one of her older friends. Thomas Coffel.
"Hey Thomas, what are you doing down here? I thought you gave up the races a few years ago." She grinned as she shook his hand. They leaned back against her Mustang and watched as another grudge match started on the track.
"Yeah, these kids aren't my speed anymore." Thomas smiled a bit and his eyes followed the lead car down the track. "Best thing that ever happened to me was that Nascar sponsor spotting our race."
"So why aren't you out with Jeff Gordon?" Haruka asked, her voice teasing. She looked back at her friend, his face seemed troubled.
"Listen, Tokyo Raider, I've been haunting the track for years. Now I'm a scout for one of the sponsors." He looked down at the ground, kicking at the concert with a sneaker. "Thing is, I owe you for all of it. I have a nice paycheck, shouldn't have to worry about money for a long time. My racing career was short, only worked as a test driver."
"What are you getting at Tom?" Haruka had to admit that this didn't sound good and alarm bells were sounding in her head. In fact the more he said the more she wanted to run.
"Look, I would never have gotten that job if you hadn't turned it down. You turning it down so you could make Jill happy made me the next choice." Thomas looked back up at his; their height put them eye-to-eye. He locked his brown eyes onto his friend's face. "Jill is up to something and I wanted to warn you. I wanted you to know before you found out in a worse way."
Haruka's reaction was so fast Thomas didn't see it coming. He found himself sprawled on the hood of her car, the loud thud attracting only mild attention that quickly died and Haruka had him pinned with one hand at his throat. She looked to be a mixture of angered and appalled.
"Give me one reason why I should believe you about this." Haruka said in a very dangerous tone. Thomas had seen this look on her face only once before and had no intend of landing the place that guy had. "One reason for me to think you aren't lying, and make it good."
"Haruka, I was your best man!" Thomas exclaimed, he noticed the hand lightened very marginally. He took a deep breath before he continued. "I know you love her and I would never lie to you about something like this."
Haruka slowly released the man's neck. He was right; he had no reason to lie. Still Haruka refused to believe his words, thinking he had to be mistaken.
"Listen, Haruka, if I'm wrong I'm sorry." He stood and looked her dead in the eyes. His face was set with determination as he regarded his friend. "But I'm not wrong, I'd never say something like this if I thought there was a chance I was wrong. I hear you've been working a regular job these days. One of these afternoons tell Jill you have to work late, come home early instead. You'll see with your own eyes."
Haruka didn't answer; she just watched his back as he walked away. A couple of minutes passed as she stood there, her heart and mind battling with each other. She tossed Billy the keys to the Mustang with out a word as he walked up, leaving the 16 year old to park it back in the garage. She walked over to her car, still unsure of what she was going to do, all she knew was that she wasn't going to do it tonight.
Thirty minutes later found the tall blonde outside Michiru's suite, starring blankly at the door. She raised her hand to knock and was surprised when the door opened before she could. She stopped her fist before it could knock on Michiru's forehead. After a moment more of silence the shorter woman sighed with exasperation and pulled Haruka inside. She pointed to the couch and walked off into another room.
When Michiru returned Haruka was sitting on the couch, Wind-Chaser curled up on her lap purring. The tall blonde was watching the TV but didn't seem to be seeing anything on the screen. She was so distant that she didn't notice Michiru until a set of sheet music was waved in front of her eyes.
"Oh, sorry." Haruka grabbed the notes and began to look them over. As she did she glanced now and then at the woman standing beside the couch. "Was Wind-chan any trouble?"
"No, your cat has perfect behavior, she even raises her hand before she goes to the litter box." Michiru stated, waiting for a reaction from the other.
"Oh, that's good. Didn't know she could do that." Haruka said, still distracted. Normally when she read piano music she could hear the notes in her mind, but tonight it seemed impossible to think straight.
"Ten'ou-san." Michiru got the blonde to look up as she sat next to her. "Cats don't have hands to raise. Are you okay?"
"Um, yeah I'm fine." Haruka replayed the past conversation, only now realizing the absurdity of what Michiru had said. She shook her head lightly to clear it. "I should get home."
"As long as you're sure you're okay, Haruka-san." Michiru spoke with concern as she walked her to the door. Wind followed along on the floor, happy not to be confined to the carrier. After the two left and the door was closed behind them Michiru glanced at the cat carrier in the corner, then she looked over at Triton. "They'll be okay, right?"
The gray GTO pulled into the drive way and Haruka turned the engine off. She rested her head on the steering wheel, Thomas' words echoing in her mind. She slightly banged her head against the wheel, just once, to make the thought go away. Jill would not do that, she wouldn't, and Haruka knew she wouldn't.
A meow made her look up at the passenger seat, where Wind sat watching her. The cat seemed to be showing concern for her master, though Haruka couldn't grantee that face didn't mean "I'm hungry, food now!" After all, she didn't speak cat. She reached over and rubbed Wind's head before opening the driver door. She grabbed her bag then waited for Wind to appear at her feet. The cat bolted from the car to her master's feet.
"Aren't you energetic tonight." Haruka commented as she walked to the door. She entered the house, Wind heading straight for the kitchen and called out to Jill. No answer, so she followed Wind. In the kitchen was a note, out with friends again. Haruka sighed as she broke out a frozen dinner and waited for the microwave.
She thought carefully, going over what had been said many times in her mind before she came to a decision. Finally she decided she'd do as Thomas had said. She would do it, but only to prove him wrong. He had to be wrong.
AN.
Hey guys. Okay first thank you to the reviewers. I love to get reviews and it keeps me going. Thank you to those who offered to beta, though at the moment I am testing myself. I am sorry if there are any glaring errors. I will be going back over the first four chapters this week and correcting them.
Also, thank you to those who reviewed more than once. If you could have seen my expression to get return reviewers, well I was extremely happy. I was tempted to call my best friend right then but it was about 4 am. I will try to put responses in the next chapter.
I will be posting another chapter this week. Chapter five is in two parts so this is part one. The other was ready first but I felt this part was needed to explain it.
And lastly, I am going to dedicate this to someone who hopefully will find that fact amusing. This story is dedicated to my friend Kura. She has listened to my babble about this, and every story idea, for about five years or more. She is normally my beta and encourages me to post some ideas I normally would be afraid to. We also call her Michiru and she tends to keep me sane. That said, good night folks, I need some sleep and to lay off the Pepsi.
I give credit to anyone who can figure out where I got Thomas' name for Haruka.