Chapter 13 – The newcomer
"So, is this story finally over? That misty demon thing is not coming back? The Dead Zone is safe? No unpleasant surprises ringing the doorbell and NOT planning to run away?" Haruka asked.
They were all sitting in the Capsule Corporation's main building's living room, drinking tea and watching TV. It was almost noon, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the sky was as blue as Bulma's eyes. It was hard to believe that only a couple of days ago that world had been in extreme danger.
"Never say never; but I believe that this story is really over now," Goku replied. "After all, Pegasus sent the demon back to where it belongs and the Dead Zone got fixed." He looked at Hotaru. "Any visions lately?"
"No. My mind got a lot stronger through that experience. It wouldn't be easy for it to try something like that the next time. Even if it was alive," Hotaru replied with a smile. She was that calm, pale, quiet girl again. Haruka and Michiru had really been happy when they noticed that. The petrified, unsure Hotaru had scared them, and the determined, cold-eyed Hotaru wasn't a lot better.
"Now there's only one little problem left," Michiru remarked. "We need to get back home."
"The Namekian Dragonballs are out of the question and ours still need about a week to regain their powers," Vegeta replied. "Unless you want to call that green-haired lady to get you home, you'll just have to wait here until then."
Haruka slowly shook her head. "Setsuna won't help us. She's broken enough rules for this century and when there's another way for us to go home, she won't bother risking her head and job like that."
Michiru snorted with laughter. "Actually she wouldn't risk with anything as there simply isn't anyone to fire her. It's a good thing that she takes her job so seriously but honestly – she stands above everything and everyone else."
"Not directly," Haruka corrected her. "She stands next to everything else."
"Can't this Pegasus take you home?" Trunks asked. The girls pondered that for a minute.
"I wouldn't risk with that. After all, he comes from the world of dreams. Who knows what might happen and where we might end up if something would happen to go wrong. Dreams are so unstable," Haruka said. Michiru smiled at her.
"Always with the realistic point of view, or what?"
"Hey, I think it's fully enough when one of us is an airhead," Haruka teased her.
Michiru grinned, put her empty tea cup on the table and stretched her arms. "Whoa, but it feels so great just having some time off! No demons, no nightmares, no pointless visions, no getting up early in the morning to go to work when it's raining cats and dogs outside. Just some good old RR."
"It's been a while since you last took some time off," Haruka nodded. "You're always pushing yourself too hard. Life is for enjoying, not for struggling through."
"It sure is your way of life, I'm not even gonna argue about that," the girl smiled. "But unlike you I have a few responsibilities. The bills for example."
Haruka frowned. "I always pay the bills, thank you!"
"And I always remind you," the other girl smirked.
Haruka suddenly hit her forehead. "Darnit, the bills must be piling up! We never meant to leave the house for such a long time. So the lights are probably on in most rooms, the TV is on, the front door was unlocked too…"
"Don't worry, I asked Setsuna to take care of that when I asked her for help the first time," Michiru smiled. Haruka grinned widely, leaned over and hugged her.
"What would I do without you?"
"Most likely everything you're doing now," Michiru replied with a frown but she couldn't help smiling with joy. Trunks scratched his head.
"But what if someone broke in before Setsuna got there?"
"I'd love to see someone trying that," Haruka replied with a grin. "We have a retired yakuza godfather right next door. And I get along with him quite fine."
"The bills must still have flooded the mailbox," Michiru frowned. "The last person I wanna see on a sunny Sunday morning is the policeman that came to kindly ask us to move out."
"First we need to get back home, then you can start worrying about the policemen," Hotaru reminded her. Haruka sighed, nodded and frowned.
"The Dragonballs still need a week so take your time," Bulma said with a smile. "We don't mind having you around, really."
Michiru nodded. "That's really nice of you but we still don't know what has happened while we were gone and well, you'll never know when some alien scum decides to arrive and take over the Earth."
"Amen to that," Goku nodded.
"Setsuna will surely come to warn us when something would happen out there," Haruka comforted her. "Right now, well, would someone pass the popcorn?"
"Say guys, where are the Dragonballs right now anyway?" Gohan suddenly asked.
"All… over the world, I'd say," Bulma slowly replied. "Drat, it looks like we're gonna have to go treasure hunting before we can send our new friends here back home."
"But can't we go now?" Michiru quickly asked. Bulma shook her head.
"The Dragon Radar doesn't work when the Dragonballs have no power. We must go in a week. It won't take a long time though, as this guy here," she nodded at her husband, "can circle the globe within minutes. Collecting the Dragonballs is a small problem."
"Fine then. A whole week without fighting demons." Haruka laughed and curled up on the sofa. "My guardian angel must be back in business."
"I wouldn't wanna be your guardian angel even if you paid me a million bucks," Trunks announced. "I saw you racing back when we were still on your planet. Sheesh, and I thought Dad was careless…!"
"Your dad would be just fine even if he'd happen to fall off a bike and hit his head against a tree when going 150 miles per hour," Michiru said with a frown. "Miss I'm-a-cool-rider here has just been extremely lucky."
"I missed the race last Saturday," Haruka said thoughtfully, "and it's a shame. There were a few newcomers. Now I don't know what happened to them."
"Are you really afraid that someone will take your number one position while you're gone for a couple of weeks?" Hotaru asked with a smile. Haruka shrugged.
"There's always a possibility. Besides, I like racing with newcomers. They're a challenge, they always give everything they got and they're all convinced that they will beat me. That way they ride better than the old doers who have already given up and struggle for the second position."
"It sounds like you're a really, really good bike rider," Bulma remarked.
"She is," Goku, Vegeta, Trunks and Goten replied at the same time. Bulma grinned.
"I'd love to see you in action, you know," she told Haruka, "and I bet you'd love to race with completely new challengers in a completely new environment where you would be a newcomer."
The girl's eyes narrowed. "What's your point?"
"The Western Capital's Sports League holds bike races every Thursday on the suburban tracks," Bulma said. "They're not very safe but they always attract many people. The league gets thousands of dollars only from betting and the prizes are, well, enormous. I have an old bike in the garage. Interested?"
A wide smile appeared on Haruka's face. "I have to see the bike first," she announced and so they all went to the garage.
The bike was indeed old but in a very good condition. Haruka spent most of the afternoon checking it and when she finished, she took it out for a little ride.
"I need to see the track before I go racing on it," she told Bulma. "Where's it located?"
The woman shook her head. "It's a private track. Nobody's allowed there except for the racers. But if you only want to check the bike then there are plenty of public tracks in the city."
Haruka nodded with a frown. "Let's go to the nearest."
"The Western Track, one of the most famous tracks in the city," Bulma introduced. "Before the League built that new track, this was the main racing road for bikes, cars, even horses once in a while. It's considered a killer, only the new track is said to be harder so if you can make it here, your chances of making it in the big race are HUGE."
"Fine, fine." Haruka put her helmet on. "Just wait for me here. I'll ride the track through." She started the bike, let it roar for a couple of seconds to listen to the sound and then, obviously satisfied with what she had heard, took off.
"And they're off! The race is in progress and bike number 54 is leading!" Trunks yelled.
"It will take her a little while before she gets here," Bulma said. "If I remember correctly then the track record is somewhere around 25 minutes. If she'll take less time then I'm really amazed. If it takes her longer then she may still win the race."
"All the track records in Tokyo are hers," Michiru said. "If she'll really take more than 25 minutes then she's probably gotten into an accident."
"You really believe in her, don't you?" Vegeta asked her. The girl nodded with a smile.
"I have good reasons to believe in her. At least when it comes to racing. You'll see what I mean soon enough."
They waited, keeping an eye on the watch. Eventually they heard the bike roar from the forest and Haruka stopped in front of them.
"I've seen worse tracks," she said, taking the dusty helmet off. "I do hope that this race track on Thursday is more challenging. But the bike is really good," she added with a smile. "Reminds me of my old Kawasaki."
Trunks and Goten had been staring at the watch the whole time. Now they looked up.
"18 minutes and seven seconds," Goten said slowly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 97th official Western Capital Sports League's Bike Race! The betting will be closed in fifteen minutes. The profits of today's race go to the League's newest project, the building of Western Capital's new baseball field. Please note that walking on the track before, during and after the race is strictly forbidden…" The loudspeaker went on and on as the inhabitants of Western Capital arrived on the huge field next to the track. The weather was good and even though there had been a slight shower on the previous day, Haruka had said that it wouldn't affect anything.
"Would you look at that, we seem to have gotten the best seats," Bulma said with a grin. "Those people in the ticket office were so nice."
"Yeah, and the fact that you're the owner of the planet's biggest industrial corporation had nothing to do with it," Trunks grinned.
"So far my dad's still the owner," Bulma corrected, "but yeah, as long as my parents are on the Papaya Islands on holiday, I'm responsible for the business. I'm gonna go betting."
"The favorites of the race?" The young man in the betting booth looked at some papers. "Racers number 14, 25 and 11 have the best results in previous races. Today is actually the first time they all race at the same time in one race. This will be very interesting."
Bulma smiled slightly. "What about black horses?"
More paper checking. "Today only racer number 7. Some girl from out of town. Nobody knows where she came from and if she has ever even raced before. Yeah, some people have placed a small bet on her, just out of curiosity. But against the best racers of the city... she simply doesn't stand a chance, whoever she may be."
"Well, I feel like spending some money today," Bulma replied with a smile. Haruka had the number 7. "Let's give the girl a chance, shall we? 200 dollars on racer number 7."
The young man blinked. "Uhm... sure thing, Madam."
Michiru laughed as she heard what the man had said. "It was years ago when Haruka was a black horse. In Japan she's the most famous motocross racer. She's considered undefeatable. Racing used to be a good challenge for her, but not any more. It's a good thing that she's a girl… that way there'll at least always be annoyed men that are sure they'll beat her."
"Today she'll get many new enemies," Goten grinned. He and Goku had come to see the race too as they both claimed that they wouldn't miss it for the world (and who cares about school or training anyway?). "How much do you win when she wins the race?"
Bulma shrugged. "I'm not sure but since three of the best racers of the city are here, there are more betters than ever. If Haruka really wins the race…"
"She will," Trunks claimed. "I've seen her race."
Bulma looked at her husband. "You know, Vegeta, you could make a nice living with racing. You could simply hold the bike and fly in front of everyone else and there'd be nobody to defeat you."
"I'm a fighter, not a racer," the prince of the Saiyans snorted. "And besides, it's mainly the control and not the speed that matters. Any idiot can buy a fancy bike and look good in the saddle but…"
"The bike doesn't ride without a rider," Goku said. "Her words."
Bulma nodded. The race was about to start so they all focused on the bikes. There were many. Almost thirty bikes, standing tightly next to each other, ready to start. The crowd calmed down and they could hear the birds singing in the forest nearby as they waited for the gunshot.
And the race started. Three bikes instantly took the leading positions as the rest stayed right behind them. The Saiyans looked at one of the bikes in front of the big bunch. Bike number seven.
"Seven's her lucky number," Hotaru said as the crowd started yelling and cheering. "In our solar system, Uranus is the seventh planet. Her planet. She will win the race."
"And this time she will really enjoy it," Goku added.