Chapter 2: Dreams, Baths, and Races

The dull buzz of the alarm clock signaled that it was seven o' clock A.M. Haruka's dark eyes opened, shimmering with excitement. Her pale lips spread into a wide smile, revealing white teeth, and she rose up, smacking her alarm to silence it. Today was the day she'd been looking forward to for a week. It was race day. She'd show them all how good she was. She was confident of her win for sure. After this, the semi-finals would be scheduled, then the finals… If she won in the finals… She'd be considered pro!

She was uncharacteristically giddy with excitement, the thought of proving that girls can race just as good, if not better, than boys do.

Fumbling her way out of her bed, she padded across the room in her plaid pajama shorts and black tank top toward the door across from her where her bathroom was. On the way she made a pit stop at her dresser and grabbed out some clean underwear, her racing clothes, and a towel.

She entered the sparkling white bathroom and shut the door behind her. She eyed the other bathroom door, the one that led to the guest room, somewhat suspiciously, but when no movement came from it, she shrugged and set her stuff upon the counter. She slipped out of her pajamas and underwear, turned on the shower as hot as it would go (the only way she'd have it), and hopped inside, pulling the curtain shut behind her.

-

In the guest bedroom, Seiya's body tossed and turned violently in his sleep. He clutched to his pillow for dear life, teeth gritted, eyes squinted shut. Sweat beaded his forehead and dampened his hair. This nightmare…

"NO!" Sailor Starfighter cried. Everything was tinted red, and she could sense destruction; she could smell it in the air. Usagi, Taiki, Yaten, and Kakyuu were there, but they were quickly vanishing from sight. Starfighter tried desperately to catch up with them, but they just got farther and farther away. A scream behind her forced her to turn around, and she watched in horror as a shadowed figure was blasted in the heart by the hand of another shadowed figure. Starfighter tried to focus her eyes as best as she could, fear freezing her in her spot. Suddenly, a deep blue crystal glimmering with light erupted from the chest of the silhouette. The light almost blinded her. Dark hands reached for it. The darkness consumed it, and it consumed her as well.

Seiya shouted, eyes flying open. He pulled himself into a sitting position, gasping for air. His sweat-dampened hair tumbled over his shoulders. At realization that it was a dream, he calmed down, sighing in relief.

Seiya wiped his forehead clean with his arm and turned so his feet touched the floor on the side of the bed. He started to stand up, but when he did so, his knees buckled, and he crashed to the floor. His vision blurred, and his heartbeat returned to ringing in his ears, this time louder and more rapidly. His breathing became labored as his perspiration soaked the carpet. After a few minutes that felt like hours, it subsided.

He got to his feet, shivering. He leaned against the wall for support and ran a hand through his wet bangs. He felt incredibly weak. His mouth was parched. "I need… water…" He knew he'd feel better once he pumped some liquids into himself. He opened the bathroom door and stumbled inside.

What was that? Haruka wondered, pausing in the middle of washing her hair.

Seiya ran to the sink and turned it on, leaning over it. After staring at the clear liquid for a moment, he scoop up some of it into his hand and slurped it up. It made his stomach churn, but he ignored it.

Curiosity overcame her, and Haruka pushed back the curtain slightly to peek out.

"SEIYA!" She shouted, partly of horror, partly of anger.

Seiya looked up in shock. "Ah… Haruka…"

"GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!" She screamed.

He found the strength in him to start running. "I was just getting some water!" He explained.

"Get it downstairs, idiot!" She yelled, throwing a shampoo bottle at him. Seiya managed to slam the door shut before it hit him.

"Oh, man…" He laid down on the floor and sighed. "Wow… can I just crawl back into bed and pretend that embarrassing moment didn't happen?" He chuckled.

His laughing subsided suddenly, replaced with a abrupt gasp for air.

Haruka stood in the shower, using her arms to cover her chest even though he hadn't seen anything. Her cheeks burned with her embarrassment. "That is IT!" She shouted, gritting her teeth. After turning off the faucet, she grabbed her robe off the hanger next to the shower and stomped toward Seiya's bedroom door.

The door swung open and banged against the other side of the wall. Haruka gathered up the collar of Seiya's black t-shirt, lifted him up, and slammed him against the wall. "How DARE you? Haven't you ever heard of knocking? Is it not a custom on your planet?"

He didn't hear a word she said. His heartbeat banged against the walls inside his head. If this wasn't bad enough, this time searing pain was burning through his muscles and veins. His right hand twitched involuntarily. His vision swirled, and the colors became disoriented.

"Do you understand!" She shouted, snapping him out of his stupor.

"Y-Yes," He barely managed to get out, nodding slightly.

"Good," She said, dropping him and returning to the bathroom for her shower. Before shutting the door, she warned. "If I see you sneaking in here again, it'll be your head."

Seiya left his room in search of more water.

-

Seiya poured himself a second glass of a rather large glass of orange juice and downed half of it. He was the only one sitting at the table since everyone else had already eaten. Hotaru was washing the dishes.

He dumped some cereal into a bowl of milk and began munching on it when Haruka entered the kitchen, still looking steamed but not quite as much. She was wearing a blue racing outfit with her new blue helmet under her arm.

"You look lovely this morning," She said sarcastically as she sat down across from him and placed the helmet on the table. She poured her own bowl of cereal.

"Shut up," He replied bitterly. Just because he was still in his red pajama pants and black t-shirt, there was no reason to batter him about it. He shoved a strand of damp, messy hair out of his face.

"I want you to know that from now on, you get up earlier than that. If everyone else in the house can crawl their butts out of bed and get ready, then you can to. I expect to see you out of bed by eight tomorrow and in your day clothes by nine, understood?" She asked, her voice calm.

"Whatever," He responded. "I'm gonna go take a bath." He gulped down the last of the milk in his bowl and dropped his used dishes into the sink. "I'll do your bidding, your majesty." She grumbled and continued to eat.

-

"On your mark… get set…" The announcer's voice rang out over the crowds. A gunshot echoed into the air, and several motorcycles took off around the track.

Seiya had been dragged along by the other outer senshi to see the race, and though he was all but looking forward to it at first, he was actually impressed with the performance. Even so, he still felt a bit uncomfortable around the crowd, even with his red hoody on, hood up, and sunglasses.

"Wow!" He exclaimed, watching Haruka's bike speed by. "She's pretty good… In fact, she's really good!"

"Haruka is the best racer ever," Hotaru said, smiling. "She always wins."

"I believe it," Seiya replied, smiling with excitement. "She's so fast! It's making my adrenaline run just looking at her."

Haruka had taken a large lead in the race, and she even slowed down enough to wave to the crowd as she passed.

Seiya froze as a pulse ran through his body. "I sense an evil presence here…" He mumbled, turning away from the track.

"What was that, Seiya?" Setsuna asked.

"Ah… I said I needed to go to the bathroom. I'll be back!" He waved and zoomed away into the crowd.

He reached the edge of the crowd with little difficulty. His eyes shifted from the left to the right, left to right, and then to the dead center. There was no sign of anyone suspicious. Okay… Where are you? He wondered. A sudden spasm of pain shot through his body the way it had earlier that morning. He felt like he was going to pass out. He could feel himself falling, falling, falling…

"Seiya!"

"Huh?" He snapped out of his trance, taking in a deep breath. He managed to regain his balance and turned to face sweetly-smiling Hotaru. "Oh… Hotaru…" He breathed.

"Seiya! Haruka won! She won just like we knew she would!" She cheered, giddy with excitement.

"O-oh, really?" He asked, trying to look strong though his voice and eyes portrayed weakness. "That's great… We should go congratulate her, ne?"

"Yes, let's go," Hotaru said, tugging his sleeve.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," He told her, taking her hand and letting her pull him in the direction of Haruka. The both passed a woman with long violet hair and dressed in all black. Time froze.

So, it's you, His mind said, his blue eyes glancing in her direction.

Looks as if you've caught me. The question is if I wanted to be caught or not. What do you think, Sailor Starfighter? The woman replied through mind connection.

What! How did you…He asked frantically, eyes widening.

Time started again, and Hotaru had dragged him away before he could even attempt to yell at the woman. She had disappeared into the shadows as if she had never been there at all.