Heartaches

Chapter 61

By Kellyq

Yusei glanced over his shoulder to see Jean at his heels. Both competitors were skillful at what they did, but Jean was quick. His right hand pushed on the side of his handlebar slightly to the left to make a right hand turn around the sharp curb that was nearing them. Yusei did the same as he tried to be mindful about some of the loose rocks.

"They just have two more laps to go, and like I said before - Team 5Ds might advance! Let's hope that happens!" M.C said in a hopeful tone.

By this point Jean was torn between Yusei win or himself winning for the sake of Team Unicorn. Yusei, on the other hand, was concentrating on winning too. I just have to make sure that I stay focused. Martha and all the kids need a good future ahead of them, and I'm not going to let them down! Yusei thought. I just need to clear my mind, and get rid of any negative stress and think of all my friends who support me. Yusei closed his eyes for a brief moment and tuned everyone out except his friends. By now, everyone was silent and M.C thought that Yusei was gliding along the track ahead of Jean, like the wind.

"Yusei!" came Jack's voice.

Yusei's eyes snapped open and turned his attention to the pit stop to see Jack standing there. Jack ...? Yusei thought. Crow and Bruno turned to see Jack standing there, with Mina and Carly supporting him. Akiza made her way next to Crow to have a good look at what was going on.

Jack pulled away from Mina and Carly and limped a few feet with a determined look on his face. "Yusei! Whatever is holding you back! Let it go!"

"Jack's right, Yusei!" Akiza reassured. "We're here to support you! Now finish this!"

Yusei nodded willfully and went back to paying attention to the race. The crowd by now was cheering, and the twins were yelling for Yusei to 'kick Jean's ass'. Breo glanced at Jean before he turned his attention to Andore.

"Why do you think Jean's hesitating?" Breo asked his red-haired teammate. "Do you think it's something that Yusei had said before their race?"

"I don't think he's hesitating. Jean's doing this because he wants to fight for something - he pointed that out when I first met him after my race with some guy who was weaker than me ... 'fighting for something is more rewarding than fighting for yourself'. Now I know what he means by that." Andore smiled casually as he watched the two competitors race.

Breo looked at the race to see that Jean was having trouble with choosing what to do. Fighting for something? Breo thought looking back at Andore. Jean increased his speed to have a better look at Yusei's face. Jean could tell that Yusei had blocked out all distractions.

"Then he needs a little reassuring, so he knows that we're with him all the way!" Breo said, snapping Andore out of his thoughts. Breo grabbed a piece of large notebook paper and a green pen. He scribbled something on it and held it out. In big green letters, Breo wrote: Go! Jean! Jean's eyes widened for a moment when he saw it. "Go, babe! Show that toots what Team Unicorn is all about, whether you win or lose, we're still Team Unicorn!" Breo hollered in a confident tone, with a determined look on his face. By now the crowd was cheering for both competitors.

Jean nodded his head slowly as he went back to concentrating. "Let's finish this!" Jean hollered, feeling his confidence soar.

"Agreed!"

They both revved up their engines and went around the last lap of the race. M.C watched closely, when suddenly Jean's motorcycle started to overheat. Carbon monoxide sputtered out, forming all around him, making it hard for Jean to see.

"Oh my word!" M.C panicked, trying to see if Jean was okay. "This isn't looking good folks!"

Yusei glanced over his shoulder and concern flashed through his face. No! Yusei thought, shaking his head quickly, I hope he's alright! But I don't have time to worry about that, I have to finish the race or we'll be kicked out of the race all together! M.C watched closely, hoping that Jean was okay. After two minutes of swerving in and out of the racetrack, the dust and Carbon monoxide cleared. Jean noticed that Yusei's motorcycle drove over the finish line.

"The winner is our Shooting Star – Yusei Fudo!" M.C hollered, with joy. The crowd cheered for Yusei as Jean managed to drive over the finish line.

Crow, Mina, Carly, Akiza, and Jack made their way over to Yusei. Rally, Leo, and Luna clamored down the bleachers to congratulate Yusei on his victory. The twins were the first to reach Yusei as he took off his helmet. Rally went to the other side of the motorcycle to hug Yusei and kiss him on the cheek.

Yusei smiled before he glanced over at Jack. "How are you feeling, Jack? Are you okay?"

"Seeing you win helped with my pain ... but you were great out there."

Again, Yusei smiled until movement caught the corner of his eye. He turned to see Jean walking up, and he didn't look thrilled. Rally pulled back as Yusei got off his motorcycle. "Jean ..." Yusei paused for a moment, he was about to ask if he was alright, but he decided against it.

"I poured everything into getting us here," Jean explained, feeling rather embarrassed that he lost in front of his teammates. "I wanted to beat you, but this isn't Team Unicorn's defeat. It's mine, Yusei."

"We didn't lose anything, Jean," came Andore's voice from behind. Jean turned to see his two teammates walk up casually. "And I'm not going to let you take the blame."

"But I lost! I was stupid, careless and threw all our efforts away!" Jean pointed out.

"What are you talking about? You were amazing out there, babe!" Breo complimented. He had a proud look on his face. "And I'm proud to be your teammate!"

"Are you serious right now?" Jean asked Breo, shocked and confused.

Andore shook his head casually. "You're normally cold and calculating, Jean," Andore said referring to how Jean would treat his opponents, "but you had compassion this time. It was great."

Jean was touched by his teammate's words. "Well I ..." he paused and smiled as turned to face Yusei. "I guess there's something good that turned out with all this, considering I never raced someone with your level of riding and understanding," Jean said, referring to how Yusei knew how Jean felt about his teammates. "What I'm trying to say is that you can bring people's strength and passion out and that's a new feeling for me."

"You definitely know how to do that, don't ya, babe," Breo said to Yusei, winking at him.

"Un .. thanks, Breo," Yusei said, still trying to get used to being around someone who spoke so bluntly.

"We should be thanking you, Yusei," Jean said, with a respectful look on his face. "This race is going to change how Team Unicorn does things, and for the better."

Yusei smiled. "Same goes for us. You guys showed us what teamwork means and we're thankful for that."

"How about we keep winning our races, and you guys keeping wining yours, so we can race again!" Jean suggested.

"Sure!" Yusei agreed, ready to shake Jean's hand. "That would be awesome!"

Jean nodded head and shook Yusei's hand. "Let's go all the way, my friend!"

Andore and Breo chuckled as they stepped up and placed their hands on top of Yusei's and Jean's. Soon, Jack, Crow, and Bruno placed their hands on top of Breo's and Andore's.

"Then it's settled -" Yusei spoke up.

"Let's all met at the finals!" The two teams declared.

The crowd cheered for both teams, but the one thing that they didn't realize that Team Catastrophe was watching from the shadows.

To Be Continued ...