Disclaimer: I don't own the DCMK characters

Racing Dreams

Part 4

The acres upon acres of sprawling wilderness that housed the forty seven race tracks upon which the Red Diamond was held lay in swaths of deep, green canopies and jagged, rocky peaks. At the heart of the region stood a thriving city separated from the surrounding wilderness by a glittering band of water. The city had been built on an island in the middle of the largest lake in the area. Over the decades, the borders of the settlement had grown out into the lake itself, forming manmade islands linked to the main city by an intricate latticework of bridges. It was an amazing sight made all the more striking by the vast, untamable landscape in which it sat; a jewel of order set amidst the chaotic beauty of the natural world, mutually enhancing each other's majesty and presence.

"It's amazing," Shinichi breathed out in awe as he stood before one of the floor-to-ceiling windows in their hotel suite. They had been lucky and landed a spot on the top floor of one of the tallest hotels in the city. "It feels like we can see the whole world from up here!"

Kaito chuckled, smiling fondly at the wonder on his companion's face. He'd almost forgotten that this would be Shinichi's first time laying eyes on the splendor of this place. "It is quite the breathtaking view. If you'd like, we can take the hover racer out for our own nature tour."

"I'd like that," Shinichi said, smiling wistfully. "But we don't have time for that." Giving the view one last, reverent look, he turned away and moved to sit on the closer of the common room's two couches. His expression settled back into the serious, slight frown that he usually wore while thinking. "According to the schedule they gave us, our first race is in three days. To pass the preliminaries, we need to place in the top three for at least seven of the ten preliminary races."

"Just the top three? Huh. I was expecting a single elimination type thing. It would've whittled the numbers a lot faster so we could get to the main event."

"But they don't seed for these competitions. That means that you could have all your best teams knocked out in one preliminary race if worst came to worst."

"That's true. They can't put on a good show if that happened. In the end, it all comes down to the show." Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Kaito made a slow circuit of the common room, examining every corner. The suite was nice and clean, with plush carpets and soft couches all in comfortable shades of ivory and brown with strips of green here and there to add a more natural ambience. They even had their own little kitchenette and two small bedrooms. It was great as far as accommodations went, but Kaito couldn't help a tiny amount of disappointment that that meant he and Shinichi would be sleeping in separate rooms. It made him miss that rundown inn they had stayed one night in on their way here where the only room left had been meant for couples. He'd had to argue with Shinichi a bit, but they had indeed ended up sharing the bed for the night. Though Shinichi had insisted on separate blankets, Kaito still remembered the night with a certain amount of glee. Shinichi was a heavy sleeper, he'd learned. And therefore he hadn't complained when Kaito had put his arms around him in the middle of the night. So Kaito had gotten to spend the night holding the love of his life. HE really felt like he was making progress. Shinichi had started agreeing more often when Kaito asked him out, and though he blushed madly at any sign of physical contact, he also didn't object too vehemently when Kaito put an arm around him or sat too close.

"So what happens after the prelims?" he asked, beginning to open up and inspect the contents of the fridge and the cabinets.

"Well, it says that we'll be going straight from the preliminaries to the semifinals. For the semifinals, each team will be required to participate in twenty races. We won't know which race we're in until one hour before the race is set to start, so we will have to be prepared to go at all times. Every race will have its own additional stipulations that we will also have to be ready to adapt to. Teams who cannot make the necessary adaptations in time or who arrive late to the starting line will be automatically disqualified and listed as last place in that respective race."

"Whoo, now those are some strict rules. Do the semifinals also work on a point system?"

"Yes. Depending on which place you get, you will earn a certain number of points. By the end of the semifinals, the ten teems with the highest accumulated score will move on to the finals."

"Nice and straight forward. We're going to the top, Shin-chan!"

Shinichi blinked. "What?"

"I said we're going to the top."

"No, I mean the other bit. What did you call me?"

Kaito thought back. "Oh. You mean Shin-chan?"

"That's…not my name."

The pilot laughed. "I know that. But it suits you. It's cute. You don't mind, do you?"

Shinichi turned pink, spluttering out a protest, but he could already tell that it wouldn't do any good. Under the embarrassment, however, he found himself feeling just a little bit happy, though for the life of him he couldn't say why. His mother's words flashed through his mind.

"Does this person make you happy?"

Ducking his head and shuffling through the papers on the table, he hurried to change the subject. "I got a call when you were filling out our registration forms."

"Oh? From who?"

"He said his name was Hakuba Saguru. He's a journalist. He wanted to speak with us. I didn't think it would be a problem, so I agreed. He and his partner will be here at two. You don't mind, do you? I know I should have asked you first. If you think it'll be too distracting or something, I can ask them to come back another time."

"No, no, it's fine. Did he say what they wanted to talk to us about?"

"He said it was better not discussed over the phone."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "That's unusually discreet for a reporter."

"I guess so. He sounded serious."

"Well, there's no point guessing about it when we'll know what they want soon enough. We have a few hours before they get here. What do you say we go get a bite to eat and check out the facilities?"

X

The two journalists knocked on their door exactly as the clock struck two.

"Were they waiting at the door or what?" Kaito remarked as he swept the schematics they'd been pouring over up into a neat stack and made them disappear. Those plans were most definitely not ones that any outsiders were allowed to see. Shinichi waited until he saw that Kaito had hidden the papers before answering the door.

Outside, a young man with blond hair and a serious demeanor stood with a brown-haired woman. Both were dressed in neat, business attire. The blond cleared his throat upon seeing Shinichi.

"Kudo Shinichi, correct?"

Shinichi blinked. "That's right. And you two are…?"

"My name is Hakuba Saguru. We spoke over the phone. This is my partner, Nakamori Aoko. We are here on behalf of the Horizon."

Shinichi nodded and stepped aside to let them in. "Would either of you like some coffee? We also have tea, hot chocolate, and water."

"Tea would be much appreciated," the blond said, stepping into the suite. Brown eyes swept quickly around the room before the journalist moved to take a seat on the couch opposite Kaito.

"I'll have some tea too, if it's not too much trouble," the young woman said with a smile.

"It's no trouble," he assured her, shutting the door and moving to boil some water. A few minutes later, all four of them were seated around the coffee table with warm mugs in hand.

"Shinichi tells me that you two had questions for us that you couldn't ask over the phone," Kaito began, indigo eyes sharp as he studied their guests.

The two journalists traded glances before Aoko spoke, her bright smile falling away in favor of a much grimmer expression. "Before we start, there are a few things you should know." She reached into her bag and pulled out a wallet. Opening it, she held it out so that they could see the badge inside. Beside her, Hakuba flashed a similar badge before tucking it away.

Shinichi's eyes widened. "You two are with the police?"

"Yes, but for the time being, we're journalists with Horizon," Hakuba replied. "If anyone asks you about us or about what we discussed with you here today, just tell them we wanted exclusive interviews regarding your personal thoughts on the upcoming competition."

Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly. "So if that's the cover story, what do you two really want?"

"Have either of you ever heard of the Noir Foundation."

It was Kaito and Shinichi's turn to trade looks. It was Kaito who answered. "They're a big organization that backs a lot of high ranked teams, aren't they?"

Aoko nodded. "That's them. But they're not just a big sponsor. As you probably know, a lot of the companies and financial groups that sponsor racing teams do it for the publicity. The Noir Foundation isn't one of them though. They have a special interest in winning the Diamonds, and they'll do anything to get what they want—even kill."

A cold chill raced up Shinichi's spine. It wasn't really news. He and Kaito had already speculated as much on their own. But to hear it spelled out like that by someone else… It made it all that much more real.

"Why did you come to us about this?" Kaito asked, his own face completely impassive.

"Our sources have information that the accident you had at the Black Diamond a few months ago may have been caused by the foundation." This time, the blond placed a photograph on the table before him. A pair of cold eyes looked up at them from a frame of lustrous, pale blond hair. "Have either of you seen this woman before?"

"She was in the audience at the Black Diamond finals," Shinichi said slowly, glancing sideways at Kaito. He wasn't sure how much they should tell considering the fact that they had only just met these two. "I saw her there."

"Her name is Chris Vineyard. She is one of their top operatives. These pictures of her were taken at the race."

The next few pictures were rather low quality as far as photographs went. Several were blurred, some so much so that they were barely more than splotches of color. The blond woman was in all of them though (though in the vaguer images it would have been more accurate to say that a blond blob suggested her presence). She was standing, sitting, or moving through the crowded audience stands at the race track where the finals had taken place. Shinichi could see the hint of sand dunes in the background of some of the photos. There didn't appear to be anything particularly strange or incriminating in any of the images as far as Shinichi could see. The only thing that stuck out to him was the fact that the woman was carrying a briefcase. But business people often carried briefcases, especially if they were the kind who needed their documentation and other important items on hand at all times. She hadn't had one the day she'd approached Kaito though, he mused.

"If you see the time stamps here," Aoko pointed to the corners of each photo. "You can see that she left the audience stands after the accident but before the race actually ended. Now, I don't know if you guys have heard of this, but about a decade ago, there was another accident that caused a lot of confusion. It was here at the Red Diamond, but like the one you guys met, it was an accident on a simple turn where the cause was never able to be determined. The pilot that time was a man named Akai. He was an excellent pilot, but for some reason he missed an easy turn and ran his craft straight into a cliff. Footage taken from one of the track's surveillance cameras gave us these."

Yet more photos were laid out. This new series were almost picturesque enough to be postcards. They showed a stretch of rocky, canyon floor that ran along the bank of a blue green river. Green shrubs and trees could be seen adding a dash of color to the landscape. It took Shinichi a moment to pick out the strange shadow behind one of the boulders. Was that a human being? It could also be a trick of the light. It was hard to be sure…

"You see it too," Hakuba observed.

Shinichi nodded, reaching over to point at the strange shadow. "It looks like there's a person hiding there."

Aoko nodded. "We thought so too. So we sifted through the rest of the footage. Whoever it was was really good at hiding, but we did get a peek at a hat and the tail end of his or her coat. And this." Nudging one photo aside to point out another, she tapped it with her finger. "See? Right there."

"It's a briefcase," Shinichi said.

"Not just that," Kaito said flatly. "It's the same briefcase. They both have the same insignia there on the corners." He pointed out two tiny, silver blips that Shinichi had thought were flecks of dust.

"Wow, you must have really good eyes," Aoko applauded. "We had to use magnifiers to find those. But you're right. They're either the same briefcase or at least the same series."

"Similar briefcases have been reported on two other occasions, again, both at races where accidents occurred. However, these other two accidents were less inexplicable, so the connection is more tenuous," the blonde added. "Both incidents involved racers who were favored to win major competitions—one at the White Diamond eighteen years ago, and another also at the Red Diamond ten years ago. We believe that this briefcase may contain some device that can cause temporary malfunction in the hover crafts in its vicinity."

"This other crash at the Red Diamond that you're referring to," Kaito said. "It wouldn't happen to be the one involving Kuroba Toichi, would it?"

"Indeed."

"Again though, it's largely circumstantial stuff," Aoko said hurriedly. "We could be wrong."

The corner of Kaito's mouth quirked up in a sardonic grin at the girl's comment. "You don't really believe that, do you Miss?" It was a statement more than a question.

The young woman blushed faintly. "No, I guess not, but it's worth keeping in mind. The truth is, we believe that the Noir Foundation is sabotaging talented racers when they can't recruit them in order to win."

"Do you know what they're after?" Shinichi asked. "It's a rather extreme length to go to just for a title and some prize money."

Aoko shrugged. "Well, it is a lot of prize money. While they're already a wealthy organization, I've learned over my years in law enforcement that having a lot of money doesn't stop people from being greedy. In fact, it's often the people who already have fortunes who commit crimes to get more."

"Humans are an eternally unsatisfied race," her blond partner agreed. "I too believe that their reasons are likely financial. Not only do the major races offer large prizes, but those teams who win them attract business for those companies who created their equipment or sponsored them. The foundation may not solicit media attention, but they do produce several hover craft lines and manufacture important parts used by other hover craft makers. A reputation as the best on the tracks could only benefit them."

"We wanted to ask if you would help us catch these crooks," Aoko said. "They can't be allowed to go on like this, but we just don't have the solid proof we need to win if we take the case to court."

"But how can we help?" Shinichi asked, frowning. He had a sick feeling in his stomach at where he felt this was heading.

"Your team has been singled out by many of the major media stations, newspapers, and magazines as one of the favorites for this year's Red Diamond. You may or may not have noticed, but everyone believes that you two are going to be the ones to finally bring home the triple diamonds."

Kaito smirked, pride bright in indigo eyes. "I certainly plan to."

"Well, it makes you a prime target for their efforts in sabotage. They've already gone after you once, it's not too farfetched to say that they may do so again. Therefore, with your consent, we would like to attach a small, monitoring device to your hover racer. It won't interfere with the running of your craft in any way, and it weighs only about as much as a feather so it won't weigh you down. All it will do is record information about your surroundings. We would also like to have our own people keep watch on the area around your hangar and around the courses where you compete."

"You want us to be bait," Shinichi translated flatly. "You need evidence, so you want to get a hold of one of those briefcases. But they only appear on these rare occasions when there's a racer they want to knock out of the competition. You need them to come after us again so that you can seize this briefcase or one of its cousins and see if there really is a device inside for disrupting the functions of hover racers."

Hakuba nodded. "That is correct. It is the plan with the highest possibility of success that we have come up with."

There was a beat of silence before Kaito spoke. "I'll do it."

"What? But that's ridiculous!" Rising to his feet, Shinichi slammed his hands down on the coffee table, causing several of the photographs still arrayed upon it to flutter like frightened butterflies. "It's too dangerous! Kaito, you got lucky last time that you had all that sand to cushion your crash! If these people really do come after you then the next crash could kill you. You do realize that, don't you? And you two. How can you ask him to do that for you when the risk is so high? I mean, you don't know how this technology works or if it even is the right thing. You won't know until the racer freezes, and then it's going to go straight into a cliff or a gorge or something just like what happened to the others!"

"We'll do everything we can to make sure no one actually gets hurt," Aoko said in what she hoped were reassuring tones. The mechanic looked far more stressed about the whole issue than she had expected him to be. He'd looked so calm when he'd invited them in. But now there was a haunted look in his eyes. It was the look of someone who was afraid that the worst was about to happen.

In contrast, Kaito was about as readable as a blank book with no pages. He was smiling politely at them, but though it was friendly it somehow managed to convey a sense of distance, like the man behind the smile was watching and waiting to see what you were going to do and preparing to adjust his own reactions accordingly. It made her feel a bit nervous. She'd never met anyone with such a sincere smile yet such calculating eyes. It was a study in contradiction that would be throwing her for a loop if she let it.

Well, one thing was for sure, Aoko thought to herself as she eyed the two young men before them. These two were not normal people.

Calming down a bit, Shinichi sat down and gave their guests a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, but I just don't think this sounds like a good idea. If your theories are correct and the foundation really is doing all this and planning to come after us next… What I mean is, something has to happen for you to have proof, and, well, there's no guarantee is there? That it won't all just go wrong…"

"But it may work." It was Kaito who spoke up. His tone was serious though his face was still an inscrutable, pleasant smile. "If we have the surveillance equipment ready and around, then when something happens, we'll have proof. If nothing happens then all the better, right?"

"But Kaito," Shinichi protested. "If they do come after you and your controls freeze mid race again, this time you could get yourself killed!"

"I won't let that happen. This is me we're talking about here. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. I already have a few ideas I'd love to try if they dare use that device on my hover craft again. I'll teach them never to mess with a Kuroba! Besides, what else are we going to do? Drop out of the race?"

"But…"

"Shin-chan, this could be the only chance I get to find out if what happened ten years ago was an accident or murder. You realize that, don't you?"

The two faux journalists glanced at each other then stood and retreated towards the kitchenette under the pretext of making more tea. It seemed to them that their hosts needed a moment to talk amongst themselves (was it their imagination or did the two know more about the case than they'd let on?). Kaito responded to their thoughtful retreat by grabbing Shinichi's wrist and dragging him into one of the suite's two bedrooms and shutting the door.

"Kaito, it's too dangerous," Shinichi exclaimed the moment the door was shut.

The pilot didn't speak immediately. Instead, he tugged Shinichi over to the bed and sat on the edge, pulling the tense mechanic down beside him. "Listen, Shin-chan," he began, taking one of Shinichi's hands into his own and twining their fingers together. "I know it's a risky way to find out if the foundation or whoever really has a disruption device hidden away somewhere that they've been using on top rank racers. But, well, I want to know—I need to know. This thing, if it exists then it probably took my dad away from me. I need to know if it's true. And if it is then I'm damned well going to make them pay for what they've done. Besides, what does this really change? We already suspected most of this."

Shinichi opened his mouth then closed it again. It was true that they'd already suspected, but over the last hour it had all gotten a lot more—real. It was also true that the issue had to be cleared up and dealt with. He agreed that such behavior could not be allowed to continue. At the same time though, the thought of Kaito putting himself in the line of fire for a repeat of the accident he'd had at the Black Diamond… It made Shinichi's throat clench and his heart ache. These people had taken Kaito's father away from him, and now they could be angling to take Kaito away as well.

He was afraid, he realized. The thought was light and elastic and soft like an 'oh' of understanding. He was afraid of losing Kaito. He didn't want Kaito to get hurt. He wanted even less for Kaito to get hurt chasing after phantom killers. He remembered the terror of those long, suffocating hours after the crash when he hadn't known if Kaito had survived or not. He could still feel the icy despair he had felt at the thought that he might have somehow been at fault for the crash. He didn't want to go through that again.

He didn't want Kaito to leave him behind.

A warm, calloused hand cupped the side of his face. "Come now, tears don't suit you. You're much prettier when you smile."

Tears? Oh, that would explain the blurriness. How embarrassing.

Shinichi pulled away, swiping the back of his hand across his eyes hurriedly. More than anything else right now, he wished they were somewhere else. But they weren't, and he knew that Kaito would never agree to sit out this Red Diamond and wait for the next. Not when they'd worked so hard to get here. And, well, Shinichi didn't really have the right to ask that of him, did he?

"If you really want to go through with it then I won't stop you," he said quietly, not looking at Kaito. "But I still think this is a terrible idea."

"I'll be careful. I promise." Kaito stood up then hesitated. He felt like he should do something to reassure the upset mechanic, but Shinichi still wouldn't look at him. Half of him was happy to know that Shinichi was worried about him. The other half felt guilty for being happy about Shinichi being upset. Deciding that he should give the mechanic some space, he excused himself to go inform their visitors of their decision.

Shinichi sat very still, gaze fixed unseeing on the floor before him as he listened to the door open then close. His own thoughts were a jumbled mess. When had Kaito become such an important part of his life?

He couldn't imagine going back to the way things had been before he'd joined Kaito's team. Those years felt so long ago that they were more like a dream than a memory. Thinking back, he realized that for a long time now, whenever he thought about the future, he always thought in terms of them—where they were going to go and what they were going to do. He couldn't even imagine life without Kaito anymore.

It was a terrifying realization.

Outside the window, the sky grew bright with sunset before fading into evening purple. The murmur of voices outside continued, but Shinichi made no move to join them. When the moon peeked over the horizon, he let his breath out in a long, slow sigh and lay down on the bed, watching the round, white face of the moon rising slowly into the darkening heavens.

The tranquility brought in by the night set the turmoil in his mind to rest, and he let the anxiety and the confusion settle into the depths of his mind to be dealt with at another time. Right now, he was too tired and just not ready. All he wanted to do now was to empty his mind and let the dreams carry him away.

He drifted to sleep, completely forgetting that the room he was in was Kaito's.

He only remembered the following morning when he woke up to find Kaito sleeping beside him with his arms wrapped firmly around Shinichi's waist. At that point, the mechanic let out an extremely undignified shriek, grabbed a pillow, and began smacking Kaito upside the head with the fluffy object.

"Hey—hey—Shinichi~ Stop that! It's not what you think!"

"Pervert! Go back to your own room!"

"This is my room!"

"But there's another one, isn't there? You should have just taken that one!"

"But this was my room," Kaito reiterated, sounding utterly unrepentant and not the least bit bothered by the rude awakening. "I don't mind if you want to share it with me, but it's still my room."

Shinichi opened his mouth then shut it again. Flushing dark pink, he scrambled off the bed as fast as he could, still clutching the pillow like a shield. "I'm going back to my room then. Which you are not allowed to be in." With a last pointed look at the smirking pilot, Shinichi stormed into the second bedroom and shut the door. This was so not how he had envisioned starting their Red Diamond experience. He groaned and flopped face down onto the untouched bed he should have slept in the previous night. He was sure he could hear Kaito laughing back in the other room.

Someone who believed in omens, he thought, would probably be telling him to pack up already and go home because obviously everything was going to go wrong.

X

"They've decided that the preliminaries are going to begin with tag team races!"

"Yeah, I heard that already," Kaito mused, taking a large bite from his sandwich. "It's gonna make things a bit tough for us."

"A bit tough?" Shinichi sat down on the other side of the table and leveled him with a skeptical look that suggested he thought Kaito was not entirely aware of the reality of the situation. "Kaito, a tag team race requires two racers in two hover crafts to work together to complete an obstacle course. How quickly you complete the obstacle course determines how many points you get. The winning team will be the one who gets the highest scores."

"…Yes? I kind of knew all that. Contrary to what you may believe, I do read over all the rule books and pamphlets they dump on us."

"Then you should know that we're in serious trouble."

"Trouble?"

"Yes!" Exasperated, Shinichi threw up his hands. "Our team has a grand total of two people in it. Between the two of us, we have one hover racer. We can't form a tag team, and that means we won't be able to complete the course. We're going to be disqualified before we even get on the tracks!"

"You could always be our second pilot," Kaito suggested, tapping his chin in thought.

"No I can't. I know how the hover crafts work, but I've never flown one for any distance or speed. I've only flown to see how the engines are running and test the balance. I can't do any of those fancy tricks they need to pass the obstacles. We'd lose. And that's even ignoring the rather major problem that we only have one hover racer."

"No need to panic over it. We just need another racer and another hover craft who are willing to team up with us. After all, this is just a preliminary round. There have to be other teams who need someone to partner up with and fill in the gaps. I'll bet there're little alliances popping up all over the city by now."

"And you believe that one of those alliances is going to just fall into our laps too," the mechanic said flatly. "This is serious, Kai. We need a partner for this or we're out, but everyone else out there already has partners."

"And you don't want to borrow a hover racer and be my partner."

The mechanic gave him a sardonic smile. "You wouldn't want me to. We want to be able to win, not just show up and say we tried."

"Have a little faith in yourself. I've never met anyone who understood hover crafts as well as you do. With that kind of knowledge, piloting one through an obstacle course should be a piece of cake."

"Or a piece of mud pie. Kaito, I…I can't, okay? There was a time I… When I was little, I…I used to want to race."

Kaito's sandwich stopped en route to his mouth. This was the first time he'd heard anything about this. "Really?"

Shinichi nodded, blue eyes turning to fix themselves on the sky outside the suite's large windows. "Though looking back, I guess it was more of a childish fancy for new things than anything serious. My parents were away a lot, so I spent a lot of time with our neighbor, Professor Agasa."

"The guy who taught you."

"He mostly spends his time tinkering with different machines and coming up with small inventions to help make things convenient and things like that, but he also taught some classes at a tech school. He brought me with him when he could. The school also had training classes for people who wanted to learn to fly hover crafts. I was too small to be enrolled, but I spent so much time watching them practice that the instructors all recognized me. The day I turned seven, they decided to surprise me and give me a ride in one of the practice crafts. I was really excited." He smiled a little wanly at the memory. "No one knew at the time that one of the maintenance crew members had been shirking his duties. To make a long story short, the hover racer malfunctioned while we were inside. It kept accelerating and wouldn't stop. The instructor with me did his best, but… I broke my leg and three ribs, but I was lucky. The…the instructor didn't make it." Shinichi's lips pressed into a thin line, and Kaito could see the guilt written clear across his face. "If he hadn't been doing me a favor…" The mechanic stopped and shook his head as though to physically rid himself of those terrible what ifs that could never be answered. "That was when I finally understood—really understood—how little I actually knew about the crafts and how dangerous they could be when treated incorrectly. It was three years before I could make myself get back into a hover racer. Just being in one doesn't bother me anymore—understanding how they really work helps a lot, but just thinking about actually piloting one… I freeze up when the speed goes up any higher than a crawl. I—I can't breathe, can't think—everything just stops." He drew in a shuddering breath then let it out, head bowed. "I'm sorry. I…know I should have told you before, but…"

"No," Kaito interjected, voice firm. "You don't have to tell me anything until you're ready. If anything, I guess I should be the one saying sorry. I shouldn't have kept pushing you to do it when it was obvious that you didn't want to."

For some reason, Shinichi only looked more miserable. "I'm sorry."

It was Kaito's turn to let out an exasperated breath. "Stop apologizing already. It isn't your fault. Besides, like you said, we're here to win, not just to grandstand. The thing to figure out now is where this leaves us."

He took another bite of his sandwich and chewed as he thought. "Partner-less going into a tag team race which is also our first preliminary race appearance is going to land us neatly in last place. I know your calculations said we only need to get into the top three for seven of the ten prelim rounds, but we can't guarantee that there won't be more tag team rounds. Hell, for all we know, all the preliminaries could be tag races. We'd be out by round four."

"Maybe we could ask one of the other teams if they have any backup racers who might be willing to partner with us," Shinichi thought aloud. "It would gain their team extra points if we do well, so it could be good for them too."

"But if we do badly, they'll also lose points. They have to trust us to be good enough to be worth them risking their ranking. They might also refuse in order to keep us out of the semis. Reduce the competition as soon as they can."

"There may be unattached racers here just to watch the Red Diamond we could ask."

"Everyone with the points to qualify should already be participating if they're here—unless they're injured, in which case they won't be much help anyway."

They lapsed into a pensive silence.

"Hattori!" Shinichi straightened abruptly, blue eyes bright. "We can ask Hattori. I'm sure he isn't the type of person who would want to see a worthy opponent knocked out of the competition just because they belong to a small team. And he's seen us work so he should know that we can handle ourselves."

Kaito made a thoughtful noise, finishing off the last of his lunch. "That's not a bad idea. His team certainly isn't lacking for members even if they are new. And from what we've seen, they won't hold us back either."

"I'm not sure we can afford to be that choosy…"

"We can't afford not to be choosy," he corrected. "Now eat up." He nodded at the second sandwich box on the table between them. "You took so long getting back that it's cold, but a few seconds in the microwave should fix it right up. When you're done, we can go look for Hattori."

X

"Team up?" Hattori looked more than a little surprised, but the surprise morphed rapidly into a thoughtful expression. "You're gonna have to talk to our higher ups about it, but I don't see any reason for them to say no. But you realize that you'll be helpin' a rival team get extra points."

"We don't have much choice," Shinichi explained. "So do you think you could ask for us?"

"Sure. Oi, Kazuha!"

A girl with her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail came jogging up to them. She smiled in delighted recognition at the sight of Shinichi and Kaito. "Oh hey, we met at the Black Diamond, right? It's great to see the two of you are doing well."

"And the same to you," Kaito assured her.

She beamed and turned back to Hattori. "Did you need something?"

"Do you know if Miss Eri's back yet? These two need a word."

"She's still out, but she should be back soon. If you two don't have any urgent business, you're welcome to stay and wait for her."

The two agreed. Soon they found themselves seated on the long benches that ran along the walls of the hangar with mugs of hot coffee in their hands. Hattori and Kazuha had excused themselves to get back to working on tuning up their hover racers, but every now and then they or one of their teammates would stop by to chat or say hello. This particular hangar was almost three times the size of their own, Shinichi observed. Even so, it was filled wall to wall with a bright buzz of activity. He counted more than half a dozen hover crafts parked about the premises with teams of men and women going over them. Soft ribbons of laughter drifted in the air over their heads.

"It's nice, isn't it?"

Blue eyes blinked then turned to find Kaito surveying the hubbub over the rim of his own cup. His teammate's indigo eyes were sharp and thoughtful. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

Shinichi looked back at the hustle and bustle, feeling the liveliness of it all like an electric glow. "They all look like they love their work."

"Best kind of people to work with then," Kaito laughed. "I think we made a good choice. Now let's just hope this Eri woman likes us."

Shinichi nodded. Inside, however, a strange feeling was stirring. What was this strange forlorn feeling rising in his chest?

Kisaki Eri, the owner of the team to which Hattori and Kazuha were attached, turned out to be a severe-looking woman with sharp, hawk's eyes that examined Kaito then Shinichi carefully from behind a pair of spectacles. There was a businesslike air about her even when she wasn't speaking. Shinichi remembered hearing from somewhere that the woman was both shrewd and fair. She was strict with all her employees, but she never asked more of them than they could handle, and always listened to both sides of a story before making a judgment. She wasn't, however, the kind to mince words when giving criticism, and anyone she found either cheating or otherwise breaking the rules was cut out without hesitation. The way she was looking at them now, he could just tell that she was evaluating them, deciding if the benefits of their offer were enough to outweigh the risks.

It was several moments before she spoke. "I have one condition if our teams are going to work together."

"And that would be?" Kaito prompted.

"We do not know how many tag events the race committee has prepared for us. It could be just this first round of the preliminaries. It could also be every round. There may even be tag events in the semifinals."

Kaito nodded. "That's true."

"So my proposition is this. I will lend you one racer and craft for each tag event you are lined up for as long as you agree not to go to any other teams for replacements for the duration of this Red Diamond. Also, if a tag event comes up for my team in which I feel that your aid would be helpful, I ask that you return the favor. Of course, that will mean that you will gain extra points for your team then just as we gain extra points from helping you in your races. Is this an agreeable arrangement for the two of you?"

Kaito smiled. "Very much so. Thank you, Miss Kisaki."

The woman cracked a small smile. "Don't thank me. I have been following your team's progress for some time now. The two of you have many skills that it will benefit my team to be able to learn from. In fact, if all works well, I was wondering if you would consider joining us."

"We appreciate your offer and your praise," Kaito replied, raising his cup in a half toast. "Although I would recommend that you not reserve us any spots. From what I've seen, I believe that all your team are wonderful people, and I'm sure they're great at what they do, but I like being the master of my own ship, so to speak."

"And small teams are more flexible when it comes to the way they operate and the paths they choose," the woman said.

Kaito beamed. "Exactly."

"I see that you certainly know your own mind. That's good. It will be a pleasure working with the both of you."

Later, as they took the elevator back up to their suite, Shinichi turned to look up into Kaito's face, searching the depths of his indigo eyes. "Would you ever want to?"

Kaito looked back at him with what appeared to be real confusion. "Want to what?"

"Become part of a bigger team."

Kaito was silent for a long moment before he replied. "If it was a good team with people I liked then I guess I might not mind, though I'd rather put the team together than join someone else's. But I like the way things are now. I like to be able to set my own schedules and my own goals. The more people you have to consider, the less that can be done. We can go anywhere and everywhere we want to now, chase our dreams to the ends of the earth and back, and that's a freedom that we can't keep if we get too ensconced in the big teams and the associated company politics. Maybe one day though, when we've had all our adventures and want a bit of stability. Maybe then I'll think about it. Is that all right with you?" he asked suddenly, catching Shinichi's gaze and holding him there with the intensity in his indigo eyes.

Shinichi opened his mouth then closed it again, taken aback by the sudden question. He hadn't expected to have to answer it himself. He had simply assumed that he would go where Kaito led. But why? The elevator came to a stop and the light over the door pinged to life. Before the doors could rumble open, however, he looked up at Kaito and smiled.

"I like things the way they are now too," he said, and the words were honest and simple and yet complicated beyond what mere words could express.

Kaito followed Shinichi out of the elevator and down the hall towards their suite, his own lips quirking into a genuine smile, one of joy and relief and the elated glee of the man who has taken another step closer to his dreams.

TBC