Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Finally the night had arrived. Sakura was getting ready to go out with Tomoyo. She had told her dad earlier that afternoon that Tomoyo and her friends were taking her out tonight. Her dad didn't object, rather he was glad that Sakura had made new friends and found her old one.

Sakura lay on her bed, staring at her white ceiling. She was home alone tonight. Her dad had come home and gone out again. He said that these few weeks he would be busy with his work. He apologized for not being with her. Sakura understood and told him not to worry; she'd be fine.

'Touya…I wonder what you are doing now. Will you be racing tonight? I've missed you…I guess I'm still a kid after all.' She closed her eyes.

DING DONG

'That must be Tomoyo.'

She opened her eyes and got up. She walked down the stairs and into the doorway. Putting on her white sneakers, she opened the door.

"Hi, Sakura." The amethyst eyed girl greeted.

"Hey. Let's go?" Tomoyo nodded and led the way. Sakura locked the front door with a click and followed Tomoyo.

Parked in front of her gate was a dark violet Mazda. Sakura inspected the exterior of the car. There was a white stripe on each side of the car. The car was tinted and at the back window was a sticker that read 'Dark Angel' in white with black wings on both sides.

Tomoyo smiled at her friend, unlocking the door. "What do you think?" She asked.

Sakura didn't reply and opened the front door on the passenger's side. She got in and sat down. Just as she had thought, the interior was modified just a little bit. She didn't really care about the design much as she looked at the power it could produce.

'A maximum power of 170 at 8,200rpm… Hmm not bad. But I wonder…'

"Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, looking at her.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled as she buckled her seatbelt. Tomoyo started the engine and drove off.

"What's on your mind? You looked a bit spaced out," Tomoyo commented.

"I was just thinking, that's all, nothing much really," Sakura smiled, looking straight ahead.

Tomoyo looked at her best friend and shrugged.

"Tomoyo, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, you'll see," she winked.

After some time later, Sakura noticed that they were driving on a highway, an empty highway. It was just a straight road, with no curves or turns. There were however, many cars parked up ahead.

'Don't tell me this is the place. It's so—'

"Here we are!" Tomoyo announced as the car slowed down and came to a complete stop next to an orange and yellow Mazda.

Tomoyo turn the engine off and stepped outside. Sakura followed.

"Hey girls!"

"Hey Tomoyo, Sakura!" Rika said excitedly.

"I'm so excited. I hope we're still at the top!" Chiharu said and added. "Hey, where's Jia?"

"Oh, she's—there she is!" Rika said as a white Honda stopped beside them. Jia stepped out, looking a bit flushed.

"Sorry girls, I'm not that late, am I?"

"Nope," Tomoyo said.

Sakura did not pay attention to her friends; instead she was observing her surroundings. There were many cars, most were, and she assumed were modified. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the engines.

'Such powerful engines… I wonder if the drivers are actually good.'

She then remembered what Touya had once told her.

"Even though the car is fast with superb engine, that doesn't necessarily mean a car with less power couldn't win. It's up to the driver's techniques and abilities."

'I wonder if such person exists, Touya. So far, only you can make me feel so…so…alive when driving.' Sakura opened her eyes and sighed.

"Sakura," Tomoyo started.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know why we're here now?" She asked.

"You guys will be racing," Sakura replied.

"Yup!" Chiharu grinned.

"Isn't it exciting? I can feel my blood pumping!" Tomoyo squealed. Sakura smiled.

'Excited? No, I'm not feeling excited at all. Driving is so boring. There aren't many challenging opponents, and besides, I only drive because Touya told me too.' Sakura thought.

"Tonight's race is not that fun though. It's a timed race, just driving up and down the road. We do this once in a while to determine our ranking," Jia explained.

"Oh?"

"Uh-huh. It's not as fun until some team is challenged. That kind of race is the best." Rika added.

"Do you race in a course or just anywhere?" Sakura asked.

"Depends on where the challenger wanted to race most of the time. Up or down the hills. On very curvy roads or a timed race, like this one," Jia explained.

"And by winning a lot of races, your team's ranking will go up and you will be more known all around!" Rika added.

"I see," Sakura smiled. 'The rules are similar to the races in Japan.'

"Let me explain," Jia started, "In Hong Kong, there are many racing teams, more than 100 I think. We categorized teams into the top 50, then 20 and 10. Those rankings are done mostly by time racing or by winning challenges. For example, if a lower rank challenges you and wins, that team will automatically move up to your rank and you down to theirs." Sakura nodded in understanding, so Jia continued. "Like I said earlier, racing can be done anywhere, depending on the challenger."

"But wouldn't that be unfair for the one who was challenged?" Sakura asked.

Jia nodded, "True, but you have the choice to reject the challenge but that would make your team look really bad. You know what I mean right?" Sakura nodded.

"As for the number of participants, that also depends on the challenger. A single, double or tag team."

"So in short, the challenger has more of an advantage if they know the weaknesses of the other team." Sakura surmised.

Jia nodded in agreement. "One could look at it that way but remember if you lose, your team will be a laughing stock, that's the best way I can describe it, since you're the challenger."

"I have one question,"

"What's that?"

"If a team has both boys and girls as a member, does that mean only girl vs. girl and boy vs. boy? Or can there be a mixture of both?" She asked.

Jia opened her mouth to reply but Tomoyo beat her to it. "I'll answer that one. It's all of that Sakura. We can race any gender we choose, but the boys' team tends to challenge the girls' since they think they can beat us easy. That is true in some cases but there're girls who've kicked their asses."

"Oh, so does that mean there's a boy and girl top racers list?"

"Yup! For racers, we only have top 5 or 10."

"So, who are the top teams and racers?" Sakura asked.

"Well that—"

"Racers, gather around! The race will commence momentarily." A male's voice yelled into a megaphone.

"Sorry Sakura, I'll answer that question later. We have to go,"

"It's okay," Sakura smiled.

The four girls and other racers walked to where the man with a megaphone stood.

"Please listen carefully. I'll pick the team name out from this hat. That's how we'll decide who races against whom. This way, it'll be fair to everyone."

"Fair? Are you sure that's fair? I mean, what if it's the number 1 vs. the number 100 team. I think I already know the outcome." Sakura commented.

"I know what you mean but this is how we decide our ranking. Just pray that you won't get paired up by the top 10." Tomoyo answered.

"Alright, first up we have," the black haired, pony-tail man, unfold two pieces of paper. He announced, "Phoenix and Ba-Bi Joe. Next is Dynamite vs. King…" The list goes on and on and then finally, "Emperor…and Dark Angels!"

The crowd muttered amongst each other quietly. The Dark Angel members gasped, while Tomoyo sighed. She walked back to her car, followed by her team. Sakura looked at them in confusion but followed nonetheless.

"We're so unlucky tonight," Chiharu mumbled.

"Out of all the 100 teams…" Rika sighed.

"It just had to be the Emperor," Jia groaned.

"Its okay girls, even though we don't stood a chance. We just have to do our best!" Tomoyo said optimistically.

"YEAH!" the Dark Angel team shouted.

"Tomoyo, is the Emperor team really that strong?"

"Yes, very strong."

"They're unbeatable," Chiharu added with a sigh.

"Of the top 5 male racers, 3 of them are from the Emperor. And the number 1 female racer is from the Emperor." Rika statement caused Sakura's eyes to widen.

"That's…incredible. They are strong!" Sakura commented excitedly, but lucky for her, no one noticed.

"Who do you think will race tonight Tomoyo?" Rika asked.

"I think Meiling will. She usually does this race,"

"Meiling?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, she's from the Emperor. Number 1 racer, Meiling Li."

"Mei-ling Li…"

"Have you heard of her Sakura?" Jia asked.

"I—no, I don't think I have," Sakura shook her head slowly, her brow knitted together. 'Though, that name sounds familiar.'

"Well, I'd best get ready. Wish me luck girls!" Tomoyo smiled, climbing in her car and driving to the starting spot.

"Jia?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"What rank are Dark Angel, and Tomoyo?"

"Dark Angel and Tomoyo are both in the top 10." Jia said proudly.

"Top 10 huh," Sakura whispered.

'Tomoyo is a talented driver. And for her to be in the top 10 and not the top 5 means that the top 5 must be excellent drivers…I want to race them!' Sakura clenched her fist, feeling thrilled at the thought of racing someone strong.

'Only seven more days…'