Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was finally Wednesday's night, the night that everyone had been anticipating. The five girls, Sakura, Tomoyo, Chiharu, Rika and Jia, had decided to go together, in Tomoyo's car. The race would begin at 10pm at Shinto Hills. Since it'd take only 30 minutes to get to the destination, they had agreed to meet at Tomoyo's place at 8:30 pm. Once all the girls had arrived, Tomoyo ushered them into the waiting car and drove off.

"I'm so excited!" Tomoyo squealed in delight.

"Are you excited to see the race or is it because of someone?" Jia asked slyly.

Tomoyo blushed but covered it up, "The race of course! Why else would I be excited?"

"Uh-huh, right. When pigs fly Tomoyo," Chiharu teased.

"Oh Kami!" Tomoyo gasped in shock.

"What? What?"

"I think I just saw a flying pig go by!"

"Tomoyo!" Chiharu bonked her friend on the head. The girls giggled, while Tomoyo rubbed her head and joined the laughter.

"Is Rising Sun any good?" Sakura asked.

"Mhmm, they're the second best from the Emperor."

"Yup! Those two teams are forever rivals!" Rika said.

"Oh?"

"Rising Sun wants to be number one, so they are constantly challenging the Emperor for the spot. And they always lose," Jia added.

"Rising Sun is good but the Emperor is just better. No team in this district could win against them, or even beat the number one position in both the racers and team," Chiharu explained.

"You say this district?" Sakura asked.

Tomoyo nodded. "What Rika is trying to say is that there're different districts, and each district has its number one racer and team. However, in Shinto, which is this district and also the biggest, the Emperor team is the best."

"I see," Sakura nodded.

"Here we are, the Shinto Hills!" Tomoyo announced as the car started to climb up the hill.

Sakura observed the road closely. It wasn't that bad, she concluded. Around five easy curves and another 3 consecutive turns. The consecutive turns were the challenging ones; if the driver didn't have the correct timing during these turns, the car would smash into the side or fall off the cliff. But the most important curve was the last one. The last curve would decide who would be the victorious.

She didn't realise that they had reached the place until Tomoyo called her out. Sakura was too involved in remembering the curves and road. Once she snapped out of her thoughts, she noted that there were many spectators.

'If I can recall, there were more around the curves as well.'

"Hi girls!" Meiling waved at the five girls that were walking towards her.

"Hi Meiling!" They chorused except for Sakura who was busy looking around the place.

"I'm so excited!" Tomoyo squealed.

Meiling grinned, "Are you excited to see my race or excited to see someone?"

Tomoyo groaned, "What's with the teasing today?" Another figure had joined the group.

"Hello Tomoyo," a boy with blue hair and glasses greeted, "And girls," he added.

Tomoyo blushed, "Hi Eriol," she said quietly. He smiled looking at her.

"Why, hello to you too Eriol. I'm surprise you even remember our hellos," Jia mocked.

"Of course," he averted his eyes from Tomoyo, "I could never forget you lovely ladies."

"Oh, I haven't seen you before. Are you new?" he asked, looking at Sakura.

"Yes, I just transferred here a couple of days ago. I'm Sakura, a pleasure to meet you," she smiled.

"Eriol and pleasure's all mine," he said charmingly, reaching for her hand and kissing it on the back. Sakura blushed, taking her hand back.

"Aren't you afraid that Tomoyo may be angry at your action?" Meiling asked.

"She would not. She's a reasonable young lady," he smiled handsomely at her, causing her to blush once again, "Besides, I was being a gentleman."

"Oh sure, sure." Meiling rolled her eyes while the girls giggled.

"Eriol, are you a racer too?" Sakura asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes I am. Although, I'm not very good at it," Sakura looked at him incredulously.

"Not good my butt, Eriol," Meiling smacked his arm, "He's the third in the rank Sakura."

"Oh wow," she smiled widely, "That's incredible, Eriol!"

"Thank you," he smiled, "But third is not first. I'm still an amateur compared to Meiling's cousin. Speaking of which, when is he returning?"

"In two days I think. You know how aunty is," Meiling answered.

"Poor guy, I'd say," Eriol shook his head in sympathy.

"Your cousin is a racer too, Meiling?"

"Yup! The number one in the rank, Syaoran Li!" she replied proudly.

"How awesome!" Sakura said in awe, her eyes shining brightly, "So, umm, he's not coming today?"

"Nope, he's with aunty now, his mother. She told him to visit home,"

"Oh," Sakura said disappointedly. 'I wanted to see his car…'

"Don't worry, he'll come back soon. He can't stand being home that long, with his four sisters pestering him."

"Four sisters?"

"Yeah, they love to make fun of him, being the youngest and all. He always says: "They make my life a living hell!"" Meiling laughed.

"I know how he feels. I'm a youngest one too," Sakura sighed, "But sometimes I think it's actually good to be the youngest," She smiled.

"You know what," Meiling grinned, "I think if they meet you, they'll start pinching, hugging and cooing you!"

Sakura blinked, "Pinching? Hugging? Cooing?"

"You're so cute!" Tomoyo squealed and jumped on her friend. "I forgot how innocent you are Sakura!"

"H-Hoe?"

"But not as cute as you Tomoyo," Eriol said staring at her. Tomoyo blushed, letting go of Sakura and looking away.

"Go flirt elsewhere Eriol," Meiling groaned.

Before he could reply, the sound of car engines, tires screeching, doors opening and shutting could be heard. Several footsteps were coming their way.

"Well, well, if isn't the number one racer and her little Dark Angels' friends," the girl with brown dyed hair sneered, while her friends sniggered.

Meiling and the Dark Angels glared at the offending person with absolute annoyance. Sakura, on the other hand, was perplexed at the current situation. The blondish haired girl averted her eyes from Meiling and smiled, a bit too sugary.

"Hello Eriol," she purred, she walked and stood close to him, much to Tomoyo's irritation.

"Hello Lisa, how are you this evening?" he asked calmly, smiling as usual.

"Fantastic, especially with you being here," she winked. Tomoyo's blood was boiling, her amethyst narrowed. Sakura looked at her best friend in concern.

"Umm, who's that girl?" she whispered to Jia.

"Oh, that's Lisa from Rising Sun, the number two female racer in this district. She loves to flirt with all the guys, especially Li."

"As in Meiling's cousin?"

"Yeah," this time Chiharu answered, "She's such a whore."

"But a whore or not, her skills are remarkable," Sakura nodded glancing at Lisa.

Meiling rolled her eyes, "We should get ready," she stated.

"You'll lose to me tonight Meiling," Lisa said confidently, glaring at her. Averting her eyes from Meiling, she turned back to Eriol and blew him a kiss.

"Don't forget to cheer for me!" With that said Lisa left the group and walked back to her car.

"In your dreams," Meiling muttered walking to her car as well.

"There sure is a lot of tension around here," Sakura commented.

"It's always like this between those two," Tomoyo said.

"So ladies," Eriol started, "Does anyone want to ride with me during the race? I'm planning to follow them."

"Me!" Sakura answered quickly causing the others to look at her strangely. She lowered her head and blushed.

"Eager tonight aren't we," he chuckled; Sakura's face turned a bit redder, "Anyone else?" He looked meaningfully at Tomoyo but she averted her eyes and shook her head, along with the other three girls. Tomoyo's heart was beating so loud and fast when he looked at her. She was afraid she'd have a heart attack if she was with him any longer, so she had to decline…for now.

"Alright then, it's just you and me then, Sakura. Shall we go?" Upon seeing her nod, he led her to his car, which parked a bit further away.

A midnight blue Mercedes-Benz came into her view. Sakura gaped at the car and looked back to Eriol with questions swirling in her emerald eyes.

"This is your car?"

"Why yes, do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it!" She was staring at a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. A very fast and expensive car. If she could remember correctly, Touya had told her that this model was a supercharged, SOHC V8 engine that could accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in approximately 3.5 seconds.

'An awesome car indeed. But wasn't there something else he said…'

"You seem to like cars Sakura," he commented. She nodded and answered without looking at him.

"A bit yes, I…picked up this habit from my brother."

His brow perked, "Your brother is a car fan too?"

"Yes. He loves cars, I think even more than he loves me!" she giggled, Eriol chuckled.

"Oh, looks like they're starting. Let's get ready." Sakura nodded and two slipped inside the car.

"You'll be racing down the hills and the finish line is just past the last curve," the man that acted as the referee shouted as he raised his hand above his head. Meiling and Lisa revved their cars, getting ready.

"Get ready! 5…4…3…2…1…Go!" He dropped his hand and the two cars sped off.

"Hang on tight," Eriol said as he sped after the two cars. The car turned right, straight, and then left. Sakura observed his driving silently as well as watching the two cars in front of her. At the moment, Lisa was leading Meiling by only a bit. Sakura glanced at Eriol and saw he was calm; he didn't look worried that Meiling was coming second.

Sakura turned her attention back to front. Right now, the three cars were coming into the last easy of the five curves. The next one would be the 3 consecutive turns, the challenging one. Sakura shifted in her seat in excitement. They were at the beginning of the 3 consecutive turns.

Meiling didn't slow down as she turned using E-brake drift technique which was the same technique that Eriol was using to turn. He did a Heel-Toe Downshift to get into a low gear, so he could pull through a drift by using second gear. He turned the wheel sharply and once he was at the turn, he pulled the brake sharply then quickly released it. He counter-steered the wheel to face straight with the road. He throttled and didn't let it off until the drift was completed. This part was the hard part, if the throttle wasn't held at the right timing; the car would spin out or leave the road. This technique was moderately easy but one wrong move could cost you everything. However, Meiling and Eriol did this move with ease as far as she could see.

Finally, they were close to the last curve; Lisa was still in the lead. Nonetheless, Sakura felt that Meiling had something up her sleeve, and she was right.

Meiling steered her car as if she wanted to use the outside turn. Lisa looked at the side/back mirror and smirked. She knew that the inner car had more advantage than the outer one. As the car came into the turn, Lisa stepped on her brake and turned the wheel, she gasped, that was when she realized her biggest mistake.

Meiling stepped on the break and steered her car inside as Lisa car was moving out. The head of Meiling's car led Lisa's car and as the turn was finished, Meiling led the race with Lisa followed close behind. Sakura screamed in excitement at the heated race. Her eyes shone brightly as she stared ahead. She could feel adrenaline rushing through her bloodstreams. Eriol chuckled at the sight as he slowed the car down and came to a stop.

Sakura quickly got out of the car and ran to Meiling at the finish line. Meiling and Lisa were staring at one another. Lisa was pissed that she had lost to Meiling…again.

"You got lucky tonight, bitch," Lisa stormed back to her car and slammed the door shut and drove off. Meiling grinned.

"Meiling!" Sakura screamed, "That was one awesome race!"

"Hehe, thanks Sakura," she smiled.

"Congratulations Meiling," Eriol said when he reached the two girls.

"Thanks Eriol. I have to admit though that I might've lost if she hadn't lost her focus."

He smiled, assuring her, "Don't fret Meiling, you won and that's that."

She smiled, "You're right. Let's get back to the girls?"

"Yes lets. I miss Tomoyo already."

Sakura smiled into the night.

Two more days to go…

-X-