RACING

Ryuji and Kenzaki stood at a racing circuit with their wives on the race track. Both male Riders were on the sidelines while their respective loves were getting ready to race. Also present were Athena, Koneko and Loki. Neko wore a blue and white racing suit with matching gloves while Kotonoha wore her own green and black racing suit. Both girls shook hands before putting on their helmets and mounting their bikes. Neko's bike was the Machine Garo-Hunter: Hageshi Model while Kotonoha's bike was the Tenshi-Riser which Ryuji had gotten for her for Christmas.

"OK, let's see who's the fastest," said Ryuji as he held a stopwatch. Kenzaki also held a stopwatch.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Kenzaki asked.

Ryuji shrugged. "Koto-chan wanted to race with someone so I asked Neko-nee if she'd like to race against Koto-chan."

"And Nana-chan just couldn't resist the challenge," Kenzaki realized. "OK."

The two girls would go 3 laps around the track.

"Alright, ladies!" said Loki as he stood in front of the two girls with a flag. He raised the flag above his head. "Ready…" The two women kicked off the stands. "Get see…" They revved their engines, which growled in response. Loki brought the flag down. "GO!" The two bikes race past him, blowing his robe backwards. "Wow! That's fast!"

"Looks like they're starting fast," said Ryuji.

"Go, Lady Kotonoha!" Athena cheered.

"Onee-chan, gambarre!" Koneko cheered, waving a pair of pom-poms.

The two female Riders were racing alongside each other but all of a sudden Neko was ahead of Kotonoha in an instant, with an incredible burst of speed. The Angel Rider gritted her teeth and accelerated, attempting to chase after the Dragon Rider with all the speed she could muster. Neko saw Kotonoha gaining on her in her left rear-view. "Sorry, Angel-chan, but I can't let you win." She moved her bike to the side to block Kotonoha, causing the girl behind her to scowl.

Ryuji frowned when he saw this. He'd taught Kotonoha how to ride that bike on high speeds. At first she'd been afraid to ride alone, allowing Athena to be in control, but she had grown confident with her riding skills.

"I need to find an opening," Kotonoha muttered to herself as she kept her eyes trained on Neko's rear. "Come on…" She finally got her opening. "Now!" She darted right past Neko, who gawked at her.

"Ooh, that little sneak!" Neko smirked. "Well, if that's how she wants to play it…" She raced after Kotonoha and both were riding side-by-side. They cleared the first lap at the same time.

"Looks like they cleared it at the same time," noted Kenzaki, proud of his wife.

"Don't start bragging, Okami. There are still two more laps. My wife can win this."

"We'll see."

"Yay, Onee-chan!" Koneko continued to cheer.

It was like before, but reversed. Now Neko was tailing Kotonoha and trying to get past her but her opponent kept blocking her, not giving her a chance to pass at all. "Damn it," Neko cursed.

In front, Kotonoha smiled. She was not going to lose. Ryuji-kun was counting on her. She then sped up to clear the second lap. She was going to be in the lead once she did.

"No way!" Neko pressed a button marked 'Turbo Boost' and suddenly flames shot out of the exhaust pipes and she shot like a rocket. "YEAH!!!" She shot past Kotonoha, surprising her. The girl nearly lost control of her bike before she got steadied and gawked.

"What was that!?" Kotonoha blinked but then realized it had been Neko. "No!!!" She picked up speed but she was left far behind as Neko cleared the second lap, seconds before Kotonoha did.

"Yeah!" Kenzaki cheered and she picked up Koneko. "One more lap!"

"Yeah!" Koneko beamed.

Kotonoha gave Ryuji an apologetic glance before she raced along the track again to regain the advantage. Neko had already gotten some good distance between them but Kotonoha would not give up. She knew her bike had some gadgets and then she realized that there were jacks to propel her into the air and also wings. With a smile she decided it was time to use them.

When she got behind Neko, she activated the jacks and propelled herself into the air and over Neko. Neko looked up in shock as the Tenshi-Riser flew over her and then a pair of wings sprouted from the bike. The Tenshi-Riser glided through the air before landing a good distance away from Neko and close to the finish line.

"Lady Kotonoha, you can win this!!!" Athena cheered.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Kenzaki accused.

"We never said anything about wings and jacks," Ryuji pointed out. "Anything goes in this race, except for weapons."

"Onee-chan, hurry!!!" Koneko shouted.

The two bikes were now neck-and –neck. They glared at each other before shooting forward. Loki waved the flag as the two bikes crossed the finish line.

Kenzaki and Ryuji blinked. "OK, who won?" Ryuji asked.

The two girls hit the brakes and their bikes slowly came to a stop. They kicked down the stands and dismounted before removing their helmets. The two girls smiled at each other before exchanging handshakes.

"You were awesome," said Neko, smiling.

"You weren't so bad either, Neko-san," said Kotonoha, returning the smile.

"Well, that's good," said Ryuji, hands to her hips. "But, who won? It looked like you both crossed the finish line at the same time."

"It's because they did," said Ant as he walked over.

"Ant, what are you doing here?" Ryuji asked the owner and conductor of the ChronoLiner.

"Oh, I like to come here and relax," said Ant. "I like races too, and I also brought my camera." He then showed them a photo. "Oh, and here's the photo finish of the race. You can see that they crossed the finish line at the same time."

Much to the young men's mortification, it was true, but then Kenzaki had a strange gleam in his eye. "I know how to break this tie-breaker."

Ryuji's eyes shared the same gleam. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"Oh yeah…"

Several days later, at the same race track, Ryuji and Kenzaki prepared to race each other, with the Dyno-Breaker and Garo-Hunter: Tsume Model respectively. They wore racing suits, which matches their armors' colors and bore their respective emblems on their backs. At the stands were their wives and their friends, cheering them on.

"Looks like everyone's here, to see you lose," Ryuji mocked.

"Oh? Are you sure it's not you they came to see lose?" Kenzaki asked.

"Kick his ass off the course, Ryuji!" Kat yelled from the stands.

"Nope, I don't think so," Ryuji shook his head.

"OK, anything goes but weapons," said Warren as he held the flag. "Alright, you two, get ready." The two Riders put on their helmets and mounted their bikes. "Get set…" the two revved up their engines and kicked up their stands. "GO!" Like bullets the two shot forward, right past Warren.

The race was 5 laps around the track. Who will win? You decide.