Disclaimer: I do not own Haruka and Michiru's characters, they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. All other characters and this story belong to me.

Note: This is rated "M" for a reason. If you have issues with coarse language, girl on girl action and substance abuse references, do not indulge yourself in this.

Chapter 1

Ready, Set, Go

The long-ago abandoned industrial site was more alive that night than it had been in its former life as a factory. Loud music boomed out of assorted speakers, most of which were located within the vast array of cars that populated the first floor. Multi-colored lights streaming from random bulbs accentuated the space, but did very little to help see. People mingled among cars, conglomerating in groups by ones that attracted their attention. Each proud owner of the car showcased the upgrades and customizations, each thinking that their car was the best.

Excited chatter washed through the crowd as screens suspended from mobile stations or integrated into trucks showed a car fly off the street into a ditch. To the side of the epicenter of the crowd, a station filled with electronic devices was occupied by a man with short red spiky hair. Police radios escaped his attention, as it was fully devoted to the four girls who entwined their long legs and arms around his body, their lips traveling alongside any exposed skin.

"Maedo! Stop the fucking orgy and get back to your job, the last thing we need is to pack this whole shit up like the last time," a voice from the crowd ripped the man out of his state of euphoria. He grunted in displeasure, but started to disconnect himself from the scantily-clad girls.

"Scoot." He waved his hand in furtherance of the gesture, turning his full attention to the radios and locations of the local police cruisers.

The crowd roared as three sets of headlights appeared in the empty road that ended at the site. Their attention kept jumping between the live cams broadcasted on the screens and the actuall cars approaching at a dangerous speed. Silver-blue patterned Mitsubishi closed up the ranks, with two super cars going head to head ahead of it: red Lamborghini Reventon and bullet gray Ferrari Enzo. The crowd along the street and at the finish line roared as the two contestants neared. It was always the same - unless there was another worthy opponent, the two super cars would come up to the finish line head to head, only one of them pulling first. Today it was the Enzo.

The cheering crowd surrounded the cars as soon as they came to a halt, breaks screeching, smoke from the burning rubber momentarily hiding the slick machines from the view. Mitsubishi's door opened, revealing a silver stiletto heel, followed by the rest of the toned female body clad in a plaid mini skirt and a black tank top. Her long blonde hair with dark green highlights was pulled up in random spikes, clipped by silver hairpins. She left the door open and walked towards the two super cars. A dark-haired man with a goatee appeared from the Reventon, slammed the door and walked up to his friends. He was clearly agitated by the loss, despite the compassion landing in both of his arms in the form of giggling girls. The car that came through the finish line first revealed a figure dressed in dark blue jeans and black leather racing jacket. The winner got the same warm reception from surrounding women as the losing man, only in larger quantity.

Mitsubishi's driver reached the winner and stood a few feet away, grinning.

"Not bad," the winner praised with a smile, simultaneously shaking the wanton girls off. "Not bad at all for a newbie."

"I don't think I've ever felt this rush, I see why you love it so, Haruka," the woman responded, returning an elated smile.

Haruka laughed and put an arm around the woman's waist. A passing boy handed them beers, as they made their way out of the crowded area towards some concrete slabs suitable for sitting surface.

"It's not just the winning for me, Eiko, it's the wind. I love the feeling."

Eiko took a seat, twisting the cap off her bottle. "A romantic? That was the last thing I would expect from you, Haruka. Here I thought it was all about money and popularity for you."

Haruka gave the spunky woman another irresistible smile. "I don't see how one is against the other. To me they go hand in hand."

"Naturally," the shorter blonde laughed.

"Eiko! That was great, you should do it again!" They both turned at the sound of excited boyish voice.

"Ah, the mighty Maedo Hiro!" Eiko cheered sweetly. "Thanks for letting me borrow your car." She jumped off and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Any time, as I said, I think you should do it again."

"Maybe one day," the woman replied cryptically.

"I believe you have something for me," Haruka reminded the red-haired man.

Hiro scratched the back of his head, pretending trying to remember what it was. "Oh, that's right, you won! How surprising!" Hiro passed the cash he was holding behind his back. "Spend it wisely, who knows, maybe I'll beat you next time!"

"In your dreams." Haruka ruffled his short spiky hair with a grin.

Soon the three of them were surrounded by people, girls clinging to Haruka. The attraction didn't come solely from the winning status, it had a lot to do with the tall, lean frame of the winner, the light blonde, almost white hair streaked with silver, and dark blue-gray eyes. Not to mention the air of mystery. Eiko was watching the interactions between the popular racer and the fans, while sipping on her drink. When the crowd's attention shifted to something else and they were left alone again, Eiko made her move. "I like you, Haruka."

Haruka looked into light blue eyes, trying to see where this was going. They had met a few weeks ago, when the woman appeared at one of the street races. She seemed to make friends fast, so much so that Hiro was willing to let her drive his car as a trial. She did surprisingly well, she was also extremely attractive, but she was different from the rest of the girls there. Haruka was trying to pinpoint what it was, but still could not define it. The woman was definitely intriguing.

"You speak your mind, you're sure of yourself, you're a winner," Eiko smiled at the confused racer. "I want you to take my daughter out."

Haruka stared. "Sorry, I'm not into that."

"Not into what?" Eiko asked, confused.

"Pedophilia," Haruka responded slowly. "I don't date kids."

Eiko broke into fits of laughter. "My daughter is twenty-three, Haruka."

It was hard to believe that Eiko had a daughter, it was impossible for her to have a twenty-three year old daughter. She looked like she was in her early thirties at most. Her spark was that of an eighteen year old. "You are pulling my leg, right?"

"No, I'm being completely serious. I want you to take my daughter out on a date."

"Why?" Was the first thing Haruka could force out.

"She's very shy, boring and a bit of a prude. She needs someone to show her the fun side of life."

Haruka could not believe what this woman was saying. Even if that was all true, why would anyone ever want to go on a date with a shy, boring, prude girl? It was time to politely blow Eiko off.

"It may come as a shock, but I,m a woman," Haruka used her trademark rejection line. It worked a lot.

"Of course."

Eiko was full of surprises. "Yet you still want me to take your daughter out?"

"Yes."

"Is she a lesbian?"

Eiko wrinkled her perky nose. "I don't know. She's a virgin through and through. I don't think even she knows who she likes."

Those were words of a mother? Haruka must have been dreaming. This whole conversation must have been composed by her sick imagination. "Sorry, I don't do blind dates."

Eiko sighed out loud. "I'll pay you for it."

Haruka's eyes widened in surprise. Exactly how desperate was this woman? "I definitely do not accept money for my dates, I'm not a prostitute."

"I never said you were," Eiko gave her a small pleading smile.

Haruka kept looking at the woman, thinking of her bizarre request. What did she have to lose in the end? Some time? She had a lot of that. It could become a good story to tell to her unenumerated friends later on. "Fine. One date, but keep in mind I don't do relationships."

"Fantastic!" Eiko placed a kiss on Haruka's cheek in gratitude. "Give me your phone number, I'll give you a buzz when I come up with something specific." She extended her phone to Haruka.

Haruka narrowed her eyes. "This isn't just a long way to get my number, is it?"

Eiko laughed at the younger woman. "No, sweetie, it's not. No offense, but you're not my type. Although we could have had a lot of fun together, had I met you when I was your age." She shamelessly winked at her. Haruka swallowed and typed her phone number into Eiko's phone.

"Great, now have you seen my coat?" Eiko pulled Haruka in search of her clothing item.

x x x

Michiru was curled up on the couch in the dark living room, looking at the digital screen of her watch. This is why she was happy she did not have any siblings - sometimes she felt like she was the adult and her mother was the child. Actually, she felt like that most of the time. She was falling asleep around midnight, but that had passed and now she was fully awake and set on confronting her mother. She had no idea what went through that woman's head most of the time. Her ears perked up at the tiny sound coming from the back of the house. 'Sneaking in like a criminal, mother?' Michiru turned towards the staircase, waiting for the woman to appear.

Eiko stealthily made her way through the dim hallway, heading for the stairs. Knowing her surroundings perfectly well, she managed not to trip on the myriad of statutes that decorated the house, despite her slightly euphoric state.

"Mother."

Eiko turned towards the voice. "Good Evening, Michi," she smiled at her daughter in the darkness.

"Evening? It's four o'clock in the morning!" Michiru flipped a lamp on the side table on. "Where have you been?"

"Out," Eiko walked around the couch, so that Michiru would not have to twist like a pretzel to see her.

"I gather that much." Michiru took in the view in front of her. Her mother was wearing suede silver-heeled boots, a black silk coat that she was clutching tight and her hair… was pulled up in a mess of green-tinted spikes. "What happened to your hair?"

"I decided to try something new, don't you like it?" Eiko smiled in mirth.

"No." Michiru did not share her mother's good mood. "For your sake I hope that it is temporary and will be gone by the time Hideo wakes up."

"Don't worry sweetheart, I'm not stupid," Eiko grew serious.

"Really? What would happen if he woke up right now?" Michiru cocked an eyebrow.

"I would pretend like I wanted to do some role-playing." Eiko opened her coat wide, showing Michiru her semi-school-girl outfit.

"Jesus Christ, mother!" Michiru was appalled. "You look like a prostitute!"

"Dear, you haven't seen what prostitutes look like, I don't nearly have enough makeup on."

Michiru threw her head back in disbelief. Her mother never stopped to amaze her; not in a good way either. She returned her head back to its original position and sat straight with a perfect posture. "May I remind you that your husband is asleep upstairs and he will have a heart attack if he sees you this way?"

"When did you start to care about my husband, Michiru?"

"I don't, it's not about him, it's about us. As you correctly pointed out when you married him, we need him to keep this family afloat. Your actions will destroy the angelic front you created for him, showing your true colors, which will disillusion him and make him leave us in the dump we deserve to be in."

Eiko put her hand on top of Michiru's head. "Don't worry sweetie, he is not the only politician in this city, there are more where he came from."

"Once a gold digger, always a gold digger, mother," Michiru whispered.

Eiko withdrew her hand as though she was touching a snake. "For someone who insists that she has nothing in common with me, you sure do have a vile mouth. I wonder where that came from." Eiko walked towards the stairs, stopping before the first step in thought and turning to face her daughter again. "I married your father because I loved him, not because of his money. I was the same idealist you are now, but that changed in the past twenty-five years. What I do now I do for myself, Michiru, not forgetting to provide for you in the process. Live a little, maybe then you will understand where I'm coming from." She turned around and walked up the stairs.

Michiru sat in silence brewing on her mother's words. She knew her mother was not as sinful as she may have seemed, but her behavior was still outrageous. Eiko may have been naive and in love twenty-five years ago, but Michiru did not know that woman because she was not born yet. Michiru knew the woman who married a politician for his connections and abilities to support a family, a woman who was forward and unstoppable in any endeavor she put her mind to. A woman Michiru wanted to never become.

Eiko took a long shower before crawling in her empty cold bed. There were pros to having separate bedrooms with one's spouse, such as the ability to go in and out at one's whim, but there were also cons, such as being alone every night. Eiko did not like to be alone, she yearned for warmth, care, attention - things her current husband lacked and previous husband displayed only before he started drinking himself into oblivion. No longer getting what she needed from her marriages, Eiko has been in constant pursuit of thrill in other venues, street racing being her latest foray.

She smiled at the memory of the race. It was enthralling, it made her feel alive, let her be herself. She wished she could just let go of everything and live her life the way she wanted it, the way her heart desired. She could not. She would never allow herself that so long as her actions affected her daughter's life, and they always would. After all, she had a family name to uphold. Despite all that, she wanted Michiru to live, to feel a range of emotions beyond those she had trained herself to feel over the years, never letting anyone close. Eiko needed a miracle for her daughter and tonight she thought she found one. The miracle's name was Tenoh Haruka and she existed in the world that would never collide with Michiru's; after all, underground people and socialites did not exactly mingle. Eiko intended to change that. She fell asleep with a mysterious smile on her lips.

x x x

Haruka watched the last truck disappear in the morning fog. It was quiet, although her ears still felt like they were in a vacuum. It was a good night: no one got hurt and no one got caught. As the dust settled in the auto column's wake, Haruka did a last walk through, making sure that no evidence of the past night was left at the scene.

Haruka was one of the veteran members of the Wing of Night, the most successful street racing gang since the Mid Night Club had been disbanded. The primary purpose of the gang was to host the races, but a deeper insight into the structure of the club revealed a well-oiled machine. The Wing of Night had tomes of rules and regulations, which were incongruous to an illegal operation. They covered everything from the types of races to who could participate in each level of activity. The party scene that ensued at every race could be disbanded in an organized manner within a matter of minutes - a fact that had saved the club's members and those who associated with the gang from being caught on numerous occasions. Fortunately, none of the emergency protocols had to be implemented tonight.

Satisfied that the abandoned factory showed virtually no traces of its short comeback to life, Haruka got in her car and drove towards the city. As most people started to wake for their day, it was time for the racer to go to bed.