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I saw 4 to 5 S30's
3 R32's...
5 FD3S's..
a mention of Mitsubishi Eclipse..
a 930 911...

im sorry to say that the car selection is a bit skewed here...Lack of Honda FWD monsters,Nissan's S chassis is nowhere t....I'm sorry,Death Drivers Jet Black S15 is in the fic...Lan Evo's are nowhere to be seen..One Toyota Supra...Only one Toyota?*crowds boo's*

Also...you don't REALLY NEED to name the cars out for the sake of individuality..Just elaborate on the cars color and how'd they MIGHT look...What im trying to say is,cars having fancy-ass nicknames like Avenger Z?Frostbite?Purple Stuph?(Okay i was joking there but you get the gist of it)

But please..Don't take this to heart..I like what i'm seeing so far right now...My only concern right now is the lacking car roster..other than that,keep it up..

The nicknames for cars is just a shoutout to the TXR nicknames, really. Haruhi even gets one later on.

As for car selection, I understand that back then there wasn't much variety. This was discussed when I first posted it up as well. I was considering changing some of the cars in First Stage, but most of the characters aren't too important or end up dying, so I didn't bother. Stage Two and Three have far more variety. I'll also (hopefully) be writing 'Prologue' and 'Epilogue,' which will also have more variety.

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Act 10 – The Second Lesson


The next day, Kevin and Haruhi went back to work at the garage. The day was full of nothing but changing oil and replacing tires though. Nothing special. Still, it was nice. The work was steady and helped the time to pass…and she got to work alongside Kevin, too. That was nice.

That night, Rusty drove alone on the Shutokou in his Eclipse. He drifted through a right turn and grinned. It was an awesome car. It was somewhat different from his GT-R, but he couldn’t really explain how. Just then, he saw flashing headlights behind him. He looked in his rearview mirror and smirked. This was going to be interesting. “Time for Soul-Reaver’s first test,” he said, flooring the accelerator.

Back at the house, Kevin and Haruhi were silent. Kevin went into his room, and Haruhi followed secretly. As she stood in the doorway, she saw something that just about took her breath away.

It was…that pillow. The one she gave him so long ago. She had the urge to pick it up and hold it. So many memories. He had actually kept it. That pillow was the last thing she had expected to see after all this time. It was a silly little thing. Odd that he would have kept it for so long. Back then, she had to admit that she had a crush on him. Giving him her rec class pillow was the most daring thing she had ever done in her life at that point. She smirked, staring at the pillow. It had been so long that she was almost certain that such feelings had subsided…but that was not the case.

She wanted him to know…because she wanted affection now. She had never had a boyfriend in her entire life. When she was younger, she was one of those girls that were determined to be single forever. She hated men; felt that all they ever wanted was to get into her pants. Now the loneliness overwhelmed her.

What was it about Kevin that attracted her so simply? He wasn’t really all that great, was he? He only thought about cars, it seemed; what was it? Why was she so obsessed? It was like a hazy dream, and the same question kept popping up around every corner: why? Why? Haruhi closed her eyes tight. “I don’t know…I don’t know!”

The phone rang, and Haruhi decided to answer it, hoping to get her mind on something else. It was Ayaka, and she sounded worried. Rusty had wrecked on the Shutokou and was currently being taken to the hospital. Before they knew it, they were in the hospital again. Kevin was getting frustrated now. Why didn’t people just learn how to drive already?!

But no one was crying this time, and for a good reason. Rusty was alive and well, with a few broken bones. Ayaka asked what happened, and Rusty smirked and looked at her. “The Phantom,” he replied. Haruhi’s heart skipped a beat. “But…but you lived! Did you beat it?”

Rusty shook his head. “No, unfortunately.” Haruhi didn’t understand it. How could he have survived an encounter with the Phantom? As if he could read her mind, Rusty told her the answer to her question. “The handbrake. I used the handbrake.” Haruhi’s eyes went wide. The handbrake? It responded? But how? Why? Kevin closed his eyes and crossed his arms. “The handbrake, huh…”

Haruhi had a determined look on her face. She wouldn’t forget this.

Meanwhile, on the Shutokou, Zero drove his black 930 casually, weaving through the traffic. He had driven here for over ten years, and he knew that the expressway was always changing when it came to drivers. Old ones would leave, new ones would arrive, and the cycle would continue. Soon he would have to retire from the Shutokou. Until then, he wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

Headlights appeared in his rearview mirror. As soon as he heard the engine, he knew who it was. The car was another 930, with the same body style as Zero’s, and a ghostly blue color. Zero’s old friend and former partner, Nightwing.

A few years ago, Nightwing was thought to be dead. It was a silly rumor, but pretty soon everyone thought he was a ghost racer. Zero honked his horn in a friendly manner at Nightwing, and Nightwing honked back. Zero was glad to know that there was someone else his age that still ran the highways.

Then there were another pair of headlights. A purple S30. Cecelia. Her Z quickly pulled up to the casually-driving Porsches. Zero and Nightwing both sped up together, leaving her far behind. She desperately attempted to follow, but her old little Z just couldn’t keep up. She watched them race away, disappointed by the lack of power her car’s engine possessed. She had a new goal: to get a new engine.

The next day, Rusty’s wrecked Eclipse sat in Kevin’s garage. Ayaka had a request. “Please,” she said to Kevin, “don’t fix up that car. I’ll get him to drive the GT-R again. Just forget about the Eclipse. The GT-R is much safer for him anyway.” Haruhi listened in. She could understand Ayaka’s feelings of worry for the man she loved. Haruhi didn’t really need to worry though. Kevin was an amazing driver. Had he ever crashed? Probably not.

As she and Kevin packed up and closed up in the afternoon, Kevin stated, “You know…I’ve never seen you smile since you’ve been here. I haven’t seen your smile in a long time.” Haruhi thought the statement was kind of strange. “Well, everyone’s been dying. Why would I be smiling?” Kevin looked at the ground, trying to come up with something to say, but couldn’t. He turned away and didn’t press the subject any further.

Meanwhile, as the sun set, Cecelia held a small wrench in her mouth as she worked on her car. She felt like she was being silly, but she needed a more powerful engine. She needed to be able to keep up with her amnesiac boyfriend and his Avenger Z. His Z could take on even those two Porsches that left her behind, so this wouldn’t do. Soon she would be ready to go back to the expressway again, this time with a much better machine than before.

Back on the Shutokou that night, Kevin drove at a reasonable pace as he relaxed. Only he could be relaxed at the speeds he drove. But it was routine for him. However, he was beginning to understand something about the Shutokou. It was always different. Traffic patterns would change, new drivers would show up, some drivers would leave. It was always different in some way every night. Although driving on the road itself was routine, all of the things that changed seemed to be what made it worthwhile. He slowed down a bit. A car was coming up behind him. As it got closer, he heard the sound of its engine, and he immediately knew who it was. “So you’re out here again…”

It was Nightwing, in his ghostly blue 930. Kevin sped up, and flames burst from his S30’s muffler. Flames burst from Nightwing’s two mufflers as well, and the two cars raced off at a blinding speed. Kevin hadn’t seen Nightwing in a long time, but the old man was one of the few that could keep up with him when he drove at speed. It was almost like a friendly rivalry in some way. They went side-by-side down the highway, going so fast that they were nothing but a blur to the slow-moving traffic. They were going so fast that you could hear the air blowing past them. They were in a different league from everyone else. A different world. No one could touch them.

The battle seemed to last forever, and neither one felt like ending it. It wasn’t a battle to them. They were just driving. Just for the experience of it. Meanwhile, Haruhi was on the C1 Outer Loop, looking for a worthy adversary. She had improved significantly since when she first started out. She never adapted quickly to new situations before. Now she felt like she could really beat someone. Unknown to everyone, she had actually defeated the Reaper a few nights ago. She wished Keiko was there to see it.

She wasn’t overconfident, but she definitely believed she was good enough to beat some of the best people out there. Maybe someday soon she’d even beat Kevin! She searched the Shutokou until she saw Hideki. She hesitated; would she be able to defeat him? He was the fastest on the highway, after all. She felt slightly numb. She didn’t want to, but she felt that it was her duty to try. She flipped her highbeams on and off, signaling a challenge. Hideki chuckled and accepted, speeding up and setting himself up for the next corner. His R32 immediately began to pull away, but Haruhi wasn’t discouraged. She’d do her best and never give up!

The battle had begun. Around some corners, Haruhi would catch up, but around other corners, Hideki would pull away; especially around sharp bends. On the straights, he was untouchable. His car was extremely powerful. But Haruhi firmly believed that every racer had a weakness…even the fastest on the highway. And she was determined to find it!

The two cars roared down the highway in a fierce battle as Haruhi attempted to overtake Hideki’s GT-R. But he was just too skilled. It wasn’t long before Haruhi was at her limit, hanging on by a thread. She was no match for him. But she wouldn’t give up! Suddenly, Hideki slowed down. Up ahead, two huge trucks were using both lanes, making it almost impossible to pass. Haruhi examined the situation closely. There was a gap in between the trucks. Her eyes opened wide. “I can do it…I can make that!” She drove past the GT-R, Hideki watching in shock as she squeezed into the gap, coming out perfectly. Hideiki gritted his teeth. “Damn!” He shouldn’t have hesitated. One of the trucks moved closer to the other one in surprise. Now he was stuck behind the trucks!

Haruhi quickly pulled away, feeling a feeling of relief. She did it. She beat him. So then…did that mean that she was the fastest on the highway now?! She began to get excited. That’s when a pair of headlights appeared in her rearview mirror. Her eyes opened wide in horror. It was him! He caught up! But…how?! Hideki casually pulled up beside of her, passed her, and raced off into the night, leaving her far behind. She…lost. Apparently she wasn’t ready to take on the best yet. But if not now, when?

Well…she found the balance of her car, that was for sure. Maybe now was the time to ask Kevin to start teaching her some more. She couldn’t see any other way to get faster than she already was. Not without some kind of push.

Early in the morning, as the sun began to rise, Haruhi sat in the parking lot as Kevin taught her another lesson in racing on the highway. “Now that you’ve found the balance of your car, you’ll know how it will respond to what you do. You’ll know how far you can push it before it begins to understeer or oversteer. This is important for getting through the corners faster.” He was tired, but he continued. “You’ve been driving here long enough at least to know the road. That shouldn’t be a problem, and if it is, then drive slowly around the highway until you remember it completely. Drive slowly and note everything about the highway. How many lanes are in certain sections, how tight and how long each and every corner is…note everything. You need to be able to run through the entire highway in your mind.”

He closed his tired eyes for a bit, then continued. “Also, the connection pallets for the highway pieces in certain sections can be used for timing.” Haruhi didn’t understand that one at all, and Kevin figured she wouldn’t. “Certain parts of the highway are made up of connected pieces. Every time you run over a connection, you feel a slight bump. After a while your mind will get used to the feelings and vibrations of the road, and you’ll unconsciously begin using this to time your driving. But that might take a while. Anyway, one of the most important things I can tell you is that when driving out here, never just floor it. Don’t try to go all out. Just focus on control. So long as you remain calm and in control, you won’t lose sight of your opponent.”

Kevin closed his eyes again, then continued. “A lot of the drivers out here keep on losing because they push their car to its limits. When you do that, not only can you lose control far easier, but your opponent will be able to see your car’s limits and easily find its weakness. Plus, it puts wear and strain on the engine and tires. Be calm. Feather the accelerator. Don’t floor it. Also, handle the wheel gently. Don’t jerk it left and right. Only turn as much as you need to. Use the accelerator to get you through the corners. Your wheel is only used to point your car in the direction you want to go, after all. You need to use your pedals to get you through.” It was obvious that Kevin needed some sleep, so Haruhi stood up and nodded.

“Let’s go. I’ll remember everything you taught me and do my best.” But when they went back home, Kevin never went to sleep, and instead began to get ready to go to work. That immediately began to worry Haruhi, who attempted to convince him to get some sleep. Kevin just acted like she was being silly, but she was very serious. “You look so tired! Please! You need to rest. Look, I’ll run the garage for today. It can’t be that hard, can it?” Kevin shook his head and continued to get ready. Haruhi sighed, frustrated. There was nothing she could do to stop him. As she did her work in the garage as usual, she watched him with a frown on her face.

That night, she went back out to the Shutokou, wondering why Kevin wouldn’t sleep. Now that she thought about it, she never really heard him snoring or anything. Had he ever slept?! Her thoughts were interrupted by headlights in the rearview mirror. It was a ghostly blue Porsche 930. And it was approaching at an incredible speed. Haruhi downshifted and pushed the accelerator to the floor. A small puff of flames burst from her muffler, and her FD accelerated. She didn’t feel like being left behind tonight.

A burst of flames came from the 930’s mufflers as it pulled up to her. She had to force herself not to look beside of her as they both went down the long straightaway. Naturally, the 930 pulled in front of her, and she did her best to keep up. In the 930, the driver glanced in his rearview mirror. “Hm. Pretty good. But not strong enough.” Nightwing continued to widen the gap as they continued down the straight, approaching a sharp left up ahead. Haruhi knew she’d have to be careful to avoid the divider wall.

As they went through the turn, Haruhi began to feel as though she was in a trance. She began to think again. Her thoughts went to why. Why did she drive like this every night? Why did Kevin drive like this every night? Why? She began to fall behind. She had no choice but to push her car to its limits in order to catch up. Even so, she couldn’t keep up with the Porsche. On her last gear, she had the pedal glued to the floor, and the engine whined as she redlined it. She had hit her top speed, but she still wouldn’t give up. She was starting to catch up, slowly but surely. “I can do this! I know I can!”

She heard a “clink” from the engine bay, but ignored it. Suddenly, there was a heart-wrenching “kruuunk.” Finally, there was a muffled “boof.” Immediately, the dashboard went dark. Her headlights died, and the only sound coming from her car was the squealing of tires.

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A few more changes here as well. Ended up changing the pillow thing. It was painful, because the original idea was really cute, but...ehhh...Haruhi wouldn't do something like that.

Since I've had no replies, I'm posting the next act real quick.

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Act 11 – New Engine


Haruhi’s eyes were wide in shock at what had just happened. Smoke began to rise out of the hood slits as the dead FD lost speed. She couldn’t do anything but steer off to a safe spot and hit the brakes. She…blew the engine. But why? Why did it blow? That was a brand new RE-3 engine! Why couldn’t she ever win? Was her car below standards for the Wangan? What was she supposed to do?

She watched as a car passed by at a blinding speed. Frostbite. Looks like Rusty’s back on the Shutokou. He drifted around a left corner and out of sight. That reminded her of mountain racing the way they used to a year ago. Before Kevin left and all of this happened. She looked at her FD. Well…since she worked at the garage, Kevin should fix it for free.

She was surprised to find that she was incorrect on that statement. As a matter of fact, Kevin was getting frustrated with Haruhi. “First you beg me to let you live with me, and now you want a free engine?! I can’t afford that! You’ll have to use the money from your pay to get the parts you need…and then you’ll fix it yourself.” Haruhi was struck speechless. He wasn’t even going to help a little?! She had never done such extensive work on a car before. She didn’t even know where to start!

Kevin left the room, leaving Haruhi with a pouty and surprised look on her face. She watched him leave, suddenly realizing something. He was testing her, wasn’t he? He was always testing her. Well, fine then! She’d finish it! She’d do it all by herself, too! She’d show him!

That night, Haruhi stayed behind in the garage, holding a wrench in her mouth as she worked on the underside of her FD, loosening parts in order to remove the engine. It was a long process for her, but a week later she had removed the entire engine and awaited the new parts. Meanwhile, Kevin began to get worried as he began to see less and less of Haruhi every day. She’d get back late in the morning and fall on the couch, exhausted. Well, at least she was actually doing something. Kevin truly began to be reminded of how hard Haruhi would push herself to accomplish things. She worked so hard without taking any breaks…what was it that drove her?

One night, Haruhi got back late after polishing some of her car’s parts. Kevin hesitated, feeling a bit strange offering her what he was about to offer her. “Hey. If you want to sleep in my bed, you can.” Haruhi jumped up off of the couch. “Oh…uhh…but…”

Kevin was a bit amused by her sudden change in behavior. A split-second ago she seemed as though she would pass out from exhaustion. “Yeah, well…I’m not really using it anyway.” At hearing that, Haruhi went into “worry mode” again. “But you should! We both should! We need the rest…”

Kevin frowned. “I’m not sleeping with you…” Haruhi scoffed, realizing she did in fact suggest such at thing just now. “That’s not what I meant…” But Kevin continued. “The only reason why I offered to let you use my bed is because it looks like you could use the rest…you’re working so hard on your car, and it would be better if your slept in a real bed. But if you don’t want to, then…” He shrugged, turning and walking out. Haruhi grimaced as he walked away. Since when did he care about her all of a sudden? Well, whatever…she decided to go ahead and use his bed. As she lied down on it, she saw the old pillow she gave him. It made her smile. It was then that she truly realized what had just happened. Kevin did care! And…he was letting her use his own bed! She happily tucked herself under the warm, soft covers and closed her tired eyelids, and before she knew it…she was asleep.

Kevin sat in his garage with his S30, just relaxing. That was really all he could do to relax his muscles and his mind. Being with his car relaxed him. He didn’t need sleep.

The next day at the garage, Zero came down for a tire change and to hang out. When Kevin left the room, Haruhi told Zero her worries. “Kevin…he never sleeps. I try to get him to…but he just ignores me.” Zero chuckled and patted Haruhi on the head. “It’s nice of you to worry about him, but don’t.” Haruhi frowned, fixing her hair. She looked like she was about to say something, but Zero held up his hand. “He can’t sleep. He has insomnia. Don’t worry about it. As long as he’s relaxing every once in a while, he’ll be fine.”

Although she didn’t feel too great about hearing that, Haruhi decided to back off. There was nothing she could do. She went into the garage with her FD, looking at it with a feeling of sorrow. With no engine, it seemed so useless. She would fix it up very soon.

She worked hard and long, and a month and two weeks later it was completely finished. Thanks to Kevin allowing her to use his bed, she was able to finish the car without killing herself off from exhaustion. She had put in a brand new, top-of-the-line rotary engine into her cherished FD, and it now had about 645hp on the dyno! Because of the stronger engine, she had to tweak the suspension and other parts in order for her FD to be able to use all of that power properly. The next thing was for her to learn to control it. With this, she could outpull GT-Rs! Maybe…

Saturday night on the Shutokou, she test drove it and broke the engine in. As she tested it out, headlights appeared in her mirrors. Whoever it was, they were approaching at an incredible speed! She recognized the headlights: an S30Z. She accelerated, and her FD shot forward. But the person behind her was still coming at an incredible speed. Before she knew it, they were right beside of her. A purple S30?!

The S30 passed her and continued down the highway, but Haruhi wasn’t going to let it go that easily. In the S30, Cecelia looked in her mirrors to see the FD behind her keeping up. She smiled and pushed harder on the accelerator, and began to pull away. But the FD still kept up through the corners. That frustrated Cecelia. How could a stupid FD keep up with her 610hp Z?!

Haruhi couldn’t actually pass the Fairlady, but she could keep up with it. Haruhi smiled; that was good enough for her. At least she was making progress with her car and driving skill. But she needed to improve further if she wanted to take down Iceman and all the others. Especially if she wanted to defeat the untouchables. And so began her long week of practice.

Frustration had overcome her by the end of the week. Saturday night. She just didn’t understand it. No matter what she did, her C1 Inner Loop lap times were always the same. She could do it under five minutes now, but she felt that she could do better. Maybe she was just expecting too much of herself. Maybe this was just fine and she didn’t really need to improve. But somehow she felt that she was still too slow to defeat anyone out there that was really good. Sure, she could do a lap in about 4:48:08, but she knew there were some people out there that could do a lap in about 3:58:12! She didn’t think she’d ever be able to make a lap time as good as that.

She looked in her rearview mirror suddenly. A pair of headlights were approaching. She relaxed as the car came into view. It was another FD. As it passed in front of her, she challenged it to a battle. Little did she know this would be one of the hardest races she had ever participated in. The opponent FD was none other than Ella herself. The blonde woman looked in her rearview mirror to see her challenger, then accelerated, beginning the battle. Haruhi accelerated as well, and focused on the road. She was going to win this one!

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Hmm...not that many changes this time around. A few dialogue changes to fit the character changes. *Shrug*

I'll be reading it at work after lunch time (during dead hours) so stay tuned for my review on the new chapters.

Latest update:

As fas as I remember the old version, yeah; there doesn't seem to be that much of a difference compared to the old one so not much of an impact I'm afraid.