Close Topic Options

ay lmaoay lmaoay lmaoay lmaoay lmaoay lmao

This post has been edited by Benovelence on Oct 21 2015, 07:05 AM

Hmm..... I wonder...

it.....its Waja Touring Car spec....
KYAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4S7LCF0P0g

IYS YOUR FRIGGIN CAR Outlaw!!!!!!!

This post has been edited by Benovelence on Sep 20 2009, 01:19 AM

The tale of a man, of leading an ordinary life,
With several others in the dormitory,
But when night falls, and the urge heightens,
All present in the building lusts for the same need; speed.

1st Stage
New Beginning

An eerie silence dominated the C1 ShinKanjou Inner Loop. Rain had recently ceased, leaving wet surfaces on the tarmac. Deep growls from the passing clouds reverberated through the tunnel portions of the route, somehow attracting racers parked by the side of the road. They had not dared race at such wet conditions, especially when the tyres they had equipped only perform well on dry surfaces. However, little did they know of a race going on, as two vehicles sped past the parked car in a blur. In the lead was a maroon, tuned Toyota Camry, complete with a bodykit to provide needed downforce when cornering. Lacking the rear spoiler, the front wheel drive Toyota turned into the left turn of the S-corner on the inside with such ease, while a stock looking, white Honda Prelude Type-S followed suit, though on the outside lane. The right turn was next, and position between the two cars had switched. Shifting down to 2nd, the Honda floored the throttle, as the front wheels spun violently, desperately to grasp a grip of the road. Considering its position on the inside lane, the white coupe catapulted towards the outside of mid-corner before traction registered on the tyres, along with its 4-wheel steering to assist in the turning, successfully overtaking the maroon sedan.

The Toyota, observing the reckless overtaking move, acted swiftly to regain the lead. Feathering on the throttle while in mid-range 3rd gear, the sedan slipped into the inside lane once again, though at a slightly lower speed than the wild Honda. The only chance for the Camry to overtake was the short straight, before having to brake again for a blind S-turn through the tunnel. Only the outer portions of the road in the tunnel were soaked wet compared to the sightly drier surface closer to the inside. The maroon sedan went full tilt on the throttle. Front wheels spun violent as its tyres managed to find traction. Still in 3rd, the Toyota aimed for the inside lane of the right hander- the faint grumble from a tuned H22 engine was heard. The Honda, instead of backing away in the corner, fired through the outside lane with such ferocity. Brake lights from both cars lit up , readying for the wide left turn.

The Prelude released its brakes seconds earlier than the Camry, and feathered on the throttle, taking the inside lane till mid-corner. The sedan followed suit on the outside- the Honda had its accelerator floored, causing another surge of wheelspin. Knowing the nature of a front wheel drive car, the coupe slipped from the inside, to the outside lane, effectively stopping any chances for the Toyota to overtake. The Honda remained flooring the throttle, which posed his rival much danger, especially in such wet weather. Brake lights lit up again on the Camry. It was just too risky continuing the race, let alone against one that was too wild in such road conditions. The white coupe emerged victorious, and continued down the C1 ShinKanjou Inner Loop before filtering off the highway. He had his fun for the night, and he needed to work the next morning.

As the driver parked the Honda Prelude in the parking lot of the three-storey building, in which he had bought it and converted to a dormitory, he emerged from the coupe, while letting out a heavy sigh of relief. He thought that the wet conditions would have caused him to crash, but thanks to the rallying-based suspension setup, he was able to steer clear of any possible crashes. Brown eyes glanced at the front wheels of the said vehicle. A frown formed on his mouth before commenting.

“I need to get new front tyres. They’re getting balder than a balding man’s scalp. It's just that bad,” he uttered under his breath, examining the condition of the tyres. “I mind as well try Yokohama ones this time round instead of Pirelli variants.”

He then placed his right hand on the side of the bonnet, realising another problem. It felt abnormally hotter than usual. That had him open it and checked for any problems. Sure, the low pressure turbocharger had little to do with straining the engine, but he had installed a sport-spec intercooler just in case. Nothing seemed to be of a problem, but he decided on a simple oil change. After all, he had been taking care of his 300bhp Honda Prelude for the past 2 years, and nothing wrong had occurred. Even when it came to his unusual handling of the coupe came from the different tyre air pressures between the front and back. The rear had slightly lower air pressure compared to the front, in hope of inducing slight oversteer. But judging from the recent race, it seemed to have the opposite result.

“Must be the weather condition somehow,” he thought. “But in any case, I best be in the dormitory for now. It's already 3am, and I'm getting cold. I'll do the oil change tomorrow.”

As he paced his way for the dormitory, brown eyes noticed activity in the living room. That made him wonder, considering how late it was. Brushing his black hair whose length covers the nape, he let out a sigh, before he took a glance at his attire. It was of a simple white Polo T-shirt, off-grey jeans, and typical dark shaded sport shoes. But with the chilly weather going on for the past few days, he donned on a dark green windbreaker. Of a fit build, he stood at a height of 1.75 metres; a usual image in his opinion. As the 24 year old entered through the main door, as he expected, he witnessed some two of the several people living in the dormitory drunk in the living room with 3 bottles of vodka on the coffee table, of which one was empty. A sigh left his mouth, catching the duo's attention, who were slouching on the brown, leather sofa.

“Ay! Minoru! Took ya a while to come back. We went ahead and look, we're all pissed drunk like buggers!” went one of the two; a male brunette who seemed to have more grey hair than his usual brown crown before resuming after a hiccup. “Wanna join in?”

“He only had two cups of the vodka, two cups! And look what made him into,” said the other, a female blonde, whose hair was obviously dyed. “I'm still half sober with 5 cups of the darn liquor. Minoru Hasegawa, join in!”

“Me, having work tomorrow? I don't think so. You two numbnuts continue on, Ryou, Aikawa. Being car mechanic is already tiring enough,” replied the sober individual. “Anyway, where's Kagura? She went off to bed?”

“She hasn't,” the blonde replied. “She's still out with her black R32 GTR. Apparently someone was stalking her and she's going to settle it tonight no matter what. And bah, your job, tiring? How would you look at mine, an engineer for a tuner company?”

“Typical situation for a person to be targeted, since she's an excellent driver in the C1 Loop region. Makes me wonder why she isn't the leader of that location,” said Minoru, rubbing his chin.

“Beats me,” the woman replied before taking another sip of the vodka, maroon eyes taking a beeline for the brunette’s face. “Maybe she doesn't want to be one in the first place. You do know her favourite line, right? 'It's only for fun' would be her response if we ask the same question.”

The unusual nature of Aikawa drinking that much alcohol had the brunette stealing glances at her. Though only at an age of 22, and at a height of 1.58 metres, she is actually far more experienced than Minoru. Her long, dyed blonde hair ended just past her busts and tied in a twin-tail manner. Her petite figure did little to prove her age; she would always be mistaken for a senior high school student, no matter what she wore. At the moment, she sports a dark blue sleeveless turtleneck shirt, and brown denim shorts while donning on a faded blue denim jacket, just hanging by the elbows to keep her arms warm, and footwear of a simple designed gray sports shoes. Driving an old, black, 1970 Nissan Fairlady S30Z powered with a modern VG30DETT engine, the lightweight coupe produced an excessive 700bhp. Such power in an old machine would need a lot of reinforcements done on the chassis, which she had did, including a race-spec rollcage to reduce the possible instances of the body warping slightly that could cause loss of control. She had been familiarised with older cars, especially since when her first car happened to be a silver, 1969 Nissan Skyline GTR sedan, and crashed it little more than five times when she did high speed runs in a closed circuit. The old sedan is still around the compound, but Aikawa had yet to pay more attention to it ever since she purchased the wrecked S30Z back then. However, that was not the biggest issue for her; it would be pronouncing her family name that would rile her. Having 'Takashizawa' for her family name sounded impressive, but constant stumbling from her fellow colleagues only annoyed the blonde.

Ryou Shima, on the other hand, was almost the opposite of Aikawa. Standing at a height of 1.78metres, he is of a giant compared to the petite woman. Sporting a mixture of short grey and brown hair, it was combed in a swept back look while faint stubbles can be seen on his face, giving the 28 year old a middle-aged image. No matter, he did not seem to mind about that fact. Being a happy-go-lucky person, only little knows about his actual background, especially when his clothing consisted of typical salaryman attire without the coat and a blue tie hanging loose. That rather built man is actually the son of a multi-millionaire of a law firm, but no matter how Aikawa and Minoru see his situation being a drunkard, they find it impossible, let alone the fact that he is currently a manager of a company specialising in hydraulic/pneumatic systems. At least, they would expect such a person to be more responsible with his manners, not like-.

“Whadd'ya two doin' starin' like a bunch of dorks? Drink up! I'll get the brandy to mix with the vodka,” he remarked in a slurred manner while his black eyes dulled slightly, though pronunciation was amusingly clear.

“Makes me wonder if he’s really that strong driver in that huge, white, Toyota Chaser Tourer V,” commented Minoru. “After all, that huge machine of a beast packs an excess of 800bhp. Heck, almost everyone in this dormitory have cars more powerful than mine.”

“Take out the ‘almost’ part. Everyone has a car more powerful then yours,” Aikawa stated the truth. “No matter, you will progress as you get a car that can go as fast. Not the Honda Prelude, of course.”

“And here I thought I was looking forward to purchase a used 2000 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 I saw at the used cars sale. Happened to be sold 2 days before I got a chance to buy it,” said the brunette as he sulked. “I’ll just stay put with my Prelude then.”

The blonde's eyes narrowed, somehow a little annoyed by that fact, “You seemed to be rushing into things. Even if you the R34, you'll need to adjust yourself with the increase of speed and acceleration that machine has compared to your lightly tuned Honda. Front wheel drive uses a different kind of driving style, so does a rear wheel drive one.”

“I thought it's a four-wheel drive, the R34?”

“Part-time four wheel drive,” Ryou barged in into the conversation. “It's mostly rear wheel drive. The only time it goes to four wheel drive is when the rear of the GT-R starts to slip. It may be a form of saviour when you lose control, but it isn't foolproof. You will still lose control and crash if you're too reckless with it.”

Silence ensued. Both Aikawa and Minoru were stumped that that rich son had it almost bang on with the theory. Brown eyes glanced at the small cup of vodka in the petite woman's hand. The blonde took notice of it, but thought little of the situation- he grasped it, and downed the whole content.

“Another cup of vodka!” the Honda driver remarked.

“That's my cup!” the lass countered, aiming a fist at Minoru. “Geez!”

“It's mine now! You already have two on your chest,” he countered before slumping on the couch. “I'll just apply leave for tomorrow's work. I still have 12 days of work leave anyway.”

Embarrassed by the response from the brunette, it only had Aikawa pouncing over him and launched a small wrestling stint, while Ryou drank away, witnessing the brawl.

“Both of you are acting like children,” he thought, taking another sip of the liquor.

… … …

C1 Outer Loop

Though the roads have dried up slightly, there were still damp patches here and there, posing more trouble. Slipping onto wet and dry surfaces would only induce loss, and gaining of traction ever so suddenly. Not so for two cars as they belted past a slow moving truck on the inside lane of a wide right turn. In the lead was the unmistakable black Nissan Skyline GTR R32 with a modest looking aftermarket front splitter while chasing behind just inches away was a yellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V GSR with a bigger rear box spoiler. Crimson eyes took a glance at the rear view mirror, locating the position of her rival.

“Still hogging the rear. When is he going to do his assault?” she uttered under her breath as she geared up to 4th prematurely while in mid-corner. “He's been at it since the beginning of the duel at ShinKanjou Counter-Clockwise route.”

Kagura Ishida is the full name of the annoyed woman. She had been stalked by this particular Mitsubishi for the past 2 weeks, and had yet to find the stalker's motive. It was only recently that she decided to take action about the matter by racing one on one against him. However, as far she knew, it seemed to be a waste of her time.

At a height of 1.65metres, she possessed long, wavy silver hair that ends at her busts while her pale skin shade figure would often be referred as slender while her eyes were of crimson. However, being endowed with rather... biggish D-cup size, it was more of a nuisance than an advantage to her. With an occupation of a florist, Kagura is often seen in a simple white t-shirt and various dark shades of cotton shorts. Her footwear had always been the same pair of Weinbrenner's brown, rugged boots ever since the first day she stepped into the dormitory. Having such footwear was not actually a preference, she just happens to love wearing such boots. She does have another 2 pairs of the same boots, just of different makes; one being Caterpillar, and another, Dr. Martens.

Kagura was familiar with the C1 Loop portion of the Shutokou, but never able to master the corners. Each time she attacks a corner, it would often result in various results. Her 650bhp R32 came from the first production bunch of the GT-R in 1989. And compare it to the later models of the Skyline GT-R, hers felt more raw, unsophisticated unlike the ones where it was refined. No matter, that did not stop her from building the coupe that mirrors to a familiar version of the R32 that used to dominate races in Australia.

“You think you can beat me, but with my R32 built almost similar to the setup used in the Bathurst races of 1991 and 1992. It took me more than a year of research and testing various setups on Suzuka Circuit, while small modifications were done on the car itself to suit them. As far as I know, I have been told by an avid circuit racer that my Skyline has a body so rigid that at one point, it cornered with the front inside wheel slightly airborne, and not losing traction. I never believed the claim. The R32 is rather heavy to begin with, even after the weight shedding,” thought the albino as she hit 5th gear around 280kmh. “All I just need now is to get a little more pep to the torque in mid-range revs. The twin-turbo still kicks in rather abruptly. I better change the setup in the ECU later on.”

An S-corner was due next, with an Isuzu pick up truck in the way on the outer lane. A faint 'tch' of annoyance left her mouth as she slipped into the inside lane beforehand, which unfortunately allowed the Mitsubishi to act. The yellow sports sedan surged forward, with its heavily modified straight-4 turbocharged engine screaming at high revs. For a 2000cc engine to even surge forward in order to attempt overtaking, let alone successfully doing so made Kagura amused. Never once she had seen a Lancer Evolution of any model been able to pull off such a feat. This was her first. Fifty metres before the left turn of the S-corner, and brake lights lit up on both cars. While the black coupe was able to slow down much more efficiently, the Mitsubishi was not. It took it almost twice the duration to slow down, and in fact at it till around mid corner of the turn, just barely evading the said pick up truck. The albino was not amazed by that. She had a feeling that the driver did not upgrade the brakes of the Lancer Evolution V.

“For a car that fast, having stock brakes would only spawn more trouble, especially when you lose control. I had upgraded the brake rotors and calipers in order to slow down more quickly, though sacrificing the stock wheels as they would not fit anymore with the new brakes,” thought the lass, gearing down to 3rd, allowing the revs to rise into the effective range of the twin-turbocharger.

Crimson eyes glanced at the Mitsubishi, before noticing the coming right corner. Kagura knew that heading into the inside lane of that corner would mean instant victory for her once she passes the Shiba Park filter lane- the yellow sedan reacted first. Just as it had stopped braking, it slipped into the inside lane, though the rear was sliding a little, possibly due to the weight shifting to the front all the time. The albino decided on a hasty move. Still in 3rd gear, she feathered on the throttle as her Nissan hit the right corner on the outside lane. Her eyes stole glances at the position of the Mitsubishi. She was catching up till around mid-corner where the sedan somewhat floored the accelerator. Tyres squealed as the car began to slip into the lane where Kagura was. A smirk formed on her face. She saw the opening of the flawed move. She made her assault.

Ever so instantly, the lass swerved her coupe into the inside lane while applying throttle at 1/3 strength. However, the instant she saw the clear when the Lancer hit the outside lane, Kagura floored the throttle. The sudden surge of acceleration was so vicious, it had her body firmly sitting to the red and black Recaro bucket seat while she geared up prematurely. She would not want to have an engine blow if she revs it too hard on the redline. The black Skyline GTR launched itself away from the S-corner, leaving the slipping Lancer in its dust. A quick left corner was next, which the albino dealt it with a sweeping 'out-in-out' fashion. Her eyes glanced at the rear view mirror, just in case if the stalker had the intention of coming back. Nothing, not even a hint of its existence. A smile formed on the lass' face.

“Silly stalker. Only one mistake was enough for me to take you down, unlike other racers where I would take more effort into winning, especially against Minoru. For a 300bhp Honda Prelude, he managed to pull off reckless moves that had me think twice about overtaking him. He knows more about his car's erratic behaviour than anyone else in the Shutokou. That's... his only strength, and by far one of the more powerful abilities, though at a cost of balding the front tyres faster than a passing comet, and always on the verge of crashing into virtually anything through corners, even a pea on the emergency lane,” she uttered under her breath, in which all that were true about the male brunette.

As she activated the turning indicator to the left, Kagura exited the Shutokou via Iikura filter lane. She knew she was well known in the C1 Loop, and would not want to face more races for the night. Work for the albino starts at 10am, and now, it was already almost 4am.

“Mind as well head back for now. Monday blues again for everyone in the dormitory I guess,” she thought.

While life has been normal for the bunch,
Only time will tell when the abandoned garage is found,
With the keys to the place just footsteps away in the living room,
The person who founds it first be the owner of the beast.

Back at the living room in the dormitory, Aikawa and Minoru were still pulling off the wrestling stint, and drenched wet by their sweat. Ryou had knocked himself out when he mixed the vodka with brandy, looking like a pile of white blob on the couch with black and white swirls for eyes. While the duo were busy duelling to find out the victor, unfortunately, the urge of sneezing kicked in for both of them, and did so the instant they had it- They sneezed at the same time, and they felt a weird, warm sensation splattering on each other's faces...

“Eww! You sneezed onto my face, disgusting!” the blonde exclaimed, and had the attempt to hurl a right fist at the man lying on the sofa. “What kind of sneezing 'powerhouse' are you?”

“Ugh! Gah! Disgusting! You sneezed into my mouth! You're more horrible than me, woman!” the 'powerhouse' countered, grabbing a tissue on the coffee table to spit it out from his mouth. “You made me taste the ultimate agony of defeat!”

Nice overhaul man and yoooo you need to start Racer 666 Gaiden: Spirit Z up again, I really liked the start of that one!

aww man..and i hope an update and nothing....T_T

Patience...It's not easy to come up with a story with such quality in a short time.

Just a small update on the change on their looks with the overhaul. Some have changed slightly while others drastically... I'll post up the before and after pics...

Minoru Hasegawa
Before


After


Kagura Ishida
Before


After


Aikawa Takashizawa
Before


After


Ryou Shima
Before


After


Tessa Schneider
Before


After


Biggest change goes to...
Hellena Shinden
Before


After


Hellena's drastic change is due to one huge change in plot. In the original, she died in the fatal crash and comesback as a spirit, but in the overhaul, she ends up in the same crash, but still lives, and brutally enraged. Small spoiler there, eh?

Hmmm...it seems Hellena's new look was a look from an enraged woman that want to throw a full-bucket-load-of-RAGE!!!!!!

BTW,Hellena is SCARY with that look....O_O

Here's a teaser of the next chapter. Being an overhaul, I was 150% more cautious of what I had been typing, hence the super slow progress.
-----------------------------

“If he dares to annoy me of course,” the albino answered with a hint of annoyance. “Anyway, Aikawa's out on the Shutokou, and Ryou's on overtime work. He applied work leave tomorrow apparently.”

“On leave?” said the 'powerhouse', a bit amused while flipping to the car section of the newspaper. “I assume he plans to tune his Chaser again.”

“Most probably. He already bought a 2JZ-GTE engine on standby if the 1JZ-GTE decided to blow up one day. Darn back up engine now produces around 920bhp itself upon testing. Fitted onto the Chaser, it might drop quite considerably,” Kagura replied in a rather amused manner, grabbing a milk carton from the fridge. “He even has plans for a double wishbone suspension setup all-round. The Chaser is already a nimble one for a huge car in the current setup, why for twitchy handling?”

Minoru remained silent for a bit, reading an article that caught his attention. A hint of annoyance left his mouth, somewhat finding it impossible.

“Tommykaira R-S? Not seen from the Shutokou for almost 7 years? Looks like the media is at it again for the past 3 years so far. And all of the recent sightings seemed to be hoaxes, or just replicas with noticeable differences from the real Tommykaira R-S. Is that car on the Shutokou really that powerful?” the brunette remarked in a rather irritated tone.

“It's a combination actually. The car is one hell of a dominator, but the driver behind the wheel has skills comparable to God's. Sure, that driver has its flaws here and there, but his driving is far more superior than anyone currently active on the highway. Imagine rushing through C1 Loop in such a car with considerable traffic. It managed to pull off such a feat,” the woman replied, taking a sip of the milk straight from the carton.

“What makes you think so?”

“I've seen it. Back in 1999, while I only had a lightly tuned, 280bhp white Nissan Skyline GTS-4 then. It appeared before me on the C1 Inner Loop. I did not have a second of chance to catch up. All it did was speed through the filter lane to C1 ShinKanjou and it was gone from my sight. I assumed he had installed a front splitter and rear diffuser to further enhance the handling. Till now, it still amuses me on how it was able to speed off me that quickly.”

“Hmph, an unbeatable car, eh?” thought the brunette before placing the newspaper on the coffee table, while his right hand dug into his black Bermudas for the car keys; he then turned his attention to the albino once again. “I'll go on ahead to the public bath for once, then I'll go straight to the Shutokou.”

“All right, I'll have an early night then,” said Kagura, dumping the empty milk carton into the rubbish bin. “That's the 3rd carton I've finished today. Go figure.”

----------------------------------------------

quick quick...we need to read this...>_<

Some of you might want to know what is going on right now...

Image size reduced, original size: 3840 x 2160. Click here to view the image in its original dimension.

I'm slowly building up my info. I am determined to revive this.

Holy shit, dat 6 year bump.

And for great reason too.

Once again, yet another preview for the remade 2nd chapter.

----------

“Just what made me stop putting on my seatbelt anyway?” thought the powerhouse with a sigh, then turning his attention to the road ahead. “Then again, this is already beginning to be a lonely drive.”

Gearing down to 2nd, Minoru gunned for it as he went full tilt on the throttle. The straight 4 engine under the hood turned from an audible purr to a coarse, hollow growl, complimented with a faint whine from the low pressure turbocharger. The speedometer showed 90kmh before he shifted up into 3rd. Revs dropped considerably to around 5500rpm as brown eyes spot a wide right corner ahead. Considering that there was no traffic at all, he decided to make full advantage of it; lane changing to the outside lane, brown eyes glanced at the rear view mirror. He felt something was approaching, but it did not seem to worry him at all. At 110kmh, Minoru entered the corner on the outside, before slipping to the inside, approaching mid-apex while feathering the throttle. A left hander was next just after the exit of the bend he was in. Still feathering on the gas pedal and at a reduced speed of 100kmh, the brunette steered the coupe to the inside lane of the following turn- he turned his attention to the rear view mirror again. He swore something was coming towards his direction. Haste kicked in for Minoru as he exited the left hander on the outside lane. Flooring the accelerator while the Honda Prelude had hit the straightaway, the brunette once again stole glances at the rear view mirror. At that instant in between the two bends, he had taken notice of a dark coloured visage. He geared up to 4th prematurely. The powerhouse had to prepare for a wide S-corner-. He held his breath. A pair of headlights appeared on his rear view mirror.

“Wh-what?” he thought. “Normally I would be at ease and challenge the driver if I find him a strong competitor…”

----------

And yes, I've changed my signature to fit the theme, somewhat. I still retain this fanart from a fellow member here in this forum, and was in this very same thread as well, Midnight Star. Though, in his post, the imagehost has expired the link.

WHERE DID YOU GET THAT MAJESTIC TOMMYKAIRA R R34 VECTOR?!

That was from Midnight Star, who posted in this same thread with the image, but on his side, the imagehost link had expired.

Here's the actual image.

Image size reduced, original size: 800 x 600. Click here to view the image in its original dimension.

[ Post merged on Sep 26 2015, 09:50 AM ]
It appears that I managed to get another source of making the routes of the Shuto Expressway working.

Image size reduced, original size: 1919 x 1079. Click here to view the image in its original dimension.

I'll have to try and find a complete save file for that game, no time to grind my way up...

New theme song for the story. Lyrics in the video.
Xing Noises by Undead Corporation.

The power of the Honda Prelude; limited by its drivetrain,
Yet mastering the machine; was akin to taming a stubborn horse,
But when rivalry came in a form of a Mitsubishi Galant VR-4,
Then the cries of the tyres; its wails of agony.

But the mystery of unfamiliar keys within the vicinity...
Its scream, ever similar to moans of delight...
That devilishly menacing aura...
It shall envelop the Shutokou once more...

2nd Stage
A Death, A Rebirth
Part 1

An audible yawn left Minoru's mouth as he groggily made his way out of his simplistic bedroom. Though his work ended at 4pm, he took about 5 hours' worth of sleep the instant he reached home at 5pm with his Honda as a mode of transport. Brown eyes glanced at the living room on the first floor; it was prim and proper, with no traces of alcohol in sight.

"Why did I go to work in the end? Damn hangover almost made me feel 20 years older," he thought, rubbing the back of his scalp. "I wonder what's on the newspaper today."

Pacing down a flight of stairs made of lacquered oak, he finally took notice of some of the eye catching features of the dormitory he had bought. Dominating the place were double coated white paint walls that had been recently painted by him just a month ago. Lighting were replaced from old light bulbs to fluorescent ones. The flooring were the original oakwood that was lacquered, and polished to keep its shine intact. Furniture-wise, they were brought over from the previous owner, only for the ones in the living room, where Minoru replaced those with deep brown leather sofa and couch to fit with the colour of the floor. Curtains of light brown shade were used to contrast the dark coloured flooring and bright walls while ventilation came from ceiling mounted fans and several air conditioning units, although most of the time, only the fans were used. A stack of newspapers lay spread on the coffee table, obviously a sign that Aikawa had went through them. A sigh left his mouth. He could not be bothered to talk to that blonde about her bad habit leaving any kind of paper articles strewn all over the place. However, that petite lass somehow knows the location of the paper whenever she was in need of the said document. That feature of hers amused him.

"I guess each person has their habits," he uttered under his breath, before noticing the albino walking past the living room, heading for the kitchen with a towel around her neck. "How's the shop doing, Kagura?"

"A sudden surge of orders just came in today, and it's due this Thursday. Apparently some rich groom decided to have a rather grand wedding in a garden instead of a church, and wants only white bouquets and flower arrangements. Only catch is this, he prefers to see more orchids than any other flowers," the busty woman implied, turning to look at Minoru not realising her white cotton tank top was wet after the shower she had.

"Well, good luck with that," Minoru replied, trying not to notice the woman's prominent... assets within his view. "So, the stalker?"

"Dealt with. Easy as pie,"

"That's a good thing to hear, considering that stalker being at it for 2 weeks straight," he continued, sitting on the couch while grabbing the nearest newspaper within his grasp. "But I have a feeling that he might return to bug you again, Kagura. So try to be careful for now."

"If he dares to annoy me of course," the albino answered with a hint of annoyance. "Anyway, Aikawa's out on the Shutokou, and Ryou's on overtime work. He applied work leave tomorrow apparently."

"On leave?" said the 'powerhouse', a bit amused while flipping to the car section of the newspaper. "I assume he plans to tune his Chaser again."

"Most probably. He already bought a 2JZ-GTE engine on standby if the 1JZ-GTE decided to blow up one day. Darn back up engine now produces around 920bhp itself upon testing. Fitted onto the Chaser, it might drop quite considerably," Kagura replied in a rather amused manner, grabbing a milk carton from the fridge. "He even has plans for a double wishbone suspension setup all-round. The Chaser is already a nimble one for a huge car in the current setup, why for twitchy handling?"

Minoru remained silent for a bit, reading an article that caught his attention. A hint of annoyance left his mouth, somewhat finding it impossible.

"Tommykaira R-S? Not seen from the Shutokou for almost 7 years? Looks like the media is at it again for the past 3 years so far. And all of the recent sightings seemed to be hoaxes, or just replicas with noticeable differences from the real Tommykaira R-S. Is that car on the Shutokou really that powerful?" he remarked in a rather irritated tone.

"It's a combination actually. The car is one hell of a dominator, but the driver behind the wheel has skills comparable to God's. Sure, that driver has its flaws here and there, but his driving is far more superior than anyone currently active on the highway. Imagine rushing through C1 Loop in such a car with considerable traffic. It managed to pull off such a feat," the woman replied, taking a sip of the milk straight from the carton.

"What makes you think so?"

"I've seen it. Back in 1999, while I only had a lightly tuned, 280bhp white Nissan Skyline GTS-4 then. It appeared before me on the C1 Inner Loop. I did not have a second of chance to catch up. All it did was speed through the filter lane to C1 ShinKanjou and it was gone from my sight. I assumed he had installed a front splitter and rear diffuser to further enhance the handling. Till now, it still amuses me on how it was able to speed off me that quickly."

"Hmph, an unbeatable car, eh?" thought the 'powerhouse' before placing the newspaper on the coffee table, while his right hand dug into his black Bermudas for the car keys; he then turned his attention to the albino once again. "I'll go on ahead to the public bath for once, and then I'll go straight to the Shutokou."

"All right, I'll have an early night then," said Kagura, dumping the empty milk carton into the rubbish bin. "That's the 3rd carton I've finished today. Go figure."

… … …

Minoru swore under his breath as he left the public bath. Of all places, this particular one was a unisex bath, and apparently, he got a boner from the sight he witnessed. Haste kicked in as he got into his Honda. He wound not want anyone to notice him covering his crotch with his left hand outside the coupe. The feeling was already awkward to begin with. Sitting on the driver's Recaro bucket seat, the 'powerhouse' let out a sigh or relief. Never once he would actually be stealing glances at beautiful women in the public bath, let alone oblivious to his presence.

"For a moment, I thought I was in Heaven," he uttered under his breath as he inserted the car key into the keyhole, and turned it, igniting the engine. "But I'll cast that aside for now. Time to hit the highway then. How about a cruise down ShinKanjou Counter Clockwise, then to the rest area near the Rainbow Bridge? A short run but...sounds feasible enough. I need to think about what project car to get in order to be on the same level as the others. All I could think of with my budget at the moment are the 1992 Toyota Mark II, 1988 Toyota Cresta, 1990 Honda NSX, and a 1992 Mitsubishi GTO MR. Sure, they're rather good choices in my budget, but once I buy them, I have no more income to upgrade on them until around 3 months later. I still have to consider on paying the bills, taxes, and fuel to my salary. That R34 was a steal back then. It only had missing bumpers and side skirts."

The thought of the lucky buyer before Minoru infuriated him. He had spent almost 2 months of non-stop overtime work to get enough money to purchase it, only to realise it had been bought days ago. He hit the top portion of the steering wheel, though not as hard to produce such an audible sound. Igniting the smooth, tuned engine, the powerhouse depressed the gas pedal slightly, allowing the revs to rise up to 5000rpm. The soothing sound of the faint mechanical whine was music to his ears. Sure, it had the sound of a normally aspirated engine, even though he had it turbocharged. But then again, Minoru was after for balance instead for full power in the Prelude.

"I may have maxed out the Honda's capability on going fast, yet not compromising handling. Anymore than this amount of power, I'll probably understeer more than I could handle. It's already unstable as of now," he thought as Minoru shifted the gear knob into 1st, then releasing the handbrake.

A heavy sigh left his mouth as he depresses the gas pedal. Brown eyes stole glances at other parked vehicles in the area. Nothing seemed to be of interest as he made a beeline for the Shutokou. Other than a neighbouring yellow Ferrari Dino 246 GT, cars around the area where he lived were nothing more than usual commuting, boring lumps of metal. Heck, it was even surprising when almost all of the tuned and unique ones flocked to his dormitory.

"It's still hard to believe that our residence in this particular neighourhood is the only one that has more 'unique' vehicles. It's just that amusing," he thought as the indicating right light lit up on his coupe. "Oh well, time to put that aside. Hitting the Shutokou somehow calms my mind, even just cruising at higher speeds. The sense of adrenaline rush simply rids of the pressure and stress of work. I can never get tired of this sensation of the feeling going away."

It did not take Minoru long for him to reach the said highway as he enters it via Hakozaki junction, now on a filter lane converging to the main road. It was then he noticed something unusual. Even though it had only been around midnight, Minoru would have expected moderate traffic of drivers returning home from overtime work. It was a Thursday as well, and all he noticed was a rather empty expressway. Eerily empty to be exact. A chill ran down his spine, somewhat signaling him to cancel his cruising stint for the night, and head back for the dormitory. Gearing up to 3rd pre-maturely, he applied half-throttle on the accelerator, allowing the revs to rise gradually, as well as the speed. The Honda had no problems reaching 130kmh ever so quickly before having to slow down for a decline, moderate left turn. Tyres squealed at its minimum as the white coupe cleared the bend on the outside lane, though it had reminded Minoru to fasten his 2-point seatbelt. He had not done so beforehand, having too much thoughts running through his mind had failed him to notice on one of the safety aspects when racing on the Shutokou. Absent-mindedly buckling up the seatbelt, he released the throttle, allowing the Honda to slow down considerably.

"Just what made me stop putting on my seatbelt anyway?" thought the powerhouse with a sigh, then turning his attention to the road ahead. "Then again, this is already beginning to be a lonely drive."

Gearing down to 2nd, Minoru gunned for it as he went full tilt on the throttle. The straight 4 engine under the hood turned from an audible purr to a coarse, hollow growl, complimented with a faint whine from the low pressure turbocharger. The speedometer showed 90kmh before he shifted up into 3rd. Revs dropped considerably to around 5500rpm as brown eyes spot a wide right corner ahead. Considering that there was no traffic at all, he decided to make full advantage of it; lane changing to the outside lane, brown eyes glanced at the rear view mirror. He felt something was approaching, but it did not seem to worry him at all. At 110kmh, Minoru entered the corner on the outside, before slipping to the inside, approaching mid-apex while feathering the throttle. A left hander was next just after the exit of the bend he was in. Still feathering on the gas pedal and at a reduced speed of 100kmh, he steered the coupe to the inside lane of the following turn- he turned his attention to the rear view mirror again. He swore something was coming towards his direction. Haste kicked in for Minoru as he exited the left hander on the outside lane. Flooring the accelerator while the Honda Prelude had hit the straightaway, he once again stole glances at the rear view mirror. At that instant in between the two bends, he had taken notice of a dark coloured visage. He geared up to 4th prematurely. The powerhouse had to prepare for a wide S-corner-. He held his breath. A pair of headlights appeared on his rear view mirror.

"Wh-what?" he thought. "Normally I would be at ease and challenge the driver if I find him a strong competitor…"

Tapping on the brakes while entering the S-bend, Minoru could not help but take notice of the coming vehicle that seemed to be charging without any hint of stopping. It was only then he heard the engine, and an audible one at that. Little words could explain such a rampaging scream from the oncoming car that it had Minoru slowing down in his Honda- brown eyes widened the instant it came into full view from the mirror. Sure, he could made out that the car that was heading in his direction was a late nineties Mitsubishi, but how that machine reacted through the corners had he-.

"What the-."

… … …

"I'm home," Aikawa announced her return from work, though she had already expected no response, judging by the time she had returned. "Guess everyone except Minoru is back. His Honda isn't at the parking lot."

Slumping onto the couch, she let out a heavy sigh, obviously relieved that tonight was the last day of overtime work for the week. Sure, that would mean surplus income for the blonde, but the fact that she had done four days straight of overtime work had taken a toll on her fatigue. She tilted her head to the left, glancing at the clock on the wall. 1.30am. Letting out a brief grunt, Aikawa shook her head.

"Too early. Could have done another hour of overtime," she thought, before standing up, and letting out a stretch, followed by a yawn. "But then again, an extra hour of sleep won't hurt for once."

Maroon eyes glanced to where the main television is in the living room. It was on, but on mute. It might be a ratty, old, projector television, and was from the previous owner of the building, but it still works like a charm. Pacing her way towards the massive contraption, she lifted her right arm, patting the top. She knew the remote was on it, but her height left her no choice but to guess where it was last placed. She felt her way till the middle portion of the television, where there was a depression; part of the model's design. A faint clink. Not a remote controller. But...keys? Whose? Feeling her way for the key ring, she tugged it down to her hands, revealing two keys. Covered in dust, and a layer of oxide. A master, and a back up. The master key has the words 'GT-R' on it, while the back up simply has the word 'Nissan' on it.

"A Skyline GT-R? Did Kagura make a spare?" thought the Twin-tails, looking rather puzzled before tossing it onto the newspaper pile on the coffee table. "I'll ask her when she wakes up, if I remember. Come to think it, has Minoru changed his tyres? He did grumble about it before we headed out to work in our cars."

… … …

Heavy; the word Minoru was looking for as the incoming car from behind emerged from his rear view mirror. The air, tense, hot, even though he had his air-conditioning on full blast. A silver Mitsubishi Galant EC5A. He could not make out if it was a VR-4 model, or a modified base model, the VR-G. The front between the two models look similar at first glance. Headlights from the Galant high-beamed at the Prelude a few times. A challenge. Minoru could opt out from the battle by simply not responding, or being his usual self, accepting the challenge by flooring the throttle. He took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds. The Prelude entered the S-turn on the outside lane, a left. The Galant was still behind him, anticipating a response. Middle of the S-turn. Minoru let it out. Gearing down to 2nd, he floored the throttle. Front wheels squealed violently as the needle on the speedometer rose from 70kmh to 110kmh. A moderate right turn, three lanes, no sign of traffic. Perfect. Even with the understeer, he would be able to exit the corner on the farthest lane. He steered hard to the right upon entry of the right bend. Into 3rd gear. 150kmh. Understeer kicked in, as the front tyres valiantly attempt to turn the coupe-the Galant hit the middle lane, and was next to Minoru.

"Holy shi-," were the words he let out before releasing the throttle, allowing the speed to drop, preventing the Prelude from understeering out of lane; 140kmh.

The silver sports sedan overtook him with ease before doing a gear change. A blast of flames spat out from the exhaust pipes before another surge of speed propelled the Galant ahead, exiting the corner on the same lane. Brown eyes widened in amazement at the agility of the bulky sedan. 150kmh, the Honda exited the corner on the inside lane, with minimal tyre squeal. Now it was his chance to pick up speed to catch up with the Mitsubishi. 4th gear, 170kmh. The H22 engine under the hood screamed on the higher revs, somehow kicking in Minoru's adrenaline. Steering the coupe behind the sedan, he allowed the car to slipstream. 195kmh. Traffic in a form of a van, on the left most lane. But he knew for a brief moment of the highway, the left most lane would split to two. A total of four lanes. But at that speed, Minoru would need a split second to enter the 2nd lane; soon it would be split to two lanes each. Two towards Yokohane Outbound, another into C1 Outer Loop. 200kmh. He caught up with the Galant, barely tailgating it. Both blast past the van. He made his move. Turning the wheel to the left, the Honda eased its way into the splitting left lane-.

"Shit!" his thought screamed, counter steering, throwing his Prelude into the right lane instead. "Damn kei cars. Two of them hogging the lanes!"

Then it dawned on him. He was on the right most lane. The route to C1 Outer Loop. He had to make do with it. Brake lights lit up on both cars, slowing down for the sharp right turn into the C1 Loop. 3rd gear, 2nd gear. 120kmh, inner lane. Minoru feathered on the throttle as he turned the wheel. The Mitsubishi did the same, but just barely ahead of him on the outside. 130kmh, and a hard steer. It was then it dawned on Minoru. He had forgotten all about it. The front tyres.

"Damn it, I haven't had them changed," he muttered under his breath, witnessing his coupe understeer, inching towards the outer lane. "Come on, just hold on for this battle. Just one more run."

He knew the risks of running on balding tyres. At worse case scenario, the tyres would burst, causing either loss of traction, or even if he would be able to get it under control, catastrophic understeer by running on the rims. Both cars were nearing the exit of the bend, marking the start of the C1 Outer Loop run. The Prelude's front bumper was mere millimetres from contact to the Galant's rear right fender. Turning the steering wheel further on the Honda would only cause further loss of traction, and possibly unnecessary wheelspin. Minoru reduced the pressure on the gas pedal. He had to let the Galant ahead, no matter. Any further would cause a collision. 115kmh. The sports sedan propelled out of the corner in record speed, leaving Minoru in the dust. A gearshift from it let out a burst of flames from the exhaust pipes, taunting him. 110kmh, the Prelude was out of the bend, right smack in between two lanes. He gunned it. 130kmh, into 3rd. 5500rpm. The low pressure turbocharger spooled up nicely, providing power to the 2200cc engine. 150kmh. 160kmh. The Galant was still increasing his lead. Minoru knew this would be a losing battle judging by how agile, and quick for a heft of a sedan that Mitsubishi is. But being himself, could not admit defeat. There must be a way to overtake his rival. 175kmh. 4th gear. The whine of the turbo somehow calmed his nerves. An S-turn was next; a left, followed by a wide right. The right bend was of his concern. Understeering at that spot would only have him exit the C1 Loop route through the filter lane. The Shiba Park exit. 210kmh, 8000rpm. On the left lane, the Honda sped past a road hogging Toyota before switching lanes. Now, traffic is nothing more than a nuisance to him, let alone his tyres thinning out.

"Please, let not be traffic when I enter the bend. That Galant's already entering it," his thought raced, fumbling his gear change to 5th. "God damn it. Concentrate."

Just a few metres away from the entry of the bend, he steered the white coupe. The front tyres complied, just. The car veered into the inside as it charged into the easy left turn. A blue Pajero Mini, the same lane as he is. Though the mini-SUV is still some distance away, Minoru knew that by the time he get there, that nuisance would be going through the tricky right bend. Turning through that left corner resulted in minor speed loss. 200kmh. It did not matter. The next obstacle was next. With haste, he steered the wheel towards the vacant lane. That Galant breezed through the corner, as if it were a straight line. Annoyance got the better of him. Entering the bend on the outside, he steered, sharply. Bad news. He was still going forwards. Front tyres screamed for dear life, trying to get any form of traction to turn. This forced him to release the throttle. The Pajero Mini was getting closer. Down to 4th, 180kmh. Traction slowly came in. The Honda barely entered the inner lane at 165kmh. That was not enough for Minoru to floor the throttle just yet. 160kmh. His coupe slipped past the slow mini SUV that soon blared its horn at him. Minoru held his breath, and floored the gad pedal. Into 5th prematurely. The next two bends were nothing of his concern; a wide right, then a wider left. Going full throttle is not going to be a problem. Traffic is. He caught a glimpse of it. Not the Galant that had just disappeared on the right bend. A silver truck, outer lane. 220kmh, the front tyres were starting to feel unstable. The steering wheel began to rattle, though faint. He ignored it. If he were to go full tilt, there is a chance for him to catch up. On the inside lane, 240kmh, right corner. Dealt with without incident, overtaking the truck. 250kmh. The Prelude was reaching its top speed; 260kmh. The left turn was ever so faint, Minoru did not even notice it when he maneuvered through it. But the next corner is of a major concern, past the Ichino Bridge exit lies a slightly banked, wide right turn. Tail lights from the Galant was in Minoru's sights again.

"That bulky thing is seriously more of Kagura's caliber," he thought, starting to realise the situation. "But the R34... Damn it, I could have kept up in a way with that!"

He released the throttle, allowing to slow down. 200kmh, he began feathering the throttle, entering the wide turn on the inside, gingerly trying to coax the squealing tyres to grip the asphalt. Mid-apex, it understeered. Minoru lightened the pressure on the pedal. 190kmh, the coupe was already dragging its way onto the outer lane. 175kmh, down to 4th. The tyres were officially no longer fit to even be used for daily usage. The rubber might have thinned out to a point where it is just merely a time bomb. Brown eyes widened. He knew that this race was a lost cause, and yet...

"I'm not done yet," he uttered under his breath.

Right at the exit of the bend, he floored it, again. It appeared that the Galant, too, was taking the previous corner carefully. Minoru was gaining on him, just. Into 5th, 220kmh. Next was an incline straight, and after it lies a right bend. With a filter lane on the left. Iikura exit. The silver Mitsubishi took the challenge gingerly, braking rather hard once on the top of the incline, attacking the following corner on the outside lane. That gave Minoru a chance to reduce the gap between them, and slipped the Honda onto the inside. 235kmh, he hit the incline. His left leg, ready on the brakes.

"Just a bit more," he thought, as his coupe was just reaching the crest. "Now!"

He slammed on the brakes, then geared down to 4th, and turned the wheel. Panic kicked in. It was not the understeer that threw him off. It was the fact that the Galant was still navigating through the bend, and at the rate Minoru was understeering, he was on course of an imminent crash.

"Holy shi-"

… … …

This post has been edited by outlaw-2 on Sep 27 2015, 06:46 AM

And another chapter is out.

----------
3rd Stage:
A Death, A Rebirth
Part 2

Minoru held his breath, and slammed on the brakes. Anti-lock Brake system kicked full force, trying to slow down the Prelude. It worked, but the tyres somewhat negated it. 170kmh, 155kmh. The Honda's front bumper is just centimetres away from the Galant's rear fender. He is not going to make it, preventing collision- an audible burst from the Mitsubishi's exhaust pipe caught his attention. The sports sedan have realised the situation, and gunned it on the throttle mid-apex. The surge of acceleration allowed the Galant slip ahead just enough to avoid the incoming, out of control Honda. Brown eyes, now no longer seeing the Mitsubishi from his gaze, now face yet another obstacle. The concrete barrier. Instinct within Minoru kicked in, yanking the handbrake lever, releasing the brakes, and kept the wheel to the right. The destabilised rear swung to the left, entering the outer lane, throwing itself to the said barricade.

“Come on, just stop already!” he yelled as he shut his eyes tight, while pushing his body back into the Recaro seat with his hands holding the steering wheel, expecting a crash.

Tyres screamed as inertia threw the Prelude's rear towards the concrete. Then, silence. Not even a single hint of material crumpling. All Minoru heard soon after was just the hum of the H22 engine. Oil and water temperatures were already soaring into the red based on the respective meters on the dashboard. He cracked his eyes open, and was greeted by the same blue Pajero Mini, who had stopped at the road shoulder and its hazard lights turned on. An individual emerged from it and ran over to the driver's side of the Prelude. Still recovering from what he had gone through, the brunette had no time to notice key features of this unknown person, though the figure appeared slender.

“Oi, ya all right?” asked the concerned individual, tapping on the driver's side window with a flexible object.

Minoru, in a daze, wound down the driver's side window, revealing a tanned woman, dressed in a rather casual attire. Standing at around Kagura's height, she wore a short sleeved red v-neck shirt, somewhat accentuating her cleavage, dull brown bermudas, and a pair of deep blue slip on sneakers. Her eyes is of navy blue, and her hair, long auburn that appeared to be dyed, ends at her busts while her fringe is centre parted, not covering her forehead. Her right hand appeared to be holding a pair of seemingly titanium framed spectacles.

“Hey, ya still shaken by that spin out?” she asked, once again, revealing her rather raspy voice.

It was then he regained attention to his surroundings, and took more notice of the lass, “Ah, yes, you could say so. Think my tyres are pretty much shot. Never thought it would do that. I should be all right now.”

“Good to know then. But damn, the way you drove was beyond reckless. For once I thought you were a joyrider before I remember that hulking Galant that was way ahead. He's definitely out of your league in that Prelude of yours,” the brunette replied, trying to understand the situation. “Ya best head back. It's fer ya own good. There's always another time.”

“Ah, right. Thanks for your concern,”

Without another word, the lass wore her glasses, and headed back to her blue Pajero Mini, and drove off. Brown eyes witnessed it before he put the Honda into 1st gear, and applied half throttle on the gas pedal. If there is one thing he would need to be careful of now, it would be his front tyres. He has yet to know just how thin the material is left now. Minoru has to nurse the coupe back to the dormitory.

“Those Yokohamas better be on sale when I drop by to the auto parts store tomorrow.”

… … …

Aikawa tossed and turned on her bed. She swore under her breath that drinking tea before sleep was a bad idea. Never knew caffeine in the tea had a strong impact to her body. She glanced at her alarm clock. A faint 'tch' left her mouth. She had been rolling around for the past two hours. That was two hours worth of overtime she could have done. Knowing that she would need to wake up early later, she pulled the blanket over her, and set the air-conditioning to full blast. That was one of the ways she could lull herself to sleep. But before Aikawa could even have the chance of doing so, an audible blast was heard from outside the dormitory gates, followed by a hard metallic slam and a loud curse. If memory were to jog her right, there was only one person who would react that way. Minoru.

“Shit!” his voice was heard from Aikawa's room.

“Damn his voice can be loud at times,” Twin-tails swore under her breath as she got out of bed, lightly straightening out her sleeping attire, short grey shorts, and a black tank top. “Might as well find out what this buffoon has gotten himself into this time round.”

Leaving the room, she took notice of another figure that emerged from another bedroom. Kagura, in a white button shirt, and panties. A heavy sigh left Aikawa's mouth, not even bothered to look at the albino, and headed down to the living room. Kagura let out a big yawn, and rubbed her eyes, as her slurred voice was heard.

“What was that? I could hear it in my room.”

“The usual. Minoru's done goofed something,” the blonde replied in a rather dry voice. “And how the hell you sleep so damn well? I can't sleep!”

Red eyes blinked, looking at the irritated woman, and answered, “What? It's easy. Looked at the bed, approached it. Touched the pillow, knocked out. Way better than Ryou's 'Enter bedroom, face to the floor, sleep.'.”

“Has Ryou even reach his bed once?”

“Once. Last week.”

“Geez.”

By then, they were interrupted by the main door opening in a rather rough manner, followed by a hard clunking sound that appeared to be a wheeled car jack. Aikawa took notice of this fact as she followed the raging man out of the building, past the parking lot, and out of the main gate. It was only then the blonde knew what the fuss was all about. The front left tyre of the Honda had punctured, or so she thought.

“A puncture?” she asked, while pacing her way to assist Minoru in jacking the Prelude up.

“Worse. Tyre's blown. The right might go off as wel-”

Without another word, the tyre on the front right went off as well. The loud burst rang into the ears of both Minoru and Aikawa. They winced, covering their ears out of instinct. Expletives of various kinds left their words for a moment before the man set out of sliding the wheeled jack on the front left tyre. Kagura, who seemed to have a sixth sense, brought out another wheeled jack, allowing Minoru to set work of lifting that side up. A heavy sigh left the man's mouth as the second wheeled jack was shoved under the front right tyre.

“Welp, at least they burst here, not during the race with that huge ass Galant,” Minoru concluded, shrugging at the two ladies before making his way to the back of the Honda. “I'll push from the back, both of you maneuver it into the first garage. Is the wrecked KPGC10 Skyline GT-R still in the second garage? Out of the three, the last is being occupied by Ryou's second engine. We've been switching in and out in the first for the past year now.”

Twin-tails paused, realising that she had forgotten about her previous car. Ever since getting the wrecked Fairlady S30Z, she had funded it till its revival, and spare no mind about her old GT-R. Maroon eyes turned to look at a cross individual, who is making a direct eye contact to hers. That powerhouse.

“I... forgot about it. I'll send it to the tuner company I frequent to later in the morning. I've booked a spot in their garage for my use,” she replied, with a hint of embarrassment.

Not a word was uttered after that. Making short work of the Honda into the first garage, and setting the car down, the 24 year old grabbed hold of the standard car jacks, and lifted the front portion of he car, leaving the burst tyres hanging. He was not taking any chances in damaging the rims as well. Another heavy sigh left his mouth. Aikawa took notice of it, and socked him in the skull, followed by a leer. If there was one thing she hated hearing, it would be anyone letting out a heavy sigh out of frustration.

“Get a hold of yourself. It ain't as bad my wrecked GT-R, that wrapped around a divider,” said the blonde, still in a dry voice; she had yet to take a drink of water. “I did a quick check on it. Rusting hasn't happened. It's salvageable. Not too sure what I would do to the engine though. It's scrap quality now.”

Brown eyes turned to look at the petite individual, paused for a moment, before giving a reply, “Might as well source for something a bit modern for the GT-R. Maybe an RB20ET or the RB20DET from the R31 Skyline family should do the trick. Not sure about the engine mounts, and space though. However, it should give the coupe some power to flex some muscle for daily use.”

A faint 'tch' left Aikawa's mouth. She was able to get Minoru back to his usual self instead of brooding about some tyre puncture. But the suggestion from him was not a bad idea at all. She could bring back that GT-R back to life and use as a daily driver. Sure, the S30Z she has can do the job as well, but having 700hp under the bonnet while maneuvering the streets of Tokyo is already pressurizing. And like what Minoru had mentioned, engine mounts could be an issue; she might have to fabricate one from scratch. But that would only matter when she gets the engine. It is only a matter of searching for it. With both her hands on her hip, a smirk formed on her face.

“God damn it, Minoru, now ideas are just overflowing out of my mind on what I want to do about the GT-R. Now I definitely can't sleep. Time to fire up my laptop!” said the Twin-tails towards the powerhouse, who seemed to have passed his energy towards her. “Hope the scrapyard I frequent to has the engines you suggested.”

Racing back to her room, Minoru was left scratching his head, not knowing what he had done to the blonde. With only a shrug, he paced his way to the kitchen. He needed a cup of hot coffee to cool his nerves for the time being.

“Heard Kagura did something to the messy backyard. Hadn't have time to even take a look at it ever since my dad purchased this building under my name,” thought the powerhouse, as he entered the kitchen, witnessing a friendly commotion between Twin-tails, and the albino.

“Hey, found these car keys above the huge ass projector television. These yours?” Aikawa asked, while sipping a glass of water, finally clearing her throat. “They have some oxidation going on on the surface though. Definitely not for my GT-R.”

The sleepy, busty woman let out a yawn before inspecting the keys from the blonde's right hand, “They're not mine. I've gold plated my keys to differentiate from everyone's. Did someone left them here?”

“Beats me,” the short one answered. “No one I know at work owns a Skyline GT-R. At most, one owns a stock Skyline GTS-25 ER33, and... that's it.”

During that conversation, Minoru paid no attention to them as he made his coffee, and left for the backyard. All he know that soon after the brief conversation ended, the sleepy Kagura made her way back to her bedroom, while Aikawa jumped over the back of the sofa in the living room, and lay flat on it, possibly taking a nap from there. Lights from the kitchen was enough to illuminate the main portion of the backyard. No doubt, that albino's expertise as a florist produced results. Half was covered by a small greenhouse, with a sign clearly labeled 'Vegetables' tacked to the laminated MDF door. A rather odd choice to use such a material for the door considering the wood's properties. To the right was simply a freshly mowed lawn from the previous day, with the edges rounded off. If Minoru were to guesstimate the dimensions of the cleared backyard, it was about ten metres long, five metres wide. To the left after the greenhouse was a stonewall while to the right and ahead lay more unkempt vegetation of the backyard. The area appeared to be much bigger than what the powerhouse thought it would be.

“At this rate I'll have to call dad to hire a gardener to help Kagura tend to the area. Though, what was he thinking making me run this dormitory? Didn't he already have two holiday inns to run? I could have helped him there,” thoughts ran in his mind. “But then again, if I hadn't, I wouldn't be here racing. I'll still be in Hiroshima.”

Brown eyes scanned the horizon as he took a sip from his coffee. It calmed his nerves, as expected. His eyes drifted to the right, staring at the unkempt bougainvillea plants next to a tall tree. He was not sure what kind of plant that tree was, but that did not catch his attention next. Right at the base of the tree appeared to be some form of used, unpaved path, marked with only a single trail of vague, rectangular like stones.

“Worn bricks? Is that a path? It's so obscure; right next to that tree's roots as well,” thought Minoru once again, placing his mug on the window sill. “Better go check it out.”

Digging his right pants pocket, he pulled out a small LED torchlight as he illuminated the moss and dirt covered brick path. If he had not took notice of the base of the tree, Minoru would have missed it entirely. As he enters the path, his free arm brushed aside bushes that were in his way, while following the bricks into the rather dense...forest. In the darkness, the area around him looked more like it than a typical, overgrown garden with trees that seemed to form a canopy. Moonlight was scarce; only his tiny torchlight illuminated the route. There, within the darkened area.

“A building? A shed?” thought the powerhouse. “A garage?”

As he quickened his pace to the said structure, he noticed something else. Pavement, underneath a layer of damp, dead leaves. Running along it appeared to be some form of thick wire, that goes straight into the building. Minoru inspected it as he made his way to what it appeared to be the a side door. Next to it appeared to be a garage door, mildly rusted at the hinges. Unfazed, he turned the knob on the side door. It creaked open without any resistance- brown eyes took attention of a moving figure to his left, and shone at it with his torchlight.

“Whoa, calm down, it's just me,” a familiar voice was heard; Aikawa. “Saw you heading into the unkempt 'garden', and it got me curious as well. Never thought there would be another garage in here.”

“Damn it, blonde,” the man swore. “This ain't one of those thriller shows.”

Aikawa simply grinned her way out, leaving Minoru no choice but to revert his attention back to the garage. He was expecting the inside to be damp, judging by the environment outside, but amazingly, it was dry. Using the torch, he searched for the light switch. There, to his left. Three in a row. Without any thought, he flipped on all three. Fluorescent lights flicker to life, illuminating the area within. Brown eyes took notice of two things. Something is covered by a tarp in the middle of it, while the back wall stood two prominent air dehumidifiers, with the water outlet pipes routed to drain outside the garage. That explained the high electricity bills he had been dealing with since the day he took over the building. The blonde walked past him, towards the working man's table. Tools littered on it while a thick layer of dust covered them.

“Whatever it is, the tools appear to be in good shape. Minimal rusting. Look, there's even an engine hanger,” said Aikawa, slowly getting excited, before turning her attention to the main attraction. “What's under the tarp? A car?”

Minoru replied with a shrug, “Beats me, but lets remove it to see what's underneath.”

The eager blonde, grabbed hold the front left while the man took the right. With a single motion, they pulled the tarp over, and lay it past the boot of the vehicle. There it was. Standing on by a car jack on each end of the wheel stood a coupe. A blood red coupe. Maroon eyes caught attention of the cursive decals on the side of the car, and managed to make out what it read.

“Tommykaira R,” she uttered under her breath, not noticing Minoru making his way to the front, who then notices the 'Tommykaira' badge on the grille. “What's a Tommykaira R R34 doing in here? Wait, the keys. Let me go get them.”

The man simply nodded as Twin-tails ran out of the garage with haste. He then proceeded to remove the four car jacks, one by one, letting the tyres settle onto the old concrete. That took his attention as well. The tyres appear to be in immaculate condition. No visual signs of cracking. Not even after the coupe's weight fully relied on them after the jacks were removed.

“Just how long was this car been in here? If it's that long, wouldn't the rubber on the tyres dry rot already?” more thoughts ran into his mind, before noticing the blonde dashing into the garage, with the oxidised keys in her hands.

“Found them earlier today on the projector television. Maybe these are for the Tommykaira?” she asked, handing the keys over to the 24 year old.

Not a word left his mouth as he inserted the main key into the driver's side door keyhole, and turned it. The doors unlocked. He got in, and shut the door. Aikawa followed suit on the passenger side. Inside, the air was stale, but it did not bother them. The interior was not entirely stripped out, despite the presence of a roll cage. He inserted the key into the ignition keyhole, and turned it. Without a hitch, the R34 roared to life. It idles with deep burbles while the air conditioning kicked in. Minoru turned on the radio. It was able to pick up channels without any problems. His left leg depressed the clutch pedal, hoping that it was not jammed. It had not. Nothing wrong with the car at all.

“Well,” Minoru paused, turning to look at the Twin-tails. “All seems good so far. Water and oil temperatures appears to be all right. There's still three quarters of petrol in this as well. But man, the dust, it's everywhere.”

Teasing Aikawa, who is still mesmerized by the interior and the sound of the engine idling, Minoru blew hard at the layer of dust on the dashboard. Chaos ensued as the dust began to cloud the interior.

“Oh God, why?” the woman moaned as she jumped out of the car. “You imbecile!”

“And here I thought if I blew just enough air on it, it will only get to you. Now it's all over the place!” he countered, after hacking out the dust from his mouth. “Look, there's a hand-held vacuum cleaner in here. Go do that on the interior while grab a cloth of some kind to wipe it down. It'll take a while for the R34 to warm up.”

Minutes passed by without incident as they cleaned up the red coupe. The rear carbon-fiber box spoiler that was attached to the boot in a GT1wing fashion certainly makes that itself unique from other designs he have seen. Aikawa snapped her fingers at the brunet. She had done her part, so did Minoru. However, whilst vacuuming the interior earlier on, she opened the glove-box, she noticed an envelope, still sealed.

“Found an envelope here. Seems to refer to the 'new owner of the Tommykaira',” she said, sliding the letter on the roof the coupe, towards Minoru. “Open it.”

Not a word left his mouth as he opened it, and pulled out a folded A4 sized paper. Nothing much was on it, just a short poem. However, that was enough to make a mystery out of the R34 they found. It left the brunet puzzled.

To whoever that finds this car,
take great care of it as it lives on thrill,
fear, anger, joy, excitement, sadness,
but one should never, ever, unveil a sign of madness to it...

...as it thrives on insanity...

By then, the tempo will change.

Regards,
The previous owner of the Tommykaira R-S
who met his unfortunate fate

“We'll put the driving on the highway tomorrow, so we have more time to take this for a spin. For now, let's just drive this out to the parking lot. The pavement might happen to go around the main building. That might explain the old, neglected path just after entering the main gate,” the blonde suggested, which happened to be a good idea, considering the time. “It's already 3.45am, damn it.”

“Ouh,” the man answered absentmindedly.

… … …

Unfortunately, it took another four days before Minoru got his chance in taking the Tommykaira out for a spin due to work related issues. This allowed the rest in the dormitory to let run around the neighbourhood, at least have a feel on how it drove. Not only that, appeared to garner attention from the townspeople who were familiar with the highway racing scene. Ryou, who took it out for a first, felt that the R34 was hiding something. Each gear change he did at low revs on the street felt like an unstable control of power. The revs were bouncing a bit, but when he did a check back in the dormitory, spark plugs, sensors, fuel filter, EGR valve, nothing wrong. Kagura noticed the same thing as well during her turn, but thought little of it. Aikawa was last to take the Tommykaira out on the third day, and news about this car's presence seem to make headlines to the highway racing scene, claiming it to possibly be yet another impostor to the famed Tommykaira R back in 1999. Knowing about the story back then, the blonde was already half expected this to happen. And the fact that Minoru would be test driving it the following night might spur some unexpected challenge from racers that 'hunt' down fake legends.

“A lot of jimmies might be rustled I guess,” she thought, as she maneuvered the red coupe back into the parking lot after a brief tour around the neighbourhood, and a quick visit to the petrol station for a refill. “Nevertheless, Kagura really went up to eleven on clearing the area around the garage we found. Even Ryou got his ass dragged in by her to help.”

On the following night, as a special case, Aikawa did not head out in her S30Z, but instead rode shotgun in the Tommykaira R while Minoru drove it. The blonde wanted to make sure the brunet get as much practice as possible in the twisty routes of C1 Loop and ShinKanjou to cope with the huge power and chassis difference, unlike Minoru's lacklustre Honda Prelude. They first entered the ShinKanjou Clockwise route from the Kyo Bridge junction. The brunet eased his way to 150kmh in 2nd gear with ease, but held his speed. With coaching from the blonde, he made his way into the ShinKanjou via Edo Bridge junction. The training went on throughout the route, both Aikawa and Minoru having a feel on how the R34 drove on the highway. Tyres were planted throughout. Speeds up to 240kmh were reached, in 3rd gear. The first three gears so far felt wide, utilising most of the car's horsepower, while the twin turbos screamed in the higher revs. The suspension was firm, yet have enough flex hold the car round corners at speeds Minoru would not expect to reach in the Honda. A straight away before the winding right bend into the main Wangan straight. He decided to take his chances on speed. He hit 4th gear at 240kmh.

A sudden surge of power had both Minoru and Aikawa planted onto the bucket seats as the revs rose as quickly as the speedometer. 9000rpm, 275kmh. Not even ten seconds ago, he was still at 240kmh. The twin-turbochargers now sound differently. It wailed at a throaty tone so harsh and loud that Aikawa's right ear rang. The brunet took notice and immediately depressed the brake pedal, but remained in the same gear. The turbos went back to its usual screams.

“Definitely sounds unholy in some way,” the blonde remarked, laughing her way out of the matter. “Anyway, we'll stop by at the Ariake rest area. Need coffee.”

“All right. I happen to be in need of caffeine too,” answered the brunet.

As expected at this time of the night, the rest area was filled with sports sedans and saloons of various makes, and have their own respective groups. Gearing down from 2nd to 1st, the sudden rise of the revs allowed the engine to let out a howl, unintentionally catching the attention of everyone as the Tommykaira drove its way to the vacant parking spot, just next to the row of vending machines. Just as Minoru finished reversing the coupe into the lot, Aikawa jumped out of the car, before reminding the brunet to pop the bonnet open. Turning down the engine, he pulled a latch, and grabbed his torchlight. If there was something the blonde wanted to check next, it would be the turbochargers. Minoru was minding his own business, pulling the bonnet open and illuminating the engine bay when a small group came over to inspect the Tommykaira.

“Hey bro, this car yours? Looks awfully like the TKR from back then,” one of the six asked.

Minoru, though paying attention on what he had in mind, replied, “Yeah, decided to take it for a spin. It does look similar to what the legends say about that Tommykaira.”

“Yeah, but... why a direct copy? It's almost a one to one similarity if what people say how it looked then and to your R34. I hope those 'hunters' on the other end of the rest area don't target you for staining the legend's image,” another replied, with a concerned tone. “They've taken down about 37 replicas ever since their 'debut' in 2000.”

Brown eyes widened when he heard it. He knew about these 'hunters'. They are the kind that would tempt the alleged racers to either lose control, or worse, crash them. The brunet hated those kind of racers. By then, his train of thoughts ended abruptly as Aikawa returned with two cold cans of black coffee.

“Nothing wrong with the turbos, Aikawa,” said the brunet, grabbing hold of one of the two cans. “Thanks.”

“Then I'm really not sure what all these perks of the Tommykaira are a problem, or it performs as it is,” the blonde replied, taking a sip of the bitter beverage. “Ah, that hit the spot.”

Leaning against the passenger side door of the coupe, the group of six that was around the car paced away after noticing the petite woman. They knew who she was. The Ace of Yokohane, and her black Nissan Fairlady S30Z.

“Dude, that guy is with the Ace of Yokohane man. What's up with that? Is she supporting the use of a legend replica?” one of the remarks was heard, but Aikawa thought little of it.

That however, took attention of the assumed 'hunters'. The blonde took notice of them. The disgusted looks they express in their direction as one of the three got into a white Toyota Supra Mk. 3. Aikawa kept an eye on them. The other two got in the black Mazda RX-7 FD3S. The group that was around the Tommykaira earlier on returned, one of them alerting Minoru.

“Hey bro, careful. Looks like they've locked onto you. This is definitely bad news.”

Brown eyes turned to look at the blonde as he shut the bonnet. The woman simply shrugged, unfazed by the problem.

“Let's get in then. Down Wangan Straight,” she suggested, while revealing a smirk. “We've just found out what it can do in 4th gear. Time to let the engine do the work on the 5th and 6th.”

“Ah, right,” Minoru answered, and got in just after finishing half of the coffee, and tossed it into the recycling bin.

Turning the ignition, the Tommykaira R roared to life, turning heads of everyone in the rest area. The brunet let it idle for at least half a minute before shifting it into gear, and made his way out of the rest area. As expected, the second the red coupe went past the Supra and the RX-7, they followed suit from behind. Tension grew within the cockpit. Cruising at a steady 50kmh on the filter lane, brown eyes paid attention to the left side mirror. No traffic.

“Floor it, Minoru. Time to have a feel of the machine's true potential. That custom speedometer has been bugging me from the start when I took it out for a spin in the neighbourhood. It's maxed out at 400kmh,” said Aikawa in a rousing tone. “Let that engine scream to its delight!”

Not a word left the brunet's mouth. Still in 1st gear, he floored it. The engine's howl echoed into the rest area, which shook the nerves of several. Never once they heard an engine sing like that from an R34. This R34 was different. Like an animal whose shackles have been removed.

As it breathes, it expels a reverberating tone,
the flames that fire out of the exhaust, merely a bridge to the song,
to the chorus and verse of each gear, each kilometer per hour,
where it forever searches something that is never in sight.

An outro.

This post has been edited by outlaw-2 on Oct 5 2015, 06:05 AM

Preview of the next chapter.

----------

Nothing. Just traction. Brown eyes glanced at the tachometer. 9500rpm. His left hand grasped the gear level, while the left foot on the clutch pedal. He hesitated. All three cars blast past the lumbering SUV, with Minoru just mere inches from crashing into it.

“Do it, now!” Aikawa's voice rang into his ears.

Minoru let out his held breath, “Here goes!”

In rapid succession, he released the throttle, depressed the clutch pedal, while shifting the gear knob to 4th. He floored the accelerator. Not a moment hesitance, the Tommykaira screamed. The surge of acceleration propelled the blood red coupe forwards at such a rapid rate, both the Supra and RX-7 appeared stationary as they enter the tunnel. The tune of the turbochargers changed to what both Aikawa and Minoru expected, but the fact that it is echoing in the tunnel made it sound haunting towards the other two coupes. The Mazda slammed its brakes hard, somewhat uneasy by what he heard. The Toyota pressed on, still in attempt to catch up. Confusion kicked in for the lone driver in it. His Supra has been heavily tuned to even keep up with the likes of foreign exotics like the Ferraris and Lamborghinis. But not being able to keep up with a mere R34 threw him off. To compensate for more power, he activated the afterburner, increasing the boost of the Toyota. No doubt the sounds coming from the supposed Tommykaira appear to have a demoralising effect on him, but he was actually catching up. If there was one way he could take down the red coupe, it would be side swiping it from the rear side fender. Unfortunately...

Minoru glanced at the tachometer once again. 9500rpm, 285kmh. He has been holding on that speed for the past few seconds. 4th gear was already having a strong surge of power, but expecting the same from the other two gear have him hesitated. He glanced at Aikawa, expressing fear. She nodded, nevertheless.

“Why am I scared?” thought the blonde. “I've driven speeds higher than this in my Z. Is it because of how it sounds?”

----------

Portrait images of the characters

Minoru Hasegawa


Aikawa Takashizawa


Ryou Shima


Kagura Ishida


Un-named driver of the blue Pajero Mini.

As a new chapter for the Tommykaira unfolds,
down the Wangan Straight, it begins to flex its muscles,
as under the bonnet lies a machine awaiting to utilise its maximum potential,
as if beating, breathing, like a living thing.

A synchronisation between man and machine.

4th Stage
The Mechanical Heart

A long trail of flames spat out of the exhaust pipe as Minoru hit 3rd gear at 160kmh. So far, the two cars, a white Supra, and a black RX-7 were till able to keep up, though have yet to pursue and assault like what he recalls about these 'hunters'. Brown eyes kept on peering at the rear view mirror. This is the first time he ever have himself a three-way battle, though the two are working together in this case. Aikawa, taking notice of what is in front, slammed the dashboard hard, immediately causing the brunet to shift his attention to the road ahead. A kei car, filtered into his lane. Ten metres. The powerhouse steered to the left, onto the third lane while at the same time reducing pressure onto the accelerator. That allowed the the R34 to drop its speed to 120kmh, forcing him to downshift into 2nd. The white Supra edged out ahead on the first lane before a gear change and a thrust of acceleration surged it ahead, before slipping into the middle lane.

"Can't say that I know much about these 'hunters', but they are pretty annoying to say the least," thought the blonde, glancing at the passenger side mirror; the Mazda is tailgating behind them. "I guess they haunt the Wangan line more often than my usual Yokohane route."

Haste kicked in for Minoru, but pulled off a mistake. He upshifted too early into 3rd. At the revs he was going, the turbochargers struggle to spool up once again. That even allowed the Mazda to catch up, and pulled alongside the Tommykaira on the middle lane. Revs rose in a crawl as the speedometer shows 135kmh. Minoru had the urge to downshift to get the turbochargers up to its optimal performance. Aikawa interrupted him.

"Observe the tachometer on which revs the turbochargers spool up. Get a feel of things with the car and the engine," she implied. "Stay in gear."

The brunet stole glances at the tachometer, while keeping an eye on the two cars, whom appear to be waiting for his move. The turbochargers kicked in. Around 5500 to 6000rpm. The surge was too fast for him to pinpoint at a particular rev range to the nearest hundred- the Supra swerved into his lane in front of him, the Mazda still staying beside him on the 2nd lane. Brake lights lit up on the Toyota. Brown eyes narrowed and bit his lip. Instead of braking, he floored the throttle. Acceleration on the R34 did its work, surging just slightly ahead of the Mazda, but barely enough for a lane change. 15 metres, Minoru reacted. A hard swerve to the right onto the 2nd lane forced the RX-7 to steer onto the 3rd lane, while the white coupe began to speed up.

"Your brake check will not faze me," the brunet uttered under his breath-the Mazda caught up alongside the R34. "You kidding me?"

The wild, sheer shrieks from the black coupe caught Minoru's attention. It is of a deafening shrill from the rotary engine that is matched with the familiar sounding whine of the turbocharger. The sound it makes had Aikawa have a chill running up her spine. She never liked high pitched noises. It will only cause goosebumps on her skin. 210kmh. At this kind of situation, the acceleration felt sluggish for Minoru. His foot is practically full tilt on the throttle. Headlights from behind shone through the rear view mirror; the JZA70 Supra, tailgating. Brown eyes turned his attention to the right, where the passenger side's window of the RX-7 wound down, revealing the two individuals in the rotary powered coupe. The brunet paid no attention to the driver of the Mazda, but instead at the passenger, whom simply showed a grim expression, while his right hand formed a fist, before sticking his thumb out, downwards. Almost immediately, the Supra made its move. 225kmh. The white coupe overtook him to his left, and immediately cut in front of him, blocking Minoru's lane. Brown eyes gazed at the Toyota's tail lights, expecting a brake check. Aikawa paid attention to the brunet's situation. Not good. Too many things going on at once. Maroon eyes glanced at the Mazda. The passenger windows wound up, but the car appears to be nearer. She then paid attention to the tachometer, and the speedometer. 235kmh. Revs almost reaching 9500rpm. Almost time for a gear change. In fact, the best time for a gear change, and steer into the 3rd lane. But knowing Minoru's driving style...

Instead of brake lights lighting up from the Supra, it swerved into the 1st lane, revealing a black SUV on the middle lane. Twenty metres. At this speed, Minoru only have mere seconds to react. 3rd lane, the only vacant one. Haste kicked in; with a violent swerve, the brunet steered the R34 onto the 3rd lane, nearing 240kmh. He expected a possible outcome of the rear slipping, and cause a spinout. His body braced for such a possibility. He held his breath. Tyres squealed violently at the sudden change of direction.

"Huh?" he uttered under his breath.

Nothing. Just traction. Brown eyes glanced at the tachometer. 9500rpm. His left hand grasped the gear knob, while the left foot on the clutch pedal. He hesitated. All three cars blast past the lumbering SUV, with Minoru just mere inches from crashing into it.

"Do it, now!" Aikawa's voice rang into his ears.

Minoru let out his held breath, "Here goes!"

In rapid succession, he released the throttle, depressed the clutch pedal, while shifting the gear knob to 4th. He floored the accelerator. Not a moment hesitance, the Tommykaira screamed. The surge of acceleration propelled the blood red coupe forwards at such a rapid rate, both the Supra and RX-7 appeared stationary as they enter the tunnel. The tune of the turbochargers changed to what both Aikawa and Minoru expected, but the fact that it is echoing in the tunnel made it sound haunting towards the other two coupes. The Mazda slammed its brakes hard, somewhat uneasy by what he heard. The Toyota pressed on, still in attempt to catch up. Confusion kicked in for the lone driver in it. His Supra has been heavily tuned to even keep up with the likes of foreign exotics like the Ferraris and Lamborghinis. But not being able to keep up with a mere R34 threw him off. To compensate for more power, he activated the afterburner, increasing the boost of the Toyota. No doubt the sounds coming from the supposed Tommykaira appear to have a demoralising effect on him, but he was actually catching up. If there was one way he could take down the red coupe, it would be side swiping it from the rear side fender. Unfortunately...

Minoru glanced at the tachometer once again. 9500rpm, 285kmh. He has been holding on that speed for the past few seconds. 4th gear was already having a strong surge of power, but expecting the same from the other two gear have him hesitated. He glanced at Aikawa, expressing fear. She nodded, nevertheless.

"Why am I scared?" thought the blonde. "I've driven speeds higher than this in my Z. Is it because of how it sounds?"

Twin-tails would not have a second to spare to think through it as the brunet hit 5th gear. By then, it hit her. Not only the sound of the turbochargers have changed in the previous gear. Now, the engine is singing a different tune. The previous angry tones are now raspy howls, strangely complementing the throaty wails of the twin-turbos. The various haunting tones reverberating within the cockpit somewhat put the blonde into a soothing trance. Despite hitting speeds close to 300kmh, everything appeared slow, as if she was one with the Tommykaira. Maroon eyes turned to look at Minoru. No doubt, he was experiencing the same thing as well.

"What is this?" thought the brunet. "Everything seems slower, as if I'm flowing."

A van was in his way on the 3rd lane. With a swift correction on the steering wheel, the Tommykaira slipped its way onto the middle lane, without a hint of drama. Not even tyre squeal. Brown eyes glanced at the driver's side mirror. The white coupe appeared to be catching up on the 1st lane, now at least thirty metres apart in between them. The minor decline seems to be helping the Supra more than the Tommykaira. 320kmh. The R34 feels planted. Everything seemed to comfort him. The brutal symphony of the engine and turbochargers that reverberated both the interior and exterior of the blood red coupe, despite its harsh tone, felt somewhat relaxing. Brown eyes turned to Aikawa. Something seemed off. The pupils in her eyes shrunk to a point the white sclera was dominant.

A sense of fear kicked in for the blonde. The initial calmness she felt earlier on is now replaced by a strong sense of uncertainty. A chill ran down her spine, followed by a sudden rush of cold air, brushing against her shoulders, and downwards to her hips. The monotony of the road ahead, and the coarse cries of both engine and turbochargers did little to help this sudden change of sensation. Her breaths grew heavy, and fast. At this rate, she would end up hyperventilating. Maroon eyes turned to look at Minoru. There he is, looking back at her. No words came out between them. A white blur appeared behind the brunet.

"The Toyota," the blonde's voice came out with a raspy tone; dry throat.

Without a word, Minoru swiveled his head towards the side window. Indeed, the JZA70 had caught up. His eyes then turned to the speedometer, and tachometer. 330kmh, 9500rpm. Time for a gear change. However, before he does so, he switched lanes to the 3rd lane. By then, the end of the tunnel was in sight. Minoru hit 6th gear. Once again, the sound of the turbochargers changed again. It was louder. The wails, it was beginning to sound a bit like the infamous Stuka from the Second World War. He glanced at the turbo boost gauge. No doubt, the boost is higher than that on the 4th and 5th gear. Water and oil temperatures began to creep up, but at a rate so slow it was not a major concern. The thrust of acceleration is similar to the previous gear. The needle on the speedometer rolls past 350kmh. The Supra narrowly edges ahead on the 1st lane as its straight-6 twin-turbocharged engine screamed for dear life. The brunet knew that once they exit the tunnel, it would be a wide left, with a minor bank. He knew what speed to hold in the Honda, but not the R34. If there was one thing he knew he needed to be ready, left foot on the brakes. The JZA70 slipped into the middle before exiting the tunnel. Minoru's Tommykaira followed suit on the 3rd.

The wide left bend begins with a minor turn. The brunet, still foot on full throttle, steered the coupe. 355kmh, no tyre squealing so far. The severity of the bend increased past the Ooi exit. Brakes lights lit on the Supra for a brief moment. Minoru did the unthinkable. Instead of applying the brakes, he eased off the throttle, allowing the Tommykaira to reduce speed. 340kmh, 330kmh. He feathered it. Tyres squealing became louder as he turned the steering wheel more. The R34 began to slip, slowly into the middle lane, just ahead of the white Toyota. Steering became heavy for the brunet. There was not much he could do but hope that three lanes were enough to clear the winding corner. 325kmh. The R34 hit mid apex on the middle lane. The minor bank hit its peak. Minoru swore under his breath he felt the ATTESA E-TS Pro system kicking in full time. The Tommykaira was slipping towards the 1st lane. The brunet held on. The white Supra was already long gone before mid apex of the corner. It had given up, and now simply witnessing the impossible stunt Minoru is pulling off.

"Come on, Tommykaira, just a bit more! Grip, tyres, grip!" the powerhouse let out a cry of frustration as the R34 hit the 1st lane, and slowly slipping nearer to the metal barriers. "Almost there!"

Brown eyes glanced to his right. The barriers were mere centimetres away. 320kmh. Traction regained. The road straightened out. Minoru absentmindedly floored the accelerator. A spit of flames left the exhaust pipe, allowing the blood red coupe to surge ahead, while its crying symphony of the engine and twin-turbochargers echoed down the Wangan Straight. The Toyota came of a full halt at the road shoulder. The driver's hands shuddered, even though he grasped the steering wheel hard. Sure, he had been defeated by that Skyline GT-R. But the fact that the way it sounds appear to haunt him. The sound that he will never forget. The RX-7 arrived minutes later, and parked behind the white coupe. Not a single remark, or reaction came from the duo. They were unsure what they have witnessed. All they knew that that red R34 was different. Dangerously different.

… … …

Back at the dormitory

Ryou, who lay slumped on the sofa in his unkempt salaryman attire, stared blankly at the television. He had just finished his five, excruciating hours of overtime to close a deal with a stubborn client, and an hour's trip back via public transport pretty much burned him out. He would have brought his Toyota Chaser as his form of transport to work, but the renovation and overhaul of the company's parking lot meant everyone had to commute by other means for the time being. Only kei cars and small displacement motorbikes were allowed to park on the small, makeshift parking lot just outside of the company.

"At this rate, I might as well get myself a kei car," thought the grey haired man. "There is a junkyard just a few streets down. Wonder what they would have that will struck my fancy. "

He let out a heavy sigh. That would meant a detour to the junkyard once work is done tomorrow. He could drop by to Akihabara first from his workplace at Ikebukuro and hitch a ride in Kagura's Skyline GT-R. He knew where Kagura's shop is located; just happens to be in a mall right next to the JR Akihabara Station. Black eyes glanced at the wall mounted clock located just next to the projector television. Close to two in the morning. A big yawn left his mouth as he further loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons.

"I need beer," he thought before getting up to his feet, dragged them into the kitchen. "A cold one."

It was then he heard the familiar tune of a twin-turbocharged straight-6 engine. Grabbing a can from the refrigerator, the grey haired man paced his way out of the dormitory, just in time to see the twosome, Minoru and Aikawa, emerge from the blood red Tommykaira. He noticed the behaviour of the duo. They were not in their usual high spirited selves. There was an air of fear surrounding them somehow. Pulling the tab and taking a sip of the beer, Ryou paced his way towards Minoru, who seemed to be the calmer of the two.

"I assume you got poo in your pants?" the salaryman asked, jokingly.

"Would have worn brown bermudas for that occasion," the brunet replied, forcing a laugh out, before the previous expression returned. "There's just something not right with the Tommykaira. Not the mechanical sort of problem."

"Oh?" said Ryou. "Guess you're still not used to the massive power output the R34 has? Don't worry, it'll take time before you fully get the hang of it. Just like me and the Chaser. Took me 6 months just to fully understand that sport saloon's characteristics at 700hp. A ton of closed circuit runs as practice does help at times."

Aikawa, wearing a concerned expression, entered into the conversation, "Nevertheless, we'll bring the Tommykaira to the tuner shop we frequent to."

"Which one? The one that tuned Ryou's Chaser, or from that other place?" Minoru asked, just to clarify his doubts.

"Ozuma Tech Tuners," Twin-tails replied, followed by a yawn. "I'll head in first."

"Oh God," the brunet moaned. "That place? I'll probably end up fooling around with that butch instead."

"Ain't my fault that you and that woman behave like brothers from different mothers. Heck, she's more man than you at times," the blonde retorted, as she entered the dormitory.

"Ah, that woman, what's her name again- ah, Nagase, am I right? I still remember you two playing discus out of scrapped flywheels before she broke the office window," the salaryman chipped in, trying to lighten up the mood.

"I didn't even throw them. She did. Hell, she carries them like they're nothing," Minoru countered, his right hand rubbing his scalp. "Never mind that. You coming with us tomorrow?"

"I got other plans in mind. Gonna be heading down to a junkyard and see if I can bag a cheap kei car for my commute. Temporary changes going on at work."

"Ah, got you. Goodnight then."

… … …

Plans to drop by at the mentioned tuners were delayed by a week after work shenanigans on both Aikawa and Minoru's side kicked up a storm. Even though they worked at different companies, and job scope, the main reason for the surge of workload was similar. The companies were rushing to meet their respective sales target as they near the end of the month. It too delayed Ryou's intention of dropping by to the junkyard, or used cars dealer. Not that he was lazy to go there to begin with; Kagura was interested to go as well, but she had to settle a long distance delivery by herself to Aichi prefecture in her own R32 after the company's van broke down. Ryou was left alone to tend the dormitory for the time being. He managed to hire two gardeners to tend to the dense area of the garden, almost fit to be called a small rainforest. Considering that his company had actually earned a major profit for the month, it allowed him a week's off from work, which left him pretty much nothing to do in the dormitory, with the exception of cleaning the five vacant rooms on the third floor, just in case if there were any potential people looking for a place to stay.

That left him with only his sports sedan to tend to. The white Toyota Chaser Tourer V. Two weeks. That was how long that car sat in the parking lot ever since his last drive in the Shutokou. He dug into the left pocket of this grey trousers, and pulled out the car keys to the saloon. He stared at it for quite a while as a thought ran through his mind.

"I had the intention of overhauling it and convert the suspension to custom double wishbones. Sure, I have the money to do it, but time? Considering my nature when it comes to tuning, I rather be on site when the work is being done. At least any faults during the conversion would be entirely my fault and not another."

He paused, eyes still on the car keys. His eyes shut, and took a deep breath, followed by a heavy sigh.

"I'll put it on hold for now. Let's see if investing on other springs work better. Ah, need to get a new set of bushings as well. Been a while since they were last changed."

His cellphone rang just as he was about to exit the main door. A message came through. From Aikawa.

"Meet up on Wangan Outbound after the toll booths, Outer Route. We'll link up there. Myself, Minoru, and a friend of mine are heading over in our respective cars. We might be cruising at a lower speed this time. One is driving a kei car, despite looking like a sports car," Ryou read out the lengthy message. "Damn it, Aikawa. Can't you ever shorten your messages for once?"

… … …

Yokohama, Ozuma Tech Tuners

Scorching. That was what a particular individual by the name of Minoru would say about the weather. Being in the middle of summer simply had him wearing light; a plain white Polo T-shirt navy blue Bermudas, and cheap sneakers. Even though he had the air-conditioning in the Tommykaira down to the coldest temperature, the second he got out of it had him perspiring. Ryou emerged from his Chaser, somewhat sweaty as well in his grey, short sleeved button shirt, grey trousers and brown loafers.

"We certainly left Aikawa and her colleague behind. Who would have thought we would see an Autozam AZ-1, a red one too? Been years since I last saw one," the grey haired man commented, wiping his sweat off with a clean handkerchief.

"A Mazdaspeed model to be specific, which makes it a gem," the powerhouse implied. "Never mind that, where's that old man, and that butch daughter of his?"

Brown eyes glanced at the surroundings of the company's site. Where they are, the guest parking lot is situated just to the right of the entrance of the compound. Looking inside, the main, two storey building stood in the middle, while two big garages on each side populate the area. The far left stood a long shed that houses several tuned cars from other customers, all in various stages of dis-assembly, and being attended to by the company's engineers and mechanics. Minoru turned his attention to the right side. There, the company's parking lot stood two very prominent cars that stuck out from the other... boring looking makes. A red Maserati Ghibli II GT with an aftermarket lip rear wing, and seven-spoke black rims. Another is a familiar sight for the brunet. A warm yellow Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo MR, a Z16 model. It sported a front splitter that appear very discreet from the way it was designed while the hood is of an aftermarket make out of carbon-fiber with vents at the sides. The rear wing appear to be stock, but Minoru can make out a lip wing from a distance, possibly in attempt to make more rear downforce. No doubt, the two people running the shop are here.

A horn was heard from the S30Z as it entered the compound before the Autozam followed suit from behind. Minoru glanced through the side window of the Fairlady. No doubt, Twin-tails appear furious.

"Let's go together as a convoy. Wasn't that what I said? But no, you sped off like Speed Racer on crack," the blonde scatted, shooting a glare at the powerhouse. "And no complaints about us being slow. Weren't you the one not keen on coming here in the first place?"

"Heh heh," Minoru tried to laugh it off. "But I admit, the speed in the Tommykaira does feel very addicting somehow, even though I didn't even hit 4th gear at all. 3rd gear at low revs while doing 150kmh still feel all right despite that turbo lag."

It was only then Aikawa's colleague in the Autozam emerged from the car after parking next to the Fairlady. Brown eyes turned to look at the said person. That individual did the same towards Minoru.

"Wait a minute, you're that woman in the blue Pajero Mini!" the brunet exclaimed, recalling that encounter.

"Yer that driver in the white Honda!" the lass replied, aiming a left index finger at him. "And yer changed yer car as well? Don't tell me yer gonna spin out in that one too."

Maroon eyes took notice of the situation, "Wait, Minoru, you met her before?"

"Remember the time I got back home with the burst tyres? Yeah, that time," the powerhouse answered, his right hand rubbing the back of his scalp. "Never thought she turned out to be your colleague."

"Anyway, I believe we have yet to introduce each other," said the woman with the husky voice. "The name's Akiko Takamachi. Yer can call me by mah Christian name, Kristina, or Kris, in short."

"Minoru Hasegawa," replied the brunet. "And that accent. I believe you're from Hiroshima as well? I lost that strong accent after I moved out from there to Tokyo."

"All the way from Kure, near around Futaba Hospital if ah remember correctly. Been four years since I last went back to see mah old ma and pa," the tanned woman responded with a smile. "Which of Hiroshima yer hailin'?"

"Ikuchi Island, near Katsuragi Shrine," he replied. "Ways off from the main land by road, haha."

The chatter between the two continued, somewhat oblivious to Aikawa waving her arms at them in attempt to catch their attention. That had Twin-tails no choice but to pull the brunet by his left ear out of the conversation in order to do what they are intending to do for today; checking the horsepower by the rolling-road, or dyno in the blonde's terms.

"Damn it Minoru. I knew Kris is from Hiroshima, but you as well? I can never tell by how you speak as well," said the blonde, as they head towards the main building.

"The more you know, shorty. The more you know," the brunet replied, while attempting to annoy the woman.

"Hey, the old man's not in the office. He's helping the team installing a 3S-GTE engine into a S150 Toyota Crown. How can I help- Hey, scrub, you're here too? " a familiar voice rang into Minoru's ears.

He turned his head up to the second floor balcony of the main building. No doubt, it is her. That woman the brunet always call her 'Butch'. Nagase Ozuma. Despite wearing the dirty green overalls that the company's mechanics would wear, it does not help that she had unzipped the top half off, revealing a damp white tank top, while baring her toned abs, showing a rather vague six-pack. Her hair is of shoulder length black that end covering the nape, and a centre parted fringe that covers her eyebrows, but not long enough to obstruct vision from her green eyes. She stands at about 1.70 metres, and being a 29 year old, Nagase is older than Minoru by a whopping five years.

Without haste, green eyed woman leaped off from the second floor on the balcony, and landed on the ground in a kneeling position. The brunet flinched, knowing what would come next. With haste, Minoru ran towards the company's parking lot. The butch followed suit, in a burst of speed, blasting past Aikawa.

"Come back here you scumbag! Imma hug the sweat into your face! The hell did you go for these months you inhumane human?" Nagase yelled, obviously catching up with the panicked man. "You left a bro hanging here!"

"I was working this whole time you damn butch! Get away from me! Go take a damn shower! I don't want to get boob-slapped by those donkin' Ds of yours!" Minoru answered as he ran past the yellow GTO, and frantically jumping over a pile of pallets.

Just as the brunet got the pile of pallets, about two metres up, he felt a firm grip at his left ankle, "Oh shit."

"Got you, Minoru," Nagase smirked while using a deeper tone of her voice.

However, that action had the brunet losing his balance as he tipped over his back. The butch, however, had anticipated it, and with a swift movement, broke Minoru's fall by catching his in her arms. The panicked man, now realising on the situation he is in, turned embarrassed, as well as that certain fear. Brown eyes stared at Nagase's face, whose mouth turned and arched into a wide grin. Drips of sweat from the woman landed on Minoru's face but nowhere near his mouth.

"You're light, in my terms," she commented. "But that aside, you know what I'm gonna do, right-"

"Not a chance!" the snapped brunet yelled as he rolled to his left, free from the princess carry, and landing on his feet and bolted off into one of the garages.

"You're gonna get raped from me, I swear!" the butch replied and resumed chase.

Ryou, who finally caught up to Aikawa, could only stare in amazement at the relationship between the powerhouse and the butch. Twin-tails planted her face into her right palm, not expecting such a riot to go on. Akiko, being a first timer in the tuner shop, let alone witnessing such an encounter, popped up a question.

"Is that woman a yandere or sumthin'?"

Still in the same position, the blonde replied, "No, she's just a full blown tomboy who sees Minoru as her younger brother. She can be quite a brute at times with that strength of hers. She'll probably be able to tow your AZ-1 around by only lifting the rear."

"Ah get ya."

"Never mind about those two," Ryou implied, pacing his way into the main building. "I'll go on ahead and have a look around and see if they sell any bushings for my Chaser, and possibly new springs for it."

"Quit running, Minoru!"

"Piss off, butch!"

… … …

As the graphs outline and strength of the engine,
its heart beats differently to every individual,
but when a particular familiar depresses the throttle,
it sings a haunting tune, acknowledging its choice,

Not only a change in power physically,
but possibly mentally as well,
However...

---------------------------

New character in this chapter

Nagase Ozuma


This post has been edited by outlaw-2 on Oct 18 2015, 07:37 PM

DUUUUDE! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT EMULATOR? THE ISO? THE SETTINGS OF THE EMULATOR!
I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!

What are your PC's specs? I'm planning to put it in my laptop if it would work.

HAHA. I'll give this a good read.

Well, it's simply the PCSX2 emulator. The new version appears to be stable in a way. As for the ISO, well... I have a physical copy of the game. The settings I believe, I left it as default as it worked best for my PC.

My specs... err...

CPU - Intel i7 5820K
Motherboard - Asrock X99X Killer
RAM - G.Skill Rip-Jawz 2400MHz DDR4 4GB x 4
GPU: Powercolor R9-290 PCS+
PSU: FSP Aurum PT 1200W 80+ Platinum
CPU Cooler: Gamer Storm Captain 120
M.2 SSD: ADATA Premier Pro 256GB
SSD 1: ADATA Premier Pro SP900 512GB
SSD 2: Toshiba Q 256GB
SSD 3: Corsair Neutron GTX 120GB
SSD 4: Fujitsu F-100 256GB
HDD 1: Western Digital Black 1TB
HDD 2: Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB
HDD 3: Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB
Case: Antec Eleven Hundred
Case Fans Type 1: Corsair Air SP120
Case Fans Type 2: Corsair Air AF120
Case Fans Type 3: Antec Tricool 120mm
Case Fans Type 4: Aerocool Shark 120mm
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD
DAC: Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1
Speakers: Corsair SP2500
Headphones 1: Roland RH-300 (Closed back)
Headphones 2: Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (Open back)
Headset 1: Steelseries Siberia V3 Diablo III Edition
Headset 2: Venom Vibration Headset XT+
Keyboard: Corsair K70
Mouse: Corsair M65
Mousepad: Razer Vespula Mass Effect 3 Edition

A screenshot as proof that I'm not lying about having that much storage devices.

Image size reduced, original size: 942 x 552. Click here to view the image in its original dimension.

This post has been edited by outlaw-2 on Oct 18 2015, 09:36 PM

why the need of lots of storage?
y-you're not piratan are you?

Err, no. It's just that back when I was overhauling my PC, my hard drives tend to get full when doing my gaming recordings. Hence the two 2TB drives. The various SSDs were used to offset the load from the main SSD in hopes that data transfer speed would be optimal during editing and processing, and one designated as output.

After the overhaul, the urge to do gaming recordings sort of died... Ugh. Then they ended up as is. Several SSDs became part of the Steam library for games with slow load times, one WD black for those with normal or fast load times. There's still some remnants of the gaming recording files that I haven't bothered to deal with too...

This post has been edited by outlaw-2 on Oct 20 2015, 06:30 AM

Nice specs although I don't know the reputation of the board maker, you have stuff I probably won't bother with, and my ears might be too gone to tell the difference between 320kbps MP3 vs lossless WAV. (still take WAV anytime.)

Didn't opt for the 5930K? 40 lanes... I think I only know one person who can probably beat you in storage device count, but he hasn't upgraded from his Yorkfield yet and all the drives are mechanical. Mainly because it still runs rock-solid on a properly-maintained RAID. And has neither time nor bother to game modern titles.