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Weel, the link i gave was up to RPM 15 but in here its only up to 16. o_o

Oh that... per request of my friend, where he worked at, couldn't open the freewebs, thus I decided to post it over here instead...

Oh, so starting on RPM 1 on this thread would be RPM 36 at the freewebs?

Umm... no...

RPM 1 - RPM 35 is like frist season of this series... if you want to follow it more, there is also www.freewebs.com/hssr2, which is starting over from RPM 1, and in this forum continued to 16th...

You should just follow the ones here, since it's all packed at one place... all you have to do is just track the RPMs down from the first post on this thread

Here is the 17th RPM

RPM 17: Momentary Battle

After Sora and Steve bids farewell to Homura and his team, the two eats up a ramen to fill their stomach with warm food and get away from cold icy wind of winter.
“So… what’s next?” Steve asked

“I don’t know” Sora replied as he slurps the ramen, “We wait for the others”

“That’s another team we defeated… I hope the others are doing okay” Steve sighed, “Do you think they’ll do okay?”

“Not sure… well, let’s just hope so” Sora drinks the cold grape tea, “Besides, there’s nothing we can do about it… I mean, that’s their battle”

“Guess you’re right… let’s just go home now” Steve stands up, “Pay the ramen, will you?”

“…”

Sora stands up and pays the ramen. The two gets out of the shop and gets into their cars.
“Ah… I almost forgot” Sora said, “I have to buy some stuffs for my fridge back at the house”

“Okay, then… see you tonight at the coffee shop” Steve nods and drives off

Sora ignites his engine and exhaled lightly. The wind just gets colder and he didn’t bother touching the air conditioner button. Well, it’s time to go to the convenient store.

Few minutes later, he arrived at the store. He parked at the empty lot and locks the car.
He grabs a medium sized trolley cart and takes it inside the store.
“Alright… uh… where is the list I made earlier?” he rubs the pocket of his jacket, “Here it is… okay… first is… curry powder”

He grabs the curry powder from the cabinet and went to look for other things he need.
“Okay… next up is… chicken, cow, and fish cubes” Sora thought, “Oh, here it is…”

There are still a lot of things he need, so let’s just leave him for a bit.

At the riverbank, a jet black ZO6 is parked under a big tree. That ZO6 belongs to Cross… and he is currently speaking to someone. That someone is a girl, and the two of them seems to knew each other very well.
“It is very unlikely to that, Cross” the girl said, “We need to ask of his assistance”

“If it’s possible, I want to leave him out of this” Cross sighed, “But what if you say is true, I guess I don’t have any choice. I will tell him myself and give him the specific details”

“Everyone on that group is looking to recruit him, whether he likes it or not” the girl continued, “We can’t take them down right now, the kid will suspect that you will have something to do with it… Just let it go with the flow, and I will try and monitor his progress closely”

“Okay… I will give him little something-something to protect himself”

“Do not give him the real thing” the girl reminds him, “It will add more works for us after we wrap it up”

“You will need one more person to help you” Cross said, “I hope you can find suitable candidate… someone that can keep on a low profile and doesn’t stand out much”

“I think I already have one in mind… but it will take a time to approach her, though” she exhaled lightly, “Don’t worry, I’ll give you more of the details when I makes my move”

“Okay, then… over and out” Cross said, “Next time, we’d better meet up someplace else. That coffee shop is the place where those kids used to hang out”

“I understand” she nods, “See you again, then…”

“Alright then… see you soon” Cross replies

Who was that shady girl? What was her connection to Cross? What are the two of them plotting anyways?
Let’s put that aside for now and get back to the shopping lady. He’s about to finish his shopping, though… until something came up with him.
“Okay… I'm all set” Sora said, “All I have to do now is pay the things I bought”

When he walks around the store for some more, he passes by the toy section. And he happens to came across a mini R34 toy, made by Tomy. It’s a mini radio control car and it has blue in color. For a maniac of blue things like Sora, he has to buy it… especially when there is another kid looking to buy it also.
“I’ll take it” Sora said as he takes the blue car, “Hate to disappoint you, kid… I like things with blue in color”

“Hey, mister! Give it back!” the kid said

“Mister?! Hey, I'm not that old!” Sora yelled, “Besides, it’s me who saw it first, so it’s mine!”

“HWAAAAA!!!” the kid started to cry and runs off from him

“Huff… okay, you’re officially joins my family of GT-R merchandise” Sora laughs, “Hahahahaha”

Okay… that’s another one of surprising fact about him. I didn’t expect him to be like that. He has no guilt towards the kid whatsoever…
“Who cares? When I want something, I will get it… whatever it takes”

After he finish, he moves again to another section of the store. When he does, he met someone he recognizes. It’s Kaede and she looks very confused. Sora wanted to greet her but what Steve says earlier at the house bugs him very much.
“Because I think Kaede has hots for you” Steve grins

“…”

Sora walks past by her, avoiding to be seen.
“Oh… Sora-san” she said

“I’ll be damned” he thought

“Good afternoon” she bows, “What are you doing here?”

“Oh… good afternoon” Sora replied, “Well, I'm just buying some stuff I need to fill my fridge”

“I see” she nods, “Um… Sora-san…”

She seems very troubled. Did something bad happen to her? Sora wanted to ask, but he’s afraid that it would complicate things even more.
“Did something bad happen to you?”

And he asked it… well, things always got to be complicated.
“I wanted to ask you for a favor, but I'm to embarrassed to ask it” she blushed, “Since I barely know you”

“Well, you might as well ask away, since I’m here already” Sora shrugs

“Do you bring some spare money? You see, I see a cute lion doll over here and I’m out of cash” she explains

“How much the doll cost?”

“About two thousand and five hundred yen”

“Oh…” Sora nods, “I’ll buy it for you”

Sora takes the doll and put it on his trolley.
“Thank you very much… I will return it to you as soon as I can” she bows

“No worries… just take it as an early Christmas present” Sora smiled, “Let’s go and pay all of these”


The two pays for their grocery. Kaede bought a lot of coffee beans, chocolate paste, flour, all kinds of berries, cherries, whip cream, and all sorts of things you need for baking cakes. What will she do with all of those? Anyways, the two go out from the store after they finish. Sora gave the doll and Kaede smiled.
“Thank you very much, Sora-san” she smiled

“Just Sora is fine” he shrugs, “No need formalities around me… well, I have to go now. See you later”

Sora walks to the parking lot, which is located right in the front of the store. He walks toward the blue car, and Kaede saw it; The Wangan Midnight Sky King.
Earlier this afternoon, she asked about the so called team of street racer Sora is in. She asks about it to Yuki, since she is Hikaru’s girlfriend and Hikaru hangs with Sora.
“Um… Yuki-san…” she said, “Do you know what sort of team Sora is in?”

“Yes, he is at the same street racing team as Hikaru… the team is called High School Street Racers and is led by Tarou” Yuki explains

“I see… and Sora is the new recruit?”

“He is” Yuki nods, “But he is already way above everyone else”

“Pardon? What does that mean?” Kaede seems puzzled

“Well… it may be weird coming from a girl like me, but he is even above all street racers I have ever seen” Yuki continued

“I see… even Hikaru?”

“Yes… even him” Yuki nods, “Sora is an exception… a rare kind of racer”

“Well… he isn’t called Sky King for nothing you know” Jessie added

“Sky King?”

“Yes… the one who can drive a Skyline GT-R to its maximum potential” Sarah explained, “Hikaru and another person; Rei, are two candidates for the title. But something happened to them and the he is the one who succeed in claiming the title for his own”

Sora puts all of his grocery to the trunk and close it. When he’s about to go inside his car, Kaede run towards him and wants to talk more about the blue car.
“Wait… Sora” she said

“Hm? Yes?” Sora asked, “Is there something else?”

“I… I… want to talk more” she panting

And Sora once again remembered what Steve said earlier.
“Because I think Kaede has hots for you” Steve grins

“It’s alright, I guess” Sora nods, “Put all of your grocery at the trunk and get it”

That’s two beauties that get into this blue car. Both of them had one thing in common; flower for their names. After she puts all of the stuff, she gets into the car. She tries to puts on the four points seatbelt, but she didn’t quite get it.
“How do you put this on?” she asked

“Oh, sorry…” Sora said as he tries to put it onto her, “First you pull it like this… and then puts the other three to here… after that, pull the outer ones like this and how is it? Too tight?”

“Ahn… yes it is” she said

“Sorry… let me loosen it a bit” Sora said

Well… seeing her hot body being tied with four point harnesses tightly makes Sora blushed. Why? Well, the shape of her boobs is seen faintly behind that green cardigan of hers. Add it up with short skirt she wore, exposing some of her smooth, white thigh skin. It’s lucky enough for Sora that his nose doesn’t bleed or passing out.
“Are you alright?” she asked, “Your face is red”

“Ah, it’s nothing” Sora smiled bitterly

“Okay… show me what you usually do with this car” she smiled

“Sure…” Sora nods, “Here I go”

Sora drives the car slowly and heads to the highway. Kaede looks around for cold winter scenery on this big blue car of his. Looks like this is her first time riding with a street racer like him.
“Um… don’t you want to race somebody?” she asked

“I already did” Sora nod, “Do you want me to race somebody right now? It’s scary for normal people, I tell you”

“How rude… I'm not a normal people” she pouted, “I just want to know what’s so good in a race… Aya-san and Claire-san told me it’s thrilling and exciting”

“I see… well, you just got lucky” Sora said as he stares at a car in his front, “This should be interesting”

“What?” she asked as she look at the front as well

It’s the blue GT-R earlier; Gunma’s 34- Kitsumoro Tomogashi. He’s with Kasumi this time. What will Sora do? The first time they having a run, it ended up in a tie… what about this time? Sora wants to know and he exhaled lightly and smiled. He flashes his high beams and ready to go.
“Fasten your seatbelts” Sora said as he shifts down

The sudden downshift kicking the turbine to spin faster. The car was pulled by the engine forward and the exhaust spitting fire accompanied with a loud bang. Sudden acceleration and boost totally surprise Kaede as the G-forces are clamping her to the leather semi bucket seat. Sora passes Tomo and gave him the first attack.
“Ha…” she gasped

“…”

Tomogashi saw the passing blue car and accelerates as well.
“What do we have here?” Kasumi smiled to Tomo

“It’s him” Tomo smiled back, “Let’s see what the famous Sky King can do”

Tomo shifts up to third gear and sway his car to the side. His boost is catching up with Sora and the two are beside each other. Two blue GT-R, almost identical, entering C1 area.
“Okay… this is a perfect time to test out my skills at C1”

He last time Sora is at C1, he is struggling against Claire and Aya. After that, on his spare time after studying at Akiyama’s place, he always come and plays at C1 area, to hone his skills and memorize the course like the back of his hand.
“Oh wow… I never thought that Tokyo Tower at winter can be so beautiful” Kaede said, “Racing in this car is indeed thrilling and exciting”

What?! She didn’t even flinch after what the car has done to her! Sora looks puzzled and horrified at the same time while he glances at her. Nevertheless, this is not a time for that. Sora focuses back to the race with Tomo starts gaining distances beside him. Sora shifts up to third gear and catch up with him.
“Hamazakibashi down slope” Sora thought, “Might as well slide to try and slide the tails and close the inner lane with the front part”

Sora shifts up to fourth and gain a slight advantage ahead of Tomo when he enters the downward sloping road of Hamazakibashi. He sways the car to the left as he heel and toe downshifts, upsetting the balance of the rear end. He counter-steers to the right and closes the road completely with the left side of the blue car.
“Whoa! That’s bold” Tomo thought

But things just get worse in the race. Ahead of them is a silver 350Z… guess whose car is that… Yep, Sora’s very own mentor and friend of Kitsumoro; Akiyama Daiki.

Seeing him, Sora decreases his pace. Tomo who is still on the back is puzzled with what he’s doing. Sora brakes a bit, shifts to fifth gear, and let the car cruise by itself with the remains of the throttle. He opens the window of Kaede’s side and waits for Tomo to beside him. Tomo understands what he’s doing after he saw the very car in front of them. He then opens his window also and to know what they should be doing.
“Akiyama? Tomo asked

“Hmm... maybe he’s taking his Z for a stroll?”

Akiyama however, saw the blue cars behind him and decided to move aside and turns on his hazard lights, leading the two cars behind him to a halt at the side of the road. Tomo, Sora, and Daiki steps out from their car to talk more.
“What are you doing here, Akiyama?” Tomo asked

“Just taking a stroll with my Z here” he answered

Just like what Sora thought. Maybe he did have the same way of thinking like Akiyama.
“Let me ask you in return… what are you doing here yourself?” Daiki asked back

Tomo just gives a serious face and without humor, answers “I just want to take a run. Anything wrong with that?”

“No. I rarely see you out here” Daiki replied

Thinking to himself, Tomo wonders “What is he doing here at this time? What about the rest of team Japan? Is it because they're good enough to meet Daiki's standards that they can manage without him?”

Tomo looks a bit troubled, seeing Daiki here. Looks like they had some kind of past, and it’s a bad one. Sora didn’t know what kind of problem these two have in the past, and he doesn’t want to know.
“We met by coincidence, so I decided to battle him” Sora said

“I see… well, I'm a bit bored, so can I participate?” Daiki asks, “Naoko keeps on bothering me with more paperwork for the exam at the end of the month”

“He?! There’s exam at the end of the month?”

“Of course” Daiki replied, “What do you expect?”

“Aw…”

“What should we do, Sora?” Tomo raised his eyebrows

“Let’s just continue on” Sora nods, “What do you think? This will be my second time facing both of you guys”

“I see” Tomo nods, “Well, suit yourself”

Tomo gets into his car, while Daiki pays attention to the girl inside Sora’s car. Maybe she’s another victim of his charming looks?
“Ninomiya, can I ask you who that girl is?” Daiki asked

“Hm? One of the idols at my school. She just got back from France” Sora replied flatly, “Is there something wrong?”

“You sly” Daiki grins, “Of course there are… the hot doctor, the blond one, then her… how many of girls will fall to your looks anyways?”

“I could ask the same question to you” Sora shrugs, “I mean that Naoko-sensei did have a thing for you also”

“Is that right? I don’t know that you’re very observant, Ninomiya” he sighed

“Just a small scene I found on your school” Sora shrugs

Kaede suddenly steps out from the car and approaches Daiki. Introduction is in order, and it’s up to Sora to do that.
“Kaede, this is my mentor in racing school, Akiyama Daiki” Sora said, “Akiyama-san, she is Sakura Kaede”

“Comment allez-vous?” Daiki said

“Je suis vous remercie très bien” Kaede smiled

When Kaede said that, Daiki froze for a moment. What is happening to him…? Oh yeah… his previous girlfriend is French. And it’s up to Sora again to gives him a wake up call.
“Trey ben?” Sora asks

“It means great” Daiki said, “It’s French”

“I know” Sora grins, “I’m just giving you a wake up call”

“I see…” Daiki nodded, “Well, let us go, then”

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

Somewhere around C2, Steve is racing against someone else. Someone with white Nissan GT-R… someone with Yamazaki Raymond for his name.
“Damn… what did I dream about last night that meets me with Yamazaki today?” Steve grins, “Ah well, he’s great enough to kill my boredom anyways, so why not?”

“We meet again, Blackburn” Raymond smiled, “Let us run towards Wangan line”

“Let’s go!” Steve shifts up and drafted behind him

Back to Sora, Daiki, and Tomo. They are speeding through at Ginza with Sora behind them. Of course, what do you expect? It only has two lanes, so Sora speeds up behind them.
“Why are you staying behind them?” Kaede asked

“Well… I get the chance to observe those two” Sora said, “The roads on C1 are narrow”

Edobashi is up ahead, so the three cars are lining up to clears the double sharp corners. Daiki is in the front, followed by Tomo, and Sora. But given rear wheel drive on 350Z, Daiki has to keep his pace steady to clear the two consecutive corners, unlike Tomo and Sora. As Daiki starts to slow his pace to keep it steady, Tomo and Sora cuts the lane, entering the right side.
“You’re improving, Ninomiya” Daiki said

As they enter the Chiyoda tunnel, there are fewer road users for some reason.
“Harasho…” Sora said, “This is perfect for me”

Sora looks excited. Everything seems perfect for him to test out his driving capability even further. Without any cue, he shifts down to third gear and accelerate past Tomo and Daiki.
“Hm… let’s see what he can do” Daiki grins as he speeds up

Instead of going back to C1 area, Sora takes it to his GT-R’s favorite place; Wangan line.
“Okay, Aoi… let’s do this”

Sora shifts up to fourth gear and gradually leaving them behind. Daiki and Tomo react with planting their feet at the throttle pedal, catching up with him.
One thing leads to another and look right now… What a battle. Well, let’s resume the battle!
The three cars are cruising at high speed, passing Kiba area in a blink of an eye.

Kaede, who sat at the passenger seat, takes a good look at Sora. His eyes glare gold and he looks very alive and enjoying himself, and at that moment, Kaede burnt that image on her head. She is captivated by Sora even more.

Fukagawa line is unusually crowded. Sora and the others take this as a challenge to keep their speed as they slalom through the traffic cars at over 100 KM/H. No one is willing to back off or losing. Their street racer pride is on the line and they intended to keep it that way.
“What will Seiji think when he race against them also?” Daiki wondered, “They are indeed interesting bunch. Ninomiya… he has the higher level than average street racers around here”

The roads are starting to get wider at Tatsumi line. Daiki, altogether with Tomo are lining up their cars and start to catch up with Sora. Tomo lined up his car beside Sora, and so did Daiki.
“Aih… toll gate” Sora said as he brakes and takes an empty lane

“Woah… it’s very crowded” Tomo thought

They have to wait for their turn to pay for the fees. Few minutes later, they are ready to start again. 22 Kilometers of high speed roads are waiting for them.
“Okay… here we go again” Sora said

The three of them launches their car off the toll gate as fast as they could.
“This is interesting” Tomo said

The three jets the Wangan line at over 200 KM/H, lining up their car beside each other.
There is an accident few meters ahead of them. Two truck hits each other because of the slippery road. One of them is parked at the left side of the road and the other is at the center.

On winter, the vision is hazy, thanks to the white fog that usually hovers at the roads. And something is about to happen to the three of them. They can't see what’s happening, with all of those high speeds.
When Sora changes lane to the center, he saw what happened ahead of him. He immediately changes lane again to avoid the collision. But his sudden movement upsets the rear balance. He started to slide towards the right walls.
“NO!” Kaede gasped

“…”

Sora straightens the steering wheel, and hits the brake hard. Tomo and Daiki who is behind him did the same. They decrease their pace and avoid the collision. Sora on the other hand started to lose the rear balance even more. However, he keeps it cool.
He pulls the e-brake and steers it to the left, spinning 180 degrees. His foot is planted flat at the brake pedal, forcing the car to complete halt.
“…”

Tomo, Kasumi and Daiki steps out of the car, to see if everything is alright with Sora and Kaede.
“Hey, are you alright?” Tomo asked

“I'm fine” Sora replied flatly, “What was that truck doing there anyways?”

“What about Kaede?” Daiki asked

“I'm fine… even though I’m scared as hell” she exhaled, “My age just decreased by ten years, thanks to you”

“Sorry” Sora grins, “Well, that kills out the mood to continue the battle… besides, we’re almost at Daikoku-Futo. What do you say if we call it a day and grab a can of warm tea or coffee or something?”

“Good idea” Tomo nods, “Let’s go”

“Fine by me” Daiki nods also

The three cars moves on to Daikoku-Futo to get some rest and some warms drinks.
After they parked their cars, all of them got out from their cars and went to the vending machine at the side of the parking lot.
“Here you go” Sora said as he hands over a warm coffee to Kaede

“Thank you” Kaede replies

“Man… I’m glad that there are no police officers just yet” Tomo said

“Looks like the accidents were just happened” Daiki sips his coffee

“Looks that way” Kasumi added, “It’s too bad, though… the battle was just getting to the good part”

“Couldn’t agree more” Kaede sighed, “The crash just spoils the party… oh, I haven’t introduces myself yet… my name is Sakura Kaede”

“Pleasure to meet you… I'm Kitsumoro Tomogashi and this is…”

“Nadeshiko Kasumi…” Kasumi nodded

“Well… it’s been fun to hang around with you guys, but I'm afraid I have to go back now” Daiki grins, “Naoko will be mad at me if she knew that I haven’t sign the paperwork just yet”

“Okay… see you soon, Akiyama-san” Sora said

“Yeah … and Tomo, stop goofing off” Daiki replied

“Uh-oh…” Sora thought

Tomo's right fist shivers in place, all tense over Daiki's presence. Before he knew it, he calms down seeing Kasumi's right hand wrapped around his fist. He takes a breath and becomes cool once again.

Kasumi gave a heartwarming warning telling him softly, "I know you can't let go of the past between you and Daiki but it's not good for you to show it off in public. Hold it in for the time being or forget he even came. Knowing you this long, I know how you MIGHT deal with this..."

Tomo looked at Sora and Kaede. "Kasumi's right" He thought. "I can't let Sora and Kaede know of this little nuisance and complicate things even more. We better go back before I make things worse..."

Daiki boards his silver Z and drives off. Tomo follows shortly after to his car.
“Well, I guess it’s time for me to go as well” Tomo nods, “Take care, Ninomiya”

“You too” Sora replied

“See you again next time” Kasumi bows to them

“Yes, see you again” Kaede bows to them as well

This post has been edited by R_E_X on Aug 29 2010, 05:16 PM

RPM 18: New Kings

The news of HSSR and their young Sky King has reached all over Japan. Street Racers starts to gather around Shutokou, just so they can witness his battle, or battle with him.
The news also reached the most dangerous team on Japan; RJ7. Just as Cross said, they are trouble magnet and Sora should stay away from them. But what if they come to him? That is what Cross fears. Things will get more complicated than before.

After battling Akiyama and Kitsumoro, Sora is dropping Kaede at her house. Surprisingly, her house is the coffee shop near the riverbank, where Sora and the others like to hang out at. So that is the reason why she bought a lot of coffee beans and baking needs.
“This is your house?” Sora asked

“Yes it is” Kaede nods, “Please swing by and try my famous cake and coffee sometime”

“I... ah... will come here a lot”

“Why is that?” she looks puzzled

“Well... because the base of operation for my team is here” Sora smirked

“Oh... what coincidence” she smiled, “Well, it’s been fun to go out with you”

“Wait... Going out?” Sora asked, “We only running around Shutokou just now”

“Well, for me... it’s a date” she smiled, “See you around, Sora”

“Ah... yeah” Sora nods, “See you around”

Kaede gets into her house and close the door. The shop is closed for supplies and there’s no customer on it.
“Well, it’s starting to get dark, and there is no word yet from the others... maybe I’ll go home and get some rest” Sora wheezed

Sora gets into his car and drive slowly from the neighborhood.
When he’s about to leave the riverbank, he saw two pairs of twin taillights, just like his. Except, it’s not a GT-R... it’s a jet black ZO6 with GT-Wing. What is Cross doing here?
Sora drives slowly and approaches the black car. The owner is sitting on the railings of the iron bridge, just ahead of the riverbank.
“Cross... what are you doing here?”

“I know that shop is the base of your team’s operation” Cross jumps down from the railings, “I figured that you might show up sooner or later”

“I see... what is it that you want to tell me?” he asked

“You’re as bright as always” Cross grins, “Well, you know that you started making a huge name of yourself out there. I’m talking about the danger that lurks ahead. RJ7 is on the move”

“What?”

“Aside from that, you have to be careful with other street racers also. They gathers around from all over Japan, just to battle you or witness your battle” Cross explained, “You’re becoming a trouble magnet for the traffic police also, so be careful out there”

Cross gets out a black looking box from his car. Looks like something dangerous.
“Sora, this is for you” Cross said, “Take this for your protection and bring it always at your GT-R”

Cross gave him a black gun. No, it’s not normal airsoft pistol you saw at the toy store. It’s a black colored Tactical USP, complete with laser sights and extra clip.
“This is a modified USP pistol. It uses stainless steel slide and frame, colored black. It also came with strengthened internals and parts. Instead of .45 caliber, it uses iron BB bullets” Cross hands him the gun, “Here, takes this iron BB bullets for your supplies. If you run out on it, tell me and I’ll give you extra bullets”

“What will I do with this?”

“Shoot any people that threatens you” Cross sighed, “Especially the members of RJ7”

“Why?”

“They will do anything it takes to make you their teammates” he explained, “Remember that they have a Yakuza family connection, so you’d best forget about hiding from them. Fight is the only way for you to survive”

“Why me?”

“I told you before... You attract all sorts of street racers from all over Japan. There is going to be a huge amount of money in this” Cross added, “They want that moey to expand their so called business”

“I see...”

“And takes this also” Cross gave him something else

“What? Another toy gun?”

“No, Sky... watch and learn...” Cross said, “Oh... over there is a running car”

Cross points the gun to that car and pulled the trigger. That running car’s engine suddenly died down and came to complete stop.
“What did you do?”

“Wow... just as he said. The range is hundred meters away” Cross nods, “This is EMP charger”

“EMP? Like in new Knight Rider series?”

“Aha, you do watch it” Cross said, “That’s an example of it, but this one is different. You point this to a car like that, and it will halt the E.C.U with some sort of electro magnetic pulse”

“I see...”

“Use this if you got chased by police in Shutokou” he continued, “But if you use it on me, it’s useless... I already insulated mine. Here, insulate yours with this”

Cross gave him a special thin aluminum foil paper.
“It should be enough to keep your car running fine” Cross nods, “Remember what I tell you... stay away from RJ7”

“Why are you giving me all of these, Cross?”

“You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to meet you on the highway” Cross said, “Oh, and remember... that USP can kill someone if you use it wrong. Play more Time Crisis at the arcade to hone your shooting skills when you need it”

“...”

Cross drives off and leaves him wondering at the iron bridge alone. So many things thrown at him quickly, he can’t process it one by one.
“Ah... I’d better go home and insulate the E.C.U”

Sora gets into his car and opens the black box containing the USP. He fills out the clip with iron BB and hid the gun under his bucket seat, along with the filled extra clip.

Meanwhile, Cross gets a phone call from the very same girl that he talked to this afternoon.
“Did you give it already to him?” she asked

“Yes I did...” Cross nods, “Did you really plant a GPS transmitter on that black USP?”

“Yes, inside the grip of the gun” she answered, “Only you and I know about this little operation. The HQ can’t afford the mission to be spoiled by the Japanese traffic police”

“I know, that’s why I gave him the EMP charger also, just in case” Cross added, “I feel kind of bad to make him as a bait”

“Me either… I rather not do it, but he is the chosen one after all” she replied, “He’ll do just fine, don’t worry”

Sora went back to his house and fill out the fridge with stuffs he bought earlier. After he fills them, he went to his bed and put the black USP at his desk. He exhaled heavily and threw himself to the bed.
“Problems… as people used to say; the higher a tree, the fiercer the wind” he sighed, “Phew…”

At least two great things happen today. One is that he gets to race Daiki and his great friend Tomo. With that though in his mind, he goes to sleep.

Time flies quickly to ten P.M.
At the coffee shop, the visitors are starting to build up like crazy. People do enjoy dessert shop like that. A new menu is added, and now it serves high quality teas as well. Japanese people love tea more than coffee and this surely boost up the visitors and of course, the income as well.
Outside the store, a red Porsche is parked. It’s Steve and he is having his weekly share of tiramisu cake. Looks like he is dead exhausted racing against Raymond earlier.
“Damn… it always ended up tie” Steve hissed, “Nissan GT-R is as good as it counts on racing world”

“Here you go, one tiramisu cake” Kaede said

“Thanks…” Steve takes the cake and started to eat it

Kaede is humming happily as she serves more dessert, teas, and coffees. Steve is curious why she is so happy. Did something good happen?
“Hey, Steve… do you know Sora much?” she asked

“Hm? What? Cough… cough…” Steve takes his ice coffee and drinks it, “What are you asking, all of the sudden?”

“You know, earlier this afternoon, I met him at the convenient store and he takes me for a drive around Shutokou” she explained, “He races with another blue GT-R and a silver 350Z… it was very thrilling”

“Did he? Well… I don’t know him much, but I guess we’re pretty close” Steve replied, “What do you want to know about him anyway?”

“Let’s see… what about his phone number?” Kaede said, “Or maybe you can ask him to come here as well”

“Good idea… I’ll give him a call right now” Steve takes out his mobile phone

“Thanks for the trouble” she bows

“Ah, no need for that… just take it as a help from a friend” Steve grins wide

Sora is sleeping right now. He is tired from all of that running with Daiki and Tomo.

The Top Gear version of Allman Brother’s Jessica is played on his mobile phone. Yes, he used it as his ringtones, and looks like someone is calling him. Who is it?
“Yeah?” Sora said, “What is it Steve? I'm tired as hell”

“You told me to go to coffee shop, as we waits for the others” Steve replies, “Where are you? Sleeping at your house?”

“Where do you think I am? Did I really tell you to wait for the others at coffee shop? I don’t remember”

“Just come here quick” Steve sighed, “Come on, don’t be a boring person”

“I’ll take a shower first… after that I will swing by over there and I'm going to have two chocolate parfaits and a glass of cold chocolate milk”

“Whew… you’re going to eat that at chilly night like this?”

“I don’t see a problem… and you’re the one who’s going t pay for it” Sora said, “Yeah, it’s your treat!”

“What?! Hey, hold on” Steve gasped

“See you soon!”

Sora hangs up the phone and went to take a shower immediately. Steve looks puzzled and annoyed at the same time.
“So? What did he say?” Kaede smiled

“He’ll come to eat two chocolate parfaits and cold chocolate milk” Steve grumbled, “And the worst thing of all, it’s my treat”

“Oh, okay… I’ll put his menu on the house” Kaede replied

“Nah, it’s okay. He pays for my ramen this afternoon, so it’s a mutual advantage… sort of” Steve frowns

Few minutes later, Sora is done. He takes his GT-R key and went to the garage.
Outside his house, there is a red candy NSX parked. Whose car is it?
“Greetings, Sky King” the driver said

“Who are you?”

“My name is Uehara Natsumi of RJ7” she said to introduce herself

“What do you want?”

“Our leader would like to meet you” she said again

“Request declined…”

“Oh… why is that?” she asked

“I know you guys… rumors says a lot of bad things about your team. So, I think it would be wise to stay away from your team” Sora answered, “Leave my house immediately or else”

“I see… so you won't be joining us, then” she said, “We’ll crush you with everything we have”

“Go ahead and try” Sora said, “After the Racing Queens, you guys are up next!”

Sora shows his wild eyes once again. Glaring gold eyes that threaten whoever that takes glance to them.
“We’ll see you soon” Natsumi nods, “Don’t think wrongly of us, we just want a race with you… that’s all”

“You guys will get your share of me once we’re done with Racing Queens” Sora replied, “Until then, sit still and be good kids”

Natsumi gets into her car and drives off. Sora knew this would happen sooner or later, and it came out to be soon… very soon. He sighed and relieved at the same time. He already grips the black USP, concealed behind his waist. You can never be too careful with those guys around.
“Well, time to go to meet Steve and told him everything”

Sora reared his car and drives off to the coffee shop.
Few minutes later, Sora arrived at the coffee shop. He parks his car and enters the shop. Steve is sitting at the bar table, near the kitchen. On the table, there are two chocolate parfaits and a glass of cold chocolate milk.
“That’s nice” Sora said

“What took you? The parfait almost melted!” Steve replied

Sora sits down immediately and eats the first chocolate parfait. Between his munches, he told him about earlier conversation.
“A girl called Uehara Natsumi came earlier to my house. She called us off for a race” Sora said

“What?!” Steve looks surprised, “Then what did you said?”

“I already challenged the doctor this afternoon. I will battle her next Saturday, and I haven’t appointed a place”

“I see… so it’s racing queens, next, huh?” Steve asked

“Yeah, we’re going to look for Kamikaze team tomorrow” Sora said, “We can't let those kinds of people hangs around any longer”

“Do you have some sort of plan or something?” Steve asks again

“What sort of plan? For RJ7?” Sora asked back, “What for?”

“They are dangerous people to deal with” Steve explained, “You can't just walk toward a battlefield against them without a plan!”

Speaking of plans, maybe Sora can do something about them after they lost the race. He has a toy from Cross, right? The magical EMP charger gun?
“Oh… maybe I can do something about them” Sora said, “We’ll just have to see what’s what”

“Okay…” Steve nods

Sora had already finished the first parfait and he moves on to the second one.
“How is it?” Kaede asks suddenly, “I made it, just for you”

“It is nice and delicious” Sora nods, “You are a great chef”

“Not just dessert, I can make other things as well” Kaede added, “Want me to cook something else for you next time?”

“Sure… why not?” Sora smiled

“Okay… please look forward to it” Kaede said

When Sora finishes his second parfait and drinks his cold chocolate milk, Hikaru, Tarou, Keith, Gonsuke, Yamada, Iwami, Tarou, and Clark showed up.
“So? How is it?”

Everyone lifts their thumbs up, showing it’s a successful payback attempt.
“Nice… we’re back in business”

All of them ordered something warm to help them fights off the cold air.
“I didn’t know you’re the owner’s daughter” Gonsuke said, “Maybe you can give us a discount for the coffee here”

“What do you think, Kaede?” Iwami asks also, “We’re already kind enough to make this place our base of operation”

“Hey, in business, there is no friend… all you got is competitor and customer” Kaede smiled

“So… looks like the news spread already” Tarou said

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb! You challenged that hot doctor, right?” Keith said

“Yeah… next Saturday” Sora replied

“Any idea where?” Clark wondered

“Not yet… I need someplace that has everything that puts me to advantage” he sips his warm herbal tea, “I need someplace technical so she can't use all of her GT-R’s potential”

“Circuit it is, huh?” Steve asked

“Wrong… I’ll take it to Hakone, maybe” he answered

“What?! You’re crazy!” everyone said

“No… I knew that her GT-R is heavier than mine” Sora smiled, “I will go to Kojiro’s place on Monday and have him strip one layer of soundproofing, take off the rear seats, and replace the panels with lightweight materials”

“Who’s going to pay for it?” Yamada asked

“Me of course… don’t worry, I'm sure Kojiro will think of something”

“We are summoned by the remaining two kings at Suzuka circuit” Keith said, “Looks like this is the opportunity for us”

“Yes… the time is finally here” Tarou said

“I see… what should we do?” Sora asked

“We will go now and follow them to Suzuka” Hikaru nods, “We have to support them with everything we got”

“Okay… then it’s on. Let’s leave immediately” Sora grins, “Well, see you around, Kaede”

“Um… can I go with you guys to Suzuka?” she said, “I mean… if it’s not bothering you”

“What do you say?” Iwami asked

“Fine by me” Steve nods, “We need more hands to support these two clowns”

“So…” Kaede smiled

“Let us go, then” Yamada nods

Kaede packs up her clothes on a bag and gets ready to go. After she ask for her parents’ permission, she is good to go.
“Okay… I’ll be riding with Sora again” Kaede smiled

“Fine then…” Sora said, “I will go back to my house to pack my clothes first”

“Let’s meet up at Yuki’s place” Hikaru said, “Man, we’re going for a trip to Suzuka”

Sora drives off to his house and packs his clothes. Steve, who is already done packing his clothes, goes to Sora’s house to see how he is doing with Kaede.
“Sora… you’re done, yet?” he asked

“Not yet, come on in first” Sora said

“What are you guys doing anyways?” Steve gets off from his car and gets inside the house

“Okay… this should do” Sora grins, “Let’s go”

Kaede is sitting on the living room as she memorizes every inch of Sora’s humble house. Steve, who saw her face, immediately knew that she is thinking about something.
“Ha… what are you thinking, huh?” Steve asked, “Maybe you said that… this is my future house when I got married with him”

“Not exactly…” Kaede shrugs, “I'm surprised in fact… this house feels empty for some reason”

“Yeah, I know that feeling…” Steve sighed, “He just moved in few months ago, so it’s still half empty”

“Okay, let’s go” Sora said

“You’re ready? Let’s go to Yuki’s place, then” Steve nods

When they go outside, another two cars emerges from the dark roads; silver S15 and a red 350Z. It’s Aya and Claire… don’t tell me that they’re going also.
“You girls are going as well?” Steve asked

“Of course… we already missed the birth of the new Sky King… we’re not going to miss this one” Aya replied

“Yeah, we’re curious to see what kind of people the kings are” Claire added

“The more, the merrier” Kaede smiled, “Right, Steve?”

“Guess we don’t have a choice” Steve nods

All of them went to Yuki’s place, where the others are already waiting. Rika, Yuuri, Marie, Sarah, Ayase, Melissa-sensei, and Sako are going as well. After another few preparation, they are off to Suzuka. They drive out slowly at the neighborhood and went to the nearest highway entrance. When they reached Rainbow Bridge, Sora and the other feels bit bored. Cruising at low speed surely isn’t fun.
“Hm…” Sora said, “Anyone’s up for a run?”

“Sure…” Steve nods, “I'm bored as hell”

“Okay… the last one who gets off the highway is rotten egg!” Hikaru shifts down and accelerate forward

“I should’ve known” Yuki sighed

“Hey, wait up!” Souya speeds up also

Yamada, Gonsuke, Clark, Iwami, Aya, Claire, Tarou, and Keith are speeding up also. It’s down to Steve and Sora who is still in the back of the pack.
“Well?” Steve shrugs

“Who do you think will fall behind if we speed up also?”

“I don’t know” Steve replied, “Let’s just go, huh?”

Sora and Steve shifts down simultaneously. Fire spits from their exhaust and loud bangs are heard from the back of their cars.
“Here I go!” Sora said

Sora and Steve immediately went ahead, passing every of their teammates, who struggles to reach 300 KM/H runs.
“I knew it better” Yuki said, “The ones left are this S2000, Souya’s RX7, Clark’s Exige, Keith’s M3, and those two… but in the end, those two are the ones who will lead all the way at the highway”

Sora clicked 300 KM/H when he reached Tokyo Port tunnel. The yellow bright colored tunnel lights are reflected at his car’s color.
“So beautiful” Aya said

“It is” Claire added

Sora, Steve, Keith, Clark, Souya, and Hikaru lined up their car as they jet through the highway. But after all of them cleared the tunnel, only two cars emerged; a blue R34 and red 911.
“Come on!” Sora said

“Let’s go” Steve shifts up

Few hours later, they arrived at the previous inn where Sora and Steve stayed at. They checked in and went to get some rest.
“Okay… we’re sleep in pairs” Tarou said

“What? Boys-boys, girls-girls?” Steve asked

“Yes it is” Souya wheezed, “What’re you suggesting, anyways?”

“Okay… I will sleep with Kaede” Yuki said as she takes key number 1

“I will sleep with Claire, and Melissa” Aya takes key number 2

“I will go with Yuuri” Rika nods as she takes key number 3

“I will go with Marie” Ayase said as she takes key number 4

“Okay… that leaves me and Sarah” Sako grins as she takes key number 5

“What about you guys?” Kaede asked

“I’ll go with Gonsuke” Hikaru nods as he takes key number 6

“Yamada, you’re with me” Iwami takes key number 7

“Well… me and Sora” Steve said as he takes key number 8

“Let’s go get some sleep, Sou” Clark takes key number 9

“Well, I'm with Tarou, then” Keith nods as he takes key number 10

“Good night, everyone” Sora yawns, “Give me the keys”

Sora takes the key from Steve’s hands and opens the door number 8. After he threw his Nismo bag, he went to the bed near the window and went asleep immediately.
“Wow… that’s… five seconds?” Kaede looks surprised

“He is sleepy, alright” Steve shrugs, “Well, see you guys tomorrow, then”

While the boys are tired and went asleep immediately, the girls are out to have some cup of tea.
“The tea is very soothing and relaxing” Kaede exhaled lightly

“So, Kaede-san… does you interested in cars now?” Aya asked

“Yes… cars are more fun than I imagined” Kaede nods, “Even though I will never drive one, I still loves it”

“Why don’t you get a driving license first? You’ll realize it is more fun if you drive one” Claire added

“We’ll see… if my parent allows me to, I’ll get a driving license” she nodded

“Kaede-san… can I ask you one thing?” Yuki asked

“Yes, what is it, Yuki-san?” Kaede asked back

“What is your motivation to come with us? Are you interested in cars? Are you trying to approach Sora? Or just to promote your coffee shop?” Yuki asked

“You can read my mind, can't you?” Kaede grins, “That’s right… I follow you guys just to let people know that HSSR hangs out at my coffee shop”

“I see” Yuki nods, “I know you are listening, everyone”

All of the boys are going out from the room to hear more of it.
“Wow… I feel bad to Sora. I said that you had a crush on him” Steve said

“And what did I tell you, Steve?” Sora asked

“Whoah!” Steve jumps away from the room, “You haven’t sleep, are you?”

“No… I haven’t” Sora said, “I know all of you are eavesdropping at what the girls are discussing about, so might as well hear it out and see where it goes”

“I'm sorry, man” Steve sighed

“Ah, don’t be… since you use us to advertise, we expect something in return for our mutual relationships” Sora smirks

“Of course…” Kaede nods, “I'm a good businesswoman, I knew how to deal with people. Besides, it’s impossible for me to approach guys anymore, now that I already have a fiancé in the US”

“You already has a fiancé?!” everyone looks surprised

“Of course... I came back just to help my parents run the store” she nods

Sora shrugs, showing he didn’t care at all. It’s not like he has any feelings for her from the start. Steve is the one who feels bad to spread gossip like that.
“Im going back to sleep... see you clowns tomorrow” Sora sways his hand

And that’s that. All of them went back to sleep for tomorrow’s big event.

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

At the morning, Sora is still asleep at room number 8. After yesterday’s continuous battle, he wore himself out; especially he spends most of his time sitting on the car. Sora has another weird dream about something. This time it was clearer, event though it looks terribly strange.

He is sitting on someone else’s GT-R and he revs the engine. Most of the interiors look the same, except it has carbon fiber panels, no rear seats, eight point steel roll cage bars, black Nismo 320 KM/H speedometer, Nismo black carbon fiber shift knob, and 4 point Willan’s blue harnesses. The HKS EVC boost controller and HKS turbo timer are lined up under the Alpine head unit, and F-con V-pro is seen at the glove box before he close it. The head unit is playing his favorite Maximum Tune 3 OST; In Your Dream.

The shifter also feels different. Instead of H pattern, it has strange number 4 pattern, engraved on the shift gate. This is a sequential manual gearbox… come to think of it, there is no clutch pedal on the floor.
“Whose GT-R is this?” he said as he steps out of the car

The car exterior’s also looks very different. It has red brake Brembo calipers eight pistons front and six pistons rear, Nismo R-tune body kit with no flared fenders, Weldina NE1 type-2, and his usual LM GT4 is replace by some unknown silver rims with seven pairs of spokes made by Rays engineering. The door, the front bumper, rear bumper, side skirts, fenders, spoiler, and the trunk has some strange sandy feels under the bayside blue paint… all of them feels made with carbon fiber.

Even though it has all of the product decals and same bayside blue color, it also has another scary vinyl across the doors; a black knight holding a huge sword riding bone dragon with a lot of wings and feathers. The stance of the car is as complete as his Z-tune, except his springs and dampers are yellow colored with gas canisters made by Ohlins and Eibach… that explains why there are Ohlins and Eibach decals on the car. It even has carbon chassis reinforcing.

He opens the carbon fiber bonnet and is surprised to see what is fitter inside it: an engine with sandy red color valve cover, written R1 spec. It’s a RB26DETT R1 spec engine, with increased engine capacity to 2.8 liter. This car is not a Z-tune, but a V-spec II R-tune.
“Sora! What are you doing?!” Steve yelled from his red 911

It was Steve. What is he doing here?
“This is our last battle, remember? Come on, get into your car and start the battle immediately” he continued

Beside the unknown blue R-tune, there are his teammate’s cars, lined up together under the cloudy sky. They look pissed and angry towards him for some reason. Hikaru, Tarou, Gonsuke, Yamada, Iwami, Clark, Souya, and even Keith.
Steve is participating alongside Sora for some reason.
“I see… so this is my GT-R” Sora said as he gets back to the car

His R-tune has distinctive silver colored Nismo and R-tune emblems on the right side of the rear bumper. No R-tune has something like this. Instead, normal R-tunes get a sticker that writes Nismo and R-tune on the left side of the rear bumper.
“You sure want to do this?” Hikaru asked

Hikaru drives a white NSX-R instead of his white ghost. What is happening here?
“A lot has changed” Sora said

“You’re right” Hikaru nods

“Let’s just finish this battle and get on with our lives” Sora added, “I’ll show you the capabilities of the real host for the Sky King”

“Sora, are you ready?” a Hawaiian man asks him

“Sure… anytime they’re ready” Sora grins

“Sora… Sora!” Steve said

“What?!” Sora replied

“Wake up! Come on, get up already” he said, “The others are waiting for you. Come on, we’re going to eat something for breakfast”

Sora gets up with his eyes half shut. His hairs are messy and his clothes are wriggly.
“Okay… hold up a minute” he said

He sits by the bed and froze for a moment… he went back to sleep!
“Damn!” Steve said as he kicks the bed hard, causing him to fall down

“What?!”

“Wake up! We’re going to eat something for breakfast!” Steve yelled

Sora wipes his eyes and stands up.
“You’re awake? Good” Steve nods, “Let’s eat”

Sora and Steve walks out of the room and sit at the chair. Sora takes a fresh looking green apple as he scratches his head.
“Looking good, Sora” Hikaru said

“Whatever…” Sora replied, “After I ate, I want to go back to sleep”

“Good morning, everyone” Yuki said

“Good morning, ladies” Gonsuke replied

Different from the boys who have just awake, the girls are already taken a morning shower and ready to eat.
“Looking good, Sora” Yuki said as she sits beside Hikaru

“Whatever…” Sora finishes up his apple and ate a bowl of cool raspberries, “After this, I'm going back to sleep”

“Good morning, Sora” Aya said, “My… you’re… messy”

“Whatever…” Sora finishes up his raspberries, “After this I'm going back to sleep”

Sora takes a glass of warm orange juice. After he drinks the whole glass in one gulp, he went back to his room to get more sleep. But something happened and he tripped on his own trousers, causing him to fall down. The fall makes a loud noise and made everyone worried.
“Hey, man” Steve said as he drops his spoon to look at him, “You’re alright?”

“…”

Sora didn’t give any reply. That makes everyone starts to panic like hell.
“Did his skull broke or something?” Hikaru starts to worried as well

“…”

“Sora… Sora!” Tarou said

“…”

“Sora!” Clark called out

“…”

“Uh-oh” Keith starts to feel something is awfully wrong

“Zzzzzz…”

Everyone is silent. They are surprised and annoyed at the same time.
“What the?! He went back to sleep?” Steve grits his teeth in annoyance

“Hahaha… let’s move him to his bed and let him get his sleep” Gonsuke said

Two hours passed by and Sora is fully awake now.
“Hm?” he mumbled

He stretches his body and yawns.
“Ah, I feel great” Sora laughs

“You’re awake, sleepy boy?” Steve asked, “You almost gave us all a heart attack”

“I’d better take a bath and go get dressed” Sora nods

Few minutes later, Sora is done and completely dressed. They are ready to go and support Tarou and Keith for the race.
“Okay… let’s go” Sora nods

“Yeah…” Steve walks out of the room

Few minutes later, all of them have arrived at the circuit. Keith and Tarou are ready to battle against the remaining two kings. Few weeks ago, Sora battled Bernard at this very place and claims the Sky King title as his own. What about Tarou and Keith? Can they defeat the kings and claim the title for themselves?
“Okay… we’re already here, so let’s do it” Keith said

His opponent, the Grip King, drives SLR McLaren which is supposed to be one of the supercars of European.
“Yeah… we got to win this and show what we’re really made of” Tarou nods

As for Tarou, he will battle against the Drift King, who drives Viper SRT-10. The car itself is well known to be one of the deadliest choices of weapon for drifting.
“Welcome to Suzuka, you two” Jonathan said, “Today, you will prove yourselves to us. We will be the one who will judge your worthiness to take our title as the next king”

“We will begin shortly… so prepare yourselves until then” Eliah added

All of them are waiting at the pit lane, feeling pressured. Tarou and Keith are no exception, but Sora on the other hand, is relaxed.
”Come on, Tarou... you can do it” Rika whispered

“Tarou... if you want to score it big, use Dunlop, Hairpin, and Spoon to rack up huge points... get it as close as possible to the clipping points”

“Okay...” Tarou nods

“You know which one they are, right?”

“Nope... this is my first time...” Tarou replied

“God... you don’t have any preparation at all?”

“I’m just kidding... they are the 7th, 11th, and the 13th, right?” Tarou asks

“You got it... good luck”

First off, it’s Tarou against the Sideways team. Sideways team is a team, trained by Eliah. They will be holding up a contest for drifting around Suzuka here.
“Good luck, Tarou…” Keith said from the pit lane, “We’ll be rooting for ya”

Tarou nods and lined up his car at the starting grid.
He will battle against four members with the best skills at the team. If he survives, then it’s up to Eliah to defend the title.
“Here I go…” Tarou said, “Soarer… please don’t disappoint me”

He will begin shortly! The cones and the clipping points are marked and they are ready to begin. Let’s hop Tarou didn’t do anything rash and wreck his car.
“In three… two… one… go!” said the marksman

There are a lot of judges for drifting, which is usually seen around the tracks. They will be the judge to determine his performance. It’s one lap battle and they have to score the points as much as they can.

The first corner is ahead and Tarou begins with pulling his e-brake to initiate a drift from straight position.
“Here he goes!” Steve said

Tarou clears the first curve with completely clean drift. He almost hits the clipping points, but nevertheless, it’s his first try. He can do it much better.
“Huff… the tires are going crazy! I have to be careful on the next corner” Taoru said

The circuit was purposely watered to lessen the friction and grip from tires. It should help the car to drift easily.
“Okay, here I come, S curves!” Tarou said as he begins to drift

Up on his front is four of the best of Sideways. He needs to prove that he is able to defeat them in scoring points, so he could move to the next stage, beating the Drift King.
“Okay… I have to beat them and move on!” Tarou enters the next curve by sliding his tails and kicks the clutch

He clears the Dunlop curve beautifully. The juries surely are pleased to see it.
“Nice one, Tarou” Hikaru nods

“He’ll win this for sure” Keith replied

“There goes another king in our team” Clark said

“Next up! Hairpin curve” Tarou pulls his e-brake to initiate drift

He holds up the clutch as he shifted to second gear ad holds it still. Hairpin curve has different ground level, since it’s sloping upwards.
“What will he do on the Hairpin?” Yamada asked

“Hold the clutch… shift to lower gear and accelerate as you slide your tail” Sora thought, “Nice…”

He straightens out his nose and starts to chase down the four other guys in front of him.
“Here I go!” Tarou smiled happily

Suddenly when he approach the Spoon curve, there it is; a silver SRT10 already waiting for him. Just like last time when Sora is battling Bernard to take the Sky King title. They fancy intruding the battle when it begins to heats up.
“Let’s go” Eliah smiled

“Yes!” Tarou nods

“Does it like this the last time as well?” Iwami asked

“Yeah… after the other driver was out, it’s one on one” Steve answered

Tarou trying as hard as he could to cling onto the back of that silver SRT10. Just as he expected, SRT10 does have better torque distribution along the RPM bandwidth. All he needs to do is pass the Drift King as he drifted through the corner before the fifth lap ends. It may sound easy, but it’s not. If you speed up to much at the corner, you will risk oversteer your car and slide outside the track. And as all of you know, SRT10 with big engine cannot be taken lightly.
“What will you do, Tarou?” Sora thought

“Damn!” Tarou shifted down and accelerate to decrease the gap

Everyone is holding their breath. They are worried that Tarou might start to drive recklessly when chasing someone.
“Don’t… don’t… don’t!” Sora said

Tarou is always tempted to shift to higher gear when the RPM starts to reach the red line. He is way overprotective about his car.
“He’s going to lose it” Sora exhaled

Sora runs toward the side of the circuit. It’s been almost three laps passed and Tarou is starting to make a lot of mistakes.
“NO!” Sora said as he knuckled his left hand and shows it to Tarou

“What is he saying?!” Tarou yelled, “There is no way I can catch up without shifting gears!”

What Sora is trying to tell him is not to shift gears too often. He will never be able to catch up when the engine is at power loss after he shifts gears. The turbine takes time to spool up and boost the car.
“Damn it!” Sora said

“Let it be, Sora… maybe Tarou is not ready yet” Steve replied, “He loves his car way too much, and it blinds him. He should’ve trust his car more”

By the end of second lap, Tarou realized something. His car is always at power loss after he shifts. He needs to compensate it- fast.
“Maybe what he said is right… I can't shift too often” Tarou said, “Please don’t break down on me, Soarer… I trust you”

He shifted down and floors the throttle even more. Little by little, he started to decrease the gap.
“I see… thanks, Sora… I will take the title” he smirks

“Good… you started to trust your car” Eliah grins, “Well, it’s time for the main event, then”

Eliah decrease his pace to let Tarou catch up with him.
“What the?! Okay, you ask for it, man” Tarou shifts up and pass him

“Here we go!” Eliah nods

The two drifted through Hairpin curve cleanly. Even though Eliah is way more skilled than Tarou, Tarou has good ability to learn fast.
“I will try and copy your technique” Tarou sighed, “Here I go”

Eliah doesn’t realize it that Tarou is behind him to observe his run.
“He’s tends to decrease the pace when he’s two meter away from the corner” Tarou grins, “I will take this to my advantage on the next one, which is Spoon curve”

Everyone is waiting patiently at the pit lane. Sora knew that Tarou will make his move soon enough, since he observed Eliah enough to find his driving flaw.
“Here I go!” Tarou said as he overtakes Eliah and drifted through the Spoon curve

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

Tarou overtakes Eliah and drifted through the corner, just like how the battle was supposed to go. Next up, is Keith and Grip King.
“Okay… I'm up next” Keith nods

“Don’t piss your pants” Sora smirked

“I won't!” Keith replied, a bit annoyed

“Good luck to you, Valentine” Tarou said

Keith lined up his car at the starting lane. Instead of running against the team, which is trained by Jonathan, he is putting himself to battle Keith immediately.
“We don’t need showy stuffs like Sky King’s battle or Drift King’s battle” Jonathan said, “You ready, kid?”

“I'm always ready” Keith grins

The lights are on… five seconds to go… 4… 3… 2… 1… go!

When the lights are off, Keith and Jonathan are launching their cars perfectly.
“This will be a hard one” Sora said, “V8 with supercharger against V8 naturally aspirated”

“But Keith’s car is a basis for ALMS cars, right?” Souya asked

“Yeah… that’s the one thing I worried the most”

“What does that mean?” Melissa asked

“Reliability” Steve answered, “Right, Sora?”

“Exactly…” Sora replied, “His car breaks down once against me… and that’s the one I worried about”

“But he lowers the compression of the engine, after he lost to you” Clark said

“That’s not it… Jonathan’s car is almost standard, except for the suspension and stance” Sora explained, “What about Keith’s? Especially when he pushed it last night”

“All of them are prototype parts from M power” Steve sighed, “This is bad… I always hated racing cars”

“No way… Keith will win this one” Melissa replied with confidence

“Yeah, but it will struggle him to the death” Sora exhaled heavily, “We’ll see…”

What Sora and Steve just said is coming true. His car starts to feel sluggish.
“What the?! What is wrong with my M3?” Keith asked

“Here we go…” Sora thought

Keith’s car started to lose oil pressure slowly. Looks like one of his cylinder started to leak.
“I have to finish this battle as soon as I can” Keith though

No different from Sora and Tarou, he has to take over the lead from Jonathan and cross the finish line.
“What will you do, Keith?” Steve thought

“Something is up with that kid’s car” Jonathan thought, “What will he do now?”

Even though he is worried, Keith has to battle till the end of his engine’s life.
“Who cares?!” Keith yelled, “I have to win!”

Seeing his determination, Jonathan cuts him some slack. Only Sora and Steve knew what happened.
“He…” Steve said

“Yeah… just like mine. These old runners has gone senile and gave away their title easily”

“They did… They are just a bunch of old wolves, passing down the pride to the cubs” Steve replied

“Here I go!” Keith started to attack the SLR

The only thing Keith needs to do is go all out. Hopefully, he is able to win by relying on luck alone, since his car is on the verge of breakdown here.
“I have to go all out and win this”

Keith passes every corner harshly, never minding the car’s condition. He cuts the chicane, sliding his tail at the corner, and do whatever it takes to keep on clinging at Jonathan’s back.
“Okay, kiddo… with that car, I hope you can learn the true beauty of keeping your car well maintained” Jonathan smirked, “Swap your engine with stock and never ever repeat this event”

At Degner curve, Jonathan purposely increase his pace, letting the M3 overtakes him because of the understeer.
“Go, kid…” Jonathan thought

Keith, didn’t know what is happening, passed him and leads all the way towards the finish line. To cover it up, he still tried to attack Keith from behind and try to regain his lead. Keith however, drives defensively and defends his lead.

Everyone was overjoyed. Both Keith and Tarou are claiming the title for their own.
“Congratulation, new kings” Sora said to Tarou and Keith


This post has been edited by R_E_X on May 31 2010, 08:33 PM

Merry Christmas, everyone... hopefully all of your wishes will come true at the next year...

here is the 19th RPM... sorry for the long delay

RPM 19: Aya and Sora

After the battle was done, all of them went back to Tokyo. A day passed by, just like that. Anyways, all of them experienced amazing things today, especially Tarou and Keith.
“Okay… next up is Kamikaze team” Sora said

“Yeah… we’re one step closer to the greatness” Keith nods

“I wonder what will RJ7 do now?” Steve thought aloud

“What do you mean?” Hikaru stares at him

“You see… just like before; You, Rei, and Sora, are approached by the members of RJ7” Steve explained, “Same thing happened to Sora yesterday”

“Yeah… a member of them by the name of Uehara Natsumi, comes to my front door yesterday” Sora sighed, “I told them to wait after we’re done with Racing Queens, which is... led by your girlfriend, Hikaru”

“I see” Hikaru nods, “You’ve made the right decision, Sora”

“The thing is… we should watch our backs now” Steve continued, “We’re on their radars now, and they are not type of guys that will sit nicely and wait for us… so if we got challenged by them, we just have to defeat them and kick their asses”

“Well said” Tarou agrees, “Well, what do you say if order something to eat? Of course, it’ll be my treat”

“Wow… now that’s great” Clark smirked

“I'm going on ahead… I need to go to Akiyama’s” Sora said, “Thanks for the offer anyways, Tarou…”

“Why do you need to go now?” Hikaru asked

“He said that there will be an exam in the coming week” Sora scratches his head, “I need to study as much as I can… see you guys around”

Sora left the coffee shop and walks toward his car. But something happened and that something gets on his nerves.
“Damn!” Sora yelled

“What was that?” Clark looks outside the coffee shop, to find that silver GT-R is parked in front of the blue GT-R

There is a silver GT-R blocking his blue car. That GT-R has Musashi vinyl on the side of the car. That car is owned by Mikami Rei. Where is that guy? Sora went back inside the coffee shop and speaks loudly.
“Attention, to the owner the ugly silver GT-R, please move your car” Sora said, “The owner of the blue car has important business to do”

“What is he saying?” Yamada shrugs

“Who said that?”

From the corner of the shop, there is a young man, sitting alongside with a woman, staring at him with angry look.
“What are you doing here, Rei?” Hikaru asked, “What is it?”

“You heard me… move your ugly silver GT-R” Sora said, “Even if you are the famous heir of Mikami group, that doesn’t mean you can do anything you like”

“I was hoping to battle you again as the Sky King…” Rei smirks, “And looks like I got the reason to do it now”

“Not now, I'm not” Sora shrugs, “I have to attend class at Akiyama’s”

“What? You’re scared?” he asks

Oh man… just what Sora needs- annoying guy with ten year old kid attitude.
“Come on…” Sora grins

“And if I don’t?” he smirks

“MOVE IT!”

Sora yelled suddenly, diverting the entire customer’s attention to him. The situation on the coffee shop turns intense all of a sudden. Rei doesn’t want to lose either; he shows his usual cocky look. That made Sora even more impatient.
“Wow… what is this? Looks like a dessert fork” Sora takes a small fork that Steve used to eat his tiramisu cake, “Want a pinstripe at your paint? I can add it for you in no time… Move it now… I won't tell you the third time”

“Alright, alright” Rei nods

“If you want a battle so badly, let’s meet up tonight at Tatsumi junction” Sora exhaled lightly, “Be ready and bring some of your pocket money…”

“What about 10,000?”

“Sure” Sora shrugs, “Whatever you say…”

Rei stands up and walks out of the shop. He moves his car and let Sora reared his car and drives away. After Rei gets back to the shop, Hikaru talks with him and his sister.
Not long after all that, Tomoyo enters the coffee shop and greets every member of HSSR on the coffee shop.
“Hello everyone…” she said

“Oh… Tomoyo-senpai” Yuki replied, “How are you?”

“I'm fine… a bit busy doing a lot of things here and there, though” she sighed, “I'm glad all of you are here”

She is Sagami Tomoyo. She is the school president, working to help promote the school.
“What is it, senpai?” Hikaru asked

“First of all, I heard that Tarou and Keith are celebrating for their newly title as Drift King and Grip King… I congratulate you for your achievement” she nods

“Thank you, ma’am” Keith nods

“That’s not the only reason why you came here, right?” Aya asked, “So why are you here, senpai?”

“You are smart one” Tomoyo said, “Actually, I came for this…”

She hands over an invitation letter to Tarou.
“Oh wow… a representation for open class school tournament?” Tarou asked, “Check this out, Hikaru…”

“They said that the winner team will receive $100,000 each…” Hikaru said, “It’s tournament for cars! It’s sponsored by Red Bull energy drink… this is high class event, guys”

“What?!” Steve asked in disbelief, “I'm in… I'm in! When is it?!”

“It will be held a two weeks from now” she said

“Oh… that’s after the first semester exams, huh?” Gonsuke smiled, “Nice one, ma’am”

“That’s why I ask your team to represent us. Can you do it?” she asked, “The letter said you need a team of ten... do you guys have one more teammate?”

“Yes... before you got here, he already left” Souya said, “He is the most famous street racer on Shutokou right now”

“Who do you mean?” Tomoyo asked

“The one and only... Wangan Midnight Sky King” Keith said, “He is our teammate”

“So I’ve heard... where is he now?”

“Well... he left to study at Akiyama racing school” Iwami answered

“Can you guys talk it over with him?” Tomoyo nods

“Sure… We’ll do it” Steve nods

At seven P.M., Sora is done with his study. At the end of this week, he has to overcome the exam to continue to the second part of the school.
“Phew… alright, time to go back home” Sora said, “First thing first, I have to run back at Shutokou”

So he run towards his car and fired the engine up. He takes the nearest highway entrance and speed up like crazy. There was less traffic than before, since the night starts to fall upon the earth.
“You’re surely on good mood, Aoi” Sora smiled

When he reaches Hamakawasaki area, he remembers that he needs to buy some ingredients he forgot the other day. He exited the highway immediately and went to the convenient store he visited the other day.
It’s almost the end of the year and winter vacation is approaching soon. And being almost at the end of November, the convenient store is bustling with visitors to buy all of the grocery they needs.

On the parking lot, it’s even worse. From family SUV to sports car are lined up across the parking lot and Sora is almost gone home because he can't get parking space. Luckily, he spotted a family sedan leaves the area, so he parks the blue car straight up. He goes inside and takes a shopping basket. Then he scours around to look for what he forgot.

Few meters from him, there are two girls shopping for their winter needs. The two of them are taking whatever is written on the list, which is held by the blond bombshell.
“Okay, Claire… let’s move to the next things we need” Aya said

“Hm… What about curry powder, Aya?” Claire asked

“There is still some leftover, back at the house” Aya replied, “Okay… next one is sugar for cooking”

“Lookie who’s here… it’s the Sky King” Claire points the shopping guy

Aya looked at the one Claire points to. It’s Sora. “What is he doing here?”

“Sora, over here” Claire called

Sora heard the call and decided to approach the two girls.
“What are you two doing here?” Sora said

“Shopping for winter needs… what about you?” Claire asked

“Bought the things I forgot the other day…” Sora answered

“Hee… so the Sky King needs to eat as well” Aya grins

“Stop with the teasing” Sora shrugs, “Well, I’d better get back now, since I already get what I forgot”

“Okay then… oh, if it’s not much to ask, can you give Aya a ride to her house?” Claire asked

“Hee? What about your strawberry?” Sora nods, “What happened to it anyways?”

S15 is pronounced as S ichi-go (S and fifteen). Ichi-go itself can also mean strawberry in Japanese.
“I tune it up with my savings money… finally I can ask Kojiro to balance my engine” Aya blinks her right eye

“And what about your Z?” Sora asked

“I will stay overnight at Kojiro’s place, helping Kamiya-san with the tuning of my Z” she replied

“Sure, but… Hm… it will be a huge disadvantage for me, since her weight can decrease my fuel economy here” Sora smirked

“Disadvantage? What do you think I am? A dead weight?” Aya frowns, “My weight barely touch 60 here”

“It was just a joke… you don’t need to be upset” Sora grins, “Okay, we’d better go back now”

Aya followed Sora to the cashier where she pays for everything she takes, as did Sora with his groceries. After the two are done, they headed to the parking lot where the blue GT-R is parked. “Well, hey… can I drive?”

“Sure…” Sora replied as he opens the lock with remote, “Put all of your grocery at the trunk”

Aya puts all of her grocery at the trunk, while Sora keeps his at the rear seating. When he hands over the car key to Aya, his mobile phone rang… someone called.
“Hello?”

“Hey, where are you? Don’t you want 10,000?” Rei asked

“Ah… I completely forgot” Sora said, “Well, looks like you have to forget the battle, Rei… I’m with Kisaragi and I have to take her home”

“What is it? Battle?” Aya asked

Sora is way too tired and lazy to battle Rei. He never did like the guy because of his behavior, which is the same as a ten year old kid. With Aya on his car, he gets an excuse not to battle him. Just think of it as a mutual gain.
“Oh you suck!” Rei yelled, “After all the hours I’ve spend to wait for you… damn you”

“I seem to forget a promise to have a battle with Mikami Rei” Sora ignored the guy on the phone

“Hm… a battle huh? Why not?” Aya grins

“Why would I?” Sora asked, “Just being around that guy give me the creeps”

“Just drive and go battle him” Aya shows somewhat of an evil grin on her face

Chill suddenly run down on Sora’s spine. His hands and feet feel numb and cold all of a sudden for no apparent reason. Her evil grin is threatening him for some reason and he had no other option but to obey her words, even though he is reluctant to battle against Rei.
“What was that grin? She is scary as hell, and for some reason I feel threatened by her” Sora thought

“Is there something wrong?” she keeps on showing the same grin to him

“Ah… nothing” Sora nods, “Okay, Rei… you win”

“Meet me at Tatsumi parking area… pronto” Rei hangs up the phone

“It’s settled, right? Let’s go then” she smiled as she ignited the engine

“What happened to her?” Sora thought, “She is scary! Real scary!”

So he ended up going to Tatsumi junction to battle the ten year old kid. Nevertheless, if he wins, he got another 10,000 for his savings account.
When he arrived at Tatsumi, there he is; waiting cockily, sitting down at the top of his bonnet. Aya parks the blue car beside the silver one and gets out from the car. Sora steps out from the passenger side, completely confusing all of his teammates, with Aya behind the steering wheel.
“What the?” Hikaru thought aloud, “The car accepts… her to drive it?”

“What is going on here?” Souya asked

All of his teammate is here. Looks like they got nothing better to do, and decided to stick around, watching the battle. “What are you guys doing here? Don’t you guys have anything better to do?”

“Sadly, no…” Steve shrugs, “Have you heard from Tomoyo-senpai about the competition offer?”

“What offer?”

“It’s basically about a team of racers representing their school. The winner gets 100,000 per team, and one team is consist of ten” Yamada explained

“Sure… not much we can do during the vacation, right?” Sora nods, “Okay Musashi. Let’s deal with it right away”

“That’s my line, Sky King”

Rei shows somewhat like a determined aura to defeat Sora. Behind him stands a big person, wielding two katanas, with one of them pointed to Sora. Sora is no different; he shows his battling aura. This time however, it was different than usual. It’s a flying blue knight, with a golden crown ornament, with seven stars on the edge of the crown. It also has six huge wings, sprouted from its back. To makes it even, the knight is wielding a huge black sword and big shield. Sora pointed his finger to Rei, and instantly the blue knight does the same with its huge sword, pointing it right at Rei’s face.

Feathers are flown off everywhere. At first glance, it’s a feather but when the others touched it, it’s a plain snow, playing trick on their eyes.
“Wow… he evolved it to another level, Tarou” Clark whispered

“He is” Tarou whispered back

The two are ready to go and their battling aura diminishes to the skies above. Rei gets into his silver GT-R, followed by Seno, while Sora gets into his blue GT-R and Aya follows.
“Okay… let’s follow them quick!” Iwami said

Sora ignited his engine and so does Rei. The roars of two RB engines echoed throughout the entire junction. Rei nodded to him and Sora nods back. They are ready to roll out of the parking area. Sora started first and followed by Rei.
“Steve said that his car can reach 330” Sora said, “I’m going to end this immediately by heading straight away to Daikoku-Futo”

“Show me how fast she can go” Aya said

“Hmph…”

By the time the two GT-Rs are out of the junction, the owners are pushing their cars to the limits. Rei’s RB26 engine has normal engine stroke, therefore he shifts ahead of Sora. But Sora, who has larger bore and stroke on his RB26, takes it easy. He intends to torture the silver car to its limit by taunting it with longer engine breath.
“Come on” Sora said, “Is that the best your engine can do?”

“Damn! He is teasing me with his longer stroke!” Rei said

There is less traffic on Wangan Line. Sora takes this as a cue to end the battle immediately, using the maximum potential of his Z-tune. He slaloms his way through the traffic cars with ease. He overtakes the silver car and shifts up, leaving the car behind him to eat the gust of cold wind and snow.
“Damn!” Rei tried his best to keep up, but it doesn’t enough

When racers let Sora overtakes them, Sora will immediately ends the battle. The moment they let the blue car gets ahead of them, all they can do is pray that he will either crash or had an engine failure. Otherwise, they will have to rely on their car to chase him down and push it even harder to keep up. “Show’s over” Sora shrugs

He shifted down to fifth gear and kicks the pedal flat to the floor. The sudden acceleration and boost from the turbo plunges the car forward. It also makes a loud bang noise, not to mention the fire which spits from the exhaust.
“Ha…” Aya gasped

Sora clocked 320 KM/H, but still raising. The car’s monstrous power match up to its handling, keeping the car planted on high speeds, completely eases the driver’s mind about the traction and grip issue. “Bye-bye, Musashi…”


Fifteen minutes later, Sora arrives at Daikoku-Futo, without any efforts at all. Rei shows up few minutes later and parks the silver car beside him. Both of the drivers get off from their respective cars and stands up in the front of their cars. The others arrived at the scene also not long after.
“Here is the money!” Rei said

“Easy money” Sora shrugs, “You know, it’ll be much faster if you just gave it at Tatsumi junction earlier”

“Hah! Like I would” Rei replied

Sora takes the money and puts it on his jeans pocket. He takes a hundred dollar and does what the winner usually do to his friends or teammates.
“Get something to drink, guys… it’s my treat” Sora grins

“Oh wow! I knew this is going to happen, so it’s a good thing we tag along” Steve smirked

“Sora, can you show me your engine bay?” Seno asked

“Sure… what do you want to do with it?” he asked back

“Just curious…” Seno replied

Sora popped the bonnet and Seno opens them. This is the first time Seno takes a close look at the Z2 spec engine that Sora has.
“I never knew that Kamiya hid a treasure such as this”

“I get it by accident also… Kojiro offered it to me when I was looking for a used GT-R at his garage”

“Yeah… this is quite a find” Seno nodded, “Take good care of it, otherwise, it will betray you one day”

“If she does that, I just have to look for another GT-R that will obey me fully” Sora shrugs, “Besides, I think she already chose another driver to be her next master”

“Did she? Well, until that day comes, just take good care of it”

“I will” Sora nods, “Well, see you guys around, then. I will drop Aya at her house”

“Can I drive again?” she asked

“Here you go” Sora threw the car key to her

“Oh yeah, Sora… head up to Yuki’s place Saturday… let’s study together to prepare ourselves for the exam”

“See you Saturday, then”

Sora drops off Aya at her house not long after. No matter how many times Sora visited it, he always feels comfy around it. Aya takes off the harnesses and opens the door of the car. “Want to come in for awhile? You’re tired from driving around the highway, right?” she asks, “Park the car on the port and follow me into the house”

Sora parked the car at the car port beside her house. After that, he pops the trunk so Aya can take out her groceries.
“Here, let me help with those” Sora smiled

“Thank you… then you can carry all of them” Aya grins

“Eh? I just want to help, not to bring all of them”

She giggled and takes some of the grocery bag, “I'm just kidding with you”

Aya enters the house and Sora follows afterwards. After the two put the bags on the kitchen counter, Aya goes upstairs to get changed to her casual clothing.
“Okay… sit down a bit, I will make you a cup of tea to help you warm yourself” she went to the kitchen

“Ah, no need for that” Sora scratches his head, “I'm just going to swoosh away from here, anyways”

She went to the kitchen anyways and started to brew the tea. “Just take it as thanks for taking me home” she said, “Sit down and relax a bit”

“But…”

“Don’t sweat it” she said, “Just relax”

Reluctantly, Sora takes off his shoes and went inside.
The inside of her house is as big as he thought it would be. There is a living room with a comfy looking couch, PS, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360, with Sony Bravia full HD LCD TV, Sony’s latest Blu-Ray reader, complete with Sony home entertainment system. On the cabinet, there are models of Nismo Silvia in silver color and red 380 RS, lined up beside each other.

There is a hallway behind the living room, which has a bathroom and a stairs, which is supposedly leads to Aya’s room. Beside the stairs, is a door with Claire’s nametag on it… must be her room and an empty room beside it. Next to the living room are kitchen, dining room, and a door beside the living room… where does it lead to? Surprisingly it leads to the veranda… rear veranda, to be exact.

He sits at the small stairs. Instead of having one garden, this house has two of them. The pond actually goes around the left side of her house, and it acts as a natural irrigation system for the big fruit trees behind the house. “Wow…”

Sora takes off his socks and walks around the garden some more. There are a lot of herb plants and fruit trees; oranges, grapes, apples, tomatoes, watermelon, melons, lemon, and last but not least is lime. All of them are placed nicely around the rear fence of the house. “Man… this is Eden!”

“Is there something wrong?” she asked

“No… your house is big and the garden is nice… very nice” Sora smiled, “It feels like I'm in Eden”

“It is” she grins, “Here you go… oh Sora, want to add some lemon on it? I will pick one for you”

She went to the kitchen and picks the lemon. “No, there is no need…”

“Here you go… let me rub it for a minute, so it will extract more juice” she said as she rolls the lemon at the floor, “Cut it in a half… squeeze it and add some sugar”

“Th, thank you…” Sora nods

“You’ll be staying here tonight, right?” she asks, “I’ll cook a dinner for us”

“Uh, there is no need to… my house is not far from here”

“I insist…” she cuts in, “You can sleep with the guest room, right across my room upstairs”

“But…”

“You are so full of doubts nowadays… what’s wrong, you know I won't bite” she smiled

“You already have a boyfriend, right? I mean, what if he finds out?”

“I don’t have any… it’s an excuse, just like the ones Claire used” she stands up, “Why don’t you take a bath, while I cook it for you”

“I… ah…”

“Let me prove it for you…” she said as she kisses his forehead, “There, you believe me now?”

“Ah…” Sora sighed, “I’d betted take a bath now”

“Go ahead…” she nods

Sora leaves the girl alone at the veranda. For some reason, his behavior started to go haywire when he’s around her. Does he start to like her? He takes out his bag from the blue GT-R and went upstairs to take a bath. At the second floor is just a normal hallway with two bedrooms and a bathroom at the end of it.
On the bathroom, Sora turns on the cold water shower on purpose. Even though it’s freezing, he does it to remind him of harsh reality and heartache he felt not long ago.
“What is wrong with me…?”

His body started to feel numb and freezing. He turns off the water and grabs his towel.
After drying himself up, he changes his clothes with something more casual; a t-shirt and long pants. He combs his hair and sighed once again, looking at the reflection of his face.
“Huff…” he sighed

“Sora, are you done?” Aya asked

“Yeah…” he replied, “You want to use the bathroom?”

“Uh-huh… I made lasagna for both of us, with garlic bread and warm orange juice” she said, “The two of them are baked at the oven right now, so just wait a bit, okay?”

“Sure…”

“You can use the room over there…” she said, “No peeking, alright?”

“Give me a break…”

Across the door with Aya’s nametag is an empty room with a bed and cabinet. He puts his bag on the room and threw himself at the bed. Even though the room is unoccupied, she kept it clean… the bed sheet even smells fresh with lime scent. “I want to sleep for a bit…”

At Kojiro’s place, Steve is helping Kamiya and Claire with the tuning. Since he got nothing better to do.
“So right now Sora is at Aya’s place?” he asked

“Yup… Aya has trouble sleeping on her own” Claire said, “It’s a big house after all”

“I see…” Steve grins, “Who would have thought behind that mature looks she is afraid to sleep alone at the house. So… what are you afraid of?”

“Cockroaches… and of course being alone” she nods

“Come on… is it real?”

“Of course… I’ve had it living my life alone” she added

“Sora used to say this… all humans are born alone in this world and they will die alone as well” Steve sighed, “We are a lonely creature, that’s why we have friends and family to ease it up”

“I see… well, that is a lonely statement, coming out from a hero of the team” Claire smiled

“Okay… let us change the tires, then” Steve nods

Suddenly his Blackberry rings… It’s Cliff from New York City. What is happening?
“Yeah? What’s up?” Steve asked

“I need you to listen carefully to me, Steve…”

“Sure… sure” Steve nodded

Back to Sora, he really is asleep at the empty room. When Aya is finished, she saw Sora is asleep at the room. She shakes his shoulder, trying to wake him up.
“Sora… Sora… come on, let’s eat” she said

“Huh…?”

Sora opens his eyes and there she was, staring right at him. He glances at the sapphire blue eyes she has and it feels like he stares at a deep ocean.
“Oh, sorry. I must’ve dozed off…”

“Feeling better after lying down?”

“I am…”

“Come on, let’s eat… dinner is ready”

Aya went ahead. She needs to prepare the dishes and glasses for the two of them. Sora’s mobile phone suddenly rang… it’s his brother who called.
“Sora, it’s me… Akira”

“How are you, brother?” he asked

Ninomiya Akira is his big brother. Their age distance is kind of far, with Sora being 19 years old, Akira is 25 years old. He already has a wife, but currently no children. He said that he wanted to be more of a decent father, so he can afford to pay for all of his family’s needs.
“Actually Sora… I called you to tell you a bad news” He said

“I'm listening…”

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

Nine P.M., Steve, Sora, Aya, and Claire are gathering at the house. Something bad is happening to the boys.
“So… the two of you want to stay here?” Aya asked

“Please… we need a place to sleep” Sora begged, “My brother needs to sell his house because he is in serious financial trouble”

“My brother said he needs the money to operate his head… he didn’t mention what kind of operation it was, but he sounded very sick” Steve said, “Therefore, he need to sell my house”

“Okay… the two of you can stay… but we have a condition” Aya said

“Name it!” Steve said

“Well, we decided that it’s too much for only two people to pay for the bills, and we suppose we can share the expense easier with lot more people” Claire answered

“If you guys agreed, you guys can move in right away” Aya nods

“Thank you very much” Sora and Steve lowers their head to her

“Ah, please raise your head” Aya said, “I just wanted to help”

Aya and Claire are looking for roommate to help with the expense. No payment is needed; only to help them pays the bill and cleaning the house… sounds easy, right? Thus, Sora and Steve went to Kojiro’s place to borrow a pickup car. The two of them help out each other to move, starting with Sora’s house and then Steve’s. There is not much they can carry, except the things they bought inside the house.
They need to move immediately that night, since the house will be sold tomorrow morning.

At eleven P.M., the two have finished with the moving and they are dead tired. Sora will sleep upstairs across Aya’s room, while Steve will sleep at the room beside Claire’s.
“Okay… we got two street racers as our roommate, Aya” Claire smiled, “This calls for a celebration”

“It is… let’s grab a Coca-Cola, a jar of ice, and four empty glasses” Aya nods

“Where are the guys?” Claire asked

“Looks like they are not back yet” Aya answered, “Let’s just wait for them”

Sora and Steve is returning the pickup car to Kojiro’s place. Then the two rides a taxi cab to their new place… a place with two beautiful girls.

Steve is particularly happy about being in this worse financial condition... Claire must be the reason. “So…” Steve said

“Yeah?”

“We’re roommates with two of the hottest chicks on the school” Steve slaps his shoulder, “I told you God has plans for us”

“I don’t see us with financial trouble being in God’s plan” Sora said

“Of course… that is His plan. We needed to be in great financial pinch, so we can get to live with them” Steve nodded happily

“Geez… so much of God’s plan, alright” Sora frowned

When they got back to Aya’s place, Aya and Claire are already waiting with a glass of cold Coca-Cola. They wanted to celebrate the coming of their new roommate.
“What is this?” Steve asked

“Welcome to our house” Claire said

“Hope you guys enjoy your stay, cause we did” Aya smiled, “Have a drink, guys”

“Thank you” Sora takes the glass, “Cheers…”

“Oh yeah, we decided we should share the house cleaning duty as well” Claire said

“Sora will help with the sweeping and mopping the floor, Steve will begin with dishwashing, Claire and I will clean the bathroom… let’s take turns, okay?” Aya smiled in excitement

“Sure” Sora agrees

“Well, after this Claire and I need to go back to Kojiro’s place” Steve said, “We can't let Kamiya wait for us”

“That’s right… let’s go now, then” Claire nods, “See you tomorrow morning, Aya”

The two left with Steve’s GT2, leaving Sora and Aya at the big house. After their drink is done, Sora takes the glasses and washes it. Sora didn’t realize that Aya only wears panties, no bra, with a long t-shirt as her pajamas.
“You wear them as your pajamas?”

“I did… I always did” Aya said, “My mother used to sleep like this also”

“I see” Sora nods, “You can sleep ahead, I still need to tidy up my room”

“I’ll help”

“It’s late… if you’re sleepy, you can sleep on ahead”

“Don’t worry… I’ll help” Aya insisted

“If you insist…”

After the dishwashing is done, Sora went upstairs and Aya follows shortly after. He started with putting the TV and his Xbox 360, and then tidied up his studying desk and everything on top of it; a metallic blue Sony PSP, high grade Wing Gundam, high grade Wing Gundam Zero, master grade Wing Gundam ver. Ka, and perfect grade Wing Gundam Zero Custom complete with the Gundam stands. He also had a die-cast Nismo GT-R Z-tune, sprayed blue by himself.

On the wall, he sticks out few posters of Skyline GT-R, while some of his jackets hang behind the door. On the cabinet, there are his two trophies he won from the races.
“Okay… there’s all of it” Sora said, “Thanks for helping me out”

“Then can I ask something in return?” she asked

“Name it” Sora sits on the bed

“I need a kiss…” Aya said as she sits on top of Sora’s legs

Sora’s eyes widen. Something must’ve happened to Aya. Chill once again runs down on Sora’s spine. “What is wrong with you? This is unusual”

“I just wanted a good night kiss from you” Aya said, “I used to get a good night kiss from Claire in my cheek… but I need you to kiss me in my mouth, so I can sleep”

“…”

“Do you hate girls?”

Without anymore word, Sora closes his eyes and kisses her at the lips. Aya kisses him back passionately, even going as far as pushing Sora to the bed, with her on the top of his body.
Sora responded back by grabbing her ass and squeeze it. She moaned in pleasure and intensifies her kisses towards him.
”Sora?”

“Ah?”

“Sora…?”

“Hm…”

“Sora… Wake up…” Aya said

“Huh…?”

And… that is just a dream. After he tidied up his bed, he fell asleep out of tiredness. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I just need a good night sleep” Sora answered, “Thanks for helping me out”

“Okay… I will leave you to sleep” Aya smiled, “Good night… sleep tight”

This post has been edited by R_E_X on Aug 29 2010, 05:19 PM

uhh..ohh..this is getting interesting...

RPM 20: Preparation

The next morning, snow is falling down, covering the house in pile of cold clouds. The cold mists also descend from the skies and hovers at the air. The visibility is poor, so people should watch out if they were to going out.
At the kitchen, Aya is cooking a breakfast; a tomato sauce with oats meatballs. Oats are healthy and good for your body. It’s high in fiber and is good for your digestion system, not to mention it helps in lowering your cholesterol.

Sometimes when she cooks, she listens to her N95 music edition. She plugs it to a Nokia compact speaker, which she purposely place at kitchen, so she can always cook in good mood. She listens to Kawamura Yumi’s When the Moon's Reaching out the Stars in loud volume. That song is so popular with high school students, especially girls, because it’s a romantic song, intended for the boys they fell in love with. The song is used in Shin Megami Tensei - Persona 3 FES, which Aya plays sometime ago.
She even sings the lyric fluently. She memorizes them like the back of her hands.

(I've never felt, never, never felt, never felt...so miserable...never felt… ah… ah… ah)
(I've never felt like thinking, thinking, thinking...last forever...so miserable)
(I've never felt, never, never felt, never felt...so miserable...never felt… ah… ah… ah)
(I've never felt like thinking, thinking, thinking...your love came all over me)

I've never felt like so miserable
I've never felt like thinking this will last forever
Baby stay with me... Baby stay with me
You gotta tell me your love came all over me

Sora awake because of her singing. Not that he is disturbed, in fact he is interested to see her singing. He smiled as he sees her dancing around, following the tune of the song, while she stirs up the tomato sauce.

I never felt like so different now
It doesn't seem like we've been far apart turn me so jealous
My life'll turn out... My life'll turn out
It doesn't seem like it could be last for my life

(I've never felt, never, never felt, never felt...so miserable...never felt… ah… ah… ah)
(I've never felt like thinking, thinking, thinking...last forever...so miserable)

When stars are smile at moon wonder how look in your eyes
Just dialing your number failing to press the last two… pray in the heart
The moon's reaching stars if you hold me tight
Feeling heart reach so close
Will this last long?

(I've never felt, never, never felt, never felt...so miserable...never felt… ah… ah… ah)
(I've never felt like thinking, thinking, thinking...last forever...so miserable)
(I've never felt, never, never felt, never felt...so miserable...never felt… ah… ah… ah)
(I've never felt like thinking, thinking, thinking...your love came all over me)

My life'll turn out to move on like that
Just give me something that proves you're not fooling
Just give me... Just give me
You gotta tell me your love came all over me

My life'll turn out to be so cruel
Just give me something that proves you're not fooling
If this is so real... If this is so real
So just tell me your love came all over me

Aya is startled when Sora sees her singing around like that and she blushed in embarrassment. When she reached for her mobile phone, Sora shakes his head and nodded, telling her to continue singing.

(I've never felt, never, never felt, never felt...so miserable...never felt… ah… ah… ah)
(I've never felt like thinking, thinking, thinking...your love came all over me)

When stars're smiling at moon wonder how look in your eyes
If I could ever tell that wouldn't I feeling so weak… pray in the heart
The moon's reaching stars you won't leave me again
If I could ever tell you that you wouldn't leave me

When stars're smiling at moon wonder how look in your eyes
Now I need that smile so close can't help thinking of you up in the sky seeing
The moon's reaching stars if you hold me tight
Feeling heart reach so close
Will this last long?

(I've never felt, never, never felt, never felt...so miserable...never felt… ah… ah… ah)
(I've never felt like thinking, thinking, thinking...last forever...so miserable)
(I've never felt, never, never felt, never felt...so miserable...never felt… ah… ah… ah)
(I've never felt like thinking, thinking, thinking...your love came all over me)

Sora sits on the dining chair, waiting for her to finish cooking. And by the time the song is over, she is done cooking. She serves it to a plate and gave it to Sora.
“Thank you” Sora smiled, “You got a nice voice”

“Thank you” she scratches her head as she blushes, “It’s kind of embarrassing, though…”

“Why would you? If you can sing, show it to people that you can sing” Sora shrugs

“I see… I think I understand a bit more about you, Sora” Aya smiled back

“I'm more complex than you think” Sora looked to the windows

“Then tell me… tell me more about yourself” Aya replied

“That’s none of your…”

“Business!” Aya cuts in, “I know that line”

Sora sighed happily, followed by Aya’s giggle.
After he and Aya finished eating the breakfast, Sora takes a newspaper and read it, in hope that he can found a part time job with decent payment. Claire works as part timer model for fashion magazine since she and Aya is fired from the grocery store not long ago. Aya is working as a manager of a French restaurant, and sometimes she acted as the chef also, honing her skill as a cook.

Sora needs to find a part time work to fuel his Z-tune, not to mention paying for the bills of Aya’s house and his school fee… to add it up, he has to pay for Akiyama’s school as well.
Luckily, he has one important job he currently has, which is racing for Nismo junior team. Bernard pays for the last two races he’s done and each of them worth $150,000, so he has $387,000 on his account, including his earning from street racing.
Even though he could use the money, he always said that money is never enough, so if you can gather more of them, then it’s a must.

Sora managed to found a place at a local gas station to work as station attendant. Well, since he has nothing to do, why not? Even though the pay is not very high, he could always use the payment to fill his gasoline needs. He takes his mobile phone and calls the station immediately.
“Excuse me… I’m here to apply as station attendant” Sora said, “My name is Ninomiya Sora”

“Sora? What are you doing, looking for a part time job?” Iwami said

“Well, something happened, so I need to get the money soon” Sora replied

“First it’s Steve… then you” Iwami said again, “Why don’t you swing by here, I’ll introduce you to the manager”

“Steve?”

“Yeah… he applies here also to get more money with two part time jobs” Iwami nods

“I see. Okay… I’ll be there at ten” Sora nods

After he hangs the phone, Sora puts back the newspaper in the living room desk and went upstairs to take a bath and get a change of clothes. When Sora is finished changing, Aya showed up in front of his room, all dressed up and ready to go.
“Sora, can you give me a lift?” Aya asked

Since her car is at Kojiro’s place, she has no one to take her to her work place. Why not? Sora needs to go to Iwami’s place to apply for work anyways. He grabs his jacket and puts on his shoes. “Come on, I’ll take you to the restaurant”

“Thank you” she nods, “Let us go, then”

Sora ignites his car’s engine and reared his car to the road as Aya locks the fence. After he gets on and straps herself, they are ready to go. “Okay… let’s go” she smiled

Aya looks very sexy wearing a white shirt, black skirt, and high heels. She looks very mature and charming with that kind of work uniform. Maybe it’s not just her who dresses up like that and it’s a must for all employees?
“Um…” Sora mumbled

“Yes?” she asked

“Did all of the employees in your place dress up like that?”

“Yes, except the cooks” she nodded

“I see…”

“What’s wrong? You won't say that I'm very charming and sexy with this shirt, aren’t you?”

“Why would I say that?”

“I thought you’re going to tease me and try to flirt with me” she smirked

“Hahaha…” Sora grins, “What kind of restaurant is it?”

“We specialize ourselves with French cuisine, which only fits for women” Aya explained, “All of our customer is restricted to women only”

“Ha…?”

“You heard me…” Aya continued, “That’s why, we only specialize ourselves with French cuisine for women”

After the two enters the downtown area, Aya takes off the harnesses and get ready to get off. At the front of expensive looking French restaurant, she tells Sora to stop. The restaurant’s name is Misty Blue. It is so gorgeous and is filled with a lot of business women, having breakfast or coffee. A restaurant like this usually has niche market segment, which is intended for specific class or type of women.
“Okay… here it is” Aya nods as she gets off the blue car, “Thank you very much…”

“Sure… no problem” Sora nods back

“Listen… can you uh… pick me up again at six? That’s when I finished working” Aya bites her lip, hoping that Sora will come and pick her up

“Sure…”

“Good morning, manager!” said the waitresses who waits in the front of the restaurant, “Is he your boyfriend?”

“Something like that…” Aya blinks one of her eyes, as she bit the tip of her tongue

“She’s kidding…” Sora grins, “Well, see you later, then”

Sora drives off and left Aya at the restaurant. Even though the snow stopped falling, the cold mist still covering the air. There is not much people walking by the roads, but instead there are a lot of cars and busses passing by the front of the restaurant, which means it will be a long day of work in the restaurant. Aya smiled as she looks at Sora’s blue car, vanishing into the horizon of the road.
“See you later, Sora… be a good boy on your new working place” Aya thought

Sora drives slowly towards the gas station where Yamada and Iwami worked at. The moment the blue car showed up, Yamada and Iwami gets up immediately and directed Sora to employee’s parking lot.
“Here it is… welcome to Shell gas station” Yamada grins

Shell gas station is the place where the two worked at. Sharp smell of gasoline is in the air, even when the weather is this cold. It is a big gas station, with over ten filling pumps and a minimart, which acts as a mini shopping place for food and drinks for the customers. The minimart also sells the products made by Shell such as brake fluids and motor oils, as well as their merchandise.
A lot of customers visit this place, buying the high quality gas for their cars.

The employee parking lot is located at the back of the mart. Red Porsche, silver MR2 and black Tiburon is parked at the empty slots.
“Okay, let’s meet up with the manager” Yamada psyches Sora up

“Lead on…” Sora replied

When the trio is walking to the office inside the minimart, Steve is seen filling up one of the customer’s cars with care. He takes this job seriously, since it’s involving what he likes the most; cars.
“Welcome…” Steve greets the customer, who drives an old Fairlady in red color

“Hi octane, full tank please” the man replied

“Right away, sir” Steve nods

Steve saw Sora on his way with Yamada and Iwami. Sora saw him also and he points up his thumb, showing this place is okay place to work part time. Sora nods to him and enters the minimart. At the back of the cashier of the minimart, is a hallway which leads to the employee’s lounge and the manager’s office. “Here it is” Iwami said

“Manager, the new part time employee is here” Yamada said

“Come on in…” said a man from inside the office

Sora, Yamada, and Iwami enters the office. A middle aged man is seen sitting by the window in his reclined chair. He then stares at the three of them with a big smile in his face.
“Welcome to my gas station” he said, “My name is Takara Yasuda, and I'm the owner as well as the manager in this place. You ready to work for us?”

“Yes sir…” Sora nods, “It’s a pleasure to join here”

“Hahaha… a positive attitude, keep it up” he said again, “Okay, you can work right away with Yamada, Iwami, and your other friend, Steve”

The manager nodded to Yamada and Iwami, telling them to show Sora the employee’s lounge and get changed immediately. The place is bustling with customers, so they need all the help they can get right away.
“Let’s go to the employee’s lounge and get you a change of clothes” Iwami nods

“Okay” Sora nodded firmly

All of them ended their shift at one P.M.
As usual, after their turn ended, the four of them gathered around at one of the fillers to chat. “Whew… it’s tiring, but I guess this is fun” Sora laughs

“It is… we could get to see all kinds of cars, filling their gasoline here” Steve replied

“Okay, let’s call it a day and went back home” Iwami nods to the three of them

When they are about to left the filler, a familiar looking RX7 is coming to get its tanks filled. It has Veilside body kit, which is used in Tokyo Drift movie. It has pale, light blue color, like a cloudless sky in summer. Sora directed the car into one of the empty filler and greets the driver.
“Good afternoon, may I help you?” he said

“Hello” said the driver

The driver is a mature, cool looking guy. He wears expensive looking shirt and suit in dark blue color. Even though he looks kind of feminine, he has a girl sitting beside him… one glace and you can tell that he is a playboy type, which always hangs around with different girl everyday. “I need my tank filled…” he said, “And also, I heard that the young Sky King is working here”

News and gossip travel faster than the speed of sound. Where in the hell’s name this guy heard that kind of news anyway? Is there a BBS which has automated news update about a street racer’s workplace? When Sora takes one more look at the car, he immediately knew which team he came from; Real Japan Seven.
“Who is asking?” Sora asked

“So you are the Sky King” he said, “You’ve been in our radar long enough, and it’s time for me to battle you right now”

“Who are you?” Sora puts the filler head to the car’s fuel tank

“My name is Tamashiro Shin… also known as 7th Heaven with my RX7 here” he introduces himself, “I want to have a battle with you”

“We’ll do it some other time… I had my hands full with Racing Queens”

“I see… so you won't battle me whatever it takes, huh?” he smiled, “I will battle you today, one way or the other”

“Whatever…” Sora said as he wipes clean the windshield

After the man pays for the gas, he left the station in a hurry, as if he’s in hurry to do something with that girl he’s with. Steve, Iwami, and Yamada approach him to know what is going on.
“What is it?” Steve asked

“Tamashiro Shin of RJ7” Sora answered, “He is asking me for a battle, which I declined immediately”

“Something tells me that he is a dangerous man to dealt with… watch your back, Sora” Iwami added

“Yeah… I know”

The four of them went back to the employee’s lounge to get changed. After they are done, all of them bids farewell to each other and gets into their own cars. Iwami, Yamada, and Steve will head to Kojiro’s place to have their car maintained, while Steve intends to help Claire with the tuning. Sora has no plan until five P.M. to get Aya from the restaurant, so he hits the arcade center and plays Maximum Tune 3 for a bit.

At three past thirty P.M., he is fed up with playing so he went for the real thing, which is a cruise at Shutokou. He enters the highway immediately and went towards Edobashi junction.
Sora is having a pleasant cruise in the afternoon at 80 KM/H. There are not much of cars, running around at the highway at this time of year. “I wish everyday is like this”

Sora didn’t know there is someone following him from behind. When he reached Ginza area, that following car tried to ram him. When Sora stared at the rearview mirror and saw the car, he knew that the car behind him was trying to ram him. He steers his car quickly to the side and evades the havocking car. It’s that same pale blue RX7.
“This is bad” Sora thought

He grabs his mobile phone and dialed Cross’s number immediately, remembering that if he ever gets into trouble with RJ7, he is the first person that needs to know. He turns on the loudspeaker, so he won't be seen holding a phone as the two of them talked.
“Cross… I’ve got a big problem” Sora said, “7th heaven is behind me”

“What the?! How did he ended up having a battle with you?” Cross asked

“Long story short, he tried to ram me to provoke me to battle him” Sora explained, “What should I do?”

“He is an emotional driver… keep you mobile phone on, I’ll have my man trace you, so after you defeat him, we’ll try and capture him” Cross sighed, “Prepare yourself for the police chase”

“I got it… I will play with him around New Belt Line area, with twisty roads, so you can come here in time”

“I’ll be there ASAP… be careful” Cross added, “And Sora… if you are cornered… do what you have to do if you must… even if it means killing him on the race”

“I’ll try not to do that” Sora exhaled heavily

Sora leaves the phone at the passenger side and shifted down, initiating the battle with him.
“The mice eat the bait, and it’s time to wreak the havoc” Shin said

The RX7 follows him closely with its monstrous acceleration. As expected from one of RJ7 members, that car packs a lot of horsepower kicks. This battle will finally put Sora’s skill to the test. “Huff… here we go” he thought

The winding road of Ginza area is a dangerous place to be, and Shin realizes it. He will try and do his best to knock Sora’s car, out of the competition, whatever it takes. He tries it first with swaying his car to the side, trying to ram Sora from the side, in hope that he will crash into the side barriers.

Realizing the erratic movement Shin does with his car, Sora realizes that he will do something funny… and it happened, just like Sora predicted. He sways the pale car to the left when the Z-tune is beside him. Sora brakes hard, causing the pale car to lose balance and brakes also, while Sora overtakes him from the right.
“Kojiro will kill me if I dent this baby” Sora hissed, “If you want to play like that, I will have to play that way as well”

“Damn!!!” Shin yelled

Sora shifted down and accelerates further, leaving the pale car behind him. He jets through the Rainbow Bridge, gradually leaving the RX7. “Yuuya entrust me with this task, and I will do anything to throw him out of the picture!”

It’s been a lap, but the battle shows no sign that it will be over soon. When Sora glances at his watch, it’s already four P.M.
“I have to kick this guy out and end the battle as soon as I can” Sora thought

“I‘ll kill you!” Shin said as sways his car to the side

Sora accelerates suddenly and causes him to hit the side barrier at Tatsumi area. The rubbing metal of the road barrier against the pale car body produces a horrific sound of grating. Sora looks at the rearview mirror and saw the pale car’s engine is stalled. Sora spins his car 180 degrees and look at the driver of that pale seven face to face.
He revs the engine and smiled wickedly, telling him it’s no use to pull something funny to him.

The pale car ignited the engine once again, as Sora reared the blue car and performs a J-turn, leading the race once again. Fukugawa line is the place for him to end this battle with a high speed competition. “Come on!” Sora shouted

The seven is starting to close the gap in each second. Sora knew that rotary engine had the capability of doing something like this. Even though it has 1.3 liter engine, it packs a lot of acceleration, due to its long stroke. The two cars in no time, returned side by side again, this time, Sora is on the right side of the pale car as they enter the Ginza area.

Sora knew that he has to provoke him further, to make him lose his cool and started to go berserk again. Sora points his left middle finger to the guy and smiled cockily.
“Once again!!!”

He sways his car to the right and tried to hit Sora again. Sora shifted down in split-second and hits the brake pedal, evading the ramming car. Once again, the sound of grating metal is heard at the roads, but that’s not all. All of the ramming he’s done damaging his steering column. Shin tried to steer the car to the left, as he moves towards the second barrier split. As he went to the left too fast, he tried to steers it to the right, without knowing that the steering wheel is no longer functional… the steering wheel is not responding. “NOOOOOOOO!!!!” he yelled

Sora brakes hard to halt as he saw the pale blue car run out of control and hits the middle section of the second barrier. The front end of the car is completely ruined. He speaks to Cross immediately and pinpoints the accident spot. “Cross… southbound Ginza, second bridge pier”

“Is he still alive?” Cross asked

Sora gets off from his car, bringing his mobile phone with him and checked the driver of pale blue car. “He’s fine… just passed out with broken neck”

“I see… good work, Sora… I'm headed that way now”

Sora rubs off his trouser and grabs his wallet. Inside it, there is $5,000, which he claims as the winning money. He took out what is inside the wallet, rubs the entire surface of the wallet to erase his fingerprint, and put it back immediately to Shin’s trouser when he heard the siren sound of the police car. He gets into the car and drives off, exiting the highway area before things get out of hand.

At five P.M., Sora is waiting in the front of Misty Blue restaurant. Aya showed up not long after and Sora horns the car, diverting her attention to the blue car. She looks exhausted and tired. “Thanks for waiting” she sighed

“What’s wrong?”

“I'm just tired…” she replied

“Listen… uh, I want to eat something… can we eat someplace first? It’ll be my treat”

“Hm… let’s go to Yuuta’s restaurant” she hissed, “I want to eat some salad… and I want to check up on my strawberry”

“Okay… wait a bit” Sora said as he gets off and grabs a can of Red Bull energy drink from the vending machine

“What’s that for?”

“Here you go” Sora presses the cold can on her face

“It’s cold!” she said, “What do you do that for?”

“You look very tired… that’s why I do that. Come on, drink it up”

“Thank you…” she hissed, “You’re an affectionate guy, Sora”

“Nah… it’s a mutual respect relationship, right? Let’s go to Yuuta’s then”

He drives to Kojiro’s place immediately. Aya get irritated easily when she is tired or bored, so it’ll be best for Sora to take her where she wanted. At Kojiro’s garage, her RB26 engine is disassembled and Kojiro is seen doing something to it with an instrument Sora never saw before.
“Hmm… it’s already started I see” she exhaled lightly, “Let’s eat then, Sora…”

“You sure you’re alright?”

“I'm fine… I'm just tired, though” she said again, “I want to eat salad and get some sleep immediately”

She walked to the restaurant and sits at the empty chairs, as Sora orders the menu directly at the kitchen. Hikaru and Gonsuke are seen at the back, busy taking orders of the customers here. Just like at Misty Blue, every restaurant seems bustling with visitors and customers.
“One veggie salad and…”

“Make it two… no, three salad and lime juice” Aya said

“Three veggie salads and spicy sour fried rice… and two lime juice”

Yuki is here also… looks like she was waiting for Hikaru to finish working and went someplace. She saw Aya and decided to say hello to her, even though Sora is unsure whether Aya is in the mood for talk.
“Aya-chan…” Yuki said

“Hi, Yuki-chan… what’s up?” she replied

“Nah, just want to have a chat with you… how is it going with your work?” she asked

“I'm tired… my work forces me to manage a lot of things simultaneously” Aya explained

“I see… hang in there, girl” Yuki smiled

“Thanks… oh, the food is here” Aya looks happy, “I'm going to eat, okay? See you tomorrow”

Sora hands her the salad and she immediately eats it. She didn’t even blinks when she ate all of them and finishes her drinks in an instant, as if she is possessed by a demon. She exhaled lightly as she finishes her lime juice and bites her own lip in confusion.
“Feeling better?”

“I want another glass lime juice” Aya said, “Hikaru, can I have one more glass of lime juice?”

“Coming right up!” Hikaru nods

Sora eats his fried rice immediately, so the two of them can go home as soon as possible, before Aya gets more and more stingy. Her eyes looks sleepy and she looks very tired.
“Here you go…” Hikaru said

“Thank you” Aya drinks it immediately

Out of nowhere, a group of guys showed up in front of Sora’s table. Looks like they came for Aya, and they wanted an answer, straight from her mouth. “What is it?” Aya asked with stingy look

“I… I want to hear it from you mouth” one of them said, “Do you really have a boyfriend?”

“I did…” Aya nods, “He is handsome and he is a very affectionate man”

“Who is he? Who is the lucky bastard?” the other guy asked

“What matters is, I already have a boyfriend...” Aya grins, “Get lost”

Sora heard her confession yesterday, that she is just using her ‘shadow boyfriend’ so she won't get any problems with the local male students, who is attracted to her. Sora quickly finishes his food and drinks the lime juice, to avoid further conflict between her and the boys.
“Well, I’m done... I will pay for the food and take you back”

Aya nods leisurely and replied, “You do that…”

Fifteen minutes later, the two arrived back at the house. Aya is asleep in the passenger seat, so it’s up to Sora to open up the fence and parks the car inside. He turns off the engine and gets off from the car. “Aya, wake up”

She didn’t give any response and just keeps on snoozing and sleeping.
“What a pain in the butt” Sora thought

Now Sora needs to do what a man got to do; carry her to her room. He takes off her shoes and carries her to her room. He puts her into the bed and covers her with a blanket.
“Good night… sleep tight” Sora whispered

Sora went back to his room and takes off his jacket. He hangs it behind the door and grabs a change of clothes and went to the bathroom. It’s been a long day today… from working at the gas station, and racing with 7th heaven completely wore him out.
He turns on the warm water shower to relax for a bit.

When he reaches out to soap bar, Aya enters the bathroom. She sits by the bathtub, looking troubled. Sora didn’t know she enters the bathroom, until she opens her mouth, speaking with Sora.
“Can we talk?” she asked

“Wah! Can't it wait until later?”

Sora is completely naked and the only thing that gets in between them is fogged glass. He quickly grabs his towel and covers his lower part of the body. “No it can't…” she sighed, “Sora… since I helped you and let you stay here, can you return me the favor and help me with my problem?”

Sora turns off the shower to hear her voice clearly. “What is it? It sounded pretty serious”

She hands over a message on his Nokia N95 mobile phone and it shows a message. That message is sent by her father. “What does it says…? Dear, how are you? I'm doing fine back at NYC, even though my jobs are piling up on me, I wanted to see you. Can you come this Monday to my apartment? Can you bring your so called handsome boyfriend with you? I’ll send you the tickets, so please urge him to meet me, okay? With love… dad” Sora read the message, “You got yourself into quite a mess here, Aya”

“I know… I should’ve never told him anything about a boyfriend” Aya exhaled heavily, “I have to go back on Monday, after our exam”

“Long story short, you want me to come with you and act as your boyfriend. Is that it?”

“So you’ll do it?” her eyes flashes

“I’ll help you with it” Sora nodded, “Is that all?”

“It is… but if you think my request is a simple request, then you are mistaken”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Well… you have to know everything about me, from my favorite movie when I was a kid, to my three sizes” Aya explained

“What? Is this some kind of test for son in law criteria or something?”

“My father is… well, he’s old fashioned man” Aya sighed, “That’s why he is very strict and scary”

“So… do you have every ‘documents’ about yourself?”

“I will write it down later for you. Thank you… this means a lot to me”

“Hey, there is a huge possibility that I mess it up” Sora wheezed, “Don’t thank me yet”

“Still… I owe you” she smiled, “At least it eases one problem in my mind”

“Is that why you acted up so weird back at the restaurant?”

“More or less… it’s usual for girls like me to have a mood swings, you know”

“Beats me… I'm not a girl, so I wouldn’t know” Sora shrugs, “So if you’re done, can you please leave me? I need to take a bath, you know”

“Oh, sorry…” she gets out of the bathroom

“Geez… girls nowadays”

Sora is done few minutes later. He never ever combed his hair after his afternoon bath. So it’s not a wonder his hair always so messy in the afternoon. “Okay, you can take a bath now”

“Sure… oh, here is the documents about me” Aya smiled, “Memorize it, okay?”

The document consists of four pages, full of important facts about her. “Let’s see… your three sizes are… 90, 55, 87” he said, “Superb!”

He smirked wide and Aya blushed in embarrassment. “You are the first man who knew about them”

“Ha? Don’t you have a boyfriend in your past?”

“I don’t… I was a complete nerd, back in my junior high days” she blushed

“Well, who would have thought… I mean, now here you are, one of the hottest babes in the high school” Sora grins, “What about Claire, though? Is she also a geek, back in her junior high?”

“She is… cheerleaders in our school always bullied us, so when we get the chance of improving ourselves, we did it immediately” Aya explained, “We learn whatever we need, so we won't get bullied again”

“I see… well, God is fair” Sora nods, “Even though you are being bullied back in junior high, you are born beautiful, you just don’t know it”

“Is that a compliment?” she asked

“It is… you have evolved from an ugly caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly”

“You don’t have to use ugly caterpillar terms with me, you know” she frowned, “Anyways, I'm taking a bath now… no peeking, or I’ll kill you”

“Look who’s talking…” Sora closes his room and start reading the papers

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

The next morning, at eight A.M., Sora hasn’t awaked yet from his room. Aya, Claire, and Steve are eating their breakfast, before they headed to Yuki’s place for exam preparation studies. The four of them supposedly be at Yuki’s house from ten A.M.
“Where is Sora?” Steve asked as he sips his warm coffee

“He hasn’t awake yet… looks like he’s doing something in his room until midnight” Claire replied as she sips her herbal tea

“Yeah… he’s studying the material for my father’s son in law candidate” Aya frowns

Steve and Claire who heard it when they are drinking are surprised half to death, almost spits it out to each other’s face. That is natural reaction though, considering Aya has no interest to Sora at all. What happened all of a sudden to her? “What does that mean, missy?” Steve said

“My father ask me to go back on Monday, two weeks from now” she sighed, “He told me to bring my so called boyfriend also, so I ask him to pretend to be one”

“That’s a crime…” Claire smirked

“What was that?” Aya tried to be clear on what she just said

“Nothing…” Claire blinks one of her eyes and bit the tip of her tongue

“I’ll wake him up, since it’s my obligation to him… as a future wife, that is” Aya smiled, seemingly enjoying their role-playing

She knocks the door of his room, trying to wake him up, but there is no response from the owner. “Sora… wake up, you’re going to be late” she said

Still no answer, she opens the door. Surprisingly, Sora didn’t lock it down, so Aya enters the room leisurely. Inside it, Sora is asleep on the bed, with the four pages paper in his face. He’s reading it to sleep?

Aya feels that Claire’s words are becoming true. She started to like him, not just because of his looks and appearance, but also his dedication to everything he do in his life, even if this is just a big lie. He is more than just a well known street racer with great skills; Aya realized that there is more about him than that.
She sits by the side of his bed and takes the paper from his face. “Sora, wake up”

“Huh…? Is it morning already?”

“Eat your breakfast and let’s go to Yuki’s place” she smiled

Her smile is brighter than the summer sun itself. Not to mention he gets a free shows of her body curves beneath that white t-shirt. He blushes and immediately gets up from the bed. “Yeah… sorry for troubling you”

Aya gets up also and follow him downstairs. Claire and Steve already went to their rooms to prepare the materials for study, get a change of clothes and take a bath. “I’ll go on ahead!” Steve said as he went to the bathroom first

“Ah, wait!” Claire shouted, “Aya, I’ll use your bathroom, okay?”

Sora ate his koko crunch cereal with plain milk quickly. He doesn’t feel too comfortable when other people are getting ready to go, while he hasn’t done anything yet. “Just take it easy… we still have two hours” Aya smiled

“It’s okay…” Sora frowns, “I feel bad if all of you have to wait for me”

“No problem” Claire said, “Take your time, we’re not in a rush or anything, right?”

“I'm finished!” Sora replied, “Let me wash the dishes, okay?”

Aya grins, she enjoys being around Sora with his carefree and easy going attitude. “I’ll do it… just sit tight, and read a newspaper or something”

He shrugs in response, and grabs the newspaper which is lying before him. The headlines immediately caught his attention. A fierce accident is happening at Shutokou, Ginza line yesterday. That car belongs to Tamashiro Shin, which whereabouts is still being investigated by the police. The metropolitan and traffic police department hasn’t given any statement, regarding the investigation.
“You’ve read it, huh?” Steve said, “Strangely, the driver went missing. I wonder where that guy would run off to?”

“Cross… how did this ended up in media anyways?” Sora thought

“You know something about it?” Aya asked

“Not exactly. I was hanging around at Shutokou before I pick you up yesterday, when there is a long traffic jam” Sora frowns, “Kills my back for two hours long, before I escape from that hell hole”

“I see… well, it’s your turn to take a bath” Aya said again


This post has been edited by R_E_X on May 31 2010, 08:35 PM

Oh ho ho ho, things are getting interesting.

Here is the 21th RPM

RPM 21: The Plot Thickens

Everyday is a struggle, especially when it’s exam week… all hell breaks loose on earth. No matter how much a student is studying, it will never be enough to prepare themselves for the exams. At class 2A, Sora and the others are squeezing every drops of their brain juice to think clearly, remembering every material they study a night before, or an hour before.

Today is Friday, the last day of their struggle against the exams. After this last one, Sora and the team will have a long vacation, until the end of the year. All of them can't hold their excitement anymore and they want to get out from the school as fast as they can. Even though outside the school snow is falling, at least they can enjoy the vacation without any worries for exams anymore… or at least until their grades are published at the announcement board, at the middle of the month.
“I'm done!” Sora said, “Finally I can get to relax… variable X is found… At last!”

“Be quiet, Ninomiya! The others are not done yet!” Yue-sensei said

“Ooops… sorry” Sora scratches his head

“If you’re done, you can submit your paper to me and wait outside” she added

“Okay… see you later, Steve!”

“Ah! You cheating bastard, wait for me!” Steve replied

“Not you too, Blackburn!” she started to feel irritated

Fifteen minutes later, the class is dismissed. All of them went to the cafeteria before all of them went back to their houses. Mainly it’s to talk about the math exam they just had earlier. “So how much variable X you got?” Steve asked

“Ten…” Sora smiled

“You got ten as well? I thought I was counting it wrong!” Aya looks glad and pleased

“How can you got ten?! What did you do to get them?”

“After I divide it with Y, the amount didn’t match the basic formula… so instead I divide it, what if I reverse the basic formula to find variable X?”

“Gah! Stupid math!” Steve slaps his forehead, “I hope I can make it with good grades”

“Okay… so tomorrow is the day, huh?” Iwami asked

“Yeah… I will slash the cherry blossom with my gust of wind!” Sora nods, “Since the test is done, why don’t we go back right now? Let’s go to the gas station”

“I have something to do with Jessie for a bit” Aya said, “You can go ahead”

“Me too” Claire added, “It’s for next week’s festival”

“What are you two up to now?” Steve asked

“That’s a s-e-c-r-e-t” Claire grins

“Leave the girls alone, Steve” Iwami said, “They’re up to something”

“If Jessie is involved, I think it’s modern dance related stuffs” Sora shrugs, “I'm going to the station now! Let’s go Steve, Yamada, Iwami!”

“We should go to the restaurant also, then” Hikaru said, “Let’s go Keith, Gon”

“So it’s just us to go to the shoe store” Clark continued, “Let’s go then, Tarou, Souya”

The boys left the school premises to work part time, while the girls are preparing themselves for winter festival next Thursday. The snow stopped falling, even though the cold mist is still at the air. There is no need to feel lazy and gloomy on cold season. Sora and the others knew it, that they have to live every second of their life and enjoy their youth. It’s a great opportunity to go straight to the gas station. Sora, Steve, Yamada, and Iwami run towards the gas station in high energy. So does with Hikaru, Gonsuke, Keith, Clark, Tarou, and Souya to their respective working place.

Back to the girls, they are changing their clothes and started to do their respective assignment for the winter festival. Aya, Claire, Jessie, and Yuki will participate at modern dancing, while the other girls will do a theatrical performance. They are practicing at the auditorium, and they are giving everything they got into it; Aya and Claire are no exception. Even they are new students and new in this kind of event, the two are giving it all to learn quickly on how to use their curves to dance around.
“Aya… can you wait for me a bit?” Jessie asks, “I have something to tell you”

Aya and Jessie are the only ones, left on the gym’s locker room. “What is it, Jess?” she asked back

Jessie closes the locker room’s door. She locks it and shows her unusually serious look. Even when she was with Steve few months back, she never showed that kind of expression. “By the looks of it, this is a serious matter, huh?”

“You bet… I'm asking you a favor to watch over Sora” she said

“Watch over for Sora? Why?” Aya looks puzzled with her request

“I’m a police officer, working undercover with a sergeant of Interpol department, which came from our land; United States” Jessie explained, “You read last week’s newspaper, regarding Tamashiro Shin, right? That was Sora’s doing to help us bust RJ7”

“Sora did… what? I don’t understand” Aya seems more and more confused

“Sora race 7th heaven a week ago… and Sora is a long time friend of that sergeant also. He got the assignment in an accident, because he is trouble magnet that attracts RJ7 with his consecutive winning and popularity with his Z-tune” Jessie continued, “I want you to inform me of what Sora is doing, and if possible, you have to follow him around, even when he is racing”

“Why did you call him a trouble magnet?”

“Because most of the streets racers around Japan, are not as nice as those guys are, especially RJ7” Jessie exhaled, “That Shin guy, is arrested for two murders and six extortion case. You have to watch your back around these cats”

“You want me to join you?”

“Yes, just watch over Sora, so we wouldn’t need to bother ourselves with his safety” she nodded, “I will give you a gun for protection, just in case”

“Did Sora have one?”

“Yes, even though it’s not a real one, it’s just as deadly as a real gun would be” Jessie answered

“Not a real gun, but as deadly as a real gun… are you talking about modified air soft gun?”

“Exactly… you do know your thing” Jessie smirked, “You are an avid collector of air soft gun, yes? I will give it to you in person after we’re done with our practice”

“That seems tempting, but I refuse” she replied

Jessie is completely surprised. She never predicted that Aya will turn down the request. She started to become worried and anxious. “Why did you refuse?” Jessie asks

“I don’t want to take any part in police business, especially if it’s regarding Sora” Aya answered, “I refuse to cooperate with you in this”

“I thought you don’t care about Sora… I see” Jessie smiled, “You are in love with him, that’s why you wanted to stay away from his business, so there won't be any conflict between you two”

“So…? What if I am?” Aya shows her usual evil grin

“I just want you to keep an eye on him, making sure there won't be any ill omen befalls him” Jessie sighed, “I'm Sora’s friend also, and I'm concerned about his safety… that’s why I ask you, the one that’s close to him to help us”

“…”

Aya didn’t give any respond and instead, she tried to open the door. “Please… help us” Jessie grabs her hand

“Just to watch over Sora, right? You won't ask me to do anything else beside it?”

“I promise… come with me after the practice is done, I will give you everything you need to do your job” Jessie smiled, “A modified M9 air soft gun, one tracker device, and the bullet supplies you need”

“What would I need a tracking device for?”

“So you can keep on track where your ‘boyfriend’ is at” Jessie explained, “It would be best if you hid it under a lining of a clothes or jackets or sorts… it’s up to you”

“I will do something about it” Aya nods

“And if possible, give him something that’s will always he wore around” Jessie nods, “A boyfriend will appreciate anything his girl gave him”

“I will give him something later, after I hid the tracker that is…”

“That tracker will be wired to your mobile phone, and also as long as your mobile phone is on, his whereabouts will always be monitored by us”

“So that’s it?”

“It would be best also for him, if you don’t say anything about our little discussion today”

“My lips are sealed…”

Back to Sora, he’s doing whatever he can to keep himself busy at the station. Having too much energy sometimes help motivate the other employees also. He’s organizing the money in cash register inside the minimart and Steve is helping him to do that. “Steve, why did you quit the pizzeria, man?” Sora asked

“I got fired for yelling at customer!” Steve replied, “It’s not like I quit”

“I see… I thought that you quit” Sora laughs

Suddenly, there is a silver GT-R stopped at one of the fillers. The driver steps out of the car, and it turns out to be a woman, with casual get-up, telling the other attendant to fill her car up. When Sora saw that, he remembers a conversation not long ago between him and Aya, regarding her wish to get a GT-R, just like his. “What is it, Sora?” Steve asked

“Ah, nothing… I was just thinking about something” Sora grins

“Or… is it someone to be exact?” Steve asks again

“Yeah… it is” Sora nods

“So uh… how is it going with Aya?” Steve keeps on asking

“I don’t know… not much is happening between us, I guess”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Put me aside, how are you doing with Claire?”

“Well… I think I can manage just fine” Steve nods, “We’re getting along pretty well”

“Ha, finally… a progress for one of us”

“What about you? Are you going to stay single for the rest of your lives?”

“No… I’ll figure something out in near future, I promise”

“Better be” Steve replied

“Time to work again! Let’s go!” Sora said as he runs off to greet a customer, “Welcome… how we can help you today?”

After Aya is done with dance practicing, she and Jessie went off to Jessie’s place to get everything that she will need to monitor Sora’s movement. “Aya, where are you going with Jessie?” Claire asked

“Ah, I want to borrow something from her… something… private” Aya blinks one of her eyes

“Oh… I see” Claire blushed

“What do you say that for anyway?” Jessie seems embarrassed

“It adds more fun for you” Aya grins

“How does that even possible?” she sighed

Few minutes of walking in cold mist, the two arrived at Jessie’s house. Her house is a simple house for a single, energetic, and active girl like her. Her house differs greatly than Aya’s. It has simple yellow in color, with a small pond with pink lotus in it. And beside her house is a garage, where she kept her ZR1. Outside the house, a jet black ZO6 is parked under a tree, that’s overshadowing its appearance. One glance at it, Aya knew that the driver is not an ordinary driver, just like Sora. “Is she the one?” Cross steps out of the black car

“She is…” Jessie nodded

“How do you do?” Cross nods to her, “My name is James Cross, and I'm sort of Sora’s senior in street life”

“How long do you befriend him?”

“Two to three years… I was his house neighbor when I study abroad in Japan” he said, “I taught him a lot of things on how to avoid police on the roads… well, he is even better with GT-R than my old Chevrolet SS2”

“Why would you endanger him with a difficult task like this?”

Aya’s question struck Cross and it bothers him very much. However, it is not Cross decision to involve him in the first place. Sora is the one who appeared out of nowhere, become the greatest contender, and takes the greatest title of Shutokou street racer. “Sora is… it is not my decision for Sora to be involved in things like this” Cross explained, “He is a trouble magnet, because he is a young and talented street racer in Shutokou”

“…”

“So… do we have your cooperation, Kisaragi-san?” Cross asks

“I will watch over him, so he won't be harmed by bad street racers” Aya nods, “I agree to cooperate with you two”

“That’s nice to hear… let’s get the things you need” Cross looks glad

“But I don’t think he has a liking for me, though… I mean, he’s a strange guy after all” Aya bites her lip

“Does he? He’s always been like that” Cross smiled, “Don’t let it get to you, and if you do wanted to get closer to him, don’t be shy… he welcomes any affection from anyone. Maybe this would work… you drive a silver S15, right? Are you a big fan of Nismo?”

“I am”

“Then you hide this tracker device in one of your ‘manly’ jacket, and trade it with him” Jessie continued

“Hey… that’s kind of rude” Cross whispered

“I don’t mind… I am a tomboy girl, after all” Aya smiled, “What if I just give the jacket to him?”

“If he has a feeling for you also, then it will also work” Cross nods, “Just in case, Kisaragi-san”

After she takes all of the things she might need from Jessie, she went to a shopping mall in Shibuya district to buy a simple jacket for Sora. She found something that she thinks might suits him; a combination of blue and white jacket. “Excuse me… I would like to buy this one” Aya said

“Want to gift wrap it, lady?” the shop attendant asked

“No, don’t gift wrap it, I intended to give him later” Aya spins her head

“Is this for your boyfriend?” the attendant asks again

“Yes it is” Aya nodded

Sora and Steve went back to Aya’s house at six P.M. and both of them looks exhausted. The snow started to fall from the sky once more for today. With darkened sky, the snow looks like a fairy, playing in the cold night around town. It is simply beautiful and gorgeous. The pond that runs from the front to the back of the house is frozen solid, even though the fishes inside it has already been transferred to the aquarium, which Claire has in her room.
The car port beside the house is still empty, beside the blue GT-R and red 911 parked in it. The tuning of Aya’s and Claire’s car is not done yet, because it took more time than anyone could ever predict. “Whew… the strawberry and red Z is not back yet”

“Yeah… the tuning takes more time than they imagined would be” Steve replied, “We’re back”

“Welcome back…” Claire greets the two of them

“Where is Aya?” Sora asked

“She went to Jessie’s house to borrow something… private” Claire giggled

“Huh… I wonder what that something is” Steve thought aloud

“As for today, I will cook for us” Claire smiled

“Wow! You can cook also? Sweet!” Steve grins

“And I will be around, to make sure nothing will gets burned” Aya said from behind Sora and Steve

“Whoa!” Steve jumps to Claire’s back, “How long are you behind our back?”

“Since… I wonder what that something is” Aya answered, “You know, you should mind more of your business with Claire, rather than wondering what I am doing”

“Welcome back” Sora nods

“Thanks… well, get changed, guys… we will make you the dinner” Aya said as she takes off her coat

“Need any help?”

“Ah, no need” she smiled to him, “Just change your clothes and take a rest for a bit, okay?”

“Sure…”

Sora and Steve went back to their room and change their clothes. Few minutes later, after Sora is done and get back downstairs. He saw PS3 and he decided to try and play Metal Gear Solid 4 as he waits for the dinner. He turns on the PS3, log in with Aya’s name and start playing the game. She played the game good, and everything is unlocked, not to mention her scores are great as well. Sora intended to play the game from beginning, to see what is so good about it.
“Aya, I’m borrowing your PS3” Sora said, “I want to try and play MGS4 as well”

“Sure… be my guest” Aya nods

On central downtown, there are a lot of people walking by the street, going back to their respective houses after a tiring day of work. The headlights and taillights are brightening the streets of Japan, alongside with the lights from the buildings throughout the entire district. Even though the snow is falling from the dark sky, there are a few girls, wearing sexy clothes. Yes, in this kind of cold weather… there are a lot of them at Roppongi district, the red light district of Tokyo.
At a night club around there, are six people gathering around to talk about something important. Even though the music is alluring and the strippers are seductive, all of them are irritated and angered because of something. They are the remaining members of RJ7 and they know something is up with their missing teammate. “He said that he’s going to battle Sky King” Haruna said

“I wonder what happened. Did he race someone else?” Natsumi asked

“His car hits the barrier at 150 KM/H, it is probable to say that he is racing someone” Tsugumi nodded, “Though we can't find out who”

“What do you suggest, Yuuya?” Souji asked

“Find Shin and kill him. We cannot let him compromise our business operation” Yuuya replied

“Hold your horses… even if the police capture him, they won't get anything out of him” Takeshi sighed, “Even if they managed to charge him, it will be his crime that goes on trial”

“What if they tangle it up to us?” Yuuya asked

“Don’t worry… your old man has great lawyers, right? They can't do anything to you, if they just rely on Shin’s statement” Takeshi rubs his chin, “No worries, kiddo. Trust me on this one”

“I trust you with all I have… you are my mentor, and my advisor” he nodded, “Okay, we will do what we can to get those snot noised racer kids. Natsumi, Haruna, Tsugumi! You girls are up next... crush those kids”

Back to Sora, he is still playing MGS4. It is not an easy game to be played, for a first time player like him, he always end up getting spotted by the enemy, get shot at, and died in a matter of minutes… Aya feels pity, seeing him always getting shot at. She takes off her cooking apron and approach Sora, to help him improving his game. “Claire, take care of the rest” Aya said

“Ah? You want to play also?”

“Nah, I'm here to show you a few pointers about this game right here” Aya smiled, “Here are the important things for you… one; always look around before you got into somewhere… use the maps or first person view to do that. This game is about stealth; therefore, you can’t be seen. Two; if you do get spotted on by the enemy, you must go and find someplace else to hide. Quickly run away and get out from the sight of the enemy. Three; never… ever fire your gun in crowded place… sometimes it’s better off to get past the enemy, rather than confronting them one by one. You got it?”

“Most of them, yeah…” Sora nods, “Thanks, I’ll try it later after the dinner”

“Sure… turn it off now, you can try again later” Aya smiled

Sora turns off the machine and the two went off to the kitchen to eat Claire’s cooking. Steve looks confused on what he should eat first. In front of him are a fried eel, miso soup, pickled turnips, and sautéed mustard plant with olive oil, chicken katsu, and black rice. Steve and Sora never ate that black colored rice. Is it safe to eat it? What is that?
“Eat up, guys” Claire smiled

Steve and Sora stares at each other. They look puzzled and confused. “What is it? My cooking isn’t good enough?” Claire ask

“That black rice... what is that?” Steve ask back

“It looks rather burned... is it edible?”

“Try it” Aya said, “It’s good for your body”

Sora takes a chunk of them with his chopsticks and eat it. A spongy, soft, and light texture melts in his mouth. By the way the rice tasted looks like this black rice is quite expensive. “It’s good!”

“Really?” Steve eats some from his bowl, “Wow... it is”

“Try the others as well” Claire said

“I’ll try the sautéed mustard plant, then” Sora takes some of the veggies and ate them

“Claire is good at cooking also, so don’t worry and eat whatever she cooked, okay?” Aya said

“Uh-huh” Steve and Sora nodded

Fifteen minutes of eating, Aya and Claire are done. The two of them went to the kitchen and wash their dishes. Not long after that, Sora and Steve are done also. “Let me wash it for you” Steve said

“Thanks…” Sora hands over the plates and heads to his room

After Aya is done with the dishes, she heads back to her room, while Claire is still at the kitchen when Steve joins her to wash the dishes. “I’ll help” Steve said

“Thank you” Claire nodded

Aya closes the door to her room and starts to hide the tracking device underneath the linings of the jacket she bought earlier. Hopefully, Sora will accept the jacket with no problem, which will eases Aya’s mind off one problem. She carefully opens the lining and inserts the tracker underneath the lining of the hood of the jacket. That way, Sora won't notice what is inside it. After she is done sewing back the lining, she stares at the jacket, making sure there are no abnormalities on the sewing and the lining. She opens back the door and went to Sora’s room. Sora is reading a magazine he bought at the bookstore on the way home from the gas station.
“Sora, I have something for you” Aya said as she sits at the bed

“What is it?”

“Ta-da!” she smiled, “I bought this for you”

“A blue jacket? For me? Thanks…” Sora smiled as he takes a look at the jacket

“Try it on… I'm sure it looks good on you”

Sora takes the jacket and wears it. The material of the jacket feels soft and light. It keeps you warm on the winter, but it’s not hot when you put it on summer. To add it up, it is a water resistant fabric, which is supposedly expensive. “This is great” Sora nods, “Thank you very much, Aya. I wish I can give you in return…”

“Ah, there is no need for it… I’ll be happy seeing you wear it everyday” Aya nods back

“I’ll wear it always… and oh, I have something for you as well” Sora opens his dresser

“There is no need for you to give me anything…”

“Here you go… I bought two of these Nismo filigree and tool tee. I never wear this one, since it’s too small for me” Sora nods, “This is for you…”

“Thank you very much… I will treasure this always” Aya replied

“You’re welcome…”

Aya stands up, walking to approach him slowly. She kisses him passionately, which is surprising for Sora. Even though he likes Aya, he never expected for her to like him back… Maybe there is a chance for them to become a couple. He kisses her back passionately as far as hugging her waist romantically. He can see her sapphire blue eyes completely, which drowns him in it. “I hope we can go more than this next time” Aya whispered

She walks out of his room and went back to hers, to try and put on the tee he’s given her. Few minutes later, she walked out of her room, completely dressed up, ready to go someplace. “Sora… how is this?” Aya asked

Aya is putting on the Nismo tee, combined with tight dark colored jeans. With those two combined, she completely shows her curves. Sora blushed and stares at her every detail; from head to toe. “Was this okay?” Aya smiled

“Beautiful…”

“Hm… I like it” she bites her lip, “Can we go to the convenient store for a bit? I need to buy something for our freezer”

“Sure… let’s go” he smiled

The two runs downstairs and as they went to the kitchen to tell Steve and Claire that they’re going to the convenient store, when the two found Steve and Claire are making out in the kitchen’s counter. The two kisses each other passionately, which is freaking them who saw it. “Claire… eww…” Aya said

“We’re going to go to the convenient store, so we’re going to leave the two of you, just like that” Sora added

At the convenient store, Sora and Aya are walking together to buy a lot of things for the freezer. This place seems to be more and more crowded every time they come here. “Whew… it’s so cold at night” she said

“Want to wear this jacket?” he asked

“Sure… thank you” she smiled

Sora takes off his jacket and gave it to Aya, so she can wear it and avoid the cold. “Let’s buy some of those fresh looking mushrooms” said Aya as she wears the jacket

Sora takes some of the mushroom and put it on the trolley. “What’s next?”

“Let’s take some of that spinach as well… Claire loves them for cooking” Aya added

Sora takes the spinach as well and puts them to the trolley. Aya pays attention to his every movement. He is so adorable and handsome… he is the first and the last for her. “Sora…” she called out to him

“Hm?” Sora smiled

“Let’s go to the cookie section” Aya smiled back, “Steve asks me to buy a chocolate chip cookies for him”

“Ha? He did?”

“He also told me to keep it secret from you” Aya smirked

“Hehehe… I have his trump card… next time he makes fun of me, I’ll post it on the school’s billboard”

“Let’s go…” Aya pushes the trolley cart

Sora’s heart almost skipped a beat and he cannot hold his tongue anymore. It’s now or never! “Aya… will you be my girlfriend?” Sora asked

“At last… the magic word popped from your mouth” she smiled, “Of course I will be your girlfriend. Want to make out with me here?”

“Uh… let’s hold that thought… it’s embarrassing to give people a free show to the visitors here” he smiled back

Sora smiled happily and so does she. The two pushed the trolley cart together to the cookie section. After roughly one hour, they are almost done. Even though pushing the cart is tiring as they walking around the store, the two are having fun with each other, so they can't feel any tiredness whatsoever. Suddenly when the two are about to went to the paying counter, Sakura and her fiancé showed up in front of them. Aya who spotted them first, immediately shows her dislike towards the particular woman. “Atsuno-sensei…” she hissed

“Ah… good timing” Sora smiled, “Let’s meet up tomorrow night at Hakone at seven P.M.”

Challenging her to race at mountain road on this chilly winter? What was he thinking? “Are you serious?” the doctor asked, “I can own you easily at the mountain roads with my R35’s technology, you know”

“Don’t sweat it…” Sora bites his lip, “Don’t forget about the deal, though… the loser will have to hand over the car to the winner”

“You’ll be sorry” she grins

“See you tomorrow, sensei… you can bring your fiancé as a witness”

Sora’s blood begins to boil. Even though he is grinning, she, Iwazaki, and Aya can clearly see his immense battling aura. A blue armored knight wielding a big shield and huge sword with seven stars on the crown ornament and six wings. “The Sky King…” Sakura thought

“What is that?!” Iwazaki mutters

“Let’s go, Aya” Sora smiled

Aya throws her the usual evil grin, showing her that is no use battling him, when the results are as obvious as a broad daylight. “Yuki… we have our challenge at Hakone” she said to her cousin, “Me against the Sky King”

At the counter, Aya and Sora pays for the groceries they bought. Aya seems worried hearing the fact that Sora will challenge the hot doctor at Hakone. Even though Aya didn’t ask anything about it, Sora can tell straight away that is worried. “Don’t worry, Aya… I’ll be fine” Sora smiled to her

“But she drives a Nissan GT-R, Sora…” she mewed, “You can't win against her and her GT-R’s monstrous traction”

“I made a prediction about that also” Sora said, “Let me explain to you… she had a weight disadvantage at the mountain roads. She won't be able to control her car for long at the snow covered road. Even if she uses winter mode on her VDC to winter, it won't help, since it will hold back some of the engine power. Use race won't do any good either, since she will accelerate too much without the control over her car”

“You’ve made that much calculation?” she seems a bit surprised

“Don’t be surprised… I know a thing or two about that big bulky car, you know” Sora grins wide, “Let’s go home now…”

With those words, her worries disappear from her mind. She feels that she know Sora more and more throughout his street racing career. He has given things a lot of thought before he spreads around the word, which brings him one step closer into maturity. “Hikaru… tomorrow, seven P.M. at Hakone… please tell the others”

“I got it” Hikaru nods

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

Saturday at six past forty five P.M., all of them are gathered at the top of Hakone mountain pass. Sora leaned his back on his blue car as he stares at all of his fellow teammates. The snows are covering some parts of the road, making it very slippery and dangerous. The battle will be between Sakura and Sora, in downhill and uphill battle. Since Sora is the one who gets to choose this road, Sakura will be the one who determine whether she will be the chaser or the lead. For now the Racing Queens hasn’t showed up yet, while the boys showed up earlier for a reason, which is to discuss the outcome of the battle… will it goes as Sora predicted?

Most of his teammate is very nervous, including Steve himself. They will be battling the second best team of Shutokou directly, since all of them banded together as a team. “Brrr… it’s freezing” Iwami trembled

“It is… why are we here anyways, Sora?” Souya asked, “Why can't you get someplace else to battle her?”

“You think it’s easy to battle a Nissan GT-R?” Sora sighed, “Just trust me with it and bear the cold”

“What are your calculations on this one?” Keith asked

“First we battle downhill, she will prefer to be a chaser and on uphill, she will prefer to lead” Sora explained, “That is the optimal position with big car like Nissan GT-R”

“What about the traction part?” Hikaru asks as well

“How can you rely on 4WD gadgets on slippery roads as these?” he shrugs, “That’s why she will go with that set-up… trust me on this one”

“Have you calculated the other outcome as well? What if she chose to be the lead on downhill and to be chaser on uphill?” Steve exhaled

“That would be suicide” Sora said

“Why is that?” all of them wondered

“Heavy cars won't start ahead on downhill battle… they will slide throughout the roads or jump straight to the bottom of this mountain… it applies the same for uphill also; she will struggle to get past me with that heavy and bulky body of her car”

“Hoo… that’s great, Sora” Tarou smirked, “You already calculated as far as that?”

“I told all of you; I choose this mountain road for a reason” Sora frowns, “There is only one car that’s going to make it to the bottom or top as the lead”

“Well… looks like they are here” Clark said as he heard the approaching engine sound to the parking area

A black R34, midnight purple R35, a Subaru Impreza, Lexus IS-F, and 3000 GT rolled out of the corner of the road and enters the parking area. Sora stands up and waits for them to park their cars. “We’re here” Sakura said, “Let’s do it immediately…”

“So…?”

“I will be the chaser for the downhill” Sakura nods

Just like Sora predicted. His teammates exhaled lightly, showing the signs of relief. “Do you have a plan, Sakura?” Yuki asked

“Nothing… I will just battle him to his brink of stamina” she smiled, “I set the gearbox on winter, the suspension on R, and the VDC on R also”

“I see… good luck to you, then” Hibana nods

“Remember the deal, Sora?” she asked, “You will be sorry”

“No money is involved in this. If I can defeat you, you have to give your car to me so I can sell it” Sora nods, “The same thing does apply as well, if I lose, you can take my car and sell it”

Sora however, is very confident in his car. There is no way he can lose in the situation he calculated. “Let’s keep battling until the end, Sora… no stops are needed” Sakura grins

“I see… there won't be any lead for you on the uphill battle, then.” Sora said, “This will be the longest battle of the team. There are two important keys for my winnings…” Sora said

“What is that?” all of them are puzzled by his words

“Let’s start… there won't be any rest, since this will be an endurance battle” Sakura grins

The two ignites their engines and drives it slowly out of the parking area. Sora will be the lead on the downhill. “Sensei… this battle will be over in the third round” Sora smiled

“How is that possible, Sora?” she asked back

“You’ll find out soon enough”

Sora revs his car to 3,500 RPM as he holds the clutch. Sakura didn’t use her launch control, which will breaks down her gearbox. “Ready?” Hikaru stands as the linesman, “Three… two… one… go!!!”

Sora lets go of he clutch and launched perfectly. Sakura followed shortly after, with her car’s monstrous acceleration. Sora keeps it cool and tries to drive his car as less aggressive than the usual. He holds back, even at the first right hander of this mountain road. What is he doing? “Hm… what are you plotting, Sora?” Sakura thought

He shifted to third gear and kicks the clutch, sliding his way to the second corner, which is a 180 degrees left hander. “Drifting through the corner, huh?” she smiled, “What a fool”

Sora needs to do everything he can to shake her off his car’s boot. Even if it is to fool around, showing what he won't do in the rest of the corners. “You can't win against my GT-R with that showy drift, Sora” Sakura said again

“…”

Sora keeps on attacking the corner restlessly. He needs to push his GT-R to its maximum potential to increase the gap between them. Nissan GT-R performed well on the mountain roads, even though the surface is very slippery. “I guess that is the real capability of R35” Sora thought, “Well done, sensei”

He plunges through every corner and attacks them carelessly. Sakura, who saw it from behind, thinks of it as his desperate measure to shake her off his boot. Back to the parking area… all of them are waiting for the reports from the members of Sideways. Tarou specially requested their assistance to monitor this mountain battle. “What is going on over there, over?” Tarou said

“This is Katagiri… they just passed through the 10th corner… the Z-tune is being pushed by the R35!” he said from Tarou’s mobile phone

“Damn! Looks like he miscalculated something!” Tarou grits his teeth

The tension suddenly turns high and the pressure is on the boys, while the Racing Queens can only grins and feels satisfied. “Your teammate totally underestimates our member” Yuki smiled

What Yuki said makes them even more nervous. What will Sora do if he loses this battle? He will lose his GT-R also and they are going to lose one powerful asset as well. “Shit… if he loses, then I guess we’re done with our greatness” Keith slaps his forehead

“I know we shouldn’t be up here!” Hikaru added

“What are the keys he’s talking about anyways? It bugs me very much” Steve thought, “What are you plotting, Sora?”

“This is Reiji… they passed the 13th corner. The Sky King is in trouble!” he said

“This is bad…” Gonsuke bites his lip

As they said, Sora is struggling to shake the big R35 from his boot. His effort so far is fruitless and Sakura started to realize that he is just bluffing his way through. “Damn it Sora… is this the best you can do?!” she yelled

Sora however plays it cool and composed. He didn’t want to rush things, avoiding the bad things that could happen to his car and his life. The mark of return is up ahead; Sora accelerates his car and pulls his e-brake and steers to the right, to initiate 180 degrees turn. Sakura, who has bigger car, cannot do such thing. She steers it to the right and accelerate suddenly to spins her car quickly to do the turn. “Whew… that is fun” she thought

Sora knew that she cannot do such stunt with her big fat car. He smiled and feels satisfied, knowing that everything is going smoothly. “Okay… now that my motor coil has warmed up, let’s start the main event!”

He opens both of the windows and shifts down to increase the gap between them. Sora can feel that something is changing with her car’s behavior, thus he sees it as his chance to go all out. “I miscalculated something… this will end sooner than I thought it would be”

He turns on his head unit and listens to his favorite music in Maximum Tune 3; In Your Dream. “Let’s go!”

“Ugh… something is wrong with my car” Sakura thought

At Aya’s house, Initial D manga volume 31 is laying on the top of the sofa in the living room. Who reads it and puts it there, lying around like that? Must be one of the boys. “Hm… must be Sora’s” Claire said as she puts back the book at his room, “But why is it on the sofa?”

Back to the parking lot, Steve’s mobile phone rang. It was Aya who is calling. “Steve, how did the battle go?” she asked

“Not good… Sora is in a pinch” Steve sighed

“What?! Then… will he lose?” Aya seems worried

“I don’t know… what’s up? Why do you called?” Steve asked

“I was wondering… at the carport, I saw four set of old tires and four pairs of brake pads… are those yours?” she asked back

“Old tires and brake pads? No, it’s not mine…” Steve replied, “Then… are those tires RE01?!”

“It is… you don’t use Bridgestone?” she asked again

“It’s Sora’s! I know he has a plan… he will win, definitely! Hahahaha!” Steve laughs

“What is it, Steve?!” Souya shouted, “Why are you laughing! Our teammate is losing!”

“No! He will win!” Steve said

“He must’ve been very desperate” Hibana smiled

“Prepare to lose, girls!” Steve said, “Sora changes his brake pads and tires with new ones and he will attack right now!”

“This is Reiji!” he said from Tarou’s phone, “You won't believe what I saw! The Sky King flies by and continued to accelerate on the road! He must’ve gone crazy!”

“What about the R35?!” Tarou asked

“It’s gradually falling behind!” Reiji shouted

Yuki in response, immediately calls her cousin. Something is up with her car. “Sakura… it’s me… what is wrong?” she asked

“He purposely holding back on the first round, tricking me to believe that he’s pushing as hard as he can” she laughs, “I'm so stupid to eat the bait… now that I attack him as hard as I can, I wear out my tires and brake pads… I can't keep up with him any longer… I’ve lost, Yuki”

“This is Katagiri! The Sky King is approaching the tenth corner!”

“He won! He won!!!” Clark yelled, “YEAAAAH!!!”

“Tricky little bastard” Hikaru said in relief, “Giving us a hell of heart workout like that”

Sora showed up not long after. He jets through the cold mist, cutting them in half with his sparkling blue body and the sound of RB engine echoes throughout the mountain road. He drives back to the parking area and circling around the lot with his blue car, smoking out and screeching the tires, showing his skills and victory. He lifts up his fist and smiled to all of his teammates.

Few minutes later, Sakura showed up. Even though she looks very sad, she is satisfied to have a chance battling Sora with everything she has. “This is yours now” she smiled as she hands over the key and the pink slips to him

“Pleasure doing business…” Sora said

“So… are you going to use this car to replace your R34?” Steve asked

“Stop joking… with earlier battle, I’ve shown all of you that my R34 still reigns in the performance. Even though it didn’t have all of the power and quality of advanced gadgets of this one, it still won against it. Steve, can you drive it back?”

“So this is why you ask me to go along with you… I should’ve known…” he smirks, “Oh well, let’s go”


This post has been edited by R_E_X on May 31 2010, 08:35 PM

Holy crap! That's one long update!!

Edit:

To be honest, (after copy-pasting and reading the RPM in Word) I don't like how things are going in this chapter. It's like Sora, the Sky King is acting more like an antagonist than a protagonist. Should Sora be that rude to Sakura? I was hoping more of something like this:

When Sora defeated Sakura, and Sakura hands over the keys to the CBAR35; because they had, emphasis on HAD, a connection in the past, he should be at least a bit humble to Sakura saying something like...

"Um... I can't. It's better that you keep your car. You worked so hard on this and I feel it is not right for me to just take your 35 away."

Because it is a deal, though, Sakura should insist on giving it.

Well, that's just me. Personal opinion I have. If that's Sora's personality, then you could just leave it at that.

The action is good but it lacks a bit of something... it's like there's no balance to the story; balance as in the emotions and thrills after races. It lacks a bit of something, much like what Initial D has.

Oh, and too much PDA with the Sora-Aya, Claire-Steve part.... I like...

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jan 6 2010, 04:09 PM

You guessed it right, Gunma... I purposely do that, and save the action for later RPMs, since I'm going to end it in the near future. You'll see what I mean in the next few RPMs.

As for Sora's behavior, he's a type of guy who remember grudges and won't let it slide easily, so to speak. He's a complicated guy and I intended to give him a bit of emotion of high school kid who felt betrayed by his ex-lover. Once he is crying for a girl that left him, he will always carry on the grudges towards the girl who left him in form of hatred, even though won't lead to revenge or sort

This post has been edited by R_E_X on Jan 24 2010, 11:02 PM

Thanks REX, keep em coming

Here is the 22th RPM... sorry for the long, long, long holdup...

RPM 22: Ambush

Two days has passed since the first battle of HSSR and Racing Queens between Sakura and Sora. It’s twelve A.M. now and the hero is at Narita airport with his girlfriend Aya, getting ready to board the flight to NYC. Steve and Claire are the ones who drive them to the airport, using the Nissan GT-R Sora got from Sakura last Saturday. After Aya and Sora are done with the luggage checking, they wait at the airport lounge for the plane. “Okay… thank you for driving us here” Aya said

“After you’re done meeting your father, hurry on back okay?” Claire said

“Sure…”

“Steve, take care of Aoi while I'm gone” Sora smiled

“Meh, you guys will be back on Wednesday, so why bother?” he shrugs, “Don’t worry, though… I will find her a suitable new owner”

Sora kicks him in the butt, causing him to fall down face first. “Stop joking around”

“Ow…” he stands up, “What about the midnight purple?”

“I will sell it somewhere Thursday afternoon” Sora nodded, “Well… see you guys Wednesday, then”

Claire and Steve nodded to them and leave them to wait for the airplane.
Aya sits down at one of the chairs, while Sora went off to get a warm drink for both of them. The airport is unusually quiet and sound, since there aren’t a lot of people travelling around in this kind of tight economic situation. Snow is falling outside the window of the airport as Aya stares at the couple, walking into a midnight purple Nissan GT-R. Her friend looks very cheerful and happy with Steve. After the couple gets inside it, the car drives off towards the exit of the airport complex.

Sora went back to her, bringing a can of warm green tea. “Here you go…” Sora said as he gave one of the can he carried

Instead of taking the unopened can, she reaches out the opened can which Sora already drank before. He puts away the unopened can in his jacket as he sits beside her. “This tea feels very soothing… perhaps because you just drink from it” she said

“Why would it have any effect on the tea?”

“I'm just saying… it feels nice to drink from the same can my boyfriend drank. I'm glad I have you as my boyfriend”

“How so?”

“I told you I was a complete geek in junior high, right? No one is interested in me” she sighed, “People only care about the looks, not the real me inside… let me ask you, Sora… why are you interested in me?”

“First, you are beautiful…”

She looks a bit upset when she heard Sora said the same thing. “I thought you are different than those guys…” she sighed. Hearing that, Sora immediately continued what he said, so there won't be any misunderstanding. “I'm different than those guys… after I see the outer you, I need to see the inside you. Your personality and behavior are the second reason for me. Most of people coupled with models, only for their looks… even though the models’ behaviors are crap, they still tag along… I’m hate cocky models with thin bodyline”

She closes her eyes and holds her smile. Sora knew she feels happy but she didn’t want to show it to him. “Is there anything else?” she asked

“The last one is… you are independent girl” Sora answered, “I love independent girl, who is not always rely on her boyfriend to do the work. Are three reason enough for you?”

“Two more would be nice…”

“Okay… the fourth one is you have gorgeous blond hairs and deep sapphire blue eyes. I love those eyes, since they are blue in color. And I’m suck for blonds”

“The last one is…” Aya pondered

Sora blushed; his face as red as the burning sun in the autumn sky. He knows what he wanted to say, but he is too embarrassed to say it directly to her. “The last one would be… your body figure! There! I’ve said it!”

“I see” she blushed as well, “I'm glad I have these traits from my mother”

Suddenly, the airport bell rings, accompanied by an announcement from the airport. “Attention, for all passenger of Japan Air Lines flight route Tokyo- New York, please get your boarding passes ready at the second gate”

“Well, that is our call” Sora said, “We’re in economic class, right?”

“Nope… we’re in business class” Aya gets up from the chair, “My father gives us the ticket of a plane which he used to travel with in his work”

“What exactly you father do anyways?”

“He is a journalist for New York Times… even though he is now senior advisor for the company”

“I see” Sora nodded as he walk towards the boarding gate

The two gets onboard the plane and sits on their designated seats. After Aya and Sora puts on the seat harnesses, Aya takes a car magazine and start reading it, while Sora decided to take a light sleep. The two will have a long and tiring flight for minimal twelve and half hours. “Sora, look at this one… isn’t this black GT-R looks cool?” she said, “This car looks just like the Black Phantom Yuki has”

“It is… even though it won't be a match for my Z-tune” Sora said

“Yeah, I guess even Black Phantom will have a difficulties dealing with your Z-tune” she said again

“I wonder…” Sora smirks, “Well, I’d better get some more sleep”

“Okay…” she nods

With that, Sora closes his eyes and leaned his back on the comfortable and fluffy seat, while Aya keeps on reading the magazine regarding the black GT-R.

The flight will be a long one. A trip to New York from Narita will take at least twelve and half hours, so the two of them will have one hell of a tiring flight towards the big city in United States.

At the highway, Steve is trying to figure out the key of Nissan GT-R’s wild behavior. He puts all of the settings on R and pushes the car as hard as he can to find the reason how did Nissan GT-R is able to corner well. “I see” he said. “What?” Claire asked

“He has great traction… it’s even better than R34’s ATTESA E-TS” he smirks, “But my GT2 has something this GT-R don’t”

“And what would that be?” Claire asked

“Raw power and crazy behavior. In this snow, maybe my car will just slide like crazy, but I also happen to have lighter bodyweight and sharp handling” Steve explained, “Well, let’s get back home and get some sleep… we have to go to the school later and get prepped for the festival”

“Sure…” Claire nods

The two gets back home to get some more sleep. At ten A.M., the two went to the school to help with the decoration. He went inside the auditorium with Claire, where everyone is waiting for them. Tomoyo will be supervising the decorating and design of the hall. “You guys are late” Souya said

“Where have you been?” Clark said

“Give it a rest, guys” Tarou added, “Just get on with your own works already”

“Sorry, we overslept a bit… but I managed to find out Nissan GT-R’s weaknesses, though” Steve smirks, “Anyways, let’s just begin adding the final piece up”

Steve ascends the aluminum stairs and puts on the green plastic rope above the entrance doors. Iwami, who is piqued with his findings regarding Nissan GT-R flaw asks him more about it. “What did you find, then?” he asked

“It has a heavy bodyweight. Sora wins because of it last Saturday, but that is not the least of its problems” Steve sighed, “The behavior is also very erratic, since it has bigger engine in its nose, therefore it always dragging the cars towards the outer wall of the corner”

“And?” Yamada continued

“Even though the doctor already tune the suspension settings, it still has a insane effect on the handling” he nods, “Well, even though Nissan has their share of fooling the law of physic, they cannot outlawed the heavy bodyweight… with strong acceleration from the engine, people think the car is fast, but it’s not”

“Hm…” Gonsuke pondered

“Sora knows it better than I do; he didn’t show any sign of worries, though he has to face the goliath” Steve exhales lightly, “Okay, over here is done, senpai!”

“Move along to the other side of the wall, Steve” Tomoyo said

“Got it!” Steve replied

The girls are preparing their own show, which is modern dance. Aya is one of the participants, alongside Claire, Sarah, and Jessie. But they won't be dancing with just the three of them; they will dance with the other girls from Jessie’s modern dancing club. “Okay, let’s take five…” Jessie said

“Huff… I can't keep up with the last beat” Claire sighed, “What should I do…?”

Jessie looks around the place, with Aya nowhere to be found. She then sits beside Claire and passes her a bottled water. “Thanks” Claire nod

“Where is Aya?” she asked

“She and Sora went to visit her father at NYC” she explained

“I see…”

Jessie can leave Sora to her watch, but she forgot someone else; the one who is also luring trouble towards himself. He is alongside Sora, winning the battles and piling up hatred amongst the other street racers. He is her ex-boyfriend, the one and only; Steve Blackburn. She is also needs to keep him on short leash, making sure he isn’t harmed. “Claire, can you follow me to my house later, I will teach you about how to follow the last beat”

“Sure…” she nods, “I always feel more confident when I can train without many people”

“Okay… let’s continue for now and see what’s what” she stands up and takes her hand

Later that afternoon, after all of the decorating and practices are done, most of the students are going directly back home out of tiredness. Hikaru and the others are no exception, either. “Man… I'm bushed” he said, “I'm going back ahead… see you guys later”

“Well, I'm going back with him” Yuki smiled

“Let’s go home now…” Iwami continued as he stares at Ayase, “Let’s head back now, Ayase”

“Sure… I'm pretty beat up” she nodded slowly

“Ah, wait up!” Clark said, “Let’s go, Sarah, Gonsuke, Yamada, Marie, Sako!”

“Well, Tarou, Rika, Yuuri, and I will go hit the shopping mall to buy something” Souya said, “See you guys tomorrow”

It’s just Steve, Claire, and Jessie with the remaining students, still decorating the auditorium. “Well, you guys can go home now” Tomoyo nodded, “Leave the things up to us, the seniors now”

“Okay… see you tomorrow then, senpai” Steve bows, “Let’s head back, Claire…”

“Umm… I want to go Jessie’s house for a bit, since there is a beat that I can't follow pretty well” Claire bites her lip, “Can you go back home ahead? I won't take long…”

“Uh… okay, then” Steve nods, “See you soon”

Jessie and Claire walked towards her house slowly. Few minutes later, the two arrived and once again, a black Corvette Z06 is parked outside her house. Claire started to feel weird and confused. “What is going on here? Are you going to abduct me or something?” she asked

“No… I brought you here to meet up with my partner” Jessie said, “Cross!”

“You bought another one?!” he looks surprised

“I forget about someone else beside Sora… her boyfriend; my ex” Jessie said

“What is going on here?!”

“Calm down, miss” Cross said, “We would like to ask for your assistance in monitoring Steve…”

“What would I do that for?”

“You know the recent restless activity of RJ7, right? They are lured towards Sora and Steve is his partner. The two of them are the most threatening street racers for them, and they will do whatever it takes to get them out of the picture. I already leave Sora in Aya’s care, so we need you to keep an eye on Steve” Jessie explained, “What do you say? We will always monitor your condition, ensuring nothing is happened to the four of you”

“We will give you a modified air soft gun, just like the one Aya got from us few days ago and a tracking device for Steve” Cross added

“Aya did…?” she wondered

“She did… she wanted to protect Sora out of harm, so she joined straight in” Jessie exhales, “What about you, Claire? Are you in?”

“So there isn’t any dancing instruction at all, huh? It’s just an excuse, so I would follow you” Claire sighed, “Well, if Aya is in, then I will also participate”

“Good decision… follow me inside, and I will give everything to you, including the dancing instruction you need” Jessie smiled, “Let’s go…”

Back to Sora and Aya, the two has arrived to NYC. “Welcome to my hometown, Sora… this is New York City” she smiled.

The glimmering lights from the office building, car’s headlights and taillights, and streetlights are livening up this sleepless city, earning it the title of the city that never sleeps. After the two of them grabs their bags, Aya calls for a yellow colored cab. The two gets onboard and went straight ahead to the apartment, located in the Upper East Side; Carnegie Hill. “I can't believe it… I actually get to visit this wonderful city” Sora said, “Just like the city I saw in NYPD Blue and CSI: NY TV serials”

“Hm… NYPD Blue and CSI, huh? This place is even worse when you seen it personally” Aya said, “There won't be any sleep for the police officers in this city, since every hour there always be a siren noise, coming out of ambulance or police patrol car”

“Ah… I see” Sora said as he looks around the place, “Thank you for bringing me here. This is the best Christmas gift I could ever ask for”

“What are you talking about? We haven’t visited the best place here yet…” she smiled, “Besides, you are my boyfriend now, right? We can go here anytime we want”

“We have arrived, miss” the taxi driver said

“Thank you… here you go” she said as she hands over some cash to the driver

The two of them gets off from the taxi and stands up in front of big and luxurious apartment. “Here…?” Sora asked

“Yeah, here…” Aya said, “Hi, Frank… how is your family?”

“Welcome home, Miss Aya… my family is fine. Your father is waiting upstairs” the security said

“Thank you… oh yeah, Frank… this is Sora, my boyfriend” she introduces him

“Nice to meet you” Sora bows

“Likewise… please go immediately upstairs… you father is waiting” he said again

“Okay… let’s go, Sora…” Aya nodded

The two ascends the elevator and went upstairs, directly to one room at 18th floor. “Here it is… are you ready?” Aya smiled

“…”

Sora feels dead nervous and worried. Will her father be a scary type of old man? Or is he more of a cool and modern man?
“Okay… knock, knock” Aya said

“Who is it?” a man asked from inside the room

“It is one and only, the most beautiful and tomboy girl; I'm your daughter” she smirked

“Aya!” the man immediately opens the door and hugs her tight

“Dad! How are you?” she smiled

“I'm fine… how is your school, dear?” he asked back

“I'm doing great… Claire is with me, after all” she said again

“And you must be her boyfriend” the man said, “Wait… you are?!”

“Good evening, sir… my name is Ninomiya Sora” Sora bows

“The real Ninomiya Sora?! Where did you find this guy, Aya? He is the rising star of Nismo junior team!” the man gasped in disbelief

“He’s my classmate… let me introduce you to my father, Sora… he is Kisaragi Nishida” Aya said

“Please come in right away!” he said as he yanks Sora’s hand

“Wha?”

Few minutes later, the three of them are drinking coffee while they sit and watch the documentation of Sora’s races in Sendai and Tsuzuka. Talk about having your girlfriend’s father as a fan. “You are indeed amazing kid” he said

“I just do what I do best…”

“You are welcome to stay here as long as you two wanted…” Nishida nods

“But we’re going back tomorrow night, since I have a winter festival at my school” Aya said

“Hm… I see. You’ve changed, dear”

“Did I?”

“Yes you have… I'm so glad that the two of you decided to move to Tokyo” Nishida grins, “Well, it’s late, so the two of you should get some sleep”

“But dad… isn’t there a few things you should ask Sora?” Aya seems confused

“Ah, it can wait until later… I must go to the office now to supervise the printing for tomorrow” he said as he grabs his sling bag, “See you tomorrow, Sora…”

“Sir…” Sora nods

Nishida left the place, as Aya shows pouty look on her face. She looks disappointed for some reason. She heads to her room and threw her bag to the big bed. “And here I thought I can brag about how great you are to him” she hissed.

Sora smiled and shrugs to her, “You don’t need to brag about me… so, are you going to get some sleep?”

Aya grabs her blue coat from the cabinet and throws it to the bed. She then slid down her blue jeans, exposing her black underwear and her smooth thighs and legs. “Let’s have sex!”

Sora gulped hard, not realizing the words she just said, until few seconds passed from him. “WHAT?!”

“You should take a look at your expression” she giggled as she puts on the long hot pants and a black skirt. She then takes a pale purple colored high boots and put them on. “Sora, I'm going to introduce you to my mother and my sister” she said as she grabs the blue coat, “Come on…”

“Okay… let’s go” Sora nodded as he puts his bag on the room, “So where are we going?”

“My mother always thinks herself as a queen, so she is buried where she want it” Aya smiled, “Saint Michael's Cemetery, Queens”

The two go back down and calls another yellow cab. “Driver, can you take us to Saint Michael's Cemetery?” Aya asked

“Sure thing, missy” the driver said, “Want to stop by at the flower shop beforehand?”

“Yes, please…” Aya nodded

About roughly a couple of hours, thanks to the traffic, the two finally arrived at the cemetery. “And there is my mom” she exhaled lightly, “Let me introduce you to my mother”

The two approached the gravestone which says; here lies in sweet memory - Kisaragi Maria; a loving wife and a loving mother. Aya bites her lip and closes her eyes slowly. She kneels down and puts one of the bouquets of flower they bought earlier beneath the gravestone. “How are you mom? Mom, I want you to meet my amazing boyfriend; he is Ninomiya Sora” she whispered, “I love him very much, and he loves me the same way… so mom, I want to ask for your permission, so I could always be together with him in the future”

She stands up and looks at the gravestone beside her. “And that’s where my sister sleeps…” she continued. Sora stood in silence, paying attention in everything she does in front of the gravestones. “Sis, what do you think of him? He’s hot, right? I bet you’re jealous up there” she grins, “He’s the one for me, or at least I think so… please watch over us from up there, okay?”

She stands up and walks back to Sora, who is standing between the two graves. “Well… I guess it’s time to go back” she smiled, “Oh yeah, why don’t we visit my favorite Chinese restaurant while we’re here… let’s go”

“Well, well, well… look who’s back in town” a girl said from behind them

“That voice! It can't be!!” Aya gasped

The moment the two of them turn their heads, a girl is standing in the darkness, hidden by the shadows of the trees. As she walks forward to the moonlight, her face is finally revealed; a blue eyed red-brown haired beauty with slender body and elegant figure. She wears a white shirt, black tie, black suit and black skirt. To add up her bad ass attitude, she wears a black high boots, making her presence completely overwhelms the silent cemetery. “The infamous Sky King himself is in New York City…” she grins, “What do the citizens of this very city owe this pleasure, huh?”

Sora immediately shows total dislikes her sarcasm attitude. He pouted to Aya’s direction, demanding her to introduce the rude girl to him. “Nice to see you back in town, Aya…” she smiled

“Not really… I'm just here to see my dad for a day” Aya replied, “Sora, meet my old friend; Sena Asuka. She is a half Japanese-half Germany and we know her long way back… from elementary school to be exact”

“Oh… I thought you came back for good” she bites her lip, showing somewhat a disappointed tone in her voice. “How’s your work for the police?” Aya asked. “It went pretty well” she said without any hesitation, “Our unit has been capturing a lot of street racers and put their cars in the scrap yards for recycling”

“In other words, you are the enemy of every street racer in the state, right?” Sora asked, “Good… I dislike you very much anyways”

“You know… I could just arrest you for harassing an officer, but since I'm here to visit my mother and father, I’m going to let it slide” she sighed, “If you ever come to NYC again, never as I mean not ever street race here… otherwise, your GT-R will be another piece of scrap”

“Don’t you know that I and Claire are street racers now? Can you bring yourself to catch us someday?” Aya asked

She looked surprised. Seeing that expression, Aya continued to strike another question. “Your ideal world is a world without street racers, right? Then your world cannot be completed when the two of us still around, right?”

“If that is the case, I don’t have any other choice… I will kill the Midnight Princess and Scarlett with my Roter Teufel here”

She leaves the two of them and walks toward her car, which is a red NA2 Honda NSX type-R GT. Roter Teufel means Red Devil in German, which shows her repulsive and exploding nature very well. She ignites the engine, revs it as she stares to Sora with a tempting grin in her beautiful face. “…” Sora didn’t do anything in response, other than throwing back a smile to her.

“Let’s go back, Sora…” Aya said in discomfort

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

“This is good” he nodded.

“Right?” his girl asked in response, “I told you so”

The two of them are having a dinner now at one of the restaurant, located in Chinatown district. The two stares at each others eyes and there is some sort of warm feeling between them. That warm feeling, however, turned out to be something else; something awkward. “Erh… this is awkward” Sora scratches his head. “It is…” Aya sips her coffee

Something bothered Sora’s mind earlier. It’s about her annoying friend they met in the cemetery- a hot chick who drives a red NSX GT. “What’s with your friend earlier? What is her problem anyways?” he asked

“Well… that is because something terrible befalls her few years back… it happened a year before I and Claire are transferred to Tokyo” she said, “Well… it’ll be a long story, so are you ready?”

“I got time” Sora shrugs

“Okay… hm… her father died in a traffic accident. The police said it happened because of a street racer, who drives too fast when the car spin out of control and hits her father in his car. But that is the least story of this young girl… her mother is frustrated and gone insane, until she hangs herself. Asuka happened to saw her, right when she opened the front door after she got back from school. The neighbor around her house said that she almost commit suicide herself. Luckily, there is a boy from her neighborhood who happened to be passing by” she explained, “The boy who save her is never seen after he drops her to the hospital… she didn’t even remembered who the boy was”

“…”

“From that day on, she changes- drastically. Sena Asuka who is also a geek by then, changes into someone else; someone who is ruthless and cold. She is always been a diligent and smart girl, acing every subject in my school… with that in her arsenal, she requested to be allowed for skipping the grade, all the way to the university… she is on her last semester now, I think” Aya continued, “You know… I can't really hate her after all that she has gone through. What do you think?”

“Behind every drastic change, there are reasons and factors which influences it” Sora sighed, “I don’t blame her, after hearing it from someone who were close to her”

“Hey, there is another great race between that Asuka chick with a black RX7 tonight at twelve A.M.” said a guy who had just walked into the restaurant

“Oh, you mean the one which will be held at the pier?” the other guy asked

“The one and only… you know, for a girl she is a total genius in driving. To add it up, she has great looks and perfect body figure for every boy’s dream”

“The pier, huh?” Aya thought aloud, “Want to check it while we’re here?”

“Well… soon or later, we will come across her, so let’s check her out while we can” Sora nodded, “Why don’t you go get a cab while I pay for the food?”

“Great idea… let’s go”

Sora paid the food, while Aya steps outside to call a cab. On crowded night, the two barely saw an empty cab. “Hmm…” Aya wondered aloud, “There isn’t a lot of empty cab around… let’s talk some more and walk towards the central district”

“Okay… it’s starting to get chilly, so we’d best move our body around to warm ourselves” Sora said, “Here…”

Sora hugs her waist, sharing his body heat to the girl beside him. “Oh, how romantic” she gasped. Sora on the other hand, blushed red as he walks toward the side of the road. “No need to be embarrassed about it, you know” she teases him around. “Ah… right” he smiled softly

Back at Tokyo, after Hikaru drops Yuki at her house, he is hanging around Tatsumi parking area. And now, he is seen leaning his back against his S2000, talking to a guy who stands near his brilliant black Mazda RX8. “Excuse me” said the driver of the black Mazda, “You are the driver of White Ghost?”

“Yes I am” Hikaru nods, “What’s up?”

“I’ve been looking for you, White Ghost” he said again, “I wanted to run against you on the highway, you know… just to prove myself worthy on this highway”

“Sure… I’ve got nothing better to do anyways…” Hikaru shrugs, “My name is Ichijou… Ichijou Hikaru”

“Mine is Mazaki Ryu, I’m looking forward for a good battle with you” he introduces himself

“Same here…” Hikaru said as he gets into his S2000

The two of them rolled out of the parking area and lined up their cars. Hikaru opened his window and gets out a coin token used to play at the arcade. “When this thing hits the ground, it’s green light for us”

“Sure” Mazaki nodded

“Here we go…” Hikaru tosses it and shuts his window

When a clink sound is heard, the two cars jerked forward, leaving the parking area with the sound of their screeching tires. While Hikaru is busy racing a new challenger, Steve is driving his red GT2, with Clark’s green Exige, and Keith’s white M3 are racing someplace else. Behind the trio are the members of Real Japan Seven… orange S15, silver Evo IX, and Candy Red Apple NSX. And to add it up, the three is driving with their girlfriends aboard. “We got the worst luck ever in this winter” Clark hissed, “So much for a triple date”

“Concentrate, Clark!” Keith said as he watches the cars behind them, “We can’t risk getting an accident with those three crazy cats”

“Keith’s right, Clark… let’s make good use of this one opportunity to beat them once and for all” Steve nodded, “And be careful, guys… we’re driving with girls here, if you started to think their safety is compromised… just let go of your throttle”

BRUK!

The three cars behind them suddenly hits their rear bumper at the same time, showing that this will be a death race, where no one will stop until their opponents’ cars still in one piece. “Ah!” Keith shifts down and increases his pace, “The damn b*tch actually hits my bumper”

“Come on, boys!” Tsugumi grinned, “Hurry up if you don’t want your car to be wrecked on the side of the road”

“Well… that settles it!” Steve said, “They have no intention to let us go in one piece”

“So what do we do now?” Keith asked

“Do what we have to do… resort to our very basic instinct- fight to survive and kill them, before they kill us” Clark answered firmly, “Sarah, please bear with me, okay? I’ll do my best to protect you from harm”

“I know” Sarah smiled to him

“For the very first time, I felt a huge rush of adrenaline when that woman in the back hits your bumper” Melissa said, “Please be careful, alright?”

“Sure thing…” Keith nodded

“Claire, this will be one hell of a ride” Steve looked at her

“Yeah? Well, do your best to stay alive, okay?” Claire frowns as she continued to text a message in her mobile phone

“You seem relaxed enough” Steve said again

“Because I know you’ll do fine” Claire smirked

“Okay… here we go!” Steve shifts down and increases his pace

The three cars took their pace as a yes to the challenge and follows closely. They are currently running around C1 area, which is a great advantage for the three chasers. “Keep your mind composed, Haruna” Natsumi said, “Yuuya won't tolerate failure against these kids”

“I know, I know…” Haruna remarked lightly, “You know, when you give out advices like that, you sound like my nanny”

“Quit yappin’ and move it, girls” Tsugumi hissed, “I’ll take out that white M3”

“I’ll handle the 911” Haruna grinned

“The Exige is mine!” Natsumi bites her lip

“Expect your cars won't get away without a scratch” Steve said

“Mine is already bumped” Keith hissed, “I’ll kill that Silvia”

“Looks like my motor coil has warmed up” Clark exhaled lightly, “Time to groove! Hamazakibashi Branching ahead”

The Silvia catches up and outpaced the trio. As the road starts sloping down to the left, she initiated a drift, completely blocking the two lanes. “Chi!” Steve grits his teeth

“Calm down, everyone, get behind me!” Keith said, “I’ll force a way through”

Keith feathers off the brake, reverting his line back to the right, which is the inner lane. Steve and Clark are following closely in his rear. He then hits the throttle and bumps the rear section of the orange Silvia. With its balance disturbed, the Silvia spin out, with its nose faces the opposite direction, almost hitting the apple NSX. “Watch it, b*tch!” Natsumi yelled, “Quit being showy and do the job correctly”

“Shut up!” Tsugumi yelled back, “I’ll do things my way!”

She quickly spins his car back and chases Keith immediately. Steve who is already reads the situation, blocks the left lane, halting her progress. Annoyed, the Silvia hits the rear bumper of the GT2. “Move it, Beetle!” the girl said

“Watch it, Steve!” Keith said

“Damn!” Steve gasped

Clark quickly swayed his car to the left side, disturbing the rhythm of the mad car. “Thanks, dude” Steve exhaled

“Ah!” Clark said as the apple NSX hits his bumper

Clark is at the center lane, and his car is been tailed by the apple colored Honda. Clark gasped when he realizes the apple NSX slightly upsets the rear grip. “Damn!” Clark grits his teeth

“Bridge pier is up ahead!” Steve said

“Clark, watch out! You’re in the center lane!” Keith reminded him

“I know! Go on ahead”

When Steve and Keith pass the first pier, the rear part of the Exige is taking a direct hit once again, causing it to start sliding out of control to the left and right. “Clark!” Steve started to envision the worse

“This is good bye to you, Lotus!” Natsumi said as she rams the left rear quarter towards the pier, “Hahahaha!!!”

Sarah smiled to him as her eyes began to water. She started to imagine the worse befalls them; the pier between the Exige’s right door. Clark however, knows what to do. He kicks the throttle and pulls the e-brake, and steers it to the left, “Eat this” he said. The sudden kick on the throttle upsets the rear balance of the car, add it up with the e-brake pulls and left direction on the steering wheel, Clark corrected the car’s angle, facing the opposite direction of the NSX. “What?! Again?!” Natsumi said in panic as she march forward to the pier. Clark on the other hand, pays attention to the apple NSX embraces its doom.

BRUAK!

“Natsumi!!!” Tsugumi screamed

“Cih!” Haruna grits her teeth and started to catch up with Steve and Keith

Steve and Keith who is at the front, didn’t know what happened, aside from the fact that one car is hitting the piers. “Clark!” Steve screamed

“I’m okay… I manage to correct the angle, ending up at her left side as she marches towards the pier” he replied, “Look out, the other two is on your tails”

“Get out of the highway, ASAP” Keith said, “Bring Sarah home now”

“Sarah! Are you okay?” Clark asked

“I'm fine… a bit scared, though” she wipes her tears

“Let’s go home now… good luck, Steve, Keith” Clark bites his lips

“You’ve done well…” Steve nodded

Claire, continued to text the message to someone… Jessie to be exact, telling her where did Natsumi crashed, so she can send a police to pick her up from the scene. One down, two more to go. “I’ll avenge you, Natsumi!” Tsugumi said as she bumps Keith’s car.

“Not again” Keith wheezed

“Whoo… this is excitingly dangerous” Melissa grins

“Where to, Keith?” Steve asked

“Let’s go… on to new belt area” Keith nods

The two takes the direction to the new belt area from Edobashi branch. “Ah… new belt line- my favorite” Tsugumi said

“Careful, Tsugumi! We can't take these kids lightly” Haruna said

“Look who’s talking now” she replied

The two cars and its chasers jets through to Kiba area. “Time to make my move” Tsugumi said as she started to hits Keith’s bumper

“Cih! My bumper is not cheap!” Keith said as he waits for Tsugumi to make another move

As Keith lies in wait, Tsugumi makes her move once again. Keith reacted quickly and moves to the side, letting her overshoots, missing the white car. The white car, which is now, is at its back, gets ready to strikes back. “Get ready, it’s time to boogey now” Keith smiled
He started to hits the bumper of the orange car. “Damn! So now you don’t care about your expensive M3, huh?” she groaned

“Keith, don’t get too excited” Steve said

“No prob… might as well get the body to its stock condition” Keith said, “It’s better for my M3 anyways”

When Keith is about to launch the second attack, the silver Evo knocks him to the side, allowing the orange car to gets behind the BMW and Porsche. “Now this is what I'm talking about” Haruna grins

“Now what are they trying to do?” Steve carefully pays attention, “Ah, whatever that is, time to go fast or suck”

Steve shifts to the final gear and accelerate with Keith, gradually leaving the two chasers. The two cars had their advantages at the top speeds. “Go to Wangan?” Keith asked

“No… let’s go one more lap” Steve nodded

“I have an idea for you M3… why don’t you go take a swim under the Rainbow bridge, huh? I bet it’ll be a fresh swim experience for you” Tsugumi smiled wickedly

“Okay… Rainbow bridge” Keith nodded

He decreases his pace and enters the bridge carefully, while he doesn’t realize that the orange car accelerates to ram him from the side. “What the?!” Keith said as his left side rubs the concrete side barrier. “Damn! Now that’s going to be pain in the ass to fix” Haruna laughs

The left door is wrecked with the window broke to pieces. “Mel!” Keith said as he stares at his girlfriend. “I'm okay” she replied

“Keep ‘em coming!” Tsugumi hits the M3 once again to the side, this time it rubs against metal side handle

“Ah!” Melissa said as her head hits the b-pillar. “Mel?” Keith asked

His girlfriend is fainted with no reason and Keith stated to panic. “Mel!” he said
Without any guilt and care whatsoever, Tsugumi launches another strike to the white M3 “One more time!” Tsugumi laughs.

“Melissa!!!” Keith yelled

He steers his car to the right side, as the orange Silvia hits him. The weight of the M3 gives it an advantage; the Silvia loses the grip, spins out of balance and hits the side of the bridge, knocking out the consciousness of its driver. “Keith!” Steve yelled from the front

“I'm okay! I have to take Mel to the hospital now!” Keith said in panic

Claire texted the next message regarding the driver of the orange Silvia to Cross. She is knocked out cold at the Rainbow Bridge. Now it all comes down to Steve and Haruna’s silver Evo. Haruna hits the GT2 in desperation. She can't go back to the others, knowing her other teammates are defeated… Yuuya will kill her. “Looks like I'm the only one left” Haruna grins, “It’s do or die!”

She hits the back of the GT2 once more. Steve started to lose his patience and his cool. He pulls his e-brake, do a 180 degree spin and went against the traffic flow. “Steve, what are you doing?!” Claire said in panic

“She have gone too far” Steve said in anger, “I will crush her car”

He went back towards Wangan Line from the Rainbow Bridge. Countless sounds of horns of the other traffic cars are heard, the two of them drives recklessly and dangerously- not only to themselves, but to the other traffic cars as well. “I see you are crazy as well” Haruna grins, “You got big balls, man”

Steve pays attention to the roads ahead of him, while keeping track of what Haruna does in his back. He quickly drives toward Wangan Line, but when he reaches the area, he takes a U-turn at Ohi, and once again, went against the flow of traffic. “You are crazy!” Claire gasped

“I will end this in no time” Steve replied flatly

The two cars cruise down at Katsushima area, continuing their battle on the opposite flow of traffic. Haruna decided to launches another strike to him. “Here I go!” she said as she rams Steve’s car from the left side. Steve quickly reacted; shifting down his gear and increase his pace, letting Haruna hits the right side barrier. Sound of rubbing metal is heard loudly as the right side of the Evo grinds the concrete wall. “Damn!” she said in frustration

“Okay… on to the killer move” Steve grins

Up ahead of them is Heiwajima toll gate. Steve keeps on accelerating as he evades every incoming car towards him. Haruna didn’t want to lose. She follows him closely and hits his rear bumper. Steve stares at his rearview mirror and waits for the opportunity to evade her attack. Few meters ahead of him is a queuing car, getting ready to pay the fee. As Haruna launches another strike, Steve sways his car to the right and pulls his e-brake. He grins at Haruna, who accelerates toward the toll gate, ready to hit the queuing car. “NOOOOO!!!” she steers her car to the right and pulls her e-brake, only to hit an incoming trailer truck on her left side. Her head hits the side window, knocking the wild girl out for good. “Hmph…” Steve said as he accelerates away, leaving the scene.

Claire grins in relief as she sends out the last text message to Jessie, regarding the location of the driver of the silver Evo. She exhaled lightly and put away her mobile phone to her pocket, knowing the police will do the rest for them.

Back on New York City, a red NSX is seen accelerating forward, leaving all of the competitors on its back. The sound of hissing turbos are soon replaced by the cheers of people as the red car pass through the finish line. Aya and Sora are among the people who witness her great skill in defeating the other competitors. “She is indeed great” Aya said

“She is…” Sora nodded

The girl who drives the red NSX steps out of the car and smiled to the two of them before she takes the winning money from the linesman. Even though this is undercover, she enjoys the thrill very much… she is a master of disguising, and she plays her role very well. “I don’t know about her, but she enjoys it very well” Sora said

“She already received a lot of training from the force, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see if she is enjoying it- she was trained to be that way” Aya sighed, “Let’s get back, Sora”


This post has been edited by R_E_X on May 31 2010, 08:36 PM

^^ ok this is a nice 1 rex

This is the 23th RPM... well, enjoy!

RPM 23: Winter Festive

“Well, dad… it’s time to go back now” Aya said to her father

“Your visit was too soon if I might say it myself” her father said, “Until next time, dear… please take good care of my little girl, Sora”

“I will, sir” Sora nodded, “Until next time”

“Well, I’d better get back now and get some rest… tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day” he laughs as he left Sora and Aya at the waiting lounge

Shortly after the man left, a girl is seen sitting behind Aya and Sora- the girl is Sena Asuka, to be exact. “Going back so soon, Aya? You know you can stay a little bit longer” she asked. Aya sighed lightly and answered, “I have to go back… my friends are waiting for me, especially Claire”

“Send my best regards to her” Asuka said, “Oh yeah, did she got a boyfriend yet?”

“Her boyfriend is my friend, to be exact…” Sora interrupts

“Oh good… at least you guys know each other well” Asuka nodded

“Well… come back soon, Aya, Sora… bring your car along if you can- I’ll defeat you anytime and scrap your cars” She stands up and walks in front of the two. She smiled to both of them as something faint can be seen standing in her back. A four legged metal devil in red color with black relic writings across its entire body. It has five sharp claws on its hands and feet, with torn black mechanical bat wings and a long tail with sharp looking metal trident on its tip. The tail is seen lying in front of Asuka’s feet as she puts her hands on her hip. “Sure thing” Sora said as he stands up and stares her directly to her eyes, as the blue armored knight with a golden crown ornament, six huge wings, wielding a huge black sword and big shield appeared behind him. Seeing that, Asuka smirked towards the two and the devil can be seen going around her body, protecting the master.

“Attention to all the passenger of Japan Air Lines for the flight towards Japan; please check in to the fourth gate” the announcer said, “I repeat…”

“It’s our bell… see you some other time, Asuka. Be a good girl and play nice, okay” Aya bows to her, “I hope you don’t run into a hot street racer and falls in love with him”

“It will never happen” Asuka smiled

“Never say never…” Aya smiled back

With that final word, Aya and Sora walked toward the fourth gate and hand over their boarding pass. Aboard the plane, Sora and Aya wears their seatbelt and turns on the news channel- NHK, to be exact. “Three street racing girls has been captured last night for causing a lot of accidents on the highway. The three suspects has been identified as Uehara Natsumi, Naoko Haruna, and Sagara Tsugumi” the newsreader said, “They are known street racers in Shutokou area and are the target for the organized criminal unit, led by sergeant James Cross. Here is his statement regarding the arrest…”

“Cross…” Sora thought

Sora didn’t knew the fact that Aya also involved with Cross, let alone Jessie. Aya on the other hand decided to keep the things quiet, pretending she didn’t knew that Sora is also involved with Cross. “We recently arrested another member of Real Japan Seven… the suspects are Uehara Natsumi, Naoko Haruna, and Sagara Tsugumi. They are acting as couriers for the local drug lord and we believed they has some connection to the notorious Yakuza family in Tokyo, though we are still trying to collect more evidence”

At Aya’s house in Japan, Claire and Steve are seen sitting together in front of the TV to watch the same news Aya and Sora watched. “This is bad” Steve thought, “I never knew it would have made to the local news”

“Looks like it is… we’d better lay low for awhile and see what happens next” Jessie nodded, “We’d better go now and prepare for the festival now”

“Right… let me bring my GT2 to Kojiro’s place and ask him to get its fixed” Steve takes his jacket and his car key

“That’s okay… I’ll go on to the school ahead” Claire grabs her coat and wears her shoe, “See you later”

On Kojiro’s place, two more cars are repaired by the body mechanic. Clark needs to replace the left door, front bumper and rear bumper. Keith needs to replace his right and left doors, rear bumper, and trunk; because he said he wanted to change his body to stock condition. Steve himself needs to replace the rear bumper and the engine bonnet, as well as his rear spoiler. All of the cars needed to be repainted. “Yo” Steve said as he parks to the empty garage slot, “Kojiro, I need you to replace the rear bumper and repaint it to conceal the bruises and scars”

“Men, take care of this 911 right here” Kojiro said to some of his body repair mechanic

“Hei, Steve” Keith calls him from afar, “You’re here as well?”

“Of course… I need my car in mint condition” Steve shrugs, “What about Clark?”

“He’s already gone to the school to take care of takoyaki stand” Keith explained, “He came by here early to drop his car and get it repaired”

“Ah… now that you mention it, let’s go to the school and help with our class event” Steve slaps his forehead

“Sure thing… let’s go” Keith follows

The two runs off towards the school as fast as they can.
Meanwhile at the school, Clark is cooking takoyaki alongside Hikaru, Souya, and Tarou. The four decided to open takoyaki stand to gather money. Yuki, Claire, Sako, Rika, Yuuri, Marie, and Ayase decided to open a haunted alleyway, with them to cosplay as the scary ghosts. “Please come right in… the entrance fee is 200 yen” Sako said, “We have a lot sexy ghosts waiting for you… thee-hehe”

Steve, Keith, Yamada, Iwami, and Gonsuke decided to open café for warm drinks. Warm drinks on winter season surely will attract a lot of customer. After serving roughly ten warm coffee cups to the visitors, Steve and Keith decided to take a break and talk about another exciting upcoming event- the Red Bull open class school tournament. “So... it’s on Monday, right?” Keith asked. Steve replied flatly, “Yep... you’re very excited, can’t wait for it, huh?”

“Of course, man... I mean, it will be my debut as the Grip King” Keith smirked

“I don’t have any title like you, Tarou, or Sora, so I wouldn’t know” Steve shrugs, “Not that it matters for me, though”

“Hey, quit yappin’ and help out” Gonsuke said to both of them

“Coming!” Keith said

Meanwhile at the takoyaki stand, Hikaru is looking into the ceiling of the hallway with empty stare. Looks like something serious struck his mind, serious enough to bother him and makes his mind wanders off. Everyone can see his body, which is leaned against the wall; empty and hollow. Souya who is curious to know what happened to him, takes a bamboo chopstick and hits it to his forehead. “Ouch!” he said as he wakes up and grits his teeth. “Glad you’re finally wake up” Souya said, “Something’s on your mind?”

“Yeah… it’s about my car” Hikaru sighed, “I… ah… when Steve, Clark, and Keith are battling against the girls of RJ7 yesterday, I battled a newcomer on Daikoku-Futo who drives an RX8”

“And?”

“Well… It ended in tie” Hikaru blows his bangs to the air, “I’m starting to feel very inferior, especially when Sora is driving a GT-R with that kind of mysterious quality”

“You want to switch car?” Tarou overheard the whole conversation, “You’d better ask Kaoru, Satoshi, and Kenjou if you were going to do that. It’s their car’s project also”

“I know” Hikaru stands up and helped Tarou to flip the takoyaki, “After the school is done, I'm going over there, pronto”

“Man… if you were; let’s just say going to switch car, what kind of car you wanted to buy?” Clark asked

“Perhaps a Honda NSX would be nice” he smiled

“Now we’re talking!” Souya smiled back, “Involve us in the project next time, huh?”

“Sure thing… now Steve had said that Sora hasn’t sold the R35 he won yet… maybe I can persuade him to sell it to Zele, which is based in Yokohama district” Hikaru grins, “Around there, there are a lot of used car dealers also, especially the ones with a lot of Honda NSX”

“Hm… maybe you can do it tomorrow, since he’ll be back this evening” Tarou said, “Well, enough chatter… let’s continue working”

“Okay… I’ll message him later after I got the green light from Satoshi, Kenjou, and Kaoru” Hikaru nodded, “Now let’s gather as much money as we can”

After the school was done, Hikaru went straight away to Kaoru’s place, running as fast as he can. He didn’t wanted to waste more time to ask for permission, since he wanted the car to be ready for the open class tournament, which will be held next Monday. “Excuse me…” Hikaru said, “Kaoru-san…”

“Hm? What’s up, Hikaru?” the owner of the garage asked

Hikaru panted hard because he ran from the school, without stopping or taking any breaks. He wanted to get an answer as fast as he can, that is of course, if Kaoru and the other two would agree. “I… I wanted to ask for your permission to switch car” he said between his panting

“What? Why would you ask that to me? Of course I’ll agree” Kaoru smiled, “It’s your money, it’s your car- so do what you wanted to do… no need to ask. Why are you asking me this?”

“That’s because my White Ghost is your project car along with Satoshi and Kenjou. Moreover, you guys gave it a full dedication and a lot of effort when we’re tuning it” he explained, “So it would be appropriate for me to ask for your permission first”

“Silly boy… of course you can do it, no worries. I'm sure Kenjou and Satoshi would agree as well. What kind of car?”

“NA1 Honda NSX” he grins

“I see… want me to look it up for you?”

Hikaru spins his head. He wanted to choose it on his own. “It’s okay… I’ll find it myself with Sora’s help tomorrow. Now that I already got your permission, I’d better leave him a message” Hikaru smirked. He started to text a message to his friend, letting him know that he needs a favor. Since Sora is still on the airplane, his mobile phone is deactivated for safety reasons. Mobile phone is strictly prohibited on airplanes. “Well, I’d better go now, Kaoru-san… see you later”

Back at Kojiro’s place, the new parts are already arrived for Steve’s GT2, Keith’s M3, and Clark’s Exige. Kojiro has an amazing connection of parts flow, since he already collected all of the necessary parts to repair the damage of the trio Europeans. “You never cease to amaze me, Kou” Steve looks at the parts for his GT2. “Yeah, especially when they are already in same color as our car” Clark continued.

Kojiro smirked wide and shrugs, since he didn’t want to brag about his supply network. “Nah… just doing something for my loyal customers” he said as he sips his warm coffee, “Sora hasn’t back yet?”

“Not yet… he’ll be back by evening, though” Keith said

“Hey, what’s up” Hikaru said as he approaches his friends

“So? How did it go?” Clark asked, “What did Kaoru said?”

“He said it’s okay… it’s my money after all” Hikaru smirked

“What’s up?” Steve asked, “What do you got in mind, Hikaru?”

“I want to switch car with something else” Hikaru nodded, “An NA1 NSX to be exact”

“Heee… are you serious? Where are you going to look for it?” Keith asked

“Well… I already sent a message to Sora. I want to hitch a ride in his Nissan GT-R when he’s going to sell it tomorrow” he explained, “I think I’ll look for it at Yokohama district”

“That’s a nice place to start…” Clark nods, “Good luck to you, then…”

Later that night, Sora arrived back in Japan. He exhaled lightly, knowing it feels better at New York than Tokyo. “Haaah…” he said, “I still want to stay at NYC”

“We can come back some other time… we have a lot of things to do for tomorrow’s winter festival” Aya smiled to him, “Let’s go back now… I’m beat”

The two carries their bags and calls a taxi to get back home. At the taxi, Aya and Sora turns on their mobile phone. While Sora got a message from Hikaru about the used car he searches, Aya got something else; two message- one from Jessie, explaining the current situation on RJ7 and Claire, and the other one is from Cross, saying that she should keep a close eye on Sora, now that things are starting to get even hairy. “Hah? Hikaru want to switch car?” Sora thought aloud, “An NA1? Now that is serious”

“When are you going to look for it with him?” Aya asked

“He wanted to go tomorrow… looks like he intended to change his car on the open class tournament” Sora nodded, “That is… what? Four days to the tournament?”

“That is going to be close…” she remarked, “I wonder whether it will finish before Monday? Tomoyo-senpai said we will leave on Saturday evening”

“Huh? Well, that’s even closer… he should focus on what’s important; tires, brakes, suspension systems, intake and ignition… that is for now” Sora replies, “I’d better tell him tomorrow”

Roughly one and half hour of drive, thanks to the traffic, Sora and Aya arrived back at the house, with Steve and Claire already waiting for them. “Welcome back” said the two

“We’re home” Aya smiled as she replies the two, “Whew… I'm beat”

Sora takes off his shoes and went back to his room to put his bag. After that, he went back downstairs and decided to find out more about the accidents involving the RJ7. “You heard about RJ7, huh?” Steve asked, “It’s all over the news”

Hearing what Steve just said surprised him- he reads his thought, even before Sora could convey it to words. “You read my mind… you guys have anything to say about it?” Sora asked. Steve nodded and replies simply, “I am… I, Keith, and Clark were supposedly on triple date, when we run into them”

“But judging by how the three of them knew we’re going to hit Shutokou, I think they’re onto us” Jessie sighed, “Glad we’re able to make it back in one piece”

“How did the cops managed to get to the scene in time anyways? It’s not like those guys are stupid enough to be captured” Steve wondered

“Who knows?” Sora shrugged, “Any damage to the cars?”

Sora’s quick wits to change the subject went smoothly. Steve didn’t realize it and went along with the conversation flow. “Yeah, but nothing serious” Steve answered

“I see… that is good to hear”

“Oh yeah, Claire… Asuka send you her best regards” Aya said

“Asuka? Who is that?” Steve asked Sora, “Ah! Is she hot?!”

“Very” Sora blushed as he remembers what she looked like, “Here, let me whisper how she looked like to you”

“Oh wow!” Steve said in surprise

Aya shows her jealousy by stepping on Sora’s feet and frowns as she walks towards her room. Claire, on the other hand, starts to strangle Steve’s neck as he imagines what Asuka looked like, based on Sora’s explanation.

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

Sora is helping out Hikaru with his takoyaki stand. As the two works hard on cooking them, Sora decided to know more about the car he chooses. “Why NSX?”

“Hm?” Hikaru raised his eyebrow, “Why NSX? I'm not sure… I'm into Honda these days”

“Yeah?”

“I am… I think with a bit of work, I can turn it into an amazing car- enough to kick your Z-tune”

“Aoi? I'm not sure, though” Sora shrugs, “Go fast or suck… that’s my advice for you”

Sora flips three takoyaki to the air and catches it with a paper bowl before handing it over to Souya for added sauce and spices. “Oh yeah… what kind of parts will you use for it?” Sora asked. When Sora strikes the question, Hikaru started to realize that most of aftermarket tuners didn’t manufacture a lot of parts for NSX. “Well?” Sora pours the octopus dough to the stove, “Kick it with twin-turbo?”

“Could be… I haven’t thought that far” Hikaru rubs his head

“Ha? That doesn’t sounded like you” Tarou said as he heard the conversation

“Are you sure you want to get a Honda NSX?” Clark continued

“Maybe you ought to get a new GT-R also?” Souya grins wide, teasing Hikaru

“Then what’s the point to change car? What is the point to try and fight a Z-tune with a normal GT-R? Especially when it has unknown mysterious quality” Hikaru shrugs, “Not even Musashi, who has a lot of Nismo Omori parts, can defeat the Sky King, and I witness it myself”

Hikaru takes off his white apron and hangs it on the wall. “I will take five and get something to drink”

Sora however, knew that Hikaru is trying to reassures himself by looking for usable parts for NSX. “Check Nengun, RHDJapan, King Motorsports, J’s Racing, Mugen and Spoon for more info” Sora thought aloud as he continues to cook the takoyaki. Hikaru turns back and said to him, “Why giving me the info?”

“Well… I thought maybe it’s going to be fun, watching you to build a car to beat Aoi” Sora smiled, “Hey, all’s fair in love and war…”

“Yeah, yeah…” Hikaru sways his hand as a sign of gratitude for his information

“Don’t forget, Hikaru. We have to help out Marie with the theatrical performance for our class” Tarou said, “It’ll start in less than half an hour”

“Gothca… I’ll be back in five” Hikaru nodded

“Sora, you’d better go over your dialogue once more… we can't lose this performance, so we can steal the trophy from the seniors” Souya reminded him

“I know, I know… all I have to do is explain Hikaru’s disease, right?” Sora asked, “What is it again- lung cancer? He feels a heavy pain in his chest everyday and night… looks like he has third stadium lung cancer”

“Yeah, and don’t forget; don’t add up any funny comments and sarcasm regarding the sick guy” Clark added, “You are supposed to be a professional doctor here”

“Life expectancy is about two years from now” Sora smiled and adds up something else, “Might as well saves up the treatment money, since it’s already too late… continue to smoke and he’s going to die faster… damn, I'm good at this”

“That is what we don’t need to hear” the three of them sighed

Half an hour later, all of them are gathering behind the stage of the auditorium. Sora is putting on his light blue shirt and grey trouser, complete with a black office shoes. He completes it with a lab coat and a stethoscope on his neck. “Okay… how do I look?” Sora asked. “Nice and handsome” Aya replied, “What I don’t get is this; why do you get the role as doctor?”

“Beats me…” Sora shrugs

“Still… it’s better then my role; the hospital’s janitor!” Steve said

“You look nice on that cleaning suit, Steve” Claire giggled

“Yeah, it suits you just fine” Sora added

“Damn you, Sora… Ergh, I hate this” Steve frowned

“Okay, your turn, Steve, Sora!” Marie whispered

As the background changes, Steve steps into the stage, cleaning the room from any dust particle, as if keeping the hospital clean. After he returns to the back, Sora stepped into the stage, carrying a piece of black plastic paper. After he hangs it on the light equipped whiteboard, he turns on the lights, examining the paper. Not long after, Hikaru and Yuki gets into the scene, looking a bit worried. The two of them sits on the chair in front of the desk, just in front of the board. “How is it, doctor?” Yuki asked. With her question half finished, Sora cuts in and answered it. “Sir, Ma’am… I’ll be frank with the two of you” Sora answered flatly as he sits on the chair behind the desk, “The condition of your husband gets worse every time he lights up… there you have it”

Sora wheezed lightly as he gets up from the chair and takes the cigarette from his patient’s mouth. “Sir, this is the cause of your third stadium cancer- cigarette” he said as he points it on Hikaru’s face, “If you really want to die, I suggest something else- something quick and simple; gun”

“What did you say?!” Hikaru said in anger

“Let me tell you one thing… your wife already pays this hospital a large amount of money, so you can get a good treatment and rehabilitation” Sora said as he puts out the cigarette, “From what I see, you completely waste her effort by inhaling this smoke right here. Your life expectancy is no more than a couple of years… I might as well add some more advice; save up the treatment money, since it’s already too late… continue to smoke and you’ll going to die even faster”

Hikaru bites his lip, as he started to see Yuki in tears. “I beg you… please, value yourself and her effort, sir… your time is coming soon enough, so I suggest you use it as best as you can with your loved one”

“I… I understand” Hikaru’s eyes started to get wet, “I will try and quit smoking”

“That is good to hear…”

“Doctor, the internal bleeding of Tsubasa-san worsens!” Yuuri said to Sora

“Prepare the operating room number three and call Hourai-sensei to get ready and operate him” Sora said calmly

“Right away, doctor” Yuuri runs off to the back

As Yuuri returns to the back, Claire runs off to the stage, with even anxiety expression on her face. “Doctor, we have to start the operation on Valentine-san right away” she said

“Clear the operation room number five, and start the necessary preparation right away” Sora nodded, “Please tell Kisaragi-sensei to help with the preparation”

“Like hell you are! We need you right away on the room number five” Aya yelled as she walks into the stage, “Get ready to operate him- NOW!”

“As you see, I have my hands full with the patients here… I must bid you farewell for now” Sora stands up and nods to the two of them

“Hurry!” Aya said as she pulls Sora’s hand

“I suggest the two of you get out of here as quickly as you can, otherwise you’ll turn as crazy as the workers here” Sora whispered

Hikaru and Yuki leave the stage and as the curtain closes and the background replaced, Sora and Aya quickly change their clothes to operating clothes. Gonsuke, Marie, Yamada, and Sako will help the two of them to ‘operate’ on Keith. Marie carefully plans her scenario and property, even as far as borrowing the equipment from Tokyo University hospital. “Pulse is dropping!” Aya said

“Inject him with 20mg of adrenaline” Sora said, “Come on, damn it! Stay with us!”

As Yamada injects the adrenaline, a loud sound comes from the heart monitoring machine and flat line are shown, which means Keith is already ‘died’. His heartbeat didn’t come back, even after Sora and Aya gave him an electric shock on his chest. “Time of death… nine P.M.” Aya said, “Now what will you say to the family, huh?”

“The usual…” Sora exhaled lightly

“Ha? Is that the best you can say to his family?” Aya asked

“It’s not like I wanted to operate him in the first place. I knew the risk too well and his chances are slim!” Sora sighed, “He’s too old and his kidneys are failing on him, even dialysis is already too late, because he decided to get back here two days overdue!”

“Damn it!” Aya runs off from the stage to the back

Sora approaches Melissa-sensei, Ayase, and Iwami. “We’ve… already tried our best” Sora explained, “We treat him too late, and dialysis is not helping on his condition”

“No!!!” Melissa-sensei started to cry

“Father!” Ayase hugs Melissa-sensei and cried also

Sora can only walk toward Hikaru and Yuki, who is watching from afar. “We never knew what will happen in the next second, minute, hour, day, week, or month” Sora sighed, “Please, let this be your warning, Hikaru-san… use your time well”

Sora left the two of them and closes his eyes in disappointment. The curtain closes and the first part of the drama has finished.

After today’s tiring winter festival, the boys are finally done with their work… sort of. After the glorious dance performance done by the girls, they have to beat the senior class, in order to claim the dance class trophy. They have to train even harder, realizing that the third grade students dance great. Not only in dance, which Jessie leads, the theatrical performance which Marie leads earlier also went well- they had one chance to take away the theatrical trophy from the seniors and continue the second part of the drama. All of them will train at Yuki’s place for tomorrow’s event. “Okay!” Hikaru said as he pats Sora’s shoulder, “Let’s go, Sky”

Sora nodded, “Let’s go to Yokohama, then… but remember this; all of the expense is yours to pay”

“Geez, okay, okay… don’t worry” Hikaru frowns, “Let’s go to your place and get your R35”

“Sure…”

“Okay… good luck, then both of you” Steve said, “We have to take care of our cars”

“See you guys later”

The two walked towards the school gate, with two pair of leering eyes staring at them, jealously. Sora and Hikaru knew who stares at them; it’s their girlfriend. Sora walked away quickly from the school as Hikaru looked back and smiled stupidly towards the girls. “We’ll be going, then” he said

“Lay off your hands from him” Aya said

“My boyfriend is normal, unlike yours” Yuki replied

“Puh-lease… he is way hotter than yours” Aya frowns

“Cut it out, both of you!” Jessie slaps their heads with a paper fan

Sora and Hikaru intentionally wears casual clothes on the school, so they won't have to change clothes, which will take more time. “Have you driven the R35?” Hikaru asked

“I haven’t… I will sell it today, so why bother?” Sora shrugs, “It’s not like I have a personal liking to it”

“I see…” Hikaru said, “Mind if I drive it for you, then?”

“Be my guest” Sora threw him the keys of the R35, “Oh yeah, what will happen to the Ghost when you switch car?”

“I will keep it” Hikaru said

“He? Do you have enough money to buy an NSX? I thought that you’re going to sell it as a financial boost for the NSX”

“I have enough savings, thanks to you” Hikaru grins, “Your winnings really take toll on our income”

“So you’re using me for your betting, huh?” Sora spins his head, “Friends these days”

The two gets into the R35 and drives off towards the highway.
Few hours later, they have arrived at Yokohama district. Hikaru gets off from the car as he started to look for a place that has a Honda NSX in it. “Well, I’d better take this car to Zele” Sora said, “See you later, Hikaru”

“Okay” Hikaru nods, “I’ll head over to Zele when I got the NA1”

Sora drives off towards Zele’s showroom. Zele dealership is a specialist in tuning Nissan cars. Sora parked the purple R35 in front of the showroom and went inside the building. This place also sells a lot of secondhand Nissan cars like GT-R and Z platform. When Sora walks inside the dealership there are a lot of posters, TV with Nissan cars commercials highlighting its performance, a display of car’s parts, and merchandise section. He also saw an orange colored Nissan GT-R on the display. It is the Nissan GT-R they self-tuned and basically, it is a ready track car. Sora saw one of it on Youtube, testing the performance of the tuned car with the parts they equipped. There is a receptionist who is handling the customer via telephone and there are four customers looking around for cars with two salesperson accompanying them. “Excuse me, I want to sell my used R35 with low mileage” Sora said to the receptionist

“Of course… please wait a minute, I will call the man in charge” she said

Five minutes later, a man showed up and greets Sora. He is the sales manager and he wanted to see the R35. Sora nodded and leads him outside. “This is the car” Sora said

“Hmm… I will have to estimate the price for a bit” he said, “Please wait inside, sir”

“Okay” Sora hands him the car key

He walked back inside and sits on the lounge. He exhaled lightly and sits down, resting his feet for a moment. Hikaru is not here yet, he must’ve been busy looking around. So in order to kill boredom, he decided to look around the used cars Zele has in stock. “Hmm… huh?” he wondered, “That’s strange…”

The dealership suddenly turns empty, without any people in sight. No visitors and no dealership attendants. Sora feels something is wrong- way wrong and he decided to get out as fast as he can. He runs toward the entrance, only to find it locked from inside- with no key in the doors. “Damn! Someone lock me up in here” he kicks the door lightly, “There has to be another way out”

He wandered around the dealership some more to find another way out. Most of the used cars here are Nissan GT-R, R32, 350Z, and R33. But when Sora walks inside a bit more, he saw a haven of R34s, lined up for display. “Come… This way” a voice called out to him

Realizing there isn’t any other person beside him, he explores the inside of the compound. The voice is not a girl’s voice, but a guy’s voice. The voice is very familiar… and in fact, it his own voice that called out to him. Is this dealership haunted or something? The more he gets inside the compound, the louder the voice he heard. So loud it makes his head feels dizzy and hurt. “Damn it… what is wrong with me?!” He holds his head with both of his hands to held back the pain he felt. He continued to walk inside the lounge area, and then he saw something… it is so bizarre that he even cannot blink his eyes. “What…?!”

He saw himself leaning back on a blue V-spec II R34, which is displayed. It has minor cosmetic upgrades including Nismo body kit, side skirts, and rear bumper corner extension. It also equipped with Nismo Weldina NE1 type 2 muffler and GT500 LED taillights. When he spins his head to pull himself together, he saw completely another blue GT-R; the blue GT-R which he saw in his dream few months back. “Who are you?” Sora asked

“I am you” another Sora said, “And you are me”

“No way… what are you doing with this GT-R?”

“This is your car” he said

“What are you saying?”

“The time is premature” he continued, “However, you will remember this car when the time comes”

“Time?! What time?! Explain it in less riddle, damnit!”

“You will realize it when the time has come” he smiled, “Embrace your fate and move on. Don’t ever look back, because you have to concentrate on what’s ahead of you”

“I don’t understand… damn, my head is heavy and dizzy… AH!”

He passed out of pain and falls down to the floor.
“Hey, are you alright?” said a man to him

“Ah… huh?” Sora wakes up

He saw sleeping inside one of the display R34s. The dealership attendant saw him and decided to take a look. “Are you alright?” he asked

“Ah… I'm fine” Sora wheezed, “Sorry, I must’ve passed out when I was looking at this car”

“It is beautiful, yes?” he said

“It is… all GT-Rs are beautiful”

“Are you interested on this particular one?” the man asked

“I have a blue Z-tune back at Tokyo” Sora smiled, “Wait… you look familiar”

After seeing the TV with Skyline ad, Sora remembers him immediately. “Ah… You are Inoue Shin of Pro Spec UK, right? I saw your black R34 in the UK documentary film about Skyline GT-Rs” Sora said, “You know, the ones with Mine’s engine with T23 GTR plate numbers, right?”

“That’s right… and you must be Ninomiya Sora of Nismo junior racing team, right?” Shin asked, “I’ve heard about you… you are a famous man in Shutokou area”

“Yes, I am… wow, I never thought that I will see you in person, Inoue-san”

“Please, just call me Shin. I was here on business purpose… and did you say your car is a Z-tune? Which number is it?” he asked

“Number 20… it supposedly never existed, because the owner of the R34 V-spec requested it to be converted to Z-tune with a lot of prototype parts from Nismo” Sora explained

“Number 20? I see… that ominous Z-tune Omori produced” he nodded, “So you are the one who drives it now”

“You know it?”

“I heard about it from Bernard… it’s safe to say that he and I know each other from long way back” he grins

“I see…”

“Excuse me, sir… the assessment for your GT-R is done” the sales manager said, “We can pay you $80,000 for the your R35”

“Sounds good to me… I’ll sold it to you, then” Sora nodded

“Please, right this way, sir…” the sales manager said to him

“Well… Shin, it’s been nice to talk with you” Sora bows to him, “See you again soon”

“Yes, take care and good luck” he nodded

Sora walks toward a small office alongside the sales manager. He needs to fill out some forms before he can walk away with the money. Shin on the other hand, knew Sora is interested on the blue GT-R in display. “Keep this one car to the storage garage on the back” he said to the mechanic, “He’ll come back for this car, that I'm sure”

Outside, Hikaru is leaning his back against his new car; 1995 NA1 Honda NSX type-R. Sora, who is finished with the manager, walks outside and approaches his friend. “Sorry it took so long” he said. Hikaru grins, “Nah, it’s okay”

He opens the door and gets inside the white car. “Get in… let’s go back to Tokyo” he smiled in excitement, “I can't wait to show this car to Kaoru, Satoshi, and Kenjou”

“Ah, I see… let us go, then” Sora nodded as he gets inside the white NSX

On another place, Bernard is reading an old edition of High Performance Imports- an Australian magazine which covers a lot of performance cars around the world and Australia itself. He’s reading number 53 issue, which has something that reminds him of his battle with Sora, back on Suzuka; BNR34 Nismo Skyline GT-R Z-tune. “Hm… I wonder how that kid is doing now” he thought

“Is something on your mind?” Eva asked

“Seeing this Z-tune reminds me of the battle we had few months back” Bernard grins happily, “Not even a single moment I forgot on that day and I enjoyed every bits of the battle against him”

Eva smiled and sips her warm black tea, “You haven’t seen him since the temporary closure of the Junior league, huh? I'm sure he’s just fine”

“Yeah… something is on my mind, though… I had a dream last night about that kid. He’s with his slick looking friend and another kid, builds a new GT-R. I don’t know what happened to his Z-tune, but I remembered to bring some of our mechanics and one full trailer truck, loaded with Nismo parts for racing… sequential gearbox, Brembo brakes, Nismo carbon fiber bumpers, skirts, trunk, doors, fenders, and spoiler” he explained, “I wonder what’s that for… I wonder what the meaning of the dream is”

While at another place, Kamiya finds a sealed package of Nismo’s RB26DETT engine, lying at the attic of their garage. She ordered that engine, long before she decided to ask Omori Factory to build a Nismo Z-tune. “Oh, this must be the R-tune engine I ordered on 2004…” she giggled, “Hm… red top and… let’s see…”

After she read the billing statement, Kamiya remembered exactly the spec of the engine. It has a lot of customer ordered Nismo engine parts. “650 BHP… I ask Omori to bore this baby and oversize the pistons with 87mm and 77.7mm stroke and a lot of custom racing parts… ah, what a good old days” she smiled, “Well, it’ll be better if I keep you here, just in case someone wanted to buy a fine spec racing engine”

After a couple of hours of drive, Hikaru and Sora already arrived on Kaoru’s garage. The two guys get off from the car, after Hikaru parked it on the empty hydraulic lift inside the compound. Kaoru is already expecting him, and having heard a soft idling sound of C series engine, he gets out from his office and greets the owner of the car. “Aha… NA1 type-R” Kaoru smirked, “Nice one, Hikaru”

“Hehehe… well… here is the list of parts I need you to get, Kaoru-san” Hikaru said as he handed over a piece of paper, filled with a list of parts he wrote down at the library

“Hold your horses, young one… I need to check this car and clean the engine from carbon deposit” Kaoru nodded

“Hm? You mean Carbon Cleaning? That is a great start” Sora nods

“It is, Sky King…” Kaoru lifts the car to check the underbody, “It is clean and… still it perfect condition”

“I took a lot of time, searching for a low mileage NSX” he sighed, “It only has 15,000 KM on the odometer, therefore I have to pay extra cost”

“The engine bay is in excellent condition and there aren’t any sign of mud on the body joint” Sora looks under the engine bay

“Hehe…” Hikaru pats his chest proudly

“Okay… after I clean it and inspect more in detail, I will get these parts for you” Kaoru nodded, “Oh yeah, Yuki said if you two showed up, she said you should hurry to her house… she sounded a bit grumpy over the phone”

“Shit! I forgot about the drama practicing!” Hikaru said in surprise, “Let’s go, Sora… before the others chops our heads”

The two runs off immediately to Yuki’s place and prepare everything they need to help out with the second part of the drama.

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

“Okay… this is it, after this one show, we’re done with the drama” Gonsuke said, “Let’s do this and finish what we started”

“Even if we lose, it’s okay; hey, we did our best after all” Marie said as she smiled to everyone

Sora enters the stage, with a picture hospital’s garden as the background. He sighed as he sits on the garden’s chair after his unsuccessful operation earlier. He saw Tarou and Rika as an old couple, talking with each other while holding hands. Yuichi’s wife is diagnosed with bone cancer and the days she has left can be counted with your fingers easily. Seeing that, Sora smiled and exhaled lightly, since he already knew what he should do next. Souya then, enters the stage also, approaching him to ask about what happened. “Another one is dead on my operating table” Sora knew his intention and strikes the conversation, even before Souya could open his mouth. Hearing what he said surprised him, “I see… Valentine-san’s kidney is failing after all. It’s not your fault”

“I know… I just feel bad for his wife and kids, you know”

“Don’t be…” Souya said, “Don’t let it get to you. Oh yeah, what about Ichijou-san?”

“He said he will quit his bad habit… I just hope he did, though” Sora wheezed, “You know, life is indeed funny and God had a sense of humor, alright”

“What do you mean?” Souya sits down beside him

“Life is short, but a lot of people like Ichijou-san decided to make it even shorter” Sora grins wide, “To add it up, even Valentine-san did the same by delaying his dialysis schedule by two days overdue. It makes me feel stupid and powerless to help those people”

“What’s your point, man?”

“I already gave my resignation letter to the director” Sora shrugs, “This is my last day working here. After this I will go back to Aomori and help my brother with the town he governs”

“You’re not serious, are you?!” Souya stands up and grabs his shoulder, “What the hell did you just do?!”

“I already let ten people died on my operating table, because my incapability to warns those people” Sora shakes Souya’s hand from his shoulder, “It’s your job now to make it happen, Sou”

Sora walks away from the chair and went to the back of the stage, “Don’t you run away from trouble, Sora!” Sora however, ignored his words and continues to walk away “What’s done is done, Sou… you should know it better”

“Damn you!” Souya yelled loudly, cursing his friend for throwing away his responsibility

After the curtain closes, another background was set on the stage. This time, it’s Souya in Sora’s office. On top of the desk, he found a piece of envelope from Tokyo National Hospital. Since it’s already opened, Souya assumed that Sora already reads it. When he takes a look what’s inside, he found something shocking- a test result of Sora’s blood. He is diagnosed with second stadium leukemic. Reading this, Souya realized what Sora really meant in his word; Life is short indeed. Today you are hero of the hospital and the next day you are the victim of serious illness. “Hahaha… You’re right, Sora; God had a sense of humor alright. I hope you, and Ichijou-san can find some peace and quiet with the people you hold dear the most and make good use of the time you guys have left”

With that the light fades out and the curtain is closed. All of the people watching on the auditorium gave them the loudest applaud. All they have to do left is to hear out the jury’s verdict. As they wait for the verdict, all of the class needs to present one song to entertain the audience. Hikaru, Steve, Souya, Tarou, and Sora will present them a song. “Hi, we’re from class 2A, and we will present you with a song from Silverchair; The Greatest View” Sora said

“Okay… here we go” Hikaru said as he starts playing the electric guitar

Sora will act as the main vocal, as Hikaru and Tarou will play the electric guitar, Souya with bass, and Steve with drums.

You're the analyst
The fungus in my milk
When you want no one
And you got someone
Through the wind you crawl
And laugh at burning dunes
When no one else will ever see

Now that you know why you feel like you do
They're turning their head whilst they wait for no one
And finally I know why you feel like letting go

I'm watching you watch over me
And I've got the greatest view from here
I'm watching you watch over me
And I've got the greatest view from here

Mistakes don't mean a thing if you don't regret them
So pack your tactic toes for the winter
Chain a waterfall to burned and withered skin
No one else will ever see

I'm watching you watch over me
And I've got the greatest view from here
I'm watching you watch over me
And I've got the greatest view from here

Now that you know why you feel like you do
They're turning their head whilst they wait for no one
And finally I know why I feel like you're letting go

I'm watching you watch over me
And I've got the greatest view from here
I'm watching you watch over me
And I've got the greatest view from here
The greatest view from here
The greatest view…

Roughly after one and half hour of wait, the verdict will be announced. First thing first, the closing statement from the headmaster. “Ehem… good day to all of my dear students. I have to congratulate all of you for doing a great job in this year’s winter festival” he said, “All of the parents love it, I enjoyed it, and so you are… well, without further ado, I will close the festival and let us applaud ourselves and presents the trophy for the best events”

The winners of the events are:
1. best stand presented: paintings stand of class 1F
2. most unique food served: bizarre food stand of class 2C
3. student’s favorite stand: Takoyaki stand of class 2A
4. best dance category: team Sensual of class 2A
5. best drama presented: the Shortness of Life from class 2A
6. the awards trophy: class 2A

With that, all of the students in class 2A cheers away and express their joy and happiness with yelling and screaming as the other classes applauds them energetically.

This post has been edited by R_E_X on Jul 23 2010, 08:13 PM

Been a long time since I last read your story, lol. I'll try to catch up.

i love the new story u wrote rex keep it up and i love it

Here's the 24th RPM

RPM 24: Blood and Tragedy on Sendai

Right now, Sora is doing his exam at Akiyama’s racing school. The exam is hard as hell and this is the very first exam he did for racing school. This first exam is theoretical based exam. All of his classmates are squeezing every drop of their brain juice, remembering all of the lectures given by Daiki or Naoko. Sora is no exception as well, especially when he feels unconfident about this test, since he never did get a chance to review all of his notes. “Fifteen minutes left” said Naoko who is monitoring the students. Hearing that words Naoko said, all of the students feel nervous and started to panic. “Yikes!” Sora quickens his writings

Fifteen minutes later, he’s done. But instead of discussing the test earlier with the other students, Sora rushes off to the parking lot. He needs to get back as quickly as possible towards Daikoku-Futo, where all of his friends are waiting. Today is Friday, and they will have to travel to Sendai circuit, located in Miyagi prefecture, up in the north. “Sora!” said Daiki from his office as he pass by it, “Good luck on the racing event… don’t lose, okay?”

“Sure, Akiyama-san… don’t worry” Sora replied

He ignites his car and drives as quickly as he can to the meeting place.
Few minutes later, he arrived and saw a lot of cars, parked in the area compound. His friends’ cars also seen and he decided to park his car beside the white NA1; Hikaru’s NA1, to be exact. It’s ready for track use, and for past few days he is trying to find a suitable setting for his suspension. For now, he will stick to NA, even though he already orders a package of bolt on twin turbo from Garret. Most of his interior panels are already stripped away, in order to shave weights. “Oh, there he is” Aya said as he saw Sora gets off from the blue car, “Sora, over here”

At the waiting area, all of his friends are looking excited and happy at the same time, since they are already waiting for this very event to come. Clark, Steve, Keith, and Tarou are looking at the circuit layout, printed by Tarou. Hikaru, Yamada, Gonsuke, Souya, and Iwami are closing their eyes; trying to memorize every bit of corners and suggested racing lines. Tomoyo is coming along with her boyfriend Tomoya, to supervise the event. The girls are tagging along also, making sure to watch over their boyfriends and cheers for them from the spectators seats. “Sorry I'm late… okay, senpai… please debrief us before we go to Sendai” Sora nodded

“Okay, we’re going to drive now to the hotel, provided by the promoter. Since Sendai is at Miyagi prefecture” Tomoyo said, “We will gather around with the rest of the other competitors at the rest area, just nearby the highway exit… okay, then… let’s roll, boys”

Tomoya drives a grey Toyota Supra. He is not a street racer, even though he likes to drive his car and tune it. “Let’s move out” Tomoyo said

All of them gets into their respective cars with their girlfriend and follows Tomoya with his grey Supra. “Want me to drive, Sora?” Aya asked. Sora nodded, “Will I say no? I don’t think so… go ahead”

The two swap places and wears the harnesses before they go out. It’s going to be a long drive, and Aya already prepared four cans of Red Bull energy drink for ‘first aid’ against weariness. “Hey, Aya… can you really drive the blue car?” Yuki asked. Aya smiled, “I'm trying to… I love GT-Rs and I get the honor to drive it, when any other person who tries to, fails”

Sora on the other hand, started to close his eyes and doze off- looks like he’s really tired and sleepy. For some reason, Yuki is sitting on the driver seat, and Hikaru riding shotgun next to her. “What do you say if we go for a run? I will drive the NSX” Yuki asked, “Show me your skill”

Ah, so that’s the reason. “Hah? I don’t think Sora will approve… he’s fast asleep and I don’t want to disturb his sleep…”

“Do it…” Sora said suddenly

Aya, startled and replied as she hisses towards her boyfriend “You’re startling me! I thought you are fast asleep”

“When I hear Yuki said about your skill, my fatigue just went away” Sora said as he grabs a can of Red Bull, “Do it… I'm sure Aoi wanted the same”

“Did she?” Aya asked. She then rubs the steering wheel and dashboard as she whispers to it, “Please bear with me, okay… I’ll do my best to keep you in the front of the others. Okay, Black Phantom… you’re on”

Hikaru smiled and said “That’s what I wanted to hear”

“Okay, we’ll race until we reach Heiwajima tollgate, okay?” Yuki nodded

“Here we go” Sora looks at the white NSX beside his blue car

“This should be fun” Hikaru said, “Keep up, everyone!”

Aya plugs on a black Kingston USB to the car’s head unit. Whenever she drives, she always finds it relaxing to hear music as you go. “Hold up a bit… Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2 OST… track number 8” she grinned, “Okay… on your mark”

Claire smiled in excitement. She turns her head to Steve, but Steve already knew what she had in mind. “Don’t worry… we’ll get the front row seat” Steve said as he smiled to her. Claire then asked “Who will win?”

Steve immediately responded analytically. “Well… isn’t it obvious?” He shrugs, “The type-R had a minor adjustment on the engine mapping, suspension, and brakes… the car won't bested the Sky King, even though I’d say this is going to be a heck of a battle of acceleration”

(This is My Destiny by Koshiro Yuzo - Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2 Original Soundtracks)

Ever since I laid my eyes on you
I’ve longed to be with you
I feel myself getting closer
This is my destiny…

It makes my heart race
That isn’t just a vehicle
It feels just right
It’s absolute perfection

“3… 2… 1… go!” Hikaru said

Aya and Yuki shifts down immediately to first gear. The sound of screeching tires can be heard on the parking area. Steve follows them closely as Claire carefully pays attention to the two cars. “Defeat them, Aya” she thought

Z-tune which boast 800 HP and twin turbo engine, easily takes the lead. Yuki however, doesn’t want to give up- it’s not about top speeds and acceleration, since the traffic began to get heavy. “Her power will be a double-edged sword in this heavy traffic” Yuki said, “We’ll see soon enough”

“Hold up a bit… I’ll set the boost on 3,500 to 6,000” Sora said, “This should give you better acceleration to slalom through the traffic cars”

“Thanks… I’ll do my best” Aya said in excitement

NSX, being a car with MR layout, has better grip and traction on the rear wheels; Yuki knows it and makes full use of the advantage. Hikaru has perfected his suspension tuning with the help of the others, bestowing it with ultimate set-up for high speed overtaking and slaloming. Sora’s Z-tune didn’t have anything like it, so Aya will have to rely on the acceleration and her skill as the Midnight Princess to win this friendly match. “Come on, Aya!” Yuki said as he overtakes the blue car

“I will prove it to you… that I deserve a car as great as you” Aya thought

Sora carefully pays attention to her every move. His Z-tune responded very well to Aya’s every input. No lag; fully synchronized, even… she can control this car just fine. “Keep up, Aya”

“Sure thing, dear” she said as she shifts up to fourth gear and gets closer to the white NSX in front of them

Sora smiled to his car, feeling proud and happy that his car finally accepts someone else, other than him to drive it.

At one of Yuuya’s club, located in Roppongi district, one of the strip show room for the guest is at mess and it’s a worse one. He swept the table, full of drinks in anger. Looks like the news regarding Haruna, Tsugumi, and Natsumi had reached his ears. “How did three incompetent, high school street racers can manages to defeat three of my best racers?! And how did the police responded so fast to the scene?!” he shouted, “What has the world gone into?”

Takeshi is thinking hard to make up some sort of rational explanation, so Yuuya could subdue his anger and maintains his composure. “Calm down, kiddo” he said flatly, “Most likely the police had some sort of connection with those kids… how is the real question here”

“What about the girls, old man?” Souji asked, “They are the ones we should worried about”

“We can forget the ladies and think about saving our own skin!” Takeshi said as he shows somewhat irritated look to the guy, “We should think carefully before we act carelessly. Look at those four as the lesson and use your brain to think clearly”

“He’s right…” Yuuya exhaled, “Old man… Souji… you guys are the ones I had left… can you guys do this for me?”

“Sure…” Souji nodded as he shows his usual grin of wickedness, “You up for it, old man?”

“I will do it, even if it is the last I’ll ever do” Takeshi nods

“I will ask some of the guys to watch them and kill them if we have to” Yuuya added, “One of our sources said that they attend Red Bull Open Class Competition at Sendai... why don't the two of you go down there and bring some of our men to crash the party?”

(Pacific Gakuen Front Gate by Yamamoto Setsuo - Justice Gakuen Original Soundtracks)

Few hours later, the party has arrived at Miyagi prefecture. As expected, all of them arrived at 02.30 A.M., half an hour before the assembly. Most of the girls, except the ones who drive are fast asleep. “Tomoyo, we’re here” Tomoya said. “Oh, already? Okay… we’re here” Tomoyo said as she yawned, “Let’s march into the rest area and wait over there”

“Yes ma’am” said all of the males

“Hey, Steve… you’re still awake?” Sora stretches his neck and takes a look at Steve’s GT2. “Of course… even though my eyes are a bit sticky” he replied, “Claire is fast asleep, though”

All of them parked their car at the rest area and awaits the representation of the promoters. A lot of racers are seen- from high school beginners to freelance professional are seen around the rest area. Loud music is played by the event promoter, and lot of people is discussing and talking to each other about their cars, preparations, and equipment. Aya steps out of the car, followed by Sora. Yuki does the same as she stretches her body. “Whoo! That was fun… we should do that some other time, Aya” Yuki smiled. Aya nodded and replied as she smiled to her “Sure thing… Some other time”

Tomoyo and Tomoya steps out of the grey Supra and approaches the driver of each cars. “Okay… exactly on 3 A.M., all of the drivers will line up per team with the team leader on the front. Tomoya and I will register your names now”

“When they call out your name on the assembly, be sure to raise your hand and get up front to take the ID card” Tomoya added, “Got it?”

“Yes, sir!” said all of them

Tomoya and Tomoyo smiled to each other and nodded, “Wait here” Tomoyo said

As the two walks away to the registration desk, all of them feel the freezing and chilly cold air of the winter. Aya and Yuki decided to wait in the car and try to get some rest. “Damn!” Hikaru said as he shivers in cold

“Brrrrr!” Steve followed

Souya exhaled lightly as white mist is seen from his mouth. “Hey, let’s do a small and stupid contest… who can breathe longer and produce more white mist?” Souya grins. “Oh, you’re on!” Iwami replied. “I'm in… I won't lose in this stupid contest” Gonsuke followed. Yamada nodded also, “I’m in also”

“Ah… stupid contest” Tarou wheezed, “I'm in!”

“Well… I guess it’s okay for us to kill time” Clark nodded

All of them gather around and forms a circle. “Here we go…” Souya said as he accumulates his breath, “Aaaaaaaaaaah…”

“Wow!” Iwami said in wonder, “My turn… Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh…”

Iwami’s mist is not as long as Souya had from his mouth. He looked a bit of disappointed and annoyed at the same time, “Damn!” he said as he trampled his foot on the road, “I demand a replay!”

“What about you four?” Souya asked

Keith, Sora, Steve, and Hikaru didn’t have any intention of joining. The four of them decided to look around the rest area as they check up on the cars of their competitors. “Nah, we’ll pass” Steve nodded, “We want to look around and get an eye freshener with our competitors’ cars”

The quarto started to scour around, looking at every car that is parked at the area. Hikaru purposely scouring around to find the same car he’s currently driving. One particular NA2 NSX, silver in color, catches his attention. It didn’t have any vinyl across its body, even though it’s filled with a lot of product decals. The owner is having a chat with several other people, which looked like his team. “Excuse me… are you the owner of this NSX?” Hikaru asked

The owner of the silver car turned around and sees him face to face. He was a good looking guy with sharp eye, handsome face, and medium built muscular tall body… Hikaru however, notices something strange… his eye color is light grey in color- a sign of mixed ethnicity. “Yeah… that’s my partner; Gin” he answered, “Why do you ask? You drive an NSX as well?”

“I am” Hikaru nodded, “Mine is late year NA1 equipped with six speed manual and minor modifications. What about yours?”

“Ah, it’s just minor modifications, since there aren’t a lot of parts for NSX in the first place” he shrugs, “I’ve had this car for almost… a year now. She is very reliable and fun to drive”

“Yeah, tell me about it” Hikaru agrees

“Hey, Hikaru!” Keith said, “Time to roll!”

“Oh well… see you soon and let’s try our hardest” Hikaru said as he runs to his friends

The guy nodded and smiled. When Hikaru is gathers around his friend, the guy opens his mouth and mumbled about something. “So that is the White Ghost” he grins, “Interesting fellow indeed”

When he looked at the red GT2 and blue Z-tune, he immediately knew who the owner is. “And that must be the Red Lizard and Sky King… he is right, it’s a good thing I come here for fun”

“Ready?” one of his teammate asks

“Sure… don’t forget my part of deal, okay?”

“Yes, of course… if we manage to beat those kids; the HSSR- we’ll be sure the winning team”

“We’ll see what they’re capable of” the guy said, “Let’s go”

The next morning, all of the competitors are already seen on Sendai circuit, filling every place on the pit area. They are trying to set the fastest time lap and find the best settings for the circuit to gain advantage over the other racers. The teams are divided by ten classes; two of them are circuit competitions, two time attack competitions, one speed trap, three gymkhana competitions, and two drift competitions. Here are the details on each class:

2 Circuit competitions
CC1: 500 HP up class
CC2: 250 HP to 500 HP class

2 Time attacks
TAC1: 400 HP up class
TAC2: 250 HP to 400 HP class

1 Speed trap
Stock car class

3 Gymkhanas
GC1: technical master
GC2: technical 2
GC3: technical 3

2 Drifts
DC1: 350 HP up class
DC2: 250 HP to 350 HP class

Sora is designated on CC1, Keith on CC2, Steve on TAC1, Hikaru on TAC2, Clark at speed trap, Gonsuke on GC1, Iwami at GC2, Yamada at GC3, Tarou on DC1, and lastly Souya on DC2. At the end of each competition, points will be accumulated from winning position, earned by each team members. The biggest point holder will walk away with the trophy and prize money.

The promoter of this event also did something else this time around. The entire competitors must use an alias, but leaving the number of driving license as their main ID, which is kept secret by the promoter. Lucky for the members of HSSR, they have respective alias they like as their ID.

The qualification of gymkhana and drift will start first. The holder of the best time will have the lead position on the gymkhana. On the other hand, the drifter needs to be beautiful and precise, while posting the best time of round at the same time. The gymkhana will take place at the front of the pit lane, while the drift will be held at the back second part of the circuit.

After the qualification of the first two, the qualification of circuit, time attack, and speed trap will begin, with F1 like and time limit of 10 minutes. Sora, Steve, Keith, Clark, and Hikaru is at the pit lane, watching how Tarou and Souya perform their part. “Okay, there are ten teams, so each competition will have ten competitors” Sora said as he carefully watches on the performance of Yamada, Gonsuke, and Iwami. Steve replied flatly as he suits up, “We’ll win this one… don’t worry”

Hikaru on the other hand, feels pretty unconfident. “Yeah? What I fear the most is not the gymkhana and drift” he said, “It’s the circuit…”

Sora, Keith, Steve, and Clark looked at him with puzzled look on their face. It’s unusual for him to think like that. “Why did you say that?” Keith asked. “Yeah, you seem pretty bummed out today” Clark added

Hikaru looks around for someone that bothers him very much. When he turns his head to faraway left, there he was; the guy he met yesterday- donning a red puma racing suits as he stands near the fence of the pit area, with his arms crossed on his chest. “That is the reason” Hikaru said as he points his thumb to the guy in the faraway pit area. The other four of his friends takes a look and gives a strange expression towards the aforementioned guy. “What about him?” Steve asked

By the time Steve asked, the subject of the topic turns his head towards the five boys who talks about him. “Shit… Looks like he notices us talking about him” Keith whispered. The subject of the conversation however, just gave them a flat look and waits for their reaction.

Sora and Steve shows the same flat expression towards him. The three kept on staring at each other before Sora and Steve continues to talk to their friend. “He is mysterious indeed” Sora whispered

“See?” Hikaru replied, “I told you”

“Really? He seemed friendly enough” Clark shrugs

“Looks like all of them are done…” Keith nodded, “Hm… Tarou got the first position, while Souya starts from the second. That’s great!”

“Well… now it’s our turn… let’s get ready” Steve gets up from his chair, “Let’s heat our engine”

After the cones of the gymkhana and drift are lifted off the track, the time attack competition will start first. The girls are sitting on the spectator’s bench, rooting for their boyfriends. “How are the things on your end?” Sora asked Gonsuke

“I started on the third position, while Iwami and Yamada will start from the second” Gonsuke answered, “We manage to shave more time from the chart, as our competition advances”

“That is great” Keith smiled, “Well… get some rest. You guys earned it”

“We have a lot of teams today here on Sendai, Kenichi” said Hideo, the commentator

“That’s right, Hideo… we also have the honor to see how the Sky King, Grip King, and Drift King perform on tomorrow’s competition” Kenichi replied, “This competition was brought to us by Red Bull energy drink and I’ve got to say, this competition rocks!”

“You are correct, Kenichi! Let’s hope the teams could achieve the best result for tomorrow’s race!”

Five minutes have passed since the start of the TAC qualifying, and Steve finally knew how to push his car around the circuit to achieve the best time. “Oh, look! The Red Lizard flies by with astounding time; two minutes and twenty nine second!”

“What about the White Ghost on his new NA1? He takes the lead time with 2 minutes and forty-five seconds!” Hideo continued, “Both of the racers from same team takes home the lead! What an amazing result!”

“Whoooo! Nice going, Steve!” Claire yelled. “Nicely done, Hikaru!” Yuki shouted in the same manner. The girls are very happy with the result. All of the fans of HSSR also cheered in delight in the spectators area- so delighted that they did a series of Mexican wave to express it. The area is filled with banner and poster, mainly to motivate and cheered for their favorite team. “They are indeed the best in our school” said Tomoya. “Of course… I trust them very much” Tomoyo smiled

“The Lotus Exige is indeed a great machine for racing tracks! Look at how English Gentleman does the lap! He holds the pole position for tomorrow’s speed trap with average speed of 230 KM/H!” Kenichi said, “They are indeed a team, filled with talented young fellas”

After Steve, Clark, and Hikaru are done, it’s time for Sora and Keith to go forward. The two of them rolled out of the pit area and waits at the end of the pit lane. “Now we will begin the circuit qualifying, Kenichi!” Hideo nodded. “Yes, I cannot wait to see how the Grip King and Sky King do it today!” Kenichi continued

The guy in silver NSX and his teammate lined their cars behind Keith’s E92. Looks like they are ready to start their qualifying as well. “That’s the guy in silver NSX” Hikaru said

“Hoo… Looks like the guy in red wants to play, Keith” Sora said

“Yep… I’ll handle his teammate, then” Keith nods

Steve carefully pays attention to the NA2 as the competing cars roll out the pit lane. By the time all of them gets out the pit area and went through the first corner, Sora and the NA2 guy went all out. Their battle of achieving the best time attracts a lot of racing enthusiast and the commentators. “Looks like we got ourselves a nice, heated competition, Hideo” said Kenichi

“That is the driver of the silver NA2… Their team is called Just for Fun and he registers himself with a strange name; The Jet” Hideo scratches his head

“The Jet?! What the hell is that?” Clark asked, “Sounds stupid”

“Is he one of the old members of Midnight Club?” Souya asked

“Not sure… I’ll ask Satoshi and Kenjou now” Tarou nodded

The heated battle between the NSX and the GT-R continues. The two of them keeps on attacking each other, to the verge of breaking everyone’s mind with worries, especially Aya. “Be safe, Sora” she thought

But for other spectators, the battle is an amazing event to be seen. The Sky King versus the Jet- who will takes the lead for tomorrow’s race? The fans are dying to find out. Seconds by seconds of the battle, they gasped in excitement and fear at the same time- cheering and rooting for the two guys, battling on the track. After roughly four laps, the Jet runs back to the pit lane and gets his car inside to set his suspension. All of his teammate helps him by lifting the car into the hydraulic lift and started to take off the tires. “Ha! Looks like he is a complete amateur!” Iwami laughs, “Forget it, Tarou… he’s just a rookie, trying to show off”

“I guess you’re right” Tarou hung up the phone

“Go, Sora! Bring it home, baby!” Yamada yells

Sora passes through the finish line in 2 minutes twenty-five seconds, while the time left on the clock is four minutes. With that in mind, he drives back to the pit lane and waits for his competitor’s next move. Two minutes later, the NA2 drives out once again to try and grab the time lead. “Okay, this time it’s for real” he thought

“The boss said that we shouldn’t attract a lot of unwanted attention” one of his teammate said

“Your boss is a friend of mine, so I’ll bet what he said doesn’t apply for me” he shrugs, “I'm out!”

Once he’s out of the pit area, he pushes his car as fast as he can. The clock shows one minute left and after that, the checkered flag will be the sign of the end of the qualifying. Strangely enough, he didn’t feel any pressure at all. Maybe it’s because he came here just for the fun? There is a lot of mysterious quality, shrouding around that particular guy. “The Sky King has taken the lead once again in this circuit, Kenichi!” Hideo laughs

Nevertheless, he is on the last section of the track, while the checkered flag has been waved by the steward. His clock is still ticking and by the time he gets into the final stretch, his time is still under Sora’s. “The Grip King passes the finish line in two minutes and thirty-two seconds” Hideo nods, “As expected from the Grip King, he handles his car beautifully through each corner”

After Keith goes back to the pit area and parked his car, he approaches his entire friend at the pit lane. “That NSX is not equipped with any turbo or supercharger… there is no way that car would pass the acceleration of the twin-turbo GT-R” Clark said

The silver NA2 is not an ordinary NA2. As the car runs closer and closer to the finish line, both Sora and Hikaru realizes that car is not what it seems. There is something more to it. As he passes the finish line, he stares at Sora, Steve and Hikaru with the same flat look on his face earlier. “And the Jet passes the finish line in…” Kenichi said

Hikaru, Steve, Sora, Keith, Iwami, Gonsuke, Yamada, Tarou, Clark, and Souya take a look at the stopwatch and they are very surprised to see the time he recorded. The girls and the spectators on the area is not an exception. The jet takes the lead with one and a half second better than Sora. “We have a new guy on the firs position; it’s the Jet and he has taken home his lead by one and a half second better than Sky King” Hideo said

All of the spectators there yelled in excitement. The time battle was so intense, that they didn’t gave much of a care anymore to whoever’s taking the lead. “What the?!” Steve gasped. Hideo is very surprised, so does with Kenichi. “Who is this Jet guy? He seems pretty mysterious and skilled”

“I don’t know, Hideo, but your guest is as good as mine” Kenichi thought aloud, “Well… today’s qualification has been an amazing experience for all of us”

The Jet gets back to the pit lane and gets his car inside the pit garage. Everyone from the HSSR shares a mutual feeling once in awhile; a feeling of uneasiness and pressure at the same time. “You really did it” his teammate said

“Your boss specially requested me to go all out on them” he grins, “With this lesson, he and I hope that they will continue to improve themselves”

The Jet got out of the pit area and takes off his red Shoei helmet. Suddenly, all of the spectators went mad and stands up from their seats. They yelled and called out the name of the dominating contender. “Jet! Jet!! Jet!!!” said all of the spectators. As his hair became wet of the sweat, he rubs his head and tidied his hair. After that, he holds up his right hand, with his thumb up and the spectators exploded in excitement. “YEAAAAAAAAH!!!!” yelled everyone

He is indeed a great crowd pleaser and he knew exactly what he needed to do to please them in no time. Sora stands on the center of the pit lane and stares at him with serious look. Faintly, the aura of the Sky King appeared behind him. The Jet grins and stares back at him as something can be seen behind him. “What’s that?” gasped Tarou. Faintly, the figure slowly looks clear and visible; a red-eyed mechanical humanoid with long, large gun and a shield. The humanoid has a large metal wing with US Air Force written on it, complete with missiles and thruster equipped metal legs. As the Sky King turns into gust of wind before it disappears, the mechanical humanoid transforms into a foreign alien jet and flies off towards his competitor. “Ah!” Hikaru said as the gust of wind hits them

“No wonder he called himself the Jet” Steve thought, “US Air Force?! Who is this guy?”

“That’s all the qualifying action we have for now” Hideo said, “Until tomorrow… I'm Hideo Toramada”

“And I'm Kenichi Usugi… we bring you live reports from Sendai track and we’ll see you on tomorrow” Kenichi added

All of the spectators of the race are going back out of the circuit complex, as did the racers.

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

The race is intense, as everyone expected it would be. The drift, gymkhana, and speed trap competition is already over with these results:
1 Speed trap
Stock car class - Clark on 1st place with 10 points

3 Gymkhanas
GC1: technical master - Gonsuke on 1st place with 10 points
GC2: technical 2 - Iwami on 2nd place with 9 points
GC3: technical 3 - Yamada on 2nd place with 9 points

2 Drifts
DC1: 350 HP up class - Tarou on 1st place with 10 points
DC2: 250 HP to 350 HP class - on 2nd place with 9 points

For the moment, team HSSR helds 56 points, while Team Just for Fun is already ahead of them with total 59 points. Time attack is being held right now and both Steve and Hikaru can manage themselves just fine. The Jet’s teammate is not much of a threat for Steve and Hikaru, since they struggle just to catch up with them. “The White Ghost passes the finish line with Red Lizard and recorded an astounding time for both of them” Hideo said

“Exactly, Hideo… they have proved their existence in the streets and now they are gripping their claws on this very circuit to be the best team on Japan” Kenichi added, “Now… the anticipated race will begin in five minutes… we’ll be right back, folks!”

With Steve and Hikaru’s winning, their total points are 76 points while team Just for Fun has 77 points… just a bit more and they will get past them. Steve and Hikaru get back to the pit garage and gets off from their car. All of their teammates are already waiting and ready for the next and final competition; circuit racing. Five minutes to go and they are very psyched up. “Win this and we will go back home with the prize money” Iwami said

“Don’t worry… Sora and Keith will win this race” Yamada nodded

All of them gets their car out of the pit lane and runs a lap to warm up their tires. After that one lap, they are to wait on the designated position and gets ready to race. The Jet started in the front and as everyone expected, nothing can be seen on his face- worry, excitement, or even thrill… the expression on his face is the same as yesterday; flat. “Look at him” Steve said on the radio, “No expression…”

“He looked like a machine to me” Hikaru added

“He is skilled and talented…” Sora said, “I wonder who he is”

“Yeah, same here” Keith continued

Five red lights are about to lit and they are getting ready to begin. All of the spectators hold their breath as they waiting for the first man who will plunge out of the starting line. Sora shifted to first gear as the first light is lit. The Jet shifted to first gear and holds out his clutch as he depress the accelerator pedal to engage the launch control.

By the time the five lights are off, the top two cars plunged and jump away from the starting line. Sora is ahead, thanks to his big torque and four wheel drive. However, on the first corner, the Jet manages to close the gap and stays on his tail. The circuit competition is held in 10 laps.

(Nip and Tuck Race by Koshiro Yuzo - Wangan Mindight Maximum Tune 2 Original Soundtracks)

Sora, who has bigger engine horsepower, is having a hard time shaking the silver NA2 from his tail. Every time he manages to widen the gap, the Jet keeps on coming back on his tail. The NA2 feels light and solid at the same time. Sora feels pressurized and he is trying to figure out the key to get him off his tail. Sendai circuit is mainly composed of straight lines, followed by corners- tight ones to be exact. The Jet clings onto his back, as if he attached a steel wire onto the back of the blue Z-tune. “Was he…” Souya thought aloud. Clark in response, ask him back “What, Sou?”

“Was he holding back against Sora?” Souya continued his question

Since NSX has smaller size compared to the GT-R, the Jet easily drafted behind the blue car and conserves his tires. Sora on the other hand, who tries to shake him off his tail, wore out his tires faster than the silver car behind him. It’s a deadlock situation without any solution- if Sora slows his pace, the Jet will pass him and gain the lead on the corners. And if Sora keeps his current pace as he tries to shake him down, his tires will wore out even faster. The Jet knew what the blue car is capable of and exploits the flaw of the huge amount of horsepower.

Sooner or later, the tires on the blue Z-tune will run out and he will be forced to slow his pace. Until then, the Jet will hound him down from the back and keeps on pressuring him. “Come on, Sora!” Gonsuke hissed, “Leave him and let him bites your dust!”

“It’s not easy thing to do, Gon” Yamada replied, “That NA2 is fast”

“An NSX with average horsepower rating is the best weapon for circuits like this” Steve explained

“Sora has 4WD, man!” Gonsuke added. Hikaru sighed and continued Steve’s explanation “Even though he has 4WD, as long as he has big number of horsepower, he’s no mach for that NA2… don’t forget that big horsepower has a bad effect on the durability of the tires, especially when the car is 4WD”

“So will he lose? I don’t want him to lose!” Clark said

“Neither did us…” Tarou exhaled heavily

Eight and half laps later, the result of his actions started to take toll on his handling. The Jet takes this as his cue and overtakes the lead from Sora. “Oh! What happened to Sky King?” Hideo sounds puzzled

“Looks like his tires are over… they are completely worn out” Kenichi sighed, “Looks like this is over for him”

“No hard feelings, Sora…” said the NA2 driver, “I hope you can learn your mistake from this lesson… it’s been fun”

With that word, he jets through the circuit, leaving Sora and his blue Z-tune to bites his dust. “Damn!” Sora said, “I can't do anything… I’ve lost”

This race was hardly a fair race for Sora or the Jet. Sora who doesn’t know his flaw, chooses to keep on going to the end, while the Jet successfully exploits his weakness and flaw. The Jet passes the finish line with an amazing gap between the two cars.
Meanwhile, a man is seen locking down the main gate of the circuit compound without any apparent reason.

Back to the winner, he parks his car on the pit lane and even though Keith manages to win his part of circuit race, team HSSR is still on the second place with total 94 points, while team Just for Fun wins it with 96 points. Sora and Keith gets back to their pit garage and gets off from their cars when a group of men showed up on the pit area.

Twenty men are seen, complete with metal baseball bat, sharp looking knife and steel knuckles… looks like they are here to wreak some havoc. Who are they? Nobody knows… they came here to see the guys on HSSR. “We are here to kick your butt, kids” said one of the goons

“What the hell?! Who are these men?” Hideo asked

“They look pretty rough and bad” Kenichi added

One of the goons grabs something from the pocket of his jacket- a gun and started to shoot randomly. DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! “Nobody move!” said the goon with gun. Everyone is very scared, including the girls. They ducked to avoid getting shot. Seeing that, the Jet sighed and grins wickedly. He spins his head in wonder and exhaled lightly. “I’ve expected this to happen… they are indeed trouble magnet, just like he says”

(Pleasant Intrigue by Sakuraba Motoi and Aoyama Hibiki - Tales of Vesperia Original Soundtracks)

He grabs something from his bag and puts it immediately on his right leg holster. It’s a gun and he walks toward the group of goons, surrounding the HSSR team. “Hey!” said the Jet. As the man tried to shoot him, he moves his hand faster and shot his hand accurately. The right hand of that man bleeds as the bullet passes through it. “Heckler and Koch USP45 with .45 calibers ACP, hollow point rounds” he said, “How does your hand feels?”

As the other goons run towards him, trying to hit him, all he does it point their legs and shoots between it.

DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR! DOR!
“So? How does it taste?” he puts back the gun to the holster and approach them. It must’ve been really hurt to be shot in the crotch. “Hm…”

All of the spectators tried to leave the place as soon as possible to every direction of the area. The commentators are speechless and their tongue is frozen in fear. In the middle of the chaos, Aya texted a message to Jessie regarding this incident on Sendai and requested backup as soon as possible. “Watch out!” Steve yelled

He sways his body to the side as he evades the goon, trying to hit him with a metal baseball bat. He pulls something else from his hip; a survival knife and slash it to the attacker’s chest. “Who’s next?”

The rest of the goons attack him simultaneously from every direction. “Hehehe!”

He kicks the first one on the neck and stabs his left leg. As the other goons attack him, he uses the man he stabbed as a shield. His left hand stays on the left leg with the knife and sends an uppercut to the second man who attacks him. He then kicks the stabbed man to the back and kicks his chest, which hits another two men. “CQC?!” Yuki said in surprise

He puts away the knife as the other four men attacks him. He grabs one of them and twists his right hand to his back and pushes him to the other man. While that very man is confused, he launches a dead strike to his knee with his right leg and punches him with the back of his fist. Two down, two more to go…

The last two men looked very surprised to see the unfortunate outcome and decided to make a run for it. “Hey, that is the members of RJ7” Sora yelled

(Speed by Atari Teenage Riot - The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift Original Soundtracks)

Hearing that, the Jet takes it as his signal to clean the rest of the goons. One of his teammate throws him a small bag, containing a bunch of grenades. “Nice! You guys get back to LA- now!”

“What about you?” one of them asked

“I’ll inform your boss later and brief him on the latest situation” he replied as he gets into his NA2, “Go!”

He ignites the engine and drives after the two remaining goons. They intended to run from the main gate, by going around the circuit. One of them drives Subaru Impreza, while the other drives a Lexus IS-F. He lets go of the steering wheel and changes the clip of his pistol. He then opens his window and starts to aim.

DOR! DOR! DOR!

He shot the rear tires of the IS-F and watches it slide uncontrollable towards the side wall. The driver is knocked unconscious, thanks to him. Now, the last one is the driver of that Subaru. He shifted down and increases his pace to catch up with the Impreza.

The driver of the Impreza is not an ordinary racer. After few tries of aiming, he couldn’t get a clear shot on the tires, since he sways it every time he takes an aim. “Hm… you got a trick up your sleeve” he grins. So in order to compensate the hard time, he aims the back window instead.

DOR! DOR! DOR!

Panicked, the old man slows his pace down, almost to complete halt. The Jet knew that, so he tosses aside his USP and grabs a can of grenade from the bag on his passenger seat. He tosses it through the back window and shifts down to accelerate. “Watch out, it’s a grenade!” Hideo yelled

The entire spectators and the people on the pit area ducks and stays on the ground.

BANG!

What he threw was in fact a flash bang grenade to immobilize the driver of the Impreza by blinding him for a moment… at least until he hits something hard on the way, which he did. He crashed to the stack of the tires and knocked unconscious. He brakes hard and went back to the pit area to check up on everyone. “You guys alright?” he asked

“We’ll manage” Steve said

“Good… tie all of them and call a police or something… they are Yakuzas and they are very dangerous to dealt with”

“Will do” Hikaru said as he started to take a rope, “Everyone, tie them so we can turn them over to the police!”

“Well… I’m off” he said as he drives off

“Wait!” Sora shouted, “Who are you?”

“One of your fans” he grins, “I’ll see you again, Sora… Steve”

The two of them looked very surprised. How did he know their real name? They never entered their real name for this competition… Who is he? Why is he carrying a gun? Is he a police officer or something? How did he beat seven people alone? Why is he so proficient with gun and explosive? What is his intention?
With those questions in their mind, the Jet left them and gets away from the scene as fast as he can.

Cross and the Metro Police Department come one and half hour later. All of the goons are taken into custody and won’t get out of the jail for quite a long time… including Mr. Boxer and Lexus.

(Dive to Blue by L'Arc~En~Ciel - Ark)

Meanwhile, three hours later at Gunma prefecture…
At one of the inn on the foot of the mountain, a silver NA2 is parked on the front of the inn. The owner of the car is taking a cold shower to clean himself as he listens to the L’Arc music in high volume. The Jet is staying at the inn of Tarou’s family. He is changing his clothes into something casual when his Iphone rings. “Yeah?” he said

“How are they?” the man on the phone asked, “I heard from the others you make quite a show”

“I did… just as you explained; they are indeed trouble magnet” the Jet replied, “Glad I was there to help out… they are in the target scope of a certain Yakuza family”

“I know… you don't come back here?”

“No… I’ll wait here until the day comes”

This post has been edited by R_E_X on Jul 23 2010, 08:14 PM

hmmm...what about the rest ^^ also waiting for the HSSR

Nice , but what happened to HSSR

I think you should continue with HSSR before you spill out the rest of your next project.

let's just say that e'X-D is just a side project, so everyone knew I'm still writing... RPM 22 is 40% done, expect it by the end of the week, guys... sorry for the hold up

I already posted the 22th RPM... check the previous post on this page

Nice Rex keep them coming HSSR rocks.