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Actually, no that's for the preview of CH7.

Another chapter! Yes!!

And wow...for one moment there I thought Sakuya and Saburo would had some serious conflicts going on...but I guess I was wrong.

Sakuya has a really strong affection for Saburo, that's for sure, knowing that she doesn't even care about her team's compulsory meeting, just to spend some time with him. But Saburo insisted that she shouldn't abandon her responsibility for him, that alone shows Saburo is considerate to Sakuya, even though he is still somewhat cold to her. Glad to know Saburo is a bit of a cold tsundere. xD

Meanwhile at Vanessa's side, I really love the friendship between Mayumi and her! Mayumi is almost like her big sister there, trying to make sure she stays out of trouble and all and even pulled her ear when Vanessa is trying to be mischievous. Best of luck for her in her time attack event though, same goes for Mayumi too. Can't wait to see that EVO TME in action.

And wow...Aoi is pretty. Her design kinda reminds me a bit of white-haired Inori Yuzuriha...I dunno why, but everytime I see you draw, I always thought you and Redjuice were somewhat related...are you by any chance, working along with him before? Cause if that's true then I am lucky to at least know someone who has some experience with the artist I admire most at Pixiv.

And finally, back to Akagi, Hatori is DROP-DEAD sexy. And something tells me she's just as crazy as Sakuya, even though the latter seemed to be a whole lot fiercer...they really have a rather complicated friendship or partnership...it'll be interesting to see how they are back then and how Hatori knew Saburo too and why is Sakuya so paranoid about her flirtatious behavior. Maybe it's just me, but when Sakuya didn't smile, she is....FIERCE. Very FIERCE...but that's also part of her charm I guess...Saburo is lucky to have a fiery tomboy like her to give such strong affection to him...and I am sure the next chapter is going to be explosive on the JZA80 vs SW20.

Finally, back to Saburo...I wonder why is he suddenly going to Tsukuba, of all places...and not to mention it's heavily misty there...making it dangerous to drive through, let alone race. But he's doing it anyway, so I can only say it'll be a creepy battle. And who could that HCR32 be? This is the first time I see Saburo being pressed hard from behind...man, would he really have met his match here?

All in all, this is really an incredible build-up chapter...!! Keep it up, Rin!!

It's nice to see a story-writer that can draw beautifully and write altogether. You've a big future awaiting you, pal...

ever heard of GTS-ts?

And Akiko, you're gonna LOVE the rims Mayumi's using for her car. Trust me.

This post has been edited by +-!mma_N00B-+ on Jun 22 2013, 03:11 AM

Impressive job, guy!

Spotted a few errors in grammar and inconsistencies in the tenses of sentences here and there, but nice job.

most good points have been pointed out by akiko and others so no need for me to repeat what they have mentioned. c:

Ok... pretty much everything that needs to be said about CH6 has already been said... well... I think I heard this song while I was reading the Sakuya x Saburo part:

Peace Rin!

LOL! Not a fan of Twilight at all, but I am sure that's not the point...

I am a bit of a sucker for Perri's slow song though...so...appreciated it.

I dunno... the song seemed to fit that scene of Saburo and Sakuya hihihihihi :3

Whooooo! Sup, shawty! Another day, another chapter eh?

So....let's see...

...Wow! I didn't realize Saburo to be this considerate since this chapter, but eh...most boys with heart of gold and mind of a jerk would have this kind of charm.

So......yep.

On the other hand, Vanessa and Mayumi together can only equal one thing: Troublesome mischief. ;3

These two always seem to have so much in common, and when it comes to ticking people off, something tells me that having Vanessa alone is already TOO MUCH. But adding Mayumi's sharp mouth together? Ohhhh boy...

And then to Aoi.......now THAT.....is a pure beauty. Wonder how well she will fare on an actual battle...

Oh, and then to Akagi, where Sakuya and Hatori met? Now I am curious about Hatori's character...it's characters with lots of cryptic persona like her that made Accel Code so much more fun to read. Oh, and good luck to Sakuya beating that SW20 guy. Smoke his butt-butt!!

And uh....dayumn, Saburo is getting burned by that Skyline? Now that will definitely scream strong rivalry in future.

All in all, big-build-up chapter is AWESOME! Makes the bomb all the more satisfying to detonate!! BOOSH!

Keep it up, shawty! You doin' GREAT.

GTS-t eh?

sounds like a souped up RB20 with some larger than normal turbine....

and TE37's(be it any variants) are somewhat overplayed....well my 2cents really..and why not SSR Professor SP1's?

Much appreciated on the feedbacks, everyone.

Now, Preview of Chapter 7 is on its way soon so...stay updated, readers. :3 (with some help from !mma_N00B of course.)

Time for preview of the next chapter, done in a rather unique way compared to the usual EVA style. ;3

Special Thanks to !mma_N00B on the GFX editing of the texts.

YOUTUBE ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DAcFpewRQI )

SPOILER

Question continued to flow through the white bird sitting with the black crow at the lone land. The Rally driver shows up in Hokkaido, finding a way to seek new depths in the understanding of what it means to be both a person and as a pro-driver. and finally... What will this lead to as the young children of this world continued to chase the truth and worth that they desire in their lives?

"I do not believe in your motivation, I only trust in your heart."

This post has been edited by Rin on Jun 28 2013, 04:41 AM

SPOILER

Question continued to flow through the white bird sitting with the black crow at the lone land. The Rally driver shows up in Hokkaido, finding a way to seek new depths in the understanding of what it means to be both a person and as a pro-driver. and finally... What will this lead to as the young children of this world continued to chase the truth and worth that they desire in their lives?

"I do not believe in your motivation, I only trust in your heart."

This post has been edited by Rin on Jun 28 2013, 04:41 AM

That picture is just.,.......Wow........ *____*

Just when I thought your drawings couldn't get any more beautiful...Aoi looks dreamy there.... *O*

Eitherway, I am sure the next chapter is gonna be LOOOOOONG...amazing preview, Rin! Can't wait for you to write the next chapter... :3

Sorry for the late feedback, Rin...been busy as always...

But....on this update.....

...wow.

The build up is just insane. I am left speechless as to how many beautiful drawings were dedicated to this project of yours, and seeing the signatures on the WME users, I can already tell that there are a handful of people helping you out to refine this story, which is a big plus.

I think most of the things that I wanna point out have been tree'd by Akiko and others here...so...yeah.

But seriously...Chapter 7 is going to be a hell of a semi-climax chapter, with so many build ups on every area.

And finally...Aoi is beautiful....I really love how you draw her in that preview picture....by far the most beautiful picture you've drawn yet. (Not that your other pictures are not outstanding, but you know what I mean...) She is such a pure kuudere...haha. xD

Anyway...I can't wait to see Chapter 7. The preview that is made special for it just sold it to me along with my favorite Supercell song. Keep it up, Rin.

You're really on a roll here....rock on.

Of course. A big Skyline(and GT-R) fan here
Been using that for GTA 4 XD

Updates please?

Pretty please with sugar on top?

It's time...let's go.

Code 7: White Bird Part I

Saburo is fuming with slight frustration. He squinted his eyes on the road as he continued his focus on the misty path on Tsukuba pass at outbound path. Decided that he would no longer look behind the rear mirror to check on the mysterious opponent that is hunting him, he opted to use what remained of his concentration and drive as fast as he can without gambling his car too much. 70 meters away from the black 180SX, the white HCR32 Skyline continued to blast forward and climb its way in tailing the black Nissan.

“...”

Saburo didn’t make any mistakes yet, but he still felt as if he’s being cornered slowly by the car behind. The engine noise that is not from his car becomes louder by every second and it is making him increasingly uneasy with the approach. Feathering the accelerator pedal, Saburo navigates through the twisty curves of the route on the second checkpoint as he is still trying to focus from being pressured by the HCR32 from behind that is literally tracing his driving line from behind.

“...such half-hearted offensive driving...” The driver thought inside the white Skyline. He continued the assault as soon as they reach the long straight that connects to the third checkpoint. Because the course itself isn’t too long, Saburo knew he had to think fast to escape the HCR32, or else he would be overtaken before he can even think of a way to defend his lead.

At this point it was clear that Saburo is losing...he can easily tell that the car chasing him from behind has more power than his 180SX and even if he floors it, the HCR32 will still climb forward due to the difference in that horsepower alone. Although there are other factors, Saburo can easily see the main issues here are his car and difference in driving skills. As they blasted through the misty path at the straight, the HCR32 is now 30 meters behind him, and even on the thick mist, Saburo can tell the car is white through the rearview mirror’s reflection.

“This is bad...I cannot shake him at all...!” Saburo thought, but he suppressed his anxiety, knowing that he would never be able to make things better by panicking. But while focusing on the front, he couldn’t realize that the HCR32 driver is already on his car’s rear, slipstreaming slowly and is now merely 10 meters behind him. Saburo can almost feel as if there is an invisible knife being placed on his throat. The white Skyline continued to pressure him on without letting him have any room to breathe.

Saburo knew that his opponent is more than ready to cut him off at anytime, unless he did something reckless enough to hold his opponent off, he will lose the battle for sure. Saburo reached to the curve at the end of the long straight as he feathers on the gas pedal and steer accordingly to keep his line centered so that the large HCR32 couldn’t poke its nose at the front for an overtake. But it isn’t helping much either, as the driver behind the white car can see clearly what Saburo is trying to do.

As they reach to the consecutive S turns on the third checkpoint’s second half part, Saburo tries to jump over the exposed gutters to use them as shortcuts to lower his cornering time and buy himself some momentum on the exit of the curves, hoping that he can increase the gap as the heavier HCR32 may need more time to navigate through the twists. Contrary to his expectations, it did exactly what he did with the 180SX. The HCR32 also jumps through the gutters and stays glued to the 180’s rear.

“...This guy is good...” Saburo thought calmly, his forehead is sweating a bit as he continues to drift through the last hairpin that leads him to the final checkpoint not long after. The HCR32 followed closely while keeping the car itself from bumping the rear of the 180SX. The battle continued as they were about to hit the next hairpin. Saburo noticed that the HCR32 is already gone by the time he enters the hairpin from the slight outer lane!

“...?!” Saburo was shocked as the HCR32 was gone from his rear mirror. Then he realize that by the time he hears a loud engine noise that is not from his car on his left ear, the HCR32 was already neck to neck on his 180SX from the left side. The white Skyline is attempting an overtake on the outer lane. Saburo tried to defend his position while they tackled the hairpin together at a twin-drift motion, but to no avail as the HCR32 had already poked its front bumper ahead of the 180SX. Saburo examined the driver inside the car as it slowly passes him, but the windows were tinted dark on the sides and the thick mists weren’t helping. Saburo watches as he lost his lead to the white Skyline...

“...I lost it...” Saburo thought honestly as the HCR32 finally overtook him at the exit lane of that hairpin. He hasn’t given up though, as he continued to pressure back on the HCR32 with what remained of his concentration. The 180SX tries to tackle on the white Skyline at the next hairpin after the short straight, but before he can do that, the HCR32 started to drift at a very wide angle at the entry of the wide hairpin curve, instantly blocking on the inside lane and obstructing the centerline, preventing any overtaking chances for Saburo’s 180SX. Even if he can attack the curve with the same speed, the opponent has the edge of horsepower and traction, putting Saburo on a losing bet.

As Saburo hopelessly attacks the hairpin on an outer lane and putting himself at an inevitable position of disadvantage, Saburo watches as the HCR32 slowly disappears from his front view mirror and it eventually fades into the mists after a few more curves where he failed to copy the speed and rhythm of the white Skyline that is still going fast and strong. Saburo; realizing that there is no point in continuing the pursuit, finally gave in and lets go of the gas pedal.

“Well that’s something else...guess I am not good enough yet...” Saburo thought as he switches back to his regular driving mood before the car gives into the heat. Besides, Saburo knew that if he goes any faster in such a bad weather condition, he will only risk his life and car needlessly. Saburo accepts this defeat as he continued to travel across the path of Tsukuba touge, looking for a certain destination that only he knows. A place where as his 180SX fades into the mists along, and the road became silent again as the echoes of the black Nissan’s engine disappears.

Saburo suffers his first defeat and he accepted it without much regret...

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

The atmosphere was tense at the Akagi mountain’s peak. Many members of the Muscle Brotherhood community are gathered, eagerly awaiting the battle between the JZA80 and SW20. Both were already lined neck to neck as the crowd watched on how the battle unfold while the cars were still idling with their engines shut off. The drivers squared off, visualizing the race and tactics in their heads.

Matsu was standing there with his arms crossed, as usual. His face shows an unshaken confidence and apparently, it seems that only he is the one smiling so freely while many of the people were having mixed thoughts about him, with Sakuya herself showing an almost completely opposite expression. Hatori was watching her from behind, leaning on her purple JZA70 as usual.

“So we’re doing this retro then?” Matsu began.

“Whatever you want, blonde-face.” Sakuya shot back, clearly not in the mood to state the obvious. Her mind was too preoccupied feeling frustrated with Saburo not letting her follow him on his journey to Tsukuba. She wanted to be part of his life, and always wanted to be there for him as a trusting partner. For he was the first person to acknowledge her efforts wholeheartedly long ago. Yet, while he was away, she was stuck here at Akagi because of her community’s tiresome activities. Just the thought alone made her all the more sour on the inside. Since she was above everything; ordered by her uncle to take over the activity entirely as the leading female. “I just want to finish this race ASAP. I don’t have all day like you do.”

“Now now, don’t need to rush, lady...” Matsu chuckled. “You see, I am not really all that patient either. Just hearing how you speak immediately made me recognize you as a woman of strong fighting spirit. And I like fiesty women, you see...so...it’s retro start then. All out race in one downhill battle.”

“Whatever...”

Sakuya walks slowly back to her red Supra while Matsu did the same. As they started their engines, the crowd then cheered on Sakuya, while some other local drivers that came and watch along cheered for Matsu. Hatori then walked towards the Supra and knocked on the windows, telling Sakuya to open it for a short conversation. Sakuya lowered the windows with a bitter expression. “What is it, four-eyes?”

“So how do you plan to tackle this today? You don’t plan to...do the you-know-what, right?” Hatori asked, her eyebrows raised. “If you go ahead and just do what you like, the car may not stay long enough to make it to Ibaraki once you’re done with the races here.”

“I am not going there, you idiot.”

“Hey, I am just saying. You know how carried away you are when you let your temper get the better of you, princess. You wouldn’t want to see him with that thing banged up just from throwing a tantrum, yes?”

“Fine. I am pissed as hell now because of this crap...but for that guy I will hold it down for now. I can still meet him after this is over, assuming he won’t be staying there on Ibaraki.” Sakuya revved the car, the 3S-GTE engine responded with a ferocious howl. Matsu continued to do the same, warming up the SW20.

“Alright, alright...just don’t mess up your car before the tryout is over, so you can go and see him later, kay?” Hatori gave a thumbs up to Sakuya with a wink as she walks towards the center of the road, the starting line, preparing for the countdown as the crowd continued to cheered louder; knowing that the race between Sakuya and Matsu is about to erupt. Matsu’s eyes were locking on Sakuya, even though the latter kept her eyes fixed on the front; as if she is still upset about something obviously.

“Countdown in 10 seconds!!!”

“10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...”

Sakuya and Matsu pulled their handbrakes and wait for the signal.

“GO!!”

As they both released the e-brakes, the cars blasted off at full force with the Supra leading ahead a few meters while the MR-2 followed closely from behind on the first long downhill straight. The crowd cheered loudly for the both of them as they dashed towards the entry of the first hairpin... Both of them were literally entering a suicide curve beyond 140 km/h. The acceleration was so intense that even the crowd was having trouble seeing both cars properly.

Sakuya slammed on the brakes as soon as she sees the proper point to decelerate while Matsu in tow. Their cars’ brake lights lit up and the two machines tackled the entry at a very high speed, slowly decelerating as the drivers fought for grip, minutely adjusting the steering angle and feathering on the gas pedal. The Supra managed to hug the inside while the SW20 is slowly oversteering. But as soon as Sakuya noticed that the car’s body is slowly coming to her left mirror, she hears a loud thud. The MR-2 had nudged the left side mirror of the Supra with its own body. The impact breaks Sakuya’s focus, adding fuel to the smoldering fire in her heart.

“...! Why you...!!”

Sakuya was furious at this point. Attacking already at the beginning of the race before they even cleared the first hairpin is like a slap to her face, as if Matsu is telling her directly to just start the fight here and now without holding back.

“So this is how you want to freakin’ play this...fine then!”

As they exited out of the hairpin, Sakuya stomped on the accelerator and the Supra responded with a powerful blast of acceleration, followed by the SW20 stabilizing itself and continued to chase after the red machine with similar adrenaline. Both drivers were giving it their all, not leaving room for error. The audiences watching were shocked that the two cars traded paint right at the start, obviously afraid of the accidents that will happen with tempers visibly flared.

“Haha, now that’s more like it! Let’s see how much more spice you can cough up!” Matsu didn’t feel any remorse in his actions at all as he clearly wants to drive aggressively to instigate the fire within Sakuya. Adding the fact that the latter was frustrated for not being able to see the man she deeply cares for, this clearly has angered her enough to comply.

As they continued to chase each other on the downhill battle, both cars hugged the wide corner on the outer lane on the right side as they continued to head towards the next wide hairpin that is half less narrow compared to the former one.

Sakuya brakes hard and focuses her concentration towards her steering angle , carefully shifting the load on the front to the rear tire slowly by doing a medium angled powerslide. After this point there was a series of S turns before another hairpin. Sakuya can only remain patient and try not to push it too hard while risking the chances of Matsu attacking from behind at anytime, assuming his MR-2 may be powerful enough to catch up on the turns.

Judging from her first impression on how Matsu tackled through the fist hairpin and how he simply attacked her without hesitating, she can see that he is no pushover after all. The MR-2 continued its pursuit, closing the gap easily on the S turns and is now right behind the rear bumper of the red Supra. Matsu however; restrained his acceleration pedal and didn’t attack as he knows, the next checkpoint is arriving soon and he could always attack later.

Sakuya can only focus on the front as she continued to navigate through the twisty S curve in front before a tight hairpin appears in front of her eyes. She brakes hard and just grips through the curve from the centerline, not wanting to try any risky moves as she knows the rival behind her will most likely take any chances in tackling her machine again. And right when she was about to leave the exit of the hairpin...

“Gotcha!!”

Matsu accelerated all of a sudden, the MR-2 dashed towards while the Supra RZ is still stabilizing itself. The midship Toyota was originally on the inner lane, and since the sudden acceleration pushed the car to slide outside, it reached close enough towards the red Supra’s right rear bumper and nudged the brake-lights. A loud thud can be heard and the the Supra RZ’s balance was offset from that one strike. Sakuya felt the impact, which was so strong the Supra’s brake light shattered.

“...Dammit! At this rate I am turning into this blonde-face’s punching bag...” Sakuya cursed. And as she expected, the nudge opened a bit of space for the MR-2 to make its overtaking move as the blonde haired driver forced his way to an inner-lane overtake. The momentum Matsu gained on that corner gave him the edge on the exit and both cars are now neck-to-neck.

Sakuya wasn’t about to give up the lead, but she had no choice as the next hairpin is already in front of her. If she didn’t slam the brakes soon, her Supra will fly down to the ravine of mountain Akagi. Since coincidentally the next hairpin is on the left side, the MR-2’s position is right on the outer lane, giving it the out-in-out advantage naturally and Sakuya is forced on the inner lane.

Not wanting to take any more risks at this point, Sakuya gave the position to Matsu, letting him slip in front of the Supra. Sakuya cannot tell whether Matsu braked early or late at this point, but clearly he has the advantage due to his positioning on the previous lane. Once they’re out of the hairpin’s exit, the MR-2 took the lead while the Supra RZ follows closely from behind.

“Heh...at least you’re not stupid, lady.” Matsu thought with an arrogant smirk.

“...”

With Sakuya chasing now, her mood is slowly changing. She tightened the grip on her steering wheel and her teeth are clenched. Her expression has grown fierce. Slowly, she pressed hard on the accelerator pedal while the Supra is gaining a lot of speed, steadily closing the gap between the MR-2. Seeing the MR-2 move across to block her, her frustrations finally reached its peak, and her anger ignited.

SPOILER

“Enough is enough!!! First I got called out to lead some tedious charade and now this...?! I am going to give that old man a piece of my mind later!!”

Sakuya continued flooring on the throttle while the MR-2 is desperately running away. Matsu can feel that the red machine behind him is no longer going easy and the pressure is building steadily. It was a huge straight from this section on, so both cars can accelerate longer. Sakuya has the advantage here as her car has a better engine and more horsepower.

Sakuya dashed towards the MR-2’s rear and violently rammed it, returning the favor from the beginning of the race, as they crossed the curve on the left side before another hairpin arrives. The midship car is forced onto the outside lane, putting it in a very dangerous position. To Matsu, the shock was similar to being kicked hard in the back by something huge. The car’s sudden jerking made him feel like his neck was getting yanked off. Thankfully the roll-cage inside the machine minimized the impact, but he can still feel the pain.

As the MR-2 continued to slide towards the outside lane, Sakuya immediately took the chance to slip through and overtake. The Supra is now instantly 50 meters ahead as it tackles the next hairpin.

Matsu, now perilously close to the rails, braked as hard as he can but to no avail. The MR-2 managed to recover from the spin by slamming into the guardrail, immobilizing the car. But Matsu hasn’t gave up just yet.

“Haha...this is perfect...!!” He thought, his entire body was shaking with excitement. “I never had this much fun in ages!! It’s about damn time I met someone that can give me a good thrashing! But from here on...”

As the MR-2 did a short burnout, the car starts moving again at full force, completely unaffected by the crash. The car was damaged badly on the rear from that powerful shove, but it is still moving,a sight which shocks the crowd, from both Matsu’s resolve and the MR-2’s durability.

“...it’s for REAL!”

Matsu tackled the hairpin from that point as fast as he could, and once the exit is cleared, he couldn’t see the Supra, but this doesn’t stop him from flooring it as he knew she couldn’t be too far away, even though she managed to immobilize him for a short moment. Sakuya on the other hand is relentlessly charging towards the front. After she cleared the second curve that leads to a series of gentle S turns before another tight hairpin that connects to the third checkpoint. Clearly she had no time to think anymore. She already managed to shake off Matsu from that huge ram she gave to the MR-2. All she needs to do now is to drive as quick as possible to finish the race and be done with it.

“...I really want to leave Akagi straight after I arrive to the bottom but...” Sakuya thought anxiously, still obviously upset about what happened that time, but she knows she has to see things through the end before anything else, at least for his sake...

“...Sorry, Saburo!! Just give me a bit more time before I come to you...!”

Sakuya braked hard, trying to stop thinking about Saburo as swiftly as she can to focus back on the race. The hairpin was right in front of her as she carefully steers her heavy Supra through that sharp curve. Feathering her gas pedal accordingly, the Supra slides out gently without too much unnecessary wheelspin and oversteer. She is now 120 meters ahead from this point. But the MR-2 is again; closing slowly from behind as the damaged car continued to slip through the consecutive S curves before braking hard on tackling the sharp hairpin.

The gap between them is now 80 to 70 meters. As Sakuya exited another hairpin on her side, Matsu is already navigating through the curve at the third checkpoint before entering the hairpin that the redhead mechanic just cleared. As teh audiences report what happened during their battle, the peak was shocked at the progress, exactly as Hatori had expected.

“So you really went all out after all...well, at least think about his feelings, princess. Don’t get too hot out there...” Hatori thought with an optimistic smile as she looked up on the clear skies...

Back to the race, Sakuya is now on her way to clear the final two hairpins before entering the last checkpoint. As she continued to focus on her footwork and steering, she knows there’s not much left to go at this point and there is no longer any need to save her tires. Knowing well that her car’s damaged,with her brakes slowly giving in, it’s only a matter of time before Matsu recovers all the gap from behind. She can clearly feel the front tires on her car losing its grip already at this point, while Matsu’s lighter machine may not have the overheating problem yet on its front wheels.

“I told you I am not gonna let you go so easily, lady...!” Matsu thought. He was even more fired up than before as he can tell the Supra RZ will appear soon enough. Matsu navigate through the same terrain as Sakuya did while disregarding the damage on his car; as if it was never an issue to him. He only have one thing in mind now; to catch and overtake the red Supra RZ that just smeared his machine on a guardrail. And the gap between them was evidently smaller, only 50 meters apart from each other again.

And once Sakuya crossed the final checkpoint, She glanced into the rear mirror again and noticed that the MR-2 is back...! Sakuya had been expecting this, but she didn’t expect Matsu to be this resilient. She had overestimated his stubbornness, and Matsu had also took her too lightly at first place. Neither one of them would expect each other to be this aggressive...

“Tch...stubborn little punk...!”

Sakuya pressed on the gas pedal as hard as she can, and she knows that if she goes easy on the car now, it will only slow her down due to the grip on the tires disappearing rapidly. As both cars continued to navigate through the gentle S curves again, Matsu’s MR-2 is now 20 meters behind the Supra RZ as they entered the first of the five wide hairpins there before the goal line. The tension in the gallery was high, everyone desperate to see how this intense battle will end as both machines dashed towards the first hairpin.

Sakuya braked hard on her end, the Supra already on the outside preparing for an out-in-out move on the first hairpin, followed by Matsu on his end. The MR-2 entered the same line as the leading RZ. Sakuya knew Matsu is going to go for another nudge at this point, so she quickly swerve and hugged the inner line as soon as he is done prepping the position on the hairpin.

Matsu tried to tackle the RZ’s rear bumper again, but this time he failed as the red Toyota is already on the inside lane at this point, forcing Matsu to brake harder to prevent going off road and risk hitting on the audiences there. As the attempt failed, Sakuya regained some distance between her and Matsu, but the battle is not over yet, as Sakuya herself is starting to feel the control of grip on her machine slipping away slowly. She is now experiencing understeer on her machine due to the tires overheating on the front.

Matsu’s machine is losing its grip too, he has to act fast or else the race is over. As the two hot-headed drivers continued to clash on the second hairpin, Matsu goes for another attempt to nudge Sakuya off the road, again it failed as Sakuya steer as hard as she can while keeping half of her gas pedal’s lifted to cope with the understeer. The MR-2 veered outside the lane while the Supra RZ managed to keep its line centered at least. Matsu continued on with his attempt as Sakuya continued to maintain her pace and no longer cared about what is behind her. The goal is just ahead.

Sakuya continued on to her final three hairpins as she repeated the same driving pattern along while keeping the understeer to a minimum. Even though it’s a risky gamble, she had to do it or else her lead could be lost at anytime. Matsu tried his best to catch up to the Supra RZ that is already gushing smokes on its front tires while he can sense that his MR-2 is slowly melting down on the rubber. On the last wide hairpin, Sakuya decided not to brake and just gave a full wheel lock on the right side to slide all the way from the inner lane while it slowly understeers on the outside, hoping that her speed range would at least keep her from grazing the guardrail.

Matsu realized what Sakuya had done and he copy the motion. But the MR-2’s more severe understeer sent it veering all the way to the guardrail, rubbing it and leaving a huge trail of scratches on it until the car eventually ground to a halt, having exhausted its momentum on the rails.

Sakuya crossed the finish line and drove her way to the nearest parking spot to find a space where she can catch her breath, somewhere far away at least so no one can bother her. As the red Supra came to a full stop, Sakuya took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before she pants heavily, with her body now exhausted.

“It’s over...at least for now...” She thought, her head moved slowly to the part where she can see the totaled MR-2 is still on the stop at the guardrail before it crosses the finish line. Matsu came out from the car already, but it seems that other than a bruised forehead and slightly injured left arm, he is still fine. Matsu can still see the red Supra from afar as he slowly gave a satisfied smile with a thumbs up with his right hand, as if he’s telling her that he had a good time. Sakuya can only muster up the energy to think, “...stubborn bastard...”

As she grabbed the cellphone inside her jacket that she just took off on the passenger seat, she turned it on and contacted a person.

“Hey...Four-eyes...”
“Yeah?”
“Tell the guys that I won...you take over the tryouts on the Brotherhood guys for a while...it’s just managing routines on practice runs for now, so it should be easy enough for you...”
“Well that’s good and all and I’ve no problems, what about you?”
“I am gonna take a nap...don’t bother coming down here to find me...I am not going anywhere...just do as I say, alright?”

On top of the mountain, as the people chatter about how the battle goes, Hatori is smiling on her end, sitting on a small boulder right beside her parked JZA70.

“As you wish, princess. Oh, and why not give him a call now? You’re free now.”

“...That’s none of your business.”

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

Mayumi and Vanessa were taking a bit of a survey on the Driver’s Utopia area around Sadamine as they continued to walk slowly, examining on the cars where the photographers and journalists were taking pictures on. Many of them were either decent tuned machines, or just plain artistic in their own senses. The individuals were all somewhat eccentric figures that seem to have a bit of character that is unique to them, and some even brought along their medals and trophies that are related to automotive to show off their car’s honors. Little did it mattered for Mayumi as she has gotten used in seeing those people, while Vanessa is curious as to how they get so much honors. Following them behind was Aoi Kamiyama herself, as she slowly checks on the camera she is holding while looking around for any fresh cars that she hasn’t take pictures of.

“Say, Mayumi!” Vanessa began.

“What?

“How did those guys that trick their cars out in such a flamboyant way still get so many trophies?” Vanessa asked, her eyes sparkling with interest.

“Eh....those are just for artistic competitions anyway...” Mayumi sighed. “Their rides don’t have the bite though, so don’t get tricked. Those plebs can gloat all they want for all I care. Don’t pay em’ any mind, those guys aren’t worth it.”

“Ooooh...maybe if you mix bite and looks together and you’ll get a special medal of honor? Hahaha!!” Vanessa giggled.

“...that’s just disgusting...eugh. I’d rather not see that.”

Aoi smiled quietly as she watched Mayumi and Vanessa chat away, while she recalled what the two of them said about the driver she is curious about not too long ago.

“Saburo Misaka?! Haha! So the news about that guy got blown to your place as well huh...! Ah well, he’s what I’d call a man speaks through action, but only if you can convince him. He’s too much of a guy that can’t be damned to do anything from what I know. He’s a stubborn but reasonable man. He may look like any typical guys out there with a cold and level-headed personality, but once you get to know him, you’ll find him EXTREMELY easy to talk to. He’s a lot more capable than he looks, that much I can tell you!”

Those were Mayumi’s words...and apparently she seemed awfully excited about it when she talks about him, at least to Aoi’s serene eyes it seemed that way. And then she recalled Vanessa’s words on the same man...

“You mean Sabby? Well, I have my doubts on the guy at first since he’s such a silent dude. But all my doubts about him being a great driver and a decent guy got blown pretty much to tiny bits when he debuted that time against that Souichiro guy in the MX-5. Haha! I mean, you don’t get to see many drivers like him with great skills yet he doesn’t seem to care about it. I still hope he would though in future...since it’s such a big waste for his natural senses, know what I am sayin’?”

As she returned back to reality, she followed the two of them as they chattered about continuously, wondering what she should take pictures about next. She had already captured numerous pictures for the course layout, the beautiful sceneries of the mountain pass as well as cars and drivers that interest her. It should’ve been enough for her, yet she can’t help but feel something is amiss.

Meanwhile, not so far away from where they’re walking, in front of them parked a passionate pink Toyota Chaser Mark V. And on top of the front hood was a young female. Her face seemed to be lamenting about something while staring at her own cellphone. The soft wind blew her navy hair as she glanced at the pictures of the legendary driver - Allan Simonsen.

“...”

There were no tears in her eyes, but the ache in her heart can still be felt as if it happened minutes ago. She had always idolized the Le Mans driver for every amazing feats he has accomplished before. And the tragedy that happened recently this year just shattered her heart deep down because of that one mistake. It truly shows to her that there can be no room of errors for the professional world in speed competition, even if the battle was stretched as far as 24 hours.

As she continued her quiet mourning, Vanessa and the other two girls were slowly approaching, and Mayumi immediately recognized the blue-haired female’s face. She called out her name out loud, overjoyed from seeing her...

“AYASE!!!”

It immediately startles the girl and the delicate mood was shattered as she turned and saw the buxom young model running towards her in joy. And before she can react fast enough, Ayase’s face was already muffled by Mayumi’s chest, almost suffocating her.

“It’s been a while, you dumbass! Where have you been all these times?”

Unfortunately for Mayumi, she didn’t get the proper response. Instead, she just got her arms pushed aside by Ayase and immediately a powerful left hook connects to Mayumi’s stomach before she can even realize what had hit her. Mayumi then fell weak on her knees while writhing in pain.

“...oww, what’s that for...?”

“That’s what you get for trying to suffocate me with those meat of yours, you loud-mouthed fox!” Ayase panted in panic, trying to catch her breath from nearly losing too much air. Vanessa giggled from behind at the sight of those two as they continued their little slapstick moment. That’s also when Ayase stopped paying attention to Mayumi and turned her eyes on Vanessa and Aoi.

“Well that’s an unfamiliar face...who’s this petite brunette?” Ayase faced Vanessa, needless to say; she’s asking Mayumi.

“Ah, that’s my newfound friend, Ayase.” Mayumi slowly got up, after she is done recovering from her friend’s rather powerful hook. “That’s --”

“Vanessa Anderson, ma’am.” Vanessa offered her hand to the blue-haired girl openly with a big smile.

“Oh...pleased to meet you then...you’re a foreigner I see...” Ayase shook the hand and blushed slightly for being placed at a rather embarrassing position between her and Mayumi. “Name’s Ayase Tsurugi. And I hope my old friend here didn’t give you too much trouble, did she?”

“...Hey. That’s a bad way of putting it, you know.” Mayumi interrupted, her face turned slightly grumpy at Ayase’s remark. Aoi giggled quietly behind them as she can remember how both of them used to love arguing with each other, even though Aoi is not too familiar with Ayase.

“Oh no, not at all!” Vanessa smiled. “So, you’re a local racer here I presume?”

“Nah...not really. I am from Kanagawa, there’s even a city that has my name on it.”

“Ayase, Kanagawa? Never got a chance to go that far yet...” Vanessa rubbed her chins in a curious manner.

“Well, I am sure you will love it there...oh...!” That is when Ayase noticed Aoi’s face. “Sorry, Aoi...I didn’t notice you earlier.”

“It’s alright...” Aoi smiled calmly. “So how have you been lately...? I hope you’re not too sad about what happened on the Le Mans...”

“Well...it’s a wound alright...but they will heal eventually...Hehe..thanks for the concern. I take it that you will take part on your community’s time attack event too?”

“I am not sure...what about you?”

“Me? Well...if you insist, I can join. After all, there’s nothing much to do here at Saitama other than watching cars and drivers doing their typical routines.”

“Well in any case, we’re both registered already. You should join, Ayase.” Mayumi encouraged.

“I guess the more the merrier.” Ayase shrugged. Aoi then grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from her messenger bag. She hands it over to Ayase and it shows that it was the registration form for the D.U. Time attack event.

“Just fill the form here and I’ll hand it to the officials there. It’s a lot more convenient this way.”

“Well if you say so...” Ayase grabbed the pen and fills up the form with in no delay. As they continued the chatter, Aoi turned her attention back to the clear skies, wondering if there is something else that she hasn’t seen yet on this mountain that has so much going on at the moment...

While the rest of them were on their own little world at that spot, from far away there seem to be a group of people watching them, and one of them apparently, isn’t too happy to see Vanessa...

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

Back at Ibaraki, the parking area of the Tsukuba pass was quiet as a grave, but truth is that it is simply because there were no people willing to travel and visit the mountain pass at such times due to the misty weather. However, the parking slots weren’t completely vacant, as there were but two cars there that were parked side by side.

One of them is a familiar HCR32 Skyline, while the other car is not local...in fact, it wasn’t even made in Japan. The car is a dark-green Lotus Elise with a small sticker of a gear on its left signal light. And not too far away, there were two figures standing side by side, as if they were discussing something. One of them is a grey-haired man that wears a long white coat, while another wears a simple black suit and is light brown haired.

“...You already know this will happen, don’t you?” The man in white said in a very low and calm voice, though his expression wasn’t shown clear enough due to the mist, he doesn’t sound pleased. “What exactly are you planning here...”

“Ah come on, amigo...you don’t really THINK I’d put you in a sticky situation with a bunch of kids, do ya?” The other person replied in a rather good-natured tone. He sounded like a young gentleman with a really upbeat persona.

“...Then why did you make me come here on purpose? Is it because you want me to test that little kid for your gain? That black 180 is who you are aiming for, right?”

“Nope. Not me, but you, my dear little Setsura...”

“...What?”

“You always wanted to school a good student with your experience; and I am doin’ you a favour by saving you time finding one. You should thank me, if anything else.”

“...”

“Aw, don’t leave a brother hanging here with that silent act, seriously. Lighten up, dude.” The black-suit gentleman threw his arm casually around the taller grey-haired man’s shoulders.

“...What else are you planning here?”

“Hmm? I wonder.......” After a long pause, the brown-haired man shrugged and simply replied --

“Nope. Nothing at all. Even if I was, it won’t do you any harm. So just kick back and relax...”

“What did you see in that kid anyway...why do I have to be the one to guide him?”

“Because you are who you are, silly. Now just do an old friend a favor and nurture that kid, eh? While I am gone running some errands back on Saitama, drinks are on me!” The brown-haired man said with a wide, feline smile and his expression finally shows that he seems to have his eyes closed tightly all the time.

- つづく -

This post has been edited by Rin on Jul 20 2013, 08:00 AM

@Rin
I'm really starting to like how you're portraying Saburo. He took a loss in stride. Not many protagonists (and racers - virtual and RL) can take a loss in such a cool and collected manner.

Well...that's just how he is. ^^

Do tell how you like the other casts in this chapter. :3

Let's just say that I'm happy with how the entire protagonist cast is turning out; that at this early in the series, we already see that they're still human and that they still have a lot of things to improve on.

And the fun fact there is that they also have varied reactions to their own respective dilemmas and defeats.

Oh, the old man at the end of the chapter (Matsu, if memory serves me right) looks like a potentially fun character and also gives out the notion that he's an older version of Saburo i.e. cbf'd personality haha

The old man is Setsura.

Matsu is the young blonde-haired punk that Sakuya faces on Akagi.

Finally...a new chapter again huh...

But wow...even for a shorter chapter, you still managed to create such exciting development. And the eruption on the battle of Sakuya and Matsu is by far the most impressive one yet. Some may think driving rough during a battle is just being immoral, but I think on realism, things like these bound to happen and the way you portray this kind of battle is certainly something.

Also, Sakuya is one hell of a redhead with explosive temper. Reminds me of how lucky it is that Saburo managed to know someone like her who is so worried about Saburo even from afar, so much to the point that she can be rebellious to her own community.

And Matsu is really, REALLY quite a dangerous opponent for his fearless tactics of ramming people off the road, regardless of who his opponents are. (At least his first opponent is a well-known aggressive driver), and for some reason I feel like I want him to come back for more races...the guy seemed decent enough for being such a punk.

Now back on Saitama...that's quite a nice little Simonsen tribute you give for the guy (R.I.P), and I wonder how Ayase will look like. Speaking o which I really wanna see Mayumi drawn. (You did make a bio of her yes?) And Aoi is still pure in her own sense. And I wonder who's that in the end that gave the eye on Vanessa....?

Finally, back to Ibaraki where Saburo lost to the HCR32 guy...Setsura right? Well...I gotta say, for whatever reason I kept thinking of Setsura as Miyamoto Musashi...lol. And that Lotus guy with a cat smile? Mmm.....I wonder who that is...seriously, if there's one thing I like about AC, it's that it's always so full of mysterious or shady casts that have more than what it seems.

All in all, I look forward to CH8, which is part II of this, right? I am gonna go ahead and assume there's gonna be even more new characters in future...

But I like that. Keep them coming, pal. I really am loving this read now.

Before anything else I wanna feedback about, I just wanna say first....

Sakuya's pic is freaking. Bad. Ass.

Okay, feedback!

Saburo lost huh,... oh well, I am sure that's because the HCR32 is significantly more powerful than the 180SX and the driver is too experienced at that point. Saburo on the other hand can't care too much either about the race and so he didn't give his all exactly. Still...the fact he accepts the loss so easily and lightly is a good sign that he's not burdened by pride at all (which is a big contrast to many racers in RL or in stories...).

Shows that Saburo really is a rare protagonist with this type of behaviour.

Meanwhile, Sakuya's first battle and already she's facing such a tough driver like Matsu...man, she's one tough cookie...Really gotta hand it to her to be brave enough and ram that Supra directly on the MR2 just like that for retaliation...and Matsu seemed like a decent enough guy despite his attitude. I like how he has that redeeming character despite that punk-like attitude of his. XD

And on Saitama, seems like another build up is rising around Vanessa and Aoi...can't wait to see what happens and who will it be that gave the eye on Vanny.

And the guy in the end.....is that....Schrodinger?

All in all, another wonderful chapter, Rin! Can't wait to see how it will conclude at the 2nd part of White Bird! Keep at it!!!

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I'll be taking a short break from AC for now so...next update will be quite a bit longer than expected. :]

...It's time.

Code 8: White Bird Part II

Vanessa can sense a hostile air around her. Even though people who are friendly and sociable surrounded her, she still couldn’t shake off that unsettling air from the beyond them. It’s as if something or someone is staring at her intensely, and the feeling is growing gradually.

"Vanessa!” A familiar voice exclaimed the brunette's name, much to her surprise. It was a voice of a mildly irritated female. Vanessa turned around and saw a familiar face that she knows all too well, and at the same time, not someone she could call an acquaintance.

“Oh...I thought you were gone since the last time I beat your friend’s butt at Shoumaru Pass.” Vanessa responded with a slight smirk, confronting her by stepping forward. Aoi and the rest followed from behind, keeping their distance as none of them feel like interrupting those two.

“So what’s the deal, you’re back for more?”

“I don’t know what you’re planning Vanessa, but you best stay out of my way in this time attack event. You will NOT mess this up for me. That last win didn’t prove anything, just so you know. We’re just careless.”

“Yeah, that’s what they all say every time they get beaten. And by the way; about that time attack event, could you mind being bit vaguer in your warning?” Clearly, Vanessa is being sarcastic at this point, since she knew eventually she will have to face Adachi and her team again at some time, fully aware that there is no way their encounter would end with just one victory.

“Make no mistake, our team losing is but a one-time occurrence.”

“Oh, spare me the cliché lines, Adachi.” Vanessa snickered. “Seriously, if this is your plan of stopping me, it’s anything but working. You need to get over the fact that you cocked up that time and stop being so butthurt about it. I mean...you’re serious that you think you can actually stop me by threatening me with such cheap taunts? I think YOU better think again.”

“Hold it, girls.” Ayase interrupted; tired of the attention their squabbling was gaining. “If you two really want to settle your score, why not do it on the Time Attack event instead of wasting everyone’s time here with all this trash-talking?”

“Good call, Ayase.” Vanessa agreed. “I’ll be more than glad to knock you posers out again, if you want it so badly.”

“Don’t push it, kiddo. You don’t know what you’re dealing with here. Time attack’s not a game and you better have what it takes to put up a decent challenge. This time we won’t hold anything back.”

“Keep telling yourself that, jag-off. Any other threats you wish to dish out before things get started?” Vanessa asked.

“...”

“Oh? What happened? You got nothing left? Not even another hollow threat that can’t be backed up?”

“Humph. Do whatever you want, Vanessa. But make no mistake, this time you will fail in this event. We won’t let you do as you please here in our turf. I will protect Saitama’s pride even if it kills me.” Adachi turns around and walk away after she is done talking, Vanessa just shook her head, unfazed by the threat.

“Jeez, what’s the deal with that chick?” Ayase asked, mildly curious.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just some mildly old grudge business I made since I debuted on Shoumaru Pass with my Renault.” Vanessa chuckled. “Still...this just gave me another reason why I should join the time attack event. Since there’ll be no better opportunity for me to settle things with Adachi and her kiss-up members so they’ll stop bothering me.”

“...”

Aoi remained silent until Mayumi noticed that she hasn’t spoke since the confrontation between Adachi and Vanessa took place.

“Mm? What’s the matter, Aoi? Cat got your tongue?”
“...Vanessa.” Aoi called.

“Oh, what is it? Aoi?” Vanessa walked towards the white-haired girl that seemed to have a rather serious look now.

“...would you mind having a friendly run with me across Sadamine pass? Right now.”

The girls were surprised at the sudden request, especially Vanessa, who was caught off guard by this.

“Huh...? Why so sudden, Aoi?” Vanessa asked.

“I just need to see something for myself. Please...if it’s not too much to ask...I’d like to see your strength as a driver with my own eyes.” Aoi requested, her face turning serious. The rest of the girls all watched in slight awe as her straight words contrasted her quiet nature.

“Well....if you insist. Sure, I guess.” Vanessa agreed with a shrug. Aoi let out slight smile on her face after hearing the petite girl’s words. “But eh...what exactly are you trying to find here? You’re not...doubting my skills or anything, are you?”

“No...it’s just that I am curious about something...it’s really nothing personal...don’t worry.” Aoi shook her head gently. “Anyway...since there’s not much people left here doing timed attack runs at the moment...let’s start before the pass gets crowded.”

“Well, I agree, kiddo.” Mayumi turned her eyes on the road leading to the Sadamine pass, as there were still one or two cars left driving about in that area. “The late arrivals are coming in fast. If you two were to do this for real, it better be now, otherwise I don’t think you’ll be able to race without risking a crash on a third party driver until around six or seven PM.”

“So, it’s settled then. We’ll just follow from behind as third parties. I’m interested in your driving too.” Mayumi faced Aoi, much to the girl’s surprise.

“Eh...?”

“Well...I’ve never seen you drive for real before...might be a good time to know you a bit more, Aoi.” Mayumi said. “To be honest, I only know you drive rather smoothly. It’ll be nice if you can actually battle since, well, I think a reserved girl like you also have a knack for driving hard, right?”

“...”

Aoi is unsure as to how to respond to that remark since no one had been really curious about her nature before. But considering the fact that she alone is also curious about something on the new friend that she just known not too long ago, there is no point for her to keep her skills sheltered forever either.

“I do practice sometimes when I am having a bit too much free time...but I guess you’ll have to see for yourself in how well I fare...I hope you’re ready, Vanessa...”

“Anytime you are, Aoi!”

It wasn’t too long after their conversation that both the blue S13 and green R26:R Megane lined up on the starting line of Sadamine pass. As they were preparing for the race, many of the people stopped doing whatever they were on to and went to check on what is going on at the starting point of the peak at the mountain. And the crowd eventually grew big enough to cover a small scale of the parking area entirely behind the two cars that is about to battle against one another.

Meanwhile, the other two cars that were parked on the other side of the road were preparing to wait for the signal too as Mayumi and Ayase were waiting for Aoi and Vanessa to take off first before they joined along as third parties.

“Whoa..what’s going on there...?” A man uttered.

“Looks like a battle is about to start.”

“Wait...isn’t that green hatchback…?”

“...it’s her! The one from Shoumaru! What’s she doing here? Trying to step on more people’s pride?”

“Well, whatever it is, we’re going to see something good today, huh? But the S13 she’s against seems pretty much stock. Pretty unusual to see one at these scenes that’s still untouched.”

“I wonder how this battle’s going to go...?”

As the gallery pondered on what will happen, it seems like no one would be doing any countdowns either as this was never made an official race by anyone. It was entirely personal for the two of those female drivers that are preparing for a friendly face-off.

Aoi is sitting inside her car, idling with her eyes shut, as if she is relaxing spiritually before she gets her head together in the battle that may begin at any moment due to the absence of countdown. Vanessa on the other hand just checked her gauges and made sure everything is A-OK before she takes off.

Vanessa then took a quick glimpse on her new friend inside the blue S13, and apparently she is rather unsettled at how calm and serene Aoi is inside her Nissan, compared to her who is preparing for everything with pre-cautions as usual before she starts. She can even feel an invisible pressure slowly building up around her...

“How will we begin this race...? No one’s bothered to countdown and...I am kinda getting nervous for no reasons whatsoever....sigh.” Vanessa breathed in slowly before she exhales and started her engine.

“...”

Aoi can hear the sound of the Renault’s engine ignition, she complied by starting the engine of her S13 too and revved the car twice by gently tapping on the accelerator pedal.

“I can hear the roar of their engines...guess that’s our cue to follow them soon.” Mayumi thought as she started her Evo VI TME’s car engine. Ayase noticed it to and she did the same thing as they all did.

“All right, everything’s ready and good to go...now then...ready or not, Aoi...here I go!”

As the crowd closes in and see how the race will begin, then all of a sudden, the green Renault Megane blasted off with a full throttle, leaving a trail of tires mark behind on the tarmac as smokes begin gushing out from the burnt rubber, shocking literally everyone that tries to watch the race begin closer.

Aoi started cool as she stated to step on the gas slowly before going full throttle along after a few seconds of steady acceleration from her S13. Once the two cars zoomed past Ayase and Mayumi, they immediately start flooring their accel pads too, hoping they won’t fall too far behind from watching the race close-by.

“Vanessa’s leading huh...” Mayumi thought, focusing her sight on the front where she can see the Silvia increasing its speed steadily still while the Renault isn’t too far away from her eyes either.

As the race began, Vanessa is seen holding her steering wheel tightly while focusing all her concentration on her feet along with her eyes at front of the road. Even though she has practiced constantly at Sadamine, her rhythm has yet been found due to her lack of experience on this course as well as some uneven tarmac that made it unpredictable for things to go wrong.

Even though Vanessa was unsure as to how much experience gap she has with Aoi whom she believes to be as good as a local presumably, in terms of familiarity of the course, Aoi definitely has the advantage. Knowing this; she takes the chance to try and push the Megane as hard as she can to try and keep some distance so that even in later half of the race when she screws up, the gap won’t decrease that much to be overtaken by ease. It was a strategy of precaution that was doomed to backfire, but it’s not like she has much choice either since she cannot comprehend the exact motive of her friendly rival.

As all four cars continued to drive towards the few wide curves of the beginning of the checkpoint, Vanessa tried to minimize her steering range as to not overburden her tires while navigating through the few wide curves that doesn’t need too much unnecessary out-in-out maneuvers. Aoi followed from behind, now 2 seconds apart from her leading rival car as they were about to tackle the first wide hairpin.

“Here it comes...” Mayumi and Ayase thought from behind, their cars were only a few meters apart from each other as they witnessed on how the racers in front hit the first hairpin curve. Both the green Renault and blue Silvia lit up their braking lights and hugged the curve nicely as both of them decelerate accordingly with consistent steering range. To Aoi, it seems that she is having little to no problem at all in stabilizing the S13 while the Renault Megane still has a little bit of rear-tire slide due to her acceleration pedal control slipped by a minor margin. She accelerated a bit more than needed and she realized it was a minor mistake.

And soon, once they both made it out of the exit, Vanessa noticed that the Silvia behind her is slowly catching back up, even though they are both technically still 2 seconds away from each other. It’s a minor gap reduction, but it’s definitely there, she can feel it...

“Guess I went a bit too hard on that turn after all...in that case...!” Vanessa floored on her accel pedal again, trying to use the FWD’s advantage in acceleration on the straight to its fullest while Aoi’s S13 is recovering its momentum from that tight hairpin.

They continued to dash forward as the pink Chaser with the red Evo followed from behind. Aoi was still calm inside her car, while Vanessa is slowly growing tense with her concentration. Not long after, they reach to another few more curves that lead to another wide hairpin soon. The terrain of this mountain pass was so wide that there are literally countless lines for both Aoi and Vanessa to take in maximizing the car’s cornering force while manipulating their speed rhythm.

Vanessa remained in a good position with her Renault as she is leading ahead by 150 meters from the S13 behind. She tries to take a peek at the rear mirror to check on the rival behind and see how she is doing, and needless to say - Aoi remained glued to her tail even from afar.

“As expected...she’s definitely a local here...in that case...how about this?”

Vanessa stomped on the brakes and steered the wheel over the hairpin and hugged the inner line, followed shortly by the S13 from behind. The gap was instantly shortened to a 100 meter gap due to the speed-loss range of the curve itself. Ayase and Mayumi followed from behind as soon as those two cars came out of the exit and accelerated ahead, it didn’t take them too much effort to catch up, with the power of both cars far surpassing that of Aoi and Vanessa’s machines.

But after this, beyond the exit of that wide hairpin is nothing but straight and very gentle curves that allow the cars to accelerate at very high speed. Vanessa practiced the course enough to know hat her machine along with her senses can allow her to take advantage on this section to try and leave the Silvia behind. Without a second thought, Vanessa floored the gas pedal and navigated the smooth section accordingly while keeping her lining centered for easy switching in between attack or defense position.

Aoi on the other hand simply attacked the section while maintaining her S13’s rhythm on the middle of the road without any unnecessary twitching in the car’s motion. She was in top form in focusing her sights on both the road and the car in front that is slowly being pulled back nearer by a second. Vanessa may have the power advantage, but she has her rhythm down to her hands, allowing her to drive smoothly.

At this point, both cars already going beyond 170 km/h and some of the people watching on the off-road were literally shocked at how agile the 4 cars were in their downhill journey on the wide but steep mountain road. Both Mayumi and Ayase were

“Whoa...did you see those guys?” A spectator exclaimed in awe.

“Yeah...who are they?! I never seen anyone go that fast before in THIS section...talk about massive guts...”

“From this section onwards, there’ll be another set of two very long straights with a super-wide hairpin...I can only imagine how awe-inspiring it’ll be if all four of them drift together on that one curve...the road is literally wide enough for a truck to go through sideways, if that’s even possible that is...these guys must be the top drivers of this area, God knows whether they’re racing or practicing...”

“The competition here sure has gotten a hell lot tighter lately...ever since D.U’s time attack event is built here...it’s scary...”

As the small crowd of spectators pondered on how the battle will continue, both Vanessa and Aoi are now in their peak level of concentration. Both of them were completely silent at this point as their senses are so sharp they cannot even speak in their mind anymore.

Still leading, the green Renault continued accelerating away at the second checkpoint where there is a long and wide straight road waiting ahead. Without hesitation, Vanessa gripped her steering wheel as tight as she can and bury her right foot deep down with all her strength mustered. The Renault Megane’s speed climbed to a whooping 185 km/h, taking the gallery’s breath away as she shot past.

Aoi on the other hand kept her speed at 180 km/h as her car is slightly weaker compared to the Renault’s power. She is being pushed back slowly, but she is still keeping up a good pace with her friendly rival at the front. As they pulled a strong wheel lock to keep a quick rhythm recovery from that gentle curve of the long straight which will soon lead them to the widest hairpin of the course itself, as the spectators watched in awe as the leading duo battled it out, Ayase and Mayumi simply kept pace with the S13, leaving a slight gap between them.

“Geez, I didn’t realize that kiddo got this much bite in her...”. Clearly she has taken Vanessa’s driving a bit too lightly. “Now I gotta push this thing harder or even this Evo will get left behind by those two...”

“Those two are pulling out some insane speed there....I’ve been driving here long enough for a confident record run but I don’t think I’ll actually push so hard....” The locals, amateur and veterans alike, were left in awe at the pace of the four cars. Some of the crowd was there to catch a glimpse of the mysterious hatchback that has dominated discussions online. Others showed more interest in the S13 that was only a hair behind. It was putting up fight against the Renault on equal terms.
“...Very nice run...those two...”
Ayase, entertained by the display of skill shown by her two friends, increased her speed gently to watch the battle up close.

Feeling the attention of both the crowd and the two racers behind, they immediately step it up a notch to catch on to the escaping cars on the high speed section. They were now 40 meters behind Aoi, so technically they’re not that far apart, but neither of them are going to take the chance in going easy at this point since the race has taken to a new level of speed range here.

“Amazing...Vanessa is able to go that fast...I can hardly keep up at all...” Aoi thought quietly, barely able to speak in her mind with her senses at their peak while she is still driving at the speed of the staggering 180 km/h. Once they reached an extremely wide and long hairpin, Aoi immediately decelerate and braked hard while steering the wheel to initiate a mild angled long drift to tackle the curve.

“This is bad...I can’t really use the grip entirely here since this is still an early section...should I use the record line that I made for now to risk it all and leave her behind?” Vanessa is still having doubts in her current record line since it’s still far from perfect but it’s not like she has any other choice either. The Renault hugged the inner line as much as the four tires allow it to while Vanessa steered hard this time, not holding back anymore with her cornering range as she knew her friendly rival behind is already pulling something up her sleeve.

The crowd that watched the curve being occupied by these machines was thunderstruck at how intense the battle is between the hatch and the Silvia. With one gripping and one drifting beautifully along with some smokes trailing from the S13’s rear tires, the scene is like a racing war zone with fresh tire trails.

“Whoa...!! What’s with those cars man?!!”

“Goddammit! I’ve never seen someone that can hold a drift from the start all the way to the finish on this wide a hairpin!”

“You can’t do that kind of drift unless you’ve a certain speed hold on your end...what the--?!”

“Hey, two more cars are coming fast!! Whoa, Watch out!!”

On seeing the second duo rapidly approach, the surprised crowd instantly staggered back to the guard rails as they watched the Chaser and Evo blast into the hairpin. The chattering spectators on the hairpin were overwhelmed amidst the full body sensory assault of the two high powered machines racing through.

Mayumi was pulling her handbrake while at the same time gunning the gas pedal along with her other hand steering hard on the wheel to stabilize the powerslide angle. The scene was simply intense and the crowd was all in both awe and confusion as none of them seemed to comprehend what just happened.

The Chaser slides wide exiting the corner, barely grazing the Evo’s rear bumper as the pair continued to slide through, now only centimeters apart.

“Yikes...!”

“Shit, Ayase! You gotta go a bit easier on the brakes if you’re gonna drift that hard! Watch your angle!” Mayumi steered outside a bit to give some room for the Chaser, trusting Ayase to maintain in control of the Toyota. Mayumi knew the consequences of lifting off the accelerator, and so kept it firmly buried into the footwell.

Finally, after a few seconds of correction, Ayase managed to stabilize her drifting angle while blasting through that wide hairpin at the staggering speed of 140 km/h. As for Mayumi, she managed to come out of the exit unscathed as she finally let go off the e-brake and stabilize her red Mitsubishi along the way. Both of them managed to keep the momentum while at the front, Aoi and Vanessa were already very close to each other. The Renault Megane was still ahead, but only just.

“Did you see that...?! Holy shit!”

“Yeah...is there a four-way battle going on? Man, those guys are just insane...! It’s like the terrain doesn’t even matter to them anymore!”

“Whoever’s driving those cars, they’re more than enough to qualify for the D.U.’s time attack event. I am willing to put good money on that bet...” The crowd continued to compliment on the drivers at the stage while the battle continued on with the two spectators going hard from the rear to witness the battle at a close range.

“Man, these two are pushing hard…exactly what part of this is friendly racing?” Ayase thought as she closed the gap between them slightly. She can easily pass the two in front but, what bugged her is that both Vanessa and Aoi were easily going over 160 km/h without hesitation.

“Don’t overdo it, Vanessa...you still haven’t fully recognized the course to get your own rhythm.” Mayumi managed to keep up and went neck to neck with her friend inside the pink Chaser. On the other hand, Aoi and Vanessa are already passing the third checkpoint and they’re proceeding to tackle the long hammer-head-shaped curve of the section.

“Unbelievable...I can barely even keep up at all...so this is the power of import cars...” Aoi thought quietly while maintaining her high-level concentration. She knew the next curve is going t be a tough one, so she quickly adjust her position right behind the green Renault Megane.

“Dammit, I can’t even blink my eyes...this girl’s good!!” Vanessa exclaimed out loud in slight frustration as she almost felt like in a sauna and she is losing a good bit of sweat on her arms and eyebrows. “Next section coming up...if I don’t make it through this hammerhead, I am most likely gonna lose my lead here...here goes!!”

As the hairpin comes in, both cars immediately braked hard and the drivers steered accordingly on the entry speed while keeping it below 100km/h as it is a very sharp turn entry. The crowd that were spectating there on the road layout almost jumped from their seats on the grasses as the cars dive in at such speed.

“WHOA!!!”

As the Renault and S13 tackled the hairpin, all of a sudden, Vanessa felt as if the Renault is slowly losing grip on the front tires as she can feel the response are decreasing gradually when the car hugged the inner lane of the said hairpin, while Aoi on the other hand seemed to be feeling a slight loss of grip on her Silvia’s rear tires. They both then realized that the tires are already overheating, and in this case, Vanessa knew she’s in deep trouble now. Going downhill at such a staggering speed and adrenaline build with a front wheel drive will put an almost immeasurable stress on the front tires of her hot hatch.

As they navigate through the curve in a traditional out-in-out lining, both cars came out unscathed, but the Renault swerved slightly on the outside and nudged on the guardrail by a tiny thud.

“Crap...I messed up on the speed!” Vanessa realized that she dive in way too fast and some of the cornering force from that sharp turn forced the Megane R26:R to the outer guardrail, that little mistake has given Aoi a bit of a chance to catch up.

“Here we go...!” Ayase and Mayumi kept a distance gap from each other and tackled the hairpin along and they managed to blitz through the curve without much problems.

“Whew...can’t believe that those two are still holding up until now...is that...?” Mayumi noticed that the S13’s rear tires are starting to give way, losing traction with each corner. The same could be said for Vanessa’s Renault, the tires were giving in to the strain of the hard racing. “Oh dear, they better end this quick or there’s gonna be an accident soon.”

“Next hairpin’s comin’ up...” Vanessa thought as she continued to keep on her lead with her acceleration pedal buried deep until the entry of the next hairpin arrived. She immediately decelerated and braked hard on her end, then steered on the hairpin’s outer lane at the entry.

The Renault managed to hug the inner lane well, but it didn’t last as the car is swerving on the outside as soon as she reached to the exit of that wide hairpin. Even though she is keeping the speed under control this time, the tires are already giving in on the front and it’ll only get worse by the minute to the excessive heat and stress put on the front tires and on such a steep downhill run.

Aoi on the other hand is somewhat hesitant on her speed entry, but she came out of the hairpin in a very stable manner, even though her S13 is swerving a bit on the outside due to the grip disappearing on the rear, it’s nothing serious. But she and Vanessa realized that if they don’t end the race soon, it’ll be troublesome.

As they went out of the exit, Ayase and Mayumi followed up and tackled the hairpin in a consistent speed range without too much stress and pressure. Their distance gap were there compared to Aoi and Vanessa, but they still managed to lock those two cars in their front mirrors’ view.

“Guess I’ll have to pay more attention to these two from now on...I might be able to learn a thing or two from them...I can’t say much for Vanessa since I don’t know much about her...but aoi...! Just what kind of practice did she go through to go that fast?” Ayase pondered on as she continued the pursuit with Mayumi.

After passing through the hammer-head section of Sadamine, the battle continued in a very intense atmosphere as all four cars blitzed through the straight path and headed to another curve that will soon lead to one more wide hairpin. Vanessa realized that she cannot endure any further stress and thus kept her speed range within a safer 150 km/h at this point. Aoi’s S13 is also on a lower speed range herself, only around 140km/h and she is doing a proper job at maintaining the acceleration rate, despite the slight bumpy terrain of this section.

“Nngh...the road’s filled with pebbles today...I can’t go any faster...my tires are already at their limit! Dang it! Dang it! Dang it!”

As the Renault ran over the road that is filled with pebbles on the tarmac, Vanessa can hear the loud rattling sounds below her car and she can feel the bottom is being pummeled by the tiny little rocks and sands through the tires running them over. It was an unpleasant sight as even she cannot tell how much damage it will cause to the body chassis below if she keeps the high-speed driving on the road at such condition.

Aoi followed along with the S13 going through the tarmac that is blanketed by the roadside dirt and pebbles and the same thing is happening to her Silvia’s bottom too. Even though she is driving slower than her rival in front, she’s not really off the hook from the risk either. The dirt was wreaking havoc with both car’s handling. Some of them even went through the rims of her Nissan and was sprinkled all around the brake discs on the rear tires.

“It’s no good...at this rate we won’t even go pass beyond this hairpin...”

Aoi slowed down further as the entry of the next hairpin arrive, Vanessa’s Renault is also seen with its brake lights lit up, as they continue to bust through the sand and dirt blanketed asphalt, both of them carefully steer through the hairpin and kept a consistent lining without forcing the car too much as they’re both already reaching their limit.

The situation grew tense as both of the cars are already near the exit and it seems that Aoi’s S13 is slowly climbing to a neck-to-neck position with the green Renault.

“Oh crap!!” Vanessa realized that the S13 has got the inner lane as her green hot-hatch is slowly veering out on the lane due to the tires losing grip further, while the front tires of the blue Nissan seemed to be in a less-severe shape, allowing Aoi to slip in and take the inside on the curve at that one moment.

From behind those two, Mayumi and Ayase were also working hard to navigate through the dirty road the hairpin as they kept a safe distance from the racing machines.

“Damn, I can’t believe that they’ll be able to hold on to THIS long even with this type of obstacle in front of them! These two are just plain nuts! Their cars are gonna get damaged if they keep this up...!”

Mayumi knew the battle has taken to a more dangerous turn and if this race dragged on any further, accidents are bound to happen.

“The terrible terrain here doesn’t matter to them at all...what were they thinking?!” Ayase thought as she tried to control the Chaser, which couldn’t use its power on the dirt. Neither one of them would’ve thought that Aoi and Vanessa would be able to go this far on this friendly confrontation.

As all four cars cleared the dirt-smeared hairpin curve, the sands began to subside as they continue on the path to the last checkpoint after two more S curves. Vanessa and Aoi are now neck to neck at this point as their cars are only 10 centimeters apart from each other on that wide road. They cannot have any mistakes here on their speed control or they’ll crash, and adding to the account that they both have heavily stressed and worn out tires to deal with, they knew one of them would have to give up on the lead as soon as the S curves appear.

“Vanessa...! I think I finally understand something from this encounter...thank you...”

Aoi thought with a slight relieved smile on her serious face as she continued to step on the accelerator, no longer holding back as she knew Vanessa is already at her peak in concentration, it will be a contest of braking from the S curve on and only one will be able to hold the lead.

As the curve appear, they both braked hard, almost simultaneously with Aoi being a little late on her part, as both machines steer through the first curve, and with the green Renault holding the inner line on the left side, Aoi cannot muscle her way in due to the tires. As a result, Vanessa’s Megane managed to poke its front end by a few meters and hold the lead while the S13 falls back on the outer lane due to Aoi slowing down, as she can no longer undue any further stress on the rear tires.

“Come on, baby...TURN!!” Vanessa steered as hard as she can to navigate pass the S curve and made her way to the last checkpoint, but as she noticed the S13 is already behind, the car was flashing its hazard lights. “...huh?”

Mayumi and Ayase also noticed the yellow lights blinking on Aoi’s Nissan. It was a signal of retiring a race. Then it all came to a clear picture as Aoi has finally chosen to give up the race as Mayumi can tell that the rear tires are already eaten up completely and she can no longer go any further. With that being considered, Vanessa began to slow down and went easy with her gas pedal as soon as the Renault crossed the line.

“I see...welp, not like things are any better here, might as well stop this battle and be done with it...phew...I feel like I am in a sauna...” Vanessa stopped the car and took out a napkin from her pocket and wiped the manic-sized sweats around her forehead and eyebrows that seemed to be streaming down to her cheeks as she breathed heavily, exhausted from all the concentration used on the battle with Aoi. “I must’ve lost like a few good gallons of sweat back there...I hope Kamiyama’s doin’ alright there...that’s some intense battle...sheesh...”

“Oh...they finally stopped…thank goodness...” Ayase thought as she parks her Chaser on the side of the road not far from where the Evo TME stopped. Both Mayumi and Ayase went to check on Aoi inside the stopped S13 as she is breathing heavily on her driver seat with windows opened.

“Hey, Kamiyama...! Snap out of it, are you alright?” Mayumi began, checking on the white-haired photographer. She was sweating heavily on her face, but she is still conscious and has not fade out yet. She slowly blinked her eyes and turned to Mayumi. Her face was able to slowly show a tiny smile, implying that she is fine, she wanted to talk, but her throat is too dry at the moment. After swallowing a bit of spit, she finally found her voice again as soon as Ayase came and watched her along.

“...I am fine...thank you for your concern, Tsurugi...Itoh...”

Aoi turned to the Renault in front of her and tried to see if the car is still in one piece. Thankfully, other than some dirt being smeared on the bottom of the car and the wheels, no serious damage was done. The body itself is still pretty much intact. Mayumi immediately rushed towards Vanessa whom slowly left the car after she opened the door from the driver’s seat. Other than showing a bit of fatigue, she still seemed to be able to walk at least.

“Whoa, watch it, Vanny....you alright?” Mayumi can feel that Vanessa is starting to teeter about in her path as her vision seemed to be fading out a little before Mayumi gave her a hold to keep her from falling. “Jeez...that’s some reckless driving you pull there...”

“Ah...don’t worry...I’ll be fine. Hehe...” Vanessa smiled, barely able to give a V sign on her fingers. “So...how’s Kamiyama doing...?”

“She didn’t pass out yet. She’s a hell lot tougher than she looks, I’ll give her that.”

“Oh...good. Well, whatever she’s trying to find out in this friendly battle...do tell her that hope this will be enough.” Vanessa said, breathing heavily and trying to keep her consciousness up. “I am burned out...whew. My car’s tires are done for too...guess I won’t be doing any practice runs for today.”

“Well, no worries...I’ll tell her that. Now you go and take some rest before you drive safely back to the peak. Or...do you wish to go home now?”

“Ah...I oughta be able to stay at least a BIT longer, just no more driving though...I feel like I am gonna hurl if I go full throttle any longer than now, hahahaha!”

Soon not long after, Aoi is seen out of her blue S13. She walks slowly towards Mayumi and Vanessa with her neck strapped with her camera.

“Thank you for the battle, Vanessa. It was a thrill ride for me.” Aoi said with a calm smile, her face is still sweating, but nonetheless most of them have been wiped with a handkerchief. “I’ve known a part of you at least from this encounter...it was a fresh experience...I’ve been driving this pass for a very long time...but the race with you made me feel like I have just started all over again.”

“Well that’s good and all but uh...I am still curious though...what did you want to know about me, Kamiyama?”

“It’s just that I am really interested in your potential since your debut being made public across the world wide web. I wanted to see if they’re all true to the source of information I saw, and turns out that I was right in testing your abilities...I wish to write an article about you and your car actually...as well as your experience and thoughts on the mountain stage ever since you entered Japan.” Aoi then held on to her camera and turned it on.

“Oh dear...you’re going to feature me in an article? Boy...I look terrible now.. Ahaha...”

“It’s okay...I just need to take a picture of you...if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, not at all...!”

“Welp, might as well move aside now...” Mayumi left the camera frame as Aoi prepares to take a picture of the very driver that has defeated her in what she believed as her first battle ever since she drove in a car. She clicked on the button and snapped a picture out of Vanessa standing next to her Renault Megane as she pulled down her pony-tailed hair after untying the ribbon and brushed her brown hair aside.

After Aoi was done, Ayase came and check on all three of them, relieved that they were alright and nobody is hurt in the end, despite the intense racing. The race didn’t finish properly to the goal line, but it really didn’t matter. Aoi has gotten what she wanted out of this friendly encounter, while Vanessa managed to learn more about her own potential limit.

But as they all continued to chatter, little do they know that someone else is watching them from a vacant spot of a small parking area near the bushes above of where they were standing on the hills.

“Ah, to think it would be her of all people to stimulate our little Fraulein...” A familiar well-natured voice of a man can be heard as he watches them, or rather...watches both Aoi and Vanessa. Even though his eyes seemed closed, in fact they were open and his little yellow irises seemed almost ominous, even with that big-wide smile he carries on his face all the time. “Welp, I am a bit late for watching the action...but might as well keep a close eye on these two while at it. Little Setsura should have no problems watching that other kid back there by himself.”

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

A day after Saburo’s first defeat, not bothered by his loss, he slowly got up from his bed and examined the morning sunlight at the windows near his computer desk. The computer itself was still on, but was set on power-saving mode as he was too lazy to turn it off when he returned home after a journey back from Ibaraki prefecture, with his body already exhausted, he simply turn off the lights and hit the sack.

His cell phone’s message box was spammed with new messages, and many of them were from Sakuya, but as usual, he can’t bothered to reply to them yet. He simply recalled what he had gone through last day from how he encountered the mysterious HCR32 and lost his battle, to how he met the driver himself at Ibaraki prefecture and seemed to have learned something and also have a few questions that he may need to find answers on if he is curious enough.

He blinked his eyes calmly and set the computer back on and checked the inbox for any new messages while look on the updated news of what happened recently around the mountain passes of Japan. Although there were no new emails yet, but it is definitely clear that something has happened when he was away yesterday and it took place in Saitama region.

The Driver’s Utopia time attack event has completed the preparations for the official launch of the special event on the date of 6th of July 2013, which is technically 12 days from now. There’s still time for open registrations as most of the locals have already taken their part in registration process, however, Saburo is not really interested in that part of announcement as the highlighted word of Renault grabbed his eyes’ attention.

“Hmm? There’s only one Renault here in Japan that I know of for the time being...could it be...?”

Saburo thought, clicking on the link that wrote [Unknown Four-way-Showdown involving a mysterious import car – confirmed to be green Renault. Race progress impresses and shocks crowd watching!]

And when there’s a video stream footage available for clicking, he played the video and noticed the clips were all mixed footages from amateur-recordings of the race on different spots of the Sadamine Pass. The green Renault Megane R26:R was racing the blue S13 intensely with a pink Chaser and red Evo TME following closely from behind. The smokes from the drifting and powersliding from those cars save for the front-wheel-drive Renault made the entire scene feel like an actual warzone in the making rather than a race.

“Jeez...talk about making a theatrical impression...this is ridiculous...” Saburo thought, having mixed feelings about Vanessa’s actions on Sadamine. “Guess that Mayumi is going to have her hands full just keeping watch on her action...still, not that I actually care about it...hmm?”

Saburo’s cell phone is vibrating again. It’s a new message from Hatori Fuuyama this time.

“...”

He clicked on the message and read the context of it.

“Hey, Black Prince! It’s been almost half a year since we last talked. How have you been doing? I heard from the princess that you’re managing yourself pretty well with her alone. But let’s not talk about that for now.

You can be a bit of a mean guy, you know that? You left the princess alone here with me and went off somewhere all by yourself and she’s worried sick. But I am sure you’ll return to us whether you like it or not in the end. So do us all a favor and come meet up at the usual spot, shall we? Don’t keep her waiting now!

P.S: How is your 180 doing? Do tell me you managed to keep that thing in one piece, that car’s valuable to both you and us. I will be doing a full check up on the car later with Sakuya.

“...there we go again, that woman never changes...” Saburo scratched his head, putting his cell phone inside his pocket soon after. “Might as well go see those two...and explain things to them.”

Saburo shut down the computer and grabbed the car keys of his 180SX and headed downstairs after he closes the fan switch and shut the door to his room. After he is done changing his old T-Shirt quickly, he checked on the living room one last time to see if there’s anything else he forgot to switch off just so he doesn’t leave the electricity running with no one to occupy at the house before heading out of the door.

He has been living all by himself for a very long time ever since his mother left him in charge of the house since 5 years ago with him being entrusted with a fair amount of money for his everyday use. The remainder of the money is still there and it’s more than enough to keep him well for another few more months with his strictly conservative ways of spending his parents’ wealth.

He opened the gates wide and hopped into his black Nissan, started the engine and drove its way out of the path before he got out and shut the gates tight with the silver lock holding the handles before got back into the vehicle and drove away.

The parking area at the mountain Akina seemed to be completely vacant at this point as it is still technically very early for anyone to come traveling on the top of the mountain pass just to enjoy the scenery, however, save for a few delivery trucks that is meant for the buildings on Akina Lake, there was a familiar car that parked around the outskirts of the lake itself.

It’s a familiar Supra that is a JZA70 respectively, and there were two females sitting on the hood of the car.

“Hey, Four-eyes.”

“What now, princess?” Hatori responded with a smirk.

“You sure that guy is going to come?”

“Positive.”

“...”

Sakuya wouldn’t hold her breath just yet. Ever since Saburo gave her that mildly cold treatment and wander off alone, she has been worried sick about him and she couldn’t even focus on her recent activities with her community. Given how her uncle put her in the leading position of the entire Brotherhood’s meeting on Akagi since a day ago, she can still feel the adrenaline rushing down to her body with her encounter against that blonde-haired driver, Matsu Koreshi in his SW20 MR-2. Sakuya’s JZA80 is currently undergoing repairs at her garage as she is still working on repairing the damaged front end bumper and rear end that was rammed by Matsu’s SW20. It was an intense battle and Sakuya can still feel the impact on it.

As they continued to sit on the car, a familiar engine sound can be heard and Sakuya immediately recognized it. The black 180SX made its way from the bottom of the Akina mountain to the parking area.

“Speak of the devil...” Hatori said with a mildly playful tone, knowing that the person whom Sakuya waited for has finally came back to see her again. Sakuya immediately got up and watched as the 180SX parks next to the JZA70. Saburo got out from the car and turned his eyes on both of them.

“...”

Sakuya walked towards to him before anything else, she was both frustrated, yet at the same time, happy to see him standing before her again.

“Sakuya... Sorry that I --”

Before Saburo can even finish his apology, he was stopped by Sakuya whom thrown her arms around him and squeezed herself tightly with Saburo’s shoulders before she pulled Saburo’s left ear.

“Save the apologies for later, idiot.” Sakuya said with a calm tone, her green eyes were finally calmed after it remained in frustrated state for a long time. “You better keep your promise and take responsibility this time.”

“Hey...that hurts, you know.”

“You’re a man, stop complaining.” Hatori added from behind. “So...how are you doing lately, prince?”

“...nothing new.”

“Haven’t you read any of my mails?” Sakuya began, her tone sounds frustrated again.

“Sorry...I was just too lazy to read anything at the moment that time...” Saburo said in his defense, even though he is not one to look for excuses, he had to admit that he was just lazy that time. “So what have you two been doing while I was off to Ibaraki? How did things go with the Brotherhood?”

“Nothing but a tedious cycle of job after job after job, that’s what.” Sakuya sat on a small platform right next to a red mail box while Saburo sat next to her, followed by Hatori sitting on the other side of him together. “I swear...that stupid old geezer never gave me an actual break when I needed it most.”

SPOILER

“Hey, don’t speak so harshly to your uncle now, he’s still your leader.”

“Shove it! I don’t get billed as number 02 only to get all the tedious work of coaching and babysitting newbies for one whole bloody day when I could’ve done something more productive for myself.”

“...guess the Brotherhood is also pretty fired up for the event that will take place here soon, huh...”

“Well, you bet. Speaking of which, how’s your 180SX doing? It’s not still in that rough state, is it?” Hatori stared at the black Nissan and other than a bit of dirt being smeared across the lower parts of the car, it’s rather clean all in all and the tires are still in good shape. “Hmm, guess there’s my answer.”

“You’re still being a technician for the Brotherhood?” Saburo asked.

“Nah, but I still love to check on cars that pique my interest, yours being one of them.”

“Hmm...so what did you do during that gathering?”

“Like I said, babysitting a bunch of kids on practice routines.” Sakuya huffed. “And there’s also one hot-shit guy who thinks he’s some tough punk come to Akagi and pick a fight with me while tries to sic his MR-2 on my A80’s ass.”

“...how did the battle go?”

“He rear-ended my Supra hard, but I dinged his ride half-dead in the end. He won’t be bothering me for a time being. But enough about me...” Sakuya turned her attention back to Saburo, closing her sitting position next to him. “So what did YOU do back in Ibaraki?”

“...”

“Come on, prince. Spill it.” Hatori leaned towards Saburo on her end, trying to convince him to simply say it and there’s no slipping out of it this time. Both Sakuya and Hatori were now literally binding him with their bonds together and he has to keep his promise.

“Well...I was looking for someone supposedly, when I received a call from a man named Schrodinger 2 days.” Saburo began. “He told me to meet him alone at the outskirts of the parking area near Tsukuba pass in Ibaraki prefecture as he has some important news to tell me, and so I did.”

“But who is he to you? Why would you listen to him so openly?” Hatori asked again.

“Because I need a revelation myself. I have to find out who this guy is so he won’t stop bothering me day and night with his constant voice messaging.”

“Couldn’t you just block his ass instead?” Sakuya added.

“No...because many of the things he said are actually rather...concerning to me sometimes. He knows a bit too much about the progress we all made, including about you and Hatori.”

“Huh...?! You’re kidding, right?”

“When have I ever jest, Sakuya?”

“Actually, nevermind him first...! That car...did you race on Tsukuba then?”

“Yes...and I lost.”

“...You WHAT?!” Sakuya felt as if an invisible force just hit her in the head hard.

“To whom exactly? Schrodinger?!”

“No...someone else.”

“Huh? Who’s the guy that beat you then?” Hatori asked calmly.

“It’s a veteran driver in his 40s. His name is Setsura Yuuki. He drives an HCR32 Skyline. White color. I don’t know the exact numbers on his machine, but it’s definitely higher than what I have now on the Nissan. I was completely overpowered by his machine and his experience...”

“Huh, an FR Skyline? Now that’s a rare sight.” Hatori rubbed her chin. “They weren’t that popular before, but that’s not the point obviously...so, anything else that happened during that battle? How did you fare against him?”

“I was merely testing out the limits of the 180SX at its current state with Sakuya restoring the front end, but I never expected a battle out of the white R32, if anything else...that’s why I am simply chasing him without any intentions of trying to muscle my way ahead of his machine when it caught up...clearly, I was taking the correct choice to stop chasing him after he got to my head and cut me off instantly. The difference in power is evident..so I simply gave up.”

“If that Yuuki guy managed to beat you...that alone is saying something...but it’s a veteran, so I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised.” Sakuya scratched her head with a heavy sigh of frustration. Much as it pains her friend to lose so easily with the car she painstakingly restore in the body’s condition, facts are facts. Veterans will overpower someone with no more than 5 years of driving experience, especially in a car that clearly has every specification means to exceed what the 180 can do. “Still...what were you doing after that? Did you happen to see Schrodinger at the meeting spot?”

“...No.”

“...looks like you were tricked then?” Hatori assumed brightly.

“Hardly the case. But instead of seeing who I am supposed to see, I met Yuuki instead. He stopped at the parking area spot that was meant to be the meeting area for me and Schrodinger.” Saburo explained. “He told me that he is there to carry out the message left by his old friend, Schrodinger.”

“So they are connected?” Hatori sighed with her arms crossed. “That may explain why you only met him during that time at Ibaraki’s mountain pass. The last weather forecast I recalled on that last day shows that Tsukuba was heavily misty with very limited visibility. You got some guts, driving that fast with that kind of weather condition, I’ll give you that. So...what’s the message exactly?”

“...He’s going to give me a coaching session in preparation for what I am going to do next on Tochigi area.”

“...what?” Both of the girls said at the same time, puzzled.

“Like I said...Setsura Yuuki will be my mentor in driving for the time being.”

“I am just gotta go and repeat myself again -- What?” Sakuya added to her puzzlement. “Now this is bonkers. I don’t remember you needing any mentors to tell you how to drive.”

“I don’t. But I let him, since it’s not like a bad thing.” Saburo answered briefly. “I have nothing to lose, clearly. Besides, he’s not there to babysit me all the time, so I am actually fine with it. And if anything else, I might gain something out of his momentary tutoring on driving. I may have some work to do in Tochigi Prefecture after all, if I am being honest.”

“Like what, prince?” Hatori asked curiously with a smile on her face.

“Clearing the “Defense Lines” of Tochigi Prefecture. I’ll tell you the objective soon...you don’t really have to join me though...I plan to do this alone or with help, either way.”

“Oh, no. Screw that, Saburo! I am coming with you, whether you like it or not this time!” Sakuya grabbed Saburo’s arm firmly. She will not let him go this time, and she will be part of what he is doing, after realizing that it is something that she is able to help out on. “You’re going to need a very good mechanic to look after your machine with those battles in future, and not to mention a backup driver along. I’ll be your number two. You have to keep your promise, alright?”

“...I will.”

“And you just did, prince. If you’re planning to do that...then count me in too. I didn’t come all the way here just to watch some free-show. I can do that all night at my own house if you know what I mean.” Hatori grabbed Saburo’s other arm, her eyes locked dead on to the brown-haired young man. “I don’t really play the technician card anymore, but the princess is gonna get really stressed if she means serious business in working your machine for this purpose. I’ll be number three then. Glad we’re all back together again as a trio, doesn’t it?”

“Humph...I guess. So it’s settled then...let’s practice a run on Akina later when we head back to Tochigi. It’ll be a good warm up at least...if nothing else.”

“Works for me. I am driving, by the way, Four-eyes.” Sakuya reached out her hand, as if she is asking for something. “The keys, hand em’ over.”

“I am all for that if we’re having a bumper car competition, Your Redness.” Hatori giggled in a very teasing manner, twirling her car keys freely, tossed it and catches it back before Sakuya can snatch it by force in midair. “I am driving, sorry.”

“You can still drive with me back in Tochigi’s mountains, Sakuya. Just let it go.” Saburo tried to break them from arguing, as he clearly isn’t in the mood to deal with those two from biting each others’ necks, even if they’re doing it in a love and hate friendship way.

“Fine, whatever...” Sakuya shrugged and let out a huge sigh, she walked towards the passenger door of the purple JZA70 and hopped inside the seat, waiting for Hatori to enter the driver’s seat. Saburo did the same on his end as both cars left the parking spot and head their way towards the downhill path of mountain Akina.

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

A telephone is ringing in an office room and it didn’t take long before a female hand picked it up in response.

“Hello, Auto Bavaria, how can I help you?” The young female began with a smile on her face, much like any other staffs regularly seen in a company. Although the caller’s voice is inaudible outside, the female can hear it just fine.

“...Oh, your requested parts are ready for pick up. We just finished working on them last 2 days ago. You can come get it at anytime you want.” The female said. “...Oh me? Well...I am not sure if I have the free time for that...but I’ll try once my work is done here when I check out from my early shift today...thank you for calling. Have a nice day too, sir.”

The female then hangs up the phone and checked on her documents after rummaging on her desk that is filled with many papers that seemed to be important transaction notes of the BMW company and besides an empty glass cup, there’s also a BMW car key next to it.

- つづく -

This post has been edited by Rin on Sep 9 2013, 06:53 AM