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that's because we were referencing other shows out there, but whatever

The Red Z? Sounds like a potential foil character to Saburo

Oh, you'll find out soon enough.

Holy crap...this is one long update, AGAIN. o_o

And for starters...it's great to see a chapter that doesn't focus on the main hero at all and instead its evenly split for the development on other casts. I really like how every single character in this story seem to have a background worth knowing for the readers. It certainly make the characters a lot more memorable, save for the amazing art-direction that portrays them.

Also...STARBUCKS! XD You really capture the scene well enough with every little detail. If only the storywriters of racing stories in general other than the published ones were as good as you...

And the Musoku girl...she's the girl working for BMW back in that chapter, yes? Man, I wonder what she can achieve with that Cappuccino? That car is great for touge and all, but...I am not sure if it's useful on actual race tracks... :/

I sure as heck can't wait to see what story she has to offer for this world nonetheless...

And next, Vanessa!! Guess her car's ready...and I am really curious as to how strong that Renault has become with those basic tune-ups. She has a small fanbase? Geez, as if she's not creating enough hype already on Saitama area ever since her race against Adachi's team back in Shoumaru like... a month ago?! She has quite a rep to live up to...and I sure hope she won't take it for granted or she'll be in a world of pain once the big leagues came and sweep her face off the road... =(

Then back to Hatori! She's driving Saburo's 180SX I see...and who might that FC be? Something tells me that this driver may be another arrogant rotary driver, but...I won't be holding my breath just yet...I guess I'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out. But judging from how Hatori drives, she seemed to be quite the precise type. This really pique my interest to see how she fares in an actual battle...

And I am gonna be honest...who IS this red Z driver, Kagerou? She sounds like she's bricked through a plethora millions worth of yen of damage to the public with that bloodthirsty road rage of hers. D:

I can't help but feel like she's on a BEYOND GODLIKE winning streak in Dota 2 and I feel like screaming "SOMEBODY STOP HER!!!" before she breaks the 'game'. LOL xD

On a serious note though, I really need to see who Kagerou is...she might really be the toughest rival yet in Accel Code if she turns out to be an antagonist...it's scary just thinking of the damage she can cause, seeing how the public is already hating her for her sadism. :S

And that Impreza guy...sheesh...sure hope he's got better alcohol tolerance and not get too drunk while he's on wheel. Drinking and driving is as bad an impending crash incident as you can get...

All in all, this is one eventful chapter! You really outdid yourself, Rin! Keep it up. This just made me want to read another chapter instantly the moment you uploaded this chapter of such magnitude in chaining the events.

9.5/10 for me! Keep writing, man!!

Damn good


Wait,this needs more GT-Rs :v

nah m8, this needs more GT-R...



... engines.

FULL FEEDBACK, SHAWTY!

It's definitely a nice change of slice of life moment with some characters OTHER than focusing on the main hero all the freakin' time. Mayumi and Ayase certainly deserve a lot more of spotlight, and god damn, did you drawn the Starbucks scene goooooood. You've gotten a whole lot faster with your drawing, brotha.

Vanessa's checkin' mail and BBS so...nothin' going on there at the moment. MOVING ON!

And then....Musoku with the EA11R...mmmm....I wonder if this is some foreshadow...?

Then to Hatori with the 180!! I sure hope she whipped that gray FC good. Still...I wonder if this guy serve any use on the story in future? Half of my guts say it's not going to be...but eh...I ain't holdin' my breath.

And for the last part...heh...can't wait to see all hell break loose on Kanagawa's mountains.......

KEEP IT UP YO! YOU'RE DOIN' ACE!!!

This post has been edited by Ruby Kyrie on Sep 27 2013, 06:56 PM

"get that yee yee ass haircut off your head son..made you look like a retard"

-said nobody ever...

nice chapter btw...and... :3

Tomboy?

dis gon be gud...

Wait wut 0_0

It means more engine swap, dude.

That crossed my mind. RB26DETT powered 180SX would be epic
Wait,VR38DETT powered 180SX will be better (It exists IRL,google BenSopra 380SX)

just the good'ole SR20 will suffice..you must think that the SR20 is a weak engine don't ya?

clearly people here are living under a rock when it comes to the Japan tuning scene.

Nah,SR20 is good and all but VR38DETT or RB26DETT is better IMO

kinda depends on what kind of build you're going for, but they're all as good as each other anyway.

New bio picture of Musoku Shiranui. =)

不知火 無速

SPOILER

This post has been edited by Rin on Oct 5 2013, 05:25 PM

@rin
I was half-expecting Musoko to be wearing a chauffer-like get-up but what the hell, she's still cute haha

Physical attributes aside, at first glance, you'd expect a girl with her looks to be so innocent with a small naughty side hiding somewhere and not the analyst that she is... let's see how this character grows

Ah, I have heard about this character a long time before. But just curious...

Shouldn't she be usin' a BMW?

aaaaaand, time for another update~

Before that, here's something that may serve as a good reference to the course that we will be focusing on this chapter. (Click spoiler for map navigation)

SPOILER

with a video reference too. =)

YOUTUBE ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba3elUU-peA )

And, here we go~

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

Code 11: Childish Killer

The race continued back in Irohazaka. The gray FC and black 180SX swiftly pass through the shrine at the third checkpoint, and both continued to accelerate down the fairly long straight, before another sharp hairpin. The FC was still leading, with Hatori chasing 20 meters behind on the wheel. She knew that if she keeps this up, it’s only a matter of time before the driver breaks under pressure, leaving her with an opening to overtake.

“You can’t keep this up forever, Mr. FC! Just move aside.” Hatori thought with a smile. She was confident that her chance was just moments away. The 180SX continued applying more pressure, getting even closer to the FC.

“Shit...that driver behind me is too good...!” The man thought. He tightened his grip on the wheel, but the 180SX at this point very close to touching the FC’s bumper, was making it increasingly hard to focus. As they reach to the hairpin, Hatori braked early in preparation for an out-in-out maneuver, taking care to keep a certain distance from the FC. Her aim was to pressure her opponent, not to force him off the road. The FC braked a bit late, the pressure was clearly affecting his focus. He steered as hard as possible to keep the car from understeering into the guardrail.

“Dammit, that guy in the 180 is playing games with me...! I don’t have time for this, shit!” The FC driver knew he was being toyed with, as he felt Hatori backed off when she was close to a pass. He was sweating like hell already, and he can feel there’s an invisible force behind him that is sharp as knives, and it’s stabbing at him relentlessly.

As they continue to battle it out on the straights before another hairpin arrives again, Hatori decided to go on the offensive and tried to overtake on the outer lane. She carried enough speed to sneak into an opening, forcing the FC on the inner lane. The 180SX had slipped through by almost half a car’s length, making it impossible for the FC driver to block her.

“Oh crap..!!” The FC driver noticed the rapidly accelerating 180SX, although he was far too late. The 180 is not neck to neck with his rotary amchine, with next corner fast approaching. The FC was completely pinned on the inner land and he couldn’t do anything other than brake early, so as to not risk an accident. Hatori took advantage of this to set up properly for overtaking the FC.

As they passed the hairpin’s apex side by side, the 180SX managed to finally slip ahead of the FC. And with a simple throttle control, Hatori overtook the Mazda. In the split second the cars were side by side, she took the opportunity to see the driver behind the FC.

“Let’s see...who’s behind the wheel?” Hatori stared and saw the driver appear to be a black-haired spectacles-wearing man in his late twenties, and he seemed to be wearing a red-colored long-sleeved shirt. “Hmm, well at least you’re decent looking.”

Once the car passed the FC, Hatori braked hard again as the next hairpin is arriving shortly. The driver of the FC followed suite, finding the idea that he was forced to give up his lead position hard to swallow. Hatori then floored it on the acceleration pedal and with the cornering momentum she recovered, she managed to increase the distance between the two cars.

“A...woman?” The man uttered in his mind, knowing that he has seen the face of the driver behind the 180SX. “Guess I misjudged this driver...I thought I could at least go easy by outrunning her later by letting up a bit, but I was sorely mistaken...and I guess I’ll have to pay for it by now...”

Soon after, another hairpin arrives again before them. Hatori and the FC driver blitzed through the curve, then linking to another as it gets tighter and sharper until the bottom opened up to a longer straight, then a gentle curve before another sharp hairpin. It was a series of endless hairpins they have to go through until the last checkpoint. As the two cars managed to tackle the last hairpin, they passed the checkpoint with Hatori leading by 30 meters by now.

“Hmm, just a bit more and I can call it a night...” Hatori hummed inside her head, driving the 180SX hard enough to maintain a speed of 100 km/h at the short straight section of the last checkpoint before another S-shaped hairpin arrives. “Better luck next time, Mr. FC~”

As she braked hard and tackled on the S shaped hairpin, the 180SX hugged the inner lane, just missing the ideal line by a couple of centimeters due to tire wear showing. The FC managed to come out of the S-hairpin too, but by the time he reached the exit, Hatori’s Nissan was already 50 meters apart, and the gap just increase slowly. The driver knew the battle is as good as lost, and just before Hatori decides to accelerate all the way and left him in dust, he flashed the hazard lights, immediately caught the red-eyed female’s attention when she was taking a last peek at him.

“Hmm....should I leave him or at least check on the guy?” Hatori thought as she slows down. There was still quite a distance to the actual finish line, but the results were already clear at this point. Hatori then reached to a decision after no more than five seconds of thought. “Humph, ah well, not like I’ve anything to lose and I am not really in a hurry here anyways...”

Hatori stopped the 180SX and parked it to the road. As she got out from the car and walked back to where the gray FC stopped, she saw the driver checking on the tires along with the hood popped open, as if to check on the heat of the engine too. Hatori then saw the man’s face and greeted him openly.

“Yo, nice driving out there, mister. Having a bit of trouble there?” she began.

“Well, it’s nothing big...just a little worn out tires on the front.” The man replied with a defeated smile, being a good sport after losing the race. “You were pretty good out there, miss....uh...”

“Just call me Hatori. Hatori Fuuyama, and you’re...?”

“I am Kodaka Shino...” The man replied. “I was testing out this car actually...and uh, I sort of gotten too excited and wanted to rush it to the bottom of the mountain to see if I can set a record time here in Irohazaka. Turns out I overplayed a bit with the acceleration.”

“No kidding, man...” Hatori chuckled. “I see you wobbling around pretty badly there at the end...but I am sure that’s just you being soft and panicking a bit. So, I take it that you’re not a local here?”

“Haha, not really...I am from Gunma prefecture actually.” Kodaka replied, now on to his feet as he checks on the engine. Hatori joined along and she can feel the heat from the 13B engine. “Oh...good thing the engine’s still okay. I was afraid that it might overheat since I’ve been running here for a long time...”

“Yeah...good thing you didn’t have a heavy foot there, buddy.” Hatori agreed. “So...I take it that you’re finding challengers on Tochigi?”

“Actually, I am looking for an old acquaintance.” Kodaka uttered, his eyes seemed a bit concerned. “He has been out there causing a lot of buzz lately and I am planning to keep the guy in check, just in case.”

“Oh, really...mind telling me the guy’s name?”

“Well, his name is Matsu Koreshi.”

“...!”

The name immediately put a shock on Hatori’s heart, even though her face is concealing it well in terms of reaction. She doesn’t seem as startled as she looked on the outside. “Do tell me more about this guy, would you be so kind?”

“Er....sure. I guess...”

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

4th of July. It was another clear Thursday and Saburo was up late because apparently he found no reason to be awake on early morning other than having to do some simple house chores like cleaning up his own house and wash a few clothes. He has already done all that yesterday, so he planned to rest up more on this day. But it is already 10:46 AM, and he nearly missed breakfast today when he was up by 10:20. He was able to at least make some food for himself before he started reading today’s newspaper and check on the TV for any interesting documentary shows worth watching.

“Huh...nothing much to watch today...” Saburo sighed, tossing today’s newspaper aside on the couch before turning the television off. Saburo then thought it’s probably going to be another boring day today, seeing as he has nothing much to do other than checking up on his email or read the forums on usual routines. That’s when fate lends a hand to lighten up the rather boring start of his day. His cellphone rang and when he picks it up, it was from a friend he knew well enough.

“Yes, Sakuya?” Saburo called out the name of the one that just contacted him.

“Saburo, your car is ready. You can come to my garage anytime.” Sakuya’s voice can be heard. She sounds rather confident, much to Saburo’s expectation. “Four-eyes is there too. So, if you have anything else to discuss, let’s take it there. We’ll be waiting.”

“Got it.” Saburo hangs up the phone and grabbed the house keys with his wallet before heading off outside and locked his front gate. Saburo can only tell that progress is finally getting a lot more encouraging after a few days of void. “At least I won’t be doing nothing for now...”

Inside Sakuya’s garage, there were numerous tools placed on the desks around the open space where there was a familiar black 180SX sitting idle while Hatori and Sakuya were finalizing their checks on the machine through a laptop. Hatori was rather pleased with the result, so to say. Sakuya didn’t rush her examination on the car’s interior just to make sure that everything is good to go.

“Four-eyes. Tell me that we’re good.” Sakuya began.

“Of course, princess.” Hatori smiled, typing away on the laptop as she saves up the data of the car’s dyno settings and other matters that she may need for further references in future. “If everything is A-OK under that guy’s terms, we can start at Irohazaka tonight with no problems at all. The only problem would be how many people show up on that night.”

“They will come.” Sakuya assured, her arms crossed after she is done brushing her red bangs aside on her ponytail-styled hair. “Tochigi Prefecture has been on a buzz lately ever since the whole small incident with Makoto Souichiro. They have to be on a higher alert if they are serious about defending the area’s so-called pride.”

“Pride...heh...quite a subjective thing to say for us drivers, don’t you think?” Hatori said teasingly. “Once the foreign racers come racing in our area’s mountains, the Defense Line’s radar go absolutely bonkers about defending things that they don’t even technically own.”

“Things were much simpler back then, I’ll give you that.” Sakuya agreed, as she took off her black jacket and tied it around her waist before she leaned on a table where it was cleared of tools at least. “The whole idea of the Defense Line protecting the locals from foreigners sounds pretty moronic. The road was meant to be used for everyone...and why would some local drivers consider foreign drivers as hostile is beyond me.”

“Yep, driving is supposed to be having a good time in general.” Hatori leaned back and stretched her arms a bit after she is done putting her laptop aside. That’s when she hears footsteps. Her deep red eyes noticed the shadow of a walking figure entering the open garage and both she and Sakuya immediately recognize the person behind the sunlight radiating. “Oh, you’re here. Good timing!”

SPOILER

“Hey.” Saburo greeted them as casual as he always has been, walking towards Hatori’s direction while Sakuya got off from the desk and got closer to him too. “So, it’s done?”

“Yeah, the car turned out to respond a lot better than I expected.” Hatori smiled confidently as she hands the car keys to Saburo. “I am actually kinda surprised that your 180SX is capable of going beyond 160 km/h when I was rolling at Irohazaka. That’s as fast as you can go during the long straight section at the above of the first checkpoint. And I am glad that the suspensions I choose worked beautifully.”

“Hey, I am responsible for installing them, ya know.” Sakuya growled with annoyance, thinking that Hatori may be hogging all the glory.

“Hey, relax princess! I won’t steal his affection...much.” Hatori giggled mischievously.

“Humph...”

“...I suppose the specs were as Sakuya told me via the email back then?” Saburo asked, ignoring the two friends quarreling against each other on petty matters.

“Mostly yes.”

“Mostly...?” Saburo prompted.

“Well, you see...we kinda pumped the car’s power a bit higher than expected. We got a 380 instead of 350.” Hatori chuckled. In the world of racing at mountains, an additional 30 horsepower could mean a lot in uphill battle where traction and power counts most, other than the driver’s skills and driving sense. “Sakuya kinda went hard on the boost increase so...I miscalculated the numbers a bit.”

“Hmm, not a problem then...I can handle it.” Saburo said in confirmation. “Thanks, by the way...you two...”

“Anything for you, Prince.” Hatori winked.

“You can always count me in on whatever tune-ups you want.” Sakuya added. “Say...are we good now?”

“...”

Saburo examined the car and see if the internals have been tampered with. Needless to say, everything was still there, and Saburo was at least glad that the regular seats weren’t changed into racing type yet.

“I’ll take this out for a ride on Irohazaka first.” Saburo suggested. “If everything is good for me, then we can start tonight on Irohazaka.”

“Why not Happogahara first?” Hatori asked.

“It won’t matter. Happogahara has more drivers. It’ll be tedious to race through them all.” Saburo reasoned with a sigh. “I’d rather we take it slowly and steady with the progress starting on Irohazaka.”

“I agree.” Sakuya added. “With the drivers on high alert ever since Saburo shut Souichiro down, going there would be like walking into a lion’s den. Irohazaka is a lot safer and it’s retarded to go and lose our efforts by entering a hot-spot at this time. The machine is still far from being perfect. We will slowly tune the car as progress goes on.”

“Well, now that is out of the way, let’s talk about something else.” Hatori suggested.

“Like what?” Sakuya prompted again.

“Have you guys been keeping up with the forums lately?”

“Duh, that’s what we do most of the time. What about it.”

“Well, it’s about the hype going on at Kanagawa area.”

“...”

Saburo knew Hatori would bring that up. Knowing her, if this doesn’t pique her interest, nothing will.

“It’s that Z, isn’t it?” Sakuya uttered the very topic that Hatori might be referring to. And it’s without a doubt, going to bother them a bit at least.

“Yep. Just a heads up though...since we’re actually still several tens of kilometers away from each other.” Hatori said, her eyes turned towards the outside of the door as the birds flew pass the trees near the garage. “That Z has caused quite a lot of trouble that time, he or she’s been going on a fierce rampage ever since a few days ago. From the looks of it, this driver’s been doing it for quite a long time before.”

“The Gunsai Touge Incident. Ring any bells?” Saburo asked.

“...that one where a rumored female driver in a Z33 wrecked several drivers out of commission during a showdown?” Sakuya tries to reassure. She too heard of the tale before and frankly enough, it doesn’t sit well with her. “I am not too sold on that story, but from the old clips it sure seems plausible and convincing enough...”

“I am skeptical in believing it too actually.” Saburo said with a cold look on his face. “But judging from the reaction from the victims of this driver in Kanagawa, it might have some shady dots connected somehow. If it turns out to be the same girl that is responsible for the mess caused back in Gunsai Touge, then we would have to at least devise a failsafe plan somehow as a countermeasure. No telling how much damage this psycho can do under one night. And the last thing I want would be dealing with someone who has a taste for blood, and I sure as hell don’t want to see you two getting hurt because of that shit stain.”

“Hey, I know where your concern comes from, no worries.” Hatori assured. “Besides, it’s not like we’re really going there to race this crazy kid anyway. If we ever somehow need to move to Kanagawa, we’ll make preparations for it.”

“It better be that way...but if we have to face her, we will have to get ready by then...” Sakuya is still a bit skeptical for Hatori being so light-hearted about everything, but she has trust in Hatori nonetheless.

“Hmm....” Saburo has nothing to comment at this point, he knew that worrying about it now won’t do him any good. All he has to do now is focus on the ‘mission’ at hand and forget about everything else that is irrelevant.

“Oh, and have you heard of the accident that happened last night on C1 area?” Hatori asked again.

“The drunkard that nearly hit the divider at Ginza with the Impreza?” Sakuya uttered again, which hits another mark on what Hatori is talking about.

“Yep.” Hatori nodded. “The driver is said to be near around Kanagawa before and he might have some connection with this...Z driver we’re on a look out for. But let’s not bother him for now, guy seemed to be sleeping peacefully at Tokyo’s Hospital ever since that nasty accident. His Impreza is out of commission, poor guy...he must’ve been really drunk that time.”

“Don’t need to feel too sorry for him.” Saburo uttered. “He reap what he sow. But I am at least glad he made it out rather than becoming another casualty of drunk driving. We’ll talk about him on another time. For now, let’s rest up a bit before we head to Irohazaka on 12PM.”

“Alright, then we’re settled.” Hatori smiled as she stretched her arms a bit again before heading to the inner part of the garage and grabbed a bottle of water and drink up to quench her thirst. “By the way...Princess...”

“What?” Sakuya responded, curious about Hatori’s sudden change of motion.

“...About Matsu Koreshi...” Hatori uttered the name and it immediately struck a bit of shock on Sakuya’s face. “...you know where the guy is right now?”

“The hell if I know!!”

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

It was almost 9 PM at the mountain of Nagao pass, and the street was packed with drivers practicing on how to drift across the mountains with some spectators actually laughing at the amateurs for spinning out on the attempts. But aside from all these light-hearted moments, little do these young and enthusiastic drivers realize that there is a rather bloodthirsty driver with an enormous killing aura waiting for action. Someone with a familiar but dangerous-looking face is out there seeking for another victim and she is not entirely pleased with what she sees as there were no opponents around her parking area.

She brushed her blonde hair and squinted her crimson eyes a few times before she examined the roads again. Nothing.

“DAMMIT!” She blurted out in frustration. “Ugh...this is so frustratingly BORING! Where has everyone gone to?! Nobody’s out there and I am sitting here looking like a complete idiot waiting for a bloody ghost!”

As she continued to throw her tantrum while tugging her own hair, she hears an engine noise echoing through the path that leads the way to this parking area. The girl immediately wiped the scowl off her own face as she knew that the answer to her ‘prayer’ for an opponent is right before her. It is a gunmetal gray S13 which is equipped with a GT wing, sitting on a set of custom wheels. However, what caught the girl’s eyes was that it has a sticker emblazoned on the side of the door, which is shaped like a black eagle. That can only mean one thing to her --

This driver has a team behind him. If she scores against him, she could very well take on the entire team. The very thought of that spread a wide smile on her face. The driver got out, and with a quick look at the pairing in front of him, confirmed his suspicions. Blood red Z33. Female driver. Extremely hostile aura. There was no doubtm this was the person he was after.

“I’ve found you...” The S13 driver thought grudgingly. “...you bloody psycho road bully.” He then parked the S13 right there on the spot while the crimson-eyed girl waited patiently for him to come out of the car. He was a man in his twenties and has black, spiky hair.

The blonde-haired female examined the person before she glared back at the driver with her fangs hidden on her grin. Although the Silvia driver tried to do the same, he was evidently scared. He even show signs of quivering slightly as the girl can clearly see his clenched fists shaking. The girl immediately took advantage of his fear, taking the initiative to start the conversation.

“Hello there.” She spoke in a surprisingly innocent voice. Her gentle greeting concealed a rapidly building desire to wreak havoc that was welling up inside her.

“You...must be that girl that is responsible for all the mess here a few days ago, right?” The S13 driver asked, while trying to contain his vengeful fury.

“Oh, what are you talking about? I am just a beautiful little girl waiting on the side of the road.” The girl replied sarcastically.

“Don’t play stupid with me, you sniveling witch...I know you must be the one who’s driving that Z that’s painted scarlet with every road warriors’ blood...” As the Silvia driver spoke, he felt a repulsive disgust looking at the girl in front of him. Even if she managed to hide the killing intent, the driver can still sense the staggering and heavy air around her.

“So, I take it that those little clowns are your buddies?” The girl asked again, still speaking in an innocent tone. However, her wide smile is now slightly exposed her fangs.

“I don’t know them...but clearly what you’ve done is still resentful and not to mention insulting to us drivers with a heart.”

“Don’t get all weepy on me, Mr. White knight in shiny armor. They were the ones who started it. I am just going along with the game of tag they plan to play on while I was off minding my own business practicing here.” She responded halfheartedly. She had no intention of settling this verbally. If anything, her words just served to stir the flame inside the S13 driver’s heart, trying to elicit an emotional response from him.

“Why you...!”

“You wanna fight about it?” The girl cracked her knuckles as she flexed her fingers. He then noticed, this girl, her nails were almost sharp as claws. She was more than just a delicate girl, if given a chance, he might really be in a world of hurt if he made any sudden movements on her. Even her glare is more than enough to instigate fear in him.

“You do realize...that there’s only one way to prove our beliefs on the road, right?” The driver insisted, trying to pacify her enough to avoid physical contact. “Fighting isn’t going to change anything so let’s at least be civil here...”

“Hah! HAHAHAHA!!” The girl laughed out loud on hearing his proposal. “Nice one, a driver here who would bare his fangs towards a little girl wants to talk about being civil all of a sudden! But forgetting that, why bother coming out here to battle a little girl? Oh...of course...you want to salvage your pathetic friends’ pride, right? You want to put me into a wall like I did to them, right? You want...revenge, right?”

As soon as she finished talking, her glare turned cold. Her wide grin turned into a sadistic smile. She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the prey in front of her...

“D-Damn right I am! Because of you, I...no we...” The driver stuttered in fear. The girl’s eyes looking straight into his, exuding an unwavering hostility. Even so, he forced himself to continue. He knew that if he didn’t keep his cool, the hunter could very well end up being the hunted. “We whom wished to drive for the sake of improving on these streets were terrorized because of your irresponsible actions!! It is because of you that not a single soul here was able to drive in peace! I won’t let this absurd tyranny go on!”

“Oh, you’re making this sound like it’s such a big deal!”

“Of course it is!!” The driver yelled in desperation. “Someone like you; who trample on the efforts of us warriors whom strive for success; won’t understand the struggle we need to go through to get recognition! What gives you the right to simply trample on our pride and credibility?! Huh?! We, as drivers of Kanagawa, are known as the masters of mountains by others, being the very best drivers out of all prefectures! You have no right to steal that from us with your own uncontrollable madness for wreaking havoc!! Who do you think you are to prey on us?!”

“And who gives you the right to run your mouth on what is right and wrong?”

“...!”

“I do what I want, and if you’ve a problem we can fight it out or duel it out, it’s your call!” The red-eyed girl declared, her voice now dead serious. Cold sweat begins to run down the man’s forehead. Clearly the poetic excuses as well as abstract perspective of what made him a proud racer had little to no effect in trying to dissuade her.

“H-Heh...you think you’re so tough just because you drove that Z which you use as a torture tool...but once I beat you on the downhill battle tonight, you’ll realize just how heavy the consequences are when you look down upon us drivers who strive to race for a greater cause, to fight for something worth of our lives and blood!” The driver declared still, with a nervous smile. “Just you wait, don’t think you’re going to get a fair fight from me...I am going to make sure that your reign of terror ends tonight, right here on the spot...!”

“Oh yeah, tell me something I don’t know! Blood is red, anything else? And do your worst; bring ALL your guys at me for all I care!”

“I will NOT allow a repeat of the horrors back in Gunsai Touge, you hear me?!” These words immediately struck a nerve in the girl’s head. Her expression became unreadable for split second. The S13 driver had managed to instigate a response, but the results could only be described as the worst possible outcome.

“Alright...now THAT...” her smile contorted into a crooked sneer. Her eyes widened with anger, slowly revealing her maniacal nature. “...ISN’T A VERY NICE THING TO SAY...!!”

“...!!” The sudden mood swing had caught the driver off guard; he quickly backed off away from her, his fear for her reaching new heights.

“You just HAVE to remind me of that....don’t you?!” The girl continued to yell at the S13 driver when he was still quaking with fear...

“DON’T YOU?!”

“O-Of course I have to...Kagerou Kouka...” The driver finally uttered the name of the female. “I know of all the bad things you’ve done back then......you monster...!”

“Monster, freak, witch...I get that a lot, but what does that make you who would stand in front of me then, acting high and mighty, mister?” Kagerou asked in return, once again startling the driver who dared to try weighing her down with past sins. “And after all that I’ve done you just call me ‘bad’? I guess I’ll have to do a whole...LOT WORSE to meet up to your criteria then...”

“G-get away from me, you freak! Don’t think this will be the end...!! If you even think about catching me, hell’s gonna wait for you! I’ll make sure all people know of what you’ve done! Try and stop me if you can!!” The S13 driver backed off as Kagerou slowly walked towards him. He got into the Silvia and quickly hit on the reverse gear to drive out from the parking area and drove off to the downhill route of Nagao pass. As Kagerou watched the Nissan disappear, she grabbed hold of her left sideburn and clenches it with a sick smile.

SPOILER

“Oh, I won’t be stopping you...I’ll just obliterate you...bones and all.”

The driver was thoroughly shaken by that encounter. But at the same time, he was furious with himself for failing to race her. His whole body was quivering. He tried to compose himself for long enough to drive while attempting to make a phone call. As the S13 continued to drive towards the beginning line from the peak of Nagao, he finally managed to get a response from his contact.

“Hey, guys...it’s me.” The driver panted. “There’s been...a change in plans, alright. I found her. I couldn’t force her to race me, but I think I just made her mad...so don’t let your guard down and don’t mess up the timing. We’ll flank that b*tch together!”

“We gotcha man.” The contact said calmly. “It’s time to find out if this crazy b*tch can take on a bunch of bulldozers with just a puny Nissan Fairlady. We’ll make sure she suffers badly before we take her out of commission and let her know how it feels like to be humiliated!”

“Let’s do it then! It’s so on now!” The driver then hung up his phone and focused on the throttle as he floors it all the way and accelerated ahead without thinking about anything else. “It’s time for this demonic Z33 horse shit to get cleaned and wiped from this place for good; I’ll beat you to a pulp, Kagerou Kouka!! Come at me, you crazy dog!”

As the S13 continued to blast through the path, another engine sound was heard. An ominous engine noted from the blood-red Z33 suddenly rushed out from the abyss, moments after the S13 had passed. It then drifted all the way towards the starting line with shocking control for its savage speed.

The road’s width made it easy for the S13 to navigate with very high speed, but the driver didn’t dare challenge the grip limit. He played it safe with a grip oriented maneuver for the first corner.

Moments after the S13 passed, the crimson Z emerged, with its deafening engine sound shattering the silence like an unleashed wild animal on the hunt. Despite the insane speed, Kagerou wasn’t fazed in the slightest. To her, the only thing that mattered was satisfying the overwhelming urge to hunt down the car escaping from her.

The Z33 tore through the first corner sideways, the sped and angle it carried seemed almost uncontrollable. And yet surprisingly, Kagerou managed to stay in control by adjusting the acceleration pedal with her rather light foot. By the time she cleared that wide curve with an out-out maneuver; she dealt a massive blow to the S13 driver’s morale. The tiny specks of lights on his car’s rear mirror suddenly expanded into a deathly glow, hinting his end is coming near.

“Oh shit, oh shit...!!” The driver panicked. “She’s getting close...! That...FREAK!” Instincts of survival kicked in as he floors on the acceleration pedal as if his life depended on it. The S13 accelerated to 120 km/h, just barely opening a gap between the two cars. Little did he realize that the next wide turn is coming up. The S13 hurtled in too fast and he was forced to brake hard. In this situaton, such a move was a death sentence. “Oh crap, please don’t!!”

“Tag, you’re it!” Kagerou declared with an almost maniacal smile as she rushed towards the rear bumper of the S13. Not paying any heed to the car in front on declaring her to slow down, she timed her braking to let as much force as possible be shifted to the front, just moments from impact.

The red Z33 slammed the S13 as soon as it starts to make a right turn. The S13 was a sitting duck. Kagerou scored a clean hit, the force of a wrecking ball slammed straight towards the rear bumper of the S13. The right side brake lights were immediately smashed, and the rear bumper now dangled about on one side, spraying sparks as it was dragged across the tarmac.

“AAAAHHHHH!!” The disaster struck as hard as it could. The S13’s right rear was lifted by the heavy impact. With no grip on the rear tires, the S13 is now wall-riding on the guardrails of the outer lane. Kagerou backed off to witness the S13 slowly chip off its bodywork, bit by bit while he driver desperately tried to recover.

“Ahahahahahahaha!!!” Kagerou cackled childishly at the pleasure of the carnage she just made on that one move. The S13 finally managed to recover from that horrible wall-grind, but by the time it went back on the road, the left side of the car was badly damaged. The left body was scratched and dented almost beyond recognition, with the lens of the braking lights on the left side also shattered by the repeated impacts, leaving a huge trail of debris on the outer lane of that road.

“GOD DAMN YOU!! YOU FREAK!!” The driver cursed. He was not hurt, but he was badly shaken. He can only imagine the world of pain he is going to get into if this race goes on any longer. Pride of Kanagawa racers? Teach her a lesson? Revenge? None of those mattered anymore. All he was concerned with now was escaping with the remains of his car before Kagerou reduces his machine into a pile of junk.

“Come on now, you asked for this, and I responded in kind, mister!” Kagerou laughed. “If you don’t try any harder, you WILL die!”

As they raced through the narrowing sections pass the first checkpoint, the S13 driver regained his composure by trying to avoid going the inner lane too much. The gutters were completely exposed on that zone. If he’s not careful enough, he will fall with the front tires stuck inside, a dangerous enough situation normally. The consequences of an accident with Kagerou behind him made him feel sick at the thought.

Kagerou backed off slightly, mimicking the S13’s line. She could’ve easily closed the distance, but it was far more entertaining to stalk her prey, waiting for a chance to strike even harder. As the S13 cleared the twisty paths of the section, taking care to stay clear off the gutters, the hairpin was coming right in front of him. It was a very sharp and steep one at that. He was traveling over 100km/h, and if he didn’t slow down, he would overshoot the turning point for that curve.

He shifted the Silvia to the outer lane, preparing for an out-in-out maneuver, until...

“...”

Kagerou took full advantage of the S13’s preparation maneuver. She accelerated hard, positioning her car side by side with the Silvia, forcing it to stay on the outer lane. Inside the Z, she was smiling evilly, trying to predict what the panicking driver will do with the S13 now being pinned for the second time. The Z33’s front bumper actually nudged the damaged left body of the S13 and it’s slowly forcing it to the opposite direction of the hairpin, putting the driver in a gravely dangerous position.

“AH, YOU BLOODY PSYCHO!!” The driver shrieked in fear, with his instincts acting up again, he stomped on the brakes. His speed rapidly fell and almost below 40 km/h. The Z33 shot pass, and blitzed through the hairpin with no problems at all. Shortly after as the S13 tries to tackle the hairpin too, the Z33 braked for a moment and waited for the S13 to catch up.

The S13 driver didn’t care what she was trying to do, as the only thing mattered now was that he needed to escape from Nagao as soon as possible before his car was totaled. The Z33 moved aside to the outer lane, giving the S13 a chance to take its lead back. There was a strong urge deep down in the Silvia driver’s heart to attack Kagerou’s Z out of spite and revenge.

“You’re the lowest type of scum, Kagerou Kouka!” The driver thought, his blood boiling as he stomps on the accelerator. He didn’t try to pass Kagerou. In fact, he wasn’t planning to; he’s going to go through her, returning the favor. “If I am to go down, I am taking YOU DOWN WITH ME!! DIE, YOU BASTARD!!!”

The S13 charged blindly towards the slowing Z. However, he kept increasing his speed recklessly with no regards paid to course’s rhythm. Just ahead of them were a series of curves. From the moment his will give way to his hatred, his fate was sealed.

“Nope.” Kagerou chirped with a wide sneer. The Z shifted out of the way, letting the S13 hurtle by...into the outer guardrail. Kagerou paid the Silvia no mind as she passed him and danced through the follow corners like nothing had happened.

“OH SHIT!! NOOOO!!” The S13 driver tries to steer back on the correct direction, but it was already too late. And even if he managed to turn the car in time, the car went into a nasty slide, but it couldn’t maintain the angle enough to avoid the inevitable. The front bumper slammed straight into the outer guardrail, and the left headlight was completely smashed inside with the front hood bent.

The impact shook the driver badly, but he still hasn’t given up on his hands holding the steering wheel. He couldn’t even think straight anymore as he wildly turns the car as much as he can, hoping that it may somehow avoid the car from rubbing the guardrail any further. But that was another fatal mistake. The S13 spun for a short moment. And by the time the car spins back to the guardrail again, its rear impacts on an arm supporting it. The rear bumper made a loud clanking noise and with a deafening snap, it spins the car again on another direction forcing it out of control and finally the car slowly dropped its front right tires on the exposed gutter. With a loud thud, the driver felt like he sank halfway.

That can only mean that he has fallen into the course hazard that most drivers always want to avoid. He quickly unfastened his seatbelts and crawled out of his car on the passenger’s side as he watched his steps carefully to make sure that he didn’t stop on any sharp debris. He can hear hissing from his car, and much to his horror, the S13 is now dangling about with the front hood smashed in partially and the car seem to show signs of oil leak.

The driver fell weak down on his knees as his eyes could not believe the carnage that was unfold before his eyes, all due to his own recklessness.

“Ah, that’s it? What a letdown, I was expecting more than just a few sparks!” Kagerou thought. Glacing at the rear mirror,she didn’t see any signs of the S13. She then concentrated on driving again as she nailed it through the second checkpoint.

The Z33 continued blitzing through the curves, while little did the driver realize, that her night is far from over. There were two idling Toyota Hi-Aces at the side of the road with their headlights shut off, waiting for the red Nissan to go pass them. Kagerou noticed them, but she pays them no heed. The Hi-Aces also have regular like rims on the wheels, there was nothing remotely suspicious about them.

“Found the target, go go go!!” The double Hi-Aces immediately took off Z passed. The engine’s response, thanks to a supercharger, was immediate. The tires hooked up and launched them after Kagerou without leaving a hint of tire smoke behind.

“Hey, where’s he?” The first Hi-Ace asked as he adjusted his hands-free device.

“No idea! The last time I tried contacting him, the line’s been completely cut off! That sick freak must’ve done something to the S13!”

“It’s payback time then!” The drivers were determined to stop Kagerou’s rampage on its tracks. They relentlessly chased after her, taking advantage of every moment possible to close the gap.

Back to the Z33, Kagerou was maneuvering through the apex in an out-in-out style. She managed to clear the corner with minila speed loss. That’s also when she noticed there’s multiple specks of lights appearing on the rear. She can hear lots of strange engine sounds. Something like a silenced whirring high-pitched noise along...

“Superchargers?” Kagerou immediately recognized the noise made by the vehicles behind. She decelerates to see what was coming her way. By the time the headlights came close enough for her to make out of the machines, she was surprised. “That’s...Hi-Aces?! TWO OF THEM!”

“We gotcha now, you little red freak!” One of the Hi-Ace’s drivers uttered with a nervous smile, waiting to prey on the little Nissan in front of him. “I don’t know what you’ve done to our friend, but no matter! Your terror ends tonight!”

The two Hi-Aces accelerated hard to catch up and position themselves close enough to her to shunt her off. The Z had navigated through the more gentle curves on the section of second checkpoint, and Kagerou slowly held back on the throttle to give the double van formation a chance to try something on her.

By this point, the Hi-Aces had moved to both sides of the Z. They were so close to sandwiching Kagerou that it was quite a scary sight to behold. However, Kagerou didn’t seem to show any signs of panic, as if she had expected them to try something like this.

“We got her now! Sandwich the shit out of that little bug!!” The driver gave the signal to sandwich the Nissan as both Hi-Aces proceed to steer their way straight towards impacting the red Z.

“And....NOPE!” Kagerou braked hard, even using her handbrake, stopping the car as quickly as possible. The two big vans missed the Z by an inch, instead colliding with each other, breaking their synchrony. With Kagerou being the chaser once again, she is out for another hunt. This time on larger preys...

“Gah! Watch it, dumbass!” The driver on the right Hi-Ace yelled. Both Hi-Aces swerved violently, trying to regain control.

“YOU watch it, man! I almost had her back there!”

“Quiet! We’re in front now! Block her!” Quickly regaining their composure, the two vans regrouped and focused on blocking the Z33. Kagerou was slowing down as well. She knew exactly what they’re trying to do, and had already planned her next move.

Approaching the next hairpin, all three cars braked hard. The Hi-Aces shuffled closer together, hoping to use their combined width to block off the Z’s route. As they were slowly nearing the apex, Kagerou shifted her focus on the van’s brake lights, watching them light up.

Her expression calmed for a split second...however, she had sealed their fates.

She let out a sinister smile.

Both Hi-Aces tried their best to avoid touching one another, their clumsy movements leaving an opening on the inside. However, Kagerou doesn’t attack yet. As the vans brake, she sees the opportunity she’s been waiting for. She accelerates hard, trying to gain as much momentum as she can before braking.

The force gained from that short burst of acceleration wasn’t much, but it’s more than enough to force the Hi-Ace blocking the inner lane into the other Hi-Ace. Both vans were now damaged but the Hi-Ace on the inside was worst off. Not only had it been shunted hard at the back, but the front headlights were smashed from the impact with the other van.

“Oh shit!” Both drivers were caught off guard by this sudden attack. Any driver with a regard for safety wouldn’t even dare to try something as dangerous as this, and clearly they have misjudged the Z driver’s sense of hostility.

They quickly readjusted their positions. The next series of corners had exposed gutters, so the battered vans played it safe and kept to the outside of the road. Although they were still blocking the Z, it didn’t matter to Kagerou anymore. They were blindly playing into her hands, and the thought split her grin even wider.

“Just as I thought...” Kagerou thought lightheartedly, her sick smile widening as she spoke. “Nagao really is the best feeding ground ever! I don’t think I’ll ever need to worry about going ‘hungry’ tonight! Come on, let’s play a little longer, you fat pigs!!”

The wider and gentler section of the second checkpoint is coming up, and from here on the road is wide enough for almost three SUVs to go side by side. Kagerou however, didn’t pay the terrain any mind and maintained a good distance from the two Hi-Aces.

As the first wide hairpin curve arrives on the left side, the double HiAces immediately decelerate and tried to block the Z33 again. Neither noticed that the Z33 was already 20 meters behind, and the driver is not showing any signs of making a move at all. The Z attacked the inner Hi-Ace again. This time, she shows the Hi-Ace no mercy, determined to spin it.

“Oh crap!!” The attacked driver quickly counter steered back to stabilize itself while the Z33 continued pushing against the van’s rear. Just as the Hi-Ace was showing signs of spinning, she quickly backed off. The van, still counter steering, snapped the other way, almost too close to spinning out. “Damn that freak! She’s playing games with us! SON OF A BASTARD!!”

“At this rate we’re gonna turn into that freak’s punching bag...what to do now, man?”

“I don’t know! W-We have to try and reduce her fighting spirit by forcing her off the road somehow!!”

“But she doesn’t seem to even try and overtake us! How the hell are we gonna do that?!”

“Hell if I know!!”

As they continued arguing, Kagerou was already preparing for another attack. It won’t be long before the drivers ahead are dealt the final blow. The next curve is coming up and this one is a wide and gentle right turn, one that can be taken by moderately high speed nonetheless.

“Dammit, forget about blocking her! Just outrun her!!” No longer caring about assaulting the Z33 behind them, the drivers immediately floored on the accelerator, trying to run away from the Z33. As soon as they did that, the crimson-eyed girl knew the moment she waited for had come.

“My favorite part of the game!” Kagerou chuckled childishly. As the long straight was exposed before her and the drivers running away, beyond the guardrails there towards the wide hairpin was a fairly steep ravine...there’s no telling how high that side of the mountain pass was and the Mount Fuji can easily be seen there on the shrine’s parking spot even on night. Putting aside the scenery however, Kagerou’s aim seemed to be clear enough as she immediately declares...

“SUDDEN DEATH.”

Kagerou’s eyes widened. She can almost feel the rampaging desire to destroy overflowing inside her. Embracing this barely contained excitement, she stomped on the acceleration pedal. The engine howled in fury, catapulting the Z33 into its prey.

The wide hairpin is approaching. The Hi-Aces, no longer in formation, were setting up for the corner. In contrast to the slowing vans, the Z33 rushes in with a very fast acceleration, and then...it happened.

The Z adjusted its line, aiming for the very same Hi-Ace that she had rammed before. She braked slightly at the last moment, shifting all weight to the front just as they collide. She scored a direct hit, the impact was so strong that it nearly lifted one of the rear tires off the ground. Kagerou continued to push the van’s rear, forcing it sideways and onto the outer lane. The van was on the verge of spinning out, but she wasn’t done yet. She backed off slightly, before dealing the HI-Ace the final blow.

"OH... SHIT!!"

The driver cursed, trying hard to recover, but to no avail as the car smashed its rear to the guardrail. The impact was so great it bent the guardrail all the way in. The huge vehicle skidded off and started running on the gravel near the shrine, though somehow it managed not to plow into it. Despite the near miss, the HiAce's driver still cannot gain control of the car.

Not thinking about anything else other his own life, the driver stomped on the brakes in hopes of stopping the van. Right when it was about to stop, it almost fell into the ravine with the guardrail still holding the van. The driver pulled the e-brake to force it into a halt.

The van later on has finally came into a complete standstill, just inches away from falling into the ravine. The driver kept panting heavily and is trying hard to catch his breath.

“Whoa, bro! You alright there?” His phone chirped on the earphone that he is still wearing. The driver panted a few more times before he finally composed himself and found his voice again.

“...I, I am okay there...but my van’s thrashed...I nearly fell to my own death, but thanks to the guardrail I managed to survive...god dammit! I am so not doing this shit again...!” The driver panted in fear, clearly his spirit is completely exhausted and he is no longer in condition to get back in action. “You’re on your own, man...I am sorry, but I can’t go on anymore...the car’s wasted. Hell, I am wasted...”

“Tch, damn that crazy b*tch!!” The other driver of HiAce cursed as he cuts off his phone finally and tossed the hand-free device to the passenger seat. He has to focus on escaping, but given the Z’s overwhelming power advantage, it was a tall order. After losing one member, he knew it wasn’t long before it was his turn, and the Z33 behind him will definitely stop at nothing to see him go down.

“You’re the laaaaaast!” Kagerou hummed. “So what are you gonna do now?”

The Z33 is now right behind the HiAce as they cross the third checkpoint and on to the next wide hairpin. There is a long straight before that, so if the driver wats to escape he has to do it now. However, there was a more pressing issue. The Z33 has disappeared from his rear mirror. Even the headlights have vanished into thin air. He tried to take a peek on the mirror to see if the Z33 is close.

“...!!?!?”

Nothing. The driver cannot see the red Z anywhere. The surroundings have become suspiciously silent as well. He couldn’t hear the roar of the Z’s engine anywhere. The Z33 has disappeared from his rear completely.

“W-what the hell...? What the hell is this? What the bloody shit just happened?!! Where is she...?!” The sudden disappearance was so disorientating, it was causing more hell for him than when she was pinning him down. Everything had become so silent, that for a brief moment, he actually considered the possibility of her giving up the chase.

“Dammit....dammit! Where the hell are you!!” His mind couldn’t focus anymore as little did he realize that the hairpin is already closing in to him on the front. “SHIT!!”

He braked hard, trying to steer away from the outer lane. On the wide apex of that hairpin, there were no guardrails, instead there were three handrails placed there. The Hi-Ace managed to hug the tarmac and steer accordingly, but just when the driver sighed in relief that he might overshoot the curve...

He hears an engine noise approaching, at very fast rate...

Just as he glanced at his rear mirror, the nightmarish vehicle reappeared. The red Z33 charged straight into the inside line and shoved the HiAce on the outside. This move threw van off the road, straight into the handrails..

“OH FUUUUUC--”

The man couldn’t even finish his curse since the divebomb knocked the HiAce off balance. All control was lost as the van started giving up traction in the middle of the apex.

The HiAce straightens up a bit but understeers into the handrails. Beyond that point was nothing but sand and grass. The van fell into it, flipped to its side, and plowed into quite a handful of trees before finally parked into an abandoned house. The driver was knocked out for a few minutes but despite being able to survive the crash, the same cannot be said for his van...

Back to the Z33, Kagerou managed to clear the hairpin with ease. She did a 360 degree spin before she stops and gets out. She walked towards a guardrail, peering at the woods to see any traces of the carnage. She couldn’t see much, but what was certain was that the Hi-Ace was definitely silenced. Kagerou can only smile at her ‘accomplishments’ tonight as she stretched her arm for a bit while cracking her fists and flexed her fingers.

“Ahh........now that was satisfying.” Kagerou turned her eyes back to the crimson Z33, there were dents and scratches on the bumper, and the indicators were shattered. It is clear taht she has reinforced the body of the car, but since she rammed three cars in one go tonight, the damage is still evident. But it didn’t matter as Kagerou was more than satisfied for one night already. She patted on the front hood of the Z33.“Let’s play another time, eh?”

Higher up, at the side of the road, a small gallery watched as Kagerou drove away from the wreckage. Within this small group of racers, a female stood, isolated from the watching crowd. She was an unfamiliar face to the locals, which normally shouldn't have been a problem. But there was an unapproachable air to this unknown girl. From just a quick glance, there were too many things that stood out about her. She was clad in elegant, almost gothic clothing, completely unfit for racing. Also, even in the dark, the locals could see that she was ghostly pale. But the most surprising thing by far was that this frail looking female was the driver of what looked like a heavily tuned Skyline GT-R. The black R34 gave off an air of purposefulness, yet its driver seemed like anything but suited to driving it.

Ignoring the locals, who were clearly questioning her credentials, she turned her gaze away from the course and towards the sky.

“To think such wild creatures exist on this stage...I guess I’ll have to watch myself from now on...or things could get...unsightly even for me...hmm...”

- つづく -

This post has been edited by Rin on Oct 13 2013, 06:57 AM

And, here we go~

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

Code 11: Childish Killer

The race continued back in Irohazaka. The gray FC and black 180SX swiftly pass through the shrine at the third checkpoint, and both continued to accelerate down the fairly long straight, before another sharp hairpin. The FC was still leading, with Hatori chasing 20 meters behind on the wheel. She knew that if she keeps this up, it’s only a matter of time before the driver breaks under pressure, leaving her with an opening to overtake.

“You can’t keep this up forever, Mr. FC! Just move aside.” Hatori thought with a smile. She was confident that her chance was just moments away. The 180SX continued applying more pressure, getting even closer to the FC.

“Shit...that driver behind me is too good...!” The man thought. He tightened his grip on the wheel, but the 180SX at this point very close to touching the FC’s bumper, was making it increasingly hard to focus. As they reach to the hairpin, Hatori braked early in preparation for an out-in-out maneuver, taking care to keep a certain distance from the FC. Her aim was to pressure her opponent, not to force him off the road. The FC braked a bit late, the pressure was clearly affecting his focus. He steered as hard as possible to keep the car from understeering into the guardrail.

“Dammit, that guy in the 180 is playing games with me...! I don’t have time for this, shit!” The FC driver knew he was being toyed with, as he felt Hatori backed off when she was close to a pass. He was sweating like hell already, and he can feel there’s an invisible force behind him that is sharp as knives, and it’s stabbing at him relentlessly.

As they continue to battle it out on the straights before another hairpin arrives again, Hatori decided to go on the offensive and tried to overtake on the outer lane. She carried enough speed to sneak into an opening, forcing the FC on the inner lane. The 180SX had slipped through by almost half a car’s length, making it impossible for the FC driver to block her.

“Oh crap..!!” The FC driver noticed the rapidly accelerating 180SX, although he was far too late. The 180 is not neck to neck with his rotary amchine, with next corner fast approaching. The FC was completely pinned on the inner land and he couldn’t do anything other than brake early, so as to not risk an accident. Hatori took advantage of this to set up properly for overtaking the FC.

As they passed the hairpin’s apex side by side, the 180SX managed to finally slip ahead of the FC. And with a simple throttle control, Hatori overtook the Mazda. In the split second the cars were side by side, she took the opportunity to see the driver behind the FC.

“Let’s see...who’s behind the wheel?” Hatori stared and saw the driver appear to be a black-haired spectacles-wearing man in his late twenties, and he seemed to be wearing a red-colored long-sleeved shirt. “Hmm, well at least you’re decent looking.”

Once the car passed the FC, Hatori braked hard again as the next hairpin is arriving shortly. The driver of the FC followed suite, finding the idea that he was forced to give up his lead position hard to swallow. Hatori then floored it on the acceleration pedal and with the cornering momentum she recovered, she managed to increase the distance between the two cars.

“A...woman?” The man uttered in his mind, knowing that he has seen the face of the driver behind the 180SX. “Guess I misjudged this driver...I thought I could at least go easy by outrunning her later by letting up a bit, but I was sorely mistaken...and I guess I’ll have to pay for it by now...”

Soon after, another hairpin arrives again before them. Hatori and the FC driver blitzed through the curve, then linking to another as it gets tighter and sharper until the bottom opened up to a longer straight, then a gentle curve before another sharp hairpin. It was a series of endless hairpins they have to go through until the last checkpoint. As the two cars managed to tackle the last hairpin, they passed the checkpoint with Hatori leading by 30 meters by now.

“Hmm, just a bit more and I can call it a night...” Hatori hummed inside her head, driving the 180SX hard enough to maintain a speed of 100 km/h at the short straight section of the last checkpoint before another S-shaped hairpin arrives. “Better luck next time, Mr. FC~”

As she braked hard and tackled on the S shaped hairpin, the 180SX hugged the inner lane, just missing the ideal line by a couple of centimeters due to tire wear showing. The FC managed to come out of the S-hairpin too, but by the time he reached the exit, Hatori’s Nissan was already 50 meters apart, and the gap just increase slowly. The driver knew the battle is as good as lost, and just before Hatori decides to accelerate all the way and left him in dust, he flashed the hazard lights, immediately caught the red-eyed female’s attention when she was taking a last peek at him.

“Hmm....should I leave him or at least check on the guy?” Hatori thought as she slows down. There was still quite a distance to the actual finish line, but the results were already clear at this point. Hatori then reached to a decision after no more than five seconds of thought. “Humph, ah well, not like I’ve anything to lose and I am not really in a hurry here anyways...”

Hatori stopped the 180SX and parked it to the road. As she got out from the car and walked back to where the gray FC stopped, she saw the driver checking on the tires along with the hood popped open, as if to check on the heat of the engine too. Hatori then saw the man’s face and greeted him openly.

“Yo, nice driving out there, mister. Having a bit of trouble there?” she began.

“Well, it’s nothing big...just a little worn out tires on the front.” The man replied with a defeated smile, being a good sport after losing the race. “You were pretty good out there, miss....uh...”

“Just call me Hatori. Hatori Fuuyama, and you’re...?”

“I am Kodaka Shino...” The man replied. “I was testing out this car actually...and uh, I sort of gotten too excited and wanted to rush it to the bottom of the mountain to see if I can set a record time here in Irohazaka. Turns out I overplayed a bit with the acceleration.”

“No kidding, man...” Hatori chuckled. “I see you wobbling around pretty badly there at the end...but I am sure that’s just you being soft and panicking a bit. So, I take it that you’re not a local here?”

“Haha, not really...I am from Gunma prefecture actually.” Kodaka replied, now on to his feet as he checks on the engine. Hatori joined along and she can feel the heat from the 13B engine. “Oh...good thing the engine’s still okay. I was afraid that it might overheat since I’ve been running here for a long time...”

“Yeah...good thing you didn’t have a heavy foot there, buddy.” Hatori agreed. “So...I take it that you’re finding challengers on Tochigi?”

“Actually, I am looking for an old acquaintance.” Kodaka uttered, his eyes seemed a bit concerned. “He has been out there causing a lot of buzz lately and I am planning to keep the guy in check, just in case.”

“Oh, really...mind telling me the guy’s name?”

“Well, his name is Matsu Koreshi.”

“...!”

The name immediately put a shock on Hatori’s heart, even though her face is concealing it well in terms of reaction. She doesn’t seem as startled as she looked on the outside. “Do tell me more about this guy, would you be so kind?”

“Er....sure. I guess...”

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

4th of July. It was another clear Thursday and Saburo was up late because apparently he found no reason to be awake on early morning other than having to do some simple house chores like cleaning up his own house and wash a few clothes. He has already done all that yesterday, so he planned to rest up more on this day. But it is already 10:46 AM, and he nearly missed breakfast today when he was up by 10:20. He was able to at least make some food for himself before he started reading today’s newspaper and check on the TV for any interesting documentary shows worth watching.

“Huh...nothing much to watch today...” Saburo sighed, tossing today’s newspaper aside on the couch before turning the television off. Saburo then thought it’s probably going to be another boring day today, seeing as he has nothing much to do other than checking up on his email or read the forums on usual routines. That’s when fate lends a hand to lighten up the rather boring start of his day. His cellphone rang and when he picks it up, it was from a friend he knew well enough.

“Yes, Sakuya?” Saburo called out the name of the one that just contacted him.

“Saburo, your car is ready. You can come to my garage anytime.” Sakuya’s voice can be heard. She sounds rather confident, much to Saburo’s expectation. “Four-eyes is there too. So, if you have anything else to discuss, let’s take it there. We’ll be waiting.”

“Got it.” Saburo hangs up the phone and grabbed the house keys with his wallet before heading off outside and locked his front gate. Saburo can only tell that progress is finally getting a lot more encouraging after a few days of void. “At least I won’t be doing nothing for now...”

Inside Sakuya’s garage, there were numerous tools placed on the desks around the open space where there was a familiar black 180SX sitting idle while Hatori and Sakuya were finalizing their checks on the machine through a laptop. Hatori was rather pleased with the result, so to say. Sakuya didn’t rush her examination on the car’s interior just to make sure that everything is good to go.

“Four-eyes. Tell me that we’re good.” Sakuya began.

“Of course, princess.” Hatori smiled, typing away on the laptop as she saves up the data of the car’s dyno settings and other matters that she may need for further references in future. “If everything is A-OK under that guy’s terms, we can start at Irohazaka tonight with no problems at all. The only problem would be how many people show up on that night.”

“They will come.” Sakuya assured, her arms crossed after she is done brushing her red bangs aside on her ponytail-styled hair. “Tochigi Prefecture has been on a buzz lately ever since the whole small incident with Makoto Souichiro. They have to be on a higher alert if they are serious about defending the area’s so-called pride.”

“Pride...heh...quite a subjective thing to say for us drivers, don’t you think?” Hatori said teasingly. “Once the foreign racers come racing in our area’s mountains, the Defense Line’s radar go absolutely bonkers about defending things that they don’t even technically own.”

“Things were much simpler back then, I’ll give you that.” Sakuya agreed, as she took off her black jacket and tied it around her waist before she leaned on a table where it was cleared of tools at least. “The whole idea of the Defense Line protecting the locals from foreigners sounds pretty moronic. The road was meant to be used for everyone...and why would some local drivers consider foreign drivers as hostile is beyond me.”

“Yep, driving is supposed to be having a good time in general.” Hatori leaned back and stretched her arms a bit after she is done putting her laptop aside. That’s when she hears footsteps. Her deep red eyes noticed the shadow of a walking figure entering the open garage and both she and Sakuya immediately recognize the person behind the sunlight radiating. “Oh, you’re here. Good timing!”

SPOILER

“Hey.” Saburo greeted them as casual as he always has been, walking towards Hatori’s direction while Sakuya got off from the desk and got closer to him too. “So, it’s done?”

“Yeah, the car turned out to respond a lot better than I expected.” Hatori smiled confidently as she hands the car keys to Saburo. “I am actually kinda surprised that your 180SX is capable of going beyond 160 km/h when I was rolling at Irohazaka. That’s as fast as you can go during the long straight section at the above of the first checkpoint. And I am glad that the suspensions I choose worked beautifully.”

“Hey, I am responsible for installing them, ya know.” Sakuya growled with annoyance, thinking that Hatori may be hogging all the glory.

“Hey, relax princess! I won’t steal his affection...much.” Hatori giggled mischievously.

“Humph...”

“...I suppose the specs were as Sakuya told me via the email back then?” Saburo asked, ignoring the two friends quarreling against each other on petty matters.

“Mostly yes.”

“Mostly...?” Saburo prompted.

“Well, you see...we kinda pumped the car’s power a bit higher than expected. We got a 380 instead of 350.” Hatori chuckled. In the world of racing at mountains, an additional 30 horsepower could mean a lot in uphill battle where traction and power counts most, other than the driver’s skills and driving sense. “Sakuya kinda went hard on the boost increase so...I miscalculated the numbers a bit.”

“Hmm, not a problem then...I can handle it.” Saburo said in confirmation. “Thanks, by the way...you two...”

“Anything for you, Prince.” Hatori winked.

“You can always count me in on whatever tune-ups you want.” Sakuya added. “Say...are we good now?”

“...”

Saburo examined the car and see if the internals have been tampered with. Needless to say, everything was still there, and Saburo was at least glad that the regular seats weren’t changed into racing type yet.

“I’ll take this out for a ride on Irohazaka first.” Saburo suggested. “If everything is good for me, then we can start tonight on Irohazaka.”

“Why not Happogahara first?” Hatori asked.

“It won’t matter. Happogahara has more drivers. It’ll be tedious to race through them all.” Saburo reasoned with a sigh. “I’d rather we take it slowly and steady with the progress starting on Irohazaka.”

“I agree.” Sakuya added. “With the drivers on high alert ever since Saburo shut Souichiro down, going there would be like walking into a lion’s den. Irohazaka is a lot safer and it’s retarded to go and lose our efforts by entering a hot-spot at this time. The machine is still far from being perfect. We will slowly tune the car as progress goes on.”

“Well, now that is out of the way, let’s talk about something else.” Hatori suggested.

“Like what?” Sakuya prompted again.

“Have you guys been keeping up with the forums lately?”

“Duh, that’s what we do most of the time. What about it.”

“Well, it’s about the hype going on at Kanagawa area.”

“...”

Saburo knew Hatori would bring that up. Knowing her, if this doesn’t pique her interest, nothing will.

“It’s that Z, isn’t it?” Sakuya uttered the very topic that Hatori might be referring to. And it’s without a doubt, going to bother them a bit at least.

“Yep. Just a heads up though...since we’re actually still several tens of kilometers away from each other.” Hatori said, her eyes turned towards the outside of the door as the birds flew pass the trees near the garage. “That Z has caused quite a lot of trouble that time, he or she’s been going on a fierce rampage ever since a few days ago. From the looks of it, this driver’s been doing it for quite a long time before.”

“The Gunsai Touge Incident. Ring any bells?” Saburo asked.

“...that one where a rumored female driver in a Z33 wrecked several drivers out of commission during a showdown?” Sakuya tries to reassure. She too heard of the tale before and frankly enough, it doesn’t sit well with her. “I am not too sold on that story, but from the old clips it sure seems plausible and convincing enough...”

“I am skeptical in believing it too actually.” Saburo said with a cold look on his face. “But judging from the reaction from the victims of this driver in Kanagawa, it might have some shady dots connected somehow. If it turns out to be the same girl that is responsible for the mess caused back in Gunsai Touge, then we would have to at least devise a failsafe plan somehow as a countermeasure. No telling how much damage this psycho can do under one night. And the last thing I want would be dealing with someone who has a taste for blood, and I sure as hell don’t want to see you two getting hurt because of that shit stain.”

“Hey, I know where your concern comes from, no worries.” Hatori assured. “Besides, it’s not like we’re really going there to race this crazy kid anyway. If we ever somehow need to move to Kanagawa, we’ll make preparations for it.”

“It better be that way...but if we have to face her, we will have to get ready by then...” Sakuya is still a bit skeptical for Hatori being so light-hearted about everything, but she has trust in Hatori nonetheless.

“Hmm....” Saburo has nothing to comment at this point, he knew that worrying about it now won’t do him any good. All he has to do now is focus on the ‘mission’ at hand and forget about everything else that is irrelevant.

“Oh, and have you heard of the accident that happened last night on C1 area?” Hatori asked again.

“The drunkard that nearly hit the divider at Ginza with the Impreza?” Sakuya uttered again, which hits another mark on what Hatori is talking about.

“Yep.” Hatori nodded. “The driver is said to be near around Kanagawa before and he might have some connection with this...Z driver we’re on a look out for. But let’s not bother him for now, guy seemed to be sleeping peacefully at Tokyo’s Hospital ever since that nasty accident. His Impreza is out of commission, poor guy...he must’ve been really drunk that time.”

“Don’t need to feel too sorry for him.” Saburo uttered. “He reap what he sow. But I am at least glad he made it out rather than becoming another casualty of drunk driving. We’ll talk about him on another time. For now, let’s rest up a bit before we head to Irohazaka on 12PM.”

“Alright, then we’re settled.” Hatori smiled as she stretched her arms a bit again before heading to the inner part of the garage and grabbed a bottle of water and drink up to quench her thirst. “By the way...Princess...”

“What?” Sakuya responded, curious about Hatori’s sudden change of motion.

“...About Matsu Koreshi...” Hatori uttered the name and it immediately struck a bit of shock on Sakuya’s face. “...you know where the guy is right now?”

“The hell if I know!!”

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

It was almost 9 PM at the mountain of Nagao pass, and the street was packed with drivers practicing on how to drift across the mountains with some spectators actually laughing at the amateurs for spinning out on the attempts. But aside from all these light-hearted moments, little do these young and enthusiastic drivers realize that there is a rather bloodthirsty driver with an enormous killing aura waiting for action. Someone with a familiar but dangerous-looking face is out there seeking for another victim and she is not entirely pleased with what she sees as there were no opponents around her parking area.

She brushed her blonde hair and squinted her crimson eyes a few times before she examined the roads again. Nothing.

“DAMMIT!” She blurted out in frustration. “Ugh...this is so frustratingly BORING! Where has everyone gone to?! Nobody’s out there and I am sitting here looking like a complete idiot waiting for a bloody ghost!”

As she continued to throw her tantrum while tugging her own hair, she hears an engine noise echoing through the path that leads the way to this parking area. The girl immediately wiped the scowl off her own face as she knew that the answer to her ‘prayer’ for an opponent is right before her. It is a gunmetal gray S13 which is equipped with a GT wing, sitting on a set of custom wheels. However, what caught the girl’s eyes was that it has a sticker emblazoned on the side of the door, which is shaped like a black eagle. That can only mean one thing to her --

This driver has a team behind him. If she scores against him, she could very well take on the entire team. The very thought of that spread a wide smile on her face. The driver got out, and with a quick look at the pairing in front of him, confirmed his suspicions. Blood red Z33. Female driver. Extremely hostile aura. There was no doubtm this was the person he was after.

“I’ve found you...” The S13 driver thought grudgingly. “...you bloody psycho road bully.” He then parked the S13 right there on the spot while the crimson-eyed girl waited patiently for him to come out of the car. He was a man in his twenties and has black, spiky hair.

The blonde-haired female examined the person before she glared back at the driver with her fangs hidden on her grin. Although the Silvia driver tried to do the same, he was evidently scared. He even show signs of quivering slightly as the girl can clearly see his clenched fists shaking. The girl immediately took advantage of his fear, taking the initiative to start the conversation.

“Hello there.” She spoke in a surprisingly innocent voice. Her gentle greeting concealed a rapidly building desire to wreak havoc that was welling up inside her.

“You...must be that girl that is responsible for all the mess here a few days ago, right?” The S13 driver asked, while trying to contain his vengeful fury.

“Oh, what are you talking about? I am just a beautiful little girl waiting on the side of the road.” The girl replied sarcastically.

“Don’t play stupid with me, you sniveling witch...I know you must be the one who’s driving that Z that’s painted scarlet with every road warriors’ blood...” As the Silvia driver spoke, he felt a repulsive disgust looking at the girl in front of him. Even if she managed to hide the killing intent, the driver can still sense the staggering and heavy air around her.

“So, I take it that those little clowns are your buddies?” The girl asked again, still speaking in an innocent tone. However, her wide smile is now slightly exposed her fangs.

“I don’t know them...but clearly what you’ve done is still resentful and not to mention insulting to us drivers with a heart.”

“Don’t get all weepy on me, Mr. White knight in shiny armor. They were the ones who started it. I am just going along with the game of tag they plan to play on while I was off minding my own business practicing here.” She responded halfheartedly. She had no intention of settling this verbally. If anything, her words just served to stir the flame inside the S13 driver’s heart, trying to elicit an emotional response from him.

“Why you...!”

“You wanna fight about it?” The girl cracked her knuckles as she flexed her fingers. He then noticed, this girl, her nails were almost sharp as claws. She was more than just a delicate girl, if given a chance, he might really be in a world of hurt if he made any sudden movements on her. Even her glare is more than enough to instigate fear in him.

“You do realize...that there’s only one way to prove our beliefs on the road, right?” The driver insisted, trying to pacify her enough to avoid physical contact. “Fighting isn’t going to change anything so let’s at least be civil here...”

“Hah! HAHAHAHA!!” The girl laughed out loud on hearing his proposal. “Nice one, a driver here who would bare his fangs towards a little girl wants to talk about being civil all of a sudden! But forgetting that, why bother coming out here to battle a little girl? Oh...of course...you want to salvage your pathetic friends’ pride, right? You want to put me into a wall like I did to them, right? You want...revenge, right?”

As soon as she finished talking, her glare turned cold. Her wide grin turned into a sadistic smile. She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the prey in front of her...

“D-Damn right I am! Because of you, I...no we...” The driver stuttered in fear. The girl’s eyes looking straight into his, exuding an unwavering hostility. Even so, he forced himself to continue. He knew that if he didn’t keep his cool, the hunter could very well end up being the hunted. “We whom wished to drive for the sake of improving on these streets were terrorized because of your irresponsible actions!! It is because of you that not a single soul here was able to drive in peace! I won’t let this absurd tyranny go on!”

“Oh, you’re making this sound like it’s such a big deal!”

“Of course it is!!” The driver yelled in desperation. “Someone like you; who trample on the efforts of us warriors whom strive for success; won’t understand the struggle we need to go through to get recognition! What gives you the right to simply trample on our pride and credibility?! Huh?! We, as drivers of Kanagawa, are known as the masters of mountains by others, being the very best drivers out of all prefectures! You have no right to steal that from us with your own uncontrollable madness for wreaking havoc!! Who do you think you are to prey on us?!”

“And who gives you the right to run your mouth on what is right and wrong?”

“...!”

“I do what I want, and if you’ve a problem we can fight it out or duel it out, it’s your call!” The red-eyed girl declared, her voice now dead serious. Cold sweat begins to run down the man’s forehead. Clearly the poetic excuses as well as abstract perspective of what made him a proud racer had little to no effect in trying to dissuade her.

“H-Heh...you think you’re so tough just because you drove that Z which you use as a torture tool...but once I beat you on the downhill battle tonight, you’ll realize just how heavy the consequences are when you look down upon us drivers who strive to race for a greater cause, to fight for something worth of our lives and blood!” The driver declared still, with a nervous smile. “Just you wait, don’t think you’re going to get a fair fight from me...I am going to make sure that your reign of terror ends tonight, right here on the spot...!”

“Oh yeah, tell me something I don’t know! Blood is red, anything else? And do your worst; bring ALL your guys at me for all I care!”

“I will NOT allow a repeat of the horrors back in Gunsai Touge, you hear me?!” These words immediately struck a nerve in the girl’s head. Her expression became unreadable for split second. The S13 driver had managed to instigate a response, but the results could only be described as the worst possible outcome.

“Alright...now THAT...” her smile contorted into a crooked sneer. Her eyes widened with anger, slowly revealing her maniacal nature. “...ISN’T A VERY NICE THING TO SAY...!!”

“...!!” The sudden mood swing had caught the driver off guard; he quickly backed off away from her, his fear for her reaching new heights.

“You just HAVE to remind me of that....don’t you?!” The girl continued to yell at the S13 driver when he was still quaking with fear...

“DON’T YOU?!”

“O-Of course I have to...Kagerou Kouka...” The driver finally uttered the name of the female. “I know of all the bad things you’ve done back then......you monster...!”

“Monster, freak, witch...I get that a lot, but what does that make you who would stand in front of me then, acting high and mighty, mister?” Kagerou asked in return, once again startling the driver who dared to try weighing her down with past sins. “And after all that I’ve done you just call me ‘bad’? I guess I’ll have to do a whole...LOT WORSE to meet up to your criteria then...”

“G-get away from me, you freak! Don’t think this will be the end...!! If you even think about catching me, hell’s gonna wait for you! I’ll make sure all people know of what you’ve done! Try and stop me if you can!!” The S13 driver backed off as Kagerou slowly walked towards him. He got into the Silvia and quickly hit on the reverse gear to drive out from the parking area and drove off to the downhill route of Nagao pass. As Kagerou watched the Nissan disappear, she grabbed hold of her left sideburn and clenches it with a sick smile.

SPOILER

“Oh, I won’t be stopping you...I’ll just obliterate you...bones and all.”

The driver was thoroughly shaken by that encounter. But at the same time, he was furious with himself for failing to race her. His whole body was quivering. He tried to compose himself for long enough to drive while attempting to make a phone call. As the S13 continued to drive towards the beginning line from the peak of Nagao, he finally managed to get a response from his contact.

“Hey, guys...it’s me.” The driver panted. “There’s been...a change in plans, alright. I found her. I couldn’t force her to race me, but I think I just made her mad...so don’t let your guard down and don’t mess up the timing. We’ll flank that b*tch together!”

“We gotcha man.” The contact said calmly. “It’s time to find out if this crazy b*tch can take on a bunch of bulldozers with just a puny Nissan Fairlady. We’ll make sure she suffers badly before we take her out of commission and let her know how it feels like to be humiliated!”

“Let’s do it then! It’s so on now!” The driver then hung up his phone and focused on the throttle as he floors it all the way and accelerated ahead without thinking about anything else. “It’s time for this demonic Z33 horse shit to get cleaned and wiped from this place for good; I’ll beat you to a pulp, Kagerou Kouka!! Come at me, you crazy dog!”

As the S13 continued to blast through the path, another engine sound was heard. An ominous engine noted from the blood-red Z33 suddenly rushed out from the abyss, moments after the S13 had passed. It then drifted all the way towards the starting line with shocking control for its savage speed.

The road’s width made it easy for the S13 to navigate with very high speed, but the driver didn’t dare challenge the grip limit. He played it safe with a grip oriented maneuver for the first corner.

Moments after the S13 passed, the crimson Z emerged, with its deafening engine sound shattering the silence like an unleashed wild animal on the hunt. Despite the insane speed, Kagerou wasn’t fazed in the slightest. To her, the only thing that mattered was satisfying the overwhelming urge to hunt down the car escaping from her.

The Z33 tore through the first corner sideways, the sped and angle it carried seemed almost uncontrollable. And yet surprisingly, Kagerou managed to stay in control by adjusting the acceleration pedal with her rather light foot. By the time she cleared that wide curve with an out-out maneuver; she dealt a massive blow to the S13 driver’s morale. The tiny specks of lights on his car’s rear mirror suddenly expanded into a deathly glow, hinting his end is coming near.

“Oh shit, oh shit...!!” The driver panicked. “She’s getting close...! That...FREAK!” Instincts of survival kicked in as he floors on the acceleration pedal as if his life depended on it. The S13 accelerated to 120 km/h, just barely opening a gap between the two cars. Little did he realize that the next wide turn is coming up. The S13 hurtled in too fast and he was forced to brake hard. In this situaton, such a move was a death sentence. “Oh crap, please don’t!!”

“Tag, you’re it!” Kagerou declared with an almost maniacal smile as she rushed towards the rear bumper of the S13. Not paying any heed to the car in front on declaring her to slow down, she timed her braking to let as much force as possible be shifted to the front, just moments from impact.

The red Z33 slammed the S13 as soon as it starts to make a right turn. The S13 was a sitting duck. Kagerou scored a clean hit, the force of a wrecking ball slammed straight towards the rear bumper of the S13. The right side brake lights were immediately smashed, and the rear bumper now dangled about on one side, spraying sparks as it was dragged across the tarmac.

“AAAAHHHHH!!” The disaster struck as hard as it could. The S13’s right rear was lifted by the heavy impact. With no grip on the rear tires, the S13 is now wall-riding on the guardrails of the outer lane. Kagerou backed off to witness the S13 slowly chip off its bodywork, bit by bit while he driver desperately tried to recover.

“Ahahahahahahaha!!!” Kagerou cackled childishly at the pleasure of the carnage she just made on that one move. The S13 finally managed to recover from that horrible wall-grind, but by the time it went back on the road, the left side of the car was badly damaged. The left body was scratched and dented almost beyond recognition, with the lens of the braking lights on the left side also shattered by the repeated impacts, leaving a huge trail of debris on the outer lane of that road.

“GOD DAMN YOU!! YOU FREAK!!” The driver cursed. He was not hurt, but he was badly shaken. He can only imagine the world of pain he is going to get into if this race goes on any longer. Pride of Kanagawa racers? Teach her a lesson? Revenge? None of those mattered anymore. All he was concerned with now was escaping with the remains of his car before Kagerou reduces his machine into a pile of junk.

“Come on now, you asked for this, and I responded in kind, mister!” Kagerou laughed. “If you don’t try any harder, you WILL die!”

As they raced through the narrowing sections pass the first checkpoint, the S13 driver regained his composure by trying to avoid going the inner lane too much. The gutters were completely exposed on that zone. If he’s not careful enough, he will fall with the front tires stuck inside, a dangerous enough situation normally. The consequences of an accident with Kagerou behind him made him feel sick at the thought.

Kagerou backed off slightly, mimicking the S13’s line. She could’ve easily closed the distance, but it was far more entertaining to stalk her prey, waiting for a chance to strike even harder. As the S13 cleared the twisty paths of the section, taking care to stay clear off the gutters, the hairpin was coming right in front of him. It was a very sharp and steep one at that. He was traveling over 100km/h, and if he didn’t slow down, he would overshoot the turning point for that curve.

He shifted the Silvia to the outer lane, preparing for an out-in-out maneuver, until...

“...”

Kagerou took full advantage of the S13’s preparation maneuver. She accelerated hard, positioning her car side by side with the Silvia, forcing it to stay on the outer lane. Inside the Z, she was smiling evilly, trying to predict what the panicking driver will do with the S13 now being pinned for the second time. The Z33’s front bumper actually nudged the damaged left body of the S13 and it’s slowly forcing it to the opposite direction of the hairpin, putting the driver in a gravely dangerous position.

“AH, YOU BLOODY PSYCHO!!” The driver shrieked in fear, with his instincts acting up again, he stomped on the brakes. His speed rapidly fell and almost below 40 km/h. The Z33 shot pass, and blitzed through the hairpin with no problems at all. Shortly after as the S13 tries to tackle the hairpin too, the Z33 braked for a moment and waited for the S13 to catch up.

The S13 driver didn’t care what she was trying to do, as the only thing mattered now was that he needed to escape from Nagao as soon as possible before his car was totaled. The Z33 moved aside to the outer lane, giving the S13 a chance to take its lead back. There was a strong urge deep down in the Silvia driver’s heart to attack Kagerou’s Z out of spite and revenge.

“You’re the lowest type of scum, Kagerou Kouka!” The driver thought, his blood boiling as he stomps on the accelerator. He didn’t try to pass Kagerou. In fact, he wasn’t planning to; he’s going to go through her, returning the favor. “If I am to go down, I am taking YOU DOWN WITH ME!! DIE, YOU BASTARD!!!”

The S13 charged blindly towards the slowing Z. However, he kept increasing his speed recklessly with no regards paid to course’s rhythm. Just ahead of them were a series of curves. From the moment his will give way to his hatred, his fate was sealed.

“Nope.” Kagerou chirped with a wide sneer. The Z shifted out of the way, letting the S13 hurtle by...into the outer guardrail. Kagerou paid the Silvia no mind as she passed him and danced through the follow corners like nothing had happened.

“OH SHIT!! NOOOO!!” The S13 driver tries to steer back on the correct direction, but it was already too late. And even if he managed to turn the car in time, the car went into a nasty slide, but it couldn’t maintain the angle enough to avoid the inevitable. The front bumper slammed straight into the outer guardrail, and the left headlight was completely smashed inside with the front hood bent.

The impact shook the driver badly, but he still hasn’t given up on his hands holding the steering wheel. He couldn’t even think straight anymore as he wildly turns the car as much as he can, hoping that it may somehow avoid the car from rubbing the guardrail any further. But that was another fatal mistake. The S13 spun for a short moment. And by the time the car spins back to the guardrail again, its rear impacts on an arm supporting it. The rear bumper made a loud clanking noise and with a deafening snap, it spins the car again on another direction forcing it out of control and finally the car slowly dropped its front right tires on the exposed gutter. With a loud thud, the driver felt like he sank halfway.

That can only mean that he has fallen into the course hazard that most drivers always want to avoid. He quickly unfastened his seatbelts and crawled out of his car on the passenger’s side as he watched his steps carefully to make sure that he didn’t stop on any sharp debris. He can hear hissing from his car, and much to his horror, the S13 is now dangling about with the front hood smashed in partially and the car seem to show signs of oil leak.

The driver fell weak down on his knees as his eyes could not believe the carnage that was unfold before his eyes, all due to his own recklessness.

“Ah, that’s it? What a letdown, I was expecting more than just a few sparks!” Kagerou thought. Glacing at the rear mirror,she didn’t see any signs of the S13. She then concentrated on driving again as she nailed it through the second checkpoint.

The Z33 continued blitzing through the curves, while little did the driver realize, that her night is far from over. There were two idling Toyota Hi-Aces at the side of the road with their headlights shut off, waiting for the red Nissan to go pass them. Kagerou noticed them, but she pays them no heed. The Hi-Aces also have regular like rims on the wheels, there was nothing remotely suspicious about them.

“Found the target, go go go!!” The double Hi-Aces immediately took off Z passed. The engine’s response, thanks to a supercharger, was immediate. The tires hooked up and launched them after Kagerou without leaving a hint of tire smoke behind.

“Hey, where’s he?” The first Hi-Ace asked as he adjusted his hands-free device.

“No idea! The last time I tried contacting him, the line’s been completely cut off! That sick freak must’ve done something to the S13!”

“It’s payback time then!” The drivers were determined to stop Kagerou’s rampage on its tracks. They relentlessly chased after her, taking advantage of every moment possible to close the gap.

Back to the Z33, Kagerou was maneuvering through the apex in an out-in-out style. She managed to clear the corner with minila speed loss. That’s also when she noticed there’s multiple specks of lights appearing on the rear. She can hear lots of strange engine sounds. Something like a silenced whirring high-pitched noise along...

“Superchargers?” Kagerou immediately recognized the noise made by the vehicles behind. She decelerates to see what was coming her way. By the time the headlights came close enough for her to make out of the machines, she was surprised. “That’s...Hi-Aces?! TWO OF THEM!”

“We gotcha now, you little red freak!” One of the Hi-Ace’s drivers uttered with a nervous smile, waiting to prey on the little Nissan in front of him. “I don’t know what you’ve done to our friend, but no matter! Your terror ends tonight!”

The two Hi-Aces accelerated hard to catch up and position themselves close enough to her to shunt her off. The Z had navigated through the more gentle curves on the section of second checkpoint, and Kagerou slowly held back on the throttle to give the double van formation a chance to try something on her.

By this point, the Hi-Aces had moved to both sides of the Z. They were so close to sandwiching Kagerou that it was quite a scary sight to behold. However, Kagerou didn’t seem to show any signs of panic, as if she had expected them to try something like this.

“We got her now! Sandwich the shit out of that little bug!!” The driver gave the signal to sandwich the Nissan as both Hi-Aces proceed to steer their way straight towards impacting the red Z.

“And....NOPE!” Kagerou braked hard, even using her handbrake, stopping the car as quickly as possible. The two big vans missed the Z by an inch, instead colliding with each other, breaking their synchrony. With Kagerou being the chaser once again, she is out for another hunt. This time on larger preys...

“Gah! Watch it, dumbass!” The driver on the right Hi-Ace yelled. Both Hi-Aces swerved violently, trying to regain control.

“YOU watch it, man! I almost had her back there!”

“Quiet! We’re in front now! Block her!” Quickly regaining their composure, the two vans regrouped and focused on blocking the Z33. Kagerou was slowing down as well. She knew exactly what they’re trying to do, and had already planned her next move.

Approaching the next hairpin, all three cars braked hard. The Hi-Aces shuffled closer together, hoping to use their combined width to block off the Z’s route. As they were slowly nearing the apex, Kagerou shifted her focus on the van’s brake lights, watching them light up.

Her expression calmed for a split second...however, she had sealed their fates.

She let out a sinister smile.

Both Hi-Aces tried their best to avoid touching one another, their clumsy movements leaving an opening on the inside. However, Kagerou doesn’t attack yet. As the vans brake, she sees the opportunity she’s been waiting for. She accelerates hard, trying to gain as much momentum as she can before braking.

The force gained from that short burst of acceleration wasn’t much, but it’s more than enough to force the Hi-Ace blocking the inner lane into the other Hi-Ace. Both vans were now damaged but the Hi-Ace on the inside was worst off. Not only had it been shunted hard at the back, but the front headlights were smashed from the impact with the other van.

“Oh shit!” Both drivers were caught off guard by this sudden attack. Any driver with a regard for safety wouldn’t even dare to try something as dangerous as this, and clearly they have misjudged the Z driver’s sense of hostility.

They quickly readjusted their positions. The next series of corners had exposed gutters, so the battered vans played it safe and kept to the outside of the road. Although they were still blocking the Z, it didn’t matter to Kagerou anymore. They were blindly playing into her hands, and the thought split her grin even wider.

“Just as I thought...” Kagerou thought lightheartedly, her sick smile widening as she spoke. “Nagao really is the best feeding ground ever! I don’t think I’ll ever need to worry about going ‘hungry’ tonight! Come on, let’s play a little longer, you fat pigs!!”

The wider and gentler section of the second checkpoint is coming up, and from here on the road is wide enough for almost three SUVs to go side by side. Kagerou however, didn’t pay the terrain any mind and maintained a good distance from the two Hi-Aces.

As the first wide hairpin curve arrives on the left side, the double HiAces immediately decelerate and tried to block the Z33 again. Neither noticed that the Z33 was already 20 meters behind, and the driver is not showing any signs of making a move at all. The Z attacked the inner Hi-Ace again. This time, she shows the Hi-Ace no mercy, determined to spin it.

“Oh crap!!” The attacked driver quickly counter steered back to stabilize itself while the Z33 continued pushing against the van’s rear. Just as the Hi-Ace was showing signs of spinning, she quickly backed off. The van, still counter steering, snapped the other way, almost too close to spinning out. “Damn that freak! She’s playing games with us! SON OF A BASTARD!!”

“At this rate we’re gonna turn into that freak’s punching bag...what to do now, man?”

“I don’t know! W-We have to try and reduce her fighting spirit by forcing her off the road somehow!!”

“But she doesn’t seem to even try and overtake us! How the hell are we gonna do that?!”

“Hell if I know!!”

As they continued arguing, Kagerou was already preparing for another attack. It won’t be long before the drivers ahead are dealt the final blow. The next curve is coming up and this one is a wide and gentle right turn, one that can be taken by moderately high speed nonetheless.

“Dammit, forget about blocking her! Just outrun her!!” No longer caring about assaulting the Z33 behind them, the drivers immediately floored on the accelerator, trying to run away from the Z33. As soon as they did that, the crimson-eyed girl knew the moment she waited for had come.

“My favorite part of the game!” Kagerou chuckled childishly. As the long straight was exposed before her and the drivers running away, beyond the guardrails there towards the wide hairpin was a fairly steep ravine...there’s no telling how high that side of the mountain pass was and the Mount Fuji can easily be seen there on the shrine’s parking spot even on night. Putting aside the scenery however, Kagerou’s aim seemed to be clear enough as she immediately declares...

“SUDDEN DEATH.”

Kagerou’s eyes widened. She can almost feel the rampaging desire to destroy overflowing inside her. Embracing this barely contained excitement, she stomped on the acceleration pedal. The engine howled in fury, catapulting the Z33 into its prey.

The wide hairpin is approaching. The Hi-Aces, no longer in formation, were setting up for the corner. In contrast to the slowing vans, the Z33 rushes in with a very fast acceleration, and then...it happened.

The Z adjusted its line, aiming for the very same Hi-Ace that she had rammed before. She braked slightly at the last moment, shifting all weight to the front just as they collide. She scored a direct hit, the impact was so strong that it nearly lifted one of the rear tires off the ground. Kagerou continued to push the van’s rear, forcing it sideways and onto the outer lane. The van was on the verge of spinning out, but she wasn’t done yet. She backed off slightly, before dealing the HI-Ace the final blow.

"OH... SHIT!!"

The driver cursed, trying hard to recover, but to no avail as the car smashed its rear to the guardrail. The impact was so great it bent the guardrail all the way in. The huge vehicle skidded off and started running on the gravel near the shrine, though somehow it managed not to plow into it. Despite the near miss, the HiAce's driver still cannot gain control of the car.

Not thinking about anything else other his own life, the driver stomped on the brakes in hopes of stopping the van. Right when it was about to stop, it almost fell into the ravine with the guardrail still holding the van. The driver pulled the e-brake to force it into a halt.

The van later on has finally came into a complete standstill, just inches away from falling into the ravine. The driver kept panting heavily and is trying hard to catch his breath.

“Whoa, bro! You alright there?” His phone chirped on the earphone that he is still wearing. The driver panted a few more times before he finally composed himself and found his voice again.

“...I, I am okay there...but my van’s thrashed...I nearly fell to my own death, but thanks to the guardrail I managed to survive...god dammit! I am so not doing this shit again...!” The driver panted in fear, clearly his spirit is completely exhausted and he is no longer in condition to get back in action. “You’re on your own, man...I am sorry, but I can’t go on anymore...the car’s wasted. Hell, I am wasted...”

“Tch, damn that crazy b*tch!!” The other driver of HiAce cursed as he cuts off his phone finally and tossed the hand-free device to the passenger seat. He has to focus on escaping, but given the Z’s overwhelming power advantage, it was a tall order. After losing one member, he knew it wasn’t long before it was his turn, and the Z33 behind him will definitely stop at nothing to see him go down.

“You’re the laaaaaast!” Kagerou hummed. “So what are you gonna do now?”

The Z33 is now right behind the HiAce as they cross the third checkpoint and on to the next wide hairpin. There is a long straight before that, so if the driver wats to escape he has to do it now. However, there was a more pressing issue. The Z33 has disappeared from his rear mirror. Even the headlights have vanished into thin air. He tried to take a peek on the mirror to see if the Z33 is close.

“...!!?!?”

Nothing. The driver cannot see the red Z anywhere. The surroundings have become suspiciously silent as well. He couldn’t hear the roar of the Z’s engine anywhere. The Z33 has disappeared from his rear completely.

“W-what the hell...? What the hell is this? What the bloody shit just happened?!! Where is she...?!” The sudden disappearance was so disorientating, it was causing more hell for him than when she was pinning him down. Everything had become so silent, that for a brief moment, he actually considered the possibility of her giving up the chase.

“Dammit....dammit! Where the hell are you!!” His mind couldn’t focus anymore as little did he realize that the hairpin is already closing in to him on the front. “SHIT!!”

He braked hard, trying to steer away from the outer lane. On the wide apex of that hairpin, there were no guardrails, instead there were three handrails placed there. The Hi-Ace managed to hug the tarmac and steer accordingly, but just when the driver sighed in relief that he might overshoot the curve...

He hears an engine noise approaching, at very fast rate...

Just as he glanced at his rear mirror, the nightmarish vehicle reappeared. The red Z33 charged straight into the inside line and shoved the HiAce on the outside. This move threw van off the road, straight into the handrails..

“OH FUUUUUC--”

The man couldn’t even finish his curse since the divebomb knocked the HiAce off balance. All control was lost as the van started giving up traction in the middle of the apex.

The HiAce straightens up a bit but understeers into the handrails. Beyond that point was nothing but sand and grass. The van fell into it, flipped to its side, and plowed into quite a handful of trees before finally parked into an abandoned house. The driver was knocked out for a few minutes but despite being able to survive the crash, the same cannot be said for his van...

Back to the Z33, Kagerou managed to clear the hairpin with ease. She did a 360 degree spin before she stops and gets out. She walked towards a guardrail, peering at the woods to see any traces of the carnage. She couldn’t see much, but what was certain was that the Hi-Ace was definitely silenced. Kagerou can only smile at her ‘accomplishments’ tonight as she stretched her arm for a bit while cracking her fists and flexed her fingers.

“Ahh........now that was satisfying.” Kagerou turned her eyes back to the crimson Z33, there were dents and scratches on the bumper, and the indicators were shattered. It is clear taht she has reinforced the body of the car, but since she rammed three cars in one go tonight, the damage is still evident. But it didn’t matter as Kagerou was more than satisfied for one night already. She patted on the front hood of the Z33.“Let’s play another time, eh?”

Higher up, at the side of the road, a small gallery watched as Kagerou drove away from the wreckage. Within this small group of racers, a female stood, isolated from the watching crowd. She was an unfamiliar face to the locals, which normally shouldn't have been a problem. But there was an unapproachable air to this unknown girl. From just a quick glance, there were too many things that stood out about her. She was clad in elegant, almost gothic clothing, completely unfit for racing. Also, even in the dark, the locals could see that she was ghostly pale. But the most surprising thing by far was that this frail looking female was the driver of what looked like a heavily tuned Skyline GT-R. The black R34 gave off an air of purposefulness, yet its driver seemed like anything but suited to driving it.

Ignoring the locals, who were clearly questioning her credentials, she turned her gaze away from the course and towards the sky.

“To think such wild creatures exist on this stage...I guess I’ll have to watch myself from now on...or things could get...unsightly even for me...hmm...”

- つづく -

This post has been edited by Rin on Oct 13 2013, 06:57 AM

Oooh, so it's finally up huh!

Well better start reading here so I can give a full feedback later. =D

@Rin
That... Was an action-packed chapter buddy. Good job

And... I also liked the way you made that Z33 driver a character that we'd all love to hate... Though if her "past sins" are any indication, this character seems to be one of those tragic types... Makes me want to see how you'll develop her character.

Looking forward to more brother

Oh and another thing... I wonder which character you based Mr. FC Glasses on?

This post has been edited by RB33 on Oct 14 2013, 05:08 AM

That black R34 is
INTERESTING

Holy shit...this chapter's just....wow..I am speechless. o_o

Kagerou sure is one nasty crazy b*tch, isn't she? It's no wonder why people got scared of her or hate her so much...jeez.

On the other hand, I am stoked to see what the R34 will do in the next or future chapter. He sure seemed interesting enough... LOL

Also...on Saburo's part, I can't wait to see him back in action. It's been a few chapters since he last raced. XD

Idling the main character too long isn't really a good sign, no?

Anyway, outstanding chapter again. 8/10.

P.S: I love Sakuya's new hairstyle.

And now....here's to you for the bio of the character that catches most people's eyes I believe by now...

Kagerou Kouka (紅霞 陽炎)

SPOILER

And the belated introduction of one of Saburo's trio.

Hatori Fuuyama (風山 羽鳥)

SPOILER

This post has been edited by Rin on Oct 16 2013, 09:15 PM

Damn...Kagerou looks scary there.... O_O

And Hatori is just...wow....

Nice job as always, Rin!