Title: A Side Story In Mahora
Author: kct
Rating: K+
Category: Action/adventure, racing, romance, humour, etc.
Pairing: multiple, and yes there will be KonoSetsu too
Warnings/Kinks: Possibly too technical for some, minor ecchiness (although not soon), super long per chapter
Series Involved: Negima, Initial D, Wangan Midnight, original characters

Warning: I do not any of the Negima and the other anime characters, and the brands mentioned in the fanfic, although I would love to own one of the cars used in the fanfic.

Chapter 1: The Tourer V And The Girl In The Rain

April 12th.

It was raining, and Shun Akimoto just started driving away from the vicinity of the Mahora Academy. Shun, a 2nd year senior high school student at the boys' school, just started driving his newly purchased car, a blue Toyota Chaser Tourer V (JZX100), a week ago. Despite being 17, he gets to drive with consent from his parents and the law. He had sold off his Nissan Silvia Q's 1800 (S13) to finance the Chaser, which he feels is more comfortable than the Silvia, given his height of 183cm. The Silvia is primarily used as a transport to get around, since he can afford it, plus he does not use the train to get around. In addition to that, he is part of the new craze sweeping the people that drive a rear-driven car: drifting. The mastery of the art of getting the car sideways and bringing it back to control has been popularised by certain mangas and animes, plus the exposure to the professional D1 Grand Prix, which is held throughout Japan, now in it's 3rd season.

For one month, he has learned how to drift in the empty car parks around Mahora and Tokyo, despite having only the driver's license for about 2 months since the beginning of the year. Despite Silvias has been the main choice when it comes to going sideways, somehow he does not feel very comfortable with it. Given that his 1989 Silvia was a Q's trim, it comes with a normally aspirated 130ps engine, the CA18DE. He decided to install a turbo kit taken from an abandoned and wrecked S13 K's 1800, which he found, hidden in the mountains. In addition to the turbo kit, he grafted all the important components from the same car in his Q's at a workshop in Tokyo. It was literally an S13 K's, with only the Q's badge the only thing signifying that the car was one before that. With his part time job as a waiter in a restaurant in Mahora City, it was enough to support the whole process. But then after a while driving the Silvia, he was not comfortable with it. It was a fine car, but he prefers something bigger than the Silvia. It was then that he decided to sell off the Silvia to make room for another car, since he felt that he could not afford to maintain 2 cars at the same time.

Plus he wants something other than a Silvia. Something that is different from the rest. The more different it is, the better.

This is where the Chaser comes in. It was a fine looking sedan by Toyota, but probably suit the young executives more. During his time making up his mind on the right car to buy, there were other cars that suited his budget in the used car dealership. In the end, he picked the Chaser over the others, among them Lancer Evolutions, Imprezas, RX7s and such. He personally felt that those cars looked slightly too wild for a middle school student, although there was students driving those cars too. No mistake, it was a fine car, powered by the potent 1JZ-GTE single turbo engine with VVTi, Toyota's version of variable valve timing, good for about 280ps. The one he bought is a 1997-spec vehicle, equipped with manual transmission, since it was cheaper than the later vehicles, which are more or less the same, except for some cosmetic changes. It's missing out the nice kouki lights from the 1998 to 2000-spec vehicles. Despite of that, the Chaser does come with a nice extra: a HKS Super Drager exhaust, good for another 3-5ps. It was also equipped with lowering springs from Eibach, which helped to give a little more aggression by lowering the car, which otherwise looked plain, down to the wheels.

As he was slowly driving in the rain on Sakura Lane, he decided on a little stunt. He decided to try how this thing accelerates compared to the Silvia, with Sakura Lane being a long straight road. He then put his right foot off the accelerator, presses the clutch with his left foot the clutch, and goes down to 2nd gear before doing the reverse. The 1JZ-GTE screams loudly when the boost from the single turbocharger kicks in at about 2500rpm. He planted his foot on the accelerator, and then goes all the way to 7000rpm, which is the redline limit of the engine, before going to 3rd gear. The sound of the exhaust and the whine of the turbocharger fill the cabin. He runs over puddle of water, spraying water all over the place, rally-style. He felt a sense of adrenalin going down his spine, although he felt it was slightly slower than the Silvia, due to the lower power-to-weight ratio. Little he did realize that a girl was walking by, causing some of the water to hit her, despite having an umbrella. After he passed the puddle of water, he realized there was something at the roadside near to the puddle of water.

"Crap, is that a girl walking there? Looks like I has to turn back and see if she's alright," he muttered to himself.

He then proceeds to slam the foot brake and the clutch of the car, causing the rather heavy JZX100 Chaser to come to a stop in almost an instant. Lucky there was enough grips from the Yokohamas so it will not slip further. Thinking that it was the right thing to do, he puts the gear knob to reverse and slowly reverse back, making sure that he does not repeat what he did just now.

As Shun slows down and puts the car to a stop, he opens the door of the car. He left it open, and walks to the girl. He was not having an umbrella, so the rain drenched him, but he does not care. As he approaches the girl slowly, he can see that she was on the roadside, seemingly helpless. He turns his head around to see if anyone else was there. There was almost no one else at Sakura Lane at that time, due to the rain. Most of the students either stayed back to do some studies at the library or do their club activities, and he was free from the activities in the Technical Department that day. As he looked, the girl was still there.

He then pondered, "Gosh, what did I just do?" as he goes next to the girl.

She was a girl from the girls' middle high, judging by the type of uniform she wears. The colour of her hair is more or less like red-orange, with 2 ponytails tied on the upper side and 2 pigtails from back the lower side of her hair. It looked like she was completely hit by the water he has splashed all over the place, judging by how wet she was.

"Miss, are you all right?" Shun said to the girl. "Miss, I am really sorry for what I has done. It was unintentional…" he continued.

She was quiet at first, but then…

"Yes, I am…no, maybe not, whatever," she said, in a calm voice. Then she adds in a higher tone "But then you has to be responsible for what you did! Making me wet! Huh!"

Shun felt that she sounds cute, sort of. Hey, what am I thinking, I has did something wrong and I am thinking of something like that? No way, I am not as pervert as the others in my class. He then takes a deep breath. He is at a loss of what to do. The rain has not slowed yet, instead becoming heavier. He almost had forgotten that they're in the middle of the rain. He then decided. That's it, the only thing I can do at the moment, he thinks back.

"All right, if you don't mind, can I fetch you back to the dorms? Since I will take responsibility for what I did…" he said in a sheepish tone. "Do you mind that? Since it is still raining…"

"Hmph, of course! You are from the senior high right? We should be near to each other," the girl replied. "Well, what are we waiting for? It's still raining you know?" she continued as she runs to the parked Chaser. He can only sigh and walks back to the car. A big sweat rolls down his head.

Closing the door on the driver side, the girl was already seated on the passenger seat. She placed her bag at the rear seats, which troubled Shun, because he's afraid the seats may get wet. Thankfully it was not leather though, because it may be worse. He felt heavy because of the rain, so he proceeds to put his wet coat at the rear seats. He then wipes his spectacles with a cloth. He does not care much about anything, he only wants to get the girl home, and that's it. He then puts the gear shifter into first gear and the Chaser moves off slowly away from Sakura Lane. In a while it literally disappeared into the mist, covered by the rain.

As he goes from the interchange into the Shutokou from the toll, the girl suddenly asked, breaking the silence, "Hey, if you don't mind, can I ask you something? It seems that you're from the senior high, right? Judging by the uniform you wear."

"Yes you're right. 2nd year now."

"I see…2nd year? Then do you know this guy? Watanabe Kyochirou?"

" That guy? He's my classmate in 2-B. Why?"

"Oh, he was a senpai of mine at the lacrosse club I'm in. He seems to be a weirdo for me."

"Well, he behave all right in front of me," Shun replied back, as he pushes his spectacles up a bit.

"Hmmm…OK you seem to mind a bit." "What is with this car?" she asked, curious about the car she's in.

"This? It's my own car, financed using my own money. Just sold off my previous car to make way for this. Made a fortune from that, since I'm selling the accessories separately before the car itself. The money is more than enough to buy this, plus this car comes with extras, like the branded Pioneer audio system there," he said, pointing to the head unit by Pioneer. He adds,

"I will make sure this thing eats the popular sports cars for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My previous car wasn't that powerful, although it felt good."

"You're only 17 and this is already your 2nd car? You must be crazy!" she exclaimed in a shocked tone.

"But if I go on, I think you'll fall asleep, since you girls only know more about shopping than anything else," he retorts back.

"What did you just say? Saying we only know about shopping? A guy will never understand a girl's passion for shopping!" "Plus you're the one that done wrong in here!" she exclaimed at the remark.

"Hey, I am wet also right now?" Shun tried to fight back.

"Look, who started it in the first place?" the girl added as she showed the 'ghost expression' to him.

"OK, you win. I have nothing more to say." He said as he concedes defeat, knowing an argument would not do anything good.

The drive in the Shutokou was a breeze, thanks to the low amount of traffic. The Metropolitan Highway, better known as the Shutokou, is a series of interconnected highways to connect between cities in the eastern area; among them are Tokyo, Yokohama, Mahora City and others. Most lorries transporting goods from the ports and buses plies in the Shutokou during the day, but in the night, when traffic was minimal, it was an entirely different story. It became a giant racetrack for modified cars, from mild to excessive. There was word that tuners across Japan test their demo cars there before it was presented to the world, and it is rumoured that cars has been known to break the 300km/h barrier countless times.

As they pass by a lorry, the girl unlocks her seatbelt. Shun was then shocked at she had done, and said, "What in the world are you doing? Don't you know it's dangerous?"

"Just finding ways to dry myself faster, of course. And I know it's dangerous," she replied. She then takes the wet dark maroon coat that she has been wearing off. She untied the ribbon that she has been wearing on the collar of her shirt, and places it in the pocket of the coat, before throwing the coat onto the rear seat, not thinking about what it will do to the seat. She then unbuttons the collar of her shirt, with the dark maroon vest that she wears still on, probably helping to cover the wet shirt so nothing will be exposed. She tries hard not to let her rather short maroon checker skirt move too much, to not to show what's underneath it to the guy next to her. Those are the uniform of the girls from middle school, although the seniors wear different uniforms. For a guy, theirs would make them look more like businessman than anything else.

Shun didn't take any notice of this, as it was raining heavily. He then proceeds to switch on the headlights. The combination of normal yellow and the bright white-blue HID lights are sure helpful in the rain. She then puts the seatbelt back in place. But then, even the vest is too wet to be worn. She then decides to take the vest off, hoping the driver would not notice anything, and the aims the air-con vents at her. Shun then warns her, "You know, cold air does not help much. It will make you sick. Wait, I switch the heater on."

He sets the air-con to heating mode, but then he tries hard not to look at the girl, knowing that her shirt was wet, plus the camisole that she's wearing underneath the shirt was showing. He then pretends that nothing is happening, and then spots the exit to the dormitories. It was a rather fast journey, taking only about 20 minutes, given that it is raining. He slows down and enters the exit, in which he then turns into the area where the dorms are.

The rain is beginning to slow down by that time they reach the area. The Chaser approaches a junction to turn rightwards, but then suddenly a BMW appeared out of nowhere. It appeared to be heading their way. Having no choice, Shun swerves the Chaser inwards into the turn to avoid the BMW. After clearing the BMW, the Chaser suddenly begins to lose grip in the rear.

"Erm…what in the world is happening?" the girl screamed when this happened, holding to the handle above the window.

As the Chaser threatens to spin several times, Shun knew he could only do one thing.

He then turns the steering hard into the opposite direction. He depresses and presses the gas pedal several times. The front wheels of the Chaser was completely opposite the direction of the turn, and it smoothly drifted though the turn, with the rear almost touching the walls at the junction. After the car was back in the straight direction, he stops the car. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the lowering springs did help a bit, in addition to having LSD (Limited Slip Differential) as part of the Chaser's driveline.

"What happened just now? It was scary…"

"Well, this car suddenly appeared out of nowhere, then I swerved hard, in which I turn the steering…well, it's kind of complicated, and I don't know how to explain it. Basically it involves quick reaction." "OK, enough of that, we are near now to the dorms," he said as he changes the subject.

As the car reaches the front entrance of the girls' dormitory, he stopped by the roadside. He pulled the handbrake lever up, not before putting the gearshift to neutral. He realized he had not switch off the lights, in which he proceeds to do so. The Super Drager exhaust is still rumbling beneath the rear bumper, but the bass generated is not that high.

"OK, it seems that we're here. You can pack your stuff and go off now," Shun opened his mouth.

"Awww…going to miss this car. Never been sitting in private transportation for a long time." "I find that you are actually nice guy, although you may be a bit of a pervert at first…what's your name?" the girl asked.

"Me, why?" Shun was taken by surprise.

"Well, maybe we'll run into each other again, who knows? Or maybe we'll go for a round of karaoke one day! Hehe…" the girl smiled with a wink.

"…Akimoto Shun, 2-B of the senior high," he answered in a shy tone.

"What's with the shyness? I'm Shiina Sakurako! Nice to meet ya! Akimoto Shun! Hmmm, I wonder what to call you if I've ever run into you next time…" "Ah, I know, Shu-kun!"

A big sweat rolls down on Shun's face upon hearing that, leaving him completely speechless.

The red-orange haired girl, Sakurako, went out of the car, taking her belongings from the rear seat, and enters into the dormitory. He breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared into the dormitory. Still on his seat, he was in quite a state of disbelief. He never knew that he would use what he learned for fun will be used to avoid an accident. He dare not to imagine what will happen if he panicked. Adjusting his rimless spectacles, He then switches on the head unit of the Pioneer, and trance music was heard from the speakers as he drives back to the dormitory where he stays. The car moves away from the place, with only the exhaust sound of the car the only thing that remains as it disappears away.

Sakurako tried looking back to see whether the blue Chaser is still there or not, but by then it has already disappeared. As she reaches the door of her room and opens it, her friends, Madoka Kugimiya and Misa Kakizaki, greet her.

"Hey Sakurako, where has you been? You returned quite late you know? We're worried about you?" Misa said, "See? You are drenched in the rain…"

"Was a bit late, no thanks to the rain. But someone was nice enough to send me home, hehehe," she smiled back.

"Who is it? We want to know!" the other girls asked. "Oh…a guy is it?"

"No, it's nothing like that!"

Well, partly edited the chapter. Reviews are welcomed!