A/N: I realized this morning that it had been well over a month since I updated this story last and although I said it would be sporadic, I didn't mean to go that long in between updates. Granted life got in the way, but going forward I should be updating this one a little more often (still sporadic though). A lot of readers wanted to know the story behind the gas pedal, and here it is. Enjoy!
#83… Hold gas pedal down in car instead of brick when you want car to drive itself like they do in the movies - Umm, I didn't really try this one… local punks drove the car into the lake. It didn't drive itself there. I can tell you that this does work.
During Satoshi's third year in middle school, Ouran closed its doors for a short break allowing its students to go where ever they wanted to in the world for a week. Haruhi and Mori had recently started to date and they wanted to spend time together (even though Tamaki and the twins were trying to convince her to go to Europe or some other place that would require a passport. Kyoya reminded them time and time again that she did not have one, but it seemed to flitter out of the heads without taking root). However, instead of flying her off to who knows where and separating the couple, the Morinozuka and Haninozuka families decided to take Haruhi and Ranka with them to the lake (and dear reader Tamaki and the twins were none the wiser because they thought she was going on vacation with her father. She just didn't include the fact that her secret boyfriend, his brother, two cousins, and other family members would be present. It was better this way).
Two days into the mini vacation all of the teens had gathered together in the media room to watch an old movie, making sure the two Haninozuka siblings remained as far apart as possible (now dear reader let me preface the rest of this story by saying that Haruhi was just getting to know her friends' siblings and still trying to get used to them and the fighting, so what happened after this was not really her fault). During the movie, one of the actors used a brick to hold the accelerator down and then released the break so that it would drive off a pier allowing him to get away, and this started the wheels turning for one certain Morinozuka family member (dangerous wheels were turning).
After a couple of minutes after the scene ended, Satoshi stated, "I bet that would work with a shinai just as well as the brick."
"Are you a moron? There is no way that would work with a shinai," Chika declared, challenging his best friend's way of thinking.
Glaring at his cousin, the younger Morinozuka retorted, "Yes, it will. If it works with a brick, it can work with a shinai… and probably even better than the brick."
Haruhi at this point decided to give her opinion, "I'm sorry Satoshi, but I have to agree with Yasuchika on this one. In fact, I don't think it would actually work with a brick or rock or anything else. This is a movie and therefore, it isn't real. Everything is faked and there is no way you could force a car like that with just a brick. I mean, yes, it would hold down the accelerator and force the car forward, but it would be too hard to release the break and get out of the way in time because it would lurch forward. Also, regardless of the fact that the steering wheel is tied so that it will drive straight, it is not certain it would go along the trajectory that you have established. It could still veer because of any number of variables such as holes, rocks, or the wheels not being straight to begin with. So basically, none of this would actually work."
Satoshi blushed a little with embarrassment, but it was missed since the movie was still playing and it was dark in the room. He felt like he had just been challenged by two people in the room and needed to prove that it was not all fake. With his feathers ruffled, he declared, "I concede that many things in movies are enhanced or completely impossible, but not this. It will work, you just have to have your timing down and a big enough target."
"Sato-Chan, I think you might be right, but there is no way to prove it," Hunny sided with his younger cousin.
Teasing the other teen and attacking his brother at the same time (or at least attacking their way of thinking), Chika snorted, "You are both morons. There is no way and the only way to prove it would be to demonstrate your theory and that isn't going to happen." (I didn't say it was a good argument dear reader, but as you can see, Satoshi was kind of goaded into what happened next).
"I say it will work!" Satoshi declared emphatically.
"Yah, you just keep believing that cousin and maybe one day you will walk on water also," Chika sneered getting as close as he could to Satoshi without kissing him. They were having a staring contest and neither wanted to break eye contact.
Mori stood up and pulled his brother and Chika apart, "Enough you two. We can look it up online later to see if anyone has done something with the brick. I am sure it has been done in real life and videoed." Used to being the voice of reason on these trips, he separated the two cousins and then returned to his seat next to Haruhi, once again linking his hand with hers and loving the feel of her warmth infusing with his.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Satoshi grumbled, "Fine. Whatever!" He may have said that, but the wheels were already turning and he knew exactly how to prove his point and win the argument.
That night after everyone had gone to bed, the youngest Morinozuka snuck out of the house grabbing the keys to one of the cars on his way to the garage. As silently as possible, he opened the garage door willing it to be quieter than it was and then drove the car out of the side building without turning on the lights. When he felt he was far enough away from the house, he turned off the engine and got out to prepare the car for his experiment.
"What do you think you are doing?" A voice from behind Satoshi called out forcing the teen to freeze and whip around ready to fight an attacker, but he only found Chika.
"For your information, I am about to prove you and Haruhi wrong," Satoshi stated and turned back around to finish preparing his experiment.
Snickering, Chika told him, "It isn't going to work and with your bad luck, the car will end up in the lake."
"No way. I am pointing it to the side of the lake, so it will go around, but if you think it might go in the lake that means you acknowledge that the brick would work, and ergo my shinai will work in the same manner."
Chika scoffed, "As if. There is no way the shinai will work. So you may as well give up now."
"Not going to happen."
"Then I will watch you fail."
"No, you will watch me succeed," Satoshi argued and finished his preparations. Getting in the car once again, he started the engine and made sure the parking break was in place and the car was in neutral. He placed one part of the shinai against the gas pedal and realized that it was too long to brace against the bottom of the seat and too short to brace against the back of the seat.
Laughing, Chika asked, "What's wrong cousin? Did you run into a problem? I told you a shinai wouldn't work!"
Satoshi glared out the window and an idea struck him. Carefully getting out of the car, he shut the door and then positioned the shinai once again so that it was against the accelerator and then braced it against the door. He then leaned through the window and put the car in gear and released the break. This is when he ran into a bit of trouble. The car took off with him still inside the window. He felt a huge bump and finally broke free of the car only to watch as it drove itself into the lake. It turned out Haruhi was right… there was no way to keep the car on a specified path; and the car sank to the bottom of the lake.
Sitting there astonished, Satoshi barely heard Chika walk up behind him, but he felt his cousin's hand land on his shoulder. He only knew one thing in that moment… he was so dead when his parents found out (and no dear reader, he didn't think about how to stop the car if it hadn't gone into a lake. It would have probably hit a tree or something, so he would have still be in trouble), "I think I need to leave the country."
"I think you need to leave the planet. Your parents are going to kill you. Wasn't that your brother's car? He might kill you too."
"Oh shit! That was Taka's car and he was planning on taking Haruhi out tonight!"
Shaking his head, Chika could only stare at the lake as he said, "It was nice knowing you."
Sometime between this and the moment everyone woke up that morning, Satoshi and Chika made it back to the house and in bed before anyone realized they had been missing. When it was discovered that the car was missing, everyone followed the tracks to the lake and the authorities were called. The shinai had dislodge itself when it went into the lake and was nowhere to be found in the car, in fact it was floating on top of the water, but it was determined that local punks were to blame since another car was found missing a week prior. Oh, everyone who had been watching the movie that night suspected Satoshi was to blame, but there was no proof; although it was odd that the keys were found in the ignition and a shinai was found in the same lake where the car was found. Very odd indeed.
Mori walked up to his brother after the police left and commented, "I guess a shinai really does work like a brick?" Without waiting on his brother's response, he wrapped his arm around Haruhi and left the scene of the crime.
Upon hearing his sibling's (and idol's) comment, Satoshi sweat dropped and lost all color (and very reminiscent of Tamaki) turned ash grey and then dissolved. He had been completely busted and he knew it. Never again would he try an experiment like this and it would be a long time before he got behind the wheel of a car ever again.
