Nasudake, Tochigi

Mount Nasu is one of the mountains with a beautiful waterfall in Tochigi, next to Gunma where the girls lived. Ruri drove to Mt. Nasu in the morning to continue her assigned job. The baby blue 3000GT pulled over at the gas station somewhere in Nasu town. While filling up her tank, she asked the attendant about the pass she was headed.

"Why are you asking about that old pass for? I advice you not to use it. It's a very old road and no one is using it ever since the new road had built to replace it a few years ago. I suggest that you use the new road, it's just a 100 meters after that road on your right," the man said in his uncomfortable expression.

"So dess? I thought it's a short cut to get to Shirakawa, and from the map… it's better to take this road. By the way, do you know a Nissan that usually uses that road? It's in a dark color." Ruri asked in her willful manner.

The man looked at her in his disbelief, followed by a sighed. He looked at her 3000GT, guessing that if she was looking for the S15. He asked after a long pregnant pause, "You're not going to Shirakawa, right? You're looking for the driver, what's that regarding?"

Ruri looked into his eyes and nodded, "I'm here to find that person I saw in the last few days. Actually, my friend wants to challenge him to a race. I guess you know him, right? Can you just pass this message to him? Thanks!" She then handed him a small note.

"Err… He's not that kind of person you should challenge. Do you know that he only races under some conditions?…" the man asked, trying to persuade the girl to change her mind.

Ruri paid the bill and replied, "My friend won't drop that idea so easily." She drove off at a high speed before turning into that desert pass. Her mind was thinking about the racer they were going to challenge. She did not know what kind of person he was, but she knew that her job now was to get as much details of the course as she could. The road was in a pretty bad shape, narrow and there were a few missing and damaged guardrails. Her 3000GT bounced on to the tarmac road and spun after she ran into the pile of hard soil on the left hand side.

"Phew! Lucky!" She sighed in her big relief. "Tough!"

At midnight

A man in his messy shirt and loose tie emerged from the dark grey S15 at the top of Mt. Nasu. He leaned against his car with a stick of Marlboro Light hanging on his lower lip, as he waited for his friend. At the bottom of the pass, a grey 300ZX roared up this dark and desert pass and pulled over next to the S15.

"What's up, Koji? Look likes you having a little fight with your girl again?" Toshio, a man in a dirty grey workshop overall, asked with a grin after he looked at that messy, just woke up attire.

"Hai, I was about to have some fun, but…" Koji sighed with annoyance when he recalled what happened an hour ago that turned him off and rushed here. He continued, straight into the point, "A girl is challenging us to a race tomorrow. I heard that she's kinda pretty so are you interested?"

"A girl? Umm… It depends if she's worth… Pretty? Whose description was that?" Toshio smirked.

Koji nodded with a smile, "Our friend at the gas station. I suggest you'd better dress up in cleaner attire or else she will be mine."

Takahashi brothers, Fumihiro and Kenta arrived at the peak of the desert pass in Nasu after Ryosuke heard about the Celica's schedule from a reliable source. They came to watch the race between the mysterious Celica and the local racers. To Ryosuke, he did not coming to this pass, especially if he was to see one of the men here. Toshio walked over to Ryosuke with a suspicious grin on his face, which reminded Ryosuke of someone.

"Long time no see! What are you doing here tonight? I think Koji will be very happy to see you again here. You might drive him crazy!" Toshio greeted his old friend or maybe old rival, throwing his heavy arm on Ryosuke's shoulder.

"You knew it." Ryousuke shook off Toshio's arm and replied, "Let me introduce you my brother, Keisuke and this is Kenta, our team member."

"Hi, I'm Ishida Toshio." The long hair man greeted both younger guys.

"Where's Koji?" Fumihiro asked when he did not see another man. He had accidentally stepped on the mine, as Ryosuke immediately gave his friend a fierce stare.

"Here he is!" Toshio replied and looked at the S15 that just arrived.

"What are you doing here, dude?" Koji asked Ryosuke as he wrapped his hands around the taller man. "Miss me?"

Keisuke and Kenta were bewildered by Koji's action. Ryosuke pushed Koji away immediately and gave him a usual cold glare. He did not like Koji's tease since they first knew each other and was once mistaken that Koji was gay. Koji noticed the two boys' expression and smiled shyly.

"Hey, take it easy!" Koji told Keisuke and Kenta who had already moved a few steps backward.

"Where's our little chick, Toshio?" Koji asked his friend after he returned to his normal self.

"She should be here soon." Toshio replied, "I'll show her how dangerous this pass is."

"Make way!" someone shouted, as he saw a flash headlight from the coming car.

A red Celica drove pass the men. Airisu was surprised to see Keisuke at the pass. She pulled up behind the pink Supra and got out in her boy's outfit, pulling her cap low enough not to be recognized. She slowly walked over to Toshio and Koji.

In the meanwhile, Ryousuke was watching the Celica's driver talking to his friends. After a short while, Airisu stomped back to her friends in an annoying manner after hearing what the two men wanted. Ryosuke knew how angry the Celica's driver was by watching her puff and huff at the other side of the road.

"You've lost to a girl!" He told his brother. Keisuke turned to look at the young driver. The Redsuns could not believe that that was a girl.

'I was beaten by this girl twice! God!' Keisuke cursed silently in his disbelief, crunching his fist.

The race started with the downhill in a short while. Celica VS S15. Airisu threw away her cap and put on dark sunglasses, revving up her engine. The Celica was roaring furiously, just like her moods at this moment.

"The Celica purposely let Koji take the lead." Ryousuke commented when he saw that the Celica slowed down her speed a little before it moved behind the S15. "That Celica is a little strange; I've never seen any Celica sound this way before. Keisuke, do you know how good this girl is? Although Koji is good, I doubt he could stop the girl from passing."

Keisuke frowned when he heard his brother's comment.

"I know Koji well. He might not let the girl win this race that easily because they engaged in some sort of forfeit and Koji won't let it slip." Ryosuke continued, recalled his match with Koji two years ago.

In the meanwhile, Keisuke was hoping that the Celica would win the race, as he just simply disliked Koji.

"I never expected to see another young driver around here." Ryosuke said, thinking about the Akina 86's driver.

"Aniki, are we going to race with her?" Keisuke asked curiously.

"She's not belonging to any team and no one knows her home course." Fumihiro added.

Ryousuke had his own thought. In any cases, he would definitely stick to his rule. However, he was quite interested to see how the uphill race would unveil. He noticed the Supra and 3000GT that followed behind the Celica since it arrived. The uphill race followed shortly after the S15 passed the finishing line.

"5…4…3…2…1…Go!" Ruri put her hand down, while both cars roared passed her.

Airisu and Ruri watched the two car raced neck to neck as they approached the first turn. Kirie stepped up and managed to take the lead. She swung back as she cleared the first corner.

'Don't look at the mirror.' Airisu voiced rang twice as she tried to look at her rear view mirror.

Kirie told herself again and paid full attention on the road. She raced in full throttle on the 400 meter long straightway. The difference in their horsepower made her easier to widen the gap on the straight road. Inside her, she tried very hard to recall all the lessons that Airisu had taught her and calculated her next move. Her foot was on the brake, but not stepped on it yet. // Here// She kicked down on the brake, shifted down to gear two and turned the steering wheel as she cross the deep corner.

"Let me see how good you are," Toshio said as he watched the Supra with two car-spaces behind it.

Kirie was doing well in the first half of the course, which was more favorable for a Supra. As she raced up the pass, she could felt some pressure was building up. The 300ZX was closing the gap and now at her tail. She dared not look at the mirror and was losing her concentration. Suddenly, Kirie was bewildered when she realized that she had made a mistake, a fatal one.

"Shit! I've made a mistake." Kirie curse when she realized the difference between the corner that she saw and the one in her thought. She managed to steer her Supra back to the course after she ran into the pile of hard soil along the side. The 300ZX easily passed her on the left and widened the gap.

'… There's a way to keep up with the car ahead by maintaining the speed at the entry and exit …' Kirie recalled her driving with Airisu a night before.

Kirie regained her concentration and fixed her eyes on the 300ZX ahead of her. She had not given up; instead, she floored her gas and braked as late as she could. For one reason, it was the disgusting forfeit. She drifted her car across each corner, as close to the guardrail as she could. The Supra finally managed to close the gap and waited for her chance.

'How could she do it.' Toshio thought as he noticed that Kirie was moving closer to him. 'Does the turbo stop working? Shit!'

"I'll show you what a girl can do!" Kirie swore.

She bet everything on the last straight road before the finishing line. The Supra came out of the corner, paring with the 300ZX as they raced neck to neck toward the finishing line.

Kirie immediately sped down to the bottom to meet her friends after she won the race. Airisu walked over to Kirie and tapped her shoulder before she turned to the S15 driver.

"Don't ever look down on girls again! Loser!" She said with a humiliated glare and a hand sign.

The girls then left the pass, heading home.

Fujiwara's Resident

The three girls were excitedly chatting away with one another about the race they had an hour ago. They were quite relieved that they won it or else, they might be ended up with those two sarcastic guys tonight. Ruri chilled when she thought about the forfeit that Koji proposed to them before the race. While the other two girls had already erased that disgusting deal off their mind since they got back.

At the gate, Mizuki looked around the house as if she was checking for something. She sighed when she saw the two sweet colored cars in her garage. 'What time can I sleep tonight?' she thought as she knew that her guests would keep her awake all night. She walked into the house, mentally prepared. As soon as Mizuki stepped into the living room, Ruri pulled the younger girl over to join them before they repeated their adventurous story. Mizuki nodded occasionally, pretending that she was listening to them. Airisu smiled when she saw how sleepy her sister was and watched the girl dealing with Ruri and Kirie. It was very amazing to see Mizuki putting up a good show in front of the others. After a short while, Mizuki just collapsed on Ruri's lap, leaving Ruri and Kirie continued to talk.

The smell from the kitchen slowly woke the other three girls up at almost nine. Mizuki was in the kitchen early the next morning, preparing a sumptuous meal for the girls as a celebration for their first victory. Mizuki would only show her culinary skills when she was in her right moods. The large dinning table was half filled with pasta, pizza, sandwiches, appetizers and salad. Airisu walked to the dining table after a shower. She looked at the delicious foods and sighed.

"Are you inviting someone?" Airisu asked curiously, doubting that she or even all of them could finish all the food.

"No!" Mizuki replied and walked over to the table with another two dishes on her hands. "You'd better eat before the food turns cold. Where're Ruri and Kirie" She sat down opposite her sister, turning to the running steps down the stairs from the upper floor.

"How can we finish all of it, Mickey?" Kirie asked and suggested, as she just walked out of the kitchen with a salad bowl in her hands, "Why don't we ask someone to join us. There's still some inside the kitchen"

Mizuki nodded. Airisu made some phone call and drove her sister to wash up. Fifteen minutes later, Keisuke stood at the gate. Airisu looked around, expecting he brought some friends over. Unfortunately, nobody was available at this hour. Airisu led him into the house. Keisuke stopped suddenly. He was surprised to see the four girls in the house. Mizuki watched the other three talked to Keisuke while she nodded occasionally.

Mizuki slowly brought out other main courses one after another. Keisuke never had such a big breakfast in his life. He began to feel sorry for not asking his handsome brother along. Airisu knew that the blonde man was already full.

"Do you have anyone at home?" Mizuki asked Keisuke when she saw that there were a few more dishes in the kitchen.

"My brother. Why?" He replied, wondering.

"Do you mind taking this home for him? There're a few dishes inside." Mizuki replied with delight. She had forgotten that Keisuke had a brother and she knew him too.

"Sure! You're such a great cook. I'm sure that he would love it." Keisuke smiled.

After a while, Mizuki came out with a big bag.

"Thank for coming, if not Mickey will be very upset to throw away the remaining food." Airisu told Keisuke.

He nodded and turned to the younger girl, "Don't forget to invite me over whenever you cook again!" He was surprised to see Mizuki in her friendly manner, unlike his previous encounter.

to B Continued