Golden Arrows

Chapter Thirty Five

With a whirl of contrasting emotions clouding his confounded brain, Akito managed to get the car around the track for one last time and back into the pitlane where a large group of people waited for him. Among them he could see his father, his team manager and the mechanics, his two best friends and the original set of Takahashi brothers there mixed with quite a few journalists, all wanting to be the first to interview the super-rookie but, before that could happen, he saw an already helmet-free Andrea Guelfi walking towards him.

'Hey,' the Italian racer said and, in broken Japanese, he added, 'good race you.'

'Thanks,' was all Akito could reply.

'You, I, talk, yes?' Andrea asked him.

'Sure,' Akito replied.

Then they shook hands and after that Akito found himself surrounded by journalists and only Tanaka-san's proverbial intervention saved him from the tidal wave of questions he found himself attacked with. Thanks to that, he was also able to properly greet his father and all four Takahashi men, noticing with pleasure that even Keisuke Takahashi seemed to be rather proud of his feat. All in all, it was a great day for Akito.

A while later, with the podium ceremony done and the press conference over and while the public at the Okayama Circuit enjoyed the SuperGT race, Akito had just finished taking a shower and getting dressed when he saw Andrea coming into the changing room together with a young-ish looking Japanese guy dressed with the Toda Racing Team's official t-shirt and long trousers.

'Hi,' the guy said, 'my name is Ito, I'm the interpreter for the Toda Racing Team.'

'Nice to meet you,' Akito said bowing a little.

Andrea then said something in what sounded like some furiously fast gibberish, probably Italian, which the interpreter translated as:

'Guelfi-san wants to tell you that he's very impressed with you, he said that it's the first time he's had to resort to using his plan B against a rookie.'

'Plan B?' Akito asked the interpreter.

Andrea then added something in his native language.

'Guelfi-san says that the original idea was to push you into making a mistake but when that failed, he had to try and overtake you using the last corners of the track,' Ito stopped before he added something which obviously came from his own head, 'if it wasn't because he drove through a puddle of water…'

The Italian racer shook his head and said, this time in English:

'No excuses, he's won the race.'

Akito frowned a little but then Ito quickly provided with a translation to that too and that made Akito say:

'I was very lucky, you would have overtaken me and I wouldn't have had room to get back ahead. Your Plan B would have worked just fine. In fact, I thought that your Plan B was what you wanted to do from the start.'

Andrea waited for Ito to translate this and hearing that made him chuckle before saying something else.

'He said he's sorry that he'll be moving to GP2 next year, he thinks it would have been a lot of fun if you had been here from the start. He also says that he hopes that you two will be able to battle in GP2 too soon.'

'GP2?' a stunned Akito asked, he shook his head and, looking very serious, he said, 'it's still way too soon for that.'

Without waiting for Ito's translation, Andrea placed his hand onto Akito's left shoulder and squeezed it a little before he glanced at his team's interpreter who just nodded. The two older men were about to leave the changing room when something made Akito say:

'We still have the final two rounds in Sugo.'

Ito quickly translated that and Andrea smiled at him and said:

'I'll see you there.'

Just at that moment, Takumi walked into the room followed by Kyosuke and Seisuke, both looking worried.

'What's going on?' Takumi asked his son.

'Nothing,' Akito replied.

'Were they bothering you?' Seisuke asked him clearly referring to the two men who had just walked out of the room.

'No,' Akito replied, 'we were just talking about the race.'

'Really?' Kyosuke asked him not sounding too convinced.

'Yes,' Akito said, 'Guelfi-san is an incredibly cool guy, he's not like…well…'

'Okay, we get it,' Takumi said albeit he looked a little relieved, 'are you ready?'

'Ready for what?' Akito asked.

'Dad and Uncle Keisuke are going to take us all to a sushi restaurant,' Kyosuke explained.

'To celebrate your first home victory,' Seisuke added.

'What about Tanaka-san and the rest of the team?' Akito asked glancing at his father.

'They're coming too,' Takumi replied.

'Cool!' Akito exclaimed.

'Yeah,' Kyosuke said trying and failing to repress a patronising smile.

'By the way,' Seisuke added, 'have you called our baby cousin yet?'

'Oh, crap,' Akito said looking suitably guilty and while he hurried to pull his mobile phone out of the pocket of his jeans, he tried to pretend he didn't hear the way his two best friends and even his own father were all laughing at him. He didn't really care, today, Akito Fujiwara was a very happy young man indeed and hearing Ryoko's praise over the phone only made him happier.

Two weeks after the race, Kizuna drove her 350Z up the long drive which led to the Takahashi residence. As usual, the half-American girl left it parked just outside the massive garage where she knew the family kept a small fleet of Mazda cars and, climbing out of her Nissan, she went to the main door which she found open.

'Hello, is anybody home?' she asked from the reception area while she removed her shoes.

'Kizuna,' she heard Ryoko calling her, 'come in, we're in the living room.'

Complying, she donned the pair of slippers Akiko Takahashi had recently bought especially for her and walking down the corridor, she stepped into the living room finding Ryoko and Kyosuke there, watching some TV drama.

'Hey,' Kyosuke said offering her the sort of smile which made her feel weak on her knees, 'take a seat.'

'Where's Seisuke?' she asked while she sat next to him.

'He's on his way,' Kyosuke explained, 'I hope he won't take too long…'

'You've got plenty of time,' Ryoko said without taking her eyes off the screen.

'What time did we say we'd be there?' Kizuna asked Kyosuke.

'Around nine,' he replied, 'those Shomaru Pass guys didn't seem to be too fussy about the exact time of the challenge but I still want to keep the usual standards and, if we don't leave within the next ten minutes…'

He never finished the sentence for, right at that moment, Seisuke showed up at the door looking like he'd been running instead of driving home from wherever he and Kaori had gone to for their usual Saturday date.

'I'll be five minutes, I swear,' he said before disappearing once again.

Kizuna found it cute to see Kyosuke opening and closing his mouth as if he had been getting ready to tell his younger brother off for being so late then, glancing at Ryoko who was still trying to watch TV, she remembered about something she wanted to discuss with the younger girl.

'Listen,' Kizuna said, 'I've been meaning to ask you something.'

'What is it?' Ryoko asked her while keeping her focus on the TV.

'It's Akito's birthday soon, isn't it?' Kizuna asked her.

Predictably, that got Ryoko's attention and, glancing at Kizuna, she said:

'It's less than three weeks away, why?'

'Well,' Kizuna started, feeling encouraged, 'I was thinking of throwing him a surprise party or…'

'No,' Ryoko stopped her looking unusually serious, 'that's not a good idea.'

'Why not?' Kizuna asked her frowning a little.

'Er…'

'Kizuna,' Kyosuke said, intervening in the conversation for the first time, 'Akito never celebrates his birthday.'

'What?' a startled Kizuna asked, 'why not?'

'It's the anniversary of the death of his biological mother,' Ryoko explained.

'He and Takumi-san go to visit her tomb that day,' Kyosuke added.

Kizuna felt like she'd just swollen a huge lump of ice which, funnily enough, was making her hot with shame.

'I'm sorry…I…'

'You didn't know,' Kyosuke finished for her and, patting her hand, he added, 'it's okay.'

'But that's so sad,' Kizuna managed to say, 'I mean, I understand that it's a little inappropriate to have a big celebration but, still, it's his birthday too, he should do something for himself too, don't you think?'

'Oh don't worry,' Ryoko replied, now offering her a smile, 'he does. After he and his father visit the tomb, he usually goes with his family somewhere out for dinner and, this year, Akito has also invited me along.'

'What about presents?' Kizuna asked.

'We usually get him something but he doesn't like us to make a huge fuss with that either,' Kyosuke replied.

'He's just shy,' Ryoko explained with a loving expression on her face.

Kizuna didn't say anything to that but, deep down, she thought it was a pity that the poor kid had never had a proper birthday party in his life. Again, considering how little Akito enjoyed any attention on his own person, he would probably run as fast as he could if anyone did something like throwing him a surprise party and, right then, Kizuna realised just how very stupid the whole idea was and how idiotic she felt right now.

'Hey,' Kyosuke said as if he'd been reading her mind, 'it wasn't a bad idea, it's just that with Akito…'

'It's okay,' Kizuna said, 'I'll just have to think of something nice but not too flashy, right?'

'Yes,' Kyosuke replied, 'that'd be the perfect present for him.'

'And,' Ryoko added, 'if you need a hand, I'm always happy to go and do some shopping together.'

'Of that,' Kizuna said with a smirk, 'I have absolutely no doubt.'

'Hey…'

Ryoko's retort was cut short by the arrival of Seisuke who had changed out of the formal attire he'd worn for his date with Kaori and was now wearing a pair of jeans and a dark blue Adidas sweatshirt. Kyosuke got up offering his hand to help Kizuna get up too. Not that she needed it, but Kizuna still appreciated the courtesy so, smiling, she took his hand and got up.

'Let's go,' the Golden Arrows leader said.

'Have fun,' Ryoko said and, once again, she had her attention focused on the screen.

'We will,' Seisuke promised.

'Be careful,' the girl added.

'Always,' Kizuna replied.

'And bring another win home,' Ryoko said to finish off.

'Of course,' Kyosuke replied.

Less than five minutes later the two RZ-1s and the 350Z drove into the petrol station where they found Masato and Izawa already waiting for them. Junya, Kazuya and the three Subaru drivers arrived shortly after that followed by Eiji and Kei and Yuta who, as usual, ignored everyone excepting his partner-in-crime Shige and soon the two were engaged in yet another weird conversation.

'Okay,' Kyosuke said, 'we're running a bit behind schedule so we'll be taking the expressway all the way to the Hanazono junction. After that we'll have to take the route 140 to the town of Chichibu. The guy I spoke to said they'll wait for us at the parking area near the Nansekizan Temple. That's our meeting point, okay?'

'Alright,' Kazuya replied on behalf of the rest of the team.

'Okay,' Kyosuke said, 'remember to keep your radios switched on.'

Everyone was climbing into their cars when Junya approached Kyosuke and said:

'Remember what you promised me.'

'I do,' Kyosuke said, 'and don't worry, tonight's downhill race is yours.'

'Good,' Junya said looking satisfied.

With that settled, Kyosuke climbed into his car and waited for everyone to be ready before he drove out of the petrol station leading the other twelve vehicles to the entrance of the Kan'Etsu Expressway. For some reason, it felt like they hadn't done this in a long time and he felt happy to have accepted this challenge.

During the eighty kilometre long ride to the Shomaru Pass, Kyosuke's brain was busy thinking about Akito's F3 career. He knew that, after having achieved two wins and another two podium-finishes in his first four rounds, it would be hard for the younger guy to keep up this more than impressive record but, he also knew that Tanaka-san had to be very careful for Kyosuke was sure that more than one team was already plotting to lure Akito away from the PIAA-Tanaka Racing Team.

Thinking about this made Kyosuke more eager than ever to finish his university course so that he too could get into the professional world he'd seen in the Okayama Circuit. Having observed the engineers and mechanics working on the cars, actively discussing how to improve things with the team manager, listening to the input given by the driver…it was like a dream, a dream Kyosuke wanted to turn into a reality as soon as possible so that, one day, he'd be Akito's chief engineer…

'Leader,' Masato's voice interrupted his thoughts, 'this is Professor, do you copy?'

'Yes Professor, I copy,' Kyosuke said, 'what is it?'

'I might be mistaken,' Masato replied, 'but I think I've just seen a very familiar looking car, keep your…'

Right then Kyosuke saw the dark blue Mitsubishi X-3 belonging to Taro Nakazato.

The guy, clearly wanting to be noticed, first flashed the headlights of his car at Kyosuke, then he levelled his car with the yellow RZ-1.

Kyosuke then saw his mobile phone ringing and using the hands-free device, he pressed it to answer the call.

'Nakazato.'

'Hey,' Taro said, 'I heard you were going to the Shomaru Pass.'

'Who told you that?' Kyosuke asked him keeping a neutral tone of voice.

'It's a small world,' Taro replied.

'It is,' Kyosuke agreed then, skipping any pleasantries, he asked, 'what brings you here?'

'Nothing much,' Taro replied, 'I was a little bored and it's been a while since you guys got some action. I didn't want to miss the chance to see you race at the Shomaru Pass. You don't mind if I tag along, do you?'

'Not really,' Kyosuke replied.

'Cool,' Taro said sounding happy, 'then, with your permission, I'll drive with you guys.'

'It's a free country,' Kyosuke commented seeming rather unconcerned.

'It is,' Taro confirmed.

With that, he closed the call and, predictably enough, the radio filled with chatter. Some of the Arrows were curious to find out about Nakazato's true intentions while a few, namely Junya and Kei, wanted to know if there was a chance they could challenge the leader of the Myogi Devils for a quick race on neutral ground.

'No,' Kyosuke said, 'he's just here to see us race and we've already accepted a challenge, that's enough.'

Ignoring the twin grunts coming from Junya's and Kei's radio sets, Kyosuke kept on driving trying to pay no attention to the Mitsubishi which was now sandwiched between his RZ-1 and the one driven by Seisuke. He finally got to the Hanazono junction and got onto the route 140 covering what was left of the distance to the Nansekizan Temple as fast as he could without breaking the speed limits imposed by the provincial road.

It turned out that the parking area by the temple was also used by the tourists who visited the adjacent park and, for this reason, it was fairly big and equipped with several vending machines. It was by those vending machines that Kyosuke saw what he figured was the team which had issued him the challenge.

He supposed that because, surprisingly enough, more than a street racing team, the dozen cars and the bunch people he could see while he drove into the parking area looked more like a group of friends gathered there just to have some fun. In fact, even from the inside of his own car, he could hear some loud music and even a few people dancing to it. They didn't stop when they saw the fourteen cars stopping next to them, not even when their drivers started climbing out of them.

'Nice party,' Kazuya commented keeping a suitably low tone of voice.

Kyosuke didn't even bother answering, instead, he tried to figure out who was the team's leader.

'Oh!' a tall-ish guy wearing a military green bandana which matched his trousers said, 'you're already here!'

'You must be…'

'Fujikawa Mitsuki,' the guy said, 'and you, of course, are the legendary Takahashi Kyosuke.'

'I don't know about the legendary part,' Kyosuke said feeling a little embarrassed, 'but yes, that's me.'

'Oh, don't be so modest,' Mitsuki said, 'we're honoured you guys are here, aren't we people?'

'YEAH!' a few of them shouted happily before reassuming their partying.

'We're a bit late,' Kyosuke commented, he was beginning to feel a little confused, 'I'm sorry about that.'

'Late?' Mitsuki asked checking his own watch, 'it's not even half past nine, the party's just getting started!'

'Party?'

'Yeah,' Mitsuki replied, 'hey, it's a challenge alright but we're all here to have fun, aren't we?'

'Er…' Kyosuke hesitated, 'I suppose so…'

Just then, the leader of the Shomaru Pass team noticed Taro Nakazato and, widening his already huge smile, he walked towards the Myogi Devils leader and patting him on his shoulder, he laughed and said:

'Hey, long time no see!'

'It's been a while,' Taro admitted, 'I see you guys are as crazy as ever.'

'We do our best,' Mitsuki said looking shameless.

'Er…' Kyosuke hesitated, 'how's…'

'Oh, where are my manners?' Mitsuki exclaimed, 'okay, okay, I can see that you Gunma racers are all way too serious for your own good so, I think we ought to get things organised a little, what do you think?'

'I would appreciate that,' Kyosuke accepted.

'Alright,' Mitsuki said finally getting a bit serious, 'well, to begin with, here at the Shomaru Pass we like having a Relay Race. We'll pick two of our drivers and we'd like for you to pick two of yours. Then, one pair will drive to the other end of the Pass while the first pair stays here. Maybe some of your guys will want to go there since it's where most of the fun will take place. The rest can stay here and party with us.'

'I'm sorry,' Kyosuke said, 'when you say a Relay Race, what do you exactly mean?'

'Easy,' Mitsuki replied, 'we'll toss a coin to decide who, out of the first pair, drives ahead during the downhill stint. I should tell you that there are only two or three spots in which is possible to overtake, also, your guys should be careful with the tarmac, the Pass hasn't been resurfaced for a while so it's a little rugged.'

'Okay,' Kyosuke said.

'As soon as they get to the other end,' Mitsuki continued, 'their team mates can immediately take off to complete the uphill stint. As always, whichever team gets back here first, wins the challenge. Easy, right?'

'Yeah, I think so,' Kyosuke replied.

'Cool,' Mitsuki said his huge smile returning to his reasonably handsome face, 'now, I'm sure you want to do a few recognition passes first but, by all means, do join the party, the more the merrier, right?'

'That's my line,' Kyosuke heard his brother Seisuke muttering under his breath. He was going to glare at him when he saw that Mitsuki was no longer paying attention to them, instead, he just went back to his friends and started dancing with one of the many girls there. Kyosuke shook his head unable to believe what was happening and for a very short moment, his confused brain prevented him from realising that things weren't as easy as Mitsuki Fujikawa had made them seem.

'Don't let him fool you,' Taro said with a low tone of voice.

'What do you mean?' Kyosuke asked him.

'Those guys are very good,' Taro replied, 'also, the Relay Race is a lot more dangerous than it looks.'

Kyosuke wanted to ask for more details but Taro just left him standing there, going to greet a few of the members of the Shomaru Team. To Kyosuke's dismay, he noticed that quite a few of his own team mates had also joined the party and only Kizuna, Junya and Kei remained by his side.

'Who's going to take the uphill stint?' Junya asked him.

Kyosuke considered his options and, while originally he had wanted to give Yuta or even one of the three Subaru drivers the chance to take part on the challenge, after hearing Taro's warning he knew that he simply could not be so careless about his choice. For this reason, he briefly glanced at Kizuna before he said:

'I think I'll do it.'

'Great,' Junya said sounding rather pleased.

'You don't mind if I do, do you?' Kyosuke asked Kei.

'Of course not,' Kei replied sounding very serious, 'you're our leader, after all.'

'It's not like I don't trust your skills,' Kyosuke explained, 'it's just that there's something about this…'

'Hey,' Kei interrupted him, 'you don't need to explain yourself. I too have the feeling that there's a lot more to it than these guys are letting through. I don't know why but I think we'll need our best drivers to win this race and, everyone of us here knows that while Junya's our downhill ace, you're the best uphiller we have.'

'Okay,' Kyosuke said, 'I think we should go and check that Pass.'

A few moments later, Kyosuke was back onboard his RZ-1 and driving down the Route 299 otherwise known as the Shomaru Pass. He was follwed by Junya in his S18 and Kizuna with her 350Z. Behind them, they had Shuji and Tatsuya in their Subaru. Shige had remained with Yuta back at the party with the rest of the team.

'Kyosuke,' he heard Junya over the radio, 'that Fujikawa guy wasn't kidding about the tarmac.'

'No, he wasn't,' Kyosuke agreed.

Even though he wasn't driving anywhere near as fast as the RZ-1's engine could go, Kyosuke had trouble keeping the car on a straight line for more than a few metres before finding either a bump or worse, one of the way too many holes which seemed to populate the road. Also, he noticed that there were a few parts of the Pass which were also covered by sand and even some small rocks. The place was a royal mess.

'You know,' they heard Kizuna say, 'I think I'm going to write to the Saitama Prefecture to remind them that this road exists. I can't believe people use this road to go to Hanno City and back.'

'Well,' Kyosuke said, 'it's a bit of a detour but they can easily get there using the expressway.'

'Yes,' Junya confirmed, 'which is probably the reason why the city council doesn't care about this road.'

Their chat ended just as they got to the part of the road which was, if possible, even narrower and more worn down. There all five drivers needed all their attention just to keep their cars on the road and when ten minutes later they got to the end of it, Kyosuke became suddenly aware of the part of the Relay Race which made it so dangerous. Thinking about it, once Junya would get to the end of the pass, he would have to drive up knowing that he would find, sooner rather than later another incoming car, very likely travelling towards him at a very high speed. If they weren't extremely careful, a frontal collision would be inevitable.

'Oh my god,' Kizuna muttered hearing his explanation.

'Guys,' Kyosuke said trying to ignore her anxious tone of voice, 'we'll need to take this race very seriously.'

'Yeah,' Junya agreed.

'Kyosuke-san,' Shuji said, 'we're going to drive back up now. We'll stop to remove those rocks we saw up there earlier on, okay?'

'Thanks,' Kyosuke said, 'that will definitely help.'

'No problem.'

'Shuji,' Kyosuke added, 'I think that no amount of practice will make it any easier so, tell Fujikawa that we're ready when they are. I'm going to stay down here,' he glanced at Kizuna and added, 'what about you?'

'I'm staying here too,' she said.

'In that case,' Junya said, 'I'll be driving up too.'

'Okay,' Kyosuke said, 'be careful during the race, alright?'

'I always am,' Junya replied.

Soon, the two Subaru and the Nissan Silvia left Kyosuke and Kizuna alone and only then the girl allowed herself to look as worried as she was.

Since no one could see them, Kyosuke took her in his arms and said:

'I'll be fine, don't worry.'

A while later, during which Kyosuke did his best to prepare his car for the race ahead, they were joined by a few of the Arrows. Masato, Izawa, Kazuya and Kei all drove down with a few of the members of the Shomaru Team while Junya, Seisuke, Eiji, Yuta and the three Subaru drivers stayed uphill with the rest of the locals and the Myogi Devils leader. Kyosuke was already sitting inside his car, trying not to pay attention to the fact that the guy who was supposed to be his rival, some chubby guy in his early twenties, was nowhere near his ride, an old but very robust looking dark red Integra, preferring to continue his chat with his cute girlfriend. Kyosuke decided to concentrate on listening to the radio report he was getting from his brother Seisuke.

It seemed like Mitsuki himself was going to do the downhill stint and Junya had, for some reason, let the guy take the leading position without letting the coin decide. Seisuke clearly disapproved of that but Kyosuke thought that, while a bit unorthodox, what Junya was doing made a lot of sense. To begin with, Mitsuki was a lot more familiar with the Pass and if Junya did his best to follow him all the way to the part of the road which became a steeper downhill, there, he could use one of the two spots where it was possible to overtake. Then, if Junya drove at his best, he would probably get down there ahead of the leader of the Shomaru Team.

Kyosuke's thoughts were interrupted when he saw Kei and Kazuya clearly arguing about something while Masato and Izawa were trying to get them to stop. He only got out of the car when he saw Kizuna glancing at his direction, looking like she was asking him for help.

'What's going on?' he demanded.

'Kei, I'm telling you,' Kazuya said, 'you need to go.'

'Go?' Kyosuke said, 'go where?'

'Nowhere,' Kei said glaring at Kazuya.

'Kyosuke…'

'Shut the fuck up,' Kei hissed.

'Okay,' Kyosuke said firmly, 'what in the heck is wrong with you two?'

'His mother's been taken to the hospital...' Kazuya started but then, a furious Kei punched him hard, sending the poor guy flying onto the ground. Kyosuke, and everyone else, including some of the Shomaru Team members frowned seeing that and, before he could ask Kei to explain himself, the guy lost it and, grabbing Kazuya by the front of his shirt, he shouted at him:

'She's not my fucking mother!'

To be continued…