ACT 4 – 4000RPM 'The Wrong Pills'
It
was definitely not a time of relaxation, as Fu Huo soon realized. He
gazed at his mirror…
What a nice car.
Kanae's Sileighty sped up, drawing closer to the Evo. Can't help it, can you? You're a street racer after all. thought Fu Huo, has he sped up his car at the same moment.
Vrrrttsshhh…
Fu Huo observed in his mirror again… That's weird… its as if she wants me to speed up. Is she insulting me?
Fu throttled on, widening the gap a bit between the Evo and the Sileighty. Let's see how good your baby runs.
Kanae
increased her speed, keeping up with Fu, but for some reason, not
trying to catch or pass him.
That's weird. Fu looked at
his mirror again. She seems in quite a rush, yet she doesn't
seem like she's trying to race either?
The two cars
ended up skidding slightly on a sharp curve, then slowed down to stop
at an intersection. Oh, maybe she just can't wait to get in bed
with me? Hehe… Fu shook his head off that previous thought, and
concentrated on his driving.
They stopped their cars side by side
at the lights. Fu rolled down his window… "Hey, what's the
rush?"
Kanae, with her windows already open, replied, "I
really need to use the phone. There was an accident at F5, another
racer is stranded up there."
So that's why she's in such a hurry. Damn, she could've told me earlier. Well it won't help anyway. My phone's battery is dead and the next payphone is further than reaching my place.
The two cars dashed off quickly, the Lancer being the guide. Fu Huo increased his pace, as he now became aware of the situation. He throttled on in a hurry, and much to his surprise, Kanae seemed to be keeping up pretty well. Not bad.
He's being followed by a two-wheeler after all. Fu Huo felt something about Kanae's pace which pushed him further. It was almost as if he was being pressured, yet not quite. Nevertheless, he was not going to allow himself to 'lose' twice on the same night. Despite the situation, Kanae's surprising skill was a turn on for Fu Huo. It was clear to him, that he'd eventually face her one day in a battle…
Moments later, the two finally arrived at Fu Huo's place. It was in a small apartment-like building he was renting, complete with a main room, kitchen, laundry, and a garage. However, there was only one available bedroom where he was staying. Fu Huo and Kanae parked the large garage-like car park, then quickly rushed their way to Fu's apartment…
Much later, Fu was
walking off from Kanae's Sileighty, carrying a few CD's and
Kanae's handbag.
He walked into his apartment, as Kanae just
got off the phone.
"How was it?" asked Fu Huo.
"It's
all good…" explained Kanae. "A rescue team had already been
there moments ago before I even called. The driver is safe, just a
few minor injuries, but the car isn't really…"
"I see…"
replied Fu Huo. "How lucky. I wonder who could've made the call
before us...?"
What puzzled Kanae is, how the hell anybody can still be 'fine' after that. Was it an illusion? Is this another one of F5's cruel pranks?
Kanae mumbled to herself,
"…I guess the tournament's cancelled now? F5 is screwed."
"What
are you talking about?" asked Fu.
"Oh, its nothing…"
excused Kanae. "I'm just glad everything's fine."
In a
short while, they both walked over to the table and sat down. "Can
I get you anything?" offered Fu.
"Anything will do,"
accepted Kanae. Fu Huo walked off briefly, as Kanae sat at the table
in her thoughts. He's so kind. Or maybe he's…
Shortly,
Fu Huo came back with a bottle of white wine and two glasses.
Oh
my… Is he really…?
Kanae could not resist, and took a
glass.
"So…" Kanae tried to make conversation with him,
though she was rather tired, "How old are you, Fu Huo?"
"I'm
nineteen. How 'bout you?"
"I just hit twenty… Anyway, how
long have you been racing?"
Fu Huo sipped his glass, and made a
long pause. "…For as far as I can remember."
Kanae could not
make out anything to say afterwards. She was getting a little
tired…
"Um… Fu,"
"Yes?"
"Where would I be
sleeping?"
"Well, I thought it'd be convenient if you'd
sleep outside,"
Kanae looked puzzled. Fu Huo laughed a bit,
then continued, "I'm joking. You can use my room. I'll just
stay on the couch."
"Oh, that's too much," Kanae felt
embarrassed. "I'll take the couch."
Fu sipped his drink,
"This is my place… You do as I say, you understand?"
They
both laughed together, as they continued their drinks. "Anyway…"
Fu got up. "Let me show you the bedroom.
The two of them walked
over to Fu's room. Much to Kanae's surprise, the bed was not only
neat and tidy, but it was unusually huge.
"Thanks," said
Kanae. "But why you got such a huge bed?"
There was no real
reason. Fu Huo replied jokingly, "Well, you know… I like sleeping
with fat chicks."
They both laughed together, but Kanae could
not take her eyes of the bed size.
"You know…" Kanae turned
to face Fu. "There seems to be a lot of space there… Um… I
wouldn't mind if…"
"Something wrong? You don't like
it?"
"No… it's not that. Its just weird if I made you
sleep on the couch…"
"Well, fine then. I'll take the
floor."
"No, no… I was just gonna say… that I wouldn't
mind if we… can both use the bed…"
Fu's face lit up in
both excitement and confusion.
Wow, is she serious? "Uh…
well its fine with me…"
Neither of them spoke afterwards. Fu Huo walked over back at the table in doubt. Damn… what a night, what a night!
They both sat down, drank and talked
for a bit more.
"…and yeah, that's how I got my Evo," Fu
finished his story. But Kanae did not seem to be listening anymore.
She looked at him all beady-eyed, yet eyes were only half
open.
"Fu…"
"Uh…yeah?"
"Do you… have a
girlfriend?"
"Hm? You mean right now? Well, I've had a few…
but to answer your question…No… I'm sorta single at the
moment."
"Sorta…?"
"I can't explain it. What about
you? You got a boyfriend?"
"Nah…" Kanae rested her face on
her palm, with her arm leaned on the table. "I'm not sure if I
really want one at the moment."
"That's understandable,"
Fu pretended to agree, "You shouldn't rush and get desperate you
know. Sometimes, relationships are a pain, maybe even a waste of
time."
"Well… it can be good sometimes too, doesn't
it?"
"I guess…"
They soon grew silent after a
while. Neither of them said a word. Fu Huo took one last sip off his
glass…
Before he knew it, Kanae drew closer to him, little by
little. He pretended not to notice anything.
He turned to look at
her for a brief moment. Everything stood still for about a few
moments…
They stared at each other… and before they knew
it, they could feel each other's mouth digging into the other. They
kissed on, as Fu Huo slowly moved his arm around Kanae, while the
other hand went up Kanae's shirt and worked its way up her back,
grabbing a brief hold of her bra.
Neither of them knew what they
were doing. They both chewed at each other's lips, then mouth, as
if they were both possessed. Kanae felt Fu's warm cheeks rest into
hers, as she laid her arms around him slowly.
This isn't right. Fu thought to himself. I… feel nothing for her. Yet I still go on.
Kanae continued to kiss him, her body slowly
moving closer to his… We've only just met… Why am I doing
this? thought Kanae.
Her conscience did not seem to stop her.
The lustful feeling inside them was too dominant. It was a feeling
that not even they were able to hold back…
The phone
suddenly rang…
It took a short while before the two realized
it, and quickly let go of each other, as Fu walked over to the phone
and answered. Damn, why the hell would anybody call at a time like
this?
"Hello?" answered Fu.
"Hello, Fu, its
me,"
Minako…
"Uh… hey Mina, how you
doin'?"
"Well I'm fine, Fu. But I was more concerned about
you. You were supposed to call me after the race. I was so worried
that something might've happened," told Minako.
"I'm
sorry," apologized Fu. "I'm alright, don't worry."
Kanae
walked over to Fu and tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, may I
use the shower?"
Fu's face lit up red, "Uh, uh… yes…
sure. Go ahead."
Kanae walked off, and Fu went back to the
phone.
"Who was that?" asked Minako. Fu did not quite like her
tone at the moment.
"Uh… she's a friend," explained Fu.
"She's a foreign road racer who was just passing by, so I let her
stay at my place for a while."
"Really?" questioned
Minako.
"Uh yeah… well it's cheaper than checking into a
motel…" Fu swallowed in embarrassment.
"Okay… well, good
night Fu," said Minako in a straight voice.
"Good night,"
replied Fu as Minako quickly hung up.
Geez, what's her problem?
Fu Huo put down the phone. He walked over to the table and sat down, thinking to himself.
What the hell am I doing…? he took a sip out of his glass once more. I was about to get down with someone I barely knew… Sounds much like the old days… But it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right at all…
Fu Huo crossed his arms and kicked back, closing his eyes in thought. I was such a curious young boy back then… But I was just a boy… How could I have known what I was doing… I guess after all the pain I've caused on myself and others… I was still just a boy…
He shook his head. Moments later,
Kanae called out to him. Fu Huo made his way to the bathroom. His
face turned red, as he stepped in, "Um… what's wrong?"
"May
I please have a towel?" asked Kanae.
"Oh sure, sorry about
that. I'll be with you right away."
Fu grabbed her a fresh
towel from the closet nearby. He slowly handed over the towel to her,
without looking behind the shower curtains.
"Thank you," said
Kanae.
Moments on, Fu Huo prepared the bed. He got himself
ready for bed, and left the bed lamp on for a while for Kanae later.
Fu Huo rolled to the side, and closed his eyes, pretending to be
asleep. Soon, Kanae walked in the room. Fu kept his eyes closed,
facing one side of the bed. He noticed Kanae had just lay on the bed,
next to him, then turned out the lights…
Assuming Fu was already
asleep, Kanae did not say a word and shut her eyes, trying to sleep.
After a long while during that night, Fu Huo was still
awake. It was around 3AM.
Fu moved slightly, and turned to look
the other side. He began to stare at Kanae, who was laying next to
him in just her lingerie. Fu's jaws dropped and eyes widened…
Whoooaaaaa man…
Fu Huo stared on until his eyes
became watery. He could barely contain himself.
Kanae then began
to slowly opened her eyes.
"Is something wrong?" she spoke
softly.
Fu Huo blushed in embarrassment Oh… shit!
"Uh…
n-nothing… I just have a little trouble sleeping," replied Fu Huo
in a bit of a stuttering tone.
"Neither can I…" said Kanae,
"I forgot to tell you that I have a problem with sleeping. My new
pills didn't seem to work…"
Oh what the hell… she was awake the whole time?
Fu could not help but stare at
her body.
"Damn doctor said that the pills were really good…
pff…" complained Kanae.
"Uh… yeah, I'm listening,"
replied Fu.
"Maybe I should try taking another one," suggested
Kanae.
Kanae turned on the lamp.
She reached over for her
bag, and took out the pack of sleeping pills. Fu Huo finally took his
eyes off her for a brief moment, and checked the pills she was going
to take.
"Hey, wait a minute," said Fu. "Can I see those
pills?"
"Sure," Kanae passed the little plastic tray of
pills to him. "It didn't come in a packet. Fricken doctor said
they were really good super rare sleeping pills."
Fu Huo
examined the pills. He held up a capsule and took a closer look at
it…
What… the hell…?
Fu Huo held the drug in
shock…
"What's going on?" asked Kanae.
"Where did you
get this from?"
"Um… from the clinic…"
"Which
clinic?"
"Well, the only clinic you'll find at the top of
F5…"
Fu Huo showed her the drugs she was going to
take…
"Kanae… these are not sleeping
pills!"
"Huh?"
"Look…"
Fu held the little capsule in front of her. On it was some printed text that could only be seen if you looked closely.
The letters on the capsule spell: 'KYOKO'
Two days later…
It was raining outside, the droplets splattered all over the huge window of a building overlooking the streets. Inside, is an office of one of Zui Hou R's tuning branches. The time of day was rather early, about 7:30AM in the morning and the place was nearly empty. It was dimly lit, except for parts of the corridors.
"I don't know how it happened…" Shireishou E, General of the East Garage made his way to the lift area, followed by the one and only Fukada Kumiko. "It was an accident. I must've given it to that girl…"
"Do you have any way of contacting that woman?" asked Kumiko. She definitely did not have a happy look in her face. It was a significant change from her usual charming expressions.
"I have her addresses and contact information back at the clinic's database… But as you already know, I can't get there right now…" explained E.
"Phhuh… well at least we're not gonna have sleeping problems with these…" Kumiko grabbed a packet of medicine out of her pocket and tossed it at E's face.
"Sorry…
It was a terrible mistake," he apologized.
"The only hope we
have is if we find that woman before she's taken it all. That was
the last set that was produced. Without that, we can't mass-produce
any more…" explained Kumiko. "The Emperor will not be
pleased."
"Oh…shit…"
"You didn't forget about
the Emperor did you? Well, you're mistake is also my mistake… We
might even end up being demoted," continued Kumiko.
The got off the lift afterwards, and ended up in a huge open area, in between the set of buildings. The layout revealed a racetrack surrounding the area, along with four buildings with huge garages surrounding it, along with one huge building in the middle, also with a garage.
Along the racetrack, were two cars doing drift sessions, a S15 Spec R Aero and a Trueno GT-Apex, both with the Zui Hou R stickers. Kumiko and Shireishou E walked across a bridge which over passed a section of the track, and watched the two drivers training.
Moments later, Kumiko's phone rang as the two cars
disappeared from view.
"Hello?" she answered. E could not
hear clear enough on the conversation however.
"What? Really?
Since when?" said Kumiko. "Where is she now? What do you mean she
didn't give 'em to you?"
Kumiko made a long pause, listening to the person on the other end. She soon replied, "Can you come see me sometime? I'd like to talk to you some more…"
E noticed Kumiko's expression began to change. But during her little phone conversation, she seemed different in such a short moment. A while ago, she was dead serious and a lot worried, though it seems as if she's light-headed and relieved compared to how she was earlier on. Who could she be talking to?
"Oh yes, that's fine.
Okay, see you soon, buh-bye!" Kumiko hung up the phone.
"Who
was that?" asked E curiously.
"That was Shireishou X. He says
he may have found your patient, but wasn't able to recover
anything."
"Damn…"
Kumiko walked off, as E stood to watch the drifters, to take away his stress. She headed to the building in the center. As she was walking over to inspect the garages, Kumiko received another phone call…
"Hello?"
she answered.
"Hello? This is Fukada Kumiko?"
"Yes it is.
May I know who I'm speaking to?"
"Oh, you don't remember
me…?
"Well… you sound familiar…"
"Oh quit playing…
its me."
"Yeah, 'me' does sound familiar."
"Oh stop
it. Its me, Reiko."
"Reiko? Mirishima Reiko? What's going on
here? I haven't heard from you in years!"
"Yes…! That's
because you never call or write!"
"Oh my god! How've you
been?"
"I'm good, good. And you? I've been hearing much
about you. You're pretty famous now huh."
"Not as famous as
you, Rei!"
The two began to chit chat on the phone like no tomorrow.
"Actually, Kumi, there's another reason why I called," paused Reiko. "You'll be joining the BXD Tournament, aren't you?"
"Well, I was going to," explained Kumiko.
"But I heard F5 is going through maintenance right now…"
"That's
what I called you for…" Reiko continued. "The first round has
been moved to C4."
"So the tournament is still on? Great!"
Kumiko was ready; she walked on into the garage area, where she had
parked her car for some maintenance. "So when does it start?"
"The
tournament starts this Saturday, and continues through the Saturday
after, and so on."
"That's good, that's good…"
something came to Kumiko's head… "By the way, do you often go
to the clinic near your area?"
"The clinic? Well, barely, only
sometimes. But why?"
"Have you ever bought sleeping pills from
there?"
"Uh… no, I can't remember… but my sister in law
has a sleeping disorder and goes there a lot."
"When's the
last time you think she visited the clinic?"
"Um… I dunno,
but I'm guessing she's just been there a couple of days ago…
Why?"
"Its hard to explain…" excused Kumiko. "Anyway,
has she said anything about the pills being ineffective?"
"Geez,
Kumi, its not like I chat with people about sleeping pills."
"Can
you ask her for me?"
"Hmm… okay. But why? Tell me."
"Uh…
well, one of my colleagues works at the clinic there. He says he gave
some woman the wrong medicine instead of the sleeping pills by
accident."
"I see… The reason why you're concerned is…
those other pills that he gave away instead of the sleeping
medicine?"
"Yes… We need it back…"
"But how can you
be sure you've found the right girl?"
"Well, I'm not sure
at all. But another colleague of mine seems to have spotted her. Says
that he saw her carry them himself. The thing is, the girl did not
want to give him the pills. Said she was gonna return them to the
clinic herself and complain once she can go back through F5."
"Oh
that's right, F5 is still pretty much screwed. By the way, what did
your colleague say the woman's name was?"
"He said her name
was Kanae or something…"
"Kanae… She IS my sister in law.
My brother said she was in town recently and couldn't get back. She
must still be there somewhere… Anyway, if she says she's off to
return them, either way, you'll get the pills back…"
"That's
not the issue…" explained Kumiko. "Its how much time left we
have to get them back…"
