ACT 10 - 10000RPM 'Kanae's Dilemma'
Another
FD3S, a yellow series 6, fitted with an A Spec Aero Kit II from
Mazdaspeed rolled past across the galleries, heading up to the
reception area of the tournament, at the starting point of the
course.
Unfortunately for Shireishou W, he did not get the
slightest bit of attention, which was promptly stolen by his opponent
for the preliminaries – the one and only Neon Serpent, Fukada
Kumiko…
The Zui Hou R FD parked early near the starting point, then walked over to see Kumiko. Damn, I'm getting nervous. I'm probably gonna lose.
"W…" Kumiko
noticed her opponent, and greeted him.
"I'm ready any time,
Master Ku…" muttered W.
"Relax…" cheered Kumiko. "You'll
be fine. You can do this…"
"Do what? Defeat you? Blah…"
"Hey
man… don't doubt yourself now just because its me… I'm not
really that good anyway…"
"That's not gonna work, Ku…"
W poked his tongue out, "Take it easy, okay?"
"That's not
the point, W… I don't see you as just a warm up…"
W
laughed at her. "So what am I, traffic?"
"Haha… no, no…
We're in the same league here. Its not like you can't beat me.
Think about it. Think about our skill, about everything you've
learned… about our weaknesses… and most importantly… the
conditions…"
"The conditions…" I see…
Kanae stood by the guardrails by herself. Unlike the others, she seemed to have lost grasp of her enthusiasm with the fact that Kumiko was next to race. Although the reason why she came in the first place was to get feedback on the other racer's strategies, she could not stop thinking about what's in store for her.
I'm up against Fu Huo next… She did not know whether to be excited or glum. Fu Huo's objective had a rather powerful effect on her. If I win… I'll advance to the finals… But I'll give him back the pills anyway…
Moments later, she began to notice a guy drawing near her. She tried to ignore him, and stood quietly in thought. …But I also have a feeling… I might lose to Fu as well. I take back what I've said about him before. Just watching his first race of the tournament makes me realize that he's the real thing. He's going to be the one to bring out my absolute best.
"Hey babe…" said Ohjay, putting his arm around
Kanae.
"Um… yes? Can I help you?" she replied shyly.
"As
a matter of fact, you can," continued Ohjay. "How about… your
phone number?"
Kanae quickly got the hint, "Um… sorry.
I'm not feeling too well at the moment,"
"It's okay,
honey. I'll cheer ya up," Ohjay was persistent. Kanae felt
uncomfortable.
"Please get your arm off me…" she said
softly.
Another guy came towards the two, looking like as if
he had the same intent.
"Hey, dude, leave her alone will ya? She
came all the way here to see cars race, not to hook up with a loser…"
said the guy.
"Hm…! Its you again!" Ohjay lashed out in both
surprise and alertness.
"Yes… its me… Now, if you don't
want me to whoop you again, just back off and try not to bother
anybody. The race is about to start soon," replied the guy.
"…Loser."
"…Loser? Hey bud, at least I was in the
tournament,"
"…Yeah. What a waste of time. You got totally
ripped by this skillful young lady right here,"
"Oh yeah? I'd
like to see you drive any better!" bragged Ohjay.
The young
man laughed, "I already have. I'm sure your Impreza is pretty
much acquainted with my Pulsar…"
"Damn… What a punk…"
said Ohjay, as he walked away in shame from being told off by the
young man.
Kanae remained silent, leaning on the guardrail.
She did not know what to think.
"Are you okay? My name's
Hokuto… I'm from Dreadnaught Racing of D1…" the young man
introduced himself.
"…I'm fine. I'm… Kanae. I'm
from… F5," Kanae replied softly.
"I watched your race with
that guy last week. You were real cool," complimented Hokuto.
"Um…
thanks…" Kanae was also so shy. Neither Hokuto, nor Ohjay had
anything that clicked with her… On the other hand, Kanae disputed
with herself whether she's met with who does.
After being distracted and interrupted by two strangers, Kanae heard the signal from a distance and heard her brother's voice, beginning the race.
"Go…!" announced Fao.
Kanae quickly rushed to the sideline to see the two cars take off, poking her head slightly out of the crowd.
"Oh, Kanae, where were you? You
nearly missed em," said Fao, walked back toward his sister.
"Damn…
who's in front?" asked Kanae.
"The GTO's in front. Its
start up acceleration is amazing. The FD barely seems to be able to
keep up,"
"It's a GTO after all… How modified do you think
it is?" asked Kanae.
"Not sure… But this is Fukada Kumiko
we're talkin' about,"
"They've passed the third corner!" Fao received a radio message. "Damn that GTO is fast!"
The crowd never stood silent for this race. Everybody came to see D1's beautiful heroine. In fact, nobody in the galleries stood still, as the two cars zoomed past them in a blaze.
My car is a little dodgy on this track… Kumiko coped with the understeering very well. She was used to this, shifting the weight of her car at the same time, taking advantage of her traction.
"Her line is so perfect!" yelled out someone from the crowd.
The FD struggled to even keep up with the GTO. Shireishou W watched his opponent closely. Gazing through the dash, he could tell that even though his opponent was so fast, she seemed to be only cruising.
Don't show any weakness, W. Come at me. Let's go. Kumiko held back a little, allowing her opponent to gain a little. Try a little harder. Evaluate the conditions.
Valves hissed, and the two cars flew sideways past the blind corners, while making use of absolute power in the mild straightaways.
You already know, my car's a little bulkier and slightly heavier… Kumiko used smooth action, releasing the accelerator at the right moment and using light braking rather than pushing the car hard.
W sped his car up, just to gain barely half a meter closer to his opponent. "Even though her car is disadvantaged at a course like this… She still seems to glide through the turns as if it was running down like fluid…!"
Kumiko slightly turned her wheels outward, then
immediately turned back into the direction of the apex.
W sped up,
and then E-braked to gain himself some oversteer, sending his car
drifting parallel to the GTO.
That's better… Kumiko steered out of the curve, gaining dominance yet again. As you may have noticed, I've de-tuned this car specifically for this track. But no matter how much I modify the settings to suit the condition, some characteristics just can't be changed…
The next set of S curves, Kumiko began to steer quickly, side to side, using the full advantage of her grip, while W attempted to do the same, although his car tended to slide out a little before turning into the right direction.
Now, let's see how you do if you try and keep the lead…
Kumiko let off the throttle briefly, allowing her opponent to speed ahead…
Losing attention from the battle, Kanae kept to herself once again, leaning against the guardrail, losing herself in thought. Fukada Kumiko isn't a joke either… She… is fast.
Kanae slowly
buttoned up her coat, as she slowly walked away, moving over to the
outer parking area.
She got out her keys and opened the door to
her car, and sat inside quietly.
Slowly, Kanae rolled her windows
up, and reclined her seat backward a little to get comfortable.
She
turned on some music, not paying attention to whatever was on. Kanae
stared onto the dash, leaning her little head sideways.
First
thought that came to her head, started reminiscing about a couple of
weeks ago…
The night in which she was cut off from home, as
she raced down the second half of Route F5.
Kanae shut her eyes in
thought. She remembers rushing through the highway, and then ending
up in the tunnel section, where she had met the guy and his black
Lancer…
He… definitely isn't someone I meet everyday…
She remembers talking to him for the first time. "Its either that, or I leave you here… But its not like I'd let you take the second option anyway…"
His tone was blunt at that time, but there was just something about him. He was not even surprised about the fact that she was a female road racer. But that's probably because he's been around a lot of females on the fast lane…
I've only known him for such a short time… But…
The elusive Kumiko kept up with every single move that W through. He was able to keep the lead and block of Kumiko's attacks from quite some time.
The GTO swerved sideways, then shook itself back in check, aligning itself back into the direction of her opponent. Her movement and car control was graceful compared to others.
Vrr Vrr Vrrrmmm…! Tsss…
The
GTO closed finally closed the gap. The cars were running side by side
now.
But the persistent Shireishou W kept the throttle on, almost
blocked any opening ahead through the downhill corkscrew S curve.
As
they were side by side, Kumiko drew herself into a tight situation.
She could either take the big risk of flying through the dirt, or let
the opponent take the lead so she can get enough space to grip
through the proper line.
Kumiko slammed the brakes, with the
FD speeding off, while she motioned her car slightly cheek to cheek
with the apex, as her rear end began to slide, giving her a little
oversteer.
Her car then quickly regained traction as Kumiko began
to turn in the other direction, completing the next turn.
She sped on ahead, recovering quickly, zooming past the next S curve, onto the final section of C4, and closing the gap yet again.
His
being reserved makes him kinda cute… And his unpredictability is
quite… seductive. thought Kanae, as she kept thinking about the
night staying at the apartment of a complete stranger.
Yet he
always has a charming way of saying things straight…
Kanae's thoughts took her back to the time when they started kissing at the table… What if we'd gone further? She remembered how warm she felt, being held in his arms, and hers wrapping around him.
Am I… in love with him…?
Kanae then thought about what she was racing him for. Unlike him, she had no objective. She was not racing for anything as important. She realized as she remembered the time at the top level of the parking block as she was being told about Zui Hou R.
Am I his enemy? Does he consider me as his enemy now?
The power of the GTO was
matched by the FD's agility. He can actually win this… thought
Kumiko, gaining a smile in her face as she quickened her pace and
throttled harder.
The roads were wider than the previous
sections, and Kumiko swerved to the side, then fully accelerating,
going side by side with the FD.
Your skills are well polished for your standards, W. I'm proud. The one to win this race would be now run by luck…
The two were using very similar techniques now. They twin drifted the whole set of mild curves, even rolling parallel to each other through the last hairpin.
It was luck after all, as Kumiko was the one who took the
inside, and followed the better line.
The GTO and the FD were
still side-by-side into the finish, with the GTO's front nose
slightly poking out ahead of the FD by less than an
meter…
Shireishou W did not have the slightest care in him whether he won or lost. He was just glad it was over. At the same time, he was also proud of himself, being able to make Kumiko push herself a little bit towards the end. He did not win… but he could have. And that was good enough for him.
Fukada Kumiko advances to the semi-finals
I don't wanna be your enemy… Kanae remained in her car, unaware of what was going on outside. I'll give you KYOKO back… and then we can be friends…? Kanae had her eyes closed, and kept herself in a relaxed position.
The night's race was over, Fao congratulated his wife briefly, and then looked for his sister, on his way to tell her the result.
Suddenly, Kanae heard soft
knocking on her window.
Her eyes quickly opened widely in shock,
her face all red and her teeth tightly clenched.
Fao was
knocking on her window asking her to come out.
Kanae reached for
the door handle, but felt a slippery feeling as she gripped her hand
on.
She opened the door, as she began to realize that her finger
was wet.
