After the rather vague win on Akina, the Project S team had officially begun their move towards the Gunma area. The race against the Southern Knights had just been a taste of what was to come; Sudou was prepared to take on the invaders and had gathered up his team with a few new comers, Satake still had issues with Seiji, but for this battle they were on the same side.

As the trucks pulled in at the top and the Project S team begun unloading their equipment it was quite clear the invasion had begun with Emperor as the Prelude. Unlike earlier battles, this battle carried a huge audience, teams from Gunma and previous teams that had been defeated by Project S were there to watch. Even Chang's own NSX team was present, except Norio and Sinjo's team. Sakura looked around to see if she could spot Sweeper and his FD, because that was her motivation factor for coming to watch this race.

"Seen Sweeper around?" Sakura asked Carlos who were busy checking a few things under the hood of his GT-R.

"Sweeper? I saw him around here recently, you could try over there." Carlos pointed out in a direction without looking up from the engine bay.

Sakura moved on and spotted Sweeper fiddling with some gear in one of the trucks, as she approached him from behind he was clearly spooked.

"WHOA! Don't sneak up on someone like that… Wait a minute, you are Sakura right? From Chang's team Venom right?" Sweeper asked.

"Yeah that is correct, I thought I was going to come over and see how you were doing." Sakura said.

"Well I am doing fine, just need to get a few race preparations done." Sweeper quickly replied to Sakura.

"What kind of preparations?" Sakura asked as she tried to look past Sweeper to catch a view of what he was doing.

Sweeper quickly responded by positioning himself in her line of sight and throwing a blanket over his work.

"It is… Well… Classified." Sweeper tried as an excuse.

Just then two figures from Emperor came walking over; Sweeper quickly recognized them as Sudou Kyoichi and one of his henchmen, Satake. Satake clearly threw a look at Sakura, a look that Sakura didn't like at all.

"What do we have here? A girl in a man's world? I suppose you need her to help you out with a few racing things eh Sweeper?" Satake asked rudely.

"I think she can pretty much hold her own… After all, she owns a Honda NSX Type S-Zero like her team mates does." Sweeper replied.

"Why does a girl need a car like that? No girl in the world is fast enough to warrant such a machine." Satake replied back.

"You son of a…" Sakura was starting to get all fired up, Chang was a bit off, and as he spotted Sakura and saw her face looks he realized what was about to happen.

"Girls will never be good in racing, take my advice and sell that car, then go and buy yourself a Toyota Vitz or something like that."

Chang was running towards Sakura, but it was too late for him. Sakura's fist had already landed in Satake's face and sent him flying backwards and down onto the tarmac.

"If you really think I am so slow, why don't you agree to race my NSX and find out if your claim can hold any water at all?" Sakura said with a lot of anger.

Sweeper just halfway astonished, and Carlos having heard the arguing earlier on, looked up from his mechanical work and spotted Sakura knocking Satake down to the ground. That made Carlos nearly hit the ground as well, never in his life had he seen something like that happen.
As he ran over to the location and witnessed Sweeper's look and Satake getting up he asked Sweeper a simple question.

"The rest of the crowd around here is in shock, why aren't you surprised Sweeper?" Carlos asked.

"Seen it before… My choice of girls had normally been the kind that beats the crap out of the officers before resigning just because they think they are better than them. You just got to remember to stay out of their way." Sweeper replied calmly.

"SHUT UP!" Satake spitted onto the ground before looking at Sakura, "You are on! What about RIGHT NOW?" Satake asked Sakura.

"It should be allright; Seiji is racing instead of you tonight so this is allright with me." Kyoichi broke in to let Sakura know that she could accept with no restrictions.

"You are on with that, I am really going to enjoy this!" Sakura walked away as Chang finally got over to Sweeper.

"Don't tell me that happened what I thought would happen?" Chang asked Sweeper.

"Depends on what you thought would happen there Chang." Carlos cut in.

"Sakura challenging somebody to a race in anger to make it short." Chang said.

"Yeah, that is just what happened, after knocking the opponent to the ground of course." Sweeper replied.

"Sakura sure hasn't changed since the days we ran the mountain passes, that's for sure. I thought she may have gotten a little less furious and a bit calmer…"

"That girl hasn't changed one bit Chang… Only thing that has changed is her driving. She is a lot faster now than she ever was before." Sam said as he showed up on the scene, Kyoichi just sighed and walked away from the band of racers and back to the Emperor boys.

"Sakura is a special girl indeed Sam, she is damn good looking and most men would probably fall flat out just for that. But then you add up her love for cars and racing and she will rack in quite a few points with some men. But even so, she is not my type at all…" Koji said as he popped out from behind Sam.

"Too furious I take it?" Sweeper asked.

"WAY too wild, that girl has her own way of getting things her way. Most men that know her usually give her a lot of respect on the border to fear. To be honest I think that Satake guy is in for a world of hurt." Koji replied.

"Physically I guess he knows that world of hurt has begun. He was knocked down after all." Carlos said with a smile.

Satake lined up his EVO 4 next to Sakura's yellow NSX.
Sudou did the countdown and the two cars took off, with the EVO 4 winning on launch due to 4WD, but the NSX left with the common VTEC roar chasing after the EVO 4.
At the first corner the spectators saw the NSX pass the EVO 4 and dive in at a high speed.

Just then Sweeper noticed some familiar muscle cars and walked over to check them out.
Near one of the cars he noticed Kenneth, Sweeper approached him and started a conversation.

"Nice to see you here tonight Kenneth, I didn't think you would head out to Nikko just for this." Sweeper said.

"Ah… Hello Sweeper, well I cannot just sit around and do nothing, who is the one battling now if it isn't anyone from your team?" Kenneth asked.

"It is Sakura Tanaka, a member of Chang's Team Venom. Apparently one of the Emperor kids said something nasty to her that got her all fired up. Well it should prove interesting to see what her abilities are." Sweeper said as he looked towards the downhill of the Irohazaka course.

"Hey Sweeper, you should come and check this out!" Carlos shouted from the parking lot.

"Looks like I'll have to go we will speak more later." Sweeper said and ran off towards Carlos.

Carlos was looking at a Toyota Celica and a certain rally driver.

"Hey Sweeper, check that guy out. Kyouchi's best friend, that Sainz rally driver guy." Carlos said.

"It is sad to see rally drivers around here; he is supposed to be so damn good on the road… But the fact that he isn't past the sandbox stage just makes me annoyed." Sweeper said to Carlos as he looked at the Emperor guys that had gathered around him.

"Right on there Sweeper, I bet that if we went to race this guy we would probably spank him so badly that it wouldn't worth our time. Rally drivers are slow compared to tarmac pro's, the moment you have learned oversteer control you leave the rally scene. That's what I have always been saying, hey Sweeper do you think he will race tonight?" Carlos asked.

"I doubt he will, but we may come here some other time to battle this guy! It has been a long time since the last time I crushed a rally driver. They are all the same in build-up and driving style. Seen one and you have seen them all." Sweeper said as he walked away from the Celica driver with Carlos.

As Carlos and Sweeper got back to Chang and the rest, they were gathered around Chang's radio, listening for news on the NSX vs. EVO 4 race.

Koji and Sam where hanging over Chang's shoulders to get a good opportunity of listening to the reports.

"This is the 32nd corner, the yellow NSX is still leading, but the EVO is closely in pursuit, but Sakura still has some to give it seems." The radio silenced for a while.

"What has Sakura done to her NSX?" Carlos asked.

"It is in NA tune, I think it puts down close to 380 HP now, she detuned it after the Sinjo incident to fit mountain pass racing. Otherwise she still sticks to NA but she makes a lot more power than that." Koji said.

"Have you noticed something about Sakura, Sweeper?" Chang asked.

"If you mean something else than that she is a furious woman, then I have no idea what you mean." Sweeper said.

"She has a crush on you Sweeper! She told me that on Wednesday this week. It was one of the reasons she came here tonight" Chang said.

"STOP KIDDING AROUND WITH ME CHANG!" Sweeper shouted out before continuing, "I am a mercenary, get that? I am a mercenary, I kill people for a living, and I go to the battlefield to earn money. That comes with a few disadvantages and that includes that I am unable to have a girl. I have said it thousand times before; I cannot stand or think clearly if I have a woman with maybe a child waiting for me to come home from a mission. It is an unbearable load for the both of us; Sakura is better off finding someone else!" Sweeper said with a clear aggressive tone.

"You are and will always be a paradox Sweeper; you try to unite that Keisuke guy with that Kyoko girl. But when you find yourself in the same situation you turn her down. I guess you should understand why Keisuke cannot have Kyoko around then, because you are doing the EXACT same thing!" Jane said as she came up from behind.

"Don't make me repeat myself, my job limits me greatly. Even though my current girl is not a true relationship I cannot change that." Sweeper continued.

"Then change your profession, apply for a different job then!" Sam said.

"Have you seen my CV? I got a 10 year hole there and with ZERO education my chances of getting a different job is slim to none. And even if I got one, I got no skills or talents at something else than what I do now. Things happened in my youth that forced me to pick the military over education, I may not like my job a lot but it is the ONLY thing I can do." Sweeper was getting pretty fired up.

"Well, Sakura is out there trying to prove herself to you. Show off her driving skills so you will notice her." Koji told Sweeper.

"Whatever, discussing with you guys is like discussing with a brick wall. I am leaving for a while before the race." Sweeper said

Before anyone could say anything Sweeper walked away and headed towards a deserted part of the parking lot where he Sweeper sat down on the ground under a light pole.
As Sweeper was sitting under the light of the pole he thought of things he had never thought of before, his life was truly a mess.
But Sweeper knew it was something that came with the territory of being a mercenary.
Just then Carlos walked over and looked at Sweeper leaning his back against the pole.

"Why are you here Carlos? I told the rest of the team that I was going to race didn't I?" Sweeper said to Carlos.

"Yes you did, you can say I came here to offer you some moral support so to speak."

"The sad part is that they are correct after all. I find myself in one of the biggest paradoxes as of this date…" Sweeper paused as he looked at Carlos.

"I suppose they are correct, but even so you still have restrictions to how you can handle a girl." Carlos replied quickly.

"Thanks Carlos, but I have realized it is not possible to keep on like this forever, I'll talk to Sakura and maybe she will understand, at least give her a chance to understand what she is getting into." Sweeper said.

"Well, just remember that I am here… As a rival and a friend I don't like seeing you get hurt." Carlos said.

"Aw come on Carlos, it cannot go that badly, now can it?" Sweeper said and rose up from the ground and walked back to the rest of the team.

Chang, Koji and Sam looked shocked when Sweeper returned, as it was not expected.

"Ok you have convinced me, I'll talk to Sakura about this whole love thing. But I am warning you, she might not like what she is getting to hear." Sweeper said.

"Whatever it is, I am sure you will be surprised of Sakura, she is not your average girl you know. She is vastly different." Koji said while smiling.

Another report ticked in over the radio.

"This is the 35th corner; the EVO 4 just did a shortcut jump and got ahead of the NSX… WAIT, the EVO 4 is repeating the performance at the corner ahead, but what is this? The NSX driver has gone crazy! She is copying his move!" The operator were in shock as he saw the NSX quickly catch up to the EVO 4 in the same manner that she was passed.

"What the hell? Not even that Fujiwara guy could copy a move that quickly." McClintock was clearly shocked.

"That is Sakura for you, when she is angry she tends to catch up quickly. That's why it became a common tactic to try to calm her down before a race rather than pissing her off. If you did the latter, you were doomed to lose from the beginning." Koji said with a smile.

The end of the course were coming up with the 3rd bridge, it was time for Sakura to make a counter attack on the EVO.
She lined up for the other lane and opened up the throttle, it was going to be a chicken match for the point where the road would close down to a single lane.
The yellow NSX lined up next to the EVO with Sakura concentrating on the road ahead.
Satake looked over to his left and saw Sakura accelerate hard with no fear for what was coming up.

"Stupid girl, don't you know what is coming up? The road will close down to a single lane; there is no way we can go in like this!" Satake thought.

Satake panicked as the NSX showed no signs of slowing down, his worst fears had come true, and the driver of the yellow NSX had gone crazy.
He slammed on the brakes and slowed down the EVO 4 and let the NSX dive in front of him, and in doing so, he had lost the race.

At the top Chang's team cheered as the radio report of Sakura's win came in.

"Sakura is just as crazy as she has ever been!" Sam said with a big smile.

"She is in a class on her own when it comes to racing hard. But then again, what do you expect of a furious girl that hates losing a race?" Koji asked while laughing slightly.

A little later the two cars arrived at the top and Sakura got out of her yellow NSX with a grin on her face as she looked at Satake.
Satake on the other hand was angry at Sakura for the move she pulled off.

"What the hell where you thinking, diving in there at that speed and you knew it was impossible to pass. If I hadn't braked it would have been a tragic ending to this." Satake was clearly angry.

"I knew since the beginning that you didn't have the balls to remain in there… But then again, I never had any intention of backing down." Sakura replied and walked away.

"No intention of backing off? And what if the EVO driver had remained off the brakes?" Carlos asked Koji.

"She would most likely have remained in her pattern until they had ended up in a crash. She is a crazy girl." Koji replied.

"What the… What the hell have you ended up in Sweeper?" Carlos said as he turned towards Sweeper with a shocked face.

"Like you wouldn't do that Carlos… I know you are probably just as crazy when it comes to driving, but you usually back off before I do however." Sweeper replied.

"No shit Sherlock! I remember on one of our street races, that highway ramp battle we had. Side by side for a highway ramp which only had one lane, now that was crazy." Carlos said.

"Hey Sweeper and Carlos, we got a slight change of tonight's battle plans… It is going to be all out downhill." Keiichi said as he ran up to Carlos and Sweeper carrying some notes.

"SAY WHAT?" Both Carlos and Sweeper asked.

"I said we were going to run all battles on the downhill tonight; however your battle is going to be the last one before we pack up." Keiichi said.

"Ours will be the last?" Carlos and Sweeper asked and looked at each other.

"No one briefed you about it?" Keiichi asked.

"Why the hell haven't I been notified about this?" Sweeper asked harshly back.

"We are running a 3 way battle, to somewhat favour the win for Kyoichi. The rules are rather simple, for us to win Kyoichi needs to come in last if he even comes in as 2nd we will lose. Kyoichi has already chosen his position, he chose centre." Keiichi said.

"Well, well, look at this, seems like we may get a chance to settle this after all?" Carlos asked Sweeper.

"HOWEVER, you guys are to battle last Chang is responsible for the downhill battle against Seiji, you may have your go after that is done."

"Do you ever get the feeling of being ignored Carlos?" Sweeper asked.

"Yes I do, but there is nothing we can do about it for now." Carlos replied