Programmed Lives – Second Stage

Chapter Five

As soon as Ryosuke and Akiko were upstairs and out of hearing range, Keisuke said:

'About bloody time!'

'I know, I thought she'd never get over it,' Kyoko commented.

'No, I mean, about bloody time they left: I've been dying to sit down!' Keisuke said making Kyoko laugh.

'Sure, laugh at the poor invalid,' he complained sitting down on the living room's comfy couch.

'Invalid my foot!' she said while helping Keisuke put his leg up and, realising what she had just said made her laugh even more.

'You're so cruel,' he said pouting and crossing his arms on his chest.

'I'm sorry,' she said bending down to kiss him then she added, 'now, aren't you supposed to take some painkillers?'

'Nah, I don't need them,' Keisuke said and Kyoko realised that he was probably trying to be all tough and manly.

'Come on, I won't tell anyone,' Kyoko said with a loving smile.

Keisuke seemed to think about it and then, he said:

'Alright then, just one.'

About an hour later, Keisuke was busy kissing Kyoko when they heard someone clearing her throat. Looking up, Kyoko saw Akiko who, having taken a shower and now being properly dressed, looked infinitely better than she had done before.

'Akiko…' Kyoko said literally jumping off the sofa looking flustered.

'Sorry for the interruption but the whole team is going to be here shortly,' Ryosuke explained having come down the stairs following his wife.

'Kyoko, do you want to help me out preparing some refreshments?' Akiko asked.

'Sure,' Kyoko replied, quickly recovering.

'Ah, Keisuke, have you taken anything for that ankle?' Akiko asked her brother-in-law.

'Yep, I've given him one of the painkillers he was prescribed at the hospital,' Kyoko replied for him.

'Traitor,' he mumbled making Kyoko smile sweetly at him and leaving Ryosuke and Akiko feeling utterly confused but, deciding that it was probably better not knowing, they ignored the whole thing.

'Alright, let's go then,' Akiko said walking towards her kitchen with Kyoko following her.

'Aniki, she definitely looks better,' Keisuke commented when both women had left the room.

'Yes, she does. We've been talking while we were watching Kyosuke sleep and she's told me that she's going to book herself an appointment with a therapist,' Ryosuke explained.

'But she's fine now, isn't she?' Keisuke said frowning.

'Yes but she still feels a bit fragile and she wants to understand what happened to her.'

'Alright. You guys are the doctors here,' Keisuke commented shrugging.

'I'm just happy that she seems to be back to normal. Also because this means that I get to sleep in our room again,' Ryosuke said smiling in a way that made Keisuke complain:

'Aniki, three words: too-much-information.'

Ryosuke just laughed at that and Keisuke couldn't help but smile too. Seeing his brother laugh like that again made Keisuke almost forget about the pain in his foot.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen and while they were busy preparing the food for the team, Kyoko kept observing Akiko.

'Kyoko, if you don't watch what you're doing, you're going to chop your fingers off,' Akiko said frowning with concern seeing Keisuke's girlfriend handling rather recklessly a very sharp knife.

'Sorry! It's just that seeing you back on your feet.'

'I know. It'll take some getting used to, I guess,' Akiko commented.

'Oh well. I'm just happy you're back to normal,' Kyoko said now paying attention to the cucumber she was cutting up.

'Not yet but I'm getting there and it's mainly thanks to you,' Akiko said.

'How is that?' Kyoko asked completely taken by surprise.

'Well, if you hadn't taken Kyosuke with you to go to the hospital, I wouldn't have missed his crying. I think that this triggered something that made me react and snap out of it. I'll find out more when I talk to a psychologist,' Akiko explained.

'I'm glad I could help out,' Kyoko replied without fully understanding Akiko's explanation.

'I'm grateful you did. Ah, Ryosuke has told me that he named our boy taking the first kanji from your name and the second from Keisuke's,' Akiko commented.

'Yeah, I hope you don't mind,' Kyoko said.

'No, I like it. Poor kid, his father misses his birth and then his mother is not even able to bring herself to care about what name he's given,' Akiko said making Kyoko look at her worriedly. Seeing this made Akiko add:

'Don't worry, both Ryosuke and I are now determined to do a much better job at being parents.'

'Kyosuke is a very good baby, you're lucky,' Kyoko commented.

'There are so many things I have to learn about my own son,' Akiko said and Kyoko couldn't help but notice the regret in her friend's voice.

'You have plenty of time ahead to do that,' she said hoping that it would make Akiko feel better.

'You're right,' Akiko replied nodding.

Half an hour later, the Takahashi's living room was full of people: Keisuke, Fumihiro, Matsumoto, Kenta and Takumi with his father Bunta plus the rest of the team were sitting on chairs or on either of the two couches, prepared to hear whatever their leader wanted to tell them.

'Feel free to eat as much as you want,' Akiko said coming into the room with yet another tray full of home made sushi.

'Thanks Akiko,' Fumihiro said smiling at her.

'You're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be upstairs feeding Kyosuke,' she said.

'Alright,' Ryosuke said smiling at his wife. Keisuke looked at Kyoko who, getting the hint, said:

'Wait, I'm coming up with you.'

Once they were gone upstairs, Fumihiro commented with a tone of voice low enough so only Ryosuke, who was standing next to him, could hear it:

'She seems to be doing better.'

Ryosuke nodded then, looking at everyone in the room, he started:

'I'm going to dissolve the team.'

'What? Ani…' Keisuke exclaimed but Ryosuke lifted his hand to make him be quiet.

'I'm going to dissolve the team temporarily. We're going to need time so Keisuke's foot heals and, while that happens, I'm going to actively look for a sponsor which, with a bit of luck, will be paying for a brand new car. I don't mind spending my own money on the team but, unfortunately, for the championship we'll need a much bigger budget.'

Ryosuke interrupted himself seeing Takumi lift his hand up. Ryosuke kept a straight face even though he wanted to laugh at the younger man: did Takumi think they were at school or something?

'Ryosuke-san, if you don't mind me asking, what kind of car do you have in mind?' the young man asked trying his best to keep his voice steady making Ryosuke amazed at the fact that even though Takumi had been working with him for a very long time, he still didn't feel at ease when talking to his team leader.

'Well, I was thinking of another FD3S.'

This provoked Takumi to make a face that lasted only a few instants but it was long enough for Bunta to see it.

'Do you have a problem with that?' Bunta asked his son.

'I don't know. Is just that…' Takumi started but Bunta interrupted him.

'Son, if you are a real racer you don't care about the car you drive. I could drive a camper and I'd still get all the way down Mt Akina before you'd have the time to get the keys to your car,' Bunta said taking his cigarette pack out of his pocket, taking one and lighting it.

Takumi looked positively mortified at being dressed down by his father in front of everyone.

'Takumi, I know you didn't like the old car but I can guarantee you that it didn't behave the way it was supposed to, we were very unlucky with it,' Ryosuke explained, 'however, if you have a problem with my choice of car, maybe you'd be happier driving for someone else.'

Keisuke looked at his brother as though as Ryosuke had lost his sanity but Bunta gave the older of the Takahashi brothers an approving nod.

Takumi shook his head.

'No, it's fine: I'll drive the FD.'

Ryosuke noticed the change on the young man's voice. Takumi was way too predictable when it came to his reaction when being challenged. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the only predictable thing about him. The rest of what went on in his head was a complete mystery to everyone.

'Alright then, so what we're going to do is take a long break, let's say two-three months. By then Keisuke's foot will have healed and I will have found us some sponsorship and a new car. People I want you to use this time to relax and get plenty of energy for, when we'll get back to work, it'll be non-stop till the end of the championship. Is that understood?'

Everyone nodded. Ryosuke noticed that Kenta didn't seem entirely happy about the whole thing but, for the sake of not raising any other controversies, he decided to overlook it. Maybe Keisuke could have a word with him later on.

'Okay, now let's enjoy the food my wife has prepared for us,' Ryosuke said.

A couple of hours later, with everybody gone, Ryosuke sat on the couch facing the one where his brother sat with his leg propped up.

'Wow Aniki, I don't think I'll ever complain about our old man again,' Keisuke said.

'What do you mean?' Ryosuke asked.

'Didn't you see the way Takumi's father treated him in front of everybody?'

'Yes and, if I were you, I'd pay a lot of attention to everything Bunta Fujiwara says to his son.'

'Why?' Keisuke asked, clearly not understanding his brother.

'Keisuke, Bunta Fujiwara is a very cunning person. He's been grooming his son to be a racer in body and mind since Takumi was a child. Everything Fujiwara-san says to his son is something that will help Takumi grow as a driver. If you want to keep up with him, you should listen to everything Fujiwara-san has to say.'

'Is that why you asked Fujiwara-san to join the team? To help me?' Keisuke asked.

Ryosuke nodded:

'That was my intention from the beginning. Only that I sold the idea to Fujiwara-san by telling him that I needed his advise in order to help me deal with Takumi's difficult personality,' Ryosuke explained.

'Aniki, I think that when it comes to cunningness, you're a very close match to Takumi's old man,' Keisuke said smirking at his brother.

'Not yet, but I'm learning a lot from him,' Ryosuke said.

'Now, that's a scary thought,' Keisuke commented making Ryosuke laugh.

To be continued…