Programmed Lives – Third Stage
Chapter Six
It has raining pretty heavily at Motegi's circuit that Sunday afternoon. As Takumi waited for the semaphore's light to turn green, he realised that this was his last race before being a married man. This thought startled him for he still couldn't think of himself as a husband, father and head of his own family, in fact, when he thought of any such man, Ryosuke's image appeared in his head. He doubted he would be able to be half as good as his Team Manager was at heading his family.
You don't need to be like him, you're just you, a tiny voice, one that sounded very much like his own father's, said coming from somewhere at the back of his mind. Takumi shook his head and returned his attention to what was happening around him.
At long last, the race started and with the car being in an uncomfortable fourth position, Takumi had to be careful not to be overtaken by any of the cars surrounding him or, even worse, get hit and put out of action even before the first corner.
After the whole incident with the tyres, they had had a lot of trouble trying to do as well as the other teams without being able to test the different set of tyres but, thanks to the instructions Ryosuke had given both him and Keisuke, the two drivers had managed to get the best out of the car without wearing too much the tyres they had.
Seeing the poor weather conditions they had woken up to had only worsened matters for, Takumi knew, they only had two sets of full wet tyres. This meant that they could only do one change and, if they punctured one of the tyres too soon, the race would be over.
With this thought, Takumi made sure he didn't skid more than absolutely necessary as he negotiated the first corner and then the second.
'How is it feeling?' he heard Fumihiro ask through the radio.
'It's alright, the suspension's a bit bouncier than usual,' Takumi commented.
'That's alright, we've set it like that on purpose,' Ryosuke said, 'just tell us if the car is too difficult to control.'
'I'll do,' Takumi said and then, as usual, the radio went silent again. Unlike Keisuke, Takumi didn't like it too much when the team talked to him through the radio. He preferred to be left alone when he drove, this way he could concentrate much better.
He also knew the Motegi track quite well by now and whereas he usually liked it because it had plenty of sharp corners, this time, and having to keep an extra eye on the tyres, Takumi found himself having to drive by grip rather than letting the car slide as he usually preferred.
Thankfully he'd had loads of training driving by grip and he was getting almost as good in that style as he was drifting.
Seeing the strips of grass that were placed at both sides of the track gave Takumi an idea: Motegi's asphalt was known for being super-abrasive and, while normally, in dry conditions, this would be a suicidal thing to do, the tyres would get very dusty and therefore, would lose grip, now it was raining and the grass was probably even more slippery than the track itself.
Takumi smiled as he proceeded to test his theory.
'What in the hell is he doing?' Fumihiro asked alarmed seeing what his driver was doing.
'His job,' Ryosuke simply said.
'He's driving with half the car outside the track!' Fumihiro exclaimed unable to understand anything.
'Fumihiro, think about this: by driving with either side alternatively on the grass instead of on the track, Takumi is probably making the tyres last longer…' Ryosuke explained.
'But the grass is so much more slippery than the track,' Fumihiro commented.
'Yeah, and Takumi's probably using that fact in his favour,' Bunta said.
'Can that be done?' Fumihiro asked frowning.
'Theoretically speaking, what Takumi's doing is downright dangerous for he could spin out of the track any minute,' Ryosuke explained.
'But then…'
'Fumihiro, I said theoretically speaking. Theory rarely applies to Takumi,' Ryosuke said smiling and Bunta chuckled as Fumihiro shook his head.
'What a crazy son of a…'
'Oi,' Bunta said elbowing Fumihiro on his ribcage.
'Oops, sorry,' Fumihiro said and both Ryosuke and Bunta started laughing.
By the time Takumi started his last lap before heading back into the pit lane, he was in first position leading the race by a full fifteen seconds.
'Takumi, take it easy, the car in second position has just entered the boxes,' Ryosuke informed his driver.
'Alright,' Takumi said and, as he turned one of the sharpest corners of the circuit he saw something that made his blood freeze in his veins.
'Caref…' Fumihiro started but Takumi didn't have the time to listen to his warning. With a very sharp turn of the steering wheel, he put his car across the track, with it's right side facing the three crashed cars and, drifting all the way through the outside part of the corner, thankfully it was covered by grass and not gravel, he managed to avoid them while being lucky enough to get the car back onto the track.
'Fuck,' he whispered. That had been way too close.
'Good reflexes,' Ryosuke said and, maybe Takumi was getting paranoid but his Team Manager's voice didn't sound as firm as it usually was.
'Thanks,' he replied while trying to get his concentration back on the race.
Takumi entered the pit lane together with the other cars for the Race Director had decided to send the safety car out so they could clear the track of the three crashed cars.
'Geez Takumi, you almost didn't make it to your own wedding,' Keisuke, being extraordinarily insensitive said while he exchanged places with Takumi.
'Yeah, thanks…' Takumi said looking rather sour.
Fifteen minutes later, the safety car got back inside and they re-started the race with Keisuke behind the wheel. Needless to say, and even though they were still leading the race, the stop had made them lose all the time gap Takumi had built for them and, for Keisuke, it would be an uphill battle to end the race without losing position.
Naturally, for the uphill ace that he was, this meant that by the end of the race, the Kirin Takahashi Racing Team had managed to get their first victory of the season.
'Everyone, thanks for your hard work,' Ryosuke said while looking at Tsuyoshi who immediately turned as red as a pepperoni.
'Ryosuke-san…'
'You kept your promise, I'll keep mine: let's forget about it, alright?'
Tsuyoshi nodded and then proceeded, with a bit more vigour than usual, to finish packing up so the team could leave the circuit.
It was good that they had won for, this way, and as everyone made their way to Tokyo, they would have an extra thing to celebrate.
'It's great Minami's let you use the house for the stag party,' Itsuki said as the whole team, plus Itsuki, Iketani and Kenji, entered Takumi and Minami's house to celebrate the young man's last weekend as a single man.
'Yeah well, she's with the girls at Akiko and Aniki's place so, it's only fair,' Keisuke commented as he helped bring in a keg of beer.
'Guys, let's take it easy though, alright?' Takumi said.
'Sure, don't worry,' Kenji said and, the way Kenji was looking at him made Takumi get instantly worried.
'I'm serious,' Takumi said.
'Argh, have fun, will you? Once you'll be married and when the baby will be born,' Matsumoto commented.
'That's not entirely true, I still have loads of fun,' Ryosuke said and everyone in the room looked at their Team Manager very obviously doubting Ryosuke actually knew what having fun meant.
'Anyway, it's a girls-free night, so let's enjoy ourselves,' Iketani said breaking the awkward silence that formed after Ryosuke's statement.
'Holy words my friend, holy words,' Keisuke said passing an arm around Iketani's shoulders as the two men started tasting the beer from the freshly opened keg.
'It's a nice beer,' Kenta said.
'Well, it's Kirin's wedding present to Takumi,' Fumihiro commented as he too drank his own glass of beer.
'Come on son, get a bit merrier, will you?' Bunta said encouraging his always too serious son.
By the fourth keg, everyone was more than just merry and, with the music as loud as they had it, it was nothing short of a miracle that they managed to hear the door's bell.
'I'll get it,' Itsuki said and being unusually helpful he walked up to the door, coming back a few instants later with a very serious face, he then said, 'Takumi, there are two police officers who want to speak to the owner of the house.'
Takumi's eyes widened in shock and, getting up from the sofa, he saw two police officers entering the living room. Had he not been a bit more than tipsy, he would have noticed two very important details:
One, Kenji and Iketani were snickering even more than earlier on. Two, the police officers were a bit too good looking to be for real. However, Takumi realised only too soon that he had been set up by his so-called best friends as the two 'officers' grabbed him, put him against one of the living room walls and started fondling him.
'What are you…' Takumi asked feeling his cheeks on fire.
'Sir, I believe you've got quite a big weapon in here, are you licensed to use it?' one of the 'officers' said putting her hand on Takumi's crotch.
He then turned round to see that the two 'officers' removed their caps revealing two long shiny manes. Then, with Itsuki as their accomplice, a very sexy tune started playing from the Hi-Fi and the two girls started taking their clothes off in front of a very embarrassed looking Takumi.
'Itsuki, Takumi's so going to kill you,' Keisuke said laughing while enjoying the show as much as everyone else in the room.
'I can't believe Ryosuke's sleeping through this,' Fumihiro said pointing at their Team Manager who had fallen asleep on one of the couches half way through the party.
'This is probably his idea of 'having fun',' Matsumoto slurred for he was beyond pissed.
Meanwhile, at the Takahashi's, Akiko, Kyoko, Minami and the singer's best friend Mariko, welcomed Mako and Sayuki into the house.
'Where should I put this?' Minami's mother asked bringing one of the platters full of canapés into the living room.
'Just leave it here Yoshimura-san,' Akiko said then, she added, 'you really shouldn't be doing this.'
'Oh, I'm happy to help and I'm honoured to have been invited into your house Takahashi-san,' Minami's mother said.
'Please call me Akiko. There are two Takahashi-san in here and it could get confusing,' Akiko said smiling sweetly.
'Mum, can I have one?' Kyosuke said pointing at one of the canapés.
'Yes, but not the ones with the caviar, you're too young for that,' Akiko said.
'The what?' Kyosuke said frowning at his mother.
'The ones with that black stuff on it,' Kyoko explained to her nephew.
'Ah, that, I don't like it anyway,' Kyosuke said, 'Uncle Keisuke gave me once a some of that stuff: it tastes funny,' the boy explained seeing his mother's confused expression.
'Did he now?' Akiko said making a mental note to tell her brother-in-law off for messing up with her son's diet.
'Mummy, I want that,' Seisuke said from his high chair pointing at the bottle of champagne that was still unopened. This made everyone laugh.
'Baby, you're definitely too young for that,' Kyoko said laughing softly.
'Isn't any of us curious as to what the boys are doing?' Sayuki asked suddenly.
'No,' Akiko said for it was true.
'I am,' Mariko said.
'Why don't we go and check it out?' Sayuki suggested.
'Girls, I don't think that's such a good idea,' Akiko said warningly.
'Why not?' Kyoko asked.
'Well, we let them do the party and by doing that we're saying that we trust them,' Akiko explained.
'So?' Mariko said.
'I, for one, trust my husband enough to know that he's not going to be doing anything strange,' Akiko said firmly.
'She's right, you know,' Minami's mother said.
'I don't know,' Sayuki said for, obviously, her trust in her boyfriend Kenji wasn't quite as strong as Akiko's for her husband.
'If Itsuki is involved, I'm sure there'll be trouble,' Mariko commented.
'Oh, you're just biased,' Minami said knowing that her best friend was still a bit resentful with Takumi's friend for having dumped her.
'Why don't we just go and take a quick look?' Sayuki insisted.
'I'm not sure,' Mako said, finally intervening in the conversation.
'Oh, hell, I'm going,' Mariko said getting up from the sofa.
'Me too,' Sayuki said.
'Hey, how are you going to get there?' Mako asked her best friend.
'Er…right, give me the keys,' she said.
'Ah no, you aren't driving my car,' Mako said shaking her head.
'Come with me then, I've got my own car,' Mariko said to Sayuki.
'Girls…' Akiko said shaking her head her face showing how much she disapproved of this.
'Akiko, I'm a bit curious too,' Kyoko said with a tiny voice.
'Alright, you go, but I'm staying here,' Akiko said resolutely. Minami's mother also sat down next to her expressing her will to stay in the house too.
'Fine, Minami?' Kyoko said and the singer looked at her briefly before nodding.
'I'm coming too.'
Mako, Sayuki, Minami and Mariko all boarded the Takahashi's MPV with Kyoko behind the wheel as she drove them all the way to the singer's house in Tokyo.
What they found when Minami opened her house's door and as the other four girls followed her to the living room made all of them wish they had listened to Akiko:
The room was a complete mess and as a dozen, very obviously drunk men, danced with two half naked women. All of this while, oblivious to what was happening around him, Ryosuke continued to sleep on one of the couches.
To be continued…