Yokaze
Chapter 2: Finding a Ride
{A/N} Don't own Initial D...wish I did...but I don't...so yeah...wordz
"Liz! Brakes! Now!" a woman in the passenger seat of the red MR2 shouted as they rounded a bend. Liz slammed hard on the pedal and the handbrake, causing the car to spin out and come to a stop. The woman sighed.
"Liz...I know you've seen your brother drive before...but you need to work on your judgment..." the woman shook her head quickly, fixing her long oily brown hair.
"Sorry Tandee..." was all the girl could say as she corrected the car's position and continued through the course, albeit at a much slower pace.
[-]
Mark sat up in his bed, yawning and wiping his eyes. He glanced over at his clock. 10:00...Tsugumi said she would be over here around noon...gives me 2 hours to do...nothing. Mark shook his head and slid out of bed, putting on a simple white t shirt and jeans with his sneakers.
He spent the morning exploring his house, when he got to the garage he was rather surprised, there was room for two cars and plenty of shelving space for tools and parts. Alright, he thought to himself as he glanced at his watch. Tsugumi should be arriving around now. Sure enough he could hear a car approaching and pull into the driveway. He left the garage and grabbed his keys, locking the house and walking towards the waiting car.
"So wheres our first stop?" Mark asked as he got into the left hand passenger side of the purple 92.
"A dealership a couple of miles from here." The black haired girl replied as she stepped on the accelerator, peeling out of the driveway. She was wearing a similar outfit as before, only without the plaid over shirt. "Develop any ideas for a ride yet?"
"Something rear-wheel drive for sure, adaptable, and decent horsepower." He replied, watching the road ahead, and sometimes to the side.
"Hmm...well I know for a fact that the dealer we're headed to has a couple of S15's, among other things." The girl replied as they continued on. Mark shook his head.
"I considered something like that, but its pretty pricey, and I don't have that same feeling when I look at an S15 that I did when I looked at my MR2 back home." He replied. Twenty minutes later they pulled into the dealership and parked out front. A shorter man came out and greeted them.
"Ah! Tsugumi-san! What brings you to my humble dealership, hmm? Come to trade in that old 92 of yours for something better?" The girl shook her head.
"No Tsukune-san, my friend here needs a set of wheels within a reasonable price." she says as she motions towards Mark, who nods slightly.
"Ah good, good! Well take a look around and just let me know when you see something you like!" and with that, the man went back into the showroom.
"Well, lets walk shall we?" Mark said, walking towards the lot full of an abundance of cars, Tsugumi following behind him. They passed what seemed like an endless supply of cars, S13's, Lancer's, Impreza's, even an old AE86 and MR2, but none of them, not even the MR2, seemed to fit Marks fancy. They started to head back to the 92 when Tsukune intercepted them.
"Find anything, hmm?" the man asked, Mark shook his head.
"Sorry, just doesn't seem to be anything on the lot that appeals to me." the dealer frowned at this for a second, then snapped his fingers.
"I might have just the thing you're looking for, got it in a little less than a week ago, somebody was moving and needed the cash." The man chirped as he beckoned the two to follow. Shrugging, the two did follow the man, around to a garage in the back. "I was just getting ready to put it on the lot...but I might not need to..." the man said as he opened the garage, revealing the car.
"I'll take it." Mark said as he looked at the car before him. The car was a 1988 Toyota Supra with an added on spoiler, all black. Tsugumi looked at him.
"Are you sure? You haven't even driven it yet." Mark nodded.
"I'm sure, it was the same way when I bought my last car." was his reply. Tsukune nodded happily.
"That's great! I'll go get the paperwork started right now." He said as he took off for the showroom.
[-]
Mark leaned against the rear of his new car as it sat parked behind Tsugumi's 92 at the top of the mountain course in Akagi, Tsugumi had the hood popped open and had her head practically buried in the engine. "You know, Tsugumi, while I'm not a mechanic, I do know how to inspect an engine, besides it ran fine coming up here."
"I'm just making sure." she said as she shut the hood, wiping her hands on her pants. "You didn't even test drive the car."
"And?"
"Its fine...the filters need to be cleaned, but that shouldn't hinder the test run down the mountain." She said as she walked over to him, resting a hand on her hip. "Alright, before we go any farther, I did tell you about the catch, didn't I?" The girl grinned slightly.
Mark sighed. "Alright...lets hear it."
"Well as I told you the Red Suns, however prominent of a team they are, are much to busy with their Project D, so that kinda leaves Akagi vulnerable to a new team." She said in a rather cool manner, leaning next to him on the car's trunk.
"So that's it...well that makes thing easy, I was gonna look to put together a team anyway..." Tsugumi smiled at his response.
"Good...well we better get some practice, no doubt the Red Suns will show up to defend the place." She said as she headed for her car. "Lets try the downhill, I'll lead, try and keep up." She grinned as she hopped in and revved up the engine of her 92.
Mark grinned as well and jumped into his car, gunning the engine. The two sped off down the course, Mark keeping pace with the small car with some effort. Dang she's fast on the downhill, Mark thought to himself. He downshifted and swung his Supra wide into a corner, still getting a feel for the handling. Tires need to be replaced, and the suspension needs tightening. He continued to chase Tsugumi down the course, the cars flying through the corners.
Mark was impressed, and he continued to stay glued to Tsugumi's bumper the whole way down the mountain. After an exhilarating five minutes of driving, they reached the bottom of the course and pulled into an adjacent parking lot. Mark stepped out of his Supra and look as Tsugumi did the same.
"Not bad for a first time the mountain, eh?" He called to her.
"Not bad? Are you kidding me? Its like your a natural on that course." She stated as she took a quick walk around her car to as if to check something before looking back to him. "I swear its like that Supra has a lot more under the hood than it lets on." She finished.
"Hmm...well I'll know when I get it back to the house, suspension's a little loose for my liking, and I'm going to replace the tires, these are far to worn out." Mark said as he lightly tapped one of the front tires with his foot. "..though I'm no mechanic, care to come by and help out?" Tsugumi nodded.
"Sure, I'll grab my tool set from my place and meet you at your house in an hour." She said, hopping back in her 92 and peeling out of the parking lot. Mark got back into his car and pulled out, heading home.
[-]
"Mrs. Stevenson, I can assure you I haven't let Liz do anything entirely reckless...and she's adapting to the MR2 very well." Tandee said as she sat at a table in the kitchen of the Stevenson family house.
"I know Tandee, Liz keeps going on about how good she is getting, I just want to know if the car is safe, its not exactly new." the worried mother asked the oily brunette haired mechanic.
Tandee nodded after some hesitation. "It is as safe as it operator controls it." She tried to smile lightly, but the expression the woman before her had after that answer didn't allow it. "Mrs. Stevenson there is no need to worry, I'll be in the car with Liz every time she races."
"But what of your own life? Surely you have your own responsibilities to take care of?"
"I do what I have to, and Mark and I are close friends, I have no complaints about taking car of this." the girl replied.
"How close?" the older woman asked, looking Tandee straight in the eye.
The girl let her head droop a bit, sighing. "Not as close as I'd like..."
{A/N} Whew...another chapter, well y'all know the drill, rate, review, fav, etc...etc...etc...
-The17thScripter