Programmed Lives – Fifth Stage
Chapter One
Five days after the last gathering, all three Takahashi were at the living room in their home with Akito, Kaori and Kizuna watching the credits of a movie they had just finished watching. Then, as usual, Seisuke started browsing through the TV menu trying to decide what to watch next.
'You've got to be kidding me!' Kaori exclaimed as her boyfriend selected from the TV's memory the second movie of the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
'No, I'm not,' Seisuke said looking serious as he pressed the button to start watching the movie.
'Seisuke, we've watched these films a million times!'
'Hey, this trilogy's a classic!,' Seisuke countered.
'And they're really good movies,' Kyosuke added.
'Guys, come on, we've just finished watching the first one,' Ryoko said trying to get her cousins to be reasonable.
'Precisely, we need to watch the rest now,' Seisuke replied.
'What? No way!' Kaori exclaimed.
'No one else wants to watch it, isn't that right?' Ryoko said as she sought Akito's support.
'Er…' Akito started.
'I've got an idea,' Kizuna said, 'why don't we go for a drive?'
'Yeah, let's do that,' Akito replied sounding relieved for, in his opinion, having to choose between his girlfriend and his best friends was hardly fair.
'Oh brilliant…' Kaori said starting to complain obviously not liking that idea either.
'Well, it's always better than watching some little guy trying to get rid of a ring,' Ryoko commented.
Kyosuke, visibly offended by his cousin's comment, was about to defend the masterpiece both he and his brother were fans of when they all heard the house's front door open.
'Daddy's home,' Ryoko announced and, to everyone's amusement, Akito let go of her hand as he literally jumped sideways onto the sofa, putting a good ten centimetres between his girlfriend and himself.
A few instants later, Takahashi Keisuke and his wife entered the living room:
'Hey guys,' Keisuke said after kissing his daughter on the top of her head, 'Akito.'
'Hello, sir,' the young man said and both Seisuke and Kyosuke chuckled amazed to see that, even after all these years, Akito still seemed pretty much terrified of his future father-in-law.
'Have you eaten anything yet?' Kyoko asked.
'No, but we were about to go out anyway,' Kyosuke replied.
'Why don't you eat here? I brought some take away,' Kyoko said.
'Guys?' Kyosuke asked looking around the room.
'Yes, let's eat something before we go,' Kizuna said.
A few minutes late, all six of them plus Keisuke and Kyoko were sitting at the table enjoying the different specialities Kyoko had brought with her when they heard the front door open again.
'Hey, just in time!' Keisuke said seeing his brother and sister-in-law stepping into the dining room.
'We've saved some for you,' Kyoko commented starting to get up from her chair.
'Sorry Kyoko,' Akiko said, 'this all looks delicious but, I think I'm going to pass.'
'Ah,' Kyoko said.
'Mum, are you alright?' Seisuke asked seeing how very pale his mother looked.
'Yes baby, I'm okay,' Akiko replied, 'just a bit tired, that's all.'
'Ah, okay,' Seisuke said not sounding very convinced.
'We'll just go and lay down for a bit, it's been a very long day,' Ryosuke commented.
'Mum, Dad, we're going to go out later,' Kyosuke said.
'Ah, alright, be careful, okay?' Akiko said and both of her sons nodded to that.
'See you all later,' Ryosuke said as he put his hand on his wife's back as they both walked out of the room to head upstairs. Keisuke and his wife exchanged a very brief but knowing look before Kyoko, more to break the silence that had fallen upon them than for any other reason, asked:
'So, Christmas is coming soon, have you got any plans yet?'
'Er…' Kyosuke started.
'Oh, the usual,' Ryoko said saving her cousin without being aware of doing so, 'we'll probably just go for a walk around the shopping centre and then to the movies, right?'
'Yeah, that's right,' Akito confirmed.
'We could go ice skating too,' Ryoko suggested.
'Er…' Akito said.
'Come on, you're not that bad!' Ryoko countered, 'you're actually getting really good!'
'Yeah, I'm good at falling on my butt all the time,' Akito complained then he pouted making everyone laugh.
'We'll probably go to that French restaurant, won't we?' Kaori said, talking to Seisuke.
'Of course,' Seisuke replied then, looking at his brother, he said, 'what about you Aniki?'
'Er…' Kyosuke started, 'I think we should get going, shouldn't we?'
Seisuke gave a weird look at his older brother before nodding.
'Yeah, okay.'
Thanking Kyoko for the food, they all got up and, following Kyosuke, walked out of the house and towards their cars.
'Something's wrong,' Seisuke commented to Kaori as he turned the engine of his RZ-1 on.
'Why are you saying this?' Kaori asked.
'Kizuna hasn't complained that she had to leave her car behind like she always does,' Seisuke replied as he released the handbrake so he could drive his car down the lane.
'Maybe she didn't feel like driving,' Kaori suggested.
'Yeah, right, as if that would ever happen,' Seisuke said ironically, 'I think Aniki's done something that's upset her…'
'Why don't you ask him later?' Kaori asked.
'I will, don't worry,' Seisuke replied and, with that, both fell quiet as they followed Kyosuke's car.
Onboard the Toyota V-86, which was currently leading both Mazda, after gathering enough courage and speaking as casually as possible, Akito said:
'Ryoko, my parents are probably going out next Saturday and, I think Grandpa's going to be looking after my sister.'
'Uh-huh,' Ryoko limited herself to say not really helping him at all.
'Well, I was thinking that, you know…'
'Yes?' Ryoko said and, glancing quickly at her Akito saw that the girl had a tiny smile curving her lips. He swallowed as he began to feel rather hot from the neck up.
'You know, two weeks ago, well, we couldn't…er…'
'It wasn't your fault,' she said with a very small voice.
She was right, Akito thought bitterly, that Halloween he'd planned everything very carefully so he and Ryoko could, at long last, make love for the first time, his almost ten year old sister had started feeling poorly while she was out celebrating with their parents, forcing all three of them to go back home a lot earlier than what Akito expected.
'We'll see, alright?' she finally said.
'Yeah, okay,' Akito said and, feeling very disappointed, he decided to remain silent for the rest of the journey.
Things were even quieter inside the yellow RZ-1 so, Kyosuke, Seisuke and Akito were only too happy when they finally made it all the way up Mt Akagi's summit.
'No racing tonight, okay?' Kaori said as they got themselves some warm drinks from a vending machine.
'Don't worry, we'll just take it easy,' Seisuke assured her.
'Not so easy,' Kizuna said looking a tad on the angry side, 'Kyosuke's got something to tell you.'
'Kizuna…' Kyosuke started.
'Kyosuke,' Kizuna said with a stubborn look on her face. Seeing that, the Golden Arrows leader had no other option but to say:
'Alright, guys…don't freak out, okay?'
'Right, if you say that I'll freak out for sure,' Seisuke commented dryly.
'What's wrong?' Akito asked looking almost as worried as Seisuke.
'Okay, well,' Kyosuke started, 'you guys know that I will be getting my Automotive Engineering degree next year, right?'
'Yeah,' Seisuke replied.
'Well, the thing is, Kizuna's uncle's got some good connections with a team from South Carolina…'
'From where?' Akito interrupted.
'South Carolina, that's where I come from, remember?' Kizuna explained.
'Ah right,' Akito said.
'Anyway,' Kyosuke continued, 'this team is currently competing in the Indy Racing League and…'
'Indy Racing League?' Akito asked with his eyes open as wide as they went.
'Yeah,' Kyosuke replied beginning to feel rather annoyed at Akito's constant interruptions, 'well, they've offered to both Kizuna and I the chance to do an apprenticeship with them this winter.'
'What?' Seisuke asked.
'I haven't decided anything or…'
'How long would you be gone for?' Seisuke asked keeping a remarkably neutral tone of voice.
'Three months, give or take,' Kyosuke replied.
'When would you have to leave?' Seisuke asked interrupting Akito who was about to protest.
'Beginning of next month,' Kyosuke replied.
'NO WAY!' Akito finally said, exploding.
'Hey, I haven't d…''
'You can't go now! I just made it into your team!' Akito exclaimed looking rather upset
'Akito, be quiet,' Seisuke said looking very serious, 'Aniki, I think you should go…'
'WHAT?' Akito shouted, 'ARE YOU MAD?'
'No,' Seisuke said, still keeping a calm tone of voice, 'it's an excellent opportunity for him to get a first hand experience in a racing team.'
'That's what I said,' Kizuna said happy to see she could count on her boyfriend's brother's support.
'But…' Akito started.
'Think about it, Akito,' Seisuke continued, 'you've already started your professional career and you know how hard that was and how lucky you were.'
'Yeah, I was,' Akito admitted.
'If it was so difficult for you, considering how difficult it is to find truly talented drivers, imagine how hard is going to be for Aniki to get experience as an engineer in a racing team.'
'Yeah, you're right,' Akito said to Seisuke.
'Aniki, you should definitely go,' Seisuke said.
'What about the team?' Kyosuke asked.
'We'll take care of it for you while you're gone,' a much calmer Akito replied.
'After all, like you said, there won't be any other challenges during the whole winter,' Seisuke added.
'See? I told you they would understand,' Kizuna said.
'Do you think Mum and Dad will understand too?' Kyosuke asked to his younger brother.
'Yeah, you know they've always wanted us to do whatever we want with our lives.'
'That's also true,' Kyosuke said feeling more and more ready to go.
'Hey, if you go to the US, maybe we can come and visit you,' Ryoko said, intervening in the conversation for the first time.
'That's an excellent idea, I could come with you guys too!' Kaori said, as usual agreeing with Ryoko.
'Absolutely, you all could come and stay with my family!' Kizuna said smiling happily.
'What the…' Kyosuke said startling everyone.
Akito was going to ask what was happening now when they saw a couple of cars driving up to them. Soon, one of them, a black Subaru GR, stopped next to them and, rolling down the window, its driver said:
'You're members of the Golden Arrows, aren't you?'
'Obviously,' Kyosuke replied since all three of the cars parked behind them had a pair of Golden Arrows set of stickers on them.
'Great,' the guy said, 'my name's Akai Mamoru and I'm here to challenge you for a race.'
Meanwhile, back at the Takahashi's, Akiko and Ryosuke entered the living room where Keisuke and Kyoko were sitting down watching TV.
'Hey, are you feeling better?' Kyoko asked seeing her sister in law.
'Guys,' she said as she took a seat on the couch opposite the one Kyoko and Keisuke were using, 'we need to tell you something.'
Keisuke, sensing that this was a very serious conversation, pressed the button on the remote to turn the TV off.
'What I am about to tell you must be kept strictly between the four of us, okay?' Akiko said.
'O-okay,' Kyoko stammered while Keisuke just nodded as the two got even more worried.
'The thing is,' Akiko continued, 'do you remember when we went to the gynaecologist together?' she asked looking at Kyoko.
'Oh my god!' Kyoko exclaimed, 'Are you pregnant?'
Akiko looked startled for a second then gave Kyoko a very sad smile.
'I almost wish I was,' Akiko replied then, taking a deep breath, she said, 'alas, what they've found in my uterus most definitely wasn't an embryo.'
'What's wrong then?' Keisuke asked impatiently.
'They found some cysts embedded in the wall of my uterus,' Akiko explained, 'then the doctor followed the normal procedure and performed a biopsy from one of them.'
Her voice seemed to falter for a bit then, she looked at Ryosuke silently asking him to finish the sentence for her.
'The biopsy revealed that the cysts are tumours,' he said while holding Akiko's hand.
'What?' Kyoko asked now getting as pale as Akiko.
Akiko looked at her brother and sister in law and, trying to keep her voice as firm as she could, she said:
'I've got cancer.'
To be continued…