Programmed Lives – Fifth Stage

Chapter Eighteen

Enjoying the peace which reigned in the house in that late morning of the last day of February, Akiko was reading a book as she laid on the chaise-longue she kept for herself in her favourite room of the house: the library.

'There you are,' Ryosuke said stepping into the room, 'I've been looking for you all over the place.'

'I've been here all the time,' Akiko said smiling at her husband over her still opened book.

'Where's everybody?' Ryosuke asked, taking a seat next to his wife.

'The boys are with your brother and Kyoko at the centre,' Akiko explained, 'and since Akito's busy with his testing sessions, Ryoko's gone to Yayoi's house to, apparently, do some last minute revising.'

'Ah, that's right,' Ryosuke commented, 'they're having the end of the year exams soon, haven't they?'

'Yes,' Akiko replied and then, she tilted her head towards her husband who was looking at her in a way she hadn't seen in quite a while, 'Ryosuke…' she started and that made him smile.

'You know,' he said, 'if no one is home, this means we're all alone.'

Akiko laughed softly and, with her usual irony, she commented:

'I can see why everybody thinks you're so smart.'

This only made Ryosuke's smile widen.

'How unusual is it for us to be together, at home and absolutely on our own?' he asked.

'Very,' she replied then, biting her lower lip, she smiled back at him, 'Ryosuke…'

He didn't even bother checking with her: he just got up and, getting her off the chaise-longue, Ryosuke took his wife in his arms and started walking out of the room.

Meanwhile, Kyosuke and Seisuke were busy helping his uncle's friend Kenta empty a small truck full of all sorts of car parts so they could then take them into the new structure that had been built next to the garage which housed the karts.

'You know,' Seisuke commented feeling a bit short of breath due to the effort, 'if the worse comes to the worst, you can always get a job here.'

'Very funny,' Kyosuke said flatly, 'and thanks for the vote of confidence, little brother.'

Seisuke laughed at that then, as his laughter became a fit of coughing, Kyosuke added:

'I've told you: you should quit smoking now that you're still on time.'

'When did you start smoking?' Kenta asked frowning at the younger of the two brothers.

'A couple of weeks ago,' Seisuke replied.

'That's a horrible habit,' Kenta said, 'and you of all people should know.'

'That's what I've told him,' Kyosuke commented, happy to see that his uncle's friend agreed with him, 'he's going to be a freaking doctor.'

'Hey,' Seisuke said defensively, 'Dad's a doctor too and he used to smoke.'

'Yes,' Kyosuke countered, 'but he quit a long time ago, after Grandpa Daichiro had his heart attack.'

Seisuke just glared at him and, seeing that, made Kenta say:

'Hey boys, let's get this done, okay?'

Kyosuke stared at his brother for a while longer then, he nodded.

'Yeah, I'll have to go to the airport soon: Kizuna's coming back this afternoon.'

'That's right,' Kenta said, 'your uncle told me about your girlfriend, I'm dying to meet her.'

Kyosuke looked at the much older man and, trying to be as cheeky as his younger brother, he said:

'Hey, she's taken, okay?'

Kenta's eyes widened in shock then, realising that Kyosuke was probably winding him up, he just chuckled as he shook his head.

'So, anyway,' the older man started, 'Akito's leaving for Australia next weekend, are you going to go with him?'

'Nope,' Kyosuke replied, 'unfortunately, I have to sit my finals in two weeks' time and, besides, like I just said, Kizuna's just going to be back from the US and I doubt she'll fancy taking yet another intercontinental flight quite so soon.'

'And you?' Kenta asked Seisuke.

'No, I also need to study,' he replied then, looking at his older brother, he added, 'but, since I'm a free agent now, I could very well go if I wanted to.'

'Seisuke...' Kyosuke started.

'Boys!' they heard Kyoko's voice shouting at them from the top of the stairs which led to the main building, 'Do you want anything cold to drink?' she asked them showing them a couple of cans of some soft drink.

'Sure!' Kenta replied and, leaving the box he had in his arms on the floor, next to the truck, he started walking towards where Keisuke's wife was.

'Hey,' Kyosuke started again as he and Seisuke followed Kenta, 'what's wrong with you?'

'Nothing,' Seisuke replied.

'Well,' Kyosuke insisted, 'you've been quite bitchy in these past few days.'

'You're just being paranoid,' Seisuke said as he started walking faster so he could leave his older brother behind and join Kenta to talk to him instead.

A few minutes later, Kyosuke walked into his uncle's office where he found the man sitting behind his desk as he talked on the phone.

Keisuke signalled for his nephew to take a seat and, as he finished the conversation, he said:

'What's up?'

'Uncle Keisuke,' the young man started, 'I'm getting worried about Seisuke.'

'I know, me too,' Keisuke agreed as he passed his hand through the bleached spikes who looked so similar to those of the younger man sitting in front of him.

'The thing is,' Kyosuke said, 'he used to be the cheerful one out of us two and, I find it really difficult to deal with this new bitter self.'

'Kyosuke,' he started, 'you know what the main problem is?'

'Nope,' the young man replied.

'Seisuke's always tried very hard to be the one who was constantly happy and who always saw the bright side of everything,' Keisuke said, 'after Kaori betrayed his trust so badly and whatever happened with that other girl, he just doesn't feel like making the effort anymore.'

'Well, I sincerely hope he'll find someone else soon.'

'I hope he doesn't,' Keisuke said, startling Kyosuke in the process.

'Why not?'

'Because I think Seisuke needs to figure a few things out first and he can only do that if he stays single for a while.'

'You seem to be talking from first hand experience here,' Kyosuke said.

'I am,' Keisuke replied, 'believe it or not, before your father took it upon himself to fix up my life, I was as disenchanted by life as Seisuke is right now.'

Kyosuke stared at his uncle as an idea started forming in his brain then, smiling, he said:

'You know Uncle Keisuke: I think you've just given me a great idea…'

An hour later, Kyosuke was parking his yellow RZ-1 in the car park of Narita's airport and, as he made his way towards the Terminal 1, he pressed a button on his mobile phone then he put it on his ear and waited for an answer.

'Hello?' he heard the deep voice belonging to Takikawa Kazuo say.

'Hey Takikawa, this is Takahashi Kyosuke, do you remember me?'

'Of course I do, you still owe me a re-match,' Takikawa replied.

'Are you free tomorrow night?' Kyosuke asked.

'Er…I think so, why?'

'Fancy a race on Mt Myogi's Pass?'

'Yeah, why not…'

'Great, I'll call Nakazato so we can clear it with the Devils,' Kyosuke said, 'let's meet up there at around nine, okay?'

'Sure, see you there.'

He stepped into the terminal as he searched for Nakazato Taro's number then, dialling that one too, he put the phone back on his ear.

'Nakazato here,' Kyosuke heard him answer, then, he proceeded to explain to the guy about his plan to give Seisuke a birthday party he would never forget and, by the time Kizuna crossed the sliding doors which separated the baggage claim from the arrivals hall, Kyosuke had more than one reason to smile at her.

'Kyosuke!' she screamed as she dropped her bags and ran towards him.

He allowed her to jump onto him and, hugging her tightly, he kissed her not giving a toss about the number of people who were staring at them.

'Welcome back,' Kyosuke said as they started walking out of the terminal, with him carrying her huge suitcase.

'I want you to tell me everything that's been going on since January,' Kizuna said and Kyosuke noticed, with immense pleasure, that her sexy half-American accent was stronger than ever.

'But I've already told you by email,' Kyosuke said.

'Yeah, but I want to hear it from you in person,' she insisted.

Giving in, they spent the whole trip back to her small apartment with him telling her about Ryoko's victory in the inter-high championship, Akito's fabulous times with his new GP2 car and the few problems they'd had with Junya after he'd quit the Golden Arrows.

'Speaking of which,' Kyosuke said, 'do you think you'd be up for a race tomorrow night?'

'Sure,' Kizuna said, 'I'm dying to get back behind my baby's steering wheel.'

'Your car's fine, I've been getting it ready all week: I've waxed it, the tyres are all checked, the oil and water levels are optimal and I've filled it with high octane.'

'I knew I could trust you with it,' Kizuna said giving him a peck on his cheek.

'Hey, I'm driving!' Kyosuke complained only half-heartedly.

'I've almost forgot how prude you can be,' Kizuna said pouting.

'Prude? Me?' Kyosuke asked raising his eyebrows, 'baby, as soon as we get to your apartment, I'll show you how very wrong you are.'

'Is that a promise?' Kizuna said smiling at him in a way that it only meant one thing. This made Kyosuke shake his head as he laughed at her.

'And here I was thinking you'd be tired from the flight,' he commented.

'I've done nothing but sleep during the whole trip,' Kizuna said.

At the end, they didn't make it to the Takahashi residence until just before dinner and, when they entered the house, they saw Ryoko walking out of the kitchen carrying a few bowls in her hands.

'Hey!' the girl exclaimed seeing Kizuna there and, leaving the bowls on top of the phone's table, she ran towards her to give her a hug.

'How are you?' she said.

'I'm great, I'm very happy to be back in Japan,' she replied and, seeing the weird look Ryoko was giving her, he asked, 'what's wrong?'

Ryoko smiled at her and said:

'Yeah, I'm sure those rosy cheeks are all due to the nice and healthy Japanese air.'

Leaving an utterly stunned Kizuna behind, Ryoko turned round and picking the bowls up, she walked towards the dining room so she could finish setting the table up.

'I didn't know your cousin was so…' Kizuna whispered at Kyosuke as they made it to the deserted living room, interrupting herself, not being able to find the right word.

'Knowledgeable?' Kyosuke supplied as the two of them sat down on the sofa.

'Have she and Akito…' Kizuna asked and, seeing her boyfriend nod, she raised her eyebrows in shock and added, 'and Akito's still alive?

'He's actually allowed to stay in the house overnight,' Kyosuke replied and now Kizuna looked so taken aback by this that he couldn't help but to laugh at her.

'What's so funny?' Akito asked as he entered the living room.

'Nothing,' Kyosuke said, 'listen, I need to tell you something,' he added and then he proceeded to explain to the young man about the surprise gathering he was preparing to celebrate Seisuke's birthday as well as Kizuna's return to Japan.

'I think it's a great idea,' Akito said, 'it'll also be my last race before the GP2 season starts.'

'Aren't you going to be racing with us?' Kizuna asked frowning at him.

'Of course I am,' Akito replied, 'it's just that I doubt I'll be able to join you in every single gathering.'

'I guess not,' Kizuna replied being reasonable then, as Akito was going to add something to that, Seisuke came into the room and, not even bothering with greeting Kizuna properly, he told them that dinner was ready.

'See what I mean?' Kyosuke asked as he, Akito and Kizuna walked towards the dining room.

'Yeah,' Kizuna replied, 'he needs a race.'

'Badly,' Akito agreed.

The following evening, Kyosuke had quite a lot of trouble convincing the birthday boy that he really needed to get out of his room:

'Come on, Seisuke,' he said as he stood in the middle of his brother's almost surgically clean bedroom, 'it's your birthday.'

'Precisely,' Seisuke countered, 'I think I'm entitled to celebrate it the way I want.'

'Right, and, of course,' Kyosuke said, 'the best way to celebrate one's twenty first birthday is to stay locked up in one's room.'

'Aniki…'

'Just an hour, come with me for a drive for an hour, okay?'

'Why don't you ask Kizuna?' Seisuke asked.

'She's tired from the trip,' Kyosuke lied.

'And Akito?' Seisuke insisted.

'He's going out with Ryoko,' Kyosuke lied again.

'You're not going to give up, are you?' the younger brother asked.

'Nope.'

'Alright then,' Seisuke finally gave in, 'just for an hour.'

'Great!' Kyosuke exclaimed and, as they both walked towards the house's garage, he vowed to himself that he'd do the impossible to get his brother back to being his old, happy-go-lucky self.

Soon enough, Kyosuke and Seisuke were driving towards the motorway, the younger brother following the yellow RZ-1 with his white one.

'Where are we going?' Kyosuke heard his brother ask through the radio.

'Mt Myogi,' he replied.

'Why not Mt Akagi?' Seisuke asked.

'Why not Mt Myogi?' Kyosuke countered.

'Fair enough…' Seisuke said then, they remained in silence until, getting to the bottom of the Myogi Devil's home course, the youngest of the Takahashi brothers asked, 'what are all of this people doing in here?'

'I don't know,' Kyosuke lied as he smiled to himself.

'Aniki…' Seisuke said trying to sound pissed off.

Kyosuke, knowing his little brother as much as he did, he was pretty sure that Seisuke had probably figured out what was going on by now.

'This is a gathering, isn't it?' he heard him ask, confirming his suspicions.

'Uh-huh,' Kyosuke replied.

'So much for a quiet drive, huh?' Seisuke said, 'you had all of this planned, didn't you?'

'Yes,' Kyosuke said, 'Happy Birthday, Seisuke.'

The soft laugh he heard told him that maybe, just maybe, his younger brother was a tiny bit pleased about the whole thing and, as they made it to the summit, watching the aggressive way in which his brother was tackling the corners, Kyosuke realised that his brother was getting all geared up.

Kyosuke smiled again as he parked the car next to Akito's V-86.

'Surprised?' Akito asked to Seisuke as the two brothers walked towards him.

'Yeah,' Seisuke said and, for the first time in ages, they saw him smiling in his usual boyish way.

'Where's Kizuna?' Kyosuke asked not seeing his girlfriend there.

'I'm not sure, she and Ryoko left a while ago,' Akito replied.

'Fuck,' they heard Seisuke say, 'what is she doing in here?'

Then, Akito and Kyosuke saw Misa's red V37 driving behind Kizuna's dark grey 350Z.

To be continued…