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Rideback: Fire and Water
Chapter 2
Agua
The following Saturday morning Tamayo approached the rideback clubs garage in her usual abrasive way.
"Hey Haruki! I wanna get some early practice in before Rin shows up so my RB-Z better be r..."
Tamayo's rant was cut off by the sight of a new rideback in the garage. The body type looked identical to Fuego's but this one was deep blue with the word Agua on it and stylized black and white cresting ocean waves where Fuego's flames would be.
"What the... Haruki, what's with this? Where did this one come from?" asked Tamayo.
"Okakura brought it in last night."
"Is he here?"
"Yeah is in the back as usual."
Tamayo entered the back office to find Okakura siting quietly at his laptop as usual.
"So do you want to tell me about the new rideback or should I torture you first?"
"It's basically another Fuego Type L with all the same software mods I installed in the first one but since I didn't want two identical ridebacks and since you and Rin are about as opposite as opposites get I had this one painted Blue and called it Agua. Agua is spanish for..."
"Yeah, Water. I know." interrupted Tamayo.
"After our talk last weekend I thought you might be ready. So I made this one for you."
"Those things aren't cheap. Where do you get all the money for this?"
"You don't wanna know. Let's just say I have friends with their hands in other peoples deep pockets."
"Other peoples huh? Sounds kinky. Is it ready? Can I take it out for a ride?"
"That's an interesting difference between you and Rin. Rin would have said 'Is she ready' not it but yeah, It's ready."
"So what, you're telling me I should treat t like it's alive?"
"Well, I wouldn't go that far. But in a way it does have a mind of it's own. It'd be good to remember that."
"Okay, cool... and uhm... Thank you." said Tamayo before heading back out to try out her new toy.
Out in the garage Tamayo sat on Agua for the first time. She looked down at the deep blue fuel tank in front of her kind of caressed it while thinking Okay Agua Let's see what you can do?
"Tamayo." said Okakura poking his head out of the office. "Remember it can't anticipate what it hasn't seen you do yet so don't expect to much your first time out on it."
"Okay." said Tamayo acknowledging Okakura "Hey Haruki, Is the course set up yet?"
Haruki frantically grabbed his laptop while saying "Well, Dota set up the sensors last night so we should be good. Let me just check and make sure we're getting readings from all of them."
After setting up the laptop on some crates that were convenient enough for the moment he hit a few keys and said "Yup, we're good. All the sensors are online."
"Okay do me a favor and pay close attention just in case I have any trouble out there. And keep your radio on too."
"Yeah sure."
Tamayo turned the key to start the engine and all of Agua's displays lit up as Agua went through it's routine of system checks.
"Wow, He even had the color of the display lighting changed to blue. Nice touch."
Tamayo took it easy driving Agua out of the garage and onto the campus roads getting a feel for the handling. Once out on the road she gently weaved back and forth a few times.
"Okay, So far so good. It's not fighting me like Fuego did. Alright, I guess it's time open her up a bit."
Tamayo then started passing checkpoints with times comparable to the times she gets on her RB-Z
"Hows she doing?" said Okakura peaking over Haruki's shoulder at the laptop.
"She was off to a slow start but she's looking like her old self now. She just passed the water tower. She'll coming up on the chicane next." said Haruki.
Tamayo knew the chicane well, a little to well. She had an all too intimate encounter with the pavement there when a cat wandered into her path once. But this time she was feeling confident that Agua would get her through and she entered the turn a bit faster than usual but not having Rin's ballet skills she wound up sliding into the wall unable to hold the turn at that speed. Fortunately she wasn't thrown off and didn't sustain any serious injuries except for wounded pride.
"Damn it!"
"Uh oh, she stopped." said Haruki.
Okakura grabbed the radio. "Tamayo, What's wrong? Is Agua fighting you?"
"Oh no. Agua's fine. We're just getting acquainted that's all." said Tamayo's voice over the radio. "Okay Obviously I was asking for too much too soon with that one." she added as she started moving again.
"Okay, she's moving again. She's coming up on that stretch where Rin and Fuego went in the lake that time." said Haruki.
"Okay, Here's one you should be able to handle Agua. If the RB-Z can do it I'm sure you can." and with that she dropped into spread-legs form and accelerated towards the turn up ahead and just at the last second part way through the turn she rose up into standing form to make the turn.
Agua's wheels were a bit unstable and started to wobble when Tamayo said "Come on you can do it. Just a little more." Then Tamayo saw the straight-away come into view and she dropped back into spread-legs form and accelerated.
"Yes! Nice work Agua. I know I sprung that on ya at the last second but nice job."
"Whoa, Okakura did you see that? She went through there faster than she ever did with the RB-Z." said Haruki watching her progress on the laptop.
A few seconds later a very happy Tamayo rode up to the garage on Agua and gently rolled inside. She took off her helmet revealing the biggest smile any one had ever seen on her face. She took one look at Okakura and ran over to him shouting "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She leapt up and wrapped all her limbs around the stocky ex-military man and said "I love it. I love it. I love it. Thank you so much."
"Whoa Hey! Easy. Easy." said Okakura.
Tamayo let go of Okakura and said "Oh I'm sorry. Oh my god look at me. I'm acting like a highschool girl." then turned and gazed lovingly at Agua with that huge grin still stuck on her face.
"Oh Hey Rin. Hey Shouko." said Haruki as Rin and Shouko walked in.
"Hi Haruki." said Rin.
"Hi everybody." said Shouko
"Rin! Perfect timing. Get suited up and grab Fuego. We're going out." said Tamayo.
"Fuego? Not Balon? Shouldn't we be practicing on the ones we'll be using in the race?"
"Not today. Look what Okakura brought for me." Tamayo said motioning to Agua.
"Oh wow, it's beautiful. I love the color." said Rin.
"It's actually a Fuego Type L just like yours. Okakura just had it repainted and renamed just to avoid having two identical ridebacks in the garage. So now we'll be on closer to equal footing out there." said Tamayo.
"Yeah Okay, sure just give me a second to change and we'll get going." said Rin.
A couple minutes later Rin came out of the back office in the yellow and black riding suit that she still borrows.
"Okay. All set. Shouko are you sure you want to be here today? I know you haven't been feeling well lately. Maybe you should go back to the dorm and get some rest." said Rin.
"No I'm fine. don't worry about me. You go have fun. I'm gonna watch on the monitor here." said Shouko.
"Okay if you're sure." and with that Rin swung a leg over Fuego which was facing away from Shouko giving Shouko another view Rin's rear in that tight fitting riding suit. Shouko's heart started racing pumping more blood into the capillaries in her already blushing face as she let out a slight "ehm" that Rin couldn't hear with her helmet on nor could Rin see the blushing now facing away from Shouko but Tamayo witnessed all of it.
Oh yeah, Definitely. Thought Tamayo as she mounted Agua and headed out of the garage.
~RB~
A little ways down the road but before they reached the first check point Tamayo match speeds with Rin and pulled along side and said "Hey Rin. Stop for a second."
"Okay" said Rin.
After both of them came to a stop Tamayo added "And turn of your radio."
"Okay, What's this about?" asked Rin getting a little suspicious.
"Uhm, Are we friends enough to uhm.. I mean, Could I ask kind of a personal question?" asked Tamayo.
"I guess. As long as it's not too personal."
"How do you feel about Shouko?"
"What? What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just that I see the way she looks at you and..."
"Whoa! Stop right there. What do you mean 'the way she looks at me'? Shouko's my best friend and if you think for one second I'm gonna listen to you imply that..."
"Okay okay, I'm sorry. Calm down. I'm not trying to insult Shouko or you. I'm sorry I brought it up. I really didn't mean to offend you. Look why don't we just make this a nice leisurely cruise through the course. Agua and I are still kind of getting acquainted and I'm really just looking for a pleasure ride this morning. What do you say?"
"Yeah okay, That sounds nice actually."
"Okay, we better turn our radios back on and get moving before Okakura calls an ambulance." said Tamayo jokingly.
~RB~
"Uhhg! This is so Boring!" said Haruki staring at two near motionless blips on his monitor.
"Are they still not moving?" asked Dota.
"No, They're moving alright but at a snail's pace. Looks more like they're sightseeing than preparing for a race."
Haruki and Dota's words barely registered in Shouko's ears she was so lost in thought. My god this is so hard. It's only been a week but my sick excuse is wearing thin. I can't use that one forever. And if I have to watch Rin undress one more time I'm either going to wind up running away or molesting her.
Shouko took a closer look at the screen to see just how slow they were really moving. "Wow, they are barely moving. Looks like they're almost here though."
"Finally. Please tell me they're not going to do another lap." said Haruki.
Just then Agua and Fuego came gently rolling in almost as if they had run out of gas and were coasting home.
"Wow, You guys sure took your time out there." said Shouko.
Rin took off her helmet and said "I'm sorry, Shouko did I make you wait long?"
"Oh no, I didn't mean to sound impatient. It's just, Aren't you guys supposed to be preparing for next weeks race? Are you gonna be ready in time?"
"With as hard as we've been pushing lately I think we're more than ready. First and Second place definitely belong to me and Rin. The only question will be which one of us will be first and which one will be second." said Tamayo with a wry smile.
"While I have no special urge to beat you, you never know, I might just win accidentally. After all I won't be going out of my way to lose either." said Rin.
"My aren't we confident." said Tamayo.
Rin winked and said "WE sure are." with extra emphasis on the 'we'.
That's my Rin. thought Shouko feeling blood rushing into her cheeks yet again. Oh no, not again.
Tamayo again noticed what Rin seemed oblivious to and looked at Rin and then back at Shouko and thought, "For crying out loud, somebody's gotta do something about this." "Hey Rin, Isn't this the part where you and Shouko usually run off to do something together?"
"Yeah Rin, Why don't we go shopping. We haven't been shopping in a while. What do ya say?" asked Shouko.
"Yeah, good idea. Let's do that."
"Just don't get caught in any terrorist attacks this time." said Tamayo.
"Don't worry. If we do Rin'll get us out." said Shouko with a little too much pride in her best friend.
"That poor girl. She really has it bad." thought Tamayo noticing Shouko blushing yet again.
~RB~
About an hour later Rin and Shouko find themselves in the mall where the terrorist attack took place a year earlier. It's long since been repaired so thoroughly that you'd never guess any such attack ever took place.
Where Rin and Shouko are standing is at one end of the mall just outside a department store where they usually find cheaper versions of expensive fashions they spot in magazines and on one side there's a shoe store which is opposite a cosmetics store which is what makes this end of the mall their usual hunting grounds but today, like a hawk spotting a field mouse at a thousand feet, Rin spots a rideback pro-shop all the way down at the other end of the mall.
"Hey Lets go look down there." said Rin enthusiastically.
"What? Down where?" said Shouko.
"Way down there. There's a rideback shop. Don't you see it?"
Shouko struggled to look all the way down to the other end of the mall even resorting to standing on her toes as if that would improve her vision at all and said, "Well no I don't but okay sure. I guess it could be interesting to see what they've got."
"And we can stop for tea on the way down." said Rin.
"And maybe even a donut." said Shouko singing the word donut.
Rin chuckled and said "Yeah okay, and a donut. How about we split one. I wanna make sure I can still fit in that riding suit I keep borrowing."
~RB~
Rin and Shouko entered the pro-shop which had the cashier counter on the right hand wall and the opposite wall lined with various helmets boots and gloves from a variety of manufacturers and right in the center on display were two brand new ridebacks, a Feugo Type L and an RB-Z.
"Hey Shouko Look at this. Another Fuego."
"Wow, yeah and that one looks like the one Tamayo rides." said Shouko. "Oh Rin, Look over here." she added motioning to a couple racks of riding suits.
"Here's a black one with these red areas that kinda look like flames. This would match fuego perfectly and it's in my size. I think I'm gonna get this. I've been borrowing Tamayo's long enough." said Rin.
Oh no why did I have to point out these racks. She looks so good in Tamayo's yellow and black one. Oh no wait. That's good, maybe this one won't look as good and it'll be easier being around her if she isn't quite so hot. "Yeah, good idea get that one."
"Of course if I do that I'll have to get a new helmet too. I can't be wearing a black and red riding suit on a red rideback wearing a yellow helmet." said Rin.
"Yeah, That would look kinda bad." said Shouko. "Hey how about this one" she added holding up a black helmet with red flames.
Rin was too deep in thought too even notice Shouko's suggestion as she was inspecting another riding suit.
"Rin what are you looking at?"
"Huh? Oh, There's another riding suit here that's black and blue and these blue curly areas are kind of reminiscent of those waves on Agua. I'd like to get this and a matching helmet for Tamayo too as a thank you for all the training but I don't know what size she wears." said Rin.
"Wait, That suit you've been wearing is hers and it fits you perfectly so doesn't that mean you both wear the same size?" said Shouko.
"Oh yeah, that's right. I guess we are about the same hight. Although she's considerably bigger in the chest area than me. I wonder how she does it. It must be awfully uncomfortable stuffing those big things into these tight riding suits."
"Whoa Rin, Have you looked at the prices yet?" said Shouko, holding up the price tag attached to the sleeve of the blue riding suit Rin was holding up.
"Oh wow, That is expensive. I definitely can't afford two suits and helmets at these prices. And I really wanted to thank Tamayo too."
The shops manager over heard the name Tamayo and had to ask, "Excuse me. I'm sorry. I couldn't help but over hear. You don't mean Tamayo Kataoka do you?"
"Yeah, That's her. Why?" said Rin.
The manager grabbed a magazine off a rack near the counter that held several rideback publications (most of which had Tamayo on the cover) and held it up. "This Tamayo Kataoka?" he asked seeking further confrimation.
"Yeah that's her. So what?"
"So let me get this straight, You're saying you train with Tamayo Kataoka, Rideback Princess and reigning champion of the All-Japan Rideback Championship Race?"
"Yeah."
"Oh man this is so sweet! Hey wait Now I know you. You're Rin Ogata Right? The Rideback girl. You almost took third last year until you blew your engine. That's what happens when you ride all reckless like that."
That last comment enraged Shouko and she fired back with "Reckless? It's not Rin's fault she's way more talented then anybody else out there. If the rest of those riders are such pansies that scare so easily maybe they should go home and come back when they learn how to ride."
"Shouko." said Rin a little surprised at her outburst.
"Uh, yeah I guess you have point. Sorry, I didn't mean any offense. Any way I'll make a deal with. Now I realize you can't speak for Tamayo and you'd have to talk to her first but if you could at least promise to talk to her and ask her to come down here some time so I could get her autograph and maybe even frequent my store..." at that point the store manager nearly squealed like a highschool girl at the thought of what that would do for his business. "I'll give you ten no twenty percent off you're purchase today if you just try. Please?"
"I don't know. We're pretty busy lately. We have a race coming up we're trying to prepare for." said Rin.
"Okay thirty percent. No wait. Wait right here. The manager ran into the back store room and came out with his own helmet in his hands. "Here's the deal, Forty percent off today's purchase for the effort and your autograph on the side of my helmet here and if you're successful and she comes down and I get her autograph on the other side then forty percent off all yours and Kataoka-sama's future purchase. Do we have a deal?" he said handing Rin a sharpie.
"You want my autograph too?"
"Are you kidding? If I had the autographs of both the rideback princess and the legendary rideback girl on this helmet I'd have it encased in glass and put it on display here in the store."
"Well, okay sure. But I don't know about legendary" said Rin accepting the pen and signing the helmet.
"Rin, you beat the crap out of the militaries deadliest hardware with you rideback and on tv no less so of course you're a legend in your own time." said Shouko.
"Sweeeeet!" said the manager proudly inspecting the new autograph on his helmet. "Okay just gather up everything you want and meet me at the register and I'll take care of you." he added.
After ringing up the purchase and settling the transaction the manager bagged the suits and helmets and handed them to Rin saying "Okay that's two Riding suits and two helmets. Here you go and thank you very much for shopping here today.
"Thank you." said Rin accepting the bags.
As Rin and Shouko were leaving the store the manager shouted "Thanks again for coming Miss Oga... I mean Ogata-sama. Please come again." and then immediately dialed a number on his cell phone. "Dude! You'll never guess who just came into my store!"