Chapter 13
It was finally Friday; the day of the race.
Kyoko was splashing cool water on her face to combat the hot sweat she had woken up with.
She could only vaguely remember the dream she had last night; more like a nightmare.
The scene that seemed to stick with her was the blurry image of Keisuke shrinking in the distance. Her eyes swelled with tears as it was the last time she would see him.
Suddenly Kyoko could feel real tears start to drip from her eyes.
She frantically splashed more water on her face to wash away the tears.
'Get a hold of yourself' she thought.
Kyoko decided that she would not think so negatively. She dressed for the day and thought it would be a good idea to visit her parents.
When she stepped into her car she immediately noticed the difference; her seat was pushed all the way back. Then she remembered who had been the last to drive this car.
She gripped the steering wheel and thought, 'Darling I have no doubts, I have faith in you.'
"What's the verdict Tomiguchi?"
"Everything checks out perfectly Keisuke. This baby is ready to fly tonight."
"Thanks for making this house call, I really appreciate it man."
"It's no problem at all."
After Tomiguchi left, Keisuke double checked everything in his FD. He needed to win tonight.
"I admire your thoroughness" Ryosuke said as he entered the garage.
"Thanks, everything is ready for tonight."
"Keisuke, do you want me to come tonight? You seem tense."
He sighed. His brother read him like an open book.
"Yeah I guess I am. I know I'm going to win."
"Then I will just accompany you and watch Okiro loose."
"We'll leave at nine"
Ryosuke gave him a nod and went back upstairs.
Keisuke pulled out his phone to text Kyoko. He then dialed another number on his phone.
"Hello, how can I help you?" answered a woman.
"Hi this is Keisuke Takahashi; I'd like to make a dinner reservation for tomorrow night."
"Oh Mr. Takahashi, of course come in anytime tomorrow."
"Great, thank you. It will just be for two."
Keisuke hung up the phone and looked at his beloved FD. This car had won him countless races; even the race against the girl of his dreams.
"Okay… everything is ready"
After Kyoko ran all her errands she decided to prepare a victory meal for her and Keisuke. She wiped the sweat from her brow and placed all the food in the fridge.
It was almost 8:30 and Kyoko needed to get ready. She went to her room and soon as she saw herself she laughed.
There was a countless number of stains all over the white she had been wearing; her hair had become frizzy and poofy. Her mother had always warned her to tie up her hair and wear an apron during heavy cooking. She laughed at her reflection again and went to shower.
She changed into her favorite lace up boots, mini skirt, and fitted sweater. She checked her clock and could see it was almost 9:30.
She grabbed her keys and left to meet up with Keisuke. As she was driving up the pass it surprised her that no one was there, not even the guys from the Alliance. She knew exactly why no one raced as often, Project D. They had taken down several teams, so challenges had become scarce.
Kyoko parked to the side and leaned against her FD. She was in her own world looking up at the stars.
To most people stars all looked the same. When she looked at all those stars there seemed to be one that stuck out amongst the rest; then she noticed another star which was smaller and less bright in comparison. For one reason or another they were next to each other as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Realizing exactly who she was really talking about, she shook her head. That bright star reminded her of Keisuke, someone rich where even beyond the racing world people knew his name. Then there was her, a normal girl with good parents of average income, and no one knew her beyond her circle of friends and acquaintances. But for some reason fate brought them together. Although Keisuke was all those things he had just as many problems and vulnerabilities as she did.
When Kyoko looked back up at the two stars, the other now seemed to be no different than its companion. They were equal.
The noise of a rotary engine brought Kyoko back down to Earth. As she listened closely she could hear a second car; another rotary engine.
'It must be Keisuke and Ryosuke' she thought.
The sound of the cars had become closer; then when they pulled up, Kyoko's heart fluttered like the needle on a rev limiter.
"Nice to see you again Kyoko" Ryosuke greeted.
"You too" she replied.
She and Keisuke only smiled at each other.
"I'll be right back, I'm going to take a walk and check out the road just in case." Keisuke told them.
As soon as Kyoko and Rysouke were alone he immediately turned to speak to her.
"I never got to thank you Kyoko."
"Thank me for what?"
"For calling me about those imposters. I know you left the rest of the work to Waturu, but you are still the one who discovered them."
"That was you?"
Kyoko jumped a little at the sound of Keisuke's voice.
"Yeah…it was. I thought you were taking a walk?"
"I forgot my flashlight. How come you never told me?" he asked her.
"I had forgotten about it. I would have called you about that, but at the time we weren't exactly talking."
"Wow…thanks"
Keisuke seemed so grateful he hugged her tightly without caring that his brother was there.
Kyoko felt her cheeks begin to get warm.
He let her go slowly.
"How did you find out about the imposters?"
"Well, when I went out to lunch with my friend, she told me that she hears Project D was hanging around the pass. I told her that was impossible and then I saw them. You have no idea how mortified I was when I saw them. Not to mention the way that Keisuke imposter looked made me want to barf, even the Takumi impersonator was terrible looking too."
"Yeah I would have broken a few bones if it wasn't for someone sending a babysitter."
Keisuke looked up at Ryosuke.
His brother laughed under his breath.
This made them all laugh together, but the sound of a car approaching stifled their laughter.
A bright pair of headlights came around from the corner revealing the white R32.
Okiro had arrived.