POV Narrator:
Sunday, 16 June 2019, Chiba, Japan
The days went by in Luna Nova, things were happening, until then quite calm with no one noticing Mary Brooks' absence until then, only suspecting that she maybe left Luna Nova for a personal reason, including the girl's own classmates, which was getting quite tense, not knowing what was going on under the covers. Meanwhile the days passed like any other, the school year of Luna Nova was coming to its end, the second year girls were finishing that year that was already welcoming the end, the first year girls starting the half of the witchcraft course, the final stretch was giving a start.
The summer starts in Luna Nova and new things are coming, the holidays are around the corner, the girls start to spread out, traveling to visit their families, or some staying in Luna Nova, in Akko's case she went to Japan and this time she took with her Amanda, Hannah, Hellene and Diana in the trip, to introduce the new place to the three of them, besides she wanted to show to her parents the romance that she had started some months ago. When they arrive at the airport they are welcomed by the Kagari family, but they didn't really expect the presence of a few more people strolling around Japan, so they arrive at the Kagari's house.
POV Akko:
Wow, I'm loving talking with my parents about how were the days, I thought that last year was already intense and wouldn't catch fire, when this year was too, although it was a year much more of Diana's than mine, but I can feel what she's been feeling of happiness, it's very good that. We get home and I see that Aunt Morg's van and Aunt Aika are at the door of the house, how nice, I love them here, they are the coolest aunts ever at least I was lucky to have them as aunts, I feel sorry for Diana.
"Our aunt Morg and aunt Aika? Did they come too?" I ask mum and it's pretty curious to see them here.
"They came kind of by surprise, I didn't expect them here, but yes it's really them, I think they came to see us" Mom says and then Dad stops the car and we get out of it, finally I can't wait to see them finally.
We get our bags, wow this air, it's really good to feel, although I'm already melting here in this usual heat, I'm already missing Great Britain, at least the summer there is calmer than the oven that is here.
We took everything and we walked to the inside of the house, when we entered, just my aunts and... My mother-in-law? What is she doing here? How did Laura came to Japan I wasn't expecting her here, but well I want to see how Diana and Hellene would react to that, heh.
"Mum?" Diana and Hellene said.
"'Ey girls, I did not even remember dat the Japanese summer was so hot, I arrived 'ere yesterday, I went to see my friends, dey came to visit Japan and as I knew dat you were also 'ere I decided to enjoy it too" said Mrs. McLaren.
"Do you know my aunts?" I say in shock.
"Are they your aunts? Morgana didn't tell me anything" Laura said with her arms crossed.
"Aika is the sister of Hayato, Atsuko's father, we visit here from time to time to see our niece, that's an amazing coincidence, wait a minute... Isn't the cabbage patch your daughter? She is dating my niece, who would say Leprechaun, it seems that families connect sometime" Said my aunt Morgana explaining my mother-in-law.
"Dis is a really big coincidence like dat, I won't even tell you about it" said Mrs McLaren.
"Oh, you're not going to tell me I lived in Ireland when I was younger? Including the part where you even had a bit of a crush on me" Auntie said and I was shocked, until Laura put her hand over her mouth.
"I was 14 years old and an idiot, don't remind me of dat, my love is Bernadette" said Mrs McLaren and we just kept laughing.
After that I was getting my bags, arriving at the room, organizing things, even having a feeling of nostalgia seeing everything, it is really a magical thing to see my room again, I really can't wait for what is going to come here on this trip, I didn't expect the appearance of Mrs. McLaren, nor Aunt Morgana and Aunt Aika.
"Wow, what a revelation, everything seems tae be connecting" said my girlfriend.
"Who would 'ave thought dat you were almost born, huh? If I was a bit more stupid you wouldn't exist huh" Said Mrs. McLaren and that's pretty shocking.
"You 'ave to know what Morgana's history with our mother was, it's very awesome, de two of dem just dedn't get along because Morgana was too troublesome, even by Laura McLaren standards of troublesome, which is quite ironic by someone who holds the record for most infractions commited on Luna Nova" Hellene said and soon Amanda arrived next to us.
"Ah nothing comes close to what I was in Luna Nova, these two women being more troublemakers than me? Diana's mother? I may have heard some things, she even has the record for arrests, but she doesn't look like a troublemaker, at least Akko's aunt does" O'Neill said and then I just went on to see Hellene falling about laughing, does she knows? Oh Mandy you didn't know how much troublesome is Diana's mom.
"This visit was really unexpected, Diana's mother has some very strange connections, she seems to know half the world, she's even connected to Akko's family" Hannah said.
"I didn't even know that part, I remember Aunty Morg talking about a Laura McLaren who was "very behaved" but thought she was cute, she just didn't invest in her because she met Aika and then their life really was what it was today" I tell them.
"So what are we going to do today?" Amanda asks.
"I don't know, just resting, this trip was the most exhausting" I tell them, half laughing and it was really exhausting, sleeping on the plane economy class hurts my back by a lot
We finished leaving the things in the room and from there we went back to the living room, where there were my parents, my aunts and my mother-in-law simply talking and having a coffee in the biggest tranquility of the world, I really didn't expect that, it was a surprise presence, when I think that no, Laura is everywhere.
"Wow but it's really a gift that you are here Laura" said my mother and they stare to each other like they know since very long.
"Wow, I dedn't even know dat you are my daughter-in-law's parents, now we can introduce ourselves, nice to meet you, I am Laura McLaren, Diana Cavendish and Hellene Cavendish's mother, these two are my daughters, nice to meet you, you can be sure dat I give all de support and love for these two dating" said my mother-in-law that even made me blush a little, but shes's clearly being sarcastic such as mom.
"Nice to meet you, Saori Kagari, Atsuko's mother, but we also call her Akko, this is my husband Hayato and we are also very supportive of our daughters' relationship, I am really glad to hear that you are the mother of my daughter's girlfriend" She even smiles to Laura.
"You two have known each other for decades, stop pretending" Aunt Morgana said stepping into the middle.
"What?" We all said shocked and in the middle Keiko also appears.
"I've seen this redhead before, she was in high shots of the many times Akko's mother street race" Keiko said.
"Laura McLaren, better known here in Japan as the Leprechaun, refresh your memory?" Morgana said and I can just see Keiko getting flabbergasted.
"'ow I 'ate dat nickname, Leprechaun is my pussy, dey only called me dat because I was a short Irish girl, even though I could speak Japanese very well. oh de past Bern hated dat haha" said my mother-in-law.
"Woah! Oh Akko, your mother-in-law was a blast here, she had a GT-R R33 that did the most damage at Shuto, she even crashed into the Mid Night club cars, she was legendary with her modifications, not to mention the RX-7 FD that tore up the mountains with that four rotor noise, it was just like a 787B" I have no idea what Keiko is talking about.
"That's water under de bridge, Bernadette 'ated dat part of my life, I couldn't be a street racer with my Lotus Carlton in de UK, so I travelled 'ere whenever I could, it was one of my favourite places, I used a lot of it as an excuse to negotiate with some Japanese companies to publish Saoirse games, it really was a different decade" Mrs McLaren said and now I'm quite curious.
We were soon approaching it with a lot of curiosity, even Amanda wanted to hear more, this is really a whole world being discovered and it seems like a small world, but it's not, it's a giant world full of possibilities, a world that never stops expanding, I loved it, Diana and Hellene were also full of curiosity, it seems that today will be full of stories, soon my mother appears with juice and some biscuits.
"The talk is good, but don't get an empty stomach" said my mother.
"'Ey ghost of Haruna, you too can come in de middle" My mother-in-law said.
"I'm going to talk there Leprechaun, tell everything that happened, I can't believe that my past was going to come to light so much, I'm here wanting to change my life and you show up" Mom said and I just kept laughing.
"You were de worst of us, you know dat, what you 'ave caused in Tokyo and in de mountains is no joke, you were much crazier dan me, you put what you could in dat Miata and I don't know how it dedn't disassemble, you even wanted me to put six rotors in dat tiny bonnet" McLaren lady said.
After a while the girls went to take a nap, waking up at night and enjoying a dinner with a Curry madeby Morgana, which called for something else, when they heard Keiko's car arriving at the door...
My mother-in-law and my mother were crazy, I really didn't imagine that it was all that, and to think that my mother before my father had an affair with Laura's sister, but nothing worked out between the two, I can even imagine why, I was almost born from a relationship of two mothers too hahaha, it all messes my head a lot.
"Oh McLaren, I have heard so many legends about you, are you really the most troublemaker in Luna Nova they say you are? Have you ever had the courage to show your middle finger to Professor Finnelan? Because I have, and three times I have, because I have been in Luna Nova since I was thirteen. As far as I know, you only studied three years in Luna Nova," said Amanda, already implicating Mrs. McLaren.
"3? Dat's cute,dat's de number of years I studied in Luna Nova, only for Finnelan and with record I counted all de teachers dat deserved a middle finger, were 49, most of dem because of 'er homophobia, Nelson was de teacher dat I least showed my middle finger, She wasn't as much of a pain in de ass as de others, but de rest of them, I was already in high detention, girl, I've shown the middle finger 7 times separately to the headmistress Holbrook, do you think Finnelan is a big deal? De headmistress was kind, she dedn't punish me, she even admired dat I 'ad de guts to stand up to 'er, de only people I never showed my middle finger were de workers from Luna Nova" She really is too awesome, I'm very impressed.
"What? And what else have you done?" Ask O'Neill.
"I'd rather not answer because evidently you're going to try to do it and I'm sorry to say, but you'll get kicked out trying, I was de only one capable of causing so much to de point dat de rules of Luna Nova 'ad to be changed because of me" explains and I imagine how complicated would be..
I am already full of curry, for the nine witches, that was even too much, I feel stuffed, Keiko appears entering here, I'm already imagining that there is something there, everyone is even half full from so much that they ate, our aunt Morg is a full hand cook, it doesn't even look like it but she makes the best food in the world, I only miss my cousins, I wanted to see them around here.
"HeyAunt Morg what about my cousins, aren't they coming?" I ask her.
"Alice is trying to relax from college, as for the other one... We would say that you won a cousin Adrian is kind of trying to understand himself better and everything else, I'm really new with these things, but I've learned to call him as he wants, now he wants to let his hair grow to look like Alucard, super support the idea, he will be handsome, I even asked Laura and April for some help because they already have the conviviality with people like that" explains my aunt.
"Adrian... I'll remember him" I say smiling.
"HeyAkko! Hey girls wanna go for a ride?" Keiko calls out to us.
"Oh girl, give me de keys to your 1JZ, I want to drive it around too" said my mother-in-law getting up.
And there we went, the aunts even went with us, going outside listening to the crickets, the hot night weather, but it seems that things even caught fire, Keiko's car now has a whole Vaporwave paint job, she
was really rad on this one, even though she had some good dents in the bumper, she must have tried to do some drifts.
"Cool my S13 isn't it?" Keiko said.
"I could 'ave sworn your car was a Toyota, you really put 1JZ in dis Silvia, I love de idea, put an RB25 next time, it can take more beating, besides being from Nissan too" said my mother-in-law.
"Where are you going?" Amanda asks, all curious and already looking at Keiko's car.
"Oh, 'ow about we go and revisit a garage where I left my treasures? - Mrs McLaren asks and we all agree.
"I still marvel at how ye have a history with illegal racing mum," Diana said.
"Dings Mama Laura 'as done in de past" Diana's sister said.
The girls went to change and from there they got into Morgana's Kombi, with Laura driving it andgoing to a shed where there are several garages to keep things, when arriving there McLaren alreadystarts to get the keys and a gallon of gasoline...
The garage opened and I'm really looking forward to it, a car covered by a tarp that later my mother-in-law pulls and reveals the machine that was underneath, an old GT-R, that was a little dusty, which she started to put gasoline inside and also put other fluids, as she was snapping her fingers and removing the dust that was flying in front of us, which we ended up seeing then headlights turning on and the engine roaring.
"Wow... Mum Laura's car is too beautiful" Diana said in amazement.
"It's time to give de Japanese a bit of nostalgia, they'll love seeing dis beauty walking de streets" Mrs McLaren said and woah the car is just giving a menancingly energy.
"Looks like Leprechaun is back" Auntie said with a smile on her face.
"Would three of you apply to sit in de seats of this car for a ride with me?" Diana and I raised our hands, as did everyone else.
"Please mum I want tae know how it feels," Diana said.
"Okay, I'll take de little couple, but I'm also taking O'Neill with me, I want to show dis one what adrenaline is all about, get ready to get a heart attack" said Mrs McLaren with a smile on her face.
"See you at the Daikoku Parking Area" said Aunt Morgana.
My mother-in-law closes the garage and then the others get in Keiko's and my aunt's cars, only me, Diana and Amanda are left here, I'm really anxious to see what's going to happen, she just signals us to get in, Diana and I stay in the back seat, Amanda is in the front and it's already possible to notice how it's different because of the shape of the seats, it's much more glued, I put my seat belt and I hear the noise of the car, it's like a beast that has just woken up.
"Wonderful thing, I love de sound of de six cylinders roaring, nothing compares to de symphony of de RB26 dese are de divine trumpets" My mother-in-law said and it even makes a sutututu sound when she lets off the accelerator.
"And that thing races?" O'Neill asks.
"Now you're going to see how dis Godzilla really moves" Laura said and I felt the noise of this thing speeding up as if everything was going to shake around me.
"This here is scarier than Keiko's car" Diana said and things are really intense.
Miss McLaren was accelerating through the streets with ease, but the noise of the engine in low rotation asking to accelerate really gets me, if it was Keiko I would have accelerated already, I just see Amanda's sore face, she really thought my mother-in-law was going to accelerate, we even took a road.
"Wow, a machine like that and you don't even speed up" O'Neill said.
I just see the hands of the McLaren lady reducing the gears, I hold on tight to the grips, now the pounding is going to come with everything and it really comes, I put it on the seat in a way, I start to feel the power of this thing, it's much more than Keiko's S13, this here sticks to the seat, this is a rocket that has no way to stop, a monster.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Mom that's really fast" Diana said and I was already looking at the speedometer, simply 180 km/h as if it was nothing, I look at Diana's mother and she just quietly piloting that.
"Wooohooo! Yeehaaa! That's what I was talking about! Put this car to the limit!" I'm terrified, this thing is too fast, 210 km/h and it won't stop growing how she could control that machine? It's like a monster and still roaring more and more.
"This here is more powerful than Keiko's car" I say terrified.
Simply Diana's mother kept quiet, you could see her concentrated face, the car grew even more, 240 km/h, I see a police car in the corner of the highway and simply does nothing, I'm already in shock, by the new witches now that this really fucked up, my mother-in-law doesn't take her foot off, 250 km/h passing by trucks and cars, as if it was in a racing game, what I saw was at the most looking like they were stopped.
"The police!" We said to Laura.
"Fuck the police! Fuck this thing! - We were already doing 260 km/h and she was driving down the straight as if it was nothing.
"I'll tell you something, de police 'ere only chase you up to 180 km/h, de cars 'ere are all limited to dat speed, after dat they only give you a fine and you pay it and den you're free to drive again" Diana's mother explained dat she was speaking naturally, now it really makes sense, that explains why mom always speed over 180 when she told to me about the Shuto.
The speed increasing, she is already closer to 300 km/h and doing it with a tranquility, I could see in the red speedometer, where I was noticing the tranquility in the McLaren's eyes, already Amanda was finding it irate, while I look to the side and I see Diana pale with so white, and afraid, I am the same, I even start to hold her hand, 280 km/h and increasing one by one, I think she wants to do top speed.
"Yeeeehaaaw! This is some crazy stuff right here! I love that you brought me here Akko, Cavendish's mum is pretty wicked" Amanda said adoringly.
"I'm just scared, even Keiko isn't that crazy" I just see a Lamborghini next door and her passing by afterwards.
"Was that a Lambo? That's it, McLaren lady, blow it up" Amanda said, celebrating.
We are definitely already at 300 km/h and the speedometer keeps growing and it seems that the straight really doesn't end, we pass by some Porsches and Ferraris that were also going fast, but after a while things finally ease up, Diana's mother takes her foot off and I feel a relief, my soul even came back from my body.
"Whew... I dink I've given the GT-R a good test drive, it's still holding up well to 300" McLaren lady said, while we all are fucking scared to death.
"I swear my heart is going tae come out of my mouth now" Diana said.
"Look who's back"Amanda said.
"I have never seen such speed, this is terrible" I say frightened.
"Why do you dink I was almost a professional driver? Dis here for me was routine, I have already put 340 km/h in dis car when I raced against de 911 of de Mid Night club, dat car was a monster, dey had a much better engineering dan me, dey could stand to race like dat for hours, I was like dat for a while, I even almost got in, but dey don't accept women and not foreigners either, but it was enough to show dat a woman can also drive and shut up some mouths" Diana's mother said.
"And how far have you got as a McLaren lady?" asks the curious O'Neill.
"410 km/h in an Autobahn in Germany, I got a Dauer 962 with some modifications and we did a high speed test race, the original one was already fast, it reached 404 km/h, but dis one 'ad some 100 hp more, dat
could reach 410, it could even do more, it was just too dangerous, Nothing is scarier dan when you pass 400 km/h in a car, it seems dat at any moment it will break apart or you will die" I get shocked, she talks as if it was a little thing, I never passed 200 with Keiko's car, who will say what Laura reached today or in the past.
Soon they arrive at the Daikoku Parking Area and the car drives around some other cars and somerecognize it until...
The car finally parked, soon we get out, Diana and I hug the ground relieved, it's very extreme here, I really don't think I've ever felt so good to be out of a car before, I even hug Diana afterwards, who keeps crying and her mother appears in our midst.
"Sorry you two, I get very possessed when adrenaline gets de best of me" said Mrs McLaren.
"Ohhhhhhhh! Leprechaun's R33! The legendary R33!" Said a Japanese gentleman walking past the car and taking some photos.
"You sped off with them didn't you? If Saori finds out about this you'll never look her in the face again" said my aunt Morgana who was smoking a vape.
"What de fuck are you smoking? Are you smoking flash drives now?" said Diana's mother.
"Do you want some? It's awesome and doesn't cause as much harm as normal cigarettes" said my aunt.
"Fuck off, I'm not going to smoke a flash drive" Laura said and I just stood there laughing a bit.
"Hannah you have to go for a ride with Diana's mum she drives a lot and even gets to the highest speed" Amanda who is still on the highest adrenaline said.
I look at Diana and she is all terrified, I stay at the most hugging my girlfriend, the landscape improves everything, gee I love to see the cars here all beautiful, it's like a work of art, one more beautiful than the other, but nothing is more beautiful than Diana around here, I even look at the beautiful pairs of blue eyes that look like an ocean.
"Don't worry love, I'm here for you" I say comforting her.
"I know love, I know, now that I'm in your arms I feel safe, but with my crazy mother I'm even afraid" she said and I only see my mother-in-law laughing.
"I 'eard dat, you're just like your mother Bernadette, she was scared to death when I was in de driver's seat too, she fought several times to drive just because I like to feel de car more deeply" said Diana's mother, who even stroked her daughter's head.
POV Narrator:
And then the two of them spent some time at the car park, where Diana was taking some pictures among the cars with Akko, and then Keiko arrived, talking about each one in the smallest details, telling the story and everything else, meanwhile Laura took another trio for a ride. Hellene, Amanda and Hannah who were the victims this time, with McLaren's daughter in the front seat and the reaction was already different, Hellene's younger sister was reacting with adrenaline and loving that extreme, showing an interest until the point that Laura simply gives the wheel to her daughter and is impressed with the control that Hellene has the concentration is almost the same.
Until with the nightfall they go back to the Kagari house and no doubt Saori already knew everything and is even holding a noodle roll in front of the girls when she goes back home.
POV Akko:
And now it seems that mum is really mad at us, she won't hit us, but the roll leaves the threat in the air, she is really serious with us, I remember she was like that when she found out that I was driving Keiko's car, now it seems that she must have found out everything, even if Laura didn't tell, she is not one to tell these things.
"You guys love to race, don't you? And you Leprechaun, 300 km/h in an R33 at Wangan? With our daughters in it? You have a sense of danger" said the mother and I do now and very much so.
"You can rest assured Saori, I have de racing pedigree 'ere in my veins, nothing bad happened, I even managed to control it well, after dat even Diana did not want to get in my R33 anymore, a pity, because I wanted to let 'er drive like Hellene did" said my mother-in-law.
"You are crazy in the head, I don't say anything to you, but don't ever do anything like that with my daughter in your car seat, I want her to come home, I don't mind taking her to events and meetings, but racing on the Shuto is already too much, you put lives at risk, the Shuto is not an Autobahn Laura!" Said Mum who is really angry.
"A thousand pardons Saori, it was really just a demonstration, I promise I won't do it again, it was horrible to drive like dat, I was afraid to accelerate to top speed, but anyway, it was really bad, I don't want to traumatize dese two" McLaren said and my mum just takes a deep breath.
"I'll take it easy, because I've been worse, I almost died with Chelsea remember? I even miss her a little bit, knowing she's gone and what she did was devastating, I would even change things at least, she had no reason to do Holly on you, I would donate my blood if I had to, but she wouldn't accept it" Mum said.
"That would make her my sister if it really happened" I say with my hand on my chin.
"I'm glad ye dinnae, I wouldn't feel right dating a cousin, imagine how awful" Diana said and really now that I remembered that, how awful.
"These summer holidays are great, oh Akko thanks for taking us here, Cavendish's mum rocks the wheel," said Amanda delighted.
"I love it too, but I'll only miss it when it's over and I'll have to say goodbye to you all and only come back in September" I say to everyone.
"No way girl, enjoy it, don't get stuck here, go and see your girlfriend and her family too, it's your holidays, her family you are part of too, we can manage to take you there in the middle of the holidays" said my mother.
"But it's very expensive mum" I tell her and I actually want to be with them but it's expensive for mum to pay plane tickets.
"Nothing is so expensive dat I can not pay, leave it to your mother-in-law, I make sure to cover dese expenses, de Cavendish have too much money, I 'ave not spent all de inheritance I got from Bernadette, I keep it with affection to help my daughters, and you are like a daughter to me too Akko, you can come and go as many times as you want, the important ding is to have fun and be 'appy with each other" Mrs McLaren is a lovely person, really, I love how cute she is.
POV Narrator:
And with high speed and increasing revolutions per minute that the summer holidays begin in Japan, with yet another revelation about a connection from Akko's mother's past to Diana's mother, amidst a career the two have tucked away around illegal racing across Japan, stories of a past that has passed and both are in very different and distant positions from what they once were.
See you, speed witches...