Books this May

Well, well, well… Apparently three weeks time is a long enough time for things to change drastically.

For one, though this totally goes without saying, traveling through the International Date Line really does screw you up. I’m so confused right now, consciously and unconsciously. Consciously, I have no idea what day it is anymore and have to rely on my watch for that. Thank God for Digital watches. Subconsciously, two words: jet lag.

Argh!

Yep, that was both of frustration and excitement.

Excitement, because I have plans for the pirate movie of the year, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Is that the title? Correct me if I’m wrong.

Anyway, for those who don’t know or remember, take your pick, that empty interval in my blog was caused my escape from the heat of summer in the Philippines to the cold (in my opinion) of the States. Yes, the States that were united under the name of America. What about your opinion, was a temperature of 10-15 cold? In Celsius of course, in Fahrenheit I wouldn’t be even typing this. Hell, my fingers would’ve probably have fallen off from frostbite.

So should move on to the recap? Maybe later.

I can barely believe the number of books I consumed in those 20+ days… I think the number would be 15? Including the manga.

Not the Wallflower and xxxHolic manga I purchased from PowerBooks, but the ones I bought over yonder in Borders. Man, I love that place, Books, Music, Movies, and Coffee (well, chocolate for me) in one place, still I got volumes 9 and 11, I think, and am not sure about it ‘cause they’re still in a balikbayan box around somewhere, so are my other books. My mountain of books!!! TxT

Let me count what I’ve read throughout the summer… Not counting the manga since I can’t remember the volumes, which I read…

1. Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn – I just picked this up from National Bookstore since I thought the title was intriguing, but merely that it was a lovely book. A political thriller, I believe it was called. And indeed it was, a battle of politicians their little power struggles to have their way. Although a mere battle between those guys wouldn’t be too interesting, actually, the main character wasn’t in any way interested in the politics of his job, I forget how they call it so I’ll put it simply, assassin. The tale of an assassination attempt targeted at him and the venture for revenge had me folding the book in half. Gah… Currently I’m collecting Flynn’s other books because of this.

2. Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella – The continuation is here!!! Whee~ Now we know about the first four books of Becky Bloomwood Brandon, don’t we? Well, her baby’s here to join the party now. When I first saw this on the net, I immediately scourged the bookstores for it, and when I didn’t find it in the Phil, I went abroad for it. Obviously you know that a mere book isn’t the reason for my vacation. The plot has basically the same structure as the rest of Kinsella’s books, but still, what can I say? I still love it.

3. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by (someone) – Oh, I swear, I have to get the name of this author, although I’m quite sure that’s the author’s female. This simply does not do her honor… How can I explain how touching this book was? And I’m not one to get touched by something so easily. But it was… It proves that nothing in life and really be planned and go how you expect to occur. Something you intend for the good of others may end up becoming the worst decision of your life and ruining not only yours, but the lives of the ones you love as well. God, this was a great book the only downside was that it was so descriptive… You know, so descriptive that it became boring in some parts? Yeah…

4. Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin – At least that’s what I think her last name was… Damn my forgetfulness. How can you fall in my fiancée?! Imagine that. The twist is, we are seeing it from the point of view of the bitch fiancée stealer, except that she wasn’t the bitch, the engaged “best friend” was. Interesting twists and turns and a lovely ending. Gotta get my own copy of this.

5. Something Blue by Emily Griffin – Same author, same plot. The sequel, get into the mind of Darcy, who constantly gets her way. She actually sounds like someone we’d hate in real life, the way she’s portrayed in the first part anyway. Watch her change along with the development going on within her.

6. Empress Orchid by (someone) – Not the same someone from before, but another one. It actually reminds me of Memoirs of a Geisha. Except that it’s Chinese. And Orchid was one of the main concubines. And a lot of other stuff. But there was enough in common to draw an association between the two. Personally, I enjoyed it pretty much as much the Memoirs, except for this peeve of mine for the book. It translates many of the names into English, like Orchid, I don’t even remember her real name as it was only mentioned in passive. The descriptions she applied though were amazing that I could practically imagine it.

7. The Last Empress by (someone) – Same someone as above, same description applies, except there’s a delightful development of plot here. Did I mention that Orchid was based on the actual last Empress of China?

8. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by (someone) – You can tell that this is a different person right? I admit that I haven’t finished reading this yet, but I will. It’s just the old English gave me a headache. I hate old English.

9. Helen of Troy by Margaret George – Ah, Greek Mythology… It’s been a while. Really, great book. It portrays Helen, from her eyes instead of from someone else’s, you can read how she may have felt when this or that happens. You get some wonderful insight on the woman she may have been. The research she put into this thing really impresses me, it add so much more color to her story. I remember when I first saw this book in PowerBooks when I was browsing, I loved the cover then, but in this hardcover version, I really don’t appreciate it as much as I did the previous one. It’s amazingly long, 600+ pages… At least I’m already halfway though.

Aaand… I believe that there’s another book in between Confessions and Helen, but I cannot recall it. Not too impressive for one month… Well, two actually as I started Consent in April but read it irregularly… That sucks, but oh well… Books… $280+ For everything else there’s MasterCard.




I know it’s Visa, but I don’t use Visa, but MasterCard.


The recap, cars, and all the other things I bought will come in another post.

Summer Life, About to Begin

"Whee~"

We-ell... I've been going around and around squealing that very word there over and over and over again on IMs and forums... So, Frankie's right about me having gone insane. No wait... That seemed to be a (very) delayed diagnosis... I've been insane for about... Hmm... three, maybe four, years now...

And as a reply to Frankie's, ahem, comment on my previous post...

"I'm not in the States... Yet. I'll be leaving this weekend. Yehay!!! *goes on another hyper streak* And, you kinda are the meaner seed, I'm just the weirdo one. XD"

Ah... The joys of summer time... The sun, the sea, and the shit.

For the past, like probably four years, I've sworn allegiance to the moon and it's cool darkness. After the sunburns I've gotten from spending all day swimming in the sun, during summer, on my birthday, at the party, I've started to hate it and it's gradual plot to cook me into... Well, something cooked! Hopefully not letchon!

And since I hate the sun, I've grown to hate the sea as well... Not the sea in itself, per se, but what you do when you're within a 50 meter radius of it. In other words, the beach. The horrid air seems even hotter than usual, and I think it actually is. I believe we had a Science lesson on how it's hotter by the water than away from it, take note, this was from a Grade 4/5 class.

Damn. I remember stuff from elementary and I can't even retain what we learned from 1st year Biology?!

Oh, wait... I never learned those things in 1st year to even recall them... (I hope you're not reading this, Mrs. Peralta... *whistles innocently*

Well, that brings me to the shit. Not the dog shit you find on the street, or even the shit you find in the toilet, real shit. I want to elaborate on that, since for the past few months my figures of speach have been taken seriously, very much so that it really ticks me off. T.T Grrr... So, I'm an incoming senior in MHCS, big deal... Exactly, big deal. No metaphor, no simile, and definitely no irony there.

Big, BIG deal!

In the 1st quarter of our school year, we'll be sending in our application forms to the various universities and colleges (I'm not actually too clear on what the difference is...) we are interested in, and even some of those we aren't, just to be on the anxious, frantic safe side. And even right now, months from it, I feel a distinct pressure building up. I want to get into Ateneo, but I'm worried about my grades and my adversity for studying. It's gotten me here so far, but how long can I maintain this carefree attitute to studying? How long can my retention save me from failing?

That's why I'm taking this review class up. So everyday, I have to wake up before seven in the morning and rush around preparing myself for class. Since we can wear anything we like, I'm much faster than usual. There's even more incentive since my brother's bringing me there... Argh!!!

So, regardless of how much sleep I've had the previous night, ahem, day, I have to sit in a class of fifty or so mainly noisy male student and listen to a teacher. Sucks right? Actually, surprisingly not. At least apart from today.

The first day was a simple pre-diagnostic exam, "to test how much you know so far..." blah, blah... So, no more details on that, for now, so onto the second day, which was more or less easy enough as well... "Test taking strategies..."

The third and fifth days were English. I actually expected English to be relatively easy for me... 'Fraid not... For the most part, how do I put it, it was... Challenging. The vocabulary was much more advanced than I expected, but surprisingly, the logic part was quite fun. I enjoyed the games and arguments... We got an assignment from our teacher, a certain professor from UP, Ms. Edlyn Jimenez, we have to take note of 20-30 words per day to sufficiently raise our vocabulary level to what is required to get into UP.

Well, yeah, that UP, and I want to get into Ateneo. So... I'd have to work even harder, because I figure it, there'd be a tougher English regimen there. In addition to that, I'm horribly weak at Filipino, so when we had a practice test on Filipino, I was totally freaked out when I saw that I could only answer 4/40 of the vocabulary questions... T.T

Anyway, the 4th and 6th days were dedicated to the persuit of enlightenment in mathematics... ^^'' Right... Told you I was insane... Either way, the first day was spend reviewing our Albegraic knowledge. This surprised me a lot, since usually I have something that involves numbers and equations, but I enjoyed class, yes, indeed, I had fun... The world gets weirder everyday... Although, the Geometry class really gave me the much needed stability after all the confusion... Wahahaha! Geometry was all right, since I could remember part of what we studied in our sophomore year, but I enjoyed it much less than the Algebra class, which is opposite of what happens in school.

Aaand... Today was... dun-dun-dun! Totally boring! Biology... I was so bored that I almost fell asleep! >.<'' It was so embarassing as well, see, I'm seated in the center of the class, and am certain that our teacher can see me dozing off, eyes dropping from 2 meters away...

*sigh*

I hope Chemistry tomorrow is more fun. Learning is nice, that's for certain, but I wish it were fun.

IniD Freak, Ahoy Matey!

Well, yeah, I feel like a total weirdo right now. If you've read Solan's blog today, you've seen her side of the story (Ahem, dragging me around Greenbelt, Landmark, and Glorietta, I think not.) but hey, it's her side, it can be perceived any way she wants it to be. So, I'll just go on and nod at it, day dreaming about my intensing (is that really a word...?) addiction. And if you've seen the title, you know what I'm talking about.

Fujiwara, the man I have never defeated, advised a young and hopeful Iketani to keep thinking and trying out techniques, it's the only way he'd get better.

I've been thinking, and I've been trying out a portion of what I've thought of. My arms don't want to move, damnit! Also, I've been reading through the forum I recently joined, Initial D World (http://idforums.net/index.php) and it does help. A lot. Although, I'd have to say that regardless of all the frustration of not being able to turn as I want (note the keyword) to be able too (equals more trying to figure out the turns) my times are improving, even by a couple of (milli) seconds.

But enough of that, I'm actually in a happy mood now. Why?
1. I finally got 990+ points on the RX8 I've been playing for ages.
2. I tried the old Impreza (GC8V) I bought ages ago (as well) and totally fell in love with it's performance!

It was really amazing how it performed. At first, I didn't realize it, really. I had already finished Myogi, did it right after I bought it, so I tried the next few course this late afternoon. It was pretty good at Usui and Akagi (although Keisuke was able to pass me at one point), but it's performance on Akina really shocked me. It was totally, well, amazing. It took turns easily enough, much better than my RX8. After all the "it's", my conclusion is... I love it. XP

Really. A car that can beat the first four stages without any loss is one that I will love and treasure forEVAH! (Yeah, that's insanity right there.) Takumi, I'm coming for you!

And so, at the day's end, the blogger went insane and jumped on a pirate's ship and hijacked it, leaving all the scurvies writhing on the planks, waiting to be fed to the sharks awaiting their meal.

Boom Tara Boom-Boom!

So... The 13th Angel, or whatever her previous name was, I can't remember anymore, has become Solan, another translation of the Nightshade. Since she has gone back to blogging (she's free! Hurrah!), her blog inspired me to write something about what has been up since our release from our educational prison. Well, not quite anymore, seeing that the rules have become so freely un-enforced (Psst... I hardly wore my ID in the year.) I don't think that the title is so befitting anymore.

It has changed so much since my arrival there like... 11, dunno, years ago? Back in Kinder, life was so easy and simple... This school year, well... It's not quite so easy, and not as simple. I don't know why, but when I try, or try, but not so much, it already gets me places... So I ponder the effect of really trying. Hah! I hope to get a medal.

But really. The 4th quarter was moderately tough, my Filipino and Trigonometry dropped by a few points, but I was so HAPPY! My average for the quarter just rose 3 points! (>.<) Yayness! I got a sudden 89.75 somethings, compared to my 86 average, the increase in grades make me happy. I mean, who wouldn't be?

There was a really strange thing at the award ceremony though. This year, we had this special award thingy. I don't know really, I get the feeling that the school ordered more medals than medalists then decided to award those from the clubs who "did something for the school". Bah at the whateverness of the thing. Personally, since they said this, I expected that they'd give me something for my lackluster performance in the Debate Society, but the Journalism Club?! Heck, I could've gotten the position of Managing Editor (the exact title has faded from my memory after a grueling 10 months of school), but, quite honestly, I did not do a single damn thing there. So, my initial reaction was shock. My second reaction though was skepticism. You guess why.

Now, summer vacation has started! I'm freeeeeeeeee!!!




So, you'd think that summer has been a blast so far? Wrong.

Boring is the best word to describe my activity (inactivity) for the past 3 (?) weeks. Actually, I went shopping (Book shopping, not clothes shopping. I'll leave that to the 2 fashionistas on board.) and bought a pile of books. Out of the 6 books I've bought, I've already read 4. And that was last Tuesday, I think. The really stupid thing is, I bought 2 copies of the same book.

I just purchased the Tales of the Otori books. To my knowledge, so far there are 3 around, but to my stupidity, I have book 1 (Across the Nightingale Floor) and 2 copies of book 3 (Brilliance of the Moon). Man how I love the title. So since I have a thing for wanting to read it in order, I will not even touch the 3rd book till I've read the second. In the end, I have resorted to reading the Psychology textbook, college textbook, I purchased a year or so ago, out of pure boredome and a bit of interest and curiousity thrown in.

Just so you know, the title had no intended meaning, just some random crap title I dug up from the confines of the graves in my mind.

Realism

Ok, I just finished the one-shot. And I hope to keep it that way. Bitin. Tweaked it a bit, but nothing major.


The woman stared at the black beast silently, plotting down several simulations in her mind. This was a much tougher challenge than her normal ones, from racing or being a psychology student. Being emotionally attached to something made that certain thing a whole lot more complicated. Love definitely sucked.

The beast stopped and parked parallel to her precious RX8, her eyes stalking every moment of the way. As the driver stepped out of his car, she raised her hand as a cursory greeting, seeing him nod and smile, made her drop it.

Sudo Kyouichi didn’t know why he was here, exactly anyway. But such was his relationship with this girl, on some matters, no questions were asked. He closed the door with much care, holding the handle up to secure its locking. He let his fingers glide over his prized possession for a moment before approaching.

He tugged his jacket closer to him; glad, he had even brought one. The mountains were much cooler than the plains and valleys of Japan, especially during autumn, and of course winter. The well-built man watched her turn her head and silently suggest that they move the way she was directing, in this case it was the area where the plateau met the ravine, the cliff.

She leaned against the guardrails as she reached them. It left her with a few more seconds to think. Did she really want this?

She had been making several very rash decisions lately, most of which she was left still unsure whether to regret or not. Her decisions to help and support, her decision to be closer, but professional, her decision to be intimate, but not intimate, not in that way at least.

Kyouichi’s family was terribly worried for him when word had gotten to them that he had been in an accident, a racing accident. But apparently, he had been saved by his teammate, who had been kicked out then re-initiated quite recently. The guy named Iwaki Seiji, she’d have to keep an eye out for him; she wanted to psychoanalyze him on his reason why he saved his then enemy. Anyway, Kyouichi ended up having to stay in the hospital Ryousuke was currently taking residency at.

His family visited him, but they were worried about the confused mental state he was in. He was wondering the same thing as everybody, including her. She decided to take the job without pay since she was worried about her old friend herself, and it wouldn’t do to charge a family of family friends of something she was personally interested in herself.

There I go again, Yuzuki thought. I knew I swore off being too friendly with people for a reason.

When she got to his room, she was deeply touched and amused at his state. The man was wearing a neck brace, combined with his white bandana, which he never seemed to take off anymore, along with his platinum blond hair; he looked like a half-used cotton bud. In addition, he had that curious pensive look when he was in deep thought.

It was then when her damn feelings began to get the better of her again, and with the same man no less.

Kyouichi stopped when he was a few feet in front of his ex-girlfriend. “Yuzuki…” Her eyes seemed to awaken from her reverie of rocks and boulders at the bottom of the cliff. She seemed to study him, making him feel terribly conscious of the fact that he had been wearing the same sweatshirt for almost four days now.

“I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to come…” He nodded slowly, as if comprehension were his weak point. She scratched the top of her head before running her hand through it, a nervous habit of hers, he knew. He wanted to draw closer to her, slip his arms around her slim waist and pull her into a deep hug, of which true meaning had become undefined for both of them.

“I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll get to the point.” She seemed to choke on her words before continuing, “It was more or less an unspoken agreement between us that after we… grew apart, we broke up.” He blushed reflexively, so it was that topic, he expected as much.

It was common knowledge in their world, the racing world, that Sudo Kyouichi of the dominant Emperor team in Tochigi and Takahashi Ryousuke of the RedSuns and Project.D, which had reached their impossible, nearly impossible, goal with only one huge pothole, were once close friends. It wasn’t common knowledge though that the Sudos, Takahashis, and Kamajis were childhood friends. After all, the gossipers could only dig so deep.

Their family lived in Tokyo at the time; their childhood was spent being the good little children they were, in school, at each other’s houses, and inevitably the track. Little Sudo Kyouichi and Kamaji Yuzuki were best friends, who soon after the Takahashis moved to Gunma, became attached. Their middle school and high school years were spent holding hands and finding ways to excel at their particular forte while helping the other with their weakness.

Many memorable memories were made. Many firsts, but the most significant first was made after the Sudo family had moved to Tochigi. The two managed to keep their relationship throughout high school, and then cars.

All of them, both Takahashi brothers, all three of the Sudo siblings, and the Kamaji twins were into cars. Why was a mystery yet to be tackled and answered by them or their parents. So when the first batch, Ryousuke, Kyouichi, Kaisuke, and Yuzuki turned eighteen, they immediately got into the obvious field of street racing.

Racing was very difficult to master. It took hours of practice (and deep wallets) so that was exactly what they sacrificed. Soon, the two men who live in the Northern Kanto region began their rivalry like never before. And as their competition intensified, like the blazing racing spirit they harnessed in their hearts, even they had to admit that they were neglecting some things, some things.

The two slightly younger ones couldn’t blame them for not keeping in contact though, for when they got their licenses, the exact same thing happened to them. The twins spent their free time burning rubber on the mountain passes nearer to their area, all the while being guided around the new world by their elder cousin, who incidentally was a very good racer.

Yuzuki bit on the inside of her cheek before she continued once more, “Neither of us were too concerned with dating or being attached, I suppose we were too busy…” She blushed; this certainly wasn’t a comfortable subject.

Kyouichi watched her expression, before sighing and moving to the stop left of her. He took her hand in his and just clutched at it. “Yuzuki.” He said letting his eyes close. “I probably know you better than anyone else, so I know what you’re trying to say.” When he opened his eyes and turned to her, she was staring at him with her inquisitive eyes.

He didn’t want to back away. Not this time. Kyouichi brought her hand to his lips as an extended kiss. He closed his eyes again and leaned his head slightly forward. He then let an understanding smile spread across his lips. “I… I still love you.”

Time stopped for both of them at that instance. The words cutting through the thick autumn air of the pass had a certain effect for the slightly younger woman. She had little problem understanding things said, certainly ones in such simple terms.

Seconds passed, and her heart began racing wildly in her heart, like the cliché of romances. If they weren't leant against the guardrail, holding them, preventing them from falling into the dark ravine, she would have jumped-hugged him in that instance. Instead, she would show him her feelings, and what she had decided to do with them.

She stood up, making the guardrail relinquish its control over her body. Yuzuki held onto his hand and tugged at it, silently urging him to stand up as well. And he did. He opened his eyes and stared down at his best friend for the most part of his life. He released her hand in favor for wrapping his arms around her in a warm and longing hug.

Her arms were pressed between their bodies; she released their grasp of each other in favor of holding them against his muscular torso. She closed her eyes and leaned against him.

“You never answered me, Yuzuki.” He said after maintaining that pose for a few minutes. One of his hands was now running its fingers through her dark black tresses. Her silence was enough of a question for him. You, know…” He said hiding his blush against the top of her hair.

“I see…” The slightly younger woman said. She was facing him, or his chest to be precise. “Well, I hope this will be enough of an answer.” She continued, letting her hands glide to his face to cup his cheeks. Yuzuki tilted her head up while he did the same in reverse. And they did what any man and woman in love would do in their position. They kissed.

More Random Pictures

<- My MX-5! Same color as the Impact Blue Sil-Eighty, but oh well.

<- My MR-2! Funny thing is, the two coupes I own, have the colors the other should have. The MR-2 should be electric blue, and the MX-5 should be the red one. I couldn't find the right colors, but still!

<- My ultimately cute neice, Kriel! Adorable little thing isn't she? She was born just last week on March 6.

Prom Pictures post...

Well, being the camera-shy person I am, I won't post any pictures of myself, but I do have some, well, two pictures from the prom we had yesterday. Sigh... I'm not yet in the mood to be the cameraperson. Oh well...

Being Compelled to Write

I don't understand why, but when we had our English narrative project, I was hardly in the mood to write, but just a while ago, I scratched up four pages of yellow pad writing. Either way, before I get there, we just had our two first exams earlier. Trigonometry and Chinese.

Chinese was... surprisingly easy. I think I did pretty well, for my standard anyway. That means my class standing will defintely go up this quarter. Considering my average for the previous quarter really sucked, I think it was 76, or something equally shameful. And to think in grade four I used to be an honor student in Chinese as well.

Speaking of honors, I haven't been on the list since, what, early second year? My grades have been steadily declining. Sob. I remember my standard was about 88+ for my average, but so far (as a junior) I haven't got anything better than a lousy 86.something. Damnit. Although I wonder if my average will improve this quarter... It probably will, but I'm worried about my Filipino, and Trigonometry. The thing is my grades in Algebra and Filipino fluctuate alot. Whenever my Algebra grades are up, my Filipino goes and drops, but when my Filipino grades are up, my Algebra is up.

Anyway, I was able to take an hour and a half nap. So, that was a piece of peace making my visit worthwhile considering I've been lacking such for the past few days.

My ficlet, not too impressive, but, hey, I like it. It dwells on the extremely common theme, romance. Bleh!

So, here I present my lastest (unfinished) work, Realism.

The woman stared at the black beast silently, plotting down several simulations in her mind. This was a much tougher challenge than her normal ones, from racing or being a psychiatrist. Racing emotionally attached to something made that certain thing a whole lot more complicated. Love definitely sucked.

The beast stopped and parked parallel to her precious RX8, her eyes stalking every moment of the way. As the driver stepped out of his car, she raised her hand as a cursory greeting, seeing him smile and nod, made her drop it.

Sudo Kyouichi didn’t know why he was here, exactly anyway. But such was his relationship with this girl, on some matters, no questions were asked. He closed the door with much care, holding the handle up to secure its locking. He let his fingers glide over his prized possession for a moment before approaching.

He tugged his jacket closer to him; glad, he had even brought one. The mountains were much cooler than the plains and valleys of Japan, especially during autumn, and of course winter. The well-built man watched her turn her head and silently suggest that they move the way she was directing, in this case it was the area where the plateau met the ravine, the cliff.

She leaned against the guardrails as she reached them. It left her with a few more seconds to think. Did she really want this?

She had been making several very rash decisions lately, most of which she was left still unsure whether to regret or not. Her decisions to help and support, her decision to be closer, but professional, her decision to be intimate, but not intimate, not in that way at least.

Kyouichi’s family was terribly worried for him when word had gotten to them that he had been in an accident, a racing accident. But apparently, he had been saved by his teammate, who had been kicked out then re-initiated quite recently. The guy named Iwaki Seiji, she’d have to keep an eye out for him; she wanted to psychoanalyze him on his reason why he saved his then enemy. Anyway, Kyouichi ended up having to stay in the hospital Ryousuke was currently taking residency at.

His family visited him, but they were worried about the confused mental state he was in. He was wondering the same thing as everybody, including her. She decided to take the job without pay since she was worried about her old friend herself, and it wouldn’t do to charge a family of family friends of something she was personally interested in herself.

There I go again, Yuzuki thought. I know I swore off being too friendly with people for a reason.

When she got to his room, she was deeply touched and amused at his state. The man was wearing a neck brace, combined with his white bandana, which he never seemed to take off anymore, along with his platinum blond hair; he looked like a half-used cotton bud. In addition, he had that curious pensive look when he was in deep thought.

It was then when her damn feelings began to get the better of her again, and with the same man no less.

Kyouichi stopped when he was a few feet in front of his ex-girlfriend. “Yuzuki…” Her eyes seemed to awaken from her reverie of rocks and boulders at the bottom of the cliff. She seemed to study him, making him feel terribly conscious of the fact that he had been wearing the same sweatshirt for almost four days now.

“I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to come…” He nodded slowly, as if comprehension were his weak point. She scratched the top of her head before running her hand through it, a nervous habit of hers, he knew. He wanted to draw closer to her, slip his arms around her slim waist and pull her into a deep hug, of which true meaning had become undefined for both of them.

“I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll get to the point.” She seemed to choke on her words before continuing, “It was more or less an unspoken agreement between us that after we… grew apart, we broke up.” He blushed reflexively, so it was that topic, he expected as much.

It was common knowledge in their world, the racing world, that Sudo Kyouichi of the dominant Emperor team in Tochigi and Takahashi Ryousuke of the RedSuns and Project.D, which had reached their impossible, nearly impossible, goal with only one huge pothole, were once close friends. It wasn’t common knowledge though that the Sudos, Takahashis, and Kamajis were childhood friends. After all, the gossipers could only dig so deep.

Their family lived in Tokyo at the time; their childhood was spent being the good little children they were, in school, at each other’s houses, and inevitably the track. Little Sudo Kyouichi and Kamaji Yuzuki were best friends, who soon after the Takahashis moved to Gunma, became attached. Their middle school and high school years were spent holding hands and finding ways to excel at their particular forte while helping the other with their weakness.

Many memorable memories were made. Many firsts, but the most significant first was made after the Sudo family had moved to Tochigi. The two managed to keep their relationship throughout high school, and then cars.

All of them, both Takahashi brothers, all three of the Sudo siblings, and the Kamaji twins were into cars. Why was a mystery yet to be tackled and answered by them or their parents. So when the first batch, Ryousuke, Kyouichi, Kaisuke, and Yuzuki turned eighteen, they immediately god into the obvious field of street racing.

Racing was very difficult to master. It took hours of practice (and deep wallets) so that was exactly what they sacrificed. Soon, the two men who live in the Northern Kanto region began their rivalry like never before. And as their competition intensified, like the blazing racing spirit they harnessed in their hearts, even they had to admit that they were neglecting some things, some things.

The two younger ones couldn’t blame them for not keeping in contact though, as when they got their licenses, the exact same thing happened to them.


Ah, well, I'm stuck from there on.

A Decline in Faith: Chapter 4 - Hopeful-Redemption

Chapter 4 – Hopeful-Redemption

-_-_-_

What did it really mean to be immature? Does wanting what is before you to be an illusion just because it isn't, as you want it to be mean that you are immature? Who would blame you after all? If things don’t go your way, you'd want it to change for your own purposes.

Would facing up to reality be a justifiable for maturity? Was it that simple? She hardly

But getting a reality check, essentially, solved nothing. It wouldn’t do anything to save her dear mother, and it certainly wouldn’t do anything to reduce the feelings she had for her Darling. It just showed that you weren't foolish enough to not see the truth and knew how to discern fact from fiction.

Kyoko sat up in her bed, pillow still on her lap. If she really wanted to do something to alleviate the problem on hand, she had to get up and do something. Sitting still would only make matters worse for her family, her daddy in particular. She had to have the determination and initiative to help save her mother. Just like what she had with her Prince – which she still, regardless of what had been happening, didn’t want to give up on – only now it was to save and keep something rather than earning ang gaining one. She mustn’t lost hope; after all, did the doctor say that her mom was going to die tomorrow?

She had to – jump! As the phone, which she obviously did not bother to switch off or silence last night, startled her out of her reverie. Taking a relieved breath, as she pressed one hand against her chest, murmuring something about the ceiling and lightning, she peered at the caller display. It was Nobuhiko. That increased the intrigue on her part, her team leader hardly ever, ever called her in the morning.

The young woman pressed the small green button of her phone warily, “Nobuhiko?”

“Kyoko, sorry to call you at school,” He sounded strangely out of breath for the office geek he was, although she didn’t have any intention of telling him that anytime soon, “I hope I didn’t catch you in one of your classes.”

“No, I stayed home today… What’s wrong?” She then pointed out her observation.

His voice seemed more animated than usual, “Our team was just challenged.” There was a somewhat dramatic pause, which would have had its full effect if it were not for his enthusiasm for continuing his speech, “The challenge came from some guys from Tochigi. The leader just came up to me after I got out from the meeting in the office and challenged us. I wouldn’t be surprised if they found out about us from the Project.D site then decided on challenging us as well.”

She was now in full racer mode and all hyped-up, “What was the name of the team anyway? When is the race?”

“The guys didn’t tell me which team he came from, but I was passing-by the parking lot and he just pointed to his car. I saw his tag, but that’s all I know. He just said that he’d bring some of his teammates to that family restaurant near Shomaru later, so we can discuss the details of the race.”

Kyoko cocked her head to one side, curious, “Then how do you know that this guy is a serious competitor?”

“Well, how do I say this, I can't be certain on this by facts, but this guy had some kind of aura. When he was standing by his car, I could sense that he was an amazing racer; it was as if he had some sort of invisible sphere that made me sense a strong upholding of pride.”

“Right…” After another short pause, she felt somewhat compelled to fill the strange silence, “So… What time is the meeting?”

“Six o’clock…”

If he were there, she would have raised her quizzical eyebrow at him, but as he was not, the wall became his unwilling and unwitting proxy. Kyoko wanted to ask him what was up, with him that is. How did he suddenly lose his cool? But it didn’t seem to be the time or place for that, and… He snapped her out of the realms of her mind again.

“Will you race for us?” He asked solemnly. It was really strange habit of his. It was pretty much a silent agreement in their team right now that she was their uphill representative during races, but he still asked every time. This time though, it was the perfect question, in timing and context.

She was silent for a moment before she apologized to him, just as seriously, “I’m sorry, Nobuhiko, but the chances that I can are really very slim.” The young racer said this as she turned to the floorboards of her bedroom. That motion seemed to be her initial reaction to feelings of guilt, embarrassment, and simply not knowing what to say next.

It seemed to be a day of surprises for he elder racer, as he sensed a deeper meaning to this. “Oh… Can you tell me why?” When she kept quiet if only for a few “ah”s and “uh”s, he spoke once more, “You know, it’s fine if you can't tell me.”

She replied with a hushed thanks and all right.

There was yet another not-so-lengthy quiet where Nobuhiko took the chance to ask the question that was most vital as a team leader of a racing team, “I don’t mean to be insensitive, Kyoko, but do you think you'd be able to race? The race would probably be within this month…”

She shook her head to his proxy, “I don’t know, but I don’t think so…”

With that, the man had no choice to hang up, no matter how worried for his friend he was. There were just somethings you just won't get if you try to force it out. That he had to learn the hard way. As for Kyoko, although she realized that she had an added distraction in her life, she knew exactly what she had to focus on.

~~~

Iwase Miwako sat there, trying to be patient with her cross-stitch. It really, simply wasn’t her thing. She could stare at pages of T-accounts, trial balances, balance sheets, income statements, and whatnot, but when it came to doing what she called menial work, she’d much rather suggest financial decisions to multi-national corporation, even with the risk of losing millions, or perhaps, even billions.

Her doctor had suggested that she get into something, some sort of hobby that made use of her hands, increased their dexterity, he said. But she had to point out that typing up documents made use of her fingers; typing improved the dexterity of her fingers as, didn’t they? And they were something she was already used to and was quite – very – willing to do.

In her opinion, you can only do something well if you were really willing to do it. You could perform in it, in her case cross-stitching, but you could only go so far. She hated it. But doctor suggested it, (She couldn’t think of anything else that could be considered a substitute for it. When she suggested typing, Doctor Asashi gave her a look.) and she trusted this doctor. Although if he was fooling with her on this, she swore she’d smack the silly.

Either way, Miwako was frustrated from struggling with it for twenty minutes now and was now ready to put (shove) it aside when her daughter entered the room. The young woman’s eyes brightened suddenly when she noticed what her mother was doing.

“Mom…” Her eyes were on her mother initially, but on approach they dropped to what she had in her hands. She leaned over and stared at the mis-done handiwork. “When did you start getting into this?”

Miwako smiled. It appeared that her daughter didn’t want to bring up the topic. She hardly minded though, as she loathed having it brought up. Instead, she laughed. “This?! I've never been into it, and probably never will be! I mean, look at what I've done so far, it’s a mess!” Kyoko couldn’t help but giggle at the remarks. Miwako shook her head and smiled, pleased at her daughter’s reaction.

She knew her condition, understood it – to a certain extent – and was hopeful. Honestly, if she died, she hoped to leave a valuable legacy, something her daughter could learn from.

“Mom, do you want something?” Kyoko asked when she turned to the tiled area they called a kitchen.

Already she was seeing some changes. She didn’t mean it to, but she had to admit that they had spoiled their child. How glad that she wasn’t a brat couldn’t be described, but Kyoko was used to a life where, apart from her racing and that shockingly spiky guy she seemed to be chasing after, she didn’t have to reach too far for something she wanted. She was a sweet and kind, but that was her nature. Her nurture was, on the other hand, not as considerate. She even went through some sort of phase during teenager years.

That time was a difficult one for the family. Somehow, she blamed herself for part of it. They, she and Konousuke, were working very hard through that time, that Asian crisis period. They were too late into it when they realized that they were practically ignoring their only daughter. Regrettably, they were only able to take their heads out of the green paper bag when she was seventeen and messing around in school.

Now, the personality change was practically a turn-around. Some of her habits and interests she acquired there still were still retained to this day, such as the habit of visiting the clouds at intervals of time, and that horrid interest of street racing. Her father was completely against it. He even threatened to hide the keys away once just to get his precious daughter away from all those speeding cars, and those ancient winding roads up in the mountains. That was one of the reasons why her husband was intent on taking the project of remaking the mountain roads himself.

That reminded Miwako of something, “Kyoko.” Her voice traveled to where her daughter was cutting up some fruit for them to snack on. With the reply, she made hers as well, “Your father told me to inform you that they finally got the project he has been aiming for.”

She, apparently, just nodded as she washed the knife she used and brought the small platter to the living area. “Really? Which project?” For a driver, and a racer, Kyoko showed remarkably little interest in the road developments her father worked on.

Miwako had long set the stringy work aside, and pressed her free finger against one side of her cheek, “I don’t remember the name of it, but he said that it was a mountain road. I think it’s the one you usually drive on. Sada-something…”

“Sadamine Pass?” She completed the word, hoping that she was wrong.

“Yes, yes that it! He said that they’d put up the announcement next Friday.”

“Oh… That’s…” She wanted to say great, but it wasn’t, not for her or the other racers on Sadamine. They had to practice to keep their skill-levels high, and they couldn’t exactly wait the couple of months, of which her father’s project was sure to last. If so, the racers would have to practice on some other course out there, and who knew whether the other teams would be as agreeable to them. The crestfallen look on Kyoko’s face wasn’t unnoticed by her mother.

~~~

She had tried to get in contact with her leader, but to no avail. Looking up at the clock, it read one thirty-nine. As she pressed her forehead against her desk, she sighed. What could she do but call him later? For now, she had to acquire her notes and study. It was a good thing that she had all her stuff at home. Raising her head she dialed a different number.

The ringing seemed to go on for her indefinitely and just before she imagined her phone would switch to redial mode, Sakaki Saiko halted the incessant noise with a quick greeting, “Hello? Iwase-san?”

Leaning against her left fist, Kyoko answered, “Uh, yes, Sakaki-san. Sorry to bother you like this.”

“It’s fine. I was just going to start reviewing, so you caught me at just the right time.” She heard the soft clatter of something on the other side of the phone. Kyoko guessed that her seatmate had dropped the pen she had such a habit of twirling. “Why didn’t you come to class today anyway?”

She should've expected this question, “I… I'd rather not talk about it…”

“Oh… Ok then.” Saiko turned to tapping her chin with one end of her pen as she thought, “Well, then, I'll just send the stuff over to your email. Also, Shibuya-sensei announced a test on Wednesday, so I'll send the topics included as well. Just wait a minute, or two.”

When Kyoko logged into her account she saw what her friend had just sent her. She accessed the files, browsed them for a moment, before sending Saiko a quick thanks.

At three o’clock, she was practically done with her studies when she just remembered that she had to make an excuse for herself at work, deciding on finishing what was spread out before her first. And when they were completed, she clicked away through her phone’s memory until she reached the entry for Norisu. There, she got directed to the nice receptionist, who agreed to pass the message on to her superiors.

“Well, that turned out pretty well…” She said to herself while stretching her arms over her head and bending back over the rest of her chair, feeling as satiated as her napping kitty on the rug not a room away.

There was a knock on her door, “Kyoko. May I come in?”

Mom? “Yeah, sure…”

When the matron entered, it was as if the lines on her aging face had gotten much deeper than they were this morning. “Asashi-sensei just contacted me and requested that I go to the hospital, immediately. I’ve already notified your father, so he’s on the way.”

Worry filled her heart once again. When her mom turned around, she asked, “Mom, can I come, too?”

Commenting on the Prologue

Yeah, it's not yet on fanfiction.net because the Document Manager there wouldn't let me upload it, and the updated version of the first chapter. So I'm just posting this out of boredome and wanting to avoid studying for just a few minutes longer.

Oh, and did I mention that my iPod is glitching, again. This time it hasn't turned on, or reacted to my power switch, or being re-setted. T.T Do I need to buy a new one? Waah!