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!

A Decline in Faith: Prologue

[added] Ok, so I just inserted this prologue here so that if the need arises, I can rush this fic if I feel threatened with the deadline. Actually, I already am. Either way, could I ask a favor of those who intend to read this part? If you could, try to read it as if you have no knowledge of Initial D. This serves as my introduction for my teacher to Initial D so she won’t be confused when she starts reading the story… I actually, want to confuse her, but then I may get a lower grade if I do it on purpose… and she notices. Ah, and just so you know, I’m just summarizing Kyoko’s appearances in the anime here… So when she stays silent during scenes, I try to figure out what she may be thinking. Similarly, some scenes are not shown, but definitely happened, so those scenes were made up as well.

Disclaimer: Initial D belongs to its respective owners. Shigeno Shuichi decides the real plot and we’re all just hoping he’ll change this drive-or-date philosophy of his.

A Decline in Faith
- by Dial In fita

Prologue:
-_-_-_

This story begins after the main character, a young racer by the name Iwase Kyoko – as the Japanese say it, the last name is Iwase goes first, while the first goes next – meets with her Prince Charming and gets turned away for the second time.

Her story begins much before this though, when she talks with her friend at a certain café, in the prefecture of Saitama, in the Kanto region of Japan, about her ideal man. This dream of a man who is handsome (and cool), drives a Rotary engine car, and is basically faster than her. Her friend, who in the anime and manga has no name, but will be given one in this story, Mayumi, incredulously questioned her about it all being based on a car. Kyoko dismissed it and continued that she will definitely meet her “Darling”.

The next day, she visited the base of the mountain, of which’s road, or course, is probably her “home course”, and is probably named Shomaru Pass, to look for her missing cell phone, which she apparently dropped around that area during her lunch break. She noticed a bright yellow RX-7, an FD, parked on one side of the road, quickly commenting on yellow being a nice color. Kyoko parked her own black FD on the other side of the street, and got out – still in her overalls from work, which is most likely some sort of position in an auto mechanic shop – to search the area for her silver cell phone.

A tall – and handsome – man with spike bleached blond hair approached her and asked if what she was looking for was a silver cell phone. She blushed and replied with an affirmative. He explained that he found the said gadget on the parking lot earlier and had the store across the road hold on to it. She then began stuttering about how clumsy she is and how she seemed to always lose her phone when she puts in by the side of her car and so on. Realizing that she was stuttering, she halted the nervous, meaningless chatter and stared at him adoringly. He suggested that she go and get it.

But for the moment, Kyoko was too stunned to move, the sound of violins playing fill her ears. She wondered if she had finally met her “Darling”. After that, her heart still pounding in her chest, the racer went over to the store to reclaim her phone, but when she turned around to see and thank him again, her Darling was already speeding away.

Fast-forwarding to tonight, the unnamed team Kyoko is a member of was discussing the arrival of the super-team, Project.D. Her team leader, Akiyama Nobuhiko, glad of this development, stated that he wanted to watch the team, who had the intention of conquering the entire Kanto region, carefully. He reassured his team members, because of the membership of their uphill ace. Their uphill ace, however, was not concentrating on the meeting; she was standing by, daydreaming of her recent encounter with her Darling.

When he called her to attention, he asked her to represent their team for the challenge, as, quite obviously, the uphill driver. She agreed. Then he asked her if she wanted to hear the information he gathered of the representative of Project.D and she declined elaborating that she could concentrate better without those details. She intended to drive the way she knew best.

Later, she was seen in her FD, practicing, but she couldn’t concentrate; her mind was on that spiky blond she just met. She gasped suddenly, after narrowly missing hitting the guardrail of a certain corner, she slowed and worried. She was hardly in the mood for a battle, much less a suitable state for it.

Back at the parking lot, where the home team was gathered at, Kyoko had open her hood and was checking her engine for some sort of unknown something causing the weird sensation in her car. She took one last look at it then dismissed it as her imagination. Her eyes and ears then took in what her team leader was saying; Project.D was on the way up now.

With that, she and the rest of the unnamed team turn to the point where you could see the cars coming up. Kyoko gasped –once again – at the sight of the car leading the motorcade; it was a yellow FD. Could it be? After all what were the chances that she would encounter her Darling here and now? As she continued to watch them, Project.D parked their vehicles and turned on the lights they had at the back of their three support vans. She gasped. She was in shock and shaking. It was he, her Darling, Takahashi Keisuke, her opponent for the match tomorrow.

The next day, Kyoko and her friend, Mayumi, were at the café they usually hang out in, discussing Kyoko’s predicament. Mayumi decided that their race is a very good thing for her, a chance per se. She explained that whatever result the race may yield, it was a great opportunity to get to know him. And also that, if Kyoko could perform well during thee race, her Darling would surely notice her.

Night fell, and the team was having a pre-race meeting discussing various things, such as the amazing level of their opponents, and the representative for the downhill match. Nobuhiko decided that since they didn’t have an outstanding racer for that style, he would be the one to race. He explained to them that they had no choice but to focus on Kyoko. Asking them not to worry, she promised to do her best.

She was once again seen practicing for her match later that night, when suddenly a strange wheezing sound came from her car’s engine and the power output suddenly dropped, significantly. She gasped for the umpteenth time as she slowed down and eventually stopped her car by the narrow road. Turning on her hazard lights, she got out to pop her hood and stare at the engine hopelessly unknowing of what to do.

Still staring at her engine, Kyoko ignored the sound of a Rotary engine in the distance; she still ignored it as it passed by. The yellow car parked itself in front of her car, and behind her. The driver got out and asked her what was wrong. She was jolted once more by the man and explained her predicament. He realized that she is his opponent later on and voiced his disappointment in her. He has had higher expectations in her, he rebuked her ands says that she should’ve had it checked in the day if she thought something was wrong. He felt that she had underestimated him, and that for him was a harsh insult. All while he was saying this, Kyoko’s eyes were already tearing dangerously. He walked away.

Minutes later, Kyoko had closed her hood and has her hands pressed against it, eyes releasing their salty liquid. She reprimanded herself for the same reasons Keisuke did veritably cursing at her foolishness for being so excited for the race that she neglected the essentials. Feeling so frustrated, she believed that he hated her now. Just as her mind said this, she heard the sound of some sort of vehicle coming up from behind her. She confirmed with the lights and wiped away the tears still at the edges of her eyes. Her eyes widen as she realized that it is one of the support vans of Project.D. It parked by her, the window opened and there her opponent was, telling her to bring her car to the parking lot so they could take a look at it.

After examining and diagnosing the problem, Keisuke and his mechanic worked on the car. Soon after, the car was fixed and ready to go. It all happened before Kyoko’s curious eyes. She tried to thank him, but he told her that he didn’t want to be thanked that way. He wanted her to thank him by racing her best with him later. Still blushing slightly, Kyoko found herself liking him even more.

Before the race, she decided to lead their race, although it was un-strategic for her to go ahead of him, she still wanted to do it, to show him her best possible driving. It was custom in their course to race with one car ahead of the other rather than starting side-by-side, as the road they drove on was very narrow; the leading car was called the leader, while the one following was the chaser. A race was won either if the leader leaves the chaser behind, or the chaser overtakes the leader, somehow.

A serious and determined look was in her eyes as she introduced herself shyly, while he did so in a snobbier manner. She believed in her heart that she would not, could not, win their battle, but, still, she wanted to make their match last as long as possible, to be on a stage where they would be the stars, where every ounce of his concentration would be on her.

Once they began, Kyoko realized that she was having the time of her life. Never before had she felt so “in her groove”. The idea of showing her Darling the true extent of her skills had her exhilarated. Later in the race, her lead was maintained and she prayed that their race would go on forever.

The goal was pretty close now making Kyoko want to bring it to the next run even more. She smiled for a moment. But that glee was short-lived, as her car seemed to go over a bump on the road, quick and sudden, the acceleration of her car reduces. She looked back and notices that even though she had maintained a few meters distance with her Darling earlier in the match, he was now much, much closer to her now. Her pleased expression now morphed to a much more worried and anxious one.

They were now on a relatively long straightaway, so when he moved to the opposite side of the road as her, she steered that way as well as an attempt to block him. When they entered the corner, she was ahead about three-fourths a car length. As she braked, his car nudged hers slightly, which caused her to corner more sideways than she wished. She was stunned by this motion that she momentarily released the accelerator. She soon realized that she should not have done this.

They exited the corner side-by-side. They continued on this way for the next short straightaway, but when they reached the next left-hand corner, Kyoko braked slightly later than he, so he ended up heading into the corner faster. This enabled him to pin her down and keep her from accelerating past him.

Kyoko was mentally pleading with him to let the race go on, but to no avail. He sped past her then past the finish line as well. He won.

Their race was over and there was nothing Kyoko could do about it. She drove past the goal and into the area where her disappointed teammates were waiting for her. She sat in her car, thinking deeply about what just happened. The first thing she did when she got out of the car was to apologize to her teammates. She understood very well that all their hopes on winning against their opponents were on her, and she just lost. Nobuhiko comforted her, in a brotherly sort of way, saying that there was nothing to apologize about and that it was all right since she did her best after all.

She listened to her team leader describe the impressive level and performance of Keisuke as she turned to watch him herself. Kyoko thought to herself that she never expected her Darling to be this amazing. When Nobuhiko spoke again, she redirected her attention back to him. It was his turn to race against the downhiller of Project.D; she noticed the stress of going against a much better opponent grading on his nerves. Then again, even though she probably shouldn’t, she didn’t care much about the succeeding match.

And as the next race began, she stood right where she was and stared at her Darling only meters in front of her. He, apparently, was talking with a teammate of his, a shorter man with a mop of dyed blond hair. She heard the man, named Kenta, tell Keisuke that he was hungry, and so he went over to the vans, not before asking his taller mentor if he wanted any (he didn’t), parked not a distance away from him to get some left-over rice balls.

When she saw that he was finally alone, Kyoko approached the slightly older Rotary driver cautiously. After staring at each other for a few silent seconds, she finally took the initiative to speak. She thanked him again for fixing her car, but still he insisted that she had nothing to thank him for. He even found that he has reason to thank her, admitting that he discovered a lot of important lessons from their race. And after that, he complimented her on her driving, and then finally apologized for the assumptions he made about her prior to the race.

She blushed, quite pleased. Continuing their conversation a bit, they ended up in silence once again. Flushing slightly, she asked him if he has a girlfriend. When he replied with a negative, she was overjoyed, so she thanked him quickly, and skipped away back to her car, failing to hear his explanation for it.

The next day, Kyoko and Mayumi were once again chatting over some tea. Mayumi congratulated her friend on her discovery, praising her as well for being brave enough to ask that much. She found that Kyoko was doubly lucky about his current status, and even teased her that her Darling was thinking of her as well. Mayumi decided that Keisuke had already figured out that Kyoko liked him. Confused, Kyoko didn’t know what to do, but decided that she wanted to look prettier, just for him.

Later that day, night to be accurate, Kyoko arrived at Mount Akagi, the home course of her Darling, totally made-over. Instead of her usual sports jacket and cargo pants, she was wearing a beige blouse with a denim miniskirt. She took note of the three guys on the other side of the vantage point of the peak and recognized them as members of Project.D so she bows in greeting.

There, she heard the sound of a Rotary engine, turning around she saw one, a yellow one, the yellow one she has been looking for. She watched it intently as it drove up the slope and parked near the van of his companions. He turned to her immediately as he got out of his car. He motioned to the area ahead, and they walked away from the three men to maintain some semblance of privacy between them.

They had a short conversation, but Keisuke cut it of by asking her the reason of her arrival. She wanted to watch him drive, she said, but he didn’t want her there. When she tries to explain her love, he explains that it wasn’t a matter of liking or disliking her, and rejects her. He explained further that she’d only be in his way, and that it’d be much better if she stayed away from him. Thus, he got back into his bright yellow sports car and made a quick excuse to his companions then drove back home, leaving the poor girl spilling tears onto her shirt.

The next day, Kyoko was leaning against her car, parked in front of the auto shop she worked for, reflecting on what just happened between them. She had to admit to herself that what he said was true; she really would get in his way if they would get together. Not believing that she would ever fall in love again, she did not know what to do. Being the determined girl she was, she decided one thing. She would not let something like this discourage her. She would not give up!

Another few days later, a small gathering of some of the Northern Saitama racers was assembled, and Kyoko was invited to join the meeting. Apparently, Nobuhiko had come up with a new plan for beating Project.D. A new team, between the networks of friends they had, was set-up for this very purpose. A member of this temporary team requested Kyoko to pitch in a bit of cash, but before Kyoko could hand over some money, one of her original teammates requested to speak to her first.

He told her that she didn’t need to participate in this effort if she could not decide on which side she was supporting, emotionally. He informed her about the Takahashi’s status in life, the two brothers, Keisuke (the younger one) and Ryousuke (the elder one) were sons of a director of some big hospital in Gunma, the prefecture the brothers resided in. He advised her not to pursue Keisuke, being the rich and handsome man he was, there would sure to be lots of competition. Regardless, she didn’t want to back down.

The challenge was sent, and Project.D was coming back to Saitama for the second round of the Saitama showdown. Away from the mountains and the speeding cars though, was Kyoko, who felt left out of the game, which she truly loved. Wanting to go, but feeling discouraged, she just leaned there, pondering.

The next day at about mid-day, the heavy clouds hovered above all, threateningly, but that certainly did not discourage the girl, she went to the course somewhat boldly, not being able to help herself. While driving around the course, she noticed the bright yellow FD parked by the open, un-guard railed area by the road. Surprised, she stopped her car and got out curiously then somewhat giddy-ly rushed to its side, wanting to touch the precious car.

Rushing over, she stroked the hood of the car then kneeled down to rest against it, still stroking it. Unbeknownst to her, the owner of the said car was inside the car and staring at her strangely. When the fact became known to her, she blushed then shrieked in surprise. When he got out, she expressed her shock at being there. After pointing out to her that it made perfect sense for a driver to be in his car (trying to rest for his race later in the night), she wished her Darling good luck on the race later on in the night. But for some surprising reason, Keisuke, being hungry, asked her out to eat at some family restaurant.

While they are eating, she asked him whether or not he went to restaurants such as the one they were at now often. He answered her incredulously that he did, after all he was a road racer, and it was a known fact that racers were patrons of such establishments. She shut her eyes cheerfully, glad that even though he was rich, her Darling was very down-to-earth.

Driving back to the course, Kyoko realized that Keisuke was asleep in her passenger seat. Not wanting to wake him, she slowed her pace and finally stops at the spot where she found him. Soon, she falls asleep as well, praying that this moment would freeze in time. But as time certainly does not stop, he woke up, hours later. After thanking her briefly, he rushed back to his own FD, to practice a bit more on the course as the rain soaks the pavement. She smiles as she watches him pull out of the space, shout another thanks, and drive to the starting point of the race, all the while thinking that spending time with him felt wonderful, when it lasted.

Later that night, after the race between the two downhill racers concluded, Kyoko approached her teammates at the starting point waiting eagerly for the results of the ongoing race, the one between her Darling and a cousin of her team leader, Wataru, who was currently driving a supercharged Toyota Corolla AE86 Levin. Nobuhiko commented on how she wasn’t the type to hideaway in the corner. He stares at her for a moment then declared what he had deduced, that she came to root for their opponents rather than them. When she admits this, he reassured her easily as they weren't exactly at war with each other, so in any case, she was free to cheer for whomever she wished.

When he turned away, she watched him gladly. Then her mind turned back to the dangerous race her Prince was in. She moved to face her black FD, clutching her cerulean umbrella with one hand over the other, cheering him on and declaring that she’d always be by his side.

After waiting for a few more minutes, she heard Nobuhiko – quite surprisingly – despite the rain say that Wataru had spun out and lost. If she weren't in a skirt, she probably would have jumped for joy and cheered unabashedly. Her heart seemed to have gotten in its own car to do loops. Waiting a bit more, she saw the two cars drive – a lot more slowly – towards the starting point, seeing her Darling get out of his bright car made her heart stop doing loops only to race around its own course.

She stared at him intently, hoping his gaze would be attracted by hers, somehow. And it happened. He looked around until she catches his attention. When he faced her, meeting her longing gaze, she pressed her hands – with the handle of the umbrella still sandwiched between – against her chest, trying to send him her message.

This time she wasn’t so successful, instead of him receiving her message gladly and springing towards her to wrap his arms around her, he turned around to get back into his car, not giving the poor Kyoko any more of his time. Her shock, once again, manifests itself in a gasp, as he starts up and drives away from her. She can do nothing but stare at the machine, taking her Darling away from her again.

Despite being hurt by the reaction of Keisuke to her visit, she is determined to keep pursuing him, no matter what.

Her chance to see him again lay in the next race of Project.D. The prevailing team had just challenged a shady team composed of only dreaded Lancer Evolutions.

Her hopes had been restored and now she was once again ready to face him and boldly cheer him on, if he would let her. Unsure if visiting them directly would be a good idea, she decided to take a bit of a joy ride on the course a fierce battle was sure to occur. But when she turned one corner, what was there to greet her but Darling sitting on his car. Hardly being able to help herself, she stopped her own vehicle by his and rolled down her window to announce her reasons for being there. Then quickly adding the inquiry of why he was parked there.

Looking back up at him, she noticed that he was staring at her, very intently at that. Making a face, she suddenly worries if he was upset at her being so persistent in following him. To her shock, he got up from his seat on the hood and placed a hand on the top of her car. His kneeling and leaning against her only augmented to that initial shock. And finally to top it all off, a cherry on top of a tall pile of ice cream and syrup, he suddenly, completely out of nowhere, asked her a favor.

He pleaded to her, asking to borrow her car for the race later. And of course, she couldn’t refuse such a request, or any request, in fact, from her Darling

After explaining to her how their sneaky opponents spilled oil across the road to sabotage their cars and how his car was the one that crashed, he lead her to where they were stationed at. As they arrive, she noticed the inquisitive stares of the other Project.D members on them, getting out she followed him to the group, but stayed at the back of which while he moved forward to face his brother.

She stared at the elder brother intently as Keisuke faced him, apparently still unsure how to say what he was. The elder brother certainly looked cool. He was handsome, much like his brother, only in a different, probably darker way. The deep blue, which is very natural in anime, of his hair and dark expression-less expression only added to his mysterious aura.

Once the man of her affections started speaking, she stopped looking at the elder one and decided to concentrate on the younger. He explained to his brother that he was determined to win, no matter what. It doesn’t matter to him whether or not Ryousuke approved of it – he hoped that he would if he didn’t – or even if wasn’t an official Project.D, all he wanted was to defeat the losers who were made to resort to such underhanded deeds to win, to show them that even with a huge handicap, Project.D was still the best. Much more, he couldn’t let Project.D’s pristine record be tarnished by the foolish mistake he made in that crash.

A deep silence follows that one-sided confrontation, one that had Kyoko holding her breath. A silence that was broken by the sighing of her Darling’s brother then when he slipped his phone out of his pants pocket and started to dial a number, it didn’t fail to arouse their surprise and curiosity. That was only enhanced by when he said the key words of “We don’t need that car anymore.”

Could it be? It would have been if it were not have been cancelled. Keisuke would have gotten his car and raced regardless of whether she came to lend him her car or not. But when his brother cancelled his own plans, it made Kyoko feel, well, wonderful. It felt great to have his brother’s approval of Darling racing with her car rather than whatever other car that he might’ve ordered. She could understand it clearly that he was not approving of her, per se, but the thought of Ryousuke believing in her car being advantageous for Darling made her like him, even if it were for a shallow reason.

She smiled as the group cheered with a newly charged enthusiasm ready to tackle any obstacle in their way. When he turned and beamed at her, she couldn’t help but blush shyly. After a few more minutes of heated up and excited discussion, she handed over her key to him.

Feeling compelled to stand back and watch the workings of Project.D Kyoko did so. Being the quick and efficient team they were, Keisuke was ready to race in a few minutes. Then the race began between the two powerful cars. Soon, two her teammates, Nobuhiko and Saitou (the one who asked her to wake up to reality) arrived to watch the race. They were both in shock when they heard that Kyoko had given her consent for another person to driver her precious car. She smiled and admitted that she never imagined that she would ever let another drive her car, she continued it mentally, but if her car could help her Darling win then she’d gladly lend it to him.

She faced the road and passively listened to her teammates talk; her mind was not there standing still, but with her car, with her Darling cheering him on and on. She hoped that he would win, minutes later it seemed that he does. Kyoko watched him get out of her car then face his opponent, who was making a lot of fuss she could not make out. Either way, he headed towards her with a satisfied expression on his face. He expressed his thankfulness once again verbally when he handed over her key back to her.

Kyoko stares at him, blushing, as she holds on to the key, still warm from his hands, close to her heart as she smiled at him. The smile widened and her heart quickened impossibly so, when asked for her number and gave Kyoko his. Sharing a brief smile with her, he said, somewhat hushed, that he wanted to meet with her again before smiling again and joining his teammates once again.

Quite honestly, she was hardly interested in the other racer of Project.D, so when other ace’s race began, she decided to take one last look at him, for that night, and get back into her car to head home.

The next couple of days, Kyoko was cheerfully breezing through her duties as a daughter, student, and part-time worker at Norisu’s Auto Shop. The only thing that prevented her from giving her… Everything, her everything was the fact that she was eagerly awaiting some sort of contact from him, a call or even a text message. But that was fine with her. After all she was just given a chance from the heavens to get much closer, or at least that was what her friend said. Either way, she agreed with it completely. It was just a Monday morning, he might’ve been tired, so, as Kyoko saw it, this would be the optimum day of the week he’d call her.

Then, at three o’clock in the afternoon, he called. Overjoyed at this, Kyoko quickly agreed to his suggestion of a date this Saturday. He’d pick her up at the Shibukawa train station and they’d decide what to do afterwards.

When Saturday came along, Kyoko took extra care in dressing her cutest. She stood at the station patiently waiting for her Prince to arrive in his precious FD. Only he didn’t. He came of course, but in a different car. He said that he borrowed his brother’s car, a white FC, the predecessor of their car, because his was still unavailable.

Cruising along, he asked her where she’d like to go, as he wanted to thank her letting him use her car for the race. Admitting that she wasn’t fond of lively places, they decided to hang around Gunma to enjoy. He brought her around for some sightseeing, where the topic of her following him during races came up. She didn’t mind whether he ignored her during his races, but she still wanted to go, to watch him drive. Also, there was still the possibility that she could end up helping him again, like she did last time. He chuckled at her persistence warmheartedly, calling her innocent, or maybe pure. Not wanting to continue this conversation now, he announced that he was hungry and took her to a restaurant.

In the restaurant, Kyoko encountered another one of those moments where she felt so warm and fuzzy inside that she’d love to stay there, forever. She imagined that, sitting there with her Darling, others would perceive them as a dating couple, rather than what they really were.

After picking up the bill, Keisuke brought Kyoko out to his home course, Mount Akagi for a drive, and some privacy. Going up the mountain, Kyoko couldn’t help but admire how he drove, the smoothness of his driving, the way he seemed to handle the pedals so gently on that winding road, way he seemed to make the forces when one shifts up disappear. And to think, he was speeding up that mountain pass. When they got to the peak, she didn’t fail to compliment him on such.

He told her that he wasn’t really trying, but that he was just being gentler on the car as they weren't in any sort of competition then. When he was racing though, he was a lot rougher on the car, putting a lot of stress on it. So he was driving normally, he had the tendency to baby his car.

Their conversation was interrupted by two guys who drove up and recognized Keisuke, noting that it was pretty rare for him to be in the company of a lady. They asked, quite cheekily, whether or not Kyoko was his girlfriend. The comment made Kyoko blush, while the male FD racer shooed them away, literally.

Slightly frustrated, he began talking about how he used to hang out with a bad sort of crowd when he was younger and hadn't gotten his license yet, he was rebellious and caused a lot of trouble. He felt that he had no goal in life, so he was bored and irritable, and just went around doing things he considered stupid now. In her heart, Kyoko could empathize with that feeling.

His parents had pretty much given up on him, but not his brother. One night, his brother took him to the mountain they were at now, and drove downhill so fast that Keisuke thought he was committing a double suicide. That was his life-changing experience, and hardly anything was the same then. He added that he felt that he hadn't surpassed that downhill ride, even three years after, although this seemed so unbelievable.

After Kyoko expressed her amazement at his story, he returned to the topic he had cut off earlier. He seemed to have a hard time saying it, but he said it, he apologized then said that he had no intention of dating anybody while being a racer of Project.D so he asked her not to chase after him anymore.

She couldn’t understand it. Explaining that she didn’t really expect him to return her feelings, Kyoko just wanted to go and see him. She told him the feelings she had in her heart, what she was thinking and feeling all day, her emotions of happiness and gratitude to him for being so kind to her all day, and the feeling of finally getting close to him. She understood how important Project.D was for him and how he had to do his best. But wasn’t it enough for her to just stand in the sidelines and watch? Apparently not.

For him, Kyoko couldn’t just settle for watching, not for long anyway. He could identify with her; he knew that if she had a taste of what she wanted, she would want everything. He knew that if she continued to chase after him, she’d only get hurt.

She had been trying to hold them in, but she couldn’t help it now. Kyoko held both her hands against her face and cried into them. She felt his hand rest on her shoulder, as if to reach out some sort of comfort to her. Everything, was this the end of everything they had been through so far? She didn’t want it to end so emptily. So she made a request of him. She asked him to let her ride by his side as he went full-throttle down Mount Akagi.

When he agreed to it, she dried her eyes as they walked back to the white beast waiting to be unleashed on the road before them. And when he started racing the mountain, she found her amazement being replenished. Switching her view from him to the road, to him again, she knew it; the driving that she was experiencing now was completely different from the one he showed to her earlier.

Amidst the amazing driving and her growing admiration for him, she found herself hurting once more. She didn’t want it to end. She wanted to stay with him, because to her, he was the one and only, he was special. Tears streamed from the sides of her eyes, as she decided that it was impossible for another man to be better than him, or even as good. How could she even fall in love with another?

She could do nothing else. She just sat there in the borrowed car with her hands pressed against her face, weeping.

A few days after that, Kyoko and her best friend, Mayumi, agreed to meet at the café they frequented, to talk.