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> [Fanfic turned Original story] SPEED LEGEND Z!!, Release: VG 3.3 - NOW WITH LIP ANIMATIONS
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Nov 17 2008, 03:05 AM


The R34's chosen one
**********

Group: Advanced Members
Posts: 804
Member No.: 27,787
Joined: Dec 13th 2007
Location: Makati, Philippines





Chapter 40 - Clash of misunderstood thoughts

Tomo arrgessively swerved throughout traffic searching for a Pontiac that has Kasumi on board it.
Sakura tries to keep up with the GT-R infront of her on her own GT-R.
There was one problem though - what model and color is it? Does it have any visual changes? Tomo never thought about it before. Luckily, there are not much cars holding the Pontiac badge.
He heads for the mountaneous area where the possibility that she could be brought there.

For some reason, his guess was right. A red Pontiac GTO, a 2003 model, is parked on the side with its hazard lights on. Two people stand on the veranda showing the cliffside scenery. Lights of various colors give shine to the scenery. Kasumi gives a serious look at Nathan Archibal Jr. who took her there. Nathan gave her a 'cool' look as he thinks what to say to her.

"Good thing that Kasumi's my locator is activated and synchd to my cell phone. They're a few meters away.
He stops the car and walks towards a bush to see closely what is going on. Tomo is 300 meters away from the 'couple'. Sakura stands next to him.
"W-what are you doing here?"
"She's my friend too, Tomo. I too am worried."
"Okay. Let's not make any noise, then." Tomo whispered.

Moments later, Nathan got on his knees as he holds Kasumi's right palm. Tomo, who is hiding in the bushes, is trembling in rage. Sakura just notices the infuriated Tomo next to her. Later on, Nathan spoke: "Kasumi, please?"
"I'm not gonna be your girlfriend or spouse or anything."
"No, it's nothing like that." Kasumi lost the words she was about to say to Nathan. She is confused. If Nathan doesn't want her to be his girlfriend; then, what is this conversation he's stirring up to her?
"Would you help me?" he asked.
"What for?"
"You see, this sounds completely childish but hear me out here." he begged as he bends his other knee.
"Please, mo cherie?"
"Tell me all about it first." she said.
To Tomo and Sakura, they thought that it is a BF-GF proposal and Kasumi rejected it. They gave a sigh of relief.
"I need help you see. There's this girl I'm in love with and I don't know what to do or say infront of her."
"Then why did you kiss me?"
"'cause you look alot like her. And... well... it happens automatically; I don't know why."
"(He's weirder than Tomo) What do you need help with?"
"Can you be my girlfriend-for-training?"
"What!?"
"NANDA-TOO!!!???" Tomo's close to cracking and can't control himself much longer.
Sakura just gave an OH MY GOD reaction overhearing that.
"Just to know if I could take it;talking to her I mean; you know..."
"Does she know you?"
"Well, yeah but..."
"But?"
"I just don't know why I can't face her."
"(What a weird situation I got mixed up in) Tell me, are you known around here?"
Saying that, Nathan released his hands off Kasumi and started to act mature.
"Actually, I'm a showbiz celebrity; me and my dad are. We're famous around Canada."
"Just Canada?"
"Well, I'm new and all... My dad is part of it for as long as I could remember."
"(Well, that explains the completely wealthy condition of his) And you're shy over a fan?"
"I didn't know she was a fan of mine; unless she mistakes me for my father."
"Can't be, I mean look at you. You got the looks; why wouldn't she fall in love with you then?"
"Well... you see... uh..."
"You can't read a girl's mind can you?"
"Some but... I'm telling you, her case is of a higher level that I can't manage."
"Fine, I'll be your gf-for-training if that's what you call it."
"Really!!? Oh, thank you!!" Before Nathan could hug Kasumi happily, Kasumi shows off her hand telling him: "Hands off, okay? Kissing and hugging though is where I draw the line. I don't want to tarnish my innocent body because of somebody I don't completely know." she said as she blushed.
"Let me at him!! I'm gonna give him a pounding!!" Tomo broke into rage and tries to charge after Nathan, but Sakura is preventing him by pulling him back.
"Alright, you have my word, mademoiselle." Nathan Jr. assured Kasumi. "I swear beyond my soul that I won't lay my lips on any part of your body."
"Alri-... what did you just say you pervert!?" Kasumi now breaks into rage and slaps Nathan's cheek, rendering him unconscious after a while later.
Tomo was able to break free off the grapple and runs toward Kasumi until he sees a knocked out Nathan on the ground.
"Kasumi... mind if you tell me what's going on here?"
"Yeah, we're confused as it is." Sakura said as he ran to the two.
"Sorry I got dragged into this but... alright let me explain." Kasumi said as she gave a huge sigh.

[ARCHIBAL MANSION - HOBBY ROOM]
Kitami lost his balance and was shaking over the vehicle that Nathan Sr. showed him.
It is a 1969 Ford GT40. The car was a hundred percent replica of the 24 hour le Mans of the late 60's.
"This is the Pegasus, that you're telling me?"
"It is, my friend. I'm fond of this because of the Le Mans; and I'm fond of the Le Mans because of this. It's a one of a kind car - this is an asset to my investments. This GT40 has reminded me of the past much. Oh how I wish I was young again. I never got hold of this car until this part of my life."
"Then, why didn't you take it out for a drive?"
"The car is as weak as it is now. This is just a body frame duplicate. It looks like a replica but internally, it's not you see. Besides there's another car here in my garage that is related to this. It's my personal car. It's what I use most of the time. Have I answered your question?"
"In a way. Is it the Ford GT?"
"You know your catalogues, don't you?" Nathan sr. chuckled as he walks to the garage with Kitami.
He looks back and takes one last look at the GT40. "a GT40, eh? First a Corvette, now a GT40... could USA be any more threatening?" Kitami uttered.
user posted image

Back with the son and the rest...

Nathan regained consciousness and woke up in his GTO.
"And that's the rest of the story." Kasumi said to Tomo and Sakura.
Tomo and Sakura just showed a "what the hell" look at what they've heard.
"A superstar with the dumbest of all dilemnas..." Tomo said.
"This is more of what Kitami would do." Sakura said.
"Well, I just need majority of this girl's info then Nathe and I could start." Kasumi mentioned.
Nathan got out of the GTO and approached the group. "What happened?"
"You got slapped by one of Kasumi's killer face palms." Sakura answered.
"I see."
"Well, I'll accept your request Nathan. Just give me what I need to know then You'll be out of that dilemna in no time."
"Thanks a lot. Come on. I'll drive you back to my place."
"No thanks. I'd rather hop along with Tomo-kun."
"Alright. You know where my place is. I'll meet you there." With that said, the GTO bursts off from zero to sixty or so.
"You sure with what you said to him?" Sakura asked.
"Of course. What could possibly go wrong?"
"I don't like the sound of that." she replied.
"How come?"
"I know you want to help and all but, this is dangerous. You start off this way then before you know it, you're under him and you might even take this training too seriously ending up with your emotions blending in..."
"Oh Sakura, you know that I'm not ready for that stuff... Even if I am with Tomo-kun."
"Alright but just to keep you safe, take this. Read it privately." Sakura hands over a book entitled Questions Young People Ask, Answers that work Volume 2.
Before Kasumi could even ask something to Sakura, she's already boarding her car and drove off.
"Come on, Kasumi. Let's head back. We need to sleep." Tomo said, waving his hands to her.
Kasumi follows and they headed back to the Archibal Mansion.

At the garage, Nathan Sr. shows Kitami his Ford GT. The car seems like a blast from the past to Kitami. Not because the body of the GT is identical to the GT40, but the vinyl. "You're really into the Le Mans GT40, are you? You even reincarnated the old into the new GT." Kitami mentioned.
"Well, this car happens to be the first model that came out in the market on its opening. I was the first to purchase one as I heard the news years ago. It's still running as smooth as when I bought it. I did a few upgrades on it and replaced the vinyl design to represent the 69' GT."
"So you're into the racing business, yes?"
"No."
"No?"
"Yes. I'm not. I'm in the showbiz and real estate stuff and all that. The part of me having knowledge on racing is a mere hobby. Well, it's getting late. We'll continue this discussion of ours tomorrow morning. Have a good rest, Mr. Kitami."
"You too, sir. And thanks a lot for all the helpful commendations you gave me about my GT."
"No problem. Glad I could help out a fellow Ford owner."

Later on, the rest of the group came home. They bid their goodnights as soon as they settled in. Before Tomo could get into his room, he asks Sakura - who's about to go inside her room. She's wearing her favorite pink pajamas. "If we'll be staying here... then what about our Hotel Reservation? We went straight here after the skating rink thing..."
"Oh that? I'll inform Daiki about it. As far as I know, he and the rest must've settled in there so there's not much of a problem. Anyway, good night Tomo. I'll see you tomorrow morning." With that said and done, Sakura went in and closed the door. Tomo went in and did the same in his room. An hour passed and the whole mansion is silent. Even the maids and servants went to sleep in their respective provided rooms. Kasumi, though is the only one awake in the whole house. She's still reading that book which Sakura gave her. She is reading the topic on How far is too far?
As she reads deeper into the chapter, her hands shivered. "What have I gotten myself into?" she said to herself.
"I know this is more of a training but what it is is STILL what it is. It makes no difference. I don't want any of this to happen to me at all - not even Nathan, not any other guys; but... with Tomo... I... why can't I decide once it's him? Sorry for Nathan but I need to decline his offer. I need to get him straight; he needs to get out of this demeanor he's into." She assured herself. "These things are all driving me nuts. Best I go to sleep right away." She closed the book, placed it on the desk next to her and covered herself with the blankets.

The next day came. Kasumi and Nathe had a talk in the kitchen - all closed up for a serious private conversation. Looking at Nathan jr. He's scared of all the things that Kasumi told him. Moments later, his dad called him out to the front yard.
He came out with a wasted look.
"Son, what's the matter?" the dad asked him.
"..." He said nothing in return.
To know what Kasumi told him - she asked if he's ready to marry at his young age of 23? 'You barely even know how to deal with such yet'Kasumi told Nathan jr. which left him confused and afraid for some reason. Come to think of it, all that Kasumi said was true. Even with that thought in mind, he went to his dad to ask why he was called out.
To change his mindset,' Nathe saw the Ford GT out of the garage. "Uh, dad? What's your GT doing out here?"
"What? Is it a crime?"
"Well... no but... it's been a year since you brought that car out."
"You've got a point there son. I just want to see if this old baby still has what it takes to be better than the old GT40..."
Later on, Tomo came out of the house and joined in. "Hey Nathe, Mr. Archibal; good morning I was wondering if..."
"Oh, Tomo good morning." Nathan Sr. greeted him.
"what's the matter...?"
"I was wondering if you guys saw Kitami and the other two guys..."
"Those three?" Nathan Sr. clarified. "I saw them drive off to the top of the mountain pass in Kitami's Mustang GT."
"Probably a test run if I'm right."
"I see. Well, thanks." He runs to his GT-R to check a few things.
"you know son, I change my mind. I'll just let it out for a few moments under the cool sunlight."
"Okay. (cool he says) I'll do a few rounds of golf at the back." Nathe said as he leaves his father.
Inside the house, Kasumi drinks one of her favorite fruit drinks. A Strawberry Mifuelle shake. Sakura joins her. "You seem carefree." Sakura said.
"Well, I figured if I used the book against Nathan's childish problem he'd snap out of it. It worked. Thanks for lending me the book."
"No problem. I knew someday that would come in handy." Sakura chuckled saying that.

At the local mountains near the Archibal Mansion, The sound of a highly modified SOHC V-8 roars down the pass. Traffic was minimal and the car swerved from bend to bend. Kitami is still adjusting to the way the Mustang responses to his footwork and driving ability. The car is still a monster to be frank. The tail just kept tripping into a slide. Kitami kept on countersteering so much that it wore out a lot out of his tires. A clinking sound from the gearbox as Kitami shifts from gear 2 to gear 3, adds up to the morning 'holler' that the Mustang "GT-R" is making. Hiei and Ryusen are waiting at the base. Moments later, the Mustang is on the home stretch. It passed the two guys with a menacing breeze and Kitami braked hard into a stop. The tires screeched so hard that it made a 50 meter mark on the road. The tires were steaming. This never happened before to Kitami. It must've had something to do with the major drifts and 'maniac' revving of the car, as he would describe it. This car won't do with just ordinary tires, unlike my X-8 or my ST205. Something has to be done. I wonder if Nathe has something in his garage that could help me. With that said, he calls out to the two guys and heads back to the Mansion, hoping to find a solution to his Mustang problem.

Time flied so fast that it's now midnight. Everyone is asleep again; but there was something ominous around the mansion. Somebody was missing and there are a couple of skid marks near the driveway. A smooth engine roar engulfs the mountain road near the mansion; it's fading as the sound lengthens.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jan 10 2009, 06:37 PM
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Nov 21 2008, 06:04 AM


The R34's chosen one
**********

Group: Advanced Members
Posts: 804
Member No.: 27,787
Joined: Dec 13th 2007
Location: Makati, Philippines





there are no updates as of now on the story. A bit busy at the moment with the Kyushi Story. Don't worry. I'm asking my other co-story writers on the next chapter; so don't fret. For now... there will be some picture updates of the previous chapters. Enjoy them for the moment. grin2.gif
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Nov 27 2008, 05:55 AM


The R34's chosen one
**********

Group: Advanced Members
Posts: 804
Member No.: 27,787
Joined: Dec 13th 2007
Location: Makati, Philippines





Chapter 41 - The Reprove and breakdown

Kitami approaches Nathan Sr. who's watching Television at the Living room. Nathan Sr. is watching a documentary video of the Le Mans of 1970 as he admires the Ford GT40 of the olden times. Seconds later, Kitami interrupts Nathan Sr.'s reminiscing moment...
"Um... sir... if I may ask..."
Nathan Sr. pauses the video and faces Kitami who shows a depressed look.
"What is it my boy?"
"I tried to use the information you gave me about the whole Pegasus thing but it seems that I still don't understand what you mean by it. Yesterday afternoon, I took my Mustang out again and nothing much changed. It's still driving monstrously. The tires of my Mustang can't hold on much. As soon as I stop, the tires were steaming as I looked at it." Kitami uttered.
Nathan Sr. crossed his arms and gave Kitami a serious look.
"You're not that good behind the noggin, eh?"
"What's that supposed to mean, sir? (Is he insulting my intelligence?)"
"You can't find the balance of your car. The only way you could manage your car without balance is through excessive drifting. As your car is heavy in weight, it's really killing your tires. You get what I am saying? You don't have the balance. That's why your tires are quickly running down." Nathan Sr. said.
"The balance? Is it that important?"
"It is, my boy. Drifts are necessary only at the last moment, where you're bound to lose grip. It's a racer's last resort. If you use it at the very beginning in a car such as the Mustang GT, then you're bound to be caught up or worse - crash. If you still can't get the balance; don't dare to ask me again. Come back to me once you got the balance right, okay?" Nathan Sr. Walks away leaving Kitami in shure doubt.
As Nathan Sr. opens the Kitchen door, he sees Tomo working with the workers. He approaches him to have a quick chat.

"I see that you're serious with your career, eh?"
"That's right sir. If I don't at least do this, I'll become rusty in the industry."
"I get your point, son." Tomo snatches a quarter of a cabbage and begins to chop it. With mayonnaise infront of him, it seems that he's planning to make coleslaw.
"Tell me; what do you value more: your career as a racer or this career?"
Tomo freezes in the middle of his chopping and ponders over the question.
It was total silence. Later on, he spoke. "Well... I like both..."
"I'd have to disagree with you there, boy."
"Why? Is there something wrong with loving two careers in life?"
"Nothing but, do you have the balance between the two?"
Tomo didn't say a word.
user posted image
"Give me the keys to your car?"
"What for?"
"Just give it." Nathan Sr. is serious. He's demanding the keys. Tomo is about to give him the same look but is in fear as he glares at Nathan Sr.'s eyes. He gives in to the look and gives it to Nathan Sr.
"Starting right now, you can't touch your GT-R until I call the shots. If you can show me that you have the balance between this life career of yours and your racing career then I'll see what I can do. Concentrate there and prove me wrong."
Nathan Sr. left once more. Tomo was at a loss but it seems the loss he has now would grow bigger in the future. What will he do without the GT-R's keys? How can he hone his skills if he has the time? How will he face Daiki after the Vancouver Touring car race? What does Nathan archibal Sr. have in store for him?

Hours later, the news got to the rest of the group down at the garage where Kitami is tuning his Mustang. "What!? Tomo was reproved off his car?" Kasumi exclaimed. "No way; how will he polish up his driving?" Sakura wondered. Yes. Everyone can't believe what they heard. Tomo was the best among the group and with him without his car, they're no more than a couple of newbies in the area. Everyone relied on Tomo's support and with him not on his natural condition, the team's career is as good as dead.
Ryusen, on one corner of the Mustang, analyzed Tomo's situation. As soon as he got the idea, somewhat, he said "Let it be. We just have to put faith in Tomo." Hearing that, the team became completely silent. No one spoke a word after what Ryusen has said.
"What if Tomo can't handle this?" Kasumi asked.
"Then, let's leave it to God and see what happens."
No one but Sakura and Kasumi disagreed with that statement.
"I won't accept the leave-it-to-god attitude... I know Tomo can do this." Both girls said in their minds. To their dismay though, days passed and Tomo can't help but look at his GT-R everytime he's not cooking nor in the kitchen. He just glances at the GT-R. "What will I do? This feeling isn't new to me or anything but if this keeps on going, then I'll be as slow as I was in my S14 years ago..." Tomo uttered. He sat on the GT-R's hood thinking about what Nathan Sr. has in mind.

"Come to think of it, where are the Father and son duo at this hour? They're not at home... maybe they're out on another film shooting or something. The Dad did say that I should prepare dinner by 6. And they're coming home at 5:45 which is an hour from now. I'd better get my butt moving..."
He stood up and headed for the Kitchen. One last time he stares at his GT-R. The Nismo Z-tune front Bumper, hood and Mine's rims are the features that his GT-R holds. He thought to himself, even with a car like this... If I'm not as good as my car is, then... I'm not fit to be Daiki's companion at this team... He walks to the kitchen with his head down.

Sakura and Kitami did a few runs at the nearby mountain road. Sakura drifts through a corner, nailing the apex in her red GT-R34 as Kitami equalizes with a parallel drift. Flames bursted out of the two cars as they prepare for the next corner - a right J turn. Both cars were positioned at the outside and slowly make their way inside. Sakura grips through the turn as Kitami's Mustang slowly clears the corner at the same manner. The mustang though was understeering and as Kitami nudges a bit on the gas, the rear trips. He immediately countersteers and regains the car's balance. The gap widens and Kitami pounds on the accelerator as the straightway is up. Whilst on the straight, Kitami checks the grip meter screen on top of the airconditioning next to the gauges. He was able to make it out with three quarters of grip remaining. He still wasn't satisfied. He wanted it to reach at least half. He still hasn't got the balance that Nathan Sr. is talking about.

Sakura steps out of her GT-R and wipes the sweat off her face. Kitami approaches her and begs for one more round. "Eh? Wasn't that enough for today? I mean, we're at it for the past 5 rounds and you still can't get the balance of your car?" Sakura asked.
"I know it's too much, but could you at least race me one more time? I need to make it reach half of the grip left. I beg you, one last round." Sakura just gave a sigh and said "Alright. One more round. Then we head back, I'm starving."
"Thanks." Kitami said as he boards his Mustang.
"What? We need to wait here again!?" Hiei asked.
"Just one last time, Hiei-chan. We'll just do one more round." Sakura answered.
"Oh, alright! I'll just time your run like I used to do. Ryusen, you time this time."
Hiei leaves and gets a soda from a nearby vending machine.
"Ready for one more, Kasumi?"
"alright. One more. If I scream; sorry in advance if I freak out over your driving."
"Forgiven. Now, let's go. I can't wait for what Tomo is making for dinner." Sakura shifts the car to gear one and presses the gas real hard. The red GT-R went to a 180 degree spin. Kitami followed as the red Skyline boosts out of the finish line.

Tomo was in high pressure in the Archibal Kitchen. Even the other chefs he's working with are pressuring him. Everyone is moving at a high pace. Tomo, because of his current state of mind is working at a pace half of that of the rest. He's working on a couple of monkfish fillets. He rolled them up on all spice and Paprika and pan fried them in a hot Saute pan with olive oil. Pretty easy? Well, Tomo's keeping an eye for the right timing - not too early as it'll still be raw and not too late as it'll burn and dry up. He has already burned 2 fillets earlier. One of the Chefs next to him is working on the Citrus Vinaigrette while another one is sauteeing potatoes and asparagus in butter. The head chef is calling the shots and he's like a processor as he talks. "Guest-Chef hurry with the fish you there is the vinaigrette done how are the desserts doing is the chocolate holding its shape it better be!!" He's talking straightforward; no stops, no periods. He's like a stopwatch timing everyone every second. "You guys got a few minutes before we start serving and guest chef the fillets the fillets!!" Tomo was spacing out a moment ago until the head chef calls his attention. He nearly burned 5 fillets there but he was able to save them.
The head chef approaches him and says "stop that. Take a break first. You can't work at this rate."
"No chef. I need to finish this. I only got 2 sets of 5 left. I can do this, don't worry."
"Easy with the stubborness Kid. If that stubborness gets to your cooking, who knows what Sir Nathan would say about it. Okay fellas double time!!" He's right. Tomo's not giving his effort at all. Why? What Nathan senior told him is still bugging his mind as he works. He tries to concentrate but he momentarily sees his GT-R at the back of his head. He's sweating as he continues his work. A simple task yet Tomo's having a hard time doing it at a face pace which is regular in a kitchen brigade.

edited: (as of 11/28/2008)

Episode 11 - Elements of Devotion

Chapter 42 - Priorities

A weeks stay at the Archibal Mansion has passed by and Tomo never had the chance to practice in his car. It is murder for him. He can't stand it. He loves his cooking career but he loves his car and his driving career equally. Without the other one, he'd fall apart. He's sitting next to the Kitchen door, spaced out as he blindly stares at the scenery. He's completely out of it.

One of the line cooks noticed this and went to the head chef. "Sir, don't you think that Sir Nathan ought to return the boy's car keys? If his car is that important to him, it'll be unjust to rip him off that passion as well. What do you think, eh?"
"I have no say in this at all. I can't approach Sir Nathan about something like this. This is between him and Sir Nathan. We can't interfere. If the kid pulls this off or not, Sir Nathan will give the final call."
"Can't we at least encourage him to work harder even without..."
"Like I said, Grillardin We can't interfere. I can only approach him if he's not working pretty well."
During the conversation of the 2 cooks the rest of the kitchen brigade joined in the discussion. Later on, Tomo stood up, still with the spaced out look.
The rest of the cooks and chefs hid behind the back door.
"Do you think he heard us?"
"SSShhh!!"
"Where's he going?"
"I said ssshhhh!!"
Tomo removed his apron, hanged it where he used to hang it; along with his towels and training skull cap and heads out of the Kitchen.
He slowly walks around the Mansion, in a completely depressed look. The rest of the maids and servants who noticed him wondered why. Did the Master do something to him? They started to feel sorry for their visitor.
Tomo decided to go up and sleep for the rest of the day. His friends are out doing runs in the nearby mountain roads. Only he was left in the Mansion. The Father and Son are also out. No one knows whether it's business related or something. One thing's for sure that the Ford GT and Viper are out of the Garage.
Before Tomo could open the guests' room door, his pants were being heeled by somebody. It was a little girl. Probably one of Nathe's siblings; around 4 years old. A cute, Goldilocks like girl with blue eyes, wearing a gown-like dress. You could even consider her as a doll. She was crying. "Mister, could you help me, please? My big brother and Father are out. Please help me!"
user posted image
Tomo's depressed, spaced out look soon faded and he begins to show a more compassionate look as he stared at the child's big blue eyes. He bends down to the kid and asks: "What do you need help with, kid?"
"My sister... I can't find my sister..."
"What does she look like?"
"She's got smooth lines and wears a shiny pink..."
The kid kept on talking as Tomo forms, in his mind, a teenage girl who resembles Kasumi...
"...and she's got Shiny wheels...!"
"And any more t-... what?"
"Shiny wheels!"
Tomo covers his face with his palm. "Idiot I am. She must be referring to a toy car or something. Okay where did you last saw "her"?"
"I'll show you, mister." They went to the little girl's room. A typical girly like room with dolls one one corner, a cute bed on the other corner and all that. Something unusual though next to the door - a Diorama of their house where she plays with her dolls. "Where'd you last place your toy?"
"Over there." She pointed to the teddy bears at one corner. Tomo, one by one, removes the bears and before they know it, Tomo found the car. It was a pink Honda AP1 S2000. The second generation kind. And it had a few changes. It almost seemed real.
"Is it this one?"
"Marie!! There you are!!" The girl nabbed the toy car off Tomo's palm and hugs it dearly. "What's so special with that car? You're a girl. You should be more on dolls and teddies..." The little girl gave Tomo a pouting face. "You're mean, mister. My dad made this for me."
"Oh! Sorry. I didn't know. How long was it with you?"
"Mommy said ever since the day I was born."
"Where is your mother?"
"She's out in the back near the cars." the little girl jumps to the window where you can see a good view of the garage all the way to the green fields and the flower garden. "See?" She points to a Blond haired woman, in her late thirties, picking flowers near the cars. As she picked some, her eyes were on Tomo's Nissan Skyline. What for? What is in his GT-R that caught the attention of someone who seems to not care about cars in a detailed aspect? "That's your mother? (Must probably be as old as the Sr.)" As the woman tilted her head, it showed a very young faced woman With teal eyes and smooth blond hair. "(OMG! She's young!!)..." Tomo was speechless while the little girl intimately stared at how Tomo looked at her mother.
"Come on, Mister. I'll introduce you to my mom" she called out to Tomo as she skipped to the hallway. Tomo just followed.

[FLOWER GARDEN NEAR GARAGE 1:45 p.m.]

"Mommy! Mommy! I want you to meet someone." The little girl called out to her mother.
"What is it dear. By the way, do you like daisies or dandelions?"
"Later mom! I want you to meet him."
As she got a glimpse of Tomo, she told her daughter. "Mommy knows him already."
"Really? What's his name?"
"His name is Tomo. Now run along baby. Mommy needs to put these in a vase."
Tomo looks at the girl as she plays on the green fields, like her mom told her.
"Is this your car?" The mother asked.
"Ah, yes ma'am. By the way... I think we didn't meet. But it seems you know me."
"My husband told me about you."
"May I know your name?"
As the flowers are starting to whither, she says "Let's talk later. Is it alright if I ask for your help with these? I don't want these to die..."
"Okay ma'am." Tomo said as he helps her with the flowers.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jan 10 2009, 05:50 PM
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Dec 3 2008, 01:26 AM


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Chapter 43 - A Dazzling Melody

Nathan Sr.'s wife arranged the flowers she picked and placed them in a wonderful looking vase filled with ice water. Tomo helped a bit in the flower arrangement. "Thank you so much." She said to Tomo.
"It's no problem at all Mrs... uh... ma'am."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you my name. My Apologies. I am Dorothy. Nathan's wife. It's pleased to be talking to you at this moment, Mr. Kitsumoro." She bends her head down in respect for Tomo being Japanese.
"Please, ma'am. Lift your head up. I appreciate it." Tomo said as he panicks in embarassment.
"Would you like to have some tea? You must have worked so hard in the kitchen."
"Thanks a lot. Well I was planning to take a nap until your young daughter came up to me."
"Margarette? She's been asking me to help find her toy but I don't have the time. My Husband and Nathe are always out too. She rarely gets to talk to the rest of us. It's often me when I at least have the time."
"Must be hard... for her I mean at this very young age."
"Oftentimes her only playmates are the maids when they come and clean her room. That enough, she's happy." One of the servants came with some tea and muffins. A sweet fruity aroma embraces Tomo's nose. "The sweet smell of oranges surrounds me."
"That's because it's made with orange zest." The maid says.
"It happens to be one of my favorites. Please try it." Dorothy claimed.
While Tomo takes a bite out of the muffin, Dorothy sips some tea from her cup. "So, how do you like the ambiance here?" she asked. "The place is wonderful. I can't believe Sir Nathan has managed to get a lot here. It's like being in a wonderful flower garden not too far from Vancouver. It reminds me a lot of home."
"If I may ask, where in Japan were you from?"
"I'm from Gunma. By the way, the muffin tastes great."
"Glad you like it. Gunma eh? That place has a wonderful ambiance as well."
"Have you been there?"
"Before. The place is peaceful."
"Not exactly. At night, the prefecture is something else. It's like being in Tokyo." With that said Tomo sips some tea out of his cup. He continues to describe the difference of Gunma by day and Gunma by night. Dorothy was able to understand as she admits that she did go to one of the mountains one night. Moments later, she changed the topic from what's Gunma like to What's with Nathan Sr.?
"Before we go on any further with this conversation, I'd like to give to you my apologies for the actions of my husband."
"Oh, no no. You don't need to apologize. I'm actually treating Sir Nathan's 'command' to me as a test."
"I think it's best that you know the reason behind my husband's actions." Dorothy's eyes look serious as she tells Tomo about Nathan Archibal sr.
"My Husband, he can tell the presence of a person specializing in driving techniques. He can tell if a person needs improvement or not. To tell you the truth, my husband is actually doing you a favor. He likes to help people out but in a way that seems annoying to his recepients."
"Well, that's unusual in a way... If I may ask, what does Sir Nathan's ability to see driving ability have to do with his identity as a hollywood star and real estate broker?"
"None. It's his secret 'profession' that only we in the family circle know.He even got my son, Nathan Junior involved in his so called adventure. Despite this, he keeps it as a sidestory of his life."
Tomo leans back on his seat and thinks of what Dorothy said to him moments ago.
"Now I see... It's his way of seeing if my driving ability is acceptable to his standards. What car does he drive any way?"
"I'm sorry. That I cannot tell you."
Tomo just gives a sigh. He takes his tea cup and sips on it again, thinking, at the back of his mind, how to cope with this situation he's in.
"But I could tell you how he drives. It was an experience that is still tatooed on my mind." Dorothy suggested.
They placed their tea cups back on their saucers before she started telling another story.
"The last time he took me for a drive was no more than 4 years ago.

QUOTE

The flashback takes place in a highway at the United States, a few kilometers away from the Canadian Border. A couple looks at the bay at Seattle as they lean on the hood of a Metallic Red, black striped Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe. Nathan Archibal Sr. looked a lot younger, obviously. His hair wasn't that grayish. It was still having that burnt aumber tone - the same tone that his son's hair has right now. Dorothy looked a lot different from today. Right now, her hair was rebonded. Straight with blondish hair tone. 5 years back, her hair's still blond in color but it was curly. It suited her more. Both of them are just wearing their casual clothes. Obviously, they're still married. Nathan Junior is close to finishing college. Margarette just became 6 months old. Nothing went wrong between Nathan Sr. and Dorothy after nearly 20 years in marriage.

"You know, honey?" "What is it, love?" "Do you think this car is a good choice?" Nathan asked.
"Oh, come on, love. You're still at it with these things? I mean, Ever since we were dating 3 decades ago, you're still into this stuff. I mean, what's important to you, your career as a star and a real estate broker? or this?"
"I told you a million times, hon, I don't want you to be over cautious about my well being. That's why I placed my choice of driving to be third in my life, my careers second and you as my top 1." Dorothy blushed from hearing that. "How would I have forgotten that. I'm so careless with words..."
"Heh, don't worry. I forgive you honey."
"Well, since you put it that way, I honestly have no idea what this car could do. What are your plans on it?"
"I am planning to give this to Nathe once he comes home after graduation."
"A graduation gift? Are you really confident enough that he could drive this?"
"Of course, he has that good ol' Archibal blood. The blood that came from his Father's dying passion."
"As far as you're concerned, I know that there's only one way for us to see what it can do. You ready, love?"
Nathan Sr. looks at the long stretch of highway road. It was blank. Not many drive at this interstate. He sits in the driver's seat and checks the GPS. Not many obstacles in the way of his test run. Just a few Sunday drivers, here and there but it's enough for Nathan to 'use' as a test course. "Get in." He said to Dorothy. "Let's dance!"
He turns on the ignition of the menacing V-10 engine. Dorothy and Nathan fastened their seatbelts and are ready to take on the road infront of them. A gust of wind passes by the Viper, that is positioned at one side of the highway. He revs the car to the 6000 rpm redline and immediately floors it by the time he shifts the car to gear 1. The rear tires spun like crazy, and a huge burnout engulfed the rear end of the car. As it makes its way to gear 2, the car boosts to a higher pace. They passed the other cars as if they were standing still. The viper soon reached speeds of 120 miles. 130. 140. 150. Then comes a hairpin. Nathan slammed on the brakes. The inertial movement of their bodies pressed forward, only to be supressed by the seatbelts. Nathan maximizes the steering radius of the Viper to the left and pounds on the gas causing the car's rear to trip. But there was one unusual instance going on. He didn't bother to countersteer. As soon as they made it halfway through the corner, Nathan accurately taps the gas press by press managing the tire wear and wheel spin. They cleared the corner in a fascinating 92 mph and is facing the next right hand bend. Every corner they come across, Nathan would simply do the same thing that he did at the first one. As they reach home, Nathan brought the car to a stop. The rear tires were completely fine. A little worn out but it's still okay. They stepped out of the car. Dorothy didn't get a seizure. She must be use to Nathan's way of driving. Nathan smiled as he stared at the Viper. "Our son will love this."

"And that explains why Nathe has the Viper..." Tomo said as he crossed his arms.
"He has a secret to that way of driving." Dorothy followed. "He acutally practices in the snow with cars like this. He even took out his personal car out the same way and improved drastically."
"I know you wouldn't tell me what car it is but at least may I know where its engine is placed?"
"It's in the back of the car and the power is immense."
"A mid ship eh..."
"Is that what you call it?"
"Yes ma'am. Unlike a normal car, a mid ship car has it's engine at the back to gain a more or less 50-50 weight distribution of the car giving it better cornering than that of a normal car with its engine at the front. Um... I'm sorry if I'm talking too much like this. I can't help it."
"No no. It's alright. I understand. Nathan used to give me these 101's that he call most of the time years back."
"I see. So in your own words, how would you describe his driving?"
"How would I describe it?" Dorothy looks at the scenery as she thinks. The flowers waving her "hi", the birds nesting on a tree, the butterflies swarming around the flowers, helped her think of how to describe her husband's driving."
"Hold on." She calls for one of the maids and requests something. The maid leaves and gets what Dorothy asked. A minute passed and she came back with a case of somesort. A violin case, holding a special violin. A stradivarius.
"Tomo, this is how I describe my husband's driving."
Dorothy takes the violin and positions it as how most violinists would. She takes the rod and starts to play a song.
SPOILER

user posted image
Once she stops playing, Tomo was in a state of shock. He was able to picture in his mind a violinist at work and compares it to Nathan's driving. Driving in the snow. It was as if he's making an art. The line he took, in Tomo's mind, was perfect. "So that's how Nathan drives. Unbelievable." He said in a soft tone. Dorothy looks at Tomo to see if he's alright or was he mesmerized by the song. "You alright, eh?"
Tomo soon got to his senses. He holds his head. "Yes. I'm fine. That piece was something."
"Did you like it? It was the only way for me to describe my husband's style."
"It was lovely. You're really good at the violin aren't you?"
"It's nothing really. I do this whenever I'm bored at home, my boys are somewhere else and Margarette is sleeping."
Tomo stood up and decides to go back to the Kitchen.
"Thank you, Mrs. Archibal. Now I know; I don't need to doubt myself anymore. I'll show your husband that I can surpass his expectations."
"Please, call me Dorothy. Afterall, with you guys around the house, things are becoming livelier. I even considered you guys as part of the family."
"Thank you for that too... Dorothy."
Tomo walks away and looks at his watch. He needs to get ready. Dinner is coming. He and the rest need to prepare ASAP.
Dorothy looks at the GT-R one more time. Her smiling face soon soaked down to an emotionless face. "Will he be able to prove my husband wrong? Only a few have done so. Many have failed. Will he be the fourth one to surpass his expectations? I sure hope he knows what he's doing for I know what will happen after this." she said to herself. What could she mean by this?

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jan 10 2009, 05:52 PM
Meteor
Posted: Dec 4 2008, 08:10 AM


Were you expecting something else?
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I'm liking Speed Legend Intermission far more than than this story, but things have turned interesting again.

And what Kasumi gave Nathan Jr. was a slap, not a facepalm. A facepalm is when you put your palm to your own face.
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Dec 7 2008, 03:42 PM


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Glad you like the intermission too. I'm trying to equal things up here - making the other one interesting like the other one and so forth...
Anyway, here's MOAR!!

--------------------------------

Chapter 44 - Familiarity

Everybody came home before the sun completely sets. Dinner was ready. It's now 7:30 p.m. and everyone gathered at the dining area. A whole variety of food was placed infront of them: Pan fried spiced monkfish fillets with citrus vinaigrette, Deep fried Polenta, Bacon and cheese quiche lorraine, American style Beef Steak, Sashimi and for dessert, fruit & nut chocolate fondue. Sakura was trembling in excitement over the food they're about to eat. Well, mostly on the fondue part. Hiei and Ryusen took photos of the dinner table before they settled in. Kitami was talking with Nathan sr. about how he nearly got the balance he was talking about. Nathe was busy talking to his manager by phone. Kasumi went to the kitchen to check up on Tomo. As she peeps through the round window, she sees Tomo intensely working hard with the rest of the kitchen crew. "I guess he's adjusting well; even without me around. That's good."

Dorothy had everyone take their seats and gave the opening statement before eating. "As you could see, the food tonight is completely different. It's a mixture of flavors from around the world. Honestly, this is planned by our house head chef and Tomo, our guest chef; so please, enjoy." With that said, everyone gave an applause. The guests took their portion of the meal, except for Ryusen who took in double of his own weight. By 8:15, they were done and they went straight to their rooms, getting ready for bed. Tomo on the other hand is still busy preparing which looks like tomorrow's morning and afternoon tea - a chocolate chip cookie dough and a sugar cornmeal cookie dough. He's currently wrapping them up in cling wrap. But he's not done yet. Everyone in the kitchen left for their rooms except for him. He's still busy preparing the meals for tomorrow; getting whatever meats to use tomorrow marinated and whatever ingredients, segregated. He volunteered to do this on behalf of the head chef. Two hours passed and he's still not done, working on the lunch ingredients. It looks as if a slab of pork is being spiced and wrapped as well. If my guess is right, it could be a German recipe he's working on - German pork knuckle. The head chef said that it's the master's favorite lunch for he has been to Germany recently. In connection with Tomo's intentions, I think he's trying to impress Nathan sr. so that he could drive again. Another hour passed and he's still not done. He's cleaning up the place. Mopping the floors, sanitizing the pots and pans, double checking the knives; all that all by himself. Moments later, Dorothy went down to get a glass of warm milk and witnessed Tomo's perseverance. She said to herself "I think he's overdoing it a bit. But I guess for this moment, it's alright. He needs to do this." Tomo felt a presence as if he's being watched. "Am I being watched?" he uttered. He looked at the back and saw mistress Dorothy by the door. She lets her in and they had a chat over some warm milk. "You know, I think you need to go to bed. Some of your friends have slept already. I am getting worried that something might happen to you if you don't sleep well."
"Don't worry, ma'am Dorothy. I'm quite used to this." Tomo said as he assures her by holding her right hand, which is next to the glass of milk. "I hope you are sure of it."

At Kitami's room, he still can't get to sleep. He tried nudging from end to end of his bed and still can't sleep. He covered his head with his pillow until he nearly suffocated. "Arrrgh! Why can't I sleep!?" He yelled. He decides to go down to ask for a glass of milk as well. At the stairs, she saw Dorothy. "Good evening ma'am." he said courteously. "Oh, Good evening Kitami." She answered back. "Your friend Tomo's down at the kitchen cleaning up. If you need a glass of milk there's one he placed at the dining table."
"Oh, really? I'd better thank him. Well, goodnight ma'am." Dorothy nodded her head and makes her way up to her room.
As soon as Kitami took the glass of milk and drank it all, Tomo just came out of the kitchen completely wasted. "Uggh" he moaned. "I'm so tired. I gotta rest. I need to do this to get my R back."
"So this is what is all about?" Kitami asked him out of the blue.
"Whoa! Kitami is that you?" Tomo's eyes are quite blurry at the moment and he can't recognize who was there.
"You can't tell?"
"At first glance, I thought you were a macho dancer or something."
"What are you-... hey!?"
"I'm kidding alright? Sheesh, calm down. I'm going to bed." Tomo said in a sleepy tone.
"Fine. Just don't let me catch you sleeping infront of your room just like when we were in high school, you hear me?" Kitami reminded him.
As Tomo got up the stairs, he noticed something as soon as he got to the flooring of the second hall: Sakura's keys to her GT-R. Tomo could tell by the Hello Kitty Key chain that is attached to it. "I'd might as well give this back to her." Tomo thought. It took him a while to think.
A minute of thinking past. Kitami's coming up the stairs. Tomo silently panicked. "What to do, what to do... if Kitami sees me with this then... Agh! I don't wanna think about it! Where to hide?" He shouted in his mind until he found the large indoor plant near the second floor library room. It was big enough for someone to stand behind it and not to be noticed. Tomo took the opportunity and stood behind it as Kitami walks tipsily back to his room. He closed the door. Tomo gave a sign of relief and stares again at Sakura's car keys.
"D'oh, it has been nearly half a month's worth of stay here with the Archibals, where my friends are out finishing up their techniques and me stuck in the kitchen. I can't miss this chance." He whispered to himself. "But... I kept my word that I won't touch the GT-R until Nathan Sr. gives the signal. But... Sakura also has one... and I have the key to it... the key to liberate me from this cage that I'm used to - the kitchen. Now's my chance."
Tomo was anxious to get out and drive Sakura's car even for a short while.
As he walked down the stairs, he taught to himself: "wait a minute, why would Sakura leave her keys outside her own room? Hmph. must've dropped it as she tiredly went to bed or something. It's a typical case." He sneaked up to the back door. He's halfway through the long main hall of the mansion until.
"Are you seriously going to go against your own words?" A voice from behind him said.
user posted image
Tomo slowly tilted his head to see who it was.
"Dorothy? Kasumi? Little Margarette? Mommy?"
As Tomo got sight of who it was, it was Sakura in her evening dusters.
"Damn. Busted." He uttered to himself.
There was something odd though about Sakura - she looks as if she's half asleep.
As Tomo looked down, Tomo shrivelled in embarassment. "Please, cover yourself up" he said.
Sakura did just so; but she wasn't embarassed much over it. Her face partly went red hearing that as she fixed her clothes up.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I saw your keys next to your door and as I looked at it, I couldn't help myself. Alright? Here, take it. And let's go back to bed."
"What are you talking about?"
"Ha?"
"Not so loud. I'm already doing you a favor here." She whispered. "I'll allow you tonight on one condition. I come along with you. So that things won't be that obvious okay? I'll tell the guard at the guardhouse near the gate that I'll just go and buy some milk or something then we trade places, got it?"
"O thank you Sakura, I lov-"
"Less talking more sneaking, got it?"
The two of them sneaked towards the back door. They rode Sakura's GT-R and turned it on. Sakura nimbly tapped on the gas in order to not make any excessive engine noise. She lets the idling of the engine lead them to the gate. The guard on duty woke up as a couple of headlights came up close. He opened his flashlight and saw Sakura driving it.
"Um... I am... just buying some milk. A bit health conscious here. I'm gonna go to the convenience store to see if my favorite brand is there."
"Oh. Okay." The guard silently opened the gate, lets them through, closes it and goes back to sleeping on the job.

Kilometers away from the mansion, Tomo and Sakura traded places. Tomo happens to be scrunching up in the back, covered in blankets in order not to be noticed. Sakura keeps a few blankets if ever there were moments that she needs to catch up on her sleep and does it in the car. Tomo accidentally witnessed one of Sakura's brassieres there but he didn't bother to tell her that. He knew what'll come next if he does so.
"There we go. No need to thank me, Tomo-chan."
"Tell me Sakura, why are you doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Helping me go against me and Nathan Sr's conditions?"
"I was concerned about you. I knew that if you don't get a feel of a car at all, you will collapse no matter how determined you'd become the next day, You'll get relapses and mistakes on the way. I don't want it to happen to you. That's why I'm doing this."
"Really?" Tomo said as he blushed. "T-Thanks a lot."
"Don't mention it. Remember we only got until 2 a.m. on this. We have to get back before 2. It's 12:25 now. Let's go."
Tomo shifts the red GT-R to gear one and slowly presses the gas. The car smoothly gets out of the service road and into the main highway.
Tomo took a right turn at the second junction. He checked the time: 12:35 a.m. Moments later, he got to an area where it reminds him of one of the passes where he and Lucas Scott raced. The layout of the area, as he makes his way up, resembles the passes he's been on when he was at USA. As he reaches the peak, he turns the car around and stops. BOth of them got out to see the landscape pictured.
A lot of Neon lights flashing from afar. A huge round light in the middle and a blimp floating above it. They could tell because of the small red light blinking as it makes its way around the big light. "That's the staduim at Seattle." Sakura mentioned. She's still wearing her dusters but she wore her denim jacket on top of it. "Who ever thought that its lights are that powerful. Must be a huge concert or something going on." Tomo commented. Tomo's still wearing his chef's uniform that night.
Sakura glances at her watch. A rolex GT-4 golden studded watch. It was a gift from Daiki, Hiroya and Shimizu for that race at Infineon for doing a good job. "we better head back now. It's almost 1 a.m. Start practicing here. This is where Kitami and I practiced days back with the rest of the group. Here's my personal record." Sakura takes a small piece of paper from one of the pockets of her denim jacket. It was all crunched up and Sakura unwrapped it open. It says 2:14.658 - that is Sakura's time record with Kitami on one session. "Think you could beat that in my car?" She asked with a grin. "I'll try. But I won't guarantee that I could beat it."
"You don't have to obliterate my record. Just do what you can do. And we better hurry. Time isn't on our side, you hear?"
"Gotcha there. Let's get in and start."
Tomo re-ignites the GT-R It sounds as if it's holding a bigger turbine. The muffler backfires successively, like that of some WRC cars. A huge hiss came out of the car as Tomo releases his foot off the gas at certain moments. He's ready. He shifts from Neutral to gear 1. He taps the gas and holds his foot on it afterwards bringing the car from a smooth start off to a serious run. He shifts gears as if it's an ordinary thing. Letting go of the gas, pressing the clutch, shifting to the next gear and swapping the position of his feet, it's a feeling he missed so much. Being far from the cockpit has caused Tomo's feet to slightly tremble. Sakura looks at him and gives a cute smile. "Glad I can help you out at moments were you're desperately in need of it." She mumbled. "Did you say something?" Tomo asked.
"Oh, nothing."
The first corner's up - an immediate tight hairpin pattern staring off with a right hairpin. Tomo grips on the steering wheel much harder. He removes the gas, shifts down and presses the clutch and brake together and makes his turn. The car slightly understeered but his entrance was too general which made him clear the corner just right. He lost a huge amount of speed though, upon entry.
He shifts up and simultaneously presses and lifts both the clutch and gas pedal. Flames bursted again from the muffler. And a huge hissing sound out of the turbines. The turbine gauge points at an area in between 1.5 and 2.0. As they shift gears, their bodies leaned forward a bit yet are supported by the seatbelts.

Tomo makes his way through 1/3 of the pass, He's doing just fine. To Sakura, his driving is a bit too common today. Too standard but she lets it pass. She knows that because Tomo was out too much on the kitchen and not out at all on the driver's seat, Tomo didn't get use to his own driving style and copied a basic, orthodox pattern. He passed a few hairpins and stuck onto the inside lane nearly causing the car's rear to skid. The ATTESA ET-S works up and corrects the tire position, thus regaining grip and no skidding.
Tomo looks behind him and concludes - "someone's coming from behind"
"hmm?"
"Somebody's coming. Do you think you want to let it pass?"
The car behind them suddenly got close to the 34's rear bumper and signals his high beam at Tomo.
"It looks like it wants to challenge me down the hill. What should I do?"
"I think you should..."
"let's race then!"
"I was gonna say pull to the side and let him pass but...oh well..."
Tomo pounds on the gas and tries to make a gap between Sakura's car and the car behind them. The car can't be identified completely except for the 2 figures that Tomo's able to see: a couple of headlights, the shape of a thin almond in an angle and a yellow and green metallic circle at the middle. Even Tomo has no clue about the car behind him. They passed 2 successive hairpins. Tomo checks the mirror and saw no car from behind. He gives a sigh of relief. After that sigh, it reappeared again. It shocked TOmo and Sakura out of their seats.
"Who is this guy?"
"I don't know Sakura. But there's one thing bugging me. The line he's taking... I think I've seen it before. Back at home."
The mysterious clubman car from behind slowly decreased the gap. It's closing in to the red GT-R that attempts to pull away.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Mar 25 2009, 07:00 AM
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Dec 10 2008, 04:57 PM


The R34's chosen one
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Finally, a new chapter! I'm actually on the groove here and got the synopsis of some chapters ready for fast mind-upload. Heh, heh. No further, here's 45!

------------------------------------------

Chapter 45 - Resolution

An infamous mountain side road at Canada is beholding a secret unknown battle. This infamous road wasn't given a name to be recognized as. Frankly, touge racing isn't much of a trend in Canada than it is in Japan and the Canyons of USA. A road that we could name as ANONYMOUS. A red GT-R and a mysterious black compact duel down Anonymous pass.
user posted image
The past gives a somewhat similar road layout as that of Momiji line pass, which is located at Tochigi, Japan: long and wide straights with a few bends and an oncoming hairpin at a steep slope. Some sections would have high speed chicanes as that of its twin pass from the east. The difference? No gutters present. It's easy to gain speed but it's easy enough also to lose control and understeer.

Sakura's GT-R can barely hold on to the lead against the oncoming chaser. "I still can't identify the car from here. Its lights are too bright." Sakura, who was sitting at the passenger seat, said as she tried to identify the oncoming car from behind. "But, what did you mean that this line he's taking is familiar?" she asked Tomo.

"I can't quite put my finger on it Sakura, but I know I've seen it somewhere before." Tomo answered. Mid way through the pass, they've cleared 4 hairpins and 2 sets of steep chicanes. Going down at full throttle, you could really feel the weight shifting from one side to the other. As the GT-R brakes for every oncoming chicane-hairpin combination, the mysterious car clears every corner faster as if it ain't braking at all. The maneuveres the unknown car shows from behind is unexplainable. To top it all, it's stable as it exits every corner.

"The next series of turns would tell if I could outrun him, or her... After this is a long straight before one final hairpin." Tomo has his plan in mind, yet he still wonders if that plan of his would coincide with his current mediocre driving style. He has nothing to lose. He only has one shot at this. Sakura notices the determination and concentration in Tomo's eyes that she prepares for the worse that is to come. She held tighter to the hand grip and her seatbelt.

Right turn. Tomo immediately steps on the brakes; downshifts 2 gears lower and delays his gas timing as he turns the car into the apex. Once he passed it, he went full throttle and times his shifting. Unfortunately, he was a second late as he shifts one gear up. The car veered back a bit compared to his same attempts corners ago. He shifted too early. The unknown car swerved to the side, getting ready to overtake from Tomo's side. BOth cars are now nose to nose with each other. A short S bend is approaching.
"Gotta un-gas at this area to maneuver through with ease. Against a car of the same weight as that of the GT-R, it's a good plan to increase the gap. There was just one problem though. His opponent's car seemed so small, so it must be light. Tomo was on the outside of the first bend. He ungasses as the car's nose is perpendicular to the change of the road's line - coming into a linear angle by the moment. The other car didn't bother to slow down and the driver had his foot glued to the gas pedal. As he turned the car, it moved with ease - just like what TOmo had in mind. The tie slowly diminished and the mysterious car was in view in front of the R34. It is the latest Lotus model. As the Lotus positions itself infront of the R34 while clearing the chicane, a few letters, made from chrome in between the tail lights spell out the model - EXIGE.
Below the right tail lights is a mark spelling out 240R. Yes; it was a Lotus Exige 240R. A car equally light or much lighter than the AE86. Engine output as high as a Honda S2000's. A body as compact as a Mazda Roadster's. It's the ultimate British downhiller. Add the midship component of the car, it kills all corners. The exige's exhaust burst out flames as the car pulls away from the R34.

Tomo gave a huge sigh. His sigh either means 'glad that's over. I didn't know what I was up against so, it's okay' or 'damn! Another loss!? Oh, man I really can't face Daiki like this!'. By the time they reach the base, the Exige disappeared as well. Tomo entered into the main road back to the Archibal mansion before he gets caught for breaking his word. Also to catch up on his sleep, as well. Sakura patted Tomo's shoulder. "Well, so much for our little challenge. We'll try next time okay?" Sakura mentioned. Tomo intimately looked at the road. "Are you okay Tomo-kun?" Sakura pats his shoulder some more until he got irritated that he needed to know why. Sakura just said "Forget about that encounter. You weren't ready. Let's leave it at that alright? It caught us off guard so it's not your fault you lost to it." Tomo simply nodded as they make their way back to the mansion.

[7:55 a.m.]
Everyone is awake. All but Tomo, who is still in his room sleeping. They actually made it on time. They came home 1:30, they swapped seats before entering the gates, and quietly made their way up to their rooms. A close call.
Nathan Sr. went to the kitchen to check up on the brigade. Actually, he's there to see how Tomo is doing. To no avail; Tomo wasn't there. "Huh? He's not here?" He stepped out and continued to think. Probably he has given up, he thought to himself. "But he couldn't have. I know a lazy one from someone determined. As far as he's concerned, he's more of the latter. Where could he have gone off to? Did he break our agreement and borrowed one of his friends' car?"
Dorothy, who just came down noticed her husband thinking deeply.
"Morning, love." she called out.
"Hey, hunny, have you seen that Tomo kid anywhere?"
"Oh, him? He's still asleep."
"Asleep? (I guess I was completely wrong about him. He's a bum alright.)"
"He stayed late last night preparing everything for today and the next day. He stayed in the kitchen all the way until nearly 12 in the evening."
Nathan Sr. made a whistling sound hearing that. "I see."
"That's all you could say, love?"
"For now, yeah. That was something out of a guest. Staying late at night to do most of our crew's work while they're out asleep." Nathan walked away and went to his study.
Dorothy started to doubt what she said. "If that's the case, then he must have gotten up earlier than we expect. But I checked his room. He's still snoring and sleeping soundly. It's either he was worn out or did something at the back of our eyes." She kept on thinking about it as she got Margarette's breakfast ready.
While Tomo's fast asleep, the rest of his friends were out practicing again. Kitami has the hang of his car already. It's not sliding needlessly as compared to before. It's as if the car has more grip now. The mustang's tires stuck to the pavement like glue as it clears a mid speed corner at 117 kph. Sakura, in her red GT-R is the chaser for the current session. She can keep up but...
The gap gets wider and wider after every corner. "looks like Kitami has the hang of it now." She shifts the car to gear 4. Flames burst out of the exhaust. The needle slowly makes its way to 8400 rpm. Sakura smoothly turns the wheel and the car follwed. She yawned quite a bit whilst on the straightways. She barely got enough sleep at all but she could manage. She didn't do anything tiresome unlike Tomo who cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom.
As they're on the last section of the course, Kitami has made a 2-car-length gap in between the Mustang GT and the GT-R. Alls he got to do is clear the next right corner and they're done. As the Mustang is less than a hundred meters away from the corner's turning point, Kitami presse hard on the brakes. We could say he overdid this corner a bit. The car swerved to the outside a bit as it makes its way through the corner. The rear tripped and is slowly coming into a drift.
Kitami gritted his teeth as he countersteers. "This wasn't supposed to happen." He plans on clearing the corner in a grip manner, not a drift approach. As he clears the corner, his rear end was a ruler's width away from the outside wall. Sakura, who drifted through with ease; possibly coming in with a weight shift-feint maneuver, decreased the 2 car gap down to less than a car's length worth of gap. 200 meters later, they came to a stop.
Sakura and Kitami stepped out of their cars. They approached Hiei, who was holding two stop watches, Ryusen, who was holding a clipboard containing their session times, and Kasumi, who had some bottled water ready for the two of them.
"How was the time?" Kitami asked.
"damn..." Hiei said. "Remember on our first session, you two did a 2:14.XXX-ish record right?"
The two drivers nodded their heads.
"Well, you won't believe this." Ryusen showed the clipboard comparing the first session time and the time they just made. It was a 10 second difference. "You guys nailed the downhill completely."
"Exactly what was our time?" Sakura asked.
"A 2:04 flat!"
"Two minutes and 4 seconds? That's quite an improvement you two did!" Kasumi said.
"Really? I never knew that even Sakura could improve in a heavy weight such as her 34." Kitami uttered.
"And what does THAT suppose to mean?" They all laughed after Sakura gave that question in an ironic tone. Their comic moment was disturbed as a black Lotus Exige pulled up from behind Sakura's car.
"Hmm?" "What could possibly that guy want?" "Who the heck is he anyway?" Kasumi and the guys start to talk amongst themselves about the Exige that parked. As for Sakura, she starled as she saw the car much closer. She gasped as she took a look around the whole body. "Th...this is the car! The car that challenged us!"
"What are you talking about? WE raced amongst ourselves remember?"
"I wasn't talking about you, Kitami. I mean Tomo and I. We..."
"Wait a sec! When did you exactly race with him?" Kasumi started to become suspicious.
"Last night when you were all asleep."
"w...wh...W-WHAT!?"
"Easy, girl. WE didn't do anything that'll hurt you okay? We just went for a drive."
"Halfway down last night, that Lotus approached us and raced us while Tomo was practicing."
The Lotus driver came out and approached Sakura.
"By the looks of this crummy ol' 34, I know the reason why you lost."
"It wasn't I who raced you it was..." As Sakura kept on talking while facing the Lotus guy, she stopped as she saw the face of the driver.
Everyone was covered in deep silence. As if they saw an old friend. A friend that they haven't seen for a while now. Hiei and Ryusen's hands were shaking as they pointed to the guy's face. "Y...y-o...you-re..."
"Yo!" The guy raised his right arm and gave a peace sign to the group. His hair is styled to look as if it looks like a porcupine's. Not that much of a tall guy, I'd say, but his face does look quite Japanese. His hair though is long enought that the tips nearly touched his back collar. His side burns' length was parallel to the tip of his ears. He wore a red and black cotton jacket. No doubt about it. It IS an old friend of theirs. It was Kyosuke Katsumaru.
Kitami's glasses went down in awe. He fixed it up and asked "Kyo? Is that you?"
"Waddya expect? Elvis?"
"Probably."
"Well, it's just... H-HEY!"
The group laughed. Kasumi took Kyo's hands and held it with both of her hands. "it's been a long time, Kyosuke-san. Tomo will be so glad to hear from you."
"What are you exactly doing here?" Ryusen asked.
"Long Story guys. I quitted Scuderia D."
"Scuderia D? Isn't that Takeshi's new project?" Sakura verified.
"It is. Now, they're halfway through the Northern Kantou and they're planning to start up north." Kyo answered.
"Wait a sec. Something's not right here." Hiei wondered. "If that black car is yours, what happened to your R32 Skyline, AE86 Group A trueno, GT300-based PS13, Your Cappuccino, and your Custom RE Mazda FD?"
"All my babies? They're at home. covered soundly. This is my new car."
"Hmph. Babies he said. So you decided to go for a Lotus?" Kitami asked.
"It's my own judgement, alright? You guys know me for driving quite light vehicles. Well, the GT-R is an exemption to that rule of mine. All those cars that I own and Hiei mentioned are quite overused already."
"Overused? I mean, back in our days as Noyzee Tribe, you kept on switching from one car to another." Kitami corrected.
"True. But I practice more with them, which makes me better than you anytime."
"Take that bacK!!" Kitami tries to strangle Kyo but Ryusen holds Kitami in place.
Kasumi takes a look at Kyo's Exige. The car's quite compact, coated in a metallic Black mica. The rims seem to be matte painted and appear to be light. She looks at the back and notices the spoiler. It's quite small, she thought. Atop the Exige is a very small roof scope. Before she finished observing the car, she noticed a shiny sticker at the gas valve. It was Kyo's old team sticker on it. MYOGI KNIGHTS written on the blades of a sword.
"I'm curious, where are you staying?" Kasumi asked.
"Me? At a hotel in Vancouver. I actually came across Daiki and the others. Tetsuya was so surprised to see me. He said he wanted a tuning rematch or something."
"I see. By the way, Kyo. Your car seems pretty light." Kasumi added.
"It is. It's like my AE86 but shorter like a Mazda Roadster and as light as a Suzuki Alto. add the fact that it's a midship, it's the fastest downhill car I've owned. Small, nimble and fast. Just the way I like it."
"Like you?" Kitami broke into laughter saying that.
"Shuddup!" They all laughed afterward.
"Hey, wanna come with us and visit Tomo?" Sakura offered.
"Thanks but no thanks. I need to catch up on some business of my own. I ain't here for nothing you know." Kyo goes to his car and hopped on. He ignites the engine and a high pitched racing engine-like tone came out of the Exige. 300 horses, 700- kilograms. It's like carrying a 550 hp monster in there. He lowers the side window and shouts out "Kasumi! Give my regards to Tomo okay?" Kasumi nodded in return. What a loud sound coming out of a small car. It's weird but you have to get used to it. Kyo shifts to gear one and blasts out of the spot he parked. The group watched the Exige fade into the fog as Kyo leaves them.
"Great. Shino out, Kyo in. What's next?" Ryusen said.
"Don't start Ryusen okay? It's good enough that Kyosuke san came back." Kasumi answered.
"Good enough? I won't be too sure about that. Now I got one meddler to deal with. How can I par up to the best of our team if another one shows up and nabs top 1 away?" Kitami said in disbelief.
"Let's go guys. We had enough training for today." Sakura mentioned.
The group boarded the cars and headed back to the Archibal mansion.

Hours passed and the current time is now 4:30 p.m. Tomo woke up around 2 in the afternoon already. He had something in his mind. It felt great enough for Tomo to hold the wheel of an R again, even if it isn't his own car. He wanted to thank Sakura. He had something in mind already. He plans on making her a personal dinner. As soon as he got to the Kitchen, he gave this idea to the head chef. "Alright. For today; let's just make sure we keep this a secret amongst ourselves. Master Nathan always want everyone, family and guest, to eat dinner together. Tell me what you need, and get started. Me and my men will handle tonight's meal. You go ahead and fix up for your friend." the chef complied. "Thanks a lot!" Tomo answered as he bowed his head. Knowing the fact that Sakura's both physically and mentally active, he makes sure of it that the food he'll serve would benefit her. He took out a quarter of a chicken, some spices, some green veggies and some tofu. He even got some liquid seasonings and some chicken powder, which he considers his magic powder. Before he got started, he took third of a cup of Arborio rice. He's planning a risotto. But what kind?

Two hours and a half passed. It's dinner time. As everyone got down, Sakura was stopped by one of the cooks. He whispered to her ear "Guest Chef Tomo has something for you personally and would like you to separate from the group. If they ask, tell them that you're not hungry as an excuse. Hurry ma'am. He's waiting for you." That message made her blush a bit. What is it that Tomo planned for her?
Kasumi wondered why Sakura slowly walked in the middle of the main hallway, "What's wrong?" she asked her. "Oh, nothing. My stomach's acting up. I can't join you guys. I'm quite full at the moment." She acted. "Oh...kay? I'll tell Miss Dorothy that. See you later then." Sakura went to the second floor again to her room. As she got there, something was wrong. She can't open it. "Darn it! Why won't it open? And I left the keys to it inside. Why would Tomo want to drag me here just to find out that my room is locked from the outside?" She holds her stomach in depression. "and I'm getting hungry here too..."
Inside, Tomo climed from the balcony and asked help from the cooks to lift the food up.

Five minutes passed and Sakura was becoming helpless. She later heard a click sound. Is it opened? She opens it to make sure. It did. She went inside witnessing Tomo lighting a candle on the table. Tomo got throught the trouble of wearing a vest, holding a towel in his left arm, all well dressed just to be her waiter for the night. "W...what is this?" She asked as she blushed. "Your dinner, my lady." Tomo said.
As Tomo assisted Sakura to her seat, she asked again "No, seriously. What is this for?"
"I just wanted to thank you. For last night. For that cruise. It's all I need to get out of that slumber of mine. And this is how I show my thanks to you." Tomo opens up the covered plate showing a personal dish he made. Risotto Milanese with Parsley, Chinese mushroom-vegetable stir fry and Sauteed Chicken breast with Ivory sauce. For dessert he offered Sakura a slice of Devil's food Cake topped with Strawberries and white fudge icing. "How'd you know?" she asked.
"I knew. Why must you ask?" Tomo answered completely red. Sakura blushed back.
Before Tomo could properly say a thank you and goodnight, someone knocked at the door. It startled the current ambiance. It was one of the cooks. Tomo took the liberty of answering the door for her. "It's for you sir. Master Nathan wishes to talk to you. He's at his study" Tomo nods and leaves Sakura for the moment. Sakura smiled back at him before he went down. He told the cook to bring the plates down once Sakura gives the signal.

At the study, Tomo reported as Nathan Sr. wished. "You called, sir Nathan?"
"Come on, please call me Nathan. You're not one of my cooks here. You're my guest too. Don't need to be so modest."
He extended his hand to a chair offering Tomo a seat.
"I got word from my wife that of you're work and..."
Tomo curled up his hand to a fist waiting for the words.
"...I'd like to say..."
Tomo shivered a bit; as he can't wait any longer.
"...I appreciate your efforts."
That's it? Tomo froze for a moment. All that hard work and he won't be able to reach the end of their agreement? It has been nearly 3 weeks now and still no go signal? "Just that?" He said in disappointment.
"What? you expect me to let you off the hook that easily? That ain't the way to get me to change my mind you know!" Once Tomo gave that 'just that' comment, Nathan knew that all the work he has done is for the wrong cause. While working, no doubt his heart wasn't in the right place. Tomo felt so frustrated. He struggled for nearly 3 weeks worth of not driving and he still can't claim back his own car? "But..."
"You're rushing things. Your actions said it all. Cleaning everything and doing everything in one night, acting as if you are a one man army? Haste Makes waste my child. And from what you first said, I knew that your heart wasn't in the right place. Get your act together, child. You still haven't met my expectations. YOu cannot drive yet, you hear me? If you still don't accept what I just said, you're better off with the failures that I met before. They went through the same things you're in now and I assure you that they all failed. Not one passed this challenge I offered to them. And you? You're this short from falling off." Nathan said as he makes an almond shape with his thumb and forefinger. "You want to drive? Then work for it. Don't rush it. Put your heart into your work!" He turns his chair around and kept on talking. "I don't want to cause any ignorant arguments in my household. So please leave me in my study if you're still not satisfied." Tomo did just so, in anger. His actions do not show it but his face shows a lot. It's so childish for someone who was happy moments ago to shift into this person full of self-hate. He went to the garden and slammed the door shut. Coincidentally, Kasumi was there, meditating on the sound of the shrugging leaves. She notices Tomo who was standing still with an angry face. She could tell by how Tomo looks what he's saying. It shows 'idiot. What an ass I am. I hate myself.' She approaches Tomo and confronts him. "Something happened, am I right?" she asked. Tomo just looked at the ground. He pretends not to listen to what Kasumi's trying to say. "at least say something Tomo." He wouldn't respond at all. He just stood there. With that same old angry look on his face. All that he thinks to himself is how much he hates himself. He was ignoring all the senses around him. Moments later, Kasumi knew that words won't get to him. Her words won't calm him down. Her words won't stop him from hating himself. And so she hugged him. Hugged him hoping that it would do something good. She rests her head on Tomo's shoulders and wrapped her arms around his body. "There, there." she said. "You can get through this. I know so. Soon, you'll be able to ride your 'body' again." She was obviously referring to the car. She said 'body' because she knows the aura that surrounds Tomo and his Skyline R34. It was a powerful connection. A connection as powerful as what Kasumi and Tomo have at the moment. Kasumi didn't let go of Tomo for a while. The wind flew by them. Her orange-toned hair smoothly touching Tomo's face. Through Kasumi's love, Tomo slowly lets go of the fault he had known minutes ago and is now in peace. Suddenly, a small tear fell down from Tomo's eyes. He shouldn't have said that to himself. He wasn't only hurting himself. He was also hurting the ones who cared for him. He was blinded by self-hate. Now, he's free. Shortly, thereafter, he stopped hating himself. As his body responded and noticed Kasumi still hugging him, he hugged her back. That hug meant 'yeah. You're right. What was I thinking? Thank you.'
Kasumi later quoted something that would always remind Tomo of how he reacts to those sorts of comments about him: "An enraged man stirs up contention but one that is slow to anger quiets down quarelling. You somewhat did the right thing Tomo. I'm happy you didn't do anything that would harm your connection with Sir Nathan as..." "Harm will return. I know. Thanks for reminding me of that as well, Kasumi."
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I also have one more like this, with added text. You can save it as your wallpaper also... grin2.gif Just click on the link by highlighting the small image.
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This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Mar 25 2009, 06:56 AM
Skv012a
Posted: Dec 14 2008, 11:40 AM


IDW Regular Member
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Group: Members
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Joined: Dec 14th 2008
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Insane work, KUDOS! My only lil gripe is that you draw front bumpers way too tall in the front-side shots, but otherwise great work.
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Dec 17 2008, 08:47 PM


The R34's chosen one
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I got 3! YES! THREE CHAPTERS UPDATED coming at ya! But the third one causes my post to go blank. I hope someone types a comment so that I can add the 47th chapter already.
Anyway, sorry for the wait! Here's MOAR!
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Chapter 46 - Focus

Another day passed. Tomo understood his fault and is now working twice as hard. Was there a difference between his hard work before and now? There is. He's working to his full potential. But that isn't the only thing that proves a difference. He's putting his heart into his work. For some reason, he can't help but smile while working. He realized now that loving what you do puts your heart in the right place for the right purpose. For now, it doesn't matter if Tomo would be able to drive already or not. All that matters to him is giving his heart into the food that he's preparing. A food to be made for a selfless reason.

As for the Father and son, the two of them took out Nathe's Viper SRT10 and went for an early drive up Anonymous pass.
The SRT10 rests upon the peak of the mountain pass. Both father and son stepped out of the car. Nathe shows a small note to his father. Written on it is: 2:03.486. It's the last record he has done. "I'm just curious dad." Nathe opened up a conversation. "Well, what is it about son?"
"ever since you brought the GT out of the garage, after nearly a year's stay there; what made you bring it out again?"
"Gee... that's a toughie. I guess, I acted on my own. As if my dying passion got another leash of life or something. It's telling me that I want to drive a little while longer before I pass on all these skills of mine to the next generation." He faces Nathe and points his forefinger at his heart. "And when I mean the next generation, I mean you, son. Who knows, you might be the one to bring my passion back to life again; but in your hands that is."
"So, what you're telling me is that you still got it in ya, eh?"
"That's right, eh."
"Just to be sure, how's say you break my record. See if you still got it."
"Hmm? My old son, issuing me a challenge such as this? You're starting to act like me during my youth days before I met your mother." Nathan Sr. chuckled as he said that; before continuing with: "Fine. Hop along."
"Me? join in the trial? Wouldn't I disrupt your power to weight ratio or something?"
"What are you talking about? Of course you won't. With all that power in your SRT10, a venom replica of the Venom 800, PW ratio is nothing to worry about to me."
"I don't like the sound of this one bit."
"Just get in son. Then we head back and pick up the GT, come back here. I'll show you I still have it in me in my own car afterwards."
Nathan sr. shifts the car to N, lets the needle rise up to the 8000 rpm red zone, and shifts once more. A huge burnout was created. A ball of smoke right behind the SRT10. It blasts off its zero postion like it's second to none. Nathe, who had his seatbelt up real tight, nearly chocked as the intertial movement of his body, from zero was very strong. "Damn. We just took off and I can tell that he still has it. If I'm crazy enough to cause a burnout on S curves, my father is much crazier. No wonder he lets this career of his sit on the sidelines." Nathe thought to himself.

Back to Tomo; right now, he's on his one hour break before he goes back to work with lunch. He reminisces on his past journey at Italy, the country where he met, befriended and raced Kitana Tioseco - the European Matador.


At the same time, Kitami suddenly remembers what Kazuma told him at the Airport before they left Italy for good. It was all about the nicknames of Daiki and Kitana and how they're interlinked with their upcoming rivals. "Prince, and princess... hmm... what is it in those two titles that is related to our journey? Well, Tomo did face Lucas Scott, the self proclaimed American Jack and... God am I slow! Now I get what Kazuma means! Prince, princess? Jack? It all makes sense now! The pattern they follow resembles that of a royal family. But the question now is... how are they related to it? Literally or what?" Kitami begins to think. 5 minutes of thinking past and somewhat Kitami had some weird theory he had in mind. "Gotta tell Tomo about this."

He approaches Tomo, who was leisurely reminiscing near the flower garden. "On break?" he asked. Tomo looked to see Kitami. "Uh, Yeah. For an hour." "Good." "Good?" "I got something to tell you. Something important. It's not certain but it's worth a shot." Kitami stood next to Tomo and started talking on how Daiki's nickname - the Prince, Kitana's nickname - the Princess, and Lucas' possible nickname - the Jack, are related to each other. After going halfway through Kitami's explanation, Tomo stepped off and faced back. "You got to be kidding me! That's stupid." he said "how sure are you with that?"
"I'm not but the relation's close. It might not be literal but it could be a rank. Like top 2 of a team and its second tier and third tier members and so forth." Kitami replied. "I don't think so." Tomo answered in return. "It's ironic, illogical and childish. I mean, Medieval posts as a racing rank? Puh! Please!"
"Think about it, man! Yes, Daiki is great. But that's just Japan. Obviously, there are more people who are faster than him. Then, there's Kitana. Z against Lambo; think about it as well. Daiki doesn't stand a chance or if he could, he'd be just par to her but not better. Like in a medieval setting, the Prince and Princess' relative Importance within the Royal Family is the same."
"How could you explain the Jack then? Doesn't that just exist in card games? You know, the ones with the 'J'?"
Kitami can't answer. He got the part of the prince and princess right, but what about the Jack? What's its relevance in the family?
"See? There you go! It's bogus. The end."
"No wait! I still need to research on the meaning behind a Jack. Going beyond what we've encountered, I tried to co-relate other members of the Royal Family into instances like that. No driver could rank a Bishop, no driver could be religious about his driving. But a knight is possible - the defender of the family, so there's one. Then there's the qu-..."
"Just zip it, alright? I have no idea what you're talking about here! Yeah Daiki's called as the Prince, and Kitana's only, and I mean, ONLY the Euro Matador. The Princess thing was just a hypothetic theory behind it. While we're in Italy, she wasn't called by that at all. And For Lucas? What does he have to do with the two of them, huh? Stuff like this just confuses me, Kitami. I think you approached the wrong person for this sort of thing. Save it for someone who cares; like Ryusen or something." Tomo leaves Kitami dumbfounded, standing there.
"Idiot." he murmured. "If what Kazuma says is right, and is related to what Tomo's going through now, Nathe or Sir Nathan could be the next one in the Royal Family. But, Tomo's right. I need to get my words in the right places. Kazuma told me about who're part of the Royal Family yet... what IS the Royal Family? And what does this have to do with Racing at all? In other news, why is Tomo's reaction like that anyway? Does he know something about this Royal Family but just won't admit it? Or is it in his character?" Kitami thought about going to Kasumi to know why. Kasumi happens to be at the other side of the front garden, playing with Margarette.

"Kasumi!" A voice called out from the other side of the mansion. Weird much, or is Kitami's voice just that well projected? Anyway, Kasumi heard it and turned to see who it was. "Kitami-san. What is it?" Kitami talks to Kasumi with a very serious yet concerned look. He tells about what he told Tomo and what Tomo's reaction to that information is. Kasumi crossed her arms and thought to herself. She was looking for the answer right behind her mind. She closed her eyes to concentrate a bit more. A moment later, she opened her eyes and answered Kitami straight. "It's just Tomo. He doesn't want any unknown information coming at him from nowhere which has nothing to do with what he's doing - whether it would be driving, his cooking career, or his life. He thinks of it as an added load and he doesn't want to think about it too much unless it intrigued him." she answered.
"But it DOES have something to do with his driving career. And I have a feeling, Nathe or his father would be the next one on the Family."
"He probably just doesn't understand it. Oftentimes, his mind doesn't quite grasp what others mean. He has his own way of understanding things. Don't worry. It's him. He can understand soon. Just give him some time to think over it. Then he'd understand what you mean." Hearing those comforting words made Kitami feel calm. Kasumi does have a way with making someone feel good after a hard or confusing moment. "Okay?" She followed with a smile.
"Now I understand. Thanks a lot Kasumi." Kitami heads back into the mansion to do what he calls "research".
"Anytime, Kitami." she shouted as she saw Kitami run into the large house.

Back at Anonymous road, A menacing Viper SRT10 cruises; no, blasts its way through the peak's straightway. It's approaching the first left corner at an amazing speed. 150 meters ahead and the Viper isn't slowing down. 100 meters left and still no sign of deceleration. Nathe is about to panic. "Is my dad crazy enough to take on the first corner at that speed!?" Before Nathan Sr. goes past the 50 meter point from the corner, He swerves the car to the outside and launches to the inside immediately. An Out-in-out attack if you ask me. "I can really feel the G forces acting up on me!" He uttered to himself as he gritted his teeth. He looks at his father who shows a calm yet happy face. Their speed? Due to the G forces acting up and the TCS still on, the car decelerated but it doesn't stop there. The rear tripped. It's induced to a drift. Nathe once again looks at his dad. "You-'re not countersteering!?" The Viper is close to a 30 degree angle and still he isn't countersteering the car. The first corner happens to be a J turn. Taking that in mind, Nathe remembers that when he made his run, he accelerates through the first bend and as soon as the corner deepens in its angle, he brakes and nails the apex. As for his father, he's taking a very unusual attack point. Letting the speed drop at the first section of the J turn. What's he planning? As soon as they reach the critical point of the corner, his dad finally countersteers yet it seems to Nathe that he countersteered too late. There's the inner wall right infront of them. Will Nathan Sr. clear it? Evidently, he has, but...
the distance between the Viper's front and the wall was close to half a centimeter. A small set of sparks went flying as the Viper barely clears the corner at past a hundred kilometers. Nathe was sweating immensely. He has never cleared a corner that close to the apex. More so, he loves playing with the corners even if he clears them faster than anybody else. "Hmm... still rusty a bit, I'd say..." Nathan said. "Rusty!? Yeah, right!!" Nathe replied in his mind. There was no room for Nathe to give a sigh of relief. The next left corner is up; followed by an S curve starting with a right hander. Nathan lets the car's rear end trip once again. There was something unusual about the Viper's tires while on the drift. There was no smoke coming out of the tire-to-pavement contact point. As if he IS NOT drifting nor is he gripping hard. Like it's somewhere in between. Nathe compares his own style with that of his father's: he likes to make the rear tires burn as he's confident of the unique tire compound he got installed. His father though... "Is my dad's style that conservative?" Nathe wondered. AS they make their way through the half point of the left corner, the Viper shifts its weight to the other side causing the car to 'drift' through the other side. Another set of G forces acting up on Nathe in his seat.

"Ack! I'm getting squeezed in here!" He wondered. "Is this what it's like racing alongside my father in one car?" Most of the time, Nathe drives alone when he does his runs. He lets his father time his run from below. Personally, he has never seen his father go all out until now. But this wasn't his full potential. Nathan is hiding this from his father. The S curve is up but Nathan didn't position his car through the next half in a drift motion. After that weight shift, he neutralizes the drift and thrusts through the corner in a straight line with the sides nearly kissing the walls; almost causing sparks everywhere.

Nathan Sr. blinked and his look completely changed. He looks as if he's spaced out. There was a long stretch of straight road - enough for Nathe to catch his breath and notice his dad. "Huh? Hello?" Nathe was confused. Is his dad like this on the straights or is he thinking of something for the next series of bends? He waved his hands infront of his dad's eyes; yet, there was no reaction. As Nathe looks back at the road, the next hairpin is up. He gasped as he stared at the spedometer: 215 kilometers. Looking back at the road, he shouted out in the car: "DAD! SLOW DOWN!!" He squealed. His dad wasn't responding. They're still heading for the corner at high speed. Once they were 75 meters away, he finally braked but the understeer kicked in. Was it all part of his plan or did he make a bad move? From the outside, he raised the e-brake and balanced the car through via throttle control. Nathe looked at the side mirror seeing how close the car was to the outer wall. He is close to screaming in fear. Once through that hairpin, it wasn't over. A sudden drop in the slope and the Viper was sent flying. Once they land, an S curve is up. He has no room for clearing it at high speed unlike a while ago. Nathan Sr. braked hard and raises the e-brake. He intentionally makes the Viper come to a 90 degree position - perpendicular to the road. He immediately shifts to N and lets the needle go wack on the red zone. "Dad are... you breaking my car!? How could-"Before Nathe could finish his exclamation, Nathan Sr. brings the car to gear 1 and it blasts off once more. Thrusting through the S curve. "Ugh... forget I said that..." Nathe said as he passed out halfway through the pass. He's being chocked by the G forces of his own car and can't take it anymore. His father "leisurely" clears the rest of the pass and ends up finishing it in 2 minutes flat.

--------------------
Chapter 47 - Inspiration

A little kid, a boy, scurries through the grassy garden. He carries along his little toy car - it looks like a die cast model of a BNR32 GT-R Skyline. It's his favorite car and he plays with it all day. When he got bored he sees a little girl, sort of his age, and asks if they could play in the swings. Every week, they meet and play. When they got older, the moments start to fade. They ended up meeting just once every 2 months or so. When they got even older, the little boy had to go to another prefecture. The little girl was left behind. To make up for it, he gave her the BNR32 toy car he cherished. The girl held it tightly in her arms as she sees the van, the boy's family car, drive off.

Years passed and they had their separate lives to deal with. The girl evidently, became the smartest in her class until she was smart enough to be considered an accelerated student. The boy just finished his grade schooling while the girl just passed junior year. The age gap of the two was just eleven months but it seems they considered themselves to be of the same age. They never met since; they had their own lives - lives where they had no time to contact each other. A new set of friends to keep them company; a new set of educational challenges for them to face; a new set of life's obstacles to go through.

Once the boy reached half of his his first year, the girl was now a graduate of her high school and decided to take college in France. The girl's parents cannot accompany her there as they have their seculars to deal with. She was taken under the wing of the Musashiro family, who is also heading for France. When she had time, the eldest son of the Musashiro family offered her some driving skills. Apparently, this eldest son is planning on making his own racing team. She still has the toy car that the boy gave her for so long. She accepted the Musashiro's son's offer but for one condition - to drive a car like that of the toy car she had. And yes; in France, she was trained by this son with use of a Nissan Skyline. She started out in a BCNR33 Nismo 400R. The Musashiro's were wealthy and transportation seems to be a regular finance to them. As months passed, she became skilled. Although she is a nursing student in France, she was as devoted to her driving as she is to her college course. She was given the best, in both fields, and she makes sure of it she excelled. She knew what it's like to drive differently. At the back of her mind, though, she wondered: why do I drive? What does this have to do with my career? Am I doing this so that I could see that boy again? They seem to have something in common and they were getting along just fine. Their passions though were different. Back then, before the day the boy had to leave, they asked each other what they would want to become.
QUOTE

"I want to become the best doctor or nurse the world has ever known. I want to help lots of people out. It's my duty to help them! That's why I want to take medicine!" the girl exclaimed. She had her mind already set.
"I... want to... uh... well... you see, I don't know what I want to become yet but if my love for cars would go any longer, I'd want to be the greatest race car driver ever!" the boy exclaimed back.
"But that's selfish!" she reasoned.
"That's why I don't know what I wanna be yet." The boy answered.
"I like how you think, though." he followed up to the girl. "Helping people, I wanna do that too."
"You'll see what your calling is soon. But don't take the same thing I'm taking okay? I don't want to fight with you over it." she said.
"fight? I don't like that either. I promise you, I'll find a way how I could help but I won't take what you plan on taking. Promise?"
"Promise."
The two kids gave a pinky swear sealing their future fates.

She really wondered, during her stay in France, if that boy had known his calling. They both like to help people the best way they know. On their return, she became a regular in both her field and street racing. She was known in both worlds. After all these years she was able to see the boy again. He followed what he said on becoming a racer; but was he serious with it? She thought that he wanted to help. How could he help people with driving all day? Did he change? or was he the same old person he could remember?

Months sooner, they raced. Against each other. She doesn't want to race him but she had no choice. The Musashiro's there had a family dilemna and this was their only way of settling the dispute. That race brought the boy and girl closer. A race of the R emblem. A battle of destiny. A red and blue GT-R34 battled through the likes of Haruna up and back. As soon as the days pass, they ended up on the same side. At the same time, the boy has found his calling - the best way he know of how to help people: food service. He wanted to become a chef.

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Many things passed. Many experiences encountered. Many questions answered and many unanswered. Many people met, but can they remember them all? Many words said in the past - could it be recalled? Before she could arrive at an answer, her eyes opened and showed her the current present time. sakura Johina just woke from a nostalgic dream. She holds her head and wondered: "Dreaming of the past... what do those visions mean? 'Why DO I drive?'... it is the only question in my dream unanswered. It's as if I quickly browsed through my childhood until today." She got up and opened the windows of her room. A soothing gust of nature's wind blew upon her face. The feeling was nice. It was a remarkable feeling. She starts to utter the unanswered question in her dream: Why is it that I drive?

Tomo, who is on his break, is like that of Sakura today. He is pondering over an unanswered question thrown to him: What do you love more: racing or your cooking career? He has been searching for an answer but to no avail. The rest of the cooks who were on break left the mansion to buy more raw ingredients for the days to come. The only cook behind was Tomo, whose company is just his Chef's knife that he had ever since college. It had his name engraved near the tang of the knife, close to the handle.

Not too far from the Kitchen's back door, he can see his GT-R34 by the shadows of the Garage. The amazing Nismo body kit it had astonished many drivers. More so, it amazed Tomo after all he had been through. Ever since his Third Year in high school, he has started racing. That's when his name - Gunma's 34, developed. With that aside, he is still looking for an answer to why he loved cooking and racing, and an answer to which of them he loves more.

From there, he remembered the words of Daiki Akiyama when they finished their second round of a 3 round duel: It's easy to give up an old passion; it's easy to choose a new; but it's hard to adopt to the new. He was referring to his experience of giving up racing and going for something else. Then he also remembered what Kasumi told him while on his battle with Daiki. He was concerned over staying in Japan or going global - she said that 'Even if you want both, you should pick one and give up the other.' That statement is true but... Tomo's passion for driving and cooking are the same. He doesn't want to give up one but he knows that sooner or later, he needs to let go of one of them. To Tomo, they make up his entire entity. He knows this because of what he and Kitana talked about in Italy: sympathizing with Kitana when her Lamborghini Diablo VT died, Tomo uttered that she and her Lamborghini are part of her being. Kitana didn't argue about that. Tomo was absolutely correct at that context. She loved her VT as if it as a part of her family; as if it is a part of her; as if it is human.

His thinking starts to go deeper and deeper; and it's just confusing him even more. He decides to take a walk to forget he ever thought about the question. At the same moment, Sakura decided to take a walk to forget that dream she had. Subconsciously, both of them met at the same spot and decided to talk it over amongst themselves.

"Hey..." Tomo started off.
"Aren't you at work?" Sakura asked.
"I'm on break. The rest of the cooks went to buy raw ingredients."
"Why didn't you join them?"
"I... had something in my mind and I want to think it over."
"That's funny."
"Why is that."
"I have the same situation as well."
"Huh? How's say we talk it over here." Tomo sees a bench by the small lake in the back garden. The grassy fields are quite calming to the mind - as if you're body's becoming in tune with Nature. You can think deeper without any unecessary feeling of doubt or fear. Tomo and Sakura sat and stared at their reflections in the water.
Sakura started talking. "You know, I dreamt of you this morning."
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"Really? About when?"
"When we were little kids. You used to mistook me for Ruri."
"Well... the two of you DID have the same hairstyle. It's hard to tell you two apart until today."
Sakura just giggled.
"So, what was your dream about?"
"Remember when you're about to leave Omiya for Gunma, you gave me your toy car?"
"The die cast Skyline R32? I remember."
"I still have it."
Hearing that, Tomo blushed.
"It's at home. I don't want to lose it while on our trip. Then, I start to wonder... why did I decide to drive, drive the way you and I do right now?" She stood up and stared at her reflection. "It's weird. It's as if I could say... you're the reason why I DO drive. I just don't know why of all possible answers... why is it you? Why do you think You're the reason behind this second passion of mine?"
"Passion? Since when?"
"Since now." She turned around and faced Tomo.
"It is not something for me to answer, Sakura. The reason to why I could be the reason for this 'passion' of yours is within you."
"You could be right there."
"Say, how's your medicine side of yours going?"
"It's alright. I mean, most of the time during tuning our cars, there are instances where Kitami, Hiei, or Ryusen got injured and I had the opportunity to put my knowledge to the test."
"That's good to hear."
"well, you on the other hand have more time to exercise your career than do."
"I guess so..."
Tomo stands up and stands next to where Sakura was standing. "You know, I am starting to question myself as well. Why is it I chose this path? Why did I decide to drive? Does it have to do with my childhood?"
"Maybe. You did say that you wanted to be one and now, here you are."
"But I feel as if this is just a start or it's all happening so fast... If I had not accepted Daiki's offer, what could I have become?"
"I guess, I'll be throwing the same answer at you. It's not something for me to answer either. The answer lies within yourself only." Sakura answered.
Tomo lifts his head up and stares at the sky. He goes back to the troublesome question. What does he love more? Cooking or racing?
After 10 minutes of staring upward, he finally got an answer. "I got it! He said." He lowers his head, which ached a bit due to his position. "Now I know what to answer to Nathan Senior!"
"Really? I'm so happy for you."
"But..."
"But?"
"Would my answer be acceptable? Would that be an appropriate answer?"
"You wouldn't know unless you believe in it and try it at least."
"Yeah. You're right."
Tomo looks at Sakura and the sky successively. "I wanted to see this through. Things such as lifetime careers would take me years to master. And I only got a short amount of experience on both. And I feel as if they make up who I am. It makes me feel like me. It makes me feel I am somebody. I'm not just someone. I have this talent in me. I have the passion in me like no other person has. Only I have that; and both sides of my life need it. Some would disagree but I don't care. Some would criticize me I don't care. As long as I know that they make me up, then that's what matters most of all. No one could alter that. Only I can."
"You're right. Only you can make your own happenings."
"Same with you. For some reason, we went on the same path and we both wondered in between it who we are. Now that I have the answer, it may seem that it'll work for you as well. Medicine and Racing? Only you know what makes them go hand in hand. Only you can say and believe that. No one can take that away from you, Sakura. No one at all."
"It's within us. It makes us who we really are inside, right?"
"That's right. Only we know ourselves better than others do."
"Except for Jehovah God but amongst our kind, it's just us."
"I have to tell Nathan right now. I want to return my yin and yang to its proper state." Tomo runs off to the study, hoping to see Nathan there. Sakura, stood there and smiled. Thanks to Tomo, she has the answer within her. She now knows why she drives. She drives because she was born to. She has the talent. She won't waste it. Same goes for her passion for medicine. She has the drive. She won't ignore it either.

Nathan is in his study, as told to Tomo by one of the servants. Tomo knocks at the door. His heartbeat rises. He feels quivery around Nathan. He hopes this time, his answer would be valid to Nathan. Valid enough to restore his post as a driver of a GT-R34. He's anxious to get back on his driver's seat. The door slowly opened for him.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Mar 25 2009, 06:19 AM
Meteor
Posted: Dec 20 2008, 03:29 AM


Were you expecting something else?
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Group: Advanced Members
Posts: 3,921
Member No.: 20,929
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Sorry for taking so long to reply! Please forgive me!

There's one small change you could make in Chapter 45
QUOTE
"Hmm? My old son, issuing me a challenge such as this? You're starting to act like me during my youth days before I met your mother." Nathan Sr. chuckled as he said that, before continuing with: "Fine. Hop along."

That makes it clear that it's Nathan Sr. who said that last bit, and not Nathan Jr.


In your writing, there are moments where although the writing isn't perfect, what you were thinking of manages to jump out of the words with an almost pristine quality to them. In this case, it would be when Nathan Sr. did his run in the Viper. That was just. . . nice thumbsup.gif

Most of the rest of the chapter wasn't bad either. And Chapter 46 was good too, but there was this one error.

QUOTE
"Remember when you're about to leave Gunma for Gunma, you gave me your toy car?"


Tomo's come up an answer? So what's he gonna say? Update please.
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Dec 21 2008, 06:11 AM


The R34's chosen one
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Joined: Dec 13th 2007
Location: Makati, Philippines





The edits were made. Thanks for pointing 'em out Meteor.
Update? With Pleasure!!

-----------------------------------

Chapter 48 - Evidence

Nathan is humbly sitting on his recliner at his study as he notices Tomo walk in. Tomo had a serious look on his face. Is he gonna take a stand against Nathan's words to him the other day, or is he going to say something else that could turn the tide?

"Now, Tomo. What is it you want to talk about?" he asked.
"Remember what you told me weeks ago that started all this?"
"The part where I ask you 'what do you love more?'"
"Yes, sir. That one. I finally have an answer to that question of yours."

Nathan gave a somewhat smiling grin on his face. It seems to him Tomo finally got into his qualifications for a battle.

"My answer to that, sir, is both." Hearing that, disappointed Nathan. From a happy grin, his mouth shows disappointment. Nathan's face showed seriousness as of this moment. How could he possibly love both? It is illogical. Tomo continued to talk his way out of the gloomy situation: "I know that answer is quite uncommon and stupid but hear me out for a moment. When I drive or whether it be I cook, I find contentment in both. If I am not cooking, I drive. Same goes for the other way around. It's like my balancing factor - my yin and yang to my identity. Many have wondered what is the connection to both careers because fact shows that there is none. Well, I know something they don't about them. The happiness you could feel in one is the same happiness you could feel for the other. There is a catch, though. When I race, it is for myself and oftentimes for others. When I cook, on the other hand, it is for others and oftentimes myself. There's a balance between the two and it makes up who I actually am. I cannot deny both as denying one would destroy my identity - who I actually am. Well, that's how I believe in it, sir." Tomo's legs shook there as he was talking. He wasn't sure if what he said is enough and is ready to take any verbal attacks at him.

Nathan turned his recliner around showing Tomo only the back of it. "I guess that isn't the right answer afterall..." he thought. Finally, Nathan spoke: "What you said, it is something that no one would opt to say. It's like a childish reasoning just to save one and the other. But if that's what you believe in, then nobody could judge you for that unless proven wrong. However..." he stood up and continued talking: "What you've mentioned awhile ago, the one about balance... it intrigued me. How is it that both careers balanced you out? That's what I want to know, NOT by verbal reasoning. I want something with evidence, if you know what I mean..."
The last statement made Tomo's eyes bulge. He knows what Nathan is saying. He's giving him his car back. Nathan looked back at Tomo with a smile. There was something odd though in the atmosphere. Tomo was happy; of course but, he's also afraid. Afraid of what?

He could see Nathan's immense aura. An aura depicting a Lance wielder sitting on a stallion of sorts. The Lancer had the lance on one side, and a sword on the other side; well that's how Tomo sees it. Nathan knows that it is time to release him from confinement. He wants to see this boy's skills.
user posted image
Nathan approaches Tomo to say a few words. "It is time, boy." he said. He approaches Tomo's ear and whispers something to him. "But I won't let you out of the cage and into the seat just yet." Of all things that Nathan said, this is something that puzzled Tomo a lot. He doesn't want to think anymore as to his glorious moment.
"What do you mean?" he questioned.

Nathan turns around once more before he has his hand on the door knob of his study: "You can drive now, but on one condition. We will race 3 days from now; HOWEVER! You cannot drive until the third day. This means you also cannot request your friend's car just to practice. If what you said is true, I want to see for myself if it is. Remember, Tomo. Only until the third day I'll give you your car keys back." He answered while showing the keys to the GT-R. Tomo gave a simple nod accepting terms but he wasn't disappointed or angry over the situation. Nathan nods back and exits the study leaving Tomo to think of a strategy. But could he even have a strategy at this moment? He doesn't even know who he's going up against.

Outside the study, Nathan closes the door finding out that Dorothy was standing outside also. She overheard the discussion among Tomo and her husband. She's beginning to worry. "Love, are you sure with your conditions to Tomo? Isn't it that you're just making things harder for him?"
Nathan puts his head down and answers: "It shouldn't be this way either. But this is in a way punishment for breaking our word."
A short moment of silence envelops the hallway. "What do you mean punishment?"
"I know he got out one night to practice. I have a keen ear for modified machines and that late night proved it. It's for curiosity's sake if that short practice of his without my consent would help him with the race 3 days from now or not. Don't worry, hon. This won't be long at all."
"You're seriously going to drive? But you haven't raced after more than a year. How could you possibly win?"
"Let's say I'm in the same predicament as that of Tomo. I also raced one night. So we're pretty much even. The question is, would he still par with me even without practice on his side?" Nathan leaves Dorothy and heads for the garage to start his "skill refinement", He looks at his Ford GT and wonders "It's been a long time since I held the wheel of my own car. Can I still remove the remaining rusts within me?"
Someone overheard Nathan talking from behind. It was Nathe, his son. "Only one way to find out, dad." Nathan looks back and sees his son. He gave a grin and calls his son. He has something to say.

At the nearby city of Vancouver, Kitami made research by asking most of the circuit racers and locals alike about the Archibal Father and son. Some know them, some don't. Kitami meets up with Kyo once again, who was spectating the practice rounds for the soon to be stock car tournament held at Vancouver itself. Kitami thought that Kyo might know something about them. "Kyo!" he called out. Kyosuke tilted his head seeing Kitami and the two of them approached each other. "What is it, man?"
"Do you know anyone by the name Nathan Archibal?"
"Which one?"
"So you know."
"Are you kidding me? He's well known here in Canada and Seattle. The artist of the circuit and the street. A real charismatic driver if you ask me. He could be old but he drives as great as you, me, and Tomo combined."
"Even tougher than Kitana?"
"Kitana is nothing compared to the Nathans"
"Are you telling me even Nathe is as great as his father?"
"Nathe, if you mean Nathan's son, then yes. He is."
Kitami had a sudden chilly feeling that went down his spine. That really doesn't sound good.
"Why? Are you racing him?"
"No. But I have a feeling Tomo would."
Kyo's face turned serious and he puts his head down. Tomo's always the one targeted because he has that intense passion over it, even if it isn't the first in his life. But almost anyone who gets his name, outside of the team, is entangled to race him for some reason. Kyo leaves Kitami for a moment to get something from his Exige. He took out something from the car's glove compartment. A Video tape of sorts. The label shows ARCHIBAL RACE ARCHIVES. "Are you just leaving without helping?" Kitami asked in anger.
"Easy, man. Keep your cool."
"Dude, don't tell me to keep my co-"
Kyo hands over a VHS tape near Kitami's face.
"Give this to Tomo. It could give him an idea who he's dealing with."
Kitami looks at the tape and looks back to Kyo.
"Tell me, Kyo. Is this the business you've told us about before?"
"Hmm... probably." he answered with a grin.
Kitami smiles back and offers something. "Say, Kyo. We're a little short on drivers seeing that my brother left the team. How's say you come back to Team Jap?"
"Are you kidding me!?" he answered. Kitami thought that he rejected the offer and he was wrong about Kyo.
"I already got ahead of you. Daiki already asked me the same thing and I accepted. Get with the times man."
Kitami was happy to hear that. Could be competition for him but to Kitami, it's better than no competition at all. Besides, they got a score to settle still.

Sakura and Kasumi are leisurely talking in the ground hall of the Archibal Mansion. Suddenly, Kasumi had a thought in mind. "Say, Sakura. How do you think Daiki and the others are doing?" she asked.
"Well, how's say we call him right now?"
"Wouldn't we disrupt his training?"
"we won't. Knowing Akiyama, he's ready anytime even if he's interrupted."
"Hold on, since when did you and Daiki ever get close?"
"Um... we aren't... just a feeling I had. But when did you ever worry about him?"
"Well... I... uh, am just being sure."
It's a weird atmosphere between the two girls. Anyway, Sakura takes out her cell and calls Daiki.
"Hello?"
"Daiki-kun."
"Ah, Sakura. Where exactly are you guys? I'm beginning to worry about you guys. It's been a month since you didn't bother to call."
"We're staying over with the Archibals."
"Who?"
"With Nathan Archibal. He offered us a stay here and helped Tomo with his culinary training too."
"Wait... Nathan Archibal?"
Kasumi butted in and asked "You know him?"
"Girls. Between us. Nathan Archibal is actually a racer."
"What!? Get out, Daiki. He's a real estate broker and a hollywood star. He told us that."
"That's just his morning job. When he has the time, he comes here to the Vancouver track to do runs. I saw him during our practices. I even got to talk to him."
"I see..." Sakura and Kasumi's tone started to fade to a disappointing one.
"Is Tomo there?"
"Yeah but... he was confined from his car."
"I was afraid of that."
"What do you mean?"
"That's how Nathan gives a test to high ranking drivers such as ourselves. Nathan starts out with that and declares a battle. I'm telling you, once you were given such a condition, you could expect defeat coming your way. It's a scary feeling for a racer not to practice at all."
"You'll lose your touch and eventually end up being a low ranking one at best." Sakura answered.
"Yeah. So if he declares a battle to Tomo... tell Tomo to reject it at all cost. He'd lose I know that."
"How did you know?"
"I'll explain when I have the time to talk to the two of you personally. I got to go. Hiroya and Shimizu did some settings for me to 'win' this and I need to try them out."
"Okay. Take care Daiki." the two girls said.
Daiki hangs up and the two reclined in disbelief.
"I can't believe Nathan is a racer and he hid it from us."
"Yeah... I guess, some things aren't meant to be told; especially to guests like us. If we found out, then we're in trouble."
"In what way?"
"I dunno. It's a feeling I have."
They look at the stairs and noticed Tomo walking down. He had a serious look.
"Tomo-san!""Tomo!" the two of them reacted and went to him.
"Oh, hey girls."
"Did you talk to Nathan?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah. He said something about a battle. From what I know, it's obviously a car battle."
"Oh no. We're too late."
"Waddya mean?"
"You see..." Kasumi started "we just talked to Daiki on the phone and he told us that Nathan is a high level racer. He often goes to private circuits to race."
"Who knows, he could be doing the same runs we do at the passes as well..."
"I already know that."
"Looking at how he issued the confinement and how I saw his aura, he definitely is a racer. I accepted the race and there's no turning back now."
'But even with practice..."
"I wasn't given any."
"What!?" The girls were shocked hearing that from Tomo.
"He told me that I can only touch my car at the third day from today. And I can't borrow your car either. I can't break that promise." he said.
"TOMO!!" Hiei screamed from across the hall.
"Hiei! Pipe down! We're not in the fields you know!" Kasumi answered as to show courtesy for being guests.
"Sorry, Kasumi. Tomo, I got something for you. Kitami told me to give it to you." Hiei hands over a tape. It was the tape that Kyo gave to Kitami.
"What is it?"
"An archive of Nathan Archibal's battles?"
"We better check it out. Which one of you has a TV in your room."
"Well, I do..." Kasumi answered.
"Why do you have o-" Hiei squealed.
"It's Nathe remember? When we first arrived here."
"Oh, yeah."
"Anyway, let's check the tape out." Tomo said.
The 4 of them went to Kasumi's room. Kasumi wondered: "Say, Hiei. Where's Ryusen?"
"Him? Doing his early training outside."
"What kind?"
"The usual physical training."
"Oh..."

When they got into the room, Tomo immediately placed the tape on the VHS. He gets the remote and turns it on. Kasumi and Sakura sat on the bed, Tomo stood next to Kasumi and Hiei sits on the floor, just in between the two girls.
The video shows a Pontiac GTO and a Ford GT drifting through seattle.
"Drifting!? But that's a circuit."
"Do you think it's them?"
"I dunno."
Further into the film, it shows scenes of the Ford GT doing zero countersteer drifts, a parallel drift with a Corvette C6 and a Viper SRT10 roadster, weight shifts past the railways, a continuous no-skid drift through the S curves. Another scene portrays a race meet where it shows Nathan and Nathe come out of the Ford GT and Viper SRT10 Coupe. The 4 of them cannot believe it. It's actually them. And it's actually Nathan Sr. doing all those drifts in seattle as well.
It shows a battle between Nathan & his Ford GT where he obliterates a Pagani Zonda F in a speed match, beat a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 on a circuit match and a R35 Proto on a drift match.
They were all stumped by the video. As the tape goes on, Tomo knows what he's dealing with. It's scary. So scary that he cannot picture himself keeping up. Definitely harder than his race with Daiki, Kitana and Lucas Scott. Probably, the hardest match he has up to date.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Mar 25 2009, 06:21 AM
Meteor
Posted: Dec 23 2008, 07:31 AM


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Wait. Something as old as a VHS tape includes recent cars like the Zonda F, LP640 and the GT-R?

I wonder how Tomo's going to win this race. What? Is his R34 going to get tuned or something? I'll wait for the update. It'll be interesting to see how you write this one.
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Dec 24 2008, 05:53 AM


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How WOULD Tomo win this race? I mean, he hasn't driven for like weeks and he only drove once which obviously didn't help. Kyo thought of that ambush race as just a speed bump in his way. Let's see how he'll cope with it in this chapter.
--------------------------------

Chapter 49 - Strength

It's almost a month ever since Tomo and the rest of the team stayed in the Archibal Mansion. The family didn't mind a couple of young strangers staying over; even for that long of a period. In fact, they were very grateful. The house has become livelier than before. They have tasted food that was uncommon to the local group, thanks to Tomo's career training. Most of all, though, it rekindled the spark that was defused within Nathan Sr. The happiness though seems to change as things start to become serious. The race was issued and Tomo doesn't know how to cope with it. Without practice by his side for nearly a week, he's down to a rookie; as stated by Sakura. Does he even have a chance at this?

[DAY 1]
A usual day goes by as Tomo helps out with the Kitchen for the usual morning, afternoon and dinner preparations. Time flied so fast that nightime approached quite fast. Tomo was exhausted. As he got up to the second floor landing, he noticed someone giving him "the look". It was Kitami; he had a serious look on his face. Tomo just leisurely passed by him. Kitami took his right arm and said something.
"You sure about this? Could you even match this guy?"
"I have no other option. The battle was issued. The preparations are being made."
Kitami scrunched his eyes a bit.
"There's nothing we could do now. All we could do... is wait."
Kitami lets go of his arm and allows Tomo to do as he wished. He just stood there, looking seriously at the person who's about to fall prey to this house's master.

[DAY 2]
Kasumi looks at Tomo's GT-R at a distance. Visions of the soon-to-be battle comes into her mind. She crosses her arms and gives it a thought. I sure hope he doesn't over do this. According to Daiki, Nathan could be a very skilled driver. This is bad for Tomo, who never had gotten back onto the wheel of his own GT-R. He had a run in Sakura's but it was a different one. His own GT-R is different; one of a kind, and Kasumi knew that very well. As she looked intensely at the car, she could see Tomo in it. Struggling. In her mind, he struggles on his battle against a mysterious car.
Only Kasumi was the one who doesn't know what car the father of the household uses.
She couldn't care less but Tomo's safety, yet she also cares for his victory. How come? The answer is only within the boundaries of Kasumi's mind and heart. She won't blurt out the reason. She won't talk about it. It's something she keeps between her and her alone. Not even Tomo could convince her if he ever found out.
A couple of footsteps approached Kasumi. She turned around and looked to see Dorothy holding a cup of tea. She shows it to Kasumi. "Would you like to have some milk tea and Strawberry shortcake?" Kasumi nods and assists the mother of the house.
"Tell me, is your husband that great?" Kasumi asked out of the blue.
Dorothy just gave a nod.
"I see. But... do you think he'd have a chance?"
"It is not something for me to answer."
"What would happen then? How would we know if Tomo even has a chance against your husband?"
Dorothy raises her left arm and extends her left pointing finger at Kasumi, directing it at her heart.
"My...heart?"
"If you believe he can, then he will." Dorothy followed.
"If you believe he can... then... he will?"
Dorothy nods again to the naturally affected female. She (Kasumi) holds her chest and feels her heartbeat. a fast paced one. Slowly, it slowed its beat down. Her heart soon beats as if nothing extreme happened or came to her mind.
"If I believe..." she uttered.

Late at night, Tomo grabs a glass of warm milk and heads outside to get some fresh, cold air before he'll go to sleep. He stares at his own car. Can I possibly do it? For the whole day, that's what he thought, thinking positively and otherwise. He's starting to doubt his own capabilities. He gave a huge sigh.
"What a bad moment not to have Tetsuya around..."
"Relying a bit too much on tuning, eh?" A voice behind him said.
He turns around and sees Nathe looking at him.
"If you rely too much on your tuning, you're bound to lose and fail. besides, what is more wrong if you have a car wherein you're unfamiliar with the settings? What would you do? The answer is obvious. But what do I care? It's not my problem anyway."
"Nathe... what are you-"
"I got to train a bit..."
"Train?"
"In case my father would allow me to, I'd want to be part of the race myself."
"What are you talking about? It's only between your father and I..."
"Wrong my friend... My dad calls the shots. Who knows, he might allow it. I'm his son after all..."
Tomo gritted his teeth. He was right. With Nathe included, he'll be at a complete disadvantage. The probability for Tomo to even keep up is no less than zero percent. He watched as the Red SRT10 Viper speeds off into the mountains.

[DAY 3]
Sunset. The day is almost near. Tomo feels like giving up. Kasumi looks at him at a distance. "At this rate, he's bound to lose. I guess, I need to put into his mind what Dorothy said to me yesterday. If it is true that he believes he can..." Kasumi goes closer to Tomo trying to get his head into gear.
"Tomo-kun."
"Kasumi..."
"can I sit here?"
"Oh, sure."
Kasumi sat next to 'her' Tomogashi-san. She was wearing a pink spaghetti top blouse and wore what looked like a denim-material skirt all the way to her knees. She had her hair ponytailed. She got close to Tomo to say something important.
"You know..."
Tomo looked to Kasumi and nearly broke out in surprise seeing Kasumi's outfit. He blused completely. He was red as a freshly picked tomato. But what for? I guess Tomo and Kasumi didn't talk that close for a very long time ever since they met the Archibals and got to stay with them. He sat again feeling a somewhat sense of relief.
"Sorry if I went jumpy there."
"It's okay."
"You were saying?"
"Oh..." she blushed back before she got to say what she tries to say. "this race of yours... do have a plan or something?"
In a gloomy state, Tomo answers "None."
"Is your opponent that fast?"
"If you've seen his aura, Kasumi... It's fearsome for a driver such as myself to see an aura like that."
"But I know that you could do it."
"eh?"
"I know you can win."
user posted image
"How could you say that."
"Because I believe so. I know you can." she said as she stood up.
"You really think so?"
"What I said will only come true if you believe it also." She replied with a smile.
She bends down on her knees and looks at Tomo with a sweet look. "So don't be gloomy. Be positive." Tomo blushed as Kasumi stares much closer to him. Those glossy lips of Kasumi are somewhat beautiful to watch. The peachness of it mesmerized him a bit. He tries to resist. "Okay?" she asked again. As she got close, she hugged Tomo and her mood changed. "I don't want to see you like this."

[THE BIG DAY]
Nathan Sr. waits at the main hall. He is waiting for his combatant. Tomo comes out, wearing his casual outdoor clothes. Tomo comes down the stairs with a serious look on his eyes and a smile on his face. The rest of the group awaits the racers outside next to Tomo's GT-R. Nathan shows to Tomo the keys of his car. As he got to Nathan's side, he opens his hand and Nathan lets go of the keys.
They step out and board their cars. Before Tomo could even step into his car, he told Kasumi "Arigato, Kasumi. I'll win this. I'm saying it because, I believe so. Thanks to you, I'm mentally prepared. This race will be for you, especially."
Kasumi blushed hearing that and nods happily.

The rest of the group boarded their own cars and some carpooled. They head out to the start, following Nathan's car. Tomo gives Nathan sr.'s car a serious look. A ford GT, resembling the old GT40 of the late 60's le mans. He's wondering though as they went to the starting line... where is Nathe? Is he really gonna join the match?

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Mar 25 2009, 06:23 AM
Meteor
Posted: Dec 27 2008, 01:06 AM


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Ah yes. There's just nothing like a little confidence. Tomo'll do a little better that way.

Looks like the race is going to start now. I wonder if Nathe's gonna drive too.

Take your time on the updates.
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Jan 4 2009, 06:30 PM


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Episode 12 - The Knight Rides again
Chapter 50 - Wonders of the Open Road

Tomo, Nathan Sr. and the rest of the members of Team Japan arrive at one of the roads leading to the British Columbian Mountain Region. The Cypress Bowl Road; or as some may call, the Cypress Mountain Road is located at West Vancouver by the British Columbian Mountain range. The base of this pass leads to Vancouver. The road map doesn't seem to carry as many hairpins as that of Japan. It has around 4 to 5 hairpins from the base. As they reach the peak, the road becomes a bit more complex. Once in view of Cypress Provincial Park, the road divides into two - one route leading back to the route down Cypress road and another leading to a dead end.

Atop Cypress Road's midpoint, Tomo and the rest stopped there in order for the 2 drivers to discuss the road map. Both drivers step out of their cars. As Tomo steps off his GT-R, he can't help but notice the look of the Ford GT that is parked right infront of his car.

The FORD GT. A reincarnation of the Ford GT40 of the late 60's Le Mans. No one among the europeans that time had ever thought that America could match up to their racing standards. The GT40 proved them wrong as in its first debut, it dominated the round. Now, the GT resembles the GT40 itself, in modern times in the hands of a secretly skilled driver named Nathan Archibal. The body seems very aerodynamic. 550 hp roaring at the back of the car. To Nathan, 550 isn't enough to bring out the beast within the GT. He upgraded it to a 710 flat horsepowered stallion. It deserves the name that Nathan gave to it - Pegasus. With this, he could "fly".

Just looking at the GT gave Tomo the chills. Part of him is in fear of the GT. "It looks so light" he thought to himself. Well, he's correct. The GT, though originally, weighs as much as the GT-R - 1500+ kg. Nathan was able to bring it down to 1150. A very light supercar at that. The Engine is out of the ordinary - the racing engine used by Ford exclusively for the GT LM spec models used to compete in the modern Le Mans. To top it off, Nathan also equipped it with a twin supercharger thus increasing total power output from 610 to 710. It even has the latest in racing engineering geared up upon the GT's chassis. Bridgestone racing Tires, the whole car reinforced with a set of roll cages, and for the heck of it, a vinyl set just like the GT40 in the past.

"You read to listen to the route, son?"
Tomo was startled as he hears someone call out to him. Nathan was waiting for him to approach him for the race's route.
"I'm ready, sir."
"Well, good." He brings out the map of Vancouver. It covers the West, North and Eastern Region. "We're here. In Cypress Bowl Road, 70 kilometers away from my place." Nathan said. Tomo simply nodded in agreement.
"As we go down the road, from the peak, we head straight for the Main freeway. We exit the freeway at the 19th exit, leading us to Lynn Valley road. We take a left at Mountain Hwy upward until we reach the next mountainpass."
"Another one?" Tomo questioned.
"Yes. But this one is much more treacherous than Cypress Road. It is Crown Mountain and it is still part of Mountain Highway. Next to it would be Lynn Headwaters Regional Park - that would be your aid knowing that you're on the second pass." Nathan followed. "The dead end of that road is the finish line; the one consisiting of the 6 consecutive hairpins. The goal is located at the last of the 6 hairpins. BUT! It doesn't stop from there. From that point, we make a turnaround and HEAD BACK. All in all, it will be a 80 mile race."
"HEAD...BACK!? 80 MILES!?" Tomo freaked out hearing that.
"Is there a problem?"
"No...no sir! No problem at all!" He answered." (So it's a round trip. This is serious. Especially concerning my tires.)..."
"Shall we begin?" Nathan asked. Tomo once again nods in agreement to terms.
As he looked back, Kitami wasn't there. "W...where's Kitami?"
"You're friend in the Mustang? He went ahead to Crown Mountain. He'll be staying at the goal waiting for us there."
"While we wait for your friend, I'll help you plot out the route in your GPS."
Tomo goes to Sakura and Kasumi, a few meters away from where the 2 contenders are.
"This is it, huh?" Sakura said.
"Probably. I'm really not sure if I could pull this off."
"You don't have to win at all." Kasumi commented.
"What?"
"She's right. I mean winning won't make you a better driver."
"You sort of got a point there."
"I mean, do you remember this statement? Of what does a man benefit and gain the whole world and lose his soul in the end?" Kasumi quotes.
"You don't need to win. You just have to give your best." Sakura followed.
Tomo was silent. The girls thought that what they said might have discouraged him in this race. A little while later, Tomo spoke.
"You know... I was about to think of the most stupid plan that I have cooked up with. If it weren't for the two of you, I'd end up like what most drivers are. And I don't want to end up like Lucas either."
"Yeah... him... Lucas Scott... it's enough that you changed him for the better. But it's wrong to end up wearing his shoes in the process." Kasumi commented.
"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned. She has no idea who Lucas Scott really is. Only Tomo and Kasumi were the ones who got to know him in the 'slammer'.
"I'll tell you later. You didn't get to see him since you were out busy with your pro race at Infineon, remember?"
"Alright Kasumi. But what we need to focus now is Tomo's race today. So Tomo-kun, do you have any plans?"
"Well I was planning on driving like a mad man just to keep the lead but I change my mind. I might as well drive to the best of my abilities and try not to push myself too hard on this race."
"Now that's the Tomo we know and love." Kasumi and Sakura said together. Tomo blushed while the two girls looked at each other. They laughed for that short moment while they wait for the official start.

Ten minutes passed and Tomo received an incoming call. It was Kitami.
"Kitami. Where are you?"
"I'm at Crown Mountain. And let me warn you man that this road is no walk in the park either. This is a tough pass. Near the summit of this is a snow pass so you better take extra caution. Even a 4WD could lose control here."
"Thanks for the Warning, Kitami." Their talk was interrupted when Nathan approached Tomo. "Say, Tomo... that's your friend, eh?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah."
He asks for the cell and Tomo willingly gave it to him.
"Kitami, is this you?"
"S...sir Nathan. Yes. I'm here at the pass near Crown Mountain."
"Good good. Here's the thing. Once we get there, we'll be heading back here."
"A round trip?"
"That's right. So once we go back, you come along with us back here okay?"
"Y...yes sir."
He hangs up and throws the cell phone back at Tomo.
"Let's start." Nathan mentioned.
"Yes."
They slowly walk to their cars. Everything went in slow motion as Nathan and Tomo drive their cars before the first hairpin of Cypress Road. Tension was everywhere. Everyone who's witnessing this battle can feel it also. The Tension is embracing everyone. The doors slowly close as the drivers buckle up slowly too.
The cars were slowly brought to the starting line. They slowly rev to their red zones.

Kasumi knew that they're about to begin so she walked in front of the cars; in between them specifically and is volunteering to start the countdown. She extends her hand, holding a handkerchief - a classical way of starting car races in the past. Once the handkerchief touches the pavement, the race begins.

Both drivers concentrate on their accelerators. The needles hit the red zones. They're anxious to bring their cars to gear 1 and blast off the starting line. Kasumi lets go of the handkerchief and they watch as it lands. Once the tip touches the pavement, Nathan quickly puts the car on 1st. Tomo hearing the burnout of the GT, puts his car on 1 as well and both drivers blast out of the starting line with the GT slightly in front. Add the fact that the GT is in the inside while the GT-R is on the outside of the corner, Nathan obviously has the lead.

Kasumi and Sakura ran to the exit of the corner and watch as the cars take on the first left hairpin. "And so it begins." Sakura said with a serious look on her face.
Kasumi holds her chest and hopes for the better. She wishes that Tomo would succeed; whether he wins or not. The battle between Tomo and Nathan has begun. Who knows what will happen.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jan 7 2009, 02:38 AM
Meteor
Posted: Jan 6 2009, 05:35 AM


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QUOTE
Everything went in slow motion as Nathan and Tomo drive their cars before the first hairpin of Cypress Road. They slowly walk to their cars.

So they're already in their cars, and then they slowly walk towards them? You actually meant that the crowd slowly walked towards the cars, right?

Anyway, I'll be waiting for the next update.
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Jan 7 2009, 02:42 AM


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Not too many people were out to witness this race. Nathan, unlike Lucas, is part pro and never engaged in the underground races. The crowd is actually just Sakura and Kasumi.
Thanks for pointing those out , again. It helped a lot. Now... the start of the chapter!
Nathan Archibal Sr. vs Tomogashi Kitsumoro (part 1) has started!!
----------------------------------

Speed Legend S
Chapter 51 - An Indefinite Road of Discomfort

The gap slowly increases ever since the race between the GT and R34 started. Nathan is keeping a calm face. He always knew that his GT is faster than any 4WD or any other car in the US when it comes to start offs; not to mention that he had the utmost advantage in the beginning of the first corner. Tomo is feeling uneasy. He feels that he's beginning to succumb to the immense power of the GT and felt like giving up in the start. Then, he remembered what Sakura and Kasumi told him and what he said back.

"No... the race just started!"

He shifts to gear 3 as he makes his way halfway through the straightway before the second hairpin. Flames bursted out of his exhaust and the needle is right on the red zone when he shifted. Then it came: the next hairpin. He saw the GT take it without much effort - braking effort. The line that Nathan was taking was very smooth; compared to Lucas' unnoticeable racing line. He saw that the rear of the GT tripped and was induced to a drift however, there was no friction smoke that came out from the lower end of the tires. He didn't see the car countersteer; not even for a slight moment. What was he doing to his car on the corners?

It's now Tomo's turn. He brakes not too hard but not too soft within 250 meters from the start of the corner. Swerving the car to the outside, he's planning to take it on using an out-in-out attack. The weight though of his car is 200kg heavier than that of the GT. As he entered and nailed the apex, the car understeered before he passed the apex. He decelerated to clear the hairpin completely in the inside and slowly position it on the outside.

Nathan, while driving on the straightway, glanced at his rearview mirror. "Hmm... what are you planning?" He was wondering why he wasn't going all out yet. Is it because the GT is overqualified for the GT-R? He isn't thinking of any stupid reason why. Alls he know is that he should finish this and see if he could make a comeback.

Tomo was in a completely uncomfortable pace. He still wasn't used to his car again. It has been a long time since he rode on it. For the past weeks, he just glanced at his car. He could feel the car pull itself when he hits the wrong shift points. It wasn't helping him at all in the race. The rate of his spedometer at every shift decreased and the time that he gained speed was too long. But this is just the beginning. It is just the beginning. He still has a lot of chances. He could do this. His only problem? could he do it and regain the lost distance?

Back atop Cypress road, Kasumi is in her usual state - too concerned. She isn't like this when Tomo is out in the passes against a rival that she knows is par to Tomo, but against a car like a GT? She is beginning to worry. "I wonder if Tomo-kun IS pushing himself too hard?"
Sakura glanced at her. Didn't he just say that he wouldn't? "Kasumi, I know that what Tomo meant, he will. He will not push himself too hard on this race. This is just the start."
Sakura closed her eyes and listens to the engine tones that are still hearable. She could hear tire screeches as well. By the looks of things, the screeches between the GT and GT-R are very far away from each other and are not that 'intense'.
"He's not overdoing it I could tell." Sakura spoke.
"You sure?"
"When Tomo pushes the car too hard, the screeches of the tires and the sound of the targeted shift points are higher than what I just heard. In fact, he's still getting used to his own car."
"Isn't that both a good and bad thing altogether?" Kasumi wondered.
"True. It's good that he could plan out his strategy during the long round trip battle but... it's also bad that he might not be able to decrease the gap compared to how it is right now." Sakura answered.
Kasumi takes her eyes off Sakura and looks at the horizon.
"Tomo... please drive safely." she said to herself while feeling her heart.

Back with the race...
through another hairpin, the GT-R is slowly gaining ground however, it is still not enough to catch up to the GT. The GT is still dominating the first half of the race. The gap hasn't changed yet. He grips through the next corner without stressing the tires too much. As he exits the corner, he was not surprised with what he saw. The GT was gone. He got ahead and the gap is around a kilometer long. He wasn't surprised though. Most racers would give up when their opponent is no longer in sight. Tomo is different. Until the finish is up, he won't rest until the goal was passed. "Just keep going, GT-R." He said to himself. He shifts to gear 3 after exiting the corner. This time, he nailed the correct shift point and his car pushed a bit as it gained speed down the hill. 300 meters before the next bend; the last bend before the freeway's entrance, he lightens his pressure on the accelerator; anticipating the degree of the upcoming corner.

Nathan has now reached the main freeway's entrance and his GT is still in top condition - no tire deterioration, perfect acceleration control, everything was flawless. The freeway is a measure of aerodynamics; very much like the Wangan. It's all about straight line driving. Obviously, the only obstacle in the freeway is the cars on the driver's path. Local drivers getting to their destination through the freeways. Nathan smoothly makes his way through the light traffic. As for Tomo, he's still far behind, obviously. The corner that he's on is pretty much like in Myogi's 2nd section. He goes through it in mid speed on the inside lane. As soon as he got view of the junction road - a fork road where one leads to the freeway, he presses his brakes and induced the car to a powerslide. A fatal mistake. "Damn! Don't drift!" The ATTESA ET-S kicks in and recovers the car's position. Tomo gave a huge sigh as he directs the R34 into the freeway.

"By now, the distance between me and Nathan could be around 2 kilometers... He has the utmost advantage at this point in the race. I need to somehow decrease the gap. Power margin is quite large between my car and the GT. 550 to 710. I need to compromise... but with what?" Tomo wondered. Then it hit him. A flashback of his battle with Daiki.

The third round match between Tomo and Daiki years back. It was Tomo's first time on the wangan. He didn't know what to do, not to mention the fact that he was in a completely disadvantageous position - the runner that time. Daiki initiated an attack that got him the lead. Slipstreaming. Of course. That was the complete advantage of an underpowered car in the wangan. If your car is capable of catching up, despite a huge difference in power, you could still catch up by means of it. Using the same attack against Daiki, Tomo was able to level the playing field and maintained his gap with Daiki. He wondered in one moment at the Complete New Belt Line battle; Daiki's speed decreased when he got out of the slipstream and positioned his Z right infront of the GT-R. That's when he knew the secret. At one J turn, he stuck right behind Daiki; even thorugh the corner. At the exit, his speed is higher than the Z's and overtook Daiki at the last corner's exit. That gave him the win.

He only had one problem though when he thought of that plan right now... there was no car fast enough to be his 'shield'. As he entered the freeway, he noticed the pattern of the local cars. Some have formed a diagonal line. "If I use all of the cars as a slipstream..." he thought. It might be possible. His speed reads 257 km/h. In the Wangan status, it is a bit too low. Drivers there reach 300+ kilometers and maintained it through the road. As for the GT, it is going at a steady 320 km/h. The racing engine really helped, along with the twin superchargers and the installed racing clutch & flywheel. Nathan had some time wondering what Tomo would do. He knows that Tomo is someone who has met his standards. Now that he's testing his capabilities, why is it that he's doubting his own isights on the guy? Or maybe he's just not showing his true potential yet. Well, neither is Nathan. The specs of his GT alone could make him a top class driver; but add the driving skills that he has honed and revived, he's like a legendary god amongst the roads of Canada. "Just show me what you could do Tomo. Bring out the driver in you!" Nathan said to himself as he deepens his foot on the accelerator. Flames came out of the GT's exhaust. No unfamiliar sounds coming out of it.

Daiki, who was doing his rented car for the Stock car race at Downtown Vancouver, could feel the presence of Nathan Archibal nearby. "He's close. I could feel the presence of his driving style." he uttered. While Hiroya, Shimizu, and Tetsuya are doing different suspension settings for the car, Daiki moved away and stared at the freeway. "Anything wrong, Daiki?" Hiroya asked. He shook his head, meaning 'no'. "He must be tired. He needs a breather." Shimizu said.
"Don't be too worried, Hiroya." Tetsuya followed.
The familiar tone of a Supercharged V12 is close by... close to where Daiki and the other professionals are. No doubt, it is Nathan's Ford GT passing through from above. Running at 330 km/h on the freeways, it feels like a quick hurricane passed by Daiki's face. "It's him." Daiki said.

Tomo's plan is working perfectly. His recent speed is increasing momentarily. 260, 270, 280... it's working as he thought. He could feel his car getting close to the GT. The RB26DETT roars like hell through the passing traffic. Swerving slightly from left to right Tomo's speeds are rising immensely. A high speed S curve is ahead and Tomo's GT-R narrowly kissed the inner wall. Weight shift kicks in at the middle of the S curve as Tomo makes his way through the second part of the corner. He couldn't believe what he just saw. A familiar sillouhette of the car he's chasing. His speed is now at 310 and he's pretty certain of the car that he saw. "The GT! I'm gaining!" Tomo uttered with excitement. He shows a smile on his face knowing that he could pull it off. Nathan just passed the 10th exit and Tomo just passed the second 8th exit. He continues his slipstream tactic and is able to shorten the gap. Speeds now of the GT-R are reaching an unbelievable 323 km/h. Could he be pushing his car too far? Or is it natural when you're on a slipstream for a long time at such a speed. Tomo had around 3 near misses with the local cars. He nearly hit the side of a Honda Odyssey, the back of a Mustang Convertible, and the front of a Ford Taurus. He was doing fine.

Nathan wasn't at his limit when Tomo saw the GT, he's toying with the accelerator - bringing it midway, then full throttle and back. He wasn't waiting for Tomo either. The downforce could kill his tires; being an MR. He heard of a rumor in one of the practice runs of team Nissan and their R89CP at Sarthe a decade and a half ago. The tires were thrashed after 1 lap around Sarthe. It was a mysterious moment for them. They wondered why would the tires burn up so quickly? They were medium racing tires and they burned as quick as those Super Soft compounds!? Nathan was cautious with his tires even if he maintained his speeds at 330. He doesn't want to bring it up to 350 even if his GT could go all the way to 375 km/h. He knows that even at straightways, his tires would be affected too. So he's simply playing safe while he knows that he has the lead here.

780 meters. That was the current gap between the R34 and the GT. another 280 meters more and Tomo's in the slipstream once again - right behind Nathan. He has to make it fast though, his speed is dropping as soon as he got out of the last slipstream. Suddenly, another car was coming right behind Tomo. It is coming up fast. It's not an ordinary car. He couldn't say if it is a Tuner either. The pitch was high and the revs were low. He hears a hiss of a turbine behind him. Kitami? Couldn't be. He's waiting at the second pass for the two of them. Daiki? He's still down there at downtown. Sakura? Her R34's revs are as high as Tomo's GT-R. The revs that he could hear are around just until 7000 rpm. Every shift, he could feel the needle going eratic. 7000 is its redzone. Only U.S. Muscles could go that low but that fast. Lucas? Couldn't be either. His car is in the impound for a decade. It also doesn't sound like an LS7. It sounds more like a V-10 coming up fast right behind the GT-R. It's far away though but the presence could be felt a mile away. There's a well known car that could be equipped with such a deadly turbine in a V-10, revving all the way until 7000 rpm.

"Is that you?" Tomo uttered.
The sound seems very familiar. It completely reminded him of that ambush race back at the Canyons..
Speeds of 340 km/h right behind Tomo's R34.
"It... is you..."

note: for your information, this is the course map. Just follow along the star's point all the way to the main road (thick orange line), then the exit to Lynn road, etc... as described in Chapter 50.
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This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jan 7 2009, 03:55 AM
Meteor
Posted: Jan 7 2009, 04:52 AM


Were you expecting something else?
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Nathan sure has amazing control over 700+ bhp. He slid around that hairpin without smoking his rear tires at all, which means he didn't lose any speed at all around that corner, and kept his tires from overheating.

Ah. That's some smart thinking there Tomo; slipstreaming behind other cars.

So Nathe's decided to join in as well. . And it seems he's thought of that slipstream idea too.

This race shows promise. I also see you put more thought into it than you usually do. Keep it up!


Hmm. Will fuel play into this battle in some way? 40 miles is quite a long distance, let alone 80. .
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Jan 9 2009, 10:19 PM


The R34's chosen one
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Chapter 52 - Dual Mayhem

A red Dodge Viper invades the battle between Tomo and Nathan Archibal Sr. Who was it? It was none other than Nathan's son, Nathe. His Viper is a custom replica of the 1st generation Venom 800. It boasts about 800 bhp and by the numbers itself, it is a total monster of the highways.

"It's you... I remember this feeling..." Tomo uttered. He remembered it clearly - this was the same feeling when he was being chased by the cops back at USA. The same red Dodge Viper interfered with the chase and disabled the cops chasing Tomo. Thinking about that incident made Tomo conclude that Nathan was the one who rescued him from that catastrophy. But... why him? How on earth does Nathe know who Tomo is? Was he awaiting their arrival or something?

Before Tomo could ponder any further, a car was infront of him when he glanced back at the road. He immediately steered the car to avoid the collision but he lost an immense amount of speed as body roll kicked in and forced him to slow down to regain control of the car. Because of that, the Viper was closing in thrice the speed than it was awhile ago. He gritted his teeth and tries to block the Viper.

Nathan, in his Ford GT glanced to see how the young contender was doing only to figure out that he disappeared from his rearview mirror. "Something must've happened... or this could be a trap set before me..." he wondered. The road was wide - wide enough to hide from your opponent and engage a surprise attack. Nathan knew that very well and didn't hesitate to stick his foot down on the accelerator.

Going back to Tomo and Nathe...
The Viper is closing in. He's only a few meters away from the GT-R's rear bumper. Nathe shows a huge grin on his face as he taunts Tomo and forces him to lose concentration. "Putting me and my dad on the same side on this race... we're the unbeatable duo of the Canadian roads!! Try to stop us if you can, eh!" Nathe shouts out to Tomo. Tomo on the other hand, tries to regain his speed by slipstreaming right behind local drivers again; even though he knows the presence of the Viper right behind him...

The pressured R34 just couldn't hold his place much longer and Nathe is anxious to overtake; yet he pleads himself to stay where he is and toy around with his opponent. A few minutes later, Nathe was bored... he toyed around with the GT-R for too long. He pressed harder on the accelerator and quickly rotates the wheel to the left. There was no car blocking Nathe's way and he didn't hesitate to overtake. The SRT10 blasts right next to the GT-R. Tomo wasn't surprised but he gritted his teeth out of dissapointment and anger. He couldn't take the feeling of being toyed around. He knew that Nathe wasn't taking him seriously. "I'll get back at you, Nathe. Just watch me!!"

The GT was 1.5 kilometers ahead and the Viper is slowly increasing the gap and catching up to his father. Tomo was in a complete slumber - his slipstream worked but he wasn't able to compensate the balance that he needs. He nearly crashed that time. He needs to think of another plan to catch up and fast. The gap increased and increased.
dreamturtlegirl
  Posted: Jan 12 2009, 02:38 AM


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whoa jayjay.. i made this thing so its easier for me to comment tongue.gif
As much as i really like the new outline of the story (its much more creative than the first time i ever touched/saw your comics three years ago-gosh its been so long na pala), i liked your comics because of your drawings.
I really have a problem with full text stories. My head goes @.@ and my eyes subconsciously skip certain words already. I really need pics.. i'll die without pics. My brain will lag off without pics. And your story is nice but noooo pics!
Lol i wouldn't mind reading if it were on a paper... but i cant stand reading PURE text on computer sleep.gif
draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw
people liked your story coz you drew! Your angles etc
From your story its like your confused with what you really want in life~ but still! You shouldn't give up your drawing.
waaaaaaaa dont do pure text! I can't read pure text and im missing out on a lot. crying2.gif
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Jan 12 2009, 06:37 AM


The R34's chosen one
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Firstly, dreamturtlegirl, You know and I know we know each other but for the sanctity of the forum, do not address me by the name that I know and you know... best use the username... NOT my prime name. (like what I am doing.)
Secondly... sad to say, It will be on my decision which scene I would draw. Since this is a new chapter and all, I am still picturing what scene would fit best this chapter on paper, scanned to this site. But since this is your first post and all, and hopefully, not your last... I'll let you off this once. Just remember what I told you (see your PM in your controls).

Anyway... here is the next chapter of this grueling battle. I'm wondering also if my regular viewer/s like Meteor are still reading this. grin2.gif
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Chapter 53 - Pegasus shows his wings

The race is getting infuriating for Tomo, who's now left behind by his 2 rivals. He, however, is not giving up by the slightest. He's still fighting. He wants to regain his place from Nathe and get to Nathan as fast as possible. They're about to reach the 14th exit. 4 more exits then they head to mountain highway.

An S curve is close to where Tomo is driving on. He has recovered part of his speed; which is now at 269 km/h. He enters and removes his foot off the gas. Approaching the corner, he jolts his steering wheel to the right, thus approaching the inside. As he gets close enough to the inner wall, he accelerates and the car understeered due to the high speed he's at. Running at 250 through the first part of the S curve, he's doing well. He shifts to gear 5 as soon as he exits the first half of the S curve. Approaching the second one, he intentionally lets his rear trip and brought to a powerslide. He does a perfect 4 wheel, Zero countersteer drift through the second half at an amazing 267 km/h.

Nathe is wondering if he should wait for Tomo or go straight to his dad. It was a tough decision and the race is just 1/4 done. Shifting to gear 5 half a thousand rpms early, his car slowed down. The rate of the viper's increase in pace was disturbed for a moment. Once the needle is in the higher rpms, the car jolted back to its usual pace. He passes through a couple of passenger cars in a slalom motion, pretty much showing off a performance run.


"I can see my dad from here. An estimate of around 350 meters ahead. And still no sign of the GT-R at this moment." Nathe said as he passed the 16th exit. Running at a steady 300 km/h, he tailgates right behind a Corvette C6 convertible and breaks free from the slipstream once he's bumper to bumper. He looks again at his rearview mirror to see if the GT-R is still catching up. He feels that their cars are too powerful for the lone tuner. He didn't care despite that. Nathe still insists on increasing his pace and hopes for something out of the ordinary to happen.

Tomo is slowly applying all the techniques he used in the Wangan against Daiki in the past. Slipstreaming, deceleration instead of full braking, late shift technique, and all the other highway interpreted techniques just to lessen the gap. Although he's bringing out all the techniques he know related to the highways, he's not pushing his car to the limit. He promised Sakura and Kasumi that he won't overdo it. Moments later, all the driving techniques he know of before the "probation" are slowly coming back to him like magic. He has regain the confidence he had lost due to a long duration of not holding his own car. He's back! Tomogashi the racer is back in action. He presses harder on the gas to gain more speed. His speed, for some reason are increasing as fast as Nathe's viper! 270, 290, 310... He's at 315 km/h and is coming in fast. He blazes through traffic like a bullet. Flames burst out of the exhaust like crazy and his revs are reaching 8700 rpm. Slipstreaming at every car infront of him, he is getting close to the Viper and GT!

Half a kilometer ahead, Nathe has caught up to his dad. A clear 100 meters right behind the Ford GT. Nathan glances to see his own son's Viper. "Where's Tomo?" he wondered. While the father and son leisurely cruise the highways at 300+ kilometers, Nathe felt an incoming aura right behind him. After a light right turn, he stared at his rearview mirror to see if he's behind him. To his surprise, it is him. "That Skyline... how did it appear all of a sudden." He flashed his headlights at his father saying to pull ahead. Nathan recieves the call of his son, via rearview mirror and did just so. He's about to reach the 375 km/h top speed of his GT. He doesn't want to let the GT-R catch up. Nathe wouldn't want that either. All the 800 horses of his SRT10 are kicking in. The Aluminum V10 and the racing modified, DOHC Pushrod V-8 roar in succession like a horse's neigh of determination. As Tomo still insists on catching up, something nearly frightened his fighting spirit. Once the Viper and GT went side by side on the remains of the long straight to the said exit, he saw their aura blending together. The aura took form of a pair of wings that came out of the opposite sides of the 2 supercars. Another part of the aura formed something in between the two cars and adjoined with the wings: a horse shaped aura. Yes, their aura combined, brought out the shape of the mythological horse of Hercules... Pegasus. As the engines reach the top of their revs, the aura, at the same time, neighed loudly. Tomo was shocked to see it but his foot isn't letting go of the accelerator.

The GT-R is running at 320 km/h steadily while the GT and SRT10 ran at 360 tops at the same pace. They passed a sign that says that their exit is near. To show courtesy to the locals, while in the race, they turned on their turning lights. Tomo did the same thing in his R34. The RB26 is running the best it could. The GT and SRT10 are just too powerful to race against at a place like the highways. They; the GT and Viper, braked as they enter the exit. It is a tight round corner; that gave Tomo the moment to catch up; and he did. Because the GT-R's speeds are much lower than the other two, he braked less compared to the father and son duo. Tomo downshifts to gear 3 as he took on the tight exit. He lets the spedometer go nuts at its high revs. The needle nearly went crazy when it was a few revolutions away from the red zone as the rear tripped at the same time and induced the car to another powerslide. A high-rev powerslide and Tomo intended for it to happen. While Nathe and Nathan tapped the accelerator to balance their car through, Tomo is slowly closing in. By the time they're about to exit the corner, the GT and Viper went full throttle as they reach the flat street of Lynn Road. They veered to the other lane as Tomo steadily clears it on the inside. It wasn't over from there.

The 700 and 800 respective horses of the 2 leading cars kicked in once again and boosts away from the GT-R. Tomo wouldn't let it happen and still kept his foot glued on the gas as he shifts to gear 4. He's in the slipstream as soon as he regained much of his speed. All 3 cars are now running at 200+ kilometers as they swerve through oncoming traffic. With ease, they all turned left to Mountain Highway. Once again, thanks to Tomo's underpowered GT-R, he braked less as he entered the corner while the other two spent more time braking as they entered the corner.

"They'll leave me behind for a while but I'll catch up as soon as the first tight corner is up. I'll catch up from there." Tomo strategized as he still insists on barely sticking right behind Nathe's Viper. "I never had a thrilling match as this in my entire life. It's right of me to join in the race." Nathe thought to himself. "The inner driver within me has awaken, thanks to that kid. Now, I don't need to hesitate through the corners of this pass. My tires are as fine as they were when we started. At the downhill; the road back to Cypress Road, I'll push my car to the limit from the turning point and finish this race!" Nathan planned out.

Although Tomo is doing well, he can't help but grit his teeth as he watches the Viper and GT pull away. "This race is no different from my race with Kitana at Italy... But this is even far more extreme..." Tomo thought to himself. The third part of round 1 is up - the second mountain pass and all 3 cars are raging to the entrance to the pass.

Near the gates to the pass, Hiei and Ryusen are waiting for them to appear. Ryusen's S2000 parked at the side of the road with Hiei leaning on the left door of the car. Ryusen is holding his cell phone which is set to Kitami's phone. "Do you think Tomo could catch up? I mean, against that monster?" Ryusen asked.
"No idea. But I could say that they're extremely good." Hiei answered explaining what he just saw in the documentation that he, Tomo, Kasumi and Sakura watched.

Before the two could talk any further, they heard a couple of high revving engines close by. "Is it them?" Hiei wondered as he leaned off Ryusen's car. Ryusen immediately called Kitami, who is waiting for their call.
"Hello?" Kitami answered atop.
"They're here."
"Alright." Afterwhich, Kitami hangs up.
"What? Doesn't he want to know who is leading at all?"
There was a Moving truck on the incoming lane. They couldn't see who's actually leading but they're certain that it's Tomo's Skyline and the Ford GT. The cars screeched telling them that they're overtaking the truck. Hiei saw a vintage looking body approaching the side of the moving truck.
"It's the Ford GT!!"
"Where's Tomo?"
Once the GT positioned itself infront of the truck another car was in view...
"TOMO?" the two exclaimed.
A red Dodge Viper was in view this time.
"What's that?"
"Isn't that Nathe's car? What's he doing in the race?"
Before they could doubt any further as well, Tomo's blue GT-R shows up. The gap wasn't wide at all. It was around 70 to 100 meters. They were relieved. They watch as all 3 supercars blast by them.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jan 13 2009, 01:23 AM
Meteor
Posted: Jan 12 2009, 07:07 AM


Were you expecting something else?
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QUOTE
Anyway... here is the next chapter of this grueling battle. I'm wondering also if my regular viewer/s like Meteor are still reading this. biggrin.gif

You have potential, you need to write more to bring it out, you won't write if there are no readers (who would write if there wasn't anyone reading anyway?), and I want to see you write better. In short: yes, I'm still reading this.

Your description of racing scenes has improved quite a lot. I'm really looking forward to the update.

Just two things:
QUOTE
An S curve is close to where Tomo is driving on. He has recovered part of his speeed;

Speeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed! laugh.gif
QUOTE
"I could can see my dad from here. An estimate of around 350 meters ahead. And still no sign of the GT-R at this moment."



I'd also like to see you start drawing more comics. At this point though, you'll need some time to get used to your character designs again. You've stopped drawing them for so long; some of them just don't look right in your recent drawings.

(And what's wrong with dreamturtlegirl calling you by your nickname? Quite a lot of people here refer to others by their real names or nick names. Besides, you have both your real name and nickname written on the very first page of the comics tongue.gif)
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Jan 13 2009, 01:41 AM


The R34's chosen one
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You got me there. I forgot all about that (writing my name and all on the Speed Legend Prologue story scans) So for that; dreamturtlegirl, I am NOT letting you off since I take back all that I have said before concerning the name thing... It just that in this forum... I'm quite used to being called and calling others via their username like Meteor, Tesso, MattW, Damien_Wolf, etc... (12000 names)... that's all... Habituality laugh2.gif

Since I haven't started with 54 yet... (slightly busy with ... stuff), who'd want to see my other comics? They're quite old though and not much of an extreme detail compared to the Prologue (since I did that while doing the R series even if it should come out first) though...

They could be considered archives also (to me) as they've been sitting with me for a long time (ever since I did some sales back in high school)... Do you want to see some race scans of my previous Speed Legend series?

If you guys want something specific, you could refer to this page of the thread

https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=32813&st=25

... the third post at that page to see which race you'd like to see. Just post here which race do you want to see, then I'll dig 'em up, scan 'em, pretty them up a bit (especially the text), and post them for this thread.
I'll wait for requests starting.... NOW.

Don't worry; to those still liking the current story also, I'll post up the next chapters the best I can. grin2.gif

EDIT: Still waiting... You won't regret them, I promise... There are lots of 'em!
Waiting very long... getting old... laugh2.gif

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jan 13 2009, 10:34 PM
Gunma's 34
  Posted: Jan 18 2009, 05:01 AM


The R34's chosen one
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This is a request from Meteor; in relation to my last post. This might be my first and last as I am planning to continue further and finish this story. 2 rounds are left and I'm about to close this one to move on...

Here's Speed Legend Volume 14: The Final Frontier!!

Synopsis: A recent conclusion to the match between Noyzee Tribe and Midnight Masters. Daiki Akiyama, a young retiree of the team receives word of the opposing team's conquest and would like to challenge the remaining driver of the team - Tomo.
Tomo receives an invitation from Daiki to review their battle output and declare a race. He asks help from Kasumi on what to do; knowing that Daiki is giving a secret offer to him. He prepares for battle but was having trouble with his new ECU during his practice runs at Mt. Akina. Kyosuke gives Tomo an original, computer controlled ECU modifier, to help Tomo decide during his battle, which he made himself. The battle between Tomo and Daiki is about to begin. Round 1 is on - GT-R34 vs NSX-R NA2 at Mt. Akagi, mid day.

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Meteor
Posted: Jan 21 2009, 02:24 AM


Were you expecting something else?
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Thanks for posting the images.

And here's a post so that you can post up the next chapter and get to sleep.

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