Close Topic Options

Episode 5 - Fate's decision...
Chapter 16 - Desparation Over Determination

The 2 Skylines' engine tones are clearly heard atop the highest peak of Infenion.
Tomo's GT-R desperately maintaining the lead against Sakura's red GT-R.
"This is not like Tomo at all" Sakura whispered.
There's something wrong with him... not his GT-R... I'm sure of it!!
Tomo shifts gears down from 4 to 3...
Damn... again?
"It's human lag!" She concluded.*
She presses on the accelerator further. She's pushing the car.
"She's about to overtake me..." Tomo wondered.
He left a short, car width distance from the inside of the upcoming corner.

"(In order to stop Tomo's misery, I... I...) I AM CONCLUDING THIS RACE RIGHT NOW!!" Sakura has made up her mind. She won't waste anymore time behind Tomo's GT-R.
She's ready to overtake!
She swerves her car towards the right...
Tomo was ready to brake for the upcoming corner but his aching foot is preventing him to push the brake pedal to the full... It was actually too early for him to brake...
"this early? What are you trying to pull, Tomo-kun?"
Sakura decides to finish the race in the last corner. She positioned her GT-R side by side with Tomo's GT-R.
Tomo wasn't in shock at all and was concentrating on his foot on the pedals...
They both pressed their brakes to the max, with Tomo feeling a little pain and hesitating a bit...
They enter the corner together...
Tomo was slowly regaining the lead but understeer triggers.
Sakura applies one of Kitami's moves - nylon run (sort of like gutter run but your tires are in the grass close to the nylon.) She slowly gains speed.
Tomo tries to restore his GT-R back on the inside lane; he attempts to tap the gas and brake simultaneously but he just understeers further until the whole car is now driving outside the road. Tomo presses the brake with his left foot as an emergency.
It didn't matter to him if the engine dies momentarily but what matters is that he could stop the car immediately.
The car came to a stop.
Sakura saw the GT-R on a full stop. She makes a direct 180 and heads towards Tomo's GT-R...
She comes out and heads to Tomo immediately...
She opens the car door.
She saw Tomo sweating, hearing moans of pain, his head resting on the steering wheel.
"Tomo..." she said in a pale voice.
The Blue GT-R's engine died down. A gust of wind just blisters through the two of them.
"Are... you okay?" She asked...
"To tell you the truth... no..."
"Is it because I won against you?"
"No... not that... seriously."
"Then what is it?"
"It's... my left foot..."
Tomo shows the foot to Sakura. It was swollen, bleeding slightly, it was completely red.
"What happened?"
"It's from the impact a while ago when I finished the Nevada race."

"you poor thing..."
"Let's head back okay?" Sakura followed.
Later on; at the pits...
"It's quiet... too quiet..." Daiki uttered.
"Do you think they stopped the race somewhere?" Hiroya hypothesized.
"Wait... I see them..." Shimizu exclaimed pointing at a red GT-R...
"So... Tomo lost?" Hiei wondered...
"What could've happened?" Ryusen thought to himself...
The Red GTR was pulling the blue GTR to the pits...
Tomo was sitting in the passenger seat of his car as Sakura slowly brings the car to a halt at he pits.
Everybody went towards the cars.
"Kasumi-san" Sakura called out.
"Yeah?"
"Come help me... Tomo is injured...
"In...jured?" Kasumi gasped a bit.

"Bu... I thought..." Kasumi's words started to chop thinking that Tomo's injury is completely severe...
She runs immediately towards Tomo and his GT-R.
She had a worried face as she looked at Tomo.
Tomo cannot look back at Kasumi since he lied to her about his condition and insisted to battle with an injured foot.
"S...sorry, Kasumi if I lied... to you..." Tomo said in guilt.
"You shouldn't have raced with that injured foot in the first place." Kasumi raised her voice.
"I'm sorry..."
"Kasumi," Sakura interrupted. "He said he's sorry. Sorry that he got you worried."
Kasumi was looking away where a tear slowly ran on her cheek, falling on to the ground.
"Tomo..." she spoke.
Tomo turned to look at Kasumi who had her back infront of him.
"Don't lie to me about your condition again. If you're injured... tell me ASAP..."
"Y...yes..."
After saying that, Sakura and Kasumi dressed his injured foot.
Then, they got off the Skyline and escorted Tomo to a seat nearby.
Daiki was about to reschedule the rematch but...
"Daiki." Tomo called out.
"Yeah?"
"you better let Sakura race in the Infenion Sports car league and Shinosuke for the Stock car league. I can't battle with an injured foot."
"Of course you can't."
Daiki then faced Sakura.
'Sakura, the battle will be 4 days from now. Are you sure you're up to the challenge?"
"Leave the Sports car battle to me, Daiki. Like Tomo, I won't let the team down. I'm gonna race with all I've got."
"That's good to hear."
After Sakura giving her Speech of guarantee, the rest of the team started to applaud.
With that, they all left Infenion. Daiki, who was driving the Blue GT-R, brings Tomo back to the hotel.
Tomo fell into a deep sleep which lasted 1 day and a half.
The next day, he was watching Television at his room when the phone rang...


*Human lag was a coined term by Sakura indicating the loss of a huge amount of speed when Tomo shifted gears. His timing with pressing the clutch and accelerator was completely off Key, which cost Tomo the race

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jul 12 2008, 04:07 AM

Finally managed to get around to reading the updates.

I'm not liking this particular story arc as much as the first, but keep at it. I'll be waiting for the next update.

I think for Meteor, I'm making the story a bit too much on the senti side...
sorry about that... I'll make the story a bit more on the serious and technical side this time around.
Why? The Jack is about to make his move!!
Here we gooo!!!!!

Chapter 17 - Apprenticeship

The phone rang while Tomo was watching TV.
"Hello?"
"Tomo? It's Kasumi."
"Where are you?"
"I'm at a street near the Golden gate bridge. I saw a good restaurant here that could be of use to you?"
"Waddya mean?"
"So that you won't be much a stag with your culinary skills, how's say you do a bit of OJT training here?"
"You know... you're giving me a good idea... I'm almost becoming a stag, as a matter of fact."
"You really need to get your ass up, Tomo. Remember, you're not a full time Hashirya . You're also a chef in training."
"Alright, alright... you don't need to sound much like my mother."
"I'll send you the address of the area, alright? ciao."
"Okay, I'll be waiting. Take care now..."
She hangs up.
Tomo gets up from bed and walks towards the closet.
"Looks like my foot is completely healed. I better thank her and Sakura one time."
He then goes to the elevator; presses the G button and heads down to the ground floor lobby.
He boards his GT-R parked by one of the attendants and heads of to the place that Kasumi is recommending.
*ring*
He got a message from his cellphone reiterating the location.
He places the points onto his onboard GPS.
The Skyline accelerates off the hotel; however...
little did Tomo know, a blue corvette was waiting across the street for his car to make a move.
It was Lucas Scott's corvette.
"So that's the GT-R which kicked the asses of my troops. I'll follow him later on and talk with this guy."
Lucas then marks Tomo's GT-R on his GPS; thus having an idea where he's heading.
Later on...
"You Tomo-dude! We got some orders of Southern Fired Chicken for table 6!" A voice shouted calling out to Tomo.
"You mean Southern FRIED not Fired!!"
"Whatever!!"
It looks like Tomo was easily accepted on the restaurant. The restaurant was a bay side restaurant. The name? The Golden Plate , named close to the Golden Gate bridge. It has a good atmosphere.
"Okay, let's see... hmm..."
As Tomo was trying to recall the process of preparing Southern Fried Chicken, he plays around with it while thinking.
"I got it!"
He starts removing the chicken from the milk marinade and places it infront of a breading station ; flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs, all separated.
He dips them one by one in each filling and throws it onto the deep fryer.
He's got 2 plates ready with some java rice.
Later on, the bell near the door rang. Another visitor.
He went in line like everyone else. There were around 5 other customers in line.
5 minutes later.
"Tomo! I need those chickens! Are they done?"
Tomo quickly removes the done and checks for doneness with the use of a cooking thermometer. It reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
"ORDER UP!! He said."

He slides the two plates through the aisle onto the trays of the waitress.
"Thanks, cool Jap dude..."
Inside, Tomo was acting conceited again...
"Cool she said..." He faced another chef and starts to brag about it.
"She said I'm cool..."
The chef hits Tomo with a hot spatula.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!!"
"Easy, Tomo... you just started! Don't get so high on yourself. You can get thrown out with that attitude, remember that!!"
"Okay... okay..." Rubbing his head off the spatula mark.
Finally, it was Lucas' turn to order.
"What would you like sir?"
Lucas stares at the menu and decides to...
"gimme one of them Southern fried combo meals..."
"Guys! One Southern fried combo meal!!"
"You got it!!" everyone in the kitchen hollered.
"Tell me..." Lucas asked the waitress... "when are your cooks on a break?"
"One of them... the new guy will be having a five minute break later after your order..."
"Alright... is it okay if I could talk with him with that duration?"
"Sure, no problem. I'll tell him."
A few minutes later.
"Order up! Southern Fried Combo meal!!"
The waitress comes up to take the order.
"Good job, Tomo. You can take a break; oh! and the customer who ordered this... requests for you to talk to him."
"Okay... let me clean my station first."

Tomo comes out of the hot kitchen and heads for the table where Lucas Scott is sitting.
"You called me out, sir? How's the food?"
"It's great. For a non-local, you sure got the exact taste of the ideal American Chicken! Congrats."
"Thanks."
"Anyway, I'm not here to talk about the food. I'm here to talk to you..."
"M...Me?"
"You're Tomogashi Kitsumoro, aren't you?"
"Y...yeah? How'd you know?"

"Daiki Akiyama's apprentice... hmm..."with a slight grin on Lucas' face. "I can't believe I'm actually face to face with the person who defeated Akiyama in his home country... Forgot about introductions. My name is Lucas Scott..."
"Nice to meet you Mr. Lucas Scott."
"Call me Luke if you want... Lucas is fine too..."
"okay... Luke..."
"I saw one of your current races here, and I say, you got potential... how old are you?"
"I'm 20."
"Twenty... hmm... not too young but not too late to start either... You really put up quite a fight there... against that black GT-R and Evo 9..."
"How'd you..."
"I was following you from way behind... a stealthy like approach... and by how your engine echoes through the Nevada highways make a huge statement... I know how you do by listening to it..."
Tomo started talking to himself...

"Hey..." Lucas snapping his fingers in between Tomo's eyes... "HEY!!"
"oh! Sorry..."
"Anyway, come outside for a moment... Let's talk there... it's too noisy here..."
The two left the table but...
"Lucas... are you still gonna eat this?"
"Obviously... Just make the remains a take out, okay?"
"Fine. Waitress!! Take out here, please!"
The waitress comes over and brings Lucas barely touched plate for take out.
Lucas was sitting close to his Corvette, but Tomo never gave a sign of excitement...
"I'll see you soon then. It was nice knowing you..."
"Same here." Tomo replied. "Lucas, right?"
"That's my name... lose it, your ass is mine."
"Wh...!?" Tomo immediately reacts.
"Kidding, dude. Kidding..."
The waitress brings the take out to Lucas...
"here's my number. Give me a miss call and I'll text you if I want to meet up, ayt?" Lucas shows Tomo the number; Tomo inputs to his cell and miss calls Lucas.
"Got it. Thanks man... Next time, we could have a longer chat..."
"Sure..."
"I suddenly got an interest with what you could do with that beat up GT-R of yours... if it could match up to My Vette's LS7 supercharger..."
That statement of insult to Tomo's GT-R, nearly made Tomo himself, crack and strangle Lucas; but he resisted.
"I'm out." Lucas shifts to gear 1 and heads off.
"interest with what I could do...
'What did he mean by that?"
Tomo just stares abruptly at the Corvette slowly fading away onto the horizon.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jul 12 2008, 04:10 AM

Here's a follow up on the story. Took me a long time before I was able to make a plot for this:

Chapter 18 - Words of empty Memories

After work, Tomo heads towards his GT-R to go back to the hotel...
The image of Lucas, insulting his car, was stuck on his mind.
He then makes a resolution...

I need to know who this Guy Lucas Scott is... who he REALLY IS! Ore-te yurusanezo!!

He turns on the ignition and punches on the accelerator.
To the sound of a seasoned driver, it was a tone of rage that came out of the GT-R's exhaust.

[Hotel Square; Lobby
5:45 p.m.]

Tomo was still infuriated over Lucas' insult.
He angrily took the keys from the lobby desk and heads for the elevator, all tired and pissed.
As he boards off the elevator to his room, he opens the door and sees Kasumi looking out at the window.
The wind passing through her long, orange-colored hair and freely touching her cheeks.
Looking at Kasumi from afar calmed Tomo down for the moment.

Kasumi, slowly tilts her head, facing the door and sees Tomo staring back at her.
"AH! You-re back... sorry I didn't notice you come in..."
"It's okay. Not to worry."
Tomo drops his things and goes towards the computer in the other room.
Kasumi follows. "Watcha gonna look for, Tomo-kun?"
"Something about Lucas Scott..." He replied.
"Lucas Scott?" Kasumi reiterated.
"You know him?" Tomo asked. "No." She replied. "I know 'coz, I saw that name on one of the headlines on one of the old magazines at the Lobby."
"can you get it?"
"I'll ask through room service."
As Tomo goes to the internet to research on Lucas, Kasumi calls room service in order to help him.
He found a site, which has stuff about Lucas.
"I got something."

"So he was once a basketball star... how about this one?"
Tomo shifts tabs and opens another site about Lucas...

"I think what happened in the past made him disown himself and become the person he is today. What a waste of good talent... His rage and regret might've been the reason for his brisk development... no wonder some consider him a dangerous driver... It's like the he and the night are one..."

"Tomo! Here's more information on Lucas." Kasumi followed.
Kasumi shows the main article about Lucas Scott becoming a street racer.
"It was written by his brother, Regis Scott; a local journalist..."

"How sad..." Kasumi whispered; shedding a tear or two...
"I'll see you later, Kasumi. thanks a lot for your help." Tomo said getting his coat and facing the front door.
"Where are you going?"
"Don't tell me I'm gonna lose you too?"
"Of course not. I'll just go to a nearby starbucks. I'll be back okay?"
Tomo slowly approaches Kasumi.
"I'll be fine. Trust me. So don't worry so much okay?"
Tomo kisses Kasumi's forehead and leaves. He closes the door.
"T... take care... T-tomo" Kasumi said in a pale voice, talking to the wind.

Episode 6 - Extracting the hidden ability
Chapter 19 - Rebirth! The GT-R goes to hell and back!!

Tomo heads for the hotel garage but finds his GT-R going towards the exit.
"Who the hell is driving my car? HEY YOU!! GET BACK HERE!!"
He chases after his own car which suddenly came to a stop after Tomo shouted.
"Easy, dude. We'll get it back." The driver said.
"Wait a minute... Tetsuya!?"
"Bingo!!"
"Where are you taking it?"
"To a legal aftermarket shop nearby. If I'm right, it's HKS. It's one of the local tuners here. They make insanely fast cars here."
"Watcha gonna do to my GT-R?"
"It needs a new turbine with extra power. and I'm gonna have the body refined."
"Refined"
"yep. It means that The body will be restored to how you first had it. Obviously we'll return the other parts with more refined ones for a more stable body."
"I see; wait! What will I drive then?"
"Use my Commander. It's on the far left, the green one."
"fine."
Tetsuya throws the keys to Tomo and heads for the tuner shop.
"I'll call ya if it's done!!" tetsuya shouts for one last Time.
"Well... Guess I'll have to do with this then."
Tomo boards the Commander and heads off to a local coffee shop.

[Starbucks - 6:45 pm]

Tomo ordered a cappuccino 'frape' and sat down looking at the city horizon; waiting for neon lights to start flickering on and off. As he makes another sip, his phone rang.

Tetsuya Calling...

Tomo answers the phone. "Looks like he's done..." *click*
"hello?"
"Come here. Your GT-R is done."
"Seriously?"
"Told ya it'll be fast; they got all the necessary machinery here and boy are they damn fast!!"
"Where's this HKS facility that you're talking about?"
"Go to my Commander and I'll tell you on the necessary pin-points."
Tomo heads out of starbucks to the parking lot. He enters the Jeep Commander...
"Location, please?"
"Okay; it's around 4 blocks from where you are right now."
"Okay, I'm on it."
He starts the Commander and shifts to "R". He heads for the HKS tuner shop.

[HKS Tuner co. - 7:00 pm]

There was a banging sound on the garage gate.
"Who is it?" One of the employees asked.
"Tomo Kitsumoro. I'm a friend of Tetsuya there."
"Kudou, you know this kid?" the employee asked.
"Send him in. I'm expecting him."
The employee presses a button raising the gate.
The Commander comes in and comes to a slow stop. Tomo steps out of the Jeep seeing that his GT-R is raped down to the body.
In shock, "WHAT IN THE DAMN HELL DID YOU DO TO MY GT-R!?"
"Easy Tiger", Tetsuya answered back in a calm manner. "This is just step 1 of the process. They're just "massaging" the body."
"Massaging?"
"Yup. They're refining the body; just like I told you hours ago. They're bringing the car back to it's 'original' state like when it was newly bought."
"Like fresh out of the factory, eh?"
"exactamundo."
"Where's the engine?"
"Right over here."
The RB26DETT is placed on top of an industrial table.
"We're equipping it with a stronger turbocharger - bigger fan, titanium finish, larger rotors; the big kahuna."
"Like a stage 3?"
"Sorta. That information you get from playing too many racing simulators back home helps you quite a bit... but not too much compared to my vast knowledge."
"Like that'll boost my confidence; thanks a lot!" Tomo replied in an irritating tone.
"This turbo will multiply your HP by x2.5 of the original HP in stock..."
"So wait... 350... times 2.5... MORE THAN SEVEN HUNDRED!?"
"We're not going that far Tomo... the car will become more unstable then... we're controlling that. I'll be calibrating the Turbo's capability once the body has been done."
A siren sounded in the factory...
the GT-R's body refining stage is done.
"Okay... now we can reassemble... Tomo give us a hand here... it's YOUR car..."
"I'm coming... I'm coming."
They reassembled the GT-R with a little help from the machines...
in 30 minutes, the car is back to how it was before...
They placed the engine back onto the car.
"Okay, Tomo. Rev the engine!"
Tomo turns the car on. *VVVRRROOOMMM!!!!!!!!*
"Whoa Nelly! That's some engine tone!!"
"Told ya..."
"Let's set up the engine outputs..."
Tetsuya is using a contraption... some sort of calibrator, controlling the whole ECU and power management of the car.

*...10 minutes later...*

"Do you guys have a test course here?"
"They got one... Can we use it?" Tetsuya asked...
'Well... we're about to close but... for you guys... we'll let you. Just close the lights here when you're done..."
All the employees are out. It's only Tomo and Tetsuya left in the facility.
Let's test it out...

[HKS TEST SITE... (think of it as the NFSU2 URL course) - 7:45 pm]

"Let's start with a short battle." Tetsuya said.
"With who?" Tomo asked.
"Me..." a voice came behind Tetsuya; it was Daiki.
"Where'd you come from?"
"Here and there... anyway... watcha got Tetsuya?"
"we refined the GT-R and placed a larger turbo..."
"Funny, I got my Z's turbo tuned up too and lighter carbon made rims"
"Let's start, shall we? I promised Kasumi I won't take long..."
"Okay. Akiyama, get your Z on the starting line."

The blue, newly tuned GT-R faces off against the Silver Z once again.
A side by side start.
Tetsuya starts the countdown. 3!! 2!! 1!! GO!!
The GT-R accelerates; so did the Z!!
Like their previous battle with each other, it was a side by side start by the Z and GT-R.
The Z takes the lead by the first corner.
"Hello, Daiki... is this a rerun of our last battle at Wangan?"
The GT-R is prepared to splitstream behind the 350Z..."
"Not this Time Tomo!!"
The Z swerves before Tomo could even align his car right behind the Z..."
Daiki does an inertial drift as he enters the first 90 degree turn.
Just tapping the gas, he induces his Z to a slide.
Tomo analyzes the Z's movement and attempts to mimic it.
Are you kidding me!? You attempting to induce your GT-R to a drift? Daiki thought
But he was right, Tomo induced his car to a slide...
And successfully mimics the inertial drift that Daiki was doing...
What's this!? Did he suddenly become God Foot or something? or is that turbo doing something to it?
As they head on the straight, Tetsuya computes the performance output of the GT-R...
When an FR has a turbo carrying too much power, it tends to slide too much causing it to oversteer too much especially at first or second gear... if I could apply that theory onto Tomo's GT-R... then he can make drifts become so simple that it's just child's play... but It's just a theory... It might not work either... since that ATTESA can recalibrate the tires to prevent wear... can Tomo break the ATTESA's seal without destroying it?"
Tomo cuts through the next turn in lightning speed with his front bumper stuck close to Daiki's Z...
This is good... extremely good... that turbo did help... At this rate... he can conquer the underground derby here and stop their disturbance of the peace.

As they enter the last bend the Z understeered for some reason. Looks like Daiki intentionally induced the car to an understeer to let Tomo take the lead.
Tomo pounces onto gear 4 at 135 mph onto the straight.
Daiki presses on the accelerator harder as well...
The cars were both side by side onto the long straight.
The race was close but the GT-R managed to win by a nose!!
"He's ready..." daiki said. "ready to take on the 'jack'."
The race finished in a close fight.


*footnote: by the looks of it, Daiki did some research on the fastest driver in the US in his own way not mentioned in the other chapters, treated to be confidential.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jul 31 2008, 05:14 AM

I got Chapter 20 ready but it's in my laptop w/c my dad is using for work.
So for now, as something like an intermission, here's info on the current 'hero' team, Team Japan. Details on their members, cars, etc...

Team Japan

Daiki Akiyama
AKA the Prince
Daiki is the team manager and planner of the group. He hosts practice sessions, provides the stuff as he is rich & all, and has the most links to many in the racing industry. He is formerly associated with a local team from Japan's Mie prefecture: Team Midnight Masters - the fastest street racing team in Mie.
He is known globally as the Prince of Racing; since he, on the age of 14 started to claim racing titles on the togue roads and circuits and almost every racing competition ever known.
He was also once the mentor of the Princess , Kitana Tioseco of Italy.
as for his racing skill, it's phenomenal, as if he's creating music and/or art as he races.
Currently, Daiki is not much active in the racing industry as a participant as he hones the skills of the new generation that he's managing.
*Car: Nissan 350Z Nismo Powered (350Z R Tune Power)

Tomogashi Kitsumoro
AKA Gunma's 34
The lead protagonist of the story. Tomogashi was inspired all about cars at an early age and has developed his interest as the years pass. He knows much about the cars but not much on how the racing industry works. He's willing to learn new stuff. Being a chef-in-training at the same time poses a huge challenge for Tomo as he needs to balance both his racing and culinary career.
He has a great personality, thus entering into good relations with anyone he meets. Note though, he has a slight problem when it comes to his patience as any form of insult, he immediately reacts in a harsh, physical manner just to retain his respect - he thinks of it as saving his own hind from the spread of embarrassing, false or true information.
In terms of driving ability, he started out mediocre; right now, he's a much fully competent driver at such a young age of 19 or 20 participating in the professional league. He's always inspired and motivated to become the best he can be. Currently, aided by the Prince, Daiki Akiyama, whom he once defeated back in Japan.
*Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 V-spec II Nur Mines-Nismo powered (Z Tune BNR34)

Sakura Johina
The female driver of the group. Like Tomo, she also has a double career of a professional racer and a soon-to-be doctor, pathologist or anesthesiologist she says, whichever one comes her way. She loves to make friends and loves whatever a girl loves. A typical female with an extra-typical career.
The only thing Sakura despises is failure and hates to come out last, either if it's racing, career or anything for that matter. She does her best to attain perfection in that field, and she does that pretty well.
She & Tomo are good & close friends. But it was her personal decision to join the pro league and hone her driving skills which she attained from being under Takeshi Musashiro, a well known young street racer of Gunma Prefecture, Japan.
The only thing that can pose as a delight and threat could be - chocolates...
*Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 V-spec I Nismo-MCR Powered (R-tune)

Kasumi Nadeshiko
Kasumi's past is shrowded in mist as little is known about her, aside from being Tomo's guardian. She has a liking for Tomo; she doesn't deny it. She's willing to support anything Tomogashi does unless it dishonors her code of rights.
She's not a racer; yet a valuable member of the team. She tries not to be a stumbling block to everyone and ensures the success of whatever plans the group is doing.
And on a side note, she's very pretty, has an excellent figure paired up with long, straight, beautiful orange toned hair; which matches her orange colored eyes.

Shinosuk Kitamaru
AKA 1/2 of Shomaru's undefeated
We could consider Shinosuke to be a well matched driver to Tomo. The only difference could be their choice of cars. He owns an FR type Mazda and he's proud of it. His driving skills were developed in the Saitama prefecture where it's not much of an easy run compared to other areas in Japan.
He starts out strong and comes out strong.
One of his past times if he's not racing is playing the guitar and what he calls as "girl scouting". He even has his own philosphy when it comes to life, love and women. A certified woma-holic... er something... (something shorter meaning addicted to *hot* women).
*Car: Mazda FD3S RX-7 Type R RE AMEMIYA powered (RE Amemiya GT300 tune)

Kitami Kitamaru
AKA 1/2 of Shomaru's undefeated
He's obviously Shinosuke's brother. They love each other despite the disputes that they had in the past (i.e. Fighting over the newly bought & modded Celica ST205 GT-FOUR by C-one). Kitami is more on the literal artistic side compared to his brother. He likes to draw what he defines as Indy style - like them Marvel comics. The only thing he & his brother always agree upon is women. They have a philosoply & code about it.
As for his driving technique, not much to say as he & his brother's driving technique are 100% identical. The only difference about it is how they use it.
*Car: Mazda SE3P RX-8 type S Mazdaspeed Powered (Mazdaspeed RX-8)

The Pit Crew - Tetsuya Kudou, Hiei Kamura and Ryusen Kennichi
Tetsuya is nicknamed as 'God's right hand' as whatever tuner car you have, Tetsuya can tune it better. Like Daiki, he's got lots of links to many legal tuner shops in town. No Chop shops as he knows the consequences of getting linked to those kinds.
He gets along well with everyone and he was known for his tuning expertise during the expeditions of Team Noyzee Tribe.
Hiei & Ryusen are Tomo's long time best friends, until present. They love to do gags and jokes during their free time but they all know when to get serious. These 3 are the pure heart of the team as they do what the pros can do, despite their youthful age.

Shimizu Ohyama & Kagami Hiroya
These 2 are more or less like Daiki's consultants and friends. They were together ever since Daiki joined Midnight masters, which was formed by Shimizu. Shimizu & Hiroya are the only people who understand Daiki's intentions with the group; and only they know and EVEN doubt if the plan will succeed.
*car (Shimizu): Nissan R390 GT-1 Road car 98.
*Car: hiroya: Mitsubishi lancer Evolution 6 GSR Mines Powered.


edit: Here's Chapter 20 ready!! For all who're viewing... sorry for the wait...

Chapter 20 - Escaping Twice is unecessary

[City Streets - 8:45 pm]
The Blue GT-R travels around the city - before it heads for the hotel that day. Tomo was searching for the people he raced against at the Nevada Highways; he wanted to talk to them.
Because of that invigorating battle between Tomo and the Locals, less drivers appear at the brink of the night; the city is becoming peaceful, bit by bit; but it doesn't mean that it'll be this peaceful from now on.
He could still see a Porsche (997) 911 Turbo drifting along the corner being chased by a Subaru Impreza (GDBF) which is gripping through the intersection's left bend like glue.
"It may seem there are some races still on going... I might be close."
He is dead serious in looking for those 'fools' in their imports.
He came towards an alley with neon lights flashing at the end of the road. He sets his lights to low and slowly approached the flickering light.
There were people dancing and talking; getting drunk with beer, hogging all over 'hot' women and banging their heads to the beats coming out of their cars' trunks. Beat music everywhere.
As the GT-R comes closer, the music stopped. The lights stopped flickering on and off.
Tomo steps out of the R34; then everyone started to panic for some reason.
He calls out: "Where are the drivers whom I raced against yesterday?"
"Y...You mean us...?"
"Stay back you monster!!"
"Monster?" Tomo wondered. "Why'd you call me that?"
"Don't play dumb with us!!"
"How you drive... you're not human..."
"I mean... we gots 800 horses under our hoods and you beat us in a speed match with just 500+ HP... YOU ARE A MONSTER..."
" Oh, come on... are they really that scared to someone whom they lost to? Anyway, since you guys might at least answer me a few questions, if it's okay with you..."
"S...u...re... just don't race us...!!"
"We've been through enough shit in this sport...Don't you dare give us more. We've had enough!"
"Would you guys just can it already?" Tomo said in an irritating tone.
"Anyway, where does Lucas Scott do his practice rounds?"
"Lucas Scott you say? the god of American Youth street racing?"
"He practices at the canyons every night... if you hurry, you could meet him during his runs... Trust me, you, even if you're a monster, cannot beat him in his turf; none of us have won against him ever since he appeared. He's unstoppable!!"
"You don't have to go through all that detail. That's all I need to know. thanks."
Tomo faces his GT-R and boards it. He swithches to R and drives off back to the main road. As the road becomes wider, he pulls his e-brake and performs a quick 180 degree spin and with lightning reflexes, moves it to gear 1 and heads off to the highways...

While driving,a bunch of sedans are tailgating his car.
"What's up with these sedans? every exit I go to, they follow. Every lane I transfer to, they copy me. What do they want?"
Tomo accelerates to pull away from the 6-pack.
As he executes a drift onto the main road, out of the highway, sirens start overlaping the atmosphere. A huge band of undercover police cars are now chasing after Tomo and his GT-R.
"I don't have time for this... I better outrun them!!"
Tomo presses harder on the accelerator. He switches to gear 4, reaching a speed of 145 mph. They enter a fork intersection through a construction site. Some of the drivers from the underground are having their race and somewhat interferes with the chase. One of them hits the control booth of the crane, making the load being carried fall. IT nearly hit Tomo but it did stop SOME of the cops on their tracks.
There were still 3 more chasing the GT-R. Then, one of the cops request for back up and a roadblock near the mall.
"What the hell is going on here?" Tomo asks not knowing anymore what's happening here. He holds his ebrake and engages the GT-R into a drift. The roadblock is coming up. Tomo is looking for a small gap in the roadblock. He sees a road with an end in his GPS. He tried to go there. A small alley leading to a parking lot with it's road ending with a huge poster.
"I got no choice do I?" Tomo never hesitates to go through the poster/billboard in max speed. He swerves his car to the left and is attempting to do a shortcut-jump variation of the out-in-out attack.
"DO IT!!" His car went through the billboard, at the same time avoiding the roadblock. But the car was losing control. He countersteers as soon as he landed and uses his tap-tap-tappy technique on the accelerator. The car was induced to somewhat like an inertial drift at that point.
"Control, we need a spike strip set up..."
"Now they're serious!!"
Tomo comes across the casino area passing by it at high speed. He thought that he was in the clear. As he enters another narrow route, he didn't expect the spike belt that was waiting for him as he entered it.
There were 2 cars blocking the road at both ends with the spike belt centered on the road. There was no escaping as 3 other cops are chasing behind him. "What to do? Should I resist arrest or what?"
He prepares his car to pass through the belt. BOOM! His tires went flat as he passed it; but he still attempts to drive. Sparks were flying. The GT-R is being tortured.
Tomo suddenly feels himself communicating his own car. "My GT-R is crying... am I pushing you too hard this time for my own selfish desire of freedom?" Tomo removes his foot off the accelerator. "I'm sorry my 34... Please forgive me..."
He brings the car to a complete stop, he raises the e-brake. All of the cop cars surrounded him. He can't escape. Not even on foot.
He puts his hands up in the air. The police calls out an EMS team. The all-powerful GT-R driver has given in to the law, not knowing why he was pursued.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jul 31 2008, 05:18 AM

So Tomo had zero clue why the cops went after him? Perhaps it had something to do with. . Speeding and intentional loss of traction on public roads? He was doing that before the cops turned on their sirens.

Anyway, keep updating. But try to cut down on the Underground/Most Wanted/Carbon/ProStreet/etc. stuff.

This post has been edited by Meteor on Jul 24 2008, 06:51 AM

You kinda need to work on drawing cars more. Start off with perspective points. I draw cars without them though.

Remember, Meteor... this is just area one of the remaining 4... I don't wanna spoil the areas... since it's the US setting... there will be a bit of the Underground/Most Wanted/Carbon/ProStreet/etc. stuff... the 2 are about to face off so as soon as their battle ends... so does the Underground/Most Wanted/Carbon/ProStreet/etc. stuff... I assure you that...

Now... why were the cops chasing Tomo aside from the fact that he violated some laws of the road? Here's the answer on the next chapter!!

Chapter 21 - Rights and Privileges

The setting takes place on a local police station... Tomo was in a cell waiting; sitting on the bench which was there on one side of the cell. A guard approaches him.

"Sir, the inspector would see you now." He opens the cell door and Tomo comes along.

He sat right outside the inspector's office... thinking why did the feds arrest me? if I was speeding they could've at least just gave me a ticket or something...
The police officer tells him to come into the office. He sits down looking at a someone in his chair, with his back against him.

"Um..."
"sorry for the intrusion... It seems that you're not from here and your car resembles one of the vehicles that we're after... But you did break a few rules here so I'm afraid I have to issue you a ticket."
"Okay... Wait... this car you were after that looks like mine... how'd you & your men come to the conclusion that MY car was the car YOU GUYS were after?"
"We never got any close visual contact with the vehicle. He was just too fast for our crew's standard sedan cruisers."
"(Don't you guys have like a registered hidden camera or something or a file on registered cars on your district? Saying that, it sounds like you guys are in the lowest division in the whole PD squad...) So the only thing you're familiar with is that it's blue?..."
"And it had those two round paired taillights at the back."
"Sounds like my GT-R but not quite. Why is that you guys never had visual contact with the car that you were after?"
"One word, Skill. and besides; are division is more on the on-foot patrol and crime scene investigating ability; when it comes to driving maneuverability and techniques, are division was the lowest; especially when it involves apprehending a suspect who has that advantage; we need to rely on the other divisions for that."
"Ouch... Got any leads aside from the information you got?"
"Well... we were told that the car was a CHEVROLET."
"MY CAR'S A NISSAN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!" Tomo breaked into rage.
"Wait..." Tomo thought for a moment. "Chevy? Blue chevy? (The only car that matches that is Lucas' Corvette! So... he's the wanted person!?)"
"Inspector... I think I know who you're dealing with..."
"Okay... let's make a deal." The inspector said as he puffs out a huge cloud of smoke from his mouth. The close eyed inspector goes towards the window. Later on, he tilts his head and looks at Tomo.
"I'll drop the charges; but you gotta help us with this abomination."
"Deal."
the 2 drivers shook on it; suddenly...
"Tofu?" The inspector asked.
"Eh?" Tomo was freaked out when the inspector showed the tofu wrapped in plastic. "N...no thanks."
"Fine... Anyway... what's your name son? I don't give out my name to anyone so just call me inspector."
"I'm from Japan; you can call me Tomo."
"Tomo huh... welcome to the force..."

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Jul 27 2008, 07:13 AM

What the hell? Those cops can't tell the difference between a 'vette and a 34?

I'll be waiting for the next update as usual.

speed my friend; speed. the cops of this division aren't good with car identification at all. all they know is basic driving. Sad for them; they need to deal with a 'crime' they're not regularly used to or specialized at.
The inspector did say that:

plus, they always see the vette come out infront of 'em; and since it's night, they can't tell if it's a local car or a import.
in specs, the vette carries immense power that I don't want to tell since it'll shock all who read this; in relation to togue racing, and it's a spoiler so I am not gonna tell of the power here until the right chapter.

just a clue; because of this:
The inspector said as he puffs out a huge cloud of smoke from his mouth. The close eyed inspector goes towards the window.
the inspector could be Bunta... He COULD be but when i brainstormed this topic, bunta fitted the part. Imagine Bunta in a detective rain coat, with the same hair he had in 4th stage. he really fits the part. I might add him on this chapter's image pic which I didn't do yet, but planning to.

Relax yo. I already understood that those cops aren't all that good when it comes to cars.

But do you think Bunta is fit for the inspector role?

Appearance-wise = Fits
Personality-wise = Nuh-uh

You can say I'm an amateur as well in art, but could you show me the stages you go through when you draw out your cars in your comic strips? Maybe we can correct some of your mistakes to increase the level of accuracy when you draw. I myself have drawn cars since the 8th grade and many have told me I have improved a lot. So you can compare your old and your new after a few advices.

Don't worry. I know what you mean, white sil80.
Besides, I'm drawing without guides... relying on my photographic memory...
No perspective points no guides; just plain photo memory in me mind. It's stupid but it works.
and I did compare my ex-drawings with today & there were improvements. I was advised by my seniors back at High school...
I'll post "screenshots" of the other volumes as a "commercial/ ice breaker post" later on.
For now... here's chapter 22...


Chapter 22 - When the first petal falls on the ground

The 2 head from the inspector's office down to the garage in the basement.
"Sorry again for the intrusion." the inspector said looking at Tomo with his eyes closed.
"It's alright."
"As a token of apology; we called out the EMS team to bring your car to a local tire shop close by. I'll take you there in my Subaru..."
"A subaru? You're a tuner fan?"
"You can say that... anyway; no time left. Who knows if we've lost our lead."
The 2 reached the B1 floor. As they were about to step out, Tomo sees a grey Subaru Impreza WRX STi Ver. V... However; despite the Impreza's presence in a 'foreign' land, Tomo was unimpressed.*

The two got on the car and headed out for the tire shop.

[9:30 p.m. - Local Tire shop]
"I'll leave you now. Here; it's my number. Call me if you seen him do any other mischief." The inspector said. He heads for the door and leaves.
Tomo heads for his car and checks the tires.
"What kind of the tires are these?"
"Those are high-class AVON tires." The shop owner said to Tomo.
"Avon? Isn't that a soap brand?"
"Coincidentially, it is. But this brand has been supporting the 24 hr. Le Mans to all competitors."
"Really? I never knew that?"
"Anyway, those are free. This has been approved by the inspector of this block's division. Hope you enjoy it."
"Okay."
Tomo boards his GT-R and heads back to the hotel at last.

[9:35 p.m. - Infenion raceway]
Daiki, Sakura & Tetsuya went back to Infenion after the modification of Tomo's GT-R34. Sakura was still in the midst of training but it seems she has reached her limit.
A red GT-R34 Skyline approaches the last hairpin of the course. She brakes hard; changes gears from gear 4 to 3 to 2 and hits the apex of the corner perfectly but there was something wrong with the way she exits the corner. As soon as the front end of the GT-R has faced the straightway, it was still turning right. As Sakura came back to her senses, she quickly countersteers, but sends her car spinning when she tried to de-gas a bit. g-forces suppressing her in her seat; the seatbelt, crushing her chest. The red GT-R went to an instant 360 spin.

It came to a stop.
The tires were smoking hot as it came to a halt.
Sweat drops fell on Sakura's cheeks, running towards her chin.
Daiki and Tetsuya just noticed the red GT-R just 200 meters away from the goal.
"She's been at it for how long again?" Tetsuya asked.
"35 laps, if I counted correctly."
"How long IS the sports car battle?"
"double of what she's done tonight. I only saw her at lap 10 onwards."
"70 laps huh... that's harsh..."
"Tell me about it. she stopped at lap 17 to change the tires on her own."
"Wow... she really must want to win..."
"On the contrary" Daiki interrupted.
"Eh?"
"I was able to ask Tomo and Kasumi about her one occasion why she's included and if she gots what it takes..."
"And?"
"Sakura has this... fear of failure syndrome..."
"Like she doesn't wanna fail or something?"
"Yeah... 'she hates that' Tomo said to me."
"But as far as what we see tonight, she's reached her limit... or is it because it's the dead of the night..."
"She's not much of a dead-night racer, I can tell."
"I better help her out." Tetsuya says snatching a bottle of water from the tabletop.
"Sakura, I know you wanna perfect this... picturing the course 100% perfectly on your mind... but I think you know when to draw the line... or you're just ignoring it... you should know too that you're not the only one suffering as you go... your car as well..." Daiki muttered to himself.
Sakura reached out for the bottled water Tetsuya was handing over to her.
"Tomo... where are you? Why is it I have a feeling something new has come up that involves you?"
The 2 push the GT-R to the pits after Sakura was rejuvenated. Tetsuya checks the GT-R for any internal damage.
"Say... Sakura... when did you start practicing?"
"Um... quarter to eight..."
"for 2 straight hours... I can't believe it..." Tetsuya uttered to Daiki.
"She's a fighter I can tell you that..."
"You seemed fatigued..."
"Yeah... sorry if I got you worried..."
"Well, it's just like how Tomo described to me about you."
"Tomo told you that?"
"Yeah... he did say that despite your personality infront of people; privately, you're a real fighter & strives for greatness. You can tell by your heart if what you did or doing is right and..."
Daiki cuts his descriptions short as he notices Sakura blushing...
Did Tomo really say that... OMG... Wow... Sakura talked to herself.
"You alright?"
"Ah... y...yes-yes... I'm okay..." She said in panic.
"Anyway, it's getting late. We'd better head back. We'll continue your training tomorrow... besides, you still got 2 days before the big competition, right?"
"Yeah... even if it's practice, I'll still do my best." Sakura said in excitement, with a smile.
"That's a good attitude." Tetsuya followed.
"C'mon Kudou. Help me up with her GT-R onto the carrier." Daiki said as he points on the carrier at the back of Tetsuya's Jeep Commander.

[later... 10:00 pm]
"Okay. the gate's locked." Tetsuya confirmed.
"Good. waddya say we head on back. I'm pooped."
"Same here. what about sakura."
Daiki and Tetsuya rushed to the Jeep Commander to see.
She's quietly sleeping. Like a little kid who passed out due to fatigue.
"She's sleeping soundly..." Tetsuya confirmed.
"Let's go, then. We're all the same - tired." Daiki says as he puts a long cotton blanket on her.
The SUV leaves the venue, with the Red GT-R on the carrier, covered; being pulled by it.
Inside the car...
Tetsuya sips on a cup of hot choco.
Daiki fell asleep with his fist on his cheek while leaning on the window.
Sakura, who was sleeping soundly with a smile on her face, sheds a tear for some reason...

edit: forgot my footnote...
*the primary reason why Tomo was unimpressed by the Impreza's presence are due to 2 reasons:

• He totally envies the Impreza as it does almose everything better compared to the GT-R... being lightweight and all...
• He encountered one back at Akina, Gunma Japan in the hands of a complete juvenile who planned to ram the car he's driving on down Akina's DH; note: he (Tomo) was driving Rikona's SXE10 TRD Altezza

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Sep 18 2008, 06:05 AM

The trouble with the cops sure ended quickly. I wonder if that inspector dude's gonna play a bigger role in the plot soon or not though.

And Sakura spins out by turning too much after exit and trying to correct it while letting off the throttle? Unless she's got a disadvantageous oversteer setup on that car, I don't see how that's possible (maybe you meant to say the GT-R was drifting around the corner or that it entered a powerslide upon exit? Because the spin-out would make more sense then within your self-described "low grade simulation" physics.).

Well, anyway, keep working on it.

This post has been edited by Meteor on Aug 2 2008, 10:06 AM

The reason for Sakura's mishap is more on the driver than the car...
The setup is perfect for infenion... the problem is with her as soon as she enters lap 36.
she was on the track for 35 laps straight... she only had one break which was changing the tires on lap 15...
it was also night time so it's inadvisable to drive/race that long in one shot for her case.
In her mind or subconsciously, if I could call it, she thinks that she's still taking the corner even if she had cleared it and should center the car back on the straight...
still, she's veering inward in reality.
As soon as she came back to her senses, then she lost control over the car...
Her physical endurance came to its limit at that moment... but it doesn't mean that her endurance is just up to there... we'll all see in the later chapters.
the next chapter is in my other computer, which is under use for important reasons...
I'll post it soon as it is done...

I already know that Sakura was tired and was steering even after exit, and that doesn't explain how she managed to spin out.

If a car simply turns around a corner (and does not slide at any point), then turning the other way on or after exit won't cause the car to spin out (unless it has an oversteery setup, the car'll simply steer itself in the other direction)

The question is: Was she simply gripping around the turn, was she trying to drift around it, or did she try to grip around the corner but ended up powersliding at the exit?

OHH!!! THAT... I understand now...
sorry for being tactless...
as for her setting...
let's say more of an in between setup (in between grip & drift I mean)
she has the option of drifting through the corner or gripping through it...
bleh... becoming tactless here again...
Basing my answer on your 3 choices...
it's gotta be the 3rd one

yes... no doubt about it. she ungassed so a probability of powersliding a 4wd is possible.

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Aug 6 2008, 04:54 AM

I know, it's been a while... it HAS been ever since I updated. I'm not planning to stop this just yet... my shifts aren't going my way at all not giving me time to keep writing the next chapter...

Well, at least I got time now... A LOT I mean... here are the next couple of chapters...
to those who have waited long. sorry, my apologies and enjoy!!

Chapter 23 - Climbing up the Stairs to the Mountains above

The next day came. Kasumi was still asleep in the bedroom. Tomo was asleep also on the sofa. There was a note stuck on their door.

Hiei & Ryusen were rushing towards Tomo's room to warn him of something.
"TOMO TOMO!! Something's up bigtime!!"
"THERE'S A DUDE IN A CORVETTE WAITING FOR YOU IN THE LOBBY!!"
"HE LOOKED SCARY & GAVE US A PRETTY BAD LOOK...!"
"Alright, alright... I get the picture..."
Tomo had a huge hunch that it was Lucas Scott who is waiting for him at the lobby.
He dressed up and went down to the lobby. And there was Lucas waiting for him...
"Tomo, right? I got an invitation for ya from our troops..."
"Is it a race invitation or something?"
"That's right... I recieved word that you were looking for me one night; in our "culture", that's looking for competition..."
"And?"
"To show you that I accept, I'm giving you an opportunity to battle me..."
"Just an opportunity? What do you mean exactly?"
"You can't fight me directly. You need to work your way up. It's the way of the underground & you can't go against it."
"Whatever it is... I accept it..."
"Alright, that's the spirit... Before I go..." Lucas said as he goes out of the building, looking at Tomo..."I want to know your motif for challenging me... I know you're not the type who's just greedy for a battle."
"Let me answer that with a question: why did you abandon your previous passion? Why did you leave that part of you behind?"
"Why did I? I wasn't suited for that in the first place. I was walking in the wrong road. They were all pushovers - my teammates in my basketball days; seriously, if you need something done, you need to do it yourself. Until I saw this road called "street racing", I need to get with the times. I can't accept that lost I had a decade ago. Yeah, people could say I'm too proud of myself that I'm the best and I couldn't let anything, not even defeat get the best of me. They all need to understand that... I AND my PRIDE are one... I'm proud of myself, got a problem with that? And now that I'm unstoppable in this field... not even you can stand a chance! I'm letting you give me your best shot at pushing me off this field... If I lose, I'll get your word for it. BUT if I win, you need to accept this fact Kitsumoro, that without pride... you're nothing."
Having said that, Lucas went off...
you're a fool Lucas Scott... your philosophy is something I can't approve of. Pride isn't everything. I'll show you. Being proud does nothing but make you see defeat... I will show you the light and bring you back to the person you once were and move on as that person; not the person you are today...
"T...Tomo? You okay?" hiei asked.
"Can't you see it Hiei? Tomo's aura is blazing..." Ryusen said in awe.
Tomo heads back to the room that he's staying at, grabs his GT-R keys & phone and heads down once more to meet up with Tetsuya & Daiki at a nearby coffee shop.
He dials Daiki's number.
Ring. Ring. Daiki picks up the call.
"Hello?"
"Kitsumoro. Call Tetsuya and meet me at the coffee shop just a block away from the hotel."
"You're making a move on the derby?"
"Yeah. It's time to settle things. He came up to me with a challenge."
"by he do you mean Lucas?"
"Right. If he's desperate for attention, I'm giving him."
"Don't get too overconfident now, okay? You know what happens to those who get puffed up with pride."
"I am aware of that. Just make sure I do."
"eh? (What the heck does he mean by that?) Well, I'm off now - to the coffee shop. You can tell me your plans there."
"Good." Tomo boards the GT-R and heads off.

[Coffee Shop - 10:45 a.m.]
(15 minutes later)
Tomo tells Daiki and Tetsuya of his plans. He wants to prepare his car for the underground.
"What WERE his conditions that he threw at ya?" Tetsuya asked.
"These." Tomo hands over the note of the conditions that Lucas is expecting to be met.
Let's see...

"That ain't much of a problem to ya as I could see." Tetsuya affirmed with pride.
"It's not as easy as you think it is Kudou. Don't ya know the abilities of applying Nitrous oxide to your car?" Daiki interrupted.
"What then?"
"If the battle was a straight match, obviously, the one who is equipped with it will most definetly win."
"Then I should leave 'em behind at the start."
"You're getting puffed up Kitsumoro..."
"No I'm serious. I can still remember the racing style of that flame-bodied Evolution 9 that challenged me when we got here...
because of too much power in the cars, the tendency to understeer is definetly assured. If they need to counteract that, long braking is required.
That way, with my car having less power than them, I can increase the gap in the corners, adding the factor that my car's 4WD..."
"There's a glitch to what you concluded there Tomo. Remember, weight reduction is common here, so even if you have a corner-advantage car in your hands, they'll still close the gap with a lighter body, thus larger cornering speed and a higher exit-corner speed."
"Daiki's got a point. any other bright ideas?"
"Then let fate do it's bidding." Tomo said in a serious tone.
The other two were confused with what Tomo said.
Daiki later on realized what Tomo meant when he reminisced on his battles against him back at Japan.
"He could be right you know. (We wouldn't know what to expect from Tomo once he's in action. if his car is weak, then he just has to compensate on some other factor that is unexpected)"
"Tetsuya."
"Y...yeah?" He replied, still trying to read between what Tomo said.
"bring a small tanker. we're starting this tonight."

Episode 7 Silence could never supress the RB's howl
Chapter 24 - Night of the full Moons


[12:05 a.m.; Local city streets.]
The city is quiet on one end. On the other end, there were drivers with highly modified cars on the road, just waiting for one more competitor to show up. Later on, they can hear an RB26DETT Engine come up to them. It was Tomo and an EMS service truck behind him.
The locals started to laugh.
"Hahahaha... what's up with this clown....!?"
"Lucas told us to race this wreck!?"
Tomo pulls over, does a quick 360 spin and positions his car parallel to the other 3.
Round 1 is about to begin - a circuit race around the main road - near an industrial park & factory.
3...2...1... go!!
Tomo quickly gains first, thanks to the AWD system.
He's being followed by a Supra, an Impreza, & a 350Z coupe.
The first 125 degree hairpin is coming. With Tomo just a hundred meters away from the corner.
"Tetsuya, I want you to turn off the ATTESA ET-S for this moment."
"Let's see if I can increase the gap from here..."
Tomo brakes, de-gasses as he hits the corner's apex. As it starts to gain a higher angle, he countersteers before his rear bumper hits the wall.
The gap increased even more, down to 200 meters and increasing after every corner...
"w...what is this guy?"
"He's extremely...no... monstrously fast!"
"We...can't keep up..."
After 10 minutes, the battle was over... With Tomo clearing around close to a kilometer's length from the 2nd placer...
At Lucas' Mansion, Lucas was there on his study looking at the city from his window. He recieves a text from his peers who is included in the street racing scene as of this moment. The text says that Tomo has easily defeated the top circuit racers in record time. Reading this, Lucas made a huge tantrum - getting a book that he sees close to him and releases all his rage in it; throwing it to the ground.
Hours later Tomo was asked to race in a sprint match from where they are all the way to the entrance to the canyons.

[2:55 a.m.; Canyon]
The battle reaches the climax: a one on one duel with a Street Tuned Lambo Murcielago; equipped with a wide body kit with larger air dams for better wind ventilation, in a downhill canyon duel. The canyon's name was nicknamed "Journeyman's Bane". Tomo starts of as a chaser.
"They made a false move this time. We all know that the chaser has the ultimate advantage in this sort of race." Tetsuya told Daiki in assurance.
"I wouldn't count on that, Kudou. Not all who have the chaser position has the full advantage. If the runner is skilled, which supports his car's opitmum performance, then he could increase the gap from that point; thus rendering the chaser out of league." Daiki responded.
"Will Tomo do well?" Tetsuya asked.
"Well... he still has the advantage here."
"eh?"
"It was the mistake on the part of the locals to pit in a Lamborghini."
"I still don't get it..."
"Have you forgotten? Tomo already had experience dealing with Lamborghinis. He did race Kitana back at Italy who was driving A LAMBORGHINI."
"Now I remember. In terms of history, the Diablo and Murcielago 'play' alike. Afterall, the Murcielago IS the Diablo's successor. And the fact that Tomo has battled a Diablo makes this next race of his easier."
The race began. The Lambo immediately increased the gap from the start with the small straight that was infront of them. The Lambo was heavy so it only attacks following the center line of the road for balance. Tomo attacks on the apex, 1 to 2 feet away from the guardrail. With the ATTESA ET-S off, the car was acting like Sakura's newly modified R34 when they tested it out. At one corner, the Lambo braked before entering the medium right bend to the small tunnel. Big mistake Tomo reitterated to himself. Tomo, with perfect timing, ungassed while turning causing the rear end to go beserk. With that move, the gap decreased. As Tomo turned early and hit the apex; corner after corner, the gap decreased... until the GT-R is directly behind the Lamborghini.
"What's wrong with this kid!?" The Lambo driver asked.
As they reached the long straight before the Iroha-based chicane, The Lambo driver increased the gap yet needed to brake early as soon as it reached the first hairpin. Tomo's GT-R was on the range of 1275 kg so he just braked half the distance of what the Lambo needed. holding the e-brake, Tomo induces the GT-R to a zero countersteer drift through the first bend. He intentionally wanted the car to oversteer and instead of countersteering to clear the first, he let's the understeer kick in to not countersteer. He does the same for the other 4 corners. Following this section is a long circular section where one huge corner is shaped like 3/4 of a circle, reminding us all of the second checkpoint of the Myogi downhill. "This seems familiar..." Tomo said.
The Lambo on the other hand is having trouble. Understeer is already kicking in real bad and he needed to brake as soon as his car is veering off the center line. This gave Tomo the ultimate advantage, sticking his car on the inside, he's positioned well for an out in out attack at the next right hander. As the Lambo faced the next corner, he braked hard, even using the e-brake to pull away from the barricade. Checking his rearview mirror... "Wher'd he ... go!?" The Lambo driver exclaimed. He looks at his right side seeing a GT-R already overtaking him...
"NO!! IF he overtakes me and stays for 10 seconds in the lead, it's over..."
But it was too late, the GT-R took the lead and increased the gap bit by bit.

"His Tires gave in because of too much braking and the weight added that effect. Stupid fool. His car is too heavy for the downhill, obviously before the race ends, you'll lose despite all that power."
Ten seconds passed and Tomo still has the lead, increasing the gap after every corner. No doubt he won already.
Everyone in the base was shocked. Daiki and Tetsuya weren't as they already know the outcome.Once they saw a GT-R speeding down the pass, they were all silent.
The GT-R stops infront of Daiki, Tetsuya and the Wercker behind him. "Fill 'er up." Tomo told Tetsuya pointing at the gas tank in the EMS. "What am I? your gas service?! sheesh..."
"Good job Kitsumoro."
"It was nothing. Knowing that I'm gonna race a Murcielago; gave me all the attacks that I needed. Thanks to Kitana; this race was nothing at all..."
"C'mon. Let's head back. I need rest if I'm gonna be tutoring Sakura tomorrow for the race that'll take place the day after tomorrow."
"I'll try my best to be there, tell her that. I just need to loosen up some end with Lucas."
After that conversation and the GT-R gas filled, they went off the canyon.
The locals on the other hand had their heads down. They had their best of the best yet they lost.
I guess, Lucas is the only one left... We're supposed to not let the kid win and not get Lucas' hands dirty.
the kid is a monster
Don't worry, Lucas is an even bigger monster.
You got that right.
Back at the mansion...
Lucas threw his cellphone to the ground, thus breaking it. "If you want something done... you should do it yourself... incompetent people. They can't stop a midget Skyline... gimme a break. Well, I'll show that kid that if you ain't got a whole lotta pride in ya' then a loss is well assured. My Corvette with my skills is like the dragon engulfing a town in flames. I can't be stopped. He can catch up but that's all he can do... I'll guarantee that. I AM the best in this town." With that said Lucas kept on laughing like a demonic evil-doer.


Chapter 25 - Grand Prix

Kasumi was busy reading a book, while waiting for Tomo's arrival, entitled Mankind's search. Sakura comes back from practice. "Hey Sakura" Kasumi said closing the book she was reading.
"Hey, Kasumi... w...what time is it?" Sakura asked in a gloomy tone. "quarter to 4 in the morning..." Kasumi replied...
"I see..." Sakura's voice went pale and she suddenly went falling down; plunging towards the floor. Kasumi quickly grabs her by the stomach. "You okay?"
"I'm... just tired..."
"You need some rest."
"Yeah... you're right... don't wake me up okay?"Sakura said as she went to the bedroom and closed the door shut.
"She's working really hard..." Kasumi uttered to herself.
Tomo later on arrives completely fatigued and falls down near the door. Kasumi hears the bang of a fallen body and sees Tomo on the ground.
"TOMO!!" Kasumi panics and heads quickly for Tomo's fallen body.
"You alright?"
"I...I'm f...fine...I just need to rest..."
"Here" Kasumi assists Tomo to the sofa "Sakura's in the bedroom. You can sleep here."
"Thanks..." A completely tired Tomogashi said as he slowly lies down on the sofa...
"What have you been exactly doing?"
"Climbing my way up to fight Lucas..."
"Are you sure you're ready to take him on?"
"Kasumi... I need to show Lucas that his principle of pride is an ignorant theory...as the Proverbs say...Pride before a crash..."
"haughtiness before a stumble I know that line too..."
"I'm racing him tonight... I can't go to work today... call the manager I got a fever and I'll come the day after tomorrow..."
"Okay... sure..."
Kasumi looks at a pitiful looking Tomo catching up on his sleep...
"No one knows what Tomo's intentions are... because I was taken under his wing..." saying the last few words, Kasumi blushed... "Um... only I could sympathize with what Tomo is doing..."

<to be continued> ))<"

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Sep 26 2008, 06:05 AM

Wow. Fashion designers are running out of ideas

Race scenes have improved slightly. Good work.

whoops!! My bad!! I'll edit that in a little while.

EDIT: Okay. that settles that problem... I can't imagine a hot chick or anyone for that matter reading a book AND wearing it at the same time

EDIT 2: Here's the continuation of the rest of the story!!

Chapter 25 - (continued) Grand Prix

That happened at around 4:54 a.m. Some are still asleep and some have gotten up from bed to fix breakfast up...
Hours later, 7:00 hits the clock. Sakura, Tomo and Daiki are still asleep. Kasumi was sitting next to Tomo... waiting for him to get up.
Someone knocks at the door.Telegram the voice from the other side of the door said to whoever was in there, and slid the letter under the door. Kasumi picks it up and sees Tomo's name in the back.
"This must be Tomo's... It could either be from his Boss at the internship training or from Lucas Scott..." When she saw the japanese characters "CHALLENGE" in the front. "It's from Lucas...I had a huge feeling..."
She opens the letter.
"I know Tomo won't mind at all..."

"So he is racing him... those previous races must've worn him out completely..."
"So the Top Driver makes his move, huh?"
Kasumi wondered who it was. It was Kitami.
"Yes. He gave Tomo this letter." Kasumi said while showing Kitami the letter."but... How'd you know about Lucas?"
"Long story. But I'll tell you anyway..."

"So you have no idea what Lucas has in plan against Tomo?"
"No. That's all I heard."
"Useless..." Kasumi said in a sigh of discontent...
"Say, Kasumi... If Tomo's planning to race that Z06..."
"Yeah?" She answered.
"Tell him to attack on the right areas... that way, he won't lose at all..."
"Okay; sure."
With that, Kitami made his departure.
Kasumi looks at Tomo again, thinking about what Kitami said to her.
"Attack on the right areas, huh? What did he mean by that...?"

[Troy's peak...
11:35 p.m.]
A lot of street racers have appeared to see Lucas Scott race the GT-R that everyone despised.
All are anxious to see the winning streak of that GT-R come to an end.
Many, who were spectating bid for Lucas to win.
in one road, close to a wide intersection, a blue Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R waits...
The GT-R is patiently waiting for the Z06 to appear.
"He told me to wait here... Where IS he then?" Tomo uttered.
From his behind... a huge roar from a modified LS7 engine makes a ruckus turning all heads.
It was the Corvette itself... And it's none other than Lucas Scott's Corvette. Evidently, it was his because of the custom GT wing behind it and the blue stripes in it's front.
At the same time, Tomo's phone rang. He recieved a text from Kasumi...

"I won't... I'll assure you that..." Tomo whispered to his cellphone.
The Corvette does a zero countersteer drift on a T-intersection towards the starting line.
As soon as he sees the GT-R in sight, 500 meters away... the corvette brakes at 325 meters - in between him and the GT-R...
It stopped right next to the GT-R perfectly.
The same guy who talked with Lucas, whom Kitami saw, stepped out of the Corvette to start the countdown and give Tomo what he needs to know.
"Hey kid. I'm pin pointing the location of the goal on your GPS. You're on your own from this point onwards..." Tomo just nodded hearing that.
"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED PEOPLE!!" The guy shouted out to the crowd.
Everyone was excited and were all rooting for the Blue Corvette. Lights all around. people covering the other lanes.
All this ruckus catches the eyes of the Inspector, that Tomo negotiated with before, from his office.
"So this is the night..." the Inspector said puffing out a huge ball of smoke.
Kasumi, too sees the many colored lights coming out of one small area. She knows that Tomo is there. She just stares intimately at the lights, trying to picture in her mind what is happening.
All the odds were against Tomo, as everyone thought...
Tomo was only in a state of silence. Ignoring all the boos and hisses that the locals throw at him.
Concentrating on his revs, he taps his foot on the gas raising the needle to 7500 rpm.
Backfires coming out of the GT-R's stock muffler (yes, he's still using the same visual upgrades during the Infineon mock-contest)...
Lucas revs his engine all the way to the 8000 rpm red zone and looks at Tomo with an utterly serious look. Tomo on the other hand is focused on what he's thinking - not losing to a lowlife like Lucas...
"Pride before a crash..." Tomo whispers..."haughtiness before stumbling..."
"I'm number 1! I'm the best... there's no one else!!" Lucas uttered to himself boosting his self esteem...
FIVE!! FOUR!! THREE!! TWO!! ONE!! GO!!
The GT-R and Z06 blast off the starting line and onto the city streets. Their goal was the exit of the city onto the canyons; they made the race more of like a togue battle as evidently, the GT-R's power isn't capable of outrunning a much-modified Z06's LS7 engine...
If Tomo could stay behind Lucas and cling to him, he wins... but if Lucas outruns him, completely, for 15 seconds, then the race is over...


This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Aug 26 2008, 03:14 AM

Just in case those who thought I haven't placed the new chapter yet, it's edited in my last post where I goofed up on the post before that. Well, nothing else to say but enjoy Chapter 25...

Ch 25 wasn't really all that interesting. But I'll be looking forward to Ch 26 (you're at your best when it comes to writing race scenes).

Chapter 26 - Breaking the Silence

Tomo and Lucas never said a word as soon as they made eye-to-eye contact with each other before the race... A 'hot', beautiful, dark brown long-haired woman stood in between the 2 cars and is ready to count down...
She looks at Lucas and he just gave a thumbs up along with a wink. Then, she looks at Tomo and gave a wink at him. He blushed a bit and nods afterwards.
The woman raised both of her arms and everyone started shouting "Three! Two! One!" altogether. after everyone shouted out the numbers, the woman threw her hands down signaling a go. The GT-R and Z06 rocketed out of the starting line.
Since Lucas' Z06 is accustomed to the public roads here, it was set for the ultimate acceleration capabilities it was known for and holds the lead. The GT-R although a 4WD has lost to the Z06 in terms of off the line acceleration.

Lucas shifts to gear 2 with a backfire coming out of his exhaust, screaming at 4500 rpm. Tomo shifts to gear 2 with a bit sluggish movement as he directs it to the powerband of 9000 rpm. Both the cars have reached a current speed of 120 mph with a gap of 70 meters in between the Corvette and the Skyline. "As soon as we hit the first hairpin, we'll see what he's capable with..." Lucas uttered as he shifts to gear 3.

"The Z06 is pulling away bit by bit on this straight... if Tetsuya haven't upgraded my GT-R back there, it's obvious that I have lost in the beginning. Good thing I never said a word to Tetsuya about detuning my R34 from 700 hp down to 550 hp. Now, CATCH UP GT-R!!" Tomo declared to his car. The first Hairpin is up - the perimeter of an exclusive hotel displaying a volcano mold/monument with fake, yet realistic lava. Lucas has his hands ready on the e-brake. He brakes 150 meters ahead and induces his Z06 to an e-brake drift.
Tomo, who braked late, closed the gap and braked as it hits the apex. Although there was no gap present between the two as they passed the apex, the Corvette slowly increases the gap from that point up to the exit.

"The corner was wide but because of the speed we've reached moments ago, understeer is very evident on all cars. The settings of most cars here is focused on power and is aided by a bit of weight reduction and suspension settings because of the handling capabilities are very weak from that moment on... But they're all irrelevant compared to my Corvette. Mine is completely balanced, both power and handling are top-notch; only I can control my Z06 the way I want." Lucas proudly declared as he presses on the gas even harder.

There was a hooded person standing with the other spectators, watching the race from afar. It was Shinosuke Kitamaru; he sees Tomo's GT-R acting unusual. "Is it because his R has too much power? Is that the reason why his GT-R is acting unusual?" he pondered.
A 500 meter straightway, followed by another right hander, leading to a tight, left hairpin. The Corvette understeered drastically but powerslides like crazy as it's rear tired touched the grass on the outside. It's as if he's preparing to induce his Z06 to an inertial, out-in-out drift attack. Tomo, on the other hand, 200m meters behind, veers towards the outside and brakes hard as soon as he's 50 meters from the apex; thus having his car well positioned on the outside of the upcoming hairpin curve. "What kind of move is he planning?" Tomo wondered. He sees the Corvette doing a perfect drift on the apex of the corner. "His angle is too high yet his car gracefully glides through the turn..." he stated in awe.
Coming out of the bend into the straightway next to a casino, the GT-R and Corvette shouts throughout the straightway. "Full powerrrrrr!!" Lucas exclaimed. "It ain't over yet!!" Tomo thought to himself as he shifts to gear 4 at 135 mph. At the end of the straight next to the casino, elevation rises as soon as they pass the next intersection. It was an uphill section composed of multiple, light S-curves. The road however is wide so it won't be a problem nor a hindrance for the 2 drivers. Lucas increased the gap to 425 meters with Tomo's GT-R catching up. The GT-R's rev needle is close to the powerband, once more. Both cars zoomed through the light bisection into a cliff-side road. The Z06 is sliding through the road, driving eratically. The GT-R, meanwhile, is stable as soon as it catches up to the zig-zagging Z06. "What's he up to? Why is his Z06 swerving eratically?" Little did Tomo know that Lucas has something in store for what he's doing. He's adjusting the weight shift of the car, looking for the exact position of the weight ballast. As soon as Lucas braked while swerving, the weight pushed the car further into a slide position, fit for drifting. Tomo observed the Z06's movements closely as he grips through the corner. "Pushing the car by positioning its ballast on the exact area where the weight pushes the car further, increasing its angle and inducing it to a drift... Sounds illogical but... what he did is somewhat... SOMEWHAT similar to what I've concluded." Tomo observed. "Beat that, GT-R Boy!!" Lucas proudly shouted, directing it at Tomo.

The 2 cars are now close to the Silverton Town exit onto the highway, with the Z06 leading and the GT-R34 500 meters behind. Lucas grips towards the entrance to the highway as Tomo attempts to drift his GT-R through the junction...

[Local Police department]
A police officer hurriedly rushed to the inspector's office. He bangs on the door and calls out "INSPECTOR!! INSPECTOR!!"
The inspector, sipping a shot of beer, replies "WHAT I'M BUSY!! REPORT FROM THERE!"
"Sir, street racers are racing around Silverton!! Should we do something?"
"Just stand down..."
"but..."
"STAND DOWN, officer!!" The officer didn't bother to argue any further.
The inspector puffs out a huge ball of smoke out of his mouth. "We make our move as soon as that kid is in the Canyons... In the meantime, go back to your post. You're dismissed."
"SIR!!" The police officer said as he leaves the office.
"That kid... could be the one who can do what no one ever dared..." The inspector whispered with a grin on his face.

[Silverton highway to Downtown]
The GT-R slowly closes the gap using his splitstream attack. But it wasn't enough to close the gap completely. From 500 meters, it's now down to 175 meters. As Lucas brakes, Tomo only decelerates, thus decreasing the gap even more.

"I don't want to look at the mirror... I know it'll disrupt my concentration. But I know he's near. closing in; but as soon as we pass the apex, the lead is assured. But with his capabilities, I know from a few kilometers back, there's no way I could relegate him and ensure my full victory. What I just need to do is... MAINTAIN THIS LEAD..." Lucas said, analyzing his situation.

The Z06 increased the gap once more as soon as both cars exited the apex. Going through the downtown expressway. "Wait... there's something wrong with what I'm doing... why'd I forget that I should just minimize the gap and no need to take the lead... what an Idiot I am..." Tomo said in an irritating tone. "As long as I limit my distance from the corvette infront of me... this win is assured... No need for me to take the lead... I only need to close this gap and I'm safe!"

Lucas attemps to increase the gap much more... and getting a bit frustrated...
"Argh... how is it that this kid, who doesn't care how good he is nor is he proud of his skill, could be this good; compared to me...? My skill is perfect and I'm proud of it but... why is that somebody like him... equalize with me?" he pondered while briskly shifting 2 gears down as he enters the next junction to the other side of silverton from Downtown.
Tomo, on the other hand, as the first race comes to a close uses engine braking to close the gap and clear the corners faster before the Z06 could even pull away. "A little more..." Tomo uttered.

All who were part of the spectators in the starting line went to the canyons boundary awaiting the victor. The same woman who started the countdown, the guy whom Lucas was with and all the others in the crowd are awaiting Lucas' Corvette coming to the finish all alone...

2 familiar engine tones can be heard 200 meters away. They know it's Lucas but...
"If that other engine tone is the GT-R... could it possibly mean..."
As soon as the 2 cars approach the last bend, everyone can't believe their eyes!
The Corvette; leading, but...
THE GT-R is behind it.
"No way!! Lucas Lost!?"
"This can't be..."
"Am I seeing things or did I see OUR Lucas Scott lose to a nobody...?"
Everyone was panicking in connection to the battle...
"So he was able to keep up... sweet moves, Tomo. The Corvette may be powerful but like any other sports car in the GT-R's level it has one basic flaw - it's heavy and the Z06's peak power is way too high... It's surprising to see Lucas control powerslides with such a beast but it's even more surprising to see that the GT-R kept up with those kinds... He (Lucas) was weak with turn in up to the apex & Tomo was able to close the gap at that point... As far as what I can see, the race is unanimous." Shinosuke whispered as he went to his FD and leave.

Tomo stepped out of the Skyline; and Lucas stepped out of his Z06. The 2 approach each other. They stared abruptly in each other's eyes.
"Let's do the canyon..." Tomo said...
"We're feeling a little cocky, eh? Just because you kept up with my Z06..."
"Who says I am." Saying that, Tomo steps back on his GT-R and heads for the mountains. Lucas, evidently did the same thing...

This post has been edited by Gunma's 34 on Sep 18 2008, 06:10 AM