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> [FANFIC] Destiny Shift, The Fallen Angels appear...
Pikachu_Fragger
  Posted: May 13 2008, 12:13 AM


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Lol, thanks for the praise Gunma. It's the kind of thing that encourages me to keep going with this fic.

For now though, a break from the racing and more on the backstory. Otherwise, I'd have to write up an explanation for weight transfer or suspension settings every time I post a chapter. laugh.gif

Also, in advance, I'd like to apologize to Twitchy-kun. They're integral to another character's story in the RP, and because said character is related to Rin (in a way) they're needed here as well. fear2.gif

Destiny Shift, Chapter 08 - Shomaru Rendezvous

[Day: Friday, March 18, 2005]
[Location: A Family Restaurant near Shomaru]
[Time: 6:35 AM]

"So, explain this for me again please?" Shingo asked as he sipped on some coffee. All of them were seated on a set of tables that were put close together to fill a large party of six, and they were just finishing breakfast.
"Ah, why we're here in Saitama when you guys know that Tōdō Juku is in Tochigi?" Sia said as she finished her milk.
"Yes, that part," Shingo said.
Rin pulled out his mother's letter from his pocket and showed him the address written on the back. "Well, the address points to a place here in Saitama. The letter says that we should go there first."
"Well, seeing as this is his mother's last will, I think we should honor it," Nayuki said. "Besides, I kind of know this place."
"Really?" Kaede asked.
"Yeah. There's a body shop or something here in the middle of the Shomaru Pass where this address is," Nayuki said.
"I thought Tōdō Juku's tuning shop was only in Tochigi," Takeshi said. "You mean they've expanded? I haven't heard anything of that sort."
"They didn't. That's what makes this very odd," Nayuki said. "Maybe there's a hidden connection between this shop and Tōdō Juku."
"What's the name of the shop?" Rin asked.
"It's called C-"

Nayuki stopped short and put her finger to her lips in thought. "Err, what was it again? Crow? Kuro? Claw? I forget how it's pronounced..."
"Pretty odd name for a shop if it gets pronounced like that..." Rin commented.
"No! That's not it, Rin-san," Nayuki whimpered. "It's pretty close to it though."
"Sounds pretty Gothic."
Nayuki shook her head. "Nope. In fact, this place is pretty notorious for its... unique body tuning. And it's nowhere NEAR Gothic in nature."
"How so?" Sia asked.
"Ever seen a hot neon pink R32 before?" Nayuki began.
"Wow! That's cute!"
"With frilly white and red wing designs painted on the side? And that same design would be on its rear spoiler?"
"Wow... Rin-kun, your car would definitely look cute that way!"
"No, definitely NOT," all three males responded in unison.

Nayuki sighed. "In any case, we're going to have to go there regardless. Rin-san, if you don't mind, I'd like to ride with you."
Both Kaede and Sia gasped a bit at that.
Wha- another rival!? Sia thought to herself. She's a nice person and all, but still...
Kaede began to worry in her mind as well. Even though Rin has someone else, for another person to just think she can just-
"What about your car?" Rin asked. "Wouldn't it be better if you just led the way instead?"
"Maybe, but I'm also interested to see how you drive. Makoto only told me a few of the details, and I was too busy battling Sia-san at the time. I can also give hints as well!" she chuckled. "Besides, Shingo can drive it for me."
"Eh!? I drive Front Wheel Drive cars, Nayuki-chan!" Shingo protested.
"So? You can drive Rear Wheel Drives too, right?"
"Well, yeah, but in a pinch, I might have some trouble with it..."
"That's okay. I trust you with my car," Nayuki said.
Shingo turned away for a bit. She... trusts me with using her car? Doesn't that mean...
He suddenly tensed up and grinned from ear to ear. Relationship level up!!!

"...Shingo?" Nayuki said.
"Uh, I mean, yeah, I don't mind, I guess, if you put it that way," Shingo stuttered as he faced everyone again.
"Then it's settled. Rin-san, please take care of me," Nayuki said.
"Um, I'll try my best," Rin said.

A few minutes later, everyone finished their breakfast and headed out to the address.

[Day: Friday, March 18, 2005]
[Location: The Auto Repair Shop on Rin's Address]
[Time: 7:10 AM]

Rin and the others gawked at the small tuning shop building that was still closed. Nayuki was right. Gothic was the last thing you'd expect to think when their sign was... pink. It also had a strange logo on it, which was that of a large yellow star encircled by a pink ring, and flanked by two wings. When Rin read the rest of the sign, he now realized why it was so hard for Nayuki to pronounce it.
"Clow Auto Repair?" he said out loud. "Weird name for a shop."
"Ah! That was the name of the shop!" Nayuki chuckled. "That L in the word confused me."
"Clow Auto Repair, huh... what does the word Clow mean?" Sia asked.
"Who knows. All I know is that Mom left this address. Oh yeah, Takeshi-san," Rin asked, "I forgot to ask, but what was it about the car that tipped you off that something was up with it? I don't know much about the ATTESA-ETS system, but I don't think it's something you can easily see if something is wrong with it just by looking at the hood."
Takeshi perked up at that. "Oh yeah, that. You see, there was-"

His explanation was interrupted by a loud crash that emanated from the shop, followed by a loud scream.
"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The surprised racers outside flinched from the loud noise. "Wh-what happened there!?" Kaede asked.
"I don't know, but I think we should go help them," Rin said as he ran to the still closed door. "Great, to think that we'd be here two hours early for business..."
"Rin-kun, what's this?" Sia asked. Rin looked at where Sia was pointing, and it seemed to be a doorbell buzzer, with the sign "Please press if you need help outside of business hours" written on it.
"Well, might as well I guess," Rin said before pressing the doorbell.
"Ahhh! What am I going to do? The place is a mess!" a female voice could be heard whimpering inside.
"Um, excuse me!" Rin called out. "Can I speak with the owner of the shop?"
"I'm very sorry! Please come back later! The place is a mess! It'll take us at least an hour to clean up because all the other workers are still out! We can try to make it in half an hour... I'm really sorry!" the female voice called out.

"What are we going to do?" Kaede asked.
"We can help you clean up if need be," Rin said.
"I can't do that!" the girl inside called out. "Insurance doesn't cover accidents that might happen to customers here inside the shop, and I can't allow you to potentially hurt yourselves!"
Rin sighed. "All right, we'll just wait outside then," he said. Rin then turned to everyone else. "I'm sorry. It was my idea to come early, after all."
"It's okay," Kaede said. "She's been waiting, what, ten years? I'm sure Michiko-san won't mind another hour or so before you fulfill her will, Rin-kun."

Just as everyone started walking back to their cars to wait, they heard another loud crash from inside before the door suddenly burst open. A large plume of dust billowed out of the doorway.
"W-wait! Did you just say... Michiko-san?" a shadowy figure called out from the darkness of the garage.
"Yes!" Kaede said. "Do you know her?"

The figure stepped out from the darkness and into the early morning sunlight. She was of average height, and wore a pair of dusty denim overalls with a pink shirt underneath. Her hair was cut short in a bobbed cut, but it was adorned with small mini-pigtails held in place on each side with elastic that had pink plastic balls threaded through it.
"No. But I was told about her by a family friend. I was also told that her son would come here."
Rin then stepped forward. "Ah, that would be me. My name is Rin Tsuchimi."

The girl scrutinized him for a moment, then smiled and turned towards the garage. "Tomoyo-chan! He's here!" she called out to someone inside.
"I got it, Sakura-chan. I'll open the garage door," another female voice said from within. With that, a mechanical pulley could be heard running from inside the building, slowly pulling the aluminum doors up.
Sakura wasn't lying about the place being a mess; there were quite a few boxes strewn about, as well as some tools that were scattered across the floor. However, what stood out in the middle of this mess was...
"Wh-what the heck is that!?" Shingo cried out. He was referring to a blue and white two-tone 180SX... except this one had Lacus Clyne painted on the hood.
"Ahh... that one?" Sakura sighed. "A customer ordered something like that... naturally, Tomoyo-chan was eager to take up the project. Ah, how rude of me. My name is Sakura Li, owner and tuner of this shop. My friend is Tomoyo Daidouji, a body kit fabricator for this shop," she said, introducing herself and Tomoyo, who was waving at them from the now open garage door.
"Nice to meet you. You already know who I am. Well, these are my friends," Rin said, and begun introducing the group to her and Tomoyo. "In any case, what happened here?"

"Ah..." Sakura sighed. "We got some new parts that we needed yesterday, but it wasn't yet time to throw away the recyclables and we couldn't dispose of the boxes the parts came in. So instead, we decided to stack them in the corner. That didn't go over so well... a stray cat got inside just now and knocked over the toolkits."
"A cat? Where!" Nayuki excitedly said before Sia gently pulled her back.
"Do you need some help putting them away?" Rin asked. "This will get done faster if we do it together."
"Is that okay?" Sakura asked, and looked at the rest of the group.
"We don't mind," Takeshi said. "I know where the tools would go - it wouldn't be the first time I've handled them."
"We'd like to help too," Sia said.

Sakura smiled and nodded. "All right then. Thank you very much!"
"It's a good coincidence that we ended up here," Kaede said.
"There are no such things as coincidences... only inevitablity," Tomoyo said. "Or at least, that's a phrase that I heard once. I believe that there's a reason for everything."
"That's partly true," Rin said. "Mother sent me here, after all. And these are the friends I came across along the way."
Tomoyo smiled. "Then that means you must be really blessed."
"Ahaha, well, I'm certainly glad that I was able to get this far with everyone's help," Rin said.

As Rin and the others started to help put back all the scattered tools back in the toolbox, Tomoyo whispered to herself:
"You're definitely going to need them later on to carry the burden that was left with you..."

*****


"So," Rin began as Sakura examined his R32, "What do you know about my mother and her connection to Tōdō Juku?"
"Oh, not much," Sakura said as she ran her hands over the freshly changed tires that were installed before they started their soujurn into Saitama, and examined the brake pads. "Tōdō-san in particular was the one who asked me to help him out."
"Why is that?"
"Because while I tune any car and restore any wreck, I specialize in Nissans," Sakura said. "The Satos were heavily involved with Nismo, and so was I. It would be natural to ask a friend of the Tōdō Juku racing school, especially one who does Nissans in particular, to help with someone who owns such a Nissan, right?"
"I guess that makes sense," Rin said.

Sakura then popped open the hood and looked inside. She gasped at what she saw. "Your ATTESA-ETS... it's been disabled."
"H-how did you know that?" Rin gasped.
Sakura motioned for Rin and everyone else to come closer, and pointed at something. Carefully etched on the RB26DETT engine, was the Kanji symbol for Earth.
"Why is this here?..." Rin asked.
"That's what I was trying to tell you earlier, Tsuchimi," Takeshi said. "I was shocked when I saw that Kanji on the engine. Later on, when Minase told me about your mother being a Sato, it all made sense."
Sakura nodded. "The Satos usually had symbols for the elements engraved somewhere on the car. Only two branches remain; the head branch used Wind, while the other branch - the one your mother is from - used Earth."
"Wait," Rin gasped. "Are you saying that there are still other Satos out there?"
"I'm not sure. Funny you should say that, given that Sato is a fairly common last name, but it seems that even you're aware that they might not be as close to this branch as you are," Sakura said.
"I see."
"I'm sorry. You probably wanted to know if you had more relatives as well..."
"Don't worry about it. I was just surprised, that's all. It sounds like the family was pretty big."
"It was. But..." Sakura looked at Tomoyo as if to ask for permission to speak, and Tomoyo nodded. "All right. I will tell you. But first..." she pulled out her gloves and curled all her fingers into a fist, save for her pinky finger. "You have to promise me something."

Rin had to do a double take before asking, "A promise?"
Sakura nodded. "Promise me that you won't take the path of revenge for what I am about to tell you. Vengeance and hatred will only repeat a cycle of even more pain and death. I'm only telling you this because I don't want to see someone fall down the path that many others would take after hearing of this. Also... I'm sorry, but this is a secret only for you. You must make the choice of sharing it with your friends, but until you hear it first, I cannot tell anyone else."
Rin turned around to look at his friends. They all nodded, as if to say, "This is your choice. We'll trust you all the way."

Rin then turned around and wrapped his own pinky finger around Sakura's. "I got it."
Tomoyo nodded and ushered everyone out to a seperate guest room where she would entertain them for a while until Sakura was done, while Sakura brought Rin to her own office.

With everyone gone, Sakura bade Rin to sit down on a nearby chair. "So... what is it?"
Sakura gave him a sad smile. "The truth is... I used to know a Sato."
"Eh?" Rin gasped.
"'Used to', being the key word," she reiterated for him, showing off her own wedding band on her left ring finger. "Syaoran, my husband, is a childhood friend of mine. However, there were four of us - Tomoyo-chan is one of them, but the one of interest to this conversation is a young boy named Heihachi Hattori. But we called him Shuri-kun, because he left us with a secret as well."
"Which is?"
"Before he had his name changed, he was called Sashuri Sato."
"I see," Rin said. "Why couldn't you tell us earlier?"
"For his own safety, and the safety of your friends," Sakura said. "You see, the Satos were a prominent clan from way back in the Feudal Era. They were well renowned for their talents, specifically that of horseback riding. Even then, they were a clan of racers. In fact, they were responsible for the turning the battle of Sekigahara to Tokugawa's favor."
"How?"
"Letters. The the Sato Riders were to Japan as the Pony Express was to America, and they delivered the letters that convinced many of the Ishida clan's best generals to switch sides, turning a stalemate into a surefire win for Tokugawa. Oddly enough, the clan itself was not attached to any affiliation whatsoever - they were a truly neutral clan, offering their services mainly to whoever got to them first.
"As time went on, and the modern era came, their speed still lives on - they are essentially a clan of racers. A clan which you are a part of, at least on your mother's side. They became prominent racers in both the underground and professional circuits. However, old feuds do not die so easily."
"What do you mean?" Rin asked.
"I'm talking about the descendants of Mitsunari Ishida. They still harbor great hatred for the clan."

QUOTE
Keisuke perked up at that. "Hold on. Sato?"
"Yes. My mother's name was Sato Michiko, before she got married."
Keisuke rubbed his chin at that. "It couldn't be..."
"What is it, Takahashi-san?" Sia worriedly asked.
"I can't be sure, but, there was a famous family in the racing scene that disappeared after their leader crashed a few years ago at Suzuka Circuit. That man was known as Sato Sousuke."
"Sato... Sousuke," Rin repeated. It felt eerie yet sad to him, having found one his mother's relatives, or at least someone who possibly was. "What makes you think he and my mother are related?"
"Because when he crashed, he was racing for Nismo. He was using an R32 at the time. Alas, by then, he was one of the last of the fabled clan..."


"Wait. I heard about someone named Sato Sousuke who crashed at Suzuka Circuit..."
"Yes. His death was no accident."
Rin was surprised by this. "Death!? Hold on, I wasn't told about any death when I heard about that, merely that the clan disappeared after that!"
"Oh. It was common knowledge in professional racing circles, so I guess whoever told you about that assumed that you knew he died in the crash. I'm sorry," Sakura apologized.
"I see." Rin sighed, then suddenly his heart stopped at the second thought that came to mind. "Hold on... his death was no accident?"
"No. His R32 was sabotaged. The rest of the family disappeared, but from what Shuri-kun told me, they were systematically elimnated by their enemies."

Rin shivered from the implications of what Sakura had just told him. "My mother... my father... and Kaede's mom... they were killed in an automobile accident. That's... that's what I was told... it was an accident..."
"Rin-san, this could just be a coincidence-"
"'There are no such things as coincidences... only inevitablity.' That's what your friend Tomoyo-san said, right?" Rin said. His pained voice was unsuccessfully masking what he was truly fearing. "They... they were killed!?"
"That might just really be an accident!" Sakura gasped. "I didn't know your parents died in an auto accident - I thought they were from natural causes. I was only told that your mother was dead, not how long, or how she died. It might just truly be an accident."
"What if it wasn't!?" Rin cried out. "What if they come after me, or even worse, Kaede, or Sia, or even Nerine or Primula? What if they go after Asa..."
"Rin-san..."
"Please, tell me. Who killed my relative? I don't want to avenge anyone's death, but I want to protect my friends from them! And if my mother was killed... I need to know what it is that they were killed for!"

Sakura sighed at that. She stayed silent for a few moments before speaking. "All right. This story will have to start from the beginning. And the beginning starts with the Fallen Angels..."

This post has been edited by Pikachu_Fragger on May 13 2008, 12:23 AM
Nomake Wan
Posted: May 13 2008, 12:32 AM


ShiMACHaze
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I thought that using the quote function as a flashback device was genius!

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Gunma's 34
Posted: May 13 2008, 12:57 AM


The R34's chosen one
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Hmm... so now Tsubasa Chronicles/Cardcaptor Sakura's Sakura and Tomoyo come into to the picture...
this is odd... yet intriguing...
they sort of blended in and made the story even more interesting...
Fallen Angels huh? I can't wait to know who are they...
by any chance, would a GT-R34 come into the story? or a bit later in the story...?

fyi... the pink R32... I see alot of those at Max Tune...
but when did Gundam Seed Destiny characters come into the picture...
by how the 180 was described and got Shingo's attention...
the color is based on the Freedom Gundam...
DAMN!! blink.gif blink.gif blink.gif

anyway... I can't wait for more of this!
Are they gonna have any battles at Saitama?
Man, I'm so into this fanfic... I don't know what to expect next...
w00t2.gif
HashiriyaR32
Posted: May 13 2008, 04:42 PM


Unlimited Request Works
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QUOTE (Gunma's 34 @ Today at 4:57 AM)
Hmm... so now Tsubasa Chronicles/Cardcaptor Sakura's Sakura and Tomoyo come into to the picture...
this is odd... yet intriguing...
they sort of blended in and made the story even more interesting...
Fallen Angels huh? I can't wait to know who are they...
by any chance, would a GT-R34 come into the story? or a bit later in the story...?

fyi... the pink R32... I see alot of those at Max Tune...
but when did Gundam Seed Destiny characters come into the picture...
by how the 180 was described and got Shingo's attention...
the color is based on the Freedom Gundam...
DAMN!! blink.gif blink.gif blink.gif

anyway... I can't wait for more of this!
Are they gonna have any battles at Saitama?
Man, I'm so into this fanfic... I don't know what to expect next...
w00t2.gif

An R34 will come...............much later in the story.

*Waits patiently for basic specs from Fragger so he can build the R34*
Gunma's 34
Posted: May 14 2008, 02:31 AM


The R34's chosen one
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Group: Advanced Members
Posts: 804
Member No.: 27,787
Joined: Dec 13th 2007
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Yes!! The time for the GT-R to rise up again is near!! w00t2.gif w00t2.gif
All hail Pikachu_Fragger and HashiryaR32!! thumbsup.gif dribble.gif
thanks.gif
apxrock.gif
Praise the Gods for 2 great fanfic makers ever since the dawn of Tsubasa Chronicles*...!






oh... and HashiryaR32... i know it's not of my business but...
your sig is off the limit... offtopic.gif
I'm just saying... grin2.gif





*since based on the storyline... Tsubasa Chronicles is like a fanfic of all Clamp animes and mangas into one saga*

With that aside...
I WANT MORE!!
I'LL BE WAITING!!
*waits patiently and does kow tow over photos of the GT-R32, R34 AND R35*
Pikachu_Fragger
  Posted: May 17 2008, 06:10 AM


Cock Blockula
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The R34 comes in a bit sooner than I thought it would... except it's not the same R34. Also, stop preempting the author, Hashi! chair.gif laugh.gif We're not bringing out THAT R34 here.

Also, great job on the pic Gunma! You nailed Shingo and Takeshi! XD However, we need to hand you some Shuffle! and Kanon artwork because you missed Sia, Nayuki and Rin to a certain extent. Sia's easier in this case - Nomake has her on his sig. Also, I could never draw cars that well to save my life.

Oh, if you like this fic, you might also want to check out twitchykun's SOS-Dan Versus the Wangan Highway fanfic - CCS Sakura is also there, in a different form, and Haruhi's driving a R35.

In any case, here's the next chapter!

Destiny Shift, Chapter 09 - The Fallen Angels

[Day: Friday, March 18, 2005]
[Location: Clow Auto Repair, Shomaru]
[Time: 7:40 AM]

Sakura took a seat in front of Rin. She decided that it would be best if she didn't obstruct their conversation by sitting at her office table - after all, this was a very important and personal matter that he should know about. She figured that Tōdō would tell him the rest of the story once he got there, but for now, he would have to know about the basic stuff. After all, to protect himself and his friends, he would have to know who his enemies are.

"The Fallen Angels are a notorious racing team here in Saitama. Their current home base is in some mansion on Tsuchizaka, so it would be in your best interest to stay away from it."
"What makes them so notorious?" Rin asked.
"They're heavily connected with organized crime syndicates, particularly that of Yakuza. That alone should tell you that they're no good. They're funded by a legitimate front known as Darkstone Enterprises, but the money that comes from it goes to seedy operations and their racers. More importantly... they are an extension of an even larger and more sinister racing organization. However, even I don't know who they're working for. All I know is what they tried to do."
"Which is?"
"They tried to invite the Sato Clan to join the Fallen Angels."

Sakura paused for a bit and stood up to get some coffee from the nearby coffee maker. "Coffee, Rin-san?"
"No, I'm fine, thanks," Rin refused.
Sakura nodded and continued pouring coffee for herself. "Naturally, the head of the Sato Clan, Sato Sousuke, refused. After all, they still held onto the ideals of not swearing allegiance to anybody. Unfortunately, the Fallen Angels also believed in the idea that if they cannot have what they want, nobody else will... so to protect themselves from their rivals, they assassinated Sosuke-sama. Everyone else followed. Minor 'accidents' killed off the rest of the clan until there was nobody left."
She finally turned around and sat in front of Rin once again. "Rin-san, you mustn't go after them for this. They're bigger than you think. If you decide to go after them head on, you will lose things that are much more dear to you than your own life."
"But who is going to stop them!?" Rin asked. "Someone has to, right?"
"Yes, but it can't be you. You can oppose them, but not directly. This is why I asked you to promise me not to go after them for vengeance. I don't want to see someone consumed with rage and anger, not the way I've seen others succumb to it in the past."
Rin pondered on her words for a moment before speaking. "Please, don't worry about that. I have no intention of becoming some kind of vigilante just to stop them. Even if it were for vengeance, as cold as this may sound, I can't bring myself to do it because I've been detached from the clan for so long. As despicable as the act of killing the clan off is, it isn't my place to dispense justice on their behalf, even as a member of the clan."
"Even if they might have killed your mother, Rin-san?"
Rin paused at that, but he relaxed. "Yes. It won't bring her back, after all."
Sakura smiled at that. "Thank you. That reassures me greatly."
Rin suddenly remembered something from their previous conversation. "Hold on. What about this Sato Sashuri that you're talking about? Maybe we can find him and put him under our prote-"
"I said that he was a childhood friend of mine. That much is true," Sakura suddenly interrupted. "However... he is gone now."
"Gone?" Rin gasped before finally realizing that something probably happened to him. "I'm... sorry."
"Don't be. You couldn't have known."

Rin noticed that Sakura's eyes became sad at remembering Shuri. "He was... important to you?"
"Yes. Once."
He decided to shift the focus on something else. "Do you think the Fallen Angels will come after me as well? Will they go after Sia and Kaede, or even Takeshi-san, Nayuki-san or Shingo-san?"
Sakura thought about that for a moment and shook her head. "No, I don't think so. At least, unless you decide to go after them first. Besides, you are lucky in that regard. The Gods and Devils Racing Group is a fairly powerful foil against the machinations of the Fallen Angels. You and your friends won't be so easily touched without any provocation... or at least, without serious consequences. Even they recognize that."
Rin breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I guess that's something to be thankful for."
Sakura chuckled at that. She was happy once again, despite talking about such a dark and sordid topic. "Well, we can all be thankful for the little things."

Rin was about to end the conversation and call everyone else when he suddenly remembered something. "Wait. You say that the Satos don't keep any alliances, right?"
Sakura nodded. "Correct."
"That doesn't make sense though... my mother was involved in Project Yggdrasil. As a Sato, that goes against their code, right?"
"Under normal circumstances."
"Normal circumstances?"
Sakura's face turned serious for a moment. "Even your family is not faultless, Rin-san. Nobody is. At the very least, they tried to atone for the sins of the clan."
"What?" Rin gasped.
Sakura shook her head. "It's not my place to tell you. That is for Tōdō-san to explain."
"I see."

With that, Sakura went to a picture of a beautiful landscape on the wall behind her desk and pulled out an odd looking key that hung from her neck. It had the same logo as the sign in front. She quietly inserted the key in a slot under the painting, and an electronic voice spoke seemingly out of nowhere.
"Requesting password."
"The key that hides the powers of the stars, reveal your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. Release!" Sakura said.
"Password confirmed."

The painting suddenly moved, revealing a cast iron safe that automatically opened from inside. In it was a strange looking electronic device, one that had the kanji for Earth written on top of it.
"As requested to me by Sousuke ojii-sama and Michiko-san, I will install this electronic control device on your R32," Sakura said.
"Wait, you mean that thing's been there all this time?" Rin asked, still taken aback by the elaborate measures to keep the device safe.
"Yes. Your ATTESA is off for a reason, Rin-san, and this device can be used to activate it. However," Sakura warned, "I strongly suggest not turning it on unless absolutely necessary. In fact, until you see Tōdō-san, I would highly suggest against touching it at all."
"Well, if you put it at way, I probably don't want to mess with my car any more than I should unless I know how to use it," Rin said. "Besides, I honestly didn't like using ATTESA the first time."
Sakura chuckled. "You've been taught well, it seems. Or should I say, differently. This will take an entire day to install, so I would suggest staying here for the night."
"That long? What about your other customers?" Rin asked.
Sakura chuckled. "Thinking of others still? Well, I gathered that you were someone like that. We have other people who are working here, so that's not a problem. However, this device requires careful installation, and only I know how to do it. As to lodging, well, we have a few guest rooms for that purpose. All on the house, of course."
Rin was overcome with what Sakura was offering him. "I don't know what to say. I can't possibly pay for any of this!"
"That's fine," Sakura said. "Payment was already given long ago."

As she closed the safe and prepared to open the door to let themselves out, Sakura asked, "Are you going to tell your friends about what I told you?"

QUOTE
"People like you... people like you are better off dead!!!" Kaede screamed at Rin underneath the pouring rain...


"... I'd better not, for Kaede's sake. If she ever thought that her mother was intentionally killed alongside my parents, even if that is just pure conjecture, God knows what would happen to her," Rin said.
"Are you sure about that?" Sakura asked. "Are you willing to bear the burden of keeping a secret?"
"Yes. Its something I'm quite used to at this point," Rin chuckled bitterly.
"I see. Then I pray that she never knows."

Later that night
[Day: Friday, March 18, 2005]
[Location: Tsuchizaka Pass, Inbound]
[Time: 10:23 PM]

"N-No!"
A white Lancer Evolution V was being chased on the downhill path coming out of the tunnel by a menacing black R34 that was poised to ram him out of the way.
"What's wrong, punk?" a young man with his long raven hair tied back in a ponytail jeered from inside the Skyline. "You think your Evo is hot shit, but on this course, I reign supreme!"
Both cars dove through the turns, but it was obvious that the Evo driver was scared and jittery from the pressure from behind. "You gotta be kidding me! This Skyline can keep up with my Evo?"

From inside the car, a CB radio crackled to life. "Darkside, stop playing around," a feminine voice called out.
"Tch. I'll do whatever I want with this little Evo punk, Confusion. Stay out of this," the pony tailed man retorted.
"Can't. Lady Angel's orders. Finish this now, or we both get it."
With a groan, the man known as Darkside sighed. "Fine. But this'll cost a few yen. For me, anyway," he punctuated with an evil smile.

As both cars dove through the twisty downhill turns of Tsuchizaka Inbound, the Evo driver understeered one of the turns in his panicked state. He managed to regain control, but he was constantly looking back. Sure enough, the menacing Skyline was still breathing down his neck. "Come on, I can't outrun him here!?"
When he looked again in his mirror, he was suddenly blinded by a flash of light that came from the R34's high beams!
"Ahhh!" The Evo driver swerved madly from surprise, causing his front end to nick the side of the mountain on his left.
"And this is where you get off," Darkside chuckled as he then rammed the left panel of the Evo out of the way, allowing him to pass while the Evo lost control behind him and crash right into the face of the mountain. "One more kill for me, it seems."

The radio crackled to life again. "I heard a crash. I assume that it's the other driver."
"Of course, dammit. Who the hell else do you think would win this one?" Darkside retorted.
"..." The radio fell silent, but Darkside could feel Confusion's displeasure at his retort. "Damned Ameko," he quipped back.
"I heard that," Darkside growled as he heard the derogatory remark.
"In any case, get back to the Mansion. Lady Angel is expecting a status report."
"Got that," Darkside chuckled.

"Oh, and be prepared. We seem to have a new mission for this month," Confusion said. "Details are still sketchy, but it seems to be about some kid in an R32."
Darkside raised a brow at that. "Now why the hell should we be concerned about some kid in an outdated Skyline?"
"Just get back here."

Darkside groaned as he downshifted to a lower gear and tore down the rest of the course towards the Fallen Angels mansion.

This post has been edited by Pikachu_Fragger on May 17 2008, 06:45 AM
HashiriyaR32
Posted: May 17 2008, 06:30 AM


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The R34 comes in a bit sooner than I thought it would... except it's not the same R34. Also, stop preempting the author, Hashi! chair.gif laugh.gif We're not bringing out THAT R34 here.

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Gunma's 34
Posted: May 19 2008, 04:31 AM


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Whoa!! Now that's one tough GT-R TO BEAT...
talk about a Seiji Iwaki counterpart in an updated Nakazato GT-R...
I wonder how Rin and the gang would pull this off...
Interesting...
Nice update!! blink.gif

QUOTE
You nailed Shingo and Takeshi! XD However, we need to hand you some Shuffle! and Kanon artwork because you missed Sia, Nayuki and Rin to a certain extent. Sia's easier in this case - Nomake has her on his sig.

Send me a PM of the artwork of the 3; and I'll check and grab the pic of Nomake1 for reference if I feel like making a second cover or fan art for this fan fic


reading this... I wonder what cars would Confusion and Lady Angel would drive if Darkside is driving a dark R34... they sort of remind me of Kaido's (TXRD2 for PS2) Thirteen Devils and twelve kingdom...


Looking out for more... w00t2.gif w00t2.gif
Kozou Hoshino suddenly came out of the blue behind me:
GO GT-R!!
Pikachu_Fragger
  Posted: Sep 28 2011, 06:23 AM


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YESSSS

AFTER 1227 DAYS I'M FREEEEEEEE

IT'S TIME TO WRITE SOME FANFICTION

Jesus, I blame IDAS6 for rekindling this. Damn you, Sega.

Destiny Shift, Chapter 10 – A Dangerous Choice

[Day: Friday, March 18, 2005]
[Location: Fallen Angel Mansion, near Tsuchizaka]
[Time: 11:03 PM]

“You’re late, Darkside,” a female voice rang out in the middle of the giant elaborate main hall. It echoed across the room, causing the glass chandeliers on the ceiling to clink slightly with each word.
“My apologies, Lady Angel,” the ponytailed man said as he knelt on one knee at the bottom of the stairs.
“Well, I suppose that a little bit of… playtime is good for the morale of my agents. ‘All work and no play’, as the saying goes. It won’t do if that led to a loss though, so please keep that in mind.”
“Understood, my Lady.”
“… Told you you’d get in trouble,” another lady sneered on his right as she leaned against a pillar. This one had short blonde hair, and if it weren’t for her hips and the slight bulge to her chest, she could easily be mistaken for a lanky yet handsome man.
“Shut it, Confusion,” Darkside groaned as he stood up.
“Enough, you two,” Lady Angel admonished them. “You have better things to do than argue with each other. I have a mission for both of you.”

The woman known as Lady Angel didn’t stand up from her position. Rather, she couldn’t – she was confined to a wheelchair. Her long raven hair and circular glasses more or less rounded out the stereotypical sick girl that she seemed to portray, but it was clear from the way Confusion and Darkside addressed her that she was the one who held power here amongst the Fallen Angels.
“I have reports from an undercover source that someone is looking into one of our… assets. It’s not too big of a deal, but I would rather that it not go farther than that.”
“You want us to eliminate him or her?” Darkside asked.
“No. Just… keep him from learning too much. Harming him right now would have dire consequences for us at this point, even if it is an… accident.”

Lady Angel smiled evilly as she leaned forward slightly. “You can, however… ‘discourage’ him. Rest for now; you’ll receive more details about your target tomorrow.”

Darkside grinned at that. “As you wish, my Lady.” With that, he eagerly whipped around towards his dorm room.

Lady Angel’s smile faded as she addressed Confusion as soon as Darkside was out of earshot. “Confusion. Make sure he doesn’t go overboard.”
“Of course, Lady Angel.”

*****

[Day: Saturday, March 19, 2005]
[Location: Clow Auto Repair]
[Time: 9:30 AM]

“Rin-kun. It’s morning.”
Kaede’s voice broke through the dark veil of sleep that covered Rin for the past six hours or so. While Sakura worked on the R32, Takeshi and Nayuki more or less coached him a bit on the minute differences between track racing and street racing, mostly dealing with how to adapt to the unpredictable nature of the public street. They also let him become more accustomed to using the R32’s ATTESSA system by letting him use Takeshi’s R32 and then alternating it with Nayuki’s Trueno. In the end, they came back to the shop rather late, so he pretty much went straight to bed.
“Mmmh… Kaede?” he asked.
“Rin-kun, good morning,” Kaede repeated.
Rin’s eyes groggily looked at Kaede before they started to close again. “… Sorry. Please let me sleep a little longer today...”
“Ah, but you won’t have time to eat breakfast then. Today’s miso soup has your favorite nameko mushrooms in it.”
“… what if they’re not the round nameko from Hirata in the Yamagata Prefecture…”
“But of course, they are.”
“… With finely sliced green onions?”
“They’re there, just the way you like it.”

Rin sighed as he sat up on the guest bed. “… We’re travelling out here like this and you’re still this prepared? That’s… scarily impressive.”
“Of course. It concerns you, after all.”
“When… did you manage to get any food?”
“Li-san and Daidouji-san told me about the local groceries around here, so I just asked Sia-chan to take me there. We both went and bought a few things for us and for our hosts.”
Rin tried not to think about just how frighteningly prepared Kaede actually was. “You’d make a great wife at this rate…”
“Ehh? But… but…”
“Come on, I’m sure everyone’s waiting for us downstairs,” Rin sighed as he tried to straighten himself out a bit at least. “I’ll be downstairs in a minute.”
“Allright, Rin-kun,” Kaede said as she left the guest room to give Rin time to change.

When she left, Rin sighed and thought back to the story regarding how his mother and father – and subsequently Kaede’s mother – might have died.
QUOTE
Sakura asked, "Are you going to tell your friends about what I told you?"
"... I'd better not, for Kaede's sake. If she ever thought that her mother was intentionally killed alongside my parents, even if that is just pure conjecture, God knows what would happen to her," Rin said.
"Are you sure about that?" Sakura asked. "Are you willing to bear the burden of keeping a secret?"
"Yes. It’s something I'm quite used to at this point," Rin chuckled bitterly.
"I see. Then I pray that she never knows."

“So Mom… what exactly is this legacy that you wanted me to find?” he asked to nobody in particular as he absent-mindedly opened up the letter from his mother that was in the R32’s glove compartment. “Was it something worth dying for?”

*****

“Tsuchimi, your friends would make great wives at this rate!” Shingo said as he helped put away the dishes for everyone, much to Takeshi’s surprise. This unusually polite act however was left unnoticed by Nayuki, who was currently faceplanted on the table.
“It really was delicious! Thank you so much. You didn’t have to do that…” Sakura said.
“No, it’s allright. It’s the least we can do for helping Rin-kun out, right, Kaede-chan?” Sia replied.
“Yes, especially since you’re helping Rin-kun fulfill his mother’s request,” Kaede chimed in.
“Speaking of which, Tsuchimi-san, where are you going from here?” Tomoyo asked.
“Well, we’ll probably need to go straight to Todō Jukou at this point,” Rin said as he too put away his plate. “Mom told me that if I wanted to follow in the Sato clan’s legacy, Todō-san would be the one to ask. I’d like to at least know what kind of legacy it is before I decide.”
Sakura nodded. “I wish you good luck on your journey. Remember what I said about using the ATTESSA until you’re ready. The tires have been changed too, so you should be okay with regards to grip. And be careful. I’ll let them know that you’re coming.” Sakura then moved closer to Rin’s ear and whispered, “And what about your friends?”
“I’ll explain it to them somehow,” Rin said. “I’ll need to do this a little at a time.”
“I see.”

After a bit of cleaning up, the group finally met up outside the garage and made their way to their respective cars.
“Thank you again, Sakura-san,” Rin thanked her again.
“I just wish you could have stayed long enough to meet my husband Syaoran. He’s busy helping tune another friend’s car nearby.”
“Perhaps when we come back.”
“I pray that if you do… it will be to visit and nothing else.”

With that, Rin turned to the rest of his friends while Sakura and Tomoyo went back into the shop. “Guys, there’s something you should know about this that I just found out. It’s… a bit complicated, and if you don’t want to go with me from this point on… I understand.”
And so, he told them about most of what Sakura told him about the Fallen Angels, sans the idea that his family might have been killed over something that the Satos were involved in. There was no need to aggravate Kaede at this point, after all.
“… And that’s that. This is… something that my mother asked me to look at. If I keep going, who knows what I might find, so…”

“And so you’re telling us not to go with you? Not a chance,” Takeshi chuckled. “Tsuchimi, I hardly know you, but you are a fellow R32 racer. I want to see how far you can go with that car, if only so that I can see what it is I’m lacking. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
“Tch, and you’re saying that so easily…” Shingo sighed.
“What did you say!?”
“Hey, I’m going along so as to make sure you don’t get in way over your head, got that? It’s what the second in command is supposed to do.”
“... Who made you second in command?”
“Oh you guys, you get along so well,” Nayuki chuckled.
“No we don’t,” came the immediate denial from the two Night Kids, causing the other girls to giggle.
“Well Rin-kun, I will still follow you too! After all, I can’t just let the man I love take all of the burden on his own!” Sia chimed in.
“Me too… it’s also something that I want to do… no, need to do,” Kaede said. “I’ll do everything I can to help you!”
At this point, Shingo glared at Rin over what Sia and Kaede just said. “… Now why haven’t you married them yet?”
“Ehhh? But… Rin-kun can’t… err…” Kaede stammered while Sia just blushed and grinned widely while covering her cheeks with her hands.
“You idiot, now you’ve got Fuyou-san all flustered!” Takeshi groaned. “Anyway, we’re all going with you! Right, Minase?”
“Mmhmm! I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try my best! Maybe I can help coach you with your car,” Nayuki chuckled.

“Guys… Thank you,” Rin said. “Well, we better not keep them waiting then. Let’s get moving!”

*****

[Day: Saturday, March 19, 2005]
[Location: Nichien-Momiji Line]
[Time: 11:37 PM]

“… Are you sure it’s okay for us to just practice like this on an unknown road?” Rin asked Nayuki, who was riding shotgun with him on his R32. Of course, as promised, the ATTESSA-ETS was still disabled for now and he was getting used to driving it as a regular Rear Wheel Drive.
As to why they were here instead of Happogahara, the home course of Todō Juku, one has to remember that Japan’s prefectures isn’t easily traversed in one day, especially coming from Shomaru. The Nichien-Momiji Line was more or less a stopover point, and the other members of the group were resting in a nearby hotel. Right now, it was Nayuki’s turn to coach Rin.
“Yes, we should be fine as long as we don’t push it too hard. Just remember where the open gutters were. If I remember correctly, Takumi-san raced someone here once and he got into an accident going over an open gutter,” Nayuki calmly said.
“That’s… not really reassuring.”
“Fighto, Rin-san! Don’t worry! I’ve driven here a couple of times before. I know it very well. I’ll warn you if anything comes up.”

So far, so good – he was making good time on the first high speed section. Now came the more technical winding roads of the second section up ahead and—
“… There’s a car. I think we should slow down.” Rin said. Sure enough a red Honda Beat was in the way.
“Yeah, we should… it’s too dangerous to try and pass it right now since you’re not fully used to this course—”
But before Nayuki could even continue speaking, the small car up began to pick up the pace and reach racing speeds.

BGM: D. Essex – Boom Boom Fire

“… Or not. Let’s follow him!”
“Oi, is that allright?”
“Yes, don’t worry about it! We don’t have to pass him, just follow along.”

Meanwhile, inside the other car…
“… Sorry about that,” the driver inside apologetically said as he downshifted to second gear, his left hand staying steady on the wheel and his right never leaving the shifter. As it turned out, this particular Beat seemed to be a left-hand drive car. “I can just slow down and them pass if you want.”
“It’s for practice, right? Besides, you’re quite serious about asking Dad, so…” his female companion whimpered.
“Yeah, I’m serious about this… but you don’t have to go along with me on my practice runs. It’s dangerous, you know.”
“But I can navigate the road better, and warn you ahead of time… after all, isn’t it hard with your right shoulder?...”
“Don’t worry about it! I think I’ve got this one-hand steering thing somewhat down,” he chuckled back. “Besides, this is our home course. I don’t think I’ve seen that car before.”
“If you say so. But where you go, I’ll go with you too. Oh! Left turn! Slow down!”

From behind, Rin watched as the tiny Beat was slowly increasing the distance between them – the tiny MR was proving to be a really agile monster in these roads!
“Damn… that guy’s fast!” Rin hissed.
“Calm down. Just feather the gas. Don’t let go of the throttle too much that you’ll start to lose too much boost, but not too hard either that you’ll end up launching too fast into a turn when the turbo spools up!” Nayuki said. “Remember, we don’t have to pass him – just keep up! Focus on your weight transfer and the timing of your turns!”
“Easier said than done!...” Rin groaned as he let the tires slip a bit so that they could drift through the right turn leading to the second checkpoint.

“… We’re leaving them behind,” the girl in the car ahead said.
“Now if they can stay that way through the open gutter section… that’s where I lose most of my time…” the driver said as he shifted to third gear. “It’s much more tiring going through those turns with just one arm…”
“Just don’t push yourself too hard, Tomoya-kun!”
“Don’t worry! Besides, I wouldn’t be that much of a driver if I put you in danger because of a stupid accident, Nagisa…”
HashiriyaR32
Posted: Sep 28 2011, 02:39 PM


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Ack!

More key stuff?

Oh, and nice to see this fic revived after over THREE years.


This post has been edited by HashiriyaR32 on Sep 28 2011, 02:39 PM
Bumpercam
Posted: Sep 28 2011, 06:51 PM


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Ooh, this is good. I need to go back on track with mine as all these Idolmaster craze is wearing off...
Pikachu_Fragger
  Posted: Sep 29 2011, 08:06 AM


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Thanks, Bumpercam. I'm actually on a bit of a roll now, so I'm gonna keep this up!

Also thanks again to Nomake Wan for proofreading!

Destiny Shift, Chapter 11 – One Handed Drift

[Day: Saturday, March 19, 2005]
[Location: Nichien-Momiji Line]
[Time: 11:38 PM]

The red Honda Beat shot through each turn like a skittering squirrel, gracefully bounding between turns and never losing momentum. Rin was trying to keep up, but it was here that he was seeing the difference between his car and the other.
“This thing is so heavy!... I can’t get it to go where I want to so easily!” Rin groaned.
“That’s not too much of a problem if you can work on your braking,” Nayuki said as she held on to the handlebar on the ceiling. “You have to remember, we’re going downhill. Picking up speed isn’t going to be a problem; it will be controlling it through the turns using your brakes.”
“So… focus on braking and entry speed?” Rin asked as he approached a short chicane.
“Yes. No need to brake that hard on this one, but time it right about… now!”
Nayuki’s instruction allowed him to brake just enough to enter and exit the chicane at a decent clip.

… It was here that he saw something odd about the Beat – it seemed to slow down too much for the left turn. In fact, it seemed to be doing the same for the next, sharper left turn.
“… Is it just me, or…”
“Yeah…” Nayuki said, affirming what he thought. “His left turns seem to be rather slow… And this section is a high speed chicane course with gentle turns! We can catch up here!”

Meanwhile, Tomoya tried not to smack the steering wheel. “God DAMMIT! It’s always the left turns!...”
“Calm down, Tomoya-kun!” Nagisa tried to reassure him. “As long as we’re ahead it should be fine…”
“Yeah, but these left turns are ALWAYS a problem for me… and as long as they are, I won’t be able to defeat him…”

The lead that Tomoya’s Beat managed to gain was taken back in part due to too much speed loss on the left turns, and Rin’s horsepower. And while his inexperience in handling the heavy R32 on a downhill run might have posed problems, Nayuki was helping him get a better feel for when and how much to brake during a turn. The new tires helped a lot in this regard too. By the time they passed the third checkpoint and were taking the long left, Rin was now breathing down Tomoya’s neck.

“Ghhh!...” Tomoya hissed as he couldn’t bring his left hand down enough to turn the wheel to the left. Meanwhile, the Beat was slowly losing traction and understeering to the right. “Dammit… and I thought having a midship engine car would actually help!...”
“Tomoya-kun, I think it’s the throttle…”
“Then if I let off the gas a bit…“
“Wait, Tomoya-kun, I don’t think—“
As soon as he did that in the middle of the turn, it happened.

“Hey! Watch out!” Nayuki gasped when she saw the front tires of the Beat suddenly snap to the left. Her advance warning gave Rin the chance to dodge the spinout by drifting right.

As suddenly as the race began, it was over.

Rin and Nayuki stepped out of their car and ran towards the stalled Honda Beat to see if its occupants weren’t injured. “Hey, are you guys allright?”
To Rin’s surprise and relief, two figures came out of the car. The first thing he realized was that it they were a man and a woman – the male had medium length bangs that barely obscured his face, while his female brunette companion sported bobcut length hair with two prominently long strands that stood out from the top of her head that served as some kind of antennae.
The second thing he realized was that it seemed that the male came out of the wrong side of the car.
A left hand drive car? he thought to himself.

“Yeah, we’re fine… right, Nagisa?” the male said as he helped his female companion out of the car.
“Y-Yeah. Tomoya-kun, are you…”
“Other than my pride being hurt, I’m unharmed. I’m more worried about you…”
The man known as Tomoya then turned his attention to Rin and Nayuki. “Sorry about that. I’m glad you managed to avoid me. If it weren’t for my stupid mistake…”
Rin smiled. “Ah, I’m just glad that you weren’t harmed. If anything, I’m sorry for initiating a race so suddenly like that.”
“It’s my fault too,” Nayuki apologized. “I suggested that he follow you as part of his training.”

Tomoya smiled. “It looks like we’re both training quite hard. I’m actually impressed that you managed to catch up… considering that you don’t seem like you’re from here.”
“No, we’re not. We’re en route to another location and decided to try out this course. We’ve already done a few runs on it, so it’s not like it was really my first time, and I had a good navigator,” Rin said.
“Ahahaha, Rin-san, you’re too kind,” Nayuki chuckled with embarrassment. “It’s good that you’re both okay, um…”
“Tomoya Okazaki. This is my girlfriend, Nagisa Furukawa,” Tomoya introduced himself and his girlfriend.
“I’m Rin Tsuchimi. This is my friend Nayuki Minase.”
“Not your girlfriend?” Tomoya asked.
“No. I already have someone to call that. That and I get the feeling that someone would be very angry at you for saying that.”

Back at the hotel, a certain EG6 driver sneezed in his sleep.

Nagisa nudged Tomoya in the side for that question. “You shouldn’t ask people about that sort of thing,” she gently admonished him.
“Ahahaha, sorry about that,” Tomoya apologized to Rin.
“It’s allright. More importantly, are you sure you’re unharmed?” Rin asked.
“Yeah… though, this is kind of embarrassing… I don’t want to say that I wasn’t in top form when I spun out. That would just be making excuses, and excuses mean nothing to him…”
Nayuki coughed a bit to clear her throat. “More importantly, we should get out of the way. We wouldn’t want to be caught blocking the road, would we? Let’s meet up at the bottom of the course.”

Both parties nodded in agreement and got in their respective cars before finishing the rest of the way.

*****

“Ehhh!?” Nayuki gasped out of earshot from the boys. Apparently the two girls decided to talk by themselves in private.
“Yes. Tomoya-kun is practicing so that he can challenge my father to a race,” Nagisa said.
“But what for?”
“I don’t know. I kind of have an inkling, and I asked mom about it, but all she told me was not to ‘get in the way when men battle’ or something like that.”
“Ehhh… that’s kind of bold of him then…”
“How so?”
“I mean, he sounded serious about spinning out back there. That must mean that this battle is important to him…”

Meanwhile, the men were also talking amongst themselves too, and incidentally about the same thing.
“Something important to ask her father?” Rin asked.
“Yeah. The old man’s kind of… weird like that. He told me that he’ll listen to what I have to say if I beat him in a downhill race in his home course,” Tomoya said after gulping down some coffee from a nearby vending machine. “Of course, I haven’t won against him yet.”
“It’s not this course, is it?”
“No, but it’s kind of similar to this one. We actually live in the nearby city of Hikarizaka.”
“Ehhh, that’s a coincidence. We’re actually staying at a hotel near there. I’m actually from Hyōgo.”

“That’s so far! What’s he doing all the way out here?” Nagisa asked.
“He’s fulfilling his mother’s last wish, apparently,” Nayuki said. “We’re headed to the Happogahara Plateau to see a friend of his mother’s at Todō Juku Racing.”
“Todō Juku? That name sounds familiar… Dad always seemed to be talking about that when it came to racing…”
“Does that mean your dad is an alumnus of the school?”
“I’m not sure… I mean, he always has a lot of crazy stories to tell about his youth. Half the time I think he’s making them up just to impress Mom.”

“Sounds like a lively family,” Rin chuckled when Tomoya talked about his dealings with Nagisa’s parents.
“Yeah, I know. It kind of gets irritating at times, but when I think about it… they’re about as close to family as they can get. If they needed me to do something for them, I would do it… kind of like how you’re doing this to fulfill your mother’s will,” Tomoya mused.
Rin drank a bit from his coffee, and seemed to have decided on something. “I got it. Let’s practice together then!”
“Huh? What about your mother’s will?”
“There’s no real time limit to it anyway. Not to mention that after hearing about how prestigious Todō Juku is, I feel that if I don’t improve my own skills, I have no business being in there. Just for a couple of days should be fine. Weren’t you planning to battle him in about two days’ time?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“We should practice at your girlfriend’s father’s home course then. Wouldn’t it be better that way?”
“I would, but… there’s a bit of a problem. The turns there are much sharper than I would like them to be – it’s not good for my left arm. That’s why I’m taking it slow by practicing in a course I’m more used to.”
“All the more reason you should practice there so that you can get used to it. Is there something wrong with your left arm?”
“No, nothing wrong with it, it’s just… it’s not my dominant arm. I can’t ever use my right arm.”
“Why’s that?”

“… Tomoya-kun didn’t give me the details, but his right shoulder was injured badly during his younger years. Now he can’t raise his right shoulder, so using his right arm to steer is out of the question,” Nagisa explained.
“Ehhh… that kind of half explains why his Beat is a left-drive car,” Nayuki mused. “And with it being a mid-ship configuration car, it would actually be easier to control since the weight distribution is more to the back. The problem comes though with the precarious balance between its natural understeer and its snap oversteer…”
“Yeah… that’s precisely what happened back there. It’s hard to control the car as it is with two arms… when you’re only able to use one arm though…”
“How’d he learn how to do that though? One-handed steering isn’t exactly easy to do.”
“Ah, he was actually taught by his doctor,” Nagisa chuckled. “He’s from Tsukuba. I don’t exactly know the details of how he managed to get here, but I guess it’s as a request from a family friend or something.”
“Well, I would imagine that one-handed steering requires precise control. It’s not just about turning the wheel where you want it to go… you’d probably have to gauge just how far to turn and countersteer so as not to waste any speed in the turns, and it’s even harder in a car that is prone to snap oversteer if you release the throttle too much…”
“You seem to be very knowledgeable about racing…”
“Ahahaha, that’s kind of my mom’s fault. It snows a lot where I live, so when I started driving she taught me how to drive in the snow, where it’s easier to drift.”
“Your mom is like my dad then?”
“I guess. Anyway, I just wish there was something we could do to help… I don’t know if Rin-kun would stay here for much longer…”

It was at that point that Rin and Tomoya approached Nayuki and Nagisa. “Nayuki-san, I have a favor to ask.”
Nayuki smiled. “Approved! If you want to stay and train with him, I think the others wouldn’t mind.”
“… You approved it in one second.”
“If you two work together, maybe you can find a way to improve your racing, Okazaki-san. And maybe Rin-san would be able to learn something new from you, since you’re using car setups and techniques that under the right circumstances would complement one another.”
“T-Thanks… I’m really sorry about this, Tsuchimi-san,” Tomoya sheepishly said.
“Hey, it helps me too in a way. Don’t worry about it,” Rin chuckled. “Anyway, where should we meet up tomorrow night? We have no idea where the Hikarizaka pass is, so you’ll have to lead us to it.”
“Maybe we should get Sia-chan and Takeshi-san and Shingo to train too! That would be great!” Nayuki said.
“Are they your travelling companions?” Tomoya asked.
“Yeah. Takeshi-san also drives an R32, while Sia drives an FD,” Rin answered.
“Man… you guys have some pretty powerful cars. My Beat doesn't really have the horsepower to be on par with those sorts of cars...”
“You overestimate me. Your Beat was very fast and agile through the turns! If anything, your small car has a better chance of navigating the turns than my heavier R32.”
“Either way, the Beat is still not good enough to beat the old man’s car…”
“What kind of car does he drive, anyway?”

*****

[Day: Sunday, March 20, 2005]
[Location: Somewhere in the city of Hikarizaka]
[Time: 6:00 AM]

“A Levin? Now there’s something you don’t see that often,” Shingo mused as he looked at a gunmetal 86 Levin parked next to a bakery of some sort.
“… Why the hell are we here again?” Takeshi sighed.
“To get some bread, obviously! Kaede-chan said something about wanting to make a Western type breakfast, so I figured we’d hit the bakery that Nayuki was talking about when she got back.”
“Well, if Minase recommended this place…” Takeshi decided not to dilly dally any further and entered the bakery. It was certainly open, but they weren’t sure if they already had bread in stock.

“Ah, good morning and welcome!” a red-haired man greeted them from behind the counter clad in a white shirt, a pair of jeans, and a white apron. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Ah, good morning,” Takeshi said with a bow. “I heard from a friend that that this place sells good bread.”
“You heard right my friends! They’re still being baked right now though, but they should be done in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”
“Ah… I knew it, we did come a little early…”
“We do, however, have the, uh… ‘other’ bread in stock on discount.”
Shingo and Takeshi gave each other a confused look before turning back to the storekeeper. “’Other’ bread?” Takeshi asked.
“Yeah, we have like… well, there’s nothing else I can do to describe it other than ‘other’ bread. I mean, see for yourself.”
He directed them to some fresh melon bread that was on a nearby shelf.
“Hey, those look good. I’m kind of hankering for some of that now,” Shingo chuckled.
“… You want to give it a try? What the hell happened to a Western Breakfast? You’ll ruin your appetite that way.”
“What are you, my mom?” Shingo growled as he reached for his wallet. “I’ll have one to tide my cravings.”
“… Wait, are you sure about that?” the shopkeeper said with a worried look in his eye.
“… You make it sound like that melon bread is poisoned or something.”
“That’s because it’s... well… ‘literal’ melon bread.”
“… Literal?”
“Yes. Do you still want to try it?”
“…”
Shingo glared at the bread for a moment, and then shrugged. “Why the hell not. It’s what, fifty yen?”

Moments later, Shingo would come to regret that decision after taking one bite.

“You weren’t kidding when you said it was literal!” Shingo gasped as he started coughing out bits of bittermelon from his mouth.
“Hey man, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I didn’t make that one; our regular bread is still in the oven right now.”
“What kind of bread is this!? I mean, it’s edible, but… who would put WHOLE FRUIT inside a piece of bread!? No wonder it’s on discount!”

“My bread is…”

All three men turned towards the female voice who whimpered from behind the counter. She seemed to be no older than twenty-five, and was wearing a pair of suspenders and a pink shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail to keep it away from the dough, and it became apparent to Shingo and Takeshi that she was the creator of this… thing.

“My bread is… is a bread that’s meant to be on discount!?”
With that, she started to cry and run outside the store, much to the utter confusion of the two Night Kids. The man in the meantime actually gobbled up two of the pieces of bread and dashed after her.
“WAIT! SANAE! HE SAID IT WAS STILL EDIBLE! YOUR BREAD IS STILL EDIBLE!”



“… The hell did I just see?” Shingo asked.
“I dunno, but I think it was something you ate.”

This post has been edited by Pikachu_Fragger on Sep 29 2011, 08:10 AM
Pikachu_Fragger
  Posted: Oct 20 2011, 07:07 AM


Cock Blockula
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 393
Member No.: 27,803
Joined: Dec 14th 2007
Location: Azusa, CA





... Huh. The forums seem to eat up long posts while preserving relatively short posts like this. I guess it's the effect of it just coming back on, so I'll probably post an actual chapter later once it's back up and running again.

This post has been edited by Pikachu_Fragger on Oct 20 2011, 11:43 PM
Pikachu_Fragger
  Posted: Oct 20 2011, 11:52 PM


Cock Blockula
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 393
Member No.: 27,803
Joined: Dec 14th 2007
Location: Azusa, CA





Destiny Shift, Chapter 12 – En Route to the Hill of Lights

[Day: Sunday, March 20, 2005]
[Location: Hikarizaka Pass]
[Time: 10:00 PM]

"You’ve met Mom and Dad?" Nagisa asked.
"... They’re YOUR parents!?" Shingo groaned.
"... Sorry about that," Tomoya sighed.
"Wait, why are you apologizing, Tomoya-kun!?" Nagisa retorted.

This was the sort of exchange that was happening at the top of Hikarizaka Pass, where Rin’s group met up with Tomoya and Nagisa in order to prepare for the upcoming battle between Tomoya and Nagisa’s father. It was a nice change of pace for Rin, Sia, and the Night Kids as well; they were now in a completely different course that gave them an opportunity to learn new things.

And learn they would, as this course seemed to have some elements of Myogi and Momiji Line mixed in together, namely the high speed straights mixed in with some low speed corners and most importantly, the open gutters.
"Takeshi, Sia-san, Rin-san, Okazaki-san, we should do a run of the course at a slow pace than usual, just so we can get used to it. No point in going too fast to begin with, since we’ve got all night," Nayuki said. "I know you’re more used to this course, Okazaki-san, but I think watching them go slower at it might give you some ideas as how to better tackle the course."
"Allright. You’re the teacher, so we’ll be in your care," Rin chuckled.
"Please take care of us, Nayuki-san!" Sia said while bowing.
"Wait, how did you become our teacher!?" Takeshi spoke up.
"What, you’ve got a problem with that?" Shingo growled.
"... You know her better than I do. You tell me she looks like the teacher type with a straight face."
"... That’s not the point here."
"Takeshi-san, Shingo, that’s mean!" Nayuki whimpered.
Rin sighed. "We’re so boned."
"Ah, you’re being mean too, Rin-kun!" Sia pouted. "Either way, Kaede-chan, are you allright with staying with Rin-kun?"
"Well... if it means that I get a better understanding of Rin-kun’s desire to race..." Kaede said while fidgeting with her fingers.

Tomoya nudged Rin with his elbow. "Are you sure she’s not your girlfriend?"
"... Pretty sure. You know, I could say the opposite about you and Furukawa-san," Rin jabbed back.
"Anyway, I’ll go first," Nayuki chuckled as she got inside her Trueno and started it up.
"Wait, why are we following you? And Shingo, where the hell are you going?" Takeshi asked.
"Shotgun with Nayuki-chan, what else?" Shingo said. Before the leader of the Night Kids could do anything, Shingo was already in the passenger seat of the Trueno, much to Takeshi’s chagrin.
"... Well, let’s get going then. It’s best not to waste time," Rin chuckled as he got inside his R32. Soon enough, all the cars started doing a downhill caravan of sorts through the pass.

*****

Around three hours later, all of them convened around one of the left turns that had an open gutter.
"Is this the turn that’s been giving you trouble?" Nayuki asked.
"Yeah. Well, to be more precise, all left turns give me trouble," Tomoya sighed.
"I... can see how. You’ve gotten the hang of turning with just one hand, but you haven’t fully mastered it. It needs to be combined with proper footwork, especially since you’re using an midship. One misstep, and you could find yourself spinning out like you did yesterday."
"That’s... a lot of pressure to put on him considering his battle is tomorrow, don’t you think?" Rin said.
"All the more so, Rin-san. If he wants to overcome this shortcoming, he needs to be able to have precise control over both his feet and hands. If anything, his choice of a midship must have honed his skills up to this point to a considerable degree. And there is one thing that holds people back from having absolute control."

Nayuki turned to face Tomoya straight in the face for dramatic effect. "... Fear. Tomoya-san, you have the skill and the ability – your fear, however, is what holds you back."
"I’m not— " Tomoya tried to say, but pursed his lips. After all, Nayuki was right, but she was right for a different reason.
"... I’m holding you back, am I?" Nagisa asked.
"Nagisa! You’re not—"
"Please. Don’t deny it. I know that what you do is dangerous, and that yet I go with you anyway."
"That’s not true! You’re my navigator! You know the various spots around here that I need to watch out for. If it weren’t for you, I’d have probably crashed by now. You’re the one person who keeps me calm as I race, Nagisa. If I race by myself, I’d... probably be too reckless and do something stupid."
"But I was the one who told you about the throttle yesterday! I told you that it might be your footwork, but when you listened to me..."

Nayuki sighed. "Um, you guys... it’s not a bad idea if you two race together in the same car. I’m not saying you should separate each other. Far from it. Tomoya-san, I admire how you’re always looking out for Nagisa-san and always wanting to protect her. But you cannot race at your full potential if you keep worrying that she’ll get caught in your mistake. It is when you’re spending too much time looking out for your mistakes that you start making them. You have the skill. Believe in your abilities, just as much as she believes in them."
"If you cannot believe in yourself, then believe in her who believes in you!"
"..." Everyone turned to Sia, who blurted that out and got a bunch of stares from the guys in particular. "Are? Was it something I said?"
"No, it’s just... I’m sorry Sia, but it just sounds so weird to put it that way," Rin sighed.
"Ehhhh!? How mean, Rin-kun!"
"... That aside, that... kind of makes sense. Besides, if you were trying to protect her from any accidents, you’ve already failed the minute she stepped in the car with you," Nayuki continued. "And Nagisa-san, please... continue to look out for him. A navigator’s job is to let her partner know what is coming up, and what to expect. Nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps that’s... what your mother meant."

Nagisa gasped at that. She knew exactly what Nayuki was referring to.

QUOTE
"If there’s a difference in strength, all I have left is passion," Tomoya said as he entered his Beat. "I’ll stay and practice, even in this rain."
"Tomoya-kun!" Nagisa protested, but her mother Sanae spoke. "Allright. I won’t stop you this time. I’ll go back to where Akio-san is."
"But Mom! In this rain!?"
"Nagisa, if you won’t go guide him, then you should come back with me. Besides... you mustn’t get in their way when men battle."
Nagisa wavered under her umbrella for a moment before she nodded her assent. "Allright, Mom."
Tomoya seemed to look expectantly at Nagisa for a brief moment before shaking it off and getting inside. "I’ll be fine, Nagisa. Just come back for me in an hour or so," he said before starting the car.

As it turned out, Nagisa didn’t leave Tomoya alone that day, but her mother didn’t stop her from staying with him either.


"... I understand," Nagisa said as she held Tomoya’s hand in hers and squeezed it for reassurance. Tomoya did the same.

"Still, these things are pretty troublesome... one wrong move and you could fall into them," Sia sighed as she stared at the open gutters. "I mean, they’re not too wide that you can’t just run over them to the dirt on the side if you’re fast enough, but... one could get scared just trying that out to begin with.
Nayuki suddenly perked at that. "Wait... what did you say, Sia-chan?"
"Eh? Well, they’re pretty scary to try and go over to begin with—" she began, but then Nayuki stepped next to her and examined the gutter. Then she looked at the Beat for a moment, and realized.
"... Wait a second. Takumi-san told me something about this once... Sia-chan, you helped remind me of something, something that might help in his race tomorrow!"
"Eh? About what?"
"But it’s very, very dangerous. The only reason why I even considered it is because of Tomoya-san’s configuration."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Nayuki-san?" Tomoya asked, but Nayuki pulled him by the wrist to the side of her Trueno.

"Listen, Tomoya-san. What I’m about to suggest is a dangerous maneuver. The only reason why I would even suggest it in the first place is because you have the advantage of your car’s setup... and the fact that you have counterbalance on your side!"
"... Huh? I’m sorry, but you’re not making any sense."
"You’ll need Nagisa-san for this. She is your counterbalance. That and adding to the fact that your car is a midship... you could pull this off. But only if you believe that you can push it to the metal when it counts. You must overcome your fear, or you cannot do it. I can do it a bit myself and show you, but... you must believe me and not panic as I go."
"A-Allright. What is it?"
Nayuki turned to Nagisa and made an apologetic face. "I’m sorry! I’ll be borrowing Tomoya-san for a bit! Shingo, you can take the Beat back up the hill, right?"
"Ehhh!?" Both Nagisa and Shingo gasped at Nayuki’s suggestion, but before anybody could protest, she shoved Tomoya into her passenger seat while she entered her driver’s side. She took the Beat’s keys from Tomoya and tossed them to Shingo.
"Rin-san, if you want to watch, then follow me for a bit. You might find it useful, since it’s an exercise in weight transfer," Nayuki added before starting her car.
"Eh? A-Allright," Rin said as he jumped into his R32. Everyone else was a bit dumbfounded by Nayuki’s sudden idea, but she was already making her way back up the mountain. Given that this was Nayuki, Shingo and Takeshi already knew better than to not listen to her, and she was the closest Rin had to a teacher. There was no reason not to follow her instructions as everyone drove up the hill to follow the girl in her Trueno.

*****

"Rin-san, why are we following them?" Nagisa asked as they followed the speeding Trueno through the turns.
"I’m not sure, but... this is the first time I’ve actually seen her driving up close," Rin said as he made a good enough effort to follow her. All the braking training he learned from her was actually helping at this point, as his braking points now allowed him to go through the turns faster.
Unfortunately, Nayuki was still faster, as her lighter Trueno coupled with her own experience as a racer was able to navigate the turns better than the bulkier R32, even here in a course that she’d only raced a couple of times on.
"Damn, she’s fast!" he gasped as he drifted through the hairpin. He was about a half second behind her at this point, and that was probably her being generous so that he could see what she was about to do.

Meanwhile, Tomoya was holding on to the handlebar of the car as hard as he could. He’d always driven fast on this course, but... perhaps it was because he wasn’t driving this time, but it felt like he’d never gone this fast before.
"Tomoya-san, please observe. I can only do it briefly, and once on this turn and the next one," Nayuki said as she positioned herself to attack the next left turn that had open gutters. "Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes!" Tomoya said as he forced himself to watch the road and Nayuki’s movements.

"... Wait, Nayuki-san isn’t slowing down for this turn at all!" Nagisa gasped.
"Are you supposed to?" Rin asked.
"I..." Nagisa was about to speak, but held her tongue. She was a navigator – only telling people what was ahead, and not necessarily how to deal with it. "Well, the gutters are there, that’s why..."

What happened next defied everything that followed conventional racing theory.
"Hey, we’re not slowing—" Tomoya gasped, but Nayuki didn’t answer as she turned her Trueno towards the gutter! Tomoya’s mouth stayed open in a soundless scream, but Nayuki kept her foot on the accelerator. Her tires squealed, seemingly protesting at what she was asking them to do before they finally held their ground and started pushing the closer to the apex of the turn where the gutters were!

Everyone watching was expecting the car to drop into the gutter and cause an accident.

Everyone except Nayuki, that is.

And as soon as it happened, it was over. The turn was cleared, and her added speed allowed her to increase the gap between herself and Rin, who along with Nagisa were left dumbfounded.
"I... I have no idea what just happened, but... that’s not... possible," Rin gasped.
"It was hard to see in the dark, so I couldn’t see what was going on," Nagisa said. "But if I’m right... there’s no way you could drive there... right?"

*****

Down the hill near the parking space, Tomoya stumbled out of the Trueno to catch his breath. "Are you insane!?"
"I told you; you need to be cast aside your fear. It may be a little harder for you though, considering that there’s not enough weight to shift around, so you need to do it faster. You also shouldn’t do it often. Just enough to get more speed to overcome your opponent," Nayuki said.
"But what if I f**k up!? And you’re telling me that I need Nagisa for this!?"
"I’ve seen your driving style. You have the capacity to do it! But like I said, this is dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, which is why I had to show you first."
"You’re telling me to risk crashing myself along with Nagisa just to beat that old man!?"
"I’m not telling you to do anything. I merely showed you what was possible. But for your current skill level, this is something that you need her for."
"It’s true that I need her with me... that her mere presence helps me concentrate better. But to tell me to do this..."
"I don’t mind, Tomoya-kun."

Tomoya spun around to face the voice. "Nagisa?" He’d apparently been too shocked by what he saw and the implications of what he needed to do that he didn’t notice Rin and Nagisa pull up in the R32.
"If it’s something that Tomoya-kun needs me for... then I’ll help! That’s what a navigator does, right?"
"Nagisa..."
"Tomoya-kun... if she says that you can do it, then I believe you can do it too."
"If you won’t believe in yourself, believe in the one who believes in you, huh..." Rin sighed. "It’s not good to underestimate yourself, Okazaki-san."
"The kettle calling the pot black, Rin-san?" Nayuki chuckled.
"Well..."

Tomoya fidgeted in place for a few moments before holding Nagisa by the shoulders. "If I have this many people who think I can do it... maybe I can practice the movement for a bit so that I can pinpoint how to get the load to shift to the back... if you don’t mind coming with me, that is."
Nagisa immediately hugged her boyfriend tightly when he said that. "Of course! I’ll come with you!"
Nayuki smiled at that. "Your one-handed steering should help with that. If you can keep it steady, then the weight transfer shouldn’t be that hard. As long as you can feel the weight on the front tires lift up, then you’re good."
"I’ll practice it a few times tonight to see if I can be consistent with it. So..."

Nayuki nodded, and turned to Rin. "Rin-san, please take them both back up."
"Wait, me? There’s only room for two in the car!" Rin gasped.
"Sorry! There’s something I need to do for a bit," she said as another car, a gunmetal AE86 Levin, pulled up into the lot.
Nagisa frowned a bit at that the new car that arrived. "Eh? Why?"
"Sorry... this is... a bit important."
Nagisa didn’t understand, but didn’t resist either when Tomoya and Rin got inside the R32 and prepared to drive off. She nodded at Nayuki, and got on Tomoya’s lap.
"Hey, drive slow, allright? There’s like three people inside," Tomoya said as he strapped himself in and held on to Nagisa as tightly as possible.
"You don’t need to tell me twice. I’m tossing you out the second I see a cop," Rin chuckled.
"That’s awfully cold of you, Tsuchimi-san," Tomoya groaned. "Well, driving slow shouldn’t be hard for you."
"Oho. Wanna back those words up?"
"Please knock it off, you two," Nagisa warned the two boys as they drove away from the lot.

Meanwhile, Nayuki watched the R32 drive away as the Levin’s driver stepped out. "So... you’re here?"
"Just helping mom out on something," Nayuki said as she turned to bow at the driver. "How are you doing, Furukawa-san?"
Sanae Furukawa politely bowed back, the blue ribbon on her hair and her braid bobbing along with the rest of her head as she did so. "Very well, Nayuki-chan. How’s Akiko-chan, by the way? I just received her latest shipment of jam."
"Ahahaha... She’s doing well," she chuckled back, though visibly uneasy with regards to talking about the jam.
"Still, it is unexpected to find you here so far from Gunma. I was surprised when you called."
"I’m more or less doing an errand for Mom," Nayuki sheepishly said. "When I told her that I met Rin-san who was looking for Todō Juku, she asked me to stay and help him. I’m not entirely sure why, though she did say it was as a favor for a friend."
"Rin-san? Tsuchimi Rin-san?"
"Yeah... do you know him?"
"I knew his mother," Sanae said with a sad look on her face. "She was a good friend."
"I see..."

Sanae decided to change the subject a bit. "So you’ve met Nagisa-chan?"
"Yes. I was surprised when I first saw her and wondered if she was your daughter... I never got the chance to see her since she was sick most of the time that I was here with Mom," Nayuki chuckled. "Do you think she knows that I know you?"
"She might. I’ll have to explain it to her later, I suppose... but I guess there’s something more important to worry about right now, right?"
"Yeah." Nayuki rubbed her hands together to stave off the cold for a moment before continuing, "It’s up to Tomoya-san at this point. As for Rin-san, well... I wonder how much he’s able to pick up."
"If he’s anything like his mother, he’ll pick it up and decide for himself when he gets to Happogahara."
"Come to think of it, now I’m curious. How is it that you and Mom seem to know about Rin-san’s mother and her will?"
"That... is something Rin-san will have to tell you when he gets there."

This post has been edited by Perry on Oct 21 2011, 12:14 AM

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