44 – [Eurobeat Intensifies]

HappyVainGlory

[Play: F-Zero - Big Blue [Eurobeat Remix]]

Asako glanced in the rearview mirror of her car, mulling over the man driving that white eight-six.

An unexpected development.

Because she had been so stressed with the reorganization recently of the alliance and her madman of a father doing whatever the hell he wanted, Asako set out for the night to do some drifting and calm down.

The plan had been to go against the more talented of her men down at the mountain track, but then she ran across that beauty in the Ferrari who didn't back down.

Asako thought it'd be fun to toy with her a bit so she revved up her car and then challenged the girl in a bet.

The race after had been fairly close too, so Asako was in a fairly good mood.

But then that man showed up.

An embarrassing development. It was the foreigner that caught her eye last week while she was heading to check up on the Seiryuu local businesses.

Asako wasn't so naïve to call it love at first sight or anything like that, but she had to admit that he had been fairly attractive. Enough at least to distract her.

But now it turned out that he was old enough to have a teenaged daughter despite his looks, and apparently was in charge of a foreign organization as well- No, a rival clan, judging from those three men that had gotten out of the car.

"Just my goddamned luck." Asako growled and shifted her gear down to round the first sharp curve.

Her BMW swerved, drifting around the edges in a smooth and practiced maneuver.

An act that should have taken utmost concentration. Even so, Asako did it with ease while distracted about something else.

Just why was it that all the men she fancied ended up like that? First it was that quirky and cute high schooler who turned out to be the Torabu clan heir. Then it was that older businessman who turned out to be the infamous enemy number one of the Seiryuu Alliance. And now it was this foreigner who was much older than he looked and had seasoned men at his disposal with auras of seasoned veterans from the yakuza world.

Asako shifted her gear back up to increase her speed as she got out of the curve. An automatic move, trained muscle memory from running the course hundreds of times.

As she did so, she muttered, "Is this that bastard's fault? Just because I'm his daughter, I have to put up with this bullshit? Is that it? Is it karma for that bastard forcing himself on that nee-san and knocking her up when she wasn't even a first-year?"

It wasn't her fault that her father was a perverted bastard who possessed enough power to go unchecked! And she was doing her best to whittle away at his connections now too! Wasn't that enough already?!

"God freaking dammit...!"

The headlights cut through the darkness, revealing the forested portion of the track coming up.

Glancing at the rearview mirror, Asako could see headlights flashing in the distance. That man closing the gap.

Considering the head start she took, that was impressive.

...And it reminded her again of the fact that the man had a daughter Asako's age and it made her curse. "Why the hell are all the good men taken!?"

She grabbed her clutch, shifting gears in preparation for the winding curves up ahead.

At the same time, she let out a sigh.

"...Whatever. I can think about those things later."

Asako was only 22 in any case. There was plenty of time to think about romance later. Not only that, but she still had to restructure the clan, beat up those other perverted chairmen who were running those crooked karaoke bars, set up new restaurants in Tokyo after the Torabu clan mismanaged them...

Right. There was still time. So-

A faint hum in the distance.

"Hm?" Asako glanced up in her rearview mirror. When she did- "W-What the hell!?"

A ghost. That was the only way to explain it.

The man should have been at least a few minutes behind. The Toyota eight-six couldn't accelerate as fast as her BMW. At least, it shouldn't be able to-

No.

There was a possibility.

She had seen the flash of the headlights earlier, hadn't she?

Then... did that man... perfectly cut all the corners to catch up?!

"Impossible." Asako muttered and then grabbed her e-brake.

The first of the winding curves were coming up. She'd be able to tell then.

Asako let out a deep breath and focused.

Calm. Like the Seiryuu techniques emphasized. The state of flow, becoming one with whatever you were doing.

Ordinarily, it was used to fight. And her bastard of a father had perfected it to a level that gunfire and surprise attacks were pointless on him... but that was a distraction.

A smooth pond surface. A black mirror.

Asako's head emptied and she focused on the road ahead.

The screeching of car tires. Her black BMW gripping the road and maneuvering through the curves. But-

'Eh?'

Asako thought her technique was flawless. With her car, the flow, and her experience, there shouldn't be anyone better.

But in the rearview mirror...

A smooth drift that made the white Toyota car seem like it was gliding on ice rather than biting into the road. White smoke filling the air like a ghostly trail instead of a fog.

And within that white shroud of smoke...

'He's... bored?'

The blonde foreigner with a nonchalant expression. No, one that was almost disappointed. With one hand on the wheel, he yawned and fiddled with the stereo in front of him.

Asako felt her focus start to slip. Realizing that, she exhaled and kept her eye on the road.

It was fine. Even if he was skilled, there was no way that he could beat her with that attitude. Absolutely no way.

Tires screeching. Asako's black BMW swerving with the winding road. That man swiftly closing the gap from behind.

Asako placed her hand on the gearshift, preparing for the next stretch.

The long winding curve was coming up ahead, so she couldn't go full speed without risking flying off. But if she pivoted her car right, it should be enough.

They broke out of the forest and onto the winding stretch on the mountains.

Asako shifted her gear and dropped her handbrake, starting the long drift. Smoke filled the back as her rear tires strained to keep up with her demand.

But she didn't see the man or the white car.

Asako let out a triumphant smile. "Hmph. So he wasn't that good after-"

A low engine roar to her left.

Asako blinked and glanced in that direction. And then her jaw fell open.

The white Toyota was riding alongside the mountain slope.

But... How?!

It was almost perpendicular to the ground. The slope was far too steep to try what that other girl had done before.

But that man was doing just that.

No, he was doing more than that.

Leaning to the left side of his car, he continually shifted his gear up, using the increased acceleration to keep his car pressed against the side of the slope.

But that was suicidal! If he let off even just a bit, or if he lost control, his car would go spiraling off into the distance, exploding in a fireball!

And yet... And yet the man was doing that.

The Toyota clung onto the slope like a spider, quickly overtaking Asako's BMW since it was going in a straight line instead of drifting around the curve.

But that wasn't the most incredible act.

Just as the slope and the road began to split, turning into the straight away back to the start, the man threw himself at the right side of the car.

The act caused the white Toyota eight-six to do a side roll. And as a result, so did the man, spinning along with the car.

Asako subconsciously held her breath at the sight of him doing that.

But instead of continuing to spin uncontrollably and crash, the moment the car touched down, the man threw himself at the passenger's seat to the left, forcing the tipping car to fall down. At the same time, he grabbed the wheel, jerking it right to force the tires to kick off the ground, bouncing the car left.

Like that, the precarious act was over, and the man had drawn a huge lead, taking full advantage of the straight away to leave Asako in the literal dust.

An insane maneuver. Something that went beyond just driving skills to perfect physics awareness and body control to move the car in ways it wasn't intended to go.

Seeing that caused Asako's heart to speed up. And at the same time, it made roused her competitive spirit.

"Like hell I'll lose...!"

Gritting her teeth, she pressed a button on her dashboard, shifting the car from two wheel to four wheel drive.

Seeing the guy pull off that maneuver made her realize it.

If she wanted to win, she had to fight with her life on the line too!

The winding curves in the forest came to an end. Like the man, Asako ended up on the straight away. But the white eight-six was already getting close to the turn up ahead.

And knowing the man's skill, he wouldn't be losing any speed on that sharp turn.

Asako threw caution to the wind and slammed her foot down on the gas pedal, shifting into high gear. At the same time, she sharpened her focus.

No mistakes were permitted. A single slip-up would mean her demise.

Snow fell from above, intermixing the darkness with flakes of white.

But Asako didn't notice that. Instead, she kept her eyes on the spot of white in the distance.

The sharp curve came up.

Without missing a beat, the white car swerved, gliding in a perfect turn, maintaining its speed.

Asako's BMW roared, closing the gap. Her speedometer capped out, hitting the max speed. With it, she felt her car start resisting her control, threatening to spin out.

But she held firm.

And with that, she caught up. As the two cars hit the stretch just before the winding forest, the eight-six and the BMW were neck and neck. White and black shoved against each other like yin and yang.

The man glanced over from his car, frowning.

Asako grinned, but quickly turned her focus back to the road ahead.

It was close.

Even with four-wheel drive and constant acceleration, she wasn't losing him.

Tires screeching, her car starting slide from the road becoming slowly covered with snow.

Even so, since the man wasn't slowing down, Asako also refused to back down.

The winding curves arrived.

Like before, the white eight-six took them with ease, gliding across the road like it was glass, barely kicking up any smoke. No, because the road was starting to get covered with snow, it moved even slicker, almost as if steered by an outside force.

But that wasn't the case.

Inside the car, Asako could see the man throwing his body around to compensate for the loss in traction.

A ridiculous style of driving bordering on suicidal. Was he that desperate to win? Or was this just his idea of fun?

Either way, Asako wasn't going to disrespect that resolve to throw his life on the line.

Her car started to slide, the max speed causing her wheels to lose traction.

Taking the curves would be deadly. An inevitable spin out, even with four-wheel drive.

Ordinarily.

Just as her car hit the first curve, winding left, and started to slide out, waited and then jerked her wheel left just as the right wheels touched the gutters.

A rapid and sudden jerk, kicking her car left and giving her more control.

But the next bend quickly approached.

Asako's heart pounded, realizing just how thin a margin there was. And this was something she had to repeat a dozen more times.

But instead of worry, her mind was calm. Like a smooth silver mirror- No, a pristine glass window.

And the reason for that was the car in front of her.

A white blur, almost like a ghost beneath the dark night.

It was an image that she couldn't shake off even with all her skill.

But she wouldn't give up. No, not while she could still see it.

-A breakthrough.

Seeing the impossible skill being performed in front of her, Asako felt it. A pure will to chase after it. The flow that moved the car with that will.

An inertial drift, finishing off the winding forest road to hit the long winding mountain road curve.

But unlike before where she dropped her e-brake to drift, she kept her foot on the gas pedal.

Relying on the four-wheel drive to keep speed and prevent the unruly car from spinning out, she chased after the white eight-six.

And it did the same ridiculous maneuver again, running along perpendicular to the ground before flipping back onto the road with the straight away up ahead.

But the distance was halved. This time-

*clunk*

"Huh?"

A terrifying sound.

While Asako was perfectly willing and able to chase after the car in front of her, it seemed her BMW wasn't.

Her eyes widened and she quickly put down her e-brake. But it was locked in place. She tried to turn the steering wheel, but that was locked too.

Panic began to settle in as she looked at the speedometer.

Like before, it was capped out. No, it was increasing.

And then she realized why.

'Ah.'

No wonder those guys had been so willing to race with her. No wonder they had seemed so respectful.

All of this...

Asako laughed, giving herself up to her fate.

Of course. She should have realized it.

Her father would never have let a threat like her off so easily, especially when she was beginning to gather her power.

And knowing how often she liked to race, it would be a simple matter to cause an accident.

Asako sighed.

It was unfortunate. But it was also a proper result.

That man put his life on the line, and she did the same. So an outcome like this... was acceptable.

The sharp curve was coming up.

At the same time, so was her demise.

Seeing that, Asako closed her eyes.

She didn't have regrets. But she did think one thing was unfortunate.

If she had a chance, she would have liked to meet her half-sister. The innocent girl who her bastard father had sired after forcing himself upon her young mother.

That-

A sudden impact. But not the devastating one she expected.

Asako's eyes opened and she saw that the white eight-six had pulled back, brushing up against the front of her car. No, not only that, but it was steering her car for her while slowing down her speed.

Again, an impossible feat. Too many calculations and driving sense for a human to accomplish.

But it was doing just that. The man was slowing her car down.

And at the same time, she heard another soft 'clunk.' Something sliding back in place.

Asako's eyes widened and she grabbed her e-brake and steering wheel, trying to take control of her car.

This time, it listened.

The skidding BMW came back under Asako's directions and then veered back into the center of the road.

At the same time, the man and the white eight-six sped off to finish the race.

But Asako let him go and simply continued on at a normal speed, her heart still pounding from the near death experience.

Seeing the white car fade off into the distance, disappearing amidst the darkened forest curves, Asako let out a sigh and muttered, "I lost."

Not only that, but she owed the man a debt.

Asako shook her head and then drove her car back towards the start line, taking care to ensure nothing went wrong. But she didn't need to worry.

Before long, she arrived back at the start line. And there, she saw that man leaning against his car, golden hair shifting in the wind while his clear blue eyes stared at her.

A true man among men, a drift king among drift kings.

Seeing that, Asako pursed her lips and forcefully ignored her rapid heartbeat.