PROLOGUE
1992 December
The coarse grumble of the engine echoes throughout the mountain road in Mt. Myogi, the clunking of the gear shifts sends the wheels screaming as he catches the slide, powering out of the corner with the illuminated red needle bouncing off the rev limiter.
“Alright let’s go, time for me step it up…” Kento muttering to himself, sending his long sedans flying into the adjacent corner as the hissing of the turbine whines throughout the cabin, battling the tyres for grip.
He rotated the the car, modulating the throttle as the engine roars from his excessive input mashing. Braking as he shifts the weight the outside continuing the slide, as he recorrects the car as he downshifts into 2nd. The car wails down, with the 2.5L I6 engine thundering down the relatively short straight, flying into the next hairpin.
Kento relaxed his car, as he levels the Suisei into a respectable cruise. He glanced over to the inbuilt clock inside his relatively older car, it was dark. The slight jolt into the lower revs slightly revibrates around the cabin. The subtle twilight reflections between the peaks of the mountain, surreal for the hobby Kento indulges himself with, a sort of calm. The next corner, a slight glance of the momentary reflection of another car’s taillights, the unmistakable dark red hue of another car.
“Now what do we have here…” Instinctively reaching the shifter, as he sends the car into motion, the turbos hiss. Flashing his headlights signalling to the other driver of the impromptu race. It picks off. It’s time to duel, the raspy I4, unmistakably a hatchback.
It’s time for him to show the true power of Suisei engineering, he smirks as the straight six thunders to life chasing the unknown red car. It was notably fast, but not as fast as him. A rally sedan proven throughout; it will never lose to such a car. The tyres squeal as he proceeds, tailing the car, ‘Cordova’ it said. The two cars danced despite the car being large and heavy, it was nothing to scoff powering off onto the outside of the Cordova.
The squeal of his tyres as he battles the car slightly taps the other car, as it seemingly been left in the dust, overtaking the red car in rush he pumps his fist, “I am unbeatable, I am Kami of the touge!” As he leans into his car slamming the gears as he powers off with the distinct low grumble echoing off into the distance.
Kento was gone into the dark night, it was a fine victory for him he was indeed smug without a doubt, he couldn’t wait to brag to his collage classmates about this. However, the split second of distraction as he eased off, blinded by the adrenaline, as the suspension suddenly jolts up due to an uneven surface as sending the Suisei into a slide…
“SHIT, SHIT SHIT…!” lunging to wrangle the car back from the slide. Overcorrecting the car as he attempts to slam the brakes, screeching off, bracing for impact.
The car jolted violently as the seatbelt gags his chest with the crunch of the hood, disjointed and disfigured… The eerily silence of the car, a hint of the grumbling idle. Taking in the situation as the indicators flash with a faint smell of the once running engine, turning it off and placing it into his wallet. The subtle moonlight that pierced through the mountain road, reflects off into his face,
“Well, that’s bad… I’m going to need a truck for this…” Sighing,
“And get a new hood and lights… new front… well I need to ask for more shifts at my job…” Getting out of the car in the ditch, the slight foliage slightly irritating his skin, gradually yet so nonchalantly, taking a cigarette from his Malbroo packet. The dim lighting of his lighter bounces off from the dark scenery, as he strolls to the top of the road. He squatted leaning onto his car as the freshly lit cigarette lighting his face.
The familiar raspy sounds echo from the distance, it’s the other car he thought. It realed around the corner with the intake valves, distinct for such an odd engine. The slightly orange hue of the lights flashing over his face as the driver dims the lights, signalling the indicator as it deaccelerates into the side of road. The figure stood out of the car, he barely could make out the person, the light was in his face after all.
“Yo, as you can see, I’m a bit of help.” He flicks his cig onto the ground, grinding it with his shoe. A slight smugness in his face.
“Konbanwa…” It was a woman, he was aback. “What are you doing over there… and your car?”
“Yeah I crashed, mind helping. I need it to be towed out…” Placing his arm onto the top of his crashed Suisei Ken GT…
“Oh its you…” She glanced at Kento proudly standing next to his crashed Suisei. “Well I can’t give you a tow… but I do know someone who could help.” Strolling back to the red Quezon, reaching into the car. It was a walkie talkie in her hand. “Ehh, we need your ute up here… we need someone to be towed again.”
“Oh you know someone, is it a Isuzu Elf?” Intrigued, but the unfamiliar term ‘ute’? "What is this ‘ute’ a, new truck brand? Scratching his head. The girl pauses, and turns around back towards Kento, “It is an Australian automobile imported here, so anyways whats your name.” Directing an opening conversation.
“My name is Kento, Tokisaki Kento, and yours?” He said replying to her. In a stiff formal reply she answered back, “My name is Umemura Ryuuko.” As she waits for a reply from her walkie talkie, “Do you always drive that aggressively? You almost bumped off the course… many would find that un-sportsman like, I don’t really mind, but others might.”
“Ah, that, well sorry for that, I was caught up in the moment, the thrill of pushing the limit, that’s why I do this hobby after all.” He continues, “In future I probably should be more cool about my driving, after all…” He glanced at his car, and points, “This happens.”
“I see, I guess some people are more different than others, do you drive here often?” Still waiting for the walkie talkie to pickup… strange… Kento relaxes onto the rear bumper in a less stiff posture, “I certainly do, though I’ve been around other places…” As he was talking the slight scrapping of the car losing his balance as the car slides down suddenly.
“Woah-!” He gasps as he loses his balance as the car lost its grip from being stuck on the ledge. The 1.4-tonne automobile slowly began to slide off with an audible scraping. The girl notices this, and she instinctively acted. She drops the walkie-talkie and immediately runs towards him, reaching her hand out to him before he could slide down along with the car. “Watch out!”
The white vehicle was about halfway through, and Kento was nearly about to fall down alongside the car, but in the nick of time he’d managed to bring his arm out, and the girl managed to grab onto his hand as he had one foot left on the ridge. He felt the crumbling of the small pebbles at his foot as he clung onto the girl’s small hands. She struggled up to prevent him from dropping entirely, and with a swift pull she’d managed to pull him away from the edge. However, the girl had lost her balance too, and as she pulled Kento who’s balance was already lost, the two of them landed in front of one another, their eyes met and mere centimetres away from one another’s and they froze right there as they settled onto the cold asphalt.
For a moment Kento stared intently into the girl’s dark brown eyes, he could feel her warmth in the moment as they sat there face to face, feeling as her soft breaths landed atop one another as their adrenaline rushes have not yet cooled down from what had just happened. Kento’s arms felt like shaking as he sat there for a while, but he couldn’t move away from her gaze. The feeling of being right there before her completely intoxicated him.
The crickets, the soft rustling of the wind, the cicadas as they chirped occasionally, and the faint rumbling of other engine noises in the distance all blended in as the soft wind of the mountain pass blew the girl’s hair towards Kento’s face.
Eventually the girl seemed to have realized the scenario before them, and slowly moved backwards.
Kento couldn’t tell, but her face was flushed a slight red as she shifted backwards away from him. “U-umm, excuse me…” She said as she shifted her face away from his, her cheek grazing the tip of his nose slightly as she turned her head away from him, something which got her slightly more flustered, although Kento wasn’t really able to tell from the darkness.
Eventually in the distance, an engine rumbling unfamiliar to him would be audible, but he still didn’t pay mind to it as he was still focused on the girl’s face as it was lightly shone on by the dim moonlight, but he would eventually snap out of it as a bright light shone on them in the distance, a light that only got closer and closer. The girl saw this and had gotten slightly flustered, and so she moved away from him and got up.
“H-hey, there’s our tow truck.” She said as she awkwardly offered her hand towards him. He took it and stood up alongside her, and the girl approached the truck awkwardly. With a thick Aussie accent, “What the hell are you two love birds doing over there.” In playful manner, as Ellie slams the ute’s door catching their attention.
“It’s not like that!” A slight hint of red on her cheeks as she quickly recoils back onto her feet. Kento looking away caught up with their embarrassing situation. “You finally got yourself a boyfriend” Ellie smirking at Ryuuko. “I told you, its not like that you moron!!!” Pouting back at the Australian. Kento remained silent as he quickly got back up taken aback, “So uh, who she is?”
“My name is Ellie nice to meet you, are you her new boyfriend?” A wide smile can be seen across her face, reaching out for a handshake. He reacted quickly shaking the Aussie’s hand replying a bit flustered, “No, I’m not her boyfriend… My name is Tokisaki Kento, she was here to help me get my car out…” Looking back at the Ken GT stuck in the mountain side ditch.
“Ah gotcha, sorry for the little playful teasing” Nudging his shoulder, very befitting for an Aussie sheila, in a teasing tone, “Mind helping me” Winking at him, snickering as she glances back at Ryuuko, still flustered from the incident. Reluctantly accepting the teasing as the two attached the tow onto his rear frame as the two worked on recovering the Suisei. With only the light from the two cars, the three worked to attach the tow hitch correctly, as Ellie attempts to guide the two on securing the straps.
It was time for them to jerk the car out, “Mind ya helping me try sitting onto the back of the tray both of you.” Winking at the two. They reluctantly got on the back as the two braced onto the side walls of the stamp sheet metal tray. The build of the gurgling V8 definitely was a sight to behold, different from the usual arrays of diegetic sounds on the touge. The ute jerked as the wheels fought for grip, spinning slightly as Ellie masterfully, through experience, modulated her gas pedal. A loud clank from the Suisei… it was the hood. Kento flinched he needs a new hood, it was clean off, as it slid onto the grass. The car slowly but surely moved back onto the familiar tarmac as Ellie stuck out her thumb,
“Now you two love birds can get off!” Laughing over the Marksman V8 as it slowly decreased in revs. “AGAIN ITS NOT LIKE THAT!!!” Ryuuko was visibly flustered as she glanced over to Kento before averting her gaze once more. As the two momentarily had their eyes meet, Kento too, averting his gaze elsewhere, “Your friend is quite something Ryuuko.” As he comments towards her, getting off first, as he reaches out his hands to help her down. Visibly still embarrassed by the constant teasing.
“Alright you two I would be get going first I need to get this down to the shops, this Sedan is just as long as my ute!” Waving out of the winded down windows, as she signals good bye. The two were left there by themselves as the ute hauls the sedan slowly down the touge, as the faint rumble slowly dissipated the further it went.
“W-well… I suppose we should go along too…” She nudged him with her elbow, still slightly flustered whilst mumbling a couple of words to herself as she walked over to the driver’s side door of the red Quezon, Kento not really being able to make them out, however. Ryuuko opened the door to herself and hopped in, and Kento just observed as the silhouette of her figure leaned over to open the passenger’s side door. His adrenaline had calmed down, but is in now an unusual blinded trance.
“H-hey! Don’t just stand there!” He heard as Ryuuko poked her head out of the window, and Kento subsequently snapped back to reality.
“O-oh! Sorry!” He said as he waddled over to the passenger’s seat, closing the door behind him and putting on the seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride.”
“N-no problem.” She says as she chuckles awkwardly. Ryuuko turns the key, and the turbocharged four-cylinder roars into life like an angered hive of wasps. “Huh, it’s lost more pressure.” She says as she looks down at the boost gauge in the dashboard, but shrugs it off and sets off anyway, remembering to shut off the blinkers before setting off. The floor of the car rattled as the vehicle set off, and the engine quietly purred as she got along. She took the corners gently, not being in a rush.
“Y’know, I crashed on these roads about a year ago.” She began. “Oh, what happened?”
“I was still a relatively novice racer back then, I didn’t really know much about cars back then. I’d been driving this touge almost weekly back then as an escape from the busy office life. I just knew the very basics of adjusting engine stuff and attaching bolt-on parts and all that, but maintenance was still something I never thought of much.” She paused as she downshifted before the straightaway. Kento would look at her, barely being able to get a few glimpses of her face as the reflected ambient light glimmered onto her face, the glimpses of light slowly increasing in frequency as the speed increased down the straightaway.
“Back then, I thought that as long as I changed the oil like I’d always have, the car would still run as normal. Turns out I was wrong, and on that night the engine suddenly decided to give way. Of course, being a novice racer I wasn’t exactly sure what I was supposed to do in such an event, and so I spun and pretty much wrecked the car.” She sighed as she hit the brakes, her footwork allowing the engine to purr louder as she shifted down into another gear.
“It was this corner, it still gives me shudders when I look at it.” She says as she turns in, the car gripping the bend and making it out of the corner successfully. As Kento would look at the guardrail, it had still been unrepaired, a dent was visible in one of the guardrails, and some skidmarks were still left on the asphalt.
“Wow, that must’ve been harsh.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Well, anyhow, you’re still here, and that’s what matters.” He spoke all of a sudden. Ryuuko seemed to pause for a moment as she pondered about what Kento said, her face slowly beginning to fluster up, and her driving slowly getting distracted by her thoughts as she slowly began veering into the right lane.
“U-uh, R-Ryuu- I mean- M-Ms. Umemura?” He began to notice her driving starting to become strange, when all of a sudden a pair of bright lights started approaching from the opposite end of the corner. “M-Miss Umemura-?!”
“A-ah!!” She finally snapped back to her senses and jerked the wheel to point back towards her lane, the vehicle in the opposite lane just barely passing them by, honking loudly. Ryuuko was now highly flustered as she just realized what had happened.
“S-stop distracting me, goddamn it!!!”
ABOUT
Tokisaki Kento (時崎 賢人) is a college student who is near completing his course and does part time job working for his family’s relatives business in by driving commercial trucks, a dichotomy to his favorite hobby, driving on the touge and push his old 80s Sedan with his close friends on their home course near Mt. Myogi. A more or less care free spirited Japanese man, who is pretty relax about his future.
After the fated crash, in 1992 with Ryuuko, he patched up his car after the crash, using zip tie to cover up the dents, with visible scratches still on the side fenders of his car from the rear to the front of the car, and as for the hood, replaced with lightweight aluminum painted in a different coat. Fog lights where also added with the RallyART fogs and regular yellow lights to help Kento light up the relatively dark hours during his touge runs
The relatively heavy car at around 1.4 tons over considering its GT origins in the early 80s as a prestigious premium sedan, stripped out to reduce weight, whilst retaining adequate comforts for himself. With his creature comforts in his car, retaining the rather old but still plushy seats of the original car. With aftermarket sun protectors at the rear, the car remained relatively stock until Kento got his hands on the car, widening the fenders, but overall remained visually stock using the GR.B Rally win at the rear to maintain its old 80s classic looks.
As for the engine, its the tried and true SKI6CAN engine, still running relatively stock parts even after the extensive modding with the larger turbocharger kit onto his car, with a new and extensive fuel pump and cooling system to push the engine at 360bhp at the crank, used as one of the team’s uphill drivers with the high torque engine and long stable platform of the Ken GT
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