Cardfight!! Vanguard: Generations Volume 5 [Yukina Sympathy]

- Part 6

"This is..."

I mumbled under my breath as I entered the 86 for the first time. Even though it was a vintage car, it's interior was still comfortable to sit in.

Entering on the passenger's seat side, Minamoto let out a whistle before checking out every nook and cranny of the car, both in and out. Considering she was the expert, I left her to it, while I committed myself to memorising where everything was.

Being in the driver's seat of a car definitely felt like a different experience, but somehow it wasn't completely unfamiliar to me... I guess it must have been because I used to play racing games in the arcade a lot when I was a kid.

You would simulate how to drive using a steering wheel and pedals, so in that sense, I was familiar with that much. The addition of the driving stick, clutch, and mirrors were something I had no handle with though.

"Hey, isn't this great? Good for you!"

Minamoto, after confirming that she was happy with the state of the car was, settled in the passenger seat and slapped me on the back with a wide grin.

"Yeah... I was surprised when I first saw it, but now being here in the driver's seat, it feels less daunting than I originally imagined."

"Ha ha, that's what they all say. Just wait until you actually start controlling it... or, if that still doesn't spike your heart rate... going beyond the limiter."

Minamoto tapped on the front panel of the car, where it displayed both gas and horsepower. The gas was full, so I looked over at the horsepower panel, where it showed the tick was sitting currently at zero as the car was still.

Behind the tick was a faint gradient going from green to to red. The section in red were speeds that the car had the potential to break into, up to a maximum of 180, but was obviously illegal to actually go that far while on the road.

In other words, Minamoto was challenging me to try going beyond the legal limit and getting a taste of the speed that any serious racer was more than familiar with.

"Sure. Of course, only after I learn how to drive."

"That's the spirit. You're surprisingly pumped up today, Takanori-san!"

"You seem to be too, Minamoto-san."

Then again, it could be because she's not obsessing over Shigaisoshi-sama...

"Of course I'd be, we're doing my speciality now! This is my territory!"

Minamoto bragged, laughing and crossing her arms. I guess I can't argue with that...

With her as my instructor, she began giving me the rundown on how the car functions and how to drive it. We did pretty mundane things at first, mainly to let me get the hang of the controls.

I was driving around the block of the garage, going at a steady pace. Minamoto nodded in a satisfactory manner.

"You're a surprisingly fast learner... and the way you drove those corners was smoother than most newbies do... you sure this is your first time driving?"

"I can assure you, I have no experience doing this..."

"Right? That's what I thought. Guess that means I'm just that good of a teacher, well done me!"

Minamoto laughed, somehow managing to twist it into praising herself... well, not like I disagree, she certainly was a good teacher. Her explanations were clear and precise, which helped a lot in getting to grasp driving theory.

As we were about to hit the road and take my training further, my phone started ringing. I stopped operating the car and grabbed it from my pocket, checking the screen.