Ao no Sumika [Initial D - Keisuke Takahashi | Novella}

Souai: 2

The battle in Tochigi ended with Project D winning and setting a new time record on the track. Their next battle was something that Motoko did not expect nor did she expect to speak with one of the drivers of the racing school. The Todo School in Tochigi was one of the few schools she came in contact with during her university days and due to her grandfather's connections in many racing schools and circuit racers in his shop. She's met the man running the school who was the namesake of the shop and remembered telling her grandfather how she didnt' like the man one bit.

"That's just how he is," her grandfather laughed at her then. "You'll meet a lot of people like him in the future, so better be ready."

After contacting the school, Motoko made the arrangements and Project D was back in Tochigi for their next match. The match was a challenge but nothing Takumi and Keisuke couldn't handle. After that expedition, they were back in Gunma, waiting for the next thing, and it came sooner than expected, and in a way she did not think possible.

She was at work when she received the call, Fumihiro was the one who called her from the lounge to tell her about it. After wiping her hands clean – she was working under the car during that time – she went inside to take the call and greeted the person with her usual greeting, "Hajime Autoshop, Sasaki speaking."

The person at the other line chuckled. "Getting your hands dirty to be humble? I thought you'd be the type of person who bosses people around, not the one who gets engine oil on their sleeves, Sasaki."

"Who is this?" Motoko was close to dropping the call.

"It's Tachi Tomoyuki, from the Todo School."

Oh him, Motoko thought. When she caught Fumihiro's eye, she gestured for him to come inside but to keep quiet. "And what does a humble mechanic like me owe the pleasure of hearing from a pro racer, Tachi?"

"A humble mechanic, huh? Doesn't fit your style at all, Sasaki. Anyway, I know you're in with Project D."

"And I thought you were going to set an appointment for me to see your car, Tachi. Or maybe another call for a sponsorship?" She could feel that she hit a nerve there. "So what do you want with Project D?"

"I know that two of our own lost to your guys at Enna Skyline, and I can't let that slide. Not when the Todo School's reputation is on the line."

"Well, you were always a sore loser," Motoko sat on her chair and sighed. "Let me tell Ryosuke about this, but when do you want this battle and where? And who are the drivers?"

The questions had Fumihiro started dialing Ryosuke and was listing down information that Motoko was repeating from the call.

"Hoppogahara," he then gave her some dates that he could have the dates for the match. "And I'll be the one that Project D's battling."

"You?" Motoko sat up. "You're a pro, Tachi, you'll ruin your rep if you do an 'amateur'," she added air quotes, "street race. Think about your sponsors."

She wasn't a fan of the guy after their brief and very brief history when she raced against him on an unofficial race, and he got her with those slight bumps at the side which had her oversteering, and she would have crashed if she hadn't gotten a grip on her car. She still even has the bump on her MR-S as a reminder of her anger towards the guy. But she knew how hard it would be for him and his reputation if his sponsors found out about him street racing.

"Don't worry about that, Sasaki. That's my business. So, what do you say?"

"Like I said, I need to talk to Ryosuke about this."

"Go ahead, go tell your boss about it. You know how to reach me." The call ended. and Motoko let out a long and dragging sigh. "That was Tachi Tomoyuki from the Todo School. He wants a match to redeem the Todo school name. And he's a pro racer."