Ch7: Truths

“M-Miss Umebayashi…?!”

Akira, stumbling on his words, could not forge a coherent sentence as he kept on babbling out of shock.

“Oh! I suppose this is surprising to you,” Rina giggled, “No worries hon, take all the time you need.”

“I-I don’t get it… you are the Faction Legend Takeshi was talking about? My own Mom’s friend?!”

“Yes, that’s me. I hope that isn’t too shocking,” she sighed.

“How is it not?!” he said, disgruntled, “My mom is friends with one of the fastest people on the mountain pass–it’s unbelievable!”

“She is the first between the two of us to start racing,” Rina insisted, looking down at the batted Silvia, “arguably I think she was the fastest.”

Akira was too starstruck and confused by the many revelations that unfolded within the hour; hearing his mother of all people was noted to be remarkably fast had only puzzled him further.

“Mom? How is that right?? She wouldn’t stop telling me not to race,” Akira objected, “not to build my Silvia–and look at it now! It’s an amazing car!”

He scoffed in disbelief.

“Why would she want anything to do with racing?”

Rina glanced down and sighed. Then she smiled while returning her focus to the confused boy.

“She did it to help me,” Rina replied, “she went out of her way to learn how to run fast and taught me–to get me out of a bad place.”

Akira jolted back in surprise. 

“I’m forever grateful for her,” Rina said. “I may not be here if it wasn’t for her, and your father.”

“Why did she stop…” Akira contemplated, “… if she was so good…?”

Rina exhaled.

“She only raced to help me. Once I didn’t need her, she stopped to go raise her family.”

“Because of… me…?”

Rina was taken aback, unable to answer, too stunned to respond to his question.

“What kind of way to live is that? Who wants to let someone else decide how to live their life?”

“It’s… the responsibility we have, Akira. It’s not that simple…”

“If I could ever return the favor for what she did,” Rina continued, “I’d take it. I hope you understand that’s what I did today. Nothing more.”

She walked up to Akira, reaching out to pat his head. 

“That’s why you have to keep this a secret for me, okay?”

“Do you…” Akira began, “still like racing?”

Rina stood still for a short moment, her hand still resting on Akira’s head.

“It’s not my place to decide,” she softly replied, turning away from the gaze of her friend’s little boy.

She finally let go, and she turned to walk to her car.

“Be at school tomorrow, okay? Have a good night, hon.”

Without another word, The Supra made a U-Turn from its spot as it drove off into the night.

Akira stepped into the Silvia to sit down, as he examined the interior, thinking about Rina’s words. He smiled down at the steering wheel as he turned the key to reignite its cylinders, putting it into first gear.

I’m sorry, Mom, he thought.

The Silvia spun its wheels as it accelerated forward before Akira jerked the steering wheel, and the machine roared as it sped back up the mountain pass. 

After a long ride, Rina returned to Hirata Motors, the garage door noticeably still open upon arrival. She roamed around inside for a bit, noticing Ayako was nowhere to be found. 

“Did she leave her shop unattended?” she asked herself out loud. Rina looked left and right, but still no sign of her friend. The shop looked about as untouched as it was when she first showed up.

Maybe she’s back at the house, Rina thought.

“Oh, you’re back so soon,” said Ayako, “how’d you do?”

Rina turned in surprise, slightly alerted by the sudden voice emerging from the dark outdoors. 

“It went okay,” she replied, “No one got hurt, thankfully.”

Ayako nodded. “It’s always good to hear that, at least. Especially from you.”

“So it’s done?” she asked, “You ready to take Yuuki back home?”

 “Yes–it’s her birthday tomorrow,” said Rina. She looked at a car just in the corner of the workshop, a teal Z33 resting atop a motorized vehicle lift, then back to Ayako, “Could I ask to buy the Onevia from you?”

“You want to give her that car…?” Ayako questioned. She looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with Rina as she delivered solemn news about the Onevia.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t repair it, Umebayashi,” she sighed, “it just doesn’t want to run after so long.”

“I see…” Rina whispered. 

“I’m sorry it came down to this,” Ayako winced, “I wish I could have done more.”

She turned to face something standing idle just next to the Z on the lift–a car covered by a tarp. 

“I tried my hardest to get another S Chassis for you,” said Ayako, as she began to walk towards the covered vehicle.

Pulling the sheet off of the car revealed a red Nissan S13, the hatchback model. The S13 brandished carbon fiber popups and a Type-X aero kit setup, fitted with the appropriate rims from the Type-X variant. 

“I hope this is okay,” said Ayako.

Looking past the cosmetics, Rina felt a connection strong to the mysterious model. A sense of belonging overcame Rina.

“It feels familiar…” she said, “as if I could already predict every little feeling about it.”

Ayako said nothing, as she fell into deep thought about the S13. 

It didn’t come with an engine installed, she thought, but what was left of hers was almost completely intact…

Rina tried to get into the right seat of the car, only to notice the steering wheel was placed on the other side of the interior. This S13 was a left-hand-drive automobile, therefore a 240SX. Stepping into the left seat, she turned the key, and the ignition kicked in, as the 240SX spit a few seconds before grumbling, the note of the exhaust ringing completely identical to Rina’s mind.

“My Onevia…” she whispered, peering down when a tear emerged from the corner of her eye as it ran down her cheek.
Rina turned to Ayako, a soft smile worn across her face.

“Thank you, Aya. I love it.”

The next morning, Rina walked Yuuki down the stairs and out of the front door, covering her eyes as she eagerly kept pressing on with many questions. 

“Can I see now?” Yuuki chirped.

“Not yet…!” Rina coyly replied. 

Yuuki pouted as the garage door opened slowly, she could hear the mechanical whirr of the machine while waiting in anticipation.

“Almost…” Rina said, “There!”

She lifted her hands from Yuuki’s eyelids as a bright light overcame her vision briefly before the garage was in her peripheral, a car other than the Supra sitting in the garage–the 240SX. 

“Tadaaa!” Rina called, “Happy birthday, Yuuki!”

“This is…” Yuuki stumbled on her words, and her mother finished her thoughts in response.

“Your own car!” Rina cheered, “This is yours to take anywhere, isn’t it great?” 

“Mom…”

“I know how much you bring up how things would be easier if you had your own transportation,” Rina said, “Mama’s sorry she is so irresponsible, honey… I hope this is alright.”

Feeling a hint of guilt for what she said, Yuuki consoled Rina. Then, she went to hug Rina, embracing her in a grip as tight as her smaller body could enable her. 

“It’s okay, Mama,” she said, “I’m sorry for saying those mean things.”

Rina smiled.

“But, there’s something wrong,” Yuuki said, letting go of Rina as she stepped back to look her in the face.

“I’m seventeen,” said Yuuki.

Rina’s face turned from pink to cherry red as she covered her face in embarrassment.

“Oh my god,” she lamented, “I’m so sorry Yuuki!” 

Rina dropped her hands taking a deep breath, puffing her chest as she collected herself once again. 

“No worries, we’ll keep this car anyways,” she sighed, “It’s from Auntie Ayako, so it would be rude to return it…”

“I really wanted you to start driving yourself to school today,” Rina said, “but if you’re not ready, then that’s okay.”

Almost instantly, Yuuki’s whole opinion of the car had changed.

“No, I can drive it!” she insisted, rapidly shaking her head horizontally, “I can show you, Mama!”

Yuuki ran to the 240SX, showing more enthusiasm for it than she initially had.

“Ai-yaa, maybe tomorrow,” Rina said, “I’m not so sure about today anymore myself.” 

Yuuki opened the right side door.

“Mama, this car doesn’t have a wheel–oh, there it is.”

As Rina and Yuuki pulled up to the front of the school, in the Supra, they received a few stares from the other students who were arriving at the campus. Some of them were murmuring confused exchanges with one another.

“Have a great day, hon!” Rina said to Yuuki.

“I will,” Yuuki replied, the passenger door clicking as she stepped out of the car and walked off towards the building.

As Rina watched her daughter trot along, she turned to face the road again, a familiar car in front of her. Akira’s S15. It waited for the sedan in front to move forward, as he drove down the perimeter of the school grounds, pulling to the left into the campus parking area. She smiled at the sight as she took off, driving away from the school. 

Yuuki walked into the hallway, where Yuna noticed her almost immediately.

“Yo!” she called out, “Morning, Yuu!”

“You sound very hyper today,” Yuuki replied. 

“No kidding,” Yuna replied, she took a deep breath before quickly exhaling, “Last night was incredible! Someone new to the mountains showed up and beat Akira down like it was nothing.” 

“Were they… fast?” Yuuki asked.

“Heck yeah, they moved at a record pace from what I heard, everyone got so riled up!”

Yuna started bouncing in place, pressing on about last night’s event. 

“Even my Skyline might struggle against that kind of speed, whoever it was, they were crazy good!”

“Anyway,” she sighed, “We’re going up to Haruna tonight to run practice rounds.”

Yuuki blinked twice, “It’s a school night…” she questioned, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I have to,” Yuna replied, “I’m racing against someone on Saturday.”

She pivoted on her right leg, spinning and striking a confident stance.

“As a racer, it’s my natural duty to defend our home course!”

Yuna double-took a glance at Yuuki, having forgotten her birthday was today. 

“Oh hey, you’re old enough to drive now, right? Did your mom finally get you a car?”

Yuuki’s head perked up in excitement. 

“That’s right! I have a car now!”

“What car is it?” Yuna asked eagerly.

“A Nii-San!” Yuuki said happily, “The best part is I can go anywhere now!”

But when she was about to finish her thoughts, Yuna had also added her own.

“I can go to the beach!”

“You can race with our team!”

Awkward silence overcame the two.

“Er, sorry,” Yuna sighed, “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Yuuki didn’t respond back. Until…

“Is that all you guys do with your cars…?”

“Ahh, you’ll come to understand it when you race with us,” Yuna said, actively evading the question.

Staring at Yuna with almost contempt, Yuuki stared at her friend, who was beginning to light up from the mere mention.

“There’s just… something about driving that helped me out,” she said, “I wasn’t supposed to stay here forever, but I did, y’know? And it wasn’t my choice…”

Yuna pulled out the keys to her GT-R and smiled warmly at its presence.

“It’s like having a piece of home with me. The thrill of racing my Skyline down the mountains kept my hands busy.”

“Come join us sometime,” Yuna proposed, “It’d be nice to get to do something together again.”

“Together…?” Yuuki pondered.

“Oh! I have to go find Akira!” she exclaimed.

“What’s up?”

“Er, It’s okay, I’ll see you in class!”

Yuuki made a mad dash down the hallways, Yuna decided not to follow, while still questioning what troubled her friend.

“See ya…? You sure know how to make an exit…”