"I don't care, I just want to buy one..."
"Haruka, I've turned in all your manga drafts on time this week. As we agreed, that means you can't meddle in my personal life."
At Airi's apartment, she and Haruka were in the middle of another argument. Her four assistants were diligently working, all of them pretending not to hear the tension in the room.
Haruka rubbed her temples, visibly frustrated.
This was a miscalculation. She had thought Airi's so-called "Racing Legend" obsession was just a fleeting fancy.
To be fair, it had started that way. When she first brought it up, she was only fired up for a few days. And under Haruka's close supervision and the grueling pace of serialization, she quickly forgot about it.
But then... the third episode of Initial D came out.
After watching Takumi Fujiwara hurtle down the mountain without spilling a single drop of water from the cup in his car, Airi was completely re-energized.
She pulled an all-nighter to finish this week's manuscript, just so Haruka couldn't use work as an excuse to stop her from acting on her newest obsession.
Today, when Haruka stopped by to check in, Airi asked her to buy a car. After that, she wanted to sign up for driving lessons. And most unbelievably, she asked her to hire a drifting coach someone who could teach her how to drive down a mountain at 100 kilometers an hour without spilling water from a cup.
Haruka had been stunned speechless.
What kind of driving school teaches that? Who in their right mind teaches drifting to beginners?
After being rejected, Airi had made up her mind to go out and handle everything on her own.
"Okay, okay," Haruka said, trying to deescalate. "First, you need to get a driver's license. I'll help you sign up for a school, but we're not talking about buying a car yet. You don't even have a license how are you going to drive it home?"
Given Airi's personality, she would definitely go for something high-end. And while she could afford it, Haruka didn't want her getting ripped off at a dealership.
Besides, manga is one thing. Real-life driving isn't some adrenaline-fueled shounen manga. It's boring, exhausting, and dangerous if you mess around.
But seeing how serious Airi was, She figured maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Let her sign up. She might give up after a few days of studying road signs and traffic laws.
"It's fine," Airi replied earnestly. "Once I buy the car, you can drive it back for me. When I bought this apartment, I was convinced to purchase three parking spots. I thought I got tricked at the time, but now I'm glad. I should've bought more, honestly."
Haruka blinked. More parking spots? How many cars was she planning to buy? Did she think this was a toy collection?
And what kind of adult praises salespeople for talking them into extra expenses?
She shook her head, too tired to argue further.
In the end, despite putting her foot down, Airi still managed to coax her into a compromise.
"Alright, Airi," Haruka warned before leaving, "you can't let this affect your manga deadlines. If it does, forget driving you won't even have time to read Initial D, let alone live it."
With the manuscript in hand, Haruka left Airi's place. Even though there wasn't a deadline this week, She didn't feel at ease.
The third episode of Initial D had ranked fourth in popularity, but the gap with Natsume was shrinking. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the two swapped places.
On the other hand, Ryūkon's author, Rinseki, was reportedly holed up at home, working around the clock to defend against Mizushiro's double assault on the rankings.
But Airi? She was off chasing car fantasies.
Thinking about it made Haruka frown.
Wait a minute... if She remembered correctly, wasn't Haruki also taking driving lessons?
Haruka's eyes sharpened.
Airi's desire to get a license was reasonable enough. What worried her was her utter lack of street smarts. If she went out alone, she'd be a magnet for trouble and Haruka couldn't be with her at all times.
...But if she went with Haruki...
At least if someone tried to bother her, Haruki would step in. And it wasn't like Haruka had to worry about any romantic complications there.
Yeah... Haruki would make a great escort.
Haruka's mood visibly brightened.
At that moment, Haruki was deep in conversation at Kazanami Animation Studio when he received a sudden call from Haruka.
After a long debate ten minutes of back-and-forth he finally sighed and hung up.
He had refused at first. But once Haruka brought up all the times Airi had helped him, Haruki couldn't argue anymore.
In the end, he agreed to look after her during driving school at least starting from the second stage of training.
Why was getting a driver's license turning into a whole saga?
He'd already been dragged into it by Ryuko, and now Airi too? Was he some kind of designated driving school babysitter?
At least it was summer. His freshman year was over, and he didn't have classes. Between projects, he even had time to sneak in a game now and then.
Another week passed. chapter four and five of Initial D dropped.
chapter four still didn't feature the race readers were waiting for. Instead, it focused on Iketani recovering from his crash and realizing he wouldn't be able to participate in the Saturday battle.
When Iketani heard rumors that Keisuke Takahashi's FD had been beaten by a mysterious AE86, he traced the story to the gas station owner, Yuichi. From there, he made his way to the Fujiwara Tofu Shop and begged Takumi's father, Bunta, to race on Akina's behalf.
Bunta refused with a smirk, brushing it off as something for the younger generation.
Later, over drinks with Yuichi, Bunta made an offhand remark if Takumi managed to beat Keisuke, he just might take the car out with Natsuki on Sunday. Full tank included.
The implication wasn't lost on Yuichi. Nor on readers.
And while Takumi didn't say much, the subtle shifts in his expression made it clear he was thinking about it.
So when Iketani returned a second time to plead his case, Bunta gave a cryptic answer: "There's a 50% chance."
But once Iketani left, it was clear Bunta was quietly excited. Not because he planned to race himself, but because he already knew Takumi would.
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 55+ advanced chapters)
[TL:- Hey everyone! If you spot any grammar mistakes, just let me know. I proofread each chapter like three times, and honestly, I've got built in auto correction in my head from reading tons of bad translations — so I usually don't catch many errors. But if you see something, feel free to tell me!]