Spring arrives in earnest. The waxing sun drives the snow back into the mountains, freeing the grass below and painting a weary Sapporo green. Soon, pink will join the canvas as the sakura petals bloom. All about the city, anticipation lingers in the air—after the long, long winter, Hokkaido is ready to celebrate nature’s blessings with holidays and festivals aplenty. Indeed, the changing seasons will bring a great many things...
And Sami can’t help but wonder what this year has in store.
“Ahhh... It always tastes better outside.” Her warm cup of tea tickles her face, the brisk morning breeze sifting through her hair. She’s always enjoyed having her morning cup out on the patio... It gives her some time and space to herself.
Normally she’d take this time to try and clear her head—make sense of the conflicting thoughts running amok in her mind. These last few years have given her no quarter; she’s agonized long and hard over how to best navigate these treacherous straits. It’s forced her to rethink her perspective on both the company and her own pursuits.
Today, though, there is no conflict, no disagreement in her heart. She knows that her time in the driver’s seat is over. Whether she wanted her ride to end or not, she couldn’t outrun time forever...nor could she undo the choices that led Aikawa Auto to this point. Her leadership of the company leaves a complicated legacy behind—and perhaps more important than the decisions she made was the one decision she didn’t.
The new boss, the rising star, deserves to know.
“Well...no better time than now.”
Sami finishes her tea and makes for the old shop down the hill. Today, past meets future.
***
This lazy Saturday morning has Reina manning the shop by herself for the time being. It won’t be much longer until she’s back in the lecture halls, buried nose-deep in textbooks for her double major. To her, however, the school year still feels eons away—her mind is occupied by a slew of burning questions. Now that the rush of Yuzu’s Silvia project has worn off somewhat, Reina has to take the lessons she learned and translate them to future momentum...which is easier said than done.
(I’ve gotta get the ball rolling off of this... It can’t just be a flash in the pan. That won’t do us any good.)
Reina can’t deny that she’s been very, very lucky these past few months. Projects and clients have fallen into her lap at the perfect times, giving her momentum and helping her build confidence...but she knows the trend isn’t sustainable. At some point, the company has to start standing on its own two feet—or the tides of time will take them under and drown them for good.
What they need is a plan. Something to put them on the map in the same way that Clara did; something that taps the market niche they need. Reina knows that demand for performance products hasn’t simply disappeared—it’s just changed, and left Aikawa Auto behind in the process. It’s her job now to translate the success they found in the past, and carve out a foothold in this new market.
It won’t be easy, that’s for certain...but it’s the brightest path Reina sees. If she’s going to reach for the stars, that will have to be how she does it.
*DING!*
“Oh! Hey, Mom!”
“Morning!”
Sami offers Reina a welcome reprieve from the long stretches of nothing going on today. They’ll have Golden Week to contend with soon enough, but until then, the company is left to its own devices. That gives Sami as good a chance as any to share her thoughts with Reina—she’s been thinking about the future plenty herself.
“Slow day?”
“Yeah, not a lot going on. What brings you down here, though?”
“What, I need a reason? You’re telling me I can’t visit my one and only daughter out on the job? You’re so cold to me!”
“I... Yes, that’s exactly what this is.”
“Always such a dictator, I swear.”
Sami missed sassy Reina.
“In all seriousness, I did wanna talk to you about something. I can tell you’ve had a lot on your mind as of late—and I just figured I’d give you my two cents to try and help.”
“Ah... It was that obvious, huh?”
“Nothing gets by me, y’know~”
Sami joins Reina at the front desk, her own accolades staring down at her from their decorated back wall. She’s still proud of her accomplishments—and the spirit of that fiery young driver still burns inside of her. But over the last few years, she’s had to come to grips with some uncomfortable truths about herself... The trophies here in the shop remind her of what she had to leave behind in order to go chasing that dream.
“We’ve had it pretty good lately, what with the ski lift deal and Yuzu’s project...but from what I gather, you’re thinking about what happens next, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. If we wanna get back on the map, we need to find something more sustainable to do. I’m thinking about how to market what we have so we can reach the right people.”
Sami smiles. Reina’s always had that analytical eye... It makes Sami curious about what she truly wants to do with the shop—and with herself.
“This may sound a bit silly, but it just leads me to wonder: best-case scenario, we find a way to pull ourselves back up...what do you see yourself doing after you’ve got it made? What’s your dream for the future?”
“...Hm.” An angle she hasn’t considered much.
“I don’t really know how to answer that. I mean, the shop kinda is my dream. I want to make it all work—I want to live up to the example you and Grandma set, y’know? And I’m not doing it because I feel obligated to as your daughter... I’m doing it because I want to.”
“I just wanna have fun making cars and engines—and I want the shop to hit it big like it did back then, so I can do it as much as I want. That’s all I need, really.”
“Mm...” Reina’s dreams are a marked departure from her mother’s. Sami’s known this for quite some time, but hearing Reina voice her own perspective gives that last little bit of confirmation. She really does take more after Clara than Sami—she’s a gearhead to her core, driven by a deep devotion to anything and everything mechanical.
That distinction from her mother is what forms the crux of this juncture. It prompts Sami to take a deep breath and ask...
“So, what I wanna ask you is: do you feel like the shop lifts you up in reaching for that goal, or does it only weigh you down?”
Reina opens her mouth, but she has no words prepared. She isn’t sure what to say—nor is she certain what Sami expects to hear. On a surface level, certainly, the situation she inherited wasn’t great...but the shop means so much more to her than that.
“Well... I mean...” Reina stumbles. She feels like she has an answer in her head, but it’s harder to put into words than she thought it would be.
“...No. I do feel a weight here, but I’m happy to carry it.”
“I think it’s the least I can do to honor you and Grandma. This is a place where I can be myself—nowhere else gives me that kind of comfort. Nowhere else feels like home.”
“Maybe it’s just because this is the only ‘home’ I’ve ever known...but I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
“I want to be here. If that means carrying some extra weight, then...well, that’s fine by me.”
“...You’re a damn strong girl, Reina. I want you to know that.”
“Thank you...”
Reina appreciates the vote of confidence, but she still has questions about Sami’s angle. Her mom usually isn’t this introspective... It makes her think there’s something bigger on her mind.
“But...and I hope I’m not being insensitive, but what brought this on?”
“Well...”
Sami can’t beat around the bush much longer. She takes a look at that final picture on the wall—her final victory at Tokachi. This is something she’s wanted—needed—to get off her chest. It’s been bubbling deep in her soul for quite some time now, and if it will help Reina take the helm at all, then it’s worth telling her.
“...It’s not just the future lately. I’ve been thinking a lot about the past too. There’s an elephant in the room that I’ve needed to address.”
She pulls up a chair, sits down, and begins...
“I’ve always thought of myself as being stuck in two different worlds. I learned my mechanical chops from your grandmother, and I still hold the shop dearly...but deep down, I always had more of an interest in driving cars than building them.”
“When we were at our peak, it was perfect. You had the Road Runner in its prime, and I was tearing up the streets in that thing, touring circuits for time trials... That was the most I ever felt like this world was for me. Grandma Clara and I were a real good team.”
A trophy gleams in the corner of her eye.
“...But then along came Tokachi.”
“Did you...like that more?”
“I loved it.”
“All I’ve ever wanted to do is race. When Tokachi came a-knocking, I chomped at the bit and I never let go.”
“I didn’t think about what that said about me at all—and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have cared. The shop was still humming along, and I had no reason to do anything different myself.”
“But then...things started to change. When the company started to decline, I felt almost torn. I wanted to keep on racing, but Clara wasn’t getting any younger, and the shop’s prospects weren’t getting any brighter either.”
“That’s when I think the rift between the two worlds started to grow... I felt obligated to take over the shop, when really, I felt more at home on the track. I think I almost resented the shop, at that point...like it was just getting in the way of what I really wanted to do.”
Reina’s eyes gradually widen, stunned into silence. She’s never heard any of this from her mother before...nor would she ever have reached that conclusion about her. Perhaps she was just too young to read the writing on the wall back then...
“Grandma Clara and I... We had our disagreements, back in those days. She wanted me to take over and finish what she started...but I just wanted to keep on racing.”
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with the shop; I didn’t have an answer for the problems we were facing. I figured I could just leave it to her...but by then, she was in her 70s, and she was really starting to slow down.”
“Failing that, I thought I could at least have your father help navigate things, but...well...”
“Yeah...”
Reina takes a deep breath. She feels like the rose-tinted glasses are slowly lifting from her eyes... Those childhood memories were hiding something in the margins all this time, a problem she couldn’t see. Sami’s hesitance to embrace her directive as the company matriarch left them drifting at sea, with no clear destination in mind. By the time she finally stepped up and took the helm, it was too late: their longtime navigator was slipping away. With Clara’s eventual passing, Sami was lost.
“I couldn’t put all my heart into the shop like she could...so I kept coming back to Tokachi, year after year. I was already in my 40s, and racing was all I wanted to do with my life...so that’s all I did. Just chasing a dream well after it slipped away.”
“And in the process, I ignored my mother’s own dream...and my daughter’s.”
Reina sees the regret spreading across Sami’s face. She doesn’t want to blame her.
“I... Mom, no...”
“It’s alright, Reina. I’ve owed you this apology for a long, long time now.”
Sami’s heart jitters, her hands clammy. She’s always wanted to be a good role model for Reina to look up to, but the more she thinks about the past, the more she feels she’s inadvertently been an obstacle for the poor girl. Things could’ve been so much different if she stuck it out with Clara and her plan for the future...
“Deep down, I think I wanted to put my own dreams over the company. I wanted to be that hotshot racer soaking up the spotlight. I wanted to make a name for myself entirely on my own...but I was too scared to make the jump all the way. I still wanted to keep what I had at the shop...”
“...But that was never going to work. I was torn between two paths, and I just couldn’t make up my mind. I took Clara for granted—didn’t know what I had until she was gone.”
“All this could’ve been avoided if I had the foresight to plan for the future. If I committed to succeeding Clara proper... Instead, you’ve had to pick up the pieces I left on the floor. This shop hasn’t truly had a vision in years...and that’s my responsibility.”
“So, Reina... I’m sorry. I’m sorry for dealing you a bad hand... I’m sorry for making this so much harder on you than it ever had to be.”
“M-Mom...”
Reina gets up from her chair and gently hugs her mother. The two Aikawas share a silent moment together, emotions heavy in the air. Sami feels the weight of her past indecision bearing down on her...but for a brief moment, Reina’s embrace helps put her back at ease.
“You don’t have to apologize for anything... Everybody has their regrets. You still helped me so much growing up—without you, I might not even be here manning the shop.”
“It’s just... It’s just not fair to throw that all away and blame yourself for all our problems!”
“I know... But I felt like it was necessary to explain why the shop is the way it is...what you’re really going up against. Why there’s all this inertia working against you.”
Reina closes her eyes, taking a moment to formulate her answer...but deep down in her heart, she already knows what she wants to say. She pulls herself back a bit and stares her mother dead in the face.
“...I’ve come to accept it. This was never going to be easy for me.”
Sami’s breath briefly quivers. In the girl’s eyes, Sami sees a fire burning bright inside of her... A spark of determination.
She looks just like Clara.
“If I wanted my life to be easy, I could just turn my back on all of this and fit in like everyone else. Find some normal job, live a normal life and forget about everything you and Grandma did.”
Reina stands tall. Her heart is burning. This is who she truly is.
“But I don’t want that. You and Grandma are the people I look up to the most... You weren’t afraid to be yourselves. You did what you wanted to do. You carved your own path when everybody else wanted you to give up and fit in!”
“That’s the kind of person I want to be... I want to be like you!”
(Reina...)
In her mother’s conflicted eyes, Reina sees a woman who’s forgotten her own strength. She may have made her mistakes, but Reina doesn’t care about that; she cares more about the strength it took for her to chase that dream in the first place. That bright-eyed young girl saw her mother going out on the track and proving that people like her can reach the stars if they really, really try.
That’s the kind of drive that Reina wants. It’s about more than just inheriting the family legacy—more than just doing right by her grandmother. It’s about following in their example... Finding the strength they had, and reaching up to take her place in the world.
“I’m used to having it tough... You and Grandma never had it easy either. I might not be as good a mechanic as Grandma was...and I’m not the racer you are. But if I can do this, it’ll prove once and for all that I deserve to be an Aikawa.”
“I want to EARN that name—and if that means I have to work for it, then that’s what I’ll do!”
Sami has no counter. She can only look up at her daughter, with a maelstrom of emotions swirling in her old eyes. She remembers the indecision, the doubt that gripped her in the early days—and watching her struggle left Sami stricken with guilt. She started to question if it was right to throw Reina to the wolves like that...to make her climb that mountain.
...But climb she did. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Reina knows what she wants to be—and to her, it doesn’t matter how far down she starts her journey. She will reach the stars.
(...If only I could’ve had that strength back then.)
To see Reina’s determination, to hear the fire in her words... This is the true, rightful heiress to Aikawa Auto and its legacy. This is who Sami always wanted to be.
“C’mere.” Sami stands up herself, and pulls Reina in for another hug. That speech came straight from Reina’s pounding heart—and as the rush wears off, she feels her trembling just the tiniest bit. Sami wraps her arms tighter, gently patting her on the back.
“I know you’ve got it in you, sweetie... I believe in you.”
“Thank you...”
Mother and daughter share the moment just a little while longer. When they finally step back, Sami knows the time has come. Reina deserves to know the company’s best-kept secret... She may very well be the key to unleashing it.
“...I think it’s about time you learned about Clara’s last big plan, then.”
Reina cocks her head. “What do you mean?”
“It’d be easier to explain if I showed you.”
The memories come flooding back as Sami leads Reina up the stairs. All those nights agonizing over blueprints, all those discussions and debates in the darkest hours of the night... All left on the cutting room floor for Reina to inherit.
Clara watches from the wall, as she always does. She sees Sami and Reina making for the second floor, and the old library within. She sees that Reina is ready to take up the mantle, and carry on in her stead...
And once more, the stubborn old fox flashes her signature toothy smile.
***
Clara’s domain, the second floor, sits dormant as it has for years and years. In another time, this used to be her home away from home—quite literally, in fact, as sometimes she would work herself to sleep and pick the makeshift bed upstairs over the trek back to the house. It became a running joke when Reina would wake up for school in the morning and Clara would be conspicuously absent.
This puts it all in a different light for Reina now. The anticipation builds as they cross the hallway and reach Clara’s old library...where her final experiment lay dormant for years.
“Is this what I think it is...?”
“Most likely.”
There, in the back corner of the library where the light hesitates to reach, lies a dusty old shelf, its drawers kept under lock and number. Reina has never known what’s inside—and curious though she was, she never thought to peek inside. Sami had told her ages ago that it was simple miscellany, irrelevant to the rest of the library.
But no...
“You know the combo?”
“I do. Clara and I were in this cabinet a whole lot.”
Reina shuffles out of the way to give Sami some light to work with. She watches on, curiosity blooming on her face.
“1...1...1...7.”
“Wait, that’s...!”
“Yup.” Sami cracks a bittersweet smile. “Your birthday.”
“She really had high hopes for you... After I blew her off, she felt like you should be the one to finish this job instead.”
“...Thinking about it now, I can’t deny she was right.”
The cabinet slides open with a rusty whine. It’s hard to make out the details within its dark confines, so instead, Sami reaches in and pulls the contents from the cabinet, bringing them with her to the desk at the front. She holds a heavy, massive assortment of papers, all haphazardly pressed into binders. After an age in limbo, it’s all dragged back out into the light, and Reina can read its title for the very first time:
PROJECT STAR RIDER
99/01/27
“Whoa... What is this?”
“This was going to be Aikawa Auto’s magnum opus.”
Sami opens the binder to the first page, and immediately, Reina’s eyes widen: she’s met with extensive sketches for a car she doesn’t recognize. The more she sees, the more she puts the pieces together and realizes what this plan entails...
“I-Is this...?!”
“It is.” Sami takes a deep breath. “Grandma Clara had big plans for the shop back in the 90s. After all the work we did on cars of every shape and size, she decided she wanted to go one step further: she wanted to make her own.”
“These are all drafts and blueprints she worked on for years and years... She really put her heart and soul into this project. And I...” Sami can feel the shame weighing down on her.
“...I turned it down. I was too busy with my own life, my own dreams. We couldn’t agree on where the shop needed to go in the future—so instead, we just went nowhere.”
“That’s how this project came to be left behind... I don’t have the vision she did. Clara knew she was running out of time—and that she’d need someone to carry on her work past her eventual passing.”
“To her, there was only ever one girl for the job: you.”
“I...” Hearing the story shakes her. She always enjoyed working on cars with Clara, listening to her tall tales and high-octane stories. But to know that her grandmother had that much faith in her—to know that she entrusted this to her from beyond the grave—triggers a storm of emotions she doesn’t even know how to process.
“She wanted me to tell you when the time was right...when I was certain this was the path you wanted to take.”
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
“Grandma...” Reina takes a deep, shaky breath. It’s an incredible responsibility to bear, and Reina honestly has no idea if her fledgling skills will live up to the foundation Clara set...but all the same, it gives her a path she’s desperately wanted. If she can make this work...
“...Let me go ahead and read through this.”
“Of course. Take however long you want.”
Sami opens the door back to the hall, and prepares to excuse herself. She wants this to be something Reina takes in on her own—after all, this isn’t Sami’s project. It’s Clara’s...and Clara has decided that Reina is its rightful inheritor.
“What you choose to do with the project is entirely up to you. Clara trusted you... If you think this is what you need, then you have every right to make it all yours.”
“And as your mom, I’ll always be here to support you, every step of the way.”
“Thank you... I won’t let you down. I promise!”
“I know you won’t, sweetie. I believe in you.”
Just like that, silence returns to the library. Reina is left to her own devices...and at once, a blinding combination of curiosity and bittersweet nostalgia pour through her head. Before her lies Clara’s stillborn magnum opus—a project to bring Aikawa Auto into the future, left unrealized by its original architect... But now, with her late grandmother’s blessing, she has the mandate to bring it all together.
...She’s itching to dive in.
(This is it...! This is how I do it!)
Wasting not another second, Reina cracks open the dusty old grimoire and absorbs every single word. This has all the signatures of her grandmother’s handiwork—the contrast between comprehensive notes and haphazard addenda, the chaotic mix of Japanese and English, even the in-depth technical drawings accompanying nearly every part and piece of the build. It’s equal parts addicting and confusing—like finding out your favorite author has a book you never read. The details are completely different, but the way it’s all written is a dead giveaway that the same mind is behind it all...
And compared to the Big Book, Clara’s really stepped up her game. Reina didn’t think it possible for her grandmother’s notes to get even more meticulous, but somehow, she managed it—and that makes sense, now that she thinks about it: she knew she would have to pass this all along at some point. All this was written for the purpose of sharing that vision with her... It wasn’t written for just anybody.
It was written for her.
“She was really dead set on doing this...” The more she combs through the pages, the deeper the rabbit hole goes. Pages upon pages devoted to meticulous research, outlining the methodology behind every single component. After getting through the introductory sections of the project, she finally reaches the main course: the engine.
“It’s gotta be the 611, there’s no way she’d have anything else in this thing...”
At first glance, she’s correct: she sees the familiar platform of the Aikawa 611 staring at her in blueprint form. Codenamed the Bladerunner, it was developed all the way back in the 80s as the end-all, be-all king of the street. It’s what powers the Road Runner and many of its bestial brethren—and though it may be an old, outdated motor, its overwhelming power still makes it a formidable foe.
...But this is not the Bladerunner.
AIKAWA 611 Mk. IV- “OUTRUNNER”
2005 Revision
“What?!”
This is where the details diverge—and this is where Clara’s master plan unfurls before Reina’s eyes. Not content to rest on her laurels with the old Mk. III, Clara set to work developing her latest and greatest engine—a project so clandestine that the shop staff kept it hidden from her all this time. This motor is the sum of all her decades of automotive experience, working on cars and engines of every shape and size...and the dark magic on display is almost making Reina’s head spin. The first several pages go over the differences between the third and fourth generations of the 611 platform...
“...What the hell?! That’s genius!” It still has the body and soul of the Mk. III, but numerous updates and improvements have been made across the board; Reina didn’t even think it was possible to squeeze that much more optimization out of their platform. The notes tell this story of Clara being so dissatisfied, so hungry for more, that she challenged herself to pore over every iota of this new engine.
“I can’t believe what I’m looking at...! How did this never make it to production?! It looks all but finished!”
As Reina reads on, she finds out that the Outrunner has been in development since the 90s, constantly iterated and improved by Clara in a herculean one-woman job. No wonder she spent so many sleepless nights in the second floor—the sheer amount of work she put into this is absolutely staggering...
And yet, as Reina soon discovers, there was still so much work left to do.
“Oh... That’s why we never made it.”
Toward the end of the section, the gaps in the design become more and more apparent. Either Clara was losing her edge in her final few years, or she didn’t have enough time to make up her mind on a few key components, because the notes here leave some burning questions unanswered. As it stands, this puzzle is missing a few key pieces... It can’t just come out of the book and onto the production floor yet.
...But there is potential here.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting it to be easy.” Reina takes a deep breath and relaxes her eyes. “If I’m gonna make this work, I’ll have to fill in those blanks myself.”
It’s a tall order—an engine is a massive, meticulous machine. It demands perfect precision and an eye for both the big picture and the smallest of details. Perhaps a few months ago, Reina would conclude that the project just wasn’t meant to be... Doomed by its master architect coming up just short. But now...
“...Good. That’s exactly the kind of challenge I wanted.”
Bit by bit, she gets a better scope of the project and its problems—the pieces she’ll need to solve. She quickly realizes that cost is going to be another big hurdle here... From what she can gather in the notes, Clara intended to fund a prototype of this car entirely in-house, using cash reserves they had built up from the golden years. A plausible plan...but the world said no.
The 90s and the turn of the millennium were a difficult time for both the company and the wider Japanese economy. Sales dried up, and their stockpile shriveled... Faced with the prospect of turning to outside help for capital, the project ground to a halt. Deflation made investors too bearish to sign on, their cash itself being a better investment than anything they could fund with it. You just couldn’t convince anyone to greenlight a project like this...
So, they didn’t. Clara and Sami simply let the project be.
Now, in the wake of a global recession and with minimal cash saved up, Reina will have her work cut out for her. She’ll need a silver tongue, an airtight plan, and an investor willing to lend her their ears...and their coin.
“...I can think about how I’ll do that later. I wanna get through the rest of this first.”
The engine itself is only one part of this massive plan. By far the largest section of the notes cover everything surrounding it—the chassis, the body, the interior and all manner of other parts and pieces. This too is outlined in Clara’s trademark detail, but Reina notices that this part of the plan is even less finished than the new engine. Seems she ran her plans through a lot of consultants, experts and close contacts...which makes sense, of course. Clara had never designed a whole car before.
That neatly brings Reina to a series of meticulous sketches for the finished car—engine, body and all. All the hypothetical pieces come together to reveal Clara’s completed vision...and though it only exists on paper, it speaks to Reina in a language she knows all too well.
“That is a funky-looking thing...” Reina chuckles. “But it’s exactly how I’d expect Grandma to design a car.”
Critically, she finds there are actually plans for more than one configuration for the car itself—each suited for different engine displacements. Clara gave them all a theme for their tentative names: the Wind Rider as the smallest model, then the Sky Rider above it, and last, the behemoth Star Rider.
“This is wild... She’s got updated Pockets and 475 Sluggers in here too!” Their petite V6 and midsize V8 got a makeover as well. That’s a smart move on Clara’s part—the V6 always sold the best out of their engine models, despite not being their specialty. Having a car sized just right for it would go a long way for the financial viability of this project...
“She really thought this through. It’s a real longshot plan, but I totally see the logic behind it. I just need to get my foot in the door...”
Reina’s eyes are drawn next to a series of names accompanying all these sketches. These must have been contractors—without the tools to build the car herself, Clara would have had to strike a deal with an outside company to provide the frame and chassis. It looks like several companies were in the running, but in the end, Clara did make her choice. There’s one name circled in very thick pen:
Tetsukura Chassis, Kanazawa
“Tetsukura... This must’ve been the company she wanted. Well, that makes my life a lot easier! If she was already in contact with them, I might be able to get the ball rolling again.”
Reina starts taking her own notes to go with Clara’s exhaustive documentation. Already the gears are turning in her head, trying to piece the project together from the fragments left behind. She’s completely lost track of time now—and the fact that she was supposed to be on the clock handling customers. She doesn’t care. She’s so totally engrossed in this that nothing else registers in her mind.
“Okay, I think I’m getting close to the end here...” Clara’s behemoth compendium nears its end. After delving into technical minutia for some interior bits and auxiliary parts, she wraps up the Star Rider project with a list of contacts and collaborators—invaluable resources for Reina as she works to reverse-engineer the project. At last, she’s worked her way through the book...
But there are still a couple pages left. After flipping through the final directory page, Reina is met with something...different.
“What is this...?” The chaotic notes have briefly organized themselves in paragraph format. There, at the top of the page, the introductory line catches Reina’s eye:
To My Successor—Yes, You!
“I... Huh...?” Her voice quivers. For one fleeting moment, she hears her grandmother’s voice again, echoing inside her head. Clara saw this day coming; she pre-emptively wrote this for her granddaughter to discover. The closing passage of this book contains a message straight from Clara’s heart. Overcome with emotion, Reina begins to read...
Been a while, Reina! If you’re reading this, it means you’re ready to inherit the shop. Your mom’s been watching you closely, and I told her to fill you in when the time was right.
It also means I’m dead, which is a bit of a shame. I wish I could’ve worked on this together with you, but alas, your grandma’s runnin’ on fumes. To compensate, I poured everything I could think of into this book here—and I hope it helps you, if you decide to take this on.
I want you to know that I’ve always believed in you. You’ve had that love for machines ever since you opened your eyes. That’s not something you only have because of us—I don’t believe in natural-born talent or any of that mumbo jumbo. You could’ve been born to anyone else, and you would still shine just as bright.
Watching you blossom into a wonderful, passionate young woman has been the greatest joy of my life. I will always, always treasure the time we shared—and I know everyone else feels the same. Your mom and pop, and Grandpa Isamu too. We all love you, and we will always love you as long as we live. I’m so incredibly thankful to have you as my granddaughter. Don’t ever forget that.
I know you can do it, Reina. Believe in yourself, and take the wheel.
Love, Grandma Clara
“I... Grandma, I...”
Reina stains the final page of the book with her tears. She can’t stop herself from crying. The stillness of the library amplifies her quiet sobs...but all the same, she’s not alone here. Grandma Clara will always be there to guide her—her body may have passed on, but her spirit still burns bright inside the book. Reina will treasure it with her life.
“I love you... I love you too...” Reina croaks. For just a little while longer, she lets herself shed all this pent-up emotion, her heart heavy and her breaths trembling.
...Through all of this, she knows what she needs to do now. Her grandmother believes in her—everyone does. She bears a heavy weight on her shoulders, and she will walk with it bearing down on her for years and years yet...but Clara and everyone else will be there to lift her up, in body and in spirit. This is how she saves the company... This is how she earns her name as Reina Aikawa.
“...I’ve gotta do it.” Reina wipes the last of the tears from her eyes. She puts her glasses back on, her vision clear. The future beckons...and Reina will face it with everything she has.
“I promise, Grandma... I promise, I’ll make you proud!”
After hours of study, Reina emerges from the library, Star Rider book in hand. She bounds down the stairs and finds Sami waiting for her, having taken up the front desk in her stead. Her mother’s been thinking long and hard about how to support her—she can tell from how long Reina spent up there that her mind is already set.
“I’m sorry for keeping that from you for so long... I had to be sure it was the right time.”
“Don’t apologize one bit. I’m ready for this now.” Reina speaks with conviction. She doesn’t walk for walking’s sake anymore—she has a real, tangible goal to work toward now. She will be the one to spearhead the Star Rider project...and just as Clara intended, she’ll be doing it her way.
“But first: I wanna get Uncle Naoto and Old Man Takashi over here. I’ve got a lot of things I wanna ask them—and you too.”
“Of course. We’ll be right there with you.”
Reina’s mind is a whirlwind. Without skipping a beat, she reclaims the front desk and punches a familiar phone number into the shop’s phone. Sami takes the liberty of calling up Uncle Naoto; the other shop mainstay falls to her.
“Reina! What’s up?”
“I’ve got some big news! Hurry over here and let’s get down to business!”
“Sure thing!”
Reina hangs up just as soon as she calls. Old Man Takashi takes a moment to register what she could’ve been calling about...but once it clicks in his head, he grows a proud, knowing smile. It’s finally time.
“Heh heh... Been waiting a long, long time for this.”
***
In short order, the four-man band is assembled at the shop. To call Old Man Takashi and Uncle Naoto excited would be a severe understatement—they’ve both watched Reina come into her own as the shop’s head honcho. Under her leadership, Clara’s old pipe dream stands a very real chance of succeeding...and though she won’t be able to do it alone, they’ve been waiting to lend her their aid for years now. She’s finally ready, and so are they.
As the two of them walk through the door, they’re met by a confident Reina, standing tall with the old grimoire at her waist. That book might as well be the real key to the shop—it’s a symbol of her passion and desire to see the project through. Sami feels like the torch has finally been passed for good...and she welcomes her daughter’s leadership with open arms.
It’s time to get to work.
“So! Sami pointed me toward this old book, and from there, Grandma Clara brought me up to speed. I take it you all knew too?”
“Bits and pieces,” Uncle Naoto clarifies. “We were keeping things going day to day while she worked on the project in the background. From what I remember your mother telling me, she was getting close to a prototype until age caught up with her.”
“We sorta figured it’d be best to leave her to her own devices—she always loved doing things her way.”
“I can tell—I dunno if you’ve seen the schematics in this thing, but they’re downright diabolical. Did she tell you about the engine overhaul or no?”
“That much we did know. We were even getting in contact with fabricators for custom parts at one stage.”
“Good! Very good. I did find a lot of those contractors listed in the book here—I’m gonna work on retracing Grandma’s steps first, see if we still have in-roads with any of these companies. That should save me a lot of time.”
“That said...there’s still a lot of work left to do. She didn’t get to finish any of the new engine revisions—it’ll be up to us to fill in the blanks.”
“Yeah...” Sami ruminates on those myriad late-night discussions she had with Clara. Her own mechanical knowledge pales in comparison to the late head honcho; she wasn’t able to contribute much to the master plan.
As far as testing goes, however...that’ll be where she shines.
“It’s not gonna be easy... Funding is a huge issue, and there are a lot of question marks left in the blueprints. If I’m being honest, I may very well be biting off more than I can chew...”
Reina takes a deep breath.
“...But I’m not gonna back down. I’m gonna give this project everything I have, I promise you that—and I’m gonna get this prototype built if it’s the last thing I do!”
“We’re with you, Reina!”
“Hell yeah!”
Sami swells with pride. Reina’s really doing it now.
“So in the interim, what do you need us to do?”
“Good question...” Reina can’t deny that she’s constrained by time. She’s got school coming up soon, and on top of her day-to-day obligations at the shop, she won’t be able to simply drop everything to work on this project...
...Or will she?
“You know what? I don’t wanna be rash, but I’ve been weighing my options, and I think I’m gonna take a gap year for this.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Reina’s thought this through. “There’s nothing left for university to teach me right now. My business classes have given me some really good info on how to draft a plan and a budget; now I’ve gotta put those skills to work.”
Sami can’t argue with that. She always had a hint of skepticism regarding Reina’s choice to double major in mechanical engineering and business management...but it turns out Reina knew what she was doing all along. She knew exactly what she wanted to get out of university, and now her plan is paying off in spades.
“At some point, I wanna schedule a visit to Tetsukura Chassis too. They’re the company Grandma wanted to contract for building the unibody.”
“Right, yeah, that makes sense. Akito Tetsukura, he’s an old friend of Clara’s. He and the old gang go waaay back.” Many of Clara’s longtime friends were cut from the same cloth—all thrillseekers in the market for her performance parts. Tetsukura started his own business after tinkering with his friends’ souped-up street racers; he’s gotten very familiar with Aikawa powerplants as a result.
“And on the funding side...” Old Man Takashi begins his train of thought, before quickly abandoning it. He realizes that he should’ve thought twice before mentioning him...
“Yeah? I’m all ears.”
“Er, well... I just had second thoughts about this, but I’ve already blurted it out, so I can’t really walk it back now.”
“There’s another old acquaintance of Clara’s... His name’s Makoto Shibuya.”
Sami and Uncle Naoto’s eyes both widen.
“That’s...quite the deep cut.”
“Should I already know that name?”
“No, not at all. Shibuya was one of Clara’s very first customers—and he had a very keen business sense. After a couple years, he inked a contract to work as a distributor for Aikawa parts down in Kansai, and he was damn good at it.”
“...But around the time you were born, he and Clara had a big falling out.”
“Oh... I had no idea.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty. The end result was that we lost our biggest distributor—and we really struggled to get our footprint back in Osaka after that.”
“In some ways, we never did.”
(...Well, shit, I shouldn’t have opened my big, fat mouth, should I?)
Old Man Takashi lets slip an exasperated breath. He’s put himself in an awkward spot—as cantankerous as Shibuya may have been back then, he’s still a friend of his... The two of them came from the same neck of the woods, before either of them met Clara.
“I’m still in contact with him...and I want to believe time heals all wounds. He’s mellowed out a bit in his old age—I know for a fact he’s not the firebrand he used to be.”
“Do you know what he’s up to now?”
“Pretty sure he’s retired. He had a long stretch as an executive for some big car company, can’t remember which one...but he’s out now. If I recall, he lives somewhere down by Nagoya now.”
“I see... Well, you’d know him better than I do. I haven’t talked to him or even seen him for decades now.”
“Yeah... It’ll be a longshot, but he might be willing to hear you out. He’s got business sense, and he sure as hell knows how to fund a project.”
“Hmmm...” Quickly, this project is getting more and more complicated. It’s obvious to Reina that they’re going to have plenty of outside parties and contractors working on this—some of whom might need a good bit of convincing before they sign on.
“...Well, it’s as good a place to start as any. If you could contact him and forward him to me, I’d appreciate it.”
“You got it. Fair warning, though: he’s the old-fashioned type. He wants to see stuff in person before he makes up his mind on anything.”
“So I’m gonna need to head down there and talk to him myself?”
“Most likely.”
“That’s quite the trip... Sapporo to Nagoya’s a long flight.”
“Mmm...” The prospect of flying just rubs Reina the wrong way for some reason.
“Really, if I could drive it, though...”
“You’d really rather drive all the way down there?”
“You’re not still scared of flying, are ya?”
“I— No! I just like being in control, is all.” Reina blushes. Despite living and breathing machines, she never did get along very well with planes. Something about not being the one controlling them as they scream through the sky at 500 miles an hour just doesn’t sit right with her.
“And I hate those tiny-ass seats.”
“Okay, that’s fair.” They don’t know the pain of being over six feet tall.
“I’ve needed to give the Road Runner a proper service anyway—and this is as good an excuse as any to get that done.”
“Yeah, I remember you telling me you’ve always wanted to go on a road trip!” Now it’s making sense for Sami. “And if you don’t have school to worry about, you’ll have plenty of time for it!”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”
“Anything you wanna visit on the way there? It’d be a bit of a waste to drive all that way just for two business meetings. Might as well make it a proper vacation too, y’know?”
“I’ll have to think about that. I, uhh...” The more Reina thinks about potential stops on her trip, the more she realizes: there are a lot of places she’d love to see. And she’s really never had the time.
“...When was the last time I took a vacation, actually?”
The crowd blinks, followed by a round of lighthearted laughter. They’ve all been there—it’s hard to find the time to slip away when there’s always work to do. Usually they can at least remember their last trip, though.
“I-I’m serious! I really don’t know.”
“Always a workaholic, this one.”
“She’s just like her grandma.”
“Oh, lay off me, guys!” Reina joins in on the laughter.
“Seriously though: you’ve earned it. I mean, you’ve got Golden Week right around the corner! I think it’s a perfect opportunity to relax a little and get your business done.”
“If you’re gonna be down there, Fuji has that Super GT race they do that weekend. Suzuka might have something too—never hurts to look!”
“Come to think of it, Yuzu’s gonna be at Fuji, isn’t she? For her F4 race.”
“Oh yeah, you’re right! I might even be able to visit her down there!”
“Well, sounds like a plan, then!”
“Yeah—just as long as you guys are okay with me skipping town for a week!”
“Aww, of course! Again: you’ve earned the right to a little R&R after all that hard work.”
“We’ll be around to keep the lights on while you’re gone. You just do what you gotta do!”
Reina’s face alights. She’s so incredibly thankful to have her mom and the others here with her—come what may, they’ve always got her back. Now she’s more resolved than ever to hit the ground running and take care of business; it’s the least she can do to repay them for all their help.
“Thank you...! Thank you so much!”
Reina takes a deep breath... This is really happening. The future is hers to take.
“It’s settled, then! Let’s get this project off the ground once and for all!”
“YEAH!”
Sami sees her daughter’s shining face, her big plans for the future, and she struggles to hold her emotions back. Her little girl’s all grown up now...and even with the unlucky hand she was dealt, she’s still found a way to thrive here at the forlorn shop. She knows the shop is in good hands with her behind the wheel...
And that reminds her of a promise she made herself, all those years ago.
(Oh, that’s right! There was one more thing!)
When Reina was ready, Sami was to give her one more family heirloom. In her mother’s view, she’s more than earned it.
“Actually, while we’re on the subject: I’ve got something I want to give you, Reina.”
“You do? Really?”
“Yeah. It’s back at the house. I saved it until you were ready...and I think now’s finally the right time for it.”
Sami picks up the keys to the old Road Runner, and starts toward the door. “Let’s go ahead and pick it up, yeah? I’ll drive.”
“Okay!”
Uncle Naoto and Old Man Takashi watch as the Aikawas take their leave. They remember that promise too... The promise of a new era.
“Is it what I think it is...?”
“Oh yeah. Positive.”
“Heh heh.” Uncle Naoto feels the nostalgia. “Yeah... I’d say she deserves it now.”
***
There’s a lot of history written in the walls of this little corner house... Every brick, every plank, every drawer and cupboard a chapter in a story three generations long. Isamu and Clara hadn’t expected it would last this long, but as the years wore on, and their family grew around them, it just never felt right to leave. They already had everything they needed right there at home.
Though Isamu and Clara may be gone, their spirits live on in the form of scattered keepsakes and mementos. Isamu’s well-worn rocking chair, Clara’s little home office... This was their house, and it hasn’t changed much at all from when they were living in it.
Sometimes Sami can’t help but feel conflicted about that. She knows it’s best they move on, but like with the company, the impact her parents left can still be felt everywhere she looks. It doesn’t feel right for her to go changing things to suit her own whims...
...But perhaps that’s why Reina is the boss now. She understands.
“Right over here.” Reina doesn’t come into her mother’s room all that much. There isn’t really a reason to...until today.
“There was one more thing your grandma wanted you to have. I promised her I’d keep it safe here until the time was right.”
There’s one heirloom that’s always meant more than the others—a symbol of Clara’s rebellious spirit, her confidence in herself. You can often see it in pictures of her from the company days, completing her frame and telling you the story of a girl who never says no.
Now, Sami brings it out of its lonely drawer. After years tucked away, it’s ready for the new head honcho.
“Is that...?!” She peers inside, eyes wide in surprise.
“Yup.”
“Grandma’s jacket!”
She loved that old thing, and so did Sami. She wore that jacket to many of her biggest street outings. But as the years wore on, and Sami’s career turned away from the open road, Sami shed the jacket for her racing uniforms—and she never really went back. She couldn’t bring herself to put it back on after Tokachi... She felt like it would only serve as a comparison to Clara.
But she has a feeling it’ll look a lot better on her daughter.
“I... There’s no way I can take it!”
“Oh, don’t be down on yourself like that. This is what Clara always wanted... I think the only thing she wanted more was to see you wear it herself.”
“Are you sure...?” Reina really doesn’t know what to say. That jacket is so synonymous with who Clara is... Does it really belong to her?
“Why don’t you put it on and see?”
“...Okay. I’ll give it my best shot.”
“It’s not a job, you goofball!” She can’t help but chuckle—Reina clearly ascribes a lot of weight to this. “Just be yourself.”
It still looks like it did back then...if perhaps a little weathered. The Aikawa logo on the side has faded from age, and the leather doesn’t glisten quite as bright as it did back in the day, but it’s still unmistakably Aikawa. Sami helps Reina put it on, and directs her to the mirror in the room...
“O-Oh...!”
She likes how she looks... She really likes how she looks. The jacket doesn’t fit her quite like it did Clara... Her taller frame leaves it higher up on her waist—and she certainly won’t be able to zip it up, either. But somehow, some way, it suits her perfectly. It covers her in a familiar shade, while leaving her colors beneath exposed.
“See? I’d say it looks perfect on you, wouldn’t you say?”
“It does. It really does...!”
Now that the nerves are wearing off, Reina feels the weight of the jacket lightening on her shoulders. It doesn’t feel quite so big anymore... She’s already getting used to it. It just feels so right.
“I know you’ve got what it takes, sweetie... When you set your mind to something, you always find a way of getting it done.” Sami lays her arm across Reina’s shoulders.
“Now you go out there and show the world what you’re made of, yeah?”
A beatific smile blooms on Reina’s face.
“Yeah.”
With that, Reina takes a fateful step on her long and winding journey. Guided by her grandmother’s timeless wisdom, she charts a course in a bold new direction—one that, succeed or fail, will change the fate of Aikawa Auto. She will spearhead the project from start to finish, using her mechanical chops and her business savvy to steer the company into parts unknown. Reina knows she has her work cut out for her...but she welcomes it with open arms. That only makes it all the more worth working toward.
The broken clouds above have parted just long enough to give Reina one good shot at the stars... Now, the time has come to show the world what she’s made of.
Project Star Rider begins now.