Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

As the Smoke Clears #4 in Rivalry Series	By : kurahieiritrJIO Category: +G to L > Initial D Views: 2672 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Initial D, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-As the Smoke Clears
- 2-Smoke 2
- 3-Smoke 3
- 4-Smoke 4
- 5-Smoke 5
- 6-Smoke 6
- 7-Smoke 7
- 8-Smoke 8
- 9-Smoke 9
- 10-Smoke 10
- 11-Smoke 11
- 12-Smoke 12
- 13-Smoke 13
- 14-Smoke 14
- 15-Some 15
- 16-Smoke 16
- 17-Chapter 17
- 18-Smoke 18
- 19-Smoke 19
- 20-Smoke 20
- 21-Smoke 21
- 22-Smoke 22
- 23-Smoke 23
- 24-Smoke 24
- 25-Smoke 25
- 26-Smoke 26
- 27-Smoke 27
- 28-Smoke 28
- 29-Smoke 29
- 30-Smoke 30
- 31-Smoke 31
- 32-Smoke 32
- 33-Smoke 33
- 34-Smoke 34
- 35-Smoke 35
- 36-Smoke 36
- 37-Smoke 37
- 38-Smoke 38
- 39-Smoke 39
- 40-Smoke 40
- 5
- 6
- 7
CHAPTER 6

Matsimoto was looking over the silver Mercury Cougar Eliminator sitting in the barn styled garage when Ryosuke found him. It had been three days since Samantha's conversation with Martonelli. Everyone remained deeply concerned about the police harassment at her garage. Etsuya was working there to repay his debt to the Singing Wolf family, and nothing would change his mind.

"Can't stay away from cars, despite medical orders, can you Matsimoto?" Ryosuke asked as he leaned against one of the swing doors.

Looking back at him, Matsimoto smiled. "Guess motor oil's in my blood. It's not easy for me to sit around."

"Don't strain yourself before you're fully healed, Matsimoto."

"I won't, Ryosuke san. Know the story on this car? It's been in a bad wreck. Looks like a roll over."

"Hai. Sammy san has a very reckless cousin. She skidded over a cliff face and collided with a boulder. Both rolled down the slope. Until Mitra gets her casts off, no one is allowed to repair her car."

"Dangerous lifestyles seem to run in Sammy's family." Matsimoto answered.

"Obviously."

"You don't approve of her, do you, Ryosuke san?"

Looking at Matsimoto, Ryosuke considered his question. "Samantha isn't the same onna we met in Nihon, Matsimoto. She's prone to extreme temper, curses incessantly, and becomes very unpleasant without any warning. It's hard to be comfortable around such unstable behavior."

Matsimoto nodded. "It's probably all the stress she's under. The kēsatsukan from the Howell family harassing her is wrong, Ryosuke san. She's also acting as our body guard every night. If the authorities are right about that slaver seeking revenge at some point, how can we blame her for being so moody?"

Knowing the mechanic had a valid point, Ryosuke nodded and changed subjects. "Have you called Tsuzune recently, Matsimoto?"

"She didn't handle my disappearance very well. To be honest Tsuzune was mad about my joining Project D long before that happened. We talked twice while I was in the hospital. She told me she couldn't cope any longer, and wanted to call everything off. I agreed because she was so upset."

Ryosuke stared at the other man. Recovering, he shook his head. "Sumimasen for bringing up such a painful subject."

Matsimoto shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Marrying Tsuzune was my ryōshin's idea. Honestly, I'm relieved that Tsuzune wanted out. Now she can have the life she wants."

"I thought you were genuinely fond of your fiancee. Still, it isn't surprising that you were entering into an arranged marriage. I wonder naze we go along with family expectations in this century." Ryosuke said.

"Tradition. It's easier to make others happy. I admire Keisuke san because he's got the kind of strength needed to stand against traditions he doesn't like."

"Keisuke caused himself numerous problems because he was so spoiled, Matsimoto." Ryosuke pointed out.

"He's true to his goals despite everything he has to face. Society can't knock him back into the ranks, unlike the rest of us. Your onīsan even told the public he's in love with Fujiwara without giving any apologies. He blew his chance at the pro circuit because of saving minasan the way he did too. That takes serious chops, Ryosuke san." Matsimoto spoke while investigating the American antique further.

"True. Keisuke won't compromise where Fujiwara's concerned. I've never known Keisuke to take anything, or anyone so seriously. It's the first time I've seen him consistently pick up after himself without a fight. He insisted on keeping Fujiwara from cleaning before his leg healed."

"Keisuke san said he'd do anything to keep Fujiwara when he told us about being in love with Fujiwara at Akagi the night he canned Arai. It seems he's serious, Ryosuke san. I'm sure he made concessions for his previous girlfriend also. It's normal to accommodate our loved ones through compromises."

"iie, Matsimoto. Keisuke never made concessions for Michiko, or Akiho. If anything, he was rather detached, and demanding with both of them. It never bothered Keisuke that Michiko had affairs while they were together. He knew about her lovers. Keisuke tried to force Akiho to change also. She had a dangerous mental illness so that back fired badly."

"Si I've heard. Still, I don't understand naze you're telling me this, Ryosuke san." Matsimoto stood, walked closer, and leaned against a work table as he spoke.

"I suppose it's because there's been a drastic difference in Keisuke's attitudes since he fell for Fujiwara. Watching him choose to change and accommodate Fujiwara's personality is still a shock. I figured Fujiwara would stand up to Keisuke as needed. But, I never expected his influence to be so positive. His presence stopped Keisuke from acting spoiled."

"Hm. Do you think Keisuke san understands how vicious Fujiwara is when he's genuinely angry, Ryosuke san?" Matsimoto clenched his hands on the rough wood of the bench he leaned against.

"Keisuke mentioned that he doesn't want to push Fujiwara into any corners. He knows that he's with someone that can, and will stand up to him, Matsimoto. Keisuke has a strong sense for his opponents."

"Maybe. I doubt Keisuke san could accept he's looking at Fujiwara if he had seen him at the compound though, Ryosuke san. Fujiwara was a demon in that place. I'm afraid of Fujiwara now that I know how violent he gets." Matsimoto's expression seemed haunted.

"That was a very extreme situation, Matsimoto. You shouldn't be afraid of Fujiwara because you don't plan to hurt others. In fact, Fujiwara has agreed to be Keisuke's life partner. Since our downhill specialist doesn't undertake anything lightly, I doubt Keisuke will ever see Fujiwara in the way you witnessed."

"I hope you're right. Anyway how do we pay for our room and board around here? I'm a little confused about the rules." Matsimoto changed the subject.

"We pick up certain types of groceries to ease the financial burden without disrespecting Twylah san's traditions. She doesn't believe in insulting people by refusing useful gifts. Etsuya's choice to work for Samantha helps more than you may realize too, Matsimoto. It has increased the volume of repairs for her business. Kenta, Hiroshi, and I have been repairing fences and other things to help around here. One of Twylah's full time employees shows us how to fix things and then let us get things done."

"How much food do we buy for the household, Ryosuke san?"

"Not nearly enough, but if we bought more we'd insult Twylah, Matsimoto. Picking up items that Twylah won't purchase for herself is as far as we dare go. The pies we're eating come from the fresh fruits that she wouldn't purchase due to budgetary concerns. The same for the fruit slices each morning." Ryosuke answered with a smile.

"We should pick up more than that." Matsimoto sounded reproachful.

"There's a fine line between gratitude, and insult with the Native American culture. Picking up fruit and heavy whipping cream that Twylah adores, but won't purchase are gifts of honest appreciation to her. Filling her pantry and refrigerator is another thing. Samantha's aunt appreciates the take home meals we purchase every week to give her a break. That's the reason we continue to do that weekly also."

"She's feeding all of us. If we buy our food, I'd feel better about being here. As things stand, we're an obvious burden to this household. It's obvious that these people aren't wealthy. They can't afford to feed us for long, Ryosuke san." Matsimoto protested.

The heavy bass tones of the A. A. R's engine kept him from answering. Seeing the mid gray primer coated vehicle shoot up the driveway and slam to a slippery halt near the garage doors warned Ryosuke that their hostess was in another snit. She did not disappoint as her door flung open. Etsuya looked equally angry as he got out of the passenger side.

"Shut the Hell up! If it wasn't for agent Rockwell backing me, you'd be in a jail cell waiting to get deported, baka!" The furious female snarled as she slammed her door.

Etsuya snapped as he closed in on her at the front of the car. "Can't you understand it's time for you to stop these kēsatsukan from causing trouble at your business? You have to do something about them, Sam! Their relative broke laws and payed for his crimes. So naze do you refuse to stop them with help from your government friends?"

"Standing up before these kēsatsukan cross the line is a waste of precious money I don't have, Etsuya. You interfering today was an asinine stunt. They're still the law even if they are as crooked as a gnarly branch."

Ryosuke found himself shaking his head slightly with a stern look at Matsimoto before the other man began interfering. Samantha's dark expression was a clear warning that it was past time to change the subject. Whatever Etsuya had done had caused Samantha problems. "Etsuya, go get cleaned up before Twylah finishes the evening meal."

"Fine, Ryosuke san. But I'm not going to stand by and watch those jerks get by with this crap any longer. They've gone too far!" With a darkly belligerent look at him, the blond haired mechanic whirled and stalked toward the bunk house. Ryosuke noticed his hands remained balled at his sides as he left.

"Gomen for whatever trouble Etsuya caused, Sammy san. I'm sure he was only trying to help you." Ryosuke apologized as he faced the livid woman.

"Getting in Deputy Howell's face damned near landed him in jail today, Ryosuke. I told him the rules so he knew to keep his mouth shut. I had to call the Federal agent that's keeping tabs on your team to calm things down. Rockwell vouched that I'm playing body guard by request of your government. That forced Howell and the others to back off. Etsuya got damned lucky today!"

"I have a feeling there's more to this situation." Ryosuke replied.

"Damned straight there is! Etsuya painted a big bright red bull's eye target on his ass! Howell's a real bastard, Ryosuke. He'll find a way around the regs . . . if he can. That's the way he works. I can't have Etsuya at the garage any longer. Gomen, but seeing him get nailed on false charges is a risk I'm not willing to take!"

Matsimoto jumped into the conversation. "Nani? I thought Etsuya was working at your shop to help offset our expenses, Sam?"

Ryosuke noticed that Hiroshi and Kenta were close enough to hear Matsimoto's alarmed question. Both stepped up to their small group beside the antique car she drove looking nervous.

"You've done plenty to earn your keep. Twylah approves of everything you men do. Ryosuke, you, Kenta, and Hiroshi have made a huge difference by picking up hammers and learning carpentry basics from Chappy. To Twylah and me, that's worth more than gold. Chappy says all of you did a respectable job of patching the porch. He don't give compliments without damned good reason. All the painting, and replacing the rotten wood slats in the paddocks were projects none of us had time to get done. Your team even got the hanging swing put back together. Twylah loves that swing. Before a Sonoran micro burst put a tree limb through it, and the porch roof four years ago, she sat outside every evening and watched the bats and night hawks. Fixing it and hanging it up again means lots to my aunt, minasan."

"Ah, it was nothing, Sammy chan. We know how busy minasan is all the time. We were just trying to keep ourselves busy." Hiroshi answered, face flushing.

She chuckled. "Everything you've done to stay busy has saved Twylah a bundle of money. Hiring a carpenter to fix the porch and paddocks would've cost several thousand American dollars. Keep that in mind next time you start worrying about the piddling things like food. You've done a bang up job of impressing Twylah. My aunt's a hard nut to crack. Even if you don't know English so she can't tell you how she sees things, I do get told that you're all fine men."

"Domo for the kind words, Sammy chan." Kenta answered. Samantha nodded and walked up to the kitchen doorway. She pushed into the house as the rest of them trailed after her retreating form.

Matsimoto asked softly, "Any ideas on how we can ease her mind after whatever Etsuya did today?"

"I haven't a clue." Ryosuke answered ducking into the wash room and closed the door.

Samantha laughed bitterly as she splashed water over her sudsy hands. "Don't bother trying to cheer me up. It won't work."

"I don't understand, Sammy chan." Matsimoto kept her talking.

"It's a complicated can of worms. Rockwell will keep tabs on Etsuya so Howell can't do anything too drastic to him, so you don't need to worry about him."

"Would you be willing to explain more about tribal ideology, Sammy chan?" Hiroshi asked as he led the way into the living room. He sat forward on the couch looking quite interested in another cultural lesson.

"Naze not?" She answered as she dropped onto the floor next to the coffee table. "The Federal Government classifies tribes in two basic categories with lots of little politically correct sub headings. The two categories are civilized tribes and non civilized tribes. The civilized tribes are tribes that had agriculture and animal husbandry with semi to permanent home settlements when the Europeans arrived. Non civilized tribes were nomadic. Their way of life depended on hunting and wild food foraging which kept them constantly moving. Some nomadic tribes raided the agricultural tribes to supplement their food stores as they followed the herds. The government decided many of those tribes were fundamentally vicious. You understand the difference so far?"

"Hai." Hiroshi answered as Kenta and Matsimoto nodded.

"The neighboring reservation is home to a peaceful, or agriculturally oriented tribe. Otosān and Twylah's tribe is from the nomadic class. Peace is just a pretty word that means weak to their specific tribe. Otosān's people made an art form of raiding other tribes for centuries. They evolved into this country's version of the ancient Vikings."

"Matte. Aren't the Vikings the groups that raided and pillaged all over Europe? If I recall my history classes they were quite brutal and kidnaped onnas as well as took anything they wanted." Hiroshi added.

"Hai. That's correct. Aunt Twylah's tribe is considered to be pretty extreme when compared to the majority of non peaceful, nomadic tribes though."

"How so, Sammy san?" Kenta asked with a tilted head.

"The old ways can be fanatical. Some beliefs were embraced during the Indian Wars with the newly established American government. Minasan that isn't from their specific tribe has a very different ideal of how life works. All three divisions of the Apache people hate the other two tribes. They refuse to believe people of any outside tribe is truly human even if they're also Apaches. That's a cornerstone of the culture. Each tribe is fanatical about saving their culture and people. They were among the last tribes the American government forced into submission in the Indian Wars. Even after the main tribe got settled on reservations, warriors escaped and went on killing sprees."

"Naze would they do that?" Ryosuke found himself asking.

"The tribe has a cultural view that fully condones killing non tribe peoples. Outsiders are not human, . . . remember? If a hunter wanders onto one of the reservations and kills a deer during hunting season, that hunter's getting beaten badly if nothing else. In tribal eyes, he's stealing their only real Kami Sama ordained food. Hunters and fishermen are warned to get permits to be on all three reservations for that reason. Never antagonize one of Twylah and Otosān's people. They've been pushed hard to change their ways and aren't happy about uninvited guests. If you get the tribe's permission to hunt or fish on their lands, you won't be harmed. If you do it without their permission, you'll pay a heavy price if they catch you."

"Kami sama, how can they get by with that?" Matsimoto blurted out.

"All tribes can arrest and charge poachers. Beating's a fairly normal punishment for poaching among some of the tribes. It's not so different from the public caning that happens in Asian nations. The tribe keeps the deer or fish meat for their needs with the federal government's blessing. Hunting and fishing on reservation lands requires a different permit for a reason. Tribe reservations are all that they have left that they can still call their own. There's not a scrap of give in some of the tribes when it comes to defending the last land they can claim. They lost a whole continent worth of land in the eighteen hundreds to a superior armed foreign invasion. Some still feel threatened when outsiders don't respect their tiny toe holds on the land they love so much. Most aren't like that, but there are a few exceptions."

"Twylah said you're considered white to the tribe, yet your otosān said you practice the tribe's warrior code which makes the White government angry when I returned to Nihon with you recently. How does that work, Sammy san?"

"To their tribe, a half blood like me is never considered truly human, Ryosuke. A few white men in the later eighteen hundreds did horrible things to the tribes. Attacking onnas, kodomo, and elders in their homes when the braves were off fighting other white soldier units is just the beginning of the bad blood that my family's tribe still keenly remembers. Doesn't matter that it was a handful of soldiers that did such things. Some tribes started doing the same things trying to stop the settlers from coming west in increasing numbers. Frenchmen taught the tribes how to scalp white men and women for needed trade items. The fighting continued to escalate until some tribes still hover on the brink of extinction because of the Indian Wars. A few tribes united into a single reservation area just to keep their remnants alive. Those are farther east. The larger nations were forced to territories like Oklahoma and here."

"Did Twylah san and your otosān leave the reservation to protect you because you're half white, Sammy chan?"

"iie, Kenta. Federal government officials enforce certain laws hard enough that Tribal Elders make sure the people obey them. Instead of killing tradition breakers, the whole family may get kicked off reservation lands permanently. Otosān committed an unpardonable sin against the tribe when he married my okāsan so he's not welcome on the reservation. Okāsan's Viking heritage made her seem more human to otosān. He went oversees frequently so it wasn't like he had opportunities to marry a tribal onna anyway."

Samantha lit a cigarette as Hiroshi shook his head. "Couldn't he have married inside his tribe and then taken his spouse with him to his posts?"

"Like I said, my family comes from the most extreme case of nomadic tribes. There are plenty of tribes that don't mind half blood children, or even quarter bloods, minasan. Those tribes look at every individual specifically before making any judgements about their humanity. All judgements are based upon whether a non native person treats tribal laws, culture, and customs with genuine respect. Those that do show genuine respect might just get adopted as a tribal member in some cases."

"But you just said that your tribe beats outsiders for coming onto the reservation. I don't understand the difference. Aren't all Native Americans the same?" Kenta scratched his head as he questioned Samantha.

"There are only about a dozen tribes that fear or truly hate outsiders. Most tribal peoples don't believe in nursing grudges that are rooted in the past. My family comes from one of those isolated tribes that does. Only one of the three Apache Nations is that way. The problem is that they're given plenty of reasons to keep nursing their hatreds. Poachers that sneak onto the reservation instead of getting the right documents to be there is one of the biggest problems. Too many outside people refuse to respect their beliefs, customs, and culture. Selling knock offs of their sacred icons makes things worse. Sacred isn't supposed to be sold. There are tribes that agreed to make lesser sacred items for sale to the main continental nation. Others flat hate it when they see sacred items turned into cheap trinkets for an outsider's household. Different tribes have different languages also. That always gets ignored by outsiders. There is a somewhat common trade language, but it isn't any one tribe's true language. It's a mixture of a number of languages. Most assume that an Apaches speak fluently to an Iroquois without having to learn another tongue which is an outright lie."

"Naze would your Otosān marry someone outside of his tribe if he knew it would cause potentially life threatening danger for his kodomo?" Matsimoto asked.

"Okāsan seemed human enough that he thought she could understand and accept his tribal ways. Otosān was working for the Federal government and often went oversees. His tribe's onnas flat won't leave the reservation . . . if they can help it. For all my otosān lives many of the oldest warrior ways of his tribe, he learned some very unpopular ideas that he won't compromise now. Twylah's the same way. They decided all people should be dealt with as individuals to determine their amount of true humanity. They took the same road that the majority of tribes take about outsiders. Actions alone should determine who is, or isn't human to them. The past means nothing with that kind of philosophy. The long dead alone can be blamed for the wrongs done in the same past is a common tribal thread. Most reservation people that my family knew fear losing their culture if they accept that route, so they aren't open to that ideal. The Elders foster that fear on some reservations."

"So they were banned from the reservation before your otosān met your okāsan. You weren't born on the reservation at all." Ryosuke spoke up with a flash of insight.

"You got it. Twylah and Russell learned the idea of individual's actions determining humanity from their otosān. Ojīsan worked for forty seven years as a United State's Marshall's tracker. He came to deeply respect a white man tracker that lived by an honor code he could accept, and even admire. Ojīsan championing an outsider led to his getting kicked out of the reservation by the Elders who did not want him making a blood onīsan oath with a white man. Otosān left with him. They moved far enough away to be safe from the tribe, and never looked back. Twylah stayed with Obāsan until she died." The woman stood and stretched like a cat after crushing her cigarette butt in the ashtray.

"But I've always heard that this country has laws against prejudice. Aren't the tribe leaders expected to follow those laws too?" Etsuya asked with obvious unease as he stood inside the dining room doorway looking in on the conversation.

"Who the hell knows whether the Federal regulations are meant for the reservations also, . . . or not? To my otosān's tribe, I'm white because of Okāsan. I don't have the right to know their ways. Tribal elders have been far more vicious to me than any white person outside of my white ojīsan, and the Howell family. I did spend a couple of summers on the reservation before Twylah got fed up with the harassment I survived and packed her things. She took over this place from my otosān who bought it as a permanent place to live."

"They need to be dealt with, Sam. Those men with Howell are deranged." Etsuya shot back with unaccustomed heat in his voice.

"Deputy Howell was so panicked that night, I can't hold his actions against him. He didn't deserve the punishment he got. His onīsan's no different from my Apache relatives that can't let go of the past. I couldn't stop it from happening or I would have. The Howell's need someone to take their pain out on. His onīchan was too young, and clueless, Etsuya. His cousin and Aniki are petty bakas that don't know any better but come after me because I was the excuse the Feds used to ruin a young man's life. The elders are exactly the same. To them, breeds are filthy, untrustworthy beasts that don't deserve to breathe air just like the Howell family thinks. I'm used to it so shut up about how I should handle this!"

"They went too far today. Before it was only yelling and threats. They tore your office up, and slammed you into the filing cabinet. They won't stop if you don't do something about them, Sam. Even Alfonso said you needed to turn them in today. You need to listen to your mechanical staff before people get seriously injured!"

"When they cross the wrong line and hurt anyone other than me, I'll put out the money to stop them, Etsuya. I can't afford to squander a penny before I have to. Howell and his buddies are mild compared to the tribe's abuse when I was little. Getting shoved into a metal file cabinet's nothing." Sam snapped as she flung her arms up in exasperation.

Etsuya nodded slowly. "You do have a lot of scars. You've been treated very badly. It's obviously made you quite wary and even a bit cruel."

Sam was pacing the floor again. "Very true. Got some of these scars from the bandits, the tribe, and my white ojīsan's clan. Look, prejudice goes both ways in my case. To my white relatives, I'm an Indian that should know and live by all kinds of tribal customs. I don't fit within their ideals because some tribal ideas rubbed off on me, Etsuya. Respecting all things, even rocks because they're just a different type of life is one of the things I learned when I was little. Would I like something much bigger than me coming along and dragging me out of my family and throwing me around carelessly, especially if I could never return to the familiar place I called home? Well, iie is the answer. Then naze would a rock appreciate having that very thing getting done to it? That's the type of logic that rules most Native American cultures, including Twylah and Otosān's. My white relatives look at rocks as being dead things that they can do with as they please. They don't want to understand that some people believe all things have a kind of soul for a lack of a better word. That's one of the reasons otosān and Twylah's tribe hates them so much. The tribe also hates people that keep taking more than they need to live a decent life. Greed is the biggest affront of all."

"Like the car not wanting to work for an owner so it gets parked in the yard until the person it wants to serve shows up, you mean." Kenta tossed into the conversation. Samantha grinned and nodded.

"Hai. You're getting the problem with making a genuine connection to a purely spiritually driven culture, Kenta. As to the white half of my background? That side believes some pretty outrageous bull shit stories about how tribal people live. I just want to strangle them over their arrogance and ignorance. Nothing I say gets through because they want to believe Native Americans are ignorant if noble savages. I never embraced the Christian religion which makes them even more stubbornly adamant to ignore anything otosān or I say in our own defense. A lot of their insane stories come from churches that degrade shamanic beliefs as satanic. I'm just superstitious or unbelievably dumb for accepting the concept of respecting everything's right to exist, whether it's a rock, or a tree, or a car. To make matters worse, movies have made bogus crap into some kind of hard wired belief that has little to do with reality. So the original mistaken ideas have completely permeated other nationalities' ideas about all the tribes."

"How do you think movies have prejudiced other nationalities?" Matsimoto asked with genuine interest.

"Do you have any idea how aggravating it was to be the only Native American in an East Coast boarding school? The other students were all rich, and believed the movies they'd seen. Have any of you ever seen a feather in my hair? I got sick of being asked how many of them I wore whenever I was at home. They wanted to know the size of the teepee I lived in." Wheeling Samantha stalked back across the living room while her hands gestured in jerky motions. Her tirade had gotten louder as she vented an obviously long standing, and deep rooted anger. "Does this ranch house look like it's made out of a pyramid of long poles and buffalo hides to you? Wrong tribe all together. The Sioux used teepee. They are in North Dakota, not Arizona. They usually use Sioux Nation clothing in the movies. Hollywood erects generic looking Sioux Nation teepee structures as if that was the only type of home Native Americans ever had. All the other types of homes are rarely shown, or mentioned. Many tribes lived in log cabins of various sizes and shapes. Others lived in adobe structures like you see all over this area. Dugou was another popular structure that relied on thickly woven basket structures covered with clay heavy soil in other parts of America before Europeans came here."

Etsuya's grim voice filled the sudden echoing void where her voice had dominated moments before. "It seems you have a number of reasons to be frustrated about your heritage, Sam. Still, you need to focus on the situation at your garage before it gets out of control completely."

Whirling on him, Sam's temper flared hot. "Since I got home, lots of things started hitting me in the face again. That means dealing with all the damned stupidity that keeps me fighting mad. I've always cursed as my main venting system whenever the Government's not breathing down my neck to act like a do goody twenty-four-seven. The real me is hard, cynical, aggressive, and opinionated, Etsuya. I won't apologize for being that way. All I've ever seen in my life are people trying to get something at another's expense, including my own. After thinking long and hard about everything I saw happening around me, I became an equal opportunity people hater. Because of that I do understand Howell's mind set. I'll deal with him at the right time! Not Before so Drop it! I don't mean you guys when I say that I hate people. You all actually made the exemption list, which not many do."

"It isn't surprising that you tend to be temperamental. We worry that some of this is somehow our fault because the Nihonjin kēsatsu ordered us to stay in your country. Twylah san insists we remain here without paying for our expenses also. WE wonder if it would be better for us to find temporary lodgings to remove the strain on your family finances." Ryosuke pointed out as Hiroshi and Kenta nodded their heads in vigorous agreement.

"That's not it at all. You all impressed me by meeting me halfway in your country. I didn't feel like I was getting frozen out of the region while talking to you about mechanics for one. Just because the real me has a gutter mouth, and is perpetually annoyed with nonstop stupidity doesn't mean I'm not willing to be a genuine friend to all of you. If I get too nasty around any of you, just say hey, matte. Tell me I'm being nasty. Nine times out of ten I don't realize my tongue's flaying someone when I'm pissed off. I can't apologize and shift gears if I don't get told that I'm being bitchy to the wrong person. Just tell me when I do it because I literally won't know I am otherwise. Deal?"

Glancing around the room, Ryosuke noticed that Etsuya looked skeptical while Hiroshi, Matsimoto, and Kenta all nodded their agreement. "Domo, Sammy san. We feel better knowing that we haven't done something to offend without being aware of it." Ryosuke added.

"It's got nothing to do with any of you beyond my wondering when that insane bitch that abducted Fujiwara and your teammates is going to strike here. That's enough to keep me awake at night. Something about the compound we took down reminded me of another place I helped bust up five years ago. If I could put my finger on the familiarity outside of the prisoners being naked, I'd know how to counter whatever's coming."

"How do you figure that, Sammy chan?" Kenta demanded.

"Different slaver rings have distinctive ways in how they set up operations. The one I helped Keisuke bust up was somehow very similar to the other compound down in South America. But, I can't quite place the specifics I need to figure out the next move that nut will make because I came back here too soon. I know in my gut I should already know her next move too."

Twylah entered the living room and spoke the one phrase everyone from Project D recognized without needing translation. "Come and get it while it's hot."

-oo0oo-
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

As the Smoke Clears #4 in Rivalry Series