Nights Of Fire: Overhauled

SIDE QUEST 3

Thursday, XX of XX, 2028

Narita International Airport

1-1 Furugome, Narita, Chiba 282-0004, Japan

02.00 p.m

"Say my name."

Inaudible next line due to someone shouting his kids' name

"You're goddamn right."

I was watching along with this foreigner beside me in secret while sitting near the check-in counter. After a couple of minutes, a big man with a young man and woman between him walked closer. "Good afternoon, Mr. Kocho, Tsurumaki, Toyama," I stood up. "Relax, Daikou. This is a holiday. Just say 'hey' to us like we're close buddies," Mr. Kocho pulled me and whispered, "Take my words back. We ARE close mates."

"Can't wait to relieve these tense nerves of mine. Working in front of a screen all day does take a toll on your mind." Athena stretched her long, pale arms up. Achilles then proceeded to wrap his arm around my shoulders. "We rarely get these chances, and since we're doing well in this championship, boss is in a good mood. So just relax, my man!"

I guess they do have a point. Not long after, the rest of the Shadow Hounds crew came. And I see Ichika... with Nino? "Nino, what are you doing here?" I questioned. 

"I'm coming along, of course." Nino combed her hair. I stared at Mr. Kocho in confusion. "Ah yes! I forgot to tell. Ichika told me if she could bring her sister along. The airline DID give me an extra ticket to fill in the empty seats since I was uhh, booking so many seats." He explained.

Oh man, this trip is gonna get a lot more rowdy with this gal.

One by one, our group completed itself. We headed to the boarding room. I noticed just one more piece, though. "Where's Kenji?" I volunteered to speak for the confused ones, which is myself. Athena opened her phone to check chat logs, "He declined the offer to come along. He said he ought to take care of his little sister."

Thud! I sat in an economic class seat, window view. Nino took one beside me, then Ichika took one beside her. Ichika should be in 10B, but 10C Nino insisted on swapping. I scanned around, and apparently my boss was in the same boat. I thought he'd take business class at the front.

I'm glad that he's a man of honor to sit alongside his men. He sat a few rows ahead while the rest of us were in the rows behind him. I saw the world outside get smaller and smaller as we took off into the skies. 

Nino wanted to take a look outside the window as well, so she stuck her body out right in front of my face to see the window. My nose couldn't help but smell Nino's body fragrance. She kinda smells like bubblegum. Who even uses bubblegum perfume?

"Come on Nino, behave yourself, we're in public here..." Ichika told Nino to settle down. "C'mon sis! I just wanted to see the world outside!" She brushed off. I could only laugh as she set her bottom back down on the seat. "Besides, I've got a better view right here~" Nino wrapped herself around my left arm.

"Nino, please..." Ichika chuckled.

Zoooooooom... Pssshhhhh... Brrrrrrrrr.... "Get back up, sleeping beauty!" Unknown force awakened my slumber. Hair strands slapped my tiredness. Uuugh... Yaawn... My arms and shoulders raised up. Ouf. Someone paralyzed my left hand. I was forced to get up, take my bag full of important stuff, and processed through the arrival procedure with my sole functioning upper limb.

"Daikou, stop pretending to sleep! We're at the hotel already." Yaawn... Hup! Ten fingers pushed my waist and landed me two feet on a stone pavement. My torso spun 360 degrees. Woah, two or four long vans. My eyes were blurry. Man, what a compact, yet tall 3 star hotel. THUD! AAAAH! Huff... Puff... Huff... Puff...

"Your luggage. Thank me later," Ichika supported her upper body on my black pack, frowning. I gripped its handle without 'thanks' in my tongue and went straight into the given room.

The girls went to their separate shared rooms, while the boys, which were only 4 of us got 2 rooms. It's said that within it were 2 beds, a wardrobe, desk and a bathroom, plus a TV. I limped my way into the room as my left arm slowly woke itself up.

I could feel someone nudging my sides as I walked. It was a man with reddish-blonde hair, carrying his own luggage. Who is this again... it's Keita, Saeki's partner in highway racing. We rarely meet outside of work hours. He looks like a carefree man.

"Wow, you really went ahead and passed out there! You must be exhausted." Keita commented. My drowsy eyes blinked to agree.

After a walk that felt like forever, we finally arrived at the room. The room was cool and air conditioned. I immediately dropped my luggage and slammed my head face first into the pillow. Ah... heaven....

I then felt someone tugging my back. "Come on, wake yourself up. Boss said he's gonna treat us, the boys, out to drink tonight. Don't wanna miss it." Keita said. I dragged myself into the bathroom and washed my face, properly waking me up. All better!

Keita and I then walked out of the room to meet Achilles and Mr. Kocho when we came across the girls. "You all seem to have a mission." I commented. "Yeah, we're having a girls night out! You boys can stay here and do whatever you want, teehee!" Kei said. "We're gonna explore the night vibe of Okinawa. Wooo! Don't worry Daikou, I'll get you something!" Nino smiled at me.

Continuing our walk behind their run, eventually all the men came to the parking lot. Beep beep! Rear lights of white Toyota Yaris flashed a green 'wa' (わ) below. "I call shotgun!" Achilles exclaimed with a pocket camera on hand. BEEP! "Whoa!" He almost got sent into hospital. Thuck! Right after I closed the back door, I confirmed my timeline to Keita, "Hey, didn't we arrive with a van?" He was puzzled, "Van?" "Nevermind," I abruptly ended.

Time to have a good time in a faraway bar. I've never been in one before, so I was worried I could get intoxicated.