The Queen of Cups

Initial D

Early in the morning, the sun peeked through the horizon, its rays waking you out of your slumber. Blinking, you yawned, finding yourself sandwiched between two brick walls in the back of a car.

Leaning forward, you look out the window just to see the rocky terrain of Northern India.

In the distance, the Himalayas stood tall and mighty, their magnificence radiating off the sunrise.

Another breathtaking view.

“Good morning, Jackie.”

Snapping your head towards the front, you focus your attention on the driver's seat.

“Good morning Polnareff. When did you and Kakyoin change seats?”

“Hmm…about three hours ago, I think.”

“I see you're feeling better Polnareff, considering yesterday and since Avdol...”

You made direct eye contact with him in the rearview mirror.

What was the point of bringing Avdol into the mix? Now wasn't the time or the place. It wasn't necessary, but at the same time, it was. 

He never apologized to you since that day.

“…never mind about that,” you sighed, “I'm just glad you're doing better.”

“Thanks, Jackie.”

You couldn't help but ignore the wavering look in his eyes. 

As on cue, the rest of the men collectively woke up one by one.

“Morning, everyone,” you yawned once more, “sleep well?”

“Yeah, but it wasn't much for me though,” Kakyoin said. “Are we almost there yet?”

Looking at the map, you verified his question. “We're pretty close to the Indo-Pakistani border. Soon, we'll say bye to India.”

Joseph nodded, reminiscent of the places you've traveled here in India. “Indeed.  At first, I wondered what kind of country we’d walked into, but now I miss the hustle and bustle of Calcutta, and the rushing waters of the Ganges.”

“I'll be coming back again,” Polnareff added, “to pay my respects to Avdol. Despite the funeral, I want to tell him properly of our victory once this is over.”

The car group became dead silent at his comment. Everyone but Polnareff knew the truth. To keep it that way, all you could do was to continue the act.

“…yeah.” you all muttered in melancholy.

A few minutes later, just up ahead, the dirt road became a bit more narrow along the way. In front of you was a car, a red Hudson Hornet, driving terribly slow.

Polnareff, quickly getting annoyed, honked the horn at it repeatedly.
“The car in front of us is so slow! He's in the way!”

Giving it no time to react, Polnareff sped up the car, scratching the paint job as plenty of pebbles and rocks flew at the hood of the car.