The fourth run down the course was about to begin.
But now, Shigure wasn't thinking about anything except going faster.
Much like Shimakaze, she now possessed a cold, steely look in her eyes, muscles coiled and ready to burst down the road as soon as the lights turned green.
But not before Shimakaze accidentally pulled ahead in a burst of speed a quarter of a second before the green light flashed, perhaps out of jittery nerves or an explicit intent to cheat.
But Shigure waited for the green light before accelerating from rest, Shimakaze leading by about a second.
They both looked like they were about to fight to the death, and Kousuke was already certain that the first-aid kit, stretcher and fire extinguisher he stored in the mini-jeep was going to come in handy, seeing how likely this dogfight between the two hardened destroyers was probably going to end in a fiery crash.
But he also saw that the two destroyers were waging some sort of war between them, the tension between them suffocating as they mentally forbade anyone from interfering.
And he did the only thing he could do in such a situation.
Sit by the sidelines to do his job, wave them on and hopefully be there for them when they were in trouble.
What a time to be alive.
Shigure wasn't furious at the attempt to cheat.
After all, someone had to take the lead.
And besides, Shigure needed to observe Shimakaze's movements, and she couldn't do that while in the lead.
She observed Shimakaze's movements as she entered the corner and replicated them as best she could when she reached Shimakaze's position, remembering her impromptu preparatory lesson on the way up.
You will feel fear as you copy Shimakaze's movements,
Shigure closed her eyes, partially meditating as she imagined Akashi coaching her in order to prepare her for the fourth run.
This fear you feel is an illusion. You are modeled after the human mind, and that's why human fears such as heights and spiders are passed onto you without taking into account the fact that you're a ship girl, and thus nigh-invulnerable to these things.
She tuned out everything in the environment and allowed Akashi to talk her into letting go of these irrational fears.
You will feel fear as you enter the corners at high speeds because you fear death, or at least fatal accidents that would kill a human. But you are a SHIP GIRL, and you can survive these impacts. And fear, in this scenario, will only serve to slow you down and make you lose focus.
Shigure raised her hand politely to address her imaginary coach, asking,
Can you guarantee I'm not going to die from the impact? I was wondering if I were to crash head-first into the tree and my head were to be pulverized like a watermelon underneath a falling anvil, and…
SILENCE!
Akashi raised her voice, before calmly reassuring her.
You wear a helmet for a reason, dear.
And besides, if you crash into a tree, you'll likely be going in leg-first, crashing through the trees and spending some time in the docks. But it's alright, because you're a ship girl.
B-But,
Shigure sputtered quietly,
That doesn't make me feel any safer…
Coach Akashi asked obnoxiously as she leaned in and pointed at her ear,
Who's the coach?
And Shigure could only look away as she muttered,
You are.
Who's the coach?
You are.
Shigure hesitated, before adding,
Ma'am.
Excellent! Coach Akashi pulled back up and nodded, finally looking down at Shigure and leaving her with one last piece of advice.
Listen, if you want to show Shimakaze that you're serious, you've got to think like her, and RIDE like her. Leave your fears at the starting line, and keep pushing forward despite what you may feel. But remember.
She may not be perfect, but you can't just sit around and wait for the circumstances to align in your favor. Pressure her into making mistakes, create opportunities and seize them when you can.
Shigure nodded, stating.
I got it.
Closing her eyes and concentrating in an attempt to convince herself that there was nothing to fear.
If Shimakaze could do it, so could she.
I can't hesitate or waver. If Shimakaze can do it, so can I!
Barreling down the course, she observed Shimakaze's reduced braking distance, theorizing.
Since she weighs more than I do, she naturally needs to brake more to slow her car down. But since this is a high-speed section, her momentum carries her into the corner while the car slows down by itself, allowing her to brake less.
Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest upon seeing the trees fly past so quickly and the ground become a blur of grey-black asphalt beneath her, all of it irrelevant in her mind.
She observed Shimakaze blitzing through a corner that Shigure previously had to tap the brakes to even dare to enter.
But now, she mimicked Shimakaze's movements and felt the go-kart start to slide dangerously, Shigure immediately tapping the brakes to bring herself back on course and regain some traction, thinking to herself.
Shit. I hate to admit, but I also expected Shimakaze's weight to keep the go-kart on the road, while I can't say the same for myself. If I try to mimic her moves to the letter, I'd fly off the course the second my go-kart starts to slide to the point where I feel my tires are barely kissing the ground… For the fourth lap, it's alright if I fail to overtake her in the first and second sections. The only thing that matters is that I keep up with her until that corner…
Several times, Shigure had to counter-steer to compensate for the sliding, and had a few close shaves which she learnt to brush off eventually.
The high-speed section ended where the second section began as the corners became sharper, Shigure stepping on the gas pedal to pull up to Shimakaze's rear bumper as they approached a right hand corner, the audio speaker now playing,
"Max Coveri — Golden Age"
She piled on the pressure now that Shimakaze's no-braking method of driving couldn't be applied here in the low-speed section.
She initiated the drift beside Shimakaze, almost spotting her panicked look as Shimakaze was forced to brake earlier to hug the inside of the corner.
Shigure controlled her drift with almost machine-like precision, knowing full well that you couldn't pass from the outside.
But she could pressurize Shimakaze into making a mistake and allowing this battle to stretch to a fifth round.
Admittedly, she knew that if Shimakaze recovered fast enough, she could pass Shigure in the last section of the course as it was also a high-speed section.
But she kept on pressuring Shimakaze, forcing her to brake more often and hug the inside of the corner, thinking to herself.
I knew it. In the slow-speed section, her speed complex compels her to go fast and she has to brake more often before cornering, while I need to brake less as I maintain my velocity throughout the section. Keep forcing her to brake more often and keep to the inside, and she'll be thrown off her rhythm.
The gutters loomed ominously as they flanked the road, ready to ensnare Shigure and cause her to spin out in case she lost control.
But Shigure was more than human, her enhanced learning senses as a sharp destroyer coupled with her eidetic memory as a ship girl and her training-enhanced reflexes working in harmony to keep the go-kart on the road and right on Shimakaze's tail.
The same clearing in the trees presented itself to Shigure, but she wasn't going to get distracted and spare it another glance, having nearly crashed because of it.
She instead focused her attention on braking and deciding when she was going to pull on the emergency brake to initiate the drift, executing it flawlessly and coming up behind Shimakaze.
This is it! The second section is coming to an end, and after the wide corner, it'll be another high-speed section where the roads will be even narrower. I need to make my move soon!
Reading Shimakaze's movements correctly, she cut in to occupy the inside of the left corner as Shimakaze tried her best to body-block her while staying in the middle of the road.
Shigure drifted in tandem with her opponent, barely hearing the music player about to play the chorus of the current song,
"Nuage- Crazy Little Love"
As she snapped her car back to the right, entering the wide corner right behind Shimakaze go-kart.
The Shimakaze-Class destroyer's go-kart occupied the middle line marker and was pulling ahead of Shigure, who was still valiantly keeping up as she took the outside lane and reminded herself.
Everything's going according to plan.
Shimakaze is taking the fastest line through the corner, just as I predicted she would. I'm sorry to say, Shimakaze, but on this corner, the line that allows you to go around it at the highest velocity… is not the best line!'
Shigure closed her eyes, and pressed down on the accelerator.
In her mind, Shimakaze, upon exiting the corner, was about to push down on the brakes to slow herself down to fit into the narrow exit and would come up on the outside lane to maintain speed.
She kept her eyes closed and referred to her photographic memory of the exit as she put the pedal to the metal.
Her go-kart regained traction as the drift ended smoothly, gaining a burst of speed as Shigure shifted gears and slingshotted past the still-drifting Shimakaze on the outside lane of the exit.
She felt the wheels of the go-kart slowly losing touch with the asphalt as she exited the corner as she almost entered the gutter upon overtaking Shimakaze.
Her eyes flew open, her hands trembling and her face pale and sweaty from the near-death experience as the go-kart shifted its weight back onto all four wheels.
She brought her go-kart under control, exhaling sharply as she thought,
I can't believe that worked! Shimakaze-san likely blitzed through that corner, but that meant she had to use the brakes to slow the car down upon exiting.I closed my eyes so as not to see the narrowing corner and instinctively press down on the brakes, allowing myself to slingshot past Shimakaze-san! I was so sure I would end up as a heap of burning metal on the side of the road, but now that I pulled it off, I have to pull ahead while Shimakaze-san is likely still shaken up!
And with the song,
"Mega NRG Man — Express Love"
Pounding inside of her helmet, Shigure traversed the fast-speed section, several brushes with death a reasonable price to pay for speeding down the final section of the course while using her improved handling and engine braking skills to achieve an unbelievable timing.
And at the finish line, Shigure took off her helmet and heard Akio's amazed whistle as she waited for Shimakaze, who wasn't far behind.
They rode up the escalator in silence as they mentally prepared themselves for the fifth and final round, both destroyers too occupied with their own thoughts to talk to each other.