Up the hill, Shigure and Shimakaze were greeted by the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyers who had gotten off their go-karts and placed their helmets on the go-kart seats, approaching them with towels provided by Kousuke and cold drinks from nearby vending machines.
Shigure was now noting how thirsty she was as she took off her helmet to hungrily gulp down the contents of the can, Shimakaze doing the same as Murasame and Yuudachi flanked her, although Samidare was hanging back a little from the duo.
Wiping her sweat, Shigure called over to Shimakaze,
"Shimakaze, what say we bet on the outcome of the last round?"
This got Shimakaze's attention she proposed,
"If you win, I keep my nose of your affairs and leave you alone. I win, and you confide in me your past and your woes.
How about it?"
Shimakaze smirked and replied,
"You're saying that as if you have a chance of winning."
Shigure retorted with a smirk of her own,
"You say that as if I didn't beat you just now, despite the fact that you cheated."
Shimakaze's left eye twitched violently at that as she crushed the plastic bottle in her hand, Murasame and Yuudachi leaning back and exclaiming.
"OHHHH!"
But Shimakaze composed herself and calmly replied,
"I accept. See you at the finish line."
They both put on their helmets and slammed down their visors, already tuning everything out to focus on the decisive round.
Samidare didn't like the look on their faces.
She knew that her sisters would eventually become more powerful than her and become powerhouses of the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyers while she accepted her limits.
But the cold look in Shigure and Shimakaze's eyes secretly shook her to the core, wondering if Shigure was going to be alright in the final lap where they apparently developed a fierce rivalry and wanted to win, no matter what.
She had already notified the two of them that they had agreed to use the money that Kousuke refunded to them to pay for Shigure and Shimakaze's fifth round.
And despite their protests, she assured them that the race that they paid for was going to be worth the price they paid.
She hoped.
She knew that Shigure had been through a lot in her past life, and despite seeing Shigure trying to make friends and learn more about the world, she accepted the fact that her sister was becoming stronger and tried to be there for her as often as she could.
But, when she looked at some of the destroyers, Shimakaze, Shigure, and even Hatsushimo, whom she talked to on quite a few occasions, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.
They were maturing a little too quickly, accepting the burdens of war as an everyday part of life and wanted to become stronger at any cost.
Samidare noted that before putting on their helmets, Shimakaze and Shigure had on a look of absolute focus, a dangerous air surrounding them as they mentally prepared themselves for the final race.
She was more spiritually attuned to others, being an unofficial elder sister to everyone due to her calm and caring personality.
So it came as no surprise that she was absolutely terrified by the two destroyers' intense auras.
Their strength, determination, pain, losses and growth formed an unstoppable and laser-focused air around them that made it almost suffocating to be in their presence when they were in the zone.
She was afraid that more of the destroyers would lose their innocence and eventually adopt this mindset when it came to anything, slowly poisoning their lives if they weren't careful in their pursuit of victory and strength at all costs.
She prayed that she didn't just pay to see her sister and her new friend crash and burn, vowing to never forgive herself if either one of them were sent to the docks because she paid for one last round.
Shigure allowed Shimakaze to take the lead.
The destroyer had an obsession with speed, after all, and it wouldn't feel right to have Shimakaze chasing her for the first half of the race.
Despite Shimakaze's growth, some habits were still hard to break and Shigure wasn't going to stop her anytime soon.
Shimakaze was now driving extremely dangerously, no longer allowing any margin for error as Shimakaze used her fastest lines to try and pull ahead, Shigure never letting up on the pressure.
She wanted to get to know the destroyer better, she really did.
But for thickheaded girls like Shimakaze, words often failed to persuade them of one's sincerity.
They were more about action, and somehow this made the problem worse when they had one-track minds and were easily bored when not dealing with anything relating to their favorite topics, Shimakaze's topic being speed.
And thus, to truly drive the point home, Akashi had told Shigure that this was the fastest way, albeit also being the riskiest.
"But I believe in you, Shigure."
Shigure remembered Akashi's words yesterday.
"I know that you hate seeing someone suffer, and I'm going to tell you right now.
Shimakaze is suffering. What makes it worse is that she's suffering alone by running away from everything and everyone, and somehow thinks it's the best way to cope with things. I know you can understand her and prove her wrong."
The track,
"M.o.v.e. — Outsoar the Rainbow"
Played in her mind as she entered another corner, wondering about this heart-to-heart session that required no words as she thought to herself.
Words truly fail us when we try to describe our losses, especially when someone's lost someone dear for the first time. But we eventually learn to confide in others, and learn to live with the pain. But what you're doing right now isn't that. You're simply running from your problems, and eventually you'll hit a wall with nowhere to go.
Shigure gripped the steering wheel as she continued,
You think that this way is the best way, indulging in your passion for speed. And I understand that speed is truly a wonderful thing. With it, all of your troubles seem to melt away. All the trauma, pain, issues, the War, all of it all fails to matter when you're running down a course at 147 km/h. But you've perverted that love of speed, Shimakaze-san! You use it as a means to escape and forget your pain and grief, using it like a drug to escape your problems. Along with a superficial smile and guarded heart, you've become addicted to this means of escape! And because no one can catch up to you, you assume that this is the best way to deal with everything since no one can prove you wrong. But I'm here now. I'm going to beat you and show you that running away from your pain won't work forever!
A powerful ultramarine-blue aura that slowly shifted into a cerulean blue trail began to flow out of Shigure, her concentration starting to shift the air around her as she ran down the course while listening to.
"David Dima — Dancin' on the Street"
She was performing perfectly under pressure, patiently biding her time as she tried to pass Shimakaze at every corner and kept pressuring her into making a mistake.
Shigure knew that it was going to be difficult, seeing that the Shimakaze-Class destroyer was used to going this fast and was in her comfort zone as she ran down the course in the go-kart.
So Shigure drove as aggressively as she could to force Shimakaze's hand, being spurred on by her competitive spirit and desire to win that morphed her kind and quiet personality into a fierce spirit fueled by her competitive drive and the desire to be closer to Shimakaze.
She observed Shimakaze vanishing behind another corner, the insane speed leaving behind a white aura that almost formed a pair of wings that spread like a bird taking flight, almost symbolic of her fast nature before speeding away as Shigure admired Shimakaze's skill.
You are indeed skilled, Shimakaze-san.
Even on land, you never fail to pull out all the stops and leave everyone in the dust.
But you're up against me, who's also a stubborn little ship girl who secretly, absolutely hates to lose!
Shigure followed suit and entered the corner without hesitation, barely affected by the threat of death and only interested in going faster than ever before as she vanished in a burst of speed, utilizing Shimakaze's "Moderate speed In, Fast Exit" to leave a trail of her blue aura in her wake.
As she felt the go-kart slide, she was reminded that she had to account for the grip in the tires as she exited the fast-speed section of the course and entered the low-speed section, where Shigure had the advantage.
But she wasn't going to pass her.
She kept up her pace and pressed down on the accelerator, the struggling Shimakaze trying to body-block her by occupying the inside.
Several times, Shigure was close to overtaking the destroyer, but Shimakaze desperately protected her lead, never having been pushed this far by anyone.
And that was the point that Shigure was secretly trying to make.
Seeing Shimakaze desperately trying to protect her lead attempting to pull ahead, Shigure thought to herself solemnly.
Shimakaze, you feel safe when you're outrunning everyone at a speed that only you can achieve, and that's what I'm going to undo. First of all, your decision to take the lead every lap was your first mistake. The one in front has to deal with the stress of the chasing car potentially passing them the entire time. Your obsession with speed and finishing fast likely means that you dislike endurance and siege battles. And with your personality, you will want to defeat anyone as quickly as possible. But I've been putting the pressure on you ever since the last run, constantly trying to pass you. Your memories are undoubtedly wearing you down despite your best efforts. Add that to the intense pressure to win while trying to pull away from me to convince yourself of your own superiority along with the fact that I beat you once and made you seriously doubt your abilities. It all weighs down on you and encroaches onto your safe haven that is anywhere above 120 km/h on the speedometer. This is the first time you've been pushed this far in your own comfort zone. And this time, everything you usually do to escape isn't working, not when I'm following so close behind you and steadily piling the pressure on you. You can't run forever, Shimakaze! The question is, how long can you last before you break?!
True to her word, she saw Shimakaze entering corners at speeds that almost seemed suicidal, constantly correcting herself as she kept her lead.
Shigure was now pushing Shimakaze to the limit as she hounded the destroyer before her and attempted to pass from the inside and outside, now keeping her front bumper no more than 10 centimeters behind Shimakaze's rear bumper and never letting up.
And by the end of the second section, Shigure could see Shimakaze mentally falling apart, trying to compensate for everything and trying everything in her book to pull away, entering the wide corner at a higher speed than Shigure did.
You're going in too fast! Shimakaze-san, your ship girl skills can save you, but can your will and mind hold out under the strain?
Shimakaze struggled with the steering wheel, working the gear paddles, pedals and the steering wheel in order to correct the go-kart as it slid dangerously around the corner, the wide road allowing her room to maneuver before the narrow exit.
In the end, Shimakaze decided to slam down on the brakes as she exited the corner, Shigure keeping her eyes open this time.
She knew that her previous trick likely wouldn't work this time due to the condition of her tires that had worn down over time.
She no longer possessed the element of surprise, and the mental wreck that was Shimakaze might attempt something suicidal in order to protect her lead.
Shigure tried to use the intuitive controls of the go-kart to try not to crash into Shimakaze's go-kart as they entered the third section, still riding behind Shimakaze as Shigure eased up on the accelerator, quickly but calmly swerving her steering wheel to the left and right as the go-kart's momentum carried her forward.
The go-kart's deceleration barely slowed her down enough to carry her through the corner without crashing, Shigure pressing down on the accelerator gently to push the go-kart forward and accelerating out of the turn.
Shimakaze's aura of concentration was already gone as she entered the corners too quickly and, as Shigure predicted, her frayed nerves that were not mentally used to or prepared for an extended psychological endurance battle was forced to brake out of the all-too-real fear of crashing as she exited the corner.
She failed to pull ahead as a result and this allowed Shigure to attack her from behind, the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer poking holes at her defense while calmly assessing and sizing her up from behind.
Shimakaze was already mentally breaking down from the stress, making more and more mistakes while being thrown off her game even when she had the advantage in this section of the course as she was pushed further to her mental limit.
In the battle between two stubborn and competitive destroyers who refused to give up and kept pushing themselves and each other to the limit, something had to give.
And eventually, something did.
Shimakaze was accelerating into another corner, but made another mistake as her tires finally gave out and lost traction, threatening to send her flying off the road and into the docks as Shimakaze visibly struggled to recover from her mistake, shifting gears and counter-steering as Shigure approached.
Shigure mentally debated whether she should pass Shimakaze now, but eventually came to a conclusion and blitzed past Shimakaze.
As the devastated destroyer tried to recover from her fatal mistake and attempted to maintain her speed, her heart dropped upon witnessing Shigure's flawless maneuvering as she exited the corner, the starting of the song,
"Leo River — Runaway"
Resounding in her shaken mind.
Her trembling arms, pounding heart, sweaty clothes and rapid breathing were all ignored by her as she observed Shigure's go-kart pull ahead in front of her for a third time.
Shigure's ultramarine aura was pushing forward like an unstoppable storm cloud, changing in tone as it ran down her go-kart to leave a cerulean blue trail with azure blue raindrops streaking out horizontally behind her, almost akin to tears as Shigure perfectly and calmly controlled her go-kart to vanish behind another corner, accelerating without any hesitation and leaving the defeated Shimakaze behind.