"Before the Boom Boom Turbo"

Initial D Fan fiction, written by Banzai.

Disclaimer: I don't own Initial D, or any of the characters. Anyone who thinks so…I mean how retarded would you have to be? Seriously!

Chapter One

-Saitama Prefecture, May 199x. Chichibu Pass.

On the narrow roads of the Chichibu pass, gentle winds work their way through the trees. Thin narrow shafts bend slightly as the breeze causes a slight rustling noise through the leaves. The sounds of Chichibu peacefully echo throughout the mountain scenery, only interrupted by a slight, but defined, mechanical tone that starts to work its way throughout the mountainous Japanese landscape. A flash of light pierces through the narrow brush of trees, before disappearing again into the darkness. The motorized roar grows louder as another flash of light, this one brighter than the last appears seconds later through the underbrush, scaring some small animal that flee into the safety of the woods.

The screeching of tortured Potenza RE-050 tires rake through the mountainous backdrop. The melody of the forest is becoming overwhelmed by a mechanical symphony of engine tones, gearshifts and high gripping tires. The instrument of this concerto races down a long stretch of road, the fairway lit up only by the square focused lights on the front of the machine, as its conductor eloquently instructs the machine to perform its next piece.

Two aficionados of this work are leaning up against the metal barriers of Chichibu pass, the guardrail becoming a seat for many street racing enthusiasts that come to watch this man's work, and others like him. They quickly glance at their own machines, hazard lights blinking as a signal of their presence. As the orchestra of sound comes ever closer, small smiles rise on the two racer's faces. "He's coming…" one of them said quietly to his colleague as he placed his hand confidently on the bonnet of his beloved crimson SW20 Turbo. His friends nodded in excitement as they watched the lights on the road grow brighter, their mouths drying with anticipation.

Suddenly, the machine burst from around the sharp left curvature in the road, the sound of the driver laying into the throttle echoing in the eardrums of the two watching. The screeching of the tires could barely be heard over the roaring of the engine of the white Toyota as it elegantly grazed the clipping point of the turn, righted itself slightly and powered down the upcoming straightaway. The two drivers who had just witnessed a stylish manifestation of balance and technique, both unknowingly let out a sharp breath of air as the machine's taillights lit up and again powered through the next right hander another full throttle push. "Damned if Wataru isn't crazy, driving a Levin like that…" the driver of the mid-shipped Toyota said quietly as he walked a bit into the street. His comrade walked a bit over toward his own black S14 Silvia and rested against it, using the car to prop himself up as he reflected over the event. "Yeah, he rides the throttle the entire way from entrance to exit. I've never seen someone move a car like that around here…at least not before that guy" he said as he continued to look down the road, as if he could still see the Levin continuing its refined dash down the Chichibu touge.

Moment later, the white Levin pulled into a parking lot at the bottom of the pass, slowly sliding into a parking slot. The driver turned a small dial of the instrument panel, turning off the car's headlights as he let the gentle hum of his 4AGE relax his nerves while the engine cooled down. Slowly raising his hand to the stopwatch that was hung around his neck, he glanced down at the time, before releasing the timepiece and allowing it to swing freely a bit around his neck. "Six minutes and thirty four seconds…" he said to himself as he reflected back on his accomplishment. "Not too shabby…" he said with a small smirk, closing his eyes and resting as comfortably as he could in his Bride Racing seat.

His brief meditation was interrupted moments later, by a gentle tapping on his machine's window. Gently opening his eyes and tilting his head to the left, he saw one of his fellow racing acquaintances looking into the cockpit of the Hachi Roku, a bright and obnoxious smile on his face. Slowly moving his hand to the knob, the driver of the white Levin slowly rotated it, so the window was lowered just a crack. "What do you want, Misaro?" he asked as he looked into the face of his trusted friend and teammate. "Wataru, that run was amazingly fast! I was standing by the eleventh corner with Togosa, didya see us?" he asked with a sharp and high voice that reminded Wataru of went he had gone through puberty. He looked past Misaro for a moment and glanced at his red SW20 that was in the background. He hadn't even heard the midship pull into the parking space next to him. Maybe he was a bit more tired than he thought…

Looking back to answering the young man's question, Wataru shook his head with a small smile rising on his face. "No, I didn't see you, I was too busy seeing the forest for the trees…" he said, making a small joke which obviously Misaro didn't understand because of the twisted look on his face. Shaking his head a bit frantically, as if to clear his head from the awkward statement, Misaro moved to the next statement at hand. "So time did you clock in at?" he asked as he looked down at the stopwatch around his friend's neck. Gently taking the timepiece up in his left hand again, Wataru glanced down at it to refresh his memory. "Six thirty four…" he said proudly with a small smile as his friend started to jump up and down a bit, cheering. If any onlooker had seen them, they probably would have thought that Misaro himself had run that lightning face time.

"Amazing! Simply crazy!" the driver of the SW20 shouted amongst the dim lights of the Chichibu parking lot. The young man smiled and chuckled he rested his hands on the top of the white Levin. "Wataru, you are the man…" he said with a smile as he looked toward the bonnet of the Toyota. "What's so amazing is that you can do it from such an underpowered 4AG! I mean, the thing is barely pushing out around one hundred and sixty horsepower, isn't it?" he asked as Wataru gave a small nod.

A small frown bunched up on Wataru's face as Misaro brought up a point that had been on Wataru's mind for quite some time. The small 16v engine he had in his Levin was an excellent performer, but it just didn't have the low to mid-range torque that he was looking for in a motor to run on the tight mountainous touge. He had to constantly be on the accelerator to make any serious speed against some of the more powerful Silvias or rotary powered machines that occasionally ran up on the Chichibu run. Course, Wataru had come out of top of many of his runs, but most of the time, it required him to rev the engine to within an inch of its life. Perhaps it was time for a change…

"…and then you were screaming around that last bend like ERGG RRRERRRR!" Misaro said, obviously on another rant that snapped Wataru from his daydream. Blinking quickly, he looked over back over to Misaro, who was out of breath from reenacting his friend's bold exploits. Looking at his friend's flushed face, Wataru chuckled, which then turned into a loud and hearty laugh, his voice echoing into the shadow of the Chichibu mountain.

Author's Notes: Ok, so that's chapter one. It's really not that great IMO, but I figured that I would fire something out. Don't expect too much from me in the way of updates, I'll try to get them out when I can. Best I can do. I'd like some feedback though, just so I could see what I could improve on.

-Thanks