You guys know the drill. I don't own Initial D, its characters or anything else pertaining to the anime/manga. Emerald Fusion is deliberately a knockoff of an Initial D: Arcade Stage group that I hang out with, and yes, those are the cars we drive in the game. :P (I know, we're pitiful). They know who they are, and they gave me permission to write this.
Summary: Iketani sees four mysterious cars drive past him on Akina late one night. They are the gaijin group Emerald Fusion and they're in town to face the competition. Are they really a challenge, though...?
Initial D Fusion Stage
by BoomChish (boomchish@2die4.com)
It was a quiet night on Mt. Akina, with the stars sparkling in the sky and the crickets chirping their calls. A beautiful day had receded to a beautiful night, and there was a calm wind blowing, gently ruffling the leaves in the tall trees.
Iketani Kouichirou of the Akina Speed Stars stood off to the side of the road, leaning against the guardrail and smoking a cigarette while staring at his car, his prized Silvia S-13. Under the soft lamplight of the street lamp, the car's green lustre shone and sparkled, revealing the exterior beauty. The interior beauty, the speed and power, was hidden from plain view.
And would probably remain hidden if the unerring leader of the Speed Stars didn't improve on his technique anytime soon. It was bitterly ironic, how he, the leader of Akina's fastest team, lacked the necessary skills to substantiate his position at the top of their team.
A roar of engines drew his attention away from his car towards the stretch of road that led to the Akina lake resort. It was dark out, but not dark enough to miss the pair - pairs - of headlights that were headed for the downhill course of Akina. In all, there were about four pairs of headlights… meaning there were four cars… all one behind the other. The car in the lead was a white RX-7 Spirit R FD3S. It was closely followed by a grey AE86 Levin GT-Apex, a pink Sil-Eighty and a yellow Lancer Evolution VII.
Iketani watched them carefully as they all zipped past him without even slowing down in the slightest. His jaw dropped at the breakneck speed in which they sped past him and his S-13. They were definitely skilled drivers behind the wheels of those cars. But even then, he was able to take note that all four cars had a sticker on the car body in different locations… a green sticker that bore words on it.
The words Emerald Fusion…
He held his breath. There's a new team in Gunma? And where are they from, anyway?
I better tell the others…
---
"What! So there's a new road racing team in Gunma?" Itsuki demanded of his sempai the following day at the GS gas station where Iketani worked with his fellow teammate Itsuki Takeuchi and their friend Takumi Fujiwara. Iketani was especially curious for Takumi's reaction to the new team. It was general knowledge by then that Takumi was considerably the best road racer in the area. In his AE86 Sprinter Trueno, he'd managed to defeat both illustrious Takahashi brothers from the Akagi RedSuns as well as the two best racers from the Myougi Night Kids, the Impact Blue combination from Usui and one of the LanEvo drivers from the Irohazaka Emperors hailing from the Tochigi prefecture. It was safe to say that Takumi Fujiwara of Akina was virtually indestructible.
Iketani scratched his head. "Well… I saw all four cars pass by me on Mt. Akina last night… and all of them had the same sticker on their car… Emerald Fusion… I figured they had to be a new team…"
"What cars were there?" Takumi asked, his signature bored expression dominating his face.
"If I remember correctly… the lead car was a white FD… followed by a grey Hachi-Roku Levin, a pink Sil-Eighty and a yellow Evo VII. A weird mix of cars."
"I'll say… a pink Sil-Eighty? Must be a girl driving…" Itsuki mused, tapping his chin for inspiration. "Only a girl would buy a car with such a garish color like that."
"Well… you never know. In any case, we'll just have to wait and see if they make a second appearance or not…" Iketani answered hesitantly as he saw his friend and teammate Kenji pull into the gas station and park off to the side before joining them. Itsuki and Iketani were quick to fill him in on the news, while Takumi looked around, the bored expression never leaving his face.
"Oi… Takumi… you don't seem concerned," Itsuki commented loudly as he strode up to his best friend and spun him around to face him.
"Why should I be? It's not like we know their skill level anyway… Iketani-sempai just said he saw a new racing team zip past him. He was at the top of Mt. Akina's mountain pass… which is a straight stretch of road… lots of drivers go fast on straightaways when it's clear. There really isn't anything to worry about until we see how they fare in an actual race," Takumi pointed out matter-of-factly.
"Good point," Itsuki admitted as he pouted, his lower lip jutting out. Kenji strode up to them and smiled briefly. Takumi and Itsuki acknowledged his presence with a nod and a smile.
"From what I heard about this new racing team… they sure have an odd mix of cars… an FD, a Hachi-Roku Levin, a Sil-Eighty and an Evo VII… interesting to say the least, no?"
"And one of them has to be a girl… I mean… who else would drive such a fruity-colored Sil-Eighty? I wonder if the girl has a partner though… like Impact Blue. Hah, that would be interesting to see… a Sil-Eighty race with two girls against two girls," Itsuki commented.
Kenji shook his head. "But that's all that we know about them so far… which still isn't much… For all we know, they could be worse than that racing team on Mt. Shirane… or even better than Project D and Irohazaka's Emperors combined…" He shuddered at the thought.
Takumi wrinkled his nose. "I highly doubt that anyone that bad would drive around and show off their cars…"
"In any case, I have time off tomorrow. I can go scout around and see if I can locate any traces of them…" Kenji began, before being interrupted by a firm hand clamping down on his shoulder. He turned to face his friend and team leader, Iketani.
"If you do go and do that, be careful. The last thing you want is to get involved in something that may endanger your health… or life…" He scratched his head. "Well, okay… honestly, I doubt they'd be that bad, but still… we don't know much about them…"
Kenji laughed. "You sound worse than my mother, Iketani. But don't worry. I'll be fine."
---
The following morning, at around ten-thirty, Kenji's white 180SX pulled up into the Lake Akina resort, amid a clear sunny day with no clouds in the sky. There were quite a few people reveling in the beauty of the lake, but that wasn't what held his attention as he exited his car.
Two conspicuously bright cars were parked side by side, and both of them bore a green sticker in different locations on the body. One car was a pink Sil-Eighty and the other was a yellow Evo VII. He quickly scanned around the area closest to both cars, in the hopes of locating the drivers.
Not far from where both cars were parked, a girl was sitting on the grass, staring at the lake in quiet awe. Her back was facing him and as far as he could tell, she might be the driver of the pink Sil-Eighty…
There was only one way to be sure…
"Um… excuse me?" he asked nervously as he approached her. The girl turned at the sound of his voice, looked up at him, then stood up. At a closer glance, he could tell that she wasn't much older than he was… in fact… she appeared to be several years younger than him. She tilted her head to one side and stared at Kenji with a neutral expression.
"Yes? Can I help you?"
"Um… is that your car?" he queried, pointing to the Sil-Eighty. The girl squinted and tried to follow where he was pointing.
"Which car?" she asked.
"The pink Sil-Eighty… is it yours?"
"No," she replied, almost indignantly. "Though I like the color pink, it's a bit too garish and girly to have as a car color. On the other hand, that car right next to it is mine."
His eyes widened. "You mean the yellow Evo VII is your car?"
"Yes… why? Is there something wrong with me owning an Evo VII?" she inquired suspiciously.
"No, not at all… I was just curious because…"
She cut him off as she moved aside a bit and pointed to his 180SX. "That your car?"
He turned around and stared at it for a bit, then turned back to face her. "Uh… yeah… why?"
The girl squinted and tried to read the sticker on his car. "'Akina Speed Stars', eh? So you're a member of the local racing team here, I take it?"
He decided to throw all caution to the wind and be direct. "You're a member of that new racing team… Emerald Fusion, or whatever you're called."
She shrugged. "Yeah, and? Something wrong with a girl being a part of a racing team?"
"Not at all… I was just curious… Where are you guys from, anyway?"
"Oh, we're not from around here… We just heard that there were several good racing teams here in the Gunma prefecture and we decided to check it out. Y'know… satisfying the old curiosity. Oh… and by the way," here, she extended her hand, "my name is Vanney."
He shook it. "My name is Kenji. In any case, it's nice to meet new racers every so often." He paused and scratched his head again. "So… um… are you guys planning on challenging anyone in the area?"
"Not that I know of… well… I know I won't… I usually don't race unless someone challenges me, which doesn't happen all too often, because they seem to think that, being a girl, I suck at racing. Well… I think I'm good… in any case… I can't really say the same for the others, though."
"Where exactly are the others anyway?" he queried as he jammed his hands into his pockets and shuffled his feet a bit.
There was a brief silence until a man walked up to Vanney and handed her a can of cola. "There you go, Vanney. Say, who's this guy?" he asked as he popped open his can of iced tea and took a swig.
"Denis, this is Kenji, a member of the Akina Speed Stars. They're the local team here on Mt. Akina. Kenji, this is my boyfriend, Denis. He's also the driver of that pink Sil-Eighty parked next to my Evo," she explained.
Both men shook hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Kenji spoke politely.
"Same here."
He scratched his head yet again. "Wait… you're the one who owns the pink Sil-Eighty? Why pink?" he demanded.
"Well, why not? Besides, pink is the color of success!" Denis exclaimed before taking a gulp of iced tea. Vanney merely snorted and shook her head, although she was smiling.
Kenji just stared at both of them and shrugged helplessly. "Uh… okay… if you say so…"
She nudged him. "So… Kenji… tell me… you guys the only team around here, or are there other teams on other mountains that may interest us?"
He looked startled that she'd asked. "Uh… well… there's us… the Speed Stars on Akina… on Akagi, there's the RedSuns and Project D… they're sort of consisting of the same people, but Project D is like the elite of the elite…" He looked over at them to make sure that they were listening, then continued. "Then there's the Myougi Night Kids on Mt. Myougi… they're sorta okay… I guess… then there's Impact Blue on Mt. Usui… they're not really a team, just two girls who drive together in a blue Sil-Eighty…" He could feel his palms sweating. "Then there's this team over in Nikko, in the neighboring prefecture of Tochigi… the Irohazaka Emperors… and… yeah…" His voice trailed off.
Denis cracked his knuckles, causing Kenji to wince. "Aah, I'll bet we can take 'em on. Right, Vanney?" He nudged her and winked. She just wrinkled her nose.
"Don't ask me, dumbass. If we rank our skills in Emerald Fusion, I'm the fourth best… meaning I'm the worst… Nayth's the one who dominates over all, then you got rat-boy Simon, then you, then me. And I'd rather reserve my judgement of their skills until later. I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into before I barrel on ahead like a fat man in an all-you-can-eat buffet. Barreling ahead mindlessly is your job, ne?" she countered, glancing at her boyfriend and smiling sweetly.
Denis scowled. "Shut up…"
Kenji just stared at the both of them in complete confusion. "Uh… okay… I'm not following… but… okay…" He took an involuntary step back. Vanney took note of his uneasiness and chortled as she patted him affectionately on the shoulder. He shrank back from her touch.
"Don't worry about us, Kenji. Sure, we look like a bickering couple, but we do get along quite well. We're just overly fond of pointing out each other's shortcomings."
"I… see…" He scratched his arm absently. "Well… I, uh… better get going… I have other things to do… so… I guess… I'll see you… whenever you guys decide to show up… right?"
"That's about right." She waved to him. "See ya around, Kenji."
The perplexed Speed Star waved back at them, turned and quietly walked back to his car. When he got inside his 180SX, he took note that Denis and Vanney were still looking at him, so he immediately started the engine, jammed his car into reverse and shot out of the lake resort as if the devil was following him. Denis just scratched his head as Kenji peeled out of the parking lot.
"I wonder what's up with him?"
---
"So… wait… there is a girl in Emerald Fusion, but she drives the yellow Evo VII instead? And it's her boyfriend who drives the pink Sil-Eighty?" Itsuki demanded later on that day as Kenji showed up at the gas station and reported what he'd learned.
"Yeah, that's right… and according to what I understand… the driver of the white FD… Nayth, she said his name was… is their leader… followed by some guy she called rat-boy Simon… I guess he drives the Levin Hachi-Roku… and then there's her boyfriend Denis in the Sil-Eighty… then her…"
"Did she say how good she was?" Iketani asked curiously. Takumi stood close to them, his bored expression reigning on his face. Kenji stared at Takumi, hoping for a reaction, but when he got none, he continued on.
"She said among the four of them, she's the worst driver… but remember… worst for her may not be our definition of worst…"
"And did she say whether she would be coming to challenge us to a race or something of that sort?" Iketani pressed on. Kenji just blinked and stared blankly at Iketani and Takumi before remembering what they'd said.
"Oh no… she just said that they'd be around whenever they decide to show up… which could be… whenever…" he spoke vaguely and was promptly cuffed on the arm.
"Why didn't you challenge them? That way, we'd get to see how good they really are!" Itsuki cut in indignantly, glaring at Kenji and trying to look menacing, but failing.
"Would you challenge them if you ran into them?" Kenji countered somewhat defensively. Itsuki just sort of trailed off and suddenly became ultimately fascinated with his shoelaces. Takumi chuckled lightly and patted his friend on the back.
"Well, whoever they are, I'm sure they'll show their true skill eventually. They're new, so we just have to give them time…"
---
Well, that's the end of Chapter 1…
AN: I actually wrote this story over the summer vacation, but never had the backbone to actually post it up here. (That and I was actually too lazy to split it up into several chapters, so that I wouldn't overwhelm people with just one huge block of a seemingly neverending fic) But anyway, here it is. The rest will come later. Hope you like it! :)
~BoomChish