(author's notes: and I present to you people another Initial D fic from an Initial D addict and fan! Hello there! I'm back! So sorry that this took so long. You see, the problem with me is that I WRITE fast, but I type down quite slow. It's a wrong combination, believe me. I have a hard time keeping up with it. Anyways, on the fic: this is one the many ones that I like to fondly call a "research fic", since, obviously, I had to research before/during the creation of the ficcie. Another note, this dates fast forward to some time, waaay after the fourth stage (gee, I loved that one, didn't you?) well, before I go on babbling, here is the fic! Enjoy! Please R&R! )

(disclaimer: Please, I do not own Initial D or anything related to it. It is under the ownership of Shigeno-san! )

Initial D- Tofu Talks
by Shimo Hyozan

It was a sunny April afternoon all over Japan. A cool, gentle breeze would occasionally pass by, picking up small debris scattered on the deserted sidewalks. Groups of small children ran in delight, enjoying the sidewalks that they could freely play on. Stopping in front of an old, seemingly empty shop, they started to draw on the ground with the use of a few sidewalk chalk they had in hand.

A white car suddenly parked beside the group and switches off the engine after a much powerful rev. The door of the driver's side was swung open, and a man in his late 30s stepped out, clad in long, white pants and a gray polo. The children looked in awe as the man moved forward towards them and averted his gaze at the run-down shop.

One small girl in a pink summer dress and pigtails tied on her hair bravely went forward and tugged down at the man's pants. "mister?" she meekly said.

Turning his head towards the small and sweet voice his ears picked up, the man replied "yes? What can I do for you?"

"are you going in there?" she pointed at the building in front of them

"why, yes" he said "I guess so, since it's the reason why I came here"

"but mister" another child spoke up, a boy this time "…nobody lives in there"

"oh?" the man replied, half surprised. He walked to the side of the shop and saw an all-too-familiar looking car parked there. A smile curved at his lips he looked at the group of children behind him. He knelt down and told them "somebody lives here"

"no!" the boy said

"have you seen the person living here? There's a car parked out here, so there must be someone here who own the car"

The children thought for a moment. "I haven't seen anyone" the girl replied

"yeah" another child agreed

"and the car is so old looking, maybe it doesn't move anymore!" the boy added

"well…here's something…" the man saidm leaning closer to them "maybe the person living here moves very fast that you can't see him anymore…" he glanced at the parked vehicle "…and maybe, he drives very fast that all you see is a blur"

"aah…" the children said in unison

"see! I told you somebody lives here!" a younger looking boy said

"is it true, mister?" the girl asked politely

"yes, because the person living here is my friend"

"oh…"

He smiled gently at them then said "hey, why don't you all run along home now? Your parents might be looking all over for you, and it's getting late already"

"but we still wanna play!"

The man patted the girl at her head and touched her nose gently "there's still tomorrow, right?"

The girl shrugged, but later on ushered her friends to leave "we're going mister! Bye bye!" she said, waving at him.

Smiling while standing up, the man walked to the front door, now by his side. Sighing once, he grasped the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door open.

A small bell rang, indicationg that someone just stepped in.

"hello?" he said out "excuse me?"

Few seconds ticked away, before a reply came.

"yeah? Wait just a minute, I'm coming" a voice replied within the depths of the store. Shuffling was heard through a doorway behind the counter, with the upper half of it covered in a light yellow curtain. It blocked one view from seeing in any further. It was then parted, revealing another man in his late 20s to early 30s, wearing a white shirt, brown pants and a clear plastic apron. The man went down a step, dusting his hands and said "what can I do for---" his sentence was cut off by the sight of the other occupant of the room. He then stared at him.

"hello there…" the man in gray greeted, while smiling warmly.

Eyebrows furrowed and black eyes narrowed. The owner of the shop then took careful steps forward. "Ryousuke…Takahashi…?" he said warily.

"still the same, I see, Takumi Fujiwara"

The man called Takumi stopped in shock "is…is that really you, Ryousuke?"

A chuckle "well…wanna look out your shop and test your assumption?" he then watched as Takumi rushed forward and walk out. He then followed shortly, and didn't miss the look of astonishment Takumi showed as he stood by the front door.

There, parked ever so casually, was a white Mazda RX-7 FC, that held unbelievable time records attached to its legendary streak.

Takumi snapped out of his reverie upon stepping on something that cackled under his shoes. Turning around, he immediately gave Ryousuke a brotherly hug, which the other man gladly returned.

"well…gee…we haven't seen each other in ages!" Takumi said as soon as they broke away.

"nearly ten years now…"

The younger man grinned "your calculative mind is still up to date"

"I can't live without it being intact"

"I suppose so…" Takumi replied. Then, "oh! I'm sorry! Uh…you want to come in…again?" he added

"sure, sure, thanks" Ryousuke said as he followed inside.

This time around, Ryousuke took the opportunity to properly survey the area.

"so…this is the famous Fujiwara Tofu shop" he said while looking around

"huh? Since when did the shop become famous?" Takumi replied, surprised

"ever since you started racing people"

"oh…yeah…well, this shop is under my name now…" he said, going behind the counter "…obviously inherited it and…just kept the business running. Kept the name, kept the appearance, kept…everything, so that there remains a system…" he then headed for the doorway with the half curtain when he glanced back "Ryousuke-san? Oh no…wait. That sounded wrong" he muttered to himself, then tried once more "hey Ryousuke! Want some tea? I just brewed a pot"

"that would be nice, thank you"

"okay. Be right back feel free to…look around…" and Takumi disappeared in the other room.

Ryousuke didn't have enough time to do so, as his friend returned very shortly, holding a tray with a pot of tea and two cups. He set it down on the table beside the counter and invited the older man to join him as he poured out the hot tea to the cups.

"here"

"thanks"

and the two men sipped their tea quietly.

The tofu master then broke the silence, resting his cup down "so…Ryousuke…" he started "how have you been? How are you? how's everyone? Like Keisuke?"

Another smile, a knowing one this time "oh…well, I'm quite fine, and Keisuke…still the same, but matured a lot. Not that stubborn already, thank god…" he took another sip

"what does he do? What do you do?"

"um…" Ryousuke was a bit overwhelmed at all the questions being targeted at him. But handled them calmly "Keisuke's a chef right now, but that's only in the sidelines, though. As for me, I'm an instructor…"

"really? Wait…lemme guess…" he shut an eye "…an instructor of racing, perhaps?"

"right you are. What else could I teach? Racing's been my life for how many years, so I decided to just pursue on it…"

A moment passed them silently.

"oh, geez! Wait!" Ryousuke suddenly exclaimed. He ran a hand through his dark locks and scratched the back of his head "gee…it's a good thing I remembered…"

"what? What?"

He suddenly gripped on Takumi's arm and looked at him straight in the eye.

"Fujiwara…"

"uh…yes?" a sweatdrop

looking away for a while, Ryousuke continued "I was wondering if you…"

"yes?" he gulped.

"if I…"

"go on…" The anticipation was killing him.

"…could buy some tofu from you?"

Takumi immediately fell off his seat.

"Fujiwara!" Ryousuke stood up and looked across the table, to see Takumi's limp body on the floor. "you okay?"

The other waved a hand "yeah, yeah…" while sitting up, a double sweatdrop now. "so, you DID come here a reason…"

"yup" he replied calmly. "Keisuke sent me here to get some tofu, so I decided to stop by here and pick up a few, rather than going to the grocery. Besides, I'm quite sure that you have a fresher batch compared to the ones already packaged"

"oh, right…" Takumi then managed to stand up and walk towards the kitchen. Scratching his head. He asked "what kind of tofu do you need?"

"what? Uh…I'm not sure…raw?" he answered unsurely

Takumi gave out a slight chuckle at the answer given "now, he didn't specify what kind he needed?"

"didn't bother to…"

He sighed "your brother hasn't changed…" he then scratched a cheek "anyway, well…do you have any idea where he's going to use it?"

Ryousuke looked thoughtful "well…he mentioned he was going to do something to it for the main dish, then use the remaining ones for the dessert…"

"settled then. I think I have an idea what to give you now…" he walked near the sink when he looked back at his guest "you wanna come right in here? Or it's fine if you just stand there…"

"you might need space"

"nah, it's okay with me. I'll manage"

with that, Ryousuke walked a few and stepped in the small, slightly cramped kitchen.

"I think this would do fine…" he heard Takumi say out, as he was looking in the sink. Takumi reached in a pulled out a large white tray, which he carried to the tile countertop. "so…where are my gloves…" he walked around the kitchen, making a full survey of the area only to find them sitting on a crate by he faucet on the wall. He proceeded to wear them and peer in the tray.

"say, Fujiwara"

"yeah?" he replied without looking

"do you still race?"

a pause

he straightened up "well…I still deliver the tofu every morning to the hotel by lake Akina. Does that suffice?"

a shake of the head "no, not really. I mean, other than that? Like how it was ten years back?"

Takumi pondered for a moment. "no" he simply answered

"why not?"

"I really don't know…"

"so, you mean to say that the legendary Akina AE86 Panda Trueno is long gone?"

"not exactly. It's more "on a rest". I'm quite content to racing by myself up and down my home course"

"oh…"

"but heck. It' an undeniable fact that there are some days when I dream I could truly race once more. Relive those times and feel the blood rush around my system" he sighed a bit. Grabbing his knife in one of the drawers, he changed the topic "I'll give you guys some silken tofu, since that's the one that is most commonly used for dishes"

Ryousuke could only nod. He watched Takumi skillfully handle the very wobbly and fragile bean curd. He ran his knife to cut smaller portions then transferred them into individual plastic containers. He filled up around six of them and asked "is this enough?"

A shrug "I guess so"

Takumi then set his knife down and got a pitcher and filled it with water from the tap "how about you" he asked out of the blue

"huh?"

"is the legendary white comet of Akagi still up and about?"

He smirked a bit "well…what do you think?"

"I should've known better to not ask that question" he shook his head while smiling "did you do anything to it? Any revisions or upgrades?" he shut the water off.

"I never touched the engine, since it still works well for me. Beside, maintaining it top condition already takes a lot of time, plus the fact that I teach almost 14 hours a day. I really have no time…" he sighed "and you? How's the Hatchi-roku?"

"still the same engine that baffled the hell outta Wataru a long ago" he grinned

"…actually, me too…"

"really?" he was surprised to find out that even Ryousuke was messed up with his engine.

"it puzzled me for a while, but I researched enough…and answered my questions"

The topic stopped itself, as the Tofu master poured water in the containers and sealed them off. He wiped off the excess water while saying "Keisuke's cooking this? I hope he's aware just how fragile tofu is…" he threw the towel away and placed his hands on his hips.

"Say, Takumi…" the white comet called out

"yeah?"

Ryousuke placed a hand to his chin "you busy tonight?"

"not really. Business is really low especially during the night. Nobody really wanders aimlessly in here and say he wants to buy some tofu unlike some others I know…" he raised an eyebrow.

"well…" the other man smiled sheepishly, trying to continue "wanna attend a party?"

"what?"

"all our old friends are going to my place, and I think that they'll be glad to see your face after all this time"

Takumi didn't say a word.

"besides…" he glanced at the packed up tofu "I really need help in transporting all that tofu all the way to Akagi…" he raised an eyebrow "well? You up for a little drive?"

A determined look flashed in Takumi's orbs. "if you can consider it a race, sure, why not?" he removed his rubber gloves "wait here, I'll just get changed" and he walked to his room.

---

"so, you sure this is all you'll need?"

"yeah. That's enough"

Takumi decided to transport all the tofu to his own transport trays, separating them into two to give them ample space for the water to fill in. He loaded the trays at the rear of his car . Ryousuke watched on, then commented "it's great to see this car again…it's like seeing an old friend"

The other man just smiled at him, when something struck him. "hey, I have an idea"

A look of cluelessness

"…for a…little race…" he grinned "wanna try carrying tofu at the back of your beautiful FC?"

"what?" he found it an odd request. Very odd indeed.

"c'mon! so we can race in equal conditions…well, sort of…" he looked at him "what do you say?"

Ryousuke thought "well, okay then"

"that's great!" Takumi nearly jumped for joy. Instead, he grabbed the other tray while smiling largely. He followed his mentor to the other car and laid it down the trunk.

"oh…wait…" he suddenly commented

"what's wrong?"

"the trunk…can't we put it in your backseat instead?"

"we can't. the rollcage is blocking it"

"oh yeah…"

"will it spoil here?"

"well…it just might because of the heat…" Takumi placed a hand to his temple while thinking "can the back seats open down, ay least a bit?"

"I think it can" Ryousuke said. He opened the back door and reached for a tiny lever at the headrest of one of the seats. He pulled the seat down a bit "is that enough?" he asked as the other peered in.

"yeah, I guess that'll do, just to get air circulating there. And anyway, YOU'LL be driving"

"and what exactly are you implying?"

"well…" he shook a hand then disappeared in the shop once more, and then stepped out, carrying two paper cups filled with water.

"I'm implying that you have to maintain balance and control…" he handed one to Ryousuke "…for the water to not spill out" he held up his own cup to eye level "you see, the trick here is to make the water rotate…" and he shook his cup, making the water go around and around "…and to NOT spill a single drop. Just keep on rotating the water and make sure that none of it gets out of the cup" he stopped his hand "you got it?"

"yeah, I think I got it"

"alright then. Let's go!" he turned then suddenly exclaimed "oh wait!". He searched for something in his car then tossed a small item towards Ryousuke. "here! You'll need this!"

The driver of the white FC caught it in his hands and asked "what's this?"

Takumi smiled as he got in his car "a cup holder"

A minute of two later, two engines, a rotary one and a Group A Spec 4AGE, roared to life, giving out powerful revs that sounded off through the small alleyway.

---

Two white cars parked in front of the Takahashi household. The engines died down as an individual emerged out of each vehicle. One with brown hair went towards the other one.

"how did you find the drive?"

"different, and challenging if I might say"

The sound of the trunk being popped open was heard.

"so…how did I do?"

Takumi looked down at the trunk and gazed down at the water-submerged tofu. He smelled it, and said happily "as I expected, you did just well…" he took out the tray and carried it to the rear of his car, setting it beside his own. "…and how's your cup of water?"

Ryousuke headed for his car and reached in to take out his cup "all still here"

"really?" Takumi said, walking to him to inspect it himself.

"yup" and without warning, the older man threw the contents towards is friend's face then gave out a laugh. He placed a hand on Takumi's shoulder and said "thanks for the little teaching…"

The younger Takahashi's voice called out to them from the balcony "c'mon guys! Aniki! Come on! Bring up that tofu now!"

Takumi shook off the water from his face, looked up and smiled. Seeing Ryousuke signaling him to help him with the tofu, he thought to himself 'I'm sure glad nothing really changed. If they did, they're for the better'

END: Tofu Talks

(author's final notes: I am TERRIBLY sorry for the crappyness of the ending. It didn't come out as I wanted it. Anyway, please do review and tell me your comments!)