Keisuke milled around the gallery, feeling largely extraneous. Ryousuke had everything under control, as usual. Of course, he needed to be on hand in case his brother did want something, but until that happened, he was free to do whatever he liked. The other team was gathered on the far side of the gallery, the Nightkids he'd heard. They were a new team, and they were keen to make a name for themselves. Logically, they wanted to measure themselves against an established team like the Redsuns, but they didn't have to win in order to succeed in this. Ryousuke had run the Redsuns for the last two years, and since then, their record had been near perfect. It was unlikely that an upstart team would beat them on the first try. How well the Nightkids raced, however, would determine their rank among the other teams, who were their real competition. Someday, perhaps, they might be ready to really challenge the Redsuns, but not tonight. Keisuke roamed into the nether land between the team areas. This was where the wannabes parked, racers too young or inexperienced to make any team as of yet. They came to every meet, lived, breathed, and drank touge. Some had promise, and some would never make it. His ongoing assignment was to differentiate the two, and watch the ones that showed skill. Ryousuke was always on the look out for the next great talent. Till then, Keisuke combed the crowds. As he came to the edge of the gallery, someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him into a dark clump of trees.

"What the-"

"Shh!"

A face emerged from the darkness, a face from the past. He was a little older, and a little harder, but recognizable nonetheless.

"Shingo?" Keisuke blurted in disbelief. "Is it really you?"

"Of course it's me, you idiot. Who else would it be?" Shingo snapped.

"Damn, it's good to see you!" Unable to help himself, Keisuke threw his arms around Shingo and hugged him. He felt resistance at first, but it seemed his old friend was happy to see him too, because after a moment, he relaxed.

"It's good to see you, too. What the hell happened to you anyway? I mean, one day you're at school, and the next you're gone! No one would tell me where you went!"

Keisuke scratched his head. "They finally put my old man away. Child services took me; I had no choice."

Shingo frowned. "Sounds bad."

"It was ok. I stayed in the home a month, and then I got adopted."

"No shit! By who?"

Keisuke grinned. "You're not gonna believe it." He jerked a finger towards the RedSuns encampment. "Takahashi Ryousuke's my brother."

Shingo gawked at him. "That pompous pissant is your brother?"

Keisuke frowned and shoved him just hard enough to let him know he meant it. "Don't talk about him like that. You don't even know him."

Shingo rolled his eyes. "If you say so. Anyway, what you been up to?"

"The usual stuff. I just got my permit, so I'm finally an official member of the Redsuns. I was kind of an unofficial member, because of my brother, but I finally got the sticker and everything." He beamed. "Oh, and I just found out I'm going to college in the fall!"

Shingo looked suitably impressed. "Nice."

"What about you?"

Shingo shrugged. "I just got my permit too, and I bought a car. I'm not on a team yet or anything, but I'm working on it. I got a lot of ideas."

"Cool," Keisuke said. "You working now?"

"Yeah, I was working part time at a garage, but I've gone full time since graduation. I like it, and it pays pretty well. How about you? You working?"

"I thought about it, but we get whatever we need from my dad, so I guess it's not like I need a job."

Shingo quirked an eyebrow. "That's convenient."

Keisuke shrugged. "I'm supposed to concentrate on school, so I can help Ryousuke with the family business one day."

"Help him how?"

"Well, my dad says that when he's gone, it's up to us to take care of everything. He's shown Ryousuke what to do, but Ryousuke can't do everything by himself, which is why he needs me to back him up. It's like accounts, and real estate, stuff like that."

Shingo snorted. "Bo-oring."

Keisuke put his hands on his hips in mock exasperation. "Like you lead such an exciting life."

"I do," Shingo said with a lopsided smirk. "It's a laugh a minute, with the clowns around."

Keisuke winced internally at the mention of "the clowns". He'd forgotten all about them. "Oh yeah, how's your mom?"

"Ok, I guess. She's with this guy Akihiko, now. He's a real asshole, as usual. She wants me to move out, but I've only been working full time for like…" he thought about it for a second, "a month, so I don't have the cash yet. I told her yesterday, don't worry, once I've got the money I'm fucking gone."

Keisuke eyed the beat up old fourth generation Civic parked a few meters away and felt slightly guilty. Did he really race in that thing? It didn't even look like he could buy groceries in it.

Shingo followed his gaze and grinned. "Yeah, I know, it's not much to look at. But I don't need some fancy car to learn to drive. Hell, I crashed into some bushes last week. Can you imagine doing that in a brand new car? I'd be too damn scared to try anything!"

Keisuke was driving a brand new car, and he knew it. Then again, with first class instruction from Ryousuke, he didn't make many mistakes. "Er…yeah."

Shingo gave him a suspicious sniff. "What are you driving?"

Keisuke colored. "An FD," he mumbled.

Shingo's mouth fell open. "Holy shit! Can I drive it?"

"Hell no, you can't drive it!"

"Why not?" Shingo demanded.

"Because you'd probably run it into a bush, that's why!"

Shingo gave him a shove that almost knocked him off his feet. "Fuck you, asshole!"

Keisuke pushed him back, and before they knew it they were on the ground wrestling, just like they had done when they were boys. Keisuke had always lost their wrestling matches, having always been the skinny, lanky one. Shingo had been stockier, and heavier, on top of which he'd always been the more aggressive of the two. This time, however, Keisuke immediately recognized how his superior height leant him an advantage. His longer limbs gave him better leverage, and he was able to pin Shingo with relative ease.

"Hah!" he laughed, surprised and delighted. "I win!"

"Get off me!" Shingo growled. "How much do you fucking weigh?"

Keisuke snorted. "More than you, apparently."

Shingo glared up at him, and they were so close together that he was reminded of another time, long ago, when they had practiced an altogether different activity together. Keisuke couldn't remember exactly what had transpired to bring up the conversation, but the conclusion had been that they should practice kissing so that they would be ready to kiss girls at the school's end of the year social. Without thinking, he closed the scant gap between them and suddenly they were kissing, and it felt a hell of a lot better than it had back then. Shingo tasted sweet. An image flickered across his mind's eye, his best friend and him splitting a can of Coke, and he suddenly knew what that taste was.

"Keisuke!" he heard Ryousuke call from across the gallery.

He pulled away abruptly. Scrambling to his feet, he jumped out of the bushes and waved as his brother. "I'm here, Aniki!" he yelled. "Meet me afterwards, at the Family's at the bottom," he hissed over his shoulder. Then he strode quickly back to where Ryousuke was waiting.

"What on earth were you doing over there?" Ryousuke asked, giving him a critical look.

Keisuke flushed. "Ah, I had to um, relieve myself."

Ryousuke reached up and pulled a leaf from his hair. He stared at it a moment before tossing it on the ground. "Now?" he asked reproachfully.

"It's not like I planned it!" Keisuke snapped. "So anyway, what's going on?"

"What do you mean, what's going on? The race is about to start!" Ryousuke pressed a walkie-talkie into his hand. "You're doing the count. Let's go!"

Keisuke clapped his brother on the back. "You're gonna kick his ass."

Ryousuke smirked. "I know." He got into his FC and slammed the door. The FC's Wankel twin turbo roared to life, the headlamps popping up a second later.

Keisuke walked to the middle of the road, where he waited while the two competitors aligned themselves for the race. This wasn't his first glimpse of Nakazato Takeshi, but it was the first time he'd seen him in his new R32. The Silvia driver's sudden and unexpected switch to grip-style driving had surprised everyone. It was actually what had prompted his brother to grant this race. Ryousuke didn't usually accept challenges from untested teams, because it wasn't worth his while to race unworthy opponents. But Nakazato Takeshi behind the wheel of an R32, this he had to see for himself.

Keisuke glanced at Nakazato. The guy looked determined, that was for sure. Nakazato nodded to indicate his readiness. He looked at his brother, and received a straight, unembellished nod. He could see that Ryousuke was in full racing mode, and nothing would break his concentration.

"Ready? Three….Two….One…..GO!" he shouted, dropping his arm sharply. Both cars peeled past him with an earsplitting roar and a whoosh of exhaust. The crowd erupted, and the race was on!