Time goes on. Winter comes and goes. The months past and the mountain roads become clear once again. Mid spring is now here. This is where they return. The winter has not changed them at all. They're still the Blak Nites.

11:03 pm. Springs first perfect night. Tires screech. Engines roar. The sound of the Black Mazda RX7 FC3S TurboII belonging to Nik of the Nites is heard coming off the first hairpin turn on Myogi. Headlights shine behind him.

The second Nite, Mei, is seen as his back end slides far out towards the rail as his White Nissan Skyline GT-R32 is heard coming around the turn. His body straightens out as yet another set of headlights shine behind him.

Although slightly slower than the other two cars, the Black Toyota Trueno AE86, now belonging to Al, comes around the corner and exits faster then the other two, due to the N/A engine.

Winter wasn't very hard on the Nites. They all had gone home for the holidays and returned. Nik and Mei had worked extensively on their snow drifting techniques as Al continued to do his deliveries for the Tea shop.

Jobs hadn't come as easy. Although Mei and Al still held down their jobs, Nik hadn't been as lucky. It was getting to the point where he was going to have to start working at a fast food restaurant just to afford gas.

Nik hadn't been too lucky in the love department either. Although Mei and Sara's relationship had blossomed once again and Al and Miki had continued their steady relationship, Nik had not had a relationship since what he called 'The Kim Incident'.

I suppose it could be said that Nik was the unhappy Nite. He barley smiled anymore and he spent most of his time sitting around in his underwear watching TV. He didn't hate his life, but he was far from liking it.

And this is where we pick them up. There lives, stable...mostly. Their cars, high revving...kinda. Their abilities peaked...barely. Alright screw it; let's see if they stay alive through this shit...

Nik turned the wheel lightly to left as he let off the gas and coasted into the three car garage. He saw the R32 as well as the Hachiroku follow him in. He stepped out of his car and looked over at his teammates.

He said with a partial smile, "Nice run guys."

Mei stepped out of the R32 with a smile, "That's a good start to our summer as number 2 on Myogi."

Al stepped out of the 86 with the same attitude, "Hell yeah, we're gonna hold down number 2."

Nik shrugged, "For now at least..."

The Nites walked into the house through the garage entrance which led them to the kitchen. As Mei and Al walked into their separate rooms, Nik noticed a blinking light on the answering machine.

He walked over and pressed the button, beginning the message. He couldn't believe what he heard. It said, "Hi, this is Nakazato Takeshi of the Myogi Night Kids. We heard that you beat White lightning before the start of winter. I wanted to congratulate you. Also, I want to talk to you guys. Your helping us uphold the respect of Myogi now. We just want you to be clear on that. Meet me tomorrow night at 10 in the parking lot at the peak."

Nik lost his breath for a moment. This was amazing. Being challenged by a team as skilled as the Night Kids...well, reputation wise they kinda suck, but they are a decent team.

Nik remembered what Kanryu had told him at the end of their battle before winter. He remembered a lot about it. He had told him not to settle. What Mei and Al said in the garage; that was settling. What would be pushing ahead would be challenging the Night Kids to a battle for there title.

Nik shook his head. That was a stupid idea. He only raced for the fun of it. On the other hand, racing a good team would be fun. It would be challenging and exciting. It was just fun.

Nik shook his head once more. He was tired. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly. He stood up and nearly walked away when he turned around and looked at the answering machine. He walked over and deleted the message. He didn't want the guys to see it.

He walked into his room and pulled his shirt off his back. He fell onto his bed, his eyes slowly closing. He had to try and get some sleep. It would make him able to think tomorrow morning...

Alex rolled over and slapped his alarm clock as it went off. He groggily lifted his body off the mattress and put himself on his feet. He quickly dressed before exiting his room, the Hachiroku keys in hand.

He slid into the set of the Hachiroku and pulled the belt across his shoulder. He started the car and let out his usual disappointed sigh. His car was fine; it was just the lack of power that he didn't like.

The Hachiroku, as it sat, had 115 hp, as well as 97 ft-lbs of torque. It had 105 less hp than the FC and 165 less than the now turbocharged R32. There was also a gap between the torque by 160 ft-lbs on the R32 and110 with the FC.

Al had one problem he had to contend with. Money. He had none. He hadn't seen one paycheck from the tea shop. They were all sent to the house. Mei had cleaned out the car fund to afford the R32, so that left him with no money available to upgrade his car.

He sighed and backed out of the garage. He made his way down the mountain and towards the tea house. He picked everything up and quickly took care of his morning deliveries.

Al pulled back into the garage later that morning and walked into the kitchen. He saw Nik staring into a cup of black coffee. He looked worried and distraught about something.

Al sat next to him, "What's wrong bro?"

Nik continued to look down at his coffee, "Nothing..."

"Stop lying, what's the matter?"

"We were invited to go talk to the Night Kids. Nakazato left a message on our machine."

"How did he get our number?"

"It doesn't matter, the thing is... I want to challenge them."

"Nik, man, do you even remember how long ago you had the race with Kanryu? Ever since then you've only gone up against Mei and that was racing in the snow."

"Yeah, I know. I'm a little out of practice, but still, I can race. Not to mention my motto, 'win or lose, just drive'."

"So this would be just something we'd do for fun, right?"

"Right, no pressure."

"Well, we still have to ask Mei. This would be not only a downhill, but an uphill battle as well."

"Exactly, it would pit R32 against R32. The GT-R race, meaning it would be left up to who is the better driver."

"Yeah, but then me or you have to race Shingo Shouji."

Nik sighed, "Yeah, the dirtiest driver around..."

"I could probably take him."

Nik looked up, "No, you're not skilled enough."

"Nik!"

"I'm serious, if he pulls something crazy, you'll be sitting at the bottom of Myogi."

"I could handle myself..."

"It all boils down to the fact that I've had more experience."

"I've been drifting since I was thirteen!"

"And I've been drifting since I was fourteen, and now I'm 22 and you're seventeen."

"Fine, you're the team leader, it's your decision."

"Why thank you."

A groggy and half naked Mei walks into the kitchen, "Yo."

Nik looks over at him, "Hey, you wanna challenge the Night Kids?"

Mei yawns loudly as he pours his coffee, "When?"

"Tonight, probably meaning we're racing on Saturday."

Mei walked away from the kitchen and into his room, "Ok."

Nik smiled, "I guess everything's gonna be A-o..."

"WHAT!"

Later that Night...

The Blak Nites cars pulled into the upper parking lot of Mt. Myogi and parked opposite from the Night Kids. Nik stepped out of his FC and looked across at Shingo and Nakazato, sitting on their cars hoods.

Nik approached them, Mei walking a pace behind him on his right, Al two paces behind him on his left. They stop as the here Nakazato say, "I'm glad you showed up."

Nik nodded, "Yeah."

He put his hand out, "Nakazato Takeshi, leader of the Myogi Night Kids."

Nik shook his hand, "Hogashinu Nikorasu, leader of the Myogi Blak Nites."

"The reason we called you up here tonight is to make sure you understand some things about us. You're not the top team on Myogi, we are."

"Actually, we wanted to talk to you about changing that."

Nakazato looked him down, "You want to challenge us."

"Yeah, to two races. An uphill and a downhill, right here on Myogi."

"What happens if it's a tie?"

"We run a sudden-death match, winner take all."

Nakazato opened his mouth but Shingo spoke first, "Sounds like fun."

Nik looked at Shingo. He had a devilish grin on his face. Shingo stood up off of the hood of his EG-6 and walked over to him. Shingo then pointed at his FC, "your ride?"

Nik nodded. Shingo sighed, "You're just as bad as the rest of them."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a pathetic FR driver. Even if you're good at drifting this thing, the fact still remains that it's FR, causing more problems then its worth."

Nik clenched his fist, "Like...?"

"In my Civic, I know I'm not going to oversteer too much and spin out due to my constant road grip. Besides that, I wont understeer because unlike an FR, where you're forcing the rear tires to follow the front, my rear tires automatically follow my front because it's FF. Face it, an FR is only good for drifting, not racing."

Al opened his mouth quickly, "Then how'd you lose to the 86 of Akina?"

Shingo stopped and looked over at the kid. With an evil glare in his eyes, he said, "I made a stupid move at the end because I didn't realize how easy it would be to pass him on the inside of the corner, ok?"

Al smirked, "You keep telling yourself that..."

Shingo looked over to him, "Listen you stupid punk, I'm gonna..."

Nik looked at Al, "Shut up before you get beat."

Al returned to his spot on the hood of his 86. Shingo looked over at Nik again, "Well, you and me on the downhill?"

Nik nodded, "Right."

Takeshi looked towards Mei, "And you'll race me on the uphill?"

Mei nodded, "I s'pose."

"Good, Saturday night then, meet us here." Takeshi began to get into his R32 when he looked back at the Nites, "Bring you're A-game, you'll need it."

They sat and watched as the Night Kid's left Myogi's summit and drove down the mountain. Nik sighed, "Jesus Christ..."

Al looked at him, "What's he got anything to do with it?"

Nik smiled, "You guys wanna go home?"

Al nodded but Mei shook his head, "Can't, got a date."

Nik looked over at him with a cold stare, "Go then."

Mei looked back at him, "Man, just because I'm happy, doesn't mean you gotta get all pissed at me."

Nik sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Mei shook his head, "It's fine, I'll see ya'll tomorrow."

Mei got into his R32 and drove away from Mt. Myogi. He quickly got to the Highway and began to drive towards Mt. Tochigi. He knew she'd be waiting. He accelerated hard like he always would in his GT-R.

It took him little less then 45 minutes to get there. He began to climb to the summit on Tochigi's uphill road. Tochigi was a single lane road. One road went up, another went down. The summit was an Inn called "The Tochigi Inn."

Mei pulled into the parking lot that sat on the summit and saw all three cars sitting there. He got out and smiled at all of them, "How are you guys doing?"

A young Brazilian man stepped out of asilver Nissan Skyline ER33, "Tired, because you made us wait once again."

Mei sighed, "I live in Myogi, it's a bit of a ride to get here."

An American woman who sat on the hood of ared Mazda RX-7 FD3S said, "Yeah, Yeah, we've heard it before Mei."

Mei sighed, "Where's Sara?"

A middle-aged Japanese man stepped out of a Green Nissan Silvia S-14, "Late, just like her boyfriend."

Mei then heard the engine of Sara's Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV come up the climbing side. He watched as she parked and then quickly ran over to him with a smile and kissed him. The girl who was on the FD said, "Awww."

Mei looked over at her as he reluctantly released Sara, "Why don't all of you just shut up and start driving."

They all got into their respective cars and drove off. All the car's except the FD and S-14 drove down the mountain. Mei looked at the FD and S-14 drivers before he went down the mountain "Don't die..."

They nodded as they started there engines and began to drive down the mountain very quickly. The S-14 led with the FD tailing. They entered the first downhill corner at top speeds.

The S-14 initiated a feint drift, along with the FD. Both cars exited quickly, the S-14 still leading. The S-14 driver looked in his rear view mirror, noticing the smirk of the FD driver.

He smirked, "Sorry kid, not this time."

He drifted aggressively into the first set of Tochigi hairpins. His technique was a slightly. The FD followed with a tighter, more strategic drift.

The S-14 driver sighed, 'She's toying with me. Why!'

The S-14 used the built up inertia from the other hairpins to send him through the next two. The FD followed, while sliding slightly more then the S-14. Both cars geared up as they approached Tochigi's right/left/right turn.

Both cars broke into the first right and powered around it as they went towards the next. While the FD slid more then the S-14 once again. He knew his line was tighter, but she followed with a very fast technique, as well as a more powerful car.

He approached the next corner as he heel/toe downshifted. He then steered into the corner. The FD followed with a long slide. They exited the corner with very little room between them.

They sighed as the entered a set of seven continuous hairpins. The S-14 driver feathered the throttle around the first two hairpins. The FD driver broke more, as could be seen from the excessive tire smoke.

Both FR drivers drove hard in to the rest of the corners, the S-14 increasing the lead slightly. His technique was much more strategic. His moves were technical and they were executed as if he was a circuit racer.

On the other hand, the FD slid a lot, more like a person trained in the art of drifting. Although her moves flowed, they were excessive when it came to the braking. She slowed down excessively in order to create the perfect angle.

Yet, she still seemed to be catching up. She wasn't keeping her speed especially high, yet it was constant. She never slowed down much lower then 90 mph. Her drift was the epiphany of perfection.

The came out of the hairpins and headed past the halfway point where Mei's R32 sat. Mei clicked his stopwatch as they drove by. He looked down at it as their tail lights slid around the next corner. He smiled.

They attacked the left hand corner with great technique. Both cars entered the next turn with equal power and grace. The FD's power brought it within a single car length from the S-14.

They approached a set of two hairpins and drifted into them both with a lot of acceleration. They powered out quickly. They approached a sharp right which was followed by another hairpin.

There drifts were tight in dealing with the tight, dual lane road. Their cars were pushing the limit the entire way down. Soon the FD driver saw a flicker in her rear-view mirror.

As they entered the next downhill turn, the white R32 came into perfect view. Both cars began to accelerate more quickly. They entered the next corner with the R32 still closing.

The S-14 driver noticed the FD was shakier then before. He looked ahead and tried to keep his composure. He entered a hard, right turn and he could feel the R32 hunting him down.

Two more corners went by before the R32 attempted a pass on the FD. He attacked from the outside of the corner and the FD slowed down, with the R32 pulling ahead. He gripped the next corner and found the R32 catching up to him.

He was sweating. The pressure was beating down on him. He entered the next right with his back sliding more then he wanted. He adjusted angrily and ended up accelerating too much, increasing his oversteer.

He sighed as he began to calm down after the last corner. He entered the next one with a clearer head. He then noticed the R32 which followed him on his left side into the right hand turn.

He accelerated but then approached the second corner, a left. They entered and the R32's superior four-wheel grip pushed him through the corner faster and he came out ahead. Although the S-14 attempted to catch up, the R32 slid around the second corner and sped away before he could catch up.

He sighed and flashed his blinkers at the FD to show her he'd been passed. They slowed down and pulled into the parking lot which sat at the bottom of the mountain. This parking lot belonged to The Tochigi Restaurant.

The FD driver and S-14 driver stepped out of their cars and looked over at the ER33 driver. The FD driver demanded, "Time."

The driver of the ER33 looked at his stopwatch, "You got 3:35:21 and Sato got 3:33:26."

Sato looked angrily at Mei, "And him?"

The ER33 driver smiled, "3:24:15"

Sato looked over at him, "How is it that you can beat us every time?"

Mei smiled, "Superior Technique."

The FD driver looked over at him, "What about my power?"

"Once again, technique. All of you have to learn that there is a perfect balance between grip and drift. You just have to find it."

The entire group nodded as they looked upon Mei, Pupils to Master. Mei nodded, "Uphill team, you're on."

Sara and the ER33 driver stepped into their cars and began to drive up the uphill side of Mt. Tochigi. Mei watched as their taillights disappeared around the first corners.

Mei looked over at the FD driver, "Why haven't you told him you're here yet?"

She sighed, "I'm waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"The perfect moment, He busted into my life at the perfect time, I plan to do the same when I break back into his."

"Smooth, very smooth. Do you think he'll notice you without the GT2?"

She smirked, "I got a feeling he'll know."

Mei met her smirk. He sighed, "A lot has changed about him since we came back. I'd bet he's probably at home in his underwear eating rice and watching TV as we speak..."

Nik adjusted his boxers as he leaned back on the couch and picked up his bowl of rice. He reached onto the coffee table and picked up the remote as he began to flip through the channels.

Nik sighed as he got to a racing channel. It was a rally. He watched as the camera followed the blue Subaru Impreza around a snowy right hand turn. He sighed as he took another bite of his race.

Al walked into the room a second later in similar attire. He sat down in an easy chair that sat to the left of Nik. Nik looked over at him, "Sup?"

Al shook his head, "Eh, not much, just got off the phone with Miki."

Nik nodded as he looked back at the TV, "Kool."

Al nodded, "Hey Nik?"

Nik said, "Yup?"

"What ever happened to the money from my tea deliveries in the morning?"

"I saved it."

"Really? How much did you get for that job?"

"2,250 yen per delivery."

"Wow! Is that a lot?"

Nik shook his head, "It's about 20 bucks US."

"That's not bad especially for three deliveries a day."

Nik nodded, "Yup, but moneys been crappy since I lost my job and you're only doing a single delivery per day."

"We'll, how much have I earned?"

"Do the math."

Al began to think, "20 USD times 31 days times 7..."

Nik sighed, "4,340 American bucks."

Al's eyes widened, "Holy shit!"

Nik sighed, "Watch your language."

"How much is that in yen?"

"A couple hundred short of a half-mil."

"WOW!"

"Could you keep your voice down?"

"Why don't I see a cent of that cash?"

"Because Al, we're poor."

"But..."

"We have to pay insurance on three cars and the house, then there's electricity and water and blah, blah, blah."

"But Mei transferred his American account here."

"Yeah, that gives us 10,000 American, which is a little over a million here. A million yen sounds like a lot, but ain't."

"But..."

"Look, until I get a job, we can't spend any money on cars. I'm sorry."

"How the fuck were you able to customize the FC and Sil-80 then!"

"Stop yelling at me. That was when we first got here. The reason we're poor was because of those cars."

"We'll, stop being so fucking money conscious. I need to fix up this car. I'm not a strong competitor with a stock 86."

"Look, I understand the lack of power is a set back, but..."

"The thing doesn't have one upgrade."

"Not one, huh?"

"What?"

Nik stood up, "Follow me."

Nik walked out to the garage. He walked around to the other side of his FC and bent down in front of the Hachiroku's left front tire. He pointed behind the tire and looked at Al, "Look."

Al looked behind the tire and his eye's widened. He read the spring's manufacturer sticker, "Tanabe?"

Nik nodded, "On all four tires, now pop the hood."

Al did as instructed. He then looked upon the stock 86 engine with his brother, "I don't see anything."

Nik pointed at the fuel pump, "Walboro."

Al's eyes widened, "Holy..."

Nik then pointed to the air filter, "K&N."

Al looked over at Nik, "You did all this?"

Nik nodded, "As well as installed a new muffler, Matrix."

"Why does it still feel so weak?"

"It still only has about 140 hp. I was prepping it for a turbo but I got side-tracked when you showed up."

"How much would the turbo cost?"

"150,000 for a bolt-on kit, plus 45,000 for a turbo manifold."

"How much power would that give me?"

"I'd mark it around 180, 185."

Al sighed, "That still feels weak..."

"Well, there is one other option..."

"What is it?"

"Calm down, you could install an additional supercharger in it."

"Really!"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, but that would cost 200,000 yen for the kit."

"That'd be..."

"Basically 400,000 yen."

"How much would the power would I get?"

"With the turbo, probably 240 HP."

Al smiled, "That'd be perfect."

Nik sighed, "You do realize that would mean taking nearly a third of the money we have to live on, right?"

"Please Nik?"

Nik sighed, "I don't know..."

"Come on Nik, I want to be able to race like you and Mei."

Nik sighed, "I will admit, you do need the power, and it's a lot cheaper then just buying you a new car..."

Al smiled, "So?"

"I'll think about it."

"You'll think about it."

"You get that much out of me, now go the fuck to bed. You got school tomorrow you dumb shit."

Al smiled and walked back into the house. Nik smiled as he shut the hood and then leaned on the FC. He looked over at the windshield as if it was another person. He raised an eyebrow, "Do you think I'm money conscious?"

I realize I kinda just dropped a BN X-mas, but that's because of personal reasons. I needed to get back to my roots of writing about racing. I hope you enjoy it. Till then, Gohan gaitei wo doko desu ka?