Last 2000rpm
Summary: Daiki Ninomiya wants to know what exactly happened in that race. A couple of years after Project D disbands, he finally finds the time after graduating from the Toudou-Juku to find the first person to beat him. One shot.
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"Man! What another hot summer! And it's only the start!" Itsuki complained as his last customer exited the petrol kiosk.
Iketani smiled at the same complain he hears every year for the past couple of years as he worked under the hood of a brand new jade green, Nissan Silvia S15 he had recently bought to replace his old Silvia, making sure everything is prepared and in good condition for tonight's meet. The years of self tuning and helping friends have expanded into a small business he does ad hoc at the parking lot of Mount Akina, earning him the upgrade.
Itsuki looked over when he didn't get a response, "Iketani-senpai, are we still heading up to the mountain tonight?" He asked, after making sure that there weren't any other cars coming in.
Said senior closed the hood shut and nodded before adding, "only if you keep up" with a smirk, a running joke between the two of them but he knew on the downhill of Akina, Itsuki has already improved to an extent where he could give even Kenta of the Redsuns a little trouble, especially after he was introduced to Matsumoto by Takumi and had his car properly set up, now driving Wataru's old supercharged Levin AE86 when the older man finally upgraded to a brand new GT86.
As they discussed the plans for the night, a highly modified engine caught their attention in the form of a Civic Type R EK9, the Todo-Juku's demo car to be exact. Rolling into one of the available kiosks, both of them went to attend to the car as they watched the driver step out.
"High Octane full please" the driver asked when he saw them both and looked over to the S15 and Levin, "are you guys part of the local team here?" He asked.
"Yes we are. Can we help you?" Iketani asked back.
Daiki Ninomiya smiled as lady fortune smiled upon him allowing him to find the local racers much faster than he had anticipated after the long drive, he nodded "Yes, I'm Daiki Ninomiya from the Todo-Juku. I'm looking for Takumi Fujiwara and word has it that Akina is his home turf contrary to Project D's home of Akagi"
Iketani and Itsuki immediately recognized the name of the driver and school, keeping the knowledge to themselves as they answered one of Takumi's biggest rivals, "why are you looking for him?" Itsuki answered, all the while keeping his concentration on pumping car while Iketani cleaned the windshield.
"It regards to our battle a couple of years ago and I wish to speak with him. I'm guessing you know him personally since you are asking"
Itsuki contemplated if he should answer correctly, "yes, I do."
"Do you know where I can find him?"
Itsuki pondered on for a second and hesitated before answering, "he is on his off season now. Doesn't practice with us as much as he used to but you can try being at the peak at 4am tonight. I can't guarantee anything else"
The racing instructor nodded, gave his thanks, paid his fees and left.
Iketani and Yuichi came over to Itsuki, "Do you think it was right to tell him how to find Takumi?" The manager asked.
Itsuki shrugged but answered, "That would concern Takumi and himself"
When The Speedstars arrived at the top of the mountain, they were greeted by the sight of the EK9 sitting in the parking lot as Daiki Ninomiya sat on the hood, speaking onto the phone, the 3 cars rolled into the parking lot and parked along side one another.
Getting off the phone, "I hope you guys don't mind if I use the mountain till Fujiwara gets here" he asked, as the three drivers walked towards him.
Iketani extended his hand, "Koichiro Iketani, Leader of the Speedstars. Feel free to use the mountain till Takumi gets here"
The former Ace of the Todo-Juku nodded and accepted the hand, "Thank you very much"
The Speedstars went back to their cars as Kenji asked, "who is that?"
"Daiki Ninomiya of the Todo-Juku" Iketani answered.
The shock on Kenji's face was apparent, "What is a guy like that doing here?!" He exclaimed.
It was Itsuki's turn to answer, "he is waiting for Takumi"
The 3 'not so lonely anymore' drivers left it at that as they began practice, all 3 of them taking in turns to chase one another up and down, sometimes going into a short impromptu chase after the Todo-Juku's race spec EK9, calling it a night after a couple of hours. Leaving Daiki to have the mountain to himself at just about 3am.
Seated in his car with his eyes closed, relaxing his mind and body. Daiki Ninomiya awaited one of his toughest opponent, as the clock struck 4:15am, a distinct racing engine rang thru the darkness of the night and filled up the mountain with its melody as a panda AE86 starts ascending the uphill of the mountain it was famed for, within minutes the AE86 came into sight and carried on to his objective at Lake Akina.
About 15mins later, it was back and rolled into the parking lot this time. Parking beside the EK9. One of the best Pro Racers on the circuit, Takumi Fujiwara stepped out, "you're finally here" the Todo-Juku instructor stated, stepping out of the car as well.
"Well.. I'm usually here at this time, what about you? I just had to check when I drove past you earlier. It's a long drive from Happoagara" Takumi answered, looking at the man over his car.
"I was there when Project D beat the Purple Shadows and than Sidewinder" he started, "as you raced and by some god-like miracle won, I told myself I had to race you again. I had to start from scratch, train and get to where I am so I could challenge you and find out how did you beat me all those years ago. How did you gain so much speed in the 2nd run when I thought I had you and your car's limits and level ingrained and calculated from the 1st run"
Takumi looked at him with the usual blank look he has whenever he spoke and answers, "At that time, I didn't know much about racing other than driving as fast as I can. You were my toughest opponent as well when I finally met someone who could out brake me. My team leader Ryosuke-san instructed me to simply cut off my last two thousand rpms on the first run is all"
Daiki couldn't believe it, it took him a second longer to process the thought, for all this while he had thought he lost to some trick or insane skill or technique. But the truth was, he was simply beaten by the fact that he had under-estimated the skill and abilities of his opponent. As well as the fact that his opponent had been able to push him even with his last two thousand rpm of his engines ability cut off on his own home turf of all places. That's when his brain suddenly started working, Takahashi, RX7s, Akagi being Project D's home, Ryosuke Takahashi was the Lone White Comet of the Akagi Redsuns, the older half of the Takahashi Brothers of the Rotary Engines.
His name was not as well known as his moniker but it clicked, this was the man who had beaten Kyoichi Sudo of the Irohazaka Emperors, a former Todo-Juku graduate himself. That explained all the tactics and strategies displayed at every one of Project D's battles. It finally dawned to him that Project D had been underestimated the whole time as they continued beating treats and setting records across Japan. Ryosuke Takahashi may only be known widely in Gunma or North Kanto but The White Comet was known throughout Japan as a Genius, someone able to give even the Todo-Juku a run for their money, him and his partner then, the Shinigami of Mount Hakone.
Daiki laughed, "that explains so much..."
Takumi didn't really get what he meant, he was still a little slow when it came to normal thinking but he shrug in his mind as Daiki continued, "I hear you drive a GT86 now. So what's with the Trueno?"
"I still use it to train from time to time. It's still my best car on Akina when I wanna let myself relax and think"
Daiki Ninomiya finally understood the gap but he knew one thing, he still had to try, "Takumi Fujiwara, I hereby challenge you to a rematch. Right here on Mount Akina"
Takumi was taken by surprise by the challenge at first but his pro-racing instincts and natural competitiveness took over, "when?"
"Tomorrow night, 10pm. It's a Saturday after all. I have done my runs and practice as well"
Takumi nodded and gave the EK9 a look-over, "This isn't your's is it? It's the Demo-car that Tomoyuki-san drove"
Daiki nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow and I'm hoping to see the GT86 since you know how serious I am about this" both hoping into their cars, Takumi nodded, understanding that Daiki Ninomiya wanted his best. Akina or not, this person is a Racing-Instructor in a race-spec car, he was not to be underestimated.
Saturday 10pm couldn't come fast enough, by around 8pm local drivers have heard the word spread and were eager to see the ghost of Akina run on Akina once again. People starting to park cars and gathered at the galleries. Daiki Ninomiya and the SpeedStars were first to reach the peak when a few minutes later, 2 Rotaries blast through the mountain silencing the crowd, "The Rotary Brothers are here!" Someone shouted as the infamous yellow FD and white FC of the Takahashi brothers drift their way to the top, dazzling the crowd with their infamous twin drifts at the hairpins, while still reaching the peak in record time.
Parking side by side, both drivers stepped out as guys watched in awe, girls screamed and the rest of the veterans just staring them down, trying to not feel suppressed by their auras. Even Daiki Ninomiya felt the air changed with their arrival, no one saw the Yellow FD much even on Akagi anymore much less the White FC, making their already powerful pressure even more intense and their presence all that more important.
"Looks like we are early Aniki" the blonde started.
The brunette just nodded as he closed his door and lit up a cigarette, taking a seat on the carbon hood.
People murmur around them wondering what's with their appearance, sure everyone knew that it just shows the reunion of Project D but Takahashi Keisuke could not afford to be caught at an event like this, especially as a Professional Racer now.
"It's getting loud, we seriously can't just come and enjoy a show can we?" Keisuke asked again as he sat on his own carbon hood as he smirked and looked around.
"Then maybe you should keep quiet too, it's about time" Ryosuke finished as he looked over his watch as it struck 10pm.
Keisuke realized the time and chuckled, "It's part of his charm. Always late to his own home"
When the mountain grew silent, one of the radios at the peak screamed, "it's here! The white GT86 is here!"
Ryosuke had a ghost of a smile when he heard it, he had waited a while already to catch a glimpse of the new car. Being as busy as they were, The Aces saw each other at races but Ryosuke never had private times with both at the same time as much as he used to with his job at the clinic and scouting over every other weekend. It wasn't long before he heard the low yet loud growl of the boxer engine, white LEDs shone first followed by the carbon hood, white paint job as the car rolled to a stop. The Doctor's ears dissected the engine and his eyes dissected the exterior as he smiled, this was one hell of a car.
It had modified bumpers and skirts with a black lip on its trunk, obviously to keep the car stable at high speeds, running on the best continental tires wrapping around black 5 spoke Yokohama rims, bright red Brembo brake calipers peeking through and these were just the exterior.
He could hear that the engine was Naturally aspirated just the way the ace likes it, but the sound it produced told everyone it means business. He hadn't seen it run but based on what his brother had told him before, it clearly ran about a range of 500hp - 550hp with about 600lbs of torque. Of course with the exterior done and the suspension handled by the Infamous Bunta Fujiwara, the car was more than capable of exceeding expectations and keeping the car grounded at its top speed. Clearly a sword built to cut through the touges all over Japan.
Takumi got out of the car and nodded over to the Rotary brothers as Daiki Ninomiya took his place at the starting line, he walked over and got the instructor to lower the window, "Take the lead, we'll do it as usual. My car is much too powerful for even the demo car." Daiki could only nod, he may have tuned the EK9 accordingly to match the FD but this GT86 looks more than capable of running against Keisuke Takahashi's FD and with Takumi Fujiwara behind the wheel, shit just got real.
Keisuke took position to flag them off as the EK9 got ready in the lead position.
"Go!" Both cars got into gear.
"Yon!" Handbrake a applied.
"San" engines revving in anticipation.
"Ni!" Time slows down.
"Ich!" Breaths were taken and held.
"Go!" Keisuke's arm swings in slow motion as both drivers release their brakes and put the pedal to the metal.
Tires screamed for traction propelling both cars forward at Keisuke's command. Daiki Ninomiya was already starting to feel the powerful pressure from Takumi, almost as if he was being swallowed by a Hunter hunting its Prey as both cars charged through the first straight of the course. If he thought that their previous race was hard, he knew that race was nothing compared to this with Takumi now a real pro.
Back on top, "Aniki, what do you think?"
Ryosuke thought for a second and answered, "it won't be hard but it won't be easy either, Daiki Ninomiya is not the same driver Fujiwara has faced before. He may need to dig deep for this with or without the new car"
Keisuke nodded, "what about the car. What do you think?"
"It's built almost exactly like the 86 if it wasn't for the boxer engine. The way it took off, he was being fair by giving Ninomiya the lead. If he had been in the lead, the race might very well be over."
The younger Takahashi nodded thoughtfully. He felt good knowing that his FD too had been upgraded wth the times, especially with the new twin turbos. The car easily boasted near 750hp with just above 650lbs of torque as well as faster spooling he had a much smoother acceleration and delivery of power through the power curve along with the best tires money can buy, compensating for the power.
Said EK9 and GT86 held a steady gap as they enter the first corner, both braking at exactly the same time and place but the FF shows it's turning advantage, going into the turn a fraction fast with the GT86 sliding into a 4WD drift hot on his heels.
"As expected of Ninomiya-San. Perfect braking points as always but this is my home" Takumi thought as he floored the throttle, eating up the gap between him and the EK9 quickly.
Daiki looked into his mirror, "I intend to keep you there for at least one run. Stay!" He said to himself as he shifted up, both cars speeding past 120kmph through the chicane, he suddenly hear tires squealing, checking into his mirror again he sees the GT86 lose traction entering the chicane behind him too fast but he doesn't buy into it knowing about the next left hair pin up ahead, Daiki leaves the braking as late as he dares still maintaining the lead while Takumi sends the car into a manji drift still hot on the heels of the EK9.
"Most people would have slowed down for the hairpin, I guess FF do have their advantages in places like this" A Bandanna clad blonde stated, watching from the gallery around that corner when both cars sped pass him, but it shook him a little with how Takumi handled the chicane and hairpin with such precision and speed, it showed just how well he knew this course. Takumi probably knew Akina better than Kyoichi knows Irohazaka.
"Ka-san, doesn't Fujiwara-san's new car seem to be laughing a lot?" A boy who look no older than 20 asked a young looking woman as both cars sped pass them along another straight. His mother smiled and agreed, "Yes Shinji, it does. It looks like it's having lots of fun"
Shinji couldn't agree more, he had finished high school and now working with Eiji Kubo and Hojo Go test driving parts for Eiji Kubo's tuning shop with Hojo Rin personally over-looking his driving, just as Ryosuke once done for Takumi.
Both cars cruise through the next few corners, "Oi, Jou-chan the 86 is moving in a very familiar way no?" A slightly big middle aged man wondered.
The man known as 'Doctor' smiled, wiping a towel and grabbing a drink, "he looks like he has it mastered" he answered as they watch both cars disappear into the new corner.
Both of them looked at each other and laughed lightly. God Arm and God Foot, their auras alone suppress those around them.
Daiki could feel his own concentration start to falter as they pass the half way mark, right now the 86 has already peek its nose at the corners a few times, showing him the ability to over take at any given moment. He was already tired from pressure alone but the aggressiveness of the 86 was wearing him down even more, tires already beginning to lose traction, he cringed at the thought of entering the lower-speed section with the tires in those conditions.
Takumi watch the movements of the EK9 start to slugger as he planned his next move, one hand on the wheel and the other on the gear knob, God Arm's one arm steering. He had been pushing the car a little and decided to put more pressure on the Racing instructor while minimizing his tire wear using the legendary technique he has finally mastered thru constant practice with all 3 cars he had access to. He knew his tire had more than enough grip to finish it here and now as well, sharpening his focus again and this time with both hands on the wheel.
In no time, they see the first of the 5th consecutive hairpins ahead, Takumi already has the disappearing line mastered but he knew he needed a foolproof plan, reaching for his headlights.
"Pitch black?! Where is he?! He was right there earlier!" Thoughts ran thru Daiki's head as he lost his focus for just a second, braking a tad early when light shines into his face at the first hairpin, "what?! There shouldn't be any space. How is he passing me from the inside?!" He had completely lost it as the 86 shot pass him like a roller coaster, he watched as Takumi jump out of the gutter, realization dawn on him as he force the accelerator down in an effort to catch to the quickly disappearing back of the 86.
He was desperate, he had to find a way to catch up, he had to try. Even if just for one run. He has got to try.
Takumi felt a new found concentration burn into his back for a second but it disappear just as quickly as he entered the 2nd hairpin, again by the gutter hook he was so famous for. Looking into the rear-view mirror, he saw the EK9 follow him into the gutter but it was too low, the bottom scrapped against the ground and threw the car up violently, Takumi slammed onto the brakes as the EK9 dropped back down, skidding left and right before finally losing inertia and coming to a stop.
The Pro rushed over and was glad that the car wasn't too badly damaged , maybe it's suspension was finished, some scratches but overall, there was no leaks and whatsoever. The door opens and he helps Daiki onto his feet, "Hey, are you ok?" He asked.
Daiki nodded looking up at Takumi and back at the EK9. "I'm fine.. Todo-san is gonna kill me for this though" he answers with a chuckle, "Thanks for the race. It was a hell of an experience. I think I finally know why Project D has never lost. You guys don't give up do you?"
Takumi smiled at that, he nodded, "we couldn't afford to" he answers as he started to walk back to his car.
At the peak, "The EK9 crashed at the gutters! Takumi won!" As everyone cheered. The Rotary brothers smiled and got into their cars, their motivation and drive slightly renewed by the news as they drifted their way down the pass once more. Slowing down only when the GT86 came in sigh the FD in the lead, "Congratz, I'll see you on the track when the season starts"
Followed by the FC, no words were said but a nod from the White Comet relayed his message to the Ghost of Akina. Takumi smiled and nodded back, thankful for the approval from his at one point mentor. Smiling to himself as well while watching the two Rotaries drive and texting his latest victory to his girlfriend and pro golfer, Mika Uehara