DATE: JULY 10, 1999
It had been 2 weeks since May defeated Ryousuke Takahashi at Haurna. Her win made her famous around Gunma for doing something most people couldn't.
May was out on Haruna that night and said "I started to make a name for myself as soon as I moved here. I won 2 races in the span of only 7 days then Ash won a race, then took some time off because football season was coming and that would get in the way for racing and school was starting to get interesting. Now I think it's time that I take a break from racing. That doesn't mean I'm retiring at all, I need a break to see my brother and Ash get as good as I am."
In Tochigi, a guy in a purple 180SX was racing when a white Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution came out of nowhere and caught up to him quickly. The guy was trying to block the Lan-Evo but it didn't seem to work at all.
The guy racing the 180SX said "DAMN IT! There's no way I will let an outsider mess with me!"
The Lan-Evo and 180SX were racing hard into a corner
The guy racing the LanEvo said this would be a piece of cake and then the purple 180SX drifted into the corner. Then the white Lan-Evo punched the accelerator and passed the 180SX with ease. The guy in 180SX was shocked to see the Lan-Evo pass him so easily.
Two guys were watching the race. One said "He passed him!" & the other guy said "OH NO! That Evo IV is fast!"
The guy in the 180SX then said "DAMN IT!"
The guy who was racing the white Lan-Evo's name is Seiji Iwaki and along with Kyle Sudou, they are the members of the Emperor team.
Seiji asked the guy who raced him take his sticker and then Kyle used a Swiss army knife to slice it in two and Seiji said "It's like the kill marks the fighter pilots used to paint when they shoot down other fighters. Quite fancy, isn't it?"
Kyle then said ""We, the Emperor team, will conquer the Gunma Prefecture in a month. Lan-Evo drivers are the kings of the mountain pass."
The next day in Haruna, Ash was driving his Supra and May was his passenger.
Ash said to May "I don't get why you are not racing for a while, May. Did something happen that forced you to stop?"
May said "I thought it was time for you to advance your skills. By the way, I heard you used to live in the Tochigi Prefecture. Is that true?"
Ash said "Why yes, May. I'm from Tochigi prefecture and I hold a record on the Irohazaka course."
May said "That's really cool Ash. I heard there's a team called Emperor who run Irohazaka like it was their land but I heard you beat the leader, Kyle Sudou."
Ash said "I did beat Kyle Sudou but not in this car. I beat him in a Chevy Corvette ZR-1 that my dad and I worked on to make it race on mountain passes. I did it around this time last year when I came home for the summer while I went to mechanics school outside of Los Angeles."
While Ash was talking, a white Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution was coming quickly on them and May said "Hey Ash, make more room because there's a very fast car closing in on us."
When the car passed Ash, He said went "THAT WAS A LAN-EVO AND IT HAD AN EMPEROR STICKER ON IT!"
May then said in her head "What's up what that car? What a strange movement!
Ash went "That has to be Seiji Iwaki." & May said "Who's Seiji Iwaki?"
Ash told May "Seiji Iwaki is a member of the Emperor team and is Kyle Sudou's friend. They have made waves in Tochigi."
May said "What powers a Lan-Evo?" Ash said "It's powered by a 2 litre turbo charged straight 4. It can make at least 280 HP. It also has a 4WD system which makes it perfect for both uphill and downhill racing"
May said "I see. That movement comes from the four-wheel drive. Four tires can handle power that two tires can't"
Ash then said in his head "Seiji must have improved since I raced Kyle about a year ago."
May and Ash stopped at Lake Haruna and Ash said "I can't believe some 4 cylinder Lan-Evo could easily pass a car powered by a 3 litre twin-turbo Straight-6. This is a nightmare!"
May said "Did you amaze everyone when you won in that ZR-1 Corvette?"
Ash said "Everyone was amazed at me winning because nobody thought a V8 powered muscle car from America had what it takes to beat a turbo charged 4 cylinder monster like a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Anyway, the Lan-Evo is a force to be reckoned with."
In another area of Lake Haruna, Kyle and Seiji were talking about how great their Lan-Evos were.
Seiji said "My Evo IV is so beautiful that it gives me chills. This is an example of what the pursuit of perfect functionality leads to. It's liked the body of a well-trained boxer. The air ducts on the front, protruding blister packing, the oversized rear wing. They all have their purpose. The Lan-Evo was developed and perfected to win world-class rally tournaments."
Kyle then said "High-powered turbo and four-wheel drive. A car isn't complete without them."
Seiji then said "The Lan-Evo is the fastest street racer. Hey, Kyle. Let's finish all the FR punks in Gunma."
May and Ash pulled up to where Kyle and Seiji were talking and Ash said "That's them. That's the Emperor team, the fastest in Tochigi."
May said "Don't worry about them. I'm going to get a Coca-Cola. Do you want one as well?"
Ash said "Yes I would love a Coca-Cola. Thank you May!"
When May left to get herself and Ash Coca-Colas, Seiji walked over to Ash.
Ash said worryingly "He's coming this way!
Seiji said "Hey! I want to ask you for directions." Ash said he would give him directions
While May was getting Coke, Ash told Seiji "This route is much shorter."
Then Seiji said "I see Thanks a lot. By the way, Ash, let me ask you something. Who's the fastest driver in Haruna?
Ash said "I see you have not forgotten my name, Seiji. It's that girl at the vending machines. She's the person who drives an R34. Did you come here to race her?"
Seiji then said "What, us? Challenge an R34 driven by a girl?"
Seiji laughed and said "Your jokes are as funny as you, Morikawa. No one would praise me for defeating an R34. Worse than that, my teammates would laugh at me if I bragged about such a thing. No GT-R will ever be able to beat my Evo IV or Kyle's Evo III. I wouldn't race them even if they asked"
Ash then said "You should not talk like that when you have never seen this R34! It has never lost a race. NOT EVEN BY THE FD, R32, AND FC!"
Seiji said "They must have been driven by bad racers." but Ash said "They weren't weak. They were some of the best in Gunma she had to battle!"
Seiji said "Top class? Gunma must be low-level."
May then ran to Ash to make him stop his arguing.
Kyle then said "You too, Seiji. You don't have to talk like that. We didn't come here to pick fights." He then walked over to May and Ash then said "Sorry, you two. My friend here has a big mouth."
May said "No problem" & Kyle said "I will just say this so you won't misunderstand. We don't mean to insult that R34 driver. I'm sure her technique is great. But the car, I'd have to say the R34 is no longer good enough."
Seiji then said "He's right! Tell that to the driver. And tell her that might let her race us if she drives a much better car like one of those new Honda S2000s. But we will never lose. The king of the mountain is the Lan-Evo!"
Kyle then was shocked to see Ash. He then said "NO WAY! Is that guy Ashton Morikawa? The guy who beat me last year with that Corvette? What's he doing here in Gunma?
Ash said "I AM SO PISSED OFF AT THEM, MAY! THOSE JERKS DON'T HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR YOU AND ME! Are you pissed as well, May?"
May said "I am frustrated. When I saw you get so excited, I calmed down for some reason. Besides, we have met racers like him before. It was pointless to respond."
May then gave Ash a Coca-Cola and Ash said thank you to May.
May and Ash were sitting under a tree drinking their Coca-Colas when Ash said "I don't think those two are after you. They are probably after me because I beat Kyle last year and I guess they want revenge."
May said "You're onto something, Ash. I think they want to take you on in a rematch."
Later that day, May and Ash were at Yuichi's gas station and were talking to Drew about the Lan-Evos they met and how rude they were to them.
Drew then said "That guy does sound disgusting."
Kenji then said "I think they could be from the Emperor team."
Ash said "Why yes. There was a sticker with Emperor on it." and May wanted to know who they were.
Kenji said "They're a team of Lan-Evos from Nikko in the Tochigi Prefecture. They're arrogant and very fast."
Drew said "They took on a team called Thunder Fire and they had a hard time and said they would conquer Gunma next, some maybe they could come to Haruna."
May said "Were they scouting for competition?" and Drew said "I would think so. A Lan-Evo is tough even if you have a more powerful car like a R34 or Supra."
Ash said "I don't think they're after May. They're after me because I raced the leader last year and won."
Drew said "YOU HAVE RACED THEM? TELL ME ABOUT IT!"
Ash said "I was home for the summer last year in Nikko. My dad and I were working on a 1990 Chevy Corvette ZR-1 he found at a used sports car dealer for ¥750,000. He bought it for me because he knew I was a fan of American muscle cars. We worked on it a lot, sometimes all through the night. When my dad and I were done tuning the Corvette, the power was incredible. It had 425 HP, the same as what May used to have in the R34. Then about a year ago, Kyle Sudou challenged me to a race on Irohazaka. It was a tough race but I was able to pull it off and I shocked everyone because I won in a car me and my dad worked on so badly to make it a true racer and beat a Lan-Evo."
Drew said "Interesting. You won in a Corvette you and your dad tuned to make it a pure racer. So that's how you set the record time at Irohazaka. NICE!"
In Akagi, Ryousuke was standing next to his FC when a Lan-Evo came. It was Kyle Sudou who was driving the Lan-Evo. Kyle said that it had been a while since they last met.
Ryousuke said "So it was you, Kyle Sudou." He took off his glasses then wanted to know what Kyle was up to.
Kyle said "How rude. It's been a year since we met. I don't have anybody to play with in my area, so I'm bored and looking for a new friend to play with. I will be playing around in this area, so I have come to say hello."
Ryousuke said "Do whatever you want but it won't be that fun for you on Akagi As long as the Red Suns are here."
Kyle said "You're optimistic like always. Remember that I'm different from a year ago. That punk with his fancy pants Corvette got the best of me and my team. I heard a rumor that he now lives in Haruna, so do you know anything about him or where he now lives?"
Ryousuke said "I don't know anybody who drives a Corvette. What's his name?"
Kyle said "His name is Ashton Morikawa but he is commonly called Ash."
Ryousuke said "I know him. He's a well-rounded racer and now drives a Supra."
Kyle said "I know that. I met him yesterday but I was like if I never knew him. He was with a girl named May Chan and I heard she is making a name for herself in Haruna now."
Ryousuke said "That's right. She beat me 2 weeks ago at Haruna in her R34. She has mad skills."
Ryousuke then drove off and Seiji said he would follow him.
Kyle then said "Don't even try, Seiji. It's impossible for you to keep up with him."
Seiji said "I can't? He's such a wimp and he doesn't seem that fast."
Kyle then said "YOU IDIOT! DON'T UNDERESTIMATE RYOUSUKE TAKAHASHI! I was totally outrun by his FC a year ago. It was before my race with that kid Morikawa who also lived in Nikko. I thought I was the only one to beat Akagi's White Comet. However, he lost to a R34 driven by a 16 year old girl."
Kyle then remembered what Ash said to him the previous day about the R34 and said "I see now. It's the R34 Morikawa told me about yesterday. But he has won a race also in his Supra against Shingo Shoji in a duct tape death match that happened in January."
The next day in Haruna, May and Ash were talking about what to do. May said to Ash "Who should race that Evo IV?" & Ash said "I don't know. I think I might race them."
May then said "All right, then. Whatever you say."
In Myogi, Takeshi Nakazato was lighting a cigarette when Kyle and Seiji came over to see him.
Kyle said "This is a one-race match. It will be decided by an uphill battle."
Takeshi then said "That's fine with me." & Kyle said "Shall we begin, then?"
Kyle then said to Seiji "Are you ready, Seiji?"
Seiji said "Anytime!"
Shingo said in his head "Don't mess this up, Takeshi. Show them the will power of Gunma drivers! Just for today, I will root for you!"
Kyle then said to himself "Our goal is much more than this race. Seiji, don't waste time goofing around here."
A Night Kids member said "Five seconds to the start! 4… 3… 2… 1… GO!"
Takeshi and Kyle then drove off to the first corner. Takeshi took the early lead in his R32. Both Takeshi and Kyle were battling hard through Myogi.
While racing, Seiji said "Wait and see. Compared to a Lan-Evo, an R32 is just a toy. I will show you the difference!"
Takeshi said "You Emperor punks, or whatever you call yourselves, I will defend Gunma! And you'll be buried deep at the bottom of Myogi Valley!"
Takeshi knew he couldn't afford another loss because he lost to Keisuke Takahashi 3 weeks earlier.
