So, hey, I'm writing another story. This is just going to be a test run, as I'd rather work on one story at a time, so don't expect an update anytime soon, unless I feel like it.
So yeah, if you've read the title and summary, this is a RWBY x Initial D crossover. And it should be obvious that this is gonna be an AU.
Just going to set some rules first. All that Salem, silver eye stuff, maiden powers, relics, none of that exists in this AU. There are no Huntsmen and Huntresses. No Grimm either. Just some good old fashioned illegal street racing. The geography of Remnant will be a bit different to accommodate mountain passes. Real life cars will be present within this fanfic. Some of them don't appear within Initial D.
I'll try my best to incorporate the cast into this story. Little to no OCs if I can help it. Most of the characters will be aged up a bit, by a few years at most.
Oh, right, and all cars are gonna be right hand drive, just FYI.
Now, onwards with the story!
Chapter 1: The Ultimate Drift Machine
It was a dark yet clear night.
At 4:00 AM in the morning, the stars shone above the mountain passes of Vale, winking as if eyes were staring down onto Remnant. The winding corners of Mount Akina have seen their fair share of crashes, the dilapidated guardrails having been rebuilt more than once. Black skid marks marred the surface of the asphalt roads, a grey smoke dissipating into the cold air. Somebody was here.
The deep growl of an engine disrupted the nighttime ambience, the squeal of tires kicking up a cloud of smoke behind the car. The yellow paint job of the car clashed harshly against the dull grays of the touge, the bright headlights marking a path on the downhill. As it passed another car on the straights, a small chuckle could be heard from the gray haired man inside. He pushed up his round rimmed glasses.
"That man hasn't changed one bit."
That yellow car, a Toyota GT86, braked hard, the red tail lights glowing momentarily as the front brake rotors glowed red hot. Dropping speed to approximately 100 km/h, the engine roared its beautiful tone as the driver downshifted with a press of the clutch, rev matching with a roll-over of his foot.
Turning sharply to the left, the rear tires broke loose, spinning the car in the direction of the turn. The driver abruptly countersteered, spinning the wheel to the right to catch the car in a braking drift. He placed his foot onto the accelerator and kept the wheel steady. The car's front bumper came dangerously close to the apex, and with a final tap to the accelerator, the driver turned the 86 straight, leaving the corner at more or less the same speed.
He shifted up to third gear, the engine going silent for a moment before growling just as loud, a deeper pitch than before. Gaining speed, the yellow GT86 passed a patch of grass, making it wave like a crowd of spectators.
The car approached another corner, a hairpin this time. The 86 waited until the last possible moment to brake, and it braked, hard. The front tires almost locked up from the stress of the downhill, but they continued turning, the small amount of traction hanging on by a thread. Removing his hand from the wheel, the man pushed the gearbox down to second with a perfect rev match.
Turning to the right, the driver punched the accelerator, breaking the rear loose once again. Countersteering, the driver almost dipped the front right tire into the gutter, in an unintentional show of skill displaying his precision at driving.
As the hairpin connected back to the straightaway, the driver turned the steering wheel back to center, pushing his foot to full throttle. The white smoke filled the hairpin behind the car, a sort of marker for where it once was.
There was a brief silence as the car shifted back into third gear. The unmistakable sounds of the 2.0 liter boxer engine blended into the night, echoing around the mountain passes, making itself known to anyone with keen ears.
The broken moon shone bright.
Jaune Arc stared lifelessly over the rooftop of the classrooms at Beacon University. Placing his arms over the railings, his face bore his emotions for the entire world to read. He was tired, and it showed.
"Even the older model costs 3 million Lien... The AE86 is expensive."
Jaune turned his head to see the unhappy expression on his friend's face. Sun Wukong, a young man in his 20's attending the same school, poked his nose into a used car magazine, flipping through pages as his eyes scanned through each article. With a wild head of dirty blond hair, it contrasted with Jaune's unnaturally yellow hair, who combed his to one side with his fingers. With a disregard for rules, Sun wore his uniform unbuttoned and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. His monkey tail, a feature betraying his true status as a faunus, wrapped itself around the railing.
"This thing is 40 years old... yet it's still the same price as a new car! This tofu tax can go jump off a bridge!" Sun threatened to tear apart the magazine, gritting his teeth and moaning in agony.
With renewed vigor, Sun flipped to the final page of the magazine. "Like I thought, it's gotta be the new 86. Cause the car has to be an FR. Right, Jaune?"
Jaune continued staring blankly out over the lake separating the main city of Vale and Beacon. Sun slapped the magazine closed and glared at his friend.
"Oi, Jaune, are you even listening!?"
With a sigh, Jaune closed his eyes and responded succinctly. "Yes, I'm listening. So, uh, how much is this 'eight-six'?"
Sun went back to his magazine, reading the article. "It says right here... it's only 1 million Lien, but it hasn't passed inspection."
Jaune closed his eyes again, breathing out another large sigh. "And how much do you have saved up?"
Sun deflated, lowering his head with a small whimper. "Like about 100,000..."
A small smile spread across Jaune's lips. "Well then, you've got a long way to go."
Sun screamed out, flailing his arms and throwing a fist out in the sky, cursing at the world before slamming his head onto the metal railing. "Even if we do full time at our job over the summer, we'll still only make 200,000 Lien at most... There's gotta be a better way to make money..."
"Hey, guys, talking about cars, huh?"
Jaune turned around to greet the voice. A girl with long, curly, blonde hair leaned forward with a large grin. Her uniform barely fit her, and she had to unbutton the top portion to even breathe properly, with the side effect of displaying her assets to anyone brave enough to take a peek. Her name was Yang Xiao Long. Her lilac eyes stared into Jaune's deep blue ones.
"Yang?" Jaune found himself saying. They both blinked at each other in surprise.
"What? Is it so weird that I'm talking to you two?" Yang placed her hands on her hips, a small frown on her face.
"Uh, not really." Jaune awkwardly agreed, turning fully around and placing his back against the railing, resting his elbows on top.
Yang looked at Sun with a sly smile, eliciting a small blush from him. "So, a GT86, then? That's 2.5 million Lien new, ya know?"
Sun shook his head once he got over the fact that Yang was actually talking to him. "N-Nah, I'm thinking of buying it used. Only 1 million Lien."
Yang chuckled quietly, playing with her hair. "Well, I'm thinking of buying a new car too, actually. My old car's cool and all, but tuning the same thing gets old from time to time."
Sun's eye lit up like fireworks. "Oh, do you do any racing!?"
Yang pondered a bit before shrugging. "A bit, but I don't think I'm too good."
Jaune felt a bit excluded from the conversation, but he didn't feel too comfortable talking about something he had little knowledge in. He began dozing off, pouncing at the opportunity to catch up on sleep with a small nap.
And suddenly, Sun's voice rang in Jaune's eardrums.
"WH-WHAT!? A Spirit R!? That goes upward to 5 million Lien!"
Yang chuckled again, turning her eyes away. "Yeah, but I've been saving up. I'll be handing my old car to my sister. She's been itching to drive ever since she got her license."
Sun's eyes widened and he leaned onto the railing to steady himself. "Wow... you're insane."
The bell rang for classes to begin, and Yang waved her hand goodbye. "Well, good luck on your jobs, you two." She winked at Sun, another blush creeping up onto his cheeks. "I'd like to see your 86 once you get it. Let's get together after finals, shall we?" That last sentence was aimed towards both Jaune and Sun.
Yang turned to leave, exiting the roof via the stairwell. Sun yelled out his approval before smiling happily.
Sun smiled stupidly and nudged Jaune in the elbow. "Oi, sh-she just said "get together", didn't she?"
Jaune lifted his head up. "Yeah."
Sun fidgeted in place, wrapping his magazine up into a roll of paper. "I can't believe I might actually go out with Yang! How cool!"
Jaune closed his eyes and tuned out Sun's incessant rambling over Yang. Jaune had a history with her. They met in elementary, and were good friends up until two years ago, back in high school, when he punched the lights out of a boy who happened to be Yang's boyfriend at the time. Jaune didn't appreciate how he talked about Yang and her body. They gradually stopped talking until they stopped seeing each other at all. He wondered why she suddenly started talking to him again.
Coming out of his daydream, Jaune lazily opened one eye as Sun roughly pulled on his arm.
"H-Hey, quit zoning out. If we don't hurry, we'll be in big trouble! We're gonna be late!" Sun began running to the stairwell, jumping down flights of stairs.
A bead of sweat formed on Jaune's forehead as he reached out to catch Sun. He sprinted after his faunus friend. "O-Oi, wait up!"
As classes came to an end, Jaune and Sun stepped out at the entrance of Beacon University. They were lucky they lived within the city of Vale, and thus did not have to dorm within the school itself. Taking public transport back into the city, the boys stepped off and started walking to their part-time job at the refuelling station.
Sun jumped in front of Jaune to catch his attention, and forcing him to come to a stop. "Hey why don't we buy an 86 together!? If we pool our money, we might be able to afford the loan! Whaddya say?"
Jaune sighed, pushing past Sun with a hand to his shoulder. "Why do you want a car so badly, anyway? Doesn't your dad already own a car?"
Sun's eyes widened in shock and he shook his head. "No freakin' way, dude! It's an automatic and FWD! I wouldn't even call it a car..."
Jaune continued walking, waiting for Sun to catch up. "It has four wheels and can run. It's a car."
Sun looked at Jaune like he grew an extra head. "You don't get it, do you? If it's not any fun on the touge, it has no right to be called a car!"
"And what do you do on the mountain?"
Sun's face contorted and he slowly turned his head to glare at Jaune. "What do you think!? We're going to challenge the corners!"
Jaune looked to the distance. "Challenge the corners, huh...?" He muttered to himself. The two young men stopped at an intersection, waiting for the light to turn green.
"Is it fun?" He asked Sun.
Sun's eyes widened as he did a double take. Unfortunately, he was drinking a bottle of water, and he began choking. Jaune slapped Sun on the back a couple of times to clear his throat before he lifted his arms up in excitement. "Of course it's fun! You're a guy and you don't even want to tackle the corners!?"
Sun began miming the turning of a steering wheel. As he pretended to turn to the right, he made sounds with his mouth to mimic the squealing rubber that tires would make during a drift.
With a small laugh, Jaune pushed Sun forward as the light turned green.
"I don't think I'm cut out for that type of stuff, Sun. It sounds complicated."
"I just don't get you, man."
The bright sun shone over Remnant, the sounds of the heat wave barreling throughout the streets. The constant stream of vehicles passed in and out of the Dust refuelling station Jaune and Sun worked at. A sedan drove out from the establishment, and the young men bowed after the car.
"Thank you for your business!" Jaune said with a monotone, while Sun said it enthusiastically.
Wearing the navy blue uniform of the station, Jaune and Sun replaced the cap of it on top of their heads.
"Hey, Jaune, come on! Please rethink the 86 deal!" Sun suddenly grabbed Jaune by the arm, shaking him back and forth in a pleading manner.
Jaune yelped at the sudden movement, his eyes bulging outward in a comical manner. "Oi, cut it out Sun, I don't care about that stinking 86!"
They continued with the banter, shoving each other playfully and laughing their heads off. Footsteps caused the two to stop in their antics, and they looked up to see a tanned man with a head of bright blue hair, though that was covered by the cap of the station uniform. Neptune Vasilias. 20 years old, and Sun's friend.
"Heh, you two have good taste, trying to get an 86."
Sun jumped away from Jaune, grabbing the unlucky Neptune in a headlock. "Haha, even Nep thinks so too, Jaune!"
Neptune chuckled briefly, trying to slide out from under Sun's muscled arm. "Y-Yeah, the 86 is a pretty cool car."
Sun stared expectantly at Jaune, who scratched at his cheek nervously. "T-To be honest guys, I don't even know what an 86 is."
...
Sun and Neptune looked at each other, blinking. They grabbed at Jaune with a yell and dragged him over to a Liquid Dust dispenser. Sun pinched open Jaune's mouth while Neptune pointed the pump nozzle at Jaune. Jaune stuck his finger into the opening of the nozzle, not wanting to ingest any Dust anytime soon.
Sun teased Jaune. "Haha, are you serious, Jaune!?"
Neptune roared with laughter. "Yeah, why don't you drink some of this high octane, maybe that'll clear up your cloudy mind! Get some car power in your head!"
"H-Hey, cut it out you guys!" Jaune pleaded with no use.
Sun took Jaune into a headlock and spun him around dizzy. "How the heck are you working at a Dust station and not know what an 86 is!? Open your eyes!"
Letting Jaune go, Neptune stopped Sun from messing with him even further, being the voice of reason. "Well, I don't know, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The car came out when we were in, what, 4th or 5th grade or something. And Jaune here doesn't seem to be a car person."
Jaune rubbed at his throat and started thinking, tapping his finger on his chin. "Well, the only old car I know is the one my old man owns that we use to make deliveries."
Sun jumped at Jaune's throat again. "Oi, you can't compare that old junker to a GT86! Even if the 86 is a decade old, it's still a special car!"
Sun's eyes lit up once more as a thought jumped to the front of his brain. "Hey, Nep-Nep, once I get an 86, can I join your team!? Joining the SpeedStars has always been my dream!"
Neptune patted Sun on the shoulder, smiling. "Sure! Ah, and by the way..."
"Tomorrow's Saturday, so we'll be meeting at Mount Akina. You guys wanna come with?"
Sun looked as if someone asked him to drift a tuned GT86, no strings attached. "Are you kidding me!? Hell yeah, I'm comin'!"
Sun deflated once he remembered one crucial fact. "Aw, but we don't have a car..."
Neptune flashed a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, stupid, I'll drive you guys. My S15 has enough space for you two."
Sun almost began squealing like a fangirl. Neptune ushered them along to the edge of the property, where his car resided. It was a blue Nissan Silvia S15, the same shade of his hair. It was slightly modified, with an aftermarket pedestal spoiler bolted onto the trunk. A sticker was stuck onto the side of the spoiler, which read Akina SpeedStars.
"I tuned this baby myself." Neptune began proudly, puffing out his chest. "260 brake horsepower, more than enough for the Akina downhill."
Sun stared wide eyed, then started jumping up and down, giggling madly. "I'm definitely going now!"
The monkey faunus shook his best friend crazily, his prehensile tail wagging. "You're going too, right Jaune!? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Sun continued jumping wildly, flailing his arms in excitement.
It's hard to believe this guy's 20 years old... Jaune thought with amusement.
"Uh, I never said I wanted to go though..." Jaune mumbled.
Nobody heard him.
At the end of day, Jaune and Sun exited the refuelling station in their casual clothes. Sun waved at Neptune as Neptune pulled into the station with the new stock of Liquid Dust containers.
Neptune worked a later shift at the station, and this extended a few hours past Jaune's and Sun's. With a yawn, Neptune shut the door to the truck and made to enter the small building where his boss resided.
His boss stood at the entrance, preventing Neptune from proceeding any further.
"Neptune. You're really going to the touge tomorrow night?"
Neptune's boss shifted his black, round rimmed glasses. His gray hair shone as the moonlight hit it at an angle. His name was Ozpin. He once taught at Beacon University, and even gained the position of headmaster for a time. But after a decade of teaching, Ozpin resigned from his position, and bought out a Dust refuelling station to own. His reason for quitting? 'I got bored.'
"Ah, Mr. Ozpin!"
The man shook his head. "Neptune, you've been working here for quite some time. I do believe you have the right to call me just Ozpin."
Neptune rubbed his neck nervously. "Ah, it's just a habit, sir."
Ozpin chuckled with mirth. "So, which mountain are you going to?"
Neptune rolled his eyes. "Boss, there's only one mountain in Vale worth driving on, and that's Mount Akina. You know that."
Neptune then got a serious look in his eyes, pumping his fist. "And the SpeedStars are the fastest team on Akina, so we gotta defend our turf!"
Ozpin chuckled again, adjusting his glasses. "Neptune, many have claimed to be the fastest on Akina."
He cleared his throat. "Back when you were but a thought in your parents' brain, there was only one man that everybody admitted to be the fastest. The undisputed champion."
Ozpin leaned in with a smile. "And he is still driving on Mount Akina."
Neptune's eyes bugged out, but he still didn't believe Ozpin. "You're kidding me. I've been driving for a while, but I haven't seen anyone like who you're talking about. I know all the racers at Akina. No offense, but none of them are that old."
Ozpin turned away from Neptune, a reminiscent smile still on his face. "That is because he drives at a different time... And he's got a good reason for that. He happens to own a Dust shop."
"...Whaaaat?"
Ozpin's glasses turned opaque for a second. "Every night, at 4:00 AM in the morning... he transports volatile Dust to the top of Mount Akina, delivering it to all the warehouses around Lake Akina. It's quite amazing seeing his downhill speed."
"And because it's his business, he has to make the same run every single day, rain or shine. He knows the smallest stain on the asphalt on Mount Akina like the back of his hand."
Ozpin glanced at Neptune with a knowing smile. "I am willing to bet money... that the fastest car on Mount Akina..."
He looked up towards the shattered moon. "...Is that 86 from the Dust shop."
Neptune twitched, eyes wide. "A-An 86...!? From a Dust shop...!?
No freakin' way...!
It was finally Saturday. Neptune did agree to pick up both Jaune and Sun at the bus stop at 8 o'clock PM that day, and that time was fast approaching. Jaune had his hands full, doing chores around the house and checking up on his seven sisters. Crossing the street to his dad's shop, Jaune yawned loudly as he opened the door, a jingle announcing his entrance.
"Oh?"
Jaune's father stood up from his chair, with a white stick in his mouth. As he pulled it from his mouth, Jaune could see that it was just a cherry flavored lollipop.
"Hey, dad. I'm gonna be going out with Sun and the others. To, uh, hang out... or something." Jaune pointed behind him with his thumb.
His father hummed his approval. "Well, I don't care how long you stay out tonight. Just don't make me have to drag you out of bed in the morning."
Jaune smirked with no emotion behind it and waved his father goodbye. "Well, after the first time, I think I've learned my lesson. See you in the morning, dad."
Nodding with another hum, Jaune's father popped the lollipop back into his mouth, sitting back in his chair. Grabbing his Scroll, he began flipping through aimlessly as Jaune exited the shop hands in pockets.
Walking to the bus stop near his home, Jaune greeted Sun as Neptune's blue Silvia turned the intersection. Jaune had the unfortunate luck of being placed in the back, as Sun had called dibs on the shotgun. After an uneventful drive towards the Mount Akina pass, Neptune began pushing his car on the uphill. Jaune broke a cold sweat.
Approaching a sharp left, Neptune downshifted to third gear, pulling the handbrake to perform a somewhat sloppy drift. The car jerked suddenly as Neptune turned into the corner, countersteering to keep from spinning out.
Jaune screamed bloody murder.
"Ah... AAAHHHHHHH!"
Neptune jerked the car to the right, drifting into the corner with the handbrake. Jaune screamed again, his hands sweaty against the Silvia's upholstery. He gripped tight against the fabric, sweating bullets from his face.
Sun turned around in his seat to shush Jaune. "Shut up, Jaune! You're totally ruining Neptune's concentration!"
Jaune continued screaming. "You think that I care!? I'll scream all I want, I'M SCARED FOR MY FREAKIN' LIFE!"
Neptune chuckled, placing his hand onto the shifter. "It's not a big deal, guys. Everyone gets scared when they first ride with a real street racer."
Neptune's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Alright, let's take this hairpin in second!"
Neptune pushed down and to the left, downshifting to second gear. Rev matching, he pulled the handbrake again, jerking the car to the side in a drift. Jaune almost had tears streaming down his face, and he was so scared that he began to pass out from the shock.
Sun fared no better, grabbing onto the handle on the roof like his life depended on it. He turned to the backseat with a shaky smile. "O-Oi, Jaune you're still too noisy!"
This went back and forth until Neptune finally reached the summit of Mount Akina, where he turned off the main road to stop at the SpeedStars meeting place. Slowing to a stop, Neptune put his S15 into neutral before shutting off the engine.
Jaune pushed at Sun to get off, and pushed the front passenger seat forward so he had space to leave the car. Stumbling forward, Jaune tripped onto the asphalt into a sitting position, grabbing at his chest. He heaved breaths, and his face was pale and sweaty.
Neptune's other friends, Sage and Scarlet, hung around next to their cars, engrossed in their own conversations. The other members of the Akina SpeedStars, those that Neptune hasn't mentioned, boasted about how they would be 'going all out' tonight.
Jaune continued with his breathing exercises, wiping off his brow with a forearm. Neptune and Sun stared down at him in concern.
"Hey, are you okay, Jaune? Maybe I did push it a bit too hard." Neptune rubbed the back of his neck.
Sun pointed at Jaune with an accusatory tone. "You're such a freakin' baby, man! I'd bet you scream for your life on a rollercoaster."
Jaune stared upwards at his friend, shaking his head. "It's not that, Sun. You know I'm okay with rollercoasters. This is just something I can't explain. There's like this crazy fear I have inside that you just can't understand. Even I don't understand it."
As Jaune stood up with shaky legs, he could hear the loud hum of multiple cars approaching fast. Headlights blinded him, forcing him to cover his eyes with his arm.
There were only two cars on the road, but their profiles were unmistakable. A twin set of Mazda RX-7s.
The leading car was a golden yellow Mazda RX-7 Spirit R FD3S. The car following immediately behind was a Mazda RX-7 Infini III FC3S, painted in ruby red.
The two cars slowly came to a stop next to the guardrails separating the pass from the parking area.
Neptune gathered his crew and approached the two cars. "Looks like we've got some company."
As the leading car came to a stop, you could read the labels printed onto the driver side rear bumper, just above the rear wheel. The logo, aptly named RedSuns, was emblazoned in red onto the body of the car.
"The RedSuns... who are they?" Neptune muttered out loud.
The red FC revealed the driver's identity first. A young woman disembarked the car, closing the door after her. She had black hair with red highlights, and a complicated outfit made mostly of red with black accents. Her eyes were a startling shade of silver. She looked no older than 18 years old.
Jaune stared intently at the driver's door of the golden FD as it popped open. Brown boots hit the floor, and a certain fiery blonde popped her head out of the car. She threw her long mane back to remove any tangles, and smirked at the crowd that gathered around the two cars. She opened her mouth to speak.
"My name is Yang Xiao Long. And with my sister Ruby here..."
"We are the Akagi RedSuns."
A/N: Did you like it?