Chapter 2: No One Sleeps in Vale
"My name is Yang Xiao Long, and with my sister Ruby here..."
"We are the Akagi RedSuns."
The SpeedStars blew up in hushed conversations. Just who were the Akagi RedSuns? Who were they to suddenly show up to Mount Akina?
"The two of us are here to race. Can anybody here tell us who the fastest team, or the fastest driver, is on this mountain?" Yang scanned the crowd with a relaxed expression.
Neptune broke out in a sweat. No way... are these...? Are they those RedSuns?
Sun roughly pulled Jaune away from the crowd, leaning into his ear to whisper. "Oh my gods, Jaune! What the hell is Yang doing here!?"
Jaune whispered back harshly, in a bit of shock himself. "How the heck should I know!? This is a surprise to me too!"
Sun rubbed his hands together nervously. "She never told us she was part of a racing team! I can't believe she already got her new car... That FD has already been tuned to perfection!"
Jaune stared at Yang as she spoke with Neptune, who led the Akina SpeedStars, which he found out just a few moments prior to the meeting. Yang nodded as terms were set. Neptune claimed the SpeedStars were the fastest on Mount Akina, and Yang took his word for it.
Yang tilted her head with a small smirk. "Well, how about we hold a small practice session? The RedSuns and the SpeedStars, here on Akina?"
Sun frantically flipped through an old magazine he found in the glovebox of Neptune's car. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he spotted something. "Ah! Right here, Jaune! Look!"
He pulled Jaune by the hood of his jacket, and had him look at the page of the magazine. A giant headline read 'Akagi RedSuns: The Power of the Rotary!'.
"That's where I heard that name before! The RedSuns are an older team, from a generation before our time!"
Sun read off the article, his eyes darting back and forth as he read new lines. "'Co-lead by Taiyang Xiao Long and Summer Rose, the Akagi RedSuns continues to lead the charge for the Wankel rotary. The other members, the Branwen siblings, continue with their domination of the mountain passes of Vale with their twin black FCs...'"
Jaune stopped listening after this. It was clear that Yang was part of something much bigger than even Jaune could understand. A racing team? And one that was so famous that even magazines ran after them for interviews? This was totally insane.
He looked at the pictures. The man, Taiyang, stood next to a yellow Mazda RX-7, one that looked remarkably similar to Yang's. The woman, Summer Rose, stood next to a... a Corolla? She was the only member of her team without a rotary.
A high pitched voice brought Jaune out from his thoughts. The petite girl, Ruby, from the FC, stepped forward to address the SpeedStars. Jaune found it unusual that this girl and Yang were actually sisters. Yang did make passing mentions of a sister, and even did so yesterday, but Jaune was thoroughly surprised anyway by just how different they looked and acted.
"So, um... hello!" She waved at the crowd with a false positivity to counter her nervousness. "Um, I just want to say that I want this to be an opportunity for us to learn... Driving the same course on Akagi has got us burned out... So running against other teams would be a new challenge for us!"
"Maybe make some friends and exchange some knowledge!" Ruby smiled wide, throwing up a peace sign with her fingers.
Again, the SpeedStars spoke amongst themselves, unsure of what to say. This girl, Ruby, looked no older than 18, which meant she should have just gotten her license. How would she be able to be burned out so quickly, as she put it?
Neptune spoke for his team. "Alright. How would we go about doing this?"
Ruby already had a plan. "Um, for the first one, we can drive together. Then, uh, one representative from each team will compete in the uphill and then the downhill."
"We aren't concerned about winning or losing, though! If that's what you thought..." Ruby waved her hands out frantically and poked her pointer fingers together.
Yang nodded, smirking. "So, whaddya think? Are these terms good?"
Neptune looked back to Sage and Scarlet before nodding. "If you put it that way, how can we refuse?"
Yang's eyes almost flashed red. "Alright, then. How about we meet back here again next Saturday? 10 o'clock PM." She placed her hands on her hips, grinning, in a taunt towards the SpeedStars.
Neptune frowned. "Okay, fine."
Yang huffed a breath, smiling again. "We'll be taking it easy tonight. See you on the touge."
She turned around, but not before winking at the crowd of young men, shaking her hips teasingly and entering her FD. The engine flared to life, the distinct sound of the Wankel rotary filling the summit. Her sister did the same, her FC springing to life, and the two sisters began turning to the downhill.
Yang's golden FD performed a U-turn with a quick clutch kick. Her rear tires formed skid marks as the car turned. The Wankel engine grew louder as Yang hit the throttle, revving the car to redline before shifting into second. Ruby followed in her sisters footsteps with another quick U-turn, the squeal of her tires kicking up a cloud of smoke.
Standing in shocked silence, Neptune quickly began rallying his team. With shouts, the SpeedStars entered their vehicles to chase after the two RX-7s. Jaune and Sun ran after Neptune as he strapped himself into his S15.
"Hey, take us with you!" Sun pleaded, reaching for the passenger door. Jaune had to pull him back.
Neptune shook his head with vigor, shifting his car into first. "Sorry man. When I'm driving seriously, I don't take passengers." He revved his car to warm up the engine. "Stay here, you two. I'll pick you guys up later, I promise."
Lifting off the clutch, Neptune immediately punched the accelerator in, a burnout leaving Jaune and Sun coughing in the smoke. After it cleared, Jaune and Sun were the only ones left on the summit. The quiet squealing of tires on the mountain pass and low hums of engines were the only sounds that pierced the silence.
Sun whimpered and squatted down onto the floor. "This totally blows! We're the only ones here without a car!"
Jaune stared into the night sky, pondering to himself. "Hey, Sun..."
Sun looked up.
Jaune turned to his friend with a blank expression. "Is it really that much fun to be a street racer?"
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and kicked at the asphalt with a sigh. "I just don't get it. Why does everyone get so excited about it?"
Sun softly punched Jaune in the shoulder. "I'm the one who doesn't get why you don't get it! You can hear the sound of the cars on the touge running hard after one another, right? Something like that should get you worked up!"
Jaune blinked at Sun. "Worked up...?"
While Jaune and Sun were wrapping up their conversation on the summit, Yang and Ruby slowly drove down the Akina pass, waiting for the SpeedStars to catch up. After a few moments at cruising speed, a bright light reflected off the mirror into Yang's eyes. She huffed a brief chuckle.
"Looks like they've finally caught up." Yang began pressing down on the throttle.
Ruby's voice rang out from Yang's Scroll in the cupholder. "Let them pass, first, Yang. I want to see what they can do."
Yang lifted her foot off the accelerator with an annoyed sigh. She was itching to drive. "Alright, sis. Your call."
Around 6 cars passed Yang before she began tapping the steering wheel impatiently.
"That's strange... I saw 7 people up on that summit." Ruby muttered, who was following closely behind Yang's FD.
As if on cue, Neptune's S15 finally passed Yang, and she grinned fiercely, removing her left hand from the wheel and placing it on the shifter.
"Hey Rubes, they've passed me. Time to push it."
"'Kay."
Shifting back down to third, Yang rev matched to 7000 rpms, the light hum of the rotary and the whistling of the twin turbos causing her to lick her lips in anticipation. Pushing her RX-7, Yang followed after the SpeedStars, almost touching bumpers with the car ahead of her. The car, a forgettable Nissan 350Z, was easily passed by Yang's FD, and on a straightaway as well.
"Tch, these guys are slow. They're complete and utter trash." Yang effortlessly drifted past two more SpeedStars.
"Don't get so angry, Yang. While they're, uh... not that fast, we can help them improve." Ruby said optimistically. She followed close behind, where Yang could even see her in the driver's seat of her red FC in the rear view mirror.
"They're a lost cause. I can't believe they're even spinning out on a low speed corner." Yang barked angrily, turning her eyes back to the road, shifting down to second gear in anticipation for a hairpin turn.
Her FD spit flames as Yang performed a flawless heel-toe downshift. With a braking drift, Yang easily snagged the inside line, passing yet another SpeedStar and causing them to spin out. Ruby continued driving her red FC casually, following Yang's FD with a grip style driving line.
Yang saw Neptune's blue S15 in the distance, and pushed the throttle in to one hundred percent. Neptune braked a bit too early, forcing Yang to turn to the outside. She aggressively drifted ahead of the S15, blocking it from advancing any further as she finally overtook Neptune. Shifting to third to complete the maneuver, the blow off valve whined in response.
"Yang, be careful. This is the first time we're driving this course." Ruby warned, concern in her voice.
With a growl of frustration, Yang slammed her hand onto the side of the steering wheel. Slowing her pace, but only by a bit, Yang saw Ruby flash her headlights in the mirror.
"Hey, Yang, it's my turn to have some fun."
"Hmph. Try to keep up!" Yang laughed and sped ahead away from her sister.
Ruby caught up quickly, almost bumper to bumper with Yang's FD. With another flash of the FC's headlights, Yang looked ahead on the pass. They were about to reach the four consecutive hairpins.
"This is it. Akina's famous four consecutive hairpins. You ready, sis?"
Yang gripped the steering wheel with her right hand, and the shifter with her left. "Oh, Rubes. I was born ready."
Yang braked, stomping on the accelerator with a heel toe, downshifting from fourth to third, then third to second. Ruby mirrored her, still that same distance away from her.
Yang turned the wheel to the right, breaking the rear tires loose into a high speed drift, countersteering and quickly hitting the apex of the hairpin. Ruby followed immediately behind in a tandem drift, holding the same speed behind Yang.
As the sisters exited the turn, Yang jerked her FD to the left, drifting into the second hairpin. Moving her eyes to look behind her, Yang noticed Ruby giving her a thumbs up while countersteering her FC. They exited the corner, shifting into third gear simultaneously. Ruby sped up to travel alongside Yang, flashing her an OK symbol.
"I can confidently say that Akina is a great course to run!"
Yang threw her head back, laughing. "You can say that again, sis! Here comes the final set of corners!"
They couldn't even hear the cars of the SpeedStars, who were still quite a ways behind, with no chance of ever catching up. Neptune frantically chased after the twin RX-7s, but their tail lights have long since disappeared from view. His forehead was sweaty, and his blue hair was stuck to his skin.
These guys are on another level... I can't believe I accepted their challenge... I'm so stupid...
Neptune's inner monologue messed him up, and one wrong move caused his S15 to spin out on a corner. Gritting his teeth, Neptune tried to keep his car from crashing into the guardrail. He succeeded, but began feeling terrible because of his relatively low driving skills. Taking deep breaths, Neptune crossed his arms over the steering wheel, and placed his forehead onto his arms.
Dammit... I'm so screwed.
Jaune and Sun sat on the guardrails at the summit twiddling their thumbs. Jaune had purchased a warm coffee a few minutes prior, from the vending machine next to the building a ways from the street. Taking a swig, he stared blankly at nothing in particular. Sun started rambling.
"How could I have not seen it before...? Yang's name... by itself it doesn't really mean anything. But when you add 'tai' in front of it, you get 'taiyang.' In traditional Mistralian, 'taiyang' means 'sun.' And Rose... roses are red."
Sun lifted up his hands, holding them apart. "Red... sun." He brought them together. "The RedSuns."
Jaune nodded along to Sun, words going into one ear and out the other. His ears perked up when the quiet roar of Neptune's S15 came from behind the two of them. Standing up, Jaune and Sun rushed over to the Silvia as Neptune lowered the window. He looked crestfallen.
"Hey, Nep, what's wrong? You look like somebody kicked your dog." Sun asked with worry.
Neptune chuckled quietly before shaking his head. "No, nothing like that. It's just..."
He sighed, combing his sweaty hair back. "Well, I think I made a huge mistake. Accepting that challenge... the RedSuns are no joke, that's for sure."
Sun slapped the roof of Neptune's S15, much to his astonishment and displeasure. "I totally knew it! Yang said she raced, but she didn't even hype herself up!"
"You-You know her!?" Neptune yelped in surprise.
"She goes to our school, Beacon U." Jaune interjected with a small comment, falling silent after contributing one line to the conversation.
Neptune slumped in his bucket seat. "...Well, let's save this conversation for another time. Get in, you two. Time to drive you guys home."
Jaune got into the backseat again, and Sun made himself comfortable in shotgun. The ride back to Vale was quiet and uneventful. Neptune didn't even try to pull any tricks on the downhill, just slowly and surely made his way back to the main city. At least Jaune didn't scream out in terror anymore.
Neptune sighed again. Jaune and Sun continued glancing at him with concern. He was really messed up about that challenge.
Jaune sat in the backseat with his mind in the clouds. He's gonna have to go make the deliveries tonight...
Nicholas Arc entered his home, greeted by the sight of his children. They all said their hellos to him, and he grunted with a small wave to the six siblings, minus Jaune, who was still with his friend, Sun, Nicholas remembered. He passed by the living room and the kitchen, but then his Scroll began ringing. It was a number he didn't recognize. Stepping outside to the back of the house, he answered.
"Arc Dust Shop. How can I help you?" Nicholas used his business greeting with a gruff tone.
"Is that how you greet an old friend?"
Nicholas's eyebrows shot up as he sat on the steps leading to the back door. He unwrapped another lollipop, blueberry this time, and stuck it in his mouth. "Well, what a surprise. Your voice was the last thing I expected to hear from tonight."
Ozpin chuckled over the line. "It has been a while since we've last spoken. How is your business faring... Bunta?"
Nicholas froze when he heard that name. It was yet another reminder that he did not fit in. His black hair contrasted harshly with the rest of his family's bright blonde hair. His scruffy beard did him no favors as well. But he knew that his family loved him, especially his wife, Juniper. He remembered that he married into the Arc name, but it was out of love, not money. He loved making Dust compounds, and he loved his wife and family above all else. Nicholas shook his head to clear his thoughts.
He frowned and his voice became agitated. "I don't go by that name anymore, you know that."
"Oh, is that right? I'm sorry, Nicholas." Ozpin chuckled to relieve the tense atmosphere, dropping the point.
Nicholas ran the lollipop over his teeth, and bit down on it with a crunch.
Ozpin continued. "Well, it's nice to speak with you again all the same."
"Two days ago, you passed me on your way back from your deliveries. You drove right past me like I wasn't even there."
Nicholas chuckled, his usual personality coming back. "Sorry to disappoint you, Oz, but that wasn't me."
Ozpin stayed silent. "...Impossible. It was your car. Nobody drives an 86 with... that shade of yellow at that time of night."
The Arc scratched his cheek and sucked on his broken lollipop, leaning back with a small laugh due to Ozpin's thinly veiled insult. "Okay, okay, you caught me. That was my 86."
Nicholas quickly finished his lollipop, tossing the stick onto the floor. "But I wasn't the one driving it."
"My son, Jaune, has been the one making the deliveries these past few years."
Nicholas heard a 'snrk' sound from his Scroll, and Ozpin began coughing. With a clearing of his throat, Ozpin addressed Nicholas. "...Since when?"
Nicholas counted down his fingers. "I guess... about 7 years now."
Ozpin's voice cracked. Nearly nothing surprised the man, but this... this was something new. "You mean to tell me your son has been delivering Dust since the 7th grade!?"
"Whew... Time for another run." Yang muttered as she performed another U-turn at Akina's summit.
She was the only one on that mountain right now, and she began having a bit of trouble keeping her eyes open. But a bit of exhaustion has never stopped her before.
She looked to the west, noting the fact that the moon was setting. To the east, a small sliver of orange appeared on the horizon. She checked the clock on her FD's dashboard. 4:00 AM on the dot.
"The sun's about to start coming up. This'll be my last run for the day, then it's time to head back home." Yang spoke out loud to herself.
Ruby and her FC were nowhere to be seen. As co-leader of the RedSuns, Ruby told Yang, no, more like demanded her, to run time trials on Akina, both uphill and downhill, to set records that the SpeedStars would never be able to break. It was harsh, but the two sisters wanted to become the fastest team in all of Vale.
The name Akagi RedSuns will become legendary.
Yang remembered Ruby's face as she stared out above the city of Vale at one of Akina's corners. This was her dream. To become the fastest in all of Vale, or maybe even all of Remnant. Yang was just there along for the ride. She wanted to see her sister succeed. And in the back of her mind, maybe she wanted to be the fastest, too.
With purpose, Yang shifted up to third, pushing her car as fast as she could go. Yang was still new to Akina, and found out new tricks to speed up her time every other run. After two hairpin turns, a small light reflected off her rear view mirror.
No One Sleep in Tokyo - Edo Boys
"Eh? Who the heck is driving on the touge this late at night?" Yang slightly lifted off the throttle, a little curious. The car trailing behind her caught up quickly, driving bumper to bumper. The headlights burned themselves into Yang's mind.
"Is that an MR2 Spyder? I can't tell with those headlights." Yang then gasped and blinked in surprise as the car made to overtake her. Quickly, she moved her RX-7 to block it. The nerve of this dude...!
"Oh, so it's gonna be like that, huh!?" Yang barked, her eyes flashing red. Slamming her foot into the accelerator, she slowly pulled away from the car trailing behind her.
"You're not gonna get past me that easily! Come and get some!" Approaching the first hairpin turn in Section 2 of the downhill, Yang gripped her wheel tight.
Now! Yang's eyes widened as she braked at the last moment, shifting down into second gear. With a heel toe rev match, the FD's exhaust spit fire. Pouring in speed, her car oversteered into a drift. But to her surprise, the car followed her into the corner with a drift of its own, and began inching closer and closer until the sides of the two cars were almost touching.
Yang continued countersteering, gritting her teeth as her tires began slipping outward. Crap! I've been pushing my FD too hard tonight! My tires are toast!
Disregarding this information, Yang pushed in the accelerator, turning out of the corner and into the straightaway. With her twin turbos working overtime, the car behind her slowly grew smaller in the rear view mirror.
With a grim smile, Yang quickly pushed her gearbox to third, lowering her right foot onto the throttle.
With an arrogant smirk, she took a glance at the mirror, relishing in the fact that her opponent was lagging behind. "Hmph! Nice driving, but after two more corners, you won't even be a smudge in my rear view mirror!" Yang yelled out loud.
The Wankel rotary in the FD's engine bay whirred, the twin turbos whistling their familiar tune. Redlining her FD to 9000 rpm, Yang shifted up to fourth gear.
Braking at the right time, Yang machine gun downshifted to second gear, rev matching twice in a row. Performing a heel toe, she turned to the left, the squeal of her tires bringing a smile to her face. Feathering the throttle, Yang gasped as a set of headlights blinded her.
"What the-!" She glanced at the mirror, the headlights of her opponent back in full force. Her breath caught in her throat.
"How the hell- that's a freakin' 86!" Yang turned her attention back to driving, growling through her teeth.
"Argh, don't screw with me!" Yang pulled her wheel back to center as she entered the straightaway, frantically pushing in the accelerator. The car, now identified as a yellow GT86, slowly got left behind.
Yang began sweating, blinking to prevent any from getting in her eyes. "Damn! My 340 horsepower machine should outrun a junked out old 86!"
Yang's blonde hair matted against her forehead. "This has to be some kind of nightmare...! I just hope I wake up sometime soon!"
Yang gripped the steering wheel like her life depended on it. Her eyes turned red. "I have to live up to my father's name somehow...! I'm the number two driver of the Akagi RedSuns dammit!"
She pushed the shifter forward into third. Yang swiftly cleared past Section 2, moving on to Section 3 of the Akina downhill, with the 86 trailing not far behind.
Yang breathed hard, her eyes seeing double. She rubbed at her brows to remove some sweat. "Damn! This pressure is insane! Just who the hell is this guy!?"
She drifted through the final hairpin right before the four consecutive hairpins at the end of Section 3, nodding to herself confidently. "Alright, after these corners, you're finished!"
Braking in anticipation for the slower turns, Yang gasped loudly and flinched in her seat as the 86 blazed right past her with no concern for its own well being. Watching intently, Yang bled off speed as her heart almost stopped.
Yang's thought spilled from her mouth. "Doesn't he even know this road!? After this slow right is a sharp left! There's a ravine on the other side, he's gotta hit the brakes!"
The 86 turned into the corner on the right side of Yang's FD.
The tires of the 86 squealed as they lost traction.
"Crap, I knew it! He's gonna get himself killed! No room to slow down, he's going into that guardrail!" Yang's wide eyes watched the 86 move closer and closer to the railing.
Suddenly, the 86 went silent. The driver lifted his foot off the accelerator, shifting weight to the front, and causing the rear end to jerk to the other direction. The driver used the countersteer from the slow corner as a feint to setup a drift for the next corner. The 86 slid in a straight line before the rear tires pushed the car into the corner, clearing it so fast Yang thought she was hallucinating.
Her jaw dropped. "What... the... hell!?"
The scene replayed back in her mind in slow motion. Yang couldn't even drive anymore. She was so shocked it made her mind go blank.
"An... INERTIA DRIFT!?"
Unconsciously following after the 86, Yang unfortunately spun out on the sharp left hand turn that the 86 just performed its inertia drift on. In a desperate attempt to regain control, she countersteered a full 900 degrees, to no avail. Quickly pressing on the clutch and brake, Yang came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road.
END
The 86 sped into the night, its boxer engine rumbling into the distance. The tail lights of the 86 disappeared from Yang's view. The mountain pass grew silent.
With a shaking jaw and wide eyes, Yang breathed hard. Her knuckles were white as she gripped onto the steering wheel. Letting go, she rested her arms atop the wheel, and dropped her forehead on them. On instinct, she placed her car in neutral, lifting her feet off of the pedals. She blinked slowly, her eyes turning back to its regular lilac shade.
"That... I can't... I can't believe it..." Yang said between breaths.
"Did I... Did I just see the ghost of a racer that died on this pass?" Memories flashed in her brain of her mother and stepmother. She blinked back tears.
"That drift... was perfectly executed..." Yang's eyes hardened.
"Only... Only if that driver knew this course like the back of his hand. Only a driver with the ultimate knowledge of Akina could have done that..." Yang lifted her head off of her forearms, reinvigorated.
Shifting into first gear, Yang drove downhill as quickly as possible, thoughts racing in her mind. She had to inform her sister. However, there was only one that came rushing to the forefront.
I gotta find that 86 if it's the last thing I do!
A/N: NANI!? KANSEI DORIFTO!?
The Arc family names are borrowed from Couer Al' Aran.
So yeah, another chapter. Thanks for reading, see ya next chapter.