A/N: I was using Google Earth in my iPod Touch and nothing made me as happy to see the famous Five Hairpin curves in real time staring at me near the area of Shibukawa (Akina in the anime, I guess) The actual road was featured in Initial D Street Stage (I had it in my PSP in the past) and it was still in the map! And also the Takahashi brothers' home course as well, near the area of Takasaki...

NOTE: I know the 350z didn't come out until the 2000s, but all the same, this is a fanfic.

NOTE 2: The convertible FC came with an NA engine, but in Japan there are turbocharged versions available... So I guess this doesn't hurt...

-oooOOOooo-

The sun was setting low over Tokyo Prefecture as the Project D crew rolled to a stop at an inn somewhere near the territory of Tokyo N. S. The three vans looked hot and dusty from the trip. The Hachi-Roku was calmly accepting the fatigue of the drive, its hood steaming with the effort. The formerly spotless yellow body of the FD was flecked with dust and looked defeated. However, the FC was still energized, its immaculate and impeccable facade still firmly attached on it.

"Oh yes, rest at last," Keisuke groaned out as he stretched his arms gratefully. Takumi and the others agreed silently, each of them glancing around at the change of sights-the tall, lighted buildings, the busy goings-on of the vehicles that are on the roads, and others besides.

Ryosuke calmly conversed with the manager of the inn and managed to get four rooms.

"Fujiwara, Keisuke, you two are going to share a room. Matsumoto and Tomiguchi, and Fumihiro and Kenta are going to share a room, one for each pair." Ryosuke was ticking off names on his fingers, but interrupted himself, his expression bemused, as Keisuke opened his mouth to argue.

"What is it, Keisuke?" he addressed the blond.

"Can't I share a room with you instead?" Keisuke said with great difficulty, his face flushed with embarrassment at the request he was making.

Ryosuke smiled slightly. "Are you perhaps saying that you are awkward with Fujiwara? That's no problem. You've shared a room last time, ne? This time is no different."

"Yeah, but-" Keisuke struggled to say something more expressive but failed miserably. "Isn't it better for us to share a room instead? I mean, we're siblings."

This was the second time Takumi had ever heard Keisuke refer to his family ties with Ryosuke while at an expedition (the first time being the incident when he trashed his FD on the oil, and other than that situation, Keisuke treated Ryosuke more like a leader and less an elder brother while in meetings with D) and was surprised that he had nearly forgotten.

"True enough," Ryosuke said, still smiling, albeit slightly. "Fujiwara, are you okay if you'll sleep alone tonight?"

"Erm, it's just fine, Ryosuke-san. No need to worry." Takumi tried to smile, but it caught slightly.

"All right then," Ryosuke said, still in a bemused manner, as though highly entertained at his aces' facial expressions.

-oooOOOooo-

Nightfall at last. The mountain loomed in front of them like a deep-sea monster rising out of the depths. It was etched sharply across the sky, its threatening figure cutting out the stars.

"So that's the monster we're going to conquer, huh?" Keisuke muttered as he drove the FD onwards to the mountain's direction, the rest of the Project D crew tagging behind. He was tingling all over, his anticipations high as he attacked the now upward slope of the road leading to the monstrous landform. "Let's see if Tokyo N. S. likes its midnight snacks served hot or cold."

-oooOOOooo-

The Tokyo N. S. crew lined up on the side of the road. They were all black in color, and if you look closely at the tinted windshields of those cars, you'll see small and non-assuming stickers with the words "Tokyo no Shihai" on it written in fine Japanese calligraphy.

"Okay, I get it. Kazumi's late again." Izumi, the brunette with the deeply red lips, was saying to the other members of N. S. "She doesn't really learn."

A lovely redheaded young lady sitting at the hood of a black Nissan 350z was giggling. "I've heard of Project D. Their aces are supposed to be really fine examples of eye candy. Especially the downhill ace. I can't wait to see how they really look like."

"Raiha, we're here to defend our home course, not to look for new boyfriends." Izumi looked around at the last two members of the team, including Akira, a blonde with a flashy black Mazda MX-5 like Kazumi's (although of a different generation) and Manaka, another brunette who stood beside a sleek black Mazda RX-7. They both looked bored silly from the waiting, but if it was either for Kazumi or for Project D, Izumi cannot exactly tell.

She caressed the hood of her own car, an elegant Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec that she got from a reckless guy whom she had beaten in a past pink-slip race. Izumi smiled as she remembered the glint in Kazumi's eye as she talked about that Ryosuke guy. She hoped that Takahashi Ryosuke would be quick-footed enough to find his way through Kazumi's crazy drifting style.

-oooOOOooo-

She was 15 then, and he was 16. He was a little older than her since his birthday came three months earlier than hers.

She was crying under a tree planted on the quadrangle of their school. It had been there since she entered middle school. It witnessed a lot of her laughs, tears, and various other petty mischiefs during her whole stay. And she was just adding one more to the list.

She hated it that he always got to beat her at everything. Tests, rankings, and even other miscellaneous things. She can't accept the fact that until he came to her life, she had been always the best, the smartest, the ultimate.

Her father always insulted her with words that never failed to make her feel insignificant whenever he found out that she ranked second to Takahashi Ryosuke. Like last night's incident. The rankings came out for the first semester, and as always, she ran second behind Takahashi Ryosuke. As if it was preordained that she'll get beaten by him in everything.
Her father did not waste time in cursing and punishing her for that.

"Ingrate! I did not enroll you in that school to get beaten by Takahashi's son, dammit!"

"I-I'm sorry, tou-san! I-"

"Go to your room and stay there! You shall not have any supper tonight! This'll teach you your lesson!"

Kazumi was almost blind with her tears and the pain of the injustice, believing the insults. She cried silently, her pleas going unheard.

She promised to herself that she would beat Takahashi Ryosuke someday. Even if it took her years to accomplish the feat.

"Hey. Kaga Kazumi." The familiar voice suddenly called her attention from her musings. She looked up, and to her shock and extreme anger, she saw him. Takahashi Ryosuke. Her sworn enemy. "What're you doing there?"

"None of your business, Takahashi Ryosuke." She always spat out his whole name when speaking to him, and hadn't failed to do so now. Ryosuke smiled at the mention of his full name.

"I'm sorry for intruding, Kaga-kun," he replied, the honorific referring to her tomboyish ways at school. It never occurred to him that Kazumi was a girl except in times like this, when she was freely crying in plain view. Except that no one was here at all at the time.

"Go 'way," she muttered darkly. "Leave me alone."

"Hey, it's way past five o'clock. Aren't you going home already?" he asked, switching to a more gentler tone. He saw the red eyes, the down turned mouth. And the telltale tear tracks on her cheeks.

"Nope." She turned away. She didn't want to see his sympathizing face, much less speak to him. He was the reason behind all of this. He was the enemy.

"Nevertheless, I don't think anyone can make you cry like that. Did you fight with your boyfriend?" he cajoled her gentler still, using the same coaxing tone that made Keisuke open up to him even the most private problems.

She made a face. "I don't have a boyfriend, moron." She persisted in facing the other way. "I don't want you here. Go away."

"Oh. Then perhaps you fought with your parents." Kazumi didn't answer, so he assumed that he was correct. "It's normal for teens to disagree with their parents, so I guess it'll be alright if you go talk to them about your issues."

"It's your fault why I'm like this, Takahashi Ryosuke. So shut up and stop talking to me like you even care."

"My fault?" Ryosuke scowled and stared at her. "How can it be my fault?"

She didn't answer right away. That's why she was so irritated. Because even though she knew the reason why her father whipped her, it hadn't really mattered to her before if the son of some Takahashi beat her to the first place in anything. She knew that the Takahashi family owned the largest clinic in Takasaki and that it was interfering with her father's clinic that was prospering since the Takahashis built their clinic in the same area, but she never felt before all of this the need to make Ryosuke her rival too. She even had a kind of crush on him ever since she saw his grave, mature face and the quiet grace he displayed while accomplishing everything perfectly. At this very moment, she was doing this just because of her father's expectations. She had to, to make up for not having an older brother. She had to be the best in everything. It was her duty as the eldest and the only child.

To cover up for her confusion, she stood up and shoved him, hard. It made him catch his breath at the strength of this short girl that never failed to impress him with her boyish ways. He watched her calmly, taking in her disheveled hair, her messy uniform, and her black-rimmed glasses. At that moment, he also noticed the uncomfortable air that she carried because of the fact that she was born a girl.

'So that's how it is,' he told himself.

-oooOOOooo-

Mysteriously, a black FC was seen streaking through the roads at a furious rate, the tires screaming in protest as the driver pushed the car at a reckless pace. The FC drifted effortlessly as the driver clutch-kicked at a corner. This can be normal enough, but this particular FC was, unmistakably, a convertible, its top up, but still a convertible. The convertible FC was a rare sight nowadays in Tokyo, but here it was, tearing uphill. It was the first real cruising car Mazda had ever made, the special work inside making it totally fit for leisurely drives in any season.

The turbocharged engine was purring smoothly, much more smoother than the normal NA engine of the convertible version of the FC. Under the hood, the furnishings of the engine insistently belied the fact that it was only for simple travels. It was the ultimate rotary monster.

-oooOOOooo-

The Project D crew finally made it to the meeting place, the aces getting out of their cars first to partake of the mountain air. The vans stopped next, the crew members stepping out one by one on solid ground. The moon shone on calmly, a warm beacon of light amid the gatherings of stars.

Matsumoto and Tomoguchi immediately set to work at assembling the supplies that the aces would need for the night's practice session. Fumihiro went to speak to the enemy team, his genial manner overcoming the awkwardness a bit as he spoke with Izumi.

"Sorry if Kaga-san isn't here yet," Izumi was saying after the greetings. "I was requested to hold your practices for a bit before she arrives. I'm truly sorry for the delay."

"No problem at all," Fumihiro replied, smiling rather nervously as he took in the extreme prettiness of the woman in front of him. "Although it's very unfortunate, of course. But I expect Ryosuke-san will want to talk to Kaga-san before anything else, so I guess he'll be very disappointed to hear that."

"Again, our apologies," Izumi said, bowing deeply and proceeding to go to the side of her crew.

Fumihiro returned at Ryosuke's side to tell him what he had just learned.

"She hasn't changed at all on the matter of her punctuality, I'm afraid," Ryosuke said with a light tone after Fumihiro stopped talking. "I guess we'll have nothing to do but wait for her. It's wasting a bit of our time, but we have no other choice."

"I guess," Fumihiro sighed.

"Oi, aniki," Keisuke sniped suddenly at his brother. "Don't say they're all - girls?"

Ryosuke felt like smiling at his brother's reaction, but kept his face carefully composed. "So?"

"Aniki!" Keisuke grimaced at empty air, his voice conveying nothing but disbelief. "You're unbelievable!"

"What's so unbelievable about me, Keisuke?" Ryosuke said shortly.

"Look. If there is a list for the top ten things sure to distract street racers, women will make it to the top three if not the first place." Keisuke still sounded outraged.

"That's why I challenged them. I know you've a strange attachment to your feelings, otooto, but consider this a test about never underestimating your opponent in any way."

"And I know how difficult you make your tests, aniki." Keisuke made a wry face. "I told you I'm over with Kyoko."

"Well, I didn't say anything about Iwase Kyoko."

"Yeah, right." Keisuke said the words with a heavy sarcasm. "As if I'd need you to tell me things that are too obvious to say."

Ryosuke's only reply was to flash a quick, mysterious smile.

"Anyway, about this strategist of theirs..." Keisuke leaned in closer to his brother, whose smile widened at the sudden change of topic. "How did you know her before?"

Fumihiro grinned. "That's right, Ryosuke. I myself am dying to hear the answer."

Not you alone, was Ryosuke's thought as he saw the rest of Project D turn their heads at the question of his nosy brother. He saw that he had no other choice but to answer.

"Well, I didn't know you'd all be this interested, but I'm afraid that this is a disappointing answer," Ryosuke said. "Kaga Kazumi is a high school batch mate of mine and is the daughter of tou-san's competitor in the medical field in Takasaki. But I happened to know that they moved from Takasaki to Tokyo because of the strain of too much competition from our clinic. I didn't hear from them again, so I was pretty surprised to know that their daughter Kazumi was into street racing as well when Kyoichi mentioned N. S. to me last time we met. He told me that N. S. was a good opponent to race before Team 246, and I agree it'd be a nice change of pace, although I didn't seriously acknowledge his suggestion until after I learned that Kazumi was the leader of the group."

"As if you've seriously considered his suggestions before, eh, aniki?" Keisuke quipped. "Anyway, isn't it almost five years since then? How do you know if she's the right Kaga Kazumi? I guess she doesn't look the same now like then, right?"

Ryosuke smiled slightly before answering Keisuke. "That's right, but I introduced myself first before challenging her. Her reply was, well, characteristically Kazumi."

"Mmm. I see." Keisuke sighed and then looked at the dark road. "Hey. Isn't that an... FC?"

The Project D crew members' heads all turned to the direction of the new engine sound. The black Mazda car belonging to the second generation of the RX-7 was whirring smoothly down the road. It was excruciatingly elegant to Keisuke's eyes, the FC totally straightforward with a no-nonsense look about it. And in addition -

"Wow. That can't be... the convertible FC!" Keisuke gasped, at a loss for words. "That's extremely hard to find nowadays!"

The driver side door opened and a woman, about twenty-three years of age, stepped out. She had straight dark hair, large dark eyes, and porcelain skin. She was wearing a sexy black halter neck minidress that showed off her shapely white legs and her cleavage. The Project D crew watched her, her simple act of closing the car door taking off their eyes even from the sight of the rare FC, speechless and awed at the female apparition. Even modest Takumi can't take his eyes off the newcomer.

Kenta was speechless. "And with hot legs to match her rare car, Keisuke-san."

"Shut up, Kenta," Keisuke said, but his eyes were also glued on the woman's approaching figure.

She turned toward them, her body language sensual and strong at the same time. "Takahashi Ryosuke," she called, her voice slicing through the air without restraint.

Ryosuke stepped forward. "Kaga... Kazumi."

They locked eyes, the connection so mutual that they actually held each other's gazes for a few moments.

-oooOOOooo-

'She changed so much in the past five years,' Ryosuke thought with a twinge of nostalgia.

'He's still stolid, proud and gorgeous,' Kazumi thought, staring at the proud face, her eyes hungrily taking in the handsome dark eyes and the elegant arches of his eyebrows that she fantasized to see again for so long.

Ryosuke finally broke the lengthening silence. "How do you do, Kaga-san? It's been a long time."

"Yeah," Kazumi said slowly, breaking her trance. "I-uh, you look so mature now. So... different. Somehow."

"I suppose that would be the case for both of us, Kaga-san. I guess I look different to you the same way you look different to me."

"Mmm." Kazumi flicked her beautiful eyes to the rest of Project D. "Where are your famous double aces? I must confess that I am rather curious to see their faces. Their famed looks are causing a stir back in the areas you have previously visited."

Ryosuke smiled lightly. "Is that true? I guess it's good in a way, although I hope this'll never get too much in the way of further battles. I would prefer not to have fangirls flocking at them two before they even get out of their cars."

"Chill, Takahashi Ryosuke," Kazumi said, laughing lightheartedly. The sound was so graceful that it sounded almost like music. "Fangirls are the ultimate testimony to a male racer's prowess and skill."

"Are you still calling me by my full name?" Ryosuke said with a reminiscing smile. "It's too long to say in one breath, I'm afraid."

"I don't really mind calling you that, but I guess you're right. So, would Ryo-kun be alright with you?"

"It's not the best, but it's better than 'Takahashi Ryosuke.' We're batch mates in the past after all."

"That's settled then. Ryo-kun." Kazumi playfully smiled at him, baring pearly teeth. "Then just call me Kazumi. It's too formal to call me by my last name. I mean, we're of the same age bracket after all."

Her dark eyes got more captivating because of their cheerful expression. Ryosuke blinked at the thought of falling under their spell.

Keisuke chuckled. "My brother's foiled by a girl for the first time in his life." He grinned at the conversation the two of them were making. It sounded like a flirting ritual to his ears, more so by the way Kazumi unconsciously flicked her eyes back and forth from each of Ryosuke's own eyes. It made the conversation almost sexy. Keisuke could almost feel his brother's nervousness radiating from his skin. He hoped his aniki wouldn't crack from the tension.

Ryosuke bravely pushed the conversation to safer waters. "I guess we can now talk about the terms of tonight's practice session."

"Yes, I agree." Kazumi shifted unnervingly from playful to serious in an instant, her dark eyes rich in expression.

"And by the way, you and your FC look gorgeous in black tonight," Ryosuke remarked, his lips curling slightly.

"Thanks," she replied sarcastically. "I appreciate the compliment. FC boy."

-oooOOOooo-

"Where did you get that stunner, Kazumi?" Izumi asked her, staring at the convertible FC as she walked back from the Project D side of the road. The aces were now trying out the road, and Ryosuke was huddled in a corner with his laptop, examining something. Kazumi didn't try to look at him too much.

"I won it from an arrogant guy at the Wangan." Kazumi stretched her arms out and sat on the black FC's hood, her eyes glittering dryly. "He's new here, I suppose. Or he wouldn't have challenged me in a pink slip. I felt pity for this FC so I raced him and beat his socks and car off him. I should think he'll never consider joining a pink slip again until he's learned his lesson."

"You're so merciless as usual, Kazumi..." Izumi sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, Ryosuke taught me that value at least." Kazumi smiled and slipped a cigarette out of her purse, lighted it with a silver lighter from Izumi, and took a deep drag, the rush of smoking dissipating her jitters.

She listened to the sound of Project D's aces taking off, and smiled. "Tomorrow night's going to be... Interesting. I'll guarantee you that, Izumi."

"I'm sure it'll be," Izumi replied, smiling as well. "I think this'll be one hell of a challenge."

-oooOOOooo-

Ryosuke finished his simulation and closed the laptop. He walked over to the white FC, his heart beating rather fast as he placed his hand along its crystalline whiteness. He was feeling the thrill of the hunt at last.

Above him, the moon smiled incessantly and watched his every move, its expression serene.

If Takahashi Ryosuke knew that this night will be the spark of something new in his life, he would have taken every step necessary to prevent this night from happening. But since he didn't, the moon smiled at him, taking rein of his destiny.