Chapter 10: Showcase Showdown
"Dude, what did they do to your Eclipse?" Takeshi asked Ryo.
"I don't know" said Ryo, "but they did an AWESOME JOB! They even kept the car's spoiler stock, just the way I like the GSX!"
"Plus" Tokiie added, "There's neon and car audio everywhere! You've also got window tint, custom gauges, and N20 purge!"
"Not to mention the paintjob and vinyls you wanted are just the way you like it!" Harumi exclaimed.
"Do you realize what this means, man?" Takeshi asked. "With our driving skills and Ricer's Paradise modding rides, we can actually rock the other big three cities to their core!"
Praise of Ryo's car and the skills of the Ricer's Paradise crew filled the air, with the exception of Kasumi, finishing her stir fry she had for dinner the night before. When she did finish, she halted all the activity in the garage.
"Let me ask you guys something: Is this car really that good, compared to others?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.
"Of course it is" said Yoshio in defense. "We tuned and modded it, didn't we?"
"Yosh, that... proves... NOTHING! Even if the ride looks good to one person, it may not get the same response from others."
"Good point. So you're saying you hate this ride?"
"No, brainiac. I actually like the design and accessories. Even the results on the dyno turned out better than I thought. 375 BHP is just "wow"! I'm just saying that others might have differing opinions on a custom compact."
"So... what should we do?"
Kasumi heard her laptop ringing to find out that she had a new e-mail message (her address was goddessofsetsuna497). She opened the message as Ryo and the others gathered around her. Once again, Suki Tanaka had another challenge up her sleeve.
"Hey" said Yoshio. "If Suki is challengeing Ryo, then why the hell did she e-mail Kasumi?"
"Beats me" was all Ryo had to say. "I wonder what she meant by that 'another challenge' dialogue."
"Perfect" declared Kasumi.
"What is it?" asked everyone.
"Mizuki challenged Ryo to a showcase duel."
"Showcase duel?" asked Ryo. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Glad you asked, Ryo. Showcase duel is a battle between two cars to see which one is better tuned. The rides will be judged by visual appeal and performance quality. The MC and a few others will meet to see which one they will pick and the most appealing car wins."
"Sounds simple enough" said Yoshio, "considering the fact that Mizuki has a Civic Si. You should be able to beat her effortlessly."
"I wouldn't count on it, Yosh. Suki can be crazy with any Tanaka Inc car. Remember, she used the perfect base color to fit the tiger, has the best bodykit made for a Supra, and can smash strips in 6.5 seconds or less."
"Good point."
"Care to escort me to Daikoku, Ryo?" asked Kasumi with a smile.
"No problem."
"Thanks, Ryo. You find a way to make me so happy."
Ryo and Kasumi went out of the door and drove to the Daikoku Futo with Ryo's Eclipse.
"Lovebirds, I swear" said Yoshio. "Fuck!"
ImportMachine – Chaos Komodo – Grand Tourer – Classic Throttle – Hiroshima Drift – Flaming Piston
Ryo and Kasumi arrived at the Daikoku Futo at 8:50, 10 minutes earlier than Tanaka Inc. Yoshio, with his R34, took Harumi, Tokiie, and Takeshi with him and arrived 5 minutes later.
"I hope you guys knew what you were doing" said Ryo.
"Trust me, we had the blueprints planned out" Kasumi declared. "We may be ricers ourselves, but we at least have taste."
"What I'm really worried about is the Performance department. With only 375 BHP in this thing, anyone could top that nowadays."
"Are you saying... that you hate my tuning skills?" Kasumi asked. "I can't believe you would upset me like that!"
"No, it's not like that! I didn't mean--! I meant, I appreciate your tuning is what I meant to say..."
"Okay, love-fest over" said Yoshio. "Suki and her goons are here."
With the arrival of Suki's Supra, Kazushi's Fairlady Z, Sadatake's Evo, and especially Mizuki's Civic, Yoshio parked his R34 behind Ryo. He, Harumi, Takeshi, and Tokiie and stood next to Ryo's car after Kasumi got out of the passenger's seat and stood next to the hood. The same went for Tanaka Inc next to Mizuki's Civic.
"Now" said the host, MC Blue Ninja, "I'm pretty sure you know how this works. What we're going to do is showcase every department of these two rides. We'll start with Bodywork, after which will be Paint and Graphics, next is Car Accessories, and we'll end it with Performance. My peeps and I will then judge the cars based on each criteria and we'll pick which one is the best."
The first area was the Bodywork. Ryo's GSX was equipped with a Spyder bodykit, complete with a carbon fiber hood, custom headlights and taillights, a bigger exhaust tip, and with Volk GT-7 rims accompanying the Yokohama tires. Mizuki's Civic – worked by Kazushi – had a widebody kit instead, the rims were Enkei RT6, and the hood remained stock due to the kanji that came with the Tanaka Inc vinyl. She had custom headlights and taillights as well. Next came Paint and Graphics. Harumi paid close attention to detail when she had Ryo's GSX painted yellow with a special vinyl to go with it (she was part of Japan's Art Factory). Mizuki had made the vinyls on her Civic herself (same with the other cars of Tanaka Inc). Neither car had a single sponsors decal. Car Accessories came right after the department before it. Tokiie worked long and hard on the accessories for Ryo's ride, especially with the truck audio. Along with the matching yellow neone, the supersport custom gauges, the dark black window tints, and the gold N20 purge, he had installed two JL Audio subwoofers, accompanied with 1000 volts from the same company, and to go with that, two 5.5 inch Alpine LCDs. With Sadatake's help, Mizuki had wowed the judges with her own custom gauges, trunk audio (also from JL Audio and, instead of Alpine, Kenwood), and N20 purge, but what really stood out was the black neons installed everywhere. Last up was Performance, which caused major pressure on Kasumi as opposed to Suki, who remained calm.
"Dyno results, please" said Blue Ninja.
Despite Kasumi worked herself to near death tuning Ryo's ride, Suki was just the better mechanic. She tuned Mizuki's Civic to an oustanding 556 BHP, while Ryo's GSX only pulled 375 horses (with Kasumi expecting 600). Blue Ninja and the others (Snake and Lil' Shogun) then went on to discuss who would win the duel, making their decision in 5 minutes.
"Okay" said Blue Ninja. "With the bodywork, Hamamoto did an awesome job with the blueprint. You also kept the wing on the '99 GSX stock. The only gripe we have is the rims, they don't match the ride perfectly. Kazushi, it always is nice to have a widebody kit sometimes. This, unfortunately, is not one of those times. Like the clean look on the rest of the car though."
Yoshio quietly celebrated his good work on the bodykit, while Kazushi walked back to his car in shame.
"Now, we go to the Paint and Graphics. Watanabe, you should be a fashion designer, because you hooked up this yellow street racer perfectly. Mizuki, though I like the style of your vinyl, it isn't "CRAZY" enough."
Mizuki just nodded her head, while Harumi walked back with Yoshio.
"Now this is where ImportMachine went downhill: in Car Accessories. Yamaguchi, we don't mind the N20 purge and the neons. It's the custom gauge we hate. I know you're not exactly top-notch, but this isn't what I'd expect from you. I know you can do better. Sadatake, you did a great job with everything, including the scissor doors. They really don't look bad with this one."
Tokiie just walked back up against Yoshio's R34 while Sadatake took a walk back to his Evo, after high-fiving Suki.
"Finally, Performance. Kimura, WHAT HAPPENED? You tuned Nakamura's Supra at over 900 horses, but you tune a more superior tuner at only 375 horses? I'm a bit disappointed."
While Kasumi did accept Blue Ninja's criticism, she began to cry, burying her face onto Ryo's shoulder. Blue Ninja then went on to praise Suki's tuning of Mizuki's Civic, at 556 BHP, smashing 9 seconds (which was great for a front-wheel-drive car). He called everyone back to the circle, Kasumi still weeping about her lackluster skill.
"There were ups and downs of every ride, but our decision was made, and we choose... the 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX."
All except Kasumi (still crying) celebrated Ryo's second win over Tanaka Inc. Suki, instead of calling the win a setup, just handed Ryo the bank and headed home, after which ImportMachine did the same.
ImportMachine – Chaos Komodo – Grand Tourer – Classic Throttle – Hiroshima Drift – Flaming Piston
"Don't beat yourself up, Kasumi" said Yoshio. "So you didn't do as well as expected. We still won the showcase duel."
"That's not why I'm crying" Kasumi said with a breaking voice. "I'm crying because this is the first time I've disappointed a customer. I bet Ryo's upset at me."
"No, he's cool. I bet there was something you forgot--"
"Oh, yesh. I forgot Hirohata's special turbocharger upgrade."
"WHAT?!" everyone except Ryo said.
"Well, now we know why his engine sucks. You can be forgetful at the worst of times, Kasumi, I swear."
