fandom: Initial D
title: Invincible.
pairing: Ryousuke + Takumi
rating: pg-13 (we hope for now)
description: Ryousuke suddenly appears at Takumi 's house to ask him a favor, but is there something underlying his request? (Note: Shounen-ai)
Disclaimer – Initial D and Street Fighter belong to their respective owners and have only used here out of love and admiration.
Invincible.
By Miyamoto Yui
Chapter 13 - You are my polyrhythm.
Click click click click click.
Ryousuke picked up Street Fighter as if he'd been playing it for months rather than for the very first time. I was truly dumbfounded by how deftly his fingers hit everything and how fast he tested for all the special moves within each round.
About an hour into the game, he beat the computer. Someone on the other side challenged him. Even though he lost, he had really given the guy the runaround that when then stood up, they bowed their heads to one another in acknowledgement.
"See you around!" the high-schooler said enthusiastically as he and his friends in the same uniform went down the escalator.
When he left, Ryousuke tilted his head towards the other side. "Why don't you give it a try?"
"But I haven't touched this in years."
Suddenly, a flash of all those times I played with Itsuki came back to me.
Those were not good times. Most of it was spent with Itsuki playing while I read his manga. The few times that I played though, I beat him after he taught me and it just didn't feel right.
He loved trying everything and I went along with it because it would turn out crazy at first, but overall fun in the end. So when he got into cars, it was more perplexing that his love for something had finally struck a chord within me.
Not to mention the obsessed driver who was now luring me to try another game of his.
Just because I said we could go into the city, this cool and composed guy has forgotten his own discretions.
The coaxing look he gave was evil. "Please play with me, Fujiwara."
It is official: This man has no shame.
"Fine." Hesitantly, I rounded the corner to go to the other side where another machine was connected to his. I sat there not even knowing which character I should pick.
He picked the same character he'd just battled with. His name was, Ryu. I picked some girl in blue because from the last I remembered, she was the most agile.
His logic = strength and adaptability.
My logic = speed and agility.
It now makes sense why he wanted to play this.
The machine announced, "Round 1!"
I had no idea what the heck I was doing. The buttons were confusing to remember and I knew there were combinations, but as we experimented the game, I noticed that I was following his lead through defensive measures, but by round 2, it seemed boring so I went on the offensive.
I could only imagine how his face looked because he wasn't merciful in any way.
A kick, jump, and some super moves later, in the end, when we both got up, he looked across and gave me that pleased smirk.
"I just reacted to what you did." I seriously commented, and secretly felt exasperated over it.
"It isn't that way at all." He shook his head, satisfied with our game. "Play with other people sometime. Then, you'll probably see what I see in you."
"The things you say…" I pulled on his arm. The summer heat could probably masquerade my increasing body temperature.
"Did I say something wrong again?"
"It's not that they're wrong, per se."
Keisuke, how can your brother be so smart and charismatic, but so dense with the weight of his words? Millimeter by millimeter, going below the cold business exterior, his simplicity catches me off-guard.
It keeps capturing me.
We walked out and across the street to go to a game center that was on top of a well-known discount goods shop.
I finally let go of his arm and he looked up and down the machine, pointing at it in bemusement. "Why do we need to play a game when we can actually do it in real life?"
"Just go and try it." I pushed him in to the seat and put money into the game machine.
"It says if I should buy a card."
I put in more money. "If you don't want it, just give it to me."
It's hard to imagine that he didn't play video games even though he's always with his computers.
Again, he was in 'analyze mode' and became incredibly quiet as he played. Match after match, I kept on feeding the machine as he won each one, but with a slightly disconcerted look on his face. There was no other way to describe it.
As the timer counted down to continue, he finally turned to me with his hands still on the steering wheel. "The dynamics of this game aren't accurate. Did you see that half the layout in Akina Lake is incomplete? Then in Akagi, you have to break to make a full turn in order not to crash where the yellow and black yield wall is."
Chuckling, he added, "And Kyouichi would be very angry if everyone knew you could do that shortcut in Irohazaka."
"You're right. Nothing happens much when you use the gutters in Akina either." I shrugged my shoulders. "I know your projectiles are more detailed, but you have to admit it's still fun to play."
Sitting in the adjacent seat, I tilted my head to one side. "Winner buys dinner?"
Not even bothering to respond, he went right back into no-holds bar mode and chose Tsukuba.
We were off in our own world again. Only a few minutes in an alternate universe, but I could have sworn he was really in the FC and that I was still racing in the '86.
That's the only reason I loved playing the game.
I missed my brother but I couldn't say it aloud to anyone.
Coming back into reality, there were many people clapping and taking pictures of us on their phones. When we looked around, many men, women, boys, and girls were gathered around us. We also heard some gasps when they knew who we were.
"It's Takahashi Ryousuke playing a racing game!"
"Hey, isn't the guy next to him the '86 driver?"
Besides being the electronics center of Tokyo, I failed to realize that this was also one part of fanboy and fangirl heaven.
I didn't know we were this popular.
Leaning over, I whispered, "Ryousuke-san, I think we need to go."
Miraculously, we managed to slip out through the fervent crowd. We needed to get off the radar and fast. The first thing I saw was a karaoke shop and so I pulled him into it. We soon got a room.
"Do you mind coming here?"
He shook his head. "I haven't been to these since Keisuke and Kaori dragged me."
Was this such a good idea considering the fact that it was partly because of his voice that I couldn't concentrate on his instructions? That even when he'd commented on my driving and said the word 'mellifluous', it sounded 'intriguing'?
It was too late now to restrategize.
Keisuke, I deserve this bruise.
He looked at the large remote, glanced at me and then looked at it again. Within a minute, the song he chose came on and my mind drifted that I forgot to put my own song in.
He'd glimpse at me once in a while in between his singing.
He appears to be genuinely happy though. I'm glad we came.
When it was my turn, even though I was terribly shy, I thought it'd be fair to sing. That was until I caught him watching me very attentively.
This small booth doesn't hold the White Comet or the Downhill Specialist.
It's nice to breathe like the time before expectations came along with those titles. But if it weren't for them, we wouldn't even be here now.
When he got up to sing again, I was mesmerized yet again by his strength. I missed the title because it was a Eurobeat song with English lyrics. I only recognized it because it was on his playlist while I drove the FC. The only word I could make out was "Déjà vu".
After finishing, I asked him what the song translated to. Patiently, he put the song on once more and explained it line by line. The beat had been so deceiving because the deepness in the lyrics came at me like a typhoon. It tore through all my defenses and clutched onto my whole body with all its energy.
"Whenever I hear this song, you always come to mind."
While doubting if I'd truly understood the core of every battle and secretly beat myself up that I could have done so many things better, he had risked his whole reputation on his brother and me.
That kind of conviction takes more than faith.
*/*/*/*/*/00000
We ate at an okonomiyaki restaurant in Agua City and left a little after 11pm.
"I have to see something, so I'll drive."
"Are you sure?"
"It's only two blocks down."
We ended up back near the entrance of the walking path to Rainbow Bridge. Going down into a garage and parking, we then went up an elevator. I followed as he got off on the top floor and stopped in front of a door that read 1562. There was no name on the nameplate.
He took out a key and we both entered into the apartment. Before he turned on the light, right in front of us was a big window overlooking the ocean. After taking off my shoes, I went straight to that window and saw Rainbow Bridge and all of this side of Odaiba.
"What is this place?"
He stood behind me. "It's my apartment."
"You own this?"
"I bought it years ago." He walked to stand next to me.
I was so entranced by the window that I didn't know it was the sliding door to the balcony.
Ryousuke and I stepped out. While staring at the ocean again, he said, "Whenever I come down, I stay here."
My phone vibrated, but I ignored it.
He leaned his elbows on the metal railing. "Would you mind staying one more night with me?"
"I thought you needed to get stuff done?"
"Yes, and I've enjoyed acting impulsively." He turned his head towards me. "But there are some things I have to discuss with you. I know you need to go home and I don't want to waste your ti-"
"No, I don't mind at all. I want to be here."
Maybe it was more than the race after all.
If I don't find out now, I don't think you'll ever tell me.
"Thank you." He went back into the apartment and into the bedroom to get something.
Wanting to answer the message later, I ignored it and called my dad to let him know I was going to stay out again. He was pretty aloof about the whole thing.
Turning around, I opened the sliding door and sat down on the light brown couch. There was a large lamp shaped like a paper lantern right by the sliding door. A rectangular glass table was over a small rug with circle patterns. Each circle was a different color. Opposite to his kitchen at home, this wooden floor was very very dark brown. There was a small white shelf at the corner to my right with a white phone on top and books and notes underneath. There was no tv, but paintings decorated the walls.
He finally came out of his room with a laptop.
"I left my computer at home on so I can access it remotely." He placed this silver laptop on the transparent table.
Ryousuke started to look pale again. "Except Keisuke, Tsugumi, and Matsumoto, I never told this story to anyone. The reason why I'm telling you is because you deserve to know why I need you to battle against me in Hakone."
I sat up straight, feeling a little scared of what he was about to tell me. A cold breeze passed even through this humidity.
Something was definitely wrong.
Yet again, my phone vibrated, but I couldn't look at it.
He took a hold of my left wrist and we stood in front of the bedroom door. He took a long drawn out breath and opened the door. It was completely dark.
Still holding onto me, he stayed by the threshold as I stepped inside.
"You're the first person to ever see this room."
Turning on the bright light, a flood of images appeared. There were pictures all over the room, except for the closet. The beige walls were lined with sketches and calligraphy to cover every single centimeter. There was nothing but ink, pencil and paper.
Chaotic and neat…
A crystal clear image of his soul.
The FC couldn't scratch the surface of what was in these walls.
The sketches on the left were all of one woman.
"Is she Kaori?"
He squeezed my wrist as a response.
Left profile, winking right profile, chin looking up to the sky, standing by Akagi Shrine, laughing as she hugged the FC's hood, serious while studying, putting her hand out when she was angry, napping on his lap while holding a book in the beach…
What is your dream, Ryousuke? You can't hold out one hand and keep one to yourself if you want to trust people. There are so many possibilities, so why do you keep thinking there's only one way?
I can't betray you, him, or my family because I love you all. That's all I ever wanted.
I believe in you because I trust you more than I trust myself.
They contrast by nature, and yet they can exist together in you. You are my polyrhythm.
I blinked my eyes as the gravity of their feelings wrapped around me. The wall seemed to expand the longer I stared at it.
Is this your answer to me? That I can't win against your ideal?
"When I went out of control, Keisuke didn't know where I went but he trusted that I would return home. I came here and drew everything that I could remember so that I wouldn't ever forget." Ryousuke walked straight to the wall in front of him.
Touching the wall, I saw a drawing of me from his perspective. It was from the audience of my first battle. The back of Keisuke's head contrasting with my disinterested face. A note on the bottom said, "I want to race him."
"This was the first drawing I replaced over a memory."
Gradually, he let go of his grip on me and I stepped forward to see things from his eyes.
Tsugumi's tears at graduating elementary school.
Profiles on all of our team members and even the specifications for all the trucks.
Keisuke's surprise when he sat next to him on the FC and the moment after he'd raced Iwase.
Matsumoto fixing my car and another time when he'd grinned after finishing the FC.
Kenta crying while holding onto Keisuke's sleeves to say he finally qualified for the team.
I faced my own self.
I smiled while holding the hood of the '86 with both of my hands. The anguish of when the engine blew up. My frustration when I didn't know what Matsumoto had just instructed me to fix.
The way I stared straight at Ryousuke after our race at Akagi.
My heart was pounding itself out of confusion.
"Do you understand now? Are you disgusted with me?"
"I can't believe I'm on this wall…" My head moved from side to side in complete awe. I breathed heavily and various angles of my face were reflecting all the parts of me I hadn't even known about.
"Don't hate me because of the magnitude of this wall..."
Was I wrong about everything because it seemed impossible for him to be this focused on me? But here was a window to all the things I'd pushed away because of my second thoughts.
"…because I want you."
How do you think…Why are you…?
I could no longer think coherently.
Ring! Ring!
The phone startled us and he ran out to the living room to see what it was.
I paid no attention to it until the answering machine picked up a malicious voice message.
"Ryousuke. Where are you? I demand you come back immediately. Why are you neglecting your duties and suddenly going on vacation? You can't just take a week off, especially since you have to be an example to the other staff members.
"Are you with that boy? I let you play and our deal was that you'd do this according to my conditions. If he doesn't have anything to do with your future, why do you insist on associating with him?"
I walked out of the bedroom. When I saw the side of Ryousuke's face, he listened to the message with a look of horror.
"I got him investigated after he left the hospital. He and especially YOU have to realize your places in society. The girl was already more than enough, but you don't learn from your 'mistakes'. I've had enough of your side escapades..."
I blankly stared at his phone, feeling as if his father was talking to me directly.
He took the receiver into his hand, almost wanting to break it, answering in a seething tone. "I've done everything you wanted. What else will you take from me?"
Trying to process everything, the heaviness of everything had finally taken its toll on me. The pressure in my head was ready to crush upon itself.
I can't breathe anymore.
Even though I was barefoot, I walked towards the front door. He dropped the phone and reached out his hand, but it was too late. The door closed and I was already running towards the elevator.
A long time ago, maybe I would have dissed how my family was, but not now. To me, even if my dad drank and made me do his deliveries, I knew he trusted me. We depended on one another.
I was proud of what he did by himself, especially that he didn't freak out or fall apart when my mother passed away.
He was always there for me.
I ran across the street towards the ocean because there was nowhere left to go. It was already almost midnight, so no one was around.
His footsteps got closer and closer. "Don't listen to him. Ignore it. I'll take care of it later."
But your father is right. What would I fight for anyway?
Nothing will come from this.
I know what I can and cannot be.
"It was a nice daydream, Ryousuke-san. For a minute there, I really was starting to believe what you've been trying to say to me."
"Please listen to me."
"You heard what your father said."
"No. I refuse to."
"Then, is it okay for him to look down on me? Even if you want me, will you look at me like that someday too?"
"Don't I get to say anything?" He grabbed my upper arms from behind me.
"What else is there left to say?" I remained standing with my back to him.
The water lapped at our feet.
"You're just prolonging the inevitable. I don't know why you're protesting, but in the end, you or I will leave right? What the hell do you, Keisuke, or your cousin expect from me?"
After this, we can finally go back to our normal lives. I can pretend that my heart wasn't broken over and over again by you.
I will finally move on and stop hoping.
That's partly why I chose to move away…
"I have seen many things leave my life. My parents. Kaori. Racing. Options for what I wanted…"
Ryousuke's hands trembled.
I had never heard him shout before, so much so that his voice was hoarse, but he did for me.
"But of all those things, I've never once thought of giving you up, Takumi!"
Tsuzuku…/To be continued…
Author's note: I was very stuck and suddenly, while engaged with the Evo Championship on tv, Infiltration and Fuudo's final match inspired me. In the middle of the matches, I wrote on my notepad.
Since Akiba is a place I love, I had to mention it here with these two. Of course, this is all fangirling on my part but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. *laughs* (And yes, I've found Dave Rodgers songs in karaoke. I love love love Initial D music.)
I know that some places were really excruciating to write, but I really wanted to plunge into each of these characters.
I hope I can do this title proud from all the love and courage it has taught me.
Thank you for reading so far! I was very happy to know that people think they are in-character. For me, that is the most important thing for fanfic writing since we are writing through someone else's world.
Love,
Yui
7/24/2016 12:23 PM – Los Angeles
7/25/2016 4:23 AM - Tokyo