This is a Forza Horizon fanfiction. The reason it is under Forza Motorsport is because this site doesn't separate the two, not that there is even a reason to. I won't waste your time; author's notes are at the bottom.

🎵Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 4 - Glory Days🎵

"Welcome one and welcome all to this year of the Horizon Festival! We're live from Mihama, a delightful little city in the Mishima Cape. Tons of cars are already racing to the Festival, from everyday cars to the jaw-dropping hypercars we often see here at the Festival, to tracktoy monsters and even trophy trucks! Our eyes in the sky are currently tracking a few such cars now..."

-Prologue-

May 1st, 20XX

Speed. It's what he lives for.

The straight cut gears whining viciously. The irrepressible smile on his face, as he bangs into another gear. He passes a Lamborghini Veneno, but a straightaway approaches and the car is quickly back on him. But they both close in on a modified Nissan Skyline GTR R34, that quickly gives them both trouble. A fierce 3-way dogfight is now underway, and his heart is beating faster and faster.

*Crash!*

All three cars suddenly get on the brakes as another vehicle comes crashing through a wall. A beaten-up looking Buick Regal GS powerslides in front of the three cars, bricks falling off its body. It quickly took off down the road faster than any of the three could even process. This only excited the driver even more, though, as his heart was beating faster than it has in the past year. He felt like he was in the zone, and he was going to get to the festival first before either of the two cars next to him. His pedal was already smashed to the floor, but he unintentionally pressed down on it harder, still not aware the car would go any faster.

Corners approached, and where the Veneno and Skyline hit the brakes hard, he only got on his gently. He trailbraked into the first bend, steering viscously enough that he could feel the anti-roll bars doing their job. He was ahead, but he wouldn't be for long if these bends didn't keep up. They were at least a few seconds behind him now, but he managed to catch up to yet another car; this time, a Porsche 911 GT3 996 that looked to be converted to a race car. It bore a yellow, blue and white livery with a #22 number board on it's side. His already wide smile widened even more, bordering on looking insane as he heard the wicked howl of that flat-6 engine. This is where he would find real competition.

He flashes his headlights twice, then moves to pass on his right. The Porsche takes note of this, though, and moves to take a defensive strategy. This amused him, as he was forced to back off for fear of colliding into his competitor. An S-bend kept them both on their toes, their cars being taken to the absolute limit. The Porsche seemed to exceed it's, as it understated slightly, giving him a chance to pass his rival. Him now in front, the S-bend ironed out into a long, gradual left turn. On his right was some water, which he couldn't resist sneaking a few glances at... it was truly beautiful. He briefly gave a single glance to his left, where there was a large, high wall that seemed to contain a building. Both of them quickly passed it's perimeter, and were now racing down a hill towards the city. He got on the brakes hard when he reached the bottom, and he could smell the warm brakes which made him slightly nervous. Unconsciously, he snuck a glance at his temperature gauges, which were all above normal but not rising any higher. A left diverted them down the center of many skyscrapers, which eventually led them down to the heart of the city - the Festival Site. He eased up at this point, and leisurely approached the entrance of the festival site, which was wide open. There were large crowds everywhere, and loud EDM music was blasting at loud volumes - but not loud enough to drown out the sound of all the cars constantly racing through. As he found a safe spot to park up his car and shut it off, a drift train of several JDM cars passed by him, and the stench of heavily burnt rubber crossed his nose.

It was a smell that was unpleasant in all the right ways.

The Porsche he was racing then pulled up next to his car, parking as well. Exiting it was a person in a racing suit, who quickly took off his helmet - it was another guy, who appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He watched as the man walked around the front of his car, and the man spoke up.

"That's one fast Mustang there!"

He looked back at his car - the #10 Tiger Racing Mustang, then back at the man. "Yeah, it is. Made sure of that, and took on a few supercars before we dueled."

The Porsche driver walked to the front of his mustang, admiring it for a few seconds. He then looked at him. "Say, I've got a proposition for you."

He raised his eyebrows at the unknown man. "Yeah?"

"I'm the festival owner, and-"

"You're the festival owner?" he remarked, surprised but not shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Yeah." The Porsche driver, apparently also the Festival Owner, continued. "That was a pretty good challenge you gave me. I can tell you'll be a popular one for this year's festival."

"Maybe. I was at last year's festival. Horizon UK was a pretty entertaining place to be, with the shitty rain making me refine my skills a little."

The owner smiled. "Ah, I'm glad you liked it. But truth be told, I'm not gonna be the owner of the Festival for this year."

He looked at the owner, surprised. "You just said you're the Festival Owner, though?"

"That's true. I was the Festival Owner for Horizon UK. You see, every year is hosted by a different person. I'm not the same guy who hosted Horizon Australia, or Horizon Europe, or the original Horizon Festival." the owner clarified.

His eyes blinked a few times in surprise. He then absentmindedly glanced at the owner's Porsche. "Huh... I see. So, have they chosen the new owner for this year?"

The owner looked at the Horizon Festival tent. "Yup. That race I had with you was my last race as the Festival Owner. I'm going to pass the torch pretty soon here, so I wanted to stop by and say it was a pleasure racing you. By the way, what's your name?"

"Benard."

"Well, Benard, you'll be seeing more of me around. Who knows, maybe we can have a drink sometime. I hear Japan's got this drink that is deceptively strong." he said with a casual air. He pulled out his phone, glancing at the screen. His eyes widened slightly. "Oh shit, I have to get going. See you around!"

He ran over to the driver's door of his car, struggling to climb into the seat due to the rollcage. He started up his car, and immediately gave it a few revs and dumped the clutch, the flat 6 howling and screeching tires grabbing the crowd's attention.

Now left to his own devices again, Benard leisurely climbed back into his Mustang, starting it up too and also giving it a few revs. The primal crate-motor V8 reverberated around the festival grounds, and those who were near felt their chests shake. The crowd immediately broke into an uproar of cheers, whistles and "YEAH!"'s. He sat there for a few moments, soaking in the atmosphere of the Festival.

"...I hope this year is as entertaining as Horizon Australia." he muttered to himself. Having not yet set off, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and opened up Google Maps. He set directions for a nearby hotel, hoping that there were still free slots. He'd work out permanent accommodations tomorrow. Taking one last look at the festival grounds for the day, he placed the phone on a windshield-mounted holder, held the revs up high and dropped it into 1st, the car wildly bucking to the side as he set path for the hotel.

-Yesterday, Amane's Perspective-

April 30th

"...For today's story, the city of Mihama has agreed to host the Horizon Festival for this year. Insider reports say the amount of money that traded hands was many millions of dollars, possibly in the three digit territory. We have respondent Alvin on the ground now, where the tent is being built. Alvin, what do you think?"

A news broadcast is playing on the TV in the lobby of the dorms. Normally Amane didn't pay much attention, as she was too busy either reigning in Makina, teasing Yuuji or doing other menial things with the news as background noise. But the second she heard the words "Horizon Festival", she immediately stopped what she was doing, which this time was chastising Makina.

"Well, Gwenda, as you can see, the tent has already been built and the barriers are being set up. The Festival Grounds looks pretty weird without people, but I'm sure by tomorrow that definitely won't be a problem. As I walk over here, you can also see some people have already gathered around to take pictures of the work-in-progress festival grounds. I've got no doubt we'll soon see those floating around the internet. I cut back to you, Gwenda."

"Thank you, Alvin. The festival is rumored to be one of the biggest of all time, rivaling that of the original Colorado festival. The story is still developing, and we plan to cover each development as they come. Our next story is..."

"Whazza matter, Amane?" Makina asked innocently.

Amane's eyes were sparkling. "The Horizon Festival... in Mihama!? This must be a dream! Yuuji, come fondle my boobs so I know I'm not dreaming!" she said, running over to Yuuji with surprising speed.

"Quiet down, woman." Yuuji bonked her on the head hard, causing her to wince. "Can't say I'm fond of this. A festival here, for a year long? Cut me a break..."

"C'mon, at least be happy for me!" Amane said. "This really is like a dream come true for a gal like me! I used to watch the festivals when I was just in middle school, and I never thought they'd come to Japan let alone our town!"

Makina had a surprised look on her face. "Hoho, it's rare to see Amane all pumped up like this. Ya think she just got paid a vee-set by Santa himself!"

Amane ruffled Makina's hair, and the catlike girl closed her eyes. "That's a pretty accurate comparison, Makina. That's almost exactly what it feels like."

"Hey, Amane." Yuuji spoke up from beside her, him now looking outside the glass doors. "What exactly is the Horizon Festival?"

Amane smiled widely, eager to explain one of her favorite things on this planet. "First off, it's a legitimate festival that lasts a year long, and moves from place to place after each one passes. They setup a tent in a location for about a year, and admission is close to nothing. They bring in talented artists of all types, and a number of popular ones nowadays debuted at the Horizon Festival. But that's just one half of it; it's also a gathering of cars and car people from all over the world in a sanctioned area for them to go wild! There's races, an auto show, demonstrations, reveals, and one hell of a community... heaven to a car gal like me!"

Yuuji was quiet for a few seconds. Amane returned to trying to fix Makina's disheveled and uncared-for hair, until she heard him speak again.

"...Great. This next year's gonna be hell for me."

Welcome, to a story I've been wanting to do ever since I got into writing. I am an insanely obsessed car guy, and I've always wanted to pull off a crossover with the Horizon series with something for ages now. That something I chose was The Fruit of Grisaia, because I couldn't think of anything else. But do not think it will be just cars racing - I admit I have no concrete plans at the moment, but I'm not just writing this story as "cars racing in the Grisaia franchise". The timeline will not follow any specific route, nor the trilogy.

(Those with keen eyes will note that I already have another Grisaia fanfic. But truthfully, I have no reason nor passion to continue my other one, so I decided to scrap it and write this one instead.)