III

36: Nantai

III

We walked out of a clothing store after Mako had decided not to buy anything. I mostly was quiet but she seemed to enjoy it, smiling as we left it together.

"You seem rather distant for someone who just had Gunma's greatest title defense. I mean, in terms of racing and all." Mako said.

I calmly responded. "I'm sorry if I've been distracted tonight. Things are just very hectic, I can handle it. It just is constant work I suppose."

"Ryosuke tonight has been wonderful. But you seem worried, more so than usual."

I nodded as we walked back towards the FC down one of Karuizawa's streets at night. "It's time I told you something I've known for a long time. Something I haven't even told Keisuke, and with good reason."

"What is it?"

I looked at Mako quietly for a moment. "Once, although not in the way you'd expect. I lost in a downhill battle, with Akina's 86."

Mako was so shocked it took her a moment to register what I had said. "H-How? You just beat him last weekend."

"It's rather difficult for me to explain. But it happened before you and I had ever met, it happened before I even started racing in my FC. I know what I'm saying may seem quite strange, but I promise you, the best way for me to explain it to you is that it was a dream. Or a sort of vision I had." I turned to my car from my girlfriend. "I'm afraid Mako. I'm afraid that my entire motivation for racing, to pursue my philosophy of the Fastest Racer Theory. Might. I'm sorry, I must sound silly."

Mako shook her head. "No. It's your entire life. I understand."

"These worries don't plague me to the point of addling my decision-making or reasoning. But, a large part of why I love dating you, and why I love you Mako. Is that you put those worries to rest. I'm proud to be Akagi's White Comet, leader of the Red Suns, all of it. When you're part of it as well."

Mako smiled as she bowed her head. "Thank you Ryosuke."

"No, thank you."

As we got into the FC, I checked the clock on the stereo. It was almost nine o'clock, Keisuke and Fumihiro would probably reach Nantai by now.

III

Keisuke looked at the map of Tochigi while sipping the coffee he had bought from one of the rest stops vending machines. The Red Suns were taking the moment to take refreshments and use the rest stop before heading into their first practice.

Keisuke specifically looked for the mountain pass he was looking at.

'There's Iroha's downhill section. Iroha's uphill. The place we have to go to is the pass between Taro and Takanagisan, not technically Nantai but still where Ryosuke said we should find these people. Seems like a really easy course, there are three curve-intensive sections at the beginning, middle, and end of the course. Nothing too crazy. The other pass which is Nyoho, starts at the Kirifuri Country Club and ends at the Enmei Jizoson temple. Shouldn't be that hard either.'

Fumihiro approached him. "We're all ready to go when you are Keisuke."

"Then what're we waiting for?"

III

There were five cars at the peak of Nantai Pass, two S13s, one white and the other blue, a deep purple BNR32, and a light red 180SX and orange MR2. A group of young men were smoking and chatting with each other inside the parking lot.

The racers were speaking to each other. "Dude your downhill game has been getting really strong."

"I know man. Can't wait until those assholes Lan Evo guys come back to challenge us again."

His friend laughed. "Yeah so you can get whooped. Again."

"Shut up man!"

"Heard Sudo's keeping them home this year. Wonder why."

"Must be- Wait, do you hear that?"

The sounds of the Akagi Red Suns' engines stopped lingering in the background when they appeared.

Keisuke was in front, the yellow FD leading the Red Suns into the parking lot.

"What do these guys want? They don't look local."

Another racer flicked his cigarette away. "Nothing good. Must be from another prefecture." he noticed the license plates. "Gunma."

"Outsider assholes. Hell they doin' here?"

Keisuke turned off the engine to his 13B-REWs. The entire team except for Ryosuke was there, and all six Red Suns got out of their cars, including Fumihiro who was riding shotgun in Keisuke's yellow FD3S.

They all got out of their cars, and instantly Keisuke walked in front of all of them to get the attention of the Nantai racers there.

"We're the Akagi Red Suns," Keisuke said loudly and clearly. "We're looking for the team that drives locally here on this mountain."

"That'd be us. We just race each other, don't have a name yet really."

Keisuke resisted the urge to laugh. 'I see why my big brother didn't want to waste his time and instead went out with his girlfriend tonight.'

"Okay so I'm not really good at this part," Keisuke admitted. "So I'm letting my man Fumi explain it instead."

"Thank you Keisuke." the mechanic walked forward and began speaking respectfully. Fumihiro almost appeared as if he had prepared his speech in advance. "Our objective is to trade styles with people outside our prefecture. We can try to learn from each other, even improve and perhaps make friends. As long as you agree, we can establish some good solidarity between teams and between different mountains."

As the Nantai racers muttered to each other, one, in particular, spoke out. "Don't see why not. You guys were pretty honest and straightforward here, I like that."

"Perfect." Fumihiro nodded. "First we send drivers down and uphill tonight to practice. No need to count who wins and who doesn't, it just lets us see how we can practice together. Then tomorrow night we meet here at 8 o'clock and set up an uphill race at 9, and a downhill at 10. We can post people from both teams to help keep times and officiate the race. How does that sound?"

"Sounds alright I guess." the racers muttered to each other along these lines.

Keisuke now smirked seeing how unimpressive they looked. "We should just take it easy tonight if you wouldn't mind. Wouldn't want to go all out too soon y'know?"

Aisuke and Daito were the first to go downhill, the green FD followed quickly by the white 180.

Only Keisuke and Fumihiro remained in the parking lot as everyone quickly went downhill together.

Keisuke quickly ignited a cigarette and listened calmly as Fumihiro spoke. "So these are just warm-ups for the team until we race Team Emperor and the Todo School right?"

"Something along those lines yeah," said Keisuke. "My gut tells me Ryosuke knew ahead of time down to the very names of the guys racing who would be in this prefecture and who wouldn't. When you're as detailed as my brother, it's easy to know what's worth your time and what isn't."

"In that case, why bother bringing Kenta, you, and Aisuke here tonight? I'm sure Yakuma and even Takihiro could've beaten these guys on their own."

Keisuke shrugged. "I'm sure too. My guess is Ryosuke didn't want just two guys representing all of Akagi on another mountain. Plus I was getting sick of home anyway, nothing left for us there anyway."

"Still, this pass, and even these drivers admittedly, aren't anything remarkable."

"I know." agreed Keisuke pulling a binder out of his FD. "Which is why I brought some homework to pass the time." he sighed, giving up on the first page. "I can't make sense of any of this nonsense. Can you translate this for me?"

Fumihiro only needed a glance before explaining it. "Ryosuke's giving you a rundown of your car's new specs. Basically, he outlined how the gearbox and engine perform under the new modifications we placed in it."

"Guess I should've just done what I always did then," said Keisuke. "Driven until the car made sense."

Fumihiro remembered something Ryosuke said. "Your brother said something important to me the other night. He already knows what we'll do in Tokyo."

"Not surprised he can think that far ahead." Keisuke shrugged.

"He said you'll take the entire prefecture by yourself."

Keisuke almost dropped the binder in surprise. "What!? Just by myself?"

Fumihiro explained. "You'd be racing with the best pro drivers around. That'd be the final legacy for the Red Suns."

Keisuke leaned off his FD, looking at his beloved car. "Look I love my baby girl," he said with pride. "She hasn't ever let me down. But I can't beat all of Tokyo by myself in it. Tell me I'm wrong here Fumi."

"You're not. Currently." corrected Fumihiro. "Ryosuke is sure that after the Red Suns are finished, you'll be in good enough shape to dominate Kanto's racing circuit with flying colors."

"So." changing the topic out of nerves, Keisuke opened the binder again. "Explain this to me."

"It's rather simple," said Fumihiro.

Keisuke looked at him. "Simple? It looks like something only a computer could understand."

Smiling, Fumihiro spoke. "This graph explains how improved the FD's gearbox and turbo systems are. This graph." Fumihiro pointed to it. "Is how much time it took for the FD to reach its full second gear potential." Fumihiro pointed to the line just below it, colored blue. "This is how much time it takes now."

Keisuke sighed. "Still doesn't make any sense."

"In essence, you can hit the gas harder without damaging her as badly as you could before. Both turbos are strong enough now that the turbines won't even begin to reach their peak capacity under heavy stress. She revs more efficiently and more effectively, meaning with both the added horsepower and rotational speed, you get more kick from less throttle."

Keisuke nearly threw the binder into his car in relief. "I knew that much. Why such a huge binder then?"

"I don't think Ryosuke expected you to understand all that much."

"Of course not," Keisuke said. "He's the one who lives on his computer. I can't make sense of any of that, not for a second."

"But he does want you to understand that the FD's capabilities have grown considerably. He wants you to practice more with her new settings."

Keisuke crossed his arms. "I still don't get how you two made her so much, better. In like, every way, and by so much."

"We only changed about three systems, although by a lot. For now, you have to learn how her gearbox works under stress. Since the FD is tougher, you gotta learn just how hard to push it before losing speed."

Keisuke turned to his Mica Competition yellow "baby girl."

'I know I've come a long way since practicing the hill climb for the first time for all of us on the Red Suns. But how come after one tuning session, it feels like I'm starting from scratch? She's never been this powerful, the race with the Evo team is weeks away and I've basically only just started with her.'

After some more reading, Keisuke began to make a bit of sense of the binder Ryosuke gave him.

'Okay I don't get the strange bits here and there, but overall it kinda seems to come together. He just made the engine consume less power to offer more acceleration. I have no idea how he made the rotaries so much more efficient, especially this much. I guess only my big brother and Fumihiro can tune this well.'

III

I typed on my laptop in my room. I had finished all my med school assignments and clinic paperwork for the day so all I had left were some daily simulations to run.

Tomoyuki Tachi should be level 110, and Kyoichu Sudo level 103.

Against Sudo on Irohazaka's downhill I won 61 out of a 100 times. Meaning in reality the race would be very even and I win by the slimmest margin.

There were only two places, conveniently located before and after the second and third checkpoints respectively where a component could fail. After my race with Takumi Fujiwara went smoothly, I expect my race with Sudo to go just as well.

Sudo could only pass me in one area, nearing the halfway point of the course. He had a total of three hairpins to make his move, but at our pace neither of us should be noticeably ahead of the other. Were it not for the Gamer boosting my speed and stamina, Sudo would probably beat me on his own mountain significantly.

Downhill against Tachi would be much harder. I'd need more data and above all time getting used to Tochigi's mountain passes to effectively complete our simulation but our race would be the first of its kind along the lines of Project D in canon.

I'd be around level 107 against the Todo School, on even enough ground with enough preparation to make it clear the race couldn't be decided in one run. We'd have to trade leading and following positions until it became clear who won, and use the best time recorded to determine the resulting course record.

I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said quietly.

"Hey bro." Keisuke closed the door behind him. "Got good news from Tochigi. Those Nantai losers are even worse than we were expecting. They made the Speed Stars look good."

I nodded a bit, continuing to type on my computer. "Daito should essentially have the same race on the uphill that you did on Akina. He's mostly against himself to set the best record possible. The same goes for Aisuke."

"Why're we even bothering with people this weak anyway?" wondered Keisuke. "Nyoho pass should basically be the same."

"Momiji will be as straightforward as well. However," I said. "Until we've established ourselves in Tochigi, we can't move on directly to Irohazaka. Team Emperor is second only to the Todo School, which is skilled enough to only race on occasion."

"Lan Evo pricks," Keisuke growled. "Who are they to sneer at us for driving rotaries? How come everyone has to scoff at the idea of rotaries ruling the mountain passes?"

I explained while turning to him from my laptop. "They might be wrong, but they do have a point. All forms of the rotary engine are more power efficient at the cost of reliability. A regular engine with pistons doesn't have to worry about things like rotational pins and Apex seals. However, I agree, the success of the Red Suns will indeed cause controversy over the superiority of the rotary."

Keisuke sighed. "So if my FD is the best uphill cornering machine as you said it is, how come it's not slow on the downhill at all? Wouldn't it be better than any other car for the downhill?"

"Of course it is," I said. "I think my FC might be the only car around who can outpace the FD in any bit of cornering speed. I'm curious, how are you coming along with it?"

"It's a bit frustrating big brother," admitted Keisuke. "I had no idea you could make her so much faster. I feel like I have to start all over, and the race with the Emperors is just weeks away. How come you seem to know your FC way better than I know my own rotaries?"

I took the binder Keisuke then returned to me. "Your 13B-REW functions similarly to my 13B-T, however, there are some key differences that set them apart. First, my B-Ts firing sequence is ordered completely differently. The first rotary sets the entire rhythm for the engine, and the second rotary acts accordingly. Your B-Rs act more in unison, instead of one reacting to the other."

"Meaning?" Keisuke asked.

"Meaning you will undoubtedly have to change your entire braking style to match how much more efficient the FD has now gotten. Those 370 horses you now have are as smooth as possible. After improving the power gauges on every part of the engine, you do indeed have to start all over in a sense to get a feel for the hill climb."

Keisuke nodded.

III

Driving uphill on Myogi, Keisuke changed gears quickly leaving a curve in thought.

'I feel like the FD is one step ahead of me the entire time. Like she's the one in control, even when I take it easy she's flying on the hill climb. I have a long way to go.'

Keisuke pressed the gas, the 13B-REWs' turbochargers hissing as the turbines spun. Keisuke continued to go uphill, trying to improve his braking for each corner. As the FD turned sharply left and right, the FD's rotaries hummed in a different tone as Keisuke braked.

Seeing the right hairpin approach, Keisuke braked hard, shifting twice before making the FD face the inside to clear the turn, swinging the rear of the FD around the corner quickly.

As the FD stopped sliding and whipped back into place to face uphill, Keisuke changed to a higher gear to accelerate uphill. The improved twin rotaries seemed to whir like a jet engine, Keisuke's tires marking Myogi as he whipped around another corner.

'Big brother has defeated Akina's 86, becoming an even bigger downhill legend. I have to uphold the honor of the Red Suns on the hillclimb, Iroha's Lan Evos won't know what hit them.'

The FD's twin turbines continued to echo loudly through the pass as Keisuke accelerated uphill.

'All those crap teams around Tochigi can bite it! There's only one reason I'm bothering to drive out there, and it's to be the best uphiller Tochigi's ever seen! Emperor will have no clue who they're dealing with.'

Changing gears, Keisuke flew around another corner before making flames fly from the FD's exhaust. He continued to steer uphill, thinking pridefully.

'Come on FD. You're more powerful than ever, I want to learn more and more now.'

Grunting quietly, Keisuke forgot how much more responsive the FD was whenever Keisuke braked for a hairpin turn. The FD could corner much more sharply and easily, and Keisuke barely had to countersteer or brake to clear a curve.

His uphill speed growing, Keisuke learned how much easier it was for the FD to respond to his every movement.

'She's smoother.'

Keisuke changed gears, moving the gear stick skilfully before flying out of a hairpin turn.

'She's stronger.'

The brakes held very well as Keisuke made the FD face the inside, whipping the car around another turn.

'She's better in every way. Thank you for all your help Ryosuke, but I don't need my older brother to hold my hand with all those numbers in that stupid binder. This is the only thing that makes sense to me. Speed.'

Pressing the gas, Keisuke knew that even with less throttle than he normally would've applied the FD flew uphill just as he needed. The FD responding loudly, Keisuke made the front tires screech as he cleared a hairpin turn with ease. The rear of the FD swinging out of the turn, Keisuke missed the guardrail by a centimeter before facing uphill and continuing to practice his hill climb.

III

Keisuke and I stood on Myogi's peak, watching the rest of the team train below us, their headlights forming points of light in the darkness of the mountain below. It was about 3 in the morning, we were so sure of beating Nantai's team tonight that we took the early Saturday morning to train.

"Hey Ryosuke I had a thought. Even though most of it didn't make any sense at all to me, I got the part about how much less force I need to put on the FD to push her on the uphill."

I smiled. "You're smarter than you think Keisuke. There's a racing genius in you waiting to be unleashed."

"But driving's the only thing that lets me learn. All that computer stuff goes in one ear and out the other for me."

I put my hands in the pockets of my white pants. "See your FD might be fast. But like any car, it takes time to learn the subtle nuances of how to handle it in the most precise and efficient way possible. Even on the uphill, you have to continue to refine your technique."

"It still pisses me off," Keisuke crossed his arms. "Even after becoming the fastest in Gunma. Even after I showed everyone how fast my FD could be. People still badmouth rotaries like there's no tomorrow."

"Let them chatter and gossip brother. That's all it is. Talk. Actions don't just speak louder than words, they're a language in their own right." I said.

Keisuke checked his watch. "I've got work tomorrow morning. Should be time to call it a night."

"I agree. I'll let Fumihiro know."

III

Driving down Myogi's hill, Ryosuke's FC was clearing corners with ease despite how fast he was going.

Changing gears, Ryosuke practiced his blocking drift, making a wide turn to block an invisible opponent while turning in from the outside.

As his tires stopped screeching, Ryosuke leveled his blocking drift up to LV 90. Accelerating down Myogi's hill, Ryosuke continued to practice his downhill technique. His corners were fast, his straights were fast, and his braking, shifting, and acceleration were all fast. But still, Ryosuke pushed himself harder on the downhill to improve the best he could.

III

When I woke up at around 10, I checked the calendar. For some reason, I knew the day had some significance to it I couldn't put my finger on.

The 21st of September. Hm.

I remembered. While I technically never met her, Grandma Rumiko Takahashi passed away today, 10 years ago when I was 13. Her ashes remained in an urn in a cemetery not far from my home.

Even though I remembered very little about her, I decided to pay her some respects, but I didn't have to do it alone.

"Mother?" I called out from my room. "Mother?"

No response. I suppose I'd go alone, no doubt Father had better things to do than honor the dead.

III

As I parked the FC in the parking lot of the cemetery, I switched off the engine.

After laying down some incense sticks in a bowl in front of Nana Takahashi's picture, I placed my hands together in quiet prayer.

Ancestors of the Takahashi Family. Honor me with your strength and wisdom. Guide me to fulfill my dream of making Gunma's drivers the best in the world. Thank you so very much.

After a minute in silence, I had done my part. Now I had to honor my thoughts with hard work.

III

I had updated my files on each driver in the Red Suns shortly after they passed each benchmark I had set for them to be ready for the races in Tochigi.

The first was Keisuke, who even though was relearning every part of the FD's capabilities, was still the best driver I had on the team. He excelled in linear acceleration, having a dynamic braking and shifting style, and overall his speed was miles ahead of everyone else.

Kenta was also very fast, but his conditional abilities were exceptional, by far the best on the team. In the event of oily or wet roads, no one on the Red Suns could out perform him.

Aisuke was almost equally as skilled as Kenta on the downhill. His times were strong, and his best skill was tire management and taking full advantage of the traction and horsepower his SR20DET offered. He was the turbocharged equivalent of Kenta, useful against countering opponents with high horsepower to offset straightaway disadvantage.

Both Daito and Yakuma were incredible uphillers, only surpassed by Keisuke in terms of ability. Daito's green FD was indeed very powerful, but it meant nothing if Daito couldn't take full advantage of it with his great hill climb times. Yakuma too had plenty of torque in his white Supra, but he as well had the skills to use it.

That night, I would visit Nantai in secret to see how Daito and Aisuke performed on Nantai's hill.

I considered telling Daito to race tonight in his circuit jump suit for the track, but it would be too much. Just racing a driver like him would be enough.

III

Fumihiro spoke to Nantai's team with the Red Suns behind him at the bottom of Nantai's hill. "Here's how tonight will work. We first need to establish who will participate in tonight's races, the rest of both teams need to act as spotters in all available corners. Does that sound alright?"

"Sounds fine."

"Great. We'll do the uphill first. We're choosing Daito in his FD, and who will you choose?"

"Yuki and his 32."

"For the downhill we've chosen Aisuke and his 180. Who have you chosen?"

One of the Nantai racers stepped forward, knowing how outmatched they were from the night before. "I'm going. I'm taking my S13."

Fumihiro nodded. "Okay then let's get started. We'll get the course cleared and then start the race."

Keisuke was the first to get into his FD, before driving uphill with both the Red Suns and the team that raced on Nantai.

After a few minutes, Fumihiro's walkie beeped. "This is the first checkpoint. We're all clear to start the race."

"This is checkpoint two. Road's ready to go."

"Third checkpoint. We're ready here."

"All clear here at the finish line for the uphill."

Fumihiro spoke into his walkie. "Okay the starting line is ready too. We'll get underway in just a second."

Fumihiro looked at the green FD and the deep purple BNR32. "Okay start your engines!"

Daito's high horsepower 13B-REWs revved about as loudly as the 32s RB26DETT.

Raising his hand into the air, Fumihiro's fingers curled downwards as he counted down.

"In five! Four! Three! Two! One! Go!" Fumihiro threw his hand down, speaking into his walkie.

Daito pressed the gas as did the Nantai racer. As the purple 32 pulled ahead, the green FD took the following position as both cars flew off the line.

In the first couple hairpins, it became clear to Daito how unskilled his opponent was.

'With the amount of grip and horsepower he has these he should be maintaining his lead. But I'm already closing the gap.'

The professional circuit racer calmly exited a corner changing gears, the FD's twin turbines hissing with power as the 32's DETTs loudly hissed with power as well.

Now staying attached to the 32's bumper, Daito made the FD face the inside and clear a curve while the 32 gripped the inside and turned hard left and right during an S hairpin. The green FD was now tailgating the purple 32 uphill.

'Our speed in the straights are nearly exact, but in the corners I'm much faster.' Daito changed gears, following the 32 uphill, keeping his eyes attached to the 32's red taillights, waiting to react to any braking. 'This race is over already.'

The moment Daito saw the 32's taillights glow red, Daito had the reflexes to start cornering. By the time the turn had ended, Daito had returned to the 32's rear bumper, the front of the green FD nearly touching the 32's tail uphill.

'Even a driver as unskilled as him would be fast in an R32. But by the second checkpoint, I'd have already passed him, and then he'll be in the dust.'

Nantai's 32 driver grunted looking into his rearview, seeing Daito corner sharply behind him, staying all over him since the race started.

'This guy's good. I had no idea Gunma's Red Suns could be this fast!'

III

I heard the walkie beep. "Daito's cornering skills are still razor sharp! He's on that 32's bumper and he doesn't look tired at all!"

I smiled from my secluded part of the gallery where no one saw me. It appeared I made the right choice tonight in choosing him. The best chance Daito had to overtake was in the S hairpin just after the midpoint of the uphill, and the 32 wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Tochigi would learn just how fast we were tonight.

III

Daito stayed completely calm, knowing the 32 driver ahead of him was likely sweating bullets from how close he was to him.

His speed in the corners completely superior to his opponents, Daito remained in the 32's rearview no matter the hairpin turn, the straight, or any part of Nantai's uphill. The green FD's uphill speed was on a whole different level than the 32s.

Trying to shake Daito, the 32 driver accelerated, abusing the ABS to try and grip run at full speed past tight curves. The green FD was so fast on the uphill that not even the 32s full speed corners could shake it off its tail, Daito remaining well in his sights even looking relaxed despite how badly he was beating the driver ahead of him.

Clearing a leftward L hairpin, Daito knew the upcoming straightaway would offer no rest for the 32. Even with ATTESA all-wheel drive and over 400 horses, the 32 couldn't lose the professional circuit racer in a fully powered hill climb tuned FD3S, and Daito had more than enough horsepower to stay attached to the 32's bumper. The green FD screeched out of the turn, flying uphill tailgating the 32 during the entire long straight.

Knowing the straight would end soon as the 32 driver was predictable enough to leave space before trying to move to the inside to do a grip run, Daito moved to the outside, the green FD now taking the lane left of the purple 32.

Cornering sharply, the green FD screeched as it flew around the right turn, not passing the 32 but being fast enough to remain in the lane left of it.

As the 32 failed to move ahead, the FD and the 32 now stood next to each other, and Daito pulled ahead with superior cornering abilities, and that he now held the inside as the corner was a sharp left one.

No longer holding back, Daito changed gears and soon left the 32 completely in the dust. Creating more and more space after every turn, the FD left the 32 behind as Daito now won the uphill.

Unable to close the distance between them at all, the 32 now completely lost sight of the FD. Knowing how badly he was beaten, the 32 driver sighed sadly as the Red Suns won their first uphill section in Tochigi.

III

As I watched the crowd gasp, they all spoke excitedly as the FD flew uphill.

His Red Suns sticker proudly displayed on the side of his green FD, I watched as Daito was about six or seven seconds ahead of the locally driven BNR32.

"Those Red Suns sure are fast!"

"Yeah, they're on a whole different level than these losers."

I didn't disagree but the reason was simple. Daito raced competitively with the best circuit racers in the country, and besides the fact that his FD was very well-tuned, Daito was just a very talented, skilled, and very dedicated uphiller.

The race was over from the moment the countdown had ended.

III

Daito said nothing as usual as the peak of Nantai Pass burst into cheers as the green FD flew past the finish line.

Takihiro spoke into his walkie cheerfully. "Our green FD beat the course record by well over six and a half seconds!"

Kenta almost pushed Aisuke towards his 180. "You got this man. These guys got nothing on us."

As Daito left his FD with the other Red Suns to the congratulations of many of them, Aisuke introduced himself respectfully to the S13 driver he was facing.

"Aisuke Kano," he said wearing his official Nismo test racing jacket extending his hand. It was a simple white jacket

Gulping and looking pale, the other racer shook his hand. "I-Ichiro Hamada." Just by shaking Aisuke's hand and by how badly Daito had beaten their best uphiller, the S13 driver knew the caliber of a racer he was about to face on his own downhill.

III

Keisuke began the countdown. "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Go!"

Aisuke had a much stronger engine and took the lead right off the line. Nantai's S13 trailed behind as Aisuke's white 180 as Aisuke pressed the gas.

Shifting into second gear, Aisuke accelerating, widening the gap. In the first corner, the distance increased even further, and the S13 gained no ground.

His tires screeching, Aisuke cleared the next turn quickly. As his 180 increased the gap as the S13 entered the hairpin as Aisuke was already widening the gap further, Aisuke was certain the race had ended already by the third turn.

The S13 driver grunted quietly, sweating already by the beginning of the race. "Can't keep up with this guy at all, just who are these Red Suns?"

III

I watched Aisuke's 180 fly past the crowd downhill.

The difference in their times was well over nine seconds, and it did make sense. On the downhill, skill differences are more noticeable, and the S13 was nothing compared to Aisuke's top speed.

We had won our first race in Tochigi very easily. And we were just getting started. Next was Nyoho, Momiji, and then finally Irohazaka, Enna, and Happogahara possibly.

I got a phone call from Fumihiro.

"Hey Ryosuke. This race should be wrapping up soon. Aisuke just took home a great victory for us."

"Not sure if you'd call it great, his opponent wasn't much to look at," I said as the S13 hadn't even appeared yet. "What is it?"

"Some of Emperor's drivers just got word to us. Their leader wants to meet with you tomorrow morning at 10 over on Momiji Line. Called it neutral ground, just wants the two of you two to meet."

I needed a quick moment to think. "Tell them I agree."

III

In a booth at a family restaurant soon after we beat Nantai's team, Keisuke objected. "What? By yourself?"

"Kyoichi Sudo is no street thug. He's not hoping to threaten me tomorrow."

"You don't know that. You don't know this guy, plus-" said Keisuke before being interrupted by a video game jingle. "Kenta I'm three seconds away from smashing that stupid thing to a million pieces if you don't put it away."

"Hold up, I'm about to-"

Kenta whined as Keisuke snatched his Gameboy away. "Aw what? This food's taking forever."

"We're talking about something important here take this seriously." Keisuke pocketed Kenta's Gameboy while speaking to me. "Look all I'm saying is keep your guard up. Those Lan Evo guys might not be cheaters, but they ain't the most respectful group of people I've heard."

"Yeah but." Kenta chuckled. "Neither were you Keisuke," Kenta said before Keisuke swatted the back of his head. "Ow!"

Fumihiro turned to me sitting on my left. "He has a point. But they did make this request in all respect though."

I sipped my water quietly speaking to my brother and his protege across the table from me. "You two need to stay focused. Those races on Nantai were barely races. You both have some tough races ahead."

"What?" said Kenta. "I thought only Team Emperor was the only real challenge we'd get."

"Far from it," I said. "For Keisuke and I for sure, for you and Daito. The Seven Star Leaf won't be easy for you both."

"What about Nyoho pass? They'd be the last course left before Iroha." Keisuke said.

I nodded. "We could beat them without a practice run. Both you and I could pass on the race, so could Aisuke and Daito, and we'd still beat them. As for Team Emperor, they're not too far off, but we should focus on the Momiji Line and the Leafs for now."

Keisuke spoke quietly. "Lan Evos or not, I still think we should be able to beat them. Even on their home course."

"It'd still be very difficult. We stand on completely even ground with Team Emperor, we'd be even in every way."

"But they've never raced outside their own prefecture," Kenta said.

"We barely have either," I said. "The only real races we've had outside of Gunma were tonight on Nantai Pass. And that's if you can even call it that. So far, the Myogi Night Kids have been the biggest challenge we've faced, and we beat them months ago. Still, defeating Akina's 86 is the only real victory we've claimed, and Nakazato's 32."

Kenta spoke. "Let me get this straight. Emperor is like no one we've raced before?"

"That's exactly it," I said. "The Night Kids had the most skill out of anyone we've faced. And they were the first team we've beaten. And team Emperor is far better than them, I know that for sure."

"Stupid Lan Evos," muttered Keisuke.

III

In daylight, I waited for Sudo to arrive at the top of the Momiji Line.

A black Lancer Evolution III quickly pulled up to the peak. Already from seeing the way it approached I could tell that it moved very smoothly and efficiently. It fully used all four tires and the engine was very strong.

The Lan Evo stopped, and out of it stepped Kyoichi Sudo, the leader of Team Emperor.

Instantly I used Observe.

[Kyoichi Sudo - LV 103 Racer]

According to the Gamer, the Lan Evo III was equipped with a professional-grade misfiring system and completely tuned for speed and acceleration. It's tuning was more or less on the same level as my FC, even with all the money I spent on it. Kyoichi spoke to me calmly. "Thank you for coming. My name is Kyoichi Sudo."

"Ryosuke Takahashi." I said.

"I heard you set uphill and downhill course records on Nantai last night. I'd be impressed except that those guys were amateurs," said Kyoichi. "I wanted to get right to the point with you Ryosuke. Why're you bothering with drivers so weak anyway? Why not challenge us directly?"

I responded calmly. "If you were to challenge the teams in Gunma. Where would you go first?"

"Probably start off with the teams who barely had a name. Then Myogi, Akina, and then finally you at Akagi."

"Exactly. You'd gradually increase the skill level of the teams you were facing, I'm doing the same. Did I offend you last night?"

Kyoichi clearly restrained himself from grunting in frustration. "No. But we need to set a time and date for our teams to settle this. We may not own Tochigi, but you can't refuse a challenge."

"Fully agreed," I said. "October 12th, at 10 PM."

"Fine," Kyoichi said. "Just so you know. I don't respect street racing. Everybody on Team Emperor, especially myself, trains using WRC and Gymkhana technique. Street racing is nowhere near the same level as circuit racing. After our battle, I don't want to hear anymore talk about how special mountain racing is."

I smiled, chuckling a bit.

"What's so funny?" asked Kyoichi.

"You came here just to insult my entire philosophy on driving. I understand our outlooks are polar opposites to one another, but I never thought you'd be so brazen about it."

Kyoichi balled his fists. "Brazen? I'm the one who's brazen? You're not even in your own prefecture right now."

"I understand I'm not. But with a team as skilled as yours, I don't expect you planned on staying here in Tochigi forever. Gunma would be more than your neighbors, it'd have three separate mountains full of skilled racers for you to compete against."

Kyoichi's eyes widened, I could tell he had no idea how I subtly predicted his plans had I not struck first.

I opened the door to my FC. "I'm looking forward to the night of the twelfth. I'm sure both you and I are getting tired of watching our teams do all the racing for us."

III

Kyoichi watched the white FC pull away.

'I just threw his entire outlook on racing in the trash. And he was the one ticking me off. Just how smart is this guy!?'

Kyoichi got back into his Evo III.

'October 12th, you and I will settle this Ryosuke. And I guess we'll find out why everyone calls you and your team the fastest in Gunma. And if you're even worthy of such a name.'

Kyoichi began to drive away from Momiji in thought.

'Akagi's White Comet. The unbeatable and undefeated driver. I dare you to come to Iroha, you'll see just what kind of racer the Emperors are made of. You won't find any of that weak technique on other mountains here in Tochigi with us.'