III

38: Momiji's Battles

III

Kenta sat in his orange S14 right next to Toru Suetsugu's Red Miata Roadster NA6CE. I walked up to him as he rolled the window down, and I knew my words would decide the outcome of the battle.

The crowd was rather small, but it didn't matter. It helped clear everyone's heads, but they were still nervous I could tell. Without Keisuke and I racing, it wou

"I'm all ears Ryosuke," Kenta said. "What's the plan to beat this guy? Doesn't look too weak."

"This race will be your toughest for some time," I said. "But if you trust your instincts. I promise you, you'll win tonight."

"What?" Kenta asked. "That's it? What about the simulation? I know you've got one for tonight."

"I do. And it depends on you trusting your instincts. This S14 you're driving is among the best ever designed for cornering and downforce. Trust your instincts Kenta. Trust your car." I said while walking away.

Fumihiro stood off to the side as he knew Keisuke had taken over for the countdowns since my race on Akina. "Aisuke and everyone else has reported in. The course is ready."

"Good. Keisuke." I said loud enough for him to hear me. "We're ready when you are."

"Okay, I'm starting the countdown!"

III

Keisuke spoke loud and clear as Kenta's SR20DE and Toru's B6-ZE revved.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Go!" Keisuke threw his hand down as Toru and Kenta flew past him down Momiji's hill.

Toru pulled ahead first, taking the lead as Kenta followed closely behind.

As Fumihiro spoke to Ryosuke while he typed on his laptop, the race continued below.

"So why were you so cryptic about your advice with Kenta? This race won't be easy."

Ryosuke explained while Kenta's S14 cornered just after Toru's NA6. "Every aspect of the S14 outperforms the Roadster. However, the skill levels of both drivers are more or less the same, and it's obvious who has more course knowledge. They're as evenly matched as possible, it will just take time to be apparent."

Kenta grunted quietly, trying to catch up, upshifting and opening the throttle to try to match the red NA6' pace.

"Early on Kenta will have trouble finding his rhythm. But the moment he realizes their paces will even out near the end of the race, it'll be over. It relies purely on the trust Kenta has with both himself and his car."

Fumihiro sighed. "You could've just told him that."

"I couldn't. Kenta needs to realize this for himself, if he does or doesn't is what decides the race."

III

Kenta's SR20DE hummed loudly in the hood of the orange S14. Toru's NA6 was on a completely different pace, quickly entering and exiting corners, and soon a gap appeared from the difference in speed.

Shaking his head, Kenta pushed himself harder, trying to catch up, using his S14's great entry speed to close the gap to no avail. The red NA6 was cornering faster and it was clear to him how much better Toru's line choice and execution was.

As the gap continued to widen, Kenta focused on the rear of the Roadster.

'How can he be so much faster than me? My S14 is the pride of Nismo. Am I gonna lose tonight? The race just started and I can hardly catch up.'

Braking, Kenta executed his heel and toe technique. Shifting quickly, Kenta hit the gas and then the clutch to grip the next corner hard. During his grip run, his speed improved, and the S14 began to catch up.

Toru paid Kenta no attention, changing gears to accelerate downhill.

'This is my course. Time for you to learn who's boss here.'

Cornering together, Kenta closed the gap a little more as Toru failed to widen it.

During the twisting and narrow turns, Kenta's S14 now stopped being noticeably far behind to right on the NA6' tail. However, as soon as it appeared Kenta had closed the distance, Toru widened it again.

The pistons of the NA6' B6-ZE hummed as they fired. Accelerating down Momiji's hill, Toru was able to increase his pace on a dime, and Kenta was left floundering behind him.

Screeching through a turn, Kenta began to sweat in his attempt to keep up. The orange S14 swung around the turn, its high drifting speed responding to Kenta's movements strongly.

Finishing his corner, Kenta saw Toru had already finished shifting and was well ahead on the resulting straightaway.

Even with superior performance on the straight, Kenta's S14 couldn't recover the time he lost from the NA6' turns. In the corners this was no different.

'It's obvious how much faster my S14 is in the turns. Gripping or especially drifting it makes no difference I'm faster. But why is our cornering speed on completely different levels? I can barely get close enough to see any weaknesses in his driving!'

Toru changed gears before entering a turn at full throttle, flying past the cheering crowd with Kenta hot on his tail. Again, as Kenta seemed to adapt to the new pace after a couple of corners, Toru was able to change his speed.

Creating a new albeit small gap, the red NA6 cleared the guardrail on the verge of touching it while cornering. Surprising the gallery, Kenta wasn't lost in the dust completely from the speed of his S14.

One of the Seven Star Leafs spoke into his walkie talkie surprised by what his stopwatch was telling him. "Toru's on his best pace ever! He's two entire seconds better than the course record. But the Red Suns' S14 man, it's not letting up, and that gap doesn't look to be changing either."

Knowing the horsepower advantage he had in the straightaways let him open up the throttle comfortably, Kenta was able to accelerate quicker than Toru. But the NA6 was far enough ahead to mitigate this completely, and Kenta was still unable to recover the gap.

Now Toru slowly began to pull away, the NA6 increasing the gap as the orange S14 was failing to catch up.

Both cars flew downhill so fast the branches and bushes poking past the guardrail whipped in the direction of both cars.

His SR20DE making the S14 hiss with power, Kenta sweated in his bucket seat.

'I can win this. He can't be better than me. I am better than this guy.'

Clearing the guardrail by millimeters, both the NA6 and the S14 began to enter corners together at the same speed. But Kenta knew as well as Toru that to close the gap, he'd need to be faster. Trusting the power of his S14, he showed off how fast it could drift at full speed.

Kenta pressed the gas approaching the corner, then braked, changed gears and steered to corner at full throttle. The S14 swinging quickly around the turn as the NA6 was drifting slightly slower, Kenta began to catch up in the hairpins.

Not even glancing at his dashboard, Kenta kept his sight attached to the rear of the Miata.

'We've increased the pace so much that he can't kick it up any higher. At this speed, something's gotta give. The gearbox, brakes, tires, anything. And since I know my car is better tuned, I just have to stay on his bumper.'

"Tsch!" Toru saw the S14's headlights grow stronger in his peripheral vision.

'He caught up. I'm going all out and these stupid Red Suns are still bothering me.'

"Come on, come on!" Toru shifted, accelerating downhill knowing the pace had reached its maximum already.

Even though Toru knew Momiji better, Kenta was confident enough with how well he understood his car to still remain on the NA6' bumper.

Flying past the halfway mark of the course, Takihiro leaned off his silver S13 when the NA6 and S14 flew past him in a split second. "This is the second checkpoint! Kenta's chewing the red Roadster's bumper! They're beating the course record by three seconds now!"

His SR20DE's pistons firing loudly, making the engine whir loudly, Kenta accelerated downhill. Cornering quickly, Kenta braked at the same time as Toru, now staying right next to him during the hairpin turn.

Toru was drifting his red NA6 into the right corner seeing Kenta's orange S14 right next to him.

'What incredible cornering speed. How can the Red Suns be this fast?'

Toru changed gears as Kenta swung out of the turn barely missing the guardrail. Hitting the throttle, the red NA6 was unable to shake the S14 off its bumper.

'It doesn't matter. No driver can keep this pace with me until we reach the finish line. Red Suns or not, he's still a kid.'

Kenta still kept his eyes attached to the NA6 taillights, refusing to take his eyes off it despite how close they were.

'They're both in red cars. They're both locals. I beat Myogi's downhill FF specialist. He can't be much better than this guy. Rain or not, this race is mine.'

Kenta quickly remembered his race with Shingo. Remembering the result of the race only increased his confidence, and he continued to burn rubber. His tires screeching as he quickly clipped traction in his front tires to fly around another turn.

'How can this S14 have the highest cornering speed I've ever seen?'

Knowing Toru was unable to shake him at all, Kenta began to be biting at his heels during the entire race now. In the straightaways, Kenta had so much more horsepower that he was faster completely. And in the corners, Kenta had now entered his rhythm, in full confidence that he could stay on the NA6' tail.

The crowd behind the guardrail cheering loudly as the NA6 and S14 twin drifted, Kenta smiled knowing the race was his.

In a desperate attempt to lose him, Toru was completely shaken after an entire minute of failing to lose Kenta. Changing gears, Toru gasped on the exit of a corner.

'That new flywheel I must've put in has started to lock up the entire engine. I'm losing speed on the exit of these turns. How can I be losing this race already?'

His engine humming loudly, Kenta knew his S14 was on the verge of passing the NA6. In the straightaways, Kenta was harrying Toru left and right. Faking a move to the left, Kenta bit the inside hard, gripping the entire way.

The SR20DE hissing with power, Kenta's grip run completely outclassed Toru's cornering. Changing gears, Toru had no plan but the most obvious one available.

'I'm still not finished. If I can just hold the inside I can stay in the lead until we reach the bottom of the hill!'

Kenta's braking drift was so fast that Toru had no way of losing him, only holding onto both the inside and the lead for dear life.

Now Kenta began to look for openings, but none presented themselves. The pace was raised so high that if Kenta had an opportunity he was unable to see it as he was too busy trying to clear the hairpins. The straights and turns all seemed to blend together, only through reading the NA6' rhythm was Kenta able to determine the moment to corner and the moment to hit the throttle.

III

"That S14 is tailing Toru downhill! They're basically on the same exact line!" The red NA6 screeched through the turn, just a split second before the S14.

Toru glanced into his rearview, practically hearing the S14's N/A SR20DE as Kenta was breathing down his neck.

'That kid. That S14. Is a drift monster.'

The crowd behind the gallery was amazed at the drift battle Toru and Kenta began to have in the corners. Swinging their cars left and right, now it was Toru's turn to return to the proper tempo. While Kenta wasn't shaken off his tail completely, Toru now had enough breathing room to shift without Kenta almost literally hitting his car.

Kenta changed gears, not taking his hands off the steering wheel for a second to wipe his sweat away.

'This guy's good. He's not just fast, he's anticipating where I'm gonna move next. How am I gonna pass him?'

Remembering Ryosuke's words, Kenta cleared another monstrous corner using a fully powered drift using every ounce of the S14's power.

'Trust my instincts? That's all I've done since I started this race!'

Drifting right next to the guardrail, Kenta's orange S14 trimmed the hedges of Momiji pass from how fast he was going and how close his car skimmed the grass poking out from the guardrail.

"Their pace is crazy! It's been ages since a battle's been this fast up here!" a racing fan said behind the guardrail.

Facing the inside of the mountain wall, Kenta released the steering wheel to hit the gas, releasing the brake to shift, accelerate, and shift and accelerate again.

His times on both the straightaways and the corners excellent, it took as much effort as possible for Toru to both stay ahead and be able to block Kenta's attempts to overtake him.

Kenta panted, knowing both he and Toru were pushing each other to their limits.

'Get in gear Kenta. The team needs you to bring home the win tonight! Hold the inside, shift like your life depends on it! This S14 is made for the downhill, and she's begging for a win tonight!'

Accelerating from third gear, Kenta was able to downshift so well to initiate the four-wheel drift that he closed the tiny gap between him and the red NA6 the moment the corner began.

Releasing the gas to change gears and accelerate again Kenta's S14 hissed with power as the revs increased.

His tachometer climbing upward, Kenta swung his car left and right with ease, the entire time remaining well in eyesight of the red NA6.

'We're approaching the third checkpoint! If I can't pass him soon he'll win!'

Kenta again used the S14's excellent cornering speed to stay in attacking distance of Toru's Roadster.

Without even thinking about it, Kenta executed his overtake flawlessly. Pressing himself so close to Toru's NA6 coming out of a previous corner that he almost bumped him forward, Kenta was caught in the perfect position to take a line with ease.

Toru was holding the inside on the next right turn, his eyes widening as he looked to his left.

'The outside!? No one can pass from the outside!'

Aisuke saw them appear at the top of the straight, announcing it clearly. "Here they come! Kenta just took a line from the NA6! I've never seen Kenta go this fast before!"

As they completed the turn, Kenta's superior exit speed let him accelerate and fly ahead. As Toru flattened the gas, he knew something was wrong.

Entering the corner, all it took was one more shift for the entire flywheel to lock up entirely. The engine lost enough efficiency to cause a power release, and Toru fell behind.

'No. No!' Toru thought hopelessly.

Kenta downshifted victoriously as he overtook the NA6 entirely, the orange S14 taking the lead.

Yakuma laughed as him and Aisuke cheered with everyone else behind the guardrail. "Kenta took the lead! It's over!"

Toru wanted to push himself farther but he knew his car couldn't take it. Despite his best efforts, his NA6 couldn't handle as much stress as Kenta's S14 even with their even pacing, the tuning difference was inevitably going to prove what Toru least wanted to admit.

'Money equals speed...'

III

Down at the finish line, Kenta ignored the fans that approached.

"You Gunma guys sure can race!"

"Damn can't wait till you guys show up Team Emperor!"

Kenta watched as Toru emerged from his red NA6, nodding respectfully to them. "Thank you all."

Toru approached Kenta with his hands in his pockets. "That was no win. You guys have way more cash than us, that's no victory. You won by sheer budget."

Kenta ignored Daito's eyes. "Yeah. We drive around with vans, we tune our rides well. But I've got some news for you. If I wasn't on your tail for three straight corners I never would've passed you. I may have a better car, but we were still even until I passed you. It wasn't a budgetary win. I knew I could pass you as long as I tailed you eventually, it was strategy."

Daito was surprised by how Kenta was speaking, but Toru frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Kenta offered a hand to shake. "It was a good race."

Toru shook his hand. "Thank you."

Daito watched on from afar in thought.

'Honorable. Skilled. Respectful. Ryosuke was right in trusting you with the downhill tonight. Very well done Kenta.'

A Seven Star Leaf approached Daito. "The crew is still ready for the uphill. We're ready when you are."

Daito just nodded silently, getting in his FD.

III

Fumihiro put his walkie back in his pocket approaching me. "That was the finish line. Kenta beat the course record by seven seconds."

"I knew the pipsqueak could do it," said Keisuke with pride. "It was inevitable. These Tochigi punks got nothing on us."

"But still," Fumihiro turned to me. "There's one thing I don't understand. How was this win reliant on Kenta's instincts?"

"I couldn't explain to him the technical side of why his S14 performs so well on the downhill. He needed to know for himself and decide for himself the best moments to tail the Roadster, when to catch up, and when to pass. These were things he would have to know for himself. Telling him my simulation would throw that all away. Kenta is not that kind of driver at all, and I respect him greatly for it."

"But big brother," Keisuke said. "He just started racing with us. You put way too much trust in just his instincts."

"He may be young. But I chose him tonight for a reason. Out of everyone else besides Keisuke and I, Kenta could stand evenly the most with this driver for the Leafs. His S14 was still the decisive part to tip the scales." I said.

Fumihiro nodded to both of us. "They should start the uphill soon."

"The uphill will be a joke," Keisuke said. "No ER34 Nismo fan can hold a candle to a circuit champ."

"Indeed," I said. "But we need to focus on Irohazaka next. Team Emperor will be very hard to defeat."

III

"Go!"

Daito flew off the starting line as Atsuro Kawai took the lead with slightly better horsepower. Despite the near-equal power output of Atsuro's RB25DET and Daito's 13B-REW, the ER34 had noticeably more traction on the uphill.

Entering the first corner, Daito closed whatever gap was between him and the blue ER34 ahead of him, the green FD drifting uphill.

His times on the hill climb excellent, the next corner was the same. Any time Atsuro had gained in the straights, Daito instantly recovered in the turns.

'I can corner far better than him. He's only fast at all in the straightaways. This race is already over.'

Daito Ryoma triumphantly changed gears a few hairpins later, and passed Atsuro completely.

"What!? Already!?" asked Atsuro seeing Daito pull away as the race had barely even started.

'Even with so much horsepower. You're still a weak driver.' Daito thought as the green FD left Atsuro in the dust.

Aisuke watched as Daito cleared the hairpin turn quickly, announcing what he saw into his walkie-talkie. "Our FD is well over two seconds ahead. I don't see how they're gonna overcome this gap!"

III

The next morning, I got to work training on Irohazaka in the daytime, using the Abyss to get used to the road during the night.

Its turns were constant and very sharp with narrow long straights in between. The slower speed corners required strong gripping abilities as well as plenty of good steering and shifting above all.

Control of the accelerator, gearstick, brakes, and especially the steering would be paramount. On my first try, I finished at about two minutes and over fifty-eight seconds, which was far too slow.

I would need to improve my times by well over four seconds. Irohazaka was a very highly skilled course, its rhythm was staggeringly difficult, the turns, straights, and every part of the pass was brutal. Maximizing speed on every part of Iroha's downhill would be tough but still doable. It would just take hours of practice, the Gamer only accelerating the time it would take to master the course.

Were it not for the Gamer I would certainly tie with Sudo. I could barely beat him own Akagi, but on Irohazaka we would be very even, the Gamer only slightly tipping the scales enough in my favor to let me win.

The FC could not be tuned any better, I would just have to grind as many hours as possible here on Iroha to get fast enough to learn the course. As responsive as the FC was already, I had changed her settings as much as possible to balance things like power and traction with downforce and aerodynamics. There was nothing else I could do for the best possible settings for Iroha currently.

Just the first third of Iroha alone took well over five hours, even with the Gamer to just get the basics down. The best gears were clear, as well as the best speeds to get the best times.

The straights were curvy but manageable, it was the razor-sharp corners that would be brutal.

Timing the best braking was hard even for me, because Iroha was so complex that only by trying, again and again, could I get the most out of training. It took hours of repetition by breaking Iroha into thirds, starting with the first.

I felt I had established a good landing platform for myself for the day when I decided to drive around the nearby city of Nikko. It would be nice as in Gunma basically, a solid tenth of people recognized me.

III

"I would like some jasmine tea please."

"397 Yen please."

"Keep the change," I said.

I sat down outside and admired the town. It wasn't too different from Takasaki or even Shibukawa for that matter but it was still very peaceful and nice to look at. The tea was relaxing enough to help a lot, but the scenery of the town was beautiful enough.

Parks with families walking around in it, people on bicycles and students leaving school.

Out of the corner of my eye, I recognized Seiji Iwaki and two other members of team Emperor were walking around in the street in the tea shop.

"Leave it man." I heard one of them say on the other side of the street.

"No." Seiji shrugged off his friend's hand.

I sipped my tea as the three of them approached.

"That your FC?" The man I knew to be Seiji flicked a thumb towards the white car.

I sipped my tea. "It is."

"You got some nerve walking around Tochigi like you own the place. Especially with a car so outdated."

"He's just having some tea Seiji. Give the guy a break."

Ignoring his teammate, Seiji kept speaking. "Rotaries aren't all you Red Suns make it up to be."

"I already spoke to Kyoichi," I said. "We'll settle this properly in October."

"What and let you run around on our turf until then? No way. We're not as weak as those Seven Star Leafs."

I put my teacup back on my plate. "I never said you were."

"So you're scared huh?" Seiji chuckled. "Thought so."

"You're the one who decided to ambush me for having some tea," I said. "I never insulted the performance of your cars in the slightest."

Seiji turned around mumbling under his breath. "Cocky condescending prick!"

III

"Badmouth Ryosuke Takahashi like that again and you'll find a different team to anchor for," Kyoichi said plainly.

"What?" Seiji said. "That's ridiculous!"

"You attacking him so publicly like that is what's ridiculous," said Kyoichi. "Keisuke Takahashi was a real wise guy just like you. A real disrespectful loudmouth. And now look at him, one of the best FD drivers in history. Learn your place Seiji."

"Another stupid rich kid who thinks a souped-up rotary means he's got skill, just like his older brother."

Kyoichi began to lose his patience. "How many times do I have to say it!? The Akagi Red Suns aren't pushovers. I'm the only one to take this threat seriously."

"Exactly. Do I really have to point out the obvious?" asked Seiji. "We were gonna smash those guys on their home courses. Just like they did to everyone here. But you held us back, man. Gunma was gonna be ours."

"We're going to-" Kyoichi sighed, lowering his voice. "We're still going to go to Gunma. After we deal with the Takahashi brothers."

"Rotaries aren't that fast. That stupid motto of theirs is just a catchphrase."

"No, it's a challenge." corrected Kyoichi. "It's a philosophy. One I respect too. Ryosuke became the fastest in Gunma for years with just an FC. His younger brother Keisuke's FD3S is one of the fastest cars ever made. We have to beat these guys. I will beat them, we will beat them. You just have to stop doubting me Seiji."

"It just pisses me off," Seiji said. "Seeing the guy drive around town without a care in the world."

Kyoichi watched team Emperor train below. "Get back to work Seiji. As much as you must hate to admit it, Keisuke Takahashi is no schoolboy who just got his license. You better be ready on the hill climb."

"I will." Seiji opened the door to his white Evo IV, pointing to his team leader. "You better not make us regret staying home this year. After we beat those Red Suns, Gunma's next."

Kyoichi watched as Seiji drove downhill to enter Iroha's uphill and resume his training.

'Akagi's White Comet. Ryosuke Takahashi. Is he really as fast as everyone says he is? I need to make some phone calls and find out. The last guy to race him probably would have the most recent amount of technique I could analyze. Otherwise, I'm just guessing on the strategy I have to make.'

"Who have you raced Ryosuke?" Kyoichi mumbled quietly to himself. "I have to find out before we battle."