A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Here's chapter 1.forgot to ask for reviews
for the prologue, so I'll ask for reviews now, seeing as how I don't really
know how I'm progressing in this fanfic. Anyways, enjoy!
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Chapter 1
Location: Akagi Mountain, at the peak Time: 10:07 P.M.
"5.4.3.2.1.Go!"
"Wow! There they go!"
"Hey, I wonder who's going to win?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's going to Ryousuke! This is for revenge back on Akina during last summer! And man, that 86 driver doesn't stand a chance against Ryousuke at Akagi!"
"I know! Especially since Ryousuke holds the downhill record here!"
Hmph. Fools. The people in the crowds know nothing, Keisuke Takahashi thinks to himself. This race isn't just any normal race. This race between aniki and Takumi is the initiation race for our new team, Project D. It doesn't matter who wins this race, because both of these two racers are proving their superiority on the streets. It's their message to the other street racers out there in this country to watch out, because Project D will be unlike anything you've ever seen before.
And Keisuke is right. With Ryousuke as the coordinator of Project D, Keisuke as uphill racer, Takumi as downhill racer, tuners and mechanics, and tons of supporters, Project D will make their mark in street racing history as the greatest team ever. Meanwhile, at that same time.
Location: Mt. Akina, at the bottom of the mountain Time: 10:07 P.M.
"Getting better," pointed the passenger. The driver looked at the stopwatch. It read 3'08"58.
"Not better enough," replied the driver. "I'm still kind of weak on the 5 consecutive hairpins. I should be exiting each hairpin at more than 130 km/h. Instead, I'm below 125 km/h. I wonder what I'm wrong?"
"Maybe it's the tires. They're probably wearing out again," said the passenger.
"That fast? It can't be since they were replaced last week." The driver sighed, and stepped out of the car. Taking a cigarette out from a shirt pocket, the driver lights it, takes a quick puff and looks into the starry sky. In deep thought, the driver thinks what should be done. Should I continue practicing, or should I go ahead with the proposed plan we have? The driver didn't realize the passenger got out of the car when the passenger asked: "So, what are you going to do?"
A small cloud of cigarette smoke rose into the air, disappearing after a few seconds.
"We'll wait until the summer is nearly over. Until then, we'll continue to practice. But it won't just be here on Akina, but also other places in the Gunma District: Akagi, Myogi, Usui, Happogahara, Irohazaka. Streets racers will be challenging us almost anywhere once the first phase of our plan has been completed."
The passenger sighed. "Alright then. Whatever you want. I mean, we can wait until next year when you're finally finished everything."
"No, that would be too long. I'm afraid the 86 will be beaten by then. We'll go along with the plan once summer hits. Call Shinji, and tell him we've got changes now."
Location: Akina, at a local GS gas station Time: 12:59 P.M., Thursday afternoon
"Woo! Wasn't it an exciting season, eh Takumi?" asked Itsuki Takeuchi.
"I guess so," answered the tired Takumi Fujiwara. Delivering tofu to the top of Akina Mountain every night for nearly 6 years at 4 in the morning isn't exactly his idea of exciting. Instead of it being a chore, its more like torture, Takumi thought. Still, I have to do this, because Dad's getting old and there's no other person besides me who can do this.
"You guess so?" yelled Itsuki. "Come on! You know better than anyone else that it was possibly the greatest season. I mean, think about it! Do you even remember how many races you and Keisuke Takahashi raced against all your opponents who wanted a piece of Project D?"
"Uh.I don't know."
"Gaahh! Baka!" and Itsuki leaped forward and grabbed Takumi by the neck, squeezing him tightly. How long is this idiot going to act stupid, he thought. His hands were still on the young racer's neck.
"Hey, hey, hey! Knock it off, you two!" yelled Iketani Kouichirou. "We got people to serve!" And he wasn't joking. A green truck pulled into the station and was waiting for them to help the driver. Quickly, Takumi and Itsuki straightened themselves up and ran to greet the driver. While Takumi asked for which octane of gasoline the driver's truck needed, Itsuki took out a loosely-hanging washcloth from the back of his pants and scrubbed the truck's windshield. Iketani sighed and went back to check the garage inventory he was doing beforehand. It really was an exciting summer, he thought to himself. Takumi and Project D went against all odds and difficulties to outrace so many new and extremely challenging opponents. Though I wasn't able to be at every race, I will always give him my full support.
"Thank you. Please come again," exclaimed Takumi and Itsuki, as they bowed the truck driver out of the station. I wonder how Mako is doing right now, Iketani kept on thinking. We haven't seen each other for nearly a year. Iketani sighed again, his face looking very dull and gloomy. I really want to see you again.to see you again and say.I'm sorry. The sun was shining brightly high above the clouds. Leaves bright green in colour flickered as a smooth, relaxing breeze moved across the street in front of the gasoline station. It was late August, a time when the sizzling heat of summer was beginning to fade away, as the cool autumn winds will arrive soon in early September. Colours of red, yellow, orange, and gold will be appearing everywhere, from the bustling sidewalks to the lonely mountains. Iketani stared blankly into the sky, still thinking of the woman he couldn't reach in time to profess his love to one summer ago. He didn't notice a white Nissan S14 Silvia K with the sticker "Akina Speed Stars" imprinted on the car's engine hood had pulled into the station. It was his best friend Kenji's car and it wasn't until Itsuki called out Kenji's name that Iketani awoke back into reality.
"You guys won't believe this, but there's some guy called Shinji and his buddies who wants to formally challenge the Speed Stars this Saturday night at 10 and get this: the guy wasn't even asking for Takumi!" explained Kenji. "Furthermore, he says whoever wins the race tonight becomes the dominating in Akina!"
"Whoa! A race not meant for Takumi at Akina? I am there!" Itsuki shouted with joy. "Iketani-sempai, let me race against this guy. You do know that I am part of the Speed Stars, right?"
"I haven't forgotten, Itsuki, but I'll be the one to race. After all, I am the leader of the fastest team in Akina," replied Iketani. "I'm not letting some two-bit amateur and a bunch of wannabes take over our territory that we've claimed for all these years. We'll be there this Saturday and we'll beat them!"
"Yeah! Alright!" Shouts from Kenji and Itsuki rang out. There were really excited about this race. This was probably the one and only time the Speed Stars had ever accepted a challenge not aimed for Takumi, but for their actual team members instead. Itsuki began to calm down and started to ask Takumi something: "So, what do you think? Us Speed Stars are going to race for the first time, well since.ever! Think you'll be joining us, or will you be off with Project D and their practices?"
"No practices this weekend. Keisuke told me the RedSuns are having a race that night as well with some people and he's going with them to supervise," answered Takumi. "So, I'll pretty much be free on Saturday night. I'll come and watch the race."
Location: Fujiwara Tofu Shop Time: 9:32 P.M., Saturday night
Well, time to go to Akina Mountain, Takumi thought to himself, as he started his Toyota Trueno GT-APEX. Above all other things the boy owned in his life, this car was probably the thing he valued the most. After his father, Bunta Fujiwara, had bought a Subaru WRX Impreza and gave ownership of the Trueno over to his son, Takumi took the car with the utmost of care. He would have the vehicle cleaned once in a while and have engineers and technicians from Project D make an inspection of the car before and after a race. He never thought he would ever get a car, but after seeing his son going out racing often, Bunta just couldn't see why he should get to call it his own.
Takumi steered left at an intersection and headed straight for the foot of Akina Mountain. The moon was overhead in the sky. There were no clouds tonight, making the city lights of Akina look dim compared to the moon from the peak of the mountain. Upon reaching the road leading up the mountain, Takumi noticed a large crowd of spectators around the foot. There are certainly a lot of people tonight, considering the fact the Speed Stars aren't an important racing team anymore ever since I joined with Project D, Takumi thought. And he was right. As he kept going up the mountain, he saw more and more people at the five consecutive hairpins, at the halfway point, and at the starting point. Not only that, he noticed a particular black Nissan Skyline GT-R and a red Honda Civic Type-R parked to the left of the guardrails. So the Myogi NightKids are here, but why?
He found Iketani and the rest of the Speed Stars at the middle and began to ask: "What's going on, sempai? Why are the NightKids here? And what's with the large number of people here tonight?"
"I don't know. When we arrived here at 9:20, Takeshi Nakazato, Shingo Shoji, and the rest of their teammates arrived 5 minutes after us. We haven't asked them why they're here yet. As for the people, beats me. Kenji was the one who's supposed to tell people about the race and." Iketani paused and looked up. The Nightkids were walking in their direction. "Guess they noticed you arrived. That's why they're coming over here." Takumi parked the car to the right of the two-lane road and stepped out. Spectators around were mumbling and whispering as the NightKids and Speed Stars met on the road.
"Hmph. I'm surprised the Speed Stars are here to see us race tonight. Not to mention that you would also be here," said Takeshi, as he looked at Takumi.
"You guys race here tonight? I think you guys are mistaken. We're the ones scheduled to race here tonight," answered Iketani. "Ha! Please.don't be ridiculous. How can simple racers such as yourselves compete against the fastest racer from Tokyo?"
"Fastest racer from Tokyo?" asked Itsuki. "So that's who's coming here tonight? Kenji-sempai, did you know any of this?"
"No, none of this at all. The guy who offered the challenged never mentioned anything about being the fastest racer from Tokyo. I'm guessing he told the NightKids instead of us," answered Kenji. There was confusion from both racing teams. Murmurs and complaints started to rise among the spectators, many of them questioning the event for tonight. "Wait, then let me ask you this. What car did the challenger drive and what did he look like? By the way, his name's Shinji."
"Shinji's his name, is it? He never told us his name though. Anyway, he drives a light blue Toyota Celica GT-Four," answered Takeshi. "Not to mention the challenger was pretty tall. If I can recall, he was wearing long, thick jeans with a red T-shirt."
"What the? That's the same person and car! What the hell is going on?"
"It's the RedSuns! The RedSuns are here!" shouted a voice from the crowd. More murmurs flooded the atmosphere surrounding the peak. Many of the girls started to poke their way through to the road from the guardrails, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ryousuke and Keisuke Takahashi. The NightKids and Speed Stars all looked at the oncoming cars. However, only Keisuke's yellow Mazda RX-7 Type-R was there, along with a few other RedSuns racers. Ryousuke's white Mazda RX-7 Infini-3 was nowhere in sight.
What? The RedSuns? I didn't bother to ask Keisuke where the RedSuns' race was going to be, but I didn't think it would be here at Akina. Maybe Keisuke will have some answers. Takumi looked at the built-in clock in his car. It read 9:49. 11 minutes to the race and still no sign of the person named Shinji and his Celica GT-Four.
"No wait! Looks like more cars are coming up!" Another voice from the crowd echoed into the night. A short pause followed. "It's the Emperors! And Usui's Sileighty is here too!"
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions were now crowding the road, along with the Nissan Sileighty. Amidst the chaos, Kyouichi Sudou, leader of the Emperors from Irohazaka, was pleased to see the immense crowd here at Akina Mountain. On the other hand, Seiji Iwaki, the Emperors' second-best driver, didn't see why he had to be here. He was going to have his Lancer Evolution VI tuned up tonight, but Kyouichi wanted him to come to Akina Mountain along with the rest of the Emperors. Probably wants me to race tonight, just to take his place in the race, he thinks. Meanwhile, Mako Satou and her best friend, Sayuki, steps out from their Sileighty and heads to talk with the Speed Stars. This is probably their first time ever coming out to race in another area besides their home course of Usui. While Mako wonders how Iketani will react upon seeing her again, Sayuki ponders whether she still has a chance of dating Takumi. She still hasn't given up trying to get the young driver interested in her.
"So you guys also got challenged by the same person, huh?" asked Keisuke, after the long talk with Takeshi and Iketani. "Ryousuke told me to supervise the RedSuns' race with the challenger. He's busy with his studies, so that's why he can't make it here tonight. Looks like there's a lot of explaining to do from this Shinji once he gets here." Both leaders of the NightKids and Speed Stars nodded their heads and agreed. Kyouichi and Mako also gathered around with the group of racers and discussed their situation.
"If I recall," Kyouichi started, "the challenger told us to come here tonight and that he'll talk about how the race will go tonight. At first, I was going to have Seiji race for me, but after hearing this guy to be the fastest in Tokyo, I can't help but race this time."
"Both Mako and I haven't raced since last year," Sayuki said, "so it's only fitting that we get the chance to race against this Shinji guy." She eyed herself quickly at Takumi and winked at him. Surprised at the wink, Takumi gave a puzzled look and was blushing at the same time. Itsuki noticed his cheeks were turning red and asked him: "Something the matter, Takumi? Your face is all red."
"What? Me?" he answered, with his hands covering his face. "Ahahahaha!!! No.nothing.nothing's wrong! Just getting kind of hot from the weather!! Hehe." Itsuki gave his friend an odd look, but turned away and listened as the team leaders continued to debate on the issue at hand. Whew! Good thing he ignored, Takumi thought. Else he would've been lunging for my throat already and telling me to snap out of it. He checked the time again. 7 minutes have passed. The challenger has less than 4 minutes to get here. While the teams continue to talk, Takumi starts to the walk to the end of the road and waits for the challenger. 3 minutes left.what's taking so long, he thinks. 2 minutes.1 minute.Sigh, I shouldn't have come here in the first place. What a waste of my time. He lowers his head in disappointment and begins to turn around. Suddenly, the sounds of screeching tires and engines makes him wake up from his disappointment. From the horizon, he notices the headlights of two cars approaching fast. At this distance, he can't make out the cars, but as they got closer, he noticed the colour of blue.
"He's here! He's here! The Celica is here!" Yelled Takumi, as he stepped off the road and moved to the guardrails to let the cars pass by him. Right behind the light-blue Celica GT-Four was another Mazda RX-7, but this one was coated in a silver colour and wasn't heavily supped up like Keisuke's RX-7. The newly arrived cars halted to a stop, and the driver of the Celica got out. Instantly, the leaders of each team recognized the man and turned to face him. 3 others got out from the Celica as well: 2 girls and another man. The driver inside the silver FD didn't step out yet.
"I'm guessing everyone wants an explanation," Shinji began. All the NightKids, RedSuns, Impact Blue, Emperors, and Speed Stars moved in closer, as if they wanted to mob the person who created this confusion.
"You damn right we want an explanation," replied Keisuke, "and it'd better be a good one too." All members from each of the 5 teams agreed, many of them shouting and yelling at him.
"All right then," he said, "I'll start telling. Contrary to what you may think, I am not the fastest racer in Tokyo." Gasps and shouts of "What?" echoed throughout the mountaintop. "In reality, I'm just a messenger and close friend for the racer."
"So all this is just for your friend to show-off being the so-called fastest from Tokyo?" asked Takeshi. "Then where the hell is your friend?"
"Right in the driver's seat of that RX-7 behind me," he answered. Shinji motioned the driver of the silver FD to come out. The car doors swung open. A tall, black-haired man dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans steps out of the passenger's seat, while a short, blonde girl with a pink tank-top and purple mini-skirt stood up from the driver's seat. She looks very beautiful, and all of the men were practically eyeing at her. Jaws were dropping and whispers and murmurs rang throughout the mountaintop. Not only is the girl beautiful, Takumi thought, his eyes still fixed on her, but she's the fastest racer in Tokyo.
Location: Akagi Mountain, at the peak Time: 10:07 P.M.
"5.4.3.2.1.Go!"
"Wow! There they go!"
"Hey, I wonder who's going to win?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's going to Ryousuke! This is for revenge back on Akina during last summer! And man, that 86 driver doesn't stand a chance against Ryousuke at Akagi!"
"I know! Especially since Ryousuke holds the downhill record here!"
Hmph. Fools. The people in the crowds know nothing, Keisuke Takahashi thinks to himself. This race isn't just any normal race. This race between aniki and Takumi is the initiation race for our new team, Project D. It doesn't matter who wins this race, because both of these two racers are proving their superiority on the streets. It's their message to the other street racers out there in this country to watch out, because Project D will be unlike anything you've ever seen before.
And Keisuke is right. With Ryousuke as the coordinator of Project D, Keisuke as uphill racer, Takumi as downhill racer, tuners and mechanics, and tons of supporters, Project D will make their mark in street racing history as the greatest team ever. Meanwhile, at that same time.
Location: Mt. Akina, at the bottom of the mountain Time: 10:07 P.M.
"Getting better," pointed the passenger. The driver looked at the stopwatch. It read 3'08"58.
"Not better enough," replied the driver. "I'm still kind of weak on the 5 consecutive hairpins. I should be exiting each hairpin at more than 130 km/h. Instead, I'm below 125 km/h. I wonder what I'm wrong?"
"Maybe it's the tires. They're probably wearing out again," said the passenger.
"That fast? It can't be since they were replaced last week." The driver sighed, and stepped out of the car. Taking a cigarette out from a shirt pocket, the driver lights it, takes a quick puff and looks into the starry sky. In deep thought, the driver thinks what should be done. Should I continue practicing, or should I go ahead with the proposed plan we have? The driver didn't realize the passenger got out of the car when the passenger asked: "So, what are you going to do?"
A small cloud of cigarette smoke rose into the air, disappearing after a few seconds.
"We'll wait until the summer is nearly over. Until then, we'll continue to practice. But it won't just be here on Akina, but also other places in the Gunma District: Akagi, Myogi, Usui, Happogahara, Irohazaka. Streets racers will be challenging us almost anywhere once the first phase of our plan has been completed."
The passenger sighed. "Alright then. Whatever you want. I mean, we can wait until next year when you're finally finished everything."
"No, that would be too long. I'm afraid the 86 will be beaten by then. We'll go along with the plan once summer hits. Call Shinji, and tell him we've got changes now."
Location: Akina, at a local GS gas station Time: 12:59 P.M., Thursday afternoon
"Woo! Wasn't it an exciting season, eh Takumi?" asked Itsuki Takeuchi.
"I guess so," answered the tired Takumi Fujiwara. Delivering tofu to the top of Akina Mountain every night for nearly 6 years at 4 in the morning isn't exactly his idea of exciting. Instead of it being a chore, its more like torture, Takumi thought. Still, I have to do this, because Dad's getting old and there's no other person besides me who can do this.
"You guess so?" yelled Itsuki. "Come on! You know better than anyone else that it was possibly the greatest season. I mean, think about it! Do you even remember how many races you and Keisuke Takahashi raced against all your opponents who wanted a piece of Project D?"
"Uh.I don't know."
"Gaahh! Baka!" and Itsuki leaped forward and grabbed Takumi by the neck, squeezing him tightly. How long is this idiot going to act stupid, he thought. His hands were still on the young racer's neck.
"Hey, hey, hey! Knock it off, you two!" yelled Iketani Kouichirou. "We got people to serve!" And he wasn't joking. A green truck pulled into the station and was waiting for them to help the driver. Quickly, Takumi and Itsuki straightened themselves up and ran to greet the driver. While Takumi asked for which octane of gasoline the driver's truck needed, Itsuki took out a loosely-hanging washcloth from the back of his pants and scrubbed the truck's windshield. Iketani sighed and went back to check the garage inventory he was doing beforehand. It really was an exciting summer, he thought to himself. Takumi and Project D went against all odds and difficulties to outrace so many new and extremely challenging opponents. Though I wasn't able to be at every race, I will always give him my full support.
"Thank you. Please come again," exclaimed Takumi and Itsuki, as they bowed the truck driver out of the station. I wonder how Mako is doing right now, Iketani kept on thinking. We haven't seen each other for nearly a year. Iketani sighed again, his face looking very dull and gloomy. I really want to see you again.to see you again and say.I'm sorry. The sun was shining brightly high above the clouds. Leaves bright green in colour flickered as a smooth, relaxing breeze moved across the street in front of the gasoline station. It was late August, a time when the sizzling heat of summer was beginning to fade away, as the cool autumn winds will arrive soon in early September. Colours of red, yellow, orange, and gold will be appearing everywhere, from the bustling sidewalks to the lonely mountains. Iketani stared blankly into the sky, still thinking of the woman he couldn't reach in time to profess his love to one summer ago. He didn't notice a white Nissan S14 Silvia K with the sticker "Akina Speed Stars" imprinted on the car's engine hood had pulled into the station. It was his best friend Kenji's car and it wasn't until Itsuki called out Kenji's name that Iketani awoke back into reality.
"You guys won't believe this, but there's some guy called Shinji and his buddies who wants to formally challenge the Speed Stars this Saturday night at 10 and get this: the guy wasn't even asking for Takumi!" explained Kenji. "Furthermore, he says whoever wins the race tonight becomes the dominating in Akina!"
"Whoa! A race not meant for Takumi at Akina? I am there!" Itsuki shouted with joy. "Iketani-sempai, let me race against this guy. You do know that I am part of the Speed Stars, right?"
"I haven't forgotten, Itsuki, but I'll be the one to race. After all, I am the leader of the fastest team in Akina," replied Iketani. "I'm not letting some two-bit amateur and a bunch of wannabes take over our territory that we've claimed for all these years. We'll be there this Saturday and we'll beat them!"
"Yeah! Alright!" Shouts from Kenji and Itsuki rang out. There were really excited about this race. This was probably the one and only time the Speed Stars had ever accepted a challenge not aimed for Takumi, but for their actual team members instead. Itsuki began to calm down and started to ask Takumi something: "So, what do you think? Us Speed Stars are going to race for the first time, well since.ever! Think you'll be joining us, or will you be off with Project D and their practices?"
"No practices this weekend. Keisuke told me the RedSuns are having a race that night as well with some people and he's going with them to supervise," answered Takumi. "So, I'll pretty much be free on Saturday night. I'll come and watch the race."
Location: Fujiwara Tofu Shop Time: 9:32 P.M., Saturday night
Well, time to go to Akina Mountain, Takumi thought to himself, as he started his Toyota Trueno GT-APEX. Above all other things the boy owned in his life, this car was probably the thing he valued the most. After his father, Bunta Fujiwara, had bought a Subaru WRX Impreza and gave ownership of the Trueno over to his son, Takumi took the car with the utmost of care. He would have the vehicle cleaned once in a while and have engineers and technicians from Project D make an inspection of the car before and after a race. He never thought he would ever get a car, but after seeing his son going out racing often, Bunta just couldn't see why he should get to call it his own.
Takumi steered left at an intersection and headed straight for the foot of Akina Mountain. The moon was overhead in the sky. There were no clouds tonight, making the city lights of Akina look dim compared to the moon from the peak of the mountain. Upon reaching the road leading up the mountain, Takumi noticed a large crowd of spectators around the foot. There are certainly a lot of people tonight, considering the fact the Speed Stars aren't an important racing team anymore ever since I joined with Project D, Takumi thought. And he was right. As he kept going up the mountain, he saw more and more people at the five consecutive hairpins, at the halfway point, and at the starting point. Not only that, he noticed a particular black Nissan Skyline GT-R and a red Honda Civic Type-R parked to the left of the guardrails. So the Myogi NightKids are here, but why?
He found Iketani and the rest of the Speed Stars at the middle and began to ask: "What's going on, sempai? Why are the NightKids here? And what's with the large number of people here tonight?"
"I don't know. When we arrived here at 9:20, Takeshi Nakazato, Shingo Shoji, and the rest of their teammates arrived 5 minutes after us. We haven't asked them why they're here yet. As for the people, beats me. Kenji was the one who's supposed to tell people about the race and." Iketani paused and looked up. The Nightkids were walking in their direction. "Guess they noticed you arrived. That's why they're coming over here." Takumi parked the car to the right of the two-lane road and stepped out. Spectators around were mumbling and whispering as the NightKids and Speed Stars met on the road.
"Hmph. I'm surprised the Speed Stars are here to see us race tonight. Not to mention that you would also be here," said Takeshi, as he looked at Takumi.
"You guys race here tonight? I think you guys are mistaken. We're the ones scheduled to race here tonight," answered Iketani. "Ha! Please.don't be ridiculous. How can simple racers such as yourselves compete against the fastest racer from Tokyo?"
"Fastest racer from Tokyo?" asked Itsuki. "So that's who's coming here tonight? Kenji-sempai, did you know any of this?"
"No, none of this at all. The guy who offered the challenged never mentioned anything about being the fastest racer from Tokyo. I'm guessing he told the NightKids instead of us," answered Kenji. There was confusion from both racing teams. Murmurs and complaints started to rise among the spectators, many of them questioning the event for tonight. "Wait, then let me ask you this. What car did the challenger drive and what did he look like? By the way, his name's Shinji."
"Shinji's his name, is it? He never told us his name though. Anyway, he drives a light blue Toyota Celica GT-Four," answered Takeshi. "Not to mention the challenger was pretty tall. If I can recall, he was wearing long, thick jeans with a red T-shirt."
"What the? That's the same person and car! What the hell is going on?"
"It's the RedSuns! The RedSuns are here!" shouted a voice from the crowd. More murmurs flooded the atmosphere surrounding the peak. Many of the girls started to poke their way through to the road from the guardrails, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ryousuke and Keisuke Takahashi. The NightKids and Speed Stars all looked at the oncoming cars. However, only Keisuke's yellow Mazda RX-7 Type-R was there, along with a few other RedSuns racers. Ryousuke's white Mazda RX-7 Infini-3 was nowhere in sight.
What? The RedSuns? I didn't bother to ask Keisuke where the RedSuns' race was going to be, but I didn't think it would be here at Akina. Maybe Keisuke will have some answers. Takumi looked at the built-in clock in his car. It read 9:49. 11 minutes to the race and still no sign of the person named Shinji and his Celica GT-Four.
"No wait! Looks like more cars are coming up!" Another voice from the crowd echoed into the night. A short pause followed. "It's the Emperors! And Usui's Sileighty is here too!"
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions were now crowding the road, along with the Nissan Sileighty. Amidst the chaos, Kyouichi Sudou, leader of the Emperors from Irohazaka, was pleased to see the immense crowd here at Akina Mountain. On the other hand, Seiji Iwaki, the Emperors' second-best driver, didn't see why he had to be here. He was going to have his Lancer Evolution VI tuned up tonight, but Kyouichi wanted him to come to Akina Mountain along with the rest of the Emperors. Probably wants me to race tonight, just to take his place in the race, he thinks. Meanwhile, Mako Satou and her best friend, Sayuki, steps out from their Sileighty and heads to talk with the Speed Stars. This is probably their first time ever coming out to race in another area besides their home course of Usui. While Mako wonders how Iketani will react upon seeing her again, Sayuki ponders whether she still has a chance of dating Takumi. She still hasn't given up trying to get the young driver interested in her.
"So you guys also got challenged by the same person, huh?" asked Keisuke, after the long talk with Takeshi and Iketani. "Ryousuke told me to supervise the RedSuns' race with the challenger. He's busy with his studies, so that's why he can't make it here tonight. Looks like there's a lot of explaining to do from this Shinji once he gets here." Both leaders of the NightKids and Speed Stars nodded their heads and agreed. Kyouichi and Mako also gathered around with the group of racers and discussed their situation.
"If I recall," Kyouichi started, "the challenger told us to come here tonight and that he'll talk about how the race will go tonight. At first, I was going to have Seiji race for me, but after hearing this guy to be the fastest in Tokyo, I can't help but race this time."
"Both Mako and I haven't raced since last year," Sayuki said, "so it's only fitting that we get the chance to race against this Shinji guy." She eyed herself quickly at Takumi and winked at him. Surprised at the wink, Takumi gave a puzzled look and was blushing at the same time. Itsuki noticed his cheeks were turning red and asked him: "Something the matter, Takumi? Your face is all red."
"What? Me?" he answered, with his hands covering his face. "Ahahahaha!!! No.nothing.nothing's wrong! Just getting kind of hot from the weather!! Hehe." Itsuki gave his friend an odd look, but turned away and listened as the team leaders continued to debate on the issue at hand. Whew! Good thing he ignored, Takumi thought. Else he would've been lunging for my throat already and telling me to snap out of it. He checked the time again. 7 minutes have passed. The challenger has less than 4 minutes to get here. While the teams continue to talk, Takumi starts to the walk to the end of the road and waits for the challenger. 3 minutes left.what's taking so long, he thinks. 2 minutes.1 minute.Sigh, I shouldn't have come here in the first place. What a waste of my time. He lowers his head in disappointment and begins to turn around. Suddenly, the sounds of screeching tires and engines makes him wake up from his disappointment. From the horizon, he notices the headlights of two cars approaching fast. At this distance, he can't make out the cars, but as they got closer, he noticed the colour of blue.
"He's here! He's here! The Celica is here!" Yelled Takumi, as he stepped off the road and moved to the guardrails to let the cars pass by him. Right behind the light-blue Celica GT-Four was another Mazda RX-7, but this one was coated in a silver colour and wasn't heavily supped up like Keisuke's RX-7. The newly arrived cars halted to a stop, and the driver of the Celica got out. Instantly, the leaders of each team recognized the man and turned to face him. 3 others got out from the Celica as well: 2 girls and another man. The driver inside the silver FD didn't step out yet.
"I'm guessing everyone wants an explanation," Shinji began. All the NightKids, RedSuns, Impact Blue, Emperors, and Speed Stars moved in closer, as if they wanted to mob the person who created this confusion.
"You damn right we want an explanation," replied Keisuke, "and it'd better be a good one too." All members from each of the 5 teams agreed, many of them shouting and yelling at him.
"All right then," he said, "I'll start telling. Contrary to what you may think, I am not the fastest racer in Tokyo." Gasps and shouts of "What?" echoed throughout the mountaintop. "In reality, I'm just a messenger and close friend for the racer."
"So all this is just for your friend to show-off being the so-called fastest from Tokyo?" asked Takeshi. "Then where the hell is your friend?"
"Right in the driver's seat of that RX-7 behind me," he answered. Shinji motioned the driver of the silver FD to come out. The car doors swung open. A tall, black-haired man dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans steps out of the passenger's seat, while a short, blonde girl with a pink tank-top and purple mini-skirt stood up from the driver's seat. She looks very beautiful, and all of the men were practically eyeing at her. Jaws were dropping and whispers and murmurs rang throughout the mountaintop. Not only is the girl beautiful, Takumi thought, his eyes still fixed on her, but she's the fastest racer in Tokyo.