Author's Note: Initial D and characters are property of Shuichi Shigeno.
The DC2, AP1, and EK9 are property of Honda, the AE86 is property of
Toyota, and the FC3S and FD3S are both properties of Mazda. Blah, blah,
blah ON WITH THE SHOW!
Announcer: Initial D! R Stage the Fanfic!
Act IV - Initial Race
10:01 PM - Akina Downhill
The race had begun. Tire squealed, engines roared, and Michael's engine size advantage shot him into the lead. His "Silver Bullet" started off with a commanding lead. The crowd let out a series of "oohs" and "aahs," obviously impressed by this display of sheer torque of the AP1.
Down the initial straightaway they flew, Michael leading by a good 30 meters. Takumi sat in his Eight-Six, cool as he was with every opponent he had faced. He knew his cornering skills were better, and that S2000 looked grossly overweight compared to his car.
Michael blew through the third corner, a sharp hairpin to the right, drifting with a precision that rivaled Takumi's. He grinned through the easy left, then used a load-shift-initiated drift through corners five and six. He took a peek in his rearview mirror to see how far behind that under- powered old rust bucket was. Doing a double-take, he looked again, his eyes wide.
The nose of Takumi's car was nearly scraping his custom Mugen rear bumper! Michael couldn't believe it! He could barely see the flip-up lights of that Eight-Six, and it looked like he was still gaining!
"Hmm," Takumi thought to himself. "It seems like there is a large weight difference between his car and mine, but it's not affecting him like I thought it would."
Both cars blew through corner seven, using near-flawless braking drifts through corners eight and nine. Michael breathed a small sigh of relief. There was a straight away here, he could get some breathing room now. He floored the accelerator and watched the Hachi-Roku fall slightly behind. It wasn't exactly drift vs. drift anymore. This was a pure power section. The high-speed left ahead would help him put more space between them. Or so he thought. But then it got trickier.
"He's pushing me to new limits," Michael stated out loud. "I've never been pushed like this. This Eight-Six is the fastest I've ever seen. It's going to get pretty bad here soon; my torque advantage isn't as great on the downhill. Sure, I can power through a turn better than he can, but he doesn't have to slow down as much as I do..." He slapped his forehead. "The weight difference! Of course! I was so afraid of upsetting the balance, I didn't want to lighten the car!"
The high-speed left pushed Michael only ahead by a mere 40 meters, not really any difference to Takumi. There was another hairpin up ahead; he could make up for lost ground there. He watched the AP1 turn sideways and power through the rest of the corner. The American was fast, but he knew his hairpin techniques could keep up with this guy.
Before the crowd knew what hit them, the Eight-six was nearly rubbing the S2000's backside again. Another hairpin after a high-speed straight away, and another parallel drift from these two super drift masters.
Michael gripped the wheel hard. He ran through the practice runs in his head. "High-speed right, keep it drifting, high-speed left. Good. The five hairpins are straight ahead. Shift down, SHIFT DOWN! Turn in and counter steer! Steer to the right, the left, the right, and the left. One more to go, it's to the right, speed up on the straight and nail it!"
Takumi followed his every move with the precision of a scalpel in the hands of a heart surgeon. Michael was getting better through the race; the harder Takumi pushed, the more he learned. He used another drift through the left- hander. It was time to settle this.
Michael was sweating hard now. This guy had stayed on his tail through the entire race. He pulled through the second left. Just one more hairpin and he could power through the rest of the course. Just one more hairpin to go.
"Just one more," Takumi said to himself, "and you're done."
It was a right. Takumi had noticed Michael was weak in rights.
Michael moved to the outside. Takumi took his chance.
It was too early. He had set up for the corner too early, and it would be his demise. Takumi dove in, kamikaze style. He slipped into a perfect braking drift, leaving the S2000 to suck exhaust through its Mugen air box. All Takumi had to do now was block any passing maneuvers and take the inside on the final hairpin.
But Michael was relentless. He wouldn't give up, even though he knew he was beaten. He continued to chase the Eight-Six, almost bumping Takumi twice in the high-speed sections. The last turn came up, and Takumi took the inside line. The cars came out nearly side-by-side, but Takumi still won by a nose.
The crowd cheered loudly. It was truly a battle to the limit, and they had been at the finish line. They watched as Michael slowly climbed from his S2000 and flagged Takumi back into the stop area.
Takumi pulled up to Michael and stepped out. He shut the door and looked the American square in the eyes.
"Arigato," Michael said with a bow, "it was a pleasure racing you." He stood up and extended his hand.
Takumi eyed it warily for a moment, but accepted the handshake. Michael gave it a firm squeeze.
"Go back up there and beat the pants off that asshole." Michael said with a grin. "Knock him off his high-horse."
"I will." Takumi responded, climbing back into his car.
Michael slid into his own, and both drivers started the climb back up the mountain.
A/N - That's it for Act IV! It seems as though Michael doesn't want Woulf to win. Does he have a newfound respect for Takumi? Is it his desire to beat Woulf as well? Find out next time on Initial D: R Stage the Fanfic!
Announcer: Initial D! R Stage the Fanfic!
Act IV - Initial Race
10:01 PM - Akina Downhill
The race had begun. Tire squealed, engines roared, and Michael's engine size advantage shot him into the lead. His "Silver Bullet" started off with a commanding lead. The crowd let out a series of "oohs" and "aahs," obviously impressed by this display of sheer torque of the AP1.
Down the initial straightaway they flew, Michael leading by a good 30 meters. Takumi sat in his Eight-Six, cool as he was with every opponent he had faced. He knew his cornering skills were better, and that S2000 looked grossly overweight compared to his car.
Michael blew through the third corner, a sharp hairpin to the right, drifting with a precision that rivaled Takumi's. He grinned through the easy left, then used a load-shift-initiated drift through corners five and six. He took a peek in his rearview mirror to see how far behind that under- powered old rust bucket was. Doing a double-take, he looked again, his eyes wide.
The nose of Takumi's car was nearly scraping his custom Mugen rear bumper! Michael couldn't believe it! He could barely see the flip-up lights of that Eight-Six, and it looked like he was still gaining!
"Hmm," Takumi thought to himself. "It seems like there is a large weight difference between his car and mine, but it's not affecting him like I thought it would."
Both cars blew through corner seven, using near-flawless braking drifts through corners eight and nine. Michael breathed a small sigh of relief. There was a straight away here, he could get some breathing room now. He floored the accelerator and watched the Hachi-Roku fall slightly behind. It wasn't exactly drift vs. drift anymore. This was a pure power section. The high-speed left ahead would help him put more space between them. Or so he thought. But then it got trickier.
"He's pushing me to new limits," Michael stated out loud. "I've never been pushed like this. This Eight-Six is the fastest I've ever seen. It's going to get pretty bad here soon; my torque advantage isn't as great on the downhill. Sure, I can power through a turn better than he can, but he doesn't have to slow down as much as I do..." He slapped his forehead. "The weight difference! Of course! I was so afraid of upsetting the balance, I didn't want to lighten the car!"
The high-speed left pushed Michael only ahead by a mere 40 meters, not really any difference to Takumi. There was another hairpin up ahead; he could make up for lost ground there. He watched the AP1 turn sideways and power through the rest of the corner. The American was fast, but he knew his hairpin techniques could keep up with this guy.
Before the crowd knew what hit them, the Eight-six was nearly rubbing the S2000's backside again. Another hairpin after a high-speed straight away, and another parallel drift from these two super drift masters.
Michael gripped the wheel hard. He ran through the practice runs in his head. "High-speed right, keep it drifting, high-speed left. Good. The five hairpins are straight ahead. Shift down, SHIFT DOWN! Turn in and counter steer! Steer to the right, the left, the right, and the left. One more to go, it's to the right, speed up on the straight and nail it!"
Takumi followed his every move with the precision of a scalpel in the hands of a heart surgeon. Michael was getting better through the race; the harder Takumi pushed, the more he learned. He used another drift through the left- hander. It was time to settle this.
Michael was sweating hard now. This guy had stayed on his tail through the entire race. He pulled through the second left. Just one more hairpin and he could power through the rest of the course. Just one more hairpin to go.
"Just one more," Takumi said to himself, "and you're done."
It was a right. Takumi had noticed Michael was weak in rights.
Michael moved to the outside. Takumi took his chance.
It was too early. He had set up for the corner too early, and it would be his demise. Takumi dove in, kamikaze style. He slipped into a perfect braking drift, leaving the S2000 to suck exhaust through its Mugen air box. All Takumi had to do now was block any passing maneuvers and take the inside on the final hairpin.
But Michael was relentless. He wouldn't give up, even though he knew he was beaten. He continued to chase the Eight-Six, almost bumping Takumi twice in the high-speed sections. The last turn came up, and Takumi took the inside line. The cars came out nearly side-by-side, but Takumi still won by a nose.
The crowd cheered loudly. It was truly a battle to the limit, and they had been at the finish line. They watched as Michael slowly climbed from his S2000 and flagged Takumi back into the stop area.
Takumi pulled up to Michael and stepped out. He shut the door and looked the American square in the eyes.
"Arigato," Michael said with a bow, "it was a pleasure racing you." He stood up and extended his hand.
Takumi eyed it warily for a moment, but accepted the handshake. Michael gave it a firm squeeze.
"Go back up there and beat the pants off that asshole." Michael said with a grin. "Knock him off his high-horse."
"I will." Takumi responded, climbing back into his car.
Michael slid into his own, and both drivers started the climb back up the mountain.
A/N - That's it for Act IV! It seems as though Michael doesn't want Woulf to win. Does he have a newfound respect for Takumi? Is it his desire to beat Woulf as well? Find out next time on Initial D: R Stage the Fanfic!