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 VI - Initial Resolution
Woulf's black DC2 made it over the final hill, only to see Michael perched on his AP1, waiting for him. He parked the car next to him and stepped out, glaring at his "teammate."
"What the hell are you doing? Get off the road! The night is over for us." Woulf shouted.
"It's over, Woulf. It all ends here, tonight, on Akina," Michael retorted, staring at his would-be leader.
"Right, whatever. You really want to race me? Have you completely forgotten that I beat you less than two weeks ago when we decided to come here?"
"Are you refusing a challenge? I wonder what this crowd would think if you turned me down? You've already lost one race tonight, why not one more?"
Woulf was now fuming. He got back in his car and slammed the door. He raced to the end of the guardrails and did an E-brake U-turn, then lined up next to the AP1. Then Michael climbed back into his car and fired up the engine. Akiko stood between them, holding her arms up.
Iketani, Itsuki, and Kenji watched from the side in bewilderment.
"Iketani-sempai, what are they doing?" asked a confused Itsuki.
"Whenever a team member doesn't like leadership," Iketani responded, "he always has the right to challenge the leader. If the American wins, then the ITR driver gets shuffled down where the challenger was."
"You mean how Takumi could always challenge you to lead the Speed Stars?"
"Yes," Iketani replied nervously, "just like that."
Akiko looked at both drivers, who weren't even interested in her anymore. She scoffed and screamed out the countdown. "GO! YON! SAN! NI! ICH!" She dropped her arms and yelled "GO!"
Both cars tore off the line, leaving behind white clouds of smoke. Akiko coughed and dusted herself off, heading back to her car. Back on the downhill, things were not so calm.
Michael had taken a slight lead by the first corner, and extended it on the short straight and load shifting into the right. Woulf seemed to dive into the corners harder, but Michael was exiting much faster.
The easy right in the next corner set up his drift through the following left. The further the two Hondas got down Akina mountain, the more distance came between their drivers.
Woulf was getting even more aggravated now, and began chasing harder. Gradually, he began closing the gap, and was soon back on Michael's bumper. They were now entering the tenth corner, and Woulf was only centimeters from Michael. He tried to slip to the inside, but the AP1 's nose left him with almost no room. They lined up in the straight-away and entered the next two easy corners side-by-side.
Faster they sped, toward the five hairpins. Then, just before the first right, it happened. Michael hadn't noticed, but there wasn't any room for him to load shift.
He moved to the left, slamming into Woulf's driver side door. The impact shook up both drivers, sending them into panic mode. Woulf pulled away, narrowly avoiding the guardrail. Michael dove right, entering the corner at high speed. Woulf quickly regained his composure, and saw a golden opportunity. He slowed down to enter the corner, downshifted, and pressed the gas to the floor.
While Michael was struggling to control his drift, he felt Woulf slam into his rear. He lost control of the car and spun out, while Woulf continued to press harder. Woulf dragged on past him, entering the short straight.
Michael regained control, barely missing the guardrail on either side of him. His tires smoked as he tore through the straight and following corner. He'd lost a lot of ground, but he wasn't about to lose to a dirty trick like that. He flew through the next four hairpins at incredible speed, knowing that Woulf was slower here.
Finally, on the last straight patch of road, he was at Woulf's rear. He'd caught him, and wasn't going to let go. He drafted behind the black Integra, having Woulf pull him along. At the last right-hand corner, he made his move. He lined up inside, and pulled through. Both cars were even again, and it was a showdown of pure power.
All the spectators peered down the road, trying to see who would pull ahead. Both drivers were pushing their hardest. The final left loomed ahead. Woulf was on the inside, but Michael was ahead by only a little. Michael only had one shot, and he took it.
He set up a very high angle drift, cutting Woulf off. Woulf had to slow down or he'd end up down in the parking lot. They crossed the finish with the AP1 leading by only half a car length.
The DC2 came to a halt, but Michael kept driving off into the night. He wouldn't stop, not for anything.
A/N - That's it. I'm done. Yay! Or boo if you will. Feh, it needed a conclusion.
Announcer: Initial D! R Stage the Fanfic!
Act VI - Initial Resolution
Woulf's black DC2 made it over the final hill, only to see Michael perched on his AP1, waiting for him. He parked the car next to him and stepped out, glaring at his "teammate."
"What the hell are you doing? Get off the road! The night is over for us." Woulf shouted.
"It's over, Woulf. It all ends here, tonight, on Akina," Michael retorted, staring at his would-be leader.
"Right, whatever. You really want to race me? Have you completely forgotten that I beat you less than two weeks ago when we decided to come here?"
"Are you refusing a challenge? I wonder what this crowd would think if you turned me down? You've already lost one race tonight, why not one more?"
Woulf was now fuming. He got back in his car and slammed the door. He raced to the end of the guardrails and did an E-brake U-turn, then lined up next to the AP1. Then Michael climbed back into his car and fired up the engine. Akiko stood between them, holding her arms up.
Iketani, Itsuki, and Kenji watched from the side in bewilderment.
"Iketani-sempai, what are they doing?" asked a confused Itsuki.
"Whenever a team member doesn't like leadership," Iketani responded, "he always has the right to challenge the leader. If the American wins, then the ITR driver gets shuffled down where the challenger was."
"You mean how Takumi could always challenge you to lead the Speed Stars?"
"Yes," Iketani replied nervously, "just like that."
Akiko looked at both drivers, who weren't even interested in her anymore. She scoffed and screamed out the countdown. "GO! YON! SAN! NI! ICH!" She dropped her arms and yelled "GO!"
Both cars tore off the line, leaving behind white clouds of smoke. Akiko coughed and dusted herself off, heading back to her car. Back on the downhill, things were not so calm.
Michael had taken a slight lead by the first corner, and extended it on the short straight and load shifting into the right. Woulf seemed to dive into the corners harder, but Michael was exiting much faster.
The easy right in the next corner set up his drift through the following left. The further the two Hondas got down Akina mountain, the more distance came between their drivers.
Woulf was getting even more aggravated now, and began chasing harder. Gradually, he began closing the gap, and was soon back on Michael's bumper. They were now entering the tenth corner, and Woulf was only centimeters from Michael. He tried to slip to the inside, but the AP1 's nose left him with almost no room. They lined up in the straight-away and entered the next two easy corners side-by-side.
Faster they sped, toward the five hairpins. Then, just before the first right, it happened. Michael hadn't noticed, but there wasn't any room for him to load shift.
He moved to the left, slamming into Woulf's driver side door. The impact shook up both drivers, sending them into panic mode. Woulf pulled away, narrowly avoiding the guardrail. Michael dove right, entering the corner at high speed. Woulf quickly regained his composure, and saw a golden opportunity. He slowed down to enter the corner, downshifted, and pressed the gas to the floor.
While Michael was struggling to control his drift, he felt Woulf slam into his rear. He lost control of the car and spun out, while Woulf continued to press harder. Woulf dragged on past him, entering the short straight.
Michael regained control, barely missing the guardrail on either side of him. His tires smoked as he tore through the straight and following corner. He'd lost a lot of ground, but he wasn't about to lose to a dirty trick like that. He flew through the next four hairpins at incredible speed, knowing that Woulf was slower here.
Finally, on the last straight patch of road, he was at Woulf's rear. He'd caught him, and wasn't going to let go. He drafted behind the black Integra, having Woulf pull him along. At the last right-hand corner, he made his move. He lined up inside, and pulled through. Both cars were even again, and it was a showdown of pure power.
All the spectators peered down the road, trying to see who would pull ahead. Both drivers were pushing their hardest. The final left loomed ahead. Woulf was on the inside, but Michael was ahead by only a little. Michael only had one shot, and he took it.
He set up a very high angle drift, cutting Woulf off. Woulf had to slow down or he'd end up down in the parking lot. They crossed the finish with the AP1 leading by only half a car length.
The DC2 came to a halt, but Michael kept driving off into the night. He wouldn't stop, not for anything.
A/N - That's it. I'm done. Yay! Or boo if you will. Feh, it needed a conclusion.