Chapter Four: Strangers in a Strange Land
The crowd quieted down as the 86 pulled in, some snickering, some whispering, all stunned.
"An AE86? You're kidding me."
"I'm surprised he had the balls to drive an old clunker like that up here."
"Who would even consider racing in a rust-bucket like that?"
"I think he's the one who's got the best shot at winning this."
Mike blinked before turning to stare, mouth agape, at Eric.
"What the hell did you just say? You think that old fossil can WHAT?!"
Eric spoke calmly as he stood up, slowly walking to the 86, "I think whoever is driving that machine has the best shot at this. Don't ask me how, but I just got this feeling, like he's giving off waves of confidence. If it were someone who was ashamed of his 86, he would have come in before everyone, or after the races began. If he were cocky, he would have revved his engine and come in here being all loud and crap. But this guy, whoever it is, just rolled in here like he was just going to park here. No, this guy's got some intangible that I've only ever felt from the Takahashi Brothers, and he's got whatever it is in spades."
Mike stood up, his mouth still partially open.
"Where are you goin'?"
Eric turned, "I'm going to see the driver of that 86."
"Hey, wait up!"
Eric made his way to the 86 just as it had stopped, the driver killing the engine and opening the door.
"Are you kidding me?"
"He's just a kid!"
The driver stepped out of the car and slowly turned, saying a few words before he faced Eric and Mike. He put his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans, white and blue sneakers squeaking slightly as he regarded them, the wind kicking up to blow through his brown hair. By his complexion and eyes alone, anyone could tell he was Asian, most likely Japanese if anyone recognized the kanji on the side of the car.
"Uhhhh….," the driver stumbled to find the correct words, "hi…ummm…my…..errrrr….."
Eric raised his hand and the driver stopped speaking for a moment before Eric spoke to him, in near-perfect Japanese.
"Don't worry about trying to speak English. I can translate for you if that'd help."
The driver sighed thankfully, responding in Japanese.
"Sure, thanks. I'm surprised, you're American, but you speak Japanese really well."
"I went to Japan once, plus I got an uncle stationed at an army base over there. He taught me most everything a foreigner can know about the Japanese language."
"Cool. Thanks for the help."
"No problem. By the way, what's your name?"
"Takumi Fujiwara."
"I'm Eric Shields, nice to meet you Takumi."
"You here to race?"
Eric shook his head, "Nah, I used to, but not anymore. I'm just a mechanic now."
Takumi nodded, "Once you race enough times, I guess it just runs out of some people's blood."
Eric smirked, "Yeah, some people."
"So, what do you drive?"
"It's not here, but I used to drive an RX-7 with a rotary."
Takumi quirked his head to the side, "Did it happen to be black, with a carbon-fiber spoiler on it and an American license plate?"
Now it was Eric's turn to be intrigued, "Yeah actually, it was. How'd you know that?"
"My old man bought a wrecked RX-7 after someone had crashed it in Akagi. Was that you?"
Eric chuckled and shook his head, "Damn, everyone's finding out about me today," but when he continued, his expression became more serious, "Yeah, that was mine. How's he enjoying it? The only thing it was worth was scrap parts."
Takumi nodded, "Yeah, he had it hauled off to a friend's garage. I think they're stripping it."
"Figured as much."
Eric paused a moment before he spoke again.
"I'm gonna ask you a question, and I apologize if I'm being blunt, but I've been hearing this really weird rumor going around the internet. The rumor is pretty much that some Trueno AE86 took out Ryosuke Takahashi and his RX-7 FC at Akagi, and that Ryosuke is retired from street racing now. We're you the one beat the White Comet of Akagi?"
Takumi nodded, his voice still even and deadpan, "Yeah, that was me."
Eric nodded, "Just wanted to know."
"And there you have it," Eric thought to himself, "Ryosuke Takahashi's undefeated streak ended by that 86, and he retired. Now maybe you'll stop wanting revenge."
"Takumi Fujiwara. I'm surprised you of all people are here."
Takumi turned slowly to face the person who addressed him, only to come face to face with Ryosuke Takahashi.
"You organized all this, Ryosuke?" Takumi asked, his face a stone mask.
Ryosuke nodded, "I can't take all the credit, my brother came up with the idea, and I just acted on it. He does have flashes of brilliance off the road, as well as on."
"Still retired?"
Ryosuke smiled slightly, "Yes, I'm still retired, although that may change if a decent challenge comes out of this."
"The sound of that almost makes me want to race again."
Ryosuke shifted to see behind Takumi, to see who had spoken.
"Well, Eric Shields. This is certainly turning out to be a night of surprises, isn't it?"
"Certainly is."
"You don't race anymore?"
Eric shook his head, "Just a simple mechanic now."
"That's a shame. I was hoping to see how you'd improved over the years; I guess the crash shook you up more than I thought it did."
"If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't the crash that made me stop racing, I've got personal reasons."
Ryosuke nodded, "Well, I can respect that, at least you are being honest with yourself. In any event, I've got to get to the start line; we go in five," he looked back at Takumi and smiled, "I'm looking forward to watching you, Takumi. Don't disappoint me."
Ryosuke walked past the 86, past Eric and got into his white FC, heading off for the starting line. Minutes after Ryosuke had left, the rest of the racers began heading out to the course, wanting to get good spots to watch until it was their turn. Eric started towards Mike's 3000 GT, but stopped and turned back to the white 86.
"Hey, Takumi!"
Takumi turned his head as he was about to get into his 86.
"Good luck, man."
"Thanks," and with that, Takumi drove off, Mike and Eric not far behind, following the rest of the pack.
