I did leave the last chapter at a brief cliffhanger, no? Well, time to clear things up… yes… clear things up… (looks around shiftily)

Here's Chapter Eleven; all freshened up and raring to go!

Follow The Leader

by BoomChish

Chapter Eleven

Crazy For Your Love

We all waited for a while before both Alex's Evo VII and Daiki's EK9 returned. There was a silence as both cars pulled up next to us and both drivers got out. Daiki looked suitably humbled while Alex looked… grim... Now my interest had been piqued even more.

Daiki was the first to speak as he looked around. "Hey, where did Sakai go?" I'm assuming Sakai was the freaky guy with the eerie smile.

Jin shrugged, as did the rest of us. "He left while we were all talking. I don't know where he went."

He made a face, then shook his head. "Well, okay. He'll show up eventually."

I stepped forward. "Okay, what happened? All I got was a message from the finish line saying Alex was in front when you two crossed. How did he pass you?"

"Well…" Daiki scratched his head and looked somewhat embarrassed. Alex also looked sheepish, so I turned to him. "What happened, Alex? How'd you pass him?"

Alex glanced over at Daiki, who nodded slowly. He then took a deep breath and said, "Well… it wasn't far from the finish line… We were both approaching this sharp right turn and I'd managed to close the gap between myself and Daiki's EK9… He had the inside track and I was slowly creeping by on the outside - the road was wide enough for that at that point - and…" He paused, looking at Daiki for confirmation, then went on, "as we both turned the corner, there was this person on the road picking something up... like a thrown cell phone or something of that sort… This person was standing on the inside track and… well…"

"I freaked out for a split second and hit the brakes instead of swerving to the side," Daiki cut in. "In that split second, Alex accelerated and took the lead…" He closed his eyes and lowered his head in shame.

There was a long and deathly silence, broken only by my beloved brother blurting out, "Dude… that's the most retarded reason I'd ever heard of losing…" then he yelped as Miyoko elbowed him sharply in the side. "Hey, it's true!"

"Don't rub it in!" she hissed.

"Wait a second…" I cut in, drawing everyone's attention before I continued to speak, "So from what you're telling me… at that crucial turn, you and Alex were almost side by side? So that when the person just suddenly appeared as you turned, you had no room to swerve, so you freaked and hit the brakes?" I queried, looking at Daiki.

"I had just enough space to swerve around them, but I didn't. I freaked out first and hit the brakes." He shook his head in disbelief. "It's almost the same way Tomo lost to Fujiwara… I can't believe it."

I inclined my head. "When you mention it, that's true… I remember hearing about how something ran across the road and Tachi freaked for a second, but since Fujiwara couldn't see it, he still kept on and passed him. But on the other hand, Fujiwara had his headlights off to make sure that Tachi couldn't see him… You both had your headlights on the whole time, no?"

Both of them nodded.

"Well… Then it's settled. Alex is the winner of this battle," I replied firmly.

Daiki sighed, then turned to face Alex. "I should probably be angrier than I am right now, but I won't bother. You won fair and square." He smiled a bit. "I underestimated you and your team."

"That was to be expected. They're still relatively new to the whole racing scene. But even I'm impressed by their progress," I admitted, knowing full well that my role in their improvement was only partial to the actual outcome. Daiki then looked over at Miyoko and Jin with a pensive look before he nodded again and smiled thinly.

"Well, whenever the rest of your team members decide to get embroiled in a heated battle on the streets, I'd like to be there. It'd be interesting to see what would become of it." And with that, he nodded to everyone, got into his Civic and drove off. We all watched him go before we all turned to face Alex, who still had that grim look on his face.

"I still don't think I won that race fairly… But… oh well…" He shrugged and his infectious grin lit up on his face. Jin started to smile like an idiot and Miyoko let out a small chuckle, then went to give him a warm hug. He was also on the receiving end of several volleys from the Night Kids and Impact Blue.

I couldn't even believe it myself. Alex won against a Todo Racing School student in a classic touge battle… on the first round. Yes, it was pretty much luck that granted him the victory, but still… It was considerably shocking and relieving.

Evo Prime has its first victory. The first step in our future winning streak… hopefully…

---

A few days had passed since Alex's fortuitous triumph over Daiki and Todo Racing School and it was early in the morning. I'd already had my breakfast and had already headed out the door to my car, ready for work, when I'd noticed something odd about the cars. There was nothing wrong with mine, of course, but on the others…

Well, okay… If there's one thing that sets my Evo apart from most of the others on the road, it was the fact that mine had a red MONSTOR sticker on the front hood. Since my car was mostly consistent of parts from Monster International, I'd decided to slap their logo on my car, deliberately requesting the decal maker to misspell it for a uniqueness that could only be found with me.

Well, as it seemed, that was no longer the case.

Miyoko's Evo now had a yellow MONSTOR sticker on her hood, Alex's Evo had a blue MONSTOR sticker on the hood and Jin's Evo had a white MONSTOR sticker. And since my car was white and already had the red sticker, it was almost as if our cars had some sort of color cycle going on.

I experienced a mixture of emotions at that point in time, and I did the first thing that came to mind as I stepped back into the house for a brief moment.

"MIYOKO!"

She came running downstairs within two minutes, followed by my brother and Alex. All three of them had obviously heard my loud bellow and came downstairs, even though I'd only addressed one of them specifically. Without saying a word, I led them outside and pointed to the cars. "What in the hell is that on your cars?"

Alex and Jin didn't seem surprised at all by the stickers, meaning they'd been in on it the whole time. Miyoko just shrugged and, with a smile on her face, said, "Well, I figured since we're a team and all, we should probably all have a team sticker, no?"

She had a point, and I had to admit, my anger had quickly converted into laughter (which I repressed) considering the whole thing looked absolutely hilarious to me, even though I knew her intentions were good. I then said, "But what does MONSTOR have to do with Evo Prime?"

"Nothing. It's more the color scheme that makes it match our team name. Besides, I thought too long and hard on designing a team logo for Evo Prime ever since our team started, and all my attempts looked childish or way too fancy, so I just decided to go with the MONSTOR stickers with different colors. They came in yesterday, so Alex, Jin and I put them on our cars last night after you'd gone to bed."

I remained silent for a while after that before I slowly spoke, "You guys… you're idiots. All a bunch of idiots." And I burst into laughter. I don't know why, but I couldn't help it. All I knew was that it was an ingenious idea and it had definitely surprised me. And I was honored that they would go so far to revere me in such a fashion.

I kept on laughing until I'd realized that I was the only one doing so. I slowly stopped and saw that Alex and Jin both had solemn looks dominating their faces. I then saw Miyoko and she looked like she was about to cry. She then spoke, addressing my brother and Alex in a small helpless voice, "He doesn't like it…" She then turned and ran back inside the house. Alex frowned at me before he ran back inside after her. Jin and I were the only two left standing outside on the front porch.

He looked at me with a reproachful look. "Why'd you have to do that, aniki? When she'd told us the idea, we thought it was brilliant and so we agreed to help her out. You didn't have to go and insult her like that. She really thought you'd like it."

"And I do like it, Jin. I just…" here, I let out a heavy sigh, "It all just came out wrong. Sure, it looks silly to me, and I know for sure some racers are going to think we're really cheesy by having the same sticker like that with different colors… But I really like it. Seriously." I sighed again and shook my head. "I'm the idiot here… I better go in and apologize…" I made to go inside, but Jin stopped me.

"I'll tell her for you, aniki. Besides, it's quarter to seven. You're going to be late for work."

"Who gives a shit about work? I can't just go and leave her like that," I protested.

He was insistent. "I'll try my best to straighten things out. Just go."

I still didn't want to budge until he shook his fist at me in a threatening manner, which prompted me to get into my car and drive off to work. I knew better than to argue with my little brother when he made that gesture. I may be his older brother, but he's certainly got enough clout to knock me out.

I wish I could say that at the hospital, I was able to get my mind off what had happened that day, but it was next to impossible. The look on Miyoko's face after I'd stopped laughing was enough to stab me forcefully in the stomach, and I felt like a total moron for treating her like that. It even got worse when my coworkers would keep congratulating me on Alex's win against Daiki and would keep asking me when the next race was going to happen, along with who was going to race next.

It especially didn't help that most of them were especially eager to see Miyoko's race, whenever that was supposed to happen. I'd simply told them that it'll happen when it'll happen. And with that, I clammed up on the subject. After all, it was fair to say I didn't want to discuss it.

When I'd finally arrived home, I'd parked my car in the driveway and made my way up to the front porch. With my keys ready, I was about to unlock the door, when I heard voices inside. The living room window was open, and while I knew they couldn't see me through the curtains, I could certainly hear them.

Alex was saying, "Look, I know how you feel… and Jin did say that Seiji did like the stickers, just that he said it the wrong way… But you have to tell him!"

Jin's voice: "Look Miyo, you're only going to go and shoot yourself in the foot if you don't tell aniki about this. This goes beyond just you. This is something concerning all of us, especially my brother!"

Miyoko didn't speak, but I heard someone stomping up the stairs and a door slamming. Then I heard Jin speak to Alex: "If she won't tell him, we'll have to tell him ourselves…"

Something happened, and it definitely involved me. Except that Miyoko was still angry at what had happened this morning, hence why she didn't want to tell me. I unlocked the door and stepped inside the house. The first thing I heard was Sparky barking, then amid that, I heard Alex whisper urgently, "He's here!" and Jin say, "Hi, aniki!"

I closed the front door behind me and stepped into the living room. "Hey… What's up?" I then looked around, pretending to look for Miyoko, then looked over at Jin. "She's still mad at me, isn't she?"

"Yeah… I tried telling her what you'd said, but she didn't seem to care." He then fell silent, exchanging a furtive glance with Alex. I caught it and immediately said, "What's wrong?"

Alex let out a long labored sigh. "It's a long story… and you're not gonna believe this…"

I sat down on the divan and both of them sat opposite me on the sofa. I then shrugged. "All right, spill. What's the story?"

"We've got another challenge on our hands… well… mostly on Miyoko's hands, but she's too tied up in her self-anger to admit it to you… She's planning on facing it out alone, without your help or your guidance."

My eyes widened. "Miyoko got challenged to a race? By who? And where?"

Jin's mouth was drawn in a tight line. "You remember that redhead guy who came with Daiki in the white Integra? The one with the creepy smile? I think Daiki said his name was Sakai or something like that…" When I nodded, he continued, "Well, Miyoko ran into him at the university - I don't think he's a student there, but I think one of his relatives is… anyhow…"

Alex continued, "Like the classic boy-meets-girl shtick in lame high school movies, she ran into him while running for her class and her stuff fell all over the floor. He went to help her gather her stuff, then he saw her and started to get mad and was about to challenge her then and there, but she told him to meet her later, at the same spot, after her class." He shook his head, prompting Jin to finish the story, "Anyway, after her class ended, she went back to see him and he told her that he wanted to challenge her to a race on Enna this Saturday at ten in the evening. And she accepted."

I narrowed my eyes, trying to gather in all the necessary information. "So what you're telling me is that Miyoko has to race Sakai in his Integra on Enna this Saturday?"

"It gets worse, aniki…" I raised my eyebrows at that. "It's an uphill match."

I frowned at the mention of that. Uphill matches weren't strictly about skill, they were more about car power and skill intertwined. Miyoko could have all the skills in the world, but if Sakai's skills matched hers, or surpassed them in addition to having a more powerful car, there would be no chance of her winning this race. And I knew that the boys of Todo Racing School definitely had some internal modifications done to their cars to make them run faster and smoother. As for Miyoko's ride, I wish I could say the same…

"Do you guys know if Miyoko did any internal changes to her car? Like swap her intake system, or tweak her suspension, or…"

Jin shook his head grimly. "Miyoko never cared for internal modifications. Her car is bone stock, aside from common replacement parts, like her spark plugs or her brakes when they wore out. Why do you ask, aniki?"

I let out a groan and buried my hands in my face. "She's screwed."

Alex let out a squawk of alarm. "Why do you say that, Seiji?"

"Isn't it obvious? Sakai's a member of Todo Racing School and he's obviously the one who races on the uphill, meaning his car is suited for racing on the uphill. If Miyoko's car has no internal modifications, she doesn't stand a chance. It's obvious he's more skilled than she is, and along with a more powerful car, he's got this race set for him. In case you didn't know, uphill battles are more about the car's power than a driver's skill. If both drivers have equal skill, yet one has a stronger car, the one with the stronger car will dominate on the uphill course." I waited for this to sink in before I continued, "This is why most racers prefer the downhill battle. That element of car's power is taken out of play."

Both of them looked at each other in dismay. "Now what?" Jin demanded.

I shrugged helplessly. "Nothing much you two can do at the moment. I, for one, have to make peace with Miyoko as soon as possible, so that she'll allow me to help her, lest she really just wants to lose to spite me. But somehow I doubt that."

"I doubt it too," Alex agreed, then sighed. "Well, I suppose you could try catching her alone… Preferably not in her room, since I remember seeing her come home with one of those ornamental Norse broadswords and seeing her hang it on her wall. When I went to check in on her one day, she was swinging it around while the She-Ra theme song was playing off her Winamp player on her computer."

"What?" I blurted out as I stared at him blankly. Jin looked just as confused as I did.

He shook his head. "Never mind. It's a show we both used to watch as little kids. Hell, I was surprised when Miyo told me that she used to watch She-Ra and He-Man as a little girl. I was obsessed about that stuff when I was small."

"You've lost me," Jin cut in.

"Well, whatever. Either way, if you can talk to her one on one, you might be able to explain yourself and what you did. Because when it all boils down, Miyo doesn't want to hear Jin defending you, or even me defending you. She wants to hear what you have to say yourself. Even if she won't admit it."

I acquiesced and agreed that I'd do just that.

For the majority of the afternoon, I'd spent it napping in my room until about six in the evening, whereupon I went downstairs into the kitchen to get a snack. Just my luck, Miyoko was seated at the kitchen counter, calmly eating a bowl of rocky road ice cream and staring out the back porch window. She turned halfway when I came in, then she just merely nodded in acknowledgement of my presence before she went back to eating her ice cream.

"Hey Miyoko… how are you?" I began conversationally as I placed myself close to her line of sight without obstructing it. She didn't say a word and there was an uncanny silence, save for the clink of her spoon against her glass bowl and her methodical devouring of the ice cream.

"Listen… I, um… I'm sorry for hurting your feelings this morning… I mean, when I laughed and called you idiots, I didn't mean that I thought it was stupid… I said that because I was so surprised that… that you'd actually go and do something like that for me… I was really surprised, and I do like it… that's why I said that…" I knew I was babbling, but I couldn't help myself.

Miyoko didn't answer, she merely continued eating her ice cream.

At this point, I didn't know what to say. I knew that if I started yelling at her, she'd either start yelling back at me, or throw her ice cream in my face, so I remained calm.

"Hey, why don't we go for a drive? Just you and me?"

She finished swallowing a huge spoonful of ice cream before she put her spoon down and licked her lips. She appeared to think about it before she spoke, "Where?" The first words she spoke to me so far since our brief misunderstanding this morning.
"Wherever you'd like."

Miyoko hesitated, then picked up her bowl and went to the sink, rinsing out the remaining ice cream before she stuck both the bowl and the spoon in the dishwasher. Then she wiped her hands on her jeans and said, "Even Irohazaka?"

I sucked in my breath and said, very slowly, "It's risky, considering we may run into someone from Emperor… but if that's what you want, I won't argue."

She then shook her head and stared out the porch window once more. Then she said, "Enna."

The drive to Enna, for the most part, was a silent one. Miyoko merely stared out her window and I kept my eyes on the road. The silence was deafening. I was starting to become nervous.

Finally, Miyoko broke the silence by saying, "Alex and Jin told you about the challenge that was issued to me, didn't they?"

I nodded, then I said, "Miyoko, you haven't done anything to your car, have you?"

"No, of course not," she said indignantly. "Why would I?"

"Well, if Sakai's car is more powerful than yours, then you're as good as toast on the uphill," I answered bluntly. "Enna is his home course, not yours, so he obviously must know it like the back of his hand. You, on the other hand, are the visitor, so you still need to familiarize yourself with the track. Now, since his car is obviously optimally suited for racing on the uphill, you've got your work cut out for you."

She was momentarily cowed by that comment, until she said, very slowly, "But I know nothing about modifying cars performance-wise…"

I smiled at that. "Now that's where I come in…"

---

So that's how Alex beat Daiki… Well, okay… so it does sound like the way Takumi beat Tomoyuki on Happo. But in all seriousness, it was either that or have Alex distract Daiki with a strobe light or something of that sort. Because it's obvious here that Daiki is more skilled than Alex, given his time with Todo Racing School. Otherwise, there is no logistic way in hell for Alex to pass Daiki in the first round of a classic touge battle unless Daiki really screwed up. And considering his skills, what are the odds of that?

Since I didn't want to have to go into great detail in describing Evo Prime's purported team logo (much less actually design one for those who'd want to physically see it), I just figured I'd take Seiji's beloved MONSTOR sticker (is it an O or an A? 'Cause I prefer it being an O) and play around with the colors. Also considering his sticker is red, and since Miyoko's car is red, I decided to have them formulate a pattern with the stickers. Hence why they all have MONSTOR stickers with colors corresponding to someone else's car color. And yes, I do think that Seiji's MONSTOR sticker is cool. Besides, for anyone who's played Initial D Arcade Stage, what's the point of getting the Evo IV if not for the MONSTOR sticker, eh?

As for the sword thing, I merely threw that in after walking around in my local shopping mall and seeing the amount of gawkers in the novelty sword (and other various medieval themed items) store. I used to watch He-Man and She-Ra all the time as a little girl, and considering Miyoko's from a wealthy family, it wouldn't be so far-fetched to have her grow up on foreign television, hence why I added the She-Ra reference. (And since Alex is American, it would make sense that he used to watch it as a kid.)

Fabulous secrets were revealed to me the day I held aloft my sword and said, "For the honor of GreySkull!"

(random tidbit: Alan Oppenheimer, the guy who used to do the voice of Skeletor, ended up doing the voice of Alistair Crane on that cheesy soap opera, Passions. That show would be so much cooler if only Alistair would do the Skeletor laugh)

-BoomChish