Okay… how can I put this… This will be my last update for a while. Why? I have midterms up the wazoo and they've been eating into my free time. This is the second-to-last chapter anyhow, so… yeah. I'm almost done!

Here's Chapter Seventeen!

Follow The Leader

by BoomChish

Chapter Seventeen

Don't Stop The Music

Sunday. 9:30 PM.

The galleys were already packed to full capacity at Mt. Usui. News of my race against Kyouichi traveled really fast. I could barely even begin to count all the people who were chatting animatedly, and gesticulating towards my car, which stood patiently at the finish line, me standing next to it.

I stared at it as if for inspiration. The street light glinted off the fine finish of my car's hood. My eyes followed the outline of my car to the inside, where the roll cage was barely visible through my windows. I knew I could see it, because I knew it was there. I wondered if I would be called out for cheating just for having it.

Jin came up to me. He'd put on a silly pair of tinted glasses. The lenses were red, so his bruises didn't show that badly. "Aniki, are you okay? You look nervous."

"Well, why wouldn't I be? I'm racing against my former team leader. Who, I might add, has much more skill than I do. But I'm still going to try my darndest to win. For you, if not for anything else." I then smiled and clapped him on the shoulder before pulling him in for a hug, which he returned. "You know I'd do anything for you, little brother."

"I know. That's why you're the coolest big brother I know."

I smiled and shook his hair affectionately before I relinquished my hold on him. At that moment Alex came to join us. "Everything all right?" he asked me.

"As all right as it can be. All I have to do now is wait for Emperor to show up." I looked around, then sighed. "Truth be told, I am very worried."

Alex dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Oh, come on, Seiji! We know you're better than him! You can beat him for sure!"

My face was smug. "I appreciate your support, but unfortunately, I don't think you realize exactly how much skill Kyouichi has. Do I have a chance of beating him? Yes, but it's rather slim. Can I beat him for sure? Absolutely not."

"Well, you're awfully pessimisstic," he mused.

I shook my head. "Sorry. It's not my intention to bring your hopes down. But realistically speaking, I don't stand much of a chance. Choosing Usui as a race track was possibly one way I could tilt the odds in my favour, since Kyouichi hasn't driven on it before, and neither have I."

"But why not take Happogahara if you wanted an advantage?" Alex demanded.

"Because Kyouichi and I mutually agreed that Irohazaka and Happogahara were out of the question, the former being Emperor's home track and the latter being our home track. Putting it on Happo would make it too much in my favor, as putting it on Iro would put it in Kyouichi's favor," I explained.

"But… Aniki, that doesn't make sense… You used to be a member of Emperor, so technically, you must have had practice on Irohazaka… How come he didn't want the match held there?"

I let out another sigh. "Jin, I would've thought that you above all would understand why Irohazaka was out of the question, seeing as you're the only one aside from me in Evo Prime who's been there." I waited until I had his attention before I continued, "On Irohazaka's downhill, there are only two real attack points; the stretch at the beginning of the downhill and the final stretch at the end. Throughout the rest of the course, the course is too narrow to allow any passing. Kyouichi knows this all too well, and knows that I absolutely wouldn't stand a chance agaisnt him if our race were to be held on Irohazaka. I think he wanted an even playing ground for us, so that he could see for himself how much I've changed as a result of becoming Evo Prime's leader."

Jin inclined his head. "That makes sense…"

Alex looked around. "You know, I find it odd that Miyoko doesn't seem to be concerned at all about your race…" he spoke somewhat spitefully as he looked over at Miyoko, who was in deep conversation with Tomo and the other two Todo boys. I turned to look at her and saw that she seemed to be discussing something of great importance to my current race, seeing as she was making a lot of hand gestures and occasionally would point in the direction of my car.

"You know, I don't think it's fair for you to jump to that conclusion. I doubt that she doesn't care," I spoke, and to prove it, I called out to her, "Miyoko, could you come here for a minute, please?"

She turned and looked at me, then motioned that she'd be back in a moment, then crossed over to where I was standing. "Yes, Seiji? What is it?"

"It may not be my business, but what exactly were you discussing with Tomo? It seemed to be very important concerning the race tonight."

"How perceptive of you. I was asking him about Kyouichi's driving style and what would be his disadvantages here on Usui in comparison to you and your car." She then eyed me warily. "Why? What did you think I was talking about?"

I then gestured towards Alex. "Maybe you should ask him." Miyoko then looked over at Alex, who merely shook his head and gave her a clueless look. She ended up narrowing her eyes at him, but said nothing. She then faced me again and smiled. "Good luck tonight, Seiji. Just do your best."

"I will. And thanks." Before I could say anything else, she then wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big hug. I just stood there, stunned for a moment, before I hugged her back. Then I let her go. She smiled and gave me a thumbs-up, then went back over to where the Todo Racing School boys were standing, whereupon she resumed her conversation with Tomo.

Alex watched her for a bit, then shrugged. "You think there's anything going on between Tomo and Miyoko?" he queried out of nowhere.

"If there is, so what? It's her life; she can do as she pleases with it," I pointed out.

Jin was about to add a comment to that when I heard a shout from one of the other Night Kids (not Shingo or Takeshi) who'd come to witness the race. "Emperor is coming, Seiji!"

Everyone in the galleys started to murmur among themselves, while Miyoko and Tomo ceased their conversation and exchanged one last comment before Miyoko came up to join us. The four of us stood around my car, watching and waiting.

Waiting until we saw the domineering headlights of Kyouichi's black Evo III followed by the rest of Emperor drive up in the oppressive darkness. Kyouichi pulled up right next to my Evo IV while the others parked off to the side.

The moment Kyouichi emerged from his car and closed the door behind him, an eerie silence fell upon Usui. I glared at him in silent contempt. His glare equalled mine in complete disdain for me.

It was difficult, and yet so easy, to take into mind the fact that he and I used to be on the same team, on the same side of the battle, but now we were bitter rivals. He was such because of his complete disrespect for the loyalty I'd once served him and for the complete lack of respect he'd shown towards my brother, who'd done nothing to him. I was such because I'd refused to leave Emperor quietly, because I'd gone and formed my own team, and subsequently achieved a different kind of admiration from the road racing scene than Emperor could ever dream of achieving.

Neither of us said a word for a while. In a way, I was glad that I was no longer a part of Emperor. Being Evo Prime's leader taught me that there was more to being in a road racing team than beating the socks off whoever tries to challenge you. If a victory forges a strong bond of respect and friendship, then our task had been accomplished.

Kyouichi, finally, was the first to speak, "So you've come. For a second, I'd thought you'd chicken out and pull a no-show."

My expression remaind stony. "That's a coward's way out. And I'm no coward."

He didn't reply. Satake stepped up and stood a few paces behind Kyouichi. "You seem awfully calm tonight Seiji. Do you have some secret trick hidden up your sleeve for the race tonight?"

I glared at Kyouichi for a moment before I shifted my gaze over to Satake, yet another one of my former teammates and the perpetrator of my brother's attack. "You seem to be awfully calm being here Satake. Especially after what happened the last time you came here to Usui."

He stiffened a bit, but quickly regained his composure. "I have no reason to be worried here tonight. After all, I'm not the one going up against Kyouichi."

I was about to counter that when I heard Miyoko call out, "Mako! Sayuki! Could you two come here for a minute, please?" When I turned around to look at her, she was waving to Mako and Sayuki, who had been standing about twenty metres away. I watched them approach, then I cast a sideways glance at Satake, who kept his gaze leveled, but I could tell his discomfort.

When the two ladies of Impact Blue had finally come up to us, Sayuki glared at Satake with open fury. "You again? Wasn't your last butt-whipping enough?"

He didn't say anything, though Kyouichi turned to stare at him. "Last butt-whipping?"

"Well… um…"

"Two years ago, when you came to Gunma in an attempt to dominate it, he came here to Usui to challenge us. And we decimated him." Sayuki spoke as she put an arm around Mako, who nodded in agreement.

Kyouichi was still staring at Satake. "Is that true?"

"Uh… sort of?" he mumbled lamely.

All of us watched with interest as Kyouichi kept his icy glare on Satake for a good full minute or so. Then he let out a big sigh and shook his head. I could feel a wave of disappointment overcome me. That was it? No punishment? He's changed too much.

I thought too soon, for out of nowhere, Kyouichi lifted his hand and brought it down in a stinging slap across Satake's face. His head snapped to one side and his teeth were firmly clenched. I saw my teammates wince at the impact, which I didn't blame them, because I did too. After all, I remembered exactly what it felt like being on the receiving end of Kyouichi's slap of doom.

"You mean you came here to Usui during our wave of domination in Gunma, was defeated by a pair of women… and you never bothered to tell me? For two whole years?!"

Satake still kept his head to the side. "I didn't think you'd find out," he spoke through clenched teeth. I had to hold myself in, but I was laughing inside.

Kyouichi had no response to that, but when he turned back to me, his glare had intensified tenfold, and became even more fierce when he'd noticed that I had a slight smirk on my face. He jabbed a finger at me. "Wipe off that smug look! You probably wouldn't have done any better if you'd tried!"

I shrugged insolently. "Well, we'll never know now, shall we?"

There was no answer. Mako and Sayuki then cast each other sidelong glances before they turned to me and chirped, "Well, good luck Seiji! We're rooting for you!"

I smiled and waved to them. "Well thank you, ladies. That's very kind of you."

Kyouichi scoffed at that last exchange. "So… is that where you get your encouragement? From your little harem?" he spoke crudely as he cast a disdaindful glare straight at Miyoko. My smile was instantly wiped off my face and my expression hardened, although it was no match for the combined glare of Mako, Sayuki and Miyoko.

"What did you say?" Miyoko demanded through clenched teeth as her hands balled into two tight fists. Mako and Sayuki were no less threatening. Dear God… if I thought a pissed-off Miyoko was bad, imagine a pissed-off Miyoko with Mako and Sayuki in the same state… The thought wasn't reassuring.

Satake unwisely found a way to score; "I knew that you were masochistic Seiji, but having your pretty little harem duke it out for you? You must take it very well."

It was unwise for him to voice those words, to say the least. Especially when Miyoko quickly strode forward and delivered a swift roundhouse kick straight to Satake's face, sending him sprawling on his back. The rest of Emperor watched in horror, then all of them glared in succession at Miyoko, who now stood but a few feet away from Kyouichi, her green eyes blazing with fury. "I didn't take twelve years of martial arts for nothing, you know," she growled.

"I'm not here to start arguments with you, little girl. I'm here for my race against Seiji."

"Then get on with it, you arrogant piece of shit!" she raged before she stormed over to where I was standing. "Go and kick his butt, Seiji! That sonofabitch deserves to get his ass trounced!"

I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Look, you better calm down this instant, Miyoko. I understand you're upset, but violence isn't the answer. You're just lowering yourself down to their level." After she stepped aside, still fuming, I glared at Kyouichi. "So what type of race is this going to be?"

He glanced at the winding pass of Usui, then back at me. "A classic touge style. Considering your inexperience in comparison to me, I'll let you take the position of chaser. When I flash my lights, the race beings. You ready?"

"I'm ready for any crap you have to throw at me," I answered firmly.

At that point, Satake got to his feet and glared daggers at Miyoko. "You little bitch! How dare you!" he shouted as he was about to charge her, but Kyouichi held him back.

"No. Leave them be," he spoke.

"What! You mean I'm just going to let her get away with that? She kicked me in the face, Kyouichi! No woman does that to me and gets away with it!"

"Don't be stupid, Satake. You see all these people here who've come to witness the race? They're all here to root for Seiji. If you so much as try to lay a finger on Ieyasu-chan, they'll all come out and beat the stuffing out of you. Do you honestly think you can hold them all off? Besides, you beat up on Seiji's brother. She kicked you in the face. I think it's even."

"I…" he began to protest, but he fell silent, glaring at Miyoko with fierce hatred. I sent him my coldest glare, as if to tell him You try to harm Miyoko while I'm racing Kyouichi and I'll personally hunt you down. As it was, I didn't have to worry, since Tomo, Daiki and Sakai came to stand near me.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Seiji. We'll make sure that Emperor doesn't try any funny stuff on your team while you're racing."

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"All right Aniki! Give 'em hell!" Jin cheered.

---

I straightened myself in my seat as I saw Kyouichi's lights flash and he took off into the winding curves of Usui. I set my foot down on the accelerator and took off after him.

It had begun…

As the corners came fast and unexpected, I carefully kept a tight rein on my car, drifting into the corners with little difficulty. Kyouichi wasn't all that far ahead of me, even though he was having an easier time on the road. Despite all my difficulty, I noticed that my driving was less choppy than Kyouichi. Of course, my car had the AYC system whereas his didn't, but he had much more skill than I did. So in a sense, we were equal; he had the skills to take on the difficult course, I had the superior car for the race.

I followed Kyouichi into a particularly sharp turn and I caught a glimpse of Miyoko's cousin Kenji, waving and cheering, alongside his teammates, Iketani and Itsuki. I smiled somewhat smugly, since two years ago, they were cheering for my opponent, who happened to be the legendary Fujiwara Takumi. Now, they were cheering for me. Fate works in strange ways…

As I was driving, I thought back over the time I'd spent as Evo Prime's leader. What had initially started as a simple invitation from my brother to live with him turned into the ultimate turning point which changed me and my life completely. Had I remained in my old apartment by myself after being kicked out, I would have probably remained as I was back in Emperor, crude, overconfident and disgustingly chauvinistic. But living with my brother and his friends taught me that there's more to life than being the best at what I love to do. I learned patience, humility, respect and even eventual wisdom. I became more than just a skilled driver in an Evo; I learned how to be a leader. I learned how to encourage people to look up to me, and not by force, but rather through charisma…

Charisma I never knew I'd had, that I'd never thought that I could possess, considering my appearance and its limitations in the average standard of physical beauty. But nevertheless, people looked up to me and listened to me, even when I wasn't at my wisest.

It was a true honor that I never would have dreamed of possessing if I'd remained in Emperor.

A sharp hairpin caught my attention as I turned the wheel just enough to allow my car to slide into the turn. As I felt my tires give way just a wee bit, I tapped on the brakes and downshifted as I exited the hairpin gracefully right behind Kyouichi, who wasn't letting up the fight either.

I started to wonder what exactly did Kyouichi have at stake for this race. I knew that if I'd lost, it would mean that I'd failed in my vengeance for my brother. But then, didn't Miyoko already achieve that for me when she'd kicked Satake in the face when he made that harem joke? And he was the one who'd actually beat up on Jin that night…

I shook my head at that thought. No, it was much more than that. He'd done more than Satake could have ever done by not interrupting him when he'd begun beating up on my little brother. He'd proven to me and to many others that when it came to personal issues, he had no morals, no ethics. For him, as long as he'd won against those who'd wronged him, he was happy. It made me think about Kyouichi's old rivalry between himself and the legendary Ryousuke Takahashi. Ryousuke had done nothing but flat out defeat Kyouichi in a race when he was still newly establishing Emperor. And believe it or not, Kyouichi had not even done what he had allowed his teammates to do to my brother. Keisuke Takahashi had been spared the indignity my brother had faced. On the other hand, Keisuke didn't actively seek out Emperor on their home grounds, but still, to me it was the same premise.

When I thought about the Takahashis, I thought about their own powerhouse team, Project D. Last year, they took the amateur racing scene by storm, setting up a website with all their win-losses record and actively encouraged people to challenge them on any track they should so desire. Many people tried… and many people lost. They were virtually indestructible.

Evo Prime was not quite like that, but we had our own brand of skill which was much to be desired. The easygoing nature of Alex, Miyoko and my brother Jin were simply infectious. It was extremely hard to inherently abhor them unless you were really hard-set in your head and could not allow any changes. Granted, their skills weren't ultra-rarefied extraordinary (as was noticed by Miyoko's loss against Tomo, a professional racer), but they still tried their best and they still prevailed with enthusiasm, whether they were the victor or the loser. As for me, I learned from their infectious behaviour and I'd learned to let go of my past and move on. To become a better person.

Kyouichi and I sped past another precarious corner and I caught a glimpse of Shingo and Takeshi vigorously waving and cheering. It seemed like almost yesterday that I'd selflessly defeated Takeshi on Myogi as a part of Emperor, and subsequently took his team sticker. It also seemed like yesterday when I'd taken on Shingo in retaliation for what he'd done to Miyoko. And believe it or not, in the end, they ended up becoming one of Evo Prime's strongest supporters. My mind flashed back to when I'd returned Takeshi's cut team sticker to him. Even though I could not take back what I had done, I did my best to atone for my mistake. Tonight, before he'd gone to his vantage point with Shingo, he'd showed me his R32 and he'd distinctively pointed to his sticker, with the clean cut still visible. "I'm going to keep that sticker, even though it's been cut," he'd explained to me. "To me, it will serve as a reminder that we are all capable of making mistakes, but that to admit that we made a mistake and to atone for it is much more difficult thing to do than making the mistake itself."

I'd told him that I was extremely honored that he'd accepted my apology and that I would try my best to avenge his team as well for what Emperor had made me do to them. Most of all, I thanked him for allowing me to learn from my own mistakes and further myself from them.

After further reflection, I'd realized one crucial point: The reason why I'd never progressed in Emperor was because there never was any real reason to progress except for Kyouichi's approval, which wasn't even worth much. If I failed, I was punished. If I succeeded, well, I essentially got nothing.

I watched as we both entered another yet precarious turn. I looked at the white markings on the ground and thought almost immediately; C-121. The hardest turn on Usui. I remembered what Mako had told me about C-121… about the optimal speed to take when entering the turn and how to keep your speed in check while drifting throughout. Taking a deep breath, I slipped a bit towards the outside and started to slide in, slowly inching next to Kyouichi in the drift. I could see him trying his best to control his car throughout the turn. He gave me a quick glare, then reasserted his control over his car. Miraculously, we both exited C-121 side by side…

And was met with a large blinding flash of light which seemed to loom closer and closer. There was a truck heading straight for us… or more accurately, towards Kyouichi, since he was on the right side of the road. I cast a quick glance at him and through the glare of the headlights, I could see the absolute terror in his eyes. It was his biggest nightmare come true; a vehicle headed straight for him right after effecting any sort of turn during a touge battle, which is what C-121 had been and then some.

I had a split second to decide. The truck was getting closer and closer.

Should I or shouldn't I?

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, pressed my foot down on the accelerator and turned the wheel…

The next thing I heard was a loud and deafening crash…

…

Stay tuned!

-BoomChish