Midterms are now over (my grades range from B- to A (University standards) for the most part, so yay!) so I finally went and did it.
It's done… Chapter Eighteen…
Follow The Leader
by BoomChish
Chapter Eighteen
The Race Is Over
So much to think about…
You're a disgrace to Emperor, you know that, Seiji?
I want you as our team leader. You're going to teach us how to be good road racers…
You have to know your car and trust your car first before you can push yourself to the limit. After you've achieved that, learning the other skills, like drifting, is merely a small step up from child's play…
It's not that I don't think you're skilled enough. It's just that when racing an opponent on a highly technical course like Happogahara, you wits need to be sharper than a knife…
Don't let Kyouichi intimidate you into thinking you're inferior, okay? That was my mistake, and I'd rather not have my team members suffer the same mistakes that I did….
Because I have my own team and I'm independent of his influence, he feels that he just has to interfere somehow…
I never have to worry about you doing your best, Seiji. That's why the team always looks up to you, even when you're at your dumbest…
That split second was as if my life flashed before my very eyes. Memories kept swirling in and out of focus… It was a lot of stuff to absorb all at once.
My God… so much stuff to absorb… So much so that I'm now afraid to open my eyes…
I'm afraid of what I might see…
---
Carefully, I opened my eyes. As I did, I heard Miyoko exclaim in a strained voice. "Look! He's waking up! He's finally awake!"
As my eyes opened wide, I took note of my surroundings. Drab white walls, a strange but familiar smell of sterilization… I then saw the metal posts around my… bed?
Holy crap, I was in the hospital!
I looked groggily at everyone who surrounded me. Obviously Alex, Jin and Miyoko were there, but so was Shingo, Takeshi, Mako, Sayuki, Kenji, Iketani, Itsuki, Daiki, Sakai, Tomo and even… Kyouichi… although he was wearing a neck brace.
"How… what the hell am I doing here?"
"You mean you don't remember?" Kenji exclaimed, then hurriedly lowered his voice as he suddenly remembered where he was. There was a sound of someone clearing his throat, then everyone stepped aside as…
Ryousuke Takahashi stepped forward.
Dr. Ryousuke Takahashi, to be precise. After all, it's been a year since he retired from road racing and went into medical practice. It's also been a year since Project D ended.
He stared at me with a slight smirk on his face. "I must admit Iwaki, that was a very noble thing for you to do. Even despite your rivalry against Kyouichi, you still valued the fact that he was a human being above all else."
"What? I don't…" And just then, I remembered…
In that split second, before the truck could collide into Kyouichi's Evo III, I deliberately put myself in between the Evo III and the truck… and was hit by the oncoming behemoth on wheels. My Evo, and subsequently myself, received the full impact from the collision with the truck, while Kyouichi merely experienced the recoil from my car and merely received minor injuries as a result.
"What day is it?" I queried.
Ryousuke let out a small chuckle. "It's the thirteenth… a week and a half after your race against Kyouichi. You were out like a light after the crash. Literally." He then crossed over to check my IV bag and then stood next to my bed. "Are you feeling okay? No discomfort?"
"Well, I'm feeling as fine as any person who just wakes up from a coma should be feeling. If that makes any sense," I added as the whole room started to laugh.
"Makes perfect sense," he answered, chuckling lightly. He then looked over at Jin, Alex and Miyoko with an amused smile on his face. "So… you made your own team… Evo Prime. Interesting… I'd heard a lot of things about you."
I tried to sit up to the best of my ability. "What did you hear?" I queried.
"I heard that your team, despite not being the best of the best in the area, was always easygoing and friendly when it came to races. Despite losing, you would take it in good stride."
"Well, there's more to being a racer than just winning and losing," I commented.
"That's true," Ryousuke agreed.
Kyouichi looked over at Ryousuke, then at me. He then stepped forward, his face ashen. "Seiji…"
I looked at him, my face a blank mask. "What is it?"
"I… I don't understand… I need to know… Why? Why'd you put yourself in extreme danger and nearly kill yourself just to save me?"
It was the question I'd been dreading for some time now. I wasn't even sure if I could answer it.
I looked around as if for inspiration, and nearly everyone's eyes were riveted on me, waiting for my answer.
"Well…" I began slowly, "when you think about it, the only reason why I'd accepted to race you was to prove myself, to prove that there's more to me than being the fastest racer on the road. If all I cared about was proving my superiority to you in skill, I'd rig the race so that I would win for sure."
"That happened to my brother once when he was racing against some Evo driver in Saitama on Tsuchizaka. The driver's team mates poured oil on the track and Keisuke wiped out, crashing his FD in the process. A poor way to win, I must admit, but it worked to the effect that the Evo driver had intended." Ryousuke then looked at me. "It's a good thing you didn't stoop that low."
"I have more dignity than that," I declared stoutly.
"I'm glad that you do," Ryousuke spoke with a smile. "Please continue what you were saying before."
I looked at Kyouichi again. "As I was saying, I didn't care about beating you to prove my skill level. All I really cared about was proving to you that I'd improved my personality by becoming my own team leader. I had no choice but to improve for the sake of my teammates, Jin, Miyoko and Alex. If I'd remained what I was when I'd left Emperor, Evo Prime would probably be just as disliked as I used to be."
Kyouichi said nothing, so I continued, "When that truck came out of nowhere, I remembered your weakness in racing on a two-way street. I knew that you would freak out and subsequently get hurt, so I put myself in the way. To save you, because in the end, you're still a person. If it was in my power to save you, I'd do it." I let out a small chuckle. "As it was, my roll cage saved me any serious damage. That's another factor in my favour."
"You had a roll cage installed in your car? Why?" Kyouichi demanded.
I looked over at Miyoko. "It was Miyoko's idea. She was worried about any damage that may happen to me if I were to race you."
"If your teammates were willing to attack Jin without provocation, I figured you would be just as willing to attack Seiji, especially considering he's the real object of your enmity," Miyoko explained. "Maybe I was a bit paranoid in thinking that, but in the end, I suppose I saved him from real danger."
"Sometimes it pays to have a girl's perspective when discussing major issues for your team," Sayuki replied with a smile, which elicted a ripple of chuckles from everyone.
Kyouichi still looked somber. "I guess I never really knew you that well after all…" He then fell silent for a while. Everyone looked at him, trying to figure out what he meant by that.
It was Ryousuke who spoke, "Sudou, what do you mean?"
"Seiji's been a part of my team pretty much since the beginning of Emperor up until I threw him out several months ago. For the most part, he was brash and overconfident, but unerringly obedient. Seeing him now, like this… it's as if he was an entirely different person. He's not the same Seiji I knew for so long…"
"Well, everyone has the capacity to change… but it ultimately remains the decision of the person themselves to change. No one else can force them to change." Looking over at my fellow teammates, I had a slight smirk on my face, "My team gave me a reason to change. And I thank them for it."
Kyouichi regarded the other Evo Prime members for a long while. "I guess I've misjudged you kids… You have your own power that gives you your precedence over others in a specific way…"
Miyoko, Jin and Alex just looked at Kyouichi and said nothing. Takeshi then looked over at both Kyouichi and I, then cleared his throat. "Still, what you did was unbelievably unexpected, Seiji. After all he's done to you… and made you do in the name of Emperor… you still put your life on the line for him… I probably wouldn't have done that if I were in your position."
I inclined my head. "Maybe that's why I'm glad I'm not you," I joked, causing another ripple of chuckles to sweep through my room. My expression then sobered. "But it just goes to show that even the ones you know the most can produce the most unexpected results."
"Or the ones you least expect can be the ones who can save you," Shingo agreed. "Like when Seiji came after me for attacking Miyoko on the road… I accidentally crashed and he came back and escorted me to the hospital. I'd expected him to just leave me, considering his past with Emperor, but I definitely didn't expect him to come to my aid."
Kenji also took the time to speak. "Believe it or not, I was surprised to hear from my cousin Miyoko that Seiji was her team leader. Because from what I'd remembered of him, I'd expected him to be a bad influence on my cousin." He chuckled. "What ended up happening was the reverse, actually."
"Hey! I wasn't a bad influence on Seiji!" she protested as she cuffed Kenji on the arm. He yelped upon impact, causing a light chuckle from his teammates.
"I dunno Miyoko… you did almost cause Seiji to leave us with your childish tantrum, remember?" Alex recalled somewhat grimly. Miyoko's face fell at the mention of that. I don't think she wanted to be reminded of that, so I shook my head and gestured for her to stand closer.
"Listen Miyoko… despite what the others may think, I do have to thank you above all else. It was your childish tantrums which taught me that I had to change my tactics in training you all as a team. Because innately, I don't think I was meant to be a racing instructor at all… but when it comes to encouraging three rather immature young adults to achieve their best potential while road racing… well, that's a little more in my league," I spoke distinctively as I looked straight at her, with a smile on my face.
"We are not immature!" Jin protested half in jest, half in indignation.
I then looked at him, my face full of mock accusation. "No? Who was it then, who taught Miyoko how to chase me down in the house and tackle me to the ground, hmm? Her father?" Jin made a sour face at that as the rest of them laughed openly.
"Actually, maybe she learned that on her own… and was maybe trying to tell you something else, Iwaki…" Ryousuke joked, causing Miyoko to shriek in protest.
"Takahashi-san! I resent that!" she cried out, despite his (and my) laughter.
"I was only kidding, Ieyasu-chan. But I am not blind to the fact that all three of you obviously dote upon your leader… despite his limitations. It's touching, actually, how the four of you have such a strong bond that few other teams have."
Miyoko reached over and ruffled my hair. "Well, Seiji may be an idiot, but he's our idiot," she spoke with pride in her voice. I swatted her hand away, still with a smile on my face. She sniffed in jest and swatted my hand in return.
Kyouichi still looked over quietly at us, without speaking. I don't know what he was thinking, but his silence was intriguing. I gave him a direct stare, then said, in a low voice, "Could you all leave the room please, for a moment. I'd like to speak with Kyouichi alone."
"You sure about that?" Ryousuke queried as he checked my IV one last time.
I nodded. Miyoko squeezed my hand one last time before she nodded to Alex and my brother, who followed the rest of them out of the room. I waited until everyone was gone before I looked at Kyouichi again. "Is there anything you wanted to say that you didn't want the others to hear?"
He let out a sigh. "I feel very bad… but I honestly must apologize for suppressing your true potential, both as a racer and as a person. I must admit, I never expected you, of all people, to become like this."
I remained quiet for a moment, before I chuckled and said, "Is it just me, or are you going soft on me, Kyou?" I joked.
For a split second, I saw a shadow of the old Kyouichi, the cool, commanding leader of Emperor, as he glared at me. Then, in an instant, it faded and he chuckled heartily. "Maybe I am, Seiji. Maybe I am."
"Dear God, save me," I murmured half in jest, half woefully. Kyouichi laughed out loud at that.
"Oh, come on now. I would think that even if I did try anything funny with you, Ieyasu-chan would come in swinging and knock me out cold, like she did to Satake." He then shook his head as he remembered. "My God, she's vicious."
"He's still angry at her, isn't he?" I queried.
"Yeah, he is. After all, it's not every day that a girl – a rich and successful one at that – comes out of nowhere and roundhouse-kicks you in the face, sending you flying on your ass in front of all your friends and teammates, not to mention your rival and all his supporters. On the other hand, he is in shock at why you'd sacrificed yourself to save me like that."
"Up until a while ago, you were too," I leveled with him.
"Ah, true that," he agreed.
There was a brief awkward silence before Kyouichi cleared his throat. "What I really wanted to say was… well… this isn't easy for me… but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for having kicked you out for such an asinine reason all those months ago. I shouldn't have taken my frustrations out on you, and I probably should have done better as a leader to encourage and foster your skills as a racer."
"Kyou… You don't need to apologize. Kicking me out of Emperor was all for the best. I became stronger with that ordeal. And I helped foster hidden skills and awarenesses within other racers when I formed Evo Prime. And when I say other racers, I don't necessarily just mean Alex, Miyoko and my brother. I also mean my supporters as well…"
"Who'd have thought that you, of all people, could be the one who could develop such camaraderie between multiple members of the road racing scene? Even though they all belong from rival teams? It's astounding."
I shrugged haplessly with a smile dominating my features. "What can I say? Must be my charm."
Kyouichi snorted. "If it's your charm, then that must be potent stuff. Because your face sure hasn't gotten any prettier!" he joked.
"Well you're no prize calf yourself, Sudou!" I retaliated, laughing out loud. We both dissolved into gales of laughter, which was interrupted by Miyoko, who re-entered the room. "So what's so funny in here?"
"It's just nothing, Miyoko," I answered, waving a hand at her in dismissal. "We're just catching up on lost time, that's all."
She smiled and nodded at the both of us. "Good for you!" she replied before she waved to us and simply walked out. Kyouichi watched her leave, then turned to me. "So Seiji… forgive me for prying… but you gotta tell me… what's it like living with Miyoko Ieyasu?"
I looked at him for a moment with a confused suspicious look before I said, "Well, she's unpredictable, I'll give you that… But she's all right."
"That all? No juicy stuff?" he spoke, somewhat disappointed. I gave him a weird stare.
"Kyou… you're starting to sound like a gossipy old woman! Are you okay?"
He started to laugh. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just curious, that's all. But hey, if you get along with her fine, then that's pretty cool." He then glanced at the door. "Must have been difficult at first, having a woman on your team, no?"
I inclined my head. "Somewhat, but once you get to know her better, it gets easier. The whole trick is not to treat her like she's frail or incapable of doing things on her own. Once you overcome that, everything's fine."
"I'll take your word for it," he answered calmly. He then appeared to mull over something, so I remained quiet as well, until he said, "Seiji… I already know your answer to this question… but still, it doesn't hurt to ask…" There was a slight pause. "Would you like to come back to Emperor?"
I raised my eyebrows at that. Above all, I wasn't expecting Kyouichi to ask me this question at all. Especially if he knew my answer.
"Well… if you know my answer, then… why'd you ask?"
"Like I said, it doesn't hurt to ask," he replied.
I nodded. "Well… for obvious reasons…" Here, I let out a sigh. "Kyou, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to go back. A part of me would still like to go back to being with Emperor. Not because of the dominating aspect of it, but more the familiarity of it. Even though I'm happy as leader of Evo Prime, I'm still somewhat uncomfortable when I'm with them, especially since they're all so much younger than I am. But… despite all that, I can't just leave Evo Prime behind. Like Takahashi said, they've become very dear to me… and to leave them behind now would be too much of a betrayal. After all I've taught them, it would be more than just a slap to their faces. They'd never forgive me."
Kyouichi had a weird smile on his face. "Whoever said I wasn't including them, Seiji?"
That caught my attention. "What? You mean you want all of Evo Prime to join Emperor?" I was completely stunned. "But I… they… uh… won't they stand out? Especially Miyoko, since she's not only the youngest out of all of us, but the only female?"
He inclined his head. "I was hoping that you'd help me in helping them settle in. Assuming you're all willing to join us."
I made a face. "It's not that I doubt that they'll fit in. But will the other guys in Emperor accept them? Especially Satake, since he's still pissed off at what Miyoko did to him."
Kyouichi shrugged. "I would expect that it would take some time for him and the others to get used to it. But I have confidence in the fact that it can work out. Besides, not to be overly critical of your skills as a racing instructor, but under my tutelage, Alex, Miyoko and your brother can extend their skills far beyond the scope they could ever expect under your training."
"Assuming you don't limit their potential, as you did mine," I added, somewhat disdainfully.
"Well, judging by their free-spirited nature, I highly doubt that they'd accept any of my criticisms lightly. But of course, you'd be free to intervene if you feel that I'm stepping out of line with them."
I hesitated. "Well… I'd have to ask them about it first, Kyou… I may be leader of Evo Prime, but this is a decision that I need their approval on."
He nodded. "Understandable. Take your time. I don't need an answer right away, but do think about it." He then stood up. "Because it'd be great having you back in Emperor, Seiji. It's been a while."
"No doubt," I agreed. "Well… we'll see, alright? No definite promises… but we'll see…"
EPILOGUE
(two months later)
"… three… two… one… GO!"
Miyoko dropped her hand as both Alex and Nogami sped off the starting line and disappeared down Irohazaka's treacherous downhill. She turned around to watch them go, then calmly made her way back to where the rest of us were standing. Kyouichi had a stopwatch in his hand and was watching the two Evos vanish down the straightaway, then he looked down at it.
"Their start-up was a little slow… but oh well…" He shrugged. "Can't expect it all, can I?"
"Well, Alex tried a cold start-up, didn't he? Wouldn't it have been better for him to go with a hot start-up? Especially since the Evo VII has a turbo?" Jin hazarded as he looked over at Kyouichi.
"It depends on how well you know your car's optimal shift points. In general, it is better for a car with a turbo to go with a hot start-up, but if your shifting is off, then the full potential is lost," he explained.
In case you hadn't noticed, Alex, Jin and Miyoko finally agreed to the merger between Emperor and Evo Prime. They mostly agreed because of the notion that they could learn more under Kyouichi than me, but they refused to surrender their loyalty to me, or, for that matter, their own indvidual team personality. Because of that, Kyouichi even went so far as to admittedly changing his team name to Irohazaka's Emperor Prime. A lot of the Emperor guys were against that, but Kyouichi simply pointed out that it's merely a compromise to welcome in the members of Evo Prime. They could still call themselves Emperor if they wished; on that same note, we could still call ourselves Evo Prime, but when it all boiled down, we were all a part of one team.
To show their association with Emperor, Alex, Jin and Miyoko accepted to have the Emperor sticker placed on their back windshields, as Kyouichi had on his Evo. (Well, in Miyoko's case, she got the very first-ever "Empress" sticker placed on her windshield, which she displayed with pride.)
As for me, Kyouichi presented me with a brand-new Emperor sticker to replace the one he'd destroyed all those months ago. I graciously accepted it and placed it back on my rear windshield, except on the left side, as Kyouichi's was displayed. And with reason; he and I were now co-leaders of the new combined team. I wasn't just his second-in-command, I was now his equal. In authority, if not in skill.
I wish I could say that the transition from two separate teams to one big team was a smooth one, but that is just wishful thinking. Satake still hadn't forgiven Miyoko for kicking him in the face, and on the same note, Miyoko hadn't forgiven Satake for what he'd said about her. But aside from them, everyone seemed to be getting along just fine.
Maybe this as well would be a new experience for me to learn from. But unlike before, where I was separate from my former teammates, now we were all back together. With new additions to the team to boot. Changes were happening, and it was an interesting thing to deal with.
It's fun being a leader… there's so much to learn… and there's so much that can happen while doing so…
THE END... ?
Dude… that's it?!
Of course not! But first off, let me just finalize on a few points here: First off, yes, the White Comet of Akagi makes his first appearance… as a doctor! Meaning only one thing… Project D is over… They've already established themselves as the best of the best in Japan and now they've all gone their separate ways. Whatever happened to Keisuke and Takumi, you ask? Well… who knows?
If you'd been paying attention at all to the timeline I used in Follow The Leader and followed the anime/manga just as closely (which I doubt, so I won't hold it against you all), you would get nuances that the story took place after Project D's time. The first clue is Seiji constantly referring to his matches against Takeshi and Takumi "two years ago". Second Stage / Third Stage happened roughly around 1998-1999. A year later, 1999-2000, is technically the timeline for Fourth Stage and Project D. A year after that would be 2001, just in time for the Evo VIIs to appear on the market (since the Evo VII was released in Feburary 2001) Despite all that, there IS a big time fallacy in one of my chapters. I could change it, but I'm too lazy to do so, (plus, I've got my workload piling up and since this thing here is done, I won't bother) but good luck finding it :P
I'll bet you're probably wondering why oh why did Seiji go back to Emperor? Well, put it simply, I get the impression that alone, Seiji isn't really Seiji in the Initial D context. If I am to stay true to the essence of Initial D, Seiji belongs in Emperor. lame proverb You can take the Monstar out of Emperor, but you can't take the Emperor out of the Monstar :P /lame proverb The only difference now is that instead of being Kyouichi's lackey, he's now his equal in authority. That and they now have two home courses instead of one.
Yes, there IS a continuation for this story, but the only version that will be posted here on will be a condensed "edited" version, done by Kyouichi's point of view. The real uncut version will be posted on a separate site. (the link will appear in my profile once I upload the first chapters of the sequel.) Why, you may ask? Simply because the full continuation contains a very blatantly obvious Mary-Sue pairing (and if you've gotten this far, you must obviously know who it will be), but I get the impression that there are already enough Initial D Mary-Sue fics here, and so I won't sully your eyes with it and leave the decision for you to view the full version or not.
The race is over, time to discoverBrand new spaces
The race is over, now and forever
You gotta lead it your way…
-BoomChish