Chapter 4: A lesson learned…

Jin looked over to Ken as he drove the FC out of the parking lot of Ken's shop and up the street. "Where are we going Ken?" Jin asked puzzled about the intention of his old friend and mentor. Ken said nothing as he leaned on the accelerator a bit more, the FC's engine whining a bit as Ken looked squarely ahead at the road, turning on the expressway before really opening the car up to some speed. Jin gulped a bit as his car raced on the freeway, Ken expertly evading two cars before getting into an open lane. The rotary was running fine, Ken could see that as he leaned on the accelerator some more, opening the car up a bit as they continued up the freeway.

Moments later, the two arrived pulled into a large parking lot. The lot was home to Abetu Circuit, one of the new racing centers in the area. As the two got out of the FC3S, Ken rested his hands on the FC's warm hood. "Well I've driven the FC and the issue doesn't seem to be a tuning problem. The car was running well as we came up the expressway. Didn't see any issue that needed addressing…" Jin's eyes widened a bit as Ken continued talking about the FC. The man had been analyzing the entire time as they had driven up the expressway… Jin's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Ken, his finger pointed at Jin's chest. "Now Jin what you fail to understand is that you already have the skills in here…" Ken stopped himself as he pointed up to Jin's head. "What's messing you up is in here. You doubt yourself. A racer shouldn't do that when he's in a battle, he should know when his tactics are working and when his opponent is using tactics on him." Ken stopped for a moment to let those words sink into Jin's head, the young racing looking at the FC as she idled quietly, but smoothly. " I bet you were freaking out when that punk Akira was tailing you down the mountain last night." Ken said interrupting Jin from his thought process. "What you need to learn is how to put up with that kind of from behind pressure. Otherwise your opponents will ride your tail till you break and then pull quickly ahead before you can recover and try to do the same thing to them."

Jin thought back to the battle from the night before. As Akira and Jin had been racing down the pass, Jin had felt more and more fenced in. He kept thinking that his fastest wasn't enough. Once Akira passed him, he just wasn't in the right state of mind to try and get the lead back. And Ken knew that… "So what do I do then?" Jin asked Ken with a concerned look on his face. Ken looked over to Jin before getting back into the FC. "Come on get in…" Jin quickly scrambled into his car as Ken drove the FC through an automotive entrance and onto the pit road, where many of the cars would get repaired during an actual race. Now the lane was empty, all but one white Nissan Silvia S-14, which was sitting in the middle of the row. Jin looked over at the S-14 as Ken pulled up to it, seeing a "Kei Office" emblem emblazoned on the side. Ken got out of the FC and walked over to the other car, opening the door and pulling out two racing helmets. One for himself and one for Jin to wear. "Get your car onto the track, Jin. It's time for you to do some training on the track. Let me chase behind you and maybe I can find out how to fix this handy cap of yours." Ken said as Jin nodded, donning the racing helmet and pulling the FC onto the track.

"Jin, you're exit speed coming out of the corner is too low. I'm still right on your tail as we come out together!" Ken shouted over the PA that connected himself to Jin's car. "You've got the shift the weight more so that your car slides in with more inertia so you can use some of that reserve power to exit out of the corner." Ken gripped the wheel of the Kei Office S14 as he chased Jin around the track. The two had been going for about half an hour, Ken monitoring Jin's movements and giving him pointers. The crimson FC3S racing around another right corner. Ken smiled as Jin started to pull away a bit, through the next row of corners that were coming up. He saw the talent in the young racer, now Jin just had to see it in himself. Jin's technique was smooth and controlling, but every once in a while, Ken would pass Jin on the inside or on the outside of a corner to prove a point, then quickly drop back behind Jin to keep the pressure on his rear bumper. Jin would start to get a little unstable as the seasoned racer would start playing head games with him , but then his racing would become smooth again once Jin had a firm grip on the pole position.

Jin looked back in his rearview as he noticed that the S14 was dropping back behind him a bit as they exited the turn. Jin started to smile a bit as the rotary engine whined in the higher RPM band, but his smile quickly faded as the white Kei Office car quickly caught up to him again as the entered another corner. Ken's voice crackled over the in-helmet communications system as the two cars raced up a short straightaway. "Between my braking point and the point where you enter the corner is where I seem to gain on you. Now think Jin, how do you extend the gap without increasing the wear on your tires?" Jin panicked a bit at the sudden situation change, jerking on the steering wheel aggressively to try and intimidate his opponent. The FC's tires squealed a bit before the cars even entered the corner, but Ken's S14 continued to close the small gap within half a car length or less.

"Jin you've got to get used to the fact that sometimes your opponent is going to catch up with you. Monitor his movements, but concentrate on the course ahead or you'll never win a battle!" Jin heard Ken's motivating words as they powered through another corner, the FC once again pulling away from the white S-14. "That's the ticket Jin, keep that speed up!" Ken said as the two rounded another long right hander. Jin quickly downshifted from third to second as the FC screamed out the corner, the tires sticking firmly to the road as the rotary came up the straightaway. The S14 was a good second behind drifting with a less aggressive action than Jin, but still fast enough to keep pace. Looking into his rearview mirror quickly, Jin frowned a bit as the S14 started to gain on him as the two cars entered another corner. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Jin started to press on the accelerator more firmly as they came out of the corner, the FC once again pulling ahead from the S14. "Every time we exit a corner, I get a slight lead, but he negates it when we enter the corner that's coming up, and Ken's not trying to pass me. I need to find away to keep the speed of the car up rounding the corner, because that's where he seems to want to get me." Jin said to himself as the two cars rushed through a long straight-away that was going to lead into a group of consecutive hairpins. The first corner a sharp right turn, but it could be taken at fairly constant speed if it was taken skillfully enough. Jin thought back to Ken's advice "Find the balance, just like Ken told me to…" Jin said as he mentally cleared his mind, the high revving of the rotary entering his mind, he sunk a bit into his racing seat, his hands melting with the steering wheel, his feet sliding into the pedal feel. Jin and the FC3S were slowly becoming one being, the car and driver understanding each others wishes and acting accordingly.

In the S14, Ken watched Jin's car enter another corner. Quickly shifting from fourth to second, the seasoned pro launched the car into a excellent braking drift coming out of the corner with excessive control, smiling as he put his foot on the gas and closely following the car through the corner. Ken noticed that Jin started to exit this corner slightly wider than before, building up more speed as they came through the corner. "What are you up too Grasshopper?" Ken said with a smile on his face. The two cars raced toward the next upcoming hairpin, this time a left hander. The two engines could be heard whining as Jin's car started to enter the corner with the same controlled drifting action as before. "Hmm, thought he was going to whip something new at me…" Ken started to say as his smiled disappeared as suddenly, Jin's drift started to change. It wasn't the speed that was different, or the angle of the drift, but something else. Something was happening on another level than just speed itself, and it was apparent in what Jin did next. Jin's car launched through the corner, powering through inches from the impact railing as he hugged the line, screaming away from the S14, leading by a good car length gap as the two cars entered the straightaway that followed. "Hmm, looks like I'm going to have to start getting serious." Ken said as he leaned a bit more on the gas, the powerful Nissan complying with his wishes as it accelerated out of the corner after Jin, but not closing the gap. "What's going on…???" Ken said quietly as he started to enter the corner as more of his own racing rhythm, thinking he would be able to catch the young racer. Jin's car entered the corner with more than enough speed and control to negate any small distance gaps that Ken was making up. "Ok, enough fooling around. Time to pass him on the high speed corner on the right…" Ken said as he lost his foot in the floor matting as the S14 screamed ahead, redlining in the straight before Ken shifted up, slowly closing the gap.

The two cars raced toward the corner, Jin looking in his rearview mirror smirking a bit. His foot wasn't lost in the floor matting like Ken; in fact he had kept a small amount of reserve left as the two came down the straightaway. Jin kept his eyes on the road, feeling the vibrations through the steering wheel and slowly using some of that reserve power as they entered the right hander. The two cars had similar horsepower numbers but in the high end of the RPM band, the FC excelled. The S14's tires screeched as they roared through the corner. Ken slowly starting to fall behind as the Jin's car smoothly powered through the corner and continued surging ahead…

Moments later, the two cars were sitting on the side of the pit road, idling softly as the two drivers stood outside and where talking. "Jin, I don't know what changed out there, but suddenly, you became a different driver" Ken said to him as he pulled out a cig and slid it into his mouth. Jin looked at his old mentor with a slightly confused look on his face before he thought back to minutes before. Ken was right, Jin had found another way a driving for himself. Suddenly it had all become clear for him, and as he started to say something, Ken spoke first. "I think that I'm going to come to your battle this Saturday." Ken said as he took in a long drag from his cigarette, the smoke from it filling the air above them. "Jin, all you have to do is stay calm and you can notice the changes, just like you did just a moment ago. If you can do that, I know you can beat that black S13…" Ken faded off saying taking another puff

Jin looked at his mentor with a slightly surprised looked on his face. Ken had never even seen Akira run, so how would he know? Jin suddenly smiled at Ken who was looking at Jin's FC. "This is a powerful machine. It's capable of assisting you with your victory…" the older man said as he walked over to the S-14 and got in the driver's seat, starting up the car. Jin rushed over to his FC and climbed in, thinking about the words that Ken just spoke as the S14 drove toward the exit and started heading away from the raceway. Jin quickly followed behind as the sun started to set over the area. "We still have two days left…" Jin said as the sun hit him a bit in the eyes as the two drove into the distance.

ColeIketani- Thanks for the review that came it. I appreciated it a lot. I WOULD STILL LOVE MORE THOUGH 

Yeah, I know this was a short chapter again and there is probably going to be one more short one after this. (School does come first…like it or not)