Chapter Two
-----------
Takahashi Kiyori rubbed her temples as she peered outside the window. It was past midnight and her oldest son had not yet returned home. It was not unusual for either of her sons to be out all night, but for some reason, there was an unsettling feeling in her stomach tonight. The sound of someone tripping over the top stair and a string of curses attracted her attention.
"Keisuke!"
A blonde head poked sheepishly through the archway. "Hai?"
"Do you know what's keeping Ryousuke?"
Keisuke looked at his mother with an odd expression on his face. "Probably still on Akagi driving. Why do you ask?"
Kiyori let her shoulders fall. "I don't know. I'm just worrying like mothers do."
Her younger son chuckled. "He is almost twenty-five years old and I can't recall a time in the past year when he's gone out driving after dinner and has come home before midnight." Keisuke paused to observe the weather and added, "rain or shine."
Kiyori smiled weakly. "I guess you're right. I'm just getting old I suppose."
Keisuke smirked. "You don't look a day over thirty-five." He recieved a smile and a small kiss on the cheek for his comment.
As his mother walked past him towards his parents' bedroom, Keisuke couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about the weather outside. The rain was pouring down extremely hard. The last time he had seen rain even comparable to this was when Project D battled the combined team at Saitama. Thinking about that race reminded him of crashing his FD during the practice. The memory sent shivers down his spine. This rainfall was much worse.
He had no doubt in Ryousuke's ability to maneuver his car in any weather, but Aniki had seemed unusually agitated when he left home.
-----------
The first awareness that hit him was pain. He had been in accidents before, but never to the extent where he wasn't able to somewhat control the final destination of his vehicle. In those instances, Ryousuke was always able to walk away from the car with only minor scraps and bruises, mostly from the seatbelt and car door interior. At present moment, he doubted his ability to move even his finger.
He couldn't tell where the pain was coming from. It seemed to engulf his entire body from all directions, unrelenting and obscuring his thoughts and preventing his medical instinct from properly diagnosing himself.
Wetness was the second feeling that came to his senses. He could not yet gather the strength to open his eyes but he knew from the water pelting at his face that the front windshield of his car was most definitely shattered. The wetness was quickly turning into cold, however, as shivers rippled down his spine from his neck to his toes.
"At least I can feel my legs," he thought to himself, his medical schooling finally kicking in. "Always a good sign."
After moments of labored breathing, Ryousuke managed to crack open his right eye. He could tell that he was still in his car. As feeling returned to his torso, he could feel the restraint of the seatbelts adding unneeded pressure to his already painful chest.
"Labored breathing," he thought to himself, "most likely broken ribs, possible punctured lung…"
Ryousuke could feel unconsciousness tugging at him again. "Stop yourself," he commanded. He knew that a concussion was most likely on the list of injuries he had sustained and it was never good to give in to unconsciousness in such circumstances.
He searched his memory for answers. "I entered the corner and the other car was losing control! Some part of the wreckage must have gotten under my wheels, disrupting my steering and causing me to slide in the water. The rain most likely reduced the coefficient of friction between my tires and the road, rendering my brakes useless in an uncontrolled situation."
Ryousuke tried but could not summon the strength to unbuckle his seatbelt. The rain was pouring even harder now. He managed to move his left arm to the buckle but could not depress it. The small movement, however, caused the car to shift slightly, jarring its front and sending an enormous amount of pain up Ryousuke's right leg.
"Broken," he muttered through gritted teeth.
For the first time in his life, Takahashi Ryousuke was completely helpless. He was lying prone in a car while heavy rain pelted his body. He took pleasure in racing because driving his car gave him control and confidence. With every situation, he could deduce a winning simulation. Why had it turned on him tonight?
He answered his own question. Since the day he first drove his FC home, Ryousuke demanded perfection from his car and his driving; perfect concentration, technique, reaction, and planning. When he started Project D, these values were further instilled into the minds of Fujiwara and Keisuke. Tonight, he lost his concentration and subsequently, his technique and reaction suffered as well.
The irony of the situation occurred to him suddenly. The White Comet of Akagi, leader of Project D and the Redsuns, lying unable to move in the middle of his home course because he couldn't follow his own instructions. Takahashi Ryousuke, the man who only gave assistance but never requested nor needed it, now needed it more than anyone else.
Just as darkness claimed him again, he thought he heard the familiar hum of the rotary engine approaching his location.
-----------
Shortly after his mother left him, Keisuke went to his room to prepare to sleep. "I wonder where Aniki is."
Kicking a path from his door to his bed, Keisuke threw his pants carelessly in the corner and followed it with his shirt. He looked at himself sideways in the mirror. Was the week of sake catching up with him around the middle? His mind drifted unconsciously to Kyoko.
"I wonder what she's doing right now," he pondered and looked at his telephone.
Keisuke quickly brushed the thought away as he climbed into the covers. Ryousuke never had to work for his physique or the girls who admired it, among other things. Sometimes it seemed like his brother was born with a natural tendency to accumulate muscle and discard fat, similarly, accumulating a following of girls without ever finding one to ever sway his concentration from racing or studies. Keisuke had to work a bit harder for everything else except the empty-minded girls. Kyoko had definitely been an exception; having the brawns to approach him without a group of giggling friends was evidence of her strong, independent character, qualities Keisuke admired in women.
Long ago, Ryousuke had taught him the meaning of dedication and how mindless distractions could damage the pursuit of goals, such as racing. Thinking back, Keisuke realized that his brother never really had a serious girlfriend, only escorting certain select women, selected by their father, to banquets, parties, and balls hosted by the friends of their family.
The more he thought about Ryousuke, the more Keisuke began to wonder. It was now almost one in the morning. Where was he? He had to be on Akagi. He could see out the window from his bed because he had been too lazy to draw the blinds. The rain was getting worse.
Keisuke also realized that his father had not come home; mostly working another overnight shift at the hospital. The government auditors had come to check up on the hospitals in the Gunma area so his father and his associates were working overtime to prepare all the necessary documents, and discard those which would cause unnecessary trouble.
Ever since Keisuke was young, his father had always indulged and spoiled him. It was startling the difference in parenting styles that Takahashi Ryoichi exhibited between his first and second born. Any outsider could tell that he was extremely proud of Ryousuke, but it seemed that whenever Ryousuke would enter the room or be within ear's shot of conversation, he would stop talking and quickly point out any unfinished work that Ryousuke still needed to do.
Takahashi Kiyori had always been Keisuke's disciplinary figure. She saw right through her younger son's innocent face and straight to his mischievous streak. She would always tell him that his eyes gave it away and that he couldn't hide emotions or intentions as well as Ryousuke could.
---------- Flashback ----------
"ANIKI! Come play with me!"
Twelve-year-old Ryousuke looked tiredly at his little brother. "I can't Otouto, I have to study."
Keisuke looked at him aghast. "It's SUMMER! You can't study NOW!"
"Otousan enrolled me in supplemental courses for the summer and my Algebra is due the day we get home." Ryousuke sat calmly under his umbrella while other children his age frolicked freely around him. Every hour or so, he'd sneak an envious glance towards the sailboats when his parents weren't watching.
Keisuke looked around for a way to get Ryousuke to play while Kiyori and Ryoichi looked on in amusement.
"Ottosan," sighed Kiyori, "don't you think you're being a bit hard on Ryousuke? He just got out of school."
He husband shook his head. "He has to work hard. He'll be entering high school in a couple of years and he cannot slack off before then if he wants to be accepted into Gunma's Medical School. If he does well until his seventeenth birthday, I will consider buying him a car. He knows this and that it comes with certain temrs."
"You know, some people would call that ransom or blackmail."
"It's not ransom if you never had it in the first place."
The slight interlude between them caused them to be completely unaware of young Keisuke sneaking up behind Ryousuke with his sand bucket full of seawater.
Splash!
"OTOUTO!" Ryouske hated being wet unintentionally. In fact, he wasn't fond of Keisuke's little surprises at all. Ryousuke threw his books down and chased a happily squealing Keisuke towards their parents. He overtook the younger boy midway and tackled him to the sand.
"All right boys, break it up," ordered Ryoichi.
Ryousuke immediate straightened up while Keisuke clawed at him a couple more times in an effort to prolong the horseplay.
Their father looked at Ryousuke sternly. "You know better than to loose your temper like that."
Ryousuke bowed his head solemnly and looked down at his feet.
"Don't let it happen again."
"Hai, otousan," was all Ryousuke said before going back to salvage his books.
Keisuke sat and pondered his freedom in contrast to his brother's chastisement until he felt a firm grip on his ear hauling him straight.
"You," whispered Kiyori, "are in so much trouble, young man."
---------- End Flashback -----------
With memories of Ryousuke running through his head, Keisuke couldn't sleep. Where was he? It was getting late; almost two and the rain was unrelenting. Maybe some of the other former Redsuns were also making runs on Akagi tonight. There had to be someone who actually enjoyed driving in this type of weather. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Kenta's number.
"Hai…" a groggy voice answered.
"I'm sorry to wake you," apologized Keisuke, "but did you go driving tonight?"
"Hai, got back about an hour ago but I only made two full runs. The visibility was so bad that I turned around halfway through the third and went home." He paused and then added, "I also hate thunder; a small phobia of mine, you could say."
Keisuke sat up. "Thunder?"
"Yes, I heard it about halfway through and I turned around because I didn't want to have to go back down. The visibility was terrible."
Keisuke knew there was no thunder that evening. Suddenly, a sinking pit began to build in his stomach. "Are you sure it was thunder you heard?"
Kenta groaned. "I don't know. Something banged really loud somewhere above me…it was late and I was tired. What else could it be at that hour in those conditions?"
There was no response.
"Keisuke-san? Hello?"
Kenta rolled his eyes and hung up.
-----------
Ten minutes later, Keisuke was speeding towards Akagi in his FD. He had a terrible feeling about tonight. Maybe his mother was right.
"No! Stop your useless panicking. Aniki wouldn't approve."
---------- Flashback ----------
"I'm worried about this race," whispered Keisuke.
Ryousuke looked at his brother who was sitting nervously on top of his new FD. "It's normal to be nervous before your first race. What you must learn is to focus your attention closely enough on your opponent and course so that you leave no consideration for anxiety and consequently, no room for daft errors."
Keisuke looked up. How could he be so calm all of the time? Even during his first race, when Keisuke had snuck out of the house on his scooter to watch secretly in the trees, Ryousuke had kept a passive demeanor. Later, Ryousuke found him and gave him not only a ride home, but a run down the mountain. It was then that he had fallen in love with racing.
"Follow your line. The roadster is underpowered compared to your FD. You have a distinct advantage on the straight-aways but its lighter weight will even the competition during corners," Ryousuke stated matter-of-factly. "You are evenly matched with respect to vehicles."
Fumihiro walked to the brothers. "Ryousuke-san, we're ready."
He nodded and turned to Keisuke. "They've chosen to chase. If you drive as you usually do, you will not loose." Ryousuke gave Keisuke an affectionate pat on the shoulder and small push towards the car.
Keisuke won the battle and when the few people in the galleries had cleared, the two brothers practiced against each other on Akagi. Keisuke knew that Ryousuke wasn't pushing himself to the limit, but even then, he could not catch up. Aniki was pulling him to do better, increasing his speed only when he knew Keisuke could catch up by pushing harder.
----------- End Flashback -----------
"Damn the rain!"
Keisuke skidded past a corner and entered the base of Akagi. The rain was beginning to show signs of stopping but the roads were still ridden with deep puddles. The drive seemed to go on for ages.
Then there it was.
Keisuke felt his stomach tie in knots as he saw his brother's white FC wrecked in the middle of the road. As his car screeched to a stop, he dialed the emergency hotline with a shaking hand as he quickly unbuckled himself with the other.
"I…need an ambulance…NOW," he gasped, unable to free himself. His palms were sweaty and his entire body was shaking.
"SHIT! Open dammit!" he cried in frustration while the operator struggled to obtain directions.
"Akagi…halfway up…please hurry…dammit!"
He threw the phone down and unbuckled himself with both hands, the entire time damning bucket seat belts to the depths of purgatory. "OPEN!"
Keisuke didn't bother closing the car door as he scrambled out of his FD. Ryousuke's car was less than ten meters away but the rain and darkness blocked the extent of damage from view. As he neared the wreckage, Keisuke could feel his entire body start to shake.
Part of him wanted to run as quickly as he could while the rest of him feared what he would find. Was Aniki badly injured? How long had he been out here?
Keisuke tripped on large piece of metal and looking down, he was horrified to find the FC's driver side door on the wet pavement. Swallowing the bile that had formed in his throat, he continued and saw what resembled a hand hanging from inside the driver side.
He ran straight to the driver side and immediately saw Ryousuke unconscious but still strapped inside the seat.
Keisuke panicked. What was he supposed to do? "Pulse…pulse, pulse, pulse…"
He picked up Ryousuke's right hand and yelled out loud as the wrist fell at an unnatural angle. Keisuke, although possessing somewhat of Ryousuke's natural aficionado on the road, did not inherit any of the Takahashi medical genius or instinct.
"Where the hell do I find the PULSE?!" he screamed in frustration, tears pounding, threatening to break the threshold. Ryousuke's hand was freezing cold. Keisuke quickly un-strapped him from the seat and looked around for something to shield him from the rain with while waiting for the ambulance.
It was then that he first noticed the other car.
"Dammit I knew Aniki wouldn't have lost control!"
The crash must have had something to do with the Supra. Keisuke took a moment to wonder how the other driver fared, but the damage to the Toyota indicated that the possibilities were bleak and it was far enough away where Keisuke did not want to leave Ryousuke to examine it.
"The ambulance should be here any minute."
Unable to find anything to use as shelter from the rain, Keisuke tried his best to hover over Ryousuke's prostate form. Even under the light, he could tell that Ryousuke skin pallor was quickly paling. Keisuke felt desperately around the neck in search of a pulse – of any movement indicative of life.
He found none.
That was when the tears broke through.
-----------
Thank you for the reviews! I love getting them (hint hint)! As always, I apologize for any Initial D inconsistencies, I am in an ever-evolving learning process and your reviews definitely help me improve.
I am proofreading Chapter Three again and should have that out sometime towards the end of this week or early next (whenever I finish the chapter I'm currently writing). Thanks again for your reviews and I hope you enjoy the story!