ACT 7 – 7000RPM 'Rally Style'

"C4 is a very hard route to master…" elaborated Kumiko. "It's not something you'll learn and figure out even after a few sessions of practice. Its like one of those things that demand a lot in order to master it."

"Have you ever raced Route C4 yourself?" asked Reiko.
"Yes I have…" admitted Kumiko. "I won't hide it. After a while, your driving will eventually be more precise, due to the tight corners and blind turns. Much later after that, you'll be able to flow with the course's rhythm. And then much longer after that, once you've figured out everything… victory on C4 actually isn't as hard as compared to other courses…"

"What do you mean?" wondered Reiko.
"If Fu Huo's in front, then he's in trouble," commented Reiko.
"…What? How?"
"Its unlikely for a driver to figure it out on their first try. But with enough courage and lots of luck, a driver may have a 49 chance to pull it off…"

The Evo's twin drifted through the next corner. The gap remained the same. Tires screeched, as they came across another set of corners. It was quite clear that S was pushing as hard as he could.

"You've improved a bit, S…" Fu Huo pulled his face away from the apex, then throttled forward, as he motioned his car for its rear to kick back in the opposite direction, sliding into the next corner. "You're steering is more precise. You're instincts aren't half bad either. Its actually amazing to see you recover your pace after the traps I've thrown at you…"

Fu Huo shifted down, and gripped the steering wheel with his other arm and began to steer sharply. His shoulder, though almost in full recovery, still gave him a little twitch. He grunted a little, then quickly throttled out of the corner.

For some reason, even with the same drivetrain layouts, the two racers used different cornering techniques from each other. Fu Huo was as if he drove his car like it was a rear wheeler, which only resulted in understeer. S realized this, as he watched his moves from behind. "What's the matter with him? Did he forget how to drive a four-wheeler?" S pressed on, closing in the gap a little. "As unpredictable as you are, this is not how you're meant to drive, Fu…"

All of a sudden, Fu Huo flung his front wheels outward, causing some understeer. The wheels suddenly broke traction, as the rear came sliding along with it as he strategically shifted the weight of his car to motion into the direction he desired.

"Shit! Now he's done it!" S was shocked at what he saw. It was as if Fu Huo could read what he was thinking. Out of all the mis-cornering he's been doing, he suddenly initiated a four wheel drift. "Man…! Outta nowhere! Now that's the Chuan Fu Huo that I know!"

The front is meant to be understeered. That is the advanced answer of someone who's mastered the four wheel drift.

"You didn't forget about the corkscrew downhill at the later section, did you?" asked Kumiko.
"…Hmm… yeah, I noticed it as I was coming on my way here," replied Reiko.
"That's the easiest, but riskiest way to defeat the car in front, down here at Route C4," Kumiko explained. "It's a big gamble to be messing with, however. The driver dives from the top to the bottom in a near straight line, as if skipping a whole section of road in the process."
"That's crazy,"
"Indeed. But its an effective desperation move if completed correctly. If the car's angle and wheel direction is even the slightest bit wrong, the car while just struggle through the dirt and spin out. But if successful, the opponent would have almost no chance of counterattack. Victory or defeat can be decided out of nowhere in this route. If either driver is good enough, they'll figure it out after a few more battles on this track. If S is behind, he'll probably try and win the conventional way instead."

Vrrrmmm…!

"I don't understand you, Fu. I admit, I really can't figure you out. That's where you got my number…" S used heel/toe techniques in order to effectively get into the right gear while following his opponent closer than ever.

"His car suffers a bit of understeer. Though its lighter than a Skyline, he didn't seem to have any more lightweight upgrades to his car…" S looked on forward. The car in front annoyingly blocked a large portion of his view. "Grip is used for the race track. Drifting is used for rally. The street, however, requires a balance of both."

The Evo V slowed down before the next corner, and blocked the inside line.

"What you're doing Fu… are techniques for racing on the track…" S once again slightly motioned his wheels opposite of the turn, then immediately steered into the apex and used the kick back force to effectively manipulate the car's weight.
The Evo V gripped its way out of the turn, as the VII followed behind complete a feint-motioned drift.

"If they have raced each other on C4 a lot, theoretically, Fu Huo would lose if he's in front right now," Kumiko gave out her hunch.

"So, if S attacks him at the critical point, Fu Huo would have no chance to recover?" clarified Reiko.
"Supposedly," added Kumiko. "That's IF S figures it out. Besides, he's also got the advantage no matter what. Most likely, Fu Huo will lose unless he pulls something outta his ass,"
"You seem to know a fair bit about them," commented Reiko.
"I've been training them after all…"

The two cars sped along, as they were nearing the next section, where the roads became a little wider, and the guardrails were further apart. Only thing is, dirt replaced the gained space.
Fu Huo confidently cruised through the next set of mild corners. He was now able to show off his dominance in power output for a little while, until the next section came up.

Up ahead was a near-twisted, technical set containing two downhill corners. There was no guardrail however, only dirt. Fu Huo slowed down and motioned his car into the turn. His car faced the outside of the corkscrew, as he was about to clear the apex.

On the other hand, S kept the throttle on, "What? No guardrail?"
Fu Huo's car was at a position in the turn that was away from S's view. "He must've been ahead already," noticed S, as he throttled it fully.

In a split second, S noticed his car was off the ground. "Oh what the…?"
His car almost made a daring leap, while not noticing the lost ground, as well as Fu Huo's car.
"Shit! A corkscrew turn!" S's car dropped into the dirt, as he kept the throttle on.

The corkscrew turn was like a blind turn itself. The Evo VII cut its way suspended in air for a split second and pulled its way out of the dirt, shooting past the Evo V, which was still too busy motioning itself to complete the second turn of the corkscrew.

Fu Huo's eyes widened, as he turned his wheels into the other direction, while he saw his opponent's car drop further in front of him out of nowhere. "What the hell? He… He was flying?"

As S noticed what was going on, bright light came from behind. It was Fu Huo's car. Only during this time, did S realize that he was in the lead. He drove on silently, still in shock of what he had just done.
All of a sudden, he cheered wildly to himself excitedly, "Hahaaah! I did it! Eat my dust, Fu Huo!" as the Evo VII flung dirt with its rear wheels. "Rally style, baby!"

Fu Huo's eyes were wide in shock. "What the hell…?"
He throttled on, as he struggled trying to pull himself back following behind his opponent.
It was so sudden. "This can't be…"

S pressed on a little further. His anxiety of Fu Huo's unpredictability was no more. "My tires are still fine. I can do this! Come on, Fu!"

Fu Huo turned hard into the next corner, closing in on the apex, making full use of the tire's grip. He closed the gap just a little bit, but there did not seem to be any chance to overtake him. He could not risk taking a wider line than his opponent.

"My Evo V… my dear Evo V… Am I… Am I gonna lose…?" Fu Huo whispered to himself as he struggled on, his Lancer raging behind the opponent.

"I've only just come back from my recovery, and already I'm gonna get a second loss…?" Fu thrust his car forward on the mild straightaway.

Tsss…

"You've really improved, S. Just what I'd expect from someone like you," The Evo V did not begin to slow down for anything. In an instant, Fu Huo dramatically changed his driving style.

He shifted down a gear, and shifted his car weight, sending his Evo flying sideways into the turn. But there was no hope, as the Evo VII skillfully blocked him off.
The two cars began little swaying-like drifting from corner to corner, as Fu Huo struggled in desperation to squeeze in.

"I've lost…" Fu Huo said quietly under his breath. "But I won't go down without a good fight, S. Though it was indeed an honor just to race you."

Fu Huo lost a little bit of concentration. It was all over for him, even though the gap between him and the opponent was almost no distance whatsoever.
The two cars cruised along the rest of the course, along the mild turns. It was as if Fu Huo paid more attention to the passing trees and dirt from the corner of his eyes than the actual race.

"Do you think the race is over, Kumi?" asked Reiko.
"Hmm… almost… but not yet," claimed Kumiko. "I don't think its over yet."
"What makes you say that?" wondered Reiko, as the cars are already too far ahead for them to see anything.
"Well… I don't know how to explain it…" began Kumiko. "But there's something about Fu Huo… One of his best qualities is that he always keeps the fight up to the very end, even in a losing situation…"
"So what are you trying to say?"
Kumiko said nothing, but smiled to herself, leaving Reiko in confusion.

S confidently breezed his way through, as Fu Huo was merely tagging along. "That's just like you, Fu. You just never realize when you've lost. I like that. Always fighting to the end, huh…"
S looked at his mirror. "You're only getting serious now? Its too late."

Fu Huo used drift techniques, flinging his car sideways along the wide corners, taking the inside.
"What's taking so long? It's such a long-ass route. Isn't the race over yet?" complained Fu.

He was still lost in thought, as his mainly focused on the sidelines, which were the guardrails… which soon lead into dirt.

Fu Huo was still a little shocked about what had happened. He had this image of S in his head that kept repeating to him, which was S's common catch phrase – 'Rally style, baby!' over and over again, 'Rally style, baby!' Fu Huo could not shake this out of his head. 'Rally style, baby!'

'Rally style, baby!'
'Rally style, baby!'
'Rally style, baby!'
'Rally style, baby!'

The last part of C4 ends with a sharp hairpin curve. Fu Huo kept looking on to the dirt.
'Rally style, baby!'
'Rally style, baby!'
'Rally style, baby!'

Suddenly, Fu Huo's head struck an idea. He did not know whether he was going crazy or not. He sped up with his Evo V, as the Evo VII slowed down to grip the hairpin.

"Not this time, S," muttered Fu under his breath. His Lancer was now at a speed higher than S's Lancer, but at this rate, Fu will understeer.

"You've really lost it, Fu. Get over it," smiled S.

Instantly, Fu Huo motioned his car sideways into a drift, while S gripped the inside line, confident in his speed, in which he'll exit before Fu Huo, even though the Evo V was going at a higher speed than he was.
The Evo V skidded to the outside, not slowing down its pace.
As it drew closer to the outside, Fu Huo dunked his rear wheels into the dirt.

The traction loss from the rear wheels into the dirt caused Fu Huo's car to oversteer, while keeping his car from spinning with the remaining power of the front wheels.
The Evo V was coming at a greater speed than its opponent.

In a loud, excited voice, Fu Huo called out, "Rally style, baby!"

Fu Huo took advantage from the oversteer he gained from dipping his tires in the dirt, and exited at a slightly greater speed than S out of the hairpin. It was a trick that could be easiest done by a four wheel drive. A RWD would have probably spun out.

"What…What… What the hell did he do?" shocked S.

The two cars were side by side now on the dash to the finish. "There's no way!" called out S.
They both fully throttled.

Slowly, the Evo V's front bumper reached out as if it was a huge hand, stretching out to grab a million bucks.
Fortunately for Fu, his car was able to regain its traction after the hairpin, while maintained most of the speed it had on entry. The Evo V's exit speed out of that corner overcame that of its opponent, as it did not stay by its side for long.

With just half a car length ahead, Fu Huo dashed off and claimed the victory.

"That was… awesome…" commented S, standing next to his car, which was parked along with Fu Huo's along the sideline. "Racing you always ends up being a fun battle…"

"You've improved a lot, S," replied Fu Huo with a warm smile. "Within just a short period, your cornering ability's become more precise. You have not only mastered the four wheel drift, but you're battle instincts have also grown…"

"You can tell?" wondered S.
"That's right…" Fu continued. "I'm sure you've noticed my fakies throughout the battle. You were able to pick up well so quickly. You really had me going for it,"
"Oh…yeah… that was insane. I didn't know what the hell you were doing…"
"And so, you've figured out how to drive this route now, have you?"
"So have you…" added S.

The two road racers shook hands and gave a brotherly hug. Even though he lost, S had fun as well as learned how to adapt in different situations. His skills are more than worthy of a place in the Divine Unit of Zui Hou R.

S walked slowly back to his car. He glanced at his beautiful rally-striped Evo VII, and wiped a bit of dirt off the fender with his hands… "You know, Fu…" he wiped on, caressing his Lancer. "You're starting to become a bit like Master Ku…"

"You think so…?" wondered Fu Huo.
"Yeah… I've just noticed it recently. Your style and techniques… You're becoming more and more like her…"

This was most unexpected for Fu Huo to hear. Though he did not quite understand, he did not take it as either a compliment or an offense.
In either case, Fu Huo smiled to himself to an incredible battle.
But at the back of his mind, he still has not forgotten his objectives…

This is only the beginning…

Fu Huo did not bother to wait for the next race. Although it would have been a good plan to get some data for the next race, which was about to start soon.

"I'm gonna bounce, bro," said Fu Huo, "Laters…"
"Aren't you gonna stay for the next race? It's probably started by now…" asked S.
"Nah, man… I'm hungry. But tell me what happens, will you?"
"Ok. Good night man, see ya, champ,"

Fu Huo grinned, as he opened his car door, and claimed, "The champ here is you,"
He got into his car, and started the engine. He looked to his side, and reached for his phone.
"Hmm…" he picked it up and checked. He had about 13 missed calls, and they were all from the same person…

Minako…?