ACT 4 – 4000RPM 'And His Name Was Stephen'

Later during the night, Route H3 had its own share of gathering drivers; most of which were Bu Xia De second stringers. The weather was calm with only a gentle breeze twirling through the bushes as few cars had made their way near towards the heights of the mountain pass.
Mirishima Reiko drove her way up along with her other team members, Alex, Sly, and Jeni.
Bu Xia De's Street Elite positioned themselves on different sections, located at the tourist parking located throughout the pass.
Reiko felt a little uneasy and impatient, yet tried to keep a clear head. Anything less tha zero concentration could be fatal at Route H3, as well as any other condition.
She knew that she was playing a crazy game; a dangerous game. But that was the very thrill of it.
And every player, no matter whom, as long as they survive, is extraordinary.

There were hardly any spectators for the race, as the match had only been made not so long ago.
Kumiko better not have stood me up.
Reiko had already moved her car into the starting point. It was barely 10:15 and she had already been revving her engine, ready to begin the race even before her opponent had arrived.

Just before she was about to reach for her phone in the attempt to call Kumiko to find out what exactly was going on, a report of another racer was sighted making its way through the pass.

"What car is it?" asked Reiko, after pulling down her windows.
"Well… it appears to be an FD," reported Fao.
"I see…"

It was exactly what Reiko had wanted. She did not tell the other BXD members whom she chose.
"By the way, there's also another car alongside it, also making its way here," said Fao.
"…Say what?"
"It appears to be a LanEvo VII,"

"Evo VII?" interrupted Jeni, "What could he be doing here?"
It was unexpected, but Jeni somehow felt relieved. It was almost as if she wanted that other car to show up. But why did he come? Well it makes sense; they are team members after all… But there are only two of them…?

On their way to the starting point were Zui Hou R's Mazdaspeed RX-7 A Spec and Ralliart Lancer Evolution VII. Both cars slowly cruised past the other Bu Xia De members and made their presence known.
They parked along the side, near the starting point. Their drivers stepped out of the vehicles and confirmed.
"I will be your opponent tonight," claimed the General Of the West, "As requested by Miss Fukada Kumiko, I will race you tonight on your conditions, except my team mate has joined me and will serve nothing more than a one-man cheering squad. I believe that is fair."

Reiko extended her hand forward to shake with Shireishou W.
"What is your name?" she asked, "Your real name…"
"…Stephen," said her opponent, "That's all I'm allowed to disclose."
"That's fine with me, Stephen. It's a pleasure. Let's have fun tonight, shall we?"
"Sure. What are your conditions?"
"Let's keep it simple. We both start evenly, and whoever finishes first wins."
"Got it. I'm ready any time."

Stephen made his way back to his car and positioned it side by side with Reiko's Spirit R.
It was an RX-7 battle, however, there were still minor differences.

Ling Luan stepped out of his car and briefly wished his partner some luck.
Within a short moment, a somewhat familiar individual approached him.

"So you came," said Jeni.
"That's right," confirmed Ling.
"Its… good to see you again,"
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Are you still mad at me for what I did a couple of days ago?"
"I'm over it," claimed Ling, "Actually, I've already forgotten about it,"
"Really? That's good…"

The two of them looked at each other, but said nothing. Ling Luan had a blank expression on his face.
Jeni had joined him and leaned on his car, exchanging no words with each other. She was really a shy girl at heart.

Without paying much attention, Ling and Jeni had barely noticed the two racers speed off as they began to start the battle.

Fao made his way back to the galleries after the cars had blasted their way past him.
He was probably one of the only individuals that could not care less about tonight's result. He was part of neither team even though it was his wife that was to compete. As long as Reiko had come back alive – that was all that matters.
There's probably only such a very minor difference maker in this match other than their skills… I've helped Reiko with tuning her car. From the badge design, Zui Hou's FD is an earlier Efini model. But who knows what it runs under that chassis. But Reiko's skills actually aren't as bad as they look. She could win this if she plays it all right…

The yellow and gray FD3S were side by side. Being at an advantage once again, Reiko utilized her knownledge and experience from training on her very home course.
Reiko stole the inside on the first corner and grabbed the lead without hesistation.

That's one down, three to go!
Reiko wanted to add another Zui Hou R member to BXD's kill record. She had badly wanted this ever since she lost to Fukada Kumiko at the very same course.
Stephen had no choice but to try and mimic Reiko's turn-ins. Most Zui Hou R members are skilled enough to copy opponent's moves, at the same time, exclude their mistakes. But that was only one of Stephen's finely tuned techniques. He had a reputation to have been able to slay even the most formidable of four-wheel-drive rally monsters with his rotary.

The next two sections did not differ from the beginning pace. Reiko kept the lead with her clean-to-vicious driving style, while Stephen was unable to grasp the flow and rhythm of the pass. Everything was so different.

Ling Luan's already lost one. For him and Zui Hou, I'll avenge them both!
Stephen grew tired of playing chase. He was also one of the few drivers that could give even Fukada Kumiko a tough run, as he displayed in the previous tournament.

Stephen did not understand the concept of the current team battle. All he cared about was that he had to win. Being a car fanatic all his life, he loved his RX-7 and every moment with it.
He was one of those drivers who are finally in touch with their skills and are almost 'one with their vehicle'. There was still much he was to improve on, but his concept was always 'style'.
And the FD3S suited his needs quite well.

Both cars dived through the downhill twists at similar speeds. Music pumped through Stephen's car – 'Sound Of Silence' – Koda Kumi

'Hirosugiru heya no yuka ni suwarikomu
Nani mo kamo ga toosugite te ga todokanai'

Stephen was able to match everything Reiko had thrown at him, whether it be in racing technique or stable concentration. He had seen it all before.

'Dakishimeru nukumori sae ushinatte
Tameiki ga shiroku kemuri mune no kodou sae kikoeru' /I'

He had already figured the race out from the past result from Kumiko's battle with Reiko previous last month. But Stephen did not have the weight issues that Kumiko's 3000GT suffers from.
Having almost the same vehicle, Stephen could evenly match whatever pace Reiko had dictated, and possibly take control on his own.

I 'Silence
Omoeba itsumo anata no nioi ga shiteta'

At this rate, Reiko had been using the same tactics she had with her previous race at H3.
Despite her home course advantage, Stephen was able to capitalize on where she flawed.

'Silence
Kotaete kureta dakara kitto kagayaiteta noni'

Learning from the previous battle and utilizing his time from the first two sections, Stephen remained in position. Yet, Reiko had already been anticipating his perception all along.
A hairpin curve was coming up.
She began to try something she does not usually do.

Arriving at such a high speed, Reiko pulled the e-brake and flung her car sideways along the straightaway, as hr car began to crabwalk violently.

'Mou ichido mou nido to
Kono omoi todokanai
Ima mo mada motometeru tsuyoi hikari wo'

Stephen did not expect such a sudden move. Noticing the opponent's FD blocking the whole path sliding sideways, he had not choice but to brake hard to avoid collision. Reiko's car has also partially blocked Stephen's vision, and did not notice that Reiko's Spirit R was preparing to drift into a hairpin.

'Sono koe ga kikoenai
Kono heya no madobe kara
Awaku kiekakaru Crescent moon'

The West General had lost a little bit of stability as he quickly struggled to regain control of his car from the sudden cut in velocity.
Reiko was able to escape him on the corner's exit. Stephen understeered a little away from the apex.
She's much better than I expected. I could actually lose tonight. I can't ease off anymore…

Moments later, the cars have finally reached near the final section of H3.
They bolted past the empty galleries, yet came across a familiar vehicle sitting lone in the tourist parking – a LanEvo V in the assumption that it was Chuan Fu Huo's ride.

However, the drivers did not let anything get in their heads.
Stephen had been tailing for most of the race. He began to spawn a gut feeling; it was about time for him to take charge.

'Silence
Itsu no ma ni ka futari wa jiyuu wo motometa'

The gap could not seem to close any more than it already has. Stephen's series VI model RX-7 proved formidable against Reiko's limited edition RX-7 Spirit R, almost evening the abilities of both vehicles not just in performance, but in setting. Stephen began to tackle the rest of the course on his own.

'Silence
Wagamama sugita shirazu shirazu kotoba wo nakushita'

"I hardly see any more of those long sliding drifts that she just did," said Stephen under his breath, "But I guess that really screwed up your tires didn't it?"

Reiko managed to maintain control of her car, as she glided through each corner at an insane rate.
He's really good, but he doesn't seem like he's anything spectacular. He's not even trying to make a move and its near the end of the race…

Reiko quickly glanced at her rear view. The lights of the yellow FD3S gave her an intimidating glare.
She did not expect him to be this close.

'Keredo ano omoide wa
Kakegae no nai subete
Sou tsuki to taiyou ga hikareau yo na'

Stephen turned in aggressively, turning from outside to inside as his car immediately blocked Reiko from passing at full speed. It was all too sudden. Just a little bit more… Unable to maintain its speed, the Spirit R exited at a lower speed than the s6 type R.

'Jounetsu wo kureta kara
Dakara mou kuyamanai
Itsuka mata michiru Crescent moon'

Stephen did not let go of the accelerator even before the corner's exit, which he was not meant to do.
But in desperation, he rocked his car back into position with a combination of braking and throttle motions and finally, snapped back in front of his opponent.

"For Zui Hou!" yelled Stephen in a loud war call.
Passing the Spirit R easily, Stephen's victory seemed secure.

Reiko did not let up, even after being easily overtaken on her own home grounds.
Why? Why aren't I good enough?

Reiko was able to hold her ground against her opponent, keeping up within the last few corners of H3.
Yet she was not able to capitalize on anything, as Stephen fully accelerated ahead on the straightaway and grabbed the victory at last…

Several moments later, Ling Luan and Jeni had stood near the guardrails paying less attention to the actual battle and more on each other.

"So that's why you became a road racer?" asked Ling Luan.
"Yes… Because of the money I won from each battle. I use them to eventually get my car powerful enough to maintain a stable income," laughed Jeni.
"But do you not find it fun?" asked Ling.
"That's something I eventually figured out. Next thing I know… I began to race for free. And now here I am, with Bu Xia De…"
"I see. Well to tell you the truth, I don't know why I am with Zui Hou. I myself don't know much about them either. It's just that my friends were in it and I've just decided to join them. It's more pleasurable to be able to race alongside my friends. But not even they know anything more about Zui Hou than I do,"
"Who funds Zui Hou anyway?" asked Jeni.
"I actually don't know. But I think one or two of our members know about it."

Ling Luan approached Jeni and wrapped his arms around her slowly.
"We'll have a rematch someday, okay?" he spoke to her softly.
"I wouldn't mind," said Jeni.

She had not talked this much in a long time. Despite her usual shy nature, Ling Luan was somebody who could get her talking.
"I like your car," said Jeni.
"Yes… according to my team, it is a car that suits my driving style and concept. The South General's Strength and Aggression Theorem. That's me."
"That's actually fitting," added Jeni, "It was almost as if I felt your aggression through our race. But something held you back, wasn't there?"
"Maybe…" admitted Ling.
"In that case, I'd like to experience your true style some day. You are interesting, Ling Luan…"
"In what way?"
"Well, not just your driving. But…"
"What do you mean?"
"To tell you the truth, I don't like talking with many people. However, I feel totally comfortable talking to you. It's a similar comfortable feeling I get from driving my R32,"
"I'm confused," admitted Ling.
"I used to think that my R32 was the only one that let me be myself. But ever since a couple of days ago, I've been proven wrong,"
"I see. You must have a strong bond with your GT-R, don't you?"
"Don't you have a strong bond with your Evolution?"
"Well at first, I used to think that it was just a car. They're just vehicles after all. But then I realized, after all the times I've cheated death, after all the times I've defied the orders of nature, after all the times I've faced defeat and victory, it was only me and my LanEvo,"
"I'm not sure if my other team members are like that…" claimed Jeni, "All they care about is their reputation and being faster than anyone else. That stuff doesn't matter to me. I just want to have fun cheating death and satisfying my need for speed. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Your team must be quite sophisticated though…"
"I'm not like Reiko and the others. Sly and Alex are firmer with their objectives. And I heard Sly will be challenging another of your teammates next,"
"We'll be ready for him. No matter which member he challenges…"

The score of the Bu Xia De versus Zui Hou R team battle was made 1 to 1. There were two races to go. However, as Bu Xia De's contenders have already been decided, Zui Hou R still has three potential competitors.

The General Shireishou of the North brandishes the giant slaying DC5 Integra Type R and is currently an active member of Zui Hou R's Divine Unit, even after the loss of his primary car, the LanEvo III. N was known for his use of the most rational tactics to steal his victories, and would not even hesitate to cross the line depending on the ambition.

There was another potential competitor for the team battle, which was the Divine Unit's General of the East. Like Fukada Kumiko, it had also been rumoured that the East General may have been resorting to retirement. The East General was one of the most experienced members of the Divine Unit, wielding an Impreza S202 and an Altezza 280T. His style is time attack and course record-breaking rather than actual battles. He one that is also unlikely to compete in the team battle against Bu xia De, as contact with this member has been frequently cut off for unknown reasons.

The final possible entrant would be an unconfirmed Zui Hou R member and tournament finalist, Chuan Fu Huo. Another LanEvo driver, he had finished second on the overall Bu Xia De underground street racing tournament after losing to the one Fukada Kumiko. Connection with Zui Hou R is only rumoured as no team sticker is represented on his vehicle, yet Fu Huo was considered as Fukada Kumiko's driving student.