Rally Reunion.
'He didn't know whether to let out a frustrated scream that life could throw this complication into an already conflicted time or pull the speaker, only a couple of years younger than Kyouichi himself, into a fierce hug.
You had to know Sodou Kyouichi and Nicolas Sainz to understand their relationship.'
The later reaction won out and Sodou Kyouichi, graduate of Todou Racing School and leader of the feared and famed Emperor team, grabbed the young gaijin driver in a bearhug.
"God damn it Sainz-kun, how long has it been!? Five years... more than that? What are you doing back in Japan?" Extricating himself from the older mans arms Nicolas Sainz brushed a stray lock of hair behind his ear as he answered Kyouichi.
"Tochigi is my home sempai, even if I had to leave, this is where my heart will always be." A touching sentiment, though Sodou hardly believed it. To anyone with an ear to the ground in the racing world the events that led up to Nicolas Sainz leaving the Toyota Rally Project were well known. Many people, Sodou included, believed that there was much more to the story than had made the rounds, in rally some accidents were out of the driver's control, and even in as tragic an event as the Toyota team experienced, it was unusual for a driver to turn his back on a promising career before it even started, especially considering the lengths Toyota had gone to procure and train Sainz for the task. There was some other reason for the return of the young man, and Sodou intended to find out.
"Dysuke-kun this is Kogashiwa Kai, Kai this is Nobutachi Dysuke." The two young man shook hands before Dysuke introduced Takuya to Rina and her boyfriend. Predictably Kai recognised the name and connected the young man's face and car to his action with Best Motoring and in the Saitama prefecture.
"Ohna Takuya, I didn't know that you'd moved to Tochigi. You made a great reputation for yourself in Saitama, good enough to even impress Tsuchiya-san. Tell me, did you hear any news of a team called Project D in Saitama?"
Ohna smiled to himself as though he was privy to a joke the others weren't.
"Yeah, they came to Saitama. They defeated the North-West Saitama All Stars on Akiyama Wataru's home pass and then a couple of goons on my home pass in their LanEvos. Apparently they had bet on themselves to beat Project D with a local bookie and used an oil patch to spin them out. Still backfired though, Project D won both races, and the guy in his Evo VI spun and crashed himself. Fitting, though it was a shame that those two jerks were the ones to race. I would have loved a shot at that Fujiwara guy in that Trueno." Kai nodded his head in understanding, he knew exactly what it was like to be overlooked simply because the other people on the pass were louder and more obnoxious. If he hadn't of challenged Fujiwara to a battle on Irohazaka then no one would have really heard of him at all in the racing scene. As it was at the moment, only Sodou and his Emperor cronies gave any attention to Kai's blue SW20, and Kai had just been humbled only minutes ago by the Emperor leader himself.
"So were you guys the one's who battled Emperor just before?" Dysuke pantomimed being hit in the heart by a stray bullet before answering the affirmative.
"I tried to get him to practice beforehand and change his suspension settings, but he didn't listen. That's a drifter for you."
Kai and Takuya laughed at that and Dysuke scratched the back of his head in confusion.
"So what's the big difference between touge and drift settings anyway? I mean I know the ride was a bit rough but still, I couldn't even get close to the Evo guy. Was that all down to 4WD or was that the difference in setting coming out?" Both Takuya and Kai began to speak at once, but by increasing the level of his voice, Kai won out quickly.
"Probably a bit of both. You see, on the track and gymkhana field the surface is almost completely flawless. On the touge there are many bumps and potholes and the roads aren't always cambered well, so travel and softness are needed to eat up the undulations. On the other hand cars, especially FR's don't do exceptionally well with a too soft setting. You really have to know just the right positioning." Takuya nodded sagely in agreement with Kai.
"Really it's all about balance, you have to balance a set-up for cornering and rough environments if you want to do well." Takuya added to Kai's advice.
"Finally, you just don't have the experience in racing to be a real challenge to any of the Emperor team. In the area they're it, the best, even the Todou Racing School students can't compete with Sodou, let alone the other teams. Like I was telling Rina earlier, half of learning to drive fast on the touge is experience. There's probably nothing wrong with your technique when it comes to drifting, but you can't necessarily rely on that in a battle, it's very different. If you want to get fast enough for revenge than you will need to practice."
As the group continued talking, discussing everything from Tsuchiya's season in JGTC to the new concept cars currently being developed by Japanese manufacturers, they didn't realise it, but the foundation for a new team would be lain. As the four young enthusiasts parted company, in the mind of Kogashiwa Kai and Ohna Takuya, Five Fire Flame was born.
"So you're still driving your Evo III after all this time sempai. I've been told that the more things change, the more they stay the same, it's probably true in this case." Sodou listened politely to his younger friend, there was a certain melancholy but at the same time almost a mania in the eyes of the gaijin that made Sodou far more patient than he would have been in the past, with Seiji or Nicolas, for that matter. "You're still training with Takahashi Ryousuke on the side I take it?" Sodou's grip on his can of ice tea tightened slightly, but enough to let the perceptive Sainz come to a conclusion. It was invariable that to men as competitive and skilled as Takahashi Ryousuke and Sodou Kyouichi would eventually have had their friendship marred by eventual battle. That was how things went at the top echelon of street racing.
"We parted company, no use driving between Takasaki and Nikko on a regular basis, the fuel bill nearly sent me broke. Besides, we both have our own teams to lead now, I have Emperor and he has both the RedSuns and Project D, a special touring team that conquered the Kanto plain before turning pro..." Sodou was going to continue, mentioning that the 'Project D' FD had performed quite well in the Super Taikyu endurance event, but at the mention of professional driving Sainz's eye's quickly averted from Sodou's own to look at the concrete they were occupying beside a vending machine. Far from inconsiderate himself Sodou quickly steered the conversation toward safer ground. "But my team is the real power in these parts."
"The LanEvos are all yours I take it? You always talked about starting your own team and I'm not surprised to see nothing but Evos in it."
Sodou turned to the younger driver, his facial expressions serious.
"You could join you know, I would make an exception for you..."
Never mind making an exception, with Sainz as part of Emperor, conquering Tochigi would be as simple as stomping out a cigarette on the concrete. If it had been Sainz, instead of Iwaki that came with him to Gunma, no one could have defeated them, not Takahashi Keisuke, not Fujiwara Takumi, not anyone. With a nostalgic smile Nicolas considered the offer before dismissing it with a shake of his head.
"Just like old times Sodou-sempai? Sorry, but for now the answer is no. I've got no interest in racing anymore, and really I don't much see that changing."
To that Sodou Kyouichi had nothing to say.
Short chapter I know but really, that was where I wanted to end that chapter. There are references throughout of the past between Sodou and Sainz, they will become more important as the story goes on. For all you Kai fans, don't worry, the next few chapters will be centred much more around him and the creation of Five Fire Flame. Please read and review to let me know how I am going.