It was early morning on Mt. Arafune. For Josh, Japan was still a foreign land with foreign people. That is, except for Watanabe. Watanabe was the foreign exchange student who his family had hosted a few years ago. The two quickly became friends and was there to offer a place to stay for Josh when he eventually moved to the country 3 months ago. When Watanabe had been in America, the two teenagers had found they both shared a like for cars. This being the usual topic of discussion it was only normal for Josh to be interested in the drift scene Watanabe had told him about, and when he got old enough to strike out on his own, he decided it was the life he wanted to live. So Josh had scraped up his savings, and bought a plane ticket to live with his friend in Gunma. Josh knew little about drifting, but he did know a bit about cars.

For the past 3 months he had been working with his friend as a newspaper delivery boy throughout the neighborhoods surrounding Arafune mountain. It didn't pay much, but at least it was a steady job with decent income. He earned about 18000 yen a week before taxes, bringing home right about 1500. Even though he had less than 50000 yen, Watanabe's father had agreed to cover half of a car when Josh found the one he wanted. Pickings were slim for a low income teenager, but eventually he had found one. It was an old 1987 280zx. Nissan had produced them in America under the Datsun name to make it seem like more of a domestic car to the American market. But it ran, and it was in good condition, which was alright for him. At an asking price of 115000 yen, Watanabe's father Kaemon had agreed to pay the rest.

"Looking down the hill?" asked a voice from behind.

"Oh, hey Watanabe. Yeah, I'm looking down. Contemplating whether I'm ready for this or not. It's a lot different here then back in Ohio."

"True," Watanabe agreed "but the roads there were curvy enough to give you some practice."

"I hope so. You riding with me?"

"Of course. I can't let you make your first run without someone to tell you when the cars are coming."

"Thanks man. I can't afford to wreck this car already." With that final word of thanks, the two prepared to take off on Mt. Arafune's downhill run. As the two gradually got closer to the base, they became less nervous and began to enjoy the ride more. By the time they reached the bottom, they were in utter elation as they reached speeds far past daring and closer to reckless. Pulling into a rest stop, they both got out of the car.

"Not too bad for your first time Josh. I'm surprised you didn't get freaked out and pull over."

"Me too. It was fun as hell though. I know its going to take a long time, but I can't wait until I'm good enough to tackle the downhill as fast as possible."

"Don't rush it. I've seen many people who have thought they were good enough to push their limits but only ended up pushing the guardrail with their front bumpers."

"I know, I know. Trust me, after what I did to my dad's car in Ohio, I'm not going to rush anything." When Josh had first got his driver's license, his father had let him borrow his Camaro to take to the Wal-mart. Josh had gotten a little too throttle-happy and ended up plowing the Camaro into an embankment. His father's insurance had paid for the damage, but Josh had to pay for the deductible out of the money he had saved for his own vehicle. And he had gotten grounded for the duration of the summer, and a few months after that.

"Good. Its getting late, or should I say early. Dad's probably going to be wondering what's taking us so long."

"Yeah. Even though he was a street racer when he was younger, he probably didn't sit at the top of the mountain for 2 hours trying to work up the nerve to actually drive down it."

"Haha. Probably not. Anyways, we have work in a few hours, and I want to get a nap."

"Alright, lets get back home." The two boys headed back home so they could get a few hours of rest before they had to make their rounds.


Josh and Watanabe had finished their deliveries and had gotten back home in time for Yuriko, Watanabe's mother to be putting food on the table for lunch.

"Hi mom, where's dad?" Watanabe asked his mother.

"He's out in the garage looking at you boys' car."

"Oh, ok. Whats for lunch?"

"Well, I made some dumplings and some shabu shabu. I hope you boys brought your appetites because I made plenty."

"Hmm, shabu shabu. I'll go get dad and tell him lunch is ready."

The two boys went outside to the garage, where Kaemon had the hood of the 280 open and was fiddling around with the engine.

"Hey dad, mom sent me to tell you lunch was ready."

"Ok son, I'll be there in a minute," he replied. He closed the hood of the 280 and went inside and washed his hands for lunch. He then took a seat, followed my Watanabe, Josh, then Yuriko. "So boys, how was your first run last night?"

"It wasn't too bad, Mr. Yoshida," Josh replied.

"Come on now Josh, you've been here for three months, you can call me Kaemon now."

"Ok Mr. Yo, I mean Kaemon. It took me a little while to build up the nerve to actually do it, but it wasn't too bad. We took a nice pace and made it to the bottom in one piece. But at least i got a feel for the road."

"That's the most important part. Mt. Arafune has a decent balance low and high speed corners. And a few decent straight parts where you have to keep track of when the corners are coming. Overall, its a good course to practice on because it keeps your mind working. When a driver's mind stops is when a mistake usually occurs. And I know you don't want another mishap like your fathers Camaro happening now that you own the car."

"Definitely not. So, did you find anything out of the ordinary under the hood?"

"Nothing that a little tune up wouldn't fix. You need new spark plugs, and I would recommend and oil and transmission fluid change. Also, you'll want to change the breaks since you'll be working them out more than regular driving will. The tires are good and your air filter is new, so that won't be a problem. Your fuel lines are also in good shape, but I would recommend replacing them just as a precaution. Overall, you got a good deal. There's only a little bit of rust, but thats only in the wheel-wells, which is a pretty common place for cars to rust after around 10 years."

"So, plugs, fluids and breaks huh? That'll run me about what, 10000 for the fluid and plugs, and another 15000 for the breaks?"

"Something like that. But my friend works at an auto parts store, so I'll call him later and see what it will cost."

"Thanks. I'd really appreciate that. This job pays, but it doesn't pay nearly enough."

"Speaking of which, my friend also needs someone to deliver parts to other areas in Gunma, he said he'd pay the both of you 30000 a week, plus reimburse you for gas used on the job."

"Damn, thats nearly double what we're making now. Plus gas used on the job. When do we start?"

"He said to drop by the shop tomorrow and he'll get you guys started. Also, I know the way he is, and he'll be more than willing to help you work on the Z any time you need it. And he'll let you use all of his tools and equipment."

"This sounds too good to be true. I can't wait."

"Heh. It will be too good to be true if you don't watch your mouth at the table."

"Sorry. I was a little excited."

"I understand, but now you know. On a lighter note, you kids headed up the mountain tonight?"

"Well, we haven't decided. We were running low on money, but now that you gave us this news, I think we can afford the gas. We'll probably head up there around 11 or so."

"Well, you better get some sleep after lunch. Kenji wants you guys there at 7:30."

"Will do Kaemon. Great lunch Mrs. Yoshida. We'll see you in the morning." The two headed upstairs and went to bed instantly, dreams of drifting passing through their heads until the alarm clock interrupted their slumber.

Getting into the car, they headed up the mountain to squeeze in a few runs before morning came and their new jobs started. As they made their way up, they saw a couple of cars parked along side the road, and when they reached the top, they saw a man in a black hoodie standing beside a gray FD. They pulled to the side and parked their car, getting out to see what the commotion was about.

"Oi, Watanabe, what are you doing running around with a gai-jin?" asked the man in the sweatshirt.

"Oi, Yoshi, why are you looking so ugly?" he replied. Yoshi was a friend of his and Josh's and liked to joke with them all the time. "What gives? Arafune's usually empty."

"Well, the Red Suns came last week and challenged some of us. Word has it they're doing a 'Best in Gunma Prefecture' thing and are trying to beat all course records in the area. From what I can tell, these guys are top notch."

"You're damn right they are. Ryousuke Takahashi is nothing to mess with. And I hear his younger brother is right there beside him in terms of skill."

"Yeah, well, all I can say is that I hope Goro doesn't get beaten too badly. Even though we really have no chance, I don't want it to turn into a route. If it does, Goro will be out for blood, and so will all of his lackeys. Then we'll have some trouble on our hands when they start 'rollin down the hill." "Rollin down the hill" was a term the two used when someone drove into the guardrail, or in the case of the unlucky bastard 2 years ago, straight off the mountain.

"Yeah. He gets excited too easily, then wonders why everyone calls him immature."

"Hey, that looks like them. I guess the race is going to start soon.

Goro's red Miata lined up next to the yellow FD from Akagi mountain. After the count, the two were off. A few seconds after they took off, Josh started up the 280.

"Watanabe, get in, lets follow them," he yelled out the window as Watanabe approached the vehicle.

"Josh, are you nuts? We couldn't catch up to them if we tried. Attempting to is sheer insanity."

"Just get in. I'm not going to do anything crazy."

"Alright, but if you wreck the car, I'm not helping you fix it."

"Whatever, just get in and tell me when you see a car coming up the mountain." Josh took off and was driving like a man possessed. Watanabe had driven with him in the backroads of Ohio, so he knew what he was capable of, but he didn't think his friend had this much skill in him. It wasn't long before he could see the FD's tail lights in the distance. Since the two cars had started handicapped, Goro was leading with the FD following. If the FD passed, he would win the race. Evidently, Takahashi wanted to see if Goro could amount to a decent challenge before defeating him. Josh quickly closed the gap, and was tailgating the yellow car.

Looking in his rear view mirror, Keisuke Takahashi saw headlights coming up. "He caught up fast," he thought. "Must be that white FD I saw at the peak."

When they entered a turn, he pulled away a little from the car following him, but not enough so that he would win in a race. The car behind him was skilled, but he wasn't quite up to his level. Looking forward, he saw that he was right on the Miata's bumper. "Well, I'm not racing the FD, its time to win this and make aniki happy."

The FD shot past the Miata, cutting in front of him to take the inside line of the next corner. Soon after, Josh did the same. Watanabe sat in the passenger seat, not saying anything, somewhat afraid that interrupting his friend could cause a crash. The few times he had seen Josh like this, he knew that distracting him could be hazardous, so he just sat there and kept and eye on the road for oncoming cars.

The two cars made it to the bottom, leaving the Miata in the dust. As Josh pulled alongside Keisuke, the younger Takahashi brother got out and was somewhat perplexed by what he saw: a 280zx instead of an FD, with a gai-jin at the wheel.

"Hi, my names Keisuke Takahashi," he said as the foreigner got out of the car.

"Josh Duncan."

"You're American?" Keisuke asked, somewhat surprised that an American could drive so well on the touge.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I didn't expect a foreigner to keep up so well on the touge."

"Heh. I didn't even really know what I was doing until the end. I sort of go into a trance when I'm driving like that. It's kind of scary when I think about it," Josh said, scratching the back of his head.

"Ah. I used to be the same way. How old are you?"

"20. But I've been driving for about 4 years now."

"How is that?"

"Well, in America, you can get your license when you're 16. I drove a little before that with my dad, but nothing like this."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Ryousuke's FC pulling up beside them. As the man stepped out, Josh couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the older Takahashi's presence.

"Ryousuke Takahashi," he said, extending his hand.

"Josh Duncan," he replied, shaking the hand before him. When he withdrew, he felt tingles running up his arm as if he had just touched hands with greatness.

"You drive well. If you're ever looking to hone your skills, give me a call," he said and handed Josh a card with his number on it. "Keisuke, let's go. Your opponent in the Miata seems a bit unhappy that he lost, and I think its better that we avoid any confrontations."

"Ok I'll be along in a few, I wanted to talk to Josh for a little while longer."

"Alright, but don't take too long. The miata was coming down the hill a little after I left, and he had a few other cars following him." With that final note, he got back into his FC and drove off. Headed for home and Mt. Akagi, where he and Keisuke would be going over how the battle went, and offering advice to help his younger brother better himself.

"Aniki sees potential in you. He doesn't usually give his card to people. Call him soon and you'll be surprised at the level he can take you to." The younger Takahashi followed his brothers example and drove off. Leaving a somewhat awestruck Josh and Watanabe sitting there.

"We'd better get home too. Goro isn't going to be happy with us now that we've beaten him. And while he may not be much to worry about, the fifteen other guys he has following him will be," Watanabe said to his friend.

"You're right. Lets go." The two sped off just as the headlights of Goro's Miata poked around the final corner.

Later than night, as he was about to drift off to sleep, Josh couldn't help but wonder how me managed what happened earlier in the evening, and wonder what the future held in store for him.


A/N: This is my first ID fic, and I hope I didn't do too bad of a job. I'm having a little bit of trouble with Japanese names, so if anyone could help me out here, much thanks. Shoot me an email at . Next chapter I'll be going a little more in depth into Josh's background. If there's anything anyone would like to see in upcoming chapters, let me know and I'll try to work it in. Also, before anyone flames me saying "WTF IS A 280ZX!" Around the 1980's Nissan started a product line with the name "Datsun" as the manufacturer. During this time, most American auto makers were trying to keep Japanese cars from selling well because they were a little bit more durable and got way better gas mileage. Most Americans thought Datsun was a more domestic name than Nissan. So it was basically a way for Nissan to boost American sales. Im not too current on Japanese-American money conversions, if anyone wishes to correct me, feel free. Either review or email. And yes, Mt. Arafune is a real mountain in Gunma. Its on the south-west part.