The rest of the day was uneventful for the two. Returning to the shop around 6 in the evening, Kenji called them into the garage. "Josh, get your car in here, I want to take a look at the engine."

"Yes sir," Josh said and went about doing what was asked of him. A few moments later he was pulling the Fairlady into the garage. He popped the hood and got out, eager to see what the master mechanic might turn up while looking at the power-plant of his car. After a quick inspection, Kenji confirmed what Kaemon had told the two the day before. He also offered them the parts he would need, at a much cheaper price than they had previously figured.

"If you want," Kenji said, "I'll order the parts tomorrow, and they should be in by Wednesday."

"Thats nice, Mr. Yamazaki, but I can't afford them right now."

"Well, I'm willing to take 5 percent of the total cost of your guys paychecks until they are paid off. Think of it as a payday loan."

"Wow. Ok, that'd be fine Mr. Yamazaki. Well, that is, if Watanabe agrees." Watanabe grunted his agreement, and the three shook hands. "Um, just one question, though."

"Let me guess, you'll need some help installing everything."
"Yeah," he replied with a sheepish look on his face. "I don't know too much about the mechanical side of cars. My dad taught me how to change the tires and that was about it."

"No problem. A lot of younger street racers have the same problem. But if someone doesn't take the time to teach you, then you'll never know, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. Thank you, Mr. Yamazaki. Are there any more runs for the night?"

"No, you've taken them all for today. Hold on a minute and I'll get you guys some money for gas." The man disappeared into a side room for a few minutes, and came back with a fold of bills that would easily accommodate their gas tank.

"Thanks Mr. Yamazaki, but isn't this a little much."

"Haha, Bunta doesn't get many visitors, so he was pleased at the opportunity to talk to living people. He insisted that I give you guys some money as a tip."

"Thats cool. If you talk to Mr. Fujiwara anytime soon, could you tell him thanks?"

"That wouldn't be a problem. Also, if you want, we can get started on some of the work on the Fairlady tomorrow night. I have the fuel lines and brake lines you're going to want."

"Thanks again, Mr. Yamazaki. Same time tomorrow morning?"

"No, you guys don't need to be here until around 10. Usually I don't open the shop until then, but today was a special occasion with those suspension parts coming in. I'll see you guys in the morning. Be here on time, please."

"No problem. Good night, Mr. Yamazaki."

"Good night, and enough of that Mr. Yamazaki mess. Call me Kenji. See you guys in the morning."

The two boys walked out to their car and headed off to the nearest gas station. Filling up their tanks, they noticed they still had enough money for another tank of gas and then some. Seeing that, they decided to head up to the top of Mt. Arafune.


Pulling up to the peak, they saw Goro's red Miata sitting in the right lane, with his lackeys' cars parked over on the side of the road. As they reached the turn-around, they saw that Goro's friends had circled him. Goro stepped through the circle of people and made his way to the driver's side. Rolling down the window, Josh asked what the deal was.

"You disrespecting me last night is what the deal is. I don't appreciate people who don't accept their betters. And I especially don't appreciate a gai-jin on the touge. I want you off this mountain right now," he said, nearly spitting out the last sentence.

"Well, this mountain doesn't belong to you. If I want to drive here, I will," Josh said, refusing to let Goro get him worked up for something as trivial as this.

"Heh, no. You won't. That is, unless you agree to a little race. My rules, of course, but the winner decides who stays and who goes."

"How about I drive down this mountain by myself? And you stay up here with your little boyfriends watching my tail-lights?"

Goro was livid now, and his only response to Josh's words was to put a long key scratch down the side of Josh's Fairlady. "What you think about that now, round eye?"

It took all of Watanabe's strength to keep Josh from jumping out of the car and into a fight. "Chill man. Last think you need is to end up in jail, or worse. Goro's friend's don't fight fair. Even though it's just as dangerous to race him, I think you should take that option. We already know you're better than him, so just leave him behind and we'll decide who can stay and play, and who can go."

"You're right. But if we win, I'm cracking him in the head for keying my car."

"When we win, I'll even watch your back and keep his friends off you."

"Sounds good." Looking out the window, he motioned Goro to come over. When he did, Josh reached out and grabbed him by the back if the neck and dragged his head closer to the car. "Listen here, ass. I'll race you, but if you try any funny stuff, I'm liable to run that little rag-top of yours off the road and into the ravine. Got it?"

Goro broke free and walked toward his car. Looking back he said, "We'll see about that. First one to the bottom wins." He got into his car, and took off without a start. By the time Goro's friends moved out of the way, the Miata already had an 8 second lead on him. Dropping the car into gear, the tires spun until they found purchase on the road, and Josh rocketed off, intent of catching up to the miata. "Watanabe, keep an eye out."

"Alright Josh, I'll watch the road."


After the third corner, Goro was still far enough ahead that Josh couldn't see his brake lights. He was starting to get frustrated, but as he turned the fourth corner, he caught a glimpse of red going around a turn. He'd finally caught up to him, now all he had to do was get closer. After 3 more corners, he was finally close enough to see the full car before it went into a turn. They were about three quarters of the way down now, so if Josh wanted to make his move, it had to be fast.

Rounding another corner, Josh had managed to pull up behind him. As he got closer and closer, he began to feel uneasy. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was definitely off. He was right on Goro's tail as they went into the last set of corners, and he moved to pass on the next small straightaway. It was then that his uneasy feeling manifested itself into something real. Just as he began to pass, Goro cut in front of Josh's car. The only problem was that he went too far to the side, and his car came perilously close to the guard rail. Swerving back to the inside lane, he overcompensated and drove his car straight into the side of the mountain.

Josh drove for about 30 yards before he pulled over. Running back to the Miata, he checked to make sure that the other driver was alright. Pulling him out of the ruined vehicle, he landed a right-hook into Goro's cheek.

"That's what you get for keying my car," he yelled into Goro's face. "You're lucky nothing happened to me just now or it'd be a lot worse. Now get in, and I'll get you to the doctor, your hand looks to be at a pretty unnatural angle."

"Alright. Look, I'm..." Goro began.

"Save it," he interrupted. "Just get in the damn car." The 3 boys piled into the car and headed off to the hospital, where Goro got his broken hand taken care of. A quick call to his dad, and Watanabe got Goro's car towed to Kenji's shop. The night was over for the 2, and it was time for them to get to sleep so they wouldn't be late for work in the morning.


A/N: Well, Josh's first actual race. More to come in the future.