Millennium D - Vol. 1: A Familiar Face

12:30PM. August 4, 2000.

"Takumi-Kun..?"

He paused for a moment, and continued to walk as normal. But as he attempted to do so, memories began to flood back into his head. Meeting her in high school, a trip to the beach with her, finding out about her affairs, with everything only turning out to be a messy misunderstanding, and even saving her from sexual assault.

Takumi tried to shake the thoughts out of his head, but he felt his legs getting incredibly stiff. He managed a few clumsy steps, looking almost like a marionette of some kind, before twisting his legs together and tripping. But just before he fell, he felt a pair of hands catching him by his arms, followed by the same voice he heard earlier. "C-careful..!"

"Huh… w.. wha…?" The boy let out a confused mumble, as he was helped back to his feet by the person behind him. And then it dawned on him. It was Natsuki Mogi, his old girlfriend whom he parted ways with several years ago. With her chin-length straight-cut hair, her big brown eyes, and her short stature, she was instantly recognizable. But at the same time, she had changed a lot. She seemed ever so slightly taller than before, though she was still half a head shorter than he was. She dressed very differently, wearing a black long-sleeved crop top combined with a pair of ripped flared jeans, with a pair of platform sandals to boot. And finally, her chest-

Before he could open his mouth to say hi, Natsuki rushed over and gave Takumi a very, very tight hug, nuzzling against his chest. "Oh my god, it's really you..! I can't believe it…!", she squealed excitedly. He responded by haphazardly putting his arm around her and gave her a gentle pat on the head, but he felt like air was being pushed out of his chest. "Mogi.. you're… squeezing me… a little too tightly…", he managed to say in a stifled voice. "Oh..! My goodness, I'm sorry!", she replied, letting go, putting her hands over her mouth.

"Natsuki… I.. didn't expect to see you here…", Takumi uttered quietly, visibly flustered, "It's been so long…" Once she quickly regained her composure, Natsuki replied, "I know we promised we'd meet again, but I never thought it would be here!", giggling. "So what brings ya here?", she asked. "Oh, well… just decided I wanted to do more with my life than delivering tofu.", Takumi replied dryly. Natsuki seemed to think for a moment, before excitedly snapping her fingers. "Right, I was gonna go get lunch! Wanna come with me?", she offered, holding Takumi's wrists, looking up at him with stars in here eyes. Takumi was still in disbelief of what was going on, trying to make sense of it all. "Sure… is it far from here?" "Oh, not really! We can take my car!", she replied enthusiastically, whipping a set of keys out of her pocket. Takumi's eyes widened. "W-wha… you know how to drive…?", he stuttered. "Yeah, dummy! You can't really get anywhere without a car in this country!", she replied with a laugh, before giving his arm a little tug. "C'mon! I wanna show Takumi-kun my new car!"

After a little bit of walking, they had arrived at the student parking lot. Takumi looked around the place, having never seen any of these cars before in his life; there were Mustangs and Corvettes, and not to mention all of the sport compacts. He continued to follow Natsuki, before she stopped in front of what was probably the most eye-catching car in the lot. In fact, calling it that would be a huge understatement; it was a Civic EJ1 Coupe. Even though he raced Civics at home in Japan, he had never seen a single one built like this. It had on a huge Veilside body kit complete with a curvy, art deco-looking rear wing, and it was lowered straight to the ground, sitting on a massive set of shiny Racing Hart C5s. And to top it all off, it was painted in an eye-burning shade of hot pink, accentuated by intricate flame decals.

Takumi was completely dumbfounded. "Natsuki… is this a toy car you're driving…?", he asked, unable to make sense of what sat before him. She giggled at his comment, responding, "It's better! Toy cars are nowhere as fast. Come on, hop in!", opening the door and getting in through the driver's side. Takumi followed suit and sat in the passenger's seat. "Wow… I've raced all sorts of cars in Japan, but I've never seen a car as decorated as this…", he mused, checking out the interior. "Ah! We like decorating our cars as much as possible here. But of course we like making them fast, too.", Natsuki explained, starting up the Honda's turbocharged B-series inline-4, which let out a healthy growl as it jolted to life, before Natsuki put it into gear and made her way out of the lot. "So, what does Takumi-kun want to eat today?", she asked, giving him a little glance and smiling. "Well.. I'm fine with anything, really, so long as it isn't tofu or ham and cheese sandwiches.", he replied, looking out the window. "Alrighty then! Plenty of great places round here that don't serve any of that!", Natsuki answered, playfully flooring the pedal as she exited the building, startling Takumi as he quickly grabbed onto a handle. He wondered to himself, "How on earth can an FF produce so much torque..?"

It was midday and the sun was shining like a huge, golden coin in the air. The bright-pink Civic was making its way down a long, straight road by the seaside lined with palm trees. The scent of the sea wafted through its windows and made it into their noses. Takumi couldn't help but stare out at the view, watching all the people on the beach. "Man… it's been a long time since I've been to a beach.", he said dreamily. "Mm.. I still remember that look you gave me when you saw me in my swimsuit, Takumi-kun.", Natsuki added with a giggle, causing Takumi to blush and cover his mouth. "W-what…? I-…", he blurted out, feeling his cheeks heat up from the thought of it.

As they were waiting at a stoplight, a red Pontiac Trans-Am pulled up alongside the Civic. As it did so, Natsuki slowly turned to face Takumi and pulled down her tinted sunglasses, a mischievous smirk spreading across her face. "Hey~… wanna see if we can beat that V8 car next to us, Takumi-kun?" "E-eh…? A V8?" "Mhm! They're sooooo common around here.", Natsuki replied to Takumi, revving her Civic's engine. The Pontiac's driver responded by revving its engine back at them; a throaty growl. Natsuki sat back in her seat with both her hands on the wheel. "Buckle up, Takumi-kun!", she said excitedly, pushing her shades back up. "But I'm already buckled u- AAAAAAAAAHHH!" Before Takumi could even finish his sentence, the light turned green, and both cars launched off the line in a cloud of smoke. They were side-by-side with each other, before the Pontiac began to gradually pull away. And then came the traffic, which the Civic swerved around with ease. "W-where did you learn to drive like this, Natsuki…!?", Takumi asked, clinging onto his harnesses for dear life, his voice rife with panic. Natsuki, on the other hand, looked very relaxed with a smile on her face, as if she were just on a typical Sunday drive. "Practice makes perfect!", she replied in a sing-songy voice, skilfully dodging a truck. Soon enough, the Pontiac was left in the dust, due to the Civic's superior handling.

Some minutes later, they were both sat inside of a trendy sushi restaurant, enjoying their meal together. A huge plate of intricately decorated sashimi was placed in between them. "So what did you do in Ryosuke-san's team after I left, Takumi-kun?", Natsuki asked, after explaining the story of her Civic to Takumi, resting her chin on her hands. He scratched the back of his head, and said, "Oh… it was a really big project of his. We went all across Kanto and raced against lots of different drivers." "Ooh!", she exclaimed, already excited one sentence into his story, looking up at him with big, starry eyes. After all, she had been wondering what he was getting up to for the past two years. He proceeded to spend the following hour telling her about his racing exploits; all his wins, his close calls, even some near-death experiences. It was a very long story, but Natsuki didn't show a single sign of boredom, listening intently as if she were watching a great movie. "…And then my engine blew up. And that's basically all.", Takumi said, with his hands in the air, finishing off the story of his final race with a teenage prodigy, Shinji Inui. "…Wow! My friends keep telling me about seeing you race, but I've never heard it from Takumi-kun himself!", Natsuki said excitedly, putting her hands together. "I'm so proud you got to learn so much! But I'm sure you got a little tired…", she added, holding his hands. Takumi blushed, and sighed, before admitting, "Yeah… we were on the road all the time. I'm glad I get to have a bit of sleep now.", he said. "To be honest, this is actually the first time I've ever slept well in a long time."

After they paid the bill for their meal and left, they headed back to Natsuki's car. On the way there, Takumi felt his heartbeats get heavier. It's been so long, but he couldn't take it any more. He had to break it to her.

"Hey, Natsuki… I have something to tell you…"

"What is it, Takumi-kun?", Natsuki asked, putting her harnesses on.

"You know, ever since you left… I kept on telling myself that we were basically over… but I just couldn't stop thinking of you.", Takumi said, taking pauses in between, clearly nervous. "I could never get over you. You were just in my thoughts, constantly. Every time I'd cross the line, every time I almost have an accident… hell, even before races, and when I go to sleep, and when I wake up, you're in my head." He couldn't stop the words from pouring out of his mouth, as he gradually began to tear up. "You were what motivated me to win all those races… it seemed like every time you popped into my head, I got that extra little bit of speed… like you were right there next to me… helping me." He continued, "But I just.. couldn't go on without you." He finished, breathing heavily, not knowing how she would react to him coming clean.

After what felt like hours of silence, Natsuki finally opened her mouth. "Takumi-kun…", she said, "Honestly, you were in my thoughts just as much as I was in yours. I know we promised to meet again, but saying goodbye at the airport really broke my heart… I knew we wouldn't meet for a long time.", she explained, gently caressing Takumi's hands in an attempt to comfort him. "But honestly, meeting you today again… it's the best day of my life. I'm so glad we lived up to our promise."

"Natsuki… I was wondering… if we could… start over… as a couple…", requested Takumi, calming down a little. In response, she giggled and asked, "Like, right from the beginning? After all we've been through?" "Yeah… I would like that very much.", Takumi replied, gaining confidence. "Alright then! My name's Natsuki Mogi. What's yours?", she asked with a smile on her face. "Takumi. Fujiwara Takumi.", he replied. They locked eyes for a moment, and subconsciously, they began to move closer together. And then, their lips touched, embracing each other with a kiss.

CAR SPECS

Natsuki's Honda Civic EX-S Coupe

Chassis code: EJ1

Year: 1993

Color: Hot Pink Pearl

Number plate: PNK 026

Class: sport compact

Engine: B18 1.8-liter inline-4 - Spoon rebuild

Induction: Turbonetics turbocharger

Horsepower: 302

Max RPM: 9,500

Weight: 1002KG

Body kit: VeilSide

Wheels: RacingHart C5 - 19in, silver

Tires: Michelin

Suspension: Buddy Club

Audio system: JBL

Decals: full-body flame; pink

I do not own any property from Initial D, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story.

All characters and situations, created by Shuichi Shigeno, Rob Cohen, Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist and David Ayer are taken from Initial D (1995-2013) © Kodansha Ltd., The Fast And The Furious (2001) and Redline (early screenplay draft; 2000) © Universal City Studios LLC

This story is released under the GPL/CC BY: verbatim copying and distribution of this entire work are permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided attribution is preserved.