28

The air was cool when Robin stepped off the train onto the platform. She made sure Amon was standing nearby and then turned to face the mountain that stood over the town. Mt Akagi looked a lot friendlier than she had expected. It was carpeted with trees from top to bottom. The only breaks in the greenery were some crags and ravines that Robin could see even from a few miles away. It seemed like the sort of place wolves would like. Robin hardly noticed when the others came up and stood beside her in a row.

"Where do we go from here?" Nagira asked. It was clear to Robin that he expected Amon to answer, so when Integra spoke up first it took him by surprise.

"According to the tour book, we have to take a mountain road past Akagi-Kohgen Hospital," she said. "Does anyone have a local road map?"

Amon reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded map that he had bought on the train. Nagira watched curiously as Integra reached across his chest and snatched the map from Amon's hand. She pulled it open and started scanning for the train station. Nagira smiled a little.

"You recover a lot faster than I do," he said.

"Are you still upset?" Integra asked without looking at him.

"Of course not," he replied, only half seriously.

Integra smirked.

"I'm so glad you two are talking again," Robin said.

"What do you mean?" Nagira asked, looking away.

"We never stopped talking," Integra added, still looking at the map.

"Oh, but I thought…" Robin began but Amon held up his hand, telling her to stop. She shut her mouth, but she still wondered if they had been sitting in the same uncomfortably quiet train car she had. It made as little sense to her as the existence of vampires.

"Shall we get a car?" Integra suggested.

"Yeah," Amon responded.

29

"How far did the tour book say to go?" Amon asked from the driver's seat of the rental car.

"It doesn't say how far to go," Integra replied, flipping back to the right page in the book.

"This is ridiculous," Nagira complained in the back seat.

"The waterfall might be far up at the top of the mountain," Robin said.

"Don't whine," Integra commanded. "It may be just around the corner."

There was nothing left for the four of them to do except keep their eyes peeled for the wolf den. They had been driving up the wooded mountainside for half an hour and they had seen a wide stream near the road several times. But there was no sign of the waterfall they were looking for. Amon wondered whether they had come to the right mountain. Integra could have been wrong when she identified the checkpoint. He glanced over at her as she focused her eyes just beyond the roadside. The other two were doing the same on either side of the car.

Amon brought his gaze back to the road. The two-lane strip of tar careened up the slope as if it were drunk. As they went uphill, the curves were getting blinder and the grades steeper. Amon had to keep his foot on the gas pedal just to keep moving forward. They were just coming around another sharp curve when something appeared from the other side. Amon recognized a big yellow spoiler flying straight at him and slammed his foot down on the brake. The other car began to pull out of it's drift, but Amon knew it was too late. There was no time.

Story Notes:

Mt Akagi - The town and the mountain are both absolutely real. Any map of Gunma prefecture will show them.

"Akagi-Kohgen Hospital" - The hospital is also real. It's a small private hospital specializing in the treatment of alcoholism and related problems. It's also supposedly run by Ryosuke and Keisuke's father in Initial D. Google Akagi+hospital for more info.

"As they went uphill..." - Please bear in mind that I haven't seen the early episodes of Initial D in quite a while. So I'm trying to describe the Akagi race course from a not-so-fresh memory. If someone notices a flaw in my facts, don't hesitate to tell me.

"...spoiler..." - For those who aren't into cars, a spoiler is a piece of metal attached to the back of a car. People say it looks like a wing but it has the opposite effect. Supposedly, it's shape causes the air passing over it to push the car's rear end towards the ground, improving traction on the back tires. Cars equipped for racing (like Keisuke's yellow FD) sometimes have these installed.