FOREWORD: I, HashiriyaGDB, am submitting this Initial D facfic on behalf of Midnight Dorifuta, the author of this fanfic and a fellow user on the Initial D World Forums. The only things I've done to this is correct some (if not all) the typos.

All trademarks are owned by their respective owners.

Chapter 11: Karma comes back around

"WOOOOOOW!", Kenji shouted with a look of amazement at the gleaming Panda Red AE85 Levin, looking practically brand new in the sunlight, its red paint... so... so bright... and wonderfully factory. And the 5-spoke rims... and that chrome slotted grille that set it apart from the domestic Levins... it was such a drastic improvement from the way the Levin originally was... truly a class-act turnover from the way it was to the way it is. Looking even more agressive than ever, all the little detailed modifications added up to turn the little once grocery-getter into what looked like the younger sister of the JZA70 TRD Supra.

Indeed it was, Itsuki thougth to himself, Indeed it was, and he couldn't help but to smile proudly at his work, treasuring the AE86 for what it was worth; in other words, everything a dream car meant to him. Never mind the camber adjustments, the coilovers, the high-rev TRD engines, the 6 speed transmissions or any of that crap. This was his dream 86... not too slow, not too fast, not too dull, not too flashy... just right. And it was rightly appointed to Itsuki's every single wanting need. Kenji couldn't help but to ee over every single inch of the car in the sunlight, his jaw still hanging wide open.

"It was an all-nighter, Kenji. Me and Iketani got her running perfect!", Itsuki said with a childlike expression of glee."Not an ounce of sleep." Iketani nodded slowly using a broom to help support himself up as he sweated under the afternoon sun, amazed that Itsuki was anything close to awake. All the work he's done over the past 3 nights, he should have been dead! But he was still jumping around like a little fox - albeit with bags in his eyes, but still running like a bandit. A truly amazing feat, it was. But - was it right on cue? Itsuki tugged at the manager's shoulders as he also stared pan-eyed at the completed 86, looking like it rolled out of the showroom.

"Hey, Yuiichi, can I please take a nap in your office? I spent all night working on the hachi-roku and now I want to take a drive later, but I'm afraid if I didn't sleep I'd be tired on the road. Please?"

"Heey...", Iketani mumbled, butting in, "Can I rest inside, too? Just wake me up around eight with Itsuki..."

Yuiichi laughed a little, scratching his chin, before turning to Kenji. "I'll pay you cash if you work for the day and let these two workdogs off the hook, they look like they're zombies...", he said, looking slightly hopeful.

"Well... hmph." He pointed a sharp finger at Iketani and said with a bit of a sarcastic smirk, "I'll work for Itsuki's sake and participate today, but I don't think lover-boy should have it so easy, given the circumstances he's under. I'll bet you just wanna go cruising with Mako later, don't cha, ya-"

"Lighten up, Kenji! Give Iketani a break, everyone deserves a second chance, you know...", the Manager added, looking Kenji seriously now.

"Well, hell... alright, I'll give the kid his break..." Kenji replied, before climbing into his RPS13 and moving it over behind the Levin - almost intentionally bumping it Almost.

-

"So what brings you out here, anyways?", Kealan Sandars asked Akiyuki, curiously. "I thought the accidents you and your sister drove you away from racing. At the very least... how dead scared you were when I was with you, that night in 1995... I never thought I'd see you exceeding the speed limit again."

Akiyuki shook his head lightly from one side to the next, before looking Kaworu in the eye. "I told that to myself too, and I guess I'm at least half keeping the promise I made... it's other drivers out there that I'm looking at... maybe looking for. You know me, you and Kasumi got this organization started back in 1990, and with the funding she's gotten and the support from her IRL author's note: the acronym "IRL" is being used in this instance to define the Indy Racing League, we still have a very big gig. It's hard to give it up, but... with nobody behind the wheel..."

"I see where it's going", Kealan said, with a smalll chuckle and an upwards smirk at Akiyuki. "And I understand your intentions, but, Akiyuki-san, aren't you looking in the wrong places if you're trying to sniff out talent? What about the GT300 racing right here, or the go-kart circuits in America? Or even Formula 3000? This whole tou-ge thing I don't understand for the life of me. What kind of talent could possibly be hidden amongst a vast group of early-to-late-20's kids, essentially, at least by the way most of them act, runnning amok on little side roads in the middle of the night? It's like WRC without the action."

"When you see nineteen-year-old Fujiwawa's driving, you'll change your mind, and fast", Akiyuki replied, unusually sternly for his soft personality. There was a light streak of defiance in his green-hazel eyes, and a bit of a blazing aura to his mood. It caused Kealan to raise one eyebrow, corssing his arms.

"...you're serious, eh? Well - I did hear that this whole Project D thing's last match was against a 959 and a rediculously modified old-school naturally aspirated RX-7, and that the kid managed to pull a disappearing line on the RX torwards the final stratch and out drag-race the slightly power-to-weight deficient - barely, but just enough - to a photo win." Kealan paused for a moment, taking another drag of his cigaratte, as Karie lay mainly dormant on the rear hatch of the 2000GT, her smirk only growing as Kaworu went on.

"Getting interested yourself, baby?", Karie asked, looking Kealan up. Her blue eyes seemed to just be studying the pair as both her legs swung back and fourth, dangling from the hatch area and just hovering over the ground. Even if she told you her age, if her appearance didn't make you shake your head in disbelief, the somewhat child-like cuteness she managed to possess in the way she acted at times would.

"Idunno... say, the next Project D race you go to", Kealan said, looking to Akiyuki with definately a bit of peering curiosity in him, "fill me in on it, okay? I'd like to see them in action myself. I thought the rumors about the 86 driver's skill were exaggerated, but... hearing it directly from your mouth, it's not something I can actually ignore."

"I'll let you know, Kaworu-san", Akiyuki said with a small, reassuring smile. "Definately!" Akiyuki then hopped off the hood of his Starion, observing the heavily aerodynamically modified 2000GT. "By the way... what's the horsepower you're achieving to make it to 500 kilometers per hour?"

Kealan shrugged a little, not sure how to answer. "As much as it takes... eleven-hundred horsepower, a thousand, maybe even just nine-hundred... I don't dyno the car or anything, I just measure it by top speed, and continually adjust gearing so I don't rev past 7,500 RPM at full throttle. If it's over nine-hundred, though, then there's no doubt about it - the S30 has to be running an RB25 or an RB26 series engine. It even sounds like one, so..."

Kealan snuffed out the cigarette on the surface of his hand, not as much as anything remotely resembling burned skin being left after the cigarette was put out, him opening the 2000GT's door, and looking to face Suzaki one final time. "I'm going to get running now. I can't let any bad-guys in Tokyo have their way, if you know what I mean." He let out a small chuckle, watching his wife climb in the car with him, before he started up the 2000GT and rolled off, leaving Akiyuki standing there, just for the time being, remaining motionless.

"The cars are engineered sheerly for top speed? That's outright rediculous, but... it's nothing like mountain pass racing, or curcuit racing. Definately not my bag of chips." He fastened the seatbelt to the Starion himself, slowly pacing back up to highway speed, making a turnoff headed into Shibuya. He, after all, had a date out with his sister, to catch up on life and such.

-

Evening.

Yuiichi observed the two sleeping men taking up some of his office space in the gas station store, amazed that even with the AC broke, they could manage to get shut-eye in the 90-degree area. It was quite a feat... but now the sun was set, and it was about 9 PM, give or take... The boys had 9 hours of rest, and now it was time to shoo them both out for the evening.

"Come on, get up, you two...", he said, pushing the pair off the couch, one at a time - and the two hitting the floor with an audible THUMP before rising to life, groggily. "Jeez...", Yuiichi said, observing them, "Just how hard did you two work? That much sleep shoulda had you two kickin' by now!"

"Sorry, manager...", Iketani mumbled, stumbling about, headed in the general direction of the bathroom, "lemme splash some water on my face...", he added, swaying back and fourth. He returned looking a little better for the wear, hell almost energized... then watched Itsuki, who was next in line - seeming to be almost in worse shape than Iketani. But his trip to and from the bathroom produced similar results, two soaked-and-unbrished-haired figures looking like they just rolled out of bed, but ready for a day of whatever.

"I'll give you two the benefit of the doubt and pay you both for the day", Yuiichi mentioned humbly. "Even though you snoozed right through it... the work you've put into the 85 Itsuki, is incredible. And you deserve it, too, Iketani, for helping him along. And, hey... isn't he finally within 15 seconds of the record Takumi set racing Ryousuke?"

"...Yeah", Kenji said, walking through the door. "I timed his run in the passenger's seat last week! Who knows how fast he'll be with the taabo hachi-roku once he learns to handle the newfound power?"

Iketani jumped in suprise; that was as fast as he was running just a month ago! "You're serious, Kenji!?", he asked, looking slightly dumbfounded. "Yep!", he replied, with a bit of a chuckle. "Didn't catch it on tape since I don't have a camcorder, but his driving ability's really improved since Takumi left for Project D. Word around town is, you're pretty fast yourself, despite a dying car."

"Yeah, I've been practicing hard... my HS13 still isn't all that great... but she's getting there...", Iketani nodded, with a small smile. "I can't wait to find an SR20!"

"Hehe, yeah...", Itsuki butted in, "But hey, I think I'm going to take my taabo hachi-roku for a long drive tonight, guys! So, I'll catch you all later!" He suddenly sprinted out the door, excitement in his eyes. Firing up the 4A-G and fastening his seatbelt, he could barely contain his joy.

"Wait until I get to saitama, Wataru-san! You may have overlooked my Levin in the past because it was a hachi-go but there's no way you'll only give it a passing glance now! I can't wait to show her off to a fellow Levin fan!"

-

Suzaki parked in a small exposed lot in the west side of Shibuya, behind, of all places, a Burger King. A beautiful wedge-like sports car was in the spot next to him, and Suzaki couldn't help but admire its mirror-like black finish. It was just so new, and... literally radiating life! It was a Lotus Esprit, the Sport 300 model, repainted and lightly customized in appearance, and it couldn't have looked better.

"So shiny...", he said, slightly mesmerized by the paint job, and trailed a single finger down the hood line of the car - noticing how warm the sheetmetal was. And somewhere in the back of his head, he thought he could hear a girl supress a giggle.

"Eh?" - Akiyuki shook his head, looking around, and seeing nobody... then walking back around to the front of the resturant, walking inside, and ordering himself a fish sandwich meal. He looked at his cell phone while eating, as if waiting for a call.

-

Ryousuke Takahashi and Kyoichi Sudou were once agains tanding beside their cars, eyeing the other target in a familiar once-over fashion, chuckling. The location was Nikko Irohazaka, at the top of the mountain pass down the one-way road that was almost rediculously narrow. Both figures seemed to be in a state of mutual confidence, and coolness.

"It's only right, don't you think, Ryousuke?", Kyoichi questioned, standing beside his recently updated Evolution III. "I had a hometown match against you on Akagi... but I never returned the favor by offering a private match here, with no gallery. Knowing you, you probably wouldn't do that technique for the sake of your car, but it's forbidden from being executed regardless. That doesn't sound unfair, does it?"

"No...", Ryousuke replied, looking to the side and down, staring at the hood of hid FC, almost looking through it, seemingly, and at his single-turbo 13B rotary engine. "It doesn't sound the slightest bit unfair. After all, it's not legal in motorsports to take a shortcut across the grass to avoid a hairpin... why should the street be an exception?"

"Good point...", Kyoichi replied, finishing off the last of his cigarette and flicking it away. "In any regard, I hope you know that there will be no three-in-a-row hat trick here on Irohazaka. I'm suprised you even accepted this race to begin with, knowing full well you'll lose. The Evo is in its natural territory. There's no secret to driving here on Irohazaka aside from maintaining a perfect line and timing each corner compentently. I've heeded your advice... there'll be no sucky right-hand baits for me to offer you!" Kyoichi pointed a very decisive finger squarely at Ryousuke Takahashi, setting him in his sights, and awaiting his reaction.

"Given I don't race much often anymore, you may just be right... but sometimes, more can be gained from a loss than a win, Kyoichi Sudoh. And, besides... it doesn't matter if I win or not. This just a private match between us, without a crowd or anything. That said, I still have full intent on giving my all against you for one last round, Kyoichi."

"Same for me, too...", Sudou replied, taking off his light summer jacket and tossing it into the back seat, and also undoing his bandana. As per the last race, the two cars slowly pulled up to the enterance of the downhill road, the drivers eyeing each other once more... before this time, however, Kyoichi slowly rolled ahead and then gunned it, Ryousuke following in his white FC. They agreed to a Kyoichi-leading-Ryousuke start. Only a screw-up could ruin this win. For Sudou, anyways.

-

"Oh, Kazumi isn't around, eh?", Itsuki asked Wataru Akiyama, in a bit of a depressed tone. "I... I knew she chose that jerk over me, but, still... I was hoping she would at least be happy to see my car."

"No - although, I'll say, I'm incredibly impressed - technically, if we started our projects at the same time, you're well ahead of me, Itsuki." Wataru kneeled over, looking at the clean - well, for a 1984 model car, anyways - underpinnings and the suspension setup, clicking on a small Mag-Lite and observing the rear differential and suspension pieces. "I started with an 86 Levin, after all... you started with an 85. It's very enlightening though, to see this kind of heart and soul poured into an often overlooked car that's overlooked for good reason."

"Yeah...", Itsuki said, trying to supress a small blush - it was just the warmth building up in him, the goodness of the dedication he's poured into his ride, and now finally seeing the end result... he could barely stand still. He scratched his chin, before popping open the hood, although, before pointing anything out to Wataru - as if his 86 used-to-be-Turbo hasn't seen similar modifications, asked him a simple question. "How's Kazumi's relationship going with her old boyfriend, anyways?"

"...nowhere good.", Wataru replied, giving Itsuki a bit of a you-shouldn't-have-asked-that look.

"...huh? But... I thought she liked him!" Eyes slightly wide with more confusion than anything, he gave Wataru a very, very worried stare. "She chose him over me, even...", he said, his voice dulling, adding "...so how could it be going bad?"

"Well... it's quite personal, so unless she tells you about it yourself, you didn't hear it from me, okay? I'm suprised she's even come to me - she always likes to handle her life her own way - on this issue."

"Uhm... go on."

"She's still a virgin."

Itsuki blinked in ponder for a second - not exactly sure what Wataru was getting at. That was great and all, and it kinda gave Itsuki a small flicker of a hope somewhere in his heart, but... why would that be bad? "...what's the big deal about that?"

"...her boyfriend is quite intent on taking it away from her, they even got into an argument recently. A bad one. She had marks on her face, too. I wanted to step in, but she said she'd snap on me if I did and she has this handled. But she's a weak girl, both physically and emotionally... and she's in way over her head. She's going to get hurt, and I won't for the life of me want to see it happen!"

Itsuki saw the boiling rage starting to build up within Wataru, and the frustration. "She's come a long way but she's still too naieve to tell when things are really going bad...", Wataru continued. "But she acts like everything's A-OK. If... if he did do something bad to her... I... I'd kill him with my bare hands."

"That's... that's horrible!" Itsuki couldn't believe what he was hearing! Something that precious was something that in Itsuki's... quite innocent.. .eyes, those were the kinds of things that were shared between two people truly in love with one another, and it's without any question the woman's right to offer it, not the man's right to ask for it.

Forget about the 4A-GZE, he thought to himself, closing the hood of his car and looking at Wataru. "Do... do you know what he drives? I want to check around for his car, if he's local, I might spot it."

Wataru rattled off the liscence plate and make and model of the car, a late-model Nissan March, with fading green paint.

"I might not be as suspicious since my Levin's just been redone and nobody's seen it yet... especially now that it's red." He added, trying to convince Wataru. "She... I still love Kazumi, deep inside... I can't let anythng bad happen to her...", he said, tearing up a little - before dashing off into his Levin and taking off, fast. Thank god Itsuki kept the exhaust somewhat timid... it would help him sneak around. And Itsuki just had a horrible feeling about the night.

-

"I'll admit, you've come a long way since our last meeting as well, Sudou", Ryousuke said aloud to himself in the trail of the black Evo III's brake lights, already almost 3/4 way "This was something I didn't anticipate... or is it the fact that I've gotten rusty? Regardless - your skill and the Evo III's ability have improved together. The suspension is set slightly lower, and has more rebound, but less damping... very suited to the conditions of this road. Your rear wheels actually seem to be helping the car slide lightly... an infinitely-variable adjustable center differential."

Another hairpin passed, Ryousuke watching intently the lane-center line of Kyoichi's Evo, chuckling slightly as his eyes studied the black sedan's agile movements. Through his eyes, he could completely decypher the behavior of the vehicle itself, its nature and relationship between its driver... this Evolution was definately superior to modern Evos.

"So," Kyoichi asked himself, passing a quick glance to his rearview mirror, the flip-up headlights of Takahashi's white FC both quite apparent and on his tail, "What do you think of my practice, Ryousuke Takahashi? Do you like the way I've ever fine-tuned this car to perfectly suit my home course!? The final drive ratio's been enlongated so I only have to go between two gears for most of the past instead of three, the anti-lag system's response has been further tweaked. On top of that, I've introduced a smaller-sized but quicker-spooling turbo, not to mention the VCD and the AYC that I will be installing shortly after!"

"On top of that", Ryousuke added, ever studiously, "Your turbo response has reached the level of an NA tune engine. It's quicker than even Keisuke's twin-turbo system, and while acceleration seems to be slightly sacrificed, response is better throughout the rev range. It's definitely an adjustable center differential under there... I'm quite impressed, Sudou..."

He chuckled faintly. "You know", he added, "I can't deny that I actually kind of walked into this race without much of a strategy. This ending will most certainly be extremely interesting... especially given the defensive line you're driving that makes it nearly impossible to get my nose in and attempt a pass..."

-

Kazumi's heart was racing at a pace she never thought possible. Her head was hot, and her body shaking with fear - eyes wide open with only fear, and she herself crying out...

She was touched - violently - in places no man's ever touched her before. Not just touched, either... grabbed. Hard. "Souma, let go of me! Stop, you're going too-"

Kazumi was cut off as she was pressed against the brick wall in the back alley of a recently abandoned department store, light only being seen from one side as Souma's beat up Nissan March clattered at idle like an old diesel, its hopelessly worn out cam causing it to knock in a rather terminal fashion, only one of its headlights even working. "Shut up!", he said, smacking her hard across the face, intentionally lacing his fingernails into the smack, causing her cheek to sting horribly and begin to bleed.

Kazumi could only remain motionless there, her head throbbing and her thoughts jumbled. This wasn't what she wanted in the relationship between her and Souma, she wanted a happy, peaceful relationship together with him. Romantic dates shared, soft, relaxing support, the occasional "help me, it's late night and I just need someone to talk to" phone calls. It's what their relationship started out as. But in the past three weeks... something... change. He got more demanding around her, arguments started, even over the stupidest things, and above all...

What this was shaping up to. What she didn't want to give to him for the life of her, and what he threatened that he'd leave her if she didn't give it up. What's going on!?!? Is this... is this even real? Souma... he's turned into a monster before my eyes! I I can't believe he's... oh, god, NOT THERE!

She let out a cry - loud enough to mask the sound of any approaching cars - as his hands slid below her waistline, and into her garmets, him starting to do who-knows-what under there... although, just about anyone could figure it out. And it wasn't nice. "NO!", she screamed again, and he fought back, harder, smacking her again with his free hand, Kasumi's panic, fear, and confusion leaving her paralyzed, unable to run or fight back. And her eyes widened as one of his fingers traveled to a place where they didn't belong. Tears began streaming out of Kazumi's eyes as the grim reality began to set in that he was going to have her whether she wanted it or not, and as he said before he literally threw her out of the car and chased her down the alleyway, ditch her afterwards.

Oh, God, please... if you really do exist... send someone... anyone... just please, spare me from this fate! I don't want this to happen... it's so wrong and unfair... I'm being violated... please... God... help me...

All the commotion... the struggling, the noise Kazumi was making - Souma was not only not himself but very focused only on doing the unthinkable.

Then something completely unpredictable happened. His intruding hands fell weak, and she clearly saw his face get smashed against the wall next to her, before he was thrown off, his hand and confusion-frozen body suddenly freeing Kzsumi from his grip - Kazumi's knees giving way, her falling very weak, vision blurring out... The last thing Kazumi heard was the sound of something metallic falling on the ground... but by then, the panic had taken its toll... Kazumi passed out on the spot.

Kasumi woke up screaming, looking around, before someone "shh!'d", her. "Kazumi... you're safe, okay? It's over. The nightmare is over. You're with me now... are you alright?"

And praise God, before her two brown eyes, was the face of the last person she was expecting to see... Itsuki Takeuchi.

Itsuki came... to save me?