Alex sighed as he set down 10,000 yen on the table. He shook his head and took Miki's hand as they walked out of the door of the restaurant and over to his Mark II. They both got in and Al started the motor.

He sighed, "Why do you always like to go to the most expensive restaurants?"

She smiled, "Because the food's better."

Al sighed and decided to go for a little ride since they were already in Akina. He headed up towards Mt. Akina, expecting a quiet Sunday evening. Anything but is what followed.

Unknown to both of them, the Akina Speed Stars were doing battle with a mysterious set of drivers from America. Ever since drifting took off in the states, all the American's kept heading to Japan to attack the touge. Some weren't half bad.

Al made it to the top about fifteen minutes before the race started, receiving waves from a few members of the crowd. He smiled. He liked being famous. He couldn't tell if people were noticing the 4-Door Destroyers sticker or the Blak Nites one.

He walked over to the starting line were Itsuki was waiting to race the newcomer. Al shook Itsuki's hand and said, "You really think you're gonna beat an Altezza in an 85?"

Itsuki nodded with confidence, "I recently did a motor swap, with a little help from when of Takumi's connections in the racing world. Now I'm running a turbocharged, rebuilt 4AGE."

Al nodded, "Good for you." He looked over at the Altezza. A larger man sat in it, sitting back as far as the car could go. The man had to weigh almost 300 pounds. Alex laughed lightly under his breath. He looked hilarious in such a small car.

Alex could hear a turbo as he revved up the motor. That meant that this was the SXE100 chassis. It had a 3S-GE motor stock that must have been turbocharged afterwards.

Al watched as Itsuki stepped into his 85 and started up his motor. It sounded strong, but it was still just a 4AGE. Al stepped back with Miki and watched Iketani do the countdown.

Both cars took off, with the Altezza taking an immediate lead. The 85 took his place behind him as both cars headed down the mountain. Al watched Iketani walk over towards Kenji with an unpleasant look on his face.

Al looked at Iketani, "Why aren't one of you running the downhill against these guys?"

Iketani spoke up, "I already lost the uphill battle."

Kenji smirked, "Against a girl…"

Miki stared him down, "What's that have anything to do with it?"

Kenji grew silent. Al asked, "What was she driving?"

"A Trueno."

Al smiled. He missed his Trueno. He asked Iketani, "AE86?"

He shook his head, "AE111."

Alex nodded. He overheard the radio, "The Speed Stars have lost. The Altezza won by 9 seconds."

He watched as Iketani almost started crying. He smiled and looked over as an older female walked over to Iketani. She was about 5' 4'' and a brunette. Nice ass too.

She said, "Good race. Can I have your sticker now?"

He nodded and handed it over to her. She smiled, "Thank you."

Al asked, "Hey, do you have time for another race?"

She looked over at him, "Who are you?"

"Hogashinu Alex, of the Myogi Blak Nites and the Myogi 4-Door Destroyers."

She nodded, "Myogi was going to be one of our next stops. It'd be nice to see what you've guys got."

He nodded, "So we'll keep it friendly then?"

She nodded and walked away. Alex and Miki both got into the Mark II and got onto the starting line. When the Altezza came up to the top of the mountain, he argued with the Eclipse driver for a moment before getting in and pulling over to the starting line.

He rolled down his window and said to Alex, "My names Will."

He smiled, "Mines Al."

The girl walked inbetween the Mark II and the Altezza and did the countdown. Al's Mark II pulled ahead at the start. Al's 1JZ-GTE was much more powerful then the 3S-GTE.

Al attacked the first corner lightly. He didn't want to drive too hard because of Miki. The Altezza caught up and began to pressure him into the corners. The race was on.

Al started to hit tighter lines to keep the car at top speeds. He was cruising down the mountain at 125 km/h. The car behind him was keeping up nicely. He pressed the gas pedal down a little harder.

He crept up to 145 km/h. The Altezza gave a little ground to Al, preparing for his drift. Alex let the ass end loose and kicked sideways around the corner. The Altezza followed suit.

The Altezza driver, Will, had very good throttle control. He was able to keep the car very well balanced, even at high speeds, although his braking had a little less to be desired.

Al began to gain a little ground, but Will narrowed in on him and made a move. Around a long left hander, he pulled to the outside of the corner and powered along side Al's Mark II.

After the long turn came a sharp right. He boxed Alex out and Alex was forced to brake and fall behind the Altezza. Alex smirked. This guy knew what he was doing.

With Will in the lead, Al was forced to get as close to possible with him. Miki's eyes stared widely at the brake lights of the black Altezza. Al began a drift and put himself side by side with the Altezza.

The Altezza did a good job staying all around the road, forcing Al to stay behind him. Al was starting to get pissed they entered the five-hairpins. One after another, there was no opening to pass on the inside and they were driving too fast to hit anything but a near perfect line.

They crossed the finish line, Altezza first. Al sighed and pulled to the side of the road next to the Altezza. He got out and walked over to him. They shook hands and walked over to the soda machine. The loser bought 4 sodas.

As soon as the girl in the Sprinter showed up, they all sat down at a table as the mountain became less and less populated. They sat and talked quietly, mostly they talked and Al answered.

Will asked, "So who's the fastest downhill racer in Myogi?"

Al replied, "My older brother, Nik."

The girl, whose name everyone now figured out was Erika, said, "Is he available for a race?"

Al shrugged, "I don't know, perhaps. He hasn't raced in a while, since he took on the EVO III from Tochigi."

Will was taken aback, "The Emperors Evo III?"

Al nodded and Will smiled, "Now I have to race him!"

---------------------------------------------------

Nik yawned and looked up at the clock. It was 12:30. He sighed and undid another bolt on the head of his newly acquired RB26DETT motor. He had picked it up from Kevin today.

It was a motor out of an R33. It produced a stock horsepower of 280 hp and Kevin had given Nik a Nismo Exhaust and air Intake. Nik had also purchased a new computer and turbo timer.

Right now, Nik was taking the top half of the motor apart, doing a valve job with performance internals. This motor wouldn't be ready for another week. Then it would be another week before Nik could properly readjust the suspension. He was already using R34 spec coilovers.

He knew Mei would be pissed. He was always the one with the more powerful car before. Now Nik would be able to beat him in a drag race. He was gonna be pissed.

He looked behind him and heard the sound of a finely tuned motor come roaring up behind him. He looked back and saw the MR2 of his new friend CJ pulled up to the driveway.

He looked behind him and then pointed at the block, "Not bad, huh?"

"Skyline powered S-15? Very nice."

Nik nodded, "I thought you'd think so."

CJ nodded while smiling, "Ya, now you have an I-6 like me."

Nik nodded. He recently found out that CJ had a custom mounted 1JZ-GTE in his MR2. That explained a lot. Nik's only wonder was if CJ was holding back during there race…

"So you wanna go for a rip?"

Nik nodded, "Sure."

Nik walked over to his SR20 powered Silvia and slid into the drivers seat. After tightening his 4 point belt, he took off up the mountain behind CJ. They'd been doing this for a week now.

Nik found running with CJ improved all the little things that have been slipping. The worst thing for a racer was not racing. Without maintaining that focus, a true driver could never really improve.

Nik hit the top of the mountain and watched CJ's rear tires lock-up and his car jerk forward as he slammed on the brakes. After the weight was forward, CJ's car spun around 90 degrees before the rear tires started spinning again. After completing a 180, he took off down the mountain. Nik did the same.

As they approached the first, uphill corner, CJ slammed on his brakes and Nik pulled to the outside lane. He lifted the E-brake and started to slide around the corner. He slammed on the gas and carried it through the turn, hitting a late apex.

At the next curve, CJ passed Nik on the inside, carrying a four wheel drift into the first hairpin. They drifted side-by-side through the hairpin turns and then Nik passed CJ on the outside of the next long left hander.

Nik found it a lot of fun to be constantly passing each other. It taught him not to get angry when he got passed. It also explained CJ's amazing ability to constantly adjust his line and angle at such high speeds.

They came to the bottom of the mountain and spun into the parking lot. They both got out and walked over to the table with the soda machines next to it. Nik bought them both a coffee.

He sat and asked CJ, "So why Japan?"

"Touge is the shit."

Nik nodded, "Yeah, same reason as me. Not enough corners back home."

CJ nodded and looked right at Nik, "So, you are the Highland 240, aren't you?"

Nik smirked and CJ noticed, "HAHA! I knew it!! You started a fucking movement back home and then you up and leave?!? Why?!?!"

Nik sighed and looked away, "Some bad shit happened back home. I used to be into drugs bad, using and selling. It got me in a lot of trouble that I didn't need to be in. I was mad depressed. Leaving is what I had to do."

CJ raised his eyebrow, "So that's why you left?"

Nik nodded and CJ shrugged, "Whatever floats your boat bro. Anyway, when's your next race? I wanna be there."

Nik shrugged, "I really don't know. I haven't had a race in about two months now. I'm a little rusty."

"Well, then you need to start slow. You can keep up with me, so that's pretty good."

Nik nodded, "We'll see. Someone's bound to come along eventually. .."

Just then a rectangular set of headlights shone into the parking lot. Soon after, Al's Mark II could be easily seen. He pulled up next to the S-15 and the MR2. Following him was a AE111 and an Altezza.

Al stepped out of the Mark II and walked over to Nik. Nik looked as Will and the Eclipse driver stepped out of their respective vehicles. Al looked at Nik, "These guys want to race."

Nik looked up and put his hand out to the large gentleman with a smile, "I'd love to, my name's Nik."

Will shook his hand firmly, "Will, nice to meet you."

Nik released his hand, "So how do you want to do this?"

"If you'd like, I can race uphill and Erika can race down."

Nik nodded and looked over at Al, "You wanna run with me?"

Al sighed, "I can't, I don't have enough gas."

Nik sighed. All the petrol stations were closed now. He looked up, "I have a full tank, I'll race both of you."

Will nodded, "Alright, I'll see you at the bottom."

Nik looked over at CJ, "I'm gonna do this and head home, I'll give you a call tomorrow."

CJ nodded and slapped Nik's hand "Sounds good, I'll see you tomorrow."

CJ took off behind Will. Nik followed him down and Alex sat at the top of the mountain with Erika. Nik reached the bottom 10 minutes later, turned around and lined up with Will.

Nik's sat for a moment until his cell phone rang. He answered, "We good?"

Al replied, "No one headed down, we're good."

Nik hung up his phone and nodded towards Will, who nodded back. He beeped his horn three times and then they both took off. After the first two turns, they had both gotten up to speed. Nik was behind, closing in on Will's bumper.

The uphill would be an easy take for Nik. He could tell that the Altezza in front of him was only pushing out around 300-325 HP. That was not much of a threat with Nik's SR20DET producing almost 425 HP.

Nik held to Will's bumper. He left a lot of extra room on the outsides of the corners, but still didn't leave enough to make a clean pass. Nik waited for him to screw up somewhere but because he remained at a steady speed, he wasn't really pushing the limits of the vehicle to the point where he would.

Nik downshifted into a hard hairpin and carefully applied throttle to avoid wheel spin. He followed will up towards the next turn and backed off a little bit. He decided the best way to over take Will was timing.

Nik sat behind Will and waited three car lengths behind. Then, as they approached the hairpins, Nik took off into the first corner, pushing the grip on the rear tires to their limit coming up behind Will at a high rate of speed.

At the sight of Nik flying up behind the Altezza, Will shook lightly and took back to his own lane. Nik blew past him towards the next curve and turned the S-14 sideways at the apex.

After feathering the throttle to return the rear end to its proper place, he downshifted and sped up the mountain again, now gaining distance. Will soon became a speck in his mirror right before he found the finish line.

He reached to top of the mountain and turned around to face the finish line again. Erika, the other driver pulled up next to him in her AE111. Nik revved up his motor to 4000 rpm and still managed to drown out the sound of the 4AGE motor.

Nik shifted the car into first and looked over at her as she focused on the road. It had been a while since Nik had seen a brown-haired, blue-eyed girl. He smiled and missed the start of the race.

Nik looked up as Al knocked on his hood and stared at him in a daze. Nik shook his head and sped by Al. The Trueno was already at the first corner. Nik downshifted and flew around it quickly.

He pulled up behind her and drafted into the long left hander. She followed a good line for her speed and it was steadily increasing. Nik hovered over her rear bumper. She slammed on the brakes less then a second before he did. He pulled around and cut back in, attempting to pass on the outside. She blocked him and then pulled around the next curve.

Nik then decided to slow down and come at her fast like before with Will. He dropped back until she passed around the first of the three hairpin set and then took off at full throttle.

He drifted into the first curve and came around fast into the next where he saw the AE111 entering the third. Nik hit a late apex and came out on the inside of the last hairpin, hoping to use his high horsepower to pass the AE111 on the straightaway.

As he came around, she pulled out to his lane, blocking him from passing. Nik broke quickly, trying to slow the momentum of the vehicle. He swore and began to chase her again. He looked down at his speedometer.

They raced down the mountain at 110 km/h. The brake lights of the AE111 lit up as she entered a sharp right and then turned back into a sharp left, causing the back end of the FF car to slide out.

Nik watched and backed off as the Trueno swayed back and forth before returning to its straight path. The blinker of the Toyota began flashing as the coupe pulled to the side of the road. The S-15 followed it to the side of the road.

Nik stepped out and walked over to the Trueno. He knocked lightly on the window before she rolled it down. He leaned over so he could see her face and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I almost lost it back there."

Nik shook his head, "No way, you had it the whole time."

She smiled, "Thanks, umm, do you want to finish?"

Nik smiled back, "Only if you want to."

She sighed and shrugged, "I guess we might as well."

"You don't sound too excited."

She gently pushed herself back into her seat, "I don't really want to, but I know Will will be a little bitch if I don't."

Nik smiled, "You couldn't catch up to me after I passed you."

"Huh?"

"After you got goosey and spun out, you couldn't catch up to me, remember?"

"What the…OHH!! Right, right, right, you were just too fast for me." She smirked.

Nik smiled and walked back up towards his S-15. The AE111 sped by him as he slid into his driver's seat. The rear tires of the S-15 spun as the car completed a 180 and took off up the mountain.

At the top, he saw the larger man having a very heated conversation with the girl. Nik pulled along side the Mark II and stepped out. Al was sitting and watching the two squabble.

Nik looked over as the girl began ignoring the man. Will walked over towards Al and Nik. He stopped and said, "It was a good race, I'll see you guys around."

They nodded and watched as the two drove off down the mountain. Al scratched the back of his head and looked at Nik, "Weird folks."

Nik nodded, "Chick had a nice ass though."

---------------------------------------------------

Mei tapped on the floor of his R32. He sat a top of Akagi waiting. He was waiting for the perfect moment to hit him. He stared down the road as far as he could see, waiting…

The rear tires squealed momentarily before the impressive AWD system on the GTR kicked in. Then he was gone. He shifted into second gear and headed into the first long corner.

After coming into third gear, he approached the first hairpin on the course. He broke and turned hard to the left. All four tires began to spin as Mei adjusted his angle and sent himself perfectly through the turn.

He smiled and gripped the next two turns before ripping his emergency brake, causing the rear end of the sports car to come flying around the sharp turn. He threw the gear box into second and released the clutch. As he caught grip, he immediately began to weave through corners, putting his Falken's on the brink of grip.

Mei smiled and looked behind him as a flicker of light caught his attention. He sighed. He really didn't want to deal with people tonight. He hit the gas pedal a little bit harder.

He began to aggressively attack the corners. His GTR gave him a head rush. It made him aggressive and gave him the feeling like he was the king of the road. He bent it to his will.

The lights became brighter. He looked behind him and saw a steady set of lights, 3 car lengths behind him. The car was obviously black. They hit a long straightaway and the car pulled right alongside him.

It was a Toyota Supra RZ. The blow-off valve screamed as the twin-turbo I-6 let off pressure. The windows were tinted but Mei knew the intentions of the Supra driver from the moment he hovered alongside him.

They took off, side by side until the first corner. The Supra backed off and allowed the Skyline to take the first corner. Both cars we're front heavy, so Mei knew if he didn't keep on the throttle the momentum would send the Supra right into his trunk.

They came around the next corner and Mei felt a tap on his rear bumper. His back end began to slide and Mei gently used the brakes to get the front end to slide forward and sent the GTR vertical with the road.

He slowed down to 40 KM/H and managed to get the front end facing forward with the road. The Supra pulled past him and locked the rear tires as it spun around to face the Nissan.

Mei stepped out of is car and looked over at him, "What the fuck man?!"

The driver raised his hand and pointed a metal object at Mei, "Where's Nik?"

"Who are…?"

BANG!!BANG!!

Mei hit the ground and climbed back behind his GTR. Another shot was fired in his direction as Mei shivered behind his rear end. Who the fuck was this? Why was he shooting at him? Why was he looking for Nik?"

"You know, you don't have to be a part of this Mike. Tell me where Nik is, I'll drive away and we can pretend this never happened."

"Why the fuck are you looking for him anyway!?"

"He owes a friend of mine a lot of money. I don't really think I need to explain this story to you of all people."

Mei's eyes bulged open. What was he doing here? He looked down at the ground, "We both know he doesn't have the money."

Another round was fired off, "He should have thought about that before he took off."

Mei crawled quietly over to the driver's side of his car and popped the door open. Two more shots were fired into the GT-R's door. He heard the guy scream, "Tell him I'm coming and Carl wants his money."

Mei sat still until he could no longer hear the Supra. He stood up and got into his driver's seat. He dug around by his cup holder and found his cell phone. He dialed Nik's number.

It rang three times, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Mei. Bill McCall just shot at me. Carl's in Japan."

The line went dead.