The door to Ryosuke Takashi's room slammed open, hitting the wall behind it with a loud bang.

Ryosuke looked up, startled, when he saw Keisuke standing in the doorway, looking frustrated.

"Aniki, did you know about this!?" He demanded.

Ryosuke swiveled his chair over to he was facing his brother, fingers steepled, frowning. "Know about what?"

Keisuke handed his broker a winkled paper, looking incredibly frustrated.

Ryosuke's eyes widened as he read what it was- it was a missing posted for two teenagers- Fujiwara Takumi and Kogashiwa Kai.

"No. I knew nothing about this…. What happened?"

"I went to drive Akina this morning, just for fun- the speed stars had the whole place canvased. They weren't racing, it was strange, and I pulled over to talk to someone- They were looking for him. Fujiwara has been missing for two days."

"This is odd. Fujiwara is a pretty straight-laced kid, he wouldn't do anything stupid like run off…." Ryosuke said, frowning.

"He didn't run off. From what his friends said, he didn't come back from a tofu delivery- his father found his 86 running, the door open, and some blood on the pavement. Fujiwara was nowhere to be found."

Ryosuke was already standing, pulling on his coat and grabbing the keys to his white FD.

"Aniki- where are you going?"

"I have some calls to make. If you want to be useful, grab a notebook and come along."

Keisuke nodded, hurriedly grabbing a notebook and some pens from the mug off the desk, looking back for a brief moment before grabbing the missing poster, just in case, and darting out the door after his brother.

"Was Fujiwara behaving normally this week? Did he act any different when you two were in school, nervous, jumpy- did he say anything about being in trouble?"

The gas station employee shook his head, looking baffled. "No. Tak acted just like he always did- he'd have told me if he was in any trouble. I mean, we're best friends…."

Ryosuke nodded. "Right. So Takumi hadn't been talking to anyone new, and he hadn't been in any sort of trouble?"

"None. He was just… gone. We've looked everywhere for him- all the guys have, really- we've driven every street a hundred times." Itsuki frowned, his lower lip trembling slightly. "This weekend, we're all going to search the woods. We'd welcome your help, if you'd like to come…. Every person makes a difference."

Keisuke focused on his shoes- it was hard talking to a kid who was obviously pretty broken up about his missing best friend.

"We just might do that. I know it was hard, but thank you for talking to us…."

"Itsuki. My name is Itsuki. Thanks for stopping by… if you find anything new out… tell the Speed Stars, will you?"

Ryosuke nodded. "I'll be sure to do that." He said calmly, before he was pulling out of the petrol station, onto the road.

"It doesn't sound like he was in trouble." Keisuke speculated, before he was sighing, frustrated. "Who just kidnaps a random high schooler? And Fujiwara, of all people? I mean, he's a pretty typical kid… why take him?"

"There's more to this than meets the eye, Keisuke. Have you considered the other boy listed as missing on that poster?"

Keisuke frowned, picking up the missing poster from the console and frowning. "No. He looks just like another teenager…."

"Kogashiwa Kai. I've heard the last name before, if I'm not mistaken… I think the kid raced on Irohazaka. Two teenage street racers go missing within a day of one another- think it over, Keisuke. Tell me what you come up with." Ryosuke said calmly, parking alongside the curb.

Keisuke looked up, surprised, as he saw the sign. Fujiwara Tofu Shop.

"We're going to his house?"

Ryosuke nodded. "We need to talk to his father."

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, we don't know the kid very well…."

"I'll do the talking, if you're so uncomfortable. But if you want to help me, you'll come in and take notes."

Keisuke nodded warily, grabbing a notebook and darting out of the FD after his brother, trotting across the street into the shop.

It took a brief moment for a man to step into view- he was sporting 5-o'-clock shadow, and looked to be at a sore loss for sleep. "What can I get you?"

"Tofu Dengaku, please." Ryosuke said calmly.

The man nodded mechanically, feet dragging on the floor as he made his way over to the case, starting to put together the order.

Ryosuke cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about your son, Fujiwara-san."

Bunta's head snapped up, and he looked at both youths skeptically. "You know Takumi?" he spoke softly.

Keisuke nodded, looking at the floor, hands in his pockets, and Ryosuke spoke. "Yes. Both my brother and I lost to him in battles on Akina- we were watching his career with interest. He has a lot of skill for someone so young."

Bunta nodded thoughtfully, before he was going back to putting together the order.

"Do you know anything about his disappearance, Fujiwara-san?"

Bunta looked up at the brothers, annoyed. "If I did, I'd be out looking for him, not running the shop." He said tersely.

Ryosuke nodded. "I suppose you would. I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me. My brother and I were just wondering if he was involved with anyone… questionable. Was he acting any differently before he disappeared?"

"No. Takumi's a simple kid- what you see is what you get. He's friends with the boys down at the gas station- he stays away from the gangsters. He's not interested in that type of thing."

Ryosuke nodded, looking troubled by the news. If Takumi wasn;t involved with dangerous people, then he might've been kidnapped by total strangers….

"Right. And does Takumi know Kogashiwa Kai?"

Bunta shook his head. "I doubt it. I hadn't talked to Kai's father in years before both our boys went missing, and Takumi never mentioned anything about him…." Bunta frowned. "Why all the questions? This doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Fujiwara-san, when two street racers disappear without a trace, we make it our business." Keisuke spoke up, dark eyes serious, hands still tucked in his pockets.

Bunta saw the sincerity in the boy's face and nodded, handing the bag with the order in it to Ryosuke. "That'll be 500yen."

Ryosuke placed a 500yen coin on the counter, nodding to him.

"We'll be in touch, Fujiwara-san." Was all eh said, before he and Keisuke was leaving the shop quietly.

Bunta stared after the two- he'd assume they were just overconfident kids, but something in the way the older of the boys spoke told him otherwise. Whoever those two were, his son had made an impression on them- they might be key in finding his son.

"Good luck, kids."

As soon as they 'd returned to the Takahashi household, Keisuke turned, grabbing the keys to his FD.

"Keisuke- where are you going?" Rysouke asked warily. It was growing late.

"I have some calls to make, Aniki." Keisuke said seriously, trying to step around his brother towards the door.

He was stopped by Ryosuke's hand on his shoulder. "Keisuke Now's not the time to fall back into old habits." His brother cautioned, dark eyes worried. He knew of Keisuke's past as a gangster- the nights his brother wouldn't return until dawn, battered and bleeding from pointless fights and turf wars….

"I know. But we've reached a dead end. My old friends just might know something about what happened to Fujiwara and Kogashiwa…."

Ryosuke knew his brother was right. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Keisuke. Be careful." Was all he said, removing his hand from Keisuke's shoulder.

Keisuke nodded. "I always am, Aniki." He assured his brother, before he was ducking back into the drive way and jumping into his FD, heading off into the night.