=Same day, Somewhere in Shibuya=

Flashing lights. Bassy beats. And a plethora of crowds threading it all together.

This was how it was on every floor of every parking lot in the Tokyo midnight.

Tricked out rides populated every open parking spot conceived. They bustled and blossomed in their natural habitat as their engines sung songs in tune with the chanting crowds. Whether it was praise towards a winner's victory of a drift event, or just to everyone's favorite song getting blasted from open trunks, there was no shortage of excited voices. Flashy fashionistas adorned in all pallets of color, patterns, and prints strutted around as companions to whatever hotshot they decided to cruise with for the night. This was the Tokyo night scene. And on top of it all was Sean Boswell and his crew: his best friend Twinkie, his girlfriend Neela, and his mentor Han.

After defeating Takashi who was the self-proclaimed "Drift King" a while ago, Sean's crew found themselves on top of the world with little to no people that could match their skill in Tokyo. So imagine Sean's excitement when Twinkie skipped and hopped up to him one night with promises of competition.

"Han say he got a lil' surprise that's gonna knock you on your ass, dog. Somethin' real entertainin' for you. Come see." In usual Twinkie fashion, he grabbed Sean's arm and began leading him away from a Bosozoku style Lamborghini he was admiring. "Peep this," Twinkie started. "There's a dude from outta town that's dustin' everybody in this big ass old school. I'm talkin' your typa old school."

"My type?" Sean smiled, getting excited at the idea of seeing a car that reminded him of home. "Hope this ain't the same kinda 'entertainment' that'll have my wheels on the sidelines for a week again."

"Bruh, that was just one time! Look, c'mon, man..."

Doing as he was told, Sean followed Twinkie around a bend of their parking lot floor, eventually reaching a double laned lead to the exit that was occupied by two vehicles - one, surprisingly, his own car, and the other lane taken by a Plymouth Road Runner. Stepping out of the red and black Evo, Sean's car that was surely legendary by now, was Han.

Nonchalant and laid back as always, Han approached Sean with a no nonsense glare. It was odd to see Han so serious even more than he usually was. "Parked it for you. He's ready when you are."

A curious set of eyes darted toward the silver Road Runner that was sitting pretty, blasting Don Omar's "Los Bandoleros" from its open windows.

"Who is he?" Sean asked.

"Go see for yourself." Han replied with a lazy nod toward the mystery driver.

So Sean did so. Halfway to the Road Runner, he heard Han call out to him, prompting him to pause and turn around.

"Hey, Sean!"

"Huh?"

"...Put your game face on. This man's the real deal. Your reputation's on the line here."

Sean nodded and continued his strut, seemingly in slow motion. Finally reaching the driver door of his Evo, he hopped in and gazed at his opponent once his door was shut. A bald headed man sat comfortably in the driver seat, vibing to his music as he stared out into the distance.

Slowly, all cool like, he turned his head to gaze at the young adult across from him. "So you're Han's chosen one. That right?"

Sean shrugged and answered with his thick Southern accent. "Some'n like that. Han taught me how to drift. Next thing I know, we runnin' the whole show out here. I owe a lot to him."

Sean waited for a response, but only paused to see Dom sizing him up, running his eyes over his car. When he was satisfied with what he saw, Dom gave a content, "Hmph."

Sean sized up Dom for himself as well, and brought forth a question. "So, how do you know Han?"

"Han is family," came a quick reply without hesitation. "Han told me a lot about you Sean. I'm hoping you live up to his words. He's not easily impressed."

"Neither am I," Sean bravely retorted. He leaned his head out the window to take in a bit more detail of the Plymouth adjacent to him. "But you ain't off to a bad start though," Sean nodded toward Dom's car. "Prettiest lil' thing I seen out here in a while. Damn shame I'm gonna be starin' at it through my rearview this whole race."

He topped off his confident tease with a rev of his engine.

"Is that how you think this is gonna go down?" Asked Dom.

Sean replied with another rev, then rolled up his window. Enough talk. Time for action. So Dom chuckled, almost feeling sorry for how bad he was about to beat his opponent before the race even started./

=One Minute Later=

Sweat showered Sean from his forehead to the small of his back. Even with his Evo in perfect sync with his body, nothing seemed to be enough to overtake Dom.

Nothing.

Who was this man? Was he even a man at all? He seemed superhuman...

Concrete and asphalt seemed to bend to his will. So fast, the road seemed to be following him, chasing him, not the other way around. Nearly at the top of the parking garage, nearing defeat, Sean could feel his winning streak slipping away from him.

"Damn…"

One minute Dom's taillights were a spec in the distance. Next minute? Dom was gone.*

After some time, the crowds slowly started dissipating. Little by little, one by one, each car fled the scene and before Sean knew it, it was only the cars of his crew sitting at the top of the parking garage.

All except one. Dom's car.

It was parked to the side, where it had skidded to a stop once it pulled off the victory. Next to it was Han, leaning through the passenger window, discussing God knows what with Dom. That's how they'd been for nearly the past thirty minutes, while Sean leaned against his Evo's fender, wondering what they were speaking about.

Neela ran a comforting thumb against the back of Sean's hand and pulled her boyfriend out of his trance. "Sean. Are you done sulking?"

"I ain't sulkin'. Just tryna figure out how I lost."

"It musta been the shoes," came a tease from Twinkie on Sean's other side, hoping to spark a laugh out of him.

Sean glanced down at his Red Wings, then to Twinkie's Nikes with a violent wince. "Ain't no damn Jordans woulda helped me beat that dude, Twink! This sonuvabitch handled his business like somethin' I never seen before in my life."

"Sean," Neela pulled slightly on his bicep. Somewhat to admire his muscle, and the rest to alert him to Dom and Han.

They walked in sync towards the Evo, and Sean turned around in time to meet their gaze. There was a brief period of awkward silence before Dom was the first to break it.

"I like how you race. You got potential. Just need to unlock it now," Dom started while circling around the Lancer.

"'Potential?'" Sean tightened his jaw.

He wanted to say that he'd been driving all his life, and that he reached milestones in technique that drivers over half his age still had yet to grasp. How could he become better? Then again, he looked at Dom and saw something supernatural. Whoever this man was, he was more than just an ordinary street racer. He was gifted. Sean was gifted too. But Dom had something special that Sean wanted to know more about. All of these thoughts were communicated over Sean's face, and Dom picked up on each and every one. Dom paused in front of Sean with his arms crossed.

"I'm gonna give you a full answer to what you asked me earlier." Dom glanced over at Han and continued, "Han's been runnin' with me for a while now. Y'see, we keep each other on speed dial because we got the right things in common. We love to race. We know how to race. But most importantly, we know why we race."

Dom paused to gauge Sean's reaction and make sure he knew what he meant by the "why" in racing. Sean flashed back to Han's speech some time ago, where he stated he wouldn't race unless it meant something. It all clicked. And Dom was glad to see it so once he realized Sean had somewhat of a grasp on his and Han's shared philosophy. Dom swallowed a lump in his throat and though back to his earlier days, not too far in his past, of street racing.

"Sean… not too long ago, I had my life turned upside down. It can never go back to the way it once was."

"What happened?" Asked Sean.

"I got reminded how it feels to have your freedom taken from you..." It was hard for Dom to go a day without thinking about Los Angeles and his hustle. His family. And, of course, "the Buster…"

Dom shook it off and continued. "The details aren't important to talk about. But what is important, is how it changed me. Molded me. How it made me see life." Dom looked back up at Sean and put it bluntly. "Life's too damn short. For a long time, I let my past hold me back," Dom said, thinking back to what it took for him to finally drive his father's Charger. "I won't ever go back to that way of living ever again. And now that I know how this freedom feels, I want my family to feel it too. I need people around me who share the same passion for racing that I have. And I wanna see them flourish. I want to live my life making more Han's and more Sean's. Why? So I can give the next generation and the generation after, something to drive for. A reason to keep your foot on the gas even when there doesn't seem to be a road ahead... A will to live. Question is, kid, are you ready to be apart of it?"

Sean scratched at his stubble and looked down in thought. "So… this some kinda super team of street racers? We really doin' this? This whole 'crew' thing?"

"Might as well," Han interjected before throwing another chip in his mouth. "You guys are outta high school now. It's time you take your skills to the next level."

"You won't get much farther out here in Japan," Dom said. "You've already conquered this mountain. But… what if I told you that there's a place where a mountain is just a stepping stool for what you can achieve with your driving?"

Sean chuckled. "I'm not sure if a place like that really exists. Sounds like a street racin' fairytale."

"And who said it was wrong to dream a little?" Dom countered back. "It's dreams, fairy tales that keep us motivated to do the impossible. Right?"

Sean answered Dom's rhetorical question with a genuine one of his own. "What's this place called?"

"Before I tell you, I wanna know if you're in or not."

Sean paused to think about this magical street racing paradise. A glance was given to his best friend.

Twinkie winked at Sean. "Shoot, I'm game if you are."

Then a glance was given to Neela. She simpered and gave a single nod, "I think we're overdue for a little vacation, don't you agree? Let's spread our wings a bit."

That was enough incentive for Sean. He had the approval and support of both his best friend and his lover.

No brainer. And all guts.

"I'm in."

Dom smirked and started towards his car.

"Then let's ride."