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> Fanfic: Sutoriito Densetsu - Legend of Zui Hou, Special Edition
M Flores
  Posted: Dec 4 2007, 12:59 AM


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Disclaimer: Although this is an original story created by me, I do not hold any rights and licenses to all the pre-existing names, brands, songs, etc. in this story. The story is entirely fictional and does not necessarily refer to any real individual nor as a means to offend or abuse any references that this story may have been made indirectly. Read at your own risk.

This version has been imported for it's original version at fanfiction.net by the same author (myself, just different pen name) , however, this special version is basically a whole re-edited version of the original story with more or altered scenes and possibly new and different endings. The universe or timeline this story is set in does not necessarily tie in with the canon Initial D storyline, however, it's theme, mainly touge racing and other aspects of the story tie in with various Initial D references. As some would like to regard, it could very well be more of an 'alternate universe' story, but still Initial D.



First Gear - 'Killer'

ACT 1 - 1000RPM 'A Rough Start'


It was a cold, piercing breeze, at around 11:30PM, a loud engine screams across the track. Covered in a bright white, slender body, the vehicle shot past each chicane in a smooth and graceful sequence of motions that seemed almost like gliding.
Hairpin right, then medium left.

The roaring VTEC engine of the NSX-R and the howl of the winds collided as the car flew sideways along the tarmac. Smoke covered the scene as tires screeched along the line. The stench of burning rubber filled the air and stained the leaves that brushed past.

The driver inside swiftly operated the mechanics of the vehicle with such precision and showed no sign of miscalculation nor conflict with his timing.

Traction loss - 65, hard left... ERROR.

From one moment into another, the driver's behaviour had quickly, but only slightly changed at that point, showing a hint of aggressiveness and anxiety.
In an instant, the NSX-R spun out in the middle of the track, and it did not take long until virtually dead silence, short only from the slight purr of the engine. It stood staring right at the apex of the curve, motionless.

"Failed... again." said the driver with almost no emotion in his tone. He took off his helmet, which seemed to have some sort of apparatus inside. He shook his head around, ploughing through his hair with his fingertips.
"Argh... my head hurts... This was a stupid idea..." he said in a sombre tone, talking through a device in the helmet.

"The system is very faulty. You must be feeling the after-effects of the druggings right now. I don't know what happened to KYOKO, but she played up when you started to feel relief after the corners. Did you realize the feeling you get when you've completed a sharp turn within the desired line? When you get mood changes during your driving, its a sign that the drugs are wearing off, or maybe the system has experienced some lag. We need to reconfigure it a bit more." said a broad, male voice through the device.

"Screw this program. I dont need a driver's assist." said the NSX-R driver.
"This system isn't exactly a 'driver's assist'. This is a breakthrough in racing technology designed to help train the driver and allow them to reach their peak in less than half the time. And so far, you're the only one capable of testing the KYOKO prototype." said the voice.
"I don't believe this will be of any use in any form of racing whatsoever." replied the NSX-R driver.
"You're just tired. You need some rest."
"No... True skill and learning won't always come from a machine helping you. Besides, this is Zui Hou R..."
"Maybe so, but this can surely speed up the process, for the slow-learners and inexperienced drivers..."
"No taking short cuts, I'm not using KYOKO to win my battles..."
"Perhaps," said the voice, "That's probably what you'd think, but until you realize KYOKO's potential - it will be something that will definately be making the impact in both the profession and in business."






The next day was slow and miserable, but not so quiet. Fu Huo was sitting on the bar stool, munching out on his lunch at Kouda's. He sat there silently, as usual. Spoke to nobody, as usual. Flicking through pages of car magazines, as usual. He was a quiet man, never liked small talk, and always to the point. Has a habit of getting things over with as soon as possible with little delay. He wore a pair of black pants, an expensive office shirt, expensive shoes and his leather jacket hung on the seat. He had a medium build, and his hair was a bit long, has a combover and is layered. Fu Huo was a nineteen-year-old who pretty much had nothing to lose.
His image, though clothed in class, looked as if he was half asleep.

Away from the bar stools, were the pool tables, and square tables for multipurpose use. Kouda's was basically a cafeteria and pool hall, but people basically go there for anything though not necessarily to be considered a family restaurant. The place stenched in cigarette smoke, among other things. The place littered with gangster wannabes and try-hard drug dealers who seem nothing but adolescents trying to pose as their favourite stereotypical images. Most of them were around fifteen to seventeen yr olds who thought highly of themselves when they are around a pack of friends.

Not too far from where Fu was sitting, were a bunch of teenagers who made their little quiet judgements about him, alongside the talk about street racing and rice boys, 'fully sick' cars and drifting. The arrogant one, who was nearly choking on his smoke, acted in such a manner of little hope to save his car knowledge.

"Haha, man, when my dad gets me a WRX STi, I'll kill y'all with my 100-Shot NOS." he bragged.
"Really? You're dad's getting you a rex? You lucky SOB." said one of his suck-up followers.

Fu sat there silently, grinning to himself as he overheard their silly conversation.
Moments later, another set of customers arrived at Kouda's.
Among them was a typical young woman, must've only hit her twentie's, stepped into Kouda's and took a quick look around. She wore a neat black blouse, a grey office shirt, and an open sweater. She was pretty, with dark hair with blonde tips, hair only touching her shoulders. She came in, and looked directly at the young man sitting on one of the barstools.

"Hey hun..." said the young hot-headed adolescent who did not cease to brag about cars that afternoon .
"...Me?" replied the young woman, looking around for the unfamiliar voice.
"What's your name?"
"Uh... Minako... and you?"
"Do you have a boyfriend...?"

Mina rolled her eyes and thought to herself whether it was some sort of prank or dare.
"How old are you?"
"I'm fifteen, babe, and you?"
"I'm twenty, so listen, if you stand too close to me like that, people might think I'm your aunt."

Fu Huo, quietly listening in the background, grinned to himself once again.
Another guy, came up to Minako, who seemed like the other kid's brother.
"Hey babe, I'm twenty too. Mind joining us for a while? I've been looking for some more pleasing company other than these bunch over here as they haven't really been worth my time 'til this point" he said to her. "However when you walked through that door, I instantly got a feeling in my gut that my luck was about to change."
"Um... I'm sorry, would you please leave me alone?" Minako kindly asked.
"Oh what's with you? I try to welcome you to my joint and you act like you run this place? I don't care if you think you're some sort of diva that everyone wants a piece of, you cocky-ass broad. Your round ass don't give you no right to strut in here like you made it." the guy started to diss her, as he couldnt hack being rejected so quickly infront of his mates.

Fu called out in a calm, deep voice,
"She's not that hot."
"Who the hell are you?" said the guy.
"Dont worry, forget it."
"Are you saying I'm into ugly chicks?"
"I didn't say that. But now that you mention it..."

Minako butted in,
"H-Hey! What...!"
"You're wasting your time." said Fu. "And dont put words into my mouth." he said to the other guy.

"Quit being smart, fool. I started talkin to her first." he replied.
"Haha... like I said, you're wasting your time with her." Fu returned.
"Would you stay outta this, fool!" the guy killed his cigarette, and pulled out his knife.

"Are you really gonna go that far just to impress someone like her?" Fu said nonchalantly.
"Ey man, I think its time you be quiet." the guy naively held the knife infront of Fu, attempting to intimidate him.

Why are these guys so unstable? So eager to prove themselves over nothing. I can't stand what this society has become nowadays.

"Aren't you going to call your cousins?" asked Fu in a laid back tone.
"Oh, you damn right I would, fool, so you betta watch your back."
"Hmm... how many of em are in here?"

From one moment into the next, Fu ripped out a pistol from out his sleeve.
"You better hope you call more than fifteen people to come for me, coz I got fifteen rounds of shut the hell up ready for all of them."

The expression on the guy's face drastically changed to a mix of shame and fear.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry man, calm down hey, I swear man, I'm sorry, put it away bro, and you can have her too."

"Stop it, idiots!" demanded Minako. She grabbed Fu by the arm and tucked the gun away and gently dragged him outside Koda's.

"What do you think you're doing?" she yelled at him in broad daylight as the two exited the premises.
"Me?"
"You always get yourself into fights like that..."
"Hmm... funny, it always seems to be about you. And you're saying I'm getting myself into them? Hmph..."
"Oh, whatever, I'm over it. But I'm not impressed."
"Since when was I trying to impress you?"

Fu lashed off, and walked around the corner to his car, fed up and lost his patience. It was not like him. Fu Huo was usually a humble, often laid back and simple, yet Minako was one of the rare people who make him lose his cool at times.
Little to his attention, Minako followed him.
"What now?" Fu asked. Why does she still keep following me?
"...Maya's taken the GC, she'll be using it for the rest of the day..." Minako replied.
Fu sarcasticly sighed.

"Okay, get in."
They got in Fu's Lancer - an Evolution V GSR model. It was black, with white 5 spoke Enkei rims and had a stock body and a Ralliart exhaust. The interior was close to it's stock form which seemed to be just enough to sit Fu's needs, save for his slightly updated sound system. However, the internals have seen a fair bit of work including expensive suspension packages from Zui Hou R and MINE's computer as well as some engine balancing. His vehicle, unlike most of which were within his field, is not entirely tuned by the Zui Hou R branch simply due to the availability of certain components and his tendency to experiment by mixing and matching parts.

With quite some patience left, Fu started the engine began to drive Minako home.

"So how've you been?" asked Minako patiently.
"You mean, 'since then'?" Fu softly replied.
"Yeah..."
"Nothing special. Just the usual... How 'bout you?"
"I see... uh, well pretty much the same... I've been trying not to think a lot."

Minako stared out the window, watching the scenery fly past her to the soothing sound of Fu's 4G engine.

"I... was hoping it wouldn't have come to this." Fu suddenly brought up.
"I see. I'll... get over it some day. By the way, how are the racing projects?"
"It's doing fine. Slowly, but surely, we'll complete our goals one by one... though I'm not even sure how I'll manage by myself."

Minako's apartment was along the top of the mountain pass, a moderately steep uphill section with mild turns and wide straight-aways on the first section, then the occasional hairpin curves along the way up. This road was known as Route D1. Many underground street racers hold fierce competitions there. Home to Route D1 mountain pass were Dreadnaught Racing, and Team Notorious Angel. Also, many beginners come to practice on this route, as the majority of the roads are wide.

As they entered the route, Fu began to apply more to the throttle.
"I hope you don't mind."
"Its okay, I'm used to it." said Minako

Rrrrrr... psshh...
It was around the afternoon, the sun was about to set, though there were hardly any sign of traffic ahead, but Fu kept himself on 'safe mode'.
Vrrrrrt... psshh...
"I'm gonna push it a little."

After the few sets of straightaways, Fu downshifted to 3rd gear, and flew about 75-80kph sideways through the hard left.
Pssh...
Minako changed Fu's fast-paced music to a slower, dramaticly soothing J-Pop music. For some reason, she did not seem to notice Fu's speed through the corners. It was like normal driving speeds for her.

"Hey Fu... remember the time when we use to go karting every Sunday with my sister...?" said Minako.
"Hmm... yeah, that was quite a while back..."
"Heh, yeah... you used to love it. We always were stuck overtaking each other and struggled just to catch up to Maya."
"Its different now."
"I guess."

Pssh... The sun's glow shined on the Evo's black paint, as it breezed through the mountain like a bright star.
Minako stared at the window again, thinking to herself. It seems like a totally new life since then. I can't exactly tell what he's thinking, but he seems rather relieved about a lot of things, despite his rather closed approach to things. As for myself... well, I guess I'm a little relieved too... But in a different way... as if I've moved back from a life that was, to a life that was before it... Still, I can't say confusion as left me...

She looked at Fu, but said nothing. He was too busy watching the road.
As you get faster... you're slowly beginning to get within reach of your so-called 'racing dream'. I wonder where I'll be at that point? What will be my dream in turn? What will things be like, when you've reached your goal? What are my goals?

"What's wrong, Mina?"
"Nothing... I'm fine."

Vrrrt... psshh...
125kph, the Evo climbed through the next hard right, its foglights only an inch away from the apex, slid through the curve smoothly, through the 4-Wheel drift.
The Evo exited at around 105kph, though in no time at all, it was able to pick up speed.
Through the corner of Minako's eye, she could see a figure of another car up ahead, through the distance. There was a set of hairpin curves up next, and at the rate Fu was going, he might not be able to slow down in time to expect the incoming traffic that Minako detected.

"Fu..."
"Yeah...?"
"There's... um..."
"What?"

The Lancer slid through the next hairpin, at around 80kph, while in an instant, an oncoming car was in sight.
It seemed too late, but Fu quickly reacted gripped the wheel and tried not to panic. He slowed down, but the other car did not seem to get a hint.
They met for only about half a second, the other car glided straight past Fu's Lancer, while he swayed back on the right lane in little hope to avoid collision.
The other car slid sideways through the other hairpin that Fu just passed, and disappeared.

"VR-4 Turbo... That's...!" Fu grunted to himself.
"Oh my God... be careful...!" Minako called out, yet did not raise her voice.
"Sorry."

From then on, Fu drove up at a much slower pace, and stayed on the right lane, obeying the rules.

"What's with that car anyway?" asked Minako.

The car cruised along the D1 downhill, not slowing down even after meeting with the Evo V. The 3000GT VR-4 Turbo glided through the turns, and flew through the straightaways like a space shuttle. Its body streamed in dark burgundy and blazed along the tarmac.

"Fu... I see you're instincts on the road aren't as good when you're riding with a woman." said Kumiko.

D1's downhill was no more of a challenge to her than a walk in the park.
Her high-grip tyres wasted no time in the corners, she gained speed on the mild turning section. Kumiko was still reluctant in using her car's full limit.
Her sandals restrained her from any advanced pedal techniques and could not bring herself to execute her usual flow.

Kumiko was like wildfire. It was almost as if she never slows down, only getting faster. And yet it was like she was only cruising. This truly amazing wonder of the street racing world, armed with a 4WD VR-4, known to the galleries as the 'Neon Serpent of D1'. She was a beautiful and warm individual, but longs for a game that has long passed. Kumiko loved speed as much as her hundred pairs of shoes. Her dark brown hair blew through the wind coming through her windows, as she tore the downhill like a divine serpent.

"Oh well." Kumiko shrugged.

Up ahead, was a trailing cop car, and a tester bus at the end of the downhill. It was much to Kumiko's surprise, they hardly set anything like that at such a location.
But Kumi did not hesitate. The cop car was going in the opposite direction. Kumi laughed as it came her way.
She knew that she was going at nearly unparalleled speed, and yet she did not hesitate or slowed down.

"10-4, I have spotted speeding Mitsubishi GTO traveling at around more than 150kph on Route D1, requesting a barricade unit along the checkpoint, over." radioed the cop.
But he had absolutely no time to turn around to catch Kumiko, who instantly shot past the bus and topped it off with a drift into the horizon, and disappeared.
Kumiko's phone rang. She did not have her handsfree carset on however.
She picked up, started driving with one hand, decreased speed.

"Fukada here." she answered "Battle tonight? Route C4? Who against who? I see. I'm there. I'll bring my apprentice with me too. Cheers."

Back at Koda's, the little gang were somewhat stinging about the little scene that had just took place, several moments ago.

"Who the hell was that?" said the twenty-year-old male, who tried to pick up Minako earlier on.

"I dunno, but he's the owner of that black Lancer that's always here." said Maya, the owner and cheif waitress of Koda's. She knew all about Fu, and basically every other customer that steps into her cafe. Though she denies almost everything she sees and turns a blind eye using tall glasses, cutlery and the kitchen sink. She somehow finds a way around the auditing, which has not been run for a while.

"Hmm... do you think he races?" said the guy.
"Who knows? Does his car make him look like he does?"
"Well I've never lost to Lancers before."
"Really? And what car do you have?"
"I got a rexie, baby!"
"What kind of 'rexie' is it?"
"Uh... STi."
"Really? And what WRX STi is it?"
"Um... the old one... the 98 model..."
"Hmm... okaaaay." Maya rolled her eyes. "Well if you're gonna race that guy's Lancer, I guess you wouldn't have too much trouble since... well you've never lost to a Lancer now have you?"

"Yeh, man, every lil' shit with their VR-X's and GLi's, you name it." boasted the guy. "I'm Ohjay the Lancer Killer!"
"Nice one, 'Lancer Killer'! I hope you dont lose to that guy's Evolution Five." Maya sarcastically cheered for him.

"Evo-wha...?"
"Oh, what does it matter? It's just a Lancer isn't it?"
"I guess so. Well, next time you see him, tell tha guy that 'Ohjay the Lancer Killer' is lookin' for his ass! Laters!"

Nearing the top of Route D1 uphill, Fu started to cruise at a casual speed.
"I'm jus' gonna stop by the pharmacy, ok. Won't take long." said Fu.
"Its ok. How come though? What do you need?" asked Minako.
"Just some pain killers... I get bad migranes lately..."

The black Evo V double-parked near the pharmacy, with Fu attempting to make a quick stop. Minako was watching him the whole time along the way and started fall into a daze from both fatigue and boredom.
A few moments later, a sudden maniac realised the scene and rushed to Fu's Lancer. The keys were still in the ignition. With Minako staring at the opposite direction, it was too late for her to notice.

"Huh...? What the hell?" she turned around and saw the random.
Before she knew it, the mad man was about to drive off, as Fu lashed out of the pharmacy doors and quickly jumped on to his car, gripping the rear spoiler and tried to climb on as his car was quickly trying to speed away.

"Stop it!" Minako demanded to the carjacker.
"Oh shit, what the hell are you doing here, stupid b*tch! Get out the car!" he replied.
"What? How stupid of you not to notice me sitting here! Idiot! Pull over now!"
"Shut up, I guess I'll just take you with me!"

The maniac swerved the car violently, and shook Fu around on top of the car, hitting his head on the spoiler. His legs were on the car's roof, and lower back rested on the rear window.
Minako kept bickering with the guy, afraid to hit him as doing so might cause the guy to lose control.

Fu struggled to pick himself back up and get in postion on top of the roof. The car swerved again. The rolled to the side, with his shoulder thumping to the side. Fu grunted in pain. The car was going about 20-30kph. Fu struggled to get around, he clipped his fingers on to the outer window frame, and motioned his body around the car's rooftop, in a spider-like position, while grabbing hold barely gripping the outer frames.

"Shit!" he complained. What the hell is Mina doing?

The car was gaining speed. Wind blew in Fu's eyes, which distorted him a lot.
His left shoulder is really owning him at the moment. Not to mention his head.
He let go with his left arm, as it lost grip of Minako's window.
Another idea struck Fu's head.

The maniac driver noticed Fu's hands on the frames. He tried to clobber them, while swerving the car intentionally to shake him off.

"What a dick." the guy called out. "Just get over it! I stole your car and your b*tch!"

Fu tried to ignore the pain on his shoulder, and reached deeply for his semi-automatic. But he could not get his other hand to take hold of it as it was holding on. If he released, then both hands would be free and would send him hurling down the asphalt.
Fu's left hand held his pistol. With much struggle, he reached a bit further, and tossed his handgun through the left window.

"Take it!" he called out to Minako.
But the maniac noticed the pistol fall through the window.
He clumsily took a hand off the wheel and started to wrestle Minako for the gun.
The car started to swerve uncontrollably, as the two were hitting each other trying to get an aim.
In an instant, Minako reached for the cigarette lighter. The car jerked around as Fu struggled to hang on. She grabbed the lighter and used it to stall the guy, and took the gun from him.

"Stop the car already!" she demanded, aiming the gun to his head.

The guy attempted to gain control of the car. The Lancer spun out, and flung Fu onto the road, but landed briefly on one foot, but lost balance and fell over on his shoulder. He grunted in much pain.

"Get out of the car, damnit!" Minako pressed the gun's nose onto the guy's head.

"Okay, okay!" the guy moaned as he quickly bolted out of Fu's car and ran like a coward.

This post has been edited by M Flores on Dec 4 2007, 01:22 AM
Meteor
Posted: Dec 4 2007, 01:16 AM


Were you expecting something else?
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Well. It's a nice story with potential. But I really don't see what makes it an Initial D fanfic.
M Flores
  Posted: Dec 4 2007, 01:26 AM


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QUOTE (Meteor @ Today at 1:16 AM)
Well. It's a nice story with potential. But I really don't see what makes it an Initial D fanfic.

Although its does not necessarily tie in with the canon Initial D story line (well, not until the timeline is explained much later on), the story still makes a lot of Initial D references, as well as the fact that the entire story is Initial D-themed to begin with to the point that it cannot necessarily be considered its own franchise. Although the characters and some track may be missing, it's too Initial D-like to not be considered an Initial D fanfic. In any case, readers who are looking at this story to reflect on the canon storyline of Initial D probably won't appreciate this as much.
M Flores
  Posted: Dec 8 2007, 05:06 AM


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ACT 2 – 2000RPM ‘Enter Route C4’


A slow stream of blood starting coming down Fu’s forehead. It seems that he hit his head as he landed on his shoulder after the fall. He lay helplessly on the ground, next to his car, seemingly half conscious. Without a sign of any other car, Minako did not wait for anybody to come help. Stepping out of the car to assess the damage, she immediately grabbed her phone out of her bag and dialed the emergency number. She sat Fu up against his car, wiping the blood off his face.
“Talk to me Fu, how are you feeling?” asked Minako, trying to restrain her panic.
Fu replied with only a grunt. His face showed no expression, but it was clear to Minako that he was experiencing some pain.
“Don’t worry, an ambulance should be here soon. Just hang in there,” told Minako as she tried to calm down.
She moved Fu closer to her and leaned on the Evo’s rim, holding Fu sitting up.
“This was because of me…” she softly blamed herself. “Its always because of me…” she repeated. “Every time things screw up… its always been because of me…”
Fu could hear her, but was unable to say a word, nor open his eyes. He had not much of a choice either.
“You were right about everything. Everything you said back then. You were right about it all. And… you made the right decision… even though I’d never want to admit that. You were right,” Minako continued on. Slow tears began to run down her cheeks.
Fu’s eyes were wide shut. He remained motionless. Minako went on, regardless of whether Fu was listening to her or not. Another little stream of blood slowly moved down from his forehead.
“Oh my…” Minako wiped his face once more.
After fifteen long minutes, the ambulance arrived straight to the scene. Minako tried to help Fu to his feet as he grunted in pain. She and the paramedics lifted him to the stretcher, while asked details of what had just taken place.








A medium-sized, metallic garage door slowly opened with the sting of cold air shooting inside. The VR-4 slowed rolled in, with only its headlights brightening the dark and damp garage. In a moment, the lights came off, engine died, and the garage doors slowly came closing down.
Kumiko stepped out of her car, pulling out the keys and her handbag. She walked all the way right to her apartment, making sure to close her car doors without her dress getting caught up within it.
Her phone beeped as she stepped through her front door. Kumiko received an SMS, and began to read it, which said:
‘Race starts at quarter past eleven. ‘Lancer Killer’ Vs N-Angel’s Z33 at Route C4. Go n’ check it out. Later. –General E’
Kumiko made her way to her refrigerator and grabbed a can of beer. She sat lazily on her couch and removed her heels, and tossed them away. She reached for the landline on the side, and started to dial a number.
“Hello, its me, Ku,” Kumiko spoke over the phone.
But the person who answered was not who she had expected. The female voice spoke to her in a rather worried tone. Kumiko did not seem very pleased. At first, she thought it was some sort of joke. But then hearing the sirens and blabbering in the background, it was clear that the situation over there was more serious than expected.
“What happened? How is he doing now? Oh my, I hope things are gonna be alright,” worried Kumiko.
The look on her face did not seem pleasant. She hesitantly hung up the phone and hoped for the best. Moments later, Kumiko received another SMS:
‘Omg, Kumiko, u hear wat happen? I guess ur comin alone 2nite huh. Dw, its gonna b aite, 2nite will be fun at the race newaiz. Catch. –W’
Kumiko sat there for quite a while. She eventually finished her beer, crushed the can, and tossed it in the trash. She could not stop thinking. A weird feeling sank down her gut. She was worried.
Kumiko was never good at situations like this. Her pessimistic side can dominate at times and cause her worrying to rise at extreme levels. Sometimes it would confuse her and lead her to think again about what she was worried about.
She struggled not to think about it and concentrated on the night’s race instead. After a while, she got up and made her way to the bathroom. She was lost in thought, as she slowly began to undress herself.
Button by button, she closed her eyes, thinking. Where am I going to be once you have reached the pinnacle? What is to become of me, once you finally take on the role and move onto succession? What significance would I have when it has all been said and done?
Off came her lingerie, and Kumiko sunk herself in her warm bath tub. Bubbles covered her body, and up to her chest, her arms and shoulders sticking out and reached for one of her car magazines.
Kumiko payed no attention to the magazine in her hand, but rather reminisced on her own in her thoughts. Her GTO blazing through the race track at night, engine roaring, valves hissing and tyres screeching across the lane. Following closely behind was a white vehicle, tailing her car, following her exact lines through the race track. The car behind was black and white, the ever-shining Honda badge glowed through the night as the two cars tore the limits, transcending all basic possibilities and raced on into the night.
The NSX Type R followed Kumiko closely behind. The two cars maintained sharp angles out of every slim curve on the track, both had insane cornering speed and velocity. These were happy moments for Kumiko. She remembers her racing apprentice since she first saw him join the team. Watching him closely, teaching him the basic and advanced of almost everything she knew. In an instant, she knew that one day, he would leave her behind in the dust, her time as master would soon fall as the sun sets. But Kumiko did not mind this. It was a dream for her that she longed to see happen. The cycle of the apprentice surpassing the master, and using everything that she has taught to reign in success. She imagined the pride and feeling of been able to watch and guide the one who was most important to you and make the most impact to that person. It was priceless to Kumiko, which was her mentorship.
“He’s getting better and better,” Kumiko quietly murmured to herself. “You’ve probably gone much faster that all I’m doing is holding you back…”



It was around 11PM, ‘Route C4’, around forty-five minutes away from the the D1 mountain pass. It was a much different location, as the elevation was not as threatening as D1, but the roads are narrower, but still has two lanes. C4 is a technical course and not for the light at heart, only extremely skilled drivers have at least a chance at surviving this breath-taking road with blind turns and hairpin curves waiting to torment the most naive of drivers. At the same time, many legends have been made in this very route, the very reason it was known as C4 was of a legendary racing team that has long passed, which engraved their records as the most victories and a flawless undefeated record of the same name - C4.
The galleries were packed, many of the audience were either from foreign racing teams, and any other form of person that involved him or herself with cars and racing. It was definitely an overage event.
Kumiko arrived late. Her car as heralded by the galleries, even though she was not due to race that night. They are very familiar and accustomed to seeing her GTO fly past every now and then.
Kumiko stepped out of her car, dressed in a cream-coloured dress and heels. In an instant, she was already drawing a crowd. Parked next to her VR-4 was an RX-7 Type R and an Impreza S202, both with the same team sticker - Zui Hou R. She was rather worried about the police from earlier, even though she had several means of escape.
The race was about to start. The cars were already at the starting point, and the driver's making their final preparations.
Ohjay was busy flaunting and boasting his car, a 4 door Impreza WRX Type RA. It was a rather fancy ride, with several cosmetic features such as neons, custom fog lights and even has an expensive sound system installed.
On the other side, the female 350Z driver was stood next to her car, along with Maya.
"Don't worry, I'll be your navigator tonight. This is your first time down C4, right? Well, you outta experience it out here some time. This is where the big boys come to play." said Maya, coaching the female 350Z driver, Patty from team N-Angel.
"By the way, this guy's the legendary 'Lancer Killer', I think he might eat us alive!" said Maya sarcasticly, trying to teasingly scare off her driver.
Meanwhile, a bystander approached Kumiko, as if she were some sort of VIP, was asked to do the countdown for the race.
"Oh? Me? Sure, its fine." Kumiko replied.
She stepped out from the small crowd, and when everyone saw her in between the two cars. The crowd cheered. Kumiko blew a kiss to the crowd, then began to start the countdown.
After the five second countdown, the cars were off.
The Subaru quickly sped away with its dominating take-off, while the Z33 tailed behind.
"Don't think I'm gonna take it easy on y'all just 'coz you're chicks!" said Ohjay.
The roar of his car's EJ20 was soon muffled by Ohjay's fast-paced music coming from the subwoofers. He payed little attention to his mirror and just drove as fast as he could.
First hairpin...
The GC8 maintained grip and exited the corner at insane speeds, while the Z33 oversteered to a certain degree and almost skid. The gap was getting wider.
"That Subie is fast!" said Patty.
"Hmm... I reckon that thing's got around three-hundred, or three-fifty. But that shouldn't be an issue to you, just keep driving. Follow his line, don't break for a second and keep the pressure on... Quick! Hard left! Into hairpin right! Keep it smooth!" instructed Maya. "You're machine's VQ35DE can actually pull off more than two-eighty, but that’s not an issue. Although nothing has been vigorously done to your NA engine, your real disadvantage is within the drivetrain. You already knew that, didnt you? The odds are basically against you. But hopefully, there will be a way to make this guy crack."
The 350Z sent itself flying through the turns, even though only gaining a glimpse of the WRX's tail lights. The growl of the boxer howled along leaving a mean impression to the galleries it passes.
The STi was very fast out of the corner at such a level that it's exit speed almost can never be matched by the 350Z's drivetrain setting. It was a call for Patty to have better planning. She started to sweat in frustration.
"Keep your cool, and don't panic. Drive smoothly, and lay off the sideways action for the time being. We don't wanna wear down our rubber without even getting to catch up to our little friend now, do we?" Maya said in a rather blunt tone. "I'm rather familiar with the Impreza's turbo setting. Of course, since I drive an Impreza myself. It's common knowledge, that your engine would seem to be more responsive than the other machine even with its power, compared to turbo-tuned, but our opponent seems to be coping very well. He's sorta getting the hang of that car already."
Expanding the gap even further, Ohjay began to be a bit laid back. He arrogantly changed his driving maneuvers to drifting stunts. He tried feint drifting through the next turn, but failed due to lack of practice and understeered through the turn instead, causing him to have to slow down considerably and lose speed in order to grip through the turn.
Ohjay cared less about his rear mirror, nor could he hear any engine noise coming from behind his car. Little did he notice the 350Z taking advantage of his little miss-stunt and gained on the STi. As they lessened the gap a little, Maya noticed within Ohjay's car, the sound system. "I could hear it all the way here!" she complained, "Hey, wait a sec... those subs must've been rather expensive, wouldn't it? And those rims...! I bet he's put on lots of kilos…"
N-Angel's 350Z had moderate weight reduction mods and lightweight parts installed. All unnecessary items were removed and stripped from this car.
"Keep at it! I bet his heavy body is giving him the shits when cornering!" Maya cheered.





Lying in the hospital bed, Fu awoke, and opened his eyes. His head was still hurting him pretty badly, and his shoulder slaughtering him with pain.
He tried to sit up, with much struggle. He turned to his left, and saw Minako, sitting down on a chair, her head leaning on the hospital bed, fast asleep.
"Mina..." Fu spoke softly. "Mina..." still grunting in pain, he gently brushed her hair with his fingers and felt her cheek with his palm. "Hm?" she quietly awoke.
"Hey..." said Fu.
"How are you feeling?" asked Minako.
"Awful. Just... awful."
"Oh dear... I'm so sorry, Fu. Seriously. I should've been more careful... I guess, I still burden you even as friends..."
"That's enough. You don't need to say those things."
"The doctor said, you'll have to spend quite some time here. At least a week. If you're lucky, just a few days. You need plenty of rest, and you've lost a fair amount of blood."
"Thanks Mina. I'll be fine. You take care of yourself now, I appreciate you staying with me."
"I'm totally fine... I'll stay here with you."
"Thanks."
"By the way, here are the keys to your car."
"How are you getting home?"
"Maya will gimme a lift home, don’t worry, I'll give her a call, she's busy right now, so I'll stay here for a bit longer."
"That's okay..."
Fu was quite tired, maybe too tired to continue with conversation, so he decided to shut his eyes, and lay down quietly.








Out of the hairpin, the WRX accelerated viciously, followed by the 350Z as it slid sideways to meet the other car’s path. Patty began to sweat in a struggle not to panic. “Use left foot braking,” suggested Maya. “I have no time to explain, just do it!”
The next tight hairpin, the WRX lessened a fair bit of speed before the turn, while the 350Z prepared itself for a sideways attack. “Watch it! We wanna pass his car, not hit it!” called out Maya.
Ohjay did not have time to overpower his opponent, as there was another tight left turn straight afterwards. His technique slows him down before the turns, but then fully accelerates right out of it, maximizing his speed on exit. Maya gave Patty a different strategy. This one uses late-braking, gaining itself some distance to close the gap on the opponent, but loses a fair bit of speed on exit.
Being a low-speed technical course, Ohjay was unable to utilize the full power of his Impreza. He found that his car seemed to understeer quite a bit, and many times hesitant to drifting. Maya noticed Ohjay’s style, giving her partner quite the advantage of knowing Route C4 through experience. She knew every twist and turn, and everything else the horrifying course can throw at the driver.
“Next up, is a hard blind turn to the right. If my hunch is correct, our friend right here’s never done this track before. Trust me on this, take the inside on this next turn. Push it hard until you score, babe. Hit it!” Maya coached on. “The road up ahead will eventually get wider. You’ll have space, so just have a bit of courage and take it. He won’t see it coming!”
The 350Z pushed on, right behind the WRX. They two ladies drew much closer to Ohjay, not noticing as he payed attention to his mirror, nor did he hear any engine sound due to his loud sound system. The turn came up, Ohjay slammed the brakes with his right foot and shifted down. Little did he notice, the car behind went through the opening as Ohjay took the wider line on the road. The 350Z lost a bit of traction, tyres screeching, and dived into the turn. “You’re crazy! If you don’t slow down, you’ll…!” panicked Ohjay. The 350Z slid through the inside, taking advantage of the WRX’s lost speed and the wideness of the turn, Ohjay was stuck on the outside, just parallel to the apex, as he tried to speed up. But it was too late, the 350Z drifted at a higher speed than Ohjay’s car and overtook him, nearly hitting his front right end.
“Great! Nice job. Now just keep your cool for now, and easy on the tyres! There are a set of sharp turns ahead, you gotta lose him there, so you can cruise through the straightaways at the end. You don’t want him chomping you with the power he’s got,” claimed Maya. Though she still believes they have a chance of losing, as her rationality comes into play. They are racing two wheels against four. Moments later, she could feel the tyres slightly losing its grip.
Just a little bit more…
On the other hand, Ohjay let nothng faze him. He kept on the throttle, and decided to follow the 350Z, taking into account the turning speeds and cornering positions. Ohjay was not very good about it, but he felt that he could be able to examine the next section if he let the other car go first. But he also felt he needed to do something quick.
Back at the Route C4 entry point, the galleries moved in, but Kumiko was approached by two men. One of them was a Caucasian man, short hair, and dressed in denim. The other was a Chinaman, wearing a blue sweater, jeans, and a pair of glasses.
“Glad to see you could make it.” Kumiko approached the Asian man and shook his hand, “Shi.”
“Eey!!” the other guy smiled enthusiasticly and shook Kumiko’s hand.
“…And Steve. How you guysl been?” smiled Kumiko.
“Hmm… How are things, Master Ku? I’ve heard what happened to your apprentice,” said the man called ‘Shi’. The man called Steve added, “Don’t worry about him. I bet ya anything that he’ll just show up outta nowhere one day and rip everyone into pieces with his driving skill! Have some faith Kumiko.”
“I sure hope so… I’m really worried.” Kumiko stood sulking, “Oh by the way, how do you think this race will turn out?”
“It’s rather hard to predict,” Shi rubbed his chin in thought, “Well all know what that Subaru is capable of. Plus, I’ve never seen him race here before. Chances are, it’s his first time at Route C4.” Shi paused. He crossed his arms and turned to face the others. “Maya is with the other driver. She knows this track well, and right now, she’s navigating.”
“I see where you’re coming from, Shi.” agreed Kumiko. “And plus, the size of the WRX’s rims, and all the extras that have probably been installed, such as the amps, the speakers, everything… It is likely that this car would be weighed down in some way.”
“Yes,” nodded Shi. “And N-Angel’s Z33’s power-to-weight ratio considering all the miscellaneous removed, plus the aerodynamics… I’d say N-Angel might actually score tonight, if they are lucky enough to play their cards right.”
The other guy, Steve, stood next to his FD, chatting with other friends, overhearing Kumiko and Shi’s conversation, he jokingly threatened to his friends about ditching his sound system to get faster.
“I don’t think Maya would send to participate in this race if she knew she didn’t have a chance,” continued Kumiko. “But then again, she was also a bit of a gambler.”
And indeed, Maya was a gambler. Ever since she was seventeen, she started playing poker with her friends using very small money, until she grew up and eventually played the big stuff. Considering her luck, she used her winnings to work on her car, and support her sister. Although her methods and views may be off the track to Kumiko’s, they were still inseparable as they were best friends. They started racing together both as partners and rivals. After countless races, it was never decided who was the better of the two. They considered themselves as equals, before Maya retired due to alternate responsibilities. During the time, Kumiko was the only one who ever beat Maya, and vice versa.
Maya Kouda was twenty-two, and closely resembles her younger sister, Minako Kouda. She had long, pale blonde hair, slightly taller, and shares the same pretty face as her sister does, as well as the figure. Her appearance is similar to Minako in clothing, during the day – the usual plain casual look. Though during the evening, especially during race nights, Maya and Kumiko share the same freaky obsession of wearing flashy party dresses and expensive shoes.
The third checkpoint of Route C4 was the most frustrating, most challenging section, before the cruise phase on the fourth section containing more wider turning roads and straightaways. Ohjay kept on the pressure from behind his rear wheel opponent. “How can I let that happen?” he complained to himself, while recovering from the shock of being overtaken. He put on a bit more throttle, while Maya’s driver concentrated on the blind turns that came up as she tried to conserve tyre grip.
“He won’t stay off my back!” complained Patty, gripping the steering wheel a bit harder.
“Don’t look at your mirror! Try to press on ahead, go faster! We have to lose him in this section, or we’re finished! Just a little bit more!” aided Maya.
Corner after corner, Ohjay slowed down his pace drastically comparing to the previous sections. The 350Z cruised its way through the tight runs. The route started to reveal a slight downward angle. Maya’s driver quickly glanced through her rear mirror. The tyrannical Impreza appeared sliding sideways coming out of the corner they just took. She pressed on the throttle a little harder, under much pressure. But that took time away for her to notice what was in store for her up ahead.
Nearing the fourth section of Route C4, was an extremely tight downhill corkscrew turn. “Oh damn, I’m a crappy navigator! I forgot about this!” Maya was in shock. She hoped for the best and depended on her partner to work things out. “Slow down! Don’t attempt to do any sideways crap in this corkscrew turn or you’ll spin out!”
The 350Z gave up much speed, turned lightly making sure there was considerable oversteer. Patty then braked hard, and turned in the opposite direction of the previous corner and attempted to tackle the next one, completing the corkscrew. The ladies felt a bit of shock and thump as the car slightly lifted off the ground previously when it turned into the steep downhill corkscrew turn.
Ohjay did not seem to like the situation either. But as he kept in his head for a while, he needed to pull something out. Without much thought, he attempted something different to what the girls had just done. He punched the throttle, and mindlessly shot down the corkscrew forwards, flinging itself in the air, almost skipping the entire corkscrew.
“Ohhhhhhh shiiiieeeeet!” Ohjay yelled in both panic and excitement.
The WRX landed hard at the end of the turn, his rear wheels slamming on the dirt on the side of the road. Ohjay steered his car skillfully enough, and regained back his grip, and exited out of the turn, instantly closing the gap from his opponent’s car.
“Not bad,” as Maya commented. That was a move that Route C4 veterans are always prone to attempt. That guy did it on his first try .
“Oh my God! He actually…!” Patty drove in shock from what she saw in her rear view mirror, as the mighty Impreza landed and launched right back on like a dragon.
The fourth section of Route C4 was upon them. The 350Z recovered and throttled it forward, as the WRX held its ground right behind its opponent. This was the high speed section of C4. Clearly, Ohjay saw this as a bit of a relief, and took advantage of the widening roads, accelerated through the turns.
“This final section of C4 is consisted of mild straightaways and turns. You’re just gonna have to push your luck, because if that car overtakes you, we’d have no chance of a counter-attack,” coached Maya.
The WRX kept up with the 350Z on every turn, match all its speed on exit. Eventually, the sheer power of the STI brought the two cars side by side as the path grew less narrow. Little by little, the WRX was gaining inches and inches ahead.
“Oh… no.” worried Patty.
“You got one chance left, the last hairpin, you gotta choose the line, the WRX will slow down heaps before this corner, pin him to the wall! Don’t give him room to push any further!” Maya demanded.
“I… I can’t do it!” Patty claimed in despair, as the car was nearing the turn.
“What?” Maya’s face turned sour.
The Patty and the 350Z had just lost the plot at this time, the WRX slowed down, its full body right ahead of the opponent.
“What do you mean you can’t do it?” Maya felt as if she wanted to strangle her partner.
“I’m so sorry, I couldn’t…” whimpered Patty.
Street racing isn’t always about skill and strategy. There’s always a certain degree of courage required to pull it off.
The WRX sped ahead into the finishing checkpoint, claiming the victory…

This post has been edited by M Flores on Dec 8 2007, 07:34 AM
Meteor
Posted: Dec 8 2007, 05:20 AM


Were you expecting something else?
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Another nice chapter. Looking forward to the next.
M Flores
  Posted: Dec 8 2007, 07:24 AM


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ACT 3 – 3000RPM ‘Worrying Minako’


Two cars parked on one of Route C4's 'gallery' area - a Mazda Cosmo Type E and a Nissan Pulsar GTiR. Next to these was a little stall selling hot food. The race between the Z33 and the GC8 had already just passed by moments ago.
"That was N-Angel's Z33." said the Cosmo driver. "I dunno who the other one is."
The other guy, looked rather young, probably in his early 20's, had spikey hair, and dressed in a brown sweater and jeans, along with shit runners. He was the driver of Dreadnaught Racing's Pulsar GTiR. And the other guy seemed to be just as young, wore a blue working shirt and black pants, and expensive looking black shoes. He was a bald man, who stood next to his Mazda Cosmo with pride, and drove for Dreadnaught Racing. This was Hokuto and Raide.
Hokuto grinned, "You think N-Angel lost?"
"It's possible." answered Raide, "But I don't think it matters. The one that was an 'apprentice' driver. It's nothing to us."
"Hmm... I see. I heard N-Angel's in the process of brandishing a new leader, I assume?"
"Yes... Maya's little sister. She's grown... and Maya's been toughening up on her lately." returned Raide.
"Yeah... her sis has really grown! Minako, wasn't it? She gets more beautiful everytime I see her..."
"Umm... well I meant about what I said earlier is that she's grown in her driving... no... 'racing' skill." Raide lit himself a cigarette.
Moments later, a car came cruising down their way. It was a Lexus Soarer... with a sticker above the rear over fender, 'Dreadnaught Racing'.
It parked right next to the other cars, the dark green Pulsar, and the grey Cosmo. A young woman came out of the silver soarer.
"The Z33 lost." she called out to the two guys.
"Oh wha...?" Hokuto said in surprise.
On the other hand, Raide stood there silently, with his smokes, not surprised at what he just heard.
"Well...?" asked the woman.
"It doesn't matter. It was driven by an 'apprentice'..." said Raide.
He killed his smoke and sat in his car.
Vrrrmm...
The grey Cosmo back out, then moved its way out of there and accelerated along Route C4 and disappeared into the night.








It was past midnight, Minako loyally sat with Fu for countless hours as fatigue and her patience never stopped her from looking after her dear friend. The hospital dorm was dimly lit, Fu was still awake, but was motionless on the bed. The room was rather medium-sized, but enough only for one bed. There was a television set near the corner, and sliding doors leading to a balcony. Minako reached for the phone and began to dial.
“Hello?” she spoke.
A female voice responded, “Hey, how are things? Getting tired now huh… Okay, I’ll come pick you up,” said Maya.
“So what happened? How’d it go?” asked Minako.
“Oh it was shit, it was so shit, we lost! I don’t wanna explain it any further, it was stupid.”
“Ok… Take it easy.”
“Alright, I’ll be there in half an hour, bye hun.”
“See ya.”
Minako hung up, turning to Fu and chuckled a bit, “They lost.,” she said.
“Really?” muttered Fu, trying to sit up, but ended up hurting his shoulder again. “Who was the opponent?”
“Oh, I forgot to ask…” admitted Minako. “Anyways, she’ll come pick me up soon. You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, don’t worry.” Fu shut one eye, “By the way, can I ask you one last favour?”
Fu took his keys and tossed it over to Minako. “Can you please take care of it for me?”
“No problem. Just let me know when you want it, I’ll take it back to the carpark. It’ll be safe at my place.” Minako guaranteed.
“Thanks…” Fu gave a light smile. He felt as if his head was about to implode. Left arm felt as if it was being torn out of his shoulder.
Damn… I guess I won’t be driving for a while…
After about half an hour and a little bit more, a woman slowly came into the dorm. It was Maya, looking rather frustrated and rattled at the same time. She walked lazily across the room and leaned over to check on Fu Huo.
“Hey all…” she whimpered, “Man, racing is only for people with a pair…”
Minako laughed at her softly, “How come you didn’t drive?”
“Silly girl, you know why. I’m retired, remember? Are you injured from the accident as well?”
She poked her tongue out teasingly.
Maya closer to Fu slowly. She softly placed her palm on his head. “How you doin’ kid? Lil’ Mina takin’ care of you? Well she better be. Anyways, get well soon, hun,” she kissed him on the forehead.
“I’ll be fine. Thanks,” murmured Fu, “By the way, who exactly did you lose to tonight?”
“Oh man, you wouldn’t believe it…!” Maya fake-stomped her heels in supposed anger. “Remember that guy that pulled a knife on you at the café?”
“You … can’t be serious. Him?” Fu didn’t believe it for a second.
“Yeah, him. He owns an Impreza. He calls himself the ‘Lancer Killer’, and he’s coming after you.”
“Me?” Fu thought it was a joke. “What’s he got on me?”
“Gee, I wonder,” blabbered Minako, “After you humiliated him at the café…”
“He’s very eager to whoop your ass, Fu.” Maya clenched her fist, “If I wasn’t retired, I’d smoke him.”
“Fine, I’ll race him then.” Fu told it straight out like it is.
“Are you crazy? Look at yourself.” Minako pointed towards Fu and his bandages. “You won’t even be able to open the doors to your car.”
“I’ll manage… somehow. I’ll avenge your team, Maya, don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be alright when I get outta here.” Fu suggested. “I won’t run away from this guy. From what I’ve been hearing, I can’t stand him already.”
“Oh my God, Fu, you need to rest! Don’t be a fool, even if the doctor says you can leave in a few days, you’ll still need recovery. And what if something happens to you during the race, and you injure yourself? I’ll have to…” Minako squirmed.
“Don’t concern yourself ‘bout me, Mina,” said Fu bluntly. “We’re not like that anymore.”
“She’s just worried about you, Fu,” Maya butted in, “She’s like a mother, haha.”
“I guess… if its about racing, nothing can stop you,” whimpered Minako.
Why won’t he listen to me?




After a fierce evening at Route C4, the galleries cleared up, Kumiko and the others went ahead separately. Her feet were getting sore from her heelers and she started to get a bit colder. Her hair started blowing into her face and her dress started gradually lifting up from the wind. She walked over to her car, along with Shi and Steve to their respective cars – an Impreza S202 and an Efini RX-7 A Spec.
Kumiko’s thin gown-like dress shook through the wind and her earrings flopped on her cheeks, as she quickly opened her car’s door and sat down. The wind grew stronger, almost making her struggle to get her door shut. Keys into ignition.
Vrrr…
Her GTO backed out carefully, the rest of the remaining crowd waved to her, as she started to accelerate slowly. She drove off along Route C4, on her way to get home.
Moments later, some car lights appeared on her mirrors. It drew closer and closer. Kumiko kept her speed at a minimum, while the car came closer.
There was a slight vacuum cleaner-like sound coming from the car behind. It was clear, this car had the intent to overtake her.
What is it? An FD?
But it was no FD behind Kumiko’s GTO. Pretty soon, it became clearer to her what she was dealing with.
A grey Eunos Cosmo. That must be Raide.
Kumiko fell into the temptation. She sped up her GTO slightly in the attempt to play along with the tailing Cosmo.
“Let’s dance,” Raide called out, speeding up his car.
The roads became narrower, but still two-lanes. The noise of the hissing valves echoed across the sidelines.
“Persistent, aren’t you?” Kumiko turned up the heat, as she applied more throttle.
The Cosmo kept up with the GTO, but the gap occasionally became wider, and closer, wider then closer again. It was not clear what Kumiko was trying to do but these were not her racing standard.
Her feet started to hurt a bit more.
The cars were going at around 140-150kph, they both pressured on the last sections of Route C4. In a few moments, Kumiko noticed something ahead.
Some traffic could be seen, but that did not stop her. It was rather hard to see. It did not take long until the two cars drew closer ahead. There was a Toyota Camry cruising ahead, Kumiko got ready to overtake.
She switched to the right lane quickly, little did he notice, there was another vehicle coming the opposite direction. It was a truck.
Kumiko’s instincts got the best of the moment, and quickly passed through the Camry as the truck drew closer. It was near-miss, and Kumiko escaped between the two vehicles, as Raide did not have enough time to react, as it was too late and the Camry was in the way. By the time the truck drove past him, the 3000GT had already disappeared into the horizon.







Two cars sped off from the hospital, a MINE’s tuned Impreza WRX driven by Maya and Fu’s Lancer Evolution V GSR currently at the hands of Minako. Both drivers were rather tired, so neither of them did any fancy sideways action or any other extremely unsafe car movement. Once again, Minako was lost in thought. But that did not affect her driving concentration any further than her fatigue.
So worried… why? I thought I was… over it.

Minako drove on. Deep down, she did not want Fu to race against that Ohjay fellow. She did not want him to race at all.
I can’t… stop him from reaching for his dreams
The Lancer followed the Impreza, the foglights glowed a mean red and lit up the road. On the way home from the hospital, Minako drove quietly and thought briefly back about her childhood which she has long missed.
Before street racing, before they could even touch a steering wheel, it was only Fu Huo and Minako.

They were the best of friends since early grade school. Back then, they much did everything together, helped each other out on every step. They got in trouble together, they cheated off each other’s test papers, they knick knocked houses and threw eggs at them together, had water fights at each other’s backyards, won, lost, celebrated, laughed and cried together. The only thing that stood in between them was Fu’s lust for speed and passion for racing. Minako never understood this side of him.
Minako began to wonder… what was her passion? What did she lust for? She could not come up with an answer to her questions at this time. The only thing she felt was that she had to race if she wanted to get closer to Fu Huo again or be on her own.

I guess we’ve…grown up.

After a while, the two ladies reached their house. It was rather small, but enough to accommodate them both. Both fierce-looking four wheel drives stood in the garage, as Maya and Minako went to their rooms.

I think I’ll have a shower.

Minako headed to the bathroom. Her feet walked on the cold tiles, and made her way toward the sink. She stared at herself in the mirror for a while. She heard Maya walk past her door and called out to her, “Good night, Mina.”
Minako replied the same thing, then began to undress herself. She unbuttoned her shirt, noticing a few marks on it and stains.
Stains of blood.
This was Fu’s blood.
Not only could she notice the bloody smell, but she also noticed a whiff of Fu Huo’s L’eauparkenzo faintly on her shirt. She chucked it in the laundry, along with her blouse, which also had a share of stains.
Minako did not really feel comfortable looking at blood. Especially since it was Fu’s blood. It was not because she felt afraid of blood. It was a sign to her that her friend had been hurt.
Minako tossed the rest of her lingerie and stepped into the shower.




The next day was more or less similar as to usual… well at least at Kouda’s. Few cars were parked outside – Maya’s MINE’s Impreza, and Ohjay’s Impreza among other cars, like Tarago’s, Jazz’s, but no Evo V. As usual, Kouda’s would have placed last on being the quietest place in town. People smoked outside, others sat in their cars with their sound systems, while inside, people played cards, billiards, or came to get drunk. Maya held a wet plate in her hand, while wiping it dry with a clean cloth. She yawned in boredom, but was also tired from the previous night. It was quiet clear that she was not in the mood to put up with anybody. Minako was also helping around, serving people with drinks and cleaning around.
Moments later, Ohjay made his way to the bar stools, along with his chest out head high cockiness walk. Maya ignored him and continued to remove and place things out of the dishwasher.
“Hey,” called out Ohjay, tapping his glass, winked at Minako, then called for Maya.
“What do you want?” Maya responded and sighed.
“Well… serve me.”
“I beg your pardon…?” Maya gave out a frown.
“How’d you like last night huh? Bet you didn’t see it comin’.”
“Good for you.” Maya shrugged, “I’m busy now.”
Ohjay grinned. The little pervert watched her working from behind, while playing with the straw on his glass. Meanwhile, Minako started with the sweeping work. Ohjay smiled and into his head, struck an idea. He took his key-chain out and ‘accidentally’ dropped them on the floor, and slid them a bit infront of Minako.
“Hey… um, excuse me… can you pick that up for me?” Ohjay asked.
Minako knew exactly what he was trying to do. Such an ancient trick. Instead of bending over to reach for it, Minako fully squatted all the way down to the floor and picked up Ohjay’s key chain.
Aw, not like that…!
“Uh… thanks.” Ohjay took his keys back. A short moment later, he ‘dropped them again’.
But this time, Minako pretended not to see the keys and kept on sweeping the floor, along with Ohjay’s keys into the dustpan.
“H-Hey!” Ohjay rushed to grab the dustpan and took his keys from there
“Sorry about that.” Minako rolled her eyes. Maya chuckled.
Ohjay changed the subject, “So… where’s that punk and his Lancer?” he demanded. “I’ll do the same thing I did to your Z33!”
“Fu Huo’s gonna come for you, Ohjay, just you wait,” intimidated Maya. “When he comes back from his holiday, you’ll just be a dot in his Lancer’s rear view.”
“No!” argued Minako, overhearing their conversation, “You’re not gonna race him. I’m telling you, you’re not gonna race him. He’s in the hospital at the moment and he’s in bad shape. He’s in no condition to race you.”
“Haha, what happened to the fool? Did he get bashed?” insulted Ohjay. Minako became angry. She never wanted Fu Huo to risk his health again. But at the same time, she did not want him to look as helpless to Ohjay.
“Shut up! Shut the hell up!” yelled Minako.






Down near the edge of the city, were this particular set of buildings, rather medium sized, and looking fairly new. There was a big parking lot, and an couple of office buildings, and a warehouse. Behind all these, was a medium-sized racing circuit, which appears to be closed off away from the public. A lot of surrounding trees covered anybody’s view of seeing it, and across from there was a lake.
There also seemed to be a few security set up along the entrances to this area. The whole place seemed like a small mini-enterprise.
One of the buildings was in some shape or form of a ‘research department’. Or at least that’s what the set up looked like. On one of the floors was a development area which was on a low level area.. There were many apparatus, as well as some car parts that were taken apart. It seemed more like a laboratory.
There was a group of people, who stood and watched some kind of experiment going on. It was a car simulator with many wires and screens, and the chamber was very well simulated to replicate real car characteristics.
Sitting inside the simulation chamber, was a young Japanese woman, who looked like she was in her early 20s. The woman’s name was Kumiko Fukada.
Inside the simulator, Kumiko wore an odd looking helmet system, with wires hanging down from it. The visor was opaque and closed down.
The group of people watching her examined her racing data from the screen.
There were Shi and Steve, and two other men. One was a chubby-looking young man, who wore a black shirt and a pair of denim shorts. He had very short hair and was a little tall. The other was another young man, a skinny man, and was a little shorter. He looked like the youngest of the four men there. He was a Vietnamese boy, with short black spiked hair. These were N and S. The group watched on, looking at Kumiko’s test.
She sat in there, the helmet seemed to be feeding data directly to her head. Her driving seemed a lot aggressive, but insanely fast and careless. But all in all, was so precise, that it was beyond her normal driving. Data was displayed and fed directly to Kumiko.


WIND DIRECTION: NNW
Kumiko started to break a sweat. She looked like she was being pushed harder and harder. Her foot work on the pedals were very precise and accurate, her feet releasing, and pressing at rapid movement.

A.S.M: 10
T.C.S: L5

She turned the wheel slightly towards the left, then made an aggressive hard right and accelerated sharply.

DRIFT ANGLE: 23 degrees
TYRE GRIP: 55

Kumiko double clutched like a possessed child, shifted insanely, her footwork not slowing down. She started to breathe heavily into the helmet.

BOOST: 1.0
FUEL: 78
DAMAGE: 0
TRAFFIC SENSOR: ON

Kumiko started to get a bad headache. The machine, or rather, the helmet was pushing her hard and never seemed to let up. She started to breathe more heavily by the second.

“She’s about to break…!” said Mark.
“Oh my God, is she crazy?” returned Ling, his eyes became wider in shock.
In a short moment, Kumiko gave out a loud moan. She lost grip of the steering wheel as her feet missed the pedal. In desperation, she unlocked the helmet and quickly ripped it off her ahead and dropped the helmet like a pack of eggs. She was struggling to catch her breath as she lay helplessly on the simulator, holding her head in fatigue an anxiety. She coughed heavily, her eyes were tightly shut.

SYSTEM KYOKO: OFF

“She couldn’t handle it,” commented Shi, as the others rushed to help Kumiko. “She didn’t last as long… Only General X lasted outstandingly longer. Only X…”







Laying on a soft and comfy pillow was a nice feeling, as well as being under some warm blankets, Fu Huo opened his eyes, as a nurse walked in the dorm and brought him some food, then left.
Sunshine spread itself across the room, the birds chirped in blend with light vehicle noises and blowing trees outside. He was extremely bored, though he refused to stop thinking about Ohjay and his car.
I…hate him. I know I shouldn’t be making first impression judgments… but… I hate him.
Fu Huo felt his face, or rather, the bandages on his head. His left arm was on a sling and he did not feel any more helpless.

Its quite rare that I feel this eager to beat somebody. I really wanna race him. I wanna destroy him… In front of everybody. I don’t care if I break another bone, I’m gonna play him and his car.
He rolled over to the side, opposite his bandaged parts. He stared out the window, resting his cheeks on his pillow.
Man, I need a CD player in here.
Fu just wanted to sit in his car and listen to some music. He wanted to feel some bass. But at the same time, he also longed to hear Minako’s singing. He always pretends not to like it, and teasingly says that she sucks at it and cannot dance, but truly, he gets really entertained. Fu thought about a lot of stuff, during his stay at the hospital. He thought long and hard about quitting hustling and doing odd jobs to get money. He wanted to throw it all away and try to become legitimate.
But after a long and hauling while, Fu began to become impatient. Moment by moment, he was longing for power. Longing for victory. Longing for triumph. Longing for speed.

This post has been edited by M Flores on Dec 8 2007, 07:28 AM
Meteor
Posted: Dec 8 2007, 08:05 AM


Were you expecting something else?
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My previous comment applies to your latest update.