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I'm loving this fanfic... Please hurry with the next chapter, I'm addicted!!

You know what I love about this fic? Despite the fact that the introduction of an OC triggered my Mary Sue! alert (and she is, of course, a Fujiwara cousin), I take my hat off to you for making her interesting and likable. And I love the way you sketched out the relationships, especially her relationship with Takumi and Keisuke. Very parallel to the one Ryosuke has with the younger boys. Aniki and Nee-chan, eh? Heee!

And you're also taking the time and the effort to research the car stuff because no Initial D fan fic is complete without the car stuff.

AND YES SHE LOST TO KEISUKE!!! Deliberately. I love it.

Great work!

WAAHH FINALLY!! I've had this chapter done for quite a while now but my dumb internet connection wouldn't let me open any other website aside from Gmail and, if I'm lucky, FF.net. Technician FINALLY came over and fixed it so now I'm back to posting here! YAY!!

Thanks to pnoytecknix, d3m0n and darth_stitch for posting such wonderful reviews! I hope this next chapter meets your expectations (although pnoytecknix already read this on ff.net)!


Disclaimer: I don’t own Initial D. The original characters are mine.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ryosuke sat in front of his laptop, eyes unblinking as he pored over the data on the screen.

“I don’t understand it,” mumbled Ryosuke. “No matter how many times I look at it, no matter how much I turn it around in my head, I just don’t get it. At least, I don’t see the reason for it.”

He typed something on the keyboard and clicked feverishly on the mouse, manipulating the data. His eyes burned from lack of blinking and he rubbed them tiredly. He glanced at the magazines sprawled open beside his computer and sighed.

Come on, Ryosuke, think! She comes back all the way from America and challenges you to a battle. She doesn’t end up battling you in the end but she still has a race with Keisuke. And then she loses! Why? I doubt she came back here just to lose, so what’s the missing factor?

Ryosuke ran his hand through his hair and went back to his computer. When Keisuke went into his room unannounced, he didn’t even bother to look up.

“What are you looking at, Aniki?”

Ryosuke replied distractedly, “This is the data I gathered from your race with Miharu last night. I just don’t get why Miharu lost like that.”

“I had a feeling it was that,” muttered Keisuke.

“Not to disparage your skills, Keisuke, but I think Miharu isn’t someone you can defeat that easily.”

“I actually don’t get it as well. She was way ahead of me then suddenly,” Keisuke snapped his fingers, “the gap was gone.”

“Tell me what you noticed last night during the battle. Did anything change or seem weird to you?”

“Only that she started missing the best line sometime during the last part of the race but I’m guessing it was because of her tires.”

Ryosuke finally turned towards Keisuke and said dispassionately, “Her tires had nothing to do with it, Keisuke. I checked their condition last night after the race and they looked perfectly fine to me.”

Keisuke’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “But that’s what she said. And she wouldn’t lie to me. I looked straight into her eyes and I could tell. I’ve always been able to tell.”

Ryosuke crossed his arms over his chest. “A lot can change in six years. You may not know her as well as you think you do.”

“What do you mean by that, Aniki?” inquired Keisuke.

“Just that people change. You haven’t seen each other in six years and even if you’ve been keeping in touch, it’s not the same as actually being together. For instance, I doubt you know that she’s one of Subaru’s test drivers, Mia Fujiwara.”

“She’s what? Aniki, you’re not making any sense.”

Ryosuke grabbed one of the magazines on his desk and tossed it to his brother who caught it haphazardly. “I read that article some time ago about a test driver for Subaru named Mia Fujiwara. She’s pretty popular since she joined Subaru at the age of seventeen plus she’s the first and only female test driver they have. Not only that, she’s one of their best drivers too. Despite the fact that she constantly refuses to be featured in the media, she’s earned herself somewhat of a cult following probably due to all the mystery surrounding her. And since she keeps to herself, very little is known about her except for some tidbits here and there.”

Keisuke shook his head. “I still don’t get what this has to do with Miha-chan.”

Ryosuke smiled and patiently explained, “I was telling Fujiwara last night about this little habit Mia has before driving. She kisses her steering wheel before each run. Keisuke, Miharu did the same thing last night. Can you make the connection? Mia, Miha. Fujiwara, her being Fujiwara’s cousin.”

Keisuke’s eyes skimmed the article on the magazine Ryosuke had given him, deep in thought. Mia Fujiwara, female, twenty-two years old. Well, the age is right but…

Keisuke suddenly tapped his finger on the magazine. “This can’t be her. It says here she test drives for Subaru on the Nurburgring circuit in Germany. She’s been living in the United States.”

Ryosuke raised an eyebrow at this. “That’s totally flimsy, Keisuke. Germany is just a plane ride away. How do you know she hasn’t been going back and forth between the two countries?”

Keisuke shook his head stubbornly. “I still say it’s not her,” he insisted. “For one thing, this article says she’s been a test driver for Subaru since she was seventeen. Miha-chan didn’t even know how to drive at that age. Heck, I didn’t know how to drive at that age.”

“Fujiwara told me she’s been driving since she was twelve.”

“He said what?”

Ryosuke gazed amusedly at his brother. “Must I keep repeating myself, Keisuke? Fujiwara said that Miharu started doing the deliveries to Akina’s hotel when she was twelve. I assume that when she wasn’t driving on Akina, she was practicing on Akagi and that’s how she knows the course so well.”

“OK, Aniki. Let’s just say that she was practicing on Akagi when we were younger. How could it have escaped our notice? We live next door to each other, for chrissake.”

“We wouldn’t notice if we were asleep, now would we? I’m sure she took her mother’s car in the dead of the night when everybody’s asleep. She didn’t have a license and she would have gotten into a heap of trouble if she’d been caught,” reasoned Ryosuke.

Finally running out of reasons and excuses, Keisuke measured the implications of everything his brother had said and started to make his own connections. Miha-chan was already learning to drive when we were twelve? Come to think of it, that was when she started buying all those car books like crazy. This is insane, why am I even considering this? If Miha-chan is as good as Aniki believes she is then I couldn’t have beaten her so easily last night, right? But then again, Aniki did say something about her tires not being a factor at all. So what does that mean then? She couldn’t have been…

Keisuke’s eyes widened in shock as he realized what his brother was telling him then they slowly narrowed in rage. He stood up and stalked to the door.

“Where are you going?” asked Ryosuke composedly, already predicting his younger brother’s response.

“I’m going to squeeze the life out of her pretty little neck. I knew it! I had a feeling she was lying to me last night but she looked so sincere that I just let it slide. And this Mia Fujiwara business, how could she hide something this big from me? And most importantly, where does she get off losing against me on purpose?” snarled Keisuke.

“Calm down, Keisuke.”

“Calm down? Aniki, how can you ask me to calm down?” said Keisuke in frustration, running his hand through his hair.

“For one thing, we don’t even know for sure that she lost against you on purpose,” pointed out Ryosuke.

“But you just said that my skills aren’t enough to beat her!” argued Keisuke.

“I never said that. I just said you couldn’t defeat her that easily. There’s a difference.”

“Whatever! What about that crap about her tires being worn? That was probably something she came up with on the fly.”

“That may be true,” conceded Ryosuke, “but we don’t really have any proof.”

“Proof? What more proof do we need? What the hell is she thinking?”

“I wish I knew. I can’t help but think that she has a powerful reason for losing against you, if that is indeed what she did.”

“Oh, I’m sure she did. Her mind is just twisted enough to come up with something like that,” said Keisuke vehemently.

“But right now, I should concern myself more with the upcoming expedition battle. There are a lot of preparations to be made. This issue will just have to wait,” replied Ryosuke as he turned back to his computer.

“You do that, Aniki. But I can’t wait. I’ll deal with Miharu,” said Keisuke dourly.
Before Ryosuke could say anything more, Keisuke left, slamming the door behind him. Ryosuke sighed.

“I really hate it when they do that.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Miharu hummed a happy tune as she parked her car beside Keisuke’s FD on Akagi’s peak. She smiled as she got off the GDB and waved at Keisuke who was leaning against his car with arms crossed.

“Hey, Kei-chan! I thought we were meeting at the café,” she said as she neared him.

The smile left her face when she saw Keisuke’s scowl. Worry took over and she anxiously asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You tell me, Miha-chan,” replied Keisuke.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me! I don’t know what kind of sick game you’re playing but I’m not about to be one of your pawns!”

“Kei-chan, you’re not making any sense! What game do you think I’m playing here?”

“First off, I want you to tell me the truth. Are you Mia Fujiwara?”

Miharu stopped dead in her tracks, a horrified expression on her face. She paled as she said quietly, “Where did you hear that name?”

“Where do you think? I just had a talk with Aniki about last night’s race and he let that little detail slip.”

“Ryosuke. I should have known,” said Miharu bitterly.

“It’s true then? So I suppose all the other things he said were also true,” snapped Keisuke.

Dread filled Miharu as she asked darkly, “What other things?”

“Fujiwara mentioned something about you doing the deliveries when you were twelve. And Aniki also thinks you’ve been driving on Akagi since then seeing as you know the entire pass inside out.”

Miharu felt a flicker of anger at her cousin for telling on her but it quickly disappeared when she realized that Takumi had nothing to do with this. Besides, she knew that Takumi wouldn’t deliberately say anything to Ryosuke that he didn’t deem appropriate.

“How did Ryosuke find out?” asked Miharu quietly.

“That’s not the issue here!” roared Keisuke.

“Just humor me, would you?”

“Fine. He said something about seeing you kissing your steering wheel before the race last night.”

Miharu massaged her temples, feeling a headache forming. Of course! How could I have been so careless? I’m such an idiot!

Taking Miharu’s silence as his cue to continue, Keisuke growled low in his throat. “Dammit, Miharu! How can you keep something like this from me?”

Miharu looked up at Keisuke in trepidation. When was the last time Keisuke had called her Miharu instead of Miha-chan? “I was going to tell you, Kei-chan…”

Keisuke cut her off. “When? When we’re old and gray?”

Miharu sighed. “I was just scared you’d go and tell Ryosuke, and I wasn’t ready for him to know. I never dreamed he’d be able to find out. I guess I underestimated him.”

“Damn right. Look, I can understand about you not telling me about Mia Fujiwara. But did you have to hide the other stuff from me? I thought we were best friends! How come you’re keeping so many secrets from me? Is it such a big deal that you’ve been driving since we were in junior high?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that the topic never really came up. And it wasn’t really something I could discuss freely with anyone, even you. I could have gone to jail, Kei-chan.”

“All right, I can concede to that. But you know what really stings right now? I can’t stand the way you purposely lost in last night’s battle,” bit out Keisuke.

“But I didn’t, Kei-chan! I told you, my tires were shot,” insisted Miharu.

“Cut the bull! Isn’t it enough that you lied and kept all those other things a secret? Aniki told me your tires were in perfect condition after the race. And I’m guessing a Subaru test driver like you would know how to push a GDB to its limit without sacrificing the tires,” reasoned Keisuke furiously.

He got me there, thought Miharu wearily. Out loud, she said, “You’re right, Kei-chan. I’m sorry; I did pull back a little during the last part of the race. My tires weren’t an issue at all.”

“Then what the f**k was that all about? Were you trying to humiliate me? Was it because you wanted to battle Aniki and not me? Tell me, why did you come back, Miharu? What do you want to prove by battling Aniki? Do you want revenge for what happened six years ago?”

“It’s not like that at all,” she said, her voice breaking. Keisuke’s face blurred as her eyes started to fill up with tears.

“If you can beat me then beat me, Miha-chan! Don’t pull that crazy crap on me! It’s insulting!” Keisuke shouted.

“I can’t!” Miharu shouted back, tears streaming down her cheeks. “If I had won then Project D would be finished!”

Keisuke stared at Miharu in disbelief. “What the hell does that have to do with anything? Why do you even care?”

Miharu looked away and bit her lip, struggling to keep her tears inside. Seeing that it was futile, she replied in a shaky voice, “I could never do that to Ryosuke. I can’t destroy his dream.”

She turned back to face Keisuke, paying no mind to the continuous flow of water from her eyes. “You asked me why I came back. It’s because running away didn’t solve anything. Nothing’s changed for me.”

“What are you trying to tell me?” asked Keisuke softly.

“I never stopped, Kei-chan. I still love Ryosuke.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

A/N: Many thanks to Sanae-san whose input finally got me off my creative slump and put me to work on finishing this chapter. She also beta read for me. Thanks also to Miguel for providing me with a clear outline on this chapter and for also beta reading. To all who reviewed, thanks again! You have no idea how much it means to know you appreciate my effort and how much it helps me as a writer. Email or review for any questions, comments, constructive criticisms and suggestions. Keep your flames to yourself as they will be ignored.

This post has been edited by iluvryosuke on Jun 11 2007, 10:00 AM

Well baby, you already know that I love what you've done with the tiny ideas I gave you and, as usual, great work keeping things flowing smoothly.

Very well done.

WAAHH SANAE-SAN!! You say the nicest things and you know I couldn't have finished this without your tremendous help! I'm working on Chapter 17 now. By the way, I'll be listening to your show!

Sweetie, if I didn't know better I would take that as a threat!! LOL

PS: I'm supposed to be working on chapter 37 myself (just warning you in case you go around looking for your whip... )

ohh... i thought u had another chapter up, but like u mentioned, i already read this. once again, good stuff, keep it up.
also its good to know that ur still actually workin on this, as i know of one author who has given up on their otherwise wonderful story and let it fall away into the third or fourth page in ff.net...

and @Sanae: is that 'supposed to be working' mean that ur not actually doing it?

No, no, I'm doing it, I'm doing it...I swear!!

To Sanae:

Hey, yeah! I'm gonna go scrounge out that whip. Haha! Hun, can you beta Chapter 17 for me again? I've got it in my head already I just need to write it down. Stupid writer's block.


To pnoytecknix:

Yeah, I'm still working on it. I do have a general idea of how the story's supposed to go and how it's supposed to end but I have no idea how to get there. LOL! Blame my writer's block which Sanae-san pulled me out of and which is now slowly creeping up on me again. Gah!

Sure hon, just send it by email and I'll work on it as soon as I get it, I promise. (and please, don't get the whip out...*shudders* I'll do my very best to upload the chapter tonight, okay?)

LOL!! See? It IS effective! Still working on chapter 17 hopefully i can send it to you by tomorrow. god forbid. hahaha!

Still going good. Keep up the good work.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Initial D. The original characters are mine.

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Miharu morosely stared out the window of Takumi’s room, tears steadily streaming down her cheeks.

What am I doing? she thought unhappily.

She’d been sitting there ever since she got home, thinking, and for some reason she was upset. She thought that she would feel relieved after talking to Keisuke but this particular time left her all messed up inside. Doubts were insidiously working their way into her brain and her heart.

Was I right to come back? Am I just giving everyone trouble? What do I want to prove by battling Ryosuke? Am I just being selfish? Am I crazy? Ugh, this is stupid!

Miharu turned away from the window and decided that she’ll feel better after she’s taken a quick shower so she grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom. Once she felt the warm water streaming down her body, she closed her eyes and reflected on her situation.

Who am I kidding? I already know the answers to all these questions. I’m here because I’m still that idealistic little girl who was enchanted with a fairy tale prince. I’m here because I’m still that silly middle school student hatching plots to get the attention of the cool upperclassman. I’m here because I’m still that giddy high school freshman who had her heart broken by the popular senior. I’m here because even after being away for six years I haven’t forgotten what a smart, kind and passionate person Ryosuke is. And seeing him again, the boy, the teenager, the man, made me fall in love all over again.

She increased the water pressure and as the torrent drummed through her head, her fists tightened.

But even through all of this, he’s still the same guy who only sees me as his brother’s best friend. I’m here because I love him and I want to show him just how much. The question is, will he let me?

A feeling of hopelessness settled in her heart as the tears started up again, her sobs camouflaged by the sound of the shower. She stood under the water for a good thirty minutes before her weeping subsided. Miharu shook her head, trying to force her misgivings out.

I’d already decided to see this through to the end and that’s what I’m going to do.

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She hurriedly dried off and got dressed then she headed outside to her car. She looked at the GDB for several moments, idly stroking the car’s hood.

What I should be thinking about is how to overcome this setback. Ryosuke’s seen how I drive. He knows about Mia. Nothing I can do about that now but that means most of my advantages over him are gone. The only thing I have left is this car. I’m sure the minute he saw it run, he figured out its full capacity.

Miharu went around to the driver’s side and popped the hood. She stared at the engine, thinking about what she could do. She thought back to her practices and battles on Akagi.

The car’s great as it is but it can certainly do better. Trouble is, if I mess around with the engine I’ll lose the balance of power. Besides, I think I have enough power to match up with Ryosuke’s FC so that’s not my problem. What can I do to the car that would lead to a faster time?

With her mind set on a goal, she hopped in the car and drove back to Akagi.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Miharu was relieved to see that the parking lot on Akagi’s peak was empty. She checked her watch and noted the time, concluding that there wouldn’t be any practices tonight or they would have already begun.

I just need to make a few runs to try and figure out what I can change in my setup.

She picked up the lap timer she had purchased before heading up the mountain and fiddled with the buttons. Once she figured out how it worked, she drove to the start line. She kissed her steering wheel, pressed the start button on the lap timer, and then sped off.

She concentrated fiercely on the road, expertly maneuvering the GDB around the tight corners. She pushed the car to its limit, intent on making the fastest run she could manage.

She screeched to a stop when she reached the base then grabbed the timer and clicked the stop button. She cursed inwardly when she saw the time reflected on the device.

Dammit! I only made it just under Ryosuke’s record when he raced Sudo. This simply won’t do.

She slowly made her way back up Akagi, her mind going over every aspect of her run.

I know I can push harder in the corners. My turn in feels sluggish and the boost lag is unbelievable. I’m not sure if my problem is gearing or if my boost is too high. If I try to turn in faster, I’ll just understeer. Maybe if I tweak the center differential control…

She again took her position on the start line and twiddled with the center differential controls. Satisfied, she made another downhill run. When she reached the first corner, she was glad to note that her turn in was getting better but it still lacked something.

She ended up repeating the same process over and over. She would change the settings, make a run, and then climb back up. Her frustration mounted when her tires began to slip.

Now my tires really are worn. This is maddening! I want to keep going but obviously I can’t. First thing tomorrow, I’ll get another set of tires. And maybe I should change the final gear ratio as well. I’ll have to talk to Masashi oji-san about what we could do…

Miharu’s thoughts whirled with plans as she made her way back to the tofu shop. She had a lot to do.

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“I’m really sorry, Miharu-chan, but I just can’t accommodate you,” sighed Masashi as he slid out from under the car he’d just been working on.

“But Masashi oji-san, I really need to get this work done,” said Miharu desperately.

“Well, it’s not really a matter of not being able to get the work done. However, the time frame you’re giving me is just way too short. As you can see, a lot of these cars also need urgent repairs.”

“Darn. I suppose I’ll have to do the work myself then.”

“Tell you what, I can get you all the parts you need and point you to the best places to get tools. I’m sorry, that’s the best I can manage right now. I’m just too swamped.”

“That’s OK. I’ll just have to ask Bunta oji-san if I can swap parking spaces with Taku-chan so I can work there.”

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“Miha-chan, what the heck are you doing?”

Miharu peeked out from under the GDB and saw Takumi staring at her incredulously.

“I’m changing my final gear ratio. To do that, I have to bring down the transmission and take out the final gear so I can swap it out with this one,” she replied casually, holding up a gear.

“Well I can see that. But that looks like a differential axle,” said Takumi, pointing to a different part lying on the ground. “And I think that’s a tie rod. Wait, is that your radiator?”

Miharu laughed sheepishly. “I kinda got carried away. I was just going to work on the transmission then I noticed that I need to replace something here and there so…”

“You sure you can do all that by yourself? You might end up wrecking a perfectly good car,” said Takumi dubiously.

“Of course, dear. I’ve done more than this on my RX-8 back in the States. I should be done by mid-afternoon, after which I’m going to try it out on Akagi.”

“You’re really serious about this, huh.”

“As serious as a street race can get.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

That evening, Miharu was back in Akagi. She took a deep breath and mentally went over what she had accomplished.

OK, I’ve changed the LSD setting to be more responsive, I’ve adjusted the final gear to something less for the top end and I’ve set the center differential to make the car feel more like a rear wheel drive. I brought an extra set of tires so I can probably stay until early morning.

She nodded to herself and peeled off. The routine she had established the previous night resumed itself only this time, she happily noted that every time she went back to the peak to make some adjustments, she clocked in a better time. She felt, however, that her turn in was still a bit slow and that there were still some corners where she missed the apex because of this.

As the night wore on, more and more settings were modified. She even altered the suspension dampening several times. When her tires gave out, she brought out her jack and started putting in the extra set. Her head was beginning to hurt trying to keep up with all the things she had done. She set her lip in a tight line.

No. I’m not giving up. I’m going to stay here until I fall from exhaustion. I don’t care if people think this is foolish or what. This is my only shot at Ryosuke and I’m not going to mess it up!

With that thought, she viciously attacked the lug nuts and got back to work.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

A few days later, the shrill ringing of the telephone shattered the silence at the Fujiwara Tofu Shop. Takumi calmly answered the phone and listened to the other person on the line.

“Miha-chan! Phone for you!” he called out.

Miharu grunted from underneath her car and yelled out, “Tell whoever it is to call back in a few hours. I’m busy!”

Takumi rolled his eyes and did as he was told.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again. Takumi grumbled at being disturbed as he went to answer it again.

“Miha-chan! It’s for you again!”

“I’M BUSY!”

Takumi let out an exasperated sigh. He stalked outside and crouched down to peer under the GDB. “Miha-chan, it’s Junko oba-san. She said it’s important.”

Miharu glanced at Takumi before setting down her tools. She slid out from beneath the car, muttering under her breath. She removed her work gloves impatiently and stomped to the phone.

“Hey Mom, what’s up?” she said, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.

“Miharu, I want you to come over tonight,” Junko said.

“Can’t it wait? I have plans,” replied Miharu, thinking about all the work she still needed to complete on her GDB.

“No. The Takahashis found out that you’re back from Keisuke and they wanted to see you so they planned a small get-together. Dinner starts at seven and you’d better be there, young lady,” reprimanded Junko.

“Dinner?” Miharu asked dumbly. “Tonight? At the Takahashi mansion?”

“Yes so you better start getting ready. Wear something nice, OK? I’ll see you tonight.”

Junko ended the call after that statement but Miharu continued to press the receiver to her ear. One thought was running through her head.

Crap. I have nothing to wear.

Realizing that her car currently didn’t have all its parts back where they should be, she yelled out, “Taku-chan! I need a driver!”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

“You sure you won’t need a ride back tonight?” asked Takumi as he stopped the 86 in front of the Takahashi residence.

“Yeah, I’ll either stay home or ask Kei-chan to drive me if he’s not too angry at me. Thanks, Taku-chan,” said Miharu as she climbed out of the car.

“All right then.”

Miharu closed the door and waved as Takumi drove off. She then took a deep breath and smoothed out her new clothes. It was a short dress with hand painted detail on the bust and a sexy V-neck. The angled skirt fell to her knees and the colors of the dress slowly faded from navy to tan. On her feet were flattering silver-white, 3-inch heeled, ankle-strap sandals.

Well, here goes nothing, she thought as she rang the doorbell.

Akiko Takahashi opened the door and gasped in surprise. “Miharu-chan, is that you?”

“Good evening, Akiko oba-san,” said Miharu politely.

“Oh my goodness, you look fantastic! I can’t believe how much you’ve grown! Come on in, you parents are already inside.”

Akiko led her to the dining room. The minute they spotted her, greetings and exclamations were exchanged by all the parents. When everything had settled down, Akiko excused herself from the room to call her sons.

A moment later, Ryosuke and Keisuke entered the room. Both sported black suits and both looked dashing. The parents seemed to expect a joyful reunion, unaware of the tension among the three. Miharu figured she should approach them to ward off suspicious questions from their parents.

As Miharu neared Ryosuke, she couldn’t help but stare at him. He’d always been undeniably gorgeous however in some way it was different from what she remembered. Sure, he looked more mature, taller, and well-proportioned than before but it wasn’t just his looks that had changed. No, it was his appeal, the aura that surrounded him and drew everyone to him. In the past, that charisma had been subtle and mellow. Now, it just teemed out of him as if commanding everyone near to follow him and Miharu knew if she wasn’t careful, it would swallow her whole.

Ryosuke, on the other hand, was having an equally hard time maintaining his carefully blank expression. He openly stared at Miharu, internalizing everything and wondering how such beauty was possible. He watched as Miharu kissed Keisuke’s cheek enthusiastically while he hugged her. When she turned fully towards him, his breath caught in his throat.

“Hi, Ryosuke,” she said softly as she stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek.

The contact left both mesmerized and they just looked at each other quietly. Their parents exchanged knowing glances. Keisuke coughed to get their attention.

“Ryosuke, dear, why don’t you escort Miharu to the table? She can sit between you and Keisuke,” said Akiko gently.

Ryosuke sighed but he complied. He knew that tone. That was his mother’s “matchmaking” tone.

This is going to be a long night, he thought.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

The Takahashis and the Watanabes were enjoying wine in the parlor. Miharu, Keisuke and Ryosuke were in the living room. Dinner had passed by rather uneventfully. Miharu hardly said a word, only giving polite answers when she was questioned.

“I didn’t see your car outside, Miharu,” commented Ryosuke.

“Oh, I didn’t bring one. Taku-chan drove me over,” she replied delicately.

Keisuke edgily ran a hand through his hair and said, “Oh, cut it out, you two.”

Ryosuke and Miharu looked questioningly at Keisuke who rolled his eyes. “Look, why don’t the two of you take a drive or something? Aniki, take her home. You two need to talk. All this cordiality is getting on my nerves.”

Miharu felt uneasiness grip her and she worried that Keisuke told Ryosuke about what they had talked about several days ago. To her relief, Keisuke simply stood up and just before he went out the door, he said, “The two of you used to be good friends at the very least before all this mess began. Why don’t you start from there, huh?”

Miharu blushed. She stole a glance at Ryosuke who, for his part, remained dispassionate. He seemed to take Keisuke’s suggestion to heart, however, and said, “Let me just grab my keys.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Ryosuke found himself driving up Akagi with Miharu on the passenger seat of his FC. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Both knew they had some things to talk about but neither had any idea where to start.

They reached the parking lot at the peak and Ryosuke shut off the car’s engine. He was surprised when Miharu initiated the conversation.

“You know, I never got to ride this car until now. I remember you being so excited about getting it back then. And I remember you promised me a ride provided I don’t wear a crash helmet,” said Miharu lightly.

Ryosuke couldn’t help but smile. “Well, that’s one promise down.”

The hint was subtle but Miharu caught on right away. “About that, Ryosuke, I wanted to apologize for causing any trouble for you and Project D. I guess I wasn’t really thinking about that when I passed Kei-chan and challenged you.”

Ryosuke shook his head. “I think I’m the one who should be apologizing. It must have been hard to let Keisuke win.”

Miharu laughed. “He told you, huh.”

“No, not really. He just told me that he’d already talked to you.”

“Yeah, well, I ended up getting yelled at by Kei-chan. He hasn’t talked to me since that argument days ago. I can’t say I blame him for being ticked off, though. I did lie to him.”

Ryosuke had a ton of questions he wanted to ask her. Why did she lose against Keisuke on purpose? Why did she come back? Does she still think about him? Does she still love him?

He mentally kicked himself. Why did he want to know?

Being alone with Miharu brought back all the strange emotions he’d kept locked inside him for years. Does she have this effect on all men or is it just me? he thought inattentively.

“I’ve been practicing every night here to get ready for our battle. I’ve almost matched your record time but I think I still have a long way to go.”

“That’s surprising. I figured you’d be able to beat that time without any problems.”

“You’d think that but no. I suppose it’s because I have no idea how you drive.”

“I could show you.”

Miharu flicked her startled gaze at Ryosuke’s face. “Why would you do that? I’m your opponent, remember?”

Ryosuke shrugged. “I think it’s only fair. After all, if it hadn’t been for Keisuke, we would have been battling each other without any idea of the extent of the other’s skill.”

Before Miharu could protest, Ryosuke started up the engine. The FC roared to life and they were off.

Ryosuke’s downhill run was everything Miharu expected it to be and more. Keisuke and Takumi hadn’t been exaggerating at all about his skill. From the entry to the exit, every move was executed flawlessly. He was amazingly good and ridiculously fast.

They were again quiet on the drive home but now it was a companionable silence. When Ryosuke stopped in front of the Fujiwara Tofu Shop, Miharu again leaned in and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks for the ride, Ryosuke. Good night,” she said sweetly.

Ryosuke managed a nod, his emotions and thoughts churning inside of him chaotically. He waited until Miharu was safely inside before driving away.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

The next morning, Miharu was again hard at work reassembling her car. With Ryosuke’s run clearly emblazoned in her mind, she knew she had her work cut out for her.

Takumi was surprised to see that Miharu was already up. He shrugged and was about to head off to work when he remembered something.

“Hey, Miha-chan. A guy came by last night looking for you while you were having dinner with Ryosuke-san.”

“Did you ask who it was?” Miharu called out from under the car.

“It’s really weird, but he left before I could ask him. He sounded like the same guy who called yesterday, though. Remember, you said for me to tell him you were busy.”

“Well, what did he look like?”

Takumi raised an eyebrow and said, “What are you talking about? He looks like a normal guy.”

“Taku-chan!”

“Look, he was tall and he dresses like Ryosuke-san but I didn’t really pay attention to anything else. He drives a blue BMW M3, though.”

“Hmm, don’t know anyone who drives an M3. Anyway, I’m sure he’ll come by again if it’s important. Thanks, Taku-chan.”

“No problem. I’m off to work.”

“All right, take care!”

Miharu turned her concentration back on her car. By midday, she was finished. She cleaned herself up and hurried to the tire shop to purchase two more sets to replace the ones she had worn out. With some time on her hands, she headed to Yuuichi’s gas station. She waved when she caught sight of Iketani and Itsuki.

“Hi guys. Full tank of high octane, please. And could you check the water and oil? Thanks.”

“No problem, Miharu. What about your spare tank?” asked Iketani.

“Oh, thanks for reminding me. It’s in the trunk.”

“Gee, Miharu-san, you’ve sure been using up a lot of gasoline,” remarked Itsuki.

“You noticed, huh. I’ve been doing a lot of practice runs on Akagi. I just can’t seem to find the perfect setup and I really need it if I want to beat Ryosuke.”

Iketani and Itsuki exchanged looks. Itsuki scooted over to Iketani and whispered, “Oi, Iketani-sempai. She can’t mean Ryosuke Takahashi, can she?”

“Of course it’s Ryosuke Takahashi. You think we should ask her for details or do we wheedle it out of Takumi instead?” Iketani furiously whispered back.

“I say Takumi. He’s easier to bully.”

They finished with Miharu’s GDB a few minutes later then watched as she drove away.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

OK, this is it. I’m getting closer to finding that perfect setup. I just know something’s going to happen tonight.

Miharu’s optimism dwindled as the hours flew by. She was down to her last set of tires and a few liters of gas.

Just enough for one last run and the trip home. I have to make this count.

Her good feelings returned as she made her way down the mountain. She was maximizing the All-Wheel Drive on the sharper turns but she still seemed to be having trouble with her sluggish turn in. When she reached the consecutive hairpins, she suddenly felt her tires slipping and the car moving out on its own.

Darn it, I guess I miscalculated my tire usage tonight. I have to be careful.

She kicked the clutch to correct the car’s angle. She took the corner widely but exited safely. She kicked the clutch again at the next hairpin but it failed to respond.

Oh shit! My clutch!

Miharu slammed on the brakes. The car squealed to a halt. She panted, willing her heart to stop its frantic pounding as she shakily stepped out of the GDB.

Sliding clutch. God, how could I be so stupid? I’ve been so anxious on setting up the car I didn’t even bother with the basics. To top it all off, I’ve tried everything already and the car still won’t perform the way I want it to. Face it, Miharu. You’re a world class idiot.

Miharu hardly noticed as a blue BMW M3 stopped just beside her and its driver stepped out. A rather handsome man with blonde hair and olive green eyes walked towards her, clucking his tongue. Miharu jumped in surprise at the sound then she whirled around to look for its source. Her eyes widened in shock.

“Looks like you could use some help there, Mia,” the man said with amusement.

“Oh my gosh. Jin!” exclaimed Miharu.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

A/N: Oh, wow. That took a long while. This is my longest chapter yet, as I intended it to be (17 is my favorite number and if you’re one of my friends you should know why). Expect several flashback chapters since I’ll need it to introduce Jin. Again, my thanks to Bop (for practically writing the whole car stuff scene for me), Sanae-san (for helping me organize my thoughts, literally giving me the outline for the entire chapter, and beta-reading for me) and to Miguel (for beta-reading and for the ideas). Thanks to everyone who reviewed and I hope that you’ll enjoy this chapter despite the long wait!

i see some conflict/major misunderstandings in the near future... good job

Disclaimer: I don’t own Initial D. The original characters are mine.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A little under six years ago

Sixteen year old Miharu looked up from her textbook as the door of her dorm room opened and her roommate, Chieko, stepped inside. She gladly noted that Chieko was without the gaggle of girls she normally hung around with. Miharu’s lips quirked into an almost smile as she resumed her studying.

She and Chieko never really spoke to each other. With her unusual combination of blonde hair and olive green eyes, Chieko Basset was easily the most popular girl in school. The only reason the administration put the two of them together in the same dorm room was because Chieko was half-Japanese and everyone probably figured they’d get along well.

The silence that permeated the room was broken by the sound of the television being turned on. Miharu inwardly groaned. Great. I guess I’m off to the library again, she thought grumpily.

Miharu slowly started to gather her things together when she was startled by the engine sounds coming from the television. She stopped and listened, trying to determine the car models by the sound.

That one’s definitely a Mitsubishi Evolution.

She paused, straining to hear the sound better.

And that one’s a Subaru Impreza.

Miharu leaned back in her chair, completely absorbed in her thoughts. She didn’t notice that Chieko’s attention had shifted from the television to her.

Hmm, is that a Peugeot?

“Actually, it’s a Citroën.”

Miharu cast her shocked expression on Chieko. Chieko only laughed and said, “You said that last thought out loud.”

“Oh,” said Miharu nervously. “Sorry about that. I’ll just head over to the library so I won’t disturb you.”

“That’s OK. I mean, I’m the one bothering you with all this racket. Say, why don’t you stay and watch this with me? You seem to know a lot about cars,” remarked Chieko casually.

Miharu shrugged indifferently. “You seem to know a fair share yourself.”

“Not really. It’s just that my brother works for Prodrive. I’m only watching this because I want to see him on TV.”

Interested, Miharu went over to where Chieko was sitting. She flopped down on the chair beside her roommate and asked, “Really? So what does he do?”

“Shh, there he is.”

Miharu turned her gaze to the screen and saw the same blonde hair and olive green eyes. She sucked in her breath. Damn, he’s really hot! He looks young, though, she thought dazedly.

After the interview, Chieko turned off the television and cheerfully said, “Well, I have no idea what he just talked about but I’m glad he’s looking well.”

“He was talking about the active differential he helped developed specifically for the Subaru Impreza WRC car. Apparently, the software he designed allows for more precise control during hard cornering and achieves desirable understeer and oversteer in certain conditions. That’s amazing!” replied Miharu thoughtfully.

Chieko stared at Miharu, her mouth agape. “You actually understood all of that? Oh, you so have to meet my brother. I think you and he would get along wonderfully.”

Miharu blushed in embarrassment. “I’m just a little bit into cars, that’s all.”

“A little? Darling, I’m a little interested. You’re just geeky,” Chieko said calmly.

Miharu didn’t know whether to be amused or insulted. When Chieko started giggling, she relaxed and gave an easy smile.

“You know,” said Chieko, giving Miharu a speculative look, “you’re really pretty. Scratch that. You’re gorgeous. You should smile more often.”

“I… what?” asked Miharu, unsure of how to respond.

“Ever since you came here, you’ve been acting like a stuck up b*tch. No offense,” Chieko hurriedly said.

Miharu chuckled. “None taken. I just have a lot of things on my mind.”

A sad, faraway look crossed Miharu’s face briefly but Chieko noticed it immediately. “Boy trouble, huh? I guess that’s why you’ve been turning down all the yummy guys who’ve been asking you out.”

Miharu masked her discomfort with a toss of her hair. “I’m not interested in dating anyone.”

“You sound exactly like my brother. God, no matter how many times I try to set him up with one of my friends he just completely blows them off. They’re either too young, too thin, too fat…I don’t know what he wants!”

Grateful for the change in topic, Miharu again inquired, “So, just how old is your brother? He looks too young to be one of Prodrive’s engineers.”

“Well, Jin, that’s my brother’s name, only just turned 21. He’s what you would call an actual genius. He attended middle school and high school here, skipping grades as he went along, and then he finished his course in MIT just before he turned 20. Prodrive snapped him up before graduation because of his thesis on those differentiation thingies.”

“Differential,” Miharu automatically corrected.

Chieko rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, he’s based in Germany right now.”

“I say he’s brilliant.”

A gleam appeared in Chieko’s eyes. “My, my, Miharu-chan. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have a crush on my brother.”

“What? I most certainly do not! And might I remind you that you don’t know me at all? We only just started talking now,” sputtered Miharu.

“True, but I’d recognize that look anywhere. I’ve seen it on tons of other girls. You like Jin,” said Chieko emphatically.

“Hey, don’t get carried away. I already have someone I like.”

“Oh, rubbish. Judging from your expression earlier, I’d say that your relationship with that guy didn’t turn out so well. Otherwise, I’d be seeing pictures of him around and you’d stop acting all depressed.”

Miharu shook her head in amazement. “You’re really bossy. I’m surprised you’re as popular as you are.”

Chieko burst out laughing. “I like you. You’re brutally honest. Frankly, that’s refreshing. None of the other girls would have the guts to say that to my face.”

“I can’t imagine why,” grumbled Miharu.

“You should totally hang out with me.”

“I don’t know. I don’t really like your other friends,” smirked Miharu.

“Ha, ha. I said with me, not with us.”

Miharu smiled her first genuinely happy smile since she arrived in New York. “I’d like that.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

A few weeks later

“What the heck? Why are we here? This place looks like a dump,” declared Chieko as the taxi rolled to a stop.

Miharu rolled her eyes. “Hey, you dragged me to that dumb party last week. All I’m asking is for a few minutes to meet up with my friend then we can get out of here. Besides, I come here a lot and this place is definitely better than anywhere else you’ve taken me to.”

“Fine. Ten minutes then we split.”

“Yes, mother,” grumbled Miharu.

Chieko gave Miharu a withering glare before climbing out of the taxi. While Chieko hesitantly approached the dilapidated doorway, Miharu confidently walked inside. As soon as they walked through the door, Miharu was greeted by several of the bar’s patrons.

“Hiya, Miharu!”

“Yo, Miharu!”

Chieko looked questioningly at Miharu who was waving to everyone she knew. Chieko followed Miharu to the pool table situated at the back of the bar where two guys were playing. One of them had brown hair and brown eyes while the other one, a redhead with amber eyes, was taking a shot.

“Hi, Kazu,” called out Miharu.

The brunette, Kazuhiko Arai, glanced up at the sound of his name.

“Miharu! You’re early,” said Kazuhiko.

Both men set their cue sticks down on the table, abandoning their game, and walked over to the two girls. Miharu smiled at them and said, “Sorry. I have plans later so I thought I’d meet up with you earlier than we planned.”

“Who’s your friend?” asked the redhead. Without waiting for an answer, he dropped his arm over Chieko’s shoulders and said, “I’m Chase Williams. What’s your name?”

Chieko shrugged Chase’s arm from her shoulder and said haughtily, “Ugh. Don’t talk to me.”

Miharu shook her head helplessly at her friend. “Chieko-chan, I just need to talk to these guys for a while. Why don’t you get us some drinks and I’ll be finished before you know it.”

Chieko reluctantly nodded and headed towards the bar. Kazuhiko was laughing at Chase’s crestfallen expression. “Man, she got you good.”

“She wasn’t that pretty anyway,” muttered Chase.

“Right, whatever you say, dude. Miharu, I got the parts you needed for your car. Thing is, I made a mistake with my quotation and I have to up the price,” Kazuhiko told Miharu.

“No problem, how much more do you need?”

“Just a couple of hundred. Wait here while I go get it, OK?”

Miharu nodded. While she waited for Kazuhiko and Chase to return, Chieko suddenly grabbed her hand.

“Miharu-chan, you remember that totally hot gym teacher we had before? You know, Evan Cooper?” she said excitedly.

“Yeah. He left school after only two months, right? What about him?” asked Miharu.

“I saw him at the bar and he asked me to have coffee with him!”

“So?”

“So? I said yes, of course! I mean, he’s so gorgeous!”

“I don’t know, Chieko-chan,” said Miharu doubtfully. “Why would a teacher ask one of his former students out to have coffee?”

Chieko made a face and said, “Oh, don’t be such a party pooper. He’s a teacher, what are you so worried about? He probably just wants to ask what’s been going on in school since he left. Anyway, you don’t mind if I go with him, do you?”

Miharu sighed. “It’s not like I can stop you. Where is he?”

“He’s waiting for me outside in his car.”

“OK, I’ll walk you out.”

The two made their way to the exit. When they were outside, Chieko was about to run off but she was stopped by Miharu’s grip on her arm.

“Chieko-chan, I don’t think you should leave with him.”

Chieko shook her arm off Miharu’s grasp and asked, “What’s wrong now?”

“I don’t trust him. He drives a Corvette.”

“Miharu-chan, we are not having this conversation. What’s wrong with a Corvette? I think it’s a cool car. Listen, I’ll call you if anything comes up, OK? He said he’ll take me back to the dorm after so I’ll see you there later. Stop worrying so much!”

With that, Chieko skipped off, got into the car and left. Miharu sighed again. Back inside, Kazuhiko and Chase were waiting for her.

“Where’d your friend go?” inquired Chase.

“Off to be a ditzy blonde," mumbled Miharu.

Kazuhiko gave her a weird look. “I take it your plans are off?”

“It would appear so. Come on, let’s play some pool,” said Miharu.

“All right!” cheered Chase.

The three headed back to the pool table and as they did, Kazu began chatting with Miharu.

“So, Miharu, why haven’t you been coming these past few weeks? We kinda missed you,” he said.

“Sorry, Kazu. I’ve been hanging out with Chieko and fixing up my car. That’s why I really need that suspension kit I ordered from you.”

“You took your car apart again? Jeez, you should stop messing with it, it’s fast enough as it is.”

“Can’t hurt to be faster, can it? Besides, I’m looking for the perfect balance. I feel like the suspension isn’t matching up to the engine’s power,” explained Miharu.

“Hey, you know you’re one of the few people I can completely trust with cars. You know almost as much as I do when it comes to tuning. I still can’t get my head around the fact that you’re only sixteen sometimes.”

Miharu giggled. “Well, I started early.”

“By the way, Miharu, Kazu’s planning on taking a trip to Japan,” said Chase.

“Really? Why? And for how long?” asked Miharu.

“Nothing definite yet but I was invited by a friend. Have you heard of Todoh Juku?” asked Kazuhiko.

“Of course. They’re one of the best in Kanto. Don’t tell me you graduated from there?”

“Yeah, I did. Anyway, they’re developing an EK9 race car and Todoh-san asked me if I wanted to be part of the whole thing. Besides, I’ve been wanting to go back to the mountains. I miss touge racing.”

“Sounds great. Listen, Kazu, let me know when you’re going, OK? I have some people I want you to look up for me. I want to know how they’re doing.”

“Sure, no problem, Miharu-chan,” agreed Kazuhiko.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Less than an hour later, Miharu’s cellphone began ringing. She fished it out of her pocket and answered, “Hello?”

“Miharu? You have to come get me.”

“Chieko-chan? What’s wrong? Where are you?” asked Miharu in an alarmed voice.

“I’m at Evan Cooper’s house. He said he just wanted to check on something and asked me to come inside but then he started to get all touchy feely on me. I made an excuse to go use the bathroom and now I’m locked in here,” Chieko explained frantically.

“Do you have a way out?” questioned Miharu urgently.

“There’s a window here I can climb out of but hurry!”

“Stay put. Give me the address and I’m there.”

Chieko was thankfully familiar with the area and dictated the address immediately. Miharu snapped her phone shut and turned to Kazuhiko.

“Kazu, I need to borrow your car.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Minutes later, Miharu was speeding down the road in a white Supra. She took all the shortcuts she knew off, trying to avoid high traffic areas. She was grateful for the late hour because the streets were practically deserted. She flipped her phone open as she neared the address and called Chieko.

When Chieko picked up, Miharu said, “Get out of there. I’m in a white Supra.”

Miharu screeched to a halt in front of the teacher’s house and she spied Chieko clambering out the window. Unfortunately, Evan chose that moment to peer outside. “Hey!” Evan yelled.

“Hurry, Chieko!” shouted Miharu.

Chieko ran towards the Supra and jumped inside. “Go! Go!” she screamed.

The Supra’s tires squealed as Miharu peeled off. She checked the rearview mirror and saw Evan climbing into his Corvette. Miharu accelerated, determined to widen the distance between them.

“Put on your seatbelt,” said Miharu calmly.

Clearly panicked, Chieko hurriedly did as she was told. Pretty soon, the Corvette caught up to them. Miharu dodged through the side streets, thinking of a place where she could lose the Corvette. Just then, Miharu spotted a sharp corner leading to a tight alley. With her mouth set in a grim line, she sped up and drifted the Supra expertly into it. Behind them, they heard the Corvette’s tires skidding and then a loud crash resounded.

Miharu breathed a sigh of relief. She slowed down to a cruise. She turned to Chieko and said, “I’ll take you to the dorm then I have to give this car back to Kazu. Wait for me until I return, OK?”

Chieko shakily replied, “OK.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

After everything was settled and the two were safely in their dorm room, Miharu sat down across Chieko.

“Are you OK?” Miharu asked quietly.

Chieko brushed away Miharu’s concern with a wave of her hand. “Nothing bad really happened, thanks to you, so I’m perfectly fine. In fact, I’d forgotten all about it. What’s on my mind right now was that amazing driving of yours. Didn’t we just start driver’s ed together? Where the heck did you learn how to do all that?”

Miharu shifted her eyes away uncomfortably. “I just got lucky.”

Chieko scoffed. “Give me some credit, Miharu-chan. I know true skill when I see it. Do you even have a license? Come on, you have to tell me.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” said Miharu flatly.

“Yes, you do. You know I’m never going to let up. Tell me, tell me, tell me…” chanted Chieko over and over.

Miharu resisted. She really did. But Chieko was relentless and every minute that passed shortened Miharu’s temper and patience. Soon, she cried out, “All right, already! Jeez! You’re such a b*tch!”

Chieko only grinned triumphantly.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

A/N: OK, I don’t have anything against Corvettes and I think it’s a wonderful car. I’m just making good on a suggestion from Miguel. Jin didn’t actually make an appearance yet except for that short TV show bit (and yes, in case you were wondering, they were watching WRC) but he’ll be in the next chapter. I know I left an evil cliffy last chapter but thankfully I seem to have gotten over my writer’s block for now so hopefully I won’t leave you hanging for long. As usual, Miguel and Sanae are to be thanked. Thanks also to pnoytecknix, jpn6438, cricketchick1990, NanamiYatsumaki, CelicaChick for practically reviewing every chapter and to everyone else, of course I thank you as well. Keep those comments coming!

This fanfic is just straight up AWESOME! Loved the flashback sequence ... but can't wait to get more bg info on Jin hehehehe.

MUST ... HAVE ... MORE ... lolz!

Keep it comin ... thanks again!

L8z!

~ j0cey

Thanks, j0cey! I've actually had this chapter up for a few days now on ff.net and I completely forgot to post it here. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Initial D. The original characters are mine.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“That’s…I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say,” stuttered Chieko.

“Wow, if I knew that was all it took to shut you up, I would have told you about this weeks ago,” joked Miharu.

Chieko set her wrathful gaze on Miharu. She opened her mouth to say something but she closed it again, seemingly changing her mind. “Seriously though, drifting on mountain passes at twelve years old? That’s some wicked stuff, Miharu-chan!”

“Well, it was pretty cool.”

“So does this have anything to do with why you disappear on weekends?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t give me that pile of crap, Miharu-chan. I want to know what it is exactly that keeps you busy every weekend. You disappear almost as soon as school’s out on Fridays and you don’t show up until Monday morning. Tell me everything or I swear I’ll never talk to you again!”

“That isn’t such a big loss, is it?” mumbled Miharu.

“MIHARU-CHAN!”

“All right! God, woman, what is it with you? I go to my house on weekends.”

“Your house,” said Chieko in a monotone.

“Yeah, you know. Pile of bricks with a roof?” retorted Miharu sarcastically.

“I know what a house is, darn it! All I’m saying is if you have a house, why do you stay here at the dorm?”

“Aside from the fact that it’s easier to stay here, I don’t really enjoy having the place all to myself.”

“This from a self-imposed loner.”

“Being a loner and being alone are two totally different things.”

“Whatever. So what do you do there? And don’t tell me ‘nothing’. You wouldn’t bother making the trip if it wasn’t worth your time,” deduced Chieko.

Miharu muttered something under her breath that Chieko didn’t understand. Chieko leaned closer and said, “Say what? You play your guitar?”

Miharu finally gave up and sighed. “No, Chieko-chan. I work on my car. My house has a big garage so I have plenty of room to tweak stuff.”

“You have a car? Why the heck don’t you use it?” growled Chieko.

“I do use it, but it’s heavily tuned.”

“I’m afraid to ask. Why is it tuned? Who tunes it? Wait a minute. So those guys you met up with at the bar…”

“I tune it. Kazu is my parts guy. I can get the parts myself but somehow, it’s cheaper when it’s from him. He also knows about all the street races happening around the city so I get information from him as well.”

“Street races,” repeated Chieko dully.

“Please don’t tell me I have to explain that to you as well.”

“Shut up. So you tune your car all by yourself and you go to street races?”

Miharu nodded. “That’s about it.”

A dreamy expression appeared on Chieko’s face and Miharu almost dreaded what was going through her friend’s mind. “You do know, Miharu-chan, that this is the clincher. You’re definitely the perfect girl for my brother.”

“What? How did your brother even get into this conversation?” asked Miharu disbelievingly.

“Think about it! You’re both good looking, you’re both smart and you’re both into cars! Well, Jin doesn’t race, but still!”

“Sheesh, are we back to that? What is it with you and setting your brother up with every girl you know? You have a brother complex or something?”

Chieko chose to ignore Miharu’s jibe and said, “I don’t know. I just want to see him happy, that’s all.”

“I’m sure your brother is perfectly capable of finding his own girlfriend, Chieko-chan.”

“Yeah,” sighed Chieko. “But it doesn’t hurt to give him a push in the right direction. Still, I can’t wait to tell him about you. He’s so totally going to flip!”

“Oh, no! Under no circumstances are you to tell him any of this.”

“But Miharu-chan, I have to tell him!” whined Chieko.

“Are you out of your mind? Street races are illegal. Do you want to get me in deep shit?”

“But…”

Miharu crossed her arms over her chest and looked sternly at Chieko. “If you so much as breathe a word of this to him, I’ll tell him about what happened tonight with Evan Cooper.”

“Did I say I wanted to tell Jin? I meant we should keep this quiet. Zip.”

Miharu nodded in satisfaction. “I thought so.”

“You’re no fun,” grumbled Chieko.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

A month after

“Miharu-chan, I have great news!” Chieko said as she slammed the door to their dorm room shut.

“Could you please stop doing that? You’ll break down the door one of these days,” scolded Miharu.

Chieko paid no attention to what Miharu said and continued, “You’re coming with me on Saturday. We’re going out to dinner.”

“Dinner? With who? Anyway, sorry, Chieko-chan. You know my weekends are booked,” regretfully said Miharu.

“I refuse to believe that you would pick your stupid car over me, Miharu-chan! Besides, I really need you to be there!”

“Look, what’s so important about this Saturday that I have to be there anyway? I have a race that night. I can’t just not show up.”

“Jin’s coming over for a visit and you just have to meet him.”

“Do you want me to meet him or do you want to set me up with him?” inquired Miharu with a raised eyebrow.

“See, I knew you would say something like that!”

“Well I can’t help it! Every time I hear you talking to your brother on the phone, you always try to bring up my name in the conversation. I’m almost embarrassed to meet him now because I have no idea what you’ve been telling him about me.”

“Duh, I wouldn’t say anything that would make you look bad.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

Chieko grinned triumphantly, knowing she had Miharu hooked. “Come on, it’s just one Saturday! Can’t you give me just one day?”

“All right, already! God, I don’t know why I always let you and Kei-chan get your way like this.”

“Yes!” yelled Chieko excitedly. “And who’s Kei-chan?”

“My equally obnoxious best friend back home.”

“Sounds like my kind of girl.”

Miharu didn’t even bother to correct Chieko with her assumption of Keisuke’s gender. She was trying to think of a way out.

“Don’t,” said Chieko.

“I didn’t even say anything!” protested Miharu.

“You’re getting that look on your face. You’re clearly thinking of a way to not show up on Saturday!”

“I swear, I spend too much time with you,” muttered Miharu.

“It can’t be helped. I’m your roommate.”

“Whee, lucky me,” was Miharu’s sardonic retort.

Chieko lobbed a pillow aimed at Miharu’s head. Miharu dodged, laughing.

“Just for that, I’m going with you to your house on Friday. And don’t you dare try to leave me behind.”

Miharu groaned.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Friday rolled around and Miharu waited impatiently for Chieko to finish packing her things.

“Chieko-chan, hurry up!”

“Take it easy, will you? Just give me your address so I can tell Jin to meet us there tomorrow and then we can leave.”

Miharu gave the address to Chieko who quickly jotted it down. Chieko grabbed her cellphone and called her brother.

“Hi, Chieko. Perfect timing, I was just about to call you,” a deep voice over the phone said.

“Hey, Jin. Change of plans, I’m spending the weekend with a friend so could you take down this address?” said Chieko.

“Who’s this friend?”

“I told you about her. My roommate Miharu.”

“You’re not matchmaking again, are you?” said Jin with a laugh.

Chieko rolled her eyes. “Shove it, Jin. Just take down the stupid address.”

“Right, right,” chuckled Jin.

After Chieko had recited the address, she asked, “So, why were you about to call me?”

“Oh yeah, about that. I just got off the phone with Mom. She told me your were having trouble with driver’s ed and asked me to tutor you.”

“I can’t believe she told you about that! I’m embarrassed enough as it is!” griped Chieko.

“Well, imagine how I felt when I heard about it. Tomorrow morning, I’ll pick you up at the address you gave me and we’ll practice driving.”

“Don’t I have a say in this?”

“Apparently not, sis. Listen, my flight’s about to leave so I’ll see you when I get there. Bye!”

After the call, Chieko put her cellphone in her pocket and picked up her overnight bag. Miharu noted Chieko’s sour mood and asked, “What was that all about?”

“Jin found out about me failing driver’s ed from Mom. Now he wants to tutor me,” answered Chieko grumpily.

Miharu burst out laughing as the two left the campus.

“Fine, go ahead, laugh it up, Ms. Hot Shot Street Racer,” snarled Chieko.

“Hey, I offered to help. You’re the sissy who won’t listen,” Miharu reminded her friend.

“Let’s just go,” Chieko muttered with a scowl.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

“I’ll get it!” called out Chieko as the doorbell chimed the next morning. She opened the door and squealed joyfully when she saw Jin standing in the doorway. She ecstatically jumped into his arms and he laughed at her greeting.

“I take it you missed me, sis,” said Jin.

“You have no idea. I can’t believe you’re really here, Jin!” cried out Chieko.

“So, where’s this friend you’ve been telling me about? You didn’t give her any trouble, did you?” asked Jin.

“Chieko-chan, who…”

Miharu walked in from the kitchen and trailed off when she saw Jin. She stopped in her tracks, her heart pounding a mile a minute. He’s even hotter in person, she thought frantically. Wait, what am I thinking?

Meanwhile, Jin was similarly having trouble keeping his eyes off Miharu. Wow. She’s really…young. Stop it, Jin! She’s your sister’s roommate, meaning she’s underage. But still…wow.

Chieko smiled knowingly. Bingo.

Out loud, she said, “Jin, this is my dear friend Miharu Watanabe. Miharu-chan, meet my brother, Jin.”

Jin smiled widely, recovering his senses, and held out his hand for a handshake. “Hi, Miharu. Chieko’s told me so much about you. It’s nice to finally get to meet you.”

Miharu, on the other hand, was still rooted to her spot. He’s taller than Ryosuke… Aww, crud! Don’t start, Miharu!

She snapped back to reality when Chieko gave her a nudge. “Oh!” she exclaimed and immediately grabbed Jin’s hand. A warm, tingling sensation traveled up her arm and settled on the pit of her stomach. “It’s nice to meet you too,” she finished lamely.

“So, sis, you ready for your driving lesson?” said Jin, turning back to his sister.

Miharu bit her lip to keep from laughing when Chieko launched into a tirade about how stupid her whole situation was. “Honestly! I can always just take a cab to get around! I don’t need to learn how to drive!” she concluded.

“Well, Mom doesn’t seem to think so. Come on, we can use the car I rented,” urged Jin.

“Yeah, Chieko-chan. Driving isn’t so bad,” said Miharu wickedly, immensely enjoying herself.

Chieko whirled around to face Miharu with a death glare. Then her eyes widened and a decidedly evil smile graced her lips. Miharu started to back away.

“You’re right, Miharu-chan. Say, why don’t you come along? You know, Jin, she’s failing driver’s ed too,” announced Chieko gleefully.

“Hey, that’s a great idea! Let’s go!” said Jin enthusiastically.

Before Miharu could protest, Jin and Chieko grabbed each of her arms and headed out the door.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

“That’s it! I give up!”

Chieko threw her hands up in frustration. Miharu, who had been sulking in the backseat, giggled.

Jin moaned and said, “All right, so you’re a little slow. We can get past this.”

Chieko glowered at her brother. “I am not slow! I don’t understand why I have to drive stick. That’s why they invented automatics. Stupid clutch is grating on my nerves! I’ve had it! I don’t care if I never get a license!”

“All you need is some practice, sis. You’ll get the hang of it eventually. Anyway, why don’t you take a break so Miharu can have her turn?”

A gleam appeared in Chieko’s eyes and Miharu stammered, “Oh, that’s OK. I think I’ll manage.”

“Don’t be such a wuss, Miharu-chan,” snickered Chieko. “If I had to go through an hour of stalling, you should too.”

Jin turned his head and grinned at Miharu. Miharu blushed slightly, her heartbeat racing. Good God, what’s happening to me?

Soon, Miharu found herself gripping the rent-a-car’s steering wheel. Chieko crossed her arms, a smug smile on her face. Now’s your chance, Miharu-chan. Show Jin what you can do, she thought.

Chieko was full of confidence that her scheme would work so imagine her surprise when the rent-a-car jerked and stalled. Miharu smiled apologetically at Jin and said, “I’m really bad at this. Sorry.”

Jin laughed. “Well, at least you know what to do. Just keep trying and you’ll get it right.”

Chieko mentally screamed at her friend. What do you think you’re doing? You’re supposed to blow Jin away with your fantastic driving!

Each time the rent-a-car stalled, Chieko’s frown deepened. She started blocking out Jin’s lectures and concentrated on thinking of a new plan to get her friend and her brother together.

Suddenly, she was jolted out of her reverie by Miharu’s quiet laughter and Jin’s deep chuckles. She looked back and forth between the two of them and realized something.

I can’t believe it. They’re flirting! They’re actually hitting it off!

Chieko relaxed and observed them in silence.

After about an hour, Jin’s phone started ringing. He quickly answered it and spoke softly in German. When the call was over, Jin sighed and said, “Chieko, I have to cancel dinner tonight. My bosses in Germany need something so we’re having a teleconference. After that, I have to meet with a friend of mine who’s helping me with some research.”

“Can’t you postpone it to tomorrow?” asked Chieko.

“Sis, this is still a business trip, you know. I promise I’ll take you out tomorrow.”

“OK. It’s not like I have a choice.”

Jin winked at Chieko then traded places with Miharu. He drove them back to Miharu’s house, waved and left.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

“So, what was that, huh?” asked Chieko slyly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” replied Miharu.

“Don’t act all innocent, Miharu-chan. Why’d you pretend you didn’t know how to drive?”

Miharu’s cheeks turned pink. “Well, what did you expect? You told him I was failing driver’s ed.”

“Who cares? You could’ve shown him one of those crazy drifts.”

“Yeah, right. I don’t drift to show off. That’s just idiotic.”

“Admit it. You have a crush on my brother.”

“What? No, I don’t,” said Miharu indignantly.

“Yeah, you do. What do you think I am, blind? You guys were flirting!”

“That was not… Wait, you think Jin was flirting with me?”

“Aha, see? You are interested!” said Chieko jubilantly.

“You’re exasperating. I…”

Miharu’s words were cut off when her phone rang. Seeing that it was Kazuhiko, she instantly picked up.

“Hey, Miha! Still can’t make it tonight?”

“Actually, my dinner plans got cancelled. Is Chase still OK with tonight?"

“Yeah, he was pretty bummed when you said you couldn’t race tonight. So I’ll tell him it’s on again?”

“Yup, see you around 9?”

“You betcha. Bye!”

“Later, Kazu.”

When the call ended, Chieko asked eagerly, “You have a race?”

“Yup! Didn’t I tell you about this before you nagged me about going to dinner with you and Jin? Anyway, you want to come along?”

“Sounds exciting but no thanks, not my kind of thing. Besides, what if Jin comes by and I’m not here? You go and you better win.”

Miharu grinned. “I intend to.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Meanwhile, Kazuhiko’s phone began buzzing shortly after his conversation with Miharu. His face broke out into a wide smile when he saw who was calling.

“Hey, Jin! I got your message. Glad you’re back!”

“I’m only here for a week, Kazuhiko. I’m visiting my sister and I have some business to do as well.”

“Your sister? Hmm, how old is she now? And isn’t she back in France with the rest of your family, though?”

“She’s 16 now. Chieko decided to go to the same boarding school I attended so she’s here in New York too.”

“Really? That’s cool.”

“So, Kazuhiko, can we meet?”

“We could if you come to the race tonight.”

“Sure, man. I kind of missed watching races with you. Who are you up against this time?” inquired Jin with a laugh.

“I’m not racing tonight. I’m just the manager this time around. I’ll see you at 9, OK? I’ll SMS you the address.”

“All right.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

A/N: Just in case it wasn’t clear to some of you, Chieko and Jin are half-French, half-Japanese, hence the mention of the family being back in France. Many thanks to Miguel again for working on this chapter with me. Thanks also to Sanae-san for beta-reading and cricketchick1990, my newest beta. Get going with your chapters, you two! I also forgot to mention a special thanks to SnoQueen. Your PM about Ryosuke really inspired me. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Can I hope to reach 70 reviews before the next chapter comes out? Just kidding! Hope you like this chapter!

AWESOMENESS!!! Please please bring the next chapter!!! hee hee!

L8rz!

~ j0cey

Just read through all the chapters. Nice work!

Thank you, j0cey and HashiriyaGDB, for your comments. I'm so happy you like the story so far! Hope you'll enjoy this next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Initial D. The original characters are mine.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

CHAPTER TWENTY

Jin rolled to a stop at the address Kazuhiko had sent him. He looked up and down the road and noticed how eerie the place seemed. On one side, he saw a huge warehouse complex which seemed to occupy the entire block while on the other, he saw two warehouses with parking lots on each side. I guess this must be this one, he shrugged to himself.

This certainly is a weird place for a race. And I don’t see any other cars around. Where the heck is Kazuhiko? Maybe I should just call him up, he thought as he dialed Kazuhiko’s number on his cellphone. Suddenly, he heard something clatter and looked back to see an old man rummaging through a trash can. I think I better wait in my car, he decided.

“Yo, Jin! Feeling a little lost?” asked Kazuhiko with a laugh upon answering.

“You know it. I’m here at the address you gave me. Where are you?”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Come on inside. The race is just about to start.”

“What, in the warehouse?” said Jin disbelievingly.

“Where else, man? I’ll meet you at the door.”

Sure enough, a small door near the right side opened and Kazuhiko’s head peeked through with a cellphone still pressed to his ear. Jin shook his head and shut his phone. He got out of his car and jogged over to the door.

“Hey, Kazuhiko. What’s going on? Where’s the race?”

“Come on, let me show you.”

They walked through a cramped corridor lined with scaffoldings on either side that were easily 2 storey's high, and the floor was littered with bags of cement and hollow blocks. They soon came upon a makeshift wooden door guarded by a hulking African-American man. Kazuhiko greeted the man who nodded and let them in, and that was when Jin saw what Kazuhiko meant.

Dozens of cars were lined up, all set up or tuned in some way. The warehouse had two huge main doors, one lead out to what looked to be a massive parking lot, while the other was some sort of a shipping container storage area. A substantial crowd milled about, anxiously waiting for the start of the race. The whole place was bustling with activity and Jin was amazed at it all. He saw a diverse group of Japanese, African-Americans, Latinos, and many others. Everyone was either showing off their cars or admiring them. The place was buzzing with music and people talking, enjoying the night’s festivities.

“Dang, Kazuhiko. This is wild! There weren’t this many cars back then. I remember going with you to some forgotten patch of road at some god forsaken desert with maybe 5 or 6 cars. It was nothing like this!”

“Yeah, I know. The street racing scene in Massachusetts was nowhere near this big. Let’s go to the start line. I’m the flagman,” grinned Kazuhiko.

Jin followed Kazuhiko to the start line. He realized then that the warehouse was simply where the race would start and end and that it opened up to the streets of New York. Jin figured the course would be a maze of turns and assumed that the parking lot and shipping containers would play a part, knowing Kazuhiko as much as he did.

He watched as Kazuhiko walked up to the start line between two cars. One car was a lime green Nissan S14. It had a carbon hood and was covered with decals of different aftermarket parts manufacturers. The other car was a gleaming red RX-8 which also had a carbon hood. It definitely wasn’t as flashy as its opponent but it sported a full RE Amemiya body kit.

Kazuhiko raised his hand for silence and a hush settled over the crowd. The cars parked behind Jin with their blaring audio setups were immediately turned off.

“All right, guys! You know the rules. We start here and end here. All you have to do is follow the orange cones I set up and the first one back here wins. Don’t worry; there are marshals at every corner so you’ll know where to go. If you crash, you lose. If you hit your opponent, you lose. Nudging is OK, if you get close enough but if I see a big dent, you lose. Any questions?” hollered Kazuhiko.

The cars responded by revving their engines loudly. The crowd erupted into cheers. Jin glanced back at the RX-8 in surprise.

It’s turbo tuned. This should be a good match, he thought.

Kazuhiko raised his hand and started the countdown. “Right then. In 3, 2, 1…GO!” he yelled.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Miharu quickly bent down to kiss her steering wheel as Kazuhiko started counting down. If she wasn’t feeling so nervous, she would have laughed at her silliness.

Bah, who cares? It’s for luck.

She put the RX-8 into gear and darted off as soon as Kazuhiko brought his hand down. The S14 performed a better launch, however, and pulled ahead by a fender’s length. Miharu smiled.

Chase is really determined to win this time. He’s taking the lead when he normally lets his opponents go first. Smart move; let’s see what you can do!

She skidded her car alongside the S14 as they rounded the first corner into the parking lot. They both performed the 90-degree right turn with relative ease and exited still side by side, missing the cars parked there by mere centimeters. Miharu floored the accelerator, determined to try and pull away on the relatively long straightaway. Chase seemed to have the same idea and by the time the two reached the next corner, he was already in front of Miharu’s car.

Miharu gripped her steering wheel excitedly, her heart pounding furiously. Her anxiety had passed and adrenalin pumped through her veins. She tailed Chase’s S14 outrageously close, practically tapping his rear bumper. She matched his speed turn for turn and pressured him to the limit.

You better start pulling away from me, Chase. If you can’t outrun me by at least three car’s length by the time we reach the pier, I’ll certainly overtake you.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

“The S14 is still in front but the RX-8 is insanely close. I can’t believe she’s able to control the car like that! They’re almost at the pier so expect them shortly,” a voice over the handheld radio in Kazuhiko’s hand reported.

Jin couldn’t believe his ears. He had expected the S14 to win the race easily. The two of them had been listening to the marshals’ comments as the race progressed. In fact, most of the people in the crowd were talking on their mobile phones, apparently getting race reports from their friends at the different checkpoints as well.

Another thing that had immensely surprised Jin was when he learned that the RX-8 driver was a girl his sister’s age.

“The driver’s a girl? And she’s only 16? Kazuhiko, how could you let her race? She probably just got her driver’s license! You know how dangerous these races can be!” Jin had admonished Kazuhiko.

His friend had only patted him on the back and had said, “Trust me, Jin. That girl is one of the best drivers I’ve ever seen. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

To hear someone like Kazuhiko, a guy who seldom praised other drivers, speak so highly of the mysterious RX-8 driver, Jin had felt taken aback. As the race went on, Jin slowly began to believe what Kazuhiko had said and a gradual admiration seeped through him.

He soon found himself silently cheering the girl on, although he felt that she had no chance of winning. Experience still counted for a lot in street racing and at just sixteen, he sincerely doubted the RX-8 driver had enough of that but his opinion drastically changed as the marshals’ reports came in.

“Hey, Andy! You’re the marshal at the pier’s entrance, right?” Kazuhiko asked briskly over the radio, startling Jin from his thoughts.

“Yeah, what’s up?” replied Andy.
“Give me a detailed description once you see them come up. I want to know who’s leading by the time they enter the pier,” ordered Kazuhiko.

“You got it. I think I see them coming… Yeah, that’s them. The S14’s still ahead.”

Jin glanced at Kazuhiko and asked, “You think something’s going to happen there?”

“I think she’s going to make her move there. I want to know if she can pull it off,” Kazuhiko answered.

“Move? You mean she intends to pass the S14? How the heck is she going to do that?” exclaimed Jin.

“Shh, just listen. You’ll know soon enough,” said Kazuhiko with a wink.

“Hey, Kazuhiko, you’re never going to believe this. She’s pulled up right beside Chase! Holy crap, she’s never going to make it at the speed she’s going! The corner’s too sharp and the entrance is too tight! Chase has already started braking for the turn but she’s still going! Aaarrgghhhh!” shouted Andy.

“What happened, Andy?” barked Kazuhiko.

It took several seconds before Andy’s dazed voice came back. “Mother of… she did it, Kazuhiko. I’ve never seen a drift performed so precisely before at that speed. It’s insane! She passed Chase!”

Kazuhiko burst out laughing. “I thought so. Thanks, Andy. This race is over.”

Kazuhiko switched off the radio and turned to face a stunned Jin.

“She passed the S14? She drifted the car?” Jin repeated.

“Told you she was good,” said Kazuhiko smugly.

“Wait a second, the race isn’t over. Turn the radio back on!”

“It’s finished, Jin. Chase is never going to be able to pass her now that she’s taken the lead from him.”

Sure enough, the RX-8 entered the warehouse in a drift a minute later. The tires squealed as the car spun around twice. The crowd’s roar was deafening. The S14 arrived after a few moments and the RX-8 stopped spinning. A sea of people instantly surrounded them as the drivers stepped out of their respective cars.

“Come on, Jin. I’ll introduce you to them,” said Kazuhiko.

Jin nodded. He couldn’t wait to meet her.

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Miharu climbed out of the RX-8, an enormous grin on her face. She thanked everyone who congratulated her and thumped her back while making her way over to Chase.

“Nice race, Chase,” she called out over the crowd’s noise.

Chase laughed and ruffled her hair playfully. “You’re too good for me, Miharu. Give me a month and I’ll challenge you again.”

“Anytime, but I’m telling you now that I won’t lose,” she said, winking cockily.

Before Chase had a chance to reply, Miharu felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Kazuhiko beaming at her.

“Awesome race, Miha. I expected nothing less from the second best driver around here,” he said.

“Second best my foot,” retorted Miharu. “I beat your ass the last time we raced.”

Kazuhiko chuckled. “That you did. Listen, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine from college.”

“Sure, Kazu.”

Kazuhiko twisted his head around. “Hey, Jin! Come closer, will you?”

Miharu froze. Jin? It can’t be Jin Basset, can it?

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

When Kazuhiko stepped aside and Jin saw the RX-8 driver’s face, he recognized her right away.

“Miharu? You’re the driver of that RX-8?” he asked in disbelief.

Kazuhiko looked back and forth between Jin’s shocked face and Miharu’s extremely pale one. “I take it you two know each other,” he remarked.

“Kazuhiko, she’s Chieko’s roommate,” replied Jin.

Kazuhiko opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by Miharu’s shaky voice. “Kazu, I have to go.”

She rushed past Kazuhiko and Jin back to her car.

“Wait!” cried out Jin.

Miharu ignored him and hopped into the RX-8. She gunned the engine, causing several people to move back. She tore off soon after and quickly disappeared from sight.

Jin stared uncomprehendingly after the RX-8 before snapping back to reality and turning to go back to his car. Kazuhiko clapped his hand firmly on Jin’s shoulder and effectively stopped any movement.

“What are you doing, Kazuhiko? Let me go, I have to talk to her!” said Jin.

“You’ll never catch up to her, Jin.”

“I know where she lives, dammit.”

“And you really think she’ll talk to you? She obviously ran to avoid doing that. Listen, I’ll just tell Chase that I’m leaving him in charge of things then we can get out of here. I want to know what’s going on,” said Kazuhiko.

A few minutes later, Kazuhiko came back and found Jin standing where he had left him. He gave his friend a contemplative look then broke the silence by saying, “Let’s grab a bite to eat. There’s a hotdog stand just a few blocks from here. We can talk there.”

Jin turned back to the direction Miharu had taken then sighed in defeat. “All right.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

Miharu slammed the front door to her house and headed up to her room. She banged that door shut too but it was thrown open again by Chieko.

“What’s with all the noise, Miharu-chan? Did you lose the race or something?” asked Chieko.

Miharu reeled around and gave her friend an accusatory glare. “You. This is all your fault.”

“What? What did I do?” demanded Chieko.

“This is why I always tell the truth! I hate being caught in a lie!” wailed Miharu.

“Just calm down and tell me what happened. What lie?”

Miharu sank onto her bed and impatiently brushed her hair away from her face. “Jin was at the race, Chieko. Turns out Kazu’s the friend he was supposed to meet that’s why he cancelled dinner with you. He saw me there!”

Chieko let out a squeal and giddily clapped her hands together. “Really? Oh, this is too good for words! What’s so bad about that? I think it’s wonderful!”

Miharu’s face reddened in anger. She got up and stalked towards Chieko until she was standing practically nose-to-nose with her. She gestured wildly and burst out hysterically, “Wonderful? Wonderful? We lied to him! I’m supposed to be failing driver’s ed too, remember? How am I supposed to explain what he just saw back there? Oh, he must be so pissed off right now!”

Chieko scoffed. “You’re looking at this the wrong way, Miharu-chan. Jin isn’t like that.”

“He looked ready to bite my head off back there, Chieko. What am I going to do?” moaned Miharu.

“He will do nothing of the sort. Just talk to him and tell him everything you told me about your whole driving thing in Japan. Trust me, Jin’s a cool guy. It’ll be fine, don’t worry!”

Miharu adamantly shook her head. “No, I’m going to steer clear of him at all costs.”

Chieko’s eyes widened. “What? No! Why can’t you just tell him the truth? Tell him I put you up to this.”

A flash of pain crossed Miharu’s features. She flopped back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. “I’ve never been good with confessions. They always blow up in my face.”

Chieko sensed that her friend was thinking about something else entirely but decided not to push the matter. “I don’t know why you would say something like that, Miharu-chan. But knowing Jin, he’ll want to talk to you.”

“Ugh. Why do I end up running away from all the men in my life?” Miharu mumbled as she buried her face in her hands.

“You can’t avoid him forever.”

Miharu’s mind filled with images of Ryosuke. “Watch me.”

~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@~~{@

A/N: I know, I know. This chapter took too long to be posted and I apologize. As I told cricketchick1990 and Sanae, my thesis deadline had me dead on my feet and utterly unable to write. Please bear with me, I might disappear again for another few weeks but just until I finish my defense. Again, many thanks to everyone who reviewed. Wouldn’t you know it? I reached 70 reviews before I posted this! You guys spoil me too much, but seriously, I was just kidding when I said that. Not that I’m complaining or anything! Hope you enjoy this chapter and expect about two or three more flashback chapters and a possible second interlude before I go back to the “present”.

This post has been edited by iluvryosuke on Aug 21 2007, 06:07 PM

Hee hee hee it's back!!! Thank goodness! This chapter was AWESOME! I will be anxiously awaiting the next chapter ... YAY!

~ j0cey

Hurrhurr, I found you on my favourite stomping ground >D Now I can actually linkbomb you with technobabble instead of via email. XD

Interesting fic you've got here. Unfortunately the main character does have aftertastes of mary-sue, but she is at least very likable But as usual I'm a damn harsh critic...so take it with a grain of salt

I do find the D boys rather OOC, particularly through the beginnings of the story...Keisuke is somewhat on track but everyone else seems a little out of kilter. Again...I'm a harsh critic though, and it takes pretty much perfection to keep me from criticism :/

It is well-written though. It keeps the reader pretty well gripped

Keep this up

And w00t, now I have somewhere easier to track you down. BWAHAHA.

It's been over a month and no update. Hope you're doing ok and stuff (totally understand that the real world tends to creep up on ya and take over your time). Just hope this fic doesn't die!

L8z!

~ j0cey

You already know that I think this story is great and I hope you'll find the time to update it sometime soon. That said, I know first-hand how hard it is to have the peace of mind needed to write so, don't worry, we'll wait!

good work lols!



waiting for some more!