Initial R: Night Sky GT-R (Initial D Fanfiction)

Act 6: Bring Me To The Top

Back in Ibaraki, Riku arrived at work. 

Koshiya poked his head around a pillar as his friend stared forward with a blank face. "Poor guy... he must be missing Sora."

Riku turned and spotted him. Koshiya froze, then slowly moved behind the pillar. "What are you doing, Ito-Senpai?" 

"Ah, nothing." Koshiya said. "Just, um, looking at this spot, here!" He tapped the pillar, laughing awkwardly.

A car came by, which saved him from further embarrassment.

"Hello, sir!" Riku called. He slowed down as he saw the car. He walked up to the window as the driver rolled it down. "Takumi?"

Takumi gave him a smile. "Hey, hope I'm not bothering you."

Riku shook his head. "No. Do you need some gas?"

"Yeah. Twenty liters should be enough." He said.

"I got it!" Koshiya said. He began working as Takumi spoke again.

"I was wondering if you're free tonight." He said, which startled Riku.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"I was wondering... if you could show me how your car drives."

At a quarter to 9:00, Riku arrived at the top of Mount Tsukuba, where Takumi waited for him. He unlocked the doors and his friend got in the side.

"Are you ready?" Riku asked. Takumi nodded and then they were off.

The MR2 approached the first corner. Riku braked and turned in.

Takumi held on as they neared the guardrail. "This is weird." He thought. "It hardly feels like we're drifting."

He looked over at Riku as they entered the next corner.

Right when he hit the 7,000 rpm mark where he was supposed to shift, he lost power when he did so. He had enough speed exiting the corner, but his upshifting caused him to struggle a bit.

They entered the high-speed section and he turned in at a tremendous speed, nearly hitting 100 km/h.

Takumi held onto the handle as they went through. They exited and the car wiggled again. "Again! Why does it feel like he's not drifting?" He looked at the tachometer, then at Riku's hand as it upshifted again. "That's it! Yeah, it has to be!"

"I've got it figured out." Takumi said when they came back to the top. They stood outside beside their cars.

"Huh? Figured what out?" Riku asked.

Takumi looked at his Eight-Six and smiled. "At one point, I blew my engine as well. When that happened, my dad put in this crazy new engine. I had a problem with it though. That was because he sealed off the top RPMs."

"Sealed off?"

Takumi nodded. "Something similar is happening here. I'd say you're not getting boost out of that turbo."

Riku stared at the hood of the car. "Not enough boost? But wait, what should I do about it, then?"

"You'll want to get a boost gauge as well as fixing the amount of boost, though I'm not sure how high. You'd have to ask your aunt or whoever owns it about that. And you should also..." He paused. "You should also get your suspension checked, I think. It feels a bit loose."

Riku nodded. "Thank you, Takumi."

Takumi nodded back. "I would like to ask you something before I go."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I heard Keisuke might be having a rematch against the GT-R." He said. "If that happens, I want to race you as well."

Riku stared at him, stunned. "Race you? If that's what you want, then I will."

Takumi opened his car door. "Good. I look forward to racing you."

"That was messed up." Takumi thought as he drove back. "I realize now why his technique felt so off. He drives just like Joshima Toshiya."

The thought of the old man's S2000 came to mind. His abilities had nearly won him that race and only luck had given it to Takumi.

"That drift. It has so much grip because of the lack of countersteer." He continued down the highway, lights reflecting off his windshield. "His shifting ability as well. He seems to move his hand exactly before he needs to shift, like he can predict it. I guess that's just what you get when you learn from a man named God Arm." 

The thought of one drift confused him.

"But that one time. I felt the traction of all four tires go when he took that turn. All that speed... it scared me for a moment. I doubt he ever taught him that. It must have been someone else. Someone much better."

Kana was standing outside when Riku got back. "Where've you been?" She asked, her cigarette moving between her lips. She didn't look at him, instead just keeping a blank stare as she looked at the sky.

"I was with a friend." Riku said, closing the door.

"Hmm." Kana took out her cigarette and blew out smoke. "Listen Riku, next time you go out for practice, I want you to take the S15."

The S15, Kana's other car, sat next to the MR2, it's jade body still in the night.

"The S15?" Riku asked. "Why?"

Kana didn't even bother to glance at him. "Shut up and do what I tell you to. Start rotating between the cars when you go on your runs."

Riku sighed. "Alright, alright. In the morning I will, I'm too tired to drive."

Kana took out her cigarette again as she heard the door close. "Tch. When I was his age, I could drive with my eyes closed."