The Elemental Drifters: The Christmas Stage (Second Stage OVA)

Chapter 8: Drifting through the snow

----(Time for some Christmas eurobeat!!!! 'Give em a Christmas time' plays)----

"Five!......Four!!!....Three!!....Two!!!....... One!!!!..Go!!!!"

*EEEEEEE!!!!*

The tyres of both cars skidded as Katie's FD took the lead leaving the Silvia behind. The blue haired girl clutched, shifted into second gear and stepped on the gas.

"They're about to enter the turn!!!!" Morgan yelled.

Katie braked and counter steered swinging her FD sideways into the right bend corner, the snow shooting out her rear tyres. The S14 behind parallel drifted with her throughout the corner. The driver remained calm as he counter steers, turning his car heavily.

Katie pulled the handbrake, locking the rear tyres to shift her FDs corning direction into the left while still sliding. Her opponent followed doing the same with his rear bumper centimeters from the guardrail.

The judges watched the two cars parallel drifting and quickly wrote down the score for both teams.

Katie grunts as the Silvia behind her was doing a better job on following her. "Damn it! His copying my racing line!"

The driver grinned. "This is gonna be easy." He pulled the E-brakes and parallel drifted with the FD behind doing smoother skids. His anti lag system roared loudly around the curve.

*BA-BANG!!!*

"Look at them go!!! The S14 has the advantage of style now!!!" Morgan exclaimed excitedly. Katie was in the lead position but still losing.

"No!! I can't lose!!" Katie exclaimed angrily and threw the steering into the right S-curve, oversteering and bringing her FDs front bumper millimeters from the inside guardrail.

Thomas stood up from his seat. "I think this battle will be different." He mumbled to himself. "I can feel it. The aura of both teams, hungry to win."

The S14 and FD continued drifting around the track. Katie shifted and pulled the handbrake, parallel drifting with the Silvia behind, both cars were had equally fast corning speed and were so close to each other door to door that one false move could cause both cars to crash into a burning inferno.

"This is amazing!!! Both cars were this close to from crashing with each other!!" Richard exclaimed showing a small gap between his index finger and thumb.

Katie kicked the clutch, sending a shock to her partner's drivetrain. She did a heel to toe and increased her cornering speed. The S14 behind drifted and almost touched the guardrail on the outside. Shocking the audience and even Thomas who widened his eyes.

Both cars kept their cars sideways throughout the straights. The blue hair lightly downshifted and braked. Arc drifting at a speed of 280km/h, she punched the gas exciting the corner.

The S14 anti lag system roared again. Tailgating Katie like a maniac as it elegantly drifts around the corners. Both drivers downshifted into the next sharp left corner, Katie did a heel to toe in result a perfectly executed braking drift.

However, the intense braking and heavy counter steering had wore out her front tyres. The FD began moving into the outside, doing a quick ugly understeer. Katie counter steered, grunting.

Airi watched the FD understeering heavily. "Come on Katie put up a show!!!"

Sweat formed on Katie's forehead, she hadn't been on a intensed battle for months. Quickly braking into a corner, she glanced at the S14 behind her.

"I've got to try something else!" Katie thought in her mind. "Something that'll get the judge's attention, but what?"

The blue haired girl suddenly thought of something. "Maybe I should try 'that'?"

(Flashback)
(Eleven months ago, Mount Kobushi, 21:00hrs)

"So how's my drifting?" Katie asked leaning on her FD. Talking to her former rival but now her trainer JL.

"Pretty decent," He said nodding slowly, fingers on his chin. "You've finally learned that counter steering less during a turn is much faster. I wouldn't be surprised if your corning speed has improved, not to mention your partner is the best corning machine in the JDM.

"Thank you~" Candy spoke.

"So.........." The blue hair trailed, making Katie curious. "Can I have my ring back now?"

She immediately showed her index finger at the blue haired, moving it left and right. "No, teach me that first." Katie demanded.

"That?"

"The one Louis Flash did?"

JL got even more confused.

"The backward drift thingy."

Eyes widening, JL knew he was done for. "Woah!! I have no idea how to do the reverse inertia drift!! I'm not Louis Flash!"

Turning around with her light blue dyed hair swinging, Katie pretended to leave. "Oh well then, I'm sure I'll get a profit by selling this ring to a pawn shop."

JL stopped the girl immediately. "Wait!! I do know something similar to it."

Katie got interested. "What is it?"

"It's not technically similar but it's still pretty sweat to try." JL said, snapping his fingers together and smiled.

(End of flashback)

Gripping her steering furiously, Katie let out her anger. "SCREW IT!!"

Putting her hands on the shifter, she waited for the next right turn to approach. When it did she shifted into reverse gear and pulled the handbrakes.

The crowd gasped in horror, thinking the FD had spun out due to the slippery snow on the track. The judges were glued to their seats. Thomas had a feeling that he knew what the FD was gonna execute but he doubt Katie would be able to do it.

Richard gripped his microphone, his hand started to sweat. "The FD spun out!! It's gonna crash!!!"

The S14 driver grunted and instinctively stomped on the brakes. The S14s headlights stalled, showing two faded red lasers behind the Silvia.

Katie remembered what JL had taught her. She smiled at the S14 while punching the accelarator. "This match is mine!!!"

Her FD entered the right corner backwards. Katie soon shifted into first gear changing the direction of the rear tyres from going backwards to forward instantly and throwing the grip of her steering left.

The RX-7 did a 360° before drifting into the right bend corner. It was millimeters from the guardrail.

The crowd remain silent before exploding into a massive round of applause.

Thomas smiled. "Guess she did it."

"Reverse entry drift?!" Richard babbled before throwing his left fist forward. "That was incredible!! Outstandingly amazing!!!"

The judges looked at each other. Then nodding in agreement.

"Team #100 wins!!!"

"Yes!!!" Airi and Rachel hugged in joy as Carlos wiped the sweat of his forehead before grinding.

"Man, I'm getting too old for this." He mumbled, talking a cigarette from the paper box and putting it into his mouth before lighting it.

"This team."

He overlooked at the team celebrating Katie as she drove back. Rachel now putting the blue hair girl in a headlock as revenge.

"I sense something special about them."

Airi smiled "Just two more rounds to go!!" She said jumping, her fist pointing at the snowy sky.

(Music ends)