The Z was in great condition still. It's a Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo 2-Seater to be exact. Keiichi Takishida loved it, as noted in the prologue. He took great care of his treasure, not a single scratch, nor a nut or bolt lost in the engine. Keiichi loved it as much as he did his wife and kids. Ryou's father, of course, was a former Legal Kaido racer. He raced on the Touge roads during Legal Kaido events that only took place during daylight. He handled the Z with great control back then, and when all else failed, and he just might have crashed, he would brake extra, as he couldn't bear wrecking the car. His dad sworn to himself that he would be a Z Driver & Lover for life. In fact, ever since the accident 1 year ago, his goal was true. Loved Z's all his life, and got one at 18. To be more exact, he owned a Z31 at first, but then it began having problems with the engine and everything, so his dad sold it to some guy who would fix it up and own it. That's when he got the 300ZX, the one he treasured most. . .
Ryou still stared out the window, looking at the Z. He remembered all the moments he had with his father as he stared. With it being 2008, and his father receiving the car the year Ryou was born, which is 1990, he could still envision the faint memory that was his father's excitement over getting the Z. Albeit Yuki and Mio have never been born at the time, so they were always asking Ryou on why his dad treasured it so much, especially Mio. Because, once they had Mio, his dad began to retire from racing, as he was getting older, and they just had a third child. Anyways, a beautiful Z this is. Ryou always felt as if it were watching his every move, but not in a horrific way, more of a warm, safe way, like his parents' souls lie in there.
"300ZX.", Ryou whispered to himself quietly.
"Aniki?", Mio said, coming downstairs,
"Is my Ramen done?"
"Oh, yes, it is.", he replied, as he slowly handed her the Ramen.
A few minutes passed, and Ryou heard Yuki come downstairs.
"Ah, Yuki, great. Now that you two are both here, may I ask you two a question?", said Ryou, looking at them both.
"I'm fine with answering something.", Yuki said.
"I agree with Yuki, I don't mind answering it."
"Would you two like to go visit Tokyo with me? I need to go shopping for some food there.", Ryou said,
"If you do, I'll gladly allow you two to pick out some items you would like, too."
"I'll pass again."
"Shopping? Okay!", Mio said, along with a small grin.
"Okay", He said, as he picked up his coffee to have a sip,
"Finish your breakfast, and we shall go. Yuki, you may stay here again."
They only lived about 30-40 minutes away from Tokyo, so it really wasn't something to worry about. They have also been before; Mainly visiting once or twice a month.
As soon as they finished their breakfast, they grabbed what they needed, and headed out for the car. Ryou put the key in the key hole, and ignited the engine.
This sound of the engine is marvelous, his dad would always say to him, whenever Ryou rode with him in the Z.
Mio also got in her seat on the left, as quick as that.
Once they were all done, Ryou pressed the pedal, and began to drive.
"I hate driving", Ryou said to himself,
"But Tokyo is too far to walk to. So I must drive."
Meanwhile, in Tokyo
A Street Gang known as,
The Speedstars, were meeting in an empty Parking Area. As dumb and childish as their team name may sound, they weren't easy. Definitely not easy. The team consisted of 15 members, all owning AWD's. Seven Skylines, One Subaru, 4 Evolution's, Two Celica GT-FOUR ST205's, and One Celica GT-FOUR ST165. If we were to put the drivers in best-to-worst order, The Celica ST165, the Subaru, and the teams only R33 would be in the top three. Let's introduce you to these people with brief descriptions.
Driver No. 1 (Captain):
Kyou Yasuda, the pilot of the teams very own Azure Blue ST165, was a very kind man. He was also somewhat mysterious to other competitors he's raced before. As a side to that, his driving is well skilled, and outnumbers the other drivers skills if they were on a 1 to 10 scale. He never has regrets, too, as he never has anything to regret. Hence why he's called the Team Captain. He enjoys being Captain, and he's a great one. Some might say he wouldn't let his team down for anything. He's always teaching the drivers as if they were students in a school. Some known questions from other teams and drivers have been, How is this guy so skilled? Why is he kind to everyone? Why is he not so angry if he may lose? Why does his emotion barely change? Without Kyou, the team would probably be terrible.
Driver No. 2 (Captain's Associate):
Daiki Yokotashi, the teams pilot of the only R33, which was gray, is a very daring person. He's always destined to win, and 80% of the time he won't accept a loss. You may find he'll always go out of his way to win. He'll do some of the most deadly, stupid, and annoying things to win. Some for example are bunting people, if this was screwed up more than it should be, someone could be badly wounded or even found dead. Another would be swerving from the left to right. I know what you're probably thinking, "That's called warming up your tires", but that's not what he does it for. He does it as a way of blocking one's view and/or vehicle, so they can't pass without getting hurt. Another notable thing is how he will drive like a drunk maniac if all else fails. He won't care if he gets scratches or anything much on his car. It doesn't bother him, not even the slightest.
Driver No. 3 (Captain's Apprentice):
Maki Furukaita, the driver of the teams only Subaru, was a very insidious woman. She always tends to trick racers using her charming characteristics to trick racers. She was somewhat kind overall, but she did have a bit of con in her. Conning, of course, was her skill. Notable cons from her have been, Using her looks to distract a racer. Saying that she's never raced before, and would like to win one just once. Also, pretending that her 'Daughter' is terribly sick, and she needs money for medication and food. From her Cons, many racers have lost reputation, money, and some cars. This is one female that most racers feared. If you were to go against her in a race, and the prize is huge, like a car, or quite some cash, the only thing I can tell you is, Don't believe anything she tells you.
They sat there in the parking lot. All 15 members. The chatter was quite loud. There were people talking about cars. Some talking about Music. Others Television. This is what you get from a team of 15.
"This track is soooo boring", Daiki spoke, among the loud chatter,
"Why must we race here?"
"Why because it's yet another street racing route,", Kyou said, smiling,
"We should race here, as it's street racing."
"I know. . . I know. But why must we have this track, is what I'm truly asking. I would rather want to race at Hakone."
"Because the Tokyo Route is what we need to move onto. We already have a well reputation in places like Osaka and the Wangan, therefore we needed to go onto somewhere else. . . I chose this place because people are coming here lately, it's the hype in street racing, at the moment."
"Ah.", said Daiki, yawning,
"I see your point. . . But I don't see any street racers here."
"That's because racers mainly come Monday-Saturday. Sunday is the day where most of them are busy I suspect."
"So. . . Why are we here?"
"To observe."
"Hmm. . . Yeah", Daiki replied, leaning on the hood of his R33.
A few minutes had passed, and Daiki spoke again,
"Ugh. . . This is so boring still. . ."
"Just wait, you'll be able to drive and test the route soon. . ."
Moments of silence from the two followed after that, but then another voice spoke.
"Hello,", it said,
"Daiki and Kyou."
They both turned to the right, in which they saw someone walking toward them.
"Ah, Maki-Chan! I'm glad your here!"
Daiki remained quiet, as he was never fond of Maki. He found her too much of a cheater, and a showoff. He's often dismayed that people call her better than him, but she's just a cheater in his eyes. Her car, too, was often rather fast. She claimed her car was stock, but Daiki thinks that she's lying about it, and she maybe has some upgraded muffler.
"Daiki?", Maki asked.
"Hello. . .", Daiki said.
"You seem annoyed Daiki."
"Somewhat."
"So. . . How's the observation going, Kyou-Senpai?"
"It's going fine. I've noticed things about this course. Braking is in-between Medium and Hard. It actually varies on the corner too. The first 2 corners need a Hard brake, they're sharp, 90 degree corners, not enough braking will cause a rather terrible collision. The third is a medium braking. It's a roundabout, so you know how it is. Brake, then accelerate gradually, and brake again if needed. The rest of the corners after the first 3 are mainly a 90 degree angle. The last 2 corners, though, are more like the 3rd, rounded, and don't require as much braking."
"Oh. This is certainly somewhat similar to something we've raced on before."
"Yes, it's quite similar to our previous, Osaka."
"So. When do I get my run on this track?"
"Soon Maki-Chan, soon."
"Okay."
Meanwhile, back with Ryou and his younger sister.
"We're almost there."
There was only silence, and Ryou didn't know why.
"Mio?"
Ryou quickly looked beside him. Mio was asleep, ever so quiet and softly.
"Oh. . . D'awww.", Ryou said, with a small smile.
Once they arrived in Tokyo, they caught the eyes of
The Speedstars.
"That Z is going rather fast, is that a street racer?!", Daiki questioned.
"I'm unsure, actually. I've heard of a Z that rules the Tokyo roads. . . Could this be it? Is it really the famous Z of Tokyo Street Racing?"
"If you two are so destined to find out, why don't you just ask the man?", Maki said, as she walked toward the car.
She walked in front of the Z, and stood still.
"What's that?", Ryou said, "
Wait a minute, that's a citizen! Damn it!"
Ryou quickly pressed the brakes, to try and avoid hitting Maki. He quickly got out of the car, and rushed over.
"I'm terribly sorry to scare you like that, are you okay?"
"Yes.", she replied,
"I actually went on the road and stopped to signal you, Mysterious Z Driver."
"Mysterious Z Driver? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't lie! We both know that you're this famous Z driver that rules these street racing roads!"
"I know nothing about some Z driver who rules these roads, Ma'am."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. I haven't the slightest clue on what you're talking about. You see, I'm only 18 and. . ."
"Enough lying. Lying is crap. I know you're him.", Maki cut him off.
"But. . . But. . ."
"No buts, now wait here for me, please."
Maki walked back toward her team.
"I think it's him, but he claims he's not. I'm going to race him, and see if it's the real him."
"Ah, okay. Just don't con or hurt the guy, please."
"Yeah. . . Don't."
"Got it.", She replied.
She walked back toward Ryou, a small grin was upon her face.
"Fine, how about this, we'll do a quick race. 2 laps. If one pulls away before the two laps are complete, though, they automatically win the race. We'll do this to see if you're him or not. Does this sound fair?"
"Yes. . .", Ryou said.
The two headed back to their cars to prepare for this race. Ryou had a bad feeling about it, he's never went fast before, and he currently has a young girl in the car who's life may be at risk.
"Damn it", He thought,
"I guess I'll race. I must so I can get out of this crap. I'll race carefully, though, or else Mio, and even I, will be vanished to somewhere I don't know.
Lined up together, the Subaru and Z looked like a somewhat Feisty pair. They both had the look of,
Eat my dust, which in this case means,
A fast car that no other could defeat.
"This is idiotic. . . What am I doing?. . ."
Mio awoke, and noticed Ryou staring straight out the windshield, gripping the steering wheel tight. She also stared out her window, and noticed that there was a Subaru to the left of them.
"Aniki.", She said,
"What's going on?"
All Ryou could say was,
"Mio, for me, hang on tight, please."
"O. . . Okay.", she replied, and grabbed the cushioning in-case of rough driving.
Daiki came up, and began to start the countdown.
"5!"
The drivers both held the brake, and revved their engines.
"4!"
Maki stared at Ryou.
"3!"
Ryou stared back at Maki.
"2!"
They both turned their heads toward the windshield.
"1!"
They began to lift their foot off the brake pedal.
"Go!"
They both fully lifted their foot of, and they pushed the accelerator as hard as they could.
"Whats this thing doing? Why are the tires creating smoke?"
"Wow. He can't accelerate a car correctly, can he?"
Maki, of course, had already gained quite a well distance from Ryou, as she had
way more experience.
"Wow. This is so simple! I'm not sure if this is the pro, he's as terrible as a teenager when they first get their license!"
"What is that thing doing? How in the hell is it so fast? It's just some huge car."
The first corner had come already, and Maki had forgotten a tad of Kyou's valuable information. She broke too late
"Damn", she said, as her car was grinding the wall,
"I either didn't brake enough, or I broke too late!"
"Hrmm. . . That car's front bumper is beginning to tear off.", Ryou said, as he watched the car grind the wall.
After Ryou had noticed what happened a few seconds ago with Maki's car on that corner, he took note, and broke in time.
"Let's hope this goes well."
"What?! He cornered that correctly!"
Ryou carefully cornered that, and was about 14 feet away from the wall, I should say, but still, this course wasn't all that simple. Next after that corner lies the second 90 degree angle corner. This time, Maki cornered successfully.
"Good, I didn't hit a barrier or anything."
"Hmph. She did well this time. I see."
"It's now my attempt, don't fail me!"
Once again, Ryou took note of the braking. Therefore, his braking was well, and once again, he avoided collision with the barrier.
"Did this guy seriously just corner that well?!"
The next corner, as noted by Kyou, was the roundabout. A fair braking spot. In this specific area, though, you had to manage your speed well, or else you'll collide with the barrier, and damage your vehicle.
"Here it is, the roundabout!"
She broke, then accelerated gradually, she only had to brake a tiny bit at one point to avoid the collision.
"She took that turn well."
"Now it's my attempt, don't fail me here, old car."
He did what he would do normally at a roundabout when cruising, except in a faster speed. He transmitted it into a fast speed setup, and that's where he found out the correct thing to do.
"Aha. This is not hard much."
Next was a rather long straight road, with only one slight corner. Similar to the Starting straight.
"This is a straightway so I. . ."
'Don't expect myself to collide with anything."
It was only a few moments before the brief corner came up. Once the corner came up, both drivers broke a tad.
"It's rather easy to get a collision here."
"Phew. It's a good thing I missed that barrier that. If I didn't, it would screw me up badly."
After a bit more of straight road, there was another corner. The final 90 degree angled one that Kyou mentioned. This one was almost exactly like the first from Ryou's view.
"Heh, this corner is easy."
"This corner seems to have somewhat of a resemblance to the first, it should be simple."
After that corner, it was only a few meters away until the second roundabout. To come to that, they drove on a short road below a freeway, and there arrived the roundabout.
"Here we are! The final roundabout! I'll take it quickly and outrun him!"
"There's still time! I can still win!", he said, but as he turned the corner, she had already outrun him.
"She. . . Outran me that fast?. . ."
-------------------------------------------
After the race, before heading back to the Parking Area, Ryou looked around inside the car.
"Are you alright?", he asked.
Mio didn't answer again.
"Mio?!"
She was asleep yet again, looking like she was on a boat, gently floating in the ocean.
"Is my driving really that well?", he asked,
"That she wasn't scared?. . . I do admit though, racing, which I thought was something idiotic and rubbish actually amused me. Is this racing really that fun?
He headed back to the parking area, in which he saw the huge team. Once he got out of the car, he heard Maki say,
"So he wasn't lying after all. . . He's not really him, but he knows quite some things about racing."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yes. Look, he's right there.", said Maki, pointing toward Ryou.
Ryou and Kyou just stared at each other. Eventually, Kyou walked over with his average tone and smile and said,
"Hello, I'm Kyou Yasuda, 19, leader of this team."
"Ah, I'm Ryou Takishida, 18, not on any team."
The team gasped over that, even Maki.
"18? That. . . That means you just got your license recently. . . But you were well in that race, how?!"
"I'm quite unsure actually. It all just came to me. The timings."
"Well, it seems like we have a future racer here. Wonderful.", Kyou said.
Normally, some people would think that's sarcasm, but with Kyou, when he really said wonderful, he meant it in the nicest way possible.
"Future racer? But I have no interest in cars. . ."
"That's incorrect, Ryou. I notice your talent is in the racing division, I noticed it, the aura of racing inside you is possible."
"Wait", one driver said, he looked about 28, "Did you say Takishida?"
"Yes, Takishida."
"Then you must be the son of Keiichi Takishida!", he said, "Your father was famous on the touge roads!"
"My father? Famous?"
"Ah. It seems like we are looking at a well racer.", Kyou said, smiling again.
"No, no. I think you're getting it wrong. I'm not a driver, okay?"
"Please don't deny, trust me, racing is one of the best things that may happen to you, don't give up. You were outstanding in that race for someone who doesn't like driving, my member and I noticed. Don't give up!"
Ryou just stood there, silent. As 5 minutes passed, Kyou finally spoke again.
"Well, it's time our team should leave now.", he said,
"Here, take this. Call me whenever you have questions."
He handed Ryou his phone number, then walked away. All the team members went to their cars, and 1 by 1, they gathered and drove away.
"Future. . . Racer?. . .", Ryou said, standing still like he had just been frozen or he saw a ghost.
"Aniki!", Mio said, running toward him. She was frightened when she awoke to 15 cars driving away, and Ryou standing still.
"Aniki!", she said again.
She went up and shook him over and over until he would "
Un-freeze".
"H-huh? Oh. It's you Mio. Why are you so frightened?"
"When I woke up, I saw those people drive away, and you were frozen, you scared me!"
"Oh. I'm sorry Mio-Chan.", he said, giving her a small hug,
"Come now, let's head to the store."
As he walked back to the Z, he thought of what Kyou had told him over and over. He wondered and wondered. Was Kyou really telling him something honest and exciting?
"Great driver. . . A great driver will be me?. . . And I used to think driving was just an annoyance."
To be continued. . .
Moral of the chapter - Always attempt new things, you never know what good can come. Even if it's something you hate, listen to what your mind truly says, and follow that, let it
flow, and you can achieve. - Ryou
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