-A Couple Days Later... (Y/n's POV)-

The funeral was.... Well... How most funerals go....

...

It was... depressing...

...

I couldn't really think much. Like, it hurt painfully, knowing I wasn't going to see him again. He was always in the hospital and I could visit him, and before then, I could just get home from school and see him at the house, or he'd take me driving up and down the mountain. The fact I lost the biggest race of my life made it far worse. I was lost in my emotions and just raced them without a conscience almost. It was like I was blowing off steam or letting out all my emotions in a battle I knew I couldn't even win... I was so stupid.... It felt like shit. I felt like shit. I feel like shit....

...

My Father was being buried at the top of Mount Myogi, not too far from the start of the downhill. The hospital told me that this is where he wanted to be. I couldn't think of a better place. It was a bit expensive, but fortunately, it wasn't really a problem. More people showed up than I expected. Iori, the guys, and Rikka came. I also noticed that a lot of older folk showed up too, including the boss of the gas station and the old man who ran the tofu place; Didn't know why they came, must've been friends. Haru couldn't make it as he was working. We were all wearing the appropriate attire, which added a bit more sadness into the air. I haven't heard anything from Mom in a long time... I wondered how she was doing. I thought about her daily since I've been here in Japan, but now it's become more apparent since my Dad's gone. I wondered if or when she'll find out; or if she'll say something about it to me.

It was a sunny day. Warm, no clouds. The cars were lined up on the side of the road. Rikka, Iori, and I shed tears while the others had sad looks on their faces. We were under a tent so it would block out most of the sunlight. It was hard. I couldn't stop staring at the casket. I wanted to look away, but I just couldn't. Iori soon went to the front, next to the casket and faced everyone, as he was going to do a small speech. He gave a sigh and cleared his throat before speaking.

"...D/n... was a great man and a wonderful father and probably the best friend I've ever had. I can't think of anyone else that could compare to him. He was always cracking jokes and making sure everyone was having a great time, whatever the occasion was. He cared for his friends, his racing friends and enemies, and his son, Y/n. Not only was he a good man, he was an even more fantastic driver. He was number 3 of his team and one of the kings, if not the king of Myogi pass. I believe it was truly unfortunate that he passed away due to this illness. I... Remember when I met him. This was before he got into his team. He came to the shop in his scratched up and dented car, told me he had hit a couple guardrails. At first I just sighed and took it in and worked on it. After more and more tiny accidents, we started becoming better friends as he'd just come to the shop over and over. He then started to get a lot better at driving. After a while, we upgraded his car and he was faster than ever. He got into a team, which he enjoyed being in very much. They raced other teams, they raced each other, and they raced everywhere. Then, it was time for him to teach his boy to race. He stopped racing and used the time to teach Y/n how to race, and he's progressed so far now. He would be so proud to see how far his boy's come. D/n will be dearly missed by everyone who loves him and cares for him... Thank you for coming, everyone."

He finished his speech and I was almost left in tears again. He put his hand on the casket, giving a small prayer to dad before returning back to us. I wanted to go up and talk, but I couldn't. I would be an emotional wreck.

The funeral session soon ended. The older folk left after giving me their condolences, leaving Iori, Rikka, the guys, and I. We walked out of the tent as the servicemen doing the burial closed it and started burying the casket. I lost all feeling of wanting to do anything. I lost my motivation to race... I lost my motivation to be with people... for a long while at least. Iketani, Itsuki, and Kenji walked over to me.

"Hey... I'm really sorry about what happened." Iketani said with a sad tone. He looked at his friends, then back to me. "If you need anything... anything at all... Just let us know. We have to head back to work. Mr. Tachibana left to go re-open shop."

"Alright....." I said to them, without looking at the three. They then left to go back to work, then Iori left a bit after. He was probably too heartbroken to stay and talk, which I could understand.... Rikka hugged me to which I hugged back of course.

"Y/n... I want you to know I'm here for you. If you need anything, or if you wanna talk or hang out or...."

"I...I think I wanna be alone for a while... I'm sorry, I... I just don't wanna be around anyone for a while." I said to her. I watched as her comforting face became accepting, but more sad.

"Oh... Alright... I understand....Look, I'm only a call away, alright? Or even a text... I'll... I'll Talk to you soon. Be safe...okay?" She then went to her FC and drove home, leaving me alone on top of Myogi. I looked back at my Impreza, almost feeling sick. I almost didn't wanna look at it anymore. The haunting thoughts of the race against Keisuke, and the heartwarming thoughts of the time with my dad in the car were conflicting each other, fighting inside my brain and my heart. I felt like shit. I decided to head home after staying for another ten minutes or so.

When I got home, I parked the Imp in the driveway and went inside, locking the door behind me. I immediately went to my room to change clothes before getting in bed. I didn't feel like getting up, driving, or doing anything at all for that matter. I laid there, thinking in silence. The house has never been so quiet. I know for the past year and a half, I've been living alone while dad was in the hospital, but I've never experienced something this empty and this quiet before in my life. I then closed my eyes and drifted to sleep, not getting out of bed for the rest of the day.

...

...

...

-Two Weeks Later, Evening (Iori's POV)-

I haven't heard from the kid in about two weeks. I knew it was tough for him. Hell, it was tough for me, too. It was hard to even work on any cars. Unfortunately for life, you can't just halt after something bad happens. You just gotta keep going. He was my best friend. For around fifteen years, we worked together. He would race and I would help tune and fix his car.... I sighed.

"Damn.... I'm really going to miss you, D/n." I spoke to myself. I was sitting in my chair, waiting for a new customer to show, though not many people show up during the evening anyways. Most of the workers are pretty tired and tend to mess up more, and the racers only want the best, so they come around mid-day when the workers are at their best.

"Hey, you doing okay?" I looked over and saw my boss standing in the doorway that connected the garages to the inside of the shop.

"Doing the best I can, I suppose. I would've been at home for the past couple weeks if I could. Working on cars is very hard having my friend on my mind all the time. These two weeks have been rough."

"Yeah... I bet... I've been seeing you work hard, even after what happened to your friend. I'm surprised you didn't ask for some time off."

"I need to make money somehow.... sometimes you just have to bear with something and move about your day, dealing with it the best you can, whatever it may be..."

"That's the unfortunate truth of working. We both know it all too well." He sighed before speaking again. "Alright, you can clock-out now if you'd like. There wont be many cars coming for the rest of the night, plus you deserve to go home a little early today anyway. You're off the next couple days, so why not start your little vacation from work early."

My boss smiled at me. I was surprised he was letting me leave early.

"Thank you, sir. It means a lot."

"S'no problem. Thanks for being such a hard worker. Maybe one day you'll take over the business."

"Hopefully. That sounds fun. Maybe I can hire some competent mechanics if I do." We both then shared a hardy laugh.

"Yeah, Yeah.. You have a good vacation." My boss then went back inside the shop portion of the building.

"I will, thanks." I then clocked out and left the building after cleaning up. I wondered what Y/n was doing, and how he was doing for that matter. I thought and then decided that I would drop by his house to check on him. I went home first to clean up and put on some clean clothes and see the wife.

Then, I went out and drove to Y/n's house.

-Meanwhile, Y/n's POV-

It's been two weeks...

Two......weeks......

Two....

I was sitting down on the couch, watching television, eating a bowl of cereal. I didn't know why I was eating cereal so late in the evening rather than in the morning, but I felt like it. I've had a tough and lonely time since the funeral. Haven't talked to my friends, my girlfriend, or Iori since then either. Haven't driven or even thought about cars. I was in my own mind most of the time. I had never really 'lost' anyone before, so I didn't really know how to feel better after it happened. I sat in my house and sulked the entire time, because I didn't know what else to do. After I finished my cereal, I got up to go clean the kitchenware. As I cleaned, I realized that my room was also messy, like a tornado went through it.

"Probably should clean my room too. Need to keep the house clean." I said to myself. I kinda let the house become somewhat of a mess. After cleaning the kitchen up, I went upstairs to go to my room. On the way, I passed by my dad's old room. I stopped at the door and just looked at it. A bit of me wanted to go in, and a bit of me didn't. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath before placing my hand on the doorknob, turning it slowly. I opened the door to the dark bedroom. It hasn't been touched in over a year and a half. I turned on the light and saw that it looked the exact same since the day dad had to go to the hospital. I looked to my right and saw the dresser. There was photo of mom in a frame. It was covered in dust of course. I blew off the dust and wiped it off a bit. I was surprised. I haven't seen her face in years... It almost looked foreign to me, but at the same time, I knew it was her. Much like the funeral, I thought about her at that second. I wondered what she was doing. I wondered if she knew.. wondered if she cared... Wonder if she'll ever try to contact me. I sighed, setting the photo back down. I went over to the bed and looked at my dad's nightstand. It had a bunch of trinkets: His watch, his empty wallet, medicine, a tissue box, and.... a key? There was a brass key sitting on the corner of the nightstand. I picked it up and looked at it.

"What's this key for?" I asked myself. I looked on both sides, but I didn't see anything that gave me a clue or hint about its usage. Then, it hit me... "The garage!!! This has to be the key for the garage!!"

The garage... The garage....

The place my dad told me to not go. I... I had the chance, the opportunity now. I felt compelled. I had the key in my hand. I wanted to know what was in there. After all this time, I had the chance to finally see what was in that garage. I held the key close to my heart and sighed. I knew what I had to do. I walked out of his room, turning off the light and closing the door behind me. I put on some shoes and went out to the backyard and then to the garage, where I knew I could find whatever my dad was hiding from me.

-Iori's POV-

I finally arrived at Y/n's house and it still looked the same as it ever did. I've spent a lot of time here with his father. Had drinks and dinner, watched races on the television, hell, I even slept here a couple times because I stayed over too late and I was drunk. Before I got into the driveway, I was able to catch a glimpse of the backyard, and the garage. Something caught my eye as I looked. I squinted and looked carefully to the garage and found Y/n himself standing in front of the door to the place. I was a bit surprised as his dad told him never to go in the garage, but... I knew now was a better time than ever for him to explore what was in there. I went ahead and moved my car forward into the driveway and got out. I then began to make my way over to Y/n.

-Y/n's POV-

I looked at the small, blue, wooden door that led to the inside of the two-car garage. I held the key to the door in my hand and I questioned if I wanted to even try. I took a deep breath in....then out, as I put the key in the hole and twisted, unlocking the door. I slowly pushed the door forwards, it creaking and squeaking until it rested against the wall to the right. It was dark, as expected as nobody's been in here for a while. I reached my arm to the left to try and find the light switch. My hand ran through some cobwebs, in which I started flailing my hand around to get rid of them. I finally found the switch and flicked it upwards. The garage lights took a couple seconds to turn on, but when they did, it was a bit bright. I shielded my eyes from the light so they could slowly be adjusted. Once they were, I lowered my arm and looked around in awe.

It was a bit spacious. Some car under a large beige cover sat a bit to my left, right in front of the large garage door. That must've been my dad's old racing car. Next to the car, there was a large vertical curtain hanging from the ceiling separating the two halves of the place. I didn't know what was on the other side of that large curtain, but I kinda wanted to find out. The garage was strewn about with tools and screws and bolts and other mechanic stuff, workbenches and toolboxes, car jacks and creeper seats. In front of me, by a couple yards, was a counter against the wall. Above it, were photos pinned to a corkboard. I really couldn't make out what they were. I couldn't help but let a long and silent "woah" escape from my lips.

"Cool, isn't it?" I heard someone say from behind me. I quickly jumped.

"AH!!" I turned around quickly to find Iori standing a bit behind me. "Iori? What are you doing here?"

"I haven't heard from you since the funeral, so I took the liberty to come check on you. It seems you decided to explore the garage, huh?" He asked me.

"Y-Yeah... I thought now would be a better time than any."

"Right."

"I've spent a lot of time in this garage with your father. If we weren't at the shop together, we'd be here."

"Wow..."

"Go on. Take a look around." He said. I turned back around to look at the Interior of the garage. I took a couple steps forwards, taking it all in at once. Iori closed the door and walked over to the counter where all the photos were. I decided to follow him to the photos to get a closer look. I took the one photo with the most people on it down and looked at it carefully. I saw dad with a bunch of other guys. My eyes were drawn to two other people in the photo: The Fujiwara tofu shop guy and the manager of the gas station.

"Woah, he was on a team with the tofu store owner and the gas station manager?"

"Yeah. And there's Ken there." He pointed to another person in the photo, then to another. "Then there's Akihito. He was your father's rival."

"Oh really? He had a rival?" I was a bit surprised that he had a rival, let alone it be a guy on the same team as his.

"Yeah, Bunta and Ken were rivals too."

"I didn't know you could even have rivals on the same team."

"Oh it's definitely possible. D/n told me that Akihito, at least for the times he has raced against him, never won a race. Akihito won against other people, but never against your father."

"Akihito lost every race against my dad?"

"Yeah. That's what brewed the rivalry. They were quite bitter towards each other about it too."

"Damn..."

"And that over there..." He took a couple steps away from me over to the car under the cover. "...Should be his old racing car. Heh, I'm surprised he didn't sell it when he knew he was sick. Maybe he wanted you to see it."

I turned around and walked over to it, standing next to Iori. I ran my hand across the side of the cover, feeling the cold metal of the car seep through the fabric. I gulped and carefully started removing the cover. I was in a bit of shock as I saw his old car become revealed in front of my eyes. Once the cover was off, I let go of it and it fell to the floor. I....I couldn't believe it. I really couldn't believe what I was looking at.

It was a first-gen RX-7, colored in a nice Jet-Black paint. It looked absolutely stunning. It was beautiful. It looked well kept. Hell, it looked like it just came out of the damn factory.

I looked up to Iori who I could tell was having an emotional moment of his own.

"You alright, Iori?" I asked him. He wiped his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah.. I'm good. I.. just spent a lot of time with this car, as well as your father. Seeing this thing again struck me a bit."

"So... What is this car?" I asked him curiously. I knew what it was, but I wanted to know what was done to it in the past.

"It's a 1982 RX-7 FB Turbo. He started racing with it stock until we met, which it had about 100 horsepower or so. We swapped the 12A Rotary Engine with a newer 13B Rotary Engine after a while, and that's just an engine swap. We've done more to it than that over the years. Its power output was close to 150-160 horsepower when tuned. Then he joined the team with Bunta and the others. He only got better and better after that. It was less about power and more about skill from that point on. We put a lot of work into this vehicle."

"That's insane." I looked up at him again, but Iori's attention was over at a workbench. He walked over and grabbed something, coming back a second later.

"Here." He handed me what seemed to be the keys to the car.

"Are... Are you sure?"

"Give it a whirl. Maybe its still got some gas in it, though it probably needs an oil change." He chuckled a bit. I went around the car to the right side and opened the door. I slowly sat inside. The seat was a bit low for me, but that didn't matter. I took in a deep breath before exhaling, putting the keys in the ignition. I then turned the key....

The car came to life. The engine roared, then went to a slight rumbly purr. My heart was pounding and my hands were a bit shaky, but that soon became calm as I pressed the gas pedal down and revved the car. I listened as the engine roared and the turbo whirred and whined. It was like music to my ears. I knew Iori must have felt something from hearing the engine go. I let it run and revved it a couple times, for his sake as well as mine. It felt weird but.. good to be in my dad's old car. After a while, I shut off the engine and got out, closing the door gently behind me. I walked over to the crying Iori and hugged him. He hugged back.

After we parted, I handed him the key to the car. He was a bit confused.

"I want you to have this car. You spent the time, the money, and the work to make this car special, to make this car not just his, but both of yours. You should be the one to keep it." He held the key close to his heart.

"T-Thank you... You're a good kid."

"Now why don't we go see what's behind that curtain shall we?" I asked him with a reluctant smile. He smiled back and nodded. He and I walked over to the curtain and slid it over to the side, revealing what was behind. In front of the second large garage door, sat a workbench with...

An Engine.

Mounted on the wall, was a new carbon fiber wing and hood for my Impreza. I was astonished. I was even more shocked about this than seeing the RX-7. I looked back at Iori and he had a smile on his face. I then looked back at the cool car parts, then to Iori, then back.

"A little project your father and I were working on while you were in school after you got your Impreza. He knew that someday you'd become better than him, so he wanted to prepare for it. So he decided to grab a carbon wing; Then, he and I together were able to fabricate the GC8's hood from carbon fiber. It was a lot of money and I was against it at first when he gave me the idea, but he insisted it was going to be worth it somehow, so I helped pitch in; After that, we got a new engine with better parts. It's virtually the same engine as your Impreza, but it's higher quality in its parts and metalwork. You could say it's custom. It'll work better with the ECU than the engine you have now."

"Holy crap... That's a lot of stuff..." I was kinda overwhelmed with all this expensive stuff being done for me, just to help me get better at driving.

"Rikka came by the shop the other day to see If you came by at some point. She told me you lost a very important race. Maybe this could help you. Why don't we go ahead and slap this stuff on?" He tried to get me hyped up, but I couldn't. The motivation I had before I raced Keisuke was gone. I didn't feel like I wanted to race anymore.

"I..... I don't know if I wanna accept this. I don't even know if I wanna get better, Iori. Ever since that race.. I lost my motivation to even wanna go fast on a mountain anymore. With dad gone, it makes it worse." I hated to say that. It made me feel somewhat sick. Seeing all the trouble and work and money my dad and Iori went through to get these things, just to see me improve and succeed, all for me just to tell Iori... I don't know. Iori sighed in a sad manner.

"I understand that feeling. It was your first loss of a race, and it was big one. Not to mention your dad being gone. I can understand your motivation being gone." He sighed once more. "Look, It's getting late. I'm going to head home. You... give it some thought and call me when you think of something, alright? I'll drive the RX-7 back another day. Take care."

"Alright... You too." He left the garage, leaving me alone. I covered the RX-7 back up and turned out the lights. I then closed the door and went back into the house, where I went immediately to bed, to think on everything that's happened.

...

...

...

-Y/n's POV (The Next Evening)-

It's been a day since I went in the garage and found everything from my dad's racing past. It was still a lot to take in, even after a day. I was able to talk to Rikka and tell her that I was okay. I haven't talked to her since the funeral. She was very worried about me after I told her I wanted to be alone for a while. She told me that she came by the shop, just like Iori told me. I told her about the garage behind my house and what was in it. I also told her that I was thinking about quitting the street racing scene altogether. She didn't really know what to think about it all, so she told me to go with my heart on the decision. I still didn't know what to do.

It was already night and I thought about just going to bed, but some other thought snagged the back of my brain. I wanted to get out of the house and go somewhere quiet. I decided I wanted to go up to the top of the closest pass, which was Akina. It would be quiet, serene, and it would be different from staring at the same walls everyday. I got dressed and went to my Impreza. It took me a second to get in as I thought about my last time with it, against Keisuke Takahashi. I shook my head to relieve me of those memories and closed the door when I got in. I started the car and drove slowly up to the top of the mountain. I didn't want to drive fast or anything... didn't feel like it

When I reached the top, I saw that there was a car on the left bank behind the guardrail.

"That's an Eight-Six Levin with a carbon hood." There was a guy laying on the hood of the car, staring at the star-filled sky. I drove over and he lifted his head up to see my car park a bit away from his. He had black hair and a red buttoned shirt with blue jeans. He looked over at me for a couple seconds, then got up from his vehicle. After I got out of the car, he started making his way over to me.

"Hey, nice ride. Say, you wouldn't happen to be that Blue Wave everyone's talking about, are you?" After hearing him say that, I averted my eyes as I felt pretty bad when he called me by that name.

"Yeah.. I guess you can say that. You drive an Eight-Six? I think that's pretty cool. I'm assuming you race with it?"

"Yeah, just got done racing Project D a couple weeks back. I lost due to a drain on the road that I just didn't think about; Slipped and spun out." Hearing him say he lost to Project D lifted my spirits ever so slightly.

"Yikes, yeah it happens to the best of us." I shrugged. "I'm Y/n L/n by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Wataru Akiyama. I was wondering what you were going to do next? Last I heard, you beat the Takahashi Brothers' times on Akagi. Good job on that by the way."

"I.... That's up for debate right now. I don't know if I even want to race anymore." I told him flat out.

"What? What do you mean? You were doing so well in Gunma, what the hell happened that made you want to stop now?" His chill demeanor changed a bit to a more confused.

"A couple weeks ago, I raced Keisuke Takahashi myself and gave up half way in. I was driving with my emotions and not my brain and I couldn't keep up. Now I was handed new parts to make my car stronger and I don't even know if I wanna go through with it. I lost all motivation to race. I came up here to think about it."

"The hell do you mean you don't even know if you wanna go through with it?" He raised his voice a bit to grab my attention.

"What?" I asked him, shocked by his response.

"You should be more motivated to race after a loss like that. I'm surprised you didn't immediately put the parts on when they were given to you and start practicing with them."

"What do you mean?"

"You want to get better, right?"

"I... don't know..."

"It's a yes or no question, kid." He crossed his arms.

"It's not that simple."

"How is it not that simple? You put the new parts on and race him again and get better, or you don't and give up entirely, and then what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know if I wanna change my Impreza... I don't know if I even wanna get better. I mean why would I wanna fix my car up if I don't even wanna race? How in the hell do you have motivation after losing?" I grit my teeth and strained my gut, trying not to tear up. I watched as he sighed.

"Throughout my time racing, I've lost a lot. Big races, small races, I've won and lost a lot of battles. My car and I have grown together through many upgrades and downgrades. My first race was against some chick and her dad in a red FC on Usui. She smoked me going through a large corner. That was when my car was naturally aspirated. After that race, I didn't think racing was cut out for me. I didn't really know what to do. I lost my motivation just like you did. I wanted to quit. Then I realized I had room to improve. I could be better. After that, I put a turbo in my Levin to make it more powerful. I had the motivation and kept going. I raced some more and got more wins, then I raced Takumi Fujiwara, as he also had an Eight-Six, but the Trueno version. He was way out of my league, no wonder he's in Project D."

"You raced Rikka, and Takumi?"

"Yeah, and they were good. The girl in the FC, Rikka you said, she passed me on a corner using a trick I didn't know about at the time and it caused me to learn more about the course, and how I drove. Takumi's driving and his ability to adapt quickly was remarkable."

"Woah..."

"After losing the race with Takumi, I stopped racing for a bit, thinking on what I could do to improve even further. I then started working and getting money to grab a supercharged version of my Levin's engine. It eliminated the Turbo lag and added another 50 horsepower to my car. I raced Keisuke and lost due to a drain, a drain of all things. I could have beaten him. I could have won. I was so close. That's what gets me. Even after that race, I still race other people."

"How... How in the hell did you keep going after all that...?" I asked him honestly.

"I strived to become better and upgraded my car when I needed that push. I didn't quit after I lost those times. Most importantly... I enjoyed it. I know winning and losing is what matters most in a race, but from the core foundations of it, it's having fun and enjoying the thrill of it." He said plainly, putting his hands in his pockets, looking to the sky. "I wanted to show that my Eight-Six can win races, even if its an old eighties car. Another good way of thinking about it is that this will be your first loss of many. It strikes you at first and after another couple losses and wins, it'll be meaningless. Don't let that one race, however important it may have been, let it get you down. Know that the next one is always there waiting for you. My sister told me that once."

I thought on everything he said for a while and came to a conclusion. I knew I could have done more in that race. I was so stupid to have went right after my dad passed away, when I was vulnerable and my brain wasn't in the right place. Now... I have the chance to redeem myself to show my dad I have what it takes to go to the next level. I felt my confidence and motivation start to rise within me until I felt so compelled to just run home and call Iori to help me put on the new parts.

"Thank you..." I lowered my head a bit and kicked at the ground.

"For what?" He asked. "I didn't do anything."

"For talking to me about this. It made me realize that I can improve, not just my car, but myself as well."

"It's no problem, kid. I just hate seeing people quit after losing one race. It pisses me off more than someone who disses my Eight-Six."

"Yeah, I'd be pissed too if someone dissed my car. Well, I'm going to head home. I know what I have to do. I'm going to kick Keisuke's ass."

"That's the spirit." He said with a smirk as I ran to my car. He then yelled to me, "Let me know what happens after you race him again!"

I quickly hopped in after waving to Wataru and drove home as fast as I could, knowing exactly what I had to do.

...

...

...

When I reached home, I got out of my car and ran to the garage, taking out my phone in the process. I dialed the number.

*Ring*

*Ring*

*Ring*

*Ri-*

"Hello......? Y/n?" Iori's voice came through to my side.

"Iori..." I had a small smile on my face. "I want to do it. I want to fix my car up. I want to race Keisuke again. Please, come help me. I want to show my dad that I can do this. Quitting will do nothing but ruin me."

I heard a light chuckle from my phone.

"What's gotten into you?" He asked me.

"Let's just say I met someone who helped talk me through it. He went through something similar, I suppose."

"Good. Alright then, I'll be over in a bit." After a while, he came over in his large truck with a trailer in tow. He put all the items in the trailer; The engine, the wing, and the hood. I drove my Impreza with him all the way to the shop, where we started work on resurrecting my car.

...

...

...

-A Couple Days Later, At the Shop (Y/n's POV)-

"How's it lookin', kid?" Iori asked me from above the newly installed engine. I was below the undercarriage trying to see if everything was set, as well as installing the oil pan. For the past couple days, he and I were working on my car, improving it, making it better. I wasn't really the mechanic type, but I wanted to pitch in as it was my car after all. We've already put the wing on, and the hood, and new tires. All we needed was to finish the engine, which was...

"...Just... about... done... and..... there!" I slid out from under the car, oil all over my hands and face from the work I was doing. I got up and stretched before wiping the sweat and oil off of my forehead, only getting more oil on it in the process. "I think everything's done and in the right place. We need to fill it with oil."

"Right." We started pouring oil into the engine; and after that was over, cleaned everything around the engine a bit to make it less dirty. Then, we closed the new hood. I took a step back to see what my car looked like all done. I was astonished. It looked completely different. The wing, the hood, and the thought of that newer engine... I was starting to look like an actual racer in a way. It was beautiful. "I think we should take it to the dyno and start tuning it up, see how much power it pushes out now."

"Good Idea." I said as we took the car off the lift, and rolled it onto the dyno set. I took in a deep breath and exhaled with a confident mind. We then started the process of using the dyno to figure out the Torque and Horsepower of the car. It was loud, like really loud, but it left me in awe. I didn't even pay attention to the computer with the graph. Soon, the car halted to a stop and all was quiet. It was over. "That was loud, and exciting."

"Yeah, I bet it was. Putting your vehicle on a dyno is a very fun thing to do after you get new engine parts, or even a swap." Iori laughed. "And my oh my does yours have some new power."

"What?! I got more power!?"

"Yep. It gained 40 horses with the upgraded engine. Your original horsepower was at 290, and it's making 330 currently. It may not be much, and that's because it's just an upgraded engine and not a swap or anything, but I think it's exactly what you need. The wing and hood will help a lot too."

"Wow... I don't even care how much it's gone up, I love it. I can't... I can't even to begin to imagine how much I appreciate this, or how to thank you."

"The only way I believe you can thank me, is by beating the fire out of the guy you lost to." Hearing him say that surprised me a bit and made me realize something. With this car... I could.. I could win. I could possibly stand up to Keisuke Takahashi and race him again, and win this time, without losing or giving up.

"That.... I can do." I nodded with confidence.

"Why don't you take her for a test drive, then bring it back so we can tune it for your next race."

"I think that's a great idea. I'll even bring Rikka along. Haven't seen her in a while."

"You might want to go see her. She's definitely worried about you."

"That's the plan." I smiled as we both pushed the car outside. I immediately gave Rikka a call. After a couple seconds, she picked up.

"Hey Y/n!" I could hear her cheery attitude through the phone, happy to be speaking to me after a couple days. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. I wanted to let you know I got those parts installed on my car. I was planning on taking it for a test drive later tonight, wondering if you wanted to join me."

"Yes! I'd love to! I wanna see you again... I... want to hug you... if that's alright.."

"Hug me?" I questioned. I was confused as to why she brought it up rather than her just hug me when I saw her.

"I don't know... I just feel like you need a hug... and I really wanna give you one..." Her cheery attitude calmed to a shy and embarrassed, but loving and caring tone.

"I'd... I'd love a hug from you. I'm more excited to see you again than actually test driving my upgraded Imp."

"Aww..... So are you picking me up or are we meeting at a pass?"

"I'll be picking you up. It'll save you gas."

"Oh! Good idea! Alright! I'll see you tonight!"

"Yeah, it's a date." I hung up and put my phone away. I turned to Iori once more before getting to the drivers side of my car. "Thank you again, Iori. I'll give you an update when I finish the test drive."

"You got it, kid. Make the mountain kneel before you." He said as I got in and drove the new girl home.

...

...

...

-Later That Night (Y/n's POV)-

Nightfall came, and I was on the way to pick up Rikka. I was pretty excited to see her again. As I drove my car, I felt that It was a little lighter, and it felt a bit more smooth. I was also really happy and excited to see what this baby could do on the pass.

After making it to her house, I saw her standing outside, waiting for me. I stopped the car in her driveway and got out. She immediately ran to me and almost tackled me to the ground with a hug. It surprised me.

"I missed you so much!" She nuzzled her head in my neck as her arms were wrapped around me. I held her close to me with a smile on my face.

"I missed you too, Rikka." We held each other for a little while longer before parting. She then turned to the car.

"Woah..." She was almost speechless.

"I know right! Pretty sick."

"Yeah, that's really cool. It looks like a real race car almost."

"Yeah, I'm really excited to see what it can do. After the run, I'm taking it back to Iori to tune it."

"That's good. Then, maybe you can try and beat Keisuke Takahashi again."

"That's what I'm planning to do. I'm going to the gas station after my car is tuned, and I'll try to get the guys to ask their friend, Takumi, to bring Project D to Myogi."

"Ah! That's a good idea. I was wondering about how you would get a hold of Project D again. It would seem hard on your own."

"I lucked out with Takumi being friends with the guys at the gas station. Ready to go?"

"Sure!" She nodded happily. I opened the passenger side door and she sat down. "Thanks!"

I closed the door and got into the drivers side. We then made our way out of the driveway and on the road.

"So, where are we headed? Myogi? Akagi? Usui?" She asked.

"We're headed to Akina. I don't know why that one in particular, but I feel like it's a well rounded pass. Myogi has more straightaways, Usui is literally corner hell, and I feel like I already murdered Akagi... So I thought Akina would be better to test my car's capability."

"Alrighty. If I may ask, what made you want to drive again? What made you wanna keep racing and put the parts on? You told me the other day you were thinking about quitting."

"I went in the garage and saw my all my dad's racing past and it gave me a small bit of encouragement to keep it going. Then I met someone on Akina a couple days back. Name's Wataru Akiyama. He kinda went through the same thing I did."

"He lost his father too?"

"No, I meant losing big races. He's lost a lot of pretty big races and he learned from them and upgraded his car to make it better. He took the losses and turned it into motivation for the next race."

"Oh."

"I learned that with the loss against Keisuke, I know I could make my car stronger and do better, and beat him this time. I want to prove to my dad, I can go even higher than I already am; That I can soar and progress faster as a racer."

"I'm happy that you're back at it. I was really worried about you, both you and your racing career. I know you enjoy racing so much, and to hear you say you wanted to quit, made me feel really bad."

"Well, I'm sorry for saying that. I'm back in, and I'm back in 100%."

"Good!" She nodded with a happy grin.

Once we reached the top of Akina pass, I parked the car behind the guardrail to stretch before I started my run. Suddenly, I saw two headlights behind me. I didn't pay them any mind as Rikka and I kept stretching our legs and arms. The car stopped not too far behind mine. After the headlights went off, I saw that it was a silver/gray S15.

"Hey is that an S15?" Rikka asked, looking back at it over her shoulder.

"Yeah. They're alright. The Silvia line isn't my favorite, I like the SX line of cars better."

"If I'm not mistaken, It's got an in-line four SR20DET engine. Stock, the car is about 250 horsepower. It's turbocharged and has a displacement of about 1998cc." Rikka pointed out.

"Damn... You really do like cars."

"I do know a lot about them, heheh~" She smiled cutely, tilting her head while stretching her left arm in the air. Two men then got out of the S15 and started walking over. One of them was kinda chubby and tall with brown hair. The other was short and had glasses with black hair.

"Is that your car?" The chubby one called. "I get pumped when I see a car like that. There aren't as many racers in Akina as I thought. I thought thered be more going on."

"Well, there used to be a lot more racers up here before Project D came up I believe." I said to him. "But yes, this is my car. My name is Y/n L/n and this is my girlfriend, Rikka Hachiya."

"So... a WRX, huh?" I heard him snicker a bit. "Have you seen the WRC? Bet you fantasize that your car was that fast. Look at that wing! You planning on flying with that? Ah, and that carbon hood. Everyone thinks that if they have a carbon hood, they're the fastest. What's next? You gonna paint your car red? Cause red equals fast?"

"Come on now, be nice." The one with glasses said.

"Hey! You don't have to be mean!" Rikka yelled at them. She then spoke again. "And I don't think you should be talking with your dinky 250 horsepower metal tin can you drive with."

"Oh Yeah? And what do you do? Do you race too, or are you just a useless passenger?" The chubby one asked her.

"I race....Occasionally. I used to be the number 1 on Usui before Y/n beat me."

"What do you drive with, might I ask?"

"I have an FC." She said confidently, to which the two started snickering, then laughing.

"How does it feel to drive an old tool with no torque that has to have its engine replaced too often?" The guy in glasses stated before they laughed harder.

"What gives you the right to talk shit about us and our cars?"

"Because we're circuit racers from Tokyo. We're professionals. You guys are just silly street racers, fantasizing about something you'll never be."

"You look like professionals alright. And y'know, I'm not really a fan of circuit racing." I said bluntly.

"What?! Why?! It's the best. Better than whatever you street racers are doing."

"It's too uniform. I like going from A to B rather than looping around on concrete all day. I like action, I like challenges, I like new things to hit me like dirt or gravel or something besides concrete all the time. I like to watch rally and stuff like that." Whoever these guys were, they were pissing me off, Rikka too.

"Like you'll ever get into rally. Those guys are above and beyond. Only insane drivers go into rally, both mentally and skillfully."

"Yeah, well at least he won't have to be some crappy circuit racers driving a mediocre car. If you came over just to be rude, then you might as well leave. You wont get any racers that way. So... So... Screw off." Rikka crossed her arms in anger.

"Yeah, why don't you and your boyfriend buzz off. We have things to do and you're not a part of it." I said after Rikka's roast. The two scoffed in their own anger and growled a bit before storming to their S15. They got in, started their car, and drove passed us to the starting line of the downhill and stopped. They sat at the starting line, looking like they were waiting for something. I was confused for a second, then it hit me.

"What's going on with them?" Rikka asked me.

"C'mon, I'll tell you in the car." I got into my Impreza, as did Rikka. As we strapped in, I explained what was going on and what was about to happen. "So, what some pompous, annoying racers like to do when they're mad at someone in particular, is wait at the starting line for the guys to pass them. Then, after a second or two, they try to race them down. They plan to race us after we pass them. They wanna dust us on the downhill to show us that we're trash, but I got a better idea."

"What are you gonna do?" Hearing her ask this, I only gave her a smirk and a wink, which caused her to giggle a bit. I turned on the car and slowly drove behind them and came to a stop. I then turned on my hazards to signal them to go ahead, turning them off quickly after. I was planning on letting them go first as my car is more powerful than theirs. If they were truly professionals, then they could outclass me with skill, no matter the power of the cars, on the downhill. "This will be perfect. I can test my car's capabilities against these guys. These guys will be a warm up."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(I Wanna Love You Tonight / STOP LIMIT LINE)

Suddenly, the S15 in front of me started moving forwards, getting faster. I cracked my knuckles and looked at Rikka.

"You ready?"

"Let's smoke these guys!"

"That's the spirit!" I put my foot lightly on the gas and started moving forwards as well. We then picked up the pace down the first straightaway of the downhill course, getting just behind the S15. I could feel my engine roaring instead of purring, like a kitten being replaced with a lion. We rounded the first small, left corner, then another straightway. We ran it and we hugged the guardrail for the next right. We both then braked and went around the first hairpin turn. I don't know why, but the G force made me feel something good. I smiled slightly, getting more into the groove of driving fast again. After that first hairpin came a tiny straightaway to a left turn. The Silvia sprinted down the next long straight and braked into the small corner which went into the next hairpin, though that one was a bit wider.

-Chubby Guy's POV-

I looked behind me to see the kids' car behind us still. The Impreza was on our ass. they weren't half bad to be able to keep up with us. Still, stupid street racers. Nothing but wackiness and no skill, not to mention pretty unprofessional. Soon, we were going to leave them to eat our dust.

"This is gonna be easy, right specs?" I asked my partner with a smirk on my face.

"That's right. They should know not to mess with us professionals."

"Though, admittedly, his cornering, even if it's not professional, is pretty good."

"But ours is greater. Everyone knows drifting makes you slow and it's only flashy." We both laughed and kept going. We dove down the small series of straights before taking a harder right turn. The longer straight ahead led to two consecutive hairpins, a little spaced out, but still consecutive nonetheless.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Go for it." He pushed his glasses up. I braked hard for the first hairpin and sent my trusty S15 around the corner at what felt like blinding speeds. I accelerated the car right out of the exit and kept going until the next hairpin came, in which I braked and cornered that one too. "Alright! It's basically a straight line from here to the next corner, go ahead and step on it!"

"With pleasure!" After exiting the last hairpin, I put my foot all the way down to the floor. The throttle opened all the way, the car accelerating forwards as fast as it could down the long straightaway.

-Y/n's POV-

I finally exited the corner and watched as the two sent their car speeding on the straight. I started to see their circuit-style technique: Open throttle on the straightaways and super hard braking on the corners. Chasing was really the best. Seeing how the opponent drove, and calculating a way to overtake is the experts way to do things. Back to the circuit-style techniques, the problem is, this isn't a circuit track. Mountains have momentum since they have elevation whereas circuits and tracks are normally flat. I could use that to my advantage when it comes to cornering.

"Rikka, pay attention to how they drive. They're running a circuit-style technique on a mountain. That may be beneficial in some cases, but it's actually hurting them too. Their brakes and tires are definitely wearing out faster that ours and it doesn't really change the fact that both of our cornering styles, though different, are about equal speeds, mine maybe a bit faster since I don't brake as hard and I retain my momentum when cornering."

"That makes sense!" She sounded surprised. I couldn't help but feel smart after saying that. My dad's taught me a lot. I felt like that was a bit of him rubbing off on me.

"Let's step it up then!" I pushed the gas pedal down a bit more and followed them through the straightaway. I saw some hikers walking up the mountain, probably checking to see if there were any races going on.

"Woah! It's an S15 and an Impreza."

"Did you say an Impreza?"

"Yeah."

"You know, that could be the Blue Wave."

"The Blue Wave? Nah, it can't be. The Blue Wave didn't have a carbon hood and wing."

"Well, maybe the driver put them on recently."

"Who knows..."

NYOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

NYOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

This was great! This car felt great!! The engine felt great!!! I couldn't help but have that smile. That urge to race hit me like adrenaline. I love my dad, I love my car, I love Iori, I love Rikka. I LOVE RACING!!! I immediately stepped on it, all the way, letting my car go all out on this long straightaway, just to see its power. The upgraded EJ207 roared loudly and proudly, letting its presence be known to anyone nearby who happened to be watching the race go down. I watched as the S15 got closer and closer to the front of my car. It wasn't a super long sprint, but it was exactly what I needed to tell how my car was going to fair against Keisuke. If I raced these guys before upgrading my car, I'd have a tougher time, but this... my lord I was enjoying this. After letting loose for a while, my front bumper almost kissed the Silvia's trunk, in which I backed off a little bit, letting off the gas slightly. We then turned left into the more quick and curvy corners of section two. Maneuvering them was a breeze. The wing was super helpful. We went through those corners with the S15 and approached the quick and wide hairpin which led into another long straightaway. We both cornered the hairpin quickly and exited quickly together in almost tandem. The Silvia then let it's throttle open, blasting forward. I decided to let my throttle open up as well, following him through.

VROOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

VROOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

We were coming up on another hairpin. He braked really hard and cornered while I used the heel-toe technique, downshifted and initiated a drift, sliding through the corner with ease.

SKRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

I exited the turn going faster than when I entered. We were finally half way into section three.

-Rikka's POV-

I was astonished to see how well Y/n was driving after not racing for a couple weeks. I was even more astonished to see how well the car was running on its new parts. It was a lot faster, stronger. The engine itself sounded cleaner, more powerful, no, it was monstrous. Even if it's the same engine, but better, it's a crazy piece of work. I want to see it for myself and see exactly what parts make it better than the other engine. I then looked at Y/n. He was happy, which of course made me happy, but that was beside the point. He was happy and racing again. He was focused and confident in his ability with this race. He was even talking about strategic stuff earlier about the circuit techniques. The large loss that hit him, both his father, and Keisuke Takahashi, may had halted him for a bit, but he got back up and kept going. I personally believe he can beat Keisuke Takahashi if he races him again. But first, he needs to dust these crappy drivers and I believe he'll do that too.

-Y/n's POV-

I needed to figure out when I wanted to make my move and how. Could I over take them on a straightaway with sheer power? Maybe on the outside of a corner? Maybe I could wait for them to stall and mess up their tire grip and I can take them on the inside... I didn't know... too many options. We took a quick right, then a quick left. The five consecutive hairpin turns were up ahead and I was ready. We made a wide right and ahead of me, was the first hairpin. We hit the hairpin hard and drifted around, coming up behind the S15. The second one went the same way, only I went faster. I did the same with the third one, but faster. I then saw them do something unexpected. They stepped on it in-between the third and fourth hairpin.

"What are they doing?" A meter or so before the corner, they braked really, really hard. It was right there. I saw it. The one thing I was looking for: The Opening. I had the chance. The time was right and I was ready to go for it. The problem was, it was too small. I couldn't pass without hitting his car during the corner. Then, I remembered something from a while back. I had one shot at it. If it worked, I would successfully pass them as well as gain a huge lead, but if it failed, my car could be totaled. I decided at the last second and went for it. "Rikka!"

"Yeah?!"

"Hold on to something!" She nodded and held onto the handles on the inside of the car. I quickly sprinted forwards, passing the S15. I could tell the people in the S15 were stunned without even looking at them. They probably have never seen something like this before: I moved my car to the left and sunk the tires into the gutter.

KACHUNK!!!

I ran my Impreza along the gutter, going around the corner as if it was a rollercoaster.

ERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

"Wooooaaaaah!!!!" Rikka yelled, surprised by the sudden maneuver.

KACHUNK!!!

After exiting the corner, I moved out of the gutter and stepped on the gas once more, before cornering the next two hairpins the same exact way, gaining even more of a gap on the S15.

Continuing the course, I saw the headlights get farther and farther away in my rear view until they were gone. They probably stopped. When we got to the end, I parked on the side of the road.

(Stop Eurobeat)

"YEAH!!!!!" I pumped my fist up in the air.

"We did it!" Rikka cheered along with me. "That'll show those idiots."

"This car is amazing. I can't really believe it."

"It may be amazing, but you're the one who drove it. That makes you the amazing one." Rikka poked my cheek. I scratched the back of my neck with a small blush.

"Aww.. Thanks." Suddenly, Rikka's phone started ringing. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered it.

"Hello?... Hi dad!..... Oh, I'm out with Y/n..... We did a downhill against some crappy guys in an S15..... Of course we won........ Alright, be home soon.... Love you.... Bye." She hung up, putting her phone back in her pocket. "Seems I have to head home."

"Alright." I started my drive over to her place. "I'm glad you came with me. It means a lot."

"I'm really happy I came too. I really wanted to see you again. I love you, Y/n."

"I love you too."

"Hey, I was wondering if I could come with you to Iori's.."

"Oh, you wanna come with me to get my car tuned?"

"Mhm." She nodded. "I don't know why but I find mechanic work so much fun. I love learning about the ins and outs of a car. I like thinking about taking them apart and building them up again. I wanna come with you, plus I can be with you more."

"Alright then. It's settled."

After while of driving and talking, we made it to her house. We hugged in the car and she got out and ran inside after waving to me. I then drove on home, going to bed once I got there, feeling happy, satisfied and ready for the days ahead.

...

...

...

-A Couple Days Later (Y/n's POV)-

I was on my way to the gas station. The day after the test run with the new parts, I went to see Iori with Rikka and got my car tuned to fit Myogi's style, also got new tires to make sure I was beyond ready. Now I needed gas, plus I needed to get the guys to ask Takumi to bring Project D to Myogi, too. I haven't seen the guys since the funeral either. I wondered how they were. I was a bit antsy, the anticipation was almost killing me. I wanted to get this race to happen. I was also a bit worried that they'd decline. I gave up on the last race and didn't even give it my all. I still had to take that chance and ask. That's what mattered.

-Iketani's POV-

Itsuki and I were standing at the gas station, sweeping out the front of the building. It's been a long, hot day with barely any service, just busy work. A couple cars came by for gas, but not too many. It's been pretty boring. Kenji came and visited us the day before yesterday, as well as Takumi in his dad's Impreza. Takumi told us about his suspension breaking after his last race against Purple Shadow. I was shocked that he was pushed so hard for that to happen.

"Hey Itsuki, don't forget the corners of the door." I pointed out.

"Ah, got it." He lifted the broom and started sweeping the corners of the door. I switched over to wiping down the gas tanks, cleaning them off. Suddenly, I saw an Impreza drive into the line. It had a carbon fiber hood, as well as a carbon fiber wing. I waited for it to stop before I walked over. When I reached the car, it's driver got out. Much to my surprise, it was Y/n.

"Sup, guys?" He greeted us.

"Y/n!!" Itsuki quickly ran over with a smile on his face.

"What's up, Y/n?" I returned the greeting. "It's been a while."

"Yeah it's been a while man. You okay? We haven't heard from you since the funeral." Itsuki followed up.

"I'm alright. I took a break to just be by myself. Away from everyone, Rikka, you guys, society. I lost my motivation to race and really do anything for a while."

"After losing your father and then against Keisuke Takahashi, I can see why. Damn, I'm really sorry that you had to go through all that." I said in a sad tone.

"Let's... Change the subject." Y/n suggested. "That race was behind me, and my father will always be with me in my heart."

"Good idea." I nodded and shifted my attention to his seemingly upgraded vehicle. "So, it seems you really stepped up your game."

"Yeah! Look at your car! It's got a carbon wing AND a hood?! How did you even get your hands on that?! I don't even think they've made carbon hoods for that car yet." Itsuki was going crazy over the cool upgrades. Y/n laughed a bit in embarrassment while scratching the back of his neck.

"Well, My father and his mechanic decided to get me things for my car and hid it in the garage. They both fabricated the hood."

"What? That must've costed a fortune."

"It probably did." Y/n shrugged. "They also built me a custom engine for my Impreza."

"Woah, a custom engine, too?! What is it?" Itsuki asked in an excited manner.

"It's a custom version of my previous engine. It contains higher quality parts and metalwork and other things that work better with the ECU. It runs 40 more horsepower than my older engine. My car is now at 330 horses instead of 290."

"Dude, that's crazy."

"I'm thankful for everything they've done for me, so I'm not gonna let it go to waste, which is why I came here."

"What do you mean?" Y/n then turned his attention to me.

"I want to talk to Takumi Fujiwara."

"Huh?" Both Itsuki and I were confused. We didn't know as to why he would wanna talk to Takumi. He wasn't even here, was with....

I then realized what he was going to do.

"I'm challenging Keisuke Takahashi to another race and the only way I can get to him is through your buddy, who's in Project D with him." He crossed his arms. "So, I wanted to ask if you could call Takumi for me, so I could talk to him."

"You're planning to race Keisuke again?"

"Yeah. Why are you racing him again? You lost to him already."

"Because I know I can win this time. My head's in the right place. I need to progress higher as a racer, so I need to beat Keisuke Takahashi." He looked back at his Impreza.

"Well, you're in luck. Itsuki and I recently got phones, so I'll give him a call for you." I pulled my phone out and started dialing Takumi's number.

"Thanks Iketani."

-Y/n's POV-

After a couple seconds Iketani started speaking to his friend.

"Hey Takumi... Yeah... I'm fine.... So one of my buddies said he wants to talk to you. You busy right now?... No?.... Alright, I'll hand the phone to him...." Iketani then handed his phone to me. I took in a deep breath before speaking. Iketani started pumping gas into my car.

"Hello, Fujiwara?"

"Yeah. Who is this, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I....." I sighed. "I'm Y/n L/n. I'm the guy with the Impreza that raced Keisuke Takahashi a couple weeks ago. You're the one with the Eight-Six, right?"

"Oh! I remember you. That was a bit ago. What happened that night? It looked like something bad happened to you before you raced him."

"I'll.....explain that later. Look, I need a favor from you."

"A favor? Depends on what it is..."

"It's nothing bad, I promise."

"Okay, go ahead then."

"I want you to relay a message to Keisuke for me."

"You want me to say something to Keisuke? Alright, what's up?"

"I want you to tell him that I'm challenging him to a race."

"You're challenging him?"

"Yeah, and I'm making it personal. I want a rematch with him."

"Where and when?"

"Myogi, this Thursday night. Gives him plenty of time to practice if he needs it."

"Alright. I'll tell him."

"Thanks. If things work out, I'll hopefully see you and the rest of Project D this Thursday."

"Right... See you." Takumi then hung up the phone. I handed Iketani his phone back and stretched my arms in the air, cracking my knuckles in the process. He was already done with the gas, in which I paid him.

"It's done. Now Takumi needs to tell Keisuke, Keisuke will come to Myogi, I'll beat him, then all is well. I also have to explain to him about the other week."

"Yeah. You do." Iketani said.

"Alrighty. I'm heading back home. I'll see you two later." I got back in my vehicle and left after waving to the two.

-Keisuke Takahashi's POV-

We had just finished racing Purple Shadow a couple days ago, and they were by far the toughest racers Takumi and I have gone up against. Hell, Takumi broke his suspension trying to beat God Arm. Matsumoto was having to deal with fixing it and installing a roll cage. I had my own struggle against God Foot. That man's acceleration technique was something I've never seen before, or experienced for that matter. Though, I learned a lot from driving behind him, learning how to accelerate better on my own, improving my own technique. That stunt he pulled at the traffic cone was remarkable too, not to mention that he could drift that car.

We were all in a parking lot, taking a break. Bro was talking with Fumihiro next to the bongos, Tomiguchi was tinkering with the FD, Takumi was taking a phone call, and Kenta was... doing whatever Kenta does.

"Hey, Keisuke!" I heard Takumi call to me. He quickly walked over to me.

"What do you need, Takumi?" I asked him.

"You remember the guy you raced the other week? The one with the Impreza?"

"Yeah? What about him?"

"He just called me to tell you something." I was a bit confused and surprised to hear that the kid with the Impreza called Takumi.

"He did? What did he want to say to me?"

"He wanted to challenge you to a rematch, personally. He wants it on Myogi, Thursday night." Suddenly, it got quiet. I was shocked to hear that he wanted to challenge me. I looked over to Bro and saw that he was paying attention to our conversation, and so was Fumihiro.

"He challenged me? Pfft, You must be joking. After what he pulled last time?"

"He sounded pretty serious about it." Takumi explained. Ryosuke and Fumihiro walked over to us.

"What's going on?" Ryosuke asked us.

"Apparently, the Kid who broke our records decided to challenge me to a rematch." I crossed my arms. My brother put his fingers to his chin in thought.

"I was expecting this." Ryosuke said.

"What?"

"He's been on my mind for a while now actually, since that night."

"Why has he been on your mind?" I asked him. "The kid's just a kid who beat our old records. He isn't any special."

"Like I said before, our records, though old, were not easy in the slightest. You and I both know that it took a long time to get the records to where they were. If the boy in the Impreza was able to beat our times, I feel like there's something to him."

"Then what about the other night? Why'd he give up? He didn't even give Keisuke the time." Kenta asked, annoyed.

"We all noticed that he was not in the mental state to race, Kenta. He was driving with his emotion, blowing off steam. Even Keisuke pointed out that his car's tires were pretty bald at the start of the race." Ryosuke's gaze went back to me. "If he's challenging you now, that means his mind is a lot clearer and he's ready to go at it, 100 percent."

"You're right." I started to realize what my brother was getting at.

"Are you going to accept it, Keisuke?" Kenta asked me. I took a second to think for myself.

"I don't know yet. Fumihiro, how long till we need to move on to the next team?"

"Takumi's Eight-Six is still being fixed, so probably a couple of days." He answered.

"Alright."

"I believe this race will be helpful for you, Keisuke. I think it's in your best interest to accept it." Ryosuke looked me right in the eyes. I did want to know what happened with the kid the other night. I also wanted to have a full battle with him, to see what he was truly capable of. I thought a bit more and came to a decision, walking to my FD.

"Can't argue with you, bro. Let's head back to Gunma."