Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Initial D Fan Fiction ❯ Initial D: Anything Goes Drift Racing ❯ Win or die. It’s Ranma verses Kuno ( Chapter 4 )

Initial D: Mt Furinken. Anything Goes Drift Racing.

Chapter 4: Win or die. It's Ranma verses Kuno.

Ranma sat behind the wheel of his bright green Nissan S15 and gripped the steering wheel tighter than he needed, he looked over at Kuno lined up beside him on the launch in his Subaru WRX. He looked calm and unflustered as he went through the pre-race checks but Ranma felt far from calm. He taken Edy's praise too much to heart and rushed into a challenge with Kuno before he was ready but it was too late to back out now.

Ranma knew he couldn't loose to Kuno because he would never let him forget it, no mater how many times he clobbered him with his fists Kuno would always bring up his victory on the track and of course use it as fresh ammo in his quest for Akane and the Pig Tailed one. So it was do or die, well that wasn't totally new ground to Ranma but it was still not a position Ranma revealed in. A tap on his window caught his attention he looked over to see Edy's half hearted smile so he wound the window down.

-"Got some advice for me Edy?" Ranma asked a little embarrassed. -"Yes. You're gonna want to try and take the lead when you launch, don't. Hold back and follow him, at the moment he'd keep up with you and you'd get flustered and loose it. Instead follow him down, please don't go into the back of him and make your move on the exit turn from the tunnel." Ranma was confused for a second. -"The exit turn of the tunnel?" -"Yeah, if you follow, he'll expect you to make a move as you enter the tunnel straight but if you hold back, he'll think you can't get the speed and relax his guard then you can use the special technique to pass him and as long as you remain calm he won't pass you."

There was a brief silence between the two but finally Ranma nodded. -"I understand, thanks and, sorry for rushing into this race I wasn't thinking straight I just assumed I could beat him." -"Hey, don't worry about it, oh and don't use the special drift move before the tunnel exit, don't let him know you know that move you should still be able to keep up." -"Right." Ranma replied, determined and a little calmer now he had a strategy. He'd been in situations like this before he remembered when someone stronger or faster or better at a particular skill had challenged him to a fight, he'd found a way to counter them and the same was true here. Kuno may have been good but now he should have a way to counter that and win the race.

Ranma suddenly realised the starter was walking towards the cars which meant the other race was over and they would start shortly. He saw Sakura standing by the guard rail give him a thumbs up signal and just for a moment he could have sworn he saw Ryoga over her shoulder but when he looked again there was no one he recognised.

-"Ok, are you two ready?" The starter shouted loudly, playing to the crowd. Kuno and Ranma both nodded. -"Yes." They said in unison. -"Ok here's the countdown. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. GO!" The starter dropped his arms and Ranma introduced the soul of his shoe to the gas pedal. He was in second when he remembered Edy's words and checked for Kuno, he was beside him but a little back and if something didn't happen he would have to yield to Ranma at the first corner. Back at the launch strip Edy muttered a silent prayer. Back in his car, Ranma shifted into third but didn't floor it and almost instantly Kuno's WRX leapt forward and slotted neatly in front of the S15 just before the corner. Neji watched the two cars disappear and turned to Edy and Sakura. -"You think he'll do it?" He asked casually with a raised eyebrow. Sakura shook her head. -"It'd take a miracle." Edy however smiled. -"That boy is a miracle on legs, if anyone can beat Kuno in their first real race, it'll be Ranma. I think he'll do it.

The fell silent then as the radio reports started coming in from the corners. -"Corner 3 here. Kuno is still in the lead but the S15 is right on his tail. They both performed spectacular drifts." Edy put his hands in his pockets and smiled while secretly crossing his fingers.

Kuno looked into his rear view mirror at the strangely familiar green S15. -"Hmm, maybe you do have some skill Soatome but I saw you hold back at the start. You'll regret that." And Kuno returned his attention to the road.

Ranma gritted his teeth. Kuno really was skilled and he was using all his skill with normal drift to keep up, he reckoned he'd even improved his braking drift skill another five or ten mph just so he could keep pace but already he felt the car slipping off the race line as he was exiting the corners. He just hoped the tyres would hold their grip.

At the start line Sakura listened concerned to the radio reports. -"This is the halfway hairpin. Kuno has gained a two car length gap over the S15 but the S15 is closing in again." Sakura grimaced. -"I don't like it, if he doesn't close the gap quickly he won't get a shot at Kuno on the tunnel straight." The next radio report came in. -"This is corner 58, Kuno's still leading but Ranma's closed the gap to a car length." -"It's not going to be enough is it?" Neji said sadly. -"Actually it's perfect." He replied. -"Huh?" Sakura shot Edy a surprised look. -"At a car length his S15 won't be in the WRX's slip stream, he won't have the acceleration to pass." She said desperately. -"He's not going to overtake on the straight, he's going to overtake at the exit." -"What, that's suicide, if he messes it up, it's a two hundred foot drop off the edge. He could kill himself." -"Have some faith in him Sakura. Besides I saw his eyes, he had to beat Kuno, I don't know why but for him it was win or die. If I hadn't told him to make a move there, he would have been much more likely to mess up."

Edy was cut off by the radio as the marshal at the tunnel straight came on. -"Kuno and the S15 just entered the straight, the S15 is trying to overtake but it's just too far behind, they're at the corner now. Wait the S15 isn't braking." The radio went dead and immediately the crowd gasped in excitement.

Inside the S15 Ranma watched the back of the WRX as he barrelled down the straight closing the distance to almost an inch then at the last second as they reached the braking zone Ranma swung to the outside and as Kuno's car whizzed backwards past him in a cloud of tyre smoke and squealing brakes Ranma popped the clutch and swung inwards ever so lightly balancing accelerator and clutch as he span the wheels kicking the back of the car out in a wide arc then as grip returned to the rear, he floored the accelerator and pushed the car in a graceful slide through the Apex of the corner, out the exit and away down the road.

The radio's exploded with noise as the marshal shouted into the handset and above all the static Edy, Sakura and Neji heard, -"He passed him. The S15 passed Kuno with the most incredible drift I've ever seen." Edy beamed wide at Sakura and Neji's faces frozen in shock. Another marshal's voice could now be heard. "The S15 just past and Kuno's way behind, he just can't keep up any more. The S15 will win." Sakura started jumping about wildly cheering. -"I knew it, I knew he could do it. Go Ranma." She cried. Edy and Neji laughed. -"See I told you, have some faith. That boy is going to be a great street racer. Come on let's go down and congratulate him." The three members of team Myst ran to their cars as did a number of the spectator's eager to see the person who had so dramatically beaten one of the best racers on the mountain.

At the bottom of the mountain Kuno confronted Ranma. -"Well Soatome. It looks like I underestimated you once again. Changing drift types so suddenly was very cunning of you. I know now I must practice more techniques for my WRX." -"You're keeping it, you're not going to throw it away." -"Why should I, I was beaten by you not by my old S15." Ranma opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. -"I don't know how you got my beloved to part with the gift I gave her no doubt some witchcraft or other but you drive it too well to take it away. Tell her to come see me and I shall give her another. We shall meet again Ranma Soatome and next time I will win." With that Kuno climbed back into his car and left leaving Ranma to digest the conversation.

But soon there was a crowd around him congratulating him on the victory and Neji was there shaking his hand and Sakura, who leapt upon him to hug him with all her might till he started to blush. -"Well done Ranma. I knew you could do it." Edy said warmly. -"Thanks to you, if you hadn't taught me that technique or told me where to overtake…" Edy stopped him. -"You'd have found another way, you surpassed all my expectations tonight Ranma and it was all your skill. I'm beginning to understand just how powerful you are." Ranma blushed again.

As the crowd began to drift away and head home for the night Sakura shared a smile with her friends. -"Well, shall we go? I know where there's a party when could go to." The others laughed and Edy put his arm around her shoulder pulling her close. -"Sounds like a plan to me."