Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Initial D Fan Fiction ❯ Initial D: Anything Goes Drift Racing ❯ Season 2: Chapter 6: Phone Call. ( Chapter 15 )

Initial D: Mt Furinken. Anything Goes Drift Racing.

Season 2: Chapter 6: Phone Call.

Ranma had planned to find Neji as soon as he could, so he could call Edy but as it was Edy called him first.

"Hello Edy. So where are you?"

"Venice. Listen I wanted to talk to you about last night."

"Last night?" Ranma asked confused.

"You raced against Mitzuki."

"How did you know?"

"You and Neji aren't the only people I know there."

"Ok I guess. Listen I want to ask you some stuff which, well ire ally need to know."

"You want to know why I didn't teach you the air feint drift. The answer is simple, you weren't ready. I saw how you learnt by copying and since I never got a chance to teach you I knew sooner or later you'd race Mitzuki and pick it up off him, though frankly from the reports I got you surpassed what I expected."

"Ok, well I guess I can accept that but there's something else. Why did you never go full out, show me how fast you really were, if you can beat Mitzuki then I must have seemed so slow practising."

"The same reason I didn't show you the air feint Ranma, if I had you would have tried to copy me but speed like that is not something you can get instantly no matter how incredibly skilled and naturally talented you may be. I knew when you were ready you'd find a way for yourself." Ranma sighed but not in annoyance or disappointment for he knew the reasons were correct but in acceptance of the fact that there as obviously still plenty more he needed to learn before he could truly reach his maximum limits.

"Now, if your curiosity is satisfied for the moment I will tell you the real reason I called. I want you to ring Ryosuke Takahashi and accept his challenge for the uphill and the downhill."

"What?" Ranma almost squeaked, he felt very confused this was the last thing he had expected. "Why? He already said he wouldn't race on Furinken till they had worked out a way to compensate for the speed of the cars."

"There already is a way Ranma and you know it." Ranma thought for a minute, suddenly he knew what Edy meant.

"The second course. You want me to race them on the hidden road?"

"Exactly. That road has only very short straights and complex corners. It is a course that challenges even the best drivers and one where all cars are even regardless of engine size. It's all down to skill."

"But why do you want me to race them. Mitzuki is still faster than me and he's raced the road before."

"Mitzuki will never race on that road again, he hides it well but he is very superstitious and he still believes it is bad luck. Besides it will be good training for you, the air drift technique was created by the racers of Mt Furinken purely for that course."

"I understand but tell me something else. Have you heard of Project D before, how good are they?"

"Well I did look into them, they go from mountain to mountain challenging the best teams and setting the fastest course records and as I understand it so far, they are unbeaten." Ranma felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

"Unbeaten. Surely there's no way I can beat them then if the course is so difficult." Edy laughed quietly.

"Ranma you have already beaten them once on the main course because they recognised you were to fast to beat there so take heart in that even if you loose. But I believe you can win, you have all the skills and the talent now to become one of the fastest racers ever, you just have to learn how to use them and the hidden road can teach you. Anyway against these guys, winning or loosing doesn't really matter just so long as you race your best against them without holding anything back."

"Ok Edy, I'll do it but I can't promise I'll win though I swear to you I will do my best."

"Good. Now you'll need Takahashi's phone number." Edy gave Ranma the number then said goodbye. He hung up the cell phone and looked at Sakura who sat opposite him in the narrow boat, she smiled.

"You think he'll win."

"I don't know, this time I really don't know but if he can understand the skills he has now, then yes. I think he could even beat me eventually." He replied leaning back in the punt enjoying the gentle sway of the water. Sakura merely arched an eyebrow.

"Now there's a race I'd like to see."

"Well sooner or later, you may just get your wish." He winked at her and then turned to watch the lights of the city and the people stumbling out of the clubs to find the closest boat that would take them home. A strange city and no doubt, he thought.

Back in Japan Ranma decided to head to the dojo so he could work out his body while he worked out exactly what Edy had meant on the phone and what he would do next. That was the most infuriating thing, Ranma thought about Edy, he had a way of speaking in riddles that you didn't realise were riddles until you'd actually done whatever it was he was talking about. Besides his arm still hurt from the night before and if the air drift technique was important on the other Mt Furinken course he wanted to be able to use it which meant working on his upper body limits.

Once he was finished Ranma decided, he would give Ryosuke a call to accept the challenge and then drive up to the hidden road to check it out in person. He sighed, it looked like he was finally going to start racing people who would really test his skills and now he wasn't sure if that was such a good thing but then he'd never shied away from a challenge and anyway if it meant learning to be faster then he had to do it.