The Rise of Usui's Ghost

Chapter 1

Usui Pass, Gunma Prefecture, Japan

2:54AM

The sound of tires screeching reverberated across the dark and lonely valley, with the audible roar of a high pitched engine echoing across the mountain pass.

From her view in the passenger seat, Reina looked on as her older brother downshifted to prepare for the upcoming corner. With a very smooth jolt, she felt the car turn and watched as the car's front bumper inched ever closer to the guardrail, missing it by mere centimeters while the rear end slid through the curve with very practiced ease.

'A beautiful drift,' she thought. The moment he exited the corner, Reina realized that they had finally reached the part she dreaded the most. To many it was a nightmare to tackle the corner at such a high speed. She held on to her seat for dear life as she felt the car shift into 5th gear, accelerating with remarkably fast pace through the familiar narrow 'S' turn that always came before C=121.

Just as the curve seemed to end, the engine's roar seemed to grow louder as it downshifted once again in preparation for the wide corner. She continued to watch, her heartbeat continuing to race as the 16-valve motor sang along 4th gear after the downshift as her brother entered the corner at nearly 100km/h, following a feint from the inside lane. With extraordinary control, her eyes remained on him as he demonstrated an almost professional execution of his heel-and-toe technique that sent the car into a four wheel drift.

Reina felt incredibly scared she the car drifted through the entire corner flawlessly, noticing how her brother continued to floor the accelerator, pinning the throttle and the almost subtle and delicate control on the steering wheel as he cleared C=121.

'It's incredible, the light body coupled with the astounding work he did on the suspension makes it feel as if it's turned into a completely different car! It runs smoothly, and the audible hiss provided by the turbo makes it sound so aggressive! You outdid yourself Onii-chan!'

As soon as they cleared the corner, she remained amazed at how much her brother had borrowed from Kakeru's time when they raced back in New Zealand; the wonderful balance exhibited by the car became very apparent as he steered slightly to the left to counter the upcoming right hairpin turn through the use of an inertia drift as she was thrown to the left, held down by the G-force. This she knew for a fact to be a lesson that he had learned from him. A small pained smile showed up across her lips as the car shot through the dark touge; the squealing of tires and ever present scream by the engine, were the only indication that there was still life in the otherwise desolate mountain pass.

11:16AM

It was finally Saturday, and Sayuki had to admit that she was really looking forward to having the weekend to herself after working an almost obscene amount of hours in the local car magazine company as the chief editor.

Like a cat performing its ritual stretching, she began to pop her joints and sighed in contentment as she thought of what she would do to occupy her weekend.

It had been ten months since Impact Blue had formally disbanded for a year, and although she missed driving through Usui with Mako, she received either a call or a letter almost every two weeks as Mako told her of the racing scene in Tokyo. At times the driver of the blue Sileighty had conceded that many racers in Tokyo often chose to race on the Wangan rather than the challenging twists and turns of a touge and that she often missed that. Nonetheless, she had encountered an incredible driver who was regarded as the best on both the Wangan and the nearby mountains. It was rumored to be a very young man driving a white FD, but that he had disappeared before she could formally challenge him.

As soon as she was about to step into the bathroom, her cell phone began to ring.

'Jeez, who would call me this early in the morning?' She thought.

Pursing her lips, she walked over to her night stand and saw Shingo's caller ID on the screen.

'Figures.'

"Moshi-moshi, what do you need Shingo?"

"Ah Sayuki-chan, I was calling to ask you about a shop run by the name Matsumoto? I heard that there was this pretty young guy who worked at the shop in the area you live in? Apparently I'm hearing nothing but praises from Nakazato after he had his Three-Two tuned by him. I know that you featured it in one of your articles, and I was hoping you could point me in that direction."

"Hm, you must be talking about Matsumoto Speed, the owner of the shop is actually Project D's chief mechanic. Anyway, the shop is pretty much around the center of town here in Matsuida. You're from around here, so I doubt you'll get lost."

"Right, either way I want you to come with me. I won't take no for an answer. I know for a fact that you've been working like crazy and don't deny it, so I'll wait until you take your shower. Lunch is on me; and by the way, I'm parked outside."

Sayuki's eyes widened, "What? What the hell makes you think that you could just show up here uninvited Shingo?! Have you no sense of propriety?!"

She rushed towards her drawn curtain and threw them aside. And sure enough, a bright red EG6 was parked beside the curb right in front of her house. Shingo provided her with a small wave and a cheeky smile.

"Good morning Sayuki-chan! Take your time I have all day."

The buxom brunette hung up and clenched her phone with a shaking fist as she threw open the sliding door, "You'd better be ready to pay for a very expensive lunch Singo-baka!"

Shingo laughed awkwardly as he began to notice that several of Sayuki's neighbors had watched her entire tirade; several people outside whispered amongst themselves of the loud and boisterous woman that stood in the balcony yelling at him at the top of her lungs.

Apparently, Sayuki was not as ignorant as Shingo had been lead to believe as she quickly took note of this fact and quickly apologized with a great blush of embarrassment on her face before retreating back to her room; closing the sliding door with a resounding slam.

'Lively as always Sayuki-chan.' Shingo thought to himself.

Surprisingly enough, Sayuki took less than thirty minutes to take a shower and get dressed before she emerged from her house to see her childhood friend leaning on his EG with his arms crossed, paitently waiting for her with a slight smile on his face.

"You'd better have a good reason for ruining my Saturday Shingo, and I know for a fact that you don't need me to go to Matsumoto Speed, so what's really on your mind?"

"Don't be so cold Sayuki-chan, I actually wanted to see you, and besides it's been ages since we last got to hang out like this. What I wanted to ask you can wait until we reach the restaurant. In the meantime, hop in."

Sayuki rolled her eyes, "Tch, whatever. You said you're paying right? Then how about you take me to this new restaurant that sells the town's greatest sushi?"

"Alright, you've got yourself a deal. Point me in the right direction."

Sayuki allowed herself a small smile and chuckled as the two friends drove off for lunch.

"Wow, this sushi is actually amazing! The wasabi adds a nice touch of spiciness as well." Singo declared.

"Told you," Sayuki said before taking a drink from her green tea.

"Anyway, what's this all about? Why did you randomly show up at my house without even calling ahead?"

Shingo stopped chewing for a moment as he heard her ask her question, and gagged as the unfinished sushi roll went down his through painfully. He quickly drank from his own tea and sighed in relief, looking up to see Sayuki struggling to contain her amusement.

"Alright, all jokes aside Sayuki-chan, I've been hearing some rumors lately about a silver car doing runs at Usui late at night almost every day. From what my teammates told me, it's insanely fast, and yet no one has been able to identify the car to me. I'm curious to know who this driver is, because no one has managed to even catch the car once they get past C=121. You'd be surprised to know that some even believe it to be a ghost."

"What? That's insane! The only person who has ever managed to lose a car when racing after that corner was Mako!" Sayuki declared in utter shock.

He nodded, "I know, and from what I've been told, that car is either packing an incredible amount of horsepower under the hood, or it is an incredible cornering machine. One of my teammates told me that it was a two-door hatchback. Other than that I don't know much else."

Sayuki leaned back on her chair, frowning at the news that had she had just received. No one had ever managed to successfully claim to be the faster car at Usui except her and Mako. And now it seemed as if someone decided to take advantage of the fact that Impact Blue had disbanded and usurp their position. It almost seemed cowardly.

"Do you know when this car does its runs Shingo? I want to see it in action, and I want to know who this driver is!"

"Yeah, Nakazato and a few other members of the Night Kids decided that today would be a good change of pace to race around Usui, we're meeting up around 11 and stick around until 3 at the very least. Do you want to come along and see if this car shows up?"

Sayuki nodded, "Yes, I'll go. In the meantime, let's get your EG to the shop. Matsumoto may be in today since Project D isn't racing for at least another two months due to the damage that Keiskue Takahashi's FD suffered on the front left suspension."

"Ah I heard about that. I'm surprised that he managed to win the race in a borrowed car as well."

"Mhm."

"Here's your bill sir." A young and pretty waitress handed him the receipt.

"Thank y-" Shingo froze as he looked at the total amount due.

'15,000 yen for a full course of sushi?! What the hell are these things made of?!'

"Now just pull in here."

Just as Sayuki had indicated, Matsumoto Speed was only a few kilometers away from the center of town, and Shingo was utterly surprised by how large the Tuner Shop was.

There were at least a total of five lifts all with cars currently being serviced on, and the most striking car there was the bright yellow FD which they all knew belonged to Keisuke Takahashi.

Rows of varieties of different makes of cars were all parked neatly next to each other and one could easily tell that they were tuned to be at their optimum level.

'It's like candy land for any car enthusiast…' Shingo thought dreamily.

He parked his EG next to a striking white FD which he had never seen before, but quickly noted that it actually had Tokyo plates.

'Wow, this place has got customers coming from pretty far just to get their car tuned.'

A young man approached them and bowed formally, "Welcome to Matsumoto Speed, my name is Ichinose Akio, how may I assist you today?"

"Actually Ichinose-san, I was wondering if you could identify the young man who has been rumored to have an incredible touch in regards to tuning engines. Do you happen to know who he is?" Shingo asked.

"Ah, that means you must be here for the new kid, Kurokawa-san. Hold on a moment, I'll go get him."

The pair watched as Ichinose approached a pair of legs that were stuck under Keisuke's FD. Sayuki took notice of the fact that Matsumoto was nowhere to be seen and the young man who Ichinose was speaking to was also the only person working strictly on the RX-7.

"Oi Shingo, have you noticed how he's the only person working on Takahashi's FD?"

"Hm?"

"Why a kid as young as him would be working on the car of one of Project D's aces alone seems a bit out of place? Matsumoto is the team's chief mechanic and he works on both cars by himself and a select few within his circle. And yet he leaves him to work on the car by himself with what seems the upmost trust. He must have a very high opinion of him to just let someone as young as him work on the car by himself."

Shingo mulled over this full analysis his friend just made and readily agreed with the points she just presented.

Sayuki and Shingo were still curious about the whole situation as the young man approached the two along with Ichinose and bowed formally as well.

The two eyed him with interest as they noticed that his features were quite defined and handsome. With his dark, medium-length brown hair slightly parting to the right with his bangs swept, and resting just above his right eye that cast a slight shadow over the warm and inviting brown eyes. It was clear to Sayuki that he must have been at least of European descent.

"Hello, I am Kurokawa Yuzuru. How may I be of assistance?"

"Ah, so you're the one that Nakazato wouldn't shut up about. You're pretty young to be working here kid, how old are you?"

"19." He replied.

'Wow! He's cute! And he knows his way around cars!'

"I see, either way Kurokawa-san, my name is Shoji Shingo, while this one next to me is my childhood friend, Sayuki." The blonde haired man said offhandedly. He offered him his hand and the younger man shook it with a broad smile.

"Pleased to mean you Shoji-san, Sayuki-san. So what can I help you with?"

"Well there isn't much really, but I was hoping you could take a look at my EG. I feel as if the VTEC is engaging and yet I lose power, and it's starting to bother me when I'm running the downhill on Myogi."

Yuzuru nodded, and placed his cap on his head, "I assume your EG is the one parked next to my FD?"

Ichinose retreated back to the shop as Shingo led them back to his Honda.

"Wait so you're the owner of that white FD? Why does it have Tokyo plates?"

The brown haired mechanic chuckled, "Well that's cause I just recently moved from Tokyo after graduating high school. It was time for a change and I was getting sick of the city so I decided to come back to Gunma, since it's where I'm from."

Sayuki eyed him curiously, "You're a Gunma native? How come you seem s-so,"

Yuzuru shook his head, a slight smile across his lips. "You can say it, it's not going to offend me Sayuki-san; other than my name, I don't really have any other distinct Japanese features."

"If you'd like I'll explain later, just let me check up on your car."

Shingo agreed, and popped the hood to reveal a heavily modified B16A1 as the car's platform.

Yuzuru instantly went to work, assessing each and every crucial detail the engine had to offer.

'Let's see, he's running an NA platform with modified headers, exhaust, air filter kit and individual throttle bodies. Alright, now if memory serves me, the VTEC normally engages around 5500-5700RPM on a stock engine but it's got a modified intake and exhaust. But if he's running a set of high performance aftermarket cams it would be in a range of at least 6300-6500RPM.'

He looked over to Shingo before eyeing the engine once again. "Have you by any chance replaced the original cams on this engine Shoji-san?"

"Yes, I bought a set of racing cams from Mugen about a month ago and had them installed since the original ones that came with the engine were beginning to wear out very fast."

Yuzuru shook his head, "Did you take the car on a dyno run after you did this? I can tell that you're a person who takes care of this car as if their life depended on it."

"No, unfortunately at the time I wasn't able to because of the fact that I needed the car to drive to a few races I wanted to watch and it wasn't until the last few weeks that I noticed the dip in power."

"I understand, but Shoji-san, this problem you have is very minor, all I would have to do is take it to the dyno and run a couple of tests to set up the new RPM range in which the VTEC will engage. Is there anything else you want me to take a look at? The chassis or suspension perhaps?"

"Well I did want to adjust the gear ratio of the car as well to improve acceleration and add more torque."

"You seem to do a lot of grip runs don't you Shoji-san? In that case, I have the ideal set up for your car. But first things first, let's get it to the dyno."

Sayuki continued to watch Yuzuru with great interest. It was clear to her that the young man was utterly passionate about cars and how they work, but she had never seen someone so enthusiastic about testing different set ups on the car other than her best friend Mako. The driver of their blue Sileighty was often adventurous in regards to testing each and every possibility with their car until she found a way to improve her style, to ensure that it only made them even faster at Usui.

She missed her friend dearly, but found comfort in the fact that Mako had promised her that she would return after a year in Tokyo. But at the same time she hoped that her friend would come back with a desire to return to racing at Usui, and maybe even would travel to other places in order to improve their skills. After all, they simply couldn't let their title as Usui's fastest be taken by some no-name racer who showed up out of nowhere.

Within a matter of two hours, Yuzuru managed to complete the full tests of the dyno run and set up the new VTEC engagement along with the fine tunings of the gear ratio right before the clock struck 3 in the afternoon. It was almost a record time, and both Shingo and Sayuki were floored by how efficient he was.

Yuzuru stopped for a moment to look at his watch. 'She gets out at 4:30 today, looks like I've only got about an hour and a half until I've got to pick her up. Better wrap this up soon then.'

"Very well Shoji-san, now all that's left is to take the car on a test run and see how it performs on the road."

The group of three piled into the EG with Shingo in the driver's seat and headed for Usui Pass.

"Sayuki, are you sure that there aren't that many cars driving around Usui this early in the afternoon?"

"Oi who do you think you're asking here? You do realize that I would normally spend almost every night here back in the day Shingo!"

The mechanic chuckled at the pair's banter, "If you don't mind me asking Sayuki-san, but what do you mean that you used spend nights around Usui?"

The brunette's face lit up the moment the question left her lips and she eagerly moved up from her place in the back seat to talk to him.

"Well Yuzuru-kun, I used to be part of a team with a very good friend of mine who is among the best drivers I've ever known. No one has even managed to beat her here at Usui except for one person. Either way, I was her co-pilot and navigator. We called ourselves Impact Blue, and drive a blue Sileighty; hence the name. We were the fastest in Usui and I'd be willing to wager that we still are!"

'Bloody hell, she's a prideful one ain't she… And a Sileighty as well; must be a coincidence.'

"And who was your driver Sayuki-san?"

"Well that would be Sato Mako. She's been racing in Tokyo for the last 10 months."

"I see."

'So that woman in the blue Sileighty that was attracting attention back in Tokyo was her. What a small world this is.'

"Still," Shingo interrupted. "When all that's been said and done, you were still beaten by Akina's Eight-Six, isn't that right Sayuki?"

'Akina's Eight-Six? Looks like I've got a lot of information to dig up before I start racing around here. I need to get even better and better until I find –'

Yuzuru was quickly brought out of his thoughts as he felt the car accelerate almost instantly as Shingo tackled the first corner. He eyed the tachometer and listened in to the sound of the roaring B16 and grinned as soon as it passed 6400RPM, hearing the VTEC kick in and its response was almost immediate. There was absolutely no power loss, and he shuddered at the sound of a mechanically tuned engine. Very few cars ever managed to produce such a lovely sound, and he had to admit that among those power plants, 4AGEs, SR20DETs, and 13Bs were among the best. His new project although it had a turbo charged engine, was symphonic to his ears due to the sound the blow off valve made on downshifts in particular.

He looked over and was pleased to see the broad smile Shingo had across his lips. No doubt, he was pleased with his work. Nevertheless, he did feel a bit dismayed by the fact that the EG was a front wheel drive car. At almost every corner Shingo took that was very tight, he implemented the E-brake in order to avoid the car's very visible understeer.

'Apparently he still needs to master the true essence of taking a corner with as much speed as possible. It would be much better if he used the throttle to steer. That way it would counteract the understeer with oversteer. Coming off the throttle would shift the weight of the car from the back to the front to increase the grip. If only he did this himself, he would realize just how effective the gear ratio set up along with the VTEC would be. It's a deadly combination.'

Yuzuru suppressed a frown, as they reached the part of the road which expanded to include two rest areas on either side.

"Shoji-san, would you mind if I drive on the way back? I want to test something out with your car and see how it responds."

Sayuki and Shingo glanced over to Yuzuru, traces of surprise evident on their faces. Shingo himself was a bit unwilling to let someone he just met drive his precious EG, but if he could tune his car to such a point of perfection, he found no reason to not allow him this small favor.

"Uh sure, just let me pull in to the rest area and we can swap places."

Both Sayuki and Shingo watched Yuzuru intently, as he floored the accelerator with little to no hesitation. The EG's fierce growl continued upon shifting into fourth gear as the first corner lay only a few hundred meters before them.

"Oi, shouldn't you start breaking?" Shingo asked cautiously.

"Brake! Brake!"

Yuzuru had to restrain a laugh from his position in the driver's seat as he kicked the clutch, downshifting with the flawless execution of heel-and-toe and felt the car jolt suddenly and easily steered through the oncoming turn, only guiding the car through very subtle steering maneuvers and frequent use of the throttle.

"Oh my god!" Shingo yelled at the top of his lungs.

'And we're not even drifting… If we were in my car this guy would have already passed out.' He thought gleefully.

Throughout the entire ride through Usui Pass, Sayuki did not even flinch once, and settled for watching and analyzing his driving style.

'Double clutching, heel-and-toe, throttle control; this guy's pulling out all the stops! Just who is he? Only 19 years old and he's already driving like a pro around Usui. It's like he knows what to expect every time he takes a corner at full speed. He knows how to counteract the car's massive understeer and adds the perfect amount of grip necessary to the front tires without losing any traction. Just who is this guy?'

The pace at which Yuzuru continued to race through the mountain pass was simply an amazing sight to behold, and Sayuki could tell that the young man looked completely relaxed, his eyes darting back and forth at the road before him.

Shingo however, continued to scream on his own, unable to believe that his car was so fast in the hands of person who just worked on it. As if his pride and ego had not taken a greater blow than the day he had lost against Akina's Eight-Six, another driver had just proven to be as insane as Fujiwara. No one could take corners at such a high speed without any regard for their own well-being.

'This kid's lost it!'

After completing the full test run at Usui, Yuzuru smiled once again, congratulating himself on a job well done.

He navigated the red Honda back into the parking lot of Matsumoto Speed and parked the car in the nearest spot he could find. Climing out of the driver's seat, he moved it forward to and held out a hand to let Sayuki out of the car.

Shingo however, took his sweet time getting out of the car as he was still shaking from the ride he just had.

Yuzuru glanced at him worriedly as Sayuki began to laugh, clutching her sides after seeing the look of horror still frozen on her childhood friend's face.

"Hey are you alright? Want me to get you some water or something?"

The blonde haired man stared at him blankly for a moment, as he still hadn't registered what the mechanic had just said. Thus he only nodded dumbly, leaning heavily on his car for support.

"Ah Kurokawa-kun there you are, I received word from Ichinose that you had stepped out to help out a customer. Have you managed to order the parts for the yellow FD?" Yuzuru turned to acknowledge the owner of the voice.

"Hai Tencho, I've managed to order all the parts as you specified, and the new body kit should be arriving with the next week or two. If you'd like me to I could repair the front left suspension fully, but I decided to wait on your judgment in case there was something you'd like me to do."

Matsumoto looked over to see Sayuki and Shingo both standing by the EG, "Oh, so it was you that came over to my shop Shoji. It seems I'm earning a reputation here along with young Kurokawa-kun here."

Yuzuru chuckled and scratched the back of his head humbly, "I just do what I normally do Tencho."

The shop owner smiled, "I know, and thanks for leaving the car as is. It's better to have all the parts here before I ask Rysouke what it is he wants me to do before starting work."

"By the way Matsumoto-san could you perhaps tell me when Project D's next race is? I want to cheer them on," asked Sayuki.

The chief mechanic stroked his clean shaven face for a moment, trying to calculate the time range in which the FD would most likely be racing at its full potential.

"Realistically, I would say about 2 months, but if we work endlessly, it should be ready at about a month and a half. We still need to repair the suspension, readjust it, install the new body kit, paint it, and finally tune the car." He replied.

"I know this may be sudden, but can someone tell me what is Project D?" Yuzuru inquired.

Three heads simultaneously turned to stare at the young mechanic incredulously. Both Sayuki and Shingo just remained silent. Unable to believe that a person with some of the most amazing driving skills they had seen could remain so ignorant to the racing scene in both Gunma and across Japan.

Meanwhile, Matsumoto shook his head in mild amusement once he realized that his best mechanic was just so oblivious sometimes.

"Project D is the racing team headed by Ryosuke Takahashi with two drivers known as their 'aces' Kurokawa-kun. In fact, Ryosuke is a personal friend of mine, and as a result I am the chief mechanic of the team. Anyway, in the team there is one downhill specialist and one uphill specialist. The downhill driver is Takumi Fujiwara, and he drives Akina's Eight-Six while the uphill driver is Ryosuke's younger brother Keisuke, and he drives that yellow FD you've been working on."

"Sumimasen, you see I just moved back to Gunma a few months ago."

"That's right! You said you would answer my questions Yuzuru-kun, so tell me why is it that you don't seem to know much about the things that are going on around you with the incredible driving skills you have?" Sayuki still remembered his promise to tell them about himself, so she took the chance as soon as she saw it.

Before Yuzuru could answer, a cell phone began to ring and he quickly answered it.

"Moshi-mosh-"

"What the hell onii-chan! You said you would be here on time today!"

Everyone stared blankly as they heard a loud voice on the other side of the phone.

"I am so sorry! Please wait for me I'll be right there in less than ten minutes I swear and then I'll take you wherever you want!"

"Is that a promise?" The voice on the other side of the phone asked.

"I promise, wherever you want."

"Alright then, I'll hold you to that."

With that he shut his phone with an audible snap and took off in the direction of his FD.

Matsumoto began to laugh as Sayuki and Shingo stood confused as to what had transpired.

"That Kurokawa-kun, it amazes me that he still manages to go through this back breaking work and still have time to care for his younger sister."

"What does he have an imouto complex?" Shingo remarked.

"Far from it actually, it just so happens that they live alone together and he is responsible for her care. Today happens to be her birthday actually, so he was in much higher spirits."

Sayuki smiled as the three watched the white FD pull out from its parking space. The hum from the rotary powered Mazda sat idle for only a few moments as the car quickly made a left turn. The high pitched shriek from the car as it shifted into 3rd gear followed by the audible whistle of the twin turbo charged car assaulted their ears; revealing a wonderfully tuned car.

Reina waited patiently by the curb in front of the main entrance to Matsuida Gakuen and glanced at her watch after saying goodbye to a few of her friends.

True to his words, she heard the familiar sound of her older brother's FD and smiled as it appeared down the street. He stopped right in front of her and gave her a wave along with one of his dazzling smiles.

'Looks like he brought Kakeru-nii's FD instead of his own car.'

Opening the door, she climbed into the car as he presented her a birthday card.

"Happy birthday Reina-chan. I'm sorry for being late, but as I promised I'll take you anywhere you'd like me to."

Reina chuckled, "It's alright onii-chan. Why don't we go home and take a shower before we actually go out? Besides, you stink of sweat."

"Are you sure?" He asked. "You only turn 16 once Reina-chan."

"I'm sure. After that we can come up with something to do for my birthday, just us two."

Yuzuru smiled brightly at her, "Alright then, it's your choice after all."

A/N:

Well, this is officially my first published fan fiction on the website. (I've written several, just haven't gotten to publish them as they are a work in progress!)

Please feel free to leave comments and message me if you like!

Constructive criticism is necessary, so I have absolutely no problems if you want to point out any flaws within my writing or with the way you see things.

To anyone who feels like flaming…Well you'll just be ignored.