Racing into the Night (Initial D fanfiction)

Chapter 5

Ryosuke carefully checked his calculations in the simulation on his computer. To him, racing required strategy, not just skill. He hummed and took a sip of his tea as he reviewed his findings. He had numerous goals at the moment. 

The 86 was on his mind. He knew that Karina was right, and that Takumi Fujiwara was not someone he could beat easily. He was someone he was going to have to watch and study to be able to best. 

Then there was Keisuke. A defeat marks an X on the Redsuns' map of victory. He was not disappointed in him in the least, but he had to figure out a way to help him get better. 

And lastly, there was Karina. The Moonlight Falcon. A girl with a powerful gift in racing that was tarnished by unfortunate events. He had never met another racer who thought about racing like he did. She used strategy for every move and combined it with skill to win. He used simulations to analytically plan out his strategy, but she did that all in her head. The thing is, her strategies were always different from his. They used the same principles, in different moments, an up and down of unpredictability that intrigued him. She raced like one would play chess. Were his strategies truly better? The accident that night had been unfortunate, he understands that. He was there to witness it. But, should that be the end of her potential?

Ryosuke mulled these thoughts over in his head. He had a lot of planning to do. 

--- 

The next week, Karina rushed out of her apartment for her shift at the hospital. She was running late. She ran out the front door and took the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. But the moment she stepped outside, she was greeted with an all too familiar white FC. 

"Hop in." Ryosuke said, rolling down the window. Karina stared at him, dumbfounded. Ryosuke chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. I'm picking you up because we'll be going to another race tonight. I don't want you to have to leave your car parked at the hospital and accrue more fees."

Karina sighed. She was running late and she trusted Ryosuke to get her there on time in one piece. 

"Fine." she agreed, hopping in. "But next time, you're warning me in advance before you pull something like this." Ryosuke laughed.

"I texted you but of course, you never check your messages." 

Karina looked at him in surprise and checked her phone. Sure enough, he had messaged her that morning. 

3 new messages from Ryosuke Takahashi:

Ryosuke Takahashi - 6:23am: The 86 is having another race tomorrow night. Keisuke and I are going to go scout, want to come?  I'll pick u up in the morning so u don't need to leave ur car at the hospital overnight

Ryosuke Takahashi - 6:45am: I'm assuming u haven't checked ur phone

Ryosuke Takahashi - 6:51am: I'm coming to pick u up anyway 

She sighed. Sometimes she feels like she can't win against Ryosuke. 

Once at the hospital both of them parted ways to their respective shifts. She was assigned to her anesthesiology rotation today. It was a long day of numerous surgeries and trauma codes. By the end of it, she felt like a rag doll. She changed out of her scrubs, feeling her muscles ache from standing and running around all day. She pulled on a skirt over black tights and a turtleneck sweater. Knee high boots were staples for the winter time. With a sigh she went to sit on the bench outside to wait for Ryosuke to finish his shift and finally checked her phone.

4 new messages from Kei Takahashi:

Kei Takahashi - 6:27pm: hey 

Kei Takahashi - 6:27pm: u coming to the race tn?

Kei Takahashi - 6:30pm: answer me 

Kei Takahashi - 6:31pm: brat

Karina rolled her eyes. Leave it to Keisuke to annoy her at the worse times. She typed back a reply, ignoring the fact that she was two hours late.

Karina Hirose - 8:30pm: *middle finger*

Kei Takahashi - 8:30pm: *middle finger*

Karina Hirose - 8:30pm: I was on a shift dumbass

Kei Takahashi - 8:31pm - yeah yeah just tell me if ur coming or not

Karina Hirose - 8:31pm: i am, ur brother basically left me without a ride home other than his dumb FC

Kei Takahashi - 8:31pm: ehh chill imma tell him u insulted his FC

Karina Hirose - 8:32pm: go ahead *middle finger*

Kei Takahashi - 8:32pm: *middle finger*

Karina couldn't help but grin at their messages. Keisuke had always been someone who was fun to text. 

"Ready to go?" 

Karina jumped and nearly dropped her phone onto the floor. 

"God, Ryosuke. Can you please stop doing that?" she demanded. Ryosuke looked down at her with amusement. 

"I've been standing here for a good minute and you didn't notice." he said. He raised his eyebrows at her phone. "Who are you texting?"

"Your annoying brother, if you must know." Karina slid her phone into her pocket.  

"Ah, I see. Well, let's head out. Nakazato is going against the 86 tonight."

"I know."

"You know, I met Nakazato just the other day. he tried to chase me down the pass."

Karina didn't reply. She did know about this. How? Because Takeshi called her up right afterwards.