Ichikawa Showdown (Street Legends Saga Short)

The Night Chase | Uphill Run

-Ichikawa Reigon, Japan: 2:30 a.m-

The town was silent, everyone was asleep.

Everyone, but two people at least.

Asuka was a 19-year old girl, who loved racing. She wore a red and black plaid sweater, with a white t-shirt inside, light blue ripped jeans, and red and white Air Jordan 1's. She had long black hair, and was always determined to show off her worth. She drove a completely stock 2019 Toyota 86, in orange.

Kenji was 23-years old, and Asuka's older brother. He wore a black bomber jacket, with a yellow t-shirt under. He wore grey jeans, and yellow Converse All-Star's, and had blonde dyed hair. He shared the same 86 as Asuka for some time, until he finally was able to buy his own 2022 Toyota GR86. His was red, with black rims, completely stock as well. He had been waiting to have this match with his sister, ever since the GR86 was announced and he decided to buy one. He was soft spoken, but was skilled on many courses.

Just outside the town, there was a narrow mountain road, that led to a turnpike at its peak. The town was small, quiet, and peaceful. The streets were narrow, and bland, with multiple homes and small shops next to each other. They were surrounded by trees, all around, with a small waterfall just up ahead.

At the bottom of the mountain road, Asuka and Kenji were parked next to each other, both of their modern eight-sixes rumbling quietly. Asuka stepped out of her 86, and Kenji stepped out of his GR86, walking over to each other in front of their cars.

"You know, I don't have the torque dip that yours has." Kenji teased, with a slight smile.

Asuka rolled her eyes.

"And I'm better at this road than you are." She said confidently. She was ready for this battle, she trained nonstop just to prove to her brother that you don't need the newest to be the best.

"Since you're slower, you can lead up to the-" Kenji began to speak.

"Nah, you go first." Asuka cut him off, "I can keep up."

Kenji nodded, impressed by her confidence.

"Alright, you'll lead on the way down then."

Kenji walked over to his driver side door, opening it and sitting down. Asuka did the same. She sat down, and slid her hands around the steering wheel. She didn't care that there was a new eight-six, she still loved her's the way it was.

Kenji put his GR86 into track mode, and suddenly the digital gauge cluster changed to a sportier, horizontal gauge that had an inclined slope for the higher rpms. He revved up to about 5,000 rpms, looking over to Asuka on his right. She did the same, looking over to him. He put up three fingers. He mouthed each number as he counted down:

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

Kenji slammed the gas pedal and his GR86 took off. Just about a second later, Asuka did the same just to let him lead. Both of their 4-cylindered lightweight sports cars rumbled through the quiet town. Up first was a right corner, and Asuka quickly realized that she may have underestimated the GR86. Asuka followed closely behind Kenji, but the GR86 was a bit quicker. Exiting the corner, she felt the back end kick out a little bit: just the nature of the eight-six.

She dumped the clutch and shifted into 3rd. Kenji was pushing hard, forming a gap slowly.

Damn! She thought, he really does have more torque!

But she wasn't about to let that stop her.

Kenji felt confident as he drove. The GR86 was the same recipe as the 86, with more. Slightly bigger engine, and a little more horsepower definitely made a difference on this road. They came up to the short tunnel section near the small waterfall. Kenji shifted down into second as he cornered right into the tunnel. On exit, the GR86's back end slid out a little. He smiled slightly, shifting up into 3rd. Both the GR86 and the 86's rumbling were amplified as they drove through the tunnels. The adrenaline ran through both of their veins. The road had leveled out on these corners, giving both cars and drivers a fair shot.