--
--
"Don't you wanna stay here a little while?" Thomas' iPhone played country music as he stared at the ceiling of his room, arms laying out, daydreaming.
"Thomas." His father said, standing in his doorway.
"Someone is here to wish you a happy birthday."
"Who?" Thomas asked, turning down the music.
"Your uncle Ryosuke." David said, walking away.
Thomas shot up from his bed, running to Ryosuke Takahashi and hugging him.
"Uncle!!"
Ryosuke chuckled, "You know I'm not your actual uncle right? It's been 16 years! Well, as of today."
"You act like an uncle. But you drove all the way from Gunma to see me?"
"This is important enough to drive farther than Saitama. Come with me, I have something I wanted to show you." Ryosuke said, putting his hand over Thomas' shoulder.
"Hey David, I'm going to take your son here for a little drive, you mind?"
David smiled, knowing where Ryosuke was taking him, "Sure."
--
"This Prius is old." Thomas said sitting in its passenger seat, "What is it, a '97 or a '98 model?"
Ryosuke turned on the engine and gunned the Prius out of the driveway.
"Its a '98 model. I got it cheap, and it runs fine, so I'm all right with driving it."
--
Ryosuke reached his destination, a tiny garage in the middle of the city.
Thomas looked at Ryosuke as he drew a key and unlocked the roll up door to the garage.
There was a car covered by a tan brown sheet, covered in dust.
Ryosuke gripped the cover and threw it off, revealing a shiny crystal white FC3S.
"Whoa... An RX-7? Awesome!" Thomas said kneeling to admire it.
"I redid her paint job, made sure all of her systems were running fine. She's been sitting in here for 17 years, good as new."
"Damn," Thomas said looking at her hood, seeing his reflection glare back at him, "This car looks nice."
"It runs perfectly, her twin turbines are working well. She only has...96K km on her. Which is precisely why I kept her in here, so she'd be at top notch performance when I gave it to you." Ryosuke explained.
Thomas' eyes widened, "You're giving her to me?"
"Yes. I mean I did keep her in storage for 17 years for you, the least you could do Thomas is take it."
"Hell yeah I'll take this car, can I see her interior?"
"Sure." Ryosuke drew the keys from his pocket and hopped in the drivers seat on the right side, letting Thomas enter next to him.
Thomas whistled, "These bucket seats are comfortable, are these racing class?"
"Yup, the car runs like it did when I became the fastest in Kanto." Ryosuke said.
"You became the fastest in Kanto?" Thomas asked.
Ryosuke nodded, "I actually beat your dad with this car. On Mount Akina really."
"You beat my dad?"
"Uh-huh, and a whole lot of other people too."
"When was your first victory?" Thomas asked.
Ryosuke smiled, "I'm glad you asked, here, listen."
He opened the glove compartment and drew a cassette.
Ryosuke put it in the cassette player and hit play.
------------------
Thomas Friedland:
------------------
(Video above plays)
"I was 18, which was 25 years ago." Ryosuke explained, "In those days, only the fastest ruled the Toge, or the mountain passes. On my way back from a medical conference, I found an S13 driving on Usui."
"You two battled?"
"It was back in my lone wolf days, I was becoming the White Comet of Akagi. I was just driving, he started going really fast and..."
-Usui Pass, 1990. Midnight.-
The cassette began to play, "This FC is driving super fast! The S13 is slipping!!"
"Wait. Someone was recording the battle?" Thomas asked.
"There was this red S30 Fairlady following us, I didn't know he was recording it."
"These two are really fighting it out! This S13 can barely hang on when entering a corner!"
"What's a corner?" Thomas asked.
"A sharp curve you have to drift on, they're also called hairpins."
...
Ryosuke shifted gears, turning heavily and drifting left behind the S13, pressing right up to his bumper.
The brown haired S13 driver looked in his rear view mirror and grunted,'This guy's fast!'
Ryosuke understood the situation immediately, his black hair hanging above his calculating eyes.
The FC flew around a corner, the car's tires screeching.
"I can barely keep up with both of them! They're going so fast!!" The S30 driver said.
Ryosuke looked at the bumper of the S13, gripping the steering wheel and concentrating on the battle.
The S13 whipped around a turn, drifting quickly.
The FC began to increase in speed, Ryosuke pressing the 13-BT rotary engine.
Ryosuke started to drift incredibly well, especially for his first time battling.
He smiled and said, "This battle's mine, I just have to choose when to pass him, and I'll win."
The S13 driver started to get nervous, pressing the gas and accelerating through the drift, failing to loose Ryosuke who still followed him into the corner.
Ryosuke felt the turbocharger spool up, the energy of his engine at his palms.
He took the exterior line from the S13, passing him instantly.
"There's a truck coming!! They're about to crash!!!"
The cassette cut, garbling out...
----
Thomas shot up from his seat and asked, "That's it? What happened next?"
Ryosuke sighed and took the tape out, and said, "We all came out okay. I won, and I never saw either of them again, until I ran into the S30 driver. He actually became my biggest fan and recorded all of my battles."
"Are they online or something?"
"Online?" Ryosuke laughed, "No. Here they are."
Ryosuke took out two tapes from the glove compartment and passed them to Thomas.
"What are these?" Thomas asked looking at them.
"They're videocassettes, your dad has a VCR in his basement, you should watch them whenever you need some -ahem- inspiration."
Ryosuke put his finger on one tape and said, "This is the recording of David and I doing our exhibition battle in '98. And this one, is a compilation of all my battles."
Thomas asked, "So this FC, is the same car that you used to become the fastest in Kanto?"
"Yeah, I want you to go up to Sadamine tonight. Just one drive by yourself, and this FC. You'll understand the power of this car."
"Uh, won't I crash?"
Ryosuke smiled, "No. You have your father's instincts, and his instincts are the stuff of legend. Here's what you should do. Try drifting tonight, if you like it, you can keep improving your drift. As you slowly progress, I'll boost your rotary engine with slightly more horsepower."
"How much horsepower does she have now?"
"210. I removed all her turbo chargers so its a lot easier to control. But as you get better, I'll add more and more horsepower to improve her power output. You'll get better, and your engine will get stronger."
"Really?"
"Of course. You'll be able to control faster and faster drifts progressively, and then when she's maxed out, you'll be at the level of a master."
"Whoa, drift master..." Thomas said dreamily.
"That'll take years. Make Sadamine your home course. When you get good enough, you'll be able to tackle courses like Shomaru Pass and others around Saitama to refine your adaptability skills. And then I'll give you these."
A glow came from a brown cardboard box Ryosuke pulled from underneath the drivers seat.
He opened it and said, "These are my racing stickers I used when I was the White Comet of Akagi. When you become a master, to me, I'll give you these stickers and everyone will understand your power."
Thomas stuttered, "But I'm just 16. Not a drift legend... I-I-I...."
"You have your father's blood running through your veins. Make drifting a hobby of yours and have fun, relax. The fun of the Toge will hit you I promise."
"Yeah, I'll try it. Thank you for the FC uncle, come here." Thomas said.
Thomas hugged him and said, "Do you know where Sadamine is?"
Ryosuke laughed, "Did you forget the fact that its 2015? Use google maps, damn."
Thomas blushed, "Sorry. I wonder how fast I'll be able to go tonight..."
"Don't worry about speed, technique comes first, then speed." Ryosuke said.
----
That night...
(I wish plays)
Thomas looked down Sadamine Pass, laying on the right side of his new FC sighing and saying, "I'll become a drift master like you uncle, I promise."
He opened the door to the drivers seat and hopped in.
Thomas keyed the ignition and started up the 13-BT engine, revving it up a little, hearing it purr, and speeding down the first straight.
'My first time drifting,' Thomas thought,'I hope I don't crash...'
The FC's tires spun, Thomas' first ever hairpin approached, a sharp right, his eyes widening, and he felt his blood pump through his body.
His heart began to pound against his chest like a jackhammer, beginning to sweat a little as the corner approached.
Thomas felt his hands and feet move out of pure instinct, like something inside of him was telling him to shift gears and brake at the right moment.
EEEEE!
The white FC screamed through the first drift, Thomas not even believing he could do that.
'How'd I do that? It's like I just floated across the curve and my mind told me how to. I'm getting the hang of this!!'
Thomas hit the accelerator, flying down Sadamine a little faster, the speedometer flicking upwards as he started to get a love for the mountain.
A right curve came, the FC slowly drifting, as Thomas controlled the weak drift, understanding the technique through it.
'So first I change gears then I down shift using pedal brakes, cutting traction. I then hit the gas accelerating through the speed section of the drift, and turn my front tires outwards, controlling the drift. I also have to counter steer to control it'.' Thomas thought, executing it.
'I got it!!' Thomas thought.
Thomas tried to accelerate but his rear tires slipped, making a wild and weak corner.
He sighed and said, "I know how to do it, but it will take a long time to make it faster..."
He slowly eased out of the corner, in the final seconds of the weak drift, he controlled it well.
The white FC drove out of the S-Curve not too quickly, Thomas was still learning.
Thomas slammed the gas, roaring down the straight, seeing Sadamine fly by him.
He rolled down the window, and stuck his hand out, feeling the wind flow through his fingers.
Thomas felt the whistling wind howl past his face, rippling through his black hair, smiling widely.
'I love this feeling. The engine spin in my hood, the wind rush past me, the thrill of drifting in a corner, the speed!! I don't ever want to have to leave this mountain...'
--
The next day when the final bell finally rang, Thomas ran out of the classroom, towards the bus stop.
He paid his fare and felt his foot bounce in anticipation as he wanted to get to his garage.
Thomas flew down the highway, the FC's engine spinning quickly, towards Sadamine in broad daylight, no police officer catching him out of pure luck.
He reached the top, and did a one-eighty, the FC's tires squealing as he drove down the course, excited to improve his drift.
That S-Curve came again, where he messed up and did a slow drift the last night.
Thomas gripped the steering wheel and turned violently, jacking up the counter steer technique.
He thought turning harder would mean that the drift could be faster, turning hard when he drifted.
Thomas kept doing rabid and wild drifts down the whole mountain, getting frustrated.
"Damn! Why am I going so slow?" He asked himself.
He drove up Sadamine and hid his FC well in some trees, and threw a green camouflage blanket over it, hiding it from anyone who wanted to find it.
Thomas sighed and walked down Sadamine, he'd take the bus to the town close to the course and walk.
--
The next day at the same S-Curve, he counter steered too hard, and his rear tires stalled, doing a slow drift.
And the next day, the same.
Until one day, after almost an entire month of drifting horribly, he tried counter steering a little, turning the steering wheel lightly to balance the drift.
He smiled, he cleared the damned S-Curve quickly.
Thomas smiled, satisfied, and said, "I know how to drift properly now. All I have to do is practice, until I can slowly add horsepower and make my drifts faster and faster. I'm on the road to becoming a master."
Flashing into a sharp right corner, the FC's tires screaming as Thomas began to drift quickly, he thought:
'I won't let you down Ryosuke. Never.'
--