A long, dry asphalt between a deserted area filled with people. Man-made barricade protected some parts on the long road. Few curvy turns, but due to majority of long straights, those things became a quite deadly deathtrap for unaware speedsters. 'Quite' as these poor people might get saved by vast arid, thus saving the car and the soul. Alright, enough describing these stuff.
Last event finalists positioned themselves right behind the starting line, followed by the invited crew Bushido, and... Where were those chaps?
Suddenly, a loud, blaring engines resonated from behind. Soundwaves came closer, and closer, and closer.
"Ah, yes! Showdown Kings have got out from their throne and fully prepared for the war against these knights".
I could their their inline-four engines blasting quickly, and srrrrr! Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and Nissan 240SX stopped right behind Eirine's RX-8 and Hana's 350 IS.
"Can these little knights conquer the Nevada Highway and take these Kings' honor?"
"Just like we always rolled. Remember the 3 city race in Japan? Same deal. Just focus." Shizaki motivated. Our engines are blaring and revving. My growling turbo V6 and Eirine's screaming 3 rotor rotary filled the air, alongside the revs of other cars.
Speakers between the path spoke, "Okay. So we're having Top Speed Challenge. In this 24 kilometres highway, there will be a speed camera every 4 kilometres. The goal is to set the highest top speed possible by passing through these detectors. The person with the most top speed collectively dominates the race. Okay, without further ado, let's start the battle in..."
A cute woman with "Super Promotion" on her covered yellow and orange two-piece walked to the starting line, then stood, raised her hand, and spun it around.
Later, she bowed like a Victorian lady.
"AAAAAND GOOOOOO!" The announcer screamed as loud as a heavy metal vocalist as all automobiles made the lady ate their dusts.
The two kings immediately battle for first position, trying to get in front from the start. The Lancer with it's AWD passed me and a couple other racers with its acceleration. Eirine revved up her screaming rotary to it's limits. Shizaki's pushing his mean V8 to the brim. I'm pushing my turbo V6, can the Alfa take it home? I successfully passed 2 other racers by the 3rd turn.
"Jojo, Ryan Cooper had reached the 2nd speed camera, and he's now in 1st place, with 565 km/h total," Ken updated.
Ryan Cooper? Gosh! I totally forgot about that guy.
I squinted my eyes. Behind my window, I spotted a cactus-like color covered by smoke. It turned out to be Ryan Cooper's 240SX.
I was a bit panicked, "How did he get there?"
Ken replied with questions on his head, "I don't know, Jojo. It seems that his car color is similar with this track's environment".
Goodness! What a well-trained private.
I pressed the gas pedal really deep until my Alfa Romeo was screeching like a demon. Eventually, I managed to gain several metres per second.
I managed to outrun Ryan, revving my turbo V6 at it's limits. The 590 HP packed V6 that Ken tuned is really something. I managed to stray farther from Ryan, eventually i lost him at the 4th turn. Now here comes the long straight. Pedal to the metal. I caught up racer to racer. I looked at my rear view mirror. I saw Eirine and Shizaki following by. Then i saw a silhouette catching up. "Is that, Ryan's 240SX?! But how?!"
I summoned a demon again with my Alfa Romeo. Now, this Giulia flew away bit by bit from that SX. Whoop! Ryan's car slowed down. What? He's slowing down?
It was too late. The road I stuck on was elevated. My great speed made that small elevation a jumping ramp. Whooosh! Thud! Skeet! "OH NO!" I stabilized my car left and right, sacrificing my sweet top speed for the sake of my safety. Later, the King passed through.
"I lost a position, but i won't give up! Two more positions until first!" I muttered. "Remember Joseph, speed is key here, not position. So try going as fast as you can, and maybe pass them while you're doing so." Shizaki reminded. I neatly went into Ryan's airflow and drafted behind him. My overall pace is faster than him now. I'm positive that I'm going faster than him. I look at my speedometer, 296 km/h.
Passed 4th speed camera! Finally. I asked Ken who was responsible to tell Bushido the current score. "You're in 3rd place, Jojo. 1000 km/h total. First place is Ryan Cooper again with 1100 km/h total," he stated.
"How about the second one?"
"Me. Hehehe. This specialized Nissan is deadly as hell!"
"So Ryo's not even in the top 3?" I asked. "Nope, he's right below you, 4th place." Ken replied. "Well, i need to keep increasing pace." I kept going until i eventually passed the 300 km/h barrier. I could feel the wind hitting the car. The car's aerodynamics made going through the air like knife through butter. I kept increasing my pace.
My car intercom gave me a message from Ken, "Jojo, can you go faster?"
"No. 300 is all I got".
"Ah. That's why I'm able to come closer to you".
"You have greater top speed? Good! Let's make a ballista".
"What do you mean, 'ballista'?"
"Stay on my back, hit that gas hard, then fwooosh! Aim for that overpowered camo 240SX. Headshot if you can".
"Do you really ask me to hit him?"
"No, no, Ken. Sigh. Do I need to explain more?"
"OOOH! I just got it. Okay, Jojo, here I come!"
Ken drafted behind me, gaining speed overtime. When his speed is higher than mine, he slingshot himself out of the draft and overtook me. When Ken was in front of me, i drafted behind him this time, making a draft loop. We are currently still halfway through the straight. I pushed my Giulia to 320 km/h. We were slowly crawling up to that 240SX. Now I'm close enough to draft behind the 240SX! Come on Giulia! You can go faster!
Whooosh! Click! Speed camera had caught My speed and Ken's.
"Jojo, good job! We both are in 2nd place, with 1420 km/h total".
I slapped this bad boy's dashboard, "Fifth spot has been completed, Baby! One more for the score!"
Ken completed, "If we want to beat that man, we have to reach 350 km/h".
"Whoa!" I held up, "That's really challenging".
"I believe it's possible if my Pitchwork Z works together with your Giulia GTA. Just stream and stream, Brother".
"It's gonna be simple," I closed.
So we floored our cars until the end of the straight. We reached the maximum speed possible for our cars. Ken got a bit left behind because he only has 500 HP in his Z and i have 590 in my Giulia. I am now reaching speeds of 350 km/h! While Ken sits behind at 325.
You'll be thrown down, wannabe. I'm dominating this competition.
Rrrrrooooooo....... Click! I glanced my speedometre. Right at 350 km/g. I cheered as I was in a night club, "YEAH MATE! WE'RE KILKING IT!"
"Uhh... Jojo?"
"What's up, Ken?"
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but, Ryan Cooper is 1 km/h away from you. 1871 km/h to be precise".
"Seriously?! I guess i gotta make the most out of this last checkpoint!" I said. I kept on pushing my car and my driving skills to its limit. I kept on drafting behind that 240SX. I used every advantage i have. It's now finally the final corner before the checkpoint. I used a trick that i learned. The gutter run. I used this trick way long ago. I took the sharpest inside line i could take, using the side dirt path as an advantage. I cut inside Ryan's lane. I successfully overtook and achieved greater speed.
My hope was nearly crushed. Ken the savior had saved me.
"Eirine said this race actually has 7 speed cameras. The actual last is on the finish line," His words healed my dreams.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon...
Cry of the crazed crowd started to echo in my ears. Woooooo.... Yeeeeeeea.....! Weeeeeee!
Click!
Another solid 350 km/h recorded.
Skeeeet! Skrrrrt! I made those brake discs glow. Ryan followed, then Ken, Shizaki, Eirine, Hana, three random finalists, and the lastly, the guy whose words have zero value, Ryo Watanabe.
I looked at the final leaderboard. "1st position: Joseph Joestar, 2nd position: Ryan Cooper, 3rd position: Ken Takahashi" It said. "We did it boys, we won the Nevada race. I'm proud." Shizaki said over intercom.
"Ah-hee! That was really an exhilarating show. Let's dive straight to the headline. Joseph Josetar NNNNNNNNDOMINATES the treacherous Canada Highway!"
Oooooo weeee ooooo! Yeeeeheeee! Yaaaaaaaa! They all praised my mighty skill. I got out from the car, posed like what I saw on that epic manga on cameras, showing my astounding achievement. All audiences loved me.
"For Joseph Joestar, please come to the stage".
I came up to the stage. "Would you like to share some words with us, Mr. Joestar? Maybe your tricks on winning?" The Announcer said. "Uh yeah, the key is persistence and hard work. If it wasn't for all my crew mates, all my supporters, and my will to achieve, i wouldn't be here right now." I spoke like a wise man. I saw Ryan cooper clap his hands while Ryo stood beside him with his arms crossed.
Meanwhile in Japan...
"Guys guys, look here at the TV!" Hina called Eve and Aya. They looked at the channel Super Promotion TV. "Joseph Joestar wins in crew challenge!" It said. The three girls cheered as they saw our victory. "Let's go practice again, our show is in 2 weeks!" Aya suggested. "Oh, right!"
The TV was still on when Chisato just got out from toilet. She observed its content. Her throat started to pain. Her eyes went heavier than they should be. It felt a bit more watery than before. "My friends miss them, don't they? They always talk about it every recess and even in casual fun band gathering. Initiated by Hina, now all my colleagues join in. That thing," She pointed the television, "Ruins all the things. Every topic they bring is now unrelatable. Band lives are also less frequent. Well, I'm able to accept more acting gig, but," Chisato held her emotion to burst, "Sigh. I hope this upcoming live will bring us closer again".
From nowhere, Maya patted Chisato's back. "Don't be so down Chisato, they may be quite busy with their stuff now, but when this event is all over, it's all going to go back to normal. The last event is held here, in Japan." Maya comforted. "Besides, you helped them to achieve such achievement, yes?" Maya added. "You should feel proud that your colleagues are getting more international. Even with all that, we're still close friends, we're still pastel palettes, right?"
"Heh," She replied, "Still, everything doesn't feel the same after those speedy vehicles come in".
"Well, i suppose that's true." Maya muttered. "Don't worry about it too much Chisato-san, let's just cherish the times we can spend together, and trust me, it'll all be like the old times when this event is over." Maya continued. "Now let's continue our practice!" Maya said. "Guys, come on! Let's practice this song!" Aya called. "Well, duty calls." Chisato then continued practice.