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Alternate Tracks 2nd Story in Rivalry Series	By : kurahieiritrJIO Category: +G to L > Initial D Views: 2493 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Initial D, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Author Note: This chapter needed more revisions than I realized. Ouch! I can't believe I posted the old version on ff net because reading it this round showed me that it did stink. Proof positive that I should never revise with a pounding head.

CHAPTER 16

"I'm going to be blunt to save minasan time. Takeuchi finds the idea of me being in love with Fujiwara, and adamant to convince him to become my life mate hard to swallow."

Kenji's iced tea glass slipped from nerveless fingers. It thumped on the tabletop, sloshing its contents across the table as it rolled toward the center. Chatter continued flowing around their booth as everyone at their booth froze. Keisuke's declaration was proving quite unexpected. Even Ryosuke found himself reeling over part of Keisuke's calm declaration.

'Keisuke actually managed to startle me by saying he's resolute to make Fujiwara his life mate. They've only been seeing each other for two months. He really is like Okāsan. I knew Keisuke was serious about Fujiwara, but I didn't think he was already this confident in his feelings. I think it's still too early to do something so bold as to announce such permanent arrangement intentions to the world.'

Shaken by the announcement, Ryosuke still recovered enough to glance around the table. He tried to judge how each man would react as the shock wore off. The dark-haired racer studied his younger brother as he sought to assimilate the new direction Keisuke had decided to pursue. Keisuke's resolute eyes remained focused on the two stunned men sitting beside the picture window. He shifted in his seat as he watched the duo, alert for their recovery. Keisuke remained calm on the surface, yet was most likely strung tighter than a fully pulled bow string on the inside.

Ryosuke thought Keisuke had grabbed Fujiwara's hand under the table to comfort his nervous boyfriend. Keisuke's right arm was slanted at the correct angle to attempt to reassure Fujiwara clear to anyone who understood body language. Fujiwara was uneasy over the stillness engulfing his Speed Stars teammates. The younger man's shoulders hunched forward as he sank lower into his seat with every breath. Ryosuke glimpsed hazy gray, stormy blue, and glints of green in Fujiwara's melancholy eyes.

The teenager watched both of the older racers closely for any shade of reaction. The amber-haired nineteen-year-old's expression insisted that he awaited expulsion from his circle of friends. It seemed fear resigned Project D's downhill-ace to condemnation for dating Keisuke. Ryosuke found Fujiwara's hopelessness disturbing. Until his teammates made their opinions known, Fujiwara had no reason to seem so wretched.

'It'll be interesting to see how Fujiwara reacts once he realizes Keisuke's meaning about being life mates. Has Otouto already proposed to him, and feels secure in announcing that they're forming a permanent bond? Could it be that Fujiwara has gotten more comfortable with Keisuke than I'm aware? Did I misread their subtle interaction at our last battle a few days ago? I know Fujiwara's come a very long way toward accepting Keisuke's love. He even shows small signs of possibly reciprocating Keisuke's feelings. Yet, I'm not certain that Fujiwara's been able to fully embrace this drastic change in his own emotional makeup. He may not be truly comfortable with Keisuke as his significant other yet.'

Ryosuke glanced at the tabletop and saw Kenji's forgotten drink spreading inescapably closer to his area. The tea was unhindered by napkins that waited in the dispenser next to the other man's elbow. Reaching past the frozen man to get to the necessary napkins to stop the spreading mess would be rude. Yet, Ryosuke did not want his slacks getting wet. Getting the stunned man's attention would be difficult until his shock wore off. Ryosuke glanced again at Kenji, then Iketani. Neither man knew of the situation until Keisuke informed them of his intentions. Both immobilized men, open mouthed, and wide eyed, remained riveted on Keisuke's face.

'We'll soon find out whether or not these men are Fujiwara's real friends. I can only hope they'll accept Fujiwara and Keisuke being a couple. Are they going to stand by Fujiwara after learning that he's going against society's strictures so boldly? It will make it easier to control Takeuchi's obvious objections to their relationship if Fujiwara's sempais accept their changed relationship. I think some of Takeuchi's objections stem from feeling he's being replaced by Keisuke. Yet, Takeuchi seems to honestly be part of the mass majority of anti gay sentiment carriers also. I can understand Fujiwara becoming so alarmed over this kid stumbling onto them while emotions had absorbed them in each other this afternoon.'

Fujiwara's best friend cradled his mid-section. The teenager looked as if he was going to become violently ill because of the afternoon's unexpected revelations. His eyes shifted between furtive glances for the older Speed Stars and sullen glares at Keisuke. Ryosuke found the dark-haired teenager irritating, yet also courageous. Takeuchi gave an interesting argument about how Keisuke was misunderstanding his childhood friend. It was an inspired attempt to explain away their romance.

Iketani was the first to speak. "Did I hear you correctly? Did y, . . . you actually say, . . . that y, y, y, you're in, . . . in love? . . . with Takumi kun?"

"Hai." Keisuke nodded once.

The Speed Star captain exhaled hard. Kenji looked back and forth between Fujiwara and Keisuke several times. He leaned far forward in his seat and began to speak. "You mean, . . . you r, really, . . . are in . . . l, l, l, l, love, . . . like r, r, r, romantic, . . . NOT like,"

Ryosuke reached behind Kenji to grab several napkins from the dispenser and placed them over the iced tea that had almost reached his vicinity, though he found the rudeness of his forced action distasteful.

Kenji's hands moved as he tried to get his words out. "S, s, s, s, some, . . . kind of, . . . onīsan type, . . . l, l, l, love. Is that right?"

Keisuke spoke with remarkable calm as he shifted in his seat. "I'm bisexual. Despite trying to avoid getting involved with another man, it happened anyway. I'm in love with Fujiwara Takumi."

Iketani picked up the conversation thread. "Wow, y, y, y, you're Bi, Keisuke san?!"

"That's right."

"You do spend plenty of time with Takumi. Being on the same team would make it harder to avoid." Iketani scratched his chin while speaking thoughtfully.

"Perhaps we should deal with the spilled tea before getting too involved in this discussion." Ryosuke considered the stubble faced street-racer. "I'm glad that one of you seems willing to accept their situation."

Iketani looked down at the table, and saw Kenji's forgotten glass on its side. He snapped at the other man sitting across from him as he grabbed the object in question to right it. "Kenji, your drink. Hand me some napkins."

"Eh, . . . ? Oh crap!" Kenji was red faced as he grabbed napkins from the dispenser, and started to clean with a flurry of jerky movements. He crammed soggy paper and melting ice cubes into the glass for removal when the waitress returned. "Gomen nasai gozaimasu, minasan. Man, I, . . . I'm a klutz today."

Iketani grabbed napkins and aided Kenji. Removing the excess pilled tea, Iketani leaned forward to make eye contact with Fujiwara and Keisuke first. Iketani began speaking as he mopped up his side of the table.

"I don't talk about it, but I have a relative who's bisexual. I've gotten used to his quirks over the years. I also have a friend who develops short term crushes on other men. He doesn't do anything about them because he doesn't want any trouble. At least I understand your meaning when you mentioned unforseen circumstances now, Ryosuke san. This situation does classify as unforseen, . . . in several ways."

The two men finished with their endeavor as the paper jammed glass was set in the center of the table. "Very true. So, how will minasan from the Speed Stars act now that you know? Will you turn against, or stand by Fujiwara? Or, will you withhold judgement unless Fujiwara decides a course of action you find distasteful?"

Iketani's voice held a dry note as the Speed Star's leader replied with dignity. "I've nothing against bisexuals, or gays. I discovered that a couple people I've known for years are bisexual, or gay. They're still decent people even if I don't understand their attraction to their own gender. Far as I'm concerned, if Keisuke san and Takumi kun want to get together, that's their right. I'm not going to judge either one of them."

Keisuke's head jerked toward the Speed Star's captain. "Iketani, are you saying that you won't get mad at Takumi, or kick him out of your life if he decides to stay with me?"

Iketani leaned forward and looked at Fujiwara. "I'll stand by your decision, Takumi. You've stood by us more times than I can count, especially when it comes to defending Akina's Speed Stars pride, and reputation. You're both my friends. In my book, friends don't bail on each other when needed."

Ryosuke maintained a placid expression as he signaled the others that they had company. Their waitress popped into view with a cup and tea pot in hand. "I apologize for taking so long, sir." She placed the hot mint tea in front of Ryosuke. She dropped a menu in front of him along with his drink.

Keisuke chafed in his seat again. The waitress had room to work around him. Why his younger brother was having difficulty getting comfortable remained a mystery. The chair looked agreeable enough to sit upon Ryosuke figured.

"Domo arigato. Don't be concerned about offending us. It's obvious that you're very busy right now. We've been waiting for additional members. Since our party is now complete, we'll need two additional menus before placing our orders, kudasai." Ryosuke answered to break the tension.

'This waitress has perfect timing. The break gives the others time to decide how they feel. To have Iketani accept my twin aces' romance so easily is a bonus. His experience with a relative who may be in a same sex relationship could come in very handy. Let's hope his influence will steer the other two in the right direction. Takeuchi is going to need Iketani's influence to get past his obvious difficulty in embracing this situation.'

The waitress picked up the paper stuffed glass and asked if Kenji wanted a refill with a quick swipe of a wet cloth over the table. She asked the rest of the table's occupants if they wished anything as she cleaned. A hasty hand retrieved her note pad, and she jotted orders as quickly as her fingers could fly. She hurried away to fill their orders.

Kenji scratched his head as he double checked that the waitress was gone. "Where do you stand, Takumi kun? I mean, . . . you had that sweet babe back when, . . . "

"He broke up with Mogi, Kenji sempai, so don't mention her." Takeuchi interrupted with obvious ire. Ryosuke watched the dynamics of the group as the dark-haired youth snarled at the older racer. Kenji leaned back in his seat, away from the younger man's outburst.

The long banged street racer held up a hand to ward off Takeuchi. "Ok. That's cool. I'm just a little confused here. Itsuke said you were helping Mogi deal with some kind of problem she's been having when he arrived. He didn't mention you two had split up. Now, we're hearing that Keisuke san's in love with you. So, I'm really confused about your situation now."

Keisuke's expression radiated anger Ryosuke noticed. He shifted in his seat again as he glared at Kenji. Fujiwara's arm moved a small amount, and he shook his head with a severe glare at his lover. Keisuke's visible hand clenched on the table top, but he settled and remained quiet.

'Fujiwara is restraining Keisuke without much difficulty. I was right about Fujiwara being able to keep Keisuke in line when necessary. Excellent. I'm certain that Keisuke's making concessions to keep Fujiwara. I never thought anyone could get him to curb his temper outside myself, or okāsan until now.'

Kenji moved a hand, which drew Ryosuke's attention to the man next to him. "Anyway, I can see that you're angry, Takumi kun. Are you mad because Keisuke san is saying something this heavy, or because Itsuke told us that Mogi's got a problem you're trying to help her resolve? It does seem like you don't want us to mention her."

"Mogi's going to school at a Tokyo City University, so we broke up a long time ago. She has been calling me to talk about something, but I'm not going to discuss it with anyone, minasan. Keisuke ignored my wishes this afternoon, and told Itsuke more than he should have about Mogi."

Keisuke's visible fist tightened to a white knuckled state. "My situation with Keisuke isn't something that I wanted becoming public knowledge. We've needed to sort things out between ourselves over the last couple of months. Personally, I was hoping to keep everything that's happening between us."

'It seems Fujiwara's ex-girlfriend is causing strife between them. I didn't know that Fujiwara was still in contact with her. That explains Keisuke's insecurity. It appears Keisuke knows about the problem that Kenji referred to. Hm, I'll have to find out more details later this evening. Fujiwara's ex must be doing something specific to make Keisuke so furious.'

Ryosuke filed his thoughts away, and watched the rest of the table's occupants. He noted his brother shifted in his seat yet again. Keisuke had a mildly uncomfortable expression. The older rotary brother also filed the additional, subtle movements, and expression away. He would decipher what was going on between the couple making their relationship known under duress later.

"Oh. Gomen nasai for offending you, Takumi. I'll shut up."

"It's okay, Kenji sempai. Go ahead and say whatever's on your mind." Fujiwara answered in a tired voice.

Ryosuke watched Kenji push his long bangs back from his face to better watch Fujiwara. "I'm kind of confused about whether you've decided to date Keisuke san, or are straight, and trying to come to terms with this? You really don't seem the type to swing, Takumi kun. Keisuke san says he wants you to be his life mate. Isn't a life mate, . . . a gay eqiivelent of a spouse?"

Ryosuke angled his head to monitor Fujiwara's reaction as he took a drink from his cup. He knew Keisuke had grabbed his boyfriend's hand under the table again by their body language.

Keisuke spoke. "To answer your question about life mates, Kenji, marriage is illegal for same gender couples. Terms like Life mate and Life Partners are about making a life long commitment to someone that is similar to being married."

Fujiwara was considering his own answer. The absent-minded expression vanished from his features as determination kicked in. "I freaked out on Keisuke . . . right after I found out about his feelings. Trying to understand Keisuke was difficult at first. Everything happening felt so weird. I know Keisuke means it when he says he loves me. He's been behind most of the good things that have happened since we've met also. I realize that I do need him in my life, . . . so I agreed to give him a chance . . . to prove we belong together like he thinks . . . a few weeks ago. I think it was the right choice to make. . . . Everything's felt . . . really strange. . . . I . . . I don't know whether things will work out. . . . But, I've gotten a lot more comfortable . . . with seeing Keisuke san lately."

Kenji sat back with a nod. "That's cool. So, how long have you been dating? Ryosuke san mentioned that a major change happened two months ago. Is that how long you two have been seeing each other?"

Keisuke nodded. "Hai. When Fujiwara got into an accident, I stopped lying to myself. Seeing hachi roku scraping the mountain side and rebound toward a cliff face scared me out of my hardcore denial. I talked to Takumi about my feelings a couple weeks after he got out of the hospital. I really thought Fujiwara would hate me, but he listened to me without any prejudice. Fujiwara agreed to give me a chance despite finding everything hard to understand. He had never looked at another man as a potential lover before I asked him to consider me."

Iketani leaned forward to see past Itsuke as he spoke to Fujiwara. "How's Oyaji san handling your decision to date Keisuke san, Takumi? Some ryōshin are narrow minded about these things."

"Oyaji doesn't know anything. He'll get mad as hell if he finds out that I didn't turn on Keisuke san, and leave Project D when I found out about Keisuke. He hates gays with a passion. If Oyaji ever learns that I agreed to give Keisuke a fair chance, I'm sure he'll have one of his blind rages."

Itsuke shivered beside his childhood friend. "Oyaji san has a terrifying temper. I don't ever want to see him get that pissed off again! I forget the reason we got into so much trouble when we were in third grade, but Oyaji san's anger has always stuck with me from that time."

Ryosuke added Takeuchi's reaction, and statements to the mental file he had constructed on Fujiwara's personality over a year. The mental process took a few seconds to complete. It confirmed several things Ryosuke had noticed from the beginning.

'We shouldn't allow Fujiwara senior to discover his son's involvement with Keisuke while there's a chance Fujiwara is under his roof. From all of Fujiwara's subtle behaviors, I was wondering if Fujiwara's otosān would react violently to Otouto's devotion to his musuko. Takeuchi's words reinforce my theory about Fujiwara growing up in an abusive home environment. Perhaps I should try to convince Fujiwara to move out of his otosān's home for his own safety. Whether or not he's seriously considering Keisuke's proposal, we have to prevent Fujiwara from getting injured. For now we have to find an acceptable way to restrain Takeuchi's severe revulsion with their romantic relationship.'

Fujiwara remarked. "I can think of five different times when Oyaji got really pissed at us during the third grade. He was usually pissed at us for reckless play in the tofu shop. We could have knocked over the heavier equipment, or a sharp knife off the counter and hurt ourselves, Itsuke. That's the reason Oyaji put the fear of Kami-sama into us when we were little kids."

Takeuchi nodded, and turned to Kenji and Iketani. "We better keep the boss from finding out about this. Tachibana san is one of Bunta san's closest friends. He might tell Oyaji san because he thinks he needs to protect Tak."

Iketani and Kenji exchanged glances. Both men looked irritated. Iketani was the first to speak. "Itsuke kun, we don't have any intention of sharing this news with anyone, . . . ever. Keisuke san and Takumi are trusting us with very personal information. Talking about this would be the same as stabbing them in the back."

Ryosuke watched the interaction among the three Speed Stars. 'Iketani shows remarkable patience with Takeuchi. Considering the insult he has every right to feel, he is handling Takeuchi very well. It'll take time for Takeuchi to learn tact and decorum. Can these two keep Takeuchi from saying something reckless? I'm surprised Keisuke didn't reach over and slap him. Fujiwara must be behind this new restraint Keisuke's displaying.'

"Iketani's right. This isn't something to spread around town. If anyone says the wrong thing, it'll be you, Itsuke." Kenji added.

"Hey, I didn't tell you anything about them dating! Or, did you forget that I tried to leave twice so I wouldn't discuss it!" Takeuchi's arms crossed over his chest with a defensive glare.

"Which is a big surprise considering how wigged out you were when you arrived. You said Keisuke san was stealing your best friend to explain your being so upset. In a way I can see how you'd feel that way. Takumi kun didn't tell you about his problems, or his illness so you feel like he doesn't trust you any longer." Kenji pursed his lips as he considered his next words with an upheld hand to stall the younger driver. "Don't get me wrong. We know you don't mean to do it, but when you're freaked out, you say whatever's on your mind before you realize you opened your mouth, Itsuke kun."

"Hey, I've gotten better about keeping my mouth shut over the past year, Kenji sempai! I was worried that you would figure things out because he kept talking when I wanted him to keep his mouth shut." Takeuchi jabbed a finger in his direction while speaking. Ryosuke felt his eyebrow rise.

Ryosuke decided it was time to interrupt. "I knew Fujiwara has decided to be open with his closest friends because of your bad reaction. Therefore, explaining things to you is better, Takeuchi, even if you don't want to hear the truth. You're obviously very upset about their evolving relationship. I do understand your shock in discovering that Fujiwara has chosen to adapt to Keisuke's attachment."

"That's an understatement. Tak's ill so he shouldn't be making decisions that can get him into a huge mess. Dating Keisuke san can blow up in his face in the worst way imaginable. It can ruin his reputation, and his life, Ryosuke san." Itsuke grumbled with a sullen glare for the rest of the table's occupants.

Iketani shook his head. "Itsuke kun, from everything I've heard, it sounds to me like Takumi kun made this choice after thinking long and hard about the consequences. It's his decision to make. If Takumi feels that Keisuke san's the best person for him, it's not right for you to disrespect his judgment. If Keisuke san treats Takumi well, none of us have any right to stick our noses into their privacy. However, if Keisuke san ever abuses Takumi, then as his friends we have a duty to protest Takumi getting abused."

Ryosuke found Iketani's response reasonable. "I believe we have a unanimous vote to keep this between ourselves."

Iketani nodded agreement. "That's right, Ryosuke san."

Kenji added, "I'm with you, Iketani. While Takumi's happy, I'm not going to complain about his dating Keisuke san. I guess that leaves the question of how to help Takumi kun and Keisuke san keep Oyaji san in the dark about their relationship."

-oo0oo-
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Alternate Tracks 2nd Story in Rivalry Series