Second Stage - Act 5

Countdown to Destruction (破滅へのカウントダウン, Hametsu e no kauntodaun) is the fifth Act of Initial D: Second Stage.

This episode features the first half of the battle between Takumi Fujiwara and Kyoichi Sudo.

Synopsis
Takumi soon discovers Natsuki’s secret, leading him to vent his anger in an egotistic battle against Kyoichi at Akagi. Takumi disregards his disadvantages in the race and suffers the consequences of his carelessness.

Plot
Takumi makes his way to race Kyoichi much to the RedSuns shock. Ryosuke suspects it was Kyoichi that lured Takumi to race and believes he was scheming in secret. Keisuke wants to try and stop Takumi from taking the bait but Ryosuke can't intervene due to the street racer's code. Back at the tofu shop, Masashi mentions to Bunta how he witnessed how Takumi's skills exceeded his expectations despite how young he is. Bunta didn't seem fussed about his observation and boasts that he was more skilled than him when he was 18. He mentions that Yuichi said Takumi was more talented than him and the he was too stubborn to accept that. Then got back to how Takumi will exceed his limit along with the engine and if Takumi will keep winning like this. Bunta is uncertain. Takumi then arrives to face Kyoichi as he predicted. Kyoichi thanks Takumi for coming all this way and warns him he's not holding back. Seiji notices Takumi's change attitude. The race is about to lay in wait with Kyoichi sticking with Simulation 3. Masashi leaves the tofu shop and Bunta predicts a huge turn of events will happen that night. At the same time feels uneasy and receives a phone-call which ended up being Itsuki. Kenji had been informed by Iketani about Takumi being challenged by Kyoichi and wonders why he did so. Iketani believes they were still not over the defeat they suffered back in Akina. Still oblivious that Takumi eventually accepted, Kenji believes he would not stand a chance against the Evo III. Itsuki hangs up the phone after being informed Bunta doesn't know where Takumi went to. Kenji thought Takumi went out on a date with Natsuki much to their shock. Itsuki recalls their slogan that "racers don't need girlfriends".

Back at the starting line, the race between the AE86 and Evo III is about to begin. Kyoichi reminds Takumi that it is going to be an unofficial race and will make him realise the difference in power. Takumi proceeds to lead and Kyoichi follows. Seiji couldn't comprehend why he came to race despite having disadvantage in unfamiliar territory, what motivated him to do that in the first place, it be impossible to beat Kyoichi outside of Akina, being stupid enough to race outside of his turf and wonders if he relies too much on his instinct that much. Seiji can somewhat believe that Takumi has what it takes to win and be a legendary racer in the making. Takumi enters the first corner with incredible skills being oblivious on how the engine is deteriorating. Keisuke now believes they are really racing for real. Kyoichi expects Ryosuke to watch him defeat him hoping to prove that a 4WD can beat a RWD in a street race and remains undeterred in re-matching him. Both cars close in and Kyoichi and Ryosuke look at each other with their game faces as they pass by. Spectators were shocked at Takumi's skill that he ran through the hedges close to the guardrails. Keisuke notices how loud banging the Evo III has. Ryosuke informs him that it's rally tuned and Keisuke is shocked that the Evo III is equipped with a misfiring system. Ryosuke thought Kyoichi was smart enough to equip a misfiring system with a turbo since that was the best option as Akagi is much more steeper than Akina and Myogi. Those modifications Kyoichi installed would make low speed cornering advantageous. Kyoichi learned those skills back when he was racing in a Gymkhana circuit on low speed cornering. He not only had circuit racing experience but vast improvement the year before and stronger than the last time he raced him. Kyoichi brushes off the fact 4WD's can't turn efficiently and proves his Evo III can do exactly that.

Takumi felt being hunted down. The spectators witnessed the Evo III's incredible power and certainly giving the AE86 a hard time either better car, better driver or both. Keisuke curiously asked what style Kyoichi's driving is like. Ryosuke points out he drives with great precision and would never make mistakes with sticking to the basics rather than flashy moves. While in a race he's always patient to see his opponent's weaknesses after seeing the situation in every angle he goes to in order to pull off a victory. Keisuke states his opinion that he's calmer compared to the impatient Seiji. Ryosuke then says Kyoichi is a strong believer in rationality which is why he got into racing in 4WD cars against an equally skilled opponent to go out of his way to make sure that his car is better equipped in order to pull off a win. Keisuke noticed bitterness in him but Ryosuke said he isn't but dislikes Kyoichi and is determined to not be defeated by him. Takumi gets irritated by the loudness of the misfiring system and couldn't deal with it. Kyoichi is impressed with Takumi's adaptability despite driving in unfamiliar territory and is keeping up as if he knew the racecourse like a veteran driver. And said of his senses on the downhill are very spot-on. He later can't waste anymore time and wants to end the race as quickly as possible. Natsuki unexpectedly turns up at the gas station and gives Itsuki a small box of cheesecake. She curiously asked where Takumi is but hoped Natsuki would know. Itsuki then digs in on the cheesecake. Iketani believes Takumi may have gone to Akagi to race Kyoichi which would be bad news due to the disadvantage he has. Kyoichi makes his move in the mid-speed section near the S turn to counterattack. Both cars pull up and Kenta is in shock and amazed at Kyoichi's acceleration. Kenta predicts Kyoichi will make a move on the AE86 on the outside and Kyoichi is brave challenging the AE86 at a corner. Then take the AE86 from the inside of the next corner and is overtaken as predicted.

Reports had been relayed to Fumihiro and Takumi becomes defenceless. Ryosuke points that's Kyoichi's true potential and held back on attacking Takumi on the section of the steepest decline and waited for him to slow down and lose speed on the flatter portion. With his level of expertise on the Evo III's abilities he bided his time until he chose for the perfect moment where his margin of error was lowest. Keisuke then wonders if Takumi can retake the lead but Ryosuke left it up to Keisuke to figure it out. Keisuke is disgusted at Takumi for coming and should have left it up to them to deal with the Emperors instead of racing a losing race hopelessly. Kyoichi is once again surprised that Takumi is able to keep up with him and regain more speed. Ryosuke states exiting a corner is a key for a turbo but not for an N/A (naturally aspirated) since it's all about the entrance and that it was more or less the basic of overriding theory behind all of downhill racing. But Keisuke points out that its not the same case when equipped with a misfiring system. And Keisuke was right as Ryosuke stated. Having the misfiring system in place makes both the turbo's torque as well as the N/A's responsive as possible. Coupled with Kyoichi's skill behind the wheel becomes that Evo III becomes a cornering machine of monstrous proportions which can enter in and out of corners with great precision and speed making it the ultimate dog-fighter. Keisuke points out that this entire race is suicide for Takumi. Ryosuke knew from the get-go that the race wasn't all about speed. Kyoichi has more experience in Akagi in the past few years while Takumi lacked experience in driving in Akagi which the outcome would be the obvious. Ryosuke can't comprehend what made the two face off in the first place and Takumi came to Akagi without any strategy to win. Keisuke too can't comprehend why Takumi had to be so impetuous. Ryosuke can't provide a proper reason. Sometimes in the racing world, they do it to let off steam. Ryosuke seemed Takumi's emotions got hold of him and saw the exhaust's pitch is lower. The battle was more of an enraged war than a race.

Airdates

 * Fuji TV: November 11, 1999

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * 1) Keisuke Takahashi
 * 2) Hiroshi Fumihiro
 * 3) Ryosuke Takahashi
 * 4) Takumi Fujiwara
 * 5) Masashi Suzuki
 * 6) Bunta Fujiwara
 * 7) Seiji Iwaki
 * 8) Kyoichi Sudo
 * 9) Itsuki Takeuchi
 * 10) Kenji
 * 11) Koichiro Iketani
 * 12) Natsuki Mogi
 * 13) Yuichi Tachibana
 * 14) Kenta Nakamura

Cars

 * 1) Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86)
 * 2) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV RS (CN9A)
 * 3) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III GSR (CE9A)

Music

 * 1) Blazin' Beat - M.o.v.e
 * 2) Speedy Speed Boy - Marko Polo
 * 3) Don't You (Forget About My Love) - Sophie
 * 4) キミがいる (Kimi Ga Iru) - Galla