Chapter 042

On the Eve of Battle (ライバル達の前夜祭!!, Raibaru Tachi no Zenyasai!!, "The eve of the battle!") is the forty-second chapter of Initial D.

Plot
Keisuke realises the car following him is the GT-R owned by Takeshi Nakazato, and is intent on beating him. Nakazato is impressed by Keisuke's improvement since his race with Takumi, but is similarly intent on winning.

Further down Akina, Itsuki and Takumi continue talking about Takumi's future, with Itsuki trying to convince him that he's a fast driver, and that what happens after the battle isn't important. The pair hear approaching cars, and look on as Keisuke and Nakazato speed past them. Takumi is surprised by how fast they are going, and realises he'd never thought about his speed from behind the wheel. Itsuki reminds him that he's faster than both of them as he'd already beaten them before, but he shrugs it off commenting that he had done it on a course he'd been driving since he was 13, and they're as fast as they are all over the prefecture.

At the top of Akina, Keisuke and Nakazato confront each other. Both goad each other, but agree to leave their battle until the RedSuns head to Myogi. Nakazato admits he can't stop thinking about the Eight-Six, and says that he wants to be the one to finally beat him. Keisuke tells him that he believes Ryosuke will beat him, and leaves.

At the gas station on Saturday, Iketani and Kenji are hyped for the battle that evening. Iketani tells Kenji that Takumi doesn't appear to be as spaced out as before, and that he should be just fine behind the wheel.

On Akina that evening, the crowd buzzes with excitement.

Japan

 * May 27th 1996 (Weekly Young Magazine, 1996 Volume 23)
 * August 6th 1996 (Tankōbon, Volume 04)

Chinese

 * April 1st 1998 (Tankōbon, Volume 04, Sharp Point Press)

English

 * October 22nd 2002 (Tankōbon, Volume 04, Tokyopop)
 * April 17th 2019 (Digital re-release, Volume 04, Kodansha USA)

French

 * August 27th 2009 (Tankōbon, Volume 04, Kazé)

Italian

 * March 28th 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 02, J-Pop)

Polish

 * April 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 02, J. P. Fantastica)

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Keisuke Takahashi
 * Takeshi Nakazato
 * Takumi Fujiwara
 * Itsuki Takeuchi
 * Kenji
 * Koichiro Iketani

Cars (in order of appearance)

 * Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
 * Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (BNR32)
 * Toyota Corolla Levin SR (AE85)

Tokyopop/Kodansha USA version

 * An extra I is included in one of Iketani's speech bubbles - "He's still spacey, but I not any more than normal".