Act: 1 Chapter: 2 | The Rotary Duo

Legends Arrive

The low, uneven hum of rotary engines filled the summit as two RX-7s glided to a stop under the pale glow of the moon. The air, thick with the scent of heated rubber and high-octane fuel, carried a quiet tension. Only the distant hum of cicadas remained, an eerie contrast to the mechanical precision that had just arrived.

The midnight purple RX-7 FD was the first to settle, its deep idle rumbling against the trees. Its sleek frame gleamed under the faint light, a predator waiting in the dark. The door swung open, and from within stepped a woman with violet hair and sharp golden eyes, her gaze scanning the area with measured intensity.

Keqing.

A moment later, the pristine white RX-7 FC pulled up beside it, its rotary engine purring with refined precision. The door opened in a fluid motion, revealing a woman with flowing silver hair, her every movement exuding effortless authority.

Ningguang.

They were complete opposites in both driving and demeanor—one a storm of raw aggression and controlled chaos, the other a master of calculation and strategy.

March's breath hitched.

Her hands latched onto Collei's arm, shaking her with barely contained excitement. "Collei—do you even know who those two are?!"

Collei, still recovering from the ride up, blinked. "Uh… no?"

March nearly had a meltdown. "Are you serious?! That's Keqing and Ningguang! They're absolute legends!"

At the mention of those names, Beidou, Seele, and Pela all turned their heads. The weight those two carried in the underground racing scene was not something to be taken lightly.

March frantically scrolled through her phone, pulling up an article from Inazuma Motorsports Illustrated.

"Listen up! Keqing's the one behind the Midnight Purple RX-7 FD. She's famous for her aggressive driving style, insane precision, and god-tier throttle control. Second fastest on Mount Araumi."

She paused dramatically.

"And the fastest driver on Araumi? That's Ningguang. The one driving the White RX-7 FC. She's a monster on the track, dominating everything from sprints to Gymkhana events."

Seele let out a low whistle. "Damn. Never thought I'd see them here."

A Challenge is Issued

Keqing approached first, her sharp amber eyes locking onto Beidou with the same precision she used when analyzing a high-speed corner.

"I take it you're the fastest on Yougou?"

Beidou smirked, folding her arms. "That's what they say."

Ningguang studied her, a quiet amusement flickering in her gaze. "Interesting. We've heard a lot about this mountain pass, but not much about its drivers."

Keqing's stance exuded confidence. "Then let's fix that."

A pause.

"We're planning to do some runs tonight. Why don't we see what you've got?"

March practically vibrated with excitement, gripping Collei's shoulders and shaking her.

"Holy shit, Collei! Do you realize what's happening right now?! We're about to witness a real battle between the best drivers in the region!"

Collei, still reeling from everything, muttered, "Uh… yay?"

Keqing and Ningguang exchanged a glance, then without another word, turned on their heels and climbed back into their respective RX-7s.

Engines roared to life, sending a pulse of raw power through the summit. A split second later, both cars launched forward, tires gripping the asphalt as they disappeared into the darkness.

Like shooting stars.

The Aftermath

Pela adjusted her racing gloves, already making her way toward her MR2.

"We're not just gonna stand here, are we?" she muttered. "Let's get some practice in too."

Seele cracked her knuckles, a grin spreading across her face. "Hell yeah."

Beidou chuckled, her fingers itching to get behind the wheel. "Alright, let's go."

March practically jumped out of her skin. "Beidou, let us ride with you! We wanna see everything firsthand!"

Beidou shook her head, smirking. "Not this time, March. Serious runs? I drive alone."

March groaned in frustration. "This sucks so bad."

Beidou just laughed as she climbed into her Skyline. A moment later, the R32 launched forward, its RB26 screaming as she tore down the mountain pass.

Collei and March stood there, watching the last flicker of taillights disappear.

March huffed, crossing her arms. "I swear, we need a car of our own."

Collei, still staring at the road ahead, frowned slightly.

"…Hey, March?"

March sighed. "What?"

Collei's voice was quieter than usual. "Why do you love racing so much?"

March blinked. "Huh?"

Collei turned to her, genuine curiosity in her expression. "I don't get it. Everyone here is so excited about street racing, but I don't understand why."

Her gaze drifted downward. "What's so great about it?"

March gawked at her like she had just committed blasphemy.

"Collei, are you kidding me?! How do you not get it?!" She gestured wildly toward the road. "The speed, the adrenaline, the sound of engines roaring as you battle it out at full throttle! The thrill of pushing yourself and your car past its limits! It's the greatest feeling in the world!"

Collei frowned, looking down at her hands.

"…That's supposed to be exciting?"

March groaned, dramatically throwing her hands up. "Unbelievable. You're hopeless."

A Call from the Past

The distant hum of the city buzzed beyond the windows of Hearth's Tofu Shop, the soft glow of streetlights casting elongated shadows across the wooden counter. The old landline phone rang, its sound cutting through the quiet like a distant warning.

Arlecchino picked up the receiver, her voice smooth and steady.

"Hearth's Tofu Shop, how may I help you?"

The voice on the other end made her pause—a familiar one, wrapped in amusement and nostalgia.

"Well, well…" Arlecchino chuckled, leaning back against the counter. "It's been a long time since I heard from you, Lyney. Your voice is the last thing I expected to hear today."

Across the City

The glow of a convenience store vending machine flickered against the polished black paint of a Toyota Century G50, its presence alone exuding quiet prestige. Leaning against the car, a young man sipped a canned black coffee, the faint steam curling into the cool night air.

Lyney grinned.

"Come on, don't tell me you're not happy to hear from an old friend."

Arlecchino exhaled a quiet chuckle. "Of course, it's nice to speak to you again. So, what's the occasion? What brings you to disturb my peace?"

Lyney swirled the coffee in his hand, his expression shifting slightly as he recalled the night before.

"You know… last night, I passed you while you were coming down from a delivery run. I flashed my lights to signal you, but you flew past me like I was standing still."

Arlecchino's lips curled into a knowing smirk.

She already knew exactly where this was going.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, Lyney… but that wasn't me."

A Shocking Revelation

Lyney let out a short laugh, assuming she was joking. "Had to be! I passed your AE86 on the mountain. No doubt about it."

Arlecchino tilted her head slightly, amusement flickering in her crimson eyes.

"You got me there. It was my car. But I wasn't the one driving."

Lyney blinked, lowering his coffee slightly. "…Wait, what do you mean?"

His casual lean against the Century shifted slightly as a frown settled on his face.

"Then who—?"

Arlecchino scratched her cheek lazily, as if the answer was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Collei's been handling the deliveries to the hotels lately."

The words didn't fully register at first.

Then—

Lyney nearly choked on his coffee.

"Wait—What did you just say!?"

He straightened up, processing the information like a miscalculated hand in a high-stakes poker game.

"Since when has she been doing the deliveries!?"

Arlecchino's smirk widened slightly, relishing his reaction.

"Give or take… about five years now."

A brief silence.

Then—

Lyney's voice shot up an octave.

"Collei has been delivering tofu since she was in seventh grade!?"

His exclamation echoed into the quiet night, but Arlecchino, utterly unbothered, simply leaned further against the counter, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.

She had a feeling he'd react like this.

The Battle at Mount Yougou

The summit of Mount Yougou was cloaked in darkness, the dim flicker of streetlights doing little to pierce the shadows. The real illumination came from the searing white headlights cutting through the night, tracing the violent ballet of two machines locked in battle.

Seele's Nissan Fairlady S30Z and Ningguang's RX-7 FC.

The roar of high-revving engines filled the air as the two cars screamed through the corners, their exhaust notes bouncing off the mountain walls in a brutal symphony of speed.

Inside the S30Z, Seele gritted her teeth, her knuckles white against the steering wheel. She had the power advantage—on paper, she should've been pulling ahead. But in the corners?

Ningguang's RX-7 FC was untouchable.

The FC glided through the bends with an effortless precision, its tires whispering against the asphalt while Seele wrestled her car just to keep pace.

"Damn!" Seele hissed, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror.

The RX-7 was dancing through the turn behind her—like it wasn't even trying.

She slammed the throttle on the exit, her Z's straight-line power surging her forward, but in an instant, Ningguang was already there—her FC smoothly tucking in behind, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

A Different Battlefield

Elsewhere on the mountain, Beidou's R32 tore through the winding roads, engaged in an all-out war with Keqing's RX-7 FD.

Both cars were closely matched in power, but Beidou had the raw force of all-wheel drive, the sheer grip launching her out of corners with brutal efficiency.

Or so she thought.

Because every time she powered out of a turn, Keqing was already gone.

Beidou's grip tightened on the wheel as she watched the FD slip through another hairpin like a ghost, the taillights barely lingering before vanishing into the next corner.

Keqing's throttle control was unreal.

While Beidou relied on brute force, Keqing was on another level—modulating her inputs so precisely that she wasted no momentum, no energy.

And on a mountain pass like this? That difference was everything.

The Aftermath

The night stretched on, filled with the wailing of engines, the screech of tortured tires, and the sharp scent of burning rubber. By the time the battles ended, the summit's rest area was packed with heat-soaked machines and exhausted drivers.

Seele ripped off her helmet, tossing it onto the hood of her car, frustration etched deep into her expression.

"Shit… I don't like this. We're getting outpaced, and we're the home team."

Beidou leaned against the R32, arms crossed, the tension still fresh in her muscles.

"Losing on your own turf is a tough pill to swallow."

Pela adjusted her glasses, deep in thought. "If we can't figure out a counter for their cornering speed, we're going to lose. No matter how good we are on the straights, they're just too efficient in the turns."

A short silence settled over the group, the weight of reality sinking in.

Not far from them, Ningguang and Keqing sat by a vending machine, quietly observing their opponents.

Ningguang took a slow sip from her canned coffee before speaking, her voice composed.

"They're strong," she mused, "but predictable. Beidou has excellent pace, but her corner exits are still inefficient."

Keqing nodded, her golden eyes sharp. "They're clearly at their peak performance. If this is their best, I might not even need to bring my car for the race."

Ningguang smirked, setting down her drink. "We may not even need a practice run at this point."

Keqing turned to her, brow raised. "If you're not bringing your car, why should I even bother racing them?"

Ningguang's gaze sharpened.

"Because I want you to set a record—shatter their best time. Even on their best day, they won't be able to touch it. If we don't do this, our names won't become legendary."

Keqing processed her words, understanding the weight of the challenge.

After a pause, she exhaled and nodded. "Alright. If that's the case, I'll keep working on understanding the course better. You head back to Araumi—I'll stay and make sure I'm ready."

Ningguang gave a small nod, standing up. "Take care of yourself out there, Keqing. Don't push too hard."

With that, she climbed into her FC and rolled out, the white RX-7 disappearing into the night, leaving Keqing behind in quiet contemplation.

The air was thick with unspoken frustration as Beidou and her crew began their descent down Mount Yougou.

The earlier battles still weighed on them, the sting of defeat hanging in the night air like the lingering scent of burnt rubber.

A few steps behind the others, Collei and March walked in silence, their minds still turning over the races they had just witnessed.

The occasional distant wail of an engine echoed from the mountain above—someone still running laps, sharpening their lines, refusing to let the night end in failure.

Then, Beidou's voice cut through the quiet.

"If you didn't know, street racers like us don't take losing lightly."

Collei and March looked up, catching the serious edge in her tone.

Beidou glanced at them, her crimson gaze steady.

"Sometimes, we get too serious with these challenges… and the worst thing that can happen is losing to an outsider, especially on your own turf."

Her words hung heavy in the cold night air.

"It's an unwritten rule in street racing."

Collei furrowed her brows, uncertainty flickering across her face. "But… isn't it just a race?"

March nearly tripped over herself. "Just a race?! Collei, what part of this isn't serious?!"

She threw her hands up, exasperated. "Street racing isn't just about speed—it's about pride. Losing here is like getting your name wiped off the map."

Collei swallowed hard, her grip tightening around her jacket sleeve.

She wasn't sure she liked that idea.

Beidou sighed, stretching her arms behind her head as she walked.

"You'll get it eventually."

For the rest of the descent, no one spoke.

The only sound was the crunch of gravel under their feet and the distant, lonely howl of a high-revving engine still carving through the darkness above.

The night was heavy with the lingering scent of burnt rubber and high-octane fuel. The summit of Mount Yougou, usually silent at this hour, still echoed with the distant hum of engines cooling down after a night of brutal racing. The sky had begun its slow transition—inky black bleeding into the deep blues of early dawn. Streetlights flickered, casting pale halos over the asphalt.

Keqing stood near the guardrail, arms crossed, her golden eyes locked on the horizon. The wind tugged at her violet-tinted hair, but she barely noticed. Her mind was still on the runs she had done tonight.

Her FD was performing flawlessly—her cornering was crisp, her throttle control surgical. She was at her peak, and her competition? Predictable. The home team had put up a fight, sure, but nothing she and Ningguang couldn't handle.

"Hey, still here? Where's Ningguang?"

One of her teammates approached, stretching, a yawn escaping their lips. They looked just as exhausted as the rest of the team—after all, it had been a long night.

Keqing barely spared them a glance. "She headed home a while ago. She's probably fast asleep by now."

The teammate rubbed their eyes, checking the time on their phone. "Shit, it's already 4:30 AM? No point in staying if we're running on fumes."

Keqing hummed in agreement but didn't move. Something inside her wasn't quite satisfied yet.

The night felt unfinished.

The others turned to leave, but Keqing finally stepped toward her car, fingers grazing the cool metal of the door handle. She exhaled sharply.

"One more run," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

The team hesitated. "You serious? Right now?"

Keqing slid into the FD's cockpit, the Recaro bucket seat hugging her frame as she settled into position. She reached for the ignition, twisting the key. The rotary engine rumbled to life, sending a deep, throaty vibration through the chassis.

She didn't bother answering.

She simply gripped the wheel, tapped the accelerator a few times, and let the high-pitched wail of the 13B-REW speak for itself.

Then, with a blip of the throttle, she was gone.

Mount Yougou's descent was unforgiving.

Unlike Araumi, which had longer, sweeping turns, Yougou was tight—hairpins, chicanes, and elevation changes that could kill your momentum if you weren't precise. A course like this wasn't about raw power. It was about control.

Keqing thrived on this.

Her FD sliced through the corners, the front tires biting into the asphalt as she danced on the fine line between grip and slip. She downshifted into third, heel-and-toeing perfectly to match the revs. The rear end kicked out slightly—exactly as planned—before she caught it with a smooth countersteer.

She grinned. This was her domain.

And then she saw them.

A flicker of light in her mirror.

Headlights.

She barely spared them a glance at first, assuming one of her teammates had decided to chase her down. But something felt… off.

She flicked her eyes back to the rearview. The car wasn't one of her team's RX-7s. It wasn't an R32. It wasn't even a Silvia.

It was small. Boxy. Old-school.

She frowned, scanning its shape. Low stance. Compact body. It almost looked like—

No way.

Her grip on the wheel tightened.

An AE86.

A fucking Eight-Six was tailing her?

Keqing's foot pressed harder on the throttle, sending the FD screaming into the next straight. She expected the gap to widen.

It didn't.

Her heart rate picked up. "Alright, asshole. Let's see if you can keep up."

The next set of turns approached. She hit the brakes hard, shifting weight forward, and flicked the wheel into a textbook drift. The FD rotated beautifully, the rear tires skimming the edge of the curve before she powered out.

She checked her mirror.

The AE86 had gained on her.

Keqing's jaw clenched. That was impossible. The FD outclassed that car in every measurable way—power, aerodynamics, braking. That hatchback should have been left in the dust.

And yet…

The AE86 wasn't just keeping up. It was closing in.

Keqing's mind raced. "That driver… they're not normal."

Then, just before the next turn, she saw it.

The Eight-Six jerked right before swinging left—an unnatural, almost violent motion that sent its weight shifting wildly. The car snapped into the drift with a level of precision she had never seen before.

Keqing's stomach flipped.

That was an inertia drift.

Something only a freakishly skilled driver would attempt at these speeds.

She barely had time to process before the Eight-Six repeated the technique—flinging itself sideways before the corner even began, shifting weight in a way that made its underpowered chassis seem untouchable in the bends.

Keqing was watching a ghost.

Her hands felt sweaty on the wheel. She had to pull ahead—she had to break this insane pace.

She dropped a gear, gunned the throttle, and rocketed down the next straight. The FD's turbo whistled as she redlined it, the rotary engine shrieking in protest.

But the Eight-Six…

It was still there.

Right on her bumper.

No fucking way.

Keqing's breath hitched. She never lost a lead like this. And then—

It happened.

As they approached the final downhill hairpin, Keqing instinctively braked hard, shifting her weight forward to maintain control.

The AE86 didn't brake.

It dived into the inside line—a line so tight, so impossibly aggressive that Keqing thought for sure it was suicide.

But then—

A flash of black wheels. A feather-light flick of the steering wheel. The perfect amount of countersteer.

The AE86 slipped through the corner like it was fucking water.

Keqing's stomach dropped.

She wasn't ahead anymore.

The AE86 had overtaken her.

The shock made her hesitate—a fraction of a second too long.

She overcorrected.

Her rear tires locked up.

The FD spun out.

The world blurred. Asphalt. Guardrails. Flashing headlights.

When she finally came to a stop, her hands were trembling against the wheel.

Silence.

Then, the distant sound of approaching cars.

Her teammates pulled up, their faces twisted in confusion.

"Shit… Keqing, what the hell happened!?"

Another leaned down, eyes wide. "Did you just spin out?"

Keqing barely heard them.

Her mind was still trapped in that last moment—the AE86 slipping past her like it had defied the laws of physics.

She exhaled. Then, in a low voice, she muttered:

"Did you see that freak in the Eight-Six?"

The others exchanged glances.

"Yeah… I saw it."

Keqing's grip on the wheel tightened.

"And I'm not happy about it."

Her golden eyes burned with something new.

She had to find that driver.

Because no street-spec RX-7 FD…

Should lose to an old-ass AE86.

And when she found them?

She was going to settle this the right way.

On the mountain.

One-on-one.