GT7 x Initial D - First Stage 07 - |AUTOPOLIS| Was it all worth it?

After his crushing defeat against his brother Daiki, Ryo felt something deep inside him crack. He did his best to suppress it, to act as if nothing had changed. When the Akina Squad decided to make an extra stop at Autopolis, he simply nodded, hiding his emotions behind a forced sense of normalcy.

But the truth was—he wasn’t himself anymore.

His mind kept looping the same thoughts, over and over again.

How?
How could Daiki beat me so effortlessly, even after everything I’ve learned?
Why?
Was this whole journey even worth it? Five years on the road, chasing a dream… but for what?
Am I really worthy of being part of the Akina Squad?
Do I even deserve to carry the RedSuns sticker on my car?
Or have I just been wasting Bunta’s and Takumi’s time?

These questions haunted him, weighing down every turn of the wheel, every press of the throttle. His usually sharp instincts felt clouded, his lines were sloppy, his braking was either too late or too early. His car—an extension of himself—felt like it was fighting against him rather than with him.

The others could sense it too. Takumi, who had once struggled with self-doubt himself, recognized the look in Ryo’s eyes. Ryosuke, always the strategist, knew exactly what was going through Ryo’s mind. Even Bunta, who rarely spoke more than a few words at a time, silently observed from a distance, as if waiting to see how Ryo would handle this internal storm.

Ryo had come so far, pushing himself beyond his limits, chasing something bigger than himself. But for the first time since leaving home…

He wasn’t sure if he could keep going.

And the way he drove that day made it painfully obvious.