I needed to get out of the rut of a writer's block on "Promises to a Distant Sky" so I decided to take a break from the drama with something light. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: The characters are creations by Shuichi Shigeno from the manga/anime series, Initial D. No copyright infringements intended. (And I usually return the characters in working order.)

Vulnerable

He looked up from his laptop for what could be the fifth time that hour to see Tsugumi staring at him, instead of the textbook.

"Tsugumi." He followed it with a pointed look at the book in her hands, a silent reprimand for her to continue reading while he looked over the simulations he had been working on the past two days. Fumihiro and Kenta arrived two days ago with footages of the course they will race on this Saturday. It was a welcome addition to the topographical map Ryousuke uploaded in his simulator program. It would give him and his drivers a better lay of the land, so to speak.

It was a regular Friday for Takahashi Ryousuke, but a rather less-hectic Friday at that. He had turned in a term paper that morning, and his professors have been amazingly magnanimous by giving them less work for the weekend. Which meant more time for Ryousuke to devote his energies on their practice run tonight.

Friday also meant tutoring time for Tsugumi, as he always let his Saturdays more open when a battle was at hand.

"What is it, Tsugumi?" He asked finally, hardly keeping his exasperation from his tone. Even when he wasn't looking, he could feel the curious gaze his cousin was directed his way. Not that it was distracting him in any way; it was taking Tsugumi's attention from her studies.

Tsugumi offered a sheepish grin. "Sorry. It's just that… well, I'm just not used to seeing you like… that."

He stared wordlessly at his cousin before turning back to the laptop screen. "It's only temporary," he offered as he resumed typing.

"It suits you, I think," Tsugumi offered.

"I don't like it," Ryousuke admitted. "But I have to make do for now."

"You look fine, Ryousuke," she assured him with a giggle. "I didn't think you can be so touchy about your looks."

"I'm not," he blurted defensively, then sighed. "It's just that I'm not used to this." He looked up to her with a serious look. "And we are getting away from the subject of your Trigonometry assignment."

Tsugumi blew out a melodramatic sigh before uttering, "Yes, sir."

Ryousuke shook his head slightly before turning his full attention back to the simulation, and order was restored in his room once more.

-o- -O- -o-

It was close to nine-thirty when Project arrived at the course. Ryousuke stirred to wakefulness when he felt the van stationary far longer than usual. He straightened the passenger seat, taking out an object from his breast pocket and slipping it on before stepping out of the van. As he signaled Fumihiro to speak to the opposing team, he tracked down Matsumoto.

"Matsumoto. How are the revisions going with the Eight-Six?" He asked the vehicle's mechanic as he came up to him.

Matsumoto uttered strange choking sounds before composing himself and giving his report. Ryousuke gave an inward sigh. He would really have to get used to this.

As he surmised, he saw a similar reaction from Tomiguchi the moment he laid eyes on Ryousuke. It was a minor irritant, but if he would have to put up with this all night…

"Yes, I know," was his clipped remark at Kenta as he walked past the gaping boy. He left him making odd, soundless gestures, but he had more important things in mind.

"Pay close attention to the course," he began without ceremony when he reached Fujiwara and his brother. "With the rain this afternoon, you would need to make a few adjustments to your driving. We cannot be assured whether it would rain tomorrow or not, so I want you two to be extra sensitive to how your cars react to the road." He waited for his drivers to show they understood, which came, to Ryousuke's estimate, five seconds later than what was usual of their reaction.

He let it slide for now. "Drive at 70 as usual," he hesitated at seeing their faces. "Do you have a question, Fujiwara?"

The boy looked genuinely startled with the ambush question, and shook his head a blink later. Ryousuke wanted to roll his eyes. Fujiwara usually looked out of it unless he was being briefed by him.

He turned to his brother.

"Oh, no," Keisuke supplied as he waved his hands in front of him. "Just that, well, it's been a while since I saw you with them." He offered a sly grin.

Ryousuke finally let his exasperation show with a sigh. Not yet on the road, and his drivers were already distracted. If this is what it takes…

"Just focus and go."

They nodded in unison, and quickly made their way to their vehicles. Soon, the revving of the Project D cars resounded in the damp night air, and everything was back to business once more.

Ryousuke was left to his own devices for the first ten minutes until Fumihiro came up beside him.

"I never knew you were short-sighted."

If he didn't know any better, Ryousuke detected amusement in Fumihiro's voice.

He pushed up the silver frame up his nose. "My contacts had to be replaced, and I won't get them until Monday."

Fumihiro tilted his head at Ryousuke, fixing him a fascinated stare—or rather, at the wire frame before Ryousuke's eyes.

"So you can't see without them?"

He turned a narrow look at his friend. "I'm near-sighted, Fumi, not blind." Why doesn't Tomiguchi get such treatment? But then, he rationalized to himself, they hardly really saw the mechanic withouthis glasses, either.

Fumihiro gave a good-natured chuckle. "I'm sorry, Ryousuke," he apologized. "You just look so different from usual."

He paused and looked him over again, making Ryousuke want to fidget from the scrutiny. "In fact, you look more dignified, a lot more mature. A lot…"

"Geekier." He made sure Tomiguchi was out of earshot when he made that careless remark, not wanting to offend the man.

Fumihiro eyed him thoughtfully, laying a hand on Ryousuke's shoulder. "Come now, Ryousuke. It doesn't look that bad!" he gently assured. "What made you think that?"

Ryousuke thrust his hands in his jeans pocket, looking contemplatively at the night sky. This was not something he discussed freely with anyone, not even with Keisuke. But, what the hell…

"My eyesight had been really bad," he confessed at length, "since I was in junior high, so I had to wear corrective lenses. My classmates were merciless then, when they found a chink in my proverbial armor." He shrugged in nonchalance. "I was a straight A student, so I could understand some people wanting to get me down."

Fumihiro looked sympathetic. "They did, didn't they?"

He sighed, then offered a laconic grin. "I try not to let it get to me, but I suppose they saw it as a weakness and they exploited that little fact at every chance they get. When I was allowed to, I convinced my parents to getting me a pair of contact lenses. I didn't go back to glasses since."

They fell into comfortable silence after Ryousuke's quiet confession, the younger man feeling a little unburdened by his admission to one of the many moments in his life when he felt vulnerable. As the years wore on, however, cruel words had made Takahashi Ryousuke a lot stronger, and his newfound pursuits then had always kept his focus to that one predetermined goal.

Fumihiro is one of the few of his trusted friends; his little secret was in good hands.

"If you never used your glasses, then those lenses should be ten years old by now," Fumihiro surmised. "Won't it make your eyesight worse?"

Ryousuke quietly chuckled, nudging the glasses up his face once more. "I didn't say I never used them," he pointed out. "I get the lenses replaced the same time I update my contacts in case things like this happen."

The older man shared the grin. Count on Takahashi Ryousuke to think three steps ahead.

A/N: I came up with the notion that Ryousuke's eyesight must be bad by now from constant reading and tinkering with his simulations. So you see, he is human, after all...