Disclaimer: I don't own Azumanga Daioh or its characters, or anything related. You know the rest.

A few opening words:

Our adventure begins a few weeks into their second year (Grade 11), and we'll disregard everything that happens in the actual show/manga after this point in time. I'm rewriting the history!

For this story I an going to assume that, based off Chiyo and Tomo's ages, 11 and 17, in grade 11, that everyone else's age, said from the teachers', is similar. I'll also assume that they can get their drivers license at the same age as us.

And now without further adieu...

"Sakaki-san..."

"..."

"Sakaki-san!"

"Hmm...Oh, Chiyo-chan! I..." Sakaki awoke from her daydream. Cats were the subject, yet again. She blushed slightly.

"I'm collecting last night's assignment." Chiyo held out the pile of papers to to show her. Sakaki reached into her bag, and pulled out hers. Along with it, came a small Kitten plush toy. She quickly grabbed it up off the ground and shoved it back in the bag, hoping no one saw. For someone of her size, she was quite insecure about her love of all things cute, and it made her somewhat difficult to approach for anyone, other than a friend. She handed her paper to Chiyo.

"Here."

"Thanks!" She smiled, and headed off to Yukari's desk. Sakaki returned her gaze out the window, and began to daydream again. However, she was interrupted again, this time by Tomo, who pointed out the window in the direction of the street.

"Whoa! Check out those cars! They're moving fast!"

Sakaki looked over, and sure enough, four cars were barreling down the road at breakneck speeds. She could hear the whine of their engines, and it reminded her of a kitten purring. The cars, all Japanese tuners, sped full speed into a corner, and what followed was the sound of all their tires squealing, with white smoke trailing. To her surprise however, they had not crashed, but instead made their way around the corner, with surprising speed. As fast as they had appeared, they were gone.

"Bah, kids and their cars. I bet I could beat 'em all! Ain't that right Chiyo?" Yukari looked at Chiyo with a grin on her face, fully knowing that her car ride to the summer house had caused the small girl some serious mental harm. Chiyo looked up, eyes wide, with a far off look on her face. No doubt reliving the terrifying experience. She started whimpering.

"Aw hey, don't do that! Gah!" With that, the bell rang, and the class was over. "Ahh, thank goodness. Class dismissed..." And Yukari promptly fell asleep on her desk.

The seven girls made their way off the school grounds, towards the street where the cars had sped by. They found it easily, as it was the only street with long black streaks painted onto it by the tires.

"Man they must've been moving! When I get some money, I'm gonna get one of those! Yeah, just you wait!" Tomo yelled, pumping her fist in the air.

"Don't count on it. Cars are expensive..." Tomo simply looked at Yomi, and uttered one word. "Baka."

In an instant, Tomo bolted down the street towards her house, yelling all the way, with Yomi right on her tail. Sakaki sighed, and bid farewell to Kagura, Kaori, and Ayumu, who took other ways home. She then turned to Chiyo and smiled. They then headed off down the road.

Some time later, they arrived at Chiyo's house, and parted ways. Alone now, Sakaki reflected on the day, but what kept coming back was the sight - and sound of the cars that raced by. She was fascinated by them, and she didn't know why. It wasn't been the fact that the sound reminded her of a kitten's purr, though that was part of the case. She went home and changed out of her school clothes, and went to the park, deciding to skip out on a walk with Chiyo. Maybe, if she was lucky, the orange cat she had seen there the other day would return.

After a few hours of swinging, and simply sitting idle, Sakaki figured the cat probably wouldn't come. She glanced at the clock tower in the middle of the park, which read 7:30. She had been there for almost four hours! She stood up to leave, and was met with an odd, yet familiar sound. That of a whining car engine followed by the screeching of tires. She listened more closely, and could hear the steady bass beat of music off in the distance. Sakaki wasn't sure why, but the sound and sight of the cars intrigued her. She made up her mind and headed in the direction of the sounds.

Sakaki walked a few blocks, and already noticed the change in surroundings. Instead of a park, surrounded by a peaceful neighborhood, she seemed to have stepped into a different world. This area wasn't the slums, though. It was a more wealthy neighborhood, but not in the sense of Chiyo's. None of the houses were overly large, but she could tell by the way they were decorated, and the cars parked out front, that the people here had no need for money. By now, the music had gotten quite loud, so much so that she could almost feel the bass through the ground. She neared a corner of the street, and nearly jumped out of her skin as a pair of extravagantly painted sports cars, with multi colored lights glowing underneath, flew around the corner she was near, tires smoking and engines revving. Sakaki wasn't scared, however. She was oddly excited. Having never seen something like this up close, she didn't know what to expect.

Sakaki recovered her composure, and strode around the corner. The sight before her took her by surprise. At first all she saw was the large mass of people, and strobe lights. Most were dancing, and all were dressed in flashy clothes, the women more so. There probably wasn't a single girl there who wasn't showing some skin, unlike Sakaki, who probably stood out like an elephant in the middle of the arctic, due to the fact she was wearing a blue turtleneck and jeans. However, no one seemed to pay any attention to her. They were all busy dancing, making out with their lovers, or crowding around what she now identified as more of the loud sports cars. She made her way towards a smaller crowd, off to the side almost, in an attempt to see one, but without drawing too much attention to herself.

Sakaki approached the group of people with caution, ad edged her way into the group, trying to come into contact with as few as possible. Physical contact was unavoidable in a place as crowded as this, so she did her best. She peeked over the shoulders of one man, and took in the sight. It was a small two seated sports car, painted a metallic grey with an intricately painted black dragon on the sides. Sponsor stickers covered the car. It rested only a few inches above the ground, resting on four tires, with very thin five spooked rims. She moved her way to the back, and found the logo of the car, a Honda S2000.

Sakaki turned her head towards the largest crowd when she heard the revving of more engines, followed by many cheers from the onlookers. Pretty much everyone had left this particular car to go see the show. One man stayed behind, though, talking into his cell phone, his other hand covering his unused ear. She overheard part of his conversation, however involuntarily.

"Saki! Where the hell are you! We're - ... - I don't care where you are just - What? Jail? How - Agh! Now what am I gonna do! Dammit, you just had to go and get busted. Ahhhh... I'll stop by later and bail you out. Looks like I gotta find you a replacement." He quickly hung up and looked around. Sakaki glanced away, and looked back at the car, hoping he hadn't seen her.

"Hey, you! The tall girl!" Sakaki inhaled sharply, and turned towards him. "Yeah you! Can you drive?" She had recently gotten her license, and had passed the test with a perfect score. She nodded. "Alright then! I'm in desperate need of a driver for the next race. How would you like to take this baby for a spin?" He said, patting the rear fender of the S2000. Sakaki looked shocked. She may know how to drive, but she hadn't a clue about racing. "I...uh, I've never raced before..." she stuttered.

"That doesn't matter, as long as you don't wreck the thing. I get paid for getting the drivers, not whether they win. Oh, you ain't American are you?" Sakaki immediately blushed, and crossed her arms over her chest. She still wasn't comfortable with the size of her breasts. The man chuckled, obviously knowing what she thought he was referring to. "Naw, not that! I mean American, as in American driving! They don't know how to really race, only drag." She shook her head again. "You don't talk much, do ya?" Another shake of her head.

"Well then, come on over here, and take a look." He gestured towards the car, and Sakaki cautiously approached, unsure of what to do.

What am I doing? I don't belong here! But why am I drawn to the cars, the sounds? It doesn't make sense... she thought. She ignored here better judgment and stepped closer. The man, who was fully a head shorter than her, pulled the door open, and eyed her up. She fidgeted. "Heh, look like I'm gonna have to move the seat back. Alright then! Take a look. It's a thing of beauty, it is! It has a ..." he trailed off into a very detailed description of the car's engine, suspension, and everything else. She ignored it, as it only confused her. Sakaki bent over, and slid into the seat, which sat surprisingly low. She had no problem seeing over the dash though.

"Okay then, you seem to fit! Oh, you know how to drive stick, right?" Sakaki nodded. She had requested to learn on manual, as suggested by her P.E. teacher, Minamo Kurosawa. She had said it was best to learn manual incase you ever needed to drive one. Sakaki looked around the interior. It had two seats, which didn't look normal, and a lot of steel tubing running around the roof and sides. In between the seats was the shifter, the knob painted like a billiard ball. Behind the seats rested two blue gas containers, similar to those she had seen scuba divers wear. The man caught her gaze, and pointed to the red buttons on the steering wheel. "That's your Nitrous. Try to only use it in the higher gears, you could blow the engine." Sakaki wasn't sure what he meant, but nodded anyway.

Just then, she heard the whine of a pair of engines, and turned in her seat, just in time to see a pair of cars race by, one slightly in front of the other. A cheer arose from the crowd as they ran off to get a look at the victorious driver.

"Well, looks like you're up. Here's the keys, I'll guide you over to the start line." He tossed the keys to her and shut the door. Sakaki's heart began to race as she inserted the keys and turned the ignition, causing the car to rumble, and emit the low purring noise. Adrenaline began to course through her veins and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She recalled the rules for driving manual - release gas, depress clutch, shift, release clutch, and hit the gas again. Once in first, she gently tapped the gas pedal, causing the car to jump ahead quickly. She used the breaks to slow it down, and followed the man over to the line. She saw three others doing the same. She pulled up, and stopped on his signal. He approached the car again.

"Alright, once that girl drops her arms, the race is on. Follow the course - it's lined with reflectors and lights, you won't miss it - and try not to hit any of the others. The trick to a quick start is to hold the clutch in and shift into first to be ready. Rev the engine, while holding the clutch, and let it go as soon as her arms are down. Careful in this car though, it's got a lot of torque, and tends to spin the tire a bit. You're not facing the best racers, but they aren't bad. Reiko there," he pointed to the woman in the pink coupe directly to my right, "is driving a 350Z. Good speed, but you'll catch her on the turns. Tohno over there," he then pointed to the next car, a boxy looking car, probably older, "is driving an older Skyline. It's all wheel drive, so it takes corners well, but doesn't have as much speed. Lastly, we have Kenyo," he pointed out the last car, "is driving an S15. A good al round car, no notable advantages or disadvantages." Sakaki had been looking all around, taking in her surroundings, nodding without thinking. What am I doing? Why am I enjoying this? She thought.

Just then, a tanned woman, who reminded Sakaki of Kagura, strode into the center of the street, between the two middle cars. The crowd in front of her split apart, revealing the road beneath. She could see the reflectors indicating a corner off in the distance. She looked around, and saw she had gathered quite a crowd on her side of the street. Men and women alike turned and spoke to each other, not taking their eyes off her. The man leaned in and said, "Looks like its time. Good luck. Oh, M'name's Ezaki by the way." Sakaki nodded her thanks, and returned, "Sakaki." He smiled and backed off. The scantily clad woman in the street raised her hands above her head, and Sakaki's adrenaline spiked, butterflies forming in her stomach. The other racers revved their engines, and she followed suit, following Ezaki's instructions as well. The engines whined high pitched noises, again reminding her of cats. The woman swung her arms around, and Sakaki started a mental countdown. Three. Two. One...

The woman's arms dropped, and Sakaki released the clutch. The loud squealing of tires marked the beginning of a night she would never forget...

Author's notes:

Alright! First chapter of my first fanfic! Whaddaya think? Again I'm under the assumption that Sakaki is 18 and has her license, based off Tomo's age. Read and review please! Let me know if I have something here!