School had once again come to a close, and seven friends gathered outside of the school to depart for their homes. Muse had disbanded after Eli, Nico, and Nozomi had graduated, but the friendships they all had made still endured into the next semester. There was just one other thing that was different...
"My new car is so cool!" Honoka squealed with excitement, bringing up her vehicle for the tenth time that day. Mostly polite smiles or exaggerated eye rolls greeted her words, but Rin seemed rather excited about the prospects of one of them being able to drive. "Okay, since we're all heading home now, let me drive all of you!" Exuberance radiated off of Honoka's face, her excitement at being the first in the group to get their own vehicle unable to be contained. Rin immediately nodded vigorously in agreement, though Hanayo hesitated next to her best friend.
"H-Honoka-chan, there aren't enough seats in your car-"
"Yay, we get to ride in the car, nya!" Rin shouted, interrupting Hanayo's well-reasoned concerns as she ran off to where Honoka's new car was parked. "I call shotgun!"
"R-Rin-chan, wait up!" Hanayo hurried as fast as she could after her friend, leaving the rest of the group to look at Honoka with expressions ranging from utter indifference to trembling horror. At the very moment Honoka had offered to drive everyone home, Umi had immediately felt the color draining from her face. The mere thought of someone like Honoka behind the wheel of a car... It had the potential for a disaster of immeasurable proportions. She started to decline the 'generous' invitation, but someone beat her to it.
"No thanks. I'd rather walk." That was Maki, and Umi silently envied the way the redhead could so easily avoid danger like that.
"Y-yeah, me too!" Umi quickly chimed in, stepping towards Maki with a forced smile. It was unfortunate about Hanayo and Rin, but there was nothing she could do for them. It was every woman for themselves. "Let's walk together, Maki."
"Eh? Uh, okay." Maki gave Umi a slightly confused look, but just nodded without further complaint. Umi prepared to walk home with Maki and Kotori, but one member of the trio was missing.
"Shall we go, Honoka-chan?" The sweet, sing-song voice of Kotori agreeing to ride with Honoka sent Umi's brain into immediate panic mode. Grabbing onto her friend's shoulder, she whispered in an urgent, desperate voice.
"Kotori, no! You know the dangers of what you're agreeing to! Come with us, please!"
"Do you want to leave Honoka-chan in a car without proper supervision?" 'Damn!' Umi reeled at the logic behind Kotori's words, but why her? Why did it have to be her?
"I-I'll go in your place!"
"No, Umi-chan. Walk home with Maki-chan. I'll be back home safe and sound tonight, okay?" Kotori's smile was so genuine, so warm, that Umi could feel herself evaporating from its radiance. She was the bravest of them all. With a sad nod, Umi gave Kotori a tight hug, wishing her the best of luck. All the while Maki and Honoka stared at this display with total confusion.
"Are... Are we going?" Honoka called, unsure.
"Mhm!" Waving goodbye to Umi and Maki, Kotori walked over and followed Honoka to her car, where Rin and Hanayo were anxiously awaiting entrance. With a click of a button, the doors unlocked and Rin scrambled into the front, while Hanayo cautiously got into the back. Kotori soon joined her, and with Honoka getting into the driver's seat and turning the key, the car roared to life.
"Buckle up, girls!" Honoka called out, putting the car into drive before slamming her foot on the gas. The car squealed as its tires attempted to gain traction on the road, and then they were flying out of the lot and towards their destiny, AKA home. A scream formed and died just as quickly on Hanayo's lips, and she wildly reached out to grab Kotori's hand. Kotori gave her hand a gentle squeeze and a reassuring smile as they were thrown back against the seats. 'I'm so sorry, Umi-chan.'
Muse music blared from the stereo speakers, and Hanayo wondered if Start:Dash! would be the soundtrack to their demise. The sound of the wind was almost as loud whipping against the steel chassis as they roared down the road, her hand only letting go of Kotori's to cover her eyes, thinking for sure they were dead when Honoka accidentally blew past a red light. "H-Honoka-chan, th-that light was red!"
"It was yellow before I got there!" Honoka protested.
"I-It was red when you were there!" At least Rin seemed to be having fun. Her screams seemed to have a bit more enjoyment in them than Hanayo's, and she cheered Honoka on as if this was an action movie. She hadn't wanted to die that day. There were so many things she had left to do: so many bowls of rice uneaten. "S-Somebody save me!"
Luckily, thankfully, mercifully, they reached Hanayo's house first. Honoka slammed on the brakes, sending her passengers jostling around in their seats as her front bumper touched the curb. "Whoops!" The moment the car stopped moving, Hanayo unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door, and placed her unsteady feet on the concrete. She had never felt so grateful to be on flat ground before.
Wobbling unsteadily to the other side of the car, she tried to coax Rin out, knocking on the window until it was rolled down. "Wh-Why don't we h-hang out at my house, Rin-chan?" Rin seemed to consider this, looking over at Honoka, who merely shrugged.
"Sure, Kayo-chin!" Unbuckling her own seatbelt, Rin waved to Honoka and Kotori before getting out of the car, not noticing Hanayo's deep sigh of relief as the two of them made their way to her house. As they neared the door, Honoka looked into the back and patted the now-open passenger seat.
"Come on, Kotori-chan! Sit with me!" With a stiff nod, Kotori got out of the car and changed seats, returning Honoka's brilliant smile with a more reserved one of her own. Everything would be okay. She just had to repeat that mantra to herself a few hundred times.
The ride was actually rather smooth, and Kotori found herself able to relax in her seat as they drove back home. At least, she was until they reached a red light. Sitting at the light next to them was an expensive-looking sports car, a fact that Kotori would've usually ignored, except for the fact that the driver honked at them. Confused, she watched as Honoka rolled down the window, and they were staring at a familiar, grinning face.
"Tsubasa-chan!" Honoka shouted, taking her hands off the wheel to wave. Tsubasa chuckled softly and waved back, while Kotori could only make herself smile nervously.
"Nice car, Honoka! Is it new?"
"Yup! I love Pain!"
"Huh?" Both Tsubasa and Kotori stared at Honoka, deeply confused.
"What? Oh! Pain is French! For bread."
"Oh." Good gracious. With that momentary confusion out of the way, Tsubasa called out again. "Hey, wanna race?"
"Race?"
"Yeah. First to UTX wins. How about it?" Kotori wanted to say something. Probably something along the lines of 'no, this is a bad, bad idea, and there are traffic laws and your safety, and my safety too', but she knew that look in Honoka's eyes. It was the look of someone who never backed down from a challenge. They were going to die.
"You're on!" This was definitely the time to say something. Honoka was now holding onto the steering wheel tightly, glaring out through the windshield in determination. The sounds of a loud motor revving up came from beside them. Then the light turned green. It was now or never.
"HonokaAAAAAAA!" It was never. Kotori screamed into the wind blowing through the open window as she grabbed onto her seat for dear life, not knowing whether to shut her eyes or not. It would be nice not to see their impending doom, but she didn't want to be kept in the dark about what was going on. She contented herself with just screaming.
As they continued on their illegal-as-all-hell street race, they came upon a sharp turn. Surely this would be the place they slowed down, but she didn't see Honoka moving her foot towards the brakes. "Uh, H-Honoka-chan, don't you think you should slow down?"
"I got this, Kotori-chan! I've been practicing my drifting for awhile now!"
"B-But you just got this car!"
"I know, but I've been training in Mario Kart!" Game over. Kotori went right back to screaming as Honoka took the turn right behind Tsubasa, the tires screeching as she hit the brakes and spun the steering wheel hard to the left. Time seemed to stand still as Kotori watched the curb come closer and closer. She shut her eyes and covered them with her hands, preparing for the crash, but it never came.
Opening her eyes again, she was surprised to find that they had actually taken the turn without dying. It was miraculous. Kotori silently thanked the Gods as they zoomed after Tsubasa, the towering building that was UTX coming up into sight. Honoka was close, but Tsubasa had a car that was made for this kind of speed, and so naturally she ended up the winner.
"Aww, I almost had you!" Honoka laughed and smiled at Tsubasa, their cars parked next to each other outside of the school. Kotori, meanwhile, was clutching the door and trying to keep her lunch down. Was it too much to ask for Honoka to just slowly drive her back to her house? They were farther now than when they started.
"You're very skilled for a new driver," Tsubasa commented, a playful grin on her face. "How about double or nothing? I'll race you to your house."
"Oh, it's on!" Honoka cheered, sending Kotori into panic mode.
"I wanna walk home now! Honoka-chaaaan!"