Chapter Two: Merge

Ami had just taken a bite of gyudon when the door to her classroom slid open, framing a boy everyone turned to stare at. "Which one of you is Mizuno Ami?" he inquired.

She closed her lunchbox and stood up. "I am."

"Come with me," he said, and left without ensuring she would follow him. The boy piqued her curiosity so of course she did. He led her up to the computer lab on the third floor and plunked into a chair, typing and clicking rapidly while Ami stood behind him. She only had to examine the monitor for a few seconds to determine what he was trying to accomplish, but he failed and released a grunt of frustration. "Can you make this work?"

"I think so," she answered, taking his place. She scrolled through seemingly endless amounts of code until locating the erroneous segment, tapping the monitor with her index finger. "Here's your problem. You have to assign each of these images its own value or else your rendering subprogram will try fetching them all at once."

"Oh, I see." There were thousands of images to access so Ami couldn't quite understand how he'd forgotten something as glaringly obvious as numbering each file. After implementing the changes he clicked through several menus. A 3D car model appeared, various aspects of its appearance changing depending on the options selected. "Excellent," the boy grinned. "Thanks a lot, Mizuno-san."

That was her first interaction with Nishino Zenjirou, a third-year at Kougei Academy, and upon returning to her homeroom Ami's classmates told her how lucky she was to make his acquaintance. His father owned an international shipping company called West End Transport that had contracts with all the major automotive manufacturers; suffice it to say Zenjirou was incredibly wealthy and desirable. He established a reputation as an introvert during his first year so although most of the students knew who he was, including that he had the best test scores in school, people seldom saw him because he avoided them like the plague.

Beating those scores was Ami's main motivation for taking Kougei's entrance exam instead of going to the public school near her home. Now that she wore the prestigious black and gold uniform people stared at her wherever she went; the Academy was considered elite since many foreign dignitaries sent their children there. Most of Ami's peers were aspiring models, actors, singers, athletes and artists, but computers were her calling. Her logical, analytical mind loved nothing more than putting order to chaos and seeing something based solely on reason emerge. That was why she said yes when Zenjirou formally requested her help with his project.

They were working on the software after school when he spoke to her out of the blue. "My brother informed me that I'm driving you to Izu after exams."

"Chiba-san?" Ami clarified. She knew of Mamoru, that he was Zenjirou's sibling by adoption, but she'd never actually met him even though he too attended Kougei. "How does he know about my vacation plans?"

"Your friend Usagi told him."

"How does Usagi know Mamoru?"

He faced her, raising a slim eyebrow. "You were there during her accident, right? He was the one who hit her." Ami's lips parted in shock. "I'm assuming she hasn't told you they text all the time."

"I see…" She'd been so busy studying she hadn't spoken with her friends at all since that fateful night at the arcade. Summer vacation couldn't come soon enough. "So you don't mind giving me a ride to my beach house?" The boy shook his head. "That's very kind of you, Nishino-san, but…" He took his hands off the keyboard to give her his undivided attention. "You ride a motorcycle to school, don't you? I'm not comfortable going so far on one of those."

The boy allowed silence to reign until Ami squirmed in her seat, thinking she'd insulted him, then his lips barely turned up in a smile. "I have a car too, Mizuno. I was going to take you in that." The smile shifted to a smirk. "But if you think street bikes are scary, it'll probably terrify you."

Ami wasn't sure how to respond; this was the longest they'd conversed since she began assisting him in May. There were several things she wanted to ask about, mostly his impressive self-taught programming skills, but she knew Zenjirou preferred peace and quiet because he never initiated conversation. Although, he had started this one… did that mean he was ready to be social? "It's fine if you call me Ami. We've been working on your software for three months now, we should stop being formal."

"In that case, call me Zen. Or Zenji if that's too casual for you." He sat back with a sigh. "If we're going to start talking, I'd appreciate it if you spared me the financial queries. And please don't say you want to pleasure me in exchange for money."

She blinked at him, bewildered. "Is that a proposition you often receive?"

"Yeah, from the Eurotrash."

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that." Ami coughed nervously while he shrugged it off. When their gaze reconnected she didn't see a trace of apprehension in his dark green eyes, and speaking of those… "Do you wear contacts, Zen-san?"

Good, she used his nickname. "I have astigmatism. Green is my favorite color."

Ami reached up to brush a bright red strand escaping the knitted hat he wore every day. "And you dye your hair?"

"Yeah… it didn't come out very well so I've been hiding it. I wanted mahogany and they gave me stop-light red."

The girl tilted her head. "I might be able to fix it. I help my friend Mina with her hair every month, but she goes blonde. If you don't mind platinum there's a bottle at my house."

Whoa, she was inviting him to her home? That was a first for him. "Sure, I'm game."

People stared as they headed downstairs together, whispers following in their wake. Zen was never one to acknowledge gossip and hoped Ami wouldn't let the rumors get to her either, not that she really had a reputation to tarnish. When word had reached his ears that a first-year applicant scored perfectly on her entrance exams, he asked the student council president to see her file and was pleased to discover she matched him intellectually. Zen never considered becoming friends with the girl, but here they were going to hang out after school.

"This is your motorcycle?" Ami inched closer to the idling Kawasaki Ninja H2R while the boy straddled it. "It looks fast."

"It is fast," he said with a fond smile. "Top speed is over 320 kilometers thanks to the supercharger. I'll definitely beat you to your place… which is where, by the way?" She supplied her address, then he waved and zoomed off.

Even though Ami caught a timely train to Jiyugaoka the ride still took half an hour and she felt guilty for having to make Zen wait around in a strange neighborhood, but upon exiting the station she found him parked nearby. "I thought it'd be more fun this way. Hop on." He shifted forward in the seat and Ami glanced around uncertainly, hoping no one saw up her skirt as she lifted her leg to sit behind him. Once situated a prickle of fear bloomed in her stomach and she clung to his waist. He could feel her heart pounding against his back. "It's okay Ami-chan, I'm not going to speed around here. I'm not that irresponsible."

"Just slightly irresponsible, hm?" she muttered, making him chuckle. He drove slowly down the street, turning whenever her hand rose to direct him. The Mizuno residence was quaint and featured perfectly maintained landscaping, a low, gated brick wall lining the sidewalk, and a flagstone path to the door. Ami withdrew a key from her schoolbag and led him into the clean, bright, utterly silent abode.

"Your parents aren't home?" Zen inquired.

"My mother is the head of surgery at the hospital in this ward so she's always working, and my father… is an eccentric artist living in the mountains." Zen noticed the tension in her voice and made a mental note to avoid bringing it up again. After Ami changed into a tank top and torn capris she joined him in the bathroom. "All right, take off the hat." He did so resignedly, catching the way she stifled a laugh as a veritable mop covered his face. "Do you want me to cut it first? I do Mina's, my mom's, and my own."

The fact that her fluffy, layered short hair looked professionally styled bolstered his confidence in her abilities. "This is a weird way to start a friendship," Zen remarked while she combed and snipped, "likely only time I want a girl fussing over me." He felt a tug near the base of his neck. "Hey, what are you doing back there?"

"Nothing to worry about," Ami sweetly replied. The tugs moved up to his crown before she came around to give him razor-cut side bangs. She stood back appraisingly, thinking she'd done a pretty good job styling a boy's hair for the first time. "May I have your verdict?"

Zen cracked an eye to examine himself in the mirror and immediately gasped. He resembled a young Gackt, especially with his green contacts, and he wasn't about to complain since the man was a national idol. "You have skills, Ami-chan. Maybe you should consider cosmetology school instead of MIT."

"That wouldn't be as rewarding," she returned, donning some latex gloves. "Now, I hope you find my bathtub comfortable. Turning you blond will take a while."


Zen would have offered to drive Ami to her vacation home if Mamoru hadn't already made the decision on his behalf; it was the least he could do to thank her for considerably boosting his self-esteem. The security guard at Noctis Performance stopped him, asking him to remove his helmet. "Sorry about that, Nishino-sama. Didn't recognize you or the bike." The boy nodded before rolling into the complex, noticing the mechanics staring at him. They all knew he only came here when it was absolutely necessary because he didn't want to take the chance of running into Tatsuo. The man was probably lurking already.

Zen parked outside the garage housing Noctis' secondary vehicles. These were cars that could be quickly outfitted for competition in the event something happened to one of the flagship cars, but when not in use they served as personal rides. The Mazda RX7 he received for his sixteenth birthday lived here alongside Mamoru's Porsche 991 GT3 and Kyosuke's Lotus Exige 350. The RX7 was the rarest car among the lineup since it was one of only 1,500 Spirit R versions produced in 2002. Just looking at it made him feel like he could conquer any road in the world.

There were four boys at the small practice track and two of them shared a look when they heard the instantly-recognizable rumble of the RX7's rotary motor. A few seconds later the emerald green vehicle crested the hill. "Why is Zen here?" Kyo inquired of Mamoru. He only shrugged as he left the central command platform, jogging across the pavement to open the gate. Never mind that there was someone currently on the circuit, one of Tatsuo's new recruits. Zen gave Mamoru a friendly wave before heading to the starting line. "What the hell is he doing?" Kyo demanded through the headset.

"I have no clue," he answered. His brother hadn't been to the track in ages.

Zen stared into his rearview mirror until a red Toyota Supra rounded the corner behind him, then he launched forward as it blew past, catching up before the first turn. "Kyo, who's this guy?" the driver questioned. This was supposed to be his training session.

"It's Koji's son," Kyo sighed in annoyance. "I'd appreciate it if you could kick his ass. Let him know he doesn't own the place." Kicking his ass was easier said than done. Both cars were lightweight, twin-turbo, rear-wheel drive machines ideal for drifting, the new kid's specialty, but he was still learning the Supra whereas Zen had two years of experience with the RX7. Needless say he beat the newbie to the finish line, indicating he follow him into the pit where everyone converged. Kyo folded his arms and glared at the shorter, skinnier boy once he stepped out of the car. "Thanks for interrupting our practice, Zen. We really appreciate it."

He grinned. "No problem. Just thought I'd take this bad boy for a lap to make sure he's still running fine."

"It is, thanks to regular maintenance from us. Not that you deserve it."

"I see someone's still butt-hurt that I'm not using it to win trophies for you."

"Don't worry, my dad won't ask you to join the team ever again. We don't need you now that we have this kid." Zen gave the boy a disdainful once-over, unimpressed by his driving ability. "Minamino Nobuyuki is a two-time winner of the junior drift competition at Infineon Raceway," Kyo said proudly. "He's going to win the Urban Action Grand Prix for us this year. Right, Nobu?" He only nodded, too embarrassed and intimidated to speak. Kyo indicated Team Noctis' other newbie, a very tall guy with ice blue eyes and golden hair. "This is Higashino Jouni, but we call him Jun. He's a rallycross champion from Helsinki."

Zen snorted. "So your dad hired an American and a Finn? He must be getting desperate. Or senile."

"Keep talking shit if you want me to knock your ass out, punk." Mamoru had to reach for Kyo's arm to stop him from doing just that, but then Jun stepped between them.

"Calm down, okay?" he said in stilted Japanese. "Why do you fight?"

"Kitano seems to forget the only reason he has any of this is because of my father's sponsorship."

"And Nishino seems to ignore the fact that it's my dad's hard labor putting money in his pocket."

Jun hummed thoughtfully and spread his arms wide. "So both fathers are to thank then. We wouldn't be here without them. We should get along, work together to win."

It was Kyo's turn to scoff. "You don't know Zen like I do. He refuses to join the team because he thinks he's too good for us. He's content to sit on a throne watching us peasants run around for his amusement."

Zen barked an incredulous laugh. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm just not into racing as much as you guys? Maybe I have my own separate interests? I'm not the prodigal son everyone wants me to be." He began gesticulating angrily. "Both of our dads have been harassing me about this for eight years. Eight years I haven't been able to do anything without hearing 'you're wasting your potential, you're wasting your life'. You have Mamoru now so you don't even need me. You just want me because you think I can help you secure more victories." He fished in his pocket for a flash drive he tossed to his brother. "Here's proof I don't belong on the track, something I've been working on for the better part of a year. It's not finished yet but it should be done soon thanks to help from this girl at school. See you after exams."

When he'd disappeared over the hill the boys clustered around Mamoru, staring at the tiny device. "What is it?" Nobu finally asked.

"I don't know… Zen hasn't really spoken to me since I moved in here." They returned to the platform and plugged it into a computer used to record track data. Among several folders was a single executable file that opened the modification software. Mamoru covered his mouth, speaking through his fingers. "Am I seeing this? Is this real?"

"Explain to me," Jun said.

"This is a program we can use to build cars before we actually build them," Kyo answered, unable to keep the awe from his tone. "Did Zen really develop this? Is he a genius or something?"

"He was always good with computers… I guess this is what he meant by 'separate interests'."

They took turns playing with the program, discovering an extensive database of parts linked to manufacturers' online catalogues so it remained up-to-date. The rendering aspect didn't always present a perfect 3D model, but that was hardly something to complain about when the technical specs proved to be incredibly accurate. The program only contained production vehicles so there was no NSX for Kyo to build, but Jun managed to replicate the BMW he rallied back home and Nobu modified his dream car, a Nissan GTR.

"Jesus kid, do you see how expensive that is?" Kyo gaped when he read the estimated cost of the build. "And you want to compound the boost? That's four turbos!"

"I know it's pricey, but it'd be virtually unbeatable. The GTR's nickname is Godzilla for a reason."

Mamoru shook his head. "It's not in our budget right now. You'll have to make do with something from the garage."

Nobu smiled wistfully. "I want that RX7. I fell in love with them after I saw the Fast & Furious movies."

"Well keep dreaming, it's not for community use. Koji asked us to style it without any Noctis badges because Zen doesn't want to be affiliated." Mamoru looked thoughtful. "He might let you drive it if he deems you worthy. You'll probably have to win Urban Action to do so."

"Heh, no pressure…"

"This is why I rally," Jun put in. "Only contest is against clock, no one else."

Kyo groaned. "Speaking of rally, I forgot to mention that some of the parts for your Evo will take another week to get here, so you can't drive it yet. It's just as well since we don't have a real off-road course for you to test it out."

Jun held up a solemn hand. "No problem, I will find logging road."

"There aren't as many around here as in Hokkaido," Mamoru said. "It's more mountainous and less populated. There would be a variety of terrain for you to practice on." He suddenly grinned. "Okay, that's what we'll do."

Everyone stared at him in confusion. "Would you care to share your revelation for those of us who aren't psychic?" Kyo dryly inquired.

"Koji has a cabin just outside Sapporo. He used to go skiing during the winter but hasn't in years, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we spent summer break there. It could be like a training camp for you two." Nobu and Jun made sounds of approval. "And there's an international speedway about two hours away if I'm not mistaken." Mamoru did a quick search for it, opening a course diagram. "Here it is, Tokachi."

"Ooh, it's almost fifty-one hundred meters. Look at that straight," Kyo purred. "It's not as long as Fuji but I bet these guys will let us on it without all the bullshit paperwork, especially if I bring the NSX."

"We should still call them instead of just showing up," Mamoru suggested, ever the efficient one. He spun in his chair to face his teammates. "So after we drop off the girls in Izu, we'll come back here to grab our cars and gear and take the Seikan ferry to Hokkaido."

Kyo cleared his throat. "That's all fine and dandy, but did you forget that you're suspended from driving the LFA?" Mamoru's expression fell; he totally had. "There's not really a point in you going if you can't prepare for NGT."

"Of course he has to come with us!" Nobu exclaimed. "This is his idea!"

"I guess I can try convincing my dad to take you off probation…" But Tatsuo was a hard-ass and wouldn't change his mind.

"No, that's okay. I'll just bring something to help Nobu. He needs to get used to competition."

Kyo scoffed. "No offense, but you suck at drifting."

"All the better for keeping him on his toes," Mamoru returned.


Minako knocked on the door of the Tsukino residence, twisting from side to side. Usagi's mother, Ikuko, answered it with a smile and invited her in. "Mina's here!" she called upstairs. "Better not keep her waiting!" The woman proffered a tray of assorted fruit tarts and she selected a blueberry one, groaning in delight as she bit into it.

"Your idea of breakfast is second to none, Okaa-san."

Ikuko beamed. "Thank you, Mina-chan. You make sure to keep an eye on my daughter, alright? She's liable to fall in a creek."

An indignant gasp came from above them. "I am not, Mom! I'm not as klutzy as I used to be!"

"But you did fall off the DDR stage when we were at the arcade," Minako pointed out, earning a friendly push. She waited while Usagi hugged her parents and waved goodbye to her brother, who hid at the top of the stairs. He had a huge crush on the glamorous blonde and didn't want her to see him get all flustered being in her proximity. "Bye Shingo!" Minako blew him a kiss and giggled when his face turned bright pink.

"You're so mean to him," Usagi said once they were outside. "He knows he'll never have a chance with you."

"His odds are about as good as our parents finding out where we're actually going on vacation."

"So, possible but highly unlikely?" Her friend nodded. "I kinda feel bad for lying to them about going on the class trip, but they didn't even want to listen when I brought up the beach house. It's like they don't believe we're old enough to take care of ourselves for a couple weeks."

"That's exactly what my parents said, but they added I'd be a bad influence on you guys. How rude is that?" She rolled her eyes as Usagi laughed. Minako was a bad influence when she tried hooking her friends up with random male Instagram followers. Ami and Rei absolutely refused her attempts to get them boyfriends and Makoto preferred interacting with people in person, but Usagi had agreed to a few blind dates in the past. Now she knew better than to indulge Minako's matchmaking tendencies because the dates usually consisted of ogling and creepy comments.

They stepped off the train near the Hikawa Shrine, which was managed by Rei's grandfather. Her cover story was that she hadn't seen him in a long time and wanted to help him prepare for the summer festival. Her father, Takashi, agreed without a second thought. When Rei informed her grandfather of her scheme he praised her cleverness; he'd been quite mischievous in his youth and was a little disappointed by his son's seriousness and diligence. That intense focus was likely what led Hino Takashi to a position in the National Diet.

Just after Ami arrived a convoy of coupes came roaring down the road and stopped outside the shrine, dispensing five young men as attractive as their vehicles. "Usagi-chan, this is who you got to take us to Izu?" Rei gawked. "I thought you'd found someone with a van or something!"

"Only the best for you, princess." The boy who said this lifted his shades and held out his hand. "I'm Jun, and you're riding with me."

"O-oh, okay…" Rei slipped a dainty hand into his while the other went to her chest to calm her suddenly-pounding heart. His eyes were bluer than the sky and utterly captivating. It was a good thing he wore sunglasses because Rei knew she'd run out of breath if she kept gazing into them.

"I call the Lotus!" Minako declared, skipping up to the red and black car whose roof Kyo rested on. His brow rose in surprise as she beamed at him. "Is this the special edition?"

"Uh, yeah… How'd you know that?" It had been his experience that girls didn't know anything about cars much less high performance ones.

She waved flippantly. "I spent a year abroad in England. One of my friends took me across the water to see a race in Nürburg and it was really cool. Afterwards we got to meet the teams."

"You've been to Nürburgring?" Kyo breathed. It was his dream to compete on that track, but he and Mamoru had yet to escape the confines of Japan. "My dad set a course record there before he retired. You don't know how jealous I am right now."

Minako laughed. "You shouldn't be! You're the one that gets to drive this sexy car!" Didn't she know that praising a man's ride was the fastest way to his heart? "I'm Aino Minako. Thanks a lot for taking us to the peninsula."

"No problem. I'm Kitano Kyosuke." He stared while the girl buckled her seatbelt. She was either ganguro or a model judging by her long blonde hair, lightly tanned skin, and pink contacts. His eyes slid from her rhinestone-adorned shirt to her denim miniskirt, down her shapely legs and back up to her face where he found her regarding him narrowly and somewhat smugly. "Um, are you a model?"

"Maybe someday, but not right now," Minako answered. "Is that why you were checking me out?"

"I… thought I recognized you." Kyo directed his gaze straight ahead at Mamoru's spoiler, praying they would leave right now so he could focus on the road and not the ridiculously hot girl he had no idea how to talk to.

Makoto was the last one to claim a vehicle, leaving her with a rather muscular boy by default. He had a fauxhawk and a small hoop in one eyebrow. He moved around to the passenger side and opened the door for her, prompting her to get in. "Thank you…" she said in a small voice. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? It's not like cars were the same thing as airplanes. But from what Usagi said they were capable of going very, very fast, and increased speed meant an increased chance of crashing. "What's your name?" Makoto inquired.

"Minamino Nobuyuki. I just go by Nobu."

"Nobuyuki, like… from Samurai Warriors?"

"Exactly like that," he answered with a note of shame. "My folks are huge nerds."

"No, that's amazing. I love that series."

The comment earned her a partial smile, then Nobu had to concentrate on following Zen's lead as the convoy pulled away from the shrine and entered the metro. It was fairly early in the morning, 7:30 to be exact, and the drive to Izu Peninsula lasted about two hours in an average commuter car. But they weren't driving gutless gas-savers. Nobu opted to take a Toyota 86 from the garage because it hadn't received any modifications yet and would provide the most comfortable journey for him and his passenger, a girl he sort of knew even though she hadn't introduced herself. He attended Azabu High with Kino Makoto and two of her friends but they were all in different classes.

Makoto cleared her throat once they got on the expressway. "How old are you, Nobu-kun?"

"Sixteen."

"And you can drive?" she gasped.

That little smile returned. "I'm not actually from here, from Japan I mean. I grew up in San Diego, California."

"Oh wow, so you have an American license?" His head bobbed. "Did you have a car there?"

"Yeah, a crappy Honda. This one is a big step up but it's not what I really want. I'm still grateful that Tatsuo hired me… but it seems I have a lot of expectations to meet."

Makoto had no idea what he was talking about ('thanks, Usagi') so he filled her in on Team Noctis and the goals for its current members. She'd heard of the Urban Action Grand Prix, a drift competition consisting of five random courses all over Tokyo where people and vendors lined the streets for a full weekend. The event was basically a giant block party but it never came to the quiet neighborhood of Azabujūban. "What else did you do in America besides drift?" Makoto inquired.

"Oh, I have a bunch of hobbies," Nobu answered. "I was on the football, basketball and volleyball teams freshman year, I play the drums and guitar, I like drawing and cooking, and my mom is teaching me how to sew… don't laugh!"

Her snicker changed to a playful smirk. "That saying about idle hands comes to mind."

"Heh, yeah… I fidget like a madman if they're not doing something. That's why I like driving so much. One hand steers, one hand shifts, everything's good." He sighed happily; it was nice having someone to talk to besides the guys. "What do you do in your free time, Makoto?"

"Well, I work at a flower shop near my apartment… I live by myself because my parents are gone." Nobu shot her a worried look. "They passed away in a plane crash when I was young. I had a benefactor, but now that I'm allowed to work I do everything myself. I like cooking and sewing too, and playing video games, and I'm in the martial arts club at school. And I've been thinking about getting a kitten." She felt her face heat up. Was that too much information? Did he even care?

"A kitten, huh? I can take you to the animal shelter when we all get back from summer break."

Makoto trained her verdant eyes on the boy. "That's so nice of you to offer. I guess I need your number now."

"You mean you weren't going to ask for it?" He waggled an eyebrow, making her laugh. "Kidding. I do think you're really cool, though." They sat there basking in one another's mutual coolness until the RX7 abruptly revved, darted to one side, and dropped back behind him. Nobu almost did the same, thinking there was something wrong with Zen's car, but then he saw him pacing the Lotus. "Oh great, here we go again with the dick-waving."

Two cars behind him, Mamoru growled. "God dammit, I specifically told everyone not to screw around like this."

"What's happening?" Usagi asked, her eyes wide and full of worry.

"He's trying to goad Kyo into a race. Well, now he gets to deal with me, too." Mamoru eased off the throttle, pulling back to the right until he was even with Zen and Kyo. He could see the latter's head turning from side to side, wondering what the fuck was going on. Mamoru said not to race, but Zen clearly wanted to, and now they were traveling in a perfect line down a mostly-empty road. They saw Jun lower his passenger side window. Rei's arm appeared, a scarf she wasn't fond of held in her hand, and when she let it go the immediate atmosphere became filled with roaring engines as all three of them downshifted for acceleration and redlined before reentering their final gears.

Zen beat them to the highway exit where they pulled into the median to wait for Jun and Nobu. Surprisingly they were still going the speed limit which made it easy to get back into formation. Talking on the phone while driving could earn him a punch on his license, but Mamoru did it anyway. "What the hell were you thinking, Zen?"

"Don't blame me, the little speed demon in my car wanted to see how fast it could go." He sounded so happy about it.

"You didn't have to jump on Kyo. You know your car is the fastest one here."

"Actually I didn't know that, but now I do." Mamoru heard him preening. "The windshield started vibrating after 300. I'm getting that fixed."

"You are the most arrogant driver I've ever met."

"Hey, you guys can be arrogant too. You're the ones who created this monster." A pause. "Ami's scowling at me, we can talk again when we get to Usami. Try not to eat too much of my dust."

Mamoru glared at his phone before stowing it with a grumble. He could see Usagi grinning in his peripheral vision. "I take it you find this amusing?"

She waved her hands. "Oh no, I don't think your lack of restraint when it comes to anything speed-related is funny. It's your brother's attitude."

"He's an overconfident prick and if Kyo and I were in our race cars we would have smoked him." He let his fingers slide to the bottom of the steering wheel, sighing. "I get why everyone is annoyed with him. Zen has skill, real skill, and he's not using it for anything useful. But I'm determined to be the one person who doesn't push him. If everyone stopped, maybe he'd join Noctis on his own. Maybe he'd realize the thrill of coming in first on the track is a lot more satisfying that beating someone in a street race. I know he doesn't want to be like Kyo, following exactly in his father's footsteps. He's trying to do his own thing but I feel he secretly loves the limelight, that's why he keeps showing off for us."

Usagi considered everything she knew. "Maybe you could make him a deal." Mamoru glanced at her. "Get everyone together and ask him to participate with Noctis for one season, just one, and you guys will never bother him about it again."

"There'd have to be another incentive. He already has that car, a kick-ass bike, and all the money he could ever want or need."

"Well, what doesn't he have?"

Mamoru thought for a long time. He grew up with Zen, went to the same schools as him. They'd both been popular thanks to the Nishino fortune and Mamoru had learned early on how to tolerate the people who wanted to be affiliated with their name. But Zen hadn't; he shut himself away under the assumption nobody really cared about him, just his wealth. And that was the answer. "Friends," Mamoru stated. "Zen has never had friends."

"There you go." Usagi wore the gentlest smile he'd ever seen. "Show him how amazing it feels to race with a team of friends."