Note: There are some Initial D references.


Phichit liked to believe that he was the sane one from the bunch. The bunch being the Russian Yuri, Japanese Yuuri, and Victor. It was strange… he – the hamster-loving, king of selfies and social media – was the normal one. Granted, his skating level wasn't on par with them (because everyone in the skating community knew that information) despite the gold medal he earned from that one time – Cup of China. But he digressed.

It wasn't that they were crazy or anything like that, but anyone who knew Victor would say that the older man was definitely eccentric and that was labeling it mildly. Then there was Russian Yuri – whom he decided to call Yurio because that's cute and easier than saying Russian Yuri all the time, so bravo for Mari for coming up with the nickname. The teenager was like a small angry kitten – albeit loud and hissy – but it was cute how Yurio decided to go to Japan with Yuuri and Victor like a chaperon. Of course, he couldn't talk about the two without talking about his best friend and former roommate – Yuuri Katsuki.

Phichit thought he knew his best friend. Like, really knew him – the two were roommates during their college days and rink mates until Yuuri graduated and moved back to Japan. They shared everything. Then he found out about Yuuri's hosting days (he had to give himself a pat on the back for his internet skills), his Mario Kart ability (he could still taste his umpteenth defeat in his mouth), and now he somehow managed to sneak into this expensive red sports car wherein his best friend was the driver (mad props for his ninja skills). When did this Cinnamon Roll (who was secretly a Sinnamon Roll) get a driver's license and how did he not know about this?

"A Ferrari, Yuuri? Boy, are you hiding something from me, your best friend? Are you secretly a prince and we didn't know it?" Phichit couldn't help but ask while he held up his cellphone to record the conversation.

He planned to record the conversation and anything else they were going to do, because fans needed to know about this side of Yuuri. Eros Yuuri left fans in nosebleed and pining (gosh, there were a lot of pining and squealing), so he could only imagine their reaction to a Racer Yuuri.

"PHICHIT!?"

That was the only warning he received before he heard loud noises of tires shrieking against the pavement, indicating that Yuuri had slammed on the brakes, and his body tossed towards to the dashboard and then against the headrest like a ragdoll. Now, he knew how his clothes felt like in a washing machine, not that he wanted to know how it felt in the first place. It took him to regain his bearings from the dizzying stop, and the two sat in silence while he inwardly noted that Yuuri was looking at him in flabbergasted manner.

'I guess I shouldn't have surprised him.' Phichit thought idly as he rubbed the back of his head. 'Then again, how did he not know I was here in the passenger seat when it's the only seat available?'

"How did you get here?" Yuuri questioned after he calmed down from the surprise appearance of his best friend, and resumed driving. "And put on your seat belt."

"Well, I heard it from Chris, who heard it from Georgi, who heard it from Mila, who heard it from Yurio about this mid-Autumn party. I can't believe that you didn't invite me, Yuuri. I feel so left out!" Phichit responded in a mock-betrayed tone while he attempted to put on his seat with one hand. His camera focused on him while he talked but he shifted its attention to the person in the driver seat. "Well, I knew it was just Victor's way of trying to spend time with you. But since Yurio decided to include himself – because why not? – I decided to come and crash the party so you wouldn't be left out. Then I find out that you're leaving them out to go for a race. Really, Yuuri? Since when do you race?"

Yuuri didn't flick a glance towards his direction when he answered, "Since I was 16 – way before I got my driver's license… and after my dad taught me how to drive."

"Oh my god, Yuuri, you're so rebellious. What would your fans say?" Phichit rebutted with a failed mixture of Southern and New York accent that made them chuckle. He looked at the passing scenery – not that he could with the speed Yuuri drove – and finally asked, "So where are we going?"

Yuuri let out a deep resigned sigh, sounding as if he gave up on an idea, and replied with a, "I have a race tonight with Team Emperor at Mitsuse Mountain Pass. It's about 48 kilometers with a lot of turns."

"A race, Yuuri? A RACE?" Phichit asked incredulously in disbelieve. "That's so dangerous! Is this even legal? Do I need to get in touch with my lawyer to finalize my will?"

"That's why I told you wear your seat belt. I wasn't going to take anyone but myself, and I had half the mind to drop you off. Only I remembered that your Japanese isn't that fluent yet, and I don't want to have the conscious of leaving you stranded in a foreign land without any money in the middle of the night. You can check this off from your bucket list, so feel free to thank me later."

Phichit sputtered incoherently at the statement in shock that those words came out from Yuuri of all people. His innocent best friend, who turned out to be not-so-innocent after all.


Phichit wanted to scream until he couldn't anymore… only he had already done that in the past five minutes and lost his voice. He couldn't believe that he agreed to this… this dangerous driving. In fact, he doesn't know how Yuuri could drive like this with such skills – the transition from one gear shift to another, and stepping on accelerator and the clutch pedal interchangeably was as smooth as the Japanese's step sequence. His best friend was like a pro, and he would daresay that if Yuuri wasn't a professional figure skater, the older male could be a professional race car driver.

He opened his mouth in silent scream when he heard tires squealing loudly as they drifted and he saw the guardrails inches away from the corner of his eyes. There were so many instances that he felt like they were going to crash, but didn't. He could have sworn that he saw his youthful life flashed by in front of his eyes. Suffice to say, he wouldn't get any footage of this race since he was busy holding onto his life and his phone had dropped to the floor when Yuuri drift-turned the first corner.

The only noise he heard throughout the past ten minutes were his manly (yes, manly, because it wasn't like a dying whale at all) screams and tires squealing across the pavements as they drifted. Phichit tightened his grip on the hand bar as firmly as he could (as if his grip wasn't firm enough already) and held on for life (like he hadn't been doing it since the race started) when Yuuri accelerated again. They were already going past 120 kilometers, just how fast does Yuuri intended to go on this narrow mountain pass?

"How can you see in the dark at this speed?" Phichit croaked out when the scenery flashed by before his eyes.

"Memorized the road and all shortcuts it entailed." Yuuri responded while he looked at his rearview mirror for a second. He swore under his breath when he saw the headlights of his opponent, and slammed on his brake as he drifted around the last hairpin curve before he crossed the finish line at the straightaway.

Phichit never felt so glad to step out of the car despite his wobbly legs and disorientated vision. He wasn't going to partake in this, no matter how much Yuuri paid him. Once was more than enough. Granted, his best friend could drive like a professional and they didn't crash or anything of sort, but there were so many close calls.

"As expected of a member from Project D." Yuuri's opponent chuckled as he approached the two.

"Well, I am a reserved member. The others are more skilled than me." Yuuri answered humbly with a smile. "After all these years, Team Emperor is still a force to be reckon with."

Phichit leaned against the side of Yuuri's red car and tried to get his bearings back. He could hear excited chatters from the audience but he couldn't decipher what they said – one thing he noted was that some had their cellphones out, almost as if they recorded the race and shared it amongst themselves. He normally would have asked them to share it with him, but he felt nauseous from the speed and the turns.

He waited as Yuuri exchanged pleasantries with his opponent and some other people he didn't know. After some minutes, his best friend gestured him to return to the car – a wave to the audience suggested that they were finally returning. Phichit was glad that the ride back to Yutopia was peaceful – Yuuri obeyed the speed laws and didn't go over the posted speed limit. It was something he took for granted in the past, but he was so grateful for it now.

"Yuuri…? I think I'm going to throw up."

"Not in the car, Phichit!"


Later that night, Phichit took some medicine (courtesy of Mama Katsuki, bless her soul) and scrolled through his social media feeds to see if anyone had posted anything about the race. He felt like he needed to brag about his best friend's racing skills – not that he enjoyed it, but the world needed to know. Yuuri forbade him from posting about his hosting days, so Phichit felt compelled to post about the race.

He stopped when he saw a headline and blinked to make sure that he wasn't seeing things.

YUURI KATSUKI, JAPAN'S ACE IN THE FIGURE SKATING WORLD AND A MEMBER OF PROJECT D, COMPETES AGAINST TEAM EMPEROR'S SEIJI IWAKI IN A DOWNHILL RACE ON MITSUSE PASS

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[video]

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"Our Cinnamon Roll was truly a Sinnamon Roll, huh?" Phichit murmured to no one.

He clicked on the video to watch the race he unknowingly had participated. His breath hitched and stuck on his throat when he recalled so many close calls, especially when the tail of Yuuri's car brushed against the guardrails when they drifted.

Despite his heart stuck in his throat and the shivers he got from watching the race, he needed to know more - because apparently, his best friend was hiding things from him and he didn't like it. Yuuri had so much explaining to do in the morning, and he was going to make sure that he had enough leverage to make his best friend talk.