Finally, a new chapter for you all. :)
HeavensPheonix561: You'll see. :D
Shubhs: :) Thanks.
xchirix: New penname? :)
smileyfacebabe: Yeah. I like the whole, use your own imagination thing. :D Good! That's what I'm aiming for.
neji's goddess: Lucky. I learned how to drive on a truck, which is probably the best thing you can do because of the bulk. I wanted a truck for my first car, but it didn't work out and I got a neat little Mitsubishi Eclipse that I named Harold. :D He's a thoroughly reliable car. :)
EoM: Aw, thank you! That gives me warm fuzzies inside. ;D It's a pleasure to receive your awesome reviews! :D
siny: Thanks. :)
StarCatcher1858: Thank you very much. :)
Bloody Sapphire Blade: Thank you.
Devil'sLittleBabyGirl: :D
StrawberrySmoothie99: Hehe. Yes, he's entertaining alright.
bright-rebellious: I couldn't let him win the race. He's too inexperienced at the moment. :)
Disclaimer: M. Kishimoto owns the characters. I own the plot.
Song: Ridin' Solo by Jason Derulo
Part Four.
"Ow!" came Hinata's sharp outcry.
Neji twisted around in the seat to see his cousin crouched down in the back seat, nursing her tibia bone.
"Dammit," he cursed in a low whisper.
Hinata met her cousin's gaze in astonishment; Hiashi looked down on the use of expletives.
"What is this?" Hinata inquired breathlessly, feeling around the back of the driver seat for the offender.
Neji gripped her wrist from further searching.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it, Hinata."
Hinata was in no way going to forget it so soon, though, whatever Neji said.
"Do you have something metal in here? That really hurt. . ."
The passenger door opened to admit Naruto, who cast a swift glance around and sensed trouble.
"What's going on?" he inquired, attempting casualness.
Neji contrived a meaning into his eyes, staring at Naruto hard so he would get it.
"Let go, Neji," murmured Hinata, eyes trained on her cousin, suspicious.
Neji broke his gaze with Naruto and released his cousin, shifting the car into Drive.
Naruto quickly jumped into the car and shut the door. Not a second later, the car was on the highway, the speedometer climbing smoothly.
Hinata quietly surveyed the two boys in front of her. Naruto was speaking to Neji in a low undertone; she couldn't hear what they were saying.
Keeping her eyes straight on the road ahead, Hinata maneuvered her foot behind Neji's seat, perusing for the object she'd kicked.
Her foot hit a solid object; Hinata assumed it was the same thing from before.
An impenetrable black sheet covered the object, successfully blending in with black interior of the car. It was no wonder she hadn't seen it.
Checking to make sure the boys were paying no attention to her, Hinata reached out and tugged off the sheet.
It was an aluminum canister, probably around knee-height. It was an electric blue, broad letters spelling out a phrase in yellow lettering.
NoS.
Hinata stared at it.
She was unfamiliar with whatever this thing was. She searched her memory.
NoS. . . ?
A tan hand stopped her thinking.
Hinata looked up, startled.
Naruto was grim-faced, his mouth a thin line as he stared at her, hand on her shoulder.
Hinata gasped, eyes going wide.
"She found it, Neji."
Hinata blinked, finding Neji staring at her in the rearview mirror, stern.
"Damn," he cursed, shifting lanes to pull over.
Shakily, Hinata inquired, "What is it? What's NoS?"
Naruto turned back around in his seat, his hand leaving Hinata's shoulder, granting her the ability to breathe evenly again.
"We might as well tell her," she heard Naruto mutter to Neji.
Neji said nothing as he pulled his car off the highway, safe from the oncoming traffic.
Hinata swallowed.
"If you tell me what it is, I swear I won't tell Father."
Neji sharply met her eyes in the rearview mirror.
His voice was distant when he spoke.
"You're sure you can make good on that promise, Hinata? For all you know it could be illegal."
Hinata's cheeks flushed.
She cleared her throat.
"Is it illegal?" she asked in a small voice.
Naruto snickered. Neji ignored him.
"You swear you won't tell your father? This could mean lying, you realize."
Hinata's eyes floated down to the blue canister, thinking.
She ultimately met her cousin's penetrating eyes.
"Yes. I won't tell Father, even it means lying."
"And you won't tell anyone else in turn, right?"
Hinata nodded, certain.
Neji looked out the window at the rushing cars, his impassive face reflected in the glass.
"There's this thing called street racing. . ."
"No! No, no, no!" TenTen shouted, slapping Neji's leg in frustration. "You're not doing it right!"
Neji struggled to disregard the feeling he'd gotten when she'd touched him.
They were on an abandoned dirt road in the center of nowhere, behind TenTen's grandmother's house in a field.
She wasn't in the passenger seat. Instead, TenTen had managed to fit herself onto the platform between the driver and passenger's seats, her legs dangling on either side.
TenTen was pressed up against him, her right hand on the steering wheel, leaning into him.
Neji caught himself inhaling the scent she gave off and immediately turned away, facing the window.
TenTen's hand clamped on his jaw, swivelling his head back.
"Law number one in driving: Never take your eyes off the road, idiot."
Neji opened his mouth to argue but thought better of it, grasping the wheel.
TenTen automatically corrected his hands, moving them to the two-and-ten position.
"This position gives you better grip on your car," TenTen murmured.
Neji nodded.
"Now try the NoS again. Just don't punch the brake like you've done the last fifty times."
Neji glared at her impatiently.
When she looked at him, Neji said lowly, "It has not been fifty times."
TenTen smiled slowly, the mirth spreading across her mouth.
Being this close to her, Neji could see the small freckles across the bridge of her nose and the flecks of amber in her warm brown eyes.
Neji forced his eyes back to the road, clearing his throat.
TenTen removed her hands from the steering wheel.
"Okay. Go."
Neji started the engine and tapped the gas pedal, waiting until it was going at least ninety before punching the button TenTen had installed in his steering wheel, nudging it surely with his thumb.
The car took off. Neji felt incredibly out of control; it took all his muscle strength to keep the wheel straight.
When the NoS exhausted the car, Neji took his thumb off the red button, easing on the brake.
He glanced at TenTen, putting the car in Park.
"And how was that?"
TenTen adopted a pensive expression before shrugging.
"Eh, you could do better, but it's passable for right now." She met Neji's eyes and grinned. "Want to try drifting? I haven't seen you at it yet."
Neji swallowed, something in her eyes told Neji he should probably decline.
But he was not given the chance to respond.
TenTen slid into the passenger seat, folding her legs under her.
"Turn around. I know a place that's perfect for beginners like you."
Neji sighed, but did as she said.
"The first rule to drifting is to not lose your head," TenTen began as she sat on Neji's hood.
Neji's forehead wrinkled.
"I thought the first rule was to use the hand brake."
TenTen glared at him.
"Wrong. The first rule is to not lose your head. You'd be surprised at how much your brain protests this kind of thing."
Neji sighed.
"Got it. Second rule?"
"Not so fast, Mr. Arrogant." TenTen patted the hood next to her.
Neji reluctantly sat down beside her, fidgeting with his keys.
"Drifting may look effortless, but it's not. It takes a lot of focus and work and strength. If you do it wrong, there's a one hundred percent chance you'll screw up your car, and an even greater chance you'll get hurt."
"So how do I do it the right way?" Neji inquired.
TenTen's nose wrinkled as she thought.
Finally, she turned to Neji.
"It'd be better if I showed you."
She reached for Neji's keys, which he reluctantly gave up.
"Don't scratch it, alright?" Neji warned as they got in. "It's expensive."
TenTen snorted but didn't reply, cranking the engine.
They were at the top of a multilevel parking garage. The ramps leading from level to level, TenTen had said, were perfect for drifting.
"Ready?" she inquired as she edged the car to the start of the ramp.
Neji swallowed, a little nervous.
TenTen took his silence as agreement and gunned the car down.
Neji took a chance to look at the speedometer.
Seventy-five and climbing.
Neji looked out the windshield to see looming concrete.
He gripped the handrest, certain he was about to die on impact.
Instead, the car smoothly maneuvered in a dizzying half circle, spinning onto the lower ramp with ease.
Neji glanced at TenTen, incredulous.
Her face was calm, brown eyes focused in concentration.
When the next ramp came up, Neji watched her prepare for the drift.
She cleanly executed the turns, leaning into the controlled but chaotic spin as the tires locked up beneath them.
"This is usually called a shift lock technique, or a compression slide. I downshift instead of braking, which gets the wheels to lock up. That way, I can approach a corner at different revolutions while maintaining quick acceleration at the completion of the turn," TenTen informed in a level voice as she peeled out. "We won't start you on this, but it's simple for tight corners like these."
"What will you start me on, then?"
TenTen thought for a moment before saying, "Oversteer. Your car doesn't exactly qualify for low power, but it'll get you in the mind-set of the feel of a drift without you actually having to do it."
Neji shook his head slightly.
TenTen grinned, keeping her eyes always on the street.
"What's wrong, Hyuga? Too fast for you?"
Neji rolled his eyes. TenTen laughed.
Neji practiced every weekend with TenTen.
At first, they started at the parking garage, but after a few dings and dents to Neji's car, TenTen decided to relocate to a makeshift track she'd created in her field of a backyard.
As TenTen had promised, she began him on oversteer, which Neji found difficult to execute.
"It's hard!" Neji snapped one day after TenTen criticized him yet again for being too slow with his steering.
"It wouldn't be so hard if you would lose some of the control!" TenTen shot back, eyes narrowed. "Lose your control!"
Neji stared at her like she was crazy.
TenTen scowled.
"Don't give me that look, Hyuga. I'm the expert, remember? When you oversteer, you've got to be quick with it. You have seconds to execute this move before your car realizes what's happening. Think ahead. Every movement is a quick, fluid motion. Gas, turn the wheel, floor the accelerator, wait for the car to slide sideways, and then countersteer. It should take you ten seconds, tops. Now, do it again," she commanded.(1)
Grudgingly, Neji obliged.
Sometimes Naruto came and watched, curious to see TenTen bossing his best friend around as he learned the ropes of the trade.
Also, it gave Naruto things to tease Neji about later.
Hinata, true to her word, had said nothing to Hiashi about Neji's racing. However, every time Neji snuck out, he swore he could feel Hinata's disapproving eyes following him as he left.
Finally, two months later, TenTen deemed Neji novice enough to compete full-time like the other racers.
Still, being a novice, Neji wasn't expecting much.
His first race as an official racer came about the end of April.
The last victor of the race had miraculously been a raven-haired boy who drove a dazzling red Spyker C12 Zagato.(2)
TenTen had finished third, much to her disgruntled displeasure, behind (who Neji now deemed to be as TenTen's mortal enemy) Yumi, the driver of the pink Saleen.
As they waited for the race to begin, TenTen once again ranted to Neji about the Saleen driver.
"It's not like she even likes racing. All she likes is the attention," TenTen scoffed, throwing the girl a dirty look.
Neji smiled wryly, looking the brunette over.
After a couple of months with her, Neji could safely say they were friends of some sort. She added color to his life that he had lacked before.
"You can admit you're jealous, you know," Neji murmured to her, his eyes teasing.
TenTen glared at him, indignant.
"As if," she spat. "Why on earth would I be jealous of—of that?"
Neji glanced over at Yumi, who was sitting on the hood of the Saleen, chatting up the raven-haired winner.
"I don't know. . . She has such a desirable personality. . ." Neji trailed off.
TenTen snorted, laughing.
"Right. Well, sorry for saving you from her 'desirable personality' that first race. I didn't know I'd decimated any hopes you had of getting to know her," TenTen sarcastically responded.
The corners of Neji's mouth lifted, and TenTen grinned back.
"But I am not jealous of Yumi," she concluded a second later, expression turning stony once more.
"Whatever you say, TenTen," Neji said.
A whistle from the front of the cars got everyone's attention.
TenTen frowned a little and sighed, catching Neji's eye.
"Guess that's the cue to get started. You ready?"
"I doubt you would have let me out here if I wasn't," Neji countered with a raised eyebrow.
TenTen smiled again and mock punched him.
"Try and at least finish next-to-last this time, okay, Hyuga?" she called over her shoulder as she sauntered over to her car.
Neji waited until she was settled inside the Honda before getting into his own car.
He looked himself in the eye in the rearview mirror, staring himself down.
"You can do this," he told himself.
Neji nodded, as if to agree, and then he was buckling the seatbelt and putting one hand on the wheel, the other floating to rest atop the gearshift.
Ahead, the starter emerged, a girl with long dark hair and a large stud in one eyebrow.
Lazily, she counted it down in Japanese.
"Ichi, ni, SAN!"
The red Spyker lurched forward, blazing the path onto the race strip ahead.
Yumi's hot pink Saleen and TenTen's white Honda drew level, practically tying as they fought for second place.
Neji, who was strategically placed at the back, successfully passed a few cars, narrowing his eyes to focus his determination.
The street the raven-haired winner had chosen was a fairly straight shot with few curves or traps.
In his mind, Neji could hear TenTen in his head, disdainful. You got lucky this time, Hyuga. Just wait til I win and make you race for real.
Neji kept a steady distance away from the few cars he'd managed to pass, accelerating when they revved closer.
Neji glanced down at the NoS button.
TenTen would probably think he was being a show off, but Neji punched the button anyway.
The CTS's speedometer zipped heavily to the latter, more dangerous speeds.
Neji kept his eyes open, searching out possible problems.
He came upon the end of the track swiftly.
TenTen's white Honda was parked in the middle of the street. She leaned against the back bumper, arms crossed.
Neji released the NoS and decelerated, parking next to her.
TenTen was already at his window, leaning down until her face was level with his.
"Not bad," she commented with a smirk. "You actually beat out a few cars."
Neji accepted this with a nod.
"Did you win?" he asked.
TenTen nodded, smug.
"Yes. Yumi pitched a little fit, right in the middle of the street. If you had been faster you would've seen it."
Neji smiled wryly.
"Too bad. I'll just have to try harder, I guess."
"Yes, you will," TenTen insisted, raising a dark eyebrow. "Especially if you ever want a chance to beat me."
Her tone had a slight taunting quality.
Her eyes flashed, teasing.
She leaned down suddenly and checked her reflection in his side-view mirror.
When she was done she met Neji's gaze again, winked, and stood to full height, backing up to her car.
"See you Saturday, Neji," she casually threw over her shoulder.
Neji tried not to stare as she sped off, her white Honda moving easily down the dark street until it eventually disappeared into the night.
(1) Guesstimating that time limit, by the way.
(2) The Spyker C12 Zagato is a car from the Dutch manufacturer of Spyker Cars. It was first introduced in 2008, and only 24 were produced.
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