Nik pulled into the garage followed by Al around 11:00. He got out of his black car and locked the doors. He and Al sat at the kitchen table for a while. Al's eyes wandered to Nik for an answer to a question.
Al hesitated at first but then decided to go for it, "Nik, could I ask you a question?"
Nik looked up from his half full can of soda, "Yeah, shoot."
"Well, I was wondering if you'd be willing to let me finish out high school here."
"Here in Japan?"
"Yeah."
Nik smiled, "You keep up your grades and keep doing the deliveries, and its good with me. Mom and Dad are a different story."
"I'll take care of them when we go to visit for the holidays."
Nik smiled, "You got it then."
Al smiled and finished off his soda in one more sip. He threw it in trash can and walked in to his bedroom. He took off most of his clothes and lied down in his bed and fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Nik finished off his can of soda and grabbed a bottle of Sake out of the fridge. It had been a while since he'd drunken alcohol but he could remember how. He took it and walked out onto his porch that overlooked the valley below Myogi.
He placed the two cups he had grabbed on the table next to him and poured himself a cup of sake. He brought the cup to his lips and sipped it slightly. It tasted good for once. He actually remembered stuff better with the slight buzz he received when his fourth cup came around.
The first race against Blue Blaze. Mei's uphill run where he took complete advantage on the upper hairpins and then Nik's personal trick with making his own course on Akagi. The team's first win.
Then there was Sano's Hidden Gold. His WRX was a strong car and would have done well giving the opportunity that Nik would be the one racing him. But Al had raced. He had taken the win on the C-121 and held the lead from there out.
Then the Speed Stars and the death of the Sil-eighty. Mei was always cocky and now he realized just how much. It was there loss and it hit hard but they knew they would come back. And they did with the Sil-eighty.
Maya and Simone in their Sil-eighty was a very dangerous opponent. Driving in the rain was what made it worse. Three laps. Nik made his move on the third lap and was able to pass her. It was an amazing race against a special opponent.
Then Al and Yahiko battled it out down Myogi. It was Al's first hardcore race. He did exactly what he should. He followed his opponent and pressured him through the turns to eventually wear him down and take the win. It was a good race for a starting racer. Nik was proud.
That race was the one that lead up to the race Nik had finished earlier that night. The race between Nik and Kanryu, Black and White. He had focused all the way through the race. He had won a race that was on completely equal territory. It was driver vs. driver. He had been the better one.
Then there was Mei, whose engine could be heard pulling into the garage. Mei had had an uphill run with a LanEvo V. He had to drive like a maniac and put all he had into it. He also worked hard to install a dual-turbo kit within one day.
Mei walked out onto the porch and sat next to Nik. He smiled and poured himself a cup of sake from the half full bottle. He smiled at Nik, "What are you doing out here?"
Nik looked back and took another sip of his sake, "Sitting."
Mei sipped his and then looked at him again, "Apparently."
Nik smiled, "So you won?"
Mei looked surprised, "How did you know?"
"You smell like vanilla. Sara always used to smell like vanilla. The only way you could have gotten close enough to Sara to catch her scent is if you won, that simple."
"You're a crazy son-of-a-bitch, you know that?"
"Yes, and don't call my mom a bitch."
Mei smiled and took another sip of Sake before he stared up at the nearly full moon. Nik's eyes also wandered to it. Nik was once again reminded of that night when he and Mei had decided on being racers…
Nick accelerated behind the Monte Carlo and downshifted as he slid around the turn behind Mike. Mike's car was moving fast that night and Nick was struggling behind him. Mike used his four-gear automatic car to its fullest potential as Nick struggled behind him in his five-gear 240SX.
Nick knew that it was easier for Mike because of the transmission and Nick didn't mind. He long-slide drifted behind Mike and then drove up the dirt road on to the island. The moon shone brightly off their cars as Nick stepped out of his car.
He smiled and walked over to Mike, "Good job on the Hairpin."
Mike nodded and leaned against the hood of his Chevy, "Yeah, It's all in knowing when to kick out the back end."
"Yeah, I'm still working on figuring out my timing for the continuous corners back at the start of the race."
"Good, good."
Nick leaned against the hood of his 240 and stared at the moon, "Nice night."
"Yup…we've been getting pretty good lately, huh?"
Nick nodded, "Yeah, I guess…why?"
"Well, I was thinking, if we get good…I mean, REALLY good…do you think you wanna go pro?"
"Pro? I don't know, I've heard there's a lot of racing like this in Japan."
"Yeah, I know, Touge racing."
"Well, I guess we could keep practicing and see how good we get…"
"Well, do you want to start a team?"
"A racing team?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"I don't know, what would we call ourselves. 'The two dickheads'?"
"Come on; use that big head of yours."
Nick's eyes fell back upon the star filled sky and he sighed. What could he call a good-for-nothing team? I mean, if they practiced every night they could get good. But it's dark at night and they might crash. If they were willing to put themselves through all those black nights…
"What about 'Black Nights'?"
"Knights with a K?"
"No, nights with an N."
"That sounds stupid."
"Well, why don't we spell it our way then?"
"You mean like, N-I-T-E-S?"
"Yeah, and black will be B-L-A-K."
"So, Blak Nites?"
Nik smiled, "Hell yeah, why not?"
They smiled and looked up at the moon again. This was the time that they would always remember as the birth of the Blak Nites. On the black night that only the moon and the Nites stood in…
"I'm gonna hit the sack. G'night."
"Night." Nik nodded and watched as his cousin walked away from him and into the house. Nik grabbed the bottle of sake and poured himself another cup. He sipped from it and stared up at the moon again.
He was reminded of his race tonight. His coming out race. It was a good feeling. His win wasn't the only thing he thought about. He was also thinking about what Kanryu had told him after the race.
"Now that you're at number two, don't remain satisfied. My one mistake was being satisfied with being number two. You keep going and be the best."
Could he not be satisfied? His whole life, Nik drove only because he enjoyed driving. He was satisfied with just that. Now he was told to keep going. That wasn't the part that scared him. It was the fact that he wanted to…