Pre-2016/17-ish lore with some creative liberties. Characters who aren't described visually are free to interpret within reason.

"Slow down!" = Dialogue.

'I'M GONNA DIEEEEE!' = Thoughts.

"Déjà vu!" = Song title / lyrics.

Summary:

To deal with Jaune's frequent motion sickness when riding a Bullhead, Pyrrha decided to buy team JNPR a car. This turns out to be a splendid thing for Jaune. For the rest of team JNPR, however, it might not have been such a good idea after all…

Alpha'sThrowawayAccount Presents:

JNPR Car

Jaune absolutely hated his motion sickness. Really, he does. Every time he and his team have to leave Beacon grounds and head to Vale, they'd have to stand away from him, just in case his stomach decided to blow.

His stomach lurched, and he struggled to hold it in anymore. Thankfully, the Bullhead finally landed on the edge of Vale, allowing the students aboard to exit. Jaune bolted faster than others and went to the nearest trash can, emptying his stomach's contents. His partner came to his side not long after and handed him a bottle of water.

"Thanks, Pyr." Jaune rasped before taking a sip, gargled the water a bit, and spit it out back into the trash can. "I hate this."

"That's why I'm bringing you out here, Jaune." Pyrrha said. Then, she spoke to all of her teammates, "I've got a surprise!"

"Ooh! Ooh! What is it?!" Nora was jumping in anticipation. Meanwhile, Ren stood beside her, curious but not overly so. Jaune was still cleaning his mouth in the trash can. "You'll just have to follow me." Pyrrha said with a grin.

"Aw, c'mon! Tell me, tell me!"

"Ah-ah, that'll just ruin it! We'll go once Jaune's ready. Are you done yet, Jaune?"

"Y-yeah," Jaune stuttered, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. "I'm ready. Y'know, you got me curious too!" Jaune had a wide grin on his face. Something to cure his motion sickness? Count him in! "Lead the way, Pyr."

Pyrrha did just that, leading them to a parking lot near Beacon's Bullhead drop-off point. In it, there were many vehicles owned by both the students and the staff. Some of them team JNPR could recognize. There was Bumblebee, Yang's bike, as well as team RWBY's car. The all-girl team had bought out the car a few weeks prior as their trips as a team to Vale became more and more frequent.

Pyrrha led them to a car that looked brand new. It had silver paint that glinted in the sunlight. Its rims were shiny, with not a single rust or dent in it. It had four doors with a sleek and sporty design, making it classified as a compact executive car. All in all, the car looked expensive and brand new.

"Tada!"

"Wow, is that a new car?! For us?!" Nora shouted excitedly. She began darting around the car, intensely inspecting every inch of it as fast as a child on sugar high. Which is pretty much how she is all the time anyway. In contrast, Jaune was circling the car rather slowly, an intense gaze settling in his eyes.

"You didn't need to do this, Pyrrha." Ren said. "Maybe not, but I just felt like doing it anyway." Ren detected a hint of jealousy in her voice. Wait, was she jealous of team RWBY's car?

"Since the car's new, the dealer couldn't deliver it straight to Beacon grounds." Pyrrha explained. "But, now that we're here, we can probably bring it in ourselves. Once it's there, we won't have to ride the Bullhead anymore, thus becoming a solution to Jaune's motion sickness!"

Meanwhile, Jaune continued to circle around the car. It took a while for the car to settle in with him since it looks to be a new model. After a while, the car finally clicked with his memory.

'I've gotta say, Pyrrha sure made a good choice.' Jaune couldn't stop his mind from wandering. 'This is the Yuta Alzetta. A brand-new make, at that, chassis code RS205. Judging from the build, this looks like it just rolled off the factory. It's safe to assume it's still bone stock. Front-engine, rear-wheel drive, usual layout. If I remember correctly, this car uses a turbocharged 2.0-litre 3S-GE straight-six, producing a max of 240 horsepower.'

Jaune knelt to get a good view of the car's underneath. 'Suspensions are pretty good, well as good as bone stock suspensions go anyways. Aside from that, the RS205's distribution of its relatively lightweight is amazing, sitting comfortably at 49/51. That should allow for smooth manoeuvres through sharp corners.' Jaune stood back up and finished circling the Alzetta. 'Gear ratio's also nice, not too short and not too long either. Overall, good choice.'

He finished his inspection and turned back to his team. They were all staring at him with gaping mouths. "Uh, what's wrong guys?"

Pyrrha was the first to answer after a few moments. "W-well, since when were you into cars, Jaune?"

Jaune slapped his hand on his face "I said all of that out loud, didn't I?"

As he dragged down his hand, Jaune began to explain. "Well, I guess you could say it's an old hobby of mine. I don't really keep up with it all that often now though. Beacon's already busy enough anyway."

"Wait," Ren interjected and turned to Pyrrha. "Not that I don't appreciate it, Pyrrha, but does anyone of us have a driving license?"

Pyrrha flustered, her cheeks tainted red. She chuckled lightly "O-oh, well, I hadn't thought of that."

"Not to worry. I've got one right here." Jaune pulled out his wallet and showed his license to his team. He put it back in his wallet and pocketed it. "So, you've got any plans, Pyr?"

Pyrrha brightened up at that. "I was thinking we could drive around the city, get some supplies even though we don't really need much right now. Maybe some Dust, office supplies. Oh! And there's this new restaurant that opened in a mountain nearby. I heard the view's wonderful, especially at night. It's around a 2-hour drive from Beacon."

"I'm game as long as the gas's there. Ren, Nora?"

"Sure, leader!"

"No problem with me."

"Then it's settled. Get in, I'll drive. Pyrrha, the keys?"

And so the team stepped into the car. Jaune plugged his key into the ignition and turned the car on. The Alzetta rumbled to life. The wheel vibrated along with the car as Jaune held it in his grip. Jaune tested the clutch. Once he got the feeling of it, he shifted into first gear, turned on the turning signal, and lowered the handbrake. Slowly, he pulled out of the parking lot and entered the public road.

The road was filled with the usual traffic. The dust store Pyrrha mentioned wasn't that far away, a 15-minute drive from Beacon. While on the road, the team chatted away, ranging from topics such as classes (and how busy they were), team strategies, and other stuff. However, the topic was soon diverted to Jaune specifically.

"So, how did you get to now cars so well, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. I mean, Pyrrha was the one who bought the car, yet she didn't recognize 90% of the things he rattled of his head!

"I told you, Pyr. It's an old hobby. Back in Ansel, there was a group of car enthusiasts. They've been around for as long as I can remember, though the members always came and went. It's one of the liveliest car spots in Remnant. You don't grow up there without knowing a thing or two about cars. And well, that's not going into Ansel's history as the origin of the Street Series."

"Street Series?" Ren asked.

Jaune braked as he approached a red light. He changed gears accordingly and started answering Ren "Yeah. Street Series is a racing league that's open to anyone who has a car, and by any car, I really do mean any car. Typically, they race in the mountains, where it's divided into two divisions, the downhill division, and the uphill division. A guy can change between the two as much as he likes. Really, it's just legalized street racing in order to prevent civilian risk. There's also a stream that they host every time a race is going on, and every race is scheduled ahead of time so no one will be going through said mountain on the date of the race."

"Maybe we could watch it sometime!" Nora piped up. "You make it sound so interesting, Leader!"

"Heh, that's 'cause it is." Jaune shifted back into first gear as the light turned green. The car went forward along with the traffic. "I think the next race is, hm, two days from now? I'll have to check, but we'll watch it."

Not long after, they pulled in to the Dust shop. "And we're here. You guys can go on ahead. I don't really use Dust, so I'll just be waiting here."

"Are you sure, Jaune?" Pyrrha said. "You don't have to use a gun to use Dust, after all." Jaune waved her away. "Nah, I'm good. Maybe next time."

Pyrrha decided to leave it at that. "Okay then." She left the car along with Ren and Nora, with Jaune calling out "Have fun!" as they left.

Now alone, Jaune's mind wandered back. "Street Series, huh….."

As he thought of that, a group of cars went by his team's parked car. From what he could recognize, the cars were relatively new makes, the oldest one being a car released 2 years ago. Judging by the way each of them moved, they were all tuned to race in the mountain roads. Then there were also the flashy yet fully functional body kits and spoilers mounted on their cars, which gave it away even more.

'They sure look like they mean business.' Jaune thought. 'Maybe a meetup, or a challenge?'

Another car pulled up, yet this one didn't go past him. Instead, it parked right behind JNPR's Alzetta. Jaune recognized the car's design and plate number.

The driver got out, a man standing at 178 cm with black hair and eyes wearing a collared shirt and brown cargo pants. He knocked on Jaune's window and Jaune gladly opened it.

"Takeshi. Nice seeing you here."

"Didn't expect you to be driving, Jaune." Takeshi began as he looked the car around. "When I saw a brand-new Alzetta in the lot, I knew I had to see the guy who owned it. Maybe there's a fellow Hunter-Racer around Beacon. Didn't expect for it to be you, though. I thought you retired?"

"I did. This is just a car that Pyrrha bought for the team. Coincidentally, it's a good street racing car."

"Huh." Takeshi began. "Well, girl's got a good eye, I'll give her that. You gonna take it out for a spin?"

"Probably not. Even though this is a good car, I don't have any plans of using it for that."

Takeshi shrugged. "Your choice, man."

"Yeah. Anyway, what was that just now? Those cars that just blew past?"

"Them? Oh, they're the locals around here. They're really stepping up their game these past few months. Lately everyone's paranoid of the new Atlas team that's popped up."

"Interesting…"

Takeshi glanced at his watch. "Well, I've gotta take care of some stuff now. Weapon maintenance and all that jazz. See you later."

"See you."

Takeshi backed off and Jaune raised his window back. Not long after, Takeshi's car, a full-black Niisan Cloudline R32 GTR, backed up and drove away.

An hour later, the other members of team JNPR came back from the shop. Not long after, they went to the office supplies store and bought their necessities.

As they finished shopping, Jaune decided to speak up. "It's still barely afternoon. Pyr, you wanna go now, or…"

"Hm, maybe we'll go tonight. For now, we'll just go back to Beacon."

"Alright."

When they arrived at Beacon, their car of choice got some stares. Evidently, some people recognized the brand new and luxury sports car and were quite jealous of them. However, that didn't do much to JNPR. Jaune was happy he got to avoid motion sickness, Pyrrha was used to it as a celebrity, Ren didn't think much of people's opinion other than his friends, and Nora was, well, Nora.

They exited the car together. Jaune threw the keys back at Pyrrha. "Can you hold on to those, Pyr? You're the one who bought them, after all."

"Sure thing, Jaune. Bet you're really glad that you didn't have to ride the Bullhead back, aren't you?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe!" Jaune responded. This continued into a rant that lasted an hour about how Bullheads were 'incompetent', the designer was 'a stupid moron', how cars are 'better in every way', so on and so forth. Though he did admit that there were situations where a Bullhead was useful.

Around 07.30 PM, 2 hours after the sun had set, team JNPR left Beacon after finishing all their necessities. While it is certainly very late, and the restaurant was almost sure to be packed, Pyrrha had made reservations, so they didn't have to rush.

Unlike Mountain Glenn, which was gigantic and could contain an entire city, this mountain was not. In fact, it just barely scraped by the definition of a mountain. Had it been a centimeter shorter, it would've been classified as a hill.

The mountain was called Mount Ganbari, with respect to the perseverance of mankind against the forces of the Grimm, monsters that wiped out the old civilization. Today, it lies just barely inside Vale's walls, as a hotspot for both tourists and Street Series participants. They co-existed nicely, with the tourists fascinated by the racers and the racers getting free exposure (not to mention a chance to gloat). For that reason, reservations had to be booked at least four hours in advance, of which Pyrrha did.

As they drove up the winding mountain roads, team JNPR began to notice more and more mountain-spec cars. Jaune would point them out for the fun of the team, and they did have said fun. It was fascinating to see a car blow past them completely sideways in a drift, and then have Jaune tell them the car's specs and what it just did down to a tee. Though, as more and more cars blasted past, Jaune a small scowl began to grow on Jaune's face.

Pyrrha noticed this and was concerned. "Jaune? What's wrong?"

"These people are terrible."

"Huh?"

"They're a disgrace to the Street Series. Honestly, if they're this bad, they shouldn't have shown up."

Just then, another car blew past them. Jaune took notice of this and the scowl deepened slightly. "See that? That guy's riding a Silva X14. He could've gone faster if he adjusted the gear ratios properly and didn't brake so late into the turn. Also, he's using way too much countersteer." Jaune let out a breath. "But enough about this. Let's just enjoy the night, yeah?"

The team realised that this was a bit of a touchy subject for Jaune, so they just agreed and let him drive them to the peak of the mountain.

As they arrived, they realised that words couldn't do the view justice. The mountain had a look that overviewed the entire city of Vale, it's beautiful lights shining the night sky. On top of that, the stars in the sky were clearly visible tonight, adding to the scenery. The shattered moon glowed in the sky, a mark of one of mankind's earliest attempts to ward off the Grimm. Needless to say, team JNPR had their breaths taken away.

After a few moments of looking at the scenery, the team went into the restaurant and ordered their food. The food was pretty good as well and certainly did the reviews justice. "This is a really good place, Pyrrha!" Nora began as she ate her 5th pancake of the night. "How'd you find a place like this?"

"A lot of reviewers online recommended this place. I didn't expect it to be this good either!" Pyrrha took another fork of her spaghetti. "Really, this is incredible!"

Ren nodded, while Jaune affirmed with a "yeah!". Ren was eating rice with vegetables and chicken katsu while Jaune munched on some sausages and potatoes. "How much did this cost again, Pyr?"

"Not that much." Ren smirked "Knowing you, that'd probably mean a fortune for us." "Oh stop it!" Pyrrha giggled. "It's no problem, everyone. Same with the car."

The skidding of tires suddenly pierced their ears, accompanied by the roar of engines. Three cars drifted past the restaurant heading uphill. Jaune noted that they were all Mitsu Spear Evo III's with the colours Red, White, and Yellow.

'Ignore it.' Jaune said in his mind as everyone else in the resto cheered the drivers on. 'Focus on having fun. Don't mind those dumbasses.'

"How long's till curfew, again?" Jaune asked his teammates in an attempt to distract himself. "Hm, just enough. If we go now, we should make it with about half an hour to spare." Ren noted.

"Alright then. You guys ready to head out?"

"I'm done."

"Ready when you are!"

"Hn."

"Well then, let's get out of here."

And boy did Jaune want to leave this place. These racers were just obnoxious. He didn't mind racing in and of itself, but after just a glimpse, he could tell that Takeshi was wrong. Seems these people were more concerned about their reputation and showing off rather than actual racing.

Shaking his head in disappointment, he and his team began to go back to their car. However, they stopped when they saw three people standing near the Alzetta, each with their arms crossed and smug look on their faces.

Their leader spoke first, a man with beady black eyes, blond hair, and 182 cm in height. "You guys the ones who own this car?"

Jaune's eyes narrowed. Silently, he signaled his team to let him handle this. His team, not knowing anything about the Street Series, let Jaune handle it. "Yeah, we own it. What's the matter?"

"Hmph. You certainly don't seem like much. Tell me, kid, you know how good this thing is?"

"Not really. It's just a car, isn't it?"

It took all of his teammate's willpower not to show surprise at that. Didn't he go on about how great the Alzetta was just this evening?!

Apparently, this wasn't the answer the man was looking for. "Just a car! Why you- That's the brand new Alzetta! Most people would kill for something as good as that!" The leader took a breath. "Tell you what. Hand us over the keys, and we'll let you go scot-free. Hey, we'll even lend you a ride in our cars downhill! Imagine that, a ride with Amaya Kenji and the Trailblazers, the best in all of Vale!"

"Not happening."

The man's grin turned sinister. Without warning, he spit on Jaune's shirt. "Then don't ever come back here. Oh, and tell that to those bitches too."

The three men, 'The Trailblazers', Jaune noted, went into their Evos and raced again into the night. Though, this hardly mattered to Jaune. He could hear blood pumping in his ears, his hand slowly going to the spit mark on his shirt. Amaya's word echoed in his ears, insulting his friends.

"Jaune, are you alright?" Pyrrha spoke to him, attempting to shake him out of his stupor. "Oooh, once I get that guy, I'll break his legs for sure!" Nora growled. For once, he didn't hear Ren disagree with her.

Pyrrha began to get worried when Jaune didn't answer her at all, hand still in on the spit mark and gaze staring blankly to the night sky. Pyrrha noted Jaune's intense gaze, as well as recognizing his body shaking slightly. His hand curled into a fist.

'Spitting on me wasn't the problem. Mocking my friends is.'

Suddenly, it was all over. Jaune took a deep breath and his shaking subsided. He wiped his hands on his jeans and went into the car. The rest of Team JNPR followed suit.

Oddly enough, once they were inside, Jaune didn't do anything more turn on the engine. He didn't shift gears nor did he lower the handbrake.

"Jaune, if you don't feel like driving, that's okay." Pyrrha spoke. "We can-" "No, I'm fine, just-just give me a sec." Jaune took a deep breath. Just then, those three Evos blew past the restaurant again. Jaune grinned wider than Pyrrha ever saw him before. He shifted the Alzetta to gear one and left the parking lot slowly. As soon as he was out, he slammed on the gas.

~Dave Rodgers – Space Boy~

All of team JNPR's bodies were sent back by the G-force, Jaune seemingly the least affected by it. They barrelled through the downhill straight full speed, Jaune changing gears to second, then third.

"U-uh, Jaune, calm down!" Pyrrha shouted. Then, team JNPR noticed it. A turn was coming up and fast.

"The brakes Jaune! The brakes!" Pyrrha shouted, but Jaune didn't hear her. Instead, he kicked the clutch, shifting quickly into second gear. Jaune threw the wheel around and sent the car into a drift, sliding elegantly throughout the corner, all the while he applied minimal countersteering and pressing on the gas periodically to balance the weight distribution. Meanwhile, the rest of team JNPR screamed in terror at what seemed like their demise.

"Every night you light me with your gasoline."

As they exited the turn, the Alzetta stabilized and NPR let out a sigh of relief. A few centimeters off and they would've hit the guardrail. But Jaune didn't stop there. He continued full gas barrelling down the mountain, no sign of hesitation in sight.

"Every time I feel delight when you recall my name! "

"Jaune, buddy. Slow down!" Ren begged his leader. His pleas promptly went ignored. As another turn came in sight, Jaune approached it with even more confidence, this time braking later and accelerating the drifting process. The others could only hold on for life as their leader went faster. Pyrrha was gripping her seat in terror, while Ren and Nora gripped their emergency handles near the doorframe.

"So you can be my shining star tonight! I'm not alone with all your love!"

As they exited the turn, Jaune seemed to relax a bit, his shoulders releasing some of their tension. Some, being the key word. His fingers drummed the steering wheel.

"Fly across the sky, you will be mine!"

"Not bad." His hands tightened around the wheel, his gaze becoming resolute. "All right. Time to get serious!"

"Jaune, my partner, I swear when we get back to Beacon I am going to strangl-."

"I can feel your dream with you, babe!"

Jaune braked hard, the body of the car lurching forward. He entered a drift again, this time making sure to take both the optimal line and entry speed. The car cleared the corner with 3 centimeters between the guardrail and bumper, pushing speeds up to 70 KM/H.

"Gonna get you, like a space boy!"

"AAAAH! AAAAH!"

"Woah oh oh oh! I'm ready babe!

"We're making good time," Jaune spoke more to himself. "We'll be catching up with them in a few corners."

"Forget about them Jaune! Just drive us safel-SHIT SHIT SHIIIIT!" It was one of the rare moments that the mistralian champion swore as Jaune shifted down and sent the car sideways long before the corner.

"Gonna get you, I'm your space boy!"

Jaune maintained the 90-degree angle as they approached the 90-degree turn. The car's nose was almost lined up with the road when Jaune stepped on the gas fully, the car's tires skidding loudly. The silver Alzetta blasted through the corner at breakneck speed.

"Dive into your heart baby!"

Jaune 's eyes flicked to his partner in quiet surprise. "Wait, did you just swear, Pyrrha?"

"I'll swear all I want I'm scared for my fucking life!"

"Gonna get you like a space boy!"

"Aw, don't be like that, Pyr." Jaune's eyes gained a vindictive edge. "After all, those punks need to be taught a lesson. Spitting on me was trivial. Mocking you guys, though? I won't stand for that."

"Woah oh oh oh! I'm ready babe!

"Just let it go, Jaune!" Ren cried from behind. Meanwhile, Nora realized that her leader had control of the car. So, instead of worrying like the others, she began actively encouraging him.

"You got this Jaune! Come on, go faster!"

"Gonna get you, I'm a space boy!"

Ren turned to Nora, his eyes filled with rage yet tears starting to form from stress. "Nora, SHUT U-."

"Here comes a corner."

"FUUUUUU-"

"Take a chance with me, baby!"

The tires squealed loudly, and like any other turn, Jaune excelled in manouvering through it, with relatively low entry speed and high exit speed, AKA applying the famous 'slow in-fast out' strategy.

'Judging from that last drift, the tires are now properly heated.' Jaune noted as he drifted across another corner. His teammates continued to scream, though that didn't matter to him. 'They don't have as much grip as racing tires, though that's to be expected. They're stock after all. Doesn't matter.' Jaune let out a small smirk as the three Evos' lights became visible in front. He was gaining, and fast. 'I've already caught up with them.'

And indeed he has. The Trailblazers have noticed the Alzetta gaining on them, and the two in the back signaled the one in the front, Amaya's Yellow Evo, with blinking lights.

~Maurizio De Jorio and Fernando Bonini – No One Sleep in Tokyo~

"4…3…"

"Huh? So, someone wants a battle, huh?" He smirked and flicked on his car's radio. "Amaya here. Who's catching up on us?"

"2…"

"It's that silver Alzetta from before!"

"1…"

"Huh, that kid?" Amaya chuckled. "He's in way over his head. Let's show 'im, boys!"

With a chorus of agreement from the Trailblazers, the battle had officially begun, with 1st position being Yellow, 2nd position red, and 3rd position white, with Jaune and the others at 4th.

"No one sleep in Tokyo!"

Jaune smiled fully, filled with vindictive glee. "Let's see what you've got, bastards." Meanwhile, Ren and Pyrrha can only watch in horror as it seems that their leader has fully lost his mind. Of course, then there's Nora, who was, well…

"Kick their ass, Jaune!"

…Not that much help, in Pyrrha and Ren's opinion.

"All night crossing the line!

A corner came up, a long medium right. In tandem, the four cars braked, shifted down, and threw their cars sideways. They drifted along the corner, their tires squealing and kicking up dust in the air.

"No one quit the radio!"

'Staying behind an opponent is crucial in a race.' Jaune's thoughts came back to the basics of racing. 'When you're behind them, you get a feel for the opponents' driving style, their habits, their strategy. Then, overtake when they have no chance of taking their position back.'

"Tokyo is on fire!"

Jaune made another observation as they exited the corner and entered a new one, a hairpin to the left. 'The white Evo has a habit of accelerating late,' Jaune did the motions. Brake, downshift, steer, weight-shift to the side, gas. 'His tires are also not gripping properly. Looks like they're already on the limit.' They exited the corner, Jaune right on the white Evo's bumper.

"I'm making my move in the next turn. The white Evo's position is mine."

By this point, most of team JNPR had given up on convincing their leader to stop. They were still scared shitless, though, just barely hanging on to consciousness.

Pyrrha whimpered. "Please…why can't you just drive normally…?"

The next corner was one Jaune recognized as a medium left. They drifted again, Jaune this time prioritizing maximum exit speed.

"Even if you say "I have been the world wide,"

The white Evo, as Jaune noted, didn't have enough grip in his tires. He drifted out of the optimal line, to the outside.

'There!'

Jaune plunged the gas pedal, taking the inside from the Evo. The Evo and Alzetta were only millimeters apart. With the roar of the turbocharged 3S-GE, they blew past the 4WD Evo, leaving it solidly in the dust.

"I'll take you where surely you have never been!"

'One down, two to go.'

"Amaya! Shiro's out!"

"Fuck! Don't let him pass, Aka!"

"All right in the fight I'm OK... come on!"

Jaune, as he did with the white Evo, started to observe the red Evo. Like a polar opposite, this one's main problem was his lack of entry speed. He always brakes more then he's used to and his drifts were overly flashy.

The drifts were, as Takeshi would put it, slow and crab-walk like.

"Come on!"

'I can't wait for an opening on this one. With his drifts, he's blocking the entire line. I'll have to force him outside.'

They approached another corner, a long right. At least the red Evo had enough sense to just grip this one through.

"Let's see you get past this!"

"Hey, do you feel the night is breathable?"

A medium left came up and the red Evo redid his mistakes. He prioritized angle over speed. Jaune took this opportunity to push his car closer to Aka's.

"What-what're you doing?! You tryna push us over the edge?!"

"Look at this town which is unbelievable!"

The guardrail became closer and closer.

"No other places like that in the world, world, world! (1, 2, 3, 4!)"

"Hng! Fine! Have it your way!" Aka backed off and let the silver Alzeta through. Though, this wasn't a problem for him.

"No one sleep in Tokyo!"

'Besides, he's got no room to slow down. Newbie doesn't even know this road. 'Aka chuckled. It's a sharp right after this turn. He's gonna go over the guardrail.' Aka sat back, relaxed.

'Time to see the fireworks.'

"All night crossing the line!"

Jaune lifted his pedal and let the weight-shift happen naturally, no sign of concern at all in his face. The car swerved from drifting left to drifting right in a matter of moments, ready to take on the next corner.

"No one quit the radio!"

"What the fuck?!"

"Tokyo is on fire!"

Jaune cleared it beautifully, only one centimeter off the inner guardrail. He drove fast as he exited the corner, now only around a meter behind Amaya's bumper.

"Inertia drift?!"

Astounded by the move, Aka lost control of his car in the following drift and spun out in the middle of the road.

'How is he this good… just who is this guy?!'

Meanwhile, in the front, it was now just team JNPR and Amaya Kenji.

"Bastard… he took out Shiro and Aka!" As one, the two drivers braved another corner. "Heh, but I'm not like the others." He shifted down and savoured the sound of his exhaust blowing. "I've got a misfiring system installed. Tires are also top-notch, straight from Tovo Tires, all four driven optimally by my car's 4WD system. My turbo's tuned to give an extra 120 HP from stock, making a total of 320 HP. Aside from that, I've driven on this course day and night for 3 straight years. You think you can beat me, with your newcomer status and puny 220 HP RWD Alzetta?! You're dead wrong!"

'Looks like I was wrong.' Jaune thought as he drifted alongside Amaya. 'Seems like you've got some skill after all, Amaya. But,' Jaune noticed a flaw in his opponent's driving style. 'You rely too much on your car. You abuse your car's 4WD system. Aside from that all of your lines are memorized, near-robotic. Your style practically smells of dominance.'

'All in all, you've never had a proper challenge. All I'd need to do is disrupt your rhythm and you won't be able to recover. From your temper, Heh.' Jaune almost chuckled. "It'll be too easy."

The two of them realized that coming up was Mount Ganbari's hardest sections. It was a hairpin right followed by a slow left, then another hairpin to the left then a slow right. The pattern reset itself three times until all that was left was a medium right then a straightaway to the base of the mountain. The slopes were also much steeper, thus magnifying the impact of each racer's car weight and weight distribution to their tires.

In a situation like this, the one with the lighter car has the advantage. The Evo II is by design lighter than the RS205. Add to that Jaune's carrying three passengers, that would be an additional 210-ish kilos.

'I don't have much tire grip to spare. After these sets of corners, I'll have to run as fast as I can. We can't afford to get caught up in the straightaway from the Evo's horsepower.'

~Dave Rodgers – The Race of The Night~

'Here it comes.' Jaune thought. Instead of taking the usual optimal line, this time Jaune prepared to take the outside line.

'Most of the time, the outside line is useless for overtaking. You'd have to go faster just to compete with the one on the inside, not to mention passing altogether. But I'm not aiming for a pass just yet.'

Jaune shifted down and braked, this time making sure that his brakes were gentler than before. As such, the weight didn't snap to the front of the tires as much, minimizing its strain. Jaune made sure to enter the drift a lot smoother.

'I don't need to pass him just yet. All I need to do, is let him know I'm brave enough to take the outside!'

Amaya noticed lights approaching from the outside line. The Alzetta's headlights glowed mockingly in the corner, growing closer and closer yet not enough for an overtake just yet. "You mocking me?! You can't pass from the outside!"

'Because in the end, Amaya's temper will let me pass.'

They exited the right hairpin and entered the slow left.

"It's not a real game!"

The two drivers began taking the slow left, taking a slight angle. Both of them knew they were approaching their car's limit.

"A kind that drives you insane!"

But not Jaune's skill limit.

"My life is like a real racin', and now I just wanna win!"

The left hairpin approached. Jaune positioned his car to take the outside line again, planning to repeat the same strategy.

"Take me back to my place! Take me where I find some gasoline…."

Both cars' lights flashed red as they pumped on the brakes. Their weights shifted forward in the same time both drivers turned their wheel hard. Their cars began drifting, kicking up dust in the road.

"'Cause you know my way! The race is on my life~!"

The Evo took the inside, while the Alzetta took the outside. The RS205's lights flashed mockingly by the Evo's side, so close it can be seen through the side mirrors even though it took the outside lane.

"Don't fuck with me! Passing by the outside is impossible!"

Just as planned, Jaune fell back behind Amaya once the corner once over. Staying behind his opponent once again, Jaune recognized that his driving had taken an agitated edge to it.

'It's working.'

"I'm gonna make it the race of the night!"

They approached the next hairpin. This time, Jaune didn't try to go to the outside. Instead, he opted to brake a lot sooner and take the optimal line. This way, he stays behind Amaya, able to observe the effects of his attacks.

"I feel alive all it's seems a dream!"

'As expected, he didn't even notice me braking late. He's too focused on trying to run away. Because of that, he's started to neglect the basics, something you wouldn't forget had you not relied so hard on the Evo.'

'And now…' Jaune thought as they approached the last hairpin. 'I'll make my move.'

Jaune braked and downshifted, kicking the clutch and sending the car into a drift. However this time there was something fundamentally different. Instead of relying on the car's throttle to pull through, Jaune decided to rely on the weight transfer which was amplified with the RS205's more passengers going through the steep downhill. In relying on weight transfer, Jaune also near-eliminated the need for countersteer, allowing the car to soar through the corner.

"Race in the heat of the night! I feel alright!"

The Evo, whose style became to aggressive, was forced to brake late and make way for the blazing Alzetta. Amaya could only watch dazed as the RS205, untuned, bone stock, blasted past his superior mountain-spec Evo II.

"I am ready!"

"You're not getting away that easily!" Amaya growled. In desperation, he stepped on the gas. However, he miscalculated his tires' grip. With it being completely gone, his car spun out and came to a stop smack in the middle of the road.

Enraged, he slammed his hands on his Evo's steering wheel, the horns blaring. "RARGH!"

Jaune glanced at his back mirror. He scoffed. "Amateurs."

Team JNPR arrived at Beacon an hour later. Jaune parked the car and turned off the engine, the sound of the engine dying off as its ignition was cut. The tires of the RS205 began to cool down, as did Jaune himself. He exhaled, his body relaxing.

'Well. That was quite the warm-up.'

He slid off his seatbelt and unlocked the door. He went to get out but was preceded by Pyrrha and Ren. Both of them hugged the ground, taking deep breaths and tears flowing down their eyes.

In contrast, Nora was cheering loudly. "Whoooo! That. Was, Awesome, Jaune!" She jumped around, giddy like a child. "Can we do that again sometime, please?! And oooh, their faces when we passed. You should've seen them!"

Jaune chuckled. "Maybe."

"S-save it." Ren muttered between breaths. Pyrrha continued for him. "I-I'm never-hngg-letting you drive ever again, Jaune. How do you even have motion sickness after that?"

Jaune laughed. Yeah, that was what people usually thought after driving with him, even his cousin Kei or his rival Takumi.

"Because a car stays on the ground." He made a motion with his hands, like a car driving. "Not like a Bullhead that flies."

Pyrrha and Ren thought that that was bullshit. Jaune laughed again.

And that's a wrap! Lemme know what you thought, and if I should continue it or not!

Special thanks to the smash mfers discord for being good peeps.