A/N I've had this chapter for over a week now but I don't like the way I wrote Ryosuke's character in here. Unfortunately I couldn't think of anyway to change him without ruining the chapter completely. So please just bare with me this time and if any of you have some suggestions on how to change it please email me. BTW I want to thank everyone for their reviews. I honestly didn't think this fic would be this well received.

Act 30

Aki slipped into Ryosuke's car and immediately moved the seat forward. By the time she had adjusted things to her height Alex was leaning in the open window.

"This must be a change for you," Alex commented. "There's no NOS, fewer amplifiers, less gauges…."

"And only a five gear drive-train," Aki finished. "I can't drive this. It seems like forever since I've driven one of these." Suddenly a horrible feeling occurred to her. "What if he does something wrong?" she asked nervously. "If he misses the gear change by too much it could mess up one of the other systems." Alex just looked at her in silence. "He's going to screw it up. My poor car," Aki groaned suddenly lowering her head.

Alex jumped as Aki hit the horn. "You've got to relax. It's not like he'd play around with a system he knows nothing about." Aki just looked at her knowingly.

Behind the white FC, Keisuke was watching his brother as he studied the interior of Aki's car. "What are you looking for bro?"

"Nothing, just wondering what some of these buttons are for. He looked at the stick. //I wonder what gears six to eight do.// Suddenly a sound blasted from his car. "Oh good. She found the horn," he said sarcastically.

Keisuke chuckled. "Would you relax. You've told me that she is one of the best drivers you've ever seen. What are the chances that she's going to damage your car?"

"Few, but there is still a chance." At Keisuke's annoyed look, Ryosuke gave in. "Fine, fine. Might as well get this over with," Ryosuke sighed. Closing the window he followed Aki to the starting line.

As soon as the starter reached zero, Ryosuke floored the pedal of Aki's car. This action would have propelled his FC fast enough to overtake almost any model in the initial dash, however, he quickly found out that in Aki's car the raw power had to be met with god like precision. The tires on her car had to be custom made, there was almost no way regular tires would be able to stand up to the punishment this engine could produce. Ryosuke slowed down after the first turn and looked behind him. He could see that Aki was faring better in his FC than he was in hers. But then again, she did not have to deal with a completely unknown engine. Looking back to the road, he saw a long straightaway in front of him. //Might as well try one of those buttons,// he thought allowing his curiosity get the best of him. He reached over and flicked a switch. For a moment, nothing happened and then all hell broke loose.

Aki watched as her FC suddenly rocketed forward. Looking down, she saw blue flames coming out of the exhaust. //Lovely,// she thought. //He found the NOS button.// She watched as he began nearing the next corner. //Come on switch it into sixth gear. Come on switch it.// She watched in horrifying fascination as Ryosuke somehow made it around the turn. //Damn it Ryosuke, now the pressure will be off. I'll be lucky if the tanks don't blow by the time were finished.// Needing to catch up with him Aki reached over before once again realizing he didn't have the same additions as her car. //Guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way.//

Aki floored the pedal and drifted hard into the next turn. Shifting gears she rocketed forward. Suddenly she heard a grinding noise from beneath her. Aki winced. //Not your car Aki. You can't jump gears like that,// she said to herself. //Knowing my luck he probably heard that too.// Her suspicions were confirmed when Ryosuke slowed and turned on his blinkers. //Good, I want my car back anyway,// she thought pulling up behind him.

Aki got out of Ryosuke's car and paced over to him. In one motion she dropped Ryosuke's keys into his hand, picked up her own and continued on to her car. As soon as she got there she began to readjust the gauges and switches, slowly checking over her car for damages, she didn't even spare a glance for the taller boy. Unknown to her, Ryosuke was acting the same. They both acted as though the other weren't there.

Aki and Ryosuke continued to ignore each other even after they had returned to the peak. Keisuke noticed it almost as soon as they got out of their cars. Aki had walked over to her group and they all left soon after. Keisuke watched his brother during the whole process. //He's angry,// Keisuke noted. His brother always did the same things when angry. He either ignored the problem or he destroyed it. //Kind of glad he's following tactic number one,// Keisuke thought as he walked over to his brother. "So you going to tell me what's up?" he asked quietly so as not to draw any more attention.

"Stay out of it. This is partially your fault," Ryosuke replied glaring at Keisuke.

"How so? You could have just said no, or drop it and I would have. But then again I don't think that is why you're angry."

"Well then tell me, since I'm too stupid to figure it out," Ryosuke replied.

Keisuke ignored his brother's sarcasm. "I think you're just frustrated. I mean she's shot you down a lot today. But then again, she's the first girl that's gotten under your skin." Ryosuke just looked at his brother. It was amazing how insightful he could be sometimes. "But then again, Aki seemed to be in a bad mood tonight, so I'm pretty sure she was looking to pick a fight. You're just the one who was in the line of fire when it happened. Give her a few days, she'll get over it," Keisuke stated.

"Why would I give her a few days. She's an opponent, not my girlfriend," Ryosuke huffed.

Keisuke just smirked. "It was just my opinion bro. I didn't mean anything by it."

Ryosuke didn't reply, just got in his car and headed home.

To be continued…..