&&&&&&&

Two hundred and sixty laps. That was the duration of today's contest. InuYasha made certain he had a clear lead right after the start, then backed off a bit as he didn't want to start lapping the other, weaker cars too early. Besides, Totosai was screaming in his ear to not blow the engine by red-lining it.

The contenders, however, soon caught up to him, and the game began. Seshomaru's white number '7' modified Ford Taurus was the first to reach him, and, at almost 195 mph, pulled to within four inches of InuYasha's rear bumper, nestling neatly within the fuel-saving slipstream created by InuYasha's number '57'. Naraku's black number '13' Taurus pulled up behind Sesshomaru, and Kouga's rust colored number '3' was right behind that one. As more cars caught up, the samba line formed, moving like a rattlesnake with a caffeine high. Miroku was in row seven, in the blue '46' Chevy. Someone would make the first move soon, after they gauged just how powerful InuYasha's car was, and if he had the stamina to keep the lead position.

By lap 16, the positions had not changed, and team Kunikida decided it was time to make a move. The fans had been roaring for something to happen for a while now, but as InuTaishou Kunikida was fond of saying to his crew, if you too often do what the fans want, you'll soon be sitting among them. Turn number three was coming up again, and the groove InuYasha was traveling in would take him high up near the outer wall.

"All right, Sesshomaru, let's do this." Naraku's normally grating voice sounded even more so through the headset.

"Very well. Proceed. But do not let him goad you into doing something stupid."

"That fool? I doubt it. Once again you doubt my ability. That will be your undoing, Sesshomaru."

"Will it, now?"

Naraku left his tuck position behind Sesshomaru and roared up to challenge '57' from underneath on the banked turn. Kouga's voice crackled in InuYasha's ear.

"Dude. Here they come."

"Yeah, I see him. If he thinks he's gonna duck under me, he's gonna get fucked real good."

"How's your fuel?"

"I got about another six laps left. That's enough to pound his ass into the ground."

"All righty then. I'll make sure he's an orphan."

"Gotcha."

Knowing Sesshomaru would try to save a place for his teammate to re-draft should his bid for first fail, Kouga came out of his tuck position and stole the gap Sesshomaru created between his car and InuYasha's just as InuYasha accelerated to Naraku's challenge. If Naraku failed to take first, he wasn't getting his old spot back, and if InuYasha's car was indeed the stronger of the two, Naraku would pay for moving too soon.

This was what the crowd was waiting for, the throw-down, and they went berserk. The other, weaker drivers also began jockeying for position, and the race soon resembled two centipedes splashed in primary colors wriggling about.

Naraku got just about two-thirds of a car length ahead of InuYasha coming out of turn three but just couldn't completely pass him to take over the "groove", that part of the track that had taken the most traffic, and was thus slightly softer and yielded much better traction. InuYasha chuckled at Naraku's futile efforts.

"Just as I thought. Without restrictor plates, you ain't shit. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you from last time. Old ladies shouldn't be racing. They should just get the fuck outta the way."

"Naraku! We should regroup and..."

"No! I can take him!"

'Idiot'

Sesshomaru muttered under his breath.

Moving the steering wheel less than an inch, InuYasha's Monte Carlo tapped the rear quarter panel of the Taurus just enough to make it swerve slightly. Naraku recovered, but realized he was stuck and cursed his vulnerable position. InuYasha then tapped into his reserve of power and '57' roared up until they were neck and neck. This continued for two and a half laps, each car close enough to the other that InuYasha could have reached out and opened the other car's door, if it had one. Naraku growled exasperatedly, then conceded.

"Had enough? Good. Now back the fuck up."

InuYasha gloated as his car was indeed more powerful than Naraku's on this day. Naraku could also feel his car pulling slightly to the right, as that high-speed challenge likely took his suspension slightly out of tune. Could Jaken even be counted on to keep a car competitive? He would crush that toad when he next saw him.

'Shit.'

He would have to employ another tactic. Slowing down slightly, he saw that the gap he was counting on had disappeared. Kouga gave him a single-finger salute as he went past, followed by Sesshomaru, followed by half of the pack. Naraku almost lost his temper as he spoke into the microphone.

"Sesshomaru! Once again you have failed to protect our position. Despite the standings, your competence as a team player seems to be in serious doubt."

"Is that so? I'm terribly sorry, Naraku. I seem to be losing you. There must be something wrong with my two-way."

'Bastard.'

"InuYasha!"

Totosai broke into InuYasha's self-congratulaton.

"Yeah."

"Bring her in next lap to top off. I don't like the way she comes out of the turns when her ass-end is too light."

"Got it. Hear that, Kouga?"

"I heard."

"All right. Bump-and-run right after turn two."

"Gotcha."

They rolled out of turn two and InuYasha started the countdown.

"Three... two... one... Now!"

'57' dropped from the "groove" to allow Kouga to assume the lead position. Drifting back slightly until he was right next to Sesshomaru, InuYasha lightly bumped the white Taurus up and out of the "groove", allowing Kouga the chance to skip away to at least a four second lead before he disengaged and headed into the pits.

"Thanks, buddy."

"Yeah. Keep an eye out for Miroku. He's somewhere back there."

"Don't worry about me, I'm right here. Just came out of the pits. Someone needs to pay more attention to what's going on behind him."

"I never pay attention to what's going on behind me. And I won't be starting today."

&&&&&&&

Kagome tried to concentrate on her assigned tasks. She had the windshield cleaning fluids as well as the soft drinks in order. The containers with the fuel were all lined up and the tires were marked and stacked properly. Her mind, however, kept going back to this morning, and the events that transpired then. She and her new friend and hotel roommate Sango had just come downstairs to the cafeteria for some breakfast. As they approached the entrance they saw Yura waiting with her hands crossed over her chest.

"Kagome." She said coolly.

"Yura. How's it going?"

"It's going. Got a minute?"

"Sure. Sango, you go ahead. I'll catch up to you."

"O.k. See you in a bit."

As soon as Sango was out of earshot, Yura pulled Kagome a few feet away from the cafeteria entrance. Kagome snatched her arm from Yura's grip and looked at the girl angrily.

"What the hell?"

"What, indeed. I understand that you and InuYasha had a little meeting yesterday."

'So that's what this is all about. Don't tell me she's...'

Kagome rolled her eyes, partly in amazement, partly in frustration.

"Yura, you don't understand..."

"You hit him!"

"Yes, but he deserved..."

"We could have been friends, Kagome. But I should have known better. Don't you ever lay a hand on him again. I don't care what he does."

"Yura, he hit on me, and he..."

"Liar! Don't you touch a hair on his head, you understand?"

Kagome was shocked by the emotional intensity in the girl's eyes; she was almost maniacal. By now, however, her dander was up, and Kagome didn't care anymore, pissed that she got sucked into this soap opera.

"Is that a threat?"

"No. That's a promise. InuYasha belongs to me, so you just stay far away from him."

Kagome couldn't believe how deluded Yura was.

"Belongs to you? Earth to Yura, InuYasha is a real piece of work. He couldn't care less..."

"That may be, but I'll be the one to work on him, got it?"

"Fine. Knock yourself out. I hope the two of you will be very happy together. You certainly deserve each other."

Since then, Yura had avoided her, speaking only when necessary. Kagome, finally having some time to cool down, realized that Yura was infatuated, and probably said some things she now regretted. Kagome chided herself for not having a cooler head as she put all the pieces together. Yura wasn't a bad person, just a bit deluded, and would probably need someone to be there for her when the jerk finally showed her his true colors.

&&&&&&&

"18 seconds. Come on, people! We have to do better than this! Now he's got to run even faster to make it up!"

Miroku had just pulled out of the pits and was picking up speed as he approached the main track. Totosai popped another antacid into his mouth and cracked the tablet under his teeth as he bemoaned the relatively slow pit time. Thankfully, Miroku's car got the full treatment. All four tires had been changed, his fuel was topped off, and he got to down half a Coke. With a screech, and a puff of smoke from the exhaust pipes, Miroku roared back into the competition, hoping to re-secure his position in 7th place, or better.

As he turned to review his clipboard, the voice of one of the assistants crackled in his ear advising InuYasha that he was to get left front and rear tire changes only along with his refueling. As the crew chief moved toward the pit wall, he failed to notice that one of the crew had left a stray fuel container right in the middle of the pit because he was resetting his stopwatch for the upcoming time trial when '57' pulled in.

Yura saw it.

She instinctively hopped over the barrier to retrieve it just as InuYasha's car turned onto pit row. The speed limit was a posted 35 mph. Not caring if he was fined for speeding in the pits, InuYasha was more concerned that he was already twenty seconds behind Kouga. He was still traveling at about 70 mph, flying past the other pit crews, ignoring their yelling and fist-shaking.

'Fuck it. I got good brakes.'

Yura, bending down to lift the empty fuel tank, broke the second rule of the pit worker, which was to never turn your back to the action. She was so concerned that the container could be struck and sent out onto the main track and she figured it would take her at most ten seconds to run over and get it.

Any debris on the track could cause the caution flag to come out and allow the other drivers to pit and top off their fuel, ostensibly reducing Kouga's lead. And they just had to catch Team Kunikida.

Totosai was lost in thought.

'Maybe that last pit stop was a fluke. The averages are still looking pretty good...'

"Yura, get out of there!"

The voice exploded into Totosai's headset. Wheeling around, he saw the girl pick up the empty fuel cell and turn around. Out of the corner of his eye, the bright yellow numbers '57' came into his peripheral vision. He dropped his tablet. He couldn't get to her in time.

'Oh gods, no.'

Yura looked up as she turned around and froze. It was only then that she remembered rule number two, but it was too late. Here was her death, coming for her, and it was bright red and making quite a bit of noise, like a fire-breathing dragon of yore roaring down the mountain to devour the princess. As the sun's glare moved off the windshield, she could now see InuYasha's eyes through his helmet, and the horror they reflected as he realized too late that she was in his path.

Those beautiful, golden eyes. And they were looking right at her, not past her or through her as they normally did. Things began to move in slow motion just then.

Her breathing.

Her heartbeat.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the rest of her crew behind the barrier waving frantically to get her attention. Then, through the headset, she heard his voice. What? Was this really a dream come true?

"Yura! Yura! Get out of the... "

'My name. He's... calling me... by my name. He knows who I am. He...'

The squeal of rubber as brakes locked, the intense heat of the sun, the roar of the crowd, the smell of oil and sweat and gasoline, the thunder of engines quaking out 800 horsepower, these were the things she would take with her as she stepped off of the plane of this life.

But not today.

With the force of a pro linebacker, Kagome hit Yura from the side full on at the next-to-the-last second, knocking the both of them clear of the raging beast. Car 57 swerved slightly as it skidded another fifteen feet before stopping partly into the next competitor's pit area.

Totosai's heart was up in his throat, pounding away. He had to remove his headset with shaking hands, the string of profanities coming through from his star driver included some things even he had never heard in all his years.

&&&&&&&

A/N: Next, Spinning and twirling and flipping... and fiberglass pancakes!

Eviloni101: Thanks, you got your wish.

PaperTazuna: Sorry it took so long to update. I'll try to do better.

kingdomnite: Thanks for your comments.

Vixen12089: Thank you. I'll try to update sooner!

cynical chaos: what can I say? Reviewers like you make all the work worth it.

Everyone else: enjoy...

Ja ne.