Author's note: I apologise again for the late shipment…

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Fast and Furious series.

Chapter 8

School was crappy, as usual, and Yuri barely paid any attention to what her teachers teaching (she perked up only during Math because it was her favourite subject). Her Literature teacher caught her staring out of the window and duly rapped her long ruler on her table, making Yuri jump and drop her notebook along with her pen.

"Yuri Boswell! If I catch you daydreaming again … " and Yuri just nodded absently as Mrs. Tekinawa screeched in Japanese about paying attention in her class and its consequences in the form of cleaning out the boys washroom with the class riot, Ogi, much to the amusement and sniggers of her classmates.

On her way out to lunch, Ogi nudged her in the elbows and waggled his eyebrows. "Care to join me in the toilets after school?"

She eyed him irritably. "No."

He laughed aloud and sprinted for the cafeteria with his gang of cackling friends.

So you couldn't imagine her immense relief and delight on seeing Koji leaning against the green Corolla he loaned from Ming in front of her school gates.

"Koji!" she exclaimed. "You can't imagine how happy I am to see you – but what are you doing here?"

She would have expected at least a faint smile from him, but Koji's face was anything but cheerful that particular day. Still frowning, he tilted his head in the direction of his car. "Get in."

After a few minutes of silence in the car, Yuri finally braved herself to speak up. "Koji, is anything wrong?"

He sighed heavily as he turned into a junction, narrowly missing the red light.

"Koji?" she pressed again.

"We're in deep shit, Yuri," he said miserably.

She sat up straight in her seat. "Excuse me?"

He glanced at her, his face ashen. "You heard me. Guess who found us?"

She stared at him back in pure, undisguised disbelievement as slowly, inch by inch, realisation sank into her consciousness.

"Imiga," she whispered.

The grim look on his face confirmed it all for her.

"Oh God," she covered her face with her hands and sank back into the seat. Oh God, oh God, oh God, she squeezed her eyes shut, how the heck did he manage to find me here? I'd wiped clear of any traces, any footprints. How, oh how?

"He found us at Boshi," said Koji again. "He's not about to let us go until we pay it all back." He looked at Yuri intently as he pulled the car to a stop at a traffic light. "Why don't you try giving him the Skyline? Ming and I hauled it back to his garage when you left suddenly last night."

She shook her head. "It's not just the money he's after. It's me he wants." She stared back at Koji. "He's mad at me for walking out on him."

"Yuri, if you'd stayed with him any longer God knows what else he's gonna do to you!"

She sighed tiredly. "Koji – "

"He hurt you, girl! Did you forget that?"

"How can I?" she exploded. "You think that I'm about to forget what he did to me for as long as I live? Oh, Koji – oh God, what am I gonna do?"

"Maybe Ming can help us – "

"No," she said firmly. "No, we can't tell him."

"C'mon Yuri, his brother used to do business with Imiga's cousin. Maybe he can settle this with us."

"No," said Yuri again, gritting her teeth, "I'm not gonna drag him into this whole mess. It's my mess, and I'm going to resolve this once and for all."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

She didn't answer him, but just went on gazing at the traffic passing them by through the window. Koji was worried for her; he knew it would be best for her stubborn sake to enlist Ming's help; for all she knew, Ming could be just about the only one to drag them out of the rut with Imiga.

But being her friend, Koji decided to keep his mouth sealed until if things went spiraling out of even his hands. Yuri would skin him alive if he ever spilled the beans to Ming.

Not even the sight of her Supra could carve a smile onto her face. If anything, the sight of her scraped spoiler made her frown even more. More money would have to be spent to repair it, and actually right now, she didn't have any money except lunch allowances from the Lieutenant.

But seeing Ming installing an engine into a Fairlady, bare-chested, made her giggle ever so slightly. Koji noticed her tipsiness and wondered what had happened in the space of time when he had left her 'untended to' after the race.

Ming looked around him just in time to catch her walking towards him. He grinned. "Hey, gorgeous."

Yuri looked down on her uniform. "So this idiotic piece of clothing really looks good on me, huh?"

He took her wrists gently in his greasy hands and kissed the tips of her fingers. "Well, I'll say."

"You don't look too bad yourself," she whispered back. Could she help herself if she wanted to flirt with a man as hot as he was? Could it hurt if she took just one step back and let herself indulge in his attention? Even after what happened with him?

He kissed the tip of her nose. "I know I'm freaking your innocent schoolgirl self out. I'll go and put something on."

"Don't," she said without thinking, and he stopped and raised his eyebrows curiously. She managed a smile. "I mean… you look just fine this way."

"Too bad you can't bare your soul like me," he said. "Anyway, I don't feel like being half-naked anymore."

"And I can't stop you, can I?" she called after him as he disappeared into his living quarters. What was she thinking? Just a couple of days knowing this guy and already they were acting like a couple? She shook her head and went to her Supra, opening its hood. Yesterday when she raced, its handling didn't feel as hard as she would have liked it to be. And her engine rev recovered a little too slow for her taste after coming out of Boshi's sharp hairpins. The Skyline could have pulled out of the corner so much faster than her Supra, given the right driver.

Speaking of the Skyline… she turned her head to her right and caught the midnight-black pack of muscle sitting docilely by the wall of the garage. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have an R32 in her crew.

But if she kept it, how would she ever pay Imiga back?

"Decisions, decisions," said Ming suddenly from behind her. Caught completely off guard, she turned around instantly. He had put on a respectable black T-shirt. He smiled at her mischievously. "Can't make up your mind on keeping him?"

"Him?" she repeated blankly.

He laughed. "The R32, baby. What else am I talking about?"

She laughed as well, albeit a little nervously. "I don't know; maybe because the norm is to call a car a she?"

"Good point," he replied, "But the R32 is pretty boxy for a girl. But if you add a Veilside at the rear and pump up his ass, I think he'll pass."

She snorted. "Yeah, right. And where on earth are you going to get a Veilside body kit? Even if you get your hands on one of them you'd have to fork out a lot of money."

Ming smiled gently and said, "If you're serious about keeping that Skyline, I'll get you one."

She drew a deep breath and averted her eyes. She didn't want to owe him anything. It was bad enough that she still owed Imiga a sum that never seemed to dwindle, what with his expensive and unreasonable interest rates. But there was something deeper in that offer too. By making that promise, he was actually talking about commitment. He was committing himself to her.

As thrilling as it felt, it was also pretty scary.

"I – " but she didn't get to say that she would think about it. Her K700i buzzed in her skirt pocket and she took it out. On the screen was an unknown number. Frowning, she pressed the YES button and said tentatively, "Hello?"

"Hi baby. Remember me?"

She quickly scrambled to hang up but before she could do that she heard Imiga say, "Hush, baby, hush. It's not polite to hang up on an old… flame."

"What do you want?" she tried to keep as calm as possible.

He laughed. "You still owe me, Yuri. Big time."

"How did you get my number?"

"You of all people should be expecting this as soon as you touch down in Tokyo."

She smiled apologetically at Ming and walked away. She didn't want him to overhear any part of the conversation from her side. Imiga was something she'd like to keep in the dark. "Okay, you caught me and I'm not going to repeat myself. What do you want?"

"What do I want?" he laughed again. "Let's see… money, cars, and you." After a pause, he resumed, drawling, "Look, baby, can we meet up somewhere – private? Then we can discuss our – hmm, terms?"

Yuri shook her head furiously. Experience had taught her to avoid every single meeting place he set. "No."

"Oh, what the heck, Yuri? What were you thinking? A little storage room with a nice couch for us to get comfy?" His hoarse laugh came again. "No, you naughty girl – I mean the little restaurant selling octopus ramen just a few streets down from the garage you're in right now." Her heart skipped a few beats. He actually knew where he was. What else did he know? Did he know about Ming? About where she lived? About her father?

She had to get this done. She had to settle this once and for all.

"Deal," she said firmly.

"Great. How about in fifteen minutes' time?"

"Fine with me. No tricks, Imiga."

"Tricks?" he chuckled, and it sent the familiar chills down her spine. "Oh no, baby girl, just business. You can bring that silly old lapdog you call a sidekick."

"Koji's not a lapdog," she hissed into the phone, angry tears biting at her eyes.

He only laughed. "Fifteen minutes, baby. Don't be late."

Author's second note: Another chappie, but not so eventful I'm afraid. I'd like a few second opinions from the readers – what do you guys want to happen after this chapter? I'm not having a case of writer's block – but I'd love some feedback! Thankie thanks!