Note: Originally posted on LJ 7th June 2009. Written with Swedish laws in mind concerning driver's license, where you have to be 16 to start practising to drive and 18 to get the license. The legal age of being an instructor, private or not, for the one practising to drive is 24. It matches the laws in Japan, except the 24 years old age limit for which I could find no information. I hope I'm not confusing anyone :)

Anyway, so, wrote this in June....had my own first driving lesson today.

Figures my teacher had to be a gorgeous and utterly charming guy in his early twenties. GEEZ.

xXx

Road Rage

Lesson 1

xXx

It had finally clicked. She finally knew what had been wrong, because now she could feel how very right this was. If only she had listened to the little voice telling her she should do it in the reverse order (proper teacher first, Sano later), then she might've been saved some embarrassment. However, at the moment, she wouldn't allow herself to dwell on past mistakes; she had things to learn. Lots of things.

And she had to concentrate while doing it, as well.

Which was very, very hard.

"So, you slowly push down on the accelerator while slowly letting up on the clutch."

"Err, and this is the clutch, right?"

"No, that's the break. Over there—yeah, that's the one."

"Right; push and let up. Push and let up."

The car made a humming noise as she started it, and she felt a shiver of excitement go through her. Pushing a bit too hard – the damn thing was way too sensitive – the engine roared and she winced. The man beside her barely moved a muscle, just smiled encouragingly (gorgeously) when she glanced his way. Oh that is not helping!

"You're doing well, Kamiya-san! Now, take it easy, and when you feel the engine catch up and pull, you let go of the clutch. Slowly. Don't worry; you'll feel when it's time."

Clenching her teeth, a sarcastic 'right' barely made it through and she supposed – hoped – it was less than a mutter to his ears. She didn't want to seem rude.

Focusing on the task at hand, again, she tried her best to follow the driving teacher's instructions. He had been nothing but friendly and patient ever since they met for her first lesson earlier – her only complaint would be how unfairly charming and stunning he was. Had she not had enough faith in her self-control after dealing with Sagara Sanosuke's distractingly infuriating self for several years, she might've bolted at first sight. There was no way this man could not be a danger in traffic when teaching young, red-blooded teenage girls how to drive in the seat a few inches away. He was just too much of a distraction, and not for the first time, Kamiya Kaoru thanked her intense training and meditating history.

The car jumped forward in a jerky motion as she finally got started and she let out a squeal of excitement. The chuckle coming from her teacher made her cheeks heat up and the noise died in her throat. She was a horrible driver, and he should probably be forewarned if he hadn't figured it out already.

"Err, sorry, Himura-san. I'm pretty bad at this…"

How she managed to remember to change gears when he flashed another one of those smiles was a mystery, so she quickly looked away to save herself from more embarrassment. Despite being in the middle of an empty parking lot – devoid of trees and ditches – it wouldn't surprise her if she managed to drive straight into a tree right then and there anyway.

"Oh but you've only just started, Kamiya-san. It'll get better with time, that it will!"

Her blush deepened and she frowned, an almost sullen tone entering her voice as she replied. "I've been 'training' for a year, Himura-san." Making a jerky left-turn, she kept her eyes trained on the space in front of her. Her grip of the steering wheel made her knuckles turn white. "You can hardly call that 'just getting started'."

"Oro?" he exclaimed, sounding uncomfortable. Serves him right. "Who was it that instructed you?"

Slowing down – which she hadn't thought possible since she had practically been crawling forward – Kaoru rolled her eyes and snorted at the thought of Sano and his manic driving. "A friend of mine. He made a bet with his girlfriend that I wouldn't be able to go to a real driving school. I'm starting to think he might actually win this bet, that stupid rooster head."

She didn't add that the reason she thought she would probably fail was because of her continuously losing battle of control when it came to the dashingly handsome teacher assigned to deal with her poor skills.

"And how old is this friend?" A red brow was arched when she spared him a glance, the questioning look in his purple eyes sending a shiver down her spine and making the car speed forward in a jerk before she quickly caught herself. Himura didn't react, merely waited for an answer.

"Old enough," she replied, quite puzzled herself. She chose to omit the fact that Sano acted like a 15 year old boy whose testosterone level was ten times higher than his IQ (which would explain why he acted so stupid, when he really wasn't that dense – it simply was the hormones clouding his judgment).

"A sixteen year old girl hangs out with twenty-four year olds?" he pressed on, sounding skeptical. She winced, realizing what he was doing. Sano might have a license, but he was only nineteen; he wasn't allowed, by law, to act as an instructor until he was twenty-four.

"I'm seventeen," she corrected, trying to stall and maybe distract. It didn't work.

"And I'm twenty-eight. Now—" he retorted with a dismissing wave of his hand, but before he could continue she cut him off with a gasp. Her head jerked in his direction, her blue eyes wide in surprise and the car died with a pathetic whine from the abused engine. Leaning over, he turned the key to shut off the ignition and raised a brow, looking a bit too amused for his own good. She tried to ignore how close it was, and it wasn't working. Dammit.

"TWENTY-EIGHT?!" she shirked, causing him to wince slightly. "B-but you don't look a day over twenty!!"

Of course, she knew he had to be over twenty-four, but honestly, it hadn't crossed her mind. He just looked so young; he had to be lying, right?

"Thank you, Kamiya-san," he replied, humor evident in his smooth voice as he bowed his head lightly. "I have learned to take it as a compliment, although it keeps getting me into trouble when I am dragged out to participate in the nightlife."

She couldn't help but giggle, imagining what it would be like to still get carded at twenty-eight.

"You're the opposite of Sano then! He's just nineteen but gets into any place he wants, the big oaf!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes and grinning. As she paused, she sent him a pointed look as she eyed him. "With you, it's probably the hair and well, your face – it's too pretty. You're kinda short too. Doesn't help the whole 'maturity look', you know?"

It wasn't until he titled his head back a laughed out loud that she realized what she'd said and to who. She barely knew this man, and already she was insulting him! Sinking through the stiff, worn leather seat would be great just about now.

"Well, that explains it," he said with a grin once his laughter died down. "If a nineteen Sanosuke taught you how to drive, it's no wonder you're itching to just press down on the accelerator, now is it? I believe I speak from experience, that I do."

She gaped at him, surprised. "You know Sano?!"

"Oh, yes, I had the unfortunate pleasure to be his examiner and—"

"—I knew it!! I knew the examination had to be biased to let that idiot get a license!" Suddenly her situation didn't seem as dark anymore, should this strange red-head be her examination as well. Surely she would pass! Then she paused, taking in his slight built and mentally compared it to Sano. She frowned. "Wait, he didn't threaten you into a decision, did he?"

"Ah, he did not, Miss Kamiya," he replied, smiling. She blushed at his apparent amusement, once again aware that this man was a stranger, despite the new revelation of his relationship with Sano. "He was, in fact, quite a competent driver once he put his mind to it. And I'm sure you are as well, Miss Kamiya, that I am! So, let's get to it!"

She groaned at his enthusiasm, turning away to drop her head against the steering wheel with a thud. She heard him exclaim her name in surprise, but ignored him in favor of bumping her head a few extra times for good measure. Taking a deep breath, she sat up straight and faced him with a bright smile. This was no time to doubt her abilities; one good looking man would not stand in the way of getting her license! Nu-huh!

"Please call me Kaoru, Kamiya-san reminds me too much of my father!" she chirped, turning back to face the steering wheel again and switch on the ignition. A few stuttered protests were heard before the roar of the engine momentarily drowned them out.

The faster she got to driving properly, she faster she would be away from his company. Easy, right?

xXx

End Note: Please review! :)