Author's Note: Ugh I just wanna skip to the part where she sees Keisuke and falls head over heels or smth (jk) but fr though I'm super excited to write some dramatic stuff lol. I live for romance!
Warning: Swearing, mention of assault
Disclaimer: I don't own Initial D, all rights go to Shuichi Shigeno.
Recap...
"No, it's okay. Things might turn out pretty funny," Lana said with a half-smile, unsure if she was reassuring him or herself.
"I'm being serious."
He was obviously joking.
"Haha, yeah."
She hoped he was joking.
Continued...
Lana and Takumi made their way up to the rooftop of the school whilst conversing in small talk, mainly just trying to get to know each other after barely meeting.
"Honestly, I didn't even know you were sitting in the same classroom as me. I don't pay much attention to people I don't know," Lana sheepishly admitted, cheeks pinkening as Takumi rose a brow at her.
"I guess that makes sense since you don't know anyone. Interesting way of making friends by staring at them, by the way. I personally wouldn't do it that way though," Takumi said with most neutral expression on his face.
Lana playfully scowled at him, face heating up after recalling the encounter.
"I didn't- I just- I got lost in thought, I didn't mean to stare at you!"
"Yeah. Alright," Takumi yawned, climbing the last staircase with her.
"Listen, hear me out. I had this dream last night, about an AE86- you know cars right? Of course you do, all guys do. Anyways-"
"I don't." Takumi deadpanned.
"-So I was driving- wait, you don't? What do you mean you don't?"
Lana blinked at him in disbelief, unable to fathom how a young teenage boy her age doesn't know about cars. Pretty much every guy she's ever talked to (overheard) has mentioned even at least one car they like or at least think looks cool.
"I don't."
"Know anything."
"About cars."
Takumi said slowly, looking over at her with that unfocused look of his.
"I can't tell if you just didn't understand me because of the language barrier or something else."
Lana's jaw dropped, unsure if she should be more offended or more dumbfounded at his response.
"How do I even respond to that. Okay- uh, anyways, I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear that," Lana exhaled, shrugging it off.
"So I was driving in a Subaru WRX, right? And it's the STi version too by the way, and I was heading down Mt. Akina-"
"Takumiiii!"
A whiny voice cut off Lana's retelling of her dream, leaving her to huff in annoyance before the pair looked ahead of them to see a short boy with even shorter black hair approach them, a wide grin on his face as he held up a pretty recent publication of Option he probably bought at a local convenience store.
Lana, assuming that he didn't notice her, remained quiet as the boy who she assumed was Itsuki ignored her and started rambling to Takumi about his new car magazine he bought that morning.
"I saw the sweetest 240SX in the third page and then there was this GORGEOUS silvia below it! And that got me thinking; 'What if I bought myself a silvia?' And honestly Takumi, I might just save up money and do it-!"
"Itsuki, hold on a moment," Takumi interrupted him, glancing over at Lana as she awkwardly stood there.
"This is Lana, she's a foreign exchange student. She's gonna be hanging out with us today."
She waved and offered a small smile as Takumi introduced her, finally bringing Itsuki's attention to her.
She watched as Itsuki blinked at her for a moment before a goofy (and slightly creepy) grin formed on his face.
"Sorry about that! Hi, I'm Itsuki, nice to meet you. I was just so excited to show my buddy Takumi here this car magazine I bought. I don't know if you've ever seen anything like it before, but I usually like to see what's on the market."
Lana awkwardly kept smiling, nodding as she listened to this guy ramble. She was sure he meant well, despite his rambunctious nature. He didn't seem particularly weird, just a bit overexcited. She could actually sort of see herself in him, if she wasn't so shy at the moment.
"Nice to meet you too, Itsuki," Lana replied, trying to match his enthusiasm. "I'm Lana, and I'm really interested in cars too! I don't know much about them yet, I'm still learning things on a daily basis."
Itsuki's eyes lit up with excitement as a wide grin spread across his face.
"That's awesome, Lana! We can talk about cars and share our favorite models!" He giggled excitedly, and Lana noticed his body twitching in excitement as he got giddy over the thought of finally sharing his passion with someone his age.
"I gotta warn ya though, if you didn't know already, Takumi here isn't much of a car person. In fact, he's kinda clueless about everything having to do with cars." Itsuki pointed out as he gave an obvious side-eye to Takumi. "Pretty ironic since we both got our licenses a few months ago. How can you not know anything about the vehicles you're licensed to drive?!"
Takumi looked like he couldn't care less about Itsuki's apparent disappointment on his lack of interest on cars, only shrugging in response to his friend's comment.
Lana chuckled, finding Itsuki's animated nature endearing. She glanced at Takumi and raised an eyebrow playfully.
"Well, that's alright. Not everyone has to be a car enthusiast. We can still have fun discussing cars, Itsuki."
She gave Takumi a teasing smile. "Who knows, maybe I can teach Takumi a thing or two about cars along the way."
Takumi snorted at Lana's remark, seemingly amused by her confidence.
"I doubt it, but I'll humor you," he said, leaning over the rooftop rail. "I'll listen if you guys want to talk about cars. Just don't expect me to participate much."
Itsuki pouted for a moment but then perked up with excitement again.
"That's fine, Takumi! I'll make sure to fill you in on all the exciting details." He turned back to Lana, practically bouncing with enthusiasm. "So, Lana, what kind of cars are you into? Any particular models catch your eye?"
Lana's face lit up as she eagerly responded to Itsuki's question.
"Oh, where do I begin? I have a soft spot for a lot of modern cars or ones from the last decade. I've been doing a lot of research on iconic models like the Toyota AE86, Nissan Silvia, and Mazda RX-7. They're just so sleek and their handling is fascinating."
Itsuki's eyes widened, clearly impressed by Lana's choices.
"Wow, you have great taste, Lana. The AE86 is particularly famous in the drifting scene, you know! And the Silvia and RX-7 are pure sports car icons! In fact, I was just about to tell Takumi about thinking of buying my own Silvia!"
Lana beamed with excitement, thrilled to have found someone who shared her passion for cars.
"A Silvia would be kickass! I'm assuming you have a job, then? I heard Silvia's are pretty expensive."
Itsuki nodded excitedly, sparkles practically in his eyes.
"Yeah! Actually-" he swung his arm around Takumi, who grunted from the sudden pull. "Takumi and I work at the Esso Gas Station!"
Lana's eyes widened in utter surprise as she realized something.
"Wait, the Esso Gas Station? You guys work there?" Lana asked, her voice pitching higher as she grinned. "That's so crazy! My uncle, Yuichi, actually manages that gas station!"
Itsuki and Takumi exchanged wide-eyed glances.
"Boss? You're the boss's niece?!" Itsuki squeaked.
Lana nodded, an eager smile on her face.
"Yeah! My uncle told me about his gas station but I wouldn't think you guys worked there!" She beamed, leaning closer. "Next time he goes in for work, I'll be sure to tag along and see you guys! I've been meaning to go, I just haven't really gotten around to it."
In truth, she just didn't feel like going out much after she settled in with her uncle. She almost felt bad for not doing so, now that she knew that she could've known someone when she started school.
Itsuki's face lit up with excitement, and he nodded eagerly.
"That would be awesome! I can show you around and introduce you to the other guys. We have some really cool cars coming in for refueling and maintenance sometimes. It's a great place for car enthusiasts like us."
Takumi nodded in agreement as he listened to the conversation between Lana and Itsuki. He didn't share their level of enthusiasm for cars, but he appreciated their passion and was glad to see Lana finding common ground with someone at the school.
"Sounds like a plan," Takumi said, leaning back against the rooftop rail. "I'll be there too, I guess. Not that I have much choice since I work there."
Itsuki chuckled and nudged Takumi playfully.
"Oh, come on, Takumi. With Lana hanging around now, who knows, maybe you'll discover a hidden interest."
Takumi shrugged at this, yawning.
"I don't know Itsuki, it's just not my thing."
Looking over at Lana, Takumi tilted his head as he came up with a proposal.
"Since we'll be cleaning together on Monday, if you want you can come with us to the gas station after school since your uncle is most likely gonna be there already. We'll be working that day, so we can all walk together."
Lana thought it over for a moment before nodding with a sweet smile. "Definitely, I'm down."
"Then that's settled! Anyways, Lana, Takumi, check this out!" Itsuki grinned, drawing attention back to his car magazine as he held it up. Lana walked closer to take a better look as Itsuki flipped through the pages.
Upon stopping, he immediately pointed over to a sleek Nissan Silvia with a gorgeous body color.
Lana whistled, impressed by the stunning car. "That's a pretty Silvia. You planning to buy that one for..." She squinted at the price, Itsuki looking over at it as well.
"...3.1 million yen?! Damn!" Lana sucked in air through her teeth, hissing playfully at the price.
Itsuki's face fell as he dejectedly sighed, "That's expensive...I like the color, but it's just too much."
He sniffled, still holding up the magazine as he flipped through the other pages.
"I guess I'll just give up on the Silvia and look for an eight-six. That has more realism to it..."
Lana patted his back in comfort at the unfortunate discovery, sympathizing with him.
"I get it bro. It's like when I wanted this pretty Dior lipstick, but I had to give it up since I was dead broke. I settled for a dollar store lipstick instead," she sighed, dramatically reminiscing.
Itsuki rose a brow at her, pursing his lips. "I can understand you when you're talking about cars, but makeup and stuff is where you lose me. Anyways, at any rate, the car has gotta be an FR..."
Noticing his buddy has been quiet for a while, Itsuki looked up from his magazine to glance over at Takumi.
"Hey, Takumi, you listening?"
"I hear you. So, how much is that "eight-six" thing?" Takumi sighed.
He muttered something about how odd the name is while Lana glanced over at the page Itsuki was viewing.
"Seems like they go for 300,000 yen," she pointed out.
"That's without insurance, though!" Itsuki added.
Takumi nodded as he looked over at Itsuki.
"So how much do you have saved up?"
Itsuki comically pursed his lips in a tight line.
"...A bit over 50,000 yen."
Lana patted his back again as Takumi sighed and looked away from the two to rest his chin on his hand, still leaning on the railing.
"So there's a long way to go..."
"Yeah, but I mean...50,000 is still halfway to halfway there, right?" Lana smiled nervously, trying to be optimistic.
"You're right Lana, we should try to be hopeful about this! I mean, if we work hard all summer...!" Itsuki nodded, eyes brightening.
"-Then we'd only earn at best, 120,000 yen," Takumi pointed out, causing Itsuki to let out a fake sob, expression immediately dropping faster than Lana's grades ever did.
"ARGH! Isn't there some way to earn a lot of money quickly?!" Itsuki groaned loudly, smacking his face with his magazine as Lana jumped, startled.
"You guys work part-time?" A light, sweet voice asked from behind the group.
Takumi's eyes slightly widened in surprise as he looked up.
"...Mogi." Was all he mumbled, surprised to see someone behind Lana.
She turned around to see a girl slightly shorter than her with short brown hair and brown eyes. Lana couldn't help but check her out, scanning her up and down and noticing how smooth and slim the girl's legs were. Especially compared to her more built and thick calves.
'She has nice legs...Damn. Sometimes I end up wishing I had a more dainty, feminine body,' she thought to herself, shaking it off as the two girls made eye contact.
"Oh..." The shorter girl's mouth opened curiously as she scanned the other girl. "Are you a new friend of Takumi's? I'm Mogi Natsuki."
Unbeknownst to Lana, Takumi and Itsuki were glancing between the two girls, sensing an unknown tension that made them feel awkward.
Lana nodded and smiled at her while giving her an awkward wave.
"Yeah, you can say that. I'm Lana, nice to meet you, Mogi-san."
Natsuki smiled and returned the wave, although she definitely seemed to be more comfortable and naturally friendly.
The four stood in a weird silence for a moment before Natsuki looked over at Takumi, almost as if she was expecting something from him.
Lana awkwardly stood to the side with Itsuki as Natsuki and Takumi stared at each other for a good amount of seconds.
"What?" She suddenly whined, catching Lana off guard. "Don't go all quiet! Is it so odd for me to talk to you, Takumi?"
"You get about 120,000 yen for a month? How many days a week do you work then?" Natsuki questioned, tilting her head.
"Pretty much full time. About 5 or 6 times a week," Takumi shrugged.
"You work that much?!" Natsuki shrieked, her eyes blowing up as she raised her hands up in surprise.
Even Lana was shocked to hear they worked that much in a week!
"You guys must seriously want a car if you're willing to work that much in a week. Especially during the school year, that takes commitment!" Lana's mouth was open in awe, impressed by their dedication.
"But- All that work, and just 120,000?!" Natsuki exclaimed in disbelief, much to Takumi and Itsuki's own disbelief to her reaction.
"Just? Well, that's about normal," Takumi said, raising a brow at her.
Lana felt the urge to do the same, but figured it wasn't her place.
"Part-time for high schoolers doesn't pay much." Itsuki, squinting his eyes at her, added.
Natsuki's face fell, and Lana instantly felt bad for her.
"I didn't know that. I've never had a job," Natsuki stated.
Lana wanted to hug her. She knew what it was like to feel dumb and almost ridiculed for not knowing something apparently common.
Natsuki didn't seem to mind though, and she turned away, a perky skip in her step.
"Well, good luck! Why don't we all go somewhere after finals are over?" She beamed, walking away with a final wave to the group.
The teenagers all stood in silence for a moment before Takumi looked at them with a slightly bashful look on his face.
"It's been over a year since I spoke to Mogi Natsuki!"
Itsuki gawked in disbelief.
"Is that true?!" "Really?" Itsuki and Lana exclaimed in shock, looking at each other.
Takumi explained that they used to talk a lot since they were in the same club. It was only until their second year that he apparently did something that made her hate him and avoid him.
Lana rose a brow as he said this, wondering what he could've possibly done to make her hate him and then suddenly talk to him now. She decided to voice this, unsure of where she's overstepping boundaries as the newest addition to the group.
"It is weird that she suddenly decided to talk to you now, especially because you guys never talked about what happened back then. You didn't talk about it, right?"
"Yeah, we didn't. Like I said, this is the first time she's talked to me over a year now. I'm really not sure why..." Takumi wondered, scratching his neck.
"Well, what'd you do? Assault her?" Itsuki snorted, a suggestive look on his face.
Takumi grunted disapprovingly at this, furrowing his brows.
"I didn't do anything to Mogi. She had a boyfriend who was a year older than us at the time. He was in the soccer club." Takumi huffed as the two listened on.
"I beat him up."
Lana choked out a laugh at how casually he said this, quickly waving in dismissal to ignore her and continue.
"Sorry, it was just the way you said that you beat up a guy was hilarious!"
Itsuki giggled, thinking about it before Takumi shook his head, continuing.
"Anyways, after that, I obviously didn't stay in the soccer club. Mogi stayed as the manager, though. And even when we met in the hallway, she would ignore and avoid any eye contact."
"Mm, I guess I can understand why..." Lana nodded, a finger on her lip in thought.
"It's to be expected, you did punch her boyfriend after all..." Itsuki deadpanned. "But the fact that you beat up an upperclassman in a sports club, that's pretty impressive. Why'd you even do that?"
Takumi closed his eyes, a hand in his pants pocket.
"I...don't really want to talk about the reason. I just didn't like the guy."
Lana huh'd and shrugged, nodding her head. "Honestly, true. I can imagine what type of things are said in the...what did you say? "Boys locker room"? ...And I don't blame you for beating him up."
"He's always been like that," Itsuki told her, grabbing Lana's attention as Takumi looked away. "Normally, he stares off into space all sleepy-like. But then...sometimes, he snaps, and it's like his personality changes."
'Oh...That's kinda hot.' Lana instantly thought, forcing down a heat threatening to creep up on her cheeks. 'I'm into guys who are so quiet but then get super protective!'
"You know how in elementary school, there's those crybabies who go mad after crying and get weirdly strong?" Takumi spoke up, drawing their attention. "I was that kind of kid."
"...You were a crybaby?" Lana questioned, ears homed in on that part specifically.
She imagined a tiny grade-schooler Takumi sniffling and big eyes full of tears clutching on a faceless adult's hand, hiccupping and crying out for his parent.
'CUTE!' She couldn't fight down this blush as easily, and her cheeks pinkened from the adorable image.
"...Sort of."
Takumi's cheeks turned a tad bit red, and Lana felt her heart clench for the third time that day.
"I want to pinch your cheeks, adorable young man." She stated with an utterly serious look on her face.
"Uh..."
Takumi and Itsuki both gave her incredulous looks.
...To be continued...