A/N Heya! Been a while, huh?
Truly, truly sorry it took me so long to get back here. Life's change a lot, but, well, even with the others, this was still in the back of my mind. As such, I truly hope you enjoy this!
Anyway, brief recap, Yang's about to make a debut in the Street Series, in a race against Amaya. But since this is also her very first race, ever, will she stand a chance? And more than that, will Jaune do anything about it, or will he stand by and watch to see what would unfold?!
Find out… now!
Hope you enjoy!
Thursday, Two Days Before The Race.
RWBY and JNPR sat in their shared cafeteria table for breakfast, each with their own characteristic meals. But alas, Jaune noticed that his partner, something the others noticed as well.
Ruby spoke up first, right before munching a bite of pancake. "So, guys… Where's Pyrrha?"
Jaune shook his head. "We don't know." He took out a sandwich and began eating it. "I woke up last night and she wasn't around. Checked everywhere too. The gym, the library…"
"Thafs kindfa weifd." Ruby said with a mouthful.
"Swallow your food, Ruby!" Weiss pat her partner's back roughly. "Don't speak with a full mouth!"
"Soffy!" Ruby gulped and smiled. Weiss shook her head and sighed.
"Dunce…"
"Anyways!" Ruby turned back to Jaune. "So we're gonna have to look for her today I guess?"
"Well, we've got classes, and Pyrrha's sure not to miss them…" Jaune trailed off. "I mean, what kind of day is it when Pyrrha misses a class?"
"You're right about that. Hm…" Ruby put a hand to her chin. "Maybe, she'll come by herself?"
Jaune sighed in dejection. "I don't know, maybe, maybe not..."
Ren stepped in for his leader. "I tried calling her this morning, but she didn't answer. Maybe she's-."
BANG! "SORRY I'M LATE!"
The gang turned their attention to the door, and there she was. Pyrrha, gasping for breath with sweat running down her brow. Some of the cafeteria turned their attention to her, but most just shrugged it off by the next second.
Nora waved over her teammate. "Over here, Pyrrha!"
Pyrrha smiled and approached them, pulling out a piece of croissant she had packed. She sat down and ate with her teammates with a smile.
"So…" Nora gulped down the last of her pancakes, now gulping down a bottle of cola. "Where've you been, girl?"
"Oh, here and there." Pyrrha waved off. "I had someone to meet last night. He lived far away so it took some time to get back."
"Must've been someone important, then." Jaune chuckled.
Pyrrha rubbed her arms, nervously chuckling along. "Heh, you could say that…"
"Well, we're glad you're with us today." Ren sipped his green tea and smiled at his teammate. "Wouldn't be a day for us if you missed classes, Pyrrha."
"Ah, I'm glad you think so highly of me." Pyrrha smiled and shyly rubbed her arm. "Thanks for waiting around, guys."
"It's no problem, Pyrrha!" Ruby shouted. Bits of food flew out of her mouth. "We'd do this any day!"
"Swallow, Ruby!"
"Oops, sorry!"
"Well, at least someone's happy." Blake said monotonously. That said, she still had a small quirk of her lips. "Glad you didn't miss out." Blake shot a glance at her partner, who was silent all this time. "As for Yang, though…"
They all looked at the person in question. Yang was staring blankly ahead, eyes glazed over with her soup getting cold in front of her. It was virtually untouched and was cooling down rapidly.
As if to prove a point, Blake approached her and waved her hand in front of Yang's eyes. Yang didn't budge an inch, not even registering Blake's actions.
"See?" Blake turned to the others. "She's totally lost it."
Right after she said that, a few seats away, several people began to pack their meals to go to class. Coincidentally, they walked past RWBYJNPR's seats, past Yang, who was still in her frozen state.
As they did, they enthusiastically gave her a pat in a back. "Good luck with the race on Sunday, Yang!"
"Yeah! Represent Beacon!"
"You can win, we believe you!"
Yang gave a weak hum in bare acknowledgement as those people blew past.
Of course, seeing this gave everyone a pretty good idea of what was going on. But then, what were they supposed to do about it? There was barely any time left, and they just had to face this head on.
But seeing this, Jaune put a hand to his chin. "Hm…" Jaune gave it a thought. After a short while, he gave a short nod to himself.
Jaune scooted over to Yang and gave her a little shake. "Yang."
"Mm." Yang didn't budge, her soup still untouched. Everyone had eyes on her. The race was in less than 72 hours, and she was nowhere near ready for this!
She was about to be humiliated!
"Yang." Jaune shook her a bit more firmly. Still, she didn't budge. After all, how could she?
Jaune sighed. With a shake of his head, he pulled out his Scroll and gave it a few taps. Within moments, he accessed last night's recordings and set them to play.
He propped the Scroll at where Yang was looking and watched for her reaction. Immediately, Yang's attention was drawn to his Alzetta's moves through the mountain.
For the first time this morning, actual words came out of her mouth. "T-this is…"
Jaune smirked and gave her a pat on the back. "Study. Everything you need is right there."
With those parting words, Jaune left his seat and headed to classes earlier than everyone else.
RWB(Y) and (J)NPR peeked at the Scroll, and were instantly as tranced as Yang was. They saw Jaune's moves last night, the performances he put on for Yang to learn from. Each member had their own ideas and thoughts form inside their heads.
For Ruby, she didn't get much of the appeal. But it did seem exciting and cool so that was enough for her.
For Weiss, it seemed like Jaune was even more reckless than she had ever thought. But then, she would admit that this did require some modicum of skill.
For Blake, anything that would snap her partner out of it would be okay. She was rather indifferent to anything else.
For Nora, it seemed her leader truly was fearless around those corners! She never saw speed like that before, never mind the speeds they went through on that first night!
For Ren, it seemed Jaune truly had the calmness to control the car after all. Maybe next time he'd show a more in-depth look into the thought process of those drifts, the state of mind needed to go through a corner with both control and no control at the same time.
For Yang, this was simply stunning. The way he took it, the way he approached and executed… it was on another level she had never seen before. Not even the top and trending mountain racers today had the skills here. How and why exactly did Jaune came to be?
And for Pyrrha, this only confirmed what Kei said last night even more.
Kei and Pyrrha stood beside each other, looking down from the top of the mountain with their hands on railings.
Kei took a sip as he looked down the view. He could faintly see headlights moving up and down the touge – drifting, practicing, racing the night away.
Pyrrha waited in silence for Kei to speak. After a few more sips, Kei finally gathered his words.
"Jaune's style… it's complicated." Kei began. "He's- was- a very speedy driver, but it all comes from here." Kei tapped the side of his forehead. "Every corner, every throttle press, every risk, it was all calculated to give the best result."
Pyrrha kept silent.
Kei continued. "He had talent, sure. But I'd say his head – up here – that's what really set him apart."
A long pause, and then, "When you race against Jaune, you're racing against a strategic mind. Every move you do and every move you will do will be analyzed to the smallest detail. And then, once his head's clear and there's the least risk possible, he'll pass you and make sure you stay behind for the rest of the race."
Everyone on the table could see it clearly – the CCTVs caught Jaune as he accelerated down the beginning of the downhill. There was no hesitation at all in the start, and even less in the first straight.
The first corner came closer and closer, and yet Jaune didn't falter in the least. Then, at the very last second, he braked and brought the Alzetta to a slide. It moved sideways in an almost bizarre degree of control, clearing the corner in less than half a second. His movement had the smallest amount of countersteer, the least amount of wild chassis movement, and fully controlled throttle pushes.
The car exited the corner and Jaune moved on to clear the next set of challenges.
"So… strategies?" Pyrrha asked.
"That's putting it lightly." Kei took a long swig from a can of soda, and once it was finished, and crumpled it in his hands. He gave it an experimental toss, then threw it back to the trash can behind him. It entered the can dead-on.
"He's got cat-like reflexes." Kei said, getting back in topic. "Paired with a sharp mind too. Every race he was in, he was almost in control from the start. For Jaune, the competition began long before the car turns on."
"So then why did he quit?" Pyrrha asked. "He's tearing himself up inside. I see it every day. If he has so much control over the entire Street Series, then why did he leave it all behind?"
And Pyrrha could see now that that was entirely true. She saw it as Jaune drifted past each corner, regained traction in record time and blasted past the straights. There was no hesitation. He was completely in his element.
Another corner came up, this time a sharp downhill hairpin. Jaune braked hard and the car lurched forward. Immediately, he used the weight transfer to his advantage and swung the car to a drift. With careful throttle application, he hit the apex of the corner with his bumper millimeters from the guardrail. With a roar of the engine, the car lurched forwards again with speed.
Everything was just in order. She couldn't fathom anyone ever going faster than he did.
With that question, Kei sighed. He leaned just a bit closer at the railing.
"So that's how he's doing these days." Kei remarked. "We've all been looking for him, y'know? He disappeared without a trace…. I'm glad to know that he's at least okay with you."
"He's not, though." Pyrrha said. "He's starting to drift further away from us." Pyrrha mumbled the next words. "All because I chose to buy us a car…"
"Heh, you couldn't have known. And it's also no wonder." Kei shook his head with melancholy. "What happened, huh… "
Kei seemed to hesitate. "Really… it's not my place to say, Pyrrha. I guess… All I can say is that it's because he lost control."
The night stretched on, and Pyrrha kept on watching, trying to understand as those lights below her continued to race the night away.
But really, the moment Kei said he couldn't say, that was really the end of that.
The Alzetta blasted past another CCTV, now nothing more than a silver blur.
Kei wouldn't divulge anything more for her. So Pyrrha had to wonder, just how did he lose that control?
And just who would give that information to her?
At the dusk of Saturday…
In the dark of her room, Pyrrha woke up with a groan and checked her clock – 4:30 AM.
"Ah…" She got up and stretched, rolling her neck and getting off her bed. It was time for her to get to her usual morning training…
Getting dressed in her armor, Pyrrha stepped out of her room and locked the door behind her. The halls were still dark, and the windows that led to the outside only showed a bare inch of sunlight. She could only just barely see what was necessary – Beacon did like to save their energy.
She looked around the halls – next to her room were the rooms of Jaune, followed by the rest of NPR, and across were the rooms of RWBY, starting with Weiss. They should all still be asleep at this hour, no doubt enjoying the free hours of a holiday.
Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. So then why was her partner's door open?
Pyrrha silenced her footsteps and went closer. And as the scene went clearer, she let out a gasp of surprise.
And apparently, that gasp was enough to alert him to her presence. With wide eyes, he stumbled back and fell on his back.
"J-Jaune!" Pyrrha inched back as she deduced what was happening. Because with the facts…
Jaune was out of his room at a time when everyone else was asleep,
It was dark out so no one could see from far away, and;
He was kneeling in front of Yang's door, helplessly picking on the door lock.
…could only lead to one conclusion.
"Are you trying take a peek at Yang?!" Pyrrha shout-whispered.
"W-what?! NO!" Jaune whispered back. He quickly stood up and reached up to Pyrrha, who stepped back herself in fear.
She struggled to find the words, face red with embarrassment and indignation and anger and she didn't even know what else-! "I- I can't believe you of all people-!"
"I'm not! I'm not!" Jaune desperately cried.
"Then what else could it be?!"
"I- I-! Ah, shit…" Jaune shook his head and quickly went for his Scroll. Taking a seat, he motioned Pyrrha to get closer, "Just, look for a second here, Pyr…"
Pyrrha was still doubtful, but nevertheless she went beside Jaune as he showed her his Scroll.
Immediately, she recognized the scene as Yang racing down Ganbari. She looked at the timestamp and the current condition of Yang's car – it was taken just a few hours ago, meaning it was probably the run she just did tonight.
Even to her novice eyes she could see that Yang's drift had improved markedly. However…
"You think that she's still not fast enough?" Pyrrha voiced aloud.
Jaune gave a brief nod. "Exactly." He closed the Scroll and pocketed it back with a sigh. He met her eyes, and she could see that what he was saying was totally honest.
"The race is in less than 24 hours – she, we don't have much time left, and I just don't want her to lose."
Jaune then looked away, brows furrowing in worry. "Or worse…"
Pyrrha tilted her head. "But how exactly does that translate into sneaking into her room?"
"Yang just came back – she's gonna be asleep way until the afternoon." Jaune said, and he looked to the light leaking out of Yang's room – perhaps the only room with the light on at this hour. "At this rate, she won't be waking up and using her car until the race tonight, since she'll realize there's nothing else she can do…"
"So?" Pyrrha asked.
"So I'm gonna make a few changes to her car. And she can't know about it – it's the only way we can make sure that she wins." Jaune said with absolute certainty, and then he looked back to the locked door with a mixed expression. "But I don't have a Semblance that can unlock a metal doorknob so easily…"
He sent another look at her then, eyes determined to make her see his way. "And since your Semblance is Polarity, I thought…"
Pyrrha didn't immediately answer, for she got a good look at him now – whereas in Beacon's everyday life he still had a cloud of uncertainty and doubt hanging over his shoulders, now it seemed that it had completely disappeared. His eyes were sharp, his lips were in a thin line, and his posture radiated confidence that she simply thought he won't have until a long time – and she knew that every risk he took was calculated with a clear mind-!
Before her thoughts were utterly dashed as Jaune grabbed her hand in both of his, his fingers interlocking with hers.
"E-eep!" Pyrrha blushed and looked away but couldn't fight the physical contact. She felt heat rising in her face, and Jaune's voice didn't do her any favors either!
"Please, Pyr." He clenched hers tight yet unforcefully, "…I'm begging you."
Her thoughts were barely clear – she could only just make out the scene around her!
He's holding my hand, he's holding my hand, EEEEEE!
And yet even though her mind was a mess, what her heart told her was clear – to just trust her partner.
And really, right now it was the only thing she could rely on.
"Okay…"
Saturday Night, Three Hours Before the Race Starts.
Yang nervously fidgeted with her hands as she paced around, fidgeting at the top of the mountain with her car by the side. The sun hadn't even come close to setting yet, but she knew that once it did, everyone would come swarming for the race.
And that's not all. She had underestimated the lengths Amaya went for this race. It turns out that he had contacted the Street Series officials and had turned this into an officially sanctioned race – including all the publicity and livestreaming that entailed. Ads were spread around, official dates were plastered on stickers the streets, and now everyone knew she was about to race the head of the local crew.
Yang put her head in her hands and leaned against the door of her WRX STI. Even back at Beacon, Headmaster Ozpin had organized a watch party at the cafeteria to see what he had dubbed as her 'grand debut'.
And by the time she figured that little tidbit of info out everyone was already in the know. She couldn't do anything to change his mind, much less the entire student body!
"Gah…" She rubbed her hands down her face. And now her own Team would be watching this, and of course Team JNPR too!
Yang had studied Jaune's methods the best she could. She gave several trial runs with his techniques, and while her time did improve, she knew she was still a long way off.
And one other thing kept bugging her in the back of her mind, so much so that her confidence and conviction began to waver.
It was the thought that racing another person meant pressure within her runs, much more so than a practice run or a time attack! And she has never even done a joint practice session before!
Yang closed her eyes and leaned against the car. Everything was piling up, and it was getting hard for her to even focus. It was just- what should she do now? And really, what could she do, other than wait for the start of the race?!
She gazed to the side of the road, overlooking the peak of the mountain whilst leaning against her car. The sun was beginning to set, casting Vale in an orange haze with fleeting clouds. With it, she heard the faint sound of several sports cars approaching from the bottom of the mountain.
They're gonna be here any second now..., Yang thought silently.
Not long after, her suspicions were proven true when three Evos rolled over to the parking space opposite her. Yang's gaze followed the car as they moved, noting in their characteristic colors and even the tone of their engines – and indeed, it was Amaya and his crew.
The sun finally set, and the only illumination left was the streetlights on her park space and on her opponent's. They didn't step out of their car, and that only made her nerves worse.
Soon, more and more cars arrived in suit. In just a few minutes, the entire parking lot and peak of the mountain was swarmed with racers from all around. Newbies, amateurs, and even some Yang recognized to be of reaching the top of Street Series' league. After that. it was time for the Street Series officials to come around. Streaming crews, regulation checkers, and race stewards all came in tandem bearing the logo of the Street Series.
A sweat went down Yang's brow. "Dammit…"
A roar of an Evo's engine, and Yang's eyes shot to the source – Amaya's Evo.
VROOOM!
The Evo roared and lurched forward, drifting and parking right in front her. Amaya stepped out with a smirk, hands crossed over his chest and challenging her with his gaze.
With this, Yang's own spirit flared back up and she cast ally her doubts to the back of her mind. She couldn't help but stand straight and glare back at Amaya in return.
The street racers stood in a circle around them, with several streaming crews filming what was about to happen.
"So." Amaya began, "You ready for this, girl?"
"I won't lose to a scumbag like you." Yang answered hotly. The crowd whispered amongst each other at her response.
In return, Amaya smirked and waved his hands around him. "Hah! Like you're ready at all! From the look in your eyes, it seems you've never seen anything like this before!"
"Don't need to." Yang said. "Someone like you? Won't even need a trial run to tune my car."
That hit a nerve. Amaya growled. "Cocky rookie! You think you can just waltz in here and take our mountain away from us?!"
Yang chuckled. "I don't know~" She smirked. "Because from what I see, it's not really ownership. More like…. temporary residence."
Amaya curled his fist. "Trust me, girl." He said through gritted teeth. "Time attacks mean nothing. I'm going to put you down to the ground. Where you belong."
With a huff and angered steps, he walked back to his car and entered it by slamming the door. Yang watched, just a bit amused, at how easy it was to rile him up.
Hm, now that she thought about it, maybe she could use that for the race…?
Her thoughts were shaken when a race official stepped on to the starting line. "Everyone clear out!" He yelled. "Drivers! Get your cars to the grid! We'll do some inspections, then it's straight to the race start! 20 minutes! Go!"
Yang shook her head. At least she had an idea on what to do now… But after that, all she had was jusgt her guts and her ability to do her best.
The atmosphere around Beacon was hyped to say the least. The cafeteria was completely repurposed into a theatre that could hold the entirety of the Beacon students and faculty, complete with several projectors for everyone to watch.
A loud sound echoed from the speakers, and the projectors lit up to show the waited logo.
Street Series
Vale Stage
Team RWBY watched with bated breath, the rest of the crowd murmuring amongst themselves as logos faded and the projector began showing the conditions at the top of the mountain. The broadcast was initially blurry, until eventually it focused on tonight's presenter.
"Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Street Series, Vale Stage! My name is Lucy Lavender, and tonight, get ready for a blood-pumping battle! Here in Vale City's Mount Gambari, the defending Amaya will be racing against a newcomer to the Street Series – Yang Xiao-Long, driving a grey WRX STI!"
The broadcast shifted and now showed a brief profile of Yang's racing stats, from fastest time to preferred car.
The crowd in Beacon cheered as their representative was introduced, Ruby the loudest of them all.
"Ms. Xiao-Long is a newcomer to the scene, but she still has a record of the fastest time down Ganbari! This will be her first race in the series, and we're all looking forward to her performance tonight! Whatever the result, we wish her all the best!"
The crowd cheered once more, even Blake giving out a small fist pump.
The presenter began speaking again, but not before Team RWBY noticed someone else taking a seat next to them.
Weiss greeted the new arrivals. She gave them a short nod, "Ren, Nora. Happy you could join us."
"We made it just in time, it seems." Ren nodded back, both him and his partner slipping into their seats. He shot a look to the projector, "It's starting, isn't it?"
Ruby spoke up next, "They're still doing some inspections right now. We shouldn't be long, though!"
Nora snickered and danced in her seat. "Ohhhh, if that's the case, then they better get it started quickly! The suspense is killing me!"
Lucy spoke in the broadcast once more, "Facing off against Ms. Xiao-Long is Amaya Kenji, the defending champion of Mount Gambari. He drives a yellow EVO III that's been specifically tuned for the mountain, complete with increased AWD support and a misfiring system. His record stands at 16 wins and 8 losses, so a win tonight will surely improve his record!"
After hearing that, Blake looked to Ren and Nora. Now that the two of them were here, she noticed a few people missing from the crowd… "Um. Ren, Nora?"
Nora tilted her head at Blake. "Yeah, Blake?"
"Uh… where's Jaune and Pyrrha?"
At this, Nora's smile turned sheepish, and she looked away. "Actually, they said that they're going out tonight."
"O-oh… did they say what for?" Blake asked.
"Eheheheh…." Nora looked away.
Weiss shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "That doofus… so he's finally asked her out, huh?"
"Well, he didn't say that per se." Ren answered with a smirk. "What he did say was that he had something to do and that he needed Pyrrha to come with."
"Jaune and Pyrrha are on a date~" Ruby giggled. And no one argued with her, because what else could it be? They all knew that Pyrrha's more-than-just-a-crush was way, way past being painfully obvious now. It was that Jaune was such a dense person that he never realized it until now! "Well, I hope they have a happy night!"
The others nodded in agreement with smiles of their own, turning their attention back to the screen. The presenter was going around the starting area now, interviewing various people that were there.
Now, the only thing they could do for the next few hours was hope – and cheer their best for Yang to win the night!
Meanwhile, on the top of the mountain, Yang looked on anxiously as the Street Series' safety commission looked over her car. They were nothing but thorough, lifting her car onto a jack and looking over every single change she ever made, down to her car's nuts and bolts, all the while they traded her tires in for new ones.
It was obvious the reason they went to such lengths for her. They wouldn't change any of the car's settings, but what they would do is ensure that all components that could affect the car's wear were changed to brand new, therefore ensuring utmost safety for the drivers.
But still, her changes weren't too far from the default settings, so it should be all clear soon. But then why…
Why did she feel a tingle in her spine that told her that something was off?
But before she could act on it, her thoughts were interrupted when the committee decided to speak up.
"Alright. Ms. Xiao-Long, your car's been cleared." All members of the committee stepped away from her car and packed their belongings. The lead engineer packed his notes and gave her a short nod. "The race starts in fifteen minutes, miss. We'll leave you to it."
With a short nod from both parties, the engineer and the committee left her alone. All that remained was her and her car. Yang and the WRX STI.
Yang sighed and walked to her car, leaning against the door and looking around the crowd.
Everyone else was mingling about, but no one was coming to her. Figured. She was the newcomer, after all. No point in getting to know someone that might show a thoroughly disappointing performance in front of hundreds of live spectators and thousands of online watchers.
So instead, Yang just looked on from the sidelines. She saw the presenter, Lucy, going around and interviewing people across the area. And yet, still far away from her…
She was so focused yet frazzled that she didn't notice a familiar Alzetta roll in and sneakily park where no one could see it nor recognize it.
The crowd on Beacon looked on, the broadcast showing that the final preparations were taking place. While the crowd began to clear, Lucy did some final interviews with the crowd around her.
"And here we have our final interviewee. Excuse me, mister, a quick word?"
The mystery man turned around – he had blond hair and grey eyes, wearing a jacket with the words Frostboy patched on his jacket's blue-white breast.
"I think I recognize you…" Lucy whispered, the camera following her as she approached him. "Excuse me, mind if we ask you a few quick questions?"
The man shrugged.
Taking that as her initiative, Lucy offered her mic to him. "Yeah, I'm not wrong. Judging from how you look… you must be from Atlas, correct?"
The man gave a short nod.
"Nice! That means my memory was spot on. That must mean you're Mr. Raku, right?"
"Yeah."
In Beacon, Nora couldn't help but wince. Such short, one-note answers, even rivalling Ren! This guy was so serious…
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Raku."
Stats showed up on the screen, showing the profile and statistics of Raku Raku.
"Also known as the Frostboy, Mr. Raku here is a new member of Atlas' home-reigning team, the Blizzards. With a record of 22-5, He's known for his sharp mind as well as his, uhm…" Lucy chuckled as her interviewee looked around, bored. "…rather interesting personality."
Her interviewee didn't comment, almost as expected. So instead, Lucy offered her mic to him once more.
"So tell me, Raku. What do you think about Vale so far?"
"Meh, I think it's a pretty good Kingdom. Nice buildings, good view." Raku shrugged.
"And what do you think about the race tonight?"
"Bwoah, it's anyone's guess really." Raku shrugged again. "I just hope it's a good one."
"Any advice for the racers?"
At this, Raku raised an eyebrow.
"Heheh, right. And why are the Blizzards here tonight?"
"Ah, we're just here to visit, really. Meh, not really my place to say."
"Right then. Well, thank you for your time, Raku, and I hope the Blizzards enjoy their stay." Lucy backed out. Raku shrugged and pulled out a bottle, finding a wall to lean back and drinking some water as he watched the race begin its final preparations. All the while, the broadcast's camera went back to focus on the starting position.
"They're starting." Blake said, tension lacing her voice. She straightened in her seat, as did the rest of the student body and even the professors.
For it was true – the broadcast showed two cars lining up the starting point, side-by-side in with both Yang and Amaya inside their respective cars.
Their cars revved their engines, shaking in place as everyone's hearts raced in anticipation – from on-site onlookers, livestream watchers, and all the way the two racers as well.
Ruby clenched the hem of her shirt, face flushed as worry gripped her heart. "Yang…"
She couldn't imagine anyone managing to be calm right now, much less ay of her friends. Wasn't this where everything was in the line?
Up at the mountain, a woman stood beside her vehicle, hands in her pockets and face obscured with a face mask, sunglasses, and hoodie keeping a lick of hair from ever showing. The rest of her clothing was discrete as well – one could barely tell she even was a woman, and the sight of sunglasses in nighttime had sent her several weirded-out glances that she'd rather do without.
But still, her method was tried and true against Mistralian Championship Paparazzies! And she wasn't about to change it so suddenly now…
And hey; Jaune said she still looked pretty under all this – that counted more than whatever weird stares she got sent her way!
But still, if one were to look beneath it all, they would find Four-Time Mistraian Tournament Champion and Beacon Student Pyrrha Nikos, who some rumored to have had contacted Kei Takahashi before… And she didn't need her partner finding out that tidbit so soon.
Pyrrha looked from her car – parked and hidden from view of most spectators – and straight towards the starting line. She could see both Amaya and Yang's cars clear as day, people clearing out of the road and the countdown man beginning to step in-between the two cars.
Not long after this, they'd start the countdown – or so she was told by her partner.
Her partner who dragged her, who – with his dorky and yet charming ways, she had to admit to herself at least – had convinced her to go through with all this, this entire crazy plan of his.
Much to her chagrin she found that she couldn't resist him, but she found she couldn't have complained either way.
With a sigh, Pyrrha opened her Alzetta's door and stepped inside shotgun. She looked to her side, Jaune in the driver seat and fiddling with the radio, and spoke to her partner. "They're starting the countdown soon."
"…Right." He finished setting the radio and put his hands on the wheel, staring straight ahead and gripping it tight.
Pyrrha got a good look at him again. And, as always, she was surprised by the stark contrast in his confidence – always lacking in combat class, and yet, here he seemed so natural…
He looked to the mirror by her side and looked at the countdown process.
"Put your seatbelt on, Pyr." Jaune said with warmth yet stern. "It's not gonna be a slow ride."
"Y-yeah." Pyrrha put her seatbelt over her and settled in her seat, taking of her sunglasses and mask to get a clear view – of the race, and of Jaune more specifically.
His sharp blue eyes… and she was suddenly remembered of the reason he decided on this step.
"Yang wants to race…" He had said to her, and Pyrrha found his words ringing in her ear… "Pyrhha… I'm sorry, but I can't stand by right now… I'm going to make sure she stays safe whether you like it or not."
He had worried for Yang, plain and simple. Even with his so-called 'retirement' he still decided to do this whole thing.
And he didn't back down, not even when Pyrrha showed real concern for him on this.
So, she relented.
Maybe this will be the key to figuring out why Jaune stopped…
But more importantly…
Pyrrha noted the countdown beginning behind her, and how Jaune's lips ever so slightly turned upwards in excitement – an honest glee she never saw when he always lost in Beacon.
Pyrrha looked back forwards and relented – she gripped the side of her seat tight, trusting her partner with his decision.
I'll do anything…, Pyrrha thought.
Anything at all… As long as it makes you happy, Jaune.
Yang gripped her steering wheel tight as the countdown man stepped in front of both the competition. He raised his hand in a wide-open palm and screamed.
"RACE STARTS IN 5 SECONDS!"
Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Nora, and Ren could all see the scene playing out in slow-motion. The entirety of Beacon's staff and students waited in bated breath with their eyes glued to the screen…
The countdown man lowered a finger and shouted again, "4!"
Ruby grabbed the hem of her clothes, "Yang…"
"3!"
With his partner ready beside him, Jaune pressed the clutch and shifted the Alzetta into 1st gear.
"2!"
Yang's world went slow as she saw the countdown man lower the final finger.
"1!"
And then, he bent down fast into a crouch as he brought his entire hand down.
"GO!"
~Max Coveri – Running in the 90's~
SCREEEECH!
VROOOM!
Both cars lurched forwards and sped down the starting line, tires squealing for traction and leaving a cloud of smoke in the dust behind them.
Immediately, Amaya began to take the lead, his shifts more precise as he went from 1st gear to 2nd.
"Tch!" Yang quickly shifted up and went to 2nd, and yet the millisecond difference slowly widened more and more until she was clearly half a car behind.
VROOOM!
Weiss shifted forwards and banged her hand on the table, eyes fully invested. "Amaya's in the lead!"
"Yeah, but Yang's not far behind!" Ruby rebutted. "She's still got a chance!"
Pyrrha looked to the mirror and saw the scene, headlights and engine sounds coming ever so closer. "They're coming." She stated.
Jaune gave a brief nod and shifted his foot to the gas pedal, one hand on the wheel and the other firm on the gearshift.
"Better hold on, Pyr."
The crowd at Beacon went wild as the race began, the commentary by Lucy hyping up everyone in the cafeteria.
"And there she goes, everyone! The first start of many to come by Xiao-Long! She's falling behind, but she's not giving up that easily! There's barely a car's space between them!"
"Go Yang!" Blake cheered.
To the side, Nora whooped and hollered as Ruby, Weiss, and Ren all cheered their support.
"Go get him!"
Lucy commentated, "But the race isn't decided by the start, folks! There7s plenty of action here to be seen in the downhill-! Hey, hey, what the hell's that-?!"
Suddenly, the camera shifted to show the object of Lucy's surprise! Because as both cars went past the straight start, blowing past spectators and preparing to go into the mountain's downhill route-!
As sudden as lightning-!
The two cars would be going past them in a matter of seconds.
Jaune grit his teeth and slammed his foot on the gas, lurching forwards and going side-by-side with the racing duo.
SCREEEECH!
VROOOOOM!
From outside, spectators made way in panic.
"Hey, hey! Stop that car!"
"What's that maniac thinking?!"
"What the shit is that guy in the Alzetta doing?!"
"HE'S NOT GOING TO JOIN THE RACE, IS HE?!"
-As Yang and Amaya went blew past the spectators, another car from the spectator side suddenly revved and accelerated as well! With speed and utter relentlessness, it went side-by-side with the three, and as the road of spectators and racers converged into one-!
SCREEECH!
It drifted into the racing lane! With a smooth yet sudden appearance, a new competitor – a third car, silver, four door sedan with RWD – had joined the race in third position, eagerly on Yang's tail!
Ruby screeched and spoke in tandem with Lucy.
"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT ALZETTA DOING?!"
Jaune paid no attention to the radio as it flicked to life, tuned to the Street Series' frequency. He kept his foot on the gas and tailed both Amaya and Yang, their positions as synced as 1-2-3.
The voice of Lucy spoke through the radio.
"Hey, what the heck do you think you're doing?! This is an officially sanctioned race! You can't just jump in and make this a three way!"
Jaune kept his foot planted to the floor and shifted from 2nd to 3rd, eyes sharp and analyzing Yang's car.
Come on, firecracker, Jaune thought. First corner would come in about three seconds… Show me what you've got, he thought in his mind.
"Yeah! A random shouldn't be allowed to do this!" Ruby shouted in agreement, Lucy's radio call to the random car breaching into the broadcast.
"It's dangerous!" Weiss agreed. "Well, street racing itself is, but to just jump in-!"
"We've got no idea who this guy is." Blake noted, "and if it affects Yang's performance…"
The voice of Lucy spoke again, "We'll report this to the cops if you don't stop immediately! You're endangering the lives of all of us here-!"
But then the other car responded, interrupting Lucy with a curt and agitated tone.
"This is Jaune." He spoke in a short tone.
Jaune gripped the wheel as the first corner came up. With sharp eyes and a commanding voice, he spoke once more to the radio.
"I'll be spectating this race, Lucy."
Beacon roared.
"JAUNE?!" Nora shouted.
"Bestie?!"
"Dunce!?"
"Him…"
"Jaune…?"
The entirety of Beacon all roared, shouts and excitement filling the air. Not even the professors could calm them down, everyone becoming invested in the drama. And of course, for those in the know…
Lucy immediately lost her tone. "O-oh… well of course then, Jaune…"
"Hmph." Jaune shook his head and focused back on the matter at hand.
The first corner was finally here.
Yang narrowed her eyes. "Alright, Xiao-Long. First race, first corner. Gotta nail this."
From 1-2-3, Amaya, Yang and Jaune drifted in in sync.
Yang slammed the brakes and drifted in, kicking the clutch and sliding her car close to Amaya's EVO.
"LET'S GO!"
SCREEECH!
BRAP BRAP!
VROOOOM!
Yang kept her eyes pinned on the side of Amaya's yellow EVO, following him through the corner and pulling out behind him with full-pedal AWD driving.
She gripped her wheel tight as a small smirk graced her lips. One corner down, rest in just a moment. "Alright… come on!"
Amaya glanced back at the mirror. "Not bad… but not good enough! Racing's not just the first corner!" He shifted up into 3rd and went down the mountain full-speed, Yang behind him and following suit. "You ain't gonna last, rookie! So… follow this!"
VROOOOM!
VROOOOM!
BRAP BRAP!
The second corner came, a sharper left. Yang braked and turned the wheel, drifting close to Amaya and countersteering hard with the gas to the floor. Her tires squealed as she kept on the accelerator, intent on a higher speed.
But the corner came to an end, and the two exited once more in the same position. They went hard down another straight, shifting from 2nd to 3rd to 4th as their turbos spooled power and power.
Their cars roared into the night, eagerly going in for the next corner.
"E-everyone… it seems that so far, Ms. Xiao-Long's movements have been substantial! She's keeping pace with a local champ on her first race, and it looks like she has moves to spare too! This is looking like a tense night, folks!"
All of Beacon couldn't help but agree. After such a tense and hectic start…
"She's keeping up well, it seems." Weiss commented.
"True. But Yang's still got to pass the other driver to win." Blake pointed out. "Just sticking close isn't gonna do it…"
"Ah-W-well, I'm sure Yang's got a trick up her sleeve!" Ruby shouted encouragingly. Though, she felt that maybe she wasn't convincing anyone but herself…
Yang grit her teeth as both Amaya and her drifted their way through the next corner, pedal to the metal and AWD driving systems pulling their speeds. With a screech of tires, they exited the corner in tandem, matching speeds and matching angles. Holding on good so far…
A car's length behind the dueling duo, Jaune drifted his way in and exited out with his car dead-center in the middle of the lines, giving both him and his passenger clear view of the racers. And yet, even if he didn't take the ideal line, he didn't seem to be losing time one bit…
Yang gritted her teeth and kept her eyes trained on Amaya. Their next corner was a sharp right, followed by an easy left. She kept her eyes keen on his headlights, on his car's positioning, and prepared herself for the turn.
And in a flash, the sharp right was before them. Yang braked and turned just as Amaya did, making sure to force her WRX STI to go as fast as it could. The faster she was, the sooner she could get past him!
SCREECH!
The two exited the sharp right turn and went through the easy left, timings tandem and engines in sync like 1-2. Yang gripped her wheel tight as she went as fast as she could, feathering on the edge of her tires' grip. And yet…
Yang's eyes widened as she looked at the leading car. As if by magic, the distance between her WRX STI and Amaya's EVO III began to increase through this easy turn, slowly but surely growing by milliseconds.
Yang suppressed a gasp. 'No no no. I gotta be dreaming… right?'
The end of the turn came out, and the two exited through the corner into a straight in the exact same lines. To make up for lost time, Yang punched the gas and went as fast as she could, spooling turbos and forcing her boxer engine to go!
And yet even with all of that, the distance didn't decrease one bit! Instead, it seemed as if they instead increased the longer the straight went on!
Yang tsked and shifted up into 4th gear, laying all her power down on the straight. Those watching might not know, but she could see it as clear as the stars in the night sky. With every inch of road, she was losing time!
"Damn!"
Amaya looked at the back mirror and saw the tiniest bit of shrinkage from the WRX STI's headlights. He looked to the front and saw another corner coming up – a slow left, easy for AWDs like them both to handle. And yet, in here…
Amaya smirked and kicked the clutch, spinning his car into a drift and using the AWD of the EVO to engage it in full throttle. Not long after, he heard the telltale sounds of the rookie following suit.
Amaya pressed on the gas as he counter steered with his AWD. "An easy corner like this… is what separates the vets from the rookies!"
A second of drift later, they both pulled out of the turn in full throttle, speeding down a quick 6-second straight. And as Amaya peeked another look in his mirror, he recognized that the headlights did shrink. And as he barged down the straight, the shrinkage became even clearer!
The distance between them was growing – and they were only about a quarter through the downhill!
Amaya chuckled. "Look at my moves from the replay later, rookie!"
"What's this, folks?! It seems that after exiting some of the recent corners, Xiao-Long's pace is slowing down!" Lucy shouted. The camera panned to the grey WRX STI and yellow EVO III, approaching the next corner with about a 0.35 second difference between them.
Ren leaned forwards, "This is a bit sudden…"
"Here they come! A new corner, a sharp and steep left for Ganbari watchers!"
The broadcast showed Amaya coming in full-speed, Yang following behind him in all her energy. As the car came closer, both racers slammed on the brakes and screeched their cars into a drift.
VROOOM!
Their calipers burned red hot as they drifted through the sharp turn, kicking up smoke and using every bit of energy from the slope to increase their speeds. The scoreboards to the left showed their difference as they entered. 0.35 seconds!
From the broadcast they could see that in one move, Amaya and Yang both exited the turn and slammed their throttles away, fearlessly slinging their cars through another straight with their engines roaring full speed.
And yet the scoreboard to the side updated their difference.
After that turn, 0.38 seconds.
The Beacon crowd grew silent – they didn't need Lucy's commentary to state the obvious for them.
Blake's whispers could be heard for everyone there. "She's losing time…"
Yang gritted her teeth in anger as the distance between their cars became too distinct for her liking. With a growl, she noticed the next set of corners coming for her – and of course, for Amaya before her. A medium left, followed by a medium right, and then a hairpin sloped left ending with an easy right. A tough set of corners, one that required the maximum amount of traction from both cars.
She growled just as her engine did, approaching the set of corners with vigor and determination. And before she knew it, the corners were right upon her!
Yang gripped her wheel until its old leather began to wear, shouting loud she was sure ven her sister in Beacon could hear. "I'm not letting you get away, Amaya!"
The corner was upon them!
Yang kicked the clutch and spun her car into her AWD-aided drift. "GOO!"
SCREEECH!
The grey WRX STI drifted aggressively into the medium turn, engines roaring as it tried to pump as much power into its tires. They drifted into the two mediums' connecting point, Yang still behind Amaya. With a rev of the engine, the leading EVO III swung its back end the opposite direction, drifting right then followed by the WRX STI.
Each move tandem, each line the same for both. And yet…
SCREEECH!
As they went through the corners, the gap on the exit only seemed to widen!
'Damn it! I'm losing ground here!' Yang hit the brakes and spun her car for the hairpin sloped left just as Amaya drifted before her. They sped through the corner, cars drifting at around the same pace and tires' screeches synced in her ears, and still the distance in the exits increased!
Yang wanted to bang her steering wheel. Why? She scored a faster time than him, so why was she falling behind?!
She can't lose, not now! Not when everyone's watching!
She- she just can't….
They both entered the last part of the corner set together – an easy right. And here, they didn't even need to wait until the exit to see the difference.
As Yang steered her car through the easy right, putting down as much power as she could, even in mid turn the distance between them increased exponentially.
And after she had put all her power into it too, following his line exactly!
Yang's eyes widened as they both exited the corner into a long straight, making the difference even clearer.
From half a car's difference to two-and-a-half cars' distance.
The revs of her engines weakened as Yang's pressure on the gas lessened.
"I- I…."
She was at a loss of words, and the strong wrathful grip on her wheel slackened in hopelessness. They've went past the halfway mark a few seconds ago…
"I can't compete…"
…There was no way she could win now.
Amaya glanced at his back. She wasn't even in his mirrors anymore!
He laughed and savored the moment. As if anyone could just walk in and beat him!
"HAH! What a pathetic show! See you in ten hours at the bottom, little girl!"
VROOOM!
"The gap between Xiao-Long and Amaya has widened to 1.5 seconds! In just a few corners, Amaya has successfully put race-winning distance from his competitor!" Lucy shouted. The scoreboard showed the stark difference clear, and even the cameras were picking up the change in movements. Whereas Yang had attacked the corners with aggressiveness before, now…
When she turned, her approach wasn't nearly as fast. And in her exits, the WRX STI's tail kept swinging just a bit too long – an unclean drift, worse compared to her earlier drifts in this race, and costing her even more time.
Losing all her energy.
"No…" Ruby clutched her chest in worry as the distance increased. 1.5 seconds, 1.65 seconds, 1.8 seconds…
Nora gave an awkward smile that did nothing to hide the worry in her tone. "She's still gonna finish at least, right, guys…?"
And then, Jaune's voice transmitted from the radio to the screen.
"Come on, Yang. Give me something here…"
Jaune watched on with sharp eyes, noting Yang's change in driving style. He let out a calming breath, "Come on, Yang."
He kicked the car into a drift, following Yang from a respectable distance and devoting all his attention on her.
"You gotta give me something here…"
But for Yang, everything she was doing was clouded with a haze of despair.
She kicked the car into a drift, and yet the adrenaline didn't come in one bit. She pressed the gas as the car came out, and yet the acceleration did nothing to snap her out of her routine.
Everything faded out. The race, the pressure, the pride and embarrassment waiting for her back home, even down to the reason she pressed gas after every turn. She couldn't even keep up after 50% of the course… what a resounding defeat – and the race wasn't even over yet.
And so with nothing else to lose, Yang just… drove.
It was sloppy, it wasn't fast, and it was nowhere near her best. But she let her instincts do the talking and drove as she wanted, knowing that the gap was probably way too wide by now – she couldn't even see a blink of his taillights… so what use was it then…?
'This is… nice.' Yang thought. She drifted through another corner even as the squeals of tires fell on deaf ears. 'Just driving, no pressure… nothing to lose.'
Another drift – what kind of corner was it now? She didn't know – and Yang continued in her haze. She just drove for the sake of driving. That was all. 'Quite relaxing, actually…'
It felt freeing, even if only for a moment. Another corner came up, and Yang barely recognized it. But as she prepared to turn…
'Wait a second…
What am I even doing?'
The corner came ever closer as her mind suddenly sprang thinking a mile minute.
She had no pressure now. She had nothing to lose! It felt freeing, and now her heart wasn't weighed an inch by the pressure, pride, anger, and stress she felt since the beginning of the race!
She had probably lost, sure! She didn't see a driver in front to overtake, didn't know a time she should beat, and she'd probably be embarrassed anyways – so what else can she do?
Would moping around and driving half-assedly change the result? No!
Even if she lost, now, with nothing else to lose… no pressure and pride anymore to risk for they had already been destroyed…
All she could do was try her best, right?
Right!
Push it all the way!
The corner came up and Yang kicked her car into a drift.
SCREEECH!
"Hmph." Jaune smirked once he saw Yang move. Such an elegant, high-speed drift…
Looks like his settings came into play after all. And she wasn't hopeless just yet – no, he knew what just happened.
"Atta girl, Yang."
"Whoa whao whoa! What was that?!"
The whole of Beacon ooh'd at the scene they just saw.
The camera suddenly zoomed in on the corner Yang was taking. And to say her method of taking it was completely different from just a second ago was a massive understatement!
Her drift, formerly sloppy, was now comparably flawless!
Initial D First Stage Sound Files vol.1 – Rage
SCREEECH!
VROOOOM!
She powered through the turn with impressive skill, her AWD systems taken full advantage of and clearing 2-3 centimeters of the guardrail.
SCREEECH!
The car exited the turn without any shake from its tail. Instead, it immediately began attacking the straight with optimum straight-line speed!
VROOOM!
And in one turn, the time changed.
From 2.35 seconds to 2.
"W-wha- she's changed!" Weiss shouted.
But that wasn't all!
The next corner came, a long sharp right, and Yang kept her foot on a pedal to the metal. As soon as she felt right, Yang let her steering do the work and drifted her car as fast as she could – no room for doubt, just do.
SCREEECH!
She cleared her car 2 centimeters off the guardrail and exited the corner perfectly, immediately going on another attack for a long left – and she knew it'd be followed by a severe 90-degree right turn.
Don't think. Just give your best.
Yang kicked the clutch and brought her car into a sideways right as she went through the left turn, angle wide and practically covering the whole road. With her AWD steering and gas work, she maintained the angle through the left.
The people in Beacon shouted.
"Whoa, what's she doing?! That's a left-hand turn, why's she doing a right?!"
"She's gone crazy! She's gonna hit the guardrail!"
But it didn't matter.
Yang maintained her angle all the way until she reached the severe right, back bumper kissing the guardrail. And there, everyone could see that her car was aligned perfectly for the fastest exit - and she did.
With a hum of approval, Yang punched the gas and exited the corner in speeds bordering 120 KM/H.
Yang smiled. Reverse entry.
"WHOA WHOA WHOA! XIAO-LONG JUST DID A REVERSE ENTRY! AND THAT EXIT SPEED, I'VE NEVER SEEN A MOVE MORE BALLSY THAN THAT IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!"
The scoreboard to the left updated. From 2 seconds to 1.85 seconds.
Beacon roared!
"YEAHHH YANG! LET'S GOO!"
"WHOOO! SICK DRIFT! I didn't even know an angle like that was possible!"
"SIIIICK!"
"A REVERSE ENTRYYYY!"
An optimistic and exited smile graced Ruby's face. "Yang… she can win this!"
Blake's lips quirked to the tiniest of grins. "She's getting closer and closer…"
"Come on, Yang…" Weiss whispered. "Win…"
Beacon yelled in unison.
"WIN, YANG! WIIIIN!"
Yang continued her drive in silence, following her heart and giving it her all. No pressure, no tries. No other car, just her and the road.
Only the here and now.
A drift, and she excelled her car to its her limits. Her speedometer bounced on 135 KM/H, her distance to the guardrail only 1 centimeter, and yet it meant nothing to her.
All she could hear was the thumping of her heart as she followed her dream.
Ba-dump!
SCREECH!
She mentally kept note of the distance in probable seconds, the thum of engine and tires reverberating in her ears.
1.80 seconds.
Another corner, another drift.
Ba-dump!
SCREECH!
Sloped hairpin. 1.65 seconds. 1 centimeter off the guardrail.
Ba-dump!
SCREECH!
Sharp left. 1. 45 seconds, 1 and a half centimeters off the guardrail.
Ba-dump!
SCREECH!
1. 20 seconds, Square right.
Half a centimeter.
Ba-dump!
SCREECH!
Sloped Hairpin.
Half a second.
Amaya's red taillights came into view.
A fire burned in Yang's eyes as she approached. What was once empty now burned red hot with determination. And that red hot fire quieted down, going cold with steel-hardened resolve.
Ba-dump!
SCREECH!
Square left, half a millimeter.
Ba-dump!
0.15 seconds.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Amaya glanced at his back mirror – Yang was now right on his tail, her headlights brighter than the sun.
~Sara - Burning Up for You~
"Shit!" Amaya exclaimed. Another corner came up, this one a medium left. He braked hard and drifted his car, but now…
SCREEECH!
"Damn!" Amaya felt the grips of his tires weaken and his car beginning to slide out of the inside. He grit his teeth and still forced the cat though the corner, but in the back of his mind his thoughts were going into overdrive.
He hadn't paid attention to his tires when Yang went out of the rear mirror's view, he didn't think she'd be able to make such a comeback! So now – now when she's right up his ass, he was totally caught off guard!
He knew he wasn't fast enough to run away – no, there was no way!
Sweat ran down the back of his neck, slipping in between his fingers and making it harder than ever to focus. Shit, how can he keep her behind, how?!
Pyrrha smiled. She understood it, now – understood exactly what was happening right before her.
Another turn, this one a fast right. She watched as the two cars braked, not long before hers did as well, and then as Yang turned just as fast as Amaya – but without nearly the amount of throttle her opponent was using.
"She's turning faster than him but using less power." Pyrrha said. "Now all she has to do is wait for an opportunity… isn't that right, Jaune?"
"Exactly." She heard him confirm, "Any risky moves and they might end up either in the guardrail – or it might just not be enough to seal the deal."
Just like her own Tournaments, Pyrrha realized. While they were big deciding moments, they were also built up on during the duration of the fight – a slip there, a dodge here, and a block that slowly drained the opponent's stamina and Aura.
Another corner came up, a hairpin. Pyrrha braced herself for the G's as all of them turned – and just as before, Yang turned with more momentum and speed – but Amaya was leaving no room for her to pass, and it was clear that she was apprehensive about just doing it in the straights.
They exited the turn again and Jaune spoke. "We're approaching the end of the course now."
"So she has to make her move soon, then." Pyrrha concluded.
And then, she didn't miss the way Jaune's eyes lit up and his grip on the wheel tightened ever so slightly. She didn't miss how he seemed to light up at the prospect, how it gave life to his blood.
"There's a consecutive set of turns right before the end." Jaune said.
"She'll have to make it or break it."
"Looks like Xiao-Long's going to be making a move soon!" Lucy shouted. "But she's going to run out of course if she doesn't act soon!"
"Open the map, open the map!" Ruby shook Weiss. "We need to see how much she has left!"
"I'm opening, I'm opening! Stop shaking me, Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed. However, the little redhead didn't stop – only after navigating her Scroll with shaky hands did she finally open her map and managed to show it to the rest.
"Hm. There's about one minute left on this race, then…" Blake trailed off.
Ren nodded. "Consecutive turns – the differences between their technique should be amplified there."
"Yeah! It's where Jaune passed those guys before – Yang might be able to do it there too!"
The crowd watched with bated breath as the consecutive corners approached. They couldn't hold in their excitement, now would be where Yang would win!
Yang kept her eyes steady as she focused on the track in front of her. Instinctually, she knew that there couldn't be much more time left. She had to make her move soon.
Had she had not been in her zone, then she would've crumbled and stuttered on what she should do next.
But now, with her heart and soul poured 100% into this battle, Yang moved free of doubts and began her assault.
The first consecutive corner came up, a medium right. As they entered the turn, Yang pressed the pedal and pulled her WRX side-by-side with the EVO III.
She could just see Amaya's shock expression from his side of the mirror, as if thinking, What, from the outside?!
Yang smirked and did as her opponent thought.
SCREEECH! The two cars entered in tandem, but still the EVO III held the lead.
The next corner quickly came up; a sharp left, the complete opposite of the current turn.
Sneakily, Yang began to let go of her countersteer and let her car drift closer to Amaya's doors.
Amaya grit his teeth. "Try as hard as you want, crash into me even! I'm not giving you the inside!"
But that wasn't Yang's plan at all.
The next corner came up faster than they expected, a sharp left; the complete opposite of the current turn.
Yang smirked as her plan came to fruition. By pushing Amaya deeper inside, she had forced him to take more and more space on the right.
And since the next turn was a left, that inside that he had so tightly protected now became the outside.
Amaya realized his mistake too late. "Oh shit-!"
"GOOOOO!" Yang shouted. With all her heart she braked and drifted through the corner, brake pads scorching hot and Amaya's right beside her. As a result of her plan, she now gained the edge in entering the corner, now holding the inside and slowly but surely edging out the lead!
Yang yelled as her WRX drifted through the corner. "YEEAHHHH!"
Beacon once again errupted in cheers.
"ALL RIGHT SIS! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUUUT!" Ruby yelled with cheer. "THAT'S WHY SHE'S THE GOAT! THE GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAT!"
Vroom!
The two cars exited the corner at the same time, their tires screeching hot and their spirits even more so. After Yang's switcheroo, the cars now ended up side-by-side, quickly approaching a medium right.
She heard Lucy's commentary through the radio.
"Xiao-Long's about to seal the deal, folks! Question is, will she have the skills to do it?! It's clear that Amaya's tires are much more worn out, but can he hold on to it just a bit more to edge out a win?!"
Yang gripped her steering wheel tight. That was true. Perhaps he did…
But somehow, she knew she could do this no problem. All she needed to do was to time this perfectly…
The corner came closer and closer, time seeming to slow down…
Now!
She slammed her foot on the brake, not even thinking as she turned her car and initiated a drift.
As Yang's car turned, it did so just a millisecond later than Amaya's. With this split-second difference, her car edged out the inside from Amaya's, and as the corner went on, his tire wear began to show.
Amaya's car fell firmly back behind Yang's, her position assured.
And as they exited the corner, Amaya firmly in second place, the course was pretty much over.
Yang smiled and resisted the urge to smile, her car quickly speeding away and out of Amaya's sight.
She had done it.
She passed him!
Jaune, however, held no such reservations.
"YEAH! That's what I'm talking about, Yang! Well done!" Jaune cheered from his car. He exited the corner not long after the duo, cheering and whistling at the sight.
Pyrrha clapped her hands beside him. "Yes, quite the show!"
"She did it, everyone! Xiao-Long's done it! He's beaten Amaya on the first try!"
Beacon roared once more. Students jumped from their seats as they hugged each other, particularly Ruby who had a surprisingly strong death grip on all her friends.
"SHE DID IT! SHE DID IT!"
"Ruby-! Can't breathe-!" Weiss gasped out.
Ruby didn't relent even as minutes passed. No one could wipe the smile off her face!
In the end, Yang whooped as she crossed the finish line.
Crossed it in first place.
"YEAHHHHHH!" Yang drifted her car to a stop and honked her horn multiple times, the crowd at the base of the mountain cheering around her as she announced her victory.
She laughed as she heard the cheers from the crowd around her, not muffled one bit by her car.
"Xiao-Long! Xiao-Long!" They chanted, quickly swarming her car and yanking – heh! – her door open. Yang barely had any time to turn off her car and pocket the keys before the crowd took her by the arms and lifted her above them.
"Xiao-Long! Xiao-Long!" They continue to cheer, surfing her above the crowd as she could do nothing but smile and laugh in delight.
Not that she minded, mind you.
"We've been waiting for someone to knock that bastard off his high horse!" Someone shouted.
Another person said also, "Yeah, he's been way too comfortable for way too long! Way to show 'im!"
"That was an excellent drive! A true talent!"
Yang laughed as the crowd praised her, her soul high in ecstasy. But more than the praises, she felt utmost relief from her own heart's depths.
She had proven to herself that she could do it – and that the things that were once just her dreams, she could do just as well in the real world!
And so she laughed. Laughed in happiness as her dreams came true, and as the crowd continued to cheer her on.
But then, the roar of a familiar engine interrupted her parade. The crowd let her down softly as they all stood in front of a slowly approaching vehicle.
It was an Alzetta that Yang recognized. The one that had been following her, the one that had kickstarted this whole thing.
But the crowd didn't know that, so they whispered amongst each other.
"Hey, it's that Alzetta…"
"That interloper…"
"…Still, to keep up with Amaya and Xiao-Long…"
"…Wonder who's behind the wheel?"
Yang tried her best to hide her smile, putting her fists on her hips. She couldn't wait to hear what he thought of her performance tonight!
Click!
The door opened and out stepped a familiar man. But tonight, he dressed differently.
Jaune stepped out with a clean pressed white dress shirt on, paired with dress pants and a tie that were as blue as his eyes.
No small amount of people in the crowd gasped.
"Jaune Arc…?" They whispered. "The Fastest in Vale…? The Lone Comet of Ansel is back…?"
Yang's smile wobbled slightly. Wait, she didn't know that these people knew Jaune…
And what are those titles they were throwing around…?, she thought silently.
With confidence, Jaune closed the door behind him and approached Yang.
"You did good, Yang." Jaune nodded at her. She didn't miss the way crowd had suddenly went silent, watching in awe as this – unbeknownst to her – true legend that some had forgotten about had suddenly gone back into the scene.
"Y-Yeah, no small thanks to you, Vomit Boy!" Yang laughed; she tried to contain her nervousness. Why was everyone so silent all of a sudden? "Don't think I didn't notice the way the car behaved a bit differently… you took it out for a tune up, didn't you?"
"Hm. Glad to know you felt the difference. And that it helped you, of course." Jaune finally stood before her and put his hands in his pockets. He took a look around, his eyes scanning the vicinity as everyone listened in on their conversation, and yet he didn't falter one bit.
And it was then that it struck Yang just how different he seemed to be right now.
Gone was the nervousness of Beacon's weakest first year. Gone were the stutters he often had when he tried to woo Weiss.
Here he was confident. Sure. Commanding a presence that Yang felt, even without knowing why, deserved everyone's attention.
And when his eyes landed on him, Yang had to wonder if Jaune himself was even conscious of it or not.
"Anyway. I'm sure this was a big night for you, and, well, I just had to see it for myself." Jaune chuckled.
He offered her his hand.
"Congratulations on your first win, Yang." Jaune smiled sincerely. "A lot of people will be looking at you now, as the 'guardian' of this mountain pass. And I say, you've earned it."
Yang's eyes went to the hand – and she didn't fail to notice the way everyone else was looking at their interaction with bated breath.
And with that in mind, Yang eagerly took the hand and shook it firm.
"You can leave this to me, Jauney." Yang grinned back, "I'm gonna be the best racer this mountain's ever seen!"
That got a chuckle out of Jaune.
"That's the spirit, Yang." He said. With a smile, he gripped her hand tight and raised it high over their heads.
Jaune spoke to the crowd next, his voice holding a formerly unknown authority.
"GIVE IT UP FOR YANG XIAO-LONG, EVERYBODY!" Jaune shouted, "TONIGHT'S WINNER, AND MOUNT GAMBARI'S NEW CHAMPION!"
The crowd roared and cheered, and Yang felt heat flush her cheeks as Jaune kept her hand high. The crowd then began to get closer, at which point Jaune let her hand go and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"We're all proud of you." Jaune smiled, "Now, go on and enjoy the night, alright?"
Yang only smiled in return, Jaune quickly disappearing into the approaching crowd – but not without trying really hard, because everyone seemed to give him a wide berth of respect the moment he approached.
And as the crowd continued to cheer, Yang once more felt satisfaction well up in her chest. With a yell, she raised her arms high and cheered with them as well.
"YEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Jaune closed the door to the Alzetta with a click and sighed. With shaking hands, he grabbed the wheel and weakly put his head on its apex.
And then, beside him, Pyrrha gasped in surprise and fear when Jaune's breathing began to grow rapid, whining as he shivered and lied heavily against the wheel.
"Jaune…? Jaune!" Pyrrha quickly put a hand on his shoulder and shook him. "Are you okay?!"
"G-Gah. I'm fine… I'm fine." Jaune said between breaths; and Pyrrha could see the way his skin had turned pale and flush, the way sweat was now raining down lots. "Just…"
Jaune closed his eyes and tried to get himself together. His partner was waiting for an answer, and he couldn't leave her hanging. "I just…"
And then, her mind coming to a conclusion, Pyrrha spoke out her hypothesis. "…are you having a panic attack?"
Jaune grunted.
It was enough confirmation for Pyrrha.
"Come here." Pyrrha quickly pulled Jaune towards her and held him close, holding him in her arms and lying his head on her shoulders. She rubbed comforting circles on Jaune's back, letting him rely on her warmth as his breathing steadied and his healthy consciousness returned.
"Focus on my heartbeat." Pyrrha whispered to Jaune's ears. "One, two… One, two…"
Slowly but steadily, Jaune's breathing steadied, his skin returning to its normal color and his eyes losing its cloudiness. "Hah. Hah…."
"That's it, that's it…" Pyrrha whispered. She ran a hand through his hair, "I'm here. You're with me, Jaune."
And with those last words, Jaune's breathing fully stabilized, his consciousness truly returning to the present.
His blue eyes scanned the current situation – clearly, he didn't remember suddenly ending on her lap. "…Pyr?"
"Welcome back, Jaune." Pyrrha smiled softly, though she made no attempt to hide the concern in it. She couldn't help but ask,"…Are you… are you okay now?"
"I- I guess so…" Jaune shook his head. He pressed a hand to his eyes, "God, that hasn't happened since…"
"Since…?"
Jaune closed his eyes and sighed. Unknowingly, his hand searched for comfort and reflexively landed above Pyrrha's own.
And in that moment, it took all of Pyrrha's might not to squeal – and she just now realized how close she had pulled Jaune too! Of how- how intimate this all seemed!
But when her leader opened her mouth, all that shyness disappeared and was replaced with astute attention.
"…Tonight, I drove seriously for the first time in… for the first time since the night I retired." Jaune said. He took a deep breath, his body shaking again in Pyrrha's arms, before he continued again.
"Pyrrha… I told people that I chose to retire. That's true. But even so, I… I can't come back even if I wanted to." Jaune said shakily. As he continued, his hand gripped hers tighter for comfort.
"Tonight. Tonight, I drove real hard, keeping up with Yang and Amaya. I took it seriously, I gave it my heart… but I can't help but remember the last time that I did that-!"
SCREEECH!
BOOM!
CRASH!
"Jau-! Where are yo-! Hon-! Jau-e!"
"Oh- oh my god! OH MY GOD! Jaune, baby, you need to keep your eyes open! JAUNE, STAY UP, JAUNE!"
"The Ambulance is taking how long?! Can't you go faster?! My baby can't hold on that long!"
"No, he can't make it like this. Injuries are too severe. Stand back, I'll unlock his Aura!"
"AAAAHHHH!"
Jaune's breath shook. He curled into himself, his eyes growing cloudy again as he was once more lost in memory; on the verge of another panic attack.
And as Pyrrha stared into those baby blue eyes, she could see a ball of fire raging behind them, followed by pain, horror, desperation… near death experiences?
"No." Jaune whispered. "No, nonono, I can't do it, I can't do all this again, I shouldn't have raced tonight-!"
"Jaune." Pyrrha said calmly but sternly. "No one's telling you to do anything."
"W-Wha…?"
"I'm here to support you, Jaune. No matter what you choose." Pyrrha said. "Driving or no driving… Hunter or no Hunter… anything and everything."
"R-Really…?" Jaune sighed. He uncurled, but now he was leaning very, very much against her body, savoring her warmth.
A part of Pyrrha fervently whispered in her head, don't jump him don't jump him don't jump him!
But the other part was more concerned with this sudden panic attack, this sudden terror that her leader showed, and prioritized his well being above anything else.
And so, "Yes." Pyrrha said sincerely, "You can be whatever you want to be."
"…"
"And besides, didn't you enjoy yourself tonight too?" Pyrrha smiled, "Didn't you enjoy racing down with Yang? Seeing her race? Isn't that what you wanted too?"
"What I want…" Jaune whispered, barely audible.
In a flash in his eyes Pyrrha saw hesitation. History. Dream. Hopelessness. Hesitation. Yearning; and all circled around the fact that he had driven.
Clearly, there must be something more to this retirement that Jaune had embarked on…
But her thoughts were interrupted when Jaune spoke again.
"Then…" Jaune whispered. For the first time this time, his eyes turned to her and looked at Pyrrha's emerald orbs begging, pleading.
"Then, can we stay like this for tonight, Pyrrha?" Jaune begged.
Pyrrha held back her gasp, held back the red rushing to her cheeks, and instead ran her hand through Jaune's hair once more.
And she drank in the fact that he seemed to enjoy it very much, the fact that leaned closer to her with each second, the fact that he sighed in contentment as all his worries and fears were pushed away by her mere presence.
"Of course, Jaune." Pyrrha said sweetly. "If that's what you need."
"Hm." Jaune shifted in his seat, shuffling and eventually laying his head on her lap. He closed his eyes; the panic attack having drained him and his body now quickly pulling him to sleep. "Yeah… yeah…"
"I need this," he breathed out. "I… I need you, Pyrrha…"
With that final statement, Jaune closed his eyes and fell into deep slumber, his breathing calm.
And Pyrrha watched with eyes filled with love, but also with pity.
What had happened, to make her love be traumatized as so? For him to be so afraid of his own skills, when he had been so confident in front of everyone but bury doubt so deep within himself?
It was clear she needed to get to the bottom of this.
But more than her own desire, her partner currently needed her.
And she won't ever be so cruel as to leave him behind, not when he was the only one who ever saw her for who she wanted to be.
"Sleep well, Jaune." Pyrrha whispered sweetly in his ear. Making sure no one was around their car, Pyrrha shifted in her seat and reclined it all the way back. With gentle hands, she moved Jaune and her to a more comfortable position.
"Hah…"
And with a loving sigh, she and Jaune cuddled the night in the car they shared, Pyrrha gently putting her hand on Jaune's back and soothing him as he slept.
She loved him, loved him so much, and it hurt her so much to see him so traumatized.
And with every contact her hand made, Jaune melted even deeper to her touch, holding her close and tight and so scared to let go.
Pyrrha closed her eyes and made herself to fall asleep with him. "I love you." She whispered one more time to his ears as she relaxed…
But not before she felt the comforting whisper of Jaune to her ears as well, half-delirious half-conscious yet all truthful.
"I love you too, Pyr."
Somewhere…
A scraggly man in a dimly-lit room stared at a screen with nothing but contempt and hatred.
How dare he… how dare he come back?! How dare he come back to the Street Series after he had ruined everything?!
The man growled low.
"Jaune Arc…"
He hated him, hated him with every fiber of his being! They were friends, once, but then the Arc had to get all uppity about using the right way to win, about racing honorably without dirty tactics.
When really, all that mattered was that you won!
The Arc had beaten him, back then, in that one match where they decided to settle everything. Back then, the man had begrudgingly backed off when he lost, conceding to another driver.
But he was still angry. Angry at how superior Jaune acted, angry at how above it all he seemed, and angry at how he never worked a day in his life for his spoils!
Son of the Arcs! Granted a top-tier car the moment he entered! Talented as hell! It just wasn't fair!
As that thought struck him, the man grinned.
Oh, but it came back to bite Jaune in the end, didn't it?
When Jaune retired, many believed that would be the end of it – but the man head heard rumors, of the reason why the retirement actually stuck was because of one thing:
Because, according to rumor – one that he firmly believed – was that Jaune had crashed his car during a run after his fateful final race.
More than that, that the crash had destroyed Jaune's FC3S completely, and that it was a miracle Jaune had survived.
And even worse…
That they had to activate his Aura to prevent his legs from being amputated.
The man grinned. Such was the price of an ascent too fast.
And now, he dared make a comeback…?
The man clenched his teeth and fist, the key to a pitch-black GTR R32 in his hands shining brightly in the dimly-lit room.
Well then it was time to teach Jaune that price again; no matter who had to pay it.
They didn't call him the Grimm Reaper for nothing.
And so begins the next arc of the story: A.K.A the Grimm Reaper arc, just like in Initial D's fifth stage.
Again, truly sorry it took me so long to get back to the story. Just like I said in Berried Delights, I'm trying to be more consistent here, so hopefully you enjoyed!
Thanks for reading, lemme know what you thought, and see you next time!