Start Your Engines: 1st Lap
AN: Alright, some of you might think that the car isn't futuristic enough but it's actually fine. If you look in the manga or in the anime, the cars there look even older, around the early 2000s. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say.
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One at a time, greedy predators shoot their shot in wagering their car against someone who looked to be new, but someone's car finally caught Kaga's eye, it was a prehistoric car for this world's time but still loved.
The person who was wagering his car was using a Ford Mustang 1969 Boss 429, to others it has centuries under its belt, but to Kaga, it was just fine.
Though the shell of the car was that of the 1960's classic, the overall internals of it was upgraded and suped-up, but it still held its signature roaring engine like its ancestor.
Kaga simply accepted the deal which made the challenger smile to the fullest as if he had already won, no one can blame him since Kaga's and Himiko's outer appearance was that of High Schoolers who like to spend their parent's money.
With the race already initiated, they just had to wait until was their turn, and surprisingly theirs was the main event since it wasn't every day someone wagered their car or today was just a day where no high betters appeared.
While waiting, the illegal street racing circuit provided a large enough screen for everyone to watch the ongoing races, and with this Kaga studied and remembered the circuit's track. Since it was a mountainous race track, there were quite a few sharp bends and long stretches of road the leads down but will eventually lead back up to the starting point.
"Nee~ How long did you even practice? These people take years and I've never seen you drive a car like that before", Himiko commented as they watched an ongoing race.
"Just a few days ago, but no worries, it was easy to grasp especially when everything is in slow motion, I have a large amount of time to think but it'll look instantaneous...and plus...I can always manipulate my ice to control the car if things get bad~"
What Kaga said just now just stunned Himiko since it has only been a few days, for a moment she thought her friend had a secret hobby for racing but it turns out it was just a whim.
"Well...we won't die from a car crash anyway and surprisingly, the edges of these race tracks have guard rails!", Himiko said after noticing the safety features this track had.
Shiki who managed to overhear Himiko's last part commented on it, "It's to promote amateur race car drivers to join, we wouldn't want the numbers of death to scare potential customers away. And no deaths means no investigations"
The two girls weren't bothered by his sudden appearance but Kaga decided to further inquire about something, "If I were to win, can I put my car in your hands to give it an entire overhaul, since you did say you deal with cars on a normal basis"
Shiki hearing this was now in business mode, "That's if you win, but let's say you win, what's your budget?"
"I'm just new to cars but the budget doesn't matter and don't worry, I can tell when someone's lying so don't think I'm some naive high school brat", Kaga said since if there was even a flash of greed she wouldn't talk business in something she has no knowledge of, so in short, she's lucky to have known Shiki.
"Well, well, it seems I may have found my biggest customer, well then, all you have to do is win and I'll handle everything on my part, here's my card and Good Luck~!", he said and left.
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Soon enough it was Kaga's turn to race and the clock has already hit midnight...cliche...but fitting.
The two racers with their own co-drivers are supposed to serve as some sort of guide and they can even monitor the other racer they are racing against, but Himiko's plan was just to sit back and relax.
[ALRIGHT FOLKS! WE HAVE OUR BIGGEST BET FOR TONIGHT! THE LATEST PORCHE 911 GT3 RS OR THE CLASSIC AND PREHISTORIC MUSTANG OF THE 1960S! WHO WILL WIN AGAINST WHO?
C'MON AND PLACE YOUR BETS PEOPLE! THIS IS GOING TO BE WILD!]
"""YEAHHH!"""
The commentator hyped up the crowd so that they wouldn't feel the shock of spending money, and would only realize it once they lose their bets and wallow in self-pity.
[ON YOUR RIGHT, WE HAVE YOUR BEAUTIFUL DELINQUENT DRIVER THAT STUNNED THE CROWD TODAY VS YOUR VETERAN DRIVER THAT HAS GIVEN UP ON LIFE LOOK!]
The announcer played with his words to signify that Kaga was just a newbie compared to the other driver without the blatant way of say that they are a newbie.
[LIVEN UP THOSE ENGINES WILL YA!?]
*VROOOM PA VROOM*
*BRRRA BOOM BRRBB BOOM!*
The moment he said that the two drivers revved their own monsters to the fullest, the Porche revving up with a loud high pitched race cry, while the prehistoric beast came and stole the first show with its low and loud thunderous booming.
"HAHA~, Kaga, it seems we lost that little show", Himiko said after hearing the competitor on their side.
"Well...this baby is still new after all...it'll transform soon enough", said Kaga confidently.
"Little Ladies, why don't you give the keys and papers already? Maybe I can teach you how to drive too~", the man mocked as he brought his windows down.
Lucky for him the windows were up for the girls and they weren't able to hear his words over the engine sound of their car, cause if they did, the man would've been in an accident after the event was over.
[READY!]
*vrooOOM!*
*BrrRBBBRrrBBR*
[GET SET!]
With the countdown nearing, the cars rumbled, even more, showing the life within beneath them. The bodies of the car shaking under the constant revving, but soon it was unleashed.
[GOOOO!]
As soon as the announcer's voice was heard all over, the two drivers with their engines torqued to the max, released their clutches which resulted in their respective machines blasting forward like thunder.
[AND THEY'RE OFF! HURRY UP AND PLACE YOUR BETS BEFORE THEY REACHED THE FIRST CHECKPOINT SINCE THIS IS GOING TO BE A TWO-LAP RACE!]
The Porche and the Mustang were currently in different places already with the Mustang leading the race with its engine created just for these types of racing but the Porche was still in its stock parts.
Though Kaga, the one who's behind the wheel was calm as ever and not rushing things from the look of things, however, her hands and feet were different altogether.
The moment Kaga hears the engine starts working even harder than its usual self, she will immediately raise the gear higher and repeats the process while still under this long stretch of road.
Meanwhile, Himiko decided to video everything and save it for memories and would also show it to Shoto since if she were to video call the boyfriend of Kaga, he might just get worried and ruin the fun.
[HOO HOO, IT SEEMS THE MUSTANG OF LEGENDS IS ACTUALLY BEATING THE PORCHE IN THIS STRETCH OF ROAD! AND AS THEY PASSED THE FIRST CURVE, THE BETS WILL BE CLOSED SO HURRY UP]
With the audience watching the results live, the nervous ones began betting on the Mustang that was on the lead, which resulted in the ratio of bets more on the Mustang's side compared to the Porche's.
When the race that has just started dozens of seconds ago is now approaching its first curve of the race, with Kaga being on the right side but seeing as the mustang's driver was in front she couldn't capitalize on the advantage.
[WE'RE NOW APPROACHING THE FIRST CURVE, LET'S SEE HOW SKILLED THESE DRIVERS ARE!]
It's usually how a driver drifts can someone actually see the skill of the driver since anyone can drive a straight road and beat the other with a superior car.
But on the bend, while trying to maintain a speed that is equally fast? That takes skills on a different level, it takes experience, timing, balance, and more just so that your car doesn't crash.
Kaga went for a risky approach, instead of slowing down like what others naturally did for safety sake, she revved the car even more and decided to take the inner lane and plan to exit the curve on the outer lane.
"KAGA! This is starting to get scary but fun!", Himiko commented after feeling that the car wasn't slowing down on the approaching curve.
"HOLD ON TIGHT!", Kaga said and focused all her attention on the wheel.
[IT SEEMS WE HAVE A LITTLE DAREDEVIL ON OUR HANDS HERE FOLKS! SHE'S STILL SPEEDING WHEN APPROACHING A BEND, SOME OF YOU BETTER START PRAYINGGG!]
The people that were watching from the live camera feed from installed cameras on the circuit were now videoing the ongoing event while some were closing their eyes, expecting a crash to happen already.
'Is she going to actually do what I think she's going to do?', Shiki thought to himself, many people have tried pulling this off only to crash into the guard railings terribly.
With Kaga picking her speed up, she was now side by side with the mustang, with the bend approaching she steered her wheel hard then steered it in another direction quickly while pulling up the handbrake to initiate the drift.
Kaga then proceeds to control the throttle and brake pedals with her heel-toe to maintain her drift line, as the Porche started to drift into the bend, the front was now beginning to face the inner railings while the back part was being pulled into the outer lane due to her speed.
People seeing this were now fearing for the worst since they were seeing the Porche's speed a while earlier not even slowing down one bit, and feared that the car will smash sideways into the railings!
To avoid the car from slamming into the outer railings, Kaga increased the torque and manipulated her ice underneath the car to pull the car forward even more, if she were to only rely on the torque of the car she would've slammed into the walls.
The Porche now came screaming in its sustained drift as the nose of the car was now slowly facing forward all the while leaving billows of white smoke on its trail.
And like a 'miracle', the destined Porche that was supposed to crash didn't, and instead, it drifted towards the outer lane smoothly without any hiccup whatsoever.
Himiko seeing this couldn't help but clench on the handle that was available inside the car, the feeling of being the driver and the passenger was a totally different experience as you are being pulled along.
The mustang driver seeing this was shocking for him, such a maneuver should've made her crash instead of sliding across the road gracefully. But he had no time to gawk at the scene before him considering he too was needing to initiate the drift.
[WHAT A SHOW WE HAVE HERE FOLKS! IT SEEMS THE GIRLS IN THE PORCHE ARE WOLVES IN SHEEP CLOTHING! THOSE SKILLS AREN'T SOMETHING DONE BY LUCK! CAN I HEAR AN APPLAUSE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT BETTED FOR THE PORCHE~!]
"""YEAH!"""
The people who better on Kaga now were feeling a little more confident, if you can do such a risky move and come out with no scratches, then it proves your skill, right?
Except what these poor bastards didn't know is that she manipulated her ice to pull the car's front harder into the inner lane while the backside of the car slides near the opposite.
With Kaga's brave move she now took the lead and figured that she should take every curve to her advantage considering the fact that the Mustang was heavier but strong on a stretch.
"SH-IT! What type of girls are these!? That move they just did was tantamount to suicide already, crazy!", the mustang driver shouted to himself which made the co-driver nervous thinking his partner might get reckless.
It would still take some time before another stretch of road actually appears and for now, a couple of bends are their obstacles which Kaga was taking advantage of and slowly making the lead even bigger.
Soon enough there was a little breathing room for Kaga and this time she positioned the car on the outer lane so that when she goes to another corner, she will shift inwards rather than outwards.
*BRRRBBMMMM!*
But with the breathing room available for Kaga it was available for the other guy too, however, it seems the guy has changed tactics as he was now trying to tail on the Porche's rear trying to intimidate Kaga.
"Haha~ The guy is actually trying to tailgate us, maybe he's trying to scare us!", Himiko said while looking at the side mirror of the car and seeing the fast-approaching bull.
This went on for a couple of turns but whenever a turn is in place Kaga would always manage to pull ahead with her car's lighter weight compared to the muscle car.
Soon it was the stretch that would finish the race's first lap and here is where Kaga's stock Porche struggled to compete against compared to the suped-up Mustang built for racing.
Slowly but surely the Mustang was catching up, what Kaga didn't know is that the Mustang was only able to catch up quickly in a constant space is because the driver had a Nitrous Oxide engine in place, meaning he was getting even more help. This is evident with the spewing blue-colored flames that jet out from its exhaust pipe from time to time.
[HERE THEY COME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THEY ARE NOW NECK AND NECK, AND THIS IS JUST THE FIRST LAP! WILL THEY BE MORE DARING TO SAVE THEIR BELOVED CAR OR CHOKE UNDER THE PRESSURE AND LOSE IT!?]
[SO! SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!]
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(CHEERS!)
Writing this chapter was an ass! I had to learn how to drift and make sure things actually sounded right and not just some gibberish like "Kaga drifted hard into the corner and increased the speed of her vehicle"
I had to learn the details so sorry if I took quite a few hours to actually write this.