Bungou Stray Dogs: Love Race

Black and White

Atsushi pulled up to the starting line. His determination was on an all time high. He stopped the BMW right before the line. People cheered from the side of the track. Suddenly like a shadow a black Mercedes E 220 pulled up beside him. Atsushi looked over. It was Akutagawa! His heart started racing but not from nervousness. It was from the anticipation of a great battle. Akutagawa's pale skin shined from the jet black car. His abyss like eyes lost in the darkness. Atsushi felt butterflies in his stomach, but he brushed it off. His eyes were set on victory, anything else is secondary.

A girl walked in front of their cars. Akutagawa revved his engine. Atsushi put his in gear. He pressed down the clutch. And played with the gas to get the revs up. He was awful at launch control. His wheels always spun out no matter what he did. So now he was really careful.

The girl raised her hands. The crowd cheered, but the boys couldn't hear it over their engines revving. Atsushi took a deep breath and looked forward."Lets see what can you do Akutagawa" he tought.

The girl dropped her hands. The boys dumped their clutches simultaneously. The cars launched. Atsushi heared wheel screeching.

"Fuck" he tought annoyed "I spun it out again"

The Mercedes took the lead. But Atsushi was right on his tail. His wheelspin finally stopped. He shifted second and floored it. The two cars roared through the night. Atsushi clenched his teeth and shifted third. He closed the distance between them. Now his nose was beside the Mercedes. A left turn was approaching. Akutagawa positioned himself on the inside. He shifted down to lose a bit of speed. The two cars were head to head now. The corner was right before them now.
Akutagawa didn't have any choice to brake, he anticipated that Atsushi would do the same.
But he was wrong. The BMW flew past him. "Is he suicidal?!" he exclaimed. But he was wrong again. Atsushi pulled the handbrake and slid his cars back. He shifted into second. The wheels spun wildly. Akutagawa was astonished. "He's a newbie, he can't be this good" he growled. Atsushi flew out of the corner perfectly. The pale boy floored it in rage. His Mercedes was hot on the BMW's tail. His wheels screeched. "Fuck, I lost traction" he shifted up.
Atsushi was rapidly gaining headway. His engine roared. But he didn't hear it. The world went silent for him. He was free. The car was like an extension off his body. The corners were minor inconveniences. He took them with no effort.
Akutagawa followed him closely. He was holding the wheel like his life depended on it. His floor was glued to the floor. Every second spent keeping up with the BMW took extreme effort from him.
A hairpin turn approached. Akutagawa's eyes lit up. "This is my chance!" he exclaimed "I've analysed Atsushi's drifts, I know his technique" he cackled "ALL I HAVE TO DO IS COPY HIM!"
Both cars slowed down before the turn. Atsushi nearly came to a halt and with a precise spin took the corner. His wheels spun and he launched from the turn.
Akutagawa was too fast when he realized that Atsushi took this corner differently. He floored the brake making the tires screech. But the car slid forward. He janked the wheel right before hitting the barrier. His car came to a stop. He floored it but he was in second gear. The Mercedes stalled.
"Fuck" he cried out. "I can't be defeated by such a newbie" he hit the steering wheel.

Atsushi didn't notice the commotion. He only notice that something was off when he reached the halway point. Kunikida's Yaris was there with Chuuya's Cybertruck. He stopped and run up to the Yaris. Quickly dapped up Kunikida and watched as he sped away. He sighed. His body was shaky from the adrenaline. He looked around only to see Chuuya's astonished face.
"Where's Akutagawa?" he asked with wide eyes.
Atsushi shook his shoulders. "I don't know" he said with an innocent face "I didn't even notice that I lost him"

Chuuya growled. "Dazai was right about you" he said with a frown.

Atsushi smiled.

Suddenly a pair of headlights appeared. It was Akutagawa! He arrived finally. Chuuya got ready for starting. The Mercedes came to a screeching halt right beside the BMW. The pale boy jumped out of it, and dapped up Chuuya who launched away into the darkness. Akutagawa didn't even look after him. He stayed in the same spot with his head down.

"It was a good race Akutagawa-kun!" yelled Atsushi with an upbeat voice. The pale boy didn't even flinch. Atsushi got a bit concerned. So he started walking towards him.

"Are you okay?"

No answer. Atsushi was right behind him now. He put his hand timidly on the pale boy's shoulder. Suddenly Akutagawa turned around and slapped the boys hand.

"I d-don't need your help!" he exclaimed. Tears were running down his face. "I will defeat you next time!" he said with a shaky voice and gave one last angry look to Atsushi, before running to his car and driving away.

Atsushi was taken aback by Akutagawa's demeanor. But he felt pity for him. "He can't really take a defeat huh?" he chuckled. All of his bad feelings were washed away. He defeated his first real opponent.
"I hope Kunikida's doing good" he tought "I guess I will know it when they announce the results"

On his drive back to the parking lot he was absorbed by his toughts. He couldn't wait to see his friends excited and happy faces, and he secretly hoped that he could hug Dazai again. "It fel great the last time" he blushed.
But something felt off. Akutagawa's reaction hurt him a bit. He couldn't help but feel rejected. "I just wanted to comfort him, he didn't have to react that extremely" but deep down he inderstood him. "He's probably not used to losing, I might just have crushed his whole self image"
Atsushi sighed. He felt really bad for Akutagawa now. "I will apologise for it the next time we meet" he tought.
For the remainder of his journey he contemplated this further.