blue lights || bokuaka

neon

She suddenly leans forward.

"Takai hill. It's the MSBY Black Jackals and Nekoma tonight." She says, and Akaashi's heart lurches because he really didn't expect it to work, and hearing it from this lady made it real. "They usually start at midnight. Hurry, if you want to place bets on the first racers."

"Where's Takai hill?" Kuroo asks, and the lady shrugs.

"There's only one hill in Jinsoku, man." She says, her gaze still trained on the menus like she was looking for something, not wanting to draw more attention to them. "Now, get lost."

Kuroo sighs through his nose on the way out, Akaashi checking the time on his Nokia.

11:28pm. They had time.

"Where the hell even is that place? It's probably a million miles away. We should have rented a damn bike." Kuroo is exasperated and a little frustrated considering there was also the threat of missing the race biting at their throats, the wind making the end of his jean jacket flutter.

"Let's ask someone." Akaashi says, pushing his glasses up his nose bridge. "We might be able to make it in time for bets. It's not midnight, yet."

Kuroo smiles at Akaashi, who begins walking in the direction of the hill instead of looking at him because he knew he'd see through him, able to know what he was thinking just by glancing at him.

"You're looking forward to this race, huh?"

Akaashi resists the urge to roll his eyes and tries to keep them open for anyone who looked both approachable and like they were going to a hill to see a street race, turning the corner and avoiding more drunk people, Kuroo right on his heels.

"Not at all, actually. If I'm being honest, I have no respect for any of these people. It better be worth it to skip on studying."

Kuroo nods, though Akaashi can't see it. "Of course it will be! We get to see Kenma race!"

"How exciting." Akaashi says, because he had no idea who this guy truly was and thinks it's ridiculous that Kuroo was going through this much effort just to witness an illegal activity.

Kuroo gets Akaashi's attention and points to a traffic sign, stuck on the sidewalk in front of a coffee shop.

He stands on his tippy toes to get a better look at it from where they were, people passing by and blocking the symbol. This might be the hint they needed, which was better, because Akaashi didn't have to talk to anyone after all.

It was a black infinity sign against a yellow background, an arrow pointing up, and another pointing down.

"What is this?" Akaashi asks, and Kuroo is looking at him with wide eyes.

"The fake traffic sign!"

"But how do we know which direction we go?"

Kuroo hums and taps his finger on his chin. "Well, home is behind us. It has to be behind the building or something."

Akaashi shrugs and follows Kuroo around the block, following the railing to a main street that leads out of the city. There is another infinity sign erratically nailed to the trunk of a tree, which made Kuroo excited and Akaashi feel sick, telling them they were going in the right direction.

Doing all of this work for a street race was not what Akaashi expected to ever be caught up in.

They step over a gate for the entrance into a dirt path in a small grid of trees, and the creepy feeling of being alone here is dismissed once they reach another road a few moments later.