deciphered

slow-kyo drifting IV

Oikawa looked out to his left, noticing the dim lights of the nearby harbors and shipping container wharfs out in the distance as the salty and putrid smell of the seaweed from the Pacific Ocean infiltrated his nose. He coughed slightly, placing his hand on the side door and pressing the control buttons to roll up the windows. Sitting up in his seat, he grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted it above his nose while simultaneously pointing to a small island in the distance.

"Exit here," Oikawa muffled through his shirt before taking in a large inhale of his own musk. "It fucking stinks, that means we're getting close."

You scowled at the smell and placed your left hand over your nose and mouth, stabilizing the wheel only with your right hand as you slowly descended down a ramp. Gradually turning the wheel right, the car maneuvered through another curved bridge with red arrows on the sides of the ramp pointing in the direction down to the Daikoku Futo parking area. You looked up slightly, the bright white concrete of the taller expressway bridges all connecting in different directions as it winded through a large and open parking lot to your left.

The wharf was anything but small, to your assumption. On a map, it'd look like any man-made pier on the edge of a large city, but up close it was much larger than you'd ever expect. As you descended down the ramp, the large open and empty parking lot reached out a far distance—the parking spaces aligned straight in a line while the Tokyo skyline rested in the background.

"Wow, I'm surprised no one's here. It's usually packed with little spontaneous car meets every Friday night." Oikawa leaned forward on the dashboard and looked up at the tall highway bridges, not a car in sight in any direction.

All of the surrounding buildings had dim lights, meaning the restaurants and shops were closed for the night. Pointing in front of the dashboard, Oikawa guided you to drive out into the middle of the parking lot.

"Park the car, but don't turn off the engine." Oikawa instructed as you pressed down on the clutch and shifted into first gear, pulling up the emergency brake. The car continued to rumble as he turned to face you, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Are you ready to drift?" His eyelids drooped down, a mischievous grin at the corner of his mouth.

You nodded your head with the same smirk on your lips. "Ready."

Oikawa wasted no time as he unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the car, running straight towards the line of small shops in the far corner of the parking lot. He stole one of the outdoor standing restaurant signs and placed it a couple of feet away from your car, counting the steps he spaced out on the area around it. Looking up in your direction, he motioned his arms for you to drive forward.

"First step to drifting—you're gonna start by doing donuts."

Oikawa placed his right hand in his pocket and pulled out his vape and rested it between his lips, taking a large hit before exhaling an opaque cloud of vapor up in the air. He placed his left hand on top of the outdoor shop sign, wisps of leftover vapor coming out through his teeth as he spoke again.

"You've seen me do it a thousand times. I want you to drive into the turn around this sign, rev the car to about four-thousand RPM and let the clutch out as you turn the wheel rapidly. Can you do that?"

You stared blankly at him, resting both of your hands on top of the wheel as you didn't respond. Hesitantly, you gave him a thumbs up, letting out a large exhale as looked down at the gearshift. Trying to comprehend everything he said, you placed your left hand on the emergency brake—simultaneously pressing on the clutch as you released it down, slowly moving the car in place.

You went over the steps again in your mind, driving up the Mazda MX-5 to the turn. The minute you saw the shop sign in the corner of your eye, you yanked the steering wheel to the left while at the same time releasing the clutch and stepping down the accelerator. The rear tires squealed against the asphalt, the back of the car whipping around the turn. You let the car spin out, a scream erupting from your mouth as you held on tightly to the wheel.