Fire meet gasoline

It's one thing to be a newbie, and a stupid one to boot, but being an arrogant son of a bitch going against one very notorious gang leader is another story completely.

"Easy, Yamada," Takaki admonishes, with a calm tone that makes Yamada want to punch him too.

"You are going to stand up for him?" Yamada's voice breaks with anger and this, at last, seems to get the attention of the previously impervious Nakajima.

"Sorry, I missed the part where this is any if your business?" He snaps, defiance dripping from his words.

Chinen all but whistles and Takaki sighs, while Yamada just stands there, too busy trying to breathe past all of his indignation. Nakajima has the decency to look almost confused.

"Yamada is my head mechanic," Takaki explains. "We spent years tuning that car, rebuilt it almost from scratch. It was his most dear project... his..."

"Masterpiece," Chinen supplies, helpfully, when Takaki seems at loss for the right word.

Yamada doesn't even look in Nakajima's direction as he strolls past him into the street. He needs some air.

Chinen rushes to his side, a reassuring hand over Yamada's shoulder.

"Don't worry,Ryosuke. That guy is basically Yuyan's bitch now," Chinen whispers.

"Just make sure he doesn't leave the country," Yamada retorts as he walks away.

But that's not what bugs Yamada. Nakajima could get lost in the ether and he wouldn't give a damn about him not being punished for trashing their precious car at all. He would actually prefer it that way.

He knows how Takaki's mind works and he knows what he was thinking when he handed the keys of the FTO to some tourist racer-wannabe.

And Takaki's betrayal stings like poison.

***

"You don't need a driver," Yamada says, trying hard to unclench his fists, to relax.

Takaki smiles, that lazy, almost childish smile that once was able to melt Yamada's insides like butter. But he isn't that guy anymore, as much as Takaki isn't who he was back then, either.

"He needs to learn. Just the basics, and then he's on his own. He has potential, you know?" Takaki drawls, and Yamada tries to guess how Nakajima could have won Takaki Yuya over so little time.

"Potential?" Yamada retorts, his face twisted in a sarcastic grin. "Potential to do what? Trash every car we manage to put together?"

Takaki chuckles. "Well... there's that," he sighs. "He has to learn to drift. He owes me a car, has to race to get me one."

"Can't his daddy pay for his mess?"

"We all have our ghosts, Yamada." Takaki reaches for his pocket, where he usually keeps his cigarettes, but Yamada's pointed look stops him. He sighs, dropping both of his arms in defeat. "There's a reason why he is working three part time jobs, you know?"

"You said making him your errand boy was punishment enough!"

"And I ran out of errands to run!" Takaki says, and he can try and play the clueless-and-silly card all he wants, but Yamada isn't buying it today and he makes sure his face shows it. "Look, there's only so many people who owes me money or favors and I already hassled all of them. Nakajima did his time as my messenger boy, I have no use for him now."

"So you're going to train him to take over what was supposed to be my place!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, you're my head mechanic, he isn't going to take that away..."