"Hey! That's awesome, Chibi-Kichi!" Kokichi exclaimed, ruffling Kiki's hair. "You were inspired by yesterday's race, huh?"
"Uh-huh!" Kiki replied, jumping up and down. "You were so awesome, Kokichi! The way you drove backwards that one time! Ooo! Ooo! And all those times when you swerved around the curves! You didn't swerve around them, you were practically gliding around them! That was so swicked!" She sighed dreamily and dropped to the floor, laying down on her back. "That was super swicked!"
"Hey, what about me?" Kaito said. "I was in that race, too, y'know!" Kiki sat up and stared at him for a few seconds. Then, she turned to Kokichi.
"So, what is it called when you did that gliding thingy around the curves?" she asked, ignoring Kaito.
"That's called 'drifting!'" Kokichi replied.
"Could you teach me to do that?" Kiki asked hopefully.
"Well, in order to do that, Chibi-Kichi, you gotta learn how to drive first," Kokichi pointed out. Kiki stood up excitedly.
"Well, could you teach me how to drive, then?" she asked, tugging at his sleeve. "Please, Kokichi? Please? Oh, please, please, pleeaaaase?"
"No way!" Kaito exclaimed. "If Kokichi isn't allowed to drive, you definitely aren't!"
"But he did drive," Kiki countered. "Why can't I?"
"Um..." Kokichi began. Then he sighed deeply. "I hate to agree with Kaito, Kiki, but...he's right." Kiki's shoulders slumped, and she hung her head sadly. Kokichi knelt down to her level and gave her a soft smile as he lifted her chin with his finger. "But, I can at least show you how to drive." Kiki brightened a little.
"How're you going to show her that?" Kaito asked, raising a brow.
"I'll just show her the basics," Kokichi replied. "Let's go, Chibi-Kichi." He held his hand out expectantly to Kaito. Kaito shoved his hand away.
"Don't even think about using my car, Kokichi!" Kaito said.
"Well, who else's car am I gonna use?" Kokichi said. "Besides, I'm not even gonna drive it!" Kaito sighed and relinquished his car keys to Kokichi. "Thaaank...you!" Kokichi said with a cheeky grin. "Let's go, li'l lady!" He held Kiki's hand and led her outside to Kaito's car. Kaito followed behind. Kokichi unlocked Kaito's car and opened the door to the driver side. He hoisted Kiki into the seat. She moved to the passenger side so Kokichi could sit in the driver side. Kaito rested his arm on the roof as he watched.
"O-kay, Chibi-Kichi, first, I'll show you how to start the car," Kokichi said. Kiki paid close attention as Kokichi inserted the key into the ignition and turned. The engine came to life. Kiki smiled and nodded at Kokichi, who smiled in return. "Okay, what you wanna do next is adjust the seat to the position that makes you the most comfortable." He showed her a set of buttons on the side of the seat next to the door. He fiddled with it until the seat lifted him to a comfortable position where Kokichi could easily see through the windshield. He also showed her how to lower the steering wheel, and to adjust the pedals, and the rearview and sideview mirrors. On the dashboard, he taught her about the speedometer and the fuel gauge.
"Hey, don't forget the seatbelt!" Kaito reminded Kokichi.
"Aaaand don't forget the seatbelt," Kokichi said to Kiki.
"Got it!" Kiki said. "Adjust the seats, the pedals, the wheel, and the mirrors, and then put the seatbelt on!" Kokichi grinned proudly at her.
"Good job!" he said, ruffling her hair. "Now, let's look at the pedals down here." He pointed to the pedals underneath his feet and explained to her the functions of the gas and brake pedals. Although Kaito's car lacked a clutch brake, Kokichi explained to Kiki the function of the clutch in a manual car. He then explained to her about the car's controls, and to press the brake pedal each time when starting the car and before shifting the gear stick.
"Here, I'll press down on the brake, and shift into reverse," Kokichi said, and did just that. Kaito leaned away from the car, and Kokichi slightly lifted his foot off the brake and slowly reversed off of the driveway. "Now, to go forward again, press the brake, and shift into drive," he explained to Kiki. Kokichi pressed the brake again and moved the stick onto the "D." Then, he gently pressed his foot on the gas, and moved forward into the driveway again. "And to park, what do you think we do next?"
"Hmm...put your foot on the brake, then move the stick to the 'P?'" Kiki guessed. Kokichi smiled at her and did just that. The car came to a complete stop.
"There you go!" he said with a wink. Kiki grinned triumphantly. Even Kaito was impressed. Kokichi then proceeded to show her how to use the blinkers and when to use them, when to use her hazards, where to place her hands on the steering wheel when driving, and he even expanded to the rules of the road. Kiki listened with intense fascination and enthusiasm. Finally, Kokichi's lesson had ended.
"So...you got everything, Chibi-Kichi?" Kokichi asked.
"Yeah!" Kiki cried. "This is cool!" She looked hopefully at Kokichi. "C-Can I try driving in and out of the driveway? I just wanna know what it's like! Please?" Kokichi raised his eyebrows and grinned.
"Yeah! I'm cool with it, but..." he turned to Kaito. Kaito couldn't help the grin on his face.
"Y'know, it's awesome seein' Chibi-Kichi wanting to learn how to drive, so...I'm kinda cool with it, too, actually!" he replied. Kokichi and Kiki looked at him in surprise.
"Wow! I didn't see that coming," Kokichi admitted. "Alrighty, then! It's all you, Chibi-Kichi!" He stepped out of the driver side, and Kiki eagerly rushed over to take his place. "Remember what you need to do first!"
"Right! Right..." Kiki said. "Okay, first, I have to adjust my seat." Kiki raised her seat to the highest position so that she could see through the windshield. She adjusted the pedals so that they could reach her feet. She then adjusted the steering wheel so that it was level with her. Finally, she adjusted the rearview and sideview mirrors before sitting back down and strapping her seatbelt on. She looked at Kokichi and Kaito, who grinned proudly at her, giving her nods of approval and thumbs-up. Kiki giggled happily and took a deep breath.
"Remember what to do next?" Kaito asked.
"I think so," Kiki replied. She pressed her foot down on the brake pedal before shifting into reverse.
"Nice!" Kokichi said. "Now, ever so gently, lift your foot off of the brake, and back out slowly. Remember, use the brake again when you need to stop." Kiki nodded. Ever so slightly, she lifted her foot off of the brake. Kaito's car slowly backed out of the driveway. Kokichi and Kaito watched intently.
"Okay, now bring it back up here!" Kaito called to her. He and Kokichi expected Kiki to stop the car and move forward again. However, what they didn't expect was for Kiki to grin mischievously at them and turn the car away from the driveway, and towards the road.
"Tee-heehee...no way! I'll see you guys later!" she called back to them and drove off.