capeandcowllogs | Will I ever see the whites of your eyes

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Will I ever see the whites of your eyes

WHO: Alastair and Kaiba with special guests Mokuba and Bakura
WHERE: a stretch of highway outside the City
WHEN: today!
WARNINGS: mouthy jerks
SUMMARY: Kaiba has challenged Alastair to a race against a D-Wheel street model. Let's see what happens.
FORMAT: place your bets on paragraph

Once they had stopped sniping at each other over compensation and reasons for accepting the challenge, Alastair had agreed to Kaiba's proposal and let him make the date and arrangements. After all, it was KaibaCorp's publicity stunt. He just had to show up with a full tank of gas and his riding gear. Having beaten Bruno's prototype already, Alastair was fairly confident in himself, though he still wasn't sure exactly who was going to be driving the finished D-Wheel.

He screeched to a halt at the starting point, which was very clearly marked out and well-attended by KaibaCorp employees, a camera crew, and a helicopter (currently landed in the median). How the CEO had managed to pay somebody off to close a stretch of highway for a few hours, Alastair didn't want to know, but an actual street test was much more fun than racing on a track anyway. He had decked himself out in his best gear, a real racing jacket instead of his trenchcoat and his gloves and boots. As he parked the bike in its place, he took off his helmet and shook out his red hair, grinning boldly. Win or lose, this was going to be fun, and look at all the publicity he was going to personally get. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

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Mokuba ran over, bored of talking to the film crew for the moment. There was nothing going on yet anyway.

"Alastair!" he called, grabbing hold of his arm and swinging to a stop. "You look awesome!"

Seto was preparing the last minute details for this shoot. The whole ordeal was fairly scaled down for him. He had bullied his way into getting a stretch of relatively unused highway blocked off. There were crews present to ensure the best footage possible. He could have hired professional racers, but Alastair's bike was already out there as having defeated a Dwheel previously, it could be compared by the naysayers who had nothing better to do than try to find faults and they would have to concede that it was the exact same variables as the loss. If it worked out correctly the bad publicity could be written off as a brilliant marketing ploy.

He was at one of the Vans filled with monitors of each camera set up along the track. With that and the helicopter they would get enough shots to last for commercials for awhile. The stretch of highway had some curves but the really difficult part was the hard U turn after a straight stretch. He had gotten both sides of the highway. The two directions were separated grass except for a paved medium at the start point and center point. He was able to spend less money on the highway, and he would be able to prove the superior maneuverability of the Dwheel with such a sharp U-turn.

He exited when he heard his brother's voice announce his opponent's arrival. He was less than thrilled to find Mokuba grabbing on to him. He still hadn't disillusioned Mokuba with the fact that he and Alastair were NOT friends. It made him happy. He stalked over them and stood behind Mokuba. "You're not too late," he said as greeting glancing at a nearby clock.

Bakura's bike arrived only moments later, only not at the same spot. Being he was not the one racing (and wanted no one to mistake him for the racer!) he parked his bike just outside the wall of Kaiba Corp employees and walked over, giving Mokuba a wave as soon as he spotted him.

Edited 2011-08-13 23:36 (UTC)

Alastair grinned at Mokuba. "Hey, short stuff. Thanks. Like the new jacket? I gotta be aerodynamic, right?"

Kaiba's jab at him was brushed off with another shake of his head. "Hey, we were coming from Brooklyn. And I had to stop for gas - didn't want to run out in the middle of the race. I'm all filled up and ready to go." He tilted his head arrogantly. "So who am I racing against? You hire some flashy celebrity circuit racer?"

Mokuba swung on Alastair a few times, then dropped away to stand at his brother's side, waving and grinning at Bakura.

"Niisama won't even tell me who the other racer is," he pouted. "He says he wants it to be a surprise."

Kaiba scoffed at Alastair's excuse. "We have supplies here. I'm not going to let you claim it wasn't fair."

He smirked at Mokuba's pout. "Those weren't the exact words." he corrected. He lifted his chin in a far more cocky attitude before responding to Alastair directly. "I'm not letting any other flunky damage my company's reputation. I'll be racing you."

Bakura blinked a few times. "You race, Kaiba-kun?"

Was there anything Kaiba DIDN'T do?

Alastair did more than just blink - he gaped, and then laughed. "What the shit - no way! Oh, man, this is gonna be great. I'm sure to win, now!"

He took another long moment just to stare, and then stepped closer. Even though Mokuba was right there between them, he smirked darkly. "You may have gotten the upper hand in most of our duels, but there's one thing I know better than you, and that's motorcycles. You've met your match, Kaiba. Let's do this."

Mokuba pushed Alastair away angrily. "Niisama can do anything!" he defended hotly.

He looked up at his brother uncertainly, though. Shouldn't something like this be left to a professional?

"Hmpf," Kaiba said to all of their doubts. The only one that was unexpected had been Mokuba's. They had been out riding before, of course Kaiba didn't go as fast as he would have liked to prevent Mokuba from doing the same on his bike, but that was besides the point. At least he was still outwardly defending him, even if he didn't actually think he could win.

"Do you trust that I haven't ridden the track yet?" Kaiba asked ignoring the trash talk. "Or do you want to give it a try, and take the advantage of knowing the course. I'm going to win either way." Okay, so he didn't ignore it very much.

Bakura was with Mokuba on this one. He put a hand on Mokuba's shoulder, trying to pull him back gently from getting in between the two... rivals? Enemies? Something in between?

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Alastair nodded once in acceptance. "You're a lot of things but you're not a cheater. Not that it matters whether you've ridden the course or not. You're on."

Only then did he glance down at Mokuba, and by extension Bakura as well. "Relax, kiddo, it's just a little friendly rivalry. You know your brother." Blaming it on Kaiba's ego was easiest, as it probably was slightly to blame for everything that came out of his mouth. Alastair gave another nod to Bakura as if to thank him for watching out for Mokuba.

Mokuba pouted slightly at the older boys, snuggling slightly back against Bakura.

After a moment, he shrugged away, moving to his brother to hold his hand in what he thought was a surreptitious manner.

Kaiba didn't bring attention to the movement, and accepted the gesture. "Hmpf," he said again. "You'll have to look at the map to keep it even."

The banter might have continued longer but there was a pointed cough from behind the Kaiba brothers. Part of the crew apparently wanted his employers attention. His means of getting it got that and an annoyed glare. "Um sir," he said rethinking his approach. "T..the crew is ready when you are."

Thank goodness for interruptions, even if Bakura felt very sorry for that crewman...

"Ne, Mokuba-kun, is there a spot for spectators?" Since Mokuba was likely to be one himself, of course he would know.

Alastair set his hands on his hips, the motorcycle's keys jingling in one hand. "All right, show me the map of the course and let's get this started."

Mokuba stepped forward.

"I have the map," he said, pulling it out. "I'm the judge, so I have to know all about the course."

Now, of course, he wondered about the choice of him for judge. If it was a close finish but Niisama won, people could use the fact that he was his brother against the company.

People could use the fact that he was 12 against them too. But he preferred not to think of it.

Kaiba wasn't concerned about Mokuba being the judge. He didn't intend for it to be a close finish. Besides there were enough cameras about to keep everyone honest.

"Spectators were not invited," Kaiba told Bakura with his usual grace. "If you can keep your hands to yourself you can watch the race with the camera crew."

Bakura bowed his head a little as he nodded. "Sorry... and thank you."

There was a bit more formality than normal, but Kaiba kinda was his boss in one respect and a very important connection for his other job...

Alastair wasn't going to let that slide, though. He confronted Kaiba, though with a quiet solemnity, no snark in his tone at all. "Hey. Leave him alone. I said he could come." His voice lowered secretively. "He's had a rough couple of weeks. Just let him be and take it out on me on the course instead."

Stepping back, he gladly took the map from Mokuba and studied it just long enough. "All right. I see what you're getting at here. Once around the full length of the course?" He handed the map back and gave both Mokuba and Bakura a little salute. "See you guys at the finish line."

"But we'll see Niisama first!" Mokuba answered cockily, grinning at Alastair. He smiled up at his brother, then reached out and snagged Bakura's hand, dragging him up to the judging booth.

Kaiba's smirk increased at Mokuba's comment. He would let that stand as the last insult in the pre-game banter. "Let them know we're ready," he ordered the crewman, who scurried off to obey.

Even if he hadn't told Alastair who he would be racing, it would have been obvious once the Dwheel came out. It was pure white, and sleek in it's design. He had considered having it shaped like a Blue Eyes White Dragon, but it was not the most aerodynamic design. He had accepted that for his jet, but after pushing the design team to increase the speed it would have been counter-intuitive to say the least. The blue covers over the headlights worked with the natural design to give the proper likeness.

Unlike with in duel with Yuugi, he put a helmet on after mounting the bike. He gestured at the crew to tell them to signal the start of the race at any time.

"Good luck, Oniichan!" Bakura waved before following Mokuba's tug.

"Heh, thanks!" Alastair said to his own little brother before turning and heading back to where his bike was parked. Likewise, he slid his black helmet back on and adjusted his sunglasses before dropping the visor and starting the engine. He rolled up alongside the D-Wheel at the starting line and glanced aside to give it a good look. It was definitely a marvel of modern technology. Bruno did a good job.

He revved the Ducati's engine a couple of times, grinning brashly through the helmet at his opponent. He was as eager to see whether Kaiba knew how to handle that bike as he was to see how the machine itself handled. He was ready to rock.

Mokuba waved to both of the riders, pointing out to Bakura everything they could see from the judge's stand.

At a nod from the film crew, he whistled the start.

At the signal, Kaiba opened the throttle and shot down the highway. He had driven down the course with the camera crew but had not ridden it to keep everything fair. The Dwheel had all of the modifications that Kaiba had requested. Since it's loss to the Ducati he had demanded that it be able to meet or exceed those speeds on straight stretches of road. It's real advantage was the maneuverability, which he demonstrated on the first curve easily pulling ahead.

Alastair was off at the signal as well, gunning the engine along the straightaway. The curves required a little more care, as he was most certainly not driving an actual racing model and didn't want to lay out his precious 1198S. Letting the D-Wheel edge ahead on curves wasn't a concern to him, he had other open stretches on which to make up ground. And so he did - every time his opponent took a curve tighter than he could, he caught up quickly on the next straight stretch.

He'd never really opened up and pushed his bike to its full speed. Watching the needle tick past 150 mph was a thrill like no other, and there was still more to go if he wanted to actually beat that D-Wheel. Alastair was wary of the mid-course U-turn, but they had a little ways to go before they reached it. In the meantime he kept up, and did his best to focus on his own driving rather than Kaiba's. Distractions could be fatal.

Mokuba bounced with excitement to watch the race. He wanted to shout encouragement to his brother, but as the judge he knew he couldn't be seen being partial.

And really, watching Alastair was just as amazing.

He grabbed Bakura's hand, squeezing it and squealing.

Their speeds were equal, for now. Kaiba pulled ahead easily at each turn. It could go faster, but he was saving that for the last stretch. It probably wouldn’t even be necessary after the next turn.

His smirk was hidden by his helmet as he rolled the throttled and twisted to take the U-turn. A professional racer may have slowed down more for it, as it would have been smarter. Kaiba’s pride wouldn’t allow that even as he leaned into the turn. A bike any less maneuverable would have laid-out, but not the Dwheel. The bike leaned to the left and came out on the other side of the highway. The straight stretch was all that was left of this exercise.

Alastair definitely had to slow down just a bit in order to take that sharp turn. It wasn't necessarily about protecting his pretty Ducati but staying upright and alive. He leaned hard into the turn, his hand twitching on the brake - he wanted to let up, to give it more speed, but he couldn't. Not without completely laying the bike down. The tires squealed as he barely braked in time. His knee almost scraped the pavement as he made the turn, but the D-Wheel had already pulled well ahead of him going into the turn and now...now it was just out there.

Hunching lower behind the windscreen, Alastair hit the gas. He wasn't going to let that be the end of him. The Ducati still had a lot of power and speed. The needle ticked against the end of the speedometer gauge as he pushed it to its top speed, nearly 180 miles per hour. And still the D-Wheel was ahead. But he was gaining. Every little bit he gained ground.

Kaiba was only moderately aware of his opponent as he raced towards the end. He hadn't heard the bike hit the ground, and he didn't see Alastair in front of him, so that meant he had to be trailing. Unlike a duel where he would have to anticipate his opponent's move, there was only one that Alastair could use right now; increase speed or lose by even more.

Countering that was easy and would show off the D-wheel even more. He increased his own speed as well. It was close by the time he went past the finish line, the Ducati hadn't earned it's reputation for nothing, but the extra space between them from the turns though proved to be its undoing. They had left a long stretch to slow down before hitting any the of the crews or equipment. He pulled in there slowly and stopped his bike waiting for Alastair to catch up, so smug it was palpable even through the helmet.

Too short! The straightaway course was just too short for Alastair to pass up the D-Wheel. Oh, he got close, all right, less than a wheel-length separating the D-Wheel's back end from his front tire. It wasn't enough, though.

He slacked off his speed and used the long cooldown stretch to brake and bring his Ducati to a nice, safe stop not too far from his opponent. He took a moment to quietly compose himself and sigh before taking off his helmet and shaking out his hair. He left the sunglasses on, though. He said nothing, not wanting to give Kaiba the opportunity to crow.

"Yes!" Mokuba crowed on seeing his brother win. He leaped from the judge's booth as soon as he was able, racing in the direction of the finish.

He slowed as he passed Alastair, biting his lip as he stopped.

"You were awesome too," he offered as consolation.

Bakura followed at a more reserved pace, trying to judge Alastair's mental state at the loss and not be in the way when Kaiba started boasting. He'd wait until Mokuba was done before saying anything.

With the smirk on Kaiba's face when he took of his helmet you would have thought he'd just bankrupted Starktech. The Dwheel met all of his specifications, and now he could let the world know it. The crew mirrored Mokuba's enthusiasm. Many had been very skeptical of the Dwheel before the race and were expecting to do some major editing. Of course, now they could easily say that they knew it would win all along.

Of course they weren't quite done filming yet, and Kaiba had a promise to keep. "Make sure to get a good shot of the loser's face," Kaiba instructed the crew before turning to mockingly face Alastair. "You better take off your glasses if you want any recognition."

Alastair's lips twisted into a snarl. "Shut up! I know what I said but you don't have to be an asshole about it."

He set the helmet on his knee for the moment and leaned on it. "I don't care. You can take all the credit you want but I know the truth. You were just the driver today, but the guy who actually built that bike was Bruno. Ride on his coattails all you want, I'm fine losing out to his hard work. Besides." He tossed his head arrogantly. "Mine's just a street model. You beat a street bike, big deal."

He wasn't justifying his loss, exactly. His only regret was that he'd have to admit his loss to Kiryu later, and confess to the D-Wheel's superiority.

Mokuba bristled like an angry kitten.

"If that's it, then Niisama just beat the person who made your bike and you had nothing to do with it!"

He totally retracted his previous statement that Alastair had been awesome. He was insulting Niisama, and that wasn't to be had.

"Mokuba-kun..." Bakura gently reached out to put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

[[Side of the frame: "Remember how your bother took his loss to Yuugi-kun so badly that he built-- no wait, you're from the anime-- How about the time when he threatened to kill himself in order to-- no, you were in a card then-- aaa-- when he-- no, you're from before then... *puzzled face of lacking ability to explain*]]

'Riding on his coattails?' The phrase echoed in Kaiba's mind, sent him into a boiling fury. This was the first hologram technology he was selling that he hadn't built and designed entirely himself. A fact of which he was painfully aware throughout the entire process. He did everything by himself, he didn't do anything as a team and this was why. Because your successes would never be your own. That insult dug deeper than he would ever want to admit.

Mokuba's outburst was what kept him back from physically attacking. He didn't lose himself like that in front of his brother. Instead he pointed Alastair and shouted. "You defeated a Dwheel prototype. That means either you've lost any and all talent or you were facing a superior vehicle and superior rider! There's no point in advertising how much of a failure you are since everyone already knows!"

Alastair recoiled briefly, and then angrily jammed his helmet back onto his head. "Come on, Bakura," he snarled, his voice muffled even though the visor was up. "Get on your bike and let's go home."

That was the lowest of blows. Only by retreating could Alastair maintain any shred of composure and not completely ruin things in front of Mokuba. He didn't care about the elder Kaiba, but he still wanted to stay on the younger one's good side. He didn't even wait for anyone else to say anything and started up the bike, letting the engine purr.

Mokuba shrugged away from Bakura to stand defensively at his brother's side, glaring at Alastair. The thought entered his head that no, Alastair wasn't so much a loser since he had been really awesome and Niisama had just out-awesomed him. But he had also insulted Niisama and that wasn't to be had.

How could he treat a friend that way?

[How could Niisama respond like that to a friend?

Hmm. Must get more information on this at another time.]

He looked over to see what Bakura would do, still angry but trusting the older boy enough to believe that whatever he did next would be the right thing. [No pressure or anything, Bakura.]

Really, Bakura should have expected this. Separating the pair of them when they had started bickering seemed to be the only thing that helped, so at the suggestion he nodded, giving Mokuba an apologetic look. "I'll talk to you later, okay, Mokuba-kun?" he half assured, half asked before turning to head for where his bike was parked.

Bakura was leaving, so leaving was obviously the right thing to do. He nodded and waved a little, then slipped his hand into his brother's.

"Do we have to talk to anyone, or can we go too?"

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Will I ever see the whites of your eyes

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And from here Bakura can probally bow out until post race.

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How does I motorcycle?

Same way I does

Thought it could just be you guys until after the race?

That was the plan until work ate me orz

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I fail at timeliness I'm sorry

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