Prior to this, Arata thought that she was doing quite well. For a first-timer, she has kept them in the lead for a long period and avoided the obstacles coming their way without much difficulty. But, the moment both I-Kart 5 and I-Kart 1 dash past their I-Kart, her stomach lurches and doubt begins to form in her mind.
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"Remember, Ara." Shoto's helm muffled his voice, so he turned up his volume a bit. "Just stay in front of them, and I will handle the rest."
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To be fair, there is nothing she can do to compete with I-Kart 1 and I-Kart 5 on the same speed level. I-Kart 8 has reached its limits, and she can't forcefully make it surpass them like what Dace's Overclock has done. Or propel it forward like what Bakugou is doing.
"Ara."
Yet, she feels like she was supposed to do something to prevent it. Maybe, she should've rammed their kart to I-Kart 1 to force Kirishima and Bakugou out of the competition. Maybe, she should've paid attention to I-Kart 5's reappearance, getting close enough so Shoto could freeze Dace and his mother. Anything to defend their first place.
"Ara!"
Her only job is to stay ahead of other I-Karts, and now she has ruined it. Clutching the steering wheel in her hands, she chews the inside of her cheeks. Can we even recover from this? We don't have the speed needed to take them on—
"Ara, look out!"
Arata barely registers a hard object flying towards her head and dodges just in time. The tires whine against the asphalt and their kart veers dangerously. It takes her a short while before I-Kart 8 manages to get back on their pace.
A howl of laughter urges her to direct her green eyes to the yellow I-Kart. Bakugou's helmet is nowhere to be seen, on his face is a sadistic smirk. "Nearly shit your pants, Extra?"
Did he just use his explosion to catapult his helmet at me?
Just as her mind is going to take a dive into her thoughts again, a hand clasps her shoulder, so firm that it stings a bit. "Pull yourself together, Ara! Focus on the race!" she can hear a hint of worry and exasperation mixing into one in Shoto's voice. "It's hard for me to protect you from this position."
"I'm sorry, Shoto-san!"
"Did you hear what the announcer said earlier?"
"... No... What is it?"
"Pay better attention next time. Look ahead."
A looming triangular shape takes form in front of them. Her eyes follow the race track, it stretches out from their current position to its base and continues until it reaches its apex. "Is that... a pyramid? Are we supposed to climb it using our I-Karts?"
"A miniature of one, and yes. The track goes uphill from the side we're facing, and there is another track to come down on the opposite side. The pyramid's height is approximately 25 meters."
Startled, a frown creases Arata's forehead. "That's... brutal. How do they think the racers are going to pull it off? The slope angle is more or less 50 degrees. It's too steep even for I-Karts!"
"That's why there's another track which branches off right before it leads up to the pyramid." Shoto points over her shoulder, their helmets nearly bump to each other. "The announcer said that track is far longer than the pyramid's one, but it is not elevated. It also has an obstacle of its own. But that's none of our concern. Let's take the pyramid route."
Arata's gaze lands on I-Kart 1 and I-Kart 5, which are slowly crawling up the track on the pyramid. I-Kart 5's engine is revving louder and louder, straining to maintain its position near the base of the slope. A few meters higher than Dace and his mother, Bakugou is continuously emitting explosions to ascend little by little.
"Um, but what about the slope, Shoto-san? See, even I-Kart 1 and I-Kart 5 are having a hard time ahead of us."
"Because they have nothing physical to support and push themselves from the ground up."
"And you think we have it?" It takes Arata another second to realize what he means. "Oh."
Curling the corners of his lips upward, Shoto extends his right hand to the rear of their kart. A familiar rush of coldness creeps up a half of his body, nibbling his flesh with chills. "That's what ice is for, isn't it?"
Ice bursts out from his palm, and together with Arata's foot over the gas pedal, it thrusts I-Kart 8 up the pyramid's side. Within a short while, they manage to close the distance with the other racers. The feat is immediately welcomed with an explosion from Bakugou.
"Shit! Eat this!"
Not one to get caught off-guard for the second time, Arata swerves their I-Kart to the left, avoiding his line of attack. Bakugou tries to blast them off again, but quickly decides otherwise when his own I-Kart rolls backwards, lacking the force to hold on.
"Fuck you, Half-and-Half Bastard! Just watch! I will kill you, losers!"
Perhaps, it is a great thing that his voice is getting smaller and smaller as we are climbing even further up, Arata thinks as they are nearing the apex. Or else, my ears will—
"I-Kart 5 has returned to the ground and chosen the other route instead," Shoto reports, his body turned and his right hand still discharging ice. "It seems they gave up climbing the pyramid."
"I sure hope the obstacles can stop them!"
"ORA! ORA! ORAORAORA!!" All of a sudden, a masculine yell pierces the atmosphere. It is soon followed by repeated sounds of dull smacks, like hard rocks colliding together. Each of it comes quicker and louder than the previous.
"What is that?" Arata steals a minute glance at I-Kart 1. Her jaw hangs open when she sees Kirishima sticking out his hardened hands from the cockpit. He is helping Bakugou to prop I-Kart 1 up by scaling the sandstones using bare hands and pulling the yellow I-Kart. "Rock climbing? Is Kirishima-kun... for real?"
"Eyes on the track, Ara! We're passing the apex!"
"I— I didn't realize we're this high!"
Arata widens her eyes in surprise, gazing at the view of the stadium from the apex of the pyramid. There is a moment when their I-Kart's wheels are free from the track, taking off into the evening sky. Afterwards, it roughly slams back to the track and slides down to the level of the rest of the track.
"Finally," Shoto breathes out and slumps back to the co-driver seat. Telltale signs of exhaustion are starting to sink in.
"Are you all right?" Arata asks, concern audible in her voice.
"Just give me a second. Don't let your guard down, Ara. They can catch up to us anytime."
When I-Kart 1 pops up in her peripheral vision—closely followed by I-Kart 5, Arata half-groans, "You're jinxing us, Shoto-san. Look, they're catching up."
"Nonsense. I'm sure you also could tell they're that close by the I-Karts' sounds."
"As we're approaching the finish line, the competition is getting tighter and tighter!" the announcer chimes. "They've all shown that not even a pyramid or a surprise sphinx can hold them back! Let's all wait and see who will be crowned as the winners after they beat, not one, but three hairpin turns! Right, left, right!"
Unlike other turns they have passed previously, hairpin corners are much sharper. Arata is forced to drop a lot of their speed in order to navigate the 180-degree turn. And even so, there is a fleeting fear in the back of her mind that their I-Kart will flip over if she so much as does something wrong.
Fortunately, despite her far-from-perfect turn, that does not happen during their first hairpin. That was so tough! Do I really have to do it twice more? She bites her lower lip and speeds I-Kart 8 up, intending to widen the distance during the straight course.
But, of course, just because it is difficult for her, does not mean it is also difficult for the other racers.
"Oohh! True to his career as a pro racer, Dace and I-Kart 5 are gliding very smoothly! Look at that beautiful turn! Skills and talent don't lie, people. Meanwhile, hot on their tail, I-Kart 1 is going into the hairpin without decreasing his speed at all. Instead of cornering like other racers, the co-driver is using his explosion to change the direction of his I-Kart without any pause!"
Compared to them, we're losing too much speed. At this rate, they're going to overtake us. "Shoto-san, they're getting close!"
"Let them. I'll hold them off."
Even when Shoto has tried to build ice barriers to hinder them, it takes no time for I-Kart 1 and I-Kart 5 to catch up. The second hairpin, the three of them are entering at the same time. By the time Arata and Shoto manage to exit the turn, their competitors are already far in the front. Bakugou's "bye-bye losers!" is ringing clearly in her ears.
"Damn it!" Shoto curses under his breath, fisting his knuckles.
There is no denying it anymore. Arata doesn't need to go through the third hairpin to know that I-Kart 1 and I-Kart 5 are undefeatable in these sharp corners. She is sure that Shoto realizes it too. It is almost a given that they will end up in the third place.
"Hey, Shoto-san," Arata mutters as their I-Kart bolts forward on the straight course, its machine rumbling. "Do you really want to win this race?"
His reply arrives without missing a beat, "Of course. Why?"
Honestly, Arata couldn't care less about winning I-Speed or not. The only reason her being here is because Shoto decided to involve her. Her, who has barely done anything other than driving in this race while other competitors are giving it their all.
I might be okay with finishing last, but will he be fine with it?
She knows that deep down, he has a competitive streak. Like the games they used to play, winning I-Speed won't prove anything in the long run, but he still does his best. Either he's competitive or he's earnest, she doesn't know. Probably a little bit of both.
But, seeing him so steadfast kindles something inside her too. Something that had never been set ablaze, because she used to pull through day by day without nothing other than bleak resignation. It tells her that: yes, now she can want to do something, to make a difference, to hope.
"Actually, Shoto-san, I have an idea." Arata carefully watches as I-Kart 1 and I-Kart 5 prepare themselves to enter the last hairpin. "It might... get messy, though."
An idea, this close to the end of the competition? Shoto raises his eyebrows. "Well, I'm game if you are. It may be our only shot at this point. What is it?"