reference photo bc the description of the race is lowkey confusing. just imagine big ass walls like the maze runner or some shit.

start when you see the **

1. Take a Slice by Glass Animals

2. Always Forever by Cults

3. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High

4. ARE WE STILL FRIENDS? by Tyler the Creator

5. Come As You Are by Nirvana

Warning for drug use

__________

Itadori, Nobara, Shoko, Gojo, and Maki all stood around you as you lay under the opened hood of Maki's car, tweaking it. All of you stood in an old run-down parking garage next to a factory where the race would take place. Rain pattered against the concrete ceiling, running down to the bottom floor where they stood and flooding it. The wheels of the platform underneath you splashed a bit of water on you as you slid out from under the car, grabbing a screwdriver from Itadori. They all looked at you with concerned eyes as you finally came out, standing up with oil all over your hands and shirt.

"How's it going?" Gojo asked, walking over to you.

"Good," you sighed, taking a towel from over your shoulder before wiping your hands off on it.

"Good, because the race starts in an hour and I need Maki to be on her best game today, car and all," the white-haired man added.

"She's got it," Maki said, walking around to the hood of the car. "My tires are fresh to drive in the rain, I'm good to go."

"Are you sure it's safe to drive in conditions like this?" you asked, peeling your dirty work shirt off. Nobara handed you your jacket she had been holding, helping you put it on over your white cropped shirt.

"No, it's not," Maki laughed. "But I'll be fine."

You gave her a questioning look, glancing over at Nobara. She didn't look concerned, so you let it go.

A half-hour later, you closed the hood of the car in tandem with a large crack of thunder, the sky outside the garage illuminating with white lightning.

"All good," You said, patting the metal hood.

"Thank you," Maki said, walking over to get in. She turned the key to the ignition, and it started, eliciting small cheers from everyone, since the problem she was having had been eradicated. You got in the passenger seat with her, rolling the window down and sticking your head out.

"See y'all in a few," you said, waving as Maki drove off. The silence in the car was replaced by the sound of rain hitting the metal roof as she drove out into the street, taking a turn towards the factory.

"Just, be careful, okay?" you said, rolling your window up and placing your hand on top of hers where it rested on the gearshift. It was the same samurai sword handle from seven months ago, as pristine as ever.

"Of course," she said with a quick glance over to you. The rest of the team made their way to the top of the garage, where there was a good view of the abandoned factory below. An overhang shielded them from the rain as they looked down into the eroded concrete, the factory only having walls and a quarter-ceiling left. It was like looking into a grid, thirteen large square rooms with only one way in and one way out of each. Twelve of them were arranged like a 4x3 rectangle with the thirteenth jutting out as the exit. Each room was large enough to drive in, but small enough that it would take skill to get through each. The last few by the finish line were covered by the small piece of roof left, meaning no one could see the winner until they drove out of the building.

**

Maki pulled up outside the building, clicking her lights on so she could see through the rain and where the walls were. None of the racers knew the correct path through the mill, so the winner would have to be fast enough to finish first, but not to run face-first into a wall. You had put a lot of trust in Maki riding with her, but that was what your relationship had grown into.

Another car pulled up next to you with a blue-haired man, Mahito. On your right side was a girl with blue hair, Miwa. She rolled her window down, leaning over as if she wanted to say something. You reluctantly did the same, giving her a blank expression.

"She says she's sorry," she yelled through the storm. And with that she turned away, focusing back on the race. The final racer to join was Momo, who was by far Maki's hardest opponent since Mai was arrested. She was always plotting something, always had something up her sleeve.

A large crowd had gathered for the night, it being the race with the largest bets, which meant largest earnings. They cheered as all four cars started their engines, making the red lights on the back of the cars light up through the dark rain.

"Hey," Maki said, looking over at you in your nervousness as the starting hand was raised. "I love you."

She pressed on the gas as the arm dropped, speeding into the first room. They were giant, the walls feeling a bit trapping as they towered over you. Maki's eyes found the split in the first wall, following the already leading Mahito through it. Miwa followed behind Maki as they entered the next room. It was a straight shot forward, giving Maki an opportunity to catch up to Mahito before they had to drift around the next turn. The walls made the turns blind, and evidently made it much harder for the driver to decipher which way they needed to go.

Maki took a sharp right, drifting on the inside corner past Mahito who had made a wider turn on the outside. Maki was quite silent as she drove, giving all her focus to what was in front of her. She kept turning through the room as he found the next exit was on the right, making an entire half-circle of tread marks on the wet concrete. The rain made it much easier to drift, but also harder to control the cars.

4 rooms down, 9 to go.

The next three were a mirror of the turns Maki had just made, but to the left. She only recognized what she saw in front of her, not what you knew was coming by the layout of the building.

"180 left again," you said, gesturing ahead of you.

Maki didn't even question your judgment, trusting you and making the right turn. Her lack of hesitancy put her ahead of the others who were still deciding, except for Miwa. The both of you slowly realized she was just following Maki, mimicking her movements and turns.

Another straight shot appeared in front of you, giving Maki an opportunity. As she approached the end of it, she swerved her car to the left for a moment, making Miwa do the same as she was behind and still couldn't see whether she needed to go left, or right. The car jerked back to the right as Maki changed the direction of the car, making you fall against the door as the sound of tires skidding echoed. Your hand pressed against the window as the car steadied, looking at the side view mirror. Miwa had disappeared, slamming on the brakes and having to turn around as she realized she went the wrong way.

Maki shifted her car into the highest gear as she approached the last turn, driving straight through another room before making a left into the last one. The rain stopped as the ceiling shielded you, blurred lines of debris and wires hanging from it as you looked up.

The rain returned as Maki drove out of the building, finishing the race first.

She took a deep breath, leaning her head back against the seat and taking a long blink. "Longest two minutes of my fucking life," Maki sighed with a small chuckle.

"You're the one who told me you don't lose," you replied, picking up her hand and intertwining your fingers with hers.

"Yeah, I'm lucky I have you to help me," she smiled.

"Hey!" Gojo yelled, banging on Maki's window. He looked as amused, as usual, holding a polka-dotted umbrella that was much too cute for his looks, but perfect for his demeanor. Maki rolled the window down, a small gust of droplet-filled air entering the car as Gojo handed her her earnings. "Good job today."

"Thank you," she replied before rolling the window back up. She counted through the stack of bills before depositing them in her pocket. Maki gave a quick wave to the other racers through her window before she drove off with the splash of water under her tires.

As she began to drive back to the garage, the loud wailing of police sirens interrupted her.

"Shit," Maki cursed, driving back out to the main road. Everyone else did the same, scattering to hop in their cars and make their way down the garage. They rushed to leave, speeding away in all different directions. Your phone rang with Itadori's number, but Nobara spoke.

"You guys good?" she asked, the hum of her car in the background.

"Yeah, you?"

"Yep, we all piled in my car, so we're good."

"Gotcha," you replied. "I'd say let's call it a night then."

"Definitely," Nobara agreed. "Good job tonight, I'll talk to you later."

You said goodbye before turning to Maki. "Everyone else is fine, they got away before the cops showed up."

"Good," Maki sighed, turning onto a residential street. The fading sound of the sirens began to grow again, making Maki drive faster. You shrieked as she took a sharp turn into an alleyway, stopping to park there.

**

"Why are you-" she placed her hand over your mouth as she turned her car off, making everything dark. The flashing blue lights of the police cars flew by as the who of you sat there, going unnoticed.

"We sit here for a while, and we should be fine."

"What about everyone else?"

"Oh, they're probably only after me. Ieiri has been trying to catch me racing illegally for a while now," she laughed.

"What?" you frowned.

"It would be my second offense so I would go to jail, but they never catch me."

Your eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, and you could alread y see the smug look on her face. You took a deep breath, choosing to ignore it. "Did you hear what Momosaid to me before we started?" you asked, taking a deep breath and looking over at her.

"Yeah.." she sighed.

"I don't care if she's sorry, I don't know why she would tell me that," you scoffed. "I'll never forgive her."

"I'm sorry she brought you back to that," she said, placing her hand on your shoulder and rubbing your back gently.

"It's not brought back, she's always in the back of my mind," you admitted softly. "I mean, she only has a year before she gets out, she could come after me again."

"I don't think she will," Maki said, squeezing your arm.

"How am I supposed to know? I haven't seen her since-"

The trial. It was short, only three days long, but it was three days of you having to re-live your experience with Mai. The judge didn't get her for attempted murder, as you saw it, but just breaking and entering with a reduced sentence because of her mental state at the time. No one believed Mai in her claims about Maki, making her seem even less credible. So everything fell on you and Maki to testify. You told them about all your run-ins with her, how she was jealous and sadistic, but omitted the fact that you knew her motives for Maki's sake. You knew if you included everything she would get more time, and sometimes that weighed on you when you were with Maki.

She was always sweet and supportive about everything, and still felt terrible about what had happened. Mai wasn't as outspoken as she usually was at her sentencing, seeming to show signs of actual remorse. Still, you had no way of knowing, since you hadn't seen her since then. She had sent you a letter apologizing, which you read with Maki, where she asked you and Maki to visit her. You ignored her message, burning the paper.

The vision of red embers floating away shone in the back of your eyes as you remembered it all, leaning back on your seat.

"Fuck her, wanting to fuck up my life then come and ask for forgiveness," you scoffed. Your fear and sadness had dissipated into anger over the time that had passed, which was evident to Maki. She tiptoed around the subject, not wanting to deepen the wound.

"You don't want any closure?" she asked hesitantly.

"Hell no, I don't want to see her," you replied, side-eyeing Maki. "Why, do you think I should?"

She took a long pause, folding her hands together. "If it makes you uncomfortable, no. But- but she hasn't always been this way. I want hate her as much as you do, but she used to be a kinder individual, a different person. Strong-willed and opinionated as she is now, yes, but maybe she's trying to change. You have me a chance to change."

"You- you beat someone up and got arrested Maki, not took someone hostage and tried to fucking kill them."

"Yeah, I kinda did. And you stopped me, and we worked through it, but I did. Try to kill her, I mean."

"So you're saying it's even now?" you said angrily, tilting your head to the side at her.

"No- no no, I'm just saying you should give her a chance, maybe. She is my twin sister, after all."

"You and her are not the same," you spat. "You weren't there, you weren't there when she sat in front of my door all fucking night, you didn't feel what it felt like when she threatened to kill me just for talking back to her. You weren't there when she grabbed me, when I realized someone had broken into my home. You weren't there."

You looked up at her through teary eyes, seeing the guilty expression on her face.

"You're right I-I'm sorry," she conceded.

"Thank you," you sighed, placing your palms on your face. You hadn't meant to start an argument with her, but the subject just got you heated. You wiped the small tears from the corners of your eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Can I say one more thing?" Maki asked, looking at your face for your reaction.

"Sure."

"Are you sure you don't want to... see someone about this? I did when my mom first passed, it really helped me."

"Like, therapy?" You replied.

"Yeah, I used to go to this lady named Mei Mei, she's really good with like, traumatic events. But only if you want to, I won't make you, but I think it would be really good for you."

"Okay," you sighed.

**

You felt like you were on the cover of 'It Follows' as you and Maki sat silently in the rain, and the sound of talking outside the car brought that to reality.

"Do you hear that?" you said. Both of you heard the faint chatter of a police radio, and could see the light of distant flashlights.

"We gotta go," she said quickly, picking up her things. You grabbed your phone as the two of you got out of the car quietly. You took a screwdriver out of your pocket, tossing it to her as she walked to the back of the car. She took her license plate off as you locked her car door, opting to use the manual key so it wouldn't light up or make any noise. "My apartment's like two blocks from here," she whispered, holding onto the metal.

"Hey!" a cop yelled, shining his flashlight on the two of you. You exchanged glances with her before she grabbed your hand, running away.

"We can come back for the car later," she breathed as the two of you ran out of the alleyway onto the residential sidewalk. You thanked yourself for your years of high school soccer as you ran through the rain, laughing with Maki as she looked back at the cop chasing after the two of you.

"Hurry up!" you smiled, passing her and making a turn. The storm whistled round the two of you as you ran off the sidewalk onto the road, weaving between cars stuck in traffic on the street. You both hopped back on the sidewalk, running by people eating inside restaurants and the abandoned outdoor tables. Maki dragged you to the side as you lost the officer, opening the door to her apartment and pulling you in. The two of you ducked behind the reception desk, soaked in water. The doorman looked down at the two of you sitting at his feet, rolling his eyes when he saw you laughing like teenagers with your fingers pressed to your lips.

The officer came through the door, walking up to the desk and placing his hands on it. "Have you seen two kids running around here?" he asked, out of breath.

"No sir," he responded.

"Alright thanks, have a good night," the cop said, retreating. The two of you slowly stood up as he left, thanking him before heading to the elevator. Water dripped down on Maki's floor as the two of you entered, wiping the running water off your face. Your back hit her door as both of you leaned against it, catching your breath.

"This is just like the first night we met, I probably shouldn't have worn a white shirt today," you sighed, ringing out the wet fabric.

"Here, let me help you with that," Maki said, grabbing the hem of your shirt. You lifted your arms as she pulled it over your head, the cold fabric pressing against your face as it slid off. Maki's eyes scanned over you as the cold air conditioning of the apartment made you shiver, wrapping your arms around yourself. You looked good in just a bra and the shorts you had on, Maki thought.

"I'm freezing," you chattered, watching as Maki took her own shirt off.

"Sorry," she said, walking over to the couch and picking up a blanket for you. You wrapped it around yourself, slowly warming up.

"Hey," you said, catching Maki's attention. "I'll go to your shrink, but- but when Mai gets out, I've gotta do something. I don't wanna let her rule over my life, and I want her to feel the same way I did," you said, sure of yourself.

"What are you gonna do?" she asked concernedly. "You sound a little too much like me right now."

"I don't know, but I have a whole year to figure it out. I'm done being scared of people."

____________

**

You settled into Mei Mei's office the next afternoon, sinking into the low beanbag chair she had sitting on her floor. She also sat in one, with her desk and framed degree behind her. You had already been talking for a while, just going over everything that had happened. She seemed like a nice woman and was easy to talk to.

"I can feel her everywhere, even if she's not there. Like she has this hold on my mind and I can't get it to let go, even though she's miles away in prison."

"And you said Ms. Zenin is staying in the state penitentiary, correct?" she asked, holding a notepad in hand.

"Yes."

"Has she tried to contact you at all?" Mei Mei asked. You paused.

"Yes, uh, she wrote me a letter, asking me to come to see her."

"Do you still have it?" she asked.

"N-no, I burned it."

"I see," she said, writing something down.

"What are you writing?" you asked, clasping your hands in your lap.

"What I'm seeing, and that's that you're ignoring the problem, which is her."

You raised your eyebrows. "Ignoring? There's never a moment I'm not thinking about that-"

"Yes, I recall you telling me that, but when some closure or resolve was offered to you, you rejected it, got rid of it. You quite literally burned it."

"Getting a letter like that from someone who physically assaulted you wouldn't stress you out?"

"So you felt overwhelmed?"