Need For Speed: Dragons
1: Bushido Reunion
After the long and grueling flight from Palmont City, to the large capital of Tokyo in Japan, former racer for the street racing group Bushido, Nathan Crow, walked out of the departure tunnel gripping his suitcase along with him, surrounded by natives and tourists like him, for one, out of all the places that he'd expect for him to be in, Tokyo wouldn't be one, let alone all of Japan, the ammout of Japanese that his leader, Kenji, had told him would have to be refreshed in his memory, after so long away, after losing his patch of the city and being hulimiated by him, and losing his prised Mazda RX-7, it would hav eben no surprised that he would return to japan, there were stories that he had told his crew about all the power he had in japan, and all the street racing that goes down in a city much like Tokyo, a place called Rokaku City, where a famous place called Neon Alley is located, and where Mountain Pass Haruna runs into, this ha dsparked Nathan's courisity, and another reason, he hoped that he would race with Kenji again, the way they had done in Palmont City, they would reunite, and Bushido would ride again, but would that truly be like that, Bushido came and went, the name became more of a laughing stock, the fact that one person beat them, there was no respect anymore for the group.
As he had walked outside, he had seen a familliar face, the same hair, the same jacket, the same posture that he had stood, it was his old boss, Kenji "If you're looking for Los Angeles, its several thousand miles back there" Kenji said in a joking manner, pointing behind him
"Oh really, I guess i had taken the wrong flight in Palmont" Nathan replies, he knew Kenji was joking, the two pulled each other in a quick hug, as if they were old friends, kenju had rested his hands on Nathan's shoulders "Man, when i brought you into Bushido, you looked like a 16 year old brat" Kenji said, thinking about when he first rolled with him
"Yeh, and you were so strict as i remember, ruling with an iron fist" Nathan recalled, it wasn't wrong, Kenji had taken Palmont's Stacked Deck agreement seriously, taking the territory as if he had owned it himself, he was one of the first few that Kenji had taken in consideration, Nathan was 18 at the time he had joined, being a rookie to racing in general , he had brought him to the Underground Racing at Bayveiw to represent the crew, with the only instructions of "follow the leader, and watch", that's it, he certanly showed promise that day, and even managed to win at Bayveiw, that much ensures him a spot in the crew, he only gotten better for that moment on, that much of a moment, had stayd in Nathan's memory long after, with the things that happened that night being a catilyst of his racing style, he figurd that if he had to do it before, he would do it again , the racing scene back in Bayveiw was like nothing he had witnessed, cars that were so decked out, it made the crew look like professionals, so many unwanted attatachments, so much carbon fiber, Kenji even said with that much of the customization, it rememded him of all the ricers back in Tokyo where he had first started street racing, the Tokyo police had made the ones in Palmont City look like a bunch of joyriders, they were no joke
Kenji had walked away to his car, it was a Mazda RX-7, it looked similiar to the one that he had driven back in Palmont, but it was diffrent, it had the same green paintjob yes, but the Decals on it was wrong, it depicted a Samurai Fighting a dragon, all of it in gold, with black paint splotches around where the two were fighting, it didn't seem like him. "Well, might i formerly introduce you, welcome to Japan, the street racing capital of the Planet" Kenji said, raising his hands in the air, as a sign to embrace the veiw of the neon lights and tall buildings, it was alot for Nathan to take in, just being new to Japan wasn't it, it was the atmosphere, it felt tense with action, a feling that Nathan had never felt before, it was strange, but it was inviting for him to join in, "Well, what are you waiting for, lets get to where the action is at, this isin't the only city on Japan that's like this you know" Kenji shouted, he was mentioning Rokaku City, where Kenji lived, he used to work business in Tokyo, but it wasnt anything special
Kenji ha dslid on the hood of his Mazda to the driver's side, and opened the door, where he poped the trunk for Nathan to put his suitcase in, and after he had hopped in, they were off
The ride from Tokyo to Rokaku City was long, but it wasnt boring for the two, they shared stories, ones abut themselves, racing stories, and even things in the news, as they reached Mount Haruna, there was a question taht Nathan had wanted to ask Kenji ever since he left "so why did you leave Kenji?"
The question had rang inside the car, Kenji, who along the car ride, was cheery, and in a good mood, a strange contrast compared to the Kenji Nathan had worked with, changed into the seriousness that he had remembered "you know how many times i was asked the same question?" Kenji paused, figureing that he deserved an explination, " reallly, its nothing to it, i needed a new start"
"That really dosen't sound right, its you Kenji, you would have taken it back" Nathan had replied, the tension was growing in the car, wasn't really new with Kenji,
Kenji Sighed hard " Palmont was a strange deal all around Nathan, dont know what i could tell you" Kenji's voice sounded aggrivated
"but what about Bushido, we could..." Nathan was interupted by Kenji "Bushido wasn't Bushido, we were Stacked Deck all the way...we were not even Bushido to begin with, Daruis had let us just own that peice ok, all you need to know that Palmont was a strange deal all around, thats it, understand" Kenji's voice sounds like his usual self, aggrivating and strict, just like him "i brought you here for another reason, Bushido was a ruse, i figured you would benefit from a stricter playground, thats all"
there was silence int he car for a while, then Nathan had rang in "anything better that Palmont honestly"
Kenji just let out a slight laugh, "you really dont know what you're getting into, huh"
Nathan answered back, "The unknown is funner, isint it"
Kenji stayed silent, Nathan had laughed, He got Kenji there
After the long ride, they had arrived at Rokaku City, it seemed similar to Tokyo, but the feel was more intense, tuned cars of all kinds littered the streets, from old school, to the most expensive, some were nestled near a resturant, all of the racers had jackets, with japanese on the backs, Nathan couldn't read any of it, Kenji had pointed to a black Chrysler ME Four-Twelve with a White Spade on the sides of it, and a white stripe down the center of the car "see that guy there, he holds a card, a golden card, the ace of spades i belive, its a weird ritual here, there's 53 all over the city, and theres alot, and i mean ALOT of racers just looking for one, if a racer has one, they are called a Gold Star, and are called upon once a year to race all around Japan by someone called Millionaire, all gas is free, repairs, everything as long as you dont break his rule, anyone that kills a fellow racer as long as he holds the card, gets killed by him, and it just so happens..." Kenji had paused to get something from the glove box, taking out a golden card, and handing it to Nathan "... i'm holder of lucky 53, the Joker, the most murdered card around, everyone wants it, i was just lucky to win it, the winner holds onto this card, and wins a chance to race Millioniare for his ride, and lemme tell you, its a beauty, the losers, have to give in thier card, and start all over again, its weird how it happens, but it works, just dont ask why" Kenji had looked at Nathan for a second as they stopped at a red light, a Nissian 370Z in a metallic red rides up to them, "oh, and if the card holder loses any race, he gives it away from the person that beat them, so there's always a risk to play on" Nathan gased at the card, it was like any other playing card, but it was solid gold, there was a dragon on it, swirling up to the center, the word joker was in a grey japanese right behnd it, it was amazing, on the back was the word "Millionaire" going down, it looked custom made, Nathan had put it back into the envelope that it was conviently placed in, and closed the glove box
"so, what about the cops, is there even any aroud here?" Nathan had questioned, the light turning green, the racer next to them turning away, while they taken a road out of large part of the city and into an area with villas and mansions, "there are cops, in fact, the cops here are the worst, the slowest of them has a V-8 inside, and those are just for the small fry, look, we can talk about them later, just dont worry about them" Kenji had said , as they had crusied along the street, they had turned into a carport, one with an open garage door, Kenji had driven inside, and within, was a large selection of cars, from Exotic Ferraris, to the common Nissian 350z there were few open spots, one was next to a GT-R, and another was betweeen a Gallardo and a SLS AMG painted in a matte black with several racing aftermarket parts on it, he conviently pulled up to the spot next to the GT-R and turned off the RX-7's Rotary engine, Kenji had turnd to Nathan "look, just know this, the only thing you really have to wory about is the other racers, the cops arent really a concern, the other racer are one" Kenji had said as he stepped out of the car, Nathan had opend his door and did he same
The inside of the large house was modern, with intresting looking furniture all over the place, the living room had a large connected sofa, the TV was rather large, about 70' connected to the wall, Kenji had walked and placed his keys inside a drawer with a number lock, must be for the extra pretection, "Well, welcome to my place, but you aint staying here, i got a few things for ya" Kenji rummaged through a few cabinets, trying to find something, but then rushed off to a room on the far side of the place, comming out with a duffel bag, for Kenji, it seemed abit heavy, but he placed it on the kitchen counter, and unzipped it inside the bag ws several grand, on top of all that money was an envelope, Kenji had grabbed it and tossed it aside to Nathan, the envelope seemed weighted with something, and sounded as if there was some sort of change inside of it, Nathan had franticly started to open it, and what was inside was a pair of keys, keys to am old car, Nathat had looked at Kenji in confusion, he was called out here for some old car, what was he thinking, was he trying to make Nathan a laughing stock or what, Kenji had sighed and swayed his head side to side, "follow me, " Kenji had said, walking to the garage, Nathan had followed, and the two had walked to the garage door of the mansion next door, Kenji had looked at the door, then to Nathan's keys, "well, aren't you gonna open your house?" Kenji had said, Nathan had looked at him with utter confusion, then turned around, "wait, there is no way, this is somebody's house, I cant just steal it like this, jesus christ man, did you lost your mind" Nathan had said, Kenji had sighed and takent he keys from his hands, opening the door of the garage
Within the garage was the same kind of poen space that Kenji had in his own garage, except for one thing there was a car within the entire middle of the place, and it looked factory new, the car was a Honda Civic, it was the EG6 model, the hatchback look of the back, it was a solid red color, and it looked freshly painted, more like it was never driven, the interior was redone with racing seats, and a sound system that semmed like it would sound like a complete concert if it was on full blast, Kenji had walked in, and opened the door, " Nathan, this whole house is yours, and this ride" Kenji had said, rubbing the top of the roof with his hands, " yep, i rebuilt this thing, from the bare frame, figured that you need a car and a place to crash, so, i bought you one" Kenji had smiled, and looked at Nathan, "Tomorrow, we're going out to race, so be up late getting used to this bad boy " Kenji had left the door open, and walked out, not before grabbing something out of his jacket pocket, handing a rubber banded wad of 1,000 10,000 Japanese Yen Bills for him, before he could say anything, Kenji had turned to Nathan " Welcome to Japan "