A/N: FINALLY! Of Cars is finally rebooted after a long, godawful wait. How long has it been, two years? It's only right that I finish what I've begun with this fic. It is now retitled To Paradise City!
As you might have read in the summary-thing (right before you clicked the link to this story), this fic is AU. Meaning, Of Cars will revolve on the elements of mafia, crime, racing, and of course, music. Oh, and romance! Though to be honest, I haven't really planned on how the romances in here will go. Since I'm not really keen on putting sugary-sweet stuff in this story, I can guarantee you guys that Of Cars will bring a twist on the aspect of love. I've also rounded the canon characters' backgrounds and tried to stitch them together with the plot.
And of course, this reboot will have the same characters from the old fic. Iris, Greez Monki, Kazemi will all be there. The only difference is that I've given the Original Characters' sketches more depth to make them interesting to you readers. You will find that these OCs me and my friends have developed are quite apart from the usual OCs in fics. At least, that's what I'm trying to achieve. But we'll see. So whatever thought you want to share, please do so. Message me, let me know what you think.
So, enough of my rant and let's begin this one more time.
(edited: 12/1/2012)
arsenous elation presents
...
(take me down)
To Paradise City
...
I *Effervescence
Konoha City is an urban paradise, chaotic, crowded, frenzied.
The metropolis (of Lights… and Delights) is the symbol of prosperity in the Fire Country. A concrete jungle that is, in itself, a thriving organism: booming economic empires, excellent law forces and breathtaking sceneries. Sky-scrapers adorn the skyline and all lights and sounds seem converge into a mechanical orchestra that is festive; ecstatic. This is where legends and names are made. Where one can truly lose himself.
Chance waits in every corner, from its towering infrastructures to its darkest alleys. In Konoha, no one will ever know just what (or who) might be waiting for them. Games are made, won and lost. Lives, too. There are no assurances of staying on top or at the bottom. One can easily rise through the ranks or topple down—all with the right connections and tact. Not to mention a good hand of cards.
…
Welcome to Konoha City, the Paradise of Fire.
(Paradise: where prostitutes, gamblers, and organized crime flourish underneath that radiant mask)
Konoha City | 12th Avenue
.
blink, blink
Konoha glowed—effervescently—with a thousand lights, blinking and streaking against the dark veil of the night.
Tonight, just like any other night, the city was full of life; as vibrant and as noisy as ever. Streets and buildings were filled with people and businesses, highlighted by neon lights. And now that the summer was approaching, it made everything seemed much brighter
(almost to a blinding point)
and louder, thrumming the streets with a pulse that was simply electric.
—
Gunshots—
Bang. Bang.
—echoed hollowly in an alley between 12th Avenue's line of commercial buildings.
A shadow play of three men was unfolding in the alleyway. Barely moving phantoms created by a malfunctioning blue-light sign that flickered every two minutes or so (a mocking eye, blink, blink).
Everything was silent after the gunfire. Ears have unmistakably heard, but did not pay attention. This was an unwritten rule in the slums, one understood by many. Hear gunfire nearby? Give a furtive glance to your left and right, then keep quiet and walk on. Better feign ignorance and walk away. Unless of course the shots were directed at you—well, that's when you run.
blink
Bang.
"Who did it, Kimimoto?" the drawling voice of Kisame Hoshigaki broke the silence. He was tall and rather blue-skinned, his complexion even more emphasized by the light overhead. His beady eyes shone with an unsettling sort of morbid amusement. A grin was on his mouth, revealing a set of pointed teeth that resembled a shark's. The blue devil.
"I-I don't know anything! I-I don't know!" stammered Yukio Kimimoto, who was on all fours on the ground. His eyes pleaded to Hoshigaki with trepidation, pupils wide under the colored light. He was the Faustus of this little play, about to pay his dues not to one but to two devils.
"Let's try this once more, Yukio-san," the third man of the show, a head smaller than his companion, stepped forward into the light, gun in hand. "Who gave you the codes?"
This devil spoke in a calm tone and with almost-polite words, but his voice had a cold sharpness to it. One that held an intangible threat just beneath the surface. He had long, black hair tied in a low ponytail. Two lines ran from each side of his nose bridge to his cheeks, his obsidian eyes were ruthless. This man was Itachi Uchiha.
"No—"
"You don't want a shattered kneecap, Kimimoto."
Yukio clawed at the grimy concrete beneath him as he watched Itachi level the aim of the gun towards his trembling knee.
"I can't t-tell you, he'll k-kill me!"
"Oho. And you think we won't?" Kisame grinned wider. His blue fingers twitched, making Yukio glance at them with something akin to terror.
blink, blink
Yukio Kimimoto was a famous businessman in the Information Technology industry, a tiger in the corporate world. He sold software and operating systems, products which he stole from the smaller companies his own had muscled out. And three days ago, he had been living the life of an up-and-coming magnate. Until, of course, he chose to steal sensitive information from Konoha's leading crime family: Midnight. He started distributing these to various clients—confident that he wouldn't be touched by the mafia. And for three whole nights, he was safe; no enemy knocked on his door… until the shark and the crow—shadow-executioners in the crime circle—dragged him out.
"A flea like you can't hack Midnight's Wolf 359. It would take more than a week for a hacker to even come close. But you did it in two days," there was derision in Kisame's voice, as if he didn't believe his own words. He stepped forward and sat on his haunches in front of the trembling Kimimoto. "Someone helped you get those codes. Tell us who, and we'll let you walk."
Kimimoto opened his mouth to speak, but Itachi abruptly held up his free hand. Both Kisame and Yukio watched the Uchiha pull out a vibrating cellular phone from his pocket.
"Excuse me, please." Itachi turned to his side as he answered the call. He didn't lower the gun.
Unmoving from his sitting position, Kisame looked at his partner for a second longer before turning to the trembling man. His grin was momentarily shadowed by the light (blink).
"Hai. We'll be on our way then," Itachi spoke before the call ended. He exchanged glances with Hoshigaki. "Snake has made a move against us. Let's finish this, Kisame."
Both men turned their attention to Kimimoto. If it was possible, Kisame's smile stretched from ear-to-ear, splitting his face in halves. It was an affirmation. He pulled out a cigarette from his coat pocket and put it in between Yukio's lips.
A fractured silence enveloped the whole alley. Pressured. Tense. Somewhere, glass shattered and a door slammed close.
blink, blink
Yukio Kimimoto started to cry, his hands clasping together in a prayer for redemption. "Please…"
"Who are you praying to, Kimimoto?" Kisame brought out a steel-lighter, "Certainly not to me, I hope. Because we're going to the same place, only you get to go there first."
He lit the tip of the cigarette.
And it was the verdict, Yukio knew. He knew his offense and its consequence.
(lesson learned: steal from the devils and you get a one-way ticket to hell)
Itachi aimed the gun to the man's head. Slowly, his finger moved to pull the trigger—
"Goodbye, Mr. Kimimoto."
—the bullet embedded itself on Yukio's forehead with a salutatory crack. The sign overhead stopped flickering at once, shining steadfast on the man lying on the concrete. Blood, dull and black against the blue light, pooled around his head.
Three hours later, when the police asked around, no one claimed to have heard any gunshots (oh, these terrified liars). No one was a witness to Yukio Kimimoto's death.
He was alone, under the bright lights of Konoha.
Fifty miles away, a blue truck collided against a black sports car, signaling Iris Nagasaki's arrival in the life of one Sasuke Uchiha.