Konnichi wa!
Yay! This story is going places!
For some reason, this chapter makes me feel cool. :D
Please enjoy!
Tireless Drive
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Race Seven – Underground Secret
Naruto kept pace with them easily at first.
"Keep close to them, Kyuubi," he breathed to the Golfer as they raced up an incline, swerving between the traffic and running all the lights. "I don't wanna get lost on my first day."
And something tells me that they'd let me die on the streets without even batting an eyelid –
Kyuubi honked a few times in response.
The McLaren suddenly pressed the brakes, and the car swerved expertly into a sharp right turn.
The other two cars obviously knew this was coming, for they did the exact same a moment after the McLaren did, still flawlessly keeping their formation.
Naruto – however – had not expected it. He slammed onto the brakes and barely managed to make the turn.
But by the time the Golfer had recovered, the other three cars were barely in his line of sight.
"Go Kyuubi!" He exclaimed as the car leaped forward.
I'll show them – I won't be left behind!
After a few minutes of navigating successfully through intense traffic, he finally managed to catch up with the other three, who had stopped at a railroad crossing as the two bars lowered and the bells tolled.
The line between the racers was used, and Naruto heard crackling over his line as the three talked.
"Hacker – this is ridiculous. What do you MEAN, 'there's cops around the base' – that's not even possible!" Raptor's voice ran through the speakers.
They're LETTING me listen in. Naruto realized. This is a public channel – anyone in the racing circles can hear them!
But there must have been something giving them a bit more security over the line – Naruto was sure of it.
This is the blacklist – they wouldn't be so damn reckless –
"I'm sure it's not that big of a problem, Raptor. They probably don't even know how close they are to the base," Blood Rain replied smoothly, not at all worried with the situation. "That idiot Take couldn't have possibly clued them in on our base's location – our dear Hacker would've known the moment the police was notified of any street racer activity. And besides, Wind Scythe would have made sure that worthless racer's blood spilt –" – there was a great deal of anger and hatred behind the last word – as if Blood Rain actually wished that fate on the cheating former blacklist member – "– before that happened –"
Naruto gulped. Oh my God… that guy was SERIOUS about people getting killed –
"– If we split ways, it'll be easy to avoid them. The 5-0 has become more headstrong than before, since it's been a while since we've done anything huge."
'Anything huge?' Naruto repeated in his head. What the hell does that mean?
"So you want to split ways, Blood Rain?" Hacker replied.
"That's right."
"Okay… but who's takin' the kid?"
There was silence for a moment.
"Hacker, you do it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Hey – ROOKIE!" Blood Rain's voice blared, making Naruto jump in his seat as his tight seatbelt pushed him down, making him wince. Oh – THAT'S going to leave a mark! "I know you're listening in, so listen up! Hacker's gonna take you to base. We'll meet you there. He's gonna take you the most direct way to base, but unfortunately for you…" he chuckled sadistically. "It's also the hardest. Don't die on us, okay?" Blood Rain laughed mockingly as both the McLaren and the Pinto zoomed back in reverse to the previous crossroad. "See ya!"
The two cars went opposite ways, vanishing quickly from sight. Naruto edged his Golfer forward, so that the nose of his car was just behind Hacker's.
The line between racers opened once again, and Naruto heard Hacker's voice.
"Okay Rookie, stay close. Just because I'm not the number one doesn't mean I'm any nicer –"
Oh, I believe you. Naruto thought grimly.
"– Now let's go."
The man sounded bored with the entire situation as he pushed his Mazda forward, and Naruto followed suit.
Blood Rain had been right – it WAS hard. There was a narrow spiral road that hugged the hill, constantly in a sharp left turn as it slowly made its way upwards. One wrong jerk of the wheel could send a car falling down to the streets below.
Naruto's knuckles were white around the wheel, and he repeatedly told himself that becoming hyperventilated would NOT help the situation.
He glared at the RX-7's rear headlights enviously.
Man – that guy's not having any problems at all, is he? I bet his not even breaking a sweat!
Eventually – after about forty-five of driving less than fifty miles an hour on the spiral 'Road of Death', as Naruto began to call it after the first twenty minutes – the road evened out, and Hacker led him high up a steep incline – right to the hill's crest.
"Hey rookie – still alive back there?" Hacker chuckled out over the line as they drove upwards. Naruto chose not to answer as he shot daggers with his eyes into the Mazda's rear bumper.
They're sadists – ALL OF THEM!
Hacker pulled up into the lot of an abandoned night club, the windows boarded up and the huge, formerly bright neon sign one swing away from falling with a crash to the ground.
"We're here," Hacker said as Naruto breathed a huge sigh of relief. Hacker – somehow – must have sensed the sigh. "Hang on – don't relax yet. We're not done. We're going underground now."
Naruto blinked. Underground?
"Follow me, and stay close." The Mazda slowly made its way forward again. "After all, it wouldn't do you any good to make it all the way here and then die because you got lost in the tunnels. GPS doesn't work down there."
Naruto gulped. Just perfect!
The RX-7 led Naruto around the back of the nightclub, unseen by dense trees held off by a mere wire fence.
The car stopped, and Naruto blinked, wondering what he was waiting for. His entire frame was shaking violently, and he fought to keep his hands from shaking on Kyuubi's wheel. The Golfer's engine purred reassuringly underneath him.
Suddenly, the back wall of the old nightclub shifted, and Naruto watched in amazement as the entire wall pulled up silently like a garage door, leading to a tunnel that sloped downwards.
"Come on," Hacker said, the RX-7 shifting once more and driving down into the brightly lit tunnel, becoming seemingly swallowed by a huge, gaping mouth.
Gulping, Naruto forced the thought out of his mind and followed.
It was entire underground maze – tunnels branched off from the main one that Hacker was leading him down, creating endless ways to get lost, and Naruto nearly touched Hacker's rear bumper – he was so close.
"We're taking a right, here," Hacker informed him as he did just that, turning onto a branch tunnel. Naruto noticed a huge graffiti mural on the right wall on the entrance to the tunnel and quickly memorized it.
It freaked him out, however – there was a huge red eye, with three coma things in a circle – it took Naruto a moment to realize they were '6's – inside of it. The eye was crying red, the tears sliding down an unseen face as the background of huge plumes and swirls of dark red, black, and blue erupted from behind the eye.
Naruto knew instantly was those tears were as he saw a man kneeling in the bottom left hand corner of the mural, his bare arms tied behind his back as multiple gashes were seen, blood sliding down his arms. It sent a shudder down Naruto's spine – the picture looked so realistic.
Tears of blood…
The tunnel sloped downwards once more, and Naruto was taken even farther down into the hill.
The mural of bleeding eyes quickly left Naruto's mind, and he swallowed, Kyuubi purring nervously underneath him.
"It's okay, baby," he breathed to her, reaching over to rub her dashboard comfortingly with shaking fingers. "It's okay."
Kyuubi whined in disbelief.
It was completely dark for a moment as Naruto and Hacker's Mazda traveled downwards, but then the tunnel evened out again, revealing a huge steel door.
The racers' line crackled into use again.
"State your name, alias, car license plate, and place on the blacklist," a gruff voice said. At first, Naruto thought he was talking to him, but then Hacker replied before the blonde could say anything.
"Name: Shikamaru Nara. Alias: Hacker. Car License Plate – 5-L-3-3-P-Y. Place on the Blacklist: Hacker and Defense Strategist. The kid behind me is with me."
"Very well – state the code."
There was static as Hacker no doubt answered.
"All right then, please wait." There was silence for a moment, even though the line remained open. "Very good. You're allowed entry. Welcome."
The huge door shuddered violently and pulled itself upwards as the mechanical gears inside it turned, and Naruto's eyes widened as Hacker's Mazda drove forward.
It was an entire underground world. Naruto was left speechless.
This is what… I've been waiting for.
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End Race Seven – Underground Secret
Ah… yay – I feel smart:D
And you know... the three '6's... 666... the devil's number... yeah.
Please review!
Ja ne!
DDB
