"Sasori Danna! PUT ME DOWN!" Deidara was screaming his lungs out and thrashing his legs. In the highest apartment of the classiest block in the west side of town the pair were only just rising from bed.

"Shut up, Dei. I'd be surprised if you could even walk after last night" Sasori laughed, carrying the blonde over his shoulder

"Whatever" he muttered and a red blush covered his face, clashing horribly with his hair. He sniggered as he remembered the events in Sasori's car. Last night had been heaven...

Sasori dumped him on the red plush loveseat and went to make breakfast. The red light on the answer machine was blinking.

"hey we got a message!" he said excitedly, "hope its another contract"

"Not that you need the money!" his lover called over the noise of sizzling bacon from the kitchen.

Deidara walked – or rather limped – across the room and listened to the recording. It was Kisame.

"hey guys, giving you the heads up about tonight. Technically illegal race at downtown Konoha, you know, the shopping district. Its quick in and quick out, tuner cars and pink slips only. Meet at uzumaki precinct 10 o clock sharp. Sasori you ought to be there."

"hear that?" the blonde asked

"Yeah" Sasori replied, entering the room carrying a tray full of food and wearing nothing but loose pyjama pants. Deidara raised his eyebrows eagerly and grinned. The redhead winked at him sarcastically and flopped down on the expensive leather sofa. He looked around the room and out of the floor to ceiling windows. Over in the distance he could see the glittering malls and multi storey car parks of Uzumaki Distict. At 10 he'd be racing there...maybe.

"What are you thinking?" Deidara asked and slipped an arm around his lovers waist, pulling himself in close.

"We should go" Sasori said decidedly. "It's dangerous but..."

"Danger turns you on babe" growled the blonde. "Let's not call him back...just yet"

"Dei-chan it's too early for-"

His words were cut off as his boyfriend pushed their plates away and rolled on top of him.

"I'll have you for breakfast instead" he announced, "you taste so much better..."

Kisame paced up and down his bedroom, hungry yet not liking the idea of eating. Blue light filtered through the large round windows that looked out onto water. As he turned around, a shark swam past flashing him a row of deadly teeth. His room was underwater, built into the aquarium his father owned. Everything in it was dark blue, sea green and beautiful. The reinforced circular windows gave him a view of the tanks. On one side, dolphins played peacefully, on the other sharks floated menacingly through the water all danger and teeth. Kisame liked to watch them, plus a room like this always wowed the ladies when they came to visit...

Something akin to this was plaguing his mind right now. In the next room no less than three pretty ladies were sharing his bed, exhausted after having yet another pillow fight in their underwear. Kisame didn't want to throw them out but they kind of made him nervous. He had no regrets after last night, but something was eating away at his thoughts, leaving doubts behind. Throughout the whole evening, it wasn't these ladies he'd been thinking of. It was...someone else. Someone it really shouldn't be.

"Crazy, you're going crazy!" he muttered smacking himself in the head. He glared at the phone, knowing there was one more call he had to make. But what if he answered the call? Kisame knew his voice would just freeze up. What had come over him? This was all a bit sudden. With shaking hands he picked up the receiver...

In the scummy darkness a loud ring echoed around the bare walls. The basement flat was cold and clammy, colder than the garage the cars were kept in. The phone rang again, rattling off the wall into an old pizza box, then ringing again louder.

"Curse it! Fucking heathen machine!" Hidan's yell of annoyance woke Kakuzu from his sleep. "Answer the Jashin-damned phone!" he shouted, though Kakuzu knew there was no hate directed at him through that outburst. Hidan just hated being disturbed while praying.

Kakuzu rolled sleepily from his bed and plodded to the phone – now covered in tomato sauce. "Hello?" he said tiredly and stifled a yawn, when no answer came he asked again. "Hello? Anyone there...talking now would be good"

The line went dead. With a shrug, thinking it was just the people selling windows again, Kakuzu checked the messages instead. Later that morning one came in from Kisame telling them about the race that night. That was all.

"Hidan, fancy a race tonight?" he asked, but all he got in return was a string of swear words his mother would be ashamed of. He chucked the phone down again to lie on the concrete floor and waited for Hidan to finish praying and listen to him. A race in Uzumaki district would be a lot of fun, though Kisame didn't seem to think so. His voice had sounded almost strangulated on the phone. Kakuzu wandered off, leaving the door unlocked. He knew his friend would be off to visit the tech guy Zetsu later though what for he had no idea. Sauntering into the garage he began to check the car over for any minor imperfections that would hinder its performance in the upcoming race. True, it used to be Itachi's but after a trip to the garage it would take on a whole new identity. Kakuzu smiled and jumped into the driver's seat, he'd see what Sasori could do with this baby!

The Rolex watch on Sasori's thin wrist showed 2 o'clock, he glanced out of the large door to his professional garage and watched a shiny black car turn up. For an instant he believed it to be someone else, but saw Kakuzu behind the wheel instead, straightening up from the engine he was working on he offered a wave.

"I need something a little different for tonight!" he called as he climbed out onto the forecourt, "can you fix her up?"

"Sure if it's for a friend" Sasori nodded and wiped the black grease from his hands onto his overalls. "Whatcha want doing? There's not much time"

Kakuzu sighed and thought of the money this would cost him, "anything you want, just make it look like mine. Not his."

Sasori knew by 'his' Kakuzu meant Itachi. After Sasori told him if that little occurrence at the party, the bookie had felt his friendship to Itachi dissolving. He hadn't won the car, but it was a good addition to his collection. Pimping it would sever any ties to the weasel man...or so he hoped.

"We'll start this together" Sasori stared at him levelly, knowing it meant a lot to personalize this car as soon as possible. Lifting the hood and taking a look inside, they planned the Kitano Touge's future.

Screaming tyres outside the basement flat awakened Hidan from his prayers, the horrible squealing noise carried right down into the cold stone room he was sitting in. He knew the sound of that engine thrumming up above, and he knew the driver all too well. Zetsu and him met up every now and then...when the need arised. Sure enough, after a car door slamming there were a series of heavy knocks on the frail door. Hidan wearily picked himself up off the ground, kissed his rosary once and went to see what the noisy bastard wanted this time. He could guess, and in his heart of hearts he already knew. It had been the same since secondary school with Zetsu. Uncontrollable rages and a store of anger so intense that counsellors didn't know where to send him. He'd bounced between care homes like a ping pong ball, and finally ended up falling in with the street racers in high school. Hidan had been there for him when his anger took over, and he was still there for him. So with a knowing look through the dirty glass he opened the door onto an expanse of grey. Grey rain slid grimly over grey concrete and even greyer buildings. Zetsu stood in the middle of it, with his green hair sticking wetly to his head. In the background his car engine hummed softly through the pattering rain – the colours of it matching superbly with the graffiti adorning every spare inch of wall space in this neighbourhood.

From his rate of breathing and the look in his eye, Hidan guessed something had happened. The crushing anger was back.

"Park your car. Meet me downstairs" Hidan muttered and retreated back into the darkness. He practically tripped down the stairs and through the bare living room, and into the bedroom he and Kakuzu shared. Taking up his place on his bed he waited for Zetsu's uncertain footsteps to echo through the house. Kakuzu didn't know about this little arrangement, neither did Tobi, but it held so many memories it would be almost a sin to stop for their sake. Hidan was Zetsu's unofficial anger therapist, though hardly a word was ever spoken during their time together. They weren't friends, but through all that happened, through all that was about to happen, they were not enemies either.

The grimy door swung inward and Zetsu appeared, still dripping wet from the weather outside. He stood, silhouetted against the tiny amount of light filtering in from the small window high in the ceiling.

"It's my car" he growled, clenching his fists and visibly shaking. "The cops saw me driving from the race...it's hot. They're onto me!"

Hidan's eyes opened wide, in that last sentence he'd picked up more aggression in Zetsu's voice than he'd heard in a long time. His heart beat rapidly, and he gripped the bedposts over his head with both hands, opening himself up to attack. For this was what he was here for.

The first fist struck just below his ribs on his left, the next hit him square in the stomach. He doubled up coughing, but was knocked back with an agonising blow to his kidneys. He arched his back, longing for it to stop yet aching for more. His heavy panting mirrored the other mans as a brief lull halted the attack.

"I'm sorry Hidan," Zetsu whispered with tears in his eyes as he landed blow after blow on his friend's unprotected body. Through the barrage of pain Hidan did nothing to protect himself, it was right that Zetsu took out his anger here, it was right that he lay here undefended. As another fist connected with his face, he felt the blood run hot and fast down his skin, mixing with tears that were not his own. Zetsu was hitting blindly now, his tears had consumed his vision and he was pummelling the body before him with every scrap of strength he had. Hidan resisted the urge to curl up, and when he slipped to the floor, bloody and broken, he took every one of the kicks to his ribs with nothing more than a half smile.

Every strike brought more pain, yet drew out the toxic anger from his friend. The steel toe capped boots tore into his sides, leaving bruises of every colour. Purples and blacks erupted along his sides under his thin shirt, though the fit of infuriation was far from over. With a grunt, Hidan was flipped onto his stomach and a boot came crashing down on his lower back. He howled in pain and twisted in spasms, but the grimace of hurt did not reach his eyes, instead they glowed with energy, with pleasure. Rough hands grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him into the cracked wall, blood spurted afresh from his nose, and shoulder popped with a sickening crunch. Dislocated he shouldn't wonder. Even now, he did not command Zetsu to stop. He would stop when his temper was over, and until then it was not his place to complain, hinder or halt this barrage of blows.

He noticed the rage losing intensity, and with one last smack to the back of his neck, Zetsu let him collapse to the floor. His eyes were puffy and swollen, but through them he could see the unnatural tantrum had gone from his friends face. Both of them were struggling for breath, and not a word was said. Time seemed to stand almost still, even the air seemed to be sucked out as if in a vacuum as the pair watched each other.

"A little help?" rasped Hidan, indicating his broken shoulder, and shivered in apprehension as Zetsu all but glided across the grim room. Afterwards, they always helped each other clear up. It would not do for the others to find out. Tobi would not work with Zetsu of he knew of his problem, and people would think differently of Hidan if they knew how he helped him.

"You know what to do..." he continued and Zetsu nodded. The green haired man gripped his friends pale arm and waited.

"On a count of three, one...two...three"

Zetsu pushed up and back, and with a stomach churning pop, the bone was reunited with the socket. Hidan closed his eyes and screamed in brutal agony, pain flooded through his body and he shook again. Zetsu smiled in appreciation as his friend came hard in his pants.

"F...fuck" he stuttered, then blacked out.

When he awoke, Zetsu and his car were gone. It was just him, throbbing with pain and sitting alone inside the dingy room.

9 0 clock came around too fast. By this time he would have expected the crowds to be building...but not here. Here it was too risky, only the experienced drivers and the adrenaline junkies would be watching this race. He swung his legs over the side of the concrete wall and dangled them over the drop. It was a heart stopping view. In amongst the glaring neon lights of Uzumaki District he was surrounded by noise, up here the temperature was cool. So much so that his girlfriend had stayed in the car. Nobody had showed yet, but from his vantage point high on the multi-storey car park he could see approaching cars. From the look of it, Sasori was coming in from the right and Kisame was driving down the centre lane of Tsunade parkway. Itachi's new Mitsubishi evo could be seen dipping and weaving through traffic further out, and from the sound of it a new car had pulled up behind.

Pein jumped down from the wall and viewed the spectacular feat of engineering before him. Sleek new bumpers and a killer paint job re-vamped the old Kitano Touge. It was a beautifully mature shade of purple. The engine had obviously been tweaked to include a turbo, and fresh tyres gleamed under the wheel arches. Plus it was as cool as the polar ice caps. The police hadn't even seen this baby yet!

Kakuzu stepped proudly from the passenger seat and swept a scarred hand over the roof.

"Sweet isn't she?" he said and Pein nodded silently. It would be practically a sin to watch Hidan destroy this beauty. Konan got quietly out of their car – another in his vast collection. This time it was a subtlety orange old Mustang gt 500. Secretly it was Pein's favourite car, though Konan despised the colour he chose. It matched perfectly with his hair – what was wrong with that?

They were spared her opinion of Itachi's old ride when another shining sports car rolled up. It was Tobi and Zetsu. For this race they'd chosen a better car for blending in...Not. Zetsu and Tobi couldn't blend in if their lives depended on it – which in this race they might! Tobi sat at the wheel of a pearlescent Plymouth Hemi Cuda. It was a muscle car – completely the wrong make for this type of race, but then again these two didn't drive the race – they filmed it. It shone a hundred different colours and Konan gaped at in awe.

"It's soooo pretty!" she squealed in a girlish voice and Pein glared at Zetsu. He'd taken his girlfriends attention. Before a fight broke out, all heads turned to watch the simultaneous arrival of Kisame, Sasori, and a car full of ravers. They parked up, choosing to stick with their trusty original cars rather than risk tuning a new one just for one night. Kisame stayed inside his car, not wishing to come face to face with that one person he hadn't been able to get out of his head the past day and night. He was nervous, not only of the race, but what he panned to do later. Would he live to regret it?

It was a tense night; everyone was feeling the strain and the wagers on this race were high. Kakuzu was collecting bets for tens of thousands while exotically painted people carriers brought yet more revellers to the scene. At 5 minutes to 11, Itachi rolled in fashionably late and took his position behind the pink spray painted start line. The sun had gone down hours before, though nobody had time to notice. Lights shone on cold concrete, yet this time the group was devoid of music, not all the cameras watching them were Zetsu and Tobi's. Some belonged to the police, who could be watching at any time. Hidan took a deep breath and clutched at the wheel, slowly moving forward onto the line. His purple eyes showed some degree of fear and his breath came short and sharp. He hadn't left the car since they'd arrived. Not wishing to socialize or let anyone see the state of his face. He had a black eye and a split lip, but was determined to race. This time he would not crash, he was sure of it.

He glanced to his left and saw Pein's car, to his right stood Itachi's, Sasori's and Kisame's. All were looking stressed and tense, a lot depended on them staying cool, and more importantly their cars staying cool. Pein stood at the front, and dictated the route. They were to make it out of the carpark, down onto the road and through the busy shopping district. Two laps of central Konoha then make it out the other side to another abandoned multi storey where Zetsu would be waiting with Tobi to film the finish. Money and cars would change hands then they should get the fuck out of there.

He got in his car. Hidan said a silent prayer. Kisame's heart raced as he looked out of the window hopefully he would be at the finish line. Itachi nodded arrogantly and Sasori gripped the wheel with both hands. Konan took her place at the front of the line of racers and posed, one arm in the air. She raised her other arm. She screamed "GO" and brought both arms down together.

They went. The race had begun.

First off the line was Itachi with his superior acceleration. The concrete building thrummed with the roaring of engines and the cheers of the crowd. The floor shook as the cars reached the level below. Brightly dressed fans rushed screaming into the lifts to watch the progress down the levels. Trainers squeaked on the stairs but the speed of the tuner cars was incredible. No sooner had the lift doors opened, the cars had drifted another floor down. Sasori battled for first place, while Pein was stuck at the back of the line. Choking fumes filled the confined space, but in no less than a minute Sasori's dodge charger burst out into the glare and fast paced driving of the freeway.

Quickly he changed up through the gears determined not to lose the lead to the weasel-man. Behind him, Hidan was cutting up the inside, earning infuriated blasts of horns and hand signs. They drifted round a wide corner as if in slow motion, then cranked up the speed to 170 KMH into the straight. Shops and arcades whipped past outside at an alarming rate, at this speed you'd hit something before you even realised to avoid it. A flash of purple on his right had him confused for a minute. That couldn't be...Hidan? He was driving like never before, controlled and damn fast. Sasori ignited the Nos and the two shot off into the neon glare.

Kisame watched metal fences whip past in a blur. He was pushing 180, yet could not keep up with the red and purple dots in the distance. He drew level with Itachi and flipped him off – grinning. Itachi accepted the challenge and they double drifted round the last corner before entering the crowded central shopping lane. Driving here was so much more difficult, there were pedestrians crossing the streets in their thousands, and so many traffic lights. To show his superiority over such law-abiding manners Itachi ran a red light – backwards. He went nose to nose with Kisame's Honda NSX before spinning a 180 right in front of a camera. Zetsu would appreciate that! Kisame turned up the volume on his stereo and old metal music boomed in his ears, almost blocking out the noise of his engine.

The five racers tore up the city. The first lap passed in a whirlwind of fumes, screams and smoking tyres. The nos was running low and from the beginning of the 2nd lap it got down to dirty driving skills. Hidan was surprisingly keeping 2nd place, with Sasori only just ahead of him, behind them Pein followed at a dangerous pace, doing anything and everything to overtake. In the two last places, Itachi and Kisame tricked off. They didn't care for the race, both were only interested in bettering each other at flashy driving. Kisame was driving with his feet – head out of the sunroof, while Itachi followed him in reverse. They had everyone's attention and as they sped round the corner they were the first to witness the near impossible crash ahead of them. An orange car, spinning at an angle through the air, neons aglow with fire. It seemed to happen in slow motion, and the sound seemed only to reach them after a long time. Pein's car flipped onto the other carriageway and landed on it side. The deafening sound of crunching metal reverberated through the night, accompanied by the squealing of tires and the smash of glass as all the windows blew out. A great gouge was torn out of the road as the wrecked chasse swept across it and into the barrier at the far side. There was nothing they could do, and as they watched a small figure rolled out. An instant later, the whole thing exploded. Orange flames leapt sky high and set the terrible scene aglow. Glass glinted evilly from the road side, illuminating what looked like blood around the drivers door.

Itachi put the car into gear and sped off, intending to get the hell out before the cops arrived. Kisame however pulled over and ran into the midst of the chaos. The flames heat reached his face even at a distance, and with a twinge of horror he realized that the fuel tank would ignite at any second. His heart beat double time, was this how worried Kakuzu felt about Hidan...all the time? How did he do it?

Stooping to pick up Pein who had fallen unconscious, he felt the flames caress his face and knew the fire had spread. He had to get back to his car-now. Hurling his friend into the backseats he jumped into the drivers seat and sped away. One glance in his rear-view mirror told him all he needed to know –he'd only just made it in time. Metal shards flew everywhere as the petrol tank exploded. Pein sighed and rolled over, Kisame had just saved his life. Panting in shock, Kisame drove them to the finish line. This race was sure as hell over now.

(Yes I'm English, we spell it "grey")