OSPREY…SWOOOSH
Ichigo: Where is our author?
Orihime: I think he said something about homework, exams and Pokémon X whatever that is.
UO: Yes Orihime School is kicking my butt and Pokémon X came out so I have been busy. Besides I sent you the memo to hang out with my Journey cast.
Tatsuki: Yeah, they were good kids even though they were a little young.
UO: Well heads up then I am going to de-age everyone except Andrew and have you guys work together in a future story.
Orihime: It will be nice to work with them I wonder what will happen.
UO: A Secret even to you guys. You aren't going to be in my next story in that series it will be the third one.
Andrew: What will happen to me?
UO: That is a good question. The way I see it somehow I have to clone Tatsuki.
Tatsuki: Why?
UO: You will be an integral in that story and I don't want to separate you two. You have chemistry. As for Andrew I will put him in another story maybe the academy story I have up.
Andrew: (sigh) OK
UO: Buck up man I'm not going to cut you lose that easily. Besides I still have a long way to go here. We aren't even in Round 3 where the poll apparently didn't work (Grumbles). Anyway plot wise I decided Malaysia will be Round 3 and Korea will be Round 4 followed by Japan. Considering their placement I am going to have those tracks in three straight chapters to show the effort it takes for racing. I am going that at least three possibly four times, because of where some of the races are. F1 typically does this for logistical reasons as they have over twenty races in a season and they don't race every week. NASCAR goes with two or three weeks off from the end of February to the week before Thanksgiving which is November in America, granted they are in the same country. Readers look up the tracks if you aren't familiar with them. Alright disclaimer please.
Renji: Gladly, UnitedOsprey1991 doesn't own Bleach Tite Kubo does. He also doesn't own the various real life teams he is using, the manufacturers, the tracks or the hypothetical future grandchildren of the various drivers. Only Andrew, Raoul, Maria, and Rebecca are his and Rebecca is up for debate.
Ichigo: WHERE DID YOU COME FROM (Flips a table for no reason.)
Renji: I have been here the whole time Kurosaki. But in your rambling you were obviously blind to not see the awesome me.
Ichigo: Grr (starts attacking Renji and somehow destroys the studio causing everyone to sweatdrop)
UO: (Sigh)
Andrew: Are you going to stop them?
UO: No…I needed this after what I have been through. Anyway as stated in last chapter this will be a fun little chapter get some development and some interaction. This actually helps me because the exams drained the creative juices out of me. Alright on with the show.
Normal: Dialogue
"Italics and quotations": Radio and track announcer
'Italics and apostrophe': Thoughts
Bold: Yelling
Bold and Italics: Yelling in head:
Name followed by a colon: In-race TV Announcer
Chapter 4: Downtime equals Reflection
Last time the World Grand Prix was hosted at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In the desert heat, it looked like Tier Harribel from Souske Limited was going to win as engines blew, tempers flared and energy depleted. But a costly mistake helped set up the Kurosaki Hondas especially the 91 of Andrew Michaels who through perseverance despite the heat was able to become the first American in the history of the World Grand Prix to not only podium but to win the race. Ichigo was able to grab second and fellow American Serenity completed the podium. Now with the race and the interviews over, the race organizers gave the drivers a two night stay at one of the local resorts, all expenses paid.
When Ichigo, his sisters, Uryu, their fathers, Andrew, Tatsuki and Orihime checked in they were greeted very warmly by the reception and their bags filled with three days of clothes and other necessities were taken up to their rooms. They got up to the room they were amazed at the opulence of the room. It was similar to a penthouse suite with four different rooms branching from a main room with a kitchen area near the door. The main room had a large couch, a flat screen T.V and a large glass sliding window which overlooked the futuristic capital city which looked beautiful in the desert night. After tipping their porters, they settled into the room as they cranked out the wine that came with the room and the meals that came with them.
They all grabbed a glass, the twins got sodas because of their age while everyone else got poured a glass.
"I would like to purpose a toast." Isshin said to the gathered group. "To Kurosaki-Ishida, may our fortunes be always in our favor (Hunger games reference completely unintentional. Don't own).
"KEMPAI" the clanked their glasses as the screen fades out
After taking a sip, Andrew was the first to comment "I don't know how I got through that but I am glad that I got that first win out of the way." A raised glass from those gathered was the response he got.
Uryuu adjusted his glasses "I will admit that race was really tough. Honestly given how Ms. Harribel was eating through the competition she was going to win."
Ichigo tched. "Uryuu you are such worrywart." Uryuu growled but said nothing.
Ryuken then asked stoically. "I have to ask Andrew why did you choose to stay in your car.
Said driver was silent then spoke. "My father told to finish what I started. If I quit when it got tough then what. I wouldn't be here. Ichigo you know that better than anyone." Andrew said taking another sip of his wine.
Ryuken nodded satisfied for now. Andrew stood up. "Sorry guys love to stay and chat but I am going to hit the showers and then go to bed. Good night y'all." Andrew said finishing his glass and went to the room he grabbed.
Yuzu yawned. "Looks like we are going to hit the hay as well. Orihime, Tatsuki try not to disturb us when you go to bed." Karin said as she and her twin went to the room the girls were going to share.
Chad was next he didn't have as much to drink and wasn't in the car as long but he was just tired. This left the two father-son duos.
Isshin turned to his son. "You've done well the first two races son. A win and a second place finish. Solidly in first and taking names.
Ichigo chuckled "Nothing to it." Isshin shook his head "Don't get cocky. It's still a long season." Isshin said taking a sip of the wine.
Ryuken turned to his son. "You have done well supporting your teammates. I know you will win eventually."
"I just have to be patient father." Uryuu said nodding. Ichigo yawned and stood up. "After a race like that I think Andrew had the right idea I'm going to bed. Dad please don't do anything stupid."
"When have I done anything stupid." Isshin said with mock hurt expression.
"May I remind you of your daily attacks on your son that you claim is for his benefit." Ryuken said pushing up his glasses.
"I plead the fifth and make no promises." Isshin said childishly.
"YOU'RE NOT IN AMERICA YOU DON"T GET THE FIFTH AMENDMENT!" Andrew said suddenly throwing a wrench from out of nowhere at Isshin knocking him down. Isshin collapsed knocked out.
"Weren't you supposed to be sleeping?" Ichigo asked with narrowed eyes.
"Sorry, I was about to, but my idiot detector was going haywire ." Andrew said. Looking at Isshin he asked the question. "Is he going to be alright?"
"Yes just leave him, you guys have a good night's sleep." Ryuken said as he went into the room he and Isshin shared. Uryuu went to the same room as Chad while Ichigo walked up to Andrew and went inside.
The room was about three times the size of Ichigo's room. It had two queen size beds and a nice bathroom with a large shower. (Think hotel rooms you would find at a normal hotel except they had a larger bathroom.) Andrew had already picked out the bed closest to the window where he was trying to understand the Arabic language on the channel. He changed it to a sports channel and just so happen to be highlights of the race. He looked on as they covered the different things he did and even scrutinized the decision to stay out. They held his post-race interview and he just looked perplexed at his interview. He calm and collected completely opposite off screen.
He was only snapped of his thoughts at Ichigo's voice.
"Hey man your spacing out there. Anything wrong?" Ichigo said. He had apparently finished in the shower as he was wearing sleep shorts and wiping his hair down.
"Huh…oh yeah, I'm fine." Andrew said turning his attention back to the T.V as the analysts broke down the race while Ichigo sat on his own bed.
"Its surreal" Ichigo looked over at Andrew who was still glued to the screen. "What is?" Ichigo asked.
"I see the interviews and I see this person that is supposed to be me, on the inside I was nervous but the screen showed me all jubilant and happy. It's like I'm seeing a different person. You know me off the track, my behavior is not this." Drew said climbing up his bed and laying down under the sheets.
Ichigo sighed. "I know what you mean. As we continue to do well we are getting more and more popular. But we got to take it with a smile dad said."
Drew looked over "We aren't going to be those people that are mean to the fans now are we?"
Ichigo laughed "Nah I think we will be alright."
Andrew looked at the ceiling "What's your drive Ichigo?"
"What?"
"Your reason for driving, I'm sure every driver who's made it this far has one. What is yours?"
Ichigo laid back on his bed. "I don't know. I always liked driving but I never gave a reason for driving. What's yours?"
Andrew closed his eyes. "Originally I wanted to race for fun. I started doing well, I changed it to being the best. Now I'm in the Grand Prix and stuff has changed. But there is one thing that didn't change."
"What was it" Ichigo asked curiously.
Andrew opened his eyes which had tears in them and smiled. "To see the world, racing has opened so many possibilities, we are going to seventeen different countries this year alone. NASCAR allowed me to go to some countries but this will let me see the world. Each year they go to different tracks and as long as I'm up in the Grand Prix, I will see the world, win, lose, hurt or healthy. I just want to travel and race. If I wasn't driving I would be teaching the world Ichigo. You know history is my passion, now I can experience what few get to do in their lifetimes." Andrew chuckled "Not bad for someone who's dream was nearly crushed."
Ichigo heard his words and started thinking on what was said.
Andrew yawned. "Anyway good night…this has been a long day." Andrew said closing his eyes.
Ichigo stayed up for a few minutes as he thought about what Andrew said.
'Do I have a purpose in racing?' Ichigo thought. He looked back and remembered that his mother helped start his dream. She was with him through the first couple of years of his career in midget car racing. Then tragedy struck when he was eight, when his mother was killed when a drunk driver crashed into them. He was in the car and if it wasn't for the fact that he was in the back of the car he would have been killed too. So it was just him, his father and his two sisters and it was because of her death that he started racing with the idea to honor his mother who helped him. This is how it became a family affair as his sisters became his crew and his father his crew chief. Even more so when Uryu his cousin and Ryuken his uncle started racing like him.
He knew when he started his family had the money to back him and for a while he thought everyone who drove had money too. That changed when he raced in the NASCAR Junior Division which was one of the big steps towards the big racing series in America. He came in all cocky and he won the first race just like the World Grand Prix. But then a funny thing happened. That funny thing was the man sleeping on the other bed in the room. That man was a fifteen year old happy-go-lucky kid who looked like he should have been at some science convention, with how he was awkwardness in public and the fact that he was more hesitant to be friends with people. But on the track, he gave Ichigo a run for his money and that ticked him off. So early in the season, he called out Andrew and the two went to after each other in the media and on the track. A funny thing happened about three months into that season however. Ichigo remembered there was a stock market crash. He noticed that several of the teams that had started the season had dropped out by the end of the season and he didn't know why. It wasn't until he confronted Andrew at the Flemington race track that he knew. He didn't like Ichigo because he thought that having money was the key to his success. The driver who looked so composed on the track was on the verge of crying when he told them he and his dad only set a certain amount of money aside for the season and he would quit racing if that money ran out. Ichigo apologized profusely and Andrew waved it off. After a few moments of calming down he started talking about missing some root beer place up the road from the track. Ichigo had asked him about it and as they say the rest is history as they buried the hatchet over time.
The friendship was cemented by the end of the season and when Andrew was spun out on the last lap and the jerk took the title, he was the one that rallied the drivers after the officials stripped Joshua of the title, to give the trophy to Andrew, stating if Andrew wasn't spun out he would have won. He was also the one that lead the charge to help push Andrew's car across the line. From then on they were good friends and when Andrew declared his intention to attempt to get into the World Grand Prix, well Ichigo convinced his dad to give Andrew a shot. Isshin did so after last season when they got promoted to the top tier and Jushiro Ukitake announced his retirement prior to the end of the season. Andrew was ecstatic when he got the call and agreed, signing a contract and now they were here.
Ichigo's last thoughts was to the two reporters they were traveling with, Tatsuki and Orihime. Tatsuki after getting to know her a little bit was like a third sister, an aggressive tomboy of a sister that had more in common with Karin. She was friendly enough but wasn't afraid to bite back. He noticed her subtle glances at his roommate and wondered how to get the two together.
When he thought of Orihime his heart started speeding up. That smile of hers just made his day look a little better. Her long orange hair a little darker than his just seemed to suit her. Her chest got a little more attention than he wanted to admit but she was very shy to show off her body. Her fire suit just seemed to be perfect on her and he won't admit it to his father but he had a crush on Orihime. Ichigo fell asleep thinking about several things but he figured he would find the answers in due time.
Next day
Ichigo got up early the next morning. By the clock and the light underneath the blinds it was barely 7 o'clock local time. One thing he was started to hate about the Grand Prix was the constant time zone changes. Throwing on one of his shirts he walked into the main room. Looking around he figured he was the only one up, which is why the open sliding door to the balcony was open. Investigating he found Orihime leaning on the rails with her camera out in one of the hotel robes. The lighting of the landscape seemed to have caught her attention and from her vantage point the city seemed to come alive for her camera.
"Hey Orihime." Ichigo called out. Orihime squeaked and bobbled he camera, catching it she was tipped over the edge. Ichigo on instinct tried to catch her and pulled her in only to land on his back with Orihime straddling him. They both blushed at the proximity to each other and were thankful for the early morning as they didn't want to be caught like this. The recovered and agreed to forget about the incident for now.
"Sorry I didn't mean to scare ya." Ichigo said as Orihime went back to her photography after making sure her camera was o.k.
"Don't worry Kurosaki-kun I was so focused on the beauty of this city in the morning, that I didn't expect anyone up in the morning. Hahahaha" Orihime said laughing.
Ichigo smiled at her laugh and looked over the edge of the balcony. Seeing the sun begin to creep over the horizon he heard a distinct horn sounding throughout the city. (For those that don't know they do that when they call Muslims to prayer. This early in the morning is one of the five distinct times they do this.)
"I wonder what that was? I hope nothing bad is happening?" Orihime asked a little worriedly.
"I don't think anything happened. It might just be a regular occurrence in this city." Ichigo said. Looking over at her he couldn't help to ask the question. "Inoue-chan what exactly got you into photography or even reporting for that matter.
Orihime lowered the camera and sighed. The resort they were staying at was close to coast. Even this high up the Persian Gulf was sending a nice warm breeze which flowed through her hair. Ichigo noted it made her look very pretty. He shook his thoughts as Orihime had gathered her thoughts.
"I was always the shy girl in school. It didn't help matters that I was an early bloomer and wasn't confident in my appearance. The girls would make fun of my hair and the boys would just ogle me. Tatsuki defended me more often than not and helped me defend myself that's how we became friends and offered me to stay with her family when my brother died. " Orihime said then looked down. "I was given a camera for my fifth birthday by my brother Sora, my guardian because my parents died when I was little. I took pictures of everything I saw. When my brother died when I was eight, I hid behind the camera lens as a way to remember my brother and to hide my insecurities. I became really good and I joined the school photography club to continue my passion. When it came time for my major, the choice was obvious to go into journalism."
Ichigo nodded at that. "My brother told me two things before he died. One was to never care for what people said about my hair and that it was beautiful to never hide. He gave me these hairpins (think the ones that hide her Shun Shun Rikka) to keep it out of my eyes. The second was to never give up my passion, the world was beautiful despite all of the development they have and my camera was going to catch it all. My dream is to photograph as much as I can, that's why I took this job." Orihime looked up and smiled.
Ichigo looked over the balcony and smiled "That's a nice dream. I guess everyone has one huh." Orihime giggled at that response.
They heard rustling behind them and saw Andrew walking out of the room.
"Damn mosques, I respect Muslims as much as the next guy but do these calls to prayer have to be so early in morning." Andrew grumbled rubbing his head. He looked up to see the two close to each other. "Am I interrupting anything?" Andrew asked a raised eyebrow. The two red heads sputtered out refusals. He shook his head and turned on the flat screen to catch the morning news.
Later that day
After breakfast an agreement was for most of the group to spend at least part of the day wondering the city and taking in the sights. Isshin and Ryuken wanted to check on the transporters so they could take off the first thing next day and Chad agreed to help them. Ichigo agreed to look after his sister and Orihime tagged along. Uryuu wanted to catch up on some reading and was going to be at the pool area for some of the day. Tatsuki and Andrew decided to explore together as well; when called out on the coupling Andrew and Ichigo gave Isshin a brain duster to the giggling of Orihime and the exasperation of Tatsuki.
Tatsuki and Andrew were wondering through a park area near the financial district. Having walked after taking a taxi to the area they were amazed at the architecture and greenery for such a large city.
Tatsuki had taken pictures of the parks as they walked and was video-taping their walk. Andrew though was looking at the recovered scenery and at the happy people
"It's crazy." Andrew said talking to the camera. "Twenty years ago this city was almost decimated by war. If it wasn't for their neighbors then this whole area plus countries like Qatar and Bahrain would have been swallowed up. (This is 2070 remember) Now it looks like a war never happened." He said seeing an Arabic family praying on their carpets. (Not sure what they are called.) Abu Dhabi and Dubai have truly become world cities. Not bad for a country not even on the map a hundred years ago.
Andrew and Tatsuki continued their walk as they went to a local market area. Andrew was browsing through wares and happened to come across a pearl stand.
"I've read pearl diving around here is some of the best in world. They a diamond's a girl's best friend but something about pearls just catches the eye." Andrew said picking out a set of earrings and a necklace. He whistled at the price but paid it nonetheless.
"Souvenir hunting, always want something from my travels. This is going to my mom when get back to Japan. Thank you." He said to the shop keeper taking the offered bag. They waved good bye and continued on their way. They looked around some more and headed back to the hotel. Along the way they ran into some race fans of multiple ethnicities and of both genders who wearing shirts with his face a. He laughed when they asked him for his autograph and then took a few pictures with him. When the fans left he turned to Tatsuki. "Well now I guess we are getting popular wonder how Ichigo handled this." He then looked and saw Ichigo's group and waved to them and started walking over.
While Andrew and Tatsuki were exploring the city
Ichigo was with Orihime and his sisters. Whereas the couple went towards the city they went out towards the coast and the harbor. The twins or at least Yuzu looked at all of the stands in wonder while Karin just smiled as Yuzu went from stand to stand. Orihime was smiling at their enthusiasm.
Ichigo smiled at the twins and laughed when Yuzu brought him over to a clothing stand. Orihime laughed and brought out her camera to take some pictures of Yuzu and Karin tried to get him to try some of the clothes.
After putting the stuff back they walked and saw they were at the harbor area. Seeing all of the fishing boats reminded them of Japan's fishing industry and how it went down when most of the game fish were endangered or went extinct (Real problem nowadays.) It was shortly after his argument with Andrew, that Ichigo went home and took a walk around the fishery a few miles away from his town. Most of the ships were docked, the marketplace was dead, and the town was dying. He was living in luxury where most of the fisherman could barely feed their families. He convinced his father to help donate some money to the town; he finally understood somewhat what Andrew tried to tell him and understood what some of the less-funded teams were going through.
He was shook from his thoughts by a camera click and a feminine giggle. Orihime was laughing as she had taken a picture of him thinking.
"Sorry Ichigo but that look just had to be taken." The twins giggled at his expression. Orihime than took a picture of all three siblings who smiled in it with all of the ships in the background
"Alright now it's your turn you two." Karin said and the two red head blushed red at that. They stood a little bit apart as Yuzu took the camera.
"Oh come on you two get in closer." Yuzu said with a pout. Orihime just stood there but Ichigo wrapped an arm around her shoulder getting a squeak out of her. Yuzu took a picture of the couple who were still blushing especially Orihime whose face was darker than her hair. Calming down they decided to head back to the hotel and meet up with the others for lunch.
On their way back they passed through another area close to where Tatsuki and Andrew were. They heard their friends calling and they proceeded to walk back to the hotel.
After lunch, they decided to spend some time at the pool. Ichigo and Andrew quickly changed into their trunks and were waiting by the lightly populated pool area. Well Ichigo was on the edge in his black swim trunks Andrew was on at a table with a root beer in his hand wearing blue and white trunks. Uryuu was on a chair nearby reading in his white t-shirt and blue trunks. Chad was entertaining some ladies off to the side with his muscles
"What could be taking those girls so long?" Ichigo said.
Andrew nodded, "I know they often take a long time. I figure Orihime would be taking the longest she gives off the vibe she is extremely shy."
Uryuu tilted his glasses "Ichigo just be patient. Good things come to those who wait a wise man once said" he said causing Ichigo to glare but the blue haired driver ignored it.
Andrew looked up and saw Chad showing off. "Never took Chad for a playboy." Ichigo looked over at Chad who just flexed his muscles to the giggling of some the foreign girls in his presence. (Personally I think Chad could pull some of this off if he were a little more assertive) "Yeah…go figure; he had to leave the country to find attention. Chad was a bit of an outcast in school. I happen to come across him being picked on. This happened to be after your little tirade against me. Let's just say you have more an impact on this team forming than you realize.
Andrew grinned and brought the bottle up to his lips "I guess it was just the right timing that all of us happened to know each other." Andrew took a sip as he looked towards the entrance of the pool area only to choke on the drink at the sight that greeted him. His coughing caught the attention of the two boys and looked in that direction. Uryuu's book fell to pool tiles while Ichigo's face heated up.
It was at that moment Tatsuki, Orihime and the twins walked in. Yuzu was wearing a pink one piece and it showed her developing figure nicely. Karin was wearing a black one piece and she had sunglasses on her head. Tatsuki was wearing a black two piece that was tied in the back and showed her muscular yet very feminine frame. Orihime though is what drew Ichigo's attention. She was wearing a white two piece which was tied around her neck. Her breast were covered nicely but her complexion seem to enhance her figure. Her hair was tied up but it just made her look cute. Orihime saw Ichigo's gaze and turned her head shyly away. Tatsuki though coaxed her to where the boys were ad she felt embarrassed to be there as it seemed every eye was on her. When she walked up to where the boys were there were jealous looks of both genders directed at them.
Ichigo snapped out of his stupor when Orihime looked at him. "So…how do I look?" Orihime said shyly.
Ichigo gulped and stuttered uncharacteristically, "Y-you l-look g-great." Ichigo said which got her to smile. It was at this Andrew recovered from his coughing fit, and started laughing.
"Oh man who knew the mighty Ichigo Kurosaki could be so flustered by a girl." Ichigo growled but then smiled as he walked over to him and picked him up. Through his protests, Ichigo just chucked him into the pool. When he surfaced everyone was laughing in their group was laughing. He swam over to the edge where Tatsuki attempted to help him up. Tatsuki caught a glint in his eye and before she could think she was pulled under with a yelp. Tatsuki sputtered in the pool and now everyone was laughing at her. She mock glared at Andrew who was chuckling at her face. "You're not setting anyone on fire Tatsuki." Andrew said only to be splashed with water causing him to growl but returned the smile.
After that little exchange they enjoyed themselves. It was the off season for the hotel so there weren't a lot of people to bother with. Andrew and Tatsuki played around with an American football Andrew had brought with him on the trip. They managed to get Ichigo, Chad and Uryuu into this and they were splashing around trying to get it. Karin even got into and Orihime was there videotaping it on side of the pool with her waterproof camera. After a bit they started relaxing around the pool. Orihime was up at the table they picked out watching them swim around. Andrew and Ichigo came by to get snack and drink orders and walked away for a few minutes. Orihime had blushed slightly at Ichigo's body wet from the pool and watched them leave. Yuzu saw that look and smiled, she knew Orihime and her brother were slowly falling for each other but her big brother was stubborn. She shook her head and brought out a deck of cards to play Orihime. They were in the middle of a game of Gin when they were interrupted by a man who walked over. The man looked European possibly north European mixed with Arabic features looked at the girls especially Orihime with a look of lust.
"Well Madame must I say you look lovely today. Who are your pretty friends here?" He said to Orihime. She tried to walk away but he cornered her. She looked around and saw Ichigo and Andrew were nowhere to be found and Uryuu and Chad had gone back to the room. Tatsuki her dependable guardian went to the bathroom and Karin seeing the commotion started swimming over.
"Please go away, I don't want any trouble." The man grinned and wrapped an arm around Orihime who flinched from the touch. Karin had climbed out of the pool at this point and walked over and grabbed the hand off of Orihime. "What is your problem buddy leave her alone?"
The man turned toward the Karin and got a good look at her twin and grinned. "Well now three beautiful girls might be my lucky day." He was going to make another comment when a welcomed voice broke the stand off
"Can I help you buddy?" Ichigo asked as he was carrying some drinks with him. Andrew was carrying the food but he sat it down and stood behind Ichigo.
"Yeah you can start by standing aside and letting a real man show these girls a good time." He leered. Ichigo growled "I don't think you want to do that."
"What are you their boyfriend?" Another one asked.
"No…but two of them are my sisters" Ichigo answered pushing the guy back.
He growled "Do you know who I am. I am the heir to the fortune of the British Solar Corporation I could sue you for every penny you own." The man said.
To his immense shock all six of them laughed even the serious looking black hair girl.
Andrew recovered first "British Solar? Wait…aren't you the guys that control 60% of the British Solar Production. Let's see I believe the net worth was…200 billion pounds which is about $323 Billion American Dollars, 234 billion euros and about 31 trillion yen, Ichigo how much revenue did your dad's company make last year?"
The man's faces paled at that. It was Karin who answered "I saw the numbers it was close to 800 billion Yen. That is about $8 trillion American Dollars, 5 Trillion pounds and close to 6 trillion euros. Granted the Yen is a much bigger conversion and a lot of our money goes to charity now about 30% of the profits after taxes and expenses. The profits were close to 100 Billion Yen we still live pretty well." (This was the conversion when I wrote this).
The man took another look and started sputtering "Y-your Ichigo Kurosaki the driver from the World Grand Prix, hehehe, I am a huge fan of yours. Uh…look this is all a big misunderstanding can we put this behind us.
Ichigo walked over and lifted him up "You know I could have ignored this but you hit on my sisters so why don't you make like water and cool off." Ichigo said sending the man flying.
The leader sputtered as he surfaced. "Y-you haven't seen the last of me. I just hope we never see you in Britain." He took off running.
Ichigo scoffed "Yeah I hope we don't run into you either." He was jolted out of his thoughts when Orihime glomped him.
"Ichigo Thank you for helping us." Orihime said into his back. Ichigo smiled "Anytime Orihime. Yuzu, Karin are you alright?" The twins nodded and Tatsuki who just walked back had a worried look on her face.
"Hime are you ok I saw what happened?" she said checking her over.
Orihime just laughed at her friend. "We're fine Tatsuki-chan."
With the jerk gone they resumed their poolside activities. After another hour everyone except the red-heads had gone back to their rooms. Ichigo and Orihime were sitting poolside watching the setting sun.
"Wow the sun is so pretty here. I mean Japan is beautiful but something about the ocean and desert is something else." Orihime said in a child-like wonder.
Ichigo chuckled "Yeah it is. It's unbelievable the view here." Orihime stepped out of the pool and grabbed her camera. "Kurosaki-kun…can I take some shots of you. I m-mean not to put this on T.V but to…oh" Orihime blushed heavily. Ichigo smiled and nodded. As Orihime took the pictures Ichigo just took it in stride. She took pictures of him sitting in the pool walking on the pool deck and looking towards the sun. Orihime couldn't help but admire his form as he posed for her camera.
"This would be perfect for our picture album. One set of pictures for the channel one for the personal file." This made Ichigo to laugh.
"Yeah wouldn't want these mixed up now would we" Ichigo said which got Orihime to laugh. "Speaking of which how is the progress on that." He asked her.
Orihime tapped her chin. "We sent the video we took from the first two races and the stuff from between the races. That footage is going to get mixed with the other camera crews and hopefully we have enough for a couple of episodes. Of course the focus is going to spread across all nine teams." Ichigo nodded and then had an idea.
"Inoue-chan…do you mind if I took some pictures of you?" Ichigo stuttered out. It was a wonder the poor red head hadn't past out from blood pressure.
"O-Ok" Orihime stuttered. Ichigo took the camera and started taking pictures. Orihime's shy demeanor in front of the camera just brought out her beauty even more as Ichigo snapped her portrait. A breeze went through her soft hair and he captured the moment. Lying down she gained a little confidence and sent a wink to the camera causing a small blush from the camera. Putting the camera down, Ichigo sighed.
"You know just from being with you it is amazing you haven't had a boyfriend" Ichigo said and then choked as his mind caught up to him.
Orihime's big brown eyes widened and sat up. "What do you mean Kurosaki-kun?"
Ichigo recovered "I…I mean…you have a sweet personality and you don't flaunt yourself even though you have every right to. It is amazing that you don't have a boyfriend.
Orihime looked away "Most boys didn't want me for my personality. All the rest were scared by Tatsuki."
Ichigo chuckled "Yeah she would do that." Ichigo turned to face the sunset. Orihime embolden by Ichigo's words kissed him on the cheek. When Ichigo felt that he turned to Orihime who was smiling brightly.
"Thank you for that" she said. She giggled at his expression and then walked over to the table which held their towels. She walked out with a slight saunter. Ichigo shook himself out of his stupor and walked after her and went back to their hotel room. The next day they shipped out back to Karakura.
Next Day: Location, Charlotte, North Carolina
Half a world away from where the Kurosaki team was taking a break was a city completely different in size and location. When the World Grand Prix started up and the hydrogen fuel cells took off some cities started growing more because of teams making their headquarters in those cities. In the United States four of them in particular took off. Indianapolis, Indiana home of the IRL was one of them as was Daytona Beach Florida home of the headquarters of NASCAR's various affiliates. Both of those tracks are regular additions on the World Grand Prix as is the case this year. The third city was Nashville, Tennessee to some people's surprise. It became the headquarters for operations of the majority of the lower tier divisions in America due to the fact most of the tracks they ran on were in the Midwestern U.S.
The last city that took off was Charlotte, North Carolina. A population of one million people in 2020 it grew to about four million people by 2070. This was due in part to the large banking sector of the city. The other part was the fact at the time of Grand Prix's founding almost all of the NASCAR teams were based out of that city and the track that resided there. The jobs working the businesses they were attached to that helped drive the city. Like the last ten or so years, three Grand Prix teams make their home, the last time an American team dropped out was Petty Enterprises twelve years prior and eventually Stewart-Haas was promoted. Hendrick Motorsports, Rousch Fenway Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing, the pinnacle of American skill, engineering and performance; all based out of this one city.
We find ourselves at the headquarters of the Hendrick team. At one time this place was nothing more than an R&D facility with a garage for multiple cars in it. Now it was so much more. Similar to the Kurosaki garage it had a workout facility and was updated to hold more than just a few cars and had several offices as well. This was also the HQ for Hendricks's car dealership business; they had six different dealers across North Carolina. Like most of the teams they had businesses on the side, Hendrick just so happened to be a car dealer before the Grand Prix. Now they had expanded into car parts and repairs and were among the first one's that helped adapt old cars to take hydrogen fuel cells. This helped provide the extra money needed to compete regularly in the World Grand Prix. Now this facility had more than just R&D this was also one of the locations where they modified cars. One of the major banks also invested money into this facility and the lowest floor was occupied by a branch of that bank.
A sleek red and black Chevrolet Camaro pulled up to the building. Turning off the car, the driver climbed out of it. It was Serenity Gordon dressed up casually in a white blouse and skinny jeans and black slip on shoes. Looking around she spied a Red Dodge F-150, a blue Corvette and a black Chevy Impala. Cursing under her breath, Serenity quickly made her way through the building to an elevator. Pressing the top floor she impatiently as the elevator climbed to the fourth floor where she had a meeting with her team. The elevator doors opened and she ran to the doors that had their meeting. Opening up she realized she was last one here.
"Well now that the champ has graced with her presence maybe we can get started" a southern voiced drawled. Looking to her right she saw a black haired man with a beard with brown eyes. He was wearing a grey shirt with and blue jeans. On the back of his chair was a jacket. This was Dale Earnhardt IV, the man who has won the Grand Prix's hottest male driver two years in a row and is often in contention for hottest driver with Souske driver Tier Harribel. He is regularly the target of fangirls. Go back far enough and you would see his grandpa was Dale Earnhardt Jr. who won the last NASCAR title before the Grand Prix's founding. His father was the first Dale Earnhardt winner of seven NASCAR titles and seventy-six race wins before he was tragically killed in a wreck at Daytona.
"Sorry but my appearance in the city took a little longer than I thought." Serenity said sheepishly.
"Cut it out Dale she is here isn't she" said a lighter but just as southern voice. This man looked like he was in high school with his boyish looks. He was dressed in jeans a blue shirt and had a cowboy's hat in front of him. This was Ralph Dillon who at twenty-three has just as much racing blood as Earnhardt. Except his Great-Great-Grandfather was Richard Childress, the longtime crew chief of Dale Sr. and former car owner of his namesake race team. That team was now in the second tier after winning the previous season thanks to Ralph. However, Hendrick got a hold of him and now he was a Grand Prix rookie just like the Kurosaki team. Dale growled and started arguing with Ralph. If it wasn't the fact they didn't have Japanese features you could have easily mistaken them for the Kurosaki team.
Serenity rolled her honey brown eyes. "Boys" She looked at Robert who shrugged. He was wearing a long sleeved grey shirt and blue jeans and had a bored look on his face. He shaved today which she noted looked nice on him.
"Alright boys…and Serenity settle down we have a few points to cover this week" said a middle aged man, wearing a casual red shirt and white khakis. This was Jonathon Richard Brant, Great-Grandson from Rick Hendrick the original owner of Hendrick motorsports from daughter of his late son who died in 2004.
The four calmed down and sat down. John pulled up a hologram.
"You guys did what you could in the race on Sunday. Serenity got on the podium and Robert finished eighth. Dale and Ralph what happened." He asked looking at the two glaring duo. "I think it's because he's in over his head." Dale said causing a tick mark to show up over Ralph.
"If it was just me being over my head what about those Kurosaki-Ishida folks they have done fine in their first two races. Maybe all of that hair gel got through to your brain." Ralph drawled out.
Before another argument could break out John cleared his throat to interrupt them. "Please save your bickering for after the meeting that is another thing I want to bring up." John punched a couple of buttons and replays of Kurosaki Hondas actions in the previous two races began playing.
"I'm asking you all what do you know about this team?" John asked.
Serenity raised her hand "I think I've had the most interaction with them off the track, well mostly Mr. Michaels. He seems to be a kind person but I've noticed something about him. He has this nervousness around people especially before a race. Now I think it might be him being a rookie, but I have noticed a couple of other things about him. He seems to open up more to his teammates than his reporters and seemed more rattled by the heat in Abu Dhabi. As for the other three, Ichigo seems like a hot head but his skill cannot be understated. Uryuu seems like the cool headed person of team" Serenity walked over to the screen and pulled up footage from Abu Dhabi, during the last race he was keeping me and Tier occupied until the last two laps when Tier was able to get under him and I was able to get around on the outside. As for Chad he seems like a quiet type I haven't seen him shaken much." Here Serenity smiled, "Sounds like certain people I know."
The three boys sputtered at that. Serenity laughed at their reactions.
"Okay thank you Serenity." She nodded to John and sat down. "Anyone else have anything?" When he saw the boys shake their heads he sighed "Alright the next point of business concerns them. The next three races are over in East Asia, specifically Malaysia, Korea and Japan. I have talked with their team leader and he agreed to put us up both with a place to stay and a place to store our cars. So next week we fly to their headquarters and they will pick us up. From there we will travel to each of the races. I am sure Rousch and Stewart-Haas will find similar arrangements but the next three weeks we will bunking at one of their homes.
The group nodded at that. They could make their own judgments about the rookies when they visited
John continued "Alright then the last point of business is the next race. We will be racing at the Sepang International Circuit. Located about 60km south of the capital it has been long time favorite of the fans. Known for sweeping turns and long straights this is a perfect venue for these cars. We start along a very long pit straight you could easily top seventh gear on this straight. You then break into turn one then quickly go into the turn two left hander similar to a setup of the Shanghai circuit but it also goes downhill. Turn three is a sweeping right hander that leads into an almost right angled turn four known locally as the Langkawi curve. Turns 5 and 6 is a very fast chicane and with the g-forces tire ware could become a factor at this track with that combination. 7 and eight are a double apex turn that you will probably take in fourth gear. Beware the bumps here as it could send you into another car. Turn 9 is similar to two except its uphill which goes into 10. 10 is a sweeping left turn that abruptly stops in eleven which goes back right almost requiring braking and turning at the same time. Turn 12 is bumpy but you can run flat out into turn 13 which is a flat right hander but it sets up tricky 14 known as Sunway Lagoon which acts like eleven you need to brake and turn. If you set up properly you can get a good jump on the final straight which leads into the turn 15 hairpin. The pit entrance is in the center of the turn so be careful. Finally the hairpin leads into the pit straight. That is one lap at Sepang.
As he talked he noticed some of the drivers taking notes while the reporter was busy recording the conversation.
"Okay then, I expect to see you on Monday for our flight to Japan. Dismissed" John said as they all got up and left to their own thing. Serenity stepped into the elevator pressed the first floor button. Just as the doors closed they reopened to allow Robert to climb in and let it close.
A few awkward moments later Robert spoke, "So…Andrew Michaels" Serenity shook her head.
"Robert he is just someone who interests me competitively. Although I happen to find him a little cute" Serenity said.
Robert growled "He doesn't look like much Serenity I wonder how Kurosaki got him though."
The elevator opened up and they stepped outside. Serenity turned to look at her longtime friend. "Look Andrew might not seem much but he has shown results so far. When we started we didn't look like much but now one of us is a champion and the other has several wins" Serenity said describing themselves. "As for how Kurosaki got him, I remember reading that he was friends with the owner's son, Ichigo. If you paid attention in the offseason, he was one of the big free agents following last year. When Jushiro Ukitake retired, they signed him. The Kurosaki team is mostly homegrown talent but all four knew each other long before they jumped tiers. We were one of the teams scouting them and if it wasn't for their team suddenly freeing up a space we could have easily been teammates."
Robert looked at Serenity in shock as she walked away. "Serenity"
She stopped "Robert you are a good friend. I don't want jealousy ruining a possible chance to be friends with this team. Andrew is a good driver and a good person. I will see you later." Serenity said getting into her car and driving away.
Robert sighed as he went towards his Corvette and started the engine. 'Serenity…I wish we could be more than good friends…maybe she's right.' He said pulling out of the parking lot.
As he pulled away other teams around the world were making preparations for the next race. The week off between Abu Dhabi and Malaysia might be needed as they would be racing 6 of the next 8 weeks including the next three. What will happen as they begin the grind that is a racing season? Find out on Bleach Grand Prix.
End of Chapter
UO: Alright that was a good development chapter. Sorry for all of the fluff but I felt it was needed. Anyway next three chapters will be race chapters followed by a break and then three more race chapters so stick around for that.
New terms
Sepang International Circuit: Locate outside Kuala Lampur Malaysia like many F1 track designed around the turn of the 21st century it is designed by Hermann Tilke. It was opened in 1999, and can run in three different configurations. This race will be run on the full circuit. A variety of racing series use this including motorbikes.
Chapter preview
With the first race of a back to back stretch the teams descend on tropical Malaysia. But as the rains fall who will survive with their cars intact? Find out
Next Chapter: Mayhem in Malaysia
Please review kindly and critique anything you find wrong. Also if you guys want a theme song to go with his I got a couple that could fit. Next update might not be for a couple of weeks school is picking up and I have a wedding to go to next week. Anyway
OSPREY…SWOOOSH