OSPREY…SWOOOSH
UO: Now that the 11th division has paid for repairs it's time to update this bad boy. Actors are you ready?
Ichigo: Yes finally out of the hospital.
Andrew: You liked Orihime caring for you don't you deny it.
Ichigo (Blushed)
Chad: Here
Uryu: Ready
UO: Where are the girls?
Tatsuki and Orihime run in out of breath.
Tatsuki: LOCK THE DOOR!
Orihime rushes in and barricades the door in a show of strength.
UO: May I ask what the heck is going on?
Orihime: Um…I might have inadvertently eaten Erza's cake? Mou…I'm sorry
UO: (Spazzes out) Sigh…let me make a call. (Ring) Hey Erza….yeah Orihime is here. She wants to make up for it…uh huh…that all? Alright be reasonable on the amount. Okay thanks. (click) Orihime your punishment is to make Erza some cakes to make up for it.
Orihime: Thank you. I'll make up to her and you.
UO: It is really hard to stay mad at you. Do you mind doing the disclaimer?
Orihime: OKAY! UnitedOsprey1991 does not own us, the tracks, the cars and the manufacturers or hypothetical future children. He only owns Rebecca, Andrew, Raoul and Maria.
UO: Thanks Orihime ON WITH THE SHOW
Normal: Dialogue
"Italics and quotations": Radio, track announcer, phone conversation
Underlined and Italics: Lyrics
'Italics and apostrophe': Thoughts
Bold: Yelling
Bold and Italics: Yelling in head:
Name followed by a colon: In-race TV Announcer
Chapter 16: The Blackest Sea
When we last left our heroes they had just wrapped up the first leg of the eight races in a row. Chad even though he was knocked out of the race played an important role in helping preserve the integrity of the Red Bull team. In the end the Red Bull team got the victory and Souske closed in on the Kurosaki team.
Now they were on a jet heading back to Japan. It was going to be a short turn around because the next race was a night race in Russia. This got the crew to groan and put stress on the drivers.
"Alright last item on the agenda is the race on Saturday. Yes I said Saturday it a night race. There will be three nigh races in the next seven races including two of the next three. So here we go. This race will be 3.5 miles long that is comparable to Silverstone in length. Like Korea this is part street circuit almost a third of it is on the streets of Sochi where this race is going to take place. From the start we had a slight right hand kink that leads down a decent size stretch. Then there is a loop not unlike the loop at Austria there are four turns. After turn 5 it leads to a stretch that leads to a right hander at 6. Then two small right handers at 7 and 8 lead to a left right chicane at 9 and 10. Then a short run up to turn eleven that leads to a long curving S turn for 12 and 13. Then there comes a section that funnels near the pits with turns 14 to 17 in a series of left right chicanes. We won't be able to bring our trucks in we will have to leave our planes at the airport because of it. Then turns 18 and 19 turns you back to the start finish line. This is going to be hard course with the streets and the tight turns. Be careful, dismissed."
The group broke up and they went to their rooms. It was evening and it was a long flight from Austria to Japan.
Andrew went into his room and groaned. "Great, I know night race after day races are common in NASCAR but at least the tracks are close. From Austria back to Japan then to Russia it's like they want to wreck us before the summer." He said rubbing is eyes and getting out his sleepwear. He had just finished getting ready when he heard a knock on the door. He walked to the door and opened up to see his girlfriend in a tank top and sleep shorts.
"Hey." She said smiling. Andrew returned the smile. "Hey there, come on in. I was just about to lie down and watch some T.V."
Tatsuki followed him and they got themselves situated on the bed. He started flipping through the channels when he came across the National Geographic Channel. The program was starting and it was on a recent subject, the Arabic War.
"I remember doing this. Me and Orihime did research on this work. I think we are listed as production assistants."
Andrew nodded and proceeded to watch it with Tatsuki pointing out what she did and what she contributed to the project.
After the show ended two hours later, it was late at night and Tatsuki decided to stay in the room. With the T.V off the room was silent in the room that was soundproofed for the engines.
"I hate war." Tatsuki looked at Andrew in the darkened room. "War is for stupidest things. Be it for religion, territory, and in this case fuel and outright destruction. I can never understand why humans fight."
Tatsuki looked at him as he looked sad. She crawled under his right arm and draped an arm over his chest getting a small blush from him. "You're a good person. We have watched you this season and you haven't done anything to warrant people hating you or fighting. You are funny, your happy all the time, your funny. What more could a girl ask for?" She asked the last part softly.
Andrew smiled and kissed her head and started rubbing her back. "All I know is there are only three things I care about right now. They are this team, my family, and most importantly…you, Tatsuki. I don't know if its love yet but my gut is telling me my future is with you."
Tatsuki widened her eyes and sat up. Andrew reached up and took her head to kiss her on the lips. Tatsuki was surprised but the tomboy just closed her eyes and fell into it. After a few moments
"I guess that means we are official huh?" Tatsuki said cheekily. Andrew rolled his eyes and the two proceeded to make-out for the next few minutes before falling asleep.
In Ichigo's room earlier, the red head was reading a book when he heard a gentle knock on his door.
He walked up to the door and opened it revealing Orihime in her t-shirt and sweatpants clutching her stuffed kitty.
"Hey there Orihime." Ichigo said smiling.
Orihime looked up with her innocent eyes. "Tatsuki doesn't seem to be coming back to the room…and I don't like to sleep alone. Can I sleep in here?"
Ichigo sighed but smiled. "Sure Hime. Knowing Tatsuki and Andrew they probably fell asleep watching some T.V."
Orihime nodded and went inside.
"You can take the bed Orihime." Ichigo offered.
Orihime panicked and waved her hands. "No, no don't do that I am intruding on your space, let me take the floor. I'll be fine Ichigo."
Ichigo shook his head. "Hime I am not letting you sleep on the floor. You are a girl you deserve the comfort of the bed."
"Well I don't feel it's right to take your bed." Orihime said crossing her arms and tried to seem upset. But it came out as an adorable pout.
The room was an uncomfortably silent. Then Orihime turned her head. "Ichigo if it means that much to you that I sleep on the bed, then how about…we share it." Orihime said blushing. Ichigo blushed as well. They had slept on the same bed once but it was because they were watching stuff on the way to Laguna Seca. To consciously sleep in the same bed it seemed indecent. But they had been dating since March and they wouldn't be doing anything more than that, Orihime was too innocent to be taken advantage like that. So he sighed.
"Alright Hime, if you insist. We won't do anything you aren't uncomfortable with."
Orihime blushed at the implications but she watched as Ichigo opened up the covers and climbed in her face still as red as her hair. She settled in on the pillow Ichigo's head wasn't on but squeaked when she was pulled closer.
"Don't want you to get cold Hime." Ichigo said rubbing his head.
Orihime looked at him and laid her head on his shoulder her kitten in her arms. "Ichigo…" Ichigo looked at her. "I have a bad feeling about this upcoming race. I don't know why but please…be careful."
Ichigo just kissed her head. "I can't make that promise. It's racing which is all about risk you know. But I will be fine if I know my girlfriend is cheering for me."
Orihime slowly widened her smile. "Yeah, I don't want my boyfriend getting hurt. But as you said it's the job you have."
The two started laughing at that remark. When they calmed down, Orihime looked at Ichigo with her doe grey eyes. "Do you mean it? Are you asking me to be your girlfriend officially?"
Ichigo leaned over and kissed her gently which caused the weaver princess to close her eyes in bliss. When they released Ichigo looked at her with adoration. "I wouldn't do that to any girl. I'll take great care of you, I promise."
Orihime smiled and laid down cuddling close to Ichigo. "Thanks…Ichigo. That really means a lot to me." She started closing her eyes. "I could get used to having…a boyfriend." She said drifted off to dreamland.
Ichigo watched her sleep for a few minutes. Her silent breathing and peaceful smile put him at ease.
'Orihime…one day I will say what I want to say to you.' Ichigo said as he joined her in dreamland.
Souske Limited HQ. Tuesday, May 16th. (I will state for the record that none of this true. This is my imagination. I just used what the real world gave me and spun my own twist to a potential regional conflict that I am surprised has not happened. So please don't flame me for this.)
Aizen was also watching the same program Andrew and Tatsuki were looking at. The Arabic War itself began in 2052 but the seeds of the conflict had been planted 14 years prior. When Hydrogen fuel became commercially viable there was a large scramble for access to relatively clean sources of water to power this new fuel craze. Those with access to uncontested water suddenly found themselves richer than ever before. The U.S, Russia, Britain, Canada of all countries and Japan because they had access to water they could only get to, became larger players on the world stage. They became large exporters of a renewable fuel and those companies that could adapt like British Petroleum, Exxon and Shell thrived.
One area of the world that suffered from this revolution was the Middle East. Once the largest supplier in oil, with the market for it destroyed, many countries' prosperity came to an abrupt end. The governments of Bahrain Qatar and Kuwait completely collapsed and several other countries in the area suffered economic depressions to the point that they almost collapsed, chief among them Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq.
At the same time there was a social shift in the predominately Islamic nations. The countries that could rebound were also changing its stances on the sharia, the religious laws of each nation. In formally far conservative countries like Saudi Arabia, the leaders realized to compete on the world stage they need to adopt more liberal views, chief among them the role of women in affairs. In a bold move that made international news, in 2044 Saudi Arabia reformed their constitution and religious laws to allow women more rights and allow them into affairs. It helped that a reform minded king took the throne after the previous generation died out. Many other Islamic nations started following suit and soon the Arabic world seemed to be catching up with the rest of the world. It would take a couple of generations but they would change with time.
The Islamic Republic of Iran was also willing to change their stance on their laws and was even thinking about reformatting the constitution. But there was an extreme element as there always is that not only wanted Iran to stay the way they were for over 70 years, they wanted the rest of the Arabic world to follow this example. So in 2049 just as Iran was about to vote on the change, the extreme elements, named the Islamic Preservation Front, launched a coup on the government officials displacing even the shah. They instituted the old laws and cracked down on women and those who resisted the government. Within two years they were almost like Iran in 2000's. But in the minds of the IPF, the Arabic world would not be safe unless they returned to the old ways.
After two years of gathering material, money, hiring mercenaries and creating alliances, on June 12th, 2052, the end of Ramadan the holy month of Islam, the Iranian Republican Guard renamed, the Islamic Restoration Guard attacked the U.A.E completely catching them off guard. Within a week they had occupied the Unified Emirate country. This unprovoked attack sent the world into a mad frenzy with calls for the United States to step in which they decided to stay out of it for the moment.
But Saudi Arabia told the world they could handle themselves and thus the Arabic War began in earnest. For two months the two countries were content with launching aerial attacks at strategic targets. To get better protection they occupied the ruined nations of Bahrain and Qatar who were fearful of IPF invasion. With technological superiority it appeared the Saudis had the edge.
That changed when Oman and Yemen, under radical leaders with similar ambitions to the IPF, surprised the world and attacked Saudi Arabia through the Empty Quarter. This forced the Saudis to commit troops and material to defend the south. Within three months the Saudis were fighting on two sides. Iran decided to finish them with a flanking maneuver through their neighbors Iraq which had occupied Kuwait as a protection measure. That proved to be one of their biggest mistakes as despite the in-fighting Iraq was unified in defense of their country and in the Battle of Babylon they forced the IPF to retreat. Iraq had taken the side of the Saudis and due to it being threatened, Jordan had joined on the Saudis side now named the Freedom for Islamic People and the war stalemated.
Meanwhile at the beginning of 2053, Palestine with money and support from multiple benefactors including the IPF launched a renewed attack on Israel and war began anew between the two entities. But this time it appeared that Israel would fall as Palestine successfully occupied vital cities. This forced Israel to do an unprecedented move to save itself and in the Treaty of Mecca, Israel and the Freedom for Islamic People signed a treaty of alliance that allowed Jordan Iraq and Saudi Arabia to aid Israel in April of 2053. This signaled the end of Palestine as within three months of that treaty signing Palestine was knocked out of the war allowing Israel to commit manpower to aiding the Freedom army.
Souske chuckled and looked at the large jar on his desk. Inside was a weapon that changed the war and the rest of the world forever. These were the ASX-275 Nanobots codenamed, Terror Bites. (Time Crisis Reference) These nanobots were designed to break down metal and recycle them efficiently much like worms do to a compost heap. These ones were as designed, the ASX 270 Mechons. (Xenoblade Chronicles reference) Souske hired one of his PMC's to steal multiple batches of the robots and reverse-engineered them to do more than that. Then he sold two batches to the Islamic Preservation Front and used the billions of dollars from the sale to buy out the old infrastructure from the bankrupt oil companies and began restructuring them to begin producing hydrogen. Using his PMC's and the threat of another batch to be unleashed he made an absolute fortune from selling arms to the IPF from buying out companies that would otherwise sit asset less.
What his money did was create one of the most shocking catastrophes in human history. On Yom Kippur while Israel was observing one of their holy days, the Islamic Restoration Front launched the Terror Bites on the Israeli people after testing it on prisoners and political opponents. The Terror Bites began in the north part of the country near the Jordan and Syrian borders. For four days the weapons attacked anything and everything in its path spreading into southern Syria and Western Jordan. The time would be called The Sorrows as people could not defend themselves from the machines and were forced to watch their friends and families be consumed. They got within fifty miles of Jerusalem when a brave team of Israeli soldiers set off an EMP away from the major cities. Their sacrifice saved the Jewish state and the country entered a state of mourning. In Jordan and in Syria similar actions saved their important cities from complete annihilation but the damage was done. Jordan was almost forced out of the war and Israel was forced to pull back and regroup.
The international reaction was immediate. When the first reports of this attack came, the United States immediately ordered their ships in the Indian Ocean to move and began mobilizing for war. With the people calling for revenge for Israel, the United States entered the war to end it. It took another nine months but the United States with their superior technology helped the Freedom Front win by invading Iran in April 2054 the irony being they lost at the beginning of Ramadan. The IRF made two huge mistakes when they attacked Israel. One was they underestimated the U.S mobilization after twenty years of being out of war. The other was counting on Russia, the ideological enemy of the U.S, to keep them out. But with no bone in the fight and being equally appalled at the devastation, Russia allowed the U.S to go in. Within four months most of the IRF forces were devastated and Tehran was captured in November 2054 by a coalition of American, Arabian and Israeli forces. This also revealed to the world the war crimes the IRF had brought to the Christians, the opponents and the women of the country under their reign. They were eventually sentenced to be executed by stoning according to their extreme religious beliefs
The war ended with the Treaty of Moscow in March 2055. Iran as an entity was no more. It was split among three countries, the U.A.E, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Yemen and Oman were now part of Saudi Arabia. Jordan and Israel agreed to share joint protection of the West Bank and with no Palestine, Israel took the Gaza strip. The big winner publically was Saudi Arabia with them taking two countries and parts of a third. For the first time in centuries the Arab world was at peace.
Privately however, Souske controlled most of the new fuel market in the Middle East and began making a name for himself as a rich entrepreneur. But under the surface, he hid his criminal activities using his business man good looks to hide his intentions for the world. Now he had brought the weapon that devastated countries and was prepared to unleash it on the drivers of the Grand Prix.
"Yes. These weapons will do nicely. Soon Souske will rise again and Kurosaki-Ishida will know my wrath." Aizen said as he looked at the glowing pod. Off to the side Gin was frowning at the weapon and sadly sighed. 'Sorry Kurosaki team, Kuchiki-sama, this might be one event I can't stop.' Gin thought as he walked out in front of Aizen.
Thursday May 19th Russia time
After a quick turn around and equipment change in Japan, the Kurosaki team landed at the Sochi airport and disembarked within two hours of landing after clearing customs. Ichigo, Andrew and the girls decided to take a brief tour around the city. Compared to what most people thought of Russia this resort town was quite pretty and more cheerful then the cold country north of them.
Despite it being late spring they were in jackets and long jeans. They were walking along the roads observing some of the sites the resort city had.
They came up to a barrier and looked across to see there were racing advertisements and temporary seating.
"It's strange that so much of the course is on the streets of this town. It feels like we have to contend with more than just the other racers." Ichigo said as the girls were taking photos.
"It's unnatural for our type of racing. I can see the F1 racing here but not us. This would be only third time racing on a mostly street course and next week we have Monaco and that's supposed to be a big time street circuit." Andrew said.
Ichigo hummed. "Guess NASCAR doesn't like street circuits."
"If anything, NASCAR is tough because of the banking on a majority of the circuits." Andrew said as they wondered away from the girl for a bit. "What's got me is that this traveling schedule is going to be murder on drivers."
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah the Grand Prix is not normally this long; they will have a smaller amount of races next year." He said.
Andrew sighed then smiled. "Well if there is one thing about Monaco is that I get to see this Monte Carlo place everyone talks about.
Ichigo laughed. "Yeah definitely a place to spend some money, hope you brought your luck."
Andrew smiled. "Yeah let's get through this week first. Oi girls you finished." The two girls ran up to them and proceeded to walk to the coast line.
"Wow this is lake is so pretty." Orihime said childishly.
Andrew chuckled. "This isn't a lake this is the Black Sea. From here you can reach Istanbul and the Mediterranean Sea. This sea is archeologists dream because of the oxygen levels."
"Is it because of the lack of oxygen which would normally create the erosion?
Andrew nodded. "That's right. They've found stuff that supposedly dates to biblical times almost perfectly preserved."
Orihime took a couple of pictures of the view. She shivered at the winds and bundled up her pink coat to stave off the cold. Ichigo pulled her close which caused her to blush but the seemingly cold air hid it.
After a few minutes of walking along the coast and watching the various families play in the sea they went back into town and grabbed lunch at nice little place. After lunch they were walking back to where they were staying when Orihime spied the Ice Rink.
"Sochi Ice Skating Rink?" Orihime's innocent eyes lit up. "Guys look an ice rink. Come on." She ran towards the center.
Tatsuki sighed. "She always likes going to places like this. Ugh…can't really fault her. You want to protect her from everything." She said running to catch her friend.
"Agreed." The boys said as they followed the girls into the skating rink. After a couple of hours two things were clear. One was Orihime could have been an ice skater. Two, despite their martial arts training, Tatsuki and Andrew could not keep their balance at all on the ice. It lead to plenty of laughs all around and more than a couple of cuts coming from the ice. All in all it was a fun time and it made for some fond memories.
Next Day
Because of the fact that the race would be taking place at night practice had been held at night the previous day and qualifying would take place at sunset. This upset a lot of drivers rhythms and proved that the World Grand Prix was no joke.
One man who wasn't perturbed by this was Souske Aizen and had to chuckle at some of the grumpiness of the teams. He had called his team in for a meeting and he had to deal with Grimmjow's incessant whining about being woken up early.
"What is going on boss man? I had these two Russian babes in my hotel room and you pulled me from finishing with them." Grimmjow growled.
"Your playboy ways are going to get you in trouble. You are lucky you are not in a committed relationship otherwise this would blow up on social media." Tier commented.
"Harribel this is late 21st century do you honestly think that most people would be content with living with one spouse." Grimmjow said with a cocky smirk.
"Whatever. Just don't hit on those three." Tier said turning away.
Grimmjow scoffed. "Like I want those harpies, sheesh you would think they would stop arguing for ten minutes.
Now Tier was not one to anger easily. But the three girls of her pit crew were closer than family in her eyes and she would not take the insults lightly. She stood up to confront Grimmjow when a snide voice rang out.
"Well now. A panther and a shark fighting each other and here I thought that they couldn't do so in the wild. "
The two turned to see Gin walking in with Aizen into their temporary HQ. Behind them were two girls. One was a girl with two long black pigtails and dressed in white belly shirt and skirt. The other was a blonde tomboyish girl with a grey t-shirt and black pants. This was Loly Aiverrne and Menoly Mallia.
"Your fighting is pointless you pieces of trash. Save your aggression for the track." Ulquiorra said as he sat down.
"Yes now then." Aizen turned to the girls. "Of course you know what happens here stays off the record correct."
"Of course Aizen-sama, but we are considering leaving that stupid channel. We will of course film for your videos, Aizen-sama." Loly said fanatically.
"My, your profile was correct. You are quite off in the head, no matter, we are glad to have you aboard." Gin said.
Aizen walked over to his desk and opened up the suitcase. Inside were the four glowing jars he had obtained.
"This is the key to our victory this week. We will have men strategically placed all around the circuit. These things can sneak underneath the cars. And we will use the roads and the night time to hide them. When the time is right we will unleash chaos on the race. Hopefully you will be a position to win this race."
Grimmjow grinned. "I like that idea who do you think we should target?"
Aizen chuckled. "I know two definitive targets, the point leader, Ichigo Kurosaki and last year's champion, Serenity Gordon. As for the other two, we will play it by ear."
Grimmjow laughed, Tier and Ulquiorra were indifferent and Gin slightly frowned but hid it. They broke up the meeting to get ready for qualifying.
At about 6:00 local time the racers were all getting ready for the sessions. Uryuu had drawn the first session, Andrew had drawn the second session, Chad drawn the third and Ichigo the fifth.
The first session was marred by a wreck to Audi driver Raoul Garcia heading into the section behind the pit area. Uryuu finished fourth for the session ahead of only Allen Regan. The first session had Flippe Massa III on the pole.
Andrew strapped into his car and looked up. He regretted immediately as the setting sun glared into his eyes.
"Okay note to self, put the sun visor on before staring into the sun." Andrew said flipping the visor down.
"Yeah that will help tremendously." Kisuke said cheekily. Behind his helmet Andrew glared but said nothing as he pulled for the slightly extended qualifying period because of the size of the track. As the session began Andrew came up on the slower dodge of Shawn Newman but he was unable to maintain his momentum as he was struggling slightly on the street portion. This was mainly due to the fact the road had not been properly paved in the last few years which contributed to the slowdown of several drivers from practice. He ended up finishing third for the session. When he exited the car he voiced his frustrations to the media and then he talked to Kisuke.
"God you wonder why racing is done on closed circuits, I could not find the right grip through the street portion. This is also too tight for me to properly race. This feels like a tighter combination of Martinsville and Bristol."
Kisuke let his ward vent his frustrations. When he felt Andrew stopped he turned to him.
"You done?" Kisuke asked seriously. Andrew sighed. "Yeah I'm good." Andrew said.
"Good. We will adjust what we can. Just get these negative thoughts out of your head."
Andrew nodded and walked back to the trailer. Chad went out in the next session and he struggled with a tight car and wound up fourth for the session. Ikkaku Madarame of all drivers put the 011 on the pole. He held it through the fourth session even though Grimmjow tried his best to beat out the time. In the fifth session with Ichigo, Serenity Gordon set a blistering time and beat out Ikkaku for the pole. Ichigo was handling better but he could not keep the speed in the tighter sections of the course. When the session ended he climbed out he had similar concerns.
"Man I don't remember a course this tight in forever. Maybe Ebisu is a close comparison." Ichigo said talking to his dad.
"Probably but this is flatter than Ebisu. Just run your race and we will get you hopefully to the finish."
Ichigo nodded and as the last session came to a close, it was Serenity Gordon the Hendrick number 24 that grabbed the top position.
As Serenity gave her post-qualifying interviews, Aizen smiled sinisterly. 'All according to plan.' He said watching the interview.
Starting Lineup: Russia
1. Serenity Gordon
2. Ikkaku Mandarame
3. Flippe Massa III
4. Soi Fong
5. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez
6. Marcus Andretti
7. Francesca Alonso
8. Dale Earnhardt IV
9. Gin Ichimaru
10. Rebecca Kirkland
11. Ulquiorra Cifer
12. Robert Johnson
13. Renji Abarai
14. Ichigo Kurosaki
15. Andrew Michaels
16. Jessica Rosburg
17. Alexandra Edwards
18. Jason Webber
19. Brian Mcnish
20. Alexandra Edwards
21. Jason Vettal (Changed suspension dropped to the rear)
22. Ralph Dillon
23. Chad Yasotora
24. Ralph Hamilton
25. Tier Harribel
26. George Schumacher
27. Shawn Newman
28. Uryuu Ishida
29. Ikkaku Mandarame
30. Michael Kennseth
31. Maria Robertson
32. Archie Stewart
33. Michael Busch
34. Allen Regan
35. Bjorn Kristensen
36. Raoul Garcia (Wrecked moved to the rear)
Saturday May 21st
Because of the fact the race was at night on a Saturday many of their routines were thrown off a bit. As it were most of the drivers were sleeping in as they more than likely would need it for the long race. Andrew had gotten out of bed at ten in a slightly grumpy mood but with some food in him he was good to go. Now he was sitting on top of their pit box after their lunch. The driver's meeting was at five so that left a couple of hours before they had to get ready. He was watching the officials set up the walls and the lights that would light up the track at night.
"(Sigh)…night racing. Just like growing up. But now we have to race on the street. Ugh…why can't we race on normal tracks?"
"Yo Andrew." He was cut from his musings with Ichigo's shout. He climbed down. "You looked like you were spacing out there."
Andrew shook his head. "Nah just watching them put the track together. They actually have to close off a city for the race. If this was New York it just wouldn't happen."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yeah well the Russians are kind of crazy. Still we get paid to race not to complain.
Andrew chuckled. "Yeah and we paid pretty handsomely to not complain. Anyway I guess we should be getting ready soon. Where are the girls?"
"Probably filming the setting up process." Ichigo said.
Andrew nodded and they started heading towards their changing area. Andrew flipped through his songs and selected a song to listen to.
(Play Wherever I may roam by Metallica I feel it's fitting.)
As the song started up, the sun set over the next four hours slowly giving the resort city an orange glow. In their makeshift rooms the Kurosaki drivers were suiting up. The image splits to each of them looking the mirror. Then as one they grabbed their helmets as the song gets deeper.
The cars were being pushed onto the grid as the crowds were slowly filling the stands. With the tight pit roads it took some intricate maneuvering but they were in the right spots.
As the vocals come in, Aizen is overseeing the careful movement of the weapons. One slip-up and it was on their heads in his mind.
On the street portions of the track, the officials were checking the wear of the road. Finding it satisfactory they left to handle the ceremonies. What they didn't see is one of the men Souske contracted setting his bucket near a section of wall.
In the makeshift booths, the broadcast teams were setting up for a night broadcast. They looked a little worn from the constant traveling but they would persevere.
The driver's meeting seemed to drag a bit more because of the seemingly long prep time they had today. All the drivers were still there though and were dismissed to finish getting ready for the race, unaware of the plans that were taking place.
(End previous song by Metallica. Begin Enter Sandman and the Fox intro)
"In racing you have to race in a variety of different conditions. From the rain (The race at Malaysia is shown), to the desert (Abu Dhabi is shown) to even the streets. (Korea and Singapore are shown.) Some tracks are hard enough in the day. (Capture image of the sun setting.) But when the sun goes down, a whole new ball game is in play. It's where the real fun of racing happens. For the first night race of the season, they couldn't have picked a more fitting course. For in the land of the Tsars, darkness and cold are synonymous with the country that has never been conquered. For the Grand Prix drivers (Several drivers are shown) to win here on the Black Sea, they need to exit the light and be ready for anything. Otherwise it is an early night for the Sandman
(Play the bridge and the Chorus as the camera zooms in on the track.)
Добро пожаловать в Россию. (Welcome to Russia)
American Booth
(Camera pans at the setting sun as the Fox intro plays)
"The sun setting over the Black Sea greets us in the resort town of Sochi, Russia.
(Camera cuts to the reporters
Jeremy: Good evening, good morning and good afternoon to all those watching all over the world. Welcome to Round 10 of the World Grand Prix.000
Nate: Hard to believe it has been ten rounds since this started and boy there have been surprises. Not the least of which is the rookie team Kurosaki-Ishida Enterprises. As we take a look at the points Ichigo Kurosaki leads the pack with his teammate Andrew Michaels sitting in second and the defending champ Serenity Gordon. As we look further down those Souske drivers are creeping up as we look at the team standings. Kurosaki is still leading but Souske is creeping up. They have started to break away from third place Hendrick Motorsports.
Jeremy: Before we get too far let us recap what happened last week and it was quite interesting on the mountainous circuit.
Nate: Most of the race was dominated by both Red Bull and Souske. The Red Bull team was playing with a heavy heart when they learned one of their most treasured items at the museum run by the company, the flight suit worn by Felix Baumgartner, was stolen by thieves. Their racing was slightly affected. But word came during the race that apparently the thieves were arrested at the track.
Jeremy: That certainly got their spirits up and apparently Flippe Massa III got overexcited with the news that he wrecked Ulquiorra Cifer and himself
Nate: Well said as the Red Bull team raced renewed vigor as Jason Webber managed to hold off Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.
Jeremy: Indeed though Souske seems to be hitting their stride right now. So I think they would be chomping at the bit to get the win today because a couple of their best tracks are approaching. This is where we find one of our pit reporters Mr. Jermaine Ferguson with one of the vocal members of the Souske team. Jermaine?
Jermaine: Thanks Jeremy now Mr. Grimmjow your team has had more of an up and down year than in the past few years but your performance last week coupled with a few struggles from the Kurosaki team seems to have turned you guys around. Do you think you can keep the momentum?
Grimmjow: (Smiles) I know this is supposed to be a team thing but right I feel confident that all of our drivers including myself can and win any race we are entered into."
Jermaine: So you think your car can win today?
Grimmjow: Oh yeah. But I be careful of Ulquiorra he is more dangerous now that he is hunting for a win. I'd watch out for him. These Souske machines are ready to win
Jermaine: Thanks Grimmjow. He rolls off 5th. Now onto Kiyone who is with last week's winner. Ms. Kiyone?
Kiyone: Thanks and here is last week's winner Jason Webber. Mr. Webber you won a truly emotional race last week, do you think there will be any hangover from last week.
Webber: No I certainly hope not but it hasn't even been a week since then. This Red Bull Porsche might not have qualified well but I think we make a few in race changes to make for that. Other than that this tight course might cause a few migraines but hopefully we won't get caught out in a wreck.
Kiyone: Thanks Mr. Webber. He rolls off 18th.
After a few more segments and the pre-race ceremonies, the drivers all strapped in. Aizen was walking towards each of his drivers. When he got to Ulquiorra he whispered. "No Mercy." He walked to his designated station and pulled out a hidden radio. "Everyone in position?" He asked.
At the exit of turn 5 one of his goons reported in. "Ready on this end."
In turn 7 another goon radioed in. "Ready boss."
On the straight coming from turn 11 the final team radioed. "Team 3 standing by."
Aizen nodded and chuckled 'All according to plan.'
In the row behind Ulquiorra, Andrew and Ichigo were strapping into their cars. Andrew watched the exchanged and looked through the window at Ichigo who looked back at him. They were thinking the same thing. 'What are they doing?'
"Ichigo?" Ichigo shook his head and turned to Orihime. "Are you alright?" She asked concerned.
Ichigo smiled behind his helmet. "Don't worry about me Hime." Orihime pouted but nonetheless hugged him through the window. Over with Andrew he was getting some last minute encouragement from Tatsuki and Kisuke and he was settled in.
"AND NOW FOR THE MOST FAMOUS WORDS IN MOTORSPORTS. DRIVERS! START YOUR ENGINES!
Thirty-six engines roared to life as the crowd cheered. Because of the size of the pit road being limited already they started outside pit road wall.
Japan Booth
Kommamura: With a loud roar the Russian Olympic Grand Prix is under way here in the port city of Sochi.
Jushiro: Let us look at this 105 lap race on the 3.6 mile race course through the streets of the city. Pit window is about 19-22 laps, but tire wear might be an issue because the street portions are maintained differently than the track portions.
Kommamura: A few things to keep an eye on. Number one is the narrowness of the track.
Jushiro: They tried widening the roads but considering most of this is on public land they couldn't widen everything. But there are still good passing zones especially in turns 6 13 and the roundabout.
Kommamura: Pit road will also be an issue as even though they could fit everyone in an individual stall they are just large enough to accommodate the cars so pit road collisions are more than likely going to happen.
Jushiro: The final thing is the transition period. Sunset is about 50 minutes from now and the front stretch is heading ride into the sunset so it will be quite treacherous on the roundabout for about fifty or sixty laps. There might be a few wrecks because of it so these visors are going to be important. But because of the changing daylight the cars will handle a bit differently over the course of the 105 lap race.
Two warm up laps later the pace car let the cars go and the green flag was waved. As the racers crossed the line it was a scramble to get in line to get in the roundabout. Serenity was able to beat Ikkaku into the corner as several cars scrambled to avoid each other which proved to be really hard for a couple of the drivers in the very back. Serenity and Ikkaku managed to get a slight separation heading into turn 7. A bit further back Ulquiorra sped up and nudged Robert Johnson out of the way which spun him out and bottled up the cars behind them forcing them to go around which spread out the group. Up front Serenity had gotten through the first set of chicanes and was on the stretch heading down the sweeping turn 12 and into turn 13 which led into several switch backs and then back to the pit straight.
American Booth
Jeremy: Lap one is complete with our defending champ in front of Ikkaku Madarame and then Flippe Massa. Grimmjow is in 4th and it's a mess from that point back.
On the track it took until about lap 4 for the drivers to finally settle down. In that time Ikkaku got around Serenity and so had Grimmjow. The Souske driver tracked down Ikkaku and passed him heading into the sweeping turn. On lap 10 as the drivers were settling in, a local caution came out in turn eight when Bjorn Kristensen blew a tire and impact the tire barrier where the safety cars were being housed. The race continued but Kristensen was knocked out of the race as the axle was broken as well. About ten laps later the drivers began making their first set of green flag stops. Ichigo came shortly followed by Uryuu. Ichigo had been complaining about a tight race car and the possibility of a vibration in the wheels. The crew went up a round on the trackbar and got four tires. Uryuu was complaining of the same thing but decided on an air pressure change.
As he was pulling out Allen Regan had been coming in and Uryuu mistimed his exit and turned him around. Uryuu had damage to his left front which forced him to come back around to make repairs. Allen had to be turned around and then had to make his stop wasting a lot of time and made both drivers lose a lap.
American Booth
Jeremy: Trouble on pit road it's the 32 of Ishida and the 6 of Regan. Damage to both cars more so on the Honda.
Nate: This pit road is narrow and even though the spotter could have told him to go he might not have seen Regan.
Jeremy: This is going to set these drivers back quite a bit. Even if they could repair it the downforce and balance are thrown off.
After a cycle of pit stops, Ulquiorra found himself in front of the pack. Aizen felt that his team were in a good position to unleash his plans for the race. He radioed to the team over by turn 11.
"Proceed with part 1. Pick your targets."
The goon acknowledged and carefully pulled the miniature robots. His partner grabbed the remote control and turned it out. The bots started becoming agitated and the first goon waited for a potential target. He spotted the Ferrari of George Schumacher. He waved to the second good and then opened up the case. With the fading light and bots almost similar in color to the road they stealthily crept up on the Ferrari. As he was entering the switchbacks the got underneath the car just he was passing Alexandra Edwards. They tore through the axel and once finished and deactivated they self-destructed as it was in their programming. Meanwhile the axle gave way and caused him to snap around in front of Alexandra who proceeded to T-bone him into turn 15.
Japan Booth
Kommamura: Trouble behind the pits it's the 10 Ferrari and the 99 Ford. Edwards T-boned Schumacher.
Jushiro: Let's look at the replays. (Wreck is shown again) It appears something broke as he was attempting to complete the pass and the car snapped to his left. Unfortunately, the way he snapped collected both drivers, they are out.
Kommamura: Everyone was just on pit road so they don't have to worry about fuel at the moment. Ulquiorra leads his teammate Grimmjow and then the Ferrari of Jessica Rosburg.
After the wrecks cars were cleaned up they went back to green after about four laps. Ulquiorra quickly pulled away from the chaos that came from the restart. He stayed up there until he had to come in and pit which gave the lead to Jessica who had gotten around Grimmjow. After the cycle of pit stops Ulquiorra resumed the lead. After another couple laps Aizen radioed to the team in turn 6.
"Be ready to target Serenity Gordon." Aizen said.
The goon nodded and got the weapons ready. Then their spotter radioed in, well aware of the plan.
"Target is approaching finish line. However one of our own is in front of her. What is your call?"
Aizen didn't even bat an eyelash. "Do it. Sacrifices must be made."
The thug nodded and activated the bots. Using the sun to their advantage they crawled their way towards Serenity's car. Before they could attack the axel they inadvertently popped the right front tire. Serenity felt the vibration shortly before the tire blew. Her car slid to the left and collected Tier and they both slid into the tire barrier hard.
American booth
Jeremy: Caution on the track two cars in the barriers. It's the defending champ Serenity Gordon and the 003 of Tier Harribel. They wrecked hard into the barrier.
Nate: Oh boy this looked ugly. What does the replay show? (The video plays) Looks like the left front tire the 24 blew out and she lost control of the car collecting the other woman and slamming hard into the barrier.
On track Tier moaned slightly as she unstrapped her belts. "Ow." Tier then widened her eyes and growled. "Damn you Aizen." She said tossing her steering wheel into the dash.
Both ladies climbed out and they were given rides to the care center.
After the clean-up they went back racing on lap 53. After allowing the drivers to spread out Aizen gave orders to the last team.
"Both Ichigo Kurosaki and Andrew Michaels are right next to each other in 7th and 8th. End them."
"Yes sir." Said the team in turn 5.
With said drivers they were starting to make up some ground. Andrew had fallen back in the second cycle of pit stops but decided to take two tires on the most recent stop. It got him the track position and was now battling Ichigo for 7th.
Suddenly he started feeling something off in one of the tires. Andrew groaned and radioed Kisuke.
"Well we knew that we were risking quite a bit. I have a vibration in one of the right side tires."
"If you can hold off for five more laps we can get those changed. Just try to hold on."
"I will Kisuke." Andrew said. He looked ahead to see Ichigo's car.
"Well let's see if we can't at least get some more spots, sorry Ichigo." He said as they went into the roundabout. As he pulled up alongside Ichigo he felt something rattling in the axel.
"Kisuke I think we have a bigger problem. Whoa! Hang on!" He yelled as his car snapped to his left and nailed Ichigo pinning him to the while as they slid along the wall. The came to rest against the Turn 7 barrier.
Andrew groaned. "Great. And here I thought we were go to do well today."
"You alright?" Kisuke said worried.
"Yeah I'll be fine. Something snapped I don't know what."
"We'll check it out at home. How's Ichigo? Orihime is worried about him."
He looked through the open window to see Ichigo already climbing out. "He's fine but does not look happy.
"I wouldn't be happy either. But glad to see you're okay."
"Yeah I know. See you back at the trailer." Andrew said unhooking himself as the officials came in to check on him.
They were escorted to the ambulance which took them to the impromptu infield care center. After being checked out by Dr. Unohana and giving their interviews they walked back to the trailer.
"You know that accident could have been avoided." Ichigo said.
"What do you mean Ichigo?" Andrew asked.
"You take way too many risks. Abu Dhabi, that move you pulled at Korea and even here with the two tire stop." Ichigo pointed out.
Andrew stopped. "I take risks because it's the only way I know how to win. I have won just as many races taking risks then without them."
Ichigo scoffed. "Yeah well I don't think in an event like this with your position in the points you should be do that."
Andrew looked at him hard. "Do you honestly have a problem with my driving style?"
Ichigo returned the glare. "You want me to be honest yes I do." He said poking Andrew's shoulder.
"Don't touch me." Andrew said batting the hand away. "If I didn't take risks I would not be here. I am probably one of the wildest drivers America has ever produced. The bush leagues we were in were nothing like in the top tier circuits."
"Yeah well going around in circles sounds really tough." Ichigo said turning around.
"Where the heck is this attitude coming from? I know you are a stubborn bastard but this is starting to become an issue." Andrew said starting to become worried.
Ichigo rubbed his eyes. "What exactly happened out there?" He said sighing changing the subject.
Andrew breathed a sigh of relief, guessing frustration was a key factor here. "I don't know I had a vibration which I was hoping to wait until the scheduled stop. Then I felt probably the steering give and it was a ride from there."
Before Ichigo could respond they heard Orihime's voice. "There you guys are. Where have you been?" The two girls approached them and noticed the tense atmosphere. Tatsuki voiced her concerns. "What's going on you guys seem tense?"
Andrew looked at Tatsuki. "Nothing we just had a small disagreement. I think it would be best if we stayed away from each other for the rest of the day, let us cool off. We are tired and this wreck doesn't help."
Ichigo nodded. "Agreed. Though we should sit down and talk about this later."
Andrew shook his head. "We are guys we talk with our fists. We'll work it out later." Andrew said walking away.
Orihime looked up at Ichigo. "Is everything alright Ichigo?"
Ichigo just pulled her close and kissed her head. "Yeah just two guys butting heads. Now how about I clean up and we watch the rest of the race alright?"
Orihime nodded and she leaned her head on Ichigo's shoulder heading towards their room.
In the garage Andrew's car was being looked at by a couple of the technicians under the watchful eye of Kisuke and Isshin. One of the technicians walked up to Isshin.
"We examined the frame work and it looked like it was bitten through. But I don't know what could tear through metal like that?"
Kisuke looked at Isshin. "Thanks." Isshin said. The technician left and Kisuke asked. "Do you think it was Souske?"
"I know it was them they are the only company that could access the tech that could do this. But why now and why didn't the spy say anything." Isshin said.
"He's too close to Aizen so he probably couldn't get the info safely to us. (Sigh) Well I guess we need to prepare for next week." Kisuke said.
Isshin nodded and the cars were loaded in the trailers they came in to await the end of the race. Ulquiorra ended up dominating the race and he won the race. Chad ended up being the highest finishing the best of the Kurosaki drivers. With such a difference in fortunes the points got considerably closer which has now set up an exciting next several races. What will happen in the rest of the season? Find out next time on Bleach Grand Prix.
Finish Order: Russia (Name, Team, points, laps led, status)
Ulquiorra Cifer, Souske 40 points 71 laps led
Archie Stewart, Stewart-Haas 36 points 1 lap led
Francesca Alonso, Ferrari 35 points 5 laps led
Marcus Andretti, Stewart-Haas, 33 points
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Souske, 33 points 12 laps led
Jessica Rosburg, Ferrari 32 points, 1 lap led
Gin Ichimaru, Souske, 30 points
Ralph Hamilton, Red Bull, 29 points
Shawn Newman, Stewart-Haas, 28 points
Ikkaku Madarame, Kuchiki, 28 points 4 laps led
Chad Yasotora, Kurosaki, 26 points
Renji Abarai, Kuchiki, 25 points
Michael Kennseth, Rousch, 24 points
Jason Vettal, Red Bull, 23 points
Michael Busch, Stewart-Haas, 22 points
Soi Fong, Kuchiki, 21 points
Kira Izuru, Kuchiki, 20 points
Patricia Stenhouse, Rousch, 19 points
Brian Mcnish, Audi, 18 points
Jason Webber, Red Bull, 17 points
Ralph Dillon, Hendrick, 16 points
Flippe Massa III, Red Bull, 15 points
Robert Johnson Hendrick, 14 points
Raoul Garcia, Audi, 13 points 1 lap down
Allen Regan, Rousch, 12 points 1 lap down
Dale Earnhardt IV, Hendrick, 11 points 1 lap down
Uryuu Ishida, Kurosaki, 10 points 2 laps down
Maria Robertson, Ferrari, 9 points, 2 laps down
Rebecca Kirkland Audi, 8 points 3 laps down
Ichigo Kurosaki, Kurosaki 7 points Out
Andrew Michaels, Kurosaki 6 points Out
Tier Harribel, Souske, 5 points Out
Serenity Gordon, Hendrick, 4 points Out
Alexandra Edwards, Rousch, 3 points Out
George Schumacher, Ferrari, 2 points Out
Bjorn Kristensen, Audi 1 point Out
Drivers names
Team
Points
Ichigo Kurosaki
Kurosaki
250
Ulquiorra Cifer
Souske
245
Andrew Michaels
Kurosaki
241
Gin Ichimaru
Souske
234
Serenity Gordon
Hendrick
232
Brian Mcnish
Audi
229
Ralph Hamilton
Red Bull
214
Marcus Andretti
Stewart-Haas
214
Uryuu Ishida
Kurosaki
208
Renji Abarai
Kuchiki
205
Grimmjow Jagerjaquez
Souske
200
Michael Kennseth
Rousch
200
Tier Harribel
Souske
196
Archie Stewart
Stewart-Haas
195
Ralph Dilion
Hendrick
194
George Schumacher
Ferrari
183
Soi Fong
Kuchiki
183
Jason Vettal
Red Bull
182
Ikkaku Mandarame
Kuchiki
180
Chad Yasotora
Kurosaki
179
Maria Robertson
Ferrari
176
Fransesca Alonso
Ferrari
174
Patrica Stenhouse
Rousch
172
Kira Izuru
Kuchiki
161
Jason Webber
Red Bull
160
Flippe Massa III
Red Bull
159
Shawn Newman
Stewart-Haas
151
Jessica Rosburg
Ferrari
151
Alexandra Edwards
Rousch
146
Michael Busch
Stewart-Haas
146
Dale Earnhardt IV
Hendrick
141
Robert Johnson
Hendrick
139
Raoul Garcia
Audi
133
Bjorn Kristensen
Audi
123
Allen Regan
Rousch
119
Rebecca Kirkland
Audi
113
Team Names
Combined points
Kurosaki-Ishida
878
Souske
875
Kuchiki
729
Red Bull
715
Hendrick
706
Stewart-Haas
706
Ferrari
684
Rousch
637
Audi
598
END OF CHAPTER
UO: GOD THIS CHAPTER FOUGHT ME! My birthday was this week so that didn't help and neither did getting a new computer and multiple people getting me to help just ate up my creativity. As you can see Souske has closed the gap on the Kurosaki team and there is more of Aizen's calculating mind. Anyway
Terms
Russian Grand Prix: It had been held only twice during Tsar era which ended in 1917. Multiple attempts at getting a Soviet race going was not successful. As of this post the track I used has not been raced on and there may be an issue with the current political climate over in Russia. But if it does get off the ground it will be a night race on the streets Sochi Russia the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics. So I used that for inspiration.
Preview
As the Grand Prix rolls on, Ichigo and Andrew need to clear the air with each other over what happened the previous week. Then their adventures in Monaco are only the tip of the iceberg as another attempt on them causes them to raise suspicions about Souske Limited. Then on the race track with the team and individual points being so close the drivers will need to make some gambles to win on one the world's most difficult and oldest courses. Whose gambles will pay off? Find Out
Next time: Gambling on Monaco
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