OSPREY…SWOOOSH
UO: Hey Guys.
Ichigo: What up? (Orihime is snuggled into him. Nel is hugging him from behind.)
UO: Damn, the sex must have mellowed you all out.
Andrew: Got That right (Tatsuki is curled into him like a kitten, Shaolin is hugging her)
UO: Can you guys work?
Chad: Don't worry we'll be fine (Isane started giggling)
UO: Guess I'll do the intro, uh where's Uyruu?
Orihime: Uh, I heard some things from his room
UO: Whatever. I don't own Bleach, the cars, the track and various manufacturers. He only owns the plot.
Normal: Dialogue
"Italics and quotations": Radio, track announcer, phone conversation
Underlined and Italics: Lyrics or TV broadcast
'Italics and apostrophe': Thoughts
Bold: Yelling
Bold and Italics: Yelling in head:
Name followed by a colon: In-race TV Announcer:
Chapter 34: India Insurrection
Saturday, October 12th about 8:00 AM (Japan Time)
When we last left the Kurosaki team, they had rescued their girlfriends and Ichigo's sisters from hired thug that apparently were hired by Aizen. Chad used his underworld connections to help the Kurosaki team find and rescue them and even saved someone else who had helped the girls during their time of captivity. During their rescue attempt, they gave chase to those who kidnapped them and had to save them from various accidents, including drowning and a car fire. Thanks to various sources, all six were recovered safely.
In Uryuu's room, Nemu was waking up from her sex-induced sleep. Rubbing her eyes, she was flooded by memories of the last few days. Then last night's memories came and she blushed but smiled nonetheless. She nuzzled her nose into Uryuu's chest and started to trace his chest.
"Hey." She looked up to see Uryuu waking up. She smiled and leaned down on his chest. "Thank you."
Uryuu looked at his girlfriend. "For saving me, and, well…" She blushed getting Uryuu to chuckled.
"I would that a thousand more times. The saving you part of course." Uryuu said correcting himself.
Nemu grinned and slowly rolled onto his chest and sat up with the sheets pooling around her waist. Her pale skin was made almost translucent in the morning sun, contrasted perfectly with her dark hair. "You think we can do it again?"
Uryuu was struck dumb by what in his mind was the perfect woman. Decent size breasts that while no where near Orihime's, were perfect on her. She had a surprisingly thin waist that lead to wide hips. In his mind, she was gorgeous.
"I think we can manage another time, before we have to go down for breakfast." Uryuu said as he pulled her down to kiss her.
"We could skip breakfast you know?"
"I know, but I think talking with the others will help the road to recovery. Now, less talking please."
And the most prudish couple in the Kurosaki team made love to each other again.
In Chad's room, Chad was sitting against the headboard, with Isane laying against his chest sighing in pleasure.
"Guess last night was a reward for saving us." Isane said.
Chad hummed. Isane continued. "First time I could actually remember having intercourse. Worth every second." She said snuggling closer.
Chad sighed. "It was. And I'm glad your okay. All of you." He said rubbing Isane's back.
Isane sighed. "Can we stay here for a while?"
Chad nodded and Isane just let her mind wander back to sleep.
In Andrew and Tatsuki's room, Tatsuki was opening her eyes. In her pleasure addled brain, she felt her body was incredibly sore and her legs were split wide. She sighed. Last night after everything that happened, she was taken so many times that she lost count. And it was not just the man holding her stomach from behind.
A pleasurable sensation from her breasts made her look down at the other occupant in their bed. Shaolin noticed the movement and looked up at Tatsuki. They held their gaze for a few moments before Tatsuki with great effort lifted her arm and placed it on her head. Shaolin smiled and continued what she was doing. The pleasure seemed to root in her brain as she laid there basking in the afterglow.
"You two look like your enjoying yourself." Andrew said amusedly.
Tatsuki leaned back just as her body uncoiled and she shivered in ecstasy as Shaolin made her orgasm.
"Damn…right." She said sighing in pleasure. "Can I stay like this for the rest of my life?"
"What a pleasure induced coma?" Andrew said chuckling.
Tatsuki finally got Shaolin to roll off her and she groaned as she closed her legs. "Funny, but no. I mean laying here with two of my favorite people in the world. Sorry Shaolin, Hime will always be first in my book."
Shaolin shrugged her shoulders as she pulled the sheets closer to her chest. "It's fine." She sighed as she crawled over to Andrew's chest and started kissing it. Tatsuki joined in and they started worshiping it while Andrew looked at the ceiling and sighed while holding the two close to his chest. After a few minutes of worshipping each other's bodies, they eased their way out of the bed, the girls wincing as they eased their way over to the closet to pull out a couple of Andrew's shirts. Andrew himself put on some sleep shorts and an over shirt. He turned and had to grin at the way his girls looked. His shirts which fit perfectly on him, came down to Shaolin's ankles and Tatsuki's knees and did nothing to hide their shoulders. He came over and squeezed them close.
"How about some breakfast?" Andrew asked and girls agreed and walked out of the room, with their holding hands behind the boy's back to steady themselves.
In Ichigo's room, there was more confusion then smiles as Ichigo woke up with two very bountiful chests in his vision. He looked and saw his girlfriend on his right side looking peaceful and beautiful. It was the body on the left that had him confused. Nel, the woman who saved Orihime, was sharing his bed with her and for some weird reason, not only did Orihime accept her into the bed, but he enjoyed it. Was this cheating in his mind?
While contemplating this he looked down Nel's body. Whereas Orihime was softer and daintier, Nel was toned and muscular. Her breasts were a fraction, if not equal to Orihime's and as she breathed were just as firm. The only thing that the sheets covered were her waist, with a slender leg poking out and wrapped around where Ichigo's leg was. If he didn't know any better, he thought the two were twins.
His musings were cut short when his princess started to stir awake. Blinking her eyes, she purred as her hair was petted and nuzzled close.
"Morning Ichigo."
"Morning Hime." Ichigo said pleasantly.
"Mou…where's my good morning." Nel whined cutely. That shocked him more than anything. The serious girl that was there the night before was replaced by this child like person who was giggling like a school girl
"Uh…good morning?" Ichigo said confused. He turned to his girlfriend who was giggling as well. "Hime, mind explaining why you willingly let her come into this?"
Orihime sighed. "Well…Nel was the one who saved me. She had crashed the car containing me and after shooting the driver helped patch me up. While we were waiting for Dom and Brian, we got to talking about our lives and we seem to have quite a bit in common. Right before they got us, Nel asked about our relationship, and well, she asked if she could have a shot at you." Orihime looked down in shame. "It was the least I could do, she saved my life. I'm sorry."
Ichigo shook his head with a smile. "Its alright." He turned to Nel. "I guess, thank you is in order."
Nel shrugged. "It's fine, I didn't want the girls to be hurt. When they said they wanted to sell the girls, I just…snapped." Nel said looking away. "I was so desensitized against the sales, I don't know why…wait I know why. It was Yuzu." Nel said looking back at Ichigo. "I didn't want her hurt at all."
Ichigo smiled. "She has that effect on people."
Nel then looked down. "But where do we go from here? I mean I know how to work machines, and I know some computer stuff. Never finished my college education. Dropped out due to lack of funds thanks to my mother dying. Junpei picked me up off the street."
Ichigo sighed. "I am sure we can find something. But what about, well, what happened last night?"
Nel giggled and started to trace her fingers on his chest. "Why, Ichigo don't you want two very sexy and gorgeous women in your bed?"
Ichigo looked at Orihime who smiled. "Its okay. If Nel-chan wants to share our bed, then we can allow her. I think in time, we'll grow to like her."
Ichigo groaned and leaned back. "Fine, if you want her here, then we'll see how this thing progresses."
The girls giggled and pressed their chests into Ichigo almost threatening to smother him. It was only stopped when Nel's stomach started to rumble.
"Uh…hehehe. Got any food?"
Ichigo and Orihime laughed and they all got out of bed and threw something on. Ichigo threw on a wife beater and some boxers. When he turned he blushed at Nel's choice of clothing. It was his shirt from last night but it only came down under her breasts, leaving her mid-drif exposed and a pair of panties. Later on, they were going to go shopping but for the time being, Orihime was going to have to share some of her clothes. Speaking of the princess, she was still showing some of her old modesty and put on her pink bathrobe. Stepping out they walked by Karin's room as it opened. It revealed Karin in her robe and Toshiro in some sweatpants and a t-shirt. They froze when they saw Ichigo.
"Before you say anything Ichi-nii, I was on the pill and Toshiro had a condom on. Your not going to be an uncle anytime soon." Karin pleaded.
Ichigo looked at the white-haired man who gulped. Ichigo chuckled at his expression and rubbed his hair. "Good, just wait a few years alright."
"Your not mad?" Karin asked.
Ichigo shook his head. "You're a big girl. I am glad you took precautions. Come on I bet everyone else is downstairs. And Toshiro?"
Toshiro looked at Ichigo. "Guard her with your life."
Toshiro nodded with a smile and walked downstairs. In the kitchen, everyone else was there conversing as they ate breakfast. Based on the attire, they all threw on whatever they found. He saw Shaolin and Tatsuki in one of Andrew's shirts, and given their lack of shame, he bet that's all they were wearing. They were seating next to Andrew, shifting uncomfortably, getting him to laugh at their expressions. Looking over at Uryuu and Nemu, he was on the couch flipping through the channels on T.V. in his robe, while Nemu was in his shirt, which came down to her knees showing off her legs. Chad and Nemu were at the table, the giant in a similar state as Ichigo and Isane in a silver robe. Of everyone there, only Yuzu seemed to be decently dressed, and even then she was in a robe and smiling at everyone in the kitchen. He walked over and sat down between Nel and Orihime and partook in the happy atmosphere that last night brought.
A Few Hours later (Excuse me for any mistakes I found this game and it was hilarious.)
We find some of our heroes in Andrew's room. More importantly, Andrew was at his computer recording something and his girlfriends along with Ichigo and his ladies were on his bed looking at various papers. Why you ask? Well….
"We got two minutes to defuse this. Five wires, two blue, one red, one yellow, one white."
Tatsuki shuffled through the page. "Uh one white, one red, uh….cut the fourth wire!"
On screen Andrew did that and a light flashed green. "Good. Big button that says press! Blue button.
"Press and hold it, what's the strip color?" Ichigo called out.
Andrew did so. "White strip."
"Release at a one."
Considering there was just over a minute left, he released it. "Okay it's green. Last one, word panel. Less than a minute. Its Read like a book."
Orihime shuffled. "Top left."
"Says UR."
"Left, Middle, Yes!"
"Got it, next one forty seconds left, completely blank."
"Bottom Left."
"Yes."
"Middle, They Are."
"They are! Got it. Thirty seconds! Last one Led.
"Top Right!
"They Are!
"Ur, Uhhhh, Middle.
"Got it. And Bomb is defused! 10.5 seconds left"
Those on the bed laughed at his enthusiasm. Nel though was still perplexed at what Andrew was doing.
"So you record yourself playing games and then you post it on the internet and you get paid for it?" Nel said struggling to understand it.
"Yep. Isshin knows of it. So I have two main sources of income. My race winnings and sponsorships, and my let's play money. Its murder to figure out the taxes especially since I essentially live on a visa at the moment and am trying to figure out the citizenship laws. I think I can get dual citizenship, which I am sure Isshin can help get. It might be easier if Tatsuki comes with me and marries, which would allow our kids to have automatic citizenship of both."
Shaolin was looking through the comments and spotted a question. "Got a comment from Wing91. 'Why are you livestreaming after what happened to your girlfriends and family?"
Andrew sighed and leaned back while keeping his attention on the camera. "Well for a few reasons. One, is I made a promise to you all that I would get one more stream in before I left for the final 3 races. I will essentially be on the road till minimum the first week of December at the earliest. Mostly because after the year we had, we will be taking a long vacation. Whether its as champions or not is left to be decided. The second is some of our companions would not want me to stop this because some people wanted to kidnap them and try to get money from my boss.
He got closer to the camera and to his fans, they saw a side that he never showed. It was a look that said 'mess with me and you'll regret it.'
"The third and most important reason is because by doing this I show the world we aren't cowards. This Terrorist scum, I refuse to give them the satisfaction of names, tried to kidnap what is ours. They tried to intimidate us, they tried to hurt the ones they left. And for those who don't follow the news, they would know that we, meaning my team, not only saved our girls, but we stopped the gang that kidnapped them. This is to show that terror doesn't win. Whoever hired these thugs, if you're watching this, I have two words for you. Fuck. You." He punctuated the statements with a middle finger. "The Grand Prix can fine me if they want, that's fine. They haven't before because I said it while not on the clock with them. I've said my piece, I refuse to be intimidated."
Nel widened her eyes as the comments and the chat blew up. "What the…so many comments supporting you. Why?"
Andrew chuckled. "I've been doing this for a few years, since I was about 18. If I actually focused more on this than on racing I would make it a career. As a result a lot of my fans have supported me in racing or made them fans of racing. As my career took off, I had to balance this a bit more. With the move to GP1 and its schedule this year, I've found it hard to record games and livestreams. Hopefully with the smaller schedule next year, I will do a bit more. No promises."
Andrew stretched. "Alright, enough of the sad stuff. Let's go back to defusing. Ichigo why don't you try it?"
Ichigo nodded and put on the headphones as the chat kept talking about his declaration and their support for him.
"Okay, next one is hidden message. Information might be coded and difficult to decipher. In the world of bomb defusing that is bad. Five minutes, 3 modules. Let's rock."
The round started and the lights turned on. Immediately Ichigo frowned. "Okay I got…what looks to be a radio and a blinking light. Flipping it over, I see wires, five of them. And a green screen with letters.
"Alright let's start on the wires. Shaolin find that one with the radio. Tatsuki try to find the letters." Andrew said.
"Okay, I got two reds, one white, one black on blue."
"No yellows, one blue…cut the first wire." Ichigo clicked it and got a green light. "Alright, now the other ones. Uh…the green one has arrows on it. I click and it cycles through letters. 4 minutes."
"Okay got it. It's a password. There is only one combination that will work and there is a list of words. Cycle through the letters until you think its right.
"Okay…first letter, Q, P, W, A, L. Second letters, L, O, T, A, R. Third letter, P, U, G, R, X.
Tatsuki snapped her fingers. "Try Would."
He flipped through the letters and pressed submit getting a green light.
"Okay, 2:30 left. What's the radio one?"
Shaolin put up the paper. "It's Morse code. We have the code you got to read off the signals it gives."
Ichigo watched as the light flashed. He struggled with the timing wasting a lot of time. Nel stood off the bed and out of view of the camera watched the lights flashed.
"B….o…x…e…s. Boxes."
Shaolin looked down and saw the word was there. "Got it. 3.535."
Ichigo moved it around and pressed the Tx button. It lit green and the bomb was disarmed.
Ichigo looked up and smiled. "Thanks Nel."
Nel smiled back and went back to the bed. After a few more bomb defuses, Andrew called it a night and logged off. The group of six was now on his bed watching a movie. Orihime and Tatsuki were hugging each other, Shaolin was laying against Andrew's shoulder while Nel was on Ichigo's chest.
Nel looked curiously at everyone on the bed. "I honestly don't understand why you guys are so close like this. Doesn't it feel weird?"
Andrew shrugged. "It was at first, but eventually we got comfortable around each other. It helps we've been traveling together outside of our plane trips for nearly eight months. We don't mind the same bed, but we leave our bedroom activities, well in our bedrooms. "
"Speaking of traveling, where's your Mustang?" Ichigo asked as sat up and pulled Hime close getting her to giggle.
"It is in Atlanta. Friend of ours is going to look after it. We'll be flying from Delhi to Atlanta and then drive from there to Tallahassee for Florida State/Miami. Then it's a straight shot to Austin. Talked with the guys at Rooster Teeth, we'll be spending a couple of days there. We're going to deliver the RWBY cars as well." Andrew said leaning back and watching the show on the screen and wrapping an arm around Shaolin as Tatsuki crawled up to his chest.
Nel shook her head. "Your crazy." She got up to get a glass of water. When she returned saw Ichigo's room open and Andrew's room was closed. Guessing they had gone to their room, Nel knocked on the door. Ichigo and Orihime looked up and smiled.
"Hey Nel-chan. We're about to go to bed."
Nel nodded and started stripping down until she was in her green underwear. She crawled into bed and hesitantly clung to Ichigo's right arm. Said boy was already kissing Orihime good night. When he looked at Nel, he smiled and kissed her forehead. She pouted but figured it was because he was still getting used to her. She snuggled in Ichigo's chest and her hand unconsciously went to Orihime's and gripped it gently. For the first time in a long time, Nel felt at home as she fell asleep.
That night at Souske's mansion
Aizen was inside his study scowling. He was about the only one in Japan who was not happy that the Kurosaki Six, as they were called, were rescued successfully. He sent those gang members with one mission. To force Kurosaki to pay for their bailout and to make the drivers capitulate and hand both titles to them. Now, his company was deep trouble. The SEC and the Japanese Stock Investigations committee were beginning to look at everything the last few years. The FBI and Interpol were beginning to investigate other dealings in the respective countries and it was only a matter of time before they found his shady dealings without inside support which he still had.
Looking at his computer screen, he was in fact watching Andrew's life stream as he was playing a game. It was hard not to notice something like especially when you 'stalk' someone's Facebook page announcing the stream. He scowled. How in the world do you make money off of filming yourself playing video games? It was ridiculous in his opinion.
"…This is to show that terror doesn't win. Whoever hired these thugs, if you're watching this, I have two words for you. Fuck. You." He punctuated the statements with a middle finger. "The Grand Prix can fine me if they want, that's fine. They haven't before because I said it while not on the clock with them. I've said my piece, I refuse to be intimidated."
That single act made Aizen turn off the stream and storm out. "Refuse to be intimidated. I will give them a reason to fear me. A gunshot to the skull will handle you all quite nicely." Aizen said to himself as he made a phone call.
New Delhi, India, October 17th, about 1:30 PM Local time, 5:30 PM Japan Time
Andrew, Ichigo and their girlfriends had made their way towards India in preparation for the next race. They were in the capital city of what was once the world's largest democracy, not far from the track in the next state over from the capital region.
Once the world's second most populous state, India stood at a pre-Flood population of nearly 1.4 Billion people. The infrastructure strain and the massive amounts of pollution seem unable to stop its progress. But the last forty years or so have not been so kind to the subcontinent.
It started with the Floods themselves. As in most countries, the majority of the population was located on the coast. While China's population was in a similar situation, China's large population was mostly middle class and the money was spent on a massive floodwall, that while not completely finished, was enough to save cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong with moderate damage, India had none of that. Most of their coastal settlements were inundated forcing a mass evacuation inland. Coupled with the floods that came from the natural Monsoon season in 2037, hundreds of thousands were killed and tens of millions were displaced.
This additional burden on the infrastructure was enormous, but with the other disasters happening around the world, India's issues was left to the back burner. Their plight became international news when the Monsoon failed in 2039, resulting in massive famine and drought. The already overburdened infrastructure collapsed and the government nearly fell as well without massive support from countries like China, who had just finished going through their revolution and the U.S, who had been spared most of the damage from the rest of the world but was still recovering itself.
Just as the India was starting to recover, a third more serious disaster occurred. With all of the people in confined to the cities like Delhi and Mumbai, a disease outbreak would likely cause massive fatalities. Unfortunately for India, it came from its most sacred animal. A mutated form of the SARS virus that came from cows began in the Fall of 2040. By the time the borders were shut down three months later, it spread around the country. Final numbers were estimated to be nearly 10 million killed by the virus itself and coupled with famine and anarchy, India's government virtually collapsed. The only thing that kept the country from splitting apart was a strong leader that came from the military caste but with the country scared by disease and famine, it was a struggle to bring it back.
To make matters worse, Pakistan, its northwestern neighbor smelled India's weakness, and while the rest of the Arab world was beginning its modernization, Pakistan took the opportunity afforded by the chaos and invaded through the contested Kashmir region in the spring of 2042. In the ensuing Kashmir War, Pakistan was within 40 miles of the Delhi capital, when the Monsoons which had abandoned India, came to its aid at its greatest need. With Pakistan's army coming from the north the floods washed away their supply lines. Invigorated by the monsoons, the Indian army pushed back the Pakistani army and thanks to a complete governmental collapse and revolution in Islamabad, India was able to force Pakistan back. Only the lack of food prevented India from completely taking over the Islamic nation. In the ensuing treaty, the question of Kashmir was finally resolved and India took the region.
But the damage was done. Out of a pre-flood population of 1.4 Billion, the famines, the floods, the diseases and the war cut that population down to near 400 million with most of the population below the poverty line. But the country was now on the right track to recovery with country in the later stages of rebuilding and upgrading itself.
Andrew knew about the effects the crisis in India personally from his former relationship with Sadi. Her family, while impacted, was one of the lucky ones. The only ones she knew that died were a couple of cousins and an uncle. Most of their family holdings were intact and was in fact one of the largest humanitarians in the country.
Going through the market, Orihime was giggling as they went through the market looking at the various wares. Ichigo was smiling at her glad, glad that despite what happened the previous week she still had her smile on her face. Andrew walked next to him watching Tatsuki try to keep up with her friend as looked at the trinkets and clothes in the various stalls.
"I'm glad that she's still happy." Ichigo said looking at Andrew. "She should never be in those situations." He sighed. "I wonder sometimes, how an angel fell for me. I mean if it were any other person, I would be concerned she would be in it for the money.
Andrew chuckled. "Orihime isn't that type of girl. I was half expecting Tatsuki to beat you up. To be honest, I went into the season not expecting much. 3 wins, a points chase and a girlfriend, I can celebrate at the end of this season with smile."
He stepped up to the stall and spotted a mango. Paying for it and thanking the vendor, he took a bite as they walked. "You know, grandad always talked about how India was pretty much a dump pre-flood. All the old infrastructure strained to take care of the people's needs and a population explosion that was out of control. After seeing so much suffering and disasters, I'm glad they are coming back. Might be a generation or two before its back on track. Like South Africa, this race is showing they have come back to form."
The two walked behind the girls as the girls looked at the other stalls amid the peaceful atmosphere.
"Andrew?" A female voice called out. The two boys turned to see Andrew's ex running up to them.
"Sadi? I didn't know you were in the country." Andrew said hugging her. "What are you doing here?"
Sadi smiled. "My parents made come help out with my sister's wedding. They also got tickets to the race. Don't know what type they are."
"That's actually great. Hey you want to join us, we were just walking around looking at stuff."
"Sure." Sadi beamed. They rejoined the girls and enjoyed themselves. Andrew watched his ex and his current girlfriend interact like they were best friends. He looked up at the sky. ' I'm glad they are at least friends. Sadi should be a jealous ex-girlfriend.'
About a half an hour later, they were in a market stall looking at necklaces. Orihime held up a green jaded necklace to the mirror while Ichigo was behind her.
"Looks good on ya. Try the crimson one."
Orihime nodded and ran over to the other necklaces while commenting on the other girl's jewelry. Ichigo looked at the mirror again and fixed his hair. A movement out of the corner of the mirror caused Ichigo to turn around and spot five people walking up. One of them pulled out a gun and fired. Only the reflexes honed from racing allowed Ichigo to dodge it and hit the mirror. The gunshot sent their friends to the ground and others scrambling in the street.
"What The Fuck!?" Andrew yelled looking up to see someone run towards him. Jumping up he blocked the knife that was coming at him and punched the guy in the face and knocked him to the ground. The man jumped back up and started to grapple with Andrew. He was forced back on to a crate as he kept the knife from cutting him. Looking to his right, he saw a couple of gems with edges. He grabbed a gem and stabbed it resulting in a cry from the man. Kicking him back he saw Tatsuki already moving to help clear the others out.
"Guys let's go! Hime, Sadi! Keep your head down!"
The group quickly scrambled out of the stall as the armed men regrouped. They quickly followed them through the crowd, firing to get them to scramble. On a few shots, they nearly hit the group, but either a timely dodge or a random item seem to block it. The chase went on for a few minutes as they weaved through crowd and got close to the river.
Seeing as they got some distance to catch their breaths they looked back at where they came from.
Sadi caught her breath first. "What the hell was that?"
Ichigo looked at her. "My guess. Aizen is done with the indirect approach."
"Wait Aizen? Who is that?" Sadi asked confused.
"One of our competitors on and off the track. Aizen Souske for whatever reason has been after us for the last four months give or take." Andrew said. "If he is this desperate to end us, then I think his company is in huge trouble."
"What do you mean?"
"Its no coincidence that this started when Souske Limited began to have problems. We were just kidnapped last week and we have reason to believe he was involved with it." Tatsuki said.
Sadi made an unsure ah. Before they could move, the men that were chasing them had caught them.
"Finally found you four." The leader said.
"What do we do with the extra?" One of his partners said.
"You know our policy. No witnesses." The leader replied.
Their targets backed up until they got to the edge. Andrew looked behind them and saw that while it was a relatively big drop to the river, he figured they could make it.
Andrew looked at Ichigo who glanced behind him and nodded. He looked at Tatsuki and Sadi. "Do you girls trust me?" He whispered. The two nodded and Andrew grabbed them by the soldiers. On instinct Tatsuki grabbed Sadi, while Ichigo grabbed Orihime.
"I can practically see the money we will make pleasing our boss." The leader said.
Andrew grinned. "There is an issue with that."
At their questioning look, Andrew continued. "That's assuming you can catch us." At that the leapt off the edge before they could take a shot. The group quickly braced themselves as they hit the water. They held their breath and got underneath the dock next to their landing spot. The assassins scrambled to find them. After a few moments, they gave up and headed down the river to hopefully catch them.
When they left, their targets breached the surface gasping for breath.
"Is everyone alright?" Ichigo said as they swam to the dock.
"Yeah, back might be bruised. God damn it, I can't catch a break." Andrew said as he sat on the dock. He looked at his phone. "Thank god for water-proof phones." He looked at Sadi and Tatsuki. "You girls alright?"
Tatsuki nodded and Sadi was coughing up water. "I've been better." Sadi asked as she shakily stood up.
"We need to get in contact with your dad, Ichigo." Orihime said. "I'm sure he will be worried."
"I think the first thing we need to do is get off the street and change out of these clothes. Sadi, your house around here?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah, I took a cab. Let me call one
An hour later, they were at Sadi's house. It was like a mansion but more decorative than the Kurosaki manor. It was two floors and surrounded by newly planted trees.
"Mom? Dad? Are you home?" She called out.
Out came an older version of Sadi. "Sadi? What happened and who...Andrew?"
Andrew bowed slightly. "Hi Mrs. Sobti. We were in town and we ran into Sadi in the market. We inadvertently fell into the river. Oh this is my friend and teammate Ichigo Kurosaki, his girlfriend Orihime and my girlfriend Tatsuki." They similarly bowed. Mrs. Sobti quickly got some towels and had them change out of their clothes. Andrew and Ichigo were in a white shirt and tan pants and were waiting for the girls to change in what appeared to be the living room.
"Andrew?" A male voice called out. Andrew turned to see a middle aged man. In a similar out fit to them.
"Hi Mr. Sobti." He called out.
"It's nice to see you. I take you are here for the race?"
"Yeah, we were in the market and ran into your daughter. It was nice until we fell into the river."
"Ah yes. Glad you ran into her. How has life been?"
"It's been great. Won a few races, got a beautiful girlfriend. Got some great pals like Ichigo here." Ichigo waved his hand. "I like where I am in life."
Mr. Sobti nodded and sat down across from the two. "You know the relationship with my daughter was the best thing to happen to her. I am…disappointed it ended."
"Yeah. Well, I told Sadi that if she was going to be with me, she we need to know I would travel a lot. Those two years were some good times. I'm glad she understood why we broke off." Andrew replied.
"Right. Your friendship still has made her blossom."
Andrew smiled. Just then the girls walked in. The two boys looked up and blushed. Orihime was in a red and gold dress that was looked like a second skin to her. Tatsuki was a green and gold dress that looked really good on her while Sadi was in red dress with flowers on it.
"Wow. You girls look really good."
The three blushed. Mrs. Sobti turned to the boys. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"
"That would be appreciated. Let me just call my dad." Ichigo said.
The five were treated to a nice dinner prepared by some of the servants and the Sobti women. Stories were passed around and some humor was caused when Ichigo put a little too much spice in his food and his tongue caught on fire.
An hour after dinner, Andrew was leaning against a column that led into the family's court yard, watching the stars while Ichigo was on the steps with Orihime on his lap. Tatsuki was leaning on another column enjoying the night air.
A shuffling behind them caught their attention. They turned to see Sadi walking up to them.
"Hey Sadi."
Sadi smiled and sat down close to Andrew. Tatsuki kept an eye on her but she knew she wouldn't do anything.
After a few moments of silence, Andrew broke. "I don't regret what we had."
Sadi looked at Andrew. "I don't regret our relationship. Never had, never will. I regret how it ended. I didn't want to break your heart."
Sadi sadly smiled. "Its fine, Andrew. We tried and…I couldn't keep up with your traveling. To be honest, I was going ask to end the relationship before you ended it yourself."
Andrew smiled and looked at the stars. "Can I have a hug? Like old times." Sadi asked.
Andrew looked at Tatsuki who smiled and nodded. "Sure."
Sadi proceeded to snuggle into Andrew and sighed. Tatsuki giggled. She immediately took a picture of it and sent it to Hime and Ichigo. She hesitated before opening up the text menu and sending a message.
'Before you get mad, This is Andrew's old girlfriend Sadi. We are at her house.
Tatsuki sent the message and then the picture. A few moments later, she got a message.
'She's cute. Why is she the ex?'
Tatsuki replied. 'Couldn't take the stress of him travelling. She's a good friend though.'
'Can't wait to meet her. Will she be at the track?'
'Yeah. Will talk to Isshin about getting pit passes.'
'That's good. Love you. (Kiss emoiji.)
Tatsuki giggled and put her phone away. She walked towards where Andrew and Sadi were hugging. "Can I get in this little pile?" She said amusedly.
Sadi broke the hug and scooted away enough to allow Tatsuki to hug her boyfriend. The cool air blew through the outfit and Tatsuki shivered pleasantly at that.
"I said it before, you two are a great couple." Sadi said with a smile.
Tatsuki smiled back. "Its been fun."
"Your wedding is going to be fun to plan." Sadi said.
"You have no idea, up for the challenge?" Tatsuki replied.
Andrew rolled his eyes and looked at Ichigo and Orihime who were laughing as well. He sighed and let the peaceful atmosphere wash over them.
At the track the next day about 1:00 PM
Andrew sighed as he slipped on his suit on for practice. They had arrived at the track about three hours ago and tried to get into the garage area in the Sobti car. Unfortunately, the guards weren't so keen on letting the car in, even if they had recognized the drivers. Ichigo had to physically call his dad to come to the gate and even then it took until a race official came along to allow them to get into the track.
Zipping up he was about to step out when he noticed a pair of headphones on his bed. He remembered why he got them out and grabbed them. He approached the garage where Sadi was waiting by his car holding her ears.
"Here." Sadi looked and smiled grateful for the headphones. She put them on as Andrew got in and strapped in the car. A few moments later, Andrew had fired up the engine and pulled out for his practice run.
Sadi and her family were escorted to the pit they would be watching the practice from. Having never been to one of Andrew's races, either because the tracks were too far away or she couldn't get the tickets. She watched as Andrew passed by them going at a blistering pace.
"I didn't think they would be going this fast." Sadi said.
Tatsuki grinned. "Oh yeah, depending on the track they can get near 200 MPH. Looking at the data, most of the drivers are getting near 190. Especially in the first sector." She looked at her new friend. "T.V and real life are two different things aren't they?"
Sadi nodded. As Andrew took his time, in the stall over Soi Fong was pulling up to her pits.
"I feel like we are going to be loose. Tighten it up a bit." She said as she removed her helmet.
Looking behind her she saw Tatsuki and what appeared to be Andrew's ex.
"Hey Tatsuki."
Tatsuki smiled gently and shook hands with the Kuchiki driver. "Did you have a nice trip?"
"Yeah, not as nice riding with you." Shaolin said. Turning towards the admittedly taller than her girl next to Tatsuki. (A/N: Soi Fong is 4'11, Tatsuki is 5'1, Sadi is 5'4) "Hello, I'm Soi Fong. You must be Sadi."
"Wow. Uh, Hi? I didn't know you knew my name?"
Shaolin grinned. "Tatsuki and I are good friends. This is not exactly the most woman friendly sport. Although there are women drivers and crew members, most leagues are still predominately men. To find people like Tatsuki and Orihime is quite nice. Admittedly, I was not the nicest person to Andrew."
The three girls headed towards the back of the garage to talk. When Andrew pulled in and climbed out, he smiled at the three's interaction and just silently sat next to them listening to their conversation.
Twenty minutes later, they were preparing for qualifying. In Ichigo's pit, Nel was curiously watching Ichigo's car being adjusted and then rolled out of the pits. She was wearing a casual shirt and pants that matched her hair, which got some looks from many of the other crew members up and down pit road.
"When I was street racing, we would worked all night just to get two more horsepower out. These engines are something else, and all of the changes can be done in no time."
Orihime finished her camera shots and turned to Nel. "It takes time and practive to get everything right. Sometimes we miss the set-up, other times they hit the right set-up from the start. We have to take into account everything. Did you check the weather report?"
Nel nodded. "Yeah, it will be about…20 degrees Celsius, Partly cloudy at race time same as today."
Orihime looked up in thought. "It means we have to prepare for potentially tight race cars. With the speeds we are seeing, that's not the worse thing." Just then the first round of qualifying which had Uryuu in it ended. The top two times, Ralph Hamilton and Ulquiorra Cifer were in yellow, indicating, they broke the track record. The other times were really close to each other.
"It also means faster cars. Surely you saw it racing at night?"
Nel nodded, she did notice a difference in the speeds between day and night. They watched as Ichigo took his time and after the session he was ninth, only four tenths off the time set by Serenity Gordon. By the end of the Qualifying, the top 12 times were below the previous record with last year's champion at the top of the charts.
Starting Line-Up: India
1. Serenity Gordon
2. Archie Stewart
3. Alexandra Edwards
4. Ulquiorra Cifer
5. Ralph Hamilton
6. Ichigo Kurosaki
7. Jason Webber
8. Robert Johnson
9. Ralph Dillon
10. Soi Fong
11. Brian Mcnish
12. Rebecca Kirkland
13. Renji Abarai
14. Andrew Michaels
15. Michael Bush
16. Ikkaku Mandarame
17. Uryuu Ishida
18. Maria Robertson
19. Dale Earnhardt IV
20. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez
21. Chad Yasotora
22. George Schumacher
23. Jessica Rosburg
24. Flippe Massa III
25. Gin Ichimaru
26. Bjorn Kristensen
27. Raoul Garcia
28. Jason Vettal
29. Maria Robertson
30. Michael Kennseth
31. Tier Harribel
32. Allen Regan
33. Shawn Newman
34. Kira Izuru
35. Francesca Alonso
36. Marcus Andretti
(Decent result. But rumblings are present)
(Decent result. But rumblings are present)
Sunday, October 20th 7:00 AM India Standard Time
Andrew sighed as he sat up on the bed. He looked at Tatsuki who was looking at him from the pillows. She was wearing one of her sports bras and panties and had a small smile on her face.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing. Just, does it feel weird not to have Shaolin in our bed? It feels like I'm missing something important."
Tatsuki smiled and laid down to look at the ceiling. "Yeah, it feels a little strange. But its not all bad. Shaolin has her team and her own bed. She can survive a few nights without us."
Andrew nodded. "So what do you think of Sadi? You look like good friends."
Tatsuki giggled. "She was nice, she was friendly and she had the right not to be at least to me.
Andrew hummed as he got out of bed. "She is an innocent soul, like Orihime. She…had a lot of self-esteem issues that I helped her out on. I'm glad your friends." He said walking out to do his morning routine.
In Ichigo and Orihime's room, Nel was sitting on the bed watching Ichigo and Orihime get ready.
"So…do you just get into your uniform and race?"
"No, you need your mind in the game. A lot of drivers have a pre-race routine they try to adhere to." Ichigo said as he finished cleaning up and head out. "I'll be down at breakfast, don't take too long.
Nel leaned back onto the bed. "So you just sit there and watch the race? Don't you think it it's a little boring."
Orihime smiled. "Trust me, its never boring with our boys around." The red head said as a guitar started to strum in the room next to them.
"What's that?" Nel asked.
"That's Andrew's pre-race routine."
(Play Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones. No way is this related to Call of Duty)
As Andrew walked out with Tatsuki, he happened to glance over and see Shaolin walking with her team. Catching a glance, she gave a small smile before putting her mask on. Andrew took Tatsuki's hand and headed towards the garage.
Ichigo and Orihime were being swarmed by reporters. Being one of the more popular couples in sports at the moment, they were all eager to see them. Orihime's shy demeanor only helped the image of a loving couple. Ichigo just took it in stride and held her protectively. They also posed for a few pictures with their fans.
Chad and Uryuu were already at their garage underneath the stands. Nemu was finishing looking at their cars with her father and smiled at Uryuu. Chad was ending a conversation with Yoruichi and then began talking with the Ishida about certain things.
In their garage further down the road, Aizen could only watch as the Kurosaki team interacted. He felt his phone vibrate. He looked at it and growled, knowing it was another person from their company talking about the financials. He refocused on his cars, looking over the final adjustments.
Around the track, the crowds were gathering in two distinct areas. One was surrounding the start finish line and going from near the entrance of pit road and going to the entrance of turn 1. The other stand is by the oval turn at the far end of the track. There was some scattered fans on the long stretch hoping to catch the fast speeds this track could offer.
(Go to instrumental)
Up in the booths, the staff were getting ready for another broadcast. In the Japan Booth, Jushiro was looking at the track that nearly claimed his life the year.
"Something on your mind Jushiro?" Kommamura asked.
Jushiro looked behind them. "No. Just some reflection. One year ago I didn't walk away from my wreck in GP2 and it was due to this I retired. Just coming back to this track, brings up some bad memories." He coughed. "This track…it can be dangerous."
Kommamura nodded. "Your replacement sure is doing a fine job."
Jushiro nodded. "Let's hope if continues.
(Pick the song back up)
In the driver's meeting, Yammamato finished up the meeting reminding them of their behaviors and how to act and dismissed it with a stern look.
End previous song, Play Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
(As the song builds) The season has been long, grueling and back breaking. Thousands of miles raced, millions of miles traveled. (Scenes of drivers and crews looking exhausted are shown) But the light at the end of the tunnel is near. The time to crown a champion is near.
Its in this light that the Grand Prix comes to India. The land of Buddha, the Himalayas and mysticism.(Images of each are shown shot by shot) This culture was nearly killed due to war, famine, and the great floods. But through it all the bounced back.
In the land of Shangri-La, the tired drivers are looking for the promised land. The land of fortune, the land of success, the land of…Champions.
(Guitar solo plays as the track is super imposed) Welcome to India.
The song blares as the camera pans over the track and towards the city.
Jeremy: We are just now four races away from crowning a new champion as we welcome you to round 22 of the World Grand Prix.
(Pans back to Fox Booth)
Jeremy: Good afternoon, good evening or good morning in the U.S and around the world. Welcome to the Buddh International Circuit, here in New Delhi, India. I am Jeremy Buck. With four races to go, four drivers are within 30 points and 6 are with 50 points. It is still too close to call and Nate the names at the top of the chart still surprises everyone.
Nate: That's right, the two rookie Grand Prix drivers, Ichigo Kurosaki and Andrew Michaela both of Kurosaki-Ishida. (Points standings are shown on screen refer to the last chapter) When these two started the year, we were worried about their transition to the rigors of the Grand Prix. They pretty much turned it on its head and now they are close to winning it all. Ichigo, becoming the first Japanese born winner since the late Kaien Shiba, and Andrew the youngest champion since Brian Mcnish.
Jeremy: What more could go right for these boys this year? Leading the point race with four races left to go. A team with the backing of everyone at Kurosaki-Ishida. And the reason why my son is jealous is the two, dare I say, gorgeous girlfriends. A sports quartet if I ever heard of one.
Nate: What endears them to even the casual fan is their laid back friendly attitude that has permeated from them and their attitudes on and off the track. Ichigo with his care for his family especially being the big brother. Andrew with his constant support for Autism, a cause he himself is entwined with. For more on the incredible story is our reporter Jermaine Ferguson.
Jermaine (Cuts to him, with Ichigo and Andrew standing next to him. Based on the lack of sound it's in the garage before the broadcast) Thanks Jeremy. Ichigo, Andrew. It's almost unbelievable that you two are where you are this season. What's your secret?
Ichigo: There is no real secret. We've raced our butts off this year, we've won races where we shouldn't have been in contention and we avoided the big wrecks. If there was a secret, it might be us racing for something more than ourselves.
Andrew: To add to Ichigo's point, I asked him early in the season what he raced for, what he won for. Quite frankly, I was in it for the adventure. But now I race for two things. One is for all of the autistics out there to know that if you put your mind to it, you can do great things regardless of your impairment. The second is my beautiful girlfriend Tatsuki Arisawa. She is the main reason I've stayed sane this season.
Andrew glanced off camera to see Tatsuki with a blush and small tears in her eyes. Orihime was outright blushing.
Ichigo: And here's the answer to that question Andrew. My family, and my girlfriend, Orihime Inoue. If something happened to her, I don't know what I do.
Jermaine: That's quite sweet. Thanks boys. They roll off 6th and 14th.
Back in the booth
Jeremy: Its amazing how the right person can change a guy.
Nate: Of course the Grand Prix isn't just about the two rookies. There are four drivers that could make a run at the rookies with the remaining time we have left. One of them is our defending champion, Serenity Gordon. Our friends over at Nippon Racing Network is with her.
(Kiyone is standing next to Serenity) Kiyone: Thanks Jeremy. Serenity, you knew coming into this year the schedule would make it hard for you to defend your title. Was there any indication that any of the Kurosaki team members would be in contention, much less two?
Serenity: I had an idea after they won three of the first four races. Ichigo and Andrew especially. When they had a run of bad luck around June, I thought they would fall apart. But they have stayed the course. I'm looking forward to racing them over the last races of the season.
Kiyone: Thank you. Serenity Gordon rolls off on the Pole.
After more segments and the opening ceremony, the drivers headed towards their cars. Ichigo and Andrew pounded fists with each other, their crew and their teammates and getting a kiss out of their girlfriends. Shaolin happened to watch the interaction and frowned slightly at Andrew and Tatsuki's interaction. She was snapped out of it when she heard a slight tapping on her roof. She turned to see Andrew with a smile.
"Good luck." He said walking away. Shaolin smiled and calmed down.
Andrew strapped in and breathed out. Looking to his right and left to adjust his depth perception and then made himself comfortable.
Up with Ichigo, he was watching the other crews leaving the pits. He tunred to his left and happened to catch Ulquiorra's gaze. Ichigo shivered but shook his head, knowing he had to keep his head in the game.
"RACE FANS! ITS TIME FOR THE MOST FAMOUS WORDS IN MOTORSPORTS! DRIVERS! START YOUR ENGINES!
Thirty-six engines roared to life and crowd was ecstatic to see this race.
Fox Booth
Jeremy: As the cars roll out for the parade laps for the Air India 400, let us take a look at the race facts. 400 Miles which is just over 110 laps. 3.5 Miles and boy this track is really fast.
Nate: This is kind of like Watkins Glen mixed with Sochi, one of the key factors is keeping the engines at peak performance. There is some wind and there might be some trash or dust that gets into the engines.
Jeremy: The last thing is to keep in mind is to keep the cars on the track. The preferred line runs over a lot of bumps and unlike the F1 races, the higher center of gravity could potentially knock them off their line especially in the s-turns after the long straight.
Nate: Let's talk to someone here. How about Ulquiorra Cifer. Ulquiorra this is Nate Jarrett, do you read me?
There was silence and Nate tried again.
Nate: Guess he's more focused on the race.
After the parade laps, the pace car ducked down pit road and the green flag was waved with Serenity leading them down towards turn 1. They field bunched up as they entered the turn and started speeding through the winding turns. They got to the Tilke corner and Serenity was able to clear her pursuers and crank up the speed down the long stretch. At the speed trap she was over 200 MPH as she slowed down into turn 4 to weave through the next section. Barely slowing down as they headed into the fast turns, the field was still bunched up and there were some cars that nearly got shoved onto the grass. Out of the oval turn, Serenity stretched her lead as they went through the final section still going over 120 MPH as she came out of the last turn and headed down the pit stretch.
Japan Booth
Kommamura: Lap one in the books, horsepower is on full display here.
Jushiro: The speed trap at the end of the main straight was over 200 MPH for most of the pack. Serenity is stretching the lead as we have a car off the track its Yasotora. He's back on quickly.
After another lap of racing, the field started to calm down and Serenity was setting the pace. On lap 6, Ulquiorra having taken the second spot closed the gap coming out of the long turn. At the line the difference was less than five car lengths. Heading down the long straight, Ulquiorra just had enough power to get underneath Serenity as they slowed down to enter turn 4 and forced her to check up and the Demon of Souske sped off into the next straight.
American Booth
Jeremy: Cifer to the lead, great set up out of turn 4.
Nate: Leaving the champ in the dust, he needs good finishes and some luck to catch the Kurosaki rookies.
After the pass Ulquiorra started to put some distance on second place as they approached the first set of pit stops. There was one retirement in Alexandra Edwards who had a fuel pressure issue and had to pull out.
In the pits, the crews were getting ready for the pit stop. Nel was with Orihime who was filming the crew putting the gear in place to change the tires.
"So…how long does this take? Normally filling up is about two minutes and changing the tires take another what five minutes to change each tire?,
Orihime giggled. "Just watch, I predict…12 seconds. Maybe 13, Ichigo has been complaining about a tight race car so he wants to loosen up a bit."
Nel looked at her like she was crazy. Turning back, she watched Ichigo pull in to the stall. Her eyes widened as the flurry of activity surrounded the car. In less than 13 seconds, Ichigo's tires were changed, the car was fueled up and the adjustment was made and he was away.
Nel turned to Orihime who smiled. "That's what training does." She said proudly.
Over in Andrew's pit, thanks to a couple of favors, Sadi was able to watch the race from the pit road, with the proviso Tatsuki keep an eye on her.
Sadi watched as Andrew pulled in and the stop occurred almost as fast as Ichigo's stop but was slow on the tire change.
Tatsuki sighed. "Well that didn't do as well as we had hoped. Still early though." She looked at Sadi who was holding her earphones and tapped her on the shoulder. "Its fine. The engines are loud but with the separation, it won't be as loud for very long."
Just as she said the caution came out. They looked at the monitor to see Patricia Stenhouse spun out and collected Jason Webber with some significant damage to the cars in turn four. Due to the debris in the section where it happened, the full-course yellow came out to clean it up. The leader at the time was Archie Stewart and not everyone had pitted yet.
Tatsuki removed her earphones as the cars slowed down and looked at Sadi who looked overwhelmed at the sensory input.
"Sadi are you okay?"
The Indian girl looked up and nodded. "Its just very loud. I didn't think it would be this loud."
Tatsuki waited until the cars passed before speaking. "It will be okay. This track is very large. Once they are spread out, it will be fine."
Sadi looked up and Tatsuki could see why Andrew dated her, it was the innocence in her eyes. It reminded her of Orihime.
Back on track, the cars who had not pitted came in and gave the lead back to Ulquiorra and Ichigo was in 3rd with Andrew in 8th. The clean-up finished on lap 27 and got the one to go signal. Ichigo lining up behind Ulquiorra on the restart had to be careful about Ulquiorra holding back on the restart. Once back on the pit straight, Ulquiorra did hold back as expected as he controlled the restart which meant the second place driver, Brian Mcnish had to hold back as well. When the green flag dropped, Ulquiorra tried to go, but his tires spun out a bit. Because of Ichigo's preparation he was able to get out of the way and pass him after the line. Mcnish got a good jump going into turn one but Ichigo was right there with him. Leaving Turn 3, the Kurosaki Engines poured it on and Ichigo started the pass halfway down the stretch and completed it just before they had to put on the brakes for turn 4.
American Booth
Jeremy: Kurosaki showing the power behind these Hondas, getting around the 01 of Mcnish and it's the point leader in front.
Nate: This is not what those chasing the 15 want to see as he pulls away. Meanwhile, Cifer slips to fourth as he finally gets in line.
Jeremy: He spun his tires pretty badly, a good heads up play for both the 15 and 01 to take advantage of any mistakes. That was one the 04 could not make.
Ichigo came around and led the lap to the delight of his crew. "Good Call on the adjustments."
"Heh. All on you son." Isshin said.
Orihime smiled at Isshin's voice. Turning to Nel, she answered Nel's look. "All it takes is the right changes and the right amount of luck.
Ten laps later, Serenity who restarted 5th, had worked her way up to 2nd and it showed on a longer run, she had the staying power. Going into the multi-apex turn, Ichigo went wide and Serenity got underneath him and sped off.
Japan Booth
Kommamura: Gordon takes the lead out of the oval turn as we start thinking about the next pit stops.
A lap later on lap 42, the caution came out when Renji blew his engine and spilled oil on the stretch leading to pit road. With the amount of laps left in a fuel run and with the potential fluids on the tires, everyone came down pit road after spending an extra lap to clean up around pit road.
American Booth
Jeremy: Leaders coming down pit road. They are coming to you Jermaine.
Jermaine: Ichigo is liking the changes from the last stop. No changes, four tires, a little slow on the rear tires and he is going to lose a couple of spots. Meanwhile, Ulquiorra is looking to fix a tight race car. Going up a round on the track bar and he's down and away. Serenity is looking for more grip. Air pressure out of the front tires and she will not beat the 04 out and she is going to lose another spot as the 01 beats her out.
The field was reset and Ulquiorra led the field back down to the green on lap 48. Four laps of shuffling through the field and Andrew, who came out fourth and got a good pit stop was on Ulquiorra's bumper heading into turn 15.
Andrew smirked as he used his old trick. He stayed straight forcing Ulquiorra to try and block him. Andrew then quickly cut to the inside into the preferred line and took the lead down the straight.
American Booth
Jeremy: Michaels does a great crossover and he takes the lead from the 04.
Nate: Andrew was confident today he could do well. Its paying off with the changes he made last stop.
In his pits, Sadi was happy and cheered as the 91 passed the pit. Tatsuki grinned. "See he's doing just fine."
In the car Andrew was talking with Kisuke.
"Great changes Kisuke."
"Thanks. Stay in front a little longer, Ulquiorra has an issue with longer runs."
"Roger." Andrew said and then his eyes went wide.
Image
As Andrew drove down the pit straight one car in front of clipped another car and it helicoptered into the fence right in front of Andrew forcing him to get out of the way of the debris field.
End Image
Andrew shook his head and navigated the turn.
"Andrew are you alright?"
"Yeah. Just that…I had another one."
"What was it?"
"Pit straight. One car clipped another. It helicoptered into the fence. Don't know if the fans got hurt.
"Noted just relax."
Andrew sighed as he got through the oval turn.
A few laps later Andrew was still in the lead but Ichigo caught him on lap 60. Another retirement happened when Michael Kennseth broke something in the axel rods as he spun out in the oval turn.
Completing Lap 61, Ichigo smirked.
"I hear there's a new Jaws movie coming out."
"Oh real funny Ichigo. Let's show them speed."
Coming out of turn 3, Ichigo and Andrew were side by side as they gunned the engines to near full throttle as they drag raced down very long straight. Just before they got to the end of the straight the caution came out.
Japan Booth
Kommamura: Caution on the speedway, two cars in the wall near turn 15. It's Vettal in Red Bull Porsche, Kirkland in the Audi 007. Both are already climbing out, always a good sign. But there is some significant damage to the tire barriers and the wall which will be a while to clean up.
Jushiro: Who was in front is the question. Most series use scoring loops and on the main straight there were 3, so we are going to back to the last one they passed and…its Ichigo who was in front at last scoring loop. But my goodness they weren't letting up for a bit.
Kommamura: In a championship chase, its every man for themselves even if they are teammates.
It took a while to sort out the field as there were now some lapped traffic after the green flag run. On lap 65, the field was sorted out and pit road was opened again.
American Booth
Jeremy: Leaders are coming in. Jermaine?
Jermaine: (As cars are coming in) Ulquiorra is still looking for long run help as they go down on the track bar…And he only takes two tires as he's already down and away. Kurosaki is taking four tires as other teams are taking two tires and there will be some shuffling around.
Ichigo slammed his steering wheel. "Damn it. I didn't think the tire wear was that good."
"If I know Aizen, Ulquiorra is going to put nearly forty laps on the right tires." Isshin theorized.
"Wear has been pretty good all day despite the speeds. More pressure on the lefts though. Question is whether or not he got enough fuel." Kisuke chimed in.
"Great. At least six cars took lefts only. Alright let's see how we can get through this."
Three laps later, the pace car came off the track and Ulquiorra led them back down the track. The 04 got out to a steady lead. Meanwhile another car pulled off, it was the Ferrari of Francesca Alonso, who started losing cylinders. The field started to spread out a bit more as the run continued.
Ten laps later, the lead teams were discussing their last pit stop. With the amount of laps remaining after the caution, it put them in an awkward position of when to make their final stop. Unless a caution came out, there was going to be a stretch of the fuel either before or after the pit stop.
Grimmjow who had taken the lead from his teammate growled as he remembered that three times he and his team had been burned on a fuel mileage run. Both he and Ulquiorra had to make sure they came in at the right time to get to the end.
Meanwhile, Ichigo and Andrew weren't having as much difficulty. Hondas regardless of the car got great fuel mileage and the Kurosaki power plants were no exception. Uryuu won at Road America using a similar strategy and Chad was able to stretch his fuel as well at Monaco. They were in effect points racing because of where Serenity and Brian were on the track. Content there was not going to be as much moving around in the points, they went the conservative route and pitted early shuffling them back in the pack.
Japan Booth
Kommamura: With where the caution fell, teams have been discussing when to come into make their final stop as we see some of the cars in the back start to come in. They can either stretch it now or stretch it to the end. Its when they make the stop that will be the difference.
Jushiro: (Camera shifts to Grimmjow) This is a dilemma that has hit the Souske team hard as we work lap 86. Four times this year, they ran out of gas at the end of the race. Three of them ended up giving a Kurosaki driver the win. In Australia Grimmjow tried to stretch the fuel on the last restart but ended up running out when the flag dropped giving the win to the point leader Ichigo Kurosaki. (Camera shifts to Ulquiorra) Ulquiorra in the 04 ran out of gas entering the tunnel at Monaco and gave the win to Chad Yasotora.
Kommamura: (Shifts to Ichigo who was leaving the pits) By contrast Ichigo and Andrew are more confident in the fuel mileage of the Kurosaki engines. They are also not as concerned about the points according to the radio.
Jushiro: We will see as we work lap 87, we are hearing next time by for 06 to come in.
As Jushiro said, Grimmjow came in and took fuel only along with his teammate. Most of the other drivers took the chance and got two tires. Ichigo and Andrew took four tire theorizing that in order to have enough fuel to get to the end, they may as well take four tires.
As the laps wound down, the two strategies played out in front of the audience. While Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were able to take the lead soon after Serenity took the lead, Ichigo and Andrew was gaining ground thanks to the fresher tires.
Tatsuki looked at the scoring monitors and frowned. "Ichigo might be able to catch Grimmjow, he is definitely gaining on Grimmjow. But I don't know if he has enough time left."
Orihime pouted. "At least he's still in contention."
Nel looked up. "What about the lapped traffic?" She said noticing the cars in front of him.
Kisuke looked at the screen and then ran some calculations. "I…think he can catch him. But it might be towards the last lap in the scenario.
As the laps wound down, the lapped traffic did indeed slow down Grimmjow. Combined with the old tires, Ichigo eventually climbed his way to third with about 5 laps to go.
American Booth
Jeremy: As Grimmjow comes to the line for 4 laps to go, Ichigo is closing the gap.
Nate: It was 2 seconds at the line. Let's see at the first split. (Both cars pass the split.) Gap is down to 1.8 seconds. The 15 might catch the 06 at this rate but the question is can he finish the pass.
In his car Grimmjow saw Ichigo approach him. He heard from the radio that he had 3 laps left. Ichigo got close in turn 4 but he couldn't complete the pass and was forced to back off a little bit. But that also cost them a little momentum as they headed through the technical section and the oval turn.
Japan Booth
Kommamura: It will be two laps left as they come to the line. Only two car lengths separate them as they get near lap traffic.
Jushiro: And its not just lap traffic they have to worry about. Ulquiorra Cifer in the 04, Serenity Gordon in the 24 are just a half a second behind. And right behind them is the 91 of Andrew Michaels. That gap is closing as they head down the main straight.
On the final lap they got clear of the lap traffic and Ichigo was less than a tenth of a second off Grimmjow as they went through the final set of turns. Ichigo look inside at turn 15, but Grimmjow slammed the door. Exiting the last turn, Ichigo got right up to the bumper and headed inside again. Grimmjow blocked and Ichigo headed to the right. Grimmjow tried to block but instead of blocking, Ichigo had a nose and he inadvertantly clipped him as he was trying to cross back over. This action caused Grimmjow's car to lift up. This would have been fine and revoverable except his teammate was right there as he slowed down. The airborne car hit it and was helicoptering into the fence. Unlike the previous incidents, this fence was right next to the stands and the fans ducked out of the way. The fence did its job and pushed the 06 back onto the track nearly hitting Andrew as he drove by.
( This is the Carl Edwards flip from Talladega in 2009. Same situation different cars)
(Next two breaks happen at the same time)
Andrew was watching the battle from fifth place when he saw Grimmjow's car lifted up. He widened his eyes as his vision from before came true and he saw the car come towards him. He swerved out of the way as the car missed him by inches.
American Booth
Jeremy: Final Stretch, Ichigo tries to pull a cross over. Grimmjow blocks. Tries again! THEY TOUCH! GRIMMJOW AIRBORNE! HITS HIS TEAMMATE! INTO THE FENCE HE GOES!
Nate: Ichigo Kurosaki will win this race, second place will be Serenity, third is Ulquiorra. Are the fans okay as the race ends. Looks like none of the debris got into the stands
The whole pit crew celebrated as did the girls who cheered loudly. Ichigo had to laugh in his car unbelieving he won.
With that win, he is a step closer to winning the championship. But will he hold on? Find out next time on Bleach Grand Prix
OSPREY…SWOOSH
Finish Order: India
1. Ichigo Kurosaki, Kurosaki 37 points 16 laps led
2. Ulquiorra Cifer, Souske 39 points 35 laps led
3. Serenity Gordon, Hendrick 35 points 17 laps led
4. Andrew Michaels Kurosaki 33 points 9 laps led
5. Dale Earnhardt IV Hendrick 32 points
6. Gin Ichimaru, Souske 31 points
7. Michael Bush, Stewart-Haas 30 points
8. Brian Mcnish, Audi 29 points
9. Ralph Hamilton, Red Bull 28 points
10. Maria Robertson, Ferrari 27 points
11. George Schumacher, Ferrari 26 points
12. Soi Fong, Kuchiki 25 points
13. Robert Johnson, Hendrick 24 points
14. Uryuu Ishida, Kurosaki 23 points
15. Tier Harribel, Souske 22 points
16. Shawn Newman, Stewart-Haas 21 points
17. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Souske 21 points 31 laps led
18. Marcus Andretti, Stewart-Haas 19 points 1 lap down
19. Raoul Garcia, Audi 18 points 1 lap down
20. Chad Yasotora, Kurosaki 17 points 2 laps down
21. Ikkaku Madarame, Kuchiki 16 points 2 laps down
22. Allen Regan, Rousch 15 points 2 laps down
23. Jessica Rosburg, Ferrari 14 points 3 laps down
24. Archie Stewart, Stewart-Haas 14 points 3 laps down 2 laps led
25. Bjorn Kristensen Audi 12 points 3 laps down
26. Kira Izuru, Kuchiki 11 points Out
27. Ralph Dillon, Hendrick 10 points Out
28. Flippe Massa III 9 points Out
29. Francesca Alonso, Ferrari 8 points Out
30. Rebecca Kirkland, Audi 7 points Out
31. Jason Vettal, Red Bull 6 points Out
32. Michael Kennseth, Rousch 5 points Out
33. Renji Abarai, Kuchiki4 points Out
34. Jason Webber, Red Bull 3 points Out
35. Patricia Stenhouse, Rousch 2 points Out
36. Alexandra Edwards, Rousch 1 point Out
Drivers names Team Points
Ichigo Kurosaki Kurosaki 596
Andrew Michaels Kurosaki 585
Serenity Gordon Hendrick 578
Brian Mcnish Audi 564
Ulquiorra Cifer Souske 553
Chad Yasotora Kurosaki 521
George Schumacher Ferrari 504
Soi Fong Kuchiki 502
Uryuu Ishida Kurosaki 497
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez Souske 486
Kira Izuru Kuchiki 477
Archie Stewart Stewart-Haas 469
Gin Ichimaru Souske 468
Tier Harribel Souske 467
Ralph Hamilton Red Bull 426
Renji Abarai Kuchiki 422
Maria Robertson Ferrari 418
Ralph Dillon Hendrick 415
Robert Johnson Hendrick 414
Patricia Stenhouse Rousch 413
Michael Kennseth Rousch 394
Michael Busch Stewart-Haas 391
Fransesca Alonso Ferrari 375
Ikkaku Mandarame Kuchiki 374
Jason Webber Red Bull 373
Marcus Andretti Stewart-Haas 364
Alexandra Edwards Rousch 363
Rebecca Kirkland Audi 362
Jessica Rosburg Ferrari 336
Dale Earnhardt IV Hendrick 334
Raoul Garcia Audi 330
Bjorn Kristensen Audi 322
Jason Vettal Red Bull 308
Flippe Massa III Red Bull 295
Shawn Newman Stewart-Haas 291
Allen Regan Rousch 267
Team Names Combined points
Kurosaki-Ishida 2199
Souske 1974
Kuchiki 1775
Hendrick 1741
Ferrari 1633
Audi 1578
Stewart-Haas 1515
Rousch 1437
Red Bull 1402
END OF CHAPTER
UO: God DAMN IT I WANTED THIS OUT LAST WEEK! No excuse
Preview: As the last break comes onto the Grand Prix, the heroes take a trip down memory lane and help out with a charity. Meanwhile, Aizen's machinations begin to unravel. What will happen? Find out
Next time: Lone Star Showdown.
Next Update is Journeys
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