Red-Zone
Chapter 8 - Bloodline
- Karen - "Okay, all we need to do now is wait for our lineup's turn on the grid. You excited, Zaira-kun?"
- Zaira - "Of course! I'm always excited when I'm gonna race!"
- Zaira - "Hey Karen, that's not fair! You should be in 5th place, not 3rd!"
- Karen - "Well, you only said that I shouldn't be in 1st place, right? So I guess any other position is okay! Haha!"
- Zaira - "Fine. By the way, is your Civic tuned?"
- Karen - "It's pretty brand new, so I only made some minor changes."
- Zaira - "Oh, I see."
About 2 in the afternoon, Zaira and Karen were up for another race in the Tsukuba Circuit.
1st: Honda Accord Euro-R'00
2nd: Honda Integra Type R '98
3rd: Honda Civic Type R '04
4th: Nissan Stagea 260RS Autech Version '96
5th: Lancia Stratos '73
6th: Toyota MR2 G-Limited '97
Once again, the crowds hear the roaring engines as the cars pass the starting line. Race 3, begin!!
- Zaira - "?? The car in front of me seems odd... is it Japanese??"
- Tori - "! That's a..."
- Suichiro - "A Lancia Stratos! No way...how did a car like that end up here?? That thing's a supercar... I hate to say it, Mr. Akawa, but compared to her car, that thing's a lot faster."
- Tori - "I know. She's gonna have a hard time in this race."
- Suichiro - "Let's just hope she doesn't lose."
- Tori - (smiles) "Don't worry, she won't. You must be forgetting, that's my daughter racing out there."
- Zaira - "I just had a gut feeling that I shouldn't waste any time. I think I'll do that."
- Stratos driver - "I was aiming for last place, but then someone already put their name on the list. Oh well..."
- Zaira - "I should've been able to pass the 5th place car in that 1st corner. These guys are faster than I thought, I really shouldn't waste time."
- Stagea driver - "Planning to overtake me, eh?? We'll see about that." (brakes a lot more than usual)
- Stagea driver - "Haha, it worked!"
- Stratos driver - "...!! The hell was that for?!"
- Zaira - "Hey, what's the holdup?"
- Stratos driver - "Damn that guy! I'm gonna get him for sure!"
- Zaira - "At this rate, I won't be able to finish 1st."
- Stratos driver - "Hmm, that's odd, that Toyota's been at my rear end up until now. I'm using a Stratos, it should've been left behind."
- Stratos driver - "Have to wait for the perfect opportunity..."
- Stagea driver - "Get out of my way!!"
(sound of metal hitting hard)
- Karen - "Uwwaaah!!"
- Stratos driver - "What the...?! That's foul play!"
- Zaira - "Oh no, Karen!"
- Stagea driver - "Told you to get out of the way!"
- Karen - "Why you...!"
- Stratos driver - "I hate to pass this opportunity, but here I go."
- Zaira - "Sorry Karen, I'll have to pass you. Don't worry, I'll get him for you by winning!"
- Karen - "Get back here, you cheater! ...Not good, I can't catch up. Zaira, go get him for me!"
- Stagea driver - "The Stratos was enough to pass me, not you too!!" (tries to block Zaira)
- Stratos driver - "Good, that bastard is out of the way now."
- Stagea driver - "S:censored:, I won't make it..."
- Zaira - "Sorry, I'm faster than you are."
- Stagea driver - (returns to racing line) "Don't think you can get away with this!"
- Zaira - "I still have a lot of ground to catch up. Better hurry."
- Stratos driver - "That MR2's still at my tail. What a driver. Now this race just got even better, I'm all hyped up! Let's see if you can keep up with me."
- Stagea driver - "C'mon, just a little more..."
- Stagea driver - "Take this!" (bumps Zaira)
- Zaira - "Whoa! Hey, who was that?!
- Zaira - "Damn you! Taking advantage of your car's size... you're gonna regret that!!"
- Karen - "Not Zaira too! You're gonna get a beating after this!"
- Stagea driver - "Shoot, that didn't work."
- Zaira - "No time to get angry, gotta get back on the race."
- Zaira - "That yellow car is incredible!"
- DC2 driver - "That thing's fast!"
- Zaira - "I'm running out of tarmac, I need to overtake that Accord quickly."
- Stratos driver "All right, I'm in first place. This race is mine for the taking!"
- Zaira - "Time to show what my MR2 is capable of!! Midships rule at cornering!"
- Accord driver - "Nani?! Where'd that come from?!"
- Accord driver - "What the...?" (speechless because of the sudden turn of events)
- Stratos driver - "Impossible, he caught up?! You're so persistent!"
- Zaira - "I'm gonna win this race!"
- Stratos driver - "I've got a hundred and ninety prancing horses of Ferrari on my back, you don't stand a chance!"
- Zaira - "Just a little more faster..." (they both change gears at the same time)
- Zaira - "Yes, that's it! In my current position, I will have the advantage when we get to the last corner!"
- Stratos driver - "Not good, I'm being outdragged, If this keeps on in the final corner..."
- Zaira - "All right, I have the better line!"
- Stratos driver - "He's good..."
- Stratos driver - (car slides) "Not now! Dammit, it's because I'm at the outside line!"
- Zaira - "Yoshi!"
- Stratos driver - "Grrr..."
- Stratos driver - "*grumble*"
- Zaira - "Whew, that was a close finish!"
- Stratos driver - "I lost......ah, what the heck, I had fun anyway. That was a pretty darn good race."
(back at the pits)
- Zaira - "All right, I won again! Whoohoo!"
- Karen - "Congrats, Zaira-kun!"
- Zaira - "Thanks, Karen-chan!"
- Suichiro - "You're amazing, Akawa-san. You won against a Lancia Stratos."
- Zaira - "Eh, a Lancia? So, I was right! That yellow car wasn't Japanese."
- Tori - "That car is considered by some people as a supercar. You were at a disadvantage right from the start, but I always knew you'd win."
- Zaira - "Thanks, Dad!"
- Stratos driver - (takes out a picture in his pocket, among the people in the picture there's a person that looks like Tori. He looks back and forth at the picture and at Tori) "Hmm, could he be that guy...?? Yep, that's him all right."
- Stratos driver - (approaches to Zaira and others) "Uh, excuse me..."
- Everyone - "??"
- Stratos driver - "Do any of you speak English? Sorry, I can't quite speak Japanese yet."
- Suichiro - "I do."
- Stratos driver - "Great! I'm looking for a certain person...(shows Suichiro the picture)...I think he's that guy." (points Tori)
- Tori - "?? Me? What's with me?"
- Suichiro - "!! What the..." (surprised to see that someone who looks like Tori is in the picture)
- Tori - "Can I take a look at that picture??......!!"
- Suichiro - "Uh, Mr. Akawa...Isn't this person 'you'?"
- Tori - "I remember this! Young man, where did you get this photo?"
- Stratos driver - "Great, you speak English too! Uh...my dad gave it to me. Could you have happened to meet someone by the name of Guiseppe Razzo?"
- Tori - "!! Yes, I've met him before!"
- Stratos driver - "I'm his son, Raphael. I had plans to go to Japan, so my dad told me to give his regards to you while I'm here."
- Tori - "You were lucky to have found me. Where is he now??"
- Raphael - "He's at home in Italy. He's not with me because my friends only invited me to go on a trip here. There was only enough room for our group."
- Tori - "Glad to hear he's doing well. Am I surprised that I get to meet his son on his stead! Haha!"
- Raphael - (noticed the Civic and the MR2 from the last race)"Hey, may I ask another question?"
- Suichiro - "?? Yes, go ahead."
- Raphael - "Are those two girls the drivers of the Civic and the MR2 whom I raced against??"
- Suichiro - "Yes, they are."
- Raphael - "I'd like to thank them for the great race. How do you say 'thank you' in Japanese??...uh, 'arigato'?"
- Suichiro - "Yes."
- Raphael - "I see. (shakes Zaira's hands)"
- Zaira - "??"
- Suichiro - "He wants to thank you for the race."
- Raphael - " 'Arigato' for the great race."
- Zaira - "Uh sure, you're welcome! ...Oh! Almost forgot, where is that driver of the Stagea..."
- Stagea driver - "Dammit, I lost again!"
- Friend - "You've been on a losing streak lately. What happened?"
- Stagea driver - "I dunno-- (Karen slaps him in the face) Oww!! What the...?!"
- Karen - "That's for my smashing onto my Civic!"
- Stagea driver - "Smashing?! The hell are you talking abo-- (Zaira slaps him in the face) Ouch!"
- Zaira - "And that's for knocking me off the track with your dirty tricks!"
- Stagea driver - "C'mon, that was nothing! I didn't do it on purpose!!"
- Zaira - "You had a lot of room to manuever! You were even in the racing line!"
- Stagea driver - "Shut up!!"
- Raphael - "Ah, so he's the one that's been messing around with us."
- Suichiro - "On top of foul play, he also has a foul mouth."
Raphael and Suichiro look at each other, then nod.
- Friend - "You're playing dirty again?!"
- Stagea driver - "No, I did not! That was just a slight bump-- (Raphael and Suichiro punch him in the face, he falls to the ground) Uwaah!!"
- Suichiro - "You were saying something? Come on you two, let's go."
As they went back to their cars, Zaira notices a white piece of paper, an envelope, sandwiched between the wiper and the windshield. The others didn't noticed as they were having a conversation.
- Zaira - "Huh? What's this??" (a note is in the backside of the envelope, "Only read this if you're alone.")
(Zaira's house, afternoon)
- Zaira - "It's a pity Raphael can't join us."
- Suichiro - "Well, it was a sudden invitation. He said he had other plans."
- Zaira - "Yeah. But I'm glad Karen's here!!"
- Karen - "I wouldn't pass an opportunity like this, of course! I've finally got to meet the people I'm looking for."
- Zaira - "You're the same as me, no wonder we got along very fast."
- Suichiro - "I have to admit, Zaira, your mom makes pretty good snacks."
- Karen - "Let me have a bite...Oishi!! He's right!"
- Zaira - "That's my Mom! Oh wait, I'm just gonna put my keys in my room. Wait here."
Actually, what Zaira's gonna do is to read the letter she got earlier.
- Zaira - "Hmm, okay, now I'm alone. Let's see what's inside."
"Come over to the Sumiya Highway at night. You may come at any day you want. Let's have a talk."
At the bottom right of the paper, there's the word "ARC" .
- Zaira - " 'ARC' ...*gasp* could this be the one I've heard about??"
next on Red-Zone : Chapter 9 - Invitation
don't miss it!!
J/K.
No complaints here, except for one mis-use of the word "here", when the crowd could "here" the roar of the engines, should be "hear" the roar of the engines.
I look forward to the next chapter for sure!👍
Well, I can hardly miss the next chapter now can I?
.. And I'm curious about one thing: It seems like Zaira is going to win every race.. Is it so? I'm asking this, because Tori won every race back in Red-Line..
