Reincarnation Story 2 Part 35

Zephyr immediately sped off as soon as the last bell rang, along with everyone else entering.  A couple of them were stranded at the start line, seemingly having technical problems.  She shook her head, concentrating on the track and the people around her.
'Remember, the very beginning of the race is important.  People will try to strike you out in the chaos if you look like an easy target.  Strike out in the beginning, and it's game over.' Hiruma's advice echoed in her head.  She thrust her hands down, and the metal on her gloves reformed around each finger, creating deadly long, sharp claws.
Her goggles flashed a warning sign to her left, signaling someone near.  She turned and saw the sweeping slash of a sword as it came down on her.  Instinctively, she raised her clawed hand to block the blow.  As it connected, shock from the impact twinged her arm, but the blade hadn't even dented her claws.  The attacker looked at Zephyr in astonishment, and she took advantage of his surprise by grabbing the sword and pulling it to the ground.  He stumbled, overcorrected and crashed into the ground.  "I'm sorry…" She mumbled under her breath.

Hiruma swerved sharply to the right as the racer went down.  The intercom buzzed.  'Racers #3506, 720, 3491, and 674 are unable to continue.  They are here fore disqualified.'  Four numbers from the left-hand side of Hiruma's screen fuzzed out and disappeared.  A green tally came into view in the bottom right-hand corner.  The electronic voice sounded directly in his ear.  'Elimination point for racer #3491, recognized.  Team 'Shadow' is now in 4th place.'  He clenched his fists and leaned forward.  "Good work, Zeph! Keep at it!"  A signal flashed on his right and he looked over to see a masked boy with dark goggles hefting a short bar.  He pulled it apart and it extended in his hands, two blades flashing horizontally at the ends.  Hiruma ducked as the weapon spun, feeling the hiss of air above his head.  He felt a stab of surprise as the other end began to come down in front of him.  Quickly he changed gears, grabbing the front of his board, and bent his knees, tugging it towards him till it was almost vertical to the ground.  The blade missed, though barely.  His heart thumped rapidly in his chest.
'Steady.  Calm yourself down.' Said Truth.
"I know, I know!" Hiruma tugged out the gun from his left glove and arched his back, flipping over backwards back into position without coming in range of the other racer's weapon.  He slapped a bullet cartridge into the gun and shot about six times.  The racer gave out a cry as his weapon fell apart in his hands.  His board stuttered, the balance thrown off from the chunk blown away by his back foot.  Suddenly his board shot out from underneath him and he fell, yelling as his arm snapped underneath him.  Hiruma winced and forced himself to look away.  'Must've taken out the Gravity Core…'
'Elimination point for racer #369 recognized.  Team 'Shadow' is still currently in 4th place.'  Hiruma swore under his breath and stamped on the accelerator, zooming forward.

Zephyr watched as Hiruma sped ahead, and followed after him.  She managed to pull up next to him and yelled, "_________, what are we after? Knock-out points or speed?"

"If someone attacks, take em out, but other than that, full throttle ahead!  We're not like Tekeshi.  We won't get to 1st place by inflicting pain."

Zephyr nodded, relieved.  "Sounds good."  She tapped her ear and added, "Don't forget, we do have our wireless coms.  If you need help, just say so."

Hiruma grinned.  "Got it!" He faced forward, tapping into the wireless.  "Xavier, Sebastian, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear!" Piped in Xavier's voice.
"I can hear you splendidly."  Said Sebastian.
"Good. I want you two to try and stay within 100 feet of each other in case something comes up.  The racers in black and yellow are Tekeshi's team.  Keep a sharp eye out.  Sebastian, take care of Xavier for me.  Zeph and I will head in to take the lead. Get as close to us as you can, but try to stay near 4th or 5th place.  Fewer people will target you and as long as Zeph and I can take first, the end tally should put us in a good position.  If you're attacked, take em out.  Otherwise, just keep safe."  He paused for a moment.  "…If I see Tekeshi, I'll bring him down.  For John and Kai!" He finished.
"For John and Kai!"
"Alright, let's go!"

Zephyr turned her back foot, adjusting the speed gear on her board.  She zoomed forward, and her surroundings turned into a blur.  She was thankful for Rangokuen's experience and instincts as she weaved around other people with ease.  As she speedily continued forward, her goggle's screen flashed with two bright red dots, both approaching quickly and on her right and left side.  Zephyr glanced back and swore as she noticed their black and yellow uniforms.  One of them drew a gun from his side, loaded it, and fired at her.  She swerved to the side, narrowly avoiding the bullet.  A sharp pain flared up in her shoulder, and she turned to find the other member of Tekeshi's gang wielding a dagger now coated with fresh blood.   She grimaced as her wound stung, then lunged out and attacked the dagger-user.  He blocked the blow with his blade, and Zephyr used her other hand and clawed at his leg, tearing the fabric of his pants and reaching skin.  He cried out, retreating a couple of feet.  A gunshot sounded and Zephyr ducked, dodging the bullet again.  "__________! I need backup, now!"

Hiruma was jerked out of his concentration.  He'd been so worried about getting ahead that he hadn't noticed Zephyr was in trouble.  He risked a glance behind him and saw the two racers coming up on both sides of Zephyr for a second attack.  "Zephyr!!" He shouted into the com.  "Duck!"

Zephyr ducked without hesitation.  Several bullets flew over her head, along with the dagger.  These guys seriously want to kill me!
The dagger-user thrust a second blade down towards Zephyr's head, but she blocked it with her hands.  He pushed down harder, nudging her board to the ground.  If he pushed much harder, the hover board would hit the track and be ground to pieces.  If she moved, the blade would kill her.

Snarling, Hiruma abruptly slowed his board, bringing his right forearm back and catching Tekeshi's racer underneath the jaw, sending him flying off his board.  Cranking his hover board back into gear, Hiruma pulled up beside Zephyr.  He looked down at his arm and winced.  There was a jagged cut that ran from his elbow halfway to his shoulder, dripping with silver blood.  He swore softly.  "Zeph, you alright?  Not hurt too badly?"

"I'm okay but—" She was interrupted by a gunshot and a bullet grazing her cheek.  Warm blood trickled from the wound, and she wiped it with the back of her hand.  Zephyr looked back at the shooter as he reloaded his gun. She stopped in the middle of the track and rammed into him, shoving her elbow into his gut.  He gasped and fell backwards.  Zephyr grimaced, not looking back as she sped up to Hiruma.  "You going to be okay?" She asked, out of breath.  "And why is your blood silver?"

"It hurts like crap, but…. I'm fine." He paused for a moment, then said, "Truth tells me it's not blood…he can't bleed.  He is a sword, after all…" He held up his arm.  The silver 'blood' had formed over the wound almost like a patch.  When he ran his fingers across it, it was cool to the touch, like metal.  He took in a shuddering breath to calm himself, and then stomped on the accelerator.  "Keep up, Zeph!"