Friday 2.30 AM

"Are you feeling any better?" Towa asked Sumire as she stepped out of the bathroom.

"It's not coming out." Sumire replied. She's holding her stomach with a pained expression and has been in this state for a couple of hours now.

"It's not a stomach bug then. Should we go to the hospital?" Towa asked again and Sumire considered.

"Hmmm... It's getting worse."

Sumire hoisted herself to the dinner table. There were a variety of medications for gastronomic illness, none of which seemed to be working.

"Is it really getting worse?" Towa asked as he was now standing beside Sumire, holding her hand.

"Hmm." Sumire nodded. Her head was facing down the table from the pain.

"And it's definitely not your period?"

"Of course not!" Sumire turned her head up at Towa and stared at him with annoyed expression. It's so obviously was not so why was he asking pointless stuff?

Sumire was concerned about the trip during Golden Week that they've booked. They were supposed to go on Saturday evening, but she's having this weird ailment that's not clear as to what it was. Nothing's coming out as she tries to poop. She rather felt nauseous and vomited once, but not much came out.

"Hmm." That was definitely concerning to Towa.

After a moment, Towa walked to sit opposite Sumire, who's head down on the table again as she's holding her stomach.

"That's it. Get dressed." Towa ordered.

Sumire was turning her head and stare at him with all her remaining energy and was frowning.

"It might get better?" Sumire tried to say, but only a tiny voice came out.

"It might not, come on. We're going to the hospital."

Towa pulled one of Sumire's arms forcing her to get up from the table. She reluctantly went into the bedroom wardrobe to get dressed as quickly as possible.

The Mito Chuo Hospital was only a few kilometers away from their apartment. Towa was supporting Sumire walking down the stairs to his Roadster, which was going to be their ambulance for today. Sumire now thought that it might indeed be the right call, because the ache was getting worse with every minute passed.

The hospital staff worker was a bit confused when the Roadster approached the emergency entry, but it was then clear that the car was at the right place. They prepared the stretcher for Sumire, who got on it with little difficulty, even if it's constantly painful and more by the minute. She had a niggling feeling from the stomach since coming home from work, but thought that it was nothing. It got worse and was now getting exponentially worse.

The doctor on duty asked Sumire a few things, while Towa was staying out of the emergency room. They're actually fairly busy tonight even at 3 AM but Sumire did get a quick diagnosis.

Towa sat quietly outside for an hour, he was restless of course, with thoughts about what was exactly wrong with Sumire in his mind. He could only hope it's nothing serious. And then, a nurse came out from the room, looking very concerned.

"You're Komiya-san's partner, correct?" The nurse asked Towa.

"Yes." Towa quickly nodded, anticipating for the worst.

"The doctor requested a blood test, which will probably be done in a few hours..." The nurse explained. "...We're not quite sure yet, but Komiya-san might have to go for a CT scan."

"It's that serious?" Towa was surprised by the word CT scan from the nurse.

"Yes, we have an inkling, but we cannot confirm just yet. Rest assured we'll be taking care of her as best we can. You may go home for now if you wish, and come back in the morning when we call you."

"I'll... rather stay with her."

"Okay, but you may not go to the patient ward at this time, so you'll have to wait around here."

Towa was a bit confused, but realized that Sumire probably will be transferred to a patient room that will be shared with another.

"So when can I visit her?" Towa asked the nurse.

"In the morning, you can ask the receptionist which room Komiya-san will be in. We'll call you to report once we get the result in as well."

"Thank you." Towa nodded and bowed, as the nurse also bowed before getting back to her other responsibilities.

There's nothing Towa could do at the moment, other than wait.

In the morning, as Towa was preparing to go and visit Sumire who's already in the patient's ward that's now open for visitors, he received a phone call from one of the hospital staff. The result came in.

"Komiya-san has appendicitis, we've scheduled the open surgery at 10.30AM."

To Towa, that sounded bad, really bad. As soon as the call finished he made a dash to his car and drove quickly to the hospital. Morning traffic was barely a hindrance. Once he got there, Towa asked the receptionist where Sumire was staying, and he quickly walked to the room.

"Good morning, Towa-chan." Sumire was in the hospital bed, IV already connected with medications going in. She seemed barely awake but did notice him.

"Are you alright?" Towa quickly rushed in by the bed of another patient, who was an old lady curious about this young couple.

"It's hardly a risky procedure, don't worry about it." Sumire seemed to be trying to be cheerful still. Although it's clear she has no energy and is still in pain.

"What about work?"

"Already called them."

"And the trip?"

"Yeah," Sumire was clearly miffed. "...you'll probably have to cancel it. Might be able to get some refunds still."

Towa thought back in his head, flight was in less than 18 hours so that's completely out of the question. Hotels and rental cars might be possible, but he's not sure.

Not long after, the doctor making rounds came into the room. Towa wasn't sure if he should be here or not, but the old male doctor didn't seem to mind. He was checking the other patient in the room for a bit before coming to Sumire and noticed Towa was there.

"Good morning." Said the doctor.

"Good morning." Towa replied.

"You're her relatives?" The doctor asked Towa, pointing to Sumire.

"Well, I'm her partner. Her parents are in..." Towa turned to Sumire. "...are they already back?"

"Not until tomorrow." Sumire replied instead.

"It's okay though, everything will be fine, as I'm sure someone else explained to Komiya-san." The doctor told them while he's checking a few things.

Towa umm and ahh a few things wondering if he should ask anything else, but before he could do so the doctor walked very quickly out of the room, which left him unable to ask anything.

"I'll be fine, don't worry."

As 10.30 AM approached, Towa decided he'd rather be waiting somewhere else rather than the drab hospital corridor, as Sumire was wheeled away.

Towa walked out from the building, and started sending all kinds of messages to various organizations concerning their trip to Thailand tonight. A partial refund was better than no refund.

Thinking about funds, Towa was a bit worried about the cost this hospital stay would incur. It might not be a big operation, but any operation would cost a hefty sum.

Towa could only pace around the parking lot. Not wishing to be a bother to anyone else inside. The staff told him it's probably not going to take much longer than half an hour from start to finish.

It was not the worry about complications that's bugging Towa, he didn't want to imagine the worst, obviously. It's the surrounding situation that makes him anxious and worried.

In some way, it's not really necessary. With savings he got that he's planning for a lot of stuff, such as down payment on a bigger, permanent residence. Or cost related to weddings. Towa was sure that they'll be able to afford it easily. But it's still quite a setback.

Anyhow, to become healthy, monetary stuff shouldn't even be a consideration, right? They were lucky that Sumire would get treatment very quickly no matter the cost. It must have been pretty bad for it to be considered an emergency.

As expected, it didn't take long at all until the staff notified Towa that the operation went smoothly without complications, but as Sumire was still under anaesthetic and will be out for a few hours still, Towa didn't visit her in the room yet, he was told to come back later that evening.

This made an anxious Towa wander off to places. He's going to the hospital cashier on instinct as he never had to deal with this before. He waited in the queue for quite some time until he got to the staff at the table.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The cashier staff greeted Towa who looked perplexed.

"Oh uh... I'm wondering about the payment for the patient." Towa told the cashier.

"What's the patient's name?"

"Sumire Komiya."

"Give me a moment."

The cashier staff typed something into the computer, while Towa stands there looking at nothing in general.

"Oh, Komiya-san just got out of surgery, right? We still wouldn't be able to..." The cashier was speaking, until she was interrupted by something.

"What?" Towa asks anxiously.

"Don't worry about payment. Komiya-san is covered by her workplace group insurance that she already provided. There might be some additional stuff, but it won't be much."

This was a huge relief to Towa's mind, although it did make him a bit embarrassed to be wasting this staff's time. So he just said his thanks and walked away.

Towa, being very relieved, went out of the hospital in his Roadster to get some lunch. He'd also go home to have some work done so he could return later with nothing on his mind.

At around 5 PM, Towa thought Sumire was probably already awake, so he went back to the hospital and immediately visited her room. There he noticed someone already there which surprised him quite a bit. A middle aged lady that he knew quite well, she was Sumire's mom.

"Towa-chan!" Sumire's mom greeted Towa with her cheery voice.

"Good evening, mom." Towa greeted back with a smile.

Sumire tried to look up, but she was hardly able to. The anaesthetic was wearing off and she's on pretty heavy medication. Painkillers and antibiotics.

"Thank you for taking care of her, Towa-chan." Sumire's mom came up and gave Towa a bag of gifts. It's apparently quite posh snacks from Kagoshima.

"It's okay, mom, thank you," Towa received that bag and put it down on the table beside the bed. "...when is her dad coming?"

"I'm not quite sure, but he's aiming for tomorrow noon. He's still in Gunma tonight so he didn't want to drive back during the night. His vision is getting worse as he's older." Sumire's mom replied with a smile.

At that point, Towa walked to Sumire, who didn't really want to speak too much because of the pain.

"Hi." That's all that Sumire said, as Towa took one of her hands.

"Is it very painful?" Towa asked.

"Not felt a thing, haha..." Sumire replied, but then winces. "...Until I woke up, that is. Very. I don't wish this upon my worst enemy."

Towa couldn't help but laugh, he's glad that Sumire still got her wits about it even like this.

At least everything is totally okay now.

—

9 PM

"You're going out again huh?"

At the Yamada household, Masayoshi asked as he was working on his laptop at the dinner table, when he noticed Iori clearly picking up things as if she's leaving the house.

"Yeah." Iori replied with a nod. Nothing unusual about that.

"Casual clothes, nothing about picking you up..." Masayoshi said while not even looking up from his laptop screen.

"Hey, come on, stop with your detective act, it makes me feel like a perp." Iori said jokingly.

"As long as you don't get into actual troubles..." Masayoshi continued.

This conversation did make Iori pause, although nothing's gonna stop her short of an emergency or an intervention.

"No troubles. I promise." Iori replied earnestly, even if Masayoshi still doubted her.

Afterward, Iori just walked out of the house, then the sound of her Honda Civic echoed into the room, A LOT. Even though it's been like this for years, Masayoshi could never get used to it. He could only sighed as he knew exactly what his wife would actually be doing tonight.

The Civic got onto the Kita-Kanto Expressway on a route heading to Mt. Tsukuba. She's determined that she wants to take back 2nd place on the leaderboard from Norio. She's not sure if he's going to be there again after last night, but she wouldn't mind if he will be.

At the intersection turning up the Fruits Line, Iori was parked behind another car at a traffic light. Of course, this being rural Ibaraki, the traffic at around 10 PM was absolutely clear. There's no other car there apart from a single small van going the other way.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Iori wondered if that car was another Fruits Line runner, a dark blue Subaru BRZ ZN8.

As soon as the light turned green, it pretty much confirmed that, indeed, was another runner. The indicators pointed right, and the BRZ was also heading up Mt. Tsukuba through the Fruits Line.

Maybe, there's a chance that the car was merely a normal runner, but as soon as the GPS detected it, the notification showed on Iori's phone that there's another Geo Timer user nearby. The BRZ was that car, and the username that appeared made Iori very excited. 'The FR'. So was the young male driver in the BRZ, who also noticed on his phone that 'Azusa-san' was right behind him.

'The FR' time on the leaderboard was 2:23.3. Around 1 second slower than both Iori and Norio. But still netting him 4th place and Iori knew that this time was being gained extremely quickly around every 2 weeks. Whoever this person was, didn't run as often as she, or Norio, was.

On the run up the south section of Fruits Line, even if it's relatively wider and not as curvy, it's still a pretty tight and twisty course especially as the runners didn't tend to cut into the opposite lane. Iori was observing the way that BRZ moves.

The guy's going up there at a decent rate of speed as it's the way most runners warm up their tires preparing for a run. The BRZ turned with a great agility and slight tail happiness that's pretty clear to see, not quite to full on tail slide yet as it's just warming up.

It didn't take long until both cars were up at the starting point below the Prefectural Flower Park sign. Iori was preparing for the battle to be initiated as she parked behind the BRZ by about one car length, but she didn't expect it to put the hazard on without actually notifying on her phone.

The BRZ's driver door opened, and its driver was getting out. This made Iori a bit confused, but she realized pretty quickly that maybe its driver wanted a chat with a fellow Geo Timer user. So she stepped out of the car into the cold of the night.

Iori noticed that the BRZ driver was a bespectacled young man, probably around the same age as herself. He's average height, but with an aura of 'respectability'. Not a nerd. He dressed too sharp to be that. Way sharper than someone like Norio or even her colleague Isao.

Another thing Iori also expected was for that man to be completely befuddled by her appearance.

"Eh?" That man just stared at Iori, which was kinda funny to her.

"What, you didn't expect to see a person like me?" Iori chuckled a bit knowing this was a common reaction.

"Ah sorry..." The man realized that it's a bit awkward staring at her like that. "...I'm Shigehiro Yamamoto."

Iori didn't expect the man to suddenly introduce himself with a full name so politely. With a bow and appearing like he's looking for his card in his coat but couldn't find it. Iori isn't even sure if she should tell him her real name.

"I'm Yamada..." Iori said, with a smile. "...You know me as Azusa-san."

"Oooh! I'm 'The FR'..." Shigehiro replied, there's a sense of eagerness and excitement in his voice. "...You can call me Shige if you want. The name is a bit stupid, sorry."

Iori found this man impossibly polite for a street racer, and appeared quite a bit out of place. She guessed that he's probably a professional in business or law or something.

"That's a nice car." Iori said, while glancing at the BRZ.

"Uh, thank you." Shige replied shyly.

Iori walked towards the BRZ, to inspect it more closely. It's also lowered with an aggressive suspension camber. Even in darkness she notices that the wheels were silver Enkei RPF1. Very lightweight wheels. But she couldn't see what tires it's on.

"It's on Hankook RS4s, original size 225/40/18." Shige replied as he noticed Iori tried to peek at his tires.

"Hankook RS4? Korean tires?" Iori said in a curious tone.

"Yes, very good reviews overseas, heats up quickly and it is very durable even on tracks."

Shige was wondering the same thing about Iori's FN2. So he's peeking behind her with the same curiosity that Iori notices.

"Michelin Cup 2. Same sizes as yours actually." Iori said, which made Shige's eyes widen.

"That's really expensive, isn't it?" Shige said, which made Iori a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah... with fittings they're around 140,000 yen."

"You should try the RS4, they're only 80,000."

"I can assure you though that the Cup 2s are worth the money." Iori said, with a bit of pride.

"I noticed that your time is only a second ahead of me, right?"

"Right. But the FN2 is a much older design than your ZN8, isn't it?"

"True... true..." Shige nodded. "...I guess there's only one way to find out right?"

"Right..."

"A battle?"

Iori smiled as she heard that word. She didn't reply but started walking back to her car.

"Oh, wait." Shige shouted when he remembered something.

"What is it?" Iori turned around.

"Do you want to lead first, or follow first?"

Iori had to contemplate for a moment following that question, but then quickly decided.

"I'll lead first, show you the rope, you aren't running that often, right?" Iori replied.

Shigehiro nodded, before going back in his car and prepared for a battle by letting the Civic through to go first.

Iori pressed the Challenge request button on her phone screen, which sends notification to Shige's phone. He's bracing himself before pushing the button which starts the timer.

5 4 3 2 1 go.

The two cars launched with great acceleration, in theory, the BRZ should be launching slightly better because of the weight distribution. With a rear wheel drive vehicle when accelerating the weight will transfer to the back of the car, which is where the driven wheel was. Thus the traction would be improved compared to FN2 which was front wheel drive and kept spinning and skipping the front wheels as it tried to gain traction.

However, because Shige's BRZ engine was completely standard, and Iori's FN2 had great tires and extremely high end CUSCO limited slip differential, the power was distributed evenly, and not losing traction via the wheel that's lighter load, this was especially important at the Fruits Line north course because the starting point was slightly kinked. The FN2 lost pretty much nothing to the BRZ on launch, in fact it pulled away slightly.

Reaching the first corner, Iori did the same as she usually did, to help distribute the weight to the front which improved turn in speed she tapped the brake slightly on entry, while maintaining the rear stability with immediate slight acceleration and possible counter steering.

Shige's BRZ was doing similar things, but he threw the car in much more, letting it go sideways on entry. Shige was hoping that the mid corner speed would be superior to the FN2, which had a reputation for poor suspension geometry as standard, but it turned out that the cars were pretty much equally matched.

Shige's BRZ, being rear wheel drive, was actually more forgiving on turn in weight transfer, because he could use the throttle to help overwhelm the rear tires traction, which meant the back end helped turning in a slight oversteer.

The driving styles of both Iori and Shige were completely different, due to their car's differences.

It was clear from Shige's perspective from the first section of the course as to why Iori was fast. While you would not be able to notice the little red hatchback sliding it's back end due to the suspension and Iori's driving style, she was taking great care in making sure it rotates enough to not cause understeer, washing the car on the mid and exit out wide.

Iori's entry speed compared to Shige's was indeed low, but the mid corner was decently fast, and once the FN2 was pointed in the right direction it shot off extremely quickly, despite lack of overall traction. This was due to excellent foot control of Iori which made the braking and accelerating precise both in location and level.

It was counterintuitive in Shige's opinion, because the FF should be more stable and more effective on braking, but the FN2 was so old and with limited suspension geometry, the BRZ was so much superior. The mid-corner and exit which supposedly the advantage of the FR, was not the case because of the tires limit.

Shige could catch up as soon as they hit the braking zone, and followed well in the middle of the turn. It's just that the FN2 shot off once it exited the turn due to great traction and it's weird saying this about an FF.

Passing the technical section, they got to the right hairpin that leads to the first acceleration zone. Shige could only mutter to himself how fast the FN2 was in the straight line. As soon as it shot out of the acceleration zone, it gained a few tenths from the BRZ despite being able to close the gap with the corner entry alone.

Then it was the fast left turn where an accident happened recently, the FN2 stuck to the road, as did the BRZ. They both brake only very slightly and at the corner entry. This corner is exactly where the BRZ superior suspension geometry shines through, as it catches right up the lost tenth that FN2 gained. Then, the next sharp hairpin right showed how good the braking on the BRZ was, Shige might be slightly too conservative with his braking. Yet, he still could catch up to the FN2.

The noise from Iori's FN2 also was very exciting. The distinctive Honda sound which his ZN8 BRZ with its fake engine noise could never compare. This next 2nd acceleration zone made clear how modified the FN2 was, because if standard, it would not be able to make that big of a gap from the BRZ.

This second acceleration zone was actually extremely frightening to any, even veteran racers. Because it's not exactly straight. But lining up well a good car will go through at full throttle with plenty of margin. Another thing that made it scary was the darkness that hid the braking zone which led to an acute left turn with no guardrails at the end of it.

Iori braked slightly earlier than Shige expected, but it's then clear to him as to why. The FN2 speed was slower than expected of course, and it turns in late while exiting the corner in a tighter line, this made the car more line up for the left side of the course preparing for the next right hairpin.

Iori driving was extremely smooth, and it would not be appearing very fast to any inexperienced racer. Shige's driving in comparison appeared more exciting as he threw the car into the corners with a slight oversteer, then throttle early on mid corner to rotate the rear end, giving an appearance of being on the edge.

It's the latter half of the course, and Shige had to gain some time back, but only very slightly. The Fruits Line had nearly no straight, it suited a car with good turning speed. But the 3rd, 4th and 5th acceleration zone still allowed for more powerful cars to gain some time.

At the high speed right corner after the 4th acceleration zone, the FN2 rear end goes slightly loose on braking, but Iori caught it with great reflexes and a dab on the throttle. It's the most exuberant show Shige had seen. While it was normal to him to let the rear end hang out a bit more. This corner immediately led to a wide radius, never ending turn, which the FN2 struggled with the most, as there's a long mid section it couldn't accelerate away. Shige's BRZ closed in very quickly with an oversteer from the pendulum effect on the previous corner.

Then it was a bunch of hairpins with the 5th full throttle wide left turn in between, leading to the final corner, another never ending one, Iori turned in extremely late, it's actually a pretty decent line for this turn, but the FN2 wasn't great with these low speed yet wide turns, this made Shige able to catch up quickly following the exact same line.

Even with slight acceleration at the exit, the FN2 couldn't regain the gap it had. As soon as both cars crossed the Flower Park sign, Iori's phone screen showed that she lost the first round, while Shige's showed that he won.

Iori was disappointed, but was not disheartened, and Shige knew that he still had to not make a mistake in the second run. Which with the pressure from an extremely fast and capable opponent like Iori, will not be easy. Although he only had to maintain the gap to win overall.

Iori put the hazard lights on to let Shige pass, and they both drove the loop through Asahi tunnel to go back up to the starting point.

Second round, as soon as both cars were at their correct starting point, a confirmation screen appeared for both to push, which started the countdown again.

5 4 3 2 1 go.

It was Iori's turn to observe Shige's running.

Driving, and especially mountain roads running, was always an instinctive thing. You would not actually get to think about what you'd be doing while making the inputs. Only the muscle memory and the feedback from the car itself would guide the runners through to the course.

Iori could clearly see that Shige had great car control, steering especially. Compared to Norio Hattori's wild driving it's completely different again.

Iori knew that Norio's driving, despite being wild, worked because the turn in was extremely important for a front wheel drive vehicle with poor traction like the ZC33S Swift Sport. Shigehiro's BRZ was fundamentally a completely different animal, and didn't require a sudden jerky moment to unsettle the rear for turn in. Shige let the rear end swing naturally, and kept the correct amount of throttle to maintain that turning radius while almost not having to correct the steering. And not only could the BRZ turn well into that radius, it also could gain speed where the FN2 couldn't.

However, without a car being driven by someone with a lot of experience on the Fruits Line to lead, it became pretty clear that Shige's braking points and driving line was not perfect, in fact, it's almost amateur-ish.

Then again, as soon as the BRZ actually turned, it almost didn't matter that Shige was not fully familiar with all the braking points. Even if he went in with slight overspeed, he could counter steer with great sense.

Iori had an instinct, but she wasn't sure if she could pull off such a maneuver that would give her the needed win...

Both cars were running through the first part of the course with similar pace. Despite all the differences, and even without a car in front of Shige, their gaps weren't widened or narrowed.

It was to the first acceleration zone that Iori decided to do something.

The FN2, despite its power, was not able to get ahead, or even get alongside the BRZ with this very short straight. But Iori prepared for the high speed left corner by settling the car more with a slower turn in.

The BRZ went into that turn the same way, rotating with almost no steering input but the throttle control. It was fast overall, but the FN2 shot out of that corner very quickly with a tighter turn and nearly got along on the outside.

The speed difference was not much, only 5-7 km/h from Iori's estimation, but it was enough for her to be gaining on Shige with the slight gap he gained from the previous corner entry.

Iori aimed the car to the right, and braked hard right to the inside of the turn, this startled Shige so much that he jerked the wheel slightly left before turning in. It was what most people into racings know as a 'Divebomb'.

It was wishful thinking for Iori, which she kind of knew beforehand. There's no way in hell her FN2 could make that turn and keep the lead even if Shige let her.

Shige turned the steering wheel instinctively further right, to close the door on the FN2. But this induced understeer because the front tires were overwhelmed with steering angle. It managed to keep the lead, but at a great loss of speed. The only saving grace was that Iori also lost a lot of speed doing the divebomb.

The second acceleration zone, the FN2 could nearly get alongside the BRZ, if Shige didn't swerve to block it. Iori was determined, she swerved the FN2 again, almost like she's going to deliver another dive bomb in the acute left turn without guardrails.

This actually made Shige extremely nervous, and he didn't really know where the braking point should be. He pushed almost past the road sign on the right but didn't, this sign was actually an indicator of the 'point of no return'. Unless you're in an actual race car braking past this point would guarantee a hefty accident.

Shige managed to slow down in time, of course, but again he went in with overspeed, and so he had to compensate with the steering input, resulting in being unable to induce the slight oversteer. This made Iori able to catch up with the BRZ corner entry.

Alas, it wasn't enough. Shige regained his composure again once he had time to gather up his act during the last section, despite all the acceleration zones, it was not enough. Iori couldn't pressure him into making a mistake again.

Despite trying her best, once both cars passed the Flower Park sign, the timer indicates that Shige won the 2nd round purely from the last corner which the BRZ was superior, which granted him a total victory.

Iori made a tiny smash on her steering wheel with her right hand from frustration, but it was only a tiny frustration. She was, in fact, extremely elated, and so was Shigehiro.

That was the most exciting run both Iori and Shige have ever had on the Fruits Line.

Shige and Iori then drove in a convoy to Family Mart in Oshito, which was the closest and most convenient for the runners of the Fruits Line. They both got out of the car looking like they had a blast.

"I didn't know how fast the BRZ actually is!" Iori exclaimed as she walked toward Shigehiro.

"It was extremely close though." Shige replied, there's a sense of glee from the victory he had.

"This is the 'point' of an FR huh..." Iori mused as she looked at the BRZ. "...being able to rotate on throttle must be a lot of fun."

"It is a lot of fun! You should try it!"

Iori laughed but shook her head and waved her hand to Shige.

"I'm not brave enough for the FR, sorry." said Iori, with a sheepish smile.

"Really? But you drive so well?" Shige was indeed pretty surprised by that statement.

"I hate the rear end stepping out. Other racers might like drifting, but I don't."

"To each their own, right?"

"Right."

Iori was considering something at this point, so she went a bit quiet. Shige was more interested in looking at the FN2 in better lighting, which showed the modifications done to it.

"Hey, Yamada-san." Shige called Iori while still looking at her car.

"Yes?" Iori replied.

"This Civic Euro is amazing. You must've spent like millions on it, right?"

Iori was indeed usually embarrassed by the thought of the amount of money she had put into this car.

"Yeah. It has a built SPOON engine with ITBs, CUSCO LSD, KW V3 Suspension, Nissin SPOON brakes. I could probably buy another one and with money to spare with what I've put into it." Iori said.

"Whoa. That's why it's so fast!" Shige was extremely surprised by that answer.

"Yeah, which made not being able to follow you in that BRZ quite annoying to say the least."

Shige glanced back at his car and chuckled a bit.

"I'm sure if you drive my BRZ, you'd be able to beat my time easily." Shige was being humble, but he genuinely felt that way.

"No way," Iori shook her head. "...I can tell you I'm at the limit of my ability. You aren't."

"Huh?"

"I'll be honest with you, Shige-san. Your braking point could be improved by a lot, and accelerating out of the corner could be done more precisely. With only those improvements you'll surely be in the 2:19s! I'm already at my near limit as you may have noticed from my time gain being very little recently."

"You knew all that from following me on one run?" Shige was surprised once again, and he felt like he's being scolded by a teacher somehow.

"Yes. I've run this course for more than a year now. I'm more familiar with it than you are." Iori continued.

Shige was unsure about what Iori said was true, and was unsure as well how to reply.

"I'm not sure if I can stand the pressure of a battle much though..." Shige said, looking down at his feet.

"Well, I don't think I would be either." Iori replied, but Shige waved his hand.

"You know when you did that dive bomb after the straight? I thought you were going to hit me. I was very scared."

"But you aren't scared of running right?"

"That's true..."

"I'm the same way, trust me. I have only just met you. I didn't know what your driving would be like. I was scared as well."

"You don't look scared."

"You don't either if you ask me."

Shige could only laugh at that observation, but Iori was being serious. At this point, the previous thought Iori had came back again.

"Hey, do you know any other runners?" Iori asked, thinking about Norio who she only recently knew was another runner.

Shige shook his head as a reply.

"Ever since I got the Geo Timer app, I have not actually met any other racers." Shige said what Iori expected.

"Hmm..." Iori was contemplating. "...how did you find out about it anyway?"

"Well..." Shige tried to recall. "...maybe I could consider this person an acquaintance, but he told me about the street racers of Tsukuba."

"But you didn't know any other runners?" Iori wondered.

"No, this person was not another runner. He used to be though..." Shige gathered up thoughts to recall the story before continuing. "...I was interested in the legend so I went and did some research on the topic, found somebody mentioning it somewhere and inquired about it."

"By chance, huh?"

"Yeah. By chance."

"And that person was another runner?"

"I'd think so yeah. But I have no idea who it was and I already lost the guy's contact." Shige shrugged, but Iori understood.

"Well," Iori decided to say what's on her mind. "...do you think it'd be a good idea if we have an online group of known runners?"

"Online group?" Shige was curiously interested.

"Yeah like..." Iori was now hesitating if she should divulge, and decided that there's no harm. "...my work requires a group chat for like 30 people to communicate, right? So I have a Discord group for exactly that."

"That actually sounds like a great idea!..." Shige said excitedly. "...How many other runners do you know?"

"One."

"One?"

Shige nearly burst out laughing by that statement, but kept it in with just a smirk. Iori knew it sounded ridiculous as well.

"Yeah, you have seen 'Mister Banana' on the leaderboard, right?" Iori explained.

"Really? That guy is also really fast!" Shige exclaimed.

"Yeah. He drives a ZC33S Swift Sport, actually, a yellow one."

"Another fast FF is topping the leaderboard huh..."

"So you're in?"

"Definitely, Yamada-san."