At 2AM, Monday Morning. It started to rain pretty heavily while Mizuho was driving on the Tsuchiura New Way; An elevated road running from the west through the east of Tsuchiura. The road was created in preparation for Expo 85 in Tsukuba, built on top of the old Tsuchiura-Gakuen Drive. It's a road that Mizuho knew well, as he had been driving on it the entire time he's been living in Tsuchiura.

These days, however, the New Way was merely a sign of the better time in the past. The road was littered with weeds and was now pretty grungy from age. Tsuchiura was a major commercial hub for southern Ibaraki before the 80's, but after the economic crash, it never really recovered.

It's 2AM, and everything was completely quiet in this town. Inside the Probox, however, was a different story. The downpour kept hitting the roof which was made of carbon-fibre composite material and didn't have a headlining, thus every drop made a popping noise like when you put a plastic bucket to catch a tap leak. At least the roof was installed properly and the adhesive kept it from leaking.

Normally, driving on the New Way, Mizuho would be going way over the 50km/h speed limit, but due to the standing water on the elevated road way, he had to keep it to about that speed otherwise the A052 tires which were made for dry surface would aquaplane him into the barrier.

It might still look like a Probox, but the way it has changed over the years have made the characteristic of it not really suitable for most business use. Despite it still being driven on the same road, in the same town, by the same man, it's not really the same as a van that was built in Oyamazaki sometime in 2007.

The rains annoyed Mizuho quite a bit, not from all the drawbacks of his Probox, but he never really liked it when it rained. It made everything mucky when warm and absolutely unbearable when cold, but at least the winter's long over and there's no more snow for a few months to go, he hated the winter even more than the rain.

As Mizuho reached the end of the elevated New Way in front of Tsuchiura Station, the rain eased off. Lucky him, he thought as he turned right onto the Tsuchiura Port Line. Only a handful of other cars are still on the road as most people awaited for the new morning. Only the hum of the Probox's engine broke the silence of the night.

The Probox was still on JASMA certified exhaust, so the noise wasn't unbearable to Mizuho's neighbours, who he kept good relationship with all these years. Especially as he always let the car roll in first gear at idle speed through Takita. Only a few sleepless night owls would even hear it. Not once had he ever woke Ippei up, even pulling into the house.

The same old, square house, with a square car right out front on the driveway. The engine stopped and Mizuho got out of the Probox quietly. Same as with every Sunday which he decided was always to be a day off for him, with nearly no exception.

Unlocking the front door, which led him through the PC shop, in complete darkness the familiarity with the location let Mizuho walk through the tiny corridor that's left in the packed room, before going through the divider door into the living room.

It was still spotless as always. But Mizuho felt something a bit unusual. He couldn't really put finger on what exactly it was that was nagging his mind as soon as he got into the room. Oh well. Maybe it's the creep from the quietness. He thought nothing of it and prepared to go to bed.

At 6.30 AM, Ippei walked downstairs, same as he always did every weekday morning. Somehow this morning he woke up before the alarm went off, and felt great. He's not sleepy at all, which was very unusual, and yet, his father was there, sitting at the table, in front of the big television in the living room, watching the morning news.

"Good morning." Ippei said to his father with a hoarse, morning voice.

"Good morning to you too." Mizuho replied back, without even a sign he's sleepy.

Ippei went into the bathroom to do his morning routine, which didn't take long. Then went into the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. By this point his mind's awake enough to remember that there's still some Gyoza left from yesterday. The one he made with Sachiko. That thought alone made his heart flutter.

Ippei brought it out of the kitchen on a plate, all that was left was enough for him this morning. Mizuho averted his eyes from the TV for a moment.

"Gyoza? You bought it yesterday?" Mizuho asked with a curious face.

"No, I made them." Ippei replied, it's reheated so not as good as it was newly made, but good enough to give him nutrition.

"Ahhh, so that's why you bought a lot of groceries." Mizuho said, but Ippei thought that was not the actual reason. The groceries are routine anyway, he didn't say anything though.

They went quiet for a bit afterward, as Ippei was eating all the Gyoza and Mizuho watching Nonoka Akaki program on television.

"This September you're 18, right?" Mizuho suddenly asked as Ippei was finishing the last bite.

"Yes? What is it?" Ippei asked back, very curious as to why Mizuho suddenly brought it up.

"So you have to get a car license then..." Mizuho replied, his eyes didn't avert from the TV.

"It's not going to be much different from a moped license, is it?"

"Nope." Mizuho replied flatly.

Ippei wondered why Mizuho felt the need to bring it up then, considering he aced the moped exam and already knew the procedure. He'll just have to learn how to actually drive properly...

Actually, Ippei did get some lessons already from Mizuho, unwillingly. A few years ago as the roads were empty, Mizuho just threw the Probox key at him and let him have a go, despite the protest of breaking the law.

Also, Ippei thought that Probox sucked ass. The clutch pedal was extremely springy, the gear shifter required gorilla strength to use, it's almost impossible to change gear smoothly, the steering kicked back in a tight manoeuvre, and the inside was also way too noisy as it rolled down the road because there's no sound deadening.

Ippei was good enough to be able to learn with it, but he secretly hoped that his father would let him practice more with other cars. Although as his father only had that Probox, Ippei didn't know if a request for that would do him any good...

Only if Ippei knew what Mizuho was hiding from him...

By 7.30AM, Ippei already went to school, and Mizuho prepared to open shop, as he always did.

Mizuho never expected there to ever be a great amount of customers on site, never has been. He knew that since he first opened Noda PC. That was how the space he's currently in was still more than enough. Really, the only reason he still kept the store being open was to have some space to slack around in. The business was reduced to this level in 2017, deliberately.

Right now, there's no backlog of work left since Friday. Mizuho was really only waiting for Tadamori's new graphic card which hadn't arrived yet, but probably won't be too long.

Mizuho was playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 with an English language podcast playing at the same time, as he didn't expect anyone to turn up on a Monday morning, that's why when someone knocked on the door suddenly, he was very startled. Turns out, it's Towa Wakisaka who walked through the door into the shop.

"Good morning, Noda-san." Towa greeted Mizuho, who stood up from the surprise.

"Ah, good morning. What is it?" Mizuho asked back, very curious.

"Well..."

Towa looked around the PC shop, which he still couldn't believe such a place existed. Especially when he observed more closely what's in it.

"...I saw something that interested me here back then." Towa spoke hesitantly.

"What is it that you're looking for?" Mizuho asked again.

"It's... that."

Towa pointed to a machine on one of the shelves in the shop. A square, black, plastic box with what appears to be a CRT screen. A very old machine that even to a layperson would look really cool. To Towa, it was an amazing artifact.

"The Vectrex?" Mizuho wondered loudly, surprised that a young person such as Towa would ask about it.

"Yes. I have never seen one. That's so cool." Towa wanted to gawk at it closer, but the shop was too full for him to walk around easily.

"Oh, want to see it closer?"

Towa was surprised when he heard that offer from Mizuho.

"Absolutely." Towa replied with excitement.

Mizuho hoisted that black box with poised movement through the narrow corridor of old and new electronics. It's surprising how much stuff he could fit in here. He then put the Vectrex on the workstation which Towa couldn't help but look at with wide eyes.

"It's Bandai? Not the North American one?" Towa asked, which Mizuho nodded.

"It is. I even got a box for it, although not original, a reproduction." Mizuho said, there's a bit of pride in his voice that even Towa noticed.

"Whoa."

"A guy left it here about a decade back, actually. He wanted me to fix something on it and never came to pick it up. Very weird. A foreigner..." Mizuho explained, before pausing to recall, "2011, maybe? It may have been during the Tohoku earthquake."

"That's very weird... it's also very cool though..."

"Why are you here really?"

Mizuho just knew that the Vectrex was not the first reason Towa turned up today. It's the correct observation even if it was just a guess. This did make Towa sheepishly smile from embarrassment.

"Well I did want to see the Vectrex as well," Towa started explaining, looking at his feet while doing so, "but yes, Noda-san. I have some concerns in my mind."

"And it is something you felt I, an old PC shop owner, could help with?" Mizuho said in a clear self-deprecating manner.

"Yes, Noda-san."

"Just get to the point."

That scolding father voice of Mizuho did make Towa quite anxious, but since he's already here there's no point in backing off. It's not like Mizuho will throw him out of this place, right?

"I've already modified my car. I put Tein strut on it, AD09 tires, and Dixcel brake pads with Motul brake fluid. Like you suggested. But I only shaved maybe 1 second off my previous fastest time."

Towa explained with anticipation of Mizuho completely dismissing him, but it seemed the nearing mid-life PC shop owner did listen to him.

"You did go faster though. More than 1 second." Mizuho corrected what Towa said.

"Only 1 second." Towa restated. Emphasis on only.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Seems about right from what I expected." Mizuho replied simply, glaring at Towa curiously as to why he was raising it up with him.

Towa was exasperated from hearing that fact again, not at Mizuho, but after spending half a million yen on those mods, he expected to at least gain 5 seconds from it.

"Let me see it." said Mizuho.

Mizuho seemed pretty eager, which surprised Towa quite a lot. His manner was different from the first time they met, so Towa quickly rushed out of the PC shop toward his car, with Mizuho following closely.

They were now both at the white Roadster. Clearly lowered, with more camber both front and back. The wheels were still standard, but the AD09 tires in the same size fitted to it. Apart from the 'stance' there's nothing that indicates this car had changed.

"Interesting." Mizuho mused as he checked out the mods, Towa observing from behind.

Mizuho went down on his knees and peeked through the wheel well and underneath to see the suspension. It's difficult but doable.

"Tein Mono Sport, nothing but the best, huh." Mizuho continued. "AD09 tires, Dixcel Z Type. You've done well." Mizuho said, while Towa still appeared to be annoyed.

"So what is wrong with my driving?"

That question from Towa did stop Mizuho from making a comment he had in his mind. Something in Mizuho's mind did make him a bit more kind to Towa than he would be to anyone else, even when they first met when he barged in a few weeks back.

"Come here." Mizuho beckoned Towa to come closer, appearing almost like a maneki-neko. Towa obliged.

Mizuho pointed to the sidewall of the tire he's at, specifically at the edge between it and the tire tread, there's a defined line that's not exactly round.

"You went to the Fruits Line recently, right?" Mizuho asked, Towa nodded.

"Saturday night, well, early morning Sunday." Towa replied.

"So this mark is still fresh, even with some driving. It's from when the tires deflected from the road surface as it goes. The more you are using it, the more this mark comes down the sidewall."

Towa was listening very intently with every word Mizuho was saying, and he nodded as he understood some of it.

"The Fruits Line has about the equal amount of left and right turn, yeah? So the tire wear is usually about the same amount..." Mizuho continued. He then got up and went to the other side of the car and looked at the other tire, "...That's about what I expected."

"About what, Noda-san?" Towa wondered.

"The really scary turns on the Fruits Line are all left turns. Have you noticed?"

Towa tried to recall, but decided to concur with whatever Mizuho said. He's not in the position to disagree with that statement.

"Blind, high speed, tightening radius, all of it left turns. The tires on the outer corner are always used more when the car's turning, especially front tires. If you're going at the full lateral grip potential, the tires should be equally worn." Mizuho continued, then he beckoned Towa over again.

After Towa walked around the car to the other side, he noticed the tires on this side have the sidewall mark much higher than the other side. It's clear from what Mizuho was explaining.

"You might get the tires to squeal in some wide, clear corner that you're used to, but you still couldn't do the same on the entire course." Mizuho finished his explanation, and got up from his knees.

"So how do I get better?" Towa asked.

That question left Mizuho to contemplate for a moment.

"You go up on the Tsukuba mountain pretty often right?" Mizuho asked again, to which Towa nodded.

"I tried to, but my girlfriend was hospitalized, so I could only go back up there recently." Towa replied, this surprised Mizuho, the girlfriend bit, especially.

"Huh," Mizuho exclaimed with surprise, "and you work remotely, correct? That's how you always come here during business hours."

"Correct." A good observation, Towa thought.

"Right, well," Mizuho contemplated again, "you need to learn more advanced car control. Have you ever visited the Tsukuba Circuit?"

"Tsukuba Circuit?"

Towa wondered. The famous Tsukuba Circuit?

Funnily enough, the 'Tsukuba' Circuit was located in Shimotsuma, outside of Tsukuba. It's a very well known race track that's been used for many racing activities. Time attacks, races, even filming for the famous automotive program 'Speed Running'. It's so well known all around the world that most people probably would've driven on it in video games more than in real life.

"I wanted to, but never had a chance to do so..." Towa replied honestly.

"It seems a bit daunting, isn't it? If you've never done track days before. Don't worry too much." Mizuho smiled a bit while saying all of this.

"So I should go run on the Tsukuba Circuit? How do I do that?" Towa asked, he's very curious and interested as it's something most car people wanted to do, but most would have no idea how to start.

"Well," Mizuho hesitated, but decided he'd rather be nice to Towa, "are you free tomorrow?"

Towa didn't think he'd have anything tomorrow, same as always. He can work nights if he had to take a whole day off after getting Sumire to her office. So he nodded.

"Okay, so, here's what you're gonna do. You don't have to prepare for anything, alright? Just go there in your Roadster. 9 AM. Drive into the paddock, someone might ask what you're doing there, just tell him Mizuho sent you."

Towa was thinking. Mizuho? Who's Mizuho?

"Then, when you go past security and into the paddock itself. Look for a man who's had way too many gyozas. Glasses, mustache, round face, quite a kind looking old man if you didn't know who he is. You'll definitely recognize the guy when you see him. Just tell him the same thing. Mizuho sent you. He'll take care of the rest."

That cryptic instruction was very weird, and Towa wasn't even sure if he could trust this Noda person. What's he planning exactly? Didn't he need to have something like a racing helmet or gloves? Can he really just rock up to Tsukuba Circuit and drive there? It's very unusual.

"So do I have to bring money?" Towa wondered the most important thing about this.

"Nope. Tell them Mizuho sent you." Mizuho restated that for the third time.

"Who's Mizuho?"

That question made Mizuho go completely quiet, just staring at Towa in disbelief. Then again he never told his name to Towa, so what did he expect?

"That's me, but never call me that. I will genuinely kick your ass if you do."

The tone of Mizuho's voice made Towa realize that he's very serious about this. Duly noted.

"Now, are you really interested in that Vectrex?" Mizuho suddenly changed subject, which nearly gave Towa a mood whiplash.

"Well, I wouldn't even ask how much it is, I probably could afford it, but my girlfriend would definitely kill me." Towa replied very straightforwardly, which Mizuho appreciated by chuckling slightly.

"Well... Seems about right to me. From experience."

After a few more words exchanged, Towa thanked Mizuho and set off in the Roadster. Even if it was unclear for now, Towa had a feeling Mizuho probably would not let him down, whatever it was that he's planning.

In fact, right after Towa went away, Mizuho pulled out his phone from his pocket, and browsed the directory looking for the person to call. 'Sasagawa'.

It didn't take long for the guy to pick up, and he was extremely surprised.

"Wow, how long has it been since you last called me?" That was the answer Koichi Sasagawa gave to Mizuho as soon as he picked up.

"Way too long, Ko-chan..." Mizuho said, with a sudden nostalgic feeling coming through, "I need a favor."

"Hey, now, is that the first thing you said to a friend who you've never called in what, 5 years? You're still the same!"

"Haha, sorry."

"Great that you're calling now again though, I thought you'd fallen off the face of the earth!"

"I've been really busy, Ko-chan."

"How's my brother? Have you talked to him recently? Still a hermit?"

"That's a bit harsh on him..." Mizuho laughed, "Yeah I visited Mo-chan a few months back. He's doing great actually."

"That's good."

"Are you really coming to Tsukuba tomorrow though?"

"You saw the post, huh. Yes. I will be at Tsukuba Circuit."

"Is the class full of students?"

"Only 2."

"Is that it? I thought you'd be more famous than that."

"Hey, it's a private session. Do you want to come and teach these kids though? I can even pay you with Yakiniku." Koichi said jokingly.

"Hmm. I'll think about it."

"So what's the favor?"

"Well, there's this punk kid who will turn up tomorrow in a white Roadster..."

—

9 PM

Tonight, Iori, Shigehiro and Norio scheduled a meetup a few days ago as it's one of the rare days Shige didn't have to stay on duty at work. He's actually the person who initiated this meeting as he had not been on the Fruits Line for weeks.

Because Shige was so eager, he was the first to turn up to the meeting place, Oshito FamilyMart. He parked the BRZ out front of the store and waited in the car, very excited to be driving on the Fruits Line again. He's already imagining the line he would be trying tonight to gain more speed on his runs. Maybe try something different.

Not even 5 minutes after Shige parked, he heard a very noisy car coming to park right beside him, the distinctive red Honda Civic driven by Iori, so Shige got out of the car ready to greet her.

As soon as Iori got out, Shige saw that she's wearing a brown plaid patterned jacket over an expensive, brand name t-shirt, with a matching patterned pleated skirt, which didn't really fit with the comfortable looking sneakers, but was close enough. She looked more like she's going out on a date in the city, rather than coming to run the Tsukuba Fruits Line.

Shige couldn't stop staring at Iori in part disbelief and part wonderment. He did not say anything as he wasn't sure if he should point it out, but this made Iori suspicious.

"What?" Iori asked flatly, like she's asking if Shige had a problem.

"Ah... it's... nothing." Shige tried to deflect from what he's really thinking, yet the appearance of Iori was so absurd to him he really couldn't act normally.

Shige couldn't deny Iori's quite beautiful today. She's wearing well applied makeup as well as a pair of pretty expensive looking earrings. It's just... why exactly would she be in this getup if all she's doing tonight would be a run on the Fruits Line. It made no sense at all to Shige.

Iori realized what's the issue with Shige at this moment, and from his reaction he's probably not going to tell her straightforwardly.

"I told Masayoshi I'd be out clubbing with friends tonight. You know how it is with him. He always gets pissy when I'm out driving, you know?" Iori explained, which Shige kind of understood but didn't fully get the logic of it.

"And you took the car?" Shige asked something that bugged his mind about all of this plan.

"What?"

"You'd be out drinking and clubbing, and you took the Civic?" Shige clarified, which made Iori realize what he meant.

"Oh. Yeah. I mean. It's more of an on principle thing anyway..."

Iori clearly seemed embarrassed by that observation, which made it slightly awkward for both of them. Shige tried to think of something else to say and thought of something.

"Where's Hattori-san?" Shige asked.

"Eh? He usually turns up first?" Iori also wondered, "Maybe I should call him?"

"Please do."

Iori then picked her phone out of the pocket and tried to find Norio in the phone directory, and called him. It took no time at all for Norio to answer.

"Hello. Where are you? We've arrived at Famimart." Iori asked.

Then Iori put her phone on speaker to let Shige also listen in to the conversation. It sounded like Norio was in a car, of course, this was nothing unusual.

"Uh hi. I'm..." Norio seemed hesitant to answer.

"Where are you?" Iori asked again, slightly exasperated.

"Uh..." Norio hesitated again, "I'm on the C1."

"HAAAH?!"

Both Iori and Shige said that together on the phone. Almost a shout.

"The C1?" Shige asked again in disbelief, "The C1 on the Shuto Expressway?!"

"Yeah... Good thing you called me now as I just got out of the Kitanomaru tunnel." Norio explained.

Shige couldn't even place where the Kitanomaru tunnel was, but Iori who's driven on the C1 before knew that Norio was north of Imperial Palace at the moment.

"Wait. You'd be going into the Chiyoda tunnel in only a few seconds, where are you going!?" Iori shouted quickly with that realization.

"I'm going to Hamamatsu!" Norio replied.

This made Shige completely befuddled, but Iori understood what this meant.

"Really?" Iori couldn't help but break into a smile when she heard that, "Well, drive safe then."

"Thanks! You're right I'm going into a tun..."

The call broke up with Norio unable to finish that sentence. Iori gave a sigh of relief which confused Shige.

"Why is he going to Hamamatsu?" Shige asked.

"Oh. It's just something he had to sort out. Don't worry about it." Iori replied, which didn't really explain anything to Shige.

"On a Monday night, of all times." Shige made the observation, which Iori also thought was weird.

"Yeah... I'm sure he'll come back and explain..."

"He should've told us earlier though if he couldn't come. It's not like we'll be mad or anything."

"Maybe it's an unplanned thing. Who knows. It'll be alright."

Shige did wonder why Iori seemed pretty upbeat about this fact, but he's sure she won't be telling him herself. Any explanation probably will have to come from Norio.

Right after that thought, Iori's phone rang, which she saw was Norio calling back, so she immediately picked it up.

"Have you got through Kasumigaseki yet?" Iori immediately asked.

"Yes. Will there be another tunnel anytime soon?" Norio asked back, which made Iori chuckle.

"No, I think you're approaching Tanimachi junction and going on Shibuya line towards Tomei Expressway. You won't see another tunnel for quite a while and even if you do they'll be quite short now." Iori explained, which made Norio quite relieved.

"Good, so it won't break up again. Anyway, I just want to tell you another thing."

"What is it?"

"Well I'm sorry I didn't tell both of you earlier okay? It was quite a whim. I'll be taking a rest tonight in Kawasaki and continue tomorrow."

It was at this point, Shige whispered almost silently to Iori asking what Norio's actually doing.

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" Shige suddenly said into the phone.

"Ah, well. I took a day off..." Norio replied, "Actually it's half a month off."

"Huh?" Shige exclaimed with confusion.

"Wait, half a month off?" Iori also wondered, and she had a guess why that was the case but wasn't sure.

"Yeah..." Norio continued, "I've just handed in my notice this afternoon. I won't be working at the university anymore."

"Seriously?!" Shige suddenly shouted again, although not into the phone this time.

"You're going back to your farm?" Iori asked.

"Yep."

"Well, congrats to you. That sounds like a decision not made lightly."

"Haha, it wasn't indeed. Well. I hope everything turns out alright."

To Shige, it seemed like this decision was made entirely on a whim. He didn't know Norio had a family farm that's quite lucrative, if not exactly big. Then again, that's only what Norio told Iori and Shige wasn't there.

While to Iori, it also seemed quite a hasty decision, although it was one that, somehow, she was pretty sure was the right decision.

"What is it they grow a lot in Hamamatsu?" Iori asked.

"Anything you could wish for! Much more than Ibaraki, that's for sure." Norio replied with almost a cheer, like a person who'd be advocating for the place, which amused Iori.

"Well, bring some back to us, alright? Express agricultural products delivery!"

"For sure!"

"I'll let you get on with the trip then. Again, drive safe, okay?"

Iori hung up the phone after she gave Norio another well wishing. Shige was still surprised by everything, even with further explanation.

"Well. That's it then. Shall we go for a run?" Iori turned and asked Shige, who still looked perplexed.

"I mean..." Shige seemed confused still, "Sure?"

Tonight, as per usual, the Fruits Line was quiet and perfect for a timed run. The weather's getting warmer very soon, and they both predicted the time gain will be pretty good for a month or so as the weather approaches 25 degree Celsius. And then there will be time loss as the temperature rises above that threshold.

The spring may have been the time for fresh new beginnings, but the summer will be the time where the true fun comes.