"Hello, Noda-san."

"Ah, Wakisaka-san. you've been quiet for weeks, congratulations for that win against Morita. How's it going?"

"I'm thinking about selling the Roadster."

"Eh?!"

That phone call suddenly came to Mizuho around 3 weeks after the battle between Towa and Sunao ended in the victory for the Roadster. It was the most surprising message, and there was a sombre feeling to it that got through even the phone call.

It was the 2nd of September when Mizuho and Towa met up at the Tsuchiura Land Transport Office Branch.

The entire time, Mizuho could notice something unusual happening to Towa, he was way more quiet than usual, and he looked troubled.

"Why do you want to sell it?" Mizuho had to ask again, as Towa wouldn't tell him on the phone, or by message, despite Mizuho kept repeating it.

"I'm done, Noda-san."

This was the first time Towa actually replied to the question, and yet it didn't tell Mizuho much.

"Done with what?" Mizuho was prying for an answer.

"Running, Noda-san. I don't want to anymore."

Towa's answer clearly showed pain, but Mizuho didn't know what exactly caused this as Towa wouldn't tell him anything, only that he wanted the car gone.

Mizuho couldn't help notice the details as well, Towa was unshaved, and his hair was way more unkempt than before, his clothes also seemed more messy. Mizuho couldn't help getting to one conclusion, but he didn't want to point it out.

Towa didn't expect Mizuho to want his white Roadster RF at first, he just wanted to know if he knew anyone who would want it. Mizuho just told him that he'd take it on, for a fair price as well, much fairer than if he sell it to a dealership.

"Are you going to buy another car?" Mizuho asked, as they waited for the process with the ownership transfer.

Towa shrugged, he showed almost no feelings.

"I don't know, Noda-san. There's this cheap Carol I'm thinking about as I had one before." Towa replied with almost no energy, no enthusiasm.

It concerned Mizuho quite a bit, but he didn't know how to react to it.

Only that whatever it was that was bothering Towa, if it ever subsided, Mizuho was willing to keep the Roadster around for him. Mizuho was genuinely hoping it was temporary.

It took a whole day, but the white Roadster RF now had Tsuchiura number plate instead of Mito one. Signifying a new chapter in its life. Mizuho even opted for an optional preferred number that Towa never bothered with as he felt 5,000 yen was better spent elsewhere. 30-30 was what Mizuho chose.

3.8 million yen for a lightly used Mazda Roadster RF White Selection. It was genuinely a pittance for Mizuho, yet it made Towa's financial situation a whole lot better. Although he didn't know what he would spend it on, really.

It was a convenient coincidence for Mizuho, who had always kind of wanted another Roadster, but didn't actually have a reason to get one.

—

It's been about a week since the end of summer break, the students were back and more than ready to continue their study.

Suddenly the atmosphere within the entirety of 3rd year students was completely changed. More tense, more stressful, even if it wasn't obvious. Before now there were a few students who were getting really serious about further education before the break, but now there finally were a lot more preparing for it, thinking about it, finding out more information to get ready.

That's on the administrative side alone, academically most were already deep into making sure they could pass the admission test of any faculties they might be interested in.

It was evening, and the club activities were over, so most students were ready to go home, including Ippei and Sachiko, who were walking together down the old school building.

"Geidai?"

Sachiko was quite surprised by what Ippei just revealed to her, that he wanted to get into Tokyo University of the Arts. Mainly because he had never shown such a concrete idea to her before this.

"Yep," Ippei nodded, "I want to get into the Faculty of Music."

Sachiko thought it was intriguing, Ippei's time at Ueno Music World gave him so good of a direction that he aimed for something pretty lofty. It made her think it was maybe too lofty considering Ippei never thought about it until now.

There was another thought that made Sachiko quietly glad and warmed in her heart. Todai and Geidai were literally within the walking distance of each other. It was obvious that Ippei set this as a goal, because it matched Sachiko.

"Well, you better get good then! Your grade is average, and you're way behind, but I truly believe in you!" Sachiko said in a mocking rousing speech, which made Ippei laugh heartily.

The two stopped trying to hide their relationship ever since the summer break ended, it's not like they were fooling anyone anyway, but now it was 'official' in both their minds and the public viewpoint.

"Oh, yeah, today Asada-senpai invited me to the store, she has something to show me apparently." Ippei told Sachiko, who looked back at him curiously.

"Ehhhh? Haven't you decided to stop working there part-time?" Sachiko asked.

"Well, actually, no. Ueno-san said the workload was lighter than expected, so he kept me around only for the studio, I'm still working there occasionally if they need a hand." Ippei explained.

"So today you're working then?"

"Nope, I'm just going to visit." Ippei answered, looking at Sachiko, "Would you like to come as well?"

Sachiko had never been inside the Ueno Music World before, because she had absolutely no use for musical instruments and zero talent for anything making noise, but since Ippei invited her, she was glad to go with him.

"Sure!" Sachiko accepted.

The two took the Kantetsu bus as always, but got off at Tsuchiura Station stop. The walk to the store was only a few minutes away, and both of them were excited, if for different reasons.

Sachiko had been to this place before, but never got inside it, so she was very intrigued about meeting with both Nobuteru Ueno, and this Asada-senpai Ippei kept telling her about.

The door opened, and both saw that Asada was manning the cashier, finalizing everything as the store was closing.

"Good evening, Asada-senpai!" Ippei greeted the girl, with Sachiko towing along behind.

Asada looked up and smiled wide at both of them, Sachiko realized now why Ippei said she looked intimidating, if it was not for the mannerism once she spoke.

Sachiko was surprised by how accurate Ippei's description of Asada-san was, a tiny girl with glasses, impeccable fashion sense. She's the perfect combination of cute, stylish and cool and made Sachiko look like an awkward young girl with no fashion sense in her imagination.

Asada, meanwhile, observed Sachiko very quickly, and thought that the couple looked so perfectly matched. A glance and she knew that Sachiko was just as much a geek as Ippei. It was the bag, which was a typical cheap backpack with relatively obscure anime merch hanging off it.

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"Oi! You're bringing a girl here? Is that your girlfriend you kept telling me about? Sachiko-chan? I hope I didn't get her name wrong." Asada said in a very cheerful manner, walking around the counter to meet with them.

"Hi, I'm Sachiko. Nice to meet you, Asada-san." Sachiko introduced herself with a bow.

"Hey, no need to be so formal around here, I'm just a year or two older than you two anyway." Asada reassured her that there's no need for the formalities.

Asada couldn't help but keep looking at Sachiko, yeah she got slightly awkward body language and looked pure as anything, that actually made her quite precious. Asada understood clearly why Ippei fell in love with her within a minute. As she would've as well.

"What is it that you wanted to show me, Asada-san?" Ippei asked.

"Oh, it's that thing."

Asada pointed to a corner of the store, where the keyboards were, one item caught Ippei's attention immediately.

"Eh? ELS-02?" Ippei was intrigued by the electronic organ that sat there.

"Yep, a customer turned it in for a new D-Deck, it's too large for the guy now." Asada answered.

Ippei couldn't help but go take a closer look at the Electone, it was clearly well used and beaten up. Both Sachiko and Asada followed.

"It's CHEAP. 200,000 yen? That's a bargain." Ippei was surprised once he saw the price tag.

"Well, people who have one already got one, and it's very beat up." Asada explained.

At that point, Ippei was wondering something.

"Where's Ueno-san?" Ippei asked, as he looked around the place, the office door was open and no one was in there.

"Oh, he's out with his family, but tonight there's a band coming in to practice at 8 PM so he let me take care of it." Asada answered.

"Getting paid to be a slacker, huh."

"Oi, you punk," Asada jokingly acted angry from Ippei's jab, which gave him a chuckle, "don't be jealous because you already spent your summer wage on your girlfriend. Fool."

Sachiko couldn't help but think that the two were very friendly with each other, similar in a way to how her and Soji were. Asada-san was almost like Ippei's older sister if she didn't know.

"Nah, Asada-senpai, I'm getting a driving permit, I've finished all the lessons now." Ippei said, and Asada nodded with understanding.

"Still, a girl this cute being with you, I wouldn't hesitate spending all the money on her." Asada was jabbing just as hard and way more subtly than Ippei was.

Sachiko couldn't say much at all, because she was quite nervous not knowing Asada well, and she noticed.

"So, Sachiko-chan, do you like Jazz?" Asada asked suddenly.

"Eh, er..." Sachiko fumbled a little bit, which answered the question before a word was uttered.

"Shame, anyway," Asada quickly turned back to Ippei, "I'll turn it on for ya, I've long wanted to hear you play, my man."

The store never had a Yamaha STAGEA in stock during Ippei's time there, because it was not really a thing they were known for. Many people who wanted one, usually would get one from a Yamaha store nearby. So once one came in, Asada called Ippei and told him about it.

Sachiko was, of course, quite interested in hearing Ippei play this keyboard looking thing as well, she had no idea what the difference between piano and organ was, but she was quite intrigued.

"Alright, go on." Asada said once the Electone was plugged in.

Ippei already turned it on, and spent some time fiddling with the settings and features which were different to his ELS-01X, then Ippei played a song he knew by heart, Mezase Pokemon Master, a silly song by all accounts but he could play it because he unashamedly liked it.

After Ippei was done, there was an awkward silence in the room.

Ippei turned and looked at both Sachiko and Asada. Sachiko looked at him gleefully, with no idea what's really going on but she was happy to be there. Asada looked absolutely unimpressed.

"Huh?" Ippei exclaimed, and he felt a bit heartbroken by the apparent disappointment radiating from Asada.

"You know what, Noda-kun, you're great at music theory, you got a pretty good grasp of sound engineering, but I have to be honest with you because of what we've discussed and I know it's your future. You're a shit player."

Asada was completely forthright about it, and it made Ippei nearly cry from embarrassment and disappointment. Sachiko didn't realize at all that it was that bad.

"Seriously?!" Ippei was in disbelief.

"Yeah, I understand you never actually played in front of any audience before, right?" Asada hit the point right on.

"Why is it bad?"

"You're clearly out of practice, but even with some I don't think you'd be much higher than a low level music teacher."

Asada realized that her straightforward message might've been too much, and quickly tried to think of a way to alleviate the sudden, unintended roast.

"You know, no one is perfect, right? I can't do shit with mixing and such, so if I were to make an album, I'd need the help of someone like you." Asada explained, to be fair, Ippei wasn't taking it badly as he understood her a lot.

"So, you think I should go for a sound engineering type course?" Ippei asked for a confirmation, and Asada nodded.

"Yep. Like I told you before. You even got a nice portfolio already. I know it's silly remix of shit old songs but they're well done by technic."

Ippei was embarrassed, as he never told Sachiko about this another hobby he had, even though she didn't quite get what it was.

They talked a bit more afterward, and after about an hour, Asada had to start preparing for tonight's work.

"Bring your cute girlfriend often, alright? Noda-kun." Asada said as her parting words. It made Sachiko smile shyly, while Ippei was laughing sheepishly.

Ippei and Sachiko said their goodbye to Asada. As they were hungry they wanted to grab dinner before heading home. The two selected a chain of very typical restaurants near the station.

"I get why you said Asada-san is a bit scary at first." Sachiko said, while they were waiting for the food to arrive.

"Haha, yeah, she's just enthusiastic to be fair, right?" Ippei replied with a smile, and Sachiko nodded.

"You also get quite chummy with her very quickly huh..."

Ippei sensed a very subtle jealousy in Sachiko's tone, and it made him laugh a little.

"You know, sometimes you find somebody speaking the same language, it's easy to get close to them in a short amount of time... And Asada-senpai is a very cool person..." Ippei was intentionally teasing Sachiko, which annoyed her.

"I see..." Sachiko sounded miffed, which made Ippei immediately feel slightly bad, but he kept going.

"She doesn't look like an extrovert, right? Well, she actually is an introvert, but still, she's very friendly once you know her a little better."

"Is she a high school dropout going to form a band in Kanagawa?" Sachiko muttered under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"You know, thanks to you, I get revenge for what she did when I worked there."

Sachiko had no idea what Ippei meant by saying that.

"Huh?" Sachiko exclaimed, completely perplexed.

"You know, I was working one day, right? She usually came in in the evening anyway, but this one time Asada-senpai brought her girlfriend to the store..."

Ippei was not able to finish his story when Sachiko nearly spat out the beverage she was taking at the moment.

"Did you say what I think you said?" Sachiko was fumbling her words, and it made Ippei laugh.

"What?" Ippei was still chuckling when he asked back.

"Girlfriend? As in...?"

"Yeah, that. They're playing in the band together."

The slight jealousy Sachiko had before immediately went out the window with that revelation, and it made her realize something.

"I thought it was weird she kept glancing at me, even though I wasn't saying much." Sachiko revealed, and it surprised Ippei.

"Haaaah? She did?" Ippei asked, eyes widened.

Ippei's reaction made Sachiko laugh. It was so over the top she thought he was intentionally playing it up.

"Well, can't blame her though, when you're this lovely today..." Ippei said with a grin.

"Pffffff." Sachiko thought that flirting attempt was not very effective, "Thanks, but I know I'm lovely everyday."

"Especially today."

"So what about yesterday?"

"A little bit different, imperceptible."

"What about the day before that?..."

—

Shigehiro didn't have work tonight, as he just had it 4 nights straight before. He was sleeping very soundly when his phone rang. It was very unusual, because if Shigehiro was not on duty, no one would dare to call him.

This phone call annoyed Shige greatly for a second, because not only it woke him up, it also woke his girlfriend, Tsugumi, who was sleeping beside him.

"Is it an emergency?" Tsugumi asked with her sleepy voice, not opening her eyes.

"No idea." Shige replied.

Shige turned and saw the time, it was nearly 2 AM, and the caller was Goto, his doctor colleague working in a different ward to him. Shige picked up as he was sure it was not a prank call, something happened, and Shige was dreading it a bit. He got up and walked out of the bedroom to let Tsugumi continue to sleep.

"Hello?" Shige answered.

"Hey! Shige! I have something to tell you. Don't be alarmed." Goto said, but his own voice was very alarmed.

"You aren't helping with the tone, what is it?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Shige, but I know you wouldn't want to wait until you turn up for work in the morning."

"Eh? What is it?" Shige was very confused at this point.

"Kumamoto-san," Goto paused, and it was giving Shige a fright already, "He just passed."

Even with a second to prepare himself, Shige was so shocked and nearly dropped the phone from that sudden news.

"Shit, in his sleep?" Shige asked.

"No, he went into cardiac arrest, we couldn't revive him." Goto answered, "I'm really sorry. I gotta go now. The family's been notified as well and they're coming soon. Bye."

Even if Kenji Kumamoto was not actually related to Shige, but the past few months that he had to talk with him, getting to know the legend and the lores of Ibaraki racing world, it was still a devastating loss to Shige.

Shige's friend, Goto, knew how important this old random man was to him as well, even if he mocked Shige at first, but since Shige constantly visited him and they always talked for a long time, it was a bond that was real even if they were generations apart.

Shige couldn't go back to sleep at all, he just sat in the living room, alone, crying. He couldn't stop the tears once it rolled down.

Still, In the morning, Shige had to go to work the same as always, no matter how he felt. It was not the first time he lost somebody he knew, and Kenji Kumamoto was not actually his family or anything, so Shige felt that being so down about it would be weird to anyone around him.

Yet, he couldn't shake that sad feeling, it was almost as close as to make no difference to when he lost his actual grandparents.

Shige felt obligated to make one last visit, when he found a bit of time he could run to the hospital mortuary, he did so. On the way there, Shige noticed a few people at the bereavement office nearby.

There were no other people who died overnight, so Shige was sure they were Kumamoto's family. There was the old lady who was his wife, 3 sons, and a few of their own family. All in all, quite a lot of people turned up. Shige stayed discreet though, he walked through them without showing who he was, and the grievers weren't noticing him either.

Shige was allowed in due to his credential, and the medical examiner on duty today knew him well, so it was not difficult.

Shige nearly couldn't hold his tears once he saw Kenji, which he knew would be the absolute last time, considering he likely won't be invited to the funeral either.

It was truly the last goodbye.