During the next 2 weeks, Tsutsumi Kanemaru ran the Tsukuba Fruits Line pretty much every single night.

On one of the weekends, a group of racers were going on a timed run. The battered blue RX-8 was there too, and it didn't take long for the entire group running that night to notice Tsutsumi was way faster than any of them, so if he approached, the group would sensibly get out of the way.

However, on some occasions that they couldn't, Tsutsumi would drive close against the back bumper of any car in front. Flashing the high beams telling them to get out of the way. That irked quite a lot of people, even if he had restrain to not actually push the other car in front.

"That RX-8 drives like an asshole." One racer commented in their circle, and most agreed.

"Yeah, why can't he just wait a bit for the corner to end? He divebombed me after the straight. That's dangerous." Another added.

"He rode the back bumper of my car as well. Leaving no space at all. What if there's a dangerous incident out front? He'd have no time to stop."

"Who is the guy anyway? We've never seen him before. He looked old."

"Seems like the name on the leaderboard is 'Kanemaru'."

"Never heard of him before."

"Me neither."

Tsutsumi annoyed a lot of people, similar to how it was 10 years ago. He softened up quite a lot, but it didn't seem to be enough.

In Tsutsumi's mind, the way he drove was something normal, the way mountain runners used to be back in the Showa era. Today's racers were not serious if they didn't want a little bit of scratch here and there, why should they even race? They were way too soft.

Although, was Tsutsumi right that today's racers were too soft? Of course not. Even people from back in the day thought he was taking it way too seriously, and without any regards for others.

It didn't help that Tsutsumi turned up almost every night, and ran almost non-stop. Leaving almost no time that the other racers could run more casually.

This caused the friendly atmosphere of the mountain road to suddenly disappear.

—

Monday morning, Towa was dropping off Sumire to work once again, now that she'd return home to him. It was still ambiguous whether she'd completely forgiven him, but Towa thought that at least it was a step in the right direction.

"This car is rickety, but it's nostalgic huh." Sumire commented about the Mazda Carol that Towa'd bought. There's obvious derision, but at the same time there was some affection as well.

"You said that like it's been 10 years, I'd only sold it 2 years ago..." Towa was bemused by the comment.

"It might've been only a few years back, but it was a different time."

Towa raised his eyebrows as to what Sumire meant by that. Even she could see that he was not really getting what she meant.

"I mean, I thought college was stressful, but being a working adult is even more stressful." Sumire jokingly grumbled, ending with a sigh.

Towa still didn't really get it, but he nodded along. He never worked in a big corporation and was always stressed only because of himself. While he was obviously sympathetic to Sumire's plight, he couldn't see himself in her shoes.

The little Carol parked outside the office building, and Sumire was getting ready to go to work, but Towa tugged on her arm, holding her for a second.

"What is it?" Sumire wondered.

Then, without prompting, Towa gave Sumire a small kiss on the cheek, and it did make her heart flutter. Sumire returned the favor with a kiss as well, then she stepped out of the Carol and went on her way.

This little interaction did make Towa think that he was a damn fool for what he did. How else would he live without Sumire around? The last few weeks were painful enough for him to promise to himself that he'll never let her go once again.

After Towa started heading home. At a traffic light, his phone rang and he thought it was unusual. Few people would call him this early in the morning, and it was even more of a surprise when Towa saw that it was Mizuho Noda calling via the Line application. Towa quickly picked it up as soon as he saw who it was.

"Hello?" Towa greeted Mizuho.

"Well, hello. Are you free today?" Mizuho immediately asked.

"I can be if it's something important, Noda-san." Towa replied, quite curious as to what the matter was.

"I do have something to show you, and some other things to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I'd rather show you in person."

Towa sighed. He didn't understand at all why this man would always treat everything like it's a great surprise, but he wasn't really going to decline something like that.

"Right now?" Towa asked.

"Yep. I have to go back to the store later." Mizuho replied.

"Where shall we meet then?"

"Come to my workshop." Mizuho said, and it made Towa even more curious.

Towa immediately calculated in his head how long it'll take to drive down to Tsuchiura, even if he was going to accept it anyhow.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

So, instead of heading East towards his apartment, Towa drove south west on the Joban Expressway. In his head thinking of exactly what Mizuho was planning.

The little Carol was only more happy once it got off the expressway and onto side streets, and it didn't take long until Towa arrived at Motohiro's garage.

Towa didn't head towards Mizuho's warehouse, because he saw the Probox was parked outside with Mizuho and Motohiro talking, they immediately turned and noticed when they heard Towa's Carol rolling up.

Towa got out and greeted them with a bow.

"You look pretty happy. Much better than a few days ago. I guess it went well huh?" Mizuho immediately greeted Towa with that observation, and Towa nodded to confirm.

"Yep. She came home now, Noda-san." Towa replied, and Mizuho was relieved.

"Was he in trouble with his girlfriend?" Motohiro turned to ask Mizuho, who shook his head.

"It's nothing, it's solved." Mizuho answered.

Motohiro immediately sneered back and turned towards Towa.

"If you're going to listen to anyone about dating advice, avoid this bastard." Motohiro jokingly said to Towa, who chuckled awkwardly, while Mizuho also jokingly kicked Motohiro's ass as he said it.

"You said it went well, so it went well." Mizuho quickly concluded this topic.

"So what is it you wanted to show me?" Towa asked about the topic Mizuho told him on the phone.

"Oh, right, yeah, it's this."

Mizuho and Motohiro immediately walked to the garage building entry with Towa in tow. Once they were inside, Towa saw that the white Roadster RF that used to be his was parked there, looking complete and ready to run.

"You've done something to it, Noda-san?" Towa commented, as he saw quite a few key differences with just a glance.

"Oh yes. Quite a lot has changed."

The first and most prominent change were the wheels. TE37SL in the same 17 inches diameter but wider section wrapped in Yokohama A052 tires. A superior tire to the previous AD09 in dry grip level and feedback, even if it sacrificed a bit of durability.

Apart from that, the outside didn't appear to be all that much different. Perhaps it was a bit cleaner than when Towa had it, just because it's not being parked outside, and it's not being used as often. It actually made Towa happy that his previous pride and joy was being cared for.

"It's not all that different on the outside, I know, let me show you around." Mizuho said as he walked up to the Roadster with Towa.

Towa noticed when he got closer, that the stance of the Roadster was slightly different. There was more front camber, and the suspension was definitely lower than before, although not by much.

The brakes though looked pretty amazing from behind the spokes of the wheel. They were big, 4-pot Brembo calipers with matching discs. They looked very expensive. Towa didn't want to even guess how much they were.

"Ever heard of DSSV suspension?" Motohiro asked.

"No? What is it, Sasagawa-san?" Towa asked, looking very curious.

"It's the same type of dampers that's being used in the MX-5 Cup Car. I've put it on this car as per No-chan order."

Towa had heard of the MX-5 Cup Car before, as he'd driven one, albeit in the simulator that Mizuho made him run as a practice leading up to the fateful race with Sunao Morita. Towa later learnt that it was a racing series being run in America, and it looked incredibly exciting from a few highlights that he saw.

"Not only that, but I've installed additional suspension alignment capability. Much more than previously. Top suspension arm for adjustable camber, extra rear toe adjustment, etc. I've also put on different anti-roll bars front and rear, adjustable." Motohiro continued.

"There's also the titanium exhaust custom made for this car. The engine management system programming is also tweaked. It's not gained much from before, but it's useful power." Mizuho added.

"Yeah, but to put the power down more effectively, there's also a CUSCO 2-way race differential. It's really great once you get used to it."

Towa was mesmerized by all the changes made to the Roadster, the parts which he could only dreamt about as they were very expensive.

"You must've spent what? 2-million yen?" Towa calculated in his head, and it was in the right ballpark so Mizuho nodded.

"Yep. I haven't tried it yet, as it's only just finished." Mizuho replied.

"But... Why are you showing me this?" Towa asked. He had no clue why Mizuho called him out of his way for this.

"I'd love to see you drive it again."

What Mizuho said made Towa frown his eyebrows in confusion.

"What? It's not my car anymore?" Towa was hesitant about it, which surprised Mizuho.

"Did that ever matter? You drove my Probox for a week? The Roadster even used to be your car?" Mizuho was genuinely confused as to why Towa would be hesitant.

Towa didn't reply. He stood there, contemplating a few things.

"I'm sorry, Noda-san, but I have to ask you about something." Towa was still a bit ambivalent.

"What is it?" Mizuho asked.

"You're the one who always said mountain running is pointless, why are you doing stuff like this that almost seemed like you wanted me to stay doing it? I sold the Roadster to you to stop doing childish, wasteful and dangerous hobbies, but you seemed to want to pull me back in by yourself."

There was no anger, annoyance or animosity in Towa's sincere statement. He just said what he thought and Mizuho respected that. Even if his tone was slightly concerning to Motohiro.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Well. I guess I never grew up since I was 20 either... Even if I'll be 40 soon..." Mizuho said with a sheepish smile.

It was the first time Towa ever saw Mizuho had an emotion like that, and it made him realize that Mizuho was a human, just like anyone else. His decision and thought process might be weird, but it's not unexplainable when there's emotion involved.

"This car is not the only thing I want to show you."

Mizuho started walking toward the office, and Towa had no choice but to follow, while Motohiro went to deal with the garage businesses instead.

Towa was anticipating whatever Mizuho had in mind.

Mizuho sat in front of the office desk, and Towa noticed there was a piece of paper on it. Mizuho looked at it for a second, before handing it to Towa.

It was several A4 page printouts from a webpage. Towa briefly skimmed through the first page and was curious.

"Simcademy Japan?" Towa wondered, and Mizuho nodded.

"You've heard of the man right? Tsuichi Tatsumi. The True Champ. Unless you have been living under a rock then surely you know who he is." Mizuho said while gesturing at the face on the paper.

"I know who Tatsumi is, yeah. I'm just wondering why are you showing me this? I'm not a sim racer."

"Well, you are."

"Not really?"

"You certainly could be."

Towa didn't really agree with Mizuho about that, but he continued reading.

"It's a program for sim racers to transfer to a real life racing car, with the opportunity to continue further?" Towa read it out loud, and Mizuho nodded.

"That's the gist of it, yeah. You'll get to learn with Tatsumi himself, and you'll get to drive an actual racing car." Mizuho confirmed.

Towa didn't show much of his emotion, but Mizuho knew that Towa was interested, even if he wasn't showing it.

"But, you said it yourself that it's too late for me to become really good, right?"

Once Towa said that, Mizuho laughed at the lack of self confidence, even if he himself initiated it unintentionally.

"You ARE already good, Wakisaka-san. You might not be good enough to win a Super Formula race, but you're good enough to become a professional. Decent level."

Towa didn't seem convinced, even if some part of him was happy that a guy like Mizuho Noda had that much confidence in him for whatever reason.

"Even if it doesn't work out, there's no loss, right? It's a paid for program with full accommodation, and with you being a freelance worker there shouldn't be any issue with work, right?" Mizuho tried to convince Towa, but he wasn't hitting the right buttons.

"You're absolutely right, Noda-san, but that's not the issue here."

"What's the issue then?"

Towa didn't reply, instead he looked troubled by it. Mizuho guessed it was about what happened with Sumire. Towa felt he didn't deserve to waste his life doing something as dangerous as racing, even if it's professionally.

"How long do I have to make the decision?" Towa suddenly asked, and it made Mizuho's eyes light up.

"About a month. End of October. It's a winter session you'll be doing if you choose to attend." Mizuho replied what was printed on the paper.

"I have to discuss it with Sumire..."

"As you should."

Towa was surprised by that statement from Mizuho, and somehow, it made him more confident about it.

There's nothing wrong with it, right? Sumire would be happy to support him doing whatever. Right? Even then, Towa wasn't sure.

"But if you decide you're serious about this. That you want to become even a semi-professional racing driver. You have to learn one more thing from the mountain roads.

As soon as Mizuho started saying that, Towa stared at him blankly.

"You know I don't want to do mountain running anymore. You even offered me an opportunity to do away with all of that crap. Why would you need me to bother with the Fruits Line again?" Towa preemptively declined with that rhetorical question, and it made Mizuho sighed.

Mizuho was really disappointed, but at the same time, he was very happy that Towa took the life lessons way better than he ever did. Towa might be a close approximation of a younger Mizuho, but he was a much more responsible guy.

"You can do the program as you are right now, and I'm sure you'll be really successful. But to get to the next level, there's more to learn." Mizuho explained.

"Is it something that really needs to be learned on the mountain road, Noda-san? Is it really?" Towa didn't seem convinced at all.

"Not really."

That answer raised Towa eyebrows, he didn't expect that straight forward of an answer.

"It's not where you'll be doing it, but who you'll be learning it with." Mizuho explained, but it didn't answer the question, not fully.

Towa sighed.

"Who is it that you want me to race with?" Towa asked, knowing that even if Mizuho was being cagey about it, it was still very obvious as to what he really wanted.

"I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to." Mizuho changed his mind, which fueled Towa's annoyance.

"Why are you flip flopping, Noda-san?"

"If you are going to sulk and stop caring about cars, there's no point. If you don't care about driving anymore, no one can force you to do it. It's only going to lead to poor results."

Mizuho said, as he was standing up from the chair.

"All this time that you've been away. All this time that you didn't go up the mountains. All this time that you didn't have your Roadster around. Did you really, never, ever miss it one bit?"

That question from Mizuho did make Towa stop and think.

Lying to himself that he didn't have the desire to run, to drive fast, to have the experience and feeling of motion that's incomparable to anything else. It didn't extinguish the true passion that had already taken hold.

Still, Towa couldn't really accept it as it is, he had learnt his lesson, perhaps too well.

Towa promised that he'd never make a rash decision again. Sumire had to know. She had the right to know first.

That was why Towa didn't accept it right away.

—

That evening, Sumire had been doing overtime, so Towa picked her up a bit later than usual. Apart from that the routine didn't change much and by 6.30 PM they were on the road home.

Towa had been contemplating the offer that Mizuho gave the entire day, but he was still finding the courage to ask Sumire for her opinion.

To become a professional racing driver? It seemed like a dream so many wished for. One that was not based on reasoning or reality.

"You know. I think you drive much smoother than you did before."

Sumire made an observation that surprised Towa greatly, because he never consciously tried to drive any better than he did.

"Really?" Towa asked, befuddled.

"Definitely. Once I think about it more." Sumire confirmed it.

"But I'm not doing anything differently?"

Sumire laughed as Towa appeared genuinely confused about it. Not taking the compliment at all. She didn't know the technical or the physics of it, but she definitely could feel the motion of the vehicle from the passenger seat, while Towa who's driving was able to feel less of it.

What really stood out for Sumire was the braking. A while ago, when Towa came to a complete stop, the final movement of the car before it halted would be slightly abrupt. Now, even in this piece of junk Mazda Carol, the braking was completely smooth from the initial push to the stop itself.

"I don't think this car suits you, not anymore." Sumire changed the subject, but it still raised Towa's eyebrows.

"You don't think?" Towa asked again.

"Yeah. You already graduated to a Roadster. Coming back to this thing is unfitting. It's a downgrade, isn't it?"

"It's economical, and I got plenty of cash for putting the down payment on our house. Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah, it is good, I guess." Sumire shrugged, "But are you really happy?"

Towa didn't answer, because he was trying to convince himself that he was.

"I'm happy that you're here with me. That's all I want." Towa replied with what he thought was the correct answer, but Sumire was having none of it.

"Yeah, of course you are." Sumire retorted sarcastically.

"No, I genuinely am!" Towa sounded defensive about it, which was even more amusing to Sumire.

"You don't really know why I ran home, do you?"

That question was deeply painful for Towa, it made him stuttered.

"Ah... Eh..." Towa couldn't answer properly and it made Sumire laugh.

"I like watercolor painting and leatherworking, but I don't let it consume my life. You understand? I don't stay up until 3 AM doing those things." Sumire then realized maybe she was saying the wrong thing, "Hell, if I want to, it's not even wrong to do so. Just... I don't throw tantrums just because somebody did a better painting than me or getting angry that I can't get the right leather patch or something."

Sumire kept observing Towa's reaction, and saw that he only kept his silence as he tried to keep focusing on the road.

"It's great that you're trying to be responsible and all, but let me ask you this again. Did you get rid of your Roadster because you wanted to make it up to me, or do you want to punish yourself?" Sumire continued.

Towa sighed.

"A bit of both, I guess." Towa replied, finally being honest with his feelings.

"Now that you admitted to it, I can tell you right now that's not really something you had to do! I get that what's done is done, but if you want to keep playing with cars, I don't mind that! As long as you, you know, be sensible about it." Sumire continued, quite exasperated.

It was a pretty harsh truth for Towa to take, but he got what Sumire was saying completely. Even he himself knew this was the case. But then he told himself time and time again that what's done is done.

Nobody can change the past. There's only the future to look forward to.

"Sorry for having to change the subject, but there is something I had to ask you. I'm not trying to avoid the hard topic by changing the subject, it is relevant." Towa suddenly had the courage to tell Sumire what was on his mind.

"Yeah, go ahead, I've said what I needed to say." Sumire replied.

"You know, since spring, have you noticed I've been more interested in driving?"

"No shit!" Sumire chuckled at the oh so obvious statement.

"It's not something spurred on randomly, right? Somebody pushed me into it."

"It's not unusual for someone to be the kickstarter of a hobby. Sometimes people would even follow internet personas and influencers. You know how it is."

"Yeah but this is different." Towa said, trying to sound as serious as possible, "Remember when I took you to Tochigi? We met some seriously famous racing drivers, right?"

"Yeah I remember that."

"What if I get a chance to do something like that?"

Sumire turned to Towa, wondering what exactly he was talking about.

"You mean, becoming a driving teacher or whatever it was?" Sumire asked, slightly confused.

"No, becoming a racing driver."

The Mazda Carol rolled up to the traffic light, and Towa turned to Sumire, looking her right in the eyes, after he asked that question. Trying to judge her reaction.

Sumire didn't have any. She just looked back at him with a slight, knowing smile. One that Towa knew well and loved.

"I'm sure if you're asking me that, there's a good reason why. I'd be looking forward to what you've got planned."

That was enough. It was a confirmation that Towa needed. He made up his mind there and then.

Towa drove the Carol up to his apartment, where he won't be living there for much longer, and both he and Sumire were surprised by the appearance of a very familiar looking car.

The gleaming white Mazda Roadster RF, once pride and joy of Towa, now in the possession of an older, nondescript looking man that no one would ever notice.

"Is that your car? Is he the new owner?" Sumire pointed to Mizuho, who was standing there, waiting for Towa.

"Yeah, that's Noda-san, the guy who bought it." Towa replied, still curious as to why Mizuho was there.

After Towa parked the Carol. Mizuho appeared pretty surprised by the appearance of Sumire, both he and she bowed to each other immediately as they acknowledged each other's existence.

"Did you just pick your girlfriend up from work?" Mizuho asked Towa.

"Yes, Noda-san." Towa replied.

"I'm Sumire Komiya. Nice to meet you." Sumire introduced herself as customary.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Noda." Mizuho replied, still preferring to keep only his surname known. He never really liked his first name.

The conversation Towa and Sumire had on the way home did change Towa's opinion quite drastically. He knew trying to avoid the world of racing was futile. There's no point in acting like he didn't deserve to have an outlet for his desire for speed.

"Are you happy with the car, Noda-san? I missed it!" Sumire said with a bright, friendly smile, which made Mizuho pretty surprised and delighted as well.

"Your girlfriend really liked this car, huh?" Mizuho turned and said to Towa, who gave a sheepish smile.

"She did pick the color, so yes, she liked it a lot, Noda-san." Towa replied.

"So there's a bit of sentimentality. I'm not selling it back to Towa though, sorry." Mizuho said, slightly in jest. It made Sumire laugh.

"Well, it still looks good on the outside... Not much different from when I last saw it." Sumire commented, as she observed the car and noticed the changes, "Are those new wheels? They look different!"

"They are!"

Even Mizuho was surprised that Sumire picked up such a change immediately. It seemed even though she was a normal young girl who had absolutely no interest in the machine, she was observant, and was supportive of her partner's hobby.

Sumire then turned looking at Towa while she opened the door and picked up her bag from inside the Carol.

"I'll wait for you upstairs, okay? You finish whatever business you have with Noda-san." Sumire told Towa, who nodded.

"Okay, you can start preparing dinner." Towa replied, but Sumire gave him a stink eye.

"You come up and help me. Don't try to avoid it."

Sumire pinched Towa as she scolded him, although it was obviously a joke. She then walked away, leaving the two guys standing there in the apartment car park.

"I've decided, Noda-san. I will join Simcademy Japan." Towa started speaking, which made Mizuho pretty content.

"It's good that you've made up your mind quickly." Mizuho replied.

"There's a few things I need to hear from you though."

That statement from Towa did make Mizuho pretty curious.

"Sure, why not?" Mizuho replied, ready to answer any question Towa may have.

"Why did you stop racing, exactly?" Towa started by asking the one thing that he had been curious about the entire time he had known Mizuho, and surprisingly Mizuho seemed pretty happy to answer.

"You may not quite understand it completely, but I hope you at least get some of it." Mizuho started replying, he was happy to answer. "I didn't want to stop. I was forced to."

"Forced to by what?"

"My nerves."

It was not the answer Towa expected, and he didn't quite get it either.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Well, in motor racing, accidents do happen, right? It's part of the job. If you don't drive to your fullest ability, what exactly are you doing being a racer? It's one thing when it's your own mistake, it's another when it's completely by chance."

Mizuho paused for a moment, and he did appear quite uncomfortable then, but continued on regardless.

"July 2006. I was racing in Formula Nippon which is now Super Formula, yeah? I had a tire failure going into the 130R at Suzuka Circuit. You know what that corner is, right? Extremely high speed left turn. I was lucky I didn't break any bones in my body. But afterward I didn't have the courage to drive anything that fast again. Not with, at that point, a 7 month pregnant fiancé."

It was a concise explanation, but one that Towa could empathize with.

"I did return to racing pretty much immediately, but it wasn't the same. It couldn't be the same. I lost trust in the ability for the car to not fail on me." Mizuho concluded.

"That must've hurt." Towa commented, but Mizuho shook his head.

"Not in the slightest. No. I've had my chance and it wasn't to be. What can you do, really?" Mizuho explained, very sincerely, "I've always taken the path of the least resistance. Wherever my life was leading me, I didn't mind it. Never did."

Mizuho then paused again, and something did come up in his mind at that moment.

"It's not really a mindset that suits being a racing driver. I can tell you that much." Mizuho sighed again, and Towa wondered if he'd ever get what Mizuho was saying completely. He got some of it, but not entirely.

Mizuho hesitated for a moment if he should continue.

"There's a guy who's been coming to the Fruits Line. He's an old acquaintance of mine. Tsutsumi Kanemaru." Mizuho told Towa, who suddenly had a look of realization

"Kanemaru? I saw him on the leaderboard recently. You know him?" Towa replied.

That told Mizuho about something else. Even if Towa said he didn't want to run again, he still peeked at the leaderboard from time to time. It confirmed to Mizuho that Towa never really could fully get away from the thrills of running.

"Yeah. He drives an old, battered RX-8." Mizuho continued.

"So why are you so adamant that I run against him on the Fruits Line? There must be a reason, right?"

Mizuho nodded.

"Like I said. There's something you need to learn from him." Mizuho repeated what he said this morning.

"What is it?" Towa asked again.

"It's not something that can be explained in words. But if you cannot overcome this challenge, to beat Kanemaru convincingly. You'll never be good enough to go over the semi-pro level. I want you to succeed. But you started too late. Consider it an abridged lesson about racecraft."

"I'll do it then."

Towa immediately replied, and there was this determined look on his face that made Mizuho know he was coming back.

"But there's another thing I want from you." Towa continued, and it made Mizuho wonder.

"Anything you could wish for. I'd be happy to provide." Mizuho answered willingly.

Towa walked closer to the Roadster that Mizuho was leaning on, and he patted the roof affectionately. He really missed this car.

"I want you to show me the true speed of this Roadster. I want a benchmark of how much I'm behind the best of the best." said Towa.

Mizuho immediately gave a knowing smile with that request.

"Sure." Mizuho accepted.