The Racing Organisation of Akinabalu Cup(ROA Cup) round 2 was expected around early March. The race will start in a few more weeks and the Akinabalu Motorsports began their training. They were in the main building of the Akinabalu circuit and trained in the gym provided there.

"Alright Drivers. There are a few more weeks until the next round. I want you to be in good shape before the race." The manager told them.

"Yes sir!" Alice said to him with enthusiasm.

"Alright, Chief." Sugimoto said to him.

The manager nods, delighted to hear the driver's positive attitude.

"Good, I have urgent matters to attend to. I will leave you guys for now, have fun!" The manager said and left.

Alice and Sugimoto looked around the gym and noticed it was full of equipment like dumbells, treadmills, barbells, and more. Alice quickly ran over to a barbell on a bench.

"Senpai, can you lift this?" She ask with curiosity.

"Of course I can! It's a piece of cake." Sugimoto told Alice.

"Well then, can you do 500 kgs?" Alice asked him.

Sugimoto looked at her with a slightly dark expression.

"A-Are you trying to kill me?" Sugimoto asked concernly.

A slight sweat drop formed on Alice's face. It's obvious that Alice doesn't know much about gym equipment.

"Well my record was 200kg on bench press but I'm a bit weaker than I used to." Sugimoto revealed to her.

"I see, but I think I could at least do 100kg," Alice told him confidently.

"Are you really that confident that you could do that?" Sugimoto chuckled slightly.

"Of course I am, don't underestimate me Senpai." Alice said in confidence.

"Suit yourself." Sugimoto casually told her.

Alice stretched for a bit before positioning herself on the bench and going under the barbell. Alice gripped the handle of the barbell while Sugimoto supported her.

"I'm going to lower it down alright, be ready to catch it." Sugimoto cautiously told her.

Sugimoto lifts the barbell off its supports and slowly lets Alice take in the weights. Alice felt the weight as he lowered it down. Alice using all her strength, lifts the barbell.

"I-I'm doing it!" Alice said to herself proudly.

"Woah you're actually doing it." Sugimoto said in a surprised tone.

"See? It's easy peasy. I could do more reps than this!" Alice confidently tells him.

Alice began doing a few reps and felt confident in her abilities. Alice began feeling a bit cocky and decide to tease Sugimoto.

"Come on Senpai, if 100kgs feels like this, I bet I could beat your record in no time." Alice teased him.

Sugimoto felt a bit annoyed by her statement and decided to loosen the support for Alice. As soon as Sugimoto did that, Alice felt the weights crushing her. She began asking Sugimoto for help.

"U-Uhm Senpai, a little help?" Alice pleaded.

"Hey come on, it's only a 100kg. Right? I think you could handle it." Sugimoto teased her.

Alice felt the weight had gradually gotten heavier and began pleading with him to help her.

"S-Senpai, please! It's too heavy!" Alice pleads.

Sugimoto shrugs and lifts the barbell back on its supports. Alice breathed a sigh of relief as she was able to breathe again.

"Holy crap that was so heavy, I thought I was going to die!" Alice told Sugimoto while catching her breath.

Sugimoto chuckled slightly as she saw her exhausted face.

"See? I told you it was harder than it looked." Sugimoto said to her.

"How do you guys even lift things? You did it for a couple of reps as well!" Alice asked him.

"Ah, it's normal. Besides they were only 50kgs." Sugimoto revealed.

Alice's eyes went pale when she heard that she had only lifted 50 kgs, half of what she thought she was handling.

"5-50 kgs?" Alice muttered.

"Yep!" Sugimoto said casually.

Alice sat on the bench and began to rethink her life's decisions. After thinking for a while, she snaps out of it. She looked around the gym and noticed a weird contraption placed in the far right corner. Alice ran over to it and checked it out.

"Woah what's this?" Alice asked in curiosity.

The machine consists of a timer in the middle and a start button. Then there are 2 buttons on each handle and there are 3 handles, lined symmetrically on both sides. Alice was confused by it until Sugimoto walked towards her and started explaining.

"It's a reaction training machine designed to help drivers improve their reaction time. As the buttons light up, you must quickly press them. How fast you press is what determines your reaction speed." Sugimoto told her.

Alice nods, seemingly understanding what Sugimoto has told her.

"I see, care to demonstrate?" Alice asked him.

"With pleasure." Sugimoto told her.

Sugimoto went up to the machine and spread his legs to lower himself and get as close to the center as possible. He pressed the start button and it began showing a red light, he stretched his arm wide and waited for the machine to turn green. Sugimoto is now in full focus.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

The lights turn green and Sugimoto presses the buttons as soon as they light up. He precisely hits the button as soon as it changes. Alice watches from the sidelines and studies Sugimoto's motion. As he pressed the buttons, Alice noticed that his head hadn't moved since the start. The machine displays Sugimoto's average reaction time.

"Not bad, 230 milliseconds, but I could've done better. Want to give it a try kid?" Sugimoto asked her.

"Sure, I'd give it a try." Alice told him.

Alice stepped up to the machine and stood before it. She raised her hand to feel each button as she pressed it. Alice pressed the start button and stretched her arms wide. She looked closely at the monitor as she waited for it to turn green.

The lights turned green and she began to stumble as she tried to press each button. She missed the buttons that lit up whilst pressing on buttons that weren't lit. Alice was overwhelmed and she couldn't keep up. After the test, the machine displays her score.

"N-Not enough information?" Alice muttered after seeing her results.

Alice's reaction time wasn't evaluated as the machine couldn't calculate it due to poor performance. Sugimoto laughed as he saw Alice's devastated face.

"Bwahaha! It was so bad that the machine couldn't calculate it!" Sugimoto laughed at her.

"Shut up! I just need to be more concentrated." Alice said to him angrily.

Alice stood back on the machine and pressed the start button. She stretched her arm out and began concentrating.

"Alright Alice, just concentrate and copy what Senpai did." Alice muttered to herself.

Alice took a deep breath and waited for the lights to turn green. The light turned green, and Alice began pressing lit buttons. Alice felt that everything slowed down as she pressed each button. Sugimoto watched her as she quickly covered all the lit buttons. He noticed that she was way faster and more accurate than before. The machine began evaluating Alice's performance and displayed it.

"180ms? Is that good Senpai?" Alice asked.

Sugimoto looked at the score and crossed his arm. He remained silent for a while before he uttered to Alice.

"180ms is pretty good. But I think it's just beginner luck." Sugimoto said to her.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Alice questions him.

Sugimoto cracked his knuckles and went up and stood in front of the machine.

"I'll show you a good score." Sugimoto confidently said.

Sugimoto stares at the machine and hesitantly presses the button. He began thinking about Alice's previous score.

"180ms is way too good! Even Formula A drivers struggle to get that kind of reaction! This machine has to be broken." Sugimoto thought to himself.

Alice watches as Sugimoto stretches his arm and waits for the machine to turn green. As soon as it turned green, Sugimoto began pressing the buttons as fast as he could. Sugimoto was in full focus mode and didn't say a word. As soon as he finishes, the machine displays his score.

"210ms?" Sugimoto muttered slightly.

Alice chuckled slightly as she saw Sugimoto's score.

"Seems like you're still 30ms more to beat my time." Alice chuckled.

"Heh, don't get too cocky, I'm just warming up." Sugimoto confidently said.

Sugimoto stood there, determined to beat Alice's score. He played the reaction training machine a few more times and the best he got was 200ms. He huffs as he reads the score on the machine.

"Damn, I couldn't even breach the 190 mark! Does she really have that fast of a reaction?" Sugimoto muttered in disbelief.

Alice stood there as she watched Sugimoto still playing the machine. Seemingly already bored by Sugimoto's futile efforts.

"Hey Senpai, are you done yet?" Alice said to him.

"Y-Yeah, I'm done." Sugimoto said in a defeated tone.

"So much for beginners luck." Alice teased him.

"It still is, I'd like to see you try it again next time." Sugimoto said to her, refusing to give up.

"Whatever you say." Alice said with a smug on her face.

They walked around the gym and tried out all sorts of equipment. They tried lifting dumbbells, riding stationary bikes, and running on the treadmill. They wiped the sweat on their foreheads and took a small break by a wall.

"Man, I'm pooped. When is the manager coming back?" Alice asked him.

"Probably sooner or later. He still has business to take care of." Sugimoto told her.

Alice got back up and looked around for something interesting to do. She saw a stadiometer near them. Alice went up to it and inspected it.

"Hmm, I wonder how tall I've gotten. I hope I actually didn't get shorter like Grandpa told me the other day..." Alice muttered to herself.

Sugimoto was still sitting by the wall and noticed Alice measuring herself with the stadiometer. He got up and went up to check on her.

"What are doing kid?" Sugimoto asked.

"What does it look like? I'm measuring myself." Alice said sarcastically.

"I see..." Sugimoto said.

Sugimoto watches Alice trying to measure herself but she's finding it a bit difficult to operate it. There Sugimoto decides to buy in.

"Here stand still." Sugimoto instructed her.

Alice stood still as Sugimoto lowered the slider to her head. Sugimoto tightened the slider to mark Alice's height.

"140cm." Sugimoto told her.

Alice looked at the board and a sad expression formed on her face. Sugimoto looks at her sad face and decides to sympathize with her.

"Don't be sad, kid. Being short isn't a bad thing! At least you could crawl through tight spaces." Sugimoto told her.

A small pout forms on Alice's face.

"You're not making this any better Senpai." Alice told her.

Sugimoto chuckled a bit before Alice questioned him.

"What about you? What's your height Senpai?" Alice asked.

Sugimoto thought for a while and answered her.

"I don't remember, maybe 6'4 the last time I check." Sugimoto told her.

"Well then, why not check it out now?" Alice told him.

Alice grabbed a chair and placed it beside the stadiometer. She gestures to Sugimoto to stand up straight as she lifts the slider. Alice slowly lowered it onto his head and tightened the slider in a fixed position. Sugimoto steps out and Alice tells him his height.

"195cm..." Alice told her.

Sugimoto seemed surprised when she said his height.

"195cm? That means I'm 6'5 feet tall now!" Sugimoto told her.

Alice felt a bit shocked as Sugimoto claimed that he had gotten taller unlike her. She decides to downplay the situation and scoff it off.

"Hmph, it's not like it matters anyway. Height doesn't matter to a racer." Alice said.

"Come on kid, it's not my fault that I've gotten taller." He chuckled.

Alice pouts when he hears Sugimoto say that. As she was being teased, she noticed a weighing scale beside the stadiometer. Alice began deciding whether to step on the scale or not.

"I really want to know my current weight but I don't want to be shocked when I see the result. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad." Alice muttered to herself.

Alice stepped onto the weighing scale and watched the meter move rapidly. Her expression darkened as she looked at the result.

"5-50 kg? I gained more weight! H-How is that possible?" Alice muttered.

She began remembering the days she lazed around and ate more food than usual during the break. Alice couldn't believe she had let herself go like that. As she stood there, Sugimoto managed to get a glimpse of it.

"Man 50 huh? Seems like it's your magic number for today!" Sugimoto joked.

Sugimoto laughed for a bit until he felt a dark aura coming from her. Sugimoto grew concerned for himself now.

"Hey kid, it's just a joke alright? Don't take it seriously." He told her.

Alice looked at Sugimoto with dead eyes. Sugimoto grew horrified seeing her like that.

"Su-Gi-Mo-To?" Alice said in an eerie voice.

"W-What is it kid?" Sugimoto asked concernly.

"YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT A WOMEN'S WEIGHT!" Alice screams at him.

Sugimoto felt something fly beside his head. Sugimoto turned around and noticed that Alice threw a dumbbell at him at unbelievable speed. Sugimoto was frozen in fear until he saw Alice coming up to him at high speed while wielding the barbell's handle. Alice swings at him but he manages to dodge her attacks.

"Holy crap kid! It was only a joke!" Sugimoto said to her,

"GET OVER HERE SUGIMOTO!" Alice said angrily.

Sugimoto ran to the other side of the gym while Alice swung at him, knocking down gym equipment.

"Let's talk kid! We don't have to do this!" Sugimoto pleaded with her.

"You're already dead to me Senpai! Come here and let me take you to death!" Alice said to him with a villainous voice.

"No way!" Sugimoto screamed.

As they were fighting, the manager made his way towards the gym.

"Man, I almost forgot to tell the drivers they could go home. I hope they aren't angry at me or anything." The manager said, slightly worried.

The manager opens the door and decides to announce to them.

"Alright drivers, you can now leave..." The manager said before cutting off.

The entire gym was a mess with dumbells on the floor, treadmills tipped over and trash littered. A small pulse appears on the manager's forehead as he sees Alice on top of Sugimoto with a dumbbell in her hand, ready to open Sugimoto's skull.

"Alice? Sugimoto? What's the meaning of this...?" The manager asked.

The drivers gulped as they saw the manager with a furious look on his face.

"I LEFT YOU GUYS FOR A FEW HOURS AND THIS IS WHAT YOU GUYS DID!?" The manager scolds them.

The drivers ended up staying the entire night cleaning up the gym. After they cleaned up the gym, they began apologizing to the manager until he forgave them. They all later went back home.