The next morning at 5 am, Izamuri is up early and ready for his first day of work in Haruka's workshop. He gets off the bed and starts to prepare for the day ahead. At the same time, Haruka is already in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Izamuri, meanwhile, is in the shower, taking a cold shower to make himself feel more awake and ready.
After an hour, both Izamuri and Haruka are ready to start the day. At 6 am, Haruka goes to his garage. When Izamuri followed him into the garage, he was greeted by 2 cars. One is a normal, fully standard, white Toyota Corolla E101 TRD2000. It was an ultra-rare variant of the E101 gen of Corolla, and it was a daily car that he used every day. With a 3S-GE engine pushing 180HP. The E101 TRD2000 was based on the GT sedan and converted by the Toyota Racing Department, also known as TRD, to replicate the 1994 Corolla JTCC race car specifications.
Next to the E101 TRD was the second car, which was a yellow Mazda RX7 FD3S RE-Amemiya. A heavily modified car that he usually used during weekends or track days. The car was equipped with a 2 Rotor Turbo 13B-REW Wankel Rotary engine tuned by RE-Amemiya, pushing out 500HP with RPM reaching up to 9000 RPM. The body kit of the car was also replaced with a wide RE-Amemiya custom body kit, with the pop-up headlights deleted and replaced with a fixed headlight.
Izamuri just stands there at the door in amazement. He was a car enthusiast himself, but he kept it buried for so long, until this moment when he felt happy to show it. For years, he kept his interest to himself due to his stepfather being hateful towards him since his stepmother died. Even though he kept that passion buried with him, it was the reason why he took mechanical engineering at university.
Izamuri walks into the garage, awestruck by Haruka's car collection. He locks his eyes on the ultra-rare Toyota Corolla 101 TRD2000. Its white paint glimmers under the garage lights. Suddenly, he snaps out of it and follows Haruka to the garage.
"So Haruka… which car will you use right now?" Izamuri said curiously.
"Well, it's the Corolla, obviously!" Haruka replies as he walks to the Corolla.
"Oh, oh yeah… so I'm assuming that the RX7 FD was your special weekend car?" Izamuri asked.
"Well, basically yes! Also, that car drinks fuel and oil like an alcoholic drinks beer," Haruka replies jokingly.
"Understandable," Izamuri said with a little chuckle.
Haruka then unlocks the Corolla and gets into the driver's seat, while Izamuri opens the garage door. Haruka turns the car on and immediately pulls it out of the garage. After the car is fully out, Izamuri immediately closes the garage door and walks to the front passenger side door of the car to get in.
As soon as Izamuri got in, Haruka immediately started to drive to the workshop. The workshop was a few minutes' drive away from Haruka's house, so it's far if they go on foot. During the car ride, Haruka was also talking to Izamuri about tomorrow's weekend plan.
"Hey, Iza… I'm planning to hold a friendly race at a local Karting track for tomorrow and uuhhhh… do you wanna go? with the mechanics and a few of my friends?" Haruka asked.
"Hmmm… I don't know…" Izamuri replied unsurely.
"Oh, come on! Don't worry, we'll go easy on you," Haruka replied with a little chuckle in his voice.
"Oh well, alright, I'll join. But don't expect me to be fast at all," Izamuri replied optimistically.
Haruka nodded and continued to focus on driving the car to their destination. After a few minutes, they arrived at the workshop. Haruka parked his car and immediately got out of the car, followed by Izamuri. Haruka and Izamuri enter the workshop through the side exit door, and as soon as they are inside, they immediately get to work. Haruka inspects the toolboxes and cabinets while Izamuri cleans the workshop. Mopping the floor, dusting off the tables, and wiping the windows.
While in the middle of cleaning and preparing, suddenly, 6 people walked in, and the first thing they saw was Izamuri mopping the office floor. They just stand there staring at each other awkwardly before suddenly Haruka walks in to break the ice.
"Oh hey, guys. Uhh… meet our new crew member, Izamuri!" Haruka said, introducing Izamuri to the other crews. "He's been my closest friend since middle school."
"Hi, Izamuri. I'm Kaira Tojo, and this is Kaira Hojo, my twin brother," Tojo said as he fist bumps his twin's shoulder.
"Hey, that hurts," Hojo said a little jokingly.
Then Takamori steps forward. "I'm Takamori Kazuma, and the person next to me is Rin Takagi, also known as the forgetter," Takamori said while jabbing at Rin.
"Hey, I'm not that bad! At least I pull my car's handbrake up when parking on a slo-" Before he could finish his words, Takamori cuts him off.
"DON'T YOU DARE MENTION THAT INCIDENT AGAIN!!!!" Takamori said shamefully, not admitting that he HAD forgotten to pull the handbrake while parking his Nissan Skyline R32 GTR V-Spec II on a slope, causing the car to roll back, break through the guardrail, and fall off into a ravine three years ago, from which it could not be recovered after 9 failed attempts
"As usual, you keep denying it! Anyways, I'm Hanabu Haruka, a Former Super GT Race Engineer. You can call me Hana," Hana said confidently. "And this is my bestie Fumi Ayaka," she said as she put her hand around Ayaka's shoulder.
"Wow… It's a pleasure to meet you guys…" Izamuri said. "Anyways, let's go and prepare for the workshop… we still have a long day ahead," Izamuri said confidently.
"Alright! Let's go!" everyone said synchronously.
All of them immediately go to work. Haruka gets back to checking the inventory. Izamuri continues his job mopping the office. Rin is wiping all the windows and tables around the workshop. Hana and Ayaka are opening the rolling doors. Meanwhile, Hojo and Tojo are busy sweeping the front entrance of the workshop. In half an hour, they all finished preparing the workshop for the day and immediately went to the changing room to change into their work overalls.
The workshop was relatively empty for that month, with only a few cars every few days that came only for an engine check-up or oil change, but there was still a car that had stayed in the workshop for at least 3 days and that car is a Mazda Miata NA, that is waiting for a driveshaft replacement. The parts haven't arrived yet, but the customer requested to have the spark plugs and ignition coils replaced with the replacement that he sent. The Miata owner, also additionally requested that they change the differential oil and the transmission oil.
Haruka assigned that task to the Kaira twins to take on the job, while the other is on standby just in case there's a customer coming. As the twins immediately got to work, Izamuri was standing at the back corner of the workshop. His eyes were glued to a car that was covered under a white car cover. He tried to distract himself, but curiosity got the better of him.
Izamuri walks closer to the covered car, feeling curious about what kind of car is hiding under the cover. The silhouette shape resembles a hatchback, but it's definitely clear that it's not a normal one, because the length is too short for a 4-door econo box. As he stops in front of the car, he squats down, grabs the car cover, and lifts it up, revealing a white bumper. He lifts it further up, and slowly, the front end of the car is revealed. It's a Honda Civic EK9. Specifically, the Type-R version. Izamuri stands there, amazed, when suddenly Haruka approaches him.
"I see you've found my race car," Haruka said to Izamuri.
"Wait, this is a race car?" Izamuri says, confused.
"Yes! Like I mentioned yesterday… I want to start my own team, racing in the EK9 one-make retro race. But you know… I need sponsors, crew, and drivers…" Haruka said with little confidence.
"Why don't you drive? You've raced before, right?" Izamuri asks.
"I wanted to, but then again, who will handle the workshop?" Haruka replied.
"Oh, yeah… but the car is already set and ready, right?" Izamuri asks.
"Yes! The car can run, and I've actually tested it at the Fuji International Speedway. The car uses a naturally aspirated B18C engine with upgraded fuel injectors, intake, and exhaust. Other than that, everything else related to the engine is stock! The car currently can push out 200HP!" Haruka said with confidence.
"Wow… alright, that's cool," Izamuri said ecstatically.
"I know, right? But yeah… You know what… I don't really use the car that often now." Haruka said.
"Oh, well, how about we go and help the twins?" Izamuri said, suggesting Haruka.
Not long after that, they both immediately leave the EK9 with the front end ominously uncovered and proceed to help the twins. Hojo and Tojo are under the car handling the differential and Transmission oil change, while Izamuri and Haruka are changing the Ignition coils and the spark plugs. After an hour of wrenching, all of them finally finished their work, but still, the Miata could not leave yet because the driveshaft replacement part hadn't arrived. This is understandable since the shipping is delayed, and won't arrive for 3 more days.
Later that day, Izamuri was finishing up the oil change of a Mitsubishi 3000GT, as he was refilling the oil, the owner approached him. The man was in his mid-40s, and a scar across his face. He introduces himself to Izamuri as Daichi Fujiwara. Daichi is the local convenience store manager who is a regular at Haruka's workshop. he always chooses Haruka's workshop for repairs and maintenance on his Mitsubishi 3000GT.
"You're new here, kiddo, what's your name?" Daichi said curiously.
"Izamuri… I'm Haruka's closest friend," Izamuri replied casually.
"Well, kid, nice to meet you. I'm Daichi Fujiwara… keep on the good work," he said, patting his shoulders, before finally turning around and walking towards Haruka.
"Hey, Haru… what's with that Izamuri kid?" Daichi asked Haruka curiously.
"He's my friend… Why?" Haruka replies.
"Well, I can't believe I'm saying this. But I have a gut feeling that there's more to him… I don't know what it is, but trust me, he is special!" Daichi whispers to Haruka
Haruka didn't understand what Daichi meant by fast. But after he said that, Haruka looked at Daichi and replied to him. "What do you mean? He's just a normal guy here… Do you mean that every single human being is special? What are you trying to imply here?"
Daichi sighs and whispers to Haruka, "I know what I said is ridiculous. But trust me… I know you guys will go to a go-kart track tomorrow. So yeah, you'll understand my implications tomorrow."
"Alright… we'll see tomorrow," Haruka replies to him, feeling very sceptical about what he just said.
Later that evening. Everyone is preparing to close the workshop for the day. Haruka is checking the equipment and tools to make sure all of them are returned to their place and none of them are missing. Rin and Takamori are mopping the oil stains off the floor, while Hana and Ayaka are sweeping the break room floor and wiping the windows. Tojo and Hojo? They left early and presumably were busy stuffing their mouths at the nearest hotpot restaurant.
Meanwhile, Izamuri just exits the changing room. He has already finished his assignment of taking out the trash, so he just waits for the others to finish. While he waited, he decided to take a peek at the Honda EK9 race car again. This time, he fully takes off the cover and puts it on the nearby tool bench. The white paint glimmers under the lights. He observes the car, laying his eyes on the carbon-fiber ducktail spoiler, and moves forward to the vented hood that was only held down by two hood pins.
Izamuri walks towards the driver's side door and opens it. Inside the car, the interiors are stripped off. The headliner? Gone. The carpets? Gone. Replaced by an 8-point rollcage. AC? Non-existent. The interior is bare bones with no comfort. There's only 1 seat, and that is the driver's seat, a single Recaro carbon-fiber bucket seat, with some foam padding for minimal comfort. The dash is also not made of the usual plastic materials. Instead, it's made of carbon-fiber, with additional gauges built into the dashboard center console. He shifts his focus to the dashboard and notices that the usual analog gauges are replaced with a single screen from Mote-C. Izamuri was amazed by how clean the car looked.
He then closes the car door and walks to the front of the car. He pulls off the pins holding the hood down. He slips his hand under the hood and unlatches it. As soon as he lifted the hood, he was immediately awestruck when he saw the engine. A Honda B18C VTEC engine, with the carbon-fiber Intake manifold, red valve cover, and complete with the K&N cone air filter.
While he's admiring the engine bay, Haruka suddenly calls him from his office. "Izamuri, let's go! We're going to close the workshop!" shouts Haruka while he's putting his laptop into his bag.
"Alright, I'm coming!" Izamuri shouts back while closing the hood and putting the pin back on the hood.
He then grabs the car cover and puts it back on EK9 again. he pulls the fabric down around the EK9, while straightening up the folds and smoothing out the wrinkles visible on the fabric, before finally going outside and waiting next to Haruka's Corolla. A few minutes passed before Haruka, Rin, Takamori, Hana, and Ayaka exited the workshop. They all say goodbye to each other and return to their respective homes. Haruka gets into his Corolla, followed by Izamuri. He then pulls out of the parking space and immediately drives home.
Later that night, after having dinner and taking a shower. Izamuri is lying down on the bed. Staring at the ceiling. This time, he thinks about the EK9. The car was amazing, even though he didn't even drive it. But he felt something, he felt his heart beating faster when he smelled the lingering scent of burned rubber and gasoline from that car, as if it was calling for him. As if the car yearned for the track. But Izamuri decided to shake those thoughts away and tucked himself under the blanket and slept for the night.