Chapter 7 – The Mountain That Remembers
Gunma – 6:12 AM
The station opened later than usual.
Yuichi noticed immediately.
Bunta was already awake.
He stood behind the counter with the photograph from last night sitting beside him.
The white RX-7.
The red symbol.
And those seven words.
Akina isn't the only mountain that remembers you.
Yuichi poured coffee.
"You've been staring at that thing for an hour."
Bunta didn't look up.
"Two."
Yuichi sighed.
"Even worse."
Bunta picked up the photograph.
"Do you recognize the road?"
Yuichi leaned over.
"No."
Bunta turned it around.
The photograph showed a mountain road surrounded by dense forest.
The road itself was narrow.
No guardrails.
No streetlights.
Nothing.
Yuichi frowned.
"Where is this?"
"Haruna."
Yuichi's expression changed.
"Haruna?"
Bunta nodded.
"You've raced there?"
"Once."
"When?"
"A long time ago."
Yuichi waited.
Bunta said nothing.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Yuichi slammed his coffee down.
"You seriously expect me to be okay with that answer?"
Bunta stood.
"Get the Fairlady ready."
Yuichi stared.
"For what?"
Bunta grabbed his jacket.
"Haruna."
8:03 AM – Gunma Prefectural Road
The Fairlady climbed through the mountains.
The city disappeared behind them.
Trees replaced buildings.
The road narrowed.
Bunta drove with one hand resting casually on the wheel.
Yuichi sat beside him, looking nervous.
"Who sent the photograph?"
"Don't know."
"You have any idea?"
"No."
"Do you think it's a challenge?"
Bunta looked through the windshield.
"Maybe."
Yuichi sighed.
"You know normal people get letters."
Bunta took a drag from his cigarette.
"Normal people don't race."
9:16 AM – Haruna
The road was empty.
Too empty.
Bunta parked the Fairlady beneath a row of trees.
Yuichi stepped out.
The air was colder here.
Different from Akina.
Akina felt alive.
Haruna felt like it was watching.
Yuichi looked around.
"Nobody's here."
Bunta didn't answer.
He walked toward the road.
Then stopped.
There were tire marks.
Fresh.
Two sets.
One from a rear-wheel-drive car.
The other—
Bunta crouched.
He touched the asphalt.
"Someone was here."
Yuichi looked at the road.
"When?"
Bunta rubbed the wet rubber between his fingers.
"Last night."
A sound echoed through the forest.
An engine.
Far away.
Low.
Then higher.
Then—
Silence.
Yuichi looked at Bunta.
"Did you hear that?"
Bunta stood.
"Yeah."
The engine returned.
Closer.
A white shape appeared between the trees.
The RX-7.
9:22 AM
The Mazda rolled to a stop.
The driver stayed inside.
Bunta stared at the car.
Yuichi whispered:
"That's the one."
The driver's door opened.
A young man stepped out.
Maybe twenty-three.
Messy dark hair.
Black jacket.
No expression.
He walked toward Bunta.
"My name is Rei Kuroda."
Bunta didn't introduce himself.
Rei smiled.
"I know."
Yuichi stepped forward.
"Then why bring us here?"
Rei looked at Bunta.
"Because I wanted to see whether the rumors were true."
Bunta's eyes narrowed.
"Which rumors?"
Rei looked at the Fairlady.
"That the man driving that car isn't the same man who used to race here."
Silence.
Bunta looked at him.
"You're right."
Rei's smile disappeared.
"You're different."
Bunta nodded.
"I got older."
"No."
Rei shook his head.
"That's not it."
9:41 AM
The two cars lined up.
Yuichi stared at them.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Rei leaned against the RX-7.
"One run."
Bunta looked at the road.
"Downhill?"
"Downhill."
"Rules?"
Rei smiled.
"No rules."
Bunta opened the Fairlady.
Yuichi grabbed his arm.
"Bunta."
Bunta looked at him.
"This guy feels wrong."
Bunta nodded.
"I know."
"Then don't race him."
Bunta got inside.
"That's why I have to."
Start – 9:47 AM
No countdown.
No crowd.
The RX-7 launched first.
The Fairlady followed.
The mountain swallowed them.
First Sector
Rei drove differently from Tanaka.
There was no panic.
No aggression.
No unnecessary movement.
The RX-7 simply disappeared into the corners.
Bunta followed.
First hairpin.
Rei braked late.
The rear stepped out.
Perfect.
Second.
Same.
Third.
Even faster.
Bunta's eyes narrowed.
He's good.
The RX-7 wasn't drifting for show.
Every slide had a purpose.
Every correction was minimal.
The car was being driven at the absolute edge.
Then Rei did something strange.
He lifted.
Bunta noticed.
The RX-7 slowed slightly.
Bunta expected Rei to accelerate again.
He didn't.
Instead, he waited.
Bunta understood.
He's waiting for me.
Bunta entered the corner.
The RX-7 suddenly accelerated.
It shot forward.
The gap opened.
Bunta smiled.
"Interesting."
Middle Sector
Bunta pushed harder.
The Fairlady's tires screamed.
The RX-7 remained ahead.
Five meters.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Bunta didn't panic.
He knew the road.
But Haruna wasn't Akina.
The corners came differently.
The elevation changed without warning.
The road tightened.
Rei knew it.
Bunta didn't.
For the first time in years—
Bunta had to learn a road while racing it.
The RX-7 disappeared around a blind corner.
Bunta followed.
Then—
Nothing.
The road split.
Left.
Right.
Bunta slammed the brakes.
He stopped.
Silence.
Yuichi's voice came through the radio.
"Where are you?"
Bunta looked ahead.
Two roads.
No signs.
He smiled.
"He's playing."
9:53 AM
Bunta chose left.
The Fairlady accelerated.
The road dropped sharply.
Trees blurred around him.
Then he saw the RX-7.
It was stopped.
Rei stood outside.
Bunta slammed the brakes.
The Fairlady stopped beside him.
Bunta rolled down the window.
"Why stop?"
Rei looked at him.
"Because you chose the wrong road."
Bunta stared.
Then looked behind him.
The road they'd come from was already disappearing into fog.
Rei smiled.
"Welcome to Haruna."
Bunta stepped out.
"You knew I'd choose this one."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you always trust the road."
Bunta stared at him.
Rei continued.
"That's your weakness."
For the first time—
Bunta's expression became serious.
10:04 AM
They drove again.
This time, Bunta was behind.
Rei led.
The RX-7 moved through the mountain effortlessly.
Bunta watched.
Not the car.
The driver.
Every brake point.
Every steering input.
Every hesitation.
Then he noticed something.
Rei wasn't looking at the road.
He was looking at his mirrors.
Constantly.
Bunta smiled.
"So that's your game."
He accelerated.
10:08 AM
The Fairlady closed the gap.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Rei glanced into the mirror.
Five.
The RX-7 entered the next corner.
Bunta followed.
Rei drifted wide.
Bunta went inside.
For the first time—
Bunta pulled alongside him.
Rei's eyes widened.
The two cars raced side by side through the corner.
Metal almost touched.
Tires screamed.
The mountain echoed.
Bunta looked over.
Rei smiled.
Then—
He pulled the handbrake.
The RX-7 rotated violently.
Bunta reacted instantly.
He lifted.
The RX-7 slid across his nose.
Bunta countersteered.
The Fairlady barely avoided contact.
Both cars shot toward the next straight.
Rei laughed.
Bunta didn't.
He was smiling.
10:11 AM
The final sector approached.
A long downhill straight.
Then three consecutive hairpins.
Rei pushed everything.
The RX-7 screamed.
Bunta followed.
First hairpin.
Rei entered too fast.
Bunta closed.
Second.
Bunta was beside him.
Third—
Rei made a mistake.
Just one.
His rear tire crossed the painted line.
The car stepped out.
Bunta passed.
The Fairlady disappeared down the mountain.
Rei recovered.
But it was too late.
10:17 AM – Bottom of Haruna
The Fairlady stopped.
Bunta stepped out.
Thirty seconds later—
The RX-7 arrived.
Rei exited.
He wasn't angry.
He looked almost relieved.
"You saw it."
Bunta nodded.
"The tire."
Rei smiled.
"No."
He looked at Bunta.
"You saw me."
Bunta stared.
Rei continued.
"That's what I wanted."
Bunta frowned.
"Why?"
Rei reached into his jacket.
He pulled out another photograph.
This one was older.
Much older.
A younger Bunta stood beside a car.
Beside him was another man.
Bunta froze.
Yuichi walked closer.
"What is that?"
Bunta didn't answer.
Rei held the photograph toward him.
"The man next to you."
Bunta's eyes hardened.
"He disappeared twenty years ago."
Yuichi looked confused.
"Who?"
Bunta finally spoke.
"My brother."
10:23 AM
The mountain became silent.
Rei lowered the photograph.
"He's alive."
Bunta stared at him.
Yuichi's face went pale.
"That's impossible."
Rei shook his head.
"No."
He looked toward the road.
"What's impossible is that he stayed hidden this long."
Bunta took the photograph.
His hands were completely still.
"Where?"
Rei looked at him.
"Tokyo."
Bunta's cigarette fell from his fingers.
For the first time in years—
He looked genuinely shaken.
Meanwhile – Tokyo
A man stood on the balcony of a high-rise apartment.
Below him, Tokyo never stopped moving.
Cars.
Lights.
People.
Noise.
He held a cigarette between his fingers.
On the table beside him was an old photograph.
Bunta.
Twenty years younger.
Standing beside him was another man.
The same man from the photograph.
He picked up his phone.
One message had just arrived.
He knows.
The man smiled.
Then typed one reply.
Good.
He looked toward the city.
"Come find me, Bunta."
Gunma – 11:02 PM
The gas station was closed.
Yuichi sat behind the counter.
Bunta stood outside.
He hadn't spoken for hours.
Yuichi finally broke the silence.
"You never told me you had a brother."
Bunta stared into the darkness.
"I didn't think I'd ever see him again."
"What's his name?"
Bunta took a cigarette from his pocket.
He lit it.
The ember glowed in the darkness.
"Daigo Fujiwara."
Yuichi swallowed.
"And he's in Tokyo?"
Bunta looked toward the mountain.
"No."
He took one final drag.
"He's coming here."
The wind moved through the trees.
Far away—
An engine started.
Bunta looked up.
A faint sound echoed from the mountain.
Not the Fairlady.
Not the RX-7.
Something else.
Something faster.
Something familiar.
Bunta's eyes narrowed.
"He's already here."
To be continued.