Chapter 2 — Just Me, Now part 2

The garage had closed at eight PM.

Naomi had spent the day fixing an electric scooter engine, laughing with a couple of high schoolers who'd come in for an old RX-8, and drinking three overly strong coffees the sun had silently dipped over Minato, leaving the city to breathe in neon.

She'd slipped on a simple leather jacket, left her overalls in her locker, and grabbed her messenger bag a night without oil felt good sometimes the bar was called hoshizora, a small, hidden spot on the fourth floor of an unmarked building black wooden walls, dim lights, a jazzy atmosphere perfect for disappearing without fleeing around the table were Shōta, with his round glasses and constant sarcasm; Yumi, a daytime waitress with moon tattoos on her arms; and Renji, calm-voiced, always with a sketchbook in hand. Naomi sipped a sweet drink, legs crossed, looking out the window the city twinkled below.

"Hey Noctielle," Shōta said, setting down his glass, "what are you doing after this?"

"I'm heading home i have a Prius to dismantle tomorrow morning."

"Don't you ever want a change of scenery?"

Yumi looked up. "There's a race tonight, something unofficial but magnificent. It's pure drift the guys caress the asphalt like they're dancing. Just come watch."

Naomi raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a fan of showing off."

"It's not showing off," Renji said without looking up from his sketchbook, "It's art."

They got into an old, repainted van. Tokyo's neon lights scrolled past in the windows voices grew quieter as they drove towards the heights.

The location: an old, disused mountain road, somewhere in the hills south of Minato, an asphalt ramp winding through the mist.

There were about ten cars, no spotlights, just headlights, no music, just the engines.

Naomi leaned against a car body, watching.

A cry, an acceleration, then a car slid into the curve a perfect drift from a Silvia S15, its rear grazing the edge without ever touching it a murmur passed through the crowd.

Naomi didn't speak, but her eyes shone a little brighter than usual.

Yumi approached. "So?"

Naomi smiled without answering, and deep inside her, far beyond the memories of the Multiverse, a small spark... had just ignited.

End of Chapter 2 — Just Me, Now