Night. The day after being tailed at Nishizaki Industrial Zone. Shiokaze Street wore its daytime face. Under the arcade, the fishmonger's old man shouted prices. Two elderly women stood in front of the vegetable shop, talking. A child ran past. Salt and exhaust fumes mixed in the air. The usual afternoon. Sakuragi Harumichi walked through it alone. His head wasn't quiet. Last night, tailed by the tattooed man with the Glauben mark. Takamura knows Harumichi's movements. There's a spy. Inside the team. That guy in the warehouse, or that guy, or that guy—— "[gentle]You're Sakuragi, right?" The voice came from behind. Calm. Quiet. Polite. Familiar somehow. Harumichi stopped. Turned around. A man stood there. Black hair swept back. Medium length. 182 centimeters. White teeth in a smile. Thin silver bracelet on left wrist. Soft bearing. Calm voice. Blending naturally into the crowd. Not the face for a stranger——like talking to an old friend. Takamura Ryuichi. Glauben's leader. In Harumichi's head, memories from the previous timeline made a sound. "[cold]……What do you want?" "[gentle]Want's too strong. Just wanted to talk a bit." Takamura fell into step beside Harumichi. Natural movement. Already shoulder-to-shoulder before Harumichi could stop. "[gentle]You know about the Tatsumi Pass race, right. Our ace and Ren running. I want to keep it fair, you know?" Harumichi kept walking forward. Said nothing. "[gentle]Garwing and Glauben are glaring at each other weird. Don't need that. Just a race. Run. Faster one wins. That's all it is, right?" Harumichi looked at Takamura's profile. Smiling. Voice calm. Expression calm. Everything calm. But——his eyes weren't smiling. Reddish-brown eyes. Sharp. Calculating eyes. Measuring Harumichi's reaction. How much does he know. What's he thinking——behind the words, those eyes saw everything. Something cold in his chest. This man planned to kill Ren. Ordered oil spread on the road at Tatsumi Pass's seventh curve. Set it up so Ren would lose control and fall off the cliff. All this man. In the previous timeline, Harumichi knew it. No proof. Couldn't shout. Couldn't grab him. "[serious]Got it." That's all Harumichi said. "[gentle]Good. Looking forward to it." Takamura smiled. Then——without a word, disappeared into the crowd. Smooth. Like he was never there. Harumichi stopped. Under the arcade. People flowing past. Right fist clenched hard. Nails digging into palm. Didn't notice until Takamura's back was completely gone. 　　　＊ Evening. Back at Kamome Wharf. Opened the third warehouse's sliding door. Something was wrong. Knew immediately. The air was different. Three members present. None faced Harumichi. The guy on the sofa kept his eyes on his phone. The guy by the tool shelf suddenly focused on work. The other faced the wall. "[serious]What happened?" Silence. The guy on the sofa opened his mouth. Heavy voice. "[angry]Why you dealing with Glauben behind our backs?" Harumichi stopped. "[serious]……What?" "[serious]You went to Nishizaki Industrial Zone alone. Word is you had a secret meeting with Glauben." Everything connected in his head. A spy. Changed what Harumichi did at Nishizaki into a secret deal with Takamura. Twisted the information. Made false talk sound true. "[angry]Wrong. Reconnaissance." "[serious]Proof?" None. Couldn't say anything. Words alone don't change things. The air was heavy. Members wouldn't look at Harumichi straight on. Then. Bang. The sliding door made noise. "[angry]What the hell are you guys saying!!" Ren. There. Blonde hair disheveled. Blue eyes bright with anger. Footsteps fast entering the warehouse. Stood between Harumichi and the members. "[angry]Spring wouldn't deal with Glauben. Use your heads! Who told you that?" "[serious]……Just heard it." "[angry]Who you heard it from is the problem!!" Ren's voice echoed in the warehouse. Really angry. But——the air didn't change. Members stayed silent. Didn't deny. Didn't confirm. Doubt remained. Ren's voice didn't fill it. Harumichi watched Ren's back. This guy was really protecting him. That was clear. But——same thing happened in the previous timeline. The team slowly fractured. The first crack entered now. (Same again.) Went outside the warehouse. Alone. Ren started to say something, but Harumichi waved once and left. 　　　＊ Night. Walked the wharf. Thought he'd check the members' movements. But really, just couldn't stay still. Head was loud. Takamura's eyes. Team's air. Ren's voice. Which one's the spy. Who's leaking information. When he reached behind the sixth warehouse. Heard voices. Low voices. Two of them. Harumichi stopped. Put his back to the wall. Peeked around the corner. Yajima was there. Garwing member. One year older than Harumichi. Quiet guy. Always in the warehouse corner. That Yajima faced an unknown man. Early twenties. Short black hair. Glauben member. The man operated his phone. Yajima talked about something. The man nodded. Harumichi held his breath. Waited for Yajima to be alone. Five minutes later. The man left. Yajima alone. Harumichi came around the corner. "[cold]Yajima." Yajima turned. His face went pale. Body froze. In less than a second, his face said everything. "[scared]……Harumichi." "[serious]What was that?" Yajima's knees slowly folded. Collapsed to sit, covered his face with his hands. "[crying]Sorry. Sorry, Harumichi……" Crying. Voice shaking. Shoulders trembling. "[crying]I got into illegal racing bets Takamura's brokering. Needed money……couldn't pay back." Harumichi listened silently. "[crying]When I tried to quit, he said he'd tell everyone about the debt. Had no choice. You going to see Tatsumi Pass. Coming to Nishizaki Industrial Zone. Trying to take Ren off the race——I reported everything to Takamura as it happened." Everything. Everything was exposed. What Harumichi did this week. What he thought. What he did to protect Ren. All of it was in Takamura's hands. "[crying]Sorry. But I……really had no choice." Harumichi stood in front of Yajima. Clenched his fist. Couldn't hit him. Anger was there. But something bigger was there. Yajima's crying face felt distant. Couldn't shout. Couldn't cry. Those things went somewhere. Strength drained from his chest. Everything was known. Everything. The more he moved, the more he told Takamura. Time-looped. Brought memories back. Tried to protect Ren——all of it was exposed. "[whispers]……Go." Harumichi said it. Yajima looked up. "[cold]Leave tonight. I'll hear your story later." Yajima stood. Tried to say something. Stopped. Just walked away. Harumichi alone remained on the wharf. 　　　＊ Couldn't go back to the third warehouse. Walked to the pier's end. Concrete edge. Black sea spread wide. Only wave sounds. Footsteps came from behind. "[gentle]Not even a thank you?" Ren. There beside him. Looking at the sea. Not angry. Just stood beside him. "[serious]I protected you back at the warehouse." "[serious]……I know." Ren didn't ask. Saw Harumichi's face. Chose not to ask. Two of them silent for a while. Waves came. Pulled back. Came again. Pulled back. Yajima's face floated in Harumichi's head. Crying. Apologizing. Ren's voice when he shouted. Until just now, Harumichi didn't know which was the traitor and which was the real teammate. Ren was always there. Laughing. Angry. Beside Harumichi. Palm had nail marks. Didn't notice. Clenched again. "[gentle]Doesn't look like nothing though." Ren said it quietly. Not blaming. Just stating fact. Harumichi couldn't say anything. Watched the sea. Black water surface rippling. Far away, one city light small and visible. 　　　＊ Deep night. Entered the third warehouse alone. Ren already left. No members. Just lights on. Whiteboard there. Practice schedule written. Three days until race day. Yajima leaked everything. Takamura already knows Harumichi's plan. The reconnaissance. Trying to take Ren off. Everything. Takamura will change his countermeasures. Everything Harumichi did might become useless. No——that's not all. Every time Harumichi moved, information reached Takamura. Moving more just helped Takamura prepare more. Without the time-loop, maybe it would've been better——worst thoughts crossed his mind. Put his back to the wall. Closed his eyes. Found the spy. But the plan was exposed. Team trust wavering. Opened his eyes. Helmet on the shelf. Ren's helmet. In the previous timeline, it was dusty. But not now. Different. Ren used it today. Not a scratch. Clean. Harumichi looked at it. Then looked away. Three days. Still three days left. If Yajima leaked everything——then maybe Harumichi could figure out what Takamura knows and doesn't know. The spy's revealed. Information to think about the next move. Not cornered. Harumichi looked at the warehouse floor. Just gotta do it. That's all left for Harumichi now.