A Hybrid of Life and Gasoline | 命とガソリンのハイブリッド

Part 25 | Eclectic Group

On Monday evening, Towa and Sumire had just arrived home in the Roadster after he picked her up from work.

"When are you going to come home tonight?" Sumire asked as soon as Towa finished putting the car into the parking space.

"Eh, I don't know." Towa replied.

Today Towa had an appointment with an old friend of his from Tochigi, which he already told Sumire for a week beforehand.

"Who is it this time?" Sumire asked for Towa to remind her, as she forgot.

"Seiki Imai. I don't think you've met him." Towa replied, and he was right and Sumire didn't recognize the name at all.

"Friend from Otawara?" Sumire continued.

"Well he used to be in Otawara, but moved south after graduation. He got a job working for JR East."

"Ehhh? That's pretty cool, huh. Is he a conductor?"

Sumire asked as she went to the small kitchen they had and looked for stuff in the fridge.

"For a while yeah. He passed the train driver exam recently." Towa replied. It's clear from his tone that this supposed friend of his was an actual one he liked, unlike Takeshi Sawatari.

"That's very cool. Tochigi guy, so he must be on the Utsunomiya line?" Sumire was quite knowledgeable about train lines, because she didn't drive. Towa on the other hand had absolutely no idea.

"I believe so? I think he always visited Maebashi."

"No, that's the Ryomo line." Sumire corrected Towa, as she closed the fridge with everything she wanted, "Oyama to Maebashi."

Towa didn't know that, so was glad Sumire was able to correct him, at least he won't be blurting out the wrong part of JR to Seiki when he arrived.

"What time are you going to meet him?" Sumire asked again.

"He'll call me when he's at the restaurant. Gyu-Kaku near here." Towa replied, which made Sumire nod.

"But you don't know when you'll come back here..." Sumire wondered about that.

"We'll be driving down to Tsuchiura for a while, that's why I don't know when we'll be back. It's very likely I'll be late." Towa explained, it made Sumire slightly annoyed, but not enough for her to complain.

"Well at least you won't drink... Is he coming on a train?"

"Nope, he's driving."

"This Seiki guy must really like driving huh..."

Towa knew full well. Seiki did like driving.

Towa never had that many friends back in Otawara, he was not the sort of person who'll get up to anyone and talk with. He kept a few around within his circle, and as it happened, Takeshi Sawatari was not one of them. Seiki Imai was though.

Seiki was one of Towa's closest friends from high school, but after graduating Towa went on to study at Tsukuba U, and then finally moved here to Mito. Seiki moved south to Utsunomiya for college, before moving down once again to a small town called Iwafune when he started working for JR East. It's been 7 years since they've last talked to each other, but it didn't feel that long all things considered.

Recently, Seiki reconnected via social media, with an interesting topic. The Mt. Tsukuba Fruits Line.

"I hope it's not like the Sawatari with this guy..." Sumire mused, as she's cutting the vegetables she's preparing for dinner.

"Haha, not at all. I actually quite like Seiki." Towa sat there at his computer while finishing some more work.

That's rare, Sumire thought. Towa never really talked about anyone from his high school in high regard. It's either indifference or complete dismissal. Sumire wondered what a friend Towa liked would be like?