Hirokazu asks Akitsuki if he can talk to him for a few minutes. Akatsuki explains that the time difference between the two runners is the same, but that Arima's top speed is much higher. If you're at the top of the third line, you can't really beat Arima because he's faster than you. But if you hold back a bit, he says, you'll be able to beat him in a couple of weeks. Asahina says that she's figured out her running style and that she can change it in two weeks, but Hirokasue says that sounds like a crazy idea. He tells her to go ahead and run whatever she wants, because he doesn't care what she does. He's sorry that he made her do this with him, but he'd rather stop now. He asks what's gotten into her lately, and she says that it's that she wants to be the number one runner in the world. He says that he wants to make that happen, and then he'll try to tell her how to feel about it. But he'm not sure that's the right thing to do, because she'll fall for him just because he takes first place. He wants to get to the top, and that'll make him feel better about himself. He just wants to run faster.