Rising Son
Kal-El arrives in Japan expecting it to recognise what he achieved in Thailand. Japan has other things to do.
He has results on his phone and Woodie's recommendation. At the workshop, nobody asks to see either. The coach lets him finish explaining himself, then hands him a broom. Learn the tools. Return what you borrow. Notice who is still working when you're ready to leave.
Kal-El finds him infuriating. Liam finds him funny. Soon Liam knows who takes which seat at the team's lunch table, and people greet him before they greet his brother. In Thailand, Kal-El had something Liam wanted. In Japan, Liam has something Kal-El can't seem to earn.
Then Kal-El damages a tool a local boy lent him, and lets the other boy take the blame. His name comes off the team list. Getting it back means telling the truth, paying for the part and working off the rest.
For the final weekend at Suzuka, two people arrive he didn't expect to need: the grandmother who connects him to a part of himself he's barely begun to understand, and Mai, who knew him before any of this.
“So. Which one's yours?” “The broom.”
