When I was a child, I used to ride my blue bicycle everywhere I went. Once, I started to think about how far I could go if I rode on without turning back. I still think of this question now. What was I trying to test at that time? Takemoto returns to Hanamoto's office where he announces that he has failed another job interview. Just then, he sees a visitor inside who introduces himself as Usui and is a graduate from the university. Hanamoto says that Usui was his student and is now managing a made-to-order furniture business. Takemoto spots a revolving cabinet which Hanamoto is using to store his spray can paints. Hanamoto asks Usui how much he should pay for it and the latter changes the price from 500,000 yen to 20,000 yen at will when Hanamoto remarks that it is expensive. As such, this leads Hanamoto to remark if Usui can sustain his business like this but he says that he gets by. Usui sees that Takemoto is fascinated with the cabinet and asks the latter if he's interested to join his company. At the mention of a job, Takemoto agrees to it without further thought even though Hanamoto says that he should find out more first before deciding.
That night, a celebration party for Takemoto finding a job is held at Hanamoto's apartment. Everyone is happy for Takemoto who had been rejected numerous times to date. Hanamoto says that although Usui's company is small, it takes on interesting projects like building a ninja-style house with a maze in the garden. Just then, the phone rings. When Hanamoto answers the call from Usui, he is horrified to find out that the client who built the ninja house has run away without paying up which leads to the collapse of Usui's company. As such, Takemoto has returned to square one again which makes him very disheartened.
Hanamoto mentions to Yamada that Takemoto is feeling very down and he doesn't know how to cheer him up. He asks Yamada what she is making where she replies that it's a sample which Nomiya asked her to make. Hanamoto remarks that she has done very well but she doesn't think that she has achieved much.
The Fujiwara brothers patch up which leads to the transfer of operations from Tottori back to Tokyo. This creates chaos as Miwako, Yamazaki and Nomiya have to juggle projects from Tottori in addition to their existing work. Given that there is a sizeable number of projects to complete in Tottori, Nomiya and Yamazaki decide to go there for the time being and finish the work.
Nomiya passes his apartment keys to Miwako for safekeeping where she remarks that he should get Yamada to do it. However, he says that he doesn't want his apartment to reek of alcohol when he returns. Yamazaki also wants to give his keys to Miwako but she says that she will use his house for Leader or rent it out for money to spend on spas. Nomiya consoles Yamazaki who feels upset at the way Miwako is treating him.
Yamada happens to bump into Nomiya as she's heading for Fujiwara Design to submit the samples. However, he does not tell her that he's going to Tottori for 6 months due to work. When Yamada meets Miwako, she is surprised to know about Nomiya's temporary transfer to Tottori and wonders why he did not tell her about this just now.
Takemoto stares at his empty fridge and realises that the sound from the running motor is what he has been hearing all along in his mind. He then goes cycling without telling anyone...
Mayama returns home but finds Takemoto missing from his room...
Meanwhile, Takemoto finds himself at an unknown beach after cycling for a long time...
Mayama tells Hanamoto and the rest about Takemoto's disappearance without a word where they are worried about his safety. Given that he has experienced a series of setbacks due to his graduation project and finding employment, Mayama and Hanamoto wonder if Takemoto will commit suicide but they refrain from talking about this possibility. Yamada mentions that Takemoto could have gone on a journey to find his true self but Morita doesn't understand why he must do that. Hagu wonders if it's fine not to look for Takemoto but Hanamoto says that this will be of no use until Takemoto feels that he has achieved his aim. They find out later from Tokudaiji-sensei that Hanamoto is speaking from experience as he had gone on a self-searching trip for 7 times but he always had to turn back because Harada and Rika were worried and managed to find him every time. Hanamoto says that Takemoto should be fine at the moment so they should drop the issue now as he doesn't want to be reminded of his unsuccessful trips.
Takemoto has spent the night in the open for 2 nights and wonders what he is doing. He realises that he has not contacted his friends who must be worried for him. When he sees a family playing happily on the beach, he feels like crying but his stomach growls due to hunger. Takemoto laments that he can still feel hungry despite being on the verge of tears.
Mayama, Morita and Hanamoto go to the post office and find out that Takemoto had withdrawn cash from his account by updating his passbook. Hanamoto remarks that it's just like Takemoto to have saved so much money since he doesn't dabble in alcohol, gambling, smoking or women. At the mention that Takemoto doesn't have a girlfriend, this is also reflective of Hanamoto and Mayama's situation and this makes them pity themselves. Hanamoto deposits some money into Takemoto's account and says that this is his salary for this month as the latter has been helping him with work. However, Mayama says that helping Takemoto too much will make him lose the meaning of this journey. Meanwhile, Takemoto notices that his balance has seemed to increase but he doesn't think much about this and proceeds to buy some food.
As Takemoto is riding through a tunnel, he keeps pondering over the meaning of his actions. When trucks pass him by at a close distance, Takemoto realises that he has been living in fear of not knowing what to do in future and letting the days pass by aimlessly. Takemoto sees the light at the end of the tunnel after riding for some time. This gives him the idea that he can continue riding which may help him see what he wants to do...
I can understand how Takemoto feels. Apprehensive over what the future holds, being rejected at job interviews and yet worried about letting the days pass by just like that. Although I may not be able to do something like a self-discovery journey at the moment, I do admire Takemoto's courage to proceed further even though he wasn't sure of why he had embarked on the trip in the first place. Continue riding in order to find his goal...this seems to be applicable to real life where many people go with the flow for the time being and see if they can find something they want to do along the way. I can't say that this is a definite answer to the question of apprehension over one's future but it's an alternative other than doing nothing at the moment. In my case, I haven't found what I'm searching for yet so I'm switching tracks now. I don't regret compromising my expectations or ideals during the process but I do think of the possibilities that would have arisen if I carried on searching for something which I don't know in the first place. This issue really hit me hard and caused me to think about what I've been doing.
Yamada seems to mind the fact that Nomiya did not tell her about his transfer. I think her opinion of Nomiya changed after the night they spent together in Yokohama and he might be the answer to cure Yamada of her pining for Mayama. That is not to say that Nomiya is a substitute for Mayama but rather, he knows Yamada's thoughts and help her to see herself better. This level of self-realisation is important because Yamada does need someone to knock some sense into her. And Nomiya has proven himself to be a deeper person than what Mayama had thought and the impression that he's a playboy who's not serious at all. However, he seems to be keeping a distance from Yamada as he doesn't want her to come close just to take him as a substitute for Mayama. In this case, Nomiya may be serious about Yamada but he's not sure whether she will like him as he is or come to him out of loneliness. Maybe that's why he didn't tell Yamada personally about his transfer.
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