Alice got off the bus and made her way to the paddock area in the Akinabalu Circuit. She walked through the garage area and noticed a little orange tabby cat sitting in front of a garage while licking its paws. Alice went over to it and began petting the cat.

"What are you doing here little buddy? Did you get lost?" Alice said in a playful tone.

The cat began rolling all over the floor as Alice petted it. Then suddenly, Alice heard someone clicking their tongue, and the cat got up and ran towards the sound. Alice turned around and noticed Sugimoto crouching as the cat rubbed its head on his hand.

"S-Senpai?" Alice said a bit surprised.

"Heya kid." Sugimoto greets her.

Sugimoto picked up the cat in his hand and began walking towards her. The cat purred in his arm, cuddling into his chest. Alice seems surprised to see Sugimoto's love for cats.

"You seem pretty fond of cats huh Senpai?" Alice said to him.

"I used to have a cat back in middle school. This one in particular looks just like her." Sugimoto said to her.

Sugimoto lifted the cat and stretched it away from him to get a better view of it. Sugimoto smiled and placed the cat back down, but the cat seemed fond of Sugimoto and kept rubbing its head on his legs.

"It seems like it's attached to you Senpai, I guess you'll have to adopt it now." Alice chuckled.

"No can do. My apartment doesn't allow pets, maybe you should keep it instead." Sugimoto told her.

"Eh? Are you sure? I can't take it in since my grandpa is allergic to cats." Alice revealed.

"I see, I guess it can't be help." Sugimoto said.

Sugimoto picked up the cat and held it up to his chest. The cat purred as they began walking towards the Akinabalu Motorsport's garage. There, they greeted the manager who was waiting for them.

"Good afternoon, I'm glad you could come to today's practice." The manager told them.

"No problem manager, we've been dying to drive anyways." Alice told him.

"Glad to hear it. We have a few things we want to show you guys." The manager said.

The manager noticed Sugimoto holding the cat to his chest and chuckled slightly.

"Never knew you were that fond of cats Sugimoto, it's rare to see you like this." The manager said.

"Hey, I can't help it. They're interesting creatures." Sugimoto said.

"Well, it better not bother our progress today. I'll call you guys later before practice." The manager told them.

The manager went to do his thing while the driver went to the break room and put their stuff away. Alice stood by the table with the chocolate in her bag and noticed it was beginning to melt. Alice panicked and began fractally looking around the room then noticed the fridge in the corner.

"The fridge is just there but Senpai might notice it. I need to hide it somehow." Alice muttered to herself.

Alice wrapped the chocolate in a handkerchief and slowly walked over to the refrigerator. Alice kept an eye out and noticed him on the sofa lazing around. She quickly turned around and tucked it in there.

"Jeez I got scared for nothing, it's not like that knucklehead would notice it anyway." Alice muttered.

Alice closed the fridge door and breathed a sigh of relief. She went over to the table, bought her duffle bag, and headed towards the locker rooms to change. After changing, she walked back to the paddock and began thinking of ways to hand him the chocolate bar.

"Damn, now that I think about it, how am I going to hand it over to him? I don't want him to have the wrong idea. Why am I even doing this in the first place?" Alice contemplated to herself.

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Alice returned to the break room and found Sugimoto still lounging on the couch, his carefree attitude getting on her nerves.

"Jeez, you're not even going to get ready?" Alice angrily said to him.

"You're quite eager. Besides, it's not like the race is happening tomorrow right?." Sugimoto said casually.

"At least be serious about it. You should really try setting an example for your Kouhai, don't you think?" Alice said to him

Sugimoto sat up after hearing her teasing. He puts his phone back into his pocket and stretches.

"Fine, only because I have nothing to do right now." Sugimoto scoffed.

Alice lets out a small chuckle seeing his reluctant face.

"That's more like it. Let's go!" Alice said with a cheerful expression.

"Hold your horses, I need to change as well." He said to her.

Sugimoto got up and began walking towards the refrigerator. Alice saw this and panicked. She rushes in front of Sugimoto and blocks his path.

"Hey, what's up with you? Come on get out of my way." Sugimoto said to her.

Sugimoto pushed her aside by her head and got through her. Alice looked in disbelief as he got closer.

"Crap crap crap, he's going to see it!" Alice thought to herself in a panicking way.

Without hesitation, Alice went to Sugimoto and held his shirt from behind. Sugimoto notices his shirt being pulled and turns around.

"Hey, what's up?" Sugimoto said to her feeling a bit anxious.

"I'm sorry." Alice whispered to him.

"For what?" Sugimoto asked in a confused tone.

"For this." Alice whispered to him.

Alice grabbed him by his right bicep and turned her back into his chest. She then used all her strength and pulled him over her, causing Sugimoto to be pulled towards her and slamming him onto the floor. The Seoi-Nage Move! Sugimoto lays on the floor still a bit disorientated by her throw. Suddenly, the door barged open.

"Alright, drivers. Your cars are ready. Let's go and test—" Ghazali said to them but stopped midway.

Ghazali looks baffled when he sees Sugimoto's almost unconscious state on the floor. He then looks towards Alice, who's slightly panting after performing a Judo throw on Sugimoto, who's a larger build than her.

"I-Is he okay?" Ghazali asked concerningly.

Sugimoto raised his hand and gave him the thumbs up, indicating that he was okay. Ghazali huffed a sigh of relief and looked around the room.

"A-Alright then, Ahem. Meet us at the pits, your cars will be waiting there." Ghazali told them.

"O-Okay, we'll be there." Alice said in a calm tone.

Ghazali left them alone and Alice went to attend to Sugimoto. Alice helped him up and sat him up on the sofa.

"You okay Senpai?" Alice asked him.

"Y-Yeah, I'm good. What was that for?" Sugimoto reassures her and questions her.

"Oh uhm... It's because..." Alice stuttered in her speech.

Alice is in a dilemma to either tell him the truth or keep delaying him. She then decides to tell a white lie to him.

"Ah, I was just trying out my Judo throws! How was it?" Alice said to him trying to keep her composure.

"Well, I can tell you that it was a good throw. Warn me next time though." Sugimoto said to her before letting out a small sigh.

"I'll tell you the next time I try that. Also, why aren't you mad at me?" Alice asked.

Sugimoto sat on the sofa and began thinking to himself. Then he let out a reply.

"Well, maybe I'm still disoriented, but I guess I was surprised you could take me down just like that. I guess I've let my guard down for a long time, perhaps it triggered something in me." Sugimoto explained to her.

"You're not making any sense at all, Senpai." Alice said in a confused tone.

"Maybe I am. Forget it, let's get to the pits before the manager gets mad at us." Sugimoto said and smiled.

Sugimoto got up from the sofa and went to the refrigerator. There, Alice froze. She didn't know what to do, she wanted to stop him but after what she made him go through, she just couldn't move. Alice closed her eyes and hoped for the best.

"Who's a good cat?" Sugimoto said in a playful tone.

Alice perked up when she heard Sugimoto's voice, she opened her eyes and saw him playing with the cat that was sitting on the fridge. Alice was flabbergasted and began thinking of all the things she had done to Sugimoto and felt immense guilt. He grabbed his bag by the fridge and walked towards the door.

"Alright let's go kid." Sugimoto said as he passed her.

Alice stood there, knowing she had to make up to him, and decided to speak up.

"Uhm, Senpai, can you wait for a bit?" Alice said to him

"Hmm? What's up?" Sugimoto said.

Sugimoto stood by the door and looked towards Alice, who was standing by the sofa and still felt guilty about the incident. She went to the fridge and slowly grabbed her item and hid it behind her back. She slowly went up to Sugimoto and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Don't take it the wrong way but here." Alice said trying to remain composed as he held out the chocolate bar wrapped in her handkerchief.

Sugimoto smiled slightly seeing her offerings. He accepted the chocolate and held it in his hand.

"Ah, thanks, kid. I appreciate it." Sugimoto said as he tucked it into his bag.

Alice stood there not knowing what to say, she nodded and followed him to the main building. A small smile forms on Alice's face after she hands him the chocolate. Which made her feel happy.

"Jeez, I never thought giving chocolate was this hard, but I guess I'm glad I got to. I bet he doesn't even know what day it is." Alice thought to herself and chuckled slightly.

Sugimoto went into the changing room and changed into his racing suit. He opened the wrapper and ate a bit of the chocolate.

"The throw she did reminds me of him. Maybe one day I'll tell her." Sugimoto thought to himself.

He opened his phone and noticed the date, February 14th. He looked slightly surprised but kept his cool.

"Ah, today's that day huh? Kids these days are quite bold." Sugimoto chuckled and continued eating his Valentine's chocolate.