After letting Sakura Baimu stay at her office last time, Akikawa Yayoi realized that Sakura Baimu needed to go home to shower and change in the morning.
So today, Akikawa Yayoi simply drove Sakura Baimu home.
On the way, a traffic police officer on night duty was startled when he saw Akikawa Yayoi in the driver's seat.
The officer immediately pulled over and began to sternly reprimand Sakura Baimu.
"What are you doing? Letting such a young girl drive on the road—aren't you afraid of causing an accident? Don't think you can disregard traffic laws just because it's the middle of the night!"
Halfway through his reprimand, the officer looked at Sakura Baimu's incredibly young face and began to have doubts.
"Wait a minute, you're not underage, are you? Show me your driver's license."
Sakura Baimu, sitting in the passenger seat, was speechless upon hearing this.
He ignored Akikawa Yayoi's driver's license in the driver's seat and asked for her own.
Outrageous.
"Yayoi is an adult; she's the chairperson of Tracen Academy."
Sakura Baimu pointed helplessly to Akikawa Yayoi in the seat to her right.
Traffic Officer: "?"
The traffic officer looked incredulous; Akikawa Yayoi didn't look like an adult at all.
After a moment, the officer, having seen Akikawa Yayoi's driver's license, bowed repeatedly and apologized before letting Akikawa Yayoi and Sakura Baimu go.
Once the car slowly started moving again, Sakura Baimu, sitting in the passenger seat, was already beaming.
"Alright, Sakura, stop laughing. This kind of thing happens too often; I'm used to it," Akikawa Yayoi said helplessly, her face also flushed from Sakura Baimu's laughter.
"I remember you told me before that you were mistaken for a child at an amusement park once."
"Yeah, they said children must be accompanied by an adult to enter. I didn't have my ID with me, and after explaining for ages that I was an adult, the security guard still wouldn't let me in," Akikawa Yayoi said helplessly.
"So how did you finally get in?"
"I happened to run into Tannhauser, and she kindly pretended to be my older sister and helped me in."
"Pfft—!" Sakura Baimu couldn't hold back anymore.
--
A moment later, Sakura Baimu arrived at Akikawa Yayoi's luxurious apartment.
After being suspended and leaving Mejiro's house, Sakura Baimu stayed at Akikawa Yayoi's house for a long time after they had just met.
It wasn't until Sakura Baimu passed the trainer qualification exam, entered Tracen Academy, and started earning an income that she moved out of Akikawa Yayoi's house.
"Actually, Sakura, you really don't need to rent a place outside. You work during the day and run at night; you can just stay at my place. Why increase your expenses?"
Akikawa Yayoi had complained to Sakura Baimu about this for what felt like the umpteenth time. Clearly, she still harbored considerable resentment toward Sakura Baimu for insisting on moving out to avoid causing trouble for others.
"I can't cause you trouble, Yayoi! What if someone sees a trainer like me living with the headmaster of my own academy? Besides, what if my identity is exposed later? If people see me living with you, it will cause you trouble for giving me a fake identity."
"Trouble?" Akikawa Yayoi's lips curled up. "I'm the headmaster of Tracen Academy; who can cause me trouble?"
"It's not about the academy; it's about the impact on URA."
"URA is fine too."
"That still won't do, I'll feel bad," Sakura Baimu said, pulling a can of fish from her pocket.
When Akikawa Yayoi's cow-patterned kitten saw Sakura Baimu take out canned food again, its eyes lit up. It quickly jumped off Akikawa Yayoi's hat and began gently rubbing its head against Sakura Baimu's smooth ankles.
"Huh? Where did you get that? I didn't see your backpack," Akikawa Yayoi said, surprised.
"I just bought it from the convenience store."
"Why doesn't my canned food have the same effect?"
Akikawa Yayoi wondered, puzzled as to why her kitten always preferred the canned food Sakura Baimu offered.
"Maybe that's what you call an ingrate," Sakura Baimu said with a smile, opening the can and placing it at her feet.
After seeing the kitten pounce on the food and start eating, Sakura Baimu looked up at Akikawa Yayoi again.
"Speaking of which, I went to Fukutaru's fortune telling house today. She said my luck was terrible, but blue roses could bring me good fortune."
"Oh? Is that so?" Akikawa Yayoi chuckled.
"Yes, I initially thought it was Rice Shower; I completely forgot about you, Yayoi." Sakura Baimu sat on the sofa, bending down to stroke the kitten still munching on its can of food.
Akikawa Yayoi stood to the side, carefully observing Sakura Baimu stroking the kitten.
Sitting on the sofa, Sakura Baimu's long, slender legs, visible beneath her athletic shorts, appeared incredibly elegant.
Furthermore, since arriving at her home, Sakura Baimu no longer needed to conceal her identity and removed her hooded garment with two holes, revealing her naturally long, deep blue hair and slender blue horse ears.
They were exactly like the Mejiro Sakura that Akikawa Yayoi remembered from—the one who raced across the track, unmatched and invincible.
The only difference was that Sakura Baimu had grown her hair long since her suspension.
"I still prefer you the way you are," Akikawa Yayoi suddenly said with a smile, "especially when you're running."
"Too bad, after today I'll have to go back to my black-haired human form," Sakura Baimu spoke, looking up at Akikawa Yayoi with a teasing tone.
"Speaking of which, Obey Your Master invited me to their academy today. She told me that if I go to America, I can compete directly without worrying about the ban from Japan."
Akikawa Yayoi was startled by this and quickly asked,
"You agreed?"
"Of course not," Sakura Baimu said softly, "I don't have that deep longing for competition anymore, and plus, with TCB getting more and more lively now, there's no way I could abandon it."
"Then you have nothing else you'll miss?"
"Yes, Berno Light, Oguri, Tama—I miss them so much." Sakura Baimu smiled again at Akikawa Yayoi, a slight smile playing on her lips.
Akikawa Yayoi's cheeks puffed out when she heard Sakura Baimu deliberately avoiding mentioning her.
"Fine then, Sakura! I strongly suspect now that the reason you insisted on moving out of my house back then was because you felt living with me interfered with your going out to hook up with your fillies, didn't you?"
--