Autumn.
The season where the sky gets higher and the horses get fatter—well, it’s true the sky is getting higher, but I’m not quite sure about the horses getting fat. I’ve never really seen one after all.
If I say something like this, I can imagine Kagami getting all riled up and impulsively deciding to head to a horse farm by tomorrow, so let’s shift the conversation a bit. I don’t know about horses, but one thing’s for sure, I’ve packed on some weight.
Believe it or not, I was quite the active person in my previous life.
The nature of my job required activity, and to maintain my stamina, I had to exercise at least a little bit.
I didn’t particularly love exercising, but I did it consistently to keep my job.
Now, with things being a little too good, it was only natural that my movements would drastically reduce.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I got fat. Just a bit… well, it might vary depending on one’s taste, but I’d say I’ve just reached a level that’s decent to look at.
The kids around me finally seemed a bit relieved to see me.
And, there was an event coming up where I could flaunt my newly improved health—though I wasn’t thinking of flaunting it or anything.
That event was the Sports Festival.
Even though I was a third-year student studying for exams, participating in the Sports Festival was still a must. I guess it’s less about competing seriously like the first and second years, and more about taking a break from studying to cool off.
And there was one person who was really, really serious about this Sports Festival.
No, not Koko. Koko takes everything seriously to begin with.
I mean Kagami.
“…What is that?”
I asked Kagami with quite a serious expression.
“It’s a cheer stick.”
“…Why do you have a cheer stick?”
I can understand the concept of holding something when cheering. After all, don’t those balloon things exist? When you bang two of them together, they go ping, ping and make a clear sound. I know this because I tried it last year during the Sports Festival with friends.
But what was in Kagami’s hand wasn’t one of those balloons.
It was literally a cheer stick. A long stick similar to what you’d use cheering for a basement idol.
The one that lights up when you press a button.
“Aren’t we doing a cheer show?”
“A cheer show—”
I stopped speaking and rubbed my forehead.
“No, that’s not a show.”
Is it? Since it’s in the middle of the Sports Festival, is it a show after all? It’s also cheering, so could it be called a cheer show?
But bringing an idol cheer stick seems rather oddly misplaced.
If that were the case, I might understand a bit. For example, there’s often a trope about ‘the idol of the school’ that pops up around this time. Somehow there’s a fan club behind a normal student, and there are those who stalk them around like they’re idols.
If it’s an exaggerated work, there might even be scenes where they’re cheering with cheer sticks—but—
“No.”
I cut her off.
“Cheering is something the spectators receive.”
That’s right. That’s the essence of cheering.
I almost got confused thanks to Kagami.
“But, isn’t this practically our daughter’s last chance to participate in the Sports Festival? Once she’s an exam student, she’ll just come to relax.”
Where did she find that out?
Well, it’s not like Kagami doesn’t use the internet. In fact, she recently got a laptop at home. It was getting quite inconvenient without at least one computer to do this and that.
Isn’t it 2005 now? It was a time when the internet was rapidly evolving. Although it still had a long way to catch up to the era I lived in, almost all the basic forms of internet services were coming out around this time.
If she learned this information through the internet without properly attending school, it didn’t seem too strange for such a reaction.
But still, isn’t it nice that Kagami hasn’t been reading light novels or academic manga to gather knowledge about school?
I let out a small sigh and said,
“…I guess I can let you keep that ribbon on your head.”
It would be too cruel to take that away. Kagami must be looking forward to this in her own way. I bet the kids would think of it as a ‘quirky mom’ anyway.
“Oh, really?”
At my words, Kagami beamed and set down her cheer stick right away.
… What is this?
Why do I feel like I’ve been tricked?
“What sport does our Koko like the most?”
Kagami suddenly turned to Koko, as if wishing for me to not realize something.
“Uwah?”
Koko, who was doodling something with colored pencils on a sketchbook, tilted her head up, puzzled.
“Wait a minute.”
I called out to Kagami.
“Did you just deliberately throw something absurd to trick me into allowing something else?”
“Huh? That wouldn’t happen.”
Kagami exhibited her old habit of ‘hiding emotions with a smile’ without any hesitation.
And before I could retort again, she simultaneously pulled Koko and me into a big hug.
Since she dragged us over the table, the position was a bit uncomfortable, but it was a fact that being hugged made it awkward for me to say anything.
…Well, what can I do?
I can’t exactly go saying not to do that now.
Kagami does have a point.
I’ll be a third-year next year. Koko will be as well. Unless something totally unexpected happens and we end up repeating a year, this is most likely the last Sports Festival we’d earnestly partake in.
So, I guess it’s all right to go a little overboard this one time.
*
“No way.”
“Huh?”
But that thought was abruptly blocked by Kagami’s stiff expression.
“What do you mean, ‘no way?’”
Pointing at my belly with a frown, she exclaimed.
“That outfit shows your belly button!”
“……..”
I took a moment to seriously ponder how to respond to that remark.
“So… you’re saying it’s forbidden because of this outfit, right?”
Caught off guard, I asked that, and Kagami gave me an extremely resolute expression.
“Yes, that’s right.”
I contemplated for about 15 seconds, trying to figure out what kind of response I should give her.
“It’s just a normal cheer outfit, isn’t it?”
Kagami slightly opened her mouth in response to my words.
“I’ve seen that kind of outfit where I used to work!”
“No, I mean, sure there are people with fetishes for that stuff.”
The place where Kagami worked was a bar; after all, it’s not the place where such things go down. Although I can’t say for certain what happened behind the scenes after all that.
“Oh, but was there really someone wearing that kind of outfit there?”
“…Well, there were various outfits prepared. If a customer wanted to, there were people who’d wear them.”
I stood there for a moment, blankly.
“I mean, it was okay when I wore a maid outfit. In fact, they said it was cute.”
And this outfit is just a standard cheerleader’s outfit anyway. The mistake lies with whoever was wearing this for business.
If another cheerleader heard this conversation, they might have held their necks and fainted. They’re probably people who exercise fiercely and have remarkably clean cardiovascular health.
“Well, that’s because it was different from the outfit worn at my previous job.”
Kagami countered my statement like that.
“……..”
Shall I say it’s consistent?
I quietly pondered before responding.
“But this is an outfit that other kids also wear.”
Last year, I was too shy to wear this and ended up wearing a school uniform instead, but this time it’s different.
I’ve adapted to this body quite a lot, and over the past year, I’ve worn all sorts of clothes.
Honestly, compared to the swimsuit that Yuka picked for me, this outfit isn’t particularly revealing.
Sure, as Kagami said, my belly button is exposed, but I can endure that much by now.
It’s not something I wear on a regular basis; it’s just an outfit for cheering one time.
“Even if the other kids are wearing it!”
“And I’ve got shorts under it. Look.”
When I lifted my skirt to show her, Kagami’s face turned pale.
“A girl shouldn’t do that!”
And she quickly swatted my arm away.
…….
Uh, well, I get that, but isn’t it fine since I’m your mom? If it was just underwear, Kagami might have pondered over it a bit, but this is just short pants.
“No matter what, it’s not allowed!”
“Then how did you endure it when I wore a swimsuit?”
That time, I was wearing a bikini when I went out with Yuka. Of course, it wasn’t something that was overly revealing, with lace all over it and so on.
“You’re going to dance wearing that in front of other people? In front of boys as well.”
Is it a matter of modesty?
I briefly stared blankly at the ceiling, seriously contemplating that.
As Kagami said, this Sports Festival might just be the last one for me.
I don’t know if there will be something similar at university or not, but even if there is, I wonder if I would enjoy it like this again. By that time, I’ll be an adult, so it would be a bit awkward for Kagami to come cheer me on.
So, I want to enjoy this properly since I’m doing it anyway.
After a moment of thought, I just flopped down on the floor.
“Koto Ne?”
Kagami looked a bit flustered at my sudden action.
This had never happened before.
“…I’m not getting up until you give me permission.”
I said this with a serious expression.
“Koto Ne?”
Kagami looked even more confused and restless than before.
Just like how she was when Koko and I were heading to Hawaii.
“Uwah?”
Seeing me like this, Koko tilted her head.
“Should Koko lay down too?”
“Koto Ne!?”
This was enough to have Kagami truly panic over me rebelling like this.
In the end, after about five minutes of tussling, the daughter emerged victorious in the battle between mother and daughter.
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