Alright. Thanks to that, the stigma of being a mama’s girl, taking my mom to the Christmas party with my friends, has somewhat weakened.
Of course, the kids understand too. It’s either that Kagami… likes me and Koko that much, or I should say cares for us a little too much—anyway, that’s just who she is.
If I were locked at home and couldn’t go outside, then naturally the kids around would worry about me, but Kagami was not that kind of mom.
She trusts me enough to hang out with my friends, and even if I say I’ll stay out overnight, as long as it’s not at a boy’s house, she’ll probably let me go without a fuss.
However, there is one place that Kagami herself feels ‘stuck’ in a bit.
For example, on holidays like Christmas. If it’s a universally celebrated holiday, she seems unwilling to let it pass by unremarked.
To make matters worse, this was the last Christmas we could fully enjoy as high school students.
Since Kagami missed the opportunity last Christmas, it seems like today, she desperately wants to spend moments with me and Koko, ultimately leading to her following along with us.
To be precise, it’s still Christmas Eve, but… in that sense, it felt a bit over the top for Kagami to tag along.
Since she’s here, isn’t it likely Kagami won’t go home? No matter how much she’s Yu’s aunt, now there’s someone else in Yamashita’s place, which feels rather brazen.
But even so, as mentioned earlier, Kagami’s visit was not entirely unexpected.
On the other hand, there was Fukuda—
“Hah… Dad…”
Deeply immersed in a moment of contemplation, Harumi let out a sigh while staring off into the distance.
“Is our mom okay?”
“I figured she would come along,” Yuka replied when I asked Harumi.
“That’s that, it’s Christmas after all.”
Seems like I’ve got a decent grip on what Kagami is like. Well, her behavior patterns are more predictable than I thought.
“There’s a big difference between people you expect to come and those you don’t,” Yuka said, causing Harumi’s cheeks to redden.
Mako patted her back from the side.
Earlier, when entering, Yamashita’s expression had been filled with annoyance, having to talk to Fukuda.
It seems she couldn’t refuse since Fukuda had accompanied us that day.
Moreover, it’s likely she actually has something to discuss.
If anything, it would make more sense to say Kagami just ‘decided to come along.’
“… It’s okay.”
I patted Harumi’s back.
Right. There’s no need to get embarrassed about it here. I don’t need to feel awkward too.
“Ah, I don’t care!”
Harumi shouted this and stomped off toward the room where we would be spending time together.
We chuckled softly and followed behind her.
*
“Wow!”
“Oooh!”
Inside, there was a Christmas tree just like last year.
Looks like they didn’t throw it away. I mean, it’s not like there’s no storage, so there’s no real reason to toss it. They can use it like this every year.
At first glance, Yamashita might seem a bit gruff, but in reality, he treasures his daughter Yu a lot.
Yu, resembling her father, also appears a bit stoic, but she’s actually quite thoughtful and caring toward others.
If not, why would she have worn the shrine maiden attire at that time?
“First, shall we decorate the tree!”
Harumi had felt a little disgruntled about her dad following her earlier, but now that she entered the room, it seemed her mood brightened up.
Well, it’s not like our parents would come into this room anyway.
Seeing Tsuneda and Koko being the first to rush to the tree at Harumi’s comment, I briefly pondered if Santa would also show up this year.
“… He’s here.”
Yu suddenly stated while observing my reaction from the side.
“Would it be this year too?”
“Yeah.”
When I asked back, Yu nodded.
I see. It’s here again this year.
Despite how I was grinning, Yu shot me a sharp glance, but it wasn’t that scary.
It’s not like we haven’t seen each other for a year. We are cousins after all. It’s too late to be scared now.
I grinned back at Yu and headed toward the Christmas tree, which was bustling with kids.
The kids were already hanging decorations on the tree.
I thought calling it an event schedule felt a bit too grand, but we had at least discussed it beforehand.
What the kids were doing was the first item on the schedule: decorating the tree.
They were wrapping tiny lights, attaching stars, unicorns, gingerbread men, and heaps of other festive decorations.
There were no rules or systems to the attached decorations. Each person just hung whatever they wanted. I helped with a few of them too.
Ultimately, when we stepped back, the Christmas tree was somewhat over-decorated.
“Wow…”
And our junior, Tsuneda, murmured upon seeing it.
Well, sometimes decoration looks prettier without any rules to it.
The tree actually looked quite lovely too.
We lined up beside each other and admired it for a moment.
After that—
—Honestly, we didn’t have anything specific planned after that.
Just like the last time, we had no particular plans.
We were just planning to loiter around the room, maybe watch a Christmas movie on the TV brought in by the uncle, eat, play, and during that, do a gift exchange afterwards.
That’s right. In fact, having friends gather for Christmas is just an extended overnight version.
But that added overnight part is incredibly enjoyable. Staying up past midnight isn’t really a big deal as an adult, but as a kid, it always feels somehow special.
“… Shall we eat some snacks?”
Yu suggested.
All the kids nodded and grabbed a pillow to sit down with.
*
“Ugh.”
I stepped outside briefly to use the bathroom and shivered.
Inside, everyone had already laid out their blankets and was wrapped up in them talking, but that wasn’t the case outside. Unfortunately, it seems this house doesn’t have any floor heating.
At least the hallway and room are a bit separated so it’s not too cold.
The room is spacious, but the bathroom isn’t in every room; it’s located a bit far away. Then again, with such a big house, it’s understandable.
After taking care of business in a hurried manner, I crouched down.
After crouching, I kinda thought maybe it wasn’t necessary, but what can I do? I was already hidden.
The reason I hid was that I saw two people outside.
Kagami and Fukuda.
“…”
What to do.
Should I crawl back to the room and pretend nothing happened?
Kagami was an important figure in the social scene, but she wasn’t exactly some extraordinary person with special abilities.
No, wait! She does have special abilities; she gave birth to me and Koko, and can perform rituals that the average person can’t.
What I mean is, she doesn’t have superpowers or anything. There’s no need for her to turn around and look or hear my cautious movements.
Fukuda seems good in a fight too, but doesn’t seem to be a superhero either.
So, I could probably get away like this.
Still, it feels nerve-wracking.
Of course it does.
Kagami is my mom, and Fukuda is my friend’s dad.
If one day Kagami suddenly brought home someone who would be my new dad, it might be a little embarrassing, but I might also misunderstand it.
Isn’t that just… a bit strange? Well, I guess Kagami is young enough that if she falls in love with someone, it can’t be helped.
And if that someone is Fukuda…
“… Hmm.”
It’s hard to tell if that’s better or not. In fact, it’s difficult to compare unless something like that really happens. I can’t even imagine it in the first place.
Hearing their footsteps, I began to crawl slowly along the floor after the sound.
“I’m glad to hear your relationship with my daughters is improving.”
“I’ve worked hard on that over the past year.”
Kagami was unexpectedly answering Fukuda’s words properly.
I remember that when Kagami used to work, Fukuda would visit often. Maybe that’s when they started to hit it off?
“I’m happy you’ve recognized my efforts, even if you could have refused them. Sometimes she even lets her guard down to understand me generously.”
Were those truly efforts that deserved that much praise?
I certainly didn’t expect her to be unaware of it.
“Is that so? I too… have some memories of having a tough time when Harumi was little.”
Suddenly stopping while walking forward, I thought, oh.
Is it okay to hear this?
Wouldn’t it be a bit problematic if Harumi’s past came up?
But thankfully, no further details were shared.
“… It just so happens that most of the kids around her have special family situations.”
“Ha ha, that’s true. It applies to Harumi too.”
“…”
Is that how it turned out?
Yes, it seems to be that way.
After a short laugh, the two continued walking slowly.
“Kagami.”
Fukuda spoke up hesitantly.
“Um, may I—”
“I’m truly sorry.”
But before Fukuda could finish, Kagami gently interjected.
“I’m not sure if I’m misunderstanding or overthinking, but I’m actually having very busy, enjoyable days just spending time with my daughters.”
“Is that so? That’s alright. It’s probably just what you were thinking, Kagami. I apologize for troubling you with unnecessary concerns.”
Their conversation was so straightforward.
Perhaps it’s due to being adult conversations, or maybe Fukuda had already anticipated the situation—
Thud.
Just as I was feeling a bit relieved, suddenly, I heard footsteps and became slightly flustered.
I looked up at where the sound came from.
There, stood a yakuza uncle.
For some reason, he turned pale upon seeing me—
Uh, wait a minute…!
“Ugh!?”
But before I could even raise a finger to my mouth in warning, the uncle screamed.
Right, of course.
If I’m crawling across the floor, my bangs and side hair will obviously fall over my face.
… Plus, right underneath the window is a shadow due to the light.
To that uncle, I must have looked like a crawling ghost.
“Oh?”
A voice came from outside the window.
Ah, this is it.
I’m doomed.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.