Volume 2 Chapter 3

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Normally, this is the part where we should immediately proceed with the story

As was said in the last chapter, the next one we should see Ayako-san’s boss, Yumemi Oinomori-san.

However.

There was another story that I wanted to tell before the “Oinomori-san’s intrusion” episode.

Even if I don’t follow the chronological order of the story, there was a memory I wanted to tell.

The Ayako-san’s Santa bikini memory.

Last chapter, I mentioned her ‘cosplay’ outfit… but I don’t believe it was talked about enough and/or the information was all over the place.

And as things were left, you could think that she was just a pervert that dressed up with a pretty perverted outfit.

But no. It’s not like that.

There was a reason for Ayako-san to dress up with that shameful clothing.

And a very her-like reason too.

That’s why, I’d like to talk about that. To clarify, I don’t mind being misinterpreted, but I can’t bear Ayako-san being misinterpreted.

So, please forgive me for abruptly going back to the past.

And if you don’t mind… Stay with me for this short tale.

It happened 10 years ago.

When I was still a kid.

In the middle of December…

When I got home from school, I found Ayako-san in the parking of the house next door.

She also noticed me, smiled and greeted me kindly.

“Welcome, Takkun.”

“I’m back, Ayako mama.”

I couldn’t help sounding excited. What a wonderful day to casually meet up like this!

I… liked Ayako mama.

It was difficult for me as an elementary schooler to explain it well… but I liked her as a woman.

I fell in love with her the first time I met her… And when we took a bath together, I found out about her weakness and selflessness, and fell in love even more.

Specifically, I started to think that I wanted to date and marry her.

Of course, I wasn’t planning to date her right now.

If a kid like me said that to an adult woman, they would likely not be taken seriously, and I was afraid that would only cause unnecessary problems.

But some day…

“Ayako mama, are you going to pick up Miu-chan?”

“No, I was thinking about going shopping before picking her up…” And then, after thinking a bit, she asked. “Hey, Takkun, do you have plans for today?”

“Nope, nothing…”

“I see. In that case, would you like to go shopping with me?

There were no reasons to reject her offer, so I accepted.

After getting my mother’s permission, I got in Ayako mama’s car.

“I was thinking about buying a Christmas gift for Miu today.” Said Ayako mama in the driver’s seat while driving through the road

“Whoa, it’s almost Christmas already!”

“It’s still a bit soon, but if I don’t buy it now, the toy she wants may run out of stock. And after buying it, I have to pretend to be Santa— Ah. B-By the way, Takkun.” Worried, she asked. “Takkun… Do you believe in Santa?”

“Eh…? I-I don’t think he’s real.”

The Aterazawa family never bothered with that, so I’ve never believed in Santa.

My parents usually just bought me whatever I wanted for Christmas, so I never experienced what waking up in the morning to find gifts next to the bed was.

“I see… Thank goodness. If you had believed in Santa, I could have almost destroyed your dreams.” Ayako-san sighed in relief.

“I don’t believe in him, but Miu-chan might. She’s only 5 after all.”

“That’s right! Lately, she seems to be practicing Christmas songs in kindergarten and she’s also practicing them at home… She’s so cute! She’s expecting a gift from Santa, so I thought that I should do my best as a mother.”

“You’re kind, Ayako mama.”

“There’s nothing to praise me for, this is something normal… Ah, Takkun, please don’t tell Miu about today, got it?”

“Yes, got it.”

“Thanks. This will be our little secret.”

When the car stopped at a red light, Ayako mama stretched her hand toward me.

And raised her pinky.

“Okay, then it’s a promise.”

“…”

Hmm… Ayako mama keeps trying me like a kindergarten kid, even though I’m already 10.

With mixed feelings, I raised my own and did the pinky promise. Ayako mama’s hand felt cold, but also so soft that it made my heart beat faster.

When the light changed to green, the car started once more.

“Hey, Ayako mama, have you thought about what you’re going to buy?”

“Of course!” She nodded vigorously in response to my question. “For Christmas… I’ll buy Miu a Transformation Item from Love Kaiser!”

Her eyes shone brightly.

At the biggest toy store in the city.

“I’m happy you came with me here, Takkun. I’m still not used to being in these places by myself.” Ayako mama smiled awkwardly when we got out of the car in the parking lot.

Apparently, that was the reason she had invited me.

It seemed like it was pretty difficult for her, who had just become Miu’s mother this year, to buy toys at a store full of families by herself.

“Wow… There’s so many people here.”

“It’s because of the season.”

The shop was surrounded by a festive air, and even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were a lot of families here.

And while I was looking at the store full of people…

“Takkun, come here.” Ayako mama extended her hand toward me.

“Eh…?”

“Let’s hold hands. I don’t want you getting lost.”

“…I-It’s alright… There’s no need to.”

“Don’t be shy. It will be a problem if you get lost. Come, let’s go.”

I was embarrassed and wanted to say no, but my opinion was ignored, and Ayako mama took my hand forcibly.

Uwaaaaahh!!

We’re… holding hands…

“Come on, Takkun, let’s get going.”

“Y-Yes.”

Unlike me, whose heart was racing, Ayako mama was completely at ease.

She didn’t seem to mind holding hands with me at all.

I felt hollow and frustrated… A complicated feeling…

But it was understandable… For Ayako mama, I was just the neighbor’s kid, someone akin to a son.

“…By the way, Takkun.” She asked, holding my hand while we walked toward the toy’s area. “Do you… watch Love Kaiser?”

There was anxiety and hesitation in her voice.

“I don’t watch it… I’m a boy.”

I actually didn’t watch it, and besides, I would be embarrassed if people thought I watched anime for girls even though I was a boy, that’s why I said that.

However, Ayako mama replied with:

“I-I see…”

With a clearly dejected face.

E-Eh?

Did I do something wrong?

Anxious, I tried to fix the mood.

“U-Uhm… But Love Kaiser seems to be really popular right now.”

“That’s right! It’s really popular right now!” Ayako mama’s eyes lit up. “The season on TV right now, ‘Love Kaiser Joker,’ is really amazing! The revolutionary and defiant style in which the 52 Love Kaisers have to fight in until just one of them remains is receiving a lot of attention from people around the industry! There’s a lot of complaints about the content of the anime… But it isn’t just about a cruel story, there’s a deep human drama—”

“…”

When I felt overwhelmed by her passionate babble, Ayako mama looked at me as if she had suddenly come to.

“Uhm… T-That’s what the people watching the anime say. It’s not what I think, but the people in general…”

“…Ayako mama, do you like Love Kaiser?”

“Ehh?! W-What are you saying now, Takkun?! I’m an adult! Why would I want to sit down and watch anime for girls?! I watch it only because of Miu! Yes! Just for Miu! Haah, I really want to sleep until late at night on Sundays, but Miu always wakes me up. It’s not easy being a mother.”

“I-I see…”

I felt that somehow, I shouldn’t dig deeper into this, so I just kept nodding while reading the mood.

We kept walking together and got to the girls’ toys section.

“Wow, there’s so many Love Kaiser toys.”

There were many colorful transformation toys lined up in the shelves.

“Ayako mama, did you already think about which one you wanted to buy?”

“…After thinking about it for a while, I narrowed it down to two choices.” She said, with a pained look. Judging by her expression, I could notice how difficult it was to choose.

“One is Love Kaiser Speed’s transformation item, the transformation wand ‘Trepid Wand.’ ‘Speed,’ which is the transformation of Chie Itatori, is one of the main Kaisers and Miu’s favorite character. She has been saying how much she wants this toy.”

“H-Huh.”

“The other one is Love Kaiser Solitaire’s transformation item, the transformation revolver ‘Trepid Magnum.’ ‘Solitaire,’ which is the transformation of Hiyumi Kuinajima, is a secondary Kaiser… But she’s such a lovely character! Her beauty can’t be expressed with words! You have to watch it by yourself! That’s all I can say.”

“Y-Yes…”

What do I do?

I don’t understand a single word she’s saying.

Even if she tells me their names…

“Hey, Takkun, which one do you think is better?”

“Uhm… I guess the one that Miu-chan likes the most.”

“…Well, I guess. It is logical. But I think that we have to think about the long term with toys. Certainly, ‘speed’ is a natural airhead, lively and cute, and I can understand why Miu likes her so much… But I feel like ‘Solitaire’ will survive until the show’s end. In that case, don’t you think it’s better to think about it in the long term?”

“Uh… But it’s the gift Miu-chan wants, it’s better to give her the one she wants…”

“…Well, yes. You’re right. You’re not wrong. I wonder if it’s alright for a mother to simply give their kids what they ‘want.’ Is that really parental love? If you really care about your kids, shouldn’t you give them something that is useful to them in the future?”

“…”

“Miu is still young and doesn’t get Hiyumin’s dark appeal! Ah, Hiyumin is Hiyumi Kuinajima’s nickname on the internet. Hiyumin is very popular among adults, but not kids… And lately… She hasn’t showed up a lot. I can’t go into detail because it would be a spoiler… but due to a great trauma, she had to leave the battlefield… But I’m completely sure she’ll be back! After some time, she’ll return to the battlefield with some incredible new powers, then Miu will surely fall in love with Hiyumin! That’s why, wouldn’t it be better to buy Hiyumin’s transformation item expecting that to happen? You also think so, don’t you?”

“…Ah… Yes…?” I said.

I didn’t even get half of what she was saying, but since she asked for my consent, all I could reply with was that.

“If that’s what you think it’s best, Ayako mama, then do that.”

“Aaaahh, Takkun, don’t look at me with that considerate smile! Stop, I’m begging you… Don’t look at me as if I were some sort of annoying creature… Don’t put that ‘Don’t ask others about what they think when you already made up your mind’ face…!

I seriously doubted I had such a specific looking face.

Although, I guess she did look a bit mad.

I see. Until now, I knew that ‘considerate smiles’ existed, but I didn’t know what they were exactly… So that smile I was making right now was what adults called a ‘considerate smile.’

“U-Uuh… I know, I get it. It’s just as you say, Takkun. This is Miu’s Christmas gift… so it’s better to get her what she wants…” She said, as if trying to convince herself, and took the Love Kaiser Speed’s Transformation Toy from the shelf with a shaky hand.

But on the way to the checkout, she turned around over and over, looking at the Love Kaiser Solitaire’s Transformation Toy seeming to be in pain.

After paying at the checkout, we went to get the toy wrapped as a gift.

And just when we were about to exit the store…

“H-Hey, Takkun.” Said Ayako mama. “Don’t you need to go to the bathroom?”

“No, I’m good.”

“You don’t? But, well… Maybe you should go… just in case.”

“Eh… But…”

“Just in case. You never know, sometimes you don’t need to go, but when you go, you may unexpectedly need to.”

“…T-Then I’ll go.”

For some reason, Ayako mama insisted on me going to the bathroom.

I nodded and headed to the bathroom… But stopped halfway through.

Ayako mama… I wonder what all of this is about. She insisted a lot on me going to the bathroom, but was she thinking about doing something on her own?

I went back and hid behind a shelf and observed the situation…

“…”

What I saw left me speechless.

Ayako mama was standing in front of the checkout.

And in her hands… was the toy she had decided not to buy after hesitating for a while, Love Kaiser Solitaire’s Transformation Revolver.

I… immediately understood what was happening.

Ayako mama really wanted to buy it.

Probably… not as a gift for Miu-chan, but rather one for herself.

I see.

Even adults like anime transformation toys.

If she wanted it so much, she could have been honest and bought it, but I wonder if it was difficult to buy it in front of me.

I guess it’s not easy being an adult.

“Funfu~n… Ah… Takkun…”

“Sorry for the wait.”

While Ayako mama happily walked after finishing her purchase, I walked toward her pretending to return from the bathroom.

“Ah… T-This is…”

I took a look at the new toy for a moment and then…

“You see, uhm… I-I won it.” Said Ayako mama.

With a very awkward smile.

“Y-You won it?”

“Yes! I won it! It seems that we were the client number 10,000 of this store! So they said they were going to give me a toy of my choosing… And since I didn’t really have anything I wanted, I asked for whatever came to mind. I really didn’t care about which toy it was!”

“…”

W-What a lie…!

The truth is, you bought it yourself, but you’re trying to cover it up with such a bold-faced lie. Don’t you have a better excuse for a kid?

I wanted to say a lot of things, but…

“I see, that’s great, Ayako mama.”

I didn’t deny what she said and pretended to believe her.

“Y-Yes… I was really lucky.”

Ayako mama gave a relieved smile.

Yes, this is fine. It’s better this way.

As long as Ayako mama is happy, that’s enough for me.

On the way back…

“Ayako mama, are you going to leave that Love Kaiser toy next to Miu-chan’s bed on Christmas Eve?”

“I’m going to do that exactly. And, I also have one more surprise in mind.”

“A surprise?”

“I’ve heard that the strategy to put a gift under the bed often fails. Sometimes kids wake up right as you leave the gifts there. That’s why… I’m taking a safe option.”

“A safe option?”

“When I put the gift there, I’ll be dressed as Santa. That way, even if Miu wakes up, she’ll think I’m Santa and I won’t destroy her dreams.”

“…I see. That’s a good idea.”

“Fufu, I know, right? In fact, I already bought the Santa outfit online. Oh, I know. I’ll try it out when we get back, so, could you tell me if I look like Santa?”

And so, after that exchange…

We came back and I entered her house.

I was sitting in the living room’s sofa, waiting for her to finish changing.

“T-Tak~kun…”

An embarrassed voice could be heard, and the living room’s door opened.

When I looked toward the voice, I was left dumbstruck.

What I saw there was… Ayako mama in a bikini with a Santa hat.

She was wearing the festive red and white colors. But for the most part, only skin could be seen. The outfit was too revealing. Her big breasts seemed like they wanted to go out for air and leave behind the red cloth at any moment.

“U-Uuuh… This is terrible…”

I was left speechless and Ayako mama timidly hid her face with her hands.

“Eh? Wha… Ahhhh?”

Why?

Why is she wearing a bikini in the middle of winter?

When did this place suddenly become the southern hemisphere?

“I was very careless. I looked up ‘Santa Outfit for Women’ online and bought it without checking it properly… and this is what was inside the package… What do I do now…? Ayako mama muttered, examining her own appearance with tearful eyes.

Every time she moved her body, her breasts and ass were accentuated, leaving me breathless. I knew I shouldn’t stare at her too much, but my eyes simply were glued to her.

Wow.

Incredible. Too incredible.

Ayako mama… has a beautiful figure.

And above all, very big breasts.

Really big.

And despite that, she has a very thin waist with no fat at all.

I had already seen her naked when we took a bath before… but in a certain way, her glamorous body enveloped in a red bikini felt more erotic than no clothes.

“I tried it just in case… but as I thought, I can’t use this. It feels cold, even at home… and also… it feels a bit indecent.”

“Y-You look good in it, Ayako mama.”

“…Ahaha… Thank you, Takkun.” Ayako mama laughed weakly. “Haah… For now, I’ll just store this bikini and buy another outfit. If I buy it online, I may end up buying another bikini, so I’ll have to personally go to a store to buy it…”

“I-I don’t think it’s necessary to do that much. You don’t even know if Miu-chan will wake up at night.”

“Hm~… No, I have to do it.” She nodded strongly after thinking about it a little.

And then, like a stubborn kid, she continued:

“I’ve already made up my mind to do everything possible to enjoy these kinds of events as much as possible.” Said Ayako mama.

With a strong will in her eyes and some fragility.

“I definitely won’t let Miu feel alone… Besides, I want to make everything my sister and brother in law wanted to do since it’s impossible for them to do now. That’s why it’s alright to exaggerate a little bit.”

“Ayako mama…”

Ah…

Ayako mama is truly incredible after all.

Even if she’s awkward at times, she’s kinder than anyone and loves Miu-chan more than anyone.

“…Yes, that’s true, it’s fun to exaggerate.”

I smiled naturally. I felt that I could reaffirm why I liked her so much and my heart was full of warmth.

“I’ll also help you out as much as possible, so ask me whatever you need.”

“Thanks, Takkun. Then… This is my first request.” And then, she put her index finger to her mouth. “Don’t tell anyone about this outfit, alright?”

Her tone and gestures seemed to be joking, but her eyes were terribly serious.

“Y-Yes, understood.” I nodded strongly.

—End of the memories.

Here’s where my childhood story ends.

By the way… After this, Ayako-san bought a regular Santa outfit and managed to put the gift under Miu’s bed in the middle of the night. Miu was very happy with the toy… Although… Love Kaiser Speed suddenly died in the episode the week after Christmas… But overall, the Christmas that year was a great success.

But, there is a sort of post ending to this story.

Satisfied with the good result, Ayako-san liked it and continued doing cosplay every year after that… But after a certain year, she stopped doing it.

I think it was the Christmas when Miu was in her second year of middle school.

That year, they invited me and the three of us had a nice Christmas dinner together, but…

“By the way.”

Just after we finished eating a Christmas cake, Miu suddenly opened her mouth.

Her tone was extremely casual.

“Mom, could you stop dressing up as Santa and putting gifts next to my bed from this year onwards?”

“…Eh?” Ayako-san froze on the spot and was left with an astonished expression.

Of course, she was planning to do it this year too and had already told me about her plans beforehand… But Miu’s words fell on her like a bucket of cold water.

“…W-What are you saying, Miu? Me dressing up as Santa…? W-What are you talking about? Santa brings you gifts because you’re a good girl—”

“Argh, that’s enough. Drop the act, will ya?”

Stunned, Ayako-san desperately tried to explain herself with a smile on her face, but Miu simply shook her hand at her.

“I’m happy about your feelings, but I’m already in middle school. That’s enough, I’m tired of pretending I don’t know.”

“P-Pretending?! Eh… T-Then, Miu… Did you already know?”

“Of course I knew. Since I was five actually.”

“Since you were five…?!”

“It left a bad taste in my mouth because you were trying so hard for me, so I pretended to not have noticed until last year… But it didn’t seem like you were going to stop at all. I didn’t think you’d continue doing it even after I got to middle school.”

“…”

“It’s embarrassing for me to have a mother that dresses up like Santa every year. I could bear with it if you were in your twenties, but you’re almost in your thirties.”

“…”

“So, from this year onwards, don’t do it anymore. It will be easier for both of us. Yes, let’s do that. Aaahh, I finally said it. I finally said what I wanted to say since I was five.”

Miu looked totally refreshed after saying that… But Ayako-san on the other hand… was shaking with an indescribable expression of shame and desperation.

After that, she sulked and locked herself in her own room and it became a terrible Christmas. Although, it was now a good memory for me.

That’s the post ending to the Santa bikini story.

…I wonder why. I wanted to talk about how amazing Ayako-san was, but in the end, all I ended up doing was giving you more episodes of her clumsiness… Well, that’s alright.

This is the ending of my memory not related to the main story.

Thank you very much for reading.

And now, please keep enjoying the main story.

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