Christmas arrived once more.
Unlike the past holidays spent working in the kitchen, Tokai Natural had taken leave for today.
In the morning, she spent some rare time playing with Mochizuki—though it wasn't long before Mochizuki went looking for Symboli Speed instead.
Well, of course. After all, compared to someone like Tokai Natural who was always busy with work, it was natural for Mochizuki to feel closer to Symboli Speed.
Or at least, that's what Tokai Natural told herself for comfort.
But as a mother, watching her own daughter prefer another's company…
No matter how she thought about it, it still hurt a bit.
Sighing softly, Tokai Natural stood up.
They'd decided days ago to have sushi for dinner.
Sushi was one of those dishes—simple in theory, complicated in practice.
Sure, shaping it was easy, but…
She glanced once more at Mochizuki happily playing with Symboli Speed, then headed toward the kitchen.
Trial and error would take time.
And only once Tokai Natural entered the kitchen did Symboli Speed, who had been keeping an eye on her the whole time, look down at Mochizuki in her arms.
"Don't tell Mama, okay~?"
"Mm!"
Satisfied with Mochizuki's reply, Symboli Speed set her down gently and quickly went upstairs, returning moments later carrying a beautifully wrapped gift box.
She hurried downstairs with the present, carefully placing it among the pile of empty decorative boxes beneath their fake Christmas tree, hiding it from immediate notice.
Having done this, Symboli Speed quietly returned to Mochizuki's side. "Remember, don't tell Mama~"
"Okay!"
Bits of their whispering reached Tokai Natural's ears.
Her hearing was excellent, but Symboli Speed's voice had been so quiet that she only clearly heard Mochizuki's brief replies.
Only hearing Mochizuki's responses made Natural even more curious.
She couldn't guess what Symboli Speed had done.
But guessing wouldn't help anything anyway.
Tokai Natural still had plenty of other tasks to focus on.
Nearly two hours—and half a pot of rice's worth of failed attempts—later, Tokai Natural finally managed to grasp the technique.
Not that her cooking skills were poor. The difficulty came from a traditional belief: women's hands tended to be colder than men's, making it trickier for them to shape sushi properly for optimal taste.
This forced Tokai Natural to put in extra effort.
Unlike other dishes, sushi had this awkwardly precise temperature issue—nothing like just managing heat levels for cooking.
Thankfully, she finished successfully just in time.
"Symboli Speed!"
"Hm?"
"Help Mochizuki wash her hands, then come carry the sushi out!" Tokai Natural shouted, eyeing the vinegar rice. After her repeated attempts, about half remained—enough to feed three people comfortably.
She moved on to slicing tuna…
When Symboli Speed entered the kitchen again, Tokai Natural had already prepared the sushi on plates.
Mostly seafood sushi—but a few pieces with cooked ingredients were also included.
Picking up a piece topped with lightly seared fish, Symboli Speed turned curiously toward Tokai Natural.
"What's this?"
"Quick-seared salmon sushi. It's for Mochizuki; she's still too young to have much raw food." Placing another finished piece on the plate, Tokai Natural glanced up. "The other types are for you and me. Go ahead and take it out."
"…Alright."
Looking at the various sushi types on the plate, Symboli Speed popped the quick-seared salmon piece into her mouth before carrying the tray out.
Once the last plate was done, Tokai Natural quickly moved on to preparing the side dishes.
Japanese cuisine was more than just sushi—there were things like tempura or katsudon. With limited ingredients, however, she'd settled on tempura alone.
When Tokai Natural finally carried the tempura out, she saw Symboli Speed, who hadn't touched her food yet, and Mochizuki, already eating hungrily.
Observing their state, she placed the tempura onto the table. "Were you waiting for me?"
"Yeah."
Symboli Speed nodded but still didn't eat, just staring at Tokai Natural instead.
"W-what's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Tokai Natural felt uneasy under Symboli Speed's gaze.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about something else."
Symboli Speed finally tore her eyes away from Tokai Natural's ears and gently grabbed Mochizuki's hand. "Mochizuki, you can't eat that~ You're still little, so have this instead."
She swapped Mochizuki's tuna sushi with tamagoyaki sushi, then finally picked up a piece of tempura with her chopsticks. "Tempura, huh… it's really been a while."
Taking a bite, Symboli Speed glanced at Tokai Natural. "Vegetable tempura…"
"Yes, just something simple. Foods with higher calories suit this climate better anyway."
After taking a bite of sushi herself, Tokai Natural continued, "But ingredients around here are limited. Making other dishes is too troublesome."
"Oh, there's still Chikuzen-ni coming, so don't eat too much."
Symboli Speed nodded in understanding. "Right. After dinner, I also have something to give you."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Not telling~"
Symboli Speed provided no further details, turning her attention back to correcting Mochizuki, who was reaching for the raw fish again.
Seeing Symboli Speed's refusal to say more, Tokai Natural didn't pursue further and merely replied softly, "Alright, I'm looking forward to it."
After finishing dinner, Tokai Natural cleared away the dishes. As she emerged from the kitchen, she found Symboli Speed standing near the kitchen entrance, hiding both hands behind her back.
Her stance immediately reminded Natural of their earlier conversation.
"What is it~?"
Asking the question she hadn't gotten answered earlier, Tokai Natural watched Symboli Speed curiously.
"A Christmas present!"
"A Christmas present!"
The voices of an elderly woman and a small child weren't exactly synchronized, but Symboli Speed placing the beautifully wrapped box in front of her overshadowed any clumsiness.
"What's this?" Tokai Natural repeated, now looking directly at Symboli Speed.
Unlike earlier, Symboli Speed actually answered this time. "It's earrings. The ones you're wearing have gotten damaged, right?"
"Huh? Damaged?"
"You never noticed?"
"I'm usually pretty busy, and I don't take my earrings off often, so I suppose it'd be hard to notice?"
"That's true… Anyway, try these on first."
"…Mm. Thank you."