Holiday Special – Christmas Cake
Holiday Special – Christmas Cake
This is a story of a time yet to come, and a time that may not come to pass.
December 24th, 2024. Christmas Eve.
Gen 1 of Project MirAIs had finished their debut. Comiket finished with a bang. And the Winter Tokyo Electronics Expo went off without a hitch.
For once in John’s life, there was a long stretch of time where no drama occurred. No chaotic events. No sadistic being behind an extradimensional meta wall that he couldn’t reach directing the events happening on Earth.
Nope. It was just calm, warm, and happy times.
So he should have expected something like this would happen.
“Get out of my way, asshole!”
“That’s my Christmas cake! I’m not missing my chance!”
“No way! I’ve been standing here since the opening for a chance to get my cake!”
John let out a wry smile and watched as the crowd fought over the last few tickets for the raffle to claim one of the packaged cakes stacked up in the corner of his café. Well, the borrowed café. For this special holiday occasion, Myth Incorporated had set up a special Project MirAIs pop-up shop in an Akihabara cafe.
“Um… Is it fine like this, Mister Smith?” A hesitant female voice called out from the side.
John glanced over to see Yuri standing there, wearing a crimson Christmas outfit and a white apron.
Yuri eyed the crowd and said, “I didn’t think people would want the cakes that badly…”
John sighed. “Yeah… let’s chalk that up to our miscalculation.”
Since Yuri’s whole streaming setup was about cooking, she thought it was a good idea to do a cooking stream where she baked some themed cakes for each girl in Project MirAIs.
A white chocolate, red velvet cake for Alfi. A blueberry cotton candy and vanilla cake for Aoko. A orange dream cake for Hana.
Then for her genmates, a dark chocolate red velvet cake for Suzume’s character. A spicy dark chocolate surprise cake for Chihiro’s character. A traditional buttercream cake for Shu’s character… And then for Yuri’s character, a butterscotch cake.
Each of them were also decorated with prints of each girl and came with a custom figurine painted by Chihiro.
In short, a super limited deluxe collectible good.
Since Yuri thought it was a waste to just leave the cakes, she offered to sell it to viewers. And John set up a small pop-up shop to make that possible.
The process was simple. People would line up, buy a raffle ticket, and then wait for the winners to be announced.
Except there were more people than expected and there were only about five raffle tickets left to buy.
Which meant that people were getting rowdy.
Yuri fiddled with the hem of her apron and said, “Should we kick them out?”
“You see, that’d be a good idea. But I’ve got a feeling they’d just start fighting among themselves and try to mug people to get that raffle ticket.”
“R-Really?”
John nodded. “You really underestimate your charm, Yuri. And your cooking. Especially with how cutesy you decorated all the cakes.”
Yuri blushed. “…Thank you.”
“Thank me after we sort out this mess…”
Right now, Yuri was currently invisible courtesy of special tech from Titor. And for good measure, John had up some concealing formations as well, so there wasn’t a problem with her getting revealed.
But that was just right now. In a few moments after the raffle tickets got passed out, Yuri would step out to announce the winners by changing that special tech from turning her invisible to turning her into her digital avatar.
After all, it would be extra special for Yuri to announce and congratulate the winners in character. And they had set up an entire AR/VR hybrid setup to make that happen.
The problem came with the process leading up to her announcing the winners.
At this point, it was likely that cops would get called and they’d be forced to take the shop down. Not to mention that it would get bad press and everything…
“Something the matter, Onii-chan~?”
“Gah?!” John flinched and spun around.
Yuri gasped as well and then glared at the intruder. “Miss Jenny! Stop doing that! …And what the hell are you wearing?!”
Jenny giggled and then crossed her arms under her chest, emphasizing a deep valley barely contained in a tight crimson Santa outfit. “Oh, just an in-season holiday outfit. Do you like it? I’ve got one your size too, Miss Musashi.”
Yuri blushed and said, “A-As if I would want to wear something that lewd!” Her eyes traveled down Jenny’s body before snapping back up. “A-Are you even wearing anything down there?!”
“Well~”
John rubbed his face and said, “Why are you like this?”
“Why won’t you have fun with me, Onii-chan? Yue said it was okay, you know? We can even have a ménage a trois if you want.”
“First of all, that’s weird. Stop. Second of all, Yue’s pregnant and that’s dangerous. Third of all… Do you have *any* shame?”
“I dunno? Did you have any when you were swinging your hips around while-“
“H-Hey!” John blushed and looked at Yuri. “I-Ignore her. Jenny’s saying crazy stuff as always.”
Yuri gave John a blank stare and then slowly took a step back.
“Hey! Come on! You know I’m not like that!”
“…All I know is that you have a really weird past, Mister John. And the more I hear about it, the more I’m worried whether it’s safe for me to be here…”
John turned to glare at Jenny.
Jenny giggled.
Seeing that, Yuri laughed and said, “I’m just kidding, Mister John.” She smiled and said, “I know how you are. Well, now at least.”
“Thank you, Yuri. Now…” John glared at Jenny and said, “What the hell are you even doing here? And where have you been for the past two weeks?”
“Earning money to support the girls, obviously! Pin ups pay for a lot, you know? And I’ve got a lot of fans that like seeing close ups. And did you know that if you sell some audio sucking a popsicle-“
“STOP.”
Jenny giggled and said, “Fine, fine. Anyway… I’m here for a distraction!”
“What?”
Jenny pointed at the crowd and said, “It looks like you need some help reeling them in, so here I am! Your wish come true! A Christmas miracle in the flesh!”
“…Are you *sure* you haven’t lost a few marbles from one of Titor’s experiments?”
“Nope~!”
“…Nope as in you aren’t sure, or nope as in-“
“Nope! Anyway, I’m off! Wish me luck, Onii~chan!”
“Stop calling me that!”
Jenny giggled and then walked out of the cafe towards the crowd.
Yuri turned to look at John and said, “She’s… not really your sister, is she?”
“That would be weird.”
“…That’s not an answer?”
“…It’s complicated.”
Yuri watch Jenny walk around and play the crowd like a fiddle before dispersing them with a few air kisses and suggestive gestures. After that, she turned to John and said, “Miss Jenny wouldn’t happen to get stuck in a lot of places around you and ask for help, would she?”
“Huh?” John blinked and said, “Why would she do that?”
Yuri’s face turned red and she quickly said, “N-No reason!”
“…Is that some sort of fe-“
“I’m back~!” Jenny opened the door and flashed a peace sign. “After some kisses and autographs, I cleared out the stragglers! Now we’ve just got to do the raffle… Hm?” Jenny paused and then stared at Yuri’s face. After that, she let out a sly smile and quickly sidled up to her. “My, my~ Is Miss Musashi getting shy?”
“”Stop that!””
Both John and Yuri yelled at the same time.
Jenny giggled and said, “Fine, fine~ I’ll just head back and stream some more. I’ve got a bunch of lonely fans who need support on this holiday season. Can’t keep them waiting too long! Ah.” She turned to John. “But don’t forget to come home tonight! Yue said she baked you a special Christmas cake. And she got you a secret present too, so don’t forget!”
“Huh?” John blinked and then he let out a warm smile after processing what Jenny said. “Yue cooked something for me? And got me a present too?”
“Mmhm! So don’t forget~! Kay, bye!” Jenny waved and then walked out of the shop. A bell chimed, signaling her departure. As the door swung shut, her voice rang out. “Good luck, everyone!”
“UWOOOOOOOOO!”
John frowned. “How does she do that? I don’t think I ever made a group of guys devolve into monkeys just by-” John paused. “Wait…”
“M-Mister John?”
John cleared his throat. “Never mind. Anyway, onto the raffle.” He looked towards Yuri. “You ready?”
Yuri nodded and then pressed a button on her outfit. A faint silver light shimmered and then she changed. Her features shifted just a bit, and when she spoke…
“H-How is it? Am I still me, or…?”
John stared at Yuri and then whistled. “Alright. Maybe I should stop making fun of Titor for being a mad scientist.”
That crazy sunnuvabeach really did it.
It wasn’t through a magical formation or some supernatural illusion. Instead, the silver disc refracted light in a calculated trajectory to reflect a different image than what was present. Not only that, but it pitched the sound waves a bit too, so Yuri’s voice wasn’t recognizable. Well, not as her own, but definitely as Miss Musashi’s.
Silver hair and a long ponytail. Sparkling rainbow eyes… and a lovely Christmas suit with a modest blouse and skirt.
A cute Anime girl, brought to life in the perfect blend of 3D and 2D.
“S-So did it work?” Yuri looked nervous and brushed her hands on her skirt. “I-I won’t get found out like this, will I?”
“Don’t worry about it.” John smiled and said, “Everything will be fine. Are you ready?”
Yuri smiled. “I am now.”
“Good. Then…” John grabbed a stocking from the floor, filled with all the raffle ticket numbers and handed it to Yuri. “There you go. Now… let’s go congratulate the winners and pass out their prizes.”
—–AI|IA—–
A long evening. An in-person holiday livestream straight from the pop-up cafe. Laughter, cheers…
After all of that, John escorted Yuri back to her house and then headed back to his room in the Myth Inc. HQ.
When he entered the elevator and headed down to his room, he noticed that the air was dense. A thick spiritual formation was blocking anybody from seeing what was happening down there.
John chuckled. “Seems like my wifey’s a bit embarrassed.”
He didn’t blame her. After all, if it was a special surprise, then she wouldn’t want anyone to spoil it. And if it was an intimate surprise… Well, considering that Alphy, Betty, and Meggie were in the building and that John’s sisters were nearby, it was only natural.
So when John stepped out of the elevator, he was expecting a heartwarming welcome. Either that, or an intimate surprise.
And what he got…
Yue blushed, tugging at the crimson ribbons wrapping her bare body. After that, she shyly looked up at John and said, “M-Merry Christmas, Husband.”
“That’s right! Merry Christmas, Onii-chan!” Jenny hugged Yue and cupped her chest. After that, she grinned and said, “Now… Would you like vanilla? Butterscotch? …Or both?”
John took a step back. “H-Hold on a minute-“
“Husband?” Yue looked up at John with watery eyes. “…You don’t want to?”
John froze and then slowly turned up to look at the sky. “You motherfu-“
—–AI|IA—–
John enjoyed a very special Christmas Cake that day.
And there was lots of cream.
Lots.