"Mama, are you going out this late at night?"
"Yes, Mama's just going to buy a few things, okay?"
Mrs. Yuigahama called back to her daughter inside the house while slipping on her shoes in the hallway.
As soon as she stepped outside, Mrs. Yuigahama hurried off toward the park, her steps quick, her breathing uneven. That mature, graceful face of hers was full of anxiety.
"Hikigaya-kun, Mama's coming to save you, Mama's coming to save you right now…"
Just a few minutes ago, her best friend, Sayuri, had sent her a video — that kind of video — of the two of them.
In the video, the poor boy was being mercilessly teased by Sayuri, constantly played with.
At this rate, this was really no good.
If it kept going like this, Hikigaya-kun would only get more addicted!
There'd be no turning back!
She had to save him!
"That shameless woman… not even sparing the kids… that shameless, shameless woman…"
The more Mrs. Yuigahama thought about it, the angrier she got. Within minutes, she reached the park, but just as she was about to step in, her eyes caught sight of a black business sedan parked at the entrance.
"…Huh? Isn't that…"
Something flickered in her heart, and Mrs. Yuigahama instinctively walked over to the black sedan.
"…Isn't this Sayuri's car?"
She immediately recognized it — this was definitely her best friend's car.
"They must still be inside the park!"
Taking a few deep breaths, Mrs. Yuigahama turned, ready to march in—
However.
Just then.
HOOONK!
A sudden, sharp honk pierced the night, making Mrs. Yuigahama jump in surprise.
"???"
Startled, she spun around — the sound had come from Sayuri's car.
There was someone inside?
The car's privacy-tinted windows made it hard to see through, especially at night, but Mrs. Yuigahama frowned slightly, her heart puzzled.
Then, the car began honking again, repeatedly, rhythmically, like someone was tapping out a tune.
That settled it — there was definitely someone inside!
"Sayuri! Sayuri!!"
Mrs. Yuigahama hurried to the driver's window and knocked firmly on the glass.
After a minute or so…
The window slowly rolled down.
But only a crack — just barely enough for Mrs. Yuigahama to glimpse part of Sayuri's face.
"Oh… A-Asuna? What are you doing here?"
Sayuri blinked in surprise, a faint smirk at her lips — strands of sticky, disheveled hair clung faintly near her mouth.
"Of course I'm here to find you!"
Mrs. Yuigahama huffed angrily. "You shameless old fox… you, you're at it again with Hikigaya-kun, aren't you?!"
"Heehee~ the video I just sent you… I'm sure you saw it, right~?"
Sayuri giggled proudly, eyes twinkling.
"Stop robbing the cradle!"
Mrs. Yuigahama stomped her foot. "He's still a child! How could you… how could you mess around with a child like that?!"
"Heehee~ but you know, Hikigaya-kun… in that department, he's no boy at all. He's a man among men~! Tsk… he's just so delicious…"
Seeing Sayuri's dreamy, intoxicated expression, Mrs. Yuigahama ground her teeth, too annoyed to keep arguing.
"Where's Hikigaya-kun right now? Is he still inside the park?!"
"Nana, why are you so desperate to find Hikigaya-kun?"
"That child's been tormented by you — I… I need to go comfort him!"
"Comfort him?"
Sayuri blinked, then teased slyly:
"Do you mean you're going to take off Hikigaya-kun's pants and gently comfort him?"
"!!"
Mrs. Yuigahama's face flushed bright red, and she snapped in embarrassment:
"D-don't lump me in with you! I… I'd never do anything so indecent to Hikigaya-kun! I… I just want to go comfort him, that's all, nothing more!"
She looked visibly distressed, her expression full of motherly worry.
"Aww, as expected of you — so gentle, Nana. I can tell… you really want to treat Hikigaya-kun like your own son, don't you?"
Sayuri smiled slyly.
"Son?! I—I just think of him as a child, that's all!"
Something flickered in Mrs. Yuigahama's eyes, and she quickly shook her head.
"Heehee~ well, I treat Hikigaya-kun as my man, you know~ he's just… so amazing… Hikigaya-kun — oh no, I mean, darling~"
"Y-you—!"
Mrs. Yuigahama clenched her fists, shaking with frustration.
"Shameless! From now on, I… I absolutely won't let you touch Hikigaya-kun again! And I won't let Hikigaya-kun go near you, either!"
"I look forward to seeing you try, Nana… huff… huff… ahh…"
Sayuri responded playfully, but suddenly, her charming face turned flushed red.
Mrs. Yuigahama, who had been ready to storm off, suddenly paused, frowning.
Something felt… very off.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Mrs. Yuigahama asked, concerned.
"A l-little… cough, cough…"
"…Huh? You caught a cold?"
"Yes… I think I might've caught a bit of a cold…"
"What?!"
Mrs. Yuigahama's expression changed slightly. "You—! Even though you're sick, you still went and messed around with Hikigaya-kun?! What if you got him sick, huh?!"
"Then I'll just take care of him… every day… cough, cough…"
"Y-you—!"
"Anything else? If not, you should head home now. I'm going to roll up the window~ it's… almost… time… huff, huff…"
"…?"
Mrs. Yuigahama froze, staring wide-eyed at Sayuri's strange behavior.
Suddenly, a bad premonition surged through her chest.
"Wait!!"
She urgently raised her hand.
"A-Asuna… if you've got anything else to say, say it quickly… there's not… not much time left… ooooh~"
"You… you…!!"
Mrs. Yuigahama flushed bright red, half-angry, half-panicked, staring at her friend.
"Tell me! Is Hikigaya-kun in the park… or… is he in your car?!"
"Hmm? Well…"
Sayuri's gaze darted away, a sly grin tugging at her lips.
"Why don't you guess~? Heehee~"
With that, Sayuri swiftly rolled the window all the way up.
"!!"
Mrs. Yuigahama froze in place, a terrible feeling blooming in her chest.
A vision flashed through her mind — the image of that poor boy, being toyed with by Sayuri…
"S-stop! Stop it! Don't bully that child! Let him go — no—!!"
Mrs. Yuigahama's heart ached, her fists trembling.
She was standing here, helpless, watching that poor boy be defiled by Sayuri.
I'm so sorry, Hikigaya-kun… it's all Auntie's fault, for being so useless…
Auntie will definitely comfort you… I promise…