All characters depicted are 21+.

Katie sighs, one of many today. She's coming back from her break to a fresh stack of files, the latest copy of the company newsletter, and…a pacifier on her desk. The files she would deal with later. The newsletter is one she's been waiting for all month, the big one! She opens a drawer then swipes the pacifier into it. Looking down, it is filled with other babyish memorabilia. She sighs again and sits down. Looking around, she can see some of her coworkers smiling at her. She offers a small smile in return.

At the very least, her coworkers have been friendly towards her so she takes the teasing. It beat being ignored or ostracized. Her coworkers do include her in more after hours activities, cracking jokes about whether she’s up past her bedtime constantly…

As for the teasing...It didn’t help that she still used her blue leather backpack meant for a child…but she wasn’t able to return it after her earlier fiasco. At the very least, it is amazing quality and has plenty of room for her work files. Her coworkers even buy her sweet charms to hang from it...most of them are meant for kids but...

She leans back and grimaces. This is all because of that stupid misunderstanding…

Katie landed this cushy and highly sought after position in Japan a few months ago. Unfortunately... she didn't know any Japanese. She was shocked at hearing the news, especially with literally hundreds of other employees vying for the Japan gig. She was prepared for so many other international positions! She could speak Spanish, Portuguese, French…not Japanese!

She couldn’t turn this down though, there was zero chance of her getting a similar opportunity in the future! Someone else would take it and use it to catapult themselves into an eventual executive spot. It was basically a guarantee within the organization! The only thing better than this would be…well, being named “Global Employee of the Year"! But that’s reserved for the leaders of the company…not someone like her just climbing their way up.

So, off to Japan she went. She tried incredibly hard to keep up her reputation amidst the confusing job placement. Her team-building skills and analysis expertise were basically the reason she got this. Particularly her ability to jump several leaps of logic and propel product launches to incredible heights. She was the youngest employee to have such a successful start to their career.

Whenever she wasn't working, which was rare, she was listening to and watching language lessons to better understand Japanese and her coworkers. Using her rudimentary skills, she tried engaging her coworkers during breaks, slowly building her cultural immersion. She moved fast, having had experience in other languages already. 

But it wasn’t fast enough for her, she needed to do well. No, excellent! And that meant being embraced by her team, who still wasn’t inviting her out to after hours activities or anything else really. She was still the “American girl” who couldn’t understand everything going on. She could tell they felt insulted by having someone dropped on them, someone who didn't understand any of the culture or language. So, she had to step up her game. It wasn’t enough to learn the language, she needed to bond with her coworkers!

And wondrously, at least at the time, an opportunity fell into her lap. One day, she overheard her coworkers talking about “Child Day” coming up. So, she tried to get an explanation from them. They were incredibly excited, gabbing away about details that she was only catching bits and pieces of. 

She already knew a lot of her coworkers were pumped for Golden Week, as was she because it meant almost a full week off. But the ladies were specifically excited about this “Child Day” for some reason. Whatever the reason, she figured this would be a great chance to show off to her job! If only there were some way of showcasing her appreciation of the holiday...

In their flurry of excitement, her coworkers started showing her pictures of various decorations. Apparently, the office typically got together to celebrate! And that’s when she saw it, two of her coworkers dressed up like schoolgirls! It seemed older, and thinking back, pretty out of place in the photo album. But at the time, Katie jumped on the opportunity.

Katie loved colorful, fun outfits and thought this might have to do with cosplay. Which was something she’d always been interested in, but never found the time to do.

Her confused coworkers had a hard time understanding her, but upon mentioning something about cosplay...they tried showing her pictures of the typical Japanese kindergarten uniforms. Quickly analyzing the situation, Katie took this to mean that Child Day must be a dress-up day where they come in dressed childishly!

After thanking her coworkers and grabbing an address and time, she left work with an amazing plan. She spent part of Golden Week planning to go all out. Katie hoped that this gesture would look good to her bosses. By gesture, she was thinking of partaking in this dress-up holiday to the extreme!

It was difficult finding all the pieces initially. But, after searching various websites using all the translators she could, she got information about a few places specializing in costumes. Traveling to these several, questionable, late-night shops, she put together the perfect outfit that would show off her love for Child Day! 

With how much attention and encouragement the shop owners were giving her, it made so much sense to Katie, at the time, as to why everyone at her work would attend a holiday event at a local park. She couldn't wait to see what everyone else would be wearing.

The morning of, she got ready to make an impression. Taking a deep breath, she began getting dressed. She donned a polyester yellow, incredibly short dress with baby blue trim and ribbons. The flouncy skirt was puffed out by a matching petticoat. Hearts, ribbons, and bows adorned the silly dress. As embarrassing as it was to put it on, she actually enjoyed the satin sheen and flexibility of the fabric. The high collar had what seemed to be a bib sewn into the outfit, so cute! The short skirt was a hard sell, but when she realized she could show off another piece of the outfit, she was set!

Katie made sure to put up her light brown hair into some cute pigtails with matching yellow ribbons. She felt a bit silly putting on makeup, but it was still just a costume! 

She remembers spending a small fortune on a baby blue backpack that all the kindergartners around here used. She felt like she could use it afterwards as her work bag because her previous satchel broke. Plus it was adorable!

But the best part of the outfit would be the massive white diaper. Adorned with a blue heart on the crotch, it seemed a bit over the top but the store owner assured her she would be "Kawaii!". At least that’s the word she settled on after trying to sell her various other products and realized Katie didn't understand half of what she was saying.

Pulling up a pair of white stockings and stepping into a pair of shiny black Mary Janes, Katie examined her reflection. “I look RIDICULOUS!” She laughs at herself, glad she wasn’t taking herself too seriously. “If this is the price to pay to move up the corporate ladder…I’ll gladly wear more diapers!” 

Clicking her heels together, she exited her apartment. Katie received many strange looks walking to and riding on the subway...which should have tipped her off but she was too giddy to notice. She was riding a high, imagining how many doors this would open to her career! She just assumed everyone was in awe of her outfit…it did seem strange that no one else was dressed up…”Oh! Must be an office tradition!” Even better, she would be embracing something dear to her team's heart!

After getting gawked at by locals and tourist alike during the busy holiday, Katie finally arrived at the address given to her earlier. It was a large park and she could she everyone gathered around taking pictures. She was ecstatic to see her coworkers, all dressed up...before it slowly dawned on her that as she saw more and more familiar faces… no one else was dressed up. 

Everyone was staring and giggling, as Katie froze with her hands on her pack straps. As a breeze picked up, she became more aware of her incredibly short skirt and her diaper being on full display. She was unable to force her skirt down and hide her diaper. Her elation soon turned to panic and embarrassment. 

Eventually, one of her coworkers from before walked up with something in her hands. She gave a laughing smile.

"Oh...Katie-san? I think you made a mistake...It's Children's Day, not dress up as a child day...by the way, say cheese!"

Art by @HinaYui

Leaning forward towards her desk, the memory of that fateful day still brought upon her a fresh wave of shame. After she managed to stammer out a painfully stressful explanation amidst all the laughing, her coworkers finally understood her misunderstanding. 

Funny enough, it did bring on a new sense of camaraderie for her and the rest of the team. They laughed at her expense but also decided that her zeal and devotion to this “costume” meant that she really wanted to be accepted. So that they did! The rest of that holiday was a blur as everyone assumed their onee-chan needed to be taken care of by them.

She was paraded around the park. People adored her costume! And her! She had her photo taken with everyone they passed. Her coworkers treated her like a kid, taking her over to the playground and making her play with everything there. Then came the long restaurant and bar crawl...

She ended up getting fed by her coworkers, one of them even disappeared for a spell and came back with a bag stuffed with bibs, bottles, and more. They kept her hydrated between every beer, and there were lots of those. Katie thinks she may have gotten roped in to attending a maid cafe in her new outfit as well?

At the end of the night...or morning...she ended up blackout drunk at one of their houses.

The worst part came when she realized that the diapers came in real handy while she was passed out with a full bladder...She got to wake up to her coworker chastising her for not asking to use the potty. Luckily, that's been kept between them but whenever they're out or by themselves in the office, she'll come over and check to see if she's dry. She gets asked to hang out a lot by her okaasan now, who also ensures that Katie is well diapered before each night out. It's...ended up becoming a thing, much to her joyful embarrassment.

This didn't stop after Children's Day though. The teasing continues every single day with the whole office, with her being cheered on after every meeting or presentation like she's a little kid. Or being reminded to hydrate. Or being fed snacks. Or being pulled into laps if there aren't enough chairs. Basically, everyone loved her.

So, in a way, Katie got exactly what she wanted…plus a constant stream of onee-chans and baby paraphernalia every single day…

Sighing one more time, she reaches for the company newsletter to distract herself. Maybe her embarrassing situation has resulted in her branch rising up the ranks or she'll see some familiar faces. It's actually something she looks forward to every year! Unfortunately, she is met with a horrible surprise.

On the front page of their global newsletter…the one that’s sent out to the tens of thousands of employees they have across 20 countries…is her own face. Not just her face though, her entire outfit from Children’s Day is on display! It's the photo where she realized her stupid mistake!

As she gapes in astonishment, she catches the words “Employee of the Year” gracing the cover, the heart on her diaper replacing the “o” in employee.

She’s frozen, holding this dreadful announcement in her hands…one that she would have normally been over the moon for! It was what she'd dreamed about...but now... Her coworker stirs her from her state as she approaches from behind.

“Onee-chan! I see you’ve gotten the news, omedetou! Even better news, the CEO called for you! She wants you to help with the global cultural competency program, you’re getting a promotion!" Katie's mouth is agape, frozen in place. "Now everyone is going to see what a wonderful onee-chan you are Katie-san! You're going to be the face of the company!”

Katie's hand is pulled as she's guided towards a conference room, where the CEO apparently awaits them on a video call. "She loved your approach to us here, so you'll be making videos, ads, in-person trainings...and get this! She wants you to do everything as Katie onee-chan! She says no expense is too big for your new wardrobe!"