Luck & Lists

Autumn descended upon Nagashiro before Miyami had even realized. Two more months of life and growth, gone in a flash. Snuggles, dates, and everything that she could ever hope for had happily filled her heart and days.

It was nice.

Since then, the daylight had grown shorter, the air cooler, and the summer's heat had faded, replaced by a brisk chill that seeped through her jacket whenever the wind picked up.

But even as the leaves turned from green to red and gold, and the rest of the world began to curl in for rest, Miyami felt her life was truly beginning to pick up more.

Figuratively at least. It was a calmer day at the shop now: Wednesday, so not too many customers had been coming in. The midweek was typically slow since most people would be busy with work or school.

That was more than okay with Miyami though, because that meant she had more time to spend with her girlfriend.

The two of them were currently alone in the front, sitting at the counter, and she could see Hinoka from the corner of her eye. The other woman's face was set in a relaxed state, and her eyes flicked back and forth across her phone screen as she completed some FEI dailies.

They'd already done just about everything they could today: cleaning, inventory, and organizing, so they were given the go ahead to unwind. Kaitoji was currently in his office watching television so he thought it was only fair they could do the same with no one around.

Miyami pulled out her own phone in boredom, exposing it to the shop air, but then she remembered she'd already completed her gacha routine for the day and shot her attempt at the banner.

Her face dropped at the memory.

It was horrible! Not a single 5★ outside of pity! All of her free gems had gone to waste too!

Sigh.

Her pity party eventually drew the attention of her ponytailed coworker, streaked hair bouncing lightly in the muted afternoon light.

"You seem distracted," Hinoka commented. "Something on your mind?"

Miyami pouted, sending her results from the recent banner.

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 > [5★ - 炎 Sunburst Aka 炎] - |Play Fiery Emblem: Idols Today!|

 > 120 summons!!! ( ╯°□°)╯彡┻━┻

 > I used everything I had, Hinoka! Everything!!!

 > WHY?! I don't understand! (oT-T)尸

────────⊳⋆⊲────────

A devilish smirk. "Oh, is that all?"

Miyami's lips twitched, and she glared, sending screenshots of all her failed 10-rolls in response.

The smirk only grew in power with each fed line of failure. Soon, Hinoka resembled demon lord more than woman, cackling as she toyed with Miyami's misery in the palm of her hand like a caged bird.

"Tragic," the ponytailed girl said. "To think my senpai would be struggling so much~"

"…" The taller woman's eye twitched.

"I suppose it's a good thing I managed to pull two more copies of the limited banner 5★ this morning," she said casually, flipping her phone to face Miyami as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "See? You just gotta push your luck sometimes—"

*squint*

Something caught her eye on the Home Castle Stage as her gaze snapped to the screen.

Miyami tapped out another message, her gaze narrower than paper.

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 > I… can't believe I've never realized it before.

 > You're a DIRTY GACHA WHALE!!! [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°̲̅)̲̅$̲̅]

 > I saw all those premium gems on your home page!

 > You should be ashamed of yourself!!! (╯°Д°)╯︵ /(.□ . ＼)

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Hinoka's cheeks reddened at the sudden accusation, and she looked away, her hand rubbing the back of her neck.

"W-what?! I-I'm not a whale; I just buy some packs every now and again. And it was a limited banner! What did you expect me to do?!"

Miyami's expression remained unchanged as her fingers continued to tap away.

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 > To think that I'd ever be in a relationship with a gacha whale...

 > My poor heart (｡T ω T｡)

 > I thought you were unsullied by greed.

 > But you've been corrupted! Forsaken the free-to-play path! Become more pay-to-win than even me!

 > I've failed you .･ﾟﾟ･(／ω＼)･ﾟﾟ･.

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"O-oh shut up!" The shorter woman puffed her cheeks, looking away with an irritated huff. "A-and why the hell are you even messaging me like this?! You've gotten so much better recently at actually speaking to me! At least reprimand me with your voice!"

Miyami's bottom lip shot upward into a grumpy pout, and her eyes narrowed even further.

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 > It's called ☆~whimsy~☆ (･ω<)♡

 > And I'll talk when you stop bragging about your 'luck'.

 > (๑･ᴗ･๑)

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Hinoka scowled as she tried to come up with a response.

Before she could though, footsteps from the back interrupted her train of thought.

"Girls," Kaitoji greeted them. "I'm going to head to the bank to withdraw the funds for the upcoming order. I shouldn't be gone long. You two'll be alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Hinoka said, trying to act normal. "We'll keep things running smoothly."

"Alrighty, thanks." With a wave, the older man walked toward the door and exited. The chime jingled cheerily behind him, leaving the two women alone once more.

"Mmm, on the topic of speaking, is it really only me that you're comfortable around?" her girlfriend asked, picking up where they left off. "Like, what about the boss? I know he'd be more than happy to listen to anything you have to say, and you seem to talk fine enough with him when it comes to shop business."

Miyami's expression softened a little, and she nodded.

She'd grown to trust the man a ton over the past three months. He was always kind and understanding, and he'd been nothing but supportive of her new life.

But… as horrible as it was to say, even if he was the second-closest person to her in the world now, every time he looked at him, she saw a tiny bit of her father in his eyes.

It wasn't that he was like her father as a person—far from it. But there was a physical resemblance considering they were brothers, and Miyami still felt a twinge of unease every time she spoke out loud to him.

"I know," she said after a moment, her voice soft and measured. "He's been great, and I'm grateful for everything he's done, but… I can't help but feel a little intimidated by him still. Being able to talk freely with him is just one thing on my New Life List to do."

Hinoka smiled hearing her voice again and nodded in understanding. "Well, whatever you decide to do, I'll support you. Even if—Wait, did you just say 'New Life List'?"

The dark-haired woman's lips puckered inward at the slip.

Oops.

"Is that what you've been calling your to-do list?!" Hinoka laughed. "That's so adorable~! I love it!"

"…!" Miyami's cheeks burned at the friendly teasing, and she looked away. She'd fished it out of her move-in belongings about a month ago, and the name had just stuck as she'd been adding new entries to it.

It'd originally started off as an escape of sorts when she'd still been trapped. A list of things that she wanted to do, places to see, experiences to have, etc. It was a way to give her eventual new life purpose and meaning once it finally became reality—hence the name.

She'd originally meant to start checking off the list her first day, but she'd met Hinoka and well… she'd gotten a little sidetracked. Especially once the whole stalker issue came about.

"I-I'm glad you find it amusing," Miyami muttered, trying to keep the embarrassment off her face.

"Very much so. Have you checked anything else off since recently?"

"…"

She looked up at the ceiling and tapped her chin, thinking. There was a lot, but she still hadn't really done anything major outside of the most important thing: finding someone who accepted her for who she was and loved her back in kind.

"I… think I've gotten used to people seeing me as a girl at least," she admitted, thinking of a secondary goal on the list.

"Erm, well of course. You are one. Why wouldn't you be used to—"

Hinoka interrupted herself as realization dawned. "Crap. Took me a second to remember you haven't always been—Ack! Sorry!"

"I-it's alright, really." Miyami smiled reassuringly at her. "If anything, it makes me happy that you just see me… as me. You don't have to go out of your way to be careful."

"R-right." Hinoka returned the smile, albeit with a hint of nervousness. "Still, I want to make sure that you're comfortable. I've been getting better at keeping my dumbass self from spouting out stupid stuff, but that old brash side of me still likes to show up every once and a while."

In the spur of the moment, Miyami reached out to grab a hold of her hand.

Their eyes locked as their hands did.

"Thank you, Hinoka," the dark-haired woman said softly.

A beat passed.

"Erm, no problem?" her partner replied. "I'm just being a good girlfriend, right? Obviously—"

*smooch*

Miyami pecked the shorter girl on the cheek, transforming her face into a cherry.

"Y-you—" Hinoka stuttered.

"Hehe~"

"Wha—you little—Go back to being more bashful and shy again! This new side of yours is unfair!"

Miyami shook her head. No thanks. She liked her new whimsical AND semi-assertive self just fine.

Hinoka let out a low growl and leaned forward at her defiance, the woman's hands going to both sides of Miyami's face. Then she pulled her down until they were nose-to-nose.

The penguin let out an 'eep' at the sudden equalizer.

"Are you sure about that?" Hinoka asked, a sly grin spreading across her lips. "Because I think you're forgetting who's the one in charge here~"

"…!" Miyami gulped, her heart pounding as a blush crept up her neck. W-what was she talking about? They'd never established anything like that in their relationship before, right?

Right?!

Spirals and stars popped around her head, orbiting like planets as Hinoka got closer and closer. It wasn't until she felt the soft brush of her partner's lips leave her own that they snapped out of their daze.

"Aah! Damn it, got carried away again!" Hinoka quickly corrected herself, pulling away from Miyami as if she were made of fire. "And sorry. That was just a stupid stunt I've always wanted to pull on someone. D-don't take what I said too seriously…"

Miyami shook her head, trying to say something to lighten the mood before returning to her phone by instinct.

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 > I-it's fine. I actually sort of liked it. (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

 > I've always wanted to be kabedoned, and this was similarish.

 > And don't worry. I understand. You totally meant 'in charge' like, 'I'm your work senior' or something, right? (･ω<)☆

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Hinoka stared at the message, blinking a few times in disbelief before laughter escaped her.

"Holy crap, you're such a cute dork, you know that?"

Miyami suddenly felt very self-conscious, her eyes darting downward as she blushed.

Hinoka sighed, then smirked. "So what, is being kabedoned on your 'New Life List' too or something?"

"…" Her silence was answer enough.

"…Wait, really?"

Miyami nodded, her cheeks burning again. "…W-what? Is that weird?"

"N-no! It's just… well, I didn't expect you to be so open about it is all."

The dark-haired woman was quiet a little longer before her voice recharged enough for a retort. "W-well, why don't we go over my list together sometime, then? You already know about it. It wouldn't hurt if you were a more active part of helping me check things off… right?"

Hinoka's expression softened at the offer. "Wait, really?! You want my help? Are you sure?"

"Y-yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

The ponytailed woman seemed genuinely touched by the gesture. "I just figured that you'd prefer doing things on your own terms, you know? But uh, since you're offering…"

Her eyes immediately lit up with devilish essence. "Could I suggest some stuff for you to do too~?"

Miyami hesitated. Her girlfriend's excitement was contagious, and she found herself cautiously smiling despite the apprehension.

"I-I don't see why not. Depending of course. What would you add?"

An eyebrow wiggle. "Myself?"

The dark-haired girl's soul flashed at the insinuation, and she nearly melted into the floor.

"D-don't push your luck!"