Stealing Spree

After getting satisfied with the kisses, Maaya buried her face on my chest, inhaling my fragrance or maybe recharging her ‘Ruki Energy’? Anyway, I thought she’d escalate our intimacy but I guess she also knew how to hold back, given that the others were waiting for us.

Meanwhile, Misaki, who’s also more or less satisfied with my doting, gestured towards the shelves of board games. “Ruki, was the sleepover fun? Did you also play games like these?”

I gently ruffled her hair and then cupped her cheek, “Mhm… It was fun and chaotic, I guess? We did a seance with this supposedly ‘cursed’ crystal ball. You would love to see how Chii, Kushii and An-rin got so spooked.”

“Oh! Did ghosts appear, Ruki? Are they scary?”

“No. But things started falling off their shelves. We went to check it, only to find nothing.”

“Whoa… scary…” Misaki hugged me tighter as she shivered slightly.

That was already scary for her. How adorable.

Maaya pinched my side, “Stop scaring her, shameless guy. And enough about the other girls. You’re here with us now. So, make it up to me. To us. Right here, right now.”

“Alright, how do I make it up to you right now? More kisses?”

“Hmph. I love your kisses but that’s not how you’re gonna make it up to us.” She huffed. “Misa, tell him.”

“Oh! Understood, Maaya-sama! Ruki. You see…” The innocent girl started. She then twirled before producing her phone. She fiddled with it for a bit before showing the screen to me. One look, and I recognized it as a gacha screen.

These girls, what are they playing?

“Here, Ruki. Help us pull for this character. We’re unlucky! Maaya-sama doesn’t want to risk it, and I’m hopeless at these gacha games!”

Misaki cutely stuck her tongue out as she phone closer to my face.

The screen displayed a vibrant banner with a smug-looking anime character, some kind of limited-time unit that was apparently the holy grail of their current obsession.

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift from steamy kisses to… gacha pulls.

Maaya’s lips twitched into a smirk, her earlier jealousy now mixed with an amused expression. She continued rubbing her face on my chest before looking up.

“Don’t look so surprised, shameless guy. You think you can just charm your way out of everything? If you’re sorry for making us jealous, you’ll prove your luck and pull this character for Misa. And maybe for me too.”

How does that relate? This girl…

But well, it’s surprising to see them playing this. It looks like it’s one of the popular games nowadays. I kept seeing its ads.

While I didn’t have that much experience in playing this type of game, I could somehow understand why Maaya would be hooked by this.

I mean, she’s part of the Game Club. And gaming is her stress-reliever, especially whenever she’s dealing with the responsibility of being the heiress to their hotel business.

However… why is Misaki playing it too?

I chuckled, shaking my head as I took Misaki’s phone. “So, this is my punishment? Gacha RNG? You two are brutal. Alright, let’s see if my ‘irresistible charm’ also works on digital loot boxes.”

Misaki clapped her hands. “Yay, Ruki! I knew you’d help! Maaya-sama said you’re lucky with stuff like this. Please get the shiny character! He looks like you!” The reference version of this chapter is on *.

Is he? I don’t know. I probably look better than a game character, right?

Ah… No. They’re all made to be the personification of the players’ ideals.

Maaya raised an eyebrow, her smirk widening. “No pressure, Ruki. But if you fail, I’m gonna tell everyone you’re not as charming as you think you are. I heard Chii’s friend wants to dye your hair pink. I’d let her do that and watch you get scolded by the teachers.”

“Such a low blow, Maaya. But will you be able to endure seeing me getting scolded? I doubt that” I put on a smirk before focusing on the phone.

The gacha interface was all sparkles and dramatic music, the kind that hyped you up to spend way too much time, or money, chasing pixels.

“Alright, Misaki, how many pulls do we have? These are all free, right?”

“Um, I saved up thirty pulls!” Misaki said proudly, pointing at the currency counter on the screen. “Maaya-sama gave me some too. She took my phone and did something with it. When she returned it, I got more crystals!”

I glanced at Maaya, who shrugged nonchalantly but couldn’t hide the fondness in her eyes as she watched Misaki’s excitement. “Don’t look at me like that, shameless guy. It’s not that expensive. I won’t waste money on these. It’s only to support the developers.. Now stop stalling and pull.”

“Fine, fine. Here goes nothing.” I tapped the screen, initiating the first ten-pull.

The animation instantly kicked in. Flashing lights, spinning cards and the whole over-the-top spectacle.

Misaki hugged me again, her cheeks pressed against my arm as she watched with bated breath.

Maaya subtly turned her head sideways as her eyes locked on the screen.

The results popped up. A bunch of low-rarity characters and a couple of decent 4-star characters, but no shiny 5-star limited-time unit.

Misaki’s face fell slightly, her enthusiasm unwavering. “It’s okay, Ruki! We still have twenty more pulls!”

Maaya snorted, nudging my side. “Wow, some luck you’ve got there. Maybe your charm doesn’t work on gacha after all.”

“Give me a break, it’s RNG. They say you have to pray to RNGesus for His blessing. Anyway, I’ve got this.” I tapped for the next ten-pull, the animation dragging out the suspense like it knew we were all on edge.

Misaki’s fingers gripped my sleeve, and even Maaya’s cool facade cracked as she leaned in further.

The screen flashed gold. Misaki gasped, and Maaya’s eyes widened. A character card flipped over, revealing the smug anime character from the banner, all sparkles and dramatic poses.

“Ruki! You did it!” Misaki squealed, rejoicing as the character started moving on the screen. Its animation was quite cool, not gonna lie.

But what kind of game was this again? I remember it being a farming game.

Anyways. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I couldn’t help but laugh as she squeezed me tight.

Maaya let out a soft gasp as her smirk returned. “Okay, shameless guy, I’ll give you that one. Nice pull. But don’t get cocky. You still owe me a character for my account. Mind you, I haven’t built any pity at all.”

I handed Misaki her phone back, “Well, will I let you down? No way. I’m the luckiest guy in the world to be loved by all of you, right? Watch me pull multiple copies of it.”

Maaya let go of me momentarily to pull out her phone. “Pffft. Look at you being cocky. I’m not as forgiving as Misa if you didn’t get it. And like Misa said. I want it because the character looks like you. Smug and shameless too!”

“Why chase over a game character when you already have me?”

“You’re not always with me, idiot.” She answered swiftly but with a low enough volume that would be easily missed if we weren’t in this quiet place.

“So, it’s going to be a replacement, huh? Should I start playing it too?”

“No. There are too many female characters here. I don’t want you to be hooked by them! You already have us!” Maaya shook her head.

Misaki also chimed in, “That’s right, Ruki! Just watch us play, okay?”

What kind of logic do these girls have?

Well, not like I’ll have a lot of time to play it.

Soon, I tapped the screen, doing the 10-pull.

The animation played out but as expected. Nothing. No gold flash, no limited 5-star character.

Maaya’s face fell for a split second before she caught herself, crossing her arms with a huff.

“You have more chances. Do 1-pulls, shameless guy.”

“Alright, here we go. One at a time, for maximum drama,” I teasingly said before tapping the screen.

The gacha animation spun up again, all sparkles and over-the-top effects.

The card flipped. Another 3-star. Maaya’s eyebrow twitched, and Misaki let out a tiny, disappointed “Oh…”

“C’mon, RNGesus, don’t let me down now,” I muttered under my breath, tapping for the next pull. Another dud. Then another. Five pulls in, and still no gold flash. Maaya’s smirk was back, now laced with a challenge, like she was daring me to prove her wrong.

“You’re losing your touch, shameless guy. Maybe your charm’s only good for real girls.”

Misaki giggled, her hands clasped together. “Don’t give up, Ruki! You got mine, so you can get Maaya-sama’s too!”

I shot Maaya a grin, undeterred. “Oh, I’m not done yet. Watch me pull through for my not-jealous Maaya.”

I tapped again, and this time, the screen lit up with that over-the-top golden glow. Misaki squealed before the card even flipped, and Maaya’s eyes widened, her cool act slipping completely.

The card revealed the same smug anime character, all dramatic poses and shiny effects. Misaki clapped her hands, while Maaya let out a breath she’d been holding, her lips curling into a reluctant but genuine smile.

“Well, looks like my charm works on pixels too. You’re welcome, Maaya.” I smirked, but before I could even hand her the phone, the girl pulled my head down again for another kiss.

This is my reward for successfully pulling it, huh? Not bad.